Although no one was there to see it, the crystal of the sole Pulse l'Cie left slowly began to shine. It took around twelve hours for it to be completely engulfed in a bright light. Moments later, there was no crystal there anymore. Instead, a boy shakily stood on the ground. The light was gone before he could open his eyes. It was as if he had always been there, of flesh and blood, and not cold crystal. To him, this was exactly the case.
Hope Estheim stared at the crystallized Cocoon as he thought of his companions. Who knew how many years he'd been asleep? One, two, five, ten? Even if the others were alive, would they even remember him? Would they even care to speak to him again?
He was alone.
Not even the relief of seeing his l'Cie brand gone could completely overshadow this frightening realization.
He had no idea who ruled ruled civilisation, if such a thing still existed. No idea where to go, whom to talk to. No magic, no weapons. He was just a helpless kid in the middle of the wilderness, and with no family nor anywhere to call home.
A chilly wind flew by. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to conserve as much body heat as possible, but thanks to his light clothes it didn't do much good. It was obviously late on the year. He couldn't stay still here for much longer.
He turned around, hoping to see something, a house or a town or anything he could walk towards. He found nothing of the sort, but instead a small metal box caught his eyes, lying on the ground a few feet from him. Quickly walking up to it, he saw that it wasn't looking very old, but it was hard to decide. It didn't squeak when he opened it, so he took that as a good sign. Inside was a comm device, and a note. He quickly grabbed the note and read it.
Hope, when you're reading this, quickly dial the first contact on the comm. Wait for us to come and get you. Don't wander off. If anyone but us comes by and tries to make you come with them, refuse. Do not go with them!
Please wake up soon. We miss you.
No signature. It was likely it was the others who'd written it. The last sentences managed to make him smile, despite the lack of information the letter held.
Hope shook his head and skimmed through the words again. Why was it so important he had to go with them, and not anyone else?
There was no indication of how long ago the note was written, or how long he'd been in crystal stasis. It frustrated him. Hadn't they listened to Vanille and Fang when they explained just how confused they had been when they woke up?
The amount of information he was given from the letter wasn't nearly to his satisfaction. What was going on? What had happened to Cocoon to make it crystallized? Were Fang and Vanille okay?
Though, in his heart, he probably knew where Fang and Vanille were. It was probably thanks to them Cocoon hadn't crashed into Pulse, and they had sacrificed themselves for it. Hope felt his heart sink when he understood their fate.
He pocketed the note and picked up the comm and turned it on and searched for the first connection. Just a bunch of numbers, no names. He was beginning to feel pretty pissed off. Why all this discretion?
At least I have an excuse if I screw it up somehow...
He raised a numb thumb and dialed the number. Every second that slowly crawled by with nobody answering felt like an eternity.
It's been too long, no one's gonna answer. Just-
One minute… two, three… he gave up when he counted to 300 seconds and flipped the device shut.
Stupid. Of course it's been too long. You just had to stay as a crystal for several hundred years, did you!?
He knew it wasn't his, or anyone else's, fault, but it was hard to find someone else to blame at that moment. He envied Fang and Vanille, because at least they had had each other when they woke up in a time far, far away from their own. Shaking his head furiously, he tried calling again. And again. One more time. Despair spread throughout his body, making his breath hitch in his throat. Feeling a lump in his windpipe and swallowing profusely, Hope did his best not to let his eyes water. This wasn't the time for crying, and it wouldn't make anything better
"Dammit!" he cried out, voice thick, slamming the comm shut for the umpteenth time and considering snapping it in half. Instead he threw the it back into the box. It was strange, but he wished he could go back to crystal sleep again. It was starting to get really cold now. And dark. He did not want to stay in this open area any longer. Looking back at the crystallized Cocoon, he realized he had no choice but to go there, even if it went against the wishes of whoever had written the letter.
He dropped the box back on the ground and slowly turned towards his former home. It looked gray and gloomy in the autumn darkness, and it hurt to see it in this state. It didn't invoke much of his namesake in Hope, doing his best to keep his spirits up as he slowly began to wander in its direction.