Note: FINAL FANTASY VERSUS XIII was intended to release for the PlayStation 3 sometime in the early 2010's after the release of FINAL FANTASY XIII. The game was ultimately cancelled and re-formed into the 2016 PlayStation 4/Xbox One title, FINAL FANTASY XV. FINAL FANTASY XV kept some of the characters and the basic plot of VERSUS XIII intact for the sake of not wasting the original vision and work of the VERSUS XIII team, however, FINAL FANTASY XV's actual story was almost entirely different to that of VERSUS XIII in the end, due to a change of director from Tetsuya Nomura to Hajime Tabata.
This story is my attempt at re-creating the much darker VERSUS XIII plot, staying as true as possible to Nomura's vision. The events, locations and such will be taken from all pre-2010 footage of VERSUS XIII, therefore Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto may or may not appear (as at this time, the only key characters shown were Noctis, Stella and Regis.). If you have played FINAL FANTASY XV recently, do not expect a retelling of the same story from that game. The central concept is still somewhat similar, involving a conflict between Lucis and Nifilheim in a world of Crystals, but this will have more VERSUS elements than XV elements. There will be elements of my own added to the plot in order to flesh it out, and references to other FINAL FANTASY locations and characters and such, but nothing too fourth-wall breaking (similar to how FINAL FANTASY XV's version of Insomnia had billboards advertising a place with the word "Balamb" in the name). There will be medium sexual elements added to the plot, not for sex's sake but for genuine character traits and development.
Also, as VERSUS XIII was intended to be part of the FABULA NOVA CRYSTALIS Mythos, the terms 'L'Cie' and "fal'Cie" may be included in this plot to help tie into that mythos, however the terms meanings differ between games (A L'Cie in FINAL FANTASY XIII is different to a L'Cie in FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0), so I will clearly explain either directly or indirectly to you what they mean.
I hope you enjoy.
Dillon Sheil.
This is a fantasy based on reality.
~PROLOGUE~
It had been a long night for the crown prince as he half stared across the room, hearing the clatter of high heels echoing across the palace floor, slowly approaching his throne. The muffled roar of gunfire and war outside the Citadel was nothing compared to the constant clacking which was irritating him immensely.
The crown prince of Insomnia needed sleep.
He sighed and put his closed fist up against his chin, crossing his left leg over his right and leaned back into the rather comfortable black throne. The dimly lit charcoal throne room was quite a spacious area for just one person to occupy, thought the crown prince. His eyes wandered around as the footsteps grew louder and louder. Soon, she and her retinue would be here to claim the crystal of Lucis from its last remaining vessel, the crown prince – Noctis Lucis Caelum.
She represented the enemy, a fact Noctis himself found particular hatred in. The enemy. Niflheim. The country that ruled most of the land of Eos, and that was kept out of Lucis due to its crystal.
But the crystal had been growing weak for quite some time now, and Niflheim took advantage of that fact.
Niflheim ruled all regions of the planet of Eos from Palamecia in the north-west, to the Lucian border at Leide in the mid-east. Noctis was not going to let the Niflheim empire take his kingdom. He took a deep breath again, the heels coming ever closer, and shut his eyes, preparing for the battle ahead. He began to think of how things came to this point, and how his love for her could not be fulfilled in the current political climate. The L'Cie, the all-powerful demi-gods of Eos, foretold of this invasion. Noctis himself knew that things would not end well for Lucis, but he was damn well sure he didn't want Niflheim to capture the last crystal keeping the light in the City that Never Sleeps – Insomnia.
But Noctis didn't care about any of that in this very instant. He just wanted his mind to doze off for a minute or two.
For the crown prince of Insomnia needed sleep.