In all of the darkness, she registered at the very least that she was alone.
That, and very confused… yet at the same time, she was at peace.
Lightning allowed her eyelids to slide closed, exhaling deeply and slowly. She still wasn't sure how long she'd been kneeling there; it had felt like forever. She had no desire to stand up, despite the fact that her muscles screamed in protest. Reaching up, she curled her fist over her heart, remembering that her l'Cie brand and lightning pendant had once rest there.
Both were gone.
They had been replaced. The armor wasn't a gift; it was more of a curse, just as her powers of magic had been those years ago. Trapped as she was in this realm, she couldn't help but wish with all of her might that she could go back, but that wasn't an option. Lightning had made a pact, one that she would keep this time.
The crystal throne before her was glowing, but it was a dead light, much like the deserted city that lay behind it. Distantly she wondered what she was really doing there, but she didn't really want to know for sure. Her memories- everything she thought she knew- had long since faded.
What am I? Not a human, not anymore.
Lightning had a strange feeling that she was supposed to be dead. Maybe she was in the world of the dead; what was it that Fang had once told her- that there was a parallel world, where the dead slept? Etro was here, wasn't she? Didn't that mean she was dead too?
No… that couldn't be. The dead had no purpose. But she did; she had to fight off that intruder again. The one wearing the violet-hued armor, bearing a sword that was nearly as tall as her. Each time she came so close to receiving a fatal blow, and just as close to giving one. He usually retreated before that happened.
Something stirred in her- something that she was not supposed to forget. She opened her eyes again, glancing up at the throne, before her hand absently reached up to brush its surface.
A sharp intake of breath came from her as visions flashed through her eyes- a girl with pink hair like hers, staring off into the distance in horror, a man with spiked red hair and two boys alarmed about something, a strange man who bore a striking resemblance to Fang, a blond girl with a Moogle, standing next to the pink haired girl from before. The guy who looked like Fang shoving the strawberry blond girl out of the way of a monstrous hand, and the base of a crystal pillar.
Most striking of them all was the vision of that same girl… fighting.
"Serah!"
Why is Serah fighting? She shouldn't have to! Where's Snow? He should be protecting her, and who's that other guy with her? Fang, Vanille…
What am I doing here?
In an instant, everything was completely clear to her, before it faded again. She struggled for a few moments to hold on to what she knew, but soon she was once again staring at the throne, not really sure what had just occurred. Footsteps echoed behind her, and she felt a single tear slip down her cheek. Was she doomed to be nobody?
Slowly, she stood, turning around to face him again. His face was set, determined, calm, like the other times before. Oddly enough, he gave her resolve- resolve to keep searching, to stay alive and keep fighting on. He couldn't bring back the memories, but there was something… something that gave her courage. As long as he kept coming back, she had a purpose.
She didn't even know his name.
It was enough.
Author's note: This was just an instinct kind of thing to write. When I saw the E3 teaser, I thought: Hell yes! But the thing that struck me the most was at the beginning, when it just shows Lightning kneeling and looking... well... lost. I felt so bad for her, and I wanted to voice what I thought the game might entail. I have to wonder who the blond with the Moogle was, as well as who this Noel fellow is. Still, I'm freakishly excited! Review, and tell me what you think!