[Final Fantasy XIII] Crystal Dreams of Eternity
Chapter 10: (I.3) When They Were Adults
A Final Fantasy XIII Fanfic
By jen-chan
February 8 - March 8, 2011
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: Pre-game. Important events in Fang & Vanille's lives before the beginning of the end.
Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!
When Vanille was sixteen and Fang was eighteen, they were reminded that life could be cruel.
Up until that year, despite the tragedies that had befallen their early childhood, life was generally good. They were both out of school, and could provide for themselves easily. Fang was widely acknowledged as the best hunter in the village, while Vanille was apprenticing as a healer at the hospital. The chaotic hormones of two years earlier had largely passed, in themselves, as well as in their peer group (well, more or less, anyway).
Everyone was growing up; it was important to start planning for the future after all. For boys, chasing after girls was still fine and all, but now, it was no longer chasing for the sake of chasing. Now, they were chasing with *intent*.
For Vanille, this meant that the majority of her suitors from a couple years ago were now firmly cemented as friends as opposed to potential husbands. She still had a handful of smitten young men at her beck and call, but it was becoming clear that Oerba Sora Donda, the boy who's blood had saved her when she was ten, was the most serious contender for her affections.
As for Fang, male interest by this point presented a bit of a headache. Being something of a superstar in Oerba meant that she got attention - a *lot* of attention. Every guy with half an iota of ambition in his mind was trying to court her.
She was the last Yun, after all.
Shouldn't her priority be on re-building her clan, before she took Fal'Cie Anima's trials? Wouldn't it be a horrible tragedy if her bloodline was lost? Wouldn't he make the perfect candidate to father her children? Come on, couldn't she relax that silly rule of hers - that he'd have to be her equal in combat and the hunt for her to consider him? If she kept insisting on that, she'd *never* find someone good enough for her! Look, he didn't even care if she had girlfriends on the side; how understanding was that!
To make matters worse, the head priest of Fal'Cie Anima's temple actually subscribed to this thinking! He once told her, attempting to be kind and fatherly, but only coming off as infuriating, that so long as he was head priest, he would personally ensure she didn't passed Fal'Cie Anima's trials until she had produced a successor (so, not to worry, Child. The Yun will not end with you).
Fang's response was to soundly beat the *stuffing* out of the head priest's retainers (it not being her style to pummel defenseless old men), while insinuating improprieties against the head priest's mother and a gorilla which must have been the cause of the priest's complete lack of intelligence.
That... hadn't made her very popular with the Temple, and for several years, Fang was banned from taking Fal'Cie Anima's trials (indeed, forbidden from even *approaching* the temple) completely.
Vanille, if questioned, would admit that she wasn't at all upset with this turn of events at all, but she was careful not to bring this up in front of Fang.
In the spring of that year, Fang left with several friends - Donda, Leiz and Tombas - on a trading expedition to Paddra. They were gone for roughly two weeks, and were now returning.
"So what do you think?" Leiz asked Tombas, grinning.
Tombas thought about this. "Hmm. 'Fang-Dondy', unless she sees the robot first, in which case... actually, no, even if she does see the robot, it's gonna be 'Fang-Dondy'."
Leiz laughed. "Alright. Ten gil says it's 'Dondy-Fang'."
Fang raised a questioning eyebrow as she looked back at the two men walking just behind her and Donda. "What are you two talking about?"
"We're betting to see who's name Vanille calls first," Leiz replied. He put his fists just under his chin and bat his eyelashes, doing his best high pitched squeal. "Aaah! Dondy! Fang! You're back! What took you so long?"
Donda rolled his eyes. "Grow up, you two." Then he paused, as he looked at the box he was carrying. "... it better be 'Dondy-Fang'. This thing cost a bloody fortune!" He muttered under his breath.
"Why'd you buy that thing anyway?" Fang asked. "If you want her to commit, you should have just hunted the palarex."
"You make it sound like that's easy to do, Fang." Donda retorted. "Besides, I don't think Vanille's ready to get that serious yet. And I don't particularly want to have to challenge you for her hand."
"Hey, you're a better man than those other idiots," Fang winked. "I'd go easy on you."
Donda gave Fang a hooded glare. "No, you wouldn't."
"You're right, I wouldn't." Fang laughed. She looked back at Leiz and Tombas. "So what are you two going to do? Get some quality time in with the Missus?"
"You better believe it!" Leiz replied enthusiastically. He elbowed Tombas in the gut. "Gotta make a playmate for yours and Schala's little one! How old is Toby now?"
"Eighteen months." Tombas replied proudly. He did some math in his head. "So if you and Shayla get busy tonight, that means he'll have a friend by the time he's... oh, a little over two years? Hey, that's a similar age difference to us!" He elbowed Leiz back. "Get on it!"
"Oh, I don't need you to tell me that!" Leiz sniggered. "Man, when I get home, I'm gonna take Shayla and I'm gonna-"
"Hey, stop that." Donda interrupted. "We've a lady in our presence."
"Like Fang counts!" Leiz scoffed. "You know she's gonna be getting just as busy, right, Fang?" He sniggered again. "Who're ya bedding with tonight?"
"Even if I was, I wouldn't be telling you," the lone woman in the group replied coolly.
"Aaah, spoil sport! Come on, Fang! Give us married folk a chance to live vicariously! *You* gotta give us some details! We know Donda ain't gonna be getting laid anytime soon."
Fang gave the young man beside her a toothy smile. "He better not be."
Donda gave Fang a dark look.
Soon, the village came into view. Leiz and Tombas left Fang and Donda to return to their own homes. The young man and woman continued on their way to Fang's and Vanille's home in silence. When that silence stretched on, Fang sighed. "Alright, out with it, Donda. What's bothering you?"
"... it's nothing."
"Your balls it's nothing."
The young man sighed, and stopped walking. Fang stopped too, turning back to look him in the eye.
Donda's gaze was firm. "Look. Leiz is going to lose his money; it's going to be 'Fang-Dondy'. You come first, me second. But, I promise you this, Oerba Yun Fang, it is *not* always going to be that way. One day, Vanille's going to look at me, and she *won't* be thinking of you."
Fang blinked. And then she smiled, not unkindly. She clapped Donda on the back. "You know I wouldn't want it any other way."
"Good."
They continued towards Fang and Vanille's home.
When they got there, it was surprisingly empty. "Vanille?" Fang called. "Are you home?"
"Fang," Donda said, pointing at a piece of paper on the table. "There's a note."
'Schala's hurt.'
Reading this, Fang and Donda traded an ominous look, before Donda put his present down, and the two of them rushed over to Tombas and Schala's house.
They burst inside, and Fang could hear soft crying she instantly recognized as Vanille's. They made their way over to the bedrooms, and found Vanille struggling to contain her tears just outside the bedroom door.
"Vanille!"
Their sudden entrance prompted Vanille to start with surprise. "Fang? Dondy?" She asked with a small, sad voice. And then the surprise left her face, leaving only sorrow. She sobbed. Wordlessly, she reached out for them.
Donda quickly cut in front of Fang, making it to Vanille first, and wrapped his arms around the small woman, murmuring softly. Fang felt a flare of jealous anger in her heart, but she quickly quashed it (or, at least, attempted to). Wordlessly, she walked up to the embracing pair, crumpled on the floor, and put a hand on top of Vanille's head.
It took a long time, but eventually, Vanille stopped crying.
"There was an accident two days ago. Schala was out in the fields with Tobi. There... there was a wyvern." Vanille said brokenly. "I... I tried to help her... got her to the hospital... but... it doesn't look good. We set her home this morning... there's nothing else we can do..."
The blood left Fang's face. She closed her eyes.
Life was hard, and villagers died all the time from various attacks. A month without a life lost due to misfortune was rare. But this... this was the first one in their circle of friends.
"Vanille, baby," Donda said softly. "Where's Tombas?"
Vanille swallowed, and buried her face into Donda's neck. "He left!" She cried.
Fang boggled. "What do you mean, he left?"
"He just... took off! He was here, and I told him what happened and then he just took off! Leiz went after him! He just... he took one look at Schala, and then took off!" Vanille choked on another sob. "He didn't even look at Tobi..."
The silence amongst the friends was deafening, until Fang looked at the bedroom door and softly asked, "... is Schala inside?"
Vanille nodded. "With Shayla, and Tobi." She swallowed and looked like she wanted to cry again. "We brought her home because Master said," she was referring to the doctor she was apprenticing from, "Master said that short of Fal'Cie intervention, there's no hope..."
Fang blinked as a puzzle piece fell into its place in her mind. "Were those her exact words?"
Vanille nodded.
Fang closed her eyes, feeling her heart fall into her stomach. When she opened them, she could see Donda looking up at her questioningly, even as he stroked the back of Vanille's head soothingly. "I know where Tombas went."
Quietly, Donda got Vanille to her feet and the three of them went inside the bedroom. The two women in the room looked up, hope on their faces quickly dashed when they realized it was not whom they wanted to see.
"Hello, Fang, Donda," Schala greeted weakly from the bed. She was clearly heavily medicated and pale as death. Shayla sat beside the bed in a chair, holding Tobi, who had cried himself into exhaustion and was fast asleep in Shayla's arms.
"... Schala." Fang said softly, quietly coming to the bedside of the woman who'd helped to raise her - raise all of them. She held one of the woman's hands in her own. Donda didn't approach the bed, as he was still holding onto Vanille, who looked like she would crumple to the ground without the support.
"I'm afraid I was a little careless," Schala said softly, an apologetic look on her face.
"You know you have nothing to apologize about," Fang said softly. She swallowed. "Schala, hang in there. Tombas will be back. He's gone to get... help."
Schala smiled weakly. She knew she was beyond help, they both did, but she didn't feel the need to say so out loud.
Less than an hour later, Fang was proven right.
Tombas strode quickly into the bedroom, Leiz behind him. Though he wore exactly the same clothing, and had exactly the same features as the man whom Fang had travelled to and from Paddra with just hours earlier, he clearly was no longer the confident young man he had been that morning.
Ignoring everyone else in the room, he quickly approached the bedside, kissing his wife on the forehead. "Schala, I'm back," he said softly. "Everything's going to be alright."
Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled upon seeing him. "Tombas!" She said weakly, but happily. "Where did you go?"
His only answer was to smile sadly, even as he kissed her softly once more. "Everything's going to be okay now. Watch." He put his hand on the blankets overtop of Schala's lower abdomen. And then, he said a single word.
"Curaja."
A soft green light emitted from his palm, and gently wrapped around the prone woman's body. The light seemed to pulsate once, and then faded. When the light died down, the color had returned to Schala's skin. Schala blinked slowly once, twice, and then a brilliant smile split her face. She threw her hands around Tombas's neck, weeping tears of relief. "A miracle! Fal'Cie Anima has granted us a miracle!" She cried.
But Fang knew better. The Fal'Cie did not grant miracles. She had seen the price that Tombas had agreed to pay for the magic. Just before Schala had covered it with her arms in an embrace, on the back of Tombas's neck, was a small black brand made of a series of intricately interlocking arrows.
Tombas died three months later. He did not care to complete his focus, he only wanted to spend his short remaining days with his wife and baby boy. The family was inseparable, even when he spent a little bit of his remaining time at Oerba's hospital, performing various cure-based spells for those injured and awaiting recovery there.
It was never his intention to become Cie'th. He had planned to kill himself before that happened, but towards the end, his brand progressed so quickly and unexpectedly, he hadn't been able to act in time.
Fang killed the monster he became within hours of his turning.
Schala thanked her.
That night, for the first time ever, Vanille had to comfort Fang.
It was late. Fang, Leiz and Donda hadn't returned yet from their horrible task. Vanille and Shayla were waiting on Shayla's front porch. They had been at Schala's up until an hour ago, but the widow had kindly asked them for some privacy.
Eventually, they spotted a couple of forms walking back towards the house.
It was Leiz and Donda. They looked... terrible.
Leiz didn't say anything to Vanille; barely even acknowledge her existence. He simply took his wife's hand and lead her into their house, locking the door behind him.
Vanille knew what the newly married couple would be up to.
While some may think it disrespectful to indulge in such activities so soon after the loss of a loved one, in Oerba, it was inevitable, and almost expected. When confronted so brutally by the fragility of life, men, especially young men, were reminded that any day now, the same could happen to them, and that they had certain duties to perform to ensure the survival of their family line.
Donda quietly took Vanille's hand, and lead her back to her home.
As they walked in silence, Vanille snuck several glances at the young man (though he no longer seemed all that young) at her side, the young man whom had always been close by her, if not directly at her side. His purple-black eyes were unreadable.
Vanille could only imagine what was going through Donda's mind. He hadn't yet presented her with a palarex... but she knew it was his intention to.
What would she do if he went out on a hunt tomorrow, and just didn't come back?
She thought back to Leiz and Shayla, and what they were doing right now...
... was she ready? Oh, Goddess, she didn't know...
They stood awkwardly in front of the house, not quite able to look at it, or each other, before Vanille came to a decision, and strengthened her resolve. Gently, she put her hands on either sides of Donda's face, and lifted his gaze so that she could look him in the eye.
And Vanille asked, softly, knowing exactly the full extent of the permission in her words, "... do you want to come in?"
Emerald green eyes gazed deeply into deep amethyst ones, so very, very dark with sorrow.
Donda didn't say anything for a long time.
And then, finally, he sighed, reaching up to hold one of Vanille's hands still cupping his face. "No. I think... Fang will need you tonight. She... she ended up having to do it. Leiz and I... we couldn't."
Vanille's eyes widened. The full extent of the permission in *his* words, echoed inside her head.
~... Fang...~
Donda kissed her on the cheek, and then headed off home.
Vanille stood there, alone, outside of her and Fang's home, for a long time, suddenly lost, and confused and *scared* and not quite sure what to do.
~... Fang...~
Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Vanille finally turned to look at her home, and took a trembling step towards it.
The house was dark when Vanille entered, but there was just enough light streaming in through the windows for her to see.
She found Fang in their bedroom, sitting on her bunk, facing away from the door. Fang had pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs. Vanille could not remember ever seeing Fang in such a small, timid position before.
"It's me," Vanille said softly.
Silence answered her. And then, came Fang's voice. "... are you sure you should be here right now?" Fang asked softly.
And the tremble in Fang's voice told Vanille that yes, of course, right now, at this moment, there was absolutely *nowhere* else she should be.
Quietly, Vanille padded across the room and climbed onto the bed, folding her legs underneath her. She wrapped her arms around Fang's middle and laid her cheek against Fang's back.
The tall woman's (right then, she seem like but a girl) body was still. She wasn't shaking, she wasn't crying, she was just... still. But holding her, Vanille could tell that Fang's heart was broken and she was bitterly lamenting. She was crying for Tombas. She was crying for Schala and Tobi. She was crying for all of them and the loss of simple, happier days.
And Vanille's heart broke too.
She tugged insistently at Fang's shoulder until the tall woman turned to face her. Fang's eyes were filled with enough sorrow to last a lifetime though they hadn't yet seen two decades.
Vanille placed trembling hands on the sides of Fang's face and kissed her on the mouth, and then her cheeks, and her eyes and her forehead and her throat before coming back to her mouth. The kiss was long and deep and only ended with a choked sob.
They rested their foreheads against each other.
"... I love you." Vanille whispered softly. "You know that, right? I'll always love you, no matter what you have to do."
Fang nodded silently.
Vanille pulled Fang's head to her chest, and cradled her there for the rest of the night.
When Vanille was eighteen and Fang was twenty, they became L'Cie.
Oerba's hunters had gathered for the hunt of the palarex. The herd's migratory path would bring it closer to Oerba than it had ever come before, and there were many clans keen on cementing marriages.
Donda finally managed to bag himself one of the beasts. As he severed and lifted the tongue up into the air, Fang couldn't help but feel a twinge of... something... in her heart.
Of course, she was happy for him, and for Vanille. With the palarex successfully hunted, Donda would finally be able to propose to Vanille. He still had to challenge Fang to prove that he'd be able to take care of the girl as well as her family could, but that would only be a formality. It was high time Vanille got married, and Fang wasn't going to stand in her way.
On the other hand, however, Fang couldn't help but also feel and acute sense of... loss.
This would be it. With Vanille safely provided for, there really wasn't anything keeping Fang from taking Fal'Cie Anima's trials anymore. Well, there was still that annoying issue of the head priest's prejudice against her, but the old man was really no more than a figure head by now. Most of the politics in the village were done by the younger priests, and they had no problems with Oerba Yun Fang attempting the trials.
The Pulsian hunter shook her head, trying to clear it of its more negative thoughts. Forcing a smile onto her face, she clapped Donda on the back in congratulations. "Took you long enough, Donda!" She laughed. "For a moment there, I thought poor Vanille was going to become an old maid!"
Donda opened his mouth to shoot back an acidic reply, but he was interrupted by the sound of horrific, horrific screeching in the air.
Fang's eyes widened as her blood froze in her veins.
She knew that sound.
It had haunted her nightmares since she was seven years old.
As one with all the other hunters present, Fang looked up, and, sure enough, straight out from her earliest nightmares, was the Cocoonian Fal'Cie that had decimated Oerba so many years before.
It was colossal, vaguely mechanical, and easily dwarfed several oretoise put together with immense claws. As it swooped down, a beam of energy shot forth from its mouth, scorching the land and setting fire to the plains.
The palarex were panicked, galloping this way and that in their attempt to flee, but they themselves were the target of the beast's thievery this time. Those massive claws came down and tore up a section of land and everything upon it, including most of the palarex herd and several hunters.
The world seemed to slow down to a crawl. Fang couldn't seem to control her limbs at all. All she could do was watch, as the monster loomed, shooting energy from its mouth, wreaking devastation across all the lands.
It was like she was seven years old all over again...
... and then, suddenly, she felt something hit her hard in the face.
It was Donda.
"FANG!" He bellowed, hitting her again. "SNAP OUT OF IT!"
And Fang did.
Just like that, the world sped up, and suddenly, Fang found herself in the middle of utter chaos, with whining palarex running this way and that, and hunters screaming, some trying to flee, others trying to help the injured.
No one was trying to mount a counter attack against the Cocoonian Fal'Cie. They were all just waiting for its fury to end, for it to claim what it had come for, and go back to its den in the sky.
But it would not. Not this time. Not if Fang had anything to say about it.
Eyes narrowing, Fang grabbed her lance from her back.
How many years had she dreamed of this, of meeting the destroyer of her clan?
Everything turned red as she screamed in outrage, and ran at the Fal'Cie.
With no need for thought, she ran, easily dodging over falling boulders, man and beast. The Fal'Cie was getting ready to launch into the air; she had to make it to the beast before it fled.
It leapt into the sky a second before Fang did. Rock and boulder fell from the beast's claws, and Fang was able to use these as a ladder of sorts, jumping up and up on the falling debris like a disconnected staircase. She took one final, mighty leap and managed to clutch onto one of the Cocoonian Fal'cie's many talons, hauling herself up. Jumping and leaping, she struggled her way up the massive beast's arm and shoulder until she was mere meters from the monster's head.
With a loud war cry, Fang leapt into the air, twisting her body into a highwind attack, and rammed her spear directly into one of the Cocoonian Fal'Cie's eyes, striking it dead on.
It gave a howl of pain and fury, dropping everything in its claws as it tried to get the annoyance out of its eye.
Fang hung on for dear life.
The hunters on the ground scrambled to get out of the way of falling rock, land and beast; many of them falling from too high a distance to survive the impact.
Still clinging to the Fal'Cie, Fang watched in horror as the monster began to lay waste to the land, firing shot after shot from the energy canon in its mouth in blinded fury.
"Stop it!" She screamed, her voice lost in the wind, even to her own ears. "St-!" And she lost her grip on the monster, finding herself in free fall.
She hit the ground roughly, several dead palarex sheltering her fall. The wind was completely knocked from her lungs.
There was nothing she could do anymore, nothing anyone could do anymore.
Eventually, after exhausting its energy supply, the Cocoonian Fal'Cie scooped what it could carry with its claws once more - a fraction of what it had initially came for and mostly of dying palarex and rubble, before taking off to return to its den of terror in the sky.
The hunters remained dazed on the ground. Eventually, they recovered their wits. They had lost several men, and the injured vastly outnumbered the healthy. Donda managed to weakly make his way to Fang, helping her up. "... are you alright?" He asked.
Fang's only answer was to spit out a mouthful of blood, though she did gratefully accepted the potion he handed to her.
They gathered their things, and started back to the village. No one else would speak to Fang, but she could hear the accusation in their silent eyes.
It was she who had pissed the thing off. If she hadn't attacked it, maybe it would have simply taken the palarex and fled.
If it hadn't been for her, maybe so many wouldn't have died.
When the injured hunters managed to hobbled their way back to the village, they were greeted with chaos and cries of terror.
Wordlessly, Fang and Donda sought Vanille, and found her standing outside the orphanage they'd grown up in, ready to defend its occupants with her binding rod clutched tightly in her hands and absolute terror in her eyes.
She saw them, and cried out for them. "Donda! Fang!"
She collapsed into Donda's arms when he and Fang found her.
"Vanille, are you alright?" Fang cried.
The redhead nodded weakly. "Y-yeah... they didn't come this way..."
"What happened?"
"W-we saw the Fal'Cie from Cocoon," Vanille trembled. "People panicked. They were telling everyone to go to the temple for safety, but... but the people who got there... they started turning into Cie'th!"
Fang's face grew ashen while Donda gapped. "What?" He breathed. "Why? Why would Fal'Cie Anima *DO* that?"
~Because he's a coward,~ Fang thought bitterly. ~The Fal'Cie do NOT protect us! Not without a price!~
"How many?" Fang whispered. "And where are they now?"
Vanille shook her head. "I don't know!"
Fang grasped Donda's arm tightly. "Look after her." She ordered, even as she grabbed his staff from him.
She took off towards Fal'Cie Anima's temple.
The village mourned. They had lost many good men in the Cocoonian Fal'cie's attack in the field, and in the resulting chaos that erupted in the village there after, many more had been injured or lost.
Roughly a dozen souls, seeking protection at Anima's temple, had unexpectedly been made L'Cie by the patron of Oerba - given powers to defend themselves, the head priest tried to explain to the angry villagers, just before he was lynched, but the majority of them had been so shocked with what happened, they went Cie'th right away.
Shayla was amongst those, and she had still been holding onto her son when it had happened. The child sustained a broken arm in the chaos that erupted thereafter. That would heal but it was unknown if the child's mind ever would.
Leiz went mad with grief. His screams and bellows were so terrible, they had to put him down before he caused injury to himself and others. His last words, before his consciousness was taken from him, were cruel.
"Why was it her?" He spat at Fang. "Why wasn't it you? Weren't you the one who was supposed to save us all? Weren't you supposed to have the honor of becoming Anima's L'Cie? This wouldn't have happened if you'd just done what you said you would years ago!"
Fang knew Leiz didn't mean it. He was not himself.
But that didn't stop those words from hurting.
The only thing that hurt worse was the uncertainty of what was next to come. Who knew when that Cocoonian monster would be back? They hadn't simply let it take from them this time - they had fought back. It might be angry. And who knew what it would be capable of in anger?
The villagers of Oerba decided that they needed action. They got rid of the head priest, and replaced him with a significantly younger man, who promised swift action for the safety of the village.
Fal'Cie Anima's trails, traditionally held once a year and still several months away, would be fast-tracked and held that week.
"... Vanille?" Fang said softly, finding the other young woman at the orphanage they'd grown up in. "There you are."
Vanille put a finger to her lips. She was in the middle of tucking a young boy in. He was new to the orphanage, as were several others. Given the recent events, Schala had needed help getting the new children adjusted, and so both Fang and Vanille found themselves back at the orphange to assist.
When Vanille was done, they left the bedroom. Vanille let Schala know that she was going for the night and the older woman bid her and Fang goodnight.
They left the orphanage, their home for so many years, and stood in the middle of the street.
Finally, Fang sighed. "Vanille... we need to talk."
Vanille smiled sadly at Fang. "No, we don't. I know what you're going to say." She looked at the ground. "I know what you have to do. And I..." She swallowed. "I won't hold you back. Just... let me go to the temple with you?" Vanille's voice caught. "... to say goodbye?"
Fang gazed sadly down at Vanille - her oldest friend, her only family, her number one, her everything - and idly realized that the little five year old girl she'd first met when she was seven - had grown up into a beautiful, strong woman.
That realization made Fang's heart ache with pride and sorrow. She returned Vanille's sad smile, and nodded.
The next morning, they went to Fal'Cie Anima's temple. They both held secrets in their hearts from each other, but not really. It was more like they each had unspoken truths they knew the other knew, and so did not have to recount.
They passed the test of evil and holiness.
They passed the test of weakness and strength.
They passed the test of greed and honor.
When Fang tried to kill Anima, Vanille wasn't altogether surprised. Just worried.
When Vanille offered to become L'Cie in atonement for Fang's crimes, Fang wasn't altogether surprised. Just sad.
They didn't head back to the village after that. They set out straight away to tear down the sky.
"... what did you tell Donda?" Fang asked, only once.
"... that I loved you more." Vanille replied reluctantly. "That I'd always love you more."
Fang's brow crinkled. "... Vanille," she said softly. "You didn't have to say it to him like that."
"... I didn't want him to wait for me." Vanille explained. "He... he would have otherwise. I didn't want him to."
They were silent for a while, and then Fang sighed, and pulled Vanille into a hug. "Well, you'll always have me." She promised.
Vanille sniffled, and nodded.
Author's Notes and Not-Quite-Omake.
And that wraps up pre-game stuff! There's a couple more during-game chapters still to come, which will explore the complexities between Fang-Lightning-Vanille, but we'll be generally focusing on post-game from now on!
So I know you guys like omake, but for this chapter, rather than omake, I wanted to share a deleted scene that I had written. This was meant to be a separate scene in the middle of the chapter, between Fang's 18th and 20th year. I was pretty happy with it - it was fun and playful, but ultimately, it just didn't feel *right* in this chapter, and I decided to cut it out.
Because it *is* fun and lite, I still want to share it, so here you go!
cheers,
jen-chan
[DELETED SCENE]
When Vanille was seventeen and Fang was nineteen, Vanille lost her virginity. Fang was ready to force a shotgun wedding on her and Donda.
One day, Vanille woke up wondering why Fang was hogging all the blankets; Fang was usually a more considerate bedmate.
As she cracked open her eyes, she was greeted by the unfamiliar sight of short black hairs sticking out of a chin. Vanille frowned and couldn't help but think that Fang could really use a shave.
She reached for the blankets which had been tossed aside and pulled them overtop of herself, snuggled back onto the broad chest she had been lying on. She tried to ignore the irritation of that scratchy chin against her forehead.
Wait a minute, Vanille's brain told her. Since when did Fang have stubble?
With that thought, Vanille's brain finally turned fully on, and her eyes snapped open. "Goddess!" She cursed, bolting upright and smacking the top of her head against the bottom of the bunk above her. She winced, grabbing her head. "Ow!"
Her bedmate snorted awake. "Huh? What?" Donda groaned while looking wildly around. His eyes eventually found Vanille's form and he blinked confusedly. "Vanille?" He voiced croakily. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here, what are *YOU* doing here?" Vanille cried. "This is my bed!"
Sleep quickly left Donda's eyes as the implication of the redhead's terrified words hit home. Wordlessly he looked down at his own body to confirm the suspicion that... yes, indeed, he was naked.
Then, he woodenly looked over at Vanille.
Vanille mimicked Donda's actions and realized she was also similarly unclothed. A wicked blush stretched across her cheeks and she hastily covered herself with the blankets. Her brain idly wondered why she bothered; her memories advised that Donda had already become quite intimately familiar with her body the previous night.
For his part, Donda caught the embarrassed blush on Vanille's cheeks and hastily looked away, even as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
They remained that way, awkward, for a few more moments, each trying to process the memories of the night before. Finally, Donda spoke.
"Um... Vanille...?" He said slowly.
Vanille looked over at him.
"Um... I... uh..." He obviously wasn't sure where to start. "About last night... I... just wanted to say... um... it was..." He sighed, and grabbed Vanille's hands, holding them with gentle firmness. "Dammit, I'm going to sound like an idiot anyway I say it, so here goes. Van, it was bloody fantastic, and I don't regret it. I love you, and I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens next. I'll do whatever you want."
His words, though awkward and inelegant, were still heartfelt, and that was what was important.
Vanille couldn't help but give him a small smile. "I... don't regret it either, Dondy." she admitted shyly, that blush still on her cheeks. "It... was good for me too."
"Was it?" The boy instantly brightened.
Vanille couldn't help but smile. She leaned forward to give him a peck on his lips, but as she did so, Bhakti bobbled into the room on his short mechanical legs. 'Warning!' The robotic pet said, 'Warning! It is 9 o'clock! Warning! It is 9 o'clock!'
"What!" Vanille cried, directly into Donda's puckered lips, startling him. "Donda - it's almost nine! Fang'll be home at any minute!"
Donda's eyes became the size of saucers and he whipped his head around to look at Bhakti. The robot flashed a small holographic clock at him. "!#$#!" He cried, desperately trying to scramble off the bed. "Where are my pants? Where are my pants?" He only succeeded in tangling himself up in the sheets and falling off the small bed with a thud.
"I don't know! I think I threw them somewhere over there last night!" Vanille cried, pointing at Fang's bed.
Until she realized she was pointing at her own bed.
Which meant that... "Donda!" Vanille cried. "We did it on Fang's bed!"
Donda stared up at Vanille from his position on the floor, horror clear on his face. "... I'm ." He deadpanned.
"Yeah. You are."
The naked couple whirled their attention towards the sound of the new voice.
Fang stood at the bedroom door, arms folded across her chest, an expression of supreme pissed-off-ness on her face.
[break]
It was not often that the Oerban morning began with screams of murder and a naked man being defenestrated from a second story window followed by the woman who had tossed him.
Donda managed to cat roll to safety and hastily scrambled to his feet just as Fang stabbed her bladed lance into the ground where his head had been but a moment before.
"You no good son-of-a-whore wanker!" Fang bellowed, swinging her lance for blood. "How could you do this to Vanille? I *trusted* you! I'm going to KILL you!"
"Fang, wait! I can explain!" Donda cried. "We love each other!"
"That's not an explanation! That's a jewelry commercial!" Fang roared back, swinging again, causing the man to duck. "If you don't have a palarex tongue somewhere on your person right now, Donda, I swear to Etro, I am going to cut off the appendage most resembling it to use in its place!"
Donda swallowed. "I don't have one yet, but I will! Fang, I swear to Etro, my intentions towards Vanille are honorable! I'm going to hunt the palarex right now, and then we'll get married!"
"You damn straight'll be marrying her!" Fang swung again. "You think I'll let you just have your way with her and just waltz off like tha-aaagh!"
Suddenly, Fang found a series of thin wires wrapped around her legs. With a cry of dismay, she realized that they weren't just around her limbs, but Donda's as well. Those lines quickly tightened, binding them together, tripping them and causing them to fall down in a tangled heap.
"What the - VANILLE!" Fang roared from her position on top of the naked and groaning Donda. She glared over at the younger girl. "What the *hell* are you doing?"
Vanille was standing by the door of their house, pulling her binding rod back, keeping the lines taut. She hadn't had the time to get fully dressed and had only managed to wrap a simple sheet around herself. "Fang, the whole neighborhood can hear you! What are *you* doing?"
"Whaddaya mean what am I doing?" Fang shot back. "I'm defending your honor! He's gotta take responsibility for his actions!"
"Defending my...!" The younger girl gave the older one a flabbergasted look. "Fang, stop being such a hypocrite! I'm not a child anymore, I can take responsibility for my own actions! Did it ever cross your mind that maybe *I* was the one who took advantage of *him*?"
For a moment, Fang looked shocked. "Vanille, what are you saying? You're way too young to be-" She didn't get to finish.
"Fang, I'm eighteen years old! How many people had *YOU* slept with by then?"
Fang's left eyebrow twitched spastically. "That's SO different! None of them were-" but her explaining was cut off.
"And *you*! Dondy!" Vanille shot the naked man underneath Fang a withering look. "Whatever happened to 'whatever I want'? Who said anything about marriage? I'm not going to marry you!"
Donda looked almost heartbroken. "You're not?" He asked meekly. "But we..."
"Erm, well, maybe I will marry you one day," Vanille amended hastily, seeing the pain she was causing the young man, "but not yet! I'm... I'm not ready for that yet!"
And with that, she dropped her binding rod, allowing the lines to slacken, before storming back into the house, slamming the door.
Fang and Donda stared at where Vanille had been, stunned, before awkwardly staring at each other.
"..."
"..."
Finally, Donda swallowed and managed to stop sweating bullets. "Fang, I'm sorry. I... I should have had better self control."
Fang continued to glare at Donda before giving an angry huff. "Nah," she finally managed to say, irritably. "Vanille was right, I was being a hypocrite. I sure as hell don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to preaching abstinence, and I know how Vanille can get. It's a miracle you lasted this long courting her. I'm sorry I tried to kill you. I know you'll do good by her."
By then, the rage had left Fang's expression, and the two friends managed to smirk awkwardly at each other.
That is, until Fang felt something twitch against her leg. The smirk on Fang's face quickly evaporated into a look of disgust. "Forget it! Oerba Sora Donda, if that's morning wood, I take it all back! You are a dead man!"
END DELETED SCENE