Guest: If given a proper prompt, then I could give it a try. Though the two worlds are in the same universe, they do take place in different locations and with different lore here and there, especially since the whole Lightning Returns ending messed a lot of things up for continuity, and XV was meant to be an entirely new story.
I mean, Type Zero is also supposed to be in the same universe as well, but besides the concept of l'Cie becoming crystals when they fulfill their Focus and becoming Cie'th when they fail, (as well as 'Mother' being a fal'Cie, apparently, but I had to look that up online to find that out) I saw no other connections, but apparently they are in the same universe. You have to seriously go digging to find the connections, and so it will take bringing characters into one or the other universe if we want a crossover.
Lightning hurried past a gate, her gun drawn and on alert. She crouched defensively, looking forward into the glowing metal leaves of the Gapra Whitewood, before signaling for Hope to come through behind her.
"Can't believe we made it," Hope muttered.
Rei came in last, one of her pistols drawn, before working with a panel on the door as it closed. The door was large and bulky, and it was likely to be able to keep any pursuers from following.
"That'll slow down pursuit," She announced.
"But aren't there troops on this side?" Hope asked. "We can't relax just yet."
"Right," Lightning agreed. "We press on. I'll take point. You watch our backs."
Lightning moved to continue forward, when Hope suddenly said, "Actually…Why don't you let me take point?"
Rei looked at him, though not with extreme skepticism. "Can you handle it?"
Hope ran in front of Lightning, taking the lead. "It's not a question of can or can't."
Lightning smiled. "Now you're learning."
She nodded forward, and Hope smiled and nodded back, turning and heading forward.
"Keep your eyes front. We'll watch the rear."
"Got it," Hope said confidently.
Lightning could only smile at the boy's determination, as he was definitely growing to become more confident in himself.
Headed down the paths of metal, they were surrounded by the biomechanical forest.
"We've got your back," Rei said. "You call the shots now."
"Be wary, but don't be afraid," Lightning added.
They encountered mechanical beasts from PSICOM, but overall, there weren't many that became a problem. There were Frag Leeches, which didn't do any real harm, and the girls Blitzed away most of them while Hope threw his newly learned Fira spells. His Thunder spells were useful against the Thexterons, and he was advancing in his Synergist abilities to protect from elements such as Barfire.
The path was littered with mechanical monsters here and there, but they weren't much of an issue in the long run. Hope was eager to run into the battles, become stronger, and learn from them. He was beginning to take out enemies with his spells on his own, and was adapting intuition as to what spells each enemy was weak to.
"Don't go chasing after enemies," Lightning warned.
Approaching an elevator, it looked to be the only way forward.
"Have you ever been here before?" Hope asked Lightning. "On duty, I mean."
"No, I haven't. This area's covered by the Woodlands Observation Battalion."
"You scared?" Rei asked.
"Not really," He said. "I'm ready to fight if I have to."
Lightning turned towards him and reached into the bag on her upper thigh to pull out a switchblade hunting knife, holding it out to Hope. "To keep you safe," She explained.
Hope took it reluctantly, surprised by the act of kindness.
"I'll want it back," She added quickly, before turning towards the elevator.
"Lightning!" Hope called, stepping forward. "I'm glad I followed you. By myself, I would've had no chance."
Lightning said nothing, turning back towards the elevator and hopping on. "Time to move."
Hope nodded, and he and Rei hopped onto the elevator alongside her, Rei activating the controls. The elevator surged upwards, climbing what looked to be a tree covered in mechanical vines that was apparently the wall that the elevator climbed.
"This one only goes between where we came from and here," Rei reported. "We're gonna have to find another if we want to advance any further."
"Trust us to cover your tail," Lightning said, "and stay focused on moving forward."
They hurried through the paths, Hope moving quickly, and Rei told him, "Keep calm, kid. We don't need to rush."
"You're doing fine, Hope," Lightning assured him. "It's okay to take your time. Keep it up."
The usual suspects of Thexterons and Frag Leeches were the only real things that barred their path, much easier than the swarms of troops from back in the Vile Peaks.
"What is this place, anyway?" Rei asked.
"The military uses this place for bioweapons research. Lots of angry teeth and claws."
"So this is where they make all those mechanical monsters based off of real creatures?"
"Pretty much."
They encountered Vespids, who had a powerful Flurry of Fire attack, which Hope's Barfire helped protect against, as well as an Alpha Behemoth, which the girls make quick work of with Hope's staggering skills as well as his Protect spells that reduced its damage.
Looking into the sky as they walked, Hope suddenly looked on edge. "What is it?" Lightning asked.
"We need to hide!"
He grabbed each of their wrists and pulled them under one of the metal leaves covering the path. Three of those hovering motorcycles, this time with open cabins showing three soldiers piloting them, passed by overhead, missing the three despite the weak cover of the leaf.
"They don't seem like they're even looking for us," Hope noticed. "I mean, we're l'Cie and we're on the loose."
"PSICOM's keeping it all under wraps," Lightning guessed. "They don't want their failure publicized."
"Better to lose us than lose their pride," Rei finished. "Sounds just like them."
"So the other soldiers don't know about us, right?" Hope asked.
"Right. They don't know anything about any fugitives."
They headed onto another elevator, this one taking them downwards, before they continued forward down the only path left to them. They encountered the usual suspects, Leeches, Thexterons, Vespids, and the occasional Alpha Behemoth.
"Concentration's important, but never lose sight of what's happening around you," Lightning advised.
"Never panic," Rei added. "Calm heads make good decisions."
"What's that?" Hope asked.
They came upon what looked to be a large, glowing gate, blocking the path forward.
"That's one bulkhead of a fal'Cie," Lightning said. "Stay on guard."
Rei looked over to the fal'Cie, and then walked over to it. It actually didn't seem hostile to the three of them, and seemed rather willing to let them through when they wished.
"I don't care for such trivialities as war. I do what I can for the people around me, however, I will not attempt to impede you on your desperate flight from the Sanctum. There will be others far more fitted for the task than I in your future."
"Uh, thanks?" Rei responded.
"I think we're good," Rei said aloud to the others. "The door should open when we're ready."
Hope had taken the moment to sit down and rest. "I wonder how the others are doing."
"Sazh, Vanille, and Sai?" Lightning asked. "Who knows? Even if they got away, they'll get caught eventually. Then they'll have to choose: resist or surrender."
"Sai won't be one to get caught," Rei said. "Maybe they'll be hunted for the rest of their lives, but at least they're safer than if they were with us. But who knows? Maybe the fate of a l'Cie will make them surrender, if it means keeping people safe from them?"
"Surrender…" Hope muttered. "Do you think he's still alive?"
"You mean Snow?"
"He's too stubborn to die," Lightning stated. "And that's his best quality. He's arrogant and chummy from the get-go. He thinks he's everybody's pal. Never liked him much. He leads around a bunch of kids - gang called 'NORA.'"
"Where'd they get the name 'Nora'?" Hope asked.
"It's a stupid acronym. Their little code. Stands for 'No Obligations, Rules, or Authority. Must be nice."
Hope stood, fury taking over his voice. "It's irresponsible."
The gate of the fal'Cie shimmered white, and Hope stomped through without hesitating. Lightning and Rei followed, Rei with a worried look on her face. Hope seemed to be getting mad, and anger tends to lead to rash decisions.
What about Snow had made him so angry? Sure, Snow was annoying as it was, but Hope seemed genuinely enraged at him for more than just annoyance.
On the other side of the fal'Cie gate, another elevator took them down to the bottom floor.
"There are a lot of feral creatures here, too," Lightning said. "They're a little different from the military breeds."
"So this is an army facility for turning wildlife into weapons," Rei summarized. "They aren't just making their monsters here, they're also studying real ones to make them docile enough to work with, yet feral enough to fight with."
"Civilians aren't allowed in here, are they?" Hope asked.
"We'll have to be sure and tell them if we see any," Lightning said.
"The fences are for containing the animals," Rei guessed. "If we take care of our pen-mates, they should power down."
The monsters in the first pen were a large pack of Silver Lobos. The wolves slashed with their claws like Pantherons and Thexterons, however they hit a lot harder, as well as used a Virulent Breath attack, letting out a wave of poison gas that inflicted, you guessed it, poison.
Rei was able to cast Esuna to cure it, but when one of them was poisoned, the wolves all converged on that person and used Envenonmate, doing serious damage that added up when they all targeted someone together.
They managed to handle the wolves, but there were a lot of them in the pens, probably making up the majority of everything down there. There were also Crawlers, feral slugs as opposed to the Frag Leeches form before, who were the mechanical versions of them.
"Wild animals can be even more violent and unpredictable than the trained-to-kill variety," Lightning said. "Be careful."
"They are more unpredictable, but that doesn't mean they don't have patterns," Rei said. "These guys have been held up in pens for all or most of their lives. They're far worse than regular wild animals. Wild animals do what they do to survive. These guys do what they do for entertainment, since they've got nothing better to do down here, and they're kept alive purposefully."
The Crawlers and the Silver Lobos took up all of the pens in that area, until they reached a gate that was open, but suddenly activated and closed them in. "Caged in like the animals," Lightning muttered.
A Feral Behemoth came jumping down, revealed to be the source of the pen's closing. Hope got to work on casting Protect as the monster ran up for its swiping attacks. Hope healed up any damage taken before he could get the spells in place, before they began to throw spells at the beast.
When the Behemoth stomped up to Lightning and then used Heave, she was sent flying up into the air, Hope's Protect spell the only thing that kept her conscious from the force of the blow as well as her blow with the ground when she came back down.
Hope and Rei quickly got to work at healing her, and in no time, she was back to full health, rolling to her feet and ready for action once more. Rei and Lightning used Sparkstrike and Aquastrike to do elemental damage with strength behind it, while Hope cast Thunder and Water spells. When the Behemoth was staggered, Lightning launched it up into the air and they went to town with their attacks, staggering the attack rates so that they kept it launched up and helpless as they struck it down.
"We've tripped the security alarm," Lightning said. "The Observation Battalion will be coming."
"Let 'em come," Hope said confidently, marching forward.
Rei gave a worried look to hope. He was becoming rash, as well as slightly overconfident in his abilities. Lightning and Rei had been trying to encourage him, but it seemed that Hope had taken it a bit too far, or possibly in the wrong way.
"You can handle a climb like this," Lightning said, jumping up the leaves and branches of one of the trees.
The leaves acted like a staircase, and the branches were plenty stable enough to climb as long as one kept their balance. There was a large group of Crawlers waiting for them at the top, and after the climb, Hope instantly had to start throwing Fira spells to hit them all, while Rei and Lightning Blitzed all of them down.
Hope ended up tired, panting and leaning forward on his knees once more.
"Take five," Lightning said, and Hope happily sat down for a break.
While he sat, Hope kept on playing with the switchblade Lightning had given him, sighing and flicking the blade open and closed. He tapped the but of the hilt on the ground, as if angry at it, but took weak to really lash out.
"What's eating you?" Lightning asked. "Okay, I can tell you're hung up on something. Is it the l'Cie thing?" Lightning turned towards him. "It's Snow, isn't it?"
At that, Hope froze before looking down.
"What happened with him?" Rei asked.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
Lightning walked over and kneeled down in front of him. "We are partners, Hope."
He looked up to her, before sighing and looking down at the floor once more. "My mother was killed," He admitted. "Because of him." Hope sheathed the blade and tapped the weapon down against the floor again. "It's his fault." He unsheathed the blade once more, staring at the sharp steel. "And he needs to pay for it. I'm not ready yet, but I will be. Soon."
He slipped the sharp edge back into the hilt once more and then stood up, putting the weapon in his pocket. "That's why I followed you. Snow dragged us all into this. You and me, your sister Serah, Sai and Rei…He's gotta pay."
With that, Hope marched forward once more, his determination only growing with the explanation for his anger. In reality, Hope had reason to be angry. He'd lost everything, and had no way forward in life. If taking revenge gave him the strength to keep going, then it was all he could do.
Really, Snow was as much of a victim as anyone else. His fiancée was turned into a l'Cie by accident, and Serah really could be the one accused of dragging both Snow and Sai into this, their drive to help her being what brought them to the Purge, to the Vestige, and consequentially Lightning and Rei as well.
If Sai had never helped Serah, if he had never been taken into the Vestige with Serah, then Rei might still be okay, living in secret in Bodhum, Sai's status as a high-ranking officer allowing him to keep his home, as well as hide her.
But maybe Anima could be the one to blame, for branding Serah, for causing the Purge. But even she was just a victim of circumstance, brought to Cocoon against her will after the war. That could put the blame on the one that brought her Vestige here in the first place.
They headed down another branch and into the pens once more. There were the usual suspects of Silver Lobos, and they finally found another branch to climb back onto the path a floor above to.
Coming to one of the leaves blocking the path, Lightning studied it for a moment before drawing her gunblade and slicing it with ease. The leaves didn't seem to be very durable, and it shattered easier than glass, as well as a lot more silent.
"Could I…use one of those?" Hope asked.
"Bit too heavy for you," She said, sheathing it.
Hope sighed and drew her knife once more, gripping it tightly, as though it was the only weapon he had left, his only lifeline. "Okay."
Day 12
The Seaside City of Bodhum
One day had passed. Two more until they would be safe.
Sai had Rei staying at his house for safety's sake, just in case PSICOM came looking.
Rei was a person who liked being outside, and so the confinement to a building for more than a few hours was a foreign concept to her. She wasn't so primitive as to not know what houses were, but back home, she was able to go out whenever she wanted.
Three days.
It wasn't forever. She could still stare out the window to the sky, sunrise to sunset and sunrise again. It wasn't exactly like being outside, but it was enough.
Then, out of the Farron residence, Serah, the l'Cie, went running out, crying.
"Hey, Sai, isn't that…?"
He came over to the window and saw her fleeing to the beach.
"Serah? Oh, that's right. It's her sister's birthday today."
"Farron? Lightning?"
He nodded. "Maybe she found out her sister was a l'Cie."
"That's gotta be rough. Her sister's job is to hunt her down, to kill her."
"I wonder if Farron even believed her in the first place. I saw them out shopping, getting her a present, earlier this week. A knife, I think. How practical. Serah really cares for her sister, and I doubt she'd be good at or even want to keep such a big secret from her. Of course, convincing her of it won't be an easy task, and even if she does manage to convince her, well…"
"Why would Farron not believe her sister of something so serious?"
"Pulse l'Cie are rare around here, fal'Cie are rare. There hasn't been a recorded instance of something Pulse-related being found since the war. She might as well be telling her sister that she met a real-life angel - or demon. There are some who believe they exist, but no easy evidence of them, so a lot of people don't believe when someone just pops out and says they saw one. It's just too far-fetched to be believed."
"What if she shows her a brand?"
"She'll just think it's a tattoo, something easily fabricated."
Rei sighed, turning to the window once more. "I'm worried about her. She should be taking cover if she's a Pulse l'Cie."
"Want me to go and check on her?"
"Better you find her than any other soldier."
"All right. I'll be back."
"Serah…" Lightning muttered. "I should have listened to you."
Continuing through the Whitewood, they battled through the monsters and continued down the path.
"I think I'm getting the hang of fighting, thanks to you," Hope said.
Both Rei and Lightning shared a glance of worry. Sure, it was good that Hope was learning to fight, better for his survival chances, but at the same time, if he was doing this for revenge…even Snow doesn't warrant such anger and rage.
They encountered some Barbed Specters, the monsters that the Vespids were based off of, with more Crawlers and Lobos. They did encounter a couple Feral Behemoths as well, to which Lightning responded by charging in.
"You picked the wrong fight," She declared.
So then they staggered him, launched him into the air, and made sure he had no time to recover before he was dead. They continued up and down the lowest level of platforms down to the pens until they finally found an elevator that took them up again.
After fighting a large pack of Lobos, they found a platoon of fallen soldiers. "What happened here?" Hope asked.
"Bad luck," Rei guessed. "They came looking for us, and found something worse."
"We can't just leave them like this!"
"Don't touch anything!" He moved to reach for one, but Lightning shoved him back hard enough to knock him off his feet. "Control your emotions. If you want to survive, you forget about sympathy."
Hope looked down, ashamed.
Lightning turned and paced. "How can I explain?"
After a moment of thought, it hit her, and she turned to kneel down in front of Hope. "Think of it like a strategy. Focus on your ultimate goal, and shut out everything else. Still your mind. Move on instinct." She stood and turned. "Let doubt take over, and despair will cripple you."
Hope stood, looking thoughtful. "Strategy. Good. I'll take anything to help me get through this."
Lightning nodded, and Hope stepped forward, looking to the floor. "I'll call it, 'Operation Nora.'"
"NORA?" Rei asked.
"My mother's name."
She processed what that meant and took a step forward quickly. "Your revenge?"
He nodded. "Yes. Don't tell me. I know getting revenge on him won't…bring her back." He reeled on them. "I know that! But…" He took a shaky breath. "But 'sorry' won't cut it."
There was a hint of desperation taking over Hope's face. He needed something to vent his anger on. He lost his mother, lost his future, lost his home, and had nothing. Who could he rage at? Anima was gone, the Sanctum was too vague an answer. Snow was a simple target in front of him, one he knew, one he hated, and one that he could set his sights on killing.
Lightning looked down with a sigh. She saw Hope's determination, saw that his drive was wrong. She never meant to spur the boy into reckless rage, she only wanted to help him survive in such a harsh world, a harsh situation, that they were stuck living in. Lightning may have hated Snow, but did that really mean she was okay with Hope trying, and possibly succeeding in, killing him?
"Snow didn't kill your mother," She said. "The Sanctum did."
"Whose side are you on?!" He demanded.
"The side of truth," Rei stated. "Hope…just…it wasn't Snow who killed her. The Sanctum's responsible for all of this. The Purge, the world's hatred of us and this man-hunt. Don't think killing one man will solve anything. There are more people guilty for things than just Snow."
Hope turned away, pulling out the knife again. "Fine. I'll fight the Sanctum with you. I'll learn to survive."
How can you judge someone else, when you know that you're the same? Even I have dark secrets. Secrets I'd rather forget.
Somehow, things had gone so wrong. Hope had started out as a boy with no confidence in himself, and he wasn't going to survive like that. In trying to motivate him to get stronger, they had inadvertently gone too far, fanning the flames of his despair into anger instead, and now, there was no way to put out the fire that was raging within the boy, threatening to consume him.
They faced some Corps Watchmen and Corps Marksmen as they continued through the Whitewood, who were using Enfire to enhance their attacking power. The troops seemed to be more frequent here, as there were also Milvus Velocycles, which were always fun.
They came upon a large elevator, one that looked to have been made for transporting large vehicals up and down, and it seemed to lead to the exit to the Whitewood as well, as the colors of the forest were beginning to become green rather than blue.
When the elevator reached the top floor, a giant mechanical monster with giant petals of a flower on top of it's body jumped down in front of them. It squeaked with a sound similar to the combination of a monkey and a bird.
Hope drew his boomerang. "This is it. Operation Nora!"
With that thought, Hope charged in with a cry of battle to face the Aster Protoflorian.
Boom! *Mic drop* The entire Gapra Whitewood summarized in a single chapter! (I mean, minus the boss fight, but close enough!) I feel so proud of myself.
