A/N: Hi everybody, how are you doing? Well, Christmas is getting closer and closer and to be honest, I'm slightly excited! For gifts that is! To celebrate the gift of giving, here's chapter 21! In this one, some scenes are actually different from the actual game… it's scenes I wished happened, lol. Well, more like spoken dialogue. I really don't update these days since the more I update, the closer the story will get to the ending :/ But I guess all good things must come to an end… *wails* The story is getting more and more messed up XD;; Sorry for that! My dreams, thoughts, brain and fingers won't shut up so I gotta give in -3-"
Before I forget, I'd like to extend a warm thank you to CrystariumRose for leaving a comment on Dohnovan! Thanks hun!
Also, I'd like to wish you guys a warm Christmas; this is my gift to you all ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: A dark fantasy that will never taste the light within a darkened realm, harbored by black hearted beasts. May she be the one to rise above it for freedom all with a blood stained sacrifice.
Chapter 21: Listen to Deaths' Bells –Part 2–
Serah skidded across broken and bruised ground after blocking two waves of crimson blasts. Panting, Serah held tightly onto her invisible blade protecting herself from the next steps of assault. Caius was relentless in attacking Serah. Surrounding them was unforgivable space where time never existed; they were in the Void Beyond—the shadow of Valhalla; a broken world amidst space. Slamming forcefully into a pillar, Serah felt the bones in her arm rattle from the fall. Exhaling, Serah picked herself up to face Caius. She had come too far to show weakness, no, not now.
The Time Guardian was unfazed by Serah's determination to continue the battle even if he could easily end her life permanently. Yet, regardless of her wounds tearing open her skin, the young girl forced herself to stand. Snapping her head, their eyes locked. Serah possessed the same eyes Lightning had; those beautiful eyes burning with deep resolve.
Lowering Ragnarok, Caius spoke coldly. "You have your sister's eyes, Serah. Eyes of a warrior. Eyes which see nothing but death."
Serah silenced, taking a step forward and fell onto her knees. Her arm quickly wrapped around her mid-section believing some of her ribs had snapped.
Breathing deeply Serah mustered the strength to speak, "My sister—Lightning sees hope," Serah cringed feeling the pain throb from her ribs. The pain was not going to stop her from defending her sister. "Lightning will not allow everybody to die in vain."
"Even if she will be the one suffering for her actions?" Caius spoke quietly, appearing behind Serah. "Your sister suffers every minute you change history. Do you not care for Lightning, Serah?"
"I care for my sister more than you can imagine, Caius. Lightning entrusted me to change the future," Serah gripped onto her sides and continued to speak. "A future Lightning believed in. A future where she too, fought for. Sacrifices will be made but if it is a future where everybody lives in peace then it is a future worth fighting for."
"How noble of you to utter those words of promise." Caius paused and smirked behind Serah. "I gaze into the eyes of your sister every night. I listen to her tell me the exact same words you are speaking to me as of now."
Alarmed, Serah mustered the strength and spun around, swiping the blade across thin air.
"Lightning is most beautiful when she screams; battling me with her words even if her body had surrendered."
Serah's eyes widened, scanning the perimeter for him. "What did you do to my sister?!"
"Keeping her alive," Caius answered simply. "Lightning has much to live for in a world where Chaos shall reign. Chaos will become the blood that flows deep within her. Your sister will live in a future where darkness reigns and the humans she sought to protect will stand against her."
"I don't believe you!"
Freezing time, Caius lowered and whispered beside Serah's ear, "I have spoken too much but remember this, young Serah: Lightning is more precious than you can possibly imagine. She belongs to me as my wife. Therefore: I will protect her with my life."
Lightning twisted and turned in bed, groaning with sweat beads forming across her forehead. Her nails had already dug into the thin fabric around her expressing the pain from within and the haunting voices echoing within her mind. She… She could hear Serah and her friends screaming to her—no, telling her something. Their words were garbled, lost within a sea of translation. Yet, through the voices, Lightning heard one stand out in particular: Yeul.
"I did not poison Ellinoir," Yeul spoke gently. "I meant no harm to her or her unborn child. You must believe me, Lightning."
She groaned, digging her nails deeper into the blanket. Lightning's left arm cradled around her mid-section feeling her abdomen turn as cold as ice before her skin received heat from invisible flames. Grinding her teeth, her eyes remained shut listening to the voices and battling the pain from within.
"Mom…?"
Lightning snapped her eyes open, quickly sitting upright. Breathing deeply, Lightning choked for a moment pressing her hand over her rapidly beating heart. Inhaling as deeply as she could, she filled her lungs with fresh air before expelling invisible wind through her lips. Bending her knees, Lightning leaned over to press her forehead against her knees. Mumbling under her breath, she wanted the voices in her head to stop, continued from the dream she just had. Lightning could barely remember what the dream was about but she remembered watching her friends lost in a sea of swirling Chaos. Out of the Chaos, Lightning remembered clearly spotting Yeul sitting on a platform in the Narthex; a room cloaked in white. The teen girl looked directly into Lightning's eyes, speaking to her she did not cause any harm to Ellinoir. And then there was the voice of a young child.
Wrapping her arms around her knees, she embraced herself. Lightning had to admit, she was slightly shaken from the dream. There was absolutely no explanation for these dreams. Were they foretelling of the future? Nonsense. Now her eyes were open reminding her of reality. Taking another deep breath, Lightning uncurled and gently lifted her head. Scanning the room, she was in her room still dark but light slid through the openings between the curtains signaling it was morning. Turning her head to the alarm clock, it was just two minutes past seven. Without hesitation, Lightning got off her mattress to do her usual routine before training.
Grabbing the towel, Lightning glanced over to the body mirror briefly before moving on. Pausing mid-step, Lightning took two steps back to stand in front of the mirror. Rubbing her eyes, she was sure she saw something that should not be here. Dropping the towel, Lightning took a bold step forward to the mirror and glanced down at her abdomen.
Running her fingers over her skin Lightning could barely utter words. "…What?"
Something was definitely not right. Turning sideways, Lightning's eyes widened at the discovery.
Wide awake, Lightning voiced, "THE HELL IS THIS?!"
To her horrifying discovery, Lightning noted the extended bump on her lower abdomen. Her belly was not enlarged but there was a definite baby bump. Luckily the bump was small enough to be concealed by loose clothing.
Shaking her head, Lightning's entire frame shook violently at the abrupt discovery. Trying to hold herself together, Lightning spoke, "This… This wasn't here yesterday! I… I found out I was pregnant yesterday! How—Unless…"
Valhalla. That was the only conclusion and explanation. Lightning hypothesized, in a world where time did not flow; perhaps it affected her physical body as well? Was that the reason why in Valhalla her body remained unchanged? Lowering her head, she thought of what-ifs. Lightning could only assume in the first couple of nights she spent with Caius, she conceived without realizing it. Her body remained unchanged until she escaped from the Unseen Realm to here, to Academia where time flowed normally. Fixing her eyes on her belly, maybe time especially sped up for her, speeding up the development of the child. By the size of her belly, Lightning estimated she was around twelve to thirteen weeks pregnant. Her hypothesis would explain the constant morning to mid-afternoon nausea. Lightning knew expecting mothers would eat lots of nutritious delicacies but Lightning barely ate; it was strange to not be eating in the first place. The thought of food barely crossed her mind until she forced herself to eat. However, only on random occasions does Lightning gorge when nobody was around to avert questions and rising suspicions.
Dropping her arms down to the side, Lightning exhaled then inhaled, accessing the situation. She could either check at the doctor's office for an official report or deal this by herself. The latter seemed more appropriate; not a lot of people knew about Lightning's existence here rather than Hope, Sazh and Noel. Rubbing her hands over her stomach delicately, Lightning's eyes were unable to move from the bump.
"How am I supposed to know what to do when my mom died before I became a woman?" Lightning whispered. Thinking back, she remembered Caius's words well, speaking to her that he murdered her father and mother in cold blood.
Before the next sentence rolled out of her mouth, Lightning quickly covered her lips and darted into the bathroom. Unable to battle the nausea, she caved into morning sickness. Tying her hair behind her neck, Lightning let loose. Gasping for air, Lightning turned on the tap hoping the soothing sounds of water could calm her. Breathing, her stomach burned for the time being as Lightning gasped for air.
"Ugh," she groaned. "How do women deal with this?"
Pushing off the sink, Lightning saw the subtle changes within her. She gained a little bit of weight on her limbs and face but other than that, she appeared exactly the same. Touching her face, her features were unchanged, especially the burning determination in her eyes. Even if all of this was going on, Lightning still remained strong. That alone gave her hope to fight for a better tomorrow when the time comes.
When the clock struck noon, bells echoed across Academia signaling the change in time. Lightning drank her third energy drink within the training room. Pleased with the results, she momentarily rewarded herself with a breather. Leaning by the wall, she managed to manipulate Chaos into a shield. Pleased with herself, she allowed a faint smile before focusing on the bigger picture.
"I can sense him," Lightning spoke aloud. "He's waiting for me."
If Lightning closed her eyes long enough, she heard Caius calling out to her. It was a strange connection they shared; since she has been showing signs of conception, the more she thought (or dreamt) of Caius. Crossing her arms, Lightning remembered another dream she had regarding him.
Lightning saw herself standing by the shores of Valhalla where light barely slipped through the cracks in the clouds. Standing by the shores was Caius, silently staring into space. Every step Lightning took, the sands crushed beneath her feet. Just a couple of steps away from him, he would turn around to face her. Their eyes met briefly as he weakly smiled to her. Reaching out, he stroked her cheek and dissolved right before her eyes.
Even if it was a dream, Lightning was slightly troubled by it. The thought of losing him—her husband and enemy felt foreign. Conflicted, Lightning opened her eyes to face the darkness. Snapping her arm to the right, the silver blade manifested within her grasp. Threads of dark lightning weaved through its silver mass, cracking within the stagnant air of the training facility. Taking a bold step forward, threads shot out from the ground wrapping itself around the mannequins. Chaos pulsed through her veins tempting her to crush the mannequins upon command. Flicking her left wrist, Lightning commanded the threads to form something out of a nightmare; right before her azure eyes materialized a Cie'th in the form of a one-eyed drake. Pound for pound, the drake towered over the Queen, ignorant of the fact she had summoned him.
Slamming its curved claws onto the ground, the beasts' jaws snapped, tasting the air and the Queen. Controlling the power surge from within, Lightning boldly stepped forward dismissing the remaining Chaos around her. Facing the drake head on, she was unafraid to take risks. Lifting up her sword, the shine reflected off her eyes, challenging the reptilian menace.
"Watch me, Caius. I'll show you how strong I really am!"
Dashing forward, Lightning fluidly dodged the drake's fireball attacks seamlessly, skidding over to the right and ducked. Without grinning, Lightning lunged forward delivering a deep cut into the reptile's hind leg. Listening to it roar, it whipped its spike club-like tail at Lightning. Dodging another attack, Lightning flipped backwards and landed gracefully several feet away then discharged another attack. Reading the drake's movements was easy as the beast staggered from her assaults. Yet, Lightning did not comprehend the fact this was no ordinary drake. The lizard abruptly stopped and blinked its crimson eye. Discharging an ear-piercing roar, Lightning quickly covered her ears yet her eyes were on the drake. Right before her eyes the drake evolved; wings sprouted out of its back laced with Chaos threads. The situation turned dire watching the drake's cranium split in half, morphing into a two-headed monstrosity with a ten-foot tongue whipping from its guts.
Taking a step back, Lightning was appalled by the sight. Unnerved by the beast, Lightning took an attack stance, guarding herself, mainly her abdomen. The opponents circled each other and Lightning knew, she created a beast from Chaos. It was brutally mutated into something out of fiction. Quickly dodging to the side, she heard the drake's tongue whip against the wall before slamming into the ground in front of her. Leaping back, Lightning made an attempt to sever the tongue but to no avail. The tongue recoiled back into its body as the beast leapt toward Lightning. Stabbing the sword into the ground, Lightning commanded Chaos vines to jut out of the ground, apprehending the beast. According to plan, the beast was wrapped in black threads, thrashing madly.
"That was too easy," Lightning spoke wary.
Taking a couple of steps toward the beast, Lightning was ready to end it. Poising the sword toward the beasts' gaping schism, she was about to discharge a blast of lightning, strong enough to fry the beast from the inside out. Hearing the beast roar, streaks of black danced across the silver surface; the Queen's eyes lit up preparing to strike.
"The child will die."
"What?"
It took only a split second for Lightning to lose concentration. The drake's tongue whipped Lightning directly on her stomach sending the warrior flying across the room, planting into the adjacent wall. Landing hard on her abdomen, Lightning groaned slipping a hand beneath her frame to cradle her stomach. Straightening out her scrambled senses, Lightning pushed herself onto her knees fixing her eyes on the thrashing beast. Threads snapped freeing the beast now divided down the middle, forming another grotesque drake. Now standing on her legs, Lightning grunted now facing two hideous drakes. With her left arm shielding her abdomen, Lightning was in a world of trouble. Merely glancing down, she noticed the tip of the drake's tongue dissolved her clothing and left a nasty gash on her skin.
"The child is not meant to live."
Lightning recognized the voice: Yeul. Snapping her head directly to the left then right, she sought out for the Seeress. How? Yeul was not supposed to exist in this time period. Grinding her teeth, Lightning shook her head to deal with the two problems in front of her. The two drakes marched forward, snapping their poison dripped fangs at Lightning.
"Stop torturing yourself, Lightning. Your child will die. It does not deserve to walk amongst the living. It does not deserve to be with him."
"SHUT UP!" Lightning hollered. "Show yourself, Yeul!"
The sound of a child's giggles echoed across the training room. Yeul's haunting words sunk deeply into Lightning's thoughts, taunting her. Lightning was unaware she had already made an attachment toward the unborn child. The bond between mother and child had already begun to solidify even if Lightning had denied its existence she initially conceived. After all, half the child shared her blood as well as Caius's.
Suddenly whipped from her spot, Lightning skidded across the ground hearing the thundering gallops from the drake. In the last minute, Lightning rolled away from the assault and transformed her sword into a gun. Blasting our silver bullets into the beasts' scaled chassis, Lightning listened to the beast wail in agony. Droplets of crimson barely stained the floor. Snapping its head at Lightning, the warrior knew what was about to happen next: it was pissed.
Narrowing her eyes, she aimed her blade directly into the beasts' eyes, releasing several lucky shots. Bullet after bullet landed dead center in one of the heads while a couple more scattered across the second head. Roaring out of pure agony, the beast thrashed wildly, tearing the training platform with its talons. Scrambling to get traction, the beast lunged forward at Lightning who continued to shoot silver bullets from the gun. Running and shooting, Lightning cradled her abdomen while dodging the attack from the second drake. Taking no chances, Lightning rushed toward the exit planning to trap the two drakes within the facility. Jumping forward, Lightning rolled and shot the control panel; the red button was pushed locking the door tightly. The sound of talons scraping metal echoed before her followed by the sound of its roars.
Swallowing hard, Lightning gently got onto her two feet cursing herself.
"Damn powers," Lightning muttered.
"Freeze!"
The warrior froze. Not because of the shouted word but because she was unaware of the presence behind her. Dropping her sword, Lightning slowly parted her fingers and slowly lifted up her arms, cautiously turning around. Eying over thirty military men in full regalia, Lightning was faced with Academia's elite squadron. At the center of the army men were Hope and Alyssa. The girl had a pistol aimed at Lightning and Hope was weaponless.
"What is this about, Hope?" Lightning spoke calmly.
Hope was unable to voice his concern, Alyssa did it for him.
"You're the cause of the paradox," Alyssa voiced. "You're the one who summoned those monsters."
"Excuse me?" Lightning questioned in return. "I'm not the source of those monsters."
"You are," Hope finally voiced. "You are…"
Lightning was speechless. Was… Was she the one responsible for the Cie'th invasion? How could it be? At the time she was unable to summon anything more or less was aware of her powers. Biting her lower lip, Lightning knew she was the paradox.
"Light…" Hope said. "We would like you to come with us for a briefing. I swear that we won't harm you or your unborn child."
Widening her eyes, Lightning took a step back. Shaking her head madly, she would not allow anybody—even Hope to question her about the child.
"No," Lightning stated firmly. "None of you are getting close to me."
"Light please… we're trying to help."
"You can't help," Lightning stared into Hope's eyes. "You just can't."
"Light—no, Claire… those Cie'th you summoned awhile ago appeared to your command. They came because they were responding to their 'Queen'. Those Cie'th were made out of Chaos. Chaos which you came to possess."
"…"
"Initially our recordings were ruined due to a disturbance—paradox in which there was a twist in time—then caused our recordings to be set ablaze. That was caused by you, wasn't it, Light?"
"Strange things began to happen when you appeared," Alyssa spoke softly. "I noticed the disturbance in time and the environments. In this era, Academia 4XX AF, this is an era dictated by peace. You… You were never meant to exist in this time period."
"You're right…" Lightning gently lowered her arms and dropped them to the side. I'm not supposed to be here."
"Then why are you here, Light?" Hope questioned gently, treading on glass. "You escaped Valhalla, didn't you?"
"I did. I came here to be stronger—to defeat Caius once and for all. I came here to seek refuge and not create problems for anybody. But I guess I did…"
Slowly lifting up her arm, black lightning cracked in the palm of her hand. The army raised their weapons at Lightning, ready to pull the trigger. Black flames danced at the tips of her fingers; it too awaited the Queen's command. The surge of power flowed within Lightning urging her to use her powers; to show the humans she was more than a human, a knight or a god.
Looking up at Hope, Lightning's eyes were filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry Hope but I can't let you interfere."
Snapping her fingers, vines jutted out from the ground wrapping around the army. Yanking their weapons from their grasp, the threads crushed solid steel before tossing it to the side. The same vines bound the men and women who were given the task to shoot. Alyssa was bound herself yet, Hope was unaffected. Lightning was unable to do it; she was unable to use Chaos on Hope. Shaking her head, Lightning took a bold step forward towards Hope.
Just before passing him, their shoulders touched. "When you awaken, you won't remember a thing,"
"Light—"
Hope's stomach was met with a forceful fist. The young man gasped, collapsing onto the ground as Lightning walked past him. Hope grunted and flipped over holding his stomach tightly. Reaching out, he tried to grab Lightning's leg while the warrior walked away.
"Lightning…"
Hope was met with Lightning's red eyes flashing brightly before him and a face he would never forget. Right before his eyes, he watched her lips move, summoning something out of the ordinary. The sound of clocks spun around of control prompting the room to be frozen within a Time Sphere. Tearing her gaze away from Hope, Lightning continued to walk allowing her powers to cause another paradox, twisting the very fabric of their thoughts and beliefs. When they awaken, they would forget Lightning's extraordinary powers and possessions. They would only remember Lightning a couple of minutes before this untimely event… They would simply remember Lightning as Lightning and not as Caius's wife.