Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII-2 or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
The next chapter hath come! It is, Deiru Tamashi, who brings the long-awaited battle between Lightning and Deiru vs Snow. Hope you all enjoy it, along with the latest replies for those who reviewed!
Devil-l'Cie: Well, ye need not wait any longer.
And Gry18: While I'm not so sure about Caius going down on one knee, I can make the bit with Yeul occur. And Etro will appear in the fight against Caius… along with something else.
And now, let it begin!
Ch.21 To Bring Her Home
The moment we charged at Snow he grunted, glowing red eyes glaring at us. "Come and get me!" he yelled, his voice warped somewhat. I frowned and swung with Masamune, but he blocked it with his "arm". While he did that Lightning came in and tried for several quick slashes with Femme Fatale. But he jumped back and avoided us both, casting a pair of Blizzara spells. Two spikes of ice that size of couches fired at us. I shouted and rolled to the side, while Lightning raised the Buster Blade up high and slashed down with both hands. The split the Blizzara spell in half and both pieces fell to either side of her. Without waiting, she charged and cast Fira and Thunder.
Snow frowned and side-stepped the Fire spell. But couldn't dodge the Thunder one, and it hit him right in the chest. The injury was almost non-existent though, and Snow crouched down. "I can't control my power!" he yelled, and used Chaos Charge. I saw that he was open, and charged with my sword held high. I managed to score a large cut to his right forearm before he stood back up, now bestowed with Bravery and Faith. He charged and kicked me in the chest. The blow was powerful enough to both knock the wind out of me and send me skidding back. Lightning cast Fira three times and charged. Snow turned to her and stood straight, taking the spells and calling "Come and get me!"
I stopped and hesitated, unsure of he was going to use Recast or Riposte. When Lightning tried for another Fira and he dodged, I realized it was Recast. Before he could counter I stopped him and kicked him in the knee. However, Snow merely snarled and shoved me away. "Try this!" he called, and his "arm" became enveloped in energy. Before I could stop him he slammed in into the ground, and a geyser of Chaos erupted from the ground beneath Lightning. She grunted and held her ground, while Snow came at me and tackled me in the front. I fell back as he bowled over me- being a Cie'th had made his already large physical strength ever greater.
Once I was on the ground Snow raised his "arm" to smash me with, but Lightning stopped him with several cuts across his back. He grunted and stopped, turning to cast Blizzara again at her. She countered with Fira, melting the ice into a large puddle of water. Then she waited until he charged at her again and cast Thunder at the water. The current traveled through the puddle and into Snow, causing to freeze and shout in pain as he was zapped. I kept it going with my own Thunder spells. We were able to keep Snow in place and continually shock him for over a minute, though I suspected that his "arm" absorbed most of the current so it didn't damage him as much,
Eventually he grew tired of being stuck in one place and roared, challenging his rage and releasing it in one wave of power. The water around him flash-froe and Lightning I were forced to stop casing to raise our shields. Snow easily broke his feet free of the ice and began using Chaos Charge again. Seeing the move, Lightning came in and activated Overclock, striking with blistering speed. She managed to stagger Snow and inflict Parched, increasing his weakness to fire. I activated Divine Strength and switched to Velvet Bouncer, holding up Endless Paradox. Using my enhanced power I charged and swung down with both hands, slamming my weapon against Snow's "arm".
A crack developed in the crystal and Snow roared, glaring at me with his burning red orbs. With a snarl he shoved me away and used Chas Geyser again, only this time it erupted beneath me. I held up my guard and weathered the hit, while Lightning moved in front of Snow and moved faster than he could dodge. She pelted him with blast after blast of Fira and followed it up by changing to Passion Rogue and inflicting Deprotect and Deshell. Once they stuck she switched by to Midnight Mauve and swung with Death Herald, dealing a deep gash across his left leg. Snow used Brutal Bash and charged at her, but she evaded it. It was then that her Overclock ended, but to prevent Snow from capitalizing I channeled all of my power and gave him a hammer punch to the back of the head.
Snow faltered and glanced at both of us. Then his eyes glowed brighter and he actually roared, his voice becoming even more warped and distorted. "Depths of Despair!" he said. His body became enveloped in Chaos and his dress shirt tore apart. The crystal of his arm grew even larger and more jagged, and spread across his chest and the entire left side of his face (Snow Villiers++ Form). I gritted my teeth at the sight of him becoming even more power. Then he cast Armor of Chaos on himself, bestowing Protect and Veil. Lightning switched to Passion Rogue and began casting Dispel, but the veil itself made the spells less likely to take effect.
Meanwhile, Snow charged at me and used pulled back his regular fist, which was glowing. He swung at me with Fist of Destruction and I ducked under it, instantly switching to Dark Muse and grasping my daggers. Snow swung at kick at me but I moved around it, stabbing into his uplifted leg with my right dagger while swinging with my left. Snow moved away and took my lodged-in dagger with him, making him grimace when he tried to pour weight on it. He reached down and yanked it out with a grunt, the Protect spell having lessened the depth it could have gone. But then Lightning came in while he was holding the dagger, and cast Dispel once more for jabbing with Femme Fatale.
He clumsily deflected it with my dagger but she moved under it, stabbing Snow right between the ribs on his left side. Snow snarled and dropped my dagger, jumping away. Abruptly he began using Chaos Charge, and finished before we could stop him. Then, once Faith and Bravery were equipped, the crystal on his "arm" grew even larger and the red eye began shining brightly. My eyes widened and I yelled "Light! Guard!" She took my advice and did just as he slammed his arm into the ground, yelling "Annihilation!" Several larger-than-average geysers of Chaos erupted from the ground beneath us, dealing enough damage to break apart the ground and also deal damage despite guarding. But Snow kept it going, pouring more and more power into the attack.
I tried to hold on under the onslaught but failed, sent flying and battered by energy. "Deiru!" Lightning called, but was unable to help without being hit even harder as well. After a few seconds Snow finally let up on the attack, and his Bravery and Faith faded away. I landed on my back and cried out from the impact, stars flashing into my vision from my head bouncing off the floor. Snow didn't want to let me get up and cast Blizzaga. A white sphere of power shot at me and I had to roll to the side away. Once it hit the ground it exploded into several frigid spikes of ice, nearly impaling me. Lightning charged at Snow while tossing me a Potion, which I caught and drank gratefully.
Lightning changed to Dark Samurai again and sued Electric Blitz. Snow blocked with his "arm", but she was expected that and stabbed the Buster Blade at the red crystal in the center. Snow saw it and just barely managed to move so her strike would miss, and he jumped back and yelled "Come on!" Lightning swung with an overhead blow and he dodged, saying "Not good enough" and smashing into her with Cross-Counter. There was a crunch a rib was broken, and Snow broke another when he tackled her. I grabbed my fallen dagger and swung at him with an X, making him turn and dodge. But I kept it up and he tried to hit me with Chaos Geyser, but I avoided it and stabbed both of my daggers into his stomach.
Snow roared and shoved me away, yanking them both out and getting ready to use Chaos Charge again. But Lightning saw it coming and changed to Midnight Mauve, lasting him with Fira. He fell back and was inflicted with Parched, then Deprotect and Deshell. I added Curse onto the list of status ailments. Then both of us came closer, moving in a zigzag pattern so he couldn't counter. Then once we were close enough we swung from either side, me with Masamune and her with Death Herald. Snow blocked me but Lightning's hit went through, tearing a large gaping wound into his side with her ax. He roared his loudest yet, and I could see that he was finally wearing down. Once more good hit and we could end this.
I glanced at Lightning and she did the same, both of us having the same thoughts. So I changed to Velvet Bouncer and jumped into the air, using my javelin as a pole vault. As expected, Snow looked up at me and cast Blizzaga, hoping to hit while I was in the air. But then I smirked and swung Endless Paradox like a baseball bat. I hit the Blizzaga spell and actually knocked it off-course before it could go off. Then Lightning held up Death Herald and the Blizzaga spell hit it, actually absorbing into the blade at the same moment that she channeled a Fira spell through it. As a result the unstable spell was changed into a Firaga one, and the axe burst into flames.
Snow's shock registered on his face, and when Lightning moved in front of him he couldn't pull up his guard quickly enough. "It's over!" she yelled, and slammed Death Herald against his chest. The flames blasted in all directions and enveloped Snow in light and heat. He howled in agony as his regular skin was burned and the crystal on his body was scorched black. We both stood there, watching with hope that the attack finally brought him down. The flames died down and the smoke slowly cleared, showing that Snow was still on his feet.
However, that lasted only seconds though, as he dropped to his knees. Both of us let out small exhales of relief, but then we noticed something. The dark mist around the room was beginning to disperse. "The Chaos… it's disappearing," Lightning said. Suddenly there was a spiral of light from behind Snow, and none other than Lumina appeared from within it. "Snow really is something, huh? He swallowed up all that Chaos and left it at bay. He sacrificed himself to keep the city safe," she said. Then she moved in front of Snow and placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn't even notice, panting as trying to gather enough strength to attack again. Only to fail.
"How about you do him a favor? Do as he asked. That thing's not even him anymore," she suggested, gesturing to his Cie'th transformation. "It'd be kinder to put it out of its misery," she added. I glared at her, both Etro and myself feeling the same anger. "Snow is not an 'it'!" we yelled, even if she only heard me. Lumina shook her head. "Come on; Snow's gone. And you know what? The only hope for his soul lies in death," she told us. I glared at her even harder. Goddess, sometimes this girl pushed my buttons even more than Uried. Then she gasped, smiling as she raised a hand to her chin. "So that's it! Oh, that is good. I bet he became a Cie'th right now because he wanted the two of you to kill him!" she realized.
Lightning said nothing and walked past her. Once she in front of Snow, she raised her hand held out… Serah's pendant. "You know nothing about Snow," she said. Then she pulled it back into her hand, curled that hand into a fist… and punched Snow in the face. All she got was a warped grunt, and she punched him again, this time in the chest. "Come back! Snow!" Lightning exclaimed, shaking his shoulders. I came in and gave punch up my own to the top of his head. "Get it together! Don't give in!" I yelled. Lumina watched with amusement instead of sorrow. "Who knows nothing about Snow now? You said you understood his pain, didn't you? Like you know what the past five hundred years were like: every day blaming himself for Serah, trying to fix the world," she said.
I turned around and was ready to punch her too, but then she said something that stopped me. "He's been fighting to protect people while you two snoozed away in a dream world!" I froze at that, my strength fading as I slowly turned to Snow, seeing him still there, as unresponsive as ever. Lightning was in front of him, on her knees as well. I fell down as well, sorrow and guilt filling me. Lumina walked around us, continuing. "I bet he really was relieved that you decided to wake up and get back to the world of the living. I bet he thought he could finally put an end to his misery. He drew on every last bit of strength and threw himself into the darkness. So why don't you free him already? Don't you think that's what Serah would want?" she asked.
Then she vanished in the same spiral of light that she came, leaving just the two of us with Snow. "I want to…" Lightning began, and I looked at her. "I want to save you, to make you free. But… I just don't know how…" she said, weakly punching him again and bowing her head. I shook my head. "Serah would know, wouldn't she? I know it. If she were here, she'd find a way to reach him and bring him back," I said, my won guilt over being unable to prevent Serah's death resurfacing. There a moment of silence, but then I heard Snow let out a mangled growl. We both looked up, when he suddenly stood and swung his "arm" wildly. I moved back and Lightning was sent flying, landing away. I tried to stop him but he did the same to me, my exhaustion from the battle slowing me down.
Not even possessing a thought of stopping, he slowly lumbered towards us. Lightning crawled forward, grabbing Serah's pendant from where it had fallen. I managed to stand and wrap my arms around his waist, stopping him. He still tried to reach out to Lightning, but then copied my actions, only around his torso. "But she's not here! No matter how much I wish she was. And I can't be what she was! Snow, the only thing I can do is what you asked of me," she told him. He struggled and tried to break out of our grip, but I held on tighter. Lightning placed her fist against his chest. "But please, don't let you feelings for Serah disappear into the Chaos. She never stopped believing in you.
"No matter how far away your journey took you, or how long you were apart, she thought she would be with you again. I know she still believes it now!" she implored. Snow roared and lost his strength, falling back to his knees. I glared up at him. "Even in death, she stills dream of being with you again, you dumbass! If you aren't going to be here, then what's she supposed to come home to?!" I shouted. "Snow… I'm begging you. You have to live," Lightning said. Her hand, or at least the pendant it was holding, began shining at that. "We need you, Snow… to bring Serah back," Lightning begged. The light grew brighter and blinded us, taking away sound as well.
It eventually faded, and when I did I could hear Snow chuckle… in a normal voice. Then he reached up and grasped the pendant with his hands… both hands. We both gasped and looked. All the crystal appendages were gone, reverted to normal. Not only that, but his eyes were no longer glowing red. They were the same blue as before. "You know, for a second, I thought the two of you cared," he said tiredly. Then he sighed and fell forward, but I caught him and held him up. "You only want me here to bring Serah back? What, my god looks and charm aren't enough?" he asked jokingly. I snorted. "What charm?" I countered. Lightning added her own bit. "Yeah, right. With that hair?" she replied.
Snow chuckled. "Dammit, Light, Deiru. You always were a pair of hard cases- no wonder you two love each other. I've spent how many centuries watching the world slip away from me… And even when I give everything I got to protect it, I don't get a single thanks. So I finally say enough is enough, and look for a good place to die… And then you ruin that, too," he said. He managed to move so I didn't need to hold him. Now that my hands were free, I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry about that. You had to hold down the fort for a long while," I said, Lightning nodded in agreement. "It's our fault," she added. Snow smirked. "You gonna make it up to me?" he asked. Lightning scoffed and stood, stepping back.
"Don't get too cocky," she said. Snow's expression became one of mock despair, and I patted him on the shoulder before standing. Then Lightning's expression turned serious. "Listen, Snow. The world is ending- and soon. There's no way for any of us to stop it. But don't give up. You've got to believe- believe that when this world is over, a new one will be born from the ashes. That's where we'll find hope again," she explained. I nodded, crossing my arms. "Hope itself isn't going to die with this world. We'll make sure of that. Trust me," I said resolutely. Snow managed to stand. "I just need more time. I need you to-" Lightning started.
But then he interrupted her, saying "I know, I know. You need me to save the day, right? I'm on it, sis. I'm still the Patron of Yusnaan, right? You sure are hard on your friends, you know that? What if either of you killed me? Who'd have trouble facing Serah then?" My eyebrow twitched and I restrained wiping that grin off his face, old annoyance at him coming back. Lightning snorted in amusement. "I knew you could take it. You're too stubborn to die," she said, punching him in the chest. He laughed and looked at me. "And what about you, Deiru? What were you thinking when you hit me?" he asked. In response I kicked him in the knee, making him issuing a cry of pain. "I knew that after all the things we had to do to even get in this palace, I was going to kick your ass. So I did," I said plainly.
At that he laughed, and saw that Lightning was holding out Serah's pendant. He calmed down and held out his hand, letting it pool into his palm. He gripped it tightly. "Take care of Serah. Please, help her find a way back. Stay strong. Someday, you'll be all she has," Lightning told him. With that she turned and began to leave, and I followed. "Well, when you put it like that, guess I got no choice but to do what I can," he said after us. We opened the door and left. To himself though, he said "I don't know what I can really do… Sure, Lightning and Deiru say to bring you back, but would you even want to come me? I'm the guy who couldn't keep a single promise. Do you still want me?"
Then he held the pendant in front of him and smiled. "Not like you can answer me. So do I just wait? No, I'll bring you back, Like a real hero," he declared. With that his body began glowing, and Snow's soul rose out of his body and passed through the door, entering Lightning. Saved at last. Outside we saw a Ghostly Hood, which I picked up and put away. At that moment the clock finally struck 6 A.M. and we were transported back to the Ark.
Snow has been saved! Yay! That brings an end to Day 3, so what will occur next chapter? Where will ours heroes go in their divine quest? Stay on board to find out?
Please review! If you flame me Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)