Heya Guys!

Wow, what a reception on the last chapter! I'm glad you all liked it, and I'm happy I finally got round to the romance part : ) It was a nice little chapter to write!

I still cant type with both hands but I'm on the mend fairly well, and I thank you all for your kind words. : ), Its going to take some time before I'll be back up and running but that's horses for you I suppose, and I've already been back to see the one that did it to tell him I don't blame him : ).

Anyway, I'm talking too much, so I bring you the next chapter : )

Enjoy!

XX

She couldn't speak, her throat was too dry, even if she could find the words she wouldn't know how to voice them. Keeping her eyes closed for a split second longer she enjoyed the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her veins.

She could hear her heartbeat, pounding noisily in her ribcage, emotions were swirling about in her head. It was a sensation she had never before experienced.

She couldn't explain exactly how it felt, it just felt… right.

Opening her eyes slowly she prayed it wasn't all a dream, scared that something so unexpected was too good to be true. Yet when she focused she could still see the pink haired soldier smiling down at her.

Never before had she seen Lightning in such a way.

Her hair was dripping wet, water running down her face highlighting her flawless complexion and her baby blue eyes. Her demeanour was beautiful, strong yet soft. In every way what you would expect yet with a sureness that gave the feeling of protection. She was a picture of perfection in every way.

"Vanille?" even her voice was appealing, feminine yet strong, ringing with compassion. She was a changed woman, and Vanille wasn't sure how to respond.

Lightning felt her heart skip, was silence good or bad? She suddenly felt foolish, what if it was the wrong thing to do? If the young girl didn't feel the same? For the first time she had worn her emotions on her sleeve, and for the first time she was scared of the answer.

"I'm sorry…" she said quickly, maybe it wasn't what Vanille wanted, maybe she had crossed the line, in one insane move, destroyed everything that she had worked so hard for with the young l'Cie.

Vanille's eyes opened wide at Lightning's apology. She still couldn't quite believe what had just happened. She knew the feelings were there, she just hadn't known how to voice them, or even if Lightning felt the same way. Now she could be confident in saying she did feel the same.

"Don't" she replied, her voice quiet, her vocal cords didn't seem to want to comply completely. "Don't apologise…" she looked back up and couldn't help but allow a smile to grace her features. She had forgotten for the moment what lay ahead, none of it mattered. The here and now was perfect, she didn't want anything to change.

"I…" Lightning started, she felt the need to explain, yet was cut short by a swift shake of the head from Vanille.

"No need…" Vanille looked towards the water with regret. No matter what happened, nothing could dull the moment, she had no plans to fail, she would save them both, no matter what it took.

"Just… come back in one piece… okay?" Lightning whispered, concern oozing from her.

"I will…"

Lightning believed her. Before she could react Vanille had thrown herself forward, back into her arms, clinging round her middle for dear life. She returned the hug, regardless of the pain running through her stomach, it was nothing compared to what she would be feeling when Vanille left. She needed the contact one last time. It had taken her a while to figure out what she wanted, now she could see that it had been in front of her the whole time.

She didn't get the chance to ponder however, Vanille pulled from her arms and with just a quick look back stepped towards the waters edge.

Vanille's feelings quickly changed to a darker note. This would take some courage, there was a lot at stake, and no room for errors. She grinned at her personal pep talk, imagining that Lightning felt like this on a day to day basis.

She looked down at the water, it was blurry yet clear. She could only see so far down, the rest was darkness, with just a hint of sunlight highlighting where she had to dive towards.

Looking back she gave one last reassuring smile and then leapt forward, jumping head first into the water and swimming downwards.

The world had suddenly become more claustrophobic, something she had never really liked. Reaching the gap she quickly wiggled through, it was just small enough to be uncomfortable yet not too much for her to get stuck.

Once she was through, the cavern opened up slightly and she could fit comfortably. She could still feel the walls on each side but she could swim forwards with a little more ease. The water was a little bit brighter and she hoped there would be only a short distance before she could break the surface again.

Quickly pulling herself along in the submersed cavern she could feel rough edges of rock meeting the palm of her hands. She frantically kicked her feet as she made her way along. Unsure of the exact amount of time she could hold her breath. She was a strong swimmer, she had grown up around water, and therefore learnt how to swim effectively. But never with so much pressure on her shoulders.

She felt a twinge of panic run through her, the tunnel was longer than she thought, although the daylight did seem to be getting a little bit brighter. As she pulled herself through a smaller gap her heart leapt, only a tiny bit of light was shining through the rocks, a gap she wasn't sure if she could get through without getting stuck.

Her lungs were beginning to burn with the want for air, and as she forced her shoulders through the sharp gap, panic began to really take hold.

She wiggled the best she could, working her way through. She didn't have time to think about how long it had been so far, yet as she struggled she could imagine Lightning, waiting helplessly.

She focused, determined. Pushing harder she slid through, ignoring the scraping across her legs as the rock ground against them.

She felt the world lift slightly as the enclosed feeling disappeared, the horrible claustrophobic cavern being left behind as she focused on making a beeline for the surface. As she headed upwards she could see a shining blue sky, smiling down upon her.

She was desperately kicking, the water gliding past her with ease, her lungs on fire and her head spinning through lack of oxygen. The surface seemed further away than it was and in one last attempt she managed to kick her way upwards and take in a great gasp of air as her head broke the surface.

Breathing heavily she quickly swam to the edge of the water, she didn't have time to take in her surroundings, and there was certainly no time to catch her breath. She needed to find the others and quickly. She just hoped they hadn't gone too far…

Lightning had looked on as Vanille dove down into the little pool of water. A perfect moment ruined by reality. This was real, everything that felt like it didn't matter now dawned upon her like a tonne of bricks. It was a hopeless situation, and all she could do was sit, helplessly and wait for rescue. If rescue ever came.

She had held her breath too, as Vanille disappeared out of sight, she had no idea where the young girl would end up if she made it through the tunnel. She hoped it lead to the outside of the tower, and not into another cavern with no way out. She was sure that by the daylight streaming through, if it was indeed daylight, that outside was the answer.

She began pacing, up and down, up and down. Her feet carrying her as her mind wandered to bigger things. She knew that by walking she was taking up more oxygen, yet she couldn't sit still. It was bad enough just knowing Vanille might not have made it.

She had counted the minutes, hoping against all odds that the young girl had managed to swim her way to freedom. If the cavern had been too long, or there had been no way out at the end…

She shook her head, now wasn't the time to think negatively. Now was the time to stay positive. Otherwise she was in serious trouble.

"I cant believe…. that thing… was so hard to kill" Snow was doubled over, his hands touching his knees as he panted for air.

"Told you they were fast" Fang smirked, she was slightly out of breath, but being more nimble on her feet she found the fight easier than Snow.

Hope looked down at the little cactus that lay near their feet, he felt a slight bit of regret, they were fascinating to look at. It was almost a shame that it had to die.

"Hey kid, don't feel bad. It had a nasty kick" Sazh said walking to him and patting him on the shoulder.

"Yeah I guess your right, it was the mark after all" Hope was fine physically, he was the lightest of all of them, he could have run around forever.

"It would have been easier with Vanille" Fang huffed, still slightly concerned about her and Lightning going off alone.

"Yeah and Light…" Snow added, "Even injured, that woman can look after herself." he straightened back up and looked back in the direction of the tower. They could still see it, it was a little more distant now, yet it shouldn't take too long to get back. Then they would be on the road to Oerba, and reality would be staring them in the face. If there were the answers they were looking for at all.

"Lets get going… I don't like to take any chances. It shouldn't take too long to get back if we get a move on." Fang said, eager to get back to Vanille. The light would soon be fading and she wanted to be reunited before darkness fell. She trusted Lightning, perhaps more than most of the group. Yet when it came to Vanille, she had to be sure.

Lighting cursed as she picked herself up from the floor of the cavern. Brushing the dust from her clothes she looked up at the ceiling with immense hatred. She had tried scaling the walls to see if she could find anywhere that might hold a way out.

She was sure that the rocks would be several layers thick and that moving them by hand was out of the question. She had thought about simply using a magic attack and seeing what happened. She quickly decided against it, Vanille would probably come back to find nothing left of her if she brought the roof down.

Walking round her eyes were useless in the darkness but she stumbled across what remained of the elevator, it was crushed, cracked in two. She pondered exactly how they survived. The fal'Cie must have broken the fall, yet they had hit the ground with such an impact that they had broken metal in two.

All she knew was a stroke of luck had been on their side. She just hoped that it would continue to be with them. They had come too far to let this be the end.

"I know you can do it…" she whispered, she felt sure that Vanille was alright, she was tough. Yet it didn't diminish the feeling of fear that was beginning to creep under her skin. The darkness didn't help, she realised that the luxury of being able to see would have made things a lot easier. Instead she was relying on her other senses.

She found herself imagining what Serah would be like in a situation like this. She knew she would have relied heavily on herself for guidance. Serah hated the dark, when they were younger, whenever there had been a power outage she would creep into Lightning's room and curl up with her until morning.

Lightning smiled to herself, things were so much simpler back then. She knew she would have given anything to turn the clocks back and stop things from getting so out of control.

Yet she couldn't, and here she was. The journey had lead her to this. She was happy in a way, if everything hadn't happened, if Serah had never become a l'Cie. She wouldn't have found Vanille…

Vanille could feel desperation driving her forwards. Her head was still pounding, she had no time to let the dizzy feeling stop, as soon as she pulled herself clear of the water she sprinted towards the Cie'th stone. It was the only plan she could think of, heading in the general direction of the others and praying that their paths crossed. It was a long shot, but it might just work.

Skidding to a halt in front of the stone she realised that it seemed brighter. They must have found the mark they were looking for.

'Good, they might be on the way back' She thought. It would make things a little easier. She still had no idea what to do when she found them but she hoped that Fang might have a few ideas.

The stone was telling her that the mark was in the Tower area, a little bit further north. She smiled, and felt her heart lighten a little. Things didn't seem so hopeless.

And this time, maybe lady luck was on her side.

"It seemed less far on the way out…" Hope's voice was a low tone, it felt like they had been walking for ages, the return trip seemed to be taking forever.

"Don't worry Hope, were nearly back…" Fang voiced, her tone annoyed. He was always complaining.

"Yeah, good thing too, its starting to get dark." Sazh added, looking up at the clouds, they were beginning to creep over, the sun fading and making them appear greyer in colour.

"Weathers coming in too I think"

"Yeah, least we will be dry in the tower… I hate the rain" Snow said, patting down his hat. His coat became all heavy and annoying when it got wet. Fang rolled her eyes, they really were some of the strangest people she had ever et.

"You wouldn't last five minutes on Pulse alone, any of you" she said sarcastically. "Cocoon's made you all soft"

"Yeah, and your getting that way too" Snow said cheekily, earning him a quick scowl from Fang. He heard Hope giggle behind him, then something else followed…

"What was that?" he stopped walking quickly, and shushed the group. Fang had heard something too and raised a finger to her lips.

"I think its just the wind getting up…" Sazh whispered, but Fang shook her head.

"No it wasn't, it sounded like someone shouting…"

"Fang…"

"Its Vanille!" Fang said quickly, her heart jumping.

"Something's not right…" Even though Vanille's voice was quiet she could hear the panic running through it.

"Vanille!" she yelled back, trying to listen to what direction the voice was coming from. She could hear footsteps now, travelling quickly. Something bad had happened, she could sense it.

Vanille came bounding across the rocks desperately and ran forwards, straight into Fang.

Fang grabbed hold of her quickly, looping her arm around her middle, she could feel her heavy breathing and she tried to let the young girl catch her breath. Her body was shaking from the exuberance.

"What's the matter what's happened?" she asked concerned, she looked around. There was no sign of Lightning.

"Where's Light?"

"Tower… elevator…crashed…" she panted in between breaths. Her knees slightly wobbling now that she was stood still.

"Whoa, slow down, what happened?" she soothed, wrapping her hands round the young girls shaking shoulders. When Vanille got her breath back enough she explained.

"The fal'Cie, it jumped on the elevator in the tower, me and Light, it took us both down. Through the floor, there's some kind of Cavern, there's no time to explain, she's got no air. Lightning's stuck… we've got to hurry…"

"Okay okay" Fang only heard half of the story, Vanille was talking too quick. Yet she could tell by the tone in her voice that the situation was serious.

"C'mon, we need to move…" Vanille tried pulling her, she had to get back.

"Hold on a second, catch your breath" Fang soothed, she still had hold of Vanille's shoulders.

"There's no time" Vanille said desperately, she looked up at Fang with pleading eyes. There was no time to be concerned about herself. They had to worry about Lightning.

Fang sighed and slowly released her, giving in, she was concerned about Vanille but it would have to wait.

Time was running short.

A.N

Well, I do like my cliff-hangers at the minute : )

It was a little more action packed than I planned, but ill try and calm it down soon, Oerba is just around the corner, but now they are still in a little bit of a pickle aren't they?

Hmm… You'll just have to wait to find out what happens.

Thanks for reading.