Yearn: to long, a strong desire for; to feel moved or attracted

Lightning breathed in the icy air, grimacing and shuddering at the spike of cold rushing around her and tugging sharply at her hair; ghosting through her and turning her bones to ice. Opening her own pale blue green eyes, she peered out at the white world around her grimly, shivering slightly. If her memory served her right from what she's been told, this stuff was known as snow.

This stuff, this supposed frozen water was alien to her. It was similar to what was in Oerba, but it wasn't cold then. Lightning shivered again, curling up into the tightest ball she could be in, her eyes momentarily squeezed shut with her shivers. She wasn't used to this. She didn't like this much at all. She grew up in Bodhum after all, a warm and peaceful beach town.

Why in Void's name was she here? In the cold, in this odd, strange world? Where what she knew was gone and renamed, anything of her past has been blown away by the hands of time. She had nothing to cling to in this world. Only the clothes and other items she woke with; and she didn't even know if she could cling to those for long. Shinra was curious and interested, even tried to take them away to study them with their baffled eyes.

They were successful in taking her uniform and replacing it with something else for her to wear. They tried taking Blazefire as well, but Lightning fought tooth and nail to keep their grubby hands off her weapon. She had some thanks that goes to that SOLDIER with the long silver hair, he vouched for her reasons, even if he himself was curious about her weapon. He defended and supported her will to keep her weapon to herself. Blazefire really was one of the last significance that she had to her past and her last line of sanity and defense here. Any jewelry and accessories that she had posed no interest to them, and half the time, they brought sad memories.

Self consciously, her hand rose up to the lightning bolt like necklace Serah bought her not after their mother passed, even not long after Lightning herself bought her and Serah matching arm bands, something for them to wear to always keep them linked after their mother's death.

Serah...

She never did get a chance to apologize. She never got the chance to walk her sister down the aisle and see her married off to that idiot. She never for the chance to be an aunt, to be there while Serah was going through the pregnancies and life that set out for herself...

Her thumb ghosted over the pendent, feeling the bumps and the jagged design; regret swelled in her chest, burning away at her core, making her uneasy and melancholy. That really would be her greatest regret in life. Not growing up and seeing Serah grow, to see their family grow and flourish.

She wondered if this was exactly what Fang and Vanille went through and felt. At least those two had each other when they woke up in the alien future of Cocoon. She woke by up here by herself. No one familiar around, only wary strangers with guarded and calculating eyes. Eyes that reminded her of Dysley, Jhil, and anyone else that was related to the Sanctum.

Her ivory brand pulsed and Lightning felt Odin's presence gently nudging against her in the back of her mind. Gently, Lightning mentally pushed back against him, silently easing his concerns.

She was depressed; but she wasn't giving up. If she woke up here instead with the rest back in the past, there had to be a reason, a reason that she would find and complete. Even if she didn't get to return and live the past that she desired, she'll find a future here. Or she'd try too...

Lightning jumped when there was suddenly a loud crunch in the snow beside her as a larger body dressed in black sat beside her. Before she could even breathe a word, he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "YEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Then he paused, tilting his head and listening to the echoes the filled the large ravine of white before them. He grinned, satisfied with what he heard. Nodding to her, he said easily, "I used to do that a lot as a kid, love echoes."

Lightning rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly, a small bit of fondness flickering inside her. This SOLDIER that she was bullied into working with reminded her so much of Snow. It was frightening enough that she was considering that he could be a descendant of Snow. She played with the possibility sometimes. His name was Zack Fair. What were the chances?

He even told her the day they met that he was going to be a hero; she still scoffs at the idea.

"So what did you used to do as a kid?" he asked her, breaking her thoughts as he rocked his legs causually on the edge, still grinning, hardly cold with the snow around him, making Lightning envious of him while she sat shivering.

Sighing, and watching as her breathe rose up in thick white clouds, she answered, "I lived on a beach, so we spent a lot of our childhood there. We swam, built sandcastles, climbed rocks..." that really did sum up all the adventures she and Serah had in their youth.

"I bet you're really good at making sandcastles," Zack mused.

Lightning shrugged. "Perhaps," she mumbled, "its been a long time though."

"Well then, lets go to Costa Del Sol after this mission and you can show me your awesome castle making skills," he declared.

Lightning raised a brow at him, but didn't say anything to that, too busy trying to remember if she heard that name and knew that place. it must have been some kind of beach if Zack wanted her to make a sandcastle.

Going to a beach did sound nice, especially after this mission. She grew up in hot climates, not the cold, she didn't even think there was such a cold place on Cocoon.

"That sounds like a good plan," Lightning said. Zack blinked at her in surprise before he smiled. "Awesome," he said.

Lightning slightly returned the smile before it faded as she stared out at the white world, her thoughts drifting back to the life that she used to have and what it should be.

Why did this happen to her? Why did she wake up in this time? This future? Lightning shivered at the reality of her solitary.

Lightning jumped again when a sudden weight was put on her shoulders. Looking up, she blinked in surprise to see Zack coatless, and that his missing coat was placed around her own smaller frame. Before she could ask, he easily said, "You need it more than I do, you were born on a beach right? Beaches are usually hot so you're probably not used to snow; me, I was practically born in this stuff," he joked, "I'm more used to it; so go ahead and borrow it. I don't need it."

Silently, Lightning observed him and noted that he did not even have the slightest quiver of the chill around them. Like he said, he'd be fine, for a while anyway. Lightning decided she'd go ahead and soak in the warmth he gave her, relaxing in the warm, black coat. "Thank you," she murmured as she curled up inside it.

Zack merely smiled at her before turning and staring out into the white ravine, both relishing the silence and peace of the drifting snow around them.

this is for a future FF7/13 story i'm still plotting out called The Last l'Cie, its an idea that Lightning wakes up in the future, a future much crueler.

now, Zack and Lightning probably won't be the main pairing, Sephiroth, Cloud, and Vincent are more likely, maybe even a few cracks of her with Rufus and Reno... idk, i'll find out as i write it.

but it'll probably be the longest story i'll ever write for FF7/13 and it will appear when i got most of my other stories for FF7/13 done and it'll follow through from Crisis Core to maybe even Dirge of Cerberus.

and wow... only one more chapter O_o