Vanille sighs as she removes the bandages on Lightning's damaged arms. The soldier is still unconscious, her breathing ragged, and her eyes are moving anxiously beneath her closed eyelids. It looks like she's having a bad dream… or just being in pain…

Vanille pulls the blanket she's taken from one of the buildings in Oerba and covers Lightning's shivering form with it. She has tried searching for more blankets, but this is the only one still in a usable state. Shaking her head in dismay, Vanille begins assessing Lightning's wounds. Her wounds are so numerous and deep, making Vanille unable to heal everything last night. Last night she had concentrated on the more serious wounds, like the ones on Lightning's midriff. Those wounds have either been closed halfway or completely covered again in Lightning's fair skin by now, but the rest… Vanille just had to resort to bandages.

Luckily, today Vanille's energy has returned after sleeping all night long and she is ready to cast more healing spells for Lightning. She is extremely relieved that the wounds on Lightning's midriff had not reach her old wound from Yojimbo, otherwise she would've surely died when it reopens. The thought makes Vanille shudder, but she continues her work still.

Suddenly, Vanille unwillingly giggled as she recalls the ruckus that happened earlier this morning. Somehow Fang has fallen asleep right beside Lightning last night, thus resulting in her waking up nose-to-nose with Light this morning. Fang immediately went panic, of course, fearing whatever painful retribution she may get for invading Lightning's personal space that badly, despite unintentionally. She immediately jumped away, arms flailing, shouting her apologies. And although luckily the ruckus didn't manage to wake Lightning from her unconscious state, but it managed to wake Vanille up. Vanille can't help but giggle as she recalls Fang's panic reaction.

But then, Vanille's face turns grim again as she looks at the wounds on Lightning's face. The crimson taints from her shoulders have crept up the right side of her neck, before splitting into two; one is fortunately short and stops at Lightning's jaw, but the other one is much longer and jagged. It creeps straight across her right cheek and continues across the bridge of her nose, before finally stopping below her left eye.

Oh, Light… what have you done to yourself? Vanille thinks sadly.

Upon seeing those crimson taints, Vanille resolves to use all her healing ability so as not to let Lightning's face be scarred. She knows Light wouldn't care about whether her face is scarred or not, she'd surely be more concerned about the others when she wakes up later, but still… it'd be a shame to let her beautiful face be scarred… Wait, what am I thinking! Vanille chastises herself, shaking her head vigorously.

Huffing, Vanille channels more energy into the Curaga spell forming in her hands. She is extremely worried about the others, but for now she knows she has to concentrate on healing Lightning first. There's nothing much they can do without Light anyway… Vanille just hopes she would wake up soon. Yet, at the same time she fears how the soldier would react once she wakes up. They all have gone through a hard battle, only to have Barthandelus fleeing at the last moment and their friends captured. Vanille is sure Lightning wouldn't react calmly to it.


Look at you, miserable child.

You lost.

I've captured your sister and friends.

I'll make sure they suffer tremendously.

And they suffer because you lost.

Lightning tosses around in her troubled sleep, unable to get rid of the haunting nightmares, of Barthandelus' voice that keeps echoing in her mind.

You were too weak to defeat me.

You lost.

And now your friends shall pay the price of your weakness.

Lightning lets out a growl, her fists clenched so tight blood begins to seep out from the half-closed wounds.

You've failed in protecting your sister.

And now I shall make her suffer so badly she'd hope never to be born.

She'd die slowly in agony.

"NO! Serah!" Lightning jolts up awake, her arm lashing out trying to grasp the image of Serah that has flashed out in her mind. As her fingers shut around nothing but air, the impact of her sudden movement hits her.

"Ugh!" Lightning falls back as her wounds throb simultaneously and she immediately feels like being burned alive. As she lies panting on her back, all memories of the fight flood into her mind, but the clearest one is of… Serah… and the others… being dragged into the portals, and out of her reach.

"Damn…" Lightning grits her teeth and struggles to sit up more carefully, trying not to strain her wounds again. Once she manages to sit up straight, Lightning looks around. She is sitting on a make-shift bed with an old blanket covering her, probably taken from one of the houses in Oerba. She knows this place must be Oerba, she recognizes this building—it's the one below the bridge, the one they've used as a basecamp before the whole fight. Thick bandages cover her wounds, stained red in some places where her wounds still bleed. Next to her bed are her belongings; gunblade, gloves, leg pouch, overcoat, everything; all washed clean from blood and dirt. These must have been Vanille's doing.

Looks like Vanille is safe after all… Lightning thinks, relief flowing into her. She has to thank Fang for that. Moreover, if she remembers correctly, Fang was the one finding her in that rain and bringing her here…

Heh. So you really did come and find me after all…

Before Lightning can think of anything else, the door of the building slams open and Fang strides in. She stops dead on her track as she sees Lightning awake, and Lightning is too startled as well upon the huntress' sudden entrance to say anything just yet.

"Light?" Fang asks, seemingly unable to believe her eyes.

"Fa—"

Lightning's words suddenly get cut off when Fang rushes in and immediately takes her into a tight embrace.

"Fang…?" Lightning asks hesitantly, her injured body unable to move within Fang's firm grip.

"…Making me worried like that… Don't you dare doing that to me again, you hear?" Fang's voice rumbles.

Lightning is really surprised by Fang's sudden embrace, but then she smiles faintly and returns the hug awkwardly.

"Sorry… and thank you, Fang."

Fang finally releases her death grip on Lightning, grinning her usual lazy smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, no big deal. Now rest!"

With that, Fang grabs Lightning's forehead and slams her back down onto her bed.

"Ouch! What the hell, Fang!" Lightning shouts angrily.

"Just trying to make ya rest," Fang replies with an indifferent shrug. "Wouldn't want all those skin to tear open again, yea? Vanille would have to bandage you even more then, and you already look pretty much like a mummy now," she gestures at Lightning's heavily bandaged form.

"So Vanille really is… safe?" Lightning asks, her eyes wary.

"Yep, Rosch is dead, Vanille is safe and sound, and now we only have to wait until you recover before we try to save…" Fang's words stop abruptly as she realizes what she was saying. However, it is too late; Lightning has caught what she needs to know.

"So the others really were captured, huh…" Lightning mutters, her gaze growing cold and distant. "…and here I was wishing for it to be just a nightmare."

Fang stares at her battle partner, frowning as she sees the emotionless walls going back up around Lightning's heart. She casts her gaze downwards as well, unable to say anything else. What should she say? 'It's okay'? Well, the situation is clearly not okay!

Luckily, Fang is saved from having to say anything by Vanille who walks in right at that moment with a pile of herbs in her hands. She lets out a small surprised cry as she sees Lightning awake, and the next thing Fang knows is that Vanille already kneels down beside Light, busy with her bandages. Mumbling something about preparing food, Fang heads out of the building as soon as Vanille regards her with a hurried nod, too occupied to say anything.

Outside, Fang sighs as she looks up at the blue-and-orange afternoon sky, with Cocoon perched high on it. Fang squints, but even her sharp eyes are unable to make out the shapes inside that cracked shell. And the others are somewhere within that distant bronze sphere… they feel so far away now.

Fang sighs again. She knew all along that Lightning would blame herself on the others' capture… typical. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Fang decides that she'll just have to make sure her foolhardy friend doesn't try anything stupid.


I'm scared.

It's so dark… I can't see anything…

How did I end up here?

I try moving my arms and legs, but to my horror they are tied tightly behind me. I can't move my hands for even an inch. The darkness only makes it worse. I don't know where I am, I don't know what time it is, I don't know anything. Only one thing I'm sure of: I am alone. No one else is here. No one else is around here.

That thought strikes fear into my heart even more. If there is no one else here to help… then how can I escape?

I try to tug on the ropes harder, but to no avail. They don't even budge. I can feel panic and fear spreading fast like poison in my heart, fuelled by the thought that I may be stuck here for Makers-know how long, alone in this foreign dark room.

Tears begin to well in my eyes. Throwing dignity aside, I begin to shout for help, wailing as loud as I can, ignoring the pain that begins to develop in my throat after some time shouting. Anyone, anything, please come and find me… I don't want to get stuck here forever…

I keep shouting for what feels like hours, but nothing happens. No one comes. Somehow I know that this place is secluded, that no one actually comes here. No one knows I'm trapped here. I might die here alone out of starvation…

Upon that thought, I begin shouting again, tears now running down my cheeks freely. However, soon my throat throbs painfully and I have to stop shouting, only sobbing.

"Please… someone, help…I want to go home…"

No one. Nothing except darkness. I'm sick of the dark… I want to see the sunlight; I would do anything to see it again!

After what seems to be few more hours of nothingness, I finally grow tired and begin to fall into a slumber. There's not much difference between opening and closing my eyes, though.

Just when I am about to fall asleep, suddenly a door slams open in front of me, light flooding into the room. My head jerks up immediately, eyes squinting in the sudden light. Someone is standing on the door, the light from outside turning the person's features into a silhouette. But I can always recognize that pink hair, this feeling of utter safety and relief that immediately floods into my mind.

"Lightning!" I wheeze out in relief, all my fears immediately forgotten. I'm safe!

Lightning approaches me wordlessly, her face still hidden in the darkness. However, I keep staring at her, relief bordering at ecstasy surging through me.

I'm safe… Lightning is here! She'll release me and we'll go home together…

Lightning bows down to cut the ropes off, and—

My eyes snap open, immediately meeting the moonlit stone floor of my cell. All the feeling of relief and safety disappears in an instant without a trace, leaving only despair behind. I try looking up in the faint hope that Lightning may really be there, but when I see no one else in the dark cell, my hope shatters.

She's not here.

Iron bands seem to tighten around my heart, making it difficult to breathe. Tears begin to flow down my cheek, dropping to the floor and stay there, gleaming silver under the moonlight.

It was just a dream…

I bite my lips angrily, trying to stop the flow of tears.

But it's felt so real…

I shake my head vigorously, trying to get rid of the remnants of that... beautiful nightmare.

Lightning's not here. Now that I've admitted that fact, I can breathe easier, even though my heart still throbs painfully.


It's been a few days since our capture. I can't really remember the details, I only remember waking up when the soldiers dragged me into this cell and spread my arms, chaining them into two metal rings in the wall. The chains prevent me from using magic, and they really hurt; they dig into my wrists whenever I moved. Worse still, it's impossible not to move; the metal rings are stuck high on the wall, and my chains are too short. It forces me to stand on tip-toe to prevent the chains from cutting into my wrists. However, this proved harder as time passed. I got tired soon, and it was impossible to sleep without letting my body go slack, to the expense of getting my wrists cut. At first I'd tried not to sleep, but as time passed my exhaustion won and I fell asleep. When I woke up, my wrists were bleeding.

I hate the chains. I hate the cell. I hate the sturdy metal bars in front of me. I mean, I already can't move because of the chains; why must they cage me behind these metal bars, anyway? To make feel claustrophobic? Well, they've succeeded in that one.

Beyond the metal bars, there is some sort of a square built with the same dark brown stones as the walls of my cell. The whole place is always dark—there are no lamps. More cells fill the square's perimeter, as well as doors— doors through which soldiers enter and leave during their shifts. There are so many PSICOM soldiers, their numbers far exceeding those usually allocated to normal posts. Some soldiers always stand guard along the perimeter of the square. I can't see if the square has a roof or not, but I assume so since it didn't get wet even though it rained yesterday. Yes, I could see the rain falling from a small window in the left wall of my cell, a window too small for even a child to pass through. That window is the only connection I have with the outer world, a small patch of blue sky in the darkness of the cell. But for now, it is just a patch of silver box that allows moonlight to enter.

From my overall observation, I can get the outline of this prison quite clearly. This must be some kind of a large rectangular stone building, with the square in the middle and cells and doors filling its perimeter. One of those doors may lead outside… but I've never been able to find which one.

Given the high number of soldiers and the extremely thick stone walls, I conclude that I must be in Zalera, the biggest prison in Eden. It is one of the few buildings in the capital which is not made of metal. However, upon seeing the thickness of these stone slabs, I doubt even metals can be any harder.

I sigh heavily. This is certainly not the best place to get imprisoned. The whole prison has a heavy atmosphere in it, one that causes the prisoners to despair, to lose hope. Luckily, I know that I'm not alone in here. On that day when they threw me in, I remember seeing Sazh, Hope and Snow too. They must be in one of these cells, chained like me.

However, I've never seen Lightning, Fang or Vanille. I keep telling myself that their absence means they are still free, they are somewhere out there. Probably they may even be the reason on why Barthandelus or Rosch hasn't come to order our executions yet. Maybe they've killed Barthandelus and Rosch… and maybe they are heading here at this very moment, going to free us from this prison…

Or they may be dead and Barthandelus just wants to prolong our suffering in this prison until he gets bored and order our executions.

The thought makes me shudder. That thought always manages to drown me in despair.

If they really are dead… then no one is coming to help us…

I bite my lips angrily, trying to get rid of that thought. It only makes me lose hope, lose my will to live… and that's, that's something Lightning always tells me not to. That's why, I keep forcing myself to think that Lightning, Fang and Vanille are okay, that they've defeated Barthandelus and Rosch, and that they are coming here at this very moment to save us.

However, most of the times I just force myself not to think about them at all. Thinking about Lightning always fills me with a longing so great that it almost suffocates me.

I sigh again as my stomach rumbles. I'm hungry. The jailers rarely feed us… if this continues, we may die out of starvation soon. I don't want to die before at least seeing Lightning for one last time…

I shake my head, trying not to think about Lightning anymore. I don't know how long I'm going to get imprisoned here, but if Lightning is still alive, then one day she will surely come. I only need to wait, although the uncertainties of that future keep me frightened and desperate.

Another tear rolls down my cheek as I close my eyes, trying to get myself to fall asleep so I can stop thinking about all this.

But to be honest, I really want to see her… I will do anything, anything to see Light again…

Even if only in my dreams.


The sun has long set in Oerba and the moon begins to climb to its zenith in the dark sky as Fang and Vanille look up to see Lightning striding out of the building. All her bandages have been removed, and she is already wearing her usual outfit by now, complete with her gunblade.

"Hey, what's up, Light?" Fang asks, grinning. "How are ya feeling?"

Fang may not look like it, but she is actually relieved to see Lightning finally able to walk around again. For the past few days Vanille had been healing her continuously and forcing her to eat herbs, ones that made her drowsy. Thus Light unwillingly spent the last few days sleeping, which had proved to be beneficial for her recuperation. Plus, thanks to Vanille's hard work, Lightning ends up with no scar at all. Vanille really is one formidable healer.

"Fine," Lightning grumbles her answer.

Fang snorts. "Ya think I'd buy that? You got yourself skinned like an Orobon just a few days ago. Even idiots would know that it must have hurt like hell."

"I said I'm fine," Lightning says again, not slowing her stride.

"Wait, where are you going, Light?" Vanille asks worriedly as Lightning briskly walks past them. Fang simply rises her eyebrow, observing Lightning's stiff jaws and the glare of her eyes. There is something in them that makes her worried… but…

Lightning ignores Vanille's question and continues walking away, her form quickly fading away in the shadows.

"Light, wait! Where are you going?" Vanille scrambles up to her feet, trying to chase after Lightning. However, she is stopped when Fang grabs her arm sternly. She turns around to face her best friend, annoyed and confused.

"Leave her be," Fang says, gesturing at Lightning. "She wants to be alone."

Fang's gaze is so unarguable, and despite her usual carefree attitude, she looks serious this time. Vanille hesitates, but since Fang insists, she finally sighs and sits back down. Biting her lower lip nervously, Vanille glances at Lightning's direction. She has disappeared by now.

Light… what are you up to? Vanille thinks worriedly. There was something in Lightning's eyes that made her really, really worried.


Lightning makes her way quickly out of the area, past the old school and Fang and Vanille's dilapidated house. There is no monster to obstruct her path; the village streets are completely empty. Just like Lightning's eyes. It is as though she no longer cares about her surrounding; she just keeps walking, her eyes staring but not seeing.

Lightning keeps walking until she reaches the junction between the dwelling area and the road that leads straight out of Oerba. Still, nothing in the streets but the moonlight and shadows. After closing her eyes as she inhales deeply, Lightning continues her stride until finally… there.

At the side of the road, grows an extremely tall tree, one of the few trees still left in Oerba. This tree is gigantic; most of its branches are as thick as an Adamantoise's tusks. Lightning can't even see its top branches from the ground. It reaches solemnly to the sky like an old giant's hand, wrinkled and emanating with faded glory. Its massive trunk is surrounded by numerous large boulders, preventing anything from reaching the trunk itself. However, Lightning knows a path through those boulders that provides access to the tree trunk. Silently, she slips into the closed area. This particular area beneath the tree is covered in silver, result of the moonlight being filtered through the leaves and trapped within the wall of boulders. All in all, this place is secluded and quiet. Just what Lightning needs.

Without hesitating, Lightning climbs the ancient tree. She jumps up high, grabbing the lowest branch and hoists her body up easily. From there, she jumps her way up from one branch to another, brushing leaves aside absentmindedly.

After a while, the dark leaves finally part and Lightning can see parts of the night sky. She makes one final jump and hoists herself up to the topmost branch. It gives her a perfect view of the vast sky, totally uncovered by buildings, leaves or anything else. The stars stare back at her coldly from their seats in the dark sky.

It's all my fault, Lightning thinks as she closes her eyes, inhaling sharply. The demons of her thoughts have been haunting her day and night, torturing her even in her sleep.

They got captured because I failed. I couldn't protect anyone.

Lightning opens her eyes, looking back up at the stars. Her frown deepens. She thought coming here may calm her mind, but it doesn't. Nothing can stop her from thinking about the others, about their capture, about how they must be imprisoned right now. Coming here doesn't change anything.

Growling in anger, Lightning jumps down from the branch, closing her eyes. The feeling of the wind brushing against her as she falls usually can calm her down, or at least distracts her mind, but not this time. Her heart still throbs as painful as ever.

Just before she falls past the lowest branch, Lightning's eyes snap open and she grabs the branch. And despite the energy of her fall is so great, Lightning still stubbornly holds on to the branch, stopping her fall abruptly. Her arm muscles jerk in the exertion, her fingers scraped by the sharp edges of the bark. But she can't care less. She just wants to get rid of this nagging feeling, this pain throbbing at the base of her heart. Yet it's still there. If not, it seems to have increased in intensity.

As Lightning releases her grip and lets herself drop the last few meters to the ground, she lets out a growl. She straightens up, staring at the tree trunk in front of her.

It was so close.

Only one more inch, only one more downward slash, and I would've erased him out of this world for good.

Why the hell can't I do it?

So weak… fainting without finishing the job…

And now they are the ones paying the price.

Lightning's body trembles dangerously as these thoughts flash in her mind. She's failed… She couldn't kill Barthandelus. Even though he must be badly injured now, but he is still alive. All that fighting now goes for naught; because she was too weak to finish him off. And now the others are imprisoned, probably encountering Etro-knows what tortures, while she stands here perfectly okay. And who knows, Barthandelus might have recovered by now. He might even have ordered the others' execution. And she'll never see Serah again.

A painful memory suddenly comes forth and Lightning's heart throbs even more painfully, forcing her to clutch at her chest. It is a memory of Serah, when Lightning saw her for the last split second of time before the PSICOM soldiers caught her. Her sister has stretched her arm out towards her, mouth forming the unmistakable word 'help' that Lightning saw even though Serah didn't even have the time to say the word out loud. Yet Lightning has failed in helping her. She's failed as her protector. And now, Serah may have been… dead. Along with Hope, Sazh and Snow.

And that's because she's failed.

Roaring, Lightning charges at the tree and slams her fist into it so hard it cracks immediately, bits of broken bark raining down to the ground with the tree's groan of protest. The impact has been so great that it immediately tears the skin on Lightning's fists, but she doesn't care. All she wants is to stop the excruciating throbs in her heart, to get rid of the painful memories that keep flashing in her mind.

Yet they remain. Baring her teeth in fury, Lightning punches the tree again, this time creating a deep dent in the trunk and breaking her knuckles. Ignoring the sickening crack of her knuckles as she flexes her fist, Lightning punches the tree yet again, roaring, the pain in her hand does little to distract her mind from the others' faces. Tears of anger begin to fall, flowing down Lightning's cheek and stay there stubbornly, refusing to fall down to the ground. Lightning grits her teeth angrily, once again slamming her hand into the tree and lets her nails dig into the bark. As her heart throbs again mercilessly, Lightning tightens her grip on the tree, her body trembling uncontrollably, her breathing ragged.

"…Light?"

Lightning's head jerks up at that familiar voice.

How the hell did I not notice her approach?

Lightning shakes her head in anger, growling dangerously. "Leave me alone, Vanille."

Vanille ignores Lightning's warning; instead her footsteps grow even nearer.

"I said LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lightning roars, turning around to face the redhead. Vanille looks back at her with her forest green eyes, which has not the slightest hint of fear in them.

"I won't leave you to clobber your own hand to pulp, Light," says Vanille calmly, eyeing Lightning's bloody hand.

Anger quickly rises in Lightning, burning her insides like poison. How dare this brat talk to me like she knows everything…

Forcing herself to remain calm, Lightning lets out another growl, her voice reaches a dangerous edge that would've sent normal people running for their lives. "You'd better leave, now."

Vanille shakes her head stubbornly. "Nope, not before I heal you, Light."

"I don't need your help! Just LEAVE!" Lightning roars. This time she can no longer control her anger, and without her knowing it, a Thunder spell has formed in her right hand.

BOOM!

Lightning stares, surprised, at the scorched ground where her earlier Thunder spell has struck. She hasn't even decided to unleash a Thunder spell… it has come out of her anger. It may have hit the ground, but it was just pure luck; has she not been that lucky, that Thunder spell might have hit Vanille instead.

What the hell have I done?

Lightning doesn't even know what to think anymore. She almost hurt Vanille. Yet the girl keeps staring at her wide-eyed, still without fear in them.

"You won't hurt me," Vanille suddenly whispers, looking right into Lightning's eyes as she steps closer towards the soldier.

Her words stab Lightning like knives. That complete trust, that naïve belief… She reminds Lightning exactly of Serah.

All anger and strength seem to suddenly leave Lightning. She feels empty. A useless, honorless piece of trash that almost hurts her own friend... Lightning turns her back on Vanille, unable to muster the courage to look into her eyes.

"Don't come near me, Vanille… I might really hurt you…" Lightning says, closing her eyes in defeat. "It's true, after all. Lightning only destroys… it doesn't protect."

"No, it doesn't…" Vanille agrees calmly.

Then out of a sudden Lightning feels Vanille's arms wrapped around her waist and her head leans gently against her back. Without giving the soldier any chance to react, the redhead continues.

"…but you do."

Lightning's eyes snap open, staring into the darkness in surprise. What…?

Vanille releases her soon after, and without her support, Lightning cannot muster the strength to remain standing. She falls to her knees, shutting her eyes closed again.

Then Lightning feels Vanille kneeling down in front of her too.

Not wanting to let Vanille see the tears of anger that still cling to her cheeks, Lightning throws her face away from the redhead.

"You're trusting me too much. Look at what I've done, Vanille. I couldn't save anyone. I couldn't even finish my job and finish him off… All the others' sacrifice has come into nothing. Because of me…" Lightning whispers without opening her eyes. She still can't stand to look into those serene, trusting green orbs yet…

But then Lightning's eyes open again as she feels Vanille's hands cupping her face, forcing her to face the redhead and look straight into those forest green eyes. Without hesitation, Vanille wipes off the angry tears on Lightning's cheeks with her thumbs. And despite Lightning has never liked such closeness and intimacy, but she finds herself unable to shake Vanille's hands off.

"Lightning, stop blaming yourself… None of us does, so why must you torture yourself? If the others are here, they wouldn't want you to do that," Vanille says softly.

"It's not your fault," she continues. "It's not your fault at all. You've fought as hard as you could, anything more and you would've killed yourself. Trust me, even if you killed Barthandelus, but died doing that, we won't be much better off! We all don't want to lose you."

When Lightning doesn't respond, Vanille continues.

"Barthandelus may still be alive, but so what? You've injured him greatly. He must be regenerating right now; he won't have enough strength to even order the others' execution. And Rosch is dead… So what's there to fear?" Vanille tilts her head slightly.

Lightning sighs. What Vanille said has somehow reduced the throbs in her heart, but there is still one thing she fears.

Without looking at Vanille's eyes, Lightning speaks. "I'm afraid… that the others may be suffering right now in prison… while I stand here perfectly alright."

Vanille huffs upon hearing this.

"Light, don't think that way! Every one of us knows the risk of this battle. No one is stupid enough to think that this battle can be won without casualties, not even Snow. And no one blames you for it. Hell, you have experienced enough share of pain, right? You should've seen yourself when Fang brought you back! Please, Light, don't blame yourself. You've done more than enough. The others know this; no one's blaming you. In fact, I'm sure everyone is thankful that you are still alive."

Lightning stares at Vanille, her words have struck her like a splash of cold water. She has never seen things that way before… she's wanted to protect everyone, she doesn't want anyone to get hurt… but now that she thinks of it, it is actually her who hasn't realized just how strong her friends really are. They are more than ready to face whatever fights they must in order to defeat Barthandelus, no matter the consequences.

Vanille smiles as she sees the light returning into Lightning's blue eyes.

"I know this is hard, since we are now separated from the others, Light…but we are your new family now. We'll stick together until we defeat Barthandelus, you hear me?" Vanille says sternly. "No blaming yourself. We are in this together; and we shall be together till the end. Just don't think about it too hard; we only have to focus to save the others now. As long as we stick together, we'll be okay. We'll suffer more if we lose you."

Lightning finally stares directly into Vanille's eyes, sapphire meeting emerald. Then she sighs in defeat, closing her eyes. "Right…"

"That's the Lightning I know."

With that, Vanille pulls Lightning's face closer and kisses her forehead tenderly.

Lightning's eyes snap open, her face immediately flushes as she realizes what has just happened. She is completely stunned, gaping at Vanille who simply smiles back shyly at her.

Before Lightning can say anything, Vanille has leaped back up to her feet, giggling as she offers her hand out to Light. "Alrighty, up we go!"

Lightning accepts the offered hand, standing back up onto her feet. She tries to pull her hand back, but Vanille refuses to let go. Frowning, Lightning looks down at her hand and sees Vanille's Curaga already working on it, stitching back flesh and bone. Once she is done, Vanille lets her hand go.

And despite it was so low that Vanille had to strain her ears, but she can still hear Lightning muttering 'thank you.'

Vanille smiles at the soldier. "You're much welcome, Light," she says happily.

Lightning looks away, somewhat embarrassed. But then she speaks again.

"Y'know, you're stronger than I am, Vanille."

It's true. Vanille can always remain hopeful in every situation, no matter how grim. She can always face any danger with a smile on her face, holding in all her fears inside. Lightning admires her for that… despite she's never mentioned anything about it, of course. In fact, Vanille's positive attitude is sometimes the only thing that gives Lightning hope. Like right now.

Vanille just stares wide-eyed at the soldier for a while, amazed. Then she laughs.

"No, not really, Light. Y'know, I was extremely worried about the others, too… but y'see, whenever I'm afraid, I'd just close my eyes and lose myself in happier days," she replies.

"Hn," Lightning shrugs. Without being able to stop herself, Lightning asks, "Does it work?" and immediately chastises herself mentally.

What the hell was that for? It's none of my business… have I insulted her?

Vanille smiles sadly. "Usually it does, but this time it doesn't… Guess I'm just too worried," she shrugs. Lightning immediately feels bad for asking, but Vanille doesn't seem to mind. She keeps smiling, before chirping again, "But enough 'bout me! How about you, Light? I've never known… what do you do when you are upset?"

Lightning usually avoids such personal question, but Vanille has been more than honest to her. About right if she returns the favor. But still… wouldn't it sound ridiculous?

Upon facing Lightning's sudden quietness, Vanille immediately backtracks. "I mean, it's okay if you don't want to answer that… geez, I'm sorry if I keep asking you this kind of personal questions. But I just wanted to—"

"…Stargazing."

"Huh?"

"That's what I do when I'm upset," Lightning says. "Stargazing. Seeing those uncaring cold stars, it helps me to calm down. Seeing the vastness, the infinity of the sky, it makes me feel that my problems are small compared to it."

Vanille stares at Lightning for a while, before a wide smile spreads on her face.

"Wow, I would've never thought of that, Light! Was that what you were doing up there in the tree?" she asks.

Lightning narrows her eyes at the redhead. "Since when have you been watching me, actually?" she asks warily.

Vanille's hand flies to cover her mouth. "Oooops!" she giggles guiltily. "Looks like I'm caught… Well, I've been following you since a while after you left… I didn't want to disturb you since Fang said you wanted to be alone, but I couldn't just stand by and do nothing when you started hurting yourself," she admits shyly. "Sorry!"

Lightning shakes her head, shrugging. "Don't be. I'm… glad you came."

Vanille can't believe what she just heard. Has it been any other person, she would've hugged her for saying such a sweet thing. But it looks like Lightning has gone through enough ordeal tonight without having to go through another set of embarrassment… Vanille smothers a chuckle. Lightning is too sensitive, even a mere hug is enough to make her feel embarrassed. But at the same time, there is something sad about it too. Vanille never feels embarrassed about being hugged, she thinks hugs are normal since she often gets them, but Lightning… maybe her embarrassment comes from the fact that she doesn't get many hugs. The thought saddens Vanille, but she knows there is nothing much she can do about it.

Vanille looks at Lightning again. The soldier seems to have calmed down by now; she is currently looking up at the sky again. It's true that Vanille has been following her since almost the beginning, but she doesn't tell Lightning that she almost cried too when she sees how hurt the soldier has been. Seeing the usually stoic, fearless soldier crumbling down like that… seeing her blaming herself, seeing her crying and hurting herself… it was just too much for Vanille. Despite she has promised Fang that she would leave Lightning alone, but she just couldn't. And that's when she stepped in. She just doesn't want Lightning to get hurt. Just like Fang, Vanille has grown to care about the soldier much like an older sister. She can't stand seeing Lightning suffer.

Vanille stares at Lightning's eyes silently. She likes those deep blue eyes… they always look so calm, serious, determined and sometimes, fierce in battles. Vanille has seen them ice-cold like frozen lakes, piercing like ice, or flaring like blue flames before. It's rare, but sometimes she is also lucky enough to see those blue pools filled with warmth. And Vanille longs to see those eyes shining warmly again, she hates seeing them twist with anger, hurt and pain like just now. At least now they are back to their usual cold state… but still, the dark abyss in the center of those deep blue eyes are always tinged with a faint sadness and loneliness, one that never goes away no matter what, proof of how much Lightning has gone through in her life. Vanille sighs. She hopes one day she can see those eyes shining warmly without that sadness… she just wants Lightning to be happy.

"Umm, so what are you gonna do now?" Vanille asks Lightning when the silence gets a little uncomfortable for her.

Lightning shrugs. "Stargazing didn't help before… but now I've felt better, thanks to you. I want to do it again. Just go back to Fang first if you want, Vanille," Lightning says, turning her back on Vanille again as she heads for the tree trunk.

"Umm, ok…" comes Vanille's reply.

But something in her voice makes Lightning stop and turn her head around to look at the redhead. The girl is staring at Lightning with a longing in her eyes that reminds Lightning of Serah yet again. That's exactly the look in Serah's eyes whenever she wants ice cream but doesn't dare to ask for it. Lightning huffs.

"Or do you want to come with me?"

Upon hearing that, immediately Vanille's eyes brighten and she nods vigorously, smiling widely at Lightning with child-like happiness.

But then her eyes turn gloomy again, as fast as it brightens.

"What is it?" Lightning asks, rising her eyebrow.

"Umm… I just don't think I can climb this tall of a tree…"

"I'll help you."

With that, Lightning jumps up to the lowest branch, before reaching her hand down to Vanille and holding on to a branch above with her other hand.

"Jump as high as you can. Grab my hand."

Vanille hesitates, but she decides to trust Lightning. Light'll never let her get hurt, Vanille is sure on it. And so Vanille jumps as high as she can, squealing as Lightning catches her forearm. Usually when two people are in this position, both of them have to hold on to each other so they don't fall. But now, Vanille doesn't even have to do that. Light is more than able to carry Vanille's whole weight without the redhead having to grip onto her hand. Vanille feels the muscles on Lightning's forearm bulge and tense as she hoists her up onto the branch, using the branch her other hand is holding on to steady herself. And before she knows it, Vanille has been sitting on the branch safely. She looks at Lightning in admiration, somewhat envious of the soldier's strength.

Lightning gives Vanille a lazy smirk, before jumping up to the next branch.

"Hey, wait!" Vanille squeals.

From there, it gets much easier. Vanille just has to follow Lightning, the soldier showing her the easiest and safest branches to climb. As they reach the core of the tree, their surrounding turns pitch-black, the leaves completely blocking the moonlight. Vanille fears they may not be able to see the next branch and fall. But when she says this to Lightning, the soldier just chuckles.

"Just wait for a while; you'll see something better," Lightning says, her hand gripping Vanille's shaking arm firmly, preventing her from falling.

"What are you…"

But then Vanille sees what Lightning meant. The branches of the tree suddenly begin to glow greenish, thousands of tiny glowing fungi covering it. They are just like the ones in Sulyya Spring! Vanille looks at them wide-eyed, before looking back at Lightning's face that is illuminated with the mystical green light.

"I never know these fungi grow up here, too," Vanille states in amazement. Lightning rises her eyebrow.

"Because you don't climb trees?"

Vanille laughs. "Yeah, that must be why. Don't blame me, I'm not like you who can jump and somersault around!" she says, giving Lightning's shoulder a playful push. Lightning just smirks, shrugging.

"Now you know how beautiful it is up here," Lightning says. Vanille immediately notices that Lightning's eyes' color has matched that of the glowing fungi: greenish blue.

With that, they continue climbing. All the time Vanille can't take her eyes off the glimmering branches. Some parts are pitch-black while some are illuminated, surrounding them with a greenish constellation. Vanille feels like she is dreaming as Lightning pulls her up from branch to branch. She never thought climbing trees can be this beautiful. But of course, if Lightning isn't here with her, Vanille would still freak out despite the cosmic beauty of the glowing fungi. With the soldier near her, Vanille feels utterly safe, assured that even if she falls, Lightning would be able to catch her before she even hits any branch. Smiling peacefully, Vanille continues climbing,

Finally, the darkness of the leaves above them clear and Vanille sees the night sky. Lightning hoists her up onto the topmost branch, and there they sit side by side, looking up at the starry sky. Vanille gazes up peacefully at the stars that blink back at her. She looks to her left towards Lightning, seeing the soldier's feature being illuminated by the glow of the fungi growing on the branch they are sitting on. Lightning is sitting with her elbow on one bent knee while her other leg dangles off the branch carelessly, looking completely relaxed now that she is at her sanctuary.

"You're right… this is wonderful." Vanille says, smiling as she stares up at the sky high above.

Lightning glances sidelong at Vanille. Seeing the redhead sitting there like a kid, humming softly, makes Lightning feel like she's having another little sister. A perkier, more talkative one, but one she cares about so much none the less.

Lightning clenches her fists. She resolves never to let anything hurt Vanille, nor Fang, in the future. She has grown to care about them so much, like her own family. Yes, they will go to save the others tomorrow, and will probably face a big fight. But Lightning promises herself that she's not gonna lose anyone again.

When prayers turn to promises, not even fate can stand in their way.


And so the two of them stay up there on the tree, staring at the sky, saying nothing yet still enjoying each other's company. Only when Lightning feels Vanille's head falling onto her shoulder as the little girl falls asleep does she start to move.

Sighing, Lightning takes Vanille into her arms gently, trying not to wake the girl up. The redhead must have forced herself to stay awake for a while… but looks like her sleepiness has finally won. Without hesitation, Lightning jumps down the tree; but this time she uses her grav-con unit to land smoothly. And with that, Lightning carries Vanille back towards their building, her heart no longer throbbing painfully.

"Thank you, Vanille," Lightning whispers quietly.

In her sleep, the redhead smiles.


OMG guys, I'm so sorry for this late update D: but y'see, this year I'll be facing my 'O' Levels. It's a series of crazy examinations that will test everything I've learnt so far… and it'll pretty much determine my whole future, as how my teachers say it OTL Well, the point is, I'm sorry but I won't be able to update as often as before. I'll still finish this fic, though… I just hope you guys will bear with my slowness. I'm sorry, but I just want to do well in this 'O' levels. I'm not even going to play Final Fantasy 13-2 until next year when the exams are over :,( Gah, I know, it's hell. But still, I promised myself I won't play. So, no FF13-2 till next year. Let's just hope I can stay alive that long. OTL

Please bear with me guys! I promise I'll finish this fic, it helps improving my English tremendously after all ^^