A/N: Chapter 28 of Howling Star: Dance in the Shadow of Light. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. FFXIII belongs to Square Enix.

Special thanks to those who have reviewed so far.


Chapter 28: Race Circuit Crash

Lightning's POV...

We continued our journey to where Dysley resides, Orphan's Cradle. Not far now, we could picture our destination in our mind, picturing our victory which spurred us to pick up the pace. At times Star would give us a lift and we covered much more ground.

"Look over there!" Vanille pipped up and Star screeched to a stop, whimpering slightly at her burned paws from rubbing on the hard cement a little too quickly.

"Poor Star. A quick kiss for both paws~Chu!" She kissed Star's paws and danced over to the object she spotted. I swear Hope and Fang were giving Star some dangerous glances but she completely ignored them. We approached the item and Vanille was already investigating it with curiosity.

"You know, I don't remember this being here before. I guess it's new, huh?" Fang spoke, her arms folded across her chest.

"Yeah, must be." Vanille agreed. "I suppose it might be a record of what happened. You know, after we turned to crystal." She approached the item and reached out her hand. A green light shimmered and a small projection screen appeared, words in Pulsian language ran across the surface. Vanille began translating.

"'Cocoon, where the slaves of Lindzei dwell, is the enemy of all life fostered by Pulse's sacred hand. So our fal'Cie determined Pulse's will, chose l'Cie and gave them a Focus: Become Ragnarok, and bring about the end of Cocoon. And so the beast arose, defeated Lindzei's hateful fal'Cie, and prepared to tear Cocoon apart. But Her Providence betrayed our l'Cie, draining Ragnarok of strength. Their Focus only half complete, the l'Cie were taken to the enemy's land...by Barthandelus, curse his name. And the Goddess said: "'L'Cie who rest upon Cocoon will reawaken, however long they may wait. And Ragnarok will rise again, to tear the land from its seat in the sky." Her word...is absolute.'" The small projection disappeared and Sazh sighed loudly.

"Guess the jig is up." He commented, sitting on the hard concrete.

"Cocoon is done for, isn't it?" Hope asked.

"Hey, don't sweat it." Sazh replied. "If we go ahead and smash Cocoon, you know some Maker's sure to roll up and save the day!"

"As long as fal'Cie are around, this fight is never gonna end." Snow stated, trying to get everyone's spirit up. "So let's finish it. Let's get Dysley!"

"So what do we do about Orphan?" Sazh asked, standing up abruptly.

"We help Orphan." Fang answered. "What else can we do? If we can manage to keep it safe–"

"Another war breaks out somewhere down the road." I interrupted her, shaking my head. "We're l'Cie. It's not like we can make people stop fighting." Everyone fell silent.

"Lightning," I raised my head to look at Hope. "You told me on Cocoon. It's not a question of can or can't. We just do it. That's our only choice this time. Maybe it won't do much. Maybe only one person will listen to us. But even then, isn't trying better than doing nothing?" As he continued his speech, looking at us directly in the eye, I couldn't help but smile because he was my pupil. He was such a coward in the beginning but now, he lifts his head and takes things in stride, thinking carefully and planning his next moves. That is worthy of a soldier. Vanille laughs and dashes forward, shaking Hope's shoulders with excitement.

"Because ripples can make waves!" She exclaims happily.

"Okay, kids have gone crazy." Sazh shrugs his shoulders.

"Revolutionaries always get called crazy." Fang laughs.

"When I was on Cocoon, I wished on those fireworks." Vanille told us, recalling her memory. "I wished to not let anything happen to Cocoon this time. But I shouldn't have wished for that." We waited for her to explain her words and she turned around to smile at us.

"Wishes aren't enough. Prayers either. This time I'm making a promise: I will keep Cocoon safe. I promise, no matter what."

"Guess it takes losing everything to make you see how much you have to fight for, huh?" Sazh agreed.

"And we're the only ones who can do it. Right?" Snow pats Hope on the back, grinning.

"Right." Hope replies. Everyone grins, their spirits lifted and they all had a goal in mind.

"All right then." I spoke. " Let's tie up loose ends." We quickly made our way to an airship and as we got ready, I thought I could hear Vanille's voice talking in my mind.

Even if we were chasing shadows, our minds were made up. We'd realized along the way that choice was the only thing we had left. Maybe we'd fall short. Maybe we'd never even come close. But someone, someday, would know we'd tried. We flew over Gran Pulse and made our way back to Cocoon.


Eden (Seat of the Santum)...

Cid Raines strode towards the glass window, peering out at the busy metropolis. The sound of footsteps could be heard behind him.

"Your Eminence. It is time. The people await your address." Cid didn't comment but raised his hand. The soldier spun on his heels and walked off. Making sure that no one was in earshot, he uttered one line, "And so we greet the new dawn." He turned around and walked away.


Grand-pix Race...

People of Cocoon. My fellow citizens. We have survived the twilight, and gather now to welcome the dawn on which we decide our fate. Many are the lessons we have learned during our long night of hardship and sacrifice. And now we face choices, which must be made as our hearts dictate, and not abandoned to uncaring chance. Let us forge ahead with unflinching courage. And honor the fallen with action. With these hands we shape the future. Cid Raines's address opened the ceremony for the race and the racers thundered off on the tracks. Not a moment too soon when our aircraft burst into the scene. Every single one of us had our Edolons by our sides, except for Star but that didn't faze her one bit.

"And the hero saves the day!" Snow's grand entrance line...of course. He raised his arm to acknowledge the whoops and hollers until the camera zoomed in on his brand.

"Probably should've covered that." He said, embarrassed. He jumped off and rode his motorcycle down the track.

Intruders on the race circuit! Confirmed Pulse l'Cie! All units respond with lethal force!

"Catch me if you can!" Snow taunted as gun shots fired. Hope waited for his chance and stood on the track, staring face to face with a giant robot thing.

"Hi there." Hope said. The thing tried to smash him but Alexander smashed it instead.

"Cut em' off!" He instructed and Alexander started cutting off the racers. Everyone along with their Edolons created havoc on the tracks as PSICOM soldiers fired guns and bazookas in our direction. Let's just say that they couldn't handle our thunder. While everyone was enjoying their mischievous behavior, Odin and I raced off to take care of the main target. Star was off ripping enemies with her claws, fangs and for the finishing touch swinging Galeru around to lop off the soldiers heads. That what I love about this group: All business, team work and causing chaos for fellow soldiers.


A/N: Gonna stop here for now. Hoped it was okay!