The Doubt

Lightning couldn't stop her hard glare from faltering, and the ephemeral slip was still noticed by Cloud. Regardless of how strong-willed she was, it couldn't have been easy to hear what was more or less a confirmed death sentence.

The realization hit Serah at full force, and she stepped up exasperated. "A Pulse fal'Cie wants us to kill Lightning?! Why would they want another Pulse l'Cie dead if she's—" A piece suddenly fell into place, turning her speechless and incredibly pale. It didn't take long for Snow to figure out the little mistake in Serah's words, and not even much longer for the others. Stagnation hung in the air, the truth writhing through to wrap tendrils around their necks. Lightning turned her gaze away from Cloud, for she noticed a change in the way he looked at her once he understood.

"Your brand…" Snow's shaky voice had little confidence in it. "It's Pulse, right? I mean…the Sanctum fal'Cie are taking the eternity nap—"

The look on her face was a contradiction to his words, and he knew better than to question her claims. Still, he shook his head at the idea, wishing like the others that it was all a bad dream.

"I've been to Cocoon," Lightning reiterated in a low voice. "I've seen them trying to make it float again. Before I ran, I was able to catch a glimpse of their plans…and Eden was awake."

Serah exchanged worried glances with Snow. They thought the nightmare that was the Sanctum fal'Cie was long gone with Orphan and Bathandelus. Once they were done for, the rest of the Sanctum fal'Cie fell into a deep slumber, no longer needed to support Cocoon after the pillar formed.

"The Sanctum fal'Cie?!" The branding suddenly made sense, though it didn't ease his nerves in the least. Like centuries before, Sanctum and Pulse fal'Cie are still warring against each other, not even hesitating to use other to do their bidding. Their awakening was far from coincidence, and this new addition brought everything into a spiral.

Tifa stepped forward, hoping to gain better insight on their situation. "Wait, there are different kinds of fal'Cie?"

Lightning slowly turned toward her and the others, her eyes gauging the stress levels clear on their faces. "How long have you guys been here?" she asked rather calmly.

"Just a few days." Cloud picked up the Fusion Sword and disassembled it to store in his holster.

She gave a tiny smirk. "It's a lot to take in."

"You seem to handle 'a lot' just fine," he shot back with a smug look, prompting her to release a small chuckle. Winding up on the Planet unexpectedly was certainly a life changer for Lightning, but with the help of Cloud and his friends, she found the adjustment manageable. Accompanying them was a returned favor of sorts, though back then, they didn't have to worry about a sealed fate with no way out.

After observing the darkening skies, Lightning nodded and turned back to Serah and Snow. "Let's find shelter for the night – we can sort everything out over there."

With a comforting smile, Serah walked up to move in step with Lightning, relieved to be with her sister once again, their Focus aside. Snow sighed heavily, still thrown in a loop with everything that's happened, but decided it was for the best; getting caught up in all this panic was asking for their brands to progress. So what if Lightning was a Sanctum l'Cie, he thought. After all they'd been through, it was hard not to trust her, especially when she's part of the level-headed Farrons.

While Tifa was more than relieved to follow Lightning on her turf, Vincent lingered behind, trying to figure the best course of action. Cloud also stayed back, pressured to be brought up to speed. Despite learning of their Focus, she was still willing to help them out. It was like her usual self to go out of her way and be there for others…

But where they stood on the battlefield, it made it all the more difficult to finish their mission. Was this what she planned to do? Gain their trust so it would be that much easier to subdue them when the time came? Cloud wanted to curse himself for thinking that way…but it was in her capabilities to do so, and with the flick of a switch, she could pull it off with little trouble.

For now, they would have to believe in her. Looking toward Vincent, Cloud gave a complying nod, and the gunslinger started after the others somewhat begrudgingly. As he passed by, Cloud noticed his hand resting uneasily on the Cerberus grip and sighed, for he saw how it was a wise thing to do.

No matter what, Cloud have to give his all in fixing this mess so that he could return natural order to Pulse, to save the lives set at risk because of Jenova…

And to give Lightning the life she wanted before he ultimately disappeared from it forever.

Nightfall had arrived once they reached the camp. Once Serah and Snow gathered enough firewood, they returned in time for TIfa to get a hang of summoning fire of her own free will. She actually found it harder than it seemed; whereas using materia relied on concentration and willpower with borrowed magic, summoning magic from only yourself was a challenge. She had to give much of her mentality into calling on the innate force, but it came as a relief when sparks erupted from her fingertips, in time to save them from the coming wind.

When everyone had formed a circle around the makeshift campfire, Cloud decided to join last, his eyes keenly observing where Lightning sat. After she took her spot not too far from Serah, he circled around to sit near Tifa, a distinct distance away from Lightning while his back was turned to Vallis Media. The others took note of the awkward movement, far from what they were expecting. Lightning's visage betrayed a quick look of surprise before focusing on the growing flames before her.

After a chance to warm up and feast on provisions, Tifa took the liberty to getting to know her environment better. "You talked about how the 'Sanctum' fal'Cie were supposed to be sleeping." Her words woke the mesmerized natives, the fire finally illuminating their eyes. "So that fal'Cie we ran into was from Pulse?"

Snow nodded. "Yup." He raised his left forearm up, turning the symbol to face Tifa before tapping it with a finger. "This brand is actually the symbol of Pulse. Sanctum brands are different."

More pieces started fitting together in Vincent's head. "And Pulse and Sanctum are enemies."

Serah pursed her lips together, remembering a history essay she wrote for her University of Eden application. She had gone to the library in hopes of getting more research; the more she learned, the more she was fascinated, though the underlying truth was still a mystery at that time.

"They say that long ago, when the world was first created, the fal'Cie wanted to pit citizens of Cocoon and Pulse against each other. The Sanctum fal'Cie made this lower world upset, and when they did, Pulse wanted to bring Cocoon down."

"It looks like they still do, just for spite," Snow continued with acidity. "They're the head honchos of a war…and we're soldiers employed by force." He had enough of being pushed around by higher entities that viewed humans as mere cattle. Taking on a duty himself, he could handle…but when those he cared about were involved, that was where he drew the line.

He peered around Serah, catching Lightning's eye. "How is it up there?" he asked, concerned. "Is everyone zombified by those Jenova cells?"

With an irritated furrowing of her brow, Lightning stood up, the scowl apparently fixed on her lips like it was in the past. "You don't turn into a zombie," she stated matter-of-factly before easing up on her tone. "And no – everyone's living normally up there…though I did hear how they took down so-called crazy people in a panic."

The words frightened Tifa as she watched Lightning worriedly. Thinking back, she remembered Serah's warning just before they narrowly escaped PSICOM's pursuit. "They could have been infected people. What if there were others aside from Serah and Snow?" From their words during infection, it sounded like the Jenova cells were constructing an organization to rally Pulse and Cocoon citizens, but for some underlying purpose they had yet to discover.

Serah laid all the pieces of information out for observation, trying to find ones that would fit together. So many things had gone wrong since Lightning returned, not that she blamed her sister's reappearance to begin with. "Do you think the fal'Cie woke up because of those Jenova cells?"

"Maybe…" Tifa picked up a nearby twig and tossed it into the fire with a flick of her wrist. "Though I don't see a direct connection."

Cloud quietly agreed, his eyes hardly leaving the fire. The thought of two issues colliding together seemed to make things worse. It was difficult to decide which took priority – while it seemed solving the Jenova infection would take time away from completing their Focus, turning around to solve it could allow the spread of the infection to worsen, to a point where the land has no other choice but to follow the doom of Jenova's other victims.

"Either way," he finally said, giving voice to the thoughts running through his head. "We should make sure there really aren't people infected while trying to solve this Focus."

The simple mention of it dropped an unbearable moment of silence on the group; it was too late when Lightning got up from her spot and walked toward the cliff almost immediately, avoiding the surprised looks from everyone else. When Cloud tried to catch a glimpse, he was shot down by the empty gaze in her eyes, and he knew his words had hit a mark.

'Damn.' He let out a heavy exhale and hung his head; Lightning escaped the campfire's glow, peering out into the distance with a rigid stance. Discussing their Focus and her demise was going to be the last thing on her list, and Cloud cursed himself for bringing it up without a second thought.

Why did it have to be him to crush her spirits?

"It had to be done,' he convinced himself. If they were to live through this Focus and stop Jenova, there had to be no attachments – nothing that would make him change his mind and ruin her life all over again.

Across the fire, Serah and Snow gauged his expression carefully before sharing a knowing look.

"Hey, Spiky," Snow called out. "Go talk to her. It's been a while, right?" Thinking back, he realized the two of them couldn't have a moment alone, what with was going on and the presence of their friends. If he hadn't expected to see Serah for that long, he would have wanted to talk to her as well.

Despite his encouragement, Cloud's mind still wasn't made. If he were to talk to her, where would it go? Conversing would draw him closer, leave him vulnerable to the option of bringing her back into his world of madness.

Tifa could sense his uneasiness pouring off like waves. ""…It's not that simple." Cloud and Vincent's conversation back in New Bodhum replayed in her head, when she heard the cold and steely edge of Cloud's voice fighting to stay true to his word. If push came to shove, he would go far to make sure all ties were severed by the end of the day, even if his heart became torn to bits.

"You could at least try," Serah told him gently. "I know she would want to."

He knew she was somewhat right – just sitting back was useless. But even so, was he willing to go back to the way things were? Opening up and allowing himself an ounce of happiness was going to betray him in the end, once the Focus deadline would draw to a close.

The least Cloud could do was come to mutual terms with her, keep it cool while they figured out where to go from here. With a heavy sigh, he nodded to himself with some confidence before rising to his feet, turning to head into the shadows.

The cool breeze should have made the atmosphere calm, drawing their impending doom from their minds, even for a little while. Were they on the Planet, Cloud would have actually cracked a smile as he tilted his head up to the sparkling night sky. Near the edge of the chasm, Lightning peered toward the dark pathways, her gunblade resting by her side in its gun mode. As he approached, Cloud envisioned her figure surrounded by the local buildings of Edge, her squad off in the distance to head to their homes for the night. She would bid them all good night and decide it was ready to return to the bar, expecting him to be waiting. Instead, she would turn around, her eyes widening in surprise just before a gentle smile graced her lips. The smile would make him forget all the scars of his past, the harsh sacrifices he had to make to get to this point, and for once believe he was leading a normal life.

All it took was a single blink to shatter the dream, and Lightning was back to staring out into the darkness, her stance as rigid as any other soldier's. It took long seconds for Cloud to figure out which was the dream and which was reality. A heavy lump instantly clogged his windpipe, bile settling in the pit of his stomach at the wretched truth. He was given the unlikely chance at happiness, and now he was paying the heavy price.

The color drained from his face as he stopped in his tracks, a cold sweat close to breaking out. Was this some Focus side-effect? To steer him off course and speed up the brand progression? Snow's words ran through his head in an instant – shock would draw him closer to turning into those monsters, wandering the lands mindlessly for eternity.

Shutting his eyes, Cloud clenched his hand into a tight fist and breathed deeply through his nostrils. 'You can get through this,' he told himself in a firm tone. 'You won't be one of those things. This is just a small hurdle.'

With a steely gaze, he approached Lightning, not even flinching when he noticed her acknowledge his presence. Her head lowered an increment, pointedly avoiding his gaze when he stood just an arm's length away from her side.

"Looking for someone?" he asked in a somewhat strained voice.

Lightning remained stoic. "PSICOM's bound to send grunts out to find us. I didn't exactly keep much of a low profile when I was on Cocoon."

A reflexive chuckle managed to escape; leave it to Lightning to go out swinging. After a moment of silence, he could sense her eyes fixed on him, curious and careful.

"How long ago were you branded?"

Even still, he couldn't meet her gaze. Cloud turned his head a twitch to the left, away from her, but she was bound to notice. "Just before you showed up," he replied. "We were running from PSICOM. And before that, we were heading to some place – Oerba."

"Oerba?" Lightning's brows drew closer together.

"We were gonna take an airship to Cocoon…to look for you." Considering everything that had transpired up to this point, he wondered if all their efforts were worth it. Every decision they made turn their mission even more hazardous, and it was uncertain if they could survive once it was over.

Heavily sighing, Lightning turned away, hiding whatever expression passed over her features. "How did you even get here?" she asked in a voice close to a whisper. "I thought Chaos disappeared when Vincent stopped Omega." Her eyes flitted toward the camp, widening at the surprise that Vincent managed to survive the incident back in Midgar.

"Aerith always gets the Lifestream to pull through for us," Cloud explained as he reached into the back pocket for the gold materia. As it nestled in his palm, the glow remained constant; its vibrant reaction from the encounter with Serah and Snow confirmed their suspicions of one of its functions. He watched Lightning's expression carefully, to see if she would break a sweat or even flinch…

But her eyes just looked at it curiously, not irritated in the least.

He let out a tiny sigh of relief. "This basically opened a door – one way ticket to Pulse. It only reacts when it senses the stigma now."

A plan began to formulate in Lightning's head, her eyes darting around as she fit some pieces together. "We could use it to find other Jenova cells. When we go back to Cocoon, we'll check if other are also infected and—" The wariness on Cloud's face stopped her train of thought. "What?"

Unable to rip his eyes from her, Cloud felt a strange pang settling in his chest. Every word dripping from her lips were all for the benefit of the Pulse l'Cie…but what did she get out of this? She would save her mortal enemies, leaving her to be branded a traitor among the Sanctum fal'Cie.

Was she really all right with this?

"You're really gonna help us?" he asked skeptically.

Lightning gave a slight shake of her head while shrugging. "Why not?"

He hated bringing the subject up, but his and Vincent's suspicions were making more sense by the hour. "You're a Sanctum l'Cie…"

For a moment, her eyes widened with enlightenment, until a dark shadow finally passed through as she understood what he meant. Lightning took a steady step back, unable to restrict the pain evident in her visage. Cloud bit his tongue for mentioning that little fact, but nothing he could do will take back the words.

"You don't trust me," she stated in a hard voice. When Cloud failed to immediately meet her stare, her eyes shifted to the group over his shoulder. "And neither does Vincent, does he?"

"It's not that I don't trust you."

The look in her eyes refused to believe his claim. "I saw it in your eyes back there," she shot back accusingly just before softening with urgency. "Is it because of your Focus? Cloud…no matter what, I'm not just gonna stand by and watch you guys lose to this Focus. I won't let you become a cie'th."

That last bit was completely foreign to him; frowning, Cloud felt his forehead crease as he looked at her curiously. "A cie'th?"

"Those—" Immediately after she nodded her head toward the Archylte Steppe, the rest of her words caught her throat, shock and fear rising in her eyes. Lightning stared back at Cloud worriedly until she averted her gaze, but it was enough to warn him that what she withheld was something he wouldn't like.

He quickly looked over his shoulder, his mind retracing their steps to find what could have possibly been the "cie'th" she mentioned. Everything they encountered seemed relatively small fry…except the crystallized monsters…

With marks similar to their l'Cie brands.

An unbearable chill ran up his spine as his hand flew to the brand on his bicep. It all became clear – the similar brands, Serah and Snow's frenzy over becoming a l'Cie, and what awaited all of them if they failed their Focus. Once the fal'Cie wanted someone to get a job done, they weren't just going to wait around as their slaves took their time. There had to be some incentive: some fear that had to drive them onward…or face the consequences.

Cloud finally understood what Snow meant by it being too late through the brand progression, but the realization didn't make it any easier to accept. His gaze slowly returned to Lightning, who turned away with a painful mask.

"Those things back there," he started in a shaky low voice. By his side, he clenched his trembling hand into a tight fist. "They were once human…l'Cie. Is that what we become when it's too late?"

Lightning refused to meet his eyes, but her contorted face was still partly visible by the moonlight. "They didn't tell you, did they?" she asked in a harsh whisper.

Stunned, Cloud turned away, the brand on his arm pulsating ominously as if counting down the rest of his time. With every day spent on Pulse, he began to realize how little control the people really had over their lives. So long as fal'Cie were around, no one was truly safe, not so long as there was danger in the world. He tried to imagine himself turning into one of those monsters, or anyone else for that matter…and shuddered at the possibility.

That was if it was too late. However, on the other end of the spectrum…

With a brave face, he turned back to Lightning, who was still sore of being the bearer of bad news. "What happens if we complete this Focus?"

Hesitant, she took a daring glance, only to be met by his fierce beseeching stare. The answer she held was definitely something he didn't want to hear, but nevertheless needed to be heard.

"You gain eternal life...as a crystal." She spoke as if poison ran down her lips, refusing to hurt Cloud with the harsh truth. "Not dead, but exactly living, either."

As his strength was spent keeping him upright, Cloud's mind lost itself in oblivion. Any hope of finding peace after all this was snuffed out in an instant, leaving him at a crossroads daring him to choose an inevitable yet doomed path. Becoming a monster was the last thing he would ever want…but would it spare him from the eternal prison of crystal stasis? Either way, none of them were sure to win – killing Lightning meant imprisonment for life, but sparing her would see Serah, Snow, and his comrades turned into hideous monsters, doomed to roam Pulse forever.

How could he save the ones he cherished if it meant making unbearable sacrifices?

"I wish this didn't happen to you," he heard Lightning say in an agonizing tone. Thinking it over, Cloud let out a faint humorless chuckle – a Sanctum l'Cie pitied him.

'Sanctum l'Cie…'

Carefully, he refocused his gaze toward Lightning, who looked upon him with sorrow and remorse. It wasn't only him and the others who were tasked with a mission – any l'Cie, whether from Cocoon or Pulse, were cursed with a Focus.

"Do you know your Focus?" Cloud asked.

The pointed question clearly had an effect on her, but Lightning's steeled gaze didn't betray anything. Turning away, she resumed her post as lookout, her eyes sweeping down Vallis Media and across the skies. "No."

Cloud wanted to believe her, to include her in his pool of trustworthy companions…but marked as an enemy, Lightning was fated to stop him. To stop her sister. There had to be a reason the Pulse fal'Cie was so threatened by her that it wanted her head on a plate. Gritting his teeth together, he tracked down their top priorities. Fulfilling their Focus was on a set time limit, but the possible danger of the Jenova cells still roaming the lands couldn't be forgotten.

Was his original goal to save Lightning hopeless?