Chapter 21: The Saint's Stone

Day 3, 8:00 PM

Lightning took the rest of the afternoon to grab something to eat. This was more out of habit than necessity and given that most emotion was denied her it came as a surprise that food still had taste. Perhaps eating would be her last pleasure - assuming she remained this way forever.

The current emotional state - or lack thereof- was troubling to her. Whenever she was doing her duty to God she felt the same hollow, lifeless void that had consumed her since she awoke. But there were flashes of emotion here and there. A brief, dulled joy at the thought of being reunited with Serah, faint hints of anger in combat, even sorrow at the plight of Noel. She had a working theory but didn't feel comfortable discussing it with Hope. There were two reasons. One, she was worried that he would over-analyze it to death and two she didn't feel comfortable placing her burdens on somebody else, any more than she had to.

Her theory was that this was her humanity shining through whatever divinity had been blessed - or perhaps cursed- upon her. In these faint moments she was truly herself and not just a puppet of Bhunivelze. That came with an unfortunate corollary. If God wanted her to be an emotionless tool, would he be pleased that he had not yet snuffed out her individuality? And hadn't that girl, Lumina, said something about God not being able to see into her heart?

She looked at her watch - 8:00 PM. The time had come to meet with the "saint", as they called her. She made her way to the entrance to the Cathedral, where a member of the Order was awaiting her, looking unusually distraught.

"You seem a bit troubled," Lightning said.

"Yes, it's true. I am," the girl said, her bright white hair shimmering in the moonlight and clashing against the black uniform of the Order (complete with beret). "But I don't know that it's something I'd feel comfortable discussing with a stranger."

Lightning shrugged. "Fine. I wouldn't want to force you to talk."

The girl seemed rather taken aback. "My, oh… You are a rather frank one, aren't you, miss? It's not that I've been sworn to silence or anything. Quite the opposite. I feel like I've got to tell someone."

Lightning folded her arms. The girl picked up on the sign that she was losing the interest of her not-so-captive audience. She sighed and started over.

"Let me start from the beginning. I am Aremiah, one of the blessed member of the Order tasked with looking after Lady Vanille."

"Did you say Vanille?" Lightning asked.

Suddenly there came a wave of emotion again. Faint, but present. Lightning chose to temper her expectations. This could not possibly be the Vanille she was thinking of.

"Yes, our Lady Vanille. The one and only holy saint who has been gifted with the mysterious ability to hear the cries of the dead that are carried on the winds of Chaos."

"Vanille… the saint?"

It can't be.

Aremiah rushed forward, eager to get to the heart of her story. "Yes, well, the fact is that the holy one is particularly attached to one particular belonging. A small stone that she always carries."

"I'm guessing it's no regular piece of rock," Lightning shrugged. She could see where this was going.

"You're quite right. It seems like something very special. It reflects the light with a rainbow iridescence. But several days ago, that very stone was stolen by some reprehensible thief! Ever since its disappearance, the poor saint has hardly said a word; she's completely withdrawn."

"She can't find the thief?"

Aremiah seemed flabbergasted by the gall. "Find the thief!? The holy saint!?" Noticing Lightning's lack of understanding, she elaborated. "She cannot leave the cathedral! It is completely out of the question!"

Lightning again folded her arms now from annoyance rather than boredom. "I see. So you keep your precious saint locked up like some sort of criminal or animal."

Aremiah may have been trying to sound indignant but her true feelings were revealed in the sorrow that shone through. "Y-you say too much. Well, th-the only reason the saint is kept within the cathedral is for her own safety and protection."

Lightning wasn't in the mood to pull any punches.

"She can't be trusted with herself?"

Aremiah missed the sarcasm. "Yes, that's it exactly."

Despite the problems Lightning had with the situation, it did present a rather obvious, if somewhat unpleasant, solution.

"If what you say is true, and she never leaves the cathedral, then only other Order members could have gotten to her."

"You-you're suggesting that a member of the Order stole the saint's precious belonging!? You could not be more wrong! It's impossible!"

"Then you admit others into the cathedral to see your saint, do you?"

Aremiah pondered this for a moment. "There is an outfit which is allowed to enter to make their deliveries, but," she then doubled down on her firm stance. "Their staff always go through a thorough inspection. They couldn't even sneak out a pebble if they tried."

Lightning shook her head. "There's an exception to every rule. Where do I find them?"

"I wish I could tell you, but I don't know. I think they work out of the warehouse district."

"The warehouse district, huh? I don't know how far I'll get, but at least I can give it a shot."

"Oh, you are far too kind! Just knowing that there are such generous souls searching will surely put the saint at ease!"

Lightning wondered about that. Given what she'd seen of the Order so far, she wondered if the news would ever even make it to "Lady Vanille". And then there was that tidbit. Could it be… her Vanille? The comrade she'd fought alongside more than 500 years ago? According to Hope the Saint had wanted to see her. That could be… no, it was ridiculous. There was only one way to find out for sure.

She made her way down to the Warehouse District of Luxerion, a relatively small collection of back streets and tightly connected factories. The scent of oil and smoke clung to her surroundings, and the moonlight seemed to fade away behind the light of the gaslamps. She noticed a worker kneeling over a collection of boxes, with one in particular under his severe scrutiny.

"What's the story with the box?" She asked.

The warehouse employee turned and shrugged. "Well, it was given to us by a customer, but they must've forgotten to address it!"

"Why don't you just give it back to that customer?"

The employee rubbed the back of his head. "Well, that's where things get a bit sticky you see. One of our new lads handled the package. Said some bigwig from the cathedral gave it to him - asked if we could hold it for a while."

Well that was easy. "From the cathedral, huh? Let me guess - that "bigwig" is tied to the saint somehow, aren't they?"

The warehouse worker seemed stunned at Lightning's seemingly inexplicable deductive reasoning.

"How'd you know that? That's amazing! The new lad was delivering packages to the saint's quarters when he met this person. Never even got their name or anything," the employee gritted his teeth and kicked the pavement in frustration. "We've really stuck our foot in it now. The Order is one of our biggest customers. We can't go back and admit we took a package from someone there without checking it."

Lightning nodded. "I may be able to help you out. I'm looking for something that was taken from the cathedral. I'd like to check that box. If it's there, I'll return it myself. I'll take full responsibility for it."

The warehouse worker nodded and Lightning searched the box quickly. It didn't take long as what she needed was on the very top barely obscured by a cloth. A small fragment of crystal… the same type of crystal that Lightning had been encased in. The same that Serah had been. The same that Fang had been. And the same that Vanille - her Vanille - had been in. This couldn't be a coincidence.

The warehouse worker shrugged. "Looks like there's a lot more to this than I know. If you don't mind, I'm just gonna look the other way on this one."

Lightning was too distracted to even notice him as she began to make her way back to the Cathedral.

Could there be someone within the Order with a grudge against Vanille? Maybe I should talk to that woman from the Order again. Aremiah. She might be able to answer some questions.

Back at the Cathedral entrance, Aremiah was still on post.

"Hey, is this the stone that Vanille's missing?" Lightning asked, handing over the crystal shard.

Aremiah gasped. "Oh! This rainbow sparkle… This sheen… Yes! This is it exactly! The saint will be thrilled to have it back, I'm sure!"

There were a few things Lightning needed to know but she wanted to clear one thing up first.

"I don't know how close you are with Vanille, but do you know why she cares so much about that particular stone?"

Aremiah nodded. "I do. The saint confided the truth to me, when it appeared lost forever. She told me that this stone, this very stone, was held clutched in her hand when she awoke from her crystal stasis thirteen years ago."

Crystal stasis. It has to be her. It has to be Vanille.

Aremiah continued. "She claims this stone holds a special power. Every once in a very rare while, it shows a glimpse of the precious family who is lost to her now. I can tell she cares for them with all her heart."

"Family," Lightning decided to prod. "She must have meant Fang."

Fang. Serah. Sazh, Snow, Hope. Perhaps even Lightning herself, but she didn't dare to hope that.

Again Aremiah gasped. "Oh my. You know of Lady Fang?"

It was official now. This was Vanille - the same Vanille from all those years ago. But what was she doing with the Order. How did she become their Saint. What happened to Fang and who was trying to harm her from within the Order?

"Yes, it seems it was possible for the saint to sometimes get a glimpse of Lady Fang in the facets of that stone."

"I can see why the stone meant so much to her. Tell Vanille I'm glad she has it back safe and sound."

Aremiah shook her head. "Oh, I couldn't possibly give her that message. You will have the chance to tell her yourself! The holy saint herself has expressed an interest in seeing you."

It was just as Hope had said. After half a millennia, Lightning would be seeing one of her friends again. She entered the Cathedral as the clock struck midnight.