Little tendrils of light poked out from behind the fractured crystal. They hit the face of a Strawberry blonde, sitting by a massive pillar of crystal. The crystal was blue and beautiful; clear, yet slightly fractured. That would be due to the entire world it was supporting- the weight had started to crack the pillar.

Lightning made no movement as the light suddenly hit her eyes, meditating here, every day, like she had for the past six months. She knew about the fractures. She knew about the wild animals. She knew about the problems in the city of New Oerba that were surfacing every day. But still she sat at the base of the great pillar, which was already so important to the world, but even more important because she knew personally the sacrifice needed to create it.

And just like every day, she popped out the survival knife, and looked at it. She studied the words, already imprinted on her mind.

From Serah, to Claire.

Just like every other day, Lightning looked at the knife, felt the sharpness, envisioned it piercing into her. The pain she would feel would be nothing compared to the pain she felt now, mourning the fallen two.

Vanille. The healer, always cheery, always happy, always looking forward. With her bubbly disposition, pink hair, and downright cuteness, she'd given the group the energy to move on, even after they were exhausted beyond belief. She was willing to sacrifice it all, just to help the rest of them move on. The loyalty extended by her to the rest, even more than Fang...

The pain stabbed again, as Lightning remembered Fang all too well. The raven-haired warrior woman, the only one to ever beat Lightning in a sparring match, with her cocky smirk, her love of battle, her willingness to sacrifice it all for the ones she loved.

Her family.

Lightning considered the knife again. It would be so easy. So easy to just... thrust it in, and end the pain. Then she heard a muffled blowing sound. What was it?

Her meditation interrupted, she slowly got up, and walked around the pillar. Had animals gotten inside the perimeter of the town? The local Guardian Corps would receive a few choice words from-

Wait, was that Hope?

Suddenly Lightning dashed forward, arms going around Hope, who was sniffling miserably even as he tried to hide his tears. Lightning was uttering meaningless comforting terms as he shook uncontrollably, muttering the same names that had were so often parading around her own head.

"Hope, why are you crying," whispered Lightning. He shook more while trying to stem the flow of the tears.

"I-I... I'm trying to be strong," he managed to force out in between the sobs. "I'm trying to be st-strong for them, but it's t-too Hard! I can't stand it a-anymore."

"I miss them so much, I can't stand it," he cried.

Lightning took his hand, and put it in between her own. She was still repeating meaningless phrases like "I'm sorry" and "Everything will be okay", but still he shook with the unrepressed force of his sobs.

After about ten minutes, his sobs gradually slowed. Lightning took poor Hope back to her house. Hope looked much better now that he was in a civilized room, but he was still looking not quite up to par. His hair, usually bright silver, was now a dull grey. His eyes were bloodshot and his clothes were a mess. Lightning sat him down, and started pouring a glass of water for him to drink, as Hope still hiccupped miserably in a corner.

That was the precise moment when Snow and Sazh made their entrance. Seeing the state Hope was in, Snow immediately rushed to his side, while Sazh just leaned on a doorway, sighing a word that sounded like, "Again..."

Snow, being the naive person he was, asked the question, "what happened to Hope?"

Lightning sighed herself, then quietly muttered, "Fang and Vanille" and immediately regretted it, seeing the pain lance through all their eyes, feeling it lance through her own self.

Snow and Fang had been great friends during their ride together on the Lindblum, trading secrets and fighting techniques. When Snow asked Fang to save Lightning at Palumpolum, Fang immediately agreed without hesitation, despite not even knowing Lightning beforehand. Snow couldn't see a greater force of friendship. The shock of seeing the wild warrior woman sacrifice herself damaged Snow more than he let on, causing him to lose one of the best friends he'd ever had.

During their journey to Nautilus, Sazh had also bonded with Vanille. They had fought together, until Sazh almost regarded her as he regarded Dajh- feeling protective over her. That was why, even when Vanille revealed that it was her that caused Dajh to become a l'Cie, he couldn't bear to hurt her in any way. The way that bond had broken, so suddenly shattered after the final battle with Orphan, had devastated Sazh.

And Hope. Vanille treated Hope like a little brother, teaching him, helping him. But Lightning saw it in the way Hope stood, fought and looked at Vanille. He always stood facing her. He always fought protecting her. Hope was quite obviously crushing on Vanille. And the loss of her had hurt him so much, in ways that even Lightning herself couldn't comprehend.

Looking at the three around her, with the pain coursing through them, Lightning felt ready to drop. Just by saying three words, she had brought three- no four- of the legendary l'Cie to their knees in pain and memory.

Just three words, and all of them were in such obvious pain.

Lightning hated it.

After all, those three were her family too. And seeing them in so much pain, nearly made her vomit with the torrent of emotions that flooded through them.

Sympathy. Pity. Sadness. Determination.

Determination to stop the pain. That's when Lightning knew what to do.

A/N This is just the first chapter that I've planned. This is also the first chapter of the first multi-chapter story I've ever attempted. Is this idea interesting, and worth pursuing? Any suggestions, comments concerns, etc, please don't hesitate to contact me in any way.

As always, review, if only to scream at me for something. Or else, how will I get to know what I did wrong?

Also, Serah and Dajh have conveniently stayed asleep during this, so...