Chapter 6

Hope hasn't accustomed yet to go hand in hand with Vanille, like they did already on the way to Mahabara. Nobody of them spoke out the idea of doing this, it just happend while they walked down the dark tunnel.
They were still searching for an exit out of this spacious tunnel system and Hope almost gave up, but he felt responsible to be strong for Vanille.
Vanille, that lively and beatiful girl who walks next to him was his reason to keep going right now, he wanted to tell her what he feels for her and this for a long time now, but he wanted to wait for the right Moment, definitely somewhere outside of those damn tunnels which slowly began to annoy him.
He was so deep in his thoughts that he almost fall down to the ground when Vanille suddenly started to run.

,,Whats going on Vanille?" He had trouble to stay on his feet.

,,Don't you see those lights? That must be the daylight" she called hopefully.

They ran through the dark tunnel and straight to the lights that shined in, but their hope died once more when they finally entered the light, it wasn't the daylight that they saw.
The two young L'Cie found themselve in a big shining cave, full off glittering crystals in all different colours.
After handling the shock, Hope just stood there with an open mouth, he couldn't belive, that such a place existsted in an underground system like that. He could see Vanilles wide opened eyes, starring around this dreamlike place.

,,Wow, this so fantastic" she said enthusiastic.

,,Yes but we should..." He wanted to start, but he stopped when he noticed that Vanille was already running through the crystal cave.

Hope followed her without worry. He watched her how she ran around between the different kinds of crystals, laughing and beeing astonished like a little child. It was beautiful to see her happy like that.
After a few minutes, Hope sat down on a stone, Vanille came to him and sat down too, right next to him.

,,Are you ok? she asked him

,,Yes, I'm just thinking about some things" he said preoccupied

,,For exampel?"

,,About you" he blushed slightly

,,Wh- What? Did I do something wrong" she looked worried at him

,,Don't worry, You did everything right" He smiled warmly

,,But what then?"

,,I was thinking about how happy it makes me to be with you now, I really enjoy to spend my time with you and-" He takes her hands and looks shy inside her green eyes ,,and I would be happy to be with you like that in the future too. You always gave me the warmth that I ever missed since I became a L'Cie, I feel it everytime when I see a smile on your beautiful face " he felt that his heartbeat is getting faster and stronger from the words he said to Vanille.

,,T-Thank you" she giggled and Hope could see how her face was blushing too.

She embrased Hopes body with her Arms and pulls him to her own body until the gap between them isn't wider than a sheet of paper.
He feels her heartbeat, her warmth and her whole body.
Hope was paralyzed by the immense amount of hormones that were rushing through his body right now, but nethertheless he started to return the embrace.
Their eyes met and he noticed how close their faces were to each other, so near that he could feel her warm breath, he tried to imagine the taste of those beautiful red lips which were so near to his own. She slowly and hesitantly reduced the distance to his surprize and Hope realized what will happen in a few seconds, he instinctively tended his head a bit to avoid that their noises block the way. Vanilles lips nearly touches his.

This definitely will be. No, this definetly is the best moment in my life he thought.

But an explosion and a fearsome scream interrupted the two, before they could even unite their lips for the first time.
Hope fell almost from the stone when the incident occured.
He could't believe that they were interrupted right now, it was such a ridiculous bad moment for this incident.

But what was the reason for this big explosion and what kind of scream was that.

This can't be a human was his first thought about the mysterious creature.

But no normal animal could cause such a big explosion, what was that?

And now, a flying creature glided in the room, screaming once again so loud that they had to hold their ears closed

It seems to be a Cie'th! But it's so much stronger and so different from the other Cie'ths we already saw

,,Oh no! It's a Cie'mar!" Vanille shouted

,,What is a Cie'mar?" Hope asked confused, while they lied on the ground to avoid to get detected

,,A very strong Cie'th that posseses much more killing-potenzial. There isn't any more knowledge about these creatures because no one ever survived a confrontation like that" The fear in her voice proved that she was telling the truth about Cie'mar.

,,Oh great" He said ironically and added: ,,It seems to search something"

Or someone

,,We should hope that it doesn't find us" Vanille whispered

The stone in front of them was shattered with a loud sound and the Cie'mar prepared a new attack now, Vanille and Hope dodged the attack and prepared themselve for the fight, they combined their firaga and blizzaga to a mighty attack and fired it to the Cie'mar, it hitted, but the creature was as healthy as before and flew straight to Hope now, stretching it's sharp claws to bring about a terrible massacre over the young boy.
Hope was just in time to use one of his defence abilitys to reduce the damage, he escaped the attack with a big scratch at his arm, he swallowed the hurt to throw his bumerang for a counterattack, while Vanille healed him with a cure spell.
The Creature screamed and prepared for the next attack.

,,Vanille, I'm sure this thing is weak against physical attacks, we can't hurt it with any magical spell!" Hope called

,,Got it, but what should we do now, you know that most of our attacks are magical"

,,I'll distract it, try to attack him with your binding rod while it concentrates on me"

,,Ok, but please be careful" she answered worried

The winged beast was attacking anew now, Hope dodged the attack and jumped away from Vanille, to get her in a safer position.
She took her rod, and attacked the enemy, the spikes on the end of her weapon, bored into the screaming creature and hurted it audible.
The Cie'mar flew in front of Hope now and released a scream which let him going down on his knees, Hope was unable to act and he saw that their enemy was on the way for another attack now.

I- I have to move on now, this damn debuffs!

It was to late, he already felt a heavy strenght against his chest and flew a few steps back.
Everything on his body hurts now, but he stood up and continued to distract the enemy, he wasn't sure how much he could still take

Some more attacks and I'm finished he thought.

Vanille still attacked the creature and it was noticeable weaker than before.
Hope dodged another attack and used his counterattack again, this and Vanilles attack hitted it almost simultaneously and the Cie'mar collapsed and went to the ground, but instead of just dying, the corpse of the creature glided slowly into the air and exploded in a giant shock wave and strange gas.
Hope and Vanille were smashed against the wall and fell down unconscious on the ground, the gas was spreading now.

After a few minutes, Hope woke up in the gasified room and felt kinda ill, it was a struggle to stand up, but his conscious was clear again when he realized that he couldn't see Vanille.

I have to find her!

He searched the corner where he woke up and found her still unconscious, he tried to wake her up but she wasn't moving

Please no, she can't be..., no this can't be He felt the tears which ran out of his eyes

I have to get us out of here he coughed painfully when he tried to remember where the exit was.

He covered Vanilles mouth gently with his necktie, to reduce the gas that she had to breathe in.

If she is still breathing he thought desperately

He took Vanille up to carry her and then he searched for an exit out of this cave.
Suddenly something exploded in the air a few meters away and he went down with Vanille and covered her body, Hope felt that some small and sharp projectiles bored in his Body, but he stil continued to protect her from the danger in this place.
The projectile hail stopped and Hope resumed his search for an exit with Vanille in his hands

She looks as if she would just sleep, sweet as always He tried to smile

He gropes his way through the gas and couldn't believe it when he finally had found the exit.

Finally!

He ran further and further, he ran until he was sure that they were out of danger, then he laid Vanille down on the ground as gently as he could, but still shored her head with his hand.
That gas they were in, poisoned them, Hope felt that he couldn't use his healing magic anymore, means they were affected from a fog and a strong poison effect.

Couldn't be much more worse

He took the one antidote that they had and made the decision in no time.
He made a second attempt to wake her up and shook her gently.

,,Vanille! Please wake up" His tears ran again, but no signs of life

,,Vanille! You can't go right now, you are such an important person for me, so please Vanille just wake up, I couldn't even tell you yet that I-" His words were interrupted by another coughing fit, much more worse than the others before.
His tears ran down and he wasn't able to breathe normally anymore because of his despair and the persistent cough.
But then, he saw how she finally opened her eyes and looked at him.

,,Vanille! You're alive! Please drink this, the antidote will heal you from the poison" he said slightly relieved

She opened her mouth slowly and he led the reddish liquid carefully into her mouth, she swallowed it without a word.

,,How do you feel now?" Hope wanted to know after a Little while, still shoring her head with his left hand.

,,Much better than before, thank you" she said quietly

Hope used his right hand now to brush away the residue of liquid from her lips. She giggled and sat up.

,,What is this on your back, you are bleeding!" She said worried and Hope remembered the sharp projectiles that went through his back, he didn't realized the small puddle of blood that had formed behind him.

,,Well" he turned arround so Vanille can see it ,,I don't know what this is, I just know it's sharp" he said with a pained smile

,,That are crystal shards" She said bewildered and began to pull the shards carefully out of Hopes back, he just writhed himself because of another coughing fit that made him weaker from time to time.

,,Are you really ok Hope? That doesn't sound good" She asked once more.

,,I think that I might be still poisoned from the toxic gas, the Cie'mar released" he answered shortly

,,But thats horrible, don't we still have some antidote?"

,,No, I gave you the only one we had"

,,But-"

,,Please don't worry, it was my own choice and I won't regred it, no matter what happens" he gave her a comforting smile

,,Ok then, You saved my life and from now on it's my turn again to help you" She took the last shard out of him and took a cloth out of her skirt pocket to clean the blood from his back.
She tapped him on the shoulder after a while.

,,Yes?" He asked confused

,,I want to clean up the blood from your body but... I can't do this because of your jacket" she told him hesitating

,,O-Ok, I understand" His face blushed and he started to undress his jacket and his shirt.

,,Just relax, I do not bite" she giggled and started to clean his back

He coughed again and his body trembled because of the poison.

,,Still feeling ok?" she asked

,,Sure, as long as you are on my side" he smiled, still painfully but warmly at her

,,How sweet from you, thank you" She giggled again and gave him a quick soft kiss on his cheek.

Hopes face was visible red now and he was glad that Vanille was just behind him so she couldn't see his blush.
Vanille finished her work after a while and stood up to clean the cloth she used.
Hope pulled his shirt and his jacket back on and said:

,,I think we should go on soon, the others must be worried" he said and tried to suppress another coughing fit.

,,Yes your right, and you need help because of the poison, the others should have some antidote left"

,,I hope so"

,,Don't worry, we'll can make it" She said hopefully

,,Alright, lets go then"

They entered the next weak lighted tunnel and were gone just a few meters when Hope suddenly felt how his forces dwindled away rapidly and he was forced to stop walking, he perceived Vanille who turned around slowly, a few meters in front of him.
He coughed painfully and his view blurred piece by piece.
The last thing he noticed was Vanilles worried voice, before he finally sank to the ground.
Complete darkness followed. He slowly fell into a world of nothingness.

Fang was still worried about her friend, Vanille usually was a tough girl but her problem was that she starts to cry very easily.
This distraction already brought her in danger very often before and Fang was unsure if Hope would really be able to protect her in such a situation.
Inwardly she tended to answer this question with no.
They already found the exit a little while ago, but Hope and Vanille weren't there, so they went back into the tunnels to search for them.

,,I hope the kids are ok, that tunnel system, gets even me to despair" Sazh groaned

,,Well, this isn't too difficult old man" Snow laughed and added ,,But I admit that I am worried a bit too, they were alone for a unusual long time now"

,,Yes, I hope we can rely on their good sense" Lightning said worried

,,What do you mean with this sister?" Snow asked, knowing that he teased her with the designation of sister

,,First, I'm not your sister at all" she replied audible annoyed ,,And secondly, I'm not sure if they can manage to stay on the way without getting distracted from other things"

,,Just calm down a bit, I'm sure they are already on the right way" Snow wanted to relax the atmosphere.

Fang wasn't interested to discuss, she wanted to find Vanille and Hope quickly.
She didn't want to think about how far Vanilles stigma had progressed already.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice, just a weak sob, but it was unmistakable Vanilles voice.
Fang started to run in the direction of the sob.

,,What? Fang wait!" Snow called, when the upset woman ran into the darkness.

The confused L'Cie followed their comrade, unable to understand her sudden excitement.
Fang ran through the darkness, following the voice of Vanille until she finally saw her.
Vanille sat on the ground while holding the motionless Hope in her arms.
She cried and the despair in her voice was heartbreaking for Fang.
She went over to Vanille to find out what happened.
The other L'Cie gathered around the tragic scene.

,,H-He needs" Her voice was weak and she had to catch new breath first, before she could continue ,,He needs some antidote quickly, we were poisened b-by a Cie'mar explosion, please hurry" she stammered

Lightning ran over to them and let the liquid slide into his mouth, but the young boy remained without reaction.

,,Come on Hope swallow it!" Lightning said worried

,,What about you Vanille, are you still poisoned too?" Fang wanted to know

,,N-No but I were, Hope gave me the only antidote we had, I didn't know that, he-... he just gave me the only medicine and said that I shouldn't worry, I believed him that he was ok, but I was so mistaken!" Her tears ran down again and Fang noticed the little puddle that had already formed

Fang took Vanille into her arms and said: ,,It isn't your fault, I'm sure he will convalesce and I am sure too, that it would break his heart if he would have to see you sad like this when he awakes"

She noticed that Vanille calmed down a bit but Fang still kept her into her arms to avoid more tears which would probably begin to flow again if she would have to see the unconscious Hope again.

The others sat down around Hope to wait for another sign of life, while they're overseeing his still weak and slow pulse and heartbeat.

After a while, they decided to make a rest over the night, at the exit they found.
Snow carried Hope the short way to the planted area between the two parts of Mahabara and laid him down on a blanket, so he could convalesce in peace, while the others prepared the rest of their modest nightcamp.
Once the other L'Cie were sleeping, Fang went to Vanille who was still sitting on the fire that they made.

,,Are you alright Vanille?" Fang asked her calm

,,I am still worried about Hope but it is as you said, he would want to see me happy when he awakes and not sad like this" she said with a slight smile

,,You got it now, but I'd like to know what you two experienced at your little adventure, I'm excited to find out what happened you know" She looked expectant to Vanille, who smiled brighter now:

,,Well, It began all in that crystal cave, when..." She told Fang nearly everything of their adventure in detail.
She just omitted off the parts, as they came a bit closer in the crystal cave and the harmless kiss that she gave him while he was shirtless.
Fang was impressed of the adventure Vanille and Hope had, and she rethought her impression that she had of the boy, he saved Vanille and risked his own life for her.
She never really expected this from him.
But there was one other thing she noticed in Vanilles story.

,,Say Vanille, you not told me anything about what happened between entering that crystal cave and the fight against the Cie'mar, what was going on at this time?" Fang asked with a sassy smile on her lips

,,Äh that,... this was just a harmless conversation, nothing big, really" Vanilles face blushed and Fang began to laugh

,,You can tell me Vanille, my lips are sealed" She gave Vanille a gentle pat on her shoulder

,,Alright, but please promise me not to laugh"

,,Ok, I can try" Fang said teasing.

Thank you for reading until this point, I am glad that there are really people who read this and I thank you for any review you eventually write, because I can't really assess how bad/good the story is for you readers (It's the first fanfiction in my lifetime). I'm already on the work for chapter 7 and would appreciate any feedback that you might have for me. If you have critics or suggestions, you can write it to me, so that I know what I could do better in the future.

Thx. and nice greetings ~SKape