I don't own the rights to the plot or any of the characters from Final Fantasy XIII. The only thing that one could say I technically own the rights to is my original character, whose name currently remains a mystery.
Okaaaaaaaaay. Wow. Wow. I'm really sorry about the excruciating delay in updates. Around the time of my last one, I finally landed myself a job and, combined with school work and social obligations, I found myself to be completely bogged down. In addition, I could NOT find out how to go about writing the fourth chapter...and I thought it to be important to include it in my update since I hinted at it in the previous update. I didn't want to leave my readers without an interaction with the mysterious girl for yet ANOTHER update, but my perfectionism refused to allow me to put anything out that I mentally deemed "second-rate." Maybe I should look into acquiring a beta-reader...though I don't quite know how to go about that.
Alright, enough of my ramblings. So, I have two chapters for you all today. Hopefully that will make up for the lack in this story's progress. Enjoy!
Chapter 3 - What We'll See Will Define Explanation
In that moment, Hope could do nothing but stare. His jaw slackened, leaving his lips parted in a comical gape. His whole body tingled with blank shock. His feet felt like lead, cementing him awkwardly to the pavement in the street's center.
" 'Her' who? Hope, what's going on?" Lighting pressed, turning her head back and forth between Hope and down the street, in the hopes that she might zero in on the object of his gaze; this 'her.'
Hope barely registered Lighning's inquiries, only somewhat aware of her hand urgently clasping itself around his arm, trying to bring him out of his daze. No, Hope was far too consumed with the sight before him.
It was her, he was absolutely sure of it. Their nightly trysts in his dreams had made absolutely sure that he would never forget any of even the smallest details about her. He had memorized the ivory shade of her skin, the russet hue of her hair; how it transformed in the sunlight and shone the color of cherries. Flashes of her long hair flowing in the wind along with the fabric of her white dress skimmed across his memory. Hope felt he knew the shade of those silver eyes even better than the color of his own.
She continued to look on in his direction, almost right through him. The girl idly tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear before running her fingers through the remaining length of her tresses. She appeared to be looking for something as well, her eyes slightly squinted with determination. Could it be possible that she sensed him? Would the Goddess Etro toy with the strings of Fate in such a fashion to bring them together this very day?
The girl suddenly jerked backwards when an elderly woman bumped into her. Looking down at the apologetic lady, the girl gave a soft smile. She shook her head gently as her lips moved with a swift reassurance that she was unharmed.
And that's when it happened.
As the elderly woman passed her by, the mystery girl once again looked up in his direction…but this time, she found his eyes. Shock momentarily crossed her features, no doubt not expecting to see the lone teen staring at her so: his astonished expression giving the impression that she was something of a ghost. For what seemed to be an eternity, both of them simply stood there: steel piercing into celadon.
Suddenly, a crown of pink hair moved into the lower field of his vision shortly before a firm hand yanked the front of his shirt downwards. Instinctively, he looked down at the perpetrator of the action and locked in on the ice blue irises gazing slightly up at him.
"Hope! What is going on?" Lightning demanded, her expression tinged with alarm, a clear message that she would not tolerate his erratic behavior anymore. Hope did not respond, instead jerking his body violently and releasing his shirt from her grasp. His eyes quickly scanned the crowd, only to discover that the mystery girl was no longer there.
Panic set in, and Hope unceremoniously shoved Lightning to the side before dashing forwards into the crowd. He finally spotted the familiar tinge of red hair walking briskly away from him in the opposite direction. Hope increased his pace, repeatedly bumping into various strangers and ignoring any cries of indignation that followed. The only thing that mattered to him in that moment was not letting this girl get away.
However, the cruel mistress Fate had decided to have a cruel laugh at his expense. He crossed paths with a sprinting child, and the two of them instantly toppled over upon impact.
Hope heard the shrill wail of the young boy as his body scraped roughly against the ground. He felt the stinging sensation of fresh wounds ripping across his cheek and hands, His ears picked up the faint sound of shocked gasps from various pedestrians who stopped to watch the events to follow. Hope quickly got to his feet and attempted to find the object of his pursuit once more. To his utter dismay, those red locks and sterling irises was nowhere to be seen.
Utter dejection washed over him; he had found the object of his unrelenting dreams only to lose her again within minutes. Numbness seemingly flowing through his veins, he looked in the direction of the crying child, who had been joined by a frantic woman who was fretting over the boy's injuries. The child's mother, he automatically deduced.
"I-uh…sorry," Hope mumbled lamely through the mental fog, his eyes slightly unfocused. Cradling the boy in her arms, the woman craned her neck upwards to look at him furiously.
"You need to watch where you're going!" the woman practically screamed at him before looking back down at the child in her arms and whispering words of comfort that couldn't be deciphered over the boy's shrieks of distress. Hope languidly reached out a hand as some gesture of assistance before he felt a hand clasp his shoulder. Hope turned his head to discover that Lightning had made her way to the scene, her eyes analyzing the situation in front of her.
"I'll handle this. Clearly you've done enough," she stated curtly, but Hope could hear the carefully composed fury in her voice. Lightning slammed the sack containing Serah's pickles roughly against Hope's chest. Through his still ever-present daze, he slowly took the bag from her, wrapping his arms around to hold it against his chest. Somewhere in his depths of his dulled mind, he realized that he was going to be absolutely in for it in a matter of minutes…but for some reason he couldn't even find the strength to muster so much as a flinch.
Lightning kneeled down, leveling herself with the mother and child.
"Is your son injured?" she asked the frazzled woman, her voice taking on an "all business" tone. The woman jerked her head up towards Lightning with the obvious intention of berating at her as well. However, the fury quickly diluted from the mother's gaze and the words of malice slipped off her tongue. The pink-haired soldier had the innate ability of taking charge of any situation, her supremely commanding presence impossible to ignore.
The mother looked at her son once more, whose hysteria was finally beginning to wane. Hope wondered for a moment if he, too, was falling victim to Lightning's authoritative demeanor. Turning her head back to Lightning, the woman shook her head.
"I don't think so," she replied, her tone bordering on timid. Lightning dropped to one knee for a closer look. The young boy watched her intently with wide, puffy eyes as she visually checked for cuts and scrapes. When she determined that the child was indeed unharmed, she lifted herself to her feet before offering a hand of assistance to the woman. Giving a small nod of gratitude, the mother accepted the gesture with hand of the arm currently not cradling her son.
"I do apologize for this. I'm sure Hope didn't mean to upset your son," Somewhere in all of this, Hope had finally become aware of his actions. His face burned with shame, the sensation overpowering the dull pain of the cuts on his cheek and palms. He quickly grasped the handles of the sack of pickles that was still cradling in his arms and lowered it to rest at his side. Resisting the urge to simply stare at the ground like a coward, he looked back to the woman and her child.
"N-no. I didn't," he said with the utmost sincerity. "I-I…I'm really sorry." The mother turned her head slightly to look at him. The sheer fury was no longer lacing her features, but Hope could still detect a mild air of irritation in her eyes. She nodded curtly, an indication that she accepted his apology.
Before another word could be said by anyone, Lightning roughly grasped the crook of Hope's elbow and jerked him away from the crowd. Hope had no choice but to simply follow her lead. He chose not to bring any attention to the fact that Lightning's strong grip was causing the teen to feel a slight amount of pain beneath her fingers, and how their rapid pace was causing the sack of pickles to continuously collide against his shin. He knew that would only exacerbate his current predicament.
With the dejected Hope in tow, Lightning moved briskly through the market and towards Snow and Serah's house. Once again, they walked in silence...though this time, Hope observed, it was anything but pleasant. For ten solid minutes, Hope could do nothing but anticipate the scolding that was to come. He silently hoped that, if she was going to slap him, she would do so against the cheek that wasn't currently bleeding. Suddenly, Lightning lurched him out of his reverie by pushing him down to sit on a lone rock along the path. Hope knew the reason behind her actions: when Lightning Farron scolded him, it would be a frozen day in Ifrit's cavern before she would be forced to look up at him to do so.
For several minutes, Lightning simply stood there and glared at him, choosing to cross her arms tightly in front of her. Her expression was a blend of sheer disbelief and simple ire. Hope found himself fidgeting under her gaze, feeling like he was fourteen again. Other than his idle movements of apprehension, he didn't dare say anything or look anywhere other than directly into the path of her disapproving gaze. Finally, Lightning took pity on him and broke the painful silence
…so that she could utterly tear him a new one.
"Hope Vincent Estheim, what in Cocoon's name was that all about?" she demanded, her arm swinging outward to point back in the direction of New Bodum. Hope shoulders slowly rose to his ears as he subconsciously attempted to defy the laws of physics and sink his body into the rock beneath him. Before Hope could even begin to answer, Lightning was on him again.
"Blatantly ignoring me? Shoving me to the side before taking off…only to run into a small, defenseless child? What the hell came over you?" Hope instantly felt like he had been struck by a high-speed train. His eyes widened and glossed over, Lightning's words bringing everything back to him.
The girl, her presence shining like a beacon amongst the faceless crowd. Her eyes locking with his. The look of surprise flashing across her features. His body racing to catch up with her as she walked away swiftly.
"I lost her," he said softly, looking away from Lightning's face to stare out into the open Pulsian fields as he became lost in his thoughts. Lightning would have none of it, proceeding to grip his shoulder for the second time to give him a single, firm shake.
"No. Not this nonsense again. What are you talking about? Who is this 'her'?" she asked forcefully. Hope said nothing, his face becoming more and more laden with panic. Lightning shook his shoulder again, but was met with no response. She quickly lowered herself to one knee, bringing her face level with his. Still he said nothing, appearing to look through the soldier. She grabbed his other shoulder urgently to shake the teen once more, and he finally focused his gaze on her face.
"Hope, answer me. Right now," she commanded, accentuating every individual word. Through her aggravation, Hope could see the clear twinge of concern in her gaze. Hope began to slowly shake his head from side to side. His mouth open and closed several times, but no words came out. He brought his hands up to grasp the sides of his head, pressing his fingers roughly into his scalp.
"No…no, no, no," he wailed, allowing his head to fall so his chin bumped against his chest. He sprang to his feet, the sudden nature of his actions forcing Lightning to spring back so as to not be knocked completely to the ground.
"I have to go back. I have to-" he rambled, but Lightning cut him off.
"No." she stated firmly, getting up to her feet. "We're going home. You need to clean that cut on your face so it doesn't leave a scar." Hope looked at her, his eyes absolutely wild, then jerked his head to the side to stare off towards the town. He repeated this action several times before closing his eyes and sighing in utter defeat. Looking back to Lightning, he nodded softly.
The anger was all but gone from Lightning's face. Returning his nod, she turned on her heel to continue on towards her sister's house. Hope was silently grateful that she chose not to press the issue further…or at least had chosen to delay her inquiries for a later time. Simply keeping up with the soldier required a substantial exertion of energy on his part. His body wanted nothing more that to collapse back on that rock to stare off the comforting emptiness of the surrounding valley for hours on end.
Hope was vaguely aware that they had reached the house. Lightning pressed a guiding hand between his shoulder blades, coaxing him up the front steps with a gentleness that was quite foreign to her. Opening the front door, she silently ushered him inside.
Snow and Serah were seated in the living room, laughing amongst themselves at a joke that the newly arrived pair had just missed. Their laughter stopped abruptly as they turned to look at Hope and Lightning and saw the teen's bloodied cheek. Serah let out a small gasp as she stood up quickly, her hands flying to her mouth. Snow was more languid with his actions, but his expression mirrored his wife's concern.
"Hope!" Serah cried out, darting out to meet them as Lightning guided Hope purposefully towards the couch. Serah's fretful tone managed to stir Hope slightly out of his daze, enough for him to sit down on the couch on his own accord. Serah instantly sat down next to Hope, delicately placing her hands on his arms to turn him towards her. Hope forced himself to give her a small smile, hoping to placate the fretful woman.
Once he was seated, Lightning walked briskly towards one of the room's many cabinets and proceeded to rummage through its contents.
"Sis, what's going on?" Snow asked, his forehead creased with worry. Serah repeatedly shifted the delicate placement of her hands to his arms, his shoulders, his uninjured cheek, and the top of his head. Hope instantly felt a calming effect from the soft touch of her fretful fingers, and he once again tried to smile at her. She returned the gesture this time, though her face was still radiating with distress.
"Work, huh?" Lightning deadpanned over her shoulder to Snow as she rummaged through one of the cabinets. She finally found the small, first-aid kit that she had been searching for. Turning around, the soldier gave the larger man a reproachful glance as she walked briskly towards Hope and Serah on the couch.
"It…was cancelled. PUL-PSI wanted to do some more preliminary observations—Lightning, do you mind telling me what happened?" Snow pressed, changing the subject back to Hope as he sat down on the adjacent coffee table. Lightning said nothing. She handed off the kit to her sister, relinquishing further action to Serah's higher level of medical expertise. Serah took the box from her sister with a quick nod. Opening the box, Serah quickly pulled out several cotton pads and a bottle of sterilizing solution.
"Lightning?" Snow asked again as Lightning walked over and stood next to him and in front of Hope.
"I don't really know," Lightning snapped, glaring at him with irritation before looking back at Hope. "I've been trying to figure that out myself. There we are at the market when all of a sudden he takes off. Ends up running into a child, knocking both of them over-"
"Hope…" Serah whispered in disbelief, looking up from dousing the pads in the sterile solution. Shock crossed Snow's face as well, and he turned to look at the injured teen.
Feeling all their gazes upon him, knowing that they were all waiting for an answer, Hope knew he couldn't sit in silence any longer. He slowly inhaled before letting out a loud sigh.
"I…I saw her. I still can't believe it." Hope relented, his words making sense to no one but himself. Lightning rolled her eyes and huffed in exasperation, but chose to say nothing.
"Who did you see, Hope?" Serah asked softly, bringing one of the soaked pads to Hope's face. The silver-haired teen involuntarily flinched from the painful sensation, a low hiss escaping his lips. Serah rubbed her hand against Hope's back in soothing circles, her expression apologetic as she continued to clean his cheek.
"The girl…my dreams, she…" he replied, before trailing off.
A few seconds of silence passed…and then the room was filled with the sound of Lightning's strangled groan of disbelief.
"What? You mean to tell me that you almost brought the New Bodum Market to a screeching halt because you saw a pretty girl?" Lightning bellowed. Snow threw his head back and barked out a laugh at the combined hilarity of Hope's declaration and his sister-in-law's infuriated reply. Even Serah couldn't help but chuckle softly as she continued to treat Hope's injuries.
Hope's jaw dropped as he realized how his words sounded. He looked over at Lightning, shaking his head in emphatic denial.
"N-no! I-"
"Never took you for the sheer romantic, Hope," Snow jeered through chuckles, a wide and impish grin stretched across his face. The gargantuan blond was desperately biting his lower lip to keep his already-minute level of control in check. Hope's frantic eyes darted from Lightning to the Snow, his face beginning to flush a bright shade of pink.
"That's not what I meant-" Hope began, but he was once again cut off.
"I had to swoop in an bail your ass out from that whole fiasco, caused by an influx of hormones?" Lightning demanded. Unable to contain himself any longer, Snow burst out laughing. His large hands flew to his sides for support. He hunched over at the waist onto his knees, howling. Serah faced an equal difficulty of controlling her small giggles while dabbing a scar-preventative ointment over the cut on his face.
"No!" Hope pressed emphatically, bristling with indignation. His face burned with embarrassment as Snow continued on with his condescending snickers, and Hope proceeded to scowl at the ground.
Impatient to hear Hope's explanation (and always looking for an excuse to lash out at her infuriating brother-in-law), Lightning struck the back of Snow's head with a powerful blow. Snow's deep laughter halted abruptly, and he let out a resentful "Ow!" Serah placed her hand on Snow's knee, lifting her gaze upward to give her sister a look of disapproval.
"Well?" Lightning demanded, bringing the focus of the discussion back to Hope. Exhaling to release the remnants of his irritation, Hope proceeded to clarify his previous statement.
"The girl that I saw…I've been seeing her in my dreams every night for the past six months," The three companions stilled almost instantaneously, taking in Hope's words. Lightning's eyebrows furrowed, her jaw dropping slightly from shock. Snow's eyes widened, all traces of humor completely wiped from his expression. Hope assumed Serah wore a similar expression of confusion, but he chose not to turn his eyes and look at her.
"Every night, it's the same dream…and every night I see her," Hope continued, looking down to intently watch Serah clean the scrapes on both his palms. He barely felt the sting of the rubbing alcohol through the ferocity of his raging nerves. Another powerful wave of silence swept through the room.
Finally, someone spoke up. Surprisingly, it was the younger Farron seated at his side.
"What happens in this dream, Hope?" she inquired, her tone soft and gentle. Hope inhaled deeply, his tense throat causing the air to rattle against his windpipe.
"We….I see her there, standing on one of the cliffs near the shell of Cocoon. She…she touches a piece of the Crystal Column…and…" he paused to collect himself, continuing to stare down at his hands.
"She…brings them out of crystal stasis," he says in a voice barely above a whisper. Once again, he was met by nothing but silence. Mustering up enough courage, he turned his head up to lock eyes with his pink-haired mentor.
Lightning looked back at the young teen, her eyes shining with sadness…but most of all pity.
A wave of incensed fury flared deep within him.
"Hope, listen to me-"
"Don't!" he ground out through clenched teeth, his tone furious. He met Lightning's infuriatingly sympathetic gaze with an infuriated glare. Her expression did not falter in spite of his obvious ire. Unable to bear any more of her ridiculing compunction, Hope tore his gaze from her and looked over to Snow. The larger man had his gaze fixated on the floor, his expression pained.
It was almost worse than the pity.
"Hope," Lightning continued, "Fang and Vanille…in all likelihood, they're not coming back in our lifetime." Snow's eyes slowly closed, and he inhaled sharply. Hope's revelation had brought awareness to a dark cloud that ever loomed over the heads of the former l'Cie: the discussion of the two Pulsian women who sacrificed their freedom to save their companions' lives and those of Cocoon.
Unable to continue looking at the normally-jovial Snow, now wracked with sorrow called out from him upon remembering their crystalized friends, Hope brought his furious gaze back to his hands.
"Don't you think I know how crazy this sounds?" he demanded to no one in particular, his voice cracking with the suppression of the tears that his pride refused to let fall. "Don't you think I get that? I do, believe me. I've had months to reflect on how absolutely insane it all is."
"Hope…no human, and in all likelihood no l'Cie, has the power to awaken someone from crystal stasis-"
"No, I don't believe that," Hope stated with absolute certainty. He stood up from the couch, taking the time to look at each of them individually. "I know that she can bring them back. I can feel it. You don't have to believe it. You can go ahead and think whatever you want…but I know that she can save them."
And with that, a third and final silence settled among them.