[Final Fantasy XIII] Crystal Dreams of Eternity
Chapter 2: (III.2) Sought and Found
A Final Fantasy XIII Fanfic
By Jen-chan
January 21 - January 26, 2011
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: Post-game. Lightning searches for Fang & Vanille and finds them.
Closure. That was all Lightning Farron was really looking for, or so she told herself. She wasn't naive or stupid enough to actually have hope (or at least, to admit to herself that she had hope) that she would find Fang and Vanille alive and smiling, just waiting to be rescued.
Somewhere, deep in her heart, she knew that they had to have gone on already, because she could *feel* them - in the air, in her mind... For the last year, ever since Cocoon had fallen out of the sky, she was certain that a warm, comforting presence had been following her around, watching over her, protecting her. Like a guardian angel.
And she had known, somehow, that that had been Fang, and maybe Vanille too, looking out for her. Wanting her to move on.
There were even days, her worst days, when her heart ached so much it threatened to fall out of her chest, and all she wanted to do was to smash everything around her to bits in frustration. Everyone would have to give her a wide berth on those days, even Serah, though her younger sister would try her best. Always, on those days, she'd imagined that she could hear Fang's voice chiding her, 'get a grip on yourself, Sunshine! Look forward, not behind!'
The living didn't do that.
So Lightning accepted, she really did, that Fang was gone.
She really did.
Really.
But in the end, she just couldn't stop that doubt, that maddening, all encompassing, debilitating *doubt*, from creeping across her thoughts and heart, rousing her in the middle of the night, and shattering her ability to concentrate on anything when she was awake.
~... What would you do, if they were out there and just needed a little bit of help to get back? What would you do, if *she* were out there, just waiting for you to get her...?~
She couldn't stop waking up in the morning, grasping at dreams in which they'd been reunited though she could not remember any details...
She couldn't stop thinking about how they'd dared to, and triumphantly defied their fates once before already...
~We never *did* find Fang and Vanille's crystals... or their bodies...~
... and so, Lightning realized, she could never really move on, until she got that closure.
One way or another, one form or another, she would find Fang and Vanille.
And then she'd be able to move on.
So that was why Lightning was currently scaling the sides of the crystal pillar which held up Cocoon. The going had been surprisingly tough. The structure was very smooth, and slippery, with not very many suitable edges for gripping. The structure was hard too - it took a long time to hammer in the safety spikes through which she'd feed her rope through. She was going at a snail's pace. It was already her second day on the pillar; she was roughly three quarters of the way up. She'd spent one harrowing night huddled against one crystal outcrop already, strapped in with rope, one shoddy carabineer away from a long, long plunge.
Her night had not been restful, understandably, given the circumstances, but also because she had dreamed of Fang all night. Fang, in all her magnificent, blue sari-clad glory, yelling at her to 'stop being a dill! Stop looking for us! Go back home!'
It was the clearest dream Lightning had ever had of Fang, and though the other woman had wanted her to stop looking, it had only served to encourage Lightning all the more.
As Lightning carefully reached for her next handhold, she tried to keep her attention on the present, rather than cursing her own stubbornness.
She could have asked Sazh to fly her up the pillar, though she had ultimately decided against it. For one, with the irregular branching that occurred in the crystal pillar, no aircraft could really get that close to the trunk to really examine it closely. And secondly, she hadn't wanted to put him in a difficult spot for a fool's errand. It was difficult these days to get clearance for aircraft. The military had spent much of their energy on the evacuation of 15 million Cocoonians and supplies, and without the Fal'Cie's powers to recharge them, it was decided that flights should be suspended save for the most necessary of missions, at least until an alternative fuel source could be perfected.
And so Lightning climbed. She wasn't really sure what she was looking for, or what she was doing, really, but something in her gut had told her that this pillar would be her best bet for now. It was funny - the closer she'd gotten to the crystal pillar, the higher up she'd climbed, the clearer her dreams had gotten. It was definitely encouraging.
~Almost there,~ she thought, grunting with effort as she reached up and pulled. ~Just a little more, and...!~
She slipped.
~Shi-!~
Suddenly, Lightning was in free fall.
And in that free fall, a thousand thoughts warred with for her attention - what an idiot she really had been - how she should have said good-bye to Serah before she'd come out - what would Fang think of her carelessness - would she see Fang on the other side-
And then she felt a snap as her safety rope caught her. "Agh!" Lightning grunted as her harness cinched around her pelvis painfully, jolting her, spinning her, and then slamming the side of her body against the crystal pillar roughly, bruising her shoulder.
For a moment, she swung there, only the rope holding her, before she managed to find footholds and plastered herself against the side of the crystal pillar again.
She gasped loudly for air, her blood roaring in her ears and her heartbeat thundering out of her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to count to ten - forced herself to slow her breathing, forced herself to calm the hell down.
~It's okay,~ she told herself. ~It's okay. You're fine. You're fine! Just... open your eyes. Open your eyes and don't look down.~
It took her a while. But when she managed to open her eyes again, she could see that she had only fallen about 15 feet or so. She had been lucky that she'd put in that safety spike where she did; the next one was significantly lower down.
Lightning wondered what Fang would have said.
~Probably something about lady luck.~ The thought of the Pulsian woman helped to put some of the strength back in Lightning's grip, and for that, the soldier was thankful.
Fang - looking out for her, even now.
Actually, Lightning realized, as she closed her eyes again to build up the mental strength to climb again, she thought she could hear the Pulsian woman's voice now.
'Idiot!' Fang's voice seemed to say. 'Stop DOING this! Or at least, if you insist on doing this, stop thinking about me and pay attention to what you're doing!'
Lightning couldn't help but smile grimly to herself. ~Stop now? Just cause you want me to? Right. That's going to happen.~
Fang threw up her hands. '... you are impossible.'
Lightning knew it was only her own imagination, but somehow, even though she knew that Fang would have been exasperated with her, she also felt that she could hear fondness in the warrior's voice.
'Alright then, if you're going to do this, then stay at her for a couple more hours. You'll reach a decent sized ledge soon. Take a closer look at the crystal wall on that ledge. You'll see a crack. That's where you want to go.'
Lightning blinked. Now that... was a weird thought.
Talking to an imaginary Fang was one thing... but having imaginary Fang talk back to her and give her specific advice that she herself had no original knowledge about?
~That's it. I've finally lost it.~
Still, realizing that now was not the place to start questioning her sanity, Lightning grit her teeth, reached up, and continued to climb again.
It took a couple more hours... but eventually, eventually... she made it.
"Aaargh!" With one final grunt of effort, Lightning managed to haul herself onto a ledge. Gasping for air, her entire body trembling from the exertion, Lightning finally allowed herself to rest for a few minutes. Pulling her backpack out, she found the potion she was looking for and quickly took a swig.
She felt revitalized immediately.
It wasn't until after she'd done all this did she finally allow herself to look around. It was a good sized ledge, and it was getting late in the day. She could probably stay here for the night, if need be.
~Huh. Well whaddaya know. This WAS here.~
But there was no way in hell she had seen this before. How had she known it was here...?
A strange feeling twanged in Lightning's heart, but she quickly squashed it down, as it felt far too much like hope. She moved quickly to the crystal wall to examine it, but was held back by her rope. Against her better judgment, she undid her rope and harness, so that she could go examine the wall.
And sure enough, Lightning realized, for whatever reason, the crystal around this area had somehow been compromised. There were fracture lines snaking all around it, as though a good assault would shatter it.
The strange feeling twanged in Lightning's heart again, and this time, she didn't squash it down. Instead, she pulled out her gunblade, and launched a series of strikes against the crystal.
She was rewarded with flying crystal shards bursting outwards, peppering her. Lightning winced as a few of them cut into her skin, drawing blood, but thankfully, not too deeply. Shaking her head, she quickly brushed as much of the crystal shards off of her person as she could before surveying the damage: there was a large crack in the wall of the crystal pillar now - a little bit smaller than her, but definitely large enough to squeeze through.
~W-what the hell?~ That strange feeling blossomed into full blown hope in Lightning's chest as she stared at the crack. Her body broke out in goose bumps.
A familiar voice seemed to drift by in the wind again.
'See you soon, Sunshine.'
"Wait!" Lightning cried, whirling around, trying to catch a glimpse of a ghost. "Fang? Is that you? Was that you all along?"
There was no answer.
Lightning balled her hands into fists. ~Fine! If that's the way you want to play it, then that's the way we'll play it.~ Unable to stop the hope born impatience in her heart, Lightning quickly squeezed through the crack in the crystal wall...
... and promptly found no ground under her feet.
With a sharp cry of surprise, Lightning tumbled down down down down down.
She hit her head on something hard, and then knew no more.
'... wake up...'
'... wake up!'
"... WAKE UP!"
Lightning groaned. "...Fa... ng...?" She whispered, voice hoarsely. She opened her eyes.
The most beautiful sight in all the world greeted her.
Fang's bottomless jade eyes, crinkled with horrified worry, gazed down at her. She was just as Lightning had remembered her - stunning, proud, strong, her smooth bronzed skin framed with dark, tousled hair. Her mouth, lined with concern, was currently opening and closing like she was trying to say something, but Lightning couldn't quite hear her.
Lightning swallowed. "Fang...!" She reached out for the other woman.
Whatever words that had been trying to make their way from Fang's lips to Lightning's ears ceased, as Fang stopped talking, and simply stared at Lighting in wonder. And then, those beautiful jade eyes softened, and Fang whispered back, "... Light."
Lightning locked her teeth together, fighting back the overwhelming flood of emotion that suddenly threatened to swallow her. Pulling herself upwards, she threw her arms tightly around Fang's neck in a crushing embrace. Fang's body was taught, toned, and muscled, just as Lightning had remembered it to be. She smelt of wild flowers and sunlight, just like Lightning had remembered her to.
"Fang!" Lightning breathed, squeezing her eyes closed. "You're real! You're alive!"
For a moment, the other woman didn't respond. And then, slowly, Lightning felt Fang's arms around her waist, as she returned the pink haired soldier's hug.
"No, Light," Fang whispered, voice quavering with remorse, and barely audible. "I'm not. You're in the crystal. You hit your head, and you passed out. You're hurt pretty badly. You have to wake up, and you have to call for help. This... this isn't real. You're dreaming."
Lightning snapped her eyes opened, pulling herself out of the embrace to stare at Fang, flabbergasted. "W-what are you talking about?" She demanded.
She had only seen Fang's eyes look this unbearably, heartrendingly sad once before - in orphan's cradle, as she and Vanille had dropped away from everyone else.
"Light," Fang said quietly, reaching out and cupping Lightning's cheek tenderly in one hand, "believe me when I say I want nothing more than to keep you here, but it's the truth. You need to get help *now*. Every second you stay here, the greater the risk that you just don't wake up again. And I... I couldn't bear the thought of that. Please, you have to wake up. For me."
With grave reluctance, Fang lifted her other hand, her thumb pressed against her middle digit.
Lightning's eyes widened. "No, Fang, wait-!"
Fang snapped her fingers.
Lightning woke up.
Everything was dark. For a moment, Lightning wasn't sure if that was because she hadn't opened her eyes yet, or if she'd gone blind, but then, gradually, her vision adjusted and she realized that it wasn't entirely dark - there was a very, very faint light, shining from somewhere down from above.
Lightning groaned. Everything hurt. She realized that she was lying, face down, on something really hard. She tried to twitch her hands and feet. Miraculously, three of four limbs responded, but her right arm shot stabbing needles of hurt up through her body. She managed to muffle a cry.
~L-let's not try to do that again for a little bit.~
Struggling, she tried to lift herself off the ground. She got a few inches off, and then felt a blinding pain in her middle. Only sheer stubbornness kept her from falling back down. With an iron will born of years of discipline, she forced herself up into a sitting position, grateful that she had something to lean her back against.
Swallowing, she tried to assess her situation. She was... somewhere inside the pillar. She had broken at least several ribs, as well as her arm. She probably had a concussion too, given how dizzy she felt. The dim light was coming from the crack in the crystal she'd made to the outside, which was currently... oh... some 30 feet or so above her. She hadn't fallen straight down the full 30 feet. Evidently, she had bounced and tumbled down the inside of the crystal.
With the little bit of light, she was able to locate her backpack, which had luckily fallen with her, just a few feet away. Crawling over to it, her heart sank as she realized the container of potion she had was broken, and mostly spilled. She was able to recover a little bit of the spilt liquid which had been absorbed by the canvas of her backpack, but not much - it helped a little to ease the pain in her arm and ribs.
Lightning's heart sank further as she continued to look through her backpack when she realized that her communicator had also been damaged - she wouldn't be able to radio in or out... but at least the emergency GPS locator didn't seem damaged. She pressed the button, and a green light began to blink slowly.
Lightning breathed a sigh of relief - at least, it appeared, Fang's lady luck hadn't *fully* abandoned her.
"Thanks a lot, Fang." She mumbled under her breath. "You could have warned me about the first step."
She didn't get a response.
Lightning contemplated what to do next. Assuming that the GPS locator worked, then help would be on the way, but it was likely a few hours, or maybe even a day out, depending on whether or not this situation ranked important enough to warrant the use of aircraft.
In the meanwhile...
~Just where the hell am I?~
After struggling to her feet, Lightning rummaged through her backpack one more time and managed to find some emergency glow sticks. Taking one of the thick tubes out of the package, she cracked and shook it to mix the chemicals. A pale blue glow began to emanate from the tube. Lifting it up as high as she could, while still needing to favor her ribs, Lightning looked around.
She was in a crystal cavern of some sort; the light from her glow stick bounced all over the various reflective surfaces, providing more than sufficient light for her to see. Everything was blue-tinged because of the glow stick, bathing her surroundings in a calm, but melancholy air. The cavern was pretty big, but she judged that its width was nowhere near the full diameter of the massive crystal pillar; maybe one tenth.
There were various crystal stalactites and stagnamites coming down from the roof and up from the floor. Some of the smaller ones just below the crack in the wall Lightning had made were broken and stained with blood - evidence of where she had fallen.
The most visually striking structure in the cavern though, was a structure which was directly in the middle. It grew out of the floor, and ballooned into roughly an egg shape, almost in miniature imitation of how the crystal pillar itself shot up out of Pulse and ballooned to envelope Cocoon.
Lightning's heart leapt into her throat as she stared at the structure.
She found them.
All other thoughts fled from Lightning's mind, as she slowly walked towards the structure, a trickle of blood from her injuries marking her steps as she went around to see it from the other side.
And there they were.
Suspended in a crystal cradle, every strand of hair perfectly etched, bodies curled in opposite and flipped fetal positions, holding each other's hand.
Fang and Vanille.
AUTHOR'S NOTES & OMAKE:
Thanks a bunch for reading, and especially to those of you who've reviewed! It really helps to keep Muse-chan going!
The next chapter (4), also known as I.1, will cut away from Lightning X Fang for a bit, as it goes back to pre-game times to shed some light on Fang and Vanille's relationship. Since FxV seem rather canon to me in the game, I feel this big need to examine them if only so that I can explain why FxL is possible in this fic. As such, it will be Fang X Vanille without being Fanille if that makes any sense...
Many thanks to my lovely guubear for putting up with me, and for being such a patient sound board.
Please find omake following, because this fic takes itself faaaaar too seriously!
Cheers,
jen-chan
OMAKE1: They don't make crystal pillars like they used to
LIGHTNING: [examines the crystal wall and sees the fracture lines] Hmm... a good whack ought to do it...
[She ARMY-OF-ONEs it. The entire pillar snaps, clean through. COCOON groans and smashes against PULSE, destroying the fledgling human civilization around it].
LIGHTNING: ... oops.
OMAKE2: If I had to be a zombie or a ghost, I'd be a ghost
FANG [Floating in a non-corporeal sense beside LIGHTNING as LIGHTNING climbs the pillar]: You know, Sunshine, you really shouldn't go crystal mountain climbing in such a short skirt, you know, bike shorts not withstanding.
[LIGHTNING can't hear Fang, so just keeps on climbing.]
FANG: ... oh, what she doesn't know won't hurt her. [Floats under LIGHTNING to peek up her skirt] Huh. Never would've figured her for polka dots.