Final Fantasy XIII: Cursed Past

Chapter 36 of my Final Fantasy XIII story, the Peace Returning Arc begins, not a long chapter but will reveal the aftermath of the Barthandelus battle, enjoy.

Reviews

Lightarcana: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, it's always sad when you get to the end of a story.

Miyaaa: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, I figured it would be perfect if Hope was the one to say that.

TheWarrior12: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, well, here we go, the beginning of the end.

Beloved Nightmare Union: Thanks, yeah, we are, it's sad but also relieving, I enjoyed doing the story but I know I'm going to bring it to a good conclusion. Really, wow, I'll look out for that then.

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII belongs to Square Enix.

Chapter 36: Recovery

Lightning groaned as she opened her eyes. She was in a hospital bed, she was confused at first but then remembered, the battle against Barthandelus, his destruction and her collapse afterwards. She then saw Hope; he was sitting in a chair next to the bed, asleep. It looked like he had passed out having stayed awake so long, there were dark shadows under his eyes and his hair was messier than usual. Lightning sighed as she realized he hadn't left her side the whole time.

"Hope." She said tentatively.

Hope jolted awake and stared in amazement, "Light, you're awake?"

"Yeah," Lightning replied, confused, "Why do you sound so surprised, how long was I out?"

Hope sighed and answered, "Two days."

Two days, that meant it was now Monday 7 March 3 APW. Hope then continued.

"The doctors didn't think you wake up until Thursday however, that's why I was surprised."

Lightning shook her head and laughed, "Well I'm awake now."

"Yeah," Hope also laughed, "I've gotta let the doctor know, I'll get the others too, they're waiting outside."

Lightning nodded and Hope left the room, he came back with the others, Serah, Snow, Fang, Vanille, Sazh, Edna, Dajh, Nora Estheim, Noel and even Caius.

Lightning smiled at them as they sat down.

"Hey guys," She greeted happily, still feeling a little light-headed. The others returned greetings and sat down.

Fang smirked, "So, you're probably wondering what you missed." Lightning nodded.

Hope smiled and began to explain.

"Well, Cid's become the 76th Primarch of Cocoon. He's spinning the story that Dysley was like Malum, corrupt." Hope paused and then added, "He's managed to cover up our involvement, he's told people that Dysley committed suicide rather than face up to his crimes."

"How's he proving Dysley was corrupt?" Lightning asked, amused at the cover story.

Hope smirked and then explained, "He's exposed the PSICOM labs, the experiments that Dysley was allowing to happen."

Lightning nodded, understanding, she then looked over at Caius.

"I thought you said you were leaving?" She remarked, confused, Caius nodded, "I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye, like I said, I'm returning to Pulse."

Lightning nodded, "Alright, I understand, thanks...For everything."

Caius nodded, Noel then announced, "I'm gonna go back too, I lived down there with Caius and Yeul."

The others nodded, but were obviously saddened, Noel smiled, "Relax guys, I'll stay in touch."

The others also smiled, especially Fang who could see that the real reason Noel was going back to Paddra was obviously Yeul herself.

Finally after talking some more about how Cid covered up the attack on Eden and the disappearance of Dysley's body, the doctor walked in.

"I appreciate you are all catching up but I need to ensure Miss Farron has sufficiently recovered, if you would like to wait outside." He said, the others agreed, Hope somewhat reluctantly.

From then Lightning's recovery continued, Caius and Noel left and returned to Pulse, finally, five days later Lightning was allowed out of the hospital.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.