Chapter Twenty-One: Death and Life

Lightning knew a lot about the world. She knew how easily hope was lost, and how hard it was to gain hope back after being deceived. Harder still, was having hope and then having it snatched away right before you.

She thought they were free. She realized just how wrong she was as she and Caius helplessly tumbled from the sky.

Lightning hit the sand with a sickening thud. She was just lucky that she landed in the sand, because landing on the hard grounds of the city probably would have killed her outright. Already, she was fighting to stay conscious. She grunted as she laid facedown in the sand, sucking in a pained breath. Now was no time to pass out. She had to find out what happened.

Slowly, she pushed herself up off her stomach and looked out in front of her. It was then that her eyes widened in terror. There was Caius, in human form, lying on his back. Surrounded in some kind of black and blue current that made him look paralyzed. "Caius!" she hollered hoarsely. She scrambled to her feet, feel two steps away, and then managed to pick herself up and close the remaining distance between them. She knelt down beside him and stared at him with huge blue eyes, hands hovering over him automatically. "What—?"

Caius looked like he was in agony. Similar to how Lightning's gravity con device made an aura over her, Caius had an electric black current running over him. Only this didn't allow movement like the gravity con device did. He looked like he could hardly move, either because he was in so much pain from whatever that aura was or because it actually paralyzed him.

"Etro," he said through his teeth, staring up at Lightning with eyes that actually showed fear along with the rage. "She's not dead."

"What?"

"Destroy…the throne…" Caius grunted. "Destroy it…she will perish permanently."

"And what about you?" Lighting asked. She shifted her gaze further down the beach, still seeing the darkness. It was coming in more slowly now, but it was still going to swallow this world eventually unless Etro regained her power quickly and stopped it. If she did that, Lightning probably couldn't kill her. It was hard enough the first time around. And she only had one magic bullet left…

"Leave me."

"What?" she said sharply. No way! I can't…just…

"It's the only way-"

"I can't leave you!" she cried quite suddenly. With eyes full of panic and desperation that were so unusual for her to feel, let alone show, she stared down at Caius. She couldn't leave him. She needed him. Desperately. She feared that if she left him now, she would never be by his side again. She would go back to being cold and alone forever.

"You must," Caius whispered hoarsely. Even with the pain he was in, he managed to lift his arm to the back of Lightning's head as she knelt down next to him and leaned over him. His fingers wove into her pink strands lightly, his touch gentle even if he was nearly trembling in agony. He held that position for a few moments, then made his move.

He pushed on the back of Lightning's head and brought her lips down upon his own.

Lightning's eyes instantly widened at the sudden kiss. Yet Caius's were shut tightly, while he was savoring the kiss and ignoring his own pain. Lightning followed suit shortly enough. She shut her eyes and allowed her lips to slowly move along with Caius's. In order to keep herself up, she put a hand lightly atop his chest. Her emotions began to swell up within her heart, and within her eyes. Caius…

Just as quickly as Caius pulled Lightning down, he released the back of her head and allowed her to pull back. She did pull back about half a foot, releasing a breath in surprise as she stared down at him. Her eyes were moist.

"Go," he whispered.

She gritted her teeth in both fury and sadness. She had no other choice. She needed to kill Etro to save Caius, not sit by his side and wait for death to come. "Don't you go anywhere," she said sternly, slowly rising to her feet. "You hear me, Ballad? If you're not here when I come back, I'll track you down and kill you for making me worry so much twice in one day."

"Hmph," he hummed, mustering a small smirk. "I'm glad…you care so much…"

"Guess I had to admit to it sooner or later," Lightning whispered with a faint smile of her own. But then it vanished as she thought upon the business at hand again. "…See you soon."

She glanced only once more at Caius before she turned and sprinted towards the city. How she would manage to make it to Etro's temple quickly, she didn't know. All of the eidolons already faded away because Etro was barely alive herself. The only reason that she still existed was because her throne was still standing. As soon as that was destroyed, so was she. But until that point, she would regain power. Etro needed to be killed before she regained too much of that power.

Lightning sprinted. With each passing step, the ache in her heart grew. She was already wounded from all the fighting and the great fall that she took, but her heart hurt so much worse. She left Caius behind. Caius opened a part of her that nobody else never knew. He made her feel like she could actually live for herself and not always be paying back people for whatever sins she felt guilty for.

If he died today, so would she. At least in spirit.

A glowing path suddenly appeared in front of Lightning. A set of stairs straight to Etro's distant throne. This must have been the eidolons' last possible way of helping her.

She ran up the stairs. Higher and higher she went without ever pausing to catch a breath. Her chest was constricted, her breathing erratic. Her skin drenched with sweat that was being chilled by the air of Valhalla. Yet the warmth of her own determination kept her going. That and the encouragement she felt coming from every single one of her friends. Hope. Snow. Sazh. Noel. Caius. Even Serah. All of them were lending her strength to complete the long set of stairs.

Eventually, she did reach the top. She didn't dare turn around to see how much of Valhalla was overtaken by darkness. Instead, she ran directly into the temple and pulled out her gunblade as she ran. One bullet left. Hopefully it would be enough to destroy Etro's throne.

Lightning stumbled down the steps inside of the temple, stopping as close to the throne as she possibly could. She wouldn't miss her shot. She'd finish this. Her gunblade was leveled directly with the crystal beneath the throne.

Darkness began to gather in front of the throne. A figure appeared out of it, floating between her and Etro's crystal throne. "Lightning," the phantom said.

This was the phantom that had been hunting Corin, and her and Caius. She was still all black except for her eyes. "Lightning, don't shoot, please," the figure said in Serah's voice. "You can still save me…Don't do this…"

Lightning gritted her teeth. "You're not Serah," she said quite simply. She pulled on the trigger and shot the final bullet directly at the girl standing before her.

The bullet went right through the phantom and destroyed her instantly. It smacked into the crystal pillar of the throne right on target, creating a few cracks in it. Lightning held her breath. Was it enough?

Then suddenly, the cracks expanded drastically. Beams of light shone out of each of the cracks and nearly blinded her on the spot. She lifted her arm to shield herself from the unbearable light. The cracking noise grew louder and louder until all of a sudden, the throne completely shattered.

The light swallowed her whole.

*…*…*…*…*…*

After the explosion of light, Lightning was certain that she was dead. But if this was death, it really wasn't so bad. She was just floating in a dark place, weightless. No burdens or worries weighed her down in any way. The death itself wasn't painful either. It had been over before she even knew what happened. This place was painless. Unlike reality. Maybe she'd linger here for a while.

"You could stay, if you really wanted to," a gentle voice said into the darkness. All that Lightning did to respond to the voice was open her eyes. There was still nothing around her to see, but that voice was so warm, so comforting. It was at that moment that Lightning realized she hadn't really been happy in this place; she just hadn't been sad. Not being sad didn't always mean you were happy instead. Happiness was only now making itself known because of the voice that she recognized.

"Serah? Where are you?"

"I'm with you," Serah said simply, with a small smile in her voice. "I always have been."

"No, I mean where are you right now? In this place?" I want to see you.

"You'll see me later, I promise."

Just the notion of seeing Serah seemed crazy. She hadn't seen Serah since New Bodhum, when she told her all about Caius's plans. Sure, she had seen that phantom of Serah around, but that wasn't really Serah. Serah was dead. So if Lightning was talking to her now, that meant that she was dead too. Or was this even the real Serah.

A soft laughter filled the area. "It's really me, I promise," Serah said. "And you're not dead. Not really."

"Not really?" Lightning asked, positioning herself so that she was standing upright. "Is it like how Etro sort of killed me in the beginning of this whole mess?"

"Actually, no. Right now, you're in a place between life and death," she explained. "As am I. That blast in Valhalla sent you here. We'll worry about that later. For right now…I just want to say how proud of you I am. You saved us all, Lightning. Me, Yeul, Mom and Dad…Even those other people that were hunting you." Hearing Lightning's surprised grunt, Serah added: "Yeah, I saw them too. I've been looking out for you where I could. But you're the one who did the real work."

"Serah…" Lightning said, feeling very confused. First off, how could Serah watch out for her when she was dead? It wasn't as if Lightning believed in guardian angels who watched over people from the graves. Or from heaven, wherever that was. If that even existed. She shook her head faintly, chasing away those questions for now. "What do you mean, I saved you all? You, Mom, and Dad?"

"Well…Do you remember how Valhalla is supposed to be where people go after they die?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, people weren't going to Valhalla at all. Etro trapped our souls in a different dark place further away from any reality. Anyone who died in the past…Even Mom and Dad and Rose…They were all trapped in a place where there was no chance of happiness at all. Only sorrow. But we knew that someday, when Etro was defeated, we'd be set free. Now we can go to where we truly belong."

"Where is that, Serah?" Lightning asked, desperate for an answer. Where did people go after death?

"I don't know," Serah responded, though there was a smile in her voice again. "But I know it's a happy place, where all of us who died will be reunited with people that we love again. It's alright to not know for sure what it's like; it's like a new adventure."

Adventure. That was a word that triggered a memory for Lighting. "I'm so sorry I convinced you to go on your adventure," she blurted. "I shouldn't have put you in danger."

"I made the decision to go, because I missed you. I knew the risks. But just sitting around and waiting another day would have been worse than dying itself. It was time I finally was brave and looked out for you. Guess I could never grow out of my need to be rescued though, huh?"

"You did fine," Lightning assured her. "Better than fine. You really made me proud, in everything you did."

"Well thanks, sis. Hearing that from you means a lot."

Lightning smiled faintly, though it quickly faded. "What's going to happen now, Serah?" she asked quietly. "This place here…This place between life and death…What does it mean?"

"For me, this is just a stop to where I'm going," Serah said more somberly. "I came here to rescue you."

"Rescue me?"

"From just lingering here forever. Or not being aware that you have a choice. Like I said before, you're not dead. But you could die if you want, and be reunited with me and everyone else if you wanted to. Or you could go back to reality and face whatever is waiting for you there."

"And what about you?" she asked. "Can't you come with me?"

"No, Lightning, I can't," Serah said gently. "I've already died. I need to move on. But it's okay, truly. I have no regrets. None at all."

Lightning swallowed hard. "The idea of living without you…terrifies me," she confessed. "I've always looked out for you and not myself…"

"It's time that you started to do just that, sis. I won't be mad if you choose to go back and live for yourself. In fact, I'll be mad if you don't do that. You've already started to live for yourself, with the guidance of another person guiding you in the right direction."

Caius. She was referring to Caius.

Just as Lightning opened her mouth to speak, Serah's relaxed voice spoke up again. "I'm really happy for you. He's a good guy. I've seen how he looks at you."

"You mean…It's not insane for me to like him back? He tried to destroy the world, tried to kill the both of us…"

"I think he's a different Caius now, don't you agree? He's still Caius, but his heart isn't driven by sorrow anymore. That makes all the difference."

"Yeah, it does," Lightning had to agree. After a brief moment, she had to laugh shortly in amusement. "Never thought I'd have to ask for your blessing…Thought I'd end up alone the rest of my life."

"I always knew somebody would come along and tame you," Serah said jokingly, laughing as well. "I approve. And you have my blessing. You always will."

"Thanks."

"You'll have all of our blessings."

That was a new voice. Well, new in the sense that it hadn't been in this area before. Lightning spun around automatically, and to her surprise, she saw a small group of people standing several yards away. It was her mom, dad, and sister Rose. "We're so proud of you sweetheart," Dad said with a small smile. "You've been so brave…"

"And selfless," her mother added. "But no more of that. It's time for you to live your life and do things for yourself. You deserve it. Not just because you saved us, but because you've been worth it all along. I hope this man can help you realize that."

"I'm happy to see you again, Claire!" Rose said with a smile. "I missed you for a long time, and Mom and Dad and Serah too. But now we can be happy again. Thanks sis."

Over to Lightning's left, a deeper voice caught her attention. "Do not forget," he said. "You have also set all of us free."

Lightning's blue eyes darted over to a group of seven people that she didn't recognize. The lead male had deep brown hair and grey eyes with a look of sincerity within them. Around him, there were two sisters with long blonde hair with blue tints in it, a fiery redhead, and three other males with black, golden, and light brown hair respectively. The eyes of the first man were what clued Lightning into who they were. They were the humans who had previously been trapped in her reality as eidolons. The one who had spoken to her was formerly Odin.

"Thank you," he said with a small, tired smile. "We are content to leave the world behind now that it has a bright future. We will rest peacefully thanks to you."

"What he said," Corin said to her opposite side. Looking over, Lightning noticed him standing along with some of the other village men. "Thanks for the proper burial, by the way. It was very kind of you. And I'm sorry for all that I did along the way. I really was on the wrong side."

Lightning shook her head faintly. "Don't worry about it. Just...enjoy whatever good things fate has in store for you. All of you." She looked around at all the friends and family surrounding her, realizing then just how many people she had in her life who impacted her somehow and were impacted by her personally. For the first time in a while, she felt proud of something, and that something wasn't a militaristic achievement. She really was ready to move on with her life.

"It's time to make a choice, Lightning," Serah's voice said from nowhere again. "Do you want to join all of us, or do you want to live?"

She shut her eyes. Serah phrased the question so easily. Did she choose to be surrounded by these wonderful people again, or did she leave them? Did she choose to abandon the reality that she saved just because she feared going back and being dragged into another war? Even that did happen…At least she'd be living her life. She'd do more than exist as a warrior. She'd be a human being this time.

And hopefully, she wouldn't be alone this time around.

"I think…" she said quietly. "…That I need to go back, and live my life. No matter what uncertainty it causes."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Serah responded, again showing the smile through her tone. But even more than that, the smile was physically visible now that Serah herself suddenly appeared in the area.

Lightning spun to the side to face her, eyes wide when she saw Serah looking perfectly healthy and happy in her old outfit with the white top and red plaid skirt. Serah, Lightning thought, staring at her sister and her gentle smile. This was really happening after all. Serah was really here with her, telling her that she was at peace. Just seeing her face—and more importantly, her eyes—showed Lightning that this wasn't just something she was fabricating in her own head.

This was real.

"Take my hand, Lightning," Serah said with a gentle smile. She outstretched a hand towards her sister without removing her gaze from Lightning's eyes. Somehow, the warmth and kindness in Serah's eyes gave Lightning the strength to move her feet from the spot she felt frozen in. Slowly but surely, she made her way towards Serah. It was only the two of them in Lightning's reality. The reunion with Serah that she had been longing for so long was currently happening…And it was about to come to a close.

Lightning stopped directly in front of Serah, eying her hand. Did she dare take it now? Couldn't she linger just a little longer here with Serah? No, she knew that was a ridiculous request. Life wouldn't wait for her back where she was going, and Serah had to move on. She earned the right to her happy ending.

She reached out her hand and grasped Serah's. When her sister held onto hers back, it was much stronger than Lightning had expected it to be. Larger too.

Lightning glanced down at the hand automatically, blinking in surprise when she noticed a brown ring on the middle finger with two strings going further down their hand to their arm. The hand yanked at her and pulled her away roughly, but before she was yanked out of that reality, she glanced upward and saw the face of Noel Kreiss as he pulled her out of that reality and back to their own.

*…*…*…*…*…*

Wow! I can't believe all the reviews I got for the last chapter! I should have scolded you guys sooner. xP thanks for all the feedback and for putting up with all the cliffhangers. I should have mentioned that we were going into the final section of the story, not the final chapter. I still have a few more for you guys, including an epilogue and another bonus (you'll hear more about that later).

Ktscacheva—Wow, what compliments! Your review made me really really happy, so thanks!

Murasaki_no_chou—I know, it's Caius just a big sweetheart? :3 Glad you stumbled upon my story!

MaroonAngel of Darkness—Yup, that was a Toy Story reference! So glad somebody caught that. "Abandon the suspense"? NEVER! *Evil laughter*

Hana-chan98—^^ Yes, a Toy Story reference! Great movies, right? (:

Ziel101- I suppose I can forgive you for your laziness because of your situation. :P Thanks for sticking with the story even if it's not your type of thing!

Darkiss0777 "OH Man another cliffhanger! Why do you always do this to us?" Because I am evil like Etro. ;) As for the sequeal—As of now, I'm not planning one. I leave it open for the possibility in the end, but I'm focusing on writing a novel right now and another fanfiction would only distract me. But hey, maybe someday!

Nirianne- I noticed you were gone; glad you stuck with the story! Thanks for poking up your head again. (:

Whoo, that was a ton of personal stuff! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and the less dramatic cliffhanger I left you with. (: See you guys again soon!

Peanut