Final Fantasy XIII Partners to the End

_Partners to the end_

Lightning had always needed a focus. A job, a goal, a plan. Without one, she was lost. That's how she felt during the L'Cie incident. Lost and devoid of a purpose. Nothing to fight for. She hadn't dwelled on it much, but when she told Hope that fighting without hope is just a way to die, she was really telling herself. Eventually, she found that hope and fought until the end. With Cocoon saved, she once again had nothing to fight for.

She found out, though, that when lost and without a goal, a partner would be there to comfort her along the way. Help her see a path, find what was missing. Oftentimes her goal only really needed one person, Lightning Farron. Her job of keeping Serah safe. However, this time she needed help to reach her goal, someone she did not think would be needed once again. Hope was the person who helped her last time, and it was him who she needed again. That would never change after the fall of Cocoon; Hope would always be her friend, her comrade, her heart…Her love. However, she couldn't accept that…She had pushed away her feelings since the death of her parents.

Hope had discovered that his father did not survive. He was dismayed, but his accomplishment at saving Cocoon stopped him from drowning in sorrow. Snow, Serah, Sazh, Dajh, and Lightning were still staying where they had come out of slumber, so he headed back to them.

When he reached them, Lightning looked at him and the look told him enough. 'Did he survive?' was what the eye contact was meant to tell him. Hope shook his head. Snow and the others were overjoyed, so happy until they didn't even notice Hope had returned. Lightning, knowing that it was no longer her job to protect Serah, took it upon herself to take care of Hope. She walked over to him.

"Don't worry Hope, we're all family on Pulse, remember? You can stay with me. We'll protect each other, just like we promised." Lightning said, with the best smile she could muster. Hope was sympathetic, but remarked, "We have no home, and we're on Pulse now." He emanated a feeling of hurt, depression and sadness, all in one package. "Not yet, but we will, in time. You and I will build it ourselves." With that, Lightning held out her hand to Hope. Hope was encouraged by Lightning's words and thought that just maybe…maybe things won't be so bad after all.

Hope had a funeral for his father and mother a few days after the discovery, placing the tombstones at the spot where he awoke from slumber. He cried, but he did not want to be weak for Lightning, as he knew he would have to be strong for her, as his feelings for the woman slowly grew. Hope knew he could not win over Lightning as a boy, but only as a man. One who was worthy of her love. He wanted to be stronger. Strong enough to protect her.

He decided that he would join Guardian Corps with Lightning, as both a technical engineer and a Magic wielding soldier. Hope was directly under Lightning's command, and while she did drive him hard, it was nothing compared to when she trained him during the time they were L' had conjured a mana-drive after 3 years and became the finest mage-soldier in the Corp. His manadrive was one of the more sophisticated technologies developed since they arrived on Pulse. He could use all elements and holy magic. Sometimes he practiced by himself, but Lightning usually caught him and trained along with him. His specialty was always holy magic, after all.

Lightning had been lost the first couple of years, not knowing where to go, what to do, or how to do it. Eventually, she found a beach on Pulse that was as beautiful as Bodhum's. Once discovered, she told her sister and Snow about the area, and that became New Bodhum. Lightning, being a little selfish, built her a house first because of its perfect location. It overlooked the sea on a medium-sized hill and was far enough away from the water to avoid high-tides and waves. She decided that it was where she wanted to live, and forced Snow and Serah (and the rest of the society that made up the city) to build on a different part of the shore.

Lightning's house was made of a tough-Pulsian wood, as she did not have the correct tools to make a stone house, thus making the home a deep brown woody color. Along with the help of Hope, they gathered wood from an in-shore forest. The house was tough enough to stand the pounding of bad weather on Pulse, as the Pulse trees were tough as metal and provided good floors and walls. Glass was easy to make in the modern world, even without Cocoon's technology. They used it for doors and other house-hold items. Beds were first made from pelts of fallen animals, which was not enjoyable until cloth was made and took over the pelt beds. When all of it was finished in about a year, New Bodhum and everyone was fine and dandy. That was about the time Lightning and Hope joined the Guardian Corp.

Lightning decided she wanted to protect New Bodhum and keep the monsters away. Along with Hope and some other volunteers from the Guardian Corps, they guarded the city with patrols. Monsters were tough at first, but eventually became weaker and fewer. Eventually the patrols were minor and were just checkups to ensure the safety of the city. Eventually, Lightning got bored and restless.

"Another round of patrols today?" Hope asked as he leaned back in the wooden chair in his(or rather, Lightning's) house. "Yeah. Think of it positively, I mean, at least no hordes of Behemoths are attacking, we would be in for a real fight then, wouldn't we?" Lightning says, always with her haughty attitude. Hope sighs. "Well then I would at least have some excitement and a challenge... It's been awhile and I feel rusty." Hope puts the chair back on all fours, and stands up. She smirks. Reminds me of myself a little bit,always wanting a challenge and looking for fights.

"Well then, how about a little adventure? Just me and you. Let's get away from it all and go take down some big monsters." Lightning asks. Hope was genuinely surprised and smiled widely, inwardly. "Wait… really? Just you and I? Do you think I'm up to the challenge Light?" Hope knew that this was the perfect time to prove himself. "Yes, Hope. Let's go after the patrols. So get your gear on and we'll be on our way. I'll pack some supplies." With that, Hope happily rushed to his room and got ready.

Lightning's body didn't get any taller, so her Guardian Corp. uniform was the same as it was 6 years ago, but it was refurbished. Hope, on the other hand, had grown a ton. He was a full two inches taller than Lightning now. He wore an outfit like his old one, yet he had removed the jacket and the bandana. He was now in a shirt and cargo shorts. His masculine shape shown through the deep blue shirt, all he really added for combat was the Corp. pauldron and the combat shoes. He came out of his room and Lightning had already started out the door. When he saw her, he cursed himself and went after her.

Finish.

Well well, another story from me eh? Well, not entirely. I had a very good friend help me edit the story, and I'm very glad he did. My work is rushed because that is my personality at times. So AssasinZAssasin Beta read for me, and fixed it up. He asked me to leave a message for readers who know of him:

_I am currently on hiatus for writing due to problems in my life right now, will update as soon as it all blows over. I appreciate your support and Hope you will continue to support me until I get back. _

So yeah, much thanks to him. I'm definitely a reader and not a writer. I think my dialog is shabby and I'm not much of a writing romantisict. However, this story will be continued. School JUST started though, so I am really ill timed. Oh well. As always, please read and review!


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Final Fantasy XIII, Adventure, Romance