Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance

Disclaimer:  I do not own the FF13 trilogy -or- its characters. I do not make any sort of money on this story. 

Crack. Thud. Those were the sounds Snow had become numb to hearing. The sounds of necks breaking and heavy bodies falling around him. Beasts from the chaos were appearing more frequently now. Stronger than he remembered.

Or maybe he was just losing the will to fight, he wasn’t sure. He glanced over at the mark he tried hard to keep hidden from the world…from himself.

It was definitely changing. He was too tired to be angry about it and he refused to chase down ways to remove it. He was just too tired.

The corpse of the Zaltys that once roamed the bare halls of his palace had fallen to the ground. He stood and stared at it, forever lost in a deep sleep. He almost envied it. With that thought in the front of his mind, he clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Stop it. This isn’t what heroes do. They don’t wallow in self pity.” He threw his hands up in the air and walked away as the beast disappeared into the void.

“Patron…” A muffled voice called to him.

“What?” He replied. His voice was low and rigid.

“There is news of the saviors arrival. She is rumored to be in Luxerion, sir.” The guard said as he lowered his head and handed Snow a letter sent to his guard from none other than ‘a friend’.

He read every detail of it slowly and carefully as to not miss anything.

“A woman with rose-colored hair…” With those words escaping him, he felt…everything. Every emotion. The words that should have filled him with joy and hope instead filled him rage and sadness. He crumpled up the report and tossed it to the ground.

“Sir…” The guard said carefully. “What do you want us to do?”

“Return to your normal post.” He ordered as he sat on his crystal throne that overlooked his city.

The guard nodded and turned to exit the palace.

He sat in dark, self loathing silence for hours.

‘So, after all this time, you finally decided to return to the home you abandoned.’ He clenched his fist, making his knuckles go white. His mark heated up as his anger elevated deep within him. All he could do now was wait. He knew she’d come for him. Though he wasn’t the same Snow she once knew, she’d find him.

Lightning was finally face to face with the young man she sent to protect Serah so long ago. He wasn’t the same person. He was empty.

“Noel, this doesn’t have to happen. Not like this. I know you’re mad. I know you’re hurting but killing me…what will that change?” She asked him as she shifted her weight from one hip to the other.

“The oracle drive said I have to defeat you. To be reunited with Yeul and maybe even…Serah.” His voice was a painful whisper. She could feel his heart breaking with every mention of the two women he held closest to it. “I…have to fix this. They didn’t deserve to die.” He said as he stood before her, grasping the handle of his weapon and running toward her. His eyes were filled with determination. He meant what he said. He was going to defeat Lightning.

Their battle went on for some time but Lightning was eventually able to end it before one of them was killed.

“Noel, stop. This isn’t right.” Her breath was labored from the fight. “It doesn’t have to be like this. We can fix it. Together.”

“How? Centuries have passed and there has been no change. They’re still…” He fell to his knees and dropped his weapon. Emotions he had long forgotten had flooded over him.

“It’s my fault they’re gone and, I swear, I will make this right. You just need to keep protecting this city. These people. You need to save…yourself.” She said as she got down on one knee, lifting his chin with one hand while moving his hair from his eyes with her other. “You are their light. Shine bright and guide them home.” A smile escaped her, her eyes warm and calming.

Noel nodded and stood up. All of the anger he felt for so long. All of the sadness…it was gone. Just like that. He felt…freed from the chaos that ate away at him.

“Oh, Light. Before I go…” He said as he stood before her. “Snow…He’s…not the same man he was. He…” His voice cracked as he clenched his fist. “He became branded again. I…I don’t know how or when but a friend of mine told me about it. At first, it didn’t seem to slow him down. He was still…Snow.” He took a few steps forward as he tried to find his next words. “I haven’t seen him in a long time but, recently, people who have returned from Yusnaan have said they rarely even see him anymore. His palace has been put on lock down. Nobody is allowed near it. Near him.”

“I...know. I tried to see him once. All I seemed to do was piss him off more. The guards are on high alert and ordered to shoot first, ask questions later.” She chuckled as she crossed her arms. “Typical Snow.”

“Whatever is going on inside that palace…is going to be the end of him, Light.” Noel said as he walked to the ladder nearby to leave. “You have to save him. He has been fighting for too long for it to end like this. He doesn’t deserve that.”

Without another word exchanged between them, Noel was gone. Leaving Lightning feeling ashamed and worried for her old friend. She knew things would be different when she returned. She knew her friends would be different. She just never let herself believe that Snow would be different.

She quickly headed toward Luxerion’s North Station to take the next train to Yusnaan. As she paid for her ticket, sudden feelings of anxiety washed over her. It was time. Time for her to be the one to save him.