Chapter Text
Chapter 17: Nightmare from a Dead Star
As Lightning and Hope group made their way down the alternate path Arumat had laid out, Hope wondered if the lalafell was trying to avoid them as he was several yalms ahead of them at all times.
"For such a short guy, he sure can move fast," Hope commented.
"I'd expect no less from someone with a grandiose title like 'The Warrior of Light'," Lightning replied. Her tone was curt and to the point and Hope knew it well by this point.
"I have just the slightest feeling you don’t like him very much," Hope pointed out.
"Does Lightning like anyone?" Lumina asked, receiving a glare from the Paladin. "What? Do you?"
"As a rule, I don't like lalafells, especially when they're idealistic fools like him," Lightning said, almost ignoring Lumina's question. "He's an idiot, one who is obviously easy to manipulate. Did he actually think the Syndicate was going to roll over and let Ul'dah change to a democracy, one protected by an army they can't control?"
"That's a little racist, don't you think?" Hope asked.
"I told you already, lalafells are obsessed with gil. How much do you think his current gear cost? Even if he's an omnicrafter, he would have had to spend a minimum of two million gil. Per class, and we already know he has two at level sixty," Lightning reminded Hope. "I don't trust anyone who has that much disposable income. Adventurers especially. How many in this line of work do you think walk around with that kind of cash?"
"Is that jealousy I hear?" Lumina asked.
"Hardly. You don't get that rich without stepping over people or…"
"Or what?" Hope asked.
"He's cheating." That made both Lumina and Hope's eyes widen.
"How do you cheat as an Adventurer?! And how do I do it?" Hope asked. Lightning gave him a quick punch on top of his head in response. "Ow! What was that for?" Hope whined.
"When Hydaelyn selects a Champion, they receive several special buffs. The Echo is just the least of them. The previous Warriors of Light had them too. And since she's putting all her power into one person instead of five, I'd say they are severely amplified," Lightning explained.
"Are you talking about Ardbert and Lamitt?" Hope asked. Lightning gave him a questionable look.
"Where did you learn those names?"
"I saw Caius fight them when I saw his memories. I also met Lamitt when you sent me off on my own the day before our mission…or at least I thought I did…but she vanished into thin air right as you found me…"
"That was most likely a shade you encountered, Hope. Lamitt and the rest of her party have been presumed dead for the past five years. After Meteor, they were never found. Caius was the last known person to see them and we're not about to have a civil discussion with him anytime soon." Hope's face fell, he wasn't sure why, but hearing Lightning confirm it made him feel awful. The Lamitt he had met had been such a happy girl, but he remembered she had seemed plagued from a terrible sadness. As if all her hope had been ripped from her, and she had been left with nothing but despair. Seeing his depressed look, Lightning sighed.
"I'm not a racist, but you'll find that anti-lalafell sentiments are common among the people of Eorzea. If I was one, you would be hearing a lot of unsavory comments from me about his status as a half-breed," Lightning said.
"Oh yeah, he's half Miqo'te. Didn't see that coming," Hope said.
"I didn't, either, and I'm very rarely surprised by anything. Half-breeds are largely considered abominations. While it's not illegal, two races interbreeding is seen as a disgusting act by a majority. Especially when it's with lalafells," Lightning said.
"Why's that?" Hope asked. "I'll admit, other races aren't particularly attractive in my opinion. I mean, how do Hyurs walk without a tail? But I don't see why it would be gross, much less an abomination."
"Have you seen that guy? He's around the same age as I am, maybe a year or two older, and yet he looks younger than you," Lightning said. "Not to mention he's shorter than you. He looks like he's barely four feet tall, and pure lalafells almost never grow taller than three feet." It didn't take Hope long to put what she was saying into context.
"People don't like how young lalafells look?"
"Exactly. It makes people really uncomfortable when they're dealing with someone who looks like a child. That's why a lot of male lalafells grow facial hair like Lolorito. At least I can take him seriously."
"So what you're saying is you can't take the Warrior of Light seriously," Lumina stated more than asked.
"Can you?" Lightning retorted.
"Fair enough," the fairy acknowledged, shrugging afterward. Lightning let out an aggravated sigh.
"It's infuriating. Of all the people Hydaelyn could have chosen, she chose a lalafell. It's less about Arumat than it is about her. Caius almost killed him, and if he had, I feel like that would be on me…" Her tone softened as she clenched her fists, her armored gloves crackling.
"That almost sounds like you care," Lumina drooled.
"I already have enough deaths on my conscience. It's like Hydaelyn is toying with me like Caius is. As if she enjoys making me suffer," Lightning growled.
"I guess when you put it like that…" Hope started to say, but he let the thought drift off, unable to fully commit to what he was implying.
"The next time I see Minfilia or Y'shtola, I'm going to have a very long conversation with them," Lightning said.
"But didn't Arumat say-"
"A glamour isn't going to fool that alley cat, and Minfilia? I already know what she is." Hope wasn't sure he wanted to know what Lightning meant by that, but Lumina was, as usual, not as cautious.
"And that would be?"
"Just focus on your job, fairy," Lightning said to her. Lumina lifted her hand and shook her head.
"Honestly, Arumat seems more reasonable than you, but as long as Hope is okay I don't really care either way. And with two high level adventurers, my little scholar better not get a scratch on him."
“Do you have to say it like that?” Hope muttered with a slight blush while his tail flicked back and forth. He was so lost in the conversation that he nearly tripped over Arumat as he had halted quite suddenly while holding up his hand.
"What is it?" Lightning asked kneeling next to him.
"What in the seven hells is that?" He whispered, gripping his gunblade.
Lighting looked where he was indicating and for the first time, Hope saw genuine fear in his mentor's eyes.
"That's impossible…" Hope saw what they were looking at and he felt a chill run down his spine. At first he thought the creature was a voidsent, but it was silver in color, a stark difference from the dark purple, red and black coloring of the creatures from the void. Not only that, it looked humanoid except for its single leg which jetted down like a misshaped spear. It clutched what looked like a wand and several silver like crystals floated behind it menacingly. The creature's head snapped unnaturally in their direction and Hope immediately realized it saw them.
"Hope, run! That's a fal'Cie!" Lightning yelled before it blasted several lasers at the party, causing a massive explosion.
x-x
Hope was too shocked and frozen in fear to even attempt to dodge, luckily he didn't have to as he heard a gunshot and a crystal barrier formed around him, Arumat and Lighting. He felt himself relax a little but when he turned around the forest behind him had turned into a lifeless wasteland set ablaze.
"I don't have time for this bullsh*t!" Arumat yelled, lunging at the fal'Cie.
"Don't, you idiot!" Lightning screamed at him. But it was too late, Arumats blade slammed against what looked like the creature's own barrier and it repelled his attack while blasting him backwards and through several trees.
"Damn it! Hope, do as I say and run now!"
"But--!"
"No buts, Hope. If that thing touches you or any of us, it's over!" Lightning's gear changed and she drew her katana and vanished only to appear in front of the creature a moment later. Hope saw several slash marks slice across the fal'Cie as Lighting sheathed her weapon but it looked like it had been little more damaging than a flea bite. The crystals floating behind it glowed and all pointed at Lighting and flew at her like bullets and Lighting was just barely able to dodge them as they tracked her like missiles.
"What the hell is a fal'Cie?!" Hope yelled.
"Uh, kid? Might wanna listen to the bitch for once!" Lumina said urgently and Hope noticed it had locked its gaze on him. It sped at him and once again, Hope was frozen in fear, but it stopped just short of him as Hope saw several arrows of golden light blast against its barrier. Just behind it was Arumat, his bow drawn and Hope could see him covered in blood and scratches and bruises from taking that last hit.
"Touch the kid, and I'll send you to the lowest pits of the seven hells, bastard…" the lalafell huffed, his breathing labored.
"Lumina, he's hurt!"
"Oh, why can't you just do as you're told?!" Lumina whined, waving her hand. Green light glowed around Arumat and he looked down at himself and sighed in relief as he felt the healing magic. His gear changed again and Hope saw a shield of light form in his free arm while a small matching sword materialized in the other. He launched at the Fal’cie and Hope saw its wand turn into a large two handed sword. Arumat's blade clashed against it and sparks of light flew around the forest catching the trees and the grass on fire. For a moment it looked like Arumat might overpower it, but the creature's barrier flashed once more and it reflected Arumat's attack back at him once more and he was sent rocketing back into another tree like a rag doll.
“Verstone!” Hope heard Lighting’s voice call out. A basalt of earth magic pierced the barrier and hit the Fal’cie upside the head and fell to the ground. Even Hope could see that the creature was surprised it had been damaged.
“Arumat! That barrier can only be broken with magic!” Lightning yelled at him.
Arumat moaned in pain as he got back to his feet, “Now you tell me…” he muttered before his gear changed again. Hope immediately recognized his weapon as a tome. Balls of light formed around him and he raised his arm as they shot into the air, "Come to me, Ifrit!" A pillar of fire burst in front of him and to Hope’s surprise, it wasn't the egi he commanded, but the fully formed Eikon. It clapped its claws together as a giant ball of fire formed in its hands before it jumped in the air.
“Hellfire!” Arumat yelled and the ekion threw the ball at the fal'Cie. The attack exploded on contact and Hope felt Lumina coat him with an aetherial shield. But even then he could feel the heat tearing at his skin and clothes. When the fire dispersed however, the monster was still standing, or rather floating since it didn't have proper legs. However several of his crystals had been destroyed along with half its body.
"So that's what a summoner can do…" Hope said in awe. But to his as well as Lightning’s and Arumat's horror, there was a disgusting twisting and crunching sound and the half of its body that had been vaporized regenerated instantly.
"Oh, f*ck me…" Arumat whispered before the fal'Cie launched a ball of light bursting with what looked like lightning at the Warrior of Light. It exploded and Hope saw Arumat flying through the air, his gear torn apart as he plummeted back to the ground.
"Verholy!" Lightning's voice rang out again. A pillar of light burst from the ground and enveloped the fal’cie and it let out a terrifying screech which made Hope cover his cat ears. It was like listening to some scratching chalkboard except a thousand times worse.
"Now's your chance, Hope! Get away from here!" Lightning ordered him.
"But Arumat--"
"Hope, do as I say right now!" Lightning yelled. She flew at the fal”cie once more, a rapier and a lantern floating in her other hand. She made several slashes across the fal’cie almost as fast as she had with her katana. A minute later, the creature fell apart like sliced meat, but it was a useless gesture as it instantly repaired itself, like a broken puzzle. Its sword formed in its hands once more and it brought it down on Lightning and while she blocked it with her own sword, she may as well have been using a toothpick compared to the massive weapon of her foe. It crushed her into the ground like a hammer against a nail. Hope had never seen such a lopsided fight even when fighting Caius. The two strongest adventurers on the continent were getting beaten horribly but this 'fal'Cie' creature. Clearly, it was on an entirely different level than a voidsent. Several beams of light shined out of the ground where Lightning had been and she burst from the ground, her armor was now bright silver and her weapon much to Hope’s surprise was now a lance.
"If you're going to help the lala, better do it now, kid!" Lumina reminded him.
"Oh right!" Hope said. He ran around the fal'Cie to where he saw Arumat fall. But the monster tried to stop him and reached its large arm out to him, as if to grab him like a toy.
"Hey! Eyes on me, you freak!" Lightning yelled at it. The creature turned its eyes upward and Lighting had turned into a blood red missile with several circles behind her. Her lance crashed against the fal'Cie's barrier with such force that it couldn't reflect it back at her. The barrier cracked and there was a flash of light as Lightning made a giant hole through its body. He took a moment to glance back at the fight and of course, the fal’cie was already regenerating Lightning's last attack. It turned around and its crystals all circled around and pointed at Lightning as energy formed at their tips. A blast of red light shot at Lighting and hit her squarely in the chest, blasting her backward and smashing her into a boulder which cracked and broke apart upon her collision.
"Light! Damn it, how the hell are we supposed to kill something that can do that?!" Hope growled. He felt Arumat grab his arm and lift himself up, moaning in pain.
"We hit it really, really hard. So hard that there isn't even a single cell left."
"Maybe Lightning’s right about you. She cut it into pieces, put a hole in it, and you blew half its body apart, what else is there to do?” Lumina asked. Arumats gear changed once more and Hope wasn't sure what class he had equipped. Only that its gear looked really flimsy, but it wasn't his bard class since his bow was nowhere in sight. In fact he didn't seem to have a weapon at all.
"Don't blink," Arumat said while grabbing Hope’s shoulder. A moment later they were next to Lightning. Blood was covering her face from the top of her head and brun marks covered her singed armor.
"Light! Lumina, quick!"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't rush me, kid," the fairy responded. Both of them started channeling their aether into Lightning like they had done for Arumat. She let out a groan and sat up.
"Hope, I told you to get out of here…"
"And he and I chose to disregard that order, and you should be glad for that. Both of you would be dead if it weren't for me and the kitten," Lumina said. The fal'Cie slowly approached them, either it was confident it had already won, or it lacked any sense of emotions or alertness. It almost seemed like a robot. Voidsent had emotions, at least all the bad ones, but Hope couldn't feel anything from the creature.
"Just what is that thing?"
"We can discuss that later," Arumat said. "Lightning, you think you got enough in you for one more attack?"
"It'll be for nothing if it puts that barrier back up," Lightning informed him.
"That was some impressive red magic, VerHoly is a high level spell. So here's the plan…" Arumat explained his idea and Lightning couldn't help but chuckle.
"Maybe you're not as dumb as I thought," she said as he finished.
"I'm gonna pretend not to be offended by that," Arumat said as his gear changed back to his bard class while Lightning’s rapier appeared in her hand.
They groaned as they stood up and Hope couldn't help but feel something like excitement as he saw the two stand side by side. Both of them battered and beaten but for some reason, the look on their faces told him that they were going to win.
"Stand back, Hope. If this works, it's going to blow the forest around us apart," Lightning told him.
"Oh, and you might want to cover your eyes, unless you want to go blind for several minutes," Arumat added. Hope stepped back several feet and he saw energy flow around the two adventurers. But it didn't feel like aether, in fact it felt like pure emotion, as if Lightning’s and Arumats confidence was generating power. Their eyes flashed open and Lighting held her rapier upside down while her lantern floated above it the energy around her flowing into the lamp. Arumat crouched down and light coalesced into his arrow as he pointed it at the sky. The power and energy was so dense that Hope and Lumina saw it swirling around the forest like stars and even the sky darkened.
"What is this?" Lumina asked.
"A limit break?" Hope wondered, but it was far more powerful than the ones he had witnessed before.
Suddenly Arumat shot his arrow into the air and symbols and circles formed around the fal'Coe that stretched for malms. “Vermillion Scourge!” Lightning yelled.
There was a blinding flash of light and Hope saw thousands of arrows descend from the sky.
"Sagittarius Arrow!" Arumat yelled. The earth exploded and Hope felt his ears pop and his eyes were forced to close from how bright the forest became. He felt the wind blow around him like a raging tornado and felt Lumina holding onto him for dear life. He heard the Fal'cie let out another blood curdling screech and after what felt like the longest minute of his life, everything was still, perfectly still.
When he opened his eyes, the forest was just gone. Only a handful of charred stumps remained in the newly made clearing which was covered in a thin layer of ashes. "Holy hell…" Hope whispered. He looked around for Lightning and Arumat and saw both of them collapsed a few feet ahead of him.
"Light! Aru!" Hope called to them and rushed over. They were both covered in ash and bruises, and he could tell both of them barely had a pint of aether between them. But Arumat let out a chuckle before laughing,
"What do you know? We make a pretty good team."
"You nearly got us all killed, you idiot," Lightning growled in pain. She sighed and lifted her fist at him, "But yeah…we do work well together, huh?" Arumat smiled and bumped his fist against hers, and a moment later, the last bit of strength in their arms gave out.
x-x
Unbeknownst to the dual Champions, Caius was observing their battle against the fal'Cie and its subsequent demise and was deeply disappointed by the results. Victory or no, the star's dual Champions of Light were barely alive and even if either one had been properly backed by a full party, each individual Champion would not have been able to endure without the aid of the other.
"A valiant display, but a far cry from what you used to be able to accomplish in battle," Caius noted. "It would seem that Etro's blessing has deserted you, Lightning…"
A dark portal formed behind him and Elidibus stepped out a moment later, "A shame it wasn't able to deal with the Warrior of Light."
"The better question to ask is not why it failed, but why it existed in the first place. The star that creature is from is no more. The gods who created it are dead, and for being created so hastily it matched the might of a Primal, maybe even exceeded it," Caius muttered mostly to himself as if the Ascian was an afterthought.
"For someone who doesn't believe in gods, you certainly toss that word around most frequently," Elidibus noted.
Caius stood up and finally gave his attention to the white cloaked man, "Calling things by their self appointed titles doesn't make them any less vulnerable. Isn't your own god nothing more than a product of your own creation? And by extension, so is Hydaelyn."
Elidibus made no attempt to deny the accusation and just smiled, "Are you blaming me for your daughter's death, Caius? Don't forget it was I who rescued you when you should have died that day too. I pointed you to the one you should direct your hatred at."
"A convenient ploy. You only needed someone who doesn't require a vessel to move around freely in. You saw how well that went for Lahabrea," Caius said. "You're a fool if you're expecting me to stay my hand out of a misplaced sense of gratitude. Zodiark is as much a blight on this star as any Primal."
"Each time we repeat this discussion, you bluntly demonstrate the futility of argument just as effectively as any other mortal. So let's move on to something else. Now that you've met him, what do you make of him?" Elidibus asked, referring to Arumat.
Caius looked as Hope desperately transferred aether into the unconscious Lalafell. "An interesting entity. He defies all logic and reason. Even the chaos wasn't enough for a swift kill. But that hardly matters. He will never be able to defeat me."
"Perhaps not by himself, but he wouldn't have defeated that creature without Etro's champion, either," Elidibus reminded him. "Goddesses of Light are quite the annoyance, aren't they, Caius?"
"This from a man whose primary goal has taken several millennia and still isn't close to achieving it?"
"Hmph, how very glib. By the way, how was your trip to Ishgard?"
Caius shrugged. "Without intervention, they won't last long. The dragons have ramped up the frequency of their attacks. And now with Ul'dah under my control, they won't be able to resist the Empire's advance either."
"How fortunate, and you just intend to let them go then?" Elidbus asked, indicating the two champions.
Caius looked back and mostly focused his gaze on Lightning. "I want to watch her lose everything, just like I did. Only when she begs me for death will I finally release her. Be thankful, as long as she breathes your life will be spared." He glanced back at the lalafell as if to take his measure and turned away curtly as if losing interest. "As for this so-called Warrior of Light, I'm not obligated to clean up your mess. My orders from Varis were to take Ul'dah and I have done exactly that."
Elidibus's smile grew wider, "Have it your way. I have some some matters to attend to with Igeyorhm and Lahabrea."
"That fool finally regenerated? Not like I care," Caius scoffed.
"Be that as it may, this will be our last encounter for a while. I trust you will make good use of your borrowed time," Elidibus said before vanishing into the darkness.
"I think I will be occupied quite well," Caius muttered before he too vanished into the darkness.
x-x
Back in Ul'dah…
Fang and Vanille looked out of the alley, cloaks covering their bodies and hoods over their faces. Brass Blades and Crystal Braves as well as Imperial soldiers patrolled the streets, many of them outright stealing from local merchants. Whoever tried to backtalk would be immediately arrested and civilians could only do their best to avoid confrontation.
"And I thought the Syndicate was bad," Fang muttered.
"Shouldn't we be catching up with Lightning?" Vanille asked.
"Once Snow and Serah get back, we will. If anyone can prove her innocence, it's gonna be Raubahn."
"Will the other leaders believe him at this point?" Vanille asked.
"Teledji was asking for it, I'm surprised Raubahn didn't put him six feet under sooner. If he had, maybe this whole mess could have been avoided," Fang whispered. She heard Vanille let out a small sniffle and Fang looked at her to see tears forming in her eyes.
"Poor Nanamo…she didn't deserve to die like that…"
Fang pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear, "Ilberd will get his, don't worry…” Vanille hugged her back and softly cried in her embrace. Unlike Lightning, who openly criticized the late Sultana, Vanille had admired her. Fang herself was indifferent on the lalafell, but Vanille was too kind hearted and knew how hard she had worked to make Ul’dah a great city. Fang held her tightly for several minutes until they heard footsteps approaching. They broke apart as Snow and Serah, wearing their own cloaks came up to them.
"So, did you find him?" Fang asked. Snow and Serah glanced at each other and the shared grimace on their faces told her everything she did not want to hear.
"We found his body being carried off by a few soldiers who were ordered to dispose of it," Snow growled. "We asked around, found out there was a fight at the arena…well, from what we heard it was more like an execution. Caius started off by humiliating the general before driving him to despair. Anyone who stuck around long enough said Raubahn looked like he broke before the blade was ever driven home." Vanille gasped and her tears started flowing like waterfalls and Serah was quick to embrace her this time, shedding her own tears as she tried to comfort her healer. Fang meanwhile slammed her fist into the alley wall, leaving an indentation and several cracks but also breaking two of her fingers.
"Damn it all!" she hissed.
"If Caius really is after Light, she's gonna need all the help she can get. Raubahn wasn't weak, if what we heard is true, Caius is a monster," Snow said.
"That's an understatement," a voice said. Fang and Snow quickly drew their weapons but lowered them when they saw who the voice belonged to.
"Noel!" She exclaimed. She quickly ran to him just as his legs gave out. Blood was all over his body, dried and cracking along with countless bruises.
"Seven hells, what happened to you?" Fang asked.
Vanille quickly started channeling her aether into him and he flinched as he heard his bones being pushed back into place. "Almost a sixth of your bones have been broken. How are you alive?" the white mage whispered.
"I guess Caius doesn't think I'm worthy enough to kill," Noel growled. "I distracted him while Lightning and her little Warrior of Light friend escaped. There were a few others, but there wasn't a lot of time to chat…" He let out another moan and growled, "He was toying with me the entire fight… if you can call it a fight. Lightning doesn't stand a chance against him. Neither does that lalafell."
"I'm sorry, lalafell?!" Fang hissed. "You're telling me the famous Warrior of Light is a f*cking lalafell?!"
"Hey, I was surprised too, but I hardly think that matters. Caius is on a different level. I did nothing but train for five years, and all it meant was being barely half a step above your usual cannon fodder," Noel growled. Fang let out an aggravated sigh.
"Well, beggars can't be choosers. Vanille, how long will it take to patch Noel up?"
"Without a proper facility, he won't walk properly for a month at least. I'll remind you, healing magic isn't all powerful," the healer said.
"Guess I'll just have to carry him all the way to Ishgard," Snow concluded.
"Glad you're using your brain for once," Fang snarked.
"I'll just ignore that," Snow quipped while helping Noel onto his back.
"Here Noel, drink this," Serah said, helping him drink a potion. "It's not as effective as Vanille's magic, but it should help the pain a little."
"Training your alchemy was a good idea after all," Fang nodded in approval.
"Now onto the bigger problem," Snow said. "None of us have been to Ishgard and even if we had, the Aetherytes are all being jammed."
"We have to go through the Black Shroud, if I recall,” Vanille said. "Fallgourd Float is an outpost right before crossing the border. We might run into Lightning and Hope there."
"Then that's our first stop. But keep your cloaks on. I doubt our faces are as well known as Light's, but there's no shortage of adventurers who saw us busting out of the guild."
"You used a limit break inside it, remember?" Snow asked. "That was bound to attract a lot of attention."
"But did you see the look on their faces? Priceless," Fang laughed as she moved ahead of the others.
Serah sighed as the rest of them followed her. "Sometimes I'm not sure who's more reckless, Fang or Sis."
"Fang," Noel, Snow and Vanille all said simultaneously.
