Passion Projecct - Final Fantasy XIII Fan Fiction

“So, is there anything you miss from before all this?” Lightning asked Hope, as they stared up at the stars. They had set up camp in Palumpolum, though neither of them really felt the need too. They both knew they wouldn’t be sleeping tonight. Ever since he felt his comfortable life, ever since he was boarded on the train, sleeping didn’t seem possible. As exhausting as everything had been, he feared closing his eyes, if only for a moment.
“There is something, or someone, I should say. I miss her.” He told Lightning, the sorrow in his voice seeped through his every word.
“A girl? What was her name?”
“Cloe.” He smiled as he said it.
“That’s a nice name. How did you know Cloe?” Lightning asked him, it sounded like she was asking more out of courtesy than curiosity, but he didn’t care.
“She went to my school, we’d had classes together since we were little.. Her grey eyes sparkled, and her long black hair was often an adorable mess. With everyday she grew more beautiful. We had always been friends, and I had always had a slight crush on her. One day we started talking more and everything just fell into place.
Mom liked her, too! They were friends. The three of us used to do things together all the time.”
“I’m sorry, Hope.” She spoke in a genuine tone, she thought of Hope as her little brother, and this even made her feel sad.
“After all this is over, if we survive it, if she’d except me as a Pulse l’Cie, well I’d like to pick up where we left off. It’s strange to think she’s so close now, her house is near mine. I wonder if she’s still waiting for me.” He paused for a moment and listened to the silence, until he finally felt the need to break it. “What about you, Light? Ever considered love?” He laughed a little as he said this.
She laughed quietly for a moment, too. “I’m not really the type to fall in love. I prefer to be alone. Try to get some sleep, Hope. Tomorrow we’ll head to your house.”
“Okay. Good night, Light.” They both closed their eyes, and tried to get some sleep.
The next morning they continued their journey to Hope’s home. “Is this the place?” She asked him, staring at the large house in front of them.
“This is it.” He replied. They walked up to the door and rang the bell.
“Hope?” His dad answered the door.
“Moms gone.” Was all Hope could say.
Inside the house, they all sat in silence. After a moment, there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get that.” Hope’s dad walked to the door and opened it. “Oh, uh, hi Mr. Estheim.” They heard a girl’s soft voice say. “Sorry to bother you, I was just wondering, well, have you heard anything?” Her voice trailed off.  
“Cloe?” Hope started walking to the door.
“Hope? Is that really you?” Her grey eyes widened. She ran to him and embraced him. “I thought I’d never see you again.” She started to cry.  
He hugged her back. He was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. Seeing her again bought back so many emotions. “I.. I missed you.” He finally managed.
She laughed as the tears continued to run down her face. “I missed you too!” She   
told him. She went from having a huge smile on her face, to a look of worry. “Hope, where’s Nora?”
“She’s gone.” Hope’s Dad said quietly, still standing by the door. After he said this, Snow, Lightning, Fang, and Hope’s Dad, Bartholomew, migrated into the other room.
Cloe let go of Hope, and walked over to the couch and sat. She looked down at her knees. Hope sat by her, and placed his hand on her thigh. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice was at a whisper.
“There’s something else you should know, too.” She looked at him, he pulled his glove down and she examined the brand.
“A Pulse l’Cie?” She started lightly tracing his brand with her index finger, his hand still placed on her thigh.
He pulled his hand from her and looked the other way. “Yeah, a Pulse l’Cie.” He repeated.
“Hope, what’s wrong?” She asked him, the concern in her voice overbearing.
“I’m a l’Cie Cloe, you know what that means, don’t you?” He had just a touch of anger in his voice. “I’m not even human anymore.”
“Hope, look at me.” Hope turned and looked into her eyes. “I don’t care about what you are, I care about who you are. They say l’Cie are monsters, but sitting with you now, all I see is Hope. The same Hope I’ve always known.”
“You know what’ll happen to me though. I’ll either turn into crystal, or a monster.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to be a monster, so we better make sure we fulfill your focus.” You could hear the determination in her voice.
“What do you mean by we?” He gave her a skeptical look.
“I just got you back, you didn’t honestly think I would let you go, did you? What is your focus, anyways?”
“I don’t know yet. Snow thinks it’s to save Cocoon, but we can’t be sure.”
“Snow? Who’s Snow?”
“Oh!” He said, remembering he hadn’t introduced everyone. “Snow? Light? Fang?” He called out to each of them.
“Yeah, Hope?” Fang said as she walked in, followed by the other two.
“This is Cloe. Cloe, this is Fang, Light, and Snow.” He gestured to each of them as he spoke their name.
“So this is Cloe?” Lightning looked at her, she’s just an average girl. The way Hope talks about her, you’d think she was some sort of goddess. She thought.
“It’s nice to meet all of you!” Cloe stared up at the three of them.
“So, Hope, this is your girl, huh?” Snow punched his arm playfully as he said this.   
“I guess you could call her that.” Hope blushed, and rubbed his arm where Snow had hit it. “She wants to help us complete our focus.” He then stood up and looked at her. “It’s too dangerous, though!”
She stood up now, too. “Hope, I won’t take no for an answer. There’s nothing here for me, and since I’ve interacted with l’Cie now, I’ll be purged for sure. Plus, I’ve always longed for adventure! As dangerous as it might be, I’m not worried as long as I’m with you.” She protested.
“I say we take her, it’ll be dangerous, but her mind is made up. And I know what it’s like to want to do what you can for the person you love.” Snow told Hope, a smile across his face.
“You really want to come with us? It’s fight after fight, you know?” Lightning asked Cloe in her usual tone of voice.
“I know what I’m getting into. I’m prepared for anything we face, and want to be of any use I can.” Cloe stated.
“Cloe, are you sure about this?” Hope pleaded.
“Of course I am, Hope. I’d much rather be wherever you are, then worrying constantly about if I’ll ever see you again.” She was obviously very persistent.
“But I don’t want to have to constantly worry about you!” There was a pause, and Cloe just sat there, staring at him, speechless. “Fine, you can come, but promise me you’ll be careful?” Hope gave in.
Relief and happiness came across her face. “I promise!” She said as she wrapped her arms around him. He sighed, and hugged her back.
Fang then spoke, “So it’s settled, we’ll stay here for the night, and head out tomorrow.”
“Sounds like it! Good luck, kid.” Snow said, and he patted Cloe on the back. “I’m off to bed!” And with that they all headed to bed, to try and get a good night’s sleep, so they could continue their journey tomorrow.
“So now we need to save Sazh, and Vanille?” Cloe asked Hope as they exited the Estheim estate.
“Yeah. They’re in the Palamecia, so that’s where we’re heading.” He replied.