Final Fantasy! (Private~)

Snow jogged up to Serah, watching as she gazed at the jewelery sitting in the shop's window display. He noticed that her eyes stuck to two matching necklaces; they looked like tiny replicas of Cocoon with intricate spirals spiking from the bottom. "They're so beautiful," she breathed, and immediately Snow perked up. The perfect gift. He could feel his hand sway to his wallet, itching to buy the necklaces right away. He stopped himself. No, he couldn't buy them when Serah was here. It should be a surprise.

"Hey, look who's stopped by again." Snow looked up from the jewelery and met a friendly grin from the shop's owner. Jack placed a fist on his hip and nodded to Serah, eyebrows bouncing. "So do I finally get to meet the lucky lady--"

"Uh, hey, Serah, we should really get going." Snow shot a desperate look at Jack and shook his head frantically. He turned back to Serah and wrapped an arm around her waist, guiding her away from the store. "We still want plenty of daylight to get your project done, right?"

Serah jumped at the sudden voice, glancing eyes widened at the man standing at the door to the shop. Seeing his easy smile, she let out a breath and glanced at Snow. He was giving the man a funny look she couldn't quite decipher. She shook her head and decided not to ask. A second later, a arm wrapped around her waist and she was being pulled away. She waved goodbye to the man who smiled at her.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, answering Snow's question. "So that guy seemed like he knew you. Come here often?" she teased, totally oblivious to the truth. She hooked her arm in his and leaned her head on his shoulder. It felt nice to be with him again, even though they'd only been apart for less then two days. It felt as though he completed her. She didn't know what she'd do without him or her sister.

(Claire needs love too xD)

((Crappy post, but at least I got it done. Sorry 'bout the wait xD))

Snow patted Serah's head, guiding her further away from the jewelery shop. He laughed at her question, trying to brush it off as a joke. "Must've mistaken me for some other guy." Snow flashed his grin. "Why would I want to go to a jewelery shop?"

Snow continued walking with Serah until the beach came into view. Picking up the pace again and stealing Serah's hand, he jogged up to NORA's café and clomped over to the bar stools. Before he could sit, Snow's back was slapped by a thick hand. "Yo, Snow, you brought the lady," Gadot rumbled, striding past Snow and Serah and landing a seat. Snow laughed and did the same, pulling Serah on his lap and hugging her waist with one arm, his other resting on the counter.

"Snow! Serah!" Yuj and Maqui appeared at the entrance and snatched two more open seats at the bar.

"Long time no see," Yuj nodded to Serah, a smile playing on his lips. "School keeping you busy lately?"

Serah glanced up at Snow just in time for him to grab her hand, leading her forward at a much quicker pace then a moment ago. She smiled, the bar coming into view within the next few seconds. She loved it here. Everyone accepted her and loved to talk to her, and they never complained about Snow and herself being together liker her sister so obviously did. Yeah, she still loved her sister to death, but enough was enough sometimes. So this place was a nice break.

As she followed Snow inside, Gadot appeard, cutting Snow off before he was able to sit down. Snow laughed, taking a different seat and pulled Serah gently onto his lap, wrapping a hand around her waist. Happiness bubbled inside of her at his touch. She was so completely distracted by this that she nearly missed Maqui and Yuj's appearances. They dropped into seats opposite Snow and Serah, turning to talk to her.

"Yeah." she smiled "School can get in the way some times, but I still love it. Especially history." she giggled and waved towards Lebreau who was coming towards them now. She turned back to the boys. "So, how have you two been? And you too, Gadot, Lebreau." she added, turning to the spikey haired guy sitting beside them.

Lebreau rested her elbows on the opposite side of the counter, her fingers laced together. "Life's been good-- a little dull, but good," she smiled.

"Won't be dull for much longer," Yuj laughed, looking pointedly at Snow, "three days till the fireworks festival, eh?"

"The perfect time to have wishes made and granted," Maqui added. He bounced his eyebrows at Snow. Snow coughed and clenched a fist behind Serah's back at the two. Gadot leaned back in his seat to reach over and smack the side of Maqui's head. "He-ey, what was that for?" Gadot shrugged. Maqui looked from Yuj to Gadot, hands waving at his blue-haired buddy. "Aren't you gonna hit him too?"

Gadot cupped his chin and looked off in the distance for a moment, humming slightly. He tilted his head back to Maqui. "Nah, don't really feel like it."

"Enough, guys," Lebreau laughed, standing straight again, "or I'll smack the three of you."

"What'd I do?" Yuj complained. Lebreau ignored him.

"So what'll it be Snow, Serah? This week's special's been hitting it off pretty well," she continued.

"If the special's big, I'm goin' all out for it. I'm starving." Snow hugged Serah tighter. "What about you, Ser?"

((Heh, guess I focused more on the other characters than Snow in this post. Meh. They need some love-- NORA's team is awesome yet underappreciated. <3 Sleepy Kid~))

Serah giggled, laying a hand on Snow's arm and resting the other on the table and leaning forward slightly to place her chin on her upraised palm. She smiled at the group, happy to be with them once again. Turning to Lebreau, she thought for a moment. "I think I'll just have a caesar salad, thanks." glancing behind her at Snow, she sighed, lowering her voice while he was distracted with the other. "And don't let him have any more alcohol tonight. He doesn't need any more." she winked and turned to the others "So what have you guys been up to lately?"

"A special without booze and a caesar salad coming up," Lebreau announced, winking before disappearing into the bar's kitchen.

Snow felt his heart beat irregularly for a moment when a giggle escaped Serah's mouth. He pecked her on the cheek and slid his palms to her stomach. "C'mon, Serah, you gotta eat more than that-- don't you go and start dieting on me." Snow leaned his face closer to Serah's ear. "You're perfect right how you are now. Hey, Lebreau!" Lebreau poked her head from inside the kitchen. "Serah'll have the special too." Rolling her eyes and nodding, Lebreau disappeared again.

"Anyway," Yuj jumped in, "we've just been up to the usual. Gadot's bike got busted by a monster we fought a few days ago--"

"But I fixed it up," Maqui finished, chest high. Gadot smacked him again. "Why'd I get that one?" Gadot grinned and shrugged.

A little later, Lebreau pushed her way back to the bar's counter, two giant plates of ribs balanced on either hand. "One special for you," she placed one plate in front of Snow, "and one for you," she said, placing the other in front of Serah. "Be right back with the salad." Lebreau spun on her heel and sauntered back into the kitchen.

Snow flashed a grin at Serah and shifted so that she was sitting on one of his knees. "Eat up," he laughed, yanking off his gloves and ripping a bite into one of his ribs. Within seconds Snow had his face plastered on the counter, a hand slapping Gadot's shoulder for mercy. "Ha-hot," he choked, shooting back up into a sitting position and wiping his tongue on both of his palms. "Hothothothothot!"

Serah rolled her own eyes and glanced up at Snow. A grin plastered across his face made her pretty much forget what she was going to say. Instead, she shook her head and sighed. "I'm not dieting. I'm just not that big an eater." she grinned, kissing Snow's cheek quickly. "You should know that by now."

Her eyes shifted to the plates as Lebreau came strolling towards them. She placed the food in front of them and Serah was shifted to one knee as Snow began to dig into the food. "Be right back with the salad." Lebreau said, turning and walking away. A moment later, Snow was freaking out over something. She smiled and reached for her water, slipping it near him and telling him to drink while she took a bite of the ribs, chewing it slowly, then taking another bit.

"It's not hot." she commented, finishing only one rib before sliding it towards Gadot. "But I'm not that big on ribs. You can finish it."

Lebreau retourned with a salad and smiled knowingly as she caught sight of Snow's panicked state and Gadot ripping into the ribs with his bare hands. "Thanks." she mumbled absentmindedly as she started eating. A good twenty or so minutes later, Serah took one last bite of her salad, leaving almost nothing from the small plate of greens and turned to the others. "Well, we gotta go. We're heading out to the ruins for my history project." she smiled, sliding from Snow's lap and kissing him on the cheek again then facing everyone. "Thanks for the food, and company." she waved, taking Snow's hand in her free one and pulling on it slightly. They had to get going before it got too dark.

"Haah," Snow exhaled heavily, wiping the water that had dripped on his chin with the back of his hand. He slammed the fifth glass of water he'd chugged on the counter. "Great ribs, Lebreau," he breathed, his tongue feeling numb.

Gadot patted Snow's back while ripping off the meat of his last rib. "Ya missed out, Serah," he rumbled and wiped the rib sauce on his pants. Snow licked his fingers, cringed at the spicy kick, then snapped his gloves back on.

"Well, we gotta go. We're heading out to the ruins for my history project," Serah explained. She returned to her feet and pecked Snow on the cheek. "Thanks for the food, and company."

Snow waved a two-fingered salute at everyone as Serah found his hand. "See you guys around," Snow said, placing a fistful of money on the counter before following Serah outside and toward the ruins.

--We've decided to skip over travelling and jump over to the ruins--


The ruins were beautiful. More beautiful then Serah remembered them being last time she was here. The stones surrounding her and Snow glowed softly illuminating the somewhat dark cave and giving off enough light to see. The walls themselves were smooth and seemed metalic, but not. They were cold to the touch.

Serah smiled and kneeled down, rubbing a hand gently over a stone's glowing surface. Snow was wandering around an amusing look on his face. That's why she usually brough him to the ruins. He seemed to love the place. Maybe it was a sense of adventure that he got from it. Maybe it was just the beauty of the gently glowing rocks and walls. Either way, he liked it and that alone made Serah happy. When she turned to him next, he was studying something with a very confused look on his face.

"Snow, what's up?"

Snow knocked on part of the ruin's wall, blinking as the material felt solid, but echoed as if it were hollow. He tilted his chin upwards to look at the entire ruins towering above. It was huge. Snow flicked a finger across his nose. This place was pretty cool; it was completely different from the buildings anywhere else in Cocoon. And what's more, Serah got a kick from the ruins, too. Snow stood still for a moment, letting the full meaning of this place sink in. Huge... empty... barely visited... him and Serah... alone... Snow spun around to face Serah. She was knealt over a pile of weathered stones. He strided over to her, opening his mouth to speak, but stopped himself when something caught the corner of his eye. Snow scratched the back of his head. "Was there an opened door there last time?"

Serah's eyes slid from rock to glowing rock and over the walls as Snow approached her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him pause, scratching the back of his head. He looked thoroughly confused. Serah tilted her head when he asked "Was there an opened door there last time?"

"No. No one's ever been able to get into the ruins." she shook her head and reached into her small book bag, hung over her shouder and resting on her hip as she knelt, pulling out a small pad and a pencil. She jotted down a few notes then glanced back up at Snow who was still scratching his head and studying something with what seemed like intese concentration. "I can see smoke coming from your ears, Snow." she said in amusement.

Snow laughed, tearing his gaze away from the strange opening in the ruins. He knelt next to Serah, offering a hand. "If there hasn't been an entrance before, then why don't we take a look over there? Cause I swear I think I see a way to get in."

((Reeeeely short post >.<' Not much to say here))

Serah shook her head in confusion but took Snow's hand anyways as she was helped up. Her eyes slid from wall to wall, then to the rocks and finally to the floor. She didn't see any door. "What are you talking about? I don't see a door. There's never been a door-"

As she followed Snow down a bit to where he'd been standing after stuffing the pad and pencil back in her small bag, she caught sight of the edge of an opening - that had never been there before. Her eyes widened in suprise and her mouth dropped slightly. And then she smiled, letting out a short laugh before stretching up to kiss Snow breifly, then dashing forward towards the semi-darkness inside. "You're the best!" she said as she trotted forward.

Snow grinned like an idiot when Serah called him the best. Picking up the pace, he jogged to catch up to Serah and joined her inside the ruins.

"Whoa-hoh!" he exclaimed, slowing to a walk once he made it inside. Snow's voice bounced on the walls, breaking the eerie silence that was otherwise there. As if on cue, lights along the floors and walls and ceiling flashed on, seeming to glow brighter by the heartbeat. It was like the place had been asleep, and he and Serah had woken the ruins up. Snow felt a rush of exhileration crash through him.

There were winding staircases and pathways branching out everywhere. Where should they go next? Snow spun to Serah and grabbed her hand in his. "Ser, isn't this awesome! Man, who'da thought a place this cool existed in here," he laughed.

Serah steped ahead of Snow, pulling him along as she strolled from room to room, examining every inch of the place. The prospect of mystery intrigued her and her mind was already beinning to work through what could have possibly built this place. It looked so complex and well thought out. There's no way it could have been done accidentally.

Lights, brighter then the ones illuminating the rooms they'd come from, streaked the walls and lined the floors. They flashed on just ahead of Serah and Snow every time they moved forward, and disappeared behind them as they moved away. Serah barely held back a giggle of happiness as the sights registered with her brain. "This is amazing..." she whispered, then turned to a set of stairs. Scanning above she could just see the top. How far up was that? And how much farther would it go once they reached that level. She turned to Snow, pointing with a free hand. "Let's go up and see what's up there." she asked, her voice bouncing and echoing from the walls. She smiled brightly, turning back to the staircase and started climbing step after step. This was so exciting! She was so happy that Snow had found that opening!

(At the airport and finally got internet access! =3 So I'm posting now, have a one hour flight and then I'm at that airport for an hour but I don't know if I'll have internet access. Then I get on the last one and this one is 4 hours. The hotel I'm in might not have internet access from the rooms, but in the lobby I think it's free. So yeah...I dunno if I'll be on tonight.)

Snow couldn't help but let another ridiculous grin slip on his face when he saw Serah's expression. She was enthralled. "Let's go up and see what's up there," Serah cheered, pointing to a winding staircase that nearly went on for forever. Snow was slapped by one of Serah's heart-stopping smiles and nodded without even needing to think. Taking her hand, he joined Serah in climbing the staircase.

The two of them spiraled upwards for what could've felt like seconds, had Snow not noticed the aching muscles in his legs. Everything in this place was breathtaking: the walls inscribed with foreign symbols, the lights that seemed to guide them, the gold and teal stone, Serah's undying smile. Snow and Serah continued up the stairs until gradually the light died altogether. Heartbeats passed, and then a faint glow appeared a little ways to their left. Crystal-like lights floated down, landing on the floor next to them to create a visible path. Snow blinked. Had there been floor there before? Wasn't 'up' the only option on this staircase just seconds ago? The glow that the crystals led to grew brighter, like it was calling to them.

Snow gripped Serah's hand more tightly. He didn't quite get what was going on, but it was pretty damn awesome. "Wanna go?" he asked, canines flashing.

Serah blinked hard as the light faded. She took another step and missed, nearly falling forward but catching herself last second and standing straight up. And then the soft glow illuminted the walls and floors once again. Where there had been stairs was now a flat surface, surrounded by more lights. Had the stairs just turned into a platform? She tilted her head and shrugged, smiling slowly. For some reason she just couldn't stop smiling. This was all too exciting.

Snow tightened his grip and she glanced up at him. "Wanna go?" he asked. He looked about as excited as she was. She nodded and started forwards again. As they made it to the middle, it jerked slightly and started upwards.

"Oh! An elevator!" she exclaimed. "That's much better then all those steps." the lift stops, lights shifting once again to illuminate the path ahead of them as if telling them to go that way. Tugging lightly on his hand, she pulled Snow forwards once again. The further she went, the more she started to feel nervous. It wasn't enough to make her turn back, but it just felt weird.

"That's much better than all those steps," Serah said as the two of them stepped off the elevator. Once again, the lights created a path to follow. There wasn't much need for it, though. As far as Snow could see, there was only one way to go down this hallway. Snow and Serah walked forward, following the lights. More crystals floated around them, falling and melting away like snowfall.

Finally, Snow could see the end of the hall. They met a door on the other side. Still holding Serah's hand, Snow walked forward, and the door opened for them. The room was dark. Snow paused, turning to Serah. "Still up for going on?" he teased.

The grin retourned to Serah's face at the opening of the door and Snow's words. His certainty and good humor made her finally decide she wanted to go all the way to the end of this place. She'd felt unsure and as if she were intruding upon something sacred. The lights plus her boyfriend had her moving forward thought another thought, taking a few steps to catch up with Snow's long strides and started keeping pace with him. But a moment later it ended. With a sigh, she turned to Snow, seeing nothing really interesting - same walls, floor and ceiling as before. "Well, let's go. Maybe one of those other stiarcases lead to something more interesting."

She turned but found the way out blocked. The door that had been there had closed and...completely disappeared. "Uh-oh." she said under her breath, turning back to Snow. "We're, uh, stuck in here." she said, glancing about and hoping that another door had opened somewhere nearby. Just as she started to loose hope, a flicker of red light caught her attention and she spun to the dead end they'd come upon. Some giant symbol floated just above the ground and towered hight above their heads as the floor behind it shifted, opened and something started to rise. Another elevator? she thought, happiness retourning to her mind.

But it wasn't a platform or anything like an elevator. Before she could really see what it was, there was a bright flash and a sharp feeling inside her. It wasn't pain, but almost a dull shock. She stumbled backwards, panic being slowly shoved aside by darkness threatening to take over her. She glanced about wildly for Snow. There was another flash and then everything, sounds, smells...everything...just sort of faded away.

There was a bright flash. Snow squinted away from the light, and arm shielding his eyes. He felt Serah's grip on his hand loosen.

"Serah?"

Snow caught Serah before she could hit the floor. She'd just collapsed. "You okay?" He shook her gently. "Serah!"

Everything around him was black, except for a painfully bright light blasting above him. A crystal was the light's source, glowing so brightly it hurt to keep his eyes opened. There was a shattering sound, and the light burning through Snow's eyelids melted away. Church bells resonated, loud enough for Snow to feel each ring pulse through his body. Time seemed to slow itself and Snow found himself opening his eyes again.

Before him stood an enormous machine. A teal aura seeped from the machine, chains and gear belts winding around its almost humanoid form. The body was held up by more mechanical parts. Glowing purple spheres encrusted what could be considered the machine's 'stomach,' attached to strands of orange light that strung also from the 'head'.

The most humanoid part of this maching was its face-- or rather, half of it. One half was covered in some kind of stone. The other, though, had the shape of some man's. The skin was grey and decorated with intricate silver lines that curled around the eye and forehead. The eyes glowed pure white. Snow shivered. This thing was bad news.

Suddenly, the machine jerked, and the aura that was surrounding the body whipped free, strapping to Snow's arms and legs like ropes. They tore Snow's grip away from Serah, and more aura-ropes snapped around Serah. "SERAH!" Snow screamed, wrenching and fighting against his restrainers. The aura snaked around his neck, preventing Snow from even lifing his head. "Serah... Serah!" He couldn't see her anymore. What the fuck was going on?

Snow gasped when searing white pain bit his left arm. He clenched his teeth and cursed between them. The machine and everything else was melting away. No... Serah... where was Serah... Snow tried pulling away, but his body slackened. "Ser..."

Millions of pictures flashed through Snow's mind within seconds, so fast that he could hardly tell what any one was. Then he couldn't think at all. Everything became still.


"Now that's a sunset," Nora sighed, shifting to lean back on her elbows. She patted the other towel laid out next to her. If she'd sat any closer to the water, she would have been soaked by now. She tilted her head back. "Hope, come join me."

Hope stood a few feet behind Nora, mopping his face with a towel. "I kinda want to head back to the hotel. We can watch the sunset from there."

Nora sighed, more dramatically this time. "But it's so gorgeous here-- look at all those colours on the water. Can't see that from our hotel room."

"Mom," Hope groaned, "you pushed me in the ocean. I'm wet." He tugged at his shirt that clung to his skin. His shoes squished and bubbled every time Hope took a step or shifted weight to the other foot.

"But the water was so nice," Nora laughed. "Not my fault you refused to change into your bathing suit."

"Mom."

"What?"

Hope huffed, plunking himself down next to his mother. They were silent for a moment.

"Too bad your father didn't make it."

Hope rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his stomach. "I don't really care. I--" Hope looked at his mom. "I think I like it better without him here, just you and me."

Nora gave a sad smile. She placed a palm on Hope's forehead, pushing his bangs from his eyes. "I still say you should get a haircut," she teased, "look at these bangs, covering up your handsome face."

Hope shook his head like a dog, leaning back so his mom couldn't reach his forehead. He smoothed his bangs back over his face. Nora laughed. "Touchy about our hair, are we?" Hope bit the inside of his cheeks and looked away. His face felt hot.

"I wanna head back to the hotel."

"Hm? Yeah, alright."

Vanille felt a chill, like wind, bowing on her back. She opened her eyes just a crack, only to see the rock floor she was laying on. She squeezed her eyes shut again, and opened them all the way. This time, she saw a familiar face not far from her own.
"Fang." She said, dazed.
Vanille tried to push herself up, and crawled over to her companion. She shook Fang's shoulder, and repeated her name over and over.

((EEEWWW...Short post is short...))

"Oh hey there, sleepy head!" Vanille said, smiling at her groggy companion. "I'm glad you woke up!" She said with a smile.
Vanille looked around.
"It sure does feel like it's been awhile, doesn't it?" She asked, trying to fill the echoing silence. She sat back on her haunches.
"How long do you think it's been?" She asked, watching her long time friend sit up.