2. If today was your last day

[motherofthesun]

 (TRIGGER WARNING. This meme deals heavy with death and also possibly with strong violence or with suicide/depression. If you are not comfortable reading about that, please PLEASE do not proceed further.)

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Hope Estheim || Final Fantasy XIII || 5 2

[good_breakfast]

[As Hope stumbles through the empty wasteland with whoever may be with him he collapses to the ground. So hungry... he can't go any further. It won't be long now...]

THERE IS NO ANSWER OTHER THAN 1

[recidivated]

Hope-!

[Xion had been holding onto him, supporting him as they had walked for days... maybe even weeks-she wasn't even sure anymore. now, she realizes as she feels her heart drop, he's reached the absolute limit... and yet, she doesn't want to accept it. she falls to her knees, hands tight around his, tears welling up in her eyes.]

No... please, hang on! We're almost there... please, stay with me...

[good_breakfast]

Xi....on...

[Using what little strength he has left he reaches a hand up to cup her cheek.]

You've... you've gotta promise me something.

[recidivated]

[this isn't happening. this can't be happening. she shakes her head in frustration, anger, disbelief-she knew this whole thing was a bad idea from the start. but... it's too late now. she can't hold them back anymore; her tears are now falling freely as she puts her hand over his.

to be honest, she almost doesn't want to hear what's coming. but she has to know. after all, no one else will.]

What... what is it?

[good_breakfast]

[He tenderly strokes the side of her face, knowing this'll be the last time he sees it.]

I'm... just gonna slow you down. If you take me with you, you'll never make it to the next town. If you go ahead without me... you can make it before nightfall and send help...

[Hope knows he won't last that long, but if it'll get her moving to a safe place...]

[recidivated]

No!

[she expected an answer like that, but damn it, that won't stop her from screaming her denial. her grip around his hand tightens, as if that will somehow keep him tethered to this life. she wants to believe so, so desperately that it will.]

I'm not leaving you here, Hope. We promised we'd always be together... and I'm not going back on that. We're going to make it out of this-together. Like we always do.

You promised me that you would never run away from me again. I'm promising you the same thing.

[deep down, she knows it won't.]

[good_breakfast]

Xion.... please. Don't make me watch you die here too. You're stronger than me. You always have been. You have to keep going.

[recidivated]

[...now, she feels immensely guilty. she can't even show her face to him as she considers what she's about to say. her tear-filled gaze drops to a spot on the ground just next to his body; however, her hold on his hand remains as firm as it was before.]

Remember how I said I'd never say no to you?

That's one promise I'm going to have to break.

[good_breakfast]

[And tiny tears start to form in his eyes.]

Please Xion. I don't want you to see me die like this. When I saw my mom die... it was awful. I can't put you through that...

[recidivated]

But I can't leave you behind-I just can't. Knowing... knowing that you were alone would haunt me even more. You don't deserve that.

[while one of her hands is still grasped around his, she gently caresses his face with the other. she brushes a few stray locks of his snowy hair out of his eyes, then has her hand come to a rest on his cheek.

unlike him, she already knows what it's like to die. when she had forced Roxas to kill her, he stayed by her side the entire time, until she went... it made passing on easier. and she was determined to do the same for Hope, no matter how hard it would be, no matter how much it would crush her already-broken heart.]

I love you, Hope, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay with you until the end.

Re: Hope Estheim || Final Fantasy XIII || 5 2

[deathsharbinger]

[The wasteland was a harsh environment, even for the properly prepared. It was only natural for it to one day claim an unlucky traveler... Unfortunately, Fate had dealt its cards, and this one was chosen.]

[He might faintly see a shadowed figure, skirting in the corners of his vision but never in direct sight and easily dismissed. As time passed, however, that shadow might be more noticeable.]

[good_breakfast]

[Hope has enough experience fighting monsters to know when he's being followed by something. He tries to summon enough magic to cast a spell, but he's too weak.]

Nnngh.. just show yourself...!

[deathsharbinger]

[The figure looms over Hope, his form soon becoming clear; a cloaked figure wielding a long sword, coffins chained to his back, and a cold, metal mask. He remains over Hope, silent, watching.]