Evolution: Chapter 8

[frkmgnt1]

Evolution Chapter 8
The Widening Gyre


-8-
-The Widening Gyre-
Lightning eyes the white knuckled fist clamped around her bicep. Snow's bloodless fingers press bruises into the soft flesh inside her arm. She knows empirically that the pressure hurts, but she is still too numb to feel anything. She stares at the fingers, hoping the pain will register and prove that she's not totally gone, but Snow eases his grip before any inkling of pain registers.

"Sorry." He whispers, fingers smoothing over the livid hand print on her arm. He slides his fingers down to hook around her elbow, an anchor rather than a tether now. "Sorry, but you can't expect me to let you go off on your own to die somewhere without knowing exactly why. What will I tell Serah?" He keeps his tone low and even until it cracks on the last word.

She flinches at her sister's name. Invocation of Serah. Snow knows just where to hit to get what he wants. Lightning has never really believed that she would ever see her sister again but part of her had held onto some hope that maybe, one day... But now she knows that, even if Snow is right and Serah will wake up and return in the future, Lightning will not be around to see her. So Snow is right. He'll be the one left behind to explain to Serah her sister's fate.

"Alright." She relents. "you're right." Running away without explanation is a coward's way out. Lightning is many things, but she's no coward. She looks around at the faces of her companions. Fang looks somewhere between bored and put out; Vanille fidgets in obvious discomfort; Sazh pets his chocobo chick, patient; Hope refuses to look at her and Snow exudes anxiety. He hasn't released her arm yet, like he's afraid she might bolt any second. She finds that having five sets of eyes on her makes telling the story even harder. She has no idea where or how to begin. She dives right in.

"I've been...ill since Palumpolum." Ill is the wrong word, she realizes. The problem is, there is no one word that can encompass all the symptoms she displays. She supposes ill is as good a place to begin as any other.

The announcement sparks a series of murmurs and movements. Hope pales and looks at her with wet, wounded eyes. His mouth opens and closes around silence. Snow says, "I knew there was something wrong. I can't believe you didn't say anything."

Lightning waits to see if anyone else is going to comment. No one says anything, but she can see that they are upset and confused in equal measures. She can relate. "I didn't say anything because I didn't know what was happening."

"But now you do?" Sazh prompts. She considers the question before making the admission.

"No." She admits, which sparks another round of frustrated murmurs. She speaks over them. "But the circumstances have changed and I've run out of time to figure it out." She sees their confusion; she shares it. She realizes that she has no choice but to explain at length what has been going on for the past month.

She tells them of the first episode in the shower: the dizziness, the loss of time, the nosebleed. The unconscious self injury. Snow sits down away from the rest of the group, head between his knees, eyes fixed on the floor, hands locked on top of his head. He looks pained. She hates being the cause, but knows there is no way to help it. Hope stands with both arms wrapped around himself, holding on tightly. He's blanched so white he looks like bone. She longs to go to him to ease his distress but she knows she cannot. He needs to hear this story; she needs all her strength to tell it.

She tears her eyes from Hope and focuses on the fire pit as she explains about the random spells of dizziness and nausea since they arrived in Gran Pulse, the lapses of memory, the near total amnesia that directly led to her injury on the plains five days prior. She leaves out some details here and there, smoothes over a few of the rougher spots, and omits at least two events she can think of for the sake of brevity. When she stops speaking everyone sits still and silent. They are waiting for the punch line she realizes. They haven't heard anything yet that indicates why she believes she needs to leave the fold.

Today's events prove impossible to speak about. She feels tongue tied and nauseated just thinking about it; the idea of sharing the horror, of having her friends know how far she has fallen, makes her shake. Snow comes to stand beside her and places a hand at the small of her back in silent support.

"Go on, Sis," he whispers. The nickname warms her, gives her strength. Reminds her that she still has family despite her devolution into a monster.

So she tells them about the twelve hour blackout; explains her last memory of sitting in the camp around lunch. Tells them about returning to consciousness alone, in the darkness, covered in blood. She glosses over the details a bit without losing the substantive relevance. She doesn't see the point in discussing the chunks of flesh under her nails, caught in her teeth. She can't bear to think about the metallic tang of blood coating her tongue or the inside of her mouth, let alone describe it. She feels no reason to describe to them the squelch and squish of pulp beneath her knees as she vomited blood onto the saturated grass.

No, there is no reason to impart the full horror of the event. Thinking about the dried bits of goo flaking off her skin as she'd chafed her hands together sets her stomach churning again and she swallows down the rising gorge of acid. She can't bear to look at them. She looks at them anyway.

Fang and Vanille share a strange look, making her wonder exactly what is on their minds. Do they know something? She finds the idea terrible and hopeful at the same time. Perhaps the two Pulsian women have answers to the indefinable questions in her mind. Sazh looks shaken. Both hands are balled into tight fists. He clenches his jaw so hard that she expects his teeth to crack from the pressure. She lets her eyes wander to Hope. He shakes in his terror. She feels sick to have to cause him more pain after everything he's been through. Unfortunately, the choice is no longer hers to make.

"So you see why I can't stay. Whatever it is that's happening...I've become a threat to you all." Shame overflows, burns her cheeks and chokes her voice. "I wanted to tell you." Excuses. "I was hoping I'd have an explanation and a plan of action when I did. But I've run out of time to figure this out. I..." I'm not fit for human company. "need to go before I hurt someone." She grabs her pack from the floor and starts to march out of camp. She needs to leave now, before she loses her resolve. She can already feel the cracks in her armor widening. She's going to fly apart any minute.

"Hold up, Soldier." Sazh says. There's an urgency in his tone that stops Lightning in her tracks. She stands rigid, waiting to hear why he's stopped her. "You're not alone in this mess."

She turns to look at him. Waits. Five seconds. Ten.

"What does that mean?" she snaps, frustration bubbling over.

"I've had similar episodes," he looks both uncomfortable and hopeful.

Lightning turns to look at him, waits for the explanation to continue. She feels a reluctant, selfish, terrified brand of hope. Sazh keeps his eyes fixed on the fire pit. He looks as pained as she feels. "Similar how?" She can't imagine that he could have blacked out, wandered off and shredded a living creature beneath the noses of his companions without any of them noticing. She thinks back, tries to remember any period of time where he might have been missing and comes up blank. Although, to be fair, she has been a bit preoccupied.

"The first time was on the Palamecia, when Vanille and I were still in the detention cell. I didn't even realize what was happening at first. It was like falling. Or spinning, maybe. I don't know, I can't really explain it." He pauses. "I was dizzy and disoriented and confused. Like I had no idea where I was or how I got there. Sort of like how you feel after having your bell rung hard," he taps the side of his head in pantomime. "It was over so quick, I didn't think much of it. I don't know, I just figured it was a reaction to a week's worth of stress and grief. And then there were so many other things to worry about that I just...forgot about it."

He sighs, takes a deep drink from his flask. His hands are shaking and he spills some water onto his chicobo. The small bird squawks at the indignity and flies to land on his head, disappearing into his hair.

"We were in Gran Pulse for about a week when it happened again. Only it was different that time. It was worse. I was sitting watch for a few hours. It was late, I was tired. And all of a sudden, I got this horrible pain behind my eyes. My head hurt so badly, I started to cry. Except it wasn't tears. It was blood. It's indescribable, the pressure and the pain. Like someone beat me with a sledgehammer. I felt like I was being hollowed out somehow. Like something tore a hole through my brain, or cored it, like an apple. I don't know how else to explain it. But when it passed, there were things that I didn't know before suddenly in my head. Like I had someone else's memories shoved into my mind by force. And...and there were things that I should remember that I just couldn't." He pauses, choosing his words. "Some of them came back. Eventually. Of course I really don't know what I don't remember. Do I?"

Lightning has a sudden memory of the Elixir, and the strange discomfort that her question yielded.

/You never do know people.../

Now she realizes that he had no idea how he knew how to mix up a potion. He'd never learned anything like it. He'd somehow 'inherited' knowledge of alchemy. What sort of loss could balance out that kind of gain? Does it even work that way? She shudders to think of it.

Sazh pauses, debates speaking further. She recognizes the brand of reluctance he displays as it is a reflection of her own. She can't imagine what would disturb him so much that he would be reluctant to speak of it. Not after the level of depravity she's revealed to them tonight. How bad would things have to be for Sazh to feel that he should muzzle himself? Surely he can't have matched her level of degeneration. Could he?

/...Even when you live with them it seems./

Looks like Fang is far wiser than Lightning would ever have believed. She'd summed up the truth of their group dynamic that night in less than fifteen words. It seems now that none of them know each other at all.

"Then a few nights ago, during my watch, I had the worst one yet. It hit fast and hard. I can't even describe the feeling, because there are no words. I mean, pain can't cover it. Dizziness, nausea. None of those words come close to describing how very awful it was. It felt like dying. I wished I was dying, because it would have been a relief. But I didn't die and it just kept getting worse. And afterwards," he pauses, takes a deep breath to collect himself, "I couldn't remember my son's name. It was just...gone," a tear slips down his face before being swiped aside by angry fingers.

"I remembered his face and his smile," there are more tears clogging his voice, "and his laugh. I remembered him turning to crystal in my arms." He looks at his empty arms, lost in his horrible memory. "But I couldn't remember his name," he trails off, unable to continue speaking.

No one speaks; no one can. No one knows what to say to his awful revelation. Vanille goes over to sit beside Sazh to offer whatever small comfort and solace possible. Lightning would like to believe that he'll feel better now that he's unburdened himself, but she knows that there is nothing that can truly help him. He lost his son three times already: once to the fal'Cie, once to the Sanctum, and once to crystal stasis.

Now he has to live with the fear of losing him all over again only this time, when it happens, there won't be anything left for him. Not even a memory! She shivers at the prospect. It's the worst thing she can imagine: the loss of a child. She's lived through a bare shadow of that pain with the loss of a sister that she'd raised. It is a torment that she buries within herself to avoid facing. She can't imagine enduring Sazh's sorrow; the pure loss that the world continues to inflict upon him.

Snow's fingers are digging into her back, tattooing more bruises near her spine. She'd leaned back into him sometime during Sazh's terrible confession, seeking support against the onslaught of Sazh's shared misery. He is now practically holding her up with the palm of one hand. She steps away from him, determined to assert some degree of independence again. She needs to find her center and her long absent strength. Apparently, her friends are going to need it as much as she does.

"I've had things like that happen to me too," Hope confesses. Lightning starts, sickened at the idea that Hope would have to live through anything remotely similar to her own experiences. Or to Sazh's. The idea of him enduring any more pain sparks her anger. The boy has been through so much. /He's dying a little bit every day./ Too much for any fourteen year old. More than she had to endure at his age. She longs to go to him, to offer some measure of comfort, but she knows she's still unwelcome. Hope hasn't looked at her since her announcement that she was leaving.

"Nothing as serious as what happened to Light, and no real memory losses. But I've had a few lapses. I lost time, had some headaches. And..." Hope trails off. He rubs his neck, uncomfortable. "you know, other things. But, yeah. I've had them too."

Lightning waits for more information. When none is forthcoming she decides to let it lie and turns to Snow. "What about you, Snow?"

Snow turns and walks out of the circle of firelight, disappears into the fringes of the camp. The hits keep on coming, it seems. Snow, the rock of the group, has his own secrets. Lightning stares after him for a moment before deciding that she'll speak with him in private later. He deserves to come to terms with this nightmare in his own time.

"Fang. Vanille. What about you two? Have you had any similar experiences?" She feels exhausted and frightened. But her mind churns around the new information, assimilating and processing the data. Where before there was only a scary question, there are now a few dreadful answers. She refuses to speak of any of them without more thought.

"No, can't say that I have," Fang says. "But you know that I'm a little bit strange all around," she gestures vaguely to her odd brand. Fang's answer only convinces Lightning of the accuracy of her most unspeakable notion. "What about you Vanille?" Lightning can hear the worry in Fang's tone. It is enough to convince her of the veracity of the other woman's words.

"Uh Unh," she says. Lightning assumes that was a negative response from Fang's relieved expression.

"Okay. Well this...changes things." Leaving before seemed like the only responsible option. Now, she feels adrift again. That she's a danger is undeniable, but is leaving really the solution? If they are all suffering some malady wouldn't it make sense to stick together to find answers? It seems to her now that they have a better chance of saving themselves if they stay together. She puts her belongings down, resolved. "So at least half of us are suffering from the same or similar afflictions."

"What do you think it means Light?" Hope says.

She has her suspicions, but nothing she'll speak aloud yet. "I'm not sure. But now that we know that it's happening, we can start trying to figure it out."

"So you're not going to leave?" Hope asks.

She shakes her head, "No. I'm not going to leave." She gets an armful of relieved fourteen year old. She hugs him tight, more than a little relieved herself. "I'm sorry Hope. I really thought I was doing the right thing."

"I know," he mumbles against her. "You always do the right thing, Light." She can't bring herself to dispute the ridiculous claim. There is no point in rehashing all her faults now; there will be plenty of time for second-guessing later. She'll just accept the boy's faith in her, even if she knows it to be ill-placed. She lets Hope hold onto her for a little longer, then she nudges him away.

"Hope, I need to speak to Snow. Alright?" He pulls a frown. She does some quick thinking to head off any and all bitching. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure." His frown disappears but the answer is tentative, like he's not sure if he really wants to agree to something without terms. She doesn't blame him. Her recent actions haven't exactly engendered trust.

"Go see if you can help Vanille with Sazh. He's pretty upset." Upset is an understatement. Lightning knows that Sazh is devastated, but Hope and Vanille both bring out the paternal instincts in him. Taking care of them gives him something to focus on other than his own pain and misery. It might distract him from his pain. Nothing, she knows, will ever ease it.

Hope nods and goes to do as she asks. She watches for a minute to make sure that Sazh isn't going to snap at all the adolescent attention. When he starts petting the chicobo again she walks away, follows Snow into the darkness.

She finds him sitting on the ground staring at Serah's crystal tear. She approaches and stands beside him but says nothing. This is no comfortable silence. This silence is pregnant with apprehension. She wants to say something, offer the comfort he always offers her. But she is unqualified to offer solace. She wouldn't know where to begin. So she remains stoic and waits for him to speak.

He doesn't disappoint her. She finds that he rarely does. "Hey, sis. Come to pry it out of me?"

"No."

He laughs, a humorless pale shadow of a laugh. "Beat it out of me then?"

Would that work? "No. You don't have to tell me anything."

"Don't care, huh?" She hates the defeat in his tone.

"That's crap and you know it," she sighs. Don't you? Doesn't he know that? Hasn't she proven that he matters to her? Perhaps not. She isn't exactly demonstrative with any emotion but anger. Except with Hope. But Snow is all she has left of Serah, just as she is all he has left of her. It makes sense that they'd cleave to one another as tokens of lost love. Has she really done so much damage? "But you gave me time and space. I'm willing to offer the same courtesy. You'll tell me if you want and when you want. I'm okay with that."

He nods and keeps silent for a long time. She figures that he's going to take her up on her offer and keep quiet. He holds the crystal between his thumb and forefinger, rolls it a bit like a coin. "I forgot Serah."

"What?" Not exactly a brilliant reply. The quiet admission stuns her stupid.

"I. Forgot. Serah." He pauses, trying to collect himself. "I mean, there were other things that happened. Headaches and dizzy spells, whatever. What you described minus the nosebleeds, and what Sazh described nearly to the letter. I never thought anything about them. I just figured that I'd taken one too many hits to the head, you know? I'm not exactly careful." He pauses.

"But then last week we were walking, coming back from some ruin or other. I can't even remember where anymore. And I was holding this crystal in my hand," he holds it up to illustrate. "I got kinda...sick. My stomach and my head, and then I looked at the crystal and it was like...maybe this made me sick. And I had no idea what it was, or why I would be holding it. It just...didn't mean anything. At all. So I dropped it. Right there, in the middle of nowhere. Smack between nothing and no place. And I just walked away and left it out on the plain." He clenches his fist around the crystal, knuckles white. "I didn't remember for hours and when I did..." he trails off. "It took me three days to find it."

"Snow..." She starts. She has no idea what to say, what could possibly make this better for him.

"How could I forget her? I mean...I love her so much. She's going to be my wife. We're going to have a family. At least that's the plan, Sis. We were planning a life together. A wonderful life. And I just threw her away like nothing." He stops speaking, clenches his fist around the crystal until blood oozes from between his fingers. "And it scares me, Sis. Because if I forget her so easily, then what does that mean? What kind of person am I?"

She kneels beside him, puts both hands around his fist and tries to pry his fingers open. They won't budge.

"Look at me." He doesn't. "Snow!" He looks up at her, eyes filled. She works at his fingers again, peels them back one at a time until the crystal falls into her waiting hand, coated in a thin layer of his blood. She uses her ruined vest to blot away the blood on his palm until she can see the deep puncture. "You didn't throw her away." She calls up a healing spell, watches the wound close into a crescent scab. "This isn't something that you did." She folds his hand into both of hers, willing him to believe her. "It's not a failure, Snow. This is something that is happening to you." She cups his cheek for a moment, wipes a tear away with her thumb. She buffs the blood from the crystal tear with the corner of her ruined vest. She places the crystal back into his open palm. "It's happening to all of us." She releases his hand, sits beside him on the ground and puts a hand on his shoulder. "You told me before that we'd figure this out. Well now I'm telling you. We're going to figure this out. Together."

He looks at the crystal in his hand. "Together," he whispers. She tries to convince herself the word is not bitter.

The camp is silent when they return. Lightning looks at the pinched faces of her companions, sees her own feelings mirrored in each one. Everything they've discussed tonight has offered both hope and terror. To know that you alone are deteriorating is isolating and frightening. She had been terrified to the point of suicide earlier tonight. To find out that they share the burden lightens it somewhat. Of course, she also believes that their shared illness points to the origin of the problem. To know all of them are fading? There are only a few possibilities.

"So Soldier, what's your theory? Don't tell me you don't have one." Sazh says.

She shakes her head. She has one dark, appalling idea. It is so terrible that she dare not speak the words aloud. "I'm not really sure."

"That's why it's called a theory." Sazh is in a temper. She's not exactly Miss Happy-Go-Lucky either. Alright, then. If he wants a peep into the horror show that is her brain, then who is she to argue?

"Okay then." Snow joins the group and they all wait for her to speak. "I've been thinking. We've been operating under the assumption that, as l'Cie we have a time limit. A ticking clock. Right?" She pauses, though she does not wait for an answer. "And that time runs down, when the limit 'expires', poof, we become Cie'th. And If we beat that time limit, we become crystals." Lightning says. She starts pacing now as she monologues. She's afraid if she stands still she'll shake and tremble. She needs to stay strong. Her friends are looking to her to be a Soldier: to squash her emotions and to deal with things logically and rationally. So she shuts down her fear and lays it on the line.

"I'm starting to think that assumption is faulty." Hope shrinks into himself. She wishes she could protect him from this. She wishes she could protect them all. But that's never been her job, or her way. She's not the protector. She's a destroyer, so she'll tell it like it is and let someone else do the clean up .

"I think that we're already changing. That all these 'episodes' or whatever are just physical and mental symptoms of a deterioration. Of an...evolution of sorts. That we're turning. Into monsters, or whatever. Becoming..."

Hope jumps up. "Why aren't Vanille and Fang affected?" It's a fair question, and one that she hadn't considered. She's only had a short time to develop her theory. She feels a bit of hope at the inconsistency.

"I don't know. That's why it's only a theory, Hope. " And one I hope is wrong.

Sazh chimes in. "I don't know. Maybe it's because they were already crystals. They've already done this whole thing and gone through their metamorphosis or whatever you want to call it. Now that its round two, they're subject to different rules. They don't change the way we do anymore."

It sounds reasonable. Then again, magic doesn't obey any laws of reason. Still for the purposes of hypothesizing, she'll take it. Lightning nods. "Maybe. It's possible."

Fang speaks up, "Or maybe your wrong and you just caught some sort of bug from being in Gran Pulse. I mean a new environment has to have all sorts of nasty germs. Right? Things that your bodies aren't used to since you were all living on Cocoon." She looks at Vanille to back her up. Vanille remains silent, though she looks like she's holding back. Lightning makes a mental note to speak privately with her later.

Snow speaks up. "Then why did we start getting sick back on Cocoon?" He looks around desperately. "Did anyone not get sick back on Cocoon?" Lightning watches as they all shake their heads.

"Still, maybe Fang has a point." Sazh says. "We were all in the Pulse Vestige. Right? Maybe we caught something there."

"Maybe." Lightning says. The idea has merit too. A foreign virus or bacterial infection is hardly a happy alternative. She'll have to chalk that up to a possible explanation. Definitely something worth exploring as they search for an answer.

"But you don't believe that," Snow says. "Do you, Sis?"

No. "I don't know." Don't make me say it, Snow. Please. "There's no way that we're going to know right now. This is just a discussion."

"Brainstorming." Sazh says.

"Exactly," Lightning breathes, thankful for the assist. They need to figure this out before everyone panics. The time for panic is past.

"So, if you're right," Hope exclaims "if we're already changing into Cie'Th, what's the point of all of this? I mean, it was bad enough when we were just l'Cie. We're being hunted. We've been driven from our homes. We have this focus that we have to complete. But at least we were still us. I mean, mostly we were us. I was still me. I still felt like me! I still loved my parents, and my home. But now, if you're right...now we're monsters too! Now we can never go back!"

"Hope..." Lightning starts. She needs to calm him down.

"No! I'm not doing it. What's the point in going on? I mean, I thought we had a chance to fix this. You told me that we were going to fix this!"

"Hey kid!" Snow snaps.

Hope yells right over him. "I thought that we were coming to Gran Pulse to find a cure. To stop this change and to defeat this focus. But if we're already changing. How do we know that we'll even be ourselves? How do we know that we won't just destroy Cocoon as we lose our minds?"

"Hey kid, take it easy." Snow says.

"Easy? How am I supposed to 'take it easy' Snow?"

"Hope, we don't know anything. This is all just a theory." Lightning tries, hoping to calm him.

"No it isn't! You know it's right. I know it's right. I can feel it! Now that we're talking about it, I can feel the changes. We're monsters! We're all going to forget who we are and who we love and what we want and just start destroying everything! Well I won't do it!"

Lightning can feel the charge in the air. She's felt this presence and magic twice already-once on the Scavenger's Trail in the Vile Peaks, and once in the Apse in the Fifth Ark-and she knows that Hope is about to do it again.

"Hope, calm down." He needs to stop or they're going to be fighting off an Eidolon. And by the charge swirling in the atmosphere, it's going to be very powerful. The tiny hairs on her arm and on the back of her neck stand erect, indicating a serious threat. She's not sure that any of them are up to the task of defeating an Eidolon right now. She's pretty damn sure she's not ready for it. She's still sore and exhausted.

"How can I calm down knowing what's going to happen? What is happening? How can you ask me to calm down? What is wrong with you?" With the final word of the sentence, Hope screams. Snow is beside him in an instant. He catches the boy before he can hit the ground. Hope is holding his head as the magic around them crescendos and explodes.

The Eidolon that stands over them is the largest she has ever seen. Something inside her (Odin) recognizes the creature. (Alexander!) The name sends a shiver through her. Hope has invoked Alexander! How are they going to defeat this Eidolon? How will they survive it? She's still amazed that they'd survived Bahamut! Alexander stares at them for a long moment lending tension to the already charged atmosphere. Silent anticipation surrounds them, and no one moves. They are all too stunned

When the chaos ensues, Lightning isn't sure why she's surprised. This isn't her first rodeo, after all. She knows that the Eidolon is going to attack, and since she's the one that upset Hope, it's probably going to attack her. Still, when the Eidolon brings down its massive fist at her head, she's shocked immobile.

"Light!"

"Sis!"

"Move, Soldier!"

Fang slams into her and knocks her to the ground, saving her from the devastating hit. "Well don't just stare at it!" she yells. The words have Lightning rolling to her feet and pulling her Edged Carbine in one move. She fires the gun on the move, then hits the switch for her blade. The Eidolon looks pissed at having been denied its kill. It is lining up another shot at her when Fang says, "Are you looking for me?" and follows up with a hard strike to the monster's side.

The Eidolon turns its attention toward Fang for a moment, giving Lightning the opening she needs to move closer for an attack. Snow orbits Hope, determined to keep the boy safe. She's thankful that she doesn't have to worry about him. She's going to have enough problems keeping herself alive. Magic crackles around the boy, as he switches between defensive to offensive spells. Snow yells "It's me you want!" as a distraction. Lightning hears Sazh yell, "Soldier, get down!" and she drops and rolls. Bullets slice the air above her as she tumbles between the Eidolon's legs.

Close quarters fighting is always dangerous; it's downright stupid when her comrades are firing projectiles and hurling magic in her general direction. She needs to widen the distance or she'll be sure to catch a stray bullet or spell. Lightning slices at the backs of the Eidolon's ankles, hoping to hobble it or at least slow it down. She accomplishes neither; it rounds on her, obviously pissed off.

"Hope, this is your Eidolon!" Vanille yells. "You have to get it under control."

"Huh?" Confusion. Stunned immobility. Neither are very encouraging and both are going to get them all killed if he doesn't snap the hell out of his daze!

"It will only yield to you!" Vanille says as she hurls a fireball at the Eidolon.

Lightning manages to dodge a large fist-barely. It hits the ground beside where she stands, close enough to rattle the teeth in her head and the bones in her body. She's winded and exhausted, still far too weak from all the recent traumas to handle a fight of this magnitude. Hell, her work outs were enough to exhaust her! Blood loss, pain and fatigue are a lethal combination; one that just might kill her in the next few minutes. She hurls herself out of the way of another fist, feels the breeze from the blow lift her hair. The ground shakes around her, skewing her equilibrium even further. She contemplates calling on Odin, but is afraid she'll lose control somehow. Controlling the Eidolon always wears her out. She's never attempted to control it when she's so weak. If it rebels against her control (can it? I don't know), they'll have two unbelievably pissed off Eidolons to fight. She can't take the chance.

She needs to get out of arm's reach before she gets smashed. She backs away, unwilling to take her eyes off the attacking monster, Edged Carbine held in defense. Her heel catches on a rock, almost spilling her onto the ground. The slight stumble slows her retreat, gives the monster an easy opening at her.

Fang appears in front of her. "You really are turning into a damsel in distress," Fang grunts as she blocks the blow. "You wanna pick up the pace a bit, Friend? This thing isn't exactly a feather-weight!"

The truth of the other woman's words annoy Lightning enough to spur her back into motion. She needs to get her head in the game here or she's going to get herself or someone else killed. Unacceptable! She turns and sprints, leaps onto a boulder to attain a better angle on her target. She switches to gun mode and fires. Her forearm complains and wavers, but adrenaline keeps her steady enough.

The six companions now have the monster surrounded and on the defensive. Lightning resists the urge to hit the frontlines for another attack. She's too weak from her recent injury and recovery to be anything but a liability. She's not used to being relegated to the back ranks, but she has always been willing to fall into line in a skirmish. She's not even close to the top of her game, so she stays the hell back and continues to offer support, hoping that her bullets and spells will be enough to keep her friends alive.

Finally, after what feels like hours but is probably only a few minutes, the beast yields to its new master. Hope. Hope has managed to tame that monster (with a little help from his friends). It disappears at his command, returns to dormancy to await its master's call.

The six of them stand in a circle panting in the ensuing silence. Lightning feels sweat dripping between her shoulders. She is nauseated and dizzy. She feels clammy, weak and exhausted. She knows she is close to the limit of her endurance. She glances at her companions.

Snow is stooped, arm wrapped around his ribs. Vanille holds her head, a thin line of blood tracking down between her fingers to drip onto the ground. Sazh looks tired but otherwise uninjured. Fang has a vivid bruise blossoming across her forehead: a concussion injury from one of the many blows she'd blocked.

Correction: they are all close to their limit.

"Well, that sucked!" Sazh says, breaking the silence and tension in three words.

They erupt into a totally inappropriate fit of laughter and giggles. Lightning must agree with the sentiment. It did suck! They didn't have enough to worry about without having to battle their own demons? Literally? In huge, kickass, monster form?

Snow claps Hope on the shoulder. "Nice work, little man."

"I didn't..."

"You did." Vanille argues. She has already stopped her own bleeding. All that remains is a dark red stain at her hairline.

Lightning steps up. "You were the only one that could have. That came from inside you, Hope. It came at your need." At the stress that I caused. Good work soldier.

Fang says, "Yeah. Nice job, kid. But let's not do that again anytime soon, okay? I'm beat!" She throws herself onto her back, sprawled, limbs akimbo.

"I'm sorry Light." Hope whispers.

"Don't be sorry, Hope. You didn't do anything wrong." And she knows that. It's just, right now, with a sore, throbbing body and aching Swiss-cheese brain, she's having trouble believing it.

"I almost got everyone killed!" Snow pats Hope's shoulder twice before letting his hand come to rest on it.

"Yeah, well, who hasn't?" Fang says from her prone position. "Don't worry about it. On the bright side, there's only one left to deal with, right?" She sits up and looks at Vanille. "Can you try to hold off a bit for your crisis, love? I can't take much more of this."

Come sail away to chapter 9