trans_9 | Crystal in the rough

Snow was in a great mood. But Snow was always in a pretty good mood when Serah was happy - and Serah was happy just to be around him, so that alwaya worked out. But seeing her face, how absolutely ecstatic she was when they spotted Lightning on the Observation Deck ... they were pretty lucky, he thought. And in that joyous moment when he thought things couldn't get any better, Snow had heard Sazh's voice in the crowd. They were all waking up, one after the next, slowly but surely. It gave Snow hope that more would be following suit soon enough. The Obs Deck had cleared and there had been no more familiar faces to see, but he knew for sure that next time, they'd repeat the cycle.

When things had finally calmed some - enough that at least the newly awakened Lightning and Sazh could find their bearings, it was an easy choice to help the two get acquainted with the ship and her layout, Snow and Serah decided. So into the city the couple led them, on the way pointing out corridors and transportation tubes, explaining where everything could and would lead if they wanted to get somewhere or explore anything more in-depth themselves down the line. Snow pointed out the places he knew as they walked through the city. "Oh yeah, that's Le Prefecture, where the Council usually has their meetings. Uh, I'm not actually sure what that castle's supposed to be," he said when he gestured over to Castle Wyvern. "And that's the Atori Teahouse - bet you can't guess what that's for!"

For all intents and purposes, this was a perfectly normal tour of the city.

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The last time Serah had wandered into an unknown structure, bad things happened. Very bad things. For that reason,she wasn't terribly compelled to explore the city on her own—she kept her curiosity in check, and instead preferred to poke around the city with Snow. Of course, having her sister there and now Sazh as well definitely warranted a group adventure, and Serah was happy to give the two of them a glimpse of their new (temporary?) home.

It became clear to her that Snow was more familiar with the city than she was, so for the moment she was content to let him do most of the talking. She walked by his side and watched for the reactions of her newly-awakened companions.

Sazh took in the sights, though his thoughts were elsewhere. He followed quietly, letting Snow do all the talking. He didn't know Serah, though he knew enough that she was the one that Snow was trying get back. It only made him wonder if his son was somewhere here as well.

He missed the last few things that Snow had said.

"Right, so what are we supposed to do around here anyway?"

Lightning was generally the silent and short-on-words one as it was, so at least no one would be surprised when she said very little during the tour. She did look at everything pointed out, though, making a mental map. She'd need to know where she was going and when, if something ever happened. Which, considering that all the former l'cie just happened to be getting kidnapped by some fleshy space ship, she was putting bets on 'something bad will happen.'

At Sazh's question she shrugged her shoulders. "Try to survive," same as ever, really. "And save the universe in the process. With all the comforts of home, including a... tea house." She couldn't help but glance over at the structure Snow had just pointed out with a bit of incredulity. Giant war machines, talking space ship, fine. But why the hell was there a tea house?

Snow let out a small laugh when he heard that all-too-familiar tone in Lightning's voice. "That's pretty much what it is. Ways to pass the time and keep sane until it's time to head on out." He wondered if they'd be doing that soon - there had been a message from that group that was sent down for a mission. Things didn't sound good at all from that alone, and then they had lost contact with them entirely.

"It's 'cause we've got kids here, too. And civilians." He shrugged his shoulders with a small sigh. "Don't ask me why the ship decided to wake them up, though." He still didn't understand the process behind Stacy's choice in awakenings. "It puts a lot more on our plate. But then again," he added, putting a fist up with a small smile, "I'm pretty sure we can handle anything they add to it."

As the group walked, past the tea house and any other buildings owned by their fellow crewmates, they might notice something glowing faintly. Should they choose to investigate, they'll eventually discover an eerily familiar sight: A large pillar of crystal just barely bigger than the buildings surrounding it, shining brightly in the artificial sunlight.

Upon closer inspection, they might be able to make out the shape of a person through the thick crystal. A rather familiar person, if they could make out enough details.

Serah only caught the glimmer out of the corner of her eye, but it was such a stark contrast from everything around it that she couldn't help but notice.

"Hey, wait a sec!" She stopped and began to walk briskly in the direction of the crystal. Why did that thing look so familiar?

Lightning paused when Serah called out, her head whipping around to where her sister was headed. It took her a second to see what the younger Farron had spotted, but when she did she followed suit in the direction of the crystal.

She was silent when she reached the crystal, her eyes scanning over it. There was something very familiar about this particular crystal, and after a moment she realized exactly what it was, her eyes widening slightly.

"It's Vanille."

"--Huh?" Snow was caught off guard by the sudden change of direction, but spun himself around to quickly follow Serah and see what she was talking about. There was a moment when a rush of hope crept up within Snow at that familiar glimmer, but he dismissed it as something too good to be true. There was no way it could have been--

And then Lightnings words cut that doubt away, as the blond gaped in disbelief. "No way ... it is!" His tone went from shocked to absolutely ecstatic in that moment. If Vanille was there with them ... she wasn't lost, stuck back in a now-destroyed home with no hope to ever awaken again. Too many thoughts rushed into Snow's mind at once, so he said nothing more. Vanille was there. She was still crystal, still sleeping, but that just meant they had to protect her and find out a way to wake her up again.

Was it just their imagination, or was the glow brightening...?

Yes, it definitely was. As if in response to their voices, the crystal's shine intensified, almost to a blinding level. It didn't shatter; instead it began to melt away like ice, and when the figure was completely uncovered and lowered gently to the ground, the remainder of the crystal still remained, its glow returning to the dull shine it had been before they discovered it.

Vanille was still unconscious, not a single trace of the monster she had turned into apparent. Try not to pile on her all at once, okay guys?

In that bright, beautiful and honestly, quite surprising moment (it was as if Stacy waited until they found her to wake her up), Snow had the brightest smile on his face. "Vanille!" he called, in the midst of her reawakening, ready to welcome her much like he welcomed the others with a big embrace.

Until that bright smile changed into a worried look when the girl landed softly, still unconscious. So much for that perfect moment. "Vanille!?" he amended, voice just as worried as his face as he dropped down next to her, hesitating to touch or try to shake her awake.

Crystal in the rough - [ CLOSED ]

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