Just Focus (FFXIII)

7) Leading the Blind

"Whoa! This whole place is crystal!" Vanille gushes, pressing her hands to either side of her face as she peers down into a valley between two enormous ridges of shimmering blue crystal. I lean over at her side, watching the light shift across the angular surface of the frozen lake.

"It's so pretty," I nod. Lightning's eyes don't leave a pair of airships in the distance. Sazh steps closer, crossing his arms.

"I wonder what it would be like. To be crystal, I mean."

"You're gonna complete your Focus?" Vanille asks.

"Maybe. If I knew what it was. I probably don't want to know."

"Well, we only have three options that I can see," I shrug, cocking my head to the side. "We complete our Focus, we go Cie'th, or we die."

"No, there has to be another way," Hope objects, shaking his head.

"Let me know when you have a brilliant idea to add to the list," I retort dryly.

"Hey, Lightning," Vanille says, trying to ignore our bickering. "Did Serah say anything to you about her Focus?"

"... Nothing," Lightning replies in a surprisingly soft voice, running her fingers over the brand on her chest.

"Oh, you know what?" Vanille rushes, waving her arms in an effort to distract the soldier. "She probably didn't want you to worry."

"Or she didn't think she could trust me," Lightning says coldly, turning on her heels and continuing down the narrowing crystal path.

"Listen, there's no need to be all negative," Sazh chastises as we follow her.

"You're one to talk," I tease, earning a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah. Respect your elders, kid."

"No time for that now, Pops."

Vanille giggles, shaking her head and watching the flickering lights of fire encased in crystal. The orange and red shadows cast on the opposite wall are eerie, ominous. I tear my eyes away and keep them dead ahead, trying to ignore that niggling feeling that I've done something wrong and I need to find someone to apologize to. Someone to beg for forgiveness from. But who?

The winding tunnel opens up into a broad, expansive space, revealing the dark ceiling of the city yet again. An ominous gateway of crumbled pillars and arches greets us, surrounded by crystallized machines and soldiers. Vanille takes a deep breath, stunned by the scene. I feel my heart flutter; this is terrifying. We head up the stone stairs carefully, keeping an ear out for anyone who might have orders to kill on site. I don't miss the soft clinks of PSICOM uniforms. Sazh nods toward the fallen arches at the front of the structure.

"What's this? I feel like I recognize it from somewhere."

"Couldn't tell you," I shrug, awed by the wall of frozen fire that glows behind the whole building.

"Move," Lightning hisses, shoving us behind a wall.

The thump of boots passing by greets our ears just in time. I press my back to the wall, wiping my sweaty hands on my pants. This woman is god-like. Lightning watches them go from the shadows, holding her hand up to keep us silent. Hope holds his breath, fists clenched at his sides. Finally, Lightning lowers her hand and the boy gasps for air.

"The entrance is crushed. We'll have to walk around."

"Around the whole thing?" Vanille whispers, cautious. Lightning shakes her head.

"There's a passage around the inside."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan."

Quickly, we scurry in the opposite direction of the soldiers that passed, keeping close to the wall. Sazh nearly trips over me when I halt suddenly, trying not to crash into Lightning. She watches another pair of soldiers talk with their backs to us, thinking. We can't stay; the patrol will catch us eventually. I try to think like I was taught to, but I'm too nervous, afraid of death as it stares me in the face at every turn.