Disclaimer: The characters in the story aren't not mine. They belong to their respected owners, I do however take ownership over the plot of this story but not on the plot of the original story in the FFXIII game. Thanks... :)

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
Forget Goodbye

Snow x Hope

Chapter 1: A Fal'Cie Awakening
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Letting out a winded sigh, a figure hauling a basket full of freshly picked strawberries, sluggishly walked back to his intended destination. If anyone noticed his barely there look, no one had said anything. Although that might account to the fact that everyone around him was way too busy planning an extremely delayed wedding to barely notice a silver haired boy with light skin to match, dragging his feet as he walked through the newly built strawberry field just a small distance away from the village.

It was a little sad to say that the boy was depressed. He'd be turning 16 in about a week, but no one has yet to realize this fact save his dad. So with a down trodden look, he kept walking on back to his house which he now resides in with his dad. The house Hope and his dad stayed in was the same one that Vanille had once lived in. It wasn't bad, especially since he had Lightning, Serah and Snow as neighbors on the house next to them, and Sazh and his kid, Dajh, at the other side.

It was a unanimous consensus within the group that they'll reside in Oerba and start their life there anew. It wasn't easy of course, after all, there were Cei'ths and other creatures around which they took care of first. Without their magic and eidolons, it seemed that only Lightning, Snow and Sazh were fit for battle. In those brief moments, Hope missed the fact that he could hold off enemies on his own if he wanted as a L'Cie, but the downside of having those powers were the fact that he could either be crystallized or be turned to Cie'th, depending on whether or not he rejected his focus.

It took them the better part of the year to rid themselves of the monsters and revive the village to its former glory. Houses were rebuilt and those that were in an irreparable state were ultimately replaced. The roads were paved over once more, and even the land was beginning to thrive. Green traces of grass could now be found wherever you look. They weren't alone in this endeavor either because the survivors from Cocoon had come to reside in the village as well. Their numbers were still significantly great and they expanded the village to accommodate the great numbers. Others decided to stake lands in other places, but with Gran Pulse being such a great big land, they remained close to other populated places to prevent being completely isolated.

"What's eating you, squirt?" asked the stationary figure whom Hope hadn't noticed in lieu to his line of thoughts as he walked inside the house.

"Huh? What?" asked the boy towards the larger figure of Snow. At the age of almost 16, Hope was still barely able to reach the older man's shoulders. He did get taller, but if you compared his build to Snow who just so happened to be 6'5" then you'd think he barely grew an inch.

"Never mind, you just looked a bit too preoccupied to notice that you were dropping your stash of strawberries is all," said Snow with an implied tone of amusement lacing his every word. Hope immediately looked at his basket to see that he really was losing his freshly picked berries.

"Oh man! I worked hard to get the freshly ripened ones too!" Hope whined as he walked into his residence. He didn't bother picking up the strawberries since Bhakti had already begun the task of picking up the fallen berries.

"Heh, must be nice to have that little tin can do your chores for you, Serah is still on a kick on how I need to be more helpful around the house and all that," stated Snow as he watched the small bucket of bolts run around gathering the berries and piling them up on one side.

"I guess, but I never really ask it to clean, it just does it by itself," Hope paused and a small smile graced his lips before he continued, "If I had to guess, Vanille programmed it to do that since she's not one for cleaning either." Snow chuckled at the remark half heartedly; it was hard to laugh sincerely when it reminded him of their allies that they lost during the struggles with the Fal'Cie. Snow looked at Hope and saw the same crest fallen look and figured that the boy felt the same as he did when talking about their old allies.

"By the way," started Snow, "I actually came here to let you know that Light was looking for you. I think she wants you to look after Dajh again or something like that and your dad told me to let you know that he'll be late today since they're trying to finish cultivating the land up north." Hope gave a small nod in acknowledgement and passed the towering blonde intending to clean the berries to properly store them. Snow followed when Hope gave a silent acknowledgement in hopes that he can snatch a couple of the big red berries he saw stashed in Hope's basket.

When Hope had finished washing the strawberries, but before he could finish putting them away, Snow snatched a couple of the plump berries earning him a glare from the smaller boy. Snow merely smiled and offered a strawberry to the younger man. Hope felt a little peeved so he took the offered strawberry and almost bit Snow's fingers, but Snow was able to retract his fingers before Hope got to them.

Sticking out his tongue at the tall blond, Hope trudged on over to the fridge and stored the strawberries for future consumption. With everything stashed away, Hope went on over to the small robot and petted its head as if petting a cat or something of equivalent, though if you ask him, the small robot reminds him of a rabbit instead.

"I'm heading out, lock the doors when you leave," said Hope towards the tall blond who stretched out on the couch with his hands behind his head as if trying to get some sleep. Snow muttered lowly and Hope took that as a sign of agreement and headed out.

The boy walked along the now memorized road, but before heading off to Light's home only a couple of steps away, he caught sight of a flashing light off into the near distance. He'd estimate the light to be just about where the rust-eaten bridge ended. Entirely curious as to what caused the flashes of light to shine so strongly, he scampered of to investigate.

Running in haste, Hope finally managed to get to his destination just as quickly even if he was ultimately winded. He looked around his surroundings, but did not find a just cause for the light to have reflected at that magnitude. It was almost blinding even at such a distance. Standing so close to the part where the bridge ended, Hope looked down and saw nothing of interest besides the stretch of sand that went on for miles.

Deflated at the thought that there was anything there at all, Hope decided to just return hoping that his quick absence wouldn't be met with curiosity. He really wouldn't even be able to explain the urge he had to run all the way out there without much thought.

As he turned to leave, a sudden rocking of the earth made him lose his balance and he found himself standing on the now crumbling bridge. Unable to quickly react, he found himself falling but not quite hitting the ground.

As if hovering, he stood suspended in mid air as the crumbled part of the bridge fell below him, hitting the sand with an almost inaudible thud.

"What the-?" Hope could only stare in shock as a shining creature came forth from the sandy ground. It looked like a small cat but looked to be about the same size as the chocobo chick that Sazh lets live in his hair with blond fur to match. It had a blue shining gem on its forehead that shone brightly for a couple of seconds before fading, but the glow that its body gave off remained constant. It flew up to Hope and landed on his shoulders.

It was then that Hope's body started to float on up until his feet touched the bridge once more. Even if the creature looked captivating, Hope knew that it's no ordinary creature, if he took a wild guess, he'd have to say that it was a Fal'Cie but with the creature being so small it might not be.

Not knowing what to say, he at least deduced that the creature might have been what caused the light he saw not too long ago. Now that he was safe, he petted the little guy who had just helped him out.

"Are you a Fal'Cie?" asked Hope, without even knowing if the critter could speak much like Barthandelus or if it preferred to be silent like the Phoenix Fal'Cie. As if to understand the question the small cat-like creature nodded but vaguely until ultimately speaking.

"I'm in need of a L'Cie, will you grant me my need?" asked the small Fal'Cie. If it hadn't been clear to Hope what the creature was, now it was glaringly obvious. Stumbling backwards, away from the small creature as if burned, Hope looked at the small creature not wanting anything to do with it.

"I- I can't, I don't want to, please don't make me," said Hope pleadingly as if his life was at stake, though in this case, his transformation would truly mean his life's forfeit.

"Please, you must, the world is once again at stake," said the Fal'Cie in urgency.

"What do you mean?" asked the young boy.

"I called to you for I am certain that it is you whom I need, I laid sleeping for over a millennia as a last resort for the land of Gran Pulse, my destiny do not tie myself from the Fal'Cie that you have faced in the past," explained the Fal'Cie.

"But I don't understand, what is about to happen that I'll be in need?" asked Hope, hoping to find a way around the transformation the Fal'Cie before him now asks.

"I can't see the future now as clearly as I could before, but I see great calamity about to happen and Ragnarok will once again be needed for this task," the Fal'Cie hovered near Hope once more before speaking once more, "you know by now that Ragnarok is only the tool, and that your will is your focus so I don't need to explain further that fulfilling this duty will crystallize your form, but I fear that your life is not the only one in harm's way." The Fal'Cie, small as it may seem held a wisdom that transcended through the ages, and this time, its knowledge is put to use only to service the humankind, just as the Maker had originally intended.

"Why do you tell me this, rather than manipulate us like Barthandalus?" asked Hope in hopes of clearing his troubled mind if he does partake in this transformation willingly. Hope couldn't deny that ever since they had settled in Oerba, he felt insignificant in the eyes of the others. Snow was too preoccupied with his soon to be wife to pay him mind any longer than needed, it seemed to him that Serah now claimed the attention of those around him. He wanted to be alright with it, but he knew that he only felt this way because he was jealous… jealous of what Serah had that he didn't nor could ever get.

"I don't live by the rules that govern the other Fal'Cie, I am an immortal that bypasses human and Fal'Cie alike, I live only in breath of the Maker. I can't change what he intends for me, but I have gained the ability to think and act for myself ever since the destruction of Orphan transpired in you and your friend's hands, now I only ask for your help to save the countless lives I see forfeit," explained the small Fal'Cie in hopes of gaining Hope's favor.

"Alright, as long as I bear this alone, I'll do your bidding. Just at least tell me your name before you turn me," stated Hope.

"I am without a name," said the Fal'Cie in turn.

"I'll call you Kirin," said Hope before taking the small Fal'Cie in his hands to accept the transformation willingly. At least, he'll finally be able to be of use once more, and this time he'll start the fight for all the right reasons.

To signal the transformation, the newly named Fal'Cie stiffened its tail until it resembled a needle and poked through the skin of the boy's wrist just enough until black ink bled out from the tail and grafted itself onto the skin much like how a tattoo is imprinted onto the skin, though the difference with this is that it did not require repeated jabbing for the ink spread underneath the skin until finally settling to create the mark of a L'Cie.

Light enveloped Hope as the mark was sealed onto place and visions came at him much like before. Hope could see destruction and lifeless bodies in the vision until it was all wiped away by a burst of light springing from the shadows and creating new life in the process.

Once the vision ended, Hope's body shuddered in intensity before nausea caught up with him. It finally became too much and Hope fainted, falling slack while Kirin watched the boy in sympathy.

"I hope your will is strong enough to overcome the challenge that awaits you, I'm afraid that your future is conflicted as of this moment, I see both failure and successful; now, only time will tell if we are to survive this wave of darkness." The Fal'Cie disappeared into thin air and at that instant, approaching figures approached.

"Look at that mark!" exclaimed one of the figures.

"No! How could this have happened?!"

To Be Continued…

A/N: Hmmm…. Leave me a review please :)