Yeah, I know it's short. There's not going to be a Fang Chapter, this fic is repetitive enough as it is. Just one more to finish up.

Vanille

Over the last few days, at times there had been nothing Hope would've liked more than to be rid of his bodyguards. Now that they were gone, (not without a few backward glances, betraying that they still didn't have much confidence in him) he was sorry to be alone. There wasn't a lot he could do to prove himself in the absence of support. He doubted he could take on Dire Flan by himself, which left him with nothing to do to make himself useful. He practised sneaking up on the nearest pack of Alraunes, and discovered that, while he had difficulty taking them down alone, he could fend them off for minutes at a time, and slowly wear them down with magics while healing himself. It was slow progress, but he could do it. Not that he planned on going Commando any time soon against anything strong, but it was something.

He returned to the camp to find Fang apparently asleep, and Vanille nowhere to be seen. After searching unsuccessfully for the Datalog (he only needed three more manadrives to make the official roll of honour in Cocoon Warrior 2), he went to look for her. Something about Vanille made her easy to listen to, and she was the only other member of the party who had to hide behind the others in combat.

Towards the Edge of the Steppe, he came upon the girl with her back to him.

"... in their desperation to be reunited with the Maker, created L'Cie. ...I wonder what we'll end up creating?"

"What are you doing?"

She jumped, and spun, Sazh' datalog spilling from her hand. "Hope!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Are you narrating the storyline?"

She blushed. "I've been...keeping a diary."

"Really? How long?" Hope picked up the datalog and pressed rewind.

'The thirteen days after we awoke...were the beginning...of the end.'

He glanced at her. "Way to begin on a happy note." Pause. "Are you ok?"

Pause. "I'm always ok."

He listened to the first minute or so of the datalog, before shutting it off. Vanille clearly had some upsetting memories, but she never let it show.

"How do you do that? How do you deal with everything that's happening, without...screaming, or killing someone, or...anything? How do you never get upset or depressed? How do you cope with being...weak?"

She looked up at him.

"I got depressed once." He burst out laughing, and five seconds later would forever hate himself for it.

"Once? Really? When was that?"

"The day I was made a L'Cie. My Eidolon manifested, and killed fifteen people before I managed to reign it in. So now it's happy, happy, happy. I tell myself I'll face it later. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

Hope Estheim stared at her, Vanille and her downcast eyes.

"...I ..." I thought she was almost as weak as me, but...my problems are swamping me, but she...she's walking around with a smile, with a world on her shoulders. And look at me, all downhearted because I can't keep up with the others.

What am I doing here?

"I'm...sorry."

He turned and ran away from her, faster than he'd thought possible. Plunging past a now awakened Fang, he shouted 'Gathering supplies' over his shoulder as he fled deeper into the media. She stretched elaborately, then winked at the Chocobo, which fluttered into his wake.