Return of an Old Friend, Kept You Waiting, Huh?

By Major Mike Powell III

Lightning Farron could not deny that the sight of Oerba Yun Fang gently caressing Oerba Dia Vanille's rich, silky-looking ginger locks set her heart at peace, looking down from her perch on a tall rock from where she stood guard over the traveling party.

"Yup, Light. Vanille's hair is as soft as it looks. 'Wanna caress her, too?" Fang spoke with a cheeky grin and a wink. Lightning was tempted, yes, especially given the tone of honesty mixed in with her usual, flirtatious playfulness.

She hardened her heart, just like she usually did in situations such as these.

"No, thanks. I'll pass." She spoke as coldly and noncommittal as she could. Fang chuckled gently and resumed stroking Vanille's hair.

"Lightning…you know, Vanille and I have been talkin' and…we would like to ask you-"

"No. Fang, I've told you enough times by now. You know I can't…I don't feel the sa-"

"Sunshine. Why? Why are you so bloody afraid of letting' someone love you, at least?!" Fang spoke with a harsh whisper, yet apparently it was not quiet enough and Vanille shifted in her lap, clutching Fang's sari. "Shite…"

Lightning let off a heavy sigh and she moved down from the spot she stood guard on. She slowly approached the two lovers before her, with shockingly-uncertain steps.

"Fang, listen…that's not the problem. The issue is not letting someone love me…but to be loved and love back…as the person I once was." The pinkette crossed her arms under her bosom as she rested her back on a nearby tree, just a yard or two away from Fang and Vanille.

Fang's fingers stopped in their stroking of the ginger's hair, looking at Lightning with an utterly puzzled expression.

"The person you once were…? Uh…Sunshine, I'm sorry, but…what?" Her voice was as thick with confusion as well as her accent. Lightning let off a sigh even heavier than before.

"Shit…this is what I feared would happen…Fang, listen. I…I was not always the person I am now…" The gunblade-wielding woman was clearly having trouble explaining the issue, herself. For her response, she got Fang to look actually cute in her confusion, scratching the side of her head.

"Uhhh…Lightning, Sunshine, y'know…it's Ok if you used to be a guy! Van' and I ain't gonna judge you. In fact, if you still have a p-"

Cue a deadpan look and response from Lightning.

"Fang. Not funny."

The dark woman then sweat-dropped and smiled awkwardly.

"Ok, Ok! Sheesh, sorry…look, I just don't get it, 's all…"

Never before had Lightning Farron sighed so many times in one night. She slowly approached Fang and a still-slumbering Vanille, careful not to wake the ginger in the older woman's lap. She sat down across from them.

"Ok, look…this person I am now, Sergeant Lightning Farron of the Guardian Corps…I wasn't always her. I used to be someone else…before she had to…die alongside my parents…her and Serah's parents. When they died, so did the girl I used to be…the girl that was replaced with who I am now, Lightning Farron. That's all I can tell you about her, Fang…and until Lightning is gone and I can be her again…I can't accept what you and Vanille are offering me nor give back just as much, if not more. It would simply be unfair to both of you…you two deserve better."

And with that, the pinkette stood back up, heading back over to her perch on top of the rock she stood guard on a few moments ago. Fang looked torn between upset and curious…and a glimmer of hope shone in her forest-green eyes.

"Lightning…can you at least tell me her name? The name of the girl that had to become Lightning?"

Lightning Farron of the Guardian Corps did not fully look back at Fang, but she turned her head sideways, looking at the woman of Gran Pulse and her partner happily snoozing away in her lap. Her icy blue eyes…there seemed to be the tiniest of cracks in said ice.

"When this is over…if we make it through this…I'll tell you."

Fang looked just a bit disappointed…before her usual, radiant confidence shined in her face with a smile.

"Alright…I'll hold you to that, then, Sunshine~"

-o-o-o-

Fate was cruel and had a twisted sense of humor. Oh, and this "Lady Luck" that Fang liked to go on about? She was a royal bitch.

Lightning Farron should not have been surprised by the end result…but she could not believe that, yes, she was surprised by the turn of events that took place after the final battle.

The look in Fang and Vanille's eyes as they gave their final glance at Lightning and gravity did its thing and sent them, their friends and comrades, and the whole of Cocoon to the mass of land that was Gran Pulse far below them…it was a joint apology.

"I guess I didn't manage to keep my promise…"

And then, it was a flash of light and fire as Fang and Vanille fulfilled their Focus and became the beast Ragnarok.

-o-o-o-

"You two idiots…" Lightning Farron spoke through gritted teeth, clenching one fist while Serah held her in a crushing hug, crying out apologies alongside tears as the Farron sisters were reunited after this whole ordeal.

"They now hold Cocoon up…they saved us all. If that thing had crashed into Gran Pulse…" Snow spoke in utter wonder, amazed at the insanely-close brush with absolute extinction that Fang and Vanille had selflessly given it all up in order to prevent.

Lightning looked solemn as she gently caressed her little sister's bubblegum-pink tresses, holding her tightly in her arms. Curious, concerned eyes gazed at her.

"Light…are you alright…? What's wrong, Cla-" Lightning's lips on her forehead surprised her but Serah still smiled with relief, nuzzling the crook of the older woman's neck.

"Sorry, Serah, but…I'm not her right now…not yet. I'll tell you later, Ok?" Lightning spoke for Serah's ears only, keeping her gaze fixed on the pillar of crystal holding up their former home. Serah let out an affirmative noise.

They had to help rebuild.

-o-o-o-

Humanity has the uncanny ability to adapt, improvise, reorganize, rebuild.

Lightning Farron and her friends and sister were witnesses and participants in this process, the process of rebuilding society almost from scratch as the inhabitants of Cocoon woke up and stepped foot on the land of Gran Pulse. It wasn't an easy process, but to survive is to endure and prosper, and Humanity proved it had a pretty good track record of surviving.

Lightning took part in this process with her all, doing her best, working harder than ever before in her life to aid the innocents of Cocoon adapt to this new, strange land. With every step, with every lesson she taught, with every bullet she fired and swing of her blade to keep the people safe from the hostile wild life of Gran Pulse, she did it all with a steady hand, stoic face and a heavy heart.

During her everyday routine, Lightning ran idea after idea through her head, thinking of any ways to bring Fang and Vanille out of their glorified crystal coffins...but to no avail. No plan would do. No idea she came up with was good and effective and safe enough.

But, then again…

"I have some screws loose of my own…don't I, Goddess Etro?" Lightning stood before the pillar of crystal that held the empty carcass that was Cocoon. The light of the rising sun made the woman look absolutely gorgeous, ethereal, like a magnificent holy warrior in the armor granted to her by the Goddess Etro.

Lightning Farron's will, dedication, devotion to the two women she loved more than anyone, the two people that had managed to get under her skin, the ones that had managed to get the ice to crack right down the middle…the Goddess Etro had been absolutely moved, touched to the depths of her soul.

Good things come to those who wait and are worthy, and the proof of this was Lightning Farron clad in the Holy Armor of Etro.

The whispers of the Goddess echoed in the field surrounding her avatar, speaking sweet nothings in her ear, words of encouragement, silent messages to go ahead and complete her task.

Lightning's beautiful face showed nothing but absolute resolve and belief in herself and her friends. Her eyes opened, revealing orbs of the purest blue, as blue as the summer sky and blue as the deepest of oceans.

The holy warrior felt the Goddess' caress on her chin and moving upwards to her smooth cheeks. Her Gunblade began to shake ever-so-slightly. The immaculate sword shined with blinding-white light.

Then, the woman sprinted towards the pillar of crystal holding her beloved friends just like a bolt of lightning on the ground, clutching her sword with both hands as she ran this final home stretch. Her speed was such that the grass was left with a thin sheen of crystal and frost in her wake. With each step, her Gunblade pulsed with power.

Upon reaching the end of her sprint, Lightning leapt into the air, readying her sword for a clean vertical overhead slice as she climbed up into the sky in the process.

And then, with a battle cry not unlike that of a goddess charging into war solo against insurmountable odds, Lightning Farron brought down her Gunblade in a slash that cleaved the carcass of Cocoon clean in half and way down below, the sheer magnitude and power of Lightning's strike sending ripples through the furthest parts of each half of Cocoon and further down into the pillar of crystal.

Then, as she descended, Lightning's consciousness began to slip away.

Her grip on her Gunblade disappeared as her fingers went completely numb and she saw through eyes with black on the edges how her holy armor began to purge itself from her body, now that it was no longer needed.

Piece by piece, one portion at a time, her armor dissipated into a flurry of ethereal feathers. She had completed her purpose, her armor and blade had done their part. Now, they were no longer needed. Lightning smiled as sweet, blissful sleep claimed her half-way through her descent back to the land below.

She felt the caress of the Goddess one last time, the feeling of gentle, warm lips caressing hers as reward for her service, resolve and devotion.

Then, it all went black.

-o-o-o-

"You're amazing, Light~!"

"Meh, more like a show-off. I mean, damn girl! Seriously?! That was unnecessarily grandiose, if you ask me."

"Mou, Fang! Don't be so mean to her~"

"Right, right, love. I'll go easy on her…just this once."

Lightning's face was rather cute as the woman woke up from the absolute best sleep she had in years.

"Gyah~! Look! She's so cute! I knew it~!"

"…Ok, Van, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard you say…but you're not wrong~"

"…and I was having a nice sleep, you jerks…" Lightning shielded her eyes with a forearm while stretching not unlike a content puppy, right there, on the gentle, frost-covered grass. She then lifted her forearm to look Fang and Vanille in the eye as the two women hovered above her.

"…Kept you waiting, huh? Claire…my name was Claire."

To Be Concluded…