AN: Before I say anything else, I have to apologize for every wrong connotation/detail about Dissidia O12 that MIGHT be stated in this fanfic. As of now, I haven't even finished the first Dissidia game on my PSP, so I hope that explains it. (I'm still in Squall's storyline, if ever you're wondering.) I haven't written a fic in a long time, so to all those Cloud x Lightning 'shippers out there, I hope you like it! I haven't picked an exact location they're in, so feel free to imagine they're just in whatever favorite arena you have from Dissidia. xD
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters here. They all belong to Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix.
Lightning Farron surveyed the odd group. She found it both terrifying and adventurous, her mission. To be completely honest with anybody, that's generally how she viewed most things. This was different though, she knew. This was the mission of all missions – to become part of the warriors of Cosmos, destined to fight for the light and against the dark, Chaos. Winning meant victory and peace. A weakened Chaos couldn't do much damage for long. Losing meant…
She didn't want to think about it. Lightning exhaled sharply, took a firm grip on her weapon, and stepped forward, towards the group.
Cloud Strife stood still, hanging on to every word spoken by the Warrior of Light. At first, he found it quite hard to, considering his friends were lead to sneaking bits of chatter, mostly caused by Tidus. He found a way to block them out after a while, (it wasn't really that hard for him) to turn his attention back to the Warrior. It was obvious he was their leader, their guide. After all, he thought, without him, none of the warriors would ever surface at all. Cosmos needed her right hand man, as much as Cloud knew they needed him.
Right now, the Warrior of Light looked weary with pressure. He tended to pause for several moments in recollection, straining sometimes to hear the motions and concerns of his fellow warriors, and Cloud saw him touch his hand to his forehead and heave a sigh of anxiety more than once.
"Chaos is strong, but so are we, and I know you might've realized, but ten under Cosmos are not enough to defeat such a massive power."
They all nodded, or mused their agreement. Cloud estimated more than half of the entire group knew what the Warrior was implying.
"From now on, Cosmos will be sending us more eligible warriors to join our crusade against the Dark. Rest assured, she has informed me that these hearts will be both strong and loyal, with skills equal to, or even surpassing some of you."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Squall Leonhart raise both eyebrows.
"I trust you all to welcome the first she's sent. She shall be your new comrade, and it is your duty to help her in times of trouble. She will be the next, but not the last, warrior of Cosmos to join us. Lightning Farron, step forward."
It wasn't hard to predict their reactions. The reserved and serious ones of the group simply nodded their heads or gave a small salute. The more joyful, slightly loud ones actually jumped and waved, all smiles. Cloud turned to her and nodded. The girl called Lightning caught his eye for a split-second, and nodded to the Warrior of Light.
Cloud knew what he thought of her right away. Without a doubt, she was beautiful. The not-so-subtle glances of some of his teammates on her gave that away already. It's just that she looked…. different. The thought resonated strangely in his mind. He was used to seeing warriors of difference, whether it be difference in appearance, clothing, or even fighting style. To him, Lightning looked like another kind of difference. This was the first time in his life, he encountered a girl with a good heart who, although beautiful, looked like she could go through the gates of hell and back.
"Cloud!"
The startled, although serious face of the blue-eyed, spiky haired boy responded with an affirmative grunt and nod towards the Warrior of Light. He seemed less of a stranger to Lightning than the others. There was this sense of familiarity around him, which puzzled her. She was absolutely certain she'd never seen him before in her life. A familiar stranger. Maybe this group really was odder than she thought.
"When you were new to us, you were one of the most lost. But since then, you've recovered from this better than most of us, and came out stronger and much more skilled as you journeyed."
She watched as Cloud's eyes widened in surprise. Some of his friends patted him on the back, or gave him a playful thump on the shoulder. Lightning suppressed the urge to chuckle. After all, the last thing Cloud expected at that moment was a sudden compliment out of the blue. She thought to herself, if she was in his place, she'd do the same thing.
"As it is, this is why I've chosen you to somehow… key her in on what it means to be on this team. We can't afford anymore cluelessness in newcomers, therefore the precaution. Do you accept, Lightning?"
At this, she turned her attention to the Warrior and nodded.
He nodded to her, and motioned to the group. They all seemed to scatter in opposite directions, and she quickly saw Cloud's friends offer him pats on the back and encouraging smiles.
After the others left, Cloud turned to her, clearing his throat. "I'm… Cloud Strife."
She took his outstretched hand, and shook it. His grip was firm, and she could feel the calluses of his palm.
"Lightning Farron," she replied.
"Er, I'm not really one for explaining.. so do you mind if we spar first? Or if that's too forward we could just—"
"No, no. Sparring's fine with me," she replied, as she unsheathed her sword. Cloud looked at it curiously, and she understood why. Her sword didn't actually look quite conforming to the norm.
"Alright," he replied, walking twelve paces in front of her. "Count of three?"
She nodded, charging at him at exactly the count of three. At the last minute, he blocked her attack with his massive sword, bringing their faces inches in front of each other. She watched his blue eyes dilate for a second. Seeing this as a good opening, she charged with an attack, as Cloud dodged quickly out of the way. Just as quickly, his sword slashed at her, sending her flying, yards into the air.
It wasn't long before both realized that they were more or less, equally matched, and maybe just as tired. Cloud observed that Lightning could attack as quickly as she could dodge several, and came to the conclusion she fought as fiercely as she looked. Lightning deemed Cloud a good and challenging opponent, leading her to feel more tired than she actually expected.
They fought for around an hour, before Lightning collided to the floor, not the first time throughout the sparring session. Cloud thought she probably had enough, and decided to help her up instead. After all, he discovered he was pretty tired too as he walked forward to help her up.
"Hey, maybe we should take a bre-"
The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, Lightning's sword to his throat.
"I win. Sorry for that. I guess I didn't wanna be helped up," Lightning replied, smiling slightly. Turning the handle of her sword to him, Cloud took it, and helped himself up.
"I guess I should apologize for underestimating you then," he replied with a small smile of his own. As far as first impressions went, he seemed plenty impressed by her resilience.
"No, I understand. You did…. the gentlemanly thing," she motioned, extending her hand. "I can see why the Warrior of Light had such fond words for you."
"Thank you, but.. I don't think it's because of what you mean," he replied, taking her smaller hand and shaking it. "I guess he chose me because I didn't have a resolve when I first started to fight alongside the others, and I do understand how it's like to be completely thrust in a different situation. A different world."
Looking into his eyes, she knew he was telling the truth. He was serious, yet truthful, and she found herself having those feelings in her stomach again, of familiarity and strangeness all in one place.
"So while you find whatever you're looking for, you can always join me and my comrades. I mean… it's a lot easier to fight when you've got people who got your back," he notioned, with a kind glint to his eyes.
"No problem. I guess I've got more things to learn," she replied, feeling, strangely, perfectly calm.
AN: Ok, I just had to stop because I have nothing else to write, and I kinda wanted it to hang out here for a lil bit. Of course, I'll still update this dual-chaptered fic, so don't worry. :D Anyway, please review! For any suggestions/notions/compliments/random shit related to the story, the review button's right there.