It took less time to don her uniform than it did taking it off, and when she exited the shower house she walked down the stone stairs to the lake. Looking up she could see in the infinite blackness and every distant star in the sky.
She took a seat at the base of a great tree and stared out into the void, 'I wonder if Fang ever sat here watching the stars? No, she would have been hunting Behemoths or something incredible. I will never give up until I find you.' A tear was welling in her eye and she leaned back against the almost-embracing roughness of ancient tree bark.
We were still in Palumpolum and hadn't quite reached Hope's house. She and I were making small talk between battles with PSICOM; admittedly, I was quite intrigued by this Pulsian companion I had acquired.
We came to an underpass and I had asked her how she got here—she told me the whole story: Fang told me of how she woke up on Cocoon after being in crystal stasis with an icy brand, but her partner, Vanille, was still marked with a l'Cie brand. Fang warned her that it will keep turning people into l'Cie until its focus is complete. People like us—like my sister.
Fang explained how she had been picked up by Raines and his Calvary and had been searching for Vanille ever since.
I guess that's when I thought back to the purge and currently being surrounded by the PSICOM. I thought about this ever-elusive brand on my chest; my sister's fate and my own focus. "So, you're telling me Serah will come back to life someday, too?" I asked.
Fang stayed there, leaning coolly against the wall. My mind was running as fast as it could around everything it could grasp, and it still didn't make sense. Maybe I was just angry that she was telling me it's her fault all of this happened to begin with.
"Yep—we didn't do our job right, that's why it made her a l'Cie. We messed up. Sorry." Fang said nonchalantly.
I was blinded by fury and the her half-hearted apology only fueled my rage. I swung my open hand and hit her in the face—and everything stood still for a moment.
She moved her hand to her face. Irreverently, she asked, "That it?"
It was sinking in so painfully, this Pulsian woman not only came back from crystal-stasis, but she's also responsible for my sister being a crystal. I was angry. "You'd better hope so. But whether we're square or not is up to Serah."
She tilted her head and at me and replied, "You sound exactly like Snow—" I rolled my eyes and turned away "—and he didn't hit me."
Then it occurred to me: "He already knows about this?"
Why would she tell Snow any of this? He's an imbecile.
"Glad I apologized, then." She apologized to feel better about herself for hurting me.
"You apologized so you'd feel better?" I asked.
She replied, "Guess so. Do you feel any better now that you hit me?"
I scoffed. "It didn't change anything."
She rubbed her cheek. "Tell that to my jaw."
Guess I hit her harder than she deserved, but then again, she just proclaimed her responsibility for this whole situation.
We got back on route and weren't too far from Hope's place, but we stopped on some stairs for Fang to call and check in with Snow.
As expected, he didn't answer. "Snow's tough, I'm sure he can take care of himself."
It kind of worried me a little though. Not that I really cared about Snow or anything but ya know, what if— "Hey Fang, the others are safe, right? I mean, if they got caught they would have to make an announcement."
"Yeah, they would. They would have to let everyone know that the big bad l'Cie can't hurt 'em no more. The Cocoon people are a bunch of cowards." Fang said, reassuring me.
She really doesn't understand, does she? "These Cocoon people have spent centuries under fal'Cie law, in fear of a Pulse invasion. If it hadn't been for Serah I'd been out there too, hunting l'Cie." I explained.
Then she told me that it's no different on Pulse. In her world, Cocoon is just a floating nest of vipers ready to strike. Somehow, it was all beginning to make sense. She continued talking and told me how she just doesn't remember their focus, and which she cares about neither Cocoon nor Pulse as long as Vanille doesn't become a Cie'th. It occurred to me then: We're all puppets in a fal'Cie game that's lasted hundreds of years and she loves Vanille as I do Serah and we will do anything to keep them safe.
The early morning mist surrounded Lightning and with the calls of the insects and birds she opened her eyes. 'Fang…I shouldn't have hit her.'
She stood up and stretched her arms upward. The sunrise was brilliant, and it was something unseen on Cocoon.
Walking through Oerba she took in her surroundings; the homes were an awkward combination of past and present, Pulse and Cocoon, yet they appeared to seamlessly fit together.
There were few inhabitable houses in Oerba and they hadn't yet built enough shelters for the survivors. Many tents and make-shift residences littered the streets. 'What did it look like when Fang lived here?' Lightning would often imagine.
The streets were crowded with people, especially in the early morning hours; hunting parties seemed to reap the rewards of what the beasts of the night left behind, and thus the people could eat. Lightning was hoping that the Carbuncle chamber would provide enough food to sustain them intermittently.
Lightning walked the familiar route from Oerba to Central Headquarters. Once out of the Oerban Valley she saw the gray-and red gated-structure looming in the distance and her soldiers preparing their vehicles for missions to Cocoon; she quickened her pace, slightly.
Upon arrival she was greeted with a salute from two guards at the gate, "Good morning, Ma'am." Lightning customarily returned the salute and entered the building.
Lightning noticed that the Captains and Commanders were almost done giving their orders to the troops before they depart for Cocoon. She wanted to brief the Captains on the threat level of the fal'Cie Carbuncle and what measures to take should anyone find marked a l'Cie.
When the officers released their soldiers to their duties, they were called into Superior Commander Farron's office.
Lightning was standing in front of her desk when the officers entered and she immediately began her meeting: "the Palumpolum team has almost breached the fal'Cie chamber. I am sure some of you are reluctant to believe the Sanctum fal'Cie are our enemy. They were our protectors and life-source—I didn't want to believe it either, but the fact remains, they want to bring back Maker and in order to do that they must cause humanity to perish. So, keep in mind if the fal'Cie are still functional, they most certainly could brand any one of us l'Cie; that means potentially causing the demise of those of us who are left." Lightning explained. "I will leave it to your better judgment on how to determine if any of your soldiers have been marked. In the event you do find a Sanctum l'Cie, your orders are to capture and confine. Do not kill. Understand?"
In unison her officers replied, "Yes, Ma'am."
Lightning dismissed them to carry out their missions. She decided to get on to Cocoon, having not gone at all yesterday.
Lightning walked the crowded halls of the Headquarters and amidst the commotion noticed a distinct tap made only by Sanctum Officer's Boots. 'I had a feeling that announcement would face some opposition, it's a shame it had to be amongst my own ranks.' She thought, and stealthily placed her hand upon her gunblade.
'If they are willing to kill for the Sanctum, then I will oblige them to die for it as well' Lightning turned on one heel, drew her gunblade and prepared to face her challenger.
"you're gonna die, traitorous bastard!" Lightning proclaimed.
"Ahhh! I just wanted to let you know that I received orders to work in the Subterra today and I am requesting to work on the Eden team instead." Jihl retorted with hands up in surrender.
"Jihl, I think you have just spent another one of your nine lives." Lightning smirked, "follow your orders, Captain."
Lightning made no effort to hide the fact she didn't like Jihl, but Nabaat did have a number of supporters from the former PSICOM and oddly even some of the Calvary. So she holstered her gunblade and continued walking toward the motor pool.
Jihl stood there watching Lightning walk away for only a moment before pursuing behind. "You know, although I was a Colonel for the Sanctum, I had to follow orders too, just like you did in the Guardian Corps." She raised her voice a little. "I want to show you that I'm really on your team. I want the same things as you!"
Lightning stopped in her tracks and turned to walk toward Jihl "Look Jihl, I understand that you were just following orders; you're an excellent soldier, that's why I'm allowing you to serve in my Supply Corps. As I said before, some things with you just don't add up—and frankly, I just don't trust you."
She put a finger underneath Jihl's chin, and softly spoke, "This is the last time I will tell you: just because we're working for the same team doesn't mean we're friends. I don't care about how sorry you are for 'just doing your job' and you will do well to remember that I am your superior, and I won't hesitate to ruin you."
She stared into Jihl's eyes, waiting for her make a move. 'Come on, give me an excuse to kick your ass,' Lightning thought.
Jihl's lip started to quiver and she looked away with tears beginning to form in her eyes. Tempting as it was, Lightning resisted humiliating Jihl—she just wanted to get on to Cocoon.
The ascent to Cocoon was relaxing; Lightning could see the morning mist being scorched away by the rising sun. Creatures were coming out of their dens and she could see all the beauty of Pulse from here. She loved the feel of the wind blowing through her hair and she removed her headgear for a moment to enjoy the cool breeze.
As Superior Commander, Lightning was expected to stay behind and issue orders, or make public appearances, but never go into real danger. Lightning, however, felt it was her duty to check in with her teams and give assistance where needed.
Though the possibility of survivors was growing slim, Lightning was determined to comb over the entirety of Cocoon until it could be confirmed that there are neither any salvageable goods nor anybody left alive. The rescue teams had searched every town for obvious survivors, and were presently rescuing the ones trapped in buildings or underneath the cities, buried in the debris. The impossible task of removing the debris before the survivors died called for the most high-tech demolition tools that Cocoon had to offer and most were in barely working order.
When she arrived at the ruins of Eden, she could see that her soldiers were already hard at work. Since Eden was where most of Cocoon's people resided and worked, it suffered the most casualties, but also held the most survivors due to its multi-layer architecture and layout.
She landed and got off her bike to meet up with the Captain of the East Eden team.
A soldier saluted her. "Good morning, Ma'am!"
She returned the salute and looked behind him at the soldiers digging through the rubble. "Good morning. What's your status here?"
He replied, "We have evidence that there may be people trapped inside a building just underneath this collapsed highway."
"That's wonderful news, Captain; let's get them out of there! I'll send orders to get some equipment here so we can move this debris faster." Lightning removed a communication device from her satchel and typed the order. "I will be back later to see how the excavation is coming along."
The Captain replied with a quaint, "Yes, Ma'am."
Lightning nodded and returned to her velocycle and proceeded through the ruins of Cocoon; she had become an expert at getting from point A to B over the remnants of the world they once called home.
'I should have just knocked her out earlier.' Lightning thought, gradually increasing acceleration, 'henchman of The Primarch—she would have killed us all, given the chance. Jihl Nabaat is a snake.'
"Cocoon is just a nest of vipers, ready to strike." Fang explained…
'She was right, after all.' Lightning confessed to herself.
Lightning was half way to Palumpolum; the resolution to her angst hidden or perhaps buried, 'Fang...' she thought. 'Why can't I stop thinking about you? I know you are still out there somewhere and I'm going to find you. I promise.' She tightened her grip on the accelerator and was approaching max speed for the velocycle.
'Pull yourself together, this is nonsense.' She slowed her vehicle when in sight of the Palumpolum walls.
'Hope's team is down there.' She took a left and landed on the recently constructed platform atop the fal'Cie Carbuncle's chamber.
After securing her vehicle, she headed toward the sound of commotion. 'Maybe Hope was right about getting into the chamber today, and what impeccable timing.' If something bad was going to happen she preferred to be there than receive a report about it.
As she was walking down the stairs she saw the familiar markings of Palumpolum that haunt her dreams. "Pets" came out of her mouth, and she was stopped in her footsteps…pets.
Hope and I had just arrived in Palumpolum and needed to find an alternate route to gain access to the city. Fortunately, Hope was from Palumpolum and knew of a way. After traveling quite some distance we came to the Carbuncle fal'Cie chamber—the nurturer of Cocoon. Hope stated the obvious as usual, about how strange it was that us Pulse l'Cie were using a Sanctum fal'Cie to find our way. There's nothing at all strange about it, we relied on the Sanctum for everything our whole lives.
Then something occurred to me. "You know, I think Cocoon was really built for them; the rest of us are just leeches - parasites." I guess Hope and I were on the same page because he picked up where I left off.
"You think? They protect us, nurture us. Take care of, well, normal people. They treat us like we're, special, almost like…Like we're pets." He said it, and it all made so much sense! Of course!
"To them, we are just pets." My heart was pounding, my fists clenching. "That's it. Now it makes sense. I've...been so blind!" It all came crashing down on me at once. I then realized that I had relied on the fal'Cie my whole life and it was the only life I knew how to live, and when it was all taken from me I was completely lost. My life had no purpose. "Hope, listen to me! This curse, it took everything from me! My future, my dreams; I didn't want to think, so I fought instead. As long as I was fighting, nothing else was real. I was running away." I told him that we had to stop fighting without a purpose. I promised I would never abandon him.
'What was that about?' Lighting pondered. "What the hell are you trying to tell me?" she hissed at herself.
A young man's voice replied, "Is something wrong, Ma'am?" Lightning turned around to see a young Corporal.
"No, Corporal, I am here to see the Commander of this team." Lightning explained.
The young man stiffened up, "Yes Ma'am, I'll take you to the Captain." She allowed the kid to lead the way, although she was sure that she could find Hope on her own.
Hope had changed considerably since they had brought down the Sanctum. That very day when they awoke on Gran Pulse, he tried to return to Palumpolum to check on his father. Unfortunately, it took two weeks just to clear a path through the rubble to Eden from Pulse.
Once there, Hope spent weeks digging to find his father, mostly by himself. Witnessing the distress consuming her former partner, Lightning convinced him to work for her and take over the excavation team in Palumpolum. Hope was an expert on the terrain, and it also gave him more resources to find his father.
In order to sustain the survivors until figuring out the basics of agriculture could be developed, Lightning formed a team to recover the stockpile of food left from Carbuncle. Hope was appointed Commander of that team.
From across the site, Lightning saw Hope yelling at one of the soldiers. "I'm the boss around here and you will do as I say!" Hope shouted at a middle-aged soldier of low rank.
"Commander, nice of you to show up!" he said, gloating in front of the humiliated man.
Lightning grimaced and was about to reprimand Hope when he grabbed her arm, "you've got to see this, Light!" He said, guiding her to the entrance his team was working on.
"As you can see, we will breach the chamber any moment now." Hope declared, standing tall and proud.
"I am going to need to teach you how to talk to your subordinates," Lightning snarled. She looked at the wall of rubble and saw the team working mercilessly to tear away the unrecognizable remains of Palumpolum; yet, the sight of their accomplishment was shadowed by thought of yet another l'Cie disaster.
Lightning walked to the front line, "another pair of hands would certainly help move things along." She grabbed onto the rope they were using to move the huge boulder blocking their way and pulled alongside the others.
Hope took the hint to grab onto the rope as well and told Lightning: "I didn't get to mention that I will be going in first when we get it open."
Hope's declaration only added to her already immense frustration. 'What if he becomes l'Cie again? Is this a way to get back at losing his father?' She thought but only briefly, Hope isn't her problem—yet.
After about fifteen minutes of pulling on the rope, there was a loud cracking sound and it suddenly slackened. From the front she heard "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" followed by a ground-moving rumble.
A young fleeing soldier ran into Lightning, knocking her down. Upon immediately leaping back to her feet, she saw a gargantuan boulder headed right at her.
"Oh, shit!" Lightning shouted, activating her Grav-Con unit, she leaped up a series of steel rails. Vibrations from the dislodged debris broke her escape rail, but she caught the edge with her fingertips. She looked around for a place to get a better hold but there wasn't anything. 'Hold on, just hold on,' she told herself, watching the blood released from her fingers make the surface slippery.
When she heard it slam to a stop against a wall, she released her grip and fell to the ground, immediately turning around to assess the damage and see if anyone was hurt.
It appeared as though nobody was squished, but it appeared as though many were slightly injured from dodging the boulder. She didn't see Hope 'Where is he?' her heart sank into her stomach, 'Oh no, what if he got caught behind the boulder?' She looked down at the floor for any kind of blood or even a trace of Hope—nothing.
Lightning heard commotion coming from the front and ran to see what it was all about. 'There he is…What does he think he's doing?' The other soldiers were all mumbling about their Captain instead of their cuts and bruises. Somehow he was already inside there with Carbuncle.
Everyone stood outside the room watching in awe as Hope pulled out two automatic machine guns and started unloading on the fal'Cie. Lightning drew her gunblade and started to run in after him; she knew that Hope was no match for a fal'Cie by himself. A sudden flash of bright light covered everything in a blinding white immobilized her.
She heard the gunfire stop and squinted her eyes but could barely see the shadow of Hope. 'Hope, why the hell did you…'
Suddenly, an earsplitting wave of sound pierced her senses and forced her to drop to her knees in pain, instinctively covering her ears. She screamed. Her voice came out hoarse and broken as the agony suffocated her mind, crushing all coherent thoughts and immobilizing her.
Just when she thought she would pass out, it stopped. She opened her eyes and it took a couple seconds for them to focus to see in the dim light.
"Hope! Where are you?" she shouted. She headed in the direction of splashing water, "Hope!" She heard what sounded like bubbles again, 'He must have fallen in the water.' "Get a search light! NOW!" She shouted to the frightened soldiers behind her, and she dove into the pitch black water.
Her lungs burned and ached for air when she returned to the surface. "Hope! Can you hear me?" In the distance Lightning heard a splash, and immediately she swam in that direction.
When the soldiers returned, they turned the beam of light toward the splashing sounds of the water and illuminated Lightning. Then, right in front of her, she could see the tips of Hope's hand, so she dove under the water, grabbed Hope by his waist, and pulled him to the surface. He coughed and gasped for air as the two emerged from the water.
"Thank you, Light," he panted, "I don't know what happened back there."
Lightning grabbed hold of the rope the other soldiers had thrown down for them, and the soldiers pulled the two up to a platform.
"I'm going to assess the damage and assign a party to investigate the rest of this chamber. In the meantime, I want the medics to make sure that you are okay." Lightning directed, while drenched and still disoriented from the shrieking Carbuncle.
Lightning grabbed three soldiers and continued toward the Carbuncle. The chamber was dark and the sparkling remnants of spent magic glowed upon the walls. 'Looks like Carbuncle is dead. The last time I saw him, he had an Amber glow, but there's no way to be certain without putting lives at risk.'
Lightning halted the party and turned to the soldiers "I don't want you to allow anyone to proceed beyond this point. I don't care the rank, the position, or the urgency. I want constant guard on this position. To be alternated every 12 hours and relieved to be cleared by the medic after each shift. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the trio replied. Lightning saluted and proceeded to exit the chamber.
The soldiers had already begun excavating the food surplus, which to Lightning's dismay didn't appear to be the great stockpile everyone was hoping for. She decided to go where the medic had taken Hope.
They had carried him to a private tent so that they could observe his body for any injuries, or l'Cie markings. Upon entering, Hope stood there in his skivvies—at least there weren't any obvious signs indicating he was branded. "Hope, that was stupid—what you did back there. You put everyone's life at risk without a thought to the consequence of your actions." He just stared at the ground and didn't bother trying to defend his decision. "I want to take you off this team," said Lightning.
Hope looked up at her and said, "You know I can't do that. I have to find him, Light—he's all that I have left. Even if I find him a lifeless corpse, I won't quit until I know for sure."
Lightning had a soft spot for what Hope was going through—she was looking for someone too. "This can't happen again, Hope. I expect more from you. We all hate the Sanctum for what happened, but you can't take it out on these people. Getting yourself killed won't change anything either." She reached out and laid her hand on Hope's shoulder; he shamefully turned his head away.
He is going to be okay, she decided, and it was time to leave this area for now. "I want a full report on what happened here today, and try to find the source of that brain-splitting shrill in the chamber."
"Sure, you got it, Light," Hope replied, forcing the words.
Lightning returned to her velocycle and the rest of the afternoon went on smoothly. She was able to assist in helping one of the teams recover someone who had been surviving at Lake Bresha.
The recent survivors seemed frenzied, covered and blood and on the verge of becoming feral; which was indicated by pelts of the beasts they fought for their lives against adorned upon their own body.
The sun was beginning to descend on the horizon as she headed back to Eden Headquarters. It was only a short ride for Lightning and when the saw the site, she knew they had excavated out a great deal debris today. Lightning had a hunch they were close enough to the survivors to order the mission to continue overnight.
There were many divisions stationed at the Eden Headquarters, and when she came closer, she noticed that the Oerba supply team was out of place.
"Jihl..." Lightning spat through gritted teeth.
Her eyes were slits when she landed, and with clenched fists, she walked over the site looking for Jihl.
The Captain from earlier stopped in front of her, saluted and greeted her, "Ma'am, we are very close to breaking through the brothel, it looks like only a few more hours. I am requesting permission for an overnight team."
Anger having the better of her at this point, she didn't waste any time. "Permission granted, Captain. Could you tell me where I can find the Oerba Supply Commander?" the Captain started to say something when he was interrupted..."We received a request for a superconductor energy platform—fortunately we had one. We responded quickly from the Subterra and were able to install it before nightfall," Jihl said, in her best hero stance.
Lightning acknowledged Jihl's explanation with a grimacing nod. She pushed passed a disappointed Jihl to where the rescue tunnel was being constructed. The Captain followed Lighting and explained that a sergeant from the night before had heard some kind of faint music. Lightning went to investigate for herself and beyond the sounds of heavy construction equipment, she faintly heard something, 'that's music...there really are survivors down there and they have found a way to make music.' She decided to reward the sergeant with something special, 'perhaps a promotion'.
Lightning knew it was going to be a long night and decided—since they had gotten new supplies today from various teams—coffee would be a refreshing reward for all of their efforts.
"Captain Nabaat, since you have proven to be so useful today, I am assigning you to the Eden Team for the remainder of the night. I am sure they could use all the help they can get." Lightning let a half smile come over her face when she turned and walked toward the commander's tent.
Lightning naturally took a seat at the commander's desk and opened her notepad to review her notes. When she was nearly finished reading her notes, a soldier entered the tent. "Commander Farron—Lightning, I have something that may interest to you."
"Captain Nabaat—Jihl, I don't care. Didn't I make that clear this morning? Now get back to work or I will cite you for dereliction of duty." Lightning said, never averting her eyes from the notepad.
Jihl grabbed long black case from behind her and threw it upon the commander's desk. Lightning leaped from her seat and without investigating the mysterious case, she roared, "I warned you, Jihl."
"Open it before you move any further." Jihl said sternly.
'Why? It's probably one of your Sanctum traps.' Lightning stood up slowly and glared at Jihl then looked down at the long black case that was sitting there in front of her.
"It's not a trap. Just open the box." Jihl pleaded.
Lightning was going to punish Jihl, either professionally or physically, and depending on what the box contains will determine which she would impose.
Lightning breathed deeply and unfastened the locks on the case slowly. Once all three were undone, she opened the case.
Lightning's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped. She stepped back, her heart pounding hard as the rage grew in her chest. Her lip got stiff and her breathing became shallow. She looked away from the box and directed her glare to Jihl, while she placed her hand upon her gunblade.
"Why in the hell do you have this?" she said through gritted teeth.
"I am going to help you find her," Jihl explained. "It's a long story, and I'll explain it to you, but right now I just need to you to trust me…you need my help, and she doesn't have a lot of time."
Lightning couldn't believe what she was hearing—or seeing. 'How did she get Fang's lance? How does Jihl know about Fang and me? Ugh, none of this makes any sense!'
"If you know where she is, Jihl, you'd better tell me NOW!" Lightning forced the desk out of the way with her gunblade point in line, she approached Jihl.
"I can't, that's why I am here. I had overheard that they were getting into the Carbuncle chamber very soon and I knew there wasn't much time left. I wanted it to all be a dream, but then I knew it wasn't. That's why I've tried getting you to listen to me. You need to save Fang."
"What are you talking about, Jihl? I swear I'll fucking kill you if you don't start talking," Lightning snarled.
"It's not what you think. Just please trust me, there's a way to save her on Pulse," Jihl explained.
Lightning didn't know whether to believe her or if this was just a low-level deception Jihl was trying to play on her. 'There's more than one way to make a person talk.'
Lightning forced Jihl against a stack of crates. She could see the beads of sweat form on Jihl's face. She got closer, so close that she could see Jihl's neck veins bulging in struggle to swallow the salt from her dry mouth.
She positioned herself in a way that Jihl's breasts rubbed against her own through their clothes with each curious inhale.
Lightning leaned in closer, so that the moisture of her breath would lie on Jihl's ear from the words. "Do I make you nervous?" she moved her left hand around Jihl's waist to pull her closer, "Of course I do, I know all about what kind of freak you are." She moved her other hand up and grabbed a handful of Jihl's blonde hair, pulling it slightly, causing Jihl to let a soft moan escape her lips. "Hurts so good, doesn't it Jihl?" A bead of sweat rolled down Jihl's face and landed on her neck.
Lightning noticed the shiny droplet of lust and forcefully licked the salty evidence of Jihl's arousal away. Jihl's eyes rolled back and she nearly lost her balance. "Just imagine what I will do to you…" Jihl moaned again at Lightning's moist breath caressing her ear "If you screw with me."
Jihl didn't struggle to protest and only replied in a raspy voice, "Never." Lightning shoved her away.
"There's a fate worse than death that awaits you, Jihl. You won't have any lives to spare when I am finished with you. That's a promise," and she turned back to the case upon the desk. She ran her finger over the edges and grooves of the crafted weapon, remembering the way it tore through flesh in battle and fit into Fang's hands so inherently.
Jihl remained still, her body and mind still reeling from the effects of an unfulfilled arousal.
The noise outside the tent seemed miles away, and Jihl's presence nearby was as relevant as acknowledging the chair in the corner. Her face was devoid of emotion, nobody need know how she felt when she thought of Fang, least of all Jihl.
We had finally made it to Dysley's chamber and were ready to get rid of him once and for all. We were running as fast as we could; once he was in sight his guard dog, Jihl Nabaat, leapt down and drew her weapon at us. She had the audacity to try and protect Dysley's escape, but no matter, I would cut her down to get to him. Then the unexpected happened; he wasn't going to leave. He even asked Jihl to leave.
The sound of his voice sent chills down my spine as he continued, "Or rather, why don't you take your leave? Humans have no business here."
What was he saying? Jihl couldn't believe it either; she lowered her weapon and turned to ask the same thing I was thinking. Dysley's response was a blast of magic that killed Jihl on impact. It can't be! More magic flew out of his staff and obliterated the roof of the Palamecia.
Snow shouted, "You monster! People are not yours to use!"
Dysley floated down to the floor where we stood and said, "What else does one do with tools?" Snow ran at him fists drawn and couldn't even touch him; Dysley had used magic to repel Snow. Dysley continued, "Cocoon is a factory built by fal'Cie; a factory built for the mass production of human falls. What can mere men do without our help? Death is all with which you are capable. You saw the fools; a mindless mob drunk on the fear of a few l'Cie."
I couldn't believe that this bastard was talking about humans like that; he's a l'Cie as well, and they deserved to know! I drew my gunblade and spoke, "If they only knew a l'Cie was the one filling their glasses."
Dysley paused and said, "l'Cie?" and he laughed, "You mean me?" he continued laughing, "Oh child, perish the thought," and began to rise into the sky, "I am more than that." He raised his staff into the air with a blinding light and his voice changed. "I am fal'Cie. My name is Barthandelus."
I opened my eyes and he had transformed into a giant monster with two heads on either side, one in the middle, and monstrous claws. He continued explaining, "Voice of the Sanctum and lord sovereign of the Cocoon fal'Cie. Your kind feared the darkness and we gave you light. You begged us for the purge and did it not come to pass? Now you spurn our counsel? You must learn your place!" There was no way I would back down; I would fight this fal'Cie even if it killed me.
Once the fight was over Snow said what we were all thinking "A fal'Cie running the sanctum."
Hope interjected, "I guess Eden isn't running things after all."
I didn't want to believe it and then Dysley—or rather Barthandelus—reappeared. "As I said, I am Lord Sovereign."
I wasn't sure that I was ready to fight this monster again, but I was ready to give it all I had. Sazh commented that fal'Cie don't die as easily as the rest of us. Barthandelus corrected him that ease isn't the issue but we had not fought to win.
"You should know well already the sure way of dispatching our kind." I stepped forward sure that he would transform one more; and as he said "Ragnarok" we all gasped. We knew the fable of Ragnarok; everyone from Cocoon did.
But Fang wasn't from Cocoon and she said, "What's Ragnarok?" with a look of disgust on her face.
Then she yelled in pain and grabbed her arm where her icy brand was. It made me so angry to see her in pain; she was so strong and for Barthandelus to do this to her was crossing the line. He provoked her, "Pitiful l'Cie, you've forgotten your focus," he continued, "Ragnarok is the beast one of you must become in order to lay waste to Cocoon." He said pointing at all of us. He disappeared and reappeared in front of each of us. "One of you will become the monstrosity, defeat Orphan, and destroy Cocoon." He continued to reveal the purpose of our focus and how we needed Eden to live and Eden needed Orphan and without either we would not live.
Fang stood up still holding her arm and asked him, "So if I did that…destroyed Orphan…"
He appeared right in her face and said, "Your focus would be fulfilled."
Her mouth dropped open and the sadness, fear, and child-like naivety that she had tried to hide for so long suddenly appeared upon her face like a target. I couldn't take it, what he was doing to her. I swung my gunblade at him but he vanished.
I yelled, "Who says it has to be?"
Snow told him about what Serah had told us right before she was turned to crystal. Barthandelus just laughed and told us that Serah's true focus was to bring us together so that we could destroy Cocoon. He told us to accept the truth and with that, he flew away in his air ship.
The Palamecia was quickly descending too and we ran to an escape ship. After an air battle or two we landed on Gran Pulse in a place called the Fifth Ark.
The memory of Jihl getting killed coincided with the memory of discovering Dysley was really Barthandelus, and it was a burning image in her mind that would surely never go away. Lightning wanted answers, and if playing Jihl's little game would get them, she always played to win.
She stood up and fastened the lance over her shoulder. If she was going to on a mission to find Fang, returning her lance would be the only appropriate course of action.
Jihl was watching Lightning attentively, waiting for the next move, still uncertain of the events which had just taken place.
Lightning looked to Jihl, "what's the plan?"
Jihl cleared her throat, "you may want to prepare for a long journey. Be ready for anything."
Lightning just looked at her and replied, "Jihl, I'm certain that I can handle whatever comes my way. If it's a journey we're going on," Lightning kept walking past her, "assign your command over to your subordinate. I'll do the same," and she left the tent.
Lightning walked over to the excavation site. "Captain, there is a situation that requires my attention on Gran Pulse. You will resume command of this operation until I send my Executive Officer up to take my place." He acknowledged the orders and saluted.
She walked over to her velocycle, pulled out her flask of whiskey, and took a sip while waiting for Jihl.