"Just fifteen minutes left until six, Light. It's time to iron out distortion."

She slowed to a stop at the base of the tallest dune this place seemed to have before she plunged her blade deep into the sand at this news. Catching her breath, it seemed nearly impossible that it was already the dawn of a new day and she'd achieved nothing in this wasteland through the night. She pulled on the edges of her jacket in search of air circulation because though it was only morning, it was showing the signs that today would be an absolute scorcher.

She turned to look at where she'd came from and it only looked exactly the same as what was ahead of her. Never ending hills, the remains of ancient structures but not a soul in sight.

She retrieved her blade and slid it into the holster on her back before she bounded as fast she could up the dune. She pushed herself harder when her feet began sinking into the coarse sand until she finally reached the top. She closed her eyes and welcomed the return of the powerful winds, holding her arms out at her sides and letting it cool the the sweat against her flesh and throw her hair into turmoil.

"Light? Do you see that?"

She opened her eyes and realized that from this vantage point she could see for miles. Her eyes landed on a rocky outcropping first just a few dunes north-east. Blocking the most direct path to it, however, was a fierce sandstorm that didn't seem to ever relent..

"... That doesn't look natural." Lightning muttered.

"I'm detecting powerful chaos at the center of that storm, I don't think you'll be able to go that way."

Lightning eyed the sharp canyon behind the storm with veiled curiosity. "I guess I'll have to go around."

"Yes, but tomorrow. Just a few more minutes until you have to come back to the Ark."

Annoying. Lightning scowled.

She put a hand on her hip and looked into the distance. Amazing how a world with this much beauty will cease to exist in just a few short days. The wind was so nice that she did something she rarely does these days, she sat down.

She slipped out of her gloves and let her hands dig into the sand, letting the small grains fall between her fingers. She didn't want to get invested in traveling right away since she'd be ripped out of this world shortly anyway. It felt good to let the wind gusts run through her hair, feel the rays of sunlight gently radiate of her skin, knowing what when this was all over she may never have the opportunity to feel a sensation like this again.

She leaned backwards onto her palms and let her eyes scan the horizon from what she could see between the strands of pink hair obscuring her view.

The alarm in her jacket sounded, marking the time as exactly 6:00am, and at the very same time she spotted movement on the cliff side in the distance. She held her hair in place out of her eyes and squinted.

A man wearing a black face mask had just lowered his binoculars.

"Hello there." Lightning simpered to herself.

And then she was being pulled away from it all. Lights, colors, sounds all blurred together. Somehow all this matter together made intricate patterns in space. She floated through the rings of time itself considering that man's true intentions.

Flying through last ring into the bright light she landed gracefully on her feet and walked with purpose with no break in her stride.

"Who were you just talking to?" Hope asked.

Lightning, her mouth still curved into an amused smile, ignored him, instead approaching Yggdrasil, the tree of life.

"Forgive me." She spoke, "Tomorrow will be a better day."

A bright light burning from her chest erupted and was absorbed into the tree. The souls of the living being saved. Held in this one place until the new world was ready for the human race. One of its limbs grew, but not very much. No fruit to bear today. No extra time gained.

"I'm not alone." Lightning said, finally turning to Hope and answering his question. "There was a man watching me from the mountain."

Hope, who didn't often miss details like this, turned to one of his monitors and zoomed into a live feed of the man on the cliff, frozen in time at 6:00am exactly until Lightning returns.

"Looks like those bandits the station attendant mentioned found you first. What are you going to do with him?" Hope asked.

"He's got to go home eventually." Lightning said, walking to her own console, preparing to make reentry.

"You have to make headway today, Light, there isn't enough time to make sand castles." Hope said, sounding disappointed in her.

Lightning turned to glare at him. He showed no reaction, instead, turning back to his own console. Such a blunt remark was so unlike the child she once fought alongside. Hope doing things out of character was becoming more common, and it was starting to concern her.

Lightning inhaled deeply. "Right."

She pushed one last button on the console before evaporating from the scene.


It could have been any normal bar, on any normal evening. Only it wasn't evening. Even first thing in the morning a man sitting in the corner was harmonizing with his guitar seemingly in another world. All of the tables were occupied with people enjoying themselves. Drinking, eating and reveling loudly as though if they were inebriated enough then the threat of the apocalypse did not effect them. Lightning couldn't see the exact man that had unknowingly led her here, but she was sure this was the right place. Everyone here seemed to belong to the dress code.

Criminals hardened under the unforgiving desert sun, most of which live their lives outside of the teachings of God. Generally, a natural enemy for the for anyone that would call themselves a Savior.

Lightning made it all the way to the center of the bar before she realized she could hear her own footsteps echoing into silence. She paused and looked around only to be met with hostile stares.

"Be careful, Light, they don't seem very friendly."

Lightning exhaled sharply making the hair in front of her face flutter, mostly out of amusement, before resuming her deafening walk to the bar.

As if that wasn't obvious, Hope.

The barman said nothing to her but continued to stare at her with a stiff jaw as she leaned against it. She stared back at him expectantly.

"I need water." She said.

"We don't serve outsiders here." The man said in gruff voice.

Lightning looked over her shoulder to keep general surveillance of the area. Seeing how she'd already been in here for a few minutes and no one had drawn their blade to her throat yet, she found comfort in the idea that apparently nobody knew who she was.

"So, how do you get in, then?" She asked, turning back to the barman.

He blinked at her. After three full seconds of silence the entire bar erupted into raucous laughter. She could hear what sounded like metal tankards being slammed against the wooden tables behind her but she didn't flinch. Her sharp gaze remained on the barman, waiting for his response.

"Don't you think you're a little too pretty to be a bandit, Pinky?" He asked.

His extended his arm to reach up to Lightning's face. Excitement flickered in Lightning's eyes and, at this, he froze in place, as if somehow he could read just how dangerous this woman was just by a shift in her eyes. He thought better of playing with her hair and let his arm fall back to his side limply. The entire atmosphere in the bar became more ominous now and Lightning could sense movement behind her.

All she needed was a reason to beat this man into submission until she got all the information she needed.

This would simplify things significantly and save much valued time.

"Listen, lady, unless you want trouble you better just go talk to the boss."

"Now we're getting somewhere. Where can I find him?" She asked.

The barman pointed to a side exit and it gave Lightning an excuse to look behind herself again, making eye contact with one particular man who had definitely moved closer to her. She didn't hesitate to follow the directions she was given.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Who do you honestly think would have died in that match up?" Lightning asked.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right. You need to find the boss and get information out of him about the Clavis."

Having constant radio communication with Hope was both a blessing and a curse. The kid offered some good advice sometimes, but he didn't really know when to shut up.

After passing through the door way she came out into what looked like an abandoned marketplace. Plenty of storefronts but no merchants to run them. Stairs led to an empty catwalk that framed the raised ceiling. Just a few other bandits in site but none looked important enough to be called a boss. Lightning continued across the main hub and entered a narrow hallway. The deeper she went, the darker it got. She got the impression that this encampment was built into the mountain itself. The temperature dropped substantially as well, which was a blessing in itself.

"Hey! Who are you?"

Lightning appraised the man with white hair in a red worksuit that was now blocking her path.

"Are you the boss?" Lightning asked.

"Who's asking?"

Lightning chose her words very carefully.

"I.. was looking to join."

"Hmm. Is that right? You don't look like much of thief." The man circled her as he spoke. "Of course, we don't accept just anybody, but you're welcome to take the trial."

"I'll take it." Lightning said without hesitation.

The man's lip curled.

"Enthusiastic, are we? Fine. There's a giant sandstorm in the desert, you must have seen it on your way here. It's blocking one of our shortcuts. Make it stop. That's your test. Go."

Lightning squinted at the man. "You.. want me to stop the wind? What does that have to do with being a bandit?"

Something changed in the mans demeanor, as if he looked apologetic. He recovered quickly but his hesitation wasn't lost on Lightning.

"Haven't got what it takes?" He asked.

Lightning smirked. "Right away Sir."

"Name's Adonis. Come back when it's done."

Curious, very curious. As she stepped back into the desert and noticed the obvious rise in temperature, probably at least 15 degrees difference between shade and direct sunlight.

"That doesn't seem like the type of task they'd give to any random recruit." Hope said.

"He knows." Lightning said. "But even if I'm the Savior I still don't know how to stop the wind."

She approached the base of the storm, just close enough to where she wouldn't be blown back by the shear gale force winds.

She could see what looked like a stone monument, but couldn't get close enough to read what was etched into its side.

Observing the storm itself closely, it definitely wasn't natural, never relenting and maintaining the same intensity constantly. It was surrounded by an unnerving aura. It made Lightning sick to her stomach that it reminded her of a paradox. That was impossible of course. Time had been reconstructed already at the cost of Serah's life, there was no way that could be happening again.

Then she saw the monster emerge from the dust.

A familiar species, a monster that used to frequent Gran Pulse and require help from a couple of allies to thwart. Nowadays, Lightning was more potent than ever. Rebuilt stronger to be able to handle the mission that God threw upon her. She made short work of the beast and waited to see if the storm relented, but it didn't. Frustrated, she watched the body of the beast become absorbed by the chaos and squinted at something shiny where its carcass had been.

"That's called a crux. Theoretically you're supposed to be able to use that on the monument to stop the storm, only, in over 13 years it hasn't worked for any of us." Adonis spoke from behind her.

She looked back at him before kneeling down and picking the object up. It began to glow in her hand.

".. I-it's never done that before.."

Lightning took a few more steps towards the monument and that lit up as well. Within seconds, the storm withered up and died.

Adonis ran into the place it had been and stared back at Lightning in shock.

"How did you..?"

"Does this mean I'm in, then?" Lightning asked brightly.

"I... I need to tell the boss." Adonis seemed to be hyperventilating.

"I thought you were the boss." Lightning's eyes narrowed.

"Nah, she... I gotta get back to her. Meet me there I'll introduce you. Welcome to Monoculus!"

"Monoculus, huh?" Hope said.

"She..." Lightning mused. She wasn't expecting the criminal mastermind to be a female.

"Soldier, savior, bandit... is there anything you can't do?" Hope chuckled.

Lightning rolled her eyes and re-holstered her blade, following in the direction of Adonis back to the base. It seemed in Ruffian, word traveled fast about impressive exploits because the once empty marketplace was now bustling with people pushing each other out of the way to get a look at the new recruit.

She ignored them, following the same path into the hallway. This time, she got all the to the end before she was met with Adonis exiting a room in the darkest, coolest part of the cave like system.

As he was closing the door, she was able to see into the room behind him. Feet propped up comfortably on a table. The boss? Laying low in ideal conditions while her pawns served her every desire? Lightning's eyes narrowed.

"There you are, perfect. Are you ready to meet the boss?" Adonis asked.

Lightning nodded stiffly, and watched the man turn back the door, apparently stealing himself, as if this moment had been a long time coming. Just how long had they been waiting for her arrival? Either way, Lightning hoped this had something to do with the Clavis, or it was likely she'd just wasted her time.

"Boss, she's here. The gifted one."

Lightning's eyes first landed on the tattoo on the woman's shoulder, as she wasn't looking in her direction yet. Her own breathing ceased and it felt as though her heart had just begun descending through her body in an elevator moving much too fast. For the first time since her return to the land of the living, Lightning felt selfish just by allowing herself to remember every detail about this woman's appearance. Every bead and patch of fur that decorated the familiar blue sari was just the right color. Just in the right place. For one wild moment, Lightning felt human again and it took every ounce of strength she contained to keep from yelping.

"Took you long enough." The hunter said, resting her lance on her shoulder and glancing for the first time into Lightning's face.

Adonis looked between the two now frozen women. "Uh.. It appears you two know each other?" he asked.

"Fang..." Lightning breathed.

".. Ah yep. Definitely know each other.." He said lamely before he turned and exited the room.

Fang crossed the room to close the door. Her palm remained against the wood. She spoke practically to Lightning's shoulder now.

"I can see you breathing, but does that mean you're really alive?"

".. That's a good question." Lightning answered dully.

Like a dagger through her front, Fang gazed at the intricate pattern the wood grains made on the door, knowing at once things would never be the same.

Lightning watched as Fang's expression broke into a thousand pieces. When the hunter exhaled, it was a half sigh, half groan of pain. It sounded as though every molecule of oxygen was coated in knives, hot brands, fire and spitting acid. So much pain from one little action, spoken word wouldn't ever be able to translate.

Lightning could feel it, but not as herself. As though another person were watching it outside of her. She knew the pain, but she herself remained numb. Bhunivelze, all knowing, had even planned for this. He rebuilt Lightning stronger than ever, but was careful desensitize her. Because if Lightning had come across Fang with all of her emotions intact, she would've most definitely veered far off of her path. It would have been a complete game changer.

"I was so afraid of this happening." Fang mumbled.

Fang turned to stare the into the Savior's eyes. As cruel as this was, as much as this wasn't the reunion Fang had been dreaming of, Lumina had been right about one thing. There was recognition on Lightning's face. Something caused the stunning blue eyes to consider her for so long, so silent. Lightning appeared to be staggered.

It gave Fang just the slightest bit of hope.

"I know what you are." Fang whispered. "And I probably know why you're here."

And you didn't come for me. Fang winced from her last painful thought.

"You're after the same thing." Lightning stated.

"The Clavis." Fang nodded.

"Why? What does it do?" Lightning asked.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "You're after it and you don't know what it does?"

"When I was in Luxurion, I met Vanille." Lightning said, watching Fang's face twitch. That gave the hunter away. "Fang, she told me everything. That she can hear the dead. That on the last day she can save them with the Soulsong. I'm not sure how it works, but she says she needs this artifact.."

Odd, Lightning thought, when she realized that Vanille had pointed her in this direction and had made no mention of Fang being here.

"That's exactly why I'm after it." Fang said. "And I have to get there before the Order."

"But why? Vanille's with the Order." Lightning asked.

"It's complicated." Fang said. "We have a lot of catching up to do, Light."

"We don't really have the time for that, I'm afraid." Lightning said in a soft voice.

This incited another staring match. Fang simply couldn't look at Lightning enough. Had Lightning become more attractive or had Fang's memories simply done her no justice? She couldn't decide. Lightning looked and carried herself stronger than the day that destiny took them in different directions, close enough to reach out and hold yet so far away. The intensity Fang remembered seemed to have been replaced with something... gentler. Compassion? Understanding?

Lightning made the first move, stealing herself to look away for the first time since she laid eyes on Fang.

"Can you tell me where it's hidden?" She asked.

"If you're going, I'm going with you." Fang said.

While Lightning was wondering whether or not this was a good idea, Fang continued.

"It'll be like old times. Come on Light, won't you help out an old... friend?"

Lightning felt a weight on her shoulder and looked down to see Fang's hand resting there. This would be difficult. Since being reborn, she'd never felt so conflicted. But she nodded once anyway.

Lightning thought Fang's soul appeared to be just chaotic as the rest of the people she'd helped before and she decided immediately that in the new world, even if she never got to step foot on it herself, it required Fang. Somebody would have to keep the new world bright.

"We've got a long walk ahead of us. You know, it'd be much wiser to travel at night." Fang said.

"We can't waste an entire day." Lightning said.

Fang sighed and nodded. "That close to the end, huh?"

Lightning pursed her lips preparing to respond, but her breath hitched. Fang's hand slid down the length of her's arm, brushed against her wrist, and grasped Lightning's pinky finger. All the while Fang monitored Lightning's face for any reaction.

The savior closed her eyes, overcome for a moment and frustrated with herself for showing this kind of weakness. Her heart was beating out of control and until today she wasn't even sure if she'd actually still had a heart.

"Fang.." Lightning whispered.

Fang let go and opened the door.

"I've got to give some orders before we go."

Lightning listened to Fang's footsteps until Hope broke her from the moment.

"She wants to beat the Order to the Clavis? And she says she's on Vanille's side? That seems really suspicious."

Lightning didn't say anything, but silently agreed. It didn't matter to her though. Fang's intentions would always be for Vanille's best interest. This solid fact was how it always was, and how it always would be.

"I know... you were... allies once. But Light, are you sure you can trust her?"

"I trust her with my life." Lightning said, without hesitation.