A/N: Well, welcome to the next instalment of Rise of Ragnarok, sorry for the late update..I was busy...sort of.

btw, I dont own Final Fantasy XIII or any other products or places I may mention in this work, you guys know the bit.

Now without further ado...

Rise of Ragnarok

Chapter 3: Magic

It was one thing to get on her nerves; it was another entirely to piss her off. Ducking under a well timed spear strike, Lighting back flipped to give herself some space. Gritting her teeth as soon as her feet touched the ground she pushed off bringing her gun blade up to strike, she barreled into Fang with enough force to send them flying through the air. Fang landed on her back spear still blocking blade as the pink haired woman refused to give up the attack, "Light, we're just sparing, chill!" the brunette's voice barely holding on to levity as Lightning's blade inched closer to her face. Fang realized that her actions the previous day had done the latter, and now an angry Lightning was out for her blood.

"I will not chill; you jeopardized our mission, broke three intergalactic laws and skipped work last night."

"Light, come on your're attracting too much attention." The brunette lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow as Lighting looked up in mortification; she had completely forgotten where she was and the few people that were out having a early morning jog were openly staring at the two.

"Are they some weird movie re-enactors?" One woman in a neon jogging suit whispered to her friend, "Maybe they're some S&M couple?" Her friend whispered back.

"I can hear, you know!" Lightning all but yelled face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger. Removing herself from Fang's waist she stood and glared menacingly at the two women. Both quickly turned away and started walking again. Lightning frowned and brushed the dirt off her black slim-fit vest and stone washed jeans. Fang followed suit brushing off a mix of grass and dust.

"So now that that's a bust, can I go home, I'd actually like to get some sleep?"

Lightning rolled her eyes, "I could care less what you do, just don't do anything stupid."

"Me? Doing something stupid? Yeah right Light, Luck be my lady and trouble my last name." Lightning groaned, "That's what I was afraid of…"

00000

Death and destruction rained around her, flames licking against buildings and the pained groans of those unlucky enough to still be alive rang in her ears as a cacophony of sorrow and madness, and she had caused it all, tossing her head back she laughed gleefully like a child, red locks matching the color of the flames around her. "Vanille!" turning on an invisible, floating pedestal to meet her newest challenger, her smile dropped, it was Fang, "Vanille, this isn't you, Crystarium is only supposed to protect, not destroy." Her childish jubilance gone, she screamed as she realized what she had done. The dark power surging through her veins fought to keep control over its vessel, but Vanille was fighting just as hard to rein in control of her powers. "Fang…I…I just wanted to protect you." She felt herself drift down and land in waiting arms. "It's okay, I'm here for you, you're whole family is too. We're all here for you." With those words Vanille felt herself break down into tears as she cried on Fang's shoulder.

Vanille awoke with a start, eyes scanning the pink walls around her for any sign of where she was. Her eyes flickered to the nightstand beside the bed and her anxiety dropped a few notches as she spotted a picture of Serah and her sister smiling as Serah held up a fish, by the dark green coloring Vanille knew it was the bass the pink haired teen had caught last summer during a camping trip. When did I even fall asleep? Flames flashed through her mind and she shivered, That was creepy, images of Fang flashed through her mind and she felt her face heat up, I'm glad she saved me though…Wait, I'm supposed to be angry at her, but I don't think I can…Groaning to herself she rolled out of Serah's bed and headed downstairs, the sight that greeted her was anything but what she wanted to see. Lightning pressed against the wall and a dark haired woman pressed just as close.

If anything Lightning looked embarrassed at the other woman's advances. "Light, please I'd really love to get to know you better."

"No, thank you, I'm really not into that kind of thing."

The woman gave a small slightly flirty laugh, "I guess Snow wasn't kidding when he said you had a sister complex." Lightning went pale, before she flushed with anger, pushing the woman away.

"We'll talk later Lebreau." Stumbling back with a slight pout she attempted to ask what the problem was but was quickly brushed off.

0000

By the time Lightning had gone to check on Vanille the redhead was long gone. Travelling down the same side walk she had the day before, the same things that had made her smile and nearly laugh in glee now didn't seem as cheerful as before. The thought alone puzzled her, had her life really changed that much in twenty four hours.

She shook her head, no her life hadn't changed. Taking a calming breath she pushed away the memories of battle and talk of power. I'm still just a normal teenage girl, no magic, no destiny, just a normal teenage girl. Almost to prove her point, her phone rang, looking at the caller ID Vanille felt a small smile tug at her lips, "Hope."

"Vanille? I'm glad I finally got a hold of you, I tried to call last night and you didn't answer."

"I had a long day, and I guess I fell asleep early." Sitting down on a park bench, she sighed as she felt an overwhelming sense of normalcy.

"Oh, is that so, you had me worried." A moment of silence passed between them, "Hey Vanille," Hearing the playfulness in his voice the redhead waited for the punch line, "turn around." The redhead obliged and looked over her shoulder, and her smile widened. Hope was standing a few meters away, in the shade of nearby trees. If it wasn't for his silvery blonde hair and brightly colored outfit, he might have been able to blend in with the foliage. Smiling brightly, Vanille looked her boyfriend up and down; it was the outfit she had picked out for him last week a lime green tee under a sunflower yellow shirt that he left unbuttoned along with khaki shorts. Simply put, Hope looked absolutely radiant, and very gay. Vanille suddenly frowned; Fang had never said anything about Hope, so why imagine her saying it?

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she skipped towards her boyfriend, only to be stopped as her world shifted out of focus and shook. Vanille felt time slow around her, her first blink turned the world into what could only be described as a photo negative, the second gave the world an odd sepia tinge and her third returned her world to normal. Only Hope was no longer there. No…not now, please not again…

"And here I thought Fang would keep a closer eye on you." Vanille slowly turned towards the park bench she had been sitting on moments before. Perfectly balanced on the thin wooden back as if it were an actual chair, Nahbaat floated, legs crossed and managing to look completely bored. "So how are you doing Vanille? I know it's certainly hard to learn about what you truly are." The redhead only stared, completely frozen in a mix of fear and shock. Nahbaat extended a finely gloved hand, "So are you ready to come with us, princess?"

Death and destruction rained around her, flames licking against buildings and the pained groans of those unlucky enough to still be alive rang in her ears as a cacophony of sorrow and madness… She took a shaking step backwards, "No,"

Nahbaat's eyes seemed to glow behind her glasses, "Why not join us, you could have anything you want," Vanille took another step backwards, "Your wildest dreams." Finally tearing her eyes away from the evil in front of her, the teen turned and ran.

Someone, help me. I don't want to become that…that beast….visions of flames danced behind her eyes.

Almost as fast as she had entered the woods, she found herself lost in them. Stopping to catch her breath, Nahbaat's words seemed to echo around her as she turned from side to side, looking for any possible escape. Giving up on an escape route she began running again, praying that someone would help her.

00000

Nahbaat smiled gleefully as she watched Vanille wander in circles through the woods. Tracing a finger through the floating puddle she was using to watch the redhead, she distorted the image until it disappeared. Barely glancing over her shoulder she called out to the two who had approached, "Leave me, I'm busy."

"Do you ever get tired of screwing with people's lives?" Nahbaat's request was ignored.

"Never, I actually find it quite fun." Smiling, she turned to look at Lightning and Fang.

"Where's Vanille?" Fang spoke this time.

"You're awfully hasty to play the 'knight in shining armor' aren't you Fang?" The brunette growled in response, her spear at the ready, eyes blazing with barely controlled fury.

"Where. Is. She."

Nahbaat smiled maliciously, "If I didn't know any-" The witch was cut short when Fang launched a ball of white light towards her which was quickly followed up by Lightning charging towards her blade drawn.

"You're done talking." Nahbaat shrugged as she began blocking and dodging strike after strike.

00000

After firing a Ruin spell at Nahbaat, Fang had charged off into the woods leaving Lightning to fight. It was a plan the two had discussed as soon as they felt Nahbaat's Crystarium field go up, and it had gone smoother than expected. With Lightning distracting Nahbaat, Fang could look for Vanille with almost no trouble and keep her safe until back-up arrived.

Following her well trained senses, it hadn't taken Fang long to find Vanille. The brunette bit back a curse as she saw the girl struggling against a group of Cie'th. The dark creatures were slowly encircling her as she vainly tried to blast them away with magic after catching a few in razor thin wire from what could only be described as a antler shaped binding rod. Although the redhead was struggling, she was holding her own efficiently enough. Fang would have kept her distance from the battle if a Cie'th wasn't edging dangerously close to Vanille from behind.

"I don't think so buddy." Charging forward the brunette put herself in between the oncoming Cie'th and Vanille. The black creature slammed into Fang, but she didn't budge, as a translucent yellow glow emanated from her skin. Startled by the lack of impact its attack had the Cie'th backed up and tried again with similar results. "Hah, is that all you've got?" Fang laughed as she swept her spear through the air knocking the creature back. "Hey stay focused now," Fang spoke before Vanille could turn to look at her.

Keeping her attention on the enemies in front of her the redhead spoke, "F-fang?"

"Who else?" the response was immediate and the redhead felt her heart pump a little faster. "So how 'bout we finish off these nasty creeps and go get lunch somewhere?" Vanille felt her worry dissipate as Fang spoke with her usual cheer.

After Fang joined the battle the duo made short work of the remaining Cie'th, with the combination of Fang's swift strikes and Vanille's new found magic it was smooth sailing.

"Man that was easy." Fang yawned and stretched.

Vanille shook her head, "If that was easy I don't want to have to fight the hard stuff." She was sitting behind Fang and resting against a tree.

"It won't be hard if we face it together." Turning suddenly, she crouched down in front of Vanille and took her hand, "I'm sorry for leaving you alone and I should have been here sooner." The sincerity in the brunette's eye caught the redhead off guard and she could only blush in response. Fang, you're cheating again...it's getting harder to dislike her I wonder if anyone else feels this breathless around her. Seconds after she finished her apology the brunette stood back up, pulling Vanille up with her. Stumbling slightly Vanille leaned against Fang, "Careful there." Vanille backed away and nodded, still holding onto Fang's hand.

"Fang?" the redhead spoke interrupting the silence that surrounded them.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for saving me."

"I couldn't just leave such a beautiful girl like you to get captured, could I?" the redhead's blush was back in full force and Fang chuckled at her own words as she pulled Vanille along, fingers intertwined.

By the time Fang and Vanille emerged from the forest, Lightning was chatting with Hope, who seemed to be distraught at the fact that he couldn't find his girlfriend. "It's okay, and I'm sure she's fine."

"But, she was running towards me, and all the sudden she disappeared, that doesn't just happen."

"Are you on drugs kid?" Lightning as aloof as always talked down to Hope.

"No, why would I do drugs? Plus I'm sure you're in on whatever happened here anyway!"

"Hope!" Quickly letting go of Fang's hand the redhead rushed towards her boyfriend.

"Vanille you're- oof!" Vanille ran into him and wrapped the teen in the strongest hug she had.

"Hope, I thought I wasn't going to see you again." After regaining his balance the silver haired teen hugged the redhead just as hard in return.

"Vanille, I was worried, are you okay, no injuries or anything?"

"I'm fine, a friend helped me out, and I guess I just got lost."

"But you just disappeared, what happened?" Hope pulled himself away from Vanille, not willing to answer the question she leaned forward and kissed him, and not one to deny a kiss, Hope responded back eagerly.

"Light gag me." Fang had walked over to Lightning to watch Hope and Vanille's interaction.

"You should have seen that coming," Lightning retorted smirk working its way on her face, "serves you right for shamelessly flirting with her."

Fang scoffed back, "What do you know? I've been nothing less than a gentleman around her."

Lightning rolled her eyes, "Right," turning away as the chaste kiss turned into something more, "grab the girl and let's go."

Fang grimaced, "Why do I always fall for the straight ones?" Lightning didn't answer as she walked away from the scene.

Fang put on her best smile as she approached the teens and coughed to get their attention. "Kid if you don't mind I need to borrow your girlfriend for a little chat." At best Fang sounded frosty, something that didn't go unnoticed by Vanille. Not giving Hope any time to think up a response Fang casually tossed an arm around the redhead's shoulders and guided her away.

"H-hey! Where are you taking her?" No answer was given, "Vanille are you really going with her?" the redhead cast a look over her shoulder as Fang whisked her away and mouthed a promise to call later before getting into a car and riding off with Fang.

A/N: So, another splendid chapter of RoR once again, I'm sorry 'bout this being late, honestly it should have come out a bit earlier...but yeah I got busy doing other stuff. But anyway, I'd like to throw out another round of thank yous for those that reviewed:

SurfaceMemory, Tigon O, TheWarrior12, Phenix, Flashed-Fox, Hotcutii3

Now, I'll be off, but yah, stay on the look out for next weeks edition of Rise of Ragnarok