Helloz! Here we are, chapter 7 of TCM! Woot woot! After the last chapter, my inbox exploded with reviews, alerts, and favorites! Some of the reviews were quite...interesting, but thank you everyone for their support! I would like to thank HollowPanda, milkycelestial, kalakili, averia, averiaclaire, kakililightning, and themagicshawol!
Also, I think there has been some confusion with Leo. Leo is my OC that I created for the purposes of my fanfic. He's not present in any other FF game. And the reason why I didn't pair Lightning with another FF character is because I didn't want a crossover or anything. Plus, I wanted to make my own character, so Leo fit the bill.
Anyways, enjoy! :D
She snapped her eyes open, startled by the large sound. She bolted upright, her eyes darting around in every direction. There, she heard it again. She strained her ears, trying to make up the mysterious, large noises. She tried to push off the bed, but something tugged at her arm. She glanced at her left and caught a shiny, metal circle clasped around her hands. The woman's breathing became ragged, and she heard shouts, another "bang", a few thumps around the door, and finally silence. The tall woman held her breath. Gunshots….shit! She screamed in her head.
The woman froze when she saw the door handle slowly turning. Instantly paling, she braced for the worst. She clutched the moldy mattress until her knuckles were white. The door creaked open, revealing a slightly flustered Arshia. The burly man emerged from the door, his short, spiked, jet-black hair barely grazing the top of the doorframe. He was wielding his trusty revolver, smoke coming out of the tip. He slammed the door, muttering, "Damn punks," and pulled up a chair in front of the bed. He sat on it backwards, his torso facing the back of the chair. He eyed the woman carefully.
"Welcome back, General," Asami sighed. She tugged and pointed at her handcuffs, signaling for an explanation. Arshia narrowed his eyes and abruptly stood, and smacked Asami in the face. Asami yelped from the sudden sting on her left cheek, and her head hit the back wall that faced the bed. Arshia eyed her carefully. "What the hell was that?" He darkly said.
"W-what? What the hell is your problem!" She screamed back, tugging at her restraints until her wrist started to drip with warm, red liquid.
"It took me five different drugs to knock you out," a lengthy pause, "because you wouldn't stop screaming, kicking, and threatening me on how she was 'mine'," he turned towards her, and aggressively pushed her against the wall, his face inches away from hers. He whispered in a ragged voice, "What my problem is… why did you hesitate? You went easy on her. I thought you wanted to kill Farron, is that not so?" He pushed off from the wall, crossing his arms.
"I did!" Asami yelled back. "I still do!" She tugged on the chain, her anger becoming more vicious. She stopped tugging and took a sharp intake of breath and pulled on the chain as hard as she could, effectively pulling it out of the wall, as well as a chunk of stone. She jumped out of bed, swinging the impromptu "ball and chain" at Arshia. The man ducked, but Asami sent a heavy kick towards his head. She heard a sickening crack as he landed on a table, splitting it into many pieces. The room was silent, besides her heavy breathing. She sat back down at the bed, grimacing at the rush of pain all over her body.
Arshia slowly got up from the wreckage, cracking his head back into place. He walked toward Asami, unfazed by the sudden events, and pulled out a keychain from his jacket pocket. He freed Asami from the now-useless handcuffs, picked up the chair from the ground, and sat right back on it.
"Good, you still have fight in you."
"What the hell are you talking about, I always did." Asami snorted. She looked around the tiny room. It was dark, water, or what she assumed was water, sweeping through the stone bricks, the ground was little more than dirt, and a single light bulb hung from the ceiling, flickering on and off every once in a while. A foul order stained the air, probably caused by the rotting, dead bodies outside in the hallways of the underground network. "I didn't hesitate, I let her win on purpose."
Arshia gave a dry chuckle, "Oh really, and why is that? After all you planned out, why would you do that?" His tone was very serious and threatening.
"I had an epiphany," the General started, "if I wanted to make her life miserable, why should I end it early?" She gave Arshia a peculiar look. "I want her to suffer. More than what I did," she beat her chest for every word in the last sentence. She looked into his black eyes, her expression bordering on the lines of a hungry animal and a psycho. "Let her know that her right-hand man was the one behind of all of this, let her know that I am the one who is starting this, let her know that it was my husband that she killed in cold, disgusting, l'Cie blood," Asami spat on the ground. She stood up and walked to a table, hastily grabbing a first aid kit that was left open, treating the wounds on her wrist. Arshia snorted.
"Is that it? You ruined your best chance for an 'epiphany'?"
"Who said that was my best chance? There will be many better opportunities in the future, my dear friend," she answered back, still focused on her wrist. "Is everything set up?"
"Yes. All of our members in all seven major cities are ready for action," he quietly said as he was reloading his Revolver. "What's the plan?"
"I want Alpha team in that city near the East Coast, Tempestas, to sack and seize the city, killing any FLASH operatives they see, even if they surrender," she casually said, shutting the lid of the first aid kit loudly. Arshia placed firearm on his belt holster, eyeing his leader carefully.
"The money?"
"It'll be dropped off at the regular place for you."
"And you?"
"I will deal with the Commander…and her family…personally," she walked towards Arshia, the man remaining unmoved. She pulled out his Revolver from his waist and walked back towards the door. She turned around and faced him, slapping the gun on her hand, making a rather loud clap. She looked down at the gun and suddenly, very quickly pulled it up and shot. The bullet grazed Arshia's left arm, the man giving a painful gasp and clutched his arm, scrunching his face in pain. She tossed the gun onto the destroyed table, and opened the door.
"And that's for smacking me in the face," she said before she shut the door behind her, kicking a body out of her way as she made her way up a flight of moldy stairs.
Lightning led the way to her house, Vanille and Maria trailing behind, while Fang walked by her. Vanille was playing with Maria, the two running around and playing tag. Fang was still muttering to herself, "This is not possible…Light can't have a kid…it's not hers…" It came to the point where Lightning 'lightly' punched Fang.
"Yaow! What was that for?" Lightning glared at her.
"Fang. Get over it. She's my daughter," she said, rolling her eyes at Fang's shocked expression.
"What's her name anyway!" Vanille piped up, carrying the adorable four-year-old in her arms as she caught up with the two.
"Maria," Lightning said proudly, but Fang dissolved in a fit of giggles. Lightning gave her another glare, this time her trademark "deathglare". Oh, Maker, I forgot how annoying she was! Lightning thought. "What's so funny Fang?" Lightning said in a queer voice.
"It's just that," she laughed again, "that…I would imagine you namin' a kid "thunder" or something! Not something so…normal!" Fang exclaimed. Lightning merely shook her head as she opened the door to the house. Her voice dropped a few decibels lower, "It was my mother's name." Vanille gave Fang a small shove, but they both remained silent.
She led the two in the house, giving them a small tour. Fang and Vanille gawked at the ultra-modern architecture and design. Lightning led the way as Maria narrated what exactly what they were seeing, making her cute factor shoot off the roof. Afterwards, Lightning offered Fang and Vanille the guest room and shower, Fang very eagerly jumping into the shower.
Fang walked out of the bathroom, the steam of the hot shower following her. She was drying her raven-colored locks with a sea-green towel as she walked from the hallway and into the kitchen area. She caught Vanille sitting on a chair near an ultra-modern glass table, looking at a magnificent rose garden out the window. Fang placed her hand on Vanille's shoulder, whom jumped and stood from her chair.
"My turn!" She happily chirped. Before she got up to take a shower, Fang asked,
"What did you do? How's Sunshine?"
"Well…she told me a little about what happened after we saved Cocoon. But she probably made about a hundred phone calls while you were gone." Fang snorted.
"A hundred? I was gone for less than 10 minutes. Who did she call?"
"The gang! Sazh, Hope, Snow, and Serah!" Vanille practically jumped up and down in joy. "They're all going to come here!" With that, Vanille joyfully skipped to the bathroom.
Fang gave a small sigh and tossed the towel around her neck. She walked around the house, attempting to find a mob of pink hair. She made her way through a hallway and saw a door slightly open. She carefully graced her way through the hardwood floors and peaked an eye through the slit of the door.
"But mom!" The mini-pinkette groaned, "I'm not sleepy!" Lightning was carefully and slowly lowering her daughter into her bed, tucking her in under a mass of blankets. She handed Maria's favorite stuffed bear, Blitzy, to her, Maria snuggling closer to the bear and gave a yawn. "But…I'm…not sleepy," her eyes drooped.
"I know sweetie, I know. But it's already past your bedtime and-"
"No it's not, it's only seven," her daughter retorted. Lightning gave a slightly annoyed look, scrambling around to find an excuse. She didn't say anything for a few moments and was thoroughly relieved when Maria didn't press the issue any further. She quietly made her way to the door, opening it to find a madly-grinning Fang.
"The little one's cute," Fang said as they together walked back into the kitchen, Lightning muttering a "thanks". Fang plopped herself on a chair while Lightning attempted to brew some coffee. There was a long awkward silence.
"Heh, I spend so much of my time trying to bring you back…and when you're here right in front of me…I…I don't know what to say," she said, her back turned to Fang as she poured her coffee. She thought about offering Fang some, but remembered the last time she gave Fang coffee, which resulted in a four hour annihilation spree of the "poor" Gran Pulse monsters. She turned around and sat across Fang, who was still silent. "What, cat's got your tongue?"
Fang's eyes twinkled as Lightning took a sip of her coffee. She didn't know where to start either; she was still shocked that the kid was actually her's. "It's just that…I never thought you'll settle down and have a family, like the big oaf," Fang coolly remarked. Lightning remained silent, signaling her to continue. "It's just that…oh I don't know…Maker, Lightning, to me, you were the type of person to be 'single and rich'," Lightning chuckled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "And I wake up to see you with a kid! Lightning, having a kid? The Lightning, who could never protect, but only destroy?" Lightning gave Fang a scowl.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well I never imagined you to…how should I say this nicely? To be good with kids…" she trailed off, the tips of her lips slowly curving upward. "Forget the kid, I never imagined you to ever get married!" She practically shouted into Lightning's face.
"Fang…a lot has changed since the Fall, six years ago."
"I've been only gone six years? I thought it was like, ten!"
"Do I really look that old?" Lightning face palmed while Fang quickly stuttered,
"N-No! But you do look more…mature, I guess I should say?"
"Fang," Lightning repeated, her expression and tone very serious, "I'm no longer that constantly angry girl, hungry for violence. I'm past that…I learned that that way of operating will get you nowhere in the world. After we saved Cocoon, I honestly had nothing to do. I mean, I had a bunch to do in a professional level…I was the total leader of Gran Pulse for a time," Fang gave her an unbelieving look, but Lightning ignored it and continued, "Serah…Serah had Snow, she moved on with her life. It's a day that I dreaded ever since my mother passed away," Lightning paused. "But I knew she was in good hands…but that wasn't the point. What would I do now? I spent the last six years of my life entirely for her!" She exclaimed. "I quit my dreams, graduated early, and joined the military, a choice I still haven't decide whether it was good or bad. My life was basically her. I wanted to keep her happy, let her have a normal life…something that I failed at…" Lightning stared distantly out the window, absent-mindedly poking her finger into her coffee.
Fang sat there in silence, taking every word in like a sponge. Lightning was a very private person; she never shared anything about her life before becoming a l'Cie. All Fang knew was that she was a regular soldier, desperately trying to save her sister from her horrible fate. She didn't know anything else. Lightning turned back to Fang, continuing,
"So now that she left, I was alone. Serah and Snow were living independently together, Sazh and his son moved to find work…Hope stuck with me for a little bit, but I was never really around to see him, and then he eventually left for school."
"There's something I don't understand," Fang interrupted, "What were you doing?"
"Hmm?"
"What were you doing all this time? You said you were the 'leader of Gran Pulse', what, were you like a Queen?" Lightning smiled and shook her head, Fang giving another trademark grin.
"The world was a mess. We didn't have the Fal'Cie looking over our lives anymore, we didn't have their help. There was no more instant energy, food, or water. We had to fend for ourselves, which wasn't that hard, but…since there were no more rules anymore, some people started getting…crazy. There was a short period of time, probably three months after the Fall where there was non-stop violence. Murderers, serial-killers, rapists, drug leaders, all these people started ruling the streets. The world needed someone who acted on logic, not emotion…someone who was experienced and knew what they were doing. Someone who could set things straight."
"And that person was you?"
"Unfortunately," Lightning took another sip of her coffee, placing it down on the table. She adjusted her sitting position, her arms now crossed. She continued, "So they made me the leader of everything...the military and all the political crap," she slightly groaned at the memory. "So of course, things weren't going well. I'm not the best politician, and some groups of people started getting angry," she said quickly. "We had demonstrations after demonstrations, and people started getting violent."
"Were you really that bad?"
"No…or at least I hope I wasn't," Lightning casually remarked, "I think it was the notion that a "Pulse l'CIe" was their leader, and that it was a woman."
"Those Cocoonians….always racist and sexist….the bastards," Fang muttered. She glanced up at Lightning, who was glaring at her. "Not you! In my time…there was a stereotype, that was absolutely true, mind you, that those buffoons on Cocoon were, and I guess still are, racist and sexist! We all knew that they wanted our resources when they launched the War of Transgression, but they gave us the excuse that we are a 'group of animals' and that we must be 'purged'!" Fang exclaimed, scratching her head. "They would kidnap normal civilians, taking them inside huge, caged cars, and took them away, no one ever seeing the captives ever again," Fang stood up from her chair and walked towards the kitchen, sweeping her hand on the island-counter. She stopped and looked down, very quietly, almost inaudible, whispered, "Some of my friends were taken away…raped and mutilated…then dumped into a ditch."
Lightning listened to Fang in horror. She knew that the war raised many casualties in Pulse, but she never knew how horrible and sick they were. Cocoon always glorified their history; she would have never guessed that they would do such a barbaric thing! They stood there in silence, busy with their own thoughts. They heard a very joyful melody whistled, Vanille skipping in, a towel wrapped around her head. She abruptly stopped whistling, feeling a sense of morbidity plaguing the room.
"Is there something I missed?" She asked timidly. Lightning shrugged and Fang walked towards the table, pulling her friend a seat.
"Anyway, go on with the story, Sunshine," Fang told Lightning, attempting to change subject. Lightning cleared her throat, continuing,
"Well those demonstrators were annoying," Lightning put in short, "so I set up a Senate. Basically, the idea was that people elected five civilians and two military officials to office, while I get to elect one person of my own. This group of people ran the government and economy, leaving me at rest. This made those…idiots quiet down…for a while at least."
"And you?" Vanille asked. This was the exact point were Lightning stopped before Fang returned from the shower.
"I became the Commander of the entire military, which I named FLASH. And I've been operating it ever since. It's basically my old job, without all the added stress." She took another sip of the coffee, finally finishing it. She walked towards the sink and placed her mug there.
"Enough of this political stuff," Vanille exclaimed. "There is something very important that Fang and I want to know." Lightning raised her eyebrow.
"And what exactly will that be?" Vanille paused and bit her lower lip. She didn't want to offend Lightning or anything, knowing how the soldier can slightly overreact to the simplest of questions.
"Really, Sunshine? It's the question we're all dying to know! Who's the man?" Fang interrupted. Lightning raised the other eyebrow.
"The man?" Fang slapped her forehead.
"Your husband, genius!" Lightning dropped her eyebrows, mouthing a huge "oh". There was a slight pause. Where the hell do I start? Lightning thought. Fang and Vanille stared at Lightning, expectantly. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Lightning gave a huge sigh of relief. That's Serah for you…saving the day…Lightning thought while Fang and Vanille followed her to the door. Lightning opened a door, revealing Snow, Serah, Sazh, and Hope. Vanille gasped when she saw Hope. The tiny, afraid boy turned into a giant, towering over everyone except Snow. She ran up to him and tightly squeezing the living daylights out of him, mumbling unrecognizable words.
As Snow was introducing Serah to Fang and Sazh and Hope chatted with Vanille, Lightning very quietly snuck out of the door, walking through the lawn and a pathway. She ducked under some overgrown branches and walked her way toward the side of the house. There, a garage door was open and a man was lifting heavy cases from the car. Lightning walked toward Leo, giving him a slight peck on the cheek and helped him carry the various instruments from the car.
"How was the concert?" She asked.
"It was alright…the musicians of Tempestas really need to learn how the keep the rhythm together," he answered back, reaching to the back of the trunk, pulling out a small bag. He shut the trunk close and walked with Lightning towards the house.
After the mini-reunion, Serah led the crowd into the living room, everyone plopping themselves on either the very large white couch or a chair. Fang was stilling standing, looking around the room.
"Where'd Sunshine run off to?" Everyone shrugged except Serah, who merely smiled. Suddenly, they all heard a click and turned their heads toward the door. The door slowly swung open, revealing a tall, slender man with golden hair. He was wearing crisp, fitted, dark-blue jeans, a gray graphic shirt, and a light, blue jacket, the sleeves pushed above his elbows.
Everyone got up, greeting the new person. Lightning followed him from the door, carrying a small bag. She shut the door and looked at Fang and Vanille, who stood there, dumbfounded. She smiled and slightly shook her head, taking Leo's hand and walking towards them. They were about a foot away when Lightning let go. Leo stretched out a hand, to which Fang and Vanille wearily shook, their eyes still locked on the man.
"The name's Leo, Leonardo de Napaloccini. Nice to meet you," Fang and Vanille still stood there in silence. Leo quickly glanced at Lightning, slightly showing some nervousness in his eyes, but continued, "I'm Light's husband."
*Explodes*
Ohhh maaaii gaaawwwddd! This chapter was so HARD to write! I'm still not very happy, to tell you the truth. Plus, this was more of a filler than anything else. But it also set up a bunch of stuff for the next chapter, so expect some complex story stuff going on! :D
I wanted to make Leo distinctly Italian. I don't know if they had countries or different nationalities in Cocoon, or different languages for that matter, but he's supposed to be Italian in "our" world.
My favorite scene was probably the first one with Asami. She's insane. :) Anyway, please give me your thoughts, I would really appreciate it! :D
PS. I swear to God, does something to my documents...sometimes there are typos that aren't in my original file... o_O