Tainted fal'Cie

A/N: Hi everyone, thanks for your patience. The next chapter is up! A belated Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrated. And Happy New Year to everyone!

A special thanks goes to my friend Lily for being my beta reader. More thanks goes to my sister for helping me with the Forgotten Text for this chapter.

Thank you so much for those of you who have left comments. I love hearing from you all and how you think the story is progressing. It is your comments that inspire me to keep writing this story. Thank you so much for your feedback. ^^

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.


*** ~ Chapter 7: Assault on New Oerba! Part II ~ ***

The Defenders of Light, the six they are

With inner strength, they wield great power

Resisting the Tainted, eclipsing all dark desire

But beware of the Tainted darkening one's fire.

- the Forgotten Text


Milky white eyes stared at cornflower blue ones. Clawed feet took a step forward. Booted feet took a step back.

Tainted.

Lightning gritted her teeth. Anytime one of the twisted Gorgonopsids advanced a step, Lightning and the former l'Cies retreated a step. Serah still clung to Lightning's arm, much harder now, Lightning feeling the circulation in her limb slowly being cut off. Hope shivered ever so slightly on Lightning's left, his boomerang gripped tightly in his gloved hands. And while all of them found it rather odd that none of the twisted fiends in front of them had yet to attack, that didn't stop their rapidly beating hearts from wanting to burst out of their chests.

Tainted?

"W-what are they doing?"

Sapphire eyes narrowed. Goosebumps tingled up the soldier's left arm, the edge of Hope's sleeve having gently grazed across her bare flesh. The boy had shuffled closer to her the moment the twisted creatures in front of them, specifically the one who appeared to be the leader, tilted its head to the side as if confused about something. The leader of the four twisted Gorgonopsids stood half a body length ahead of the rest of them.

"C-Claire?" Serah whimpered. Her entire body shook and she would have long collapsed onto her knees had she not had a firm grip on Lightning's arm.

Tainted?

Lightning made a fist. That same damn question. With a quick glance around, Lightning knew that neither Hope nor Serah heard that voice. So either she was going crazy and was now hearing voices, or that thing was actually trying to talk to her. But the question was why? And how? And just what in Etro was this Tainted thing!

Tainted.The leader of the twisted Gorgonopsids took another step forward.

Hope's glove squeaked as the grip on his weapon went even tighter. The silver haired boy raised his boomerang higher. The leader of the distorted creatures snarled at him and charged.

Sacrifice!

Hope's breath caught in his throat as he was roughly yanked in behind Lightning. Serah yelped as Lightning had pulled the younger Farron behind her as well. The charging twisted fiend skidded to a halt, distorted clawed feet kicking up a small dust cloud. Lightning swallowed, the distance between them and the leader of the four, a mere arm's length now. Lightning nudged the two younger ones behind her to back up a few steps.

Sacrifice? Milky white eyes searched widened blue ones for an explanation.

"L-Light?"

None of this made sense to Hope. First these beast things came charging into town, tearing at anything in their path. Then they stopped and stared at them. And then they charged at them to attack only to stop and stare at them again. Just what in Eden was going on here?

"They won't attack" Lightning said. The pink haired soldier didn't turn her head.

"W-w-w-why not?" Serah could not keep the trembling from her voice. With her grip on Lightning's arm lost from the rough shove earlier, she was now clinging onto Hope by the shoulders. Under normal circumstances, Hope would have been blushing like a tomato at this, but as it was right now, he was too engrossed with the scene in front of them to even notice the smaller girl's tug.

As if to demonstrate her claim, Lightning kicked the closest pebble to her feet at the leader of the twisted fiends. Both Hope and Serah flinched at the sound, both young ones' eyes widening in horror as the small stone bounced off of the creature's muzzle. The twisted Gorgonopsid didn't even flinch. In fact, it just looked at her, head tilting to the side once more.

Tainted.

"It's not you they're after" Lightning said.

Sacrifice?

"It's me."

Tainted?

Serah felt her stomach drop. Really far. "Y-you?" The smaller Farron clutched at Lightning's wrist. "W-what do you mean they're after you? Cla-"

Serah's eyes widened. Lightning was... Lightning was shaking. Her sister was shaking! And it wasn't only that. The younger Farron peered at the soldier with a critical eye. Lightning's stance was slouched, unlike the typical rigid soldier stance. Her breathing was ragged and her jaw was clenched tightly like she was trying not to scream out in pain.

"Claire!"

Serah yanked Lightning's arm back, causing the soldier to look back.

"Light?" Hope gasped.

Sweat ran down the side of the older Farron's face, her eyes flickering with the pain she was trying to squash down. Lightning was shaking, trembling in fact. Whether by exhaustion or because she was still recovering from her horrific injury from before, Hope didn't know. All he could think about was one thing. Why didn't he notice that sooner!

The twisted Gorgonopsids growled at Serah, visibly attached to Lightning for some unknown reason, but they did not move otherwise as Lightning still stood between them and their prey. Before either Hope or Serah could say anything further, Lightning turned her back on them once again and did her best to straighten her posture.

"Tch."

The pink haired soldier growled inwardly. Since those twisted fiends came charging into town, the dark flutter in her stomach magnified. It got worse the closer they came to her. And it continued to get worse the longer they stayed within proximity to her. Whatever Vanille had done to her those many days ago was on the verge of becoming undone, leaving her to unspiral under this overwhelming feeling of... nothing...

Tainted.

Lightning's stance drooped once more, her once outstretched arms which hovered protectively in front of both Hope and Serah now hanging loosely at her sides.

"Claire?" Serah was rather shocked at her sister's behavior. It wasn't normal for Lightning to drop her guard especially when a threat was right in front of her. Hope seemed to share her thoughts as the silver haired boy looked at her nervously.

Tainted.

The dark flutter in her stomach was spreading across her body, chilling her to the bone, to the soul, like a poison. She was gasping and wheezing for air, eyes darting around searching for some sort of relief from the chill that gripped her. But there was none. Just an overwhelming feeling of falling, the darkness quickly enveloping her light.

Tainted.

"Claire?" the younger Farron repeated, jerking Lightning around, forcing the soldier to look at her. Lightning shook her head, blinking a few times trying to focus on the figure in front of her. But her eyes would not focus. Her limbs were going numb.

"Claire!"

Lightning grabbed onto the closest thing to her, that being Serah's shoulder, collapsing to her knees. She was trying to fight it. Kicking. Thrashing. Punching. Scratching. Anything she could manage. But she was drowning. Suffocating. Her limbs felt heavy. She couldn't breathe. But even so, she would not go down without a fight. No matter how hopeless it was. Even though she knew she could not win. She still fought. To the very end.

The twisted Gorgonopsids charged.

"LIGHT!"

"Back under your rock!"

The leading twisted Gorgonopsid went flying backwards into its brethren, bowling them over, limbs tangling with limbs. Lightning's head snapped up at the sound. It took her a split second to realize a few things. The weight of the handcuff around her right wrist was gone. She was on her knees. And Serah clutched at her tightly and protectively from the front, her face against Serah's stomach. A lone figure stood in front of them, their shadow visible just beyond Serah's form, standing defiantly in between the former l'Cies and the twisted Gorgonopsids.

"Fa-"

"WARK!"

"Feeve..." Lightning breathed, just as Serah pulled away to survey the scene behind her. A bundle of yellow feathers swivelled, large eyes landing on the pink haired soldier.

"Pick on someone your own size!" the voice from before shouted overhead.

Lightning looked up squinting, temporarily blinded by the sun. "Dajh?" she said incredulously.

"Hi Auntie Light!" the small boy said. He waved at her from the roof of Serah and Snow's house. Very high up and out of harms way. Or very close to harms way if he got too close to the edge.

"Get down from there!" Lighting said, rising to her feet. "It's dangerous!"

Multiple growls and howls tore Lightning's attention from the youngest of the former l'Cie back to the aggravated group of twisted Gorgonopsids untangling themselves from each other.

"Maybe that's not the most dangerous place to be" Hope said quietly.

The silver haired boy swallowed back the lump in his throat as the pack of twisted fiends finally stood once more and snarled at them. Lightning took a quick second to get her bearings back. Hope still stood to her left, a pair of unlocked handcuffs in one hand, his boomerang in the other. Serah was just a few steps in front of her to the right, with Feeve further up in front of them all. Dajh was on the roof. And Lightning was no longer bound to her sister and could move freely. Lightning pulled out her gunblade.

"Serah, get to cover."

"But Claire-"

"Serah!" Lightning slashed at the air in front of her, her hands still shaking. That overwhelming feeling was still there. But for the moment, she had snapped out of her stupor. As to how long her moment of clarity would last, she didn't know. She had to get this fight over and done with before she got consumed again.

Serah made a fist.

"Don't worry Serah. I've got Light's back." Hope gave Serah a sad smile.

"Alright..." the younger Farron said softly, hanging her head. There was a blur of motion and out of instinct, Serah caught the thing tossed at her. "Claire?" She held the knife she gave Lightning for her birthday.

"It's my good luck charm" Lightning said, her eyes on the twisted fiends beyond the chocobo. "It will protect you. Like it has done for me all this time."

Blue eyes met with blue eyes. Serah smiled, clutching the item to her chest as a lone tear escaped her eyes.

"Feeve!" Lightning shouted at the bird.

The chocobo looked back at the soldier. "Cooc?"

"Take Serah to Dajh!" Lightning and Hope walked past the bundle of yellow feathers and stood before him. "Keep her safe" Lightning said softly, glancing over her shoulder at the chocobo behind her.

Feeve looked at the pink haired soldier in front of him, and then at the pink haired girl behind him. He took off towards Serah a moment later. Lightning turned back to the twisted Gorgonopsids. They growled at her but still did not approach.

"She's clear" Hope said next to her.

Lightning nodded, switching her gunblade from sword mode to gun mode. "Got my back Hope?"

"You betcha Light!"

A grin. Lightning took a few steps forward, eyes narrowing at the twisted fiends in front of her.

Tainted. Four pairs of milky white eyes watched her.

"Go Hope!"

Hope's boomerang arced past Lightning at her command, hurtling towards the twisted Gorgonopsid on the far left. The beast dodged the twirling weapon, snarling as it took off towards Hope.

BANG!

Lightning's gun went off, hitting the charging beast in the eye just as Hope's boomerang caught the twisted Gorgonopsid on the far right by surprise before returning back to him. The soldier took off running towards the first fiend, flicking her wrist, her gunblade switching to sword mode.

"Out of my way!" Lightning gritted her teeth as her gunblade screeched along the side of the twisted Gorgonopsid, sparks flying between the blade and twisted stone skin leaving no more than a minor scratch as she darted past it.

"Light!"

The soldier's head snapped forward at Hope's warning, Lightning ducking and somersaulting forward to narrowly miss a pouncing twisted Gorgonopsid. The creature landed behind her, spinning around instantly, but by then Lightning was already on her feet and running once again at the third and forth beast. The beasts no longer hesitated and charged.

Lightning leaped into the air, just as the third twisted fiend swiped at her legs with a clawed limb. Flipping over the third creature, Lightning flicked her gunblade back into gun mode and shot the fourth twisted Gorgonopsid in the face before it pounced at her. The fourth beast's head snapped to the side by the sheer force of the point blank shot, an audible cracking sound heard. But by the time she landed on her feet, the fourth twisted Gorgonopsid turned its head back towards her as if nothing had happened in the first place.

"Tch."

A startled yelp.

"Hope!"

The first two Gorgonopsids had split from the rest of the pack and chased after the silver haired boy. Hope just managed to duck and roll to the side, albeit much clumsier than Lightning, barely avoiding a pouncing twisted fiend. Lightning was already zipping towards the boy just as the second of the fiends charged forward for him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The beast leaped backwards to avoid the spray of bullets. Hope's boomerang whizzed past Lightning's shoulder, deflecting one of her pursuers just enough for their clawed limb to slice through air rather than the pink haired soldier's shoulder. Lightning pivoted on her heel, spinning around 180 degrees, her previous momentum still carrying her towards Hope as she unloaded another round of bullets at the two chasing after her.

Hope's boomerang whirled past her again, making its round back to its owner, smacking the second of Hope's attackers in the shoulder before it swirled back to his hand. Lightning landed on her back for a split second, before she rolled backwards onto her feet in a crouched position.

Sweat ran down the side of her face, Lightning breathing heavily. Hope was in a similar condition, now standing back to back with her, boomerang in hand and panting to catch his breath. The pink haired soldier struggled to her feet, gunblade back in sword mode just as the four twisted Gorgonopsids surrounded them. They were stuck between the wall of Serah and Snow's house and the four twisted fiends.

"Claire! Hope!" Serah watched in horror as her sister and friend below found themselves surrounded. She had been watching the entire fight from the roof of her house, just as Dajh was, Feeve having flown her up here and out of reach of those beasts as commanded by Lightning.

At first, it looked like Lightning and Hope had a chance against these creatures. Sure it was four on two, the odds not in their favor, but the former l'Cie had faced worse odds before and still overcame them. But as the fight continued, it was very clear to Serah that this was not a fight that her friends could win. That is, not unless they figured out a weakness of these things. Lightning was struggling, more than she should have been. Hope was trying to pick up the slack, but the difference between them and the twisted Gorgonopsids was just too much. It was only a matter of time before they got to this point, or something worse.

"What do we do now Light?" Hope was shaking, both in exhaustion and in fear.

"What ever it takes" Lightning replied. The grip around her gunblade tightened. "It's not a matter of can or can't, there are some things in life you just do."

"Wark!"

Feeve turned his right eye to Serah as the younger Farron flipped open Lightning's knife. She stared at the sharp edge of the blade, before slowly raising her eyes to the chocobo.

"Wark!" he squawked again.

Dajh looked between Feeve and Serah. "Serah?"

"I'm sorry Dajh" Serah said, her grip on Lightning's knife tightening. "I have to go. Claire needs my help."

"But Serah-"

Clank. Something slid to a halt beneath one of the twisted Gorgonopsids.

BOOM!

Dust shot up into the air as an explosion rocked the area. Serah fell back on her bottom from the blast. "CLAIRE!"

Hope found himself sandwiched between something hard and something soft. The something hard was the metal siding of Snow and Serah's house, as it was cold to the touch making him shiver. As for the something soft...

"L-Lightning!" Hope's face went beet red when he realized his face was nestled against Lightning's chest. He didn't even know how to react to this.

"Liiiiiiiiiiiiightning!" called a voice somewhere in the distance. A familiar and annoying voice.

Lightning pulled back from Hope, turning back to see the approaching figures just beyond the haze of the dust cloud enveloping them. The moment Lightning caught sight of the frag grenade beneath one of the twisted fiends that surrounded them, she shoved Hope up against the side of Serah and Snow's house shielding his body with her own.

Lady Luck must have been on their side as they somehow avoided all the flying shrapnel from the explosion and were left relatively unscathed from the blast. Lightning noted however, that their enemies weren't so fortunate. There were only three of them left now. The forth one was no where to be seen.

"Liiiiiiiiightning!" Snow called again. Rydgea and Sazh were flanking him, the trio rushing towards their friends as fast as they could. "The eye!" the blonde shouted. "The red eye is their weakness!"

Red eye? The dust had settled now, revealing a significant sized crater where the fourth twisted Gorgonopsid used to be. Lightning looked over the slightly dazed creatures, searching for the red eye Snow spoke of. A sliver of red caught her attention. Lightning's eyes widened in realization as she remembered seeing a large red eye on the underside of the twisted Gorgonopsids as she ducked below their pounces. Now it made sense. The grenade under the fourth one.

Lightning grabbed Hope by the wrist and dragged the boy behind her, straight through the crater left by the explosion. Hope stumbled on the uneven ground, but did not falter, he being just as eager to escape from the twisted Gorgonopsids as was Lightning. When the twisted fiends got their bearings back, they immediately charged at the fleeing l'Cie. But Sazh and Rydgea laid down cover fire, allowing Lightning and Hope to join the group unharmed.

"Sis are you-"

CRACK!

Snow's head snapped to the right.

"That was for sneaking into my house this morning!"

CRACK!

Snow's head snapped to the left.

"That was for the handcuffs!"

SMASH!

Snow landed on his back. Hard.

"And that was for putting Serah's life in danger because of that!" Lightning shook her bruised fist, knuckles throbbing. "And don't even get me started about that grenade stunt!"

Snow flinched, holding his cheek as sapphire blue eyes narrowed at him. He could taste blood, which probably came from his split lip. "I love too Sis" he said with a smile.

Hope face palmed as Sazh helped the oaf to his feet.

"Did you see Dajh?" Sazh asked as Snow dusted himself off. "And where did Serah-"

Screams answered the gunner's question. Both Serah and Dajh were screaming as the twisted Gorgonopsids, having lost their primary targets, now turned their attention to the next closest thing. Them.

The twisted fiends were headbutting the side of Serah's and Snow's house, the supporting foundation groaning and creaking under the assault. While the two younger ones we safe on the roof for the moment, it would be only a matter of time before the supports gave way and the house collapsed, bringing both the younger former l'Cie down to ground level.

"Serah!"

"Dajh!"

"SERAH!"

The gang needed no further prompting, Lightning, Hope, Snow, Sazh and Rydgea charging at the remaining twisted Gorgonopsids.

RAT-TAT-TAT!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Rydgea's and Sazh's guns sputtered to life, spraying bullets scattering the three twisted fiends. Hope's boomerang whistled through the air by the sheer force of his throw, catching the middle twisted fiend in the leg causing it to stumble. That was all Lightning needed to get past the creature, diving between its front legs. As she somersaulted underneath it, her gunblade spat bullets, piercing the red eye on the underbelly. The creature disintegrated into black ash after letting out a distorted howl.

Another explosion shook the area, Rydgea having thrown his last grenade at the twisted Gorgonopsid on the far left. The beast came charging out from the dust cloud and jumped to pounce on the captain of the Guard Command. But it never got that far as it was body checked to the side, Snow having smashed into the beast shoulder first sending it spinning head over heels in the air. Two shell casings hit the ground, Sazh's gun still smoking as the flipping beast disintegrated into black ash, the gunner's bullets hitting the red bulls-eye dead on when the stomach of the beast came into view.

"Light!" Hope let loose his trusted boomerang once again as the final twisted fiend charged at his surrogate mother. Lightning had just recovered from her previous slaying of the twisted fiend, and rose to her feet shakily with the help of the metal siding of Snow and Serah's house.

"No!" Hope watched in horror as his boomerang arced to the side too slowly towards the beast. "LIGHT!"

Lightning stiffened as the last twisted Gorgonopsid pounced at her. She raised her gunblade up in defense, but was moving too slowly to deflect the jagged claw away safely. Before she knew what happened, black arcs of lightning shot out of her outstretched hand, striking the airborne twisted Gorgonopsid and launching it upwards even higher into the air away from her.

Light flashed off of metal as something whirled above her straight at the twisted fiend flipping in the air. The beast was struck in the underbelly, directly in the red eye. The twisted Gorgonopsid howled before it went rigid and disintegrated into dust, dispersing before it reached the pink haired soldier.

Lightning collapsed to her knees in exhaustion, turning her gaze to the thing that clanked to the ground in front of her. Blue eyes widened when she found her survival knife, the one Serah had given her for her twenty-first birthday, there in the dirt.

"S-Serah?" Lightning looked up to the roof, to the pale white face of her sister.

Serah slowly pulled back her outstretched hand. "W-what?" Serah said in a shaking voice. "A-after all these years in the kitchen, don't you think I know my way around knives by now?"