Hiyo. Been busy this week. Banged this out tonight, it is currently 1:30am and I apologize if I missed any errors. Please leave a review :)


Despite everything, it was quite funny how things worked out. After all the time and energy Lightning had expended fearing Gran Pulse and the world below in general, a large part of her didn't want to leave it now. If not for her responsibility and loyal obligation she had to Serah, she might have been content to just sit around in Oerba and wait to turn into a monster. Nah..That was the easy way out. The fal'Cie had to pay for everything she'd been put through. For her family, for the rest of the human race and for her parents. They would pay. She'd have to think about living arraignments afterwords. The odd thing was she'd be leaving Pulse with far more to lose than she had when she arrived.

She'd just started up the stairs after speaking with Snow, who had appeared to have made a full recovery. His simple solution to their issue of being stranded had been to follow the cei'th, something so stupid that Lightning would normally have slugged him for. Lightning knew that was no solution. It was like swinging into vacant air, but despite being dumber than a rock the man hadn't given up yet and the only thing driving him was freeing her little sister. Interesting, not such a bad guy after all. She had to admire that and it felt good to have a plan of some sort again. Then she wondered what he'd think if he knew that Serah and herself were both of full blooded Pulsian descent. She came close to telling him everything, but now was not the time for people to lose trust in her. Obviously she had no idea all along, but would people like Sazh believe that? No, if they survived this she'd willingly tell them everything. But Snow had no right of knowing before Serah.

And for now, they needed to focus.

Over her shoulder she could hear Snow, Sazh and Hope leaving. As she went to ready her team for the day, she smiled to herself at the unintentional segregation that occurred, which in turn made her smile wider at the fact that she already considered herself one of them. Pushing the first door open Lightning found Vanille curled up into a little ball of comfort on the nearest bed sleeping peacefully. Slightly dumbfounded, she stood there watching the little girl sleep. Could this really be the source of Ragnarok's power? It made Vanille's radical theory make so much sense when she saw her in a weak state like this. Not that she normally looked like a strong warrior or anything, she was definitely the weaker of the two by far. But Lightning couldn't figure out why would Fang prefer to have this girl make up the other half or Ragnarok over her. Did this mean if anything happened, that Fang would prefer that Vanille die with her or otherwise end up in another time with her? She didn't want leave the girl behind. Did Lightning have competition?

With a pang of jealousy she shook the girl awake.

"We're leaving. You have five minutes to get ready." Lightning muttered, heading immediately for the door.

Vanille only had time to frown at her back. She couldn't figure out why the soldier always had so much contempt in her eyes.

Unperturbed, Lightning strode down the hallway to return to the arms she'd snuck out of only a few hours ago. To be fair, Fang looked rather comfortable when she left her. As she pushed this door open she found Fang already awake, sitting in front of the robot Bhakti. Slightly startled, she backed out of whatever she was looking at and smirked at Lightning.

"Hey."

"What are you doing?" Lightning asked, crossing the room to sit on the end of the bed.

"Nothing." Fang grinned, turning her face away. "Got an early start, hey?"

"Yeah. We're going cie'th hunting. Better than nothing right?" Lightning said slowly, staring at Fang. Are her eyes wet? Lightning let her own eyes fall back to the robot as it slowly came to her. Fang was saying goodbye. Goodbye to Oerba, goodbye to Pulse, perhaps, goodbye to life in general. Normalcy would be nearly impossible if they made it back to Cocoon, from the moment they got their it would be a straight shot until the very end and no one knew exactly how it was going to end. Nevertheless, Fang kept the firm smile planted on her face, and even though Lightning saw through it she played ignorant for her lover. She rose to her feet swiftly and had her arms around Fang in a soothing, sweet motion. Her head landed on Fang's arm.

"We have a couple of minutes left.." Lightning spoke muffled against Fang's arm. Internally she cursed herself. Why did I say it like that, a couple of minutes left for what? It's not over yet...

"A couple of minutes to each other, you mean.." Fang stated, letting her head fall to Lightning's and rest against it.

"Right.." Lightning whispered, feeling a pit grow in her stomach. "We'll have all the time in the world when we're done."

Fang winced. Time.. There will never be enough of it.


The tribal woman paced up and down the cabin of the airship. Could this be another trap? It didn't matter, they had no other options. Anxiousness spread throughout her like wildfire. In mere moments they could be returning to Cocoon. Sazh was messing with the controls of the aircraft and the motor came to life with a loud roar. Fang had to force herself to take a seat.

Who would have known that the next step in their quest lie at the end of the broken bridge all along. Their latest encounter with Barthandelus had left her more confused than ever. Orphan? How come this was never mentioned in the legends? She glanced to the other side of the ship where Lightning was sitting alone, looking furious as she stared out the window.

A real class act, Dysley is.

He'd taken on the form of Lightning's little sister, and Vanille had been more than correct in saying she had a striking resemblance to her sister. Same features, but so different at the same time.

The words that Serah's form had spoken haunted Fang now.

"Ragnarok.

Come Day of Wrath, O Pulse l'Cie.

Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn.

That fallen souls might bear our plea..To hasten the Divine's return.

O piteous Wanderer, Ragnarok

Make of this day a brave epoch.

Deliver the Divine, Ragnarok."

It didn't help that it wasn't actually Serah, the form of the girl had stared at her sister with such conviction as she muttered this nonsense like she could see right through her. Fang was sure Barthandelus had ways of knowing everything. Smoke and mirrors, as Sazh called it. It was a low blow and it showed on Lightning's face. Fang didn't want her getting any ideas about Ragnarok. Now was not the time for heroics. As it was anyway, it appeared she was going back into berserk mode. They traveled through a similar gateway that had got them to Pulse in the first place. The same flashing lights greeted them, only when they reached the end of the tunnel they found themselves approaching a floating city.

"Eden." Lightning whispered between her teeth.

"Seriously?" Vanille gasped. Fang went stiff. This was their destination. It would end here one way or another.

"I can't control this damn thing anymore!" Sazh yelled. "The ship is on a planned course!"

"Open the hatch." Lightning mumbled, getting to her feet. "We're getting off here."

"What?" Hope said, his voice cracking. "But we're like thousands of feet-"

"Summon your eidolons. I'm in charge of my own fate." Lightning spat, interjecting. Without another word, Lightning jumped head first out of the cabin and began barreling towards the ground. Without thinking, Fang followed her, not realizing the shock of the soldier's actions until she was falling right behind her. Lightning looked graceful even as she fell. Completely fearless, it was so impressive. With a swift gesture she released her eidolith and spun in the air to shoot it out of the sky with perfect marksmanship. Odin was soon flying beside her. Fang broke her own stone and was soon sitting on top of Bahamut, keeping a close eye on Lightning.

On a flat platform, Odin landed first. Moving with precision he caught Lightning just feet from the floor and tossed her like a gymnast onto his back. Now that she was safe, Fang could take in her surroundings. Behind her she could see the others had followed suit. It appeared they'd landed on a race track, thousand of spectators surrounded this intricate course and this shocked Fang. How could these idiots still be carrying on with their regular lives and not even realize that their entire existence was being threatened. Ignorant.

Their appearance had set off alarms, PSICOM ships began flooding the arena and they made a hasty exit. Reconvening just outside of the race hall the six l'Cie began traversing through the intricate city. A city.. Fang would hardly call it that. There hardly seemed to be any shelter anywhere. People where running down the streets trying to escape it. The war machines and monsters from the Fifth Ark conveniently seemed to be unleashed at the same time that l'Cie had arrived in Eden. It was an all out war zone.

But the only hard part lie in keeping up with the frantic pace the soldier set in front of them. Blindly, it seemed, Lightning was cutting through every single obstacle that got in their way. Whether it was from Pulse or Cocoon it didn't appear to matter to her. She was viscous and meticulous, working like an emotionless machine. The magic seemed to seep from her even when she wasn't physically making it appear. If she wasn't making something bleed with her blade she was shattering it's bones with bullets. If it wasn't on fire it was writhing on the ground with an electric current causing it to convulse. It was as if Fang had finally gotten to see first hand just how dangerous Lightning could be. This must have been what it was like that night in the Ark when she went on a rampage. She loved watching this, but she knew that Lightning must be in pain. Something had triggered this, perhaps the appearance of her sister. There was no way to pull her aside now and clear her head.

It wasn't long at this pace that they broke into Edenhall, the capital. The home of Orphan. The giant door opened, as if it were expecting them. Inside, it was quiet. Far too calm in comparison to the chaos that was spouting outside. Together, they climbs the steps that ascended to an even platform. A spectacular centerpiece surrounded them, several statues of surrounded them. Eerily, Fang wondered if this was the Goddess..

A single beat had passed until the statues started shifting. Fang felt Vanille grasp at her tightly from behind.

"It's okay.." Fang said, even though she was frightened herself. The entire room around them began changing into something different. Something she'd never seen before. Everything about this place went against the laws of nature. Coming directly from Oerba, this place seemed to be the exact opposite. The crimson walls seemed never ending. Platforms suspended in mid air by nothing floated in a current along either side of they stood. Everyone goggled for a moment at what had happened. How could a place like this exist in Cocoon's capital city and go undetected for so many centuries? Fang would admit that it seemed like an appropriate place for the end to come.

Following behind Lightning, Fang was glad this place was so complex. It caused the soldier to slow down and think out her movements. It seemed like if they fell they would be falling for a very long time. Finally coming to the end of the road the entered the final portal together.

It took them to an odd white room. It made no sense for it to be here. Beautiful statues were the centerpieces and comfortable looking chairs lined the walls.

"Please.." Hope huffed. "Let's rest."

Lightning sighed.

"Seriously." Sazh agreed, falling into one of the chairs.

"Right. It'll probably be the last time anyway." Lightning muttered, taking a seat herself. Fang couldn't help but stare at Lightning. The way she sat with perfect posture, her legs crossed, her blade rested on her lap casually. Stunning. Even in, perhaps, her final hour. Her face was so smooth and calm. Professional. It looked almost as if Lightning were at a swanky dentist's office waiting for her appointment. She noticed Fang's eyes on her shortly after she sat down and stared back at the tribal woman.

"This is it.. We're really here.." Vanille whispered. She'd taken a seat on the ground leaning against one of the statues. Fang just nodded, not breaking eye contact with Lightning. She couldn't decipher the unspoken words that were passing between them now.

"So what's the plan?" Hope asked.

"Charge in, guns blazing." Snow smirked. "We're taking them out, kid."

"But what about Cocoon?" Sazh asked.

Lightning's head shook, and she broke eye contact with Fang. "Doesn't matter. Whatever happens in there," She gestured towards the end of the room. "We need to make sure that this can't happen again."

Everyone grew quiet at this. Would they really end up destroying Cocoon?

"All the people.." Vanille said, defeated.

"There's got to be a way we can do both." Lightning muttered.

Fang's mind was spinning. If Orphan was really the source of power for everything, and they killed it Cocoon would be dead. Phoenix, Carbuncle.. Even the gravity was artificial. A sharp gust of air left Fang's lungs. If they destroyed Orphan, if they had to, Cocoon would fall out of the sky. How could that be stopped? Fang took a seat next to Vanille and put an arm around her, pulling her close til her mouth was millimeters from the girl's ear.

"I need you to trust me." Fang breathed. "If things get bad in there, you need to complete your focus.."

Vanille's shoulders slumped and she turned her head to Fang's ear, getting on her knees so she could reach.

"I don't want to destroy Cocoon." Vanille lamented.

"I don't either.." Fang whispered. "Please trust me, it might be the only way to save it."

"Having a nice little exchange?" Lightning interrupted looking harassed. "Anything you'd like to share?"

Fang met Lightning's glare with a surprised look. "Erm. No."

"Right." Lightning said, looking away. She'd never be able to put into words how much pain went through her body at this moment. She really is choosing Vanille.. She had this horrible foreboding feeling come over her that six people were going to enter the center of Eden, and less than six were going to live to tell the tale. She winced mentally as she rose and walked to the end of the room. Everyone watched her go. Everyone but Vanille was confused at the exchange that had just happened.

Fang got to her feet and followed the soldier away without meeting anyone's eyes. Lightning did not turn to greet her.

"Are you okay?" Fang asked, putting a hand on the soldier's shoulder.

"Fine." Lightning scowled without turning around.

"I need to tell you something." Fang said uneasily, Lightning didn't answer.

"I don't know how thing's are going to go in there. I.. There's something I need you to know."

No response. Fang sighed.

"Light.. "

Nothing..

"Claire."

Lightning shoulders twitched at the use of her given name.

"I've.. fallen for you, Claire. I think.. I think I'm in l-"

Lightning turned around abruptly. Her eyes looked enraged. Fang took a step back.

"You want me to believe that?" Lightning hissed.

Fang's mouth fell open, her face crumpled.

"Do you?" Lightning continued. Fang only nodded.

"Then.. " Lightning's face fell. A tear escaped her despite the effort she put into holding it back. Fang made the motion to wipe it away but Lightning moved away from her touch.

"Then you tell me afterward, Fang. When this is all over. Tell me then!" Lightning choked, wiping her own tear away and turning around. She was no longer able to look at Fang.

"I will. I promise." Fang said to her back. "Let's get this over with." Fang muttered, turning to get the others.

Lightning stood there, breathing deeply trying desperately to compose herself. Love? Shaking her head, she put her professional face on.

Snow was staring at them, looking mystified. When he saw Fang begin walking towards them, he turned to Vanille.

"I know it's not my business. But.. are they a... thing?" He spoke lowly to the girl so no one else would hear.

Vanille bit her lip diverting her eyes. "I.. can't say." She muttered, but that was all the confirmation Snow needed. He turned again, his eyes landing on the back of his soon-to-be sister.

"Ready?" Fang muttered, looking depressed as she stopped in front of them. Vanille gave Fang a concerned frown.

Silently they rose together, walking side by side behind their leader. Taking the first steps of the rest of their lives into the den of their destiny.