Arms Wide Open chapter 12
Caius stands completely still, his back resting on a large tree, powerful arms folded over his chest; his eyes are closed, head slightly bent, his overall posture trying desperately to hide the intense turmoil raging inside his soul.
Morning is still away from him, not a glimpse of dawn is seen in the horizon; instead, his large silhouette is illuminated by the beautiful moonlight. For a moment, he looks up, allowing his face to be washed by the silvery light, and he smiles faintly. In spite of all the years he´s lived, of all the centuries of changes, deceits and loses he´s has to endure, Caius is not insensitive to beauty. But at this moment, his soul is lost in dark, ambivalent, contradictory thoughts, so he closes his eyes again, his countenance once more of deep concentration, his senses closed once again to the magnificence that surrounds him.
In this almost complete darkness, the tall man breathes slowly, steadily, making the effort to take in every single drop of information he can extract from the silent forest, as he entrusts his surroundings to one of the most powerful of his senses: without needing to do anything, his ears take in every sound that comes in, covering up a wide range around him. He can hear every living being that surrounds him, sometimes even the faint falling of the leaves. That´s why he indistinctively hears the sound of feet running, approaching fast, a sound that suddenly transforms into soft and studied, predator-like steps of his former enemy. The enhanced sense draws an image inside his head before the shape of the woman takes form in front of him.
"Warrior Goddess." He addresses her with a smirk. "I was under the impression it´d take you a lot more time to come to a decision."
She frowns at his words.
"I´m starting to get the feeling that you call me like that just to bother me."
His smirk doesn´t disappear as he unfolds his arms and dark eyes bore into azure ones. He gives a step to face her, his attitude unintentionally aggressive, but still one that makes Lightning move her hand to touch the Omega Weapon. One of his eyebrows rises at her action.
"I thought we had a no-aggression agreement."
"Did I forget to mention that I´m no where near to trust you?" She spats at him.
He gives a tired sigh. "Lightning…"
"Thank you for that," she interrupts him abruptly, "but I didn´t come here to talk."
He tenses at her words, "I thought that you…"
"I don´t have time to hear you out." She interrupts him again, taking a defiant posture. "I´ve only come here for your help. I need your assistance one more time before I can keep my promise."
"That´s not what…!"
"Caius!" She raises a conciliating hand the moment he gives an angry step forward. "Just listen, I´m not breaking my promise to you. You told me you needed my full attention, I´m sure you can see how it´d be impossible for me to keep your demand, while my family and friends are in grave danger. That´s the reason why I need your assistance, I can give you my word I have no other hidden motive. That said, the way I see things, you have two choices: will you help me, help us, willingly? Or will you release me from the promise you forced out of me?"
He frowns, still angry and distrustful. "I will not release you from such thing."
"It´s decided then. You´ll assist me in my war against ex-PSICOM."
He shakes his head in frustration, but knows she has only spoken the truth. "You´re an evil woman, did you know that?"
"Don´t play silly with me, Caius," she spats at him, true anger in her voice. "You well knew I was going to ask you this. You were just expecting I´d be dumb enough to fulfill my promise to your liking. I actually find that train of thought insulting."
Her reasoning makes him smirk again. "Fine then. What would you have me do?"
"As I´m sure you already know, I want you to fight at my side against that army trying to destroy my family. But I want something else. I saw what you did with Hope, so I assume, in this timeline, that particular ability can be used."
"You want me to give you back your l´Cie powers? Consider it done then."
He gives a step towards her, all too eager to fulfill her demand, but she once again raises a hand to stop him, light-blue eyes fixed on dark, amethyst ones.
"No, Caius, don´t be mistaken. I hold no interest in l´Cie abilities. I want the power that is mine rightfully, I want the power of a Warrior Goddess."
His eyes open wide in surprise, and he hesitates at her words.
"That´s blasphemy! You have no right over such powers!"
"Wrong again. Just like you´ve earned, by shedding your blood, the power of the Heart of Chaos, I, too, have earned the powers that Etro embedded into me. I, too, sacrificed everything. I too shed my blood and gave my life to the cause. I´ve earned the right to yield them, even though Etro had decided it was better to strip them from me to allow me a normal life."
His brow is furrowed as his eyes bore into hers. "Do you know what you´re asking, woman? The extent of pain you´re putting yourself into? I really don´t know if I´d be able to make such feature…"
"Stop playing me like a fool, Caius." Lightning´s blood boils in anger, and in anticipation too. "You know me well, and you know I know you. Need I remind you I was there with you in Valhalla? I perfectly know the extent of your power, and thus, I´m well aware of the possibility and the consequences. I´m willing to go through such pain, if it´s what it takes to save my people."
"You´re willing to sacrifice yourself for them, mere mortals?"
"I am a mere mortal, Caius, and so where you. Please remember also that you´ve always asked me the same question, over and over again, and my answer has always been yes. So stop playing this silly game, remember you´re in front of the one who´s shared the extent of your power, who knows the true levels you can achieve. Give me what I demand, and I promise you my time will be completely yours, and I´ll hear whatever message you need to deliver, without even interrupting you."
Her words stagger him, and for a moment his hesitation makes her doubt of him, but he shakes his head and gives a step forward. "You´re right. I apologize for doubting you so. Then we should proceed right now, since it´d take us at least a day to achieve such feature…"
But the moment he gives another step towards her, she gives a step backwards, and lowers her eyes to the ground, as if having second thoughts, only to turn them up again, blazing with determination, and slowly, hesitantly, but then fiercely, she removes her gown and exposes her shoulders and breasts to him.
Taken by surprise, he can´t help but stare at the pale skin shimmering under the moonlight. With his senses already enhanced, the wind carries her scent to him, and he´s stroked by her perfume of roses and lavender, the encounter almost shooting down his brain. Under the dim light, he´s able to notice how soft, ivory skin tremble slightly over the chilly night wind, and follows the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes softly, while small trails of sweat, most probably from her previous running, travel downwards, through the valley of her cleavage; but the sight of her nipples hardening, a natural response to the cold, midnight air that surrounds them, seems to trigger a primitive response inside of him that forcibly awakens the man from his spellbound. Caius shakes his head and forces himself to fix his eyes on her face, before speaking.
"What´s the meaning of this?!"
"Don´t get your spirits high, Caius." She tries to look defiant, though the faint blush that stains her cheeks and neck lessens the effect. "Remember I, too, had the power of a Goddess. I´m well aware the volume of skin that is in contact, determines the speed of which the power changes sides. You were able to transfer to Hope a small amount of power because you both were in contact through a small volume of skin, that being your palms. I´m in a hurry, I don´t have time to spare. I´m only increasing the amount of skin that will be touching you, so the transfer will run faster."
She speaks with determination in her husky voice, but the man can notice the slight trembling under her tone: this action must be hard on her too. Her intention makes a small amount of admiration grow inside of him. Or rather, if he´d be completely honest to himself, grow bigger.
"But the pain will intensify tenfold too," he pushes on, hoping he can dissuade her of such madness, "I´m sure you´re aware of that also."
"I´m willing to do anything it takes to save Serah and my family. Of that you must be aware."
A small twitch of his eyebrow calls up her attention, but she keeps her eyes fixed on his, her demand remaining.
"Lightning…"
"Stop it, Caius. You promised to help me if I asked. Well, I´m asking now, and I assure you it´s not easy for me either, so stop making this harder on me. I really need to destroy those bastards, and if this is the only way I can succeed, then so be it."
After a pause, he finally nods and hardens his features. "So be it, woman."
As he gives a step towards her, she gasps for the intensifying tremors in her body, as the air around her becomes chillier, the warmth of his body approaching makes the wind around them shift. Lightning gasps as his hard armor enters in contact with her soft body, his broad shoulders enveloping her almost completely. Surprisingly for her, his armor feels rather warm to the touch. Another gasp escapes from her lips as his large hands make contact with her naked back, making her breasts press harder against his chest. The feeling of long forgotten intimacy makes her hold her breath, but the warm sensation dies fast, the moment it is replaced by a scorching pain burning in every inch of her skin in contact with him. Instinctively, Lightning brings her hands up to push him away, but she controls her reaction and, instead, forces herself to hold his shoulders tightly, embedding her nails on his leather armor, which dig further as the pain intensifies. Lightning bits her lip to prevent herself from screaming, biting until she draws some blood from it, as she feels the little life growing inside of her moving and struggling in desperation. Though Lightning knows he can´t feel her pain, she does know the baby senses her anxiety, and responds to that. But before she can do something about it, another wave of pain travels through her, shutting any coherent thought, and she clutches further the man´s back.
Caius can feel her body shaking, hear her grunting and gasps of pain, her muscles contracting in an effort to resist the torture. For a couple of seconds, he falls distracted at the feeling of movement from the life inside of her, awed by the wonder of such small being housing and growing deep under her belly; but Caius pushes those thoughts aside and brings the pinkette closer to him, in an attempt to make the exchange quicker, and with that, he is able to feel too, her heart beating like mad. Her sweat is dampening his chest and his palms, and a sudden, involuntary scream that escapes from her lips, makes him realize she won´t last long. He releases the pressure against her back, just enough so that he can see her face, and the sight makes him shiver.
Her face is covered in cold sweat, dampened locks glued against her skin, which seems paler than ever, her eyes are half opened and her breathing is unsteady, her parted lips hued in dark red as he sees a small trail of blood drawn down upon her chin. He takes in her appearance for a second, and slowly, as if not to shoo her, lowers his face towards hers, until his lips softly touch hers.
At the contact, the pain intensifies, making her arch over his body, but he doesn´t release the pressure on her lips. Time flows like an eternity of torture, but, slowly, steadily, the pain echoes inside of her, mixed with something as powerful: pleasure. The pain and the pleasure mix inside her soul, tremors traveling up and down her body, intertwining with one another, until the pleasure becomes just too much to bear, and she moans, the rumbling of the sound traveling up her throat and into her lips, transmitting it to Caius, whose eyes close harder at the sensations that echo deep within his own body.
The feelings that invade the woman´s core cloud any coherent thought, and as if on instinct, she returns the caress, opening her mouth and letting his tongue explore her, deepening the kiss, as a whirlwind of power surrounds them both, enhanced by a light that hit both their retinas, and the light finally seems to do the trick. Awakened from her trance, Lightning forcefully pushes him off of her, and as they lose contact with one another´s body, as if a snap, an intense white light emanates from between them, one that envelops them both and momentarily blinds them. Caius´s back hits against one of the trees, and he covers his eyes from the brightness, until it fades enough so that he´s finally able to see.
And the sight that meets him is one to behold.
Lightning, arms outstretched in front of her and enveloped in a small whirlwind of feathers, stands in awe at the silver and feathered armor that takes shape all around her lithe body, replacing her regular clothes. Once the armor is complete and clings perfectly to her form, enveloping gently her belly, she smiles at the metal shimmering under the moonlight, just like her eyes are, and Caius´s amethyst ones open wide in surprise and awe.
"Lightning… you are, indeed, far more beautiful than what Yeul´s visions showed…"
Lightning does as she hadn´t heard him, as light blue eyes pierce his frame. Though the pain still runs in small tremors throughout her body, before he can say anything else, she throws him a fast kick to the head, which Caius barely avoids, but the single attack is followed by a barrel of punches and kicks, making the man retreat as he tries to avoid them.
"Lightning! What´s the meaning of all this?"
Without relenting her attack, she answers him, her rage embedded in her voice.
"Caius! You´re such a bastard! You had absolutely no right to do what you did!"
As if the voiced feelings had boosted energy on her attacks, she finally lands a punch on his face and a kick on his ribs, making him stagger, only to be finished by a perfect uppercut that almost sends him to the ground, prevented only by his magnificent muscled body and his will power. His lips bleeding, he looks at her with rage, but forces himself not to retaliate, knowing deep inside she has every right to be angry. For a moment, they both stand glaring at each other, breathing heavily, until Caius breaks the silence.
"Feel better now? May I know why on Etro are you behaving like this?"
"Don´t play fool with me. You deserved it for overstepping the boundaries."
He wipes the blood off his lip with his fingers. "You know well I did it for a good reason."
"Nevertheless, the… action… was completely uncalled for."
"No, it wasn´t." He retaliates, straightening, as if challenging her to deny his words. "You were going to faint before the interchange was finished, and you know it. Instead, my helping allowed you to have your full powers back. This is a truth you can´t be so stubborn to deny."
She almost growls at his words, but instead, shakes her head in childish anger, only to realize the extent of her mistake. He´s right, but it´s a truth she´s not willing to accept. Breathing heavily to recover the composure, she straightens and, without any other word and refusing to look at him, Lightning passes by the man, her chin up, a stand of defiance and pride.
"Lightning…"
"We don´t have time to spare, Caius. Please let´s move on to our next task. Are still you willing to fight with me? Or should I doubt of your word?"
His eyebrow twitches at her words. "You well know I´m a man who keeps his promise. Lead the way."
Without any other word, she follows the dark trail into the woods, as Caius keeps rubbing his bruised jaw and smirks at her retreating form.
"This should be interesting."
ooooOOOOOOXIIIOOOOooooo
Consciousness returns to her in the form of faint yellow sparks that expand throughout her vision, rather slowly for her taste. Her sense of touch is already awakened before she´s able to open her eyes. Unfortunately for her, because, besides letting her know she´s lying supine on the hard, cold ground, she´s suddenly attacked by a torturing headache. But more than a headache, she feels as if her head is splitting in two, and a few moments later, she´s also able to perceive the sticky feeling of dried blood on her face. With no little pain, she slowly opens one eye, feeling the other totally swollen, and sees, through the warm, flickering light from a small candle, that she´s lying on a dampened and naked ground, inside a military-style tent, wrists tied on its metallic column, right above her head. Although she knows it would be quite easy to free herself from her clumsy tie, the thought of moving abandons her immediately, as she feels almost every inch of her body hurting, and even breathing comes as a torture, most surely out of broken ribs.
This is not good…
Fang tries to turn around to see more, but the movement makes her headache grow worse, and she moans slightly, but as she does so, the woman regrets it immediately.
Fang´s ears perceive the distinctively friction of fabric against fabric, and then hears heavy boots approaching her.
Worried of what the sound may signify for her, the pulsian tries to rise from the ground, and finds, to her dismay, that she´s still disoriented, even nauseous, making her moving quite a feature, and rendering her almost completely to her captor´s mercy.
"Oooh… I see you didn´t die, such a delicious surprise." A deep, male voice full of disgusting innuendo reaches her ears, and she feels goosebumps running up and down her back.
Through the dim light and a single healthy eye, she can barely perceive his features, obscured by shadows, but in spite of that, she can clearly see how he´s leering at her, as he approaches slowly, as if taunting her, as if she were his ultimate prey. Fang feels unconscious terror enveloping her brain and her heart, her pulse picking up pace, but she breathes deeply, in and out twice, and as the air leaves her lungs, so does her fear, replaced by insurmountable anger, though perfectly concealed behind her cocky grin.
"I´m glad you´re happy, it´s always nice to be appreciated. Though by the…" she makes a small movement with her restrained hands, "evidence around here… I´m guessing you had a party reserved for me?"
"Oooh yes… a party…" The man´s grin grows wider, as one of his hands holds a small knife, while the other reaches for his belt, trying to take it off his pants, slightly shaking and struggling to let it loose, his clumsy movements being obstructed by numbed fingers full of desire and expectation. At his approaching, Fang´s eyebrow raises, just like her anger. It comes as a great effort to keep her tone under control, and still, she hisses her words.
"I assume you weren´t on the group that got me, right?"
He´s now on his knees, a step away from her, and from her spot she can already perceive the stench of alcohol on his breath.
"Now, why would you ask that?"
Her smirk grows wider too, and she forces it to be a provocative one. "Well, for starters, I wouldn´t miss for the world such a sexy body you have there. And second, I´m sure that I wouldn´t be such a mess if you had been there, I mean, with those strong muscles of yours…" the man smirks, enjoying the compliment that makes him even more aroused, but at the same time, a tinge of suspicion growing inside of him.
"You wanted to be brought in?"
"No, silly!" She corrects immediately. "If you had been the one to catch me, I wouldn´t end up beaten this much. Because of your comrades, I´m all bruised and hurt, so please be gentle with me, and, in return, I´ll be gentle with you too."
"Aaah… I´d like that… But why don´t we start from the latter, then? I´d like to see your moves…"
His eyes are glazy with desire, and open wide at the sight of the woman parting her legs and exposing her undergarment, luring him in. His mouth feels suddenly dry, and a wave of lust clouds any trace of suspicion he might have, or any coherent thought, for that matter. He´s already crawling in between her knees, pants wide open, and as he becomes inches away from her supine body, the knife falls loudly to their side, as desperate and eager hands try to part her legs wider.
"With pleasure..." Fang moans at the soldier.
Having learned from Lightning the art of moving like her namesake, Fang props both her knees up towards the man´s head, releasing easily his hold on her. With a swift motion that takes him by surprise, the warrior traps the soldier´s neck in between her thighs, and forces him to fall hard on the ground, right next to her, so that the weapon is out of his reach. With both hands over the woman´s legs, the man fights to release himself, and to breathe, since Fang is chocking him with her flesh; but the woman´s hold on him is just too tight, too strong, and the lack of air soon starts to take its tool on his strength. After few seconds of desperate struggling, she hears a loud snap the moment his neck breaks, and the man´s body goes completely limp, terrified dead eyes fixed on her face. As an angel of death, she is the last thing he sees before he dies.
The pulsian lets out the breath she was holding, as she goes limp on the ground, exhausted and in pain, giving herself a small respite to catch her wits.
"I´m sorry to interrupt your little party, I must´ve announced myself first. My apologies."
Fang´s countenance illuminate at the husky voice, but it changes to one of awe at seeing Lightning´s silver frame blazing in the dim moonlight entering through the open door. The soldier is already inside the tent, a hint of a mischievous look on her features. Fang can´t but realize the extreme effort that must´ve been for Lightning to make such a joke, and in spite of all the pain, she smiles.
"Sunshine! I´m impressed! You look… like a goddess…"
The pinkette rolls her eyes as she approaches, releasing the woman from the man´s heavy weight, and then reaches for the knife, cutting the rope.
"And you look like shit, Fang. Stop doing stupid observations and let´s get out of here."
"How did you know I was here?"
"You weren´t hard to find." Lightning responds without looking at her, still working on the rope, and Fang notices that she´s setting her free while the rest of her senses are enhanced, as if preparing herself for a surprise attack. "Ex-PSICOM is so confident of their success over us, that this camp is poorly concealed, and even less protected. We only found three soldiers guarding the tents, plus the one lying in between your legs."
Fang chooses to dismiss the mocking tone in the last sentence, though takes note of Lightning´s second attempt at making a joke at her expense.
"Only three soldiers? Well… though I´m feeling rather insulted, guess it means lady luck is still on our side again, right?"
"Wrong." This time azure eyes full of seriousness pierce emerald ones, as if on reproach, while she works a curaga spell to heal her dearest friend. "It means we have to move fast. I don´t like it, Fang, it´s just too suspicious how easy it all went."
"Believe me, Sunshine, it wasn´t easy for me." Fang smirks at her with irony on her lips, as she examines her abused torso, now without a hint of pain. "But you have to explain me first, how on Pulse are you able to conjure magic?"
"Well…" Lightning hesitates. "There´s something you need to know, but you have to promise me you won´t fret."
"I promise you I´ll freak out the very same moment you explain it to me."
"Fang…"
"Okay, okay," the pulsian raises her palms in a conciliating gesture, still with the smile plastered on her face. "I´ll do my best, Lightbug, but you know that´s not saying much. You still need to tell me, though."
"Don´t worry, sooner or later you´ll find out. We really need to get out of here, now. Here, let me help you." Lightning offers her hand to the warrior, who takes it with a wince of pain, though her grin grows wider.
"Aww… my knight in shinning armor…"
Lightning rolls her eyes again, and huffs in exasperation, but is unable to hide the smile that plays on her lips, as she pulls her friend up and they both stand facing each other, emerald meeting azure orbs with intensity blazing on her pupils, as Fang keeps Lightning´s hand trapped in hers.
"No, really, thank you Lightning. I thought I was a gonner."
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Lightning gives a step backwards, releasing her hand from Fang´s fingers and trying to hide her blush and discomfort. "Don´t be ridiculous. You´d do the same for me."
"Of that you can be sure."
Without any other words, Lightning turns around and leads the way outside the tent, refusing to face Fang once more, but the Pulsian smiles, as she can easily read the soldier´s emotions.
How cute… I got her to feel embarrassed!
As the soldier and the warrior step outside, the distinct sound of a machinegun´s chamber being opened, snaps them both on attention, and they find themselves face to face with a group of ex-PSICOM soldiers pointing automatic weapons towards their chest.
"Tch…"
Instinctively, Fang steps forward to shield Lightning with her body, as they both take battle stances, eyeing each soldier one by one. But before she can step in front of her completely, Lightning stops her movements with a hand firmly placed on her forearm. The warrior turns to biker with her, but an enigmatic smile shuts her lips, and instead, Lightning steps forward, standing level with her pulsian mate.
"Well, well, well. It seems our little invitation worked out." A male voice is heard through the crowd, and little by little, the soldiers in front of the women give a step sideways to allow a man to step forward, right in front of them. He´s a blond, tall, rather skinny man, with a long face and round glasses that partially hid his small eyes, and a cocky, rather ironic grin darkening his features. Said main is dressed with a military garb, but not just any garb: the one he´s wearing is only used in ceremonies and important occasions, as Lightning can recognize, complete with the long, dark cape that covers his shoulders and back. The pinkette knows the attire very well. It means the man, just like Cid Raines in his time, belongs to the highest ranks of PSICOM units.
Lightning knows she´s in front of one very powerful among the enemy army, and, if she could guess, she would even bet he´s the evil brain behind all the attacks on villages, as she counts the number of soldiers displayed around them to protect him… and to finish her. She smirks at the thought.
"60 men? Mmh… a full company just for me. I must say I´m flattered."
"Aaahh… lieutenant Farron." The man dressed as general smiles back at her, his long face a mixture of disgust and hypocrisy. "It´s a pleasure to meet such a well known soldier as yourself, and to answer your question, you´re correct, I prepared a full company just to have you properly attended. You see? You should feel grateful. Initially, I was confident a battalion would be more than enough to crush to ashes that little village of yours, but honestly, I hadn´t foreseen I´d have the opportunity to stand face to face like this with the leader of the disgusting l´Cie that brought disgrace to us all… until we found that dirty scumbag next to you."
He points at Fang with mockery on his gesture, and the woman growls at the insult, but Lightning´s deep eyes and a small shake of her head keeps the pulsian´s anger at bay. Without a word, the pinkette asks of Fang her trust and patience, a message perfectly received by the pulsian, even if not well accepted.
"So, once formalities are beside us, I think we should all celebrate our happy encounter, wouldn´t you think, Farron? Especially now that we can bare witness of the news being true: you´re carrying an abomination inside your womb."
Fang clenches her jaw in anger at his words, but Lightning doesn´t react at all, and instead, remains unmoving, unflinching, her eyes still fixed on his frame, an attitude that makes the man feel rather unsettled, though he continues his peroration.
"Though I must say, your attire seems a little bit off the situation. It´s not Halloween, you know?" he smirks, and the soldiers around him chuckle at the lame joke, but he doesn´t get any response from the woman standing in front of him. A flash of anger appears on his features, but he composes himself fast and tries it once more. "Well, I see you´ve got no sense of humor, lieutenant Farron. Thank Etro, then, your attire, though not appropriate, is nonetheless well received. You have such nice legs, as we all can see."
A murmur of mockery and amusement spreads further around the soldiers as Fang´s blood boils at the barrel of insults thrown at them, and the pulsian tenses, ready to retaliate, but Lightning´s grip on her arm strengthens, stopping Fang´s attack, while she focuses on the said man, her mind reeling.
The stupid smirk grows wider at the lack of response from them.
"What? Aren´t you going to pay your respects to your superior, lieutenant Farron? I could have you thrown into jail for that."
But Lightning´s azure eyes are determinedly locked on the man´s face, completely ignoring his rambling, as her mind is searching for the name, struggling to recognize him, when it suddenly dawns on her, and her eyes open wide in surprise for a split second, only to be closed like slits.
"I know you. I know who you are, Colonel Heinrich Himmler…"
At her words, he bows mockingly at her. "I´m honored your small head can retain such information, but I guess it´s understandable: for someone like you, knowing me must´ve been such an experience."
Lightning steps forward, anger and disgust mixed on her fine features.
"How could I ever forget my meeting with the most sordid man I´ve ever known in my entire life, Commander Himmler of PSICOM´s mercenary branch."
He smiles in mockery and pleasure. "Ex-Commander, lieutenant, and the name was Special Tasks Force, you shouldn´t forget that."
"There are things hard to forget," she retaliates, spatting at him, "as well as things that need to be named as they truly are. Your operation squads didn´t deserve anything more than the name of mercenaries, or, in case you want a better word, butchers."
The man doesn´t seem molested by her words, and what´s more, his grin grows wider.
"Your tongue is thick and dangerous, young Farron, I hope you can back them up once you see your family´s corpses hanging from a tree."
"You bastard…!"
Fang tries to give a step forward again, but besides Lightning´s tight hold on her, at her movement, all the weapons make the sound of the safety´s release, fixing their aiming at their heads. Fang doesn´t need any more reassurance that they´re in no position to argue. Though, opposite from the pulsian´s reaction, and in spite of all the man´s provoking words, Lightning´s pose, as well as her emotions, stand in check.
"Such big words for someone so low as yourself, Himmler."
"General Himmler for you, l´Cie scum!" The man´s face contorts in rage at the familiarity Lightning uses on him, a reaction that makes her smirk. But he immediately recovers his composure. "It seems you haven´t realized the extent of your plight, lieutenant Farron. Your life, as well as your family´s and friend´s, now belong to me. You should be begging me to spare them the suffering."
She huffs, showing emotion for the first time. "Beg? To someone like you?" She raises a finger and shakes it mockingly at first, and then threateningly. "I think you´re mistaken, it is you the one who will regret coming here. You and the filth who stands behind your actions, whomever he is. I promise you this, Himmler: after I finish you off, I´ll find him and have his throat by tomorrow, and end this war in no time."
Her words provoke the soldiers, and they fix their weapons threateningly at the pinkette, making Fang apprehensive.
"Emh… Lightning? I think you shouldn´t…"
"Bwahahahaha!" The theatrical laughter interrupts her. "Tomorrow? The only way you can stand in front of General Rosch by tomorrow, or any other time, is by getting through me!"
"Then, like I said, I´ll have your throat today."
In their situation, the menace is just too strong to be sustained by actions, and Fang grows restless, eyeing each man´s finger fixed on each trigger, as she wonders if her friend´s brain has received any sort of damage.
"Lightning…"
"Filthy l´Cie!" the man spats at her, his anger reaching peak levels at the open threat she just sent his way. "I was going to go easy on you, but you´ve just signed your sentence! You´ll be tortured to death!"
"Well, that´s one of the many things you´re mistaken of, Himmler." Lightning smiles enigmatically at him. "I´m not a l´Cie anymore."
Behind his countenance of rage, he smirks at her words, aware of the news of her long gone powers. But then Lightning opens her arms wide to the sides, azure eyes fixed on the man´s darker ones.
"Because, you see, I´m now a Goddess."
The moment she speaks those last words, a huge flock of meonekton, a pulse beast that resembles so much a giant insect, fly high above all of their heads, making the pulsian crouch, when she sees them hovering around hers and Lightning´s body, as if in greeting, only to fly straight and menacingly at the group of soldiers, scattering them, while packs of gorgonopsides launch themselves at the frightened men, who start shooting at anything they can hit, screams of terror and pain filling the chili air.
Himmler opens his eyes wide in surprise and terror at the sudden turn of events, and find´s Lightning´s azure orbs fixed on his frame, blazing in anger and determination.
"Kill her!" He shouts, as five soldiers surround him to protect their commander. "Kill that woman! She´s the one causing this! Kill her and we´ll all be saved!" The five men around him, besides a group next to them, fix their weapons on the woman´s frame, but before they can shoot, a tall shadow falls over them, and then a sharp, intricate dark blade severs flesh and metal in a matter of seconds, not leaving one man standing.
Himmler finds himself unprotected, surrounded by enemies, and tries to make a run in between the ruckus around him, but suddenly, he slams on a strong wall that makes him stagger and fall on his rear. Once on the ground, he´s able to look up, and sees, to his dismay, that the wall is none other than a tall man with tanned skin and dark, purple-black armor, standing silent in front of him, eyeing him defiantly, threateningly. He immediately recognizes him as the man that easily got rid of his soldiers, and the general tries to fall back, but finds Lightning blocking his path, her beautiful and intricate silver blade, Overture, pointed at his neck.
"Do you want me to do the honors, Lightning?" The deep voice startles the man, and the words spoken make him shake like a silly, frightened rabbit in front of his hunters, and he turns his terrified eyes towards the woman, pleadingly, awaiting her sentence. The pinkette looks at the fallen man with blue, almost silver eyes full of contempt.
"No, Caius. This man has caused so much suffering and pain to my family and fellow countryman. His life is mine to take."
"You… you wouldn´t kill an unarmed and defenseless man… right Farron?" He begs her, his body shaking, as one of his hands move slowly towards his boot, where a small gun is hidden. The gun is just too weak, the caliber too small to penetrate such armor, but if he could at least aim it at her head…
"You? Unarmed and defenseless?" Lightning huffs at him. "I´m not naïve, Himmler. I´m much older than you´d think." She smirks mockingly, but lowers her blade. "Though you´re right. I shouldn´t taint my armor with your filthy blood."
She gives a step backwards, and he sighs, confident he just saved his life, while he readies his gun and tenses his arm to bring the weapon up, but in a split second, a Behemoth jumps from behind the pinkette, falling hard upon the man´s frame, and Lightning turns around, unwilling to witness the bloody scene, only the screams of pain and terror allowing her to know the ending of her enemy. As she walks away from them, searching for Fang, Caius walks close to her, as if ready to protect her of any harm, an attitude that unsettles her, but before she can protests, Fang falls in between them, yielding her lance threatingly at the man.
"Lightning!" Fang steps forward and slashes towards Caius, the said man only giving a few steps backwards to avoid her attack. "Move! I´ll keep him busy while you run for your sister!"
"Do that again, pulsian warrior, and I´ll rip that arm off!" Caius threatens her, his hand already on his enormous blade.
"I wanna see you trying!"
The pinkette immediately steps in between them and uses her palm to lower the red weapon, as she faces her friend. "Don´t worry, Fang he´s with us… for now."
"What? Have you lost your mind? What do you mean he´s with us? How come you´ve forgotten everything he did to us? to you?"
Keeping her composure, Lightning smirks at her. "I told you you would fret."
"Fret? That´s just an understanding! I´m going on rampage! And it will get even worse if you don´t explain now!"
"Later, Fang, there´s something I need to do first. Mog!" Lightning calls, while she pushes the pulsian further away from the man, when, with a pop, a white, floating moogle appears in front of her.
"You called, Lightning?"
"Yes, I need you to meet Serah and tell her to bring the NORA team to the eastern post, along with my squad, I need their assistance. And let Amodar know that our situation has changed, I need him to shield the entrance of the hideout, protect it with everything he´s got. Please Mog, make sure my sister gets a radio synchronized with Amodar. We´ll make a conjunction operation."
"Yes, Lightning. On my way."
"Oh! And Mog!"
The little moogle turns around in a rush, obviously all too impatient to run and meet the youngest pinkette. "Yes, Lightning?"
"Please, keep my sister safe while I arrive."
Mog makes a small whirl on his axis in joy. "You know you can trust me on that, Lightning! I love her too!"
And with that, he rushes towards the darkness of the forest.
Lightning smiles at his retreating form, while all the beasts she´s conjured gather around her, as if they were obedient and innocent pets, or loyal soldiers subordinated to her. With a regal posture, she addresses them, witnessing the stains of blood and mud in furs and metal, and then turns, facing Caius and Fang, who´s eyeing the tall man rather suspiciously.
"Well then, why don´t we let our differences aside, and make sure these bastards don´t see the approaching dawn, shall we?" Lightning makes a succesfull attempt to ease the tension hovering around them, and at her voice, both antagonists look intently at her.
"What´s on your mind?" Caius asks her, sensing his blood boiling in anticipation.
"I want you to go to the western post, use your army of creatures to force the enemy towards the east, where we´ll be waiting for them. We´ll use an enveloping maneuver." He nods his understanding and she gives a step towards him, locking eyes with the man, as if to mark her words. "Caius, I don´t want anyone, not any soul trespassing your flank. I want all PSICOM soldiers either dead, or held captive."
Caius receives her orders with amethyst eyes darkening, and, without previous warning, he kneels in front of her, his right fist over his chest. "It´d be an honor to fight by your side, Warrior Goddess." And with that, he runs to the direction she had pointed, leaving both women speechless.
With her eyes still fixed on the man´s retreating form, Fang approaches Lightning, startling the pinkette.
"What´s gotten into him?"
"I-Fang, I don´t… know…" But as she speaks the last word, a sudden idea enters on Lightning´s mind, and azure eyes open wide at the possibility.
ooooOOOOOOXIIIOOOOooooo
A/N: It´s finished! Woooow! As always, I really enjoyed it! This is the fist post of New Year! Yay! I hope everyone had nice, fun and happy Christmas festivities and a New Year to remember! Hugs to all of you!
I hope the military terms aren´t too much confusing, or that I got too technical, but I kinda enjoyed it. I´m still not sure whether to play the full battle (which It´d be epical! I hope…) so please, let me know if you´d want to read it, because we could skip it, writing it would be only for fun.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it! And yay! I can´t wait for the new game to come up! I already have my ticket reserved!
