Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me.

Xethear: Hey there everyone! Thank you all for being so patient, getting settled into new classes took some getting used to. Many people seemed curious as to the message Ignis had on his phone. All shall be revealed soon. Here is a long chapter for you all, enjoy!

Chapter 26: Strange Occurrences

Noctis tapped his foot against the floor as he eagerly waited for the results of the practice test Lightning had just given him. After several hours of studying – with several breaks in between – the two had decided to create a practice test for one another to test their knowledge on the content they had just studied. Lightning had already taken Noctis's test and scored all high marks proving her mastery on the subject. Noctis watched nervously as the red pen in Lightning's hand twirled around her fingers. Every now and then she would click the pen causing Noctis to jump up nervously, making him wonder if he made a mistake. She would give him a smirk and he would know she was being mischievous.

After several minutes of waiting Lightning clicked the pen once again and wrote something on Noctis's paper. The breath he was holding in was suddenly released as his heart sank to his stomach. 'Where did I make a mistake?' He asked himself silently. He dove into his thoughts and recalled each question on the test. 'I was sure I had answered all of them correctly.' A nudge from Lightning brought him back to reality. She handed him his test and his eyes widened at the thing she had written – "Good job."

He gave Lightning a grin and she blushed in turn and looked away from him. "So…" He leaned closer to Lightning, "Do I get another reward?"

Lightning's refused to answer as she continued to look away from the prince. Seeing as how she didn't answer, Noctis took it as a signal of approval. He gently brought his hand under Lightning's chin and turned her head towards him. He inched closer to Lightning's lips and saw her blush intensify making his heart skip a beat. He was just about to seal her lips once again when the doorbell suddenly rang causing Lightning to place her hand over the prince's mouth. "I'll answer it." She said quickly and leapt off the couch.

Noctis silently cursed the doorbell as he sank into his seat and buried his face in his test as he reviewed his answers. "Not fair Claire…" He murmured softly.

Lightning opened the door expecting it to be one of their friends and was caught off guard when she stood face to face with Cid Raines.

"Good morning Ms. Farron—." He stopped midsentence as he stared at the casually dressed Lightning. He cleared his throat and gave her a small bow. "Ahem, I've come to tell you that you along with the other cadets that accompanied you to Nautilus are to return very soon to the academy. The higher ups have scheduled a debriefing of the situation that arose there in addition to setting several dispatch missions to the outskirts of Bodhum once again."

Lightning leaned against her doorway and folded her arms over her chest. "I wasn't informed of any upcoming dispatch missions when I left." She said skeptically.

"It was short notice. I was actually informed just yesterday." He handed her a small folder further detailing the information he had just given her.

"I see." Lightning took the folder and quickly skimmed through the papers within it.

Cid cleared his throat once again. "May I ask, are you busy today?"

Lightning raised her brow, "Why are you asking?"

"Well… if not, would you like to—"

"Hey Light, who is it?" The sound of Noctis's voice caused Cid to freeze.

"Forgive me, I didn't know you had company?" He said to Lightning in a low voice. He looked up to find a casual looking Noctis walk over and stared the man down. "Hello Prince Caelum, I believe this is our first face to face excluding that day in the hall. Cid Raines, airship branch."

"Nice to make your acquaintance." Noctis responded in a similar tone. He recalled the first time he saw Cid; he had spoken with Lightning about being partners for their first dispatch mission.

"I haven't had the chance to tell you but what you did out there in the outskirts of Bodhum was very impressive, not to mention the results of your evaluation exams." He looked over at Lightning and gave her a smile. "And of course Ms. Farron is always impressive."

"No, I will not be your partner, I've already organized strategies with Noctis." Lightning huffed and walked away from the door. "Shut the door when you two are done talking." She told Noctis over her shoulder.

Cid chuckled and eyed the star cadet from a distance. "Might I ask what you two are up to?"

"We were studying the lecture notes and assignments given to us to complete over our time off." Noctis explained though it seemed like Cid wasn't really interested in what the prince had to say.

"I see, very nice, keeping those wits sharp." Noctis began to dislike the man's presence. It seemed like he was bringing up small talk just so that he could steal glances at Lightning.

Once Cid's eyes began to wander over to Lightning who was sitting on the couch, Noctis stepped in front of his field of vision. "Is there anything else we can help you with? Otherwise I'd like to get back to studying."

A frown appeared on Cid's face and he backed away from the door. "Ahh forgive me. I'm sorry for interrupting, I best be on my way then." Noctis suddenly heard a buzzing sound emanate from Cid's pocket and the man produced a phone from it. "Hello? Yes what is it?" He answered quickly before placing his hand on the speaking end. "Study hard prince. Take care Ms. Farron." He shouted over Noctis's shoulder before returning to his phone call.

Noctis quickly shut the door as soon as Cid began to walk away and he returned to the couch mumbling to himself. "I don't like that guy." He told Lightning as he sat down.

She looked up from the book she was reading and placed her finger on the word she was on in order to keep her place before responding to Noctis. "Oh? Why is that?" She asked curiously.

"Well for starters, he seems way too stuffy." Noctis held out his hand and raised one finger as he listed the things he disliked about Cid. "Second he kept stealing glances at you. It took a pretty good amount of self-restraint to keep me from shoving his face out the door everytime his eyes wandered." He gave Lightning a concerned look. "Just how many admirers do you have at the academy?"

Lightning who found Noctis's explanation of his dislikes amusing simply shrugged and returned to her reading. "I don't pay attention to things like that."

Noctis crossed his arms and stared at the floor as he contemplated his thoughts. "I'll have to keep a close eye out then. I don't want anyone stealing you away from me."

Lightning threw a barrage of notebooks at Noctis's embarrassing statement. "Open those instead of your mouth."

Noctis laughed and stacked the notebooks on top of the other and placed them neatly on the coffee table. "Not so fast Light, I still want my reward."

Lightning froze, one thing she had actually hoped to happen from Cid's visit was Noctis to be distracted from getting his 'reward.' "But we—"

"You didn't think I would forget now did you?" He rested his head on his hand and gave Lightning a playful smirk.

Lightning looked down and let her hair hang over her face. "To be honest… I was sort of hoping you did." Noctis could tell she was trying to hide her embarrassment.

He slowly lifted her head up by her chin once again and gave her a bright smile. "That's really cute Claire~" He gave her a small wink. "It's alright if you don't want to right now."

"Wha—? It's not that I…" Noctis's response struck Lightning at a loss for words. She began to stutter as she scrambled around her head looking for a way to convey her thoughts. She slowly found herself in a position she never found herself before she met Noctis. "I-If you really want to, I suppose… it's just a little embarrassing and— hnnmmph!"

Before Lightning had finished, Noctis had quickly took Lightning up on her offer and pressed his lips against hers. The soft feeling of her lips against his just felt right and from the way she reacted, he could tell she felt the same way. All of their stress slipped away that very moment as they closed their eyes and savored the moment. However, Lightning knew she would have to scold Noctis after; he had made her lose her place in her book.

Paradigm Shift

Noctis stared out the window of the classroom as the sound of Amodar's voice faded away in the background. He couldn't believe everyone was back in class already despite having returned several days ago. His eyes wandered towards the back of the room up to the clock. He gave the clock an intense stare but regardless of how hard he focused, he couldn't make the hands of the clock go any faster than their set pace. He caught Lightning glancing at him from the corner of his eyes and saw an amused expression on her face.

"Mr. Caelum!" Amodar suddenly called out.

Noctis immediately rose from his chair and faced his commanding officer. "Sir?"

"Can you tell me what a Zaltys's weakness is?" He seemed to have caught Noctis's eyes wandering and wanted to know if he was paying attention to the lecture.

"Its most vulnerable areas include its tail and horns. Weapons with freezing capabilities are effective against the beast." Noctis had recalled his study session with Lightning. At that moment in time he was extremely grateful for her quizzing him. After receiving a smile and nod of approval from Amodar, Noctis sat down in his seat once again and looked back at Lightning. She gave him a smirk and mouthed the words, "You're welcome." Noctis smiled and mouthed a thanks.

As soon as the lunch bell rang, a stampede of footsteps resounded through the hall as many cadets made their way to the cafeteria.

Prompto began to jog in place by the classroom door. "C'mon guys! If we don't hurry they'll run out of Aerith's Marbled Steak!" The blond looked over at Noctis and Lightning and saw them moving at their own leisurely place. "Gahhh, you two lovebirds take forever! C'mon Vanille!" The red head took the blond's hand and they rushed down the hall together leaving Noctis and Lightning in the room with several other students.

"Catch ya later Noct, Fang and I want some of that steak too." Gladiolus said as he rushed passed Noctis and gave him a quick pat on the back.

"See ya at the table Sunshine." Fang added as she caught up to Gladiolus who waited for her by the door.

Lightning was amazed at everyone's enthusiasm for one dish. "I can't believe how popular Aerith's dish is, and she's only been here a few days."

"Have you ever had a chance to try it?" Noctis asked curiously as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

Lightning shook her head. "They always run out by the time I get there."

"Well then…" Noctis stretched out his arms and legs before offering his hand to Lightning. "Shall we? I'm sure we can catch up to everyone."

Lightning scoffed, "Of course we can." She brushed Noctis's hand away, "Race you. Whoever's last pays."

Noctis took up a running position by the hallway. "You're on Light."

After a swift countdown the two took off in a mad dash down the hall carefully avoiding fellow cadets and other obstacles along the way. In no time at all they were able to catch up to the stampede of students and had to squeeze through them in order to make their way through the entrance of the cafeteria. After several minutes of chaos, Noctis and Lightning were able to take a place in line with Lightning being ahead of Noctis.

With a triumphant smile on her face Lightning held out her hand towards Noctis as the line slowly moved up. Noctis mumbled to himself about another cadet getting in his way and pulled out his wallet and handed Lightning the money for both their meals. They watched as cadets left the counter one by one all holding the most popular dish to date. The aroma of Aerith's marbled steak wafted in the room enticing everyone's hunger.

"Maybe we should have gotten here earlier." Noctis whispered to Lightning with regret hoping there would still be some steak when they arrived at the counter.

Lightning stomach growled in response and she tapped her foot against the floor impatiently. "Even if they run out I'll be glad just to get some lunch."

The line moved forward at a leisurely pace much to Lightning's dismay. Noctis watched with an amused smile on his face as Lightning moved from side to side trying to get a better view of the front of the line. The two watched as cadets left the front counter with steaming trays filled with Aerith's marbled steak enticing everyone's appetites.

After an agonizing wait, Lightning and Noctis finally reached the front of the line to be greeted by Aerith's bright smile. "Hey there you two, this is the first time you both have come this early isn't it?" Aerith brushed off remnants of flour from her apron revealing petite rose motifs on the cloth.

Noctis gave her a nod, "Light here hasn't had a chance to try your signature dish so we figured we try and get here a little earlier. Her stomach has been seeking attention all the while we were in line." Noctis's additional comment earned him a sharp nudge on the ribs from Lightning. "Oww!"

Lightning cleared her throat, "Ahem, is there anymore marbled steak Aerith?" Once she finished her sentence her stomach grumbled again causing her to blush.

Aerith laughed, "You're in luck! There are a few more left finishing up in the oven, I'll go get one right now." Noctis and Lightning watched as Aerith removed a tray from the oven from a distance and tried to get a better look at the food as they leaned against the serving counter. "Here's an order of marbled steak, enjoy you two!" Aerith handed Noctis and Lightning a single plate of marbled steak with a bright smile on her face.

Noctis and Lightning looked down at the plate and their hunger was immediately replaced with a sudden rush of embarrassment. What sat on the plate was a beautiful piece of marbled steak shaped into a heart with the words "For Lightis" spelled out with a sauce. Lightning quickly snatched a separate plate resting on the counter and placed it over the food and shoved the plates in Noctis's hands before rushing behind the counter and pulling Aerith aside. "What is that?!" Lightning asked in a hushed voice. "We just wanted a normal plate of food!"

Aerith gave Lightning a small apologetic bow, "I'm sorry Light, I just thought I should make it a little special considering it's the first time you two will be eating this dish."

"Are you sure Zack didn't tell you to do this?" Lightning mumbled. She looked over at Noctis who was staring at the plate in his hands with a dumbfounded expression. "Noct, go ahead and go to the table, you're holding up the line."

Lightning's voice snapped Noctis back to his senses; he looked over his shoulder and the line behind him had indeed gotten longer. He quickly apologized to the other cadets and went off to look for their usual table.

"Of course not Light! Now go on and enjoy!" She ruffled Lightning's hair and gave her a small push out the kitchen.

Lightning's blush remained on her face and she continued to mumble to herself as she walked herself out. In the small span of time she had gotten to know Aerith, she found that she was comfortable around the woman's motherly presence. Whenever Aerith and Zack were in the room a feeling of security seemed to befall all those with them.

Aerith watched as Lightning walked off towards Noctis and their friends. "Zack and I both came up with the idea." Aerith whispered softly.

"So… how do we eat this?" Noctis asked Lightning as soon as she took her seat.

"Aww, look at the heart everyone!" Vanille said with a squeal. In a matter of seconds Lightning and Noctis were surrounded with teasing remarks from their friends.

Lightning groaned and hid her head in her arms while Noctis let out a nervous laugh. He carefully cut into the steak and was amazed at how easily his knife went through the meat finding it incredibly tender. He stuck his fork into the portion he just cut and held it out towards Lightning. He shook her by the shoulder causing her to lift her head from beneath her arms. "Come on now Light, before the food gets cold."

Despite having eaten with Noctis on several occasions, Lightning would still get a slight feeling of embarrassment whenever he offered to feed her a bite of food. She opened her mouth slowly and bit down on the fork, quickly removing the tender piece of meat. Noctis watched as Lightning shut her eyes and chewed on her food. He waited for her commentary as she swallowed but she remained silent for a moment. Her face was a mask of no emotions as she slowly opened her eyes and stared at Noctis. "Would you be angry if I ate your portion?"

Noctis stared at Lightning for a moment and suddenly began laughing. "Is it that good?" He asked in disbelief.

Lightning gave Noctis a small nod and smile and cut out a piece for him; she slowly held her fork up to his mouth, "Give it a try. She really outdid herself."

Hearing Lightning's positive feedback made Noctis all the more eager to try the food and he quickly ate his forkful without another second wasted. His eyes widened from the burst of flavor the meat held. "Would you be angry if I ate your portion Light?"

Lightning scoffed, "Oh definitely." She said with a smirk.

Noctis laughed and the two continued to eat together savoring every bite of the food their friend prepared for them.

Paradigm Shift

Noctis quickly dispatched several bloodbaths with the help of Prompto, Gladiolus and Ignis as they patrolled the outskirts of Bodhum attentively.

"I can't believe we're out on missions again. It feels like just yesterday we were wandering around Nautilus and taking in that fresh seaside Bodhum air." Prompto spun his gun around his fingers and slipped it back into its holster before placing his hands behind his head.

"Look on the bright side." Gladiolus said cheerfully. "We have some really nice vacation spots mapped out for next time."

Prompto grinned, "Yeah! It'll be even bigger and better next time!"

Noctis smiled and continued to patrol ahead carefully inspecting the damaged environment. In the current area they were patrolling, Noctis found strange claw marks on various trees. "Ignis, do you know what could have made these?"

Ignis adjusted his glasses and examined the claw marks and scanned it with a tool linked to the GC datalog. The two watched as a list of names whirred through the holographic screen until the name "Humbaba" came up. "That's strange." Ignis rubbed his chin as he stared at the screen intently.

"Don't Humbaba's dwell in cave like ecosystems?" Noctis asked recalling information on the behemoth.

"Yes. They shouldn't even be in this area." Ignis scanned the claw marks several times before returning the datalog tool in his bag. "Come on Noct, we shouldn't stay here, let's meet up with the others and report our findings."

Noctis nodded in agreement, "Sounds good." After reuniting with Prompto and Gladiolus, the team of four made their way through the forest back to the rendezvous camp where they would meet up with Lightning team and Zack's team. Prompto brought about the subject of chocobo races and Gladiolus immediately began to place a wager on Volg. Noctis found the two's debate on chocobos entertaining, but as they walked along, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them.

The four continued on for several more minutes until finally reaching a clearing where their base camp was set up. Even from a distance Noctis was able to make out Zack and Aerith's features.

"Yo! How'd it go you guys?" Zack waved as he saw the four emerge from the forest.

"All good! Not much happened." Noctis informed Zack, greeting the man with a bump of the wrists. "Though you might want to have a look at this thing Ignis recorded on the datalog."

Ignis produced the datalog from his bag once again and showed Zack the images of the claw marks on trees as well as the information on the Humbaba.

"That's weird… Hey Cloud!" Zack called out. Noctis heard rustling inside one of the camp tents and from the entrance came a familiar spiky haired man. "Come look at this, do you remember this behemoth we took out on one of our mercenary missions?"

"Humbaba? How did one of those get here?" Cloud muttered.

Noctis shrugged, "You guy's guess is as good as ours."

"Well, we'll sort things out after some lunch. Come on guys, Aerith and Tifa took the time to prepare as lunch." Zack said over his shoulder already making his way towards the center of base camp.

"Welcome back!" Tifa greeted Noctis, Prompto, Gladiolus and Ignis with a warm smile. She handed each of them a bottle of Pamama au Lait.

"Tifa's drinks are the best!" Prompto shouted as he quickly downed his bottle.

"She was the best bartender back while we took jobs in Midgar." Cloud reminded the group.

Tifa placed her hands on her hips. "Was?"

Cloud chuckled, "Sorry, I mean she still is the best."

"That's better." She said with a grin. "Aerith has the food set out over by the foldable table you guys."

Noctis felt comforted by the atmosphere his friends created. It hadn't been long since he had introduced everyone with Lightning to Zack, Aerith, Cloud and Tifa, but they all quickly got along with everyone.

Paradigm Shift

"Here's another…" Lightning crouched down and ran her fingers down the roots of a claw marked tree and pondered the strange occurrence in her head.

"This monster seems to be gettin' territorial." Fang surveyed the area and found various plants ravaged and the ground to be torn asunder.

"Monsters got like this whenever they fought with others back around Oerba." Vanille set her staff down by a tree and shuddered when she looked at the giant claw mark. "This monster doesn't seem too friendly."

"We'll report this as soon as we get back." Rikku informed the group as her machina revealed various scans of the area.

"Right then, let's get back to camp, Aerith probably has something good cookin' up right now." Fang rubbed her hands together excitedly and licked her lips.

Lightning rolled her eyes, "Was food honestly the main thing on your mind on this patrol?"

"Bet you're lookin' forward to eating with the prince, aren't ya Sunshine?" Fang smirked when she saw the blush appear on Lightning's face.

"No I'm not!" She snapped defensively. "Let's just go." She spun around and marched off in the direction of the camp with Fang chuckling behind her.

"C'mon Vanille, Rikku!" Fang cupped a hand around her mouth and called the two women over.

"Coming!" Rikku shouted back. "Let's go Vanille." Rikku configured the settings on her machina with a remote control as she waited for a response from Vanille and looked up when she didn't receive one.

Vanille seemed to be looking around the area absentmindedly.

"Vanille?" Rikku called out.

The redhead looked up and apologized to Rikku after hearing her voice. "Sorry Rikku, I can't seem to find my staff, I set it right around here."

"Hmm… that's weird, are you sure you didn't leave hand it over to Lightning or Fang?" Rikku asked skeptically.

Vanille nodded with confidence. "Positive!"

"Let me send out a scout." Rikku quickly configured her machina and watched it whir to life and disappear behind several bushes. She watched the holo screen on her remote control linked to her machina's camera and watched as it treaded along the moist forest floor. Vanille looked over Rikku's shoulder and gasped when her staff came on screen.

A look of confusion appeared on Vanille's face, "How did it get there?" She murmured. "Oh well, at least we know where it is, be back in a flash!" She told Rikku and disappeared behind the bushes.

"Oi! You two comin' or what?!" Fang shouted. "Sunshine's gettin' impatient!"

"Vanille is just getting her staff! We're almost finished—" Rikku's voice was silenced when a pair of fiery orange eyes appeared on screen right before the footage was cut off followed by the sound of splitting metal. "Oh no… Vanille!" Rikku shouted Vanille's name when a piercing scream echoed through the trees.

Paradigm Shift

"Is there any word from Lightning yet?" Noctis asked Aerith as he took a plateful of food resting on the table.

Aerith shook her head. "Unfortunately not, but she and the others should be getting back soon."

Noctis nodded and walked towards the middle of camp and sat on a log next to Gladiolus. He was just about to start eating when a piercing scream resounded through the forest causing a flock of birds to take off overhead.

"What was that?!" Prompto shouted sounding slightly panicked.

Noctis, Zack and Cloud quickly took up their swords and surrounded the perimeter of the camp in a triangle. Ignis stood back to back with Noctis, Gladiolus took Zack's back, Tifa took Cloud's and Aerith remained equidistant from the 3 pairs in case they needed healing with Prompto providing long ranged back up. They stood together in silence for a moment hearing the rustling of leaves around them and prepared for an ambush. Noctis's uneasy feeling began to grow.

They continued to wait in agonizing silence when Rikku emerged from the forest covered in dirt carrying an unconscious Vanille. Ignis and Prompto quickly ran over to them and she fell forward into Ignis arms as she tried to catch her breath. "Rikku what happened?!"

"Igie…" *huff* "I left machina to help… others in danger…" Rikku's eyes slowly closed as she passed out.

Noctis's eyes widened and he quickly took off in the direction Rikku came from.

"Noct wait!" Cloud shouted but was ignored by the prince.

Prompto looked down at Vanille and placed a shaky hand on her neck to look for a pulse. He held his breath and was relieved when he felt one.

"Aerith!" Ignis called out in desperation.

"Bring them to the tent!" Aerith shouted as she grabbed her medical supplies.

Cloud strapped his sword to his back and faced Tifa, "Come on Tifa, let's go provide back up."

Tifa gave him a nod and secured her gauntlets on her hands. "Ready."

"I'll stay here and defend the camp." Zack exchanged a look with Cloud and the two nodded.

"We'll be back in no time!" Tifa said optimistically and took off running in Noctis's direction along with Cloud.

"You sure you didn't want to go along?" Zack murmured t Gladiolus as the two surveyed the camp.

"It'll be alright, besides, I think Fang would want someone to defend her lunch."

Zack chuckled at Gladiolus's comment.

A few minutes after Noctis, Cloud and Tifa had left, the rustling of the leaves and bushes around the camp returned.

"Looks like we have company." Gladiolus announced to Zack as he took his greatsword in hand.

Paradigm Shift

"Fang to your left!" Lightning shoved Fang out of harm's way from an attack by a Humbaba behemoth and parried the monsters claws.

Fang stumbled to the side and quickly took her fighting stance again as she locked eyes with another behemoth, "These things are beginning to get on my nerves."

Lightning grunted as she shoved a behemoth's claw back with her sword causing it to stagger on its hind legs giving Lightning the time to deliver a straight slash down its chest. The beast howled in pain and retreated a few steps back and snarled at Lightning.

Fang drove her spear at the behemoth she was facing and managed to graze it's face leaving a scar near its left eye.

Lightning and Fang watched closely as the Humbabas began to retreat when all of a sudden they dipped their heads down and let out a low rumbling sound from their throats.

"What are they doing?" Fang whispered to Lightning.

"Not sure, these Humbaba's aren't normal, did you see the strange black marking found on their bodies?" Lightning glared at one of the behemoths and her eyes wandered down to its shoulder where a strange black and red mark was. "It could be that these monsters mutated but this could be our chance. We need to make a tactical retreat and come back with reinforcements." Once Lightning ended her sentence the behemoth's call suddenly increased in a deafening volume.

Both Lightning and Fang pressed their hands over their ears and grunted at the ear piercing cry. Lightning had no idea what was going on; it was the first time she had encountered behemoths so strangely. "Fang!" She yelled to her friend to try and get her attention. "Fang!" She yelled again trying to pierce through the behemoth's cries.

The woman looked up and saw Lightning motion behind her signaling their retreat. Fang nodded and turned around only to freeze in place. The behemoth's cries suddenly ceased allowing Lightning to breathe a sigh of relief. She spun around and saw her friend frozen in place, "Come on Fang let's go!"

"Don't think it's gonna be that easy anymore Sunshine." Fang murmured.

"What are you talking about—" Fang cut Lightning's sentence short as she pointed her spear in the direction of their exit. A large behemoth standing on its hind legs wielding a sinister looking blade was slowly approaching them.

Lightning's eyes widened and she stared back at the behemoths behind them. "They were distracting us…" Her hands tightened around her sword. "The war cry deafened us momentarily giving that thing the opportunity to sneak behind us."

The two cadets stood back to back and stared the behemoths down. The two behemoths they had been fighting earlier suddenly lunged and clawed at Lightning. The swift cadet quickly parried one but was struck by the other causing her to stagger several feet to the side. Lightning gripped her side with one arm and felt the warm sensation of blood trickle down her fingers.

"You alright Sunshine?!" Fang took her eyes off the large behemoth momentarily to look at Lightning.

"Don't take your eyes off that thing!" Lightning warned but was too late. In the time Fang diverted her attention away from it, the beast lunged forward and swung it's weapon at Fang.

Fang had enough time to bring her spear up to deflect the attack but was struck with a fierce blow sending her flying through the air straight into a tree. "Guah!"

Lightning watched as Fang fell to the ground and remained still. The two smaller behemoths began to near Fang. Lightning clenched her teeth, "Get away from her!" She roared angrily and ran to her friend. The pain in her side began to intensify with each passing second. She swung her sword with one arm in a fit of rage at the two behemoths and they growled at her in response.

Again they swung their claws at Lightning and again Lightning parried, however with each blow she deflected, her movements began to get more sluggish. Her breathing grew more erratic as the pain in her side intensified. Just before the next attack came a swift shadow intercepted the blow.

"Back off!" Noctis roared and drove his sword into the behemoth's hand. The monster cried out in pain and was quickly dispatched when Cloud appeared overhead and drove his sword through the beast.

"Light!" Noctis quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around Lightning's side for a makeshift bandage.

"Help… Fang." She said weakly turning her head towards their friend. The other behemoth snarled angrily at the pair and lunged for them only to be knocked on the face by a bone crushing punch from Tifa.

"Haaaah!" The booster attached on Tifa's gauntlet's further amplified her strength and she set the behemoth rolling away.

Tifa quickly produced a vial of potion and handed it to Noctis and before administering one to Fang.

"Drink this Light, Fang will be alright as well." He held the vial to her lips and she slowly opened her mouth. The energizing drink quickly began to bring life back into Lightning's arms and legs and in a matter of minutes; she was back on her feet.

Without waiting another second she charged after the downed behemoth and drove her sword through its back quickly dispatching the troubling beast. Once she was sure it was finished she charged right after the last behemoth with amazing speed.

Noctis watched amazed at the amount of energy Lightning regained. Potions typically helped wounds but he never expected Lightning to come back with so much vigor. It was as if she was healed with an elixir.

"Light!" Tifa called out to the star cadet and tossed her a booster. Lightning quickly caught the device and attached it to her weapon. She snapped her fingers and evoked her grav-con unit and leapt into the air and sent her sword crashing down against the other behemoth. The monster held its weapon up defensively but was forced down on its knees by Lightning's strike.

The behemoth roared and pushed Lightning back and pounded its weapon on the ground scarring the land.

"Cloud, Tifa, take Fang back to base. Lightning and I can take care of this." Noctis said as he held his sword out towards the behemoth.

Cloud nodded and helped Fang up with Tifa. "We'll meet you two back at camp!" Tifa shouted and ran back to the base with Cloud.

Once the three were in the clear, Noctis turned his attention back at the behemoth. "So how do you want to go about this partner?" He glanced at Lightning.

"Quickly." She responded bluntly and charged after the behemoth once again.

Noctis scoffed, "And she says I'm the reckless one."

With their joined efforts, fighting the behemoth became a much easier task. When one deflected the monsters attack, the other would step in and attack. Much to Lightning's satisfaction, they were able to dispatch the monster quickly.

"What do you think caused this?" Lightning asked Noctis wondering whether he knew anything about the behemoths' mutation.

Noctis shrugged and sheathed his sword, "I've no idea. We actually came back from patrol ready to report the claw markings we found."

"I guess the academy researchers have some work to do, it would be bad if more of these things began wandering arou—" Before Lightning had a chance to finish her sentence her vision suddenly grew blurry and the pain in her side began to act up again. She stumbled forward into Noctis's arms and sighed as she felt comforted by his warmth.

"Who's the reckless one now Claire?" He gave her a small smile and helped her onto his back.

"Shut… up…" She said softly and slowly began to nod off.

Noctis laughed, "Good work today cadet Lightning."

Noctis slowly emerged from the forest and was greeted by even more friendly faces. Sazh, Hope and Snow rushed over with medical supplies and escorted Noctis and Lightning to the medical tent where Zack, Gladiolus and Prompto were being patched up.

"So many annoying monsters." Zack winced as Aerith dabbed the cuts on his cheek.

"Hold still now." She said in a motherly tone.

Noctis set Lightning gently down on a vacant cot and bandaged up Lightning's wound according to Aerith's directions.

"Behemoths shouldn't even be around here." Hope muttered as his fingers glided along the keys of his laptop. "Definitely strange."

"I'll report this to the other instructors as soon as we get back." Sazh said scribbling information down on a notepad.

"Is sis gonna be alright Noct?" Snow asked in a concerned tone.

"Don't call me that." Lightning responded with her eyes still closed.

Noctis smiled, "Does that answer your question Snow?"

The man laughed, "Sure does."

Lightning slowly opened her eyes and turned her head towards Noctis. "How are Fang, Vanille and Rikku?"

"Rikku and Vanille are resting soundly. Fang…" Noctis sighed and shook his head. "Cloud and Tifa brought Fang back quickly and as soon as she caught a whiff of Aerith's cooking she immediately stumbled over to the table. She's eating with Gladiolus right now."

Lightning chuckled, "Unbelievable."

Noctis stroked Lightning's forehead, "Anyways, you try and get some rest now Light, it was a job well done."

Lightning let out a sigh and gave Noctis a small nod.

"I'll be here when you wake up." He said with a smile.

"Thanks Noct…" Lightning murmured as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

End Chapter

Xethear: Such a strange occurrence.

Noctis: I'll say… behemoths rather than bloodbaths. Thankfully everyone is okay.

Ignis: It's just one thing after another. We'll have to confront this message sometime though…

Noctis: What message Ignis?

Ignis: Oh it's nothing Noct.

Xethear: Stay tuned!