Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or FF13.


She tried to keep her voice devoid of any emotions. It was clear the Lieutenant wasn't getting the reaction he was hoping and he was slowly growing disinterested. "Very well, I don't want to keep you now." He said with a small smile out of courtesy as he offered his hand to her. With a brief glance at his waiting hand, Lightning shook it lightly before she moved away and headed up the stairs. The scene of the ballroom flooded into her eyes and like the soldier that she was, she scanned the room, rapidly marking the countless individuals before she headed down the stairs. Finding Tifa came first. Being here, she was quickly reminded as to why she hated crowds. There were far too many people and it felt as if it was out of her control. A swift sense of unease settled in her gut when the fighter was no where to be seen before she caught sight of Hope and Aerith standing near the large glass windows overlooking the large gardens outside.

"Hope! Aerith!" Lightning called out to them, quickly noting the simple white dress the brunette was wearing and the tux Hope had, "Have you seen Tifa?"

...

"You look incredible." Cloud stammered as they spun to the soft music.

Giggling softly, a pink hue dusted their cheeks simultaneously when their eyes met. "You told me that already." Tifa teased.

"R-Right." He nodded bashfully before his arms tightened around her waist to pull her closer.

"That dress is..."

"You look handsome yourself." Tifa said, smiling shyly at his wide eyes.

"Oh... t-thanks." Almost tentatively, he brought her even closer and Tifa hesitantly rested her head on his shoulder.

...

"Tifa?" The brunette looked at the silver haired man before she shared a small smile, "She's dancing with Cloud." Hope merely pointed back into the crowd. Lightning turned, eyes narrowing at the two dancing people swaying to the soft and slow music. The sense of unease amplified and a growing sense of frustration gnawed at her nerves. She was about to stalk over towards them before her sixth sense fired and she staggered back as if to avoid an invisible blow. "Light?" Aerith asked before her expression darkened similarly.

"What's wrong?" Hope asked, glancing back between the two but the soldier merely shook her head.

Her blue eyes were trained on an ignored side door. "I'll go check it out." Lightning muttered, quickly heading towards it and ignored Aerith and Hope's steps that were closely following her.

"Light, she's here." Aerith whispered as they stopped at the door. "I can sense her."

"Sense who?" The silvered hair man looked between them worriedly.

"You two stay here." Lightning ordered as she settled her hand around the doorknob, "Make sure nothing happens here."

"But you can't go alone!" The brunette breathed, "I'll go get Cloud and Tifa-"

"No." Lightning instantly shot her down with a firm shake of her head, "I'll be fine."

"Light'll be fine." Hope said as he rested a firm hand on Aerith's shoulder, "We have to make sure the rest of the people here are safe. I don't know what's happening but perhaps we should inform the guards."

The soldier creaked open the door and glanced down the darkened hallway barely lit by the moonlight, "I'll be fine."

"You don't have your Blaze Edge-"

"I have magic." Lightning said as the unease lurched sickly in her gut. "I can deal with this myself. Keep your phone close. If I can't handle it quietly, I'll call and you can evacuate this place immediately. Warn the guards but tell them I'm on it. The last thing we need is a mad crowd stampeding out of here. Keep any new guests outside. Alright?"

"If you're sure." Aerith said but her brows knit with worry.

"Be careful Light." Hope said and the pinkette merely nodded before she slipped into the darkened hallway making sure the door closed behind her. She stepped forward before she could hear the slow crack of ice, whipping around to see the knob freezing over. Taking a deep breath, Lightning slowly walked forward into the slithering darkness around her.

...

"Hope?" The silvered hair man turned from the door, pulling his hand away from the door knob before he stood beside Aerith to look out into the crowd. "Light will be safe right?"

"She will be." He answered confidently, "It's our turn to do our job."

"We should tell Cloud and Tifa-"

"It's fine." Hope shook his head, "They'll only panic and run after Light. Remember? Light's our ace. You don't need to worry about her."

"Because we have several hundred others we have to worry about?" Aerith breathed as she looked at the crowd.

"Anyways, we should go secure the entrance as Light had said. The balcony up there gives us the better view of the area. We'll be able to see any suspicious activities." Nodding, Aerith glanced back at the door once more before following after Hope as they weaved through the crowd.

...

Warmth burst from her chest and she couldn't stop a genuine smile from gracing her lips. Tifa wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes.

The sounds of the people around them faded and suddenly, it felt as if they were in their own separate world. "He's all you can see isn't he?" The voice was soft and gentle.

Tifa opened her eyes and breathed in his cologne. It was mix of a refreshing fruity and oriental scent. It was intoxicating.

Everything seemed to dim into a dark and dull grey except for him. "You love him." His blue eyes shone radiantly behind the soft golden bangs of his hair.

Pulling away she stared into his eyes and felt as if they had eternity just for themselves.

"You've always loved him." It was airy and light and Tifa felt as if she could simply drift away. "It was always him." The voice dipped dangerously low and quietly threatening.

Her hand gently brushed against his cheek before her eyes lowered to his lips. The excitement in her heart started to dull into an muffled thump and she could only hear his breathing and feel his breath against her lips.

"He loves you too." It was suddenly light and without a care in the world. The voice was rather capricious but it was that sentence that resounded in Tifa's mind.

...

She stepped through the hallway cautiously. Her body was wrought with tension and she could feel the cold sweat drip from her forehead. The unsettling feeling grew and festered, sending shivers through her body and she could feel her skin prickle with goosebumps. Her hands felt empty and she missed the cold and promising feeling of the hilt of her Blaze Edge. Rounding the corner, she was about to step out before she saw a shifting shadow of someone. Quickly pressing her back against the wall, she peered out before narrowing her eyes on a single male who sat there cross-legged on the window sill. He was definitely dressed inappropriately for the Gala, wearing a black v-neck top with tribal decorations lining the neck, black cargo pants tucked into a low-cut sandle-like boot. She readied a spell in her hand before she stepped out but the young man didn't bother looking away from the window.

"Who are you?" Lightning demanded as she took a few steps closer, yet carefully keeping her distance.

He glanced at her, the blue eyes settling on her then and onwards. "Noel. Noel Kreiss." He said, tilting his head with a shrug of his shoulders, "You don't need to worry about me. I'm just here to make sure Lumina doesn't do anything stupid again."

"Lumina?" He nods but doesn't elaborate.

...

Tifa closed her eyes as Cloud pulled her closer until there lips met in a tender kiss. She didn't know how to describe it but it felt as if her lips erupted with fireworks. The fighter stiffened at the contact before she slowly melted into it with a sigh of content as she felt his soft lips massage against her own. This was it; her first kiss.

A sinister giggle echoed in the room, laced with amusement and twisted glee. "I knew it."

When they pulled away, both blushed madly with each bearing thier own bashful and shy smile. "Tifa, I..." Cloud starts before his eyes focused with determination. His hands slipped up to hold her face strongly as he rested their foreheads together. "I love you." Her heart stopped at Cloud's confession before the man pulled her in for a more passionate kiss. She returned it with the same fervor, pressing closely up to the man she had longed for.

"Traitor."

When she felt something wet glide against her lower lip, Tifa gasped but was too swept up. She opened her mouth granting access, breathing deeply through her nose when Cloud's tongue explored her mouth.

"Unforgivable." The voice suddenly hardened and barely concealed the anger. "She will never trust you. She'll never love you now."

...

Lightning bristles under his unrelenting stare and attempts to calm her unease. "Who's Lumina?"

"You know, you should go back to your friends." Noel said, "You're wasting your time here talking to me." He moved out of his position and stood up, stretching his arms, "Frankly, I'm surprised you found me, but that's probably because Lumina thinks she can get me off her back. That brat." The young man sighed with slight annoyance tinging his tone.

"Answer my question."

"She's going off and doing things on her own. Again." Noel vented as if he hadn't heard her at all, "Always causing trouble for us."

"Us?" Lightning asked but the young man merely shook his head with a sigh as he walked down the hallway. "Hey-" The shadows around them fluttered before the space in front of him tore open. Tendrils of darkness reached forth, dancing in the night in front of an amber hue. He glanced back at her, waving lazily before he disappeared and the hallway returned to how it was supposed to be.

...

His hand clutched onto hers tightly as they ran out of the Gala. Tifa couldn't contain the large smile that had infected her face as Cloud pulled a cab over. Clambering in eagerly, she waited for him to jump in as well, quickly telling the driver to return to the hotel before Cloud's lips found hers again hungrily.

The smirk returned and the blue eyes glowed menacingly in the darkness, "You are nothing. Nothing but Midgar filth."

...

Lightning runs back as fast as she could. The sense of dread and intensified, making feel like hurling at the heavy sensation. She comes back to the door again and the knob is still frozen with ice. It doesn't require any thought before Lightning kicks the door open and ignored all the surprised stares she receives on the other side. Pulling out her phone, she held it to her ear before Hope picked up on the other end, "Light, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, but I have a bad feeling about this." Lightning breathed, her eyes searching the crowd but she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. "Where are you?"

"Near the entrance."

With a nod to no one in particular, she dashed off threading through the people effortlessly before she spotted Hope and Aerith. "Light!" The brunette called out to her as she approached, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, there was..." seeing Aerith's worried expression, Lightning shook her head, "there was nothing. Just... a whole lot of shadows."

"I can still sense her. She's near."

"I think it's time you told me what's happening." Hope breathed, running a hand through his hair in stress, "What are you two talking about?"

"It was the girl that brought down the Countdown Clock." Lightning stated gruffly.

"But I thought-"

"That was just the PSICOM covering up for something they can't handle." The soldier hissed.

"We should tell Cloud and Tifa-" Aerith started before her voice hitched. She looked around the room carefully before shaking her head, "She's not here."

"What?"

"The girl. She's gone. I can't sense her anymore."

Lightning took a deep breath and glanced back down at the crowd of people below enjoying their night. "What did she want?"

"Let's leave." Aerith suggested, "This place is too big. Too many people."

"Alright, I'll find Cloud and Tifa-"

"I saw them leave." Hope spoke up as his baby blue eyes trained on Lightning, "Together." She couldn't describe the feeling that overwhelmed her after hearing Hope's words. Absentmindedly, her hand found it's way over her chest when she felt an unfamiliar sting.

Taking a deep breath, Lightning nodded. "Let's go." Her voice was calm and strong, along with a strange sense of finality.


I'm sorry! Don't worry Lightning/Tifa supporters, this is still their story! I had to straighten everything out between them!

It killed me writing this chapter... but you probably saw this coming right? Right? (T.T)