The Reunion

The cold afternoon breeze shot needles into his skin, dragging him out of heavy slumber. His eyes opened to a deep orange sky, the height of the cliffs casting shadows across the field. Slowly easing himself up, Cloud shook the grogginess out of his head before he took in his surroundings. Demolished buildings were centered in what seemed to be ruins, appearing undisturbed for decades or even centuries.

For the longest moment, he felt like he had woken from a dream – he never made it to Pulse, Jenova hadn't really infected Lightning, and all was supposedly right in the world. Cloud wasn't any closer to seeing Lightning as when she first left after the fight in Midgar. A heavy weight settled in his chest, chastising himself in falling for this vivid dream, giving in to foolish hope. Giving in to wishes was dangerous, let alone waiting for a miracle.

'Damn it, get it together.' Still, it irked him how oddly vivid his dreams were. Was lack of sleep to blame? He had to get back to the bar soon, or else Tifa and the kids were sure to worry. Though he had been keeping a strong chin up, Cloud knew the others could see the signs of silent depression, and he needed to make it better for everyone's sake.

Getting up on his feet, he looked around to search for his bike, intent on returning to Edge right away…

Until he noticed a familiar woman lying just a few feet from him.

"Tifa!"

In quick strides, he knelt down beside her, gently resting a hand on her back as she began to stir. Her eyes tiredly opened to find Cloud, her limbs sore but otherwise all right. Rising to her knees, she delicately held her head to shut out the oncoming migraine.

"What happened?" she let out in a strained voice.

He shook his head, clueless. "I don't know."

Once it seemed like a wave of nausea passed over inside, Tifa took a deep breath and lifted her head. "Is Serah all right?"

The mention of her name drained the color from Cloud's face. He whipped his head to the side, eyes anxiously searching…and sure enough, the young girl in question was stirring not too far from them. Snow had already regained consciousness and went to help her up, untaken by the presence of Cloud and his friends.

"It wasn't a dream," he muttered lowly to himself. A flicker of ecstasy burst through his chest; his hopes weren't entirely dashed, and he was still on the path to getting closer to Lightning. Breathless, he helped Tifa up to her feet, his mind reveling in the fact that he had almost fooled himself with despair.

Cloud quickly reviewed any memory he could muster of their time on Pulse. New Bodhum. Vallis Media. The base camp. The Archylte Steppe…and a strange monster.

Anxiety washed over his features while Serah and Snow approached him calmly. Vincent appeared beside Tifa, his expression hard and troubled. A sense of dread left a heavy knot in his chest, and despite the relatively safe appearance of the others…he couldn't fight this feeling.

"Everyone all right?" the gunslinger asked.

Serah nodded, trying to assure even herself that they were safe. "All in one piece."

Tifa let out a sigh of relief – whatever had happened to them, she was glad no one was harmed. Her chocolate brown eyes shifted toward Cloud beside her until something caught them, embroidered deeply for her to see. As soon as she saw it, her brows knitted tightly together, a heavy dread emerging in her chest.

"Cloud…what's that on your arm?"

The shakiness in her voice grabbed his attention, and he immediately glanced down to where she indicated. Just beneath the pink ribbon, a fresh new tattoo emerged from his skin: intricate patterns of arrows atop each other in layers. Cloud's mind wandered in a daze, lost in finding a logical explanation. Was the monster they saw somehow responsible for this marking?

Gripping his upper arm, he grazed a thumb across the mark in hopes of rubbing it off…but when it did nothing, a choking sound was caught in his throat. The sight instantly reached into his darkest memories, the times when he felt like ending his life altogether just to be free of the pain. Geostigma was impossible to rid before the incident with Kadaj, and now he was struck with something in this new world.

"No…"

Looking up, he saw Snow observing his own left forearm, staggering back with immense fear that coated his voice. An identical marking was embedded into his skin, arrows and all. Cloud watched as he clutched Serah's upper arm and held it up just enough to see the exact same brand in a position similar to Cloud's.

Just as Snow released his grasp, Serah's eyes widened before she got a better look at her arm, her bottom lip visibly quivering. Snow clutched his head with both of his hands and paced back and forth, and a growl erupted into a snarl.

"No, no, no, NO!"

Tifa struggled to think back, to solve the strange sense reminding her she was in the same loop as the rest of them. With a quick gasp, she got down on one knee and pulled down the side of her shoe, and sure enough, the same brand as the others was etched onto her skin. She rubbed her palm vigorously over the surface, but her efforts ended in vain.

"What is this?" she let out in a bare whisper, already feeling shackles encircling her ankle to claim her as property.

Serah finally pulled her eyes away from her brand, but they were too distant as they searched for some unseen lifeboat. "A l'Cie brand," her shaky voice explained. "We…We ran into a fal'Cie…" Like the others, she fought to figure out exactly where they were taken. The strange abyss was identical to the place she fell into when she was first cursed, though where it was still remained unclear. Forget the fal'Cie – Serah wanted to know what that colossal figure was…and how it was linked to the brands it gave them. She was certain it wasn't the same fal'Cie they met in the sky; it was the same figure she saw a year ago, the same one that jumpstarted the fall of Cocoon.

Digging into the recesses of his memories, Cloud grasped a single memory he shared with Lightning...

A single incident in the room they shared, where they were just two people conversing on any average day…where they listened to stories of dark pasts.

"L'Cie?" Cloud asked curiously.

Lightning nodded her head resting against his chest. She was too fatigued from the WRO's duties, but being in his arms was more than enough to relax her stiff muscles. "Servants to the fal'Cie that fed and nurtured us like pets. They were either praised as heroes…or hunted down. It just depended on what kind of fal'Cie branded you."

He let out a small chuckle. "I'm guessing the people weren't groveling at your feet when you served the fal'Cie." Though it was meant as a petty joke, Lightning didn't give a single scoff or response. Instead, she remained frozen in his arms, trapped in the past she struggled to endure. Looking over, Cloud saw a dark shadow pass over her features, his chest plummeting at the sight.

"Hey." He shifted to prop himself up on an elbow, and Lightning did the same while averting her eyes to the sheets. "Was it that bad?"

She was hesitant to answer, reluctant in digging up the scars she had to bear. "It's not just being shunned by everyone else," she explained in a bare whisper. "One day, you're just naturally talking to them. Your friends laugh and have fun with you. Your team handles it just like any other day." As she continued, Lightning's expression went from bad to worse, unable to restrain the pain threatening to overflow. "And then the next…they forget that they ever knew you. They all take up arms, threaten to kill you…or maybe even skip that part and try it anyway. Just mentioning l'Cie can cause panic."

As Cloud took her words in, Lightning let out a heavy sigh to release the tension she built up within herself. "Try saving a world that's against you," she retorted with a tight pull on her lips. "Trust me, it's not easy."

Meeting her gaze, Cloud expressed every ounce to remorse he had with his earlier comment. "I'm sorry." When Tifa fell from the bridge in Nibelheim, he was greeted with ostracism and exclusion. Being alone was one thing – being hunted down for something out of your control was debilitating and tragic.

Lightning merely shook her head and gently laid a hand on his cheek, assuring him that there was no weight to be placed on his shoulders. "I got through it. That's all that matters. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here with you."

Despite her words, Cloud knew it was a past she couldn't forget. The strength she gained from saving Cocoon came with a price, and if she came to the unlikely chance of being branded again, he feared Lightning would fall apart altogether.

The light in his eyes gradually simmered down, his hand fiercely gripping his bicep until circulation was constricted. Cloud's eyes washed over the group with disbelief; it was difficult to imagine any of them being so different from the rest of the population with new tattoos embedded on their skin…

And yet, once their brands were seen, they would be relentlessly pursued until blood was spilled.

Vincent's own hand rested on his chest, remembering exactly where the fal'Cie's energy branded him underneath his garments. "So…we're l'Cie, huh?"

Just hearing it brought dread into his heart. Cloud dared to peer down at his bicep, and the clear black brand taunted him with his fate.

"We're cursed."

Snow's jaw remained taut, deep breaths flowing in and out of his nostrils. No matter how he saw it, the brand was exactly the same as before, as if he never completed the first Focus and got the mark off to begin with. The new guys were still in a state of shock, and he wasn't going to wait until the realization hit them with full force. "All right," he said in a clear tone while resting a hand on Serah's shoulder. "Let's stay calm and figure this out. What's our Focus?"

The assurance to stay calm wasn't easy to follow. Tifa exchanged anxious glances with Vincent and Cloud "Focus?" she asked helplessly. Worrying about saving Lightning was hard enough, but they should have known better than to neglect the dangers of her world while traveling to find a common enemy. "Is that something for a l'Cie? Can't we just get rid of these?" Tifa shook her ankle, as if the brand was a foul plague she wanted to be rid of immediately.

"We're gonna need a miracle," Snow growled as he looked toward the Faultwarrens. What bothered him the most was the appearance of an all new fal'Cie, and how everything changed just before the branding. Had it not been for the strange night sky and airborne fal'Cie, the passage of time between now and their run-in with PSICOM would have been natural. Fate had dragged them back into the bloody fold of fal'Cie and Foci; he wondered if any of this was just mere coincidence…or if all of it was preordained from the beginning.

Beside him, Serah traveled through a whirlwind of emotions, from shock to fear….ultimately arriving to absolute terror. She thought she finally escaped the horrors of completing a Focus, but history always had the habit of repeating itself, much to her disappointment. As Snow tried to explain to Cloud and the others, a bolt of fear surged through her, much like her first branding, only now her Focus was to…

"I can't," she whispered harshly, her knees buckling under her light weight. Receiving a Focus unwillingly was the easy part, but what she had to do to complete it was far from what she had in mind. "Why?!"

Serah collapsed to her knees, and all eyes drew to her with worry. Snow could sense where the distress was coming from, but this was the last thing they should be concerned about…for Serah's sake.

Falling to her level, Snow tried to gather her into his arms as sobs began wracking her chest. "Serah! Calm down. Please." Despite his request, it was impossible to stray from the inevitable fate they knew with becoming l'Cie. "You're just gonna make it faster."

Vincent listened intently, realizing that the marks on their persons weren't something anyone would wish for. "These things come with a time limit," he speculated aloud. "And they're linked to that weird dream, aren't they? You saw it, too?"

With a fierce growl, Snow rose to his feet and grabbed fistfuls of Vincent's cloak. His eyes bore a harsh glare, daring the man in red to say another word. "Yes!" he roared in Vincent's face.

Vincent immediately backed down, averting his gaze with apology for a quick moment before steadying it. Once Snow saw his gesture as sincere, he released a heavy sigh along with Vincent's cloak.

"Sorry," he uttered with mind-wracking fatigue. "It's just…stress can shorten our time limit, and the brands will change."

"Change?" Cloud's gaze slid toward Serah's brand, imagining a doomsday clock hovering over it. Watching her be sentenced to an inescapable task made him feel even more helpless, and he was once again reminded of how easy it was for the people around him to disappear.

Snow's eyes darted across the ground as he tried to get a good grip on some composure. "We've been given a Focus - a job that we have to complete in some amount of time those bastards didn't specify. What we do know…is that the brands will keep changing until it's too late." He exhaled loudly, reality hitting him all over again now that history has repeated itself. "So, what we can do is keep a cool head so we can figure out how to fix this."

Looking back to Vincent, he leveled a stare that hopefully ran a message across. Understanding, Vincent nodded – being a l'Cie was the last thing Serah probably wanted on her bucket list. Stressing her with the nature of their plight was only going to make matters worse

Tifa fell to her knees and gently drew Serah close, trying to comfort her in the best way possible. Figuring out their Focus, and completing it in time to top it off, was without doubt a challenge on the body and mind. Even now, it took all of Tifa's energy to keep from falling into despair, and now she had to make sure Serah and the others wouldn't do so either.

Likewise, Cloud clung to the notion of keeping a clear head through it all. Staying in shock wasn't going to do them any good; they had to keep going, regardless of their new task, if they were to save Lightning.

But then…who was to say their Focus still ensured Lightning's safety?

His gaze slowly turned to Serah, searching through the layers of distress to find the source. In the time he had known her, Cloud found her to be just as strong as Lightning mentally and emotionally, always deciding to keep up the fight in the end. If there was something that could spook her this badly, it had to be the Focus they were all given…and there was only one way he was able to interpret it.

Kill Lightning? Was his purpose really to sabotage the entire journey? There was still so much he had yet to learn about being a l'Cie, but given Serah and Snow's reactions, their actions here on out had to made carefully, and the ends of the roads were less than likely to turn out in their favor.

Walking toward the girls, he held out a hand for Serah to take, his eyes gentle and concerned. Serah accepted his kindness and took his hand, rising to her feet along with Tifa, who stood close by for support. "Let's just get back to the camp, and we can figure out what to do from there."

More than anything, Serah wanted the nightmare to be over. Everything started when she walked into the Pulse Vestige with the fal'Cie Anima; would everyone be safe and sound if she hadn't been so curious that day?

Nonetheless, they had to keep going, and wallowing in despair was only going to get her turned cie'th. Lightning went to hell and back to save her and the world; she wasn't going to let her efforts be in vain after all this time.

With a nod, Serah allowed a tiny smile to grace her lips. Cloud's resolve was as strong as her sister's, making it easier for her to trust him to make the right calls.

The optimism, however, turned out to be short-lived as strange echoing bellows emerged from the ruins not too far from where they stood. Turning on their heels, the team watched as strange creatures emerged in stumbling gaits, slowly honing in on them like bloodhounds. Crystallized structures encased their bodies, which were deformed in unimaginable ways. One feature that seemed to be common amongst all of them was a red eye staring out menacingly, wide and all-seeing.

Serah let out a fearful cry just as Snow came to stand before her, intent on protecting her from the monsters. Cloud and the others stared in horror, not only at the sight of the creatures…

But how similar the markings on their chests resembled the party's new tattoos. With a hanging jaw, Tifa made an easy assumption and realized what Snow referred to as being "too late". She had seen the abominations Hojo created as a result of his experiments, but the transformation into these things appeared to be natural over a passage of time.

'Is…Is this what we're gonna become?!'

In the midst of her trance, Tifa failed to notice one of the shambling monsters drawing toward her, its deformed arms swinging in anticipation. Cloud's eyes widened in shock just before he reached behind his back for the swords.

"Tifa!"

Diving in front, he raised his swords in a crossing motion, barely propelling the monster's limb from slamming into his face. Upon impact, Cloud knew his strength wasn't enough to keep the monster at bay; he was lucky to hold up until the blades were caught in the crag-like arms, instantly ripped from his hands with a fluid motion.

The staggering power forced him back as he glared at the monster, knowing that nothing stood in between them now. With limbs large enough to turn them into pancakes, it was only a matter of seconds before both him and Tifa would fall, and their journey would end in vain. Cloud's chest grew heavy with vexation, cursing the path they had taken. With every action they took, it drew him farther from Lightning, from saving her and righting his final sin. Saving the people he cherished was one thing, but knowing that he failed the most important person to him was unbearable.

In an angry roar, Cloud clenched his hand into a tight fist before taking aim at the creature before him. A familiar sensation coursed through his veins, surging from his bicep until it shot out at the end, blasting the monster with vicious flames. Intense heat blasted his face and arm, but it hardly scarred him; it was like the fire was an extension of him, naturally spewing from an inner power rather than being manipulated from a borrowed materia.

The monster flew back from the force, falling back to the ground as Cloud and Tifa gaped. Cloud felt the brand emit a tingling vibe, as if it could instantly respond to his will. "Magic…"

"We really are l'Cie," Tifa exhaled as she watched Cloud's brand emit a white glow. Based on Lightning's stories, she wildly expected them to take on some abnormal form; if l'Cie were once feared by the common folk, surely there was an obvious aspect that forced them into a panic.

But they were more or less the same. They all still retained their humanity, the only difference being that they could wield magic.

The fire in Cloud's palm quickly died, and the light in his brand dissipated. Deep within, he could feel a new fire bursting to life, glimmering in his eyes with renewed hope. The strength of a l'Cie was a great one, and if he could find a way to properly wield it, maybe he could use it to help the others…and eventually help Lightning.

Not too far away, Serah and Snow threw thunder bolts and ice shards that appeared to be stronger than before. With a single flick of her wrist, Serah called upon a deadly bolt to surge through one of the monsters, and it dropped dead in a heap. Snow swung his arm across to shoot icicle spears straight for the monster's crimson core before rushing up with a flurry of punches.

Meanwhile, Vincent held his own with precise aiming. One shot after another, he was able to strike the creatures to slow them down just before summoning a sphere of flame to make the final touch. Silent and calm, he usually manages to keep a clear head to figure out what to do, and Cloud was lucky to adopt a bit of that trait in the last few years.

This new power bestowed upon them proved to be useful, especially not in just magic alone. Tifa fearlessly lunged toward one of the monsters and threw a punch down on its shoulder, forcing it to the ground without a scratch. Adrenaline rushed through her body, eager to protect the friends she kept close…and loved…

The team managed to cling to hope and keep up a front, but for every creature they felled, another took its place. Reinforcements seemingly poured from the ruins in an endless stream. Power came with a price, and as the pile of the fallen began to grow, the l'Cie felt their energy begin to wane; not even their weapons could make up for the energy they had lost. Cloud had to put all his focus into keeping a grip on his sword, leaving him to watch the monsters approach until it was too late to retaliate.

A figure slid into his periphery out of the corner of his eye. Throwing another small fire at the large cie'th closest to him, Cloud spun on his heel, his sword at the ready. He couldn't afford to deal with two fronts simultaneously while keeping a cool head.

Luckily, this newcomer on the nearby ledge wasn't going to be a problem.

A pink glow emanated from the figure's center, attracting the attention of some of the cie'th giants. It launched out into the open sky; one shot from the figure, and the pink glow exploded into a strong gust of wind. Dirt and rocks flew around, keeping the team from attacking the cie'th any further.

Cloud shielded his eyes as an armored being sprung forth from nowhere; rose petals danced in the wind within its presence. A two-bladed sword was kept by its side, opposite a full arm shield.

Serah instantly lowered her bow and gaped at the sight. "Odin!"

The name was familiar to Cloud and the others, but they had never seen the summoning this way before. Its appearance was more mechanical than how they remembered, serving as a reminder that not everything was the same between their worlds.

Fearlessly, the stranger jumped off the edge and toward Odin, who shot an arm out at the ready. Swinging his torso, Odin tossed the stranger back into the sky a few feet before it began somersaulting down to the surface. A flash of pink and red whipped through the air, and even from their distance, Cloud and the others knew who it was.

'Lightning.'

Not one strand on her head had been changed. She looked the same as she had only two months ago…but something in her eyes indicated a heavy burden that almost made her unrecognizable. The scowl was incredibly tense, reminding Cloud of the first night they met in the slums church, when he ran into that hard exterior refusing to back down. In her hand, the Blazefire Saber extended its blade, glistening in the orange hue of the sunset.

The heaviest breath escaped his lips at the sight of her, relieved that she was nevertheless the same as before. For days, he clung to the guilt that she was doomed by his actions, but like before, it was going to take a lot just to keep Lightning from backing down from a fight.

In one fluid motion, she flipped her weapon into its gun mode before blasting the monsters with perfect accuracy. The mechanical being jumped overhead and readily swung its sword; enemies were swept off the ground with great ferocity, losing their empty lives in a matter of seconds.

The others were frozen in place, mentally shutting out the chaos all around. All their suspicions and doubts were cast away, their minds settling on the fact that Lightning was here with them, fighting for their sake. Serah regretted thinking that her sister was somehow the cause for the mayhem; Lightning's actions were always made with Serah's best interests, and infecting her with a possessive substance was more than insane.

With the cie'th finally clustering together, Lightning whipped her head toward Odin.

"Now!"

All at once, Odin straightened up from its battle stance and raised its sword high above its head, where the clouds rumbled and darkened. Coalescing into a single form, the clouds blotted out much of the remaining sunlight, flashing only to give a glimpse of the power contained by Odin. The ground trembled beneath everyone's feet as they struggled to stay balanced; Cloud's eyes widened watching the great knight straighten up and hold its sword before him, parallel to his body.

Bright flashes of light shot from the clouds, striking the cie'th until they were hotter than the sun. The team shielded their eyes from the blinding light; waves of energy blasted their faces, sweeping the air from their lungs. With their bulky forms, it was rather hard to say what the thunder strike did to them internally, but their appendages went limp in a matter of seconds, and they ultimately fell to the ground, giving no indication that they would rise again.

Cloud stood breathless at the sight. Where it took the power of five l'Cie just to hold them off, this new form of Odin handled the situation in no time at all. Moreover, it appeared to work in tandem with Lightning – a partner in battle that moved to complement effectively. He watched as Odin finally stood down and bowed before Lightning, who nodded just before it vanished in a rose pink glow. Silent moments passed across the field before she turned toward them, her pale aqua eyes taking in the group with breathless shock.

A lump caught in her throat, Serah blinked hard to be sure that the sight wasn't an illusion. Ever since she regained consciousness from the stigma, the pang of despair thinking that she would never find her sister pulsated and grew at a steady rate. But this was real – Lightning had come, just like she always had, and for a moment, all was right in the world.

"Lightning!"

Dropping her bow, she immediately started toward her sister…but Vincent shot an arm into her path, halting her advances. "Wait," he warned sternly. Crimson eyes heavily scrutinized Lightning; it would have been a relief to find her safe and unharmed as she was, but given the circumstance, her condition was far too normal. There had to be something off about her…

Cloud braced himself for what he was about to face. A controlled Lightning? An illusion fabricated by Jenova spawn that took the form of those closest to you? He tried to keep a hard grip on the main blade, preparing to strike at any moment…but all his limbs wanted to do was wrap around her and pull her close. No matter how much he prepared himself for this moment, it took all his strength to become restrained, to think everything through for everyone's safety.

As she slowly approached the wary team, Lightning finally took in the three unfamiliar to Pulse. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked in a wavering voice. Her head began to shake, almost denying their presence while trying to find some reason. "How did you even…?"

Snow's eyes darted back and forth between Lightning and the others, wondering if he was just hallucinating. However, everyone else responded to her presence in the same way – speechless and dumbstruck. "Is she really controlled?" he asked nervously.

"She should be…" Tifa wanted to believe it was really her standing in front of them, but the risk was too great to simply accept this turn of events.

Lightning's breath faltered when her gaze remained fixated on Cloud. Her knees almost buckled at the sight of his mako eyes, which shined with layers of astonishment. "Cloud…" She took careful steps toward him, making him even more eager to close the distance, yet afraid to find her vanishing in the blink of an eye. When the Blazefire Saber cluttered on the ground, Lightning rushed forward, her hands reaching toward his face. Cloud instantly responded with dropping his weapon as well, his hands landing on her hips to pull her close.

He could see words trying to make their way past her lips, but it all came out in incoherent stammers. Warmth from her fingers flooded through his face, and he knew it wasn't a dream. The delicacy of her touch brought forth memories he had tried to keep buried, when he refused to wallow in the past. For the first time in months, his chest felt whole, and even if was only for a moment, it was enough.

As he rested his forehead against hers, their breaths became incredibly shallow, unable to contain the whirlwind of emotions bursting through their chests. "I can't believe it," Lightning said with a faint chuckle. Her lips warred with keeping up a smile while tears began to well in her eyes. "You're here."

Cloud didn't want to give in too easily…but he couldn't sneer at the face he thought was lost to him forever. "It's you…?"

The surprise was evident on her face; though he was quite happy inside of finding her, there were still so many questions running not only through his head, but also the others'. Her smile gave way to a worrisome frown. "What is it? What's wrong?" She pulled back to see the raging emotions across his face.

His forehead creased immensely, wondering if he should give in to her ignorance. With a simple slip-up, he could give Jenova the upper hand, and it would cost him the chance of saving Lightning. How was he to let her in without endangering the others and their goal?

From behind, Snow hesitantly approached with the same perturbed expression on his face. "Light…What have you been doing this past month? Do you even remember anything you did?"

It took some time for her to consider his questions. Her hands unwillingly pulled away from Cloud at the same time he dropped his, stepping away before turning to the rest of the team.

"Not much," Lightning replied, her eyes darting around to search through the memories. "A few pieces here and there…but it's all scattered."

And thus the guilt piles up again. It must have been the Jenova cells wiping her memory, leaving her as an empty shell until she regained consciousness. Cloud worried what Jenova could have done in Lightning's body aside from infecting others with the cells. All this time, she must have been kept in the dark while chaos ensued around her.

"We're here because you—"

Cloud felt a sharp tug at his elbow. Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he saw Vincent regard him with stern eyes, shaking his head at the choice of action. Even now, the ageless ally wasn't going to leave his defenses down. This was an opportune moment for an enemy to strike, and he wasn't going to risk it all to chance, even it was an old ally standing before them. Deep down, Cloud understood his reasoning, but it didn't stop him from feeling torn between two war zones.

Lightning grimaced before casting her gaze toward the ground, raging conflict churning inside. "It's…the Jenova cells, isn't it?"

Taken aback, everyone whipped their stares in her direction. Tifa's jaw hung slightly. "You knew?"

The response was a small twitch of her arm, her chin nodding toward the crook of her elbow. "The pain wasn't that much different from when I had Geostigma. I remember talking to Serah at the pier, and after I blacked out, I was on Cocoon."

Cloud silently cursed under his breath, ruing the day he let Lightning out of his sight at the WRO Headquarters. Knowing the truth could destroy her…but she had to know. His mako eyes bore into hers, hoping she could accept the whole truth of her purpose on the Planet.

"Deepground infected you when you were in Midgar that day."

It wasn't much of a surprise, but once it became clear, Lightning's face went from hard to pained. "And now I brought them here," she muttered with layers of self-loathing.

Though she appeared to have a good grip on consciousness, it wasn't to say she was clear of infection. Reaching into his back pocket, Cloud withdrew the gold materia and allowed it to weigh in his hand between the two of them. Lightning glanced at it curiously.

"We were able to use this to get the infection out of Serah and Snow," he explained with a twinge of hope.

A flicker of shock passed through Lightning's eyes as she peered over his shoulder. Serah and Snow caught her gaze, nodding to back up Cloud's words. With their silent words, they hoped it was enough to convince her of the truth and that the Jenova cells could still be lingering in her veins.

Taking the chance, Lightning took a deep breath and reached out toward the materia, her fingers twitching with anxiety. Everyone's eyes remained hard on her, anticipating the outrageous reaction to prove their suspicions. She ground her teeth together just as she took the materia in her hand altogether, fitting it perfectly in her grip. Though it still radiated brightly, the sphere gave no response to her touch, and remained as unstirred as before.

Lightning let out the breath she had been holding in at the same time Cloud let go of his. "Guess I'm clean," she concluded while dropping the materia back into Cloud's hand. Still, the others were perturbed by the missing factors, particularly Serah.

"Wait, you just summoned Odin," she speculated while stepping toward her sister. "Your Eidolon. They only come when a l'Cie calls."

Rather than becoming confused, Lightning's expression turned into one a child would show when caught with a hand in a cookie jar. Biting her lower lip, she turned away, not exactly knowing how to explain herself…

Not that she needed to. The team stared with the revelation on their minds; Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent began putting the pieces together. Not only did summons exist here, but they were connected to the power of a l'Cie, most likely to assist the servants in fulfilling their assigned mission. Eidolons weren't just a mere creature utilized with magic – they were beings bound to partnerships with a particular l'Cie.

And if Lightning was able to call an Eidolon…

"You're branded?!" Snow's cry was a mixture of disbelief and rage, though not entirely directed toward Lightning. Even with his brash attitude, the last thing he wanted was for more people to be dragged into a fight.

With a huff, Lightning began to stalk around them, heading back toward the Archylte Steppe. "They'll be sending troops out to look for us. We better get moving."

All the while, she did her best to avoid Cloud's dumbstruck stare. What she held much contempt for all this time finally came back to haunt her, with history repeating itself for the sake of torture. Cloud found it hard to imagine her being forced a task against her will, what with her strong determination standing as unchallenged. He recalled that night she explained the nature of what it meant to be a l'Cie…and feared what was going through her mind up till now.

The evasion was obvious, but Snow wasn't going to let it go so quickly. "Lightning, wait." He rushed to match her pace and ultimately get in her path, holding his palms out to usher her to stop. "Can we just take a moment to get up to speed here? Besides, Cloud and the others came all the way here for you…" Hesitation got caught in his throat, wondering if it was all right to tell her everything right this moment. Even still, her closest friends' lives hung in the balance, and as cold as she could be, Lightning wouldn't let this slip by.

He slowly raised his left forearm, flashing the Pulsian mark for his sister-to-be to find. "And we're branded, too."

A deep shudder ripped through her lips, pale eyes widening at the sight. "No!" Whipping her head back, Lightning silently beseeched Cloud, as if hoping he would prove Snow's words wrong…

But Cloud sighed before twisting his arm for her to see. The branded flesh was in plain sight, and nothing she can say would make it disappear. Tifa rolled her ankle while Vincent merely crossed his arms, but it was clear the situation was settled uneasily in their minds, now that they were aware of their fates should they choose a certain path.

"What was that thing?" Tifa muttered in a low voice, her eyes searching for unseen answers. "It took us to some dark place."

"A fal'Cie," Snow told her, reiterating Serah's claim from before. He shook his head with disbelief; who knew they would run into one with terrible timing? "At least one of the few that's left."

Lightning's mind was still busy being thrown into a blender. Cloud never expected to become this involved in their world either, but if they tried to return to the Planet without completing their Focus, it was uncertain if their fate would follow.

"We have a Focus," he said in a bare whisper, and his blood ran cold. Even with a gun to his head, he wouldn't have agreed to such a task…but now that the others were given the same Focus, more lives were on the line. It wasn't just his fate he was sealing – whatever path he took, it not only dragged his allies', but Lightning's as well.

She saw the turmoil wash over his face before leveling an anxious glare. The fist at her side began to tremble. "What did you see?"

His body commanded him to keep his mouth shut, to not face the cold truth before they could come up with a plan. One way or another, they had to find a way out of this Focus…but could they search for it when the alternative was standing not three feet from them?

Steadying himself, Cloud returned Lightning's glare with his own, keeping his intended mission in mind.

"Your death."

Finals are DONE! Yeehee! :D And now, it's time for a segment of trivial talk lol

As I looked back at The Vessel, I remembered how some of you guys noticed and/or were a bit thrown off by Cloud's overprotective attitude when it came to Lightning and how it wasn't like him.

My reasoning and explanation - Cloud's had a miserable life starting with the incident with Tifa and the bridge. Because of that, he was ostracized by the people in Nibelheim, and so to prove himself, he joined Shinra in hopes of getting into SOLDIER. And from that point, you know how things go - failing to make SOLDIER; having his hometown destroyed by his hero, as well as having his mother killed; abused as a test subject and overdosed on mako; unconsciously fabricating a lie; losing friends; suffering Geostigma. (And many people still label him as an emo after all that.)

After the events of AC, Cloud has finally managed to make peace with the tragedies of his past and move on to find happiness. When he meets Lightning and develops feelings for her, he's found a joy in his life that he doesn't want to disappear like everything else in his past. He wants to make sure she's free of any danger that seemed to haunt him throughout his adolescence. Like Tifa said in her first person POV chapter, his relationship with Lightning isn't plagued by the horrors of his past, having the potential to give him the happiness he well deserves.

Anyway, let the summer break begin! As the f(x) song goes, it's gonna be a hot, hot summer!