The Ride

After a dizzy trek up Taejin's Tower and riding an elevator across a dark chasm, Cloud feasted his eyes on the deserted village of Oerba. Layers of snow coated the mountaintops, untouched by civilization for a good while. Scraps and materials were strewn about, discarded in the midst of building a new place to call home. Frosty air bit at their skin, but thankfully, it was all managed by the orange sunset over the horizon. Already halfway through the village, they felt like the last humans alive, and they were surrounded by memories of ancient ghosts.

"Oerba," Serah breathed out, marveling at the sight all around her. "So this was where Vanille and Fang used to live."

Lightning walked over to stand by a dilapidated tree, looking out at a ruined bridge that drew closer to Cocoon. "The airships will be over on the bridge," she told the others. Cloud came to stand beside her, the harsh wind whipping his hair into his face. "Let's hope Sazh decided to stay behind."

Without even a glance toward him, she turned and headed down the closest ramp, intent on reaching the airships as soon as possible. Cloud knew it was foolish to think she would willingly cooperate after what he did. Ever since she reappeared with Vincent, Lightning seemed as normal as she could be – calm, tactful, and an overall naturally born leader.

So why was he occasionally searching for an opportunity to steal glances or have a moment? It was harder than he imagined; despite his resolve and practically crushing her spirits back in the Sulyya Springs, he wanted to stay close to Lightning almost instinctively, just like how it had been back on the Planet.

Cloud curled his hand into a tight fist, chastising him for repeating history all over again. From the beginning, he had made Lightning run in circles about his emotions, and now they were becoming harder to keep in check. But what else was he supposed to do? Give in and try to keep her to himself once more? All just to make sure he would never lose her again? That only spelled out more future disasters, and above all, he wanted to avoid them.

Tifa gently laid a hand on his arm to bring him back to reality; he looked over his shoulder to see Serah and Vincent follow Lightning down the ramp, a few steps closer to the airship base. What he had to concentrate on now was getting Snow back to solve this Focus, or else everything he had done thus far would be for nothing.

They swept through the village without second glances and crossed the bridge with diligence. On the other side, the airship dock remained quiet and undisturbed. No sign of the staff or crew members were found, despite the place being a usually bustling area to accommodate movement between Cocoon and Pulse. Supply crates were lazily stacked into piles on one side; recently built offices remained clean on a far end. Despite the long stretch of road meant for keeping airships, a single craft rested on therunway, abandoned for an indefinite amount of time.

"Looks like everyone hightailed out of here," Tifa observed as she walked by a table cluttered with courier documentation. She picked up a paper and examined the contents. "This was how you guys were going back and forth between Cocoon and Pulse?"

Serah nodded as her eyes scanned the grounds. "They recently started a project for an elevator installed in the crystal pillar. For now, this is the only way."

From the corner of his eye, Vincent caught the subtlest of movements behind the crates, a flash of black and green between the cracks. Pulling out Cerberus in no time, he took aim and lodged three bullets into the farthest line of crates, effectively halting the strange movement. Loud ruckus immediately followed, alerting the others to be at the ready.

Gloved hands shot up just barely above the stacks, slightly quivering from Vincent's threat with his pistol. "H-Hey! Hold your fire! I come in peace!"

Serah hesitated for a moment before relaxing, her eyes widening with surprise. "Sazh?"

Just as Lightning followed suit, a man in his mid-years edged out into the open warily. His afro was frizzier than average, most likely due to stress, and his army green coat appeared worn out and stained with oil. Cloud could tell from his scraggly stance and clueless-like demeanor that he was going to mean little harm, especially if Lightning and Serah were familiar with him.

The man continued holding his hands up like a convict found guilty until Serah's words registered in his head. Peering over to the group, he noticed the two sisters and straightened up his posture, a smile turning his wary frown upside down.

"Serah. Lightning!"

His liveliness was somewhat refreshing, especially after the things they had gone through up to this point. Without hesitation, Cloud and the others relaxed. The man dropped his hands and ran up to the group as Cloud cocked an eyebrow toward Lightning.

"Your inside man?" he suspected, unconvinced of the man's capabilities upfront.

Lightning returned a grimace holding a bit of guilt. "He's more reliable than he looks," she did her best to amend. Despite Sazh's silliness at even the worst of times, he was there for anyone that needed someone with a good heart. Stepping up, she met Sazh with a firm handshake, and intuition immediately flashed in the man's eyes – the team wasn't here just to merely hang. "Sazh, these are friends of mine."

Sazh looked around Lightning's shoulder and gave her new companions a once-over. "You kept the most interesting company while you were away," he speculated with intrigue. With just one glance, he knew they weren't from around here. The one in the red tattered cape turned in his direction just once and sent shivers down Sazh's spine; immediately looking away, the pilot realized intimidation when he felt it.

Returning his gaze toward Lightning, he finally noticed the deadpanned stare the woman gave him, obviously not in the mood to deal with his usual quips. Sazh cleared his throat in an apologetic manner; regardless of being many years ahead of her, he held her in high regard for her strong will and natural leadership. "Sorry, go ahead."

At first, it appeared Lightning was about to say something, but she thought against it and looked over her shoulder. Once she caught Serah's gaze, she gaze a small jerk of her head, motioning the younger Farron to come forward. While Serah started, she wondered what was running through her sister's head until Lightning held a hand out toward her. Almost instinctively, Serah raised her left arm, and Lightning very gently wrapped her fingers around the branded bicep.

When Serah came to a stop, the older sister slowly turned her arm so that Sazh could get a better look. The Pulse brand couldn't have been any clearer on her skin, its ends looking just fairly progressed in its stages.

With a heavy sigh, Sazh leaned back and crossed his arms before his chest. "Kids just have to get themselves in trouble once again," he said in his sage-like voice. Despite his pointing out the harsh truths, his words always carried reason and did it in a way to not lead other l'Cie into despair. "Just when everyone's heading to Cocoon, too."

The last bit of information intrigued Cloud, his forehead slightly creasing. "Why is that?" he asked.

"Heard it's some kind of virus making people into crazies," Sazh elaborated, scratching the back of his head as he thought back over the details. "I heard it started in New Bodhum."

From the corner of his eye, Cloud saw Lightning's back turn rigid at Sazh's words. He could imagine what the chaos she unleashed looked like – glowing mako eyes filled with bloodlust, crimson smears all over her hands. The Jenova cells inside her must have had some kind of goal when it manipulated her mind.

"The Jenova cells," she let out with the smallest hint of a shudder. "They're causing a scare, forcing everyone to go back to-"

"'Paradise'," Serah finished as her eyes widened in shock, a hand flying to her lips. Little by little, the pieces began to fit once again, only augmenting the fear in their hearts. "That flyer was like an S.O.S., to send anyone who wasn't infected to Cocoon."

Though it may have sounded like a safe plan, Lightning knew better than to trust the old vipers in the sky. "But the fal'Cie are awake. It's a no-win situation." Returning to their homeland could have been no problem if they weren't at risk of being enslaved again. Lightning's predicament was the consequence of such action.

Sazh sighed, having no other choice but to be the bearer of more bad news. "Word is they got a new ringleader. Something else taking Dysley's place."

"Another primarch?" Serah hardly believed that things were reverting back to the old ways, when the populace was just fodder, pawns to the fal'Cie. Their lives on Pulse were finally turning into a dream come true. Was it all meant to be just a mere dream?

"So they say," Sazh tried to amend before gesturing to the airship dock surrounding him. "I've been busy here, hauling everyone into airships and up to the motherland."

Tifa shuddered at a small point he didn't emphasize, but still proved to darken their light of hope. "Everyone?"

Lightning grimaced at the thought. "There's no one else here but us." Whatever scheme was formulating on Cocoon, it was already well on its way to completion. It may have saved everyone from the Jenova scare she brought upon Pulse, but it only brought them to the heart of the vipers' nest, ripe for the fal'Cie to easily dispose.

There was only one reasonable course of action to take; Lightning wasn't about to leave a friend behind, not to mention a future brother-in-law. She turned to face Sazh. "PSICOM has Snow. We need to follow them to Cocoon."

Without a hint of hesitation, Sazh nodded. "I gotcha," he agreed before waving a hand to an airship nearby. "Luckily, we still got a few airships down here. They didn't bother sending back the others."

Setting her mind, Lightning told the others of their soon departure – it would be treated as a war zone the moment they landed on Cocoon. Though they were strolling in with a limited vision of what they were up against, the team was headstrong in keeping Snow from harm and making sure the rest of the population wouldn't have to face a terrible fate.

Mere minutes before take-off, Sazh finished setting aside a pile of forms on his workbench when a brief flash of red came from the corner of his eye. He glanced toward the stacks at the far end of the airship docks, hoping to find whatever had caught his attention. Everything remained still, nothing moved out of place, and he looked to the group in the other direction, waiting for his say-so to board the airship.

Only, there was one person missing.

Anxiety and paranoia instantly shot up to alert his senses, but he had to keep his cool for just a bit longer. If she knew of his awareness too soon, it would only spell out trouble for everyone else. Receding into shadows, Sazh trailed through to littered materials of the dock, hoping to avoid the gazes of the others.

As he drew closer, he could hear the staggering breaths attacking her lungs. Sazh knew he was asking for Lightning to beat his ass for sneaking up on her, but with the circumstances, he knew it was far from wise to keep secrets from friends, especially allies she had to trust her life with. Rounding the corner, he carefully peered over to find her struggling to stay off her knees, her hand gathering her turtleneck into a tightly balled fist on her chest.

But what intrigued Sazh the most was the blatant red symbol glowing above her hand. Its shape twisted and changed to a brand new stage, striking dread to the man's features. He could instantly understand the sight before him, augmented by the sweat pouring off Lightning's face.

"Y…You're-!"

The terrified stammer instantly alerted her of his presence; Lightning's tired pale eyes glared up at him, sending a very threatening warning. "Don't tell the others," she growled so lowly that only he could hear.

Just as the brand began receding on her chest, Sazh reeled back at the thought. Last year, he imagined the Sanctum l'Cie as heroes of the people – chosen individuals like his son to protect everyone from the menace that was Pulse.

However, he realized the distrust easily went both ways. With fate and future hanging in the balance, no l'Cie in their right mind would attempt something as suicidal as helping the enemy. In his eyes, he couldn't help but imagine Lightning as a quiet snake in a nest, waiting to strike at the opportune moment.

Sazh looked over his shoulder to the others. Serah and the woman Tifa laughed at something Cloud had said with such a neutral tone; the quiet gunslinger had his arms crossed, though there was nothing about his posture that screamed wariness. It would be so easy to frighten them with the truth – to force their Pulse brands to progress at such an alarming rate when they figure out Lightning's time is drawing closer than they thought.

Unless…Lightning herself was planning to get a jump on them.

Sazh failed to hold back a grimace when he turned to Lightning once again. "You're leading them into a trap," he muttered too matter-of-factly.

Before another train of thought ran through his head, Lightning took one step to shove a clenched fist against his chest. Her tired eyes sent the sharpest daggers at him as Sazh almost tripped on his own feet, briefly surprised at the strength she still had after suffering a brand progression. Her teeth ground together, revealing a terrible snarl, and he saw she was only a little push away from putting a bullet through his head.

"I'm not!" Her voice was hoarse – a combination of fatigue and reluctance to alert the others of their conversation. She gave a look of fury, but it was still coating a hint of betrayal that Sazh could easily see. "You think I would put Serah in that kind of danger? Or Cloud, for that matter?"

With a sigh, Sazh realized he should have known better. The last thing Lightning would have wanted was to put her own sister in danger, not if she could do anything about it. As for Cloud, he had heard stories of Lightning's life in some other world; the guy must have been really important if he had been able to crack Lightning's shell so deeply.

She would cherish them until her last breath, even if it set her against fate.

"All right," he relented as an apology, raising his hands as if in surrender. Lightning eased up, though it was clear on her face that she was still torn by the situation. "So what's your Focus?"

As he waited for her explanation, he failed to notice how his peripheral vision was hindered by the stacks. Most of his body and a glimpse of Lightning could still be seen…

And Cloud remained silent as he watched a dark aura pass over the two from a distance.