BAND OF BROTHERS
CHAPTER 2
Lightning looks up and focuses on the flamboyant man attacking her friend. Gathering power in the palm of her hand, she sends a powerful thundara spell that hits their foe straight on the face, staggering him. Terra looks down at the pinkette and his smaller companion and smiles in thanks, focusing again her attention on the Emperor, now recovered completely to that surprise attack and who smirks at the small woman in front of him.
"That was such a dirty trick, attacking from behind, but it won´t be enough to stop me."
Terra is going to retaliate, but it was Lightning the one to speak.
"I´m not done yet, asshole."
The moment the Emperor staggered, it had allowed the group to gather enough time and strength to focus on summoning, without him noticing.
"Give them hell out there with your lightning!"
At that moment, a blinding light envelops them, and once they can see, the imposing and powerful frame of Rahmu stands in front of them all, while thunderous bolts of lightning envelop the Emperor, making him scream in agony and sending him flying away from the friends.
"Yeah! That´s how it´s done!" Yells an overexcited Zidane, unwilling and unable to prevent his sheer emotion from letting show. But his happiness doesn´t last long since he feels Lightning´s taller body fully overloading him and making him stagger.
"L-Lightning?"
She is doubling over herself, clutching her abdomen, and Zidane can see blood further spurting from the open wound. She had tried to pull out the arrow once more, but only managed to break it, creating a greater wound and making the matters worse. For the evident torture on her countenance, the pain must surely be unbearable.
"Lightning! Hang on!"
"Zidane… I…" The insufferable pain and blood loss, adding the prompt summoning, has been just too much for her, and the thief worries the arrow must´ve hit a vital organ. The woman is losing her battle against unconsciousness. The smaller fighter grunts, but holds his ground.
"Please hang on! I´ll get you some help!"
A movement allows him to see under the pink locks covering her face, and he sees that she has already passed out, her eyes completely closed.
"Urgh! You… for someone as lean as you, you really are heavy!" The little monkey grunts some more, while his body starts to give up on him. Maybe it isn´t her weight at all, not more than her body´s bigger proportions, the ones giving him hell. Knowing he is losing the battle, Zidane leads slowly and carefully the pinkette´s body towards the ground. Just when he has found the safest way to hold her, so that he can fetch Terra´s help, something hard collides against his back, sending him forwards and smashing him against a metallic wall, while he feels how his body, in a flash, lose the warmth emanating from Lightning´s skin.
"Lightning! No!" Those are the last words he can say before his head hits the metal and the impact renders him unconscious. But the image in front of him right before the collision is burned in his retinas like the worst omen of all.
Sephiroth has regained consciousness, and with a powerful grip over her chest, has abducted Lightning´s limp body, smashing her back hard against one of the iron pillars, an action that produces a sickening crack. Zidane´s last thoughts are directed towards the pinkette´s surely broken ribs.
With his free hand, the dark-winged angel takes the unconscious woman´s chin and forces it up, so that he can have a perfect view of her countenance, while he licks his lips in anticipation.
"Mmh, Lightning… I have never seen you like this. Such beauty… you look completely peaceful in this slumbering state of yours. You almost look like an angel…" He brings his face closer to hers and, with a soft and slow motion, passes his tongue through her lips, cheek, and ear, tasting the blood and sweat that had been covering the fair skin. His lips linger over her ear and he smiles, speaking as if she could hear him. "You know I could kill you right here and now? It´s a little bit fascinating to think that there´s nothing you can do to prevent my blade from going through your heart." He closes his grip harder against her jaw, while his smile grows into a devilish smirk. "So tempting…"
"Leave her alone!"
The scream makes him turn, but only to smile wider, and rather contemptuously, at seeing a tired and injured Terra running at him the fastest she can, trying her hardest to look defiant to defend her friend.
"This would be interesting." Even when his face is almost expressionless, his smile holds a tint of mockery. "Are you trying to fight against me to protect her honor?"
And then she moves.
Sephiroth senses the soft shift of the body hanging from his hands, instinct sparing his life the moment he moves backwards as a dagger embeds itself in his shoulder, avoiding his heart just by mere inches.
"Argh! How dare you?!" The pain makes him lose the grip he has on Lightning, and she falls on the ground, trembling, weakened and in pain, but with her fist tightly grasping the bloodied dagger, the one she always carries in the pouch at her leg. She grunts the moment she hits the floor, resenting the many injuries she has collected in the battle, but still forces herself to roll away from him.
The man seethes in rage and pain but forces himself to ignore the blood pouring out of the new wound and instead fixes his green eyes on his prey, promising death with the intense glare, one that even makes Terra stop her desperate sprint. Just when he is about to reach the pinkette again, a blinding light envelops them once more, and lines of dancing lightning bolts, Rahmu´s remaining magic, surround him, creating a protective wall that separates him from the woman on the floor. His eyes travel all around the luminescent prison he´s in, seeking for a way through, and once he finds none, he locks eyes with baby blue orbs.
"Fight me, Lightning. Our destiny is to fight one another to awaken the beast. Fight me, or we will all regret it." His countenance is unreadable, but through his eyes, the woman can see the passionate soul harbored inside him. The sight that meets her gives her further strength to force her body to stand upwards in spite of the pain that doubles her over, helping herself with the wall behind her.
"You can´t be serious, Sephiroth. You won´t convince me that your savagery and utter craving for torture has a deeper meaning. You´re not Kain."
Behind his luminescent bars, the man smirks softly.
"I do have to wonder why that name came to your mind."
She wants to answer with a cheeky retort but a flash of torture passes through her abdomen, the moment she involuntarily makes the arrow inside of her move. Oh… the pain! She would love to curl up in a fetal position and forget everything and everyone, would love to just throw herself on the ground and dig inside her flesh to rip out whatever is making her suffer this much. But now is not the time to give herself into despair.
Lightning Farron never gives up.
Terra approaches her fast, but once she gets closer to her friend, Lightning raises her palm, preventing the younger woman from reaching out to her. Terra doesn´t understand for a moment, but once the baby blue eyes reach the ones of her foe, it finally dawns on her: the tall woman is in the middle of a battle of wits, and in spite of it all, it´s obvious that she´d hate to lose. The smaller woman knows Lightning enough to understand her, so she decides to respect her wishes, even when those wishes may take her to her own demise. So, more than unwillingly, Terra is left to stand and bear witness of her friend´s torture.
Lightning inhales as deeply as her broken ribs allow her, and forces her body straighter once more, as her eyes are defiantly fixed on her enemy.
"If you want to say something to me, then speak plainly. I don´t have time for your gibberish." A sudden cough interrupts her words, making her double over herself, while her mouth is filled with the taste of iron and her lips are tainted in crimson, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of her mouth. She knows, as well as he, she´s running out of time. The man looks up at the sky through his scintillate prison, and whatever he sees makes him more anxious, more eager to escape and confront her, so he turns to look back at the woman in front of him.
"Stand up, Soldier!" He tries to push her buttons by reminding her of her previous status. "Stand up and fight me to defend your honor! Fight me, and the pain will end soon, I can assure you that." The pinkette coughs once more, her now blood-soaked hand covering her lips, but he does as if he hasn´t noticed this and pushes on. "You´ve promised to protect this land, and it´s your blood, and maybe mine too, the ones destined to return life back to it."
Lightning spits the blood accumulated in her mouth and looks at him defiantly.
"I´d rather die here than follow your insane ideas."
For an instant, Sephiroth´s expression changes into that of utter rage the moment he sees he just can´t coax her into battle again, and his enraged bloodshot eyes meet Lightning´s crystal blue, determined ones.
"You can´t prevent this from happening, woman." Sephiroth seethes in rage but is still able to keep his voice even. "Either you can do it willingly, fight me to the death to save this world, or try to run, which will prove you to be futile. I´ll find you and kill you wherever you go."
"You can try, Sephiroth, but you´ve noticed that it doesn´t matter what dirty tricks you use, nor how many allies you gather. You won´t see me fall."
Her words pinch his pride and he gives a step towards her, almost touching the lightning bars, while an animal growl escapes from his lips. This small slip of control from him gives the woman further power over the ex-soldier, so she stands tall, her baby blue eyes fixed on his steel gray ones.
The defiant posture makes him even angrier, and he finally gives the step forward, craving to make her bleed even more, but the moment he touches the lightning bolts, an explosion propels his body into the air and crashes hard against a metallic wall, far away from the allies. Once the man is away from her, Terra immediately reaches for her friend, as Lightning´s body gives up on her and legs start staggering, all strength finally leaving her.
"I´ve got you, Light, don´t worry. I´ve got you." Terra tries her hardest to keep the tall woman standing straight, but she isn´t as strong as Zidane, and she starts to collapse under the Savior´s bigger frame. "C´ mon, Lightning… you… you´ve gotta help me. We need to move on!"
The Esper´s desperate pleas make Lightning open her eyes, and in the distance, she sees Sephiroth´s prone body stirring slightly, obviously in the verge of getting up. As impossible as it is, it isn´t a surprise for Lightning, the one-winged angel is much too strong to be defeated so easily.
"Leave me here, Terra. Take Zidane and leave me here. The three of us won´t make it."
"Don´t you dare say that to me!" The smaller woman snaps at her as if completely offended by the possibility. "That evil man has taken a liking on hurting you, on making you bleed, and I won´t let that happen! I won´t let him touch you ever again!"
The girl´s words make the taller woman smile, and Lightning realizes that, during these kidnapping into the new cycle, she had been smiling at her comrades a lot more than she did her first time around. With no little effort, she places a hand upon Terra´s shoulder for support and forces herself upwards, ignoring the pain the movement elicits and the one produced by every small breath she takes. Breathing shallowly, her legs buckling, the Savior finally separates herself from the smaller woman, her countenance filled with pain but her eyes with steeled determination.
"Go… Zidane…"
"But I need to…" Terra points a palm towards Lightning´s injured torso, but the tall woman takes her by the wrists and forces her to lower it, while she shakes her head.
"You can´t. Not yet. We first…" The pinkette coughs and tries to conceal the fact that it´s blood what has stained her hand. "We first need to remove the arrows. And we don´t have that much time." She looks towards the stirring body of their enemy, and as she follows the path of Lightning´s stare, cold chills run through Terra´s back.
"Ok, I´ll go fetch him."
Terra runs towards her fallen comrade and once she reaches him, falls on her knees as she palms his face, while her other hand creates a cura spell that envelops him whole. Slowly, much too slowly for Terra´s taste, the small thief opens his eyes.
"Wha… Terra?"
"Let´s go, Zidane, we really need to get out of here." With her help, the little monkey stands up, and they both run towards Lightning, who, with no little effort, has reached her blade, her eyes still fixed on Sephiroth´s form.
"The gate is open. Hurry! That man is almost awake!"
"No! The three of us will pass through that gate or none!" Terra´s determined voice startles her comrades.
"Terra…"
"I won´t let you alone with that man again!" The girl retaliates vehemently, standing her ground.
"I agree with her, Lightning," Zidane interrupts whatever the pinkette was going to say. "We are together in this. You don´t have to face him all by yourself."
She should be happy for their words, should feel thankful. But the truth is that their words make her anxious. Not even the three of them together, with the state she´s in, will be able to defeat Sephiroth, even when he´s injured too.
Or was, given the sudden appearance of a luminous fog enveloping him.
Damn! I need to take these arrows out of me!
"Go… go!"
She yells at her comrades, and with one passing her left arm over his shoulder and the other doing likewise with her right arm, they all make a sprint towards the illuminated gate, at least as fast as Lightning´s worn-out body allows them. She can hear him now, how his body travels through the land in a fast motion, cutting the air as his Masamune does anytime he strikes. Desperation reaches the three friends, but Lightning´s determination only increases by it. Once they reach the gate, the tall woman uses all her strength left to propel her friends through the entrance, and with the same momentum, turns around and meets face to face with her foe, the devilish smirk sending goosebumps through her body.
He knows he has her, he can almost feel her flesh through his blade.
But not this time.
In the instant she´s turning, she raises a shield spell, and just in time, since the strength of Masamune´s strike makes her fall on her knees just as the spell is shattered into pieces. The ricochet of the strike doesn´t dissuade him from his intentions, so he softly smirks at her, knowing full well she´s defeated.
"You´re mine, Lightning, there´s nothing you can do to help it. Stop denying it and just fight me with all you´ve got. Face the inevitability of your demise."
Sephiroth raises his blade and sends another, even more powerful strike towards the woman, but Lightning gathers the rest of her energy and, raising her blade too, executes a magnificent Gaelstrike, its wind attribute hitting both combatants full force and sending them flying backwards, away from one another. Sephiroth falls onto the ground again, while Lightning falls through the gate, traversing it, and once she does, the luminous entrance collapses, leaving the man without a way of reaching his pray. Bloodshot eyes are fixated at the place his enemy had just been and is about to scream her name when an ominous sight in the form of patches of black energy, traverse the sky, destroying and consuming the world around him. The ex-soldier chuckles at the sight, knowing that, after all, he has reached today´s goal.
"Fine then. Live another day. You well know we´ll meet soon enough, and next time, our encounter will be so marvelous, the skies will open up just to see us fight. Just to see you die under my hand."
ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo
"Terra? Zidane?" Y'shtola and Cloud kneel in front of their fallen comrades, while said friends shake their heads and search with their eyes around them, trying to get their bearings. Once both sets of eyes find each other, they both yell in unison, startling the rest.
"Lightning!"
"What?" Y'shtola is the first to react. "Where is she?"
Terra grabs her by the arm. "We need to go help her! Sephiroth…"
"Sephiroth? You fought against him?" Cloud interrupts her, while Squall takes a step towards the entrance, his countenance still unreadable but with eyes searching, almost in concern.
"Yeah, she…" Zidane is concerned too, and almost ashamed of himself. "She saved us from them, saved Terra from him, but he… he…"
"He seems to have a sick fixation on her." They all turn at the voice, impressed that the almost always-silent man has spoken more than a couple of words. Squall ignores them, trying his hardest to see through the access, when suddenly a gush of wind surprises him and then something hard comes through the entrance and collides against the man, sending them both flying backwards. The moment Squall notices pink locks obstructing his sight, he envelops the smaller frame with his arms and lets the inertia take them. He rolls on the ground, always protecting the body underneath him, until they finally stop, a few steps away from their friends, and he looks down, searching for the crystal clear eyes.
"Lightning? Are you okay?"
"Please… the arrows…" she begs, her voice so weak it clenches his heart.
"What do you mean? There are no arrows here, you´re safe now."
"No Squall," Y'shtola interrupts the man, as she approaches and swiftly passes her eyes through the woman´s body, addressing all her injuries. "She means the arrows embedded in her flesh. We will not be able to heal her unless we extract them out of her."
Squall looks down at the body on top of his, just as Cloud gets near them, and they both open their eyes in astonishment and rage. Lightning´s right arm is completely bathed in her own blood, just like her neck, the ghastly wound still bleeding; her once white jacket is bathed in a crimson hue almost all over, but even more from her breasts down, and they can see the broken tip of one of the arrows protruding from her flesh, as well as her left leg dampened in red, with the second arrow passing through either side. But what impresses them the most are her once pink lips now completely crimson, just like her chin, while she coughs small droplets of blood.
"Damn you Sephiroth!" Cloud seethes in rage and curses. "Why the hell did he do that to her?"
"Do you really need an answer to that?" Zidane eyes the blond, all worked up too. "Because he´s a freaking maniac! That´s why!"
"A maniac who has taken some liking in hurting her." Terra´s darkened eyes are locked in Lightning´s injuries, while she kneels alongside Y´shtola to help her friend.
"He injures anyone he approaches." Cloud speaks.
"Yeah, but even Squall has noticed that jerk kinda enjoys it a lot more when it´s Lightning´s blood the one he´s shedding." Zidane retaliates, pointing at the brunet man to further reinforce his argument, but the addressed cadet says nothing, his eyes still fixed on the bleeding injuries.
"Shush all of you! Sephiroth´s motives are not important at the moment." Y'shtola intervenes, their bickering getting on her nerves. "We need to remove the arrows out of her, they´re still damaging her further as we speak. Cloud, would you take Lightning off of Squall?"
But before the blond can even answer, Squall envelops the smaller frame with both arms, blue eyes fixed on silver ones of the Miqo´te, startling her.
"No. She´s staying with me, it´ll bring her comfort."
"But Squall," Terra intervenes, "she´s heavy, and your position will give you cramps later on."
"I said no. I don´t mind, she needs me."
"It´s okay, buddy." Even Zidane tries to reason with the cadet. "I understand what you´re feeling, but the girls will take good care of her, so you can let go of her now…"
"I said no." His voice is even but filled with sheer determination, as his eyes convey what his words can´t. "You might understand how I feel. But you don´t understand how she feels." His glare moves from Zidane to the rest of his comrades and then locks eyes with the tall Miqo´te. "We shouldn´t move her any further. It´ll injure her even more. I promise you I can hold. I can help her like this."
Cloud sighs in frustration as he passes a hand through wild blond locks. "Look, man, just let her go."
Squall is ready to argue once more but Y'shtola prevents his words.
"Alright, Squall. If you are convinced your presence will help her, we will do it your way. Just make sure you do as I say, no hesitation nor doubt. Have I made myself clear?"
The young man only nods.
Y´shtola lets a small sigh escape her lips, as she directs her attention to the pinkette. "Lightning, can you hear me?" The tall magician caresses the pink locks, trying to get a response. The fallen woman grunts and nods as the only reply. "We need to take the arrows out, and I will not lie to you, each attempt will hurt like you have no idea, my friend, I´m truly sorry I am not able to spare you the torture."
"I do have an idea… my friend." Lightning´s breathing is becoming weaker by the minute, but she forces her focus with everything she can. "Please… just…"
"Yes, do not worry anymore, it will not take us long. Just trust in me." The Miqo'te leans backwards but the pinkette traps her hand, and fixes blue, torture-filled eyes on the silver ones of her comrade.
"I trust you… I do trust you… Y'shtola." The woman smiles gratefully and Lightning nods, then lets her head rest on Squall´s chest, while the man holds her tight, as if trying to give her strength. The man and the magician exchange looks and then Y´shtola positions herself, with both hands she takes the end of the arrow in her leg, and pulls her hardest, making Lightning yell and startling everyone.
"Is she okay?" The Miqo´te asks, the bloodied arrow now in her hands, and though Squall shakes his head, it´s Lightning the one who speaks, voice and body trembling, her hands making fists out of pain.
"I´m okay. I´m okay… please go on… I don´t know how much longer I can resist…" Squall´s hold on her becomes tighter. For someone so cold and usually apart from everyone, Terra is touched by the way he´s become quite protective of her, now noticing such attitude had appeared ever since they got Odin´s crystal and seems to be developing further. Now she wonders what could´ve happened to them back then, to make them bond this much?
"Terra?" Y'shtola´s voice takes her out of her reverie. "I need you to cast the most powerful spell you have on her, right after I pull the last arrow."
"M-me?" the shorter woman hesitates. "W-why me? You´re a stronger and more skillful spellcaster than me! You should be the one to do it!"
"Okay fine, will you take my place and take the arrow out of her, then?"
If possible, the Esper pales even more at the offering.
"N-no… no, no! I´ll cast the spell. I wouldn´t have the strength to pull it out!"
In spite of herself, Y'shtola smiles a bit at the younger woman´s reaction. "Great. Are you ready, now?"
Without waiting for a response, the Miqo´te pulls as hard as she can; this time, though, it´s harder than the first, the broken pieces embed themselves in the pinkette´s flesh, as if refusing to let go, but after a few eternal seconds of pulling and prodding and tearing tissue apart, the arrow finally gives in, and in its wake it produces a spurt of blood through both sides. Through the maddening process, Lightning has been biting her bloodied lips, grunting but forcing herself not to scream, knowing full well her yelling would make matters worse for her comrades. But the pain is just too unbearable even for her, and she passes out once more, her body limp on Squall´s arms, while the healing cloud envelops her whole.
"Lightning? Lightning!" The cadet shakes her body, afraid of what could´ve happened to her.
"Let her be, Squall." Y'shtola appeases him. "She needs the rest." The tall woman looks around them, appraising their surroundings. "It is quite dangerous if we were to linger here. Let us find a place where she can recover properly."
Squall nods but it´s Cloud the one taking action, as he passes his arms under the woman´s unconscious body, releasing his friend from his precious cargo, and carries Lightning bridal style, his eyes refusing to take a look at her still-healing wounds. After all, they´re a reminder of his own failure, since he thinks it should be him the one fighting Sephiroth, not her. The ex-soldier is his responsibility, after all.
But Squall cannot close his eyes, as they travel down his own body, now fully drenched in her precious blood. The sheer emotion the sight produces in him makes his eyes get darker.
I´m gonna kill that man for this.
"Let us first make her whole again." It´s Zidane the one approaching the cadet, understanding his feelings full well. "Let us protect her as she did us. Then you both can have your revenge. Because I´m almost sure she´ll be the first one to look for retaliation." The little man smirks at the last part, trying his hardest to lighten up the cadet´s spirits.
Squall nods but is not quite convinced, his rage growing as his eyes find the closed eyelids of the Savior, and the sight reminds him of the moment when her eyes were shining at him, filled with gratefulness he felt undeserved after he helped her defeat Snow and Odin.
I´m sorry I was of no use to you this time around.
oooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo
A/N: I´m sorry PinKrystal for… uff… for this story. I swear to you I tried to make a story where Lightning and Sephiroth were a thing, but I just couldn´t picture Sephiroth being nice with Lightning, and instead, felt touched by the way Squall was there for her when they met Snow. Though the story is not over yet, so you can be sure they´ll interact a lot more. Only, I can promise you it won´t be nice… Soooo, I guess in a way they DO have a thing, right? It´s just that, well, it´s not a GOOD thing… hehe
On other issues, in my opinion, Lightning has become quite softer indeed, has changed over what she once was. Has she become weaker as well? I think not, and to be honest, I like it that she relies upon the rest of her peers a lot more, and worries about them a lot more too. I like it that, in Dissidia, they show her evolution through the games, show how a millennia of survival has changed her core: from being a bitchy girl throwing a tantrum (and I adored that side of her, don´t be mistaken!) to a full-grown, strong and determined woman who knows the value of her peers. If I loved her then, I adore her even more now. Too bad she doesn´t have much screen time in NT. I honestly have to say I laughed at Squall´s typical response, when she thanks him for being there for her during the battle, and he just says "whatever, I was just doing my job." Hahahah! That was totally priceless! But his words anyways made me think that they bonded in some way. I´m sorry I might´ve made an exaggeration of that bond.
I´m sorry too for all the gore, but still hope you liked it.
I don´t own Final Fantasy. I just write this out of fun.