Final Cry

by Study in Elegant Death

The world no longer needed the Savior, she served her purpose of shepherding the souls of old to a New World and freeing them of the creed of Gods. Now all that had been left was trying her best to assimilate into a normal life. But fate had other plans for the Savior, and being 'normal' just didn't cut it. Especially when Yeul and a red-clad demon hunter get involved.

9. Chapter 9: Test Your Might

Chapter 9: Test Your Might

The darkened, wicked realm he currently resided in was becoming more and more acceptable to the presence of God. Though it may still linger in the darkest depths of the abyss, his light was more than a more beacon to break through the shadows attempting to gnaw at his divine image. However, God felt peculiar while staying in the realm of demons- something was changing within himself, and he was not sure he could stop it. His form had already begun to distort, and every demon slain beneath his divine weapon seemed to expedite the process. Was he truly descending into madness? Perhaps. But there was no way for him to know of such a thing, as insanity was never a clear cut thing to behold. Pre-arrival to this realm, some would argue that God was already 'insane', so why would it matter either way? It didn't.

Walking into the throne room that belonged to another, God stared at the impetuous being he understood to be 'Mundus'. Of the knowledge he absorbed, God understood that he'd rose to power when he dared raise his hand to the former King in a bid to rule not only his realm- but that of the living, as well. God's kingdom would not be shared. While he may have very well slaughtered and overthrown that which had spawned him in an eerily similar parallel to Mundus, he still was not willing to share glory. His mother Mywynn had her rule of the land far before such creatures had ever come into being, and he would never willingly bow to another.

"You dare intrude upon my realm?" Mundus seemed offended by the arrival of someone who rivaled even the powers that he possessed. Such a being was pulsating with strength, strength that would enable him to reign his vengeance down upon the Son of Sparda for his treachery. Compared to this individual, the strength of the Savior seemed to not be a fitting prize for someone of his stature.

"You think highly enough of yourself, that you might talk down to God?" Bhunivelze leered right back at Mundus, baring his scythe as the deity thought of the many ways that he could do away with the 'Demon King'.

"There is no 'God'." Scoffing at him, Mundus stood from his seated position, sizing up the other divine individual. "The Savior struck him down in order to be freed of the shackles ever so callously placed upon humanity by an ignorant fool."

"Is that so?" Bhunivelze asked, unmoved by the attempt to insult his intelligence. "The world of the living belongs to I, and I alone shall govern the fate of those spawned by myself. God's love shall be known eternally. I will discipline and eternally adore my creations until they know not to raise their hand to myself. But you were defeated by the Son of Sparda. A mortal." Sensing the power of this individual, God was confident that in a fight between them, he could slay the 'King'. Many of the voices within him assured him that it could be done, that with the Double Deity spawned of Lindzei and Pulse's sacrifice in order to groom the Savior to a docile fate, could be the weapon of his demise.

"I do not seek the living realm to be in my possession. I wish to destroy it." Mundus countered Bhunivelze's words, not at all phased by the words of God. He'd seen him struck down at the hands of the Savior, that the deific being he'd groomed to be his Goddess of Death had cut him down with the aid of her mortal friends. And he would not be so careless when he destroyed humanity and all who stood in his way. "An oversight on my end of things. But I was careless. You were arrogant."

Cocking his head to the side, God couldn't resist the laugh that escaped his lips. Shaking his head, the deity stared Mundus directly in the eyes. "I bestowed many trials upon my Savior to replace my useless daughter, Etro. Unlike the Goddess who allowed emotion to cloud her judgment and the will of humans to guide her every move and instinct, my Savior was to be perfect, in every sense of the word. Though she may have been born of flesh and blood, she was no mere mortal. Etro's hand was eternally upon her. Her clay was not merely molded of humanity, but something else stained her very fiber of being. I do not know what my daughter did to create Lightning, but I do know that I was not unwise in my choice- she is perfection, death at its very core. My beloved new Goddess, my new daughter, reborn in my image! That she bested God only reinforces my choice. And once I strike you down, I will let my Savior know that God has not forgotten her betrayal. That she still has a destiny whether she likes it or not- even if I have to kill her and banish her to the Chaos itself." Having said all that he needed to, God began his assault on the Demon King. There would be only one victor in their skirmish, and one dead loser, unworthy of their divine heritage.

Casting Doom, the God was not going to yield. He would not lose to some delusional pretender who hid behind a mask that made him appear divine, his image a mockery of God himself. In the skirmish between light and darkness; Bhunivelze would let Mundus know that Gods light was not something to be extinguished. Using his Heartless Angel ability, Bhunivelze swiftly dodged crimson projectiles meant for the deity. Watching his creations come to his aid, they cackled with delight before causing minor damage to Mundus.

"Is that you all have, God?" Mocking him, Mundus let out a raucous laughter at the attempt on his life. "You might as well concede now."

Bhunivelze laughed right back at Mundus. "The real battle is only beginning." Shifting to his second form, God cast Monad Baget, the divine spheres surrounding Mundus while their skirmish wore on.

"Then show me the might of God!" Mundus taunted the deity, toying with him in order to see exactly for himself what Bhunivelze was capable of. This realm could only have one true 'master' and likewise their fight would only have one victor. Mundus was more than confident it would be him who stood victorious over the corpse of God, absorbing all of his immense strength and making himself even more powerful once their conflict came to a close. Pressuring God even more, as the Demon King performed some of his stronger magics, Mundus was factually enjoying himself.

Using Wings of Destruction, Bhunivelze's six golden wings folded in on themselves and emitted a shockwave that not only damaged the Demon King, but caused his spheres to implode and crack the initial form of Mundus. "I will cast you out from this realm. Into the Chaos, and never to return!" Using Flare, God gleefully took in the cries of pain as more of Mundus' form destructed. "Hide no longer behind your ill-conceived mask! The Light of God is power! You are powerless!"

"What is light, when drowned out by darkness?" Mundus scoffed at him, revealing his true form and fighting the deity in an even more fearsome battle as God was eventually forced to shift into his third form. It seemed that each time he found himself open to defeat, he somehow found a way to counteract this by becoming even stronger. But Mundus didn't want to fight a being who dared hold back against him- he wanted to know every last strength and weakness of God- of the powers he was to possess at the end of their fight.

"You think you can extinguish my divine light?" Bhunivelze scoffed at Mundus.

"I will do more than rid the world of your light." Mundus vowed to him.

Lightning glanced around the forbidden halls of Valhalla- the realm of the former Goddess should have been off-limits to her, so why had she returned to it, now? Glancing down, she saw herself wearing the fortified armor Etro had deigned fit for her final guardian to wear. "I must be dreaming." Lightning mused aloud, clenching her fist and testing out her reflexes. For all intensive purposes, everything felt real. Stepping forward, she heard the metallic clank of her armor, and felt the mild strain that came with her mobility. Looking over her sword, the Overture came to life within her hands, just waiting to be used by its divine wielder. Why am I here? This long forgotten, sacred place should be put to rest like its owner... And yet I harken back to what was, for what purpose? Did I subconsciously think of Valhalla and my struggles with the immortal Caius Ballad within this realm? Even if I protected the Goddess like was intended of me- would anything have changed?

All at once, the realm of Valhalla was bathed in ethereal twilight. Letting out a mild gasp, Lightning watched as everything darkened and was given a whole new life by the light of a moon. In a timeless world where the waters never churn, and time is merely a concept of a world that once was- how has it managed to move forward?

Brought out of her thoughts by noises of an intruder, Lightning glanced around in all directions. "Caius Ballad!" Yelling out his name, she wondered if the immortal might show himself to her, so that they could have a skirmish like all those centuries ago. Mentally preparing herself for the battle, Lightning was confused when the Chaos began to pique within her fixed location. Tendrils began to escape from the ground, and so instinctively jumped back, wanting to fight with absolutely no obstructions. Holding out her sword towards the infusion, she prepared to fire.

Her peripheral vision had caught the slightest hint of an enemy, and Lightning barely raised her sword in time to properly deflect the attack. "You always did cheat in our battles." The Knight of Etro acted like she'd anticipated the assault, but in reality she'd been caught off-guard and it was blind luck that she'd stopped his coupe de grace.

After his failure, he'd released the pressure behind his sword and jumped back. Turning around, Lightning let out a short gasp of surprise. Her opponent wasn't Caius Ballad- it appeared to be a woman, but she couldn't say for certain. Squinting her eyes to focus further, Lightning observed the aesthetic of her opponent: Heavy plated armor that seemed to be a 'dark' variant of her own. The feathers were as dark as night, the armor crimson and violet with black hues, and her sword seemed to be pulsating with a power that didn't stem from Chaos or that which had been gifted by the Goddess. She wore a helmet to conceal her features, and why she had gone to such great lengths, Lightning had no idea. Another thing she noticed, was that her hair was the same length as Lightning's but silver in color. Why are you familiar to me...? Despite never having met the woman, she couldn't help the feeling of nostalgia.

Without warning, the woman charged forward and fired at Lightning.

Caught off-guard, Lightning somersaulted backward and fired mid-air back at the woman. Landing on her feet, Lightning prepared herself for another attack, but found her opponent to be missing. Instinctively, she twirled her sword around and planted it firmly in the ground. Going into the Knight stance, she used her immortality ability to fend off any advance made by the mystery woman. Knowing fully well that she'd resort to a cheap tactic in order to 'win' the fight, Lightning wanted to be prepared for any situation.

"Pathetic." Hearing the muffled voice of the woman echo through her helmet as she appeared in front of Lightning, the pink haired woman still maintained her position. Watching as the mystery woman pulled back her sword, it emitted even more of the peculiar aura and shattered Lightning's defenses the moment it collided with her.

Gasping, Lightning found herself open and switched to her Conjurer stance immediately. Casting Aura, she felt the strength of the Goddess flowing through her, granting the gifts of Haste, Bravery and Faith. "Like going for a back stab every time?" Lightning countered, switching her stance once more to Mage. Using her Thunder/Thundara abilities to catch the woman off-guard, she charged forward and went for an overhead slash. The woman made no attempt to counter, instead she allowed their swords to collide and the ground from beneath them to crumble.

"Regardless of tactics, all that matters in the end is the 'win'. Do your enemies ever fight 'fair'?" The woman asked, taunting Lightning ever so slightly. While Lightning thought it over, the woman used her hesitation to her advantage, and landed a sweep kick to her gut, then somersaulted her away.

"Who and what are you- an illusion of Caius'...?" Lightning asked, feeling immense pain in her stomach from the hits she'd received from the woman.

"I am not an illusion of that man's creation." Calmly stating her words, the woman expertly wielded her sword.

"Which makes you either a figment of my imagination or a pawn of Lumina's." Lightning thought of the only plausible reasons for such a woman to have been birthed. To be honest, she was a very strange foe, even for a seasoned fighter like Lightning. Instead of fal'Cie, immortal, l'Cie or anything she'd ever encountered, she appeared to be demonic.

"I am neither." Once again not being very forthcoming, the woman perfectly mirrored Lightning's actions.

"Then what are you?" Lightning asked, frowning and preparing herself for yet another onslaught.

Refusing to answer, the woman charged forward at a blinding speed. Lightning switched to her Shaman stance and used her most powerful wind-attribute attack: Bladestorm. Once the large air current formed, Lightning was sure her opponent had been sucked up and suffered at least some form of damage from within. Leaping up to a height that no mere mortal would be able to achieve, she switched to her Paladin stance and prepared to inflict as much damage as she could muster. To her surprise, the woman was nowhere in sight, and she landed perfectly in the middle of her spell. Immediately stopping the air current, Lightning waited for the dust to settle and narrowed her eyes once the woman appeared in front of her.

"Just as with God; such petty tactics cannot defeat me." Going for a right hook, she was surprised when Lightning countered with a reverse roundhouse that simultaneously forced her attack to not only miss, but her booted foot connected with her jaw and sent the woman flying back. Using her sword as an anchor, the blade let out a mighty cry of metal against concrete, slowing her speed until she once more rest firmly against the ground.

Lightning scoffed at her. "Do you honestly think you're that good? Because, just like God- your arrogance will kill you."

"A common trait we share." The woman shrugged off Lightning's comment.

"Speaking of 'sharing'- you seem to mimic everything I do, but can you do this?" Lightning asked, reaching out her hand to the heavens. "Odin!" Within moments, the Eidolon was by her side and preparing for battle.

"That wasn't worthy of you, Lightning." The woman tutted, seemingly unimpressed by the appearance of an Eidolon.

"You said there was 'no rules' and I think I'm playing your game just like you wanted." Lightning shrugged, looking at Odin. "Cut us a path!"

Once more silenced, the mystery woman charged forward at a superior speed to Lightning and Odin, this time aiming all of her attentions on the Eidolon. Expertly dodging the slashes of her sword, she ran up his body, kicking his left thigh, right part of his torso, flipping in the air and somersaulting Odin into a pillar. Slightly unnerved, Lightning had watched her Eidolon so easily fall. Using her Legion of One, she began to furiously assault the woman in order to avenge the harm she'd done to the Eidolon. Feeling her strength return with each and every hit, Lightning delivered the finishing blow and instinctively ran toward Odin.

"Odin!" Lightning called out his name, worried about his overall condition.

"You've grown too accustomed to their aid." The woman leapt over Lightning, landing a finishing blow that destroyed the physical form of the Eidolon, forcing his crystal to retreat to the Goddess' throne room. Turning to face Lightning, the pink haired woman looked furious.

"You'll pay for that. Dearly." Lightning warned her, rushing forward.

"As you are now- you won't defeat anyone." Dodging Lightning's advances with minimal effort, the woman landed a sweep kick to her jaw, and leapt into the air, landing firmly on the fallen Knight of Etro, her sword narrowly missing Lightning's head. When Lightning attempted to get up and recover, she stomped down with unnatural strength on her chest. "You are nothing more than a child with powers under your control that you cannot possibly use effectively. That such sacrifices were made in order for your creation... It truly was an oversight for such individuals to put so much stock into you."

"Creation...?" Lightning wheezed out, hoping for an answer.

"You're not ready. I'll kill you as many times as needed, bring you to this godforsaken place as long as it takes... Now, begone." Raising her sword above her head, she swiftly impaled Lightning through the chest, doing just as she'd promised- killing the Knight of Etro.

Lightning's eyes shot open, and she gasped for air.

"Lightning! Light!"

Shallowly breathing, the pink haired woman opened her eyes and stared up at a worried Hope. His hands were on her shoulders, and he appeared to be concerned for her. The way his eyebrows were knitted together, the desperation in his voice, and how shaky the man was when he hugged her so tightly, as if she might break otherwise.

"Hope?" Lightning asked, confused as to why he was acting this way. Did she pass out for a little while?

"You scared me, Light! I- for a moment there, I didn't know what was happening." Hope admitted, pulling out of the hug and looking at her, his face relatively close to hers, his green eyes scanning every last inch of Lightning. When Lightning continued to give him a puzzled look, he decided to elaborate further. "While you were dreaming, it sounded like... Like you were dying, and no matter what I did, you wouldn't wake up..." The anxious man still wore a worried look, giving her hands a firm squeeze while he spoke.

Averting her eyes for a moment, Lightning couldn't stand being the reason why Hope had turned to such a state. "I'm sorry." Speaking the words that she almost never said aloud, she once more looked him in the eye. "I didn't mean to worry you, and I'm sorry that I did. But I'm fine now, okay?" Doing her best to assure him, she smiled.

After a few moments' hesitation, Hope nodded to her. "Okay. I believe you, Light."

"Let's go see Serah." Lightning changed the topic, hoping to make him feel a little more at ease.

"Okay." Hope smiled, nodding.

Lightning stood up and walked side-by-side with Hope, continuing to hold his hand while they exited the train together. Shuffling through crowds of people, Lightning and Hope never once became separated, as the Savior easily divided the sea of people before them and wasn't above shoving rude people out of their way so that she and Hope could navigate the station easier. Every now and again the man would give her hand a gentle squeeze in order to verify something for himself that he wasn't very forthcoming with Lightning about. Initially Lightning thought it could have been Hope feeling slight amounts of separation anxiety and not wanting to lose her in the crowds of people, but that wasn't it. His overly concerned looks each time Lightning stole a glance at him told an entirely different story than the one in her head. He was hiding something, but she didn't push for him to say it outright- if Hope had something private that he felt the need to hide from even her, then she'd respect his wishes and give him the liberty of choosing whether or not to bestow his knowledge upon her.

Did I really scare you to the point that you seemed on the verge of tears...? In all my years of living, I never factually thought that I could get so close to a person that they'd fear losing me. Save for Serah, I didn't believe one person would know I disappeared from the world. Like Lumina had said; I lived my life for my sister, and sacrificed anything and everything I had so that she'd never know struggles. In Valhalla, I was more than prepared to stay as a martyr for the cause of protecting the Goddess forever. Everyone had believed I was gone, when their memories were altered by Etro, but you and Serah... You were both the light at the end of the tunnel waiting for me. When the world was lost in the sea of Chaos, you all prayed for a hero, for salvation that I alone could not bring. Even if I stayed active instead of slumbering atop the throne of the Goddess, would all of you have been able to hang onto your humanity? I suppose that we'll never know, for that time and place is long gone. But know this- I have no intentions of dying, Hope. But if I lose... Will you forgive me?

Vanille happily skipped ahead of Fang and Dante who seemed to enjoy leisurely strolling behind the faster paced girl. She couldn't help but to speed along- they were going to visit Serah and Snow, see Lightning and Hope again and almost the whole group was back together again. What wasn't there to be excited about?

With the sweets, come the sour.

"How much do ya think Serah'll mind us all just showing up on her doorstep?" Dante asked, glancing over at Fang. He had no idea what the sister of Lightning would act like, and if she had any special powers he should worry about.

"You kidding? She'll love it. I bet her and Snow will beg us to stay longer. Especially if it means Lightning'll show up." Fang glanced over at him. "Why? You think Serah's gonna give ya a thrashing? She might give you an earful for attacking her sister, but she's not as ruthless as Lightning, if that's what you're getting at."

"I didn't attack Lightning- she decided to attack me." Dante corrected Fang on that matter. "Opposites, huh? I think I've heard that one somewhere before." He couldn't help but to think of Vergil and himself. For their entire lives they always had different stances on 'light' and 'dark', 'good' and 'evil' and up until his death, they never truly got along. Wherever he was, he hoped his brother was at peace.

For those of us who slip into corruption and darkness, there will always be a 'light' at the end of the tunnel; but salvation is heralded only to those who want to be saved. Without a will to change, we might as well be grasping at straws. The sea of rebirth is stagnant for those who stand still in the calm waters, but churns and springs to new life at the behest of valiant souls who decide their own fate.

"Technicalities. It's all the same to Light- have you ever met a woman?" Fang asked, placing her hand on her hip while grilling Dante. "Just tell her you were wrong, and get the damned thing over with."

"But I wasn't wrong." Dante countered.

"So? It doesn't bloody matter whether or not you were wrong- tell her you were and the situation will be over and done with." Fang felt his gaze on her and shrugged her shoulders. "It's the way that women work. They don't say what they really mean, they expect an apology regardless of whose fault it was, and they only get madder than hell if you don't give 'em what they want- so let Lightning win this round, yeah?" Fang asked.

"Well, when you're right, you're right." Dante sighed.

"Yeah, and Lightning's a special case when it comes to women and their tendencies- she's got the stubborn will of a Chocobo in her." Fang folded her arms, wondering why she actually took pity on the man and gave him advice regarding Lightning. Maybe it was due to the fact that they needed him and her to get along and be partners just for a little while so that they could save the world. Or it could have been due to the fact that Fang felt like Lightning and Dante would make one hell of a pair- even if they didn't yet know it.

"Can't say I know what that is, or how it acts, but I'll take your word for it." Dante wasn't sure if he could endure through another explanation of a creature he'd never meet in his lifetime. For now, he just wanted to focus on their goal of meeting Serah Farron.

"See? Now you've got it!" Fang joked, punching him lightly on the arm.

Dante shrugged his shoulders and grinned back at her. The trio continued their walk until they eventually stumbled upon Serah/Snow's house on the beach in New Bodhum.

"Serah!" Vanille called out happily, running and skipping her way over to the pink haired woman.

"Vanille!" Serah just as gleefully called out her friend's name, looking over just in time to hug Vanille properly. Laughing lightly, she had missed her friend so much.

"Good friends?" Dante asked, watching Serah's interaction with Vanille and raising a brow at how polar opposite she already appeared to be from her big sister Lightning.

"The best. But I told you- we're also family." Fang shrugged, folding her arms and watching the interaction with a smile.

"That's right." Snow agreed, walking out and grinning at Fang. "Didn't know you finally decided to settle down."

"Oi! He's not my boyfriend. I think Light and Vanille are ahead of me on that list." Fang scoffed, winking at Snow.

"That right?" Snow asked, laughing at her remark. Glancing at her companion, he sized up the man. "You must be a brave man to take on Lightning... Sis can be quite the handful." Snow offered out his hand, the blonde haired man giving Dante a look of pure sympathy.

"You're telling me." Dante managed a light scoff while shaking Snow's hand. "I barely meet her before she's punching me in the jaw, summoning creatures out of nowhere and trying to kill me with the powers of a God."

"Yep. That's her, alright." Snow laughed.

"My condolences for having her as a sister-in-law." Dante meant it as a joke, but he figured Lightning would be a pain in the ass to deal with.

"Ah, don't worry about it- Lightning and I worked out our issues a long time ago. Nothing a few good hooks to the jaw couldn't fix." Snow released Dante's gloved hand and stepped out of the gesture. Turning his attentions to Fang, he took on a more serious tone. "What's with the surprise visit, Fang? What's going on?"

"End of the world stuff. The usual, really." Fang said smoothly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Damn. You couldn't just drop by to say hello, could you?" Snow asked.

"When have I ever been known to do the 'normal' thing?" Fang laughed lightly.

"Well, you got me there." Snow looked to Dante. "And I guess that means you're somehow involved?"

"More or less. Lightning and I are supposed to save the world." Dante shrugged his shoulders.

"Of course." Snow sighed. "Once you get past the hazing period and she starts warming up to you, things'll get moving real quick."

"So I guess everyone's been through the 'I hate you' phase with Lightning, I take it?" Dante asked.

"More or less." Fang and Snow answered at the same time.

"'More or less' what?" Serah asked curiously, tilting her head to the side when Vanille and she rejoined the group. "Oh, hello! I don't think that we've met. I'm Lightning's sister-"

"-Serah." Dante finished for her, shaking Serah's hand. "I'm Dante."

"It's nice to meet you!" Serah smiled warmly. "I see that you've already met Fang and Snow. Is my sister with you?" Serah asked, leaning over and looking behind the tall man.

"Afraid not. But she might show up here. I'm guessing you want to be filled in on the situation?" Dante asked, figuring the younger sister would like to know exactly what Lightning had been up to as of late.

"Yes, please." Serah nodded. "Let's go inside to talk." Leading the group, she walked inside of the home she shared with Snow and sat on the couch. "Make yourselves at home." She said mostly for Dante's own benefit, as Fang and Vanille already knew that they were welcomed to whatever they pleased while in Serah/Snow's home.

"Thanks." Dante nodded to her, sitting opposite of Serah. "Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning would be nice." Snow piped up, placing a beer in front of Dante and grabbing one for himself.

"Brace yourselves for that one- it's a doozie." Fang spoke up, mixing her cocktail at the bar.

"It started with a dream, actually. A girl I'd never met before told me that Lightning and I would have to team up in order to save the world, and I'm actually not used to getting a heads up to these kinds of situations, or told that I need a partner to do so." Dante began to explain as best he could, to the intently listening couple. Vanille herself even seemed very keenly interested, and Fang seemed to be half-listening to him, as she'd heard it all before. "Anyway, she said that the demons were uprising, and that I'd need to find a 'Savior', a person who turned out to be Lightning so that we could band together and all would be good again. Things didn't exactly work out, as she thought I was 'evil' and rather than talk things out, she'd rather pull a sword on me and try to vaporize me with Bahamut." Although it had been a very good attempt on his life, Dante wouldn't die so easily from such an attack. Granted, some of the things she'd done did hurt him- but not enough to earn a coupe de grace.

"Yeul came to you in a dream and told your a prophecy..." Serah spoke up, trying to lay things out before her. "And Lightning needs to help you, but thinks you're evil... That is quite the mess. Well, if she shows up here, then I promise that I'll help convince her otherwise."

"Will she listen to you?" Dante asked, earning a snort from Fang and Snow.

"She'd listen to Serah before she'd listen to just about anybody." Snow explained to him, knowing fully well that Serah and Hope were just about the only ones Lightning ever listened to.

"Well, good. 'Cause I'd hate to be the reason that your house ended up vaporized." Dante said, glancing around the place.

"She'd know better than to make me mad." Serah piped up, smiling and sending chills down the spine of Snow. Nobody had really and truly ever seen her angry, save for Noel, and that wasn't even the full extent of Serah's rage.

"Well, if I had to bet on someone who can tame Lightning- it'd definitely be Serah. Or Hope." Fang said smoothly, sipping her drink and leaning against the bar.

"Hope?" Vanille asked, tilting her head to the side and curiously eying her partner. "What makes you think that Hope would be able to do it?"

Snow chuckled lightly at Vanille's innocence/naivete on the matter. "Yeah, I guess he's the only one other than Serah who'd stand a chance. Who'd a thought the kid Lightning wanted to ditch in the Vile Peaks would end up being someone so close to her?" The blonde man mused, wondering when/if the two of them were ever going to set aside their shyness or whatever it was that had been getting in the way of them ending up together. Lightning might not realize it herself, but Hope really dug her. And Hope might not have noticed it, but Lightning seemed to be closer to him than anyone else- even Serah.

"People have ways of surprising you." Serah spoke up, taking Snow's hand in hers and smiling up at him. They were proof of that fact- even when she was marked with the brand of a Pulse l'Cie, Snow was right there, by her side and trying to help her to complete her focus. Even when Lightning was being difficult and objected to their whole relationship, he was right there, with her. And now Lightning might have found someone for herself who was like that, she'd found her 'Snow', her 'hero', and Serah largely hoped that things worked out for them.

"You can say that again." Lightning spoke up, earning the attention of everyone in the room. "I thought I was coming for a simple 'family visit' and I find my sister sitting across from a demon."

Suddenly, all gazes shifted to Dante. The man shrugged his shoulders. "She's half right. My father was a demon and my mother was a human. But that's beside the point. And I'd like to know if you plan on trying to vaporize me again." Leaning back on the couch, he pointedly asked her the question. Just because these people seemed to walk on eggshells, didn't mean he'd do the same.

"Well, that depends." Lightning folded her arms, as Hope moved a bit from her side, just in case some sort of literal fight was going to breakout between the two individuals.

"On what, exactly?" Dante asked, waiting for an answer.

"If I can tolerate having you around, and whether or not you can be useful to me." Lightning said pointedly, frowning at Dante. Something about him just rubbed her the wrong way, and she couldn't put her finger on the issue right now.

"Hey Hope!" Vanille cheerfully whispered to the man, smiling as she hugged him without warning. He seemed tense for a moment or two, but Hope easily returned the gesture to her once he composed himself.

"Hey Vanille. It's nice to see you again." Hope spoke in a low voice just as Vanille had before him, as he didn't want to get in the middle of the debate they all heard Lightning and Dante start up.

"Lightning came to find you first, huh?" Vanille asked, pulling out of the hug and staring up at the tall man.

"Yeah. She was going to see everyone, actually, I just ended up being the first stop." Hope scratched the back of his head, trying to spare her feelings just in case she thought that her and Fang were going to be left out of things. Lots of people didn't give Vanille enough credit just because she seemed 'ditsy' at first glance, but she was an individual with a remarkable amount of depth and perception that likely superseded that of the rest of the group.

"And I wonder how and why that worked out." Fang teased him with a knowing smirk. Winking at him, she lightly clapped the man on the shoulder.

"Fang." Hope rubbed his shoulder lightly, nodding to the Pulsian woman. "Luck of the draw, I suppose? Light told me that she just happened to be closest to me, and that's why I was the one she'd visited first."

"Of course." Fang shared a knowing look with Snow and Serah.

"Sis givin' ya any trouble?" Snow asked, grinning at the shorter male.

"None at all." Hope shook his head, offering his hand to Snow, but the older/taller male gave him a hug instead.

"You're not getting off that easy little buddy. It's been a while since we've seen ya. And you managed to bring back Lightning with you." Snow finished the hug and ruffled Hope's hair. "Good job." He winked at Hope.

"I know that it's been a while, but I- I've just been busy... I wanted to come visit more, but I couldn't get away." Hope explained, looking amongst the group of people. He wanted them to know he sincerely wanted to see them, all of them- he just couldn't find the time to do so with his busy schedule. And he didn't want them to feel like he'd only drop everything and pack up his life if it was Lightning the one to come along and ask him to do so, even if that was what this seemed like/basically was.

"We know. Snow's just teasing." Serah smiled reassuringly, hoping that she managed to put Hope a little more at ease. She sent Snow a sharp gaze before turning her attention back to Hope.

"It's good to see you all... Again." Hope gave them all an apologetic smile, portraying his most sincerest apologies on the matter.

"Well, Yeul made it seem like you didn't have much choice in the matter. So either you set aside our differences and the two of us fight on the same side, or the world gets overrun by demons and we all lose- your choice." Dante once more threw the ball back into her court, wondering if Lightning was too 'proud' to simply find common ground with him.

"Yeul..." Lightning's features softened at the mention of the Seeress/Goddess. "What did she say to you?"

"That you and I are supposed to save the world." Dante simplified it, wondering if she'd be satisfied by that fact alone.

"Anything else?" Lightning asked. "Anything she said to you, I need to know. She's not one for specifics, but when she speaks, you better listen to her every word."

"No, that was pretty much it. Savior. Son of Sparda. The salvation of a world. Basically another day at the office for me." Dante was glad to see that she'd finally gotten over her anger or whatever it was that made her dislike him, even if it was just temporarily so that they could talk things out.

"Did you fall to the Unseen Realm, or did she contact you by other means?" Lightning once more frowned, knitting her eyebrows together while she concentrated deep in her thoughts.

"She came to me in a dream. I don't know what exactly the 'Unseen Realm' is, and unless it's the demon world, I can't say that I've ever popped by for a visit." Dante shook his head, leaning forward and taking a drink of his beer.

"It's true. Vanille and I heard it." Fang piped up, and Vanille eagerly agreed with her.

"The Unseen Realm exists within your star, beyond the reach of mortals. It's a sacred realm of life, death, and rebirth." Lightning didn't know that Yeul could invade the dreams of people, and wondered if she'd try to contact her through that method at some point in time.

"That's quite the safeguard. I guess they really hate visitors, huh?" Dante joked lightly, trying to ease up on the mood. But Lightning didn't seem to want any of it.

"The cycle of life is a precious thing that we all take for granted- it is a privilege and not a right to be born again, our sins absolved by a forgiving Goddess who envelopes us in a warm embrace at the end of our lives. Without it, the world will cease to be, and the concept of time would be nothing more than machinations of our lost worlds, coupled with the cries of the dead for what they've lost." Lightning looked Dante right in the eye as she spoke, wanting her words to truly sink in to the Son of Sparda. "That is why the Unseen Realm can't be accessed by ordinary means."

Dante nodded, listening to her every word. "I've heard it before, and I'm in no hurry to let the world go to hell. So, what do ya say, we partners?" Standing up and walking over to Lightning, Dante offered her his hand to shake.

Watching him as he walked over, Lightning stared down at the offered hand. Offering hers out, she retracted it just as they were about to shake. "I'm not sure."

Surprising everyone else in the room, who were far too interested in observing the exchange between Dante and Lightning, they weren't quite sure on whether or not she was being serious. Lightning rarely, if ever joked, and they always came off as serious statements, as opposed to comical humor, so it was fair to assume she was her typical no nonsense self.

"Uh, Light, I don't think it's best you-" Hope spoke up first, wondering if he could sway her to reconsidering Dante's offer, but she stopped him by giving Hope a look that said 'not now'.

"I already have a partner." Lightning motioned to Hope. "But I guess we could always use another ally. If Yeul really did decree that you were necessary to save the world, then I have no choice." This time, she shook his hand without hesitance.

"Well, when you put it like that." Dante joked a bit, supposing that from Lightning this was some form of compliment, or at the very least the best he was going to get from the Savior. Glancing behind Lightning, he felt the gaze of her male companion upon himself. When his green eyes met Dante's, Hope seemed a tad bit flustered and looked away, and periodically stole glances in their direction, instantly averting his eyes each time he found himself caught by the Demon Hunter. He's got a thing for Lightning. Dante instantly picked up on that fact. But a better question was, did Lightning know about it? Releasing her hand, he strode behind her to Hope. "You've got nothing to worry about- she doesn't like me." He spoke in a low enough voice that only Hope would have been able to hear him. Lightly clapping Hope on the shoulder in a friendly manner, he stepped out of Serah and Snow's home, deciding it best to give Lightning and the others time to get better acquainted. Sitting on one of the various chairs they had on their deck, Dante made himself comfortable.

Hearing a set of footsteps, he glanced over and caught a vague image of gloved hands holding his beer he'd forgotten inside. How fortunate for him that someone decided to be kind enough to bring him his refreshment. Gratefully accepting the can once it had been held out, he made eye contact with the person in question: Hope. "Thanks."

"No problem." Hope spoke up, fidgeting with his hands a bit and seeming a tad bit uncomfortable with their current situation. The man seemed like he had something he wanted to say, and was struggling inwardly to say it outright.

"Sit." Dante motioned to the seat opposite him at the table. He wondered on whether or not that came off as a command or a friendly invitation as he'd intended for it to be. In either case, the docile man sat down as instructed and placed his hands neatly on his thighs. "Something on your mind?" Dante figured he'd have to drag it out of Hope, or at the very least initiate conversation so that he'd feel comfortable enough to say it outright, whatever it may be.

"Inside... You uh, you said something. About Lightning." Hope clarified, doing his best to not stammer and seem like an adolescent when he was supposed to be a composed adult.

"I did." Dante nodded. "You like her, right?" Judging by Hope's instant reaction of 'jumping' and averting his eyes, Dante assumed he hit the nail right on the head.

"I- Is it that obvious?" Hope asked, looking Dante right in the eye. Had he been so blatantly obvious that Lightning herself had noticed his feelings about her?

"Honestly? Yeah. But lucky for you, she seems to be pretty dense about it." Dante shrugged. "And why you like someone with her kind of personality, I have no idea- but that's not any of my business." He wanted to put all of his cards on the table and let Hope know that Dante wasn't a 'threat' least of all someone who needed to be on his radar for prospective love interests of Lightning.

"I- she saved me." Hope spoke up. Though Dante had given him an 'out' so as not to speak of his reasoning behind his feelings for Lightning, Hope felt like he should at the very least elaborate on the situation. "I was just a kid when we first met, and Lightning wasn't exactly 'thrilled' when I decided to tag along with her all those years ago. But she was the strongest person I had ever come across, and I knew that of anyone, she was the one I could depend on to get stronger. I needed to." Thinking about their first meeting when they fought the fal'Cie Anima, how he'd decided to simply cut and run when Sazh/Snow/Lightning all opted to kill the God, he knew then that she had been a reckless individual. But Lightning's strength had shone through when they killed the God. "She, Sazh and Snow all defeated Anima, and we ended up being marked by Pulse himself. Falling to Lake Bresha, I said a few things that I shouldn't have. I blamed Serah, Snow and Lightning for us being marked as l'Cie. Understandably, they were angry with me. I suppose they eventually realized that I was just a kid, who said something out of fear and the heat of the moment."

Dante intently listened to every word that came out of Hope's mouth. He gave him a very precise, and detailed version of what had happened. It was actually an intriguing story to behold. Hope recounted every last detail from the encounter in 'Lake Bresha' the slaying of the fal'cie God Anima, up until the Vile Peaks, where they had both first encountered Odin himself. Sipping his beer every time Hope paused, so as not to make the man believe that Dante wasn't listening, he nodded every so often and gave him gestures that said 'go on'.

"I didn't know it back then, but Lightning was crying out for help. All of us were too blind to see it, as we were all lost in our own problems and never bothered to think that someone so strong could need a shoulder to lean on. But that's exactly what happened when after I crashed the Juggernaut and Lightning freaked out when I tripped on the bridge. I'll never forget those words she said to me, not solely because they were 'harsh' but also because they were exactly what I needed to hear in the moment." Hope shut his eyes, thinking of the Vile Peaks and when he'd tripped on the make-shift bridge they were cutting across in order to access Palum Polum. "'This isn't working. I mean, you're a liability. You'll just slow me down. Enough. The whole world is against us, I can barely keep myself alive, let alone some helpless kid! You wanna get tough? Do it on your own!'." Quoting Lightning's famous words right before Odin had summoned, he relived that very moment.

"People tend to think that just because a person is 'strong' that they're capable of handling their own, be it physical or emotional turmoil, that they can simply brush it off and move forward- but that's not always the case. She took out her frustrations on you because she was afraid of losing you, that your blood would be on her hands, and she'd never be able to wipe the sin of your death clean." Dante didn't gaze at anywhere in particular when he gave Hope his thoughts on the matter. He knew on some level how that must have felt, but it would be nothing short of naive and callous of him to say he knew exactly what she'd gone through. Even if it did entirely remind him of Virgil. No matter what, you had to remember that not everyone was capable of saving/being saved.

Hope opened his eyes and nodded to Dante's wise words. "I know that now, but I had no idea back then. I didn't have a high self-esteem, being that I was an adolescent, naive boy who didn't know factually anything of how the world worked. Odin had summoned, and the Eidolon nearly cut me in two. Had Lightning not stepped in, I would have died right then and there. Despite her fears, she overcame them in order to save me. And once that had been achieved, she praised me and told me that she'd toughen me up."

"Odin tried to kill you?" Dante raised a brow. "Why was that?" Caught on that fact alone, he wondered why, as they appeared to be allies, even the greatest of friends, Odin and Lightning.

"Eidolons were dispatched by the Goddess Etro, so that they could test the mettle of chosen l'Cie. Birthed in the heat of battle, they only succumb to masters they deem worthy. In that moment of hesitance, frustration and anger, he had summoned. Lightning jumped out of his circle, and when the Eidolon came forth, it most likely assumed I was the adversary it had come to test. Together, we had tamed the Eidolon and he accepted Lightning as his true master." Hope explained, hoping he was being thorough enough for Dante's questions.

"That seems like quite the mix up." Dante let out a light scoff. "Good thing she decided to do the right thing. Otherwise we wouldn't be having our little chat right now. Which reminds me- I never caught your name." The Devil Hunter had been completely busy running off on tangents and asking questions about their former world that he'd never bothered asking Hope for his name.

"Hope Estheim." Hope offered his gloved hand for Dante to shake. The young man seemed to exude nothing but confidence, seemingly over his initial anxiety of speaking with Dante. He even gave the physically older male a kind smile.

"Dante." Dante shook his hand. "I gotta say- she certainly has a way of dealing with guys like us."

"Guys like us?" Hope asked curiously.

"Yeah. She must have some sort of fetish for guys with silver/white hair and treating them like crap on the first meeting." Dante joked, hoping that if there was any tension left between them that this would bridge the gap and that the two of them could end up being friends. Hope didn't seem to be uncomfortable around him any more, so Dante took that as a good sign that they were going in the right direction.

Letting out a light laugh, Hope shook his head. "Don't let Light hear you say that."

"Right. Well, I'm gonna go and get a pizza and some beer. You're welcome to join me." Dante rather enjoyed Hope's company, and he felt like hearing a few more stories that didn't come between tedious sword fights.

"Oh, I don't drink alcohol as it kills brain cells." Judging by Dante's dumbfounded expression, Hope supposed that he didn't have the same disposition as himself. Well, that much was obvious as Dante indulged himself in such simple pleasures. "I suppose I can tag along." Not wanting to spoil the moment, Hope offered to tag along.

"I don't really care about that kinda thing, if I'm being honest." Dante shrugged, walking side-by-side with Hope. Placing his hands in his pants pockets, the Devil Hunter wondered what else his new friend could tell him about Lightning.

"To each their own, I suppose. Humans do have free will and the choice to do as they please." Hope spoke up, doing his best to keep up with Dante.

"You don't seem to mind much that I'm half demon." Dante commented, wondering exactly what stance Hope had on his kind. Had he ever encountered one?

"I learned a long time ago that prejudice, ignorance and fear get you nowhere in life. I lived a sheltered life facilitated by propaganda widespread by fal'Cie in order to keep a docile colony who was willing to obey their every command. Whether it was ordering the deaths of many innocents due to an artifact from Pulse that turned out to be a Pulse fal'Cie and 'infected' individuals had to be 'Purged' to Pulse which was a front for murder, or using Pulse l'Cie to do the bidding of our fal'Cie, the guardians who were meant to keep us safe and betrayed us all in order to bring about their wish of deaths release from Cocoon. So no, I can't say that I mind much that you're part demon. I know what it's like to be 'different' from other people. Being marked a Pulse l'Cie? That was a death sentence on Cocoon. Here, I'm not sure how the people react to your condition- but I'm not from here. And you seem to be an upstanding individual who fights on the side of 'good', so that's good enough for me. Besides, I don't know you well enough to make a judgment." Hope felt himself babbling, but he wanted to make sure that Dante knew his stance on things, and giving him as much background as possible in order to further understand how and why he came to his conclusions came naturally.

"Wow. You really must have put some thought into that." Dante mused, scratching the back of his head. Judging from the way that Hope acted/spoke/carried himself, he had to guess that he was an intellectual person. Not only that, but very kind. How the hell did Lightning manage to get a guy like that under her spell? "They really treated l'Cie like scum of the Earth, huh?" Glancing over at Hope, he wanted to hear a little more about the worlds he'd never get to see.

"To be honest with you... I'm not quite sure what to say." Serah smiled apologetically, sipping her tea and uneasily gazing around the room. I also wasn't expecting so much company in one day... Lightning. Hope. Fang. Vanille. And their newfound friend Dante. Don't get her wrong, she wasn't being rude/ungrateful, or hoping that they'd leave- she just wished she'd known prior so that they could prepare a little more. At the very least they had a guest room and air mattresses/a couch that their guests could sleep on, and as a last resort, the girls and the guys could share rooms. Fang, Vanille, Lightning, Serah to a room seemed like it would be a lot of fun. And she knew that Snow/Hope wouldn't have a problem sharing a room, as the two more than likely had a lot to catch up on, and were probably excited to do so. Whether or not Dante would mind the arrangements, well, only time would tell on that one.

"Neither am I. I thought we'd be coming to see my little sister and her... What are you now, exactly?" Lightning asked, staring at Snow and waiting for an answer.

Without missing a beat, the blonde grinned at her. "Your brother-in-law." Snow proudly stated that fact, waiting for any sort of reaction from her. He made sure to emphasize the word 'brother' as Lightning seemed to be a tad bit touchy when that subject came up, and didn't know if he should expect a punch or a hug from the Savior.

"Really?" Lightning asked. Snow nodded to her, and the pink haired woman smiled at him. Standing up, she instantly hugged him. "I'm sorry I missed it." She admitted, letting out a wistful sigh. Pulling back from the hug, she supposed that she'd have to explain herself to both of them, she at the very least owed Snow and Serah that much. "I've just... Snow, Serah- I wish I could have been there, but I'm caught in another mess that needs to be dealt with before I can entertain a life of normalcy."

"We understand, Lightning." Serah smiled reassuringly to her sister. "I just wish that you'd let us know a little sooner so we could have helped you. You don't ever have to go it alone. Especially when the world's at stake- or even if it's not. You're my sister, the only family I have left, and I can't lose you. But you need to let me in." Serah pleaded with her older sister, hoping she'd understand things from Serah's point of view.

"Someone said the same thing to me. Not in the same way, but she did decide to give me a kick in the ass." Lightning admitted. "But you're right. I owe you the courtesy of letting you know these things, so you don't have to worry about me."

"Not quite the reunion we had planned, but exciting nonetheless." Fang mused, sitting on the couch and folding one leg over the other as she consumed her cocktail. "You sure know how to keep things interesting, Lightning."

"You know me. It's the world or nothing." Lightning joked lightly.

"Thankfully we do, or else we'd all be expectin' ya to jump on us and give hugs to each and every one of us." Fang snorted. "Could ya imagine?"

"Sorry, if you wanted lovey-dovey gestures, then you've come to the wrong person." Lightning scoffed a bit at the premise of her simply handing out hugs left right and center.

"I bet if I was Hope you'd change your tune." Fang joked lightly. But gauging from Lightning's reaction to that statement, something along those lines had happened when the two reunited.

"Speaking of- where is Hope?" Lightning asked, looking around.

"He left." Vanille spoke up. "He went outside with Dante, and the two walked off." She explained, having seen the two sit down and then eventually walk off. Where they were headed and what they spoke of, she had no idea, but Vanille did keep very light tabs on the pair. She was sure they'd come back at some point, so there wasn't any point in worrying about the duo as Hope was a very reliable person who wouldn't just disappear on the group. Though she didn't really know Dante, he seemed like he was keen on staying near Lightning/being part of the group to save the world, so she assumed he'd do his best to return as well.

"Left? Where did he go?" Lightning was confused by Vanille's statement. If she saw him walking off, why didn't she stop him? Better yet, why didn't he say something to Lightning before he walked off? She thought that by now the two of them were closer than that. Although it was hypocritical of her to have that kind of thinking, as she disappeared from his life and entered it at her leisure, Hope was the opposite of her. So what happened that made him go?

"Don't you worry. Your boyfriend will be back soon enough." Fang winked to Lightning, sipping her drink.

"He's not my boyfriend." Lightning shot the idea down, unsure of if Fang meant Hope or Dante- but she rejected it right then and there, anyway. Because of her hesitance, she wasn't able to properly turn down the idea of dating Dante or feeling embarrassed at the insinuation that they were going out.

"Oh? Why not? I thought you two would suit each other perfectly." Serah piped up, tilting her head to the side as she looked at her elder sister.

"Yeah, how come, Lightning?" Vanille chimed in, looking to Lightning for answers.

"Okay, does everyone here think I need a boyfriend?" Lightning asked, raising a brow and folding her arms.

"Pretty much." Snow and Fang said in tandem, Vanille and Serah nodding to her query.

"And who are we trying to set me up with? Mind you- there is a very wrong answer." Lightning warned everyone in the room, glancing at all of them with a look that said 'tread carefully'.

"Hope." All of them spoke at once, waiting for her answer.

"Hope?" Lightning asked, relieved at their answer. It's only natural that they think he and I are suited together, after all of the time and struggles that we've both gone through. Hope and I share a stronger bond than even I and Serah ever had. But for all that, could either one of us gamble on the possibility that our relationship would last, and our friendship could survive the bitterness often left when one dates and leaves a friend? Should it have been worry-some to Lightning that her immediate thought was Hope would leave her? If so, she wasn't aware of that fact. An intellectual type like him would probably get bored of dealing with someone like her. Though she wouldn't necessarily call herself a 'dumb' person, Hope was leagues ahead of her in topics that she'd never be able to fathom.

"Yeah?" Hope called out from behind her, causing the Savior to startle and look behind herself. Staring at the woman, the man innocently waited for her to say whatever it was that forced her to call out his name.

"You're back?" Lightning said, doing her best to recover.

"Of course. We were only gone for a little while, Light. Did I worry you?" The man asked, tilting his head to the side and studying her. "If so, I apologize."

"Why are you apologizing to me? You've done nothing wrong. And you don't need my permission to come and go as you please." Lightning averted her eyes while speaking. Hearing the snickers of the others, she glared at them, overcoming her initial embarrassment at the hands of Hope. Serah/Fang/Snow all seemed to enjoy her and Hope's banter, and a slightly clueless Vanille was trying to catch up to what the others were being so serious about.

"It seemed like the appropriate thing to do." Hope spoke up, smiling at Lightning while being completely oblivious to the actions of Fang/Serah/Snow.

"Where did you disappear to, Hope?" Lightning asked, ignoring the others and turning her attentions to the man standing before her.

"Dante had an errand to run, and I decided to tag along. He gave me a few key details about the history of this world and his entanglement with demon kind and I traded those in turn for our times as l'Cie. But I did tell him that he could get further accounts of what happened by speaking to each and everyone of us, as I can only tell things from my own experiences." Hope tried to keep his story as short as possible so as to not bore the rest of the group, and thought he was doing a good job at doing so.

"I think you lost him." Lightning commented, not seeing the man anywhere. And from the way that he dressed, well, that was quite the feat to make.

"Huh?" Hope looked over his shoulder for any signs of Dante. "He was right behind me a moment ago... Perhaps he had other matters of which to attend?"

"Maybe." Lightning agreed with him. "It's getting late. Maybe we should think about sleeping arrangements. Serah?" Glancing over at her sister, she wondered what they were going to do.

"We talked it over, and we think it best that we do girls and boys split off into groups." Serah spoke up.

"Which means we get to have a lot of fun together!" Vanille piped up, barely able to control her excitement at being with old friends and catching up on whatever they may have missed in Lightning's 10 year absence.

"Let me guess. You've got me paired up with-" Lightning glanced at Hope, wondering if that was the case, but found herself cut off.

"Us." Fang cut her off. "Don't look too disappointed, now." The Pulsian teased Lightning, winking to her.

"Who's disappointed?" Lightning scoffed. "I'm tired. It's been a long... Week." Thinking it over, she was going to say 'day' but that didn't feel right. Demons. Old friends. Family. Eidolons. Divine Realms. Magic. Everything about this was positively draining, but it gave her an excuse to come and see everyone, and they could all save the world at the same time.

"I bet you are. Come on, I'll get you settled in." Serah smiled and walked forward, grabbing Lightning's hand and beginning to escort her from the living room. Turning to Snow, she paused for a moment. "You boys wouldn't mind taking the extra room or bunking out here, would you?"

"Doesn't bother me." Snow shrugged. "You got a problem with that?" He asked, glancing at Hope.

"No objections on my end." Hope shook his head. It seemed like a simple and practical setup for the guys and the girls to share rooms. Plus, it gave them a better chance to get to know Dante a little better.

"See? We're fine. I'm sure that Lightning's friend is hanging around somewhere and I don't think he'll care much about it either." Snow said, hoping to assure Serah that they'd be fine.

"Okay." Serah let it go. "Come on." She waved over Fang and Vanille while leading Lightning to the room she shared with Snow.

"You guys certainly love living in the same style of houses." Lightning commented, seeing the bedroom and everything was designed exactly the way it had been on Cocoon and Gran Pulse.

"It feels like home." Serah explained, laughing at Lightning's noticing of their home.

"I guess so." Lightning agreed. "So, what now?"

"We have a little fun." Fang shrugged, walking into the room and shutting the door from behind her.

Dante had been leaning against the frame of the door, not wanting to interrupt the group as they seemed to be having a rather privatized conversation that he couldn't really be a part of. Drinking his beer, the Demon Hunter waited patiently for them to finish and decided that it was ultimately time to reveal himself once the women left the men to their own devices. Walking inside with the remnants of his alcohol and pizza, the man placed them on the table and sat down on the couch. "So. What I miss?"

"Where'd you go?" Hope asked, confused. "I thought you were right behind me." Following up with that statement, he hoped Dante didn't mind his countering a question with a question.

Dante shrugged. "I had a few things to occupy my time."

"You didn't miss much. The girls decided it was time they catch up and left the guys to do the same." Snow shrugged. "Speaking of which- what have you been up to, Hope?"

"Well, pre-meeting up with Light again, I'd actually just been lecturing my classes and going through my usual routines. But now, well..." Hope lifted up the left sleeve of his shirt and showed Snow his brand.

"When did that happen!?" Snow couldn't resist feeling alarmed at the sudden display of what he assumed to be a l'Cie brand. Grabbing Hope's arm, he examined it further, and touched the mark to make sure it was real.

"As it turns out, Lightning's capable of creating l'Cie." Hope spoke up. "She also has the Eidolons at her disposal. She gave me Alexander."

"She's making l'Cie and giving them Eidolons? I thought they weren't allowed on the New World... And I thought l'Cie were a thing of the past." Snow honestly had far too many questions that he couldn't get out fast enough.

"Without a magic conduit in order to sustain their physical forms or house their crystal manifestations, then the answer would be 'yes'. But through Lightning they were allowed to return. And by giving me magic, I can keep him. She wasn't sure at first if it would work, and I suppose that you could call me the first test subject." Hope gave Snow as much knowledge as he personally had/theorized on the matter.

"Wouldn't that have been dangerous? I mean, I'm not saying that she necessarily didn't have high regard for your life or anything, but what would have happened if she failed? Are you going to turn into a monster at the end of this, or crystal?" Dante couldn't resist throwing in his two cents on the subject.

"We don't know. And normally that would be the case, but Lightning is different from the old Gods- she was forged by Etro and Bhunivelze. Unlike natural born Gods who were divine from the beginning, she was human. She became perhaps the most advanced form of l'Cie when God turned her into a Goddess after finishing what one could term her 'focus'. Of course, this is purely my thoughts on the subject, and I don't have any conclusive proof supporting my theory." Hope explained.

"You've put a lotta thought into this." Snow was doing his best to keep up with Hope and the vast amounts of information he was spewing out. "Lightning's come here to make us into l'Cie to join the fight?"

"If you're willing." Hope nodded to Snow's question.

"You kiddin' me? I'd love to be in the action! Beats sittin' around all day." Snow was thrilled by the premise of not only wielding magic again, but Eidolons once more coming to their aid, fighting side-by-side with his old friends in order to save the world. It would be just like old times, when they were all l'Cie.

"So the Eidolons actually belonged to all of you, as opposed to Lightning." Dante said, thinking over a few things he'd heard here and there. Hope had mentioned them, but he wanted to make absolutely sure he had his story straight.

"Once we knocked the hell outta them, yeah." Snow nodded. "Shiva's mine."

"Alexander's mine." Hope said, wondering if Dante had encountered his Eidolon previously. More than likely he hadn't, as Lightning and he had said something about Bahamut/Odin. Such a peculiar duo for her to use against him, but he wouldn't question her tactics in doing so.

"And the big red one... Whose is that?" Dante asked, remembering seeing her on top of the building Lightning had worked on.

"Brynhildr? She belonged to Sazh. Hecatoncheir belongs to Vanille. Bahamut is Fang's. And you know who Odin belongs to." Hope said, thinking that Dante should have a general idea of that one.

"Yeah, seems like a right fit. Lightning and Odin." Dante nodded. Sitting back on the couch, he placed his feet on the coffee table. "So. What do we do for fun around here?"

"Well, when we meet up, it's usually a life or death situation, so there usually isn't time for sitting around and doing normal stuff." Snow explained, wondering what they could all do together. Glancing at Hope, he wondered if he had any ideas.

"I'm not certain myself." Hope agreed.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Lightning stared down at herself. "I feel stupid." She folded her arms, staring at the rest of the women she currently was with.

"You look adorable!" Serah tried to be encouraging.

Fang couldn't resist a snort, and placed her head in her hands, shaking it ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, I- I never thought you'd buy it and wear that!" The Pulsian explained, laughing and earning a glare from Lightning. Moving her head just in time to evade a pillow meant to strike her in the head, Fang couldn't help the humor of the situation. Lightning just never seemed the type to bother with these kinds of things.

"Don't listen to her! You look great!" Vanille glared at Fang and smiled assuriedly at Lightning.

"I feel ridiculous." Lightning felt that the nightgown Serah had gotten her to wear was absolutely too short on her. It barely covered her thighs, made her breasts look ginormous, the straps were too thin, and above all else- it was a hot pink. What kind of sick joke was this? "Remind me again why I couldn't just steal something of Snow's?" She asked, thinking how much more comfortable it would be to wear one of his large shirts to bed. Never really being one to wear such a 'feminine' outfit/impractical garment to bed, she really questioned the choice behind it.

"Because that's boring! You should look nice!" Serah said, hoping her big sister wouldn't change out of the outfit. Maybe she hated wearing something that was 'pretty' and would draw more attention to herself, as she probably thought that there was no point- as no man had ever been with Lightning, and she never bothered when it came to dating. But Lightning had said before - at least in Serah's mind she did - that Hope wouldn't be a bad candidate for being her significant other. If he saw her in such a revealing garment and how cute that Lightning could really be if she dressed appropriately, then would anything happen between them? He was such a shy person, but him and Lightning always seemed to have 'something' there between them that made things seem natural.

"Why's that? I'm just going to be sleeping in this, right? So what's the point?" Lightning asked, folding her arms and staring at Serah, wanting some sort of explanation.

"Doesn't it feel nice to look nice?" Vanille chimed in, hoping Lightning wouldn't catch on to the fact that they were all trying to set her and Hope up. Being very good at deception/seeming like an innocent party when it came to 'heavy' matters, she was doing her absolute best so as not to let Lightning catch on to things. But Fang was ruining it.

"I guess, but I'm still not settled on wearing this thing." Serah and Lightning definitely were not the same size.

"Ah, ya look fine! Stop bein' a bloody prude and wear the damned thing. Unless you're afraid someone's gonna mistake ya for a woman." Fang said, grinning at the Savior. She expected that some haughty remark or punch would be thrown her way, maybe even an object of some sort, but knowing fully well that Lightning wouldn't back down from a challenge, she knew exactly what she was doing. Lightning would more than likely stay in it out of spite, and everyone - except for Lightning - would get what they wanted.

"Very funny." Lightning glared at Fang, though she knew that statement could very easily be true. But they wouldn't all be making such remarks if they'd seen her in the outfit she'd worn to her office building/secretary job. Letting out a sigh, she needed to get some air. "I'm going to get a drink." Using the excuse to her advantage, she didn't wait for any protests when she opened the door and promptly walked out to the hallway. Shutting it instantly behind her, she leaned against the door for a moment. Why were people now, all of the sudden so focused on her looks? Did it really matter if she wore skirts, dresses, tank tops, revealing 'feminine' clothing? To her, nothing really mattered so long as it was practical and combat capable. Honestly, she wouldn't give a damn if she wore something that wasn't quite as form hugging so long as it got the job done.

Getting off the door, she made her way to the living room and leaned against the corner. No men were in sight. Relieved, Lightning walked briskly through the room and outside.

"Lightning?"

Startled at hearing her name be called, the woman turned around and found herself face to face with Hope. Seeing him dressed in equally as embarrassing clothing, Lightning couldn't resist the smile/light laugh. Never did she think that she'd see him in a black muscle shirt/hip hugging gray sweat pants. "They got to you too, didn't they?"

"They?" Hope asked, scratching the back of his head, and resisting a shudder. He honestly felt cold and ridiculous in his current outfit. Rubbing his shoulders, the man did his best to compose himself, but it was increasingly hard. Observing Lightning's outfit, he never really expected to see her wearing something quite as feminine/revealing. As his eyes drifted further down, he was surprised how very little her nightgown covered.

"I'm guessing the guys bullied you into wearing that? Fang, Vanille and Serah insisted I wear this." Lightning commented, looking at nowhere in particular. When her eyes rested upon Hope, she saw him staring at her. His eyes traced every curvature created by the nightgown, and went to the ends that went to her thighs. She really wished it was longer.

"Snow insisted I wear this. I neglected to bring a change of clothes, so I had no choice but to accept." Hope explained, wondering if he looked weird. Lightning seemed to be staring at him as much as he was at her.

"The people here seem pushy on making guests wear outfits they don't feel comfortable in." Lightning scoffed a bit. "If it makes you feel any better, Hope, I think you look fine."

"I think you look cute." Hope commented, making eye contact with Lightning. The word 'fine' didn't exactly translate when one was complimenting a lady, as it made you seem like some perverted male without a vocabulary. Hope didn't want her thinking of him like that.

"Thanks." Lightning was honestly surprised by his choice of words. He didn't stammer when the words came out, he looked her directly in the eye when doing so, and Hope didn't seem at all flustered when speaking. After the 10 year absence, something about him seemed a little 'different'- his confidence had improved.

"Don't mention it." Hope smiled at her. "What made you come out here- if you don't mind my asking."

"I needed some alone time." Lightning said honestly, letting out a small sigh.

"I'll go." Hope turned on his heels and began to walk away.

"You don't have to." Lightning spoke up, loud enough for him to hear.

"You said you wanted to be alone." Hope said, surprised that she wanted for him to stay. Turning once more to face her, the man wanted to confirm that he wouldn't be a nuisance.

"I did. But I think I'd enjoy the company." Lightning admitted. "Come on. Let's sit on the porch." Waving him over, she picked the nearest table for them to sit at. Pulling out the nearest chair, Lightning sat down and watched as Hope did the same.

"What's on your mind, Light?" Hope asked, seeing the look on her face. Something had to be bugging her.

"We've never really gotten together when the world's not been at stake. I'm selfish when it comes to reunions, aren't I?" Lightning asked, hoping for an honest answer from Hope.

"Not at all." Hope shook his head. "You take your time. You're not reckless, you don't jump into situations without a battle plan, and when the time was right- I know you'd come back to us. I knew that even though I missed you, and not being by your side, that you'd eventually return, Light. Because we promised, remember?" Hope asked, smiling at her.

Feeling a tad bit speechless at how well he factually knew her, Lightning nodded. "Hope. You know what that promise entailed, right?" She asked, wondering if he truly did grasp the gravity of the situation. She didn't discount him as a very 'dense' person, but knew that the exact wording could have been a tad bit vague to the point that she seemed 'cold' and if that were the case, then she would correct it now.

"I think so. You were going to come and see us on the New World, right?" Hope asked, hoping he'd gotten it right. Her words were that she looked forward to the day that they could meet again, so he figured it was everyone.

"No." Lightning shot down that notion. Seeing Hope's confusion, she had to elaborate. "Well, yes, and no. I wanted to see everyone, I really did- but that promise was made for you. I wanted to see you again on the New World. I was looking forward to the day the we would be reunited. I'm sorry that it took ten years, that I came back with the world at stake, and most of all- that I made you wait so long. I didn't want for you to feel lonely, or that I was welshing on my promise to you, but I wanted to be someone that you could be proud of. With a New World to reinvent myself, I thought that my blank slate would enable me to find a new lease on life, but I can't find anything that sticks. No matter what I do, I never find what I'm looking for. And how can I possibly face someone like you, who already knows exactly what they want to do and has their entire future in front of them, when I can barely make it day-by-day?"

Taken aback by Lightning's explanation to him, Hope honestly hadn't been expecting to hear those words from her. There was so much that he felt he needed to say to put all of her worries and doubts away. "Light, I- I never felt lonely. Would I have rathered you be by my side? Of course. But I knew that you were out there, that somewhere you were living your life and doing whatever you felt necessary before we could see each other again. You don't have to ever worry about me being proud of you, or thinking less of you because of your profession or whatever you may be doing in life- I will always think highly of and admire you. Ever since we've met, you've been a strong, determined individual who strode towards her goals, no matter what had to be done in order to achieve them. And I envy that. You're my hero, Light, and I honestly can't think of anyone better." Pausing for a moment, Hope had one last thing to add. "Why didn't you tell me, Light?"

"I don't know." Lightning admitted, shaking her head and doing her best not to get overly emotional. It was hard not to get caught up in the moment when she was vocalizing all of her doubts to him, and he was putting all of them to rest and putting her mind at ease. Of all the people she'd ever come across, Hope was honestly the only one who could soothe her this much. If you'd asked her a thousand years ago if some brat she'd met who decided to tag along with her would become someone so important in her life, she'd call you crazy. But that Lightning was long gone, and she was glad that she'd come to know Hope Estheim. "Maybe because I'm a bad person."

"You're not a bad person." Hope took her hand in his, smiling at her. He knew that not to be true from all of their travels/adventures together. And on some level he believed that Lightning knew that as well. How could someone who saved the human race even remotely think of themselves as a 'bad person' anyway? "You're a terrific person. You're my favorite person."

"Thank you, Hope." Lightning gently squeezed his hand. He said exactly what she needed to hear. "You're one of my favorite people, too."

"Even when I'm stuck looking like this?" Hope asked, joking a bit.

"At least you have pants. And your clothes seem to fit better than mine." Lightning laughed at Hope's joke.

"We should have brought a change of clothes." Hope couldn't believe how ridiculous he felt in Snow's attire. It was honestly hard not to when you were stuck in a muscle shirt that was meant for a large man of stature like Snow, and it was baggy on him. Sweatpants were acceptable, but that was due to the fact that one was typically 'supposed' to wear something of comfort to bed.

"Maybe. But I was fine sleeping in the uniform I'd 'borrowed' from your institute." Lightning sighed. Sure, it may have been 'uncomfortable' and not exactly ideal to wear such a sophisticated thing to sleep in, but she'd had worse- her and Hope had slept in the Vile Peaks without any sort of reprieve from the hard, rocky surfaces. Compared to that, you'd think either one wouldn't much give a damn way one or another about clothing when sleeping, but they were out of their respective comfort zones.

"How did you come across that outfit, Light?" Hope had been wondering about that ever since they'd been reunited and left. And now that it was just the two of them alone, he wanted to find out.

"I stole it." Lightning said simply. Looking him directly in the eyes, she made no attempt to hide her actions from Hope. "I figured I needed to blend in so that your students wouldn't think some random woman had barged in for unknown reasons and gone into widespread panic. My plans were to meet up with you, give you the choice on whether or not to join me in yet another quest to save the world, so I had to leave behind a few things. Most importantly, my sword."

Hope nodded at her explanation. "So you stopped time, slipped into my classroom without my noticing, and picked your moment to make yourself known to me. And everything from that moment onward led us to now." He wanted to confirm a few things, and thought it best to keep the conversation going so as to find them out.

"Exactly. I knew you'd make a fuss if you saw me, and I didn't want that. I wanted to see you in your natural environment, acting... Naturally. I can see why your students love their teacher so much- all I could ever hear about was how great Professor Estheim was, and now I know why. You're much more approachable than any instructor I've ever come across. Of course, you're not part of the military. At least, not anymore." Thinking of Amodar and a few others, she knew that they were merely 'hard' on their subordinates so that they could groom them into fine pieces of military hardware in order to defend their home from any form of threat.

"A fuss, huh?" Hope asked, glancing up at the night sky. "I guess you're right on that one- I would have dropped everything if I saw you sitting in the aisles. I'm glad that you liked my lecture." He already knew the praises that his students had for him- he was the most requested professor for a reason. But Lightning's praises weren't to be taken lightly by the young man.

"I'm not saying that I understood all of it, but you did make the materials easy to follow." Lightning added, just in case Hope had been impressed by her intellectual properties. She wasn't afraid to admit that a lot of the things she spoke about were far out of her league.

"I'm honored that you sat through my lecture." Hope smiled at her.

"Most of it." Lightning nodded. "But I did end up leaving before you could complete it."

"It certainly did gain my attention."

"That was the goal."

"I heard scrambling around in my office before I opened the door- you wouldn't happen to know what that was about, would you?" Hope asked, curious on the matter that had been bugging him for a little while. Sure, at the time and even up until now it just seemed like a trivial thing and at the least something to be disregarded. But now Hope wanted to know what Lightning had been doing at that point in time.

"I was... Trying to figure out a position to be in once you came." Lightning admitted, knowing fully well that her wording had come out poor when she'd spoken the sentence aloud. Averting her eyes from Hope, she supposed it would be easier to clear up the embarrassing situation that way. "I leaned on your desk, but it seemed like you might have gotten the wrong idea and think I was seducing you. I tried sitting in the chair opposite your desk- that didn't seem right, either. Anything and everything I tried seemed to be 'wrong', so I opted to stand."

"Had it been anyone other than myself to enter the office, I can imagine it would cause quite the scandal." Hope couldn't help but to agree with her. Lightning, leaning back on his desk and wearing a students uniform? He'd be in trouble. Just because she wasn't a registered student wouldn't have made much of a difference- they'd still believe he was a pervert of some sort.

"So you're saying you wouldn't have minded me sitting on your desk in a provocative way, so long as you were the only one able to see it? Got it." Lightning joked, but knew fully well she came off as nothing other than serious.

"N-No! I'm not saying that at all!" Hope said, lifting his hands up defensively and hoping to swiftly diffuse the rapidly escalating situation between them.

"Hope. I was kidding." Lightning paused for a moment, watching him calm down. "It doesn't happen often, so don't worry. And try not to get too worked up."

"Light, I-" Hope began to speak up, but was cut off by a large crashing sound. Alarmed, both he and Lightning looked around in all directions. Standing up from the table, both left the porch in search of the noises origin. "Any idea what that was?"

"A few." Lightning said. "Anything on your end?" She asked, once the pair were basically back to back. In the moment, she honestly couldn't help but to think of the irony of the situation- Hope had point and she took the rear.

"Not that I can see." Hope was carefully scanning the environment, but it was hard to do so with the little visibility they currently possessed. His eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the darkness, and the moon's light wasn't doing much to help the situation.

"I need my sword." Lightning wanted to go and grab her weapon, but she also didn't want to leave Hope alone to fend off whatever was coming.

Sensing her hesitance to leave him, Hope nodded to her. "Go. I'll be fine. I'm not alone, remember? I have Alexander." Trying to give her all the reassurance the Savior would need, Hope wondered if he factually would need to summon the massive Eidolon to battle.

"I'll be quick." Lightning promised, hurriedly running to the house. If the damned nightgown she was wearing had been a little bit looser, then she would have been able to sprint faster.

"Lose something?" Dante asked, watching Lightning do her best to hurry inside. Leaning against the door frame, he raised a brow at her outfit. He never really imagined her to be a 'girly' girl type. She struck him as more the 'I don't care what I wear, so long as it fits and I can start fights in it' type.

"I need my sword." Lightning really didn't want to waste her time with their usual banter. Attempting to brush past him, Dante stood in her way.

"This one?" Dante asked, holding out the Blazefire Saber that once more crackled with divine electricity while in his grasp. He knew that something would have happened tonight, things had been far too quiet and it would be little more than serendipitous for the Son of Sparda and Savior to be in the same place at the same time without a demon or some sort of activity happening tonight. Not to mention the fact that all of Lightning's comrades seemed to be in agreement that they could never really find a good reason to meet up aside from the end of the world.

Lightning stared at it for a moment, wondering why her sword reacted to him in the manner that it did. But now wasn't the time for such things. "Thanks." Taking it from Dante, she made her way back over to Hope.

"Don't mention it." Dante was surprised she actually gave him a gratuity. He thought she'd just snatch it and give him a hard time for taking the weapon. Instead, she seemed curious on why it seemed to 'like' him. Dante would be lying if he said he too hadn't been curious about why that was. Would the Rebellion have the same result if held in her hands? Doubtful, as only one of Sparda's lineage would be able to masterfully wield such a weapon to its uncapped potential. And, to his knowledge, his father hadn't gone off to another world and sired him a little sister. It would also be odd to call her 'little sister' when chronologically she was older than him a few times over. Glancing at Lightning's pink hair, he couldn't see any family resemblance to his mother Eva nor Sparda himself. But his gut told him to let her wield the sword. "Lightning."

Turning her head so that she could glance over at Dante, Lightning gave him a puzzled look. "Do you see it?"

"No." Dante shook his head. "I just... Humor me for a second, won't you?"

"For what?" Lightning didn't really think now was the time to be screwing around.

"Hold this." Dante took Rebellion off his back and held it out to her. He wanted to see if there was any sort of reaction to it at all.

"Why?" Lightning glanced down at Rebellion and back to Dante.

"Curiosity." Dante shrugged his shoulders, refusing to elaborate further.

"Can't we do this some other time?" Lightning asked, wondering why he was pushing so hard for her to brandish the weapon. His look seemed to say 'no', and he continued to hold out the weapon. "Fine. But if I'm taking yours, you can take mine." Holding out the Blazefire Saber, Lightning gave him her no nonsense look as well. Leaving him unarmed wasn't in her best interest, even if he was a skilled fighter and somehow survived Bahamut's coupe de grace.

"Ladies first." Dante wouldn't budge until she firmly had the sword in her hands.

"My hero." Lightning scoffed a bit, taking the Rebellion from his hands. "Satisfied?" She asked.

"Yep." Dante took the Blazefire Saber and observed the blade in her hands. It had tasted more than just his blood at this point- that of countless demons, and Lightning's divine blood as well. Would the blood of Sparda's heritage and a Goddess fuel it further?

"Should I even bother asking why you wanted me to take it?" Lightning asked, still relatively confused on why she was holding Rebellion. Her sword had a very distinctive reaction to Dante, one that it reserved solely for her- was that why he handed her his? Did he assume that she could wield his weapon as expertly as he could? Not exactly an 'out there' theory- but I don't think anything will come of it.

"Like I said- I was just curious. Nothing more." Dante turned his attention from Lightning to the creature behind her. "Heads up." Nodding to the immense demon, he wondered just who they managed to piss off that they decided to give such a parting gift.

"That's... Going to be a problem." Lightning remarked, looking up at the fal'Cie sized demon. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. How could that be, anyway? There was no way she'd encountered such a demon, and yet she still had a sense of nostalgia when gazing upon it.

"You're tellin' me! I was tryin' to get me some shut eye, and almost missed all the fun!" Fang remarked, joining the trio. "And here I thought we weren't going to have any fun at all." Pausing for a moment, she looked at Hope and let out a snort. "That makes two for two. You better ante up, pretty boy." She turned her attention to Snow.

"What?" Hope asked, confused.

"Don't look at me." Lightning shook her head. "I don't get it- and now's really not the time."

"Yeah, we'll settle things later." Snow piped up, crackling his knuckles and staring up at the demon. "Well, sis, looks like you brought us a housewarming gift."

"Hope you don't mind I didn't wrap it." Lightning let out a light scoff.

"That's okay. It's the thought that counts!" Serah chimed in, keeping with the humor between the pair.

"Just as long as you don't mind us all jumping in!" Vanille smiled and giggled at the group. It seemed they were in for some trouble, but there was no doubt in her mind that they'd win the fight. After all, they had Lightning on their side, and not only that- but Hope, Serah, Snow, Fang, Dante, and her all against one opponent. If Sazh were here, then that'd make a perfect reunion from 1010 years prior. But now wasn't the time for regrets- it was time to take down the monster before them.

"The more the merrier. I think they'd agree with us." Lightning said, summoning the crystals of all the respective Eidolons she held within her. Holding them with careful reverence, she was interrupted before the true summoning could begin. The demon took a swipe at her, and spoke with a booming voice so as to intimidate the group.

"Savior. Son of Sparda."

"Well now, that was just rude- the lady was trying to bring out her friends." Dante mused, feigning offense to the assault meant to harm the group. In truth, it now seemed more like a petty attempt in order to gain their attention.

"Eidolons are not welcomed to this fight." Seemingly annoyed by that fact, the demon scoffed at Dante and glared at Lightning and the objects she held in her hands.

"How does it know about Eidolons?" Lightning asked, glancing at Dante.

"No idea." Dante shrugged his shoulders. "Not the biggest deal in the world, right?"

"I guess not. But it's still something to look into. Nobody on the New World knew about them- not even the very first demon I faced." Lightning looked up at the monstrosity before them. "You challenge me at my sister's home and think you can call the shots? Fat chance." Tossing up the crystals of Hecatoncheir, Shiva, Brynhildr, Odin, Bahamut, the Savior expertly summoned all of them at once when she somersaulted into the air, and sliced each and every one of them open. "Call their names!" Instructing the others to follow suit with her, she demonstrated it first. "Odin!" The summoning circle blossomed into its floral pattern and her Eidolon caught her, re-tossing his master back into the air and allowing her to expertly flip through the air without a single scratch when she landed. "Turn the tide!"

"Hecatoncheir!"

"Bahamut!"

"Shiva!"

"Brynhildr!"

"Alexander!"

Each of their respective masters called out their names, save for Serah, who had taken on the role of Brynhildr's summoner, since Sazh was missing. One by one each of the Eidolons sprang forth, and stood by those who called their names. "And since we're being defiant- how about we show him exactly what we're made of?" Lightning asked, raising her sword and smirking up at the demon.

"Sounds like a plan- in theory. We don't all have magic like you and Hope do, Lightning." Snow reminded her of that fact. They were all human and therefore wouldn't be able to perform the feats that Hope and Lightning were currently capable of. But it still wouldn't be enough to make everyone curl up into a ball and just give up right then and there.

"I think I can do something about that." Lightning swiftly retrieved Eradia from her symbol of the Savior and offered it to Snow. "Take it."

Snow glanced at the alien object and did as instructed. Giving Lightning a questioning look, he had no idea what to do with her Eradia. Lightning made a gesture of crushing her fist to Snow, waiting to see if he understood. Nodding to her, the blonde man swiftly crushed it in his gloved hand and felt a surge of magic going through him. As with Hope, Lightning's symbol of the Savior appeared and then distorted into a new version right over the spot his Pulse l'Cie brand had formally been. "You got that stuff in ya all the time, sis?"

"More or less." Lightning shrugged her shoulders. "But I think it's time I share, don't you?"

"How about ya bloody get on with it, yeah?" Fang asked, bored with their current back and forth.

Earning a small scoff from Lightning, she nodded and swiftly handed it over to Fang, Vanille and Serah. Each of the women all copied Snow and their marks instantly appeared.

"Sharing power so easily. Such frail creatures that they could not thrive without the aid of higher powers." Scoffing down at the display before it, the creature seemingly lost all amusement it had over the group with Lightning's defiance of it. Eidolons summoned to their aid, magic gifted to them by the Goddess/Savior, and now it had to fight not only the Savior and Son of Sparda- but the friends/family of her as well.

"That's the problem with your kind- they're always so quick to think of themselves as 'higher beings'." Dante scoffed, not at all phased by the words of the demon. "You'd think with all the time you've been alive and trying to get this world beneath you that you'd at the very least get some original dialogue going here."

"They seem to like their boring banter." Lightning agreed. "So-" Shifting her gaze amongst all of her allies and their respective Eidolons, Lightning raised the Rebellion and aimed it at the demon, preparing to square off against it. "-let's see what you can do!" Running forward, she was tired of trading words with the demon and waiting for some sort of conflict to arise between them. If it thought it could just show up on Serah's doorstep, try to kill all of them and get away with its actions- then it had a whole other thing coming. Easily leaping over the large arm that swept along the beach, Lightning scoffed a bit. Couldn't the damned thing know better than to be so slow and brutish, let alone predictable when it was dealing with such a large group? With a blur in her peripheral vision, Lightning couldn't resist glancing over, and saw Dante just as easily evade the multitude of attacks meant to slow them down.

"Vanille!" Fang called out to her partner, just in time for the redhead to clue in and dodge a massive arm meant to sweep her down.

"Thanks!" Vanille thankfully yelled back to her. Gripping the Binding Rod ever tighter in her hands, she decided it was about time she start pulling her weight and keep up with the rest of the group. Casting Death, she felt the shroud of Chaos itself envelop her and her intended victim for a moment. Unsurprisingly, it didn't perform an instant coupe de grace, but it did manage to do a hefty amount of damage. Her aim wasn't merely to kill it off with a cheap tactic, but Vanille wanted to draw its attacks from Lightning and Dante who were more than pulling the weight of the group. Casting Deshellga, Defaithga, Cursega, Slowga, Poisonaga, Imperilga, she used every single debuff in her arsenal a multitude of times until they seemed to take effect on the demon. Initially, she hadn't possessed the stronger strains of debuffs, but it seemed that Lightning's version of l'Cie had untapped potential- something all of them seemed to be capitalizing off of. "Thanks!" Vanille giggled gratefully when feeling the offensive/defensive buffs flocking to her.

"Don't mention it!" Serah smiled and winked to Vanille when giving her Shellga/Faithga. She and Hope were buffing the others in the group, and while she was doing her best, the young man was factually much better at the supporting role than she. But Serah wouldn't let herself be discounted just yet- Hope gave her Haste, and she made use of it to buff the others as much as possible. Seeing how well Fang/Snow/Lightning/Dante the general 'warriors' of the group were doing their absolute best to pressure/kill the demon before them, the least that Hope/Vanille/Serah could do was offer them support. Besides, without Mog- she didn't possess a natural weapon like Fang, Vanille, Hope, Snow, Noel, Dante... What could she offer, if she couldn't at the very least use her magic to its full potential?

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, Serah looked up at Brynhildr. The Eidolon seemed to pick up on her feelings, and offered out her scythe to the younger Farron girl. Smiling up at her, Serah shook her head. She knew that brandishing such a weapon would only be possible if she were someone like Snow, Lightning, Dante or someone who was generally unnaturally strong. But she was grateful for the offer. In fact, it restored her will to keep on through the fight. "Thank you."

Hope swiftly buffed not only the human ally combatants, but the Eidolons as well. Each and every one of them seemed to be grateful for the gifts given to them by himself, and he felt good about himself renewing their energies in such a fearsome battle. While he would have liked to engage with the creature like the others had, he found himself much more busy fulfilling the 'support' role and ensuring nobody was gravely injured. Casting a Curaja spell, everyone simultaneously was healed by the magic, and sounded off their gratitude toward him for performing such a small feat. He knew it wasn't much, but Hope was busy with much larger tasks to follow through with much else. Watching the others battle the demon, he occasionally joined in the battle with the more powerful variants of his repertoire, often switching between elemental abilities in order to stagger it higher.

"Kinda takes ya back, doesn't it?" Snow asked, fending off the large creature with his weapon he forged solely from cryromancy. Evading a swipe meant to deal quite the amount of damage to him, Snow was enjoying himself much more so than feeling like his life was on the line. After all, how could someone feel remotely 'afraid' when you were surrounded by loved ones and kicking some sorry creatures ass for showing up on your doorstep and thinking it could just off one or more of you without resistance? Besides, if any of them factually fell in battle, then their Eidolon would sacrifice its physical form/manifestation in order to use the deific healing spell 'Curaga' to raise you from the ether between life and death. Not to mention the fact that Lighting was right here with them, and they had a hell of a lot of medics on their team who'd perform the 'raise' ability before you could slip into the Unseen Realm. Mortality? Nah, they didn't have time to be 'careful'.

"To fightin' the undying? Or maybe an arrogant fal'Cie or two? Definitely." Fang couldn't help but to agree, letting out a battle cry that seemed to please greatly her Eidolon. Bahamut let out a throaty cry into the night and fight side-by-side with his mistress, never once giving the demon an opening to harm her. While his loyalties did lie with Lightning for a short while and he would have done anything to preserve her, he was glad to once more be under the dominion of the one who tamed him so long ago. If anything, his loyalties were further fueled by the fact that the Savior gave him and his comrades back to their respective masters.

"Enough." The Demon emitted a shockwave that sent all of its opponents flying backward, the physical outer shell of it beginning to crack. Laughing at all of the collective individuals before it, while pieces of the crimson/violet shell it wore began to fall and fade into nothing, its eyes lingered upon each and everyone of the champions from this/worlds long forgotten. "Did we not tell you of the Maker, and did he not return to a fading world filled with falsehoods, drowning in sin?"

Lightning couldn't resist the small gasp that escaped her lips while it spoke. Until now, she'd just chalked the arrogant creature up to being like its other kind. But now it seemed more 'familiar' than ever. Snow/Serah/Hope/Fang/Vanille all froze up at the chilling words spoken, leaving Dante utterly confused.

"The Maker?" Dante asked, knowing that the name meant something to his comrades, but not him. Judging by their reactions, it was some kind of big deal.

"God." Lightning and the others all spoke the word aloud at the same time.

"As in the one you killed?" Dante wanted more clarity on the matter.

"I never said I killed God- I said that I struck him down." Lightning clarified, staring up at the newly emerging creature. From its words, she already had an idea about the true identity of their assailant.

"You haven't changed, Savior." Laughing and mocking the woman, it was seemingly amused by her antics. "You still exude an aura of arrogance."

Lightning scoffed at the emerging creature. "You still know how to talk down to your superiors." She shot back at the demon/God hybrid before her. "Orphan."

Grinning ear to ear as Orphan emerged from its fragile first form, the deity/demonic hybrid laughed maniacally at Lightning. "You're more than you used to be. But do you think that to be enough to cut me down?"

"I don't know how or why you've come back- but it doesn't matter. I can destroy you again." Lightning didn't care if Orphan thought highly enough of itself that the deity could take not only her down, but all of her friends and the Eidolons as well.

"Is that so?" Cocking its head to the side, Orphan couldn't resist laughing at her. "The Goddess had her hand on you back then. It was not your power that superseded mine."

"Etro may have been guiding our journey all those centuries ago, but she still hasn't given up on us, even now. I'm the Grail of Valhalla- the Goddess gave me her power, and I'm not about to lose to some overzealous, dead god we took care of centuries ago." Lightning raised the Rebellion in front of her, aiming it directly at the former deity. "Since you seem so eager to obey the will of your 'Maker' then you should know that he chose me to be the new Etro. That I'm death incarnate."

"His new Goddess who dared raise her sword to our salvation. She, who overstepped her bounds and dared rebel against the Maker! The one who gave us all shape and form!" Orphan seemed outraged by her statements, the malevolent deity/demon hybrid preparing to attack them all. Building up vast amounts of energy, it emitted a shockwave that was meant to take down each and every one of them, but failed to do so. Surprised, Orphan looked upon all of them until its eyes rested upon Lightning. "So you've deigned fit to give these mortals your eternal blessings. You never were a worthy replacement for Etro."

"Because I wasn't as heartless as God would have liked? Because I actually gave a damn about my friends and family and wouldn't let some God who overplayed his hand use me as a tool?" Lightning scoffed right then and there at Orphan. "It just proves he didn't know a damned thing about me and the people I care about. He also forgot one important thing."

"And what is that?" Orphan asked, bemused.

"I'm no ones slave!" Lightning rushed forward, leaping at Orphan. Odin easily followed his mistress, deciding to give her an edge in the ensuing battle between good and evil. Though she might not have needed his aid, the Eidolon wanted to be completely and utterly at her disposal. And if it really wanted a fight, then damned if she wasn't going to give one. Performing her Legion of One, the Savior unleashed a devastating flurry of attacks until finishing with an overhead slash to the deity/demonic abomination. Standing once more with her Eidolon beside the others, Lightning took on a defensive stance and prepared herself for what she assumed to be one hell of a struggle.

Dante watched her struggle with the enemy they'd fought centuries prior, and was a little surprised/disappointed in the fact that his theory had been wrong. The Rebellion didn't react to her being its wielder. Why he expected her to be able to unlock its potential, he didn't know- it was a very 'out there' theory, anyway. In all honesty, maybe he just wanted to hang onto her Blazefire Saber a little while longer and see exactly what it was capable of when in his hands. The sword decidedly 'liked' him, not unlike the Rebellion. Something about it pulsated with a primal power that made it feel like it belonged to him, and made it react to every fiber of his being. Although he'd never touched the peculiar weapon until Lightning ended up at his Devil May Cry, and he knew it to not be a possibility- he couldn't fight the feeling that it was his. If he told Lightning such a thing, he knew the woman would more than likely think he was crazy for bringing up such a trivial thing after making such a fuss of them trading weapons. Hell, she'd probably hit him with more of those peculiar spheres for wasting her time.

In either case, he decided it was about time they deal with this 'demon'(?) properly. "Well, I don't know what all the fuss is about. Considering I wasn't there when you were all acquainted however many years ago. But I feel kinda left out. I mean, you're not really here for us per se. You're here for Lightning because you want to even the score from some fight you had on what I assume to be Cocoon." Glancing over at the others, he received a nod and continued on with his speech. "Now, I get that the just of it was she and her friends killed you and while that's all well and good, you've come back. Why? I don't know. They don't know. But Lightning said it best- none of us really care. We honestly just want you out of the way so we can go about our lives and deal with the next one of you to come our way. So how about you make this one easy on the rest of us and die quick?" Bored of the exchange between Orphan and Lightning, Dante just wanted to put his cards on the table and let it know that he honestly just wanted to kick back and enjoy himself for a little bit. And he couldn't very well do that if they were all busy dealing with the large deity/demon.

"Who said the Savior was all that we came for? The Son of Sparda shall have his dues as well." Orphan scoffed at the arrogant prattle given to it by Dante.

"And here I thought you came just for her." Dante feigned embarrassment. "Boy is my face red."

"You dare mock a God?" Orphan asked, ready to show the Son of Sparda just what he was dealing with.

"More or less." Dante shrugged his shoulders. "Considering you're just a God and not actually the God, I can't see much harm in it. Plus, you were beaten when everyone here was a l'Cie and things have changed since then. Like I'm guessing you've changed." Dante got that much from how the others reacted to seeing Orphan again and guessed that it hadn't looked that way when they'd first encountered it. No matter, they'd still kill it just as good this time around as the last.

"Well don't the rest of us just feel bloody left out?" Fang scoffed, resting her elbow on Dante's shoulder. "You haven't changed." The Pulsian scoffed up at the God. "Still playing your petty little games and thinking ya can just show up and use people to whatever you see fit! Your precious Maker is gone and you'll be reunited with him!"

"Where was this anger when we needed you? Herald of salvation, vessel of Ragnarok who brought nothing but disappointment after disappointment. Our suffering was extended due to your failure." At that, Orphan looked over to Vanille. "Such promise. Destruction and death incarnate! A worthy Ragnarok."

Vanille shuddered when Orphan spoke of her in such a manner. Her head bowed, and she bit her lip, her hands forming the deaths touch sign of respect. Murmuring to herself, she tried to deceive her mind into blurring the past memories of executing so many innocents from Cocoon due to her focus from the Pulse fal'Cie but it was all in vain. Covering her ears, she tried to stop their screams from reaching, the looks in their eyes as they fell, and all of the destruction she'd left in her wake. Falling to her knees, Vanille wished it would all stop, that she'd never done such a thing in a selfish act of preservation- but it never would. "I take it back..." Saying the phrase over and over until she felt herself scooped up and enveloped in a warm embrace, she opened her eyes to find Hecatoncheir giving her a hug.

The way the Eidolon looked at her, and the tenderness he used seem to say 'I'm here.'

"Thank you." Vanille smiled up at the Eidolon, grateful that he had picked up on her distress and given her the affection that she currently needed. Placing her down, Hecatoncheir nodded to his master and seemed to gaze behind her. Confused, Vanille turned around and found herself hugged by a multitude of people. Fang, Snow, Serah, Hope, Lightning. All of them gave her the same message as her Eidolon- that they were there for her, and no matter what was spoken, the sins that she had accumulated over time- they didn't matter. Stiffening a bit, she eventually relaxed and smiled, laughing a bit at her own frailty. "I'm sorry." She apologized to each and every one of them.

"Don't you apologize for anything- least of all for showing us how you really feel." Fang scolded her.

"We're in this together." Snow smiled and winked.

"We're family." Serah chimed in.

"No matter what." Hope agreed with the rest.

"Don't shut us out and think you can go it alone. We're here for you." Lightning spoke up, feeling the eyes of everyone on her. "What?"

"You could take a page from your own book." Fang was the quickest to speak up.

"Yeah, yeah, I lone wolf it alot. I get it." Lightning scoffed, turning her attention to Orphan. "How about we show him just what we're made of?"

"Sounds like a plan." Dante finally piped up after their touching moment. He'd remained silent largely due to the fact that he didn't want to ruin the moment, and because he wanted to observe how the group interacted with each other. For someone who wanted to kill his opponents, this 'Orphan' didn't really mind them branching off and doing their own thing while he saw idly by. Honestly, if this was how all Gods acted on Cocoon, then Dante wasn't surprised how/why the group had not only come to hate them, but also managed to kill every last one. Well, save for Bhunivelze, of course.

"Think you can keep up?" Lightning asked, taunting him in what she perceived to be a playful manner, though Dante didn't exactly know her well enough to tell the difference between the two. At the very least, the rest of the group could see that she was doing her best to be friendly toward him and make Dante feel welcome. Even if he didn't know it just yet.

"I thought you'd never ask." Dante grinned at the shorter woman. "Maybe you're just getting tired and want me to pick up the slack."

Lightning let out a mild scoff. "You think so?"

"A little." Dante factually couldn't tell if the conversation was going one way or the other, but he was enjoying himself. He had to give it to her- Lightning had one hell of a poker face. Either that or she was emotionally dead, save for anger and little bouts of whatever mood swings she went through during the day.

"There's no way-" Lightning started up.

"-you can beat me." Dante spoke in tandem with her, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You think you've seen all my tricks, Savior?"

"You think I'm out of mine?" Lightning countered Dante.

"I don't know. You look genuinely terrifying in that pink nightgown." Dante withheld a laugh, wondering if she was going to retaliate with violence of some sort. Honestly, he wouldn't put it past her. And he wouldn't bother trying to avoid it. He'd already seen a great deal of the things that she could do, and if she was saying that there was more, he wanted to see just how much she was capable of.

"That we can agree on." Lightning said, glancing down at herself and shaking her head at the outfit. At the very least, Serah could have given her something combat ready. But the constricting form of the nightgown was hindering Lightning quite a bit.

"Hey!" Serah couldn't help cutting in when the two of them were trashing her choice in clothing.

Lightning shrugged. "You could have just let me wear a big t-shirt."

"Yeah, but I wanted you to dress up nice." Serah explained, knowing fully well that her big sister hated wearing girly clothes.

About to speak up, the group was cut off when Orphan interrupted them all with an attack. Catching everyone off-guard, Orphan gleefully enjoyed hitting them with an element of surprise. "Perhaps the Maker had been rash in choosing you to replace the lost Goddess." Musing more to itself, the deity/demonic hybrid was disappointed with the group. To think that they'd all been chosen for such a grand journey and were still the naive children encountered in Eden all those centuries prior.

"And here I thought the Maker didn't make 'mistakes'." Lightning mocked Orphan, getting up from her kneeling stance. So he wanted to fight dirty? Two could play that game. Glancing over at Dante, she buffed him with everything she had in her arsenal that she thought would prove to be useful. Haste, Faithga, Bravega, Protectga, Shellga, and Enfire. "Let's finish this."

Dante felt different. A remarkable amount of sensations were swirling through him, and the Son of Sparda was genuinely curious on how they ever got over feeling like this. He supposed that after a while you simply got used to it- but he felt much stronger than he had a second ago, and that was saying something. Imagining himself slipping into his Devil Trigger on top of the buffs Lightning gave him, he honestly felt like it might be 'overkill' in any given situation- but it still would make him one hell of an opponent. "Any requests?"

"Yeah. Get this mistake off my sister's lawn." Lightning narrowed her eyes up at Orphan, fed up with the Gods of the old world. She never thought she'd encounter such a foe again, and Lightning wasn't happy to be doing so.

"So confident." Orphan mocked her and Dante at the same time. "You think you can defeat me so easily?"

"More or less." Dante shrugged, answering for them. "Besides, I'm just itching to try this thing out." He didn't know exactly what Lightning did, but the Blazefire Saber now glowed and felt warm to the touch- whatever it was, he assumed it to be something particularly 'nasty' against foes. Lightning nodded to him, and Dante followed her to battle. Charging at Orphan, he fired a few shots and watched as the divine electricity mixed with the fire to create a devastating attack that reacted with one of the defensive barriers protecting the fal'Cie.

Snow, Serah, Hope, Fang and Vanille all struggled to keep up with Dante and Lightning, the duo attacked with such ferocity and unrelenting determination to take down the God, that even the Eidolons were in awe. At one point, all of them stopped fighting and watched as Orphan attempted to coupe de grace Lightning by grabbing her, and Dante forced the God to drop her by moving at a blurring speed then slicing the fal'Cie's hand. Grabbing Lightning's hand as she began to fall, Dante tossed her up in the air so she could regain her balance and fend off the advances of Orphan. Watching her expertly somersault through the air, Lightning made full use of the boost given to her by Dante. Performing her Army of One ability, she seemed to slow down the fal'Cie on landing her finishing blow.

"You weren't lying about holding back." Dante commented, still easily evading Orphan's more complicated assault on the duo. She seemed full of surprises, and that one had definitely been worth waiting for. Though it did appear to be a tad bit weaker than her Legion of One ability she was much more prone to using. And, was it just him, or did the others seem to merely be watching at this point?

"Neither were you." Lightning said, seemingly impressed. Staring up at Orphan, she saw that they'd landed a few lasting blows to the fal'Cie. "Ready to finish this?"

"Oh, so we're done messing around with him?" Dante asked, shrugging and nodding to Lightning. "I was getting bored, anyway." In truth, he could have messed around for a while longer, but what was the point in drawing out this fight? Orphan seemed pretty keen on trying to kill them, but did he even know who he was dealing with? Talk about out of your depth. And that wasn't just Dante being smug or arrogant or overly cocky like some people might be led to believe- Orphan was just a weak opponent for not only him to face-off against, but Lightning and the others as well. But they'd all been human at that point. Well, Human+ technically, as l'Cie. But Lightning was a Goddess now, or as she called herself an 'Angel of Death', and they were more than likely far more heavy hitters than they were back then.

"Good." Lightning used Enthunder on herself, buffing the Rebellion with electricity and restoring Dante's buff of Enfire. Removing more Eradia from her symbol of the Savior, she crushed it in her hands and forced time to stop with an Overclock. Everyone slowed down to the point that they were no longer visibly moving to the naked eye- everyone except for Dante. Call her crazy or what have you, but Lightning actually had a hunch that he'd be immune to her time dilation abilities. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I think that's my line." Dante let out a light scoff. "You can manipulate time- that's how the Savior survived the test of time against God." It seemed simple now. Lightning used some of that peculiar white stuff to create distortions in time. And now he knew that he was immune to it. Too bad she'd actually been holding back in their fight like she claimed to be. A full on fight between the two of them seemed like a battle to end all battles. Maybe he'd convince her to fight him on a later date. Now wasn't the time to indulge such a simple pleasure.

Savior and Son of Sparda unleashed a flurry of attacks, making full use of the Overclock ability. The pair were nothing but a mere blur within the distortion, Lightning focusing on using her more powerful magics to up Orphan's stagger gauge while Dante filled the Commando role. Using Elementga, she pushed it over the edge and Orphan's true form came out.

"Ready?" Lightning asked.

Dante nodded to her. "Any time."

Both leapt at the same time, raising their respective swords over their heads, and inflicting as much damage as possible to the still stunned Orphan until the Overclock ran out. Tossing their swords, Lightning retrieved the Blazefire Saber and Dante wielded the Rebellion, mirroring each others movements until they impaled the fal'Cie in its weak spot, both of their respective swords touching tips through the creature. Pulling out the blades just as quick as they'd gone in, Lightning and Dante leapt off Orphan and returned to the others. Folding up her Blazefire Saber, Lightning scoffed as Orphan fell.

"So much for being divine." Lightning wasn't at all impressed with the fallen fal'Cie. Glancing over at Dante, she felt she needed to give credit where it was due. "Nice work."

"Make no mistake, Savior- Son of Sparda... This is not the end! The Maker shall not be denied his utopia." Orphan drew in his last breath, the fal'Cie feeling once more the tendrils of death beginning to envelop its body.

"Wait!" Lightning was alarmed by Orphan's words and wanted to learn more, but the fal'Cie's body ended up fading into the Chaos and therefore nothingness. Outstretching her hand in vain, she dropped it once the fal'Cie disappeared completely from sight. "This isn't good."

"The Maker? Seems like your friend thinks God is coming back." Dante spoke more to Lightning than anyone else. Things seemed to take a rather 'dark' turn with the defeat of Orphan.

"Yeah, he did. Did Yeul mention anything to you about God?" Lightning asked, thinking things through and never once remembering a mention of Bhunivelze in their encounters.

"Not a word." Dante shook his head. "You worried about him coming back?"

"It's not ideal. But we beat him once, so it should be possible to do it again." Lightning reasoned more to herself than Dante.

On hearing someone clear their throat, both looked over at Snow. "We'd have lent you a hand- but it seemed you two grew several more." After his remark, each and everyone of the group dismissed their respective Eidolons, and obtained the crystals from the divine creatures, sealing them within their brands. Save for Serah, of which Brynhildr willingly surrendered herself over to Lightning along with Odin. It wasn't that the Eidolon didn't accept her as a master, but she felt more comfortable with Lightning.

"We... Got a little carried away, I guess." Lightning explained with a shrug and smile. "You know me- you gotta be quick or I get the kill."

"Not so sure how we're s'posed to catch up when ya freeze time. But we'll manage." Fang said smoothly, winking to Lightning. "Wanted a little more alone time with your new boyfriend, did ya?"

Dante couldn't resist the grin at Fang's teasing of Lightning. It seemed that he was a bit of a 'favorite' for them to match up with Lightning. Well, at least as far as Fang was concerned. Hope on the other hand seemed against the idea, and judging by his facial expression, he was still decidedly worried on whether or not Lightning would 'pick' Dante as a match. Truth be told, he didn't peg Lightning as the 'settling down' type. She seemed to rather enjoy the current lifestyle she had, and any relationship she started, Dante couldn't imagine would last very long. Did she even date people? It wasn't necessarily his place, but that could also be a contributing factor on why she came off as such a stuck up tight ass who didn't have any room for fun. As if on que to prove him wrong, far from being flustered, the rose haired woman owned it.

"And waste the outfit my sister put me in?" She asked, scoffing a bit. One of the straps on her nightgown actually managed to tear right as she spoke those words, adding to the effect.

"Someone's a tramp." Fang snorted, enjoying the joking atmosphere between the group.

"Why, because I brought a guy home to my sister's place?" Lightning shook her head and walked with the group along the beach. It felt nice to be back with the old core group and into the rhythm of things once more.

"That and the fact that you and another one were doing god knows what when you froze time." Fang winked.

"Please." Lightning snorted back. "I barely froze time for a minute."

"I'd say somethin- but you're making things too easy, Light!" Fang clapped her lightly on the shoulder, shaking her head.

"I don't know about the rest of you- but I'm beat. How about we call it a night?" Lightning asked, rubbing her eyes and staring at the group. Judging by their looks, everyone seemed to share the sentiment. "I'm going to sleep out here. I know you all wanted to do the 'boys' and 'girls' share rooms thing- but it just isn't working for me." Even if there was some disappointment on either end of things, Lightning needed to get a decent nights sleep.

"Alright. I'll let you off the hook. For now." Serah conceded, smiling at her big sister. "Just don't disappear on us before morning, alright?"

"You have my word." Lightning said, getting a hug from the younger Farron girl.

"That's good enough for me. See ya in the morning, sis." Snow grinned at Lightning, waving as he walked off to the room he usually shared with Serah. But for now, it was housing the men of the group.

"Goodnight, Lightning!" Vanille piped up, waving to the taller woman as she gleefully followed Serah and Fang to the room.

"Goodnight." Lightning called back, amused as Vanille skipped past the other two and Fang merely waved to Lightning. Nodding back, she let out a small yawn and placed her sword back in its holster near the front door. If anything else thought it was showing up on their doorstep, then it had another thing coming. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she turned around and found herself face-to-face with Hope. "Something the matter?" She asked, picking up on the fact that he was distressed.

"Would you... Mind if I stay out here with you- even if it was just for a little while?" Hope asked, his bangs covering his eyes and preventing Lightning from looking directly at him.

"Of course. You can stay the night if you want." Lightning didn't want him to feel unwelcome. Seeing him fidget with his hands just as he had all those centuries before, she supposed that he was anxious. Taking his hand in hers, she led him to the couch. "Whatevers bothering you, Hope, you can tell me."

"I-" Hope started and stopped. "I wanted to help you, Light- and instead... Ended up getting in the way." Leaning back against the couch, he let out a small sigh.

"You weren't in the way of anything, Hope. You, Serah and Vanille were helping the rest of us while we were fighting Orphan. You're our last line of defense. If we lose- then you're the ones we turn to in our time of need. I've said it before, Hope, and I'll say it again: We're partners, you and me. I trust you with my life- more than anyone else." Lightning made sure he was looking at her when she spoke, as she wanted him to know she meant it sincerely from the bottom of her heart. If he felt inept because of the feats that she and Dante were pulling off, then she also wanted to set the record straight on that as well. They were just concerned about defeating the fal'Cie and the thought never really occurred to either one of them that the others could be offended by them taking the reigns and killing Orphan.

Hope was deeply touched by her words. In all honesty, he never expected to earn such high praises from Lightning. Smiling, the man tried to speak up, but yawned instead.

"I think that means it's time for bed." Lightning spoke up before Hope could.

"I'm not ready for bed just yet. There's still a little more I want to discuss, Light." Though Hope was factually tired, he was willing to fight through it and stay up so they could have a little more time together.

"Then get comfortable. Because I'm tired." Lightning admitted, though she wasn't exactly thrilled to be going back to bed considering her last dream was a fiasco to say the least. Stretching and yawning, she rubbed her eyes and did her best to sit up and combat sleep. She honestly didn't want to fall asleep while Hope wanted to talk about important issues, but now didn't exactly seem like the right time.

"I can take the floor, Light." Hope offered, standing and giving her more space on the couch.

"That doesn't seem comfortable." Lightning frowned.

"There's not enough room on the couch for both of us, Light." Hope pointed out the obvious, as it was made purely for sitting and not two people sleeping on.

"I don't take up much space. And if things get too cramped, then I guess I could sleep on top of you." Not really thinking much of it, Lightning thought of the simple solution to Hope's problem. Sure, Hope might have been a taller male and a little bulkier than Lightning, but she figured that this way they'd avoid the floor.

"I- I don't think that's a good idea, Light." Hope shook his head. Lightning, sleeping on top of him? He wasn't sure if he could handle it.

"Then you take the couch and I'll tackle the floor." Lightning honestly wouldn't mind one way or the other.

"It's okay. I think I'd rather the floor, anyway." Hope moved the coffee table aside and used a blanket and pillow from a couch to make himself comfortable.

"Then scoot over." Lightning quickly joined him, snagging a pillow of her own as she lay beside him. "That couch is harder than the Vile Peaks."

"You thought so too, huh?" Hope asked, laughing lightly.

"So you decided to give me the uncomfortable couch? My hero." Lightning lightly mocked the man, shaking her head as she shut her eyes.

"I thought I was being courteous. You suggested sleeping on the couch together and I thought you wanted it. Which is why I offered it to you." Hope explained his actions, glancing over at Lightning and seeing her eyes closed.

"Point taken." Lightning agreed sleepily with him. "So. What did you want to talk about?"

"Any thoughts on who's next? Sazh or Noel?" Hope wanted to know their next course of action. Lightning always had a plan, and he wanted to be filled in as much as possible so that he wouldn't be left in the dark.

"Maybe Noel." Lightning sounded more and more tired, but was doing her best to stay alert so that she could answer Hope's questions.

"Did you want everyone to come with you, or everyone to stay here and wait for you?"

"You don't want to stay behind."

"Well, no, but I wanted to know what your thoughts were on the subject."

"If I told you to stay behind, would you do it?"

"Of course."

"Hope." Lightning opened her eyes and looked him the eyes. "I don't want you to feel like you're just following me and have to jump through hoops at my command. If you have something to say, tell me. I won't know unless you do, and if it makes you feel better coming with me, then tell me. If you really feel that you need to come along, then I won't say 'no'." It was in his nature to be complacent and do whatever he could to please others, but Lightning didn't want him to be that way around her. She wanted him to be comfortable to the point that he could vocalize his concerns.

"I want to go with you, Light. Wherever you go, I want to follow you." Hope decided to be completely honest with her. The worst she could do was say 'no' and she'd already shot that idea down.

"Okay." Lightning agreed without a second thought.

"When were you thinking of leaving?" Hope wanted a basic idea of when they'd seek out their friend.

"At the earliest convenience. Tomorrow, I guess." Lightning could feel sleep taking her, and she was losing the battle to stay conscious.

"Goodnight, Light." Hope could tell that she was too tired to keep conversing with him, so the man would let her sleep. They could talk more tomorrow.

"Goodnight, Hope." Lightning spoke her last words the evening and allowed sleep to take her.

Hope quickly followed suit with Lightning and went to sleep. Whatever the struggles they may face, it would all come about tomorrow.

Dante heard the exchange between the two and let out a light scoff. They were both supposed to save the world together? If people saw how tender she acted while amongst her friends, and the way that he generally acted all the time, he supposed they'd figure the world was doomed. If it weren't for the fact that Lightning seemed to be a relative hardass who stuck to her goals and was relentless in achieving them, then he supposed they'd be right. Well, that and the fact that they certainly made one hell of a team and he actually almost felt sorry for the 'big bad' they were supposed to face. Almost. Folding his arms behind his head, the Devil Hunter shut his eyes and prepared to let sleep take him. Lightning was taking off tomorrow? Hopefully she'd want to be late and go at noon or a bit later. That way he could at the very least get a decent amount of sleep in. Hell, she could at least have the courtesy to leave at 4 pm or wake up at a normal person time.

Even if she managed to leave before he woke up, he still had that name to go on- Noel. It wasn't much, but it was something. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Yeul would be sending him another one of her prophetic dreams or not. They hadn't heard from the Goddess in a little while, and he couldn't say for certain on whether or not that was a 'good thing'. In either case, he supposed he'd figure things out as they came along. One thing was for certain- so long as he was with these people, life wouldn't be boring. Opening his eyes, the Son of Sparda stood up and slung Rebellion over his shoulder. "Right on cue." He murmured, stepping forward and staring down demons flocking to Serah's home. "You know- I'm almost insulted that they send you small time demons here. But I could use a little fun now and again." Smirking as the first of the Assault charged at him, Dante effortlessly cut the creature down.

Doing the 'come at me' taunt, he defeated one after another as the more brazen of the creatures charged toward him. Some hesitated to attack him, while others decided there was strength in numbers and attempted to pressure by attacking at the same time. Needless to say, it didn't end well for any of them. When all was said and done, he found himself the target of some higher level demons. They weren't the sentient kind capable of speech, but these ones seemed a little odd to say the least. Like the creature that came for Fang and Vanille. Was it just him, or were several new types of demons showing up? Surely it wasn't any sort of coincidence that Orphan showed up and spouted off some sort of drivel over their lost God.

After several displays of overall power, God shifted into his fourth and final form, the two nearly destroying the realm they currently resided in. However, once the dust settled and the divine's battle had come to a standstill, it would be Bhunivelze who stood victorious. Standing over the defeated form of Mundus, God pulled back his Double Deity scythe and performed the coupe de grace. Cleaning off his weapon, God stooped down to the body and touched it, to ensure his demise. To his shock, the Demon King latched onto God and began to perform a ritual like the first demon he'd encountered- he wanted to take God's powers for himself. Enraged, the deity fiercely fought the demon, their powers colliding with such a massive force that both were thrown from either side of the throne room. Glancing over at the body of Mundus, Bhunivelze saw it fade into nothing. In the struggle of light and darkness, it appeared he was the victor.

But his glory would not last. God felt yet another change through his body. The dull white of his flesh changed to a crimson, his wings distorted to a dark green/black color, and he sprouted more of them. Letting out cries of pain, the deity realized too late that Mundus had 'lost' willfully. The treacherous creature was now lingering in his- their body. All of the voices of demons in his mind had ceased, and all that remained was that of the Demon King and God himself.

"We exist together now."

Alarmed at the fact that he had been tainted, God attempted to cast him out, but the other being remained. His head was throbbing, and the deity held onto it, attempting to soothe the pain brought on by the Demon King's treachery. After what felt like an eternity, the pain stopped all at once and Bhunivelze/Mundus composed themselves. Observing their hands, and newfound body/powers, the new being grinned ear to ear. There was much to be done so that the Son of Sparda and Savior would know their ends were truly near. Dante would die, and Lightning would have her life crushed out of her in their very hands.

"Your flesh was not made of God's will- but is clay, nonetheless." Musing to itself, Bhunivelze/Mundus began to destroy several more demons, the malevolent deity brewing up a plan on which to test his Savior. In his decade long absence, she had grown to be weaker. His Goddess of Death was meant to be made of stone, her heart unyielding for the tasks that lay before her, so that she may breathe new life into the shells molded by God's love. But if she allowed emotion and humanity slither its way in and distort her focus laid out before her, then she was not worthy of the throne he had created, nor the mantle of responsibility his beloved daughter had been forced to give up. Like it or not, you will take Etro's place.

The Savior belonged to them. Of that much, God was certain. Every enhancement he had made in order to stack fate in her favor, in order to forge her into something more than a mere mortal. She was to be his finest creation, perfection at its core, devoid of any defect Lindzei, Pulse, Etro, and their many fal'Cie had allowed come to pass. Though the Savior may have been created of flesh, blood, Chaos and bestowed a 'soul'; such a thing was of no worth for her tasks. Humanity was the bane of her servitude to God, and she would be rid of it once and for all. Serah Farron, Snow Villiers, Oerba Yun Fang, Oerba Dia Vanille, Noel Kreiss, Sazh Katzroy, Dahj Katzroy, Hope Estheim- it would claim all of their souls and crush them in his very hands.

If need be, he'd force his Savior to watch as he destroyed their physical forms, and withheld their souls for eternity until she understood who was master and who was servant. Which was exactly why he needed to remold these demons into something more than they already were- something that could complete the trials he had in order. Just as there were greater forms of fal'Cie, it appeared demons had greater ranks amongst themselves, as well. And Bhunivelze/Mundus was going to going to create a superior breed to both- a hybrid of the two.