Another round of bright flashes cascaded Lightning's back as she strode past the final wave of paparazzi and into the huge, gaping entrance of Sanctum's large celebration hall. Never in her days had she ever thought she'd consider the place to be a sanctuary, but tonight disproved that theory. Even as she now stood on tabloid-free threshold, she could still hear shouts from the camera-snapping crowd behind her.
"Lightning! Lightning!"
"Is your father still spying for Pulsian rebels?"
"Sources say you've been making a number of late night visits to Snow Villiers' workplace! Is he rethinking marriage with your sister? Is he your new beau?!"
"Lightning! Can you give us a statement on your recent missions to Pulse?! How are the conditions?!"
"There are rumors that you've been visiting Pulse in search of Oerba Yun Fang! Can you confirm?!"
Lightning stiffened and peered over her shoulder to give the crowd an icy glare when she felt a familiar grip on her elbow, pulling her further into the building.
"You should know better than to entertain the cameras like that." Cid spoke in a low voice with his head bent close to Lightning's as he ushered her into the hall. "Funny how you never showed as much interest when I was organizing the photo shoots."
"If you're going to take it personally whenever I disapprove of something you've organized, then you're going to live life as a very disappointed man," Lightning replied dryly.
Cid frowned and slowed to a stop, still lightly holding on to Lightning's elbow. "There is one thing that we both seem to be interested in though," he said, his voice going even lower than before. "Something that I haven't received correspondence from in some days now… What exactly happened on Pulse?"
"It's none of your concern," Lightning stated. Now that he wasn't leaning so close to her face, she had a moment to take full stock of his outfit—a solid white suit with a silver and purple cape that draped over his left side. Covering the upper half of his face was a matching purple and silver mask with a hooked, elongated nose. Wearing it was supposed to be a sign of respect for the eidolons, but Lightning personally thought it made him look like Gonzo. Nevertheless, she still preferred the mask over his actual facial features, and after studying it for a moment, her eyes dropped down to derisively glare at the hand that was still holding on to her elbow. Taking the hint, Cid uncomfortably cleared his throat and released her.
"This is where I disagree," he continued on. "You're jeopardizing Cavalry operations."
"Because the Cavalry was getting along so well with the Pulsians before I came into the picture?" Lightning asked. "Please. Anyway, you don't have to worry about me anymore. I'm not accepting any more missions on Pulse. I'm out."
Cid's mask lifted in surprise. "You're out? After all the dust you kicked up to get in?"
"I was curious," Lightning stated. "Now I'm not."
Cid still didn't seem convinced.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" Lightning continued impatiently. "I'll be out of your hair and you'll have that 'interesting thing' all to yourself. You should be happy."
Cid skeptically looked Lightning over one last time before nodding. "So it would seem."
"Now if you would excuse me, I'll be heading to the buffet table. It's the one thing I actually enjoy at these things."
Cid opened his mouth to speak again, but by then Lightning had already burst into a brisk power walk to the other side of the hall. Conversing with Cid felt more uncomfortable than usual tonight, especially considering Lightning's plans. She had thought long and hard about them for three straight days…
Her eyes lifted to search the faces of those already gathered in the spacious hall until they found their target. Jihl Nabaat was standing amongst a group of older men, fellow Sanctum members no doubt, but was looking Lightning's way as if waiting for the pinkette to seek her out. She wore a gray, long-sleeved gown with a diving neckline that accentuated two of her more… noticeable assets. Her shoulders were heavily padded and a stiff material shot out on top of them, pointing off in different directions like two wide blades. Like Cid, she had also brought a mask, but hers was situated on the end of a slender, black holding stick that she slowly rolled between her fingers as she leered at Lightning from across the room.
Lightning modestly smiled back at her. The two had gotten dressed together at Jihl's house. Light remembered Jihl coming from behind and resting her chin on her shoulder as she stood in front the bathroom mirror, putting the finishing touches on her makeup.
"Maybe we could away with it… without bringing any attention to ourselves," Jihl had said breathily, her eyes intent on Lightning's through the mirror. "Just one dance. A good one too. A slow one." Her hands slowly wrapped around Lightning's waist to pull her backwards so that Light's rear was snuggly tucked against her pelvis. Then she started swaying... slowly. "Sergeant Farron, Savior of Cocoon, and Commander Nabaat… think of the scandal." Then there was a squeeze.
From different sides of the hall, they only held each other's gaze for a moment more before Jihl turned away to continue entertaining her colleagues.
Yes, Lightning had been thinking long and hard about her next steps for the past few days. She didn't have the nerve to go through with them when she and Jihl had been getting dressed, but now she was feeling more resolute than ever.
After the ball, she would tell Jihl about Fang.
She had been weighing the options in her head for some time now, and that seemed like the best solution. It was obvious that Fang and Vanille's power had exponentially grown in the past four years, meaning that they still posed a huge threat as l'Cie. And even though they no longer had a focus, no one could be sure that the fal'Cies wouldn't change their mind and decide to reinstate the two as Ragnarok again. Plus, if Fang was captured, then it was possible for the war to end and her father to get his sentenced reduced… It might even be able to give Lightning the proper closure she needed to get over the events that had happened four years prior.
"Light. Hey."
Lightning's brows shot up as she turned to face a voice that had been eluding her for over a month now.
"Serah." She stared dumbly at her younger sibling, who was practically a smaller version of herself. "Hey… What are you…"
"Snow," Serah replied before Lightning could finish. "Perks of being engaged to a Savior of Cocoon, right? Free parties. Though I'm sure Cid would've gotten me in if I asked."
"Heh, yeah," Lightning softly replied, still slightly shocked.
"You, uh, you look nice," Serah offered, looking over Lightning's gown. It was a strapless, maroon thing that would shift from hugging Lightning's body down to her hips before gradually loosening to flow behind her as she walked.
"So do you," Lightning quickly returned, complimenting the simple black dress that Serah wore. "It's… really good to see you."
Serah softly smiled. "Yeah. It's good to see you too…"
Silence fell between the sisters as each looked down, trying to think of what to say next. Lightning was usually fine with dead silences, but she knew that she somehow had to keep this conversation afloat. At the rate they were going, Etro only knew when she would see Serah again.
"How've you—"
"About Dad's—"
The two immediately stopped talking, then smirked at each other.
"You go first," Lightning encouraged, already feeling the air between them beginning to lighten.
"Okay." Serah took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before starting again. "I'm sorry. About missing dad's visitation and all. Or missing it if they actually would let anyone in… It's just… there's so much to do with the wedding and you and Snow can never get along and sometimes I feel like I'm left dealing with everything by myself and I know I'm being passive aggressive but…" She paused to take another breath. "The wedding is getting closer and closer, and I need my sis."
Lightning's lips twitched upward at Serah's words.
"Plus," Serah continued, "If my big sister looks this hot at a Sanctum function, I could only imagine how great she'd look in one of my bridesmaid dresses."
"Don't get your hopes up," Lightning replied with a half-grin still on her face. "Teal was never my color."
"Then maybe I should switch them to maroon. You look GOOD." Serah's face shifted from awed to suspicious. "Coming here like that, I'm surprised you don't have a date."
Lightning just gave Serah a look that read 'you should know better'.
"What? I'm just saying, when you look that good, it shouldn't go to waste. Look. Even Hope has a date."
Lightning lifted an eyebrow and turned her head in the direction where Serah was pointing.
Sure enough, Hope was descending the long staircase at the front of the hall with a young woman on his arm. Lightning narrowed her eyes skeptically at the pair. The girl seemed pretty, or at least she did from what Lightning could see of her face. Both Hope and his date had opted to wear masks, with Hope being mostly recognizable by his lankiness under his black tux and the silver hair on top of his head. The girl was slim with jet-black hair and an orangish-bronze hue to her skin, which nearly matched the plain coral dress that she wore in an eerie way. 'A spray tanner,' Lightning immediately thought in disapproval.
"I didn't even know Hope was dating," Serah said, obviously studying the couple from behind Lightning as well.
"That makes two of us," Lightning replied. She never would've guessed he even noticed other girls from the way he had been smothering Vanille on their trip to Pulse.
"Wow…" Serah breathed, gently grabbing Light's upper arm. "Look at her."
"She's not that impressive—"
"No, Light. HER."
Still gripping Light's upper arm, Serah turned Lightning around to face a different section of the room where another woman was slowly making her way across the hall floor. Lightning's breath immediately hitched as she watched.
"That dress is gorgeous," Serah cooed as her hand slid off her sister's arm.
Indeed, the dress was gorgeous. The woman wore a black, billowy gown that shimmered a deep red as she moved, with the light fabric rising and falling like waves as she walked. Lining the collar and waist were rows of large, dark jewels that also glimmered warm colors when they hit the light, and when the woman turned, the gown's open back showed off the woman's smooth, taut back. Yes, it was a marvelous dress, but Lightning wasn't paying as much attention to the gown as she was to the woman herself.
Despite the black, elaborately feathered mask that covered half the woman's face, Lightning was sure that she had never seen the woman before at one of these functions. Even from the distance, Lightning could tell that she exuded a different energy than that of everyone else in the room. It was something more exotic, more wild. Physically, the woman was tall and athletic with dirty blonde hair, streaked with brown, that was knotted in a regal yet slightly messy bun at the top of her head. She attracted the attention of almost everyone she passed as she glided across the floor. Touching someone's arm here. Smiling at a random person there—
Lightning's eyes darkened on the woman.
She knew that smile. She also knew that saunter, as well as that wild, and exotic manner. She knew that woman.
"Serah, I'll be back in a minute."
"But we just started talking—"
"I'll be back, I promise," Lightning said, never taking her eyes of the woman. "Just… I gotta go." And she was off, briskly moving across the room as her baffled younger sister watched.
"Hmph. Lesbians…" Serah mumbled once her sister was out of earshot.
Meanwhile, Lightning still had yet to take her eyes off the dirty blonde in the black dress, never slowing her pace until she was standing toe-to-toe with the mysterious woman.
The woman's eyes lit up when she noticed Lightning moving towards her. She smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, Lightning had grabbed her by the upper arm and was leading her across the hall towards a more secluded corner. When they reached a clear spot right behind a thick, marble pillar, Lightning released the woman and folded her arms tightly across her chest.
"Ahhh…" The woman rubbed her arm in the spot where Lightning had been holding it. "You've got a grip like a bloody anaconda!"
"Fang, what are you doing here?" Lightning demanded, ignoring the gripe while studying Fang's arm. Her skin appeared a few shades lighter than usual and there were no signs of her tattoo or l'Cie mark. She must've been using body make-up.
The woman looked up from her arm to stare Lightning in the face. The eyes peeking out of the mask were deep cerulean in color, but still Fang's eyes, nevertheless.
"I'm here to talk to you."
"What?!" Lightning hissed, taking a threatening step closer.
"Don't get too excited," Fang returned sardonically, obviously miffed by Lightning's previous treatment of her arm. "I thought things ended in a weird place last time we saw each other. That and Hope said ya needed to tell me something. He seemed worried."
"Hope?" Lightning asked through gritted teeth. She could feel the tips of her ears beginning to burn. "So the girl he's with is Vanille?" It only made sense that if Fang was in a costume, Vanille would come along dressed in one too.
"Mhhm," Fang nodded.
"Why in the world—how? How did you even get here?" Lightning was trying her hardest to keep it together, but it was getting increasingly difficult with Fang standing across from her without a care in the world that she was Cocoon's most wanted criminal, standing in a room filled with Cocoon's most powerful people.
"Hope," Fang answered nonchalantly, taking amusement in watching the way Light reacted to each of her answers.
"Would you care to elaborate?" Lightning growled.
"With the mood yer in right now, I think it safer if I didn't."
"FANG—"
"Shhhhh," Fang lifted a finger to her lips and took a long step to close the distance between the two, standing so close to Lightning that their noses nearly brushed and Lightning could vaguely smell the perfumish scent of spices and wildflowers that emanated from the other woman's body. "C'mon, love. Ya don't wanna give my identity away."
Lightning took a hard swallow as Fang's feaux cerulean eyes bore down on her through the mask. Giving Fang away was exactly what she had been planning to do later that evening, but in that plan, the idea was for Fang to be thousands of miles away—on a different planet, in fact—allowing Lightning continue on with her life while the Cocoonian army found a way to deal with her. "You. Can't. Be. Here."
"Rude…" Fang grumbled, taking a step back. "But I can't leave now. Hope's my way back and he's a bit preoccupied. I'm sure with the presentation, they won't just let him leave now."
"Then wait for him in his dorm. Go anywhere that's NOT here."
Fang lifted a slender eyebrow at the suggestion and Lightning sighed. The last thing she wanted was for Fang to be traveling unsupervised around Cocoon, and even Fang knew it.
"Ugh… Fine. But you're staying by me, you hear? The entire night, too. No wandering. No socializing. You don't even go to the restroom alone."
"Fine by me." Fang smiled. "I was kinda hoping—mrrmmm." Fang's body suddenly stiffened and burst into a quick fit of shivers. Her fists involuntarily clenched at her sides as she stumbled back a few steps to lean against the wall.
Lightning just watched, wide-eyed. Part of her wanted to move closer, to inspect what was going on, but the memory of her overreaction in the Pulsian cavern was still too fresh on her mind to allow her to make a move. "What was that?" she asked instead, warily eyeing Fang up and down.
"After effects from the trip here," Fang responded through heavy breaths. "We didn't exactly travel by bus, ya know."
"Can't you get Vanille to heal it?" Lightning took a step closer.
"No, she's getting them too. The damned things are making it hard for us to use our powers properly, but we didn't get the worst of it. Poor Sazh and Noel are probably in the bathroom still throwing their guts up from 'em."
"Poor Sazh and who?" Lightning felt her fist beginning to clench as her face began heating up again. "You brought more Pulsians with you?!"
"GRAN Pulsians," Fang corrected. "And technically, Sazh is Cocoonian."
"You're unbelievable!" Lightning ran a hand exasperatedly through her hair. "I don't know what you're planning, but what do you expect to accomplish by sneaking into the most heavily guarded building on Cocoon?! With defunct powers and a sick squadron, at that?!"
Fang stared at her for a moment as if really trying to think long and hard about her answer before tilting her head towards another section of the room. "Who's that sandy blonde chick over there?"
Lightning cut her eyes at Fang disapprovingly. "Are you serious?"
"Actually, yes." Fang moved in closer to Light, bowing her head and lowering her voice as she spoke. "There's a woman, with sandy blonde hair, who keeps eyeing us from over there."
"What are you—" Lightning froze in midsentence as she looked over her shoulder and realized just who Fang was referring to.
Jihl was standing amidst another group of fellow Sanctum members, but she seemed to not be paying them much attention at all. Her focus would shift to whoever was talking in the group for just a few seconds before turning around to glance Light and Fang's way. Lightning couldn't exactly blame her; she wasn't very inconspicuous when she had dragged Fang across the hall to find a secluded spot for them to convene in.
"Do ya think she suspects something?" Fang asked.
"Probably not what you think she'd be suspecting…" Lightning breathed, more to herself than Fang.
"Hm. She's got a nice rack, though."
"Hey!" Lightning spun back around to smack Fang in the arm with the back of her hand. "Don't stare at her rack."
"Ow…" Fang rubbed her arm. "Well, looks like ya did it now. She's coming over."
"What?"
Lightning twisted around again. Sure enough, Jihl had left the company of the Sanctum group she had been conversing with and was making her way to where they stood.
"Shit. Fang," Lightning spun around to face Fang again. Even with the mask, she could tell that the taller woman was amused by whatever was going on. "You need to leave. Now. Find Snow or go to the bathroom—anything!"
"But I thought I wasn't supposed to leave your side," Fang said in an airy tone, loosely pointing a finger at Lightning in mock confusion.
"Now's not the time—"
"Sergeant Farron," Jihl's smooth voice cut into the middle of their conversation. Lightning cursed beneath her breath and slowly turned to face her girlfriend. Jihl had a polite smile on her face, greeting Lightning with her eyes for a second then looking to the masked woman beside her. "I realized I haven't spoken with you yet tonight. How are things?"
"Things are fine," Lightning awkwardly blurted, garnering a somewhat perplexed look from Fang.
"I see…" Jihl replied with a nod. She and Lightning stared at each other for a moment before the woman cleared her throat and looked towards Fang again. "I apologize. I don't believe we've met. I'm Commander Jihl Nabaat. And you are…"
"Ms. Theodora Cornwallis."
Lightning's eyes bulged as Fang reached out to take Jihl's hand. The voice that had left her mouth did not hold Fang's usual accent but instead had a strong, Southern Cocoonian twang.
"I made a sizeable donation to the Sanctum a good few months ago, and whatta ya know, got invited to this fancy thing," Fang continued with a wide smile. "My family made a fortune off some oil fields down south, but that story's nowhere near as exciting as you being a commander. What do you command, if ya don't mind me asking? An airship of some sorts?"
Jihl proudly grinned. "I don't mean to spoil the speech later on for you, but I was recently promoted to commander-in-chief of planetary military operations."
Lightning watched guardedly as Fang's face lit up from behind the mask.
"Ohh, is that right?" she asked, genuinely intrigued.
"Yes, yes it is," Jihl smiled. "So I guess I should personally be thanking you for your support, Ms. Cornwallis. Not everyone has been a fan of the Sanctum since the war efforts began."
"Well, my donation was intended to help with the rebuilding efforts, not the war," Fang responded. "Ya see, my family's company likes to avoid controversy and there's quite a bit of folk who view this war as following a group of people who we've tortured throughout history and trying to make their lives even more miserable instead of leaving them to live peacefully their own planet… but they're all just a filthy bunch of savages, so why care?"
Lightning shot Fang a warning look, but the woman ignored it to continue smiling at a slightly taken aback Jihl.
"I can understand why some would see it that way, but it's not as if the Pulsians are totally innocent in this either," Jihl replied. "They did bring a fal'Cie to our planet, who created a monster that tried to kill all of us."
"That's right. They did bring a fal'Cie to Cocoon, didn't they?" Fang asked, keeping her southern belle-ish voice ever so cheerful. "It's a wonder how they were able to fit it in their suitcases while the army was forcing them to evacuate here all those years ago."
"That was for their own good," Jihl replied sternly. She was obviously having a hard time figuring Ms. Cornwallis out and it was making her exasperated.
"It's funny how the Cocoonian government always knows what they need more than they do."
"They're a primitive people. Sometimes they need our assistance."
"Primitive?" Hints of Fang's real accent broke through as the she repeated the word. "Have you ever even held a conversation about art, science, or technology with those 'primitive' people before?"
"Have you?" Jihl returned, the question sounding more like an accusation than anything else.
"No, because I haven't been able to find any. Any idea where they're hiding?"
"Hey." Without thinking, Lightning grabbed Fang's wrist—not as a reprimand but more of a warning to remind Fang of where she was and who she was talking to. Fang's eyes flicked to Lightning, slitting at first before visibly softening as she returned to the reality of the situation. The third woman in their circle bristled even more.
"So how did the two of you meet again?" Jihl's voice came out a bit more strained than before. "This evening, per chance?"
Lightning's eyes widened as she realized exactly what it was she had done, and she immediately dropped Fang's wrist. "We met at the buffet," she quickly spoke. Her attention was solely focused on Jihl, who was staring at her incredulously, although she could feel Fang's eyes on her as well. "We talked about food, though. Not Pulse or politics."
"Oh yes, that's right…" Fang slowly added, finally peeling her eyes away from Lightning to calmly look back at Jihl. "We bonded over our shared appreciation of breasts and thighs." Jihl's brows slanted into a hard downwards crease while Lightning's jaw tightened. "The chicken here is superb."
Jihl just continued to stare at Fang through hard, tempered eyes.
"But as much as I'm enjoying this conversation, I must excuse myself. The boudoir is callin' my name. Ladies." Fang tipped her head in farewell before breezing past the two women. Lightning's eyes followed her with an annoyed glare.
"You're making some interesting friends," Jihl stated. Her voice was laced with agitation.
"She's not a friend," was Lightning's only reply as she turned to give Jihl an assuring smile.
"Good." The smile hadn't assured Jihl at all. "I don't like the way she was looking at you." She turned to also watch the Cornwallis woman disappear into the crowd. "I bet under that mask, she's really hideous."
Fang braced herself as her body involuntarily stiffened and trembled again, waiting a moment to let the spell right ride out before taking a deep breath. "I hate those things," she said, shaking her head as she looked down at Vanille, who was finally alone since Hope had to run to the bathroom.
"You must've taken the brunt of it," Vanille said worriedly. "Mine stopped a long time ago."
"And your powers?"
"Weak, but a little more consistent when calling them."
"Good." Fang looked around the hall warily. "I've chatted up enough of these old, horny farts to get a good enough layout of the area. The building we're in is practically useless. The one we need is two blocks north of here."
"So what're ya thinking?"
"Hope said they have to make a presentation, right? Lover boy's not gonna let you outta his sight til then, so wait until he leaves to go up and then start making your move."
"What about you?" Vanille asked.
"I'm a bit more noticeable," Fang said with a light smile. "I'll stay here to run distraction if needed. Plus, now that I've met the commander of their army, I'm kinda curious about her speech."
"Okay. Sounds like a plan—"
"Fan—I mean Theodora."
Both women looked up to see Hope returning from the bathroom. He fixed his crooked mask on his face as he walked and smiled goofily at the two.
"Mr. Estheim," Fang returned in a polite nod. "How do you fare this evening?"
"I, uh, fine," Hope answered. "Did you get a chance to talk to Lightning? It's really kinda important."
"I talked to her alright," Fang said, crossing her arms. "Didn't quite go as planned. And the woman's more popular than I figured she'd be. I haven't been able to get her alone since."
"She's alone now," Hope pointed out, literally pointing past Fang to where Lightning stood by herself, sipping from a half-filled glass of water. She had obviously been staring their way beforehand, but immediately averted her gaze when Fang had turned around so that her eyes were now roaming this way and that around the ballroom. "Why don't you try now?"
Fang studied the soldier for a moment. She seemed so uncomfortable, like a fish out of water amongst all the aristocrats that buzzed passed… but she was stunning in that dress. There was something about the way that it tightened in certain places, teasing everyone with a small curve or shapely muscle, before slightly loosening, leaving the rest of what was beneath up to the viewer's imagination. And right about now, despite all the dangers that surrounded her in this room alone, Fang's imagination was running rampant. She lightly smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. Why not?"
"Did I ever mention how beautiful you look tonight?"
Lightning's head jerked to the side, her face looking surprised for only a second before darkening into a more annoyed glare. "I don't know. Whenever you open your mouth, all I hear is, 'I'm trying to get caught and ruin this evening… possibly your entire life as well.'"
Fang smiled as she took her place next to Lightning with her arms folded. "How would you like to dance?"
"Excuse me?" Lightning stared at Fang disbelievingly.
"C'mon. It's not like they'll be surprised to see ya dancing with a woman—we kinda established your stance on that last time I was on this planet."
Lightning continued to gape at Fang as if she had lost her mind. "What part of anything that I've said gave you the impression that I'd want to dance with you?"
"Well, when ya come to a fancy ball like this and your girlfriend looks as gorgeous as you do, how could I not ask?"
"Girlfriend?" Lightning's eyebrows almost shot up to her hairline. "You're joking, right?"
"I'm serious as sin," Fang replied. She playfully smiled at Lightning before bending over to whisper near her ear, "I don't recall us ever breaking up."
Lightning snorted. "You don't recall us being in a relationship either."
"Who told ya that?" Fang asked in an offended tone. Lightning just gave her a sideways look in reply. "I remember ya telling me you were a good dancer."
"Do you remember me telling you, or Vanille telling you?"
"You're not going to let me win this, are you?" Fang asked, that soft smile returning to her face.
"You didn't remember our superhero names," Lightning stated.
"If I had known our superhero names were so important to you, maybe I would've tried harder to make sure the amnesia didn't take them."
Lightning rolled her eyes.
"But if you don't wanna dance, that's fine. I just figured ya might since you've been ogling me all night. I mean, c'mon woman. I'm not just some piece of meat."
"You know good and well why I've been keeping an eye on you," Lightning growled back. "And it's not like I haven't caught you staring either."
"Okay. So we're both a little guilty for undressing each other with our eyes. I get it," Fang said, causing Lightning to grunt in disagreement, "Only difference is, according to you, you're the only one who remembers what the other looks like naked."
Lightning choked on the water she was sipping and immediately felt her cheeks heat up.
Fang grinned devilishly and pointed at her cup. "Looks like you could use a little more of that. I'll be right back."
Lightning cleared her throat and lightly pounded on her chest as Fang made her way to the beverage table. A hand lightly touched Fang's as she reached for a cup. She looked over her shoulder to find that the hand was attached to Commander Jihl Nabaat.
"Ms. Cornwallis, we bump into each other again," Jihl greeted.
Fang nodded as she fully turned to face Jihl. "I wouldn't exactly call this bumping into each other, but it is a pleasure to see you again, Commander."
"Likewise." Jihl immediately replied with a thin-lipped smile. "Since you haven't been to many of these things, I was worried you wouldn't have anyone to talk to, but it looks as if you and Sergeant Farron have found each other again."
"Sergeant Farron is a very accommodating host," Fang answered. She turned to bring her attention back to the task at hand but was stopped by another Jihl inquiry.
"About that… I apologize but I don't believe I ever asked where it is that you're from." Jihl looked at Fang with a pleasant smirk. "If you don't mind sharing, I would love to hear all about it."
Lightning clutched her glass tight enough to shatter it into millions of pieces as she stood with her eyes glued on the pair standing near the beverage table. Jihl was embroiled in a seemingly deep conversation with Oerba Yun Fang and she didn't even know it; Lightning wasn't sure if she'd ever been so nervous.
"Hey, Light." Hope approached with a slight bounce in his step. Lightning didn't even blink, she was still so concentrated on the two women standing ahead of her. "So, uh… I saw you and Theodora talking…"
"Who?" Lightning murmured.
"Theodora? Cornwallis? The one talking to Commander Nabaat?"
"Hm?" Lightning finally turned her head to look at Hope. "Oh. Yeah. Theodora." A look of understanding passed over Light's face… followed by an even deeper expression of realization. "You brought them here." Her voice was laced with betrayal. "Hope…"
"I know you're thinking it's a stupid idea, but I was talking to Vanille and she said it was so good seeing everyone and that she'd like to spend more time with us, so I thought—"
"You thought?" Lightning cut off. "Did you really? They're l'Cie."
"You shouldn't say that so loud—"
"What if they came here planning a massacre? What if they wanted to assassinate someone?"
"They wouldn't—"
"They wouldn't what? Play you like a fiddle to get an invitation right into the heart of Cocoonian's government? Oh nooo, they're above that. Did you even consider what would happen if they got caught? What would happen to all of us?"
"I—I, uh, not really…"
"Of course you didn't." Lightning shook her head. "You're always talking about how rash Snow is and how he doesn't think of anyone but himself, but you're no better."
Hope looked down at his feet dejectedly. He couldn't think of any possible response to give to Lightning in return. Meanwhile, Lightning glanced back in the direction of Jihl and Fang, a resentful expression on her face.
"Hope," she said, calling Hope's attention away from his shoes and back at her. "When this thing is over, you're telling me how you got them here. Keep an eye on them for now, and when 'Theodora' comes back, tell her I'll just drink my spit." With that, Lightning pushed past Hope to move to a different section of the hall.
It wouldn't be long before Fang did return with a cup of water in her hand. Her eyebrows slightly lifted in surprise on seeing Hope standing where she had left Lightning.
"Where's the pink-head?" Fang asked, looking both ways as she stopped in front of the teen.
"She… she wanted to take a walk," he said, half truthfully. Fang took careful note of the 'kicked puppy' vibe the boy was giving off, but decided not to say anything about it.
"Hm," she went with instead. "Are her panties always in that tight a knot, or is it just me?"
That's when Hope's head shot up, and his eyes examined Fang through the peepholes of his mask with a critical stare. "I know you can't remember everything, all the good times and moments and all… But you could be a little easier on her.
"Why does everyone just assume that I don't remember anything?" Fang asked in exasperation.
"Because whenever you two are around each other… she's the only one who looks hurt."
Fang's expression slowly dropped.
A masked steward appeared from behind Hope to tap him on the shoulder while Fang thoughtfully stared at the boy. ""Mr. Estheim, it's almost time for the presentation. Please, follow me."
Fang continued to contemplatively stare after Hope as he left.
"Theodora." Now it was Fang's shoulder that a hand came to rest on. "It's time," Noel's voice spoke.
"Awesome," Fang replied.
"Greetings, friends! Guests! Family! Colleagues!"
The music lowered and the hum of conversation hushed as one of the older Sanctum officials spoke into the microphone. Lightning's eyes ran over the crowd as she stood on the stage, only a few steps behind the man at the mic. Hope stood on her left, courteously holding his mask in his hands, while Snow stood to her right.
"Same opening every time," Snow murmured, softly jabbing Light in her side with his elbow as the man at the mic continued on.
"…before we proceed, let us take a moment to think back on the heinous acts committed against our planet—our people—to remind us all of what we almost lost, and what we still fight for today."
"Probably the same old video, too…" Snow mumbled above Lightning's ear as the lights in the hall began to dim and the Cocoonian anthem began rolling through the speakers. "Bunch of crappola."
Lightning just grunted, hoping that it would be sign enough for Snow to shut up. Meanwhile, a large holographic screen lit up in the middle of the hall and began flashing pictures of the Cocoon forced evacuation of Pulse so many years ago.
"…we saved them from the toxic dangers of their home planet," the announcer went on over the microphone as the pictures flashed.
Snow leaned in again, "What I would give for a Fang commentary on all of this."
Lightning's eyebrows perked and her eyes once again scanned over the crowd, this time looking for the dirty blonde wearing an elaborately feathered mask, but the room was too dark to distinguish anybody.
"…we gave them housing, food, water. And most importantly, we gave them trust. Enough trust to allow them to attend school WITH OUR CHILDREN."
A picture flashed on the holographic screen of a younger Fang and Vanille standing outside of Bodhum High. Vanille was smiling giddily at the camera while Fang tiredly stood with her head lolled to the side, obviously annoyed by the whole deal. It must've been their first day of integrating the public school system, Lightning thought. Fang didn't look like she could be a day over sixteen.
"…and what do we get in return, but betrayal? Not only did those wolves in sheep's clothing sneak a rotten fal'Cie onto our planet, but they also plotted to hit us where they knew we would hurt most! They tried to corrupt our hearts! Our future! Our sons and daughters!"
Lightning stiffened. The next photo was one that she had never seen before… one of her and Fang. They were outside of the school, near the bleachers that surrounded the track. Fang was leaning against the side of the bleachers, a goofy smile on her face and arm reaching up to hang onto a step above her head as her body leaned forward towards Lightning. Light was staring at the ground with a subdued grin, but from the smile on Fang's face to the way her eyes admiringly shone down on the other girl, it was totally clear that Lightning was the only thing that Fang wanted to give her attention to.
"…even trying to seduce one of our Saviors of Cocoon, not knowing that she saw straight through their flimsy façade!"
"Damn…" Snow whispered in a sharp hiss. "How much you wanna bet Alyssa Zaidelle is still making money off of her stalker photos of you two?"
Lightning grit her teeth at Snow's interruption of the presentation, although it did irk her that their high school yearbook editor was still selling candid photos of her and Fang to anyone who could produce a red cent.
"…where they even tried to wipe us out as a whole!"
A monstrous roar echoed through the hall as the video of a large beast smashing through the roof of the Sanctum's presidential hall began playing on the screen. A wave of gasps moved through the crowd as they watched. There was not much footage of Ragnarok's attack on Cocoon… but the small amount that they had always sufficed. Out of force of habit, Lightning looked away during this part of the video. Little did she know, there was one wide-eyed spectator in the crowd who couldn't tear her faux cerulean eyes away from the scene playing out on the screen.
Another roar, followed by more gasps and the sound of an explosion before the tape cut to static. The man at the microphone continued with the presentation but Lightning kept her chin tilted towards her chest, looking downwards, until she heard the loud roaring of applause.
She felt Snow's large hand gently touch her back with his fingertips, leading her forwards as he and Hope moved beside her towards the podium. Bright flashes erupted from the cameras of the select journalists that were allowed to attend the event as Hope cleared his throat and began speaking.
Lightning didn't concentrate on a word he said. She just anxiously scanned the crowd. Fang was out there somewhere… or maybe she wasn't. Maybe she had taken her chance to escape. Maybe she had seen the way that the Sanctum was slandering her people, even her story of becoming a l'Cie, and decided that she had had enough. What if her powers were actually working and she planned on taking out the building right then and—
"Right, Lightning?"
"Hrm?" Lightning looked to her side to see Snow giving her a concerned look.
"The war… needing new direction. Right, Lightning?" Snow repeated, his eyes darting from her to a prompter that was in front of the podium.
Lightning wordlessly nodded, understanding what he was getting at. The war strategy was taking on a new direction. There was a prewritten speech and everything that she was meant to follow, assuring the people of Cocoon of a great outcome without ever having to go into detail… saying words that she didn't actually believe.
"Erm…" she softly cleared her throat, looking at the prompter for the briefest of seconds before closing her eyes and looking out over the crowd. Fang was in there somewhere. She had invited Lightning, Hope, and Snow to her planet in an attempt to stop war just to come to theirs and find out they were promoting the exact opposite. "My comrades are right. This war does need a new direction." She took another shaky look at the prompter. "And if we want this to end well, that direction has to involve cooperation with the Pulsians."
Another round of gasps filled the hall, bouncing off of the marble pillars and walls until an eerie silence filled the large space.
"Lightning…" Snow mumbled in a low voice from behind her, but Lightning just shook him off.
"History has a tendency of repeating itself, and we've been down this road before—the War of Transgression. How many lives did that take? Both Pulsian and Cocoonian? And in the midst of that war, how many lives were claimed by the fal'Cie? We were so busy fighting each other that we lost sight of the real enemy!"
The silence that had filled the hall now turned into a mix of hushed and harried murmurs.
"And just like then, we are losing focus on who our real enemies are now. Can't you see? Why is it that every time there looks like there'll be hope for unity between our cultures, a fal'Cie appears and we end up going to war? I knew Fang and Vanille personally…" She paused at this statement, once again searching over the crowd but not finding that particular masked face, "…and they did not want to start a war. They just wanted the same opportunities that any Cocoonian their age had."
"The Pulsians' brought a fal'Cie to Cocoon!" a random voice called from the crowd.
"And how did they do that?" Lightning quickly retaliated, a line from earlier that evening suddenly popping into her head. "By squeezing it into their suitcases when they were being rushed off their planet?"
There were a few chuckles spread out around the hall accompanied by more questioning whispers.
"The fact of the matter remains—"
"Sergeant Farron."
Lightning felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned to see Jihl standing behind her. Her face looked congenial, but there was a stiffness in her smile that let Lightning know she wasn't exactly pleased at what was being said.
"Thank you for that lovely introduction, but I think I'll take it from here."
Lightning wanted to continue speaking, but thought better of it. The crowd probably thought she was crazy by now anyway, so she silently nodded and took a step back, allowing Jihl to take the mic.
"Well, that was quite the interesting forward." Jihl smiled sweetly at the sea of confused faces that Lightning had so abruptly left hanging. "But I do believe what Sergeant Farron was eventually going to say was that I, Commander Jihl Nabaat, will be filling the role of our army's commander-in-chief. And as the new head of Cocoon military operation, I must agree that our dear Savior does make some very strong points. The biggest one being that history does tend to repeat itself. And as the new head of military, I hope to put an end to this trend…"
Jihl paused to leer out at the crowd.
"…by totally ridding this world and the one below of the Pulsian threat all together."
"What?" Lightning could hear Snow breathe as her eyes widened in shock at the statement. The whole hall was abuzz with noise and Jihl had to move her hands up and down in a silencing motion in order for it to get back to a reasonable level.
"Time and time again the Pulsians have shown that they can't be trusted, and we can no longer keep giving them the chances to finally take us out. We must eliminate them first!"
Cheers of agreement shot out from the crowd. Lightning could feel her heart rate picking up. This was not good.
"And we will not waste any time doing it! Consider this night the beginning of a new era—an era free of Pulsian terrorism!"
Now the crowd had gotten more into it. They yelled, clapped, and cheered as Jihl took a step back from the podium and the original announcer firmly grabbed her hand to shake it. The crowd was still celebrating the announcement when the music cut back on.
The announcer led Jihl off the stage to a small gathering of journalists and other Sanctum heads, leaving the Saviors of Cocoon to follow. Lightning just watched the back of Jihl's head dumbfoundedly as they walked in line off the platform. Where had that come from? She had never heard her girlfriend mention genocide before. She never even imagined Jihl as toying with it as a possibility.
"Chosen one."
Lightning's feet had just hit the ballroom floor when a small hand slid into hers. A big pair of blue eyes stared up and her, and Lightning immediately recognized her as the young girl from the field when she had went to Pulse searching for Fang. "You…"
"Savior." Fang appeared from behind girl, moving the girl aside to take hold of Lightning's hand instead. Her mouth was set in a tight line and and she seemed to be carrying a lot of tension in her shoulders. Even though Lightning couldn't find her in the crowd, she knew then and there that the woman had heard everything that was said.
"You brought the weird girl from—"
"Yeul's a seeress. That makes her a very good lookout. And as far as things go, we have a much bigger problem on our hands." Fang spoke quickly and matter-of-factly wit none of that usual Fang humour. "Yeul." She looked down at the younger girl, who nodded and turned on her heels to leave.
"Wait, where is she go—"
"You—with me." Fang interlocked their fingers and tightened her grip on Lightning's hand before turning and determinately leading the way through the crowd, using her free hand to gently move people out of their way. They had just about reached the middle of the hall when Fang stopped. In one quick, succinct move, she spun around to face Light while lightly tugging on her hand, jettisoning the soldier into her. She still gripped the one hand through interlocked fingers but slid her other hand to wrap around Lightning's waist, holding her close. Her hips began to sway, moving Lightning's to sway with her.
They were dancing.
"No." Lightning tried to move away, but with a slight jerk, Fang easily pulled them back together. Lightning huffed and grit her teeth. "I told you I didn't want to—"
"Your friend, Beelzebub, wants to totally rid this world and the one below of the Pulsian threat." Fang's voice was low and stern as her eyes dropped down on Light through the mask.
Lightning released a deep breath. "I had no idea the military had been planning that."
Fang's jaw tightened as her eyes roamed around the room, their bodies still close and moving in tune with the music.
"You have to believe me."
"Dip."
One of Fang's hands moved to press into Lightning's back and another slipped down to run behind her thigh in order to hook the soldier's leg around her waist as she lowered the woman backwards.
Despite the seriousness of the situation they were now in, Lightning couldn't help but feel a little breathless at the sudden intimacy of their dance. It didn't help that Fang's face was now hovering directly above her own, so close that Lightning could practically feel their lips brushing together as she talked.
"I believe you," Fang breathed, barely over a whisper, her eyes now searching Lightning's face. "What you did up there was brave, but there are still multiple camps up here where our people are being held captive. Lightning, we need to get them home."
"You can't free multiple camps or fight an army in your condition."
Fang grunted in affirmation as she lifted them back up, her hands moving back to their original places. They didn't stand as close as they had been earlier, but the dance now felt freer as the two glided across the floor, attracting awed glances from those dancing around them.
"Don't you have hostages?" Lightning asked as Fang twirled her around just to catch her back into her arms. "Cid mentioned you taking Cocoonian soldiers captive. You could make a trade."
"Cid has bad information," Fang said, shaking her head. "Plus, capturing too many of the known Cocoonian camps now would mess with our current intel flow and I doubt that many Cavalry soldiers would volunteer to play hostage. We could-mrmm."
Fangs body stiffened and began trembling just as the two had been sliding sideways along the dance floor. Fang stumbled forward, but Lightning quickly leaned to catch her, wrapping both arms around her to hold her steady as the tremors made their way though her system.
She could feel Fang's chest quickly heaving against hers through the thin fabric of their dresses as the shaking finally subsided. During the fit, Fang's arms had somehow lifted around Lightning's neck and her forehead rested against the pinkette's as she took in long, heavy breaths. Then, her eyes suddenly lifted to catch Lightning's. Lightning's stomach churned at the stare. She wanted to shrink away from it, but couldn't find it in herself to do anything besides stare back.
"I need you."
"Huh?" There it was again. That strange feeling inside of Lightning as though there was some sort of resolve that was being worn away every moment that she remained caught up in that intense stare.
Fang brought Lightning in even closer, her eyes never moving from Light's. "I trust you," she said earnestly. "And I know I've hurt ya before, but I'm asking you to trust me."
They were now wrapped up in each other, closer than they had been all night. Fang's forehead still rested slightly rested against Light's as she continued to stare deep in the woman's eyes. They no longer rocked or swayed but stood still in the middle of the dance floor, which fit because to Lightning it felt as if the whole world had gone still anyway.
"I watched the way these people hung on your every word up there, even as you spoke about peace with Gran Pulse. You got them to laugh at my suitcase joke," Fang's voice softened from its serious tone for the first time since Lightning had gotten off the stage. "They admire you. I admire you…" She paused. "Come to Gran Pulse with me. Be my hostage."
Now Lightning felt like nothing but nerves. Every part of her felt either hot or tingly, but she still couldn't pull herself to move away. "Been there already," was all she could think to say. "Didn't really care for the cage."
"This time I'll make it up to you," Fang replied, one of her arms straying from around Lightning's neck to once again lower around her waist. "I'll make it all up to you. The last place you'll be required to sleep will be in a cage." Fang slightly tilted her head and Lightning could picture her brows crinkling beneath the mask as she said, "Light, please. Help me get my people out of here."
"I…"
"Chosen one. Fang."
Both women were yanked from the conversation by Yeul, who lightly pulled at one of the flowing pieces of fabric on Fang's dress. Hope, Vanille, a masked man who was undeniably Sazh, and another young man stood on the outskirts of the dance floor behind her.
"Fang, we must return to Gran Pulse," Yeul said quietly.
Fang sighed. "They just declared annihilation on our people. I think we can spare a few more days."
Yeul shook her head. "We must leave this planet within the hour. There are no timelines where staying to fight will yield success. Our people in the camps will be fine for now."
Fang let another, more anguished sigh.
"And we have ten minutes to leave this hall," Yeul continued, her eyes moving past the two women who were still holding each other in the middle of the dance floor.
Fang and Light followed Yeul's gaze to Jihl, whose eyes were ablaze as she relentlessly stared at the two from the other side of the dance floor. A huge, thick knot formed in Lightning's stomach.
"Of course she'd be the one to sniff us out…" Fang mumbled, but Lightning knew what the real cause for issue would be. Fang couldn't notice it, but the look on Jihl's face was mostly that of anger mixed with jealousy.
"Alright, then," Fang breathed. She slowly slid her arms away from Light's body but made sure to take hold of her hand as she backed a step away. "I'm guessing you'll be escorting us back to the dorms?"
"No, I'll stay here," Lightning replied, glancing over her shoulder to peer at Jihl again. Leaving with Fang, even if it was just to babysit her on her walk back to The Academy would be inexcusable at this point. "But I swear—"
"That I won't start any trouble," Fang finished, bowing her head and lifting Lightning's hand to her lips. "Sergeant Farron, it was a pleasure. And please…" Her voice dropped into that serious tone again. "Consider my offer."