Something I meant to put in the last chapter's author's notes but didn't: Fanille fans may not like this much. For which I apologize. I have nothing against the pairing, but it really, really, really wouldn't have worked in this story.
Oh yes, and this story contains a really badly written fight scene. No, I can't write fight scenes. Hell, the last fight scene I wrote was in chapter three.. eleven chapters ago.
I think I'm about to colapse from exhaustion... see previous chapter for disclaimer.
"Halt! Who goes there?" Leon raised his gun and pointed it into the darkness. He was certain he had heard something move. He would have put a fiver on it, if there was anyone around to make bets with. There was no response, but – Again, he could see movement. "I said halt! Who goes there?" Still, no response was forthcoming. "Halt! Who-"
"Alright mate, keep your hair on!" A woman stepped out of the darkness, a grin on her face. "Lower that gun a bit, you'll blow someone's face off. Probably mine." She added as an afterthought. Leon kept his gun upright. Normally, when someone told you to lower your gun, it wasn't because they were scared of getting shot.
"Who're you?" He asked, keeping the gun level at the woman's torso. "You have no right to be here."
"I have every right." Her grin grew a little wider, and a little bit more feral. "Outta my way please."
"I'll escort you away." He began. Her grin suddenly turned into a snarl.
"You won't do anything of the sort!" In a movement that was as natural to her as breathing, she pulled her spear out of its holder, and rammed it into his stomach, then swung it up to connect with his jaw and knock him out. She picked up his machine gun, just in case. He was unarmoured, she noted.
Pity for him.
One quick and strong movement to stab him through the stomach, and then Oerba Yun Fang moved on.
Noctis headed up the stairs, already irritated by the councillors and their never ending interfering. One more question, just one more, and he wouldn't be responsible for his actions in a court of law, due to temporary insanity.
Please may I find some peace and quiet...
"Hello Noctis." The Prince sighed and rubbed his left temple.
"Stella, I've told you a million times. It's Noct." He looked at the woman, who just shrugged.
"It seems slightly disrespectful to just call you 'Noct'." She shrugged and smiled. "You are a prince after all."
"As if I could forget." Grumbling, he headed over to Stella. "If one more person asks me about this Pulse war, I'll do something very unbecoming of royalty."
Stella paused and watched the prince for a moment, clasping her hands together. This could be very tricky. Still, her parents expected it of her. After a moment or so to compose herself and to pick the correct angle to go from, she began to dig for information.
"I heard you weren't exactly ecstatic about it." She began, quickly continuing when she saw the Prince's eyes darken. "I'm not either. Just the idea of all those people dying. It doesn't seem right." A long silence ensued, only with the murmur of people talking from the main hall breaking it.
"No. It's not right." Noctis sighed and rested one hand on his hip, the other coming up to scratch his forehead. "It's just not fair."
"I sympathise. It must be so hard." She paused again before trying to find something, to make him slip up. "How is Felix?"
"Fine." The Prince sighed and sat down. "He's got stitches, but apart from that, fine."
"I heard," She glanced around before dropping her voice. "It was... the assassin who did it."
Noctis' face hardened in less than a second. "Then you heard wrong." He said. "She had nothing to do with it."
"If you say so." Stella gave a tiny curtsy, her eyes scanning his posture and facial expression intently. Oh, he was lying through his teeth. That little tremor in his hands, that tiny bead of sweat on his forehead, his apparent fascination with carpeting.
"Are you any closer to finding her?"
"No. But we're still looking." Half a lie, she decided. She knew for a fact they were still looking, so... they were close to finding her. But that was a good thing, why lie about that? Maybe her powers of deduction weren't quite up to scratch.
There were guards at both the back and front entrances, but the side entrance seemed clear. However, on closer inspection, Lightning discovered that it was guarded. By a corpse.
"Damn." The assassin gripped her hair and tugged on it lightly. Fang was already ahead of her. The blood seemed fresh, suggesting that maybe she wasn't that far ahead. Maybe. Lightning hated that word. She preferred certainties.
Shaking her head clear of any distracting thoughts, she clambered over the protective gate and dropped down onto the ground. It was still raining enough to nearly make her lose her footing. Enough was enough. Clenching her fists, she raced towards the glistening building.
Fang was having fun. She'd coerced a waiter into giving her some champagne and nibbles before knocking him out and shoving him into an industrial bin. She'd encountered two more guards and slit their throats. Find the Prince, kill 'im, and then go after Little Miss Perfect. Etro, she hated Vanille. Always so perfect and happy, charming everyone around her. Making her, Oerba Yun Fang, the strongest woman in Oerba, look like a runt. Her! A runt!
Fang sighed and glanced around her. No dark haired Prince in sight. No guards either. She would have thought they'd be a little stricter on security, considering they were in the middle of a war and everything. Morons.
She headed off down the corridor, following the distant sound of talking. She'd find him eventually, just like a lioness stalking its' prey.
"So, Fang is an evil bitch who works for Phoenix."
"Yes."
"And she's going to kill Noctis."
"Yes."
"And Lightning's gone to stop her?"
"Yes."
"And she didn't let any of us know because...?"
"Because she's Lightning."
"... Great." Placido sighed and chucked two sachets of sugar into his cup of coffee. "That's just great."
The cafe was loud, cheap, and painful to be in, due to its' over garish decor, an eyeball-searing yellow with orange and red furniture. Naturally, Vanille insisted that if they were going to sit down to drink and discuss, they should sit down and eat here. The others had reluctantly agreed, especially when she pointed out it was nearest to the point Lightning had run off from.
"Any luck?" Vanille asked, turning to Felix, who was still trying to get in touch with Noctis.
"Nope. Won't pick up; he must have left it at home." The blonde sighed. "Brilliant. Noct's is in some stupid ball thing unaware that a psycho is coming to kill him!"
"She wasn't always a psycho." She muttered, staring down at her water. "She used to play with me when I was a baby. But then... well, we grew up."
"So? Growing up made her a psycho?" Lexus asked, keeping one eye on the teenage boy who seemed to be sulking in the corner.
"Fang was always loud and a bit wild. She called me Miss Sugar and Rainbows. She didn't like the fact that I was considered as good a hunter as her because of my magic. She didn't like the fact that I stopped hanging out with her, because I didn't want to break the rules. That's when she went really off the rails, and started beating people up. I guess it's kinda my fault." Vanille shrugged. "I'll never know."
None of the group spoke for a few moments, mulling over various thoughts in their heads. Felix was eventually the first to speak.
"I hope Noct's alright."
Noctis was tired. His head throbbed, his feet ached, and his mind was whirling, trying to keep up with the conversation he had been sucked into.
"Now you see," One featureless, suited man began to speak. "I blame it on the weather. You see, it's just too hot-"
"No, I have to disagree with you." Another man interrupted. Clearly his mother had had far better things to do than teach him manners. "It's the lack of foliage. They've got nowhere to hide, and that makes them nervous."
"My dear fellow, I have never heard of a nervous chocobo!"
Chocobos. They. Were. Arguing. About. Chocobos. The Prince blinked, stared at the empty champagne flute in his hand, and quickly excused himself to go and fill it up for the third time. He needed alcohol if he was going to get through this. He felt a little more relaxed already; hopefully another glass should sufficiently relax him to get through this without committing homicide.
He filled up the glass and swallowed it, quickly. A dribble ran down the side of his face, which he wiped away. He sighed, tapping a small tune on the glass with his finger. His thoughts swirled a little, bringing back that face.
With all good luck and fortune, the others had caught up with her and Vanille and they were on their way to Astrum. And then he'd never see her again... His stomach seemed to fall away. Never again. That just seemed... well, horrible.
Noctis poured another glassful of champagne and downed that too. He didn't like where his thoughts were going. Not one bit. Yes, he cared about Lightning, but as a friend. And he'd be sad if he never saw a friend again. Yes, that was it.
He now felt a little unsteady on his feet. Perhaps his idea of solving his irritation with alcohol wasn't a great idea after all.
His sharp senses suddenly whirled into action, seeing rather than hearing the ripple of panic suddenly diffusing through the hall.
"An intruder! There's a murderer in the vicinity."
Noctis glanced down at the champagne flute. Definitely not a good idea. Dropping it, he headed out of the hall and into the maze of corridors. He raced through them, trying to work out what was going on in his head.
Assassin. Phoenix. They want me. So if I separate myself from the crowd, they should be safe. Unless the assassin is a raging psychopath. And from what I've heard, that's not unlikely. Shit. This is extremely bad. I wish I'd never touched that champagne.
Everyone was in a raving panic. Clearly, Fang had been spotted at some point. Which was fine for Lightning. The more people were panicking, the less likely she'd be spotted.
As quickly as possible, she put on her 'vulnerable, worried and scared' face. She hated it, but it worked very well. She slipped through the crowds with ease, her eyes scanning for a dark haired woman with a blood red spear. Nothing. No choice but to go deeper into the building, and pray that she was faster than Fang.
Spotted.
Fang saw him, making his way through the corridors, seemingly a little unsure of himself. Snappy suit, she thought, nice for funeral.
"Wait up Princy." She grinned and pattered after him, swinging her spear around. The Prince paused and turned around slowly. The wicked grin grew even more. "Nice to meet ya."
"You're the assassin." He stated flatly, keeping one red eye on her twirling weapon. "How many people have you killed so far?"
"In this place? Pfft. Five, six, seven." Fang raised an eyebrow. "You think you can guilt trip me into not killing you? Well, that may have worked on Miss Farron, but don't think for a second that's going to work on me."
"Lightning hasn't got anything to do with this." The Prince twitched his fingers, trying to focus enough to summon Somnus.
"You think you know her so well. But Lightning ain't even her name." Fang chuckled as she saw her target pause for a second. That was the opening she needed. Without a moment's hesitation, she flung herself at the Prince and slashed her spear at him. She had to give him some credit, his reactions were good. What could, and should, have been a lethal blow was only a flesh wound, due to his last second jump backwards.
Still, she was here to complete her job. Without a pause, she spun her spear so it smacked into the side of his jaw with enough force to stagger him. The Prince got his act together though, and summoned a sword to block her next attempt to stab him.
He countered with a good deal of strength, but Fang had her secret weapon. With one movement, her spear separated into two parts. One to keep his sword away from her, to other to stab and slash at him.
One of her frantic shots hit home, as he spear came away with a good enough coating of blood. Fang's eyes narrowed as she prepared to press home her advantage.
This action was stopped by the bullets that whirled past her shoulder. The assassin spun her head around to meet her new challenger's eyes.
Farron looked pissed.
Without a single word, the pink haired warrior raced towards her, switching her gun into a sword. Fang shrugged and slammed her elbow into the Prince's stomach, before reassembling her spear and bringing it up to meet Lightning's blow.
"Hey sunshine." She beamed at the former assassin. "How are ya?" Lightning responded with a dark scowl, and knocked Fang back. "Only saying hello."
And then she kicked Lightning as hard as she could, swinging her spear up to slash at the woman's throat. Lightning back flipped away from Fang, kicking at her spear as she did so.
Fang darted right at Lightning, slashing at her with long, strong and rapid moves, only to find each one parried. Another back flip gave the pink haired woman more breathing space, allowing her to stick one arm out and rain lightning bolts down on the assassin.
Fang cursed as she was struck. She hated the fact that, just because someone was blessed with better magic, it meant they could be just as good as her. Just like Little Miss Sugar and Rainbows.
Lightning's back was against the wall. She was in an extremely bad position if Fang was given a chance to attack, hence her complete focus on casting spell after spell. Fire, blizzard, thunder, water, whatever it was that could weaken Fang. The assassin staggered backwards, and Lightning took it as an opening, rushing forward and swinging the Blazefire Saber at her, her blade embedded with water. Fang blocked the first blow, but was hit by the next three, followed by two powerful kicks.
Fang winced, both her pride and her body battered and bruised. "Where's Vanille?"
Lightning raised an eyebrow. "You really expect me to tell you?" And with that, another strike sent the weakened assassin skidding backwards.
Fang was not stupid. She was impulsive and temperamental, but not stupid. And more importantly, just like Lightning, she was an assassin. She knew that to an assassin, killing someone that's in your way is second nature. And she quite wanted to see tomorrow. With those thoughts in mind, Fang smashed a window, and vanished into the dark.
His body throbbed and his head spun. A new life lesson was added into his brain: Never take on an assassin when you've had a tinsy bit too much champagne.
His attempts to sit up were thwarted by a hand slamming into his chest and pushing him back down.
"Stay still." Amongst all the haze, Lightning's voice was crystal clear. "I'm trying to heal you, but it's not exactly my forte. The more you squirm, the more likely it is I'll screw up."
"That's reassuring." He muttered, reluctantly doing as she said and staying still. Her hands were wonderfully cool, he mused, as they raced up and down his torso, feeling for wounds and breaks. He hadn't taken that much of a beating, but pointing this out to Lightning would be fruitless. Instead, he relaxed slightly and allowed her to take charge.
If he was brutally honest, he enjoyed it. The feel of her hands gently probing here and there, resting on certain spots and pouring healing magic into the open wounds. As the healing process went on and his mind began to defog, he felt the growing burn in his stomach, which was travelling... His eyes widened.
"That's enough." He snapped, sitting upright and swiping her arms away. Lightning seemed a little surprised and perhaps a tiny bit insulted by that.
"There's a cut on your leg."
Oh Etro save me, not my leg...!
"It's fine!" Noctis insisted, his mind whirling for a subject change. "I thought you were going to Vanille with Astrum."
"Well, wasn't it lucky for you that I changed my mind?" She paused, before continuing her explanation. "Vanille saw Fang. She knew she was an assassin. Then we – well, I guess it was mostly me – Interrogated this boy who was helping her. Thought you might need a hand."
"Yeah." The Prince scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Thank you." The former assassin glanced down at the floor. Clearly she wasn't good with thanks. He paused before pulling her into a hug.
She stiffened slightly before leaning into the embrace ever so slightly. "I'm glad you're okay." He smiled.
"Prince Nocti – Oh." Both the Prince and the assassin spun around to see Stella, staring at them with wide eyes. "... Why... why are you with the assassin?"
It hit Lightning in that minute what an idiot she'd been. She'd assumed they'd seen Fang, but they hadn't. They had seen the... damage Fang had caused, and assumed it had been the assassin they were looking for – Her. And now someone had found her embracing the Prince... this couldn't end well.
"Stella," Noctis began with a calm tone of voice, although she could feel his hands shaking against her back. "Allow me to explain."
"We all knew you were keeping secrets, Noct." Stella's voice was almost a snarl. "But none of us ever envisioned something like this."
"It's not-" He stopped himself, trying to work out how to explain this. "She didn't kill those men tonight."
"Of course not." The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "Of course the assassin didn't kill any of the men who have been murdered."
"I didn't!" Lightning protested, which resulted in her being given a look that could only be described as venomous.
"You're trying to take down the council, aren't you?" Stella turned her gaze back to Noctis. "Trying to give yourself all the power, because you think Etro granted you this kingdom... Divine Right, I believe it's called."
"You're wrong Stella." His grip on Lightning tightened. "I promise you, you're mistaken."
"... I don't believe you." Stella whispered harshly. "Guards! Guards!"
Noctis froze. He couldn't believe it; the guards of his own kingdom were being called on him.
Lightning slapped him in the face and tugged on his arm. "Run already!" She screamed, pulling him onto his feet and starting to run down the corridor with him.
Running. From what? His home, his family, his life? Noctis' head continued to spin as he followed the ex-assassin, not really caring where they were going.
"Will you get a bloody move on?" Lightning yelled, tugging on his arm so hard it was nearly dislocated. He stumbled, yanked his arm out of her grip, and continued to run.
He was still trying to grasp what had just occurred. He was also trying to work out where he was meant to be going, but Lightning seemed to know the way. So he put all of his thoughts into following her, and hoping that they didn't encounter any guards.
King Timeaus had his head in his hands. This was a disaster. Ten people dead, several missing, and no word on the whereabouts of his nephew or the assassin. She had been here to kill Noctis, he had no doubts in his mind. And what was agonizing, was the fact that she may well have succeeded and he would be none the wiser.
The King was so engrossed in his own thoughts and worries that he did not notice Arminius walking towards him. The councillor was busy trying to arrange his features into a mixture of sincerity and anxiety, and stopping that 'I was right' grin from bursting forth onto his face. It looked like the grimace of a man who had just sat on a jelly covered hedgehog.
"Your highness," He began, making the king jump. "We have news."
"Of Noctis?" The King's worry for his nephew was evident. Arminius couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit sorry for him then, seeing as he was about to give news about his nephew which he most definitely would not want to hear.
"Of a sort." He paused, trying to work out what to say. "It isn't good news Your Majesty. He is alive but..." He trailed off, waiting for the King to say something.
"But what?"
"... He appears to be working with the assassin Sire." He said, keeping an eye on the King. His shoulders hunched, his face blank.
"Impossible." He muttered.
"Lady Fleuret saw him, Your Majesty." Arminius stated, keeping his voice as neutral as possible. "There is no reason for her to lie about something as serious as that. And he was spotted leaving with her by some of our soldiers..."
"Find them." The King's voice was quiet, but determined. "Find them, and arrest them both. I need to know what has really occurred."
"As you wish, Sire." And with a deep bow, Arminius left. Timeaus sighed and massaged his throbbing temples.
"Noctis..." He sighed. "What have you done now?"
The rain was relentless, pounding down on the two escapees. They had been running non-stop for the past fifteen minutes, and they were both exhausted.
"Where now?" Lightning asked, wiping clumps of pink hair out of her eyes. "We can't stay in Tenebrea anymore..." Noctis realised that she wasn't asking his opinion on anything, more talking to herself. He was slightly curious about this sudden insight into her thoughts. "We should head away from Pulse too, it's the first place they'll check. Pulse is to the north-east, and... whereabouts are we?"
"Vallis Acerba, it's in the south." Noctis supplied her with the necessary information.
"Then we should head south-west. The more distance we put between Pulse, Tenebrea and ourselves, the better." She paused before looking at the numb Prince. She softened the timbre of her voice. "Are you okay?"
"No." He spun around. "This is my Kingdom Lightning. And they think I've betrayed them. They think I'm trying to make this place into a dictatorship... they hate me." He stopped and sighed deeply. "And maybe I have."
"Bullocks." Lightning's harsh tone of voice returned. "And you know it is. Stop blaming the stupidity of your subjects on yourself."
"They're not stupid Lightning!" He yelled, turning around to face her. "Don't you dare insult them like that."
"They've dropped you like a hot coal." She pointed out harshly. Noctis growled, trying his best not to lose his patience.
"Are we going to go, or not?" He snapped, feeling his nerves grate. There was a silence that seemed to go on for eternity as the thunder boomed in the distance.
"Yeah. We are." Lightning sighed. "But first of all, sorry. I didn't mean to upset you anymore than you already are, and don't," She held up a hand to stop any protest. "Say that you're not upset, because you clearly are. And secondly, we're allies now." She started to run on.
Noctis frowned as he ran after her, the wind and rain slapping him in the face. As he caught up with her, he called out. "So what does that mean?"
"It means you call me Light."
Okay, first things first: We've got to get out of Tenebrea. The further the better. Then, we've got to find somewhere to hole up, pretty much anywhere will do. Secondly, I've got to get in touch with Vanille and tell her to get out of Tenebrea. Thirdly, I've got to go after Phoenix.
Only problem is, what do I do with Noctis? I can't drag him into this Phoenix war... or can I? He wants them dead just as much as I do.
No, let's just rest first. We can wage war later.
Light, huh?
Apparently, Lightning isn't even your real name. So I'm allowed to call you a shortened version of your real name... right.
And now my entire kingdom is turning against me as I run. All of it. I am no longer a prince; I am an enemy of the state.
Although it's making running twice as difficult, thank Etro it's raining. Light won't notice or ask about the water in my eyes now.
And Etro... please, perserve us.
Okay, long author's note time.
Basically, while I'm revising/in school studying for subjects I hate/trying NOT to revise, I will be planning out this story, along with other's I want to write once my exams are over. Sooo, in case you haven't voted in the poll on my profile yet, I want to know what sort of ending you want for Fire Escape. Happy, sad, bittersweet, angsty, tragic, or something completely different. I haven't made my mind up on it yet, and I'd like your opinions.
Okay, I better go before my parents find me awake. Don't forget to review!
I'll see you on the other side mo charas! *Salutes*
Now, in the words of one who is far greater than I (The Eleventh Doctor)...
GERONIMO!!!