Here We Go Again

Lightning let her gaze wander up and down the poorly lit street. It was strange, but it was only out here, on the shady side of Eden City where the shadows seemed just a touch too long and the silence just a tad too deep, that she felt most at home. The good parts of the city were well enough, and she could appreciate the well-kept streets and tree-lined avenues just as much as anyone else, but it had all seemed somehow unreal. Maybe she'd spent too many days and nights dealing with the worst the West had to offer, but there was something about Eden City that rubbed her the wrong way. There was too much money here, and maybe not enough morals.

Shifting her eyes from the street to the shadow-lined rooftops of the factories on either side of her, she felt a frown form on her face. It was quiet, too quiet, and she didn't like the set up one bit. She and Quistis were out in the open here and there were an awful lot of places where a gunman could get set up and pick them off. Problem was, they didn't really have much choice. The people they were meeting had picked this place exactly because it was one of the few places in the city that people tended to avoid, the kind of place where a shady deal or two could get done without anyone being the wiser.

"Are you sure about this, Quistis?" Lightning asked softly. Her hands strayed down to the gun at her side, finger itching for the trigger. "If that contact of yours decides to double cross us, we're going to have a hard time getting out of a place like this in one piece."

Quistis lifted one hand to adjust her glasses and smiled thinly. "This contact of mine might deal in secrets, Lightning, but trust me, he's an honest man, or at least, as honest as a man of his profession can be." She glanced quickly up and down the street. There was no one else there at all. "I've dealt with him before on some mighty touchy things and he's always come through for me. The fact is, I've got no reason not to trust him, especially if my hunch about his real employer turns out to be spot on."

"His real employer?" Lightning's lips pulled back in distaste. She hated all these shady dealings. It was better when her enemy was right in front of her and gunning for her. That way all she had to do was decide whether to shoot them or not and if so, where and how many times. "What do you mean by that?"

Quistis glanced sideways at Lightning. "He works for Cocoon."

"You don't say?" Lightning said softly, too softly.

Quistis didn't have to turn to know that Lightning's lithe frame had gone all tense. "Easy there, Lightning, you didn't let me finish." The marshal waited a few seconds for most of the tension to drain from Lightning before she continued. "That's just his day job, so to speak. He's been passing information about to Cocoon to other people for a while now, and I figure he probably works for Shinra." Not sure how much Lightning knew about things between Shinra and Cocoon, she added, "Shinra is the only company big enough and nasty enough to stand toe to toe with Cocoon and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it turned out that the two of them were trying to smuggle information out of each other."

"So he's playing both sides?" Lightning shook her head slowly. "Seems like a mighty tricky spot to be in."

"Yes, I reckon it would be." Quistis smiled faintly. "Still, he's a smart fellow, and if he says he might be able to get us help, I don't think we're in much of a position to say no." Her gaze dropped to the gun at Lightning's side and she tapped her own weapon. "Besides, I happen to know where he lives so if he tries to sell us out, we can always find him and teach him a thing or two about messing with the wrong people."

Lightning smirked just a little at that. Quistis had always been the more level-headed out of the two of them, but the blonde could play dirty if she needed to. Matter of fact, most marshals could. See, the law was all well and good, but criminals didn't play by the rules and any good lawman knew when to bend the rules a little to even the playing field. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that." She looked up at the moon, pale and big and low in the sky. "How much longer do you think he'll keep us waiting?"

"Don't worry," Quistis replied. "He's always on time." She nodded. "Just look over there."

Lightning peered into the darkness where Quistis was looking and frowned. There was something moving there and for a moment, she almost went for her gun. But then she saw what was doing the moving and her hand moved clear of her holster. There was a little black cat out there and a few steps behind it there was a man in a suit.

"It's been a while, marshal," Reeve said.

Quistis inclined her head. "It's good to see you too, Reeve. I hope you've been keeping out of trouble. It'd be a shame if I had to arrest you."

"Arrest me? Well, if that's what's got you worried, then there's no need to worry. Everything I do is above board, or at least everything that somebody could pin on me. Still, if what I've heard is true, it might be you that's in trouble this time." His dark eyes shifted over to Lightning and the sheriff saw at just a glance that for all his easy going manner, Reeve was plenty smart. He took a moment to take her measure and Lightning held his gaze evenly, at least until the cat ambled over to her and rubbed itself against her leg. "Well, look at that," Reeve said. "I figured you for a decent woman, sheriff, just based on what I'd heard about you, but if Cait Sith there likes you, then you've got to be pretty good inside."

The cat meowed softly and Lighting was struck by the sudden urge to bend down and run her hand through its soft looking fur. It was, she thought, an awfully adorable looking little thing, and maybe if she'd been alone, she'd have indulged a little. As it was though, she wasn't alone and she had a reputation to maintain, even if she could tell by the hint of humour in Quistis' eyes that the other woman had seen right through her.

"So, you're Reeve?" Lightning said as she extended one hand. "The name's Lightning."

Reeve took her hand and Lightning made sure to squeeze hard enough for him to know that she meant business. A few seconds later, he pulled his hand away with a wince, but he nodded to let her know that he'd gotten the message.

"That's a fine handshake you got there, sheriff," Reeve said, rubbing his sore hand.

Quistis glanced past Reeve. "You said we'd be meeting some other people who've got business with Cocoon, where are they?"

Reeve shrugged. "They should be here any minute now." Beside Lightning, Cait Sith perked up and Reeve glanced back and smiled. "Well, look at that. There they are right now."

Lightning moved to the side and looked past Reeve to where she could just make out two figures coming up the street. She could tell straight away that both of them were women, even if neither of them walked particularly daintily. One of them was actually a mite taller than her while the other was closer to Serah's height. Narrowing her eyes a little, she couldn't shake the impression that there was something familiar about the taller one, almost like she'd met her before or something.

A few moments later, the pair was close enough to see clearly and she realised exactly why the taller one seemed so familiar. In the next second, she had her gun out of the holster and level with the other woman's head.

"You!" Lightning snarled, finger twitching at the trigger. She probably would have fired too if the little red head hadn't just pulled a shotgun from who knew where and pointed it at her chest. "What are you doing here?" Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Quistis had her pistol out too, and had it trained on the red head.

Fang took one look at the rage on Lightning's face and realised that joking around probably wouldn't be the smartest idea. Still, she never had always gone for the smartest option, and it was very, very tempting, especially when the pink haired woman looked so beautiful all riled up like she was. Besides, Lightning was a sheriff wasn't she? There was no way she'd just shoot her in cold blood, or at least, she hoped there wasn't.

"Well, what do you know?" Fang said. "Fancy meeting you here, sunshine."

"Sunshine?" Vanille giggled, though her aim with her shotgun remained steady. "What are you calling her sunshine for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Fang said, emerald eyes alight with mirth as her lips curled into smirk that she just knew would make things worse. "It's because of her downright sunny disposition."

Lightning growled and eased the hammer of her pistol back. "Shut your mouth, you criminal."

Fang feigned a hurt expression. "Criminal? Why, I thought we knew each other better than that, sunshine. Why don't you call me Fang? All my friends do." Her eyes caught and held Lightning's. "After all, we'll be working together, now won't we?"

"Working with you?" Lightning's grip on her pistol tightened. "I am not working with a wanted criminal especially not one who… who…" she trailed off, realising that saying exactly why she was so mad probably wasn't the best idea, not when Quistis and the red head seemed to be taking such an interest in things. Even so, the memory of things brought a flush to her cheeks.

"Who what?" Fang's grin widened as she took in the flush on Lightning's cheeks. It seemed she'd made quite the impression the last time. Not quite able to stop herself, she stared at those same lips and the blush on Lightning's cheeks only grew as the sheriff realised where she was looking. "Why, sunshine, what exactly did I do to get you so mad?"

"You know perfectly well what you did?" Lightning barked. "Don't act stupid or so help me, I'll put a hole in you the size of Eden City."

Reeve looked from the enraged sheriff to the grinning bandit and wondered if maybe he hadn't made a mistake. Even though he hadn't thought they'd get along perfectly, he hadn't expected this much trouble. A quick look at Quistis and Vanille showed that the two other women were also a little puzzled, although Vanille had a look of almost maniacal glee on her face, whereas Quistis looked like she was doing her best to figure out a way to stop everyone from killing each other.

"Look," Reeve began, "Why don't you all put your guns down? You've all got your problems with Cocoon and filling each other full of lead isn't going to do a thing to fix them."

Vanille grinned. "I'll put mine down when they do."

Lightning grit her teeth. "Fine." Slowly, like it was actually paining her to do so, she holstered her gun. However, that didn't stop her from shooting Fang a ferocious glare that would have had anyone else quaking in their boots. Fang, though, only grinned wider. "But if that criminal so much as twitches funny, I'm shooting her."

Fang's eyes twinkled. "I thought I told you, sunshine, call me Fang."

Before Lightning could get her gun back out, Reeve stepped in between the two women. "Look, maybe it'd be good if we just got down to business." Seeing everyone nod and with the danger of a shoot out averted, at least for the time being, Reeve decided to ride his luck a little. "Like I said, you've all got your problems with Cocoon. Now, I've been talking to Fang here and Quistis and about what you lot have all uncovered, and it seems to me what you've found all meshes together pretty well." He glanced carefully at Fang. "I've also spoken to Shinra and they're willing to lend a hand, but only if you can get them more first, enough that they can be sure that Cocoon won't be able to pull some legal trick and squirm their way out of trouble."

"So you want us to do a little digging?" Quistis asked. "That's about what I was expecting."

Reeve smiled craftily. "Well, Cocoon does have its main officers around here and you do all look like you could do a pretty fine job sneaking around." He slanted a look at Lightning. "That's not going to be a problem, is it, sheriff?"

Lightning shook her head. "It won't be a problem." If it meant keeping Serah safe, then a little breaking and entering wouldn't be too bad. Besides, Cocoon had started the whole thing, what with its breaking of the law and then sending hired guns to try and wipe them out. "What exactly have you got planned?"

Fang leaned forward. "That's where I come in." Her voice took on a teasing tone as Cait Sith hopped over from Reeve to settle at her feet. "You see, I met an interesting fellow on the train over here who's thinking of doing some business with Cocoon. He's going to be meeting up with some of their people at that office of theirs and I asked if I could tag along. Considering me and Vanille here helped him out, he was pretty happy to have me come along." Her grin was downright dangerous. "I figured I could take a look around, get a feel for the place, and then we could bust in at night, you know, take whatever needs taking." She tipped her hat a little at Vanille. "Maybe blow the place up too, if nobody objects."

Quistis pursed her lips. "It seems decent enough for a plan – at least if you scrap the bit where we blow the whole place up." Vanille sagged visibly. "That'd be all kinds of messy, not to mention that would leave Reeve here out on the street." Reeve sketched a bow.

"That aside, how can we be sure that you can be trusted?" Lightning asked. "How do we know you're not working for Cocoon?"

A growl rose from deep in Fang's throat and Reeve saw the flash of real anger in her eyes. Deciding that another stare-down was not in anyone's best interest, he put one hand on her shoulder and then turned to Lightning. "Trust me, sheriff, these two have got more reason that anyone on this earth to hate Cocoon. They'll be dead and buried before they help those vipers, you have my word on that."

Lightning nodded, but her eyes weren't on Reeve, they were on Fang. This was the first time since the meeting had started that she'd gotten a rise out of the other woman, but somehow, she didn't feel too happy about it. There was real hurt in the taller woman's emerald eyes and a sort of furious anger that Lightning knew all too well. It was the kind that came from long suffering and dreams trodden down. "My mistake then," she said softly, looking away at last. "Can't blame me for asking though, can you?"

Fang's eyes widened. It wasn't an apology, but it was close. She figured that she could read the sheriff pretty well, so she supposed it cut both ways. Strangely though, she found the thought that Lightning could see what she was thinking to be a little thrilling.

"Don't get too comfortable though," Lightning added, pinning Fang with her gaze. "I'll be watching you."

The serious expression melted off Fang's face. Lightning was just too much fun to bait, especially with an opening like that. With a flirtatious wink, Fang let her eyes rove over Lightning's form. Just like before, the sheriff was wearing pants that hugged her long, slim legs just right and though the poor lighting made it hard to see under the other woman's coat, there was no mistaking the trim, toned nature of Lighting's body. "Really? Well, don't worry, sheriff. I'll be watching you too."

Lightning's eyes widened as the meaning of the words sunk in and she all but shoved Reeve out of the way, one hand already flashing up to strike at Fang's jaw but the taller woman was ready this time and though it was a near run thing, she managed to get one hand up in time and actually caught Lightning's hand in her own. "Let me go, damn it!"

"I don't think so," Fang said. "I happen to quite like my jaw the colour it is, thank you, even if you seem to like colouring it purple. Anyway, have you forgotten? I'll be doing some snooping around tomorrow and I can't exactly do that with a big bruise on my jaw."

Quistis ignored the laughter coming from Vanille and put one hand on Lightning's shoulder. "I don't know what she's done to get you all riled up, but she does have a point."

Lightning pulled her fist out of Fang's hand and sneered. "You keep your eyes to yourself, criminal."

Fang shrugged. "I don't remember it being a crime to look." She smirked and again let her eyes rove very deliberately over Lightning. "Hell, it'd be a crime not to." Vanille giggled again and Fang knew that the red head would be absolutely attacking her with questions later, but right now she was having far too much fun to care. "Besides, if you wanted, you could look back." She reached for the buttons of her shirt. "If you want I could show you…"

"Damn it," Lightning spat, grabbing at Fang's hands as another blush coloured her cheeks. "I don't want to look at you." She looked away. "So just… just stop."

Fang reached forward and tapped Lightning's hands. "You know, despite everything you've said, you are pretty forward."

Lightning looked back to where her hands were and paled. She was holding Fang's chest. Jerking back so fast that she nearly fell over, she let loose a curse. "That was an accident and you know it."

Fang grinned. "No harm done, sunshine. In fact, I'd say that makes us even now." She put one finger up to her lips. "Although if we wanted to really square things up, I'd have to shoot you, but I don't much care for that." Her emerald eyes sparkled. "It'd be a damn shame to shoot someone as pretty as you."

"Wait," Reeve said as he looked from Fang to Lightning. Setting aside the strangeness of their behaviour, there was one important detail in all that. "She shot you, Fang?" This meeting was looking like a worse and worse idea by the moment.

"Not that long ago," Lightning growled. "Pity I couldn't get her straight with just that shot though."

As Fang shot off another oddly suggestive comment, Quistis looked Lightning over carefully. There was more here than she'd thought at first. Lightning had a temper, even though she hid it pretty well most of the time behind that coldness of hers. Still, Lightning was fiery through and through, but it had been a long, long time since she'd seen the pink haired woman so angry, especially over something that didn't involve Serah. She had a feeling that it wasn't just about Fang maybe getting away from Lightning one time either. After all, while Lightning was good, she wasn't perfect and the odd criminal had managed to get away now and then. And then there was the content of Fang's remarks. Sure, the bandit was teasing Lightning something awful, and sure she seemed to love getting a rise out of the sheriff, but Fang wasn't lying about looking, because even now with Lightning shooting death at her with her eyes, Fang was definitely looking at Lightning and appreciating what she saw. How interesting.

"Wait a second here, just what happened between you two?" Quistis asked.

Lightning looked at her supposed friend in utter disbelief and opened her mouth to reply, only to snap it shut an instant later. Silence reigned and Fang's smirk only grew. Glancing over at Vanille, Quistis could see that the younger woman was also watching everything with razor keen interest.

"What's the matter, sunshine?" Fang taunted as Cait Sith slunk away from her and over to Reeve – most likely able to sense the impending disaster. "Cat got your tongue?" Lightning trembled with fury and Fang decided that she might as well go in for the kill. Hell, if the sheriff shot her now, it would be worth it. "Or maybe you're thinking about the time I got your tongue."

Quistis' eyes widened and Vanille's jaw dropped. As for Reeve, the suit wearing man was smart enough to take several big steps back. Experience had taught him that getting in the way of a woman like Lightning when she was angry was a mighty quick way to end up dead or worse.

"What did you say?" Lightning ground out as she rounded on Fang. As much as she wanted to shoot the other woman, she couldn't. Still, she thought as she cracked her knuckles, a good beating might be okay, so long as she didn't go for the face.

Fang grinned. "You heard me, sunshine." She shifted into a loose fighting stance. "I'm thinking about that kiss of ours."

With the words out in the open, there was only a tense, violence-soaked silence. It was finally broken by the low growl that burst from Lightning as she launched herself at Fang. She led with a simple punch at the taller woman's stomach that Fang managed to slap away, before she grabbed Fang by the collar of her shirt and drove one knee into her gut. Fang doubled over, still grinning, and Lightning managed to land another knee before Fang reached out and tugged Lightning's feet out from under her.

Lightning landed on her back and immediately rolled away as Fang found her feet again and advanced, a big smile on her face.

"What's the matter, sunshine, can't get it out of your head?" Fang taunted. "I know I'm pretty good, but really…"

Lightning's eyes flashed blue fire. "You forced yourself on me!"

"Forced myself on you?" Fang blocked a vicious kick aimed at her ribs and shoved Lightning back. "I don't recall you fighting too hard. In fact, I'd say you were actually pretty enthusiastic about things for most of it."

"Shut your mouth!" Lightning spat. "I did no such thing!"

Fang backed away as Lightning darted forward again, fists flying. "Then you just kind of sat there staring for a while. Was I so good you couldn't think straight afterwards?" She dodged another kick. "Although I can't say it's the first time I've kissed someone silly, none of them have been as pretty as you, or anywhere near as good with a gun."

That did it. Lightning abandoned any attempt at decent fighting and simply threw herself at Fang. The two of them went down in a tangle of limbs and Lightning drew one fist back, determined to leave at least one good bruise only to be stopped as Quistis grabbed her under her arms and dragged her off Fang.

"That's about enough, Lightning," Quistis said.

Lightning tried to pull free, but couldn't. Still, she did manage to get one last kick off, hitting Fang in the shin.

"Ouch. Damn it, that hurt," Fang said as she got to her feet. Seeing Vanille laughing at her, she scowled. "You know, you could have helped a bit there."

Vanille smiled sunnily. "Yes, I could have, but you were teasing her something awful. Anyway, if you really did kiss her then you deserved it." She tilted her head to one side. "A lady shouldn't kiss and tell."

Advancing on Vanille, Fang scowled. "Well, I'm not a lady."

"Isn't that the truth," Lightning muttered as she shoved out Quistis' grasp.

"You know, you're really quite violent," Fang said. "Maybe you should think about changing your line of work. You get to shoot more people as a bandit."

Quistis grabbed Lightning again before she could do anything else. "That's enough, both of you!"

With the situation again calmed down for the time being, and not sure he'd get another chance, Reeve stepped back into the middle of the group. "Now that we've got things settled, why don't we work out where to meet next?"

Fang rubbed her shin. It was just her luck that Lightning had kicked the same shin that Vanille usually did. "I'll be having a look around Cocoon's offices at maybe noon tomorrow, so we should probably try to meet up some time in the afternoon and then head back at night."

Quistis nodded. "Sounds decent enough. Where were you thinking of meeting?"

"You know the Eden City Gardens? I was thinking we could meet over by the south entrance at, say, three o'clock in the afternoon."

Quistis glanced at Lightning out of the corner of her eyes. The other woman had calmed down, but she knew that it might only take another remark from Fang to set her off again. "We'll be there."

"Good." Fang winked at Lightning. "It's a date."

This time it took Quistis, Vanille, Reeve, and Caith Sith to hold Lightning back as Fang laughed and made a mad dash down the street and into the shadows.

"Sorry about Fang," Vanille said with a grimace as she let go of the sheriff. Trust Fang to leave her to deal with the mess. "She sort of likes to tease people."

Lightning scowled. Fang was nowhere in sight. "She sure does and one day it's going to get her killed, preferably by me."

Vanille laughed nervously. "Well, you know, she wasn't trying to make you feel bad. I mean, not really." Lightning gave Vanille a sceptical look. "No, really, she was just playing around. Anyway, I hope you don't hold it against her. We all kind of have to get along if we want to take down Cocoon."

Lightning dragged in a deep breath. "I may have overreacted just a little bit." Reeve sniggered but quietened the instant Lightning looked his way. Cait Sith on the other hand gave Lightning a Cheshire grin. "But if she keeps on trying to mess with me…"

"I'll try to get her to ease up on that some," Vanille said. As funny as it was watching Lightning trying to bash Fang's head in, Vanille didn't actually want to see Fang get her head bashed in.

"If Fang is the Bahamut Bandit, that would make you Vanille the Kid, right?" Quistis asked.

Vanille grinned. "Yes, that's me."

"Oh." Quistis looked taken aback. "I kind of thought you'd be a little taller."

Vanille huffed. "What? I don't have to be tall to be scary. You shouldn't believe all that stuff you read in the papers, anyhow." She scowled. "And who are you anyway, I know the sheriff, but I don't think I've met you before."

Quistis inclined her head. "Marshal Quistis Trepe."

Vanille blanched. Fang had left her alone with a marshal? Well, at least Reeve was still around, although Cait Sith would probably be more useful if it came to a fight. "You're not going to turn us in or anything are you?"

"Not today," Quistis said with a shrug. "I figure if you help us out, I could say you slipped by me. Besides, it's Jihl that's gunning for you two, not me."

Vanille shuddered. "You know Nabaat?"

"Unfortunatenly, I can say that I do." Quistis made a face. "I'd keep on my toes around her. She's a crafty one, and she might not get things done the first time, but she's awfully hard to discourage."

"Don't worry, it'll take more than a viper like Nabaat to catch me and Fang." Vanille went over to pat Cait Sith on the head before she too headed off into the shadows in the same direction as Fang. But just before she was out of sight, she turned and shouted back at Lightning. "Don't worry, sheriff, I think Fang likes you too!"

Lightning's cheeks coloured again and Quistis couldn't help but add her own question as Lightning glared at the direction Fang and Vanille had gone off in. "You know that kiss, Lightning, was it really that good?"

As the sheriff turned to the marshal, Reeve quietly decided that now would be a good time for him to leave, as well. "You know, Cait Sith," he said. "Maybe it's about time I thought about changing jobs. It really is possible for things to get a little too interesting."

X X X

Serah smiled gratefully at Basch as he came back from the kitchen with a pot of coffee and several mugs. "Thank you, captain."

Basch shrugged and set the pot of coffee and mugs down on the table. "You don't have to call me that Serah, I haven't been a captain for a good while now."

"Even so, I think it suits you." Serah accepted a mug of coffee and took a moment to savour the bittersweet aroma. Basch might have spent a good portion of his life in the army, but he sure knew how to make a fine cup of coffee. "Thank you, by the way."

Basch took a sip of coffee and then set his mug back down. "It's no trouble. You looked like you could use a coffee."

Serah giggled softly. "I'm not talking about the coffee, captain, although I'm much obliged. I mean for letting us all stay here." Her eyes drifted over all the fine things in the sitting room and then through one of the open doors into the large kitchen. The place was big, much bigger, actually, than the home she and Lightning shared back in Bodhum. Although for Basch, or rather his employer, it wasn't anything special at all.

"You know it's no trouble," Basch replied. "Besides, Miss Ashelia insisted that you stay here. In fact, she wanted nothing more than for all of you to stay with her at the main house, but Lightning did say she wanted to keep things quiet."

Serah sighed. "We've got some trouble headed our way, captain, and we'd hate to drag you into things." She cast a look over at Fujin who was sitting silently in one of the chairs with a book and then at Snow who was snoring softly in another. It was, she thought with a soft smile, quite something to see such a big man sleeping in so little a chair, one that was sized more for people like her than for people like him.

Basch followed her gaze over to Snow. "You said he was a stockman, didn't you?" Serah nodded. "I've spent a few nights on the road myself and you learn pretty quickly to take sleep where you can." He frowned faintly. "Although I'm sure he'll be quite sore in the morning, and that's if the chair lasts through the night."

Fujin looked up from her book and glanced at Snow. "STUPID. OWN FAULT."

Basch lifted one eyebrow in question, but Serah just grinned. It had taken some getting used to and she still wasn't anywhere as fluent as Quistis was in translating what exactly Fujin said into complete sentences, but she had learned that Fujin wasn't usually trying to be mean. Fujin was just very, well, blunt and economical in her speech.

"So how are you and Ashe?" Serah asked. "Is everything going well?"

As Basch began to fill her in on things, Serah couldn't help but marvel at the way the world worked sometimes. Miss Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, or Ashe to her friends, was one of the richest heiresses in the country and Basch was, well, it had never been easy to say just what Basch was to Ashe.

She and Lightning had met Ashe a few years back when some bandits had tried to kidnap her while she was going out West to inspect some of her holdings there. Things had gotten pretty complicated from there, since it turned out that the whole thing had been masterminded by a rival of Ashe's family and Basch's twin brother who had, it seemed, framed him for a number of crimes including the murder of Ashe's father. Somehow, Lightning had managed to clear Basch's name and together with Amodar, they'd managed to get things sorted, but not without a fair bit of shooting. Ashe had been pretty grateful, and since they'd gotten along so well, Serah and her had kept in touch. In fact, when Serah had come to study in Eden City, she'd stayed with Ashe.

"Ashe has been getting more suitors lately," Basch said. It is become very… vexing to deal with."

Serah smiled. "Why, captain, I do believe you just called her Ashe." Basch blushed and Serah grinned wider. "You should just tell her, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Basch said stiffly. "She is my charge. It is my duty and honour to serve her as I served her father."

Serah took another sip of coffee to hide her smile. Basch was a traditional sort of man, and he seemed to think that his humble beginnings might count against him, but she'd seen the way Ashe looked at him sometimes. People did not look at their servants that way, especially people like Ashe who had long since mastered the haughty gaze that her wealth entitled her to.

"Anyway, it's getting late. Why don't you head back to the main house? I know how much you worry about Ashe," Serah said.

Basch shook his head. "Miss Ashelia," he stressed the title, "Ordered me to stay and watch over you. I need to ensure you safety should any trouble arise."

Serah glanced over at Snow and Fuijn. "If there is any trouble, I should be fine with those two."

Fujin looked up from her book again and shook her head. "I HANDLE TROUBLE. SNOW USELESS."

Serah chuckled. Despite Snow's imposing stature, he looked almost like a little boy with the way he was curled up on the chair. "My sister and Quistis should also be back soon."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Fujin and Basch shared a glance. As Basch went to answer the door, Fujin dropped into position behind him, taking a spot that would give her a good long look at anyone coming through the door and ample time to shoot them if need be. There was no need though, as it was only Quistis and Lightning.

"Sheriff," Basch said.

"Captain," Lightning replied.

Serah rolled her eyes and smiled. Those two. However, her gaze sharpened when she noticed Quistis rubbing her shoulder. Had there been a fight? Quistis noticed her looking along with Fujin and grinned before glancing back at Lightning. Serah's eyes widened. Was Lightning blushing?

"What is he doing?" Lightning asked as she took in the sight of Snow asleep on one of the chairs. "Wasn't he supposed to be watching you, Serah?"

Serah smiled at Snow. "He was tired. It's been a long day, you know."

"It's been a long day for everyone, so why is he the only one asleep?" Lightning's expression darkened.

Serah saw the look on her sister's face and decided that it would be a good idea to change subjects. "So, how did the meeting go?"

Lightning's blush darkened. "Fine."

"Oh?" Serah's eyes twinkled. There had to be more to this. "Quistis?"

"Well… the people we'll be working with are mighty interesting." Quistis took a big step away from Lightning. "They're mighty interested in Lightning too, or at least one of them is."

"Interested in Lightning? Is there going to be trouble?" Serah asked seriously.

Quistis grinned. "When I say interested in Lightning, I don't mean interested the way you're thinking Serah." Quistis ignored the tremendous scowl on Lightning's face. "And as for trouble, there probably will be some, but not the kind you're thinking."

Huh? Oh… OH! Serah stared slack-jawed at her sister as a few things finally began to click. Lightning's blush now made all too much sense. "That so?"

Lightning made a disgusted sound. "Well be working with the Bahamut Bandit and Vanille the Kid."

"Yes, and it looks like Lightning and the Bandit have a little history," Quistis said. Rather than just step away, she stepped behind Basch, the former captain looking distinctly worried.

Serah grinned. This was just like one of those romance novels that Ashe had lent her once. Two enemies forced together by adversity and chance. How romantic. "Do tell."

It was only Serah's place as Lightning beloved younger sister that kept the older Farron from shooting her. As it was, Lightning had to content herself with making it very, very clear to Quistis that saying anything more would be awfully painful for her in the future. With one last glare, she stomped off to her room.

Letting out a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding, Basch sighed. "Lightning has become more… forceful."

Serah listened carefully. Unless her ears deceived her, Lightning was now up in her room, rummaging through her things. "So…" She looked at Quistis. "What happened?"

Quistis smirked and poured herself a mug of coffee. "If you really must know…"

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off this.

I won't lie to you. There may have been some cackling going on during the writing of this chapter. It felt nice to have the group together again (well, sort of together) and it was great fun to write the opening scenes with Reeve doing his best to host what has to be one of the most dysfunctional meetings ever. It was also nice to go back to a lighter sort of tone, not that there's anything wrong with being serious.

For those not aware of it, Reeve is from FF VII, Quistis and Fujin are from FF VIII, and Basch and Ashe (not technically in this chapter but mentioned) are from FF XII. Out of curiosity, which character from another FF game (i.e., not from FF XIII) do you guys like the most in this story? Me, I've kind of got a soft spot for Yuffie, even though it's been a while since she popped up.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.