A Moment's Rest

Fang's lips curved into a smirk as laid eyes on the place where Lightning and the others were staying. She'd kind of figured that Lightning would be staying some place nice, but this really was something. This place had money written all over it, lots and lots of money. However, the smirk slipped off her face the moment her eyes moved from the house over to Bart. The man was out on his feet, and it said a lot about him that he'd managed to make it all the way back to the house before he passed out. That was a good thing too, because while she didn't think that she and Lightning would have much trouble carrying him around, the sight of them dragging an unconscious man around was bound to bring trouble their way.

"Looks like this is where we part ways, sunshine," Fang said as she tossed a sideways glance at Lightning. It was still a little hard to look the sheriff in the eye after everything that had happened in the dungeon. Lightning had seen her at her weakest, but she hadn't taken advantage. Instead, she'd done the complete opposite, and Fang still wasn't quite sure what to make of the tightness that rose up in her chest every time she thought back to the tenderness that had been in Lightning's eyes, or the gentle way the other woman had touched her. "I guess we can meet up at the usual place tomorrow night, get something worked out about what we're going to do next." With a little nod, she turned away.

Only Lighting wasn't about to let her just run off like that.

"You're not going anywhere, Fang," Lightning said as she reached out and caught Fang's wrist. Fang turned, a smart mouthed comment on her lips, but the words were gone before she'd even spoken them, stolen away by the stern but tender look on Lightning's face. "Just wait a second."

"You're acting awfully forward, sunshine," Fang drawled when she could finally speak again. Grinning in a way she just knew would get on Lightning's nerves, she glanced down at where Lightning's hand had wrapped around her wrist. "If you wanted me to stay the night, all you had to do was ask."

"Stay the night?" The expression on Lightning's face vanished in an instant, replaced instead by a blush and then a wave of irritation that somehow only made the sheriff look better. It didn't hurt either, that Lightning's jaw was clenched and Fang couldn't help but notice that it was a very fine jaw, just the kind she'd love to kiss. "That's not what I meant and you know it!" Aware now, that they had something of an audience with both Vanille and Fujin staring at them mighty intently, Lightning lowered her voice. "It's just, you and Vanille are pretty banged up. I'm sure the others have got a doctor in there, someone who can take a look at you two."

Fang felt a little pang of disappointment as Lightning's hand dropped from her wrist. "Well, you don't have to worry about us. Vanille and I have been through worse." Behind Lightning, Vanille chuckled and nodded. "We've got our own place to stay. We'll head back there and get a friend of ours to look us over." Fang winced a little as she said the last part. It probably wasn't entirely right to say that she and Lahna were friends. It was more like they tolerated each other. "Besides, you were right by me the whole time, sunshine. You know for a fact that there's not a scratch on me."

"Not a scratch huh?" Lightning's eyes narrowed a fraction and Fang again had that feeling that Lightning could see right through. Most times, she found the thought of that pretty pleasant, right now, however, she found it more than a little unsettling. "Maybe you're right and there's not a scratch on you, but I don't think so." Lightning's voice was little more than a whisper. "Because there's some scratches you can't see."

Fang chuckled softly. There was not a doubt in her mind that Lightning was referring to the things that Hojo had said to her, but damn it, she'd kind of been hoping that Lightning wouldn't bring that up. Fang had never cared too much for letting people see her when she was weak and she'd always made damn sure to never let Vanille see her like that. She needed to be strong, strong enough to carry all the burdens of the past because Vanille's shoulders just weren't broad enough to carry something like that. Only Sazh had ever really seen her like that and even though she'd be damned before she ever said it out loud, the old man was about the closest thing she had to a father. But it was tempting, awfully tempting now, to let Lightning shoulder some of the burden. Lightning was strong, real strong, and she hadn't thought less of Fang for stumbling just a little.

"No, Lightning," Fang said at last. "I'm glad you offered, real glad, and you should know that what you did for me tonight means a lot, but Vanille and I need to get going. Besides, don't you think we've dragged you into enough trouble as it is?"

"You're stubborn aren't you?" Lightning shot back before she went ahead and took aim at the one thing that Fang could never guard against. "Have you taken a look at Vanille, Fang? Well, how about you take one now, a good, long look. She's just about out on her feet and you know that she didn't come out of there without a few scratches. She needs a doctor and you know it, so stop being so damn stubborn and come inside with us."

"Fine, fine." Fang rolled her eyes at Lightning before she glanced at Vanille. The red head was starting to look a little down now that the rush that always came with a shootout had begun to ebb away. "You're a pushy thing, you know that, don't you? We'll stay the night and then head off in the morning."

"Good." Lightning grimaced. "Now, let's get going, Bart definitely could use that doctor now."

They got Bart up the steps at the front of the house and knocked on the front door. Hardly a moment passed before the door opened and Fang found herself face to face with a blonde man who had a scar over his brow. He was a tough looking fellow, a soldier, if Fang had to guess, and his eyes were filled with the eerie calm that only the finest soldiers ever got. But his gaze softened a fair bit when he looked past her and saw Lightning and the others and he was quick to reach for Bart and take the man off their hands.

"Lightning!" As the soldier went into the house with Bart, someone rushed past him and all but threw themselves at the sheriff.

That someone turned out to be a woman a few years younger than Lightning. In the dim light cast by the lamps near the door, it was hard for Fang to make out her features to clearly, but the pink hair was hard to miss, as were the blue eyes. Neither of them were quite the same shade as Lightning's, but it didn't take much a leap to see that the young woman and Lightning were family, probably sisters.

"We heard the explosions," the young woman said and Fang had to bite back a smile at the picture Lightning made, one arm wrapped around the young woman to hold her upright, the other brushing gently through her hair in a motion that seemed more instinct than anything else. "And when you and the others took so long to get back, I started to get worried and…"

"It's all right, Serah," Lightning said and Fang grinned when Lightning took a moment to glare at her. Clearly, the sheriff wasn't too happy letting others see her get all soft and gentle. "We just ran into a little trouble is all, but nothing we couldn't handle."

"Oh…" Serah pulled away from Lightning and glanced over the lot of them before her eyes finally came to rest on Fang. "Um… are you Fang?"

Oh, now this was interesting – the young woman knew who she was. Fang smirked. "That's right, little lady, and I'm guessing that you're Lightning's little sister." Serah nodded and Fang shot her a winning smile. Much to her amusement, Serah blushed and Lightning's glare only intensified. "I figure that Lightning's must have been talking about me if you know who I am – only good things I hope." She grinned at Lightning. "Why didn't you tell me your sister was so pretty, Lightning? She looks almost as good as you –"

Fang ducked just in time to avoid Lightning's punch. It helped her cause a little that Lightning was still holding Serah, which made throwing a punch sort of awkward.

"Anyway, Serah," Fang continued as she backed up a few steps. "Your sister there invited us to stay over for the night." She pointed at Vanille. "I figure you already know everybody else, but that there is Vanille."

Serah glanced over at Vanille and waved. The red head was only too happy to wave back, although the gesture was probably a little more menacing than it had to be, considering that she still had her shotgun slung over one shoulder. Looking back at Fang, Serah spoke again, her voice lowered to a whisper. "Is it true that you kissed my sister?"

Fang's eyes widened. How exactly had Serah found out about that? Although judging from the vicious glare that Lightning was giving Quistis, it was probably the marshal's fault. "Now that you mention it, I am." She looked carefully at Serah. "You got a problem with that?"

Serah giggled. "Well… you're not exactly what I expected. Mostly though, I'm just surprised you're still alive."

Well, well, well, Fang thought. The younger Farron sure was interesting. "I'm a little surprised myself, actually. Sunshine can get pretty violent when the mood takes her." She paused for a moment as she noticed Lightning's hand creep toward her gun. "Anyway, maybe it's best we head inside now. I want to know how Bart's doing and we can all use a rest."

The mention of Bart seemed to sober everything up pretty quickly and the group followed Serah into the house. Bart was laid out on a bed in the middle of what looked to be a sitting room, which was probably for the best. It would be easier for people to look in on him and watch over him than if he was closeted away in a private bedroom.

There were a fair number of other people in the room too, most of them backed away enough to give Bart some room to breathe. Fang didn't recognise all of them, but she knew Hope and Nora well enough. The two Estheims were right by Bart's side and Fang was pretty glad that they only had eyes for Bart. She wasn't sure how she'd take it if Nora looked at her the way Hope had looked at her back in the saloon when they'd been meeting up with Reeve. Snow was there too and she saw the big man's eyes widen in surprise. Yep, he'd definitely have a few questions for them, but with any luck Quistis or Lightning could field those.

However, the person that stood out the most was the blonde woman who stood right by the soldier who had greeted them at the door. It took Fang a moment to place her, but then it hit her. That was Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, one of the richest women in the country. Well, that certainly explained the house and everything, although she was kind of curious to know just how someone like Lightning knew someone like Ashelia.

The last person in the room had to be the doctor. He had a kind look to him, which the glasses he wore certainly didn't hurt. He was a little old though, certainly a fair few years older than Sazh, but what stood out most on him was the red vest that he wore over his white shirt.

"This here is Dr Cid Kramer," Ashelia said. "He's been a physician for my family for some time now." She met Lightning's gaze evenly. "We can trust him with this."

At Ashelia's words, Cid stood and ran his eyes over the group. Meeting the doctor's gaze, Fang gave a mental snort. The man might be a doctor now, but something told her he hadn't always been one and that he was still mighty dangerous even if he was getting on in years. "This is quite the group you've got here, Miss Ashelia." Cid chuckled. "Two famous bandits, an equally famous sheriff, and two marshals." He inclined his head at Quistis. "It's been a while."

"Yes, sir, it has." There was something odd in Quistis' voice that Fang couldn't quite place. It was pretty clear the marshal knew the fellow, but she seemed a little puzzled too. "I wasn't aware you'd become a doctor, sir."

Cid smiled faintly. "Times change, Quistis. You haven't seen me since you were a kid. After everything that happened, Edea just wanted to settle down and live the quiet life and well, so did I." His eyes softened. "I was a doctor long before I was anything else, Quistis, and I was glad to go back to it full time, instead of just doing it on the side. Besides," he looked at Ashelia and smiled. "It's nice to be able to watch my patients grow up and make something of themselves. Still, I'm glad you were able to become a marshal. I always figured you'd be good at it."

"Dr Kramer," Lightning asked. "All that aside, how is Bart?"

Cid sighed. "I'm still looking him over, but I don't think he's in too much danger."

Fang gave a little wince. The doctor hadn't exactly put that very well and neither Nora nor Hope seemed pleased. She could hardly blame them too. Bart certainly looked like he was in pretty poor shape. "What do you mean?" Fang asked. "He doesn't exactly look well, you know."

Cid must have caught his slip, because he gave both Hope and Nora an apologetic look. "I don't mean to make light of his injuries, but as far as I can tell, he'll be fine, given time." He read the surprise on their faces and pressed on, "Right now it looks pretty bad, but I'll say this – whoever did this to him has done this kind of thing before. They roughed him up plenty, but they knew just how and where to hit him. He's hurting, all right, but he hasn't been hurt anywhere to vital." His lips thinned. "I'll get him patched up – he's definitely going to need a lot of stitches – and I'll have to check him over a bit more, make sure to set all the bones he's broken, but once that's done, he should be okay." He looked over at first Ashelia and then Fang. "Who did this anyway? It's been a while since I've seen this kind of work. It's… troubling, to say the least."

"Trust me," Fang said with a grimace. "You really don't want to know."

"I figured it'd be something like that." Cid stood up and reached for a valise he had propped over on the side of Bart's bed. "I think I'll deal with Bart's injuries first and then check the rest of you over, unless any of you have got something you need to have me look at right away."

Fang shook her head. "See to Bart, I think the rest of us can wait." She glanced over at Vanille and almost laughed when the red head's stomach gave an angry growl. "It's been a while since we had anything to eat though. You have anything we can eat?" She glanced at Lightning and then Ashelia. "There's some stuff we should talk about too, and I think some food and drink might make that a bit easier too."

Ashelia nodded. "Lightning, can you take them into the dining room? I'll just have a word or two to Dr Kramer."

Lightning led the rest of them into the dining room and Fang gave a low whistle of approval. Ashelia was rich all right. Everything, from the tablecloth to the cutlery, was of the highest quality. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the gleam in Vanille's eyes and gave the younger woman a faint frown. These people were on their side, which meant stealing from them was not an option, although she doubted Ashelia would miss a trinket or two.

"We had some food laid out just in case," Ashelia said as she joined them in the dining room. "I figured you all might be hungry after you came back. Besides," she said with a quick glance at Serah, "No one else wanted to eat till you were back, anyway."

"That's mighty kind of you," Fang replied as ran her eyes over the spread on the table. There was plenty of food there, everything from sandwiches and pasta, to hot soup and roasted meat. There were drinks too and it took a fair bit of control to not just lunge forward and pour herself a bourdon, because damn it, she sure could use one.

"Now, how about you all have a seat?" Ashelia said. "We can talk as you eat. I for one am quite curious to know just what happened and just what sort of property damage you might have caused, or rather, Basch would like to know just what sort of property damage you might have caused," she said the last part with a hint of a smile, although Basch gave all of them a stern look. Clearly, Fang thought, the soldier wasn't one to like the undue use of explosives, which meant he and Vanille probably weren't going to get along too well.

As the others got settled down at the table, Lightning spoke up. "The others look a little hungry, so I guess I'll be the one to tell you what happened." She sighed. "And don't worry too much about the property damage. Pretty much all of it was confined to Hojo's place, anyway."

While Lightning went through the whole sorry mess, Fang ate just enough to beat back the hunger gnawing at her stomach. Mostly though, she watched the others. She trusted Lightning and Quistis well enough, and Fujin had earned her trust by looking out for Vanille. However, she didn't know the others all that well and she knew from past experience that not knowing what sort of people you were around could lead to trouble.

She discounted Snow almost right away. The big man had a good heart and while she'd have a bit of explaining to do, Fang doubted he'd be a danger to her or Vanille, not unless they went after him first, or maybe Serah. From the way things looked, he was pretty sweet on the younger Farron, although it didn't look like Lightning approved all that much. She had to hand it to Snow though. It took a lot of guts to smile at Serah like that with Lightning around and not approving. As for Serah, it didn't take much to pick up on how important she was to Lightning, not with the way the older Farron seemed to dote on her. Looking at the two of them now, a few things started to make more sense to Fang, like the way Lightning had understood how much she cared about Vanille. She hadn't had the chance to ask Lightning too much about it, but she had a pretty strong suspicion that the two Farrons had grown up with just each other for family.

During the explanation, Fang also watched Vanille. She was real relieved to see the red head pitch into her food with no small amount of gusto. When Vanille got hurt, really hurt, or sick, she never wanted to eat anything so the fact that she was almost shovelling her food down was something of a relief. It didn't hurt either that as Vanille ate almost everyone else at the table gave her a sceptical glance or two. They were probably wondering just where she put all of that food, and for the life of her, Fang still didn't know and she'd been with Vanille for just about her whole life.

When Lightning got to the part where she and Fang encountered Hojo in the dungeon, Fang felt a shiver run through her. There were things that had been said that she didn't want Lightning repeating, nor did she want Lightning telling everyone just how much Hojo had gotten to her. But Lightning must have seen her nervousness, because she handled things just about as well as Fang could hope for. In calm, clinical terms, the sheriff outlined what Hojo had done to Oerba along with his plans to do it to the Al Bhed, as well. She left out almost everything else, from Hojo's vicious words, to the way that Fang had broken down. Really, if they hadn't had an audience, or if she wasn't so sure that Lightning would punch her silly for it, Fang could have reached across the table and dragged the sheriff into the best damn kiss she'd ever had.

"So," Lightning said as she wound up the tale. "That's where we stand. Hojo's got something planned for the Al Bhed and, honestly, I don't plan on letting him get his way, not this time."

"Glad you feel that way, sunshine," Fang said softly as she gave Lightning a small nod to let the other woman know that she was grateful for what she'd done. "I hope you folks all feel the same."

"We do," Basch said. "No decent person could hear something like that and not want to get involved." He paused. "I can't say I know too much about the Al Bhed though, and running in there blind isn't going to do much other than get the lot of us killed."

Fang bit her lip. "They live out West a bit, a couple of hundred miles south of where Oerba used to be. They're a tribal people, but they've got a knack for wandering. The odds are, you've probably see them around out West more than a couple of times. Strange as it sounds, they're not too bad when it comes to tinkering with mechanical stuff. A lot of them fix things for a living when they wander around, you know, clocks, sewing machines, that sort of thing." She glanced across the table. "I know Vanille's learned a thing or two from them over the years."

"That interesting," Lightning said. "Do you think you could lead us to them if you had to?"

Fang nodded. "It's a bit of a trek though. The railway doesn't go all the way there, so you have to take a train for a few days and then ride for the rest of it. All up, it might take us a week and a bit to get there if there isn't any trouble."

"A week?" Lightning scowled. "That's a long time, maybe too long."

"You mentioned that Hojo used fire to destroy Oerba," Quistis said softly. "Is he going to do the same thing to the Al Bhed? Can he do the same thing?"

"That monster Hojo will do just about whatever it takes, but no, I don't think he'll use fire." Fang's eyes narrowed. "The Al Bhed live near the desert along a river, so there's really not a lot there that can actually burn." Her brows furrowed. "Now that you mention… I'm not sure how he's going to get rid of him unless…"

"Unless what?" Quistis asked.

"Way back, there used to be flooding problems over there," Fang said as her eyes darkened dangerously. "You see, that river they live along starts off pretty far away. Come the rainy season, it used to burst its banks a lot, really do some damage. A while back, someone built a dam to try and control the flooding and since then, things have been all right."

"But if Cocoon takes out the dam during the rainy season," Lightning murmured. "The Al Bhed won't have a chance.

"No," Fang said, "They won't." She laughed bitterly. "It makes perfect sense, you know. The rainy season has been going on for a couple of weeks now, which means that the dam has to be getting pretty close to full. If they blow the dam, the river won't just burst its banks, it'll wipe the Al Bhed out entirely. They'll never even see it coming either, not until the river is right on top of them and the lot of them are drowning." She clenched her fists. "Even if someone does manage to get away from all the flooding, they'll never be able to get away from the people Cocoon will have hanging around to take out any survivors. It'll be perfect, just like Hojo said." She made a disgusted sound. "And once the water goes down, Cocoon can just waltz in and buy the place."

"Hold on there," Basch said. "This all sounds like it fits, but does Cocoon even have access to the dam."

"I don't know," Fang said, "But I bet they do. They were prepared pretty well when it came to Oerba."

Quistis frowned faintly. "I remember looking through those papers that we took from Cocoon a couple of nights back. There was definitely mention of them owning lands out that way. I didn't know what to make of that at the time, but I guess I do now."

"This is all crazy." Ashelia pushed to her feet. "We can't just let them get away with this. I can have my company do something and –"

"Don't." Fang's voice was grim as she cut Ashelia off mid-sentence. "If you try something now, they'll just back off for a while and try again next year. As it is, we don't have anything they can't deny, at least for now, and if you go after them, they'll look to take you out, as well. Besides, we've already got people going after them in the courts, but we all know how long that will take. Even if things go just right, the courts won't be able to stop Cocoon, not in time to save the Al Bhed, anyway. No, if we want to stop them, we're going to have to do it ourselves."

Ashelia sank back into her seat. "I could hire some people to help you though. The way things are looking, there's going to be shooting and I can afford to hire a fair number of extra guns."

Fang shook her head. "We can't do that either. Cocoon already knows we're coming. If they see us headed their way with a whole heap of hired guns, they might get nervous, maybe even blow the dam before we get a chance to stop them." She sighed. "If you want to help us, we're going to need supplies along with a way to get out there as soon as possible once everyone is in decent shape again."

"Don't worry," Ashelia said. "If there's anything I can do to help, I will." She glanced at Basch. "Head down to the train station tomorrow. Fang said there was a train that headed that way. See if you can get tickets for a trip in a couple of days." She glanced at the others. "A couple of days should be enough rest, right?"

Fang nodded. "It'll have to be." She groaned and took a sip of water. "Now, I'm sure there's some other things we have to talk about, but maybe we can leave that till tomorrow. As it is, I'm feeling a mite tired. I don't suppose you've got some place I could get some shut eye?"

Ashelia looked over at Lightning. "The rooms across from yours should be free."

With that, the meeting came to an end and Fang followed Lightning upstairs. As she followed Lightning, Fang kept a close eye on her surroundings. It wouldn't do to get lost, and if she and Vanille needed to leave in a hurry, she wanted to know where she was going.

"So," Fang said as they walked along the corridor. "I don't suppose you'll be giving me a look at your room will you, sunshine?"

Lightning stopped dead in her tracks and Fang nearly ran into her. When she turned, there was a hint of colour in her cheeks and a curious mix of anger and something gentler in her eyes. "Why are you always pushing me, Fang?" She folded her arms over her chest and Fang had to stop herself from glancing down. "I think I've got you figured out pretty well, but I still don't quite understand that."

Despite the tiredness that had begun to seep into her bones, Fang found herself on edge at the tone in Lightning's voice, but it was a good kind of edge, like the rush she felt when bullets were flying everywhere and all she could feel was the pounding of her heart. "Why do you think?" She smirked. "It's because you look so damn good when you're mad."

"You're really something," Lightning snarled as she gave Fang a shove toward one of the doors. "That's your room there."

Fang chuckled and opened the door. The room was a lot better than the one she had at the boarding house that was for sure. Still, she hadn't quite gotten her fill of teasing Lightning yet and there was a part of her that wanted the sheriff to know that she was okay now, even if she'd never say as much. "That your room, Lightning?" Fang drawled as she leaned past Lightning and pushed the door opposite hers open. "Mind if I have a look?"

Lightning flushed prettily and tried to stop her, but Fang was just a little too fast for her. Fang opened the door and peeked in only to feel a little stab of disappointment. There was almost nothing to show that the bedroom was Lightning's except for the clothes neatly stacked on one of the dressers – all of them serviceable trousers and shirts – but then her eyes caught sight of the thing on the bed. It was a black nightgown, all nice looking and slinky, and she knew, just by looking, that it would fit Lightning well and that the black would contrast pretty nicely with the pink of the sheriff's hair and the fairness of her skin. It would go well with her eyes too, for that matter.

"That's not mine," Lightning growled as she stepped between Fang and the nightgown. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't go barging into my room like this."

Normally, Fang might have backed off, but not this time. Maybe it was the adrenaline still rushing faintly through her veins, or maybe it was the oddly flustered look on Lightning's face. In any case, she feinted to one side and when Lightning went to stop her, she moved the other way and snatched up the nightgown. Grinning broadly, she held up in front of Lightning. "You say it isn't yours, sheriff, but somehow I doubt that. Look, it's just about your size."

"Give that back!" Lightning growled as she swiped at the nightgown.

"Not a chance," Fang teased as she backed away. "Although I might consider it if you tried it on for me."

That last part was probably a bit too far, Fang thought, before Lightning got sick of snatching at the nightgown and just tackled her. They ended up on the floor in a tangle of limbs with the nightgown stuck between them and Fang was only too happy to let Lightning end up on top.

"Getting mighty comfortable there, aren't you, sunshine?" Fang drawled as Lightning grabbed the nightgown and hugged it to her chest.

"What?" Lightning spat before she realised where she was and all but leapt off Fang. "Get out!"

"Fine, fine," Fang said as she beat a hasty retreat for the door. Baiting Lightning was fun all right, just the thing to take her mind off of that monster Hojo, but she'd probably pushed the sheriff as much as she could for one day and still come out alive. Still, she couldn't resist one parting shot. "I'm just going to go off and say good night to Vanille, I don't suppose you could change into that thing before I come back, could you?"

Lightning snarled and Fang had just enough time to duck before a boot thudded into the wall where her head had been. Tired or not, the sheriff still had a heck of an arm.

Fang headed to the room next to hers and found Vanille sprawled out on the bed with her boots off and a look of utter bliss on her face. When the red head spotted her, she gave Fang a lazy wave and went back to snuggling into the sheets laid out on the bed.

"This bed is so soft," Vanille said. "And the sheets are so smooth." She giggled. "Once all of this is over, we have to get ourselves a place just like this."

"That's a little over the top, don't you think? We might have done well for ourselves emptying Cocoon's pockets, Vanille, but a place like this doesn't come cheap." Fang smiled and flopped down on the bed next to Vanille. "Anyway, you had a chance to see the doctor?"

Vanille nodded and snuggled into a soft, plush pillow. "I had a little chat to him while Lightning was showing you to your room."

"And?" Fang asked.

"Nothing too serious, just bruises and a couple of cuts and scrapes." Vanille grinned. "You know, Fang, you're pretty cute when you get all worried. You get all… cuddly."

"I do not get all cuddly," Fang shot back as she moved away from Vanille a little. Maybe she had been about to pull Vanille into a hug, but that was just because she was worried. She was not getting cuddly. "I'm a little surprised you got off so lightly though, seeing as how Hojo blew up that guardhouse you were all in."

Vanille shrugged. "He did blow the place up, but we had just enough time to see him coming. We managed to get out of the windows before the whole place went up, although the blast threw us pretty far, which is why I'm all banged up." She pointed at the bedside table. "The doctor gave me some salve to rub on my cuts and bruises. He said I should be right in a couple of days."

"How about Quistis?" Fang asked. "She looked a little woozy there."

Vanille grimaced. "She took a bit of knock to the head from one of those guards. The doctor said she's got a concussion, so he's spending a little more time with her downstairs to make sure she's all right. She should be fine in a few days though, unless she takes another knock to the head." She reached over and poked Fang in the side. "What are we going to do about the Al Bhed, Fang?"

"We're all tired right now, Vanille. The best thing we can do is sleep on it and talk it over tomorrow morning." She rolled out of the bed and got to her feet. "Now enough talking, Vanille, you need to get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Vanille smiled. "Good night, Fang, and don't forget to say good night to sheriff too, while you're up."

Fang grinned. "Don't worry, Vanille, I wouldn't forget to do something like that."

"Of course not," Vanille shot back as Fang strode out of the room. "Not with the way you're gawping at her all the time."

Fang bit back a smile as she left Vanille's room and headed back over to Lightning's to say goodnight. If she was lucky, the sheriff wouldn't have any boots within reach to throw at her.

"Hey, sunshine, just coming in to say good…" Fang trailed off as she finally saw Lightning.

From the looks of things, Fang had just walked in on the sheriff changing and even if it was just about the most hackneyed thing she could even imagine, right now, she couldn't really bring herself to care. Sure, all she could see was Lightning's back, but what a back it was. The skin there was so smooth and fair that she was hard pressed not to just rush forward and press her lips against it. There was the odd scar here and there, but somehow that only seemed to make Lightning look better. Lightning was a woman who lived, Fang thought, in the moments between gunshots and sabre strikes, just like she did.

Swallowing thickly, Fang's eyes traced the graceful curve of Lightning's spine down from her slim but strong shoulders to her slender waist and then to the unmistakably feminine swell of her hips. Scarcely aware of the time – hell, she could have stared forever – Fang finally realised that there was a mirror behind Lightning and almost without thinking, her eyes shot to it only to meet twin pools of cerulean ice.

"I know you can see me in that mirror, Fang, and so help me, if you even think of looking any lower, I'll shoot you." Lightning gestured at the gun on the bed beside her. "So, how about you just back up and shut the door behind you?"

Fang took a moment to steady herself and then grinned. "You know, sunshine, you'd have to turn around to shoot me and that, quite honestly, would be quite a view."

In the mirror, Lightning's cheeks flushed prettily, but her eyes narrowed. "You willing to die for that view?"

Fang's grin widened. "Damn straight I would. Besides, I don't think you'd shoot me – you like me too much."

Lightning reached down and for a moment Fang's heart raced. Was the sheriff really going to shoot her? And then she noticed that Lightning wasn't reaching for her gun, she was reaching for her other boot.

"Aw, hell," Fang muttered as she turned and darted for the door. She managed to close it just in time for Lightning's boot to thump into it. "Damn," she muttered, "A pity I was too busy running to turn around and get a better look."

"I heard that, Fang!" Lightning roared as she stomped toward the door. "If you know what's good for you, you won't even think of trying something like that again."

Hands wrapped firmly around the doorknob to keep the door shut – Lightning sounded like she was still in a killing mood – Fang spoke through the door. "I know this probably isn't the best time, sunshine, but I figured I should thank you for what you did for me, not just in that dungeon, but downstairs too."

The thumping on the door stopped and Fang had a feeling that she'd managed to catch Lightning off guard with the sudden change of subject. "That's okay," Lightning said at last, not nearly as angry as she'd been before. "It wouldn't have been right to do otherwise. You are… you are doing fine now, right?"

Fang laughed softly. "Never better, sunshine, all thanks to you." She laughed. "Anyway, I should probably say good night, unless of course you want a good night kiss, as well?"

A growl came from the other side of the door and Fang backed away slowly. It wouldn't do to get killed now, not before she'd had a chance to settle things with Hojo. However, as she turned to go to her room she almost ran smack bang into Serah.

"You walked in on my sister changing," Serah said and the way she said it made it more of a statement than a question and despite the fact that Serah was not only a great deal shorter, but also very lightly built, Fang found herself feeling mighty nervous.

"Uh… yes." Fang backed away a little. Serah wasn't supposed to be much of a fighter, but looks could be deceiving – just take Vanille for an example. The red head fought dirtier than anyone Fang knew.

"And you're still alive." Serah smiled faintly. "Lightning must really like you." And then, to Fang's surprise, the younger woman's smile faded and Serah's blue eyes hardened. Suddenly, Serah didn't seem so harmless anymore and Fang found herself backing up as Serah advanced until Fang's back hit the opposite wall. "I love my sister, Fang, love her lots. I think it's great she's finally found someone who she likes, someone who can keep up with her, but I'm telling you right now… if you take advantage of her, I'll make you sorry. Understand?"

"Um… sure." Fang breathed a sigh of relief as Serah pulled back and shot her another happy smile. "Well, uh, good night then, Serah," she said before she made a hasty dash for her door and locked it behind her. Lightning could be scary all right, but Serah was no slouch either.

X X X

With how tired everyone was, it was almost midday before they gathered around the dining table to talk through what their plans would be. Like before, Nora and Hope were absent, both of them still sleeping in the sitting room with Bart, which wasn't too surprising since the two of them had spent all night up watching over him. Still, it probably wouldn't be too long before the smell of the good food laid out on the table had them up and about.

"So," Fang said as she reached for the flannel cakes and put a few on her plate. "I know we said we'd wait a couple of days before heading out to where the Al Bhed are, but there are still a couple of things we need to talk through." She stopped for a moment and took a bite of a flannel cake. It was good, and what made it taste even better was that she hadn't had to pry it out of Lahna's hands.

"You mentioned last night that they'd probably try to blow the dam during the rainy season. You also said that the rainy season started a couple of weeks ago. How much more time do you think we really have?" Lightning asked before she poured herself a cup of coffee and took a good, long sip of it. Watching the sheriff give a soft sigh of contentment as she put the cup down, Fang wondered if it was crazy to be jealous of the cup.

"The sooner we get to them, the better," Fang said. "Once that dam is full, they'll make their play and if we aren't there by then, well, it'll be all over."

"Fair enough," Quistis said. The marshal looked a little worse for wear, but her eyes no longer looked so hazy. "But we still need to take a few days rest, otherwise we won't be in any condition for a fight." She paused for a moment, brows furrowed. "Once we get there, we need to warn them, maybe even get them to fight with us."

Fang bit her lip softly. The people of Oerba had always been pretty friendly with the other tribes, but it had been a long time since she'd had much use for what she'd learned about them. "From what I remember," she said slowly, "The Al Bhed aren't really warriors. Sure, they've got some warriors, but they never really liked fighting much. I figure, they'd much rather be left on their own. If we just waltz in there screaming stuff about how Cocoon is going to kill the lot of them, I doubt they'd believe us."

"That's true," Quistis said. "And that reminds me… last night I was looking through some of the copies I made of the paperwork we took from Cocoon." At her side, Fujin gave Quistis a glare and it didn't take much puzzling to work out that the silver haired woman wasn't pleased one bit that Quistis had spent the night going over paperwork. "It turns out that Cocoon's been spending a lot of money helping the Al Bhed out. They've even paid to have wells put in and a teacher set up too. The fact is, the Al Bhed probably trust them."

Vanille made a disgusted sound. "I bet that cost them a pretty penny, but not nearly as much as they're hoping to make once they get rid of all the Al Bhed." She scowled. "The more I hear, the more I wish we'd be able to take Hojo out last night." She shot Fang a grin. "At least Fang gave him something to remember us by."

"Yes, and I plan on getting the job done next time," Fang said. "So, how are we going to get the Al Bhed to listen to us then? It won't mean a thing if we warn them and they don't listen."

Nervously, Serah spoke up. "I think I might be able to help there." Suddenly all eyes were on the younger Farron and Serah laughed a little nervously. "You see, when I was attending university here to learn teaching, I made friends with someone who was a couple of years ahead of me. We… we still exchange letters and from what she mentioned a year or so ago, she's over with the Al Bhed."

"That right?" Fang grinned. If that friend of Serah's had been able to stick it out for an entire year, it was pretty likely that the Al Bhed trusted her. "Do you think she'll listen to us, maybe try and convince the Al Bhed that we're telling the truth?"

Serah winced. "I think so, but… you should know. She's pretty strong minded."

"Strong minded?" Fang happened to think strong minded women were just fine. "What's her name?"

"Lulu," Serah replied.

Fang nodded. "Well, get a letter to her written up or something, because we're going to need her on board if we're going to have a decent shot at this."

"So, that's the plan then?" Lightning asked. "We get Serah to write a letter to Lulu about all this, head over, and hopefully we get there in time to stop Cocoon."

"Sounds about right," Fang replied. "We'll head over in a couple of days once we've gotten a chance for a bit of rest." Everyone nodded. "Now, how about we settle down and get some eating done. I could use a good meal."

Lunch went pretty well, and Fang wasn't too surprised to see Nora and Hope duck in to grab some food before heading back to watch over Bart. The poor fellow was still asleep, although Fang could hardly blame him for that. Dr Kramer had given him some drugs for the pain and that meant he'd be out for a while yet.

The other thing that made lunch pretty nice was the fact that she got a chance to tease Lightning in front of an audience. The audience part was pretty important, because after last night, she figured Lightning's fuse was probably a little shorter than usual. However, the mood took a pretty big turn for the worse when Basch bustled into the dining room with a grim look on his face. It turned out, he'd just come back from the train station and the news he had wasn't the least bit good.

"What's going on, Basch?" Ashelia asked.

"I was at the train station buying tickets for the train in a couple of days when I happened to see a friend of ours board a train of his own." Basch's expression darkened. "It was Hojo."

Fang shot to her feet. "What? What was Hojo doing there?"

"My guess is he's going to get that plan of his started sooner rather than later." Basch shook his head slowly. "The train he caught was headed to the same place as ours – toward the Al Bhed." He growled softly. "I did my best to try and get the train held up, but I couldn't do more than delay it a few a minutes."

Fang sank back into her chair. "This is it then, they're really going to go for it while we're still licking our wounds." She banged one hand on the table. "Damn it, that train's going to give him a heck of a head start. When's the next one?"

Basch sighed. "There isn't another one until tomorrow morning."

"Damn." Fang bit her lip. "All right, get us tickets for that train tomorrow. We can't let them get any further ahead of us than they already are."

"I'll get them," Basch said. "The train leaves tomorrow morning just after dawn at six o'clock, make sure you don't miss it."

"Don't worry, we won't." Fang looked around the table and winced. "Look, I know we're all a bit beat up right now, but we have to make that train."

Lightning nodded. "Don't worry, we all know that." She paused. "Now, we just have to make sure we know who's going to go."

"What do you mean?" Serah whispered. "Aren't we all going to go?"

Lightning shook her head and Fang could almost see the gears turning in Serah's head as the younger Farron caught on to what Lightning was going to say. "It's too dangerous for you, Serah. This isn't going to be like it's been the last couple of days. Cocoon knows we're coming and this time, we'll have no choice but to fight and they're going to come after us with everything they've got. I… I don't want to lose you."

Silence fell over the room and even Fang had to look away because right at that moment, Lightning's face showed everything she felt and there wasn't a person in that room who didn't feel a little bit humbled by the caring they saw there.

"No," Serah said as she squared her shoulders and steadied her voice. "No, you're not leaving me behind, not this time."

"Serah…"

And then the little Farron shoved to her feet and Fang saw, really saw, the mettle that Serah hid deep down inside. It made her realise just how similar Serah and Lightning really were. Strip away everything on the outside that made them seem different – the clothes, the occupations, the guns – and the Farrons, both of them, were pure steel, the kind that only the rugged harshness of the West could forge, the kind that nothing in the world could break.

"Don't you 'Serah' me, Lightning," Serah growled as she stalked over to Lightning. "All those times you've come back home beat up, cut up, bruised, or even shot… and always it's been because of me, because you're always looking out for me, always trying to find a way to make sure I have what's best in life. But Lightning… it hurts… it hurts to see you like that because of me. You're my sister, Lightning, a part of me, and whenever you hurt, I hurt." She sniffled miserably but when Lightning reached for her, Serah pulled away, eyes flashing defiance even as a few tears trickled down her cheeks. "But not this time, Lightning. You said it yourself. This time it's different, this time you don't know if you'll come back and I am not just going to sit here waiting and hoping that you'll be okay." She scrubbed at her cheeks. "I know that I'm not brave like you, or strong, or fast, but you taught me how to shoot and even if I don't like shooting, if it means that I'll be helping, I'll shoot anyone who tries to hurt you, so please… just this once, let me go with you." She sniffled. "Besides, I don't think Lulu would listen to just a letter, not for something like this."

For a moment, just a moment, Lightning looked like she might refuse, but finally, she sighed and nodded. "Fine, Serah, if that's what you want." Her gaze sharpened. "But listen, if you're coming with us then you do what I say, when I say it, no questions asked." She glanced across the table at Snow. "You're coming too then, right?"

The big man grinned. "Someone's got to look after Serah while you go off and be a hero, sheriff."

"I'll hold you to that," Lightning said. "And you'd better hope that Serah comes through without a scratch, otherwise, you'll find yourself in some real trouble, Snow." She shifted her gaze to Quistis and Fujin. "How about you two?"

"Of course," Quistis said. "I'm not quite right yet, but I figure I'll be okay by the time we get there."

Fujin grinned. "GOING."

Lightning nodded and then looked over at Basch. "I'd like it if you could stay here." The blonde opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. "Bart's going to need a place to stay while he rests up and Ashelia's already offered. It'd be good if I had someone here that I could trust to look after him, and you're the best man for it." She glanced toward the sitting room. "Hope's going to want to go too, but I figure it'd be best to keep him out of a mess like this. I'll talk to him, make him see sense." She looked at Fang. "You have anything else to add?"

Fang sighed. There was something she and Vanille needed to do, some people they had to say their goodbyes to, just in case things didn't work out well. "Me and Vanille will meet you at the train station – we've got a couple of loose ends to tie up."

"Right then, see you tomorrow," Lightning said.

X X X

Fang and Vanille head back over to the boarding house after lunch and it didn't surprise Fang one bit when Lahna immediately whisked Vanille off to have a look at her. The older woman came back with a glower on her face and immediately got stuck into Fang.

"I can't believe you let something happen to little Vanille!" Lahna growled. "And I don't even want to know what kind of trouble you've gotten her into this time."

Little Vanille? Tell that to all the people that Vanille had either shot or blown up, Fang thought. They probably wouldn't think of her as being too little. "Look, it's not too bad and really, it wasn't my fault."

"Not your fault?" Lahna boomed as she shifted her grip on her purse to hold it like a club. "Why, I never…"

"That's about enough, Lahna," Sazh said softly and the suddenness of the interruption stopped Lahna dead in her tracks. It wasn't often Sazh cut in when she and Fang were fighting and that alone made her a little nervous. "Look, why don't you take Vanille and Dajh down to that sweet shop we saw on the corner. He's been pretty good all week and I figure he could use a treat. Vanille probably wouldn't mind something either."

"Okay," Lahna said slowly as she met her husband's gaze. Sazh was awfully serious all of a sudden. "All right then, let's go get some sweets, you two."

As Lahna led a cheering Dajh away with Vanille and Chirpy, Sazh turned the full weight of his attention to Fang. This wasn't Sazh the mechanic, the middle aged man who made a living fixing up sewing machines and the like. No, this was Sazh Katzroy, the bounty hunter, a man Fang hadn't seen in years and one of the only people in the world who had the power to make Fang back up a step or two.

"You're in trouble, aren't you, Fang?" Sazh asked softly. "Real trouble, the kind you're not even sure you'll come back from, aren't you?"

Fang nodded. She couldn't hide something like this from Sazh, not when he was like this. "It's about Cocoon, Sazh – you know what they did to Oerba. They're planning something like that again and there's no way that Vanille and I can just stand by and let that happen. Tomorrow… tomorrow morning, at six o'clock, we'll be heading off on a train to settle things." She looked down the street in the direction that Vanille had gone. "Look… no matter how things end up, I'll make sure that Vanille comes back okay. If… if something happens to me, I need to know that you'll look after her."

"You're a damn fool, Fang." Sazh chuckled softly. "You should know by now that you don't even have to ask about something like that. No matter what happens, I'll look after Vanile, you have my word on that."

"Thanks, Sazh, it sure means a lot." Fang grinned. "It can't be easy for a man your age to deal with all this trouble."

"Hey! I'm not that old!"

They spent the rest of day out and about Eden City having fun. If Lahna or Dajh suspected anything, they kept it to themselves, and for that, Fang was plenty glad. She didn't know if she'd come back, but she wanted to make sure that these people – her family – had at least one last good day together. That night, she went to sleep with a smile on her lips.

Dawn came sooner than Fang liked and she and Vanille headed off to the train station. It was tempting to look in Sazh and his family to get one last look at them, but Fang didn't want to make things harder than they already were.

"You're running a bit late," Lightning said when they got to the train station. "The train's just about to pull out."

Fang shrugged. "Don't worry, sunshine, we're here and that's all that matters." She handed her and Vanille's things to the sheriff and stepped onto the train. "Now how about we get settled in? It's a long trip and I could use a couple more hours of shut eye."

"Fair enough." Lightning's eyes narrowed and Fang turned and followed her gaze.

"Aw, hell," Fang muttered. "Lahna is going to kill me."

"You know that man?" Lightning asked as she pointed past Fang to the dark skinned man headed their way with his ticket clutched in one hand and a bag in the other.

"Know him?" Fang laughed. "You could say that."

"Hey," Sazh said as he came to a stop just in front of them, breathing heavily. "And here I was thinking I wouldn't make it in time."

"Damn it, Sazh, what are you doing here?" Fang asked. "You need to go back. You know what this is going to be like. You've got a family now and…" Her voice cracked and Fang looked away, keenly aware of how all of the others had moved out of the train carriage to have a look.

Sazh looked past her and waved at Vanille. "It looks like you've got some new friends, Fang." He handed his bag to Lightning and smiled. "Look, you're right, I've got a family." He looked at Vanille and then back at her. "And you two are a part of it and I'll be damned if I just let you two go without me." He smirked. "Besides, Lahna and Dajh – heck, even Chirpy – wouldn't be too pleased if something happened to either of you." He paused and then added, "Well, okay, maybe Lahna might not mind too much if I just brought back Vanille, but… well… you two are family and that's more than enough reason to go." He patted Fang on the back and stepped into the train carriage. "I might be getting on in years, but I'm still good for one last gunfight, especially if you two do most of the work." He grinned. "You were planning on doing most of the work, right?"

Fang swallowed thickly and stepped onto the train. "Damn it, you're a crazy old man." She threw her arms around Sazh. "But crazy or not, I'm glad you came along."

As Sazh got to introducing himself to everyone else, the train gave a lurch and with a loud whistle, began to pull away from the train station.

"Here," Lightning said as she sat down across from Fang. "This is from Hope."

Fang eyed the folded piece of paper warily. "How'd that talk of yours with him go?"

"Like you'd expect," Lightning said. "He wanted to come, but I told him it'd be best if he stayed there and looked after his folks." She smiled softly. "He doesn't need to come out of this any bloodier than he already is." She glanced down at the piece of paper. "You going to read that?"

"Should I?" Fang asked. "He didn't look too pleased the last time he saw me."

Lightning looked out the window and grinned. "Just read it."

Fang gave Lightning a curious look and unfolded the piece of paper. Reading it aloud, she had to bite back a laugh. "It says: Make sure you shoot Hojo for me, signed… Hope Estheim." She chuckled. "Well, I suppose I could manage that." She folded the piece of paper and slipped into her pocket. "Yep, I can definitely manage that."

X X X

Author's Notes

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

This chapter is a little calmer than the one that came before it. There are a couple of reasons for that. First of all, as awesome as it would be, I can't exactly have our intrepid heroes gunning down entire hordes of hired guns every single chapter. There just aren't that many hired guns in Eden City. Second, I wanted to set the stage a little. The big showdown is coming, and I needed to make sure that our heroes had a plan, or at least some semblance of one, before they headed off to deal with Cocoon.

I'll also say, that it was nice to be able to slip some more humour in. I enjoyed writing some of the darker stuff that popped up in the previous two chapters, but a bit of humour is always good to have around. That said, I also have to admit that it's awfully fun having Fang poke at Lightning, simply because of how nicely Lightning reacts to everything. Fang's just lucky that Lightning didn't actually hit her with a boot, because boots can be pretty painful to have thrown at you.

For people who were hoping that Hope could go with them, I'm sorry to disappoint. I have a soft spot for the guy, but in this story he doesn't have magical powers or anything and at his age, he just isn't going to be able to do too much when they go off to confront Cocoon. I also thought a while about whether or not to have Serah go along with them, but in the end, I decided that I wanted her to go along, for the reasons that Serah herself gave when she was arguing with Lightning. Having Sazh go along was a lot easier to go with, because even though he's retired, he's not exactly a slouch if it comes down to a gunfight. Besides, like he said, Fang and Vanille are his family and he's not about to let them head off without him (and Lahna would never forgive him if he did – even if she'd never admit that she doesn't actually hate Fang). The little bit at the end with Hope's note was something I thought would be nice to have. He hasn't forgiven Fang for what happened to his father, but he doesn't exactly hate her that much either, since she managed to get Bart back. His suggestion (i.e., that Fang shoot Hojo for him) is also something that Fang can definitely get behind.

Finally, for those who aren't aware of it, Lulu is from FF X, and Cid Kramer and Edea are from FF VIII.

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