*meekly peeks out*

Hi guys! Before I start off with my usual Author's Note, I'd like to share this with y'all: Square Enix has just announced today that the Lightning DLC Episode for XIII-2 will be coming out in mid-May, and it's called Lightning: Requiem of a Goddess. (Rather fitting to the title of this fic, no? n_n) Anyways, I'm super excited now, and hopefully all of you who have completed/played/own XIII-2 will be able to play it with me when it comes out!

So once again, thanks for all the kind reviews! I promise not to accidentally spoil XIII-2 for anyone again. n_n

This chapter came earlier than expected - I had a spare block today, so I borrowed my friend's laptop, plugged in my USB, and got to work.

I'm glad you guys think I've gotten the characters right - I've got a sense of how to portray Light now, but Serah is noticeably harder. She didn't have much of a role in XIII and XIII-2 didn't reveal as much about her character as I wanted it to - she still comes off as a stereotypical female lead, if you know what I mean.

So I've taken the liberty to portray Serah as I imagined her in the original XIII - happy and eager to please, but also a little naive - definitely not as worldly as her older sister. She didn't come off as the type to ever have endorsed violence, nor experienced it first hand, in any way, so that's why you see her acting as she does in this chapter.

One more thing - there is a little action in this chapter, but I tried writing a full action scene for this chapter several times and I couldn't do it; it wasn't what I wanted it to go like. Light's omega weapon seems to freeze in my hands, and I'll be researching/practicing how to write convincing action before I attempt it again, but I will be putting action in future chapters, rest assured!

Disclaimer: XIII belongs to... not me.

Chapter 3: Moonlight and Shattered Glass

Lightning's fingers drew the gunblade she'd been holding onto for awhile. Shoving Serah and Hope roughly behind her, she unfolded the omega weapon into sword mode, holding it in front of her in attack position.

Glass shattered somewhere upstairs, and instantly she shifted her attention to the stairs.

Snow had already stomped over to the bottom of the steps, peering upwards into the gloom. He'd started up the stairs when Light reached her hand out – surely Snow couldn't be that reckless.

"Claire…" she heard Serah whimper behind her. "Don't do anything dangerous…"

Glancing back at her sister and Hope, who'd fumbled for his boomerang, she realized going upstairs to stop Snow wasn't the best idea. They looked so vulnerable standing there, clinging to each other, with Hope trying to put his arm in front of Serah.

I can't leave them here.

Serah wasn't a fighter, and as for Hope, physical attacks hadn't been his forte. With their magic gone, Hope was about as useful as…

"Light. Go after Snow, we'll be fine."

She shook her head, not trusting herself to leave them.

Snow, well, I trust that he's got some sort of self defence thing going for him. But Serah, who hated the idea of me being a soldier, and Hope, who's really still a little kid…

The next shattering of glass, much closer, distracted Lightning from any more thoughts about whatever Snow was doing to whatever was upstairs.

Dark shapes loomed against the silhouettes of windows across the living room. Big dark shapes. And for some reason, they didn't look… human.

"Stay behind me," she hissed to Hope and Serah. "And whatever you do, don't think about running upstairs, or getting out of my sight."

Serah watched her sister move towards the… things. Even she who had never seen a monster before knew they weren't humans. Or anything remotely like a human, from the way they lumbered.

Gran Pulse creepy crawlies, or…?

The sickening sound of metal and bullets on flesh hit her ears, and Serah cringed. Briefly, she wondered about Snow, and what he was doing upstairs. She hoped he was okay – he'd better be okay…

"I control my own fate!"

Her sister's voice brought her out of her scared, desperate thoughts. Light and Snow… they were fighting again, and…

"Serah! Move!" She was roughly shoved by Hope as he pushed her out of the way of a falling monster, while throwing the boomerang at another one that was closing on her sister. But he hadn't pushed her fast enough, and in her frightened state a claw caught her arm.

She let out a scared shriek, causing her sister to turn around.

"Serah!" Her sister's voice was urgent, and Serah suddenly hated herself for distracting her sister in a fight.

"I'm… I'm okay. Claire, just fight!" She hoped her voice sounded reassuring. She hoped it was – anything to make Claire concentrate on the fight again.

Claire… You try so hard to protect all of us, and here we are in a real fight, and everyone is trying to help…except me.

The last monster fell with a thud as Lightning swiped the omega weapon at the same time Hope threw the boomerang at its head… or where its head was supposed to be, anyways.

She could hear the thumping upstairs begin to cease as well – hopefully that meant Snow was okay.

Well, he'd better be. He's much too stubborn to die like this, at any rate.

Carefully making her way to the door to the garden, trying to avoid stepping on what she could only assume were monster remains, Lightning quickly checked the space outside. A full moon was shining, and its light shimmered off the millions of flowers and other greenery that dominated Gran Pulse in the spring. Its tranquility was a cruel ironic reminder of the dead monsters that lay littered around her living room.

A sudden beam of light cut through the dark grass, and Light turned around. Someone had turned the living room lights back on, and she saw Hope standing sheepishly by the light switch.

"You fixed it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nope, I just thought I'd try it and it worked."

Well that's odd. I thought the monsters must have killed the power lines… or something. But if he's able to turn them on again without much trouble then that means someone has access to our power grid. And that means whoever sent these monsters here has some connections real high up in Pulse Management.

Before she could continue to speculate as to who ordered the attack on them, Snow barreled downstairs, hollering his wife's name.

Discreet as ever. What if there were more monsters? He's a walking target.

By the time Light had stepped over the monsters again, Snow had Serah bundled in his coat; whispering to her and hugging her, trying to calm her down. She knew Serah wasn't used to combat, and the fact that Lightning fought pretty much everyday was a fact Serah hated.

But what dropped her stomach to the ground was the smear of red on the floor, and it wasn't the bluish slime from the monsters either.

"Serah, Serah, look at me! Are you okay?" Her voice was frantic – if Serah was hurt…

A small face framed by pink hair peeped out from Snow's coat.

"A little, but it's not bad, Claire, I promise."

Lightning ignored the fact that she knew Serah was trying not to worry her.

"Show me," she demanded. Hopefully it wasn't serious, like Serah had said…

A line of red down her arm. Bleeding a little, but whatever had snagged her in passing either hadn't put much force into the blow, or it wasn't alive to put force into the blow.

"A claw caught me, Hope tried to warn me, but it's not bad, Claire, honest."

Lightning glanced up to see that Hope had already run for the first aid kit.

Something else I should have done.

The kit was upstairs in the bathroom, what if there had been more?

But Snow had already snatched the kit from Hope, and was cleaning the cut before Light could touch it.

"There you go, baby. Does it feel better now?"

Serah giggled, despite the fact that she still looked scared.

"Thanks, hero! You're the best." Light could tell that Serah was trying to pacify the big man, but that didn't mean…

She's still scared. And now she'll be scared of what might happen when I return to work. I never told Serah about work, and this is just more proof why I shouldn't.

Serah…

Serah was safely snuggled against several pillows on the couch, several blankets wrapped around her knees. Hope had made himself a nest of blankets and other assorted cloths on the next sofa.

Claire had insisted that they all sleep downstairs tonight, in the same room.

'Who knows if they'll be back?' was her excuse. And so, she'd forced Hope and Serah to make themselves comfortable on the couches, while she and Snow worked out a watch shift. And Claire, being Claire, had insisted on the first shift. Serah could see her from where she was resting – she was on a stool beside the broken patio window, silhouetted against the moonlight.

She observed Hope's movements out of the corner of her eye – he hadn't looked scared when Claire was fighting those monsters. He hadn't cowered away from them, in fact, he'd been eager to help Claire out. And he was four years younger than her.

Shouldn't I have been more of a help? Am I really that useless? Claire's always been super protective of me, but…

"Hey. You okay?" Hope's quiet voice broke into her thoughts.

She nodded. "Just a little… overwhelmed and scared… I guess."

"You know, I felt like that when we first became l'Cie. There were so many monsters, and well, Light was so... intimidating. Not that I'm insulting her or anything - " He broke off awkwardly at this, and both of them glanced to where Light was perched the stool. She didn't seem to have heard them - she looked deep in thought.

Serah smiled lightly, knowing what Hope meant.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean. She's a little scary, if you don't know her."

Hope nodded, looking sheepish, but glad that Serah knew what he meant.

"Anyways, I mean, I couldn't really accept it – it felt like everything was being dropped on me at once." His voice was thoughtful again, searching for the right words to explain.

"Didn't it scare you?" Her own question embarrassed her – it betrayed her current feelings.

"A little. But don't worry, you get used to it. I mean – not like that you'll fight everyday or anything, that's not what I meant! But that feeling goes away – you learn to be more confident...? I don't really know how to say it... Besides, I know Light and Snow will want to protect you for sure. So… don't be scared, okay?"

Serah didn't know how to reply, instead burying her face in some pillows. He looked so relaxed. Like a small encounter with some monsters didn't really matter. But she supposed he was used to it – he must have fought his fair share of them in their journey. But in this sense he was also more experienced than she was, and she did appreciate him trying to help her out. Hope was a good kid, like her sister had said. No wonder Claire had a soft spot for him. And when Hope asked to stay with them after he couldn't find his father? It had been no surprise Claire had agreed.

But her thoughts were broken off when Snow plomped himself down beside her, pulling her to his shoulder.

"Shhh, baby, it's okay. Sis and I got this. Just go to sleep, and everything will be okay."

His soothing voice, his warmth - finally it made Serah feel safer, and she let her eyes close.

"Claire, you're not going to join the army. You're not!"

Her older sister whipped around, anger clear in her eyes.

"Don't call me Claire! It's Lightning. " Claire's blue eyes were blazing with an anger Serah had never seen in them before, and she took a step back. Her sister had never acted like this before – she'd always listened to Serah's suggestions, looked annoyed but laughed when Serah teased her, and now…

"I am going to join the army. There is no other way." Her voice was firm.

"Claire, you just graduated high school. I'm sure if you went to college, or got more education, we'd be okay..." But Serah's voice trailed off at the look on her sister's face.

"No, Serah! I only budgeted the money Mom left us for two and a half years. We don't have the time for me to finish any sort of education. I've already handed in the application, the lieutenant in charge has already contacted me, I'm GOING and that's that!"

And Lightning had refused to listen to another word on the subject.

Claire hadn't always acted like this. But the Claire Serah knew was gone, hidden past the impassive cold mask that she put on every day as "Lightning". And try as she might, Claire just... didn't listen to Serah anymore. She made her own decisions, and Serah started seeing her less and less. The only remnants of Claire she'd find most days was the pile of money she'd leave on the table for groceries - Claire paid all the other bills on her own.

Serah would wait for her every night, but Claire didn't even come home all the time now - sometimes a mission to Bodhum's swamps and marshes, or Euride Gorge would be a overnight thing, and Claire wouldn't return until the following evening - often after Serah had fallen asleep waiting for her.

But she'd always wake up in her own bed, blankets drawn carefully over her the next morning.

So Serah had clung to those little gestures her sister still did as the vestiges of the person she once knew as Claire, and hoped fervently that one day, when she was old enough to help out, that she could bring Claire back from Lightning.

So yes, some more pre-Episode Zero scenes, and this is always how I imagined Light became a soldier - not because she wanted to but because they needed the money and Light didn't have the chance to go to college. From the way Serah acts, I think it's also pretty clear she didn't want her sister to be a soldier, but hopefully you guys like the way I've interpreted that part of their relationship.

And as for Hope, well, he and Serah are of similar age - I always thought they'd be good friends after the events of XIII, so that's how I'm gonna continue their relationship in this fic. Of course, Snow might not have liked the little interaction he and Serah got in this chapter, but there's SerahxSnow moments planned out, so please be patient if you're waiting for that!

Update - March 22, 2012: Originally this last part of this A/N was me stating that this wouldn't be a Hoperai fic, but as I realized whilst working out some plot details, it was going to be inevitable. Haha, Chapter 16's end A/N has the details on this change, but I thought I'd update it here too. (:

As always, feed the review monster (still no Beta - though I'd like one ;o;) with your suggestions and comments, and I'll put your love for this fic to good use by hopefully putting up the next chapter by Saturday if not tomorrow evening.

Thanks again, my lovelies! (: