KISSED BY A ROSE

JAMES

I looked at Lightning, my eyes wide.

"Vanille?" I asked, just in case I had heard wrong.

Fang looked at me, puzzled, and nodded.

I didn't respond straight away, my mind was still trying to process everything. Vanille, cute, adorable, childish Vanille, was from Gran Pulse. She was this woman's partner.

It all made sense. The events and Euride Gorge, the Purge, the Sanctum l'Cie... then it hit me, why she was familiar to me.

"You!" I gasped, my hand moving to my rifle. "It was you!"

Fang's frown deepened.

"What are you-" She began, but I cut her off.

"You were the one at Euride Gorge!" I snarled. "I saw the surveillance tapes, it was you and Vanille!"

"You're PSICOM?" She asked, reaching for her own bladed staff.

"Enough!" Lightning said, stepping in front of me. She gave me a look that plainly said 'later', and placed a hand on my arm.

I calmed at the contact, and lowered my rifle.

"I was PSICOM." I muttered. "Now I'm a l'Cie."

"That puts us on the same side." Fang said forcefully.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Vanille's all right." I said, regretting my outburst.

"You've seen her?" Fang asked, her eyes lighting up.

I looked at Lightning. "She... we think she got away." Lightning said vaguely.

"Away?" Fang queried.

"That's what she said she was doing." I said. "Running away."

"Do you know where she is?" Fang asked, her voice rising.

We shook our heads.

Fang sighed, obviously put out by our lack of useful information.

"Then I'll find her." She said, determined.

"What happened when you woke up?" I asked.

"When we came out of crystal stasis, we didn't remember our Focus or what we'd done." Fang said. "All we could do was wonder Cocoon, looking for what we'd lost.

Day 5

Fang and Vanille came to a stop at the center of Euride Gorge, a large, circular room with an elevator on one side.

"Let's give up!" Vanille cried. "Forget our Focus, we don't need it!"

'We don't need it?" Fang exclaimed. "Look, if we don't figure it out and pull it off, you're gonna be a Cie'th."

"It's just – making a kid that young a l'Cie?" Vanille said doubtfully, her mind filled with the image of the young boy. "It's not right!"

"Yeah, it's unfair." Fang said. "But guess what? We grin and bear it like good l'Cie, or the fal'Cie starts making more. Like that girl the other day."

She had to make Vanille understand.

"It doesn't matter what our Focus is. We do it, whether we like it or not." Fang said.

"But-" Vanille started, but Fang interrupted her.

"Say we call it quits. You think these people will let us go? They'll lynch us in the street."

Fang took a few steps forward and placed her hands reassuringly on Vanille's shoulders.

"Listen, Vanille. We do what we've gotta do and get ourselves off this filthy world, as fast as we can."

Fang directed her friend into the elevator.

"Fang?"

"You get out of here first." Fang said quickly. "I'll buy you some time." She stepped out of the elevator.

Vanille made a whining sound, but Fang shook her head.

"Now, don't you worry." Fang said. "I'll come and find you, no matter where you go."

Fang pushed the button that would take the elevator up, then jabbed it hard with her red staff. She pushed Vanille back into the wall of the elevator, then quickly jumped out before the doors closed, leaving Vanille trapped in the small space.

"Wait! Fang!" Vanille said desperately. "Fang! Please! Don't leave me!" But Fang ignored her pleas.

"You're not gonna end up a Cie'th." Fang muttered.

Loud footsteps echoed around the circular chamber, and Fang knew that the military was on it's way.

"You boys coming or not?" She shouted, stepping into a fighting stance. "Your fight's right here!"

"By the time I took care of 'em all, Vanille was long gone." Fang finished. "After that, Raines and his Cavalry found me."

She gave us a tortured expression.

"I never stopped searching for Vanille, but I couldn't find her." She said. "Her, or our Focus."

"So, you're telling me Serah will come back to life someday, too?" Lightning asked.

"Yep." Fang said, regaining some of her enthusiasm.

"That's great!" I said, beaming at Lightning. "Your sister will be okay!"

I looked at Fang.

"Right?"

Fang shrugged.

"We didn't do our job right." She said. "That's why it made her a l'Cie. We messed up. Sorry."

Lightning gave her a quick glance, then strode in front of her and slapped her, the back of her hand colliding with Fang's face.

"Hey!" I said, taken by surprise by Lightning's sudden hostility. "If a soldier heard that..."

I peered around the corner at the mass of soldiers that were patrolling the main streets. PSICOM and Guardian Corps had put aside their differences for the duration of the crisis.

"That it?" Fang asked.

Lightning gave her a look that would have caused most people to start running.

"You sure better hope so." She said menacingly. "But whether we're square, that's up to Serah."

"You sound exactly like Snow." Fang said.

Lightning turned.

"And he didn't hit me." Fang continued.

"Not helping you're case." I muttered to her, and she grinned.

"Wait, he already knows this?" Lightning asked.

Fang stood, ignoring her. "Wow." She said. "That's a load off. Glad I apologized."

I shook my head.

"You apologized so you'd fell better" Lightning asked.

"Guess so." Fang said. "How about you? Feel any better now that you hit me?"

"Bring up what happened at Euride and I'll hit you." I said. "Those were my friends."

Even if we were on the same team, Fang and Vanille's break-in at Euride Gorge had cost many soldiers lives.

"Would you like me to apologize to you too?" Fang asked, sighing.

"Yes." I admitted.

"Then I'm sorry." She said.

I raised an eyebrow. I hadn't really expected her to apologize.

"I can live with that." I said.

"Truce, then?" She asked, extending her hand.

I hesitated, then gave her a small smile and grasped her hand.

"I'm sorry too." I said, remembering my own actions at the Hanging Edge, and the amount of faceless soldiers I had killed, all to protect the innocent lives of Cocoon's civilians. Fang had only been protecting Vanille in the only way she knew how.

"I guess we really are playing for the same team now."

"I did what I had to do." Fang said, reading my mind.

I nodded. "I understand... I did to."

"It doesn't change anything." Lightning muttered.

Fang rubbed the side of her face.

"Tell that to my jaw." She said.

I suppressed a chuckle, which quickly turned into a curse as I poked my head around the corner again.

A soldier was walking towards us, and there was no time to hide.

"Incoming." I warned, putting my back to the wall.

The soldier appeared around the corner and I struck, yanking the soldier towards me and shoving him hard against the wall, where he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Not bad." Fang said appreciatively.

I shrugged. "I have my moments." I said.

Lightning rolled her eyes.

I rounded the corner, and skewered a soldier on my extended blades. This wasn't going to be easy.

I ran forward, down the street and towards the bridge that was our destination. Soldiers littered the path, along with several bioweapons.

"Okay, soldier boy," Fang called. "Let's see what you can do." We split, moving into an arrow formation, with Lightning in the front.

I dodge a row of bullets and placed a foot on the wall beside me, launching myself off and at the soldier who had fired at me, my blades cutting him down.

Lightning swiped at two, but one evaded at the last minute, only to be swept up by Fang's staff.

Our teamwork was impeccable, and the soldiers didn't stand a chance. The bioweapons were a different matter, however.

The bioweapons were all the same model, four legged machines with a torso and head. Its arms ended in large guns, and it fired relentlessly.

"Move!" Lightning yelled, and we dived out of formation to avoid the spray of bullets.

I hacked at it, but was swept off my feet almost instantly as its arm collided with my chest.

Lightning was smarter, she and Fang went to work on the legs, staggering it, then launching it into the air.

I pulled myself up as Fang brought her lance down, knocking the bioweapon into the ground, where it exploded in a mass of writhing smoke.

"Show off." I grumbled. Fang grinned at me.

"What did you think of that?" She asked in her thick accent.

I shook my head, then decided to step things up a little.

I ran forward, swiping at the bioweapon and severing one of it's legs. As it fell, I jumped on top of it, running along the length of its horizontal body and dived forward at the next bioweapon, my blades impaling its torso. The bioweapon fell backwards with the force of the blow, and I stood, still on top of the bioweapon.

I grinned at Fang.

"What did you think of that?" I asked her.

"I think you should duck." Fang said.

I turned to see a bioweapon raise its arms in my direction, and I felt a hand in mine pull me down.

Lightning let go of me, and rushed towards the bioweapon, striking angrily until it was smoldering at her feet.

"Thanks." I said.

Lightning nodded.

We headed towards the bridge, a mass of bodies and sparking bioweapons behind us.

"Okay. Let's get Snow on the line." Fang said, sitting down and withdrawing her communicator.

She pushed a button, and a loud whistling noise sounded from the device.

"Still jammed?" I asked.

Fang nodded. "He can take care of himself."

"We'll just have to believe that." Lightning said.

"Hey, Fang?" She asked after a moment. "The others are safe, right? If any of us got caught, they'd make an announcement."

I nodded. "They would. PSICOM would want to let everyone know right away that they're doing their job."

"These Cocoon people," Fang said, "bunch of cowards and blowhards."

I glared at her.

"'These Cocoon people' have spent centuries under fal'Cie law, in constant fear of a Pulse invasion." Lightning said, crossing her arms. "If it weren't for Serah, I'd have been out there too. Hunting l'Cie."

"So would I." I said. "I'm so glad that things turned out this way." I said sarcastically. Fang chuckled.

"Would have been nothing but targets to me." Lightning continued.

I nodded. "This is the kind of thing we train for, Light." I told her. "Exactly this kind of thing." I sat down next to Fang. "We'd be hunting you, Fang."

She shrugged.

"Well, Gran Pulse is just as twisted." Fang said. "'Cocoon's a floating nest of vipers, ready to strike.' Or so I thought."

"We aren't all bad." I said.

"So you became a l'Cie to fight the 'vipers.'" Lightning said. "And destroying the nest is your-"

I knew what she was getting at. It made sense that Fang's Focus was to destroy Cocoon.

"I mean our Focus now." Lightning finished.

"Until we woke up here, we'd been in crystal stasis." Fang said, walking up to her. "Which means, we must have completed our first Focus."

Then she groaned.

"Why can't I remember that part?" She said angrily. "My childhood's clear as day. But the one thing I need – it's just gone."

"You can't remember anything?" I asked, disappointed. Any information about her Focus might be useful.

Fang shook her head.

"Blank. Like an empty page." She said. "I reach for the memory, and nothing's there." She turned to us. "Then there's my brand. It's all messed up." She swatted at it absentmindedly. "Vanille and me, we lost our past and our Focus."

"And now, you want to find them?" Lightning asked. "Be a Pulse l'Cie?"

"An enemy of Cocoon." I murmured.

Fang hesitated.

"Pulse and Cocoon can rot for all I care." She said suddenly. "If I don't figure out our Focus soon Vanille's gonna be a Cie'th."

I couldn't help but pity her.

"I'll tear down the sky it it'll save her."

We fell silent.

"Let's keep moving." I said.

We followed the streets and alleyways for a while, taking down any resistance.

"So what's the deal with you and her?" Fang asked quietly after another battle.

I blushed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I can see what's going on." She said. "The way you two move in battle... it's like... dancing."

"I can't dance." I said through clenched teeth. Her description didn't make me feel better. I had noticed the way we worked in battle together, how effortless it was to fight alongside each other.

"Sure, sure." She said, but she was still smirking.

I rolled my eyes, and exhaled.

"Just walk." I said, indicating for her to follow Lightning, who was leading us.

Fang chuckled.

"All right, but remember, I see the way you look at her... and the way she looks at you.

I stopped.

Fang started walking away.

"Wait-what?" I called after her.

"It's obvious that she cares about you." Fang said exasperatedly. "She's constantly watching you in battle, just like you watch her... you're guarding each other."

"Light can handle herself." I said.

Fang chuckled.

"Doesn't stop you from checking on her all the time."

"'All the time-' We just met." I said, aggravated, though I knew it was all true. Fang was definitely quick on the uptake.

"

"Hey Lightning." Fang said suddenly.

"Call me Light." Lightning said.

"Did you see Vanille's brand?"

"No." Lightning said.

"I did." I muttered sheepishly. I remembered where Vanille's brand was.

"What did it look like?"

I thought back.

"Like mine?" I asked.

Fang sighed.

"Want to know how long until Cie'th city? Just look at your brand." Fang said. "You start getting more arrows, and then finally an eye."

Lightning turned away from us and unzipped her top.

I swallowed.

"Once it opens all the way, you're done." Fang finished. "Let's have a look."

She forced Lightning to turn to her, and examined her chest. "Don't be shy."

I tried not to think about what Fang was seeing right now, but I couldn't help myself.

"Calm down, James." Fang said, winking at me.

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as Lightning turned her head towards me, her own face going red as she gave me a small smile.

"Nowhere near." Fang concluded. "You've got time. Still you never know."

Lightning zipped up her shirt, and my heart slowed.

"I'll assume that mine would look the same as hers, seeing as we became l'Cie at the same time." I said.

Fang shrugged.

"Some people, doesn't take so long." She said. "You get a nasty shock, it can speed up the process."

I quickly pulled the side of my top down, exposing my shoulder, and strained to look at my own brand.

It was covered in arrows.

"Hmm." Fang mused as she looked at it. "It's a little further along than Light's is." She said.

"What?" I gasped.

"Something traumatic happen?" Fang asked.

Then it hit me. I hadn't thought about it too much, learning long ago that dwelling on things I couldn't change never helped, but Aiden's death would count as a shock.

"It's okay. You've got a while before you change."

"I feel much better now, thanks." I said darkly.

"Vanille's brand must be pretty far along by now." Fang said. "I've got to save her and get her home."

"To Pulse, you mean?" I asked.

"To Gran Pulse." Fang corrected. "I hear that the Sanctum prevents people from leaving Cocoon."

"All these people hear about Pulse are how dangerous it is." I said. "Nobody in their right mind would willingly go there, allowed to or not."

"I'd like to see 'em try and stop me." Fang said.

It was an odd scene. Lightning and Fang both had their backs to each other, with me in the center.

"So, that's your plan?" Lightning asked. "I wish I had one."

She walked away from me.

"Without Serah, without a future, there's nothing to plan for." She said. "There's no way out of this mess, and no way to fight it."

She sounded so depressed, so doubtful, that I couldn't stop myself.

I strode up to her and took hold of her arm, spinning her around so she was facing me.

"That's not true!" I said, looking into her ice-blue eyes. "Snow said that Serah would change back, and the only thing, the only thing, that's stopping us from having a future is this!" I touched her chest, where her brand was. "And we can get rid of it."

"How?" She asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no answer would come. I let go of her arm, and it dropped to her side.

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet." I admitted, looking at my feet. "But I'll find a way."

"Listen to yourself, James!" She retorted. "We're stuck trading blows with the Sanctum, but that's no plan!"

"What else can we do?" I asked.

"Even if we topple the government, where's that leave us? With nothing to fight for?" She shook her head. "I might as well be dead."

"Your sister." Fang said, speaking up. "You've got plenty to fight for. Think about it."

I nodded as she joined my side.

"Don't you wanna see Serah, after she wakes up?" Fang asked. "That's your future right there. All you've gotta do is survive. It's simple."

"Easier said than done, Fang." I said. "The entire military's gunning for us. So, unless you've got some sort of 'anti-Sanctum' weapon hidden under that robe of yours..."

"What's under my robe is none of your business." Fang said, smirking.

"It is if you've got a weapon." I retorted.

"Then you're out of luck."

"Tell me something I don't know." I said sarcastically.

At that moment, three PSICOM soldiers flew above us, speeding towards one of the buildings ahead of us.

The three of us exchanged a wary glance.

"Snow." Lightning said.

"They found 'em!" Fang cried.

The rooftop exploded in a giant cloud.

"Oh no." I said, running towards the building, Lightning and Fang close behind me.

SNOW

I woke with a start, pain roaring in every limb.

I sat up and looked around.

I was in an alley. Overturned boxes littered the small corridor. I turned around, and saw Hope, lying on his side, unconscious.

I crawled towards him, willing my aching body to move, praying that he was okay.

My breath came in ragged, shallow pants, but I muttered the boy's name, shaking him.

"Hey, Hope!" I cried when he didn't respond.

Hope let out a moan, and he turned onto his back, but his eyes remained shut. At least he was alive.

I looked up to see an enormous PSICOM ship cruise above us. We needed to get out of here.

I pulled Hope onto my back, ignoring the pain, but it was too much, and I staggered, clutching my stomach.

I inhaled great lungfuls of air, and slowly stood, my back arched under Hope's dead weight, when I saw it.

Lightning's knife. The knife Hope had pulled on me just a few minutes ago. Lightning must have given it to him.

I picked it up. Lightning trusted Hope with this knife, and I wasn't about to leave it there, so I placed it in my pocket and began to walk.

JAMES

Felix heights wasn't far from where we were, and it had only taken several minutes to reach the district.

Fang, Lightning and I entered one of the buildings, and ran up the stairs. We encountered several soldiers, probably investigating the blast.

"They're everywhere!" I hissed to Light, and she smiled grimly.

"Then let's thin out the crowd." Fang said, shoving past me and hurling herself into the group of soldiers.

I drew my blades and followed suit, slashing wildly, blood spurting onto walls as my blades cut into flesh.

I moved my torso to the side as one of the soldiers tried to hit me with the butt of his rifle, and evaded the blow, spinning around and swinging my blades in an arc, effectively cutting the soldier in half. I didn't stop to admire my handiwork, though.

I took a quick at Lightning, but she was dispatching two soldiers with ease, slicing into one, then flipping over the other and firing with her gunblade.

A bioweapon appeared, and I reacted instantly.

"Light!" I called, and she appeared beside me.

We ran together, then split as we neared the bioweapon, our blades cutting into its torso, splitting it in half.

It crashed to the floor with a loud bang.

We hurried past the fallen bodies of our enemies, running flat out. If Snow or Hope was hurt... or had Hope finally competed his mission? Had Operation Nora been a success?

SNOW

I climbed upwards, each rung a challenge. Hope was dangling over my shoulder, barely supported, and the pain was beginning to overwhelm me, but I had to keep going.

I puled myself up onto the rooftop, gripping the railing for support, then I collapsed.

Hope fell from my shoulder, and he tumbled onto the ground a meter away from me. I lay there, panting, but Hope needed me.

I pulled myself up and crawled to his still form, pulling onto my back, again bearing his weight with my injured body.

A series of bangs echoed in my ears.

"That must be Light." I said to myself. She wasn't far.

The sound penetrated Hope's mind, and he lifted his head groggily.

"Hey." I said, smiling weakly.

Hope propped himself upright on my shoulders.

"Why'd you save me?" He asked after a moment.

I sighed.

"I was asked to keep you safe." I said. "By Lightning." I remembered Nora Estheim's final words. "And by Nora." I hung my head.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly, but I knew it wasn't enough. I had deprived this boy of the one comfort he had. It was my fault he was here in the first place, fighting for his life. "What happened – it was my fault. I put her in danger."

I replayed the events in my head. How could I ever make it up to him? Was it even possible?

"I know that." I said. "Let me make things right."

"You told me before that you couldn't." Hope said, his voice even.

"And that words were useless, and a lot of other things I shouldn't have said." I said. "Look, I didn't know what to do, didn't know how to set things straight. So I didn't."

I had to explain these things to him, why I had never faced them before.

"I thought if I couldn't make up for it, then all the apologies in the world wouldn't mean a thing." I told him. "So I decided I had to find a way to pay for it first, before I'd even have the right to say sorry. But, it's like you said. I was using that as an excuse, so I could run from my own guilt."

I stood, grunting with the effort.

"That hit home." I continued. "Look, Hope. I know what happened was my fault. I don't deny it, and I am sorry."

I handed him Lightning's knife.

"Here." I said as he took it. "That's Light's, isn't it?"

"I... Why'd you-?" Hope began.

"That knife was a present from Serah." I said, stumbling forward. "To keep her safe. She trusted you with something that important? You should be the one to carry it."

I carried Hope down a flight of stairs.

"I'll find a way to make things better." I promised him. "Just give me time."

We came out to a large, circular area, open to the evening sky. The sun was setting, and the patterned ground was cast in an orange light.

"If nothing I do is good enough, then I'll take any punishment you want to dish out."

I carried him to the center of the circle.

"She's gone, Snow." Hope said finally. "You can take the blame... but it won't bring her back."

I closed my eyes, the truth of his words cutting deeper than any wound.

"I'm sorry." I repeated.

"I knew it all along." Hope said. "I knew it, but-" He paused, trying to find the words. "I had to blame someone. I had to."

Hope slid the blade closed, and clenched it tightly.

"I needed a reason to keep of fighting."

"It wasn't someone's fault. It was mine." I said through clenched teeth. "Take it out on me. And keep yourself alive until you do."

I started forward, but I couldn't move my legs properly, and I stumbled, dropping Hope and falling to the ground.

I struggled, trying to get up. "I have to keep going." I said to myself, but my strength was nearly gone. I grabbed hold of the pillar in front of me, and pulled myself up, leaning against it.

"Look at that." I said cheerfully, looking at Hope. "You don't even need any help."

He was standing on his own now.

"You're all right. That's good to see." I tried to keep my breathing even. "Just let me catch my breath." I said.

Then my eyes went wide.

The Subjugator flew towards us, it's battered frame glinting in the fading light.

"Hope!" I cried as the Subjugator landed in front of us.

I had to protect Hope, and I stepped in front of him.

"Get back! I got this one." I said, but the Subjugator swiped at me with its huge forearm, and I crashed into the wall, my eyes closing as I slipped into unconsciousness.

JAMES

We ran onto the rooftop, only to gasp at what we saw.

Hope was standing, alone, as an enormous bioweapon reared down on him. Snow was lying unconscious, clearly beaten.

I ran to stand beside Hope, joined by Fang and Lightning.

"You okay?" I asked, drawing my blades. I recognized the bioweapon. It was an Ushumgal Subjugator, and I had only ever seen it in action once. Never had I thought I would be facing one as an enemy.

"I'm fine!" Hope replied.

"Snow?" Lightning asked.

"He's okay."

"I've seen one of these before." I said.

"What are it's weak points?" Lightning asked, skilfully dodging one of the Subjugator's flailing limbs.

"It doesn't have any!" I shouted as a beam of energy was shot at me, leaving a smoking mark inches from my left foot.

I ran in, parallel to Fang, and struck at it with my blades, leaving several shallow dents in its armor, and leaping backwards as another energy beam shot at me.

I used magic, launching a bolt of electricity at the Subjugator's head, but it barely had any effect.

We weren't doing anything to it. Our attacks were useless against something as big as this, but still we battled.

Snow was down for the count, Hope was launching relentless attacks at the the Subjugator. Lightning and Fang unleashed their fury on the airborne bioweapon.

The rooftop shook under the machine's heavy blows as we dodged and evaded.

I knew we wouldn't last much longer. Not against this.

It was at that moment that Lighting was hit, a massive limb sweeping her off her feet.

"Lightning!" I roared, ignoring Fang's protests as I rushed to Lightning's side.

"Hope! Heal her!" I cried, but Hope was too busy fending off the Subjugator to pay any attention to Lightning.

I lifted Lightning's torso, cradling her in my arms.

"Light?" I called, brushing hair from her face. The battle was all but forgotten. It didn't matter what happened, if Lightning died, it was over. I had faced this before, and I knew I couldn't go through it again.

"James?"

Lightning's eyes opened slowly, and her lips curled upwards in a weak smile as she saw me.

Then she cringed, her face contorting with pain, and she clutched at her leg.

I looked down to see a long cut running along her thigh.

"Damn." She whispered.

"It's gonna be fine, Light." I reassured her, smiling at her. "You're gonna be fine."

"Here."

Hope appeared at my side, and a wave of magic washed over Lightning. The cut healed, and I pulled her to her feet.

But instead of leaping into action with a determined expression, Lightning's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.

"Oh no." She said quietly.

I turned.

Two more Subjugator's joined the first, surrounding the rooftop.

I gasped. We couldn't defeat three of them. That was it. We would die here, on this rooftop. Snow and Hope, Fang and Me... Lightning.

A wave of emotion coursed through me, and I turned to face the woman I knew I loved.

"Run." Was all I said.

Lightning gave me confused look.

"What?" She asked, nonplussed.

It was the only thing I could think of, and I'll be damned if I was going to let her die, not now.

"I'll hold them off. You grab Snow and get out of here!" I commanded her forcefully. I couldn't let her die, not while I could do something about it.

"No way!" She shouted. "You're not sacrificing yourself!" She shook her head wildly.

My eyes bored into hers, dark brown meeting ice-blue, and I willed her to understand. She had to understand.

Bullets and energy beams rained down on us, and I turned.

The Subjugator's were grouping together, charging for another attack. Fang and Hope were trying to keep them at bay, but they couldn't last any longer.

The lull in the battle provided me with the time I needed.

"Go." I urged, facing Lightning. "If I don't do this, we'll all die."

She stared at me, her face going through a series of different emotions.

"You can't leave me." She whispered finally, a single tear appearing at the corner of her eye and beginning to slide down her cheek.

I smiled softly, and reached out, wiping the tear away with my thumb.

It was in this moment, as I faced my end, that everything became perfectly clear.

"Lightning." I whispered her name, and my head inched towards her.

She didn't pull away. Instead, her face arched upwards in silent consent.

Finally, passionately, our lips met, melting around each other like a fire, moving in perfect synchrony.

I reveled in the taste of her. My arms curled around her body protectively, possessively, lovingly. Her back arched as I pulled her tighter, our bodies crushed against each other in our embrace.

It was a moment I had dreamed about, a moment I had longed for, a moment I knew she wanted as much as I did.

A moment that ended too soon.

I pulled away, her lips following mine momentarily.

"James..." She whispered.

"Are you two just going to stand there?" Fang called exasperatedly. "Maybe you hadn't noticed, but we are under attack!"

I ignored her. This was the last time I would see Lightning.

I brushed my hand along her cheek, and my forehead leaned against hers.

I took one last look at her mesmerizing face, then pushed her away.

"Now GO!" I shouted.

She inhaled, steeling herself, then she rushed over to Snow's unconscious figure.

"About time-" Fang began, but Lightning interrupted her.

"Fang! Hope! Give me a hand!" She shouted.

Fang turned, horror-struck.

"But what about-?"

I placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Leave it to me." I said.

She nodded, her practical mind realizing the hopelessness of our situation, and she didn't argue. Instead, she turned and pulled Snow over her shoulder. L'Cie strength counted for something, at least.

The Subjugator's were rearing for another attack, and I dodged out of the way as the massive energy beam finished charging and collided with the side of the building.

I turned as my companions disappeared into the stairwell. Lightning was last. She stopped, one hand on the arch, and looked back at me.

I gave her a quick grin.

Then she was gone.

I turned, sinking into a half-crouch, my blades held ready.

"Let's end this." I growled, my teeth bared in a feral snarl.

The Subjugator's began to charge their power again, and I charged mine.

"Amra." I said.

The lion appeared, roaring wildly, and I leaped onto his back.

"This is it." I said, patting the lion's mane, and Amra surged forward.

The lion collided with the Subjugator on the left, and ripped it to shreds, the armor splitting like butter under Amra's claws. The wings were severed from its body, and the Subjugator fell to the ground below, Amra jumping lightly back onto the rooftop.

But I could already feel the power fading. The Eidolons could only be summoned for so long, and Amra didn't have much time left.

I commanded the lion to attack, and it jumped at the other Subjugator, but before it could hit its mark, the Subjugator let loose with a powerful beam of energy that collided with Amra, and it was propelled back onto the rooftop.

I was knocked off the lion's back, and I hit the wall. I got to my feet instantly, but Amra had disappeared. I was alone.

There were still two Subjugator's left, and I ran forward, releasing a mighty war-cry.

I came to the very edge of the building and jumped, sailing through the air, my blades pointed outwards, straight at the Subjugator.

The blades found their destination, and impaled into the Subjugator's head. Sparks flew, and the Subjugator spiraled out of control.

I held on for dear life, but I was thrown off, unable to retain my grip in the mad frenzy of the Subjugator, my blades still trapped in the Subjugator's head.

I fell, wind whipping into my face. The rooftop stretched away from me as I plummeted to the ground.

I hit the ground.

Hard.

But I was alive.

Pain wracked my body, and I groaned weakly. Every muscle screamed in agony. My blades were gone. Soldier's Edge was gone.

I looked up, my vision blurred, but I could clearly see the remaining Subjugator far above me.

A light appeared, growing brighter, originating from the bioweapon.

It was charging its power.

I was too weak to move, my strength was gone.

Lightning had escaped with the others. She was safe. For now. I had bought her that extra time. That was all I could give.

The beam of energy ripped away from the Subjugator.

I saw it hurtle towards me, felt the searing heat envelop my body. Oblivion would take me, and I welcomed its release.

The light was pure agony, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

I didn't open them.

Lightning...