Lightning gasped as her eyes snapped open.
Her chest quickly rose and fell with each rapid breath she took and her pulse was racing. The room was dark with the only sources of light being the milky glow of the moon that poured in through the window and the small red digits from an alarm clock near the bed. She didn't even have to read the numbers to know that it was still the middle of the night. That's how it always was with her visions. She had yet to experience the problem with having them come to her in the day as Hope had, but they frequently haunted her when she went to sleep, sometimes even coming two or three times a night since her brand had been progressing. Just as she released a slow, shaky breath, she felt something warm slide across her body, over her side and below her arm, before feeling something even bigger and warmer press against her back.
An inadvertent smile threatened to stretch Lightning's lips.
Fang.
The visions had made her temporarily forget that she had fallen asleep wrapped in the girl's arms with her face buried in the girl's chest. At some point in the night she must've rolled over and separated herself from Fang, but strangely enough, here she was. Right back in her arms when she felt like she needed it the most.
Lightning allowed her smile to spread across her face as she closed her eyes and snuggled a bit back into Fang's body, placing her arm over Fang's to hold it closer against her. In response, she heard a light grunt and felt Fang's nose nuzzling into the back of her neck while the thumb of her pinned hand idly rubbed up and down a tiny section of Light's lower belly and a thigh lifted to hook over Light's legs. It was another full body embrace.
Lightning softly shook her head at how Fang had described Vanille's sleeping habits earlier that evening when she turned out to be such a contact sleeper herself, even though she wouldn't go as far as comparing her to a world champion wrestler. Fang's sleep-movements seemed to be more amorous. Cuddling. Rubbing. Nuzzling. And very reactive to others' movement. Which made Light wonder…
Not really expecting much, Lightning intertwined her fingers with those of the sleeping Fang's pinned hand and slowly moved it up to rub against the length of her stomach. Even though Fang was asleep, Light's body still warmed at the sensual touch. It didn't help that the Gran Pulsian's thumb continued to idly rubbing against Lightning's upper stomach, grazing the underside of Lightning's breasts through her shirt as it moved back and forth against her body.
It was so wrong. Lightning knew. But with each gentle graze, Light felt a small tingle between her thighs. She clenched her legs and scooted further back into Fang, snuggling her butt more against Fang's hips.
Now that triggered something.
Fang let out a soft, throaty moan and began to shift behind her. She pressed herself more into Lightning's back and slowly began to grind her hips against Light's ass, all the while nuzzling further into Light's neck.
Lightning could feel a strange heat unfurling in the bottom of her stomach. There was something about being in so much contact with Fang… feeling her warmth at her back and her steady breaths against her neck, all mixed in with her hips rhythmically grinding against her like that. It was all beginning to make Lightning's pulse quicken for a much different reason than it had before and more than anything, she was beginning to wish that Fang wasn't such a heavy sleeper.
Suddenly Light's breathing hitched.
Fang's idly rubbing thumb had unexpectedly lifted over her breast to roughly run back and forth over her nipple through her clothes. She could feel the small bud hardening with each teasing rub and the heat between her legs was steadily rising to unbearable levels. Lightning clenched even more and bit her lip. She tightened the intertwined grip she had around Fang's fingers and rolled her hips so that her butt was tightly rubbing more against Fang's grinding pelvis.
Fang's arm tightened around Light. The thigh that was wrapped around Light's legs simultaneously pulled her lower body in, bringing Lightning's rear and Fang's rhythmically moving hips agonizingly close. Lightning felt as if she was on the brink of exploding. She wrestled her free hand from under her side and slid it between her own legs. Her fingers nimbly unbuttoned and unzipped her pants and mindlessly began rubbing her entrance through wet panties. It was all too much. The caressing of her breast. The grinding of their hips. Fang's body tightly pressed against her own. The soft lips running warm, tender kisses down the back of her neck.
Light's eyes shot open.
Another kiss was gently placed on her neck, this time accompanied by the soft, wet flick of a tongue.
Fang was awake.
Despite their tight embrace, Lightning swiftly rolled over to meet intense green eyes, giving her a smoldering stare that rattled her to the core. In the very next moment a hand was tangled in her hair, gripping the back of Light's head and pulling her in as her and Fang's lips fervently sucked and pulled at each other in a mess of breathy, heated kisses.
Lightning's back arched and she softly moaned as Fang's tongue parted her lips to deepen the kiss. The Gran Pulsian's curious hands moved down to cup the ass that had previously been tantalizing her with its rhythmic motions and gave it a hard squeeze. Lightning inadvertently gasped, opening her mouth wider and giving Fang's tongue more entry to explore.
Fang's tongue was quite the curious pioneer. It raided Lightning's mouth, stroking all of its dark hidden places while her lips continued to expertly work outside. It then moved to playfully flick and tease at Lightning, coaxing her tongue to battle with it for dominance.
There was a light nibble on Light's lower lip before Fang pulled away to roll on top of her, sitting back on her haunches as she straddled her. Her fingers toyed with the bottom hem of Light's shirt, her eyes fixed on the garment before flitting up to make contact with Light's. Her chest was excitedly pumping up and down and that heated spark was still in her eyes as she rubbed the bottom of Lightning's shirt between her pointer finger and thumb. She was asking for consent. For permission.
Lightning hurriedly nodded her head up and down, willing to give Fang anything she wanted right about now. In turn, both of Fang's hands dipped under Lightning's shirt to splay her palms over the Cocoonian's taut stomach. She leaned forward to press gentle, encouraging kisses across Light's forehead, cheek, neck, and finally her lips as her hands slowly moved upwards over her belly, dragging up Lightning's shirt with them. Fang lifted from Lightning to pull the shirt over her head before carelessly tossing it over the side of the mattress. She leaned back once more to now look down and study the top of the already undone pants that were loosely situated around Light's hips. She quirked an eyebrow as she looked back to Light again, an amused expression on her face. Light could almost hear Fang's voice in her ear, teasing, "Just couldn't wait for me, could ya?"
Lightning rolled her eyes and even more violently rolled her hips, signaling for Fang to just pull her damn pants off already. Fang tried to subdue a grin and did as she was silently told, but the grin broke loose and widened even more when she pulled the pants far enough down Lightning's thighs to see the big wet spot in her panties. Her eyes lifted to Light, still holding that devilish smile, before returning down between her legs and placing a soft kiss on the wet fabric. Lightning's whole body quivered.
The pants quickly took the same path as the shirt and Fang was sliding herself back up Lightning's body, her hands traveling up the pinkette's sides as she moved upwards. Her hands squeezed between Light's back and mattress to feel for the clasp of Lightning's bra while her lips began placing kisses, mixed with a few nibbles, along Light's collar bone.
Within seconds, the bra was soon flying over the side of bed and Lightning could feel her hardened nipples lightly scraping against the fabric of Fang's shirt. Fang slightly lifted to place one last kiss at the base of Lightning's neck before leaning back once again to survey the new expanse of bared Light skin… and from the expression on her face, she seemed impressed.
Her eyes hungrily ran up and down Light's body while the side of her lips slightly tilted up in a pleased half-smile. Lightning could feel her cheeks warming under the awed gaze, grateful that it was dark enough for Fang not to notice she was blushing.
Fang licked her lips and once again placed her palms against Light's stomach. She slowly, sensually rubbed her hands up Light body until they were cradling the undersides of her breasts, gently massaging the plump, round skin. Lightning let out a soft sigh and sucked on her bottom lips as Fang's hands continued to move upwards to get a better feel of the two mounds. The Gran Pulsian paused momentarily as her thumb traced over the skin atop one of Lightning's boobs.
Lightning looked up.
Fang had finally noticed her brand.
She was staring down at it, her eyebrows knit as her thumb still traced over it. Her green eyes were solemn when they looked up to meet Light's. Lightning couldn't tell what she was thinking, but to assure her that everything was alright—to remind her that they were both in this together—Lightning reached up her hand to slide along Fang's arm, not stopping until her own thumb was rubbing the brand on Fang's shoulder.
Fang's face lightened a bit as she realized what Lightning was wordlessly trying to tell her. Although her expression still looked sad, she softly smiled and leaned down to capture Lightning's lips in a passionate kiss. Light sighed into Fang's lips. She was beginning to appreciate more and more how well Fang was able to use her mouth… and she would much sooner appreciate it even more.
Fang's lips pulled away from Light's but before the pinkette could be given any time to pout, she felt something hot and wet encompass one of her breasts.
Gods…
Light breathlessly panted as Fang's coarse tongue circled her areola. Fang's tongue continued to twirl circles around Light's nipple, occasionally flicking at the tight bud until Lightning was softly humming in content, arching herself upwards to fill more of herself into Fang's mouth. She could feel the Gran Pulsian smiling against her skin; she had found something that Light liked and was definitely going to take advantage of it.
"Unnffff!" Light's humming drew out into a strained moan as Fang began sucking harder at the breast, alternating between vigorous flicking with her tongue and light pulling at the nipple with her teeth. Her other hand reached up to pinch the nipple of her other breast, sending a serious jolt of heat straight through Light's body. The girl twitched between her whimpering and moans as Fang worked one breast with her mouth while pinching and rolling the nipple of the other one with her hand.
"Fang…" Lightning harshly breathed, clawing at the back of Fang's shirt, trying to pull it up. She wanted more skin. More closeness. More heat. She wanted Fang's fucking shirt to disappear. Now.
Fang gave Lightning's nipple one last nip before rising up to pull off her shirt and bra in one smooth swoop. Lightning's breathing grew heavier as she greedily took in an eyeful of the beautiful girl on top of her.
Fang continued to undress even further, undoing her pants in order to crawl out of them while Lightning just continued to stare. She had to admit that she had fantasized, both on purpose and unintentionally, about what Fang looked like naked. It was hard not to since the girl wore nothing but formfitting clothes for their workouts and stripped down to her boy shorts and sports bra damn near every chance she got, but actually seeing Fang in her full glory was more wonderful than she could have imagined. It was as if she had only been able to appreciate small excerpts of Fang these past few months but now she was able to see how everything had come together to create a full masterpiece. The long, smooth legs that led to the voluptuous, forever swaying hips. The lean, tightly muscled stomach and the two, full, shapely breasts that were topped by perfectly erect nipples. Light couldn't help but wonder how she had concealed those bad boys so well under those sports bras.
Fang grinned when she caught Light staring and encouragingly grabbed the girl's hands to place them on her breasts, giving them a good squeeze before leaning back over to alternate the work she had been doing on Lightning's own chest. Lightning's body sang at all the contact. She even found more satisfaction in feeling the reverberations of Fang silently mewling as she suckled her breast from Lightning's kneading.
Soon Fang's lips had slipped away from Lightning's breast and were now dragging warm kisses down the front of her belly. Consequently, Lightning's hands had left Fang's breasts and, not knowing what else to do with them, she reached out to tangle them in Fang's hair. Fang continued to kiss and lick until she reached the upper edge of Lightning's panties. She once again looked up Light's body to meet her eyes. "Ready?" she whispered.
Lightning just nodded.
"Alright. Up."
Lightning slightly lifted her butt off the mattress to allow Fang to hook her thumbs beneath the fabric of her undergarments and slide them down her legs, leaving her fully naked. Light originally thought that this would've made her nervous, but it didn't at all. All she could feel was anticipation. She wanted Fang to see her. To touch her. To do whatever it was that she wanted with her.
"Wow…" she could hear Fang softly murmuring as she balled up Lightning's soaked panties and threw them off to the side, "You're so gorgeous..."
Lightning could feel herself beginning to blush again as Fang settled herself between her legs. She lifted both limbs up from behind the knees and spread them. Lightning's heart furiously pounded against her chest and that wasn't even the worst throbbing her body was experiencing right now. Fang leaned left to kiss the upper inside of Lightning's right thigh, causing the pinkette to violently shudder. That wicked grin appeared on Fang's face again. She took her time in slowly leaning to the opposite side to kiss the inside of her other thigh, so close to Lightning's dripping wet center and garnering the same reaction as she did before. Lightning felt as if she was being tortured. She couldn't help her body from slightly rolling, making gentle pelvic thrusts towards Fang. This was borderline becoming painful.
Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, she felt Fang's warm tongue run up the length of her lower lips. Her body almost spasmed.
"Easy, love," Fang said softly with a smile, leaning in to run a soft kiss up Lightning's center. "Ready for mor—"
"Yes," Lightning quickly answered, her voice teetering the line somewhere between a command and a moan.
Fang lightly chuckled before dipping her head in again. Another gentle kiss and a soft lick before her tongue was wiggling between her lips, parting its way through Lightning's wet folds to enter her.
"Unnmmmm," Lightning's back shot up from the mattress as Fang's tongue curled and wriggled inside her. The slippery muscle found its way back to Light's entrance, giving her little licks as it traveled up her slit to the swollen little bulb at the top. Lightning bucked at the contact, but Fang reached out to hold her down. Her tongue swirled little circles over her clit. Light's fingers had left Fang's scalp and were now digging into the mattress while her body uncontrollably quaked. A whole crescendo of different noises mixed with swear words spilled from her mouth and she was sure that she was bound to rip the sheets, especially when Fang began alternating between licking at her clit and darting her tongue in and out of her.
Lightning's legs began to tremble. This was it. She knew it. And Fang knew it too. She stopped dipping her tongue between Light's folds in order to give most of her attention to her clit, rhythmically sucking and licking at it until Lightning felt that her vision was going blurry. "Just let it go," she heard Fang whisper in a low, sultry voice. "Come on now." She couldn't tell if the girl was trying to be encouraging or trying to make a clever play on words.
Fang's tongue left Lightning's clit to once again run along her entrance. Her lips encompassed Lightning in a kiss, her tongue once again dipping inside her just as Fang's hand lifted to rub her thumb against Light's clit.
And that was all she wrote.
Lightning came with a loud, belabored moan. Her vision had gone dark, save for the bright circles that danced in front of her eyes. Her back felt suspended from the mattress. She could feel Fang's hand now gripping her ass just as she could still feel Fang's lips—Fang's tongue—on her. Maybe in her. It was all so overwhelming. She just knew that her body was thrumming and it wasn't until she had crashed back down to the bed, heavily panting, that she would slowly regain her senses.
Fang was still between her legs, licking and placing feathery kisses here and there. "Hey… Fang?"
"Hmm?"
"Come up here."
Fang paused and placed a final kiss on the inside of Light's thigh before crawling up the bed to reach Lightning's level. Before she could reach the pillows, Lightning had sat up to meet her halfway, immediately pushing their lips together in a kiss. Fang softly grunted in surprise and wrapped her arms around Light's back to bring their bodies closer, bare skin rubbing against bare skin. Lightning smiled through the kiss. She suckled and playfully tugged at Fang's lower lip, finding it interesting that she could taste herself in the Gran Pulsian's mouth. "Lay back," she quietly ordered, gently pushing down on one of Fang's shoulders.
Fang obediently did just that. Her eyes were glued to Lightning as she lowered herself backwards on the mattress, watching attentively as the other girl seductively leaned forward over her. Light's eyes traveled down Fang's amazing body, stopping at the boy shorts that she had yet to take off.
Those had to go.
She ran her hands below Fang's thighs and slowly brought them up to rub against Fang's ass until her fingers had slipped into the top of the shorts and were dragging them down. "Fang…" Lightning breathed, looking down at the patch of short, silky dark hair that was situated in between Fang's thighs. "I… I want to, but I'm not sure…"
"Here." Fang's hand reassuringly reached out to take Light's. She knew that Lightning was new to this whole being with another female thing, and she was more than willing to guide her through it all. "Start here."
Fang took two of Light's fingers and slowly brought them down between her legs. She circled the digits a bit at the entrance of her center, just enough to get them wet, before she gently pressed them inside.
Fang softly groaned as Light's fingers timidly slid into her. "Keep going?"
"Please," Fang slightly arched her hips upwards into Light's touch, "Keep going."
Lightning nodded and slowly began to delve deeper between Fang's slick walls. Fang softly mewled and slightly rotated her hips a bit to counteract Lightning's gentle in-and-out motions. After her first few strokes, Lightning began to pick up the pace, to Fang's delight. Soon she had gained much more confidence in her actions, allowing Fang's whimpers, moans, and changing facial expressions to dictate her fingers' movement.
Fang spastically jerked as Lightning curled her fingers upwards and Light couldn't help but smile at the amount of control she suddenly had over this girl.
"I—I'm getting close," Fang raggedly breathed, reaching down between her legs to rub circles over her clit while Lightning continued to thrust and curl her fingers.
"Nuh uh." Lightning moved Fang's hand away. "Let me."
"You're doing fine alread—FUCKIN' SHIT!" Fang hissed, her head flying backwards to dig into the mattress as Lightning's tongue firmly began drawing circles over Fang's swollen button. Fang's whole body broke out into a fit of shakes as she reached her climax.
Lightning gently pulled her fingers from between Fang's legs and scooted up to lay her head against Fang's heavy breathing chest. Fang smiled and wrapped her arms around her before placing a kiss on top of her head. "That was great," she said, running her fingers down Light's sweaty back. "You were great."
"Mmmm," Lightning lazily hummed in response. Her head was leaning against one of Fang's plump breasts as if it were a pillow while Fang's other breast sat, rhythmically rising and falling with each breath Fang took, in Lightning's face. Light could feel that heat uncoiling in her stomach again just watching it. It was so round. So perfect. She wanted her hands to be around it again. She wanted to be able to control Fang, make her squirm, whimper, and jerk, as she took that perfect nipple into her mouth. "Think of how good it'll really be when I start getting the hang of it."
"Hehe," Fang lightly chuckled, unaware as to how strongly her bouncing chest was affecting Lightning right now, "I guess we need to keep practicing then, don't we What—"
Fang's wrists had suddenly been stretched out and pinned over the top of her head. Lightning was sitting on top of her, straddling her, and looking down with a predatory look in her eyes.
"What're ya doing?" Fang breathed, her body beginning to heat up as well.
"Practicing," Lightning answered. And she dipped her down to do just that, starting with Fang's tantalizing breasts.
Early the next afternoon, Lightning emerged from her bedroom alone. A couple of hours ago, she had been briefly woken up by a kiss on the cheek accompanied by a soft whisper in her ear explaining how much shit would be flipped if Hope's dad knew they were in his house playing hanky-panky. She didn't think too much of it and she only had to walk down the hall before she caught sight of Fang again. The girl was alone in one of the dining rooms, standing in front of a mantle, thoughtfully examining the pictures that lined it. Lightning could faintly hear Hope conversing with his father in the neighboring living room. She guessed that Fang had wandered in here in order to give them some alone time.
Taking slow, quiet steps, Lightning moved to join Fang in front of the mantle. "Good morning," she said as she stopped to stand beside Fang. It only took one glance in Fang's direction for Lightning to notice that her eyes were set on one particular picture. It was the one in the middle of the mantle. In the photo was a young Hope, maybe around five years old, at the beach with his parents. It was one of those photos where each parent held onto one of their kid's hands and swung him up between their bodies as they walked. Lightning personally thought the picture was cliché, but Fang seemed to be totally divested in it.
"It's past noon," Fang replied with a light grin. She turned away from the pictures to lean down and give Lightning a kiss, slightly pulling away just enough so that their lips were no longer touching, "Not morning anymore."
"I wasn't wishing you a good morning," Lightning informed. She leaned up to close the distance and connect their lips once more. "I was letting you know I had a good morning. A very good morning."
"I had a good morning, too," Fang smiled, almost sheepishly. "So good I kinda wished it was already nighttime again."
Lightning smiled in return and looked towards the pictures on the mantle. "So what is it you're looking at over here?"
"Oh." Fang's head turned to face the mantle as well. "Just some old photos of Hope and his folks, I guess." Fang's features slightly dimmed as she looked back to that particular photo in the middle. "They look so happy in this picture, eh?" she asked softly. "I don't think I was much older than that when I lost my parents… Wonder what they'd have to say if they knew their daughter turned l'Cie."
"From my experience, they tend not to be too thrilled about it," Lightning replied. "Although I doubt your parents would've taken the whole drugs and handcuffs route."
"Hmph. I still can't believe he did that." Fang reached down to take hold of Lightning's cuffed wrist. "I asked Hope's dad if he had any tools we could use to probably get it off, but there isn't even a screwdriver in this house. Hope offered to try and blast it off ya, but thought better of it. If only we could go outside, then maybe we could find something to slice through it."
"Then why don't we?"
"Huh?" Fang's brows crinkled as if she was totally confused by Lightning's answer.
"Why don't we just go for a quick run out the house? I know it's breaking orders, but Palumpolum is way more crowded than Bodhum. It won't be as easy for us to get spotted in the streets, and they'll be much less people looking for you. Rygdea probably won't be back anytime soon anyway."
Fang still had a look of great unease on her face. "Who are you?" she finally asked in a disbelieving whisper.
Lightning rolled her eyes and took Fang's hands in her own. "C'mon. We should go before someone tries to stop us."
Just as Lightning had suspected, taking a trip outside seemed to have quite the positive effect on Fang. Fang was walking upright, a content expression on her face, with her arms swinging by her side. The sun was bright, the streets were crowded, and the only law enforcers they saw were a few lazy Guardian Corps officers who sat in parked vehicles on some street corners.
"This feels like a second date," Fang randomly stated as they walked, a somewhat smug grin on her face. "Do you think this is a second date? I think this is a second date."
"You really think that being on the run in a foreign city, walking the streets in search for a tool to cut a handcuff off with qualifies as a second date?" Lightning asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"On our first date, ya pushed me off a cliff. The very next day ya threatened to kill me," Fang said matter-of-factly. "So yeah, I think this scenario has perfect second date qualifications."
Lightning softly shook her head. "What even makes you think I'd be interested in a second date?"
"Oh!" Fang snorted, her smile widening, "Trust me. I know you're interested."
"Wow," Light sighed in mock disbelief. "Use a girl for her body once or six times one night and then everything you do with her becomes a date."
"You're funny," Fang said sardonically. "Wait, wait, wait. Let's stop here." Fang reached out to pull at Light's hand, bringing her back to a shop window that she had just walked passed.
Lightning retraced her steps to stand next to Fang in front of a weaponry store.
"Look at that… Isn't she beautiful?" Fang marveled, pointing to a hunting spear that was positioned against a wall at the back of a store.
"I thought we were here to find a way to cut this bracelet off."
"Hey, you have your weapon of choice with ya," Fang said, referring to the blade she had saved from the Farrons' house that lightly bumped Lightning's hip as she walked. She released Lightning's hand so that she could press her palms against the glass of the window, trying to get a better look inside. "And that pair of millerite clippers in there oughta do the trick for your bracelet. Sazh used to work miracles with one of those things at the garage. Only problem is we probably can't afford it… What's your stance on snatch-and-grab diversions?"
"No," Lightning firmly answered. She turned her head to stare across the street. There was a small crowd gathering in front of the window of a store directly across from them.
"I wonder if the owner likes to barter…"
Lightning continued to curiously eye the slowly growing crowd across the street. She wasn't so comfortable with being around something that was attracting so much attention. "Can we get the clippers or should we just get moving again?" she asked.
"I dunno. Do ya have anything of value on ya? If he's one of those old, squatty looking guys with a white van and a pornstache, maybe we can get away with trading our bras and panties for at least the clippers. I wouldn't mind going commando…"
Lightning took a step closer to the curb to get a better look at what was attracting everyone's attention across the street. Lightning would get her answer when a small family, who had previously been standing at the front of the crowd, moved from in front of the window to leave. The store was an electronics shop whose front display was stacked with different types of televisions. Each television was switched to the same channel, meaning that each television had a large banner at the top that blinked, "LOOSE FUGITIVE." It also meant that under each blinking banner was Fang's yearbook picture. Lightning slowly staggered back a few steps and blindly reached behind her to repeatedly tap Fang on the back.
"How about this? I go in and ask if I could hold the spear, just to get a good feel for it, yeah? And then, once it is in my hands and therefore mine, I threaten to wedge it so far up the owner's buttocks that—"
"Fang, don't panic but we need to get the hell out of here right now."
"Easy, I was just kiddin' around. Sort of," Fang tried to console, still leaning against the shop window.
Lightning continued to warily watch the crowd. A little kid who had just weaseled his way out from its center halted as he made eye contact with Lightning, then turned to look at Fang just as she had backed away from the window. Lightning shook her head, more so to herself than to the little boy, but it didn't matter. The boy's hand immediately lifted to point a finger at them, and quickly, the other heads in the crowd had turned to look their way as well.
"Fang. Let's go."
"But what about the clippers?"
"Fuck the clippers," Lightning curtly answered, wrenching at Fang's shoulder so that the girl spun around to face the mob across the street.
Fang had opened her mouth to protest but all the sound was quickly swallowed by a high-pitched meep as she noticed what was playing on the television screens behind the people. "Ohhhh, fuck. Run?"
"Run," Lightning agreed, and both girls simultaneously broke into a sprint down the street.
They could hear a loud chorus of shouting erupt from behind them, but it didn't seem as if any of the onlookers had followed. However, neither Fang nor Lightning was willing to slow down and find out. They just ran, in hopes of finding some new route that that they could turn down and get lost in.
"VAGABOND!"
From seemingly out of nowhere, a tiny, old woman pivoted from behind a parked car and swatted Fang in the stomach with her cane as she was running forward.
"Ooomph!" Fang stumbled forward her next few steps, almost tripping, as the woman took this as a chance to throw another swing into Fang's side with the cane.
"FILTH!"
The woman lifted the cane to bring down onto Fang's back again but was stopped by Lightning flicking up her blade to block it. The impact of the cane-blade collision rattled the old woman, making her wail and drop her walking stick to the sidewalk. Fang stood upright and quickly snatched the stick from the off the ground before reaching out a hand to tap the old woman on the shoulder. Fang looked to Lightning and flicked her head forward, signaling for them to keep moving as the woman let out a labored moan. Lightning nodded and once again shot off behind Fang down the street. "An old woman, Fang? What did you do to her?" she called as they weaved through a bunch of people on the street, some stopping to gawk at the familiar face that had suddenly flooded all of the media outlets.
"Gave her explosive diarrhea!" Fang called back over her shoulder.
Lightning smirked. "That's evil!"
"Aye, she looked gassy enough! I might've just helped her flow!"
They rounded another corner. They were a couple blocks away from leaving the downtown shopping area, meaning that they would be closer to Hope's home and the side streets that they had first walked up.
"Trouble ahead!" Fang called.
Lightning looked up to see a line of Guardian Corps members blocking the entire sidewalk and streets. Some were in crouching positions, weapons raised and eyes intent as the two girls rushed forward.
"Ready?" Fang called again.
"Always!" Lightning exclaimed in reply.
"Atta girl!"
A large glowing orb shot out ahead of them and into a GC vehicle. Many of the officers jumped to move out of the way while some stayed put, wanting to be the hero. Fang never slowed down or missed a step as she continued to run forward. With one hand, she shot another ruin spell off to the side to disperse the officers even more. With her other hand, which gripped the old woman's cane, she made a low swipe as she approached the officers who were too foolish to move out of her way. Bodies flew into the air as their legs were swept from under them. Meanwhile, Lightning covered her from behind by delivering a sharp kick or blow to the gut with the butt of her blade to any Guardian Corps officer who was brave enough to run up to them. The two girls were easily able to breeze through the barricade and get lost into the winding streets ahead.
"Hey! Where have you guys been? We've been worried for hours! Did you bring back food?" Snow asked as Lightning and Fang burst in through the front door of the Estheim house. "Whoa. You two don't look so happy."
"Had to take the scenic route home," Fang quickly explained.
"Turn on the television," Lightning ordered, striding straight into the living room and snatching the remote from Snow's hand before he had a chance to turn on the TV himself.
"Why? What happened?" Snow looked from Lightning to Fang. "Did shit hit the fan again?"
"Shit broke the fan," Fang stated, leaning over the top of the sofa with her eyes glued to the television screen.
When the television kicked on, the first picture to appear on the screen was the same one that had been flashing on the televisions in the shop window. Lightning clicked through the channels, but each station was displaying the same warning banner with Fang's picture underneath. It wasn't until she had flipped to the regular news station that a reporter appeared on the screen.
"And here we are now, live in the quiet seaside town of Bodhum, most known for its beaches and annual fireworks show," the reporter began, standing outside of what looked to be the teens' high school. "It was just days ago that PSICOM received a message that was traced back to the Pulsian reservation, threatening to attack the Sanctum. After further investigation, PSICOM intelligence discovered that the threat had indeed come from Pulsian l'Cie who had been hiding out on the Bodhum reservation in Cocoon."
"Threat?" Fang interjected. "We never sent a bloody threat!"
"Information on how a Pulse fal'Cie could have turned two Pulsians living on Cocoon into its l'Cie still hasn't been disclosed, but PSICOM warns everyone to keep an eye out for strange activities in the area. If you see the l'Cie, do not approach it—"
"I'm not an it!"
"—for it is very dangerous. Just call your local Guardian Corps chapter and disclose its location. There has not been any word from Primarch Dysley yet, but a rep from the Sanctum has released an official statement, 'We will not be intimidated by any Pulsian threats to our society. We have been nothing but good to our Pulsian visitors and cannot understand why they would wish to break our treaty. The l'Cie will not get far in its plot, but we need the people of Cocoon to rally behind the Sanctum for us to bring this l'Cie to justice as quickly as possible. There is nothing stronger than the spirit of true Cocoonians, and I do believe we will all get through these daunting times safely.' Up next, we will speak with a student who has had many close encounters with the loose Pulse l'Cie."
"What a crock of bullshit…" Fang mumbled.
"I thought that Rygdea said they wouldn't go public with this," Snow said, dumbfounded. "I thought he said they wouldn't risk the public going crazy."
"He also said he'd be back here in a jiff and we see how well that held up," Fang grumpily replied.
"It's going to get worse before it gets better," Lightning said, loosely pointing at the television screen. "Look who they're interviewing."
Everyone focused back on the screen as the reporter conversed back and forth with a lively Alyssa Zaidelle. "No, I don't think she's a big threat to society. I've never considered her as a threat period," Alyssa was explaining to the reporter, "If nothing else, all the PSICOM agents who've been breaking into houses and opening fire in residential neighborhoods should be considered the real threats—"
"Ya know, I kinda see Alyssa in a new light after she helped us get away from PSICOM," Fang said, tilting her head and thoughtfully staring at the screen. "She sometimes gets a bad rep, but I think she's a little misunderstood."
"—Yes, she is tacky, annoying, and souped up on all kinds of steroids, but a threat? No. But one thing I do know is that she broke the latch on my back door," Alyssa turned to intensely glare at the camera and walked forward so that her face filled the screen, "and if it doesn't get paid for before critterbug season begins, it's coming out of someone's ASS."
Lightning looked over her shoulder and lifted an eyebrow, holding back a smirk as she gave Fang an, 'as you were saying?' type look.
Fang's shoulders dropped and her brows creased. "Well, I never said she wasn't a bitch."
"It's amazing," Bartholomew Estheim softly spoke from the corner of the room, "the outroar that has been going on within just moments of l'Cie existence being publicized. My phone hasn't stopped buzzing… Everyone is terrified of you. Calling you a criminal and a threat… I'm ashamed to say that even I felt these things—about Pulsians—and I never fully understood why. But just standing in this room with you now, you don't seem so dangerous. None of you do."
"Heh… you thought we were homeless," Snow chuckled.
"It'll be the nicest misconception someone has of you for awhile, I'll tell you that," Bartholomew replied. "But I guess now would be a good time for us to discuss your plans for the future. You all can't hide in this house forever. What comes next?"
Snow looked to Fang, who just shrugged, before turning back to Bartholomew. "We're going to work with the Cavalry. We're going to help take down the Sanctum, and maybe get some brownie points in the public eye for it. We can show people that us being here doesn't have to start another war."
"You hope to get a positive image in the public eye while bringing down the government as Pulse l'Cie?" Bartholomew asked. "You can't possibly think that's a smart path to take. The Sanctum has made the first move by exposing you. Now anything you do against them, especially with a girl from Pulse at your side, will look like an affront against Cocoon."
"Well, Cocoon will just have to get over it," Lightning icily stated, still staring at the television.
Bartholomew shook his head. "I am sorry, you all. But I just don't see how this alliance between you can possibly work out for the better."
"But…" Snow trailed, "What else can we—"
"BREAKING UPDATE!"
Once again, everyone turned back to the television and almost simultaneously gasped. There was an aerial view of the Hope's house being displayed on the screen, totally surrounded by armored vans and PSICOM soldiers.
"The l'Cie whereabouts have been tracked and it is suspected that it is currently taking shelter in this Palumpolum—" ZIP!
The room went dark as all of the power in the house cut off. Lightning gripped the handle of her blade and slowly backed to the center of the living room, cautiously looking around as she did so. Gods, she wished so much that they had been able to get those clippers while they were downtown.
"Dad?" Hope called from near the sofas.
"Shhh, don't make a sound."
Glass shattered around them. Smoke flooded the room. Steps could be heard panging against the floor.
"Rahhhh!" THWACK!
Lightning could hear Fang whacking someone with her cane before she would come face to face with an intruder herself, but that fight wouldn't last long. A blinking red dot on his armour gave the soldier away, and Lightning went into extreme offense mode, running to the soldier before unleashing a variety of attacks on him. The room soon lit up with different spells that had been summoned by the other l'Cie as they strategically knocked out all of the soldiers who had broken in.
"Everyone alright?" Snow called, when it sounded as if all the scuffling had stopped.
"Get out the way!"
Lightning felt a hand grab her elbow and swing her behind a wall near a long, shattered window as a huge spotlight shone into the house. "There's a bit of an army out there," Fang said in a low voice, eyeing the corner of the wall near the window. "And I'm out of ideas."
"I think I have one." Snow crawled up from behind them, holding his trench coat in his hand. "It might seem a bit crazy, but it just might work."
Fang just turned to give Snow a wide-eyed stare. "Please don't get us killed."
"Don't worry. Here goes… DON'T SHOOT! I'M COCOONIAN! I'M COCOONIAN! DON'T SHOOT!"
Before Lightning or Fang could further protest, Snow had jumped from behind the wall and was standing in the window, his hands in the air with his coat still clenched in his fist, making his brand quite visible to the public.
"I'M COCOONIAN! PLEASE DON'T SHOOT!" he called out again as he surveyed the crowd in front of him. The whole front line was composed of soldiers with their weapons aimed directly at him. Further in the back he could see the floating lights of camera mechanisms, which meant that there was probably a great deal of news reporters on the scene as well. "You're here for the l'Cie, aren't you?!" he yelled.
"Snow, what are you doing?" he could hear Lightning hiss from behind the wall.
"Well, you found one! I'm a l'Cie!"
"Aww, shit…" Fang grumbled.
The wave of chattering filled the crowd as some of the soldiers made audible sounds of astonishment.
"Surprising, isn't it?" Snow asked. "Because I'm one of you! I was born and raised on Cocoon, but I was marked by a Pulse fal'Cie!"
"GRAN Pulse!" Fang barked.
"I'm no different than you! Or at least no different than any of your sons! I spent my whole life in Cocoon. I go to school and I watch the fireworks at Bodhum every year! I would NEVER do anything to hurt Cocoon! I'm a l'Cie but I'm just like you! Am I really a threat to society?!"
The murmuring amongst the crowd grew a bit louder. Snow could feel his heart nearly pounding out of his chest as he stood there, exposed, waiting for some type of answer.
"Snow Villiers, I presume," a voice coolly called out from the crowd.
Snow watched as a group of soldiers parted to make way for one man to step through. From the other side of the wall, Lightning growled. At this point, she could recognize Yaag Rosch's voice anywhere.
"I am so very sorry to hear of your misfortune, being marked as a Pulse l'Cie, and I do not blame you for any of the mess that you are in. You are so much like many sons of Cocoon, which puts in to focus how alarmingly easy it is for a Pulse fal'Cie to come in and take advantage of our unsuspecting youth."
"Wait… what?" Snow asked. "That's—that's not what I was saying!"
"You see, Mr. Villiers, I know that at one point you were a troubled Cocoonian citizen. Trespassing, disturbing the peace, underage consumption, public drunkenness, and fighting students from more prestigious educational institutions are just a few of the grievances on your record. And I am sorry that you slipped through the cracks, just as many other troubled youth do today, and ultimately felt that you had to turn to a Pulse fal'Cie as a last resort. But unfortunately, you stopped being a citizen of Cocoon the moment you got that brand on your arm.
"When you become a l'Cie, your life goes under the control of a fal'Cie. You may think that you still have your own free will, but you don't. The fal'Cie has the power to take the reigns whenever he pleases. So when you became a Pulse l'Cie, you at once became a threat to Cocoon. The very existence of you and your Pulsian friend puts each and every last citizen of Cocoon in danger. Now tell me, do you really think your lives are more important than the millions of other lives on Cocoon?"
Snow remained quiet, not knowing how to answer.
"That's what I thought," Rosch said. "So it is therefore up to me to order your execution. Men! Level the whole—"
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Rosch paused in mid-command as a number of small grenades rolled out from the crowd, between the feet of many of the soldiers on the front line.
"What's—"
WHOOSH!
The whole area filled with smoke. Screams, shouts, gunfire, and small explosions could be heard coming from middle of the dense fog.
"What's going on?" Fang asked, moving from around the wall to get a look at the action. "What the—"
"Fang!" Rygdea appeared in front of the window, standing in his full suit of armour with a large gun in one hand. He looked from Fang, to Snow, to Lightning, who had just stepped out from behind the wall. "Didn't I tell you to stay inside and not answer any knocks on the door?"