UNDER KINGSGLAIVE TRAINING.

CHAPTER 8

Forging Tempered Steel.

Primal subject: Lightning Farron

Age: 14

Height: 5.1 feet

Occupation: Youngest Crownsguard Trainee

ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo

Slash, crack, clang, slash.

Her sweat was getting on the way, forcing her to close her eyes, and the problem made her mad like hell.

Crack, slash, clang, slash, clang, swoosh, slam.

Lightning fell on her rump, hard upon the wooden floor of their training room.

"I think I got a point," Gladio smirked at her, but the pinkette only glared at him, and without losing a beat, she threw her blade towards him, her body disappearing in a blaze of purple fire, only to appear above the man´s head. But Gladiolus easily could see through her, and once she had reappeared again, he trapped both small wrists with his enormous palm. Lightning growled in frustration, and the man´s smirk widened, bringing the dangling body close to him so that her nose was inches from his.

"Hehe, you´re too slow to be called Lightning. We should call you 'turtle' instead."

But Lightning mimicked her smirk. "Oh yeah? Whatever you say, papa bear." She closed the gap and kissed him on the tip of his nose, making him blush hard, a distraction she used to kick his chest with both feet, forcing him back and to release her; she gave a summersault away from him, only to throw her dagger forward again before she hit the ground. She disappeared and re-appeared on top of him the moment he hit the wooden floor, and this time when he noticed it, her dagger was already close to his neck, threatening.

"I think I got a point." She smiled devilishly at him.

"That ain´t fair! I don´t think I ever taught you to be such mischief." The man complained.

"No. It was me the one who taught her." Ignis appeared at that moment and helped her stand up from the man while giving her a plate with an arrangement of fruits for her. "I´ve told you many times you´ve got to eat some fruit."

Lightning rolled her eyes and took the plate. "Yes, mom."

Ignis´s eyebrow rose. "I believe you´ve been spending too much time with Gladiolus and Prompto. You had never called me like that before."

Gladio chuckled, still sitting on the floor. "You can´t deny it suits you, Iggy."

The blonde glared at the fallen man, but Gladio only chuckled even more.

"I came here for something else too, Light. It´s past the time."

Lightning sighed. "Do we really have to?"

"You know it´s important to know every aspect of the Cosmogony, in a week we´ll be marching towards the next Astral, and Lunafreya might need you as her Shield. You can´t fail."

A delicate eyebrow rose. "I was under the impression she was going to wait for me to be 16-years-old before she called me her Shield."

Gladiolus chuckled again at their exchange. Even though the girl was under his, Prompto´s and Noctis´s training, it had become evident how she was taking the mannerism and language style from Lunafreya and Ignis. All proper and collected. Little was left of the pre-teen they had taken from fighting on the streets, according to Lunafreya.

"You are right, she did say as such. But I said 'might', which means she has considered to give you the title before the appointed time."

She couldn´t help it. Lightning´s eyes sparkled in emotion. "Really? Did she really say that?"

"I´ll make sure she changes her mind, though, if you don´t complete your studying properly."

The teen growled and walked alongside her bespectacled mentor, knowing she had nothing else to discuss. "Okay… I´ll do it."

"Then let´s get going. I brought the book with me so that we can get to the task sooner. There´s a lot to study before we get to the mission." His statement made the pinkette growl louder, forcing a smile from the blond, who fixed his lenses over his nose, doing his best to hide his smile from her eyes.

Lightning enjoyed Ignis´s company, his calm and calculated attitude always made her feel in peace as if he could show her how to be in control in any kind of setting. She wished she could have those nerves of steel he always showed, no matter how dire the situation. But she was still an explosive teenager, still had a lot of road to travel in order to accomplish such feat. She sighed again and followed the man, understanding that spending more time with him would surely help her desire.

She walked with him towards the exit, but at that moment Prompto made his appearance, blocking their path and making a dangerous vein pop on Ignis´s head.

"Now what, Prompto?"

"You can´t take Light to study, now, Iggy."

"And what would be the reason?"

"Because… it´s dinner time! And she, as a teenager in a spurt, needs her important source of energy."

Seeing Ignis´s temper was peaking, Lightning gave a step forward, trying to appease the chirpy blonde.

"It´s okay, Prompto, I´m not hungry at all." Unfortunately for her, her stomach denied her words, as it made a growling and gurgling sound so evident that made the teen blush.

"See? I tell you! She´ll die out of starvation if you take her now!"

"Okay, spit it out already, Prompto. Your behavior is all too suspicious." It was Gladiolus the one to speak, as he approached the group, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes full of distrust.

"M-me? My behavior is perfectly fine, thank you. It´s just that… that…"

Under both men´s scrutiny, soon Prompto was left speechless, and started to sweat bullets.

"Well?" Even Lightning was being suspicious about his behavior.

"Well… I…"

"Welcome to my Birthday Party!"

With a sudden outburst of sound, colors and tons of confetti, Serah made her appearance through the entrance door, startling everyone. The girl, wearing a multicolored dress and displaying the brightest smile they had ever seen, stood in front of the group, the men´s eyes bewildered by her appearance except for Lightning´s, who only covered her face with both hands in embarrassment. Ignis turned to look at the teen, who refused to look up at him.

"Is that true, Light? Is it her birthday?"

A moment of silence, and then. "Yes."

"Why didn´t you tell us?"

"Because my sister here" the small pinkette spoke in an accusatory tone, "is such a dumb, hard-headed and incredibly dumb baboon who always, always forgets my birthday even though I never forget hers!" Though the words were harsh, the tinge of playfulness embedded in them, made the elder sister feel even more guilty than before.

"I´m sorry… Serah…" Lightning still refused to meet the girl´s eyes (or anyone else´s for that matter), so the chirpy child ran to embrace her.

"It´s okay, Sis, I understand you´re very busy. But I just couldn´t let you get away with it."

Lightning finally looked down at the smaller pinkette, gratitude and care plastered on her face.

"Thank you, Serah, you´re the best sister I could ever have."

"Yeah, I know. So! Let the party start!"

"I adore the sound of that!" Prompto followed along the chirpy teen, helping her to push the rest to their festivities. At her prompting, the smaller blond turned on the iPod he had brought and the speakers they had sneakily settled on the room one day prior, (without anyone noticing) and turned up the volume at its tops, the music invading the place like a wave.

As usual, Serah and Prompto started dancing first, though this time Gladio followed suit, eager to please the younger pinkette. The moment the Royal couple arrived, attracted by all the commotion, Serah ran towards them and took Lunafreya and Noctis by the hand, dragging the couple to the improvised dancing floor. Luna laughed out loud, not caring about her own embarrassment, noticing her husband´s flushed and unwilling face, but all too happy and thankful at realizing that, in spite of his embarrassment, the Prince still let himself be forced into dancing without protest whatsoever.

Lightning laughed at them, knowing full well about the incredible shyness of the Prince, but for the love he had for his wife, he forced himself to dance, just to make her happy. The teen felt also delighted to see the happiness in Luna´s and Serah´s countenance.

The music was loud, the beating making their hearts be filled with joy when suddenly the first words of a specific song made Lightning´s ears prickle in recognition. She froze, allowing her mind to be lost on the memories the tune brought forth, if only for a moment. When she blinked to focus her attention, she noticed her sister had her face very close to hers, deep blue eyes locked with crystal clear ones, a tint of joy and mischief behind them.

"Yes, Sis, you guessed right. It´s your song. Which means you´ll have to dance it with me."

"Serah, I don´t think…"

The smaller pinkette pouted, not allowing her sibling to finish the sentence. "It´s my birthday, Sis. The first birthday we spend away from everything we know."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "It´s not the first birthday we…"

But Serah yelled before the elder pinkette finished the sentence. "You have to make it up to me! Please Light…" As if to reinforce her words, Serah extended both hands towards her sister, looking intently into the baby blue eyes.

Oooohhh the loathed puppy eyes…

Lightning knew she was defeated even before the battle had started. The tall pinkette sighed and took the smaller hands. Serah cheered gleefully, and without the need to exchange looks, and in front of bewildered eyes of their spectators, they both took their already practiced positions. What happened next was such an exhibition that, if it weren´t because they bared witness to their display, the Princess and the group of friends would´ve never believed it if someone had told them what transpired there.

Lightning, after a couple of seconds rocking side to side with the music, let the drums and the lyrics invade all her senses and her body became in sync with the beating of the speakers, and her actions drew energy from it, as her arms, head, feet, and hips moved in rhythm with the music, up and down, side to side, twisting and turning, and then they understood. Lightning was using her body to tell the tale of the song, to sing along with the music, using her movements to replace the lyrics of the song. With eyes closed as if she were asleep, the teen merged with the music, her body moving as if recognizing the well-practiced choreography, even her hair seemed to be dancing with the rhythm. The group of friends was so awestruck for her display, none of them moved an inch, following her dance from side to side, even Serah had stopped dancing and sat next to Prompto, the brightest smile plastered on her face.

"Serah…" Prompto whispered as if worried his voice would blow the whole scene. "I´m scared…" His blue eyes followed Lightning, as she kicked the air, her head falling backward and her hair making an arc in front of her, only to recover and spin over her own axis. "What´s happening to her?"

Serah giggled at his words. "Silly, didn´t you know? Lightning did gymnastics before our parents died, and she was so good, she won many championships during her last years in elementary school. She had to quit after they passed away, but…" Serah turned to look at her sister and felt a sting on her eyes at watching the teen move in sync. "I used to practice with her, or rather, she made me be her partner while she practiced, so I know a few songs that can do that for her, that can take her out of the real world and into her own happy place. To make her look like that, her face so… so…"

"And that song is one of her favorites?"

Serah cleaned the tears that had escaped from her eyes, as her sister kept spinning, her hands up in the air, moving in waves while they told the story of the song.

"That song was the one that made her win her last championship. The last song she danced for our parents. They passed away two weeks after that."

Prompto´s eyes returned to the beautiful pinkette dancing in front of him, and his eyes prickled too with the threat of tears. How was it possible that someone so beautiful, so perfect, could´ve been hurt that much? And still create such magic with her hands, with her body, that made his heart swollen with emotions?

"You guys are amazing, Serah."

Serah didn´t say anything. She whipped her silent tears and rested her head on Prompto´s shoulder while looking at the blissful dance of her sister.

oooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo

Next day Lightning decided to wake up before sunrise, trying to take advantage of the silence and the loneliness it provided. She was always thankful whenever Serah showed how much she loved her, but the girl was quite the expertise to interrupt her in her training. So, Lightning had to make it up for the almost full day they had spent on party. She had arrived at the training area before the sun illuminated the tall windows, and had started with some warming up, but felt as if sleepiness was still getting the best of her, so she prepared herself for some jogging when a female voice startled her.

"I was sure I could find you here, you´re the only one crazy enough to get up to work out at this ungodly hour."

Lightning immediately turned her head towards the source of the voice, and found a woman with silver hair walking purposefully towards her, wearing nothing but a long and black silk gown that accentuated her curves; Lightning´s sleepiness made the woman look like an apparition, until the teen found the green hue of Aranea Highwind´s deep eyes.

"Then again, I´m glad I won´t have to spar on my own, kid."

"Aranea!" Out of an impulse, Lightning ran towards her, but a few steps away from her, the girl stopped in mid-track, forcing her impulses down and, just like a proper Crownsguard, she extended a hand towards the female warrior. "I´m very happy to meet you here, Aranea. You´re so very welcome to this smile shrine." The silver-haired woman raised a delicate eyebrow at the pinkette´s actions and then broke in a burst of thunderous laughter that startled the teen.

"What? Are you just too correct to give me a hug? Fine then, I´m much younger than you so I don´t have an issue with hugging." That said, the tall woman closed the gap that separated them and enveloped the pinkette in a warm hug. Lightning allowed herself to respond to the caress, but for only a moment, before she gave a step backward and ended the hug, though still with the brightest smile on her face. The tall woman still refused to give up on her, though, so she kept her captive with one palm upon the teen´s shoulder, holding her at arm´s length and appraising her body. "But just look at you! You´ve grown a lot taller than the last time I saw you! And you´re finally developing into a beautiful young woman!"

Lightning laughed at the woman´s words in spite of the blush that threatened to appear. "You just saw me less than a year ago! I could´ve never grown as much as you say in such a span of time! Besides, you sound like a grandmother!"

Aranea pushed the teen on the shoulder, making her give a step backward while Lightning laughed out loud at her own joke.

"Let me tell you, this old lady still can handle your ass back to you, missy!"

"Stop it, Aranea!" Holding the woman´s wrist, Lightning tried to change the subject. "You´re gonna kill me out of laughter and that isn´t fair fighting. What brought you here, anyway? When did you arrive?"

"I arrived just past midnight. I´m sorry I couldn´t make it on time to your birthday party, Ignis didn´t tell me earlier, but I returned as soon as I could."

The teen chuckled at that. "He didn´t know either, it was a surprise for him, for all of us actually. But you´re mistaken, it wasn´t my birthday, it was Serah´s."

"Oh? Then what am I going to do with this birthday gift?"

Lightning hadn´t noticed the woman was carrying a box with her, but once she set eyes upon it, the teen immediately retrieved it from Aranea´s hands, ripping apart all the gift-wrap it had.

"Take it easy, girl! No-one is going to take it away from you." the tall woman said, chuckling at the teen´s fevered fingers ripping apart the paper. Her smirk became a full smile the moment she saw the pinkette´s face illuminate at the look of the box´s content.

"Oh, dear Etro… a pair of Kingsglaive´s kukris!"

"Yes, with the handle made of gold, which means it was made for the highest ranks."

The girl´s eyes were drinking in the sharp edge of the blades, glittering under the light, and the intricate figures carved in the handles.

"But… how did you…?"

"Get them? Well, you know a magician never gives up their secret." She winked, while Lightning turned her illuminated face towards the woman.

"This is the best gift I´ve ever had, Aranea. Thank you!" And without previous warning, Lightning enveloped the woman in a tight hug, so hard she almost made them both fall.

"Whoa! Girl! I´m happy you liked them but you´re going to injure me!" Aranea protested, but still chuckled at the teen´s antics. "So, say, would you like to try them?"

"You mean now? With you?"

"Of course with me, who else is around?"

"Won´t you get dressed?" She eyed the tall woman´s choice of clothing, but the teen´s stare only made her scoff.

"Why? Afraid Ignis will come and fall for me once he sees me like this?"

"I´m afraid that has already happened, and without the need of seeing you wearing that almost transparent and quite indecent gown you´re wearing." The male voice made them turn their heads towards the entrance, and they found Igni´s always trim form, wearing trousers and shirt as if he were ready to go out already.

Aranea´s lips turned up sideways, smirking flirtatiously. "I didn´t see you protesting the first time you saw me wearing it."

Ignis tried his best to ignore her words, as well as the effect they had on him and instead walked purposefully towards Lightning. In his hands, he was carrying a pair of disturbingly-looking juices that he gave each girl. Lightning made a face at the glass, but Ignis glared warningly at her.

"Don´t protest, young girl, this juice is good for your health." The teen rolled her eyes but complied, making a face of agony while she drank the beverage, Aranea couldn´t help but chuckle at her.

"Torture in the form of juice. I´ve gotta say, Ignis, you´ve refined yourself."

The words made the blond chuckle, but he changed the subject. "May I have a kiss before you drink that?" The man held the silver-haired woman by the waist, drawing her towards himself, and pecked the smiling lips of the woman he loved.

"If you don´t want to taste it on my lips you should stop giving me that concoction."

He smiled and kissed her again. "And good morning to you too."

"The only reason I´m allowing you both to do that in front of me without protesting is because of the present Aranea just gave me." Both adults turned at the glaring teen, Ignis returning the glare but Aranea just laughed at them. Every day she thanked the gods for allowing her to find this small and made-up family that made her heart melt, hoping the peace would never end.

But knowing her wish could never become true.

"So, girl, are you up to the challenge?" The woman asked, hating the dark path her thoughts were taking. "Will we use that gift?"

"Of course!" The girl immediately took position. "I´ll be glad to kick your ass with your own gift."

The silver-haired woman only smirked. "We´ll see about that."

"Lightning! Lightning!" At that moment, the door of the training area busted open, revealing a very disturbed Serah who, once she found her eldest sibling, ran towards her and embraced her tightly, startling the teen and the two adults.

"Serah? What's wrong?"

"Oh dear Etro! Lightning I didn't know! I never knew!" the girl was already sobbing when the taller pinkette surrounded her sister with both arms.

"What do you mean? What are you babbling about?"

"I saw it, Light! Etro showed me and it was horrible!"

Lightning placed both hands over the shaking shoulders and forced her sister to let go, and at the same time searched for her eyes.

"Serah, look at me. Look at me and tell me what's happening, what are you talking about?"

The smallest pinkette took a moment to collect herself, and once her eyes met her sister's, Lightning found deep orbs embedded in agony.

"I… I saw you, Light! I saw everything! And you… and you…" the kid renewed her sobbing, not wanting to continue, while Lightning's eyes opened wide in terror at realizing what her sister had probably seen, and she shook the girl, forcing her to focus.

"Tell me Serah! What did you see?"

"Lightning," Ignis tried to intervene, as he noticed the teen's grip on her sister was too hard, "calm down, you're hurting her."

"Serah!" The taller pinkette unheard the man and shook her sobbing sister until the girl yelled at her.

"I saw Luna! I saw the Princess fighting a dragon… and you… I saw you… disappear…"

The girl renewed her sobbing and held her sister tighter.

"Oh… Serah…"

Lightning held her back, not knowing what to say, while she turned to look at Ignis and Aranea´s astonished stares. The latter was completely speechless and only managed to process enough to hold both sisters tightly, trying to convey all the support she could in the embrace. But Ignis, always the pragmatic one, searched for the eldest´s eyes.

"Lightning, look at me."

"Iggy…" Lightning looked up at the man again, the one man in the group she looked up to the most, searching for his support. "Why… why her?"

He placed his hand upon her shoulder, but his eyes never left their seriousness.

"I think the time has come for you to speak with the Oracle."

ooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo

The girls found the Princess on her usual morning walk, at the lake shore, and the moment the woman saw their terrified blue eyes as they ran towards her, the Oracle knew it was a bad omen. Once they reached her Serah fell into her arms, crying desperately. Luna let her cry for a moment, allowed her to collect herself, but as soon as Serah was calm enough to let her go, the Princess guided both siblings to her private garden, impressed at how docile Lightning was behaving. And now she had the youngest Farron hugged tightly to her right arm again, while with her left hand she held the eldest´s wrist.

"We were…" Serah finally started, "Gentiana and I were about to start our morning meditation, but then everything turned black around me, and then I could see the sky turning red and black… and then I saw… There was… blood and corpses everywhere and a sea of blood stretched in front of me. I was so scared, Luna…"

"I know, baby, I know. Please, tell me everything."

"I… I saw you and Noctis standing at the top of a small hill, fighting off a… an enormous water dragon… the monster almost eats you… and while I yell at you, run forward trying to reach you, my foot hit something and I tripped and fell, and… and then I came face to face with my… myself… I could see myself dead, my… my eyes lifeless… when I look up I see my body is at the base of the hill… which was made of corpses… thousands of corpses serving as the battleground while you and Noctis fought the dragon… before I could scream, the sky went darker and suddenly thunder and lightning surrounded you and the Prince, and where the lightning stroke, the dark smoke that came from the earth made the form of a huge wolf, and the smoke and the lightning attacked your enemies with such ferocity that it would seem they were helping you… in the end, Noctis and you prevailed against the dragon… and then… when you thought you had won, there was this dark shadow sneaking behind you… it almost killed you but the lightning stroke again… suddenly Lightning, my sister, appeared when the light faded… she fought for you against the dark shadow, but then… then… the darkness… the shadow… it enveloped my sister, consumed her instead of you…" at that moment, Serah's tears were running freely, but what was more surprising was that Lightning was shedding tears too. "Tell me the truth, Luna… is it… is it real? Am I… going to lose Lightning…? Will we die, both of us?" The girl starts crying again, but Luna squeezes the girl´s hand, knowing she´s still not done.

"Tell me Serah, please, I get the feeling you saw more. What else did you see?"

Serah looked pleadingly to her sister´s eyes, but Lightning nodded, prompting her to speak, while she held her hand harder. The smaller pinkette hesitated still, but then inhaled deeply and, taking comfort on her sister´s hand, she continued with her nightmare.

"After I saw Lightning disappearing under the big shadow, I… I saw dense smoke coming from the earth, taking again the form of the big wolf, trying desperately to take a bite of the shadow, as if fighting to… to get her back, I saw the smoke bleeding, like I've never seen anyone bleed before but… in the end the shadow disappeared and once the smoke dissipated, I could see Nyx´s body curled up on the floor, bleeding, cradling against his chest something in his hand that produced a light with such intensity I couldn't look at it directly… and that thing then got carved in his chest, and it made him scream as if it hurt him too much, and then his heart stopped… but, once he wasn't moving, from his chest the light spread out and illuminated you and Noctis, and you… you both brought that light upon this world, and with it cast away the darkness… but… of my sister and Nyx was nothing left but a shadow upon the earth…" she turned pleading azure eyes towards the woman. "Please, tell me I don't lose my sister…"

Luna remained silent once the tale ended, thinking her words hard. But Lightning couldn´t wait.

"What happened, Luna? Why did she see that? Why is it different from what I saw?"

"It´s not different, Light, it´s more detailed. Almost like what I saw those years ago. It probably happened because she just turned ten. At that age, my powers started to take strength too."

"What? Why would she see more than what I saw?"

"Probably you saw only what the Goddess Etro wanted you to see, what she thought it was important for you to see." Luna´s eyes hardened, looking intently at Serah. "The rest was reserved for the oracles. And I guess that includes Serah."

"I´m… does that mean I´m an oracle now?"

"It would seem so." The woman tried to smile, but Luna couldn´t convey real happiness. After all, she knew very well an oracle did nothing but suffer.

"But I… I never saw Nyx in the dream," Lightning interrupted them, looking intently at Luna, trying her hardest not to look accusatory… and failing miserably. "I had never seen he had anything to do with us. Did you know about this?"

The blonde hesitated before responding. "Yes… of course I knew."

"Then why didn´t you tell me?"

"Because I have to follow Etro´s path, Light, she´s the one choosing who knows what, I don´t have that right."

"That´s a lie!" The pinkette yelled at the woman, astonishing her and Serah. "You didn´t want me to know because you want Nyx all by yourself! You´re still in love with him!"

"Lightning! You don´t have the right!" Serah yelled at her elder sister, knowing how much she had hurt the Princess with her words if she could guess by the look of disbelief and hurt plastered on the woman´s countenance, but before any of them could say anything else, Lightning took a sprint towards the edge of the garden. She wanted nothing more but to run away from it all, but… but she also wanted some answers. And she well knew that running away would leave her with nothing. She stopped her sprint, inhaled and exhaled forcefully, trying her best to control her raging emotions, until she heard ruffle of grass behind her. Luna had reached the teen.

"Lightning… Light… I´m sorry." The blonde apologized, but the teen remained silent, and yet, her attention was completely on the blonde´s voice. Her silence was interpreted as an invitation to spill the beans, so Lunafreya inhaled deeply and took a moment to collect her guts. "I didn´t tell you because… it hurts me to know yours and Nyx´s future is so grim."

Lightning turned and glared at her.

"You should stop treating me like some stupid kid. I might not be an Oracle, Luna, but you at least should have the decency to be honest with me."

Luna paled at her words and lowered her head, ashamed at the clarity and honesty of this girl. This one little person who carried the weight of the world, or at least tried to, just like herself.

"You´re right, I… I didn´t tell you before because… because the link you share with Nyx, or at least will share, according to the vision, is very powerful, and I…"

"Was afraid to know that link was even more powerful than the one you have with him." Lightning finished for her, and Luna´s silence gave her the answer. "You´re jealous of me because… you still love him."

The blonde´s chest constricted at the teen's words, and she closed her eyes, afraid to look up, letting herself fall on her knees upon the grass. She wasn´t much willing to continue on the path the conversation was going, but she promised herself she would be completely honest with this girl. And with herself.

"Yes. I still love him. But I care about you too, I´m worried about your well being just as much as his."

The teen dismissed her words. "What about Noctis. Our king?"

"I do care about him, Light, I love him too. But… it´s a different type of love. You should know, though, above all that, I´m loyal to him, to my people. I would never betray him." She finally looked up to meet the pinkette´s eyes, finding strength in her own words. "I can´t explain what I feel about Nyx, it´s something… irrational. Something my body and my heart refuses to give up. Instead, what I feel for my husband is carved deep within me. We´ve known each other for decades, relied on one another so many times before, and I know I only have him and he only has me to take this task to the end. So, I´ll never betray him, never make him sad, for the sake of anybody. But my heart refuses to give up on Nyx, and I still don´t know why…"

The teen looked down at the woman, but not with anger anymore. In a way, she could feel her pain, even if she still couldn´t truly process the depth of the feeling the woman was experiencing. After a moment, Lightning sat in front of the blonde, trying to make her company be somewhat comforting. "You´re in pain…"

"Yes. But Noctis doesn´t have to know. And Nyx should´ve never known either." She looked at the teen, her eyes pleading her to understand. Lightning only nodded, and they both fell in silence for a few moments.

"Why is he in my future?" Lightning finally asked.

"I´m not sure, but I think is for the link you will both create, the reason why you get to prevail against all odds and thus help us all. You both are the key to help us to survive, so that we both, Noctis and I, are able to get the Astral´s aid and cast away the darkness. Both of you, together, form a wall around us that allows us to prevail and to triumph. But… but such feat costs you highly. To both of you."

"Will we die? Nyx and I?"

Luna sighs. "I´m not sure. I never see you die, not actually, so I´m guessing it´s a possibility, but not definite."

Lightning raised a delicate eyebrow. "It´s not logical. I always disappear in the dream, no matter whose dream it is, how can it mean I don´t die?"

"There are many worlds and dimensions in this life, Light, it could always mean you trespass into one of them."

For a moment, Lightning stands immobile, trying to process the meaning, until a big 'o' forms on her lips, replaced immediately by a smile.

"Well, that´s an improvement, I guess."

Luna giggled at her. "I´m glad you can see it that way."

They shared a smile, and then Lightning lowered her eyes, ashamed. "I´m sorry, Luna, as Serah said, I didn´t have the right to ask such personal things. I… I don´t know what made me so angry."

Luna took the pinkette´s wrist, making her look up to her eyes. "I understand. You care about Nyx too, he´s your sensei after all, and you were worried about his well-being. For what I´ve heard, you are convinced his well-being is not linked to me, and I agree to that, just like the rest of the world. Only my heart can´t obey to reason, and I am truly ashamed of that."

"I am ashamed too," Lightning insisted, "you didn´t have to answer, to tell me all this."

Luna gives Lightning a small hug, and though the teen is obviously uncomfortable, she allows her to.

"Of course I had to, Light. I made you confused with all these feelings and nonsense, made you hurt the moment you saw I hurt Nyx. You deserved an explanation, to allow you to understand. Remember you´re still under my care, which means your mental health is also my responsibility."

Another moment of silence, and then Lightning asked what had been bothering her since the beginning of the day.

"Luna? Why did Etro show this to Serah? Why now? Why not before?"

"There must be a reason why she has decided you finally needed to know. And probably it´s because you´re about to turn 15-years-old. The battle with the next Astral is up, and I was doubtful about taking you with us on that day, but Serah showed us that it´s the right choice, it´s what Etro would like for your birthday. A birthday of fire."

"And who is the next Astral?"

Luna locked eyes with the teen, sadness and worry embedded behind blue eyes.

"Ramuh."

ooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo

2 years later.

Bodhum Seaside City, BSEALS´ training grounds, 0500 hrs,

"Hurry up, ladies! The last one that leaves this hut will wake up in the hole once this mission is over! Go! Go! Go!"

On his way out, Nyx pushed one of his comrades, Brasidas, interrogating him while following the rest in their jog. "Yo! Why is Tweetie all worked up?"

"Beats me, man, since when has Tweetie needed something to get him on edge?"

Nyx looked backward, eyeing the oversized officer with calculating eyes.

"Yeah, but still, I thought he finally got laid yesterday, why isn´t he all rainbows and sunshine?"

"Maybe he couldn´t make it to round four?" Both men snickered, making fun of the man all the way to their rendezvous point, though Nyx wasn´t convinced. They kept running, and once they were sitting on the small airplane, another comrade approached them.

"Didn´t you hear? This is supposed to be our last deployment. Tomorrow we all return to Lucis."

"What?" Both men, plus another three around them yelled.

"What are you babbling about, Hexes, I´ll burn your ass for that lie!" The tallest man threatened, but the addressed one hushed them, and they all gathered close to said Hexes.

"Remember this moron sent me to the infirmary with a broken finger?" He pointed at Nyx with the said finger, already protected with a cast. The grey-eyed man was about to protest but Hexes shushed him again. "Once I was there, I heard when the secretary and his apprentice were laughing and celebrating about our return. Because it would seem the whole camp is returning, not only the trainees."

"But we´re still six months from finishing the program!" Protested Brasidas, at which all the gathered men agreed.

"Orders from the higher-ups, according to them, and from all the ruckus the instructors are making, it would seem the news are true."

They all felt the plane starting to move, as well as the precautionary lights turning on, so the men returned to their seats, cursing and mumbling about their bad luck on their trek to their seats.

Nyx cursed too, but once he was seated, he closed his eyes as a smirk was drawn on his lips.

"Now what?" Asked Brasidas, eyeing him wearily. "Every time you smile like that, something bad is going to happen, Nyx, it actually gives me goosebumps, you know?"

"Nothing to worry your pretty ass." The man pushed his partner, though his smile lingered.

"Then why are you smiling? Are you happy our time is cut short? I thought you were having fun here."

"You know I´m not happy! I paid for the whole deal and instead they´re giving us the short straw. But… but it also means we´re returning home sooner, and there´s someone I´d love to see."

"Who? Some sweetheart waiting for you at home?"

Nyx punched the man on the chest, hard.

"Don´t be stupid! Someone else, a friend of mine. Or rather, a student of mine."

"You mean the brat with the sparky attitude?" Brasidas snickered while he tended for his chest.

Nyx chuckled at his words, his mind conjuring images of the rebellious teen.

"I just wonder how big has Lightning become." Then he huffed, a chuckle escaping his chest. "I bet not much bigger, you know? I bet she´ll still look like an underdeveloped boy. Ooohh but I do miss that sparky attitude, as you perfectly said… it´s gonna be fun to bother her with those underdeveloped breasts she has." He snickered, his friend still eyeing him wearily, shaking his head.

ooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo

A/N: Yay! The time gaps! Hopefully, this wasn´t too much of a filler chapter. I wanted you all to see a little bit of Lightning´s destiny, but I also wanted her to have a little bit of a happy family time, to feel what is like to be loved and cared for. I think she and Serah deserved it.

I´m sorry we didn´t get to see the fight against Ramuh, but for the sake of the story, I want to tell it in flashbacks, so I hope I didn´t make you mad, and instead, I give you a little bit of Nyx, didn´t you miss him? And, by the way, he´s about to meet Lightning again, yay! Aren´t you excited?

Aranea makes a cameo in here because I adored her and felt really sad she didn´t have much screen time. In my opinion, she´s perfect for Ignis. What would you think?

Well, hope you enjoy! I´m already writing the next chapter, please be patient! I promise I won´t abandon this baby!