A/N: In the Second Time Around universe, it's a Halloween themed tale where everyone dresses up like Y'shtola at a Halloween party, for reasons that would shock the Miq'ote. All pairings (Lightning/Fang, Seven/Sice, Y'shtola/Lyse, Rydia/Edge, Snow/Serah, Hope/Porom, Maria/Firion and Vanille/OC) are married.

You Don't Mess with The Ysh

Lyse, Seven and Maria all see it happen: another group of imbeciles making sure that Y'shtola is either given a very hard time, or in this case, the Miq'ote physically getting swung at - only to see Lightning, Firion and Edge suddenly show up and give said group of imbeciles a sound thrashing in retaliation with Snow and Fang having to separate the two groups and Carlyn tending to the injuries the Miq'ote sustained from the altercation. In short, it broke Lyse's heart to see her wife in this state just because of who she is, while the silver haired woman took the speed of Lightning's namesake to contact Hope and Serah so they know what had happened. Wait until Vanille, Rydia, Porom and Sice hear about this one... I'll be shocked if Sice doesn't snap and threaten to break their necks... Seven thought to herself while she and Maria help Carlyn with tending to Y'shtola, with Lyse being at a loss for words at the latest incident that involved Y'shtola. "We'll think of something to get back at them, Lyse. You got us and we got you too..." Edge said with a tone of reassurance to the blonde, knowing that she'll need something like that to figure out what to legally do in situations like this. It was a few minutes later that Maria was tending to a few small cuts Lightning sustained as a result of the altercation - which the violet haired woman knew that Serah will not let Lightning go about once the middle Farron sister hears about it.

Once everything was in the clear, Lyse drove both Y'shtola and herself home - oddly enough, no one was arrested as Y'shtola opted to forgive the group of imbeciles like she always does, despite more people getting involved in the clusterfuck of things than in the past. Although it was mid-summer, Seven was thinking about how to get back at the group of imbeciles (Maria's description of them, to put it kindly) as a result of this particular incident without causing too much chaos but some of the ideas she had were outright illegal according to Lyse, so the silver haired woman had to come up with a 'Plan B' here. It took one look from her sister-in-law Fang a few days later before Seven was able to think about what can be done in retaliation - however, the group all had to wait for one particular day to pull it off: Halloween. The entire group, including Maria's older brother Leon, were invited to the Annual Guardian Corps Halloween Party which had a Costume Contest and other Halloween themed festivities for everyone to enjoy. Once the silver haired woman revealed her plot to everyone, it was unanimous with whatever plot Seven came up with - you don't mess with The Ysh and get away with it. Seven would see that to the end because Y'shtola helped her and Sice out on so much it was the least she could do to say thanks for all that was done. If it could help Lyse somehow, then the silver haired woman would be happy too.

Even if the plot had everyone in tears laughing.

31 October - Annual Guardian Corps Halloween Party

"Everyone ready to go...?" Lightning asked the group at the Yun-Farron household, all the while trying to not laugh so hard at the costumes the others had on: an exact replica of the ears and tail, plus make up, that had all looking like Y'shtola. The oldest Farron sister, since that mid-summer incident, ran into the group of imbeciles at the GC HQ a few times, all of whom annoyed her to no end. I'm shocked that she has yet to develop any gray hairs yet, my Sunshine... Fang mused to herself over how her wife looks these days. Having a young son of their own, who also dressed up like Y'shtola, did a lot to the married couple. The trade off was worth it though: Odin the cat ADORED their son, and vice versa. Somehow, the venue allowed cats which made it no problem for the Yun-Farron household to get something for the cat as he is also a huge Y'shtola fan. As soon as the confirmation from the rest came in, they all left the Yun-Farron household to meet up with Y'shtola and Lyse at the venue for the Halloween party, said to be the biggest one yet for all that was planned for it.

The group, who took six cars between them, all arrive at the venue one hour later, with only a few minutes to spare before the event started. In Lightning's eyes, she was late since the oldest Farron sister is usually 30 minutes early to any event she's able to attend. Odin was all too happy to be Seven's 'parrot' as the feline made himself at home on the silver haired woman's lap during the ride, before moving to her left shoulder once they got out of the car they were in. Regarding the venue itself, it was a sight to see for most - but nothing new to, most surprisingly, Fang - only because the brunette does security for the venue whenever she's not in the middle of an expedition. For the rest in the group - it turns out that Y'shtola and Lyse managed to save them certain parking spots - they were either in awe of the venue, jumping up and down in joy for who knows why... or the classic eye roll from one Claire 'Lightning' Yun-Farron, as the oldest Farron sister's only thoughts were how in Etro's name did Amodar and Rygdea manage to land the venue for the event.

In any case, everyone was able to get into the venue without any issue... outside the eyes all being on them, for some did a double take those who are close to Y'shtola in height. Not to Snow's surprise, the group from mid-summer fiasco was among those whose eyes were on them, which he alerted everyone of their presence, including Y'shtola and Lyse, both of who were among the first to greet the group upon arrival. To Fang's surprise, Odin went from Seven to Y'shtola, content to be the feline parrot for the Miq'ote during the event while getting his favourite treats from Lyse. Odin going to Y'shtola brought a major sense of relief to not only Rydia, but also Sice, Firion and Hope as they all were worried about how the Hext-Rhul couple would be able to handle an event like this, since neither woman are tied to the Guardian Corps. To help keep the group level headed, Edge and Maria provided the group small cups of water and light snacks to hold them over so that some time can be bought to formulate a plan to handle that group if need be.

To Lyse's shock it would be Kurasame Yun-Farron who would execute his part when it comes. Lightning and Fang's young son never liked it when Y'shtola was picked on because of who she is, the one thing she can't change, and he wanted to be the hero.

The way Kurasame does his deed would be adorable.

XXX

The annual event is a major success, and surprisingly without any issues. People were mingling and having a great time; much to Y'shtola's surprise, all of the Farron sisters were sober for varying reasons, while Maria JUST finished her glass of champagne (the violet haired woman, by choice, limits herself to one alcoholic drink at any place she goes to) and Rydia couldn't stop laughing at Hope's lame jokes since the Mist native was the most drunk of the bunch. Snow, Edge, Sice, Fang and Firion were having a deep conversation about something when the group from the mid-summer fiasco, SOMEHOW, finds their way to them 45 minutes after the Costume Contest was over with. Thanks to her sense of smell being enhanced, it would be Fang, who was sober, that would intercept said group before they could approach the Miq'ote. "Ya got a problem...?!" was all Fang needed to ask, as it got Porom and Lightning's attention to the matter REAL fast, as they were ready to defend their circle at any moment. Serah, who was oddly quiet the entire time, quickly got in the face of the person who's the leader of that group and gave a scowl Lightning herself would be proud of. Sadly, the scowl didn't work but Snow took the blow that was intended for Serah in the end, causing what would be a nasty but also hilarious fist fight.

For the Fangrai couple, where Lightning got IRATE for the group swinging at Serah, wasted no time with helping the men put the imbeciles (according to Y'shtola) in their place. Even Sice exchanged some blows with them, which had Porom in Cover Mode for young Kurasame Yun-Farron since he was a child. What made the fight hilarious was Odin: the cat bit a few of the imbeciles hard on the hand and drew blood, as a means for them to not mess with a member of his family. Leon, who was with the group the entire time but did his best to not get involved, encouraged the feline in what he did to the group. In recent times, Y'shtola became grateful to have earned Leon's friendship and trust, despite having full knowledge of his past and the Miq'ote being apprehensive over the matter. It was because of Leon's thinking and planning that Lightning and Company came out on top of this particular fight in all aspects. As one of the group that tried to punch Serah got back up and pursue Y'shtola - his true target - he tripped and landed hard on his face. It was the leader of that group, who didn't see young Kurasame Yun-Farron stretch out his left leg moments before the trip. Lyse, who saw this particular moment, couldn't hold in her laughter despite sporting a black eye from the fisticuffs.

"You don't mess with The Ysh, you meanie!" Kurasame yelled at the meanie to his face, which was the cause of Lyse's laughter, causing the others around her to laugh too. They were surprised to see that not only did Fang and Lightning's son use prank Fang herself tends to use on Sice but also see the young child say something that sarcastic to a group of meanie imbeciles (Kurasame's description). "You just don't do it..." Seven added, which surprised the entire venue on the matter. Sevsky being sarcastic... that's a first... I wonder what Lady Luck thinks of that... Fang mused to herself with amusement, shocked to see that the youngest Farron sister joining in on the sarcasm, only to see Sice show her bare arse to the meanie, causing Hope, Leon and Maria to literally facepalm at the white haired woman's antics. "This is good and all, but who taught both Seven and Kurasame to be like this at a grand venue...?!" Y'shtola asked everyone, to which all eyes landed on the least likely person: Claire 'Lightning' Yun-Farron, the person responsible. The oldest Farron didn't dare hide any denial, with this as her signature move to Snow when he and Serah were dating.

Lightning's smirk gave it away, but a few moments later had something serious to say to the Miq'ote: "Ysh, we all love you and our hearts break every time those numb skulls hurt you the way they do. That mid-summer incident was the last straw for us, and we wanted to fight back. It was Seven's idea that we all come to this dressed like you, that we stand in solidarity. NO ONE messes with The Ysh and gets away with it. Bonus points as we won for Best Group Costume, don't you think..."? the oldest Farron confessed, causing the Miq'ote to give one dear to her a hug plus cry the happy tears she held back the entire event. Y'shtola became more grateful than ever before to have people who gave a damn about her also have her back like this. "Thank you, Claire... you and the others are family to Lyse and I forever and always..." was all Y'shtola could say before Kurasame and the rest joined Lightning in hugging Y'shtola, with Odin's purring helping soothe things for them. Y'shtola knelt down to Kurasame, who got Odin to go from her to his shoulder until he could happily reunite with Seven, with an item that was his belated birthday present, with the only words exchanged being that Kurasame needs to get home before opening the gift.

As for Y'shtola and Seven, only one look was exchanged, which translated to the fact that Y'shtola is bound to get the silver haired woman a really expensive Christmas gift this year, and a thank you for orchestrating a plan to get even with a group who put the Miq'ote through so much trauma for so long.

You don't mess with The Ysh and get away with it.

FIN

A/N #2: The meaning behind the title - I'll forget to write this bit - whenever I play Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia (I only play Global because of work) and I use Y'shtola in my party, I tend to say the phrase "You don't mess with The Ysh - you just don't do it. You don't!" quite a bit.

A/N #3: Next tale is the Thanksgiving tale in the Paying it Forward universe, when Celes and Locke have the annual meal with Lightning and Fang - which Terra becomes a surprise guest!