Final Fantasy XIII 1. Room 404

_A/N: I decided to create and publish this story since it has honestly been in my head for days, however don't worry, Components is still going to be completed. _

**Cloak and Dagger**

The morning sun crept through burgundy curtains, spilling out across a spacious white bedroom of a third floor studio apartment in Bodhum. The room would have almost been devoid of colour, had it not been for splashes of maroon upon the rug, pillows and on smaller trinkets. Or for the strands of pink hair splayed out upon a crisp, clean pillowcase.

It was seven o'clock on a Sunday morning and the one day of the week that Lightning forced herself to stay in bed under her sister Serah's strict orders. She was usually one to be up and ready before sunrise, with an early morning jog behind her, however this was the day Serah felt she should relax. Bizarrely for the woman, Lightning lay sprawled under the blankets, sound asleep, whilst Serah bustled around in the kitchen making breakfast.

Weekdays saw Lightning as the hardworking Sergeant of the Guardian Corps. As the main and only provider of the family, it was important to her that Serah was provided with the opportunities Lightning never received at her age. Currently in her final year of studying, Serah was to move on into higher education, which the older Farron was keen for her sister to progress onto, despite the costs involved and the hours she would need to work to pay the debts off. It was this dedication to her sister that currently had her lying exhausted in bed. Her slumber was not to last however, when the screeching of chair legs, and banging of furniture from the apartment above clawed at her ears, to which she responded by shoving the covers over her head. She succeeded in muffling the noise, but at the cost of being engulfed in suffocating heat, though it didn't stop her from dozing off once more. She awoke to the sound or the front door slamming shut, the walls of her bedroom shuddering from the impact, which was followed by the opening and closing of her own door.

Serah was also the early rising type, a trait they had inherited from their late mother, and the girl always made it her duty to ensure her sister was well fed throughout the day, knowing that Lightning would skip meals in favour of working if she didn't keep an eye on her. The younger Farron placed her back against the door with her hands still upon the handle, an apron still tied securely to her small waist.

"Morning sis!" She whispered. "I don't mean to disturb you so early in the morning but I've got some pretty exciting news."

Lightning stirred under the covers, rolling over onto her back in order to push the blankets back for cool air.

"We've got a new neighbour on the next floor… Mrs Jefferson died." Serah said, pointing to the ceiling.

"What?" Lightning replied groggily, almost certain she heard wrongly. Serah kindly repeated and Lightning frowned at the news; she had seen the older woman only yesterday as they passed on the stairs and she had seemed fine. She sat up to face her sister, who had wandered to the foot of her double bed to sit down, looking as worn-out as Lightning felt.

"She died in the early hours of this morning. They've moved her possessions out and everything!" Serah beamed.

"And they've found a new tenant so soon? Why are you happy about all this?" Lightning replied sceptically, pulling the rest of the covers back to wander to the en suite bathroom to brush her teeth.

Serah moved towards her sister's modest dresser, pulling out the second drawer to rummage through clothes.

"I hope the new tenant is my age, because we could be good friends and I will actually get to participate in the girly activities _you_ hate so much!" She called out, picking out some black denim shorts and throwing them towards the bathroom door.

Lightning scoffed between brushing at the thought painting nails and facemasks. If the newcomer was into all that, it benefited her just fine. Turning to the carelessly placed shorts, Lightning bent down to retrieve them, lifting her head in time to be hit in the face by more items of clothing.

"Serah! I can dress myself." She hissed, pulling the white tank top off her face.

Serah giggled as she closed the drawer, moving towards the bedroom door that linked to their living room.

"Yeah, I know, but can you dress yourself in something that isn't your work uniform?" The girl made a quick exit as Lightning dived for a cushion to hit her with.

Breakfast had not been a peaceful affair, as the tenant upstairs continued to painfully scrape furniture across wooden floors, as well as bang walls.

Lightning involuntarily ground her teeth when a screech with the impact of nails against a chalkboard echoed through her ears.

Close to breaking point she stood up abruptly from her seat at the kitchen table, the chair legs skidding back.

"That's _it_. It's barely daybreak and they're making a racket! I'm going up there." Lightning shouted, heading past the adjoining living space to fetch her canvas shoes.

Serah raced her to the front door, spreading her arms out to bar the way.

"You're not going to make a good first impression!" She exclaimed. "She's just moved in so of course there'll be noise, silly."

Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She dismissed and returned to the kitchen for some coffee. "So how do you know all this? It sounds like the tenant moved in during the early hours."

Serah sauntered towards the kitchen sink with her back to Lightning.

"I er, woke up from all the commotion and went to investigate…"

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "You 'went to investigate'? It mightn't have been safe, what were you thinking?" She chastised, causing an uncomfortable silence between them. "Did you see anything?"

Serah busied herself filling the sink with hot water. "To be honest, not really. There were lots of boxes just outside the door, which I'm guessing all belonged to the poor old woman because her favourite armchair was just left lying there also."

"Then how do you know she's dead?" Questioned Lightning, her interrogation skills kicking in to full swing.

"Is overhearing the words 'poor dear was carried off with her face covered by blankets' enough proof?" Serah countered, washing a plate with slightly more vigour than necessary as she spoke.

Lightning frowned. Something didn't seem right. She was a light sleeper, even more so than Serah, therefore if the old woman had died in the middle of the night, how had she not heard anything?

"Moving on… what's the new tenant like?" She took a sip of coffee in order to appear like nothing was wrong. Serah shrugged.

"I didn't see her, but judging by the strong smell of perfume across the hallway, I'm guessing the tenant is a she, anyway."

Lightning almost spilt the coffee in disbelief at her sister's quick assumptions, but quickly recomposed herself by shuffling in her seat. She couldn't help but see the flaw in that the perfume could have belonged to anyone who lived on the fourth floor.

"I just think it's suspicious that someone has moved in hours prior to an old woman dying." She said, throwing back the mug to drain the rest of the sweet liquid. "I'm going for a walk."

Serah craned her neck round to watch her sister as she made her way for the door, the two soft clicks of the door opening and closing signalled her departure. She wiped her hands dry on her apron before fishing around in the back pocket of her shorts to pull out her phone.

"Hey, Lightning's gone out for a bit, it's safe to come over."

Before making her way outside, Lightning decided to take the ascending staircase to the fourth floor, her steps silenced by the red carpet that flowed throughout the building. She poked her head around the corner to see an empty corridor, minus a sequence of potted plants that were reoccurring on every floor. She casually began to walk down the hallway, eyeing each door as if she were taking part in a line up of criminals. She stopped at the door directly above her own apartment: Room 404.

There was a faint voice murmuring behind the door, which she took to be the television, whilst dainty footsteps across a wooden floor confirmed that there was someone inside. As much as she didn't want to play the role of friendly new neighbour, she raised her hand and rapped her knuckles upon the chocolate coloured door and waited.

She prepared herself to fake a smile as she waited, as much as the thought of doing so pained her. The television could no longer be heard in the background and any movement behind the door stopped, causing her to knock again in case she wasn't heard. There was still no answer. Lightning frowned and took it upon herself to press her ear up against the door, where she heard slow, careful steps creeping further away from the door, the floorboards creaking as the person did so.

_So whoever is inside is avoiding visitors. Great. That's even more suspicious. _

She made a quick retreat down the stairs, feeling like she was looking too far into things, passing a tall man at the entrance on the ground floor, smelling heavily of aftershave.

She had returned hours later in the afternoon, after a routine stroll around the city centre, ignoring all shops as if she had been on patrol. She fumbled around for her keys as she approached her front door, announcing her arrival to an empty living room.

"Serah?" Lightning called, placing her keys on a side table whilst she removed her shoes.

"Just a sec!" Came a faint voice from her sister's bedroom, as Lightning aimlessly walked around the room, feeling like something was different.

She slide open the balcony door, allowing fresh air to enter the large room when she realised there was an unfamiliar scent around the place.

"Have we had visitors?" She asked Serah's closed bedroom door.

"Visitors? No, why do you ask?" Came the younger Farron's innocent reply from within her bedroom.

Lightning wasn't convinced. She marched over to the door and opened it without warning to see Serah sat cross-legged on top of her bed.

"Sis, what're you _doing_? I could've been getting changed just there, talk about privacy!" Serah almost squealed as she watched Lightning stride over to her bed to look under it.

"You've had someone in here, I can tell." She said from under the bed. Convinced no one was under it she moved onto a wardrobe. The second she did so, the floor strained and the open bedroom door creaked as if there had been a draught.

Lightning spun round and followed the noise to the front door as Serah shouted behind her that the open balcony caused the movement and nothing else. The familiar click of the front door opening told her otherwise, but she was unable to see the intruder in time.

Lightning turned slowly on her heels to look at Serah, her face looking particularly dark and murderous. The younger girl looked sheepish, standing with her legs crossed and arms behind her back.

"Since when have you had a boyfriend?" Lightning hissed.

"Why does it matter? He's a nice guy, honestly." Serah replied calmly.

"You're still a child." Lightning said firmly.

"I'm _eighteen._" Countered Serah, who stomped towards Lightning like a child having a tantrum.

"That's still too young! All guys are ever bothered about is taking advantage of girls and getting laid."

"Oh because _you'd_ know. You've never been in a relationship." Serah huffed.

Lightning opened her mouth to speak but Serah cut her off.

"You're trying too hard to be something you're not." She whispered as tears threatened to fall. "You're not Mom, yet you've always tried to advise me on life choices. And you're not Dad either, yet you play the role of the protective father. You're my sister, Claire. The one I'm supposed to share secrets with about having boyfriends."

"Well let's start _now_, shall we?" The older Farron said though gritted teeth. "How long have you been seeing him behind my back?"

"A few months now, I see him mostly when you're at work. I never meant to keep him a secret, honestly."

"And that's why you look so tired, is it? You were out with him last night… no wonder you know about Mrs Jefferson dying, you probably saw her getting carried away!"

The girl began to chew her thumbnail out of nervous habit, and Lightning was suddenly acquiring a headache as she watched her sister squirm under her scrutiny. Rather than comprehend the fact that she may be in the wrong about her views on Serah having a boyfriend, Lightning made another quick exit, warning Serah as she passed that she would not tolerate any more visits for the rest of the day, at least.

She had slammed the door on the way out, venting her anger upon the frame and hinges, which were strong enough to withstand such tempers. Her feet unconsciously took her left as her mind raced a mile a minute, the strange neighbour long forgotten in favour of flashes of family moments.

When their parents died, Claire and Serah had been lost, helpless and scared. But Lightning had arrived almost overnight, as a pillar of strength, provider and guardian. She laughed bitterly to herself when she recalled the moment she told Serah to refer to her a 'Lightning'.

She had wandered blindly into a part of Bodhum she did not recognise, a district that wasn't part of her patrol, an area that was noticeably darker than the rest of the city. Before she stalked off further, she stopped in the middle of a square to look around; she was surrounded by the neon lights of bars, which shone brightly despite it only being late afternoon. She tilted her head back, noticing the sky had been completely eaten by tall monoliths with barred windows adorning the first few floors.

She felt unsafe as a civilian without her gunblade equipped, and out of place from the lack of a concealing trench coat, which she noticed many in the area wore. Her instincts told her to leave, and she stepped back slowly, eyes cautiously following every man who walked too near. Her peripheral vision caught a blonde blur heading straight for her, colliding with her almost instantly, however the force did not knock her over as the boy was much shorter. She threw him an angry look, and found he wore a pair of goggles over his eyes.

"Sorry lady!" He apologised, grabbing her hand and stroking it. "You okay?"

Lightning jerked back, almost disgusted. "Yes, fine." She said curtly, pulling her hand free from his intruding grasp. She watched him run into a nearby bar without another word, and she rubbed her wrist out of awkwardness. Her heart almost stopped out of realisation however, when she noticed the boy had stolen her silver bracelet, a present from Serah for her birthday.

"Son of a bitch!" She shouted as she broke into a sprint after the teenager, dodging passers-by as she reached a shady looking bar with the name of NORA. Lightning didn't hesitate to barge right though, fighting past a gathering of drunk, old men. They chuckled and wheezed as she passed, one daring enough to wolf whistle and compliment her on having a 'fine pair'. She clenched her fist, ready to knock out the limited amount of teeth the greasy man had left in his mouth, but the thought left her the second she saw the familiar mop of blonde hair squeeze through a throng of patrons.

She bulldozed her way through the same group, who didn't seem to take kindly to such a gesture as beer cascaded down trouser legs from their pint glasses. The thief noticed her presence soon after, making a dash under the bar counter, however Lightning managed with little effort to grab him forcefully by the scruff of his neck. She yanked him backwards, allowing him to bang his head on the counter as he fell back.

"Is there a problem here, miss?" A concerned voice asked from behind the bar, which belonged to a girl roughly Serah's age. The girl dressed slightly provocatively for her years, Lightning noted with distaste, wearing a white shirt, which kept her shoulders bare and breasts in clear view.

Lightning hoisted the blonde up ruthlessly.

"This _brat _just stole my bracelet."

The barmaid didn't look too surprised, as if it were a common occurrence and, judging by the array of jewellery the woman wore herself, she sometimes benefited from the his thievery. The young woman slammed down a glass she had been shining and opened the bar hatch to grab the teen herself, showing less clothing on her lower half with skimpy hot pants.

"Give it back Maqui, you little shit!" She ordered, smacking the boy over the head. The boy begged for forgiveness as he fished into his trouser pocket and handed the bracelet back to Lightning, before being dragged away by his ear into a backroom.

Lightning replaced the bracelet back onto her wrist, ensuring it was secure with a small tug, when satisfied she glanced around for the exit.

"Hey come back here, cherry blossom." The same female voice from before called. Lightning obeyed, stepping closer to the bar.

"I'm Lebreau." She said with her hand outstretched. Lightning took it, watching her bracelet closely this time as they shook hands. "And I owe you a drink in apology."

"No thanks, I really should be heading back."

"Oh but please."

Lebreau looked disappointed and motioned to someone behind Lightning with a click of her fingers. A tall, slender male materialised behind her, with a wild cyan mane. He appeared the sort who prides himself on his appearance; dressed in a white shirt with short sleeves that were rolled up to reveal toned arms in a bad boy manner, and tight black denim jeans tucked into ankle length boots. There was no doubt in Lightning's mind that he would take longer getting ready than she did.

"Yes, Lebreau?" He asked with a voice laced in charm. The barmaid nodded in Lightning's direction.

"Yuj, please help our guest here get comfortable. Maqui's been up to his usual tricks again."

"Ah certainly." The man smiled, placing ring-adorned fingers upon Lightning's shoulders. "Come now, we want nothing more than to say sorry on his behalf." He stepped to the right and winked. "I'm Yuj, by the way."

_If it'll get him away from me..._

"Lightning." She said politely in turn, sliding into a barstool. "And I'll have a vodka and lemonade."

She initially planned to leave after the free drink, but found her glass to be bottomless as both Lebreau and Yuj refused to let the glass remain empty. Lebreau leaned over the worn counter to study Lightning, pouring another shot of vodka into the glass.

"You're clearly new to these parts, what brings you here?" Lebreau asked.

Lightning shrugged. "An argument with my sister."

"Is that _all_?" Yuj laughed as Lightning nodded. He turned towards Lebreau. "_See she can be trusted_." He whispered.

Between hazy thoughts, Lightning wondered how much time had passed as she slowly examined the contents of her glass. Both Lebreau and Yuj had vanished, leaving Lightning to observe the bar properly for the first time. It was dimly lit and made up entirely of wood panels, which did nothing but soak up the smell of alcohol, as did the counter she was leaning on; her glass and arms stuck to the counter every so often. She drained her glass in relief that no one was around to top her up, and dragged herself up from the stool, gripping the edge of the chair to steady herself. Her eyes scanned the crowded room, stopping on a tall, hooded figure that had just entered the bar. She followed the shady form as it travelled to the back of the pub, aware that others watched in fear or respect as the person passed through curtained off area. Curiosity got the better of her and she quickly followed, pushing back the curtain to see shadows of more people disappear through yet another door, as she poked her head out to the right. She easily spotted the black hooded figure leaning against red wallpaper, with arms crossed and foot placed against the wall. The guard looked up from the floor, just as Lightning managed to hide in the alcove, her heart beat doubling.

_What am I even doing?_ Lightning scolded herself as her feet urged her into the view of the guard. She walked down the corridor, feigning ignorance as she made to pass the guard, who came to attention as she closed in. A gloved hand shot out barring her way as she made to pass by, and Lightning looked expectantly at the guard, noticing they also wore a plain black bandit mask across their eyes.

She narrowed her ocean blue eyes to focus passed the shadows covering guard's face, but to no avail.

"You going to let me passed?" She queried as the voices behind the door grew increasingly louder.

The guard stayed mute but shook their head, reaching out to grasp Lightning and escort her out. They got only so far, when Lightning twirled to the left, dodging easily before hitting the sentry square in the face. She made a run for the door, managing to pry it open in time to see a man tied to a chair have his throat slit. She instantly shut the door; eyes wide in shock on what she had stumbled upon, pretending as if she had seen nothing. The guard grabbed her by the face, covering her eyes and pulling her back down to the carpeted floor, she grunted, writhing and squirming her way out of the hooded figure's grasp. The guard grabbed her throat with a slim hand, yet firm grip.

"Get off me! All I want is the bathroom!" Lightning grunted, clawing through the leather of the glove. The guard stopped for a second, abruptly grabbing Lightning by the front of her tank top and forcing her back through the curtains.

Once she made her way outside and away from the stuffy bar, she smoothed down the creases in her clothes, noting that the sky had turned from a pale blue to an inky black. She quickly checked her phone, which had many messages and missed calls all of which from Serah.

_Shit._


	2. NORA

_A/N:_ _I thought I'd release the chapter now as I have an exam next Monday which I haven't began revising for, therefore this chapter would have been delayed for a week unnecessarily. And I know it's horrible waiting ages for a new chapter to be released! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!_

* * *

><p>"Look sharp, Farron. You seem a bit sluggish today." The booming voice of Lieutenant Amodar shouted, who had approached from behind and clapped a firm hand upon her unsuspecting shoulder; she had been storing her belongings in her locker when he pounced.<p>

"Sir." She nodded, giving him a salute. The large man nodded back in acknowledgement, scratching his chin as he studied her tired face. "Had a late night have we, Farron? Who's the lucky guy?" He chuckled warmly.

She dismissed the notion with a curt shake of her head. "There isn't one, sir. But I have an important issue to raise with you."

Amodar placed his heavy hands behind his back, signalling for Lightning to follow him down the hall. "As do I, which is why I am calling a briefing."

Lightning fell into step with the lieutenant, heading in the direction of his office, down one of the many maze-like white corridors.

"A notorious group known as Sanctum has been rumoured to have moved into the area. They originated from Palumpolum and now have their sights set on Bodhum – they do anything from drug dealing to murder."

Lightning inhaled sharply at the news, causing Amodar to glance at her from the side.

"Which links nicely to my issue." She said composedly. "I walked in on a man having his throat cut in a bar last night, which I haven't reported until now. I now believe in could be this 'Sanctum'."

They both stopped outside Amodar's office and Lightning waited patiently for the man to open the door before continuing. He flicked on the lights, revealing an organised space with an oak desk in the centre of the room; unlike the rest of the building his office had a warm colour scheme, favouring browns. Lightning closed the door behind her as Amodar sauntered over to his chair, clasping his hands together on the wood in front of him. He didn't speak and Lightning continued her recollection standing on the opposite side of the desk.

"There was a bar by the name of NORA with a suspicious, cloaked character lurking around guarding a door. I followed it to the back and saw the man die."

"You were off duty Sergeant, and without weapon. That was a foolish move." He reprimanded his desk more than Lightning herself, staring at the intricate grooves in the wood as he sat deep in thought. "But it may have just given us a lead. Well done."

Lightning's shoulders dropped a fraction in relief, but she did not stand completely at ease as Amodar shuffled together a few loose documents.

"All that's needed now is a plan of action, which I aim to discuss in our briefing. I have a few suitable candidates in mind." Amodar scraped his chair back, tucking reorganised reports under his arm.

"Sir if I may, I have a request."

"Yes?" The man turned expectantly, halfway out of his office.

A pause.

"I wish to go undercover on this case."

Amodar's stepped back, closing the door but allowing his hand to remain perched on the handle.

"Did I hear correctly?" Lightning nodded. "I was going to ask Lance Corporal Collins, she has past experiences in espionage and covert operations before she was transferred, whereas you are a vital part of our Security Regiment. Why?"

Lightning was prepared to fight her corner and although she could relay many reasons why she was a better candidate, a part of her could not think of why she wanted to take on such a responsibility.

"Jessie may have experience as an undercover agent, but it doesn't make up for her lack of skills in combat. If Sanctum caught her out, I don't believe she would be able to hold her own."

Her superior scratched at his stubble, a habit that gave away his thought process of weighing up his options.

"I'm intrigued, Farron. So just this once I'm giving you a week to come up with results. I'm not asking you to single-handedly bring down the group, but if you can find any leads then it is sure to help. Do whatever means necessary to stay alive, you hear me?"

Amodar strolled out the room, leaving Lightning in his office to reflect over her decision and mull over her course of action. She retraced her steps back to her locker, grabbing her belongs before quickly heading back to her apartment in Phoenix Heights to change out of her uniform.

The journey home was uneventful but it wasn't until she was ascending the stairs between floors two and three that Lightning felt her assignment had already begun. A series of footsteps echoed from the level below, causing Lightning to quicken her pace, feeling foolish at her sudden edginess.

She managed to locate her door key, which she kept in the red leather pouch on her leg and enter the apartment without any disturbances.

_I've become so jumpy… the moment I stepped out of the Guardian Corps building I feel as if I'll be cut down on the spot._

After discarding her boots, she marched towards an ornate black side table for a pen and notepad, taking her time to write a note to Serah in her best calligraphy as she placed her intentions and whereabouts within the note.

She placed the note by the phone in easy sight, quickly heading towards her bedroom to find attire that would surely help her to blend in back at NORA. She had noticed from her short time in the bar that despite the dark, drab nature of the place, the bartenders dressed sharp. The buckles of her jacket unclasped with ease as she shrugged the item off her shoulders, followed by the unzipping and unlacing of her turtleneck and skirt.

Lightning emerged from her room feeling as if she could easily pass for a NORA barmaid easily, minus the provocative nature of which Lebreau had chosen to dress. She had opted to follow the black and white colour scheme wearing a plain white t-shirt, skinny black jeans and a small waistcoat that refused to fasten around her chest. The knife she received from Serah as a birthday gift would have its rightful place concealed down ankle length boots, lacing them up once she felt the position of the blade was comfortable enough.

Perhaps she was being too eager, noting with a small laugh that it was just past nine in the morning. Lightning was positive that the place would not even be open, or filled with the desired audience.

"And now I play the waiting game." The soldier sighed impatiently.

Six o'clock rolled around slowly for Lightning, who engaged herself with housework until noon. Cooking was strictly Serah's speciality, as Lightning found even the trivial task of boiling water in a pan difficult; once placing it on the highest temperature to speed up the process and forgetting about it. It was for the next six hours that she meticulously finished off a hefty pile of paperwork, pausing only for a drink and a stretch of her cramped muscles.

"I think now's a good time to leave." Lightning sighed to herself as she patted around in her pockets to check for keys, money, phone and knife.

She stood in the shade cast by that of NORA and the towering grey apartments above it, trying not to look misplaced and suspicious as she casually walked past already familiar faces. She strode passed the old men, who once again stared at her between puffing pipes and downing pints, all but muttering comments about her.

She cursed them in her mind as a burly, tanned man stepped in to tell them to quiet down. Her next task of befriending the employees was something she couldn't help but worry about, as being social and making friends never come easy for the soldier. As she steps through the doors, she realises thankfully that the floor of the bar is sparse, allowing her to make a straight line for the counter towards a recognizable mane of cyan hair who was pouring himself a drink.

The young male looked up, arching an eyebrow and grinning proudly as Lightning approached, combing a finger through his hair.

"Nice to see you again, little lady. Vodka and lemonade for you?"

Lightning nodded, surprised that the he had remembered the first drink she had ordered the previous night. She folded her arms across the counter, forgetting that it was sticky but ignored the feeling when the drink was placed in front of her.

"Thanks… it was Yuj, right?" She took a sip that was cold and welcoming.

If possible, the bartender's grin widened and he confirmed his name, and they continued to swap small talk as Lightning scanned the bar for faces she may recognise from the Guardian Corps. Wanted list, finding no one of particular interest.

"Where's Lebreau tonight?" She queried.

"She doesn't work Mondays. Tonight Snow is boss... I'll be right there in a sec, good man!" Yuj gestured to a customer far to her left.

"Who?"

Before she could get an answer, Yuj dashed off to the opposite end of the bar to serve an impatient man, whilst the next thing she became aware of was the feeling of being caged by two massive arms.

"What are _you_ doing here?" The man said as he embraced her from behind and inhaled sharply with his face in her hair. "You miss me, eh?"

The man didn't get to say much else as Lightning forced her head back hard into the man's nose whilst elbowing him in the gut.

"Get off me you prick!" She hissed, leaping from the bar stool ready to instigate a fight.

The man landed unceremoniously on the floor, clutching his nose while his hand leaked red liquid through his fingers and onto a newly pressed shirt.

"S-serah? W-what-" He stammered, looking unsure of Lightning's actions. The rest of the bar had silenced to watch, and if anything, looked fuller than earlier.

If she had sleeves, she would have rolled them up, tempted to get into a bloody bar brawl with the man.

"Serah is my _sister._ And you're the son of a bitch who's taking advantage of her!" Lightning screamed, realising instantly that he was most definitely Serah's secret boyfriend, judging by the same smell of pungent cologne and his forwardness.

"S-sister? Y-ou're Lightning?" He backed away, crawling with one hand whilst the other stemmed the flow of blood from his noise. "I'm sorry I thought you were Serah!"

Lightning wanted to kick him in the groin and put him out of action, but a large hand grabbed her forcefully by the arm. Lightning looked up to see a behemoth of a man with arms comparable to tree trunks and spiked hair like the wings of a phoenix – mixed with reds, oranges and yellows.

"It's my fault Miss, I told him you were Serah, ya both look very alike. Sorry Snow."

"S'ok man, it's fine." Snow said between his hands. "Just get back to the entrance, Gadot. We're making a fuss."

"Sure thing, but not before I know this girl won't kill ya."

Snow's friend gestured to Lightning with a thick finger and she yanked her arm free from his grasp.

"On one condition." Lightning said almost menacingly, still wanting nothing more than to behead the blonde idiot in front of her with the knife planted within her boots, however an idea had struck her as hard and as fast as she had just hit Snow.

"You're the boss here right?" Snow nodded, finally picked himself up from the floor.

"Yes I am. What's your condition?"

She wanted to say 'That you'll never date my sister again.' But this was an opportunity that was too good to miss.

"Hire me."

Snow had agreed without a second of hesitation and the pub returned to its normal chatty state with everyone minding each other's business. Lightning was lead to a backroom – passing the door she had tried to get through the previous night – and into a staff room. The room was decorated with calming blue walls and black leather armchairs circling a coffee table, overwhelmed with dazzling lights to compensate for the lack of natural light, as the room was void of windows.

In one of the chairs, with his legs bent over one of the arms was the boy Lightning recognised to be Maqui, snoring loudly. They walked passed the room and into what Lightning presumed to be the office, with a desk position awkwardly in the centre of a space no bigger than a closet in Lightning's apartment.

She remained at the door whilst Snow opened a locker located at the back of the room, and flicked through a series of white shirts before finding one his size.

"If you hate me so much, why do you want a job?" Snow asked.

He unbuttoned his bloody shirt in front of Lightning, revealing a hardened, muscular body. Lightning wasn't impressed in the slightest, especially as the tough looking man had easily fallen flat with just a few hits.

"You could say it'll help me keep an eye on you. I told Serah I didn't want you visiting and I swear if I even catch a hint of that disgusting aftershave in my apartment, I'll fucking rip you to shreds." Lightning's voice dripped with malice, yet her tone remained level.

"You remembered the smell of my cologne?" Snow seemed surprised and not even the slightest bit worried that he was hiring his potential murderer. "Is that how you knew I was the one dating your sister?"

Lightning leaned upon the doorframe. "That and the fact you even _dared_ to touch me. It's not hard to put two and two together when there's not many people who share our hair colour."

Snow laughed, buttoning his shirt up, tucking it in neatly before adorning a tie. His hair still appeared ruffled and his face was still bloody.

"Fair enough. So you're still serious about working here?"

"Yes."

"Welcome aboard, I guess."

Lightning was given a 'grand tour' of the rest of the bar, although to her annoyance the room she so desired to look into was skipped as Snow passed off the reason that it was being redecorated.

"And why spoil the grand opening later this month by peeking now?" He joked.

Lightning was introduced properly to the crew present, and felt happy in the fact she could probably get along easily enough with them - as long as they didn't piss her off or date Serah, of course. Snow, she guessed, she would learn to tolerate as time went on.

Yuj was appointed her trainer, teaching her how to work the cash register as well as pull pints quickly and effectively. Ever the quick learner, Lightning picked up the tasks rather easily, apart from when it came to changing a barrel. She had been in the middle of pouring a cider when the tap shuddered and gushed out nothing but froth, she leapt back in an instant, wiping foam from her cheek.

"_Fuck."_ She hissed, blinking away the stinging of cider in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, happens to the best of us." Yuj had said simply between laughter.

Hours later, during a break away from being trained, Lightning checked her phone to see she had a text from her sister querying her whereabouts. The bright screen read 23:53pm, meaning she had been at NORA for a good few hours. The thought of not having to rise early for work tomorrow brought a smile to Lightning's lips, as she leaned behind the bar with her back to the patrons, writing out a reply that would raise more questions than it would provide answers.

_Been hired by your dick of a boyfriend. He bleeds easily._

"Hey babe, can't a guy get a drink round 'ere?" A wheezy old man slurred from behind.

She pocketed her phone, simultaneously pulling a glass from under the counter.

"Yes?" She said reluctantly, knowing instinctively that he was one of the older men who enjoyed eyeing her up.

"I'll 'ave two jugs…" He stared obviously at her breasts. "Er… pints of beer there darlin'." He corrected as he quickly moved his eyes up.

"Coming right up." She said through gritted teeth, releasing her left palm from the fist it had made as her nails had dug in hard. "That'll be six gil." She said placing the drinks down hard in front of the bearded man.

He took out ten gil, staring at his palm as he strained to count how much he had, but gave up by slamming the money on the counter.

"I think that's six." He managed to say, grabbing both glasses and disappearing into the crowd.

Lightning picked up the coins placing the correct amount of money into the till.

"My first tip." She mused with a slight smile. Her thoughts ended when another figure slid into view, occupying the stool in front of her with a confident attitude, she did not regard the person at first.

"Now you sure move quick. From patron to pint puller within the space of two days, pretty impressive."

Lightning instantly looked up upon hearing the strongly accented voice, which spoke as if they had been watching her intently since she had been here.

The voice belonged to an enigmatic looking woman with wild raven hair and the piercing viridian eyes of a hunter; of someone who observed closely. The black vest top she wore bared her toned arms and revealed a long tribal tattoo down her left arm, and despite the dim lighting of the room she could see that she was nicely tanned, a contrast to her pale self.

"Already my first impression of you is that you're a stalker." Lightning muttered to herself, unsure of what the woman was up to.

"Likewise." The darker woman replied. Lightning was thrown by the comment by the fact she had heard her.

"Are you here for a drink or are you just going to waste my time?" Lightning snapped, feeling as though the woman was going to mess around.

"Red wine will do." The woman leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed, making a point to study Lightning intently as she worked. Lightning struggled at first to find the correct glass, looking everywhere under the counter with no luck. She cursed out loud.

The mysterious woman chuckled, realising what was wrong.

"Above you, darlin'." She pointed to the upturned glasses above their head.

"Right…" Lightning made no effort to thank her, but grabbed a clean looking glass nearest to her. She turned to face the back of the bar, looking bewildered as she eyed the assortment of drinks available, yet she couldn't locate any wine.

Yuj passed her, taking one quick look at Lightning and the customer she was serving. He stopped what he was doing, reaching over her shoulder to pick out a tall, ruby coloured glass bottle. "That's the one you want." He said and left as if it was nothing.

Lightning noticed that Yuj was good at remembering faces and the corresponding drinks to each person.

Well-defined eyebrows raised in amusement at watching the newly hired barmaid squirm in trying to complete her order.

There was something about the tanned woman that put Lightning on edge. Was it because of the mysterious manner about her or was it her previous statement?

"There. Four gil please." Lightning said finally, hoping the woman would leave as quickly as she had appeared.

The woman gave her the correct amount of money and picked up the glass delicately with her right hand.

"So does the newcomer have a name?"

"Does the prowler?" Lightning retorted.

"The name's Fang. And already my first impression of you is that you're the type to play hard to get." She smirked, mimicking Lightning from earlier.

Lightning shuffled on the spot uncomfortably. Was it wise to give her name to someone who seemed keen to study her? Being open had worked out well so far.

"Lightning. And I'm pretty sure you're hitting on me." She said although still unsure of the woman.

Fang smirked over her glass and took a slow sip.

"Not as hard as you hit that poor Snow fella." Fang winked. "Nice to meet you, Lightning."

Lightning nodded back in acknowledgment and took a moment to grab herself a glass to try the wine that Fang was drinking.

"You, er… come here often?" She murmured as she poured the wine from the bottle, careful to watch Fang, the drink she was pouring and any potential customers as she did so.

"Now who's hitting on who?" Fang chuckled as Lightning swallowed nervously, realising the implications of what she said.

"I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry, just messin'. Seriously though, you could say I'm a regular, yeah. Haven't been around these parts long but I visit this place often. How about you?"

Lightning tasted the wine slowly, allowing the pause in conversation to build up her story.

"I er, worked nearer the city centre of Bodhum, nothing special really it was just a normal, boring, day job… just fancied something different."

"No kidding…" The woman muttered to herself with a sly grin, clearly Lightning wasn't meant to have heard. "I do a few jobs here and there myself, and my current line of work just happened to find me over in Bodhum."

Lightning noticed how well each of them managed to hold a conversation without actually giving away valuable information. It was an art she could have to build on if she was to get any further in the Sanctum case without anyone questioning her.

In front of her, Fang knocked back her glass and made little work of the remaining liquid, licking her lips as she placed the empty glass down.

"Well I've enjoyed talkin' to ya, Lightning. But I've just about overstayed my welcome. Catch ya later!"

She bent down, swiping up a black backpack and bid farewell. Lightning watched out of interest, her steps were confident as she passed the crowd, ignoring everyone as if she was in a hurry.

'What a character.'

The figure of Fang was replaced by the bulky shape of Gadot who was dressed in a regulatory uniform of a white shirt and black trousers. Lightning guessed that the man was more of a door guard…

Door guard.

Was he the cloaked figure from yesterday? She wracked her brains, trying to picture the body shape of the hooded guard. Gadot definitely had the height, but he was too chunky, although they did say black was slimming. Lightning subconsciously placed her hand on her neck, where the guard had almost tried to strangle her.

Gadot waved at her as he squeezed passed to get to the staff room. Showing off a hand easily the size of her head.

Gadot was definitely not the cloaked figure, she deduced, as the hands around her neck had been a lot more delicate.


	3. Informant

_A/N:__ Hi everyone! I can't seem to get this story out of my head and I am really happy with how it is all linking together so far, it's not easy I tell you! _

_I hope you are enjoying it so far! :)_

Lightning drummed her fingers against the sticky counter in an attempt to amuse herself. She hadn't realised how long her introductory shift would last, but then again Snow wasn't the sharpest tool. Determined to stick it out for the rest of the night, she sat with another drink hidden under the counter, the only thing giving her a kick to stay awake. It was likely - knowing her luck - the second she left the bar, something vital would happen.

The time had just passed one in the morning and as an early rising soldier, the task of keeping her eyes open proved hard. The bar itself had emptied of its dirty old men, leaving the fresher faced Bodhum youth to drink away the early hours of Tuesday. To pass the time she read the messages left to her from Serah on her phone, which she hadn't bothered replying to whatsoever; her sister seemed to be the only person capable of writing passively demanding texts that proved no threat. The only remotely interesting occurrence for Lightning was witnessing Maqui dash from the entrance to the other end of the bar and leaping over the counter where she was stationed. He had fallen short however, catching his foot on a beer tap and fallen flat on his face. It was moments later, after recovering from a fit of uncharacteristic snorts of laughter from her part, that Snow could be heard. Lightning's ears perked up when the man appeared to be shouting in frenzy, the distinct sound of a feeble chair breaking against a wall followed soon after.

He appeared from the curtained doorway with a dark aura, shoulders slouched and breathing heavy. Did Serah know of this destructive side to Snow? It was enough to alert Lightning to the fact he was not suitable for her sister.

He eyed the remaining customers, counting their numbers in his head and totalled the amount of potential money he could still receive from them.

"Guys. Urgent staff meeting, now! Lightning could you watch the bar?"

After ushering everyone passed who stood in his way, Gadot stormed through the hatch, causing bottles to rattle as he hit both sides of the bar with his bulky form, following Snow through the doorway.

"Wait up!" Yuj panicked, throwing a drink he was serving down in front of his customer, splashes of the amber liquid flying everywhere. His vibrant hair bounced as he skidded through the door, leaving Lightning to stare in bewilderment.

"I take it I don't quite qualify as staff yet." She drawled monotonously. Whether or not they classified her as part of the group, Lightning was determined to listen in.

Between watching the bar and men retreat further into the building, Lightning counted to thirty, giving the men enough time to get settled back in the staff room. The twelve people situated in different sections of the bar hardly needed worrying about, although they were teens, they didn't seem the usual rowdy type that Lightning was used to breaking up on street corners.

She poked her head cautiously around the hallway after her co-workers; satisfied that the coast was clear she crept slowly down the carpeted hallway, admiring some old oil paintings that aged along with the passageway. She turned left, ignoring the mystery door on her right and moved along the bottom of the corridor.

The door she sought after was ajar, light spilling out of the gap that allowed the men's voices to her heard clearly.

"No one told me they'd be back tonight!" Snow roared.

There was a sound of multiple gasps. Snow continued as Lightning gradually crept towards to the door, holding her breath the closer she got.

"Maqui said we've got maybe ten, fifteen minutes until that _bitch _shows… and Lebreau isn't even here!"

Snow moved into Lightning's limited vision, rubbing his wrists nervously as though he had previously been handcuffed. Whoever was coming was a force to be reckoned with as Snow looked terrified.

"Sorry boss, we didn't know either." Gadot's gruff voice sounded. "Can't one of us take Lebreau's place?"

Snow continued with his hand massaging.

"You know fine well… Lebreau is always requested to serve drinks."

"I'm a much better server." Yuj muttered under his breath.

Snow placed his head in his hands, grasping at his blonde hair. "We've gotta call her in."

"You can't do that, boss. She'll take too long to get here and it's not fair on her."

Lightning shifted, causing the floorboards to creak under her weight and Snow looked up, whilst the new voice of Maqui entered the conversation.

"But why didn't the Sanct-"

"Shh." Snow ordered, glaring at the doorway and directly at Lightning, although he didn't realise it. She may have gotten away with it had the floorboard not gave way again.

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping, Lightning. This isn't any of your business."

She swung the door open fully. "You play host to a gang of criminals." Lightning inwardly rejoiced at her luck, maybe the case would be over before the weekend. "So maybe it can be my business. I can help."

Snow paused as he alternated from looking at Lightning and the floor. The broken chair from earlier lay in pieces not far from where she stood, kicking one of the pieces caused Snow to look up.

"Yeah... but let me explain first, I'm not a bad guy."

No, he was just someone who flings furniture across the room.

"If you're trying to justify why you still deserve to be with Sera-"

"They turned up about a week ago needing a place for 'meetings'. I needed the money they offered to pay for… they pay big." He corrected, rubbing his forefinger and thumb together.

Lightning sighed. It seemed Snow was just cash strapped, but housing a wanted gang like the Sanctum was still an offence. However Lightning knew she needed a bigger break in the case as it dawned on her that NORA was simply a hideout, these guys weren't the real deal she had hoped for.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Nothing. You're not getting involved."

He was persistent in not allowing Lightning or the others getting drawn in, instructing them on what to do once they arrive. Sweat began to bead upon the side of his face when he mentioned that he would simply have to turn the group away if they didn't accept the current conditions. Gadot sidled an armchair with the intention of ridding the bar of the rest of its guests, on behalf of his friend and boss.

All that was left to do was wait.

The foreboding hooded figure emerged from the twilight, just as Snow said it would. Along with Gadot, Maqui and Yuj, Lightning stood watching the conflict out of view from Sanctum in pure amazement. This was going to be the side of crime she didn't see and it excited her.

For a gang that wanted to blend in, the black figure did nothing but arouse suspicion, stopping in front of Snow with a standoffish stance, the hem of the cloak billowed around their feet. The hooded guard scanned the room and once happy, turned towards the entrance and gestured. The action was followed by two suited bodyguards, who stood between an important looking woman clad in a tight, revealing dress suit and her hair cascading down her back. Lightning's vision moved down towards her feet, where she sported more than fair sized heels that contributed to her height significantly. Taking a wild guess, she would say the woman was a dominating, overpowering and sly individual. The suited men were likely to serve as human shields for the woman, as what other purpose did the cloaked figure hold if she already had guards?

Snow towered above everyone within the room, yet still looked afraid.

"Go right on through. I'll bring the drinks immediately." He ducked his head in respect.

The bespectacled woman strutted forward, standing safely beside her hooded guard.

"I do hope Lebreau is waiting around the back, Mr Villiers We have business to discuss."

Snow cleared his throat. "Un-unfortunately Mondays are her night off. I wasn't aware of your arrival until…"

What she couldn't help but wonder however, was why Lebreau had anything to do with this woman.

"I don't understand, what's going on? Why does it matter who serves the drinks to them?" Lightning whispered. The boys all held their breath and Maqui was visably shaking.

"M-miss Nabaat doesn't trust men. The only exception she seems to take is the guy who owns this entire square of buildings, Mr Rosch." He paused, listening to Snow's sorry pleading, which only made the boy seem more frightened.

The woman's voice was shrill.

"Well you better find me a replacement."

A replacement? This could be her chance. It was just to serve drinks, right? Taking a deep breath Lightning stepped out into full view, the shadows no longer providing a protective cover, she ignored the hushed begging of her colleagues behind her.

"Maybe I can be of assistance."

The woman stopped, turning her attention to Lightning, whose face reflected that of a cold and careless individual, mirroring Nabaat's own features.

The woman moved slowly towards Lightning, looking over her glasses at first in order to scrutinise the newcomer into the conversation, before pushing her glasses closer to her face. The woman's eyes narrowed as she smirked.

"Yes. Yes you'll do."

She brushed passed Lightning, her subordinates following wordlessly behind through the bar and into curtained off doorway. Snow looked less than pleased, his facial features and posture telling her more than his silence did.

"Lightning, you do realise…" Snow began, but Lightning ignored him.

"Yuj?" she called towards the shaded cubbyhole of a seating area that they all had been secretly watching from. Yuj stepped forwarded in acknowledgement.

"Y-yeah?"

"You'll need to tell me what drinks they like."

As Lightning approached the mysterious door with a silver tray of drinks in hand, the hooded guard gestured for her to stop, grabbing the tray with gloved hands in order to place it on a side table by the door.

"I was requested to go in there. You should know." Lightning said coolly. It irked her the fact that the guard chose not to speak, which did nothing more than create a surreal impression that the figure was actually some sort of phantom.

The guard let out an amused breath and began to search Lightning for any concealed weapons. Their hands traced slowly and thoroughly from her abdomen, no doubt taking pleasure in the way they were touching Lightning, who shuddered from the touch. The guard moved out of her view, tracing the outline of her body down to her ankles from behind and stopping at her boots.

Lightning closed her eyes in realisation, mentally cursing herself when the guard pulled the knife she had stashed by her ankle. The guard's arms reached around Lightning, opening the knife in front of her face while clicking their tongue in a displeased manner, revealing thin arms under long black-sleeved t-shirt.

Lightning was shoved forward and the guard retreated, pocketing the knife. Slightly annoyed with herself, Lightning picked up the tray and knocked tentatively upon the wooden door.

"Come in." The woman spoke softly, but did nothing to lure Lightning into her false trap of friendliness.

The room Lightning entered was a sharp contrast to the rest of the building. Richly decorated in red and gold variations. In the centre of the room, Nabaat lounged upon a velvet chaise longue, her shoes long discarded on the floor. The two suited guards stationed either side of the wall like statues.

"Your drink, Miss Nabaat." Lightning placed a large bottle of Bacchus wine beside the woman, who reached out with a manicured hand to grasp the filled glass beside it.

"Please, call me Jihl… and take a seat while we're at it." She motioned to a comfortable looking armchair directly opposite.

"I find myself in a difficult situation… ah…"

She couldn't think of a different name fast enough.

"Lightning."

"Lightning, yes… pretty name. You see I came here tonight with two intentions, really. Firstly to meet with an associate, and secondly to offer Lebreau a wonderful opportunity. But upon seeing you… you've thrown a spanner into the works."

Lightning didn't know what to make of the comment, staring blankly back at the crafty looking face of Jihl. Behind her, the door creaked open slightly and was followed by light footsteps, which Lightning could only presume was the hooded guard.

"I don't understand…"

Jihl placed a stray hair back behind her ear and laughed like a shrieking siren.

"Ah forgive me. What I mean to say is that you're absolutely _stunning, _Lightning. I think I'd like you to be my new server here, and if I think you'd be up for the job-"

"Doing what exactly?" Lightning interrupted rudely, but Jihl didn't seem to have noticed.

"You have to pass my judgement first, I'm afraid. But don't worry Lightning, because you have such a nice physique, maybe you should show it off more… you may go."

Lightning shot up from her seat almost tempted to run for the door, the hooded figure watching her intently as Lightning brushed passed, sizing them up. The figure wasn't that much taller than her.

Lightning smirked upon her way out, but almost crashed into Snow in the process, she dodged to the left making it a narrow miss.

"Did anything happen in there?" Snow hissed, grabbing Lightning by the forearm to drag her unwillingly to the staff room with the others, who were all spread out comfortably upon worn seats. The rest of the group didn't seem annoyed like Snow, instead adopting a rather excited look and sitting up as if she was a teacher checking on pupils.

"Spit it out!" Gadot roared in anticipation as Lightning took a seat on the arm of his chair.

"Nabaat… wants to sign me up for some job if I pass the task of being a server. And no I can't tell you what it is because she won't tell me until I accept."

Snow paced back and forth, causing the soldier to feel dizzy as she watched.

"Lightning don't accept anything... I could have handled her by myself." His fist hit the wall beside him. "You don't know how deep she'll drag you into the organisation or what she'll do."

Lightning's head started to spin and this time it wasn't from Snow's incessant pacing, feeling as though it was time to go home and do some serious thinking. Her next move would be the make or break of her self-appointed mission. Should she accept Jihl's proposal without another second thought, or continue letting Lebreau do the job? As much as it pained her to think it, Snow was right about Jihl being dangerous, but the woman had taken an instant shine to her had she not?

"I'm going home." She stated as she stood up, although she did so a little to quickly as her entire vision turned white, her head feeling as though it was about to cave in. "I need time to think."

Snow shook his head as though still in disbelief.

"Think about what you're doing, Lightning. If not for yourself, for Serah."

Lightning ignored the rest of his pathetic drivel, wishing the group a good night to finally retire to bed. She was well aware that Sanctum were still located behind the inconspicuous door and just the very thought of the Jihl made Lightning's blood run cold.

The night air had a similar effect upon Lightning, biting at the exposed skin on her arms as she walked home - this was the downside of living in a seaside city. The fresh sea air permeated her lungs, ridding them of the smoke and stuffiness she had to endure at NORA.

Her gait was particularly carefree and relaxed, which she put down to the many drinks the night had offered her freely, however still managing to reach Phoenix Heights Apartments within record timing.

She held her breath as her keys rattled noisily in the lock, entering a dark living space that thankfully no longer smelled of aftershave and meant that Serah had brought home no one else since their little disagreement. She staggered to her room almost blindly in the dark, her face finding her bedroom door before her hands did as she clumsily pushed the door open. Maybe she had been taking advantage of the free drinks a little too much.

Unused to her new routine of nightshifts, Lightning awoke six hours later to the wondrous smell of bacon and a sore head. She rubbed her eyes vigorously, sweeping her legs over the side of the bed as she let her eyes adjust to the light. Serah could be heard in the kitchen, whistling merrily, and would no doubt be full of questions.

"I thought I was the one in charge of cooking." Lightning sat down at the breakfast table, Serah placed a full plate of bacon, sausages and egg in front of her.

"And I thought you were my sister, not some stalking, boyfriend harmer." Serah joked. "Seriously, why have you taken on something that's not in your job description?"

At least Serah had received her note.

"Listen, when you get a job and do the same sort of thing day in and day out, then you'll understand."

Breakfast was shovelled down to make room for early morning paperwork regarding last night's events. Lightning tilted her chair back, stretching almost cat-like, a content noise escaping her lips.

"Let me guess, you're going for a jog now?"

Lightning nodded, watching guiltily as her sister cleared her plate.

"You'll be leaving soon too I'm guessing."

"Yep!"

Lightning vacated her seat and reached for the front door, she wished Serah goodbye over her shoulder but froze mid-sentence.

Placed on the doormat in full view of the rest of the hallway, with a red bow tied lovingly around the handle, was her knife.

Her immediate reaction was to check both sides of the hallway for the person responsible, but not a single soul graced the third floor. Her mouth went dry, realising that she had last seen her knife in the lethal hands of the hooded figure. To have the knife here in front of her, it would have had to be delivered, and Lightning prayed that Snow had dropped by. All hopes were dashed however, when a small tag came into view as she picked up the blade, she flipped it over, reading the carefully written words over and over again in disbelief:

_Next time please hide it somewhere else, so I can have the pleasure of searching you again. _

Lightning's breath hitched and her pulse raced, she had been followed home, and by someone linked to the Sanctum gang no less. Her carelessness now meant that Serah was no longer safe if her position as Sergeant Farron came to light, would she have to call in Amodar already? She leaned upon the door of her apartment, shaking her head; her position would not be compromised under any circumstances.

In order to act natural, Lightning resumed her intentions of a jog and upon returning came face to face with yet another one of Serah's unwelcome visitors, although thankfully not Snow. Vaguely aware that Serah should be attending her classes and would in fact be dreadfully late, she did not voice her concerns, instead eyeing the vivacious girl sitting on their kitchen _table _swinging her legs.

"Ah, sis! Meet our new neighbour Vanille, she's the one who moved in upstairs." Serah gestured to the ceiling, which caused Lightning to pointlessly look up.

"Hi! You must be Lightning. I've heard so much about you." The redhead waved sweetly at her and Lightning returned the motion hesitantly, realising that the girl had a distinctively recognisable lilt to her voice. The girl wore little clothing; a small cropped vest that showed the majority of her stomach and a skirt that decided not to cover much either.

Why was this girl in their apartment? And why did she feel increasingly uneasy?

"Serah… can I speak to you in private a second?" Lightning forced herself to stay as casual as possible when heading towards Serah's room. The second the door closed, Lightning burst into a small frenzy.

"What have you said to her?" Lightning stared wide-eyed into her sister's face, gripping her shoulders frantically whilst Serah stared back sceptically.

"What's the matter? I just told her about us." Lightning gripped harder, no longer caring whether her nails were digging in.

"Did you mention the Guardian Corps?" She shook her slightly. "Well, did you?"

"Of course I did! She asked what you did for a living… why are you acting so weird?"

Lightning felt as though her body was made of lead, or that she was slowly turning into stone as she stared on in disbelief.

"I'll explain later, just… get her out of here now."

Vanille hadn't seem disturbed at the thought of the two sisters holding an emergency meeting between each other, however she had moved closer to the bedroom door, tactfully placing herself in front of a bookcase to scan the list of titles. When they re-emerged, she jumped.

"Oh hey! I'm sorry I seemed to catch you both at the wrong moment but I thought an introduction was necessary. I'll be going now, see you Serah, Lightning."

The second the door clicked shut Lightning spun around and sat both Serah and herself on the sofa.

When Lightning explained in depth the situation she was in, Serah didn't seem in the least bit perturbed.

"You're working for Snow? Does that mean you'll eventually grow to like him?" The younger Farron placed her hands over her heart with joy. "Does it?"

"No, Serah. And you don't seem to grasp the fact how serious it is that this Vanille girl knows I work for the Guardian Corps. You're no longer safe!"

"Plenty of people know you work for the GC." Serah countered.

To say she was not looking forward to Tuesday night's shift was an understatement, the only upside was that Snow refused to talk to her when she mentioned taking up Jihl's offer the next time they turned up. Lebreau replaced Yuj on duty, becoming ecstatic once she learned that there was another girl behind the bar.

"Y'know I could dance on the tables in _joy_ knowing that we're finally evening out the testosterone in this place… in fact I might later, imagine the tips." She giggled.

Lightning didn't want to imagine.

"Er yeah, I guess you've needed a little help kicking this guys into shape."

"Definitely! Although I think I've done well up until now. Would you mind if I asked you to go collect the glasses?" Lightning's eyes followed Lebreau's line of vision across the expanse on the bar, where many tables had multiple empty glasses glinting in the dim light of the room.

"Ok." At least it gave her something different to do. Systematically working clockwise around the room, Lightning managed to get the job done efficiently, the last few glasses were positioned in the alcove that doubled as a hiding place from the Sanctum.

Her fingers didn't so much as trace the outline of the glass, when another glass was set down in front of her, alerting Lightning to the customer at the table. She struggled to look passed the billows of smoke that had drifted from a crowd of adolescences, who had set up base awkwardly on the floor near the table.

"Nice to see that you're still here." Sounded the exotic voice could only be that of the mysterious wine-drinking woman, Fang. She sat alone, never seeming to entertain company, befriending only the glass she was holding and Lightning.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She said suspiciously with a smile still creeping upon her usually stoic features, but Fang gave her a knowing look.

"Not sure, you seem the sorta person who has offers thrown at 'em."

Oh this one knew _something._

"Can I ask a question?" Lightning asked, finally recognizing that the accent this woman had wasn't common, Fang nodded, welcoming any questions with open arms when she patted the cushioned seat beside her.

"Only if I can ask one."

Unsure if it was in her line of duty to sit and chat to customers, Lightning glanced back towards where Lebreau stood in case she was being watched, happy that she wouldn't be missed Lightning sat down.

"Do you know someone called Vanille?" She was certain their accents were the same.

"You sure do like getting straight down to business. But yes I do."

Lightning's face almost lit up – almost – had it not been for the fact she reminded herself she was to play it cool, although the joy in her eyes must have betrayed her when Fang laughed.

"Who is she?" Lightning leaned forward in anticipation of her demand when Fang opened her mouth, however it was merely to laugh.

"That would be another question, and I'm pretty sure it's my turn."

Lightning huffed; she was clearly playing some sort of game with her. She leaned close to Lightning's ear, causing her to jump slightly when her warm breath ticked her ear.

"So what are you gonna do about Jihl's little offer?"

The words fell straight from Fang's lips and formed an invisible noose around Lightning's neck, stopping her airflow. Fang was now mentally classified as dangerous. Lightning remained motionless, allowing the flood of voices and the music to fill the uncomfortable silence, whilst Fang stretched over for her wine glass as she patiently awaited an answer.

"Perhaps it's not the best time nor place to ask. I bet it's been drillin' your mind what you should do. I know this is probably too much to ask of you…"

The quarter full bottle of red wine that had been situated by Fang's glass was picked up and almost flung into Lightning's direction. "But I want you to accept it."

Lightning acknowledged the bottle and took a hearty swig, wiping her mouth once she had finished, all the while keeping eye contact with Fang. The dark woman sat serenely beside her with her arms folded, staring unblinkingly back at Lightning. As much as Lightning didn't want to trust the woman – her fuzzy mind told her Fang was bad news – her heart told her she would actually be of good help.

"You seem to know more than what you're letting on."

Fang shrugged at this, distracting herself by watching a passer-by. The taller woman stood quickly, navigating around the table with a sway of her hips towards the bar. The change in lighting allowed Lightning to examine the woman without her predatory gaze upon her; she was wearing similar apparel as last time, favouring an all black appearance as if it helped her blend into the shadows better. The dim lamp above her showered her body in golden light, giving the woman a honey coloured hue to her skin. Fang uttered words to Lebreau, whose eyes darted roughly to Lightning's position.

Fang returned with another bottle of wine – Bacchus – and another glass, presumably for her.

"Couldn't discuss things over an empty glass, could we?" Fang beamed. She took her time pouring them both a glass. "I want you to accept Jihl's proposal on the fact I have business regarding the guy she answers to."

"And what has that got to do with me? And how do you know about all this?"

"Well, if you can get me in the favours of Jihl, it means I can get nearer the big guy because if you didn't know, she's second in command. But yeah, the quicker you give her an answer the better, but what I really wanna know is… why you've suddenly become the new kid on the block."

Fang was ignoring her last question, so she would ignore hers.

"Like I said last time, I was looking for different job opportunities." Lightning drank more of the wine and slid out of the seat, the half full glass still in hand. "I should really be getting back to work."

Fang bit her lip and quickly reached over the table to grab Lightning's hand, producing a pen with a flick of her wrist, presumably from her pocket. Fang bit the pen lid and spat it across the table, forcibly writing a number on Lightning's hand.

Her first reaction was to try and wipe it off but thought against the idea, seeing how urgent Fang appeared, it was a far cry away from the cool demeanour she had been exhibiting.

Upon her return behind the bar Lebreau casually danced around the undercover soldier.

"Ooh you got her number? Work fast don't we? Didn't think of you as that sort…"

Lightning blushed, realising the implications of a number scrawled on her hand.

"It's not like that at all. She had some business that's all."

Lightning was already typing Fang's number into her phone, watching the woman from the corner of her eye as she sent rang the phone experimentally to let Fang receive her own number. Lightning watched as the screen lit up her face, highlighting prominent features like her cheekbones. She seemed friendly enough and not in the fake sense that Jihl had about her, which Lightning was going to take full advantage of as Fang seemed to know something more about Sanctum than she did.

Fang's viridian eyes flicked upwards from the mobile's screen, slowly raising her glass to Lightning. Lightning mirrored the movement, raising her own glass to her pink lips. The wine tasted sweeter than before.

_To be continued._


	4. Deepground

Looking up from between the monoliths that surrounded NORA, faint constellations could be seen dotted throughout the inky sky, which Lightning contemplated thoughtfully. The air smelled heavily of ale, smoke and urine much to her displeasure; and behind her Lebreau had began to lock up. The girl jammed a rusted key within the equally worn lock, the two scraping against each other as Lebreau struggled to fine the hole in the darkness. While she waited, Lightning began to drag the outer steel cage shutter across the expanse of the entrance, which had also fallen victim to time and graffiti.

"It was nice of you to offer to lock up." Lebreau smiled faintly, fatigued from dancing upon every surface the bar had to offer, including the customers.

"It's nothing." Lightning yawned. "Figured I'd have to learn in case I was ever asked to do it."

Lebreau jangled the keys between her fingers to indicate she was finished, shoving them into her bra nonchalantly.

"Oh well, catch ya later!" The raven-haired woman called, departing in the opposite direction than Lightning intended to go, and the soldier waved her off. Tonight Lightning had left the bar with a lasting impression of Lebreau dancing provocatively around one of the younger male regulars, and more importantly she had left with an important contact. Lightning knew that the remainder of the time would need to be used wisely, and she fully intended to rip every inch of information from Fang, through the method of befriending the woman. It had crossed her mind earlier that evening that the mysterious woman could be setting her up, that Fang could actually be working for Sanctum and was steering her closer to her doom. Therefore she needed to stay a step ahead somehow, which first involved sleeping.

Lebreau was headed towards an actual nightclub that Lightning had never heard of until earlier that day; throughout the entire duration of the night the younger girl had hinted that Lightning should attend. Naturally she declined, though felt it was wise to watch after the girl as far as her vision would allow her.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come? I'm sure _Fang_ said she'd be there." Lebreau had said with a sly look.

"Tempting but no." Came her sarcastic reply.

The space around her was filled with nothing but relaxing silence, with Lebreau's heeled footsteps fading in the distance and Lightning sighed in relief.

Moments later, a glass bottle shattered in the distance, followed by the harrowing sound of a gunshot and the clatter of metal hitting cement. The sound was more than familiar to Lightning, who turned full circle in the direction of the noise, pressing herself against a cold brick wall to peer into the dark alley. The texture of the wall was rough against her skin, which caused her to graze her elbow as she slid cautiously into the abyss, head ducked slightly.

"Lebreau?" She called out but to no avail.

The smell of gunpowder was thick in the air and Lightning shifted closer down the alley, her heart rate increasing the closer she got to the other end. The faint thumping sound of music became clearer with ever step, vibrations from heavy-duty speakers pulsing through her body. Almost a metre in front of her, Lightning glimpsed the metallic sheen of the gun's barrel along with the glint of broken green glass. It was warm to the touch, signalling that it was indeed the firearm that had been shot a few minutes ago. _Carelessly discarded_. Lightning stuffed it quickly into the waistband of her jeans, careful to flip her t-shirt over the protruding handle, although the outline of the gun was still visible under the fabric.

It wasn't hard to guess where the nightclub was situated, as the remaining revellers in the area were all drawn into one direction like moths to a flame.

_Check on Lebreau, then leave. _

Either side of the alley were posters, both old and fresh, all of which advertised the same nightclub. Lightning ripped one of the posters from the wall, heading towards a flickering street lamp to get a better view:

_Deepground - All Night Bar 11pm – 7am_

_The underground party house that is the proud host of:_

_Cheap Drinks! Poker tables! Foam Parties!_

"As well as _hosts_ to hangovers, muggers and rapists, no doubt." Lightning muttered to herself, crumpling the poster and throwing it into the nearest waste container. Lightning moved on, shoving passed drunken men and women as she did so. It was for times like these that Lightning chose to wear her uniform even on days off, as the power it gave her was one of the little things she indulged in. The look of sober fear in drunken eyes was a particularly satisfying power to hold.

Deepground's entrance was essentially a black storm cellar door, with a stone staircase that descended into the club itself. On the way down, Lightning sidestepped unconscious bodies and dodged spillages, avoiding the sticky looking safety railing. After what seemed to be an eternity of stairs, Lightning eventually reached the bottom, which opened out into a vast space that could easily fit the NORA bar in a hundred times over. The square room had an old theatrical look to it and was parted into two main sections. The largest section was the very floor she stood on, which the dance floor was situated upon; the walls were marked but still showed faint intricate patterns upon the faded wallpaper. Along three sides of the room, stretched a long balcony with shredded red curtains adorning most of its upper walls, and either side of Lightning stood two wooden staircases that both leading to the balcony, which would give Lightning a suitable overview of the entire club. She ascended the right staircase out of personal preference with a steady jog to the top, her left hand stroking the banister as she did so. She rounded a wooden-panelled pillar and made her way to the centre of the balcony to observe the floor down below in hope for Lebreau. The task proved hard, as the crowd below moved constantly and the constant flashes of disco lights interrupted any possible visions she had of Lebreau. Placing both hands either side of her for leverage as she leaned over the railing, Lightning squinted hard at a particular girl, who had similar dark hair but wore too much clothing. She huffed in defeat, turning her back to the dance floor and instead choosing to eye the current floor she was on. She was here now, so she might as well take a look around. The first thing she noticed was that this floor was distinctly calmer, but nevertheless still full of people who were crowded around several poker tables, which she had seen advertised on one of the many posters in the alley. She swiftly moved to the nearest table, getting as close as possible to peek over the stranger's shoulder who was blocking the majority of her view. From what she could see, the table was filled with suited rich men, who didn't need nor care about the money they would win or lose. She watched for a few minutes, as one man angrily stubbed out his cigar upon the table and vacated his seat as he lost, and another player quickly took his place.

It didn't take long for Lightning to feel bored, realising her sole reason for being there was to make sure Lebreau was okay, which she probably was. Her eyes lazily looked elsewhere, stopping instantly on a poker table in the corner that held a familiar face.

_It's that Vanille girl. _

Lightning pushed forward passed the mob, trailing along the back wall so that the redhead wouldn't spot her. She positioned herself tactfully behind the girl, who had just won a hefty amount of chips from the other three male players, squealing in joy as she raked the winnings towards her in delight. The man to Vanille's left caught Lightning's eye for all the wrong reasons, although admittedly handsome with layered black hair like the feathers of a raven and a charming angular face, he also had mistrustful dark eyes. His gloved hands moved from his being crossed in front of his face to the chips by his bent elbows, flicking more chips into the centre of the table.

"That was a smart play for such a young girl." He huffed, the corner of his mouth down turned.

Vanille inclined her head. "Why thanks! But less chat now, the next round is mine also."

She gave a thumbs up and an afro haired man who stood behind the opponent directly opposite her blinked long and purposefully. The notion that the naïve looking girl was possibly cheating, piqued Lightning's interest and she even shuffled closer to the table. Throughout this game, the afro haired man made a series of questionable movements from rubbing his chin, scratching his wrists and coughing. It was after each of these signals that Vanille dealt a winning hand, flicking one of her bouncy pigtails in victory. "I win again, boys!" She laughed, seeming close to rolling around in the chips with joy. The dark haired male laughed sinisterly, shaking his head disbelievingly. A bystander with hair that reached the centre of his back annoyingly blocked Lightning's view of the slick haired man as she watched, only catching a slight glimpse of the player clicking his fingers. The man who rudely obstructed her vision reached into an inner pocket of his jacket, a slowly pulled a gun secretly to his side, hiding the majority of it within his trouser pocket. Lightning's own gun hand prickled with a sense of foreboding, which prompted her to mirror the man's move in drawing her own concealed pistol, glad her back was to the wall. Another finger snap sounded from the poker table, followed by the subtle click of the gun hammer being forced back.

_Not on my watch, you prick. _

She would fill him with lead before he even thought about raising his arm to shoot. Like a true soldier she planned multiple getaway routes, the most ambitious being a leap of faith over the balcony onto the dancers below. A third finger snap echoed through Lightning's ears, like the sound of a droplet of water in an empty corridor. But before the man could even comprehend the action, Lightning whipped the gun from under her shirt and shot two well placed bullets into the back of his knees. She darted quickly like flash to the left, before the longhaired man even regarded the newly acquired holes in his legs. From the corner of her eye she watched him buckle over a shrieking Vanille, but she was already stampeding down the stairs before anyone else knew what was going on, although his screams of anguish were still heard. Being the impatient type, Lightning hopped over the handrail when she was close to the bottom, landing steadily on her feet. She did not look back, but sensed that someone may be hot on her trail, a feeling that caused her to practically dive into the crowd.

The dance floor was heaving with adolescent, sweating bodies, which Lightning had the pleasure of squeezing through. The collective body heat was immense and uncomfortable, making it hard to breathe as everyone was packed together tightly.

There was angry shouting overhead, followed by the stampeding of many men, all with their hands in jacket pockets, ready to pull out guns.

Lightning ducked under the arms of a couple punching the air to the beat of a song. Occasionally she poked her head above the crowd, checking for anyone tailing her, as well as potential exits. The entrance was an absolute no go, as she had spotted surveillance cameras on her way down and the last thing she wanted was to be hunted down. It was then Lightning scolded herself upon realisation; she had almost forgotten about any security tapes of her gunning someone down, had years of training in the Guardian Corps been for nothing? She turned ninety degrees to her right, eyes lighting up in relief at spotting a familiar face in the distance. Once close enough, she grabbed them by the shoulder to spin them around, greeted by a momentarily confused face.

"Oh! Hey, Lightnin' how's it going?"

Fang swung both arms around Lightning's neck despite having a bottle in one hand, and pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace. The cold bottle was pressed between Lightning's shoulder blades, which she blamed for her slight shiver at their contact. Lightning grabbed both of Fang's shoulders tightly, forcing her back.

"Er, hi. I need you to help me for a second."

Fang merely blinked, disappointed in Lightning's poor response but continued to dance. Although the look on her face told Lightning that Fang was happy to see her.

"What's up? This place not to your taste or somethin'?"

Lightning looked over her shoulder to check for guards.

"It's not that…"

Fang took a swig of beer, hooking her free arm back around Lightning, who was shoved alarmingly close to Fang's ample chest. She felt her face flush, but the bad lighting meant Fang thankfully wouldn't notice.

"Come on, just give this place a shot."

Lightning scoffed, grabbing Fang's arm and prying it away from her neck.

"Technically I already have, two shots, in fact." _Into the backs of someone's knees. _ She joked before returning to the matter at hand. "Security cameras, Fang. Are there any in this place?"

"You bet your pretty little head there is, why? What've you been up to?"

"Just help me find it!" Lightning strained her voice in order to shout above the noise. As if it was something she had been waiting for to happen all night,

Fang's emerald eyes glinted mischievously. Her bronze body snaked behind Lightning, placing a bottle-occupied hand at the base of her back and ushered her forward through the crowd. Fang's free hand also found the small of her back, her slender fingers accidentally tracing the outline of the concealed handgun as they moved. They approached a metal door with a pushdown handlebar and small notice with 'Staff Only' engraved on it. Without hesitation the two of them barged in, slamming the door quickly shut after them, which placed them into a small space with metal steps leading upwards. The simple action left the older Farron feeling elated just through being somewhere she shouldn't be – like a student stumbling into in the teachers' lounge.

Her feeling of excitement was interrupted by the unpredictable woman behind her, the lilt of her voice catching her off guard.

"Oh you've _definitely_ been a naughty girl." Fang muttered suggestively, her nimble hands reaching for the hidden firearm she had felt, making an inquisitive noise whilst pulling up Lightning's shirt without hesitation. Lightning made to slap her hands away, but Fang had already grabbed the gun.

"I thought I smelled gunpowder earlier… you fired it didn't you?"

"Twice behind the kneecaps of some jackass pulling a gun of his own out during a poker game. Which is why we're here now, I want any footage of it destroyed." Lightning snatched the gun back. "That Vanille girl I asked you about was there, winning every hand by the looks of it. And you've failed to tell me who she is."

Fang looked up after staring at Lightning replace the gun back into her waistband; seemingly unfazed about the fact Lightning had just shot someone.

"She was winning? Thatta girl!" The taller woman whooped.

"You're ignoring my question."

"She's like my little sister" Fang explained, before looking very excited. "Why'd the guy pull a gun?"

Lightning placed her palm upon the cool brickwork, an instant relief in the humid temperature of the nightclub. "Some spectator was helping Vanille to cheat, and I think one of the guys playing noticed and ordered one of his henchmen to take him out of the equation." Lightning watched as Fang smiled to herself.

"Oh? You mean they got caught this time? Old man must be losing his touch in his old age…" Fang's voice trailed off as if she had suddenly became nostalgic, not saying anything more on the matter. Lightning didn't press further on the matter, nor did she care to hear it. The pair began ascending the stairs, each step clinking under their footsteps. At the top, Lightning pulled back another door, revealing a well-lit room with the appearance of an office corridor. To the right, an employee had just disappeared around the corner. Her abrupt stop, caused Fang to knock into her, the drink she still held almost sloshing everywhere.

"Do you want to get rid of that?" Lightning snapped, eyeing the bottle in annoyance before turning back to observe the corridor, which split into two directions: left and right.

"I'm not wastin' it." Fang shook the contents of the bottle, which showed a fair amount still left. Lightning shook her head in disagreement.

"Whatever. You take left, I'll take right. Try not to let anyone see you."

"Right, right got it."

Taking the left path and ignoring all advice from Lightning, Fang began whistling loudly and she strode, causing Lightning to place her head in her hands. Could she really take this woman seriously and accept Jihl's offer under her request when she acted like such an idiot? Lightning knew that it would be best to judge the woman when she was slightly more sober. The soldier pressed on down the right hand corridor, her steps muffled by the dirtied beige carpet, and her body kept close to the inner wall, which was also beige in colour. Lightning closed in on the first door she came to, testing the handle slowly and opening the door ever so slightly to look in, however the slight movement was enough to cause pandemonium from behind the door. Instinctively, she balled her fists ready for a fight, but let out a sigh of relief when she realised she had merely disturbed the brooms and mops in the cleaning cupboard.

Upon hearing the commotion, the third door from Lightning opened, revealing a man with short black hair and a phone wedged between his ear and shoulder.

"Is that you making all the noise, love?" He said gruffly. "Do you even work here?"

'Yes.' Lightning replied without missing a beat.

The man looked at her for a few seconds before continuing his phone call with the door shut, happy with the answer.

_Well that was bloody easy. _

The other rooms, minus the one that she knew was occupied, proved fruitless. Wondering if Fang was having better luck than she was, Lightning retraced her steps and followed the destruction; a potted plant had spilt across the floor and she saw evidence of beer drops leading to the fourth door on the left. To Lightning's relief as she reached the doorway, Fang had found the surveillance room, ejected a tape and snapped it in half, along with many others. She picked up the two halves and pulled at the ribbons with a fever of opening a present. Pleased with the outcome, Lightning looked over to Fang, who had sat in the security chair to watch the smaller televisions that filled an entire wall of the room.

"Let's get out while we can." Lightning suggested, flashing the broken tape between two delicate pale fingers, but Fang shook her head, spinning the chair one-eighty degrees to face the flashing switches and controls. There was a pause in conversation between the two, as Lightning witnessed the cogs of Fang's plotting mind through a tapping finger. Lightning was about the question the hold up, when Fang stood up hastily, picking up her bottle as she did so, pouring most of its contents over the controls without another thought. The circuits hissed and sparks flew, causing the televisions to all go blank.

"Now we can go." Fang's lips upturned into a devilish grin, which Lightning felt inclined to return – but didn't. "I messaged Vanille earlier, telling her to start a riot, which ought to get us out of this place unnoticed."

Lightning raised an eyebrow, eager to see how such a small girl would start such a thing.

The answer was apparently with ease, as several poker tables from the balcony appeared to have sprouted legs and leapt to their deaths onto the packed dance floor. It was the sound of the uprising that she noticed first however, as gatherings from above and below tossed bottles at each other in anger. One man from the balcony above singled out his target with a point of his finger, the side of his face undistinguishable under a cloak of streaming red. It was then Lightning spotted the man she had shot staring down at her with squinted eyes and a pained expression, his hands grasped the railings tightly, with his gun in one.

"Shit, that's him! The guy I shot, up there." Lightning gestured with a flick of her head. Fang looked up with a stern face.

"I know his face from somewhere." The dark haired woman's face straightened as she tried to recall from where she had seen the man. She looked up again, a frown forming on her striking features. "And by the looks of it, Lightning he's starting to recognise you, let's go!"

Fang's grip around her arm tightened as she pulled Lightning forcefully to a quieter area of the dance floor, kicking a nearby fire exit open for a dramatic effect to let them escape. As the wooden door rebounded, several bullet holes hit the door, narrowly missing Lightning and Fang. Although fatigued, they sprinted up the stone steps back towards ground level, with the starlight at the end of the tunnel as their only guide. The closer they reached the top, the clearer it became apparent that their route was blocked by a barred gateway. Fang rattled the gate angrily but the chains secured it tightly.

"Fuck! And they call this a fire exit?" She growled, dropping the chains angrily.

"Step aside." Lightning said cockily as she pulled out the handgun and shot the chains precisely. The metal on metal contact created a slight spark as the weakest link cracked into three small pieces, whilst the chain fell to the floor like a dead snake. Fang nodded her approval, wrenching the unused gate open with both hands. Once open, she stepped aside, gesturing for Lightning to pass through first.

"Ladies first." She winked.

Lightning scoffed.

The two made their way back to the front entrance of the club in silence, passing a few drunken brawls. When Fang stopped, Lightning stepped forward a few more paces and turned to face her.

"I think it's best I head home." She said, yawning for effect.

"Do you live near?" Fang inquired. "I could walk you home."

Taking a small step back, Lightning shook her head. "N, no. That isn't necessary."

Never one to back down, Fang took a single agonisingly slow step forward.

"Don't sound _too _worried, I wasn't expecting you to entertain me afterwards. I just wanted an opportunity to talk to you about Nabaat's proposal. There's a lotta things you'll need to comprehend and I guess it was unfair of me earlier to ask you to get involved with somethin' you don't understand fully. So at the very least, how 'bout dinner tomorrow?"

Right then, Fang's face was that of a serious businesswoman, her eyes stern yet pleading. However Lightning wasn't about to tell her that dinner sounded nice, or that she needed Fang's help more than she could imagine, or that accepting such invitations weren't her type of thing. Lightning hadn't forgotten the fact that Fang had appeared out of the blue with the knowledge of the Jihl's offer, for which she knew she should suspect Fang of having some sort of inside knowledge. However, there was a feeling she couldn't shake: the feeling that she could actually trust this woman.

Taking a deep breath, Lighting dared to look Fang in the eyes one more for that entire night.

"Yeah, dinner sounds… nice."


	5. Advancing

_Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I went on holiday, then away for the weekend, then got my exam results – I got into university! :D_

Chapter 5: Advancing.

Awaking with a contented sigh and stretch, Fang greeted the remaining day in a positive mood. Not only had the night been tremendous fun, but also very eventful. She pushed back a hand made patchwork quilt that had been placed over her during the middle of the night, and sleepily observed her surroundings. She had slept in the living room of the new apartment she shared with Vanille, who was quietly watching television on the same sofa by her outstretched feet.

"Afternoon Vanille." She uttered blissfully. "Mind if I take a sip of that there drink you've got? My throat is killing me." Fang gestured to steaming hot chocolate nestled in Vanille's dainty hands. Vanille quietly passed the drink over to Fang, knowing all too well that she didn't take well to her loud, bubbly antics the second she awoke, preferring a calmer Vanille.

"Good night then?" She asked gently, with an underlying tone of amusement.

A mischievous smile grew on the raven-haired woman's exotic face.

"Hell yeah. Not only are we closer to meeting our pal Dysley, but I have also come across possibly the most beautiful partner in crime to help get me in there." Fang said in between sips before handing the mug back. "Don't look at me like that. You take more of the sidekick role." Fang winked.

Vanille snatched the drink from Fang's hand. "Gee thanks, although for your information, sidekick and partner in crime are pretty much the same thing." She said, feigning hurt. The two shared a laugh; although not sisters by blood, they were sisters by heart who did not have a tendency to fall out. "So… you wanna do something today?" Vanille asked.

"Can't," Fang said, closing her eyes. "Got a dinner date."

A small weight lifted from the cushions under her feet as Vanille stood up.

"Is this with the same 'beautiful partner in crime' I helped you to escape with last night?"

"Mhm, the very same." Fang lazily opened an eye to watch Vanille pace across the expanse of the room, feeling as though Vanille had something more to say. "Really though, it's to discuss the plan of action, build trust and to make sure she understands what she's signing up for with Nabaat. I doubt she knows the bitch likes to reside in a strip club for a start." Fang laughed hysterically at the thought of the straight-faced Lightning out of her comfort zone.

"You gonna… _teach_ her a few things?" Vanille grinned devilishly from over her shoulder as she moved to look out of the window. Once more Fang grinned, her thoughts shifting to what she could very well teach porcelain skinned beauty. Right now she wanted nothing more than to see her blush under her touch.

"Boy, would I like to." Fang sighed, staring at the ceiling. Vanille giggled in the distance.

"What made you decide that she would be the one to help?" Vanille questioned.

"Besides the fact she is easily a goddess personified? There's an aura about her… she didn't just turn up at NORA and go from patron to pint puller in a matter of mere hours. She's up to something, Vanille, and you helped to confirm it when you got her sister to clarify her job with the Guardian Corp. I think we both have the same goal in a way."

* * *

><p>Lightning awoke above the covers of her bed; her burgundy curtains still wide open, allowing a late afternoon sun to creep rays of sun through her room before it escaped to the opposite side of the apartment block. The slight chill upon her legs, told her that she'd only managed to rid the bottom half of yesterday's attire. She shivered as she rolled out of bed and padded to her discarded jeans. Thankfully the handgun she had found was still there, trapped amongst the legs of her jeans, to Lightning's relief. Her attention soon turned to her empty stomach, and although it had been a good while since she'd eaten, Lightning knew she wouldn't be able to face anything quite yet.<p>

After settling with a cup of coffee, Lightning settled back into bed to keep her bare legs warm. Resting her pounding head against the headboard, she basked in the sunlight as the strong coffee aroma filled her nose. Out of curiosity, Lightning picked up her phone that she had managed to place carefully upon the bedside table to her left.

_Two new messages. _

The first was a message from Serah apologising for leaving without saying goodbye, as well notifying Lightning that she would be coming home for lunch. This, Lightning didn't mind, as it was her fault for coming home late and sleeping away the afternoon.

She took a large gulp of the hot liquid in her grasp, savouring its sweet and milky taste. Her eyes flickered upon the second message, the bright screen highlighting the fact it had been sent by Fang. After vaguely remembering that she had agreed to dinner, a part of her was reluctant to see what the message said. She pressed down her nervous thumb, allowing the message to flash upon the screen.

'_Hey, it's Fang. You better not ditch me on my offer, since I want to talk 'business' over dinner. Can we meet at the big pier at 4:00pm? ' _

Lightning released a breath, her squared shoulders dropping as she relaxed - the action almost caused her to release her grip upon the mug. She laughed at her embarrassingly uneasy reaction to a simple text message from the woman.

As if by pure coincidence, the rattling of keys in a lock could be heard a few paces away, signalling that Serah had come home, meaning it was nearing one o' clock.

"Serah?" Lightning called out, sweeping the bed covers back in a swift motion. The sisters met at the doorway, awkwardly bumping into each other as Lightning opened the door on her sister. Serah wasted no time in flinging her arms around her sister's neck, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Glad you got home okay last night. You're making me worry more and more ever since you picked up this new assignment of yours." Serah whimpered into Lightning's collarbone. Lightning pulled away, her eyebrows raised in concern.

"You shouldn't be worried…" Lightning trailed off, watching as Serah looked away in embarrassment.

"I know you can look after yourself, but you're coming home later every night."

Lightning sighed. "I know, but the longer I'm out there, the quicker the job gets done."

Lightning pushed some of the hair away that had fallen into Serah's darker cerulean eyes. Her face lit up however, when her vision fell upon what was scrawled upon Lightning's hand.

"Is that someone's _number_, sis?" She gasped, grabbing the palm of Lightning's hand.

Lightning pulled her arm away and turned around, her face unintentionally turning red.

"It's not what you think." She muttered, angry with herself for failing to wash it off earlier. She hurried to the bathroom sink to grab soap, with Serah dancing close behind her.

"Oh no, come on. I won't make fun, I promise… is he cute?" Serah pressed from over Lightning's hunched shoulder. Lightning ignored Serah's babbling, forcefully scrubbing the ink away from her skin until her arm showed red.

"How about we go out for lunch? Perhaps that seafront café you're mad about." Lightning suggested, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic of men. She intended to kill two birds with one stone: get a good view of the pier for later and to spend quality time with her sister.

* * *

><p>The time rolled around quickly for Lightning, who found stood on the very rim of the pier beside Fang, who had approached from behind. She had been watching a small school of silver fish under her feet when Fang's reflection betrayed her quiet arrival.<p>

"You know it was very tempting to push you in, seeing you so close to the edge." She announced, watching the same group of fish scarper once her shadow hit the seabed.

"You were wise to think otherwise then." Lightning took a safe step back. "Otherwise you'd have been spitting sand for a week."

Fang smirked, gesturing with a nod of her head for Lightning to follow back down the crowded boardwalk; as after school hours usually lead to children fishing and playing on the beach up until their mothers called them to bed. She allowed Fang to lead, their footsteps crunching under stray grains of sand on the pier. They took a left, towards the busier and immaculate end of Bodhum, thankfully placing distance from the NORA and Deepground area.

"I think I have your game figured out at last, Light." Fang grinned slyly, seeing no problem with discussing their business in the open. Lightning met her sideways glance with anxious curiosity, her heart beating wildly in anticipation of what she might say next, expecting Fang to carry on. "But I don't think you quite comprehend the sorta games Jihl plays. Now I think Nabaat will want your answer soon, so it's best if we move quickly and give it to her. But I wanna warn you, I reckon her interest in you begins with let's say, your damn fine assets." Fang gave a wink, to which Lightning sharply looked away and folded her arms as if to unconsciously hide her body.

"Get to the point, Fang."

"Jihl likes the looks of you. Like me, she sees that there's something more to you, but probably doesn't know what. You can usually find her in the Honeybee Manor-"

"Wait, that's a brothel isn't it?" Lightning spluttered.

"Which she _owns_. And if she was going to propose an offer to Lebreau, and knowing _Lebreau_, it's-"

"Not going to involve a lot of clothes." Lightning said grimly.

"There's been an underlying battle between two head gangs. There's Sanctum and then there's the Cavalry. And rumour has it that the Cavalry are moving in on the Sanctum's territory or vice versa. Therefore Jihl will want a bit more security around her, which is why she might have asked Lebreau, because I heard she is actually pretty lethal with a switchblade. She must think you have more potential."

Lightning couldn't help but notice that Jihl had no reason to expect Lightning to be good at anything to do with combat.

"But let's not discuss this here, the restaurant we're going to is bloody excellent."

* * *

><p>In the words of Fang, the restaurant was <em>bloody excellent, <em>with a comfortable atmosphere to match. Large stone bricks made up the whole of the back wall, whilst the rest of the walls were painted a dark grey to add to the moody look of the place. It easily resembled a cave, but not an unwelcoming one at that.

"This place..." Lightning gasped in amazement.

"You like? Found this place the other day. I sorta like the privacy it gives you sitting in one of the booths."

Once a waiter had escorted the duo to their table and orders were placed, did Lightning feel the need to act professionally, lacing her fingers together whilst leaning back into the comfort of the leather.

"Let us begin." She urged, watching Fang as she pulled a few crumpled papers clumsily from her pocket, one of which a crudely drawn diagram.

"Right, well I'm not the best of sketchers, but this here is pretty much the layout of the Honeybee Manor." She pointed to a crooked circle. "_This_ is the table which you'd usually find a dodgy man by the name of Raines. Now, I'm not sure Jihl knows this but he is one of the top guys from the opposin' side, Cavalry. Now he pops in every so often with his guys, but never seems to reach for his gun, since Jihl's always been pretty well guarded by the Reaper."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"The Reaper, the nickname given to the mysterious cloaked menace I bet you see around her. Has been known to do the best guardin' around, with deadly results. Never speaks and always anonymous, even to Jihl herself. "

"I had the pleasure of tasting an ounce of that deadliness back at NORA. I wasn't too impressed." Lightning said purposefully, wanting to gauge Fang's reaction, as the woman seemed to know a lot about this 'Reaper'.

"Lucky for some." Fang chuckled over her glass, her eyes remaining on Lightning at all times, which gave her the impression of being examined. She fidgeted on her side of the booth; unaware Fang knew how awkward she was feeling.

"We briefly touched on the subject of Nabaat's offer and I already get the impression there is more to it."

"She owns the Honeybee Manor, and enjoys taking advantage of it herself, as an owner probably would." Fang shrugged, almost jealously. Fang paused to let the waiter place their meals down in front of them, and Lightning proceeded to pick up the silver utensils in front of her, experimentally stabbing the steak that Fang ordered for the both of them.

Halfway through the meal, Fang caught Lightning off guard with an unexpected question, looking her directly into her eyes and querying: 'Can you be sexy, Light?'

Secretly pleased that she had not been eating at the time, Lightning placed her knife and fork carefully on either side of the plate, resting her chin upon laced fingers as she continued to chew. She swallowed slowly, buying herself time, as she was unsure of how to answer. Fang must've sensed this, as she ignored the remainder of her food in favour of pressing on.

"Say something." Fang ordered. Lightning looked away momentarily.

"L-like what?" She stammered pitifully. "Oh hey come here often?"

Her words caused Fang to laugh loudly, and Lightning took a sip of her drink to draw her attention away from her embarrassment. At least she tried.

"Oh come on!" She howled in hysterics, turning her interest back to her plate to calm down. "I meant say something _sexy_."

"I wouldn't really know what to say," Lightning muttered, tracing the ornate detailing of the fork handle in front of her. "It's not my kind of thing."

Fang sat back to ponder, regarding Lightning with a flirtatious pout, and with one dark, defined eyebrow raised gently upwards. From under the table, Lightning felt something warm brush her leg, sending shivers throughout her body.

"How about we have a little fun after this, you and me?" Fang suggested. Lightning dropped the fork.

"W-what?"

"Don't look so flustered. That was just an example." Fang shook her head. "You need to learn to give and take the comments, if you want to make Jihl happy, sweetheart. I bet she'll shower you with 'em."

Lightning nodded slowly, sighing as she pushed her finished meal away from her.

"And you're going to help me?"

"Yeah, of course! But I don't think you're gonna like the things I plan to help you with… so if you get uncomfortable just don't go sticking your gunblade in me or something."

"What sort of thi-" Lightning stopped dead in her tracks, eyebrows dipping into a frown as the gears in her brain clicked into realisation, her disposition taking a complete one-eighty.

"How do you know I have a gunblade?" She demanded in a low tone, glaring at Fang suspiciously. Fang's face dropped, as if she had slipped up, swallowing tightly as she searched for more words.

"Well uh- shit." She fumbled. "Just a guess?" She offered pathetically.

Lightning's suspicion grew, her detective-like mind in full swing as she recalled moments from the previous days. Suddenly things became clearer for the soldier as she replayed crucial moments in her head.

"You know I have a gunblade. You… you once said Vanille is like a sister to you. Vanille called at my apartment when I was out just after I met you. _You_ sent her prying for information from my sister, didn't you? And she let slip that-"

Fang dropped her head in defeat, raising her hands. "That you work for the Guardian Corps. Yeah, and I then did a little background research on you."

Lightning felt the peculiar mixed sensation of both the disappointment from being deceived, and smugness of being correct in her assumptions. On this notion, she pressed further in her guesses. "And the amount of information you have on Nabaat… you must be in contact with her if you know all this, it would be impossible to know otherwise! Who _are_ you?"

Fang glanced around the restaurant; aware that people were drawn to the scene they were creating.

In hushed tones, Fang leaned forward, "Right, right okay. I'm coming across as a bit untrustworthy here. But I can explain, I promise I will. If we could just make it to dessert I will explain everything."

"Skip the dessert, Fang. Otherwise I'm dragging your ass to a cell right now."

"Oh but you _want_ dessert, Sergeant." Fang joked, raising her eyebrows suggestively. Forming her hand into an arrow-straight line, Lightning backhanded the woman with an unforgiving force from across the table. Fang flew backwards into the padding of the chair behind her. Lightning hadn't the time or frame of mind to suffer such remarks from Fang. Not if Fang could endanger Serah's safety if the Sanctum knew who she really was. Fang's fingertips scraped painfully against the leather to steady stop herself from retaliating. Fang failed to acknowledge the actual pain, but chose to simply ignore what had happened and laugh croakily.

"Wrong moment to say that, huh?" She said, cautiously looking up at Lightning.

"You _think_? Keep your voice down and don't call me Sergeant again, you hear?" Lightning ground out venomously.

"Still," Fang said childishly, "There wasn't any need for that. I haven't done anything to harm you."

"Yet." Lightning spat darkly.

Wanting nothing more than to rip Fang's head off, Lightning instead dismissed the uninvited eyes from other tables with a simple glare in their direction. She felt utterly disappointed in Fang, and a complete fool for trusting her so easily and wanted nothing more than to leave right then and there. She side glanced to the traitor through narrowed eyes, who had taken to sitting with her arms propped up against the table, head tilted back thoughtfully with her burning eyes towards the high ceiling. Her pose didn't last long, and with a long drawn out sigh Fang faced Lightning head on.

"Maybe sending Vanille down to ask questions about you wasn't the best of ideas, but other than that you have no reason not to trust me. It was more curiosity than anything." Fang finished, looking away once more.

Realising all too well that without Fang she would be subjected to humiliation back at work for having come up with meagre results in the case, Lightning gradually counted to three mentally, turning her attention back to the taller woman.

"Who are you, really?" Lightning repeated, her hands grasping the edge of the table until her knuckled turned white.

"No the question is, who are _you_?" Fang growled angrily. "You're clearly undercover."

"I could say the same for you." Lightning retorted, releasing her grip of the table in favour of grabbing the dessert menu. "Now if you don't tell me who you really are…"

Lightning shut her eyes. _You need her to carry this forward, Farron._

"…I'm ordering the most expensive thing on here."

* * *

><p>Fang shook her head in disbelief at the undercover soldier, her dark hair swaying slightly as she did so. Obviously if the soldier didn't need her, she would have threatened to leave instead. This was all too funny.<p>

"Is that your idea of a threat?" She said with amusement as she eyed the soldier from behind the menu, who didn't answer. Fang pulled the menu from pink haired woman's hands to glance at the selection. As if sensing an order, a tall blonde waiter appeared by the table and Fang selected two cheesecakes.

"After this, how about I show you the place? Although you've gotta promise you won't actually go in until tomorrow."

"And why's that?" Lightning asked suspiciously.

As much as Fang wanted to admit to her why, she knew Lightning would perhaps never forgive her if she found out.

"I'm busy later this evenin' that's all."

* * *

><p>To reach deeper into the city, they took Fang's car, which was parked nearby. It's sleek, black paintjob and fine leather interiors told Lightning that her previous threat of ordering something expensive wouldn't have changed the dark woman's mind. After twenty minutes of driving, Fang finally pulled up upon the corner of the Honeybee Manor; a traditional looking building that integrated some modernised Bodhum features. The outer brickwork was stone grey in colour, which was covered in carvings of historical idols, one of which Lightning recognised to be Ragnarok. The large panes of tinted glass, protected by steel bars, defaced the aesthetics of the building. A mixture of hesitant first timers to the Manor loitered near the iron gates, whilst the more frequent barged through, wearing long trench coats and sunglasses. One of the men shoved passed angrily, an obvious limp in his gait, and familiar long, tied back hair. <em>Was he the one from the previous night?<em> Lightning needed a closer look. The sound of the car's locking system alerted Lightning back to Fang.

"I can sense you wanna be in there, but not tonight, okay? I wanna be in there with you when you go in."

Lightning sat back as Fang turned the car around and headed back to Phoenix Heights, offering her knowledge of place to fill the silence.

The car finally slowed to a halt in front of the apartments, placing the two into an uncomfortable silence, filled only by Fang's drumming on the steering wheel.

"I enjoyed dinner." Lightning started awkwardly, unclasping the seatbelt.

Fang nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me too… But don't go in there without me, y'hear?."

"You've mentioned it obsessively. I hear you. I won't go in. Goodnight." Lightning sighed, opening the car door and gracefully stepping out.

"Wait!" Fang called, causing Lightning to lean forward from outside with a quizzical expression.

"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" Fang asked hopefully, her eyes glinting from the light of a passing car.

Smirking, Lightning simply slammed the door and walked away.

* * *

><p>That night, Lightning chose to ignore Fang's wishes, feeling under pressure due to lack of time. Serah greeted her cheerfully once she made a quick dash to her apartment, and Lightning allowed her sister to pick out something for her to wear for the night. When questioned where she was going, Lightning ensured she left out any mention of the notorious Honeybee Manor, and promptly left in a black dress, raincoat and a holstered gun strapped to her leg. Lightning shook her head slowly as she recollected Serah's questioning face when she had stepped out wearing a dress for the first time in many, many years.<p>

Lightning had barely stepped foot onto the concrete steps reaching up to the Manor, when a man with slicked back blonde hair grabbed her securely by the waist and ushered her forward through the polished iron door.

His sunglasses slid down his nose as he peered down absorb her appearance. "Hey, baby! Never seen you before, new here?"

Avoiding his deliberate stares down the front of her coat, and placing her clenched fists into her pockets, Lightning faked a small smile, fighting the urge to be sick.

"Maybe. Care to show me around?"

The man, or rather patron, didn't make it passed ten steps or so, when he eyed his regular mistress in the distance. The man signed in at the podium where a scantily clad girl, only slightly older than Lightning acted as a receptionist. It left Lightning standing alone between the warmth of the building and the cold of the evening air.

She approached the pedestal, skipping the long queue of desperate men behind her without a second thought.

"I'm here to see Jihl." She said authoritatively to the girl, who gave her a once over.

"So is every other poor fucker here, get in line." The dark haired girl drawled in a bored tone. Lightning rolled her eyes, ignoring the dirty looks and calls from the girl as she pushed passed, shoving her middle finger in the face of a bouncer who made to shove her out.

"Don't touch me." She growled, easily storming through to the foyer, but the suited guard still persisted in following her. Lightning's pace quickened into an awkward stride, the heels on her feet making the task rather difficult. Her footsteps clacked against the ornate tiled floor, while the rubber of the guard's shoes squeaked noisily behind her.

"Get back here, you!" He called gruffly, but Lightning didn't listen and pressed on further.

Up ahead, in a wide, crimson room, dotted with tables like Fang's poorly drawn diagram had shown, sat Jihl in a rounded booth. Lightning walked confidently forward, narrowing in on Jihl's table, when a black blur clouded her vision. An arm pulled her to the side, which at first she thought belonged to the door guard. However further inspection of the arm told her it belonged to her favourite hooded guard.

_Ah, my favourite guard is here._

Unlike the last time, when the guard had simply intended on keeping her away, this time they seemed to be dragging her off to the side, and into a vacant room. With heels, Lightning easily stood level with the Reaper, making it harder for her to be stealthily hidden by the cloak, much to the guard's displeasure. Once in the room, which consisted of a large four-poster bed that faced a pole used for show dancing, the shut the door and began pacing. Lightning felt as though they had something to say. She smirked.

"Dying to speak are we?" She teased.

The hooded figure's head shot up, their hands clenching and unclenching. Feeling brave, Lightning took a step forward toward the cloaked figure, whose gloved hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Lightning counteracted, using her free hand to try and yank the hood down, but the Reaper was equally as fast, clawing for her other hand. Lightning twisted both of her wrists, the leather gloves causing her skin to burn with the friction, as she grabbed the wrists of the cloaked figure herself. With all her might, Lightning kicked the Reaper squarely in the stomach, who doubled over, releasing their grip on Lightning as they made a low grunt. Avoiding Lightning's swift right hook, the Reaper slipped behind Lightning and held her in a tight embrace, trapping her arms.

"Why are you here?" The voice beneath the hood demanded with a hiss. A voice, which Lightning recognised the second she heard it.

"Fang." Lightning growled, freeing herself from her arms. "This is the little job you had to run off to? I knew it."

Really she saw it coming, what with Fang's distinctive accent and the hooded cloak's preference to not speak, amongst other things. Behind her, Fang pushed back her hood, revealing a flurry of wild hair and a mask over her eyes.

"A job's a job, sweetheart." Fang shrugged, placing her thumb under the mask to pull it off. "Now, what're you doing here? I told you to wait 'til I was free!"

Lightning circled the raven-haired woman. "I don't have time to sit around and wait. Jihl is getting my answer tonight."

Fang fidgeted with her outfit, pulling it off and stuffing it under the bed.

"Jihl might start wonderin' where her bodyguard has went, but whatever, let's go then if you're so bloody adamant."

The two slipped out of the unused bedroom, with Fang hoping that they hadn't been noticed. They made a beeline toward Jihl's table, which was the only table completely filled with men holding expensive drinks and equally expensive women on their laps. Between her conversations, Jihl's eyes drifted towards the advancing couple, staring at them with a keen interest as they approached.

"Lightning," She purred, "I am glad to see you finally came to see me."

Jihl sat up eagerly, ignoring her previous conversation.

"Does this mean I am to expect a positive answer to my offer?"

"It does." Lightning responded stiffly, watching as Jihl practically swelled with delight. Dismissing the crowd around her with a wave of her hand, Jihl slid away from the circular table, motioning for Lightning to follow her. Lightning fought the urge to look back at Fang, aware that it would show a sign of weakness. It was then Jihl noticed Fang.

"I reckon there's space for one more where you two are going." Fang smirked confidently, which Jihl seemed to like, as she smirked.

"Perhaps." She said simply, walking off towards the back of the club, away from the flashing lights and loud music. Whilst they walked, Lightning overheard the woman mutter under her breath, slyly scanning the room as if she felt unsafe.

They entered a spacious office on the second floor of the manor, filled with monochrome furniture and well lit. Jihl sat with her legs crossed upon her desk, palms flat against the metal surface to steady herself. Lightning and Fang chose to stand close to the door.

"My offer was originally only going to be to Lightning alone, but I like the look of the both of you together. Tell me, are either of you familiar with a Mr. Cid Raines?"

Fang stepped forward, her arms crossed over her chest. "That prick? Sure do, he's the head rival of yours."

Lightning simply shook her head when eyes fell upon her for her response, and Jihl tossed her a file already located upon her desk. Opening it, she found a multitude of snapshots of the man from different angles. It was the same man she recognised to be playing poker on the same table as Vanille.

"You are aware of my status in Sanctum?" Jihl inquired as Lightning read the file.

Fang smirked. "I'm pretty sure everyone knows who _you_ are."

Lightning handed the file to Fang, who gave it a passive glance before settling back down to business, snapping the leather file shut.

"What did you have in mind for Lightning?" Fang asked frankly.

Jihl peered over her glasses to get a good look at both Lightning and Fang, licking her lips in the process.

"I want Cid dead, but it's no good going in all guns blazing. I thought the best plan of action would be to get someone to seduce him and assassinate him when the time is right."

"Uh huh, and getting someone to fling themselves at Raines isn't suspicious?" Fang snorted.

Lightning glanced from Fang to Jihl, feeling as though she knew where this was going.

"Does this Raines guy know you own this place? Fang said he comes here often. "

Jihl's face lit up menacingly, her eyes concealed behind the reflection in her glasses.

"Good girl. You've caught on, and this is where you come in. If we can lure him here, get him to a private room we can dispose of him without any backlash from the authorities or his followers. But before I even let you leave this room, I need to see you're up to the task of seduction… so how about a little show between the two of you, hmm?"

There was a pregnant pause within the room, and Lightning suddenly found it hard to breathe. Jihl wanted a show? No, she couldn't do that. Not with Fang. Behind her, the door clicked, as if it had just been locked, which Lightning suspected had been the work of Jihl and whatever secrets lay hidden in her desk, including remote locking. Fang shifted herself between Jihl and Lightning, blocking her own face from the bespectacled woman as she stared unwaveringly at Lightning, her burning emerald eyes searching Lightning's own.

"Let's not disappoint now, Light."

Fang spoke confidently out loud, but the look on her face told Lightning she knew of her own uncertainties. The soldier swallowed hard, nervously watching as Fang approached her slowly, much to Jihl's pleasure.

* * *

><p>AN

I can't say I'm to happy with this chapter, because I feel it was rushed in parts (I mean look at all the break lines!), but I feel as though the story is progressing slowly and nothing is happening, So I hope you like it, and tell me what you think!


	6. Chase

**Chapter 6: Chase **

Standing in Jihl's monochrome office with Fang directly facing her, it felt like time had slowed down completely for Lightning. By the request of Jihl for 'a show', she and Fang were forced into the awkward situation of pretending they were comfortable with Jihl watching them for her own sick and twisted reasons. With her heels, Lightning stood level with Fang, who had positioned her arms either side of her small waist.

"Well?" Jihl said impatiently from the other side of the room. Lightning peered over Fang's shoulder, noting that Jihl had loosened the top few buttons of her already bursting white blouse. Lightning moved her attention back to Fang just in time to see her move swiftly forward to attack the sensitive expanse of skin between her ear and jaw line. She gasped, fighting the urge to shut her eyes and absorb the sensation as Fang took to exchanging her soft fluttery kisses for playful nibbling. Fang's wild mane of hair took over most of her vision, tickling her nose and cheeks as Fang tilted her head every so often. Lightning instinctively grasped the darker woman by tufts of her messy hair, as Fang angled her head towards her collarbone, which was restricted mostly by her trench coat. Fang's hands did not play idle, as they manoeuvred them both to the left, purposely giving Jihl a sideways view. Fang's hands slid bravely up Lightning's thigh, propping the soldier's leg upon her hips as she stroked further up Lightning's right leg and stopped only when fingertips touched the concealed gun hiding in it's holster. Fang's eyes snapped open to flash Lightning yet another cheeky wink, before closing to continue her ministrations upon Lightning.

"Is she buying it?" Fang's lips barely moved as she disguised her words with a low hum of enjoyment. The fairer haired soldier made a sidelong glance, through her eyelashes she could see Jihl biting her lip intently, and dare she think it, looking as though she wanted to join in. Not that Lightning could blame her, as she was gradually beginning to enjoy all Fang was doing, and the thoughtfulness of her approach to Jihl's request. Lightning appreciated the fact that Fang hadn't simply dived straight in for a kiss, as much as Fang's eyes appeared to burn with the desire to do so, Lightning felt as though she might have countered with right hook by impulse. Both of Fang's hands traced the outline of her coat, pulling it from Lightning's shoulders before wrapping around her back to pull her closer – a feeling Lightning didn't particularly dislike. The very thought of enjoying this attention caused her to swallow hard. Fang's clouded eyes flicked upward seconds later at the action, her perfectly defined eyebrows dipping slightly as if to say: _'Is something wrong?'_

In order to reassure Fang that she was fine, Lightning brought her hands to cup Fang's face, and surprised them both by placing a firm kiss upon the other woman's unsuspecting lips. A low noise of approval emanated from Fang's throat, as well as from Jihl in the background.

A knock at the door interrupted anything more.

"Hmph, bloody perfect timing, as usual. That's all for now girls." Jihl dismissed, hopping from her desk and buttoning up her blouse as she sank into her office chair. Only when more appropriately dressed did she release the lock sealing the office door remotely from behind her desk. "Enter."

A man with silvery grey hair pulled back into a ponytail entered, making note of Lightning and Fang's ruffled appearance in his peripheral vision.

"What it is Rosch, can't you see I'm busy?"

The man, Rosch, who wore a simple black suit with tie, seemed reluctant to speak with two strangers in the room. He shut the office door behind him and stepped forward.

"It has been confirmed that members of Cavalry have been in the area recently, one of which managed to get injured last night in a nightclub." Lightning watched as Fang fought back a laugh from behind the man's back. "I think they're toying with us."

Jihl fanned out a number of papers that littered her desk to distract herself.

"As long as they aren't on our doorsteps just yet. We may have our secret weapons standing in this very room, I mean look at them they're gorgeous, and their looks are very diverse. We're bound to have found Cid's type out of these two."

Jihl spoke as if they weren't even present in the room, keeping her eyes fixated on Rosch, who had moved to the back of the room to pour a whisky from the decanter near the back of the room, his footsteps slow and calculated as he moved.

"Yes well, before they do anything they'll need their initiation, won't they?"

"Are you fucking stupid? We can't mark them, Raine's will see right through the plan if he recognises our mark."

"Excuse me for interruptin' but, marking us with _what_ exactly?" Fang stepped in.

Jihl sniggered menacingly. "Don't worry, Rosch has no idea what he's talking about, and he was just leaving, weren't you Rosch?"

"Bitch." He sneered, knocking back his drink of whisky and leaving.

Jihl waited a few seconds before talking, her attention flicking between Lightning and Fang, her right hand seeking a fountain pen from the holder in front of her.

"I like you two. I have this gut feeling that I can trust you both, and that you both would work together very well," Jihl tucked a loose strand of dirty blonde hair behind her ear as she wrote, "But what if I was to ask the two of you to lure Cid Raines here and dispose of him…?" Jihl left the rest of her sentence trail off, but it kept the duo hanging on every word that fell from her devious mouth.

Lightning's stomach lurched with excitement at how well her case was actually progressing. Could one undercover mission result in the termination of possibly two underground gangs? Two birds one stone.

"Then we'd simply ask where you'd like us to start." Lightning spoke obediently, whilst Jihl simply beamed darkly.

After a long, mostly one-sided conversation with Jihl and several large glasses of whiskey and wine later on Fang's behalf, Lightning emerged from Jihl's office along with Fang, who stumbled slightly at the doorway after her. They made their way downstairs into the main room, the lights considerably dimmer than before. The stage at the far side of the room was lit with a spotlight, a pale smoke effect passed through the beam, which gave it an eerie feeling. Lightning slid into the booth nearest the back of the room, with Fang closely behind. Neither had spoken to each other directly and both women avoided eye contact, therefore when an act arrived on stage, it provided the perfect distraction for Lightning, who sank further into her seat with a sigh.

The show started off with a leggy blonde appearing on stage wearing a tuxedo over a black lace leotard, fishnet stockings and knee-high leather boots, bearing a similar appearance to a magician's assistant. She stalked up towards the stage, ignoring the wolf whistles as she pulled her top hat further over her eyes, whilst dragging a chair behind her. The blonde danced around and upon the wooden chair to wordless music, showing flexibility that would have made Lightning jealous, had it not been for the poor girl's occupation. The dancing went on for a few minutes, before turning to a slow and sensual melody, in which the woman responded in shrugging her jacket from her shoulders and slowly freeing herself from the rest of her clothing. Lightning's jaw dropped slightly in horror, and she could feel her eyes widening in shock, beside her Fang slipped back into view, though Lightning hadn't realised she had ever left her seat.

A glass of red wine slid towards Lightning, Fang's eyes never leaving the stage as she leaned in, "Did I miss much…? Mm no just in time." Fang whispered with a hint of amusement as the blonde became topless. Lightning shot Fang a look of disgust, using the wine as a distraction, swirling it around playfully in her hand, yet out of curiosity, she continued to watch the act through the hair that fell into her eyes.

All the while, Fang looked to be enjoying herself, a smirk playing upon her lips as she looked on. Was Fang really enjoying the show? Or was she smiling to herself over something else? There was another low cheer from the surrounding men as two more naked women appeared on stage, and it was then Lightning realised she was the only female, besides Fang, actually watching. She gave Fang a nudge.

"Let's get out of here."

Fang reached the foyer doors first, pushing both doors open to get through, and Lightning could tell instantly that something was wrong. A crowd had gathered in a tight circle, staring at something the floor. Fang pushed through first; grabbing men by their shoulders and pulling them back forcefully.

"Out my way boys." Fang growled as she approached the centre of the circle, with Lightning close behind, peering over her shoulder. Lying on the floor was a man she did not find familiar, lying in a pool of his own blood, which started from his throat, with his suited friend propping up his head.

The uninjured man sobbed as he held his friend, speaking out to no one in particular. "Eye for an eye they said, they slashed his neck and they followed us back near here. They've come to kill us all!"

"What're they after?" A spectacled man asked from the crowd.

"Who are they?" Demanded another.

The man bleeding from his throat spluttered, his eyelids opening and closing as he fought to live, "Na…baat," He strained, "Caval..ry." Before drowning in his own blood.

Lightning surged forward, kneeling by the dead man's kneeling companion in order to gain his attention.

"Do you work for Jihl?" She asked, shaking him. Well, do you?"

The man wouldn't respond.

"Listen to me, do you work for Jihl?"

The man nodded weakly, his face was pale and his entire body was threatening to collapse with shock.

"Leave your friend and go warn Jihl. Tell her Lightning and Fang will handle whoever is coming."

The man nodded slowly, shakily picking himself of the floor as he gently placed his friend's dead body on the floor. Behind Lightning, Fang made a strained noise of annoyance.

"You mentioned my name, I purposely didn't tell Jihl my name."

Realising her mistake, she gave Fang an apologetic look, recognizing that Fang had been slightly more intelligent in not providing her name to Jihl, unlike Lightning who even had the opportunity to make one up.

"The guy said they followed him into the area, which means they might be here soon, therefore we need to get everyone out of here."

"You would say that wouldn't you? 'Cause you're the one with the gun." Fang laughed, "Never mind I do enjoy a fight more when the odds aren't in my favour."

"Can't you get one from somewhere?"

"Well I gotta few in my car, but that's round the corner." Fang frowned as Lightning looked at her expectantly. "Oh come on I'm not going to get a gun and leaving you to hold the fort alone."

Outside, there was a screeching of car tyres taking a sharp corner, and the sound of screaming and objects hitting the bonnet sounded soon after. Fang gritted her teeth.

"Stay there." She said and took a running leap, passing the small flight of steps that lead to the entrance from outside and ran into the night. Fang sprinted past the iron gates, passing men with bemused expressions, but as she turned right towards her car, five vehicles swerved into earshot behind her. Her vision was filled with flashes of light and dark as she ran under every streetlamp. She forced herself to run faster, closing in quickly on her car, her muscles straining to keep up with her demands. A light bulb went off in her head as she glanced across the street, a mischievous smirk playing upon her lips. Maybe she could be of help without a gun…

While she waited for either Fang, or members of Cavalry to appear, Lightning forced the surrounding members of the public back into the main room of the Honeybee Manor, finding backup in the form of armed security. By habit, Lightning checked and rechecked the ammo in her gun, counting each one obsessively in the barrel as if they would suddenly disappear if she didn't. The security guards stationed themselves at the entrance of the building alongside her, one of which practically leaking male arrogance as he shoved Lightning aside.

"Leave it to the real men to kick some Cavalry arse, sweet cheeks. Wouldn't want you to break a nail." The man swelled with pride when he mistakenly saw one of Lightning's icy stares as a way of her checking him out.

"Wouldn't want you to break your neck." Lightning replied coolly, knowing all too well she could do so very easily if the man made even another sexist comment.

A gathering of black cars screeched to a halt outside the iron gates that surrounded the manor, the cars angling themselves so that the bonnet faced the building. The four guards around her immediately began to let loose an explosion of bullets, which proved pointless and wasteful due to their apparently poor aims. Opposite, the Cavalry henchmen threw open their car doors, using the metal as a shield from the onslaught. Lightning used this slight distraction to dash closer, behind a weathered statue of a horse. Until Fang arrived, she would just have to hold them off herself, knowing the guards would simply be incompetent. A gurgled scream echoed from the Honeybee's foyer, and Lightning turned to see one of the four guards clutch his heart and fall back with defeat.

It was now or never.

Poking her head above the podium of the statue, Lightning aimed through the bars of the iron railing that put itself between the shootout, and fired a well-placed shot into the side of one of her opponents. A millisecond after she knew her aim was successful; Lightning didn't hesitate to fire two more shots into the man's side, killing him. Her actions didn't go unnoticed, however the henchmen did not seem to know from which direction their companion was shot from; the men called out to each other with confused expressions written upon their faces. Lightning decided to wait, pressing her back against the base of the cold statue; only then realised her coat was back inside in Jihl's office.

"God damn it, Fang." She hissed, the memory of Fang removing her coat still fresh in her mind. She felt her face heat up.

"Move forward!" A sandy haired guard called from inside foyer, his suit torn at the arm where a bullet had ripped past. The three remaining security guards took up positions behind other statues either side of the building, with the blonde stationing himself next to Lightning.

"That was a nice shot back there." He panted, peeking from the side of the statue.

Lightning was unable to thank the man however, as a bullet hit him directly between the eyes, spraying blood across the legs of the sculpted horse, missing Lightning by mere inches. She winced.

It left Lightning with two other guards as backup and that was if they were still alive. Surely it wouldn't take this long for Fang to reach her car? Or had she been intercepted along the way?

Her phone, which she had placed in the holster along with her gun started to ring - it was Fang.

"Fang where are you?"

"I'm 'round the corner still," The taller woman's voice was muffled as if she didn't have the phone directly to her mouth. "Just say away from the road a second."

"What're you doing…? Fang? Fang!" Fang had ended the call.

Not a minute later, there was the sound of a revving engine, followed by the appearance of a large red lorry hurtling into view from the opposite end of the road, driverless. Too caught up in the gunfight, the Cavalry men had not noticed the colossal vehicle speed nearer to them until it was too late; the vehicle collided with an almighty bang into the first car, crushing four of the men. The remaining cluster of guards leapt to their safety as shrapnel flew at every angle, knocking part of the iron gate from it's hinges. Lightning took this as an opportunity to gun down the fleeing men, just as her phone began to vibrate once more. Lightning had barely placed the communicator to her ear when Fang ordered her to meet her at the car.

Glancing around, there was no obvious escape that wasn't a death trap, as the yard she was standing in was entirely fenced off with spiked iron bars that were standing seven feet tall. Lightning rolled behind a hedge to her right, scuffing her dress as she hurried to the edge of the Manor's boundaries. Head slightly ducked, Lightning inspected every iron bar for a weak spot or missing spike, yet the best she could find was a slightly bent pole from the lorry's impact. It would be a tight squeeze, but she would make it, because her military training wasn't for nothing and she'd been through worse scenarios. Behind her, something blew up.

Lightning ran as fast as her heels would allow - as expected, she found Fang sitting in her car just around the corner, and Lightning practically threw herself into the passenger's seat.

"What was that all about?" Lightning asked with shock, referring to the lorry.

Fang flashed a smile and shrugged, sending flutters directly to Lightning's stomach.

"Impressed?"

Lightning turned away, finding the view outside of her window to be of great interest.

"A little."

Their next move was to catch a train to Palumpolum, where Nabaat was adamant they would find Cid Raines. However Lightning wasn't so sure what would happen when they got there, considering the city was out of her comfort zone. And what would Amodar or Serah say? She had to report back to her lieutenant by the end of the week, and she was certain that he wasn't expecting her to crack the case all by herself, and Serah would be angry if she left Bodhum without telling her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of metal scraping across the road; a broken black car was heading straight for them, the bumper of the car dragging roughly on the ground, causing a noise similar to nails on a chalkboard.

"Shit, Fang watch-"

The beaten up Cavalry car smashed fiercely into the back end of their vehicle, heavily denting the passenger's side door and sending their car into a sickening spin.

"Fuck." Fang fought with the steering wheel to steady the car, cursing as her head hit the window to her right, although thankful the airbags hadn't reacted.

"Step on it, Fang!" Lightning ordered from the passenger seat, looking urgently out of the back window of Fang's car, as the driver corrected the car.

"Don't need to tell me twice, darling." Fang yelled and put her foot down.

The car surged forward, passing every other car on the road, swerving slightly as Fang fought her light-headedness. The car tailing them began to speed up, gliding left and right to avoid traffic to reach the duo. Fang took a sharp right, the back wheels skidding wildly as she did so, narrowly avoiding a woman crossing the road.

"Reckon they just want to chat?" Fang joked just as the back window exploded, sending shards of glass flying onto the bonnet. "Fuck! I guess not."

Lightning ducked in her seat, using the rear-view and wing mirrors to observe who was shooting at them. Winding down the window, her hand reached for the handgun strapped to her thigh, cocking it, she waited for their attacker to finish with his round of bullets.

_Three, two, one, NOW._

Lightning angled her body out of the window, only vaguely aware of Fang calling her name as the wind whipped her hair viciously. The cold night air stung her lungs, but she never felt such alive. Lightning aimed for the driver's side of the windscreen, firing three shots that peppered the glass haphazardly. Pulling herself in, Lightning shot a look of horror to Fang, appalled at her shoddy accuracy.

"Your driving is chaotic. Drive straighter." Lightning hissed.

"I am driving straight!" Fang shifted the rear-view mirror to gain a better view, sparing a glance at Lightning, "I'm not completely sober y'know."

Lightning could only sigh in response, brows furrowing as she prepared another multitude of bullets. A split second before she stuck her head of the car, a bullet penetrated the wing mirror, sending the entire thing hurtling off onto the sidewalk, leaving nothing but twisted metal in it's place.

"Come on Light, they're messing up my car." Fang roared, forcing the car onto a main motorway, away from innocent people.

Without the mirror, Lightning couldn't see when the foe was aiming a shot, which made it harder for her to place her own, not that she was doing very well with the angle she had to work from. She paused for a moment to gather her ideas, before opening the sunroof.

"You're not seriously gonna start shootin' at 'em like that are you?" Fang laughed disbelievingly as Lightning unclasped the seatbelt and manoeuvred herself awkwardly between the spaces provided, the dress considerably hindering her movement as it began to ride up her legs. She fired three more shots, which clustered together nicely, before reloading. The windscreen was taking damage considerably better than Fang's car was as it was likely to be bulletproof or strengthened. Lightning reloaded quick enough to catch the gunman in the shoulder as he leaned out of the window, his pained shout muffled slightly as the cold air whistled past her ears. Her next shot shattered the entire windscreen, allowing Lightning to see her targets perfectly, she aimed her shot - ready to fire, when in the background she saw two more black cars approach from the distance.

"Shit, this isn't good. They must've called for backup."

Lightning fired off two more of her bullets into the driver, causing the car to lose control and swerve off into a concrete barrier, the back end of the car left the ground for a moment before crashing mercilessly back to the floor.

The remaining two cars sped up in perfect synchronisation, and Lightning only managed to riddle each bonnet with holes as both cars demonstrated a series of confusing moves, designed to throw Lightning off her aim. Two men appeared out of the car on Lightning's left, both firing without hesitation. Each bullet that streaked Fang's car, caused sparks to fly with the metal on metal contact, one of the bullets coming close to Lightning's hip. She prepared another shot, but it missed terribly as Fang veered down a slipway unexpectedly, throwing Lightning into the side of the sunroof, the gun almost loosening from her grip.

From the driver's seat, Fang had simply tried to concentrate on the road ahead, all too aware that centimetres to her left were Lightning's creamy thighs, which were become gradually more exposed. Fang swallowed, turning her attention to the road once more, trying to convince herself she knew where she was going and where they would end up. Lightning's face reappeared, her cheeks red from the stinging cold and her hair a complete, but endearing mess.

"I need to reload." She panted, looking at her expectantly as she leaned her back upon the dashboard.

"Try the glove compartment."

After a minute of plundering the compartment, she turned back empty handed. "Fang there's nothing there."

Taking one last look at the road ahead of her, and a quick glance at the assailants behind them, one hand left the wheel as Fang began to search under her seat, her head inappropriately resting on Lightning's lap. Her fingers stroked a box, which she grabbed desperately, thrusting it in Lightning's direction. Inside were two of Fang's own handguns with ammo, which Lightning took gratefully, storing her own empty gun back into her holster.

The sound of an engine blowing up meant Lightning had just dispatched one of the cars, leaving them with one left to evade.

Fang looked upwards at Lightning with the intention of complimenting her aim, when her eyes less than innocently caught sight of Lightning's lacy underwear as the Sergeant leaned forward to place more shots.

_Nice arse and aim, she is perfect_.

Torn between what she would prefer to focus on, Fang didn't notice when her car gradually steered left and hit the curb, sending the left side of the motor up onto the path, smashing a newspaper stand seconds later.

From atop of the car, Lightning became showered with splintered wood and flyers, her lower back and side meeting the edge of the sunroof with a muffled thump. Had the car hit anything harder, she would have been ripped in half.

Luckily, the papers had stuck to the windscreen of the tailing car, and the driver quickly hit the brake, giving Fang the chance she needed to speed off further down the road, taking a left to escape the eyes of any more attackers. Slowly Lightning dropped back into her seat, panting heavily as she pulled a splintered piece of wood from between her breasts, looking anything but amused.

Fang let her hands leave the steering wheel as she held them up defensively.

"What? We're still alive aren't we?"

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><p><em>AN: _

_I have to admit, I haven't really thought too far ahead with this story, so it might be a while until the next chapter after this one, and I also start university in a few weeks. I've also began to do some drawings for some of the scenes in this story just to pass the time, because the UK has seriously not had a summer at all this year! Note to self though on the next few chapters: Lightning is a goddess of battle, and the gunfight scene just didn't do her justice I feel._

_As always though, I hope you all enjoy the chapter! _


	7. Welcome to Palumpolum

First of all, hello everyone! I'm settling into university now and I reckon I can update a little quicker now. Upon reading this finished chapter I don't know what it is that I think it missing from it and I blame the constant little updates I do to it meaning my writing probably changes each time I add to it. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy and after this it shall hopefully pick up the pace! Enjoy!

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><p>They had been driving continuously around the city for what seemed to be hours, but in fact only minutes had passed since the women had escaped what could have been their untimely deaths. The two women had been bickering amongst themselves on what to do next - Fang wanted to head back home and inform Vanille, whereas Lightning argued that heading to the train station right away would save precious time.<p>

"You're forgetting," Fang chuckled with a shake of her head, "that you're only wearing a skimpy little dress. Way to attract attention there Light."

The rear window had been shattered from the spray of bullets, leaving Lightning's arms and legs exposed to the cold air. She rubbed her arms, the friction doing little to warm her cooling skin.

"I haven't _forgotten_." Lightning bit back, the mixture of fatigue and hunger putting her in a bad mood. "I don't have the time to be going back home."

"Doesn't your sister deserve to know you're leaving town face to face, rather than over the phone?" The tone of Fang's voice made Lightning feel as though she was being chastised. Her words were fighting to stay firmly in her throat as she battled with mind and her tongue not to say what she was about to say next.

"You're right."

With those simple words, Fang grinned broadly at Lightning's easy defeat. She knew she shouldn't have even given Fang the satisfaction of knowing she was right, as she would the type of person to take pleasure in torturing Lightning about it later.

Yet, here she was ignoring her own words and bashfully turning away to look out of the window. Fang began to speak, but Lightning tuned out once she heard the boastfulness in her voice. Fang clearly liked to be right, as did she.

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><p>Lightning's eyes cracked open when the purr of the engine died suddenly. She lifted her heavy head from the frame of the car and inspected her surroundings; they were just outside Phoenix Apartments in the residential car park. For the first time since the car chase, Fang stepped out to inspect the damage to her car, swearing as she paced around the abused metal. She opened the trunk of her car repeatedly until she was happy that nothing was wrong.<p>

"I hope insurance covers wild car chases with just-for-fun shootouts." She huffed, reaching out to pull a cluster of cracked glass from the rear window's frame to examine it.

Lightning stepped out of the car, giving the motor a sweeping glance.

"You're just going to leave your car here?"

Fang shrugged in response, moving in time with Lightning to the entrance of the apartment building.

"I know a guy who could probably give it a new lease of life, but he wouldn't be happy if I woke him now though."

As she walked into the lobby, Lightning welcomed with open arms the warmth that embraced her limbs, whilst also shunning the piercing beams of light that invaded her unaccustomed eyes. The journey to the third floor was surreal, as she padded – now barefoot – down the empty corridor which seemed to stretch on forever, despite her front door being relatively close to the stairs. All the while, Fang had trailed behind uncharacteristically silent, following her almost like a lost puppy. At first Lightning mistook this new muted Fang as that of someone quietly interested in her new surroundings, but a flashback of her survival knife resting upon the doormat days previous hit her like a ton of bricks. Fang had been the one who had returned her knife, after searching her body for concealed weapons, because Fang had been the hooded figure. And Fang had also been the one to write the note along with it…

"Next time please hide it somewhere else, so I can have the pleasure of searching you again." Lightning recalled in nothing but a whisper.

Behind her, Fang spluttered on air and staggered back, embarrassed, as if Lightning's words had been physical hits. Lost for words, the taller woman's mouth dropped open and closed repeatedly as she studied Lightning's profile.

"Something tells me you find those words familiar." The soldier spoke deliberately light and innocent, yet Fang knew by now, there would be a devilish twinkle in her eye. It was just a shame her hair obscured her gaze.

"Mm." Fang murmured as they stood pointlessly outside Lightning's apartment door and yet the pink haired vixen wasn't making any attempt to enter. "You lost your key or somethin'?"

Graceful hands plunged unladylike down the front of the dress, giving Fang a better view of Lightning's cleavage as she fished around for her key. A tip Lightning learned from Lebreau. The memory of tracing her curves and getting to know the soft, scented skin on her neck flooded back, and it all became too much for Fang, who had been biting her tongue the entire time.

"Allow me, I'll find it. You know you owe me another go at searching ya." Fang grinned.

The metal glinted in Lightning's hand as she retrieved the object between two fingers and Lightning regarded Fang with the tilt of her head as she began to open her door.

"_Goodnigh_t Fang."

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><p>"Fang! Answer the door now!" Lightning banged furiously upon the door of the apartment that Fang shared with Vanille, showing no consideration for the sleeping neighbours on the fourth floor. The undercover soldier was tired and irritable, having little to no sleep and Fang being late out was doing nothing on improving her terrible mood. It wasn't until the third round of hammering knocks that an apprehensive Vanille appeared around the door, rubbing her eyes as if to get across the point Lightning had disturbed her sleep.<p>

"Oh Lightning, good morning!" The girl smiled cheerily, still dressed in her oversized pyjamas with her hair loose. "What can I do for you?"

Lightning had already invited herself in, standing in the middle of the homely living space and observing the open space as if looking for something specific.

"Fang's room. Which one?"

Vanille pointed gingerly to the closest door to Lightning, who didn't bother to thank the smaller girl. Without hesitation Lightning swung the bedroom door open, slamming it so harshly that the paintings on either side of the wall shook. Yet Fang didn't stir from the comfort of her blankets.

"Fang get up, we're already late for getting to the station." Lightning sighed.

When she didn't get an answer, she strolled casually towards the foot of her bed and yanked the covers forcefully away from Fang, who eventually groaned.

"Few more minutes." She drawled sleepily into her pillow.

"No! Fang get up!"

It was like dealing with a child who didn't want to go to school, an experience she had encountered once or twice with Serah, which meant she knew exactly what to do next to get her out of bed. Lightning exited the bedroom and headed straight for the kitchen, finding Vanille pressed close to Fang's bedroom door trying to listen in. She ignored her, returning to Fang's bedside armed with a glass of icy cold water. She raised it above Fang's head and…

"Ah! What the fuck!" Fang screamed, leaping sky high. "What was that for?"

Lightning smirked at the sight of Fang's dripping wet hair; she looked a right picture with loose strands stuck to her face.

"You've overslept and we're now going to be late. Go get ready."

Fang rolled out of bed painfully slow with an added grunt, eyeing her bedcovers that were now scattered over the floor.

"Shit… okay, give me a sec."

"I'll wait outside."

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><p>Lightning had took to leaning upon the side of the car, wishing to be no where else but back in bed, as the sun wasn't scheduled to rise for at least another hour. Fang chose to appear fifteen minutes later, dressed in a grey zip up hooded jacket and black jeans, with a backpack slung over her shoulder. Her hair was noticeably drier than earlier and she seemed much more awake, throwing her belongings into the backseat of the battered car through the broken rear window. They both entered the car and Fang began to drive.<p>

"Once we're at the station I'll be leaving the car for my good friend Sazh to pick up and fix. I left him an early morning message a second ago which he won't appreciate, but he's really good at fixin' things that guy."

Luckily for the two, the early morning meant the only cars around were taxis and those returning from nightshifts, they arrived at the train station in good timing, yet the train was to depart in only minutes.

"Sazh!" Fang called out into the darkness, but there was so reply, "The old fucker ain't here yet."

But Lightning wasn't listening, instead peering past the stone archway that decorated the entrance to the subway station. A train had just arrived at the station, followed by the automated announcement: '_The train at Platform 1 is for Palumpolum.'_

"Fang forget your friend, that's our train." She grabbed her own rucksack and raced forward, leaving Fang calling behind.

Fang cursed, grabbing her own bag and throwing her car keys into a nearby hedge as she chased after the eager soldier. The two bypassed the ticket machines and launched themselves down a set of stairs towards the platform. Lightning reached the carriage first, pausing at the entrance to look for Fang who dived forward just as the doors began to close. Lightning reached out, grabbing Fang roughly by the front of her clothes and pulled her in just as the doors closed and they collided roughly.

"Much appreciated, Light." Fang panted.

They sat down in the last carriage of the train, which Lightning was pleased to see was empty. They chose to sit at either side of the train, facing each other with their bags placed carefully at their sides. It was close enough to talk, yet far enough for Lightning to feel comfortable around the woman.

"So what've you packed?" Fang asked, gesturing towards Lightning's bag.

Lightning patted her bag fondly; it was the same one she had used throughout her rookie days whilst she was still under training.

"The usual really… my knife, a couple of handguns, _plenty _of ammo and a med kit – that's more for you than me."

"Hmph. Yeah like I'll ever need it."

"And a couple of handcuffs." Lightning finished.

Fang sat up straighter than before and it was clear to Lightning what was running through her devilish mind.

"Oh yeah? Planning on using them much?" Fang queried with interest.

"Oh yes… _lots_." Lightning smirked.

Throughout the three-hour journey, they discussed what would happen once they arrived. Deciding that they should first find somewhere to stay for the duration of their time at Palumpolum. Jihl had tipped them off about Raines's possible whereabouts, informing Lightning and Fang that he would be hosting a high profile party.

Yet the one thing she couldn't tell them was where.

The train remained quiet for at least half an hour, as it was still too early in the day for anyone planning to commute to work. Lightning had been leaning on her hand staring hypnotically out of the window when the door from the adjoining carriage slid open, yet it did nothing to properly draw her attention. He sat as far from the women as he could and flipped open his phone, a likely businessman, and began to dial. Fang was currently in dreamland, catching up on the little sleep they had had and Lightning was beginning to feel achy from the car chase where she had hit the sunroof. Lightning rubbed her side, continuing to stare outside long enough so that everything became a blur apart from the neighbouring rail tracks.

Minutes before they were due to disembark; something ricocheted off the supporting pole besides Lightning, which brought her out of her reverie. She recoiled and out of instinct, glared at Fang whose eyes had only just shot open at the shuddering noise. When the glass window behind her smashed, Lightning dived down to the left, crouching behind one of the backwards-facing seats. Out of confusion, Fang did the same on her side, rustling around in her bag for a gun. Back pressed against the plastic of the seating, Lightning drew her knife from the holster in her boot using the reflection from the blade to check to see if the attacker was advancing. They were nowhere to seen, which meant they were also hiding.

"Who the fuck is shooting?" Fang shouted, daring to peek above her cover.

She ducked almost instantly afterwards as another bullet bounced off the edge of the seat.

"Who the fuck _is_ that guy?" Fang said disbelievingly once more, reaching her hand over the top of her hiding place to fire randomly back.

"I don't know but cover me." Lightning rolled into the isle and ran bravely forward, whilst Fang sprayed bullets wildly into the seat hiding the gunman. He poked his head above his hiding place in time to see Lightning, but his composure failed him when it came to shooting, as his quivering hand caused the next few shots to miss. The train hit a bend, sending the carriage veering to the left, causing Lightning to fall into a crouch behind one of the seats. With her back against the wall of the carriage out of view, Fang eyed the place where Lightning was crouched, smirking as she watched the woman fearlessly fire towards their assailant. The train suddenly hit the breaks, sending Fang's body gracelessly to the side.

"Light, we'll be at a station soon, get him before anyone gets hurt." She called from behind her barrier.

"I'm trying to without getting my head blew off, Fang!"

The entire train came to a stop and in a last act of desperation; the gunman dived to the other side of the carriage towards the door, giving Lightning the opportunity to rip through his arm with a bullet. The man screamed in pain, frantically pushing the button that opened the automatic door.

"Until next time!" He hissed through gritted teeth, squeezing himself through the doors as they barely opened. Lightning shot again, hitting the man in the same arm, much to his displeasure. Meanwhile Fang had already run past, grabbing Lightning by the wrist and dragging her after their fleeing opponent.

"What're you doing? This isn't our stop!" Lightning yelped in shock, her mind barely registering to move of her own accord as Fang finally let go of her.

"He's one of the Cavalry henchmen, he must be! And if we follow him…"

Lightning's eyes rounded in realisation, praising Fang mentally for her quick thinking.

"Then he might lead us to Raines…" She finished.

"Yeah!"

The sandy haired man was easy to follow with the sparse amount of commuters around and a trail of blood. From over his shoulder he shot a bullet, shattering part of the tiled floor under their feet.

"Bitches! You'll never catch me alive!" The man took a sharp right and Lightning and Fang bounded up the steps relentlessly after him. It took them to a street filled with skyscrapers; most of them still covered in shadow, with the tallest only half basked in the pale sunrise. It was a beauty that neither woman could appreciate as they continued to chase the man through a dank alleyway. The man splashed through puddles caused by water from broken gutters, and leapt high upon an industrial sized waste bin, which gave him better reach of a fire escape attached to a townhouse. Despite the injured arm, the man managed to climb speedily up the stairs towards the roof. Fang was growing bored of the chase and from behind Lightning; three bullets were released above her head at the feet of their fleeing enemy, causing the man to panic more.

Fang fired a few more rounds, ripping holes in the metal platform above and tearing holes into the man's leg. He faltered, tripping up the next set of stairs as his gun fell through a gap in the steps, which gave Lightning the opportunity to catch up and grab him roughly by the collar of his shirt. She threw him backwards against the metal safety bars, which clanged in protest as his head came into contact with them. With her gun pointed carefully towards him, Fang spoke first.

"We've met you before, am I right?"

With his good arm, the bleeding man propped himself up and smirked.

"That we have. I would be one of the guys who was chasing you yesterday."

Lightning looked mildly surprised. Was this the driver of the car that survived the pursuit only yesterday?

"Cid Raines," Fang continued, "where can we find him?"

The sandy haired man was now sweating profusely, as he worked his wounded arm towards the inside pocket of his jacket. Lightning, as a precaution, trained her own gun upon the man, her sudden movement frightening him.

"There's a flyer in my pocket, if you would j- just let-"

"I'll get it." Fang barked, reaching forward towards the man, who without warning punched her solidly in the side of the cheek.

"You fucker!" She hissed and simultaneously, Lightning stomped on the bullet wound in his leg as Fang backhanded him with the handle of her gun – knocking him out cold.

After they looted the man's pockets and handcuffed him to the railings in the most uncomfortable way possible, both women returned to the more pleasant streets of Palumpolum.

"The flyer mentions the opening of a portrait gallery at midday today… reckon Cid will actually be there?" Fang asked whilst rubbing her jaw.

Lightning stifled a yawn and allowed herself to shrug.

"Who knows, but it's worth a look."

For the next hour, they took the opportunity of touring the sights of Palumpolum, famously known as 'The Capital of Commerce' with its large, warehouse-like buildings mostly made from steel. Fang made passing comments about the scenery, making her ill feelings clear on Jihl and the people they'd come across since starting her guard job. Yet in the back of her mind, all Lightning could think about were the events that happened _within_ Jihl's office that caused her to blush slightly when she watched Fang's lips as she spoke.

Without a notable distraction like a car chase or a gunfight, she would find her mind wandering and every time Fang looked her way, she would coyly turn away. It was somewhere between listening to Fang and thinking about her that Lightning spotted the welcoming sign of an inn and voiced her find out loud. Fang cheered and rushed forward, exclaiming that the last one there should have to pay.

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><p>Feel free to tell me what you think!<p> 


	8. Invitation

_It's been a while hasn't it?_ _I'm sorry, I've had 4 essays to hand in and I celebrated my birthday yesterday and I've only just managed to get the time to sit down and finish the chapter. I'm pretty aware that it's progressing slow and if I could change anything, I'd merge chapters but it's too late now. As always, enjoy_

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><p>Fang burst through the door, paying no heed to the quality of furnishings within their rented room as she dropped all of her excess baggage and flopped on the nearest bed. Closely behind her, Lightning followed, shrugging her own luggage onto the floor. As if going through a routine barracks check, Fang watched as the soldier eyed the entire room - including her – whilst pressing down firmly upon the mattress of the spare bed. Fang chuckled in astonishment, throwing an arm over her face to smother her laughter as Lightning took apart the freshly made bed.<p>

"What the bloody hell are you doing, Lightning?"

The pink-haired woman looked over as if she had failed to notice anything wrong with her actions.

"What does it look like? I'm checking the bed." She replied.

Fang bit her lip. Oh, how this would get her into trouble…

"Testing the springs for later, are we?" Fang winked, enjoying the sight of Lightning's face turning an endearing rosy colour.

Lightning dropped the covers. "I'm checking to see if it's _clean_."

"'Course it's clean. We haven't used them yet." Fang said, letting her mind wander to thoughts of both women putting the beds to good use whilst she retreived her phone. "Although…"

"Don't even finish that." The red-faced sergeant deadpanned.

Once the bed was deemed worthy, Lightning sat straight upon the edge of the bed, finally allowing herself to relax.

"I'm surprised to find the room with two single beds." Lightning said as she dipped back onto the bed, allowing her eyes to droop lower as her body settled into the softness.

"And what's that supposed to mean? I was right beside you when _you _booked the room." Fang laughed in astonishment, lazily pushing a few buttons and cradling her wireless between her ear and shoulders.

"Well I wouldn't put it past you…" Lightning trailed off, causing Fang to smirk over the receiver whilst attempting a redial.

Lightning was certainly a confusing individual, and Fang disliked the fact never sure what the other woman was thinking, easily switching from straight faced to flirty within a matter of seconds. The only thing she was certain about was that Lightning was going to be a challenge to win over fully, however Fang liked challenges.

"Ah, Vanille. Hey…"

To be considerate, Fang entered the bathroom and quietly shut the door.

"_Hey, Fang! Is everything okay? Have you got a lead on Raines yet?"_

"Nothing concrete, but we did get a tip off that he might be at a gallery sometime today, so we'll go investigate that but I have no idea what we'll do if we see him. Can't exactly go in all guns blazin' eh?"

"_As much as you'd like that, right Fang? I'm glad to hear you're making good progress already!"_ There was a sound of a magazine page flipping, as the redhead changed the subject. "_Not to worry you or anything but Serah says she's noticed some strange guys about_, _so just to keep her mind at rest we're each taking turns to have sleepovers." _

Fang plucked at the soap provided by the sink in a little wicker basket, responding in turn to Vanille's conversation. She re-emerged from the tiny bathroom fifteen minutes later with a sore ear with help from her sister's chattering. Over by the bed, Lightning seemed pretty content with her eyes closed, her breathing slow and levelled. Sensing the opportunity for revenge, Fang slinked to the side of the bed, resting her chin on the covers and watched closely for any reaction from the sleeping sergeant. How careless of her to fall asleep after mere _hours_ of showering Fang with cold water. Her mind flooded itself with potential payback ideas. It was definitely the right time to give Lightning a taste of her own medicine. _A taste…_

Fang leaned cautiously over Lightning, placing her left hand by Lightning's right ear to support her, although wary that her added weight might cause the sleeping beauty to awaken. For once her porcelain face was at peace, free from frowns. Fang wanted nothing more than to reach out and stroke the hair away from her fair features.

"Wakey, wakey Light…" She whispered softly, leaning forward with the intention of placing a soft kiss upon her lips, but in a moment of uncharacteristic hesitation, she pecked her cheek instead. She pulled back hastily to study Lightning's stoic features with a slight disappointment, half expecting the woman to heartily awaken and kiss back with vigour. Perhaps she had watched too many of Vanille's soppy films.

* * *

><p>It was only when she was sure Fang had her back turned did she twitch and lick her lips in response, waiting a few more minutes before yawning and stretching noisily, trying to act as natural as possible, as if nothing had happened. Her lips had become dry in anticipation of Fang drawing closer to her face and her heart still thumped in her ears. Her cheek burned.<p>

Fang stood with her back to Lightning, rustling around frantically in a bag she could not see.

"Are we nearly ready to go?" Lightning asked, the more she studied the back of Fang - discreetly appreciating the endless length of her legs in the process - the more certain she felt that the other woman was avoiding eye contact, yet as Fang flung her backpack over her shoulder, the soldier herself looked away herself. As Lightning sauntered over to the room's front door, Fang chivalrously opened the door and gestured for her to pass.

"After you, sleepyhead."

Lightning snorted, just catching the flicker of Fang's forest eyes looking down to appreciate her from behind. Her hips unintentionally swayed more to please her admirer.

"I saw that." Lightning remarked casually as she walked past, soon after feeling the unmistakable touch of Fang's hand slapping her backside. She smirked at their playfulness.

"Don't think I didn't see _that_." Fang responded flirtatiously, hurriedly locking the door to fall into step with Lightning.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The soldier replied passively, facing forward mechanically.

"You enjoyed that."

She inwardly smiled. Of course Fang would notice her grinning, she had keen eagle eyes that looked at her with something beyond friendly admiration, which even more frighteningly, she returned on occasion. Her stomach twisted, but it was not discomforting.

They departed from the lodging with the knowledge of the Palumpolum Portrait Gallery's whereabouts thanks to the quick thinking of Lightning, who queried at the reception desk before they left. Knowing all too well that Fang would probably allow them to wander until they got lost, due to her stubbornness to ask for help. They had no reason to worry though, as it became apparent that the grand gallery was no more than a ten-minute walk away and in clear view even from where they were stood now if they were to squint. By now the sun had hit its highest point in the day, blazing down heavy upon the brows of both women; Lightning unzipped her hooded jacket and let out a breath of frustration, noting that Fang was unperturbed by the hot weather.

"Where was it you said you were from?" Lightning asked Fang as they fought against the tide of pedestrians who weren't interested gallery openings. The soldier was slightly ashamed for not even enquiring about Fang's background much, as she was clearly something else with her exotic looks, put to waste doing guard work. Fang didn't respond immediately but regarded the question with a thoughtful look – either that or she hadn't heard above all the outside noise.

"I come from the island of Oerba," she said at last, "it was very traditional and untouched by all of this hi-tech nonsense. Gorgeous tropical weather, green for miles… everyone was just one big happy family back there."

Lightning didn't miss the underlying sorrow in her voice and she couldn't help but think that she had just ripped open the seal of bad memories.

"_Was…?_" She pressed delicately, sidestepping a mother pushing a pram and gluing herself to Fang's side in order to hear clearer.

Fang took a steadying breath, gripping her backpack tighter so that her nails ripped into the material. "It was destroyed."

Fang swallowed, the tightness in her throat shocked her slightly, as she always believed herself to have overcome the desolation that was now Oerba.

Her elegant brows furrowed as she relayed her description of Oerba as if reading from a leaflet.

"It was a natural paradise overturned by the greed of an outsider. By the very boss of Sanctum who wanted nothing more than to get his slimy little hands on a diamond mine that we tried to keep quiet. Some of the villagers found it, but we weren't ever gonna exploit it. But he… learnt of it."

Lightning noticed the sudden flare in Fang's eyes as burned with hatred. So much so they had stopped in the middle of the path, to the annoyance of by passers who had to swerve to avoid them. Lightning placed a gentle hand on Fang's shoulder as the woman continued talking.

"You ever stepped on a flower, Light? A pretty, innocent little thing but crushed it anyway? Robbed it of its beauty? That's what Dysley did to Oerba. He saw it and tore it apart... and he's gonna fucking pay for it with his _life_."

It was a snippet of a story that Lightning certainly wasn't expecting to hear, especially not with Fang's cheery attitude to life. How could she hide something so painful in her life so well?

Lightning's grip tightened to become vice-like upon Fang's shoulder as she questioned herself of Fang's motives for travelling to Palumpolum in the first place. If Fang's intention was to hurt the leader of Sanctum, then wasn't tagging along to kill the leader of the rival gang only _helping_ him instead?

A honey-coloured hand prised her own from Fang's crumbling shoulder, as the darker woman urged them forward without a word.

"I'm here now 'cause I want to be. Just so you know."

* * *

><p>The gallery was large, grey and made from gigantic stone blocks with four grand pillars adorning the front of the entrance. A large banner hung from the middle pillars over the top of the entrance announcing the grand opening of the gallery to the public, who congregated outside upon a flight of marble stairs, all moving gradually into the building like slow draining water. The two women pushed through, skipping the optional tour of the foyer to enter into the main room, filled with several fine paintings.<p>

"Man, it's gonna be impossible trying to find Raines around here! Who thought the people of Palumpolum were cultured?" Fang sniggered, taking note of the differently dressed people in the room. There were rich gentlemen who were dressed eloquently in formal gear with their equally proud, pearl-adorned wives, whilst there were also throngs of curious families with children. The most noticeable of people in the gallery were easily the eager buyers, who bartered loudly in a small room accessed by a tall, white archway.

On closer inspection, the buyers were paying tens of thousands of gil for pieces Lightning wouldn't consider putting on her fridge door, not that half of the images would fit. She was about to skip the auction section of the gallery when Fang grabbed her and yanked her back to where she was standing. She didn't need Fang to explain herself, as her roving eyes settled on the tall figure of none other than Cid Raines, who was surrounded by news press and associates from all sides. Nodding to each other, Lightning and Fang wandered into the magnificent room, orbiting around Raines at a reasonably close distance as if they were to catch a disease a any moment.

Although she hated to admit it, Lightning wasn't sure what to do now that Raines was right there in front of them. There was no way they could kill him in such a crowded place like this, with paparazzi around.

"We need to follow him or something." Fang muttered, as if reading Lightning's mind. Her forest eyes never leaving the back of Cid's glossy head.

"What if he gets in a car after this? We'll never catch up."

"Oh well you'll think of something." Fang said tapping her chin, "off you go!" Fang urged, pushing Lightning forward without warning. Cid's broad back became suddenly larger as the soldier inevitably crashed into the man. There was a moment of brief silence as she moved, followed by gasps of surprise from both Raines and herself as she impacted. Trust Fang to throw – _push_ – her into the deep end just to garner a reaction of surprise.

"Sorry." Lightning mumbled in embarrassment, avoiding the perplexed stares from the mammoth of a man whose height even put Snow to shame.

"No, excuse me," Raines apologised in the politest of manners, manoeuvring the two of them so that he held Lightning at arm's length, "have we met before?" He asked, his voice deep and not at all unpleasing to listen to. He reminded Lightning of some sort of suave politician, a one who stares intensely unnerving obsidian eyes.

"No, can't say we have." Lightning lied easily remembering his face from her time at Deepground where he had been playing poker at the same table as Vanille. In the distance she could hear Fang's hysterical laughter, which only became amplified around the echoing halls.

"But you seem ever so familiar." He looked as though he was trying to pinpoint her face to a location. Luckily he didn't recognise her from kneecapping one of his henchman with her pistol. The way Cid spoke, gave Lightning chills, the type that made blood run cold. His slim but sly handsome face had an underlying deadliness about it, and his steadily tightening grip upon her forearms caused her to clench her fists in order to control herself.

"We've never met." Lightning clarified stiffly, to which Cid seemed content with the answer. He stepped closer to a portrait he was viewing, taking Lightning with him, to her surprise. The painting he had lead them to was as tall as it was wide, encased in a gilded frame, depicting a burst of flames in the outline of a phoenix over a dark hill.

After a short while, Cid grew tired of silence and spoke passionately of the image that towered over them.

"This… _miraculous _piece is known as 'Rebirth Rises" and it is one of my favourite pieces within this gallery," he pointed to the bottom of the artwork, "the flames represent the start of something new for the lives of that pair you see at the foot of the hill."

Lightning studied the piece with no interest, until she realised he was awaiting a reply.

"Uh, yeah, it's nice."

Cid forced a laugh as though he was offended. "Just nice?"

"It's certainly grand." Lightning forced out, "I can see it setting you back a few thousand."

Cid's laughter grew, although it was more controlled than what Fang's had been.

"Then how about _millions_?" He asked, "I will be purchasing it this afternoon."

_What? Is he trying to impress me or something? _Lightning thought with dread, realising that this was the chance she and Fang needed, however she didn't want to be the one he had interest in.

As sweetly as possible she said, "Perhaps one day you could show me whereabouts in your home you've placed it."

Cid's grin was benevolent, though she didn't trust his intentions.

"If you're free for the rest of the day, then perhaps I can show you as soon as I'm finished here… over dinner perhaps?"

Lightning's heart leapt with both joy and dread.

"I'm really not dressed appropriately for dinner." She said gesturing to her casual attire.

"Nonsense, someone as beautiful as you would look divine in anything." Cid offered her his arm, which Lightning took hesitantly as she desperately tried to find Fang from within the crowd, but to no avail. Lightning felt nothing but bitterness at the situation she was in, being swept away like some fairytale ending by a rich prince. She couldn't think of a worse scenario than this.

* * *

><p>Fang watched Lightning from the sidelines after pushing her towards Cid, her caramel arms folded with her knee bent uncaringly against the archway. The soldier's rs were tinged pink and Fang could practically feel her discomfort - like strong radio wave signals - it was easy to pick up. Aware that Cid was an attractive guy, Fang hoped Lightning would keep an emotional distance from the man because tall, dark and handsome was certainly a type she might go for.<p>

Fang regarded her own appearance and smiled.

_Hell, I'm tall, I'm dark and I'll be damned if I'm not the slightest bit handsome... so here's hopin' she does have a type._

"Hey, gorgeous."

Fang blinked, suddenly frightened that her thoughts had projected out loud. However, to her right stood the confident looking male that Fang recognised as Rygdea. He wore leather pants and matching jacket over a blue t-shirt. When he was not graced with a reply, he mirrored her stance against the white frame, looking ever the 'badass' type.

He gave Fang a once over before leaning close to her ear.

"I swear I know you… have we fucked before?"

Her eyelids fluttered closed like they were dark butterfly wings, her chuckle low and disbelieving.

"Trust me, you'd not forget me if we had." And with that she walked away to the left side of the hall towards another portrait, keeping a closer eye upon Lightning.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Lightning's off to Cid's and it doesn't look like Fang is invited. Yay for trespassing! _

_Hope you liked it! x_


	9. Bloody Eventful

_I thought now would be the best time to update since I've been spoilt for updates myself and it is the season for giving afterall, right? I'm dying to write more stories for these two, but I should really finish what I've started! *looks at my other story* oops!_

_As always, enjoy! (And Merry Christmas!)_

* * *

><p>Cid kept a firm hold upon Lightning's linked arm, much to her discomfort as he guided her to the back of his chauffeured car, which she felt severely underdressed for. The heavy smell of leather hit her instantly as the chauffeur opened the car door, ducking his head in respect to Cid, who nodded in turn. During the event, Cid had enquired her name, seeming pleasantly surprised to hear her response.<p>

"Raines and Lightning, what next? A child named after snow?" He chuckled. Lightning's mouth became a hard line as she tried not to express her amusement at his words. _If only he knew_. Beside her, Cid had just about fit his head within the car after waving off photographers with a silk-gloved hand.

"I'm sorry about all this, they never seem to get enough." He said, referring to the photographers outside who were pressing their cameras against the glass of the car.

As the car journeyed on, Lightning observed that, although a polite man, Cid seemed remarkably dull, as their conversations became nothing more than generic chitchat. She felt bored already, despite being just minutes into the car ride and she wanted nothing more than to open the passenger door and roll out, regardless of whether the car was moving or not.

Witnesses by damned, Lightning snaked her left arm around her back where Cid would not be able to watch what she was planning to do. She grasped the gun's handle; the barrel of which had been digging painfully into her back as a constant reminder of her goals. She waited until Cid became bored from her lack of response and found the scenery from his window more interesting.

The sound of engine purring was soon the only noise made within the chauffeured car, yet neither passenger showed signs of caring. With Fang in the forefront of her mind, Lightning arced her gun occupied hand around to face Raines, expecting him to still be glancing out of the window. She was wrong. The second the muscles twitched in her arm, Cid's own bulking arm leapt out like a striking snake clamping its mighty jaws around her wrist.

Clearly he expected her to attack him.

Lightning hit out with her free hand, curling her fingers and flattening her palm in a move to try break his nose. Even then Raines anticipated her actions, flinging back his head to avoid her palm.

"Attacking already? You don't wait around. I hope you didn't think I _wouldn't _recognise you from my time in Bodhum." He growled as Lightning fought to regain use of both her wrists.

"S-sir?" The driver's eyes from the rear-view mirror darted between the soldier and his boss, looking torn between helping Raines and diving out of the car himself at the sight of the gun in Lightning's grasp.

"Carry on home, John." Cid ordered as the chauffeur's face became equally as pale as his hair. "Nothing I can't manage."

"Hmph!" Lightning raised her knee to her chest as best she could in the enclosed space, forcing it into Cid's face and his head rebounded against the window with a _thud_. He countered with a punch to Lightning's gut, which was an awkward target to reach for given the confined space within the car. The time it took for Cid to hit her, Lightning readied herself for the impact, tensing her stomach muscles to dampen the pain.

It was strange, with all of the adrenaline pulsing through her veins; Cid's attacking did nothing to pain her, but fuel her desire to hurt him more. _No_, she realised as she thrust her foot forward again at Cid's face until his nose exploded with hot crimson over her shoes, the lack of pain came from her determination to help Fang in kind. The gun in her hand begged to be fired, and despite being aimed at the car roof, she let her finger close around the trigger. In one short moment, she watched as Cid's animalistic angry face dropped in horror as blood spouted rhythmically from his thigh.

"You- you bitch!" He wheezed in agony, letting go of Lightning to stem the blood flow that was staining his leather seats. The metallic tang was overbearing enough to make the driver slam his breaks in the middle of a grand gravel driveway, to a location Lightning still could not see properly. Against the wishes of Cid, John the driver unbuckled an excused himself from the car to vomit, giving Lightning the chance to escape. She practically rolled backwards upon opening the side door, gasping for breath as her lungs met the fresh air, but her legs didn't stop to rest, striving to reach the driver who had not finished being sick.

"Please don't kill me!" He begged as the sound of her crunching footsteps revealed her intentions of drawing near him. "Please I don't know why you're doing this, just let me go." The man continued to babble until Lightning grew weary of his cries and the smell of his vomit.

"Now listen," she said shaking the man from her leg, desperately needing the man to cooperate in order to call Fang about her whereabouts, "I need you to tell me exactly where I- eugh!"

Lightning collapsed to the floor on all fours grasping her head, crouched jadedly behind her Cid grinned, the entire bottom half of his face splashed in red. She had no idea what he had hit her with, but as her vision blurred, warm liquid dripped from her brow to the sandy gravel below.

* * *

><p>Lightning groaned at the dull ache that spread across the entire right half of her head, and winced when she felt the dried blood across her face crack as she moved. Her surroundings weren't familiar at all; though she put that towards the fact the room was encased in complete darkness. She was cold, shivering, stripped of her hooded jacket and thankfully nothing else. The blood that had dried began to itch, however try as she might; her handcuffed wrists prevented her from any sort of useful movement. The soldier shuffled slightly, feeling the large pipe that her arms were constrained behind to judge whether there was a weak point in the metal. There was nothing. Lightning huffed and allowed the low hum of an unknown machine fill her ears as she tried to come to terms with what had happened for her to get where she was now.<p>

_Fang_. The wild woman would never find her here, because Lightning had no way of contacting her and she didn't know where she was to begin with. How long had she been in the room? Her hunger was the only indication that it had at least been a few hours. She rattled the handcuffs that chained her in, yelling in annoyance when they didn't yield to her pulling.

In the corner of her eye, a door creaked open in response to her commotion, spilling light down a flight of stairs. Despite the pain of staring into such contrasting brightness, Lightning watched the unmistakable silhouette of Cid Raines limp down towards her, laughing darkly. When he reached the bottom, he flicked a switch.

"You should be so… _thankful_ that I even spared your life, Lightning - if that is even your real name. You show up out of the blue at Deepground, injure my second in command and get away with it. All of a sudden you appear here in Bodhum, find me, and manage to do the same amount of damage to me as you did Rygdea." Cid paced around the wine cellar – now Lightning could see whereabouts she was – but refused to look her directly in the eye. "I can't tell if you are ridiculously lucky or just ridiculously stupid."

Lightning laughed hoarsely, realising that if she was going to die, she might as well act like she did not care.

"Neither, Raines. I'm just good at my job."

"Speaking of which, who is it? Who are you working for? The police? Yourself? Wait no," Cid tapped his chin thoughfully, "Bodhum…" he laughed once more, "Sanctum isn't it? Ah yes, has Dysley enlisted the help of yet more women to tempt me to my own death? Pitiful old man."

"Well you're gullible enough if I'm here right now." Lightning retorted.

Cid pulled down his sleeve and spoke into what at first looked to be a watch, but as Lightning looked closer, it appeared to be a small radio.

"Send a few down, and send the doctor too. I want you to watch for Rygdea, I've told him to make his way here."

"A doctor? Why don't you call for your mother instead, Cid?"

The door upstairs opened again, and two henchmen surrounded a bespectacled doctor down the stairs.

"Ah, no. This doctor will be for you… that is once we've finished with you. I want to prolong your demise."

With a click of his gloved fingers, the two henchmen obediently moved closer to Lightning. One cracked his knuckles as the other rolled a few unused pipes from their pile in the corner of the room. The hollow metal scraping against concrete was unmistakable, and it wasn't until the henchmen began beating their weapons against the palms of their hands in wait, did she become slightly worried.

"If you wish to avoid a painful, merciless battering, Lightning, then all I ask is for Dysley's new whereabouts."

Her voice was calm and more importantly, honest, when she claimed she knew nothing of his location and yet Cid didn't believe a word.

"Come now, you can tell me." Cid bent down to Lightning's level as best he could with a wounded leg, with any pain masked behind a solid, unmoving mask of a face. He grasped the soldier's face between his finger and thumb, squishing her face slightly as if teasing a child.

"Get the fuck off me, Raines." Lightning shouted, forcefully pulling her face away. But Cid grasped her face tighter, moving swiftly in for a kiss. Lightning's eyes grew wide horror, her body convulsing as she attempted to move away from Cid. Their lips touched in the most unromantic and unreciprocated of ways and Lightning kept her lips pursed firmly, any sign of his tongue would involve her surgically removing it with her teeth.

With all the strength she could muster, despite having the stiffest of necks, Lightning withdrew from Cid's clutches and hammered him in the nose with her forehead. Blood flew everywhere as she even managed to catch his lip and split it in the process. His blood wet her face and stained her t-shirt, refreshing the pungent scent in her nostrils. Had she not been used to the smell in her line of work, she would have retched.

Cid disappeared from her view to be replaced by one of the henchman who punched her repeatedly in the face before kicking her in the stomach for good measure. Teeth gritted, Lightning fought back a groan of weakness.

_Fang wouldn't give in. _Another hit, but this time the other side of her face. _At least they don't know of her. _Another. _At least she can get on with her goal of getting- _yet another strike to the stomach –_of getting Dysley. _

It wasn't until the first henchman grew tired did the other advance upon her, repeating the questions Cid asked. When Lightning repeated her story of knowing nothing, the hand holding the steel pipe raised, but the second he did so a small commotion upstairs stopped him from going any further.

The room was silent as everyone held their breaths to listen again for the noise.

Between coughing and spluttering on his own blood, Cid reached for his radio.

"What's going on up there?"

'_It's just Rygdea sir, he flung the front door open and is singing.'_

Cid shook his head. "_Idiot_… send him down."

Within minutes Rygdea appeared, sporting a limp of his own from their previous encounter. His eyes fell upon the new guest that was Lightning, his jaw falling open as he pinpointed her face to a location.

"Hey Boss... wait... i-is that?"

"The very same." Cid said with a nod.

Similarly to Cid, Rygdea gripped Lightning's face and stared directly into her soul.

"You're a bitch." He said, pointing to his knees, which were bandaged under his leather biker gear.

Lightning spat in his face, enraging Rygdea more.

"Oh, you're a bitch who's gonna get her fucking arse kicked in a minute." Rygdea growling, backhanding Lightning as hard as he could.

There was a faint noise from upstairs once more, which Lightning could barely hear above the humming machinery, the sound of the pulse in her ears and her heavy breathing. At first, she was sure it was just her mind playing tricks with her, providing her with the solace that she wasn't going to die after all. But no, the ruckus grew louder as men shouted and one or two shots were fired, followed by a cluster of succeeding shots from a different sounding gun.

'_Sir! Someone has just burst through the front door and started shooting at us!' _The radio hissed.

Cid's face was a picture of sickening worry. "What?"

The sound of furniture being thrown on their sides grew louder and louder, smashing of ancient and pricey antiques and the screams of many men pierced the sergeant's ears. The four members of Cavalry reached for their guns, whilst the fair-haired doctor scrambled into a dark crevice and hid.

The chaos ceased.

Footsteps drew closer.

Bullets struck the hinges from outside of the room, and as if blown over, the door toppled down the cellar stairs to reveal the shape of a bedraggled and bloody man. Deciding not to wait for an answer, the four gang members unleashed a flurry of bullets, which hit the body with deadly accuracy. It was a confusing sight to Lightning, as the man took each hit, until a figure behind it, shoved him forward to meet the same fate as the broken door.

"You're a bunch of fucking idiots, the lot of ya!"

And with that, her diamond in the rough saviour Fang sprayed the closest henchman with lead. Lightning closed her eyes. The sound of Fang's voice and her bullets put her oddly at ease. Fang dived right and completely off of the stairs, landing behind what Lightning presumed was one of many crates of vintage wine. When a bullet pierced the crate, the telltale sound of a smashing glass confirmed her thoughts; she just hoped it wasn't the sound of Fang's skull breaking along with it.

"Don't shoot the boxes, you fools! That stuff costs more than all your lives put together!" Cid roared, wrenching the steel pipe from the remaining henchman's hand and throwing it towards where Fang had hidden. It clattered against the concrete, having missed its intended target.

"You throw like a girl." Fang taunted from the other side of the crate, and from the top of the box her hand appeared to make a misplaced shot.

"And you shoot like one." The last henchman cried out with laughter. It was then Fang chose to reappear, placing the luckiest shot Lightning had ever seen. The bullet hit his forehead, and the man fell down, with the breath of his laughter still fresh in his lungs.

"Fang! One's coming up the stairs." Lightning warned, as Rygdea stalked up the steps to ambush the Oerban from behind.

"Cheers!"

A flurry of bullets met the steps by Rygdea's feet; he balked and leaped back against the wall.

"What're you doing, Ryg? Kill her for Maker's sake!" Cid ordered from behind a supporting pillar. More and more bullets were exchanged, and Lightning was growing impatient. Fang's ammo peppered the pillar protecting Cid and Rygdea was partially cowering as far back as he could, inching ever closer to the exit, she noticed. There was a burst of movement from Fang's side, who leapt behind a pillar herself, scaring Rygdea out of the room altogether.

"Coward, get back here!" Cid roared, but Rygdea was already gone. "Enough of the hiding," Cid said, "we'll do this good an proper."

Fang laughed heartily. "Like a true standoff, eh?"

The sound of a magazine clip clicking reached Lightning's ears.

_She better have enough ammo for this. _

Fang continued, "Winner gets the girl?"

"Hmph. I suppose so." Cid said with a smirk.

"I'm no _prize_, Fang." Lightning's face grew red and she felt her stomach flutter, then there was nothing but silence.

As if there had been a silent countdown, both sides appeared simultaneously from their respective pillars, each pointing their guns at one another.

Time slowed as Lightning watched; Fang sprinted forward sending bullet after bullet towards Cid, who fired back before cowering back behind the safety of the pillar. Fang evaded the shots with ease, her feet light as air as she sprang left to right to avoid being hit. She fired once, twice, three times, before the barrel emptied.

"Shit." Fang swore, quickly looking up to see the barrel of a gun aimed towards her.

"Guess I won." Cid smiled cruelly, and pulled the trigger once more.

Fang collided with Cid as the gun went off and Lightning called her name in shock. The both rolled into the darker side of the cellar, exchanging punches and insults until one last gunshot was heard. Then nothing.

Nothing.

"Fang?" Lightning whispered.

There was heavy breathing to her left and Cid appeared from the corner of her vision, swaying unsteadily with his hand pressed tightly to his stomach. Lightning's own stomach sank, cuffed hands balling into fists.

"Fang, no!"

Cid gave the soldier one last look before falling to his knees and collapsing.

Lightning sat wide-eyed at the bloody and beaten body in front of her. She was cuffed to a pipe, freezing cold and unaware of Fang's condition.

"Fang? You alive?" She called once more.

Her slender figure emerged from the shadows, shoulders slouched and panting. Fang smiled weakly, brandishing the gun Cid had been using.

"Got last hit." She smirked, pretending to blow smoke from the barrel.

Lightning beamed as Fang shot the links of the handcuffs that bound Lightning, rubbing her wrists appreciatively the second the chains weakened.

Fang leaned wearily against the wall beside her and upon closer inspection within the bleak light of the room, the soldier realised Fang seemed rather pale. Lightning stumbled forward, clutching Fang by her shoulders. The action caused the tanned beauty to wince and inhale sharply.

"Wait-" Fang began, however Lightning was already hot on her case.

Lightning swallowed and without word, unzipped Fang's hooded jacket, peeling it away slowly when she noticed blood pouring freely on her left side, above her collarbone.

"You idiot." Lightning hissed as Fang pulled her into a one armed hug, smiling despite the pain. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, and Lightning felt reluctant to move from her place in the crook of Fang's warm neck.

"Don't worry about it, Light." Fang strained, breaths short and shallow.

Lightning closed her eyes and pressed herself closer to Fang, feeling both of their nervous heartbeats pulse to a soundless rhythm. She made the mistake of looking up into her eyes, to find Fang staring down intently at her. Despite feeling weak at the knees, light-headed and close to exhaustion, Lightning slid her hand up and behind Fang's neck, guiding their mouths together. She closed her eyes to focus solely on the feelings of Fang's gorgeously soft lips upon her own as they kissed slowly but passionately, whilst Fang's grip on her tightened. Careful not to touch Fang's injury, Lightning pulled at the hair on the nape of Fang's neck, tickling the taller woman.

A bronze arm trailed up the soldier's back, sending shivers up and down her spine.

"I could do this all day." Fang panted as her cheeks darkened over her paler than usual complexion. Lightning nodded with half-lidded, dreamy eyes, although unconvinced with Fang's bleeding shoulder. The second Lightning stepped away; Fang began to waver on the spot, grasping the wall with her good arm for support.

"Y'see the effect you have on me, Light?" The Oerban joked, yet Lightning knew better.

Gluing herself to Fang's side, the two women headed towards the stairs.

"Hey, wait!"

The doctor crawled out from under an oak table and corrected his glasses. Bowing his head in thanks he then gestured towards Fang. "I could take a look at that now if you like. My way of saying thanks for killing that guy." He looked towards Cid's body, which had a pool of blood flowing from underneath.

As Fang was being bandaged, Lightning flipped over Cid's body and checked for a pulse, and only when one did not seem existent she feel happy to contact Jihl.

"We got him."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading!<em>

_Have a wonderful New Year guys, I'll see you in 2012!_


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