"Lightning, come on or we won't be able to meet up with Serah and the others in time!" cried Hope from downstairs.

"In a minute! Just... let me get some things before we head out."

"Alright, will meet you at the rail stop." Hope said as he rushed out the door. He could tell it was going to be an amazing day.

Lightning sighed as she took a glance at her closet. It had been so long since she had ever opened it, after what had happened to her all these years. The long battles, the people that she met... it felt strange to come out now and wear something that wasn't part of her life. It just didn't feel… comfortable.

Guess some things never changed huh? as her hands raised up and picked out her choice. Hopefully, today might bring some new light into her life.

When Hope saw Lightning head towards the rail stop in her summer outfit, he couldn't help but stare in shock. The more he looked, he couldn't help but let out a giggle, much to Lightning's annoyance.  

"What? Can't I choose my own outfit?"

"Heh heh." Hope chuckled. "Except that outfit hasn't changed at all, just like you Light, heh heh."

"Why you little..."

"Oops... Bus is here... come on Lightning" shouted Hope as he leapt onto the bus leaving Lightning fuming.

Cheeky little fellow

The trip down to Bodhum was normally quiet during this point of time but instead, scores of people were heading down towards the beach wearing what Lightning assumed to be the latest trends in summer wears and carrying all kinds of strange tools with them, buckets, shovels, beach balls… it was like Bodhum had suddenly became a total stranger to her.

When they got to the stop, Serah, Snow was waiting for them at the stop. Serah was dressed in a blue dress while Snow was wearing a black sleeveless vest with his beanie on, the two of them chatting happily.

Well, someone decided to get into fashion. Lightning still couldn't understand what Serah saw in this bumbling joker. Sure, he stood by his promise and took care of her sister after all these years after Serah started living with him but other than that, there was nothing more. Nevertheleess, Lightning decided to ignore the thought for now and let the day take its pace.

"Hope, Sis. over here" shouted Serah

"Serah!"

"Good to see you again, Serah. Long time no see, Snow"

"You too, Sis.  And wow Hope, you look a lot taller now"

"Heh, thanks to Lightning I guess." Hope chuckled.

"We were wondering what took you guys so long to get here. Any later and we won't be able to get a good spot to see the fireworks tonight." said Snow as the four of them approached the gate.

"It's all Light's fault for taking so long in her room." Hope said

"Is not... I... just had to put some suntan on…" rebuked Lightning, not planning on giving away the truth. Though from the blank looks from the others, she could tell they weren't buying it. "Just... just don't ask about it, ok?" as her face started to blush.

Snow saw the slight redness in Lightning's face and was about to pop a question when…

"Hey guys come and have a look at this! They brought the petting zoo to Bodhum. Come on!" and raced off with the others chasing behind him while Lightning heaved a sigh of relief.

Good save Hope

She was more than glad to follow Hope this time, if it meant stopping Snow from asking any questions. Who knows what that guy has in mind?

It didn't take long for  them to catch with Hope  who was leaning on the wooden fence watching baby chocobos and sheep while children of all ages went inside the closure to hug, pet and take photos.

" Aww, they are so cute! " giggled Serah as one of the baby chocobos ran up to her and nudged its head against her face.

"Reminds you of that pet Sazh got for his son doesn't it?" Snow replied slightly hesitant as if recalling a terrible experience with Sazh's chocobo.

"It sure does, though last I heard they had to set it free back in Pulse since it was getting big."

"I always wanted to rear one at home, but Dad doesn't allow me, says it takes up space in the house." Hope said as he cuddled one of the sheeps.

"Well now that you are staying with my sister, I don't think she would mind having a pet in the house. Would you, Sis?' said Serah and smiled at Lightning who was standing outside the closure.

"Eh?"

"Really Lightning? You wouldn't mind?" asked Hope pleadingly.

"Well… I guess so?"

"Awesome! You are the best Light!" shouted Hope as he hugged Lightning tight.

"Hope, get off me. I can't breathe. " Lightning said as Hope hugged tighter while Snow and Serah laughed.  What did I get myself into this time? *sigh* Well he did save me earlier so I guess I can reward him just this once.

"Hey, speaking of which. Marqui and the gang are setting up a nearby stand up ahead. Wanna pay them a visit? Drinks are on me this time."

"Why not? I hear they managed to set up a few stalls in Cocoon selling Nora sports clothes. And it has been a while since we last saw them as well." Hope said

"I'm fine with the idea.  Doesn't hurt to see old friends every now and then." Lightning said though she wasn't so sure. After all she didn't trust the Nora gang that well during the last few times they met.

"Sweet! It's just up the beach houses along the upper coast. Let's go!"

Upon arrival, Lightning was surprised by the changes that the bar had taken. Before it was just a normal drink stand with only a counter and a few tables and chairs but now the whole place had turned into a massive club house. People were listening to the music being played on stage, Lebreau was at the bar counter taking customer orders, Gadot showing dance moves on the dance floor but Yuj and Marqui were nowhere in sight.

"Wow... This place sure has changed a lot. It's like a whole new venue." Hope said

"Yeah, Yuj was the one who suggested the idea of expanding the business. But I didn't think they would be able to pull off such a feat." said Snow.

"Guess those guys really are something, huh? Though, who is the one doing the designing for the clothes?"

"Snow, guys... Over here!!"

"Marqui?! Is that you?"

"Ha-ha, yeah Snow, it is." smiled Marqui.

"Man, you have grown a lot since back then. And nice clothes."
"Heh,thanks, Hope. You aren't too bad yourself."

" You think?" laughed Hope.

"Say Marqui, have you seen Yuj?" asked Serah.

"Yuj? Last I heard, he headed to Nautilus to get some clothing materials. He will be back later I guess."

As Snow, Serah and Hope chatted with Marqui, Lightning had retreated to  the bar counter to get some quiet time of her own while watching the others. Not that she didn't like mingling with crowds, but she found it hard to come to terms with people that she belittled before and now that they managed to achieve something near impossible, well it just made her feel more guilty.

Why do I get the feeling that I am made to feel guilty or awkward today?

Just then,   she felt someone press a glass into her hand and looks up to see Lebreau.

"House specialty just for you, Lightning. A treat for you."

"Oh.. hey Lebreau." Lightning said. "And thanks for the drink."

"No problem, but it was the guy over there with a leather jacket who treated you over there. Said you look like someone who has been working all there."

"Huh?"

Lightning stared at where Lebreau was pointing and saw a dark blue haired male wearing a black leather jacket drinking just a few chairs down.  He looked to be about her age but yet there was this coolness around him that seemed to ignore all attention around him.

"Who is that?"

" No idea, Guy just showed up with three of his friends out of nowhere. He's been sitting there all day now."

Lightning walked up to the male who was still enjoying his drink and tapped him slightly on the shoulder.

"Hey,  er.. thanks for the drink earlier."

"Don't mention it really. After all, you reminded me of someone I know."

" Say, you don't seem to be from around here, do you?"

'Well I can't say I am.  Lexford wanted to travel so he dragged me and my friends on a trip to the grasslands.  What followed later was just a blur really. The next thing I knew, we landed in this place."

"Haha I guess you can say the same thing about me today, getting dragged into this strange event altogether." smiled Lightning while Noctis gave a small laugh at the irony.

It was not long till the two began to get into long conversations about themselves, family, friends and society amongst all other things. Lightning gradually took a liking to Noctis despite having no knowledge of who or what he is. While Noctis on the hand enjoyed Lightning's companionship for he found someone that he could relate to  about what was on his mind.

"Noctis, so that's where you were." shouted a tall scarred eye figure.

"Gaz, what  are you doing here?"

"Lex and the others have been looking for you for some time now. Your father wants you back at the meeting room fast."

"So I guess this is goodbye then." Lightning said.

" Seems that way for now." Said Noctis " But it was nice knowing you, Lightning."

"Same goes to you, Noctis. And thanks for everything."

"No problem. Hey, perhaps we can meet up again? I could give you a tour of my place sometimes"

"Sure. I will be looking forward to that."

"Come on, Noct." and soon, Noctis and his friend disappeared into the crowd.

"Seems like an interesting person, Sis." Someone whispered from behind, giving Lightning a bit of a shock.

"Serah, when did you get here?"

" Oh, you are not that hard to find, since you are the only person I know who has pink hair around here. And not to mention  So who was that guy?"

"Oh, just a tourist from another place.  He was looking for directions to the train station."

"Tourist? A tourist that you spoke with for nearly an hour? Must have been a very confused tourist."

"Y..yeah, he was."

Meanwhile, Marqui, Gardot, Yuj, Snow and Hope found Lightning and Serah at the bar counter. They four of them had a game of darts and Hope won the match outright

"Man, You have improved so much now Hope. Your accuracy is dead on with the darts, despite you being the youngest."

"Yeah, though it was not as bad as seeing you beat Snow 6 times in a row. Now that you have to admit was awesome."

"Aww come on guys. I .. just wasn't focused enough."

"Indeed Snow, indeed."

"You really got to show us some tricks some time, Hope."

"Maybe next time guys, maybe next time."

"So did you guys enjoy your game" Serah asked.

"Yeah, it was a good one. Hope won us outright. "

"Though if this keeps up, we might have to call him Master Hope"

"Aww shucks, it was nothing. You give me too much credit." Hope blushed while the other laughed.

"Hey, have you guys heard anything from Sazh lately?"

"Well, last we heard was that he started his own touring guides around the world. It has been really popular amongst the people lately. We even heard rumours that there are foreigners outside of Coccon requiring his services."

"Wouldn't that affect his family time with Dajh? I mean with such a busy schedule.." Lightning asked.

"On the contrary, Dajh  actually decided to follow his father during his tours. Last I heard, Dajh is even heading his own tours to the younger children in Cocoon."

"Wow, hard to believe how much those two could accomplish.". The gang nodded in agreement.

After bidding farewell to the Nora gang and purchasing some items from the shacks, the gang headed to the shores to get a good view of the fireworks.  As they sat down by the sands facing the night sky,  Lightning couldn't help wonder a thought she had held back for some time now. She recalled stories that Serah told her of the adventures taht Snow took her on the bikerides and of teh exhiliaration but now that she thought back on it, it amounted to nothing on her judgement.  

Snow… Just what does she see in him really?

"Hey Lightning.."

"Oh, it's you Snow."

"Still out of sorts after that trip to the bar?"

"Not really..  it's just…after all these years of taking care of my sister, I still can't understand what she sees in you."

"Well,  maybe it's because of my charm?" Snow gleamed with a huge smile, causing Lightning to let out a small laugh.

"Come on, Snow, be serious on this."

"Alright, alright. But what can I say really, Your sister is the perfect person on the world."

"Aww come one Snow, there's gotta be something at least." Hope looked on.

"Yeah, Snow. " Serah hugged him tightly

"Geez,  guys give me a break here."

"Tackle hug!" Hope jumped right in front of Snow, causing all four of them to fall backwards onto the sands.

"Hope!"

"Aaahh.. run!" Hope got off and raced around in circles with Snow hot on his heels, while Lightning and Serah smiled as they watch on.

Just then the sounds of fireworks sounded off in the distance. A brilliant lightshow was soon displayed into the night, with all kinds of colours  flashing off spirals, streams, creating a beautiful sight.

"Wow.."

"It's beautiful"

"Amazing!"

" Just like I promised you every year Serah. And it will go on for the rest of our lives." Snow replied while hugging him.

"Snow.. "

Lightning looked at the pair hugging each other tightly and after over hearing what they said amidst the sounds of the fireworks, she knew that the answer was before her all this time and it was one that she was could put her mind to ease.

"So Lightning, what did you think of the festival?" Hope asked as they walked down the plankway.

"It wasn't too bad. I didn't think I would have this much fun really aat one festival really."

"I just thought it would be great for you to come out once in a while after working so hard. After all, you are my sister and friend."

"Yeah, guess I needed a bit of time out after all. And Hope, thanks. Tonight was one of the best nights I could ever ask for." Lightning smiled while Hope grinned as they both walked out into the night .

Lightning was going through the stands while the others went to purchase the stuff for tonight when just as she turned, a small figure ran smack into her chest, causing her to stumble a little but she recovered.

"Oomphf.."

"You ok?  Maybe you should watch where you are  walking next time."

"Sorry about that." The pale-yellowed haired kid nodded his head and dashed off.

Strange guy..

She was about to go away when she felt something amissed from her pockets. She searched franctically everywhere in her outfit but she wasn't able to locate her wallet. The only thing she could find was a blank card that had a rather unique pattern.

Don't tell me..that kid..

Lightning quickly dashed in the direction where she saw the kid., straight into the entrance of the natural park.  It was surprisingly crowded within the reserve and Lightning had to push through the crowd before finding a clearing within the reserve.

Now where did that kid go;

A huge explosion sounded off in the distance followed by the roar of Flans. Lightning quickly armed herself with Blaze Edge and headed in the direction.

What the...;

What laid before her eyes was something that she had never seen before.  The kid that she saw earlier was wearing a black shirt with gold buttons with long black pants  and a red scarf around his neck. In his hand was a hand of cards witha  strange yet instrsicate background. And he was being surrounded by a pack of what looked a mix of Sabotenders and Flans

"Darn, can't hold my ground against these guys." The kid mumbled. He drew one of the cards from his hand. "Guess I have to use this.." But before anything could happen , one of the monster leapt high  ready to pounce.

"Dammn it.."

Lightning quickly aimed Blaze Edge at the creature and with a few shots, she managed to knock the creature off balance. The other Sabotenders, seeing this new intrusion growled and circled their  targets.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, though I could have  stopped them just the same."

"Against a pack of Sabotenders? You got some courage to do that."

"Thanks." The kid smiled before drawing the card from his  hand and flicked it high into the air.

Suddenly, a magic formation glowed high into the air and streams of lightning struck the creatures.  The creatures howled in pain before disappearing in a huge explosion, leaving nothing more than scarred bodies.

How did he..

"That take cares  of them." The kid waved his hands  and his cards disappeared into thin air.

" Those cards, how did you do that?"

" Oh it was nothing really. Just something that I picked up from school, that's all."

"Must be quite a school." Lightning replied with great interest

"Well, our schedules can be tight sometimes but it's nothing hard  I guess." The kid replied when something caused him to tense up.

"What's wrong?  Lightnng asked. She too had sensed something but she wasn't sure.

"Something's coming. And it's huge…"

A huge shadow suddenly leapt behind them and before  the two could react,  the creature took one huge swipe and sent them flying across the field.

"Gaahh!"

As they flew, Lightning quickly stuck Blaze Edge onto the ground and with her other hand grabbed the kid, thus breaking the fall.

"Thanks." The kid dusted himself before standing back up and readied his cards.

A behemoth, in a reserve? Just what's really going on around here?

But before  Lightning could straighten her thoughts, the mysterious kid had started charging up against the behemoth before flicking a glowing card at it. However the behemoth deflected the card back and with claws raised, prepared to take another swipe just as the kid was left defenceless.

" Look out!"

Lightning quickly dashed towards the kid and just as the claws  prepared to land, her gloves began to charge with energy and with one punch, sent the creature staggering. The behemoth roared with fury  and tried to recover but Lightning moved quickly and slashed at the creature, causing it to fall back.

"Now that was close."

"Wow, I didn't think you would be this good in combat."

"Let's just spare the compliments for now and focus on the enemy. It's getting back up."

The behemoth now recovered raged with fury and charged at full speed, preparing to crush the two. However the two dodged out of the way and readied their position. Soon the behemoth was rampaging across the reserve, smashing everything around him to hit the two but to no avail. Likewise, Lightning and the kid were able to dodge all the blows but they were getting tired and should they fail now, they were going to get crushed.

As they dodged one last time, the kid finally drew one card from his hand and held it tight. Lightning noticed that there was something different about that card, a sensation that felt familiar but she couldn't tell what it was.

"Don't tell me you going to flick your cards again at that creature?" Lightning asked

" I didn't want to do this either, but judging on the situation now, looks like I got no choice." The kid flicked the card high into the air and waited.

In an instant , the sound of metal hooves galloped into the distance and from above a strange metallic warrior descended from above, wielding a strange lance in his hand.

This is..

" Neos, come forth and slain your target." The kid commanded.

The skull-faced rider turned to face the behemoth and dismounted from his horse. The behemoth, sensing a new intruder turned face to face and roared.  Soon the two creatures charged and were locked in a tight clash,  where lance clashed against claws and armour grinding against fangs.  But as Lightning and the kid watched on, the behemoth began to gain an upper hand and was pushing the skull- faced rider backwards.

"Neos.. hold on." The kid screamed out.

"So what now?" Lighting asked.

"If only I could summon one more creature to help Neos, then we could win this but.."

"But what?"

"I don't have any more cards like Neos."

Just then, Lightning felt a warm sensation in her pocket and took it out. It was the blank card that she found earlier but the strange thing is, there was now an image of a creature that was all too familiar.

Odin..

"Would this help?" Lighting asked, showing the Odin card to the kid who looked in amazement.

" This card, where did you get it?"

"Earlier, when we ran into each other,  I found this card in my pocket instead of my wallet. I figured it might be yours and that's why I came all the way here."

" It might just work." The kid replied and as the card began to glow, he tossed it into the air. Soon, a magical formation erupted from the ground and out stood an all too familiar figure before Lightning and the kid, who could only watch in awe.

"Wow.. it's huge."

"Odin… it has been a while"

The Odin summon gave a small nod at Lightning before turning to faced a very weary Neos fighting the behemoth. Then with his hand on his weapon, Odin delivered a powerful slice across the field, knocking the behemoth off balance, and thus freeing Neos. The two summons looked at each other as if in recognition of the assistance then turned towards the behemoth who was now starting to tremble before the presence of two summons. Lighting and the kid  looked at each other and knew the final thing to do.

"Time to finish this Neos!" The kdi shouted as he leapt onto Neos' steed.

"Odin, let's do this !" Lighting shouted as she leapt towards Odin who shape shifted into his steed form and grabbed the twin blades while the kid leapt onto Neos. The behemoth howled in anger and charged  while the two readied their summons and with one powerful blow, slain the behemoth which disappeared in an explosion of smoke and sparks

As the two of them left the reserve,  Lightning looked at the watch on her hand but only to have her hand grabbed by the kid and have something placed on her.

"Here, I think this belongs to you."

"My wallet.. so you did take it."

"Well, actually, when we bumped into each other, I had dropped my wallet as well alongside my cards.  I must have picked it up by mistake."

"As long as nothing happened to it, then I guess I could forgive you for it." Lightning smiled as she replied.

"Heh, thanks a lot." The kid smiled. " I guess I better get going then, don't want to miss my meeting with friends."

"Same here, I promised to meet my friends at the pier. See you then"

"You too, and good luck" The kid waved as he raced off into the crowd.

As the kid slowly disappeared, Lightning walked back to the shacks to find Hope standing  outside with countless bags.

"Lightning, where were you earlier?"

"Sorry, I had to  draw some cash earlier since it was empty."

"That's ok. Say, did you hear about this. The natural reserve just installed a few feature inside>"

"New feature?"

"Yeah. Apparently, they wanted to let people experience creatures from Pulse and thuse they created realistic robots programmed to the behavioural attitude of the real ones down in Pulse. Can't wait to see it once it is done really." Hope gleamed as he spoke.

Then that means, the fight earlier in the reserve…

"Err, Lightning, you look a little flustered,  are you ok?" Hope asked

"I'm fine, Hope. I'm fine" Lightning replied as she took out her wallet, only to see a small card flutter out from her pocket. She picked it up, to find that it was the Odin summon card. She looked at the back of the card and smiled softly, for at the back was just one line. "For you, my friend"

It was their destiny,

And theirs alone to decide.

Free from fear of fate,

Gazing undaunted into the eye of death

Standing before countless odds

Their courage blazing across the battlefield

Their bonds unbreakable and strong

Their will blessed by the shattered crystal

Withstanding the test of time

They stand before the flames

Like the Phoenix before the ashes

Ready to defend the World