A/N: HELLO ALL! Yes, I'm taking a break from Pilgrims, mainly because I'm not really getting much of anything for it right now. Anyway, this idea came to my head a few days ago. The general idea is Lightning had adopted Hope after his father being missing after the fall of Cocoon, and now they are living a somewhat normal life, AND HATING IT! Anyway, hope this first chapter isn't too bad. Just setting the scene and whatnot. Anyways, R&R, cause that review button gets lonely sometimes :D FYI, if it seems like Lightning never really gets into character, its because I'M A GUY. And I don't write chicks very well.

DISCLAIMER: Square Enix owns EVERYTHING except for Markus. He is mine, and always shall be. Unless I sell him to Square Enix to use in a FF13 squeal based on my story. But that'll never happen. So he's mine.

Chapter 1

"Hope Estheim, if you are not out of bed in ten minutes, so help me I WILL come up there and drag you out myself!" shouted Claire 'Lightning' Farron, standing at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor of her two story home. The only respond she received was a vague mumbling that she believed was the 16 year old Hope's response. Sighing, the pink haired woman checked the clock hanging on the wall nearby: 7:32am.

"Hope! If you're not up soon, you are going to be late! And then Serah will be down on me for letting you be late! And believe me, you don't want that," said Lightning, her voice turning cold.

"Ok, ok, I'm up!" came the reply, as the house's second resident, Hope Estheim, staggered out of his bedroom wearing a pair of yellow shorts. The 2 years since the events of Cocoon's fall and resulting crystallization had granted him nearly a foot in height. As he made his way down the stairs, running a hand through his sliver hair, Lightning shook her head. Once upon a time, she towered over him, not the over way round.

"So, what's for breakfast, Light?" asked Hope, seating himself in the kitchen/ dining room.

"What do you think? I'm going for a run. Be ready when I'm back, or I'll make you wish you never agreed to living here," replied the pink haired one, finger pointed menacingly at the teenager during the last part. Hope could only nodded under the glare his guardian wore. Light smiled, then went upstairs to change into something more suited for running, pausing at the door of Hope's room and shaking her head at the mess ccontained within.

"You're cleaning your room after school, Hope!" she shouted, smiling at the "What?" she got in return, before continuing into her, predictably neat, room and closing the door.

Emerging a few minutes later, wearing a white zip-up hoodie and matching jogging pants, Light nearly collided with Hope, who had a toothbrush sticl out of his mouth and what appeared to be his school uniform in his arms.

"You've got 30 minutes. Double time," Light commanded, smiling slightly when the teenager saluted and ran into the bathroom. Descending down the stairs, she put on a pair of trainers, then opened the front door and jogged onto the streets of New Palumpolum.

In the 2 years since the 'destruction' of Cocoon, its former residents had established themselves on the harsh surface of Gran Pulse, with many small towns and cities appearing on the lowerworld's surface. The Guardian Crops and PISCOM merged under the banner of the Crops, with PISCOM's name marred forever by The Purge and the resulting mass murder. The Sanctum had been all but destroyed during the fall of Cocoon, with most of its leadership killed or missing. A new government had risen to replace it, a democracy that had focused on making sure that Gran Pulse became their new home.

Meanwhile, the former l'Cie had tried their best to stay together, all of them living in New Palumpolum. But even living in the same city hadn't ensured that they would spend time together, Lightning pondered. Sazh had taken up piloting again, flying cargo to and from towns. Snow and Serah still hadn't got married, thanks to Snow and NORA helping the Crops keep the city safe and Serah training as a teacher. Indeed, these days, they were all too busy to have any form of get together.

As Lightning ran, her eyes turned to the shimmering form of Cocoon, and the crystal pillar that held it aloft. She felt a familiar pang of sadness in her heart. We owe those two so much, she thought. She shook her head, and focused on the beat her feet made against the pavement. After running for 30 minutes, she found herself back at her home. Walking inside and kickinng off her trainers, she saw Hope sitting on the couch in the longue, watching some child's cartoon. He was in his school uniform, and his schoolbag was on the floor next to his feet.

"Car. 5 Minutes," said Lightning, walking up the stairs.

"Gotcha," said Hope, not looking away from the television. Sighing, Lightning went upstairs and changed into her Crops uniform. It, at least, hadn't changed, but now there was a extra stripe on its shoulder piece. Walking back down, she noted, with pleasure, that the tv was off, and Hope was gone. A second later, she heard the sound of the garage down opening, along with her car being started. Grabbing her duffel bag, Lightning walked out of her home and locked the door.

"Shift it, Hope," She said, looking at the sliver haired teenager sitting in the driver's seat.

"But Liiiight..." Hope's whine was supported by his trademarked puppy eyes, puppy eyes that had the power to win even the icy Lightning over. Sometimes. And this wasn't one of those times.

"Hope. You'll be late. I'm already late. So shift it, or be shifted." A hand dropped to the hilt of the soldier's Blazefire Sabre menacingly. Hope gave a squeak, then quickly moved to the passenger seat to avoid being brutally murdered.

"Good boy," said Light, seating herself at the wheel and flooring it out of the driveway and down the street, ignoring the fact that Hope had forgotten to put his seat belt on and was currently obeying the laws of physics by being slammed against the car window. Light smiled. Nothing brightens her morning like scaring Hope to within a inch of his life.

"You're walking home, Hope. I'll be working late," said Light, leaning across the center panel and collecting her communicator which had fallen during the, somewhat suicidal, drive to Hope's high school, New Palumpolum High.

"Ok Light. I'm cooking?" replied Hope, shouldering his schoolbag and looking around for someone he knew.

"Yeap. Get inside Hope. You're late. See you about 10pm," said Light, shutting the car door and driving off, leaving Hope to run into the school's main building.

"You're late, lieutenant," said a male voice as Lightning entered the Guardian Crops Headquaters. Lightning spun, gunblade already half out of its holster, to find a man sitting at a window. He was around the same age as Lightning, and only had a few inches on her in height. Most of his face was hidden from view by a mop of shaggy, blackish brown hair that easily reached his shoulders. His eyes, hazel brown, flicked up at Lightning for a moment, before returning to the task his hands were preforming; cleaning his own gunblade, in his case a Axis Blade model.

"And you should show respect to your superiors, Sargent Ross," Light replied, her voice cold, but not unamused. It was a bit of a morning ritual at the HQ for these two. One would arrive early and comment on the other being late.

"Come on Lightning, its been a year and a half. At least call me Markus," said the man, Markus, flicking his gunblade into blade form and checking its edge. Like Lightning, he had joined the Crops at a young age. Unlike Lightning, he hadn't been turned into a l'Cie by a Pulse Fal'Cie. He had been at Palumpolum when Lightning, Hope and the others had turned a good part of the Crops garrison there into so many pieces. Indeed, he had nearly been killed himself, after having Snow and the Shiva Sisters put him through a wall. But, unlike so many Crops members that day, he was lucky. He had survived, and later escaped the Fall of Cocoon. Half a year later, when Lightning had rejoined the Crops and been promoted to replace her old superior, Markus had been brought in to full the hole in the command chain.

Him and Lightning had fought from day one. Whether it was over coffee, the last energy drink, or over who had to do overtime and write up the report for a patrol from a week ago, he and the elder Farron nearly came to blows over everything. It wasn't until Snow and NORA visited the HQ one day that they started to get along, when Markus nearly broke Snow's jaw for drinking the last 4 energy drinks, and then nearly broke his back as well when the larger man tried to take a swing in return. Lightning smiled at the memory, and the look of disbelief and pain on Snow's face at the time.

"Thinking about when I turned Snow into a punching bag?" asked Markus, knowing that it was the only thing that could make Lightning grin like a fool.

"Nope. Thinking about how you'll enjoy today," said Lightning, suddenly remembering why she was in a rush this morning.

"Ok, what's happening and why should I be scared?" said the gunblade wielding man, giving Lightning his "what are you planning" look. Which was his normal look, but with a raised eyebrow. Lightning's grin grew larger.

"Monthly meeting. NORA's gonna be there."

"Oh, thank the Maker. Just what I need in the morning. A homicide charge."