Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)

Lightning is a playable character and the main protagonist in Final Fantasy XIII. She wields a gunblade, namely the Blazefire Saber (Blaze Edge in the Japanese version) that can switch between its forms. She is initially shown to be a cold person, who distances herself from her companions, but later shows a caring and compassionate side. Lightning's real name is Claire Farron (Éclair Farron in the Japanese version).

Appearance and Personality
Lightning has long, light pink hair and blue eyes, like her sister Serah. She wears a light brown turtleneck shirt along with a necklace with a lightning bolt pendant underneath a white soldier uniform. There is a green metal plate over her left shoulder with two glowing yellow stripes, symbolizing her rank, a long flowing red cape attached to her back on the left side, and a brown belt around her waist. She also wears two blue gloves with gold plates over the knuckles, a long black sleeve over her left arm that begins from her bicep, and a brown mini-skirt. While difficult to see most of the time, she wears a pair of skin-tight black shorts underneath her skirt, presumably for modesty reasons. Her sword, the Blazefire Saber, is sheathed at her waist; there is a storage pack attached to her skirt and left leg, and she wears two knee-high leather boots. Her l'Cie brand is located on her chest, but remains hidden beneath her shirt. It is not seen directly in-game but only through her shirt. She also has a slightly unnoticeable navel piercing.

Lightning's personality is determined, concentrated, independent, and cunning. Lightning has a straight forward persona with a lone wolf attitude, similar to that of Squall Leonhart. She is easily annoyed, as when Snow called her "sister" due to his relationship with her sister, Serah, and in retaliation, she yelled at him and, at one time, nearly pummeled him to submission. However, Lightning was not completely heartless; she cared deeply for her sister's safety. After their parents died, Lightning looked out for Serah like she was her daughter. She also comforted Hope Estheim after the loss of his mother and decided to take him under her wing; it is possible that she sees Hope as a kindred spirit because of how they both lost their mothers at a young age.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise
Lightning's parents died from an unknown sickness when she was fifteen. With no other family to turn to, Lightning was given the job of raising her younger sister, Serah. In an attempt to discard her childhood and become an adult as quickly as possible, she decided to change her name to "Lightning". Ever since then, she has acted as a sort of mother figure to Serah. After graduating from high school, Lightning decided to join the Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment as a sergeant under Lieutenant Amodar. However, she slowly began to lose sight of her goals, and worked many hours while spending little time with Serah. After learning of her sisters relationship with Snow Villiers, Lightning reluctantly becomes acquainted with NORA. Lightning's initial dislike of Snow is very apparent, as she constantly refers to him as a "worthless unemployed man", and she even blames her lack of attention to Serah as a reason for her spending time with Snow. Lightning advises Snow to stop dating her sister, but he does not listen, which only manages to strengthen her dislike of him.

As Lightning's 21st birthday approaches, she plans a vacation away from Bodhum, hoping to spend more time with Serah and take her attention away from Snow. While attending the Bodhum fireworks festival, Lightning learns of a Pulse-related incident being kept under wraps by the Sanctum. Amodar warns her not to investigate, as it would only lead to trouble. On Lightning's birthday, Serah reveals that she has been transformed into a Pulse l'Cie. However, Lightning refuses to believe her, and assumes that it is merely an excuse to marry Snow. She harshly drives Serah away, only to later realize that she was telling the truth as a news report announces the discovery of a Pulse fal'Cie at Bodhum. After learning that the Sanctum plans to Purge the entire town, Lightning immediately tries to find Serah. However, she discovers that she is too late, as Snow reveals that Serah is being held captive inside of the Pulse Vestige. Without a moment's hesitation, Lightning resigns from her job with the Guardian Corps and boards the Purge train, so that she can rescue her sister before she is taken out of her reach.

Final Fantasy XIII
As the train enters the Hanging Edge, Lightning fights her way through the PSICOM sentries along with Sazh Katzroy, her circumstantial accomplice, rallying the Purgees to take action as PSICOM sends its forces after the train and derail it. While the surviving Purgees escape and are found by NORA, Lightning presses forward to the Pulse Vestige with the intent of saving her sister. She tells Sazh about Serah and her being a Pulse l'Cie. When he tells Lightning not to make Serah suffer, she pushes him and compares him to the people who started the Purge. However, once she and Sazh find Serah's unconscious form, Sazh draws his gun on her after seeing her brand, as Pulse l'Cie are enemies of Cocoon. After Lightning asks him if she should kill Serah out of love, Serah wakes up. Then Snow arrives with Vanille and Hope, and rushes to Serah's side. When he says that he will take Serah home, Lightning objects, stating that she will take Serah as Snow could not protect her as he said he would at their last meeting. After Serah tells Lightning to save Cocoon, she asks if that was her Focus. Suddenly, Serah's l'Cie brand glows and she subsequently crystallizes. Lightning takes Serah's crystallization and supposed death hard and takes her anger out on Snow. Driven by grief to destroy the fal'Cie Anima as her way of honoring her promise to Serah of saving Cocoon, Lightning, along with the others, is made into a l'Cie after she fights Anima's avatar.

After waking up at the crystallized Lake Bresha, Lightning eventually finds Serah's crystallized form and regrettably accepts her sister's fate, to Snow's dismay. When Snow says that he'll protect Serah and Cocoon, she punches him to the ground asking him if Serah looked protected to him. She punches Snow again when he gets up and asks him what more he can do. Snow answers whatever it takes, prompting Lightning to cease her actions. After disposing of the Manasvin Warmech from the Hanging Edge, Lightning tries to leave again only to be blocked by Snow. She criticises him for abandoning his plan of banding together to save Cocoon for Serah's sake. She tells Snow that he is nothing but talk and walks off. Before she leaves, he promises Lightning to complete his Focus and save Serah. Lightning says, "Great job so far," and she leads the group after she and Snow go their separate ways. When Vanille soon asks Lightning if Serah told her what her Focus was, Lightning says no, possibly because Serah felt that she could not trust her. They come soon across ancient ruins deep with the crystallized lake. When Vanille runs ahead, Lightning tells her to stay close but goes ignored. She, Sazh, and Vanille fight off a Garuda Interceptor after it attacks Vanille.

Escaping Lake Bresha with an airship and ending up at the Vile Peaks area, Lightning decides to go ahead of the group as they were still being tracked. Sazh tells her to let them take a break since they do not have her stamina. Lightning scolds him for having enough energy to complain, and leaves with Hope following close behind. When he catches up to her and asks if they should wait for Sazh and Vanille, Lightning says that they will eventually catch up. When they come to a rest, Lightning tells Hope that she became part of the Purge in order to save Serah. Hope tells her that he could never do something like that, and Lightning tells him that it's not a question of can or can't, since there are some things that people just do. After Hope tells Lightning that it's easy for her to say that, she gracefully scales the wall on her own, leaving him behind. After the group is eventually reunited, Lightning resolves to go to Cocoon's capital of Eden and destroy its fal'Cie as she refuses to die as a tool of the fal'Cie. After Sazh tells her that Snow will be her enemy the next time they meet, Lightning simply acknowledges the fact and departs with Hope tagging along. Soon afterwards they become permanently separated from Sazh and Vanille by a demolished barrier.

They soon come across two PSICOM troops examining a Dreadnought. After taking out the soldiers, Hope tries to check out the Gran Pulse machine, Lightning demands him to leave it but he doesn't listen. When Hope crashes the Dreadnought, Lightning reappears and says to get moving. Hope says he feels winded but Lightning calls him too soft and continues onward with him. As she and Hope trek through the remainder of the Vile Peaks, the pressure of keeping Hope safe and dealing with the enemy soldiers begin to take their toll on Lightning. In a moment of anger, Lightning yells at Hope about how she can barely protect him when she can hardly keep herself alive and tells him to get stronger on his own, collapsing to the ground as the Eidolon Odin appears and attacks Hope, as if to force her not to leave Hope. She saves him, Lightning confronts the Eidolon with Hope and brings him under her control. After the battle, Lightning apologizes to Hope for what she said and tells him that she will train him to make him stronger. When they reach a deserted area, Lightning tells Hope to stay and rest while she checks out the area. After she returns, she finds Hope fast asleep. As she watches him, he utters "Mom?" She amusedly replies, "Not by a long shot."

As Lightning and Hope are about to enter the Gapra Whitewood, Lightning tells Hope that she will lead and he will be her backup. When Hope asks her if he can lead instead, she asks him if he can handle it. After he reassures her, Lightning smiles, gives him the nod to go ahead, then tells him to look forward and she will guard his back. She eventually gives him the knife Serah gave to her as a birthday present for his protection. As they proceed further, Lightning asks Hope why he is in such a hurry. After he responds when she mentions Snow, she asks if something happened between them. Hope tells her that Snow caused his mother's death, and that he wants to make Snow remember. When Lightning and Hope come across unconscious PSICOM soliders, Hope tries to examine them but Lightning pushes him away, causing him to land on the ground. She tells him not to go easy on them or let his emotions get in the way if he wants to survive. Then she suggests that Hope thinks of it as a survival plan: focus on one goal and block out everything else. This causes Hope to create Operation Nora, a plan of revenge against Snow. Lightning asks Hope if he truly wants revenge against Snow, and tells him that the Sanctum killed his mother and not Snow. After they escape the Gapra Whitewood and see Palumpolum in the distance, Lightning suggests that she and Hope visit his house, as he needs to tell his father about his mother.

In Palumpolum, Lightning follows Hope through tunnels leading underground in order to evade PSICOM soldiers. After Hope tells Lightning that the fal'Cie possibly view humans as pets living off of them, she realizes she was a fal'Cie pawn even before being a l'Cie and was fighting as an excuse to regain the feeling of safety she had before Serah became a l'Cie. Realizing she had dragged Hope into the same delusion, Lightning tells Hope to abandon Operation Nora as she made a mistake, assuring him that she would not abandon him. When Hope asks her what they should next since she said that Operation Nora is now over, Lightning tells him she doesn't know yet but they can not lose hope. He tells Lightning that l'Cie do not have any hope, but she says there is him. After Hope says that it was only his name, Lightning says that she was just like him once and the reason she changed her name as a way to be stronger for Serah ever since their parents died. She says that lightning falshes bright and then fades away, and that it can't protect but only destroy. She sits down next to Hope and goes on to say that Serah tried to tell her, but she would not listen only to threaten her instead. Once she mentions Snow believing Serah about her l'Cie status, Hope demands her to not say his name as it causes him to remember his mom's death and Snow's smiling face. Lightning tries to put her hand on Hope's shoulder but he gets up, and explains his confusion about needing hope to her. Lightning takes his wrist, Hope apologizes for being all messed up, and she tells him that it's her fault. Before taking an elevator back to the surface, Lightning tells Hope to see his father as fighting without hope was no way to live but only a way to die, as well as in order to find the hope that he was named for. When he asks her if Snow really believed Serah, Lightning answers, "Yeah."

After returning topside within the Agora, they are surrounded by soldiers led by Yaag Rosch. She tells him to run while she stayed to fight, although Hope refused. As Snow and Fang attacked the soldiers riding Shiva, Lightning attacks them while protecting Hope. In order to help him survive, she leaves Hope in Snow's care and runs off with Fang behind her. In the Back Alleys, Fang gives Lightning a cellphone to tell Snow where everyone should meet up. Snow once again refers to her as his sister, and Lightning tells him that she is not his sister. She tells Snow that they will meet at Hope's place in Felix Heights 35-A and reminds him to take care of Hope. Before ending their conversation, Lighting tries to tell Snow about Hope's mother but Hope starts talking to her. He tells her that he has decided to continue with Operation Nora. Lightning tries to reason with Hope but her pleas don't get through to him due to interference. While with Fang, Lightning sees her scorched brand and asks her who she is. Then she learns of the latter's connection with Vanille, about them being from Gran Pulse, how they wandered Cocoon looking for their Focus and how they were separated. After Fang apologizes for her and Vanille being responsible for Serah being made into a l'Cie, Lightning slaps her across the face and tells her she had better hope that's all she is getting. Lightning then tells Fang that whether they are square or not will be up to Serah. Lightning is annoyed by the fact that Fang apologized only to make herself feel better. When Fang asks her if she felt better after hitting her, Lightning says that it didn't change anything.

Failing to reach Snow again, Fang says that he can take care of himself and Lightning says that they'll just have to believe that. Then she asks Fang if the others were safe since the Sanctum would make an annoucement if they ever got caught. After Fang calls everyone on Cocoon, "a bunch of cowards and blowhards," Lightning tells her that Cocoon has spent centuries under fal'Cie law in constant fear of an invasion from Pulse. Then she tells Fang that if it were not for Serah, she would have been hunting l'Cie as a soldier and that they would have been nothing but targets to her. When Fang says that everyone on Gran Pulse called Cocoon, "a floating nest of vipers ready to strike," Lightning says that Fang became a l'Cie to fight the 'vipers', and that destorying Cocoon was their Focus. Fang goes on to talk about not being able to remember her past Focus, and her and Vanille losing their new Focus. Lightning asks her if she is willing to be a sworn enemy of Cocoon if she finds her Focus. Fang tells her that both Gran Pulse and Cocoon could rot for all she cares, because if she didn't figure out her and Vanille's new Focus, Vanille will turn into a Cie'th.

Fang then asks Lightning if she has seen Vanille's l'Cie brand, and Lightning says no. Fang explains to her how a l'Cie's brand can tell how much closer one is to becoming a Cie'th. Fang checks Lightning's brand tells her that she has a lot of time left, but emotional distress could speed up the process. When Fang tells Lightning of her plan to get Vanille home to Gran Pulse, Lightning tells her that she wished that she had a plan but without Serah or a future, there is nothing to plan for. She says there is no way out of that mess and no way to fight it. She then says that she is stuck fighting the Sanctum but that was not a plan. Lightning wonders where they will be left if they manage to topple the Sanctum. She also says that without anything to fight for, she might as well be dead. Fang tells Lightning that her future to fight for was to see Serah after she eventually wakes from crystal stasis. Then they see Sanctum forces on airbikes pass overhead, and they worry that Hope and Snow had been found. When an explosion goes off in the distance, they hurry to find them. Later they reunite with Snow and Hope, and help the latter fight an Ushumgal Subjugator. Hope returns Lightning's knife and tells her that Operation Nora didn't work out, she hugs him, tells him not to worry and that she will look after him. After Hope tells Lightning that he will look after her too, she playfully pokes his forehead. Then she carries Snow the rest of the way to Hope's house, stating that Snow will be fine since is too stubborn to die. While staying at Hope's place, Lightning explains to Snow why she didn't listen to Serah before, as it was too much to bear and asks for his forgiveness.

In the Vallis Media on Gran Pulse, Lightning, Snow, and Sazh tell Fang and Vanille that they found nothing but ancient ruins and vicious wildlife. After Sazh's chocobo chick returns to camp without Hope, everyone goes to look for him. They find him, bring him back to camp, and silently wait for him to regain consciousness. When Snow and Sazh argue about looking everywhere for answers and coming up empty-handed, Vanille tells them that there is one more place. Then Lightning says that if they do not find answers there, then they won't get a second chance. Hope wakes up and reveals the location to be Fang and Vanille's hometown of Oerba. After he tells the party to ahead without him because he's scared, Lighning tells him, "We understand. You're not going to go through this ordeal alone, you know." She gestures Hope to lift his chin up, and smiles at him in an attempt to cheer him up which fails. Hope summons Alexander and Lightning tells him that the Eidolon represents his inner power. She helps him tame Alexander with help from Fang. Afterward, the entire party agrees to journey to Oerba together so that they can find a way to remove their l'Cie brands, and they travel through the Archylte Steppe. In the Mah'habara Subterra, after Hope messes with yet another Dreadnought, Lightning says that it's the Vile Peaks all over again. When he falls into the path of the fal'Cie Atomos, she tells him to get out of the way. Multiple Dreadnoughts save Hope and stop Atomos, which the party boards and rides to the Sulyya Springs. Later, Lightning and Snow talk about Serah. Snow and Lightning look at her crystal and "talk" to her. Lightning suddenly strikes down Snow, and asks if he and Serah will have their wedding after they see Serah again, saying that Serah wants to know. When Snow asks if they will see her again, Lightning puts her fist to his back and tells him to look forward as there is no room for doubt. She tells Snow that they will see Serah again soon, since he convinced her of that and to stay strong. Lightning begins to cry with her fist still on his back. After Snow says that they will go see Serah together when they save Cocoon, Lightning steps towards him and rests her head on his back.

In Oerba, it is revealed by Galenth Dysley, posing as Serah, that Lightning's real name is Claire Farron. After travelling to Eden after leaving Gran Pulse, Lightning and the others disrupt Cid's race alongside their Eidolons. They learn that the city is being overrun by monsters from Gran Pulse, and hurry to intercept the Cavalry. At the end of the Grand Prix Circuit, Lightning takes the lead by jumping of the high platform. Before landing, she deploys a Gravity Bomb to soften her landing and attacks the PSICOM soldiers in her way.

During the confrontation with Orphan, Lightning along with Sazh, Hope, and Snow try to stop Fang from becoming Ragnarok, and the four of them subsequently turn into Cie'th. However, Lightning and the others relive all of their experiences prior to this moment, and consequently manage to will themselves back into their human forms. Their confidence regained, they defeat Orphan and fufill their Focus, turning into crystal as Cocoon falls from the sky. After Fang and Vanille save and crystallize Cocoon, Lightning and the rest of the guys are teleported to the surface of Gran Pulse, crystallized themselves. With encouragement from the now-crystallized Vanille, Lightning and the remaining party members awaken from their crystal "sleep". As Serah and Dajh approach the party from the horizon, Lighning comforts Hope regarding Vanille and Fang's departure. In the end, she is reunited with Serah. Though she begins to apologize to her sister for not listening to her, it is cut short when Snow reminds them that they "have a wedding to plan". Snow then reassures Lightning that he'll make Serah happy, and Lightning says that she knows he will, agreeing to their marriage in the end.

Abilities and Equipment
Lightning has been shown to possess incredible power with both weapons and magic. She has a military-issue gravity control device called a Grav-con Unit, activated by small imprints on her left thumb and index finger, which allows her to perform feats normally impossible, including attacking while upside down in the air and landing safely from leaps otherwise impossible to survive.

She is a powerful Commando, having rather high physical and magical attack stats compared to most of her companions. However, her weapons give her the lowest stat boosts compared to the others. As a Ravager she is quite utilitarian, able to use all four elemental "-strike" attacks, all elemental magic to the "-Ra" rank, as well as casting Thundaga. Lightning's full ATB Ravager skill, Army of One (known as Scene Drive in the Japanese version), is a series of strikes from Lightning's weapon. She fights in a very fast-paced manner, moving with great speed. Her Eidolon is Odin; upon its transformation into Gestalt Mode, Odin becomes the horse Sleipnir which Lightning rides on while wielding two massive swords that can be merged into one.

Lightning's initial weapon is a gunblade called the Blazefire Saber (Blaze Edge in Japanese version). Gunblades are a weapon only used by the most skilled soldiers. In the game, the gunblade has a number of models:


 * Blazefire Saber (Blaze Edge)
 * Flamberge (Magnum Blaze)
 * Axis Blade
 * Enkindler (Ignite Blade)
 * Edged Carbine (Saber Carbine)
 * Razor Carbine (Slash Carbine)
 * Lifesaber
 * Peacemaker
 * Gladius
 * Helter-Skelter
 * Organyx
 * Apocalypse
 * Hauteclaire
 * Durandal
 * Lionheart
 * Ultima Weapon
 * Omega Weapon

Design
Lightning's visual design is influenced from Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, as Tetsuya Nomura was asked to design a female version of him to be the protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII. However, Yoshinori Kitase has contradicted this, saying the only similarities between the two are their pasts as soldiers, as Lightning has a more fragile side to her that Cloud does not.

In another connection to Final Fantasy VII, Lightning is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto, who previously voiced Aerith Gainsborough in Advent Children, Crisis Core, and the Kingdom Hearts series, in the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII.

Etymology
"Claire" is a French name, the feminine form of the common name Clair. As the feminine name, Claire directly translates as "clear", while Clair can mean light-colored, bright, and pale, among other meanings. "Éclair" is a French word that means "Lightning," but is more commonly associated with a type of pastry, which may explain why she is renamed "Claire" in the Western releases. The surname "Farron" comes from the Gaelic language, meaning "thunder." The combination of the two references thunder coming after the lightning.

Early in development, Lightning's real name was going to be "Averia", referring to a species of flowering plants. At this stage, "Éclair" was used during auditions in place of Averia to keep the name secret.

Musical Themes
In Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning's Theme is an acoustic orchestral variant of the main battle theme "Blinded by Light". Her theme plays when she punches Snow at Lake Bresha, and when she inadvertedly helps Hope form Operation Nora.

Trivia

 * She is the second central female protagonist in the main series, the first being Terra Branford of Final Fantasy VI.
 * Lightning's facial structure has changed during development. In the early materials, she had slightly less feminine traits and her hair was a faded crimson color rather than pale pink.
 * A special edition PlayStation 3 featuring an image of Lightning was released on December 17th in Japan.
 * On the day of the US release of Final Fantasy XIII (March 9), a special edition Xbox 360 featuring Lightning on a faceplate was released. The faceplate is only avaliable through pre-order on certain websites and stores.
 * Lightning's initial weapon, Blaze Edge, has an inscription that reads "White Flash. Call upon my name."
 * Lightning is quite tall compared to other female characters in the series. She is 5'7", while others like Aerith and Yuna are 5'3" or so in height.
 * The higher of the two bracelets that Lightning wears is also worn by her sister, Serah. Both wear it on their right arm.
 * Lightning's crystal has taken a shape of a rose, and the rose petals can be seen when Lightning summons Odin and also during Odin's change into horse form in his Gestalt Mode.
 * Lightning's main Paradigm roles are Commando, Ravager, and Medic. Her specialist roles are tied between Commando and Ravager.
 * In the Japanese language version, different characters call her differently -
 * Serah always addresses her Onee-chan ("elder sister").
 * Her superior officer, Lieutenant Amodar, calls her Sergeant Farron.
 * Snow calls her Sister (Nee-san in japanese version, written as 義姉さん, "sister-in-law", though the actual Kana for "義姉" should be Gishi,) as he is already treating her as his sister-in-law, usually to Lightning's irritation ("I'm not your sister!" is a recurring response from Lightning). In the English version, whenever Snow originally says "Nee-san", he is localized to say "Lightning", except two times in Chapters 2 and 7.
 * Sazh often calls her Nee-chan, though in his context it is more like calling a woman, "Miss", informally. This is the same for him to call Snow Nii-chan (bro/brother).
 * Hope and Fang each originally calls her Lightning, but sometime later are asked by Lightning to just call her "Light" for short.
 * In the Japanese version, Vanille is seen to call Lightning "Onee-san" ("big/elder sister") in Chapter 3 in Lake Bresha during the gameplay.