Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)

Lightning is a playable character and the main protagonist in Final Fantasy XIII. 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). She fights to survive and see her sister Serah come out of crystal stasis.

Appearance and Personality
Lightning has long, light pink hair, blue eyes, and a heart-shaped face like her sister Serah. Her hair is styled to fall over her left shoulder in gentle waves, much like how Serah's ponytail is tied to the left side of her head. 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 of the Guardian Corps (of which she belonged to) with two glowing yellow stripes symbolizing her rank as a sergeant, a long flowing red cape attached to her back on the left side, and a brown belt around her waist. She also wears two dark blue fingerless 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. She wears two bracelets on her right bicep, the higher one is also worn by Serah. She also has a slightly unnoticeable naval piercing. 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 in a loose case behind her waist that is attached to her mini-skirt; 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 lower chest, and is first seen when her Eidolon Odin is summoned for the first time; later in the game, Lightning unzips her turtleneck to observe the progression of her brand, though the camera angle is facing her back.

Lightning's personality is very determined, concentrated, independent, and cunning. Lightning has a straight forward persona with a lone wolf attitude, similar to that of Squall Leonhart. She is also easily annoyed, as whenever Snow calls her "sister" due to his relationship with her own sister, and in retaliation, she yells at him and, punches him three times. However, Lightning is not completely heartless; as she cares deeply for her sister's safety. After their parents died, Lightning looked out for Serah as though she was her daughter. She also comforts Hope Estheim after the loss of his own mother and decides 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 and how she sees a bit of herself in him. Interestingly, Lightning seems slightly shy towards physical proximity outside of a combat situation, as seen when Fang asks to see how far her brand has advanced.

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 from "Claire Farron" to simply "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 sister's 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 remembers the night her mother died in the hospital and how she adopted her new name on her mother's grave. While at the shopping mall eight days before her birthday, she sees a pendant of Cocoon and thinks that Serah would like it. This causes her to feel guilt since she had not been window shopping with Serah ever since she joined the army and Serah was in middle school. Then she sees Nora and her son Hope by the pet shop looking at a chocobo chick. They inspire Lightning to plan a vacation away from Bodhum, hoping to spend more time with Serah and take her attention away from Snow. Later, she sees Vanille and Fang in a crowd of people, and thinks that they are visitors from Eden because of their strange clothing. Then Lieutenant Amodar appears and she walks off with him. Two days later, Lightning meets Captain Rygdea of the Cavalry. He asks her about any popular spots in Bodhum that teenagers might hang out around in order to help Fang find Vanille. Rygdea gives her a description of Vanille, without revealing her identity, and she tells him that his description of Vanille reminds her of Serah. Lightning tells him that he can check out the pet store, and the café near the beach and eventually leaves.

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 her status as a Pulse l'Cie, as well as her engagement to Snow. However, Lightning does not believe her, and assumes that Serah's claim is merely an excuse to marry Snow. Lightning tells Serah that if she really is a l'Cie, then it is her job to deal with her. Lightning dismisses the matter as being ridiculous before stating that it is the worst birthday ever. She harshly drives Serah away and is left with Snow. He asks Lightning why she refuses to believe her sister, and Lightning asks him if he is joking because the only reason he even popped the question to Serah was her becoming a l'Cie. Snow yells at Lightning to stop it, she also yells at Snow to stop it and get out of her house. Before leaving, Snow asks her why she is shutting Serah out, but Lightning says nothing and turns her back to him. Later, Lightning opens her birthday present from Serah and sees that it is a survival knife. She then realizes that Serah was telling the truth as a news report announces the discovery of a Pulse fal'Cie in 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 unconscious and Lightning is ready to carry her out, 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 and says that she will take Serah. Then Snow calls Lightning "sis," Lightning tells Snow that she is not his sister and that 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 and tells her that she will make things right. 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, punching him to the ground and telling him to open his eyes and face reality. Driven by grief to destroy the fal'Cie Anima as her way of honoring her promise to Serah to save Cocoon, Lightning walks into Anima's Throne before Snow. After Snow's failed attempt at begging to Anima to release Serah, Lightning draws her Saber, says to Snow "Fine, you go on begging. Like this thing gives a damn what we want!", and continuously strikes the fal'Cie. When she stops, she says it is the fal'Cie's fault that the Purge started and innocent people are dying. Lightning says that it needs to die in order to save Cocoon, and Anima activates. Then 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 is attacked by Cie'th and saved by Snow. Later, she asks how they are supposed to complete their Focus if they do not know what it is. Vanille says that she saw it, and Lightning asks her what she meant. Then she asks Hope if he saw anything. After he gives his description of the dream he had, she and Snow both say "Ragnarok." After he runs off to find Serah, Lightning momentarily stays behind, apparently frustrated, only to be noticed by Hope. Soon later, after Snow decides to fight Ragnarok in order to save Cocoon and fulfill their Focus, Lightning draws her Saber and holds it at his neck in a threatening manner. She says that the Pulse fal'Cie took Serah from them and now he wants to help it, and asks him whose side he is on. Then the party is ambushed by PSICOM, who asks them if they fell off the Purge train. Lightning answers "Maybe," and one of the armed troops approaches her with his gun for talking back to him. Lightning smirks, says "Nice gun," and goes on the offensive. After easily disposing of the soldiers and Snow calling them nothing to fear, Lightning tells him to cut the crap because PSICOM has cold-blooded beasts at their disposal and it will be game over if they ever hit the field. When the group leaves with Vanille running ahead, Lightning once again waits behind, though Snow looks at her before leaving. She eventually finds Serah's crystallized form and regrettably accepts her sister's fate, much 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 criticizes him for abandoning his plan of banding together to save the world in favor of staying behind for Serah's sake even if he could die. She tells Snow that he is nothing but talk and walks off. Before she leaves, he promises Lightning to complete his Focus and protect Serah. Lightning says, "Great job so far," and 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.

The party escapes Lake Bresha with an airship. When it comes under enemy fire, Lightning grabs the controls from Sazh and begins shooting, though he eventually pushes her off. After giving the enemy the slip, a newscast featuring Primarch Galenth Dysley is shown and Lightning calls him nothing more but another tool of the fal'Cie. Then they come under attack again and find the fal'Cie Phoenix. Lightning tells Sazh to fly into the fal'Cie to lose the Sanctum ships. The fal'Cie damages their airship, causing it to crash down in the Vile Peaks area. Lightning wakes and tries to revive Hope but she sees two Pantherons approach. She prepares to take them on alone until Vanille and Sazh come to. After disposing of the Pantherons, 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 were not soldiers and 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 as she originally intended to. In order to save him, Lightning confronts the Eidolon with Hope and brings it under her control. After the battle, Lightning apologizes to Hope for what she said and tells him that she will toughen him up. When they reach a deserted area and defeat another group of PSICOM troops, 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," and continues to watch over him.

As Lightning and Hope are about to enter the Gapra Whitewood, Lightning tells Hope that she will lead and he will watch their backs. 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 watch the rear. She eventually gives him the knife Serah gave to her as a birthday present for his protection, and tells him that she will eventually want it back. Soon, some local Woodlands soldiers fly overhead as if not looking for them. From her experience as a soldier, Lightning says that PSICOM is keeping everything under wraps and does not want their failure to be publicized and lose their pride. As they proceed further, Lightning and Hope wonder how the others are doing. Lightning says that Sazh and Vanille will eventually get caught and have to choose between resist or surrender. When Hope asks her if she thinks Snow is still alive, Lightning replies that he is too stubborn to die and that it's his best quality. Then she says that Snow is arrogant from the get-go, thinks he is everybody's pal and that she never liked him much. Then she mentions that he leads a gang of kids in a group called NORA. Hope asks Lightning where they got the name NORA from. She tells him that it is an acronym that stands for "No Obligations, Rules, or Authority," and sarcastically says that it must be nice. While taking a break, Lightning asks Hope why he is so tense since she can tell that he is hung up on something. After he responds when she mentions Snow, she asks if something happened between them. Hope tells her that she would not understand but Lightning reminds him that they are partners. Then he tells that Snow caused his mother's death, and that he wants to get stronger to be able to face him soon. When Lightning and Hope come across an obstacle blocking their path, Lightning easily destroys it with her Blazefire Saber. Hope asks her if he can use one of her weapons but she tells him that it is a bit too heavy for him. Hope takes out the knife Lightning gave him earlier, causing her to remember the day of her twenty-first birthday and how she failed to believe Serah about her l'Cie fate. They eventually find dead soldiers on the Bioweapons Maintenance level, Hope tries to help them but Lightning pulls him away, causing him to land on the ground. She tells him to control his emotions and forget about sympathy if he wants to survive. Then she suggests that Hope think of it as a survival plan: "Focus on your ultimate goal and shut out everything else. Still your mind, move on instinct." She also warns him that if he lets doubt take over, then despair will cripple him. This causes Hope to create Operation Nora. Lightning asks Hope if he chose the name after Snow's team before he reveals that it was his mother's name. Then Lightning asks Hope if Operation Nora is the name for his revenge against Snow, and tells him that the Sanctum killed his mother and not Snow. Hope asks Lightning who's side she is on and she says, "The side of truth." When Hope leaves, Lightning regrets what she has done in accidentally making him focus on nothing else but his plan for revenge. After they escape the Gapra Whitewood and see Palumpolum in the distance, Lightning suggests that she and Hope visit his house, in order to change his mind about revenge and also because he needs to tell his father about his mother's fate.

In Palumpolum, Lightning notices that PSICOM is now recruiting Palumpolum's resident Guardian Corps soldiers. Hope says that if the train bound for Eden does not move, then they will make it move. Lightning tells him that it is a foolish idea and that he is now thinking like a Pulse l'Cie. Then she follows Hope through tunnels leading underground in order to evade the soldiers. Upon reaching the Nutriculture Complex, Lightning tells Hope that the soldiers will eventually find the entrance and canvas the entire tunnel system. Then she asks Hope where the tunnels lead out. When he says that he is not sure, Lightning pats him on the shoulder and says that they will have to find out. Hope shows her the fal'Cie Carbuncle and suggest that they attack it. Lightning sarcastically says that cutting off Cocoon's food will make them popular, causing Hope to reconsider. She agrees to his change of heart because "Hungry people make for angry people." After Hope tells Lightning that using a Sanctum fal'Cie to find their way around is strange, she tells him that it is not that strange because they have relied on them their whole lives for food and light. Then she says that Cocoon was probably built for them while humans are just parasites. When 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 made a l'Cie. She learns that life under full dependence upon the fal'Cie was the only life she knew how to live, therefore after having that life taken away from her, she felt completely lost. Ultimately, without some sort of master to follow, her life had no true purpose. She tells Hope that her l'Cie curse robbed her of her future and dreams, and that fighting was just an excuse to regain the feeling of safety she had before Serah became a l'Cie, at the same time, to avoid facing reality. Realizing she had dragged Hope into the same delusion, Lightning tells Hope to abandon Operation Nora as she made a mistake, reassuring 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 that she changed her name was to be stronger for Serah ever since their parents died. She says that lightning flashes 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 threaten her instead. Lightning then has a vision of Serah later joined by Snow. Once she mentions Snow's belief in Serah regarding 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. Then she tells him that she can help him survive but not give him hope, and that he may find some if he sees his dad. When he asks her if Snow really believed Serah, Lightning answers, "Yeah."

After returning topside, they are surrounded by soldiers led by Yaag Rosch in the Agora. She tells him to run while she remains behind to keep them busy. However, Hope refuses to leave her. As Snow and Fang attack the soldiers riding Shiva, Lightning begins her own offensive while protecting Hope in the process. 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 wireless communicator to inform Snow of their rendezvous point. 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 the Esthiem residence in Felix Heights (35-A) and reminds him to take care of Hope. Before ending their conversation, Lightning tries to tell Snow about Hope's mother but she is surprised to hear Hope instead. He tells her that he has decided to continue with Operation Nora and apologizes. Lightning tries to reason with Hope but her pleas don't get through to him due to interference. While accompanying Fang, Lightning spots her scorched l'Cie brand and asks her who she is. She learns of the latter's connection with Vanille, their origins from Gran Pulse, how they wandered Cocoon looking for their Focus, and how they were separated. After Fang apologizes for her and Vanille's involvement in Serah's transformation into a l'Cie, Lightning slaps her across the face and tells her that she had better hope that's all she is getting. She goes on to tell 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 announcement 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 destroying Cocoon was their Focus. Fang goes on to talk about not being able to remember her past Focus, and her and Vanille's inability to recall 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, to which Lightning responds "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 keep him safe. 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 he's too stubborn to die. While staying at Hope's place, Lightning tells Snow that Hope gave her knife back because he doesn't need it anymore. Then she explains to Snow why she didn't listen to Serah before, as it was too much to bear. Lightning says that she hated herself for not trusting Serah and asks for Snow's forgiveness. He tells Lightning that if she tells him her real name, they will be even. Lightning tells Snow to have Serah tell him when she comes back. Then after everyone tries to make a strategy with Hope's dad, the Estheim house is bombarded by PSICOM soliders. One of them takes aim at Hope but Lightning takes him out, in the act of keeping her promise to protect Hope. When the soldiers surrounding the house fall back, Lightning tells Hope to tie up his dad in order to prevent him from being Purged. Rygdea and other members of the Cavalry eventually arrive and the party leaves with them. Aboard the Lindblum, Raines reveals to the party that Sazh and Vanille had been captured and are now aboard the Palamecia heading for Eden to be executed, but Lightning figures that the whole thing is a trap made to draw them out. She asks Hope if he is afraid and he reassures her that he will be fine. Rygdea helps the party board the Palamecia, and they are eventually reunited with Sazh and Vanille. The group confronts Dysley and Lightning believes that he is also a l'Cie. Dysley mocks her and reveals himself to be the fal'Cie Barthandelus. He demands one of the party to become Ragnarok and destroy Orphan. The party escapes with an airship, enter Eden and crash head-on into a structure. In the Fifth Ark, when Snow apologizes to Lightning for being wrong about Serah's Focus, she tells him that it is not normal for him to second guess himself. He tells her that even heroes make mistakes. Then she asks him about his plan to save Cocoon. She tells him that his strong faith in Serah got him this far. She goes on to tell Snow that he has been an idiot fooling himself while trying to convince everyone else, but it ended up saving her. Lightning tells Snow to let his faith in Serah drive him, and that it even made her want to believe. When the party finds Cid Raines, Lightning calls him a traitor and charges at him with her weapon. He easily blocks her attacks with his hand, before grabbing her Saber and flinging her over his head. After battling him, she and Vanille help Fang take control of her Eidolon Bahamut. Shortly after leaving Cocoon in a Gran Pulse airship, the party is attacked by a monster. Lightning helps Fang summon Bahamut and save the rest of the group before flying off to find a place to land.

A few days later in the valley of 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 go ahead without him because he's scared, Lightning 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. In his despair, Hope inadvertently 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 dryly comments 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. They 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. After Snow promises that Serah's crystal tear will be her last, Lightning says that is all she needs 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 after they save Cocoon, Lightning steps towards him and rests her head on his back.

In Oerba, the party is surprised to see Serah there, reciting the legend of Ragnarok. When she tells them to destroy Orphan and save the world, Lightning tells her to stop it as she prepares to reach for her weapon. Then Serah says to Lightning, "You can't do that, you love me too much. You do, don't you Claire?" Snow steps in between them and it is revealed that Serah is truly Dysley in disguise. After traveling 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 fulfill 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 party 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". Lightning says that Fang and Vanille saved the world but is corrected by Snow stating that they gave them a new one. As Serah and Dajh approach the party from the horizon, Lightning comforts Hope regarding Vanille and Fang's departure then reunites 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:

Lightning's Gunblades

 * 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 displays the fragile interior that she tries to hide with her strong exterior. It plays when she punches Snow at Lake Bresha, and when she inadvertently helps Hope form Operation Nora. The melody is interwoven with many different tracks and appears in several different forms in the game, appropriate for the main character.

Trivia

 * Excluding spin-offs and sequels, Lightning is the second central female protagonist in the main series after Terra Branford.
 * Lightning's facial structure has changed during development. In the early materials, she had slightly less feminine traits, her hair was a faded crimson color rather than pale pink, and her eye color was blue instead of green.
 * 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 available 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."
 * 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.
 * 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, written as 義姉さん, "sister-in-law", though the actual Kana for "義姉" should be Gishi,) and Sis, 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-san (bro/brother).
 * Hope and Fang each originally call 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.
 * Nomura and his staff originally wanted to include Lightning in Dissidia Final Fantasy, but ultimately they decided to leave her out. The reason for this is that the Final Fantasy XIII staff did not feel it would be a good idea to reveal her abilities before Final Fantasy XIII was released.
 * Lightning ties for the oldest central protagonist in the main series, the other being Cloud Strife.
 * Lightning's eye color in the in-game graphics and most promotional art is blue, but they appear to be green in some of the FMVs.