Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)

Lightning, real name Claire Farron (Eclair Farron in the Japanese version), is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII. She is the narrator and a temporary playable character in Final Fantasy XIII-2, and returns as the protagonist and sole permanently playable character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

In Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning seeks to save her younger sister Serah, but becomes entangled in a plot that endangers her home of Cocoon. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning serves as a knight protecting the goddess Etro in Valhalla from her fated rival, Caius Ballad. In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning is chosen to be a savior by the god Bhunivelze, tasked to save the people's souls before the end of the world.

Lightning is the second main female protagonist in a mainstream numbered Final Fantasy game, the first being Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy XIII


Lightning is a young woman with long, light pink hair, and pale aqua-colored eyes. Lightning's eye color has been officially addressed as blue, though in the FMVs and promotional art they often appear green due to green aspects around the pupil. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments Before, Serah says Lightning resembles their mother.

In Final Fantasy XIII, she wears a variation of the standard Guardian Corps uniform. The green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder bearing yellow stripes symbolizes her previous rank as a sergeant. She carries her gunblade in a black case which hangs off her belt, and wears a necklace with a lightning bolt pendant. Her l'Cie brand is located slightly above her left breast. She has a navel piercing, although it can be difficult to spot.

Lightning is determined, concentrated and independent. Initially, she is cold and standoffish, distancing herself from her companions. Much of her motivation is fueled from what she perceives as failing to protect Serah and wanting to make things right, which leads her to lash out at those she believes are responsible for that and her l'Cie fate: namely, the Sanctum, its fal'Cie and, to a point, Snow Villiers, due to his relationship with Serah and his failure to protect her as he promised. As she journeys with Hope Estheim and takes him under her wing, Lightning begins to show compassion and trust others, and sees the errors in her approach. Ultimately, she becomes the leader and, to a degree, protector of the other Pulse l'Cie as they journey to challenge their fate.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


Lightning wears a silver and gold Valkyrie-like suit of armor with a shield on her left arm (though in her CG render it appears on the right arm). She has a new gunblade more closely resembling a traditional sword, which has Etro script on it. She no longer has the navel piercing she did in Final Fantasy XIII.

Lightning has learned to trust others and ask them for help. She expresses her emotions more rather than keeping them bottled up inside her, although her time in Valhalla and recognition of her past "sins" has made her more somber.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII


Lightning will have a number of different costumes. Her default outfit, Equilibrium, is similar to what she wore in Final Fantasy XIII-2, the Night Lotus shield on her left arm and the Crimson Blitz sword in her right hand, similar to Noel's Flame Fossil dual swords, in homage to her Eidolon Odin. The game's logo appears on her outfit a number of times: on her chest, her sword and her shield. Director Motomu Toriyama revealed in an interview at the Tokyo Premium Event that in one of her outfits, a l'Cie "scar" is visible on her chest.

Other outfits include the Dark Muse outfit that gives Lightning a camouflage jacket and a miniskirt, the Dust and Shadow costume that resembles a samurai armor, the L'Ange Noir costume which is reminiscent of a magician's dress, and the Sorceress costume which has Lightning wearing a two-piece top with a long skirt and white heels. In the Dark Muse costume, Lightning has tattoos on her body. One tattoo is of a horse and located just above her waist, and she has a bar-code present on her thigh, located under an intricate tribal pattern.

Lightning has become cold and distant, most of her emotions sapped from her (although her memories remain intact). Her wish to save Serah remains, reinforced by the culpability she feels for her sister's death, and she still shows concern for her former allies. She resents Bhunivelze for his use of her situation to his advantage.

Early Life
Claire Farron's father died when she was young, and her mother died from an unknown illness when she was fifteen. With no other family to turn to, Claire raised her younger sister, Serah. To overcome the pain of her parents' deaths and to become an adult as quickly as possible, she changed her name from Claire Farron to "Lightning". However, despite the delusion of not needing her past, Lightning was still a normal and helpless child without her parents who wanted to be loved.

After graduating from high school, Lightning joined the Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment under Lieutenant Amodar, where she attained the rank of sergeant and was scheduled for officer training. However, she began to lose sight of her goals, and worked many hours while spending little time with Serah.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-


Nine days before Lightning's twenty-first birthday, the Bodhum monster-fighting group NORA rescues her from an aquatic ambush. Lightning meets Snow Villiers, their leader and Serah's boyfriend. Lightning remains unimpressed as she has never approved of NORA's vigilantism and unsuccessfully demands for him to stop dating Serah.

The next day, Lightning begins to feel guilty for her lack of attention to Serah, feeling she got involved with Snow to quell her loneliness. After seeing Nora Estheim and her son Hope in the mall, Lightning is inspired to plan a vacation away from Bodhum for her birthday to spend more time with Serah and take her attention away from Snow. Four days later, the Cavalry is hunting down a girl named Vanille and Lightning meets with Rygdea, suspecting it may have something to do with the "incident" at Euride Gorge two days ago. While attending Bodhum's fireworks festival four days later, Lightning learns of a Pulse-related incident at the nearby Vestige being kept under wraps by the Sanctum, but Amodar warns her not to investigate.

On the next day, Lightning's birthday, Serah reveals she has been branded a Pulse l'Cie, and that she and Snow are engaged. Thinking Serah is lying to give herself an excuse to wed Snow, Lightning drives her away, leaving her alone to open her birthday present from Serah: a survival knife. When the Sanctum announces the quarantine of Bodhum after a Pulse fal'Cie was found within the Vestige, Lightning realizes Serah had been telling the truth.

After learning the Sanctum plans to Purge everyone in town to Pulse, Lightning tries to find Serah but Snow says she is being held captive inside the Vestige. The following day, PSICOM rounds up the people in Bodhum and lines them up to board Purge trains. Although military personnel are exempt from the Purge, Lightning volunteers to be Purged with the civilians and resigns from the Guardian Corps to get into the Hanging Edge, where the Vestige is being moved, so she can rescue Serah before she is taken out of reach. After lining up for the Purge train, Lightning is approached by a man named Sazh Katzroy, who joins her in her quest to reach the Pulse fal'Cie.

Final Fantasy XIII


As the Purge train enters the Hanging Edge, Lightning attacks the PSICOM soldiers aboard and frees her fellow captives. PSICOM forces fire on the train and a Manasvin Warmech brings it to a halt. Lightning and Sazh fight through the PSICOM forces and arrive at the Vestige where they discover Serah outside the Pulse fal'Cie Anima's throne. Snow, Hope and Vanille arrive, and Serah asks Lightning and the others to save Cocoon and enters crystal stasis, having fulfilled her Focus. Lightning and the group confront and destroy Anima, but are branded l'Cie before it perishes and the Vestige plummets to Lake Bresha, crystallizing it on impact.

Lightning and her companions awaken in Lake Bresha realizing they are now l'Cie. Upon being branded l'Cie, they all shared a vision of the legendary beast Ragnarok. They discover Serah's crystal form fused to the crystallized lake. Lightning reluctantly opts to continue onward to evade the army's closing net so the party departs, leaving behind Snow, who has chosen to dig Serah out. They find an airship in abandoned ruins at the lake's edge and use it to escape, but are attacked by pursuing PSICOM ships and crash in the Vile Peaks.

Lightning plans to go to the capital city of Eden to destroy its namesake fal'Cie that controls the Sanctum, blaming it for the Purge and her current situation. After a disagreement on their Focus, the group splits up: with Lightning going to Eden to take down the Sanctum, and Sazh and Vanille going the opposite direction to run from their fate. Followed by Hope and unable to send him back, Lightning lets him accompany her. Her patience wears thin as Hope becomes a liability and Lightning threatens to leave him. Her frustration summons Eidolon Odin to attack Hope. Lightning saves him and they defeat the Eidolon together, convincing her to let Hope travel with her and help him "toughen up".

At the Gapra Whitewood, Hope takes the lead and Lightning gives him her survival knife to boost his confidence. Hope intents to take revenge on Snow for his part in his mother's death during the Purge and when Lightning tells him the Sanctum is to blame Hope resolves in making both Snow and the Sanctum pay for it. Lightning tries to dissuade Hope by suggesting they visit his father.

In Palumpolum, Hope leads Lightning into the underground Nutriculture Complex to avoid PSICOM. Upon hearing Hope speak of the fal'Cie treating humans like their pets, Lightning realizes that having lived under fal'Cie care since birth, she had always been their pawn, and that her anger is over her protectors turning against her. Realizing she has dragged Hope into the same delusion of fighting blindly to make up for doubt and confusion, Lightning tells Hope their goals of vengeance are over and promises she will not abandon him. Soldiers led by Yaag Rosch ambush Lightning and Hope as they emerge in the Agora, but Snow and Oerba Yun Fang intervene to save them. Lightning escapes with Fang while Snow takes Hope. With wireless communicators the pairs agree to meet up at Hope's house. Hope wants to go through with his revenge against her wishes, and when Lightning tries to reason with him her plea never reaches him.

Lightning learns Fang is not only a Pulse l'Cie like herself, but an actual Gran Pulse citizen. Fang and Vanille were crystallized centuries earlier after completing their Focus, but awoke in Cocoon without knowing how or why, and were indirectly responsible for Serah being made a l'Cie. Lightning and Fang realize Pulse and Cocoon are more similar than they initially thought in how both worlds fear and hate each other. Fang tells Lightning how a l'Cie's brand indicates the amount of time until one becomes a Cie'th, and reassures Serah will wake from crystal stasis one day.

Lightning and Fang discover Snow and Hope in time to help the latter battle an Ushumgal Subjugator. Hope has abandoned his plan for revenge and returns Lightning's knife, and they promise to protect each other before the group proceeds to Hope's home. Lightning tends to the injuries Snow sustained from protecting Hope and apologizes for her behavior towards him. PSICOM attacks the house but disguised Cavalry soldiers intervene and during the chaos Lightning has Hope tie up his dad to make him appear like an unwilling accomplice.

The party boards the Lindblum and learns Sazh and Vanille are being held captive on the Palamecia, and that Primarch Galenth Dysley is overseeing the transport. The four l'Cie infiltrate the Palamecia to rescue Sazh and Vanille and once reunited, they confront Dysley on the bridge. He reveals himself as the fal'Cie Barthandelus, leader of the Cocoon fal'Cie, and explains their Focus is to destroy Cocoon by turning into Ragnarok and killing Orphan, the fal'Cie that sustains Cocoon. The party flees on a small airship, which autopilots them through Eden into the Fifth Ark hidden beneath the city.

The group's l'Cie powers are fully awoken and they encounter Cid Raines, who reveals he is a Sanctum l'Cie branded by Barthandelus with the Focus of aiding them as Barthandelus desires for Cocoon's destruction so the deaths of its inhabitants would summon the Maker, the creator of fal'Cie and humans alike. Raines rebels against his Focus by attempting to kill them. The party defeats Raines, but he transforms into crystal despite having defied his Focus. The group decides to follow his example and save Cocoon. Fang turns against them until Lightning and Vanille help her tame her Eidolon, Bahamut. The party finds an airship with a gate leading to Gran Pulse, and descends to the world below hoping to find aid in their quest.

After falling under attack by a wild wyvern, Lightning helps Fang summon Bahamut to save the party. They land and create a base camp in the Vallis Media but after days of searching find Pulse devoid of human life. Hope wishes for the others to leave him behind and his Eidolon Alexander appears. Lightning and Fang help Hope tame the Eidolon, and with their resolve renewed, the party decides to head to Oerba, Vanille and Fang's hometown.

The party crosses the Archylte Steppe into the Mah'habara Subterra and the Sulyya Springs, where Lightning and Snow promise to see Serah together after saving Cocoon. They ascend Taejin's Tower and ride a capsule down to the outskirts of Oerba, but find it abandoned. The group is confronted by Serah, who refers to Lightning by her birthname and asks the group to destroy Orphan to summon the Maker and save the world from despair. Serah is Dysley in disguise, who announces he has resigned as Primarch and appointed a revived Raines in his place to incite a civil war. He has his familiar, Menrva, transform into an airship for the group to return to Cocoon, and they do so to try and stop Dysley's plans.

Sazh crashes the airship into the Eden Grand Prix, and the party makes their way through Eden to Orphan's Cradle among the ensuing chaos. In the depths of the Narthex they find Dysley, who summons the crystallized Dajh Katzroy and Serah before the party and shatters them. Denouncing it as an illusion, the party fights Barthandelus and destroys him. His defeat awakens the sleeping Orphan, who wishes to be destroyed after centuries of not having a life, and attacks them.

Fang submits to Orphan's demands and agrees to become Ragnarok. After they try to stop her, Lightning and the others aside from Vanille are turned into Cie'th and attack Fang. Orphan tortures her to force her to transform but Fang's incomplete transformation is not strong enough to kill Orphan. The Cie'th party members relive the memories of their quest and are restored, believing their transformation was another fal'Cie illusion, and that they have seen something that resembled a new Focus. Lightning announces their new Focus is to save Cocoon and all of the party's l'Cie brands turn white.

Orphan's true form is vanquished and Cocoon begins to fall. Lightning and the others float away as Vanille and Fang transform into a complete Ragnarok, using their power to stop Cocoon's descent by forming a crystal pillar to keep it stationary above Gran Pulse. Lightning and the others enter crystal stasis, but are restored and find they are no longer l'Cie. Lightning is reunited with Serah and begins apologizing to her, but is cut short when Snow reminds they "have a wedding to plan". Snow reassures Lightning he will make Serah happy, and Lightning congratulates them.

Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-
Lightning vows to find a way to save Vanille and Fang from the crystal pillar. She believes the answer lies somewhere on Gran Pulse, and perhaps she could discover other Pulsian survivors as well. Lightning believes it will be a long and difficult journey and after seeing Serah is in good hands with Snow, she decides to take up the task on her own as Serah and the others will be tied down with new responsibilities and would be unable to accompany her. As result of a paradox, Lightning is removed from history and she finds herself in another world.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After


On the first day of the AF era that started on the Day of Ragnarok, Lightning's reunion with Serah is cut short when she is dragged into an abyss by a manifestation of chaos caused by a paradox. Lightning is removed from history with only her survival knife remaining, everyone except Serah believing her to be either dead or crystallized along with Vanille and Fang within the crystal pillar. In actuality, Lightning fell through the Historia Crux and ended up in Valhalla, the realm of death and chaos dislodged from time. Lightning comes across a moogle named Mog who challenges her to a duel and promptly loses. Touched by Mog's innocence, Lightning has him follow her.

Mog tells Lightning about Valhalla, the Void Beyond, and the goddess Etro. Lightning and Mog encounter Odin, who challenges Lightning to a battle, during which she learns to cast magic naturally. She defeats Odin and uses him as a means of transport to Etro's temple, where Lightning is challenged by Bahamut. During the fight Lightning loses her weapon, but Mog transforms into a bow for her to use to overcome the Eidolon. Standing before the goddess's throne, a brief oneness with Etro enables Lightning to understand the goddess's isolation and her love towards mankind along with the unintended suffering she caused the seeress Yeul and her Guardian Caius going hand in hand with the memories of countless deaths within chaos.

Lightning comes to realize Etro saw her and her friends as sinners for killing people during their time as l'Cie, yet freed them from their brands after giving Vanille and Fang the strength to become Ragnarok. Through the Eyes of Etro, Lightning sees various moments in time that include an era facing destruction, Yeul's various deaths, Serah trapped in an endless dream, and her own losing battle with Caius. After her Guardian Corps uniform disappears, a suit of armor materializing in its place, Lightning chooses to stay as Etro's champion to contain the memories of the deceased and fight Caius as a way to atone for her sins. Caius briefly appears behind her and tells her to go home, as the world will not end for some time, but she resolves to remain anyway.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


As Etro's protector, Lightning guards the goddess from Caius, Yeul's immortal Guardian who wants to kill Etro to destroy the timeline. During her battle against Caius, Lightning sees Etro's Gate appear over Etro's temple and a person falling out. She recognizes it as the young man she had seen in a past vision, Noel Kreiss. Lightning saves Noel from his fall and asks him for his help. Showing him a Time Gate below the shrine, she gives him Mog along with instructions to find Serah, give Mog to her, and bring her to Valhalla. When Caius summons a meteor over the shrine, Lightning summons Odin to throw her into the meteor's path, but it crushes the shrine, leaving her fate unknown.

Noel finds Serah and together they embark on a quest through time to find their way to Valhalla. Lightning eventually appears from a portal before them in New Bodhum at 700 AF, and tells them they are in a future she had failed to save. She explains that Orphan's demise and Fang and Vanille's sacrifice to save Cocoon opened the portal to Valhalla, and while Etro closed the door to prevent Valhalla's chaos from pouring out into the world, Lightning was brought to Valhalla as a result.

Lightning says Caius plans to destroy Etro and open the door again, unleashing chaos into the mortal world. The door would open wide enough if a large amount of people died at once, such as if the crystallized Cocoon fell, and the world would be infected with chaos. Time, life, and death would become meaningless, making the world like Valhalla. Lightning entrusts Noel and Serah to stop Caius in the mortal realm while she deals with him in Valhalla. She has Mog reveal the final Time Gate to take Serah and Noel to 500 AF so they can stop Caius from destroying Hope's new Cocoon.

In the Vile Peaks, Lightning blames herself for the paradox that caused the disappearance of an Academy anti-paradox team, the Blitz Squadron, while they were scouting the area in 10 AF to deal with a distortion. She recalls how she once fought alongside the men in Blitz Squadron and finds comfort in how they still remember her. When Mog reveals a phased-out image of Lightning in the Vile Peaks, she tells Serah and Noel about how as a l'Cie, she first thought fighting for what she believed in alone was the only way, but later saw the error in her ways. Being all by herself in Valhalla, she holds on to the memories of Serah and her friends to stay strong in her battle against Caius. Lightning tells Serah she misses her and prays for the day when they can be together again, and disappears.

Back in Valhalla, Lightning continues her fight with Caius. During their battle, Caius abruptly disappears, and she sees a vision of Serah's death by her Eyes of Etro. Caught off guard, she is struck down by Caius before being taken away by chaos. She comes to in the remains of Etro's temple, where she finds Serah's soul restrained and surrounded by chaos, manipulated by the spirits of Yeul. The chaos forms into a manifestation of Caius that Lightning proceeds to battle. Caius transforms into Chaos Bahamut and flies towards the beach where Lightning continues to fight him.

After dispatching her opponent, Lightning mounts Odin and demands Yeul to let Serah go, only for her and her Eidolon to be swallowed by chaos. Lightning is made to realize her actions caused her sister's death and as she floats through the Historia Crux Lightning contemplates her belief that carrying out Etro's will would atone for her past sins, and concludes there is nothing left for her, not even hope.

After Serah and Noel's first battle against Caius in Valhalla, they are consumed by a wave of darkness and sent falling into an abyss of light. Lightning appears and saves them, urging them to keep hope alive before vanishing. Mourning over Serah's body, Lightning sees Serah's spirit on Etro's throne who reveals she knew of her death yet continued so they can be reunited. As Serah's spirit fades away, she tells Lightning not give up hope and always remember her, promising they will meet again.

To ensure Serah's memory lives on, holding on to their wish to be together again someday, and preserve the world's existence in Etro's place as her true atonement, Lightning sits on the goddess's throne and enters crystal stasis, waiting for the day she will awaken at the end of eternity. Gran Pulse is engulfed in chaos and merges with Valhalla to become Nova Chrysalia.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII


After sleeping for five centuries in crystal stasis, the god Bhunivelze seeks Lightning out to be the savior, a divine guardian tasked with guiding the souls of humanity to the new world that will replace Nova Chrysalia. When he finds her, Bhunivelze separates Serah's soul from Lightning and creates an illusion of her sister to keep Lightning acquiescent. Serah's soul is saved from fading into the Chaos when the part of Lightning she had suppressed when she first took on her codename is made manifest by the Chaos, creating a girl called Lumina, who acts as a body protecting Serah's soul. Though she resents the deity for using Serah as a bargaining chip, Lightning's regret over her sister's death convinces her to aid Bhunivelze so she can save her sister's soul. Bhunivelze removes much of Lightning's emotion so she can perform her task more efficiently.

While Hope helps her from within his Ark in the New Cocoon, Lightning rescues souls and gathers Eradia to restore the tree Yggdrasil to delay the Apocalypse by extending the world's lifespan. Amidst of a celebration in Yusnaan, Lightning confronts Snow in the ballroom of his palace. During their battle, Lumina breaks Lightning's sword and drops a chandelier, but Snow halts its descent by freezing it. Snow flees and Lightning chases him through the palace into a Chaos Infusion. Within the Chaos, Lightning re-encounters Lumina, who claims Lightning is different from Bhunivelze's usual servants. After defeating the Zaltys that Lumina summoned, Lightning comes upon a door blocked by a field of Chaos, and worries Snow is not entirely sane if he went inside. She hears Snow's guards approaching and retreats.

Traveling to Luxerion, Lightning learns three people have been murdered in the last three days, all women who resemble her, and learns it to be the work of a rebel cult known as the Children of Etro. She meets Vanille who has been cursed with the ability to hear the voices of the dead and consequently has become a saint of the Order, a cult dedicated to the worship of Bhunivelze. Lightning encounters Noel Kreiss, who has become obsessed by a prophecy declaring she will destroy the world if unstopped. Lightning puts a stop to the cult's activities in Luxerion, then faces Noel, freeing him of his burden of guilt.

In Yusnaan, Lightning returns to Snow's palace and is forced to fight him. Though he tries to make her to kill him as a penance for failing to protect Serah, and nearly transforms into a Cie'th in the process, Lightning brings him round and frees him of his burden.

In the Dead Dunes, Lightning encounters Fang, who has remained there for the past thirteen years searching for a divine relic called the Clavis: a relic that can draw in and 'purify' souls. When they find it, Fang tries to destroy it, as the ritual in which the relic is activated would kill Vanille. Fang fails, and the Secutors, the Order's military branch, are led to the place by Lumina and take the relic.

In the Wildlands, Lightning rescues a white chocobo called Angel of Valhalla from a Chocobo Eater and heals its injuries before setting out across the land. She encounters a depressed Sazh and discovers his son Dajh has been comatose since the creation of Nova Chrysalia. She finds Dajh's soul to rouse him and brings Sazh out of his depression. In another part of the Wildlands, Lightning explores the remains of Etro's temple, where she finds a resurrected Caius and multiple Yeuls. She battles Caius and wins, only to learn she cannot save him, as he has become bound to the chaos. As she leaves the ruins, Lightning learns from Yeul that the white chocobo is Odin, her Eidolon. She comes across a moogle village and encounters Mog, who has been burdened by guilt for his perceived failure to protect Serah.

On the final day, Lightning returns to the Ark to find Hope fading away. She learns Bhunivelze chose him as his host as the god cannot see human souls or Chaos in his true form. Hope comforts Lightning, saying her example enabled him to go on and accept his current fate. Lightning travels to the Luxerion cathedral, teaming up with Fang and finding Vanille in the process of performing the ritual to activate the Clavis. Lightning, who has learned the relic will destroy the souls of the dead so that those who still live will forget their existence, convinces Vanille the reason the souls kept calling to her was because they held onto hope, as souls in despair would have been silent. With help from Fang and Snow, Lightning stops the ritual and allows Vanille and Fang to free both their own souls, and the ones threatened by the Clavis, to be reborn in the new world.

Yeul and Lumina arrive, revealing the truth about the fate of Serah's soul to Lightning. Bhunivelze/Hope shows up, captures her allies and offers a chance for Lightning to witness the birth of the new world. Upon reaching the heart of the cathedral's dungeons, Lightning is transported to an otherworldly place where Bhunivelze's true form awaits her. Lightning learns his true plans: to purge the souls of humanity of memories and emotions, believing that such things are impurities that ought to be removed. Bhunivelze wished to condition Lightning to an emotionless replacement for Etro, to act as the keeper of the balance in the new world. Refusing to follow his plans, Lightning attacks him, and frees Hope from his hold. She decides to sacrifice herself to ensure Hope can escape and the deity is destroyed, but the illusion of Serah Bhunivelze created appears and reveals Lumina's origins to Lightning. Finally accepting Lumina as a part of herself, Lightning calls for help.

Her call is answered, and she and Hope launch a final assault on Bhunivelze, who unleashes his power to try and destroy them. With the aid of Snow, Fang, Vanille, Noel, and the Eidolons, Lightning severs Bhunivelze's hold on the souls of humanity. Sazh, Dajh and Serah appear, and everyone combines their energy to strike the god down. After defeating Bhunivelze, Lightning and her reunited allies bear witness to the death of Nova Chrysalia and the birth of a new world free of gods. As the Eidolons fade, Lightning bids farewell to Odin, then leads her friends to their new home.

In the new world, Lightning begins her life anew. On a sunny day, no longer dressing like a soldier or a servant of the divine, she steps off a train arriving in a modern town, embarking on a peaceful journey to reunite with her friends.

Final Fantasy XIII


Lightning majors in the Commando, Ravager and Medic roles. Compared to most of her companions she has high physical and magical attack stats (the second highest attack stat behind Fang, and tied for the second highest magic stat with Vanille), making her best role the Commando due effectively using both Attacks and Ruin spells, although her weapons give the lowest stat boosts. Lightning has low HP gain compared to the others and when everyone's stats are maxed out, only Hope will have less HP than her.

Magic-wise, Lightning is utilitarian, able to use all four elemental "-strike" attacks, all elemental magic to the "-Ra" rank, as well as Thundaga. Lightning's Full ATB Skill, Army of One, increases the target's stagger gauge based on the current chain count. She is a skilled offensive Synergist, learning all of the basic protection spells save Veil and learning the "En-" series of spells.

Despite her low HP, Lightning can be a good Sentinel, as she learns all of the role's Auto-Abilities, and when pairing the Elude ability with the Nimbletoe Boots, she can avoid a large amount of damage from enemies.

Stats
Base stats:

Eidolon


Lightning's Eidolon, Odin, is a large armored knight with a two-bladed sword joined at the hilt. In Gestalt Mode he transforms into the horse Sleipnir, which Lightning rides while wielding Odin's sword, Zantetsuken, split in two. When not in Gestalt Mode Odin uses a combination of Thunder based spells and physical attacks while acting as a Sentinel and drawing in enemy attacks. Lightning has multiple ways to help with both her Ravager role to boost the enemies' chain gauge, and her Commando role to keep the gauge high.

Weapons


Lightning's initial weapon, Blazefire Saber, has multiple inscriptions that read "Invoke my name - I am Spark" and "blinding instant" written in the Pulsian alphabet. In Cocoon writing, her name, Lightning, is also engraved on the weapon.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning is briefly controlled by the player during the prologue where she fights Chaos Bahamut and Caius. Lightning wields a new gunblade given to her by the goddess Etro that has engraved writing in Etro script: "Gladius in turba aetern a induratus vincula inseparabilia rum", which translates to "The blade forged in everlasting chaos shall cleave the unbreakable chain" in English. While her previous weapon was kept in a holster slung from her belt, Lightning's new gunblade can be summoned and dispelled at will.

Guardian Corps
Lightning appears in downloadable content as a Paradigm Pack "monster" who joins Serah and Noel after they defeat the Lightning boss at the Coliseum, appearing in her Guardian Corps attire from the original game. Lightning joins the party as a Ravager, and has the Feral Link ability Army of One, her Full ATB Skill from Final Fantasy XIII.

Lightning returns in the downloadable episode "Lightning's Story: Requiem of the Goddess". She initially has at her disposal four roles: Paladin, Mage, Shaman, and Knight, but, at level 3, the Conjurer role and, at level 6, the Sorcerer role are unlocked.

The roles are enhanced versions of existing paradigm roles: Paladin of Commando's, Mage and Shaman of Ravager's, Knight of Sentinel's, Conjurer of Synergist's, and Sorcerer of Saboteur's. Lightning can perform Legion of One as a Feral Link.

Lightning has a different method of development than Serah and Noel; after gaining enough Crystogen Points, Lightning will level up and upgrade her stats and learn new abilities or roles, similarly to older Final Fantasy titles. She gains Crystogen Points whether she wins or loses.

Valkyrie
Lightning has a second recruitable monster form in her Valkyrie armor. Unlike her Coliseum counterpart, she is a Commando with the Feral Link Legion of One. She can be obtained by defeating Chaos Bahamut with a five star rank with Lightning's level at 9 or lower. Occasionally, when this Lightning defeats an enemy, it may burst into feathers when turning into crystal.

Lightning is the only "monster" with the Uncapped Damage passive ability, which allows her to break the 99,999 damage limit, and Immovable MAX, which makes her almost immune to interruption. Her main strength is her attacking and casting speed that more than compensates for her low Strength and Magic stats in comparison with other DLC monster Commandos.

Boss


A copy of Lightning is fought as a downloadable content (DLC) boss in the Coliseum alongside Amodar. Once defeated Lightning can be recruited as a Ravager into the Paradigm Deck. Lightning comes complete with an arsenal of Ravager spells, and physical variations of the spells she would normally have. Her Feral Link is Army of One, a special attack of hers that was her full ATB skill in the previous game.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning is the sole playable character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. In the field, she can crouch, jump, climb, and perform other actions akin to those featured in stealth adventure games. In battle, Lightning can change her attire and equipped abilities via the Schema system, similar to the paradigm system from previous games. Lightning can dodge, block and counter enemies' attacks in battle, and will level up by completing game events and side quests.

Garbs
As part of the Schema system, Lightning can wear various outfits, called 'garbs', which have different stats and abilities.

Final Fantasy XIII
Early in development, Lightning was meant to be a flirtatious character with more sex appeal. To make Lightning a more serious heroine in the veins of previous heroes, Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart, Fang's character - which was originally a man - was rewritten as a woman, and some of Lightning's traits were transferred to her. The final version of her character was made less Asian-looking than originally conceived, and her original silver hair color was given to Hope Estheim in favor of pink.

During development, Lightning's real name was 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. Lightning's real name in the English version of Final Fantasy XIII was changed to Claire due to the word "Éclair" being used to refer to a type of pastry in English-speaking countries, a problem not present with the Japanese name due to different romanization.

Lightning's initial concept was a 'strong woman' — it was personality-based instead of plot-driven, unlike the initial concepts for some other Final Fantasy heroines of the past. After her character's mindset and role were locked down, Square Enix turned to Tetsuya Nomura for the character design. Director Motomu Toriyama has said that, "With Lightning, one look at the design made me say 'This is it!' She looked so cool and strong that there was no need for any retakes." Despite Toriyama's claim, Lightning's appearance has developed from its initial concept. Square Enix released an initial CG render of Lightning before any of the other characters were seen; when the rest of the cast were revealed, Square released another render of Lightning with differences from the initial release: In the early materials she had slightly less feminine traits, her hair was a faded crimson rather than pink, and her eye color was a lighter shade of blue. Though her outfit remains the same, its overall color scheme was lightened.

The idea for Lightning to have a sword that can transform into a gun relates to the game's Eidolons; one of the gameplay themes chosen for Final Fantasy XIII was transformation, and the Eidolons can turn into vehicles; if summons could transform, they thought weapons should be able to as well.

Lightning's house was originally meant to be a visitable location in Final Fantasy XIII, but ended up being cut from the final product. Concept art from Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega shows Lightning lives in a peanut-shaped house standing over water with a portion of the roof opening up.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning's new outfit was designed by Isamu Kamikokuryo in cooperation with Tetsuya Nomura, who drew a rough outline of her armor. Kamikokuryo then did the main work on the design, adding a number of details. Kamikokuryo originally designed Lightning's new outfit as a, and later as a sci-fi-style outfit, but he was told the design did not fit in the game's atmosphere. The final design was inspired by the, warrior maidens in Norse mythology, with the feather motif in her outfit representing a light and delicate side to her.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning's default "savior" outfit was designed by Tetsuya Nomura and the design is said to be play on her light, speed, and elegance. Director Motomu Toriyama wanted something that emphasized Lightning going into her final battle, the red and white components of Lightning's original outfit from Final Fantasy XIII, and represented Lightning using the word 'strength' as the main focus. Using the red color to represent strength and line the inside of Lightning's outfit, Nomura designed her new armor to have more of an impact, with the final result being about half white and half red. He was instructed to design Lightning's armor based on "a leather body suit" and the arms off a spinal column. In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII the player can dodge and block enemies' attacks; when Lightning's outfit was created the shield came into the design, and the developers thought to utilize it in battles by allowing her to block attacks, enabling the creation of various fighting styles.

Lightning's alternate costumes were designed by Toshiyuki Itahana.

Whereas Lightning had been depicted as a hardened and cold soldier-type in Final Fantasy XIII, and near god-like in power in Final Fantasy XIII-2 making her distant, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is intended to portray a more human side to her. The game explores how Lightning became the strong woman she is, and what she is struggling with. By displaying her sadness and sorrow, the writers hope to show more of Lightning's human side.

Lightning's in-game model is not repurposed from the prior two installments, but was created from scratch. Her overall proportions were re-evaluated to accommodate for the schemata. This is also the reason for her larger bust size.

Voice
Lightning's Japanese voice actress is Maaya Sakamoto, while her English voice actress is Ali Hillis. The two have voiced Lightning in all her appearances thus far. Maaya Sakamoto also voices Aerith Gainsborough from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Diva from Final Fantasy Type-0, and Aya Brea from The Third Birthday. Additionally, Aya and Lightning in their respective PlayStation Portable games wearing the other's outfit is a reference to their shared voice actresses.

Musical Themes
Of all the main characters in the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, Lightning has the largest amount of themes associated with her, to signify her status as the consistent protagonist in all three games.

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 she tries to suppress. The melody is interwoven with many different tracks and appears in several forms in the game.

Final Fantasy XIII: Original Soundtrack PLUS
A "prototype" version of her theme titled, "M33 Lightning NW Version", can be found on the album.

Piano Collections: Final Fantasy XIII
A piano arrangement of her theme called "Lightning's Theme ~ Blinded By Light", is found on the album. The track also received a chiptune arrangement from SQ Chips 2's bonus CD.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
"Lightning's Theme ~Unprotected Future~" is a slower, more melancholy and harmonious rearrangement of her original theme. The theme plays during Serah and Noel's encounter with Lightning in New Bodhum 700 AF, and as the background theme for the area following the encounter. In "Requiem of the Goddess", it plays as Lightning floats through the Historia Crux after her fight against Chaos Bahamut.

Lightning's battle theme is "Etro's Champion" that plays in the game's tutorial battle when Lightning battles Chaos Bahamut in Valhalla. Other rearrangements of her theme are "Divine Conflict", "An Arrow Through Time", "A World Without Cocoon", "A Fading Miracle", "Etro's Gate", and "Tears of the Goddess". All of these tracks are composed by Masashi Hamauzu.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning's theme is used in "Crimson Blitz", "The Savior", "Lightning Returns", and "Last Resort".

Final Fantasy XIII-2: Original Soundtrack PLUS
A track called "yuza_050", is another rearrangement of "Blinded By Light" which plays when Noel, Serah, and Mog arrive in Valhalla.

Final Fantasy XIV
A Lightning costume can be obtained by fighting alongside Lightning herself. There's also a Snow Villiers costume for males, and weapons from Final Fantasy XIII. According to Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida, Lightning will feature in a sidequest tied directly into the Lightning Saga, but not linked with the lore and story of Final Fantasy XIV.

Final Fantasy Tactics S
Lightning appears as a recruitable character in Final Fantasy Tactics S.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Lightning appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a set of two player icons to represent Final Fantasy XIII, though these icons can only be obtained through passwords.

Tetsuya Nomura and his staff originally wanted to include Lightning in Dissidia Final Fantasy, but left her out to avoid revealing her abilities before Final Fantasy XIII was released.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy


Lightning is one of the warriors summoned by Cosmos to oppose Chaos, and stands as the hero and sole character representing Final Fantasy XIII. Initially traveling with Tifa, Laguna, and Vaan, Lightning is left behind when she battles Kuja. Shortly after an army of manikins sweeps over the land, Lightning is attacked by Kain.

Returning to Cosmos to tell her what is happening, Lightning faces the Warrior of Light, who reveals he and Kain are putting the others to sleep on purpose to avoid them falling to the manikins and risking not being revived in the next cycle of the war. Lightning rejects this plan and leads Kain, Tifa, Laguna, Yuna and Vaan to the Lands of Discord where the six sacrifice themselves to seal the portal to The Void the manikins are emerging from.

Lightning's alternate outfit gives her white hair and a more subdued color scheme to match her concept art by Yoshitaka Amano. Her second alternate costume gives her the generic female Guardian Corps uniform, a dull orange and brown outfit with a cap. As a fourth bonus outfit available with purchase of The 3rd Birthday, Lightning dresses as Aya Brea, wearing torn blue jeans and a midriff bearing sleeveless black shirt.

Nomura has stated he personally would include Sazh in a Dissidia sequel over Lightning, but his only request for such a game would be Kain Highwind from Final Fantasy IV - Kain and Lightning were the first two new characters confirmed for Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


Lightning is the default Final Fantasy XIII playable character in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Lightning is a balanced character with all-around good stats. Her HP, Strength and Magic are high, with Strength being slightly higher, and her Agility and Luck are good as well. However, in all areas she is outclassed by more dedicated characters. Her unique ability, Omega Weapon, further boosts her Strength and Magic by 75 points to emphasize her versatility.

Otherwise Lightning's abilities are a mix of mid-powered supportive and offensive skills divided between Strength and Magic. One of her greatest strengths is that Lightning is one of only three party members to learn Sinewy Etude and Hero's Rime, greatly boosting the party's power in battle, and the only character besides Zidane to learn both.

Her HP has significantly dropped in the iOS version.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
Lightning will appear in Curtain Call wearing her Equilibrium outfit from Lightning Returns. Lightning wearing her original outfit will also appear again, the two acting as separate characters.

Pictlogica Final Fantasy
Lightning appears in a Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII-themed event in Pictlogica Final Fantasy donning her Equilibrium garb.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade


Lightning is an ally and a summonable Legend depicted in both her Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2 outfits, as well as an event-related Santa outfit and a Samurai outfit. She can be unlocked in the Japanese version by purchasing the correct issue of Mobage. Her abilities are Army of One, Crushing Blow, Imperilga, Launch, Lightning Strike, Smite, Thunderfall, and Flourish of Steel.

She was first introduced as an event ally in the event, Winter Holiday Campaign while wearing an exclusive Santa suit. Leveling her up in this event granted the player the Lightning II summon stone, along with each level-up at a specified number granting players an additional summon stone. The Lightning III summon stone was obtained from inviting a certain number of friends to play Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade.

She was present as an ally during the coinciding events, Final Fantasy Special Event Parts 1 & 2 - Shattered World and Final Fantasy Special Event Parts 1 & 2 - Showdown, in which she was unlocked by clearing the Sunleth Waterscape stage. In this event, her overdrive granted players a massive increase in their attack. Leveling her up to 99 in these events granted the player her individualized SSR weapon, Jatayu. In battle, Lightning is armed with her Blazefire Saber and uses the abilities Smite and Flourish of Steel.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest


Lightning is an exclusive character only available from the Premium Character Shop as a random downloadable content. She uses the Lightning Strike ability during battle. Her Blazefire Saber is available as a drop from Beta Behemoths in the Archylte Steppe map. It grants +4 attack to the Warrior, Red Mage, Blue Mage, and Onion Knight classes and to Firion, Terra, Celes, Zidane, Tidus, Ashe, and Lightning. Her Omega Weapon is available as a drop from Orphan. It grants +10 attack to the same people as the Blazefire Saber.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
There are several cards depicting Lightning in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game: four Lightning-elemental cards, including a promotional card from V-Jump, and two Shine-elemental cards, not including a limited release.

The three Lightning-elemental cards depicting her Final Fantasy XIII appearance portrait her as a Ravager, while the Shine cards present her as a swordsman and as a knight of Etro. The promotional card from V-Jump presents her as a knight.

Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable
Lightning appears in Itadaki Street Portable as a rank "A" opponent. She is the only Final Fantasy XIII character to appear in the game.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded


Parts of Lightning's outfit and design appear as avatar parts in . The available parts are her hair, her uniform with cape and skirt, and her boots. The player can use these with their avatar as individual components or combine them to approximate Lightning's full appearance in tandem with other, generic avatar parts. All of the parts can be equipped as an "ensemble", the only missing parts in this case being her eyes and lips.

The 3rd Birthday
The main character Aya Brea has several different outfits she can wear. One of these is Lightning's outfit. Just like any other outfit for her in the game, this outfit can be torn up as she takes damage. Lightning's l'Cie marking is revealed as more damage is done to this outfit. She can use Lightning's Blazefire Saber in gun mode.

Merchandise
A special edition PlayStation 3 featuring an image of Lightning was released on December 17th 2009 in Japan. On the day of the US release of Final Fantasy XIII, a special edition Xbox 360 featuring Lightning on a faceplate was released. The faceplate was only available through preorder on certain websites and stores.

Released a month after the game's release, the 50ml bottle of ~Lightning~ eau de toilette was contained in an imprinted glass bottle with a strap with Lightning's pendant. The scent is described as a "sweet peach smell followed by rose and then a feminine musk".

The lightning bolt pendant Lightning wears in Final Fantasy XIII has been released as official merchandise. The pendant is made of .925 silver, is accented with a gold and black rhodium coating and within the pendant there are three cubic zirconia which can roll up and down if the pendant is shaken.

A Final Fantasy XIII-2 bundle was released in Japan on December 15th, 2011, with a black 320GB PlayStation 3 Slim with an image of Lightning. Lightning's Final Fantasy XIII-2 merchandise include a Play Arts action figure and a coffee tumbler.

On December 14th, 2010, all Japanese Square Enix Members with an "Ultimate" status on their name received a special Christmas present from Tetsuya Nomura: an art plate with an original illustration of Lightning with the text, "She must not be forgotten". On September 22nd, 2011, North American Square Enix Members with an "Ultimate" status also received the Lightning illustration.

Glico, the snack company has been working with Square Enix to promote Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. Pocky and Almond Peak will have Lightning on their boxes.

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 also the name of a type of, which explains 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.

Trivia

 * As shown in the first Final Fantasy XIII trailer, Lightning had a Gravity Bomb device at her disposal, which would generate an electrical shield or manipulate time and gravity.
 * Lightning's eidolith crystal is the shape of a pink rose bloom, and red petals can be seen when she summons Odin and changes it into Sleipnir in Gestalt Mode.
 * In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, it is mentioned Lightning is better at housework than Serah, but Serah is the better cook. Lightning describes their father as easy-going, passionate but not always reliable, and compares Snow to him, possibly explaining her initial hatred towards him.
 * In her official CG render, Lightning is not wearing her lightning bolt necklace, though it is present in her render on the Final Fantasy XIII summary website.
 * Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, the art director of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, another game franchise owned by Square Enix, drew an artwork of Lightning for the New York Comic Con 2011 "East Meets West" panel of her l'Cie brand, which is never actually shown in the game. Isamu Kamikokuryo, the art director of Final Fantasy XIII, also drew an artwork of Deus Ex, which was revealed in the same event.
 * Lightning, along with Cid Raines, are the only l'Cie who never have their l'Cie brands revealed onscreen during the events of Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Art director Isamu Kamikokuryo consistently draws Lightning and Serah with blonde hair in concept art, despite their more "official" appearances. Additionally, Kamikokuryo's Lightning concept art for Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a black armor with gold or white outlines. This may have contributed to Lightning's design in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII where she has black armor.
 * Lightning appears on the 500th cover of Dengeki PlayStation magazine with Noel, Serah, Noctis, Machina Kunagiri, and Rem Tokimiya.
 * Lightning's render for Final Fantasy XIII-2 has her sword and shield in opposite hands. She also holds her sword in her left hand on the cover box art for Final Fantasy XIII.
 * In a live action PlayStation advertisement, titled "Michael" - PS3 Long Live Play, Lightning is seen listening to a story told by Nathan Drake from the  series and her gunblade is placed on the weapon rack as the soldiers are entering the tavern.
 * Lightning on Etro's throne at the end of Final Fantasy XIII-2 resembles the Final Fantasy XIII promotional artwork of her sitting in the Narthex, and the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega has a piece of artwork depicting Lightning on Etro's throne in the same pose.
 * Similar to her sister Serah, Lightning's official render isn't used in the menu screen in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and instead an alternate render from Final Fantasy XIII is used.
 * Lightning, Sazh, Hope, Snow and Noel appeared as models for the Showcase Prada 2012 Men's Spring/Summer Collection.
 * All models in Final Fantasy XIII-2 are of lower resolution than those in its predecessor. The game data includes Final Fantasy XIII's high-res model of Lightning that is never used anywhere, which was likely used as a place-holder throughout production.
 * According to Motomu Toriyama at a presentation for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning is considered a role model in Japan due to her courage, speed, and elegance.
 * Lightning Mask is an adornment for monsters found in Void Beyond, if the player has a Final Fantasy XIII save file on the HD before starting Final Fantasy XIII-2.
 * Lightning was voted Japan's number one favorite Final Fantasy female character.
 * Lightning resembles a Red Mage, using primarily Black Magic and White Magic in conjunction and being balanced with physical combat.
 * Two different CG renders of Lightning are used in Final Fantasy XIII: her main render is used for menus, while the field messages which display during the gameplay use her render from the game's cover.