The first chapter of my second story, I don't know why but this account just spent three months without getting updared once, probably because I loathe the second chapter of my first story. The unfortunate thing is that when I actually really felt like writing it my sister got an assignment which stopped me from using our laptop. So I wrote this on my school laptop (Year nine kids in NSW get them each year, yays).

A quick summary of the story because I didn't really get some of this information out in the summary: Their are two coporations, Cocoon and Pulse, they control everything in the world, goverment and all. In the shadows they wage a war against each other that only the people caught up in it are aware of, the rest of the world is left ignorant. By the start of this story, pulse is beginning to lose as cocoon takes more control over the world from them. And so on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Square enix does.

Forgotten Memories

"Topaz, hurry up you slowpoke or we're going to miss the bus." Lebreau yelled over the sound of the semi loud traffic that was currently perpetual on the main road to their left. Just behind her, a girl with amazing sky blue eyes and extremely curly golden blonde hair that was obviously dyed ran to catch up with her, almost tripping over in the process.

"Hey, I'm not a slowpoke; you're just going 100 kilometres an hour while hyped up on ice coffee!" She practically screeched back before coming to stand by her finally stationary friend as they prepared to catch the bus parked at a bus-stop in front of them.

While they waited for the other passengers to get on, Topaz crossed her arms and pouted. "I seriously should have listened to your mums warning about not giving you any ice coffee, you kept me and Anna up all night with your incessant rumbling and even now your still completely hypo, how is that even possible?"

An almost demented smirk came across Lebreau's face at the questioning, something that was in no circumstances a good sign.

"That because I snuck some more out of your fridge when you and Anna weren't looking this morning." she promptly answered

The response was Topaz hitting her head on the closest pole.

"Oh dear lord, and I still have to deal with you at school, goddess help me." Topaz moaned.

Before Lebreau had the chance to say anything else, the bus driver gruffly yelled over from the bus if she was getting on or not, so nodding Lebreau apologised for getting distracted and grabbed Topaz's hand and they both clambered on to the bus. Taken their seats, the bus started up and drove away from the sidewalk and down the street. Chancing a quick look over at the still hypo Lebreau, Topaz began to wonder how the hell she'd survive this day.

But that was just the thing, she wouldn't.

"Serah." a dark haired woman whispered to herself from a car parked not too far down the street from where the bus had just been only moments ago. She sat watching the sidewalk, thinking of the girl she'd seen get on the vehicle only moments ago.

Moving away from the window, she lied back against the car seat. Sighing, she spoke up to a brown haired girl who sat across from her.

"It's no use you know." she told her.

"Hm." the girl, obviously still decently young, hummed

"It's no use." the women reiterated "no matter how hard they try, if cocoon really wants something, then they'll do anything to get their hands on it. No matter how hard you try to hide it, no one can run from them for long."

The girl simply nodded as a response, knowing the statement to be fact and looked down, and without turning her gaze upwards, asked the woman in front of her "Fang, if you know it's useless then why you do try to protect her like you do?"

"What else can I do." Fang answered quickly, a hint of anger in her voice "Cocoons out for her blood because of all that trouble she cooked up a few months ago, and to top it off, because of those idiots at pulse for erasing her memory she doesn't even know it. She goes around by a fake name thinking she has amnesia, living with a woman who she views as the person that saved her, while truth be told 'Anna' is nothing but a pulse agent assigned to protect her." shaking her head before continuing she then said. "But of course, knowing what 'Anna's' really like, the moment cocoon finds where pulse is hiding Serah, she'd up and leave her and let cocoon get her." Fang spat, hate of the women evident in her voice.

But not finished yet, she continued hotly "And, and I just can't let that happen, leaving her alone like that would be like leaving a kid to fight off a pack of hungry sharks"

The brown haired girl lifted her head back up and nodded once more, pausing tentatively before she moved to speak "Guess you're right." halting, she changed the subject abruptly and inquired out of curiosity "Just asking, but why are you so protective this girl, I mean know Anna's a heartless bitch most the time and is likely, just as you said, to leave Serah to fend off cocoon by herself rather than help her but you've never given me any other reasons for this protectiveness of yours?"

Fang gave a little laugh; it was almost a chilling sound, as it didn't hold anything close to humour. "And who said I ever owed you that information?" taking a moment to let the girl see that reasons weren't anything she'd be getting soon Fang added with a shrug "All I have to tell you is that Serah is the last person who deserves this." stopping briefly, she said in a much quieter voice, that the girl who sat in the car with her wasn't even sure Fang had meant her to hear "Plus, I have a feeling that certain someone would bury me alive if she got hurt on my watch."

The girl her turned head away from Fang to view out the window, saying to the women across from her "None of us deserve this Fang, we didn't start this war, cocoon and pulse did, we're nothing but their pawns, to be used as they see fit."

Listening indifferently to the girl words, Fang leaned back against the car seat and signed, in her moment of silence the other women decided to speak again, this time asking Fang a question.

"Hey Fang, who was it that would bury you if somethi-

She stopped as if hit by the stupidity of the question, lurching forward she quickly asked.

"Wait, it was it Li-"

"Shut it Nataliah!" Fang cut her off angrily.

Nataliah flinched back scared; knowing that she'd overstepped the boundaries, and remained in that position for a few seconds before she slowly she relaxed and apologised

"I'm sorry, I forgot, I...I didn't mean to." She stuttered out

"Just don't say that name" Fang stated firmly, vicious anger lacing her voice. Watching as Nataliah cowered back from her menacing gaze for a time, she lowered her eyes and leaned forward, laying her head in her hands and sighing. After a couple of seconds passed without her uttering a word and too Nataliah afraid to speak, Fang muttered "I'm getting tired of this."

"You're not only one Fang." Nataliah said hesitantly "We all are."

Glancing up quickly Fang motioned for Nataliah to get the driver going; if they stayed on talking like this the bus would get to the school before them. Straightening up Fang sighed again and looked out the window, and muttering in a voice that was she knew was too quiet to reach Nataliah's ears, to someone she knew would never hear it "I'm sorry." she muttered "But I don't think I can protect your sister for you much longer."

Arriving at Bodhum high school, the driver of Fangs and Nataliah's car turned the vehicle into the car park, parked it, and waiting silently for further instructions.

Leaning out the window slightly Fang started watching the bus bay for ''Topaz's" bus to arrive.

Behind her Nataliah tried to start up a conversation with the currently silent driver.

"Hey you, what's your name?" she asked inquisitively

Gnawing on his lip, a sign of nervousness, he stayed silent for a second or so before haltingly answering "They've told me not to tell you."

"Aww come on, you don't have to tell me your real one" she complained playfully "Just make something up, just so I can know you by something." she said, putting emphasise on the something.

Looking up at her with the same nervousness, he answered unsurely. "Then call me Travis, it was my father's name." he added more quietly.

Smiling in an effort to put him at ease Nataliah reached her hand out to him for to shake "Well then how do you do Travis, I'm Nataliah" shrugging she tacked on "it's not my read name of course but it will do I guess"

"Guess it will" he said with a little more courage and grabbed Nataliah's extended hand and shook it.

From behind, Fang turned her gaze away from the window ever so slightly so that she could glance at the pair of them. Sometimes she couldn't help but envy Nataliah, it was always so easy for her to shake off negative emotions, while she without much thought could tell that their previous conversation would be weight heavily on her for likely most the day, yet here was Nataliah happy, smiling and already added another friend to her army of millions. That thought brought on another to reason envy the girl, not one that referred to herself, but to others, Nataliah was always so good at making friend, just a smile you adored the girl, Fang couldn't say the same about herself, she was much more a master of making enemies if anything, but she preferred it that way, she didn't like people very much, but even with a dislike of everyone around you, when it came to attracting enemies, she didn't hold a candle to Li-

Fang quickly ended that thought, scolding herself for even letting it come anywhere near her mind, she was gone there was nothing she could do about it, the only thing she could do now was make sure that Serah didn't suffer the same fate.

Looking back through the window Fang took note that Serah's bus had arrived, so twisting back towards Nataliah and Travis she informed them "Hey that damn bus is finally here."

Nataliah jokingly saluted her and added a quick winked "See ya then, go enjoy spending your day with immature teenagers with 21yearold disorder." she said laughing.

"Go fuck yourself." Fang retorted sharply causing Nataliah to flinch back but she had a feeling that the girl just found it funny, but behind her Fang noticed Travis tense up and couldn't help but wonder if he was a little on the green side. A more experienced agent wouldn't have reacted like he did, and it was probable considering she hadn't seen him before today.

Turning her back on the two, Fang got out of the car and began to walk towards Serah, who had now gotten out of the bus and was standing with her friends.

Before she was out of earshot, Nataliah yelled her a quick "Bye Atla!" from a window she opened just for the purpose, something that earned her a quick flip of the bird from Fang, before she persevered to ignore whatever else was yelled her way from the car and walked off.

Upon reaching Serah and her small group of friends, Fang couldn't help but notice that Lebreau was acting strange and as if reading her thoughts Yuj drew closer to her and whispered in her ear "Warning, Lebreau has been drinking ice coffee."

Oh goddess help me she said in her mind. Just what she needed, more fuel to add to pissing her off and she couldn't help but think, this is going to be a long day.

...:...

Back inside the car Travis and Nataliah's previous conversation was struck back up by Travis beginning by asking "Why did you call her Atla?"

"Because it's the fake name she uses here." Nataliah answered casually.

Purging his lips, he looked her in the face and asked "Why Atla, it's sound kind of strange."

Nataliah shrugged off the comment and answered "It comes from the name Atlas, and if you know much about Greek mythology, Atlas was the titan who held up the heavens."

"And what exactly does that have to do with why she calls herself Atla?"

"Let me finish what I'm saying first." Nataliah scolded.

After he nodded apologetically, his shyness rearing its face again, she elaborated "She calls herself Atla because hypothetically, the agents of both pulse and cocoon bare the weight of the world on our shoulders, because we are the ones who fight this war, we are the ones who will in the end effect the fate of this world, not the corporations of pulse and cocoon, it's what we do that will change this worlds fate, for better or for worse."

Travis raised his eyebrows at the answer, running it through his mind "Wasn't really expecting that kind of answer."

Nataliah shrugged her shoulders again and told him "It was something a close friend told Fang a long time ago, I've never heard the full saying, but it went along the lines of that the agents are Atlas and if we give up the whole world will come crashing down, so no matter what we have to keep fighting."

Leaning his back on his seat Travis stayed silent for a time before curiosity made him ask another question "How exactly would the world come crashing down if you stopped fighting?"

A slight frowned appeared on Nataliah's mouth before she gave him the answer "Because if we stopped fighting than cocoon would win and seize the rest of the control of this world off pulse and the world we know would be destroyed under cocoon reign." pausing, she looked up so she could hold Travis's gaze "And we just can't let that happen." She finished.

He nodded, a little stunned by the tone of the response "Is cocoon really that bad?" he asked.

"You have no idea." Nataliah answered solemnly, shaking her head.

Travis watched as she became increasingly downcast at the utterance of those words, so he decided to try his hand at taking her mind away from them "Hey can I ask you another question?"

Looking up at him she seemed like she was about to laugh "You've been asking a lot of those you know."

"I know," he said nodding, surprised by the fast change in her emotions "But can you just answer this one more before we go?"

"Kay" she replied

"Well I was just wondering, but you know before, when you and Fang were talking over near the bus stop?"

"Yeah"

"What was the name that Fang stoped you from saying, and why didn't she want you to say it?" he questioned.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious" he responded

A smile flashed across Nataliah's face in that moment, but it was unmistakably a sad one. Taking her time, she slowly leaned in closer to Travis and began "Well, for starters I never told you this, other than that all I can say is that its long story and I don't know most of it, but the name, it was Lightning."

And that's the first chapter, hope you liked it.

Just saying but I think quite a bit of aussie slang is sneeking in to this, not nessarily in this chapter, but in others. Through I guess that's what you get growing up on Australia, its gets so ingrained into the way you speak that in the end you don't even notice it.

Anyway please review, do so and I'll give you a cookie.