Setting - AU. The people of Cocoon are separated by class. The poorer class has been subservient to those above them for many decades. Fear of resistance to their rule has led to even more harsh treatment. Although still against the law, the practices of indentured servitude and slavery have grown in recent years by the higher classes, and those below them have had no choice but to turn a blind eye. However, these two souls bound by the pain of fate threaten search for new lives…
Chapter 0
Some time after...
The sun caressing the horizon below it, Lightning starred deeply into the blanket of soft orange that enveloped the sky before her. Even with sunglasses on, her eyes strained to stay focused. Thoughts flooded her mind as she remained motionless in her chair. It had been an incredibly eventful day to say the least. The lake before her glistened in the last rays of the sun before it took its final leave for the day. She reclined back into her chair slowly to avoid any pain. She had taken her leave from the party in the two story lake house and left for the porch accessible from a corner door from the second floor. The noise behind her and below her on the first floor could be heard around her as the cheers, laughs, and cries of joy and envious sadness from some of the younger, female guests echoed amongst the evergreen trees. Her transe was broken by the sound of a sliding glass door and the sounds of cheers and the gentle clinking of glassware. Once the door closed, Lightning could hear foosteps patter against the hardwood behind her. Refusing to turn around, Lightning remained silent, waiting for her newfound porch companion to break the silence.
"Hey, sis," Came a deep, concerned voice.
Lightning sighed.
"Sorry it's only me, sheesh," He replied.
"I thought you might have been Serah." Lightning spoke for the first time since the ceremony.
"She's still inside. She wanted to talk to you, but she's working up the courage to come out here. You two should really talk about all this. It's eating her up more than it's eating you, I can guarantee that. Why don't you come back and join the rest of us? This is supposed to be your big day. He's waiting for you too, you know..."
Lightning sighed again. Enjoy the party, he offered. If only her mind was as simple as his, the blessed fool. It could be hell and high water with every demon and evil lurking in every dark corner of the world and as long as he had his family, his woman, and a full stomach he would be smiling ear to ear with a joke on the tip of his tounge and an unwarranted hug for everyone.
Lightning sat up in the porch recliner and swung her weary legs over the side as she held out her arms. "Hand me those, will you, Snow?" Lightning asked as she pointed off to the side.
Snow obliged and made his way to the table beside her and grabbed the crutches that leaned against the table's edge. He turned and presented them to Lightning. Lightning took them from his outsretched hands and struggled as she tried to get them beneath her arms.
"Do you want me to go get Hope?" Snow offered as he tried to lend her a hand, "He's much better at this kind of thing than I am. It's gonna be his job for Etro's sake."
Lightning shook her head as she planted her good leg beneath her, grimacing. "It's fine. I've almost got it. He spends all day at the hospital taking care of people worse off than I am, the last thing he needs is to come home and have to take care of me."
"You know for a fact that he doesn't see it that way," Snow replied.
Lightning, now on her feet and her crutches beneath her arms, looked at her brother-in-law. "Take these sunglasses off too, please."
"Yes, ma'am." Snow gently lifted them away from her face, his concern growing at the sight of her eyes. "Not often you cry on your own," Snow eased as Light wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"It's been a... day..." Lightning's words slowed as her thoughts began to take over. "Let's just go inside. I want to talk to Serah, if she's willing."
"I'll make sure she is," Snow said as he gestured towards the door.
Lightning took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and passivly as the air in her lungs left her body on it's own. "I want to see him, too."
"He'd like that," Snow said softly, "He really would."
Lightning hobbled her way to the door, the click-lock sound of her crutches engaging with each stride. She opened the sliding glass door and disappeard inside and into the elated crowd towards the direction of her family's table.
Left alone, the sun beating down against his broad shoulders, Snow took a deep breath of his own. "Congratulations, sis. Congratulations to the both of you."
Over a Year Ago
Chapter 1
50,000 Gil
Lightning stepped out onto the balcony of her small, dilapidated apartment. Hand to her head, she reached into her coat pocket for her pack of red hundreds. She hissed through her teeth at the sight of only one cigarette in the paper pack. He was not a one cigarette problem.
With the other hand, she reached for her lighter and flicked the metal hinge. What followed was the familiar metal-to-metal clang of her lighter as the compartment opened to expose its core. She pressed her thumb against the flint wheel and grazed the wheel against the rivet inducing a faint but adequate enough spark to ignite the wick. The flame quickly became a soothing glow against the darkness of the night that lay before her. Raising her last cigarette to the source of light, she took an even drag from the filter as the tip became gently caressed by the flame. Once the initial resistance had dissipated, she drew against the filter more fervently as the end of the cigarette illuminated against the gloss of her eyes and the sweat on her neck. Finally satisfied, she released her breath and a faint sliver of her pain with it.
I can't believe what happened. I can't believe I did that. I jeopardized my job, my financial security, my plan, everything. All for what? For some stupid kid who won't stop crying, Lightning thought as she glanced back through her balcony door and into the dimly lit living room where the young boy sat on the couch.
The boy looked back at her and then frantically down to his feet. He clutched at his disheveled, dirty shorts with his dirt-smeared hands. Tears streamed down the sides of his face one by one as they smeared the dirt and dust from his cheeks down to his chin.
Tsk. Holy hell! There he goes again!
Lightning blew through her cigarette faster than her satisfaction could keep up. Debating with herself on whether or not to deal with the boy or go out for more smokes, she made her decision. She stepped inside and faced the boy with her hands on her hips as she towered over his quivering body.
"I'm going out for cigarettes. Stay here, and stop crying already!" She demanded.
"But I-" He began.
She was already gone. The door had slammed closed behind her before he could say anything to her. Residing himself to the cramped, unfamiliar room he was in, he brought his legs to his chest and laid on his side. He couldn't understand why she was so cold to him now. He hated his life before, but he was still afraid of what had yet to come. This time, instead of down his face, his tears streamed across it.
Just think. You got this. Just think this through, Lightning thought to herself as she made the walk from her apartment building to the corner store.
She replayed the events of earlier that day in her mind for what felt like the hundredth time. She was finishing her patrol for the day. The Guardian Corps had her on thin ice. The higher ups usually chose their own people for police and military positions, but she had clawed her way through the slums and filth of Cocoon to enlist. Only small percentage ever completed basic training, and despite her skill and brute will, her success did not come without a bit of luck. Guardian Corps officers served the people, her people. Unlike PSICOM who conducted covert assignments and served mostly the rich, Lightning found herself at home with the GC's local efforts. Despite the lower status of the Guardian Corps compared to Sanctum's beloved PSICOM and their Secret Service officers, they did good things for people who needed them, or at least they tried. However, her social status coupled with her short temper had led to many misunderstandings and disciplinary actions against her badge. Today was one of those days.
Just before deciding to turn into Bodhum's 13th precinct for the end of her watch, she spotted something she wished to Etro she hadn't. A mangy, white-haired, greasy faced boy no more than sixteen or seventeen had taken off down the street in front of her as fast as his legs could carry him. Two men in suits were chasing after him.
"Stop!" She demanded as she drew her pistol, "Don't move!"
The two men had chased the boy into a dead-ended alley when they heard her voice. She chased after them and raised her weapon towards them.
Disobeying her first order, she repeated herself more forcefully. "I said stop! Don't move!"
"You don't know what you're doing here, cop. Walk away," One of the men replied.
"Screw you. Hands up. Get against that wall."
They did as they were told. The boy cowered in the corner silently.
"Hands against the wall and spread your feet apart, both of you," Lightning said as she approached the man closest to her, "Got anything on you I need to know about?"
"I'm armed," He replied.
"We both are," His partner said.
She tensed as she searched with her eyes the outlines of her two suspects. "Where?!"
"Right hip," They said in unison.
Lightning cautiously relieved them of their weapons and tucked their pistols into her waistband. If Lightning was good at anything, it was establishing a commanding presence no matter who was in front of her.
She continued to give orders as she searched them. "Keep your hands where I can see them."
Her hands strayed around the first man's coat pockets until it had touched upon what she was looking for. She retrieved what felt like a wallet from the man's jacket pocket and pried it open with her teeth. When she glanced every so briefly away from the two assailants to look at the object in her hand, her heart stopped.
"You're… you're PSICOM Secret Service?" Her question only reinforced her state of disbelief.
"Yeah, and you have no idea what you've done," One of the men said to her as he turned to approach her.
Her voice became louder as they continued to cross her orders "Did I say you could bloody move!?"
The man whimpered back to the wall as quickly as he could, her presence making sure of it.
"What about the kid? Huh? What's with that?!"
The smart-mouthed SS officer furthered his responses. "He's none of your concern. He doesn't belong to you."
"Who does he 'belong to' then? Hm?" She demanded as she pressed the barrel of her weapon into the man's temple.
PSICOM SS was well above her pay grade. She hated them. All of the GC hated them. She never saw eye-to-eye with the GC, but this was one thing they agreed on. She had seen this kind of thing before. But before, they weren't young like he was, and they weren't as physically battered either. The sight of his pain and helplessness was beginning to induce a dangerous state of emotion replacing control. No doubt they were SS assigned to some asshole aristocrat who had "rights" to the boy as they called it. They could call it whatever they wanted. It was clear what they were after. However, despite their affiliation, it was clear by their compliance they would rather risk her alone than draw undue attention to whatever task they had undertaken. Too much public attention would risk bad news to whomever they answered to, and it seemed to the Soldier that their boss was not kind to those who made one problem many.
"We are not able to discuss that with you. Just give us the boy and-"
"Shut the hell up!" She screamed, "Just shut the hell up and do as you're goddamn told!"
Lightning unchained a pair of cuffs from her cartridge belt and tossed them onto the ground next to the men.
She turned to the man closest to her as the cuffs hit the ground. "You! Put one of the those on your partner there and then get on your knees. Both of you get on your knees."
Once he had done as he was told, she took her spare cuffs hanging from her radio's antenna and placed them around the wrists of the other man.
"Bury your faces into the wall in front of you and don't move or so help me God I will break your knees," She ordered.
Once the two men were subdued, she holstered her weapon and approached the boy. He fell back onto his ass and shuffled away from her until his back was pressed against the fence that blocked the alley.
Lightning tentatively approached the boy before attempting to speak. "Relax, kid. I'm not gonna hurt you. "What's your name?"
"Leave me alone," The boy replied.
Lightning holstered her weapon and knelt down to him. "I can't do that. I'm trying to help you."
"You don't understand! No one does! What makes you different from the rest of them?!" The boy was clearly desperate, his words being only one of many indicator.
"Look, it's getting late. Help me out," She said as she reached for her flashlight and directed the beam at the boy's face.
"Stop! Please!"
"You… your face…" Lightning said upon seeing him in the light, "What happened to you?!"
Tears welled in his eyes as he tried to respond. "You don't know what they'll do to me! It always ends like this! Who are you to take that away from her?!"
"Who is 'her?' What's going on?!" Lightning asked as she bent down to the ground and reached out her arms for the boy.
When she had done so, he instinctively curled back and away from her as his arms jerked up in front of his face.
His tearing finally degraded into whimpering as she reached for him. "Stop! Please stop! Don't! I'm begging you! Please don't hurt me!" I'll do anything, I swear. Just please don't…"
"You're really afraid of me, aren't you… I'm not going to hurt you, okay? Please, just take this," She said, hand outstretched to him as she held out half of an uneaten bag of jerky.
He snatched it away from her and dug his hand into the bag. Jerky was a go-to food for the Soldier. An incredible shelf life and easy-to-carry nature made it a first choice amongst Soldiers in the field as it could be tucked under one's cartridge belt with ease. Upon producing the first piece of dried meat, the boy clamped down onto it with his teeth before releasing his bite and clutching the side of his mouth in pain. He twisted and turned back and forth on the ground as he nursed the side of his face.
His newfound found only worried her more. "Are you okay? Let me see."
She crawled a bit further towards him. Upon noticing her approach, he squirmed away from her until she had wrapped her arms around him. Placing one hand behind his head, She brought his face into her view. He had stopped fighting. She wondered if she had really earned his trust with the food or if he simply was to exhausted to fight her. Ultimately, she knew a boy like him would never give his trust so easily. When she finally was able to get a good look at him, her heart stopped. He was a beautiful young man with the features any person would die for. Save for the specks of blood that littered about, his hair was as striking and white as a welcome morning snowfall. Cute was an exceptionally lacking term to describe him. How someone could bruise and batter a boy like him, she could not understand.
"We'll get you something softer to eat, okay?" She urged the young man.
Lightning reached down and produced her radio. Bringing it up to her lips, she took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking.
"Farron to central. I have a 'two-forty', child, and two armed assailants. I need a paddy and a bus to my location. I'm in the alley two blocks north of the train station," She said into the radio.
"Central to Farron. Please advise. Did you say you have two 'four-seventeens' and a child?"
Lightning glanced menacingly at the two subdued men. "I did. There are likely more of them. There always are."
"Have a seat," Lieutenant Amodar ordered the pink-haired officer.
Lightning did as she was told and took a seat in one of the chairs facing the Lieutenant's desk. Lt. Amador took his seat in the larger chair behind the desk. His office was small, and the building that surrounded it was old. His metal window blinds clanged gently against the glass whenever someone walked by or a door was opened.
"You've caused me a lot of grief, Soldier. Countless times you've crossed PSICOM or a Sanctum official and I've covered your ass every single time. You're a good Soldier. You do what you do to help the person in front of you. I know this, and because of it, I've been willing to accept whatever crap you bring with you through those doors. Farron, I like you. Hell, I trust you. So, I am going to give you one chance to explain to me why there's a teenage boy eating through our breakroom donuts and why there are two PSICOM SS officers in my holding cells downstairs.
Lightning assumed a straight posture and kept her hands at her side. "Sir, I will do my best."
"Oh, you're going to do better than your best," He said as he leaned forward onto his desk, "And whatever it is you're about to tell me better be real good. Do you know who is on their way right now? Do you?"
"I can't say I do, sir."
"Commander Jihl Nabaat of PSICOM is on her way right now. After you arrived, I received a phone call. Those two men and that boy have something to do with her, and you brought that whole mess upon the rest of us. Look out there," Amodar said as he directed her attention to the detective pool of desks outside his office window.
Lightning looked at the rest of the precinct staring back at her. They were angry and confused to say the least. After a few moments, the other officers staring into the office directed their gazes away and busied themselves with made up paperwork or fake conversation.
Amodar pointed out his window vehemently "Do they look happy to you, Farron?! Do I look happy to you?!"
"No, sir," She mumbled into her collar.
Amodar lowered his arm, replacing the strong gesture with a demanding tone of voice. "No, Farron. We are not happy. More importantly, I am not happy. Now, with that in mind, I want you to tell me what the hell happened out there."
The boy was sitting in the breakroom. After Lightning had gone to her locker to retrieve a bottle of over the counter painkillers, she returned to the boy and gave him the bottle along with a few of the donuts lying around before reporting to the Lieutenant's office. He had painfully finished off the first donut by mashing it between the roof of his mouth and his tongue. Before starting on the second, a broad-shouldered, blond-haired man in similar clothing to his pink-haired savior approached him.
"Heya, kid," The man said.
The boy stopped eating and did his best to look away from the man.
Snow approached approached the break room table and they boy seated beside it. "Not much of a talker then?"
The boy still did not respond. He only continued to look away.
"I'm Snow. The woman you were with was Lightning. She's my partner, sort of. I see it that way, but she's always been kind of a lone wolf," Snow said as he took a seat next to the boy.
Snow tried to reach for the boy's hand, but the boy only retreated away from him to the other side of the room.
Snow's concern became increasingly evident in his voice. "Take it easy, kid. I'm not gonna hurt ya. C'mon, have a seat. Tell me what's going on. Are you hungry still? I got some cold stew and a soda in the fridge my girlfriend packed for me. How's that sound?"
After taking several moments to consider this option, the boy reclaimed his seat upon deciding the reward was worth the risk. Snow retrieved his food and presented it to the boy.
"Here," Snow said, placing a plastic spork in the boy's hands, "While you're eating, is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"
The boy reluctantly nodded with a mouthful of broth and pulled meat.
"Okay, cool. What's your name?"
No answer came from the boy.
"Okay… Parents?"
The boy shook his head.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Where are you from?"
No reply.
"Where are you living? Who are you living with?"
The boy's face turned as white as his hair. He was looking up and through the threshold of the break room door out into the pool of desks. His hand was raised, pointing to a woman surrounded by two men and one woman dressed similarly to his pursuers from earlier.
"Looks like she's here," Amodar said as he peeked out of his office window, "I'm gonna open that door. You do not speak. Is that clear?"
Lightning nodded.
The Lieutenant picked himself up from his desk and made his way to the door.
Amodar opened his office door and solicitously greeted the PSICOM official. "Commander Nabaat! Please come in! Welcome."
The Commander strode into the office and made her way to the other side of the desk. After callously inspecting it, she deemed it worthy enough to sit behind and claimed the Lieutenant's chair. Her three escorts resumed their positions around her with one on each side and another behind her. Amodar frustratedly took a seat next to Lightning.
"My men," The Commander said, "You will release them and their belongings to me at once."
Amodar maintained his compliant attitude. "Of course!"
"Like hell! You think that-" Lightning nearly squealed.
Nabaat, in a near acost fashion, approached the angry Soldier. "Officer Farron! I was not speaking to you, was I?"
Lightning gritted her teeth angrily to quiet herself.
"The boy as well. He will be remanded to my custody," Nabaat calmly stated.
Amodar brought his hand behind his head as he struggled to keep up his prior disposition. "Well, sir… about that…"
Commander Nabaat stood from the desk and made her way over to the lowly GC Lieutenant. Now towering over him, she leaned forward and put herself inches from his face.
"Did you have something you wanted to say, Lieutenant?" She asked with an eerily soothing tone.
Lightning put herself between Amodar and Nabaat before issuing her own words of defiance. "The boy's parents will be found and notified of his condition. His presence will require an investigation into his physical and mental state after he is evaluated at the hospital."
Nabaat's staff all trailed their leading hands towards their hips. The Commander waved her hand once in the air. Doing so prompted her staff to relax their hands back at their sides. Nabaat put her lips millimeters from the young officer's ear.
"Do you know what that boy is?" Nabaat whispered, "Do you know who I am? I am the wrath of fury and vengeance that can destroy both the boy and everyone in this building with the snap of my fingers. That boy belongs to me. I paid for him. I own him. I will have what is mine."
"Slavery is against the-"
"Does it look like I give a damn?! Hm?!" Nabaat screamed into her ear.
Lightning grimaced in pain at the deafening sound of Nabaat's voice in her ear.
Amodar urged reason with his subordinate. "Farron, if you know what's good for you then just do as you are ordered!"
"Like hell I will! That boy belongs with his family!" Lightning exclaimed.
Nabaat traced her fingers up along the side of her thigh as she countered the Soldier's words. "He has none. He has no one. No family, no friends, he only has what I give him."
"I don't care," Lightning said angrily, "I am not letting a monster like you take him away."
"Do you know what he is, officer Farron? He is property. He is my property. He is weak, young, and very… alluring. Do you know what his purpose is? Do you? He makes me happy. He has made many of us happy. You see it too, don't you? Those enrapturing eyes, the silky white hair, the tender cheeks, the petite frame, he is the ultimate remedy to a lonely night, and he will never say no."
Lightning's hands clenched into fists showing the whites of her knuckles.
"But now, after all this time, he is used goods," Nabaat sighed, "He will soon age faster than the demand for him will allow. However, even used goods have a price to someone."
Lightning whipped her hands to her sides and clenched her fists. "I won't let you take him! "Over my dead body."
"You can't defy me," Nabaat said as a chuckle brewed within her chest, "You have no power over me. You are just like that boy. You are nothing. You are no one, and you hide your paltriness behind the futile guise of a badge. What could you possibly-"
Nabaat's words had just the effect she desired. Lightning's desperation now encroached any cognitive awareness she held prior, and her words would show it. "I'll buy him!. Name your price and then get the hell out of his life!"
"Hm…" Nabaat said, arms crossed in front of her as she studied the angry Soldier, "How about, say… fifty thousand gil?"
Nabaat's proposal threw the Soldier into a daze. "Fifty… thousand? But that's everything I-"
"It's settled then!" Nabaat said as a smile drew across her face. She snapped her fingers in the air prompting one of her men to approach her. Her man produced a device from his coat and presented it to the Commander. Nabaat turned the device on, illuminating its screen. Satisfied with what she saw, she gave the device back to her subordinate.
"The funds have been transferred from your account. He's all yours!" She said happily as she turned towards the door, pausing slightly to leave the dumbfounded Soldier with a wink, "Don't worry. I'll leave you two alone! There are more fish like him in this bountiful sea!"
With those words, Commander Nabaat and her staff were gone. Lightning and Lieutenant Amador were left to the silence of the room.
Lightning snapped herself out of her daze and yanked her phone out of her pocket. She opened her mobile banking app, confirming what had just transpired. She sat back down in her chair, staring blankly towards the wall in front of her.
"What did you just do?..." Amodar whispered, "Are you really doing this? Are you really going to take him home?"
Lightning continued to stare blankly at the wall in front of her as her words left her lips. "I… don't know…"
Amodar put his head in his palm as he pondered the ever building trouble Lightning's words had thrust upon them. "You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you?"
"I need to go," Lightning said as she dazedly picked herself up and moved toward the door.
Lightning paused, hands grasping the door handle, as Amodar chased her exit with his last words. "Farron, This isn't over, you and me. Got that?"
Snow had intently watched the Lieutenant's door after the woman and her three subordinates stepped behind it. Once what felt like an eternity had finally passed, the woman stepped out of the office and scanned the rest of the floor with her eyes. Her eyes met Snow's, indicating that her attention was needed in the breakroom.
Nabaat strode to the break room as all eyes were staring intently at her. Once at the threshold of the door, Snow stood from the table to block her entry.
Snow braced himself as his words left him. "Now is not a good time. "Please move along."
"Officer, step aside," Nabaat said calmly.
Snow silently refused.
Unaccustomed to so much disobedience in such a short period, her new choice of words reflected her growing anger. "That's an order, officer!"
Snow reluctantly complied, and he let the Commander make her way through the door and towards the table. As her three staff tried to follow, he stepped within the door frame again.
"They stay out here. No exception," Snow demanded.
"Fine."
Nabaat sat at the table and raised her hand to the boy's cheek. This time, he did not struggle or wince away from the contact. He complied in every physical and emotional sense that was required of him as if he was conditioned to do so.
"Hope," Nabaat began, "You belong with that woman now. Understood?"
Hope nodded silently.
Nabaat leaned in towards Hope's face and caressed his ear with her hand. Her lips now a mere inch away from his, she closed her eyes and held her breath before making contact. Hope returned her kiss with his own efforts, meeting her as she pressed herself into him. Despite his willingness, Hope placed his hand on his bare leg beneath the hem of his shorts and dug his nails into his flesh, drawing a faint amount of blood.
Snow charged towards the table and issued a menacing gaze. "That's enough! It's time for you to go!"
Nabaat had made her statement, and she was satisfied with her efforts. She stood from the table and stepped away from the boy. Before she stepped away from the break room, she paused to turn back to Hope for one last word.
"I hope you two have plenty of fun evenings ahead of you."
With that, she and her staff left the desk pool as a bellied laughter broiled from Nabaat's lungs. After passing through the double doors and into the stairwell, her maniacal laughter could still be heard through the silence of the building.
Hope took another spoonful of stew and poured it into his mouth as his tears dripped into the bowl.
