Note: This is my first try at fanfiction and I just had to get all of it out of my head. I haven't played FF XIII before (but I already am fangirling lightning) and hence explain all the parts where I might have derailed from the storyline or gone OOC a little.

Italics: thoughts

Chapter 1: She will not be forgotten

"Lightning is dead!" Lebreau exclaimed in a desperate fashion while fending off the attack by the PSICOM.

5 years before

Is this the end of the warfare? Is this the start of a new peace? A clean slate perhaps? Serah thought as she started to decrystallise like a beautiful ice sculpture thawing in the summer sun. Reality hits her when the first ray of sunlight caught her eye, blinding her momentarily. Like a metaphor for a new beginning, the beam of sunlight spoke of warmth and hope. A return to what life was, where everything was beautiful and nothing hurts. As she slowly adjusted to the overwhelming brightness, two figures slowly start to take shape. She could feel them without seeing them, as if she knew them biologically as if they were a part of her.

"Snow! Lightning!" Serah shouted as she charged towards them. It seemed like an eternity inside the crystal stasis and this was her rebirth, her second shot at life with the most important people. Hugging Snow, the same old security and warmth came back. The same as before, always safe and secure in his arms. Looking past the shoulders of Snow (albeit with some difficulty), she caught sight of the familiar pair of blue eyes that were so similar to hers yet so different. There was something different in that gaze, a break from the coldness that they once held. As if for the first time since eternity, those eyes were injected with a type of warmth that she can only relate to when they were young and innocent. The eyes of Claire Farron.

Wordlessly, she broke off from the embrace and walked tentatively towards Lightning, deeply unsure of her emotions. Proximity is a strange affair as it compels one with the need to be much closer than she already is. Serah literally jumped into Lightning's arms as the distance between them closes. Invisible and hidden emotions crept up at the contact, releasing all the pent up feelings that were trapped alongside her within the crystal stasis. There were so much unsaid words, so many explanations to offer, so many overflowing feelings. Yet the tears didn't ask for forgiveness; they were not bitter and apologetic like so many of her thoughts were. It was just.. the feeling of childhood and the safety in the arms of the sister who cared so much, too much at the expense of her own self.

'Claire I.."

"It's fine." Lightning merely smiled at her.

Can this be true? Or is this another of the dreams within the crystal stasis, so deliciously true but yet never real? I don't ever want to wake up if this dream continues forever. Looking at her sister's smile, Serah's heart swelled proportionately, of contentment and of peace. Most importantly, of a kind of bliss she'd forgotten all those times away from her only family left in the world. Home is a respite from the raging world and she's finally home.

Now

Lightning is not dead! Her internal battle wages on despite the ongoing war that surrounds her. Amidst all the violence and debris of destruction, all Serah could think about is Lightning. Throngs of unsolved mysteries and unanswered doubts infiltrate Serah's mind as she walks away from all that danger sombrely, the way she walks off from everything whenever Lightning came to her mind. But danger is like a stealthy enemy that creeps up on you unaware, relentless trying to catch up with you and no matter how hard you try, you can never walk away from it. Like truth, like all the negativity, like loneliness, like.. Lightning.

"Serah, this is no time for this!" Lebreau begs as she defended Serah from the onslaught of the enemies the second time.

What is the point of decrystallising if her second shot at life meant so many precious things taken away from her? is this the intrinsic design of life, where everything costs at the expense of the other? First the sacrificial of Fang and Vanille, then the disappearance of her very own sister. They say be careful of what you wished for. Serah childishly wished to never wake up from her dream and she got more than she bargained for; a nightmare that refuses to stop haunting her.

Lightning is not dead. Serah insists silently. Ever since the disappearance of lightning, everyone assumes that she must be dead.

A few nights ago

"Serah, 5 years is a long time to be missing. She would have come back a long time ago if she had wanted to." Snow said tenderly, seemingly afraid to break the girl's fragile frame just by his words alone.

"We're not asking you to forget about her, it's just not healthy to be constantly obsessing over her like this, kiddo you get me?" Sazh offered.

"What if she's still somewhere out there, waiting for me to go get her? The way I waited for all of you to come and save me in the crystal?" Hysteria rose within Serah as she desperately tried to convince Team NORA and the gang to organise a rescue team for the umpteenth time.

"It's different Serah, we knew you were in the crystal. But Lightning, she's left nothing for us to trace, nothing at all." Snow answered morosely.

"What if she does not want to be found.." Hope muttered thoughtfully.

Now

At the reminder of Hope's words, a cold, vice like grip that reeks of fear grabs Serah and twists her insides, giving way to rising acid and a pool of bile deep inside her throat, causing her to retch uncontrollably.

Does not want to be found.. does that mean she doesn't want me anymore?

All through these years, Serah repeatedly protests against the claims of her sister being dead. As time pass, Lightning not only had gone missing physically, she is disappearing from their conversations too. It's like nobody remembers her. It's like she isn't part of them. It's like she is slowly forgotten. Yet there are things you don't forget. How do you forget someone who would give her life just to make sure you get to live yours? Serah's head throbs at the memory of how her sister would protect her against all odds, taking the role of both parents when childhood had barely started for herself. What could be more cruel than forcing a mere child to grow up overnight? Serah has watched Lightning's transition from Claire. The eventual result: a cold and often rumoured to be heartless soldier who is trained to kill and maim without hesitation. Only Serah knows the Claire that exists within Lightning, tucked away behind all the exterior of steel and fangs.

They don't know her like I do, she needs help too.

And 5 years is a long time to wait for help.

A new found strength ignites in Serah as she sets her mind on a new mission, following the footsteps of her sister, marching on even if nobody else could come with her.

She will not be forgotten.