A/N: So a shiny new FF means that I have a shiny new fandom sandbox to play in. This is my first little step into the XIII world, and so it's not real daring or adventurous yet. Just a little peek into those Thirteen Days -- and a little bit before that -- from the POV of Serah.

I have not read "Chapter Zero" or whatever that pre-game novel thing is called ... so the bits and pieces in this fic that were not specifically mentioned in the game may not match up exactly with what happens there. Hopefully, such a grievous sin can be forgiven. ;) This will most likely be the first of many Serah-centric fics that I write in the near future, so I hope you enjoy this first little one.

Passage

Four months, two weeks, and four days ago, on her way home from one of the orientation seminars for incoming freshman at Eden University, she had met the leader of NORA on the train. NORA -- the very group that Light was always complaining about, calling them reckless and irresponsible. But Serah been quite taken by their "fearless" leader, with his laughing blue eyes and his confident smirk, his cocksure attitude so different from what she was used to.

He'd been quite interested to hear her talk about her plans to go to Eden for school in the fall, and he hadn't minded a bit when she'd started babbling, as she was sort of prone to do. It was just so nice to have someone to really talk to again -- Light was almost never home, it seemed. She started finding reasons to "bump" into him back in Bodhum shortly after that.

Four months, one week, and two days ago, she had kissed him. She had really only meant to give him a light peck on the cheek, like a friend would do, because they were friends. But he'd turned his head at just the wrong -- right? -- moment, and before she'd known it, her lips had been locked with his, and it was not a bad thing at all. And it wasn't a bad thing when she felt his hand come to rest at the curve of her hip, or when she realized her own hands were fisted tightly in the lapels of his duster, pulling him closer.

Four months, one week, and one-and-a-half days ago, Serah realized that she and Snow Villiers were no longer just friends.

Two months, three weeks, and five days ago, he had told her that he loved her -- it was the first time since her parents had died that anyone had told her that, and it had scared her at first. But she knew he really meant it, and she knew he wasn't going to hurt her -- and she also knew that she felt the same -- so two months, three weeks, and two days ago, she'd said it back.

Two months, two weeks, and four days -- well, nights, rather -- ago … had been magic. And every night she'd had with him since then had been magic, as well. He made the ordinary extraordinary to her, and his concern over her well-being touched her more than anything had before, or ever would again.

Two months, one week, and two days ago, Lightning had come home from work early, and found Serah and Snow, snuggled together on the sofa. Serah had hoped to introduce Snow to her sister that evening, but Lightning's early arrival rather ruined her plans. Light hadn't spoken to Serah for a week, and even after that, she was only as civil as the situation required.

At first, Serah had wanted to apologize and beg forgiveness, but she realized that Lightning was not likely to ever accept Serah dating the leader of NORA, and that the only thing Lightning would truly accept as an apology would be for her to end the relationship. And Serah wasn't about to do that. As much as she loved her sister and owed her a lot, she wouldn't give up Snow for anyone, not even for Lightning.

One month ago exactly, Lightning had finally seemed to forgive her, and even managed to say Snow's name without sneering -- too much -- and listened patiently while Serah talked about him, and about her relationship with him. Lightning had wanted to say something, Serah could tell, but she held whatever it was in. Light only gave her a quiet warning to "be careful" … and that was it.

Ten days ago was the beginning of the end. Ten days ago, she became the world's enemy. All because she had wandered somewhere she knew she oughtn't. The whole time she was there, she had known better, too. But her love of history and old things in general had gotten the better of her, and the chance to see a Vestige close up … it had been too heady to resist.

Nine days ago, she dreamed about becoming a monster and devouring Cocoon and all the people in it whole. She came awake screaming, the new mark on her arm burning like fire. She'd woken up on the floor of the Vestige, and had blearily made her way home, barely remembering what had happened to her.

She had locked herself in the bathroom after that, ignoring Light when she knocked on the door, frantically asking her what was wrong. She covered the ugly brand with a bandage, and then told Light that she'd fallen at the beach, and scraped her arm on a seashell fragment. She could tell that her sister didn't buy it, not completely, but she didn't press her about it, either.

Though she did manage to get some semblance of sleep that night, she dreamed about killing her sister and taking Light's strength as her own. When she woke up, she found she had walked into the kitchen in her sleep, and taken a butcher's knife out of the drawer. She hadn't been able to sleep again after that, and had spent the rest of the night, sitting in a chair in the corner of Lightning's room, keeping a silent vigil over her sister.

Eight days ago, she had started a screaming match with Light over whose turn it was to do the dishes, just so it could culminate in her storming out and leaving their home -- to keep her sister safe.

Seven days ago, while she was in bed with Snow, she dreamed about strangling him in his sleep, and woke up to find herself holding a pillow just inches above his face. She had left him before dawn, making plans to leave Bodhum as soon as possible.

Six days ago, when Snow had come looking for her, she had picked a fight with him, and told him she didn't want to be with him any more. But lying to him was harder than lying to Light, because when he didn't buy her story, he didn't drop it the same way her sister had. That was the thing about Snow -- even if it was gonna hurt him, he didn't care. He'd take the pain, if it meant someone else's burden could be less.

So five days and twelve hours ago, she told him the truth, and instead of looking at her like the monster she had become, like everyone in the world would look at her once they knew, he'd promised to stay with her, no matter what. He'd promised to help her fulfill her Focus, and then he'd held her while she cried. She wasn't certain, but she thought that maybe he had cried a little too.

Two days and twenty-one hours ago, he had proposed. Two days, twenty hours, and fifty-eight minutes ago, she had said yes.

Yesterday -- only yesterday, Light's birthday -- she had tried to tell her sister what she was, what she had become, but Lightning had scoffed at her, and accused her of using something as serious as becoming a l'Cie to make the engagement to Snow seem less insane. The last words her sister spoke to her were cruel ones -- I will have to kill you if you've become l'Cie.

Yesterday afternoon, she had asked Snow to take her to the fal'Cie, so she could ask them for help, and he had. And yesterday afternoon, without any warning at all, they took her away from her life, for good.

And five minutes ago, as she held tightly to the hands of her sister and her "hero", begging them as best she could to work together, to fix this mess … the passage of time stopped for Serah Farron.