Heya guys!
Well, I've had this little story idea running through my head for a while now, I always meant to write another Final Fantasy, I just didn't get round to it untill now. Some of you will have read my other Final Fantasy XIII, which is titled Journey to Freedom, that one is set in game on Gran Pulse from chapter 11 onwards. (I have not given up on that one, I shall be updating it regularly too, so keep checking back!)
This one is going to be set in game too, but at the beginning, before they boarded the purge train. (Yes of course it is another Vanille/Light pairing!) I wanted the chance to portray just the two of them before all of the drama, and this story should give me the perfect chance! It will follow the curve of the story but of course I will be making it very different in major aspects...
So anyway, if you want to know more I guess you are just going to have to read on… I do not own the Characters of Final Fantasy XIII, I just borrow them for your enjoyment and my writing addiction!
Enjoy!
Because You're Here.
The sand on Bodhum beach shone a bright white. Its pearly surface contrasted against the bright blue waves of the sea, giving it a majestic feel to the tourists. The residents had also been captivated by its spell. After all, it was the best place on Cocoon for a vacation. It was famous for its friendly atmosphere and laid back approach.
The sun was beating down, one of many bright days that summer. The day was just at its height, just after noon and as usual the town was bursting with life.
Lightning Farron stepped across the white sand on this bright day, her army-grade boots scuffing the surface impatiently. Her posture alerted everyone that she would have preferred to be left alone, followed by a harsh stare should anyone else not heed that warning.
She was known across the town for her no nonsense approach, her duty to work and the fact that no matter what, her life seemed to be a mystery. The only person she truly knew and who truly knew her was her sister Serah.
The non-residents of Bodhum were giving her sideward's glances as she marched along. Her white military outfit drawing attention to the fact she had superiority over the civilians.
She noticed as she was walking that a small group of people were looking at her with a fearful expression, obviously not used to the security Bodhum was providing. She shrugged her shoulders. Perhaps they were from Nautilus. She wasn't worried, let them stare.
Her light-pink hair hung loosely to one side, covering as much of her expression as she needed it too, adding another unapproachable feature to her face. She preferred it that way. The less people she could converse with the better. Especially on a boring day such as this one.
Lightning hated slow days, she much preferred to be situated on some kind of mission that involved a little bit of action, security detail just wasn't her style. Even though she was sure she wouldn't need it, her hand was fixed firmly above her gun blade, ready should she require it.
She looked down with a little bit of pride, the Guardian Corps had recently issued her with a brand new model, only given to high ranking soldiers with excellent fighting skills. The yellow chevrons on her sleeve indicated that she was a Sergeant. Something again, she was slightly proud at. She would never have seen herself here ten years previously.
"Hey Lightning! Lightning! Wait up!"
She turned at the sound of a voice behind her, her eyes low to the floor. She was trying to hide the scowl that had crossed her brow, after all, she had almost managed a full lap of the beach without bumping into anyone she knew.
"What is it?" she half-sighed, she answered though, through lack of anything else to do.
A young woman came running up behind her, skidding to a halt she rested her hands on her knees, doubled over and fought for breath. Lightning rolled her eyes, even a simple jog down the beach was too much work for Lebreau.
"Let me catch my breath…" she panted. She soon caught it however, that and a glimpse of Lightning's impatiently tapping foot.
"Have you seen Snow? I need to talk to him… something about NORA?" Lebreau said, her voice a cheery tone. Everybody loved Lebreau, the young woman was always an ear for anyone who wanted a conversation, unfortunately Lightning never wanted to. Nor was she currently in the mood for a chit-chat.
"Tsk" she replied. "Why would I know?"
"I didn't know whether Serah…"
"I haven't seen her. Not today anyway…" Lightning replied sharply, her scowl deepening. She despised Snow, everything about him screamed arrogance, his attitude, his looks. Even the way he spoke. She reached a little further for her weapon without even thinking about it, it was a reflex.
"Oh, it's just PSICOM were out here earlier, I wondered if he had found out why…" Lebreau let her smile falter, Lightning didn't seem to want to talk to her. She got the hint. Sighing she turned heel to walk back to the café.
"Wait, PSICOM were here?" Lightning stopped her, her voice suddenly more interested. "I didn't see them" she was surprised. It was unlike her not to know what was going on.
"What were they doing?"
"That's what I was asking you for, I don't know. Snow went out to look for them."
"Hmmm…" Lightning looked away, lost in thought.
"If you find Snow, he should be able to tell you." Lebreau smiled again, she reached up and ran her hand through her dark hair, her smile was nervous, she knew Lightning hated people talking about Snow, let alone someone telling her to go and see him.
"Tsk, I'm sure I'll find out from the commander later anyway…" she looked back at Lebreau before making to leave.
"It cant be too important otherwise I wouldn't be patrolling the beach…"
"Perhaps that's why your out here?" Lebreau said without thinking. "Uh… I mean…" she grinned meekly when she realised how her words sounded.
"I mean maybe they don't want anyone else to know what's going on?"
"Hmmm…" Lightning didn't care for that answer but perhaps Lebreau was right, after all PSICOM were sneaky. Well, there was no point waiting around, she was sure she would find out sooner or later.
"I've got work to do…" she said no more to the young woman, not even the offer of a goodbye. Instead she just about-turned and marched off quickly, her strides longer than usual. She didn't want to give Lebreau any reason to take up talking again.
That was all she needed.
She was trying her hardest to fit in with the crowd. The truth was, it was just almost impossible.
The shopping district in Bodhum was, as usual heaving with tourists. Not the best thing while she was attempting to keep a low profile. In fact, the group of young men standing on one of the corners was exactly the kind of people she wanted to avoid. Their military uniforms indicated that they were soldiers and the weapons slug over their shoulders confirmed her suspicion.
She quickly headed to one side of the street, as far away from them as she could get. It was slightly unusual to her, she had only seen the men dressed in white, carrying swords and gun blades. These men were helmeted, dressed in black and carrying rifles, or a kind of machine operated gun. She frowned, perhaps they were just a different part of the army. Either way, she didn't want them noticing her.
As they looked her way she quickly bowed her head, she wasn't particularly tall, however her strange hair colour stuck out from the rest of the residents.
Her clothes too were an unruly sight for this type of town, they by themselves were attracting more attention than she would have liked. She knew she should have probably stayed low and kept hidden. Away from the heavy parts of town. However, her craving for company was beginning to overpower her completely. There was only so long someone could stand being by themselves, no matter what reason it was for. Night time was the worst, she would curl up by herself and slowly cry herself to sleep. Like always.
As soon as she had passed the soldiers post she breathed out a sigh and straightened up. Her knees were beginning to ache from all the hiding.
"Hey!" a noise from behind her made her heart skip, she jumped a few feet in the air and turned around quickly, thinking she had been spotted. She released her held breath however when she saw it was just a young boy calling to his mother. She smiled. He ran up to his mother, tears streaming down his face and embraced her quickly. He had obviously been lost.
It was ironic really, here she was, lost completely. Yet she had no one to hug, no one to reassure her that everything would be okay. She would have given anything to be like him at this very moment.
That's what a true nineteen year old should have felt like. Yet instead here she was, in a town that was alien for her and running from a military that she didn't know anything about. When had her life gotten so complicated?
She squinted at the crowd carefully. There was another reason she had come to the busiest part of town. There was only one person she really wished to see. However she breathed a sigh of disappointment when she saw that there was no glimpse of blue. No strange accent. An accent very like her own, unheard on most of Cocoon. The accent of Pulse. Gran pulse…
She looked down at the floor. What she would give to be there right now, to forget this impossible focus. Too many had died already, and too many would in the future. Unfortunately as far as she could tell, there was no way to do that. Instead she was just biding her time. If she had to wait, wait until her life ended the focus for her. She would.
She just wished that her friend was by her side.
Lightning's day it seemed, was going from bad to worse.
The day was becoming increasingly more boring, the heat was beginning to rise and so was her frustration. She reached up and wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. That was the only problem with military uniforms, even though it was cut short at the sleeve, exposing her arms and a little open at the bottom, allowing her stomach to catch a little air, the material it was made from was heavy, and a bit of a burden.
To top off her misfortunes, a male voice she really didn't wish to hear seemed to have found her.
"Sis!"
"Tsk… great" she whispered. She didn't even need to turn around to know who was talking. She would know his arrogant voice anywhere. Perhaps if she refused to answer he would simply go away.
'Yeah right, like that would happen' she thought.
This unfortunate encounter had happened while she was on the high street. Having finished her stroll down the beach she decided it was the right time to head off for a drink. She wished to avoid Lebreau's café, simply because she didn't want to see Snow. She was avoiding an encounter, which would undoubtedly end up in her knocking him out for being a jackass.
Well, they were about to find out.
"Hey, sis are you avoiding me?" Snow said, his hand on his head and a goofy one sided grin across his face.
"I am NOT your sister!" she emphasised, her voice as cold as she could make it. She made a note of adjusting her position, so her body was tilted sideways from him. A scowl was set firmly on her face and she crossed her arms, annoyed.
"Did you see them?" he asked, his voice lower.
"See who? Why do you have to talk in riddles?" she spat. He was the last person on earth she wanted to talk too. Hell, she would even prefer one of Lebreau's speeches.
"PSICOM, who else? I thought you would know why they are here! The whole towns buzzing!" he cracked his knuckles together in anticipation.
"Something's happening…. I know it." he looked up at the sky, taking in a deep breath.
"That's just your arrogance talking" Lightning replied smugly. To tell the truth, she could feel it too. There was a strange electricity running among the people. Even people who didn't live here. Something was going to happen, she just couldn't put her finger on what.
"What's your problem?" Snow asked, his voice suddenly serious. Lightning was taken slightly aback. He had never talked back before, she wasn't sure he even had the backbone.
"You know what my problem is… you and my sister…" she growled back, looking him straight in the eye. If she was locked in battle that simple look could make any man back off. However Snow wasn't moving, he was either very brave or very stupid.
'Or both' She thought.
"I don't need your permission Lightning, I love her. You know that!" he raised his hands in frustration. What was it going to take to make her see that?
"Do I?" she replied, "All I see is some reckless idiot running round with a group of people pretending to be something they aren't. All this NORA business, it's pointless… and Serah doesn't need that"
"So, you think your helping her by hating me?"
"I just don't know what she sees in you, your just all talk." she raised her voice for the last part, her anger boiling up.
'Walk away Light, walk away for Serah.'
"I haven't got time for this…" she growled.
"Fine, If you want to be like that, it's up to you." Snow was now clearly annoyed too. It seemed she frustrated him just as much as he did her.
As she turned to leave he shouted one last thing to her.
"If you find out what PSICOM are up to, let me know alright…"
"Yeah right…" she hissed through gritted teeth. He would be the last one to know.
'Go to hell' she thought.
The young girls eyes scanned across the wide open space nervously. She was now on the outskirts of the town, where she had first arrived on Cocoon, to the little piece of Pulse that still gave her hope. Bodhum was green here, farmers fields stretched out in front of her and she was stood in the last little stretch of trees observing. Someone had taught her to be cautious and check her surroundings, one day back on Pulse. One day that was now just a distant memory.
The day was getting late and she was tired. She had searched for her companion all day, yet nothing turned up. She had hoped to just see a little glimpse of her, to go running up to her and throw her arms around her neck in happiness, the bottom line was. She was alone again, and she was beginning to give up hope that she would ever find her.
Cocoon seemed to be crawling with soldiers, she hadn't even dared to enter any food shops, and as her stomach growled loudly she sighed.
'Guess I'm staying hungry.' she thought.
She furrowed her brow, she was close to the only piece of home that she knew, the vestige in which she had woken up. The only problem was the more she seemed to get closer, the more soldiers she was having to hide from. What was going on?
"Hey!" a voice from behind her made her freeze, her feet routing themselves to the ground. Her heart began thumping faster in her chest, a clear sign that she was scared. She hadn't heard them behind, but then again maybe she was in such a hurry to get somewhere safe that she had forgotten to look behind her. Either way she was in trouble.
Perhaps it would be like earlier, perhaps they weren't talking to her. Maybe if she stayed still and didn't answer they would carry on. She had only spoken to someone on Cocoon once, and that was Serah. A nice girl she had found after falling and grazing her knee.
Serah had helped her with kindness, far from what the rest of the Cocoon residents were like, even though it seemed a friendly enough town, she daren't even try and talk with anyone. She knew it was because Serah was different, she was like her.
She too held the brand of a l'Cie.
Willing her feet to move she took a few small steps forward, hoping that whoever had spoken wouldn't notice her creeping off. She cringed however when he just shouted louder.
"Stop!" he shouted, whipping round she met the black helmet of one of the soldiers she had spotted earlier. His gun was un-holstered, and the barrel was pointed exactly in her direction. She shivered, she couldn't read his actions, his eyes were concealed behind a black visor. Instead she let out a small squeak and ran forward, as fast as her unwilling legs would allow.
"Hey! Wait!" he shouted, she heard him start after her but realised she had the speed advantage. His heavy gear meaning he couldn't run with the same pace.
It didn't help her much though, as she rounded the next corner it seemed she ran headfirst into something rather solid.
The impact knocked her backwards and she fell to the floor with a thud. Looking up she closed her eyes as she saw she had run into another soldier. He drew his weapon too, reaching down he grabbed hold of her arm roughly and pulled her to her feet.
"What are you doing here?" he asked sharply, not letting go, just keeping hold tightly, hard enough she knew to leave bruises. She wiggled against his grip, hoping she could still get away, he was just too strong for her. It wasn't many seconds before the other PSICOM soldier caught up.
She didn't answer his questions, it was inevitable that she would be caught eventually.
"Answer me, what are you doing?" he said, more sharply, this time lightly shaking her at the same time. She looked up, she could feel her eyes stinging with tears. She didn't know what to do. Fang would have known what to do…
"I…" she began, trying to swallow the lump in her throat, her voice completely hitched. She couldn't tell them anything, what was she going to say? I'm a pulse l'Cie let me go? It just wasn't going to happen, the world was afraid. Afraid of her.
She in turn was afraid of it. She had already been told that Pulse l'Cie were put to death, put to death for simply being alive on Cocoon, for simply existing. It just wasn't right, then again, the same would have happened on Pulse with a Cocoon l'Cie. Her mind shot back to Serah.
What would happen to the young girl? Would she be killed in her own home? She shook her head, she should be more concerned for herself right now.
"She's not talking" one of the soldiers said to the other, clearly annoyed with her silence.
"The order was to shoot on sight…" the one holding her said, his voice emotionless, it was just like doing his duty. She didn't matter to him, she didn't matter to anyone.
"Make her talk" he said, pushing her forward at the other harshly. She soon found the painful grip on her arm returning as he grabbed hold. He nodded at his colleague. It was dangerous if she knew too much, besides. She looked like she didn't belong here, there was something different about her…
"When you're done, shoot her" the other said with a wave of his hand, "The lieutenant doesn't want anyone to know about this.." he nodded to the vestige, "Not yet anyway." he marched off quickly, throwing his weapon back over his shoulder.
"Who sent you?" the other soldier growled, his voice was a lower tone than the other, it sent an even colder shiver down her spine. He shook her a little more roughly.
"No… No one…" she said, her voice no more than a whisper.
"Then what are you doing here?" he asked, squeezing her wrist a little harder. She let out a small yelp and attempted to wiggle backwards. She wasn't going to tell him, she would die either way. She diverted her eyes to the floor and shuffled her feet, at least this way it would be quick…
"What are you doing?" a strong female voice made her look up sharply, she noticed too, by the fact that the soldier had dropped his grip slightly that whoever spoke had caught his attention too. She caught a glimpse of light pink hair and blue eyes all in a blur.
"Serah!" she said quickly, her voice hopeful, she was only aware afterwards that the woman was not Serah at all. She was alike, yet completely different. This woman was taller, her hair slightly shorter and brushed to the side. It was the perfect colour of Serah's yet styled differently. Her clothes were different and she gulped as she saw it was also a military outfit that the woman wore, however it didn't fill her with the sense of foreboding that the rest did.
It seemed she was talking to the other soldier, not her.
"What's it to you, your Guardian Corps, not PSICOM. This is our business" he growled, taking up his grip again quickly. Not wanting to let the young girl go.
So she was Guardian Corps. Serah had said that she had a sister in the army… so this must be Lightning…
"Your hurting her, I'd say that's my business…" Lightning answered, her voice strong yet it held a strange hint of concern, just like her sisters.
Lightning looked down at the young girl quickly. She had heard her say Serah's name, yet she couldn't remember seeing her before. She reached down and grabbed the hilt of her weapon, un-holstering it and pointing the blade in the PSICOM soldier's direction. She saw him gulp and take a quick step backwards. He had heard of Lightning, mot of the soldiers had. She was one of the best fighters the Guardian Corp's had ever seen.
"Let her go!" she growled, her voice suddenly low, she have him the same look she had given Snow earlier, this time however it seemed to have more of an effect.
He shook his head and pointed his weapon in her direction. Instead of looking scared like a normal person would if they were staring down the barrel of a gun, she gave a small grin.
"Wrong answer…" she whispered. Before the soldier had time to fire, Lightning had moved. She was directly in front of him, grabbing the barrel of his gun she yanked it forwards quickly, out of his hands. He let go of the young girl quickly, trying to grab his weapon back. Lightning shot to the back of him, she spun round low and took his legs out at the ankles, making him crash him to the floor.
The young girl took a few startled steps backwards, watching Lightning fight. She knew she should be running, but shock had not yet been replaced by adrenaline and she was rooted to the spot. Stepping backwards, she caught her foot on what seemed like the root of a tree and soon found herself back on the ground with a bump.
Lightning didn't allow the soldier time to get up, whipping her gun blade around she hit him hard across the back of the head with its hilt, he gave one last groan as his world spun and then went completely black. She had knocked him out cold.
"Like I said" she whispered. "Wrong answer"
She stood and looked at him for a few seconds, her expression confused. Just what were PSICOM doing here, and why the fascination with the young girl?
She looked over at where the girl resided. She noticed she was on the floor and quickly walked over, offering her a hand to get up.
"Are you alright?" she added, her voice now suddenly soft. She looked her over quickly, checking for anything that might require medical treatment. Seeing no blood she was convinced she wasn't hurt too seriously. Instead she took a moment to take in the girls features.
They were unusual, most of all her clothes, she had never seen outfits like this one on Cocoon. Her skimpy clothes were laced with beads and bracelets, and she noticed that the girl had a pelt of fur tied around her waist.
Her hair was a shocking red, almost bright enough to be orange, and as the young redhead looked up, she noticed her eyes were a bright emerald green.
The redhead hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to take the help Lightning was offering. She decided to, after all the older woman had just saved her life. Either way, she needed to get out of here, before the older woman started asking too many questions.
She took Lightning's hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, more gently than when the soldiers had done it.
"Who are you?" Lightning asked, confused. What did the soldiers want from her?
"Vanille…" the young girl said, almost a whisper. It seemed her vocals still didn't wish to work.
"What were they after? PSICOM I mean?" Lightning asked she took a moment to notice the young girls accent, it was one she had never heard before. Why would PSICOM be after her? It didn't make sense. None of this did. Why were they even in Bodhum?
"I… I'm sorry.. I have to…" Vanille stuttered, she made a quick exit to the right past the pink haired soldier. She couldn't stay here, not with someone from the army. Lightning couldn't know who she really was. It was better this way. Lightning caught her arm lightly as she ran past, not stopping her completely but turning her around slightly. Vanille didn't stop, she just gave the soldier one last apologetic smile, her eyes holding a sadness that Lightning had never seen in anyone.
"Wait!" Lightning called after her… "You called me Serah? Do you know my sister?"
Vanille just kept on running, she noticed that Lightning made no attempt to come after her. For that she was glad, she didn't know what the Guardian Corps would do to her but she couldn't imagine that it would be any better that PSICOM, and the pink haired soldier seemed the type to follow protocol. She would have no option but to take her in should she know that she was really from Pulse.
It seemed she was just doomed to be alone on this planet.
"Wait…" Lightning let her voice trail off. The young girl was scared, of what she was uncertain. All she knew was it was probably better not to run after her.
Looking up at the sky, she let a sigh grace her lips, a confused thought running through her head.
'What the hell just happened?'
A.N.
Well, I thought I would give you all a fairly long chapter to kick-start this adventure : ) I shall be updating both of my stories regularly, so please tell me what you think and thanks for reading ! Oh and I apologise if there is any obvious mistakes, it seems my tablet computer refuses to let me send this to be checked over by a beta. (Sorry razorsedge1595!) It is just being stubborn. So I hold my hands up for any typo's or other errors you might find :$