The was a thick, damp fog lingering in the narrow streets, and it had even drifted out into the air above, but when a pair of worn sneakers touched down across the weathered, stony rooftop, the mist began to curl up around their bearer, shrouding her path in white.

"Lightning? Hey, wait up!"

Lightning stopped in place, tugging her jacket tighter around her chest. "Sazh? I didn't think you'd be following me."

The sound of Sazh's footsteps was slightly unusual for a moment, before each of his paces evened out into heavier footfalls. "You're not the only one who can get around this quick..." Sazh walked up to stand beside her, and he crossed his hands against the back of his neck, catching his breath. "I did mean what I said in there... But I guess it couldn't hurt to point you in the right direction, could it?"

Lightning blinked when a raindrop hit the bridge of her nose. "I wouldn't want either of you to take the fall for this."

Sazh chuckled. "I've already had my fair share of falling..."

Lightning almost winced. "Poor choice of words, sorry-"

Sazh shook his head. "That's all old history, nothing you need to worry about." He moved to let his hands fall to his sides, and he turned to face the street below. "But I've gotta tell you, this plan of yours doesn't seem all that practical... Why revenge, of all things?"

Lightning began to grit her teeth. "I never said it was revenge... Just unfinished business." She turned to walk forward again, moving deeper into the mist. "Serah, she was... Like I said, for a while... She was a l'Cie."

Sazh moved to follow after her. "What sort of l'Cie? One with a focus?"

Lightning nodded. "We did manage to stop it before it was too late, but it wasn't without consequence." She looked off into the distance for a moment, she spoke in a quieter tone. "I'd rather not go further into it, if you don't mind."

"No problem, but now that you mention it..." Sazh turned to face a nearby plaza, or more specifically, the towering structure that stood above above it. "A l'Cie could be just what we need in this situation."

Lightning followed his gaze. "L'Cie don't exist on earth."

Sazh merely chuckled. "Maybe not a living l'Cie... But have you ever wondered what happens to the ones who fail their focus?" He lifted his hand to point at the top of the spire. "As chances would have it, I actually know the poor sucker who lives up there."

Lightning looked up at the winding tower. "A fallen l'Cie..? A Cie'th."

Sazh nodded. "Most prefer the term 'watcher', from what I've gathered." He walked over to stand beside the edge of the roof. "I think that this might be your best lead, but try listening to what that he has to say... If I can't talk you out of this, maybe someone worse off than the both of us can."

With a quiet sigh, Lightning began to move forward, and for a split second, Sazh caught the outline of a small bird, flapping just beside her shoulder-blades, before she herself dematerialized into a thin streak of light.


"Woah." Hope knelt down within the center of the room, staring down into the circular, flickering screen. "I guess they are chatty..."

The voice crackled again. "Hello? If you could kindly attempt to remove the grate from the dispensary just behind you, it would be most appreciated."

Snow frowned at the screen below, but he could barely make out anything more than a dizzying swirl of colors beneath the translucent floor-panels. "What would that even do, though?" He turned to look at the grate in question, before he nearly jumped back at the sight of a tiny, box-like machine.

"Hello, my name is Bhakti." The machine rolled up to tap along the bars with one of his tiny, metal grabbers. "My friends are urgently awaiting my assistance, so I simply must find a way out of this predicament as soon as possible."

Serah stared down at the machine with wide, yet unwavering eyes. "Hey, how'd you get stuck in there?" She walked forward to inspect the tiny tunnel. "Doesn't it open from the inside?"

Bhakti's internal lights dimmed considerably. "I am afraid not... As for how I ended up in this place, I cannot quite explain that at present." He reached up to poke at the metal plating beside his set of mechanical eyes. "I fear that the process of accessing my internal memory database while in my current level of charge would result in using up what little energy I have left."

Serah began to frown. "Well... How can we get you out of there?" She held out her hand, tracing her fingertips around the weathered edges of the grate. "Is there anything we can do to help you in the mean time? Some spare batteries, maybe?"

Bhakti rolled back and forth upon a set of thin tire-treads. "I am not completely sure what form of energy cells might remain here, but any form of sustenance or assistance would be greatly appreciated."

Snow leaned to the side, scratching his chin. "Okay... But you aren't gonna go crazy on us if we help you out of there, right?" He knelt down up to curl his index finger around one of the metal bars. "There's nothing in that database about being hostile, right?"

Bhakti's eyes blinked once. "Of course not; I am programmed to assist any and all Seraphim, those who display no prior forms of aggression towards either my physical or mental state, of course."

Hope let out a quiet sigh. "That's good."

Snow gazed down at the tiny, orange machine, before he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Don't make me regret this, then." His wrists suddenly flared up, glowing with a pale, blueish light, before he tugged back, wrenching a section of the grate away with only a muffled grunt.

"Excellent!" Bhakti slowly began to roll forward from the tunnel, and his eye-stalks swiveled back and forth. "I must find some way to repay you."

Serah watched as Bhakti's lights began to dim even further, and her frown deepened. "Alright, but you aren't out of the woods just yet..."

Bhakti turned in place. "Perhaps my friends left behind some form of battery, as you suggested."

Hope had already knelt down to rummage through a pile of debris, and began to lift up an odd, twisted piece of metal. "There's some stuff over here! Come take a look."

Serah nearly gasped when Bhakti toppled out from the tunnel, plummeting down from his perch, but with a quick, sharp puff of air, he kept himself from clattering to the ground, which allowed him to land gently upon the metal floor.

Bhakti let out a series of chirps and clicks. "I believe that I will be of much more assistance to you once I have regained access to my internal memory core." He rolled over to where Hope was searching. "May I ask you what year this is?"

Snow walked up to stand beside them. "Well... It's been a little hard to keep track of, with being in stasis and all..."

Serah nodded as she knelt down to help organize the debris. "From what I heard, before we got here... Light and I had been in sleep for at least fifty years since the fall."

Bhakti turned to face her. "'The fall?'"

Serah nodded with a tiny frown. "Yeah... Cocoon, it-"

Bhakti's lights nearly flickered away. "No. It cannot be."

Snow knelt down to pet the tiny machine. "Sorry, little buddy..."

"My friends, they had hoped to-" Bhakti quivered, sputtering slightly. "This... This must mean that they have failed."

Serah leaned forward, staring at him with a slight tilt of her head. "...What are you talking about?"

Bhakti turned to face the pile of wreckage. "Please, before I-" He shook in place, and his voice crackled with every word.

Hope held up a translucent vial. "Hey, what about this?" There was thin, murky liquid swirling within, and it almost seemed to glow in the low level of light. "It looks like it might have some charge left."

Bhakti rolled over to rest beside him. "Quickly, my friend..."

Hope held the container down beside Bhakti's mechanical form, before he spotted a gap in the smooth, orange metal that protected his internal form of wires and framework. "Here." Hope lowered the vial beside the gap, and for a moment, all was silent, before a thin, metal clasp lurched out to grab at the glass container, yanking it down to disappear within the machine himself.

"Eager little guy..." Snow tapped at Bhakti's outer plating. "Feeling any better?"

Bhakti said nothing for a while, before his body suddenly came alight, spinning around in place. "Oh, most certainly!"

Serah giggled to herself. "Glad to hear it..."

Bhakti hummed for a moment, still swiveling back and forth. "Accessing internal memory; the core is thankfully still intact, but my aging processors seem to be unresponsive." He kept silent for while. "I may have our answers."

"Yeah?" Snow moved back to lean against a nearby wall. "So what did you mean, just a minute ago?"

Bhakti turned to face him. "I was once a highly valued member of the very group of individuals that created this Vestige; we were tasked with devoting our lives to the study, and to hopefully prevent the prophecy, fabled even among the seers." He swiveled in place once again. "The very prophecy that told of Cocoon's own destruction, as well as the dreaded curse that would fall upon it shortly beforehand."

Serah closed her eyes.

"But if Cocoon... If our home is already-" Bhakti turned to face the entryway. "If Cocoon has truly fallen, then may I ask where we are currently located?"

Hope cleared his throat. "Well, technically, this is Cocoon." He gestured at the room around them. "Well, what's left of it... This is just a little sliver; we were lucky enough to find even that."

"Then that would explain why I am here..." Bhakti began to hum. "This Vestige was our base of operations, and my keeper scarcely left it while we were working together."

Serah opened her eyes to look at Bhakti. "Your... Keeper?"

"Yes, she is a woman of unparalleled knowledge and wisdom!" Bhakti's lights flickered back and forth. "But I do not know what might have happened to her, not once the Vestige fell under Sanctum investigation."

Snow grit his teeth. "Well, if you're looking for 'aggressive Seraphim'... Those are your guys."

"Indeed?" Bhakti slowly swiveled in place. "I must look over my memory archives, but I fear that this small measure of power will only last me for so long."

Serah leaned over to look inside the machine, at the slowly draining vial. "Is there any other way to get you some energy?"

Bhakti rolled over to the room's entryway. "Would there happen to be a source of sunlight nearby?"

Hope rose to his feet. "It'll be getting dark soon, but yeah... Just outside."

Bhakti clicked, chattering on with a quiet hum. "Excellent! We can investigate this matter in further detail once we've reached the exit."

Serah and Snow both stood up to follow after Hope and Bhakti, but before, Snow leaned to the side, whispering softly in Serah's direction. "Do you think we can... Trust this?"

Serah shrugged, before she whispered back. "I don't know, but he doesn't seem malicious."

Snow almost frowned, but when he caught the look of genuine intrigue and excitement on Hope's face, he stilled, gazing down at the tiny machine. "I guess we'll just have to see."

Serah merely nodded to herself, before she tapped along the end of her bow, following the group out into the hall.


Lightning felt her knees touch down against the smooth, layered tile, but when she slowly rose up to her feet, she couldn't help but stare at the intricate framework within the tower itself; the pointed structure tapered off into a narrow spire, yet inside of the circular structure, a slim, yet hunched statue sat in solitude, just upon the weathered floor.

Sazh soon walked up behind her, folding his arms across his chest. "He's never been willing to tell me his name, but he doesn't seem to mind it when I call him 'Watcher'."

Lightning walked up to stand directly before the statue, and after a moment of examining it, she stepped back with a near-silent gasp. "This is a Cie'th..."

Watch your tongue.

Lightning stood fast, but when a strong, nearly overwhelming sense of unease swept across her entire form, she slowly lowered her head. "I'm sorry, I've just never seen a Cie'th so..." She paused, steeling herself. "So intact."

The statue seemed to resemble a large, humanoid shape, but it was curled in on itself, sheltered only by a pair of twin, crystallized wings. Your blood is that of the lofty Seraphim, and yet you stand here upon the earth itself...

Lightning began to nod, stepping forward again. "I'm here to ask for the wisdom you have... Sazh told me that you could offer it."

After a long moment, the Watcher projected a rumbling sound, nearly akin to laughter. And just what wisdom could an old idealist offer to a fledgling Seraph? You would be much better off seeking your own lord's council, just beneath this very steeple...

Lightning shook her head. "Not council... Information." She moved her hands down into her jacket pockets, gazing deep into the sleek, mottled surface of the statue. "I need to find a Nephilim."

The Watcher kept silent for a long while. And why do you have need of this?

Lightning lowered herself into a sitting position, before she glanced up at Sazh, who had leaned against a wooden pillar beside the stature. "Because... I have to make sure that my sister is never used again."

Used... For? At Lightning's silence, the Watcher softened his tone. Tell me your story, o' child of Cocoon... Like all of the fallen, I cannot dare depart this mortal realm, nor can I see beyond its earthly barriers...

Lightning took a deep breath. "She was... Branded a l'Cie."


With a quiet, whimpering sniffle, Serah had moved her fingers over the reddened mark, rubbing down just above the blackened ridges, as well as the bright, crystallized eye.

"Serah." Lightning tightened her grip of Serah's wrist. "Don't make it worse."

Serah reached up to cover her own mouth with her free arm. "Why-?" Her voice was muffled as she bit back a cry. "Why aren't you mad at me..?"

Lightning kept completely still for a moment, before she reached out to pull the shivering form into her arms, holding her close. "Because we all make mistakes."

Serah reached up to rub away the tears from her eyes. "Not like this... Not a l'Cie!"

Lightning hissed quietly through her teeth. "Enough... What's done is done, so we can only try to move forward from it." She slowly patted along Serah's back, releasing a sigh of her own. "We just have to figure out your focus before we run out of time."

Serah turned her head to look at the red, slumbering eye, firmly embedded upon her upper arm. "How long do even I have? It was only yesterday; it couldn't have gone too far by now!"

Lightning glanced up at the room around them. "The Sanctum will know." She moved to stand, but Serah quickly dragged her back down for a long, tight hug, before she was released to rise up to her feet. "They shouldn't take much longer to see us... This is urgent, after all."

Serah turned, staring up at her sister with a set of bleary, shadowed eyes. "They'll... They'll know how to figure this out?"

Lightning looked at the door. "They're the best chance we have."

Serah relaxed slightly, but only by a fraction. "I'm... I'm really scared, Light."

With a nod, Lightning walked over to sit down on a nearby chair. "I know that, but I also know that you're tougher than you think."

Serah almost flushed, tearing up once more. "You're just saying that."

Lightning shook her head. "Hey, what would Mog think of me if I lied to you?" A smile tugged at her mouth. "Bring him out; you could use the moral support."

With a small, shaky laugh, Serah reached down for the bracelet upon her wrist. "Mog, please come and see us..."

After a moment of silence, the charms upon the silvery bangle started to glow, before they fluttered out, disappearing into thin air, and were soon replaced by a soft, fuzzy creature, one that sat upright within the center of the room.

Serah smiled. "Good to see you..."

Mog, in his physical form, sat nearly tall enough to dwarf even Lightning herself, but despite his massive size, the fluffy beast merely cooed at Serah from above, gently pulling her into a hug.

Lightning exhaled from her seat, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to the conjured creature.

Mog somewhat resembled a large bear, upon first sight, but his white, shaggy fur was long enough to hide almost both of his eyes, while he had a strange, clock-like contraption embedded upon his broad chest; he also had a pink nose, the likes of which never seemed to be able to stop twitching, like he was constantly sniffing for something.

"Hey, we're going to get you out of this, Serah." Lightning reached over to trace the leather holster attached to her belt, simultaneously gripping the polished, metal side of her seat. "Trust me, okay?"

Serah nodded into Mog's fur.

With a soft, almost shivery sigh, Lightning let her eyes fall shut, allowing the tension to bleed out from her limbs, but it was replaced just as quickly by a sense of bitter, lingering dread, and try as she might, she couldn't shake away the feeling from deep, deep within her bones.


Such is the fate of all l'Cie... The Watcher rumbled in place. Complete their focus, lest they fail... And become a Cie'th.

Lightning opened her eyes. "She still has the brand, but it's... Faded, and white."

Sazh hummed to himself. "But it's still there?"

Lightning nodded. "Completely open, but she's still... Just like her normal self." With a slow shake of her head, Lightning rose to her feet. "I mean, I'd never heard of a brand just freezing itself like that, so I decided that I needed to make sure it never comes back."

Ah... You would rip it out at the source. The watcher nearly laughed again. And you would seek a Nephilim to face the great lord, himself.

Lightning stared out, gazing off into the light, drizzling rain. "Serah still doesn't remember what happened... Or so she says."

The watcher spoke. And what of her focus?

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I'd really rather not talk about it."

The Watcher kept silent for a long moment, before he spoke once more, slightly clearer than before. L'Cie are made of Seraphim, for even the greatest of beings cannot willingly destroy the soul of a mortal... Such a force falls under Etro's domain, despite His best efforts to render Her powerless. The Watcher paused. And yet, a human form would surely crumble beneath the sight of such a heavenly being... This is why you need a Nephilim, no?

Lightning nodded. "Yeah... So don't even try to talk me out of it."

The Watcher laughed quietly. I will only offer you my sincerest advice... Abandon such a needless pursuit; a god has never been defeated in this realm or the next, and you would surely be destroyed, merely for attempting it.

Lightning shook her head. "I don't want to defeat him..." Her hands tightened within her pockets. "If I can help it, that is... I want to bargain with him."

Oh? The Watcher paused for a while. Why consider the Nephilim, then?

Lightning's gaze turned to the sky, and she began to stare off into the clouds. "Bhunivelze disappeared when Cocoon fell... You hear people say that the gods rarely even appear when called, except for a dire prayer... Or a challenge." She felt her jaw tighten, bracing the bitter wind that swept over the rooftop. "And I'm done praying."

Then... I will leave you with only a word of caution. The Watcher's statue almost seemed to shimmer, but Lightning could find that nothing had changed when she looked it over. Study this subject in depth; perhaps you could find better a solution for you kin, one far less dangerous than this.

"Study the l'Cie?" Lightning let her gaze drop to the floor. "Almost everything was lost when Cocoon fell, and I doubt that I could find anyone alive who would know very much about them."

The Watcher hummed. Then you... Must search.

Sazh spoke up. "Hey... I do, have an old friend down here; she might know a little something or two about l'Cie." He moved to gaze at the ground below. "She's a little... Uh, eccentric, but she knows her stuff."

Lightning bit back a smile. "Thank you, Sazh."

The Watcher spoke again. As for your Nephilim, perhaps you will find that your answer is already within reach.

Lightning turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

Seraphim, ye heavenly beings, blessed with both extraordinary skills and many senses... Look, and ye shall find.

After a moment, Lightning shrugged. "I suppose I'll have to." Without another word, she moved away to walk down to the lower rooftop.

Sazh leaned back to wave at the statue as he followed after Lightning. "Take care of yourself, you hear?"

The Watcher kept silent, but Sazh swore that somehow, the winged statue looked just a bit more lifelike than before.


Turning slowly in place, Serah stared up into the dark, churning clouds, and after a moment, she felt a raindrop hit the side of her forehead. "Are you getting anything, even with all of this..?"

Bhakti sat beside her feet, and he was holding up a retractable solar panel above his box-like form. "Only trace amounts, but yes, there is just enough residual sunlight... This is a very peculiar atmosphere, yet it is not unlike how I remember Cocoon's to be."

Hope moved to sit beside him. "They must have built this place long ago... Do you remember which year it was built?"

After a moment of silent processing, Bhakti began to rattle off a series of numbers, before he started to speak again. "Upon relaying such data beside my internal aging-sensors, I cannot determine an exact date, other than it must have occurred several millennia ago."

"Millennia..." Snow whistled. "They really built that thing to last, huh?"

Bhakti let out an affirmative chirp. "One does not simply create a house of information without warding it against the ages..."

"Information?" Serah moved to kneel beside the tiny machine. "The stuff that you said about Cocoon... Would it still be inside, here?"

Bhakti chirped again. "Certainly, but first, you would need the proper technique to access even the simplest of encrypted documents." He swiveled in place for a moment. "For you see, my friends were researching a highly controversial subject... Much of the general population believed that such prophecies were never even meant to be questioned, nor tampered with."

Serah bit at her bottom lip. "But you could access it, right?"

"Of course." Bhakti's internal lights began to flicker beneath the increasing rainfall. "But while I am thoroughly waterproof, my internal energy-levels must be carefully maintained, especially within my current state of exhaustion... So I cannot offer my services in that way, not at the moment."

Serah nodded. "Of course." She leaned back, slowly staring into the gentle rain. "Hey, I'm pretty sure we have some old batteries back in town... They might not be compatible with you, but we could always try them out."

Bhakti hummed with a quiet chirp. "That would be wonderfully generous of you." He began to turn in place. "Would you please lead me to this town of yours?"

Snow chuckled. "Unless you want to try handling the stairs... You might want to let me carry you down."

Bhakti wheeled over to stand beside Snow's boots. "I would normally simply employ my hover mechanics, but in my current state of power-" He chirped again when Snow hoisted him up. "You are quite strong, my friend!"

Snow cracked a grin. "The name's Snow! Snow Villiers."

Serah smiled as well. "I'm Serah Farron."

As Bhakti's eyes swiveled over to Hope, the young boy cleared his throat. "Hope Estheim."

"I am very glad to have met all of you." Bhakti started to hum as they walked down upon the narrow, winding steps that led down into the village. "I did happen to detect several signatures of individual Seraphim, just a few months previous, but I was unable to wake myself in time to announce my presence."

"That's alright." Snow patted at the side of Bhakti's metal form. "I'm just glad we were able to rescue you from in there... It's not often you find working tech from Cocoon."

Bhakti let out a quiet hum. "Perhaps you could inform me of the more current events, once we arrive? It feels... So strange, to have been asleep for so long."

Serah nearly laughed. "Tell me about it..."

Hope glanced between the two figures before him, when his gaze suddenly began to linger upon the strange, white markings along Serah's upper arm, as well as the way she would sometimes subconsciously scratch around it. He almost thought to ask her about it, but after a moment of contemplation, Hope glanced down at his own wrist, and his brow wrinkled at the memory of how he had obtained his own, jagged brand, so he simply kept silent, following after his friends as they walked down into the tiny, yet bustling village.


Lightning exhaled as the rain began to quicken, and although she felt her both of her lungs shiver and tighten within her chest, she said nothing as Sazh led them both down a bustling sidewalk.

"Okay, so if there's one thing to know about Chocolina..." Sazh scratched at the stubble on his chin with a quiet laugh. "She is an insane, rambunctious coot of a woman, but I couldn't love her any more than I already do."

Lightning quirked a single eyebrow, fighting back a cough. "She sounds... Unique."

Sazh nearly grinned. "That's one way to put it... But she's got an unhealthy obsession with certain 'trinkets'... So watch your pockets."

Lightning tapped at her jacket. "I don't carry any money."

Sazh shook his head. "I'm not talking about money... Don't think that I didn't notice your friend, there."

Lightning winced when the invisible presence at her back detached, quickly fluttering down to rest on her palm. "He's my familiar, not a trinket."

Sazh chuckled at the dove. "Good to see you, buddy... Looking a bit smaller there, aren't you?"

Lightning bit back a smirk. "Just to blend in."

The bird cooed from within her hands, before he fluttered away to nestle within her jacket pocket.

"Odin... He's been a little reclusive, lately." Lightning reached up to stroke along the bird's back. "But I think it's just because we've all been so busy."

Sazh glanced over his shoulder. "You still have the other birds, right?"

Lightning nodded. "They're almost like family, now... All the way from Cocoon, but they still remembered us."

Sazh turned back to face the sidewalk. "I once had one, you know... I had a familiar."

Lightning looked down at her feet.

"But I guess she was still back up Cocoon, when it fell... They can't really find you, down here."

Lightning shook her head. "She had to have survived; familiars are bound to their partner..." She held Odin a little tighter. "They die, you die."

Sazh rolled his shoulders with a shrug. "Guess she didn't think to search for me... Or maybe she's still looking." He let out a long, quiet sigh. "But who knows? No use dwelling that far in the past."

Lightning tried to clear her throat, but when she managed it, a low, wheezing cough rattled off within her chest, and she had to pause for a moment to regain her breath.

"Hey, you okay?" Sazh moved to stand beside her. "Not used to the air down here, huh?"

Lightning inhaled, sniffling slightly. "Yeah... Definitely different." She coughed again, but it was muffled by her wrist. "I guess I'm just used to the way it is back home."

Sazh nodded, gently patting her back. "Just take it slow."

Lightning nodded as well. "Is it much further? We could always just fly."

For a moment, something flickered at Sazh's shoulders, but the outline was very pale, and somehow hazy. "It's... Not too far."

Lightning almost frowned at his tone. "Okay."

Sazh began to lead the way again in silence, keeping his hands at his sides, but he began to speak again once they had neared a small, curious looking storefront. "Alright, just don't freak out if she decides to hug you..."

Lightning tilted her head to the side, but she said nothing as Sazh waved her over, beneath a dim, yet decorated entryway, leading her further into a small, but cozy little shop.


"I've told you a million times, and I'll tell you again, for as long as it takes..." The woman reclined in her chair, one leg folded over her other. "There is nothing supernatural about your dreams, no matter how crazy or fucked up they can get."

A younger woman scrunched up her nose at the first, standing on her tiptoes. "So you've been having them too? Mine aren't fucked up, Fang!"

Fang leaned back in her seat. "Vanille."

Vanille looked away with a quiet huff. "What?"

Fang smirked. "Don't cuss." She closed her eyes before her companion could grimace at her. "It's probably just those tacos from the Birch Street stand; those've always given you funky dreams."

Vanille paused on a retort, before she slumped back slightly, stalking over to the back of the chair. "I guess so..." She leaned over against the backing of the large, leather armchair. "But... Don't you think it's strange? I dreamt that it would start raining today, and it did!"

Fang shrugged, leafing through the magazine upon her lap. "You probably just saw the weather report somewhere yesterday without noticing it."

Vanille let out a sigh. "I just knew it would happen, though..." After a moment of silence, she eased away from the chair. "You want pizza tonight, or should we stick to something milder?"

Fang shook her head. "Aunt's coming over, remember."

Vanille paused in place, before she gently slapped against her forehead with a gasp. "Dammit!"

"Don't cuss."

Vanille rolled her eyes. "Oh, says the gutter-mouth of the year!" She scrambled over to the coffee table to shove away an armful of stray wrappers, packaging and tissues into a nearby bin. "Why didn't you remind me earlier?! I could've cleaned even before she even got here!"

"Because she's a lunatic who doesn't give a crap about messes one way or another..." Fang turned the page of her magazine. "She'll be too busy fawning over you to notice the cockroaches, anyway."

Vanille let out a muffled shriek. "There aren't really-?!"

Fang waved her off with a grin. "Teasing, teasing, just relax..." She set down her magazine after a moment, swiveling in her chair to face Vanille. "Don't pick up too much of it; looks more natural with a bit of rubbish, anyway."

Vanille began to huff under her breath, but she quickly busied herself with snatching up most of the more obvious pieces of litter, tossing them away into the bin to join their fellows.

After a while, Fang reached back to pick up her magazine, but a strange, yet familiar thought crossed her mind; she found herself lingering on the image of late-night visions, of pale, rippled scars, strewn alongside a drifting, fluttering white... But the more she focused on it, the more each figure began to fade, so after a while, Fang simply shook her head, before she stood up to aid her sister with the current task at hand.