Disclaimer: Ander is mine. Everyone else, not so much. FFXIII belongs to SE.
Song used: Hair by Lady Gaga(which I will no forever associate with Serah -.-)
Ander's house was quiet and homy. That was the first thing Serah noticed when entering the medium sized house. There was a hallway leading into the kitchen from the front door and the walls of it were covered in paintings. There were some of the beaches in Bohdum, some of forest and skys, some of different GC memebers and there was even one of Ander and her team.
Serah stopped in her treck into the house to touch her finger to the painted picture of her sister. She frowned, thinking of where she might be and if she was mad at her or not.
''But don't forget. If you really are a L'Cie, then it's my job to deal with you.''
Lightning sounded so sure of herself. Like she would kill her own sister if it came to that. That thought made Serah even more depressed. She didn't like when she and her sister fought. It happened very rarely but when it did, it usually ended badly. That's why she didn't want to tell her sister at first, but she knew if she didn't find out from her then she would still find out eventually. There was nothing she could have done.
The pinkette could hear Ander talking on a phone in the kitchen. She had said that she would clear everything up and then they would get going. Serah really needed to thank her again. She had done it about three times since the brunette had agreed to come with her but she just wanted to make sure the younger girl knew just how much this meant to her. It's not every day you meet someone who would willingly travel with you after you just met.
Serah brought her hand away from the painting and made her way into the kitchen. She was very surprised to see a white siberian husky standing curled around Ander. It heard her come in and bared its teeth at her. ''Um..'' was all she could think to say. She didn't know that Ander had a dog.
''Alright. Yea. I think so. Hold on.'' Ander said and turned her attention to Serah, ignoring the rabid looking dog at her feet.
''Okay, so my boss is all for it. He never liked the idea of the purge in the first place and since you are the family of a former GC he doesn't see any problem with not purging you.'' she said, placing the phone against her shoulder so that she could have her full attention on Serah.
Serah was silent for a moment as she backed up against a wall to keep her distance away from the dog. ''Um...cool.'' was all she could think to say as she kept her eyes on the canine at all time. It's eyes were starting to freak her out. It looked like it wanted to eat her!
''And he said that I could come one on condition.'' Serah moved her eyes up to Ander. ''We have to convince Lightning to rejoin the Guardian Corp.''
''Oh is that it?'' Serah asked, giving a sort of awkward laugh when Ander's dog snarled at her. ''No problem. I can handle that.''
''You sure?''
''Yea. I think...'' Lightning always did everything in her power to make Serah happy and the younger Farron hoped that she could convince her. The two of them were having a tiff right now but the least she could do is try.
''Alright then.'' Ander responded and turned her attention back to the phone. She was actually really surprised that Dover was going to let her go, but then again he did profit from this. Lightning was about to get a promotion before she quit and she is one of the best fighters GC has. They could only benefit with having her back.
She put the phone to her ear, ''Leiutenant. That request is definitely in our power, sir.''
He seemed really happy about this as he said. ''Good. You are dismissed then and don't worry about your team. I'll explain.''
''Thank you so much, sir. I will try and complete this task quickly.'' Ander said, ignoring the slight chill she felt when Skyler walked away from her.
''Thank you. I'll see you when you get back.''
''Yes. Good bye.'' Ander said and hung up the phone. She looked over to Serah and raised an eyebrow. Skyler was only about a foot away from Serah, who had grabbed the nearest object, a ketchup bottle, and was holding it in the dog's direction to keep distance between them. Sky's teeth were bared and he had a look of killing intent visible in his eyes.
''Ander. Why is he so angry at me? What did I do?'' Serah pointed to the dog as he practically had her backed up into a corner.
Ander sighed and walked over to Skyler. ''He thinks you are an imposter.''
''An imposter?'' Serah asked, feeling great relief when the younger girl took the dog's attention away from her.
''Of Lightning. Your hair is on the left like hers and your scent is probably almost the same as hers.'' the brunette said and forced the dog to look at her, giving Skyler a hard stare. ''Now listen, Sky. This is Serah. Not Lightning.'' the dog seemed to understand and relaxed some. He took an unsure step towards the pinkette.
''Serah.'' Ander said, getting her attention. ''Just relax and stay still.''
Serah gulped and hesistantly put down her ketchup bottle. She kept her hands at her sides. ''Okay.''
Skyler went up to her and sniffed her hand and then walked in a circle around her, sniffing. ''What's he-?'' Serah tried to ask only to be shushed at. When the dog finished his circle, he licked Serah's hand and sat down, looking up at her with a cute face.
''What?'' the pinkette asked, confused about what the fudge just happened.
''He was learning your scent so that he knows your a friend and not a foe.'' the younger girl said, patting Sky's head affectionately. ''Sorry about that, he's a GC dog.'' Ander said, pulling back on Skyler's collar when he went to sniff her again.
''Oooooh.'' Serah said, realizing that that made a lot of sense. ''So that's how he knows sis.''
The brunette nodded. ''He used to come into work all the time.'' Ander said, turning around and heading up the stairs that were against the left wall of the room.
''Used to?'' Serah asked, following her. She noticed that the younger girl wasn't really a talkative person. Her sentences were short and she seemed really tense. The pinkette didn't mind, though. Her sister was almost the same way. So she was used to it and she made up for it by trying to be the more talkative of the two. If they both were quiet then they're journey together would be both boring and awkward. Plus Serah thought it would benefit her if she learned a bit about Ander and hoped they could be friends.
''He's retired now.''
''Why?'' the pinkette asked, stopping on the stairs and looked back into the kitchen at Skyler, who had made himself comfortable on the floor. ''He doesn't look that young.''
''It's...'' Ander said, turning to the right and entering a room. ''complicated. Come in here.''
The older girl took the rest of the stairs two at a time and went into the room. This room had wood flooring and brown wallpaper. It had a serious atmosphere due to what was located within. There were swords, guns, maces, scythes. Basically anything someone would imagine when they thought of a weapon shop.
Serah looked around in awe at all the variety. ''What's-?''
''My father's weapon collection.'' Ander said. She was holding a rather large looking gun that looked similar to Lightning's, only this one was bigger, shinier and looked even more deadly. The young GC pressed a button on the weapon and it smoothly flipped open into a sword. ''This was his favorite.'' she said and smiled to herself for a moment before removing her own gun and putting that one in its place. She looked over at Serah. ''I know that you know that we might have to fight out there so take your pick. Anything you want.''
Serah wrung her hands and looked around. There was so much to choose from. ''Are you sure he won't get mad that we're taking his stuff?'' she asked hesistantly. She didn't want to just take someone's things without asking.
''I'm sure.'' Ander said, nodding.
''If you're sure.'' Serah said and walked around the room, looking for something that caught her eye. She didn't want a gun because the one time Snow let her try one, she almost took his head off. She smiled at the memory of her boyfriend and wondered where he was too. Knowing him, he was probably looking for her right now. She missed him so much and only hoped that he wasn't getting into too much trouble. They had never been seperated for this long in all the 13 months that they have been together.
She sighed as she thought of her love. She wished she could see him again soon. His loving smile, his soft kisses, his larges hands that hers fit so well with. Serah turned her thoughts around and continued with her task of picking something. There were times for thoughts like that and now wasn't it. The pinkette walked curiously through the room as she thought. She didn't want a sword because she would have to get in close to attack something. She picked up a scythe. It was long and looked to be very sturdy, but it was too heavy. She frowned and put it back.
''Do you have something that's a little lighter?'' Serah asked, looking back at Ander over her shoulder.
The younger girl jumped slightly when the pinkette spoke. She had been admiring her father's gunblade and had almost forgotten that she was there. She was going to have to get used to being around Serah, she mused. It was different, but it wasn't that bad. At least she wasn't rude or overly talkative.
Ander leaned back against a wall, making sure to rest her head against it rather than the sharp sword that rested about two inches above her. ''Hm...'' she crossed her arms and looked around. ''I have some light pistols...''
Serah made a face. ''Do you have any long ranged weapon that isn't a gun? I...don't have very good aim with those things.'' she gave a sheepish smile.
''I...don't think so. Father favored guns more than anything else. The only other thing I could think of is that hammer he got for cheap in Mibgar.''
''Where is it?'' Serah asked, an excited gleam coming to her eye. She'd take anything over a gun.
Ander frowned at her. The hammer has never been used before and she didn't know how sturdy it was. In fact, she didn't even remember what it looked like. It could have been an incredibly small hammer for all she knew. ''I...it's in the closet over there.'' she said, pointing to the door on the other side of the room.
Serah went over to it and opened the door. There were a few boxes on the floor and a light hanging overhead. She pulled the light's string and the room was lit up instantly. She crouched down and went through the boxes. There was one that had a medieval mace in it, a shot gun and even a cross bow. ''Is it the one that doesn't have any labels on it?'' she asked. The box was really long and there was nothing indicating what lurked inside.
''I think so.''
The pinkette took one of her long nails and slid it against the pieces of tape that held the box together. When all of them were cut, she put the box on the ground and opened it. ''Oh, wow!'' Serah said and picked up the mallet. It was dark red and a little bit shorter than her height. She got up off the ground and got a feel for the weight. ''It's perfect!'' she said and swung it around a little, being careful not to hit anything.(Okay, for this hammer, it's sort of like Meru's from Legend of Dragoon cept it's longer and wider.)
''Is that the one you want?'' Ander asked, looking over the mallet. It wasn't anything like she thought it would be.
''Uh huh.'' Serah said, smiling at her. ''It's long so I don't have to worry about getting too close.'' She trailed her fingers over the leaf pattern on the hilt of the hammer and grinned.
Ander nodded and left the room. She wasn't surprised when she heart peppy footsteps follow her. She wondered for a moment what it would be like traveling with and protecting Serah. She knew that it would most likely be her that did most of the fighting and tracking. It would be hard, but she also knew that it was necessary. She could get a lot of experience for doing this and it wouldn't be that bad. At least she wasn't alone.
'Just keep your eyes on the prize.' she thought to herself and jumped over Skyler, who was resting on the floor, to get to the phone again. She needed to give Rachel a call so she could take care of Sky while she was gone.
''Do you need any help getting everything ready to go?'' Serah asked when she came downstairs. She was fiddling with her mallet, trying to figure out how she hook a piece of leather strapping to her skirt. She found it in the box and realized that the hammer could bend and then attach to the strap so she wouldn't have to carry it. ''And is um...'' she suddenly realized that she didn't know his name. ''he coming with us?'' she asked, nodding her head to the dog.
''His name is Skyler and I don't think that's a good idea. He hasn't worked in months.'' Ander said, trying to remember Rachel's number.
''Why not take him though? If you think about it, he could help us. Hasn't he been trained to track people?'' Serah asked, smiling at the dog when he looked up at her.
''Yea but... I never went out with him before.''
''Well what could be a better time to try than now?'' the pinkette asked, not seeing why Skyler couldn't come. He could track Lightning down probably a lot faster than they can.
''I don't know...'' Ander looked at Sky and frowned.
''What do we really have to lose?'' Serah said. ''And just look at him, he's practically begging you.''
Sky laid on his side and panted, giving his master a hopeful look. She stared into his eyes and the two of them faced off for a moment before she finally gave in. Serah was right. Sky could be of use and she would miss him if she was away for that long. ''Fine. But he better not get in our way.'' she said and called Rachel to tell her that she didn't need to take care of Skyler while she was gone.
To Ander's surprise, Skyler didn't need any leash or reprimanding. He stayed right by the two of them as they made their way to the train station. She had put a collar and little vest on him that said 'GC dog at work. Do not pet.' and he seemed really calm and perceptive. He didn't try to run around or anything rambuncious like he usually did when she took him out on walks. She guessed that her father must have trained him really hard for him to know to be calm when he had his vest on.
The girls had packed up a lot of food and water for their trip and they each had matching red packs on their left legs so they could carry the provisions easily. It took a while for Serah's to get strapped on but once it was, it stayed on just fine. They guessed that Lightning took off in the direction of the Hanging Edge because they assumed that she would want to go after Serah and that was where the Pulse Vestige was taken. The pinkette didn't tell Ander what the Pulse Vestige had to do with anything really, all she said was that she knew Lightning would be looking for it. The GC guessed that Lightning thought Serah might be purged or something and didn't push the matter any more than that. She wasn't here to befriend Serah, she was here to get experience.
''So then we ended up covered in whipped cream and soap suds. It was funny.'' Serah laughed as she told some story that Ander wasn't really interested about but found funny anyway. ''Snow couldn't stay upright and he kept falling down and knocking things over. When Lightning got home she sure wasn't too happy.'' she said, remembering the look of pure rage that came over his elder sister's face when she came home to find her house covered with white soap and cream. ''She made him wash everything by hand, even the carpets!'' she laughed again and then turned her attention to her quiet companion.
''So what about you?''
''What about me?'' Ander asked, keeping her eyes foreward as she walked.
''Do you have a sister?'' Serah asked, curious. Besides her name and her tendency to be quiet, she didn't know much about the other girl.
The brunette GC shook her head. ''No. I'm an only child.''
Serah frowned. ''Oh. That's gotta be tough, huh?'' she said, grabbing her hands behind her back and kicking a rock with her foot. ''I couldn't imagine not having my sister.''
Ander was silent, listening to the sounds of the trees swaying in the cool night breeze. She didn't really want to talk but she needed to ask Serah, this had been bugging her ever since she first met her, ''Why were you alone in the woods? Shouldn't you be with Lightning or...your boyfriend...'' his name escaped her.
''Snow.'' Serah corrected.
''Yes.''
''Well...'' the pinkette started. She didn't want to tell Ander the real reason she was there. She didn't know herself actually, she only had a vague idea of why she might have been there. ''We got seperated...when the purge started and I tried to make it to Treno to get away from everything. But I guess I got a little lost...'' she lied.
''That's the biggest understatement ever.'' Ander said, frowning but believing her anyway. She ended the conversation there and they soon made it to the station. The girls made their way to the platform that led to the Hanged Edge and Ander went up to the man that was on duty at the desk beside the train. He must have recognized her glowling arm guard for he didn't question why they were there.
''Good evening, ladies. I didn't expect to see anyone out here so late.'' he said, smiling. He looked really old and had a greying mustache.
''We need transportation to the Hanged Edge, if you would be so kind, sir.'' Ander said politely, patting Skyler's head when he nudged her hand with his nose.
The man nodded and turned to his computer. He punched a few keys and turned back to the girls. ''Alright there ladies. You should be all set to go. Might I ask, though, why you would want to go there? I would think people would want to stay away from the Pulse Vestige, not go to it.'' he asked, laughing a bit.
''We're looking for someone.'' Serah said politely.
''Well I wish to you the best of luck in finding them.'' he said and opened the doors to the train through his computer. The train wasn't that big, it only had two cars on it because the longer trains already made their way there.
''Thank you.'' Both Serah and Ander said together and boarded the train. It looked like they would be the only ones on it but Ander couldn't care less. She would rather have it that way then be jammed between lots of people. She helped Sky get aboard the train while Serah waved good bye to the old man through the window.
The doors shut once they were all in and they went on their way.
Awesome! Now the action can really start! I can't wait. I will warn you guys, though. I stink at writing action scenes -.- but I'll try for you, promise. And btw, I hope you guys like Serah's weapon. I wanted to give her something fun and this just came to me. :]
Please review peeps and I'll see you next time, silly gooses. Beh!
~Migoto Nami
