Chapter 5: Explanations

Lightning woke up at ten thirty in the morning, tired as hell, and she groaned as she dragged herself out of bed, having to make two attempts. She stumbled down the stairs and found a perky looking Serah cooking some pancakes for breakfast. Serah looked over at Lightning and said "Good morning, Claire! How are you this morning?" Lightning grumbled as she slumped into a chair at the table "Bloody terrible." Serah chuckled and asked "Coffee?" Lightning rested her chin on the table and replied "Please ..."

Serah chuckled again and quickly turned on the electric kettle before flipping a pancake over on the stove and pulling a cup out of the cupboard above her. She placed the pancake on the mound of pancakes she made for Lightning and passed it to her with a knife and fork. Lightning slowly jerked herself off of the table and started spooning ice-cream and some honey on them, topping it off with a strawberry. Serah made two coffees, both white with one spoon of sugar and placed them on the table before grabbing her own pancakes and put on the same toppings as Lightning's.

While eating breakfast, Serah asked "What's this new case about? According to Snow, you're trying to arrest a kid." Lightning sighed after gulping down a bit of her coffee and said "Actually, the 'kid' is a teenager, nearly an adult. He's a seventeen year old boy called 'Hope Estheim'." Serah spat her coffee into her mug at this and started coughing. Lightning looked concerned at her and was about to stand up when Serah looked up at her and exclaimed "WHAT?!" with watery eyes from choking on her coffee. Lightning repeated slowly while still staring at her "I'm after a seventeen year old called 'Hope Estheim'."

Serah shook her head slowly and said quietly "He was a friend of mine in primary school." Lightning's jaw dropped and she gasped "What?!" Serah continued with a slightly louder voice "He was a quiet boy when I met him, with fairly friendly parents. He was introverted, shy, but a really kind and gentle boy. He was my friend for three years until he had to move schools for some reason." She looked up at Lightning and asked "What happened to him?"

Lightning closed her eyes and sighed again, not wanting to hurt Serah's feelings, but she had the right to know. She looked at Serah with slightly sad and stern eyes and replied "Ever since he turned eight years old, he became violent towards the people that bullied him. He must've moved schools because of it. He then started to start fights, his grades started to drop, and he began rebelling against his parents. However, by the time he became a teenager, he started to drink, he started severely injuring his fellow students, in fact he nearly killed one, and his parents caught him smoking when he was fifteen. However, two nights ago, he wrote hate messages all over the walls of his parent's house in spray paint, and he used a low-powered bomb to destroy the bottom of his house."

Serah lightly and shakily gasped, cupping her hands over her mouth with widened eyes. Lightning sighed yet again and she continued "However, that's not all. Last night, he participated in a massive teenaged party in the Slums, and he escaped when things started getting violent. However, around three to four hours before that, a drunk man tried to mug him, who was called Kefka Mackenzie, some drunken stoner Snow went to high school with, and, in either self defence or on purpose, Hope had killed him."

"NO!" Serah yelled as she jumped to her feet. Lightning looked at her shocked, and Serah's breathing had turned ragged and deep. Serah slowly sat down and placed her elbow on the tabletop with her hand covering her crying eyes. Lightning's shoulders sagged at this and she stood up and sat at Serah's side, hugging her to her body. Serah cried into Lightning's chest and Lightning murmured "I'm going to tell Hope's parents after breakfast. Do you want to see them?" She felt Serah nod and Lightning rubbed Serah's back as she got all over her tears out.

After Serah had calmed down, the pair finished their breakfast and rode on Lightning's velocycle to Felix Heights.

They eventually reached the half destroyed house and Serah looked at it heartbrokenly. Lightning squeezed her shoulder in reassurance and Lightning knocked on the damaged door. The door opened and Nora Estheim stood in the doorway and gave Lightning a smile "Good morning, Ms. Farron!" she greeted, "How may I help you?" Lightning replied sadly "I have some information about your son and his whereabouts, but first, I want to introduce my little sister, Serah Farron."

Nora looked at Serah and her eyes widened. "Serah?!" she gasped "I-Is that really you?!" Serah smiled slightly and replied "Indeed it is, Mrs. Estheim. Nine years is a long time." Nora smiled and hugged her, a gesture she returned and she called out into the ruined house after she let go "Bartholomew! Ms. Farron is back, along with her little sister, Serah!" A male voice exclaimed in shock "Serah?!" and Bartholomew Estheim came into view. He smiled and greeted "My goodness Serah, it's good to see you! You've grown into quite the lady!" She smiled back and greeted "Thank you, Bartholomew. You both haven't aged a day."

He waved the two inside and Nora asked as she sat the pair at the slightly scorched table "So, how have you been, Serah?" Serah smiled and replied "I have been going really well! I've become a primary school teacher, although I'm not teaching just yet, and I have just gotten engaged." Nora screeched "WHAT?!" while Bartholomew looked completely and utterly stunned. Serah laughed softly and expanded "My boyfriend, Snow Villiers, proposed at the Bodhum Fireworks Display two weeks ago. Lightning wasn't really too happy with my decision, but she eventually allowed it." Nora and Bartholomew smiled at that and Nora said "Well we wish you all the best Serah. But now onto the matter of our son. You said you have news."

Lightning nodded with a serious face and Serah looked depressed. Lightning reported "Hope was followed by one of Snow's co-workers, but he had lost sight of Hope after he escaped via the exit in the Eastern Slums. However, we know that he is heading to Eden, and that co-worker is tailing him now." Bartholomew nodded and said "That is good news. But I have the feeling that something else had happened." Lightning paused and said sadly "However, before he escaped for Eden, he was part of a party that had turned violent at three this morning in the Western Slums. He escaped to the Eastern side of the Slums before the police got there. However, at around midnight, a drunken man that Snow had gone to school with had tried to mug your son. He was a drug dealer and a drunk called Kefka Mackenzie. But, either out of self defence, or on purpose, your son killed him."

"NO!" Nora screamed, looking between the two sisters with widened eyes. When Serah looked away, rubbing her arm, and when Lightning wouldn't falter her hard and sad gaze, Nora placed her face in her hands and started crying her eyes out. Bartholomew on the other hand was speechless, pale faced and slack jawed, and he stuttered "How … wha … did … kill?!" Lightning looked at the table top and said "There were five stab wounds to Kefka's chest, two of with were fatal. One had most likely piercing his pancreas, and the other had definitely pierced his right lung. There were also minor cuts on his forearms and biceps, so there was a struggle. However, despite the amount of stab wounds, he was most likely trying to defend himself since there were signs of a struggle, Kefka was trying to mug him and Hope wouldn't want his criminal record to get even worse by adding 'murder' to it. Hope probably just got carried away, so he might get off with manslaughter instead."

Bartholomew was silent and Nora whispered "Oh god, Hope. How far have you gone?"