Chapter Seven
Author's Note: Hi, everyone! Here is the seventh installment of Christmas with Fang. This is the second to last installment, so the next chapter I post will be the last one. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story and also to everyone who has reviewed. It makes me really happy to know that so many people like my stories. :D I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own FFXIII or any of the characters in the game, but I use the characters with the utmost respect.
Serah hummed pleasantly to herself as she pushed open the door to Lightning's bathroom and peeked inside to make sure that her sister was not there. Lightning had stopped leaving her room very much over the past two days, so Serah thought that she would help her by cleaning up different parts of the house. She had already cleaned the entire downstairs, the basement, and all of the bathrooms in the house besides her older sister's and the bathroom in the attic, which she had decided she would not go near until Fang was no longer sick.
Walking into Lightning's bathroom, Serah flicked on the lights and reached behind her to tug a bucket of cleaning supplies into the room. She started with the shower, wiping down the walls with a cleaning product that smelled fresh and pleasant. Then she cleaned the toilet and wiped down the counter and the mirror. On a whim, she opened the medicine cabinet to make sure that her sister did not have any empty bottles of which she could dispose. She raised her brows, chuckling to herself, as she realized that Lightning actually used more hair product than she did.
Serah took all the bottles out of the medicine cabinet and reorganized them for her sister, meticulously placing each one in the proper spot so that there was as much free space as possible. When she was just about to close the cabinet and clean the floor, one of the pill bottles, which had been balanced precariously on the edge of the shelf, fell out. It ricocheted off of the counter before rolling behind the toilet.
"At least I already cleaned the toilet," Serah mumbled to herself as she crouched down, leaning against the seat and grasping for the bottle. "Stupid pills."
While standing up, Serah glanced at the bottle to see what she had knelt against the toilet to retrieve and she nearly dropped it again. The medication, which she had coincidentally read about in an article less than two weeks ago, was most commonly prescribed for Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder.
"The doctor must have given Claire someone else's medication," Serah mused, reflexively turning over the bottle to read the label.
Her eyes widened in horror as she realized that it actually had been prescribed to her older sister. Even worse than that, the bottle was half empty, which meant that Lightning had actually been taking the drugs. Serah glanced into the trashcan and noticed that there was another pill bottle half buried under a pile of tissues. Her curiosity got the best of her and she dug out the empty pill bottle with a clean tissue, reading it with a look of shock.
"Claire, why didn't you ever tell me?" Serah whispered, tears filling her eyes.
She could not believe that her older sister had had to carry such a burden all on her own. What must it be like inside Lightning's head? Was she constantly worried that her other personalities might take over and harm or trick the people that she cared about? Did she sometimes switch personalities while in their presence?
"Oh my!" Serah suddenly squeaked. "Are Claire and Lightning even the same person? No wonder she hates when we call her by her real name!"
Serah placed the pill bottle on the counter and covered her face with her hands, taking a deep breath as she tried to calm down. She did not want to judge her sister or treat her any differently, but she felt as though her entire life was a lie. How had Lightning kept the secret for so long? How long had she even kept it? Even more frightening, how many personalities did she have? Did she sometimes do things that she could not remember?
A lightbulb suddenly went off over Serah's head and she felt extremely guilty. So many strange things had been happening in the house lately, and Fang had been blamed for every single one of them in spite of the fact that both she and Vanille had sworn that she did not play any pranks. What if she really was innocent? What if Lightning or Claire or another personality that Serah did not know about had committed all of those acts and the real Claire/Lightning/whoever had blamed Fang because she did not know any better?
Serah covered her mouth to stifle a gasp of anguish as she thought about her poor sister. She loved Claire so much and she wanted to help her, but was there anything she could do?
Forgetting the cleaning supplies in the bathroom, Serah immediately raced down the stairs in search of Snow. He would know what to do.
After searching for a long time, Serah finally tracked down Snow, who was attempting to fix one of the air cars in the garage. She convinced him to come into the kitchen with her and made sure that no one else was nearby before tugging him toward the sink.
"Serah, what's wrong?" Snow placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Hey, what's going on?" Snow tugged her into his arms, running his fingers up and down her back as she cuddled against him. "Did something happen?"
"I-I'm okay."
"Did Fang play another prank on you?" Snow demanded suddenly, for he was determined to make Fang answer for it if she had.
"N-No, it's nothing like that." Serah frowned. "I wonder if Fang actually played any pranks at all except for the one that she admitted to."
"What do you mean?" Snow's eyebrows shot up. "Fang played a lot of pranks while we were all traveling together."
"I know. Claire told me that, but still..." Serah bit her lip and looked up at him. "Snow, I found something in Claire's bathroom."
Snow tried to think of what she could have found that would upset her so much. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I feel so guilty for not knowing," Serah whispered.
Eyes widening, Snow gasped, "Is Claire pregnant?!"
"What?" Serah gasped, looking at him. "Has Claire been seeing someone?"
"I don't know." Snow shrugged. "That's all I could think of."
"Well, it's not that. Do you promise you won't tell anyone?"
"Of course. Serah, everything we talk about is completely private." He smiled warmly. "I would never, ever betray or hurt you. We're getting married."
Serah smiled faintly, lowering her eyes, and told Snow about the medication she had found. "At first, I thought they belonged to someone else, but they were prescribed to her."
"Really? Light seemed fine when we were traveling together." Snow frowned thoughtfully. "Could this be a recent thing?"
"I don't know, but if it is then I'm responsible!" Serah gasped tearfully.
"Hey, no you're not." Snow placed his hands on either side of her face and massaged her cheeks with his thumbs. "Serah, you didn't do anything. You love your sister, and she loves you."
"But everything happened because of me," Serah cried. "If I hadn't become a l'Cie..."
"You didn't choose that," Snow assured her, hugging her tightly to himself.
Serah nodded into his shoulder, wiping her tears away. "I'm so worried about her."
There was suddenly a faint thud in the family room, causing Serah to pull back with wide eyes. "What was that? Was someone listening?"
"I'll find out," Snow promised before racing out of the room. A second later he poked his head back into the kitchen. "There's no one here."
Serah pouted nervously, knowing Claire would never forgive her if her secret was revealed.
"I have to go back upstairs and clean up so Claire doesn't know that I know," Serah exclaimed suddenly. "I'll be back."
"Do you want help?" Snow asked gently.
"No, but thank you." Serah crossed the room to peck his cheek. "We have to pretend that everything is normal, so just go back and finish working on the air cars. I'll take care of the rest."
"Are you sure?" Snow touched her shoulder. "If you need me…"
"I'm okay, I promise." Serah placed her hand on top of his. "It's Claire that I'm worried about."
Xxx
Vanille opened the door to the attic and slipped quietly inside before shutting it gently behind her and sneaking to her bed. She had intended to get Fang some tea before the other woman awoke, since she knew that she was still sick and she wanted to take care of her so that she would be better by Christmas Eve in three days. Unfortunately, she had happened upon a rather private conversation that caused her to scurry back up the stairs.
What she had heard had left her shocked, curious and desiring more information, but she did not want to ask Serah. Could it actually be true that Lightning had some kind of...disorder? Vanille was not even sure what a disorder really meant, but she had heard something about multiple personalities.
As Vanille climbed back into bed, Fang stirred and glanced sleepily at her. "What're you doing up so early in the morning?"
"It's almost eleven," Vanille replied with an unintentionally troubled smile. "It's not early."
"What's wrong?" Fang asked immediately.
"Nothing." Vanille shook her head. "You rest. I want you to get better."
"I'd rest a lot better if I had a little tea," Fang suggested with a playful grin.
"Oh." Vanille lowered her eyes and bit her lip nervously. "I can get you some in a little while."
Fang eyed her suspiciously. "All right, what's going on? Did something happen downstairs? If anyone's accused you of anything—"
"No, it's not like that. It's really not a big deal."
"I'm not buying that, and since you got me sick, I think you should tell me the truth," Fang replied firmly, though a smile lingered beneath her frown. "Did you do something bad?"
"I guess I can tell you, but you've gotta promise not to tell anyone, Fang. It's really serious."
"Did something happen?" Fang raised her brows.
"I didn't hear the whole conversation, but I think Lighting might be sick." Vanille furrowed her brows with worry. "Serah found some medicine in her bathroom. It was something for a disorder. I think Serah said multiple personalities. She was really upset, especially since Lightning never told her.
Fang pursed her lips, remaining silent.
"Fang?" Vanille tilted her head curiously. "What're you thinking?"
Averting her eyes, Fang replied sheepishly, "I'm thinking you're gonna be mad at me."
Vanille's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, Fang, you didn't."
"I forgot about that prank," Fang insisted, biting her lip. "I set it up ages ago before you asked me to stop. I figured someone would find them eventually, but then I forgot to take 'em away."
"Oh, Fang..." Vanille shook her head with disapproval. "What do we do? If we tell everyone, Lighting'll throw us out for sure. Why'd you have to do all this? They'll never invite us back."
With an apologetic look, Fang reached out to touch her face. "I'm sorry, Vanille. I got carried away. You know me. I wouldn't know I was going too far if the Maker told me so."
"But that's why you should listen to me," Vanille whined, crawling across the bed and snuggling into her arms. "That's why you should always tell about your pranks."
"I promised I'd stop," Fang protested innocently. "There won't be any more pranks."
Vanille pulled back to look at her, eyes narrowed playfully. "For now."
Fang laughed. "You know me too well, don't you?"
"I hope so." Vanille rested against her, burying her face in Fang's neck. "What if Lightning kills you?"
"I'm definitely stronger than her," Fang replied dismissively, wrapping her arms around Vanille's waist. "Anyway, how long d'you think we have to wait before you make that tea?"
Vanille pulled back to narrow her eyes.
"What?" Fang pouted. "My throat's really dry."
"I dunno," Vanille replied as she snuggled against her again. "Maybe an hour or so. They didn't catch me, but they knew someone was there. If I go back down, they'll know I'm the only one awake."
"Is it really so bad if you know? With the way these people talk, everyone'll know by the end of the day anyway."
"That means Lightning'll know too, Fang." Vanille sighed nervously. "She'll know it was you."
"It's not like she's exactly innocent. She played pranks, too. Remember what happened to Serah? And what about dying Hope's hair green? It wasn't me, and I doubt he'd do it to himself just to get me in trouble. Who do you think it was?"
"Lightning?" Vanille gasped. "She blamed all those things on you!"
"I know." Fang ran her fingers through her hair. "Now, since I can't have tea, I'm going back to sleep."
"Okay." Vanille kissed her cheek. "I'll wake you up when I get the tea."
"What're you gonna do until then?" Fang asked with a faint grin.
"I'm going back to sleep, too," Vanille proclaimed, cuddling against her.
"Sounds good to me." Fang nuzzled against her, kissing her forehead.
xxx
Fang's prediction had been slightly incorrect. Everyone knew about Lightning's predicament by lunch time. In fact, the only person who did not know by midday was Lightning, who was still holed up in her room. Hope had walked into the kitchen for a glass while Serah and Snow were still talking, and even though he tried to pretend that they had stopped talking quickly enough, it was clear from his wide-eyed expression that he had heard the most important details. Serah promptly swore Hope to secrecy, but Hope still accidentally let the story slip to Sazh when he returned to the basement for a morning shower. Dajh seemed to be the only one who did not really understand what was happening or think it was a big deal.
Within half an hour, Sazh was sitting at the kitchen table discussing the situation with Serah and Snow. He was a very knowledgeable man, so he was only concerned for Lightning's health and the safety of everyone in the house. After all, if one of Lighting's personalities was rampantly playing rather nasty pranks and then framing Fang, then she might not be properly taking her medication.
"I think the best thing to do is talk to Lightning about this," Sazh explained.
Serah shook her head, protesting, "But what if—"
"Hear me out first, Serah," Sazh interrupted. "You're gonna say that Lightning's your sister and you don't wanna make her feel bad. However, we all need to make sure we're safe. If Lightning doesn't realize that her medication isn't working, then she isn't even aware of what's happening. She needs to see her doctor immediately."
"It just seems like a cruel thing to bring up..." Serah bit her lip. "Should I talk to her, Snow?"
"I don't think it should be anyone but you," Snow replied with a sad look. "Sazh is right. I know it seems cruel, but Claire could be in trouble. We need to help and support her."
Serah nodded, looking away. "I guess you're right, but we could at least wait until the afternoon. We usually all go outside, so I'll just talk to her then."
"That's fine." Sazh frowned worriedly as he stared into his coffee cup. "I really didn't expect this. I traveled with Lightning for a long time and she seemed completely fine."
"I lived with Claire my whole life and she seemed completely fine," Serah added meekly. "I just wish she would have told me about this. I could have helped. I could have—"
"You know how Claire is, Serah," Snow murmured reassuringly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "She would never admit that she needed someone's help."
"I know, but I—"
A noise in the hallway silenced Serah and the three of them stared at the entrance to the kitchen with wide eyes. Lightning promptly walked through the door, and for one horrible moment, everyone thought that she must have heard them. Even Sazh and Snow looked mildly frightened about what might happen, because the look on Lightning's face was cold and irritated.
"Hi." Lightning paused, staring at the three of them with furrowed brows. "What's wrong?"
Serah looked away, her smile unconvincing. "Nothing. Why?"
"Did Fang play another prank?" Lightning studied each of their faces. "If she did, you can just tell me and I'll go kill her."
"N-No, really. Nothing's wrong." Serah stood from her seat and gathered the cups that she and Snow had been drinking as she moved toward the sink.
"Serah, the sink is still broken," Lightning warned, frowning. "Why are your hands shaking?"
"What? Oh, my hands..." Serah stared at her fingers for a moment before shrugging and plastering a grin on her face. "I don't know. I guess I drank too much coffee." A hollow laugh escaped her lips. "Anyway, I'm going to wash these cups in the bathroom."
As Serah hustled out the door, Lightning called after her, "We have a dishwasher!"
Serah pretended not to hear her and scurried away.
Lightning shrugged and pulled and apple out of the fridge before turning around to join Snow and Sazh at the table. She watched them with a frown on her face as she ate, because neither of them would look at her and they were being suspiciously silent. Eventually, she could not stand it.
"What's wrong with the two of you?" Lightning demanded, her lips pursed.
"W-What? Nothing's wrong." Snow smiled weakly at her. "What could be wrong? It's just a regular morning. Anyway, there's something I wanted to fix in the garage, so I should go."
He was out of his seat before she could protest.
"I better go downstairs and wake up Dajh. He needs to take a bath because I couldn't get him to take one last night," Sazh explained before he practically jumped out of his chair and disappeared through the doorway.
Lightning stared after the two of them, her eyes narrowed, and tried to figure out what could possibly be going on. The entire situation reeked of one of Fang's pranks, but the other woman had been bedridden for almost three days, not even coming downstairs for meals.
The ex-soldier's eyes widened as she realized that there was another alternative. If Fang was pretending to be sick, it would be easy for her to sneak around upstairs during the day and play pranks without anyone suspecting her. There was also another less likely but equally possible explanation: Vanille could be completing Fang's pranks for her while the other woman was resting in bed. It would make a lot more sense if they had been a team the entire time.
Hope suddenly walked into the kitchen, but he jumped when he spotted Lightning. Taking a step backwards, he exclaimed, "O-Oh. I didn't know anyone was in here."
Lightning narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"H-Huh?" Hope took another step away from her. "Oh, it's nothing. I just realized I forgot something in the kitchen."
"This is the kitchen." Lightning's frustration grew. "What's going on? No one will talk to me and you're acting weird."
"W-What do you mean?" Hope laughed awkwardly. "I meant I forgot something in the basement, not the kitchen. I'll be right back."
As the teenager suddenly raced into the family room and then practically threw himself down the basement stairs, Lightning decided that she needed to know what was going on immediately. Sighing in irritation, because she was sure whatever it was would put her right over the edge, she chucked the remains of her apple into the trash can and set out in search of her sister, the easiest target for an interrogation because Serah would feel too guilty to lie.
xxx
Lightning finally found her sister meticulously rinsing out the coffee cups in the bathroom sink. She was surprised to find her that her sister was almost crying as she scrubbed the cups over and over again. A part of her wanted to leave so that she would not have to deal with whatever emotions were plaguing her younger sister, but she just had to know what was going on.
"What's wrong?" Lightning demanded suddenly, standing in the doorway.
Serah jumped, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, nothing. I just—I—well..."
"What is it?" Lightning's voice was even more firm. "I won't let you leave the bathroom until you tell me."
"Okay." Serah lowered her eyes. "You should sit while we talk."
Lightning raised her brows, a nervous feeling creeping within her. Could someone have died? Was Fang stuck in the guest room because she was terminally ill? "I don't need to sit."
"Okay..." With a deep breath, Serah explained, "Claire, I was cleaning your bathroom this morning..."
"I told you not to go in there," Lightning growled.
"I know, and now I think I know why." Serah sniffled. "I really didn't mean to find out. I'm so sorry."
The older of the two sisters stiffened. "What are you talking about?"
"I-I found your medication," Serah whispered nervously, meeting eyes with her.
"What medication?" Lightning balked. "I don't take any."
"Claire, it's okay." Serah stepped forwards and took her hands. "I know. How long have you been keeping it from me? I just want to help you."
"Keeping what from you?" Lightning tore her hands away from her sister and narrowed her eyes. "What medication did you find?"
"The prescription you take for..." Serah bit her lip. "For your multiple personalities."
Lightning stared blankly at her for a moment before her face turned bright red. "I am going to kill Fang!"
"No, no, no!" Serah tried to take her hands again. "Claire, I know this is hard, but I think your medication hasn't been working lately. We—I think that maybe you—or a different personality—was responsible for some of the strange things that have been happening. Then maybe you blamed Fang because you just don't remember."
With her fists clenched, Lightning snapped, "I am not taking responsibility for all of Fang's pranks. I don't have any disorder, and I don't take any medication."
"Claire, please. The prescription was written out for you."
"Well, it was obviously doctored." Lightning stomped out of the bathroom, headed toward her own. "I'll prove it."
Serah sighed wearily and left the coffee mugs on the counter before hastily following her sister down the hallway. She was surprised to find that Snow was quickly on her trail and Sazh seemed to be following behind him.
"We heard yelling and got worried," Snow whispered gently as he came up beside Serah. "I didn't want you to face this alone."
With a faint smile, she whispered, "Thank you."
By the time that they had reached Lightning's bathroom, the older of the two sisters was clutching the offending pill bottle in her hands, her lips pursed. "This is obviously doctored. The pills inside are my vitamins."
Serah cleared her throat. "Claire, maybe you should rest. I can call the doctor—"
"I don't need a doctor!" Lightning turned to face them. "They don't even prescribe medication for DID. All they can do is prescribe drugs to help with the emotional problems associated with the disorder, but they don't even do that a lot because it can cause even more trauma."
Sazh raised his brows. "How do you know that?"
Lighting flushed, narrowing her eyes. "I read."
"About a disorder that you just happen to have medication for in your cabinet?" Snow asked gently. "Claire—"
"Don't call me that!" Lighting put the pill bottle on the counter and shoved past them out the door.
"Claire, where are you going?" Serah demanded nervously.
"I'm going to kill Fang!"
Everyone shared a nervous look before chasing her up the attic stairs.
"Claire, wait, please!" Serah shouted, catching up to her sister and taking her by the arm. "Vanille and Fang don't know about this yet. They haven't even come downstairs."
"Oh, but everyone else knows?" Lightning pursed her lips. "Fang knows all about this, since she's responsible."
"Let's just calm down," Sazh interrupted, approaching her slowly. "Lightning, I think you should leave Fang alone. She's already sick."
"I don't care! You all think I'm crazy because of her."
The guest room door suddenly opened and Vanille poked her head out. "What's going on?"
"Where's Fang?" Lightning placed her hand on the door like she would shove it open.
"She's in the bathroom," Vanille explained gently, biting her lip. "She feels really nauseous. I don't think you should come in."
"I bet she feels nauseous!"
"Claire, please. Let's just go downstairs. We can sort this out later," Serah suggested desperately.
Lightning looked into her sister's eyes and knew that she had to comply, but she definitely wanted to kill Fang. There was no doubt in her mind that the dark-haired Gran Pulsian had been responsible, and if she could do something so cruel that would make everyone in the house think that she was crazy, then she deserved the war that Lightning would declare on her.
"Fine, but those pills are not mine," Lightning snapped, crossing her arms and turning to stomp down the stairs.
"What pills?" Vanille whispered nervously.
Serah shook her head, smiling faintly. "It's nothing. I hope Fang feels better."
Vanille nodded and watched them leave before sighing miserably and closing the attic door.
Xxx
"Claire, are you sure you'll be okay?" Serah asked gently, furrowing her brows.
"Yes, I'm sure." Lightning crossed her arms irritably. "Go to your movie."
Snow lingered in the doorway, a look of concern flitting across his features. "You won't go after Fang while we're gone, will you? You know she's having a hard time right now."
"Oh, yeah." Lightning rolled her eyes. "It must be so hard being served hand and foot by your girlfriend while you're stuck in bed."
"Vanille is not Fang's girlfriend," Hope protested from the couch.
Lightning rolled her eyes. "I won't go after Fang. I have better things to do than beat her up while she's sick."
"Do you promise?" Serah pouted. "I won't leave otherwise."
"I promise." With another roll of her eyes, she motioned for them to go. "Hope, Sazh, and Dajh are all here to stop me."
Sazh snorted from where he was playing a video game with his son on the other side of the room, because it was doubtful that anyone would be able to stop Lightning if she were on a true rampage.
"All right." Serah smiled faintly. "Have a good night. Can you believe tomorrow's Christmas Eve?"
"Christmas Eve!" Dajh shouted excitedly. "Is that the day we get presents, daddy?"
Sazh shook his head, patting his son's shoulder. "That's Christmas Day."
"Oh." Dajh's shoulders fell. "I thought it was tomorrow."
With a faint smile, Sazh redirected his son's attention to the game.
Meanwhile, Serah waved to her sister. "We'll be back in a few hours."
"Yeah, fine."
Lightning watched the two of them go with a sigh and shut the front door behind them. It had been a while since Snow and Serah had been able to go out on a date together, and Serah had not wanted to miss the opportunity to spend a little time alone with her fiance during the holidays. While Lightning could tell from her sister's sympathetic looks that the other girl for some reason thought that it bothered her that she was going out with her fiance, it was actually quite a good thing, because it would make her plan all the easier to employ if Snow was preoccupied for the evening.
xxx
At least half an hour after Serah and Snow had left the house, it was finally time for Lightning to implement her plan. To avoid suspicion, Lightning made sure that she spent a little time with Hope, Sazh and Dajh before she moodily proclaimed that she was going to her room. She knew that none of them would follow her because they were so absorbed in their game and everyone was so afraid of her when she was upset anyway.
Once she reached her room, Lightning sat down on her bed, picked up one of the fancy new phones that Serah had forced her to buy, and dialed a number.
"Town of Troth NORA Department. This is Officer Madeline speaking. How can I help you today?"
"This is Lighting Farron. I live—"
"Oh, everyone knows where you live, dear. You've got the newest house in this fine little town," Madeline replied cheerfully. "So, what can we do for you?"
"I have a house guest staying in my attic. Her name is Yun Fang. She seemed really nice at first, but now I'm starting to think she's really dangerous." Lightning altered her voice so that it sounded as though she was frightened. "I think she has illegal weapons up there, and she's been playing dangerous pranks. I want you to come check it out."
"I'll send an officer right away, Miss Farron. Would you like to press charges against this woman? We can remove her from your home if you would like."
"No. My sister invited her here. I just want to check if she really has illegal weapons. If she does, what would happen?"
"Well, anyone caught with illegal weapons has to pay a hefty fine," Madeline explained calmly. "Don't you worry, Miss Farron. We'll find out the truth about this woman. Expect our officers in about fifteen minutes."
"Thank you."
"No problem, dear."
Lightning hung up the phone and leaned back against her pillow with a smug look. She had no idea whether or not Fang had any illegal weapons, but either way it would be a hassle for the sick girl to entertain NORA officers as they searched through all of her and Vanille's things. Listening to Fang complain later would be hilarious, and Lightning felt certain that she had finally discovered a prank that could not go wrong. The NORA officers would come, investigate, and leave, no matter what they discovered.
Around twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang and Lightning raced down the stairs.
"Are we expecting someone?" Sazh glanced up at her with a raised brow.
"Nope," Lightning replied swiftly, managing to look annoyed about the intrusion because everyone expected her to hate house guests.
Lightning pulled open the door and immediately studied the NORA officers, two middle-aged men. She had half expected Snow's friends from the original NORA group, but then she remembered that the majority of his friends had chosen to remain in Korrin because Troth was such a small, uneventful town.
"Good evening, Miss. I'm Officer Brown and this is Officer Todd." The older of the two agents held out his NORA badge. "We've come to check out your attic."
With pursed lips, Lightning made a show of taking his badge and studying it before she moved out of the way so that they could step into the house. "The attic is on the top floor. There are two doors. The first door will lead to the bedroom. I have two house guests staying there."
"All right. We'll go check it out."
As the two men immediately walked toward the stairs, Lightning glanced at the Sazh and the boys. They were still playing video games against each other and did not look like they realized who had come to the door.
With a roll of her eyes, Lightning realized that everyone was probably so used to her turning guests away that they did not even bother paying attention.
xxx
A loud knock on the attic door startled Vanille, who had been reading a book by the window while Fang dozed on the bed.
Glancing at Fang, who had not stirred, Vanille hoped nervously that it was not Lightning. She had been able to keep the other woman from seeing Fang all day, and even though Fang was mostly better, Vanille had hoped that her companion would remain in bed until tomorrow because she doubted that anyone would allow Lightning to kill Fang on Christmas Eve.
The knock sounded again, louder that time, and Vanille scurried across the room, pulling the door open a crack. Her eyes widened when it was two strange men that she had never seen before, but they did not give her time to speak.
The older of the two men held a badge out to her and she accepted it with confusion.
"Good evening, Miss." He tipped his hat. "I'm Officer Brown. This is Officer Todd. We're from NORA."
"NORA?" Vanille tilted her head curiously. "You're like protectors, right?"
"I'm sorry?" Officer Brown raised his brow.
"Well, in my village growing up, the hunters would always take care of problems if someone ever broke the rules. That's what you do, right?" Vanille smiled charmingly. "I just don't know much about NORA."
"Yes, Miss. That's exactly what we do. Can I get your name by the way?"
"Oh, I'm Dia Vanille. It's nice to met you." Vanille smiled warmly.
"I'll...take my badge back," Officer Brown murmured, sticking out his hand.
"Oh." Vanille giggled. "I thought it was for me."
"Anyway," Officer Todd cut in gently. "I'm afraid we need to search your room, Miss. We received a tip that there might be some illegal weapons in here."
"Oh, but Fang is sick..." Vanille pouted over her shoulder.
"We will be very quick," Officer Brown assured her, frowning faintly. "Please, step aside."
"O-Okay." Vanille lowered her eyes and stepped out of their way, frowning as she noticed that Fang was beginning to stir. While the men began to look through their things, Vanille crept to Fang's side and shook her shoulders gently. "Fang?"
Fang stirred and groaned sleepily, but she did not wake up.
"Fang, please wake up." Vanille shook her shoulders a little more firmly.
The dark-haired woman's eyes blinked open and for a moment she seemed confused, but then she heard the murmur of the officers talking to each other and she sat bolt upright as her arm curled protectively around Vanille's back, eyes narrowed. "What's going on here? Who are you?"
"I'll keep looking," Officer Todd mumbled.
With a nod, Officer Brown approached Fang, handed her his badge, and made the same introduction that he had made twice already. "We received a tip that Yun Fang—who I'm assuming you are—was staying in this room and might have illegal weapons."
"Really?" Fang raised her brow. "And where'd that little tip come from?"
The officer frowned uncomfortably.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's my right to know what I'm accused of and who accused me," Fang gave him a knowing look as she ran her fingers absently through Vanille's hair.
Sighing, Officer Brown explained, "The owner of the house called with some concerns."
"So, it was Lightning Farron who made the call?" Fang inquired with a charming smile.
"Yes. She did not want to press charges or have you thrown out of her house, she just wanted to know whether or not you had any illegal weapons." Officer Brown resumed looking through their closet, his brows raised with interest at some of the outfits that he found, and explained, "If you do have the weapons, you will just have to pay a fine because they are unregistered."
"How big a fine?" Fang asked interestedly.
"That depends on what kind of weapons," Officer Todd explained from the other side of the room as he looked through a chest that did not belong to them. "If you do have weapons, you will pay for each weapon."
"Well, you can look all you like, but we haven't got any weapons." Fang shrugged and leaned back against the bed frame, smiling at Vanille as she lowered her voice. "If I had to guess, I'd bet this is revenge for those pills they found. You know, Light's creative, but she really doesn't think ahead very well."
"Fang..." Vanille gave her a warning look. "You promised no more pranks."
"Who said anything about a prank?" Fang smirked faintly. "I'm just concerned for the safety of everyone in the house."
"Faaang," the younger woman whined.
"What's this?" Officer Brown suddenly held up an intricately decorated spear with a sharp head. "I thought you said you had no weapons."
"That old thing?" Fang shrugged, grinning. "That's for decoration. We won it at an auction. I think someone found it in the woods. This is where all those Gran Pulsian tribes used to live, you know—our tribe wasn't that far away, actually, so the spear's a little keepsake to remember our heritage."
"It isn't a weapon?" The officer raised his brow skeptically.
"Well, I guess it was once, but who'd fight with a spear these days?" Fang asked incredulously, noticing Vanille biting her lip to keep from laughing at her side.
"I guess you're right." Officer Brown leaned the spear against the wall and picked up something else, furrowing his brows in confusion. "What's this?"
"Oh, that?" Fang smirked. "It's a binding rod—another decoration. I dunno what it does. We've never used it. I hear five hundred years ago it belonged to a really pretty girl."
Vanille covered her mouth with her hand to hold in her giggles that time.
"Interesting." Officer Brown set the binding rod against the wall next to the spear and continued looking.
Eventually the two officers finished their search and determined that Fang did not have any weapons, illegal or otherwise, in her room.
"We're sorry for the intrusion," Officer Todd exclaimed as they were turning to leave.
"Please, don't apologize." Fang smiled faintly. "It's good to know that NORA really does their job—keeping people safe, I mean. I just thought it was a little strange. You know, I've always been kind of flighty when it comes to practical things, so I never bothered checking the laws. I just assumed it was legal to have whatever kind of weapons you wanted after seeing the kinds of things Light keeps in her room."
"What do you mean?" Officer Brown furrowed his brows.
"Well, I mean, what sort of weapons are actually illegal?" Fang asked with an interested tilt of her head. "Lightning's practically got a museum of guns in her room. There are blades, rifles, and probably even grenades, but those must all be legal, right?"
Officer Brown and Officer Todd shared a look before the former smiled at Fang. "Have a good evening, both of you. We're sorry for the intrusion."
"Like I said, it's no problem," Fang replied with a smirk. "You can go ahead and shut the door on your way out. We'll probably be in here the rest of the night."
The officers tipped their hats before tugging the door shut.
"Did you really have to do that, Fang? Lightning will be so mad," Vanille whispered.
"Serves her right, sending them in here to bother me when she knows I'm sick," Fang replied immediately, grinning at her. "What're you so worried about anyway? Light's gotta follow the law, doesn't she?"
"I guess..." Vanille bit her lip.
Fang laughed gently and ran her fingers through her hair. "Don't worry. Light'll forgive me when she sees what I got her for Christmas."
"What'd you get?" Vanille asked with wide eyes.
"It's a secret," Fang insisted with a chuckle. "You'll find out in two days like everyone else."
"Fang!" Vanille pouted.
"All right, fine." With a grin, Fang leaned forwards and whispered in Vanille's ear.
"Really?" Vanille gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Yep." Fang snickered. "I think she'll like it."
"What if she can't handle it?"
Fang shrugged, smirking as she wrapped her arm around her. "Then I'll teach her how."
xxx
Lightning sat in the kitchen fiddling anxiously with one of her new tools. Occasionally she glanced up at the ceiling with pursed lips, wondering what was taking Officer Brown and Officer Todd so long. The two of them had been up in the attic for almost an hour. Far from feeling guilty, Lightning still wondered if she should go up and check on Fang and Vanille. The prank was meant to annoy them, but she did not want them to be arrested or treated cruelly by the officers, especially because Serah would never forgive her if she found out that Lightning had been the one to call NORA in the first place.
When Lightning could take it no longer and was seconds from standing up out of her chair, Officer Brown suddenly knocked on the doorframe to the kitchen and then came around the corner. Officer Todd followed close behind him, and both of them were frowning.
"Why were you up there so long?" Lightning demanded immediately.
"We searched through the attic and all of your house guests' things very thoroughly, and we found that neither of them had weapons of any sort," Officer Brown exclaimed with a weary look.
Lightning narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And?"
"As protocol demands, we searched a few other rooms on the second floor," Officer Brown continued with a frown. "We found a surplus of weapons in two of the bedrooms."
"Mine and my sister's?" Lightning pursed her lips angrily. "My sister's fiance shares her room. He's your boss."
"Snow Villiers is your sister's fiance?" Officer Brown frowned thoughtfully before his eyes light with recognition. "Ah, yes. Serah Farron. He talks about her a lot."
"That doesn't explain why your bedroom is filled with weapons, Miss Farron," Officer Todd interrupted, his hand resting on the weapon at his side as though he considered her a fugitive. "It took us a long time to catalog each of the weapons that we found in your bedroom. You will be fined for each of the seventeen unregistered weapons. In addition to that, we need you to come down to the station to answer a few questions."
"What?" Lightning snapped angrily. "I'm not coming to the station."
"It wasn't a request, Miss Farron." Officer Brown reached for the handcuffs at his side. "You have a PSICOM-grade automatic gunblade, a military model that is strictly prohibited for non-officers."
"I'm a soldier," Lightning protested.
"Our records show that you were a soldier, but that organization has been dissolved." Officer Brown took a step toward her. "Officer Todd will read your rights. Please put your hands where I can see them."
Lightning considered just attacking them and throwing them out of her house, but she knew that that would lead to more trouble than it was worth. She had no intention of moving out of town, which meant that she could not simply kill a bunch of NORA officers.
With an angry sigh, Lightning stood up and put her hands out in front of her, allowing the officer to slap the handcuffs over her wrists as the other officer explained the rights that she would have during her time at the station and as NORA pressed charges against her.
As the two men escorted her out of the house, Lightning considered shouting for Sazh to call Snow, but then she decided that she would just call him herself from the station. After all, he would be much more likely to come to the station immediately if he heard the urgency—more like fury—in her voice.
The others did not even seem to notice as the door closed behind the three of them. They were too absorbed in their video games.
Xxx
The hours passed and soon it was dark. Moonlight flooded through a single barred window, casting shadows that climbed up the walls, bent at awkward angles. The seat beneath her was cold and hard, and the cement floor clanged loudly beneath her tapping foot.
Lightning had sat in one of the many Town of Troth NORA Department jail cells for at least four hours. She had tried to contact Snow at least three times, demanding more phone calls than were generally allowed to those who had been arrested, but thus far she had not heard from him. The officers who sat not far away, keys dangling around their waists, had refused to allow her to call one more time. In fact, now that Officer Brown and Officer Todd had left and the shift had changed, she did not think that the officers guarding her even believed that she knew Snow Villiers.
At first, Lightning had decided to just spend a bit of time reflecting on all of the pranks that had gone wrong over the last several days. However, eventually she was no longer feeling quite as patient. It had been a long time, and even if Snow had been busy when she called the first three times, he should have seen her message by then and came to bail her out. After all that she had put up with while he was living in her house, not the least of which the way that he constantly broke things by trying to prove that he could fix them, it was the least that he could do! Besides, there was no reason for them to have taken her to jail. She had been a soldier. Of course, she had weapons!
"Claire?"
Lightning suddenly looked up, her eyes widening with surprise, and saw her sister resting against the bars to her cell, her face worried.
"Claire, are you all right? We came as soon as we saw your message."
"What were you doing?" Lightning grumbled, crossing her arms. "I've been here for hours."
"I'm sorry. The movie was a little longer than we thought, and we went for a walk afterwards." Serah smiled sheepishly. "We had turned our phones off."
Lightning pursed her lips but nodded. "Where's Snow? I want to go home."
"I'm right here." Snow suddenly appeared in front of the cell, shifting uncomfortably. "The arresting officers recorded that you had been the one to call NORA and ask them to come search the house for weapons. Is that true?"
"No," Lightning huffed. "Why would I call them and ask them to come search the house when I know that I have weapons?"
Snow bit his lip, glancing at Serah. The two of them seemed to share a worried look.
"What?" Lightning snapped.
"It was definitely you," Snow murmured gently. "You let the officers in the house and told them they could go upstairs."
"They're lying." The ex-soldier looked away.
Shifting on his heels, Snow glanced helplessly at Serah, who nodded imperceptibly before glancing at Lightning and whispering gently, "C-Claire, did you remember to take your medicine this morning? Maybe your other personality—"
"I do not have another personality!" Lightning shouted, standing from her seat.
Serah jumped, nodding. "O-Okay. Maybe we should talk about this later."
"Just get me out of here," Lightning commanded stiffly.
"Well, I can't just make the charges go away," Snow argued with a frown. "Either you have to pay the fines or..."
"Or what?" Lightning cried incredulously.
"Well, I was thinking that you could register your gunblade and register all your weapons without even paying anything if you joined NORA," Snow explained finally. "We could use your help, Light, and I know you've been really bored lately."
Lightning pursed her lips, because she did not like the idea of answering to Snow. "What's my other option?"
"You pay the fines and surrender your gunblade," Snow replied with a shrug. "It's not a bad deal. You don't have to work for NORA forever, just for a while. Like I said, we could really use your help."
"You two could work together!" Serah exclaimed excitedly. "Then you could both keep an eye on each other. I wouldn't have to worry about either of you as much."
Lightning looked between her sister and Snow, lips pursed, before she finally lowered her head and grumbled, "Fine. I'll work for NORA—but if I don't like it I'm leaving."
"Great!" Snow exclaimed triumphantly, motioning for the guard to unlock the cell. "We'll take you home tonight and then we can work out all the details tomorrow."
With a roll of her eyes, the ex-soldier nodded and walked out of the cell. "Let's go."
"I'm so excited that we'll be working together," Snow exclaimed happily, wrapping his arm around Lightning's shoulders. "Welcome to the team!"
Lighting stiffened and shrugged him off. "Whatever."
As the three of them walked to the air car together, Lightning decided that she was not going to try to play any more pranks on Fang. It was obvious that such a feat was impossible, and she did not think she could handle the stress of being even more infuriated by Fang. Instead, she would just go back to her original plan and kill Fang if the other woman put so much as another toe out of line.
