Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Ander...and my kick butt car, Big Bertha. FFXIII belongs to Square Enix.
Music: Title by Meghan Trainor, Like a Drum by Guy Sebastian, I Want You To Know by Zedd ft Selena Gomez, I Could Be The One by Avicii vs Nicky Romero
''Dajh...'' Serah whispered, heartbroken, as she watched the small airship take off, the wind swaying her hair in front of her vision. Her crystal blue eyes were glassy with small tears as she watched the ship disappear out of sight.
There was a silence for a short while before Serah turned around slowly, looking at Ander with desperation in her eyes. Said brunette had her gaze downcast, fists clenched at her sides. Skyler's tail and ears drooped as he stood next to the GC, sensing the distress between the two girls.
''We should get moving.'' Ander said after a few tense moments of silence before walking past Serah in the direction they were originally going, the opposite way from where Dajh had been taken.
Serah just stood there, hurt, as her eyes were hidden behind strawberry colored bangs. ''So we're just going to forget about Dajh and keep moving?''
Ander frowned and stopped, opening her mouth to say something but Serah cut her off. ''How DARE you even think that way, Ander? We can't just leave Dajh with them! You heard how they treated him before!''
The brunette frowned, remembering how the little boy told them about how Psicom would keep him locked up every single day and perform experiments to figure out his focus. There was a silence between them before the brunette turned her green eyes to look at the ground. "He is not my responsibility, Serah." The brunette said quietly, refusing to look back at the other girl.
"Of course he is!" Serah said, "We found him! We have to-"
"We don't have to do anything." Ander's tone was harsh and her words were clipped. "In fact, we should have found Lightning by now."
"But And-!"
"Serah." The brunette said, her face stern but her eyes shaking. "We can't. It's out of our hands now. We should be grateful they didn't take us into custody too."
There was a pause between the two girls, Serah taking a few moments to collect herself and to also see from Ander's point of view. The younger girl was right in that Dajh was not their responsibility, but that didn't make it right to just give him over to Psicom.
She clasped her hands together and brought them in front of her face, her fingers feeling ticklish from her breath blowing on them. Blue eyes watched silently, thinking, as Ander looked away from her. The brunette turned around and took a few steps towards Palumpolum before stopping. The two of them were at an impasse.
"Look, I'm torn up about this too." Ander conceded quietly, turning her head as if to look back at Serah over her shoulder, brunette bangs hiding her expression. "But Serah, I don't know what to say..."
The pinkette remained silent as Ander continued, "If we do go after him...it'll be dangerous. Plus, I don't see how that will bring us any closer to your sister."
"...Didn't you say," Serah started, lowering her hands down to her sides. "That there could be a chance that Light could be with Dajh's dad?"
Ander slowly nodded, still not looking at the other girl. "I did."
"Then..." Serah hesitantly spoke, voice soft as she tried to make her point across without starting another argument. "Isn't that a good enough reason to follow them? Jihl did say that they would be bringing Dajh to his dad. If Light is with him then..."
Ander bit the inside of her cheek and looked away. Serah did have a valid point. Footsteps could be heard as the older girl approached her.
"And..."
"I see your side, but..."
"We'll be fine. No one will get hurt." Serah said, coming around to stand in front of the brunette, placing her hands on her friend's shoulders. "If the three of us are together, we'll be fine. I'm sure of it." She said, giving a small smile.
Blue eyes stared into green as Ander considered Serah's proposal. It would be dangerous, and there was a chance that doing this wouldn't lead to Lightning at all, but... Dajh's smiling face flashed before the brunette's eyes, the little scene they had together under Eden's glow playing from her memory.
The GC bit her lip. Even if this side trip had a 0.1% chance of leading them to Lightning, it was still a chance.
There was long pause before Ander opened her mouth, her voice quiet. "...Okay." Serah looked shocked, blue eyes blinking as the younger girl continued, "We'll have to find transportation in Palumpolum, and the rest-" The brunette was cut off when the older girl wrapped her arms around the GC's shoulders in a hug, Ander going silent from the unexpected contact.
"Thank you, And." Serah said, smiling as she hugged the smaller girl to her. "Thank you."
Ander quietly stepped away from Serah's embrace, staring up at the older girl for a moment before nodding. No more words were said as she went over to an orange switch a little ways away from them and pressed it. The ground shook as the elevator came to a stop and Ander wasted no time in heading off towards the town.
Serah stayed where she was for a little while, watching the GC, and remembering back when they first started getting to know each other. Ander had been so timid back then and unapproachable. It was like there was a wall there, protecting the brunette from everyone and everything, even if she didn't want it to. But now, that wall was crumbling, and Serah was starting to see exactly who Ander was, a strong, sometimes shy, young girl who cared deeply for the ones closest to her.
Serah could only hope, that once she let her own walls down, that things could still be the same between them. But she knew that this was just hopeful thinking. No one of the face of Cocoon would ever trust someone like her, a Pulse L'Cie. Much less one who started the Purge in the first place. If it were up to the pinkette, she would never let Ander or Dajh find out about her tattoo. She would keep this peaceful bliss between the three of them for as long as she can, for now, and face it later...
''You coming?'' The pinkette was pulled from her thoughts and looked up to see the younger girl looking at her with a confused expression.
Serah smiled at her and nodded before running to catch up. They were going to get Dajh back. No matter what.
Emerald green eyes surveyed the swiftly darkening area, watching the two Psicom soldiers walk back and forth in front of their post, guarding whatever lay inside the garage behind them. Ander could hear the two of them faintly talking amongst themselves as they continued to patrol their post.
''So, what's the plan?'' Serah whispered as she, too, watched the soldiers from their hiding spot behind a nearby car. The walk from the exit of the Whitewood to Palumpolum had been a fast one, both girls eager to get to the city and find a way to get to Dajh. There didn't seem to be a lot of people around the city for some reason, which they found to be very odd. It was almost as deserted as Bohdum after the Purge.
''Hmm...'' Was all Ander offered in reply as she thought for a moment. She had gone to this warehouse because there was a certain symbol on the door, a red falcon. For the Guardian Corps, a picture of three yellow birds symbolized air transportation. She didn't know if a red falcon meant the same thing for Psicom, but it was worth a shot.
The ship that had taken Dajh earlier had an indistinguishable mark on it, a blue eagle. From her training, Ander knew from this mark that the ship was centered aboard the Palamecia, one of the sactum's biggest skyfleets. She didn't know where the ship was exactly, but if they could get air transportation and find it, maybe Dajh would be on board. It was the only shot they had.
''We need to get in there.'' Ander whispered back, brow furrowing as she tried to think of a way inside without causing a scene. They were already on thin ice as it was with Psicom. ''...Somehow.''
''Why don't we sneak in?'' Serah offered. ''There's bound to be a back entrance or an underground route or something.'' On the way here, she had noticed that there were large rusted over pipes everywhere that led underneath the city. There would probably be one that led to the building they were trying to get to, or at least closer than where they were now.
''I don't know...'' Ander said, hesitantly. If there were soldiers out front than there probably were more at the back of the building. The tunnel idea seemed like a good, safe plan, but the only problem would be time. There was no way of knowing which pipes led where and it could take a long while to figure out which one led to the building. With every passing second, Dajh was getting farther and farther away from them. They couldn't afford any side trips.
''Yea man, I totally know what you're sayin'.''
Ander frowned as she heard an obnoxious laugh from one of the Psicom soldiers and she pressed closer to the car she was hiding behind to try and hear better.
''What I wouldn't give to have a hot babe in my sights again. These long missions are really wearing me out.''
''Yea, I hear ya. It's been too long since we've had a break.''
Ander blinked and moved back from the vehicle before looking at Serah, whose brow was furrowed in thought, more than likely trying to come up with a plan. ''Serah...'' The pinkette looked up at her and Ander nodded over towards the guards. ''I think I got a plan.''
Serah frowned to herself as she let her hair down from it's side ponytail, causing the soft pink strands to cascade down her back in small waves. Her engagement necklace, mallet and sleeveless pink jacket had been removed for safe keeping and the pinkette looked at the two guards again. She could not believe she was going to do this...
''You want me to what?!''
Ander shushed Serah, not wanting the guards to hear them. ''Just go over there and seduce them while I sneak in with Sky and steal one of their ships.''
''How do you even KNOW a word like that?'' Serah asked incredulously, placing her hands on her hips and looking at Ander with disbelieving eyes.
''Would you rather I use the word 'distract' instead?''
''It doesn't matter!''
Ander sighed as irritation flashed in her eyes. ''Look, do you want to save Dajh or not?''
''Of course I do, but there has to be some other wa-''
''There's no time, Serah, trust me.''
'Easy for her to say...' Serah thought to herself as she touched her neck, already missing the weight of her engagement necklace. 'I just hope Snow will understand...' She sighed before straightening up and sucking in a deep breath, preparing herself for what was to come. 'Alright then, this is for Dajh.'
Serah could feel herself slightly shiver from nerves as she stepped out from behind the car, the feeling intensifying when she heard the soldiers immediately stop their conversation upon sight of her. She looked at them, smiling sweetly as she flipped her pink hair over her shoulder, approaching the two.
Her legs felt like jello as she made her way over, keeping her eyes on theirs and silently imagining to herself that they both looked like her beloved Snow, if only to make this a bit easier for herself. ''Excuse me, boys.'' She said, stopping right in front of them, probably a little too closely, as she put a hand on her hip as her other hand played with her hair. ''But can you direct me to one of Palumpolum's bars? I'm feeling awfully lonely tonight and I'm looking for someone to...keep me company.'' Serah winked at them.
The soldiers were silent and they looked at each other briefly, probably very surprised that their 'wish' from earlier had been granted. Serah was fully aware that her excuse for talking to them was cheap and unoriginal but it did it's job well enough, it seemed.
''My fair lady.'' One of them said, bowing to Serah. She blinked at him in surprise. How cheesy. ''I would be happy to escort you wherever you wish, and would gladly,'' He paused, taking off his helmet and grabbing her hand. ''Keep you company for as long as you wished.''
Serah smiled at him and brought a hand up to her cheek, trying to look flattered when all she wanted to do was throw up.
''No, don't listen to him. He's never even been to a bar in his life.'' The other soldier cut in. He pushed his coworker away before pointing to himself, taking off his helmet as well. ''I know my way around here and-''
''Oh yea right, this is the first time you've even been here.''
Serah blinked innocently as she watched the two soldiers bicker, inwardly sighing and praying to Etro that Ander would hurry up.
Ander controlled her breathing as she quickly sneaked around inside the warehouse. When she was sure that there was no one around , she allowed Skyler to come in after her. Getting inside had been easy enough when the guards were distracted but she wanted to make sure that everything was secure before letting Skyler inside after her. His nails made noise against the tiled floor and even though it was barely noticeable, she didn't want to risk getting caught.
It turned out that her hunch about the red falcon had been correct. The building was loaded with many different types of air-bikes. Ander would have preferred a small plane of some sort, seeing as they would more than likely be flying to extreme altitudes, but they would just have to make due with this.
It didn't take long for her to find an air-bike that was a bit bigger than the rest, it being designed to fly higher than most air-bikes. There was room for two people to sit comfortably inside it and a glass windshield on the sides to keep the high winds from assaulting the driver and passenger. The glass was also tinted, which was a huge plus, as it would keep their identities hidden until they arrived at their destination.
The GC carefully unlatched the windshield and opened it so she could inspect inside. There were keys sitting on the passenger seat, obviously symbolizing that the bike had been used very recently and that the owner would probably be back shortly. Now she felt even more crunched for time.
Ander could feel her hands shaking as she climbed into the seat, Skyler jumping into the passenger seat behind her. She had never done anything like this before. She was stealing, and she was going to fight against Psicom soon as well. This was...terrifying. She could easily go to jail for something like this, even if she was a soldier... What would her father think?
She could hear faint arguing from outside and the brunette gulped and shook her head, clearing her mind. Now wasn't the time for this. She could drown in guilt later.
From outside, Serah frowned, crossing her arms as she watched the two soldiers argue, her expression stern. It had been going on for a while now with no signs of letting up whatsoever. 'I can't believe two grown men can act this way. They should be ashamed of themselves.' She blinked, cutting off her thoughts, when the sound of an owl reached her ears and she couldn't help but smile.
With one final look at the soldiers she walked away, not even bothering to be stealthy about it, seeing as the two were practically wrestling on the ground. When she went around the corner, Serah wasted no time in running up to Ander and climbing into the air-bike. The GC had moved the bike out of one of the side entrances to the building, the door being left open. She had checked five times that there was no one around though. The guards were extremely lax around here for some reason, most of them probably being stationed somewhere else for more important missions for the time being.
''Oo, this one's nice.'' She commented as Ander closed the windshield down around them and locked it.
''How did it go?'' The brunette asked, looking around again to make sure that no one saw them.
Serah shrugged, strapping in her seatbelt. ''Let's just say that you should stay a kid for as long as you can, And.''
Ander raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing as she stood up in her chair, unlatching a small panel in the glass. The panel was dome shaped and served the purpose of being a turret to protect the passengers inside. There was a small cut out expanding the circle of the glass, the opening being large enough for the turrets gun to shoot through, while also being small enough to make it exceedingly hard for an assailant to shoot through that small of an opening. The brunette took the ammo lying next to the gun in the panel and reloaded the machine gun, knowing exactly how to do so from her training. Skyler looked up at her, ears laid back as he stood tensely by her chair, fully aware about what was going to happen.
''Alright.'' Serah said, putting the keys in the ignition. ''You ready?'' The pinkette asked, taking deep calm breaths as she looked over her shoulder at Ander. Turning this thing on would create a lot of noise and would more than likely grab everyone's attention.
Ander held her gun firmly, willing her hands to stop quivering. Her eyes briefly shifted down to Serah before looking back up. ''Yes.''
''Okay, here we go.'' Serah whispered, more to herself than to Ander before turning the key as slowly as possible to try and create less noise. There was really no difference in the volume of sound though, as the engine revved to life, causing all the buttons in front of Serah to glow as the vehicle turned on.
As expected, loud shouts were heard after the deafening noise of the bike starting up was sounded. Ander could hear footsteps coming from either side of them. The GC shot down at their feet as warning shots, daring them to come closer. Serah frantically stepped on the gas, willing it to go faster. It was a bigger bike, so it took longer for it to prepare itself to fly.
''Fire at will!'' One of the soldiers said, cutting the air with his hand and Serah reflexively ducked down against the steering wheel, her chin almost knocking into it. Skyler was growling and barking, hair standing on end as he moved around the cramped space in the backseat, agitated. Ander managed to keep calm for the most part, knowing that the glass around them would hold for at least a few shots. These were military bikes, they were made to be strong.
The young GC pivoted her gun around and shot at the guns of the soldiers, hitting some of them in their hands and wrists and other times missing completely. She was good with a gun from her training with her team, but the air bike was slowly gaining height and causing her aim to be off. Her nerves from the whole situation didn't help much either. She had fired at monsters before, sure, but this was her first time firing at another human being. The action left her feeling both terrified and powerful at the same time, similar to how she felt when her father let her hold a gun for the first time. The heavy weight against her hands felt ten times more real as she heard one of the soldiers howl in pain, clutching his bleeding forearm and dropping to this knees.
Serah hunched over the steering wheel as they gained height, praying for the bike to go faster. She wanted desperately to close her eyes and fall into a fetal position to protect herself, but held off. She was the older one of the two of them. She had to be strong, just like her sister had been for her. The pinkette bit her lip, willing herself to ignore everything happening around her, and waited.
After what felt like centuries, the bike's light near the steering wheel flashed from red to green, signaling that it was ready to fly. Serah wasted no time in taking off, ascending high into the night sky to get away from the bullets that were being shot at them. The sound of Ander's final shots towards the soldiers below boomed loudly in the small bike before the GC stopped.
''Are they following us?'' Serah asked tensely as she turned on the radar next to the steering wheel. She blinked and was very surprised to find no green dots chasing them.
Ander closed the shooting panel and sat down, holding her stomach. When Serah had taken off, the force had knocked her into the side of the glass harshly. ''No,'' She shook her head as she strapped in her seat belt. ''I left them a little parting gift before I moved our bike out.'' Ander smirked to herself, looking over her shoulder to see the small specks of soldiers run around like frantic little ants around the warehouse.
To move their air-bike, she had to use a machine that was on the top floor of the warehouse. All of the air-bikes had been locked down to their holding pads and she had to use a code to unlock them. The code had been a lot simpler to figure out than she thought it to be. She had used the code that was designed for the same purpose in the Guardian Corps, only adding a '1' to the end of the code. She guessed that it symbolized how Psicom always thought they were better than GC or something like that...
Once moving her own bike, as a last minute thought, she had gone upstairs again to lock back down all the airbikes, only this time, changing the password. It wasn't much, but it would hopefully buy the girls enough time to get away.
''That's good.'' Serah sighed, relaxing back into her seat, taking deep breaths to slow her racing heart. ''I...'' She laughed slightly. ''I can't believe we just did that.''
Ander opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. She bit into her lip and looked down at Skyler. ''...Me neither.''
''Hey...'' Serah frowned and looked back at Ander over her shoulder. ''Don't be so down. We'll be okay, and we'll definitely find Dajh.'' The pinkette offered a small smile to her friend. "You'll see."
Green eyes met blue for a moment before the younger girl nodded, one of her hands shakily moving to pet her canine companion. Her other hand gripped her injured side. "...I know."
Night rose into day quickly, neither girl making much conversation. The tense atmosphere from what they were going to do was eating away at the two of them. Ander had managed to find the location of the Palamecia by searching through recent news articles on the bikes computer. As it turns out, the Primarch was aboard the ship, and what's worse, Pulse L'Cie had been taken captive and were being held there as well.
Both girls knew that this would be a very dangerous endeavor to get Dajh back, but they had no other choice. The little boy was so engraved into their lives now, that they couldn't afford not to rescue him.
"There it is." Serah whispered as she ascended the bike higher towards the ship.
"Yea..." Ander said behind her, standing up in her seat with her arms wrapped around the top of Serah's chair.
"So how do we get in?" The older of the two girls asked, glancing over her shoulder at the brunette.
The GC was silent for a few moments before speaking. "We should...be able to get in just like this. There should be ships that will scan us for an identification code, but that shouldn't be a problem since this is one of their bikes."
"Okay but what if-"
"Wait a second." Ander said, holding her hand out to Serah for her to be quiet as they got closer towards the sky fleet. "Something's not right here..."
"What do you mean?" The pinkette asked, looking up at the Palamecia. The ship was huge, it's bright metal shining against the sun's rays, making it hard to stare at for long. The air fleet was easily one thousand times the size of their small air bike, making it hard to turn and maneuver if it were ever under attack. That's why the Palamecia was usually accompanied by hundreds of smaller ships surrounding it...but that wasn't the case today.
"There are no other ships here." Ander said, green eyes looking left and right. Something must be very wrong.
"Well that's good, right?" Serah asked, turning her vision towards the front, smiling lightly. "Then we can get in without any questions."
"Yea...I guess so." As the saying goes, one should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but Ander couldn't help feeling restless as she and Serah drove to one of the ships landing pads. That feeling, that intensely overwhelming feeling of restlessness that had settled itself in her chest that first night when she had met Serah was back. The brunette put a hand to her chest and frowned. Something was going to happen on this ship. She just knew it...
Serah grunted as she lept down from the airbike, Skyler almost having pushed her down flat on her face when he barreled out of the seat behind her. The pinkette brushed off her skirt, disapproving eyes watching the husky as he restlessly trotted back and forth in front of her.
The pinkette bit her lip at the sight of the their furry friend being so agitated as Ander climbed out of the seat behind her. "Hey And..." Serah started, turning around, but then grew silent when she caught sight of Ander's faraway look. The GC walked past the older girl, gaze caught on a flashing red monitor above their heads.
Both girls flinched when a loud siren suddenly sounded above them. Serah covered her ears as a loud voice came from overhead. The red monitor switched to green. "Code Green! Repeat! Code Green! Security forces stand by! Hostile Forces on board, Code Green!"
Serah quickly turned to Ander. "Are they talking about us?" She practically yelled over all the noise.
The younger girl was silent for a long while, frozen, before shaking her head. "I don't think so! Come on!" She yelled back, running off ahead of them as Skyler followed, barking.
Serah looked up at the green monitor one last time before nodding, racing off after her companions.
Once inside, the sound of the siren was turned down to a tolerable level, but that didn't make it any less annoying.
"Where is everybody?" Serah asked as Ander finally slowed down when they came to a big circular room. There was a control panel in the middle of the room and it's monitors were stuck frozen on the same green screen as the ones outside had been.
There were little to no soldiers in the rooms they had previously been in, and the ones that they had found were only in small groups and were easy to sneak past. Something had them preoccupied, that was for sure.
"Probably dealing with that hostile threat." Ander said, jogging up to the computer. "Watch my back, I'm going to try and see what's going on."
"Okay." Serah said and took out her mallet, keeping it at the ready in case she needed it as Skyler stood at her side.
Ander hovered her hands over the system's keyboard, thinking about what she needed to type in. At this point, she could care less about whatever it was that was on board. The main priority here was for them to find Dajh and get out of here.
The GC's fingers worked over the keys, typing out every command she knew, but nothing worked, the monitors still remained locked on that green color.
Ander huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, backing up a bit from the computer as she thought. "No luck?" Serah asked, looking back at the younger girl.
"None. Whatever is on board is the system's main focus now."
"Do you think..." Serah started quietly, eyes downcast. "More L'Cie could be on board?"
Ander looked back at the pinkette. Green eyes shook for a moment before looking away. "I dont know..."
"If there were... what would you do then?" Ander was puzzled by Serah's question. Shouldn't she be asking what THEY would do?
"I'd probably...run." The brunette said, blinking when Serah took a couple steps towards her.
"Because... because L'Cie are dangerous right? Because they can hurt people." Serah had no idea why she was saying this when she herself was a Pulse L'Cie. She wanted so desperately to tell everything to Ander, but the fear of what the other girl might think crippled her.
"Serah..." Ander said quietly, emerald eyes looking the older girl over in confusion.
At the moment, the computer screens in front of them flashed as the voice sounded again, "Code Purple! I repeat: Code Purple! Security breach! All units on alert, Code Purple!"
Both girls whipped around to stare at the screen for a few seconds before Skyler started barking ahead of them. The sound of soldiers running for them caused Ander to take out her gunblade and Serah to grip her hammer tighter. "Get ready." The brunette said as the soldiers spotted them...
The three took great care to make sure that no soldiers that they had fought were fatally injured as they made their way higher up the ship. The two of them had to waste many potions on themselves and their stack was almost dry as they made their way further in.
Serah didn't say a word about what she had said earlier, and that was starting to make Ander nervous. Just what exactly was she hiding? She could trust Serah...right? She was beginning to doubt that statement.
"Ah! Ander!" Serah said, eyes lighting up as she entered the room at the top of a set of stairs and came to a large room atop the ship. There was glass windows surrounding the sides of the room and the ceiling and floor were made of black tile.
In the center was a small group of guards surrounding a big blue crystal, that upon closer inspection, contained a small boy with black poofy hair and red overalls.
"Dajh..." Ander whispered, eyes wide as she came to stand next to the other girl.
"Get away from him!" Serah suddenly shouted, grabbing the attention of the soldiers in the room as she charged at them, Skyler quick on her heels.
"Serah!" The GC called after her, drawing her gunblade. It wasn't like Serah to be this hasty, the pinkette opted to abandon violence whenever necessary. Ander did not dwell on this for long, however, as the soldiers readied their weapons for a counter attack.
Ander panted and lowered her gunblade when all of the soldiers were incapacitated. Emerald green eyes watched silently as Serah lowered her own weapon as well, slowly walking up to Dajh, her ocean blue eyes glassy with untold sympathy.
"Dajh..." She whispered, putting both hands on his crystal as she dropped to her knees in front of him. The boy's prison was sharp and cold to the touch, encasing him in sleep for all eternity. The pinkette let herself cry a few silent tears for him, and for herself, knowing the pain of being put to sleep against your will. Of never knowing when, or even if, you might wake up and see your friends and family again.
Ander bit her lip and looked down, chocolate colored bangs hiding her expression. Her feet felt like lead as she walked over to Serah, lowering herself down next to her. The pinkette looked up at the GC, her eyes wet and vision blurry as she watched Ander place a hand on Dajh's crystal next to hers.
"Serah...I'm..." The brunette started but was cut off when the two of them heard the sound of more soldiers approaching and the distinct noise of heels clacking against the tiled floor.
Ander got up quickly, knees shaky as Skyler came up next to her, teeth bared and hair standing on end as he growled at the new arrivals. Serah got up as well, steeling herself and wiping away her tears as she saw who was leading the soldiers, Colonel Nabaat.
"I see you have decided to pay us a visit... Cadet Amodar." The Colonel took off her glasses, smug smile in place as she looked the two of them over. The two girls were silent as they watched her, both being too struck with emotion to respond.
The Colonel slapped her baton lightly against her open palm as she walked a horizontal line in front of her soldiers. "Dajh was a great help in this war against Pulse L'Cie, and he served Coccoon admirably, til his very last breath."
Serah touched her fingers against Dajh's crystal sadly, closing her eyes in mourning as Nabaat continued. "The data he provided to us on L'Cie was invaluable. The sanctum now knows the identities and locations of all Pulse L'Cie, due to his efforts."
Ander flinched when Serah suddenly gripped her wrist tightly. Emerald eyes looked over her shoulder at the older girl to see her blue eyes were wide and fearful, as if the pinkette were about to bolt at any second.
"This includes..." Ander turned her gaze back to Nabaat, frowning as the Colonel stopped in front of them. "Ones of a certain...pink-haired variety."
Ander winced when Serah gripped her wrist tighter, pulling at her arm to try and dislodge Serah's grip before the pinkette injured her, but to no avail.
"...What do you mean?"
"What I mean is..." Nabaat put her glasses back on, smoothing her long hair off to the side. "I've done some research...about your companion, Cadet Amodar, and Dajh's efforts finally put it all together for me." She looked off to the side, starting up her tapping of her baton against her palm again, her gaze locking with Serah's. "I thought I had seen you before."
Ander looked between the two older women, expression clearly confused. "I don't..."
"If you wish to know what I'm talking about..." Nabaat said, pointing her baton at Serah, who took a step back, releasing her hold on Ander's wrist. "Remove that bandage on her forearm. Then you will see."
Ander slowly turned around to look at Serah, her body tensing when she saw that the pinkette was gripping the bandage on her arm tight enough to leave marks.
Even when the two of them had taken baths together in the river, never did Serah once remove that bandage. Emerald green eyes narrowed. Could this be what Serah had been hiding from her all this time?
"Ander..." Serah started, taking a step back from the younger girl. She had never wanted to reveal her awful, dirty secret to Ander. Ever.
"Remove it, Serah." The GC's said quietly, remembering the conversation the two of them had before in the monitor room and how defensive the pinkette had been about Pulse L'Cie. Was Serah...?
The older girl's eyes shook as they stared at her friend, completely lost. Serah shifted her gaze to look at Nabaat and she bit her lip when she saw the soldiers behind the colonel all had their guns aimed at her. She had no other choice.
Ocean blue eyes remained shakily locked onto emerald green as Serah slowly reached up to her arm and untied the knot. The tension in the air was so thick as the pinkette turned to show the GC her arm.
A gasp left Ander's mouth before she could help it, the brunette reflexively taking a step back as her gaze landed on the black tribal marking of a Pulse L'Cie brand. "Serah..." Ander said softly in desperation, wishing that her eyes were tricking her.
"As it turns out..." Nabaat said, approaching Ander's side, heels clacking against the tile, causing Skyler to curl around the young GC's legs defensively. "This is the L'Cie who was responsible for the purging of Bodhum's citizens." Ander watched, broken, as Serah met her gaze, eyes full of desperation. "Which also means, she is also responsible for the accident that happened just a few days prior to the purge."
Ander flinched, bringing a hand up to her mouth as he other hand clenched into the material of her skirt, her own eyes growing glassy as she remembered...the last time she saw him...
"Dad!" Ander called out, running through the throng of people watching the fireworks. The city was packed with tourists, and even the street leading up to the Guardian Corps headquarters was packed. The fabric of her purple dress swishing against her thighs as she ran to her parent. She brushed a stray lock of her loose chocolate brown hair from her eyes as she finally spotted him standing and talking with Lightning. The teen steeled herself, wanting to look professional in front of her teammate. She had been a part of the pinkette's team for about seven months now, and they were getting closer by the day, but that didn't stop her from still being nervous around her.
"Im sure you've heard about the accident at the Euride Gorge energy plant, and how it has the Psicom lads in a tizzy." Ander caught the tail end of their conversation as she came over to them. Her eyebrows furrowed, having heard bits and pieces of the accident from her father and around the town. When she had tried to ask him about it, he had brushed her off instantly with nervous gestures. Was he keeping something from her?
"Woah! Look at my little girl!" Lieutenant Alexander Amodar said, cutting off his conversation with Lightning as he saw his daughter. Skyler trotted up behind her, the white husky's tail swishing back and forth and eyes darting around from all the excitement. The father placed his large hands on his daughter's shoulders, a grin on his face. "Shinin' up like a new penny, wouldn't you say, Farron?"
Ander frowned, pink dusting against her cheeks, her emerald eyes glancing at Lightning then back to her dad. "Never mind that." She said, shaking her head as Skyler came up to her, sitting down by her side, panting. Ander pulled on her sleeve to make him come closer so she could whisper to him. "Why are you still in your uniform? We were supposed to leave ages ago..."
The father and daughter had decided to spend the eve of Bodhum's Firework Festival together, watching the show before heading off to eat dinner, just the two of them. They often spent holidays together like this.
Ander's mother had divorced her father when their daughter was young, and she often visited every couple of weeks, but the time she spent with her dad was special. He was her favorite person to be with, and he never failed to make his shy little girl smile bright.
Since Lieutenant Amodar was so busy most of the time, and Ander herself had recently become busy herself due to her recent entry into the Guardian Corps, she had been looking forward to this night for months, but now it seemed to be crumbling in front of her.
"Alright, alright..." Alexander Amodar said, standing back up straight and placing his hands up in defense as a grin came across his face. "I was just asking Farron about tomorrow." He turned his attention to the pinkette soldier at his side. "You're taking it off?"
Lightning looked between the father and daughter before shifting her gaze back to the sky. "Sir, for my birthday, sir." She said, sounding a little sheepish. Her younger teammate's eyes widened at this, she having no idea until now. "My sister, she insisted on it."
"Happy birthday, Light. I didn't know." Ander said after she finished.
Lightning's eyes were soft, holding no edge like they usually did as she stared down at the younger girl, a small smile coming to her. "Thanks."
"Twenty-one, huh?" Lieutenant Amodar said, coming over to Lightning and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe it's a good time to send off that letter of recommended for officer training." Ander looked up at her dad and smiled at this. He had already told her that Lightning would be getting a promotion in the future, and the young GC was happy for her teammate. Even though she would miss being on the same team as her.
"Leiutenant..." Lightning said, blue eyes widening as she looked between father and daughter. The two of them were the ones she was closest to out of the entire Guardian Corps, she having known them since she first started all those years ago. Having the two of them supporting her was definitely a pleasant surprise.
"You're past due for a promotion Farron." Amodar said and his daughter nodded at this. Lightning always worked hard, and needed to be rewarded for it. "Think of your sister, and your future. And uh, keep your nose outta trouble."
Lightning nodded at this. "Thank you Lieutenant." She said and the three of them exchanged a few words before the pinkette excused herself, leaving father and daughter to enjoy the fireworks.
"Welp, now I'm all finished." Alex smiled, bopping his child on the nose with his finger, like he used to do when she was younger. He laughed when she flushed again and returned the gesture. "But you came just in time. I just finished." He said, leaning down and grabbing onto his daughter's waist. "So let's enjoy those fireworks, huh?" The soldier lifted his daughter with ease up into the air until she was sitting on one of his broad shoulders. Skyler barked at this and jumped up placing his paws against the man's stomach, probably thinking this was some fun game.
"Dad!" She yelled, embarrassed, and he only laughed at her, moving through the crowd so that the three of them could find a better spot to watch the display. Ander allowed herself to relax and go along with his antics when she caught sight of the beautiful fireworks. This, after all, wouldn't be the first time he had done this.
Color exploded in every direction within their protective shield. "Whoa! Look at that one!" Her father exclaimed, chuckling as he finally found a good spot for them to view the spectacle. A happy smile came to the young GC's face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaning her head against his rough brown hair.
They were quiet for a long time, watching in awe, before she whispered, "I love you, dad."
She heard him chuckle before he reached up and grabbed one of her smaller hands in his own. "Love you too, pumpkin."
The day after that, Lieutenant Amodar was suddenly deployed on a mission, even though it was supposed to have been his day off.
"Why do you have to go?" Ander asked her father as he got ready to leave, hitching up Skyler's vest and preparing his gunblade. She normally was never needy with him, but something in her gut was telling her not to let him go.
"Listen to me, And." Lt. Amodar said, looking clearly shaken as he came to kneel in front of his daughter, his eyes level with hers and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You know that accident at the Gorge, right?"
"Yea..."
"Something...Pulse-related is going on, and that accident was the start of it all."
"Pulse? Dad, that's just-" Wasn't everything about Pulse just an old wives tale?
"I know it sounds far-fetched but believe me when I say it's true." Her father said, moving a stray lock of brunette hair behind her ear. "When I get back, I promise I'll explain it more to you then, but for now I have to go." He said, pulling her to him in a short hug. "Love you, pumpkin." He said into her hair, she saying it back to him before he and Skyler left together.
It had not been a full twenty four hours later when Ander was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night by somebody knocking loudly against her door.
When she opened it, she found all five of her father's teammates standing at her door, their faces solemn. Skyler wailed and came to her almost as soon as she opened the door, whining as he licked her hands. Ander watched in disbelief as one of them handed her her father's gunblade, and it was then that she broke down, holding onto the soldier's forearms in front of her as they all tried to comfort her.
Leitenant Amodar was shot and killed while trying to protect everyone on Coccoon from a Pulse-L'Cie. His team and another from Psicom's forces had been trying to apprehend the L'Cie and her comrade while they were trying to steal an airbike. As they took off, the airbike had swerved in between the two teams, and Lieutenant Amodar, along with two others, had been shot during the crossfire of the two teams.
Ander dropped to her knees, hugging herself, eyes wide with shock, staring at the floor as realization set in. That night had been the most painful, most heart-breaking night of her entire life.
"You could say," Jihl Nabaat said from behind the young GC, "that this very girl is the reason that your father was stolen from you so suddenly."
Ander flinched, bringing her hand up to her ears, eyes wide beyond belief at the accusation.
"Wait...Lieutenant Amodar is..." Serah started, reaching out a hand towards Ander before letting it drop down to her side.
"Deceased, yes." Jihl said, and Ander took in a shaky breath at the word.
"And..." Serah said, shaking her head as her heart broke for her friend. "I am so sorr-"
"You should be." Jihl said, fixing her glasses as she held her baton under her arm. "Considering you are the reason for his passing."
"...What?" Serah said, looking at Jihl with disbelief.
"You didn't know?" The Colonel asked. "Well that is quite rude of you to be so inconsiderate. Then again, I would expect nothing less from a Pulse L'Cie."
Serah frowned at this, her fists clenching at her sides. "I didn't kill Lieutenant Amodar." Her focus was set on Ander, who was still frozen on the ground. "I didn't, And."
"Don't call me that!" Ander said, looking up at the older girl. "Don't..." She didn't know what to believe anymore.
"Ander what about me would tell you that I would do something like that?" Serah asked, desperation in her voice as she took a step closer to her friend. Ander's green eyes stared into blue for a long pause before turning away. "Ander!", Serah shouted.
"Serah you've been keeping this from me ever since we've met..." Ander's mouth hung open, eyes glassy as she couldn't find the words. "...How on earth can I trust you?" Serah's eyes shone with hurt at those words, having nothing to deny them with.
"You can't." Jihl butted in, placing her hand on the GC's shoulder. "Pulse L'Cie are nothing but lying monsters who will stop at nothing to see the destruction of Coccoon."
"I would never do that!" Serah said, bringing her hand to her chest and taking a step forward. "I was born on Coccoon! I would never destroy it!"
"I beg to differ." Jihl said, looking down at Ander. "You have destroyed enough already, after all."
Tears slipped from Serah's eyes as she stared at Ander, who had brought her own hands up to cover her face, no doubt on the verge of crying if she wasn't already. She couldn't believe this was happening. Not only was her dirty secret revealed in the worst possible way, but now she was being accused of murdering her friend's father. Words could not describe the self loathing she had for herself right now. She absolutely hated herself for going into that Pulse vestige in the first place, and if she could take it back, she could. If somehow she could go back and change all this from happening, she would, but there was nothing she could do.
Jihl sighed, pushing up her glasses again as she tapped one of her heels on the tiled floor. "Lieutenant Amodar was truly a noble man. He was courageous and loved to help others. He left behind many family members and friends." Her eyes met Serah's. "All because one L'Cie drove her airbike between two army squadrents, causing him to be caught in the crossfire."
Serah shook her head at this, looking as if she had no idea what the Colonel was talking about, when it suddenly hit her.
"There they are! Stop em!"
Serah's sweaty hand held onto Snow's tightly as he pulled the two of them towards a lot of airbikes awaiting on the beach near their Pulse vestige in Bodhum. The two of them were running away from GC and Psicom soldiers who had learned of her L'Cie mark.
"Hold on." Snow said as Serah hopped into his lap on the bike. He pushed a few buttons and the bike revved to life.
The pinkette shut her eyes then, holding on desperately to her boyfriend as gunshots filled the air when the bike swerved and roared. Among the noise, sounds of shrieks and painful wails could be heard. One scream in particular sounded somewhat familiar to her, but she couldn't delve on it for too long as Snow drove them away from the fire.
Serah brought a shaky hand up to her mouth as tears fell from her eyes. That voice...she had thought it had sounded familiar. But she had never expected this to happen. She took in a shaky breath and looked at Ander, who had now moved to stand up from her position on the floor. Skyler was by her side, licking at one of her hands to try and comfort her.
"That was…" Serah said, voice shaky. "I didn't…"
"But you did." Jihl said from her spot beside Ander, hitting her baton against her palm. "And since you acknowledge that, I propose this…" Jihl paused, turning to look at Ander who had an unreadable expression on her face. "Cadet Amodar, if you would be so kind as to deal with this threat against Coccoon, I will see to it that all of your crimes thus far have been abolished, as well as give you a high promotion into the Psicom forces."
"Ander…" Serah said softly, taking her hand away from her face. "You… You can't be-"
She cut herself off, holding her breath, when she saw that Ander had now moved closer to her, gunblade drawn and aimed at her.
So hey guys, sorry this has taken forever, but I have been doing a lot of different things including fighting of depression but now I am back and I am taking a stab at writing again, so forgive me if I sound a bit rusty. If anyone reading this remembers my mermaid Black Butler story, I will be trying to write it very soon, so hopefully I will have the ending up very soon. I didn't really feel the need to write a random short for this chap because it is so long and so emotional, and I feel that a joke at the end will ruin the dramatic effect, so no short for this chapter, sorry. I will try and get more chaps up soon for you. Leave a review if you enjoyed please! It really helps! Well till next time, ja!
~Migoto Nami