Hey everyone, hope you enjoy this new chapter in this fic.

Chapter 11

Brand

PALUMPOLUM PSICOM BASE

The two guards at the front gates were having a routine walk around the large courtyard. Both of them were armed with assault rifles and their helmets on their heads with the night vision on so that they can see in the dark.

"I still don't get why Nabaat got the entire base on their toes," one of the soldiers said.

"Well she was always a paranoid bitch from what I've heard," the other one said, chuckling, "Probably expecting something to happen."

"Who the hell in their right mind will want to infiltrate a PSICOM base?" the first soldier asked.

"Probably someone with too much free times on their hands."

"Yeah, yeah," the other soldier said, shaking his head.

The two continued to walk, their footsteps the only noise in the silence, that is until one of them suddenly turned toward the left poising his weapon in the direction.

"What is it?"

The other soldier didn't answer, only made his way toward where he had seen the person, or at least he thought it was a person. He had only seen it for a split second out the corner of his eyes.

"C'mon man, what is it?"

"Thought I saw someone over there," the soldier said lowering his weapon.

"Could have been a shadow or something," the other guy said, shaking his head, "With all those ships around here, it's bound to happen."

They were many ships that were on the large ground of the PSICOM base, as the first soldier, nodded at his companion, probably agreeing he had only seen a shadow.

"Could have been an animal," he said.

"Yeah, let's continue our round," the other soldier said.

The two walked off, and as they walked away, the silent shadow that the soldier had seen materialized as the pink haired woman removed the hood of the outfit.

Lightning let out a breath she was holding as the two soldiers walked away. She had been careless, and was almost seeing. Her outfit, a skin tight body suit with a hood that make the wearer go invisible to seeing eyes, hiding the person's heat signature.

It was a useful piece of technology she had there, thanks to her Father.

No wonder he was called the genius of his time, Lightning thought, smirking at the thought of her Father.

She pulled her wrist up and a hologram appeared there, showing the map of the building as she moved her fingers at a remotely fast space, hacking into the system.

Now, where are you? She murmured, looking for the craft.

Then she found it, in a room somewhere in the lower levels of the Military Base. The room had a number of people in lab coats probably working on what its functions were, well, after tonight, they won't be working on it anymore.

But the thing that still puzzled the pinkette is how the craft had been reactivated? The power cells died. Could someone from this place have fixed the damage…if so, how much of the technology that had created the ship had been figured out?

If the ship had been activated…then this could work.

She pulled out the watch looking device turning it over, pressing the button on the back. In her hand, the watch transformed, showing a hologram with time running on it and the critical level the ship was. Everything was functioning quite well.

Lightning then entered the ship master code on the hologram before pressing the activated button, and she sat there in the darkness, waiting for the craft to come to her.

PSICOM SCIENCE DIVISION

Bartholomew was looking over the data that had been gathered on the craft design. It was unlike anything he had ever worked on in his entire life. He had been the top of his class in ships design and he knew probably every type of craft and vessels and how they work from the inside and out, and probably never thought that he would be stumped…

Well, when that craft had being handed to his team and him to work on, he was pretty well stumped.

Using his fingers to push up his glasses back unto his nose, the thing had a habit of slipping down; he looked at the data a look of utmost concentration on his face. This technology was neither from Pulse nor Cocoon, that much he was able to figure out, but where the hell did it come from?

Technology that advanced doesn't just pop up out of nowhere like this one had, it had to be developed somewhere…

The man had exhausted all of his resources as to find the origins of the vessel but nothing had come up. He had thought with a reach as far as PSICOM, he would be able to find origins of the craft but…

Sighing, he leaned back into his chair, his eyes fixing toward where the craft was seating, looking the same as ever except for now, he could hear the low humming of the ship. He had once seated inside it, when it wasn't activated. He had been able to identify some similar features to the craft of Cocoon…while others had been completely different, as their functions still elude him to this day.

Suddenly his cell phone started to ring, snapping the man out of his jumbled thoughts.

"Eisthem here," he said.

"You said you were going to come home early today," a female voice said on the other end of the line.

Bartholomew blinked.

"Nora?"

"It's your son fourteenth birthday tomorrow," Nora told him, in a scolding voice, "You haven't forgotten have you?"

"O…Off course not," he said, "Why would I forget my own son's birthday?"

"Are you taking the leave tomorrow then?" Nora asked her voice hopeful.

"I'll have to talk to my superior's about it first," Bartholomew said.

A loud whirring sound drew his attention, making him glance toward the mysterious craft and his eyes widen.

It was hovering in the air, the whirring sound growing louder and louder each passing second. He was confused as to how the ship could be moving…any less flying… at the moment…

"I'll have to call you back Nora," he said, "Something really strange is happening, love you."

He snapped his phone shut and made for the communicator and radioed Jhil's office.

"This is Nabaat," the cool female voice said on the other end.

"Ma'am, the ship is flying," he said.

Fang yawned.

Today had been boring without Lightning here. She found herself missing her a little, but in all in all, Lightning had told her she would come back, and hell she was holding the girl to that.

"Thinking about Lightning?"

"Yeah," Fang murmured still in her thought.

"I knew it. You really do like her."

That snapped Fang out of her thoughts, glancing toward the new arrival, which unsurprisingly was Vanille. Ever since she had admitted to the girl that she had feelings for Lightning, Vanille had gone out of her way to makes Lightning related comments whenever Fang was out of it.

"Didn't I tell you that yesterday night?" Fang told her.

"I know," Vanille answered her, taking a seat beside the tall Oerban girl, "but I saw this coming from a mile away."

Fang raised an eyebrow, but didn't bother continue the conversation, "Have you seen Serah anywhere?"

Vanille blinked, "No, not today really why?"

Fang stood up from her seat.

"I'm going to look for her," she said.

"Really, Fang, why?"

The girl turned toward her, a roguish smirk crossing her face.

"Why do you think?"

Fang left the girl to stare at her, making her way toward where she knew the list of the names and rooms numbers where situated. It was around here. Chuckling, she remembered that was where she had first met Lebreau, and she searched the list, tracing it with her finger.

SERAH FARRON, LIGHTNING FARRON ROOM 502

They had the same room, Fang thought, shouldn't be surprised, these two seems to have their way around campus.

Room 502, meant it was on the fifth floor, making Fang groan slightly, but she scaled the stairs at a leisure place until she arrived on the intended floor, before glancing around, her eyes finding the nearest door.

505.

She walked down the hallway arriving at the end of the corridor, the door which was marked 502. Fang knocked on the wooden door.

"Hey, Serah, it's me Fang."

She waited for a few seconds before knocking again. When no one was answered, a small frown worked itself upon Fang's brown as she turned the doorknob, and to her surprise, it was unlocked.

She stepped inside.

The room was engulfed in darkness. The blind were closed, not letting in any sunlight, but Fang still can see the room. The bed were made and the sound of running water reached her ears as she approached, a slight worry seeping through her system.

"Serah?"

Her voice sounded odd in muted silence of the room. She made her way toward the bathroom and can see the light seeping through the opening and noticed a pair of legs on the ground…

"SERAH," Fang yelled, rushing into the bathroom, opening the door fully.

Serah Farron was lying unconscious on the bathroom floor, still dressed in sleep clothes. Fang quickly took hold of the girl, taking hold of her head tapping her cheeks a little.

"Serah, can you hear me?"

The girl moaned but didn't open her eyes.

"Hang on Serah," Fang said, passing her hand underneath the girl's small body, and picked her up.

The girl was surprisingly light in her arms, as she carried her into the room, putting her down on her bed, getting Serah comfortable, but her eyes zeroed upon the bandages that was falling away from Serah's upper arm.

Fang frowned.

She didn't remember seeing this on Serah before and wondered if something had happened to the girl. She leaned over the girl as she removed the bandages…

And froze.

Her eyes stared at the strange…almost alien tattoo that was upon the Serah's arm, and the thing that shocked her most was the red thing in the middle of the tattoo…almost like a red triangular eye, and she had a feeling that the thing was staring at her.

W…what the fuck is that?

Jhil Nabaat straightened up at what Bartholomew had said. Only one thing was running through her mind right now.

She's here.

A smirk worked on her face. She knew that the l'Cie wouldn't have been able to resist the beacon from the craft. Adjusting her glasses, Jhil turned toward her companion.

"Well, it would seem you have been right."

The man chuckled, "I know her, that's why. She wouldn't have been to resist. Her curiosity would always win in the end."

Jhil, leaning forward, was about to sound the alarm when the man caught her hand.

"No, if you do that, she'll know that she had been sighted," the man said, his eyes glinting, "I'll go meet her personally."

Jhil looked indecisive for a moment before sighing, and leaning back into her chair.

"Do what you want then."

The man let out a grin, "She escaped me, two times already, and she won't do it a third time."

He then disappeared in flurry of red and black.

Jhil breathed out at his disappearance, and she let out a chuckle.

Never in her entire life had she thought she'll be in the middle of an l'Cie battle.

Lightning let a grin work on her face when the ship burst from the building creating a loud crash, and the alarm started to blare around as many soldiers were starting to arrive at the scene of the destruction, and most of glanced at the ship in surprises, then Lightning took a jump as the ship passed her, landing on the hull of the craft as it heads straight for the sky…

That is until a yellow blast slammed straight against the ship.

Lightning almost lost her balance at the violent shake, which makes her glance about to see the attacker and was shocked at what she was seeing…

A…Eidolon.

But it wasn't any Eidolon, it was one she recognized.

Ifrit, she thought.

Then another blast was flying toward her from the flying giant as Lightning summoned her magic and yelled, "Thundara."

The two collided in midair, creating a shower of light but the Eidolon's power was much stronger than Lightning's spell as it tore through the spell like it was nothing.

If only I could summon Odin, she thought as her eyes fixated upon the sea not too far from where she was flying.

She quickly pushed a few buttons from her wrist and the ship obeyed swerving right toward the ocean water, with the large creature following her firing yet another blast, one which barely missed.

Still crouched on the hull of the craft, Lighting quickly punched in a few things again thinking.

It's better if I just hide it underwater for this, then I can take him on without worrying about damages.

When the ship was about to enter the water, Lighting took a jump into the air, her body parallel to the water's surface as she snapped her fingers. Electrical charges runs through her outfit as she floated in the air before yelling out.

"Odin,"

A pink like shield appeared around her before her Eidolon materialized in the air around her, transforming into a giant white horse which Lightning rode on, taking the large sword in her hands as the being landed upon the white sands in a gallop, coming to a stop.

Ifrit, had landed there also, as a figure jumped down from its back. Lighting got off Odin, the menacing swords still in her hands as the figure approached her, still hooded but she recognize the side that wasn't.

"You," she said.

"Yes," the man across her said, with a grin, "Me, and this time, you won't be walking out of this alive."

Fang leaned closer to better inspect the strange thing that was on Serah's arm. It didn't look like an ordinary tattoo that's for sure. It looked more like a brand, but why would Serah have this on her arm?

Fang's and brushed the black lines with her fingers, to her surprise weren't shaking and one of her finger brushed against the red eye.

Pain shoots through the arm, as Fang jumped back but that wasn't the only thing that happened. An image flashed before Fang's eyes, one that looked unfamiliar yet, feels terribly familiar.

Golden long hair, eyes glowed an eerie white, as an infernal scream tore through her mind.

Suspense suspense. Who is the mysterious man that met Lightning? and what is going on with Fang?

I hope i'll answer those question further next in the story.

Jacques0 out.

R&R.