Lightning ran her hands along the wall, her fingers numb and tingling. She blinked, her eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness.

She was surrounded by metal, plated walls lining all but one side of the cage. Lightning gazed out from the mesh, before testing the material; she pressed both hands against it, but the wire wouldn't budge.

Her ears twitched; something was pacing in the opposite side of the room. She fought back a growl.

Lightning's ears swiveled, catching the distinct rhythm of heeled shoes upon linoleum. She sat up, her horns scraping against the roof of the container.

She heard a rattling noise before a door swung open, and set of knees came into sight. Lightning bore her teeth when a woman knelt beside the crate.

"You're much more clever than I gave you credit for..." Jihl smiled, tilting her head. "But you'd stay behind, while your siblings go free?"

Lightning gave a low snarl, her spikes bristling.

"Aren't we past all that?" Jihl asked, "There's no need to keep up the act."

Lightning quieted, and concentrated on her throat. "What do you want?"

Jihl raised her brow, her eyes wide. "You can speak..."

Lightning was silent. She could hear Jihl's pulse quicken, her movement restless.

Jihl's voice was a near whisper. "I would have thought it impossible; this opens up so many-"

Lightning slammed her hands against the grate, her claws stopping a hairsbreadth from Jihl's face.

Jihl gave a breathy, nervous laugh, but she stayed in place. "The animalistic behavior remains... Although I wonder; if Subject Six could..." She drifted off for a moment, before her attention snapped back to Lightning. "I do hope you'll be more cooperative in the coming days."

Lightning hissed.

Jihl stood, walking a few paces away, before she paused. "I've no qualms with using certain... Motivational tools, Subject One. Please consider your options."

Lightning closed her eyes, and she heard the door swing shut.

Fang sat in the grass, her gaze locked on the distant city.

"Hey."

Fang tilted her head around, and shifted her throat. "Hey." She gestured at the ground beside her.

Vanille sat, and leaned her head on Fang's shoulder. "We'll get her out."

Fang sighed. "It hurts, Van."

Vanille shifted her lips into place, a smirk on her lips. "You more than us, I'll bet..."

Fang bristled from the human scent, as well as the insinuation. "Mind out of the gutter, young lady."

Vanille giggled. "I'm not that young."

Fang snorted. "You sure act like it." She reached over to ruffle Vanille's hair.

Vanille squawked, wrestling with Fang's arm. She jumped back a bit, a devilish grin on her face. "It was cute when you got her to cuddle."

Fang's mouth fell open, her eyes narrowed. "You little..."

Vanille darted away, and Fang leapt up to chase her.

Serah giggled at their antics. Snow had explained to her the events of the last few months, finishing with the story of their escape. Serah blinked back a bit of drowsiness, noticing that the littlest of the group had already curled up to sleep. Hope, Snow had said. Serah grit her teeth. How could PSICOM bring kids into this mess?

"So where..." Snow paused, scratching his head. "Where do we go from here?"

Noel looked up from the grass; Mog was resting over his lap, having long since followed them into the field. "I can't fit you guys in the car, that's for sure."

Snow smirked, his lips still shifted to their human state. "We put a lot of ground between us and PSICOM... We can run."

Noel raised an eyebrow. "We're right next to Eden... Do you know just how far Bodhum is?"

Snow frowned. "Bodhum..?"

Serah looked up at him, her brow creased. "Where we live, Snow."

Snow closed his eyes. "I'm sorry... It's all really blurry."

"It's alright." Serah tried to smile. "We'll go back, and you'll remember when you see it."

Snow opened his eyes, still plagued with doubt.

"Alright, next move..." Noel stood up, slinging his rifle over his back. "I've got an idea. I'll be back in a bit, just stay put."

Serah looked up at him, still sitting on the ground with Snow. "Do you need me to go, too?"

Noel looked back, a soft smile on his face. "Stay. Catch up on things; I'll try not to be long."

Mog stood as well, and trotted after Noel.

Serah and Snow sat for a while in silence, watching the chase between Fang and Vanille unfold.

"They're really fast;" Serah said, "look at them go..."

Fang nearly tackled Vanille, but she slipped out from her grasp, scampering away into the field. Fang panted, and moved across from Snow to catch her breath, sitting down in the grass.

Serah raised an eyebrow. "What did she do?"

Fang looked up, her eyes honing in on Serah. "Oh, uh..." She hid her fists in the grass, her claws twitching. "She was snooping in on private affairs." Fang looked over to see Vanille wave from across the field. "Kiddo needs to mind her own business..."

Serah giggled. "Is she your sister?"

Fang tilted her head. "Ah... Yeah, just not by blood."

Serah grinned. "That's just what little sisters do; we meddle, scheme, and dig up all of your secrets."

Fang tried to smile, settling on a short chuckle. She glanced over at Hope, her gaze soft. "Other kiddo's all tuckered out."

Serah frowned. "So he's... Where are his parents?"

Fang shrugged.

Snow cleared his throat. "He hasn't said much about the past; usually kept to himself."

Serah suddenly blushed.

Snow tilted his head, raising a single brow.

Serah stammered for a moment. "He is a he, right? I mean- I can't really tell..."

Fang barked out a laugh, quickly stifling it with her hands.

Snow laughed as well, his eyes tearing with mirth.

Serah scowled. "It's not that funny!" She hissed, rolling her eyes. "It's not my fault you don't have..." She blushed even deeper.

Fang choked for a moment, before clutching at her chest, her voice mournful. "Damn, you're right. I miss my boobs..."

Snow blushed at that, and quickly averted his gaze.

Serah rolled her eyes at him, turning to face Fang. "Where did they go, exactly?"

Fang shrugged, her shoulders sagging. "Went away with the change, I guess." She perked up a bit. "Although it does save a lot of time on the other end when you don't have to-"

"Nope!" Snow stood up, marching away. "Not having this conversation!"

"Hey, we're all in the same boat now, bud!" Fang chuckled while he walked off into the field.

Serah stifled a laugh, and looked Fang in the eye. "How was..." She paused, her smile fading. "How was Lightning when you last saw her?"

Fang quieted, her shoulders drooping. "Determined. She made me promise to get the kids safe."

Serah was silent for a moment. "Did she say anything about me?"

Fang glanced at the ground. "She never mentioned a sister."

Serah's face fell.

"But I mean..." Fang struggled to find the right words. "For a long time we couldn't even talk!" She leaned over, resting a hand on Serah's shoulder. "And everything's still real fuzzy from before, it might not be intentional."

Serah gave her a tiny smile. "We'll just have to ask her, then."

Fang nodded. "She's real tough. Almost kept up in a scrap against me."

Serah paled. "You fought?"

"Nothin' wrong with a little spar once in a while." Fang winked. "And she had to knock some sense into me somehow."

"Is it safe to come back, now?" Snow called out from the field, waving an arm in the air.

Fang stood, and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Not unless you want in on girl talk! Now scram!"

Vanille bounded up a moment later, a gleam in her eye. She nearly tripped over Hope, who still lay snoring in the grass.

"I heard that there would be girl talk." Vanille smirked.

"Oh yeah?" Fang tilted her head. "Who told you that?"

Vanille crossed her arms, and closed her eyes. "My sources may be unreliable, but they are strictly confidential." She let out a squeak when Fang shoved her in the grass, but quickly righted herself. "We'll need to extract Hope from the area; girl talk falls under the same confidentiality."

Fang snorted. "Couldn't tell the difference, first time I saw him."

Vanille narrowed her eyes. "And there's nothing wrong with that."

Fang poked Vanille's shoulder. "Never said there was."

Vanille swatted at Fang's arm, and looked over at Hope. "Although he is asleep; I guess we can let it slide."

The trio jumped when a horn blared from the road, honking twice in succession.

Snow walked back after a moment, and slung Hope over his shoulder. Serah giggled at the gesture, holding on to one of Snow's arms to balance herself.

They made their way to the road, and Noel rolled down the front window to greet them.

"Alright," Noel said, "here's the deal." He held a map out from the window, and pointed at a specific building. "Keep out of sight, and head there. I'll meet you out back, by the garage."

Snow helped Serah into the car, and she massaged her wound through the bandage.

Fang examined the map. "So we're..." She pointed at the outskirts with a claw. "Here, right?"

Noel nodded.

Fang pointed at an isolated building, at least a mile down the road. "And that's where we came from..."

Noel hissed under his breath. "PSICOM, Eden division."

Fang whistled through her teeth. "We ran that far, huh?" She didn't wait for an answer, and walked into the road.

Fang looked out over the city, waving for the group to follow. Snow walked forward with Hope over his shoulder, Vanille following close behind.

Fang started down the hill, leading them into the city.

Lightning covered her ears with her hands. Whatever was in the room with her wouldn't stop pacing. She let out a low growl, moving to glare out from the wire.

There was a moment of silence, before a pair of eyes glimmered in the darkness, and two sets of teeth snarled at her.

Lightning narrowed her eyes, her growl steadily growing in volume.

The teeth closed for a moment, but quickly opened in a vicious bark, snapping at her in a frenzy. Claws poked through a set of bars, and their owner huffed, straining against the metal.

Lightning focused on her neck. "Don't waste your time with those;" she said, "I was in the same kind for a while. Not happening."

Her neighbor quieted, the eyes blinking in quick succession. Lightning examined the figure, his frame was tall; lean, but muscular.

"She was saying something about..." Lightning paused. "Subject Six? Is that you?"

The figure was silent, and sat down in the cage.

Lightning rolled her eyes, laying down on the metal. "Six it is, then."