Heeey people! This time this one is updated. Slooowly craaaawling towards the end. I loved rude and rough Lightning in FFXIII, so we are going to see a little bit of rude & rough Lightning from now on. I hope you'll enjoy this side of Light as much as I do.
Thanks a lot for all the kind words after the previous chapter. 2018 was a really tough year for me and it gave me so much solace that there are people who liked the story so much that they came back to it after a year. Love you all!
To answer a BIG question... Odin is fine, don't worry. Serah took him with her to NORA guys, before bad guys entered the house ;) But I have to admit... he seems to be kind of... forgotten. I need to think about something for him.
Ragnarokxiii - I wanted to answer you directly but looks like you don't have an account so I couldn't… I'm sorry to hear about your horrible relationship and breakup. Sometimes I wonder if some people just enjoy hurting the others or if it comes from their own insecurities or they are just thoughtless and not aware of how much damage they do… I hope you're alright now. I know that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is bullshit but sometimes it does work. I can say that now I feel stronger than I ever was :) As for and donating... awww thank you but I'm doing it entirely for fun. You did pumped my ego though ;* heheh
Again big thanks for LadyWolvie82 for beta!
Have fun and... wait for more... It takes time but I'm doing it!
"I fucking hate her!" Lightning growled when her fist hit a punchbag hard. Then another and another. She was putting all her might in the punches and kicks and it still seemed to not be enough. Fang's smirk suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. She gritted teeth hard and strong right hook flew towards the leather bag filled with rags and sand. All to disperse the picture of Fang's face which her mind was projecting against her will. The droplets of sweat were slowly gathering on her forehead, they would soon run down her face, following the already dry trail marked by tears. Tears that were held tight in her eyes now, increasingly fogging her vision.
'At least ya were a good fuck.' The words echoed in her ears. So humiliated. The anger gathered painfully in her stomach seeking desperately a way out in all directions. It reached her throat just before it got to the limbs and yet another furious growl escaped her throat, followed by a few series of fast but firm punches. Lightning's nostrils fluttered and the muscles of her jaw had to give up on gritting her teeth. She started panting, but she was far from done. The punchbag swayed a little bit when the pinkhead jumped back to it and brought out a few smites with her bare fists and followed with some high and low kicks when her knuckles resisted to it in pain. She didn't bother with taking the gloves with her. All she wanted was to let steam out before it caused her insides to burst. If not for her strictly trained self-control, she wouldn't get to the garage without breaking anything on the way. She barely made through it, anyway.
The image of the exploding spaceship then came to her mind, bringing back the emotions she felt then and there, tripling the sense of loss. Desperate grunts started to get out of her throat with every hit. Her fists were painting the leather surface with her own blood, but she didn't care. The grief was tearing her insides to shreds. She got Fang back… only to watch her go away. To make her go away.
She was panting heavily, but she simply couldn't stop. Couldn't let herself stop until at least part of the pain faded. However, her mind had other plans, feeding her with snapshots from their recent argument. It stopped on one particular image of the such which she couldn't get rid of, the one that hurt her the most. The deep disappointment and defeat in Fang's eyes. As if in that one moment all of her bite, determination, hope, energy… everything disappeared. Pure sadness, and also disappointment, in her eyes. She watched something she never expected to see. She saw Yun giving up. As if something died in her. The core of Fang's being, something that was making her Yun just dispersed in a second. Shattered by Lightning's own words. She caused all of that herself.
Lightning pulled her fists up and brought up a few devastating blows. She gave everything she got into this frenzy. All the energy she had left, all her soreness. Tears hung in her eyes obscuring her vision. The bag swayed back with the final smash. It came back after a second, but Lightning had nothing left in her. She caught it and leaned her forehead, hugging it. Her burning muscles were screaming for a break. The tears finally broke free from her eyes and ran down her cheeks, mixing with the sweat and dripping to the dropped down to her knees. Out of breath, and no longer able to stop the stubborn tears from flowing. A painful shudder racked her body and a feeble whimper escaped her mouth.
She was so lost. She even no longer knew where to place her anger, didn't know if she was still angry at Fang… or angry at herself. Or if she should, or even could, have placed that anger of hers somewhere else. Raines, Dysley, Cocoonians, the rest of the world, Etro… She didn't know. For a while, she just wanted to lie down and let go. Of everything.
She was thinking that things couldn't possibly go worse when she heard a concerned voice from behind her.
"Lightning?" The voice was still distant, but she knew that, once she was spotted, there was no way of getting out of this clusterfuck without a confrontation. She wondered in which exact moment in her life she had got under Lady Luck's skin so badly. Lady Luck… Her insides cringed on the mere thought of such. She never really believed in Lady Luck… why would that thought even appear in her mind? She didn't need to think about the answer, for it was too obvious and made her anger rise again. I'm even thinking her way. How could she let Fang get into her head so deeply? However, she couldn't let herself to dwell upon this while her little sister was about to approach her. She tried hastily to wipe away tears with a back of her hand but then she noticed blood oozing from her smashed knuckles and realized she made her face look worse. It looked badly enough even without blood on it. She couldn't let her sister see her like that. That was the only reason she somehow managed to force herself to focus. All her willpower was put into steadying her breath even if just for a moment.
"Serah, please, it's not a good time to talk about whatever..." Her voice came out, cold and detached of any emotion. Even if it was weaker than usual, she made a good job hiding its shakiness. At least that was one thing she was always good at, and that never let her down. Turning around and facing Serah was, of course, now out of the question. Even if she was able to keep her face impassive, there were still trails of tears and her eyes burned.
"There you are..." Serah's voice was getting closer and closer to her. "I've been…" The sound of her footsteps stopped suddenly, and she paused for a moment. "… worried." She said the last word absentmindedly, as if she saw a ghost and her mind already rushed toward a different topic while her mouths automatically finished the sentence. Lightning was aware that the place was a mess and the punching bag wasn't the only battered equipment there. The fact that it was smeared in blood might have been the main cause of Serah's bewilderment though.
"I'm fine. I just need some time… alone." Her shoulders tensed even more than they were before and her eyes shut tightly, bracing for what was to come, but she still managed to keep her voice calm.
"What happened?" Serah voice was now much more concerned and scared. She chose to ignore her sister's plead and started again walking towards Lightning.
"Leave me alone…" The anger started seeping through her teeth. "Please..." Her fists were clenched so tightly that she could feel her nails driving painfully in her palms. Why was it always with her sister that she couldn't give her any privacy? Her breathing became ragged, she was no longer in power to smooth it out.
"Claire…" She heard Serah just behind her and felt her soft palm on the shoulder. This gentle touch was the final nail in the coffin. Fire met gasoline. The spark which freed and gave a form to all the fury Lightning tried to hide from her sister, all of the pent up soreness and feeling of injustice.
Lightning raised from her knees and turned to her sister, her face distorted by sheer rage. Teeth clenched, eyes reddened and narrowed, leering at Serah, face covered in the mix of sweat, tears and blood.
"Which part of 'leave me alone' don't you fucking understand, Serah?!" She shouted at the younger Farron. The obvious fear on the little pinkhead's face added up to her already overwhelming pile of regret and remorse which was only seemingly drowning in the ocean of spite and to tell the truth it was powering it up. Lightning didn't wait for an answer, she walked away, leaving her frightened sister behind.
"Claire…" Serah whispered weakly but only an echo of Lightning's heavy footsteps answered her.
XXX
"Fang! Where were you?" The brunette was pulled out abruptly from her thoughts. She stopped in her tracks and looked around to localize the source of the question. She didn't need to look far, she almost bumped into Vanille. Fang was so caught up in her thoughts, in her anger that she didn't give a shit about the world around her. She even got back through the main gate, ignoring surprised glances and questions of guards who hadn't wanted to let her out earlier. Fortunately, they weren't stupid enough to get in her way this time.
"I was looking for you everywhere!" There was a slight complaint in Vanille's usually cheerful voice and when Fang finally looked at her, her lips were curved in a small pout. However, Vanille's grumble didn't even reach her consciousness. Fang narrowed her eyes on the redhead, her mind suddenly fixated on a completely different topic.
"Ya do remember, don't ya?" Fang's tone was frigid. Vanille was taken aback. The little pout quickly gave place to confusion mixed with deep restlessness. The brunette's accusatory eyes seemed to see through Vanille's face and straight into her mind.
"Fang… what do you mean by that?" The younger one gulped the saliva with trouble. She tried to play oblivious but from the look on Fang's face, she figured it wouldn't work this time. She hoped that would at least buy some time until she found another way.
"Everythin' from before. Your memory isn't as fucked up as mine…" That wasn't a question. Fang knew and Fang was pissed off. Vanille went pale. She hoped this conversation would never have place but here they were, right here and now, and Fang was impatient.
"Fang…" She started weakly, her throat tighter than usual but she wasn't given a chance to say another word as Fang's accusatory finger appeared just before her nose.
"And don't even try lyin' to me!" Sharp edge appeared in Fang's voice and freezing fear crept into the redhead. She was afraid. She wondered if Fang was ready to hit her if she didn't get a satisfying answer but just when she was about to burst into tears, Fang's face cracked just a tiny bit to show a glimpse of sorrowful desperation. "What did Caius REALLY know that made him spite me? What is that Nabaat knew? Why did she say that it's 'convenient for me to forget'? Why is everyone lookin' at me as if it was all my fault and the only person that I actually trust lies to me!?"
"It's not your fault!" Vanille's eyes started to water. She balled her fists and almost shouted at Fang. "People who invaded Gran Pulse were to blame. People carrying out experiments on other people for their own gain should be spat! We just got caught up in the middle of the war…" Overwhelming sadness crossed Vanille's face and her eyes dropped to the floor, her voice weaker somehow. "You were protecting our home…"
XXX
The loud rumble roused Serah from her watchful sleep. Her neck was killing her because of uncomfortable position on the couch. She massaged it to disperse the pain and looked around the room. The light was on. She must have fallen asleep waiting for Lightning to come back home. Behind the window, she could see the first signs of dawn. Another rumble and the streak of curses caught her attention and soon after Lightning appeared in the room.
"Claire…?" She asked but the older pinkhead didn't hear her… or decided to ignore her. She didn't look good at all. Her hair was a right mess and there were still traces of her own blood in random places. Probably from her cut-open knuckles. She was leaning on the wall to help steady herself while taking another wobbly step forward.
"Lightning..." Serah said louder this time, hurrying to her sister's side. When she got closer, she doubtlessly smelled the strongly sharp scent of alcohol. This time Light's unfocused, fogged eyes fell on the smaller pinkhead.
"Serah…" A self-deprecating half-smile finally appeared on her face and her eyes came back to the floor. "Right…" She huffed her exasperation out and took a few unsteady steps toward the stairs. When she faltered dangerously, Serah helped to steady her.
"Light, what happened?" She asked relentlessly, trying to get her sisters attention but Lightning refused to even glance at her.
"And what does it look like?" She muttered under her break.
"You're drunk…" As much as Serah tried to be patient she couldn't help a tad of irritation which got into her tone.
"Well done, Sherlock." She answered sarcastically and started climbing up the stairs. When she was half the way, she heard her sister from behind her, down at the base of the stairs.
"Is it about Fang?" Lightning stopped abruptly and raised her head narrowing her eyes on some non-existing object in the void right in front of her. Her grip on the handrail tightened and she moved forward again, without a glance back on her sister, without any further word. However, that was enough. Serah already knew.
Lightning then woke up to the knocking on the door. She had no idea what time it was. The room was dim because of the drawn curtains. However, several rays of sunlight broke into the room illuminating the mess around it. She scrunched her nose, realizing that one astray beam of sunlight fell straight on her face. She set her mind to turn her head, but it was so heavy that she chose to cover it with a pillow to hide from the annoying light.
Then the knocking on the door she heard stirred her again. She let the heavy breath out and put all her power into sitting on the bed. She was dizzy and the view was waving slightly. She rubbed her fatigued face, hoping that would sober her up somewhat. When it was of little help, she put palms on her temples, trying both to stop the sway of the world and relieve some pain pulsing in her head. Another heavy breath left her lips and she raised her eyes to the door. There was no knocking this time. The handle bent down, and the door opened slightly to reveal Serah'sposture.
"Light…?" She asked hesitantly and scrunched her nose when the smell of alcohol and products of its breakdown reached her. Lightning was aware of the smell. She couldn't exactly feel that but after the amount of alcohol, she had drunk the day before, it had to be intense. As a cop, she used to dealing with smelly drunkards so she was aware how unpleasant it was. She had her clothes on and hadn't even bothered to take her shoes off before falling on the bed. Serah didn't make a comment to any of that though.
"What time is it?" Lightning asked to fill the silence and give a sign that Serah had her attention. The actual time didn't bother her. If she was to be honest, she would gladly go lie back in bed and sleep through the hangover. Talking with her sister was the last thing she wanted to at the time.
"It's past noon but it's not why I'm here." Serah made a small pause, waiting until her sister's eyes focused at her. "Cid Raines is here. He wants to see you."
Light's eyes shut tightly, and she tensed visibly. Her nostrils fluttered with an intense breath. After a while, her jaw settled itself and she opened her eyes looking sharply at her sister as if she sobered up in a blink.
"I'll be down in fifteen minutes."
Cid Raines was sitting on the couch, sipping a tea when Lightning entered the room. She didn't exactly look fresh and rested but a quick shower did her good. Her hair was still damp, but it was way better like that than in the previous state. Despite the hangover, she made her best effort to keep her senses vigilant. The usual hostility and distrust were emanating with doubled force.
"Miss Farron, nice to see you." Raines started the conversation almost cheerfully, seeing the pink-haired woman taking a seat on the opposite side of the coffee table. "I hope your recovery is going well."
Lightning narrowed her eyes on him obviously not interested in talking about her recovery. "Let's skip the pleasantries." She answered harshly, wanting for this conversation to be over as soon as possible.
Cid Rains smiled faintly and something ominous crept into his gaze. "Oh, I've already done." Lightning glared suspiciously, waiting for him to continue. "I don't think we've had an occasion to talk about all that has happened recently."
"I've already given testimony to the officer." She answered matter-of-factly.
"I know. However, it looks like you are in much better condition now. And the point with head injuries is that the memories tend to come back in different stages of the recovery process."
"I have to disappoint you. I cannot recall anything besides what I've already told."
Cid took a sip from his cup. A misbelieving smile appeared on his face. "And that is closely nothing." He put the cup back excruciatingly slowly and then raised his narrowed eyes to meet the cold cerulean ones. Lightning was aware that he didn't believe her, so she didn't even put much of an effort to look convincingly.
"You know, head injury can be a bitch." She exclaimed keeping his gaze, not even blinking. To tell the truth she couldn't help her lips to turn into a tiny smirk. Still, she tried her best to make it look to some degree apologetic.
Cid's wry smile grew even bigger. "That's a shame miss Farron. A real shame…" They both knew that Lightning's memory loss was as false as Cid's concern about her wellbeing. They decided to keep appearances though. Raines cleared his throat loudly. "Miss Farron, your recovery progress isn't the only reason I'm here."
Lightning looked at him impassively not reacting to the flip her stomach did. She expected Cid to show up here and she exactly knew which topic he would like to discuss. What she didn't expect was that just the mention would make her feel sick again. The hangover seemed a great excuse to rationalize her reaction. The deep, calm breaths helped her to lose some tension in her stomach and she gave Cid small nod to encourage him to continue.
"As you already know by now, the events of that day have far-reaching consequences. The people are now unsettled, and they are divided into two groups. Two groups standing in opposition to each other. They can get back on the streets anytime. We are in grave need of a great amount of subtlety to reach the middle ground between them…"
"As far as I know, It's your job not mine." The pinkhead cut him off. The pace in which he was getting to the point was pissing her off. She wanted this conversation to be over as quickly as it's possible and never go back to it. "I've never been good at 'subtlety'."
"Yes… I can tell." He answered, visibly not pleased by being interrupted.
"Get to the point..."
"Miss Farron, you are the face of this revolt and they say that revolution devours its own children. As far as it was needed for the Cocoon's sake and as far as I appreciate your contribution to the cause, the crimes you committed cannot be just forgotten. To tell the truth, I would gladly forget about all the misdeeds, since basically, you did no harm to any civilian, but as I said, people are ready to jump to each other throats and they demand justice. Some of them even preach death penalty for you but let's not be radical. This is not the way the modern, civilized country should go, isn't it?"
Lightning narrowed her eyes on the man and settled her jaw taming the anger. You little manipulative piece of shit. Do you really think I will get scared and fall for every piece of trash you propose for me?
"Anyway…" He continued his façade."We needed to think about something that would be acceptable for people on both sides of the barricade. I am here now to present the most optimal proposal for you. We came up with the conclusion that it would be most profitable for everyone if you moved to Gran Pulse along with the Pulsians. We still know almost nothing about the place, and it can be a dangerous adventure. That is why we need someone like you. You could be an ambassador of Cocoon on this foreign ground. In case you agree to that, your supporters would be satisfied because it would be your own decision and not an expel. On the other side, your opposers would be satisfied by wiping you out of the face of Cocoon. I think it's also a satisfying option for you, considering 'the friendships' you have…" Lightning's ears twitched in anger on the mention of the word 'friendships'. She had heard enough.
"I refuse." She answered unapologetically, cutting him off again. Cid seemed surprised. He wasn't prepared for such a quick refusal. The blunt way it was done, without hearing him out properly, left him confused for a moment.
"Miss Farron, you don't need to give me an answer right away. I would recommend thinking my proposition over. There is no rush to that." The way he was trying to make her feel responsible for Cocoon's sake made her irk grow. As if it was related… She had already done more than enough. She had exposed Sanctums lies and war crimes… and much more… Whether she moved to Gran Pulse or not wouldn't make any difference with Cocoon's actual condition. That would be just convenient for him to have me out of his mind and that leech couldn't restrain himself from playing dirty.
"I've made my mind up. I'm not going."And even if her decision had any meaning, she had already done her part. I've destroyed the evil. Now, when it's time for building, I should give place for the others to step in. No longer my competences.
'Lightning… it only destroys.' The words echoed in her mind confirming her conviction that the only thing she's good at is hurting other people. It could come in handy when there were actual people who deserved to be hurt but other than that… she felt pretty useless.
"That's very unfortunate..." Cid spoke again with a deep frown."You do realize it gives us considerably less room for maneuver. If you refuse the plea bargain, I am not in power to help you another way. The lawsuit would be necessary then and the charges, as you probably expect, are not light. I may be the new patriarch to Cocoon, but I cannot really influence the judges, can I?"
"Yeah, what would be the new patriarch for if he was as corrupted as the previous one." She answered sarcastically looking provocatively into Cid's eyes. Her anger was slowly slipping through. Cid's suggestion was too obvious and was making her sick. She started doubting if getting rid of Dysley was going to change anything. They might have just exchanged one person for another. This is the problem with people.Once they feel unrestricted power at their fingertips the temptation to abuse it is unbearable. Even if they have good intentions, they tend to force their ideas, thinking that they would do good for everyone.
Cid's half-hearted snicker reached her ears. "Exactly miss Farron. Exactly." He looked at her with the mix of mocking kindness and something sinister hidden behind his eyes. He took another sip of his tea to hide his wolfish smile. "Speaking of patriarchy, we still have no clue about Galenth Dysley's current location. The man knows well how to fall off the radars. And how to wipe out all the fishy things related to him. Including all his collocations with Sci-Lore. You seemed to know a lot about the experiment they were carrying on there."
Lightning crossed her arms and leaned on the backrest. "Everyone knows now." She shrugged indifferently, keeping her emotions at bay."The newspapers have been writing about it continuously for days now, Cid."
"Yes, that is the truth. And from what I know, you were the very one who delivered all the data to them. Miss Farron, if you don't mind, I would be delighted if you were so kind and provided me with a copy."
"I don't have a copy." She stared coldly at deeply unsatisfied politician. "All the data were on my computer but, as you probably know, some people broke into my house." She watched Cid carefully looking for any indication that these people might have been taking orders from him. His expression didn't tell her anything, so she continued. "The data must have been what they were looking for when they broke in. They've taken my hard disk."
"I see…" For the first time Cid seemed thoughtful and genuinely concerned. That surprised her somehow.
"Besides, there was nothing more. All is in the newspapers. If you want more, I'm not the right person. You should start your investigation with Sci-Lore."
"Oh, I've already done that. However, all the traces in Sci-Lore's laboratories were erased, all the data destroyed." He narrowed his eyes on her now. "I'm just curious how would you end up in possession of such important and carefully hidden materials."
"It was copied from Jihl Nabaat's computer while we were trying to rescue the remaining Pulsians from their facility. That was all we could download at the time. There was no time to sit there and make extra copies. We've barely managed to run away."
"Jihl Nabaat..." Raines smiled under his nose deep in thoughts. "Another 'ghost person'. We have been trying to determine her location for days. Strangely, all people connected to Sci-Lore or Galenth Dysley's dirty businesses disappear lately. They all went into hiding, just as Dysley himself." Lightning then looked at him indifferently. Looks like Dysley managed to clear the place up completely. She had no intention of informing him that Jihl Nabaat was dead or suggesting any involvement of Hope in obtaining the data, which were considerably more than the part they had shared with the journalists.
"Ah, Miss Farron, you probably do not realize just how valuable the Sci-Lore data were. As much as I condemn their research, imagine how much we could learn. The knowledge itself has no guilt, it should not be erased no matter how disgraceful the way of obtaining it was. That research should have never happened but the knowledge it provides is the one and only good thing we could extract from it. Not only the neurobiological research but also all the information about the land unknown for us. We might learn so much about Pulse… Now the suffering of the Pulsians is going to waste. Most of the evidence of their suffering was destroyed." He looked at Lightning meaningfully. "Most people who were responsible for their suffering will not be reached by justice."Light's lips pressed into a thin line, what didn't escape from Cid's vigilant eyes. He knew he poked the sensitive spot and had no intention to withdraw. "Think about it, miss Farron. The people working for Sci-Lore, for Dysley living carefree, wealthy lives after all they've done to the Pulsians… To your friends... to Vanille… and to Fang." He deliberately put the most pressure at the last name… or that was only Lightning's imagination. All she knew was that her insides turned on the sound of Fang's name, especially in the given context. Her fists balled involuntarily. How dare you? To use justice trick to manipulate me into giving you what you want. How dare you…To use Her name? You don't give a fuck what happens to her. To all of them. You've just seized the opportunity to sit your ass in patriarch's throne and you're using people's mood to make yourself a hero, to make yourself look like the only hope for Cocoon. Her breath started to visibly quicken, and she couldn't stop imagining her hand tightening around his throat, so as to stop the flow of vicious, viper-like words from his mouth.
"I'm sorry." She snapped at him. "I cannot provide you with the information I do not have." She was fuming, barely keeping her anger in. She wanted nothing more than to break his nose and throw him out of her house. Still, he was just an opportunist, corrupted vile. Like most of the politicians. He did nothing to deliberately hurt people so far and punching the most important person in the country, after trying to take the life of the previous one, wouldn't be wise. For Serah. I need to stay calm for Serah. I need to be there for her. She managed to loosen her palms and bury her anger somewhere deep inside. Her breathing calmed and the furious fire turned into freezing scorn.
"Miss Farron…" He seemed unyielding but Lightning had enough of this conversation.
"I have nothing more to say."She said every word slowly and coldly, as if every one of them was an icy needle directly aimed at the man. Even for him, it was a clear indication that the conversation was over now. He was sitting a moment longer, staring at her and considering his options, visibly unsatisfied with the outcome of his visit. Still, Lightning's face left no delusions that there is still place for a debate. The scorn, the cold distance and hostility were at least intimidating. If he wanted to cut a deal with her, that wasn't the day. She still might be a valuable asset for Cid if she wanted to cooperate, but he knew that by pushing too hard he could turn her into an enemy and that was the least desirable outcome. Looking at her, he wondered if the thin line wasn't already crossed.
Cid eventually surrendered and nodded meaningly. "I see..." He got up to his feet and smoothed the creases on his attire and straightened his back. "Then it's time for me to go."
Lightning escorted him to the door, where two of his guards were standing still holding their rifles ready to use. Cid put his heavy, immaculately clean cape on and took his staff which was probably only an ornamental sheath for some kind of white weapon. He turned to face her and put both his gloved hands on the staff's head leaning it casually on the floor.
"Miss Farron, think my proposition over again..."
"That won't be needed." She answered immediately, not having any intention to do so.
"I see…" He put a bitter smile on his face."In that case, your cooperation in some other matters can be… life-changing." His eyes glared purposefully into the cerulean ones, making sure that Lightning caught the meaning behind his words."If you happen to recall anything, please inform me immediately. If you provide us with some information of value, there may be even a chance for a crown witness status. If not… well, it is all in the judge's hands."
Lightning kept his gaze not intimidated by his threat at all. Threatening never really worked on her in an expected way. Instead, a small smirk started to appear on her face. It grew somewhat, until she shook her head, laughing smallish under her breath and looking slightly to the side. Her gaze thoughtful. That caught Cid off guard and his brows frowned deeply.
"I am not sure if I said anything funny, Miss Farron..."
"Speaking of Dysley, I just found it funny…" Lightning's eyes focused back at Raines, this time sharp as a razor blade, merciless as the most severe winter. "… how easy it was to overthrow the patriarch."
Cid's brows raised up and a heavy silence hung between them. The silence broke by the sound of broken glass somewhere in the living room. Serah… Light cursed herself in her mind but the unshakable mask on her face stayed oblivious to the sound and her challenging eyes didn't leave the man for a second. When he recovered from the confusion she caused, he smiled slightly but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Thus, it is good that we are on the same side." Then he turned without waiting for an answer, ready to step out of the house but stopped in his tracks and turned back. "Ah, I have almost forgotten." He gave a signal with his palm to one of his guards, who, without a word, took out the longitudinal package and gave it to the surprised pinkhead. "Take it as a token of my good will, miss Farron." He told and left the house without a goodbye, two guards just behind him.
When the door closed finally, Light blew out a long breath and leaned her head on the cold metal of the lock. The coldness was traveling through her temple and soothing the dull ache ever so slightly. The conversation might have gone better but for a shape, she was in, she was glad that Cid left this house without a puke on his white, expensive-looking attire.
The package in her hand. The weight felt strangely familiar. She unwrapped the paper and her lips parted in surprise.
"How…" Her widened eyes traveled to the door, through which Cid left just while ago and then back to the Blazefire Saber in her hand. She didn't expect to ever hold it again and here it was, as a 'token of good will'. She narrowed her eyes, not quite trusting his good intentions. It will need some thorough inspection…However, in the exact moment, she had one more alarming need she had to satiate immediately.
She got to the kitchen, opened fridge's door, pulled out the water bottle and started drinking greedily. The cold water hit her stomach and for a moment she thought it would come out the same way as it came in. Luckily, the stir it caused in her stomach calmed down quickly. She wasn't used to dealing with hangovers.
The fridge's door closed suddenly, and the pleasant cold air stopped flowing. She looked to her right where the very cross Serah was standing.
"Sit and eat." The little pinkhead ordered her older sister pointing at the chair. Then she put two pills next to the plate with a few toasts. Light's stomach turned painfully on the sight of food.
"Serah…" She wanted to protest but her sister wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.
"Sit." She ordered even more apodictically. Lightning did what she was told without a word, trying to not look in the direction of the food and strange looking mixture in the glass.
"Are you insane?!" Serah shouted, definitely too loud for Lightning's liking. She wasn't sure what exactly her sister had in mind and she had already used all her willpower to focus during the talk with Raines. She didn't need to wait long for a prompt, though. "You were threatening the new patriarch to be!" Ah… that's it.
"Serah…"
"And do not 'Serah' me!" She pointed her finger in warning at her bigger sister before she was able to finish the sentence. When Light heard the glass clearly breaking from earlier in the day, she had already known there would be a problem.
"And you were eavesdropping, again…" She decided to turn the tables. Anything to make Serah stop shouting so loudly. "How many times do I have to tell you to not do it?" It didn't work.
"I wasn't! I went to get his cup back, since you weren't in the living room anymore, and then I heard it. I'm afraid even to think how the rest of your conversation looked like." Lightning didn't answer so Serah continued. "How could you be so thoughtless? He's the man in power now, you're on the losing end and you decide to threaten to take him down? Have you even thought what's going to happen to you? After all the things…" Serah didn't finish, not sure how to name her sister's actions.
"He won't do anything." Light snapped. "We're in the same boat. He made himself the hero of the riot. A lot of people died in the shooting between Sanctum's soldiers and Cavalry. Cid was supposedly the one giving orders to the Cavalry. How could he sue any charges against me while openly praising himself for doing the same? He would go to the bottom along with me."
"You never know. He will do anything to get rid of you if he finds you as a threat. You should've never taken such a risk!" Serah slammed her hands at the table. "And what was that for? What is happening with you lately?"
Lightning was watching her sister with a wave of defensive anger building up in her. As much as she hated to admit it, Serah was right. Still, she was amazed, she'd never seen her little sister so agitated, firm and reasonable at the same time. A few flashbacks ran through her mind and she lost track of Serah's lecture. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face.
"Claire Farron! Do you even listen to me?!" Lightning looked at Serah's angry face but couldn't help the thoughtful smile. Her defensiveness gone and replaced by some soothing feeling that she couldn't name. She looked into her sister's fierce eyes.
"You know…" she ignored her sister's question and basically the whole monolog. Something different occupied her mind. "You do have a lot of mom in you."
Serah fell silent, surprised by a sudden confession. Her features turned gentle as if this one simple sentence threw her of the warpath and into deep nostalgia. "Claire…" She started but wasn't sure what to say. Serah has never seen her sister's eyes like that. They were sad and happy at the same time but most of all tired. She wanted to put her palm over Light's but then she saw how badly hurt her sister's knuckles were. She put it gently on the forearm instead. "Claire, tell me what's happening, please..." She immediately felt her sister go stiff and even averted her gaze but Serah didn't give up. "What did happen yesterday?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Lightning answered coldly, drilling a hole in the wall with a stare.
"Did you have a fight with Fang?" Serah asked gently, hoping that maybe eventually her sister would give in this time around.
"Don't talk about Fang ever again." She didn't mean to growl at her sister, but she had no intention to discuss the topic with her sister. Ever. Making it clear from the start seemed to be a good idea.
"It's alright to be hurt, don't lock it in." Stubbornness seemed to be their family trait since Serah wasn't going to take no for an answer and Light wasn't going to change her mind.
But it's not alright to hurt someone… you cared about… Lightning kept that thought for herself though.
"I'm not." The lie was so obvious that even Snow wouldn't believe her but Serah didn't comment. She decided to give her sister time and stop pushing her… for a while. "I'll go, pack a few things of mine." Light got up from a chair to Serah's great surprise and confusion.
"Pack things? Why?"
"I'm going to move somewhere close. The house is too big for me. I'm leaving it to you and…" She needed to bite her tongue to not use the word 'moron'. "You and Snow." The last part barely squeezed through her throat. "You're adult, you need some space. The house will fit you two much better than me."
"But Light… What with you?"
"I'll be fine. Don't worry." Lightning started walking out of the kitchen but Serah grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"You don't need to do that, we can…"
"This is the most reasonable option, Serah. Besides, I want you to be happy… even if I'm not fond of him." She was about to start walking again when she felt her little sister throw herself into her arms. The tightness of the embrace surprised her at first, but she gave into it eventually.
"I love you, sis." Serah whispered softly."I've always had. Don't you ever forget that."
There was no answer from Lightning, but it wasn't needed this time. She just held her sister tight, stroking soothingly her back.
I can take the pain… She tried to reassure herself. Etro let me back. Just as I asked her for. So now I'm going to keep my word. I've got a second chance to set things right with Serah. I won't disappoint you again, sis.
