Welcome to the fourteenth Chapter of ET. Sorry I think I promised this like around two weeks ago. It was harder than I anticipated it to write and my beta had it for a week before editing it. I'm very panicky with this chapter because it's very important and I'm not sure if I did it right, but my Beta didn't mind it, so it's gotta at least be alright.

And just so you know, the only thing going through my head as I'm writing this is Code Geass. The only thing.

Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Sqaure Enix does

The girl with piercing blue eyes

Serah backed away, and fell to her knees.

Meanwhile Lilea seemed otherwise preoccupied with the girl in front of her. Her mouth opened and closed as if she was trying to say something but couldn't decide what. Eventually she calmed and stood still.

Staring at the black haired girl in front of her she took in her every detail. Biting her lip her blue eyes met Aaia's sightless ones and she decided on saying, "Aaia Yuto, right?"

Aaia nodded, "Yes."

Lilea twisted to the side and took her eyes off Aaia, "Stupid nickname, it's an insult isn't it?"

"It was when I was given it." Aaia conceded.

Lilea stared forlornly at the grass covered ground where her sword rested. She snapped her eyes shut suddenly as a great pain flared in her arm. She lifted a hand to touch the blood red brand going down her right forearm. It hurt bad. Opening her eyes again she looked across a wider range of scenery to spot the woman on the ground behind Aaia.

This sighting brought on a much more adverse reaction. She picked up her sword from the ground and stabbed it into the earth. Serah jumped. Lilea's eyes narrowed viciously, "You!" She hissed. She lurched forward her hand still gripped tightly around the sword.

Aaia put out an arm to halt her advance, "I think we've already been through this."

Lilea threw her an incredulous look, "You stepped in front of my blade for her, her!" Shook her head and gave a dry laugh, "Seriously, some people aren't worth saving."

"Some people don't hate her as you do." Aaia countered.

Lilea let the comment pass and kept her venomous eyes plastered on Serah's form.

"And as of yet, she has not giving me a reason to hate her." Aaia added.

Lilea toned down her stare her flicked her eyes to Aaia, "You've hated people for less."

Aaia closed her eyes and smiled slightly, "About that you'd be right. Then I'll rephrase my sentence." She opened her eyes, "I have not come to hate her yet."

Lilea scoffed but didn't say anything.

Serah just stared at the pair, tears rimming her eyes. She tried to speak but found herself unable to do so. When the slightest sound escaped her lips Lilea erupted at her.

"Don't you dare speak a word to me you bitch!" She lurched forward again this time with much more abusive intent but Aaia placed a hand firmly on her shoulder to stop her, "Must I repeat myself for a third time Anaya?"

Lilea hissed and pulled her arm away, "Whatever."

Biting her lip Serah rose to her feet and backed off, rubbing tears from her eyes she fled back through the forest.

"You better run you bitch!" Lilea yelled after her. "Tsk." Backing down Lilea looked down at Aaia, "Why do you bother to protect someone like her Shishi?"

"Shishi?"

"I don't want to call you Aaia Yuto if it's what she calls you." Lilea explained.

Aaia pulled at face.

Lilea rose an eyebrow, "Don't like it?" She pulled an amused expression, "Does it remind you of Chishi too much?" Lilea laughed. "You don't like being named after diamond and now emerald too, what is it with you and gems?"

"Gem names are garish." Aaia argued arms crossed.

"Hmph." A small smile lit Lilea's face, "Valhallan values are weird."

"Only to you." Aaia countered.

"And to most other people here." Lilea countered back turning around. She paused, "Where is that bitch going?"

"Probably, back to Hope." Aaia replied.

Lilea flicked her eyes to the girl behind her, "Otorran then."

Aaia nodded after moment's pause.

A moment lapsed between them before Aaia asked, "Will you ever forgive her, Anaya?"

Lilea looked up at the sky with an expression as sure as the knowledge that the sun would rise in the morning and set at night.

"Never."

…:…

Serah stumbled through the green undergrowth. She tripped and fell on a rock and grazed her knee. She winced. Sitting up she drew the knee close to her, watching the blood rise to the surface.

Lilea.

The name provoked countless images in her mind. A dark room, a kind man with a fake smile, and a little blonde haired girl with the velvet blue eyes. A little girl with the piercing eyes who she would have never dreamed would turn up here.

Serah had thought her gone. Dead. Never coming back. But here she was, as alive as she herself, and her hate as fierce as ever.

She crushed a hand to her chest. If only that thought had been true, for the girl was her personal embodiment of darkness and Lilea's hate for her was as immortal as time itself.

She began to sob.

…:…

Hope made his way through the forest. He had been told there had been some sort of disturbance, and that he would find the two girls who had been with him if he went in this direction. He hadn't been told what had happened, he wasn't sure that those who had mentioned it had known either. Yet the seer woman had told him it was safe to go check.

He had been walking for a while when he caught the sight of black in the corner of his eyes.

"You don't want to go any further than this." Aaia warned.

Hope stopped. "How come?"

"What is in that grove is not a pretty sight."

Hope's forehead creased with worry, "Is Serah alright?"

"Physically yes, but I assume she is shaken." Aaia said pushing off the tree she was leaning on.

Hope stared past her into the grove beyond. He caught sight of specks of red, and the stench of iron carried on the wind gave him ample knowledge on why Aaia had warned him to stop. Watching the opening in the trees some more, he caught sight of blonde hair and a black dress.

He took a step back.

"Relax." Aaia told him, "She will not hurt you. When you met her before she was under cursed trance and not in control."

Hope turned back to her, "Cursed trance?"

"A curse seared into her by the Untundra, so long as he wills it anyone cursed with it will fulfil his orders. You've seen the brand down her arm?"

Hope though back to when he had seen her in Bodhum that time. It was vague but he thought he might have recalled it. But there was another more vivid memory he had of it, "I've seen it elsewhere."

"On the black haired man?" She asked.

He shook his head, "No, I saw it back in Yaschas Missif, at the military base. It was a brunette man."

Aaia's eyes widened in shock and her mouth opened as if to say something but she was speechless. She quickly snapped her head away from Hope's gaze and closed her eyes. She reopened them calm, having suppressed the reaction. It startled Hope. It had to be the most vivid reaction he'd seen out of her since he'd met her.

"Then you've met all three of them." She spoke calmly. Though Hope had a feeling her emotions were still swimming wildly under the surface. She raised her gaze to the gap between the trees. "Anaya and them are used as pawns under his control, they are not our enemies."

"Anaya? Is that her name?" Hope asked.

Realising her slip up, Aaia shook her head, "No, that is simply an honorific name I call her by. Anaya has gone through a lot of hardship and pain in her life. To not give her honour for it would be disrespectful."

Hope listened but found himself wondering what qualified as 'a lot' for Aaia, since by reading her eyes he thought she'd seen her fair share of hardships as well. He wondered if there was anyone out there who honoured her for that.

Watching the grove again Hope saw the woman was now sitting against a tree lazily. It hit him to ask now, "Where is Serah?"

"Somewhere. I hope nearby, but I don't know. I would go talk to her if I was you, her meeting with Anaya shook her up."

"How come?" He asked.

"That I would ask her." She said beginning to walk back to the grove, "Contrary to what it seems, I have never met Anaya in my life. Whatever we know of each other has been told to us by others. If you wish to learn something of her, I would go ask someone who has met her." With that she disappeared between the trees and out of sight.

Hope stared for a while longer, before turning his head away and wondering where Serah had ran off to. While walking he thought, Serah had met that woman before? But where and when? Only more pressingly, where was Serah to begin with?

…:…

Serah had since gotten up from her fall and moved elsewhere. Drawn by the sound of running water she located a stream. It sat in the middle of two slopes. The rocks running alongside the stream grew green with algae. The water gave life to everything around it making everything lush and colourful. The water was clear and blue. It was very beautiful. But nothing could distract her tumultuous thoughts.

She stood watching the water flow but no part of her could enjoy its beauty.

She stayed there for a very long time before she began to hear footsteps. They grew louder, and eventually stopped. Looking up, Hope stood by her right. She eyed him, her tears stained face reflecting against the light.

He noticed the tear marks right away, "Serah!? What's wrong? Did what happened before-"

"Not what happened before." She denied shaking her head, "who did it."

"Who, the woman?" Hope queried.

Serah turned away. There was a curious voice in her head that said he would know what she was going to speak of. But it was a farfetched thought, its chances slim. Yet eventually she decided to put her faith in what she had thought his relationship with Lightning had been. If they had been close, he might have known the name.

She redirected her gaze back to him, "Hope," she began carefully, "Have you ever heard the name Lilea?"

The man paused, his face taking a thoughtful expression. He seemed to remember something and focused back on Serah, "I've heard it before."

"Did my sister tell you?"

He nodded. "I don't know who she was though."

Serah thought as much. Still, that Lightning had even mentioned the name held great weight. The two of them must have been closer then she had realised. She felt a pang of sadness at that. Losing her must have hurt him more than she'd previously considered.

"Who was she?" He asked watching her expression.

Serah turned away and took to watching the stream again. "She was the daughter of a man called Harry. I have very vivid memories of him. He had blonde hair, a kind demeanour, and was taller than Snow. He was always nice to me when I was young. He'd been my father's friend, his wife my mothers, it's how they met. After our mother died when I was six we were looked after by a woman, a bad foster mother who cared more about her work than us. I think she saw the money she got from looking after us as another source of income, it was the only reason she kept us. She was rarely ever home and her husband was to sick most days to get out of bed. Her real daughter saw Lightning more as her mother than anything as I recall."

Serah shook her head. "But I digress. That man Harry. He and his wife Abby would come over as much as they could. They couldn't look after us themselves, Abby was far too busy with work for kids. As a result that also meant Harry came over to see us more. I liked him at first. He was really kind to me, always treated me well. But Lightning stopped getting along with him at some point. I couldn't say when exactly, but I think it started around when she was eleven. I didn't know why, not for a long time. But whenever they were in the same room it was like oil and water. He wasn't outwardly mean to her or anything, but she very visibly hated him for a reason I couldn't comprehend."

Serah let out a pain filled breath, and continued, "It wasn't until much later that I found out he'd been abusing her. Treating her like crap behind everyone's backs. I remember her always having bruises. She tried to hide it, but I knew they were there. She never told me where she got them. I didn't think for a second that it could have been that nice man. Not that he was truly nice in the end. Our parents had trusted him, and he'd betrayed that trust brutally. But it was a long time before we found any of this out. And the only reason we ever did, is because not long after she'd turned twelve he tried to kill her. Not before she'd managed to stab him though. It didn't kill him, but it put him in the hospital for a good while. But he put her in a seven month long coma. When she woke up of course and all the truth got out he was imprisoned and you'll be happy to know, died in the purge. Trust me, I checked."

Serah clenched her hand. "But as we found after his attempt at murder, this abuse had been a lot worse than just the physical abuse that we found out after he put her in a coma."

Here Serah paused, as if she was unable to go on.

"What else was it?' Hope urged her on. His grip on his arms tightening.

Serah turned to him, staring directly in his eyes.

"Rape. I'm saying that that woman back there, Lilea, is Lightning's daughter."

And fun.

My beta called this depressing, but the plot points existed for so long I've realised I'm completely numbed to it. So I don't know what I would call it anymore.

I had a lot of trouble with the pacing and what not. It's the type of thing which would have been better in a flash back, but for that I would have needed Lightning. And seeing as I don't have her in this story that becomes a physical impossibility. So those last few paragraphs were extremely irritating to get even to that quality.

Also I like how Lilea's and Aaia's give and take came out in the first scene. There are a couple characters in this story who have these really awesome give and takes, those two being one of them. I've always been scared of messing them up so I'm extremely happy how well it came out.

And just so you know, but the way the file opened on my beta's laptop, she saw the last line first but only read 'Lilea is Lightning's daughter. She complained to me after that, but after finishing the chapter realised she was one thousand times more thankful she didn't read the full thing. Would have ruined the whole thing for her.