Sisterly Love Chapter 19: Fragile Nature
Serah visibly tensed as Rosch spoke into the intercom. She had not expected things to go this way, the look on Lightning's face told that she was thinking the exact same thing.
Yaag leaned back in his chair with the same confident smile plastered on his face, Lightning held her position with her Blazefire Saber pointed at the man in it's gun form.
Serah was frozen to the spot in fear of the coming battle. Lightning was currently occupied with the quick math of how much time they had until the PSICOM guards burst through the door
showering the room with hundreds of led bullet casings. Five, maybe seven minutes she concluded before quickly walking behind Yaag's desk and grabbing the back of his shirt and
forcing his head into the computer terminal. "Open the file on the Doppelganger." The young woman commanded harshly jabbing the muzzle of her gun into the back of the colonel's neck.
"No." Yaag was rewarded with a smack to the back of his head courteous of Lightning's gun.
"Just fucking do it, Serah get over here." Lightning commanded, motioning Serah away from the door where the soldiers would be entering.
"Remember how you wouldn't answer me during my interrogation? well what goes around comes around I guess." Yaag smiled before Lightning fired off a round into his left thigh.
"Yeah, but I have more guts then you." Lightning snarled before smacking him across the face once more.
"Oh please Lightning. Do you really think a few smacks across the face and a bullet will be enough to make me comply? if so you are greatly mistaken." Yaag spoke, his smirk returning to his
face. "your right." Lightning replied before turning to Serah. "Survival knife please." She spoke softly upon seeing the worried look in Serah's eyes and body language. Serah complied
quickly handing the knife to her sister. Lightning took the weapon quickly and grabbed Yaag's right hand, forcing it down onto the table, readying the knife above the man's middle finger.
"I'm not bluffing Yaag." She hissed in a low voice, pressing the blade so it broke the skin on his finger.
"I think you are." The colonel responded in a monotone voice. Lightning sighed before bringing the survival knife up and slamming it back down onto his finger, effectively severing it from his
hand. "You never were a great judge of character." Lightning whispered into his ear as Yaag cried out as the burning sensation erupted from where his finger was cut.
Yaag was leaning over the desk, resting his forehead on the oak wood breathing heavily. Lightning twirled the knife in her hand before jabbing it into the front of his shoulder, forcing the strange
haired man back into his seat. "Fine fine I'll do it." Rosch gave in quickly as he held his right hand in his left. Lightning didn't reply as she simply pulled the knife from his shoulder and allowed
the man to go about bringing up the necessary files needed. Wiping the knife of it's coating of blood, Lightning handed it back to Serah while avoiding her sister's horrified gaze.
"There. It's just over the Sunleth Waterscape." The colonel breathed as Lightning gave a swift chop to the neck, knocking him out cold.
"Now what?" Serah asked as her eyes frantically glanced over to the door, as she expected the backup to come bursting in the door at any moment.
"Let's go for a little sky dive. What do you think?" Lightning asked flicking her head in the direction of the large glass window which stood behind Yaag's desk.
"Uh, I'm not so sure about that sis." Serah hesitated, looking between her sister and the window in which they were about to jump out of.
"Come on, you had no problem with it in Pulse." Lightning stated resting her hands on her hips.
"Uh yeah but we were being chased down by several PSICOM baddies." Serah replied as she recalled the memory from the depths of her mind.
"Do you really want to wait around for the security so it will have the same effect?" Lightning asked with a smile. "You know I have no problem with that." Grinned the elder Farron.
"Umm, no need. Let's go." Serah chuckled uneasily as she led the way over to the large glass window, peering out of it across the large city. Uncertainty marking her features.
"That's the spirit! don't worry it'll only take a second." Lightning smiled as she drew her Blazefire Saber and swiftly cut the window to several hundreds of pieces.
"Alright Lightning, don't mess up 'kay?" Serah asked nervously looking over to her sister.
"Of course I won't." Lightning replied as she walked over to her sister and took her into a tight hug, her back facing the now open hole in the wall. Without a moments hesitation the young
woman fell backwards with her little sister in her arms. Serah screamed as the two Farrons started their descent towards the roof of the small building attached to the main PSICOM base.
Lightning looked up to see the roof coming into range rather quickly, swifting twisting her body in mid air the strawberry blond landed gracefully on her feet with a shaken Serah.
Lightning checked to see if Serah was fine before quickly scanning the rooftop. She spotted an entrance a good fifteen feet from their current location. Pulling her baby sister with her, the
young woman made her way over to the door. Lightning scowled as she attempted to open the door only to find the entrance to be locked. pulling her Blazefire Saber from it's holster,
switched it into it's gun-mode before firing three shots in rapid succession effectively breaking the lock. Slipping inside both Farrons quietly made their way down the desolate hall, judging
by the looks of this part of the building Lightning guessed it to be an armory. Serah squealed lightly as a shadow appeared from around the next corner, quickly Serah pulled her sister into
the room beside the two. "That was close." The younger as the two breathed a small sigh of relief, her eyes now showing a slightly calmer demeanor.
"No kidding." Lightning replied before turning around to survey the room Serah had pulled the two of them into. Lightning turned and started to sift through the contents of the various shelves
that held many fine crafted weapons, most of which had gathered dust. Serah quietly sidled up to her sister's side, still feeling uneasy after the way she saw Lightning ruthlessly cut Yaag's
finger off. It was the look in Lightning's eyes that scared her, not the action itself. The way her light blue eyes had been pulsating in a mix of fury and frustration had been enough to render
the teenager frozen to the spot, unable to decide whether to try and stop her sister or not. Much to Serah's utmost relief, Lightning's eyes had returned to their normal color as occasional
curiosity flickered across the light blue orbs once she saw a weapon that caught her interest.
"What are you doing?" The younger Farron asked, her voice a display of anxiety and genuine interest in her sister's activities.
"Trying to find you a weapon." Lightning replied as she roughly shoved several weapons off to the side in her search to find something suited to both Serah's stature and abilities.
"But I have your survival knife." Serah stated pulling said weapon from it's place where it was strapped around her right thigh.
"That won't be enough to be your primary weapon sis. Magic doesn't work in close quarters and you can't always summon your Eidolon." Lightning stated as she took the knife from her sister's
grasp. Lightning seated herself upon one of the many dusty crates as she flipped the purple weapon open. Serah watched as the young woman placed the tip of the knife under the cast on
her left hand. In a quick motion Lightning pulled up and cut the medical adhesive from her arm, Lightning wasted no time in making quick work of the other. The strawberry blond then took
her red bag from it's place around her thigh and opened it and pulled her gloves, black sleeve, and shoulder armor from it. Placing said items back onto herself, Lightning put her bag back
around her thigh. Now dressed in her normal attire Lightning made her way back over to the weapons shelf.
"You know Light that was pretty random." Serah spoke as she watched her sister continue her tireless searching.
"I've been meaning to do that for a while now." Lightning shrugged as she pulled a weapon from the back of the shelf. Grinning in triumph, Lightning tossed the weapon over to her sister.
Serah juggled the weapon for a couple seconds before securing a tight grasp around it. Turning the thing over in her hands, Serah held a confused expression on her face.
"It's a glove." She stated after a few moments of inspecting it.
"It's not just a glove Serah, it's a gauntlet." Lightning sighed at her sister's lack of knowledge in the field of weaponry.
"Oooookay and what am I supposed to do with it? punch people in the face?" Serah asked frowning some more.
"Serah, your seriously not this dense are you?" Lightning asked bringing her right hand up to rest on her hip.
"You know I have no idea what I'm doing here." Serah complained. "And despite being told what this thing is I still don't know exactly what it is."
"It's a gauntlet with a weapon attachment Serah." Lightning informed taking the weapon from her sister. The gauntlet was a large glove that ended at the wearer's elbow. It was blue
with a gold plate on the knuckles, exactly like Lightning's own gloves. "Um what kind of weapon is this?" Serah asked as Lightning took her right glove off before slipping the gauntlet over
her right hand. "This little thing here may look useless but in all actuality it has a gun attachment." Lightning explained pointing her hand in a fist towards a rather convenient board used for
target practice that was resting against the north wall. "How do you shoot it?" The younger Farron asked as she hesitatly moved towards the tall strawberry blond.
"You see this thin bar here that your fingers go through?" Serah nodded. "Give it a light squeeze and there you have it." Lightning spoke as she performed said action, her shot landing exactly
in the bull's eye. "It's not the most reliable weapon when it comes to being a firearm. But it's better than nothing." The young adult spoke with a shrug. "But that's not all it's good for."
With a flick of her wrist, the gun attachment folded and expanded so that three separate blades now pointed from the knuckles of the glove. The blades were connected to the gauntlet via
a faded red bar which sat at a eighty-five degree angle. "Hey this thing looks like your Blazefire Saber." Serah exclaimed, her eyes going wide for a moment's time.
"You noticed that too." Lightning stated as she collapsed the three blades back into the gun attachment before handing the weapon to her sister and putting her glove back on. The younger
Farron slipped it securely onto her right arm. "Try it out." Lightning motioned to the old target on the far wall. Serah gave her sister a look of uncertainty before aiming towards the north wall.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Serah pulled the trigger. The shot missed the center by a good twenty centimetres, landing along the border of the target.
"Serah you can't close your eyes when your about to shoot somebody." Lightning sighed walking over to her sister. "And your form was wrong. Here let me show you." Lightning placed herself
behind Serah and grabbed the small girl's arm and forced it into the proper shooting position.
"Look sis, I don't think I'm cut out for this." Serah began trying to convince her sister that killing people just wasn't her thing.
"Nonsense Serah. Your a l'Cie." Lightning replied quick as her namesake as she ushered the small but tall girl to take another shot at the leaning target.
"Alright if you say so. But don't blame me if I miss or accidentally shoot you!" Serah gave her elder sister a look that was supposed to be conniving but turned out to be a very humorous expression.
"Oh please Serah. You can't even hurt me when we play fight. How do you expect to shoot me?" Lightning asked with a smile as Serah made a face of mock hurt.
"I could sooo shoot you if I wanted." The younger of the two shot back as Lightning began to chuckle. "What?" Serah asked as she watched her sister's reaction.
"Your like Snow." Lightning stated, her eyes shining as she gazed into her sister's eyes.
"Meaning?" Serah pushed, gesturing with her hands.
"Your all talk." The young adult laughed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"What? who thinks Snow is all talk?" Serah questioned unable to comprehend the possible fact of life.
"I do. And so does Vanille."
"So what do you think is taking those two so long?" Sazh asked as he casually leaned back in the cockpit of the rather convenient airship. It felt like the two Farron sisters had been absent for a half hour at the most but in all reality it had only been ten to fifteen minutes.
"Lightning probably thought it'd be a good idea to raise some hell before making a no doubt glorious exit." Fang supplied from her seat on the soft leather couch which sat along the Western wall of the flying vehicle.
"Right...of course." Snow spoke absent midedly, clearly worried about his fiance's safety. But she was within Light's care right? Serah's overprotective sister would let no harm come to her, he knew this was as much of a fact as they come but for some God forsaken reason the blond man couldn't help but think it was a mistake allowing the two Farron's to enter the PSICOM Headquarters alone. It was PSICOM for crying out loud! Yaag probably had a trap all ready to spring the moment the young girls entered the building. Looking back on the decision of the two to go on alone Snow found it quite obvious that Lightning must not have been in her right mind when she thought of this idea. Actually come to think of it, the large man had never seen their leader make quite a bold-and quite frankly-rash decision. Lightning was always one to think things out and prevent problems from occurring. That was one of the qualities that made her such a great leader among other things, and for those reasons she had been the only choice to become the appointed leader. Sure Snow led his NORA group, but that was just small time compared to the experience the younger girl had under her belt. After all she was the Bodhum security regiment's Raid leader. She made Snow look like a new recruit on his first day of deployment when you compared their leadership abilities side by side.
So naturally this decision that had been made had caused Snow to question their valiant leader's decision(something he had rarely-if ever-done in the past). Lightning only made decisions such as these if her emotions were clouding her thought process which prompted another thought of what was troubling the young woman. Snow was not the only one of their rag tag group of heroes who had noticed the dangerous choice made and he could see it in each and every one of their eyes that they knew something was up with the strawberry blond. While on the topic of the many issues surrounding his future sister-in-law Snow thought of the strange way her light blue eyes had been pulsating while on board of the Palamecia. Every emotion had been clear as the clearest day in her eyes. More notably when they had encountered Galenth Dysley, the one and only Primarch of the Sanctum. The one who pretended to "consult" the fal'Cie Eden on every move concerning the newly born l'Cie problems. Something that Dysley did had sparked something within Lightning's very soul. That something just took over and seemed to have the mind set of a crazed murderer stalking his or her victim from the shadows of a pitch black alley way. Where the only thought within the killer's mind was too take the life of another living being. Be it cat, dog, anything it wouldn't matter.
Maybe that it why Serah had gone with her sister? To prevent another rash decision or to get to the bottom of her sibling's problems. Either way Snow hoped that she had succeeded. He of course had no doubt in is mind that the woman he would marry would be able to get to the bottom of it. And help her sister retrieve her former stable mentality. It was then that the large explosion rung out in his ears.
It had taken a large quantity of attempts but Serah was finally able to improve her aim and effective use of the weapon. This brought a smile to Lightning's face as she saw that her baby sister was finally getting a hang of it. And that meant that they could finally get out of this hell hole.
"Alright. You think your confident enough to take that thing into the field?" Lightning had asked Serah after her sister had fired another round into the outer circle of the bull's eye. Just by looking at her your first impression would be that the girl wouldn't be able to fight. Due to her slim form and thin arms, but deep inside Serah carried an inner fortitude much like her sister's that enabled her to perform rather admirably. But only time would tell if she could carry that fortitude into the field of battle and take another's life. That was something that Lightning questioned with great concern. For Serah was fragile. A fact that Lightning had known for many years, a fact so plain that you could tell with just a single passing glance at the young teenager. Lightning offered up a small prayer to whatever fal'Cie would heed it that her sister's fortitude could surpass that fragile nature that has been Serah's calling card for the past eighteen years.
"We won't know until we give it a try huh?" Serah asked, the fragile nature that Lightning had been so concerned about masked her sister's features and slowly made it's way down until it even took control of her posture causing the girl to nervously wring her hands. One of them covered by the gauntlet which she would use to take one's life. Most likely within the next ten minutes. Lightning only hoped that it would not scar her. It was true that Serah had taken one's life before but that memory was long lost along with the day she was born. She had killed to protect her sister and that is what sprung her into action without hesitation. Lightning even questioned whether or not it was in a blind fury, she herself could not recall the event. Fang had been the one to confide that the event had taken place and even then with the tanned Oerba's vivid description it had been hard to believe that her sister had done it. Seeing it first hand was the only available cure in existence to believe that Serah has killed. And she would see it soon enough maybe even a little more than her liking, but she would. And that fact frightened her. For killing was something that Lightning never wanted Serah to take part in. But it was simply unavoidable now and she would have to go along with it until either they died or completed their focus. Turning cie'th was not an option therefore Lightning blocked out the possibility. 'Grin and bare it.' She told herself. 'Grin and bare it until it's over, however it ends.'
"It's the same for everyone when it comes to their first kill Serah." Lightning responded, purposely acting as if she didn't know that Serah had dealt the hand of death to another already. Serah's mind had clearly blocked the memory from the reaching the surface of her aware conscious, making it impossible for her to recall the memory from the large labyrinth that is her brain. Reading into this Lightning decided that it was for the better than Serah is unable to remember the moment in which she took one's life with a single plunge of her older sister's Blaze Edge. The sword she had put aside in favor of her father's Blazefire Saber. A weapon that may share the same design and functions but had a stronger and more balanced capacity when it came to both stength and magic. Her previous model had been considerably weaker the reason behind this had been revealed in the letter her father had left behind to keep watch over the blade. The Sanctum of old had believed the weapon to be too powerful to be carried by regular foot soldiers(even though it was only awarded to the best). So the Sanctum, had issued an order to have them all recalled save for the ones carried by the higher ranked officers of which Lightning and Serah's father had been apart of.
"Well here's hoping my first one goes over well." Serah responded before she gingerly opened the door leading into the hallway that may or may not be patrolled by PSICOM soldiers. Lightning could tell by Serah's posture that the hallway appeared to be clear of threats as her baby sister had not tensed as she no doubtfully would have if a soldier had pointed the muzzle of his rifle in her face. Looking back, Serah gave Lightning a thumbs up sign before moving into the desolate corridor. Quickly on her sister's heels Lightning pulled her back and took point. Always the leader.
The two made their way down the various halls of the Sanctum home front always being sure to check if the path was clear. Only on a couple of occassions had the hallways been plied with PSICOM soldiers. This struck Lightning as odd for this was the PSICOM Headquarters and it was just abnormal for there to be so little guards on duty and the ones who were was the rather green PSICOM enforcers. A group of trained recruits who would not be able to get the job done when push came to shove, especially with a l'Cie of Lightning's caliber. Memories of the past joint training sessions that her Regiment had participated in with the enforcers was fresh in Lightning's mind. She could remember easily defeating dozens at a time. Not to mention that this was before she became a l'Cie and harbored the power of magic and received her father's sword. And then there was always her Eidolon Odin.
"Where are all the baddies?" Serah asked as the two peeked around yet another corner. They were desperate need of a map, a way to get out would be a blessing in itself due to their current wandering down rather empty halls. Some of which had gathered dust. One explanation for the lack of enemy forces could be that they were in a semi abandoned building that was attached to the main attraction. That would explain why the Sanctum would care so less for such a building, showing their gratitude by placing such few guards to patrol it that a drunk deaf mute could sneak through it's inside with ease. In fact, the guards on patrol here were either newly hired and trained or on probation for some war crime they had committed against the Sanctum itself.
"This is most likely a forgotten warehouse type installation that they couldn't care less about. Place a few armed guards here and there and that'll be enough to scare away the hoodlums." Another explanation for the lack of security could be that PSICOM was setting the two up before springing a trap on them when they least expect it. Sucks for them since Lightning always is on the lookout for traps of any sort. With eyes as sharp as a flying eagle's she could see anything that didn't fit within a room. She had a sixth sense for the sort.
"Hmm I don't know sis. Something just doesn't sit right with me." Serah was crouched in front of Lightning and she looked over her shoulder to lay her eyes upon her sister. Looking down Lightning could see that the frantic fear and nervousness that was in Serah's voice was also present in her eyes. That was another thing about Serah, her eyes always portrayed her emotions to a tee. One of the many reasons that she was a bad lier. That and the fact that it is just not in her nature to be conniving enough to have something to lie about.
"I know what you mean. Keep your eyes open for an ambush." Lightning told her sister in a tone that was borderline that of an order. Lightning's head began to feel fuzzy, as if she had a sudden buzz going. Finding it difficult to stand she silently dropped to one knee beside Serah, making it so that her sister could not notice that something was off about her. Clutching her Blazefire Saber in it's gun form to her chest, she closed her eyes and rested her head against the metallic wall as Serah kept watch, still oblivious to her sister's sudden change in position. Lightning's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as a sense of direction began to form within her mind's eye, making it seem as if she had been here before. Serah turned to face Lightning just as the older of the two opened her eyes. Serah was able to catch a glimpse of Lightning's eyes pulsating blue which clearly displayed the confusion that she felt within her mind. It was only for a fleeting moment and then it was gone. Her light blue eyes returning to their normal color, once more putting a plate of thick iron armor around her emotions.
"You feeling alright Light?" The teenager asked, concern now masking both her face and eyes as she put an arm around Lightning's shoulders. Lightning let out a brief frustrated sigh but allowed Serah to keep her arm around her. After experiencing that brief episode just moments before the young adult now knew that they have been going in the wrong direction the whole time. Despite the fact that they were wandering the two still managed to keep a steady pace, heading into the direction opposite of the exit. The exit however was not an exit at all for it led back into the main building of the PSICOM Headquarters.
"Um yeah. Why do you ask?" Lightning asked feeling a tiny bit bewildered, her mind was still enshrouded in a foggy haze the kind that would be present on a muggy day. The fact that the haze was still present is what perplexed her. Brief thoughts of a brain tumor or aneurysm entered her mind but she was quick to dismiss them. Not wanting to think of something like that which would sideline her from completing her focus on time. But turning cie'th was not an option right? with that demeanor she knew she would fight with chemotherapy or not. Hair or no hair she would fight. After all it would give her an aero dynamic attribute wouldn't it? 'wait to have a sense of humor Light' the young woman chuckled on the inside as the vision of herself-bald-flipping through the air and doing cartwheels among other things. But no it wouldn't come to that for the weight of possibly having cancer would turn her cie'th before the treatment could even begin.
"Oh it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Serah offered a fake and frail smile which Lightning could see straight through. Being able to read your sister like a book had both it's ups and downs. The ups consisted of knowing when your baby sister is lying to you and the downs being when you know you can't press for the truth. Being left with your imagination to run wild was not something Lightning particularly enjoyed. Having a vivid imagination also has it's downside it appears.
"Alright then." Lightning gave in giving her sister a lingering look in a last ditch effort to persuade her to spill the beans. But of course Serah also possessed the same stubborness like Lightning herself. The only difference being that Serah's is maybe a tad milder. Although if she wants to be stubborn as a rock Lightning wouldn't say that she couldn't be. Serah turned away quickly already knowing the look that her sister was giving her. It was the same look she would fall for and tell everything when they were children. There had been no secrets between them and they had been tight as they could possibly be. You wouldn't find one without the other.
"So um. Do you think were heading in the right direction?" Serah asked turning back to peek around the corner, which had no change done to it's security since the last time she had checked it. Serah's nervousness swam within her stomach as her worry continued to escalate with thoughts of taking another's life. 'W-what if I mess up and Lightning gets hurt because of it?' Slowly but surely Serah was sure that she was forgetting the proper procedure in using her weapon, she couldn't remember if there was a button you had to press, or if just a flick of the wrist would be enough to switch it over to it's melee form. But she would not tell her sister that she forgot how to properly open the deadly thing, for she doesn't want to dissapoint her sister. One of the most important people in her life. In truth she did not put Lightning or Snow over one or the other. She loved them equally and would do anything for them. Even if it did include killing.
"Honestly? I don't think so." Lightning answered not bothering to inform Serah that a strange haze that blanketed her mind had shown her the direction in which the exit lay, waiting for them. That very haze had finally seemed to lift, allowing Lightning to access the depths of her mind once more. She made a mental note to look up and possible conditions that it could be a symptom of or maybe a condition on it's own. Serah turned and looked at Lightning over her shoulder, giving her sister the same look that she had received only moments before. Lightning being the great actor that she is pretended to ignore that look. Serah huffed before replying.
"Really? Now all of a sudden you have a sense of direction in this place?" Serah asked placing her hands on her hips while giving Lightning a truly questioning look. The young adult could clearly see that she was still pushing for the truth. Which was quite ironic seeing how she didn't even know where the sense of direction came from and how it nestled it's way into her brain. One could chalk it up to a guardian angel of sorts. An invisible hand guiding the two to safety all the while keeping a low profile. She would have to think carefully before replying to her sister's question for a simple 'I guess so Serah' wouldn't cut it.
"Would the answer: a women's intuition cut it?" Lightning asked hoping that it would meet Serah's standards but very well knowing that it would not. Sometimes Serah could be so stubborn and manipulating with her words that you were left with no choice but to tell the truth. Lightning suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Snow. Did he even know Serah could be this way when she felt the need be? It's not that it was overly bad, it's just sometimes there are things you'd rather not tell. And Serah always needed to know everything. Lightning knew for certain that Snow better not cheat on her for she would find out within a matter of minutes. And then he would have to face the wrath of Sergeant/Raid Leader/Appointed Leader Lightning Farron.
"Not in my book it doesn't." Serah replied stubbornly placing her hands on her hips. Oh so she has a book does she? although the strawberry blond knew it was joke she couldn't help but visualize a rather thick leather bound book titled: "Serah's Book of Proper Answers and Telling the Truth" it would no doubt be an "Eden Times Bestseller."
"You know you should let me take a look at that book sometime. I bet it's a good one thousand and five-hundred pages." Lightning answered her sister with a smile that portrayed both innocence and cunning. Serah's eyes squinted slightly in-most likely-annoyance and suspicion. She looked quite cute with that expression drawn across her face which rivaled that of a caricature. Lightning noted so with a small smile that slowly spread wider until it enveloped her lovely features in a broad grin. Serah did not seem pleased by her sister's reaction. Her face said it all. Quickly sobering up Lightning offered a playful shrug to which Serah rolled her eyes in response. "Oh come on I was just joking." Lightning told her once more smiling that broad grin of hers. Although she didn't show it on the outside, Serah was jumping with joy at how happy Lightning appeared to be despite the position the two found themselves in. What with being behind enemy lines and all. But that wasn't anything to worry about now was it? To Lightning Farron it appeared not.
"Glad to see that your so relaxed in such a place." Serah spoke dryly. The effect she was going for clearly covered up the happiness that she felt swell within herself. And for once Lightning was unable to read her sister's emotions via her eyes. That was a first but she wouldn't know that as Serah's dark blue orbs displayed the dry tone in which she had excersized. It appeared that Serah may have been more aware of her "tells" than Lightning had originally thought although that was quite unlikely as one would not normally know if they had a tell or not.
"Well with the experience I have you just get to feel at home you know?" Lightning responded as the two stood to their full height. Serah about a head shorter than her sister. Lightning started to lead them back in the direction of the exit when the sound of metallic armor clapping against the floor reveberated through the floor. Lightning drew her Blazefire Saber as Serah timidly took a few steps back, clutching the gauntlet to her chest. Throwing a quick glance over her shoulder Lightning saw the way Serah was reacting and let out a sigh. "Come on Serah you can do this." She encouraged softly. It took a few moments but Serah reluctantly gave a slow nod, saying she would try. Pointing her Blazefire Saber in it's gun form towards the next corner Lightning awaited to see how many of the soldiers were coming to either eliminate or capture them.
"This is just our luck huh?" Serah asked chuckling nervously as the running footsteps inched their way closer to the two Farrons. With each step Serah's nervousness jumped up another point on the scale but she was able to ignore it and point her gauntlet towards the corner as well. As she finished that sentance the first soldier appeared from around the corner and the sound of Lightning's gun echoed throughout the building before the man dropped dead with a bullet hole right between the eyes. This halted the other soldiers for a moment before that decided to turn the corner. Lightning casted a thundaga spell that dropped more of the hostile enemy. They were only Enforcers, their dark green armor said enough to give one the hint. Switching her weapon to it's sword form Lightning rushed into the growing pack and started to dismember limbs with swift, accurate strikes. Serah let out a cry as she fired her weapon into the mob, the shot landed on one of the Enforcers thighs causing the man to cry out in pain. Lightning spun and took the man's head off with another accurate strike. Another unlucky enforcer made an attempt at landing a strike on Lightning but the nimble young woman jumped over his blunt weapon and snapped his neck elegantly with her smooth toned thighs. Front flipping off the man's-now limp-body Lightning performed a sweep kick and grounded another four soldiers without much effort. Faced with another line of soldiers carrying rifles, Lightning began to perform a series of cartwheels as they opened fire upon her. Concluding her impressive display with a perfectly executed back flip Lightning landed behind the soldiers who were not fast enough to realize where she had landed. Pulling the pin on one of the soldiers grenades the strawberry blond performed enough backflip while switching her sword into it's gun mode and landing a precise shot on the man's grenade effectively killing the lot of them.
Serah was having her own troubles as she futily tried to force herself to finish off the man who had collapsed in front of her. A bullet wound in his abdomen had caused him to do so. A clean shot to the head would be enough to put him out of his misery. He was just gonna bleed to death anyway right? so why make him suffer any more than he has already? Serah slowly lifted her weapon as the man's gasps and hacking only made it harder for her. Finally she was able to fire a single round into his skull instantly ceasing the man's struggles for another breath. Fresh tears streaked dowm her face as the fact had just seeped into her mind that she had killed. Taken someone's life who may or may not have been a father and that is what cut her the deepest. Just thinking of the family's reaction when they heard the news was heart breaking even if it was to save her own life which suddenly didn't feel as important.
"Serah!" Lightning's call caused the girl to raise her head only to see her sister seemingly pointing her gun in her general direction. Her eyes widened in fear just as Lightning pulled the trigger. Squeezing her eyes shut as the bullet sailed over her head. Serah slowly opened her eyes and turned to see the final PSICOM enforcer with a brand new bullet hole in his heltmet courtesy of her sweet sister. "You alright?" Lightning asked as she walked over and embraced Serah as she feebly nodded her head. Thoughts of would have happened if Lightning had not been there in that precise moment quickly invaded her mind. The floodgates of her brain fell, allowing the horrid thoughts to enter her mind uncontested.
"Um yeah...are you?" The younger of the two asked after a moment of savouring the feeling of being alive. Lightning responded with a silent nod as Serah slowly looked her up and down to see if there was any visible injuries on her beautiful body. There was not a single one. "I killed Claire." Serah choked out after a moment. "I killed." She repeated as if in shock, which in Lightning's mind she thought the small girl may very well be.
"You had no choice." Lightning replied softly as she hugged her sister and ran her hands through her hair. Serah leaned into her and finally let the tears flow in full force. Although silent Lightning could tell that Serah was crying so she gave her a comforting squeeze. "Your alright kiddo. Your alright." Lightning spoke softly as she gave her sister a kiss on top of her head. "Now we should get going before more think of pursuing us." Serah nodded at her sister's suggestion as the two started down the once desolate corridor but now littered with bloody corpses. Serah admired how quickly and gracefully Lightning was able to dispose of the threat. The way her hair had whirled along with the spins she performed as well as how the toned muscles on her arms and legs flexed with each movement was a beautiful work of art in itself.
"So how much farther now?" Serah asked after a good ten minutes of maneuvering the enemy base. Her feet were beginning to hurt and she could feel the start of a headache coming on. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, Serah questioned whether or not the two of them would be able to escape this horrid place. The fact that this was the smaller of the two connecting buildings made the task feel rather daunting. Despite the fact that they were able to walk right up to the front desk to find out Yaag's where abouts. Thinking about how easy it was to climb the building without hostility now made it clear that it must have been a trap to begin with. Yaag faking his loyalty to them in order to spring his master plan as soon as they were within the heart of the beast itself.
"Hmm I don't know Serah. I haven't been here before remember?" Serah nodded to her sister's question and continued silently. Thinking it best not to mention how much her feet hurt her Serah trudged along watching her sister's back thoughtfully. 'I've often wondered why Claire enlisted with the Guardian Corps when our parents died. Sure it was pretty much the only job for her but with her looks I figure she could have just became a model. Hmm but looking at her now I see that she wanted to do something that would help people instead of a senseless job with no real meaning behind it.' Serah's thoughts cut themselves off as Lightning caught her hand and jerked her backwards. Lost within her own thoughts the young girl hadn't noticed that she nearly walked right into a pack of PSICOM soldiers. What a sight that would have been.
"Whoa." The young girl breathed as the truth of what could have happened began to dawn upon her. What would have happened if Lightning wasn't there? how many times was she going to have to be saved by her sister before she would smarten up? Yes it was true that she had also saved Lightning once before, but the number of times where Lightning saved her ass seemed to dwarf that by a little more than one too many. It was after realizing how much her sister looked out for her that Serah resolved to toughen up and be more careful for both her sake and her sister's. "This is ridiculous. Why not just summon our Eidolons and blow through the wall?" Serah finally asked frustrated with their lack of being any closer to their goal.
"Because I'm trying to avoid a big fight." Lightning told her sister sternly, Serah shrunk back with a sheepish smile. Lightning ruffled her hair with a bright smile to cheer her sister up. Like always it worked like a charm. Lightning peaked around the corner and surveyed the situation, three PSICOM guards not much of a threat but make too much noise and it won't make a difference. From the looks of it the two guards were covering the only exit back into the main PSICOM building. Whether or not they were a competent pair or not was impossible to tell, Lightning however was confidant in her abilities and therefore set forth to creating a plan within her head. Throwing a grenade down there would be too loud so that was out of the question, quick precise shots to the head was also out of the equation as there was three of them and that would leave one left maybe two pending on how accurate and lethal Serah's shot would be. For a brief moment Lightning entertained Serah's idea of just busting out a wall with their Eidolons. It would be one way to end this rather frustrating experience right? But it would most likely draw attention to the others who were still waiting in the airship.
"I say we just run in and kill them quickly. Hope for the best you know?" Serah provided which in itself surprised Lightning. Serah was never one to make suggestions in such a dangerous environment. She would always smile and go with whatever the leader-Lightning-decided the best coarse of action to be. For this reason Lightning humored her sister and agreed upon what she had said. After all they were just PSICOM enforcers right? what's the worst that could happen? maybe they said a group of equally weak soldiers to come and subdue them. Big deal they were nothing to Lightning Farron.
"Alright Serah. You take the lead." Lightning smiled, confident in her sister's ability to survive. As expected Serah seemed bewildered she had-no doubt-expected Lightning to take the lead and eliminate the threat without breaking a sweat. But she had never in a thousand years expected to lead the charge. This lead the young teen to question whether or not she was competent enough to avoid injury or botch the whole thing altogether. Lightning however seemed confident in her ability and that was enough to get the courage and pride to swell within her heart.
"Y-your not gonna lead?" She asked tilting her head to the right in an act of innocence.
"Why would I lead? it was your idea." 'Although not the best I admit. But she's got to get used to such things if she's going to be able to survive. This is but the calm before the storm. I have a bad feeling that things are going anywhere but uphill from here. I don't know how, but things are gonna get worst.' Lightning thought after confirming that Serah would be leading the assault.
"B-but your the leader!" Serah argued. Suddenly feeling the need to pass the leadership off after she had been so confident to lead the two. Remembering her resolve, Serah put up a shield to cover her emotions and nervous disposition. With a quick-albeit reluctant-nod she turned to face the corner where the PSICOM soldiers were waiting. Taking in a deep breath, Serah steeled herself for what was to follow. Running around the corner, the small girl had no idea what she was doing in the first place and therefore was lost altogether. Doing the first thing that came to mind Serah fired a round off into one of the PSICOM soldiers. The bullet drilled it's way deep into his right shoulder, causing him to drop his rifle. The other two guards quickly turned towards the girl with a quick spin (they were facing the exit. Not very smart of them to do so) and the one on the right fell instantly as Lightning's bullet found it's way deep within the man's skull within seconds. The final guard turned and fired a series of bullets towards Lightning, easily pegging her as the more challenging competition. His bullets however did not peg her at all as they flew around all sides of the young woman without a single one landing. Cursing the lone soldier pulled a grenade from his belt and prepared to throw it when Serah accurately shot him in the head. His legs crumpling beneath him, the soldier fell to the floor with a final groan before he stopped breathing. Standing stock still, Serah registered what had happened into her mind. She had killed. Not the for the first time today but that didn't stop it from impacting her the most.
"Hey-" Lightning started as she placed her hand on her sister's shoulder in an act of comfort. Serah shook all the negative thoughts from her mind as she realized how soft she was acting. That is what she was trying to avoid. She was being childish. Crying over something that had forced her hand and she had reacted. Look at Lightning, she wasn't crying. 'But she had extensive training.' Serah told herself over and over again. Drilling the fact into her brain.
"I'm fine." Serah spoke in a calm and steady voice, a stark contrast to what she had been feeling only moments ago. "Shall we?" She asked motioning towards the door the guards had been guarding moments before. To her own surprise Serah's strides were as steady as her voice had been, her legs no longer felt as if they were jelly. Maybe she was getting past the emotional trauma of seeing and dealing death first hand? she hoped for both answers of yes and no. That way she would be able to survive through this whole mess and at the same time refrain from turning into a cold blooded killer. Not that she thought her sister was or anything of the like. In fact she knew that many a night Claire would have nightmares and sometimes those nightmares were constructed solely of the faces that belonged to those she had killed.
"You know you really are taking after Snow." Lightning stated as the two continued towards the door. Serah turned towards her, a frown ever present on her face. Silently demanding an explanation. "You just rehashed the only plan that has ever come to his ever so small and simple brain." Serah's frown deepened. Did she really just take Snow's plan for her own? if so then maybe Lightning was right when she said that Snow wasn't too bright. "To charge in guns blazing." Lightning rolled her eyes at how stupid it sounded to say out loud. Serah couldn't keep the laugh in as the thought of her and Snow sharing the same strategy just cracked her up. And she thought she was smarter than him. But she is rather inexperienced in this area right? yeah let's go with that.
"So that's a good thing then right?" Serah teased knowing that her sister was not one hundred percent sold on the matter of her marrying Snow. Lightning replied only by rolling her eyes once more. Serah stifled a chuckle as the two reached the door. Once it opened they realized that it was not just a door but rather an elevator. With a shrug Lightning entered the small box along with her suspicions. Never the less they would risk it, better that than wandering around this place for another hour or two. The elevator doors closed with a ding before automatically climbing the floors without a push of a button. Lightning groaned it appeared that it was a trap. 'Just perfect what a way to spend my Sunday.' She groaned irritated.
Drawing her Blazefire Saber, Lightning leaned towards Serah's ear. "You flick your wrist to get the blades to come out." She told her which surprised Serah but also relieved her. 'So she had known all along.' She chuckled inwardly with a shake of her head. So she tried it out with a flick of the wrist and as expected, the three small blades opened up from their compartment and came to rest out in front of the gauntlet. Just as this transformation ended, the doors to the elevator opened with another ding. They were not on the rooftop of the main PSICOM building. It felt odd that an elevator would come up to the roof let alone on it's own and this held Lightning on edge. Together the two Farrons slowly walked out onto the rooftop. Lying right in front of them was an odd looking contraption that could very well be a flying machine, however it didn't look too much like one. Behind them the elevator dinged once more as it traveled back down the many floors below them. Turning back to the machine, Lightning noted that the machine had a face. It looked more like a tribal mask then anything else. Serah hovered behind Lightning by a good two meters, a mask of uncertainty clouding her features. There was no way in hell that she was going to go near that thing. It gave off a strange vibe. One that helped her in keeping her distance. The tribal mask face that the machine adorned was ominous. It's eyes pierced into the very depths of one's heart or maybe that was just Serah? but in the end it didn't make a difference as Lightning currently running her right hand along it's smooth metallic surface.
"What is it?" Serah asked, her voice seemed to croak and also rivaled that of a mouse. Lightning didn't respond for a good couple of minutes. She seemed to be in a state of trance, gazing deeply into the tribal mask face. Maybe she was sizing up a possible opponent? or maybe even contemplating whether or not they should attempt to hijack the thing for an easy escape back to the ground level.
"I'll answer that question for the both of you." It was Yaag. He had quickly regained consciousness and now stood in the elevator that had just risen to the pinnacle of the building. Lightning didn't turn, she only smirked to herself. Now she would be able to kill Yaag off for good. She had never trusted him, even after what he had done for them in the hospital. And now was the perfect opportunity to end his life. "It's a simple war machine. Constructed to deal with you resilient l'Cie." Yaag smiled at this. "It's my personal chaperon."
"You always were in need of one to look over you." Lightning spoke without turning to face the man. Anger flashed across Yaag's face at the younger girl's insulting comment. Lightning gave a small laugh as she heard the Colonel's angered growl. He was too easy to provoke, a few more insults and he would charge. Giving her the opportunity to get a fatal blow in. The sound of Yaag drawing his long sword came to her ears and she instantly tightened her own grip on her Blazefire Saber. It seemed that no more sassy comments were needed as booted footsteps echoed across the rooftop. Biding her time, Lightning waited until she was sure and then spun at the last possible moment. Yaag's sword struck the face of the machine causing his arm to recoil greatly. Lightning concluded her spin with a deep cut opened across Rosch's back. The dark color of blood coated her beloved sword as Yaag fell to one knee with a single cry of pain. Raising her sword above her head, Lightning prepared to deliver the final blow. Her blade did not finisht he Colonel off like expected. Instead it cut through a ghost of a shadow as Yaag's body turned a blue shade of transparency before disappearing into the war machine.
"Should have finished me when you had the chance." Yaag's voice resonated from within the machine. It held a mocking tone to it. Lightning growled as the machine rose into the air, the legs it had on the ground folded out to form wings. "Prepare to face my wrath that is the Proudclad!" Rolling her eyes, Lightning charged her enemy and began slashing at it in a angered frenzy. Serah began casting her low level spells down upon the machine. The thunder spell dealing the most damage. Lightning switched her strategy and started adding elemental attributes to her sword in an attempt to weaken the Proudclad's armor with the help of Serah's spells. Due to the low level of her spells, Serah was able to cast multiple at a time which did wonders in pounding their armored enemy. The Proudclad fired an energy blast towards Lightning which she nimbly avoided by flipping safely away. The yellow blast of fire left a small crater upon the rooftop. Lightning casted a thundaga spell that sent the Proudclad reeling. It was staggered. Rushing forward Lightning jumped up to it's eye level and started to slash wildly at that ominous tribal mask face. A few moments later Serah joined in, her attacks were much weaker than her sister's but the added help was nothing to complain about.
Lightning briefly observed Serah's movements to see that she was surprisingly quite competent when in the field of battle. With her initial worries gone, Lightning turned back to the Proudclad and smited it down to the roof top with a powerful swing of her sword. Yaag's cry from within the machine's cockpit could be heard as the Proudclad collided with the roof. Sparks flew from various places which prompted Lightning to think that it was still in it's prototype stages. Yaag's machine struggled to it's "feet" before firing a light blue beam, Lightning rolled to the side but Serah was caught in the beam. Her cry of agony pulled at Lightning's heart. When the attack was completed Serah crumpled to the ground silently. Lightning turned to face the Proudclad, her strawberry blond hair whirled as she did so. Her expression changed into one of murderous intent as her light blue eyes began to pulsate dark blue in her fury. Rushing the metallic machine, Lightning shot a few bullet holes into it's sides before she front flipped up onto the cockpit. Although Yaag wasn't visible Lightning still guessed that his face was contorted with both anger and confusion.
Changing her Blazefire Saber into it's sword mode, Lightning began to hack furiously until a dark black smoke began to rise from the Clad that was proud. Pulling a stray grenade she had pocketed while in the armory, Lightning pulled the pin and threw it into a newly formed hole. Back flipping off the Proudclad, Lightning quickly scooped Serah up off the ground. She was unconscious. Lightning pumped her toned legs as quickly as she could and jumped off the side of the rooftop just as the Proudclad exploded.
wow I'm so so so so sorry that it took so long to update. My computer broke down and I just got a new one not too long ago. But I say good riddance to that thing, it was older than me XD oh and yeah finally got my formatting sorted out :P Gaminex helped a little with that by the way. Anyways this is long overdue so I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed: I'll start off with MiniLight: who always is good for a small essay on each chapter XD thanks for putting so much thought into your reviews. There much appreciated. Pulse99: Thanks for all your positive comments as well as the help you offer. The Red Kunoichi: A long time reviewer. A chapter never feels complete unless you review it, thanks Red! Judge Ghost-roach: you may change your pename again tomorrow but your reviews will always be appreciated! Taeniaea: Both your reviews have consisted of two words each but their greatly appreciated! Calisfur: I know I know, I'll update your story as soon as I can get in the groove for it. I know you don't review too much but they always put a smile on my face. Puppyfriend: Thanks for your review last chapter. Yeah I made my minimum for each chapter 10,000 words so I hope you enjoyed this one! Mobius14: Yeah I didn't like that part either *shiver* but I'm glad you like the story, thanks for your review! Johan07: Who I peg as the biggest LightXHope fan on all of fanfic, thanks for your reviews and I'll try to get Hope more involved in the story. Low Battery Life: Thanks for your reviews! yeah Jihl did have it coming for a while, however I can't help but miss that crazy woman XD Gagboy: thanks for your flow of thoughts on each chapter. The anon reviewer Big Bro who is actually my big brother: Your reviews are probably the only dispensible ones I have XD just joking, you know I love them :P Anon reviewer FFXIII is my life: Thanks for your comments on each chapter! Axelkairi: thanks for your two reviews on the early chapters :) Grimmjuchas: thanks for your review and I hope my new writing style didn't upset you. Floutistvivi: Who is editing and posting the chapters on DA(you guys should check it out!) thanks for doing so by the way :) your reviews have much love :) RetardedFool(that's their pename, I'm not insulting anyone :P): real glad your liking it! and I hope your eyes don't hurt after reading the chapter :) although you never did what you said you'd do :( XD ChenChong91: your review made my day :) glad you love the story, still got some more plot twists up ahead =D The anon reviewer Cali Digout: Glad you liked it despite the creepiness in that chapter XD The anon reviewer name: yeah it was a challenge writing 10,000 words of just fighting, glad it wasn't boring though! the anon reveiwer HopeXLightning: no Lightning doesn't like Hope that way in the story :P but thanks for your review! Master of Chronicles: Thanks for reviewing chapter one, hope to see more from you! the anon reviewer Riku91: yup I was sitting on the Jihl l'Cie thing for a while and decided to finally include it, thanks for your review. AzureKate: The biggest Hope fangirl I know. Thanks a million for your trio of reviews, it did take a while for Hope to enter the story like I said a little bit up there, I'll get him more involved in the story. The anon reviewer SPG: Thanks for your reviews, glad your enjoying the story :) Naunen: Thanks for your review, and I hope Cid's return made you warm and fuzzy inside :) The anon reviewer Oxy(who might be oxybusy, I don't know O_O) : thanks for your review, and I can't believe I missed that simple grammar mistake until you pointed it out XD thanks! Kaelyn the Hedgehog: Thanks for your review! much appreciated :) Darktrichecus: Thanks for your review, the Light/Serah reunion is my favorite part of the story :) oxybusy: haha Fang always wins XD Fusion90xxxx: Glad you liked the story early on, I really hate the early chapters XD thanks for your review! LadieJamie178: Thanks for your review! like I said before, I never really liked the early chapters :S Yuki Minamoto: Thanks for your advice it really helped a lot! thanks for your review :) Poxexpress: I was hoping my first review would be memorable...unfortunatly for me it was not XD yes the paragraph is everyones friend :)
Wow fellas I didn't expect it to take that long but it was long overdue so thanks to all my reviewers as well as the people who faved, and subscribed to the story! you guys and gals are what keeps me writing! oh and how do you guys like my new writing style?