Um yeah kinda have the feeling that I should let you all know that this isn't a Farroncest story :P just in case you interpreted the name of the title the wrong way. It's simply a story where Lightning and Serah bond as sisters, along with a kick ass plot am I right =D?... no? you guys hurt my feelings T_T XD
Anyways we got a new cover made by my bestest friend Sheldon Yeung, thanks a bunch Sheldino!
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Sisterly Love Chapter 20 Part One : Learning To Fly
Vanille sat upright as she was brought out of her deep sleep from the rumbling sensation that had engulfed the airship. The young Oerba rubbed her eyes before glancing around for her friends. Snow was leaning over the couch opposite of her. He seemed to be gazing up at something, the most reasonable guess would be some sort of explosion. Sazh was making sure his chocobo chick was alright, gently patting his afro while Amodar seemed to be awakening from a stupor of his own. Gazing around the cabin of the ship, Vanille didn't see Fang present. Wondering where the older Oerba could have possibly wandered off too, Vanille climbed to her feet feeling the tickling pin pricks in her legs as the physical use of them brought them from their own doze.
"Where's Fang?" The red-head asked leaning to look out the window along with Snow. The large blond turned to her with a shrug and a look of confusion plastered on his face. It was quite evident with the one glance that he didn't know where the woman in question had wandered off too. That was Fang though, always wandering off somewhere. Like a small child that got away from his or her parents in an amusement park.
"I have no idea." Snow spoke quickly as he strapped his Power Circle emblem to his back preparing for a fight. Gazing back out the window Vanille was able to see the flaming carcass of a machine which sat atop the tall skyscraper. Just by looking at the scene she was able to tell that Lightning had something to do with it. There valiant leader always had a thing for flashy explosions, just look at her hair it's just as flashy. Just without the explosion part.
"Should we wait in case Lightning and Serah come back here?" Vanille asked. She was nervous. The constant wringing of her hands as well as the gleam in her eyes made it quite obvious to her companions that she was frightened by the sudden anarchy.
"Thus we are in the classic position of 'should we go or should we stay?'" Sazh spoke up as he loaded one of his ever faithful Vega42's. "The classic plight where if we go they come back and if we don't go they don't come back." The middle aged man seemed to be speaking in a scholar like tone of voice. "Actually if my memory serves me correct, we've been here before." This little fact seemed to amuse him the most, his chocobo chick squealed in agreement.
"Your memory never serves you correct old man." Snow groaned at how irritable Sazh could be with a cheery demeanor in such a time of panic. Snow blocked Sazh's tirade out as he went on another rant of how he wasn't that old. And how he was just entering his early forties along with how kids these days have no respect for their elders. Some elder Sazh would make. The last time Snow checked, elders were wise and extremely old. Not carefree middle aged men.
Without a single word, Vanille pulled her Binding Rod from it's place at the small of her back and made her way to the door, opening it without hesitation. "Amodar and Sazh. You two should stay here in case they do come back." The young girl called over her shoulder as Snow wasted no time in joining her at the entrance of the small domestic airship. Looking around the outdoors, Vanille concluded that the coast was clear and that most of the PSICOM soldiers would be up on the roof, investigating the explosion. Vanille-surprisingly-took lead over the big man as she started to run towards the Northern wall of the PSICOM Headquarters.
"Hey what exactly is your plan Van?" Snow asked as he caught up with the younger girl. "I mean it's not like you can know where Light and Serah will just wind up." The broski clarified before looking over his shoulder to verify the fact that no soldiers were behind the duo. Vanille didn't answer for a moment, as she peaked around the corner of the building, her pig-tails bobbing along with the movement. Turning around Vanille gave Snow an annoyed look.
"Are you just asking so you can feel assured?" Her accented voice drifted to Snow's ear drums. In truth the bulky man was looking for some kind of reassurance. And since it was Vanille he expected to find some, however it looked like he was fresh out of luck on this fine day. Upon seeing the emotion of disappointment flash across Snow's face, Vanille gave him an answer. "Well heroes don't need plans right?" At this Snow gave a curt nod, remembering the many times in which he had said those words. "Well I'm a hero too then." Vanille answered, veering off her usual sunny nature into a much darker adobe.
"Now that's just cold." Snow muttered as the two slinked around the corner carrying hopes of finding the Farron sisters deep within their hearts.
The smell of smoke filled her lungs. The throbbing in her head wasn't helping her either. And the dull ache that seemed to envelope all of her being within it's icy embrace is what really began to piss her off. Her sudden sensitivity to light gave her the choice to keep her eyes closed or open them and endure the searing pain that would follow shortly after doing so. Serah Farron let out a frustrated huff as her current state began to replace each and every one of her-once optimistic-thoughts. She had no clue as to her where abouts and hadn't even opened her eyes since passing out on the rooftop. Gunshots were audible within in the distance. 'Wait gunshots?' Becoming more alert, Serah slowly opened her eyes to test their sensitivity. Once opened she gazed around the small alcove in which she was concealed. Her resting place was a small alley in between two skyscraper buildings, it was dirty-like most alleys-and the smell that always accompanied smoke populated the air. Serah sat up against the dead end that was located behind her and began to rub her eyes. Once the task was done, Serah gingerly climbed to her feet and started to make her way down the narrow alley. Lightning wasn't present, that was apparent enough. If her over-protective sister had been around she would have instantly been peppered with questions concerning her state of being before she would be able to open her eyes. Reaching the end of the narrow corridor formed by the tall buildings flanking both her left and right sides, Serah carefully peeked around the corner to find that the gunshots from before had ceased. The air now carried a silence that would only be found before a raging storm, and this-to say the least-unsettled the unfortunate teen.
Gripping her engagement pendant in her right hand, Serah started to make her way around the building. Her thoughts were completely overcome with one question: where did Lightning go? and every now and then another would squeak in: when did I pass out? and what happened afterward? the young girl stopped abruptly in her path just as a PSICOM soldier ran past the alleyway, luckily withot glancing down it. Taking a look at the gauntlet that covered her right hand and forearm. With a sigh she continued forward until she reached the end of the alley. Peeking around the corner Serah could see a group of PSICOM enforcers running towards an isolated location about fifty feet away from her current position. Deep in her mind she knew it was either Lightning or Snow. Sazh, Vanille and Amodar wouldn't be brash enough to draw that much attention to themselves.
"Hey there kiddo, how long are you gonna stand there?" Serah gasped and turned at the sound of Fang's voice. Lo and behold she was standing right behind her with a smirk drawn upon her face. "It's not nice to stare y'know." The green eyed woman chuckled at her own joke.
"Yeah and it's not nice to sneek up on people." Serah shot back hoping to look annoyed like her sister would be but Fang could see the relief seeping through her cold mask. No matter how hard she tried Serah just could not act cold towards another, in that sense she would never be like her sister.
"So where's the other pink haired goddess?" Fang asked as she came to a stop beside the small girl, who still held onto her facade like a small child would to there teddy bear.
"Um I don't know." The eighteen year old admitted, immediately shifting her gaze to the ground to avoid having Fang see the fear that was evident in her eyes. The raven haired Oerban let out a sigh before tilting Serah's face upward with her index finger.
"You got a shiny new toy there I see." She spoke nodding her head to Serah's right forearm. "How about we go try it out, and if we do stumble across your sister while doing so, then that's good too I guess." Fang encouraged as she walked past the younger girl and into the open sidewalk.
"Your not one to comfort with words are you?" The strawberry blond girl asked as she ran to catch up with the taller woman's stride.
"What gave you that idea?" Fang asked with another chuckle, she seemed to be in a pleasant mood.
"Well...your words did." Serah shrugged. She wasn't entirely comfortable around Fang, sure Lightning knows her well and is good friends with her but in truth Serah knew very little about the exotic amazon before her. Which as one could guess, is a little unnerving.
"Oh really? I never thought that they would." Fang replied with a wave of her hand.
"Um really?" Serah asked, she really didn't know how to socialize with Fang when Lightning wasn't around.
"Relax kid, I'm kidding." Fang laughed again as she patted the smaller girl's shoulder.
"Oh." Serah spoke with a forced laugh, she knew that Fang is a somewhat carefree woman but the wild look of hers always made her second guess her notions.
"Like I said: relax for once Ser. Your acting just like Light did when we first met." Fang called over her shoulder.
"So where do you think Lightning is?" Serah asked, worrying for her sister's safety, like always.
"Beats me, she can't be too far from here though." Fang replied with a wave of her hand. "How'd you two get separated anyway?" The Oerban asked, curiosity evident in her voice.
"I don't know." Serah admitted. "I just woke up and she was gone."
"What happened in there anyway?" Fang herself was surprised that it took herself this long to ask the question.
"Well um it's kinda hazy but Yaag turned on us, Light cut his finger off and we got in a fight with a big machine on top of the building." Serah recalled all of what she could remember.
"Oh man Light really needs to learn how to control her temper." Fang chuckled at the fact that Lightning had removed Yaag's finger from his hand.
"He he yeah she can be a hot head sometimes." Serah replied as her eyes frantically scanned the area. "Where's Snow?" She asked wondering why it was Fang who came and found her instead of her fiance.
"Off somewhere giving a hero speech." The dark haired woman answered non-chalantly as the two came to the corner of a building. "Seriously Serah what is wrong with him?" She asked turning back to face the younger girl.
"He just wants to be a hero is all." Serah answered like it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
"Right." Fang said doubtfully as she eyed Serah with her critical gaze.
"What? is it really that hard to believe?" Serah asked, truly confused about why Snow's hero disposition was so frowned upon.
"You know Serah, other then running around and saying "hero this hero that, I'm a hee-roh" Snow doesn't do many heroic things." Fang explained her reasoning.
"He just hasn't had the opportunity to be heroic yet." Serah defended her fiance's honor.
"Oh young, naive Serah." Fang tutted "there's been plenty of opportunities for Snow to be heroic, he's just too much of a pansy to seize the day. Actually you've been much more heroic than he has lately." Fang laughed at the thought of little Serah being more competent than Snow the giant.
"Hmm." Serah didn't know how to respond to that, seeing how it was true in every way. "So where are all the baddies? I thought there would be much more than what I've seen." Serah mused bringing her left hand to her chin in thought.
"Beats me. Hey maybe Snow's actually doing something heroic for once?" Fang asked before busting out in laughter. "Nah that can't be right."
"You really like to make fun of people huh." Serah pouted at the older woman as Fang ruffled her hair.
"Not really, just the idiots." Serah grumbled to herself rather then responding as the two rounded yet another corner.
"Then why do you tease Light?" She asked after a few moments of silence.
"Because it's fun." Was Fang's simple answer as Serah sighed in response. "Why doesn't Lightning tell us her real name already?"
"Because she doesn't want too, nor does she have too." Was the small girl's reply as Fang stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Why do you use words like nor?" Fang teased as Serah blushed.
"I just have a better vocabulary." Serah teased before peaking around the corner to see they had already made their way back to the airship. From the outside everything seemed to be okay as there were no soldiers present. However Lightning always told Serah that she shouldn't just dive into a situation without a plan, which the young girl found quite humorous since Snow was always saying that the true heroes didn't need plans. Serah I always followed her sister's logic and was starting to question whether Snow even believed himself when he said those things.
"Well I'll be damned if the language hasn't changed after more than five-hundred years." Fang muttered to herself.
"What's that?" 'She can hear everything. Just like her sister.' Fang mused as Serah frowned up at her.
"Nothing." She replied off handedly. From their current location the two women were able to see Sazh still seated in the driver's seat of the airship. "Alright looks like the coast is clear." The tall Oerban spoke as she began making her way towards the airship. Serah followed her, hoping that her sister was already waiting inside for her.
"What a pain." Vanille groaned as she pulled her Binding Rod's wires out of a fallen corpse of a PSICOM soldier. She had gotten them so stuck that she had to kneel down beside the body and pry them free with her hands as opposed to the normal flick of the wrist which is normally all it would take.
"A very heroic victory, Vanille." Snow spoke as he pumped his fist into the air. He seemed to be ignoring the sour look on the young girl's face.
"If only it was more glamorous." Vanille groaned as she stood and placed her-now folded-rod onto her back. Snow laughed it off as he patted her shoulder before moving on. The two had heard gunfire coming from a network of alley ways behind the PSICOM building and had hurried over to find two groups of PSICOM soldiers battling one another. "Why do you think they would fight each other?" The red-head asked as she paused her skipping to turn in a circle to face Snow. The behemoth of a man looked down at her in thought before replying.
"I don't know, but it makes our job easier so it's nothing to worry about I suppose." The man mused, a hand brought up to his chin in thought.
"You know that's pretty much the exact opposite of what Lightning would say." The small Oerban said, hands planted firmly on her hips.
"You think I should be more like Light?" Snow laughed before abruptly stopping upon seeing the look on Vanille's face. "Never mind, don't answer that." The two continued making progress through the alleys without another word. After another five minutes they heard the tell tale sounds of gunfire coming from a few blocks away.
"Maybe we should be a little more quiet, and maybe I dunno come up with a plan this time." Vanille nudged Snow's shoulder as the two slowly made their way towards the lethal sounds. However as fast as it started it stopped. Snow frowned as he came to another corner. It had sounded like a whole brigade has been engaged in combat and yet somehow it had stopped with the drop of a dime.
"Very funny, Vanille." Snow said although there was no trace of amusement in his voice. "Wait here." The large man slowly rounded the corner and as soon as he did he stood stalk still, eyes widened to the size of saucers. Lightning was sitting, back against the wall one with her left knee brought up to her chest with her left arm resting on it. Her head was downcast, her bangs covering her eyes. The ground around the young woman was littered with the bodies of the soldiers who Snow had heard before. Some of the corpses were mutilated like some monster had gotten a hold of them. It was a gruesome site with blood spread everywhere, on the ground, up the walls, and yet Lightning remained untouched by the blood of her enemies. Snow tentatively made his way over to his future sister-in-law before bending down to her eye level.
"Lightning...are you alright?" He asked, he was physically shaken and his voice helped to prove it. The strawberry blond didn't reply, didn't make a move. She just stared lifelessly into the ground beneath her. Snow put his hand on her left shoulder and shook her a few times. Still no response. "Lightning-" He tried again, brushing her hair out of her eyes "are you alright?" This got a reaction out of the woman as she gazed up at him, blue eyes unfocused.
"Yes. I'm fine." Although her voice was firm, Snow could see the pain, confusion, and unawareness that was concealed beneath the piercing blue iris' of her eyes. Swiping his hand out of her way, Lightning stood on shaky legs before brushing past the blond man.
"So where's Serah?" Snow asked, small traces of worry lingered in his voice. Lightning froze at this, she had forgotten all about Serah in her fit of rage that had prompted her into brutally slaughtering the soldiers who had threatened to take her life. The fight itself had been brief and it had seemed as if she was watching herself fight from a distance. But now she was left with the question: where was Serah? she remembered waking up beside her beloved baby sister but she blacked out after entering the strange fit that had overcome her. And now here she was possibly miles away from Serah's last known location. But that was unlikely as both Snow and Vanille were present.
"I don't know." Lightning muttered, "it's my fault. I got carried away in eliminating the threat that I forgot all about her." Taking responsibility had never been a problem for Lightning. She had been brought up well by both her father-for what little time he was alive-and mother. And add to that her time spent in the military and you get one responsible young woman.
"Don't worry, Light, I'm sure she is well." Vanille's attempt to raise the young woman's spirit earned her a blank look in return. "And Fang's probably with her which is good. They're fine, trust me." This second attempt from the young girl worked as Lightning gave a small smile before continuing on past the red-head.
"So which way is the airship?" Lightning asked, impatiently turning to face her companions.
"Thataway!" Was Vanille's response before she went skipping past Lightning while giggling. With a sigh the strawberry blond turned to face the man who would be marrying her sister.
"Remind me why you had to bring that ball of sugar along with you." Lightning groaned bringing her right hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, a sign of the woman's exasperation. Snow shrugged before trudging up to his future sister and patting her back, which stiffened in response.
"She insisted." Was the only answer he offered to give, but Lightning seemed to accept it as Vanille could be stubborn at times.
A half hour later Lightning, Snow and Vanille arrived back at the airship. Things were still cool on the home front with the area devoid of PSICOM activity. The trio hurried into the airship, promptly startling both Serah and Sazh at the sudden intrusion.
"Sis!" Serah cried happily as she rushed up to and hugged her big sister. Lightning closed her eyes, smiling lightly as she returned the embrace. "You're always worrying me like that." Serah whispered into Lightning's chest as she tightened her hold.
"Yeah, well I'm not immune to worry either, Serah." Lightning spoke softly into her sister's ear. Serah nodded her head before replying.
"I'm sorry sis, but when I woke up you weren't there."
"Sorry, I went to make sure everything was clear." Lightning replied in the same soft tone.
"Where to boss?" Sazh called from the drivers seat, "I'd rather not stick around in case more soldiers come around."
"Towards the Sunleth Waterscape." Lightning responded, letting go of Serah and turning to face the others.
"What are we doing at the Waterscape?" Snow asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"We aren't doing anything. I want you guys to stay here." Serah could once again see the pulsating blue in her sisters eyes, it invoked a chill from within her.
"No, we're you going with you Lightning." Snow put on his "hero-grin" as he pumped his fist. Lightning wasn't pleased.
"Will you drop your useless fucking hero complex already?" She snarled, grabbing the much larger man by the front of his shirt before punching him back onto the chair behind him.
"Lightning!" Serah scolded as she helped her fiance to his feet, "Why do you always push others away and try to do things by yourself?"
"I wouldn't have to do things myself if you were any more than a weak little girl. Ever since mom died you have been useless in just about everything. Nothing but a decoration on my wall." Lightning growled glaring down at her little sister. Serah, appalled buried her head into Snow's chest as he held her comfortingly.
"Geez Light, what's up with the sudden bi-polar disorder?" Fang asked as Lightning scoffed before drawing her Blazefire Saber.
"Everybody, get out." She said lowly, the sword in her hand was more than enough to usher everyone from the cockpit, with Snow still holding his jaw.
Well here we are approaching the climax of the story. There will probably be maybe one or two more chapters following this one. I split this one into two parts so I could get a fresh start and get back into the swing of things. I've had these 4,000 words written since some time in the summer if I remember correctly :S
But yes, I wonder what's wrong with Lightning, has she gone insane? until next time, stay tuned to find out!