Final Fantasy XIII: Cursed Past
Chapter 24 of my Final Fantsay XIII story, enjoy.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII belongs to Square Enix.
Chapter 24: Family Problems
It was Saturday 6 November 2 APW, almost a month had passed since Hiroshi had kidnapped Serah, she had slowly but surely recovered from her ordeal thanks to Snow, Lightning and the others. Lightning had been called away from her home however since she had received a call from Cid to conduct a reconnaissance mission. It was confirmed that PSICOM were acting, once again kidnapping people to use in their experiments. However they had stopped for some reason and the last confirmed location of their activities was Nautilus so Lightning headed there, her Blazefire Sabre strapped in place and began her investigation. As usual Nautilus was packed with people and the festivities were in full swing.
'This is where most of Cocoon's energy resources are expended,' She thought to herself, 'We ruin the continued survival of Cocoon, all for a bit of fun, it's so unusual.'
She sighed and continued to look through the town. Unbeknownst to her she was being watched and followed by Sazh Katzroy. He was on the phone to his mysterious boss.
"She's already working on the mission boss," He said into the phone, "You sure you want me to keep following her."
He listened as the boss replied and nodded, "Okay, I'll keep at it. I've gotta ask, are you sure she's still dependable."
After hearing the bosses reply he sighed, "You do know about what's happening with her right."
He heard the reply and finally agreed before hanging up and following Lightning.
Lightning continued and as she walked she heard all the talk and gossip around her.
"Seems like things have calmed down now." A man was saying, the woman he was talking to however replied negatively, "The people that were kidnapped haven't come back, what if those people strike again."
Lightning sighed; she knew the kidnapped people would come back, but with PSICOM augmentations. She walked around, listening in to the conversations, still unaware of Sazh tailing her, giving updates to the boss. After listening in to the conversations Lightning learned the area where people had been disappearing, towards the south side of Nautilus. She hurried over there and began looking around; this area of Nautilus was slightly less populated and had a quieter atmosphere. She continued to listen in and discovered that there was an unpopulated building in this area, it had been empty since the kidnappings had stopped, this had to be PSICOM's headquarters in the area.
'This is it, it's in here,' She pondered as she observed the building, 'Better try and get in, see what's going on.'
As Sazh watched Lightning moved around to the side of the building and, after picking the lock on the side door she opened it and slipped in. Once inside she saw obvious signs of a hasty exit, also, she noticed, signs that the inhabitants had indeed being holding people hostage here. She also saw how they had been transported, the back door of the building opened out to where an airship could dock. She felt slightly disappointed with the fact there was little in the way of evidence of the previous occupants. That was until she saw some documents lying on one of the tables; she hurried over and examined them.
"Paydirt," She muttered as she read the documents. They contained the details about PSICOM's shipments, there was also a log containing information about the prisoners.
Lightning smirked and pulled out her phone. She cringed when she noticed something; she had three missed calls from Serah. Shaking her head she quickly prioritized and called Cid instantly.
"Cid, it's me, listen, I've found the location PSICOM was using to store and transport their prisoners."
"Good, give me the address, I'll send an investigation team in, make sure the place is safe and secure, then you can go home."
Lightning gave him the address, hung up and scoured the building for any dangers. Finally ensuring the area was clear she left the building and returned home as the investigation team arrived, Sazh watched as she left before finally returned home himself.
When Lightning returned home she found Serah waiting for her, she looked annoyed.
"Light, where were you, I've been calling you and you never picked up."
Lightning sighed, "Look, Serah, I was busy okay, and I…" Serah then cut across her, "Yeah, busy, that's always your excuse, where did you go, and why do you have Dad's sword with you?"
Lightning groaned and shook her head, "Serah I'm sorry, but I can't talk about it."
"Can't…or won't?"
Lightning forced herself to remain calm; this wasn't like Serah but then again, since the attack by Hiroshi Serah had been prone to sudden outbursts very now and again.
'I never thought I'd even think it but…I need Snow's help,' Lightning thought to herself, whenever Serah did have one of her outbursts only Snow seemed able to calm her down.
"Look Serah, I know you're having difficulty but please, just drop it, I can't talk about it, even if I wanted too." She stated before trying to head upstairs.
"Honestly, you keep telling me what to do, I can take care of myself you know…You're my sister, not my parent!"
Lightning froze when she heard that, as always, no matter who it was, anyone who spoke about her parents brought forth her temper. She turned back to face Serah and her own anger dwarfed that of her sister.
"Fine, that's the way you want it, you want independence, you want me to stop 'telling you what to do'" She narrowed her eyes and stepped forwards, the anger disappearing from Serah's face.
"Well, there's the door, use it!"
Serah gasped, realizing what had just happened and realizing her mistake.
"Light, I'm sorry I…"
"Just go," Lightning snapped before talking upstairs angrily. Serah was too scared to argue and ran from the house, crying. Lightning had stormed upstairs and put her father's Blazefire Sabre back in its case before heading back downstairs. It was twenty minutes later and by then it was raining heavily and a storm was expected to be on the way. Lightning looked out the window, already regretting her loss of temper.
'Shit, what have I done?' She forced herself to think rationally, 'She'll still be in Bodhum.'
With that she quickly pulled on her jacket and hurried outside.
The rain was coming down hard as Serah knocked on the door, she was soaked. There was a short pause and then the door was finally answered by Snow.
"Serah, what are you doing coming over here in the rain like that?"
"Lightning and I had a fight, I…I was wondering if…" She didn't need to finish as Snow smiled and nodded before stepping aside, "C'mon in."
Serah stepped inside; Snow sighed and quickly darted into the bathroom before returning with a towel.
"Here," He handed it to her; she smiled and quickly dried off, "C'mon, it's warmer in the living room."
They headed through and sat down, Serah smiled as she felt herself warming up.
"So, what was the fight about?" Snow asked, Serah sighed and began to explain. When she was finished Snow sighed, "Okay, I know she's touchy about your family but seriously, Lightning overreacted if you ask me."
"I know but still, I should've just left it," Serah replied, before adding sadly, "The reason behind her nightmares and the way she acted for so long, even after all this time…She's still recovering from the after effects of…you know."
Snow nodded, finally Serah spoke again, "Knowing Lightning she already regrets it," She then realized, "And with this weather, she's gonna be worried sick about me."
"Call her; let her know you're okay."
Serah agreed and picked up the phone and called home, but received no answer. She sighed and left a message before hanging up.
"Looks like things are just gonna get worse," Snow said, pointing out of the window, Serah nodded, "Guess I'm staying here tonight."
Both smiled before finally kissing.
Lightning meanwhile was still trying to find her and having no luck, just then she heard something, someone calling her name, she turned around and saw the figure approaching her, she tensed but then recognized him.
"Hope?" Hope looked at her confused, "What are you doing out here?"
"Long story but, I'm looking for Serah." She explained, Hope sighed, "Look, I can tell you're worried, but that storm is gonna come here anytime, I think we should go back, we'll see what we can do."
Lightning was hesitant but agreed and together they headed back to the Farron Residence. They arrived just in time and got in just before the storm hit. They removed their jackets and headed through to the living room; Lightning sighed and flopped down on the couch.
'Great, now what?'
"Uh Light," She looked up at Hope, he was indicating the phone, the blinking Light indicated she had a message, she got up and hit the button and then listened.
"You have…one new message."
There was a beep and then the message played.
"Light it's me," It was Serah; Lightning leaned in closer, listening desperately.
"Look, I'm sorry about our argument, I hope you can forgive me. Don't worry about me, I'm at Snow's, I'm safe, I'll be back tomorrow, the storm should've blown out by them, later."
The message ended and Lightning let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
'She's at Snow's, so much for thinking rationally; I never thought to go there.' Lightning shook her head and smiled, 'At least she's okay.'
She turned around and saw Hope smiling, she smiled back.
"Everything's okay." Hope nodded, "I heard, I just got off the phone with Mom; she knows I'm here and I can't get home cause of the storm."
Lightning nodded, "Looks like you're stuck here for the night."
"Yeah."
It was late so they decided to get ready for bed, as he didn't have any pyjamas or anything Hope simply removed his jeans, Lightning was in her usual holey sweatpants and frayed tank-top, the scars on her arms and shoulders of course visible, it was also possible to notice some of the scars on her legs due to the holes in the sweatpants. Hope noticed that, as usual Lightning was uncomfortable with her scars being visible, but knew better than to press the issue. After setting up a makeshift bed on the couch Lightning retreated to her room, he realized then that she felt uncomfortable letting him see her scars, she was extremely self-conscious about them.
'I can't do anything tonight, but someday, I'll talk to her about it, see if I cane help her overcome her, insecurity.'
With that decision made he drifted off to sleep as the storm blew outside.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.