Chapter 19 – Truly Ephemeral

(I can't lose you.)

Her breath was robbed away when she saw Lightning, lying unconscious in the kitchen. But when the woman opened her eyes to meet hers, she felt happiness rush through her – she could cry. "Onee-san, you're really sick…"

(You're all I have left.)

"No… I'm fine…"

Vanille bit at her lip. "Fine? You passed out in the kitchen! How is that fine?" She placed her palm on Lightning's forehead. "You were okay this morning, why are you suddenly…?"

"I…" The woman sat up clumsily.

She helped her up. "Onee-san, we need to get you to your room—"

"… I was running all over town," Lightning explained with a weak voice, "… looking for you…"

Vanille blinked. (What?) "Looking for me…? Why?"

There was uneasiness in her look. "Because…" Lightning was hesitating.

(Don't lie to me.) "Onee-san?"

"…"

(Please don't lie to me.)

"… Because I missed you." Lightning smiled.

Vanille forgot how to breathe.

(You're lying.)

…

She couldn't breathe. Vanille couldn't breathe. Lightning was shaking in her arms, crying, and this had never happened before. The stoic, cold, strong soldier was never like this.

"You're here…" Lightning whimpered, her voice barely audible through the showers.

"Of course I am…" Vanille said. "Onee-san, y-you're going to get more sick at this rate—"

"I had a dream."

(You're hiding something from me.) "Dream…?"

"You…"

There was a long, unnatural pause. It almost seemed like Lightning was trying to think of what to say, to cover up whatever she had to hide – if she were hiding something. "You… you went out… and never came back."

Vanille felt her heart stop.

…

"Don't ask, just run with me."

"Wha… what?"

When Lightning grabbed her hand, the moment they made contact, Vanille saw her life flash across her eyes. Lightning gave off the feeling that they were running for their lives – but what was there to run from? She kept on wondering as they ran through the trees.

"O-onee-san, y-you're not supposed to be moving so fast…!"

(Stop hiding things from me.)

"Onee-san! Are you listening?"

They finally stopped near a large tree. Lightning pushed her against it, pinning her body with her own, preventing any movement from her.

"What… what are you doing…?"

Again with the hesitation. Lightning was horrible at this. "Someone's—"

(What?)

"Nothing," The woman suddenly answered, "I just… wanted to find somewhere private so I could kiss you."

(Liar.) "Onee… san…" And then Lightning's lips meddled into hers. It was sensational – absolutely sensational. There was never a time that Vanille would get bored of this. Just the touch of those soft lips could take her away from any pain and bring her momentarily to a place of bliss, and then she would realize that she was getting increasingly addicted to her—

"Stay here, and don't move. I'll be right back."

That was it. She ran off.

Vanille pressed two fingers against her pulsing lips. Her tongue darted out to taste the woman reflexively as her heart pounded against her chest in violent thuds. What was this empty, uneasy feeling…? Vanille didn't know – it was like… she felt scared – scared that Lightning would be gone forever. Composing herself, she ran off into the same direction where the soldier had gone; the girl decided that she couldn't let Lightning out of her sight.

Mumbling voices were heard in these dense trees, and it wasn't the voices of animals. Vanille made her way towards the sound, and sure enough, she saw Lightning, pointing her gun out at something.

"O-onee-san?"

Lightning turned to her voice, her face taken over with distress.

"Vanille!"

She turned to the deep voice. "S-Sazh…!" Naturally, happiness and fear – more so the latter – filled her.

…

"I'll go line up to order, okay? You two can talk amongst yourselves!" Vanille said as cheerfully as she possibly could to Lightning and Sazh as she walked away.

…

She knew what was going to happen. Vanille knew that Lightning was going to find out about her past. Sooner or later, she was going to explain everything to the woman anyway, so Sazh's appearance was really just a boost. So, she decided to leave the two alone. Because she was too scared, too ashamed to tell Lightning all the disgusting, unsightly things that she had done, she decided to let Sazh do all the dirty work.

Well, she didn't exactly do anything wrong – she was only trying to save her friends after all, but it was just so shameful.

…

… So shameful.

(Oh, look, now. Not only was she a coward, a liar, a murderer, and a slut – she was also a user.)

…

In line and not moving, Vanille turned to observe the two. They were having a conversation, alright, and it was definitely one that was serious.

Sigh.

Onee-san was going to know everything. Her onee-san was going to know even more about her past – all the disgusting things she had done with those men. And even though Vanille knew that her onee-san wouldn't mind it one bit, she was scared.

Funny, because she wasn't as scared about the fact that her onee-san will know more about her hidden past. She was more so scared of Sazh's sudden appearance; she was scared that they were here as well. She was scared that they would take everything she had left away from her.

Everything she had left.

(Lightning.)

"Vanille,"

The girl in question gasped to the sudden whisper in her ear. Quickly composing herself, she turned to her voice. "Hm? Onee-san? What are you…" Vanille glanced at the table the woman was at. "Where's Sazh?" He was gone – no surprise.

"He got a call and had to leave immediately. Seemed urgent."

Vanille's jaw flexed. She tilted her head purposely to look confused. "What… but I didn't even…" She did not know what she was going to say next.

Then, in a flash, Lightning took her by the hand. "He said he'll look for you again. Let's go home now."

(No…) "H-home…? But I'm next in line, and… and what about the doctor's?"

"We need to pack. I just remembered that I booked train tickets for tomorrow morning."

(Predictable. All too predictable.) Next, Vanille feigned a look of surprise. "T-tomorrow morning! Onee-san, since when…!"

"I did everything last night when you were asleep."

(I know.) "Why!"

"I'm really looking forward to it."

(Liar.) "Y-you… ugh! What about work?"

"I called in as well. My lieutenant is more than happy to let me go on vacation."

(Lightning, you are a terrible liar.) "This is happening too quickly, I don't know what to say…!"

The woman chuckled. It brought an unnatural shiver down Vanille's spine. "Then don't say anything. Let's just go home and pack, okay?"

(You are terrible—) "Onee-san, were you always such a last minute person?" (—for trying to protect someone like me.) "You always plan ahead and organize everything you do! How can you mess up this time? Has the fever fried up most of your brain cells?"

"Vanille, if my brain cells were fried up, I wouldn't be acting so quickly and cautiously right now."

Vanille knew what Lightning meant, not that the woman would know that she understood her literal reasoning. She didn't want to tell her that she knew, however. Vanille was a coward, after all. She could only hide and act stupid.

Yes, act stupid.

… But Vanille wasn't stupid at all.

No more acting.

She opened her eyes from her dream. "Onee-san,"

Lightning blinked. Her blue orbs darted down at the girl who, she assumed, was sleeping.

Vanille met her gaze and smiled. She snuggled closer, turning her head so that she was buried in the woman's neck. "I love you."

She cocked a brow upward. Did she have a nightmare? Or was the alcohol still kicking in her bloodstream? But even if she were dreaming or drunk, this was a bit too strange for her taste. "Is something wrong?"

Vanille moved closer.

Her back against the headboard of the bed, Lightning adjusted slightly until she found a comfortable position. She tucked Vanille closer in her arms.

"I'm sorry, but I want to be selfish."

She stiffened and was about to ask, but Vanille stopped her by draping her arm over her flat stomach. "Vanille…?"

The girl in question moved closer into the woman's neck, breathing against the sensitive skin there and making the latter sigh with pleasure.

"W-wait… stop…"

Pleasure.

Just once. Vanille just wanted to feel it once. Wanting something just once wasn't greedy, was it?

"Hey…" Lightning held onto her shoulders, attempting to push her off. But Vanille simply mumbled her name again and again in her neck, sending more electrifying shivers down her spine. "V-Vanille…"

"I need you…" She whispered, trailing her kisses up to Lightning's neck, jaw, cheeks, and finally, lips. "… Let me be selfish this one time."

She nearly lost her mind when her eyes clashed with Vanille's. Those emerald crystals were glistening with need, with desire. The girl was dying for this, that much was confirmed. Lightning swallowed the lump down her dry throat. "The others, they're right outside. What if they interrupt us again?"

Vanille set herself on top of the woman, straddling her hips with either leg on the latter's sides. She gripped onto the collar of Lightning's shirt and leaned in, breathing just loud enough for both herself and the strawberry-blonde to hear. "I can't wait anymore." She pushed a few strands of pink locks away from Lightning's face and eyeing the woman's parted lips with half-lidded eyes at the same time. Vanille moved closer until their lips merely touched, "Please," She suckled Lightning's lower lip, just enough to make the woman crave for more, "… just for a bit."

Her heart, her mind, and her fucking limbs were screaming at her to say yes. Lightning shut her eyes tightly to contain herself. And it wasn't helping that Vanille was kissing her so sluggishly that it turned her on. She grew tense, and using all her will, Lightning forced herself to grip onto the sheets below so that she wouldn't be ripping at Vanille's clothes.

"… I can be quiet."

The soldier nearly growled. "Fuck…" She was enveloped by Vanille's sweet scent; it was getting her so damn hot – "… No." Lightning grunted. "I don't want you to be quiet. I want you to scream."

Vanille moaned to her aggressiveness. Rolling her hips forward, she realized that there was no turning back anymore.

Eyes still screwed shut, Lightning exhaled deeply. She was losing it, and she was losing it fast. "I don't want any of that slow and gentle bullshit. If we're doing it, I want to tear at you." She forced out her words through clenched teeth.

"Then tear at me," Vanille whispered. She drew back and, meeting Lightning's sharp eyes for a brief second, smiled and pulled her pink tank top off, throwing it behind herself. Vanille then reached behind to unclasp her bra.

Lightning's mind had gone completely blank as she witnessed the girl's bold actions. No hesitation, no restraint – just plain drive. Her eyes could not move away from the dangling fabric of Vanille's bra, as she so desperately wanted to see more. And when Vanille was down on all fours, crawling to her innocently yet so seductively at the same time, Lightning's heart stopped. "Are you sure you don't want to wait until we're alone?"

Shaking her head, "I can't," Vanille answered quickly. Her loosened bra's straps hung off her shoulders as she came closer to the woman, "I really can't."

And then Lightning's lips melted in hers.

"… Hm?" Serah raised her head up.

Lebreau looked over to the younger Farron, who seemed to be occupied by something in the air. "Serah, is something wrong?"

Through the loud, horrible 'singing' of the guys on the karaoke, Serah tried to listen. "I think… I hear onee-chan—" She paused abruptly, "—oh." Following a frown, "Never mind. It's nothing." Serah rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a nonchalant manner at the barmaid, signalling her not to think too much about it.

But she knew exactly what was going on. Smirking, Lebreau turned to the boys who were literally screaming nonsense into the microphones. They had the impossible ability of transforming some of her favorite songs into her most hated ones. Sighing, she spoke up, "I just find it kind of odd that Light would have a karaoke machine at home. I didn't expect her to sing and all."

Serah laughed. "Actually, the karaoke is mine. I made onee-chan buy it for me so that I can waste time and blast music whenever she's… um…" She paused and cleared her throat, "… yeah."

"Ah," The barmaid comprehended quickly. She glanced behind herself, into the hallway that led to the bedrooms and smirked again. "I see."

Oh god oh god oh god—

Vanille had to bite – hard – onto her own lips to suppress the sounds that were coming out endlessly from her. Lightning really was quite… er, well, incredible, amazing, fantastic, and ravenous, all at the same time when it came to everything, but right now, Vanille was referring to this.

"A-ah…!" A gasp finally escaped her. Vanille threw her head back, body arching into the cold glass window as Lightning's hands went on performing their wondrous magic on her. The girl's own hands gripped at the glass, only to have them slide down helplessly as there really was nothing she could hold onto. She was just glad that these windows weren't see-through from the outside. "O-onee-san, oh… unn…!"

"Didn't you say…" Lightning breathed into her ear, "… that you can be quiet?"

Yes, she can usually be quiet. But the thought never came across her – that she was doing it with someone she was deeply, madly in love with, and not with people she didn't know. She did not know that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from crying or moaning to every action Lightning was doing to her. And above all else, Vanille did not know that this soldier was so fucking good. So, here she was, pinned against the ceiling-to-floor glass window, panting and moaning nonsense sensually, getting torn up by Lightning from behind, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The woman bit at the junction where her neck and shoulder met, making Vanille squeal loudly. She was positive that these marks were going to be here for a while.

Limp and out of strength, Vanille's arms gave up their helpless grip on the glass. "Onee-san… my legs… I-I'm so sore…"

Even without the warning, Lightning would have caught the falling girl with ease. "I got you." She turned her around so that they were facing each other. At the same time, the soldier took the liberty to observe the girl in front of her; she just could not stop smiling at the sight of Vanille's adorable figure. The deep red flush across her cheeks, the heaving of her chest, the heavy panting, the red marks on her glistening skin… god, all of Vanille was amazing.

The silence in the room was broken by Vanille's weak sigh. She moved in to circle her slender arms around her soldier's neck.

Lightning returned the embrace, breathing out in return. "Did you like it?"

She smiled. "Mmm…"

Proud, Lightning smirked and asked on, "How do you feel?"

Vanille pulled back to kiss the woman. She really only had one answer, "In love," Vanille smiled, "… with you."

Chuckling, Lightning swept Vanille up in her arms gently and headed to the bed. She laid the girl down, and then moved to rest beside her – their gazes never breaking.

"I…" Vanille searched for Lightning's hand before she continued. "… I never thought that it would feel so good." She felt herself blushing deeper to her own words. "Because, before… when I… well, t-they…"

Lightning's fingers entwined with Vanille's. She snuggled closer to cup her soft cheek.

Vanille swallowed. "I-it usually hurts."

She need not think twice. Lightning pulled the girl towards herself, embracing her small form with everything she had. Her palm cupped the back of Vanille's head, burying her face in her shoulder as she hid in the girl's neck. "No one's going to hurt you anymore." Lightning whispered.

Hearing that, the girl felt her heart collapse. She returned the woman's tender embrace. "And I… I don't want anyone to hurt you either."

"I don't want… anyone to h-hurt her…"

Recalling the words from the drunk-Vanille earlier, Lightning couldn't help but to choke out a laugh. "Yeah, I know."

Vanille bit at her lower lip. She thought that she was prepared for this, but this heavy, uneasy, terrible feeling just… "Onee-san, go to sleep."

"Hmm?" Lightning moaned into her shoulder tiredly. "What about the others? And what about packing?"

"Please, just sleep. I've never seen you so tired before." It was then she realized; the fatigue of organizing for this trip must have finally gotten to her. That, and she wasn't exactly healed from her fever. If anything, Vanille shouldn't have let Lightning drink so much earlier. "I'll deal with our guests as well." She easily wriggled out of the tired soldier's grasp. It didn't occur to her that her legs were still sore from… yeah, that, until she stood up. Finding her balance was the hardest part, but Vanille managed. Fixing her bra, she searched for the rest of her clothes in the dim room – which reminded her, the sky had long turned red, meaning that it was now well into the evening.

Lightning watched the girl through half-lidded eyes. More precisely, she was looking at her figure – the light outside made it seem as though she was radiating in a warm, red sunlight. The dips, the curves, the contours of her angelic body… Lightning wondered to herself what she had ever done to deserve such beauty.

Just about finished with putting on her tank top, Vanille turned to Lightning – only to have herself taken aback slightly from the soldier's odd and silent stare. "… Onee-san? Is there something on me…?"

A pause, and then Lightning smirked. "Yeah, come here. Let me get it off for you."

She complied easily. Kneeling to the side of the bed, she came close to the soldier. "Where is it?"

Lightning snaked a hand to the back of Vanille's head. She pulled the girl down, making her lose her balance, but stopped just before their lips met, "Right about… here." She grinned slightly and captured her with a hungry yet controlled kiss.

Vanille's eyes widened to the sudden contact, but they quickly closed again. She didn't mind her abruptness. Really, how could she ever get mad at Lightning being so random and cute and… and loving? Nobody could do that. Gradually, she found herself adapting to the soldier's gentle strength. When Lightning's tongue begged for entrance, she parted her lips immediately to grant it to her. Small gasps and moans escaped their parted lips occasionally, but they would quickly get covered up by deeper, harder kisses. From an outsider's point of view, it would look as though Lightning was eating Vanille, though the one being eaten seemed like she was enjoying it.

Just as quickly as it happened, Lightning released the girl. She watched Vanille pant and blush, all at the same time, with an equal amount of enjoyment and chuckled. "Vanille,"

"Y-yes?"

Lightning moved in until their foreheads touched. "Stay here until I fall asleep?"

She was surprised by her request, but quickly nodded in response.

It ended with a smile. The strawberry-blonde fell back onto the bed, her eyelids slowly closing shut.

A couple long moments passed by; she really did wait until Lightning was asleep, and then she brushed at her softy pink locks gently. Her fingers traced the soldier's amazing bone structure – from her cheek bones to her jaw, all the way back to those soft lips. Vanille smiled to her innocent sleeping face.

"Onee-san…"

Slow, steady breathing.

Vanille exhaled lightly. She leaned in and pecked her soldier on the lips. At the same time, the tears she had been fighting back for so long finally ran down her cheeks. "Thank you," She whispered, "For letting someone like me fall in love with you."

Coming out of the room, all Vanille could hear were the boys… well, she couldn't exactly call it singing, as it sounded more like animals wailing in pain. She made her way to the living room, and sure enough, the boys were behaving as if they were in some wild jungle, fighting over for the last piece of flesh they can find – which was the microphone. She made her way towards the sofa, where Serah and Lebreau were sitting. It seemed as though they were simply watching and enjoying the boys' commotion.

"Hey… Serah?" Vanille called, just loudly enough for the younger girl to hear through all the background noises.

She turned to the redhead, and seeing her clothes and hair, which were so obviously fixed clumsily from whatever happened, she couldn't help but to grin. "Good evening, Vanille. I take it that you've finally sobered up?"

The redhead gave her a slight smile and nodded. "Y-yeah… I'm sorry about earlier. Like, about me, passing out."

"Oh, don't apologize!" Lebreau turned around as well to cut into their conversation. "We got to see the cutest confession ever, and if you didn't get wasted, you wouldn't have had such a fun time with Light just now, ne?"

Right away, Vanille jerked her head down to her feet, too embarrassed to look at anyone.

Serah chortled, though she knew that it was wrong to laugh when Vanille was so helpless. "Um, well, uh… what's onee-chan doing?" She questioned, trying to cover up her laughter.

"S-she's sleeping…" Vanille nearly squeaked.

"Oh," The raven-haired barmaid said. "Then why aren't you sleeping with her?"

"I…!" Her blush deepened into a near crimson colour, "I… just remember that I have to go down and buy something…"

Hearing that, Serah stood up. "In that case, I'll come along with you." She offered, smiling.

"Oh, no, it's fine!" Vanille said quickly.

The younger strawberry-blonde blinked.

She wasted no time and headed for the door. "I'll be quick, really." Vanille said as she slipped on her sandals. But before she could reach for the doorknob, the younger girl grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her. Startled slightly, Vanille spun around.

"Vanille…" Serah's grip on her wrist loosened, but her other hand reached up as well to hold onto her. "… is everything okay?"

There was genuine concern in the younger Farron's cerulean eyes. This girl was almost as sharp as her sister – if not sharper. Vanille acted fast – "Yeah, of course!" She said enthusiastically as she usually would.

She raised a brow. "Are… you sure?"

Vanille's smile softened. She moved to hold onto Serah's hands, "I'm sure," Gently, she pushed the girl's hands off herself. "Thank you, Serah." And then she headed out of the door.

In truth, she really had no idea what she was going to do. At first, she thought about reporting herself to the Guardian Corps headquarters, admitting out loud to whoever was there that she was a Pulsian, an alien, and that the fugitive the PSICOM had been looking for all this time was her. That was the easy option.

The other one, which she was unintentionally leaning more towards right now, was to wander around and wait for someone to just kidnap her so that she didn't have to do so much work. If Sazh, a simple, low-ranking corporal was in this town, then there had to be others as well, right? The man can't possibly be here for a vacation alone – it just wouldn't make sense if he really were, because if anything, he'd bring his son as well. Still, the downside to this option, however, was that she was not prepared for all these questions that were surfacing in her troubled mind. Questions like whether or not she was doing the appropriate, the wise thing, or even questions like whether or not she was sane and conscious just kept on coming and coming and coming…

She heaved a sigh when she turned into a new, quieter street. Finally, she stepped out of the busy crowds that roamed the night market. It was like she entered a whole new, tranquil dimension – a dimension where she could feel at ease. Leaning against a cemented wall, she held onto a wrist nervously. Right now, she was feeling as lost as the first day she arrived here. That day, where she made her stupid, naïve little fairy tale wish, where she was chased by thugs, and where she met—

"Onee-san…" Vanille called out naturally. What the hell was this? There was never once in her life when she felt so much hatred toward herself. All these conflicting and confusing feelings – she thought she convinced herself that she could do it. She was, after all, doing this to protect the one person she had left in this world. Vanille was doing this because there was no other way.

"What are you doing out here?"

A familiar, saddened voice reached her ears. It nearly broke her heart. Vanille flung her head towards the direction of the sound, and saw the one person she did not wish to see. Immediately, she could see herself shatter into a million pieces. Serah must have—

Head down, Lightning approached her. "Are you running away from me again?" She asked weakly.

Her first reaction was to think of an excuse. "I-I'm not running from you. I just wanted to buy something, so I came down—"

"Liar." She reached for the shorter girl's hand. Looking up, she revealed her clear blue eyes. "You're running away from me."

All her worries, her confusion, and her sadness could be read in those orbs. It was unavoidable; Vanille just could not stop these contagious emotions that were spreading to each nerve in her body. "No… onee-san, I…" At that point, Vanille could only look down at her feet to avoid Lightning's sharp eyes. "I just… I…"

"Vanille…" Lightning called gently. She stepped closer. "What's wrong?"

The girl stepped back against the wall. She gritted her teeth in her mouth, swallowing up the need to cry. Now was definitely not the time to be showing tears. So, in turn, Vanille shook her head. Hiding was no longer an option, and neither was lying. "Onee-san, I-I know."

"…?"

She took a deep breath. "I know they're here. I know they're after me."

Her azure eyes widened with fear. "What…"

"And I know that you're trying to protect me."

"Vanille—"

"Stop, let me finish." She interrupted, "You've been acting so weird lately. So overprotective, so worried, so… everything. And then there's also Sazh, who appeared all of a sudden."

Lightning mentally kicked herself in the head. And she thought she had everything planned out…

"Onee-san," Vanille went on, "The quarantine in Palumpolum, do you really think it's because of some disease?"

"…"

"It's because of me," She explained calmly. "It's because I was there, I was spotted there. The PSICOM would go as far as locking down an entire town to capture me."

Lightning gritted her teeth. "That's why we'll get out of here. We'll run away, and you'll—"

"And then what? They'll quarantine Bodhum, and you'll never be able to come back here. Like the innocent people from Palumpolum – children like Hope can't reunite with their family, and it's all because of me." She paused to catch her breath. "And what about Serah? What about Maqui and them? We can run, but they'll be stuck here." She shook her head with disappointment. "You'll… never get to see them again, and this is not going to end until they find me…"

"No one's going to find you!" Lightning burst out. "They're not going to get to you."

Frustrated, she attempted to shake off the woman's hand, though she was failing miserably at it. "Onee-san, I'm just one person! This is an entire town we're talking about…! I don't want so many people to suffer because of me. Onee-san, I don't want it to happen again…!"

The woman was stunned slightly. Again. Right. Vanille still believes that she left her friends… that she gave up saving them…

Vanille clenched her fists. She continued to struggle and fight to get the soldier's hands off herself. "Please – let go…"

She gripped onto the girl's hand firmly and spoke up with a quiet voice, "Then… what about me…?"

The girl froze.

"Vanille…" Lightning said softly. Her voice was cracking, "What about me?"

"…"

"Have you ever thought about that?" She moved in, circling her arms around Vanille. "I need you."

Vanille couldn't stop this shaking of her body. "Onee-san…"

"You promised that you weren't going to run away," Lightning whispered into her ear. "You promised not to leave me."

Yes, I did. The shaking became more violent. She had to shut her eyes, but – god – how she wished she could shut her ears as well. "I-I don't want anyone to hurt you…" Vanille whimpered.

"Nothing would hurt me more than having you leave me."

The tears began to build up in her eyes.

"I'm just as in love with you as you are with me." The embrace became firmer; Lightning hid in the redhead's shoulder as she mumbled her confession. "Vanille, I love you."

And she couldn't hold any longer – the tears ran down her cheeks freely. Her arms moved on their own accord – both sliding up to grip onto the back of Lightning's cardigan. "Y-you're being unfair…" Vanille sobbed. "… T-this is… the last thing I-I want to hear from you right now…"

Lightning ignored her, and held her tighter. "I love you."

Her sob grew louder. "P-please… please stop it…" Yes, she wanted her to stop, but she didn't want Lightning to let go. In fact, she wanted to be trapped in her embrace like this – for as long as time would allow her to be.

"… reported that the convict went that way—" Came a voice not so far away.

In an instant, the two pulled back to look at each other with shock. Perhaps they were being paranoid, perhaps even a bit too self-conscious – it was just a voice, and it didn't say anything about a 'girl'. Who would know whether he was a soldier or not? Still, Lightning reacted quickly; she did not want to risk this. Sazh did say that he wasn't the only PSICOM here; there were others, blended in with the citizens.

She took Vanille by the hand and moved farther away from where the voice came from. Turning at a corner, she ended up walking into a dark alley, and as she moved deeper, she prayed that there would be a way that could lead to the bigger streets again. Unfortunately, every path she took led to a dead end, and looking at everything around them, there was nothing she could use to hide Vanille entirely.

"… seems—this way—"

"Damn it…" Lightning cursed. The voice was getting closer, and there was nowhere to run. She pushed Vanille against the wall, pressing into her body to shield her form whatever that was coming and peeked out. Sure enough, just as much as she wanted luck to be on her side (which it wasn't), someone was coming. The dimness of the evening light made it hard to see, but Lightning could at least tell that the person was a man, wearing some sort of armour, holding a gun, and he was approaching fast. She had no time to think – Lightning could only find one alternative. "Vanille," She breathed.

The girl looked to her.

Lightning took off her cardigan in a matter of a second. She threw it around the smaller girl, wrapping it over her upper body and pulling the hood up to her head.

"Onee-san…?"

"I'm sorry," Lightning hissed. "But I need you to go along with this…"

"O-onee-san… what are you—aah…!"

She got her hands behind Vanille's thighs and lifted her, the girl's legs wrapping around her. Using the wall as leverage, Lightning released her legs and moved her hands just below Vanille's breasts.

"Oh…!" She threw her head back. The sensation was great – Vanille couldn't channel it away. Her hands found their way to Lightning's shoulders, and as another wave of the said sensation washed over her, Vanille's nails dug into the woman's skin. It was a shame, but this certainly would leave tiny, half-moon scars on her beautiful skin. Vanille shuddered to the thought of how hot it would look.

At the corner of her eyes, she could see an approaching shadow. Lightning prayed to every sacred deity in this universe that the person was just a Bodhum Guardian Corps soldier, doing regular patrol, and not a PSICOM hunting for Vanille. Even so, she had to make this believable. "Louder." Lightning whispered as she rolled her hips forward.

She didn't need to ask. Vanille bucked her hips at the woman. There was really no need for her to intentionally be any louder, because her vocal chords were behaving quite naturally – all thanks to Lightning.

She could see – he was here. The shadow was right here. Lightning remembered not to panic; she had to play it cool. Hands still fondling with Vanille's softness, she dived into her neck, kissing gently at first, but for the sake of realism, she suddenly bit hard at the girl's collarbone.

She arched her back into the woman and gasped. "Unn…!"

"Hey! Who's there!" The shadow pointed his gun up at the two.

Lightning jerked her head towards the man.

He gasped – with fear, most likely. Those dangerous blue eyes glowed—"S-sergeant Farron!"

Oh, thank the gods – but she couldn't stop imposed her deadly glare on him. "Fuck off." She finished the act by crashing her lips onto Vanille and sliding her hands higher, squeezing her breasts roughly. She made sure that the lower-ranking soldier could see that she was very, extremely busy.

The erotic sounds that were coming out of the girl tinted a flush across the young Bodhum soldier. "Y-yes ma'am!" He saluted her and stumbled away, almost as if his life depended on it.

When his footsteps became inaudible, Lightning immediately let Vanille down onto the ground. Holding her in place, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" She apologized frantically. To do this without her consent… Lightning practically felt sick. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you anywhere?" She observed Vanille carefully while fixing her shirt.

"I… I'm fine…" The girl stammered. "But… just… how did you know that it would work…?"

Hesitating at first, Lightning knew that this wasn't the time to think of lies. "This… isn't exactly the first time I've been caught doing it in places like this…"

Vanille froze, clearly hurt by her confession.

And Lightning caught up with her shocked expression right away. "But not anymore. I mean… I haven't done this in a while, and I'm never going to again—"

"No, onee-san, it's okay." Vanille interrupted. "It's the past, I don't mind it."

Lightning was ashamed, even more so after hearing the girl's words. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. Her hands reached up to frame Lightning's face. "Please, stop apologizing."

Nodding once, Lightning showed comprehension. If Vanille wanted her to stop apologizing, then she would stop apologizing –no argument was needed. "Vanille,"

"Yes?"

But Lightning had to one question straight, no matter what. She glanced down the alley way, making sure that they were the only ones present. "I don't understand." Lightning's thin brows furrowed as she looked back at the girl, "Why is the PSICOM so desperate to find you?"

Vanille literally stopped breathing. Her eyes moved left and right, as if she were searching for an answer in the heavy summer air. "I… I have no idea…" Truth be told, all this time, she was so busy worrying about the things going on around her, she never even considered this question.

She watched as Vanille's face twisted in confusion. Lightning herself was processing through the possibilities, and was getting equally confused. If they wanted entertainment, they could always visit a brothel – those bastards. If they did not want Vanille to spread word about their atrocities, they could always be more subtle about it – what was the point of isolating two important cities? Had the higher-ups gone mad? Or— "Vanille… y-you wouldn't happen to be a…" She swallowed, "… a princess or some sort of royalty on Pulse, would you?"

"What – no!" Vanille said immediately. "I told you, I grew up at an orphanage. There's nothing royal about that."

Lightning tilted her head. "Then… why…?" Why would they go so far to catch one girl?

Seeing the uneasiness in the soldier's eyes, Vanille decided to speak up. "Onee-san…"

"No." She cut in right away. "You're not turning yourself in." Lightning said with determination, "I'm not letting you do that. We'll figure something out, okay?"

Vanille looked away.

"Here," She took the girl by the hand, "Let's get out of here first." To get back safely, they were going to have to take the crowded route.

"Onee-chan! It's onee-chan and Vanille!" Serah called happily, pointing at the couple approaching them.

Lightning slapped a palm over her eyes. "God, you guys look so incredibly stupid right now…" She muttered.

Indeed, the group was standing right outside her apartment. Inside the lobby, Lightning could see the old security man looking at them with concern. He was probably thinking that these were delinquents, waiting to ambush whoever they had a grudge against, who just so happened to live in this building.

"Well, we couldn't just stay in your house and do nothing! So we came down!" Snow said with a grin.

"Yeah," Yuj nodded, "We were planning to spread out and look for you two, but… it wasn't working out."

"So we're just here! Standing! And waiting!" Maqui finished.

Lebreau rolled her eyes, finally cutting in to end the boys' stupidity. "C'mon Light," She threw an arm over the strawberry-blonde's neck, literally dragging her back to the apartment. "No more yelling at us, alright? Vanille's back and you have nothing to worry about."

The wrinkles surrounding his lips deepened when Gadot grinned. He, too, leaned his elbow on Lightning's shoulder as he walked along. "Yeah, little miss!" He said to Vanille, who was following closely behind, "Light was so worried when you went out on your own! I thought I saw her tear up a bit!"

Snapping her eyes at him, Lightning slammed her heel onto his toes (he was wearing flip-flops), which sent him flying off, wailing in pain.

Everyone burst into laughter, and even Vanille loosened up to chuckle quietly.

"Egh, let's hurry up, guys." Maqui said through all the noise the crew was making. He folded his arms and shivered. "It's getting so cold for some reason."

"Even though it's still mid-August," Yuj added.

Serah sighed. "The weather forecast says that a storm is blowing this way. So it's probably going to rain in the next few days…"

"Rain, huh?" The younger Farron's boyfriend looked to the sky, "That's strange—"

BANG

The loud noise made everyone crouch down by reflex, but – no – not for Lightning. She spun around in an instant.

"…" Vanille's face twisted with fear. Slowly, she looked to her shoulder.

Eyes widened with horror, Lightning's jaw hung loose; she forgot how to breathe. The sight of blood… the sight of blood streaming out of the girl's shoulder… "V-Vani—"

BANG

"Vanille!" It was Serah who cried out.

Another gunshot. This time, Vanille looked down to her stomach, where her pink tank top was dyeing red in rapid speeds—

"Target neutralized. Permission to move in."

"Snipers!" Snow looked up to the roofs of the apartment. He had Serah in his arms as he observed cautiously around them.

"W-what the hell…!" Maqui cried.

What's going on…? Vanille's mind asked. She couldn't take in anything right now; her world was darkening, her strength was leaving her, and she couldn't stand anymore—

Lightning moved in just in time to catch the girl. Without thinking, she pressed onto her more fatal wound. Don't close your eyes don't close your eyes don't close your eyes – she couldn't say it out loud. Lightning couldn't even catch her breath; she couldn't even stop herself from shaking, so speaking was out of the question.

But Vanille knew what the woman wanted. She tried to do as Lightning wished, but a strange fog was blurring her vision, making it difficult for her to comply. And what was this sound…? This… muffled, loud, and heavy sounds of propellers…? It was getting louder and louder. God, she could remember; back on Gran Pulse, she hated that sound so much. Whenever she could hear it, it meant that more of her friends would disappear, and they would never come back…

Lightning paid no attention to the aircrafts landing around her. She didn't even pay attention to the gravel that was flying at her face – she only paid attention at the redhead. And yes, it hurt. Seeing the sharp emerald colour she adored so much fade, the ache and fear in her body multiplied by tenfold. For once, Lightning's bright and cunning mind was blank; she was engulfed by fear. Here Vanille was, dying in her arms, and she had absolutely no idea what to do.

"Onee-chan!"

Serah's voice snapped Lightning's head up. It was then she noticed that she was surrounded by PSICOM soldiers, all pointing their guns at her. Her natural reaction was to hold Vanille closer to herself.

Another soldier clad in full PSICOM body armour, who seemed to be of higher rank of some sort, approached. "She's the one." His voice projected robotically through the helmet he wore, "Get her."

The men around Lightning nodded. One reached out to grab Vanille by the arm, and another attempted to separate Lightning from their mission.

"S-stop…" Her voice did not come out as strongly as she wanted it to, yet she managed to hold onto Vanille.

"Release her." A soldier said, shoving the tip of his gun at Lightning's temple.

Her eyes sharpened dangerously. She wasn't going to take orders from anyone. Lightning tried to stand, but when she did, those men only pulled harder at Vanille, and it was hurting the girl more.

Another soldier joined in to help separate the two, but Lightning showed no mercy. She tried to shake them off, but she knew that the more she struggled, the more it would hurt Vanille. A pang of guilt rush down her spine – she actually was thinking of letting go—

"Miss, I suggest you let go," said one of them.

Lightning didn't hear him – she didn't need to hear him. Looking down at Vanille, she could see the poor girl crying, panting, dying.

"Nee-san…"

Feeling a much gentler hand on her shoulder, she looked behind herself.

To describe this feeling right now, Snow would say that he was being stabbed in the gut by a combat knife. Lightning was crying. This was the first time for him to see the strong, mighty Lightning Farron shed tears. It was utterly painful to watch.

"A-aren't you a hero…? You always claim that you can protect everyone…" She choked weakly. "Protect her…" Lightning begged, "Please, help her…"

Snow stiffened. He wanted to, he desperately wanted to help. But all these soldiers had guns. He'd be dead in a matter of a millisecond by the time he could throw a punch at one of these elites.

Vanille was still alive, but if they didn't treat those wounds soon, then nothing could be done. Maybe, just maybe the PSICOM was going to treat her. If anything, it was much better than what was happening right now – where nothing was going anywhere. Yes, Serah betted on that. She had to. "Let go," She said, keeping her voice firm. Serah touched her sister's arm gently, "Onee-chan, you have to let go."

No, what are you doing? Don't let go… don't let go… don't do it—

Lightning gave one last look at her. Vanille was shivering; her skin was already dangerously pale and cold, and—

Feeling no more restraint, the soldier took Vanille away in his arms. Slowly, he made his way back to one of the aircrafts, the rest of the soldiers following wordlessly after him.

Lightning instinctively took a few steps forward; she had the intention to chase them, but was quickly blocked by Serah, who ran into her path.

She held onto her sister's shoulders. It was then she realized how much she was shaking. Then there were also those tears that ran endlessly down her cheeks—"Onee-chan…"

Her mouth hung open. "I-I…" Lightning's voice shook, almost as violently as her body. She looked back to the aircraft that Vanille was in – it was taking off. "… V-Vanille… she… she's…" Lightning looked at her palms, stained with Vanille's blood.

Serah wrapped her arms around her sister's neck. She pulled her down gently so that she could cry on her shoulder. Serah felt pathetic. There was nothing she could say to comfort Lightning; to tell her that Vanille was going to be 'fine' would be a lie, because she couldn't be sure herself. It would be even worse to say that everything was going to be 'okay' – because it was not. Nothing was going to be 'okay' for a long time.

When the sounds of the aircrafts faded, Lightning fell to her knees.

And Serah did so as well. She kept her arms firmly wrapped around her sister.

"… gone…" Lightning's voice muffled into her younger sister's shoulder. "… T-they took her… took her away f-from me…"

She couldn't contain her own sobs, much less her sister's. It was all so pitiful.

"… they took Vanille away from me…" Lightning repeated. "S-she's gone…"

I would write to you guys an apology letter for my absence, but that would take another 6 months. So, um…

Σ(-`Д´-ﾉ；)ﾉ- PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!

The only excuse I have is… well, this chapter was very, very, very, VERY, EXTREMELY hard to write. I reeeeally hope you understand why.

Please review for my INTENSE effort…? :3