Hello and welcome to the fourteenth chapter of Ignorance.
Ok, this time around I've just been slack, I think there was this three week period where I didn't write at all. The first it was because I legitimately had assignments to do, but the others was me being lazy, specifically the last one. Then even though it was the school holidays and I wasn't doing anything, I still didn't write, mostly because I was obsessing over Shugo chara and Ikuto-sama. Stupidly it took me the whole of the anime and half way though the manga before I realised I was fan-girling over Ikuto. Despite that I was entirely aware that a couple episodes in he became my entire reason for watching the series. I woke up every day excited because it meant I could watch more Shugo chara and in turn Ikuto. Yeah, when I obsess, I REALLY obsess.
You know though, I came on here to update this, but then I got distracted and read though some of my updated favourites. And one of the chapters was so big that even though I started reading it at around five, it took me up to now to read. That said, it's currently 9:42 at night. So pretty long. But it was so absolutely amazing that I have to tell everyone who's reading this to go read that story because its awesome and the authors a positively wonderful writer. It was 'Whispers of the gods 'by Raziel12. Also while your there if you do listen to this you should go ahead and read the rest of her stories, because they're all amazing. She is a big Light/Fang shippers if your not into that though, just as a warning.
Anyway now that that's said, on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Square Enix does.
A strange duo
Serah lay awake on her bed staring up at the ceiling. All of her recent troubles were swimming around her head with dizzying speed. She blinked her eyes and the first one rose above the others and made itself known. Her reality, simple as that. There was more she could say about it of course, like how the casual darkness of this horrid place disgusted her. How corrupt the executives were, and how the agents didn't care to see that all of it was wrong. So many times already had they all told her to stay away from Fang. A black cat they called her, one of the broken agents. Someone she shouldn't even waste her time speaking to. Waste her time they said, personally Serah thought that such a term would be one better applied to them. They even spoke of Fate similarly. A little girl twisted by a situation she couldn't help, and they left her in the dark because they didn't care to see the truth of her.
The curious little darling followed Serah around like a ghost, speaking little but always there. Given, Serah could see some of the other agents issues with her, for she was the strangest girl her age that she had ever met. Calling her a darling was probably very peculiar too, but Serah didn't care about that. For to her she was one, strange demeanour and all. After knowing her for a little while she had seen who the girl really was, just that, a girl. One small girl not even six years old who wasn't given the same life as other girl's her age. So it'd made her something else, but it was something else that Serah found she could do nothing but adore. Even if she still had no idea who in the world the girl was.
Purging her lips Serah turned onto her side. The other agents didn't know what they were taking about. They had no idea who Fate was, and they had no idea who Fang was. They had no idea what had made them the way they were. The memory was still painfully clear in her mind of when she'd got Fang to open up to her about her time in the Cocoon torture chambers. They were most horrific memories the woman possessed, and it was clear how much the experience had distorted her mind. That was something no one but Fang herself could fully comprehend.
The ease with which she had actually gotten all of the information out of Fang had surprised her at first considering her initial resistance. But Fate enlightened her afterwards her that Fang was the type of person that when she got lost in her mind, you could get her to tell you anything. Serah found it interesting, for she wouldn't have pegged Fang for such a person if she hadn't been told.
Blinking her eyes, Serah closed them and sighed. For the moment this was all she could do, think. Today was the date that had been set for the operation that would take the chip out her brain that was causing her amnesia. It was giving her nothing but anxious thoughts. Try as she might, no matter how much she tried to dispel them they clung on. She could repeat to herself that this wouldn't change who she was, but another voice always said that it would. Even though deep down she knew it couldn't, for she was who she was, nothing could change that.
Inhaling and exhaling to calm herself Serah continued to lay on her in bed in wait. It wouldn't be so long now til she'd hear that door open, and someone would be there ready to take her up to the operating theatre. Opening her eyes, she waited for that time to come.
…:…
Lying on her bed with her arms folded behind her head propping her up, Fang let her mind wander. Fate was sitting in her room with her right now quiet as always. She was sitting in a lonely corner reading a book. Fang flicked her eyes to the ceiling as she thought about how much it messed with her that a girl that young could read so well. For a five year old she read like someone who was ten. Bloody hell the book she was reading was four and a half hundred pages long. Fang might even say she was jealous. She's never been a particularly good reader, seeing as it wasn't something that was seen important in Oerba. Not that they didn't have a form of writing of anything, it just wasn't heavily used. So not many people were efficient in it, but everyone was taught. And being made to go from barely knowing a script to being forced to be fluent in a completely different one didn't make you a good reader.
Sitting up she questioned the girl, "What ya reading?"
Looking up from her book, Fate answered, "Delirium."
Raising her eyebrows curiously, Fang asked her, "What's it about?"
"A world where love is a disease whose cure is mandatory when every citizen turns eighteen."
Lying back down Fang let herself think that over, "Sound…sad." And it did, a world without love is a world without connection and cherishment. A world with no meaning.
"It is." Fate concurred, "A world without love is a world without fear and hate. A sheltered world with no worth."
What a world that would be, Fang thought. Imagine living in a world where you could hold you first born child freshly born in your arms and feel nothing. This world had done her in yes, but she'd never trade it for anything if it meant giving up love.
"You're strange, where'd you find a book like that."
"In Nataliah's book collection. And also, I'm not the strange one, the author is. She is the one who wrote it. Given, I have to say it is one of the best forbidden love novels I have read in a while. Last couple ones I read, the price of love wasn't death."
"That so?" Fang mumbled, staring over at Fate from over the end of the bed, "You know I still think you're weird."
"And I think you're the weird one." The small girl shot back in her small voice.
"No, I'm quite sure the weird one is you." Fang argued back, having fun with their give and take now.
"We are both the weird ones then. Face it; that is the truth of all being. When you accept it all will be as it should."
Fang smiled slightly at Fate's obviously exaggerated reply. When their arguments, if they could be called that, got like that, those were always her type of replies. Utter nonsense made to sound true.
"Yeah." Fang agreed.
The time passed like that for a while, the only sound that rose being the noise of Fate as she turned the pages of her book. Quiet as a whisper the sounds would rise to life and then dissipate into nothing. That was until another sound burst into the room as the door knob turned and the door swung open.
Sitting up as a man walked into the room and stood by the door way, Fang frowned at him. She was in no mood to speak to anyone right now. Not being a stupid little dimwit Fate was excluded from the everybody list.
"What do you want?" She spat.
Hesitating, clearly cowered by Fang's harsh welcoming the man faltered before spitting out, "The superiors want to see you."
Lifting one eyebrow at the man, Fang breathed out a sigh, "That so?" she said to no one in particular. Getting off her bed she whispered to Fate as she walked past her, "Be back soon as I'm done talking to idiots."
Turning away from Fate, Fang ushered the man out the door, "Lead on." She said with a smirk, as the intimidated man followed her orders and backed out of the room. Waiting in the hallway for her, he left off in the direction of the top dogs, with Fang following silently in his wake.
…:…
Later Fang stood outside one of the rooms in the higher levels of the building mulling over what she had been told. She couldn't decide whether or not to be worried about it. Seeing as it had its negatives, but also its positives. It was a problem to Pulse, but also to Cocoon.
Purging her lips Fang pushed off the wall and began heading back in the direction of the elevators. All in all, it was definitely-
"Fang!"
Cid's voice broke Fang away from her thoughts. Turning around to see the man coming towards her she threw him a questioning look, "What is it?"
"Serah" he said, "She had the operation to take the chip out of her brain today, it finished a while ago now, she should be waking up soon, I was wondering if you wanted to go visit her."
Staring at him like he'd said something stupid Fang asked him, "Why, I knew she'd be out of the operation by now, doesn't mean I intended to go see her."
Taken by surprise by Fang's response Cid fought to regain control of his words but Fang cut him off. "Just because she's in the hospital is no reason to visit her. If something had gone wrong I would have been told, then that would be a reason. If everything's all right then why should I go? Now I just got told some very weird information from the top dogs so if you please I'm going to go back to my room so I can process it all."
Turning her back on Cid she walked away, leaving the man to stare at her back as she left him behind. As the sight of the woman faded in the distance Cid's face creased in sadness. To think, the woman who had sat by Lightning's bedside every day for months no matter what her condition had just said that to him. Frowning he wondered what had happened to that girl, and would he ever see her again?
Far away from Cid, Fang stood by the elevators pressing the button to go down. She thought of his question to go visit Serah as ridiculous. Why should she go visit someone who was fine?
And yet, why was it that when it came to pressing the button for her floor, she didn't press it, and instead pressed the button for 36? The medical level of the HQ. And why was it that once she got there she headed for room 24, the room Fate had told her in passing Serah would be taken to after her operation. And why was it that once she got there, she sat in a chair beside Serah's bedside and waited for the girl to wake. And most of all, why was she there ten minutes later in Serah's hospital room, when she opened her eyes.
She'd never know.
…:…
Coming back to wakefulness, Serah opened her eyes. Her first instinct was to scan through her mind to see if there were memories there that weren't before, but there wasn't any. Like she had been told, while the amnesia effect could no longer be produced without the chip, it wouldn't wear off for anywhere between a couple days to a few weeks. But that said, something did feel different, she couldn't remember anything, but her mind felt…clearer.
Groggily wiping her eyes, Serah jumped when she realised someone was sitting beside her.
"Fang!" she burst out in surprise when she caught sight of the woman.
Fang gave a small nod of acknowledgement and mumbled "Hey."
Blinking in surprise Serah said, "I didn't think you'd be here."
Shrugging her shoulders Fang admitted "Until a few minutes ago I didn't think I'd be either."
Lying back down Serah muttered "That so?"
Seeing Fang's gaze drift off to the other side of the room, Serah noticed how distracted she appeared to be. Staring at her a while longer she asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Purging her lips, Fang scratched her forehead tiredly, "Depends, do you know what a Vallian is?"
"No" Serah answered honestly, "What are they?"
"Haven't the slightest idea." Fang replied offhandedly, "Some people say they're experiments gone wrong others say they're monsters. Far as I'm concerned they just a bunch of freaks. They're these weird black haired people with dark skin that go around messing with the corporations."
"That sounds…strange." Serah cut in.
"Yeah well," Fang shook her off, "You can hear weirder things if you stick around here long enough."
Pausing for a second or so, Serah spoke again, "So what do they have to do with what's bothering you?"
"Well, you see there's this Vallian duo going around right now doing a lot more than just messing with the corporations. They've only gone for Cocoon so far but what they're doing is planned, well thought out and crippling. They even managed to cause a huge information leak that even got to normal media. Of course Cocoon managed to cover it up fast and everyone who knows of it thinks whoever gave them the information is insane. But that's not what matters, what matters is that they could do it in the first place."
Sitting up in bed now Serah's curiosity was aroused, "This is bad right?"
"Yeah," Fang replied, "It doesn't matter if they're only going for Cocoon, if they fall so do we. Cocoon and Pulse are too closely entangled now to avoid that."
Looking straight ahead Serah mulled that over. Turning to Fang again she asked," And do you know what this duo is calling themselves."
"Yeah," Fang replied steadily, letting her gaze drift over to where Serah was in the bed.
"They call themselves-"
…:…
The Cocoon agent fell down dead at the woman's feet as she drew the knife from his gut. Wiping the blood off the blade on his clothes she straightened up and faced her companion. The taller woman in front of her flashed a smirk as she pushed her black hair off her shoulders and said, "All good Elisarr?"
Returning the smirk with a big smile the younger woman walked forward to the now open safe in the middle of the room. Reaching down she picked up all the priceless Cocoon documents from inside its broken shell, "Never better Marla."
I forgot Elisarr's name a long time ago, so that's not what her name is meant to be. It's just the best and closest to the original I could come up with on short notice. It did start with E at least. I also forgot Vallian even longer ago, I changed it three times throughout the chapter and I think scarily I actually got it right the third time.
Fate was reading 'Delirium' because it's the book I finished a day before finishing the rest of the chapter (Started it at the start of the holidays and then left it like that.) It's by Lauren Oliver if any one ever wants to read it. It pretty god damn good actually, a lot better than I thought it would be. I was worrying if it would be like one of those lovey dovey puketastic vampire novels one of friends keeps reading, but it wasn't. It more like that Hunger games government control everything sort of thing. And Fate wasn't lying, in the book the price of Love really is death. It's a very interesting concept.
Also for any who read the top Authors note, my all out obsessing with Shugo chara was only happening in the holidays when I was watching five times my usual amount of anime a day. So it's not like I spent a long time happy to wake up because it meant I could watch more, I only did that for about a week and a half. I realise that's still probably rather insane. But your free to think that, it doesn't bother me.
Anyway, Please review I'll give you virtual cookies.