Just a short one-shot that occurred to me, capturing how Lightning changes throughout the game. Enjoy!
She was a soldier; she could not protect, only destroy. But by destroying her enemies, she could protect those who were important to her. By destroying those who threatened her loved ones, she could protect them.
She was a soldier; she was made to follow orders, to shoot without questions and take down the foes of Cocoon. All things from Pulse are inherently evil; it is her job to destroy them. All things Pulsian are threats to the survival of Cocoon – including the Pulse l'Cie.
She was a soldier; she was made to survive…even if that meant leaving behind loved ones. Dying now would make everything she had worked for pointless. She had to survive.
She was a soldier; she had to fight on, to continue moving forward, to take down her enemies. A target's a target. Liabilities had to be cast aside, left behind, so that she could continue forward and take down her ultimate target.
She was a soldier; she could not let an innocent die in front of her. She had to protect those around her, or forever have their blood on her hands. She couldn't let him die.
She was a soldier; she was trained to protect. But she could not protect them both; he needed to learn to protect himself. And so she would teach him.
She was a solder; it was not in her to surrender – but neither was self-sacrifice. She could not forgive herself for allowing them to do what she could not; and so she would rescue them from their crystal sleep.