I

The Thirteen Days

Day 2 – Officer Training

Knight Captain, Storm was standing behind his desk, going through a few of his personal files as he reorganized a few things. A light smile came across his face when he came across a photo of his family, it was a photo that they had taken when they were celebrating his rise to the Order of Knight Captain's following the Cocoon Civil War and General Vark's defeat. He placed the photo up, setting the holo tablet on his desk so he could see the digital image easily while working. He then sat back down in his chair and pulled up the monitor on his desk, scrolling through the menus on the holographic display as he tried to find a mission to do, his meeting with Amodar earlier that day had kind of worn him out. He had discussed many things about Lightning and both had agreed that Lightning was ready for officer training, but they wanted to wait off for her birthday, make it something special for her since it was only 12 days away.

In that instant, his door slammed open and a pinkette stomped in, she wore a Guardian Corps uniform and her shoulder pad had yellow lights, showing her as a Sergeant. The emblem on her shoulder pad was the same as Storm's both members of the same division. "Tch... just who do those ametuers think they are!?" She folded her slender arms as her palms rest on the sides of her upper arms.

"Who?" Storm asked as he raised a brow at her. He wasn't quite positive what exactly it was that she was talking about, but it was clear from the minute she walked in that she was not in a good mood because of some group of people.

"Alright, so I was out on the mission to hunt down some Sahagin with Amodar and some soldiers... everything was going fine until this Vigilante group calling themselves, 'NORA' showed up..." She said their name slower and with more emphasis, obviously mocking them and finding them to be a bother. "Not only did they just get int the way, but their leader was apparently that Snow guy who keeps chasing my sister around, he's arrogant, annoying, and just an idiot... He's their leader and to make things worse, his whole group is a bunch of ametuer kids!"

Storm had listened to her words and then nodded, going over to the door to shut it so that nobody else passing by would hear her venting to him. "Alright, I get it... they kind of do sound annoying, getting in the way of your mission, but don't worry about it, it's no use getting all worked up about it and letting a bunch of kids and their overconfident leader get the best of you."

She huffed and nodded. "Tch, you're right..." She glanced at him, but didn't smile. She was still upset by NORA disrupting her mission, but she had no more need to rant to him about it anymore. "Thanks for letting me get that off my chest..."

Storm nodded, "Here... how about I give you the rest of the day off? You get your pay for the mission and Amodar takes care of the rest... I'm sure he and the other soldiers in the division are more than capable of handling a few monsters on their own."

The pinkette nodded once and then unfolded her arms. "Thanks... I could use the break, besides... I need to keep an eye on my sister... make sure that that man isn't following her around anywhere..."

Storm nodded and then pat her on the shoulder. "You do that... I'll have the Gil sent to your account, you just enjoy the day and take good care of Serah alright?"

"Will do Alex... see you tomorrow."

"See you Light." He smiled a bit as she walked out of his office, heading home to see her younger sister.

Day 3 – Weekend Break

A day had passed and the week shift of the Guardian Corps soldiers had the day off, the weekend team now taking over and doing their duties. He was over with his family, spending time with everyone as Lightning spent some time at her own home.

Radiant walked in and then sat down next to Storm, his right hand found it's way to his hair as he started to mess with it a little. "Hahaha... how's my little brother doing?" He smiled as he tackled Storm down to the couch and held him in a headlock as he ruffled up his hair some more. "How's your girlfriend, Lightning doing hmm?"

Storm laughed a bit and then grabbed his brother, flipping him over and tossing him on the ground, stomach up. "Heh... she's doing alright..."

Radiant smiled and then nodded. "Glad to hear it... Geez, little brother can't beat me when it comes to combat, but when it comes to keeping a relationship, he does a great job."

Flint walked in and sat down on the couch next to the two brothers, taking both their heads and shoving them down into the couch. "Yeah, yeah, knock it off ya two." He laughed and then smiled at them. "I heard you both have been training really hard... Especially you Alex, I hear you've managed to learn that special talent of yours that you used to beat Vark... what did you call them?"
"Storm Artes, I've gotten pretty good at using them, but they're still kind of a mystery to me... nobody else can do them and it's not in any of the Order's records, but I have gotten much better at constructing things and utilizing that manadrive technology."

"Yeah, that stuff... It's hard to believe that your manadrive technology has become such a popular thing in the military." Radiant folded his arms.

Seerana walked in and giggled. "Dad, dad come quick!"

Flint raised a brow at her. "Huh? What is it Seerana?"

Seerana tugged at his pants and then tried to pull him with her. "Momma has something for everyone!"

Storm and Radiant then stood up and they all started to head into the kitchen where they found a large table full of various kinds of food.

Mia smiled at them as they walked in. "Surprise! I got everyone dinner!"

They all smiled as they looked at the delicious food. The meats and various kinds of food all laid out on the table. As they started to eat, they discussed various matters with each other, finding out how everyone in the family had been doing.

Day 4 - Infinity Crystals

The second day of the weekend had come up and Lightning's birthday would be coming up in eight days. The male found himself walking down the streets of Bodhum's outdoor, shopping mall. He glanced around the area, thinking about if there would be anything suitable for the pinkette's birthday. She was difficult to shop for, mainly because she wasn't the kind of woman you just purchased flowers and chocolate for... even though she absolutely loves roses and chocolate, the feminine side of Lightning that didn't show to most people.

He sighed and shook his head, eventually folding his arms and letting out a slight huff of annoyance due to his failed attempt to find a suitable store. He then came across Leonora's Garage and stared at their poster for a minute. They were a very popular store that sold mechanical parts that were commonly used in weapon Construction and upgrades, but while they did have a great stock, they didn't have the best items available.

Storm then decided he's stop by another store that he knew, figuring he had just figured out what exactly it was that he'd get her for her birthday. On his way to the store, he picked up some roses, figuring he'd get her some of his own homemade chocolates since that just so happened to be her favorite.

He then found the main store he was looking for. A large sign up front that read Gunblade Mechanics in Cocoonian. He walked into the store, browsing their goods. This was his favorite store because they always had top end stuff and lots of great items to help customize, create, and enhance gunblades, however it was built for people who had a bit more knowledge on item creation and modification, something Storm was certainly not lacking in.

He spotted a box that held two crystals in it and pulled it off the shelf. It was the only one that the store had and the instant he saw it, he knew what it was.

In his hands, Storm held two Infinity Crystals, two crystals that no matter how far apart they were from each other, would always remain connected and linked together based on the feelings and strength of the wielder of the two crystals.

He knew exactly what he'd get the pinkette when he saw the crystals, sure they might have been expensive, but when it was something like this, he didn't care about the price. He grabbed a few more parts, particularly some metal, and a few other things. He then went to the cashier, set the crystals down with his other purchases.

"You sure you have enough to pay for this s... Knight Captain, Storm? O..oh of course you do... I promise you won't regret these crystals! They're bound to bring you lots of luck!"

Storm nodded and smiled. "I'm sure I won't regret it... actually I have a special thing in mind for them... something that's never been done before..."

"And that is?" The cashier raised a brow.

"Put them into a gunblade..."

His eyes widened a bit in surprise. "W..wow really? Nobody's ever done something like that before, mainly because everybody always ends up damaging the crystals when they make the weapon... but maybe... I think you could pull it off...

Storm nodded. "Sounds like a deal." He pulled out a small holographic card and pushed a few buttons, making the transaction in mere seconds.

"Enjoy those crystals, I look forward to hearing what you can do with them..."

"Thanks, keep up the business, this is one of the best gunblade stores on Cocoon!" Storm waved as he walked off, heading back home to start constructing the present for Lightning.

Day 11 – The Firework Festival

In the sky that night, magnificent fireworks launched off into the sky, the sounds of Bodhum's inhabitants cheering and staring in awe of this years wonderful display of fireworks. The sound of footsteps on sand were heard as Storm's boots left imprints in the sandy shores of the festival grounds. He smiled as he looked at the wonderful colors booming in the sky then descending until they faded into nothing.

"They really outdid themselves this year didn't they?" He said in an inaudible tone, mostly to himself.

As he walked he heard the various vendors selling food, it was guaranteed that any place that was this crowded would have at least a few people set up with stands, trying to make a small profit off of selling a variety of foods and drinks to the others. He noticed a few Bodhum soldiers patrolling the streets in front of a jewelry store, soldiers that Lightning had assigned there. "Hmm... she made a smart decision..." The previous year there had been someone who had been trying to sneak in and steal some jewelry from the local stores, but he had been caught. Places like that were always a big target, especially when the owners were out busy enjoying fireworks since it was seen as easy money for robbers and the sort.

Storm continued to walk where he passed a woman with light silver hair and a young boy, no older than 14 standing beside her, his hair a bit more silver in tone. He smiled, seeing how he was enjoying the festival with her, but he also wondered why he had no father with them. Maybe he was one of those fathers that were always so busy and they never had time to come out, Storm gave a light sigh, glad that his father wasn't like that. He loved his family more than anything and having them in his life was very important to him, he had something that Lightning did not, a loving, caring family... Lightning had lost her parents long ago... when she was still a child her father passed and at 15 her mother died, it was why the pinkette was always so serious at work, she had to provide an income for her only family, Serah.

Further walking and he saw the familiar woman that had just entered his mind, the pinkette stood out in the sands amongst the crowd, she may have been hard to spot, but the lights on her shoulder pad along with the big bulk of a man standing next to her, also wearing a Guardian Corps shoulder pad made her easy to spot. He recognized the man as Lieutenant Amodar, an old friend of his from back during the Cocoon Civil War and the officer that he had placed Lightning under.

"21 Eh?" Amodar placed his hand on the back of her left shoulder. "Maybe it's a good time to send off that letter of recommendation for officer training." He then removed his hand.

Lightning's eyes widened and she looked over to him in shock. "Lieutenant?"

"Your past due for a promotion Farron..." He looked up to the fireworks and held his hands behind his back. "Think of your sister... and your future and uhh... keep your nose out of trouble."

"Out of PSICOM business you mean?" She asked, understanding what he meant by that.

Alex smiled, seeing her reaction, but he too was aware of what PSICOM had been thinking... after the whole Euride Gorge accident, PSICOM had gotten really active.

Amodar nodded at Lightning and looked up at the fireworks. "Yeah, nothin' good'll come of it... nothin' but grief. Woah look at that one!" He let out a small laugh and gave a smile as Lightning stayed quiet, thinking about many things on her mind... her sister, PSICOM, and her upcoming officer training that Storm had suggested to Amodar.

Amodar then turned to Lightning and smiled. "Well I best be goin' I've got another run to do around here, but you go ahead and enjoy your leave alright?"

"Yes sir... thank you." She nodded and watched as Amodar walked off into the crowd.

"Well what do you think?" Lightning jumped when she heard the familiar voice from behind her, she spun on her heel and looked into his eyes, a light smile coming to her face as she shook her head. "I should've known... it was all your idea wasn't it?"

"What me? No..." He chuckled lightly and smiled as he looked into her eyes. "Congratulations... you deserve it Claire..."

"Thank you Alex... I've... I've been so busy with work and everything that I have let Serah feel lonely... I'm not exactly happy about that..." Lightning turned back to the fireworks and looked up at them.

Alex nodded and walked up to her side. "So... what do you have in mind for her?"

"... Well I was thinking that I might take a short vacation... just me and her, catch up a bit you know? Then after that I'll spend more time with her, not be so held back at work anymore..." Lightning rest her head on his shoulder and sighed. "She's very important to me... I've been a terrible sister to her..."

"You have not... you work here so much so you can get her money to live her life... if you were such a terrible sister you wouldn't be doing that or spending time with her, that's a nice thought you have for her... I'm sure she'll be overjoyed to hear it." He smiled and watched the fireworks up in the sky. Their eyes reflecting the splendor of fireworks exploding in the night sky. "Wow... it's so beautiful..."

Lightning smiled and nodded lightly. "Remember when we came here three years ago? Right after the end of the Cocoon Civil War?"

"Yeah... that promise we made... as well as our first kiss, how could I ever forget that?" He smiled a bit more, thinking back to it in full detail. It was as vivid as if it had just happened yesterday.

She smiled and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of fireworks in the sky as she rest her head on his shoulder more, her arms wrapped around his as their hands locked and fingers intertwined. "I love you Alex..."

"I love you too Claire..." He smiled back and held her close, glad to see that she was having a great day. "I'll be over to see you on your birthday tomorrow okay?" He smiled a bit as she nodded, resting her head on him.