Hey there! This is my first fanfic so it might not be any good but I'll do my best. It would be great if you gave me advise on how I could improve my writing.
I wrote this story cause I felt like nobody in Final Fantasy XIII really connected with Lightning. I was never a fan of HopeXLightning or SnowXLightning. I felt like they just didn't match. I always thought that a person who could equal Lightning would have matched Lightning far better. Lo, behold, they introduce Caius in Final Fantasy XIII-2. However LightningXCaius won't come until later in the story though so please, stick with me.
I plan on having this story go on for a while. I've got a big plot written out already but my updates may be pretty eradicate so please bear with me. Then again it all depends on motivation.
I was also wondering if you guys preferred long chapters with longer update times or shorter chapters more frequently.
Anyways, R&R and enjoy!.. I hope.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Duh...
First Impressions
I lock eyes with the person in front of me as the flames of broken machinery billows around him. As his dark emotionless eyes gaze into mine countless emotions rage within me, love, joy… hatred, anger.
How can I fight him? Do I have the courage and the willpower to commit to this battle? How can you fight when you're afraid of hurting the one you are fighting?
As I watch him raise his blade fear wells up inside me, fear of what I might have to do.
Hesitantly, I bring my blade up as well. Breathing slowly I reach into myself to remember what I am fighting for. I glance quickly at the pink haired soldier standing beside me. She is the reason why I am here. She is the one I will fight for.
Steeling myself I direct my complete focus on the man, no boy, in front of me. As he lunges forward to begin our battle one thought flies through my head as the familiar rush of battle threatens to overtake me.
"Forgive me…brother."
One and a Half Years Ago
As the golden sun of Cocoon slowly rose to greet the new day, its rays of light shone upon a lone, sleek, black velocycle speeding along the road toward the majestic city of Bodhum, its roaring engine shattering the silence of the morning. Rays of light reflected off the glistening black paint and bathed the rider whose figure molded into that of his velocycle. The young rider was dressed in full black leather cycling gear, covering his whole body, and had a black belt secured around his waist. On the left side there was a small leather pouch attached to the belt and the other side there was a sheath that held a strange mechanical object that looked like a sword without a blade. The handle also had two large gaps along both sides of the object.
The rider looked up and started to slow down as he approached the massive gateway that led to the grand city of Bodhum. Even the lone rider could see the massive towers and the glistening of light as the sun's rays reflected off countless windows. The buildings gradually got smaller and more humble as the rider's gaze wandered from the main city towards the crystal sea sparkling under the sun's rays. The coast side of Bodhum was a beautiful sight as the water lapped the pure white sand of the beaches. The beach was surrounded by small houses that looked simple yet exquisite. The city and the seaside looked so vibrant, so alive that it was hard to pull your eyes away from but pull his eyes away the rider did as he directed his focus to the guards standing alert next to the gate that led to the awe inspiring city.
"State your name and your business, routine security check" ordered the guardsman as the black velocycle came to a screeching halt a meter away from him.
"Corporal Caius Kreiss, Guardian Corp. I've been transferred to the Bodhum Security Regiment," replied a confident voice that certainly didn't fit a low ranking corporal.
"We're going to need to run a check on you, I hope that isn't a problem," the guard asked as he gave a nod to his partner who started prepping a machine fitted into the metallic city wall, a machine that Caius recognized as a scanner.
"Could you please remove your helmet and proceed to the scanner" directed the guard as he pointed at the scanner with his standard military issue rifle. The use of the rifle didn't go unnoticed by Caius as he recognized it as a subtle message. 'Mess with us and you'll find a number of these bad boys pointed in your direction'.
"No problem" replied Caius as he dismounted and moved towards the scanner. He then proceeded to remove his helmet, revealing a young nineteen year-old face with striking chocolate brown eyes framed with long dark purple hair that went past his shoulders. This strangely coloured hair was held back by headband.
A blue light emerged from the scanner and appeared as a thin blue line on Caius's face. It then proceeded to move up and down so it covered his face entirely. The blue line started at the bottom of his well-defined jaw and proceeded upwards past his pale lips and nose to the tip of his head. There was no denying that Caius was a good looking guy. The scanner then gave a beep and a mechanical voice came from the machine.
"Subject confirmed, Corporal Caius Kreiss, Guardian Corp, Status: Undergoing transfer." The voice ended with another beep.
A smirk appeared on Caius's face "Happy now?"
The guard with the scanner gave a nod to his partner. As Caius began to make his way back to his vehicle the guard thrust an arm in his path, barring the way. "Before we can allow you into the city it is part of protocol that you register your weapon here so we have info regarding your weapon if an incident occurs."
The guard pressed a button on the scanner and long tray came out of the machine. The guard turned back to Caius and tapped the tray with an impatient look on his face.
"You know, what make you think I have a weapon in the first place?" asked Caius as he ran his fingers through his unusually colored hair.
"We're soldiers we don't go anywhere without our weapons," the guard tapped the tray again, "Anytime today would be nice."
"Alright, alright, I'll get the big bad weapon out." Caius then went to grab the strange looking object in his belt. He removed it from its sheath and presented it to the guard.
"That's it? That's the big bad weapon you've got?" The guard chuckled at the harmless looking handle that Caius presented to him.
Caius rolled his eyes and with a smooth flick of his wrist, the object extended into a massive black sword marked with silver grooves along the blade. The large blade however looked like it was made out of two swords with the edges of the blade curving in some places. The two sides of the blade however were only joined at the base and tip, the middle of the blade being empty air. Well, empty besides the two tick shaped blade that extended from the tip of the blade inwards and met crisscross at the center of the blade.
Caius then slipped each hand into the gaps in the handle and split the sword down the middle turning it into two smaller identical swords, each one brandishing the smaller ticked shaped blade on the blunter side of the sword.
With another flick of his wrists the part near the handle of the blades opened up and a majority of the sword folded into it. The tip of each blade drew back until it hit the bulk of what was now essential a gun. The tips of each of the protruding tick shaped blades became the sight for the two silver tinted black guns. He then joined them back together to make his enormous sword again and finally retracted his weapon back into its harmless form with another smooth flick of his wrist.
"Yea, that's just about it." Caius said with a wide grin on his face.
"Yea, then in it goes" muttered the guard as he tapped the tray yet again, still trying to figure out how something that impressive came out of the harmless looking object that Caius dropped into the tray. The guard pressed another button and the tray closed with a hiss.
The same mechanical voice came out of the machine "Scanning… Please stand by."
Caius could see a faint blue light coming from the machine. After a few moments the machine crackled back to life.
"Scanning complete, weapon identified. Name: Nightfire Sabre, Type: Prototype Gunblade, Status: Testing." With another hiss the tray came out and Caius reached in and grabbed his gunblade.
"If everything is in order, I wouldn't mind entering the city now. Or are they more security checks?" questioned Caius. The guard shook his head sharply and pressed yet another button and the giant gates of Bodhum started to swing open. With a nod to the guards Caius donned his helmet, mounted his black velocycle and with a roar of his engine, sped off into the city.
As Caius weaved through cars along the road he whispered "GPS, Bodhum Guardian Corp Base".
On the side of his visor a small screen popped up showing Caius's location and the map of the city. It also provided the shortest route to Caius's destination, Bodhum's Guardian Corp Base.
Caius took a quick left turn and started speeding up. He barely noticed the modern buildings and the roads above him as he skilfully weaved through the cars in front of him. After a few more minutes of skilful dodging Caius arrived at the base of the tall building that he knew was the Guardian Corp Base, which was clearly apparent as the massive Guardian Corp symbol on the front of the building was a dead giveaway.
Looking around Caius quickly spotted the entrance into the building's parking lot. Wasting no time he quickly went down the ramp and proceeded into the parking lot. The parking lot was jammed packed with lights and had no shortage of parking spots but it was pretty much desolate. Looking around he saw that there weren't many vehicles around.
Most of them are probably on patrol duty. Caius thought was he observed the vehicles around him. The various vehicles he saw were mainly standard issue military vehicles, only one vehicle piqued his interest, a sleek red velocycle. Caius mentally whistled at its style. He then turned back to the task of looking for a place to park, not that it was a problem as there was no shortage of space.
After parking his velocycle Caius dismounted and removed his helmet. Dumping his helmet into his velocycle's storage compartment at the back of the bike he moved to the elevator while fixing his helmet mussed hair, smoothing out the spiky bits that stuck out from his head.
Caius didn't see a point in taking proper security measures as he was sure that the abundance of cameras, both visible and hidden, was enough to prevent any crime. Not that there would be an idiot dumb enough to steal from the heart of Bodhum's security itself, but then again he could be wrong. There were always idiots like that in the world.
Caius pressed the button to summon the elevator and soon enough the enormous doors slowly opened revealing a massive elevator. These giant elevators allowed for the quick movement of troops in emergencies and there were far more than one elevator in the building. Caius entered the spacious elevator and pressed the button for the top floor as he watched the door close with a "Bang."
One Day Ago
As the elevator door opened with a soft chime a slender figure emerged from the compartment. Looking out the window the obviously female figure could see that they were clearly on the top floor as they towered over the seaside. Then again Bodhum's Guardian Corp Base was one of the higher buildings in Bodhum.
Turning towards the receptionist desk, rays of light fell upon the woman's face. It revealed piecing aqua blue eyes that looked like it could see into your very soul itself. Her intriguing eyes were complemented by a perfect nose and full shapely lips. Her pearly white skin was obviously flawless and so was her heart-shaped face. This obvious beauty was framed by her most outstanding feature, unusual pale pink hair that swept over her left shoulder. She was wearing a standard women's Guardian Corp jacket complete with knee high boots, miniskirt and a turtleneck sweater. A light red pouch was strapped around her one of her shapely legs. As she walked towards the desk a brown sheath, holding a standard military gunblade, bounced behind her with every step. This beauty radiated confidence and intelligence however she also gave out an eerie feeling of coldness, it was like she had a wall between her and the rest of the world.
As she approached the desk the receptionist looked up from her computer to regard the soldier that was rapidly approaching her. The receptionist got up and leaned on the counter, giving a good view of her cleavage due to her dress with a plunging neckline.
"Ah, and what do I owe the honor of having the majestic Lightning Farron grace my humble desk" said the receptionist through a mocking smile.
You owe me for not punching that stupid smile off your face. Lightning fumed as she tried to keep her irritation from showing, she wasn't very successful though. She was already annoyed at what she was here for to put up with the receptionist.
"I'm here to see Commander Amber, he sent for me," replied Lighting in a confident tone that made it clear she was one of the 'no-nonsense' types as she regarded the posture and neckline of the receptionist with obvious distaste.
"Yes, I believe he has been expecting you for some time now, you've kept him waiting. What's so daunting about this meeting that you've been trying to avoid it?" asked the receptionist as she sat back down.
"None of your business, can I go in now?" growled Lighting as she readjusted the long black sleeve on her left arm, her shoulder pauldron jostling as she pulled her sleeve up. Yellow stripes adorned the pauldron, symbolizing her rank as a Corporal. Underneath it however was another engraving completely, this engraving took the shape of scythe.
Leaning forward Lightning stared into the eyes of the receptionist and repeated. "Can I go in now?"
The receptionist just smiled and pressed a button on her table. The door leading to the Commander's office snapped open.
Wasting no time Lighting headed towards the open door, not being the type to shy away from anything.
Every time, every single time, that receptionist never fails to get on my nerves. Lightning let out a sigh of annoyance. I swear one day I'm going to make her pay.
Once she stepped through the door she entered a large room. It was set up simply, various bookcases placed in an orderly manner along the walls, all except one wall which was opposite the door. You couldn't really regard it as a wall as it was really a massive window giving a magnificent view of the city. A large circular rug graced the polished marble floors, set on top of the rug were three identical chairs facing a slightly fancy desk adorned with a plaque stating "Commander Luke Amber" . Behind this desk sat a slightly more grandiose chair.
In this chair sat a male of obvious significance. The room reflected the importance of this person but also showed that he preferred the simplicities of life rather than all the pomp and fancy. One of the reasons why Lightning respected this said person.
The Commander was a middle-aged man with strong features bearing a neatly trimmed beard that occupied the lower part of his face. His chocolate brown eyes gazed into Lightning's blue ones unwaveringly as he dumped a file onto his desk.
"Take a seat Farron" ordered the Commander in his gruff voice and Lightning obeyed without a second thought.
"Lightning Farron, 19 years old, smart, strong, confident and reliable, recommendations by almost every training instructor," He glanced at the files "Quote, Shows great potential, sure to rise through the ranks quickly. So tell me, why are you still a Corporal?" growled the Commander.
"I don't know sir" claimed Lightning as she stared directly at the Commander, unwavering under his verbal onslaught.
"It's because you just won't work as a team! Hell, you won't even take a partner. Pulling all that lone wolf crap! I've had enough, I've given you time to sort yourself out but you just refuse to co-operate. I've had great hopes for you and I'm not giving up now. I've given you time to pick a partner but that didn't work out so I've got a transfer coming in tomorrow and he needs a partner. Guess what, you fit the bill and you're free so congratulations, you've found yourself a partner. Once you've partnered up I can finally tick that little check-box 'Works well with others.' And I might even be able to promote you."
Lightning opened her mouth and a complaint was just about the escape when the Commander beat her to the punch.
"Shut it soldier, you're going through with this and there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, and this time you're not going to abandon him like your other partners. For better or for worse you're stuck with him. Get ready for your partner's arrival tomorrow. Dismissed" Lightning shut her mouth quickly and stood up and quickly proceeded to leave the room.
That was a pretty one sided conversation. Could have gone worse… actually, no, that was about as bad as it could get. Lightning thought as she walked out of the room with a frown.
As Lightning walked past the reception desk the receptionist smiled. She had clearly heard the Commander from here and had obviously enjoyed the show. She just couldn't resist one last jibe, "Have fun in there?" she asked with a smug smirk.
Lightning's frown deepened as she ignored the receptionist and headed towards the elevators.
I'm really starting to hate her. Were her last thoughts before the elevator doors closed in front of her.
Present Day
Looking out the clear glass walls of the elevator Caius watched as the buildings and signs of life gradually grew smaller and smaller the further up the elevator went.
Feels like you could play God. Caius thought before he was interrupted by the sounds of an opening elevator.
Exiting the elevator Caius spotted the desk near the office door and the receptionist. Evidently, the receptionist noticed Caius too and his entrance had attracted her attention, a great deal of attention. As Caius quickly approached the desk the receptionist put on her best seductive smile and purposefully leaned on the counter of the desk.
"Hey there handsome, what can I do for you?" inquired the receptionist as Caius reached her desk, her smile still on her face and her posture giving a great view of her womanly assets.
The posture and smile didn't go unnoticed but was ignored as Caius asked directly "I've been transferred to the Bodhum Security Regiment, Commander Amber is expecting me."
Her smile dipping slightly at Caius's disregard of her womanly charms, the receptionist replied "Unfortunately Commander Amber had to attend an urgent meeting and he isn't available right now. However, I would be delighted to keep you company until he returns." The smile was back at full force.
She just doesn't know when to quit does she. Caius mentally laughed at her obvious attempts to 'pick him up'. She was a few years older than him and attractive enough but Caius had other things to do before he could go acting like a hormone-driven teenager.
"I'm sure we could find something to do until he returns" offered the reception through that smile.
Completely ignoring her Caius asked "I would like to know the whereabouts of my temporary quarters and the basic layout of this building"
Obviously disappointed by his rejection of her offer she replied "Floors five, six and seven hold the soldier's quarters and temporary accommodations." Glancing at her computer she continued "Your temporary quarters are on floor five, room 60. The mess hall is located on floor eight and the training room on floor three. Floor two contains the armory and floor one contains the medical clinic and hospital bay. There's a passage way from the ground floor to the airstrip and hanger and that's about it."
"Thanks, I'm probably going to check out my quarters and get something to eat to pass the time. Please inform Commander Amber that I have arrived when he returns" asked Caius as he turned to leave.
"You sure you're not going to take up my offer? It gets pretty lonely in here" the receptionist cried out at Caius's retreating back as he walked to towards the elevator.
"No thanks, I'm good" Caius smiled as he waved a hand behind him. "See ya." he said before he pressed the button for floor five. Once again the elevator door slid shut in front of him with a solid thud.
Caius walked out of the elevator onto floor five, which was eerily void of life at the moment. Looking around Caius a small sign stuck to the pale walls which read 'Rooms 40-60'.
Guess that's me.
Caius walked towards the beginning of the corridor only to stop as he observed the long corridor, small mechanical doors dotted the metallic walls along each side of the corridor.
The rooms better be worth the walk. Caius brooded as he started that long trek down the corridor. Looking at the first door Caius realized that he was evidently nowhere near his room as plaque on the first door clearly stated 40. This meant that his room was at the very end of the corridor. Caius directed his attention forward and sighed as he began to move towards the end of the corridor.
As he traversed the distance between him and his room Caius was aware of his footsteps echoing through the long passageway, breaking the silence at steady intervals. Looking around Caius was puzzled by the lack of life. Looking forward again he noticed two things. One, that his room was just in front of him and two, there was an elevator at the very end of the corridor.
That receptionist just had to keep that elevator a little secret didn't she? Probably cracking up over on the top floor right now, probably did this just cause I declined her.
Caius slammed his palms on the small button next to the door marked 60. It opened up to reveal a simple room which looked much more comfortable than you would expect for a military base.
The room had all the basic equipment you needed, a fridge, a closet, a small table, a door that probably led to the bathroom and of course a simple bed smack bang in the middle of the far wall. First things first, Caius went to check the fridge which was unfortunately empty.
I wouldn't mind a decent meal right now.
Caius then went to the closet to find a change of clothes. His leather riding gear was getting uncomfortable. But alas, yet again Caius was greeted with merry emptiness. Sighing Caius made his way to the next best thing.
After traveling for most of the night Caius was eager to test out the bed. Lying down on the bed he let out a content sigh. The bed was simplistic but it sure beat the hell out of those itchy and hard bed bunks of Palumpolum. For a city as rich as Palumpolum they were sure stingy with their military accommodations.
Still, I think it'll be better to find my own house around here. Those beach side houses are just too tempting to pass up.
And with that thought Caius closed his eyes.
"Uh, Corporal Farron!" Lightning turned around to see a nervous soldier approaching her.
"What do you want?" Her tone was calm and cold and yet the soldier still looked like he was about to piss his pants.
"Umm… the quartermaster… the quartermaster wants to see you."
Lightning glared at the soldier. "What for? I have better things to do." Lightning's voice was prominent with annoyance
The soldier looked just about ready to run.
"It's... It's... about a new weapon… or something like that. He just wants to see you urgently, it's an order" And with that the soldier wasted no timing in fleeing from the feared Corporal Lightning Farron.
With a big sigh she turned in the direction of the nearest elevator. As much as she wanted to start training she just couldn't just ignore an order.
As she advanced towards the elevator the door opened allowing several people out. These people gave Lightning a wide berth and she entered the soon-to- be-empty elevator as the moment she stepped into the elevator, everyone else quickly cleared out muttering things along the lines of "Oh, I just remembered something"
Lightning took no notice of her fellow comrades as she pressed the button for floor two. Rays of light shone into the elevator and glinted off the metal floor as the now almost empty elevator gradually moved towards the second floor.
As the elevator came to a halt the door opened into a room filled with racks holding every possible weapon imaginable. Gunblades, snipers, heavy machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers and even your occasional minigun. This room had pretty much every weapon possible except none of these held Lightning's interest as she walked towards the separate room at the back with a plaque stating "Quatermaster Rufus Dale's Office"
As she reached the dark metallic door she stopped. Lightning then quickly rapped on the door.
"It's Lightning. You asked for me?"
Sounds of grunting and resounding clangs of objects hitting the metal floor reached Lightning's ears before the door slid open.
A middle-aged man stumbled out of the 'office'.
Looks more like an overused, messy workshop to me.
The man threw the wrench he had been holding into his 'office' and readjusted his overalls before talking.
"Lightning, it's been a while. Sorry about the mess I've just been tinkering around with stuff" He stepped back from the door, "Would you mind coming in?"
Lightning walked into the room, navigating through the mess of mechanical parts that littered the floor.
Finding a suitable space to stand Lightning finally asked the question that Dale had been waiting for.
"What is this new weapon you wanted me to see, sir?" She crossed her arms across her chest
"Please, don't be so formal." Dale wiped his hands on his overalls.
"As you wish, so what is this new weapon?" As usual her voice was calm and emotionless.
"Ah, I see that the messenger didn't tell you everything?" Dale rubbed his dark stubble
Probably more preoccupied with turning tail and running than with remembering what he was supposed to tell me. Lightning just shook her head.
"To keep it nice and simple let's just say that I've received a new prototype weapon for testing and they told me to pick the best soldier in the Regiment to use it. Naturally that'll be you."
"And I'm flattered, what exactly is this prototype weapon?"
"Hand me your gunblade would you." Dale pointed at the sheath strapped behind Lightning. Lightning reluctantly reached behind her and drew her gunblade and presented it to Dale. It was your standard issue gunblade. A long gun with a blade extending from the end. She expected him to examine it or maybe tamper with it but she never expected him to throw it over his shoulder.
No words were needed as Lightning's gaze bore holes into Dale's head.
"Hey, hey calm down. You won't need it anymore anyways. Your prototype weapon is a gunblade and you'll use it as your main weapon"
"At least let me see the weapon." By her tone Lightning pretty much ordered Dale to show her the weapon. She felt strangely vulnerable without a weapon.
"Alright, alright. Touchy as ever I see." Dale fished around in his pockets before bringing out a key. He then walked to his desk, almost slipping on the wrench he threw into the room not so long ago, before opening a safe under his desk.
Lightning just looked on curiously as Dale bent over to retrieve the weapon from the metal box. When Dale emerged again he held a long sword in his hand.
Lightning could see it was a fine sword. She looked over the shiny metal and razer shape blade. The almost white blade gleamed at her.
A fine weapon, a fine weapon indeed.
Lightning's observations were brought to a halt when Dale placed the blade onto the table in front of him.
"You wanna take a look? Come over here"
Easier said than done when the floor's littered with enough junk to fill Bodhum to the rim
"Huh, I guess I really should clean this place up." Dale commented when Lightning finally managed to reach the desk.
"Yes, yes I think you should." Lightning picked up the blade.
"You said it was a gunblade but all I see is the blade" Lightning cocked an eyebrow at Dale.
"Hand it over will you, let the magician work his magic." Dale grabbed the blade by the handle and with a flick of his wrist changed the blade into a gun, the blade pulling back into the mechanism just above the handle. It would have been graceful if he hadn't knocked over his desk lamp while doing so.
"Well, lets just say I wasn't very gifted in co-ordination department." He glanced at the broken lamp lying on the messy ground, "Luckily my mechanical skills are above average, I'm going to need to fix that." He passed the gunblade, which was now in its gun form, to Lightning.
"Yea, you give it a try, you have to flick your wrist in a certain way, and it's really hard to master. I doubt you'll get it on the first…try" Dale paused as he watched Lightning change the gunblade between its different forms with relative ease.
"Not that hard if you ask me" Flicking her wrist again she changed the gunblade into its blade form again.
"And I guess that's why you're the one who's going to use it." Dale tapped the file he had on the desk, "It's called the Blazefire Sabre. It's one of the weapons based off the 'Fire Sabre' branch. This one is specialized for aerobatic fighters. Designed to be lighter and faster than your average gunblade. Made for aerobic fighters, should suit you well. Unlike standard gunblades however its forms are pretty much separate entities. This however means that their forms are more specialized in its role."
"And I like it, I'll be taking it with me." Lightning changed her Blazefire sabre into a gun and placed it into her sheath.
"Great weapon you've got there, there are other models in the 'Fire Sabre' branch too. I've heard of another one which was assigned to a soldier in Palumpolum, designed for ambidextrous soldiers with a duel wielding fighting style. As these weapons are prototypes they're being tested right now and are assigned to soldiers of great capability" He pointed at Lightning. "And for this weapon that'll be you."
"As it's a prototype I'm going to need you to drop in once in a while to give a report on it." Dale clapped his hands together, "I'm sure you're eager to test out your new weapon but could I ask you to drop this in Steven's quarters first." Dale opened a drawer and pulled out a document. He presented it to Lightning.
"You know where it is right? Level five room 42. Thanks a lot"
"Fine, but next time get someone else to do it. I'm not your personal messenger" Lightning slipped the document into her leg pouch before turning and heading towards the door, kicking aside various tools and mechanical parts while doing so.
"Oh and good luck with your partner!" Dale shouted after Lightning as she walked through the door.
Lightning wasn't pleased by this reminder of her upcoming burden and this resulted in a dark look on her face. As she walked towards the elevator she took out her weapon to inspect it once more, causing a nearby soldier to run desperately out of the vicinity of Lightning. A moody Lightning and a drawn weapon wasn't a good match nor was it a safe one.
As she pressed the button for the elevator she tested the weight of her gunblade. She then gave it a few test swings as well.
Dale was right, I'll give him that much. Light yet balanced, definitely suited for me. Might be useful for taming my new partner.
As she examined the blade the elevator door opened revealing its occupants. The sight they saw probably gave most of them a heart attack. Lightning holding a blade with a very unsettling look on her face was not a comforting sight.
Lightning looked up from her blade and calming walked into the elevator. As soon as there was an opening the original occupants ran out of the elevator, sighing in relief as the doors closed.
Lightning sheathed her blade and pressed the button for floor five. She decided as soon as her little errand was over she was going to test out her new blade in the training room, it would help her take her mind off her new partner, whoever it was.
As the doors opened Lightning quickly moved towards the corridor that held the room she was looking for. Recognizing the room she took out the document from her pouch and knocked on the door. Only silence greeted her.
Guess he's not in. Time to do it the good old fashioned way.
Lightning bent down and slipped the document under the metal door but she quickly stood up when a whistle came from behind her.
Turning around she looked at the three men in front of her.
"Good view, why don't you show us it again?" one of the men smirked.
These guys are either just plain dumb or are looking to get their asses kicked
"Why don't you hang out with us?" said another man.
Actually this is perfect. I might just be testing this weapon out slightly earlier than I planned.
Caius was just about to drift into peaceful sleep when faint voices found their way into his ear, they were too hard to make out in detail however. Groaning in protest as he got up to investigate Caius poked his head out the door. Further down the corridor Caius spotted four people. Three of them were your average male soldiers, dumb, rash, most probably smelly and the perfect cannon fodder. However the remaining soldier was different, firstly she was a girl, young and about his age and had shockingly unusual pink hair.
Why am I shocked? I'm the one with purple hair.
However what caught his attention was her posture and how it practically screamed out confidence. Emerging from his room he pressed a button, which closed his room, and started walking towards the first form of life he had encountered on this floor. The woman had her back towards him and was speaking to the men. As Caius approached the group, and as the voices got clearer, he started picking up the finer details of the conversation.
"So you're just too high and mighty for us, eh? Well it's about time you got off your high horse missy else we'll have to educate you in the ways of acting like a proper women" growled one of the male soldiers. Caius frowned at this development in the conversation and picked up his pace.
"And just how would you go about with your 'education'? Like your idea of a proper woman is anything better than trash. Maybe it's you who should be educated on how to be proper men." The woman's voice was strained with barely contained anger. Caius was pretty much running now, he had seen enough fights to see how this would turn out.
"Have it your way then, I'm going to need to educate you." spat out the soldier as he swung his arm, fist curled ready to connect with the innocent and defenseless woman. The soldier's other friends also got ready to get involved in the fight. Caius was too far away and he could only grimace as the fist traveled in the direction of the woman's face.
This isn't going to be pretty.
It was about to connect when suddenly the woman brought her arm up, deflecting the blow. Her arm lashed out and grabbed the wrist of the surprised soldier easily and using his momentum, propelled him into one of his comrades. They both tumbled onto the floor and the woman turned towards the remaining soldier. Dumb as they were, he didn't realize he was outmatched and swing a clumsy punch at the woman. She easily blocked the punch and brought her fist up into the man's belly, driving the air out of him. She then deftly maneuvered around the clumsy soldier and graced his backside with a strong kick which sent him stumbling onto his idiotic friends.
She was surprisingly graceful and the short amount of time it took for her to dispatch her opponents spoke volumes for her skills. By this time Caius had reached the scene of the battle, only to dodge a punch as the woman directed her attacks towards him. Startled Caius stumbled backwards before regaining his footing.
"Wait! I'm not with them!" he shouted as he caught the wrist of the women as another punch almost connected with his nose.
Phew, close call. Did I say she was innocent and defenseless? By the Primarch's balls, she is NOT defenseless.
"I'm not with them" he repeated again just to make sure another fist didn't travel in his direction, or worse the weapon that was held in the brown sheath behind her.
How did I miss that?
She glared into his eyes for a few more seconds before jerking her arm out of his grip. Stepping back she regarded him coldly, almost as coldly as she regarded the three men groaning on the ground. As one man tried to get up unsteadily she reached behind her and drew out her weapon which Caius noticed was a gunblade. Turning it into a blade she pointed the tip of the sword at the man's throat. He just blinked dumbly and just stared cross-eyed at the blade and woman who held his life in her hands.
"Stay down" growled the woman, her voice unexpectedly pleasant even if it was dripping with venom. The man just dropped to the ground, fearing for his life. The woman then turned back to him.
"I saw what happened and came to help," As Caius glanced at the men lying on the ground he also noticed a flash of surprise appear on her face before it disappeared, hidden by that emotionless mask once again. "But I can see that you handled everything just fine by yourself." He offered his hand to the pink haired lady who, to his surprise and delight, turned out to be quite the beauty.
"Name's Caius, what's yours?"
She just ignored his hand and swiftly walked past him before placing her weapon back into her sheath and heading towards the elevator while muttering, "Incompetent simpletons".
Ok… First impressions, not your average pretty flower and definitely not one you would want to mess with.
Caius turned around and watched as the woman entered the elevator. As the elevator door began to close he saw her glance at him once more, her eyes cold and emotionless, before the door shut in front of her. Staring at the elevator door Caius just scratched his head before muttering the name of the species that has, for the entire existence of man, been the ultimate puzzle
"Women." Caius just shook his head at the thought.
Well, that's probably the last time I'll see her. Bodhum's a big place after all.
God, how wrong could I have been?