Author's Notes: It's been a while since I've updated with a new story and this has been sitting on my drive for years. I usually don't write like this, but this is the first story I've done from a first person point of view. I own nothing!

Humans have a need and a desire. A need is something that we can't live without, substances such as food and water. Something that allows us to survive. A desire is a want. Something that we believe can be controlled and sometimes uncontrolled, such as a desire for power. The two are different and easy to distinguish. At least they were… until now. Is it possible for a need and a desire to become one and the same? To think in such a way seemed irrational. It made no sense, yet… it all made perfect sense. The thoughts began longer than when I first realized this. It all started when I visited the small beachside town of New Bodhum. It was a town that I rarely visited, but not forgotten. I had no idea how going there would change my life. How going there would allow me to meet the woman who would change my life.

Director's Notes 01: Meeting:

"I want to thank all of you, citizens of New Bodhum, for coming out today. Please know that the Academy will continue to work thoroughly for the progression of Pulse and to ensure the safety of its people."

From the podium, I looked over the crowd that had gathered to hear what I had to say; a way to assure them that things would be bright for the future. The same stares that I've come to know with every city, town, and village that I would pass, each time assuring them the same thing. Truly the Academy was working hard to make the world a better place. For years, my life had been dedicated to logic and science. All of our progress had seemed to be working. With the speech at an end, I could focus on my team with our current mission at hand. I turned away from the crowd that was beginning to part. Behind me, the members of the Alpha team, ten other scientists personally chosen, followed behind me.

"Not bad Director!"

I spotted the soldiers waiting patiently for the presentation to be over. The man who had just spoken was in charge of them, Lieutenant Amador. We haven't spoken much before, but it seemed that we would be working together for the Academy's research while we were in town. I politely nodded toward him. "Thank you Lieutenant. I assume this is the team that you have put together." I quickly went over the soldiers that were with him. It was a bit of a concern. The number of soldiers turned out fewer than I expected. Along with the Lieutenant were three other soldiers, two men and one woman.

The Lieutenant let out a grin toward his fellow soldiers as he put his hands on his hips. I stood by and listened as he briefed them on our goal. "That's the mission for the day. Let's split up. Keep a good look out for his team all right?"

Right at his words, his fellow soldiers nodded and saluted toward him. The lieutenant seemed sure of his team, but on the other hand, I wasn't. Uneasy, I caught up behind him before he could walk away. "Lieutenant."

He turned toward me, still keeping his smile on. "What is it Director?"

At first, I didn't speak my concerns because I was unsure of how he would react, but I had to say something. Finally, when some courage came up, I looked him in the eyes. "Are you sure this will be enough soldiers? I mean…this could be a dangerous mission."

The reaction he gave was unexpected. I felt a slap against the shoulder as he let out a laugh. The hit on the shoulder knock me off of my footing for a second. "Ah! You got nothing to worry about!" He pointed his thumb back toward the soldiers behind us. "These are the best soldiers you can have!" After that, he walked away as if what I said had no effect. I still wasn't sure about this, but now it seemed like I didn't have much of a choice. Lieutenant Amador stepped in front of the only female solider of the group. He was grinning toward her as he pointed back toward me. "Go with the Director and keep an eye out for him. Let him know that we can handle this all right?" The woman nodded and gave him a salute before they separated.

Once the lieutenant was gone, our eyes had met. For what seemed like some time, we stood staring at each other before she walked over to me. I wasn't sure what to say to her. Her face was hard to read. She seemed serious which was good. "Director Estheim. I'll be the one guiding you through this mission." Her voice sounded so smooth.

I held out my hand out toward her as a formal introduction. "It's nice to meet you Ms…?"

"Lightning." I became curious by how she introduced herself. Usually a soldier had introduced themselves with their rank or whole name. I noticed the armor on her shoulder before I looked back at her. Before I could ask, she spoke beforehand. "Where are we headed?"

I cleared my throat and pointed toward the opposite direction of the village. "Through some of the wildlife over here."

She placed her hand on her hip. "Lead the way then." The tone in her voice sounded so calm as if she wasn't worried about this mission at all. I wished that I could say the same. Maybe she had been through similar situations before. Realizing that I was getting off track, I focused and nodded toward her. It was time to do what I came for. Not a second could be wasted. I walked ahead and she followed behind me.

Along our walk, we passed by several of the researchers, working. The thought came to mind that I should explain to the solider following me what I was doing. "I just want to collect some samples. Other areas are in need of growth and areas like this could be useful for growing food.

"And you want to do it here?"

I kneeled down toward the soil and began collecting samples in vials. I smiled back toward her hopeful. "As I said, this would a great option of natural growth. I see that some of the vegetables and fruits exported from here are in good condition."

"At least in this area any way. I'm sure they still want to make it a tourist attraction." She looked back toward the village. "Not that it will be much of an attraction if any."

I turned to her. "What happened to the place before? It looks different than when I was a kid." I saw her eyes look toward the ground. It was obvious that something terrible had happened to this town. What was once a popular tourist attraction had become an almost desolate, smaller settlement. Not as many residents resided here. By the look on her face, maybe she had recalled what happened more than what I could observe about it. "What exactly happened? I haven't been here since the day..." I held my own head down toward the ground to reminiscence over the experience I shared with the one special person in my life. Well...when she was in my life.

"Since when?" I could hear her voice above me. She didn't have to ask, but she sounded legitimately interested. I lifted my head. My eyes had met with hers. It was interesting. I usually didn't run into women with pink hair. There was something behind those eyes of hers... In this lighting, they were blue almost like the ocean. As time had passed, I noticed her face starting to tense. Instantly I realized that I had stared too long without saying anything. "It's been years, but... I used to come here every year with my mother."

"What happened?"

It was hard to recall much less say the words out loud, but I wanted to be honest. I looked down at the dirt beneath me. To ease the words, I started to work. With a small vile in my fingers, I scooped a small sample of dirt. "She died. Ever since then, I haven't been able to come back here… until now." After I finished, I glanced back at her. She was looking toward the ground again. I wondered if I had touched on something personal as well. She didn't seem to notice that I noticed. Once she looked up, I quickly turned away. "It was hard."

She had placed her hand on her hip. "Yeah…"

"Were you here when Bodhum was under siege?"

"Yeah," she replied softly. "I got to see it all." By her tone and tenseness of her face, I wondered what she had experienced.

I stood up to confront her. "What happened?"

Her eyes moved toward the side. She took a step away from me. "It was when the old government was still in charge and they tried to make society 'pure'. There were riots. I was responsible for making sure that no one that the soldiers caught got away. Then…I found out that they had my sister. I couldn't let them just take her so I went and I got her back." She turned toward me. "There were a lot of people fighting back. Some were killed during the riot. Most of Bodhum got burned in the process."

I couldn't help but look down at that moment. Her telling me this story brought up a lot of memories. What I couldn't stop back then. I turned away from her. "Yeah. There were people killed…that didn't deserve to be."

"Was there…someone you knew?" She sounded hesitant for a moment as if she had invaded something personal. True it was very personal. The pain still felt fresh at times and other times it was easier. "I shouldn't have-."

"Yes it was someone I knew." I walked away from her. "It was my mother."

As time had passed, we continued to walk and I continued to gather samples for my research in silence. Sometimes I felt as if I should say something to ease the strange silence, but the words never came to the surface. After trying once more, I heard something I didn't expect. "I'm sorry…if I was out of line." I turned around to her surprised. She was looking away from me. "I shouldn't have gotten into something so personal."

I wondered why she was apologizing. Was it out of respect for authority? I held up my hand as a sign that there wasn't any offense to earlier. After all, I was the one who chose to answer her. "It's all right. Maybe I was getting too personal as well."

For a moment we stared at each other until we, all of a sudden, heard a sound. We both turned our heads. The plants nearby us were ruffling. I didn't know whether to believe it could've been a good or bad thing, but nothing inside of me thought that it could've been anything good. It happened so quick. I was only able to spot one fiend jump at us. I hesitated. My whole body froze except for my mind which thought that this could end badly. As quickly as it jumped to strike was as quick as it was struck down. I blinked surprised unable to respond for a short time. Finally I was able to turn my head slightly. Right in front of me was the soldier assigned to protect me. I have to admit she really did live up to her name. She was quick as lightning. I barely had a second to see how she took down the creature in just one strike. She had her back to me with her sword out. No. It was different from a sword, but I wasn't quite sure from this angle. She held her hand back. "Stay behind me Director."

Around us, I saw two- no three of the same fiends. They must have been traveling in a pack. I wanted to tell her that I could help or try to defend myself, but the words just never came to the surface. My hand reached into my jacket, but then stilled. I watched as she fought with the odds against her one to three. At first, I was worried, but my worry started to lessen as I watched her. She moved with such agility and grace. At one point, I wondered if her feet were touching the ground at all. With barely a scratch on her and no help, she stopped all four fiends. I was impressed to say the least. That was amazing what I had witnessed. So much strength had come from just one woman. It made me wish that I was strong enough to fight at that moment. "Th-That was..."

She turned to me unfazed. "Are you okay?"

I was at a loss for words. Soon I heard the sound of other voices approaching us. "Director!" When we looked over, we saw the three other soldiers approach us before we split up. "Are you all right?" I nodded toward the man who asked.

Lieutenant Amador went over to Lightning who had saved me. He patted her on the shoulder as he gave her a big grin. "I knew you would be able to handle things on your own." It was then I felt bad for doubting his judgment. She fought in a way that I have never seen any soldier fight before. For a very short time, I got to see what she was capable of. From that, I knew she was capable of so much more. That was something I thought I would never see again, but I wanted to.

After our mission and research was complete, I caught up with her. She was standing with the rest of her fellow soldiers. It seemed that they were in the middle of a conversation that she was listening in on. Lieutenant Amador was the first to notice me step over. He smiled toward me. "Director! I thought you left with your team."

I stopped in front of the group and smiled toward them. "I've decided to stick around a little longer." I was a little nervous about saying so, but I pushed myself to. I looked over at Lightning. "May I have a word with you?" I could see the curious looks on the faces of the soldiers as to what I wanted with her. She glanced at her superior before she turned to me. Assuming that she was willing to go along, I stepped away from the group and she followed so they wouldn't hear our conversation. When I glanced back, I could see the men with smirks as they looked over. I ignored their looks and turned my attention to her. "Thanks for agreeing to speak with me."

She placed her hand on her hip. She seemed slightly annoyed by the fact. "What is it Director?"

I smiled toward her. "I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me."

Right away I could see the confusion on her face when I asked. Before I could clarify why, she spoke first. "Why? Listen. You seem nice and all, but I'm not interested."

I thought she had gotten the wrong idea. I shook my head. "No. I'm not asking for a date. I wanted to discuss something with you." She arched her eyebrow confused, I'm sure to wonder what I could possibly have to speak with her about. "Are you available?" Her eyes drifted off to the side in debate. I didn't want to lose the opportunity. "It will be worth it, what I have to say."

Again she looked at me in wonder of what she should do. After some silence between us, she finally gave me an answer. "Let me...think about it first." She turned on her heels and stepped away from me. I noticed her take out a phone from her jacket pocket and press it to her ear. As much as I thought it was rude to eavesdrop, I stood still as I couldn't help but overhear some of what she said. "Yeah... Okay... Will that be all right?" For a few seconds she was silent before she sighed and she shook her head a little. "Fine... I'll see you later tonight then… I guess..." Again she took another breath before she turned to me. "I guess I am free."

I have to admit whoever she was talking to, I'm glad that they didn't have plans with her. It made it easier for what I had in mind. "That's great! Is there somewhere in particular that you would like to go? Any good restaurants that you would recommend?"

She took a moment to contemplate before she looked back up. "I think I know a place."

After some time, we ended up at a diner. She claimed that they had good food here and she was right. I put my hands together in front of me and leaned my chin against my hands. "I must say you picked a good place." I take a look around at the interior surrounding me. I smiled fondly at a memory. This place didn't look like it had changed much from when I last seen it. "This is the place that I used to…"

"You used to…?"

I shook my head. Once again, I didn't want to bring down the mood and bring up memories. "Never mind. I brought you here for another reason. Please. Order anything you like. The bill is on me."

At that moment she became suspicious of me. "That's very generous of you Director. What's the catch?"

I grin as I shook my head. "There's no catch. Well… there might be a slight catch."

Her eyebrow arched the highest it could at least it seemed from my perspective. "And? What do you want with me?"

"I saw the way you moved out there today. I've never seen a soldier move the way you do."

"Meaning?"

"You moved with such grace. You were able to take on creatures that would need two or more soldiers to take down. You really live up to your name… Lightning."

She leaned back in her chair slightly relaxed. "Thank you, but that doesn't explain why you wanted to see me."

"As I said, I've never seen a soldier move like you do. Definitely not in Academia. It was very impressive to see. That's why I wanted to make an offer."

Once again her eyebrow rose. "An offer?"

"Yes. I want to offer you a job in Academia working with our soldiers there. With your skill set, you could train other soldiers to become stronger, fighting in the field. You see, my research teams venture out into open areas which sometimes require the assistance of soldiers to accompany us. I believe with someone like you on our side, we would have no problem with our missions." Her eyes traveled down away from me. I wondered if she was slightly embarrassed over what I said. I smiled more. "If you come to Academia, I can offer assistance and you would be paid more than what you get here under the Security Regiment."

She breathed out. "I appreciate your offer Director, but I'll have to refuse."

Right away I became concerned. Her answer was instant. This was going to be harder than I thought. "Have you had time to think it over? I take it that you don't see much action around her in New Bodhum correct?"

"Well since things have calmed down, no there hasn't been much."

"With this, I can offer you more. You could travel anywhere. You could bring a lot more money in. You would be working in the top city of the world."

"It sounds nice, but…my place is here."

I breathed out. It was tough trying to convince her. "Is there anything that I can say that would convince you otherwise?"

"You really want me to go with you?"

"I think that it would be a great opportunity. After what I've seen today, we really could use a soldier like you." She breathed out and looked toward the window. I wondered what could possibly be keeping her here. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

At first, I thought that she wouldn't answer, but then I heard her speak. "I have a sister here."

It was then I understood more of why she didn't want to leave. "Oh! You could bring your sister with you."

"Our life is here in New Bodhum."

I wasn't sure how she felt about living here. By her voice, I could hear how she didn't want to leave. At the same time, it sounded as if she wanted to leave. It was confusing. I wasn't sure how I should approach things. My eyes traveled down. Maybe it was time to admit defeat. "I see…It's your decision. If you're sure, then I won't pursue it any further."

"It's… not that I don't want to, it's just… I need to be here for her."

I smiled a little. "You sound…very dedicated. I can appreciate that. Your sister? Is she younger than you?"

"She is, but not by much. Just a few years."

"Oh! Does she do the same time that you do?"

She shook her head. "No. She just graduated. Now she's trying to decide what school to go to. She's thinking about becoming a teacher. She's really good with kids."

"Why don't you bring your sister to Academia with you? They have schools with really good teaching programs. I can accommodate you both. The Academy does offer tuition assistance." It didn't hurt to take advantage of what she told me if it meant she would go to Academia.

Again she shook her head. "She won't leave. Not without her idiot boyfriend."

I became amused at that moment. She didn't seem to like this boyfriend of her sister's. "How come you don't like him?" Soon silence had drifted between us. Had I intruded too much? Her eyes just stared at me, maybe in debate over whether or not to disclose that to me. After what felt like a while, I felt the need to clear the tension. "I'm sorry. I'm getting too personal."

Finally, she sighed and leaned her head on her hand against the window. "It's fine. It's just… he just doesn't think with his brain much. He jumps into situations head first without thinking."

I held back as much of my smile as I could, amused at how she spoke and the tone she used. "I'm sure he can't be that bad."

She breathed out and looked out toward the window. "You'll see what I mean if you ever meet him. He can get annoying. He won't stop calling me 'sis'."

I laughed silently so that she wouldn't get upset. "It sounds like he really wants to be a part of your family. How come he's calling you 'sis'?"

She breathed out. "He's engaged to my sister."

"Oh!" Right away it made sense. She didn't seem too accepting of the relationship. I wonder more why.

She turned her eyes to me. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

I shook my head. "No." In the past I wondered what it would be like if I had siblings older or younger than me. I also wondered if it was better being an only child. Either way, the two lives would have been different from each other.

She gave a curious but confused look. "So who did you used to come here with?"

The sadness began to sit in. I'm sure that she could see it on my face. I could see her face change a little. "It was my mother."

Her eyes lowered. I could tell she felt bad for bringing up the subject. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-."

"It's all right. They were good memories. That's how I know this place." There was still some concern on her face as if it had really saddened me. I smiled to assure her. "Really it's all right." She breathed out. I think she relaxed after I said that. "Please. Order anything you would like. Dinner is on me tonight," I reminded her.

"Director. That's not-."

"Call me Hope."

"What?" She seemed surprised.

I genuine smiled at her. "You can just call me Hope."

The look on her face turned serious. "Mr. Estheim-."

I shook my head. "You don't have to call me that either. You didn't introduce yourself formally either so I had no choice but to call you by your name. It's only fair that you call me by my name." It was strange. Usually I didn't let anyone call me by my name out of formality, but this felt different. I found myself disclosing more information about myself than usual or than the news would tell about me. Usually my meetings were just about business only, but this was different. This was more than just about business, it just felt like a normal conversation. Even though she frowned, I found it amusing. It was like a game we were playing. Which one of us would get what they wanted?

Finally, she sighed. "My name is Sergeant Lightning Farron."

I smiled. I got the information I wanted from the moment she was assigned to me. "I see. A sergeant? Is that a higher rank like some of the other soldiers?"

"Sort of."

"If you ask me Ms. Farron, after seeing what happened today, you deserve a higher rank." I wasn't sure, but after I said that, I thought I saw a ghost smile. Actually, I think that this was the first time that I've ever come close to seeing her smile since I've met her. It was strange. "Please consider the offer. I know why you want to stay, but if you just give it a chance, you won't regret seeing the rest of the world." I feel as if I was grasping at straws. I don't know why I kept pursuing her. Was it because of the challenge of convincing her to change her mind? Was it because of the potential I saw in her or was it for a reason that I couldn't comprehend at that moment? When I left my thoughts, I saw her looking down, maybe thinking about what I said. "Ms. Farron-."

She shook her head. "Don't call me that. Just call me Lightning."

I smiled. "As long as you call Hope."

The rest of the night was relaxing. We didn't discuss any more about the opportunity. In the end, I would just have to wait for her decision…

Thanks for reading! I'll update soon!