Author's Notes: Hello everyone! My name is YGP and I'm back with another story! I wanted to say thank you to a few of the reviewers who wrote that they were looking forward to this story. I really appreciate it!

With this first chapter, I want to explain a little about this story. At first, this was going to be a short story mainly focusing on action and solving the problem right away like that, but then I changed it and it became a lot longer because I wanted to touch on Hope's and Light's relationship and how it grew, so there will be a lot of moments with them. It is Hope/ Light centric. This is a future fic with a few OCs, mainly the characters you will meet in the first chapter and get to know them through out. This story does contain lemons which I will try to point out just in case some people wanted to skip over them. The chapters will be longer than I usually write.

Overall this was a story I really love writing and reading a lot. I hope that you will like it as well. Now I introduce to you "Paradox".

Chapter 1: A Family's Pain:

Through the halls of the Academy, a soldier headed toward an office intending to speak to the one person she had to see with something she carried heavily on her mind. A part of her straight pink hair flowed down to the middle of her chest and the other part down to the middle of her back. Her bangs were off to the right side of her face. She wore a brown, short sleeved coat that extended to a few inches above the floor and split open in the middle in the front. She wore a skirt inches above her knees with knee high boots and a rank on her shoulder of sergeant. She headed to her destination with anxiousness in her feet, but also with confidence. She hoped that things would work out as she pictured them in her mind.

Once she reached the office, there stood a young man dressed in an Academy uniform. He wore round glasses with brown eyes and brown slick back hair that stopped at the beginning of his neck. He lifted his eyes once he noticed the young woman heading toward him. The scientist reacted with a bit of surprise, but knew that her arrival was expected. "Ah! Welcome sergeant!" He bowed in front of her.

The woman's eyes traveled to the closed door after she had come to a stop in front of him. "Is the Director in?"

The scientist's lips curved up into a smile. "Yes ma'am! As the Director's assistant, he informed me that you would be arriving to meet with him. He is in alone right now so feel free to walk in whenever you wish."

The soldier blinked a little nervous at how cheerful the assistant was being. She nodded. "Um…? Thanks..." She headed inside and closed the door behind her.

Inside of the office, it was a little dark and the only light that was coming in was shining through the huge glass window. The soldier stopped in front of the Director's desk. His chair was turned away from his desk and toward the window so she was unable to see his face. At first, her words became caught inside of her throat, but she knew that she had to ask. "Director?"

In front of him, there was a transparent screen that he was working on. "Hey! Someone told me you wanted to see me. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Her eyes traveled down to the metal surface of his desk. "If we're being formal about it, the Commander sent me up here to ask you something. It's about the Special Forces." Her eyes lifted up to his chair with a determined stare. "I want in."

A smile curved at the lips of the Director. He knew the reason why she was requesting to join in. "And the Commander, she sent you to ask me? Do you mind if I ask why?"

The soldier gave a slight, casual shrug. "Pretty much she said that it was up to you as to whether or not I could join."

He tilted his head on top of his fist, his smile never leaving. "I see."

Things turned silent between them. Soon her face became written with confusion. "So…? Is that a… yes…?"

"Just so you know she did give me a record of your progress as far as your training." A sigh left his lips. "I guess she left this decision to me."

Anxiously she leaned forward. So far she thought the meeting was going well. "So does that mean yes?"

The Director turned around in his chair to face the soldier. There was a cheerful smile on his face. "No."

As soon as she heard his answer, her mouth dropped open in surprise. It wasn't long before a frown appeared. She didn't understand why his answer was no. "But why? This is an important mission! Your life is at stake!"

The smile he had soon disappeared. The Director was fully aware of the risks that were ahead of him, but at the same time, there was no way he could put her life at stake too. "I'm sorry, but my answer is still no. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

As the two of them were talking, another figure dressed in military clothing was walking right outside of the office. The Director's assistant lifted his head from what he was working on at his desk surprised. He didn't expect to see her. "Commander?"

"Are they in there now?" she asked.

Nervously the assistant nodded a few times. "Yes ma'am."

After hearing so, she quietly stepped inside. No one seemed to notice her come in. She leaned against the wall and watched as the scene continued. She was interested in the conversation they were having. The sergeant continued. There was a bit of a pleading look to her eyes. "Come on! I can help! I know I can! Just give me a chance!"

The Director had his chair turned somewhat away from the solider. There was a solemn look on his face as his eyes stared toward the ground. He had his hands together in front of him as his elbows were pressed into his armrests. "I'm sorry, but my answer is still no." There would be no way he would change his mind about this. Not with what was at risk. He lifted his eyes to the anxious woman as he turned his chair more toward her. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the figure in the back of the room. At first he was surprised that she sneaked in without either of them noticing. A smile appeared on his lips as his eyes met with the woman's. In return, the woman gave a faint smile. In silence, the two greeted each other without letting the soldier know that she was there.

The sergeant pressed her lips tightly together. She wasn't sure how she could convince the Director to let her join. It was then that she decided to resort to another tactic. She gave the sweetest look she could. "I know I can do this and you know I can too." The Director's eyes lifted to meet hers. Her lips curved up into the best smile she could. "Please daddy?"

Instantly the Director's eyes traveled over to the woman on the other side of the room. Both of their smiles increased. Right away they already knew what the other was thinking. In response the Director shook his head with his eyes closed. "The answer is still no."

She placed her hands on the desk as she pleaded with him. "But daddy?!"

Before she could finish stating her reasons, she heard a voice in the background. "You're getting predicable Faith."

Surprised, Faith turned around to the familiar voice. "Mom?!"

The Commander stepped over beside her. Her eyes traveled over to the Director sitting in his chair. He closed his eyes as he gave a smile admitting defeat. "Fine! You win Light. I thought training under you would take that part out of her, but you were right…"

Hearing him say that she was right out loud brought a proud smile to Lightning's face. She leaned her hands behind her and on the edge of his desk. "I thought that you would have learned by now Hope. I'm always right."

Faith crossed her arms as she gave a suspicious look. Her green eyes pierced at her parents. "What are you guys talking about? Right about what?"

Lightning leaned off of the desk and looked at her. "The fact that if your father told you no, you would resort to other ways of trying to convince him. You didn't ask him professionally like I told you a soldier should ask. Instead, you asked him like a daughter not a soldier."

Faith turned her eyes aside as she pouted. "You knew dad would say no anyway didn't you? That would have probably been your answer too."

"Well I knew if I said no, then you would try to go over my head if you wanted to and ask your father. I figured you might as well ask him anyway. If he thought you were ready, then maybe I wouldn't argue too much against him," Lightning answered.

A serious look came on Hope's expression. "But the fact is Faith this is a dangerous mission. Your mother does not think you're ready and I'm not putting you in harm's way."

Faith gave a determined, but somewhat pleading look. "But dad I can do this. I just want to make sure that you get through this okay."

Hope gave a small smile of comfort hoping to ease her worries. "I'm telling you. You really don't have to worry about me. I have your mother here helping me."

Faith frowned. "Then how come you told mom yes?"

Lightning stepped over beside him to face Faith. Hope leaned his chin on the back of his hands. "Because she wouldn't take no for an answer."

Faith continued to pout a little. "Then I'm not taking no for an answer either." In response Hope and Lightning closed their eyes and sighed at the stubbornness of their daughter.

"Well hello there family!" Hope and Lightning lifted their heads as Faith turned around curious. In the door way, they saw a young man dressed in an Academy uniform. He had blue green eyes with silver hair a little darker than Hope's. He gave a big grin. "Mom, dad I see that Faith is giving you trouble again."

Faith glared at her younger brother. Her eyes narrowed. "Go away dork," she spoke lowly.

The man stepped over in front of Hope's desk with a file in hand. "So what's going on? What is Faith asking for now?"

Faith stepped over beside him. "It's none of your business."

He smiled. "Awe! You can tell me."

Faith crossed her arms. "If you have to be so nosy, I was just asking to be on the Special Forces and mom and dad were just telling me that they would think about it."

"I believe that we told you no," Hope clarified.

Faith let out a moan as her arms dropped heavily at her side. Her brother smirked at her. "I see." He leaned in more toward her. "This is how you really get stuff done," he said between him and her. He stepped over in front of their parents and placed the file in his hand on Hope's desk.

Curiously Hope lifted his eyes to him. "What's this H.J.?"

H.J. put aside his competition against Faith for their father's approval for what they each wanted and composed himself professionally. Still, in the back of his mind, he wanted to show off a little in front of his sister. "I have a request of you. With your permission of course, I would like to take my research out of the Academy and on to the site of the Bresha Ruins. I think that we could make more discoveries there. It's all covered in my report."

Hope scanned over the report that H.J. had placed on his desk. "It looks good. You have my permission to start whenever you feel is best for you and your team to go. Just let me know when."

"Yes. Thank you Director." He looked back and flashed a smile at Faith who frowned in return.

She turned her eyes back to their parents. "How come H.J. gets to do what he wants, but I can't join the squad to protect you?"

"The difference is that he is prepared and we feel that you are not," Hope answered.

Faith looked upset. "But-?"

Lightning stepped in before she could complain any further. "No more discussing about it. Until we see you as ready, then we'll allow you to be on the team," she told Faith sternly.

Faith's very disappointed look was still on her face, but she remained quiet. Her eyes drifted toward Hope's desk. "Yes ma'am," she whispered.

H.J. looked over at his older sister. He could tell that she was disappointed. He turned his eyes over to his parents. This was not the time to push anything further. "See you guys later," he spoke softly. Both he and Faith turned and left from the office.

Once they did, Hope let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. He leaned his head back in his chair. "Did I really do the right thing? She seemed pretty upset."

Then, he felt a hand press against his shoulder. When he lifted his eyes, he saw Lightning standing beside him with a sincere look. "You did what you felt was right and I believe the same thing too."

He stood up and walked around his desk. She could tell that he was still uneasy. She felt uneasy as well, but more about the situation that they both had to deal with now. She followed him around to the front of his desk and leaned back against it as he did. He crossed his arms as he stared toward the ground. "I just don't want her to get hurt." He gave Lightning a troubled smile. "Maybe in time we'll find that there's nothing to worry about."

Once Hope searched Lightning's face, he saw that she wasn't smiling at all. Her expression was humorless as there was some concern behind it. "I really hope that you are taking this seriously."

Hope breathed out as he closed his eyes. "There might not be-."

Immediately she started to get infuriated. "Don't think that and don't let your guard down for a second. Last time, you were lucky. We know that it wasn't some accident. Someone is after you."

"I know that, but I wish you guys wouldn't worry about me. I'll be fine. I promise." Lightning wished she could believe that. She wished that they could find whoever was after him, but the person or people behind the attack left no clue for them to start with. Maybe if they could find something, then they wouldn't have to worry as much. For now, all they were doing was sitting and waiting which gave whoever was targeting him an advantage. "There is one thing that makes me not worry so much about this."

Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked over at him after he spoke. "What's that?"

Hope turned his head to her with a genuine stare. "You."

Lightning was a little surprised by his words, but her expression didn't change. "Why do you say that?"

"I know what it's like when you're looking out for me. If anything, I trust you with my life. Also I know that if anything were to happen to me that you would be there for Faith and H.J. and-"

Her face became tense. "Don't talk like that."

He could tell that she didn't want to hear the worst possible scenario, but it was still a possibility. Concern began to show more through his expression. "Sometimes I wished that you weren't involved in this as well."

Through her appearance and eyes, she showed that she was determined to see him come out of this alive. "I told you that I would protect you. I'm not going back on that."

A faint smile appeared upon his lips despite his worry. "Sometimes it's hard to believe how things worked out over the years. I didn't really expect any of this like the whole having a family thing. Losing my mother at fourteen and then my father at twenty-four, I was the last of my family left. Now if only they could see Faith and the rest now."

"You're forgetting that I was the last of my family as well," she reminded him.

A smile curved at his lips. "But you still had Serah and I didn't have any other siblings." He nudged her elbow with his own. The more he got on the subject, the more he began to cheer up and he could see that she was starting to feel at ease as well. "Plus now you have all those nieces and nephews and your favorite brother in law Snow."

Lightning sighed as she closed her eyes. "Don't remind me…"

Hope laughed a little. His eyes lifted toward the ceiling as he kept his smile on. "Twenty years. That's a long time."

"Twenty-two if you count the two years before we permanently stayed together after Faith was born."

His eyes returned to her as he smiled gently. "I do count that."

Lightning placed her hand on her hip. "I don't know how you caught me or got me to stay so long."

A smirk appeared on his lips. He grabbed onto her hand and pulled her toward him. "Maybe because some part of you loves me."

"I don't know about that." Behind her serious tone, there was a joking one.

Hope pulled her closer toward him, letting his lips meet with hers. Gladly she indulged and kissed him back. Her gloved fingers reached up to his silver hair. His hand wrapped around her waist. He leaned forward as she leaned back. When she felt that she was doing so, she placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him away a little. "Oh no."

He kept the grin on his face as he looked curious. "What?"

Lightning crossed her arms against her chest as she frowned. "Several reasons why this is not happening."

"Why?" he asked.

"It's the middle of the day and you're still at work. So am I," she pointed out.

"And?"

Lightning's eyes traveled over toward the door before she returned them to him. "Your assistant is right outside."

"And?"

"And remember what I said before. It's just another kid waiting to happen. If it's in our home then its okay, but anywhere outside of that usually results in more people with little feet running around our house."

"What? Oh come on! That can't be true!"

She didn't believe that he could forget that easily. "Think really hard."

His eyes lifted up as he was thinking. "Let's see Faith was… well…can't count that."

"You should remember that one." Even she could remember what happened clearly and everything they've gone through.

Hope looked at her surprised. "H.J. was…"

"No," Lightning stopped him before he could finish.

His eyes widened a little more in surprise and disbelief. "Oh come on! The youngest one-"

"It doesn't count. It was still here too."

Hope sighed giving up since they only had three. "Fine. I get it. You're coming home tonight right?"

Lightning stepped in front of him and placed a kiss on his lips. "Yes. Are you?"

His lips curved upwards into a smile. "Yes. It'll be the first time in a while that we'll have everyone together."

"I better go soon. Are you sure that you don't need me to stay up here?" she asked concerned.

"Seriously I'll be fine. You have soldiers up here if I need them." Lightning's eyes lowered toward the ground. She felt unsure about leaving him alone. Then she felt fingers lightly push her chin upwards. He gave a gentle smile. "I'll be fine."

Her eyes searched his. Very little fear appeared in his eyes, but it was enough to catch a glimpse of it. "Right…" Afterwards she turned and walked out of his office.

Once she left, the happiness and strong front that he had put on for her had faded. Truly he showed his fear while he was alone. A sigh left from his lips. From one of the drawers in his desk, he pulled out a piece of paper. His eyes scanned over the words that were written. It was important that he had everything right and taken care of if something were to happen to him. Very few people knew of the document. Not even his family knew of it. Once again, his eyes read over his will and testament.

As they traveled alone in the hallway, H.J.'s eyes looked over to see the still disheartened look of his sister. Her eyes were staring toward the ground. "Oh come on! You can't still be upset over what happened."

"Just stay out of it," she replied coldly.

"I just don't get it. You shouldn't be upset. You'll get in next time," he tried to encourage her.

Slightly she shook her head. "That's not the point. Dad's in trouble now. I want to be there to help. I know I can." Her eyes lowered more. A little more of her hurt began to show. "They just…don't believe in me."

Her words began to alarm H.J. He could understand her worry, but he could also understand the reasons of their parents. "That's not true. Did you ever get it through that thick head of yours that maybe they didn't want you involved because they didn't want you to get hurt or something."

Faith frowned as she become upset. "I am perfectly capable of handling myself, but mom doesn't think I'm ready for anything and dad….he still treats me like a kid." She sighed, but then perked up. Maybe there was still a chance. "All I have to do is convince daddy and mom will have to listen."

H.J. rolled his eyes and let them drift away from her. "Good luck with that. Sure you're not getting ahead of yourself? The thought of joining a special squad makes you special?"

Faith looked over at him. "Well I'm not going to lie that it sounds nice. Still what do you have to complain about? You're Director of your team."

"Well that's not exactly my title," he began to explain.

Faith looked confused. "So what?"

"You become Director when you're the leader of the Alpha team. Dad is the leader of that." Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something which made him stop explaining. Faith followed his eyes and then sighed as she slouched over a little. A sly smirk came on his face. "Speaking of nice…" Across the way in the hall, a girl was grinning toward him dressed in one of the Academy's short dress uniform. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail swaying back and forth. She waved toward him. H.J. cleared his throat and headed toward the girl. "Excuse me! I would like to talk about an experiment I would like to conduct starting you and me."

Faith rolled her eyes and started walking away. "How the dork ended up being such a pervert no knows. Dad doesn't act like one."

Later that night, everyone was sitting around at a square table in the kitchen except for two people that were missing. Faith turned her head to her father sitting next to her. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail as some of her hair outside of it hung down at her sides. She stood up with her hands pressed against the table. "Come on dad! I know I can do this!"

Hope continued eating as he remained calm. "Faith I told you several times at the Academy my answer is still no and it's not going to change otherwise."

Faith groaned as she sat back in her chair disappointed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a piece of food being flicked onto her food. When her eyes traveled over, she saw her younger brother with a grin on his face. "Maybe you should send Faith to a military training camp hopefully on the other side of Pulse."

Faith glared at H.J. "You stay out of this and mind your own business!"

H.J. gave a slight smirk. "Oh come on! I think that would be the best move for all of us. I know it would be for me; to send you somewhere far away."

Faith crossed her arms as she continued glaring at her brother. "Shut it or I'll put you in a sack and send you to your real family." More she was getting annoyed with him. "And stop flicking food on my plate!"

Nearby they heard a sigh. When everyone looked over, they saw Lightning walking down the stairs. In her arms was a little girl with long silver hair that flowed over both of her shoulders. Her hair at the top was straight along with her bangs and then began to curve at her shoulders like Lightning's did. "Honestly you two act like five year olds and this five year old acts more mature than you do."

"Yeah!" The girl leaned forward and stuck her tongue out.

Lightning looked at her serious. "Remember…"

The girl grinned at her. "Oh right!" Right away the girl's expression turned serious.

Hope shook his head as he grinned. He wanted to laugh at how similar her face and expression seemed to her mother's. Without him looking, he suddenly noticed a weight on his legs. When he opened his eyes, he saw that somehow the girl got onto his lap at the table. When he looked back, he saw Lightning walking pass him toward the kitchen counter near the food. Silently he knew what her actions meant and let the girl proceed to eat off of his plate. He moved in to help her eat.

A few seconds later, they heard the ringing of a phone. Faith looked surprised and reached into her pocket. "Hello?" Once she heard the voice, a smile instantly came to her face. "Hi!" she replied smoothly.

H.J. smiled as he shook his head slowly. "I know that look."

Faith stood up from her chair as she began to walk away. "I was wondering when you would call. I-."

Suddenly she felt the phone slip out of her hand. She blinked surprised and looked over to see what took it away. "Yes. Who is this?"

Faith's eyes widened in surprised and a little worried. "Dad!"

"Well I'm her father… Ah! I see..." Hope's eyes traveled over to Faith serious. "The two of you were supposed to meet for a date. Then you wouldn't mind stopping by to meet with me as well?"

"Dad!" Faith whispered loudly as she was worried that he would scare the guy off.

Lightning leaned against the counter as she placed the tips of her fingers to her forehead and closed her eyes. She let out a sigh. "Here we go again," she whispered lowly to herself.

Quickly Faith took the phone from his ear. When she listened, there was no sound on the other line. She hung up. "Dad! Did you really have to do that?! I'm twenty-one! You told me that I could date when I was eighteen!"

"I'm not changing that. I just want to meet whoever you're seeing first. I think that's fair," Hope replied.

Faith sighed in frustration. "You still treat me like a child and you still don't think that I'm good enough to join a squad to protect you!"

Lightning walked over to them. "Let's just settle this right now." She was tired of the constant bickering and aggravation from Faith and needed some way to settle the argument with her for good. She sat down at the table. "How about this? If you can win against me, then no matter what we both think, we'll let you join."

Hope looked uneasy about her idea. "I don't know…"

Faith grew determined and quiet. Everyone in the room could see that she was getting serious. If there was a way to convince them otherwise from their decision then she would try it. "What do you mean win?"

Lightning turned to her just as unrelenting as Faith was at that moment. She got directly to the point. "If you catch me and I have no way to get out of your attack, then I'll surrender and let you be in."

Faith wasn't sure about the idea. When her mother issued this kind of challenge a few times, she was never able to beat her. She was still quick on her feet just as she was over twenty years ago, but still she had to try. Faith gave her a determined look. "Fine. Then you're on."

Lightning turned back to the table and grabbed onto her cup that was nearby with liquid inside. "And no sneaking up on me while I'm sleeping. I won't let you get away with that this time."

H.J. burst out into laugher. "You beat mom? Ha! Even I can beat you and I'm not even in the military."

Faith crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes at him. "No you can't."

H.J. held out his arms at his sides. "Hey! You forget that mom trained me too. I did get you once."

"Yeah! One time!" Faith growled. Her hands tensed at her sides as her hand glowed.

H.J. smirked after he realized what Faith was doing. His hand began to glow as well. "Bring it on. You know my magic is stronger than yours."

Lightning was irritated with the two at that moment, but remained as calm as possible with her eyes closed. The cup she lifted up to her lips had stopped inches away. "If any of you use magic in this house, I promise that I will kill you both."

Faith breathed out and relaxed. She put her hand back down. H.J. put his hand down as he continued smirking. Feeling overwhelmed, Faith began heading upstairs. Lightning looked over. "Where are you going?"

Faith glanced back. In that second, Lightning and Hope could see the hurt in her eyes. "I'm not really hungry." Soon she disappeared out of sight.

Hope and Lightning looked at each other. They were starting to get concerned about Faith more than they already were. "Don't worry." Their attention turned to H.J. that spoke and who was trying to comfort them. "She'll be fine."

Later that night, Faith went back downstairs. In the living room, she noticed that her mother was lying on the couch with her arm covering her eyes. It seemed that she was sleeping or at least resting. She hadn't forgotten about the deal that she and Lightning made. Quietly she tried to sneak up behind her. When she tried to strike, her mother caught her hand. The move surprised Faith. Lightning removed her arm from over her eyes and looked up at her. "Really Faith? That's the best that you can do?" Faith's eyes lowered toward the ground. Her mother sat up and turned around to her. "You really want to join that bad?"

Faith continued staring down sad. "Why can't I?"

Lightning looked serious. "You're making yourself too open which would make you an easy target and I can't have any liabilities."

"Is that all you see me as?" Faith asked softly.

Lightning wasn't sure what she could say. Clearly she could hear the hurt in her voice. She didn't want Faith to think of herself in that way nor believe that she saw her in that way. She believed that Faith didn't understand the extent of the danger that came with what she wanted. "Faith…"

"You don't have to say anything. I already know." Afterwards she turned and walked away. In her room she plopped down on her bed and closed her eyes saddened.

The next day, some of the soldiers that were a part of the military were training in one of the rooms in the Academy. Quietly the doors to the room opened. Faith peeked inside and saw the soldiers in training. When she searched around more, she didn't spot the one person she thought she might see. She breathed out a sigh of relief. She closed the door behind her and stepped inside.

"You're late." Once she heard the familiar voice, Faith's body instantly stiffened as dread ran through her. When she looked back, she saw the one stern face she was hoping not to see: Lightning's. Lightning stood with her arms crossed. She was not happy. "What excuse do you want to give me this time?"

Faith turned to her with a deadpanned stare. The fear subsided from her. "I made it didn't I?"

"You really need to watch what you say to me." Lightning could hear the hint that she was getting out of line.

Faith frowned. "Why are you being so hard on me? There are other soldiers here too. Besides why are you down here? Aren't you usually in your office?"

"Not always. When I left this morning, I didn't see you leave or any indication that you had left. I wanted to see for myself if you actually made it. Regardless of whether I was here or not, it would have gotten reported back to me that you were late. I don't treat you any differently than I do the other soldiers. Not unless that's how you want me to treat you. We'll just have everything go your way." Faith began to get irate. Lightning turned around, getting ready to leave. She looked back toward Faith. "I'm not having you here like some spoiled little princess." She started walking away. "You know what the punishment is for being late. I suggest you do it." Faith's fist baled tightly at her side. When Lightning glanced back, she saw that Faith was still standing in the same spot. She knew that look in her eye. "If you don't do it now, then I'll make it a lot worse."

Faith headed in her direction. Her eyes lowered discouraged. "Why does it matter? You only see me as a liability."

Before Faith could leave the room, Lightning grabbed her shoulder. "You really want to do this? I don't see you as a liability. If you're going to be in my military, then I see you as someone who needs to grow up because if you don't, you will get killed."

Faith shifted her shoulder out of her mother's reach. "This isn't just your military. Daddy has a say in it too. I know that I'm better than you say I am. Are you just keeping me down because you don't want anyone to think that you're going easy on me?"

"You got promoted didn't you?"

"Yes, but I've been this rank for a while now."

Lightning was beginning to get irate with her. "You really have no humility do you?"

"Tell me how long did it take you to be Commander? During the years we were growing up, you had to take time out of the military so that you could take care of us. Did you really have the experience like you said?"

"Of course I did. You-."

Out of frustration, Faith continued to push her. "Really? Was it? Or was it because daddy couldn't say no to you?"

In a spark of anger, Lightning raised her hand and slapped her across the face. She couldn't believe what Faith had said to her. "Don't you ever disrespect me like that again! Do you understand me?!"

Faith breathed out as her eyes widened in shock. Her hand rose to her cheek covering over the red spot that was left behind. The sting she felt in her cheek hurt. Lightning could see her eyes begin to water. Instantly she regretted what she had done. She didn't mean to hurt her, but her body reacted out of her own frustrations. She placed her hand over Faith's that was on her cheek. "Faith…I'm-." Faith could no longer stand to be there. She turned around and took off. Lightning reached out to her, but her feet wouldn't move. Her eyes lowered to the ground. As she ran, Faith wiped away the tears from her eyes. She ran out of the Academy.

"I might have…messed up today." As Lightning sat at her desk, her fingers became locked in the pink strands of her hair. She leaned her head against her hand as the phone was pressed against her ear. She still felt bad over what she had done.

"No you didn't. Both you and Faith are under a lot of stress especially dealing with this whole situation with me." Hope leaned back in his office chair. "I'll admit what she said to you wasn't right, but knowing her she did it out of anger."

Lightning's eyes drifted to side with remorse. "I probably should have gone after her."

"No. Just let her go for now. Both of you just need some time to relax from this. You both don't need to get angry with each other again." A smile came on his lips. "And I don't need you two destroying the Academy especially with gunblades involved."

She closed her eyes as a small smirk appeared at his joke. "We're not that bad."

"Believe it or not, you two can have the same temper sometimes," he pointed out.

Lightning placed her hand on her forehead a little frustrated. She kept her eyes closed. "Well she's been having a lot more temper tantrums like a child."

"She'll get over it. Just don't worry about it. How come you didn't come to my office to talk about this?"

She tapped her fingers lightly against her desk. "Because I knew once we settled this, you wouldn't want me to leave. Probably even try to start flirting with me."

"It would have only been for a few minutes."

"A few minutes turns into a few hours with you."

"Fine. I will let you go then. If you want, I'll call Faith and see where she is." Hope knew doing so would put her mind at ease and his as well.

"That's fine." Lightning figured that would be the best idea for now. Faith was probably still furious with her.

"All right. I love you."

"I know," she replied.

"What? That's all I get? Come on. You can say it too..." Playfully Hope tried to push her along.

"Goodbye Hope."

"It's only three words then I'll leave you alone."

Lightning breathed out playfully. "Fine… I-."

Suddenly she heard a loud sound on the other line. "Hope?" There was no answer. When he didn't reply, she started to get worried. She stood up from her desk. "Hope! Answer me!" For a few seconds, things were quiet, but then she heard it again. A sound that she had heard many times. The sound of a gunshot. Her eyes narrowed. She called for him once more, but there was no answer. Quickly she dropped her phone on the desk and rushed off. She headed to the nearest elevator that could take her to the floor that he was on. Several times she pressed the button for his floor until the elevator doors closed. While she waited, she pressed her back against the wall. She pressed her fingers to her forehead as she closed her eyes. Her mind was thinking the worse had happened. The person that was after him probably got their opening and took advantage of it. She didn't understand it. With the soldiers she placed on the floor that should have been able to stop the attack.

Soon Lightning felt the elevator stop. Focused, she took her gunblade from her carrier. Once the doors opened, she peeked around the corner, but saw that no one was there. She ran further down the hall toward his office. Once she got nearby, she was shocked at the sight that she saw next. The bodies of the soldiers that she sent to protect him were lying on the floor covered in their own blood. She didn't understand what could have caused it. When she stepped closer, she heard the sound of someone struggling to breathe. Hastily she went over to the badly injured soldier and kneeled down. "Hang on. Help is on the way."

"Commander…I'm sorry…" the solider was barely able to speak with the pain he was in.

"What happened here? Did you see who attacked?" Lightning asked quickly.

"It happened so fast…" The soldier sighed in pain.

Lightning figured it was better not to get anymore information out of him. She eased her anxious expression to that of comfort. "Just rest. I'll be back soon." Her eyes traveled over to the office door. She stepped over the bodies of the dead soldiers in her path. Once she reached the door, she could hear a voice from inside. "I've been waiting a long time to do this Director."

Lightning rushed in. She assumed from what the voice said that maybe there was a chance that Hope was alive and wasn't harmed yet. At least she hoped so. "Stop!"

The mysterious assassin looked back surprised to see that Lightning had her gunblade pointed. Quickly the assassin ran off from her, heading toward the window. Lightning shot toward her. The assassin jumped out of the window. Their eye flinched in pain. One of the shots had hit pieced her leg. She figured now was the best time to leave. What she set out to complete was done for now.

Lightning rushed over to the window. She saw no trace of the assassin. What surprised her most was that even though she didn't get a good look at the assassin's face, she could tell that it was a woman. She rushed over to Hope who was still sitting in his chair. He had his eyes closed tight as his hand was pressing against one of the places he was wounded on his stomach. Blood leaked from his lips. She checked over him. He had a few places he was wounded on his chest and stomach and struggling to breathe and subdue the pain. Lightning turned his head gently toward her. "Hope. Hope! Stay with me okay."

He barely opened his eyes. "Light…"

More she became worried. "Hold on! I'm going to get help!"

Hope leaned back in his chair as he lifted his head. He felt a sharp pain go through him. He closed his eyes tight. He could barely cry out. The pain was getting to be too much and felt that he was going to black out.

Outside in the hall, H.J. was heading to Hope's office. Once he looked toward the ground, his expression changed to shock as he stopped. Seeing the blood against the floor and walls and the bodies of soldiers covering the ground, he began to get frightened. Seeing the line of bodies, his mind instantly raced. He moved as fast as he could to get to Hope's office. The door was still open. Once he saw the sight inside, his eyes widened more scared. Ahead he saw his mother attempting to keep his father alive. "…mom…?"

Swiftly she turned her head. It was almost a relief to see that he was there, but she wished that he didn't have to see the sight he just walked in on. "H.J. call for help!"

H.J. froze. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight of his father close to death. Lightning looked over wondering what was taking him so long. Her face tensed. "Hope! Hope!" H.J. responded a little. His body shook. "Don't do this to me now! Call for help or he will die!"

Finally H.J. reacted and shaking, took out his phone. He pressed his phone to his ear after he dialed the numbers quickly. "Yes! We need help here!"

While H.J. was calling for help, Lightning struggled to keep Hope with her as she was worried. "Come on! Don't do this to me now! You can't leave. Not yet."

That's it for the first chapter! Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think and I'll be back to update!