Hey there everyone! So there was a lot of hits and two reviews for last chapter! Guess everybody is waiting to see how things will turn out with the following chapter. So then, here it is. But first, a little feedback for my reviewers.

Reno will certainly be in the story, but not as a main character. And yes, Noctis' suffering a lot. That's just how I am as a writer. And things are going to turn better for him pretty soon. There could be flashbacks in a few chapters to show how Noctis and Lightning did break up. We'll see. For now, I'll let you read the nineteen pages of the second chapter of…

Black Faction

Episode I – Soldiers and spies – Part II

Date: 19 027 A.D. December 2th

Location: Planet Earth, United States, Boston

First focus : To localize and dispose of Sazh Katzroy a.k.a agent Trauma

Second focus: Secure a colonial woman, Gainsborough, being chase by aliens

Agents: Squall Leonheart and Lightning Farron

Permitted delay for First focus completion: One day

Permitted delay for Second focus completion: a week, earthling's time

Warning: Kill Katzroy on sight and get to the second assignment asap

Message from G.I. eight. End of transmission.

Lightning gasped in shock as she red that. Kill on sight? But Sazh had once been Squall's trainer! And their first day wasn't over already. Was the agency lacking spies so much that it had to send the same agents on all the missions? That sure was sudden. She heard her brother growling and looked to his side, to see him trying to get into his uniform. He was still half asleep, but the few medals were all aligned on his chest. He had just trouble buttoning the buttons of his coat. She looked at the gun and the blade crossing on his badge, right under his name and rank. Lieutenant Strife.

"Did you eat something?" she asked him.

"I took health pills, I'll eat later."

"But Cloud!"

Lightning hated health pills. Food wasn't getting any cheaper lately, since the soil was burned to a crisp and all the real food that earthlings could eat was exported from space's colonies. So, scientists had created the best cheap and healthy solution possible. Health pills. Take one of them, and you have a complete breakfast in your organism. Take two, and you're ready to get intoxicated in nutrients. Cloud often use this option to skip a meal or two. With his job, he had to be up so early it was getting troublesome to eat. And with the little sleep he had had last night, health pills sure were the only solution that he got. Still, Lightning felt bad, because this was partly her fault. Maybe she should think about moving someday, instead of staying here, being a burden to her twin.

"What's that assignment about, Cloud?"

"I've been summoned by the top-general of medical branch."

Cloud wasn't your usual soldier. He never did paperwork and he never really was on the battlefield. He wasn't making strategies either. He was a squad leader and a specialist at one thing, being a body guard. In every conflict or disaster, when a medical team was dispatched from the American army, he was off to protect the docs, the drugs and the injured. He acted on instinct and had saved a lot of peaceful missions. He had a team of five men and women under his order to check onto the medical or rescue team. He had started working on those kinds of missions at sixteen years old, after completing his training. It was during world war six…

"Does this mean… you'll be gone on a mission soon?"

"I don't really know right now. I'm taking the first plane for Washington. And I should go now if I don't wanna miss it."

"Washington?"

"I'll call tonight to say when I'll be back."

Cloud looked a little more tensed than he should have been. And Light felt how anxious he really was, even if he did all he could to look tough on the outside.

"Be careful, okay?"

"Always." he answered her with a smile.

They didn't have a lot to say, since this kind of scene had happened a lot of time. He walked out and she shut her computer off to get ready for her focus of the day. She had to hurry up and find Katzroy. And find out what he'd done to earn such a condemnation that quickly. In the silent of this early morning, she heard Cloud's motorbike starting up. The motor gave one loud growl before to go silent. He was maybe a soldier and all, but the army still hadn't broken his style and tastes.

I should hurry up and meet with Squall. If the bosses want us to get rid of Katzroy, there must be a reason, she thought.

…

Squall was woken up a few moments later by loud bangs on his door. For one minute, he thought that was Rinoa, but she would never hit the front door that hard. Then, Lightning called his name and he knew that last night wasn't a dream or a nightmare. It had been real. And it still was. He groaned and turned around in his bed. Then, he felt it. Something else than Rinoa being gone was wrong here. He swiftly got up, still dressed in last night's clothes. It was six in the morning and the sun was already out in the sky and his rays were strong. But that was usual. No, there was something else in the air.

A scent that wasn't here yesterday. There was an animal here. And something else. A man? Squall had quite accurate senses and he carefully stepped into his living room. But that was without taking account of Lightning's impatience. She used her own keys and opened the entrance door to enter the apartment. Squall had had to give her a copy of his keys once during a mission and she had kept it in case she would need to come to his place suddenly. They were friends after all. It had happened that once or twice, she suddenly arrived here and stayed a whole night. The first time, they'd listen to movies all night, like little kids, but the second time, she was kinda interrupting something… But this morning, Squall was glad that she still had her keys to get in here. That meant that the door hadn't been forced open by the intruder he felt. But still, someone was here, someone familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Before that he could think of what to do, Lightning was in front of him, looking utterly frustrated.

"Did you read our last focus mail?"

"I don't think that I did." Squall said on a lower tone than his partner.

"Of course he didn't read it, but I did!" a strong voice said.

They both turned around to be met by Sazh Katzroy's guns aiming for both of them.

"I know that the bosses changed the condition and want me dead. But that's not happening. And you're gonna help me clearing my name." he said.

"What?" the two agents replied.

"Listen, kids, we're friends, right? But what choice do I have now? The Black Faction's guys want me executed without questions. The Feds got my son." he added, his voice almost shattering at the end of his sentence.

"If you stopped pointing a gun at me, I would consider listening to your story." Lightning warned him.

Squall shook his head. He had always been surprised by the importance Sazh was giving to his only son. But he liked that about that guy. Maybe was that why he believed his story before that Lightning does. Maybe was it solely because Squall never had a father of his own…

"I'm sorry about that, but I thought I had to find you both before you did find me."

"You sure save us some trouble, but I guess you're aiming to bring us in even greater trouble." Squall said.

Sazh lowered his guns and smiled.

"Well, I haven't betrayed Black Faction yet, but I'll need help to get a chance not to become a real traitor. If you'd give me just a few minutes to explain myself…"

"I wanted to know the whole story anyway." Lightning interrupted him.

A moment later, they were all sitting in Squall's kitchen, around three coffees and Bokko was running on the table, to stop before Sazh's coffee and smell it curiously, before to venture to Lightning and try to pull on some of her locks.

"Five days ago, I received a letter with no expeditor's name on it. I thought it was suspicious and wanted it to be analyzed, but Dajh opened it before that I could call headquarters…"

"So, what was the letter saying?" Lightning asked.

"Nothing. There was only a little chip in it and a mic. They wanted to make sure I had got in contact with their first attempt. To check if I was a bit careless, I guess."

"They should just have checked your record to know about it." Squall whispered.

Agent Trauma was a really good element, but he was a bit clumsy every now and then, and that was a well-known fact between all the people that had worked with him.

"Well, they soon discovered there was a good way of having me in their pocket. They kidnapped Dajh in the middle of the night. I was shot with a sleeping drug and couldn't do anything… The poor kid is still in their hands, and I have until one in the afternoon, today, to tell the Feds all that I know about Black Faction."

"And if you can really crack all our computers just like that…" Lightning said before to snap with two fingers. "Then, you must know way too much for Black Faction's safety."

"I'm sorry to say it, but I don't really know that much. One of my friends was killed because he knew too much and I never forget that lesson."

They all felt silent for a while, looking at each other before to look at the chocobo chick that was now playing with Squall's coat's fur.

"So, basically, you want us to help you find where they're hiding Dajh, and to get him back before the H hour?"

"That really sums it up Lightning. You think that you're up to it?"

Squall raised his eyes to the ceiling, unable to believe it. They were plotting some king of rebellion plan against the Feds? Those were the stronger people on Earth after the Black Faction. And their ways were even worse. They preferred assassination to spying most of the time and anyone that could be seen as a "problem" for them was to be eliminated in any fitting way. They were the new genre of Earth's good old mafia. And one of their top dogs was none other than Seifer…

"Alright, Sazh. Do you know who you're talking with?"

"Two kids." the man replied.

Lightning looked furious, but Squall just chuckled. This was really like Sazh.

"Let's think about Dajh's safety first here, Light. Sazh would never lie over something touching the little guy. And if we can be of help in saving two lives, I don't see a problem in that."

"You're right and that was exactly my state of mind. But I won't have you treating me as a little kid!" she added, pointing one finger in Sazh's direction.

"I don't have time to change my ways, Light. All that I want is to know that my little boy is safe."

She sighed as he said that. She could understand him, quite much more than he thought that she could. But this wasn't the time to mourn anymore. They had to act!

"You're looking for the Feds and a place where they keep prisoner? I've been caught by them once and we freed one of their hostages last month. There're only two possibilities. Dajh could be right here in Boston. Or he could be on the Moon base."

Squall was almost certain that the Moon base was out of option, both for them and the Feds. It was still too far, even in the latest rocket ever invented.

"Let's hope he's in Boston." Lightning added, completing the thought of both her companions.

Bokko kweeed impatiently and went back to Sazh, as if he'd been waiting for them to get to a decision. Lightning was still hesitating a little, but Squall finished his coffee and got up and she followed.

"There's no time to lose then. Let's go!"

…

Yuna couldn't believe it! The Strife's squad's quarters were a real mess and she was the one supposed to clean it up?

"Just my luck…" she sighed as she managed to open the entrance door which was blocked by soldiers' boots, guns and a few beer bottles.

Cloud sure knew how to fight and hide on a battlefield, but he wasn't checking his quarters or the order inside of them a lot. As long as his men could have fun when they were at their base, he didn't mind what his own quarters looked like. Anyway, he had a civil apartment, so, he didn't really use his soldier's room.

"Lieutenant Strife really should do something about his men's behavior. Each time I come here, it's to face a disaster." she thought out aloud.

The tables and chair had been pushed in a corner and were covered with food and liquid remains that gave Yuna a stomachache just by looking at them. She managed to sweep the floor with her broom and pushed the biggest trashes, like a broken camera and a slip(!) in a corner of the room, near of the trash can. Then, she started washing the floor. And as the second janitor of the Boston American Branch, she had to wash the floor as a punished soldier would have to. On her knees. But Yuna was a bit rebellious in her style and she had recently bought the latest model of washing slippers. She just had to skate through the room, with her feather duster in her hands to clean everything in an hour instead of two. As she attacked the table and started fighting with the dried spots of liquid that smelled just as beer, she found a radio under one of the chairs. She turned it on, deciding she had a right to hear some music.

A pretty old song, which she liked a lot, was the first track of the disk in the radio and she put it on repeat, humming the melody as she continued to work. Cloud arrived then, surprised to hear music coming from his squad's quarters. He was just back from his encounter with the top-general of the medical branch, a weird guy a bit rough on the edges named Cid. It was doctor Cid and the guy always talked to himself, but still, he had incredible news for Cloud.

"You're one of our top soldiers and we decided to give you a promotion. From now on, you'll be colonel Strife and the official leader of Squad 8, our medical protection team. We'll need you to train some of our newcomers, as the backup soldiers. Oh, and you should get ready for your next mission, which will take place on Pluto."

A miners' team has been attacked by indigenes and they needed rescue. Cloud didn't like traveling from a planet to another a lot, but it wasn't as if he had any choice. Still, he wanted to check things a little, since he hadn't been to headquarters for a week or two. He heard that Barret and Yuffie had made a party with the rest of the squad and he had to make sure his things were still in one piece. Most of his equipment was in his quarter after all.

Yuna was still singing with the singer and she skated a little slower as she carried the table back to its place and put the books back in the shelves and threw the empty beer bottle in the trash can. Cloud entered the room, the music feeling his ears, his eyes slightly widening with surprise. The young girl swirled around, playing with her feather duster. Her brown hair was a bit untidy and really short. She was wearing a boiler suit, opened on her black tank top. The soldier had seen her once or twice in the building. She was one of the janitor's aids and a back up soldier. Quite a cute one, not to say the least. He carefully stepped inside, smiling at the music she was listening too.

"It's you and me…

Let me play the lead role in your wildest dream…

So baby, tell me what's your fantasies?"

Yuna was playing as a little girl, dreaming in the back of her head about the guy that could be singing this song to her. Cloud managed to stay out of her view, to let her continue her kinda skate-dance, staring at her all the while. He had seen her before, but never like that. She looked so far, so full of life and joyful at the same time…

" I'm talking about candle lights dinners, trips around the world. There's nothing I wouldn't give her, if she was my girl…"

She sighed, obviously sad that there wasn't a guy on earth that could call her his girl. Or maybe was it something else. She turned around and Cloud moved quickly to stay behind her. He really liked the way she moved and was afraid she would stop if she'd realize she was observed. She emptied the garbage in her janitor's tray, before to switch her washing slippers for wet one, so that she would be able to rinse the floor.

"I'll show you things you'll never believe. Let me be your fantasy, yeah… I know you'll dream of me. Every time you fall asleep."

Yuna started to sing again, repeating the words, especially, "let me be your fantasy" and Cloud was mesmerized by her voice. It was so small and pure. There was strength too and boldness in the way she sang. She closed her eyes, and turned around again, facing Cloud. Damn it, he couldn't take his eyes off of her! The way her hips moved, and that boyish suit over her woman curves… If he wasn't awake a moment ago while he talked with Doctor Cid, now, he certainly was! This wasn't every day that a pretty woman like this was dancing in your squad's quarters! As she turned a little too abruptly, she slipped and began to fall. Cloud ran on the wet floor, never losing his balance and caught her in the middle of her fall, with the song going on behind him.

"Let me be your fantasy…"

It was at this very moment that Yuna opened her eyes, startled by the arms that suddenly were around her and had prevented her from falling. For the first time, Cloud was met by her blue and green iris and he was surprised that such a disparity made her look even prettier.

"You should try to be more careful." he warned her.

There was a faint smirk on his face and Yuna was astonished to find herself in such a position, almost sitting in the lieutenant Strife's arms, his face right next to her, only a few breaths away from hers. His mako blue eyes were like pools in which she wanted to drown. The way he looked at her… He was amused and it was rare that this guy ever looked amused. But she felt her cheeks burning with the blush growing on them. What a fool she was to forget where she was to go in her own little world like that!

"I… Have you been here for a long time?" she asked shyly.

"Only a few minutes." he whispered in response.

Cloud was surprised by how warm she felt. Her lips had parted a little as she seemed lost in her contemplation of him. She was trying to understand how he could have entered the room without her noticing. For a back-up soldier, she was a bit careless. He held her a little closer, questioning himself. When was it the last time he had held a woman to him like this? When had he been with a girl that wasn't his sister or his co-worker for the last time? He'd been so busy lately with missions and all…

"I'm really sorry!" she suddenly exclaimed, jumping on her feet and out of his arms.

She almost slipped once more, but managed to keep her balance this time and Cloud just stood up, still smirking. Yuna was a bit scared. She hadn't met that man a lot, but she'd heard all kind of rumors over him. He was one hell of a fighter and a great soldier. A murderer some would says, but he was on the medical team and all he took were protection mission. He never was out in the front lines. All he did was trying to fix things up during and after wars, or crises. And Tifa had told her how sexy he looked, but she'd never guess his uniform would fit him that well. And from up close, smelling the scent of his after shave... Was it really after shave? It smelled good, no matter what it was…

"Hey, it's okay, your job's to clean and you were cleaning." Cloud tried to encourage her.

He wasn't too addicted to punishing soldiers and he'd sure hated the idea of putting that girl in trouble.

"Well… I guess I'm done with the main room." Yuna said, looking the other way and hurrying herself to shut off the radio.

For some reason, it didn't felt right to still hear Fantasy playing as she was talking to Cloud. This guy was so perfect all the time, he fit in most girls' fantasies way too much. And Yuna remembered some things Tifa had told her about how Cloud was given certain situations. And she blushed even more remembering that. Once upon a time, lieutenant Strife had been Tifa's boyfriend and even if it was over and they were only friends now, the young woman still had incredible memories of the passion that blond man could show under his cold looks and stares. And as he smirked, Yuna couldn't help but think about Tifa's confidences and it felt so wrong to stand before him, while seeing such pictures running through her mind!

"If you'll excuse me lieutenant, oh, pardon me, colonel Strife, I gotta clean all of the rooms!"

She rushed to the first room and almost locked herself in it to escape his eyes and smirk that make him look way too sexy with the thoughts she couldn't help but have in mind. She was surprised to see a gun pointed at her as she look to the "room" she had chosen to hide.

Vincent Valentine was the eighth squad's sniper, and one of the best guns of all the American Branch. He was coming from a European branch of the army, but anyway, the fact was that he didn't look too happy with the intrusion. Which explained the gun aiming at her… Yuna quickly scanned her option, slowly raising her hands over her head, still clutching to her feather duster. Vincent was sitting on his bed, half if not entirely naked –thankfully, the covers were hiding the essential-, but a girl was lying next to him, turning her back to the young cleaner and snoring gently. Looking at the floor, Yuna recognized Yuffie's tight shorts and understood finally what was going on here. She looked back at Vincent, who was now removing the safety of his gun, ready to pull the trigger.

"I haven't seen anything!" Yuna yelled before to turn back and rushed out of the room. She almost ran into Cloud, who was still standing in the middle of the room, looking a bit puzzled by her attitude.

"What was that just now?" he curiously asked.

"It was no… nothing sir. I've just remembered I'd already cleaned this room!"

With that, Yuna quickly switched her watching slippers for real shoes and locked herself in another room, which was empty, thankfully. Cloud didn't know her well, but her ways were quite entertaining. And she was cute! He couldn't help but laugh and Yuna felt like a real moron, before to hear the door unlocking behind her and be surprised by none other than colonel Cloud himself.

"Sorry to follow you like that, but I came to get something from my room, and it happens to be this one." he apologized.

I didn't know he was so polite, she thought raising her feather duster to shield her body from his view.

Well, she did it unconsciously, and Cloud didn't realize that he scared her at first. He only thought that she was shy and quickly took the book he'd come to get off the only shelf of the room. He was about to get out when he turned around and asked Yuna, who hadn't move from an inch:

"Am I scary or are you always like that?"

"What? No, you're not scary, I just feel bad for… being surprised cleaning like this, with the music and the skate moves. I'm not supposed to clean like this."

"You mean, to have fun in cleaning, huh?"

She stared at her feet, her cheeks still red as cherries.

"What's your name already?"

"It's Yuna. Yuna Albhed, colonel, sir!" she added, looking up and raising a hand to bring her to her head, doing the military salute.

"At ease, Yuna. As long as the job gets done, I don't mind if you have fun doing it."

He gave her another smirk, which made her feel all warmed-up inside, but then he was gone without another word and the door closed behind him. Yuna couldn't believe that she'd been acting like that before him, as a poor teenage girl! But she'd been so surprised and she was so sure he was going to send her to the major office. Major Jetch didn't really like her to begin with and was always happy to have a reason to send her back to the trainee camp, where she would suffer the orders and training of Seymour for hours, Seymour that most called the slavery-maniac trainer!

"Well, Yuna, make an adult of yourself and get to work!" she tried to cheer herself.

But started dusting off everything, opening the only window to get some fresh air inside. And as she did, she tried to forget the picture of Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kirasagi lying in the same bed. She was a bit jealous, even if she knew that having a relationship with a fellow soldier was dangerous, especially if he was your superior. As a back-up soldier, she wasn't supposed to count in those laws and she didn't really have time for love stories… She misses having no one that cared for her, except her best friend, Rikku, but she thought most of the time that she had her whole life before her for love.

Anyway, she was working as a janitor for the army to get money for her studies and she hoped that someday she would get her engineer's diploma and become the first woman to create am airship of her own. With this kind of plan, she hadn't time for love. Was it why she was so easily fluttered? Or was it because of the music she listened too? Or because it was lieutenant… nah, colonel Strife? He was attractive. And the fact that for once, he talked to her really sent her emotions off the scale. This wasn't good.

"I don't have time for that." she thought out loud.

As she dusted the room with all her might, a book fell off the shelf behind her and made her jump. When she turned around, she was surprised to see that it was an album. She took it and the book opened between her hands and she couldn't help but look. And she saw Cloud, in civil clothes, sitting with a girl hanging to each of his arms. One of the two girls really looked like him and they looked so happy together. Like a family. And Yuna wished for just one second that she could see this side of that man that was usually so cold and distant with everyone. Then, she pushed that fantasy out of her mind.

She had been lost in the clouds for too long. She shook her head, not believing how the words could get so confusing. But his name was Cloud. And as she think about him, she felt a little hole inside of her chest. Maybe was it only a little girl fantasy, but she could have sworn her heart was torn up by a surprising feeling. As if something would go wrong for that man. Or a premonition that she was bound to see him again. And she was scared that she could act just as shyly as she just did now.

"This is so irrational, Yuna. Get back to earth."

But the hole was still there. And when Cloud had smirked at her, it had felt whole for a second. A mere second…

…

It had taken one hour for Lightning to localize the place where the Feds usually kept their prisoners and hostages in Boston. They changed it a lot, but they always did the same thing in the end, because, it was easier for them and this trick had failed them only once. They were installed in the neighborhood of the old Harvard University, which was progressively turned into Shinra's Academy. The Feds liked to send their future agents in the spy school to know about the ways of the Black Faction. Fortunately, most of the double agents were spotted right at their entrance exam and expelled.

Lightning thought that she should really focus on the task at hand instead of letting her mind drifting like this. Squall was driving, Sazh was sitting in the back, checking his chargers and making sure that his guns were correctly charged and wouldn't jam in the middle of a shot. She had her retractable blade and her pocket knife with her and was looking at the streets, trying not to think about her teenage years she spent here with Reno, Vanille, Rinoa, Tifa, Rude, Al-cid, Sephiroth, Tidus, Rikku and Gippal. There were a lot of memories on these streets. And she remembered Noctis too. That last mission with him that had gotten her captured right here and gotten him tortured to death… Still, she couldn't accept his fail in rescuing or protecting her. They were among the only that knew why, except from Cloud and Squall. But still. She had believed in Noctis with all her heart and soul and he had proven himself unworthy of that trust.

"He got only what he deserved." she whispered, thinking to herself.

"Say, Light, are you with us or not?" Squall asked her, a bit preoccupied.

She jumped a little, taken aback. She had just thought that she shouldn't let her mind drift away, but still, there she goes. The nightmare from last night wasn't helping one bit…

"Sorry, I'm a little… I'm here, okay, I just got a lot of things on my mind."

Squall shook his head and she realized that he didn't look too good himself.

"Say, what's been going on in your life lately, Squall? We've been so busy that I hadn't gotten any news from you recently."

"Oh well, nothing much. Rinoa's dumped me and it's about all." he coldly replied.

Lightning was shocked by the news. And even more by the ton he have when he said Rinoa's name. He was really angry. And she could understand why. It was so sudden! The last day, Rinoa had told her for the nth time that she couldn't think of a fitting present for their couple anniversary that was coming soon. And now, she decided to break up with Squall? Lightning couldn't believe it and started to hate Rinoa. No one, not even a nice girl, had the right to hurt her friends!

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You're my friend Light, not my therapist. And anyway, it happened just yesterday, so I don't want to talk about it. Especially not now."

She understood and accepted. But she knew that they would have to talk later. She wasn't a big talker usually, but she had gotten used to the idea that talking could help people, even herself.

It was then that Squall parked the car in a back alley and Lightning realized they were in the place where everything had gone wrong in her life, two years ago.

"You know Light, if you don't feel up to it…" Squall started, not looking at her, knowing just too well that she would just glare back.

She got out of the car, taking one of her gun out and just gave one glare at Squall from over her shoulder.

"I'm not lingering on the past and don't you ever suppose again that I'm scared of being here."

Her voice was harsh and Squall couldn't help but smile. She never barked like that against any other agents. Usually, she wouldn't even talk to people. Some words were sometimes better left unspoken. He hurried after her, looking around just once to check the area. The air was burning hot and they were all sweating under the heavy temperature. It was certainly more than 40 degree Celsius under the shadows of the buildings. The bricks were burning through Lightning's gloves as she took a deep breath, one hand on the wall, stopped next to the back entrance of the building. She remembered how Noctis had rushed out of here, carrying her in his arms at that time. They were both half death and it had felt as if they were letting hell itself behind them. But the whole earth was becoming hell now.

And Noctis had collapsed before to find any shelter for both of them, exhausted to death. She remembered how worried she was and how hurt. There were still traces of blood on the ground. It certainly wasn't her or his blood, but Lightning couldn't help but remember. She shivered despite the hotness of the air and Squall joined her, on the other side of the room. Sazh looked a little confused under the big coat he was wearing to hide his face and features; and he was already looking for his breath. It was hard to stand the heat.

"At three, we enter." Squall said. "There'll be two corridors. I'll take the left and you'll go on the right."

His voice was a mere whisper and Lightning nodded in agreement. She wanted to get done with this as fast as possible. Even with all that she could say, she didn't really like the idea of staying here for too long…

She opened the door herself, unlocking it with a small rod of metal. There was a click and the door squeaked as it turned open. They walked inside without a sound. Lightning wasn't sure if Squall would be alright alone, but she could understand that he was sending her with Sazh. They had to make sure the man wasn't going to do anything foolish. And at the same time, it seemed that Squall wanted to be sure that someone would keep Lightning in check. As for him, well, he had borrowed Sazh's chocobo. So at least, he wasn't entirely alone. With what she'd just learn from Squall, letting him go like that was maybe a mistake. But they had to split; there was no other way to get a good look at every place in this building at the same time.

"This was once a hospital." Lightning whispered.

Sazh followed her in the right hall, aware of everything around him. The stench of antiseptic and cleaning products was almost too strong to bear. They stepped carefully in the dark corridor, staying in the shadows. All the curtains were down and it was clear that this part of the building wasn't in use anymore. Lightning had her gun raised and ready to shot. They searched quickly through the few rooms, to find only the remnants of operation tools and furniture. They even met some corpses lying here and there, but they both ignored them. The Feds had always used this place to conduct the weirdest experiments. And they liked to keep prisoners here. It was quite useful every now and then. Lightning knew just how hard it was to escape this place.

"Could they really have brought my Dajh here?" Sazh asked her after they turned the nth corner of that stupid corridor which seemed never ending.

"We'll soon see." Lightning replied.

They went through a few stairs, up and down to the cells quarters. It once served for the craziest of the patients of this hospital. It was now a real prison. But, much to Lightning's surprise, she soon realized that all of the dark cells were empty. The floor was covered with cracks and a few rats ran past her as she turned around, trying to understand what was different from the last time. She couldn't be wrong, could she? If she was, than a little boy would die! And his father was right next to her and started to look a little more anxious than he already was.

"Say Light, maybe we took a wrong turn. It seems that the whole place is abandoned since some time."

"But it can't be. We rescued someone here just…"

She stopped death in the middle of her track. A new scent was filling the air. Another man than Sazh was here. And he was armed.

"Get cover!" she ordered Sazh.

Gunshots followed instantly. Sazh had took shelter in one of the abandoned cell and she was in the other one, on the other side of the corridor. As the cells were all inside the walls, their attacker would have to advance to reach them. But they wouldn't give him any time to do it. They shoot before to look at him. The bullets filled his flesh, ripping his clothes. He fall to the ground and Lightning jumped out of the cell, to quickly scan the area from where he was coming. There were noises and yells.

"He's not alone and his friends are coming for us." Sazh understood.

"Dajh isn't in this part of the building. We could try to get higher, but there never was any cell in the other parts. If Squall doesn't have more luck than us…"

"I know it too well, but we don't have time to chat about it, they're coming down and the two of us won't be enough to stop them."

Lightning breathed deeply before to turn to the stairs going down.

"You're right. But I won't give up now."

"Me neither."

Lightning asked herself for a second if her father would have been like that if she had been the one being held hostage and if he had still been alive. At least, Cloud would be the same. But she couldn't know for her dad and it kinda sadden her. But at that moment, she couldn't understand her feeling. All that she knew was she had to run. And fast. Otherwise, the guys coming would get her. And living until now wouldn't mean anything then.

…

Squall mostly preferred to do his missions alone. It was always better that way… Well, he didn't really mind having Lightning around. She didn't act as a girl like Rinoa or any other woman agent would. She was so boyish sometimes. It was as having a brighter Zell around. Plus, she was less irritating than Zell.

I hope that we'll find him soon. Must be hard for the poor kid, Squall thought.

He hadn't took out his gun already. There were no signs of life. But, as he walked up the stairs and get himself to the second floor, he discovered that the Feds were still using this building. He smiled inwardly as he spotted Seifer, watching TV in an office. Did Rinoa know what kind of job her new boyfriend was doing? Did she care? The Feds had a far greater salary than any agent for the Black Faction could ever dream of. But their job was even dirtier than what the agent of the Faction did. Squall managed to refrain the urge he felt to go and punch Seifer in the face. There was a kid to save here. He carefully walked around the blond spy's office and venture further into the building. A few doors and stairways later, the chocobo hidden in his hair –Squall was the only person other than Sazh which had hair that fitted the chick as a nest – the chocobo hidden in his hair kweeed with excitement.

And as Squall took one more step, wishing that no one had heard his little friend, he saw Dajh. The kid was being detained in a new kind of prison. The walls were all made of glass and Squall could see the little boy sitting on the bed of the room as clear as the daylight was. He gazed around, looking for cameras or traps. There didn't seem to be any.

I could always rush in and grab the kid and just ran my way out of here, he thought.

But, Sazh wouldn't like to discover how foolishly Squall had acted to rescue his son. Before that he got out of the shadows, Squall noticed the robots guarding the entrance of the room. He felt glad for bringing his sword.

I won't have a second chance on this. Better do this right on the first try, he ordered himself.

The chocobo jumped off his head and flew through the corridor, passing just before the robots. One of the machines followed the chick, surprised to see such an anomaly. Where could a living thing that small come from?

Nice diversion, Squall smiled for real this time.

He took out his sword –which is a retractable gunblade if you wanna know- and charged the robot left. Dajh raised his eyes surprised and couldn't help but smile.

"Uncle Squall!" he exclaimed.

The sword hit the steel and pierced through it as Squall tried not to let himself being distracted by the kid. He was sure that he would get him out of here. He just hoped that Lightning and Sazh would be there to see it.

To be continued…

Thanks to everyone who come here to read, hope you enjoy it! Next chapter should include Noctis, Yuna and Cloud, and of course, the end of Squall and Lightning's first mission, at least.

Please review if you want anything else or more in next chapter!