I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VII or XIII, ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS OR ANY USED DIALOGUE FROM XIII…ALL OF THAT WOULD BELONG TO Square-Enix.
Bodies…six bodies drenched in the overpowering stench of blood; among them were the bodies of a bronze skinned woman and two kids: a red-haired girl and blond boy. Confused and horrified, Cloud turned to run from them only to find the blood-soaked bodies of the bush pilot he'd met on Spira, Snow and Lightning. Unable to face them anymore than the other three, Cloud turned tail as quickly as possible only to be halted by the mangled, standing corpses of the first three.
"Why'd you do it?" asked the woman behind a heavily slashed face and a heavy accent, "Why'd you let him kill us?"
"We trusted you" said the girl with the same accent but a deep stab wound was visible through the center of her stomach.
"But you didn't care," said the boy, a long slash across his chest "You ran away and left us all to die!"
"No!" Cloud mumbled, aghast.
"You're supposed to be the hero," came a voice from behind. Cloud turned sharply to find the other three, standing and equally mangled.
"Why didn't you save us, huh hero?" barked the slashed and bloodstained body of the bush pilot.
"Heroes never run away" grunted Snow holding his blood soaked chest "Are you really who you say you are, or are you just a fraud?"
Staring, terrified, at each of them, Cloud made eye contact with Lightning's body (also heavily slashed) and spluttered "NO, I—THIS W-WASN'T SUPPOSED TO-" but all that Lightning said, with clear disgust in her voice, was
"We trusted you."
"We trusted you, We trusted you" the six of them began to chant.
Cloud watched in horror as their voices began melding together in a deafening echo.
"No, I didn't mean to kill you, none of you were supposed to die," whimpered Cloud, trying to calm and appease them but they only chanted louder: "WE TRUSTED YOU, WE TRUSTED YOU!"
He slapped his hands over his ears, closing his eyes and crumpled to his knees; "WE TRUSTED YOU, WE TRUSTED YOU!"
"NO!" Cloud screamed at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, everything had gone absolutely still; opening his eyes and removing his hands, breathing heavily, Cloud found all six of them (still encircling him) but back on the ground, dead just he'd found them. Suddenly, a single black feather came floating slowly to the ground; Cloud followed it with wide, terrified Mako eyes. Looking upward, he saw the silver-haired SOLDIER, wing extended and long sword stained scarlet. He was smiling at Cloud, an evil smile and vengeful Mako green eyes.
"NO!"
His eyelids popping open and he shot upward, only to find his dark, silent bedroom. Still breathing heavily, Cloud dragged a hand down his sweaty face,
"A dream," he said calmingly "Only a dream."
However, the words weren't as comforting as he pretended that they were; he searched his memory banks as best that he could, but finally concluded that he didn't know the bronze skinned woman or either of the kids. However, he was truly troubled by the bodies of an innocent bush pilot, one of his own soldiers and a civilian. Plopping his head back onto his pillow, Cloud turned to his clock: it was four in the morning; he sighed deeply, there would be no going back to sleep now. Having fallen asleep in his uniform again, he climbed out of bed and wandered aimlessly into the pitch black living room.
"Why was Sephiroth there?" he wondered as he dropped onto the sofa; he was dead…he was in the Lifestream…why did he still plague Cloud, even on the subconscious level? Then it hit him: Shelke! She might know what's happening to him; grabbing his phone and punching in her number, Cloud found himself unable to hit the send button. This was ridiculous! A grown man running to his doctor because he had a bad dream?
"God Cloud, are you a man or an 'effing' moogle?!" he chastised himself, snapping his phone shut. Dropping the phone back onto the coffee table, Cloud ruffled his hair; but something surged across his ears, a high-pitched whistle that was gradually growing louder.
There was an earsplitting BOOM; the world shook violently (Cloud hit the floor with a hand over his head). As the quake began to alleviate, he rocketed to his feet and tore open the deck doors; pushing past the cold morning air and overpowering tang of salt, Cloud leaned as far over the deck railing as possible only to find a horrifying sight. The boardwalk at the end of the beach was engulfed in massive flames and billowing clouds of black smoke; his phone began to ring. Snatching it up, Cloud put it to his ear.
"I'm sorry to wake you sir" said a shaky voice on the other end "But-"
"-Skip the formalities!" barked Cloud "I can see it from where I am, what's going on?"
"We're receiving messages from squads on patrol from down there sir, they're reporting sights of Pulsian technology; it's a raid sir!"
"SOUND THE ALARM!" Cloud roared into the tiny handheld, "TELL ALL SQUARDONS WITHIN THE VICINITY TO HOLD THEM BACK AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! GET AS MANY TROOPS IN THERE FOR SUPPORT. CIVILIAN SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY, HAVE ALL RESERVE TROOPS OVERSEE CIVILIAN EVAC! I'LL BE THERE IN TEN MINUTES, I WANT ALL OF THAT DONE WITHIN THAT TIME, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!"
"SIR!" the voice roared back. Closing his phone and stuffing it roughly in his pocket, Cloud dashed out of the motel room, down the stairs and mounted Fenrir hurriedly.
"Captain, Captain!" came a voice; he looked up to find the landlady (clad in a maroon bathrobe) and several other tenants of the motel charging up the driveway.
"What in the world is going on?" she asked looking highly disheveled; Cloud thought hard about his answer, he knew that the people of Cocoon were terrified of Pulse and he already had enough on his plate without being responsible for a panic.
"Bodhum is under attack," he said slowly.
"An attack?" cried a disbelieving tenant "It's Pulse! They'll kill us! What do we do?"
"Listen!" said Cloud loudly, silencing all of them and turning their full attention to him, "Get your families and get out of town as quickly as possible, take only what you need but get out of Bodhum for time being. Now if you'll excuse me, my soldiers need me!"
They stepped out of the way quickly, and with a mighty roar and a screech of rubber on cement, Cloud took off.
Cloud did not encounter any Pulsian enemies on his quick, frantic, drive to the Guardian Corps. HQ. Tires screeching as the bike came to a halt, leaving behind the faint fumes of burnt rubber, Cloud hastily kicked down the kickstand and bolted into the building. Jogging down the aisles of chaotic cubicles (as his soldiers were screaming orders or calmly trying to pacify horrified civilians), Cloud darted up the metal stairwell and burst through the doors next to his office. The ECC (Emergency Command Center) was a dark room, its walls littered with computer monitors and lined with a soldier at everyone.
"Status report!" he barked, placing a headset around his head.
"Sir, the Pulsian army is too strong, they're just plowing through our men!" shouted the sandy-haired Sergeant O'Bannon.
"How did they get into the city?" barked Cloud impatiently "How the hell did we not see this coming?" The sergeant could only respond with flustered gibber; Cloud sighed angrily "It doesn't matter; what's the status on Civilian Evac?"
"It's still our top priority" replied O'Bannon, confidence returning to his voice "Our guys are doing their damnedest to get them out, but those Pulsian mechs are slaughtering people left and right!"
"Who's out on the battlefield, commanders I mean?"
"Lieutenant Neville is has taken charge of the original squadron, and squads eighteen and four are being led by Sergeant's Farron and Douglas." replied O'Bannon.
"Sir, squad eleven is reporting sights of NORA operatives" reported a technician.
"NORA?" Cloud inquired sharply, turning to O'Bannon.
"Local monster hunting group, sir"
"Possible threat?"
"Maybe sir, they have good intentions but lack training"
"So yes!" thought Cloud darkly.
"Sir?" called another technician, "Incoming transmission from Lieutenant Neville"
"On screen"
"C-c-calling G-guardian Corps HQ, this is Lieutenant Neville of squad fourteen, do you read me? Come back" the message began garbled but quickly cleared.
"This is Captain Strife, we read you loud and clear Lieutenant!" said Cloud into his microphone;
"I'm sorry to report that I've got a little more bad news sir!" he replied somberly.
"Great" thought Cloud sarcastically "What is it?" he replied irritably; the response came slowly and painfully "Lieutenant Amodar is dead sir!"
The room erupted in horrified gasps, even Cloud's eyes widened in disbelief. He quickly flipped the communication unit to a private link; "How" he breathed.
"Headshot sir, looks like a sniper bullet, it's not pretty."
"Where?"
"Alleyway between Sunset and Sycamore, more than likely he was leading a flanking battalion and got hit; but there's too much fire between Them, us and NORA to tell who fired the shot."
Cloud sighed in frustration and disgust "What's your status?"
"Not good sir, Pulse is everywhere!"
Suddenly, Cloud could hear loud cheers. "What's happening?" he barked, switching back to open air.
"I-I don't believe it sir! The mechs are retreating, we won!" replied Neville, his tone unreadable; the entire ECC crew burst into applause and cheers. Cloud didn't join in, in fact he felt sick to his stomach; something was wrong! Raids didn't work like this: they went until the attackers got whatever it was they were looking for or until everyone was dead; they did not just waltz in, tickle their fancy and then leave!
"Neville are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked, speaking directly into his headsets microphone.
"Do you have that gut-wrenching feeling that this was 'too easy' as well sir?" replied Neville uneasily.
Before Cloud could answer, a shrill scream cut across the background of their conversation (Cloud recoiled as the high pitched noise surged across his ears).
"What the hell-Oh my God-OPEN FIRE!" was all he could hear in his headset.
"Lieutenant what's happening?" he roared over the thunderous gunfire. In a sickening twist, the line popped and cut to static; "Lieutenant Neville? Lieutenant!" Cloud called into the static but the line did not pick back up.
Cloud swore loudly, "Get him back! Get me anyone out on the field!"
One of the techs punched something in on the computer before signaling that the line was open on all frequencies. "This is Guardian Corps Captain Cloud Strife, if there is anyone listening please comeback!" he shouted into the microphone; his ears heard nothing but static.
He repeated the message…still nothing. He spoke a third time and was met by a sudden 'click' and a garbled voice fought through the static;
"This is -Aurdian…-Orps…-rgeant-arron! Do you -opy?"
"Try to clear this line up!" he barked at a technician and then responded into the microphone "Comeback, I didn't copy; repeat: I didn't copy!"
The voice repeated, greatly less garbled "This is Guardian Corps. Sergeant, Lightning Farron! Do you copy?"
"We're reading you Farron!" replied a relieved Cloud "We lost contact with Lieutenant Neville, what's going on down there?"
"It's a Warmech!" Lightning roared over a fresh hail of gunfire.
"What's your position?"
"We're doing our best to keep it within the beach district but we're losing men all over the place! What the-ARGH!"
"FARRON!" roared Cloud into the headset only this time Lightning didn't respond.
"Sir?" came a worried sounding Sergeant O'Bannon "We don't have the manpower to take out a Warmech; that thing's going to kill us all!"
Cloud's eyes hardened with determination and as he ripped the headset off of his head he breathed vehemently "Not if I have anything to say about it!"
"C-Captain, where are you going?" cried O'Bannon as Cloud moved for the door.
"I refuse to stand by and watch anymore of my soldiers die!"
"B-b-but you can't leave sir! The men need to know where you are and you need to remain here so you can make executive decisions!"
"Listen up Sergeant!" roared Cloud, causing O'Bannon and several technicians to flinch "I don't give a damn about protocol! Captain Matsuki trusted me to protect Bodhum and I don't intend to misplace his trust!"
Darting out of the ECC and down the mess of busy cubicles (ignoring the many confused looks as he jogged past), Cloud quickly mounted his bike and took off, leaving the stench of burnt rubber in his wake.
The Fenrir's engine roared loudly as Cloud weaved through the city; he could see the massive machine down by the pier (he could see Guardian Corps and NORA Operatives alike taking cover and firing at it). Observing the enemy, even from a distance, Cloud was unsure whether or not he would be able to stop it. However, it looked similar to the beast that he'd fought in Edge, so as tough as it looked it wouldn't be impossible to stop. Turning onto the planks with a dull 'clunk' Cloud slammed on the brakes and came to a halt next to a MediCorps. tent.
"Captain?" said a disbelieving voice, as a Medic came charging towards him.
"You here to tell me I need to be back at Command?" asked Cloud dryly.
"No sir, I'm actually quite relieved to see you" replied the Medic. Cloud watched as a team brought a dark-skinned man with fiery red hair on a stretcher, blood on his teal clothes and a bloody bandage on his face.
"YOU!" he cried pointing at Cloud as they led him into the tent "YOU GOT TO SAVE THEM! UP THERE…THE END OF THE BOARDWALK…SNOW AND LIGHTNING, YOU GOT TO SAVE THEM!"
Cloud turned and looked down to the end of the pier where two figures were crouched in a tired and defeated manner as the Warmech's saw-like fingers descended rapidly on top of them.
Screeching his tires loudly, Cloud charged towards them; the images of Aerith and Zack's lifeless bodies flashed in his eyes as he witnessed the Warmech came closer and closer to Snow and Lightning's heads.
"No!" he thought gripping the handlebar of his bike tightly "I may not be the hero everyone claims that I am…but I refuse to let any more of my friends die!"
As if reading its riders mind, Fenrir snapped open its weapon compartments and Cloud took hold of the fused Ascalon and Avenger and launched it like a spinning missile. The blades collided with the branch-like arms, knocking them aside; slamming on the brakes and twisting his hips, Cloud turned sharply as he extended his arm, reaching out to Lightning. Feeling her grip as she grasped his wrist, Cloud pulled with all of his strength and pulled her onto the Fenrir.
"Sorry 'bout the wait" he said candidly.
"I'm glad you showed up at all!" Lightning shouted back over her gunfire. Retreating back to a safe distance, Fenrir slid to a halt before becoming still and its compartments popping open again.
"Cloud, what are you doing here?" asked Snow as a dark skinned woman dressed in purple and an oddly dressed man with blue hair dragged him away from danger.
"I couldn't sit back and stomach this anymore" replied Cloud placing Vendetta, Sidewinder and Merciless into his harness and drawing Vigilante "So what do we know about the enemy?"
"It's armor is impenetrable and it hits like a truck" barked Lightning taking a fighting stance next to him (Snow joined them, his fists raised threateningly).
Cloud grinned "Nothing is impenetrable!"
The trio leapt forward; Cloud struck the Warmech's armor, slamming Vigilante's saw-like edge against it with a resounding 'clang'. Gripping Merciless so that it sat reverse in his hand, Cloud struck the machine again with another reverberating ring. Flipping both swords upside-down, their edges caught a charging saw-claw from ripping his head off; swinging his right arm widely, he threw the Warmech's arm into a wide stagger. Twisting on his heel, Cloud drove the tip of Merciless into the arm, though he felt the painful aftershocks as it bounced off uselessly. Pain exploded all across his body as he was struck by the flat face of the Warmech's claws; his stomach went topsy-turvy as he flew through the air before he smashed painfully onto the planks. Pushing himself up and shaking his head, Cloud watched momentarily as Lightning and Snow took over. He looked around desperately thinking of a plan, when his eyes came across something miraculous: lying amongst the rubble was Ascalon and Avenger.
"Excellent!" thought Cloud, taking hold of the sword and adding Vigilante to the fusion; replacing Merciless in the harness and taking hold of Vendetta, Cloud leapt back into the fray.
Swinging his fused blades with all of his might, Cloud slammed the heavy sword down before launching himself upward. Quickly and instinctively fusing Vendetta in a flash of ghostly blue flame, Cloud took hold of his sword with both hands before slamming down once again, this time smashing the mech into the wood. As he lunged backward, Lightning leapt forward to continue the assault; as her own combo finished with flying sparks of scraping metal against metal, Snow charged in landing a powerful punch and leaving behind a fist-shaped dent. Raising his sword above his head, Cloud charged past Snow before swinging it down like an executioners guillotine, then dragging it upward across the face in an X formation. As his blade ripped across the second time, his sword carved a deep gash into the armor; in his peripheral vision he could make out Lightning, battle ready and reaching an arm out for him. Acting on instinct, Cloud took hold of her wrist and launched her forward; her blade sunk into the gash that Cloud made and tore an even bigger opening in the metal face. The Warmech lashed out its furious arm sending Cloud and Lightning flying; the two collided with the pier angrily. Pushing back up, Cloud was in time to watch Snow charge in once again, leap onto the Warmech's face and toss something inside the hole before launching off and covering his head.
Suddenly, the Warmech erupted in a fiery blast from the inside, it shuddered before falling limp on the wood. Cheers erupted in the background but immediately, the auxiliary generators began humming.
"Unbelievable!" gasped a horrified Snow "It took a grenade blast from the inside and we haven't done a thing!"
"That's not true" replied Cloud simply, causing Lightning and Snow to stare "We've just figured out how hard we need to hit it!" He was glad that, at least, Snow laughed at his joke.
"Can either one of you still fight?"
"Sorry Cloud but my last attack broke my arm and a couple of bones in my hand" grunted Snow who cradled his arm with a painful expression.
"How about you Lightning?"
"I can still fight!" she said, though her voice faint; Cloud turned as a clatter of metal reached his ears: Lightning had collapsed, her skin was pale and she clutched her side which was bleeding profusely.
"Don't be stupid!" grunted Snow.
"He's right, you're not much use with your side sliced open" concurred Cloud who winced slightly. Examining his chest Cloud met the sharp pain of several broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder; he took a deep, it was going to hurt but it was nothing he couldn't handle. The Warmech's body jerked wildly.
"Listen you two" he said seriously "I think I can beat this thing so I need you guys to get everyone else away!"
"You got it" replied Snow, heaving Lightning up; as the two of them moved further away (he could here Snow shout "Get out of here! Give the Captain some room to work!")
Cloud quickly fused the twins to the sword; he heaved his sword into an attack position and began to concentrate. His large blade radiated a bluish flame and his own body glowing a golden blaze; as the resurrected Warmech whirred it's saw-like fingers, Cloud launched himself forward, thrust the tip of his sword up through the armor of the Warmech's underside and launched it skyward (along with five of his six blades). As the golden flame burned at its peak, an equally ferocious pain pulsed in his chest, causing Cloud to collapse grasping his heart; the pain lasted a moment but his focus was gone and the flame-like cloak dissipated. Panting hard and beads of sweat coursing down his body, Cloud's gaze shifted up and found his soldiers and allies watching him anxiously awaiting him to stand again. Suddenly coursing through his body, filling him with inspiration and strength, he remembered what he'd said in defense of his soldiers:
"They are my soldiers and, until there isn't a breath left in my body, I will defend them like the people I am charged to protect!" He could feel the strength of the golden aura immerse his body once more and moving faster than ever before, he leapt upward, replacing Ascalon and gripping Sidewinder.
Charging forward, Cloud drove the dagger-like sword deep into the side of the Warmech's armor; replacing the Sidewinder with the leathery-handle of the saw-toothed Vendetta, Cloud tore along the top of the mechanical frame. Swapping the first of the two back blades for its twin, Cloud ripped through the Warmech's opposite side with the fury of Vigilante. Quickly switching the sword, their master reached out and gripped the Sidewinder's brother, the Merciless. Attacking in a graceful pirouette, Cloud shredded the machine's underbelly to the effect of his sword's name; and the dagger-like sword left its masters hand only to be replaced by the hollowed Avenger. In a similar fashion, attacked the underbelly again and a deep laceration crossed the previous (the sword that made it soon joined its brothers as its master abandoned it). Rising high above the Warmech, and looking down, Cloud saw the machine trapped in a star of gold energy (each of his blades as the tips) and the deep X cut across the underside acting as a target. Extracting Ascalon from its sheath, and shining like a brilliant star, Cloud crashed down upon the Warmech like a golden meteor; slashing through the great X, he hacked through the power core.
At that moment, the golden aura withdrew into the Warmech, exploding in almighty force and Cloud and his six swords fell safely and victoriously back to the ground. The ruined machine dropping behind him into the water and there was a deafening roar as the damaged Warmech erupted into overdrive. Cloud pushed from the kneeling position he'd landed in to stand, turning to the people watching him; they stared with awe and impression. As he nodded calmly to all of them, a sharp cough escaped his throat and then another; shooting a hand over his mouth, he meet a very frightening feeling of warm, sticky wetness drenching his hand. Pulling his hand away, he found exactly what he feared: his glove soaked with blood. The sudden pain returned furiously in his chest.
Impressive came the silkily evil voice But it matters little, the more you fight the more Mako is converted into poison. Cloud sank to his knees, clutching his chest and blood oozing from his mouth. You are mine Cloud; his vision became foggy and the last words he heard before fading completely were: You are the gateway!
"Captain? CAPTAIN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" came a distant voice.
A faint light began relighting his world, momentarily blinding him. Then his vision began returning, agonizingly slow, but soon found himself in a sitting position and staring into the concerned faces of Lightning, Snow and everyone else.
"Captain?" asked Lightning gently "Are you alright?"
Cloud blinked twice and took a deep breath before responding slowly "Yes," fighting past the awkward feeling that his head was numb. A green clad medical officer, fighting her way through the crowd, managed to the front and knelt down before him wielding a small emerald green bottle.
"Drink this," she barked tersely; Cloud put the bottle to his lips and drank a mouthful of potion (vaguely listening the medic's rant about how he could have killed himself). The strange but warming sensation that a liquefied fudge brownie was creeping down his throat and a very uncomfortable feeling in his chest and shoulder caused him to shudder as his injuries began to heal. He thanked the grumbling medic and got up onto his feet.
"What happened?"
Cloud froze, how am I going to explain this one, he quickly thought up as many believable excuses as possible before spewing out: "Sorry, I blacked out from the strain."
Many of the faces looked relieved, Lightning however looked incredulous.
"You blacked out"
"Yes"
"So can I assume that coughing up a handful of blood is normal after performing a technique both of your design and mastery?"
"Don't tell me you know what happens to my body under that level of stress!" snapped Cloud, she was getting way too close.
"Captain-" Lightning paused and restarted "-Cloud, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes Lightning, I'm fine" Cloud lied calmly. He raised his arms, gripping the handrail tightly, and pulled himself back onto his feet (fighting past the numbness in his head and the sudden return of blood to his legs). Cloud moved over towards the ring of swords, placing four in the harness and the remaining two on his back; he could feel the anxious eyes watching him.
"Okay!" he barked loudly, turning back to face the large crowd "Let's get started on the cleanup."
~o Lightning's POV o~
Lightning stared up at the massive orb, drowning in cheers, as the rockets erupted into showers of sapphire and emerald. It hardly seemed possible that just two days ago they'd been under a Pulsian attack and now they were continuing life as if it hadn't happened; Lightning smiled at the resilience of her hometown. In another shrill boom, scarlet and gold came raining from the heavens; she stared at the different colored stars and her heart wished upon those fleeting little sparkles that that spirit would never die.
"You look dreamy Farron," came a voice from behind, causing Lightning to jump. She wheeled around to find the last person she expected to find on patrol duty.
"Captain Strife? What are you doing here?" she asked snapping off a crisp salute.
"Since the raid we've been a little low on manpower" he replied dryly "So I decided to help out on patrol." He turned his gaze to the fireworks and said with confusion "I don't understand, is this festival, is it some kind of custom in Cocoon?"
"Bodhum does this every year, no matter what, and local folklore talk about: if you wish on these fireworks it comes true" replied Lightning.
"I see, so were you making a wish?"
"What?" asked Lightning, caught off guard by the question "Oh, er…"
Cloud chuckled "And you call yourself a soldier."
The two of them laughed (Lightning liked hearing her Captain laugh, she though it humanized him). "I really don't think that guard duty is my calling, sir" she said.
"Well, lucky for you, your shift just ended" said Cloud dismissively "Pack it up and go home."
"But—sir?" Lightning began.
"No 'buts' Farron" he said in a gentle tone that greatly matched Captain Matsuki "I need all of my men in top condition."
Lightning nodded; quickly casting a sad look at the fireworks that many of her colleagues (namely her friend and mentor) would never see again.
"Something on your mind?"
"Just thinking about Lieutenant Amodar, sir"
Lightning noticed Cloud advert his gaze, and heard him mutter "I swear I'll find out who did this to the Lieutenant"
"Why sir?" inquired Lightning "The Lieutenant was killed in the attack, what purpose would it serve to find his killer there? It would be like finding a needle in a haystack."
"That's just it!" said Cloud turning to her, his gaze dead serious "The autopsy reports just came back: Lieutenant Amodar wasn't killed during the raid."
"What!"
"The kill was definitely from a gunshot wound, it would have been easy to cover it up from the raid, but the Medical Examiner showed me some post-mortem bruising on his arms and back. Amodar was moved, after being shot through the head by a sniper bullet, to make it look like he was killed in the attack" said Cloud solemnly.
"My God," breathed Lightning horrified "But why would someone want to kill the Lieutenant? He was ambitious but he'd never set a toe out of line."
"It's my fault" said Cloud shifting his sad gaze downward. Lightning stared at him confused, upon seeing this, Cloud looked around cautiously to make sure that no one was listening and spoke, lowering his voice to where Lightning had to strain to hear him "I had assigned Amodar to spy on PSICOM."
"WHY!" said Lightning unnecessarily loud causing Cloud to 'shush' her.
"Don't be naïve Farron, PSICOM is watching us! Whether it's the whole regiment or just me, I'm not sure; but I am sure of is that Amodar found something. And whatever it was that he found, he was killed for it."
Lightning stared horrified, disbelieving of what she was hearing; she noticed Cloud giving a duo of PSICOM grunts incredibly filthy looks.
"No" she gasped "You don't think PSICOM was involved, do you?"
"I don't know. But what's even more frustrating is that I can't confront them about it!" He turned back to Lightning and whispered "I'm positive that PSICOM is hiding something from us."
"What makes you say that?" asked Lightning, keeping her voice low.
"They found something in the vestige nearby and they don't want the Guardian Corps stepping on their toes."
"Something Pulse-related?" she inquired a little deeper; she exchanged a look with Cloud that plainly said: Your guess is as good as mine.
Cloud coughed, quickly calling for a change in subject; "So, er…you're taking tomorrow off?" he asked politely.
"Sir, for my birthday, sir; my sister, she insisted on it" she replied following his rapid change of topic (it really wasn't smart to be discussing such things in public).
"Really?" asked Cloud intrigued, "How old?"
Initially surprised by her Captains interest, Lightning answered without pause "Twenty-one."
"Twenty-one, huh?" he said in a reminiscent tone "Maybe it's a good time to send off that letter of recommendation for officer training." He smiled at her surprise "Amodar has been on me to get that thing mailed; I've read your record, and you're past due for a promotion Farron.
"I really hate to lose one of my best and most trusted soldiers, but you deserve it."
"Thank you, sir!" said Lightning bending into a respective bow. Suddenly, she remembered their earlier conversation, "But sir, what about-"
"-You let me worry about PSICOM" he said gently "You worry about your future."
"Yes sir."
"Happy Birthday Farron" he said sincerely and then Cloud disappeared into the crowd, resuming his patrol. She watched him for a moment and smiled before turning on her heel and making her way home.
[The Next Day]
"Happy Birthday sis!" bellowed Snow as he and Serah arrived for Lightning's birthday luncheon.
"I'm not your sister Snow! How many times do I have to tell you?" Lightning retorted acerbically.
"Then how about one from me?" said Serah, brandishing a small white box with a large, flamboyant ribbon and pulling her sister into a welcoming hug.
"Come in, both of you" Lightning added grudgingly to Snow; she led the duo into her kitchen, eyeing the subtle changes to each of them: the two of them now sported a circular pendant sitting atop a spiral pillar, and anger flared in Lightning's stomach as she spotted a thick white bandage wrapped around Serah's upper left arm. However, what was most noticeable was the distracted look on her sister's face.
"Okay" Lightning sighed tersely "What's going on Serah?"
Serah looked at Snow (who grinned in support) and then turned back to Lightning, taking a deep breath. "It's like this Lightning: I've got good news and bad news."
"Oh god," thought Lightning exasperatedly "Nothing good can come from a sentence that starts like that."
"The good news is that Snow proposed last night and I said yes. The bad news-" she took a deep breath and continued bravely "-I went into the Vestige the other day and when I came out I was a Pulse l'Cie."
Lightning stared disbelievingly and feeling curiously numb; "You became a l'Cie, so now you're going to marry this idiot?!" shot Lightning, her temper flaring and causing her sister to recoil, "And you think I'm going to buy that? Full points for originality."
Snow put a secure arm around Serah as she hung her head like a despondent child.
"Don't forget" said Lightning warningly, rising to her feet, "If you really are a l'Cie, then it's my job to deal with you."
Serah stared at her, half shocked and half hurt, "Sis…"
"This is ridiculous, worst birthday ever!" spat Lightning disgustedly. Suddenly, Serah took off running, exiting the house with several, tearful, gasps.
"Wait! Serah!" called Snow who then, after a moment, turned his attention to Lighting "Why won't you believe her?" he shot heatedly, only for Lightning to unleash pent up aggression.
"You kidding me? She becomes a l'Cie and then you pop the question?" she raged incredulously.
"Lightning, stop it" roared Snow, slamming a fist onto the table but Lightning slammed both of her fists onto the surface, causing the whole table to shudder.
"NO, you stop it! Get out of my house!" she bellowed coldly; Snow stared disbelievingly.
"You're shutting her out, she's your sister!" he said pleadingly.
Lightning turned her back to him, crossing her arms firmly, and they stood in heated silence before Snow sighed in defeat.
"Fine" he said coolly "I'll do it: I'll protect her!"
Lightning listened to the rhythmic beat of his footfalls before hearing the door slam shut; she growled in frustration and anger.
"How could Serah do this?" she thought angrily as she opened up a cabinet, pulled out some containers and began roughly shoving food into them. "Why would she say those things?" Practically throwing the food into the refrigerator, Lightning scooped up the dirty dishes and loaded them into the sink. "She was supposed to go to college, not throw her life away for that idiot! Then, on my birthday no less, she comes claiming that she's engaged and a l'Cie?"
Lightning thought these things bitterly as she drowned the plates and glasses in liquid soap and steaming water; she expected this kind of stupid behavior from Snow but not from Serah! As she scrubbed the dishes, and after a few deep breaths, she could feel the therapy of the hot water transform her anger and frustration into something much worse: sadness and hurt (her thoughts returned to her sisters words and then a plot to make Snow pay for talking her into saying such cruel words).
Rubbing the water off of her hands with a towel and flicking on her television, Lightning's gaze was suddenly caught by the brightly colored ribbon, still sitting atop a box that waited to be opened. Moving over to the table, she crossed her arms stubbornly; she didn't want to open it, not after that little scene. She tried to ignore the nagging curiosity that burned at her mind and soon enough, found herself pulling the ribbon apart and pulling off the cardboard box top. Inside was a knife, its handle bound by tight black leather and its pommel and circular hand-guard a metallic bronze. Pulling back on the little blade that was showing, Lightning stared, rather impressed by its ornate design; the curved blade was eight-maybe-nine inches long, silver, one side edged and the other serrated. "How practical" she sighed sadly before folding the blade and sticking it into her pouch; her mind lingered on Snow's words: "You're shutting her out, she's your sister!"
Lightning's gaze shifted downward, she didn't want to admit it but he was right.
Suddenly the large television screen beeped, quickly gaining her attention.
We interrupt this program to bring you this urgent Sanctum bulletin. Late last night, officials confirmed the presence of a Pulse Fal'Cie inside the city of Bodhum. Acting with Fal'Cie Eden's approval, officials have declared a state of emergency; the entire district will be quarantined in response to this crisis…
Lightning stared in disbelief and horror, a Pulse Fal'Cie, here? It seemed as unlikely as…she gasped as the startling realization crashed over her: Serah had been telling her the truth.
This is a Sanctum bullet-Wait, it appears that we have more on the incident in Bodhum: (Lightning snapped her eyes back to the screen, holding her breath anxiously as the reporter held a hand to the microphone in her ear) It appears that PSICOM officials have taken Guardian Corps Captain Cloud Strife, the leader of the Bodhum regiment, into custody for further inquiry of the event.
"WHAT?!" the incredulous word slipped from her mouth while her eyebrows narrowed at the reporter's sugarcoated words: more than likely he was going to be hauled off to the stockade for interrogation before inevitable execution. The reporter listened to her earphone for a moment before speaking again
It seems that we are receiving video feed of this: the newsroom immediately switched over to a robotic camera hovering high above the motel where Cloud was living. The whole place was overrun by PSICOM soldiers and encircled by a large group of armed men, standing tall with his hands behind his head and looking forward, undistracted, was the Captain. As Lightning watched in horror as the high-security aircraft took off for the stockade with her Captain a sudden boom at her door caused her to turn so quickly that she nearly cricked her neck. She moved over to her door, heart racing.
"Serah came back," she thought breathlessly as she pulled open the door; but it was not her sister: standing at her door was a group of six soldiers (three PSICOM Wardens and three Guardian Corps soldiers).
"Sergeant Farron?" said a Warden sharply "Where is the l'Cie?"
"How the hell should I know?" snapped Lightning truthfully. The Warden growled furiously, but was silenced by the speaking up of one of the yellow armored GC's.
"If she says she doesn't know, then she doesn't know!" Lightning stared at the Guardian Corps soldier, recognizing her voice anywhere
"Private Benoit?"
The soldier raised the visor on her helmet, revealing the toe-headed woman "Hello Sergeant" she said rather shyly.
Lightning stared at her disbelievingly; Benoit turned to her fellow GC's who raised their own visors to reveal the faces of Private McGregor and Sergeant O'Bannon.
"What the hell are you three doing?" barked Lightning furiously.
"We're sorry Farron" said O'Bannon somberly, "But with the Captain gone, the Regiment was temporarily taken over by Lieutenant Colonel Nabaat; our orders are to bring in the fugitive l'Cie and we tracked a power spike to your sister."
"So you're going to after her whether I help or not?"
"Sorry Farron" repeated O'Bannon replacing his visor "But we're just following orders."
Lightning watched, with her eyebrows furrowed, as they group moved away; turning quickly and strapping Blazefire's holster onto her hip, Lightning bolted from the house. It was her own stupid pride that had blinded her from her sister's outreach and her arrogance turned her away; now Serah was in danger and it was her duty as a sister to protect her.
The town was in utter chaos! Terrified civilians were running in panic and PSICOM and Guardian Corps barking orders at each other and firing off random shots into the air. Lightning pushed past all of the confusion and made towards the beach: Snow's house was on the beach and that would, more-than-likely, be where his idiotic brain would take her sister. Nervous beads of sweat ran down Lightning's back as she ran; skidding to a halt, Lightning stared in horror as the sight of Snow's place being overrun by the black of PSICOM and yellow-and-white of the GC. Judging by their lack of anyone in custody, Lightning breathed a sigh of relief that Snow at least had some brain in his head. Charging down the boardwalk and averting her eyes out over the sea, she slid to a full stop as something caught her eye: rocketing down from the vestige, trailing black smoke and screams, a hovercraft crashed onto the sand; as the dust from the crash settled, Lightning looked and sure enough, sprawled out on the sand was Snow.
Launching herself over the wooden railing, Lightning raced over to him and flipped his body over. She slapped his face hard.
"Wake up Idiot!" she roared but Snow remained unconscious; pulling a bottle of potion from her pouch and uncorking it with her thumb, Lightning pressed it to his lips and poured. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he coughed and spluttered as Lightning removed the potion.
"Hmm," he said smacking his lips "Jam doughnut, not bad!"
Lightning slapped him again, "Serah, idiot! Where is she?"
Snow's eyes widened with comprehension and horror; "Serah!" he roared moving towards the water. Lightning's gaze shifted from him to the Vestige, horrible realization crashing over her:
"SHE'S IN THE VESTIGE?!" she roared angrily.
"I-it just reached out and grabbed her!" sputtered Snow; he was panting frantically before he finally regained control of himself. "Look Lightning, this is what happened because you didn't believe her!" he said hotly "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go rescue her."
Snow took off running; Lightning watched him angrily before returning her gaze to the Vestige, watching as the PSICOM battle-cruiser Palamecia lifted the gargantuan structure and took it away.
"More than likely to the Purge station at the Hanging Edge" Lightning thought, her soldier training kicking in; she knew what had to do and a plan began formulating in her mind as she set off.
[Later That Day…Bodhum Train Station]
"Attention Purge deportees: Follow instructions and stay in your lines! Personal belongings will be returned upon arrival; Do not leave your lines, this is for your own safety!" barked a PSICOM officer to a crowd of restless civilians.
Lightning moved past them as if she were back in the Bodhum Regiment HQ. Occasionally, she would glance over and mentally note how frightened each of them looked (especially with the random runners who were gunned down). However, she trained her attention to the PSICOM officer shouting orders; when he noticed her arrival, he looked her over behind his uniforms dark mask but his eyes quickly fell upon to the two golden stripes etched into her shoulder pauldron.
"What's the 'GC' doing here?" He asked sharply "This op's under PSICOM direction."
"So direct me," said Lightning impatiently "Let me on, I want to be Purged."
She couldn't see his face behind the mask, but she could easily tell that he was stunned. "Only civs get Purged" he whispered leaning in close so only she could hear "Sanctum staff and soldiers are exempt."
Lightning quickly whipped out her Blazefire Saber and held it out for him to take, saying darkly "Then I quit!"
He took the weapon gruffly and barked disconcertedly "Line up!"
Lightning watched as the soldier walked off with her weapon, but did as she was told; "Don't worry, you won't be parted for long!" she thought to herself, pacifyingly.
"Excuse me? Hey lady!" came a whisper from behind. Lightning turned partially to find a dark skinned man in a green bush pilot's jacket. "What gives?" he asked in whisper so low she could barely hear it but answered simply.
"I volunteered."
"Really?" he said disbelievingly "You don't look ready to go quiet into that good night-"
"-You want quiet" Lightning shot back irritably "You better take the next train!" Becoming silent, Lightning began running her plan through her mind again as she took the first steps onto the train.
(UPDATED) I'm not sure but I think I did a pretty lousy job with the POV in this chapter…if you guys notice anything, please let me know.
