Day 50
The Fireworks Festival was lively as ever. Citizens from all over Cocoon come to see the show. It was what made Bodhum such a tourist hotspot. There were many places in Bodhum where you could see the fireworks like beach or some of the building rooftops. But, it was the area that was specially built for the viewing of the fireworks that attracted the most people, which also made it a prime location for a terrorist attack.
The sun had already gone down by the time Lightning and NORA arrived, leaving the sky dark. The festival area was lit by the few standing lights that were scattered around and light escaping from the buildings and shops that surrounded it. The giant bubble that was used to enclose the fireworks could be seen just in the distance, sitting on the water.
Lightning's eyes darted through the crowds of people, trying to see if she could spot the terrorists. But, it was difficult. There were just so many people there.
Huffing, the soldier turned to the NORA members. "Split up and look for anything suspicious."
They had arrived much earlier than the Guardian Corps. Back-up wouldn't be there for at least a few more minutes. So, they had to do what they could until they had got there.
The members agreed and followed her orders, heading to different parts of the area.
Snow glanced at Lightning with a look of seriousness that she didn't see very often. "Don't try and take them on your own if you find them, Lightning."
Lightning raised her eyebrow at his concern before waving him off. "I know what I'm doing. I can take care of myself." With that, she disappeared into the crowd.
As she pushed through the people, Lightning searched the area for anything unusual. Where were they? She knew they had to be here somewhere.
Through a gap between two people who were talking, she saw a man dressed in all black in the distance. He swiftly dropped a bag into one of the garbage cans, looking around suspiciously to make sure no one had seen him.
Lightning's eyes widened. That had to be a bomb!
Not thinking twice, she dashed towards him, knocking the chatting couple out of her way.
By the time the man heard her running footsteps and turned around, Lightning unexpectedly slammed the barrel of her gunblade across his face. The man fell – face first- to the ground, his nose broken and bleeding profusely.
Pointing her gunblade at the man's head, Lightning dug her boot into his side to flip him over.
"D-Don't hurt me!" The man muttered, his familiar brown eyes wide in fear and his bloody nose staining the black bandana that was falling off his face.
This was the one she saw at the store that day.
Her eyes narrowed. "Where are the other ones?"
His panicked eyes glanced in a direction before Lightning felt a bullet whizzed past her face, just barely missing her head. With her eyes wide, her head shot towards the direction of the bullet, seeing a black figure on the roof of one of the building, holding a fairly large rifle across the area.
"Shit." She swiftly kicked the man on the ground in the head, knocking him unconscious, and took off running as a rain of bullets was shot her way.
The sounds of the gun shots sent everyone into a panic. Some people ran, screaming, while others just dropped to the ground, protecting their heads with their hands.
Lightning's eyes scanned for the nearest cover. Unfortunately, since the area was meant to hold large amounts of people, it was very open, leaving hardly anywhere to hide.
In the distance, she could see Yuj and Maqui attempting to lead people out of the area while Snow, Lebreau and Gadot were busy firing at the other two terrorists who shot at them with large machine guns. Snow took cover behind a fallen metal table and Lebreau and Gadot shot from behind two nearby light poles.
She had to take out that sniper.
Getting onto the roof was her first step.
Lightning changed directions, running into one of the buildings that surrounded the area. As she entered the souvenir shop, her eyes searched for a way that could lead to the roof. There had to be a staircase or something.
Then she spotted a door behind the register counter. It was worth a shot.
She dashed towards the counter, smoothly vaulting over it before landing on her feet. She pushed open the door, revealing a small storage room.
The pink-haired soldier glanced at one of the corners of the room and saw a latter attached to the wall, presumably heading towards the roof.
Lightning quickly climbed up the latter, reaching a hatch door at the top. She pushed open the door before pulling herself up onto the roof.
Once on her feet, she could see the sniper, who was lying on the edge of a building just a few rooftops away from her position.
This was her shot.
Lightning ran across the rooftops, jumping over the small gaps in between the buildings, closing in on the sniper. Because he was so focused on what was going on below, he had no idea she was coming towards him.
Or so she thought.
Suddenly, the sniper twirled around from his position of the ground of the roof, whipping a pistol out and firing.
Surprised, Lightning quickly rolled out of the way to avoid the bullets. Pointing her gunblade at him, in gun mode, she fired back a few shots. One managed to catch the sniper in his shoulder, but it wasn't enough to stop him.
Jumping up to his feet, the terrorist ran towards her, a knife in his hand. Lightning side-stepped, dodging the blade but the man spun around fast, slashing the knife her way. Lightning leaned back with her arms up, but the blade managed to slice through the black sleeve she wore on her arm, leaving a fairly deep cut in the back of her forearm.
Lightning hissed slightly before she dropped to the ground, sweeping her leg behind the man's causing his feet to be knocked right out from under him.
The man slammed to the ground.
But it didn't take long for him to recover.
Lightning was taken off guard when the man lunged at her, pushing her to the ground.
Before she knew it, the man's hands were wrapped tightly around her throat, cutting off her airways. His black bandana covered most of his face, only his intense eyes staring back at her. She tried to reach for her gunblade that had fallen out of her hand but it was just out of her reach.
She dug her fingers into the man's eye sockets, causing him to scream and loosen his grip just enough that she could kick him off of her.
Once free, Lightning sat up on one knee and began coughing, her hand on her throat.
Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Lightning sprung to her feet only to face the man, who stood a few feet from her with his back facing the edge of the roof, his pistol pointed straight at her, a finger pulling on the trigger.
Time seemed to freeze for her.
Her body went cold as she realized there was nothing she could do. She didn't have her gunblade. She couldn't attack the man because he was too far away.
She messed up.
The sound of a gunshot filled the air.
Lightning's eyes quickly shot down, searching for where the bullet hit. Then she realized…nothing hit her.
The man's pistol dropped to the ground causing Lightning to look back up with wide eyes.
The terrorist fell forward before hitting the ground with a thud, a bullet wound in his back.
"Shit…" Lightning muttered to herself in relief. That was close.
The soldier stepped towards the edge of the roof, looking over the side only to see Snow with his gun still pointed up towards the roof. He lowered the weapon before grinning widely and giving her a thumbs up.
All she could do was stare.
Snow saved her. That same idiot that had been annoying her day in and day out for the past three months saved her.
Suddenly, the Guardian Corps squads filled the area, heavily armed. The last two remaining terrorists were shot down, just wounded enough to stop them from fighting, before the Guardian Corps them into custody. Once the area was clear of danger, they began escorting civilians out.
Lightning picked up her gunblade before sheathing it in it case then she leaped off the roof, flicking on her Grav-Con Unit as she neared the ground allowing it to soften her landing when she hit the ground.
Snow and NORA rushed over to her, surrounding her.
"Are you okay?" Snow asked her with concern as he stepped forward, noticing the red-hand marks on her neck.
Lightning let out a breath before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Tha-"
"Farron!"
Lieutenant Amador made his way into the circle that NORA surrounded her in.
Lightning bowed her head slightly, assuming he was angry about the NORA situation. "Sir, I'm sorry. I gave NORA secret information about the operation because they-"
She paused and looked up when she heard the Lieutenant begin to laugh. "Sir?"
Amador gave her a smile and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Farron, if there is one thing I know about you is that you always have a reason for something. Whatever you did helped to stop these terrorists. So, you have nothing to be sorry about. Good work, Farron."
Lightning blinked in surprise before nodding. "Thank you, Sir."
He turned to at NORA. "I know you and the Guardian Corps don't get along too well but you all deserve appreciation as well. Who knows, without you we may not have been able to stop this. So, good job." He smiled as he gave them a nod of appreciation.
"No problem. We are always here to help." Snow replied with a raised fist.
Amador glanced at Lightning then leaned in closer to her to prevent anyone else from hearing, especially the roaming Guardian Corps soldiers. "You know, if you ever need their help again, I give you permission to do so."
Lightning's eyes widened slightly and opened her mouth to protest but never did. Maybe working with them again wouldn't be so bad.
He smiled. "But, try to keep it a secret! Can't have anybody else knowing about! Might ruin my reputation." He said before laughing.
A small chuckle escaped from the pink-haired soldier's lips as she nodded. "Of course, Sir."
Amador stepped back and looked at the NORA members. "Alright! Now, let's get you guys fixed up."
XXX
Lightning sat on a stretcher by the ambulance as the paramedics cleaned and bandaged up her arm. It was surprising that none of them received any serious injuries. Guess NORA proved to her that they weren't so incompetent after all.
"So, maybe you should listen to me next time, huh?"
Lightning glanced to her side, seeing Snow stop next to her, a smile on his face. She knew what he was referring to. "Whatever."
"You don't have to do everything on your own, Lightning. I will always have your back." Snow replied, still smiling but also showing complete seriousness in his eyes.
Lightning found herself staring at him again. This day made her look at Snow in a different way. No longer was he just a dumb oaf that annoyed her on a daily basis. She began to see him as someone she could actually trust. Even though he comes off pretty cocky and arrogant, she has learned that he wasn't that bad. That cockiness was just his way of showing his confidence, and apparently, he had a lot of it. But, underneath that was a guy that truly cared for the people around him. It took something like this for her to realize that.
"You okay?"
The pink haired soldier blinked, realizing she had fallen into a daze, and then looked away, her face feeling hot. "By the way, I never got the opportunity to thank you back there…so, thanks."
Snow grinned, raising his fist. "That's what heroes do."
Lightning glanced over at him then chuckled slightly, a small smile forming on her face.
"You know, you should smile more often." Snow commented. "It suits you much better than that frown you wear all the time."
Lightning's face heated up again before she huffed. "I do not frown all the time."
Snow chuckled. "Whatever you say, Lightning."
The paramedic finally finished bandaging Lightning's arm, leaving the two as he went back to the ambulance.
"Snow." Lightning's and Snow's eyes met. "Call me Light."
Snow blinked. "Light, huh?" He repeated then that wide grin that Lightning had always hated until now appeared on his face. "Much easier.
Author's Note
Yay, I finally updated! I know people have been waiting awhile. Sorry, about that. I've been kind of busy. Now, I'm on summer break so I have plenty of time on my hands.
Well, the story is getting closer to the end. The main conflict is over so the next chapters will be focusing on Lightning and Snow's relationship. Even though the story is almost over, I do plan on writing a sequel. So, for those who love this pairing, you have that to look forward to.
Anyway, I would love some feedback. Reviews make me happy :)
Thanks!
18Rox