A.N. Here's chappy 10. enjoy

Hopurai Fan — HopexVanille? In LR? I haven't seen any VanillexHope in LR...There was just this one scene where Light teased Hope if he had a crush on her. Or is this in the end? (I haven't killed Bhuni yet)

Toaneo07 Ver2.0 — I think it would be funnier if I knew what "tsundere" means...

Guest — dude I can't read what you wrote...

Blackrabbit — Well I'm really sorry for "taking so fucking long"xD But I can't and don't want to update too fast. The last chappy will take long, because it's the only chappy I haven't finished yet.

Éclair Returns

Chapter 10: The Heart of Chaos

Because Hope was feeling alright due to her — and Vanille's — magic, he was allowed to go home the next day. Lightning was much more attentive than before and was very overprotective towards Hope. No matter what he said, she always remained on his side and was on guard around the clock. They didn't even train for days. "Light, relax for a minute.", said Hope for the hundredth time this day. "No.", replied Lightning and looked around carefully. "Light, we're home, nothing can happen to me."

"Ninety-nine percent of all accidents happen at home.", countered the pink-haired woman, while Hope sighed. "Serah would also want you to relax.", he tried again, but he might as well talk to a wall. Nothing stopped her from protecting Hope! Absolutely nothing! "Yeah, but Serah's not here." Hope sighed deeply. Hopefully he let her do her work now and would stop trying to force her to relax. "Light, come over here please."

"Why?", she asked and raised an eyebrow. "Just come over here." Lightning suspected that he would probably tie her on the couch to stop her from walking around so nervously, so she ignored him. "Ow! Damn!", he cried suddenly. She immediately ran to him. "What happened?", she asked and wanted to examine him for injuries, but then he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He rested his head on hers. "Hope, what...?" She couldn't say more, if she wanted to hide her feelings. Her heart was beating ten times faster than normal and she was so warm that she thought she would melt at any moment. But even if his embrace let her freak out, it was quite soothing.

For the first time in days she felt more relaxed. But she couldn't afford to return the embrace. She just stood there and let him hug her. "Do you feel better now?", he asked after a few minutes. "What...?"

"Do you feel better? When I was a kid and went nervously around the house just like you, mom hugged me to calm me down. I thought you could need it as well." Lightning didn't know what to say to that, so she remained quiet. Hope kept hugging her and seemed to wait for a response. She pulled herself together and finally answered. "I'm fine.", she murmured and then Hope looked at her and grinned. Lightning smiled back weakly, before he let her go. She almost pulled him back to her, but she held herself back. Then he went into the kitchen to make dinner. Of course she followed him there. Not just to protect him, but also to help him. But as always, Hope said that he didn't need help and that she should rest.

"Light? Did you dream about your Focus again?", he asked after a brief moment of silence. Lightning realized that she dreamed less about her Focus than before. And of course there was this one dream where Hope was manipulated and tried to kill her...She still hoped that this was just an ordinary nightmare. "Yeah.", she replied. "You know what your Focus is exactly?"

"No. But we should focus on finding the crystal now.", she replied. "Oh yeah, Amador offered you his help, right? Did he find anything?"

"No, not yet. But what do you expect? He has to search the whole world for this." Hope nodded and kept cooking. "I'm glad you're back, Light.", he said suddenly. "What do you mean?", she asked and raised an eyebrow. "You're talking to me again. You haven't talked to me for two days." Somehow he was right. The last few days she never really talked to him to protect him without distracting herself. Lightning remained silent. She couldn't talk to him normally. Not when Hope's still in danger. In addition, she should also find out what these feelings meant when she was with Hope.

All her friends said that she was in love with Hope, but could that be right? Yes, she liked Hope. Yes, she wanted to protect him, even if it meant sacrificing herself. And yes, she didn't want to lose him. But where this signs of love? "Lightning!" Hope's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Hm?" Then she noticed that he'd put the food on the table and sat down. How long had she spaced out? "What do you think, Light?", he asked and looking at her with great interest. "Nothing.", she replied and began to eat. "Nothing, huh? I don't believe you. Tell me."

"I was just wondering if I should get a new gunblade.", she lied and tried to ignore him. "A new gunblade?"

"Yes."

"You don't have to do that. I can take care of your gunblade if you want.", he said and smiled at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I kinda learned everything about gunblades for the last few years. I can upgrade your Blazefire Saber, if you want."

"Why did you learn anything about gunblades in the first place?", asked Lightning and raised an eyebrow. Hope was silent for a moment before he answered. "Because you have one. Even though you said a gunblade's too heavy for me, I wanted to learn anything about it. I learned how to repair it, how to assemble one and so on. I even trained with one."

"You can use a gunblade?", repeated Lightning surprised. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"It slipped my mind.", laughed Hope and scratched the back of his head. "But I'm not as good as you are.", he added and grinned at her. "If you want I could also train you how to fight with it."

"You would do that?", he asked in surprise, while Lightning nodded. "Yeah, why not? But first you need to become stronger."

"Alright." Then they ate in silence. Although Lightning still didn't know what to do, she didn't want to think about it anymore. For now, she had to concentrate on her Focus. She looked up and saw that Hope was completely lost in thought. "Hope?" He looked up at her and looked at her questioningly. "Is something wrong?", she asked, while Hope poked his food with a fork. Although his hair hid his face, she knew that he blushed. "It's nothing, everything's okay." She kept staring at him, but he didn't even look up.

"The truth, Hope.", she demanded, but Hope remained silent. Lightning rolled her eyes and dropped the subject. It was exactly as back then. Something was wrong with him, but he didn't want to with her about it. Just why not? Lightning ate up and wanted to put away her plate, but Hope prevented it. "I'll do this, Light. Rest a bit."

"I don't need rest.", she grumbled, but then he stood up and pushed her out of the kitchen. "You do need some rest." Lightning sighed resignedly and went into the living room. She sat down on the couch, leaned back and thought. What could it be that Hope didn't want to talk with her? He always talked with her about anything. Should she call Serah for help?

"Light?" The pink-haired woman winced slightly when she suddenly heard Hope's voice beside her. "Hm?" She acted as if she had noticed him long ago. "I have to tell you something.", he said and sat down next to her. "And what?", she asked, while raising an eyebrow. "Well...you know, I...", he stopped abruptly and looked for the right words, while Lightning waited patiently.

Then he looked at her firmly. "I—" The silver-haired man stopped again when his phone rang suddenly. Hope muttered something under his breath before he answered it. Lightning paid no attention to the conversation. Just as he wanted to tell her what's wrong with him, someone interrupted them. As Hope hung up, she looked up to him. "Light, I have to go to the Academy." She immediately got up and went to the door. "Alright, let's go."
"You can stay—"

"No. I'm coming with you.", interrupted Lightning and left the house. Hope followed her and together they jogged to the Academy. "What do you wanted to tell me?", asked Lightning then. "Eh, n-nothing! Just forget it!", he replied quickly. Damn, how could they dare to interrupt them?! He just wanted to tell her what's wrong with him! Or at least she hoped so.

Lightning was trapped in the crystal but that didn't mean that she couldn't hear and see what's happening outside the crystal. Her body felt stiff and cold, but as light as a feather. It was because she was floating inside the crystal pillar. Below her she sensed some kind of energy source, but she didn't know what it was. Then she noticed her friends, who gazed at the crystallized Cocoon. "Cocoon's seen better days, that's for sure. And I'd say that qualifies as a demolition. Focus complete.", said Sazh. Hmph, whatever you want to believe., thought Lightning amused. Hope suddenly looked around. Could he hear her? Hope?, she called in thought, but he seemed not to have heard her, because he kept talking with their friends. Would have been nice to talk to someone, but it was too good to be true. She kept watching them and was quite surprised that Hope was crying because of her. Not even his parents could calm him down...Suddenly she felt tired, so she relaxed. A few seconds later she was asleep and dreamed of returning to her friends and about a happy future for everyone.

Lightning woke up, but she kept her eyes closed. She didn't know that she had memories after her crystallization. And what was that for an energy source that she sensed there? She should call Amador as soon as possible and ask him to investigate the pillar. But she could do this tomorrow. She was so sleepy and warm that she didn't want to get up.

Lightning cuddled on something warm, but then she heard a suspicious noise. Dodom, Dodom...It sounded like a heartbeat. And of course it was not her own. Finally she opened her tired eyes. But it took a while until she realized in what position she was in. She huddled up to Hope in her sleep. And he as well. He hugged her so tight that she couldn't move anymore. But somehow it didn't bother her at all. It was actually quite pleasant and soothing, so she went back to sleep again.

The next morning the daily routine went on. Getting up and ready, eating breakfast, going to the Academy and always scanning her surroundings. The pink-haired woman already called Amador and asked him to send a team to the crystal pillar. Amador accepted her request and told her that he'd send out a team soon. "Why do you want Amador to inspect the pillar?", asked Hope. "I had a dream last night.", replied Lightning. "And what did you dream?"

"I've just remembered what it was like to be a crystal."

"Really?" He sounded pretty interested. "Yeah, I've watched you for a while before I fell asleep."

"I see. I can't remember how it was like to be a crystal." Lightning watched Hope, who once again perused some documents. "Um...is something wrong, Light?", asked Hope and looked up at her. "Do you still can't tell me what's wrong with you?" Hope looked pretty surprised and looked away again. Lightning waited for an answer but he remained silent. "So? Just tell me what's wrong." He was still silent. "Hope—"

"Well, if you really want to know..." Finally she'd gotten through to him! The silver-haired man stood up and went to her. He stopped directly in front of her and looked deeply into her eyes. For the first time she couldn't guess what all these emotions were, that reflected in his eyes. "Lightning, I—" Suddenly the door opened and an overjoyed Alyssa stormed inside. "Director!" In an instant Lightning turned to Alyssa and glared at her darkly. But she ignored her and ran to Hope. "Alyssa, what is it?", asked Hope, as the blonde hugged his arm. Immediately Lightning became furious. She really wanted to rip her head off! However, she didn't quite know why she wanted to do this..."Director! We did it!"

"What?"

"We can awake l'Cie from crystal stasis now!", she said excitedly, while Hope's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes! Come with me!" Immediately Alyssa ran out of his office and dragged Hope with her. Grumbling quietly to herself Lightning followed them. They went through the entire building until they reached the laboratory. Lightning looked around. She's never been here before and it was kinda interesting to see what they're doing here. Finally they reached their destination. "To test it, we used a few samples from the crystal pillar.", began Alyssa and pointed to a small fragment of the pillar. Then she took a pipette. "We've developed this liquid, which melts the crystal, but is completely harmless for skin.", she said and let the liquid drip on the crystal.

The crystal melted on the spot. Then she dripped some on her arm and nothing happened. Then Alyssa looked at her directly. It looked as if she would say "Ha ha, now I'm Hopes favorite!". Of course she did this when Hope wasn't looking. Lightning narrowed her eyes and glared at her. She challenged her, huh? Wait, what the hell was she thinking about? When she wanted Hope she could get him. But why didn't she like the thought of Hope being with her — or anyone at all? "Isn't that great Light? Now we can free yo—"

Lightning immediately shut his mouth with her hand. He seriously wanted to blare it out that she was a l'Cie? All these scientists here would gladly use her as a test object if they'd find out. "I know.", said the pink-haired woman. Hope wanted to wake her up again when she'll become crystal again. Suddenly Hope leaned toward her. "Don't worry, I would never let you become a test object.", he whispered into her ear. The pink-haired woman couldn't speak. Until he leaned back again. "Let's go back. You have work to do.", said Lightning, looking at him strictly. "You're right, let's go.", he said and smiled at her. Hope went ahead and Lightning glared at Alyssa one last time. She was really weird. What did she want from Hope? "Light?"

"Hm?"

"Are you even listening at all?" She was once again so deep in thought that she didn't listen to him. "No, what did you say?"

"I said we're going out tonight." Lightning's eyes widened. Did he mean going out like a...date? No, of course he didn't mean that! "I see...Some kind of meeting with someone?" Then he looked at her and frowned as if she was crazy. "No, just the two of us." Lightning quickly tried to control her wildly beating heart and cleared her throat. "And why? To celebrate that your experiment was successful?"

"Uh, no." The pink-haired woman just nodded. So that was really something like a date? No, no. She should stop thinking like that. "Okay."

"Put on some fancy clothes.", he added and grinned at her. Fancy clothes? "I really liked the dress that you wore on Serah's wedding." Lightning looked at Hope — who still ginned at her widely — with a raised eyebrow. But he showed no other reactions, so she nodded.

A few hours later Hope and Lightning got home and got ready for their...hopefully not date. Lightning put on the dress — even though she swore to herself to never wear a dress again — in Hope's bedroom, when Serah called. The pink-haired soldier immediately took her phone and answered it. "Yes?"

"Hey, sis."

"Hey, Serah. I can't talk right now."

"Why not?", she asked and sounded extremely sad. "I have something else to do.", said Lightning and wasn't impressed by Serah's sad voice. "And what?"

"Hope and I go out."

"What?", squealed Serah suddenly into the phone. "Oh my god! My Claire has her first date! Snow! Come over here quickly!"

"Serah!", she growled to silence her little sister. "It's not a date!"

"What's the matter?", she heard Snow in the background ask. "Claire has her first date! With Hope!", said Serah joyfully. "Serah! I told you it's not a date!", hissed Lightning, but they didn't listen to her. "Really? Congrats, sis!", called Snow. "Stop it!", she growled and then saw that the bedroom door opened. Hope cautiously peered inside. "Are you ready? I knocked, but you didn't answer."

"I'm ready.", said Lightning and heard that Serah and Snow still teased her. Hope came in as she wanted to command them to be quiet, but she couldn't say a word. The silver-haired man wore also...fancy clothes. He wore a black suit — though she didn't know if it's the one from the wedding or a new one — and his hair was combed as well. Even the strand that stick out all the time lay perfectly now. "Claire?", she heard Serah on the phone say, but before she could answer, Hope came up to her, laid his hand on hers and ended the call for her. Then he leaned down to her. "You look great, Light.", he whispered into her ear.

Lightning swallowed hard as her face became hot again. Was that really Hope? If so, she didn't know this side of him. "Thanks.", she mumbled and looked away from him. "You look nice, too.", she said with her normal 'I-don't-really-care-about-anything'-voice and crossed her arms over her chest. Then he stepped back and held out his arm. "Shall we go?" Lightning wanted to take his arm, but she held herself back. Instead, she pushed his arm away and went out of the room. "Yes." She heard Hope laugh, but she ignored him. Lightning put on a pair of comfortable sandals — Serah had got them for her, so that she didn't have to wear these godforsaken high heels ever again — and waited until Hope was done, too.

Once Hope put on his shoes, she left his house. "Where are we going?", she asked then. "It's a surprise." Then glared at him, but Hope didn't care and kept smiling at her. The pink-haired woman followed him through the town to a restaurant. Her eyes widened when she saw what this restaurant was. She didn't know it, but she heard that it's the most expensive restaurant of the city. "Here we are.", said Hope and grinned at her. "Are you serious?", she asked, while raising an eyebrow. "Of course.", he replied and held the door open for her. Lightning entered it and looked around.

From the inside, it looked even bigger than from the outside. It looked really classy and luxurious. Eventually, she turned back to Hope, who spoke with a member of staff. It seems he'd reserved a table for them. He brought them to a table with two seats. Somehow she felt like running away as fast as she could, because she kinda feared it's really a date.

And it wasn't just because the fact that on table were candles and a vase with red roses. They sat down and looked through the menus. Lightning looked at the menu, as Hope ordered something to drink. She had to admit, that sounded really good, but then she saw the price. The food was more expensive than her monthly wage five years ago! She immediately put the card on the table and didn't look at it anymore. Why did he have to invite her here? Even if he was the Director, he would be bankrupt by ordering just one menu! "Have you already chosen what you want, Light?", asked Hope and smiled at her. "No." He immediately looked confused and hurt. "Why?"

"Hope this is far too expensive.", she said, while Hope grinned again. "Don't you worry. I invite you."

"That's what makes me so worried!" Then he smiled at her warmly. "Don't worry, Light. As the Director I earn enough money to eat here every day." But Lightning didn't want that. "I'll pay it back to you."

"You don't have to. I like doing it for you." Then Lightning went silent, but didn't take the menu. "Come on, Light, take your pick what to eat. No matter what.", he said. Lightning sighed deeply and took the menu again. When the waiter came back a few minutes later, she ordered a...well, it had something to do with noodles. Their drinks were now there, too. It was some fucking expensive red wine. Why did he want to toss as much money out the window as he could? "Is it good, Light?", asked the silver-haired man as she sipped her wine. "Yes...Very good.", she murmured. Honestly, this was the best wine she'd ever tasted, but he mustn't know that.

"Why are you doing this, Hope?" Hope looked at her surprised when she asked this. "Why? I just wanted to go out with my best friend." Lightning narrowed her eyes, when she noticed that there's more. "Yeah, but we could have just eat at home, or somewhere else, where the food isn't so fucking expensive."

"Yes, but...", began Hope as she looked at him closely and raised an eyebrow. "I just wanted to go here." Lightning didn't believe him and he knew it, but he wouldn't tell her the truth. A few minutes later their food came. And in this moment Lightning felt like she's in heaven. The food looked and tasted fantastic! Hope seemed to notice that. "Is it good?", he asked and smiled happily. "Yeah.", she said and looked at his plate. He'd ordered a steak. "Can I try it?", she asked and pointed with her fork on his steak.

"Uh, sure." As soon as he'd cut off a piece of meat, she stuck the fork into it and put it into her mouth. She knew it wasn't really 'noble', but hey she was just a soldier. Though it was none of anyone's business how she behaved! Lightning chewed with relish the meat and felt like being in heaven once again. The meat was very delicate. That was the best she'd ever eaten! "This is really good.", she said then and took a sip of her wine. Hope just smiled at her. "You wanna try that, too?", she asked and pointed to her pasta. Suddenly Hope's face became bright red. "Um, sure." Then she turned some noodles around her fork and handed it to him. In this moment one could mistake Hope's face with an infrared lamp. Then he leaned forward and ate the noodles. "And?"

"Very good.", he replied and stared at his plate. Then they ate in silence.

About an hour later, they left the restaurant again. The bill was so high that Lightning feared to have to work there to pay off all that. But Hope paid it all like it was nothing. "Hope, you really are crazy.", she said when they were outside. "Why? Just because I invited you?"

"No, because you've chosen this of all places to eat."

"That's nothing.", said Hope and shrugged. "It is something. You've spent at least one hundred thousand Gil for one dinner!" That was a really considerable sum but Hope shrugged it off, as if he spent ten Gil for dinner. "As I said. I earn so much money to eat there every day." The pink-haired woman sighed resignedly, and didn't say anything about that anymore. "Let's go home."

"As you wish, Light.", he replied and grinned at her, while Lightning raised an eyebrow but said nothing about that. "Why did you invite me there in the first place?", asked Lightning, as they'd gone for a few minutes. "No reason."

"Hope, I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't spend so much money just like that."

"Okay, you got me." She knew it! "I'll tell you the reason, when we're home, okay?" As long as he told her, it didn't matter where they were. "Okay." Then they were silent. Lightning wanted to get home as fast as possible and wanted to know just what the hell was wrong with him and why he'd spent so much money for her, but Hope went very slowly and became really tense when the closer they were to his house.

"What is it, Hope?", she finally asked. "Nothing.", he replied quickly. "I mean...I'll tell you later, okay?" The pink-haired woman looked at him with narrowed eyes, but then she nodded. When they finally got home, she looked at him expectantly, but Hope said nothing. "What's wrong with you, Hope?", she asked again, this time he will answer her!
Hope took a deep breath and looked at her intently. She didn't know this look from him either. "You know, Light, I..." He stopped again and looked for the right words. "You?", repeated Lightning to urge him to continue. "It's hard to say...", he sighed and looked away again. Then she put her finger on his chin and turned his head so that he looked at her. "Hope, you know you can talk to me about anything. How should I help you if you don't tell me what's wrong?" Hope blushed within a second. His face became as red as a tomato and his eyes reflected these emotions that she couldn't interpret.

"I guess I could show you.", he said, while Lightning raised an eyebrow. How did he want to show her? This question was promptly answered when he laid his hand on her cheek and slowly bent down to her. It took a few seconds, but eventually she was aware of what he wanted to do. She wanted to move back, push him away, or do something, but she was paralyzed. Her body didn't move and then his lips met hers. Lightning's eyes widened in shock when he actually did it. However, her heart leaped for joy. The kiss was very gentle and her body reacted quite violently to it.

Even though everything in her wanted her to kiss him back, she didn't. She was still so shocked that she missed her chance. A few seconds later, he pulled away from her again. Suddenly he looked sad and dejected but also proud that he could muster so much courage to do that. He looked deep into her shocked eyes and gently stroked her cheek — which was surely as red as it felt like. "I love you, Claire." There. He said it. Those three cursed words she never wanted to hear from a man. The first question in her head was: Hope knows my real name? How does he know that? and the second question was: Hope loves me?!

Her heart leaped out of joy and her throat tightened so much that she couldn't speak. "I've always loved you.", he continued. "Even back then, when we were l'Cie. All the time." Lightning couldn't believe it. He had feelings for her when he was just fourteen? And she'd been so blind and believed that he only saw her as a sister. He had feelings for her all the time, which were much more than just sibling love...

"I know you don't feel the same for me, but it's okay. I wanted to show you today just how much you mean to me. I would have told you this today, even if you didn't push me. I just couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't ignore my feelings anymore. And about the kiss...I can't say I'm sorry, but if you want you can hit me for it." Lightning stood still, still staring at him with wide eyes. Did he really think she'd beat him because his feelings got the better of him? Well, she'd have killed him if he was someone else, but...Hope? "And...", he added hesitantly. "Even though you know everything now, I hope we can still be friends. I don't want this to destroy our friendship."

Lightning just nodded weakly. "I sleep on the couch today. Good night, Light." He gave her a peck on her forehead and went into the living room. When he started to take off his suit, she snapped out of her trance and went into the bedroom. She let herself fall on the bed, but she couldn't sleep. She needed some fresh air...The pink-haired woman stood up, put on a jeans and a black shirt and left the house very quietly again.

Lightning felt more powerful than she ever was. Even more powerful than being Ragnarok. Her brand shone brightly and Odin appeared without being summoned by her. His armor was no longer silver but gold. He knelt down respectfully and protected her with his shield from a powerful magic attack. Compared to Odin's Shield this magic seemed weak. In this moment she heard a female voice speaking in her head. It sounded beautiful, almost divine. She said:"Only a god can kill a god."

The pink-haired woman woke up and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She immediately sat up and reached for her gunblade, but of course it was no longer on its place. She got out of the bed and looked around. Her gunblade lay on a table, in front of the window. The sun was high in the sky. Hope was certainly at work and defenseless.

"Hope...", muttered the pink-haired soldier and had to think of the events of the previous day. She couldn't go to him yet. She couldn't think clearly at the moment. Maker, how should protect him in this state? Though the most important thing now was to figure out where she was!

She put on her gunblade and crept out of the bedroom. She was in a very small apartment. Then she heard noises in the kitchen, so she crept there and leaned with her back against the wall. As she peered into the kitchen, she sighed in relieve. Then she went casually into the kitchen. Then Captain Carter turned to her.

"Major, you're awake.", she said relieved and smiled at her. "How did I get here?", she asked confused. "Well, I was on patrol last night and found you lying unconscious on the road. The hospital was too far away, so I just bought you here and healed you."

Right, now Lightning remembered that she had a vision last night and fainted in the middle of the city. "Thanks, Carter.", said Lightning. Anyone could have brought her to an apartment...and she was really glad that it was Carter and not some...you know. "No problem.", she said and smiled at her. "Are you hungry?", asked Carter then and pointed to the food, she just prepared.

She made a typical breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes. Her stomach answered the question with a loud growl. Carter chuckled and then set the table. "Need help?", asked Lightning then. She really hated it to not do anything. "No, I'll do it. Sit down."

Lightning did as she was told and sat down, while Carter put food on the table and sat down as well. "What happened?", asked the blonde soldier then and looked at her curiously. Since she saw with her own eyes how she summoned her Eidolon, there was no reason to lie to her.

"You know that I'm a l'Cie.", she began, while Carter nodded. "Hope — I mean the Director tested a device on me, so that I can remember my Focus. Since then, I dream about my vision almost every night. This is now the second time that I fainted because of that."

"I see..." Lightning looked away the whole time while she explained, because she blushed just thinking about Hope and his confession. Fortunately, she still could control her voice.

Then there was a silence between them. Carter's cooking was excellent. Was she really the only one who couldn't cook? Lightning sighed soundlessly. She still couldn't go to Hope without remembering his confession. She had to call Amador and tell him she couldn't work right now and that he should send someone else to Hope. "Everything okay with you, ma'am?"

Lightning shook her head. "Not really. And just call me Lightning." Carter nodded, but she looked still worried. "Is something wrong?" She couldn't tell her that. "I just feel a little weird because of the vision. I need to call Amador. What are you doing here, Carter? Day off?"

"General Amador's ordered me to take care of you."

"I see." Then she took her phone out of her jeans pocket and called Amador. "What's up, Farron?", he asked as soon as he picked up. Yeah, that was typical Amador...He always recognized her number and answered like that. "General, I can't report for duty today.", she said. "I see.", he sounded quite surprised. "Why not?"

"I fainted and I'm not fit enough."

"Everything okay?"

"Yes, sir, it's nothing dramatic. Just a little tired."

"Good, then I'll send a replacement to Director Estheim."

"May I make a suggestion, sir?", she asked then. She wanted to send a particular person to Hope. "Of course."

"I want Captain Carter to protect him for me, sir.", she replied and immediately saw that Carter looked at her with wide eyes. "She's a very capable soldier and I'm sure that she'll do the job very well."

"Agreed. Send her to the Academy."

"Yes, sir."

"And Farron? I want you to come here as soon as you can, if you feel good enough. It's about the crystal." Lightning's eyes widened. Did they find it? "I'm on my way.", she said and ended the call. She quickly ate up the rest and looked at Carter. "Carter, go to the Director of the Academy and protect him for me, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am.", she replied immediately and smiled. "I expect you to do a good job, Captain.", added Lightning then and smiled slightly. "I'll do my best." The pink-haired woman nodded and then went to the GC headquarters quickly. She ran all the way there and also inside the building.

Then she burst into Amador's office where Major O'Neill and Lieutenant Jackson were. "That was really fast, Farron.", laughed Amador. Lightning didn't take the time, but she guessed she made it there in a few minutes. "You said it's about the crystal?", she asked. She wasn't even out of breath. Amador nodded and looked at O'Neill. "Tell her what you've found."

"We've searched the whole area around the crystal pillar and found the crystal. The problem is: we don't know how to get it.", said O'Neill. "Why?", asked Lightning immediately. "The crystal is inside the pillar.", answered Jackson. It was inside the pillar? So that was the energy source she sensed.

"I have to see that.", she said and stared at Amador with a look that said that no one could stop her. Amador nodded. "Take her to the place.", he ordered to the two. "Yes, sir.", they said in unison and left Amador's office with her. Together, they flew to the crystal pillar with a small airship.

Fortunately, this time Sazh wasn't the pilot. When they arrived, she immediately felt the energy that emanated from the pillar. She left the airship and went directly to the place where the crystal was. She was practically led by this energy. And then she saw it.

Inside the pillar was Etro's crystal. So it was beneath Cocoon the whole time. But how could she take it? "We don't know how to get it out of there without damaging the pillar.", said Jackson, who stood next to her with O'Neill. "Hmm..." Lightning put her hand on the pillar. It certainly wouldn't be good to drill a hole in there...

Suddenly the crystal suddenly liquefied and her hand slipped inside. She immediately pulled her hand out again and saw that the crystal became hard again. "What the hell was that?", asked O'Neill, who was just as confused as she and Jackson. Lightning looked at her hand. There was nothing unusual to see and she didn't even use her fire magic.

Then she put her hand back on the pillar. The crystal liquefied again, but this time she poked her hand inside, grabbed Etro's crystal and pulled it out. When her hand was out of the pillar, the crystal became hard again. "Wow...", said O'Neill and Jackson. Lightning looked at the crystal in her hand. It was a fist-sized, smooth, oval, dark blue crystal. A few seconds later, it suddenly shone brightly.

When the light went out, it had the shape of a rose and was pink. It looked just like her Eidolith. Did it adjust itself? "How did you do that?", asked O'Neill confused. "I didn't do anything.", said Lightning and kept staring at the crystal. Now she just had to find the other half.

A.N. So it finally happened. The moment everyone wanted happened. Hope finally confessed to Light^^ yeah...please review