Chapter 20

She shielded her eyes as the light suddenly brightened. Her heart rate increased as the purple engulfed her. She felt the glow like a thick blanket around her, keeping her safe. She felt a sense of security, of personal happiness. Of course, the happiness could've just been her mind reacting to the fact that her memory would very soon be returned to her.

The intense light faded and she slowly removed her hand from her eyes. The room sized, floating crystal island was as beautiful as it looked from below. The ground was clear, made of crystal only, and she could see the black, bottomless pit below her. The pillars holding up the roof, also made of crystal, were carved into delicate, gorgeous swirls around a more simple crystal.

And in the middle was what she'd been looking for. The thing that she'd spent a week walking and fighting to find. In the middle, on a crystal banister, sat the crystal. The one that could help her out of this little error in her life.

Her eyes were wide with amazement as she took each slow step closer to the entity. She could see the aura inside of it moving around, acknowledging her presence. She stopped a few feet away, staring at the being in wonder. As she examined it, a purple beam shot up from the top of it. She quickly covered her eyes as the blinding light filled the empty space again. With the light came a soft, angelic humming.

She cautiously removed her hand and looked up at the beam. In its place, to her surprise, stood a purple creature. Its body was made of the purple light, translucent to the point that she could see through it just like the crystal itself. Its body was that of a human, simple and unique at the same time. It lifted one glowing hand in front of it, motioning for her to come closer.

Her feet stayed planted as she thought her actions through. This thing could do one of two things: One, it could help her without any problems. It could be gracious and wish to make her life better.

Or two: it could start a battle, in which case she'd have no chance at winning. There was no way that she could beat it with what she had. A sword, a gun, physical skills, none were any match for light. None could even hit.

The entity's eyes softened and its hand retracted. It held out the other hand and did the same thing with it, staring straight through her. Lightning tilted her head and took another step toward it. Within inches from the creature, she stopped, staring up at its face. It stared back down at her, its eyes just as soft as before. Their bright white color added emphasis to the kindness in its eyes. She wondered what exactly it was. Its body was the shape of a human, but its hair showed a hint of something else. Its hair was like a lions mane, flowing in every direction, waving back and forth as if there was some wind that she couldn't feel. The crystal entity was like an angel, a tender, caring creature that was prepared to save her even from herself. It slowly moved its hand closer to her face and she closed her eyes. She didn't know what to expect, but there was no way of stopping this beautiful, mind-boggling being.

Lightning flinched a little as its hand touched her face. Its hand paused there for a long while as it waited for her approval. She opened her eyes and stared into the deep eyes that had gotten closer while her eyes had been closed. Its hand was cold, like leaning against an iceberg, but strangely soothing. She closed her eyes as she felt the hand enter her mind. It was the sensation of sleep, but while awake. She was completely relaxed. Relaxed to the point that she thought she had actually fallen asleep. A light haze was invading her and she allowed it.

It was like having no problems in the world, like everything had been perfect all along. This haze reduced her stress level tremendously, reduced her worry and pain. Her thoughts were no longer on anything negative. In fact, they weren't on anything at all. She was subconsciously unconscious.

After a minute of the relaxation and perfect feeling that the haze had brought her, though, came the intensified side effect it had on her inside. Her mind overflowed with what seemed like a movie. Images of her past flooded in her head, filling her mind with answers to the questions that had been haunting her since the day she'd arrived on Pulse. Who was she? Lightning, commander of the twenty second troop of Cocoon. She really had done the things Sazh said she had. She really had been the best commander. She couldn't help but smile at the realization.

Had she really known Snow as a child? Yes, he was her best friend, before he had been banished, of course. She remembered that day all too well. She remembered the feeling of thinking nothing could ruin the day ahead. They were going to try out that car they'd been making from scratch. When she'd entered the garage though, everything changed. Military men and women were taking the car apart, bit by bit. She'd stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, then unleashed her fury on them. She yelled, she screamed, she threw things at them. One of the men had to go to her and hold her back as she frantically flailed around…

"What are you doing!?" she demanded. "Me and Snow spent all summer building that!"

They all went quieter than before and Lightning felt a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. One man in particular, one that she now knew to be the admiral, took off his helmet. He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. Irritated, she shrugged him off, much like she'd do to many other people.

The look on his face is what scared her the most, though. His eyes were full of pain for her, but it was a kind of pain he'd obviously had to deal with before. When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice was soft and calm, but there was a very urgent tone to his voice.

"Lightning, right?" He asked her. She nodded, her narrowed eyes still stuck on him. "Your friend, Snow, was banished last night." That statement tore apart her heart. Her narrowed eyes became wide with shock. Her head shook back and forth in disbelief and the man holding her back released his grip. She fell to her knees and held her head in her hands. Her tears came out mercilessly. The future admiral knelt down beside her and patted her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lightning."

She glared at him, standing up again. "You're sorry? You don't care about what happens to me, or my friends!" She lashed out at him, her hands launching up as her fingers scraped at his face. He grabbed her hands and pushed her back. His face was still soft, the one of someone who knew what she was dealing with.

"Trust me, I do know what you're going through. I do care about your friends," he said. Though she hated to admit it, and denied that she admitted it, the man seemed to be telling the truth. Her eyes stayed in their angry narrowed position, but she stopped attacking. The man sat down next to her, and motioned for her to do the same.

Confused, Lightning sat down, scooting a few inches away. "I've lost many friends to Pulse over the years," he said, rubbing the palm of his hand. "I know how you feel, and I would like to help you out. If there is anything that I can do for you, let me know, alright? I'll help take care of you."

Lightning's eyes softened up a bit, but looked in the opposite direction as him. "Thanks, but I don't need your help. I've taken care of myself before."

The man nodded, standing up. His eyes were regretful, as if she'd answered him wrong. His hand rose, waving forward towards her. She tilted her head, but immediately knew what they were doing. The soldiers rushed forward and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up from the ground. She yelled and pulled away, only to be held onto more firmly when the hand grabbed her again. She glared at the man ferociously.

"I knew it! You're just like the rest of them!" she yelled as she thrashed about. The man simply stared, watching as they carried her away. "If I don't willingly join the military, you take us custody!" Her screams and yelling became more faded as they took her out the garage and into a secure car.

And most importantly, how had she arrived at Pulse?

Only one name seemed to fit that category. Roi. The memory of his betrayal came just as strongly as the others. She was reading off inspection to him, while he ignored her. She turned around to look at him, and was completely shocked as the side of a large pipe hit the temple of her head. As she had landed, the gate chunks ripped into her side, and he hit her again, knocking her out.

What was it that he had said, though? Something along the lines of "This isn't personal"?

Her anger seethed again, mixed with pain of betrayal, and sadness of being torn away from her home. She missed her room at the military headquarters, she missed her nice comfortable bed, the perfect temperature of the base.

She didn't miss Roi's pestering. She'd had dreams, she'd been distant. All of those she'd assumed were side effects of Snow being taken away from her. Their relationship had been strange back then. They'd both liked each other for the longest time, but neither of them had admitted it. She didn't think things could ever be like that again.

When she snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes were staring straight into the crystal entity's. It caught her off guard. Her legs automatically took a cautious step back. The creature straightened up and continued to stare at her expectantly. Lightning stood still as a pole. Her eyes narrowed as she awaited any suspicious movement from the creature. It stared at her more, watching her just the same way.

Lightning sighed and relaxed. She thought back to what Sera had said during their chat about the crystal. "I also read that if someone were to make a deal with the crystal, then it would do a favor for that person."

She looked the crystal in the eyes, searching. "What is it you want from me?" she asked. The crystal being's eyes curved up in a smile. It reached out its hand for her again, beckoning her closer.

Lightning's curiosity carried her forward again. When she stopped, the creatures hand didn't reach for her forehead again. It put its hands on her shoulders. She looked at the hands and stiffened.

"Lightning," an ominous voice echoed inside her head. Lightning's eyes widened and she quickly stared the creature in the eyes. "You have come very far to see me, and I am glad you did. I have been keeping my eye on you for quite some time now." Its voice was that of a man, soothing and calming. There was nothing threatening about it, but it left her a hint of anticipation. "I have been calling for you for a while now. Your dreams are a very successful way of communication."

The woman remembered her dreams the past month. The one that came up immediately, though, was the one in the glaciers. The battle from a long time ago. It was the battle that her commander had died in, with its twists. She knew, now, that the crystal had been waiting for a very long time.

She stared the creature in the eyes and nodded. "How can I repay you?"

It removed its hands and its eyes turned serious. Lightning's heart stopped when the look reached her. "Do you know about Cocoons real government issue?" The creature watched her response carefully. Lightning shook her head, her eyes still glued to the strange face. The creature turned and sat on the top of the pedestal that held its crystal. "The man in charge, Veran, has been seen as a kind, gentle man, correct? He's kept the city safe, he's protected the people living there. But he's not who everyone thinks he is."

Lightning's eyes only moved to the ground in disbelief. Veran had been so kind to her and the others. How could he have been any different?

"Did you ever wonder why he was always at the meetings, always there when he had other important business to attend to?" It asked her. "He was keeping his eyes on the higher ups." Lightning's shock increased. "A few days ago, the admiral was supposed to be promoted in Veran's place, and Roi in Nayl's. Veran, in front of both Roi and General Ava, shot and killed him." Lightning reached out for the pillar, holding herself up. Everything that she'd been led to believe was a lie. Everything that she wanted to protect wasn't worth protecting. She had wasted years of her life in something that was only deceiving others, only causing those under their control pain. "Cocoon is under a secret civil war."

The woman looked up at the crystal again, her eyes narrow and dark with fury. The shock had burned away under the intense heat of her anger. She wanted Veran to suffer for what he'd done. He deserved nothing more than to feel what his victims had felt.

"What can I do?" she asked, her pupils large and angry. "He can't get away with this."

The crystal's eyes turned up in a smile again.

Down below…

Snow and Sera watched the bright light, confused and awed at the same time. Lightning had gone up ten minutes ago, disappeared eight. They had been watching for her, but she never came down, then the light brightened again, unbearable this time.

Snow's heart rate increased as his mind came up with multiple possibilities to the situation. She could very well be dead, and he couldn't get up there. The stairs had disappeared slightly after Lightning did. Or she could be just fine, having a nice little chat with the crystal.

He shook his head. The latter wasn't possible. The crystal was a creature too. It had animal instincts, he was sure of that. Anything inhuman that he'd encountered was dangerous.

Sera tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Snow?" she asked. He looked down at her and rose both eyebrows. She pointed up. "She's coming back."

His gaze shot up to the island. The light was dimmed now, and he could see Lightning's outline descending the stairs. He let out a sigh of relief as he noted that she was in one piece…and that the one piece was in good shape. She walked differently, he noticed. Her walk wasn't just that of a woman going somewhere, this was one of a woman who knew what to do, who knew that things were changed.

Her gaze met his. He shuddered as a moment of ice cold chills slid down his spine. Her stare wasn't the same. It was cold, heartless. It was much like her stares a week ago, only harsher. Her ice blue eyes were more icy than before, less translucent, hardened and shining. He couldn't see a thing in her gaze.

She pulled her gaze away from him as she stepped off the staircase. She looked straight out the room and into the cave. Her hand was resting on her sword. Sera tilted her head curiously and patted her on the shoulder. Lightning didn't budge, didn't flinch, didn't even blink. She was changed.

"Um, Lightning?" Sera asked. The woman didn't move, but her eyes switched quickly over to the girl. She jumped at the sudden response, but stayed her ground. "Are you okay?"

Lightning took a breath and started walking forward. Sera and Snow exchanged a thoughtful and concerned glance, then followed after her. The woman was ahead of them, and from behind, they could see the training as she traveled through the cave. She stepped carefully over each rock, but swiftly, with grace and accuracy in each step.

"No, Sera, I'm not okay," she finally answered. Sera's brow furrowed and she looked to the side at Snow, who was scratching his head. "In fact, no one is."