Chapter 18: Separate Ways
And so Hope and Lightning parted. Hope left Bodhum, leaving alongside Professor Rygdea via an intricate hybrid aircraft of some sort. His eyes never left Lightning as they flew further and further from the ground. It was going to be a long journey: planetary travel took at least three days. The technology for this all was still brand new. It was going to take an ungodly amount of fuel and resources, meaning Hope wouldn't be able to come back as he so pleased. This was his new focus on Pulse.
"Hey kid. You hanging in there?" Rygdea was piloting the aircraft. He peeked his head behind him, only to see Hope's expressionless face. "Lighten up. I'm certain it's better than what you are expecting." Hope only nodded in response.
"Look, I know this isn't exactly what you wanted. But I think you can learn to enjoy it. We already have a team of scientists down there. They aren't bad people. I promise." Rygdea tried one last time to cheer Hope up. What happened to Hope was tragic, and Rygdea himself wasn't happy that even after all of this, Hope was still forced to accept a proposition he didn't want to take. Rygdea felt guilty and responsible for him: this was the least he could do.
"Okay." It would take time for Hope to accept this.
The rest of their journey was met with silence. The whirring of the engine filled the craft with empty sound for the days to come.
The whirring engine finally stopped. Rygdea threw his hands up and stretched. The gates of the aircraft opened and the natural light glistened. Hope stepped out and was officially in Gran Pulse. He took it all in— the blue sky, the wildlife, and the foreign air. This was not the hell described in his textbooks. This was going to be his workspace for the coming years. He walked over to the mass of tents, where the other scientists were currently residing. Barren of civilization, but fruitful in nature. The supplies they had were limited; a convoy would have to come from Cocoon once per month. They were isolated.
The scientists all wore similar uniforms. A white jacket with yellow highlights: a very unique design. Hope was pleasantly surprised by how they looked. He would soon have one of his own. He began chatting with them and introduced himself. And only moments later they were already talking about topics too advanced for the basic citizen. Everyone shared the same love of science. Rygdea was right; Hope opened up. It was much better than he expected. Hope talked the night away with his new team. They would soon become his new family.
His colleagues showed him to his tent. Inside was a meager cot, table, chair, and lamp. This was his new "home." The lack of technology bugged him, but that was technically his job to implement. Give or take five years, and maybe they could create a place similar to a city in Cocoon. Hope laughed at the thought of it. On the topic of Cocoon, his mind then wandered back to Bodhum. As much as he liked the new group, there were others who held a deeper place in his heart. They just happened to be one moon away. Hope sighed and grabbed a pen and paper. Tomorrow he would worry about the project. Now, he needed to write a letter to Lightning. I miss you already. Their separation was his test. For now, he had work to do.
Lightning didn't show up to campus ever again. Though, it wasn't like she showed up before anyways. She officially withdrew from the university the day Hope left, but doing so didn't release her from current tuition debt. Just another payment on her list. Her resolve stood firm— she registered with the Guardian Corp in Bodhum. That was actually her original goal back when she was Sanctum Scholar: to graduate with honors and hold an officer position in the GC division of the military. Being a Sanctum Scholar would have given her a head start with an honorary officer position, but now as a recruit she would have to work her way from the very bottom. When she showed up to her first day of training, the lieutenant in charge already saw promise and potential from her.
"What's your name?" The tall, bulky man asked Lightning.
"Lightning Farron." Lightning responded firmly. She looked stiff.
"Relax and loosen up a bit, soldier." His chuckled words were unexpected. "I'm Lieutenant Amodar, and I'll be in charge of you for the next few years. Welcome to the Guardian Corps." He gave her a smile and extended his hand.
Noel became a frequent visitor at the Sunleth Waterscape. There was a new barista to replace Lightning as she had left to join the Guardian Corps, but Vanille stayed. He found it lonelier without Hope around to tease. Despite their original rushed introductions, he came to befriend Vanille. It was nice for her to meet another Pulsian immigrant. In the short time in which Noel knew Hope, they never touched the topic of his origins. Hope wouldn't have been able to guess with his lack of an accent either way. Noel found that he really liked the Sunleth Waterscape. More importantly, it was through one of their windows that he saw a blue-haired beauty in a flower shop across the street. It was his definition of love-at-first-sight. If Hope could see him, he would surely call him flower boy.
That wasn't the only change starting in the Sunleth Waterscape. The new barista was named Lebreau. She had plenty of experience, already running her own bar. With her new presence came along a specific gang of immature boys. They all liked to call themselves NORA. Yuj, Maqui, Gadot, just to name a few of them, with Snow as their fearless leader. They all knew of Snow's financial situation and had the desire to help him out, which is what prompted Lebreau to grab this job the moment it became available. Snow was on the prowl for whatever odd jobs he could find. But together as a group they prayed that the Guardian Corps would one day recognize and approve their presence as a neighborhood watch, and maybe even fund them. They liked to dream. The cafe would become a new home for them, a breath of fresh air with its new atmosphere. Coincidentally, the NORA boys remembered the cafe from one time before; they accidentally crashed into someone right outside of it on their way to meet Snow about six months ago. They realized they probably should have apologized to them. They wondered what happened to that poor bystander.
Back on campus, Cid continued to investigate. Without the other three constantly around him, many pieces of evidence didn't line up. He had a clear mind to think with and a clear goal to start his second semester. How did Yaag even know who Hope was? He knew too much about him. Better yet, they said they heard Alyssa's words themselves. We had a final that day, what were they doing in the physics department? How did Alyssa gain access to the security camera? What happened to all of the evidence in the first place? Cid was on to something. Despite his disdain for Lightning, he knew her ideals were in line. He didn't want to admit it, but he realized they were too rough on her. She truly followed through and dropped out. He too wanted to join the Guardian Corps, to protect the common people. He wasn't interested in the larger PSICOM branch that Yaag and Jihl constantly talked about. No one knew what Caius' goal was, as he never discussed it with them. Cid's suspicion was high.
And after a very intense day, Lightning prepared herself for the night. She had been doused in sweat from their training regimen. It was brutal for initial conditioning, not to mention the fact that she was purposefully pushing herself harder than anyone else. She was a machine. As much as Lieutenant Amodar bugged her to open up more, she was still cold with her fellow trainees. But they didn't mind, it would take time for her to grow comfortable. She was focused on one goal for now: her first paycheck would arrive in two weeks. It wasn't much, but it was much better than what she was earning before. With this confirmed form of income, things were looking up for her. Despite all of her fatigue, she sat down at her desk with paper and a pen. She needed to write a letter to Hope. She couldn't help but miss him. He had been with her for such a short amount of time, but in that time, he had always been right alongside her. She was going to wait for him, no matter how long it took. She knew he was waiting for her too. But for the time being, she had work to do.