Lightning´s first month of the new year passed fast. With her sensei finally back, she didn´t have time to be bored anymore.

Her private training sessions with Sephiroth had become more demanding than ever.

The first class general acting like a complete asshole, he was giving Claire Farron a harder time than he ever had before. This apparently was his way of making her pay for what had happened that fatal night in the training room. The anticipated lecturing had never come.

The incident in the training room in fact never came up at all and Claire Farron was not stupid enough to push the subject. Things were bad enough as they were.

She barely made it out of their sparrings alive these days.

Had he treated her like that at the beginning of her soldier training she would have crumbled in her very first week.

She was also granted the honor of accompanying her trainer on some of his minor missions now, some of which they thankfully shared with Zack and Angeal, where Sephiroth tended to give her pointless tasks like collecting firewood, polishing her body armor and sword or standing lookout, not giving her the opportunity to gather any combat experience whatsoever.

Lightning wasn´t happy. But knowing Sephiroth she knew it could have been so much worse. So there really was no point in complaining either.

All in all the pink haired female was glad she had her friends and at least some freetime to spend outside HQ and out in the city streets.

It was their day off that she agreed to accompany Zack down to the Midgar marked.

Valentine´s day approaching with the speed of a train, the poor young man was in desperate search for a present for his girlfriend Aerith and his pink haired friend had comradly agreed to assist him in this latest quest.

Claire wasn´t exactly fond of the concept of Valentine´s day herself. To her it was nothing more than a painful reminder for all the people who were out there alone. A reminder of their loneliness.

A painful reminder for all the people who lived without love.

Why would anybody create a holiday that cruel?

Why waste a whole day every year with hearts and cupids and whatnots. Why even bother?

Lightning wouldn't know.

She herself had never been asked out on a date back home and she definitely wasn´t going to be asked out here. Almost everyone in soldier seemed to hate her.

Not that she really cared.

There was no place in Lightning's heart for love. None except for the love she carried for her sister, that was.

There was no place in her life for a relationship anyway. She had so much going on herself, with missions and training and whatnot, she had no idea how Zack was actually handling a girlfriend on top of all of it.

Either way. All in all she wasn't eager to join the celebrations coming thursday.

Watching other couples having fun togeter while she'd be sulkily hiding away in a corner. For her it was a no go.

She´d rather stay at HQ.

However she needed to find a birthday present for Serah anyway, so coming along to the market probably wasn´t going to hurt.

'I have no idea what I should get her.' Zack admitted as they passed the first few stalls.

'What do girls expect for Valentine´s day anyway?' he wondered, clearly overwhelmed by the enormous range of items to choose from.

Lightning in the meanwhile was in search of some kind of bracelet or pendant Serah might have liked to send her for her birthday.

Her sister had always been fond of jewelry. More than once had she been caught sneaking into their mother´s bedroom, trying on her necklaces in front of the big stand alone mirror when she had still been a kid.

The pink haired woman couldn´t help but frown.

She herself had never owned a single piece of jewelry in her entire life. It was a luxury she had never been able to afford before and now that she could, she found she had no use for it.

Maybe it just wasn't her.

'Lightning... You´re not much of a help!' her dark haired comrade complained, feeling slightly neglected.

'I don´t know... Why don´t you buy her one of those hair ribbons over there?' the girl suggested as she pointed over to a booth that had several of them on display.

'Aerith looks like she cares for her hair a lot.'

Zack nodded happily and left to take a look at them, while Claire Farron selected a pretty, silver bracelet with tiny heart-shaped diamond inserts, she was sure Serah was going to adore.

She paid for it and let the vendor put it in a small box and pack it in gift wrap paper before she made her way over to Zack, who was having problems deciding on the ribbon´s color.

'Take the pink one.' Lightning helped him out.

'Huh?' he looked up at her questioningly.

'It will match her pink dress.' his friend assured him as turning to make her way back to the main street, she didn´t bother to wait for Zack at all.

He caught up with her a few minutes later, carrying a small parcel.

'Thank you so much! Having a girl as a comrade really does pay off sometimes!' he said, amicably teasing her.

'Thanks.'

They made back up the stairs to sector 0 in silence. A very untypical thing when you walked with Zack Fair. This guy hardly ever shut his mouth.

Looking over at her comrade's face, Lightning found his amused expression from just a few minutes ago gone and replaced by a worried look she had never seen on those cheery features before.

'Zack are you okay?'

'Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. It's just...' hesitating for a few moments finally Zack Fair stepped a little closer.

Lowering his voice he suddenly adressed a much more serious topic.

'What do you think about the whole Wutai thing..?'

The question had come out of the blue.

Lightning wasn't sure what to answer.

'They are gathering their forces to strike back.' she replied matter-of-factly. That was what Sephiroth had told them. What president Shin-Ra had announced the day after his return.

Zack Fair gave a worried sigh.

'Yeah. I'm thinking along the same line.' he admitted.

'Do you think Shin-Ra is planning anything to stop them... I mean right now?' the puppy asked somewhat hesitantly.

'I guess so. That´s what Sephiroth and the others are doing when they are going out on top priority missions without us, don´t you think?'

Lightning hadn´t given the topic much thought to be honest.

There was silence for about a minute until Zack spoke up again.

'Do you think they will actually...' his voice was trailing off and the look on his face was once again one of worry, concern.

'What? Attack us? I can´t tell.' the female soldier said, carefully keeping her voice down so no bypassers could overhear.

'But I´m sure we´re going to find out soon.'


Once back to Headquarters, Lightning instantly returned to the privacy of her room.

She wanted to post the present for Serah as soon as possible to make sure her sister´d receive it in time.

And also she wanted some time alone to think.

If things with the wutai were going to escalate...

Would there be a war again?

Would she actually have to fight in a war?

Zack seemed to think it possible.

And from what she had seen he didn't seem fond of the idea either.

Joining SOLDIER Lightning hadn't thought she'd actually have to fight in a war. Missions yes. Asassinations maybe. But war? War was something else entirely. She hadn't even mastered that battlefield simulation yet Zack had told her about, hadn't even seen it.

Whatever she had thought about her time in soldier when she'd joined, this was not what she had signed up for. Or was it?

Wasn't it a soldier's duty actually? Their sole purpose? To serve in wars?

Lightning swallowed hard.

She hadn't reconed with another wutai war so soon. And she'd definitely not been planning to deploy.

Was Zack fighting those same issues? Was that why he had looked so worried, so concerned?

Well. If Shin-Ra wanted them to fight in a war then they would have to fight in a war, wouldn't they?

There was no way around that. Or was there?

Reaching into the drawer of her nightstand Claire Farron carefully took out another piece of paper and her pen.

What will happen, will happen.

There was no way for her to change fate. What would come would come. And Claire Farron would take things as they came.

Flattening the paper against her tighs the pink haired woman began to write.

'Dear Serah, I hope this letter reaches you in time...'

Laying down those words, Lightning suddenly felt tears stinging the back of her eyes.

If there were a war, would she ever actually see Serah again?

She had to be realistic. The first wutai war was an absolute bloodbath. Tons of people died. The wutai were brutal savages. And she had no battle experience whatsoever. Real life was nothing like those sessions in the training room. She had learned that the hard way already. The odds were pretty high that she would not make it through that war alive.

If only she could be with Serah one last time...

She should have been with Serah in the first place. With her family. Not here in this blasted rathole of a city far away.

Serah's birthday was only a few weeks away. Her sixteenth brithday. A birthday Claire Farron wouldn´t be able to attend.

If only she could celebrate it with her. If only she could visit for just a few days.

With her being the last piece of family Serah had left, she felt like she had abandoned her.

And if she actually died...

What would become of Serah then?

'I´m so sorry I am not going to make it to visit on your special day,' Lightning wrote 'but I promise you that I will be there next year.' she quickly made up her mind while untidily she scribbled the words.

Tears sliding down her cheeks Claire Farron promised herself that she´d be there.

Yes. No matter what would happen. Next year she´d be there.

She'd be there for Serah's seventeenth birthday.

Wutai war or not.

She'd somehow find a way to keep breathing.

For Serah.

The pink haired woman tried to stifle her sobs as she attached the letter to the little parcel containing the gift, a gift she knew could never possibly make up for her absence. But she had no choice in this, had she? She couldn´t possibly leave either.

Not now. After all she'd gone through. After all she had achieved.

She'd be a deserter. A disgrace.

How would she support Serah?

And there was more.

They often made fun about Angeal's lectures about honor and pride, but secretely, deep down in, Claire Farron knew that he was right.

She couldn't turn her back on Shin-Ra. On SOLDIER. On all her comrades. She just couldn't. And she wouldn't.

Whatever happened, she would protect her honor as soldier.

Or at least die trying.

Oh Serah...

I wish you all the best.

I hope that one day all your dreams come true.


Valentinesday arrived fast and before Claire Farron knew it it was thursday morning and she was accosted by Zack and Cloud who pestered her about joining their ruddy party down at seventh heaven all the way to the gym.

'Oh come on that's not even a real excuse.' Zack exclaimed in exasperation when Lightning confessed she didn't want to come because she had no date.

'I mean you're a girl! You are the only female in the whole fucking Shin-Ra defense forces. How hard can it be?! You could just ask someone! Anyone! Noone would turn you down!' he suggested airily.

Lightning gave a snort.

'You could go with Kunsel! I don't think he has a date yet. I can ask him!' he offered on a second though.

'No. No way!' Lightning quickly made clear.

'Or what about that bloke from the turks. Reno. He fancies you doesn't he?' Cloud threw in from her left.

Claire Farron looked revolted.

'NO!'

'Oh come on! What is wrong with Kunsel?! ' Zack Fair probed.

'Nothing... There's nothing wrong with him.' Lightning admitted.

'Then, why not?' her follow second class kept going.

'Because I don't want to!' his pink haired comrade answered with finality.

They had reached the gym and Lightning quickly entered the changing room, throwing the door in Zack and Cloud's faces.

'Girls...' she heard their exasperated voices from outside.

She paused shortly to take a few calming breaths and thank Etro for Shin-Ra building seperate changing rooms for women. The gym wasn't only for soldier operatives after all but for all Shin-Ra employees. A company goody for their workers so to say.

This way she'd at least be safe from Cloud and Zack for a few minutes.

Their pestering resumed the second that she exited the room on the other side and continued throughout the whole training session but this time Lightning did stay strong.

This time she would stay at HQ and have a relaxing evening in her private quarters. Period.

She'd had enough of those lame parties already to last her a lifetime.

It was when she returned to the changing room to take a shower that she found a suspicous looking red envelope with a big flower patterned heart tucked into the gap of her locker.

What the actual...

Checking behind her to make sure the room was empty, Claire Farron slowly extended her hand to pick it up.

Surely there had to be some kind of mistake.

It was an envelope of thick high quality paper and when she turned it around, big white letters screamed her name at her.

They were written in very tidy and elegant handwriting Lightning didn't recognize and looked as thought someone had put in lots of effort to make it look beautiful.

For a few moments Claire Farron stood rooted to the spot.

Great.

A Valentine's letter.

Adressed to her.

What was that? Some kind of joke? Was that Zack and Cloud's idea of fun? Their way at getting back at her for not wanting to come to their stupid party?

That beautiful handwriting though... It looked like nothing Zack or Cloud could have produced.

No. Someone had taken some real time and care to make sure this looked perfect.

Who could it have been?

Well... There was only one way to find out.

Careful not to tear the paper, Claire Farron slipped in a finger to open the envelope and reveal a beautifully crafted Valentine's card that looked as though at had cost at least a hundred gil.

Who would spend that much money on her?

Surely they thought they had chances with her or they wouldn't even bother.

Who could be this delirious?!

It was with a weird sense of foreboding that she took out the card and opened it to quickly read the message.

Roses are red, pink is your hair,

I'm feeling all lonely and wish you were there.

The words we've exchanged might have been only few,

but I do know that you want me too.

So lets meet today at half past four,

for a walk and a picnic, maybe more.

Please be there, please don't say no,

I'll be witing for you at the sector 1 train station, yo.


Several months passed without any sign of rebellion from Wutai, which in itself was strange considering the rumors that had been spread.

Lightning´s situation had not changed much. On one hand there were her private lessons with Sephiroth still beating the shit out of her, treating her like an insect that needed to be crushed, while on the other hand she still was trying to help out Cloud in her free time, who still hadn´t been granted the rank of second class.

Well.

Turned out Director Lazard was not a complete idiot after all.

The dubious Valentine's card she had received that special thursday and dumped almost immediatedly was long forgotten and so was the ensuing cupid-free evening she had spent relaxing in her soldier quarters all by herself.

Before she knew it it was the 13th of May, her eighteenth birthday. She'd turned a legal adult just like that, a fact that she hadn´t let anybody know. Not that it made any difference exactly. SOLDIER accepted people at 16 and she would have been served alcohol wherever she went had she felt the urge to down some ever since she had arrived in Midgar. Turning eighteen didn't seem to make any difference. And she certainly didn't feel different than she'd felt the day before.

No big deal.

The freshly baken pink haired adult spent the evening of her birthday in the waiting room of the Shin-Ra run sector 1 hospital with a black eye and a broken nose as well as a deep bleeding gash in her left arm. A souvenir from her last encounter with Masamune. Not to mention the numerous bruises and grazes all over her body.

Those wounds, they were the only birthday presents she would get.

Claire Farron felt ready to break again. Felt lonely and lost as she watched doctors and nurses hurrying in and out of rooms.

Felt ready to lie down on the floor, roll up into a small ball and die of pain and shame and sorrow and despair.

But she didn't do any of these things. She was a soldier now. And she was strong.

It seemed like hours until it was her turn and finally someone tended to her wounds and stitched up the cut in her arm.

She knew she would have to pay a visit to Angeal afterwards. She could really need one of his healing spells right now.

They released her from the examination room she' d been treated in and she got to her feet, eager to leave the place, when on her way out she caught the creepy doctor from her mako injection leaning next to a water dispenser, studying her every move.

Professor Hojo.

Was he spying on her?

No it couldn´t be.

She was imagining things.

Still she couldn´t help but feel a shudder running down her spine as she hurried back to the SOLDIER common room, hoping to find Angeal Hewley and at least a little of his sympathy.


'You can´t let him treat you like that!' Zack Fair sounded beside himself.

'He can´t just beat you up all the time!' he seemed to go on and on like this forever.

'You´ve got to defend yourself!'

Entering the commons, Lightning hadn´t found a trace of Angeal Hewley. Zack had spied her immediately though. As well as her bandages and bruises.

Totally outraged at her current condition, he had been ranting on about how she needn´t take this from her sensei any longer for hours.

But this? This was too much for her.

Defend herself...

Bah...

'Have you ever actually fought against Sephiroth?' Lightning couldn´t help but scowl at the dark haired second class sitting next to her on one of the comfy Shin-Ra leather couches.

Defend herself...

What did Zack think she was trying to do?

Besides... She wasn´t exactly eager to win against the silver haired first class anytime soon. Not if that was what she got from it.

'What is his problem anyway... I thought you two were getting along now...' Zack carefully threw in, his eyes looking up at her suggestively.

She knew he was referring to Sephiroth presenting her with Blaze Edge, which Lightning herself knew was a great sign of respect from his part (Zack was still fighting with his standard SOLDIER longsword or even his battered basic training katana sometimes) - an honor - but she knew he was also talking about what he thought he had seen in the simulation training room that fatal evening.

'You know... It isn´t like you think it is... It never was. There is nothing going on between us or anything.' the pink haired second class carefully tried to explain.

'Sure... That´s not what I thought anyway! No offense!' Zack backpeddaled instantly.

Well... At least he had the decency to let it drop.

Mercifully changing the subject Zack Fair repositioned himself for better access to her arm and with a quick glance into his comrade's cool blues eyes, checking for permission, he began to remove her bandages, exposing the freshly stitched cut on her upper arm.

'This looks like it hurts.' he stated sympathetically.

'Well... It does.' his female friend growled in reply.

'That´s why I came here to look for Angeal in the first place...'

Although she knew Zack was feeling slightly offended by her seeking out Angeal for a healing spell rather than ask him, the dark haired second class didn´t complain, but instantly started to work on her wound instead.

Zack wasn´t as experienced as Angeal who was simply the best choice when it came to healing spells. But he was definitely better than nothing.

He was Angeal's student after all.

Watching Zack at work, Lightning wished Sephiroth would teach her some healing spells too. Or any spells at all. They sure did come in handy!

But maybe those lay beyond his abilities.

The only thing the silver haired genereal was actually good at, Lightning realized, was destroying things. Killing and fighting.

So unlike Genesis and Angeal, she had never seen him use any kind of magic at all.

Well... He certainly didn´t need any. That much was for sure.

In the end Lightning came away with the wound looking like it was a week old. Her black eye was more of a greenish yellow shade and the swelling of her nose had mercifully subsided so she could breathe normally again.

Still.

The pink haired female couldn't help but worry. Was close to despair actually.

Sure. Her gashes could be stitched. Her broken bones healed. Her brusies and grazes mended.

But all in all she couldn't help but wonder how long she would be able to keep this up.

If only she hadn't pulled that damned knife on him...

If only, if only, if only.


It was in the middle of july that Wutai finally attacked the Shin-Ra headquarters.

Lightning hadn´t been there to witness how it had happened exactly as she had been in her room, taking a rest, when suddenly an earblasting alarm went off.

Getting up to hurry outside and check, she definitely wasn´t prepared to be attacked by what she would figure out later, were Wutai fighters disguised as members of SOLDIER.

She knew something was off immediately.

Nobody in SOLDIER was stupid enough to attack someone personally trained by Sephiroth. Not even Cloud.

Those two imposters, they really were no match for her.

Abandoning her victims where they had fallen right out in the SOLDIER floor corridor Claire Farrron hurried towards the elevators, encountering more and more opponents as she went.

This time it was nothing like on her first wutai mission. This time she was stronger. This time she was rested. This time she was determined. They were in her territory this time. Not in the wutai forests. This was her home match.

And she wasn't the only one out there defending the SOLDIER floor corridors. There were several other second and third classes throwing themselves in the wutai's way and even some Shin-Ra scientists from the materia room had picked up weapons to defend their homebase.

Lightning didn't linger to watch.

Her instincts told her she had to reach the main lobby, had to help secure the front gates, maybe the entrance to the underground parking lot too. They had to keep more wutai from infiltrating the building and surely this was where the battle was raging the worst.

It was at the elevators that she ran into Zack.

He was hitting the 'go down' button several times in a row in a frustrated manner, muttering 'Come on, come on!' as if it would help to make them speed up.

The tiny display on the top showed they were both stuck on floor 45 for advanced weaponry.

'The stairs!' Claire Farron cried, skidding by her friend and bolting through the small door with the sign reading emergency exit.

Running down the staircase wasn't easy. Taking several steps at once the two of them had a hard time keeping on their feet.

Further and further down they went.

They were half way down the staircase when they met Cloud, hurrying in the opposite direction.

'Don´t go down there!' he managed to force out, desperately trying to catch his breath and panting heavily.

'Hell´s broken loose down there!' he called after his friends as the two of them flew down the stairs now even faster than before.

They didn´t even make it to the foyer.

Not in time at least.

The moment they reached level twenty the door was thrust in their faces, hords of armed wutai fighters spilling into the stairwell, welcoming them with ready blades.

Together Zack and Lightning managed to cut a way past them, fought their way down towards the lobby.

They miraculously remained relatively unscathed but the tumult had held them up for quite some time, so that when finally they entered the entrance hall, the battle there was already over.

They arrived just in time to witness Angeal heal Genesis, who apparently had received a nasty blow to his leg, with General Sephiroth Crescent standing in the middle of the now completely destroyed lobby, studying the security gates at the entry in disbelieve.

Lightning and Zack joined them, taking in the remains of what was once a respectable entrance hall now littered with corpses. The first level of the exhibition hall lay beyond in shatters too, a promise of more destruction waiting to be found on the upper floors.

'Zack! Lightning! Are you two okay?' came Angeal Hewley's concerned voice as he helped Genesis back to his feet to then stride up to them.

Claire Farron and her friend quickly nodded their heads.

'Yes. Thanks Angeal.'

'Wow...' Zack said in befuddlement. 'That's a whole lot of trouble caused by a few wutai troopers, isn't it?.'

'I can´t believe they made it through the main entrance undetected...' Sephiroth mused somewhere next to him, cold calculating killer eyes studying the security entrance.

'So can´t I!' they suddenly heard Director Lazard´s voice as prestigeously he emerged from one of the reactivated elevators.

They obviously weren't stuck at level 45 anymore.

Everyone silently turned to look at him.

"Yes. They must have had an insider here..." the director assumed. Eyeing every one of them suspiciously his gaze finally came to rest on Lightning.

'Bullshit...' she heard Genesis's voice from her left.

'A wutai spy here at HQ? No way!'

Lightning saw Sephiroth´s brow furrow as he seemed to contemplate Lazard´s assumption.

Somehow she felt like he didn´t buy it either.


The days after the wutai attack were awful. After the opposing forces had been dealt with, the authorities were now eager to hold someone responsible for the incident and as Cloud´s performances lay far beyond what was expected from him in SOLDIER anyway, they now seemed eager to dispose of him.

How exactly the wutai forces had managed to enter through the main entrance that day was still a mystery to most, but Zack and Lightning knew the truth. Enduring a mental breakdown from their spiky haired friend they found out that he had been responsible for securing the gates that night. The rest of the story was self explanatory, really.

Was there anything that guy could actually do right?

True. It served him right that the authorities were now investigating him. But still. Claire Farron couldn´t help but feel pity for him too.

He was her comrade after all.

Her friend.

And he might have been many things but he was definitely no wutai spy.

Whatever had happened there on that fatal evening, whatever human failure had led to the wutai being able to enter this easily, Claire Farron was hundred per cent sure that Cloud had not done any of it on purpose. She knew Cloud Strife had his heart in the right place, knew that his greatest dream had been to join SOLDIER to become a hero like Sephiroth.

Never would he do anything that'd help the wutai defeat Shin-Ra, would he?

It was during the disciplinary conference all the firsts and seconds as well as Lazard and President Shin-Ra himself attended, that Lightning made a decision. And a far reaching decision it was too.

Cloud Strife was standing in front of the committee, sobbing uncontrollably, his face white as a sheet, while Genesis Rhapsodos was giving his best to try and convince the jury of his apprentice´s innocence.

Lightning knew it was no use.

Even if her friend had only been in the wrong place at the wrong time, which was very plausible, they were going to get rid of him anyway. For them it was a welcome opportunity. An opportunity to get rid of the weak link in the chain.

They'd tried to pull the same on her back when she'd screwed up her very first wutai mission, hadn't they?

Thes had.

And she would have walked out of Shin-Ra HQ a civilian that day had Sephiroth not been lying for her.

This time the weak link in the chain was Cloud.

Who was going to lie for him?

Lightning had no idead why she did it.

Cloud was not as close a friend to her as Zack was.

And he really could be annoying sometimes.

But he was her friend still. And Claire Farron cared for her friends. Watched out for them. Helped them out when they were in trouble.

That's what friends were for.

She´d helped him through so many mission, had taken over so many of his assignments. She hadn´t done all that to watch him getting sacked now.

No. She just couldn´t watch it any longer. Couldn't let it happen.

'Stop this. Now. I cannot bear it.' Lightning suddenly heard herself speak up, found herself getting up into a standing position.

'He is innocent...' she blurted out as everybody turned around to look at her.

'It was me who let them pass through the gates undetected.'

It was a lie of course. And a huge one at tops.

Everyone knew.

But it was the only thing that came to her mind. The only thing that would stand in direct contrast to what Cloud had been accused of.

All the faces in the room looking in her direction in bewildernment she felt Sephiroth abruptly getting up from his seat right next to her.

'Farron!' his voice was grave, commanding, trying to shush her.

The pink haired female wouldn´t let him.

'No, it is the truth... I´m the one guilty.' she persisted.

She could feel her mentor´s inquiring mako gaze burning holes into the side of her skull.

She knew he had to be questioning her sanity.

She didn´t turn to look at him. Not even for a moment.

Her eyes were trained on President Shin-Ra, the balding overweight man, sitting at the center of the commitee.

He was raising his fat greying brows at her in disbelieve.

She knew what she was doing had to seem crazy.

Maybe it was.

Risking her rank or maybe more to save Cloud´s reputation, his honor, his dreams...

But Lightning couldn't help it.

She was just so angry at the company´s fucked up ways of dealing with things, with people really, they didn´t have use for anymore.

Or dealing with people in general.

If this, standing up for a comrade, was all that was needed for her to get sacked then so be it.

They had taken away so much of her life already. Of her personality, her humanity, really.

She wouldn´t let them have this!

Whatever this was exactly.

She caught President Shin-Ra exchanging glances with Director Lazard and the secretary before he turned in her direction again.

'Well, well... If that´s the case...' the fat man said, heaving himself from his his chair and starting to get up.

This meeting was taking a direction the president hadn´t anticipated. A direction Lightning realized he definitely approved of, as she watched his small piggy eyes fill with some kind of malicious joy as he prepared to speak his verdict.

Suddenly she couldn´t shake off the feeling that they were eager to get rid of her as well.

They had been for a while now hadn't they?!

No... What had she done?!

'Lightning... Out... Now!' General Sephiroth Crescent´s voice suddenly ordered from right next to her.

His voice was deadly. As if daring her to contradict his instructions. And it was completely surprised and rooted to the spot that Claire Farron watched her sensei manouvring his way around the table and up to the front to approach President Shin-Ra and the committee himself.

Unable to say anything at all, the pink haired female felt her arm suddenly grabbed by a Shin-Ra official and found herself escorted outside.

Shocked by the sudden turn the events had taken Claire Farron complied.

She caught her comrades staring at her wide eyed on her way out. Cloud´s mouth gaping open in astonishment.

And in this moment she didn´t care what they were going to do to her.

She didn´t care whether they were going to throw her out of SOLDIER. She wouldn´t have cared even if they were going to take her head off.

She wasn´t sure whether it was worth it.

But she wanted Cloud to keep his dreams. Her own ones long forgotten.


Cloud Strife´s brain didn´t seem to be able to process what was happening, when suddenly General Sephiroth Crescent got up from his chair and Lightning was brought away and Genesis shood him back behind their table and into his seat, telling him to 'fucking shut up' while the silver haired first class positioned himself in front of the authorities, a place Cloud never wanted to be in ever again.

He couldn´t fathom the reasons for Lightning taking the blame on her, but he was grateful. So infinitely grateful.

He didn´t know what they would have done, if she hadn´t interfered.

He´d gotten busted for sure.

General Sephiroth Crescent was equally surprised.

He couldn´t believe what his apprentice had just done. Taking the blame on her. Trying to save her comrade from what was inevitable anyway.

He knew she wasn´t guilty.

There simply was no way.

But she was stupid.

So infinitely stupid.

That he knew for sure.

He couldn´t fathom why she had taken the blame on her, but he felt the sudden urge to just grab her and beat the fucking hell out of her.

Trying to maintain his calm exterior, his insides burning with anger, with rage really, the decorated first class approached the commitee and more so, president Shin-Ra.

'Leave her out of this. She doesn´t know what she is talking about. She isn´t guilty. I´m sure of that.' he spat into their faces.

'Well I´m afraid your opinion matters only very little – General.' Director Lazard informed. His voice was smug.

'She has confessed, and that is what counts.'

There was a triumphant smile spreading on the director´s face now.

This was exactly what they had wanted from the beginning. Wasn´t it?

To get rid of her.

They had tried to do that from the very start.

And after their previous attempts had failed so badly this was their most welcome opportunity.

She had delivered her head on a silver plate.

Great.

'For her neglect of duty, and her assistance in the infiltration of the Shin-Ra headquarters by enemy forces, second class Claire Farron will be expulsed from SOLDIER.' President Shin-Ra announced gleefully.

Sephiroth couldn´t believe the man actually had the guts to speak the words.

No.

He wasn´t going to let them get what they wanted so easily.

Wasn´t going to let them get away with it.

Not this time.

They had taken everything away from him already.

His freedom. His childhood. His life.

He wouldn´t let them take her.

'Then you´d better expulse me too.' he stated matter of factly.

'Cause I´m not staying here without her.'

It wiped that smirk off Lazard´s features instantly and the general knew he had hit home.

'You cannot leave... You are property of the Shin-Ra electric power company.' President Shin-Ra muttered, fake smiling at the silver haired killer in front of him in disbelieve.

The pompous fatso was probably disturbed by the fact that the General dared to think he could leave as he pleased.

'Then I´d like to see you try and stop me.' the decorated first class dared, cold mako green eyes narrowing dangerously at the overweight individual in front of him.

The balding man in the suit visibly swallowed in discomfort.

'I advise you to hire somebody else then, to win this war for you as once my job here is done, I might as well consider joining the wutai forces against you.'

Sephiroth didn´t know where that last bit had come from, but it definitely did it´s magic.

Whispers breaking out all around the room, he suddenly heard Genesis´ voice speaking up from somewhere behind him.

'And you´d better count me out, too.' he said.

Everyone in the committee turned to look at the cheeky redhead then.

'And me too.'

There goes Angeal.

Brothers in arms then.


'You should have seen how he fought for you!' Cloud babbled on excitedly.

'It was so... Wow...'

'Yeah... Wow...' Ligthning said somewhat irritatedly.

She knew Sephiroth wasn´t happy with her.

After he had somehow managed to get her out of this mess she had created, he had left the Shin-Ra headquartes and wasn´t seen for a total of three days.

Zack and Cloud had told her how her sensei had fought to save her neck and she understood that surely he had risked a lot in there.

She did feel guilty and she knew he was angry with her. Very angry. And also very diappointed with her behaviour.

She knew she shouldn´t have acted so recklessly. She had acted without thinking. Again. Without considering the consequences.

It was for said reasons, and maybe some others too, that she wasn´t exactly looking forward to face her sensei, when on the fourth day after the conference, the General had ordered her into his office to talk about her punishment.

She had a bad feeling as she paused in front of his door.

She'd had enough of his punishments to last her a lifetime.

She so wasn´t eager to feel his wrath again.

'Enter.' the first class´ voice ordered from inside before her skin could even touch the wood.

She hated the way he always knew she was there before she had the chance to knock.

Let´s just get it over with, the pink haired woman thought to herself as carefully she opened the door to step into the cool of his air conditioned room.

She had survived so much those past few months. Surely she could bear another of his royal beatings.

Showing respect, she saluted, her gaze trained on the floor in remorse.

Somehow she didn´t dare to look into his eyes.

Spying at her sensei from under her long lashes Lightning found the silver haired man seated in the chair behind his desk, were he sat staring at her, arms crossed in front of his chest and Masamune menacingly resting against the wall behind him.

She had never seen him have Masamune out when he wasn´t in combat or training and she knew he had placed it there just to intimidate her, to make her feel even more uncomfortable.

Or was he actually going to use it on her as a punishment?!

Suddenly Lightning wasn't sure.

'Look at me.' the first class legend ordered after a few minutes of silence.

Hesitating only for a second Claire Farron complied, carefully meeting her sensei´s gaze as he had instructed. Cold merciless killer eyes boring into her own, she found his facial expression blank, completely devoid of emotion.

'Please... I..' she began somewhat tentatively, just to be silenced instantly.

'I don´t care for your words.' the General stated matter-of-factly. Murderous mako killer eyes staring her down, his hard cold gaze forced Lightning to look away again.

'Look at me when I´m talking to you.' he spat at her and it was then that Lightning realized that he was angry.

Really angry.

Not like the times before. Not even like the time she'd cut him in the training room.

This was something else. This was the real shit.

He'd never been that angry with her.

This was dangerous territory, thin ice she was treading on.

Fighting the urge to open her mouth again Lightning forced herself to look up at him once more. She hastily bit back all the nasty retorts that had formed inside her mind, ready to be thrown at him, knowing they could just as well be her last words.

This was not the time for disrespectful behavior.

This was not the time to stand up to him.

'I have thought of a challenge for you.' the first class finally announced.

'As you seemed so eager to leave SOLDIER just a few days ago, I want you to show me just how badly you want to stay.'

Lightning sensed a haughy smirk there, threatening to break through her sensei's poker face and she couldn´t help but swallow, desperately trying to rid herself of the lump that had started to form inside her throat.

She couldn´t guess what kind of task he had in mind, but she could tell it was definitely not going to be a pleasant one.

'What is it, Sir?' her voice came out soft and fragile as she wondered whether she was allowed to speak or not.

Seephiroth laughed at her, his smile never reaching her eyes.

"Eighty rounds on the running track tomorrow 11´o clock. No break.'

It made a tiny gasp escape the pink haired soldier's throat.

'Or let´s say a hundred.' he corrected at an afterthought.

'One round less and I'll personally make sure you can clear your room before dinner time.'

The pink haired second class averted her eyes once more. Swallowing hard again, slowly she processed what her sensei had just told her.

'Let´s call it a test of endurance.'

His voice was cold as ice.

'But Sir, 100 rounds... I´m not sure I can make it...' Lightning tried somewhat tentatively, her voice slightly pleading, an attempt she knew was futile.

In fact, she highly doubted she could make it. Eighty rounds were a lot already. But a hundred? And at this time of the year climate definitely was against her.

'I don´t care.' was all she got.

And she instantly knew that it was true.

General Sephiroth Crescent really didn´t care at all.