After Lightning had passed her 'test of endurance' things got better. A lot.
Somehow her performance on the running pit seemed to finally have appeased her sensei's raging temper. He in fact seemed eager to make up for all the lousy instruction work he had been doing all those past months.
With Sephiroth finally acknowledging her existence as a human being, taking the actual time and effort to train her for real instead of just beating the hell out of her, Claire Farron was able to become the second class SOLDIER she had always wanted to be.
She became stronger and more confident, sometimes even able to beat Zack while sparring.
She was also assigned more and more important missions now, sometimes allowed to support Sephiroth and the others on top priority jobs too.
She was even getting used to sharing a room or sometimes even a bed with some of the guys (mostly Zack) while out on missions, something that had felt kind of awkward in the beginning, but something she´d had to arrange herself with, as this was the case almost every time they had to spent a night outside the Shin-Ra headquarters.
Most of her missions were nothing to brag about though.
Focusing on gathering some important information mainly or retrieving items for the Shin-Ra science department.
But each of them was a great opportunity to gather combat experience and also, as Zack was eager to point out almost twice a day, a chance to do something heroic, something that would get them promoted to First Class any day now.
Claire Farron didn´t feel like doing anything heroic anytime soon.
She just couldn´t be bothered.
She knew Zack was really excited about this topic. His upgrade to First Class was the next step on the ladder toward his goal: to become a hero.
Lightning didn´t care about becoming a hero though. Not at all
The only reason she was there was to make money, to support herself and her family. But the longer she stayed, the more and more she was getting the feeling that with signing her employment contract more than a year ago, she had sold more than her services to Shin-Ra. She had sold out her soul.
She had traded her past, her life, her dreams, her family for a military carreer.
Lightning was aware.
There was no future Claire who lived in a pretty house resembling the one she grew up in on the beaches of Bodhum cradling her adorable children and watching the sundowns with her husband.
This future was gone for her.
And to some extend Lightning didn't regret it.
She had lost some things. That might be true. But she had also gained a lot.
Now that finally she had managed to settle in, her stay at SOLDIER suddenly didn´t seem like hard work anymore, but instead had gotten a major part of her life, the most important thing in her life maybe. She had learned much, had gained confidence and skill and the people she worked with had become a substitute for the family she had lost a long time ago.
Although she didn´t dare to think about it much, the pink haired female couldn´t deny the fact that her letters to Serah had gotten fewer and fewer. Now that she had her social life back she had written much less frequently. What was she to write about anyway? She wouldn´t tell her sister any details about upcoming missions as these were top secret informations in the first place and also she didn´t want Serah to fear for her wellbeing.
Besides, Serah never wrote back anyway.
So she just kept sending her her paychecks instead, attaching small notes to them like 'I love you' or 'Take care'.
She assured herself that in her current situation, this was all that she could do for her. And although she felt bad for not being able to be there for her little sister, at least she was able to make sure she provided her with all the material things she could possibly need.
And that was what was most important now, wasn´t it?
Somehow Lightning wasn´t sure.
They had deployed for yet another mission. Had been sent to the other end of Gaia this time, to the middle of nowhere - Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, Zack and Lighning - to retrieve some important kind of Materia that was suppossed to be hidden away in an old underground bunker, located somewhere in some beautiful fairytale woods and Claire Farron was delighted to finally be far away from Midgar and it´s Mako reactor´s toxic fumes, was overjoyed to finally breathe some fresh, clean air again. To her it felt like a huge relief.
The only problem was, they hadn´t found any sign of anything even resembling an abandoned bunker yet.
Only Etro knew why Lazard had sent all five of them to retrieve a single piece of materia in the first place, but they assumed this special piece of materia was a top priority item, something they definitely planned to transform into a weapon to end the war against Wutai. And Shin-Ra was obviously expecting them to encounter resistance. Either something that guided the treasure or attackers that might try and take that thing away from them on their way back.
The pink haired second class could only guess.
They had set up camp in a clearing on a hill overlooking the vast thick forest that seemed to stretch out endlessly around them.
The mood was cheerful and the weather was mild as they were lounging around the campfire Zack and Lightning had built to keep them warm after dawn.
Genesis had taken out his harmonica to play a joyful tune, while Angeal was roasting the young boar Sephiroth had hunted down earlier over the flames, using Zack´s training katana as a makeshift skewer. (Which was really all it was good for in the General´s opinion.)
Zack kept singing along to the melody Genesis was generously providing them with, some ancient hiking song, while his pink haired comrade had lain down in the grass, her arms neatly folded under her head as a make-shift pillow, to look up at the stars twinkling in the beautiful night sky above.
There was not even a trace of a cloud in sight.
'Maybe you have missed your calling, Zack' she heard Sephiroth point out. Her silver haired sensei was barely hiding his chuckle as he filled their cups from the bottle of red whine Genesis had apparently carried along all the way from the last village they had stopped by to stock up on supplies.
Lightning wouldn´t have thought her mentor would ever approve of them consuming alcohol on a top priority mission, but this mission had turned out rather like a holiday trip than work anyway and he probably agreed on the fact that they could deal with an aggressive squirrel or a murderous bunny (the only residents of this forest they had met so far being normal wildlife) with or without a glass of whine anyway.
Zack just gave him an 'oh shut up' look, and focused on his solo instead, while Angeal started dissecting the now well-done pork, handing out pieces of meat to everyone, then breaking a huge loaf of bread into five equal parts to serve as a side dish.
Lightning couldn´t help but crack smile.
You could always count on Angeal to bring enough food.
'No really... Lovely singing voice...' Sephiroth teased, receiving Zack's piece of bread hurled at his face in response and causing the rest of the small group to erupt in laughter.
The murderous look displayed on the general´s face thereafter, it did nothing to calm their cheerful moods. The silver haired first class killing Zack with his green mako eyes as slowly but forcefully he handed back his bread, Lightning couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the black haired pup was still alive and breathing.
Her sensei had to be in a very good mood indeed.
'Let´s eat guys...' Angeal suggested, trying to loosen up the situation.
'Bon appétit.' Genesis agreed, taking out knife and fork while everybody else dug in hungrily with their bare fingers.
As usual Angeal was the first to finish. Packing together his cooking utensils he began to clean the plates and stuff.
'I think you missed your calling too.' Zack told Angeal.
'You would have made an excellent cook.' he pointed out, all the others agreeing instantly.
Angeal Hewley would indeed have made a first class chef de cuisine.
The burly soldier only shook his head.
'I AM an excellent cook.' he corrected and all the others started to laugh again. Even Sephiroth joined it.
Lightning realised she had never seen her sensei so cheerful. And she had definitely never seen him laugh. Tons of haughy smirks. Yes. But no real laugh.
Thinking about it she realized she actually had never seen him participate in any social gathering whatsoever.
Genesis and Angel, yes. But never him.
Well, it was a nice change to see him relax for a bit.
'Yes, you are indeed.' Sephiroth agreed, his smile reaching his eyes for once.
'The best there is.'
'Well, if Angeal should have been a cook then I should have become a poet, or at least an actor!' Genesis announced, obviously elated.
'Oh no, not that again!' they heard Angeal and Sephiroth complain in unison.
'You should have become a dyke.' Sephiroth teased, earning a kick to his shin from Genesis in return.
The silver haired general didn´t even bother to hit back.
Claire Farron briefly wondered what had gotten him into such a good mood that day.
It so wasn't him to not respond to Genesis taunts. Not that good naturedly at the very least.
'Oh look who´s talking, Mr. I-wear-my-hair-like-a-girl over there!' Genesis retorted sounding somewhat offended as he poured another round of red wine for everybody, to then down the rest of the 2.5 Liter bottle on his own.
In sake of the good mood the general in question decided to simply dismiss that last comment.
Lightning emptied the rest of her beverage to wash down the remainders of her dinner, then resumed her position on her back again.
It was so nice to be able to lie on your back and look up at the stars. Lightning couldn't remember when she had last had the chance to do that.
Not since grade school probably.
After some time she felt Zack Fair lying down next to her.
The fire was almost burnt down now to only a faint, orange glow and the soft chill of the forest was starting to creep upon her. All in all she was quite happy to find her fellow second class handing her one of their comfy Shin-Ra blankets.
The people behind her shuffling around with their own stuff, Lightning listened to the sounds of the forest as the others were getting themselves comfortable for the night too.
She could feel the whine warming her body and an irrational happiness spreading inside of her as Zack suddenly pointed to the sky above.
'Look a shooting star!' he called out excitedly.
'I want to become a SOLDIER First Class.' He said, turning his head to look at his pink haired comrade expectantly,
'What is your wish, Light?'
'You´re not supposed to tell others about your wishes, Zack... Or they won´t come true.' she pointed out jokingly.
Pondering Zack's words the pink haired female realized there was nothing she actually wished for.
Of course she wanted to lead a good life. To not die a painful death on one of her missions anytime soon. But above all she wanted Serah to be safe.
She didn´t have any desires for herself at all. In her situation it was pointless to have dreams anyway.
She´d just live from day to day for the rest of her life. Or would she?
Hoping she wouldn't die in the next wutai attack.
'What I desire most is the gift of the goddess...' Genesis informed them from his own sleeping place on the other side of the fire, his voice turning poetic again.
Lightning heard Sephiroth and Angeal groan in frustration.
'There he goes again.' Angeal said bitterly.
I wish that Serah leads a happy and fulfilled life, Lightning thought to herself as she scanned the sky for yet another shooting star.
After several days of uselessly prowling around in the woods they finally found a trail.
In order to not waste another week of precious time, Sephiroth decided for the five of them to split up. Genesis, Zack and Angeal were to follow the path in the direction of south, while Sephiroth and Lightning headed north.
It took them about two days of hiking in the woods until finally the top of a small mountain came into view.
'If anywhere, we´ll find the bunker there.' General Sephiroth Crescent mused gesturing towards a region of blank white rock where there had to be something like a stone quarry.
Lightning had no idea what made him so sure, but who was she to question her sensei´s motives?
'Let´s rest here and continue there to investigate tomorrow.' he instructed, setting down his stuff.
'It´s getting dark anyway.'
Claire Farron didn´t mind the uphold. She was thankful for the rest. Her feet were hurting terribly from all those days of walking already and Sephiroth didn't exactly grant a lot of breaks.
The man had the stamina of a carthorse.
The silver haired general started to set up their camp, while his female apprentice roamed the neighboring thicket for firewood.
Only about hundred meters away from their campsite Lightning found a small creek, surrounded by bushes of berries and she took a short rest there, taking off her boots to let the cool refreshing water soothe her sores.
Her water supplies restocked and with a collection of berries to serve for desert, Claire Farron returned to immediatedly start to work on the fire.
Sephiroth had already gotten out their blankets and the last bits of the rabbit they had had for dinner the day before.
A few minutes later they had a crackling fire at their feet, had their meals warmed and their bellies filled.
There was no conversation whatsoever.
Her sensei´s good mood seemed to have left with Genesis and Angeal and Lightning wasn´t stupid enough to break the silence. The silver haired first class pensively staring into the low dancing flames Claire Farron knew there would be no joking, no lightly banter that evening.
She didn't know how it had happened but there seemed to be that weird distance between the two of them again. Lightning could not explain it even to herself.
Somehow they'd never gotten back to where they'd left off after her first wutai mission and somehow Lightning did regret it.
There was no way for her to change that though, or at least nothing she could think of.
Sephiroth definitely wasn't the type to get things out of the way by talking.
And neither was she.
And hell would freeze over before she would approach him with this topic.
The dying fire painting beautiful shadows on the pale skin of her sensei´s face, the pink haired female couldn't help but watch the first class from the corner of her eyes. Secretly studying his features from behind her lashes, she couldn´t help but notice how handsome he actually looked when he was at peace, relaxed.
If it weren´t for his character...
Not for the first time Lightning wondered what he must have gone through in order for him to turn out like... Well... Like he was now.
Pretty horrible stuff probably.
She didn't think anyone could possibly be born this cold. This closed off. This bigheaded. This rude.
It wasn´t long until the fire died down and the two of them settled down on their blankets.
Turning to lie on her back the pink haired female made to study the night sky once more, hoping to see a wishing star again, but she wasn´t as lucky as the night before and in the end her fatigue won over and she fell asleep.
Claire Farron had no idea how much time had passed, but it was still dark when she woke up. There were only the stars and the moon above to illuminate the dark forrest clearing the'd set up camp in.
The moonlight dipping their resting place in a creepy pale light, slowly Lightning sat up to find her sensei´s place on his blanket empty.
Confused the pink haired woman got up and looked around until finally she made out the silhouette of the tall lean man seated on a rock some distance away.
He had taken out Masamune, the infamous odachi blade now resting in his lap. His long silver hair sparkling in the moonlight, the first class general sat there completely motionless, looked like a statue.
Lightning couldn´t help but think that he seemed deep in thought about something as carefully she watched the man only a few feet away caress his precious katana´s blade.
The pink haired female felt a strange invisible force inside her urging her to approach him, to join him in his nighttime musings. She would have done so if it had been Zack or Cloud or anyone else. Genesis or Angeal even. But she knew better than to disturb the First Class General. Sneaking up on him like that... He´d probably kill her just for standing there and watching.
Without risking him detecting her a second longer, the pink haired female turned on her heels and went back to her make-shift bed.
Sure, she wondered what he was thinking. Wondered what was running through that head of his to keep him up at night. But they'd been getting on reasonably well those past few weeks and Claire Farron was so not going to risk that.
General Sephiroth Crescent didn't notice any of it as deeply lost in thought he ran the fingers of his for once ungloved left hand over the blade of his Masamune, enjoying the feeling of it´s smooth sharp edge slide against the bare skin of his fingertips.
He didn´t know what they were going to find the next day but somehow he had a bad feeling about this whole thing. This whole mission. And his intuition seldom betrayed him.
This materia. He didn´t know what Shin-Ra wanted it for or what it was actually supposed to do, but he knew it had to be something powerful, something very important to them, or they would have sent some turks, wouldn´t have sent them. They wouldn´t have sent him.
For some reason they wanted him to retrieve it.
It had been shortly before their departure that Director Lazard had payed him a visit to tell him to head north once they´d found the old path. He had told him to look for the forgotten entry in the vicinity of a stone quarry too.
For some reason they had wanted him to know all that, withholding the information from Angeal and Genesis, which had been the real reason he had sent them in the other direction the day before.
He didn´t know why. But something about the whole thing seemed fishy and he needed them out of the way.
He could concentrate much better when he was alone.
Well. He wasn't exactly alone was he?
He hadn´t sent away Lightning...
It was something he regretted now.
He knew he shouldn´t have taken her with him. Shouldn´t endanger her like that. Whatever lay in wait for them at their final destination, it certainly couldn't be anything good.
And whatever it was, he knew, Lightning would only be a distraction there. Dealing with that threat was one thing. It was his job, his duty and he wasn't scared of it the slightest. But now he'd have to watch out for her too. Her presence there could vastly complicate the situation if things turned nasty, that he was aware of.
Not exactly the best of ideas.
But it would have looked suspicious had he taken down that path alone, wouldn't it? And somehow... Well, somehow, he had to admit, he just wanted her close.
He had somehow gotten used to her company, used to her. With them being on so many missions together now, he found she didn´t even annoy him anymore.
Lightning...
Suddenly sensing a presence behind him the general whirled round fast, Masamune lifted threateningly in his hand, ready to slaughter whatever it was that dared to disturb him, but studying the treeline he found nobody there.
For a second he had thought that it was Lightning.
That she´d join him in that moonlit night.
She´d been quiet that evening.
Hadn´t said a single word.
And eventhough her words sometimes annoyed him to no end, in that moment the silver haired first class realized he did enjoy the sound of his protégés voice.
Had he seen a flash of pink somewhere there among the trees?
No, he hadn´t.
He was probably imagining things.
He took it as a sign to try and go to sleep again.
Knowing already that sleep would evade him anyway, he quietly made his way back to camp and lay down on his side.
Watching Lightning´s sleeping form he found her presence somehow calmed his restless mind, let him get a few hours of rest too.
It was early the following morning that the both of them approached the quarry and the entry to the hidden bunker.
They needed to use plastic explosives to enter through the heavily armored door.
Once inside, General Sephiroth Crescent lit a flashlight to guide the way into what turned out to be a labyrinth of narrow, dark and chilly corridors.
The walls lined with tons of tubes and cables, the smell of rot and decay hanging thickly in the air, it wasn´t a place Lightning was planning to stay in a second longer than absolutedly necessary.
The musty air slightly choking her, the mass of the mountain above them weighting heavily on the walls around her and with the darkness around them swallowing the little light they had, it didn´t take more than a rat squeaking in surprise to scare the living daylights out of her.
Shivering in her short sleeved SOLDIER top, Claire Farron didn´t like it.
Not one bit.
And she could tell Sephiroth didn´t like it either.
She could sense how tense he was.
He had seemed tense and pensive the previous night as well.
It usually didn´t mean anything good.
General Sephiroth Crescent didn´t know how he was able to find his way through the many intersections and tunnels all leading into different directions. There was no map. But he let his instincts guide him deep into the heart of the mountain. And he wasn´t to be disappointed as descending another flight of stairs, he found an eerie greenish glow greeting them from the bottom.
They had almost reached their destination.
Turning off their torchlight, the two of them followed the distant glow and soon they found themselves inside a vast cave-like hall.
The walls wet and earthy and the temperature arctic there was nothing in there but a tiny pedestral in the middle of the room.
It held an intensely shining sphere about the size of a golf ball, lying in a case connected with tubes.
They had found the origin of the eerie glow.
That shiny sphere...
Lightning couldn´t tear her eyes away from it.
Was this what they had come for? The materia?
Her feet moving of their own accord, it was slowly but determined that she approached what they had apparently come for, was in slow motion almost that she reached out a hand to touch it.
She was only an inch from the materia´s slightly pulsating surface, when suddenly she felt her wrist grabbed tightly in her sensei´s leather gloved hand.
'Don´t...' he warned, his voice suddenly soft.
Lightning turned to questioningly look into his eyes.
Her trainer´s face now illuminated by the unearthly gleam, his eyes two sparkling mako pools, focused on the thing in front of them, the pink haired second class obediantly stepped aside.
General Sephiroth Crescent carefully checking behind and all around them, he approached the materia himself.
Lightning watched, spellbound as hesitantly he reached forward to touch the soft gleaming surface.
Nothing fatal seemed to happen.
Realizing she´d been holding her breath, the pink haired girl let out a relieved whoosh of air.
The general looked at her briefly, as if to ask for advice and his protégé just nodded, encouraging him to continue whatever it was he was doing.
That was what they were there for. The materia. Once they had secured it they could just head back out of this eerie place and finally get back into open air.
Somehow Lightning couldn't wait for it.
Very carefully the tall lean man grabbed the small globe in his gloved hand and lifted it out of its socket.
The moment it disconnected from it´s encasement, the eerie glow went out, leaving the two of them stranded in absolute darkness.
Disorientated for a second, her heart involuntarily quickening it´s pace, Claire Farron took out Blaze Edge ready to defend herself and it was only a moment later that suddenly with an alarming dull rumble the ground began to shake and parts of the ceiling started to collapse, threatening to bury them alive.
Crying out in shock, in terror really, the pink haired soldier staggered backwards. Almost stumbled over her own feet as panic took over.
They had to get out of there! And fast! Before the whole mountain was going to burry them!
The pink haired woman instantly fell silent when a strong hand grabbed her shoulder.
Her sensei holding on to her as if to steady her, Clair Farron took a few deep breaths, forced her brain to focus, tried to calm her raging heart.
She had to stay calm, she was aware. Had to keep a clear head. Or she'd most probably die. Desperately staggering around in panic and in complete darkness too was not the best idea.
She could trip and fall. Could get squashed by fallen debris. Or worse, get herself lost in the endless maze that was the bunker.
Definitely not a good idea.
Glad for the general's steadying hand on her shoulder the pink haired second class took a step closer to him, fumbled for the edge of the pedestral in front of her with her free hand.
She couldn't loose orientation now. And she couldn't loose him. She had to somehow stay close to him or she surely would be done for.
Withstanding the urge to grab her sensei's arm her fingers found the stone pedestral in front of her instead and held on like a drowning person would hold on to a liferaft.
As suddenly as it had started the rumbling and shaking ceased again and Lightning breathed a sigh of relief.
Maybe they were not going to die in there after all.
Her silver haired sensei finally releasing her, he reached into his coat and lit their torch again.
Lightning had forgotten it was there.
The tiny lamp illuminating the general's face in a weird reddish glow, most of it´s light got swallowed by the vast emptiness off the cave they were in.
'What was that?!' the creeped out second class managed, her voice sounding slightly shaky, as anxiously she looked up at him.
'Sshhh..' her mentor silenced her, signaling her to shut up as he warily scanned their surroundings.
Feeling her heart pounding violently in her chest now Lightning looked around the cave too, squinted her eyes to try and see beyond the darkness, fear beginning to rise inside her chest.
She didn´t like it in there.
No.
They needed to get out of there.
Out of that fucking mountain and back to the surface.
Asap.
What exactly was he waiting for?
Panickingly her ice blue eyes searched for the stairs, the way to the exit where they had come from, when suddenly the earth shook again and with a deafening roar the back wall of the cave burst open, revealing an adjoining cavern and a huge machine. A giant mechanical fighter, armed with numerous razor-sharp blades in place of its hand's (of which it had six by the way), sitting there ready to pounce at them.
Lightning didn´t dare to move. Couldn´t move in fact as, her body rooted to the spot, she stared at the thing in a mixture of shock and disbelieve.
Never had she faced anything that big.
That thing infront her, it easily dwarfed the king of behemoths.
Her body suddenly acting on it´s own accord, she lifted Blaze Edge, put it into gun mode and aiming at what she perceived as the machine´s eyes, Claire Farron pulled the trigger.
Once.
Twice.
The bullets causing the glassy pupils to explode, suddenly there were shards raining everywhere.
It hadn´t been the best idea, the pink haired second class realized as suddenly the thing roared out in rage and lifting it´s deadly weapons menacingly it made to slowly close the distance that seperated them.
'Here, take it.' her mentor instructed as quickly he handed her the orb.
Not thinking about it twice Lightning stowed the thing away in the depths of her soldier fatigues.
This wasn´t the moment to disrespect orders.
Or to question them.
This was the moment to do exactly as she was told do. And to do it fast.
Then her sensei handed her the torch as well.
'Lightning... Go and get out of here. Follow the tubes. They'll lead you back to the surface.' the general urged, while the machine approched them at alarming speed.
The man in the black leather coat didn´t look at her as busy taking out Masamune he grabbed it´s hilt with both his hands and got into fighting stance.
'I...' the pink haired second tried to refuse.
No.
She wouldn´t leave him there.
Not alone.
Not against this giant beast.
Not without the torch. In complete darkness.
But General Sephiroth Crescent would not give in that easily.
Claire Farron shuddered at the thought of her instructor facing that enemy all by himself.
She had seen him behead Behemoths with one swift blow of Masamune. Had seen him accomlish the most amazing things. True. But this?
That thing was just too huge and strong. Could Masamune cut through armour?
Somehow Lightning wasn't sure.
'Do not wait for me.' the silver haired legend instructed.
He could see the hesitation in her eyes. The concern.
But no matter what, he couldn´t risk her getting injured.
He didn´t possess powers such as Angeal´s.
Once she´d get herself hurt there was nothing he could possibly do to help her.
She was his charge. And there was no way he'd let that happen.
Not in this life.
'That´s an order!' he yelled, emphasizing his last word.
The pink haired soldier turned to run.
General Sephiroth Crescent watched her lean form fade as quickly she headed for the stairs taking with her the only source of light they had, immersing the cave and him and everything around him into complete darkness.
It was about twenty minutes later that Claire Farron made it to the exit, dashing out of the suffocating maze of tunnels and into the blinding daylight.
She took in deep gulping breaths, eager to fill her lungs with fresh air again as she waited for her eyes to adjust, for her lungs to catch her breath, but she couldn´t bear to run away any further.
Her sensei might need her help once he´d get out of there.
If he ever got out of there...
Lightning couldn´t imagine how he was going to beat that thing down there, and completely blind too. It seemed an impossible task, even for him.
Having nothing else to do Lightning tried to calm down. Standing there in the bright sunlight, waiting, her eyes never left the entry, hoping to detect the faintest sound of approaching footsteps, but none came.
After some time she felt the earth shake again.
A low rumble coming from inside the mountain, coming from somewhere from far below.
She felt her heart violently beating against her ribcage and she started to panic once more as she felt the almost irresistable urge to go back in there and help him.
What was she to do?
She had a hard time resisting the urge to just go back inside.
Sephiroth...
He was fighting down there blind.
Against some giant killer robot.
Completely on his own.
What if he got injured?
What if he couldn´t make it out on his own?
What if he needed help?
Lightning didn´t know when she had started caring about her sensei´s wellbeing exactly but she couldn´t help but feel the desperate need to go back in there and check on him.
Sure, it would mean disobeying a direct order.
But somehow she didn´t care.
She couldn't just let him die in there, or could she?!
Surely he'd do the same for her.
But then again... Even if she had the guts to go back, she doubted she would find her way back to the cave all on her own. It was a miracle she had found her way outside in the first place.
She knew she´d probably only get herself lost in there, never to make it to the surface it was a stupid idea. A suicide mission.
If she didn't get herself lost or killed in there Sephiroth would skewer her on Masamune for disobeying him. That much Lightning was sure of.
And so she just kept waiting.
It took and excruciatingly long time, but in the end she found the silver haired first class staggering up the stairs towards the exit.
And she immediately noticed something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The tall lean man approaching the gates, he had his right hand pressed to his side where the dark material of his coat looked suspiciously shiny, wet. He was half leaning against the wall for support as slowly he came limping towards her, his left hand was dragging Masamune behind him along the floor, it´s shiny tip leaving a deep groove in the hard stone floor.
Lightning didn´t know what had happened down there, but she knew it certainly took a lot for her tough weathered sensei to get himself hurt.
She didn´t care to hide her emotions as she hurried over to his side, worry etched all over her features.
It was just as she reached him that his body half collapsed against the wall and it was panting havily that the general dropped his precious katana to the ground.
'You´re injured!' the pink haired second class blurted out as she caught herself reaching out to steady her mentor´s stumbling form. It was inches before she touched him that he brought up his hand to stop her.
'It´s just a scrape,' he assured in the weakest voice Claire Farron had ever heard him use.
Ligthning could see it was definitely more than just a scrape, but she didn´t dare to contradict her sensei anyway.
Injured he might be, but he was probably still the most dangerous creature to cross on the entire planet.
Not knowing what to do, his protégé just watched as General Sephiroth Crescent let his body slide down the wall and to his knees.
His head leaning against the wall, mako killer eyes closed tightly, for a few minutes he seemed as if deep in concentration, until finally his breathing evened and his muscles relaxed.
Forceing his lungs to take deep calming breaths and trying to block the pain from paralyzing his mind, the silver haired first class concentrated hard on using his Jenova cell´s powers to close the long gash he had received in his side.
He had fought in darkness before.
Had thought opponents several times his size and strenght.
That was not the problem.
Fighting blind was one thing.
He could rely on his instincts to guide him effortlessly.
But fighting an approximately two tons heavy monstrous machine with six arms of razor sharp blades blind, that was something else entirely.
He knew he had barely made it out alive this time.
But he had.
And that was all that counted.
And he had ensured that Lightning and the materia where safe.
Good.
Everthing was fine.
Now his job there was done, it was time to focus on the matter at hand again.
Gathering his concentration once more, the silver haired first class forced his degenerated cells to work their magic on the numerous internal injuries he had received during the fight.
It drained him.
A lot.
It always did.
But better weak than dead, he guessed.
Finally done for the moment, he stretched his body and slowly opened his eyes, just to find his student´s blue ones staring at him intently, only a few inches from his own.
'Are you alright?' his pink haired apprentice asked.
Her voice sounded concerned and he was surprised to find worry there, etched into her features. Fear.
General Sephiroth Crescent only gave a tiny nod.
'For a moment there, I thought you passed out...'
The decorated war hero only gave a tiny chuckle, before carefully he made to push up and away from the wall.
'No. I´m fine.'
Taking his time to check whether he was fine indeed and to make sure all his posessions were still savely stowed away in his pockets, General Sephiroth Crescent looked up just in time to witness his second class´s attempts at picking up his Masamune.
Hilarious.
It was no use.
No one else but him could lift it.
He couldn´t hide a smirk from showing on his face as slowly he made his way over to her side.
'Need a hand?' he asked, his voice slightly mocking as he picked up the sword with ease and using his storage materia, let it vanish with just a swift motion of his arm.
He caught his second class staring at him again, her mouth slightly opened in surprise, disbelieve written all over her face and questions shining in her eyes.
Was it the fact that he could lift the sword so easily, or his fast recovery that had rendered her so astonished? The silver haired first class didn´t know, could only guess. Maybe both.
Either way he wasn't going to elaborate.
He wasn´t sure what kind of magic it was that bound that sword to him and he certainly could not explain. As for the other thing... Well it was really none of her business.
There was another deafening growl coming from beneath their feet and they felt the earth starting to shake again as quickly they stumbled away from the entry of the now collapsing shelter.
The silver haired first class, he didn´t waste any more time, as taking out his phone he hit the familiar sequence of digits, the number he had dialed a countless times before.
'Mission accomplished. Now come and get us.' was all he said as he let himself fall to his knees again, this time exhaustion finally getting the better of him.
He would have to pay another visit to floor 67 again once they returned to headquarters.
Professor Hojo would be thrilled to see him, he was sure.
