Claire Farron was sent on a mission a few days after her encounter with Sephiroth on the top of HQ.
Shin-Ra had apparently decided that she had fully recovered.
Thinking about what had happened that night on the heli pad Lightning could have facepalmed herself again and again. Over and over.
She still couldn´t understand what had driven her to act like she had.
In retrospect, Genesis´s sudden interference with whatever it was that had been going on between her former mentor and herself again, had saved her neck. She owed him. Big style. She could only fathom what would have happened if he hadn´t interrupted their private 'sparring' session.
It was undoubtedly something she would have regretted by now.
Yes.
She would have made a complete fool of herself.
Allowing her self control to slip away like that...
Her body´d been on autopilot again.
She´d lost control again.
First the thing with Zack. And now this.
It seemed to be happening more often lately, her emotions suddenly controlling her body. First that agression and now this... Whatever this was exactly.
No, her behavior that night had been inacceptable.
She hat to make sure nothing like it would ever happened again.
Still... Her thoughts kept wandering back to it, back to him. Lightning couldn´t help it.
She knew she needed it to stop, this stupid infatuation or whatever it was. Needed it to stop once and forever. She knew she needed to forget about him. Knew there was no way anything good could ever come from it. But it was no use.
It was something she hadn't managed to accomplish in the past and somehow Lightning doubted that she would manage to do now, or ever in the future.
Maybe the general just had that effect on people, women really. There was plenty of evidence for that. Maybe it was something she just had to live with.
Either way. Trying to forget about him suddenly seemed harder than ever.
It was very fortunate therefore that she hadn´t had to spend time with the silver haired general alone since then, and yes, she was already dreading their next private encounter.
Because yes. This time he had to have noticed something. He just had to.
That way he´d looked at her...
Had she actually touched his face? Suddenly Claire Farron wasn´t sure.
Either way.
Their next meeting was bound to be awkward.
Even more than usual.
And she was greatful therefore when she was sent away again with Zack and Tseng this time. Far away from Midgar. Faraway from him.
It was just the perfect opportunity to avoid the silver haired general and the resurfaced feelings that she had for him.
They were safely seated inside the heli carrying them near Modeoheim where wutai rebels had assumedly converted an abandoned mako reactor test station into a hideout, waiting for drop offf.
It was their job to investigate whether these rumors were true, whether the wutai'd really set up camp, then infiltrate and annihilate the opposing forces.
It wasn´t going to be an easy task. No three men show, now that she thought about. And she knew they had to be careful, had to take extra caution.
Her former experiences with the wutai hadn´t been something to laugh about, especially not her most recent encounter. Lightning wasn´t going to make the mistake of underestimating them ever again.
She knew the heli would drop them off somewhere in the wastelands between Modeoheim and Icicle Inn. Somewhere north of the test reactor. They would have to make the remaining distance by foot, they couldn´t risk being detected.
It wasn´t exactly a jolly outlook, but somehow the pink haired female couldn´t help but marvel at the view.
Getting up from her seat she moved over to the open cargo door, the chilly air biting her face as she took in the scenery: White plain fields of snow stretching endlessly in every direction, the setting sun painted the sky in beautiful oranges and pinks and purples.
The many pretty colors reflected by the thick white blanket covering the lands below made it twinkle like a sea of crystal.
She could see a range of mountains towering in the distance too, like ice cubes floating in a drink.
All those colors albeit beautiful, suddenly stirred uncomfortable feelings somewhere deep inside of her, her mind associating them with something terrible, something dreadful and horribly painful... Something that she had forgotten.
Not having regained the memories from the beach of Costa del Sol, Lightning somehow failed to get the message.
Pushing her unpleasant thoughts away, she found it was the calmest scenery she´d ever laid eyes on.
Probably the most appeasing landscape that existed.
Leaning forward she took it all in.
The colors, the crispness of the air, the chilly winds, the last rays of the warming sun, when suddenly there was a high pitched hissing noise, followed by a deafening bang.
The heli gave a mighty jolt, causing her to lose her footing.
Suddenly she was in the air.
She felt like floating in a sea of color.
There was White.
Orange.
Pink.
Purple.
And then... Darkness.
When she woke up everything hurt.
Her brain momentarily unable to form a single coherent thought, the only thing Lightning perceived was pain.
Fuck... What happpened?!
It took her a few minutes to realize where she was, to remember that she had been assigned a mission near Modeoheim.
The last thing she knew being standing in the door of the helil she figured she had to have fallen out or something.
But where was the heli?
Where was Zack?
Where was Tseng?
What had happened?
Her surroundings slowly swimming into focus, Claire Farron tried to get up into a sitting position. Suddenly that casual motion seemed like hard work.
Deciding that she needed to get herself together she made it up onto her legs.
It wasn´t exactly an easy task either. The corners of her vision darkening, she threatened to fall to her knees again. It was a miracle she managed to stay on her feet.
Her vision finally clearing, she made to take in her surroundings.
Snow and ice everywhere.
Great.
It was with slow deliberate movements that she climbed a small hill to try and make out her position, but it was no use.
The wintry fields stretching out endlessly around her, there was nothing but snow wherever she looked.
The mountains in the distance were her only means of orientation.
There was no sign of a crash or a fight or the others. Nothing that hinted at their presence whatsoever.
How long had she been out?
Had Tseng and Zack just left without her?
Not. There simply was no way.
No was Zack Fair would have left his friend behind.
No. She knew they wouldn´t have left her there like this. Knew that much for sure.
And there was only one conclusion. Something terrible must have happened.
That, she now was sure of too.
Hadn't she heard a weird hissing noise. Hadn't there been some kind of explosion?
Somehow Claire Farron could not say for sure.
Feeling the chill creeping into her bones already the pink haired first class took out her phone to read 'no service'.
That stupid blasted thing...
It was kind of funny how she actually never used it and now that she wanted to, it didn´t work. Just like back then in the wutai forests.
That worthless piece of junk!
Things were getting better and better by the minute.
An icy wind brushing her cheek Claire Farron realized that it was freezing cold. And getting dark. Fast.
She needed to find shelter.
It was the first thing that came to her mind.
Her instincts taking over, she dragged herself what she figured had to be south, judging from the position of the sun or rather the last few rays of it.
She remembered their drop off being somewhere north from their target destination. Not having anywhere else to go, she figured she might as well continue with the mission.
It was all that she could do.
Setting off with the last blink of light vanishing from the horizon, Claire Farron began her hike.
But with the darkness came the cold.
Feeling the temperature around her dropping rapidly, the nights out there apparently even colder than the days, the pink haired first class found her breath misting out in front of her and the cold air stinging her lungs, felt the palms of her leather gloved hands getting chilly, her fingers and toes slightly numb already.
She knew she needed to find some sheltered place to rest for the night soon or she was so done for.
So she went.
And she kept going and going and going, nothing but snow everywhere.
Around her the vast emptiness of the ice desert stretched endlessly.
Her hands and feet aching with cold, ignoring the pain, Claire Farron continued onwards.
It took her some time before she realized she wasn´t going anywhere. Wasn't making any progress.
No matter how long she walked, her surroundings didn't change, no kind of shelter came in sight.
Exhausted and weary, her muscles refusing to work under these low temperatures, protesting painfully, she slowly let herself sink to the ground. Her back to the slope of yet another snowy dune, she curled up into a ball, shivering, her every cell freezing, her body hurting so much she could barely bear to breathe.
Oh she was so done for.
This was game over.
No. She could not give up.
Help was on the way.
They were probably searching for her. At least that was what she told herself. That they would find her some time soon. Eventually.
Not really able to move her limbs much more, to change her position really, her body trembling violently, the pink haired female tried to think of something, anything, to keep her mind busy, forcing herself to stay awake, because she knew, she just knew: once she´d fall asleep she was doomed.
She had to stay awake. Had to stay conscious until the others found her. Had to keep breathing, had to keep thinking, had to keep herself busy and optimistic.
She knew all that.
However, no comforting thought came to her mind.
She didn´t know how long she lay there, the dead silence broken only by the pumping of blood in her ears pressing in on her, while breathing became more and more difficult, more and more of a bother really than a vital body function.
She´d always known she would die on a SOLDIER mission. But in fight... As a hero... Not like this. Never like this.
Were Zack and Tseng alright?
At this point Claire could only hope.
Suddenly she felt worried for the both of them. Especially Zack.
Zack...
The overall pain of her tormented cells morphing into a throbbing numbness, soothing her, a stray thought told her she should start being scared by now, but fear seemed to have become a concept floating somewhere beyond her immediate reach.
She wondered whether somebody would find her in time.
Probably not.
She didn't know how much time she still had. How much time she'd have once she fell unconscious.
Maybe nobody was looking for her at all...
It was a terrible thought that occured to her.
Maybe nobody even cared...
Somehow Lightning couldn´t blame them.
The feeble remainders of her body heat leaching out into the surrounding snow she realized her body had stopped shivering some time ago now.
Sephiroth´s words echoed in her head.
'You are pathetic.'
Yes.
She couldn´t help but notice how pathetic she was.
Simply a delicate, tropical organism whose range was restricted to a narrow sunlit band that girded the earth at the equator, her physical shell unsuited for an harsh environment like this, doomed without the comforts modern technologies offered.
Pathetic indeed.
Unable to consciously move a muscle anymore, Claire Farron felt her mind slip away, felt her thoughts grow slugish and her vision dark.
She tried to fight it, but only halfheartedly so.
In the dephts of her mind another voice was talking to her now. An high pitched alien voice.
It told her not to worry, to just go to sleep.
That she would be alright.
That nothing could harm her.
Lightning didn´t bother to contradict.
In the end the fatigue would win anyway.
'Let´s just leave, it´s no use.' Genesis tried to reason with them. 'We don´t even know where she landed. We´ve been searching for hours now and haven´t found a trace of her! If we come to close to the reactor the wutai might spot us.'
'I don´t understand...' Zack Fair mumbled, sounding totally crestfallen.
He was wrapped in a thermal blanket, warming his hands on a steaming cup of tee.
'She was there with us in the heli. I don´t know what happened. Everything happened so fast... At the time I came around she was gone... Just gone...'
General Sephiroth Crescent could hear Zack Fair's voice breaking at the last part, indicating that he was about to cry.
Fuck that lad could be such a pussy sometimes...
He guessed Angeal approved of his pup displaying his emotions like this instead of bottling them up inside, but the silver haired general himself just thought he was a pussy.
Shit, they were in SOLDIER after all!
'She must have fallen out before we crashed. I remember she was standing by the door.' Tseng clarified, shaking his head discourgingly.
'We´ll find her.' Angeal assured the crybaby, resting his hand on Zack´s shoulder reassuringly, before putting on a thick fur coat on top of his uniform he turned to exit, hopping off the military supply truck which´s cargo area had been transformed to resemble a small common room.
'I´ll send the Turks out for her again too.' Tseng decided, signaling Reno and Rude to look for her again, using the helicopter the two had arrived in.
'I wonder what caused our heli to crash like that...' the general said, his voice sounding as if he didn´t wonder at all, but in fact knew for sure.
Yes. He already had a pretty good idea what had happened and he knew all the others were thinking along the same line. That was the reason they had been sent there in the first place, to investigate and destroy the cause of this 'accident', not to search for a lost comrade.
He caught Zack Fair looking up at him from the corner of his eyes.
'I don´t remember what happened... Everything went so fast...' he said again.
And it was getting old too.
Sephiroth hated it when people repeated themselves over and over. Did the crybaby think he was incapable of remembering things he had heard only seconds ago?!
The general realized he felt irritated and on edge.
They were no closer to finding Lightning than they had been five hours ago and although he knew there was practically nothing that could pose a threat to her out there with her Jenova enhanced body, the lack of any kind of life sign from her side made him feel uneasy.
'We were struck by anti-aircraft fire...' Tseng suddenly said, nursing a cut on his forehead.
'I´m sure of it.' the Turk added determinedly.
All the others turning to give him incredulous stares, the silver haired first class had already expected something like that.
The debris at the crash site hadn´t exactly pointed toward an accident and Tseng was too good a pilot to send the heli to their doom for no reason at all.
'It appears to have come from the direction of the reactor...' Tseng suggested carefully.
'The wutai have apparently been waiting for us.'
'No way!' Genesis threw in. 'Anti aircraft fire... Where would the wutai acquire weapons such as this?'
Well... The redhead had an interesting point there.
How had they gotten access to arms like that? Until then they had been fighting Shin-Ra with spears and lances, sometimes monsters. But they hadn´t had modern weapons like flak guns or anti aircraft missiles.
The fact that they suddenly had, was very disconcerting to say the very least.
Until now their outmatching numbers hadn´t really posed a threat.
Technologically superior, Shin-Ra had been able to deal with them no matter their numbers.
There wasn´t much you could do to harm a mega corporation like Shin-Ra when you were armed with sticks and stones, but if they had somehow managed to obtain modern weapon technology...
Maybe the genral's assumptions were right after all. Maybe the wutai really had taken something back at their infiltration of HQ.
Shin-Ra weapon blueprints for example.
'Let´s just go back to the crash site, maybe we can find some more clues there.' Sephiroth suggested, getting up from his seat and setting out into the cold dark night.
With Lightning or without.
There still was work to do.
They kept searching for Lightning through the night until the weather turned against them.
Returning to the safety of the truck, they met to re-eveluate the situation.
'We should stay in here, until the conditions get a bit better.' Genesis decided.
Zack Fair giving an audible sigh of despair, Sephiroth watched the redhead looking the pup dead in the eye.
'There´s no use in searching for her in that blizzard out there! We´d probably get ourselves killed as well!' Genesis reasoned.
'What do you mean 'as well'?!' Zack thundered, getting up from his seat.
'You don´t think she´s... That she´s... ' he trailed off at the last part.
The redhead not eager to answer whatsoever, Zack, in search for support, looked over at Angeal.
The latter just avoided his gaze.
General Sephiroth Crescent knew what they were thinking. Knew that they were wrong. Of course Lightning was still out there. She had to be. She'd probably headed south towards the reactor. It was what he would have done. Had probably sought shelter somewhere on the way.
Surely he would feel it if something had happened to her. Yes. He was sure he would.
They shared a connection now.
A connection he could still feel tingling somewhere at the back of his mind, even if she wasn't there.
Surely it would tell him if suddenly she were gone.
'But... You don't hink she's... She's...' the puppy stuttered desperately, his lower lip trembling slightly. His brain seemingly unable to process the information it had just received, he hesitantly turned to look at Sephiroth.
The general could see the tears in the young man's sky blue eyes as pleadingly the latter searched his face, probably waiting for some kind of confirmation.
Sephiroth didn´t know why he was looking at him in the first place.
He was not exactly famous for comforting people.
Still. He had good news for him this time.
Looking at Zack levelly, he simply shook his head.
'No I don´t think so, Zack.' he said somewhat encouragingly.
'I think it takes a lot more than a snow storm to kill a First Class like Lightning.' he added, watching his blue puppy eyes widen in surprise.
Yes, the pup probably hadn´t expected him to be somebody to have much optimism to share (which was a good thing too, because he definitely was not).
The others shooting him reproachful glares, General Sephiroth Crescent found he didn´t care.
They were clueless anyway.
It was the morning of the next day that their small unit found the place where their comrade's body had to have hit the ground.
There were no traces of blood, no tracks leading away from there, there'd been a snowstorm raging in the night, still, General Sephiroth Crescent felt the remnants of her blood call out to him, felt his connection tugging at him, urging him to head south.
'She must have been here...' the silver haired first class murmured, more to himself than to anyone in particular, as he crouched down to investigate the spot where Lightning´s blood lay burried under heaps of snow.
The jenova cells in it calling out to him but weekly, his eyes followed the direction his connection indicated, up to the high towering mountains in the distance.
She had gone south indeed. Just as he had expected. That stupid girl. She had probably indented to carry out this mission all by herself.
Just like he'd have done.
Maybe they really weren't so different after all...
Heavy footsteps approaching from behind him, he suddenly sensed Angeal´s presence next to him.
'Sephiroth... Maybe it is time to abort this search...' the burly first class said somewhat tentatively.
Not looking up to meet his gaze, the general continued to stare into the distance.
He knew his friend had a hard time finding the appropriate words to express what he thought he had to say.
Sephiroth wished he´d just skip it. He knew what he was about to say anyway.
'I just don´t think there is any chance that somebody could survive a night out here. Not even Lightning.' his comrade began carefully.
'It´s less than - 10 degrees or something... If she´s still out there then she´s probably... She very likely hasn´t made it, Sephiroth.' he continued, his voice serious, as if he was trying to make his comrade accept what he thought was the truth.
'No. She isn't dead Angeal.' the general told his comrade, determined, his eyes still fixed on the horizon.
He could tell his friend had a hard time telling him all this.
Yes. Angeal had to think he had gone crazy letting the others search for her like that. Search for her when it was hopeless. When any other soldier would have died.
But Claire Farron wasn't exactly the average soldier. Or the average human being really. Wasn't really fully human anymore at all.
'It´s freezing cold... There aren´t exactly many places to hide out here.' Angeal Hewley insisted, trying to talk some sense into his first class general.
Sephiroth detected pity in his voice, sensed his kind blue eyes monitoring him carefully, waiting for his reaction. He knew his friend wanted him to accept that there was no use in continuing their search. Wanted him to pack up camp.
The general just shook his head in denial.
He knew she was still out there somewhere and he certainly wouldn´t leave this place without her.
And there were the wutai too. Lurking somewhere in the snow. That he was aware of too.
'There is no chance she could have survived...' Angeal persisted.
It was starting to get on his nerves.
The silver haired man slowly shook his head again.
Angeal didn´t understand. How could he?
Contemplating whether to fill him in or not, the general finally turned to face him, sighted in defeat once he came to look into those kind blue eyes.
Poor Angeal...
He certainly wouldn´t take the news lightly.
'What if I told you there is...?!' the general began, his voice low as he considered his next words very carefully.
His comrade looking at him questioningly Sephiroth found the burly first class´s eyebrows rising up higher and higher as quickly he explained to him what had really happened that night.
The night Lightning had died in his arms.
The night he let Hojo get his way.
The night Lightning was implanted with Jenova cells.
He watched his comrade´s facial expression change from surprise to confusion and then to horror, as finally he began to understand, his complexion slightly paling as patiently he listened to everything the general had say.
General Sephiroth Crescent dearly hoped his friend wasn´t going to give him one of his famous lectures.
He was so not in the mood to take his bullshit right then.
'Does she know?' Angeal finally asked after a few minutes of silence.
Sephiroth had given him the time to let all the information he had provided him with sink in.
Kind blue eyes boring into his own in what he could only describe as a very stern way, the silver haired first class knew his friend was already guessing the answer.
'No...' the general revealed, averting his eyes, voice barely a whisper.
And he was so not intent on letting her find .
'You should tell her, man. You have to tell her. She gotta know.' his friend insisted.
Yeah, sure. Of course. Angeal was right. Still. Hell might as well freeze over before he would reveal the truth to her, before he would place that horrid burden on her. The burden of knowledge.
No. It was his to bear and his alone.
He shouldn't have told anybody in the first place. Should not have told Angeal.
'Promise me you will not tell her!' The silver haired first class ordered instantly, fear suddenly creeping up on him.
Would Angeal betray him? Would he reveal his secret to her?
The man beside him, Angeal Hewley, devourer of whole pigs and best healer in probably all of Gaia, he only gave a grave tight nod.
Not in this life, my friend.
General Sephiroth Crescent acknowledged it with one of his own.
'But you probably should.'
Claire Farron couldn´t believe her luck when waking up from the probably most uncomfortable night of her life she opened her eyes to the most beautiful sunrise ever.
The snow beneath her reflecting the first rays of the winter sun made the dunes around her sparkle like diamonds.
How in Gaia´s name had she managed to survive that night?!
Trying to move her stiffened muscles, her body only reluctantly responding to her brain´s commands, it took her some time to get into gear.
Once she managed to get up, she made her way up another snowy dune to check on the vicinity.
There was no trace of the heli or any Shin-Ra search party but she could make out the outlines of a valley carved into the rock of the towering mountains a few miles away, the monstrous steely walls of what had to be the reactor test station rising from it´s depths.
It was her who discovered the lair of the enemy. Her who confirmed Shin-Ra's worst of fears.
Yes. It was true. The rumours. The stories. All of it.
The wutai had indeed transformed the test reactor into a military base and there where thousands of them milling about in the snow, armed to the bone with what seemed to be the latest trends of Shin-Ra weapons.
There was no way Shin-Ra could wipe them out just like that anymore.
No.
The Wutai forces had been growing, proliferating like a tumor really, their numbers had multiplied by hundreds.
And they were preparing, mobilizing, for their final battle.
Spying on them for some time from a safe distance away, Lightning watched them load containers. Containers filled with weapons. Containers bearing the Shin-Ra emblem. Yes. They were carrying Shin-Ra weapons indeed. Were in fact equipped with the latest creations of modern warfare.
She briefly wondered how they had gotten hold of them in the first place and in such quantities too, it looked as though they had taken control of one of Shin-Ra´s weapon production sites.
Deciding that there was nothing she could do there, the female first class sneaked away, eager to bring as much distance between herself and that deathtrap of a test station as fast as possible.
She knew once they'd get alerted to her presence, she would be as good as dead. Enhancements or not, she was just one person. And the wutai were in the thousands.
Having lost orientation, the pink haired female found herself near the small village of Modeoheim some time later, the once vacated place now transformed into a wutai military base as well. Enemies busy moving around like ants, she felt like being trapped inside a nightmare.
Shin-Ra was screwed.
They really were.
If the wutai were going to attack them with all that, they were screwed for real!
No. President Shin-Ra wouldn´t be pleased with her revelations, that much was for sure, and Lightning wasn´t either.
Having seen enough, she decided she needed to get out of there as long as she still had a chance to. She needed to get away from that army of cohorts now, before they would get wind of her presence. Needed to make it back to Midgar to report to Director Lazard.
She was the only one who knew after all. The only one to warn them.
Adrenaline kicking in again Lightning stumbled through the snow. Back into the direction she thought she´d come from. Hoping against hope that the wautai wouldn't find her tracks.
It took her miles before she finally heard the familiar noise of heli rotors.
It was the first time in her life that she was relieved to see Reno Sinclair's red marked face, his unruly wild hair.
It appeared Lazard had organized a search party to retrieve her after all.
Claire Farron was surprised to find a little base camp set up overnight and she was even more surprised to learn that it was set up to find her.
She was greeted by Zack Fair who, pale as a sheet, came racing towards her to tackle her with the tightest hug she ever had received, the second that she entered.
Holding on to him tightly Lightning felt his chest heaving with sobs.
'I thought I´d lost you...' her comrade whispered into her ear, his arms around her closing even tighter.
'I thought you were dead...'
'I´m still here.' the pink haired female reassured, giving her friend a reassuring smile.
'How the fuck did you manage to survive out there?!' the young man said, amazement written all over his face.
'I don´t know Zack... I really do not know.'
Letting her eyes wander the crowd, Lightning found the rest of the party staring at her in disbelieve.
Angeal Hewley monitoring her every move like a hawk, it took some time for her to realize that they had all thought her dead.
Well at least most of them, she thought.
General Sephiroth Crescent didn´t seem surprised at all.
