BACK TO SCHOOL – LARA AND CLYDE

Lara's Room

Lara sits with cross-legged on the floor, her eyes closed as she takes deep breaths, steadying herself for what she knows is soon to come. The military will be here soon, Nina will have retrieved them, every last one of them. There are many pocket worlds, many generals scattered throughout the pocket-worlds, each engaged in senseless slaughter at this very moment. The procedure for instant recall is fast though, developed by General Elliot it can force all forces to return to military headquarters instantly. At a full paced march, to get from the military headquarters to the military academy won't take long, at least they will be here before Nadia and Swen can bring reinforcements.

A knock comes at the door and Elliot steps inside, offering Lara a courteous salute. "I have brought General Clyde, if there is nothing else I shall take my leave."

Lara dismisses Elliot, leaving herself and Clyde alone. While she remains in the same position, Clyde walks over to one of the marked walls, sitting down with his back against it. He seems relaxed, Lara notes that he often seems relaxed in these situations. She wonders how he does it. She's only started to feel this way about her comrades recently, but Clyde has felt it all his life. Despite stating his concern, Clyde's body language has never spoken of his worry, he has never cracked under pressure, his slight smile and clear eyes show that this hasn't changed.

"Is there something you wanted to see me about Lara?" he asks.

"Yes. The military will be here soon, all of them. I want you to make the big speech to them, ask them to help us."

Clyde shakes his head gently. "By rights it's your job, why do you want me to do it?"

"I liked your eight backs speech," Lara replies sarcastically.

"Don't deflect Lara, you've always been in charge of the military and I don't see that this has changed. Why are you suddenly so nervous now?"

Lara lowers her head for a moment, sniffling as if she has a cold before smiling slightly. Confession has never really been her speciality. To confess to all her sins would take several lifetimes. Since she entered this room, her thoughts have rested on all the terrible things the military has done in the pocket worlds, all the intimidation, the revival of the dead, the mental anguish. What has rested on her mind more than anything, is that she was the worst. There is no general who has done more to hurt the pocket worlds than her, there is no general who has done more to serve the emperor than she has. Even if they manage to overthrow Furst, could that atone for her sins.

"I'm used to ordering them to do things," Lara admits, "I've never asked them for help before."

Clyde sighs. "You can't keep doing this Lara. You can't keep doubting yourself just because you're going through some changes. This is an important moment in the history of homeworld and we need you at your best. This won't be the last important moment either, this won't be the last thing you do that matters. Sure, everyone in the military was afraid of you, that was why we followed you. But, if you show them another side of yourself they will respect you as well as fear you. That's all I've ever done, that's the only difference between you and me. I know it's hard for you in front of so many people, but you have to open up to them sooner or later."

"I prefer later."

"Well tough luck General, you're going to do it today and that's an order."

Time for her confession.

"I'm scared Clyde."

"Then admit that to them," Clyde says, "There's no point in lying, they will probably die trying to overthrow Furst. If you want them to believe this fight is worth it they have to believe everything else you're saying. They would never believe that you're not scared"

Knock!

Clyde looks back to the door, Elliot is back. This time the well-dressed general has brought a pocket-worlder with him. Clyde recognises her immediately as Sarutobi Mirai.

"I have brought your counterpart," Elliot announces, "The military leader of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Clyde watches as Lara invites Mirai in and dismisses Elliot. He notices something strange, Lara is more relaxed around Mirai than Elliot. Lara is more relaxed with him than Elliot. This doesn't make sense, Elliot has been her second-in-command for years, he has spent more time with Lara than anyone else, he knows her better than anyone else. If she is starting to open up to people she should be opening up to him before them. He knows that she is starting to make friends, whether Lara wants to admit it or not. She has complained about her teachers but she likes them, she has made friends with several of the pocket-worlders, she's bantered with other members of the military. There is something different about he and Mirai.

"So, you're feeling nervous about your big speech?" Mirai asks.

"No," Lara lies childishly.

"She tried to make me do it," Clyde says.

"Clyde!"

"Sorry boss, I'm keeping no secrets."

Mirai kneels beside Lara, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Listen Lara, I understand the nerves you must be feeling, I've felt them a lot of times myself, that's the price you pay for caring, but believe me, it's a price worth paying."

"I'm not just worried about the military."

"Then what?"

"I'm worried about the two of you," Lara admits.

Clyde leans forward, "The two of us?"

Lara nods. "Compared to you I don't have many leadership qualities. I've intimidated people and forced them to do my bidding. I'm not a leader at all, I'm a commander. I was just the person put in charge by someone else and I don't feel like I can do this without disappointing you."

Clyde's mind begins to turn again, Lara is worried about disappointing them. Is this the same Lara that has always been the leader of the military? No, Lara's true personality was hidden beneath her aggression before but in recent times it has started to come out. Her true personality is confident, Lara doesn't care what anyone else thinks, she trusts her own instincts just as much as the headmaster or Naruto. She has never been worried about disappointing someone before now, there is something else driving that.

"Does it matter if you don't impress us?" Mirai shrugs, "We don't expect the world from you Lara. You're a human being just like us, only a god could go forever without making a mistake."

"I know but I… I become so much more aware of what I'm doing when I'm around the two of you," Lara explains, "I only realise how stupid I'm acting when you're there and I hate it. I hate making mistakes around you, I hate looking stupid around you. I'm absolutely terrified of anything that could push either of you away, that could change the way I've been feeling since we came together, since…"

"OK-OK," Mirai says, "It doesn't matter if you're scared. It doesn't matter how badly you mess up, the two of us aren't going anywhere, understand."

Clyde watches with interest as Mirai hugs Lara and Lara relaxes. Lara is definitely not someone who enjoys a hug from her friends.

"Just go out there and give it your all," Mirai says before releasing Lara, "that's all Clyde and I will ever ask of you."

Lara nods before getting to her feet and leaving the room. She hasn't got long to think about what she is going to say.

Mirai sighs as she looks at Clyde, they both know now.

"You know why she's nervous around the two of us, don't you?" Clyde asks.

"Yes," Mirai nods, "I know."

Lara paces the corridors, trying to find the words to use. What can she possibly say? Clyde is a good talker, Naruto is a dreamer who can make anyone else believe, Sarada can show her very soul to another person. Lara's gift has never been her communication though, just her combat ability. Perhaps Clyde was right, and all she can draw on is the truth. Is the truth inspiring enough?

As Lara turns around and begins to walk back down the corridor she notices a pair of feet in front of her. She looks up to see that it is Nina who has intercepted her. She's back, that means that she has brought the rest of the military back with her. Elliot's quick recall procedures are as impressive as ever.

"Head General Lara, your subordinates are waiting for you in front of the academy," Nina says calmly, "I have set up a platform for you to speak to them."

Lara nods and heads towards the front of the building. Normally she would teleport in these situations but this time it's different. She walks slowly, savouring the sound of each footstep as if walking to her own execution.

Nina follows initially but realises that Lara probably wants to be alone so drops into the background. The former bandit has done something important with her life here, helping to train Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sarada, to prepare them to take on the world. Lara is about to do something just as important, she's going to summon up an army for them. The difference between the two of them unfortunately is talent. Nina is a born teacher, Lara is not a leader, she's a commander.

Eventually Lara makes it out to the front of the academy where she stands upon a small platform. Before her is a device for projecting her voice and she quickly realises that she will need it. The military have not been assembled in one place for a very long time, or perhaps they never have. Regardless, there are currently more recruits than ever before and Lara is looking at more people than she has ever seen in her life. She never really pictured it before, how many people she was in charge of, how many subordinates she had. There must be around a million of them she considers, possibly more, all under her command for now.

She takes a deep breath as the enormous group of people die down. Lara finds it amazing how quickly so many people can go so quiet. It hasn't helped her at all, she feels her test tighten and she screws her eyes shut tightly as she thinks back to the words she has been considering. This is going to go wrong, she can feel it.

Then she feels a pair of hands slip into her own. As her eyes spring open she looks to the left and right to see that Mirai and Clyde are there with her. Perhaps that is all she needs. A little bit of truth and a lot of faith.

Lara relaxes and speaks into the device.

"This is the first time I know of that the military has met in one place before. I never realised that there were so many of us to be honest. I never really cared how many captains there were before. I am Head General Lara, I am the appointed commander of the generals of the military, and I am therefore the highest authority in this army.

"Beside me I have General Clyde, who currently is the most powerful general in the military. I also have a woman with me named Sarutobi Mirai, she is a pocket-worlder."

The crowd begins to whisper to one another again as they hear this news. They have spent their entire lives hunting down pocket-worlders but in front of them their commander has joined hands with one, this goes against everything they have been taught.

"You may wish to know why I have joined hands with a pocket-worlder," Lara continues, "That is because I have made a decision about our mission. For most of my life I have invaded pocket worlds all in the name of Homeworld's glorious empire. That has always been my mission, our mission, but I have decided that mission was wrong.

"I've seen countless pocket worlds fall to our powers. They never truly fought back, they couldn't. Even on the rare occasion where all energy in that world had fallen to one person they couldn't defeat the generals. I've seen millions of pocket-worlders die at our hands. They were powerless, very rarely could they even defeat one of our captains. I've decided that not one more pocket-worlder shall die.

"I am declaring war on Furst Jonas."

The whispers amongst the crowd die down, replaced by silence. Lara guesses that this must be the result of terror. Until recently the mightiest generals in this army were afraid of her. Since learning of battle classes, she has come to realise that she is not even close to standing up to Furst. If Furst were here now he could obliterate this entire army and he wouldn't even need to use his golden divine energy.

"The imperial guard are stronger than us," Lara admits, "Most of their captains are more competent than our generals. Their resources are plentiful, far more so than our own. They have access to all the best training. In a head on fight, there is absolutely no chance of victory as things stand. For us to become strong enough to win this fight is almost impossible, betting on us would be foolish. I've made plans and strategies all my life but never on this scale before, frankly I don't know how we can possibly win. That's why I'm not going to make any of you help me."

The military begins to talk amongst themselves before, even Clyde is having doubts at this point. Honesty is one thing but admitting that there is absolutely no hope whatsoever is quite another. He wonders if he should step in, if he should say something encouraging, but he doesn't. Clyde squeezes Lara's hand slightly to remind her that he and Mirai are there and decides that he will believe in her.

"I know this speech hasn't inspired many of you so far, I would have been very happy with it either," Lara admits. "But things changed when I went to Sarutobi Mirai's pocket world. That's where I met the people of the Hidden Leaf Village. I went to this pocket world personally with a team of generals when I learned that Clyde here had gone rogue. I planned to kill him, to overcome my greatest rival after many years of him standing up to me. I didn't end up killing Clyde, he defeated me and spared me.

"Clyde and I were both inspired by the same man. The first pocket-worlder I ever met who used divine energy. His name is Uzumaki Naruto.

"When he was faced with impossible odds like these, Naruto kept going, even when everyone else stopped. The pocket worlds have never stood up to a general before, they have all fallen before us except this one. Naruto defeated a general, and not just any general, he defeated General Clyde. He used 'life' as his element, 'life'! He was only a pocket-worlder but he mastered something nobody in the entire military could, it was incredible. Led by Uzumaki Naruto, this pocket-world survived two attacks from the most powerful generals in the military.

"Uzumaki Naruto has never given up, and he's still fighting desperately against the empire now. If he never gave up, what right do we have to give up now?

"I wanted to keep acting the same way after I met these pocket-worlders but the truth is that they changed me. I can't look at these long odds the same way I did before, I don't think things are hopeless anymore.

"If Uzumaki Naruto could overcome impossible odds, why couldn't his pocket world do it too? If his pocket world could overcome impossible odds, why couldn't I overcome impossible odds? If I can overcome impossible odds, why can't all of you do it too?

"Some of justify our wars against the pocket worlds by pretending that the pocket-worlders aren't human, but that was wrong. The impossible people we found in this pocket world were more human than any of us. I can no longer continue commanding the military in the same way, not when the people in these worlds have just as much potential as you and I.

"We are all human!

"I can't order you to face odds like these. The reality won't change, victory is almost impossible. I can't make you do anything, I can only ask you, I can only beg you. It's alright to be scared, I'm absolutely terrified. But if hope can make me stand up to Furst, I'm sure that hope can find each and every one of you as well.

"If hope has reached you in the same way it has reached me, please, help me."

Lara finishes her speech not knowing what to expect. She looks over her many subordinates who have been stunned into silence. 'Is that bad,' she wonders. If she remembers any of the other inspirational speeches she has heard they usually ended with a bit more of a flourish.

"I will await your answer," Lara eventually says into the device.

She turns and leaves the platform, along with Mirai and Clyde.

As the three of them leave the platform they head inside. Lara immediately breathes a sigh of relief, practically collapsing against the first sturdy surface she finds. She closes her eyes for at least ten seconds before opening them and looking straight at Clyde for some sign of approval. When he gives her a thumbs-up it's a tremendous weight off her shoulders, her speech was fine. Whether or not the military will rally to their cause, she has done everything she can now.

"That was a lovely speech Lara," comes the voice of Headmaster Sora, "May I have a moment to speak with yourself and Clyde alone."

Mirai begins to leave but Lara grabs her shoulder. "Whatever you say to me old man Mirai can hear it too."

Sora looks at Clyde. This is personal, Clyde has just as much right to hear this news in private as Lara. Clyde nods to the headmaster, evidently he has no problem with Mirai being present for this news, whatever it may be. He knows that may not be the full story though, that Clyde has tremendous emotional maturity, that he may be just coping with whatever he thinks is necessary to get Lara through the day.

"Very well," Sora lets Mirai stay. "You two will want to prepare yourselves, this news won't be easy to hear. While I was away I learnt a few things about the inner workings of the laboratories. I was looking for information on King Weiss Max when I uncovered this information, very secret information."

Clyde nods, "What did you learn headmaster?"

"The cloaks that you have been wearing, these cloth ones that correspond to your rank. Bronze is the mark of a military captain. Silver is the mark of a military colonel. The two of you wear golden cloaks, the mark of a general." Sora begins. "I'm afraid these uniforms are just a trick. They are not ceremonious as you have been led to believe. King Max has been using these garments to sample your divine energy, to harvest it."

"They've been harvesting energy, why? Their own energy is of higher quality," Clyde admits in his confusion, "Fascinating, they most be plotting something, some kind of trick. What do you think Lara, you must have been the main target? Do you know what they could be using the energy for?"

"I'm not interested in science," Lara replies flatly, "Mirai?"

"I'm no scientist either," the shinobi admits.

"Well you don't need to speculate, I already know everything I need to," Sora explains, "Recently King Max has been in trouble. He has been reprimanded by the emperor himself, something that happens very rarely. The royals hardly ever make mistakes, it's even more unusual for them to make an important one."

"What did he do?" Mirai asks.

"He allowed an experiment to escape from the laboratories, or rather he allowed it to be rescued, no, that's no clearer," Sora mutters, "He had a collection of beasts captive in the labs, he always does for his various experiments. Some beasts have a unique divine energy you see. Anyway, one of these beasts broke free."

"So?" Lara shrugs, "Beasts escape the labs all the time."

"It was an owl that escaped," Sora continues, "The owl isn't what's important though. The experiment was a human, a young woman. The owl broke free with her."

Lara starts, "An owl?"

This takes Sora by surprise, "You have seen something?"

"Yeah, before we fought against Camren, she was stealing my blood… my drink. There was a young girl, white hair, purple eyes, accompanied by an owl."

Lara begins to reply the events of that day in her head. That may have been the most important day of her life. First Mirai spoke to her as a friend, she made a connection with a human being. Then when she was finished, she returned to her quarters to find this girl there with an owl. Lara pursued the young woman, hunting her down mercilessly for sport, exactly what the Head General had done her entire life. However, when Lara caught the girl's eyes she saw fear and for the first time Lara was merciful. After that she returned and after making a connection with Clyde she worked out a technique to help defeat Carmen.

"The young lady's name is Hannah," Sora declares.

Clyde nods, "Hannah, it's a good name."

"Hannah was created using divine energy harvested from the military. That's why they were sampling energy from your cloaks, Max was trying to create the ultimate warrior," Sora says enthusiastically, "From birth he gave her a divine ability that was created from the beasts' energy. Her divine ability changed her physically and mentally, making her behave like a wild animal. Hannah tries to establish dominance over all, usually killing them if they haven't submitted to her completely."

"So her divine ability makes her lose control?" Clyde asks.

"It maximises her instincts and senses to a level that humans aren't supposed to reach," Sora continues, "We can't prove it, but Max believes that her ability makes her utterly unbeatable within the same battle class."

"No problem," Lara says casually, "She wasn't too strong when I bumped into her. Any of us could defeat her without much effort."

"That's good news, she may well come around to our side, if we get to her first," Sora explains, "She has the instincts of a wild animal, Max did that deliberately. He was hoping not just to make her stronger but to control her completely. Hannah will recognise a pack leader for lack of a better term. If we can outwit her and overcome her instincts we can find her. If we can find her and defeat her before the emperor does, then we can free her. We can ask her to help us."

Lara compares Hannah's situation to her own. Lara was once considered an unbeatable monster who only settled down once she was defeated. No, Lara reconsiders this viewpoint. Even after she was defeated she was antagonistic and aggressive, it was only when she made a friend that she changed. Hannah is just a young girl who has had a terrible disease forced upon her. She has been saddled with a divine ability that won't let her be defeated at any cost that she can only be free from if she is defeated. She has supreme instincts, making her virtually impossible to find. Even the emperor will struggle. Hannah's situation is far worse than her own was.

"What if we don't find her?" Mirai asks.

"Then we better hope that she trains really slowly," Sora says, "If her instincts get completely out of her control, she may begin to recognise us as a group she can dominate. She may begin to pick us off one by one."

Lara nods and pushes herself off the wall and onto her feet. "So, you want us to hunt her down, you want us to defeat her and make her join up with us?"

Mirai nods, this makes a lot of sense. If Hannah cannot be defeated by someone in the same battle class then she is an ally they really need. They have heard tales of Furst's tremendous power, skill and potential. If there is anyone whose existence can rival his own mythical status it would be Hannah. Together, Naruto and Hannah may be able to defeat Furst, the miracle may happen.

"I wouldn't dare tell you what to do Lara" Sora smiles.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that what happens to Hannah isn't my decision. It's yours. Yours and Clyde's."

Clyde steps towards Sora. "Sorry, why ours? What makes Lara and I so special? Are you thinking that Hannah would fit in with the military better than the shinobi?"

Sora takes a deep breath. This sort of thing isn't his field of expertise, he's a good teacher, he can nurture people but he isn't much good at keeping them calm. He wishes that Akashi was here, Akashi could always handle situations like this better than he could. His brother-in-law would probably tackle this situation with a smile and talk about all the good things that could come of it. Sora can only think of the desperate situation that will now befall Lara and Clyde, of the monumental struggle that they will have to undertake.

"Did she have divine energy when you met her?" Sora asks.

"She used 'light' energy," Lara answers.

"Yes. Hannah's a rarity like Nina, a dual element user," Sora explains. "She only showed you one of her elements because she still hadn't fully controlled her powers. One of her elements is 'light'. Her other element is 'darkness'. Do you understand?"

"Our elements," Clyde nods.

"The report I received into King Max's activities revealed he had created a super-soldier named Hannah. Hannah was created using the energy harvested from the strongest two warriors in the military. Head General Lara and General Clyde."

Mirai realises that the shock must be slowing Lara and Clyde's thinking. She understands perfectly well what this means, how this changes their priorities completely. Sora still has to say it more plainly for the two of them, news he does not know how to deliver correctly.

"I can't tell you two what to do with Hannah," Sora says, "because Hannah is your daughter."