Sta.sh
''I went to the Katzroy bar for a good chat with my friends and with Sazh, and to enjoy a fruity cocktail - NOT to get interrogated by my former colleague from the Guardian Corps.
Amodar chose the wrong time to show up. We agreed that in the rare case that we would see or talk to each other again, he wouldn't be on duty. Why has he gone against that agreement?
There's a reason why I left the corps - and that's because I didn't want to be stuck with something that now served as a constant reminder of my past. My past was my own. Only Serah and I would ever know it's full story.
At Amodar's request, Sazh took him and Lightning around to the back of the bar into a private room that nobody else was in, before leaving them to their conversation. Once he had left and the door had shut, Lightning turned to Amodar surprisingly confident, to say that moments before she had been shaking and had a pale face.
''Why are you here? I thought we'd agreed not to see each other on any professional business again!''
''Sorry, soldier-''
''Ex-soldier. I left the Guardian Corps, remember?''
''I'd be worried if I didn't know that, Farron. You were under my wing for a short period of time after all - then before I knew it, I was answering to you. Impressive to say that you were one of only two soldiers who became 'special cases' and joined the corps underage.''
''I was only one of those 'special cases' because I was to stubborn to accept anything else. But those days are behind me Amodar. You're on duty, so why are you here?''
''Because we need you back.''
Those five words were all it took for Lightning's world to feel like it had turned on it's head. She hadn't particularly enjoyed her days in the Guardian Corps, no less because she was under the age limit of 16 to join the corps at the time. She had only joined as a matter of there being no other choice for her. It wasn't a past she wanted to turn back to again, yet now Amodar was asking her to go back to them. Go back to being a soldier, just when she was starting to relax.
She had just started to become content with her life. And nobody was going to take it back from her now.
''No.''
''Why not?''
''When I left the Guardian Corps, I left my old life behind with it. I hated the job and you of all people should know that. I only excelled and stayed in the job for as long as I did because I had nowhere else to go, nothing else to focus on. This is a new life now, a new me-''
''If it's a new life, why do you still identify yourself as 'Lightning'?''
Amodar's question had stopped Lightning in her tracks. The man had a point, and a good one at that. That was the only part of her old life that she was yet to abandon.
Lightning.
A force of destruction. A devastating power that could only destroy.
It couldn't protect, and it's only purpose was to cause havoc and wreak mayhem.
Lightning had took on that name because that's how she saw herself - as someone who could only destroy, and never protect. She wasn't even sure why she still went by that name. It certainly didn't suit her lifestyle anymore.
But then again, when she thought about going back to her real name...something told her not to. It was almost like the past had suddenly reappeared and was clinging onto her again. And she hated it.
But even if she was going to keep the name 'Lightning', there was no way in hell she was going to just go back to the Guardian Corps, simply because Amodar wanted her to.
"I don't know why I've kept the name. But that doesn't mean I'm still clinging onto the past. I'm not going back, and especially not because you simply want me back."
"You honestly think it's just me that wants you back? I've always wanted you back. The Corps hasn't been the same without you. The only reason why I'm coming to you now about it is because others have started to talk about you again. Raines personally asked me to try and bring you back-"
"Raines?"
"Yes, Raines. I assume you remember him?"
"How could I ever forget him?"
Back during her time in the Guardian Corps, Lightning had worked her way up the ranks fairly quickly (by soldier standards), eventually reaching a leadership position where she was frequently working alongside Cid Raines. He was the leader of the Cavalry unit of the Corps, and because the Cavalry were considered to be the main leadership force of the Guardian Corps, many saw Raines as being the overseer of all the units within it. It wasn't a job to be taken lightly.
Lightning had a lot of respect for Raines. He was loyal to his job, but he was always there when she wanted a friendly talk about anything. But he was also a very cautious and observant leader: he often didn't fall on any backup plans, only doing so when it was a last resort. More importantly, he hated to risk the lives of the elite on otherwise petty missions. So if he personally wanted Lightning back, there was something serious going on.
"What's troubled the Corps Amodar? Raines hates to fall back on his most trusted and only ever does when it's in a critical situation. There's something going on, isn't there?"
"Hate to beaten to telling you Farron, but you're right. Raines didn't initially want to fall back on you, but the Corps are currently going through a rough patch. You and Raines made up 2 of the 5 'leader elites' among the Guardian Corps. But now Raines is the only one left, and it's hard for one man to control the entire Corps alone."
"So he wants me to come back, right to the leadership position?"
"Yes and no. It's hard to explain. He secretly wants you to help him keep some of the Corps in check, that much is obvious. But he told me that he wanted you to act as an agent, keeping undercover and keeping an eye out for events here in Bodhum."
"What events?"
A sudden bang on the door interrupted the conversation. Amodar turned to the door as Sazh poked his head in.
"Hope I'm not disrupting anything, but the others are getting worried now - what should I say to them? I just had to stop Fang from coming in and asking what was taking so long."
"Just tell them we're reminiscing. If they ask for any more details on what's going on, tell them that it's not something we want to talk about."
"Got it."
As soon as the door shut again, Amodar turned back to Lightning and lowered his voice in case Sazh or Fang were listening in.
"Look, we've been trying to keep it under wraps, but there's been some pretty suspicious activity going on in some of the cities of Cocoon - Bodhum being one of them. As I'm sure you're aware, a couple of years ago there was a law put in place saying that no Cocoonians could move over to Pulse, and vice versa. It's almost like people have started to become scared of the lowerworld. People have began to go missing. The only connection we've found so far between them is that, regardless of whether they're a native of Cocoon or Pulse, all of them have gone down to Pulse at least once. Raines is scared that people like us will be next - we've all been down to Pulse a fair few times after all."
"Who would want to co-ordinate such an attack?"
"Who would want to co-ordinate such an attack?"
"Either the Sanctum, or PSICOM. If I were a betting man, I'd actually say that they're both playing a part in this."
Lightning had to agree. PSICOM didn't appear it on the surface, but they were very anti-anything-Pulse. And it was the Sanctum that put the law about not being able to move to Pulse in place, so they certainly weren't keen on the lowerworld. Lightning didn't understand what it was about Pulse that they were so against, but it definitely made them prime suspects for the recent disappearances.
"So Raines wants me to see if I can find anything here in Bodhum that could be traced back to PSICOM or the Sanctum, right?"
"Pretty much. Interested?"
Lightning took a deep breath. She wanted to protect the people close to her - she knew that a few of her friends had been down to Pulse a couple of times - but only on one condition.
"Tell Raines I'll keep an eye out and try to help, but I won't become an official member of the Guardian Corps...not yet, anyway."
"Well, it's a start. I'm sure Raines will respect your wishes. You know where you'll find me, so if you do see anything, come let me know. Thanks, Farron."
Amodar smiled and left as Lightning stood there in silence. She wasn't going to join the Corps, but she was going to work alongside them. Serah was not going to be happy if she found out, so she decided to keep it as her little secret.
Expecting to be questioned by her sister and friends, she stepped back into the main part of the bar to find everyone in conversation - well, up until Fang saw her, anyway.
"Took your time didn't you sunshine?"
"Sorry, we got carried away."
Fang raised an eyebrow as if to say she didn't believe her, but Snow spoke up before she could.
"Well you missed out!"
"On what?"
"On Hope's arrival. Poor guy. He slipped as he ran over to us and went smack straight into Vanille!"
"On Hope's arrival. Poor guy. He slipped as he ran over to us and went smack straight into Vanille!"
"It's not funny Snow!"
"Well end of the day, nobody got hurt right?"
"Well where is he now?"
"He had to go to the toilet. Shouldn't be too long now."
Lightning sat back down at the table, and both Sazh and Hope joined her not too long afterwards. Everyone fell into a conversation about the heavy rain outside, but Lightning couldn't stop thinking about her own predicament. Was agreeing to help the Corps really a smooth idea on her part? She wasn't so sure anymore.
'Bummer. Sucks to be a soldier.' She thought to herself silently as everyone spoke over to her. The next few weeks were going to be a long few weeks...
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), even though in reality we actually get along really well. XingXing is my fellow Caius-obsessed 'sister', Em is my general help-with-life friend, Rachel is the American version of me (we practically share a brain with all the similarities between what we like and don't like!), Mckensy is another good friend who I share a common love for FFXIII/FFXIII-2 with, Kayla is my friend from Youtube as well as dA who is just all-around amazing, and Kendra is one of my longest standing friends who I've been in touch with all this time. I love all of them so much and I want you all to go and watch them! 
! 
HAPPY 
