Author's Note: Shit, guys. I know I suck. It's been awhile, but please forgive me! My second semester of Organic Chemistry kept me so preoccupied these past few months, but it's over now, and not a day goes by when I don't think of my readers! Anyway, thank you for the reviews! They're what keep me alive! And also, I really pushed to get this out when I saw the efforts of other Lanille authors coming forth. It's inspiring :D So if anyone's out there with a Light/Van idea, start writing today!

P.S. It might be a good idea to re-read chapters 11-13 if you haven't in the past few weeks. Changes were made, making Vanille more badass like fucking Katniss Everdene or some shit. Hahaha. I felt it was necessary.

—18—

Sometime during the very early morning, Lightning slipped away from her lover's bed. She was too tired to sneak past the Palace guards, so she opted to find her dormitory by climbing around the tower again. After a few minutes of climbing and using the Force to navigate, Lightning found a small window to crawl through.

Once inside, she stood up and dusted herself off. Luckily, she was assigned an end room. The number on her key matched the door to her immediate right. Ever so quietly, Lightning unlocked the handle and entered.

For being such a magnificent structure of grandeur, the Jedi barracks, which laid at the heart of the Royal Palace, were a humbling sight by any standards. Her room was rather small with beige carpenting. It came equipped with a little corner desk, a low rising full mattress, a single window, and a small closet. Thankfully, there was a small bathroom too.

She had been afraid that her room might be as big and as dazzling as Vanille's, but she was happy to know that this wasn't the case. In fact, she really liked the idea that such modesty existed in the Palace. Lightning always preferred simpler things, and the Jedi life seemed to fit that description.

Dawn was breaking. A glimmer of orange light danced into the room. Yes, she had to be ready to train by eleven, so she figured she would sleep for a little and then prepare for an early start. She yawned, took off her boots, and laid on her mattress.

I'll just rest my eyes for an hour, she thought. The next thing she knew, she was kneeling before the High Council, bowing her head before the hooded elite.

"Repeat these words," Master Auron instructed with his green lightsaber hovering over Lightning's shoulder. "I choose the Jedi path as a means to give justice."

Lightning covered her heart and recited the verse.

"It is here, in the presence of my mentors, that I swear my allegiance to the Living Force."

She responded like an echo.

"Lightning Farron," Auron proclaimed, "do you vow to uphold the Jedi teachings, and henceforth, pledge your life to the Ways of the Force?"

"I do, Master," she replied firmly.

"You knelt as a foreigner. Now rise as a Jedi."

Zzzz...zzzzzzzz...zzzzzzzzzzz...

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Zzzz...zzzzz...zzzz...

Knock. Knock. KNOCK.

"Yo, Light! Are you still sleeping?!"

Lightning's eyes snapped open. She buried her head into her pillow and groaned.

"Wake up, man!" the person outside her door pounded again.

"Leave," Lightning commanded. "Gods, what time is it anyway?"

"Come on, Light! It's almost eleven!"

Lightning's eyes widened. She bolted out of bed, stomped her boots on, grabbed her lightsaber, opened the door, and dashed passed Tidus faster than he could blink.

—18—

She was dancing, a hand pressed to the small of her back, "Why have you forgotten us?" a familiar voice asked. Peaceful beaches faded to hellish wildfire. Screams, terrible screams. Pain, unbearable pain. Death upon death, bodies piling in all directions.

Only the faint recollection of a long-forgotten lullaby brought her back to dancing, dancing on the shoes of a towering person with a face like her own. "Don't you remember who you are?" he whispered—his green eyes were a path to the grassy open fields where she lay alone, bloody and cold—there were no more lullabies, there was no more warmth, there was only a raven-haired girl dusting off a stranger in a tattered gown.

"Who are you?" she asked, pulling the red-head to her feet. "I don't remember."

Vanille heaved herself awake, drenched in her own cold sweat, frantic and disoriented.

"Sweetheart, sweetheart!" Ifalna cried as she calmed the shaking girl. "You're all right! Just a bad dream!"

Vanille glanced around her bedroom chamber before meeting Ifalna's blue gaze. "I—I'm sorry," she apologized breathlessly.

"It's okay, dear," Ifalna soothed, touching Vanille's arm. "Are you rested? Perhaps you'd like to sleep more. The Archprincess and the Duchess have invited to you brunch, but I can tell them—"

"—No, no it's all right," Vanille insisted as she threw off her covers. "Let them know that I'd love to join."

—18—

Wait, where was she supposed to meet Cid again? For fuckssake being lost in the Jedi Temple was the perfect cherry on top of already being late. She tried invoking Force Sense but couldn't even concentrate. Gods, whose idea was it to make this place so big anyway?

And of course she looked obvious all right. She was basically power-walking around the labyrinthine corridors. Thankfully many Jedi were out on missions and away from the Temple, save the embarrassment. Nonetheless, a handful of them witnessed their newest member completely lost and agitated. If only Lightning weren't so stubborn and could just ask someone for help.

One Jedi in particular was growing tired of watching Lightning walk in circles. "Stop," said the gentle yet firm voice of the observer.

Lightning felt herself being jerked backwards. It actually hurt a little, being stopped so suddenly from walking so fast. She almost wanted to lay out whomever stopped her, whomever was still touching her arm.

The ex-soldier whirled around, expecting to go off on the person, but to her surprise, the nice Jedi Healer who tended to her yesterday was looking up.

Lightning opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Aerith's lips curled into a smile. "Sorry I startled you," the brunette chuckled, letting go of Lightning's arm. "But I was tired of just watching you run circles around me!"

Lightning averted Aerith's gaze, a little embarrassed having finally realized that she was wandering in circles. She looked down at the basket of pretty yellow flowers that the brunette was carrying; the petals looked so perfect that she thought they were fake at first glance.

"It's okay," Aerith soothed as she playfully rubbed Lightning's arm. Unknown to the ex-soldier, Aerith delivered her a powerful dose of Cleanse Mind, immediately alleviating Lightning's frustration and clearing her thoughts of litter. "Come on," the Healer grinned as she skipped past Lightning. "I'll take you to Cid."

—18—

Vanille found it easy to forget her nightmare and actually ended up having a nice brunch with Yuna and Rikku. The royal entourage was now on its way to the palace courtyard.

"Care for a bit of sport, Vanille?" Yuna proposed.

"Depends on the sport," the red-head replied smilingly.

"Nothing like a little target practice!" Rikku chirped.

Target practice? Vanille wondered. But she soon realized that they were walking to a shooting range. The girls were greeted by a few royal officers whom were off-duty and practicing with guns or bows.

"How did you know that I shoot?" Vanille enquired the Archprincess.

"Master Kimahri told me," the brunette responded. "He mentioned breaking your bow." Yuna passed one of the bows Cloud gave her to Vanille. "Would you accept this gift as an apology?"

Cloud met the girls in the courtyard, carrying with him 3 ornate, composite bows.

Vanille looked down at the beautiful weapon, grinning like a small child in a candy store. "It wasn't his fault," Vanille assured. "And plus, it wasn't anything fancy like this. It was just something I put together for hunting."

"Please," Yuna nudged the weapon into Vanille's hands, "I insist."

"Go on, Vannie," Rikku encouraged. "We really want you to have it!"

It didn't take much convincing. It was like love at first sight. The bow was utterly beautiful. "This is too kind of you, Princess," Vanille said breathlessly, "but thank you. I will take excellent care of it."

"I'm sure you will." Yuna nodded her pleasure as Vanille relieved the Archprincess of the weapon. "I'm eager to see what you can do. Who would've guessed that our Lady Vanille can shoot?"

"Don't go singing my praises just yet, Majesty," Vanille said lightheartedly.

Rikku was the first on deck. "I'm feelin' lucky today, Yunie," the blonde informed as she reached into the ground quiver and plucked out an arrow.

"Oh, really?" Yuna mused, bringing her hand up to stroke her chin. "What say we make a bet then?"

The Duchess glanced over her shoulder as she nocked her bow. "500 gil. 10 ends, 3 arrows, best score wins. You game?"

"I'm in!" Yuna accepted the challenge.

Oh no. How could Vanille match their price? She had Republic credits not gil. There was one alternative; she reached into her satchel and pulled out the smallest crystal in her possession.

"Will this cover me?" Vanille extended a glowing sage green gem. She knew the crystal wasn't exactly hers to barter with, but she felt confident that she'd win it back.

The Archprincess's face flushed in surprise. And then Rikku, who at first passed barely passed a glance at the gem, immediately set aside her weapon and came closer to investigate.

"Yunie that's—"

"—A lightsaber crystal," the brunette finished.

Cloud took his place beside Vanille. "May I?" He indicated to the gem.

Vanille, of course, had no idea what they were talking about. She held it out to Cloud. "Um . . . Sure," she piped.

Using the Force, he levitated the stone, which Vanille actually thought was pretty cool. Once in his grasp Cloud looked to Yuna. "It's been fragmented, Majesty. But even just this small piece . . . Its power is strong," Cloud noted. "It's warm. It . . almost burns." He levitated it again, preventing the stone from touching his skin.

"Burns?" Vanille questioned. "It's never burned me?"

"Cloud is a Jedi," the Archprincess reminded. "His connection with the Force makes him very sensitive to . . well everything!" Cloud levitated the sage gem into Yuna's hand.

"This crystal—well, fragment of a crystal is nothing ordinary, Vanille," the brunette examined the shard closely.

"Vannie," Rikku's voice trailled off. "W-Where did you find this?"

"Do you have more?" Cloud asked.

Vanille now felt as if she should've consulted Lightning beforehand.

"I—" Vanille stuttered, unsure of how to answer.

Yuna sensed Vanille's distress and immediately felt bad for being so cryptic about the situation. "Where are our manners?" The Archprincess touched the arms of her cousin and her guardian, settling their eagerness.

"I'm sorry for interrogating you, Vanille," Yuna apologized as she handed the shard back to the red-head. "Let's return to our game, shall we? We'll have lunch when we're done, and then we can talk more about it. Okay?"

Vanille looked up into the sincere eyes of the Archprincess, nodding with a smile. "Good," Yuna exulted. "Rikku, I think you were up first."

The Duchess went back to her bow and readied for her first shot. "Cloud," Yuna summoned. "Has the Minister returned from Macalania yet?"

"She returned this morning, Majesty."

"Invite her to lunch, please," Yuna requested.

—18—

Aerith and Lightning were almost to Master Cid's chamber when Aerith reached out and stopped her companion from walking. Lightning shot the brunette a confused look. She could hear Cid's voice. They were so close. Why stop now?

"Hang on," Aerith whispered. "He's with someone."

Both listened closely.

"When you come back, Fran," Cid said, "we can't not put you on the Council."

"A delightful thought," a calm and slightly humored voice responded,"but only four can preside over our Order. Even should I succeed, I do not wish a change to our traditions on my behalf."

There was a sigh from Cid and then a pause. "You're too humble for your own good, ya' know," he chuckled.

"A virture you have taught me, Master," the Viera warmly responded. Then suddenly, her Force Sense kicked in. "You have visitors."

Lightning and Aerith both looked at each other. The next thing they knew, Cid's blonde head was craning out of the door. "Well, well," Cid swirled his toothpick and grinned. "I was startin' to worry you got carried away sleepin', kid!"

"Forgive me, Master," she implored. "I—got lost."

Master Fran walked past Cid and into the corridor. "I won't keep you." She bowed to her former master. "Farewell."

"Safe travels," Cid returned the gesture, "and may the Force be with ya'."

On her way out, the tall Viera stopped beside Lightning, touching the ex-soldier's shoulder. "He is wiser than you think. Trust him."

Lightning nodded. With a final glance, Fran continued walking and soon disappeared from sight.

"Got lost, did ya'?" Cid questioned, arms folded.

"Eh-hem" the brunette interrupted. "Master, I believe these are what you needed?"

A realization dawned on Cid. "Oh, yeah. Thanks, Aeris!" He relieved the Healer of the flower basket.

The brunette turned to leave as well. "Thank you," Lightning whispered to her. Aerith smiled before walking away.

Cid passed the basket to Lightning. "Ready for your first day, Zap?"

"Yeah," she replied, following him into his living quarters.

"You can set the flowers down there," he instructed, pointing at an empty countertop.

"You don't strike me as flower person, Master," she joked.

"I ain't."

They both laughed.

—18—

THWACK.

THWACK.

THWACK.

Cloud shielded his eyes from the glaring sun, looking down the lane to examine the target that Vanille was ever so casually making her bitch. "Gold again," he announced.

"Damn, girl," Rikku giggled. "Remind me not to bet against you next time!"

Cloud went to retrieve the arrows. A few of the off-duty officers even took a rest from their own practice to watch the interesting competition that the girls had going.

Vanille stepped away from the shooting line so that the Archprincess to replace her. Vanille was all smiles as she turned to join the Duchess. Looking beyond the petite blonde, she noticed two familiar siblings pacing their way over.

"Lenna is here," Vanille happily informed. Rikku whirled around to find her best friend already skipping to them with Stella in arms. The elder Tycoon simply fell behind, maintaining her steady walk.

"Hey ladies," Lenna greeted with a warm grin as she one-arm hugged Rikku and Vanille.

"Hey, Lenna," they replied in unison.

"How's little Stella today?" Rikku asked, reaching out to pet the ball of fur curled in Lenna's embrace.

"She's a bit worn out right now," Lenna chuckled. "She kept me up all night, but I still love her!"

"We'll see if you still feel the same way in a month," came the older Tycoon's voice as she appeared beside her sister, patting her shoulder.

"Of course I will," Lenna assured, cuddling Stella closer.

"And to what do we owe this dubious pleasure?" Rikku teased.

"Easy girl," Faris warned in an equally joking manner. "Can I not accompany my little sister to the Palace?"

"Don't be silly," Rikku replied. "Of course you can! But you never do. So what's the occasion?"

Faris looked to her boots. Indeed it was very peculiar for Faris to be here. Unless it was for military business or some special event, she never came to Court. Luckily for her, Yuna had finished her end and was coming to join the party, thus rescuing the young lord from the hot seat.

"Well, well," the Archprincess greeted, "Commander Tycoon."

"Majesty," Faris performed a respectful bow. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all," Yuna assured. "Have you come to practice?"

Faris's lips parted to speak. "Y-Yes," she hesitated. "I had a new pistol fashioned."

"Lemme' see!" Rikku urged.

Faris reached into her overcoat and pulled out a very odd looking gun. The barrel was pretty long, unlike a regular pistol.

"Why does it look weird?" Rikku laughed.

"It's not weird," Faris countered defensively, much to the amusement of the Duchess. "My gunsmith put a silencer on it. First of its kind. The shot doesn't make a sound! Truly brilliant concept."

"Show us then," Vanille confidently dared, much to her horror. She instantly realized that she probably should've kept her mouth shut since the Commander didn't seem to like her. Or so she thought.

All eyes were on Vanille. There was a long pause until finally Commander Tycoon's lips curled into a smile. "Very well . . . Milady."

—18—

Lightning followed Cid as they made their way to the upper levels of the Temple.

"So," Lightning broke the silence. "Where are we going? To spar?"

"Hold your drawers, Zap," Cid laughed. "We got a long way to go before we start your combat trainin'."

The pair walked into a gymnasium-sized hangar lined with two cruisers. "But I need help with my technique," she insisted while examining her new surroundings.

"No. What you need is to stop whippin' out your weapon to solve everything." He reached out and ruffled his apprentice's hair. "You got a brain too, kid."

Cid led them to a long professional mechanic's workbench. He closed his eyes and waved his hands over various metal parts, nuts, and bolts—levitating and assembling them. Of course Lightning was curious: why of all places would Cid take her to a garage on her first day?

"Why are we here, Master?"

"First lesson—Moving Meditation," Cid calmly responded, still deeply invested in the task at hand. "Meditation is the biggest part of a Jedi's life, but judgin' by how edgey you were in the Chapel yesterday, I can tell ya' don't like sittin' still. Well, me neither, kid! Trouble is, how can we reflect or still our thoughts if we can't even sit still?"

"But we can," Lightning surmised. "That's what you're doing now, isn't it? Keeping your mind clear by keeping your body occupied?"

"Very good," Cid praised. "Workin' on airships, cruisers—any gizmo or gadget in-between always clears my head! I come to the garage every mornin' to meditate."

"So this is your Chapel," Lightning quipped, "where you do Moving Meditation."

"That's right," Cid smirked. "I'm showin' ya' your options. If you've done mechanical work before, ya' might prefer your mornin' meditations like mine. It don't matter to me if you wanna' sit on your ass for an hour, or if wanna' tinker with droids and machines instead, just as long as ya' get that meditation in. Got it? And for chrissakes make sure ya' take it seriously.

"Yes, Master," Lightning laughed. "I have experience with mechanics. I'd like to try this."

"Go on then, assemble this cooling unit," Cid instructed, indicating that Lightning should take over levitating the metal components.

She gave an apprehensive look to the jumbled mess of floating mechanical parts. "Aren't you gonna' tell me how the pieces fit together first? I've never seen them before."

"Use the Force 'n you won't need to be told," Cid informed. "Go on! Take 'em from me."

As requested, Lightning willed the Force to maintain the levitating objects. "Trust your feelin' and the parts will assemble how you want 'em to," he assured. A few minutes passed. Though Lightning concentrated hard, she was troubled by her lack of progress.

"What am I doing wrong?"

"You're thinkin' too much."

This Force exercise was much different than anything Lightning had done before. Breaking doors, handcuffs, or manipulating single objects was one thing, but now she was performing a complex task with multiple widgets involved. Needless to say, this wasn't going well.

"Just be patient," Cid coached.

Once Lightning started trying to fit pieces that didn't belong together, the older Jedi realized it was time to try a different approach. "Try closin' your eyes," Cid instructed.

"What?" Lightning questioned. "I can't even put this thing together with my eyes open?!" She glanced at her mentor for a mere second, the momentary loss in concentration caused all the floating metal parts to come crashing down, a few ricocheting off of the work bench and rolling along the floor.

The ex-soldier mentally kicked herself. "I don't understand. Yesterday I could channel my powers just fine. Why aren't they working now?"

"You wanna' know?" Cid chuckled and swirled his toothpick. "Yesterday, you was runnin' off of pure 'Battle Meditation'. You're intense when ya' fight, very attuned to your surroundin's. You trust your instincts a lot which is good for a Jedi. 'Cept now you ain't fightin' no one, kid. You gotta' learn to merge that state of mind with everyday life! Just 'cause there ain't no asses to spank here don't mean you should stop concentratin' and listenin' to the world around ya'! Understand?"

Lightning felt a deep respect for what Cid was trying to say. "Yes."

"—Won't be easy, but by the time I'm done with ya', you'll never rely on what you see over what you feel. Your eyes are lyin' to ya', my apprentice. So don't trust 'em."

Lightning nodded.

"Go on," Cid encouraged. "Try again, eyes closed this time."

—18—

Cloud, Faris, Rikku, Stella, Lenna, Yuna, and Vanille all enjoyed the welcoming shade of the large umbrella shielding their table from the late afternoon sun. After an eventful match, Vanille ended up besting her two royal friends and winning 1,000 gil in the process.

"You should visit more often," Rikku teased the Commander before taking a delightful bite of her blueberry scone.

"Perhaps I will, Duchess," Faris replied, "but I should be on my way now."

"Oh, Commander, you won't stay a bit longer? The Prime Minister is joining us soon," Yuna informed.

"Forgive me, Majesty . . . I must return to my post. The Minister's husband is actually filling in for me at the Air Base right now. You know how that goes . . . gotta' love Wakka, but he isn't exactly the best pilot," Faris chuckled.

"Dear lord!" Rikku exclaimed, "Hurry back before Wakka breaks all the flight simulators and turns them into karaoke machines!"

"My thoughts exactly, Duchess," Faris winked. "Be home before dark," she advised Lenna, "and good day to you, Majesty." She swept a bow and then left.

Rikku waited until the Commander was out of sight before leaning over and grilling Lenna with questions on why the fuck Faris would come to the Palace. "You better spill!" Rikku jokingly urged.

"Your guess is as good as mine!" Lenna replied. "I about fell over and died when she said she was coming with me today."

"Does she really expect us to believe that she came just to 'test out' her new toy?" Rikku teased.

"That's what I said!"

Cloud finally decided to join the conversation. "Perhaps she was curious," he suggested.

"About . . .?" Rikku coaxed.

Cloud slowly turned to Lady Vanille, whom was so caught off guard that all she could do was giggle at what he was suggesting. "What?" the red-head asked incredulously. "As if! I'm pretty sure she doesn't even like me."

"—Oh she likes you," Lenna casually informed. "If she's avoiding you, it means she's intrigued."

"Intrigued?" Vanille laughed. "I'm not exactly a fascinating person."

"I disagree," Cloud whispered, just loud enough for Vanille's ears.

Before another word could be said, a pale lady wearing a black dress approached their table. Everyone stood and politely welcomed this dignified woman to the party. She took her place beside the Archprincess, offering her a very warm smile. Vanille could tell the two had known each other for a long time.

"Thank you for joining us on such short notice."

"I was coming to see you anyway, Your Highness," the woman gently assured.

"Minister, I would like you to meet Lady Vanille, our esteemed guest."

Auburn eyes met emerald. "Pleased to meet you," the Minister said simply with a respectful nod to the red-head.

"Vanille, this is LuLu, the Paddraean Prime Minister, my most trusted adviser, and the executive manager of my commercial affairs."

"The pleasure is mine, Your Excellency," Vanille said before turning to Yuna. "Majesty, I had no idea that you were businesswoman!"

"Well," Yuna thought for a moment. "Yes, I suppose I am," she smiled. "This Palace doesn't pay for itself you know!"

"So," Vanille bit her lip. "May I ask what you do?"

"For generations, ou—I mean," the Archprincess composed herself, "my family has operated the largest crystal mining company in Paddra. These gems are very important, Vanille, and serve many purposes. For example, Jedi need them to make lightsabers."

"That's what these are for?" Vanille took out the little green crystal from her satchel. "To make lightsabers?"

"Not just, Milady," Cloud commented. "Jedi Healers use them as catalysts."

"Yeah. But they're not just for Jedi! Everyday people need crystals too. They're useful for jewelry, machinery, energy production—everything really!"

"You have others," the Minister observed.

How could she know? Vanille wondered.

"Crystals. You have more, no?"

Vanille shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"It's all right, dear," LuLu laughed a little. "No one is going to take them from you."

"She's right, Vanille. We wouldn't betray your confidence."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Majesty. It's just . . . these crystals aren't really mine, and I don't know how Lightning would've felt about me showing them to anyone."

"Let's find out." Cloud suggested. "Why not bring her here?"

"This is hardly important enough," Yuna insisted.

"With all do respect, Majesty, I think Master Cid would be very eager to know about this."

Yuna took her guardian's words into consideration before seeking counsel from LuLu as well. "I agree with him," the Minister added.

The Archprincess contemplated for a moment. "Very well. Send to them."

—18—

Ninety minutes later, Lightning managed to assemble half of the cooling unit before Cid figured it was time to move on. Mentally, his apprentice was utterly drained. He was proud of her though. She didn't complain and gave it enormous effort, but the afternoon was aging, and there were still many trials for her to complete before its end.

"All right, kid. Ready for something new?" he asked after handing her his canteen.

Lightning took a huge gulp of water before replying, "Yes, Sir."

"Come on." He veered off towards the far end of the hangar, stopping in front of the rattier of his two cruisers.

"Ain't she a beaut?"

Lightning stifled a laugh, thinking her mentor was joking. He turned to her, his arms folded over his chest. "Somethin' funny, Zap?"

"No, Sir. I just thought you were kidding. Can this bucket of bolts even fly?"

The blonde master swirled his toothpick. "She don't look like much, but just you wait, kid. Once we're done with her, she'll be the finest airship in the whole damn fleet!"

"We?"

"No. Not we," Cid paused. "You. 'Course I'll advise ya', but this'll be your project."

"Wait a minute," Lightning contended. "How will fixing a shoddy airship teach me to be a better Jedi? Aren't you supposed to train me—to teach me to use this thing?!" She extended her lightsaber hilt.

Cid stared at her with calculating eyes. "Did you just call a lightsaber 'this thing'?"

"Yeah?" she confirmed, unsure why it was a big deal.

He summoned the lightsaber from her hand and gripped it. "This 'thing' is your life!" Cid reprimanded. He activated the blue light emission. 'BB-ZSHOOO'.

"Understand?" he asked firmly.

She mildly responded, "Yes—"

"—I said, DO you UNDERSTAND?"

"Yes, Master," she reasserted with vigor.

He deactivated her saber and gave it back. "I'm not tryna' be hard on ya', kid," he gently explained. "I'm sure your military trained ya' to use brute strength lib'rally. I can see why this new way of life is tough adjustin' to, because I'm askin' ya' to unlearn everythin' you've learned."

"That's how it seems," she replied, though touched by his sympathy.

He placed a hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "I don't expect a change over night, Zap, all right? But I want ya' to recognize the big difference between your days as a soldier and now."

Lightning had never really thought about it before. She tried to remember what it was like to be in Guard Corp. She tried to remember her commanding officer, Amodar. She tried to remember her training, and they all came to the came to the same conclusion that Cid was alluding to.

"What makes a Jedi better than a soldier?" he asked seriously.

"Their powers?" she guessed.

"No," he shook his head. "Not their abilities. Their choices."

"Their choices?"

"There's hundreds of thousands of people livin' on Pulse or Cocoon, and only a few hundred Jedi; most people ain't never seen Jedi, never heard of our Order, never heard of the Force. So when people finally notice us, what do we do? Do we takeover? Do we kill? 'Said so yourself, we got the powers, yeah? What's to stop us from killin' 'em?"

Cid looked to Lightning with his steel blue eyes.

"We ain't the aggressors that we seem. We're the guardians. Of peace. Of justice. We use our wits. We're expert negotiators. We're always searchin' for the peaceful solution."

"What if there is no peaceful solution?" Lightning asked skeptically.

"Well . . ." Cid swirled his toothpick. "Then it's aggressive negotiations."

Lightning snorted a laugh. "You mean negotiations with a lightsaber?"

Cid ruffled her hair. "That's right. We use the Force for knowledge 'n defendin', never for attackin', but what happens when a fight's inevitable? Lemme' ask, d'ya think it's possible to fight aggressively without aggression?"

"Maybe," Lightning reasoned.

"It is," Cid confirmed, "it's always possible. Don't fight mad, don't fight stupid, capiche?"

"Not a problem, Sir," Lightning replied.

"All right," Cid sighed. "Enough lecturin'. Back to work: move this clanker next to the workbench."

Lightning turned to the beat-up cruiser and eyed it carefully. "You have the keys?"

"Zap, you ain't operatin' the damn thing," Cid laughed. "What's been your focus all day? We're strengthenin' your connection with the Force. So—"

"So you want me to pull it over?"

"That'd be a start."

Lightning looked at the airship disbelievingly. "Are you sure I can lift it?"

"Have you been payin' attention to anything I've said?" Cid asked.

"Okay, okay," Lightning cleared her throat. "I'll give it a try—"

"—No," Cid corrected. "Do it. Or don't do it. There ain't no tryin'."

She nodded before concentrating hard on her target. She extended her hand, and willed the Force, huffing out long, deep breaths. After a few seconds she managed to levitate the cruiser to a meager, wobbling height.

The instability of her powers caused the cruiser to shake out various loose parts from inside the cabin, including a lone astrodroid; the ruckus and noise was piercing to the ears.

"Shit," Cid muttered. "Damn central lifters are busted."

With a gasp of air, Lightning dropped the airship back down, "I'm sorry, Master, but I can't," she breathed. "It's too heavy." She slumped to the cement floor, trying to catch her breath.

Cid crouched beside her. "Your mind tells ya' the ship's too big, but I'm tellin' ya it ain't no different than a sac of flour."

Still looking at Lightning, Cid gently stretched out his hand to the cruiser, levitating it with control and ease. "Don't worry, kid. We'll get there."

Suddenly, they both felt the presence of a little boy entering the hangar. He jogged over to them before bowing low. "Master Cid, you have a message from the Palace. The Archprincess wants an audience with you."

Cid grumbled slightly. "It's important, I'd wager?" The youngling nodded.

"Ok," Cid sighed. "Tell 'er we're comin'."

—18—

"I told the team to go ahead while I strayed from the trail, and just when I was about to turn back, there it was, a cave of crystals shining like a box of strobe lights."

"It sounds like the expedition was much more successful than we anticipated," Yuna commented before sipping her tea.

"Yes," LuLu agreed. "Macalania is certainly a most profitable area."

Cloud was the first to sense the incoming Jedi. Vanille noticed too, and smiled at the sight of Lightning whom faintly grinned back.

"Majesty," Cid addressed as he and his apprentice bowed before joining the table.

"I ask your forgiveness," Yuna offered sincerely. "I know you're both very busy, but something has come to my attention. Vanille, would you please?"

Vanille looked to her girlfriend, whose expression went from merrily passive to genuinely curious. Deciding this was for the best, Vanille pulled out every crystal in her possession and laid them on the table, exposing all for the first time.

"Sweet gods," Rikku uttered.

Cid broke the uncomfortable silence. "Oh, boy," he mused.

None of the Paddraeans were prepared to see the fist-sized violet crystal. Indeed, it was Yuna who first reached out and took it in her hands, marveling at its rare beauty. She skillfully caressed the rough outlines of the shard, examining it, pondering its properties.

"Magnificent," Lenna whispered.

"Must be yours," Cid noted pithily to his apprentice.

How could he know?

"Surely you'll keep this one for Farron, right?" LuLu asked Cid.

The blonde Jedi Master swirled his toothpick. "Yup."

"You could sell the others," Rikku suggested. "They'd be worth a fetching price."

Cid cleared his throat. "Maybe," he looked to Lightning, "ya' might wanna' offer those other shards to Lady Vanille. Ain't no use to you."

Lightning felt out of the loop. Being called to a meeting regarding her crystals was the last thing she expected. She wasn't given an explanation for anything. She could only hope that Vanille was informed enough for the both of them.

"These are Lightning's. It should be her money," Vanille insisted.

"Jedi never carry more money than they need, Milady," Cloud explained.

"He's right," Cid concurred. "You 'ought to take 'em, Miss."

The situation was totally comedic because Lightning truly had no idea what was going on.

Author's EndNote: I have a proposition for you charming people. I'm in need of an editor. I have no high expectations! No previous experience is required, although it would most certainly be welcomed. Think of it this way, the sooner I get an editor, the faster I can churn out chapters, and I mean, A LOT FASTER. Send me a message if interested. A brief summary of your competency would be wonderful in case I might have to make a choice between more than one beautiful soul. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Thanks, guys!