Hi, here's Radiklement, with another story over Lightning and Noctis. This one's Black Faction. It's rated M, for adult contents, like swearing, violence, blood and implied sexuality. I'm not really into the graphic stuff, so, it could be soft on the last part. But well, it's gonna be hard for the rest. I can't promise anything for the updates. One chapter for each two weeks sounds nice to me, but the waiting could be longer. You know, university, family's issue, work and all the rest.

There will be ffxiii, versus, ffvii and ffviii characters in the fic. The pairings are as follow: Lightning x Noctis, Squall x Aeris, Cloud x Yuna. That one could take me a little time… Here's a little explanation of the alternate universe I chose to use for this fic…

The Black Faction is a secret military organization which goal is to protect the Earth against inner and outer threats. Its members are all human or semi human and fight under the orders of a secret man –or woman?- who has never been seen by any living soul. Their group, expanded through every country and spatial bases and colonies of humankind, is the most developed intelligence form in this galaxy. The workers of this company are known as soldiers and agents. No intel can't get away from them and no crime can be left unpunished if they're the one investigating. They're unstoppable, deadly and more than just effective.

They're the elite of Earth.

But with the corrupted politicians all over space and the sun burning up the Earth and reducing every kind of supply, humanity faces the greatest crisis she'd ever had. And all that's left to protect her is maybe the Black Faction. Or maybe not. Lately, the missions had gotten awfully strange. But it had always been for the greater good until now. So why would it change? Known as Lightning, Claire Farron isn't just a spy. She's a survivor. And she intends to help her planet survive until someone can find a way for the Earth to get back to prosperity. That was until agent Raven showed up. He's a dark, handsome man, as she'd seen a million times before. But he's different. He's her ex boyfriend, Noctis Lucis Caelum, a foreign prince of some faraway colony who's been abducted from his throne and sovereign future when he was only a child.

Now, he's a mercenary for the Black Faction. The sharpest mind of the entire agency. And her new assigned partner in mission. You think that things are looking bad? Well, think better, cause it's only the start…

Black Faction

Episode I – Soldiers and spies

Date: 19 027 A.D. December 1th

Location: Planet Earth, United States, Boston

Focus: To localize and dispose of Sazh Katzroy a.k.a agent Trauma

Agents: Squall Leonheart and Lightning Farron

Permitted delay for Focus completion: Two days

Warning: The target is more than just a great pilot and has face WWV and VI. A force to be reckoned with. Get him alive and bring him back to HQ. "asap…"

Message from G.I. ten. End of transmission.

…

A baby was crying in the night. His cries were strong, but getting fainter. She was running to him, to calm him down. Her. It was a girl, she knew it. She knew her. She was a part of her. Or was it the other way around? She had to run faster, the poor child was crying so loud. Why couldn't anyone answer her? All of a sudden, Light realized that the cries were coming from inside of her. She stopped and looked at her feet. There was a pool of blood on the floor. And drowning in it, a little hand that reached out for her and two eyes looking right at her… She began to fall. And no one would catch her in her fall. She had failed her little girl. She had failed everyone. She had failed! It hurt so much just to think those words.

Lightning woke up suddenly, her eyes full of tears, her body painful from the stress she was under. She tried to hold back her yell, not to awake anyone. But she was shaking from her head to her toes. She shove the sheets to the end of her bed, shivering. Her breathing was quick and hard. The covers tangled around her legs as she turned around, trying to close her eyes and to forget everything. She brought her hands to her head. Her heart hurt so much, why didn't it stop to beat just for once! Her sight was going blurry. It was just a nightmare, but the pain was still so vivid.

"It's all in the past." she whispered in the dark. "It's all in the past…"

But her voice sounded as the one she had when she was still a little girl and she was so scared. It felt so lonely. But she wasn't alone. A hand touched her tensed back and she screamed. Then, she realized it was Cloud and she started to cry, unable to hold anything back.

"Gosh, Light, it's been two years already."

"I can't forget her, Cloud. I just can't!"

He grabbed her in his arms, holding her close and she cuddled against him, trying to hide in his chest. The young soldier thought that his twin sister had never looked so frail before. But then again, he knew better. There was a reason why she was having those nightmares. She had suffered so much in the past few years. Why did she have to keep on suffering even now? He sighed, before to stroke her hair.

"It's okay Claire. You hear me, don't you? It's okay. It was just a bad dream. You're not alone."

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

"Claire, instead of apologizing, you should go see someone and ask for help. You won't get over this by yourself and all I can do is comfort you when you break apart like that." he reminded her.

Her hands that were clasped over his shirt turned into fists and hit him in the chest.

"I can't go and tell them! It's my first nightmare in months."

"But your crises are getting worse with every new nightmare. What will you do if I was gone on a mission the next time you wake up like that?"

Cloud had always been worrying about her, from the very start of their life. She was his bigger sister –technically, since she was born five minutes before him- but he had always treated her as a little sister. After all, with their real lil' sis, it was easy to get use to that.

"I'm sorry to worry you like that, I know it's stupid…"

"Light, it isn't! You've been tortured and brutalized and it's only normal that even you can't get over it. You're human, for heaven sake! You should just face it and reach out for people that can help you."

"I don't wanna forget her!" she replied, shaking her head from side to side.

Cloud knew there was no way that he'd get any reason into her, but he still had to try.

"I'm not talking about forgetting her, sis. You know, even Serah is worrying. Last time she saw you, you'd lost some weight and I know that you haven't gain any since that time. And it was months ago too."

"I'm…"

"Claire, all that I want to say is… There's no one that resent you for what happened back there. It wasn't your fault."

She wasn't crying anymore, but she didn't let go of her brother's shirt. She was so used to be with him like that. No one could ever saw her breaking up, but Cloud. He had always been her greatest support in life. When their parents had died, they were still kids, but were forced to become parents themselves, for Serah. Lightning had been a good mother, even if she never should have been one at the young age of seven. Cloud had been a wise dad and a cool big brother, always looking out for his little sisters. With every years and every bigger or smaller problem, Lightning and Cloud had always supported each other and helped their twin to get back up when he was down. It hadn't been easy.

Cloud had become a soldier for the American army when he turned fifteen, to earn money that could pay Serah's studies. Lightning had studied at Shinra's school, to become a spy. Now, she was one of the top members of the Black Faction, an organization which had most of its activities in spying, politics and intergalactic affairs…

"Say Cloud, do you think I'm crazy?"

"Of course. Otherwise, you wouldn't be putting up with me after all those years..."

They were both 27 years old. Still single, still living together as they ever had. Serah had moved three years ago, when she had decided to go steady with Snow. Lightning had had trouble to accept that her little sister, that she almost see as a daughter, had became a woman. But life was life and she still had Cloud.

"Moron. You're my twin. Every time that I would feel hurt while nothing happened to me, I would worry about you."

"You already do, Light."

"Yeah, but… It wouldn't feel right to think that you aren't in the next room when I'm falling asleep. I know it's childish, but even if I don't see you during a complete week, just by knowing we're living in the same place, it reassure me."

"You know, it's the same on my side."

"Anyway, it's not as if you could live without me. Whenever I'm not here to cook for you, you're eating nothing but military rations or fast-food."

He pushed her back to her bed, a little frustrated by her remark. She was right, there was no denying it.

"You look better. I guess you'll be fine now."

"Oh, Cloud, you're no fun!"

"Hey, I don't have time to be fun, it's three in the morning and I'm getting up at four for work!"

"Then, why did you came and comforted me?"

"Did you forget? I'm your twin and whenever you do a nightmare, I have one too."

"Oh, so this had nothing to do with me?"

She knew he was half joking, but still!

"Lightning, could you let me sleep? We'll talk about it tomorrow, when I'll be back from work."

"You got an assignment?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

She frowned. He was a little mysterious about this. Maybe was it a serious mission and that he didn't want to worry her. She breathed in and out and smiled at her brother.

"Alright. At ease, soldier."

"Thanks, captain."

"It's general!" she retorted.

"Yeah, whatever…"

They were both joking and it didn't feel entirely right, but it was hard to talk about what had happened two years ago. Cloud still felt bad for not being there for his sister before. And she felt bad for still reminding him of that fact with her nightmares and the crises that followed. If only she was stronger! But hell knew how hard she was with herself most of the time. At least, before Cloud, she had the right to let go her guard. She sighed as he walked back in his room. It still felt dark. And she shivered, taking back the sheets of her bed, to cover herself. Someone was missing here. Not Cloud, but she fought with herself for the nth time. She wasn't thinking about Noctis, no, she wasn't! That jerk wasn't the one she needed, but still, sometimes, she wished she hadn't made that decision to break up with him. Who was it she needed really? Her little girl, which had been gone for months now? She lay down, trying to think about everything she still had.

First, there was Cloud. Then, she had her best friend, Squall, who was like a second brother. He and Cloud were so alike. She couldn't forget Serah. And her job, which occupied most of her life… But after all that, what was left of Lightning Farron? Who was Lightning Farron? She sighed once more. There was no way she was getting any more sleep with all those questions on her mind. She got up and turned her computer on, to get her mind off things. Her only mail was about that mission to find agent Trauma. Sazh Katzroy, she thought. He was a good agent and a great man. Why would he turn his back on Black Faction?

…

Squall stood still as Rinoa cried before him, trying to explain herself. They'd been together for three or four years, but it was all over now. He hadn't seen it coming. He wanted to yell at her, but he was scared that she'd cried even more. He was sitting in his living room, on the largest futon ever seen and Rinoa was standing right before him, with the strong moonlight behind her, tearing her shape in shadows and light rays that were hurting Squall's eyes.

"Seifer?" he repeated.

He couldn't believe her. There was something malfunctioning in his brain, this must be a bad dream. Rinoa was sad, she was sorry, but she had made her choice. She needed someone that could depend on her, that would rely on her and that would care about a future with her! As she said all that, the only fact going on in Squall's mind was that she had been going out with Seifer during the last five months. They were still together at that time and he still slept with her most nights, thinking that he loved her and that she loved him back. But he wasn't enough.

"I… I'm really sorry Squall, but with all your missions, you were always out, and… Every time that I would talk about children, you would back away, even if you know that I want a family of my own. We've been together for years, but nothing ever changed between us. We're not even living together, because you don't want me to move in your place, or… When we're at work, you always seems to forget that I exist, it's just as if… as if you don't care about me at all!"

"But… We're not supposed to be together, since we're working in the same team, Rinoa! It's just pretending I don't…"

"Well, you won't have to pretend anymore, because we're not together anymore! I've had enough of your cold stares and you getting lost in your mind! I need more attention than a dog!"

"I never treated you as a dog!"

"No, that's right, and I can't say that you weren't nice, as long as no one could see us together. You were always calculating everything and I can't stand it anymore. I'm not an equation, I'm a woman!"

He looked away, unable to stand the tears rolling down her cheeks and the fury in her eyes. It was the light that hurt his eyes, he wasn't going to cry. But his chest was painful and there was a lump in his throat.

"Look at you, even now! I know I'm hurting you, but you won't let it show at all. It's okay to be weak, alright? It's okay to need comfort and tenderness every now and then, and it's not because you don't want to need it that I do too!"

She was attacking every spots that she could. Every sides of him that she knew was a target and she had always been good with a gun. Was it really only his fault? He hadn't many people that cared for him in his life. He wasn't very sure of himself with love. He was scared of being hurt like in the past and he thought she knew that. But she wanted him to get over it and he couldn't, even for her sake.

"I'm sorry to do this, but I can't go on like that, Squall. You don't seem to love me, you just like the fact that you have someone to prevent you from being entirely alone."

He tried to think an answer, but his mind was going blank. All the thoughts were running wild. He wanted to shut her up, he wanted to wake up from this nightmare. If only this could only be a nightmare… He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her that this was all wrong. But he hated her for going out with Seifer. And he knew she had had sex with him. She had lied to him. She hadn't been fair. She asked sometimes for more than he could give, but she never told him all that. And now, she was blowing up, when he wasn't ready to take the shot. And it hurt. Even more than that time when Ellone had gone away. It was his fault again, wasn't it? He had blown his chance.

His heart was beating fast and he wanted to get up and defend himself, but he couldn't move. If he'd get any closer to her, he would maybe sense Seifer's smell on her. He would break apart and he wouldn't give her that satisfaction. Maybe because that was the very reason why she was rejecting him now… Squall had never been able to open up as much as she wanted him to. But it was so hard to let go all his defenses.

"So you're leaving?" he asked coldly.

Rinoa's tears were doubled by his reaction.

"How can you say that? Did you even care when you said you loved me?"

Even if I did, it didn't prevent you from cheating on me, he thought.

"It seems to me that your mind's set. You want me to implore you or something? You want me to spill my guts and open now that it's too late? I'm not playing your game, Rinoa. I'm not a toy or a fool, even if you treated me as one lately."

She seemed to feel guilty as he said that and took a step backward.

"All that I wanted…" she began.

But he had heard enough of what she wanted. More than enough!

"I think I got your point. This is my apartment, so you can go back to your Seifer and your life. I think you know where to find the exit." he snapped at her.

Rinoa stood still for a minute, not believing it. But Squall had a right to be angry after all. She quickly gathered her things and came back to the living room to see that Squall hadn't move and was now looking at her with his coldest eyes. The scar on his face was dark and the moonlight was tainting his skin with blue shades. Since the earth was slowly burning and the moon was covered with colonies and cities of light, there was no more dark night on Earth. But it was even creepier to walk outside late at night with the strong moonlight in the sky.

"You know, Squall, we can still be friends…" she tried to say.

She was sincere, but she had been sincere in all the other things that she said before and Squall hated her for being nice now, when he wanted her to be harsh so that he would have a right to hate her for real.

"It's all over, you said it yourself." he replied.

She jumped a little. His voice was hoarse and growing dark. He was going to break down and he wanted her gone before that it happened. And she felt bad, but at the same time, disgusted because she still hadn't the right to see him breaking down. He didn't trust her enough for that. He didn't trust anyone.

"That's right." she whispered. And there was venom in her voice as she held back her meanest words. "It's all over."

She walked out and shut the door of the apartment with all her strength given to the loud noise that made him jump with surprise. It was as if everything sank in with that. She was really gone. He had chased her away. She had left him. As his mother had and as Ellone… As everyone else that ever was worth loving and suffering for.

He looked at the hall next to the living room, his eyes widening as he felt the pain growing inside of him. She didn't love him anymore. Maybe she never was able to, since he was so frustrating all the time. She was gone. She was still crying, still because of him. She had left him. He stared down at his hands, still sitting in this stupid futon. He breathed out. Breathed in. She was gone, and he was alone now. As he always had before to know her. As he never wanted to be again. He was angry with Rinoa, but mostly with himself. To believe that him, Squall Leonheart, one of the greatest spy in all the American branch of the Black Faction, would miss all the facts showing him that his girlfriend had been cheating on him!

To think that he was the one to drive her away in the end! His hands started to shake. His mind was going over all that she'd said. About him and how he had treated her. I'm not a dog! I need someone I can rely on and someone that will depend of me. You never seem to care. With Seifer, I…

He yelled as he tried to keep her voice down in his head, not to hear her talking about Seifer again. He had always hated that guy. He was his rival in everything. And now, he had to go and steal his girlfriend from him? Just because he wasn't as scared as him about getting really engaged to someone?

"I tried, Rinoa, I tried…"

But she was gone. And his heart was gone with her, leaving a large and bleeding void in his chest. It was still there somewhere, pounding with every breath that he took, but she was really gone. She hated him. And he wanted to cry so much, to let the pain take over him and to hide. If she could saw him now, she would know just how weak and vulnerable he really was and would take back all of her words. But he didn't want her back knowing that she'd been with Seifer. It hurt just as much as the fact she was gone.

He put his hands on his knees to stop them from shaking. He wouldn't crack down like that. He wouldn't, not now, not if it was what had taken Rinoa away from him. He tried to remember how he thought before her. How he kept everyone far enough from him, how he never got attached to anyone… How he felt lonely when he got to bed every night at that time. How he'd met with girls he didn't know to get a vague impression of being warm. Or being whole. He felt so empty now. He couldn't touch a woman without feeling something, even if he wanted to be harsh and cold and nothing else. He had desires, he had needs, he had a heart deep inside! But it had been broken so many times.

I wanted kids, I wanted you to be the father of my child, I wanted to marry you and we could have live together forever, Squall. All that I wanted was to feel protected by your love, just by looking at you, whenever and wherever I did. Was it really too much?

How could she ask for all that? How could he be a father when he hadn't had one? How could he marry her when he had already given her everything he had? He was just a poor man, with only his job and one stupid silver necklace that once belonged to his mother. He wanted to love her, but he was so scared to see her going away, to see people mocking him, to be judged for being jealous or overprotecting with her, that all he could do was pretending that he didn't care.

We can still be friends… But no, it's all over.

Squall breathed hard as he remembered her face at that moment. He slowly got up. He had to get her out of his mind. But her scent was all over the place. As he walk in his room and let himself fall on his bed, he found one of her hair on the pillow. She was everywhere. And at the same time, she was gone. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was three and a half in the morning. Would he be able to sleep in his state of mind? Wouldn't Rinoa come and hunt him in his dreams? His mouth was dry and his heart was still beating way too fast. He felt a shiver running over all his back and let a strangled moan get out of his throat. He turned on his back and looked at the ceiling.

It's okay to need comfort and tenderness every now and then, and it's not because you don't want to need it…

"What do you think I want now, Rinoa?" he sighed.

His voice was faint and his hands started shaking again. He put an arm over his eyes, trying to erase all the feelings and the pain. Not to feel. He wished he could achieve something like that. Then, for a minute, he thought about calling Lightning. They had a mission together tomorrow and he sure didn't feel that he would be up to it. But a tear ran over his cheek, under his arm and he decided that he would stay like this a little longer and wouldn't call anyone. Lightning was maybe his best friend, but she wouldn't know in what state he was in. He still had his pride. He cried just a little, silently, as a man would. And it was way more heartbreaking than any sobs or any teary woman. But there was no one there to see or heard it and maybe was it why he cried in the first place.

…

Date: 19 027 A.D. December 2th

Location: Planet Earth, Canada, Ottawa

Noctis felt weird as he slowly opened his eyes. He remembered being in an important mission, on a colony of Mars, and fighting against a gang of terrorists to prevent them from attacking a big city in the colony. He remembered triggering a trap or something like that. Then there was an explosion and his mind was an absolute blank after that. His eyelids opened slightly and the light that he saw made him close his eyes instantly. Why was it so blinding? Was he in a hospital or something?

After all, he had been caught up in the explosion. What kind of explosion was it already? Not nuclear, he wouldn't be here if it was. His brain seemed to work slowly. His thoughts were all fuzzy. He stretched his shoulders slowly and reopened his eyes. The ceiling looked far from him. He realized that he was lying on a strange table. When he raised his right arm, his hand touched a transparent matter, right over his face, as if he was trapped in some kind of cocoon or… He was surprised. Maybe was he in an isolate chamber of the hospital? He had got hurt before, his job almost always implied getting hurt and he was used to hospital and all. But this was new. And as he looked at his arm, he realized there was a wire planted in his flesh. He couldn't sat up, the transparent thing hanging over him was quite solid and too close to let him any liberty of movement. But he shifted his shoulders and head to look at him, feeling a little more awkward with everything that he could realize of his situation. First thing wrong, he was naked. You aren't naked in a hospital –at least, not in the ten hospitals he had been to before…-. The ventilation around him was warm enough to prevent him from being uncomfortable, but he didn't like that. There were wires in each of his members and he discovered he was attached to a lot of things, with certain parts of his anatomy that shouldn't be touched by many people…

He freed himself from every cables and wires, even if most were for medical purpose and that he probably shouldn't touch anything. But he knew a few things. He didn't know where he was, and as he looked around him and saw scientists-looking-people working over computers, he felt his stomach churned in protest. This was bad. Had he been turned into a science project? He tried to get up, or at least to sit up. He felt weak and his body wasn't entirely responding to him. For how long had he been in here?

"Hey, look, he woke up!"

"He doesn't look too happy."

"What's going on around here!" he yelled back.

That was a mistake, his throat was dry out and his voice came out hoarsely, as if he hadn't drank anything in years. A man walked in the room after being called by someone and Noctis recognized him. It was his boss in the Black Faction. And for some reason, the young man didn't like the idea of being imprisoned in some kind of a super plastic cocoon. Rufus looked amused by the situation, and his secretary, Jihl Nabaat, walked next to him, a slight blush on her pale face.

"Please sir, you must calm down." one of the scientist told him.

"Let me out!" Noctis replied.

His voice wasn't as he remembered, and well, nothing was quite as he remembered. He felt his long hair brushing his shoulders and understood he might have been out cold for more than just a few days! He didn't like that. The anxiousness inside him was growing into an incredible wrath.

"Calm down, Raven." Rufus Shinra said with his cold voice.

"You're telling me to calm down?" Noctis repeated.

And this time, as he yelled, his anger seemed to run out of his body and a violent shockwave broke his cell, letting him sit up. And he automatically jumped on his feet, ready to jump at the first scientist that would get close to him, but he almost immediately collapsed to the ground. His legs were weak. His body shivered as his bared skin met the cold floor. His breath was uneasy and the shattered piece of transparent matter that'd been imprisoning him fell around him with clicking noises.

"Alright Raven, so it's seems you've really been in a coma all along."

"A coma?"

"Stop repeating everything that you hear, Raven!"

Why is he calling me Raven? Wait, that's my code name, ain't it?

Noctis tried to focus, but he was still mad for not understanding where he was. What had happened to him? Why was he here? Why did his legs couldn't hold his own weight? Why was he naked?

"First things first, I need to see if you're still intact mentally speaking. Could you give me your agent number?"

"Hum… Wait a minute. Where are we? When are we?"

Rufus sighed while Jihl was trying to look at Noctis' face, and not at the rest. The poor man wanted to hide, but his arms were almost as weak as his legs.

"Your agent number, first, Raven."

"04-567-45-32-911" he acidly replied without even thinking.

"Great, at least, you remember that."

"You answer me now, Rufus."

"Well, the doctors said that this could give you a shock, so, I'm maybe not the best person to tell you what happened. If you wanna know, Raven, after that explosion, we almost lost you. That was almost two years ago."

"What?"

Was he saying that he'd missed two years of his life in a coma after the explosion? This wasn't right, but then, that would explain his hair that was way too long.

"We had to isolate you because of the radiations that you've been exposed to. You've been in a coma ever since, so we studied your state. It seems that your body mutated a little. You're still totally human on the outside, and as vulnerable and mortal as before. But you got some kinds of powers. Just like this shockwave you used a moment ago."

"Has it really been two years?" His voice cracked a little. He was panicked. Last time he was up, he was still 25 years old, he had a life despite his work, even if things weren't looking too good. And now, he was 27 years old, all of a sudden, and the whole world had continued to turn while he was in a coma?

"Well, yeah, but you didn't miss anything important," Rufus commented lazily.

How does he know anything?

If Noctis had been in his full shape, he would have jump at that guy throat to teach him a lesson. But he simply shivered and looked down to the floor. How was he supposed to accept all that? He'd been in a coma, alright. He had weird powers thanks to the radiation he was exposed to, okay. He had missed two years of his life?

"What about Light?"

"Light? Oh, you mean Lightning. Well, she's still an agent."

Noctis couldn't believe it. After all that she'd been through, she was still putting up with this kind of life? She had been so scared by their last mission together. He had failed her and she certainly still resented him for what had happened. He still missed her. Even her harsh words. And it had been two years already for her? Had she forget him? Did she even know what had happened to him?

"Officially, Raven, you were moved to colony's quarters, on our moon base. None of your ex-co-workers know that you were in this coma, since we didn't know if you would wake up. And about waking up, I must congratulate you. A week later, and we would have given up on you."

"Oh, thanks, gee."

"What's that?"

"Get me some clothes instead of talking me crap!"

"I know this is hard to take, but you're still my employee Raven, and I won't have you talking to me like that!"

"It's freaking cold here and I want some damn dignity, is it too much to ask?"

An hour later, Noctis was left alone in a small room. He was dressed in a hospital gown, but it was still better than nothing, and Rufus had taken arrangement so that he could have some things from his place sent to him. He couldn't walk without using the walls to support him and he felt as a child, or a very old guy. But after all, his arms and legs hadn't been in use for two years, if it wasn't for electrical stimulations to keep him alive and prevent his body from decaying. He had to eat mashed food, since he hadn't eaten in two years and all felt frustrating. He sat in his bed, the pillows supporting his back and grab the laptop that he was given. Just lifting the small computer was a great effort and he winced from pain and resentment against this body that wasn't reacting as he wanted, before to finally put the laptop on his legs.

He looked for news on the Internet and tried to catch back all that he had missed. He managed to find Vanille's blog, where she talked about every guy of Boston's American branch of the Black Faction. There, he found some picture of Lightning, and Squall, and all the others that once were his comrades. Lightning seemed pretty close to Squall. Too close for his taste, even if he had no right over her anymore. This was so unfair! As he read on, he understood that Light's new partner was the famous Squall. His heart sank to the bottom of his chest. At least, she had a strong man to count on. Stronger than he was, maybe?

"Oh Claire… You look so happy with him. But are you really?"

He pushed the computer over the bed and let it crash on the floor. That wasn't like him at all to mourn like that, but he just had missed a part of his life. The doctor had told him to sleep, so that he would regain energy, but he was scared to close his eyes and lose track of time once more. Would he wake up tomorrow, or in years?

Instead of going to sleep, he got up, using the walls to support him. He had to get back to the Noctis he was before this. He had to train! After taking a few steps around the room with the walls as his support, he let go to use only his legs. And as he fell on the floor after six steps, he felt like yelling, and cursing, and crying, but he got up instead.

"Alright man. If you don't manage to walk now, you can't forget Lightning. She would never give any credit to a guy that can't even walk."

I couldn't save her and now, I'm like a little baby, he thought, desperately.

He fall again, a little later this time, and his legs hurt from the effort. They hadn't moved like that in the past months, they only reacted to electrical stimulations and his muscles were all protesting against their treatment.

"Once, I could run faster than most soldiers in the army. I was better at hand-to-hand fighting than Zell. And I'll get even better", he tried to encourage himself.

But it was hard to see how low he had fallen. He was so thin that he looked like a teenager with a too big stature for his age. He wasn't that build before, but he had more muscle and flesh than that. His stomach was a little hollow on the inside, as if he hadn't eaten enough.

"If all I had were water and mashed food, there's no reason to worry about it. But man, I can't wait to eat a steak!"

He was hungry, and angry, and scared to death, but at least, he was up and alive. All that was left was to get back to his ancient life. Maybe that then, he could meet with Lightning. That scared me even more than going to sleep, but he had missed two years of her life. And even if she'd said that everything was over between them, he could still be her friend. She sure didn't have that many friends with her temper!

As he fell for the fifth time, he decided he would exercise his arms too. In the middle of the night, when a nurse came to check on him, she found him walking on his hands, his legs pointing in the air, and his gown had fallen on his eyes, but he was laughing. At least, his strength was coming back! The nurse almost had a heart attack and Rufus threaten his agent to tie him to his bed if he wasn't more careful. Noctis took this opportunity to ask for more clothes and continued the training that would lead him back to the life he once had…

…

Date: 19 027 A.D. December 2th, early morning

Location: Planet Earth, United States, Boston

Sazh hated sleepless night. But he hated uncertainty even more. Dajh whereabouts where still unknown and as long as he didn't give to his son's kidnappers the intel they wanted, the poor little boy wouldn't be release. He had try to localize the kid himself, running away from his agency at the same time. He had to tell them all that they wanted, Dajh was all his life, but this wasn't going to be easy to live with him after that. The Black Faction would chase them both all over the world. If he tried to contact one of the agents, they would bring him back to the agency.

But fortunately for him, Sazh had his ways with computers and mechanics and he had checked everything that he could from the Black Faction's systems. He could crack all their codes so easily that Rufus Shinra would have been scared, but the black man was a force to reckon with, and it wasn't a joke.

"I need to make a plan." he thought out loud. "Lightning and Squall will be after me from today on. If I can catch them before they catch me and force them to listen to my reasons, maybe they could lend me a hand in rescuing Dajh. But I mustn't put him in danger. If something was to happen to him, I couldn't live with myself. My poor Gloria would be so sad. Huh, Bokko?"

His little chocobo, which was still a chick, kweeeed in agreement from the depth of his hair.

"Alright then. Lightning and Squall will certainly understand me. If they don't, I'll just have to get away from them and betray the agency. But I'd rather not…"

Dajh would be in so much more danger if the knowledge of the Black Faction was to get into evil hands. No kid of earth would be safe, no matter where their parents would hide them. And I can't let that happen.

To be continued…

Few… That was a lot of works. I entirely redo this chapter to get things straight. There wasn't much actions here, since I was setting things up for the upcoming chapters, but I'm sure that you all know where I'm heading. For now, I'd like to know what you think about this alternate universe I create for my crossover. Do you think the characters (forget Lightning please, since her nightmare wasn't very like her) were okay? Yeah, I know, I'm attacking with sad plots, but that's one of my forte, really. Did some of you understand what happened, two years ago to Lightning? Who else thinks that Cloud really is Light's twin?

I really hope you liked it. I really like Squall, I just hope the breaking up with Rinoa was realistic. Don't worry, things won't be as sad in the next chapter. I just wanted to show how serious the fic will be. Ah, and I should mention it now, the Noctis I'll do in this fic will be a little different from the one in Associates till death do us part. He'll be more cheerful, when things will get a bit more normal for him. That's to explain the scene with him walking on his hands. Poor nurse. Oh, and if there's a character of ffxiii, ffvii, ffviii or ffx you'd like to see, tell me. I'll take some people from ffxii too maybe. I need bad guys, you know, and I'm trying to use only final fantasy characters, not to invent anyone.

Anyway, I'll end this comment by asking for reviews, because I really love them and they make me write so much more! Thanks for reading and see ya all in next chapter!