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Lightning stood still as her sister went over her uniform one more time.

"It couldn't look better on you even if it tried, so stop worrying." Serah said with a smirk as she patted her sister on the shoulder. Lightning inhaled and exhaled calmly to steady her heartbeat.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one meeting her." Lightning shot back, her voice shaking just a bit more than she would have liked.

"Sergeant Farron? The Empress is ready for you now." A soldier guarding the massive steel doors to the Empress's quarters announced. Lightning gave one last quick glance towards her sister, who firmly nodded to indicate that everything would be fine.

As the soldier pushed one of the steel doors open, Lightning was greeted with the sight of the most elegant room she had ever been in. There was furniture from every major city on Cocoon, silks and other fabrics adorning them with their bright colors. The lighting in the room was provided by a massive bulletproof window and the sun highlighted the colors even more. But Lightning wasn't summoned there to admire the décor.

"Your Imperial Majesty." Lightning said in greeting as she bowed, extending her right leg far behind her and crossing her left arm over her chest while extending the right one to the right.

The Empress slightly tilted her head forward, signaling that Lightning could exit her bow. As she did, she got a good look of the ruler of Cocoon. Lightning wasn't sure what to expect when she was summoned to meet the most powerful woman alive, but the Empress was a sight to behold. Her black hair was braided tightly into two small buns on the back of her head. There were no scars or other marks on her face, which surprised Lightning a bit. Her eyes were dark blue in color and her skin the shade of bronze, although a little lighter. She had small lips, as well as a small nose and small ears, but her physique seemed much heavier and she wasn't exactly short either. She was clearly a warrior, judging by the way she stood upright and with hands behind her back. There was no jewelry on her and her clothing resembled that of the Generals, although more decorated.

"At ease Sergeant. I didn't summon you here for an exchange of courtesies. I've been told you're the best soldier available and summoned you here to test that." The Empress spoke with a low voice, clearly trained to be as authoritative and threatening as possible. Lightning had respected the Empress all her life and even though their meeting had only lasted for about a minute thus far, she was already convinced that she hadn't respected her without a reason.

"Test me how, your Majesty?" Lightning inquired as she eased into a more comfortable stance. The Empress smiled just enough that Lightning noticed it.

"Drop the courtesies. We're both warriors, so we may speak like it." The Empress said with a slight hint of amusement in her voice, or so Lightning heard it, at least. Lightning briefly nodded as acknowledgement.

"Now, I have a few questions for you. Answer them honestly, or don't answer them at all. Either one is fine, as long as you don't lie." The Empress ordered and motioned for Lightning to follow her towards her desk. The Empress sat down on a sizeable chair on the other side of the desk while Lightning sat down to a much smaller chair on the other. The Empress pulled out a folder, which was titled "Farron", from one of the desk's drawers and opened it wide on the table.

"I've read through your folder several times, but there are a few gaps I'd like you to fill for me. Ready to begin?" The Empress asked and Lightning couldn't do much else besides nod.

"Your first battle as a Sergeant during the War of Unification was the Siege of Palumpolum. The city had been under siege for several weeks, but the local garrison wouldn't surrender. The General in command wanted to wait for reinforcements, but you led your troops into the city through an old sewer system at night. When the General woke up in the morning, he was greeted with a sight of a burning city and the smell of burning corpses. The General was furious at you for disobeying his orders and had your whole squad executed. You were assigned to a different front and the General never learned how you succeeded in what you did. Now you will tell me how you did it and why."

The mention of that siege brought unpleasant memories back to the surface. Lightning still remembered how she was powerless to do anything as her men were executed one by one. It made Lightning question her suitability for command for a long time, but now it seemed that the Empress approved of her actions.

"Of course. My men and I packed our packs full of incendiaries and snuck out of the camp at night. One of the soldiers was from Palumpolum originally and used to play in the sewers as a kid. They had been shut down after too many kids disappeared in them, so they weren't guarded at all. After the soldier led us through the sewers, we began to set the houses on fire with our incendiaries. The garrison fell quickly as they were too panicked by the roaring fire to put up any significant resistance. The city burned down completely as I heard it, along with most of the civilians. But as to why I did it…"

The Empress observed the change in emotion in Lightning's face as she clearly struggled with something. That something was very personal to Lightning, and she really didn't feel like sharing it with anyone. But the Empress was someone you shouldn't refuse, so Lightning sighed silently before focusing her attention again.

"I knew that my hometown, Bodhum, was under siege by the Western Coalition forces and I wanted to fight there, to protect my home and my sister. But I didn't want to desert, because I believed in our cause. So I decided to "force" my relocation to another front. I knew some people higher up in the army, so after I got forced away, I managed to get assigned to Bodhum."

The Empress smiled a little more evidently now than before and Lightning was sure that she didn't imagine it. The Empress didn't comment on Lightning's confession and instead simply continued through the folder.

"Well, your relocation to Bodhum gave us a major victory, which allowed us to go on the offensive, which soon led to the collapse of the Western Coalition. Despite your rash actions during the offensive, like the Massacre of Madanea and the Pyrrhic victory at Eden, the campaign concluded with very few casualties, with the credit going to you. Afterwards the Generals wanted to promote you, which would have been mostly a formality at that point, but you wanted to stay on the field instead. You refused the promotion and asked for a leave, lasting two weeks. I decided to grant it, because the other coalitions weren't on the offensive at that time. What did you do during that leave?"

These questions were far more personal than Lightning expected. The Empress didn't seem upset about her previous answer, so she figured that honesty was exactly what the Empress wanted, like she had said earlier.

"I returned to Bodhum and took my sister to Gran Pulse. Many civilians fled there during the war and I wanted my sister to be safe. But that didn't take more than a few days, so I spent my time hunting and feasting with some old Pulsian friends. When it came time to return, my friends joined me, which is probably in the folder."

Once again the Empress smiled, and again a bit more evidently. No comment was given and the Empress continued through the folder once more.

"During your absence, the Southern Coalition and the Northern Coalition launched a joint-offensive against us. With the resources from the collapsed Western Coalition, we managed to stop their advance before losing any major cities, but the stalemate that followed began to cost us too much. Then once again you intervened. You convinced the Generals to abandon the north, but not without burning all the cities, fields and so forth. When the Northern Coalition advanced, their armies began to die of hunger and thirst, along with disease because their supply lines couldn't reach them. Add to that successful guerilla attacks and soon the Northern Coalition collapsed. The south sued for peace, but you intervened in that too. Why?"

There was some form of admiration evident in the Empress's voice and Lightning was sure that she wasn't imagining it. Her role in the War of Unification had been big, but it didn't even closely rival that of the Empress. Still, the Empress made it sound like she had been most vital to their success.

"Cocoon had been fractured for too long. Even if we united the west and the north under our banner, the south would have had time to apply their influence, gather new resources and so on if we agreed to their offer of peace. They had to be subdued by force and their influence needed to be completely erased. So, I convinced the Generals and they convinced you."

Now the Empress didn't even try to mask her smile. She closed the folder after finishing it and put it back in the drawer. She wasn't finished though, because she didn't stand up.

"I had many amazing men and women help me during the war, but it has been over for five years now. The Generals and other important military personnel have been posted to garrisons around Cocoon to keep peace and the civilian personnel have been appointed to the roles of governors, magistrates et cetera. Everyone who contributed has been rewarded in some way, except for you."

Lightning didn't know how to react. She wasn't expecting anything from the Empress, because she felt like she had only been doing her duty during the war, like everyone else. She had retired to a quiet life in the countryside with her sister and her uniform had been gathering dust in the closet all this time, which was one of the reasons she was nervous earlier about wearing it. A united and peaceful Cocoon had been her reward.

"I don't require anything, your Majesty. I have everything I need." Lightning said in a moderate tone, which the Empress seemed to have been expecting. She stood up from her chair and rounded the desk. Lightning had to stand up as well and focused her gaze on a large painting on the wall that the Empress pointed out.

"You recognize her?" The Empress simply asked, but the young baby girl in the painting wasn't familiar to Lightning. She shook her head once and the Empress turned to face Lightning afterwards.

"I'm not surprised. She was just a little older than that when she was sent to Gran Pulse." The Empress spoke with a hint of melancholy in her voice. Lightning was quick to connect the dots however.

"She is your daughter?" Lightning questioned carefully and the Empress nodded.

"I doubt she remembers me or anyone else from Cocoon for that matter. She was the result of a stupid young romance, but I couldn't bring myself to make an abortion. Her father is long dead, died in the war, in fact."

The Empress seemed calm given the topic they were discussing, but Lightning sensed that the Empress didn't bring this up just to let her know about her long lost daughter.

"I've heard that you enjoy your life in the peace of your farm, but given our discussion, the tone you used, the intensity with which you spoke… You miss the action."

It wasn't a question. It was true though; Lightning had been bored for a long time now. Farming crops and tending to cows wasn't exactly what she was trained to do from an early age. But she had promised her sister that she wouldn't fight anymore and that they would live in peace.

"I do, your Majesty, but I've made a vow to my sister to never pick up arms again." Lightning said with clear regret in her voice. The Empress didn't show any strong reactions to what Lightning had said and calmly nodded.

"I understand. What I would have asked of you doesn't require you to break that vow necessarily." The Empress stated and Lightning raised her right eyebrow.

"Find my daughter and bring her to me." The Empress's orders were short and sudden, but Lightning was expecting something of the sort. Lightning wasn't one to refuse the orders of the one she had dedicated her entire life to, but she knew that this was something different.

"I will, your Majesty, but I require information, help et cetera." Lightning said calmly and saw small signs of relief on the Empress's face. She returned to her desk and procured another folder from one of the drawers. She handed it to Lightning who didn't open it on the spot.

"There is everything you will need. Seems everything I know about you was true. That is rare these days, but not unwelcome. You know that I owe you much, and that you can collect on it anytime. It's too bad we hadn't met earlier." The Empress lamented as she offered her hand to Lightning. Lightning took it after a brief glance and shook it firmly.

"I'm honored, your Majesty." Lightning said gratefully and the Empress slightly bowed her head as their hands separated.

"Please, enough with the courtesies. You can call me Yulia." The Empress offered and Lightning bowed her head slightly as well before turning towards the door. As she was about to exit it, she turned around slightly one last time to look at the Empress.

"I'll return as soon as possible with your daughter." Lightning made a solemn promise.

"I know you will."

And with that, Lightning exited the Empress's quarters. Her day had just started, however, and the next obstacle of the day was her sister; how the hell would she explain this to her dear sister?

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