"Come with me...to Gran Pulse. . ."

Lightning blushed remembering the Pulsian's words. The tips of her slender fingers gently glided against the necklace the Yun gave her on their supposed last night together.

Now she was aboard a train heading towards Gran Pulse. Said Pulsian was napping against one of the former soldier's shoulders.

Was last night too much for you, Fang? Lightning smirked slightly resting her cheek atop Fang's head.

Her fingers continued to gently pet at the necklace.

"I want you to keep this..." Fang removed her necklace. "Never take it off, ya hear?"

"Are you sure? Do you really want to give me something with so much meaning?" Lightning slightly blushed. "Stupid question, I guess, but I don't have much knowledge on Gran Pulse culture."

"It has plenty of meaning and I know, I want you to wear it forever." Fang slightly tilted her head as a small frown appeared. "Unless, you don't want to accept it. . ."

"W-what? I don't mind Fang. It's okay, I will wear it, f-forever." Lightning's blush became brighter and she soon averted her eyes. "Q-quit staring at me like that."

"Heheh, sorry. It's just that...it really suits you, Lightning." Fang grin, her own red hue finally appearing on her cheeks. She leaned in and kissed Lightning. A short but passionate kiss was shared. Fang smiled against Lightning's lips. "Thank you for accepting it, Lightning."

It suits me? Lightning repeated before smiling slightly.

Her eyes closed. It felt only for a second, but soon she was being shaken awaken. Two light shakes was all it took. After all, she was a light sleeper.

"Mornin' Sunshine, welcome to my homeland, Oerba." They boarded off the train. "It'll be a bit of a walk, but we can use it to enjoy the scenery!" Fang said.

She walked down the stairs of the platform and looked back. A smile formed. Already Lightning's eyes roamed in all directions. It was a station in the middle of the woods. Vegetation left and right. Not many buildings surrounded the place. The station and an outside small market for food, drinks, and restroom emergencies. Before them were three paths. Lightning followed the Yun.

"Its beautiful. I have never seen so much green at once. There's so much life here. . . And the air."

Her eyes closed as she took in a deep breath through her nose. The air was so fresh, cool, and crisp that her eyes slightly rolled back from the relaxation it brought to her lungs.

"Its so different than Cocoon." She whispered.

"Heheh, promise you'll never want to leave, Light." Fang said before taking in some air. "It's good to be back home and this time even better than before! After all, the woman of my dreams is here with me and is actually enjoying my homeland. Who knew you city girls would enjoy the woods!"

"If we weren't walking I think I could just lay down and fall asleep." Lightning finally opened her eyes.

They widened as they locked with a person in the distance. Noticing Light's sudden reaction Fang too turned at the direction Lightning stared at.

"Auryon?" Fang's eyes widened as well.

"Sup Fang, glad you're back."

The woman gave a light smile before she began to roll the wheels of her wheelchair to go over to them, but she quickly stopped as Fang rushed to her side.

"The hell happened to you, Auryon?!" Fang scanned the wounded Elder. Until her eyes landed on Auryon's left bandaged eye.

"Cocoonians...caught me off guard." Auryon locked her right eye towards Lightning. It then went down to the necklace. She quickly looked back at Fang, then again at Lightning. "So this is your Cocoonian lover?"

"She has a name, Auryon." Fang growled softly. "Auryon, meet Lightning. Lightning this is one of my Elders, Yun Auryon."

"It's nice to meet you, Auryon." Lightning extended her hand after making her way to them.

Auryon smirked softly and averted her eyes. "Yeah, right. Welcome to Gran Pulse, Cocoonian."

Lightning's arm went back to her side. She wasn't angry that the Pulsian didn't want to meet her greeting.

She had obviously suffered from the war.

"You can try being a little more friendly, Auryon!" Fang growled.

"Just came to see if the Cocoonian brought any company. Heard she's a soldier. . ."

"Ex-soldier, actually." Lightning corrected.

Auryon laughed before turning towards one path. Her head turned and her eye locked with Lightning's. "Once a soldier, always a soldier. Don't think you'll be greeted with happy smiles and trusting stares. You're a Cocoonian before anything."

With that Auryon guided them back to the village. Fang sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Pay her no mind. She's usually not this much of an ass." Fang looked over at Light.

"The war has taken its toll on her. I don't blame her for not trusting me. I will gain it little by little, as well as any others that look at me as if expecting to be backstabbed." Lightning smiled gently. "I'll need you to vouche for me, Fang."

"Of course." Fang took hold of Light's hand. "Come on, it's gonna be a bit of a walk home." Light blushed lightly as her eyes fell to their linked hands. "Something wrong?"

"N-nothing...well I just noticed, its our first time holding hands." Her blush deepened. "We had sex before holding hands...kissed before holding hands. . ."

"You slut. . ." Fang whispered only to get a harsh squeeze and glare. She laughed and leaned over to peck the ex soldier's forehead. "Kidding! Kidding! We haven't had much time as an actual couple, we will do everything, I promise. I'll give you the treatment fit for a goddess."

Lightning's eyes softened as the blush crawled back against her cheeks. While it could have been easy that Fang was joking around, any doubt vanished with the intense stare she gave.

Oerba

"Fang!" Vanille clung to her sister as soon as Fang step foot in Oerba.

"Van." Fang held her sister for a while before patting her head. "How are you? And Hope?"

"Galena has him in her care. Damaged brain nerves...but she can heal him. He will be okay." Vanille smiled weakly patting her abdomen. "She's given me morning sickness tea. Hope will be fine at least by the time this little one comes out."

Fang knelt down, placing a hand over Vanille's. "We will all be here to welcome it with open arms. It will have a full happy family."

Lightning smiled a bit. Her heart ached. Because of her homeland, people she knew had already gotten hurt.

It's only going to get worse, isn't it? Her eyes dropped as did her smile. They would join the war efforts. Lives would surely be lost, even though Lightning wished none would be.

"Oh Lightning, how are you finding Gran Pulse?" Vanille asked.

"Its so green. Its landscapes are vast. The air is so much cleaner and crisp. Unlike Cocoon."

"You'll enjoy the night's sky. I use to watch until I fell asleep." Vanille giggled. "Oh lets get going to your new home!"

They entered a two bedroom house resting on thick tree branches.

"Instead of cutting down another tree for room to build a house, you build it like a child's treehouse?" Lightning looked amazed, yet perplexed.

"We are nature lovers." Vanille giggled.

"We lost so much green a long long time ago."

Heads turned as another voice entered.

"You're that woman from before.." Lightning whispered.

"Yun Jeanne!" Fang and Vanille quickly showed respect.

"Yun Auryon told me of your arrival, Yun. I...was expecting you to bring her along." Jeanne's eyes slightly widened as her eyes locked on the necklace Lightning wore. She quickly averted her eyes. "That woman, injured and yet she wanders off on her own. She was never able to sit in one place for at least 2 minutes."

"I'm sorry, but...there was a war in Gran Pulse?"

The Pulsians stared over at Lightning. Eyes filled with shock at the question she had asked.

"You don't know of it?" All asked. Lightning slowly shook her head.

"Of course you don't. How sad." Jeanne slightly smirked. "I will tell you of it, one day, or maybe even she will." A small grin began to form before quickly disappearing. "For now, I welcome you Lightning. Please do be wary of the eyes that glance at your direction and know that the Maker grants me the ability to hear even the smallest of whispers."

With that Jeanne nodded and left.

"What was that suppose to mean?" Lightning asked.

"Exactly how it sounds, Sunshine." Fang stretched and opened her bedroom door. "Don't go making plans with the enemy. Yun Jeanne will be two steps ahead of you by then."

Lightning nodded slightly. She was still unsure of what they spoke of. They made it sound as if the woman was holy, blessed with the abilities of a god.

That had to be impossible, right?

Night came quickly. Lightning's eyes widened as she stared up at the millions of stars.

"Amazing... I have never seen so many at once." She whispered. Her eyes locked on a floating sphere.

"Sadly, we can still see it. Pisses me off, but I bet it makes ya homesick." Fang said as she locked eyes on the floating city, Cocoon.

"No...I just worry about Serah. She must be asleep right now or doing class assignments."

"Or Snow. . ." Fang grunted as a fist locked with her right arm. She laughed as she rubbed it. "What?! Technically its their honeymoon!"

"I don't even want to imagine the smallest microsecond of that!" Lightning shook her head. Fang wiped a tear of laughter as they focused back on the planet like city. "Cocoon, it looks so isolated. As if we really want to shut ourselves out from the rest of the world. How arrogant we became. I wonder how it all turned out this way? How we broke apart from everyone? We may seem all high and mighty, but we are small and fragile compared to Gran Pulse."

"I can't believe you have no knowledge of the war, Sunshine." Lightning looked over at Fang. "Cocoon's leaders really have kept their people in the dark. Such a shame. If you all knew what happened long ago. Then you'd know of Cocoon's isolation." Fang met her stare and nodded slightly. "But you'll know soon enough and when you do, you'll know why you picked the right side to defend in this war."

I want to know. I have to know. What have they been keeping from us all this time? Why are we divided from the rest of the world?

"I want to know." Lightning whispered softly.

To be continued. . .

AN: Ahh! Finally started this story. Sorry I held it off for so long. I had difficulty starting it up to how long I wanted to make the first chapter. And yes it shows! I decided to keep it short, but will move things up in the next chapter. Yes questions will be answered! Get ready folks, the sequel has begun!

Thank you for waiting! ヽ(;▽;)ノ