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A few hours after Lightning's meeting with the Empress…

Serah had been quiet the whole time as they drove towards their farmstead. It worried Lightning a bit, but she didn't expect Serah to be overly eager to hear that her sister would be putting herself into danger again.

"You do realize that I won't be in any real danger? Gran Pulse, especially the areas near Cocoon, aren't that different from the cities here, you know that. If I'm lucky…"

"Claire, stop." Serah finally broke her silence, catching Lightning off-guard. She nonetheless stopped talking and listened instead.

"War changed you. You became cold, distant. It took me nearly three years to make you your old self again after you returned to me. Who can say if I can do it again after you return? Gran Pulse isn't peaceful, don't try to convince me of it. When I was there, even the cities and towns close to Cocoon got attacked several times by men and beasts alike. The fighting there will consume you and you will be lost to me again."

Serah's voice carried so much sorrow and pain, but her emotions didn't show on her face. She had picked that up from Lightning during those dreadful years when showing weakness could have resulted in death or worse.

Lightning didn't say anything. She knew Serah was right. The things she had seen during the war, the atrocities she had committed in the name of peace were unforgivable. She had to live with that every day, but she had learned to behave "normally" again, to help her adjust into civilian life and to ease the worries of her family and closest friends. To return to that life of war would be damaging, but if Lightning had recovered from it once, she could do it again, she was sure of it.

"Serah, listen please. I came back before, I can do it again. The Empress gave this task to me specifically and I know you respect her as much as I do. I could never willingly disappoint her and I know you wouldn't want me to do so either."

Serah knew that Lightning spoke the truth, but it wasn't easy to hear. She also knew that she could never truly understand the life Lightning was living, even if they were sisters, because she had never fought in a war, never seen death and destruction on such a grand scale. The violence she had witnessed had been that of beasts and savage men on a small scale on Gran Pulse.

"Just promise to stay in contact during your mission, okay? I need to see and hear that you are not falling again. Promise me, and I'll trust you to retain your humanity."

The sisters looked at each other, their gazes not wavering in the slightest.

"I promise."

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Two days later on Gran Pulse…

Even though Gran Pulse and Cocoon are two separate worlds, they share a link with each other. This link had been discovered only about a century ago, allowing people to travel between the worlds using gates that had been opened on both sides. There are four gates in total, two on both sides and they allow hundreds of people to pass through simultaneously. One is reserved for civilians and the other for military personnel. Cocoon was in charge of all four gates due to the precarious situation Gran Pulse had been in for the past three years. Millions upon millions of credits were required to organize all of the travel through the gates so that it was safe and productive; a truly gargantuan achievement in science and commerce.

Another truly gargantuan achievement would be to find a single woman, alone, on Gran Pulse. Luckily for Lightning, the folder the Empress had given her gave her some solid ideas on where to search and who to ask for help. The first stop for Lightning was the Cocoonian Garrison HQ that was located very close to the gates. Cocoonian troops were stationed here for safety and illegally too, if the Pulsians were to be asked. The Empress had deemed such an action necessary though, in the light of the current events on Gran Pulse.

As Lightning approached the HQ, two soldiers motioned for her to stop.

"Sergeant Farron, it's an honor to meet such a legendary hero."

One of the soldiers spoke with excitement in his tone. Lightning recognized the accent to be of Eastern origin. It didn't surprise her that the garrison here would consist mostly of former Eastern Coalition forces. The Empress was still a bit worried about the loyalty of the other regions, so this move made sense as well.

"The honor is mine, soldier. I was informed that a certain mercenary company frequently gets hired by the General here. Do you know if they are currently here, or where I could find them?"

Lightning got quickly to the point, not really enjoying the attention she was getting. She didn't mind people recognizing her, or calling her a hero, but most of those who did so had no real idea of the deeds she had under her belt. Honestly, it was likely better that way.

"You're in luck Sergeant. The company just arrived before you did. Their leader is talking to the General now. I'll let you in."

Lightning slightly tilted her head in acknowledgment as the soldier moved to open the doors leading into the HQ's courtyard. As Lightning entered, the doors were closed behind her.

Being in a military environment brought back all kinds of memories. The camaraderie, terrible food, lack of privacy… Lightning chuckled to herself a bit as she remembered some of the silly stuff they had gotten up to during the pauses in fighting. It was good to remember that not everything had been terrible during the war.

But the good memories soon subsided as Lightning laid her eyes on the General in charge. It was the same General who had ordered Lightning's whole squad to be executed during the war. Lightning's blood began to boil. The General noticed her as well and completely ignored the other woman in front of him as he made his way towards Lightning with a disgusted look on his face.

"General Rosch."

"Sergeant Farron."

The atmosphere in the garrison grounds suddenly got tense as the soldiers turned to gaze at the standoff between two heroes of the war. Most knew about the history between them, because it involved Lightning, a woman who had surprised everyone during the war.

Lightning stared intensely into Rosch's eyes with hate raging violently in her own eyes. Rosch had similar hatred burning in his eyes. They had not encountered each other since the mass execution, but Rosch had always objected to whatever Lightning had planned during the war.

However, Lightning still respected the military and its structure and Rosch was above her. She couldn't let her own hatred get in the way of her mission. She took a step back from Rosch and saluted. It took everyone by surprise, including Rosch himself.

"General, The Empress informed me that I could find a certain mercenary here, goes by the name Terra. I assume you were talking to her just now?" Lightning questioned while turning her gaze away from Rosch and towards the woman who was leaning against a barracks wall some distance away.

"That is correct, Sergeant. She'll be free momentarily. You can wait over in the cafeteria." Rosch answered after a brief silence. He didn't want to make any more of a scene in front of his men, especially now since Lightning had acted so professionally, despite their rivalry. Rosch wanted people to respect his authority and Lightning knew it. The quickest way away from him was to show that respect.

"Thank you, General." Lightning said and saluted once more before making her way to the cafeteria. Inside, she sat down alone into a corner table and began to patiently wait. She didn't have to wait long before Terra entered the cafeteria as well. The mercenary made her way over to Lightning and sat down opposite of her.

Lightning looked over the woman quickly before making her introductions. Terra had pure, white hair unlike any Lightning had ever seen before. Her long hair was partly tied to a ponytail at the back of her head and partly swept behind her ears, the rest hanging loosely all around. Her face was that of a seasoned veteran, bearing several scars. One ran from her left cheek all the way to her left ear, nearly cutting it in two. Another one ran through from the right side of her lower lip and to the middle of her chin. The third and last one ran over her left eye, starting from near the other scar on her cheek and made a twist at her forehead, continuing to the right side of her forehead and ending at the hairline.

Oddly enough she didn't have any scars near her right eye socket, which was covered by a black eyepatch that was attached with two small straps that joined together at the back of her head. The straps themselves were mostly invisible, disappearing neatly into her long hair. Her left eye was nearly purple in color and her skin nearly the same shade as Lightning's, only slightly paler. Her other facial features were small or close to medium sized, meaning her nose, lips and ears. Her build seemed athletic, but Lightning was mostly guessing, because she couldn't see through her fatigues.

"I don't think it's polite to stare, Sergeant." Terra said in a surprisingly light tone, but Lightning assumed that it was intentional. She gave Terra a slight smile, which the woman returned courteously.

"I'm Lightning, but I guess you already knew that." Lightning said and Terra answered with a small nod of her head.

"And I'm Terra, which you knew already, so can we get to the point?" Terra said in a firmer, lower tone that Lightning would have expected her to use in the first place.

"Of course. I've been informed that you could help me locate a certain woman who lives somewhere here, on Gran Pulse." Lightning started and took her folder from her pack. Terra looked at it curiously, because she recognized the Imperial Seal on it. Lightning opened the folder and took out a picture with text attached to it. Terra picked up the picture and read the text out loud.

"Oerba Yun Fang, nine months ago at Oerba, town now destroyed, location unknown."

Terra placed the picture down on the table between them and stared at Lightning, clearly searching for something in her eyes. Lightning decided to let Terra observe her and simply retrieved the picture from the table.

"I can most certainly help you, but I require something in return. Are you willing to negotiate?" Terra spoke after a few seconds, which was faster than Lightning expected.

"Depends on what you need." Lightning inquired.

"I can't speak of it here. I can only say that you will be needing that." Terra said and tilted her head slightly towards Lightning's gunblade that was hanging in its holster behind her.

"Then where can we speak?" Lightning continued her inquiries.

"There is a town near here with an abandoned fortress. My men and I reside there for the time being. Come meet us there tonight if you want to discuss this further with me." Terra said and stood up from her chair. She extended her hand and Lightning grabbed it after standing up as well. They shook hands before Terra left the cafeteria.

Lightning didn't see any reason to remain neither and made sure her folder was secure before putting it back in her pack. Lightning didn't see Rosch on her way out, which was probably for the best. Lightning now needed a place to stay, and it needed to have a connection to Cocoon. Most of the hotels and motels around here had that connection, so Lightning chose the cheapest available one that she could think of and headed there to get settled in and to contact her sister back home.

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