Chapter Three

.What the Hell.

"Passengers, we would like to announce that we're now landing on the world of Gaia. Thank you for waiting."

Lightning woke up from the sound of the announcement. She glanced over the window since her seat was right beside it. It looked like a peaceful planet but the atmosphere was quite gloomy. Was it because of the Geostigma? She was quite aware of that illness but it didn't seemed to bother her unless Serah were to tag along. As the plane - space ship - docked, Lightning went off immediately. The passengers were quite few since people were afraid of the illness.

As she was about to leave the port, she saw a man in black. She paused as he saw him approaching with two bodyguards following him.

"Hello, Lightning." The man said. "I'm Rufus Shinra." Both people shook hands. He seems nice... or so I thought. The man led him to his car. Lightning still kept a straight face, not showing if she was nervous or not. Another bodyguard opened the door. Rufus politely asked Lightning to go in first since she was a lady.

Once they all got in the car, they began to head for headquarters. Lightning remained silent during the whole trip. Rufus would ask her a few questions to break the deafening silence and she would answer them briefly. To Lightning, he seemed like a nice man but there was something about him that is really weird. She looked out to the window and saw a building.

It must be the headquarters. She thought.

When they arrived, Rufus had gotten out first. He stretched his hand to Lightning.

"I can handle it by myself." She said. As she was about to get out of the car, he blocked her. He stretched out his hand again. She sighed and held his hand. "Welcome to SOLDIER."

She examined the place. It was quite massive.

Meanwhile...

"Waaahhh! This is awesome!" Cried Serah, looking at the colorful gems at the clear glass case.

"They were imported from Earth." said an old lady who appears to be the store owner. Serah watched the gems in amazement as they sparkled brilliantly. "These gems are magical ones." The old lady started as she dusted one of the dusty shelves. "According to the legend, it can grant a wish."

"A wish?" Serah blinked innocently. The old lady smiled. "Yes. All you have to do is to hold it close to your heart and wish sincerely. Who knows it might come true."

"Wow!" Serah looked at the glass case once more. If I wish for something... will it come true? She thought. The old lady started to open the glass case and took out a yellow one. She handed it to Serah who was surprised. "G-Grandma! I can't accept this!"

"Think of it as a Thank You gift for me since you helped me with this shop for the whole month." Serah handed the gem in her hands. "A-Are you sure about this?"

"Positively."

"Thank you Grandma!" She exclaimed.

Rufus showed Lightning around headquarters. All of the SOLDIERs were men. That means she'll be the first female SOLDIER. However, she wasn't a first class so things may go roughly for her. Lightning smirked at the thought. She'll show them what she got.

As the tour ended, they went outside. Rufus offered her to stay in a hotel but she refused. "I'll find a place to stay." She said. He kept on insisting but she won instead. "Okay. I won't force you." He said. "You can explore all you want. Good luck, Farron."

She watched him leave. She carried her bags and went to find a place to stay. She's a strong woman. She'll survive the toughest things that may come up during work.

Why..? The king massaged his head from the migraine he has. It wasn't the papers and all that he was worried about. It was his son. Sure, he was an emo-looking guy with a cold personality. But he had caused trouble double time.

"Son." He started. "I know you know that I'm having headaches and migraines recently from work." He lied. The raven haired guy looked at his father without any emotion in his face. He knows where this is going. "But, I think I should send you to Shinra to refine your skills."

What the hell? He looked at him with a surprised look. Although he knew he would say that, still the words that were coming out of his father's mouth could make it even much more surprising than he thought. "You can't be serious."

"I am, Noctis." He said sternly. "And you're going to go there by tomorrow. You'll be automatically in the first class by taking a first class mission."

"But-"

"No buts, Noctis. Start packing your things now. I've already picked a mission for you. Do it this afternoon."

Noctis didn't have a choice. He went outside the castle and saw Prompto and the others waiting for him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He said.
"I should be the one who should say sorry. After all, it was my fault for getting you in this mess." The blonde replied looking down to the ground.

"Don't worry. At least this'll keep me from being bored." What he said was half true. Life was getting pretty boring for him. Also, after exposing his dad's secret got him in trouble and it's all thanks to Prompto. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"To fulfill a mission." Noctis said as he was about to get on the car. Prompto's remark made him pause. "I thought that was done by this afternoon."

"Eavesdropping again?"

"How could I resist?"

He rolled his eyes and got on.

Lightning went exploring around Gaia. Good thing she has a good sense of directions and a good memory. That way, she won't get lost too easily. She wandered in shops, cafes, and many other sightings. Maybe Gaia isn't really that bad at all. Everybody's just scared because they think that the illness is contagious...or the rumor that Sephiroth is still wandering in the planet.

She shrugged about the thought of Sephiroth. Nah... that's just a rumor. She thought as she continued walking.

Bump!

A girl with black hair had bumped to her and her groceries were on the ground. Luckily, it looked like she was shopping for canned goods so they didn't really spoil. "I'm sorry." The girl quickly got up and bowed in apology. "Don't worry. I didn't see you either." She replied. "Let me help you with that."

Light began to pick up the cans that were close to her. "D-Don't. I can handle it myself." she said. Lightning looked up to her and gave her a grin. "It's okay. You would get into trouble if you carry these two big bags by yourself."

She's got a point there.

As the two were done, Lightning accompanied the girl to her place carrying the bag with her. It's not like she has something to do after that.

"We're here." she beamed as they entered a building. "Thank you for your help." Lightning examined the place. It looks like a bar.

"Oh, you can put that in the counter." She said as she put the paper bag in the counter. "Thank you very much." Lightning placed hers in the same counter and sighed. "Well." She started. "I should get going. See ya."

"W-Wait!"

Too late. The door closed with the sound of the little bells. "I forgot to ask for her name."

A/N: Nothing much in this chapter. Don't worry, the good parts has yet to come. :D Who knew Rufus could be a gentleman.