The Resolve

One month ago – Pulse

"Lightning?"

She looked up from her seat on the small pier, snapping out her trance as the feet that were tracing endless circles in the water froze. Appearing out of nowhere, Serah looked down with a bright smile that lit up the dark blue night.

"What are you doing out here?"

It was a small moment for her to recollect her thoughts and chuckle softly. "Just enjoying the breeze," Lightning replied. "It feels different from where we were on Cocoon, but I hardly went to the beach on the Planet." Costa del Sol was certainly a luxury, and those few times she went were times she certainly cherished. What with her position as captain of Midgar Area Patrol and Cloud going everywhere to deliver, it was hard to find a time to just go out with Tifa and the kids.

Serah chuckled along before settling down to sit next to her, dipping her feet into the cool water. It had only been two weeks since Lightning miraculously appeared on their shores, but she was dying to figure out what exactly happened in the past year. When she got the chance, she would drill Lightning on where she was, what was going through her head…and where she procured the intriguing earring hanging on her right earlobe. Asking that particular question brought a faint blush on her sister's face, only piquing Serah's interest even more.

In the days following her return, Lightning was certainly different from before, particularly in how she acted toward Snow. Serah knew they got to know each other better during their days as l'Cie, but her sister was actually interested in helping them with their wedding plans that finally picked up after a year of nothing. It was expected of her to try and delay the big moment; there must have been something, or someone, who helped her change her mind about being with a special someone.

And Serah was going to find out, no matter how many times Lightning would avoid her.

"Sooo, Light," she said while trying to keep the smirk off her face. "That beach on the Planet…was it fun?"

Lightning let out a humorless laugh. "Was it fun when all the tourists came to Bodhum for the annual fireworks?" The city would be packed and overflowed, and the shops would be sold out in an instant. There would be nowhere to sit or enjoy the usual daily life, which annoyed Lightning to some degree, but it wasn't enough to make her want to move away from their home. They were born and raised in the seaside city, and it was up to the sisters to live out their parents' legacies in their hometown.

"Did you ever go there with Cloud?"

The aloof air vanished, for Lightning knew exactly what Serah was getting at. 'Fine,' she thought after weeks of this torture. 'I'll play along with her little game.'

Taking a deep breath, the smile on her vanished grew weaker until it became sad, almost painful. "Just once, a little after we…" As her voice trailed off, Lightning could practically feel Serah's smirk beside her. Rolling her eyes, she decided to keep going, anyway. "It was a vacation for us and my squad. Blue skies, white sands…It was so much like home."

"I'm sure you two had a good time."

Lightning nudged her sister with her shoulder, a smirk accompanying the glare in her eyes. "Hey, what's with all this? I never bothered you and Snow like this."

"No, you would just go ahead and throw him out of the house!"

At that, they laughed with a relief they thought they could never feel again. Serah had memories similar to this, but they were deeply buried by the scars of their parents' deaths and the growing distance afterward. For once, everything felt perfect – her sister was home, Snow would soon be married to her, and they didn't have worry about being under the constant "protection" of the fal'Cie that wanted them dead.

As the breeze started ebbing into its colder temperatures for the late hours of the night, Serah got up to her feet, failing to notice the shudder ripping through Lightning's spine, her feet no longer drawing circles in the water. "I'm gonna call it a night," she said just before turning around. "I'll see you inside."

"Hey, Serah."

Turning back halfway, Serah watched as Lightning reached back to pull her survival knife out of her back pocket. The blade was instantly flicked out, and the young soldier began scraping the tip beneath her fingernails, the gesture so simple, yet out of character. Despite calling out, she refused to face Serah, the only movement coming from her hands and razor-sharp knife.

Serah silently waited, but Lightning continued the unnerving fiddling, making her sister wonder exactly what was running through her head. In her mind, she could tell that something was off, that something had changed in the past few moments…but what it was, it was difficult to say.

"Lightning…?"

The older Farron looked over her shoulder, answering with the coldest of smiles.

But what spooked Serah the most was the strange alteration of her irises. They glowed with a startling green hue, and the pupils were now narrow slits like a cat. Her heart almost died of fright, as if the woman she was just with suddenly vanished.

"Do me a favor?" Lightning asked in a sweetly venomous tone. "Let me see your arm for a moment."

Present Day – The Planet

They retreated to one of the board rooms in the back of the headquarters, unable to take all the glances and stares from the faculty who witnessed the truth. Not that they paid much attention to them, anyway. When they settled into the room, Reeve slumped into a seat at the end of the conference table, Cloud in another at the side, and Tifa leaned against an edge of the table near Cloud. Vincent remained in a corner, his arms crossed before his chest as he carefully watched the others. Right after everything was made clear, Red XIII had requested returning to his home in Cosmo Canyon, hoping to solidify this claim that Lightning and Pulse were truly in danger.

Tifa was the first to speak after what seemed like hours, though her voice was shaky and quiet. "…What just happened? Is everyone…" She swallowed hard, still trying to take everything in. "We all know exactly what's going on?"

Reeve let out a heavy sigh, filled to the brim with defeat. "Hojo used Lightning to continue his research on Jenova cells." Even saying it aloud didn't help make it acceptable.

Vincent dropped his arms and stepped toward the edge of the table, facing the others from the opposite end. "With Lucrecia's research on Chaos and Omega, he already figured that Lightning came from a different world."

"His studies are starting again…" Reeve's face darkened as his hands clenched into tight fists. "In a place far away from here, where he wouldn't have been at risk of dying on the Planet."

In the end, they were more than sick of how far Hojo had gone just for his research. The man saw humans as nothing but subjects; hell, he even conducted experiments on himself when push came to shove. Grimaces were tightly fixed on all of their faces, for the nightmare they thought was finally dead a few months ago refused to fade away.

Without warning, the doors to the board room opened, and Shelke appeared with her usual blank expression. She was dressed in dark green capris and light blue blouse, having decided to throw away her past with Deepground aside from the synaptic net dive skills.

"Professor Hojo figured with Chaos, he would find a conduit to observe the process of his experiment in Lightning Farron's world."

Her words actually made sense, finally connecting the last pieces together. However, it only accomplished the task of infuriating Tifa. "He'd study the Jenova cells taking control of Lightning," she muttered just before slamming a fist on the desk, the cacophonous sound ringing in Cloud's ears. "Watch as she killed everyone and everything on Pulse…just for his stupid science."

Imagining it brought unbearable shivers down their spines. Death and carnage would litter Pulse. Lost and confused, millions of innocents would die or fall victim to Jenova's mind control, and the world itself would be doomed to be an empty husk and crumble into nothing when the calamity was finished with it.

"The link between Chaos and Pulse is still unclear," Shelke said to break the ominous silence. "However…it could be that these "fal'Cie" had a hand in the change of space and reality."

It was clear that the fal'Cie and this vague "goddess" shouldn't be considered one and the same, but both had powers that not even mako or Jenova could match up to. Though he was silent, Vincent feared the extent of their powers, and what that would have meant for him if Chaos was still in his body. If they were able to break the barriers of different worlds to control the monster in him, who knew how long they were pulling his strings after all these years.

'Did Lightning have any idea about all this?' he pondered. Perhaps everyone in her world had been kept in the dark for generations, never truly knowing whether free will was an illusion or not.

"The data he recorded indicates that the cells within Lightning Farron were in a dormant state when injected," Shelke continued before her face bore a fearful grimace. "However, it is impossible to say if and when they will activate."

All the while, none of them could see the thoughts rushing through Cloud's mind. As time ticked by, death and destruction could be spreading across Pulse, ruining the life Lightning wished to go back to. The vast wildlife of Pulse, the people and friends she only just reunited with…they would all be used up, expendable for the alien that infected their lands.

If he had known what was coursing through her veins, would he have found a way to save her before she disappeared? Going straight to the church in Sector 5 may have been an option, but it wasn't like Geostigma; she had been given a pure sample of Jenova cells, and it was uncertain how or if the water could have affected her.

He imagined her corpse writhing as Pulse died…and he abruptly stood up in his seat.

"We have to get to Pulse," Cloud announced, his voice low and dark. "Lightning's in danger, because of something from our world." His clenched fist violently shook at his side. After seeking a life as peaceful as he could get with Lightning, he wouldn't let it all be in vain. "I won't let her die."

Despite his declared resolve, actions still spoke louder than words. In their position, there was little they could do in a separate dimension far from their own. Tifa wanted to support him and be on his side…but she also had to keep a clear head to be realistic.

"Cloud…we have no way of getting there. Lightning was only able to pass through because of Chaos, and now it's gone."

"Then I'll find a way," he growled through his teeth while his mako eyes glared in her direction. All his life, he never thought of doubting Tifa's level-headed logic, but Cloud wasn't going to let it get in the way this time. "It's out there."

Tifa bit her lip before nodding. She could already see the limits he would push through to save Lightning from her fate, even when it was near impossible to just reach her. In all honesty, she regretted thinking with such defeat; letting doubt fill her mind was one of the things she always tried to avoid.

Before they could even try to start a plan, one of the WRO commanders charged into the board room, slightly out of breath. Reeve got up from his seat, wondering where all the anxiety was coming from.

"Commissioner," the soldier greeted before saluting. "We're receiving reports of high mako energy levels coming from Midgar."

The news certainly took them all by surprise, and they exchanged glances of pure shock with one another. With the recent events they witnessed, it was natural to assume that Deepground had returned to finish what it started. However, Shelke's thorough investigation in the ruins made it clear that the organization was gone for good, just like the Shinra conglomerate years ago. What's more, the mako reactors were destroyed and dust in the wind.

"Is it Deepground again?" Reeve asked perturbed, just to be sure they had done the job right a few months ago. Shelke's brows knitted tightly together; despite her low rank among the Tsviets, she couldn't see how her old faction would still survive, not when Hojo is finally gone for good and could no longer lead it.

There should have been no source left that was connected with the Lifestream's energy…except one.

"No, sir," the soldier replied with a hint of disbelief. "…The energy levels are pointing toward the Sector 5 slums."

They thought about it for a quick moment…until it finally dawned on them. Cloud let out a small shudder of disbelief, wondering if he should believe the feeling in his gut. Looking around, he noticed everyone just as breathless as he was, their eyes darting around to see if the others came to the same conclusion. Many would think the old Sector 5 slums of Midgar held no importance whatsoever, but to them, it was a place they could never forget.

It was Reeve who was the first to act. "Prepare an airship," he ordered hastily. "Set it straight to Midgar, Sector 5. I want to be there within an hour."

Once the soldier left, Reeve exchanged hopeful glances with the others before attending to his commissioner duties. Shelke gave a hopeful smile to Cloud just before leaving as well. With just the three of them, Tifa stood speechless as Cloud slowly walked to stand close to the doors; Vincent rounded the table to join them, his eyes glowing with intrigue.

"You think it's…?"

Collecting herself, Tifa nodded. As crazy as it seemed, the situation couldn't be entirely ruled out. It was improbable...but it wasn't impossible.

"It started there, right?" she asked, her eyes stuck on Cloud's back. "And she knows…I think she wants to help."

Cloud could barely give Tifa attention, for the small fire of hope in his chest was all he could think of. Just mere seconds ago, they had been stuck on square one – finding the impossible way to get to Pulse and Lightning. What were the chances of an answer popping up just when they needed it? Time and again, she had helped them through their hardest struggles, and she refused to just sit back when a friend, no matter how brief they met, was in danger.

She answered prayers before. Perhaps she heard theirs again this time.

"Thank you, Aerith," Cloud said in a bare whisper just before hurrying out the doors to follow Reeve. Tifa and Vincent were right behind as he entered the clamorous airship hangar; all the WRO members present bustled to prepare the fastest airship available while Reeve yelled out orders in front of it.

Breathing deeply, Cloud finally made up his mind. He was going to Pulse, regardless of the dangers and unknown territory. Would Lightning be there when he arrived? Would she be all right? He wanted to believe that the Jenova cells hadn't awakened yet, that she was still living happily with Serah and her friends…

But the chance of that happening was still little to none.

Hey, guys! Thanks for coming back for The Hero. If you're new, you should go to my profile page and take a chance at reading Guardians of the Legacy: The Vessel. As you may or may not know, this story will follow Cloud and his adventure through Pulse, whereas part 1 was about Lightning's time on the Planet/Gaia.

I hope no one has gotten confused already. For the longest time, this sequel had gone through revision after revision in order to make sense and still be not so cheesy or lame. I'll probably tell you all about it later. If the plot doesn't make sense, just send a PM via my profile page, and I'll be more than happy to give you a spoiler-free overview of what's going on so far.