Lightning didn't know what was worse: getting thrown into a different universe with her friends scattered into different regions of the planet, or not being able to find anything suitable to wear from Claire's closet.

Honestly, she could learn to cover up a bit more, the soldier thought grumpily to herself as she went through the walk-in closet's contents once more with little patience. The only type of clothing she found so far were that of a preppy young adult, one who went out to parties often. If she was going to get into the baseball stadium somehow, it had to be in appropriate clothing; airy, easy to move around in, not too close to her skin. Her Guardian Corps uniform came to mind, and she grinded her teeth slightly in frustration. There was no way she'd be able to get it now, it was long gone— at least until she could get back home with the others.

But dear Maker, how she missed her cape.

Finally deciding on something that seemed similar to her clothing back on Cocoon (a sleeveless, dark purple zip-up turtle neck and dark green cargo pants) the woman was lucky to have spotted a par of combat boots in the back of the closet, seemingly abandoned. Perhaps Claire didn't fancy them, but to Lightning, they were a gift from the gods.

She felt a bit helpless without her beloved gunblade, Blazefire, but she knew she couldn't rely on her weapon forever, especially now. Besides, she still retained her knowledge of self-defense from her early military training; punching, kicking and the most important of all, how to knock someone out with a simple touch to the neck or shoulder.

Brushing through her bangs swiftly, she headed out of Claire's bedroom and into the hall, on her way towards the kitchen. Anna said she would be preparing a plan on how to get in, complete with a map and everything. "Easy-peasy, trust me," is what the woman insisted, however Lightning wasn't so sure to believe her on this matter. Who knows what the blonde had in mind.

"Lightning! You manage to find something to wear?" Anna grinned as Lightning arrived at the kitchen, shifting around in what appeared to be a small bag at the small dining table, the television across from her quietly humming the evening news. "Claire was always one for fashion."

"I'm not sure 'fashion' is the correct word," the soldier grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as she idly watched Anna. "What is that?"

The older woman turned to face her, two slips of paper in her hand and a happy grin on her lightly freckled face, "Our tickets to the game! I've had these babies for weeks; was planning on taking Claire, but this is more important."

Lightning blinked in slight surprise. "Those will get us in? Just like that?"

"Of course! They weren't cheap, ya know." Anna pursed her lips before slinging the bag over her shoulder, stuffing the two tickets inside. "You don't have sports where you come from?"

The elder Farron shook her head, uncrossing her arms. "Not like the ones here. These are much more competitive, and it seems like everyone spends their time watching these games rather than doing other leisure activities." Such as fearing the Fal'cie and it's minions, l'Cie. Usual stuff back on Cocoon, she added bitterly in her mind. Now wasn't the time to her bitter, however, now was the time to act. They needed to somehow get to Snow before the actual game began, and before security or anyone could stop them. Anna explained the basics of baseball stadiums, and how it's usually crawling with security and alcohol. The alcohol part wasn't so surprising, but the security part did set Lightning on edge. Why must there be so much security for a simple game? It wasn't like there was anything to steal or rob, except the bases that Anna mentioned in her explanation the day before.

"Oh, trust me, honey, we spend our time doing a lot of stuff," the former soldier winked towards Lightning, heading towards the front door of the apartment. "Ready to head out?"

"Let's get this over with." With that, they left the cozy apartment and into the outside hallway, the distant cheers and bright lights from the stadium not too far from their position on the thirteenth floor.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is a fine evening to be hosting the Championship in New York City! Find your seats quickly and grab your snacks because the players are already making their way out onto the field! Here comes Lee Stewart, who has just gotten engaged recently..."

The crowd drowned out the PA system announcing the players as they streamed onto the pure green field, everyone making haste to grab their food (which, Light noticed, was extremely greasy and fried) and get to their seats, ready to start whatever these people paid money for. Anna seemed totally fired up, exclaiming that the Yankees had this game in the bag, that Houston was going down, odd expressions that the Guardian Corps member had never heard of, not even from Sazh. It was obvious Anna wanted to be here more than Lighting.

While Anna was busy grabbing a quick drink from one of the numerous stands there was littered around the giant stadium, Lighting gave herself time to think of a plan. Exactly how were they going to get away, if the need arose? Sure, her companion had a mental map of the area, and she clearly knew this place much better than the average person, but what if Snow were to say no to her request of finding Serah again? The soldier shook the thought away every time it invaded her mind. There was no way that was even a possibility - he adored Serah, and is probably confused as to what was going on around him, like herself. She'd find him, get his aid, find everyone else and get their aid, then finally track down Serah. From there, they'd manage to find a way back home, somehow.

"Lightning?" Anna snapped the pink-haired woman out of her thoughts as she approached her with a red can in one hand and a clear bottle filled with clear liquid in another. Light guessed that it was water, however the red can stumped her as to what it might be. "You alright?"

She nodded. "Yes, sorry. Just thinking."

Anna grinned, handing the bottle towards her. "Don't worry, we'll figure out how to get Snow on our team."

Lightning gratefully accepted the water bottle and unscrewed the top, taking a sip to calm her doubts. Perhaps Anna was right; she didn't need to worry about this.

The pair found their seats quickly, due to Anna knowing exactly where every seat was, so the ticket with their seat position really wasn't even needed. Lightning made a note to herself to ask Anna of her extensive knowledge of this stadium once this situation was under control. They were seated on one of the closer compartments of the stadium, the field only a few feet and a jump away from them - something Light took another note of in case of an emergency. The stadium itself was gigantic, larger than any stadium she's ever seen back on Pulse or Cocoon, and bright, almost white lights shined down the crowd and players, illuminating their movements and highlighting every feature. There seemed to be no ceiling, instead the inky purple sky acted as a ceiling, emphasizing the bright lights that were positioned high above the audience. Behind the seats were the concession stands, vending different and odd kinds of food and desserts - or what she guessed were food and desserts, the only thing recognizable to her were the ice cream and alcohol - and several pieces of merchandise having to do with both teams. People obviously got fired up for this sort of thing, and the soldier didn't need a description to know that. Her description was sitting right next to her.

Lightning quickly spotted Snow, the blond stretching with a few of his teammates. He didn't have his usual bandana over his mop of blond hair, instead a simple cap was slung over his locks. He was missing his engagement necklace, which bothered Light somehow, but she brushed it off - he probably didn't want to get it ruined during the game. Other than that, his features were exactly the same, and it seemed his personality remained unchanged as well, judging by the way he was laughing and winking at most of his teammates. At least he's still the same person, she thought to herself.

"See him?" Anna asked, taking a gulp from the red can.

"Yeah. He looks the same as I remember him," the woman replied, crossing her arms over her chest, letting a chuckle escape her lips.

"What's your relation to him, anyways?" the woman besides her asked, now curious as to how close they actually were. She was guessing they were pretty close, by the way Light was anxious to speak to him.

She hesitated, but soon brushed it off. "He's my...brother in law." It felt strange to say that so casually. "He's engaged to my sister, but he's been calling me 'sis' since the moment they were engaged. He's an annoying little brother, alright..."

The dirty blonde let out a laugh, "Sounds like a perfect little brother, in my opinion. I grew up with three brothers - all doctors," She took a sip from her drink, and Light couldn't help but grow intrigued by her background, "Except me. I wanted to go into the army like my pops. Of course he was all for the idea, but my mom...that took some convincing."

"Was she worried?"

"You bet your ass she was. She thought I'd get killed the minute I stepped on base. Of course, I never got deployed anywhere too dangerous, but she never failed to call me everyday while I was away from home."

Lightning blinked her pale blue eyes slowly, looking back towards the field before saying, "I was in the military, as well."

"'Cause you wanted to? What did your parents say?" Anna looked towards the younger woman besides her, noticing how her edgy composure was gone.

"That actually was the reason I had to join. My parents died, and it was just my sister and myself. She was only twelve, and I was fifteen, but I knew I had to support us and stay strong for the both of us; the army sounded like a good idea," Her hands gripped the bottle in her hands. Why did she feel so comfortable telling Anna all of this? She was still a stranger to her, it wasn't like she actually felt that the other woman was someone close to her. And yet, she found herself becoming more and more comfortable and at ease around the former soldier, almost as if "Claire" was speaking out and yearning for her mother. Lightning wasn't that Claire, however the sudden attraction didn't go unignored. Now that Light thought about it, and with the talk of her past, Anna did share some traits with her own mother - caring, firm, determined, easy-going, and whenever the woman would smile or laugh it filled Light with comfort and protection. This woman still saw her as her own daughter, despite the truth. "So I figured, why not? A few years passed by, and I didn't even notice that Serah was growing up. She got taller, and her hair got longer, she was looking more and more like our mother everyday.

"She even - she even started wearing her hair like I used to. How did I miss that? And when did she start seeing Snow? I missed everything, and I can never forgive myself for that. I have so much to make up for, I can't let her go this easily, not after I fought against the whole world to save her..."

Without noticing it, the soldier found her vision blurred with tears. Tears were foreign to her, having been used to not crying and holding it in, trying not to let her weakness show, even at her parents' death. She learned to become strong for Serah, but now that Serah was grown and had someone else to be strong for her, who else can Lightning be strong for?

Anna shifted in her seat, draping an arm around the younger's shoulders. "Lightning, you can't blame yourself for all of that. You did the right thing and learned to support your sister by yourself, you practically raised her. You should be proud that you were able to overcome a tragedy so quickly, not many people would be able to do that. We're gonna find your sister and get you back home, you hear me?" she rubbed her shoulder soothingly, "So don't go crying on me."

The pink-haired woman let a small chuckle leave her lips, bringing a hand up to wipe at her eyes. "I won't. Thank you, Anna."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to the American Championship League, sponsored by Chick-fil-A and Toyota!" the announcer sounded eager and excited; players started rushing to their spots on the bright green field and on the diamond that was stretched on a dusty part of the ground, towards the audience.

"It's starting!" Anna squealed, slipping her drink into one of the cup holders on the chair in front of her. Light did the same, her eyes trained on the field with a plan forming in her head. After the game, she had to track Snow down, somehow, and talk to him. She had to get him to help her retrieve their friends and Serah, because without him, Lightning knew that this would be harder. He had great strength both physically and emotionally of which Light admired throughout their journey across Cocoon and Pulse, even if she never said it aloud.

The audience cheered, the vendors began selling their wares along the aisles, and Light's first American baseball game was in motion.

The final stretch of the game, and everyone was hushed, including Lightning herself. Despite the rather long time period spent watching men hit balls with bats and run around a green field, she was intrigued. Apparently, this was the last inning of the game, and the final pitch, which was extremely important for the New York Yankees, as Anna explained.

"It's very intense," she explained with patience.

Snow was at home base, poised with the bat over his shoulder and knees bent, cap twisted backwards. His uniform, by this point, was caked and mudded with a rich brown dust and smeared with a bright green due to the amount of times he had dived for the ball and slid for a base. His eyes were trained on the pitcher before him, who was brainstorming a way to catch the blond of guard with this final pitch. The Yankees only needed one more home run to win; the cities were tied.

The pitcher brought his hand back, raised a leg, and chucked the ball with such brute and force that Light was temporarily taken aback by his aggressiveness. Snow made haste in bringing the metal bat back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike the white bullet heading his direction. With a few seconds to spare a possible black eye, the bat was brought towards the ball with a newfound strength and pierced the bullet, sending it back towards the field.

Players rushed and darted towards the ball, which was heading towards the other end of the field, and reached their arms upwards to grab it, however, the white bullet had other plans and barely grazed the tips of their gloves, instead landing in the audience behind them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that's a homerun! The New York Yankees have won the American Championship!"

Anna instantly shot out of her seat, cheering furiously and whistling, along with the entire rest of the stadium. The player on the field threw their caps on the ground; Snow's teammates piled on top of him, waving their caps in the air as they whooped and hollered. Light blinked in surprise, but let a small smile onto her face. Leave it to Snow to win a Championship.

A pair of men brought out a large, shiny trophy, a large golden orb sitting at the top for all to see. Snow gladly grabbed it from them, bringing his lips to the object before raising it into the air, a large grin on his face as he laughed gleefully. His teammates continued to jump and whoop; Lightning stood up next to Anna. "Is that a trophy for the game?"

"Yup! It's a beauty, isn't it?" She gushed, overjoyed for her city.

Light nodded faintly. She remembered Serah saying that was how he looked when she agreed to marry him.

After a long while, the crowd eventually began to trickle out of the stadium, the Houston Astros having left a long time ago. Everyone seemed contempt with the outcome of the evening, all except Lightning. She was waiting for her chance to speak with Snow, but his team was barely beginning to pack up their belongings on the field. The blonde besides her nudged her shoulder, apparently tired of checking the touch-screen device in her hand, "Lightning, are you still going to try to talk to him?"

She bit her lip, not very sure anymore. Shaking her hesitation and doubts away, she angrily thought to herself, No! I have to at least get his attention, somehow!

If there was one thing the soldier was good at, it was getting attention from people.

Without a second thought, she bolted out of her seat, making her way down the aisle steps and leaped over the fence that boxed the field in, her feet landing harshly on the dusty ground. People left in the audience gasped, some pointed, while Anna was left dumfounded. Shaking her shock away, she darted from her seat and stayed at the fence, shouting out towards the soldier, "Lightning, wait! That's not what I meant by talk to him!"

Ignoring the call, she soon made her way to the team, who was just as surprised as the audience. Panting lightly, Light ignored their stares and protests as she finally reached the blond she was looking for. He turned around just in time to see her running at him, and she grabbed his shoulders roughly, "Snow, we need to talk!"

To say he was surprised would be an understatement. "E-Excuse me? Look, I know you're a fan and all, but-"

"Stop with the jokes, Villiers! We need to find Serah!" her eyes narrowed, not appreciating his confusion. She could hear rushing footsteps behind her, plus the high-pitched sounds of whistles being blown. Lightning knew she had to make this fast before she got in trouble with whatever authority was around here.

"I've never seen you before in my life!"

"What?" Lightning felt her arms go slightly limp, her grip on his uniform loosening. Outside, she seemed shocked. Inside, her mind was reeling, an icy feeling pricking at her skin. It reminded her of how she felt when she found out she was an only child, except this was different. How could Snow not recognize her? After everything they've been through - she gave them him her blessing! "Stop fucking around, it's me, Lightning! We need to find everyone and get Ser-"

"You there! Step away from him!" A rough voice called behind her before two arms yanked her away from him, but she kept struggling against their grasps. Her legs kicked, her arms wiggled, and she kept calling out to him, trying to get him to remember.

Anna had already made her way down onto the field at this point, rushing towards the two men who had dragged her away. The soldier ignored her; her attention was focused on getting out of their grasp and back to Snow to knock some sense into his thick skull. "Snow! It's me, remember me! We fought against the Sanctum! You're engaged to Serah! I'm your sister!"

He could only blink and stand on the other side of the field, completely at a loss for words and actions as the referee and police guard dragged her away, Anna right behind them.

drop a review if you liked (◕‿-)