With the theme "Salvation", I really couldn't think of a different fandom to write for. But since I'd already written "His Light" before the beginning of T-Sauce, I thought I'd write a companion piece to it. A little throwback (sort-of) to the theme "Tea Party", which I was too intimidated by all those weeks ago, can be found at the end of this fic! Please do R&R :D

Disclaimer: I do not own FFXIII or its characters.

Her Hope

As soon as Lightning stepped onto the battlefield, she knew that she would lose.

It was not a matter of defeating the Radiant God. With the otherworldly powers and skills that she had attained and honed over the last thirteen days, it was not unlikely that she would be able to strike him down. It was the thought of what would come next that filled her soul with emptiness.

The Chaos. Despite everything that He had done, she had to admit that Bhunivelze was right; without a Goddess of Death, the Chaos would flow into the new world and consume it just as easily as it had this one. The souls she and Vanille had managed to save would be ingested by the Chaos even before they reached the planet. Someone would have to stay behind and prevent that from happening; someone with powers strong enough to keep the darkness at bay. And she was the only being in the universe that could fill the role.

Regardless of the outcome of the battle, Lightning would become the Goddess of Death.

She knew this, and even so, she charged forward. 'This fight is for humanity,' she told herself. 'When it all ends, I will be left behind, tethered to the remnants of Nova Chrysalia until it dissolves into nothing. But my life is a small price to pay, compared to the lives of the souls I have saved.'

Thirteen days had passed since the beginning of her role as Saviour. During those days she had met hundreds, maybe thousands of people, each of them dealing with the end of the world in all manner of ways. Some had celebrated; others had drowned themselves in drink. Many had lost their will to live and cast themselves into the Chaos, and even more had had family and loved ones taken from them by various circumstances.

Their souls now lay strung across the sky in a net of stars, and Lightning knew each of their names. More than anything, she wished for their happiness – happiness that they had been unable to attain during five centuries' of stopped time; yet another thing she blamed herself for. And despite herself, a small smile appeared on her face as she thought of them, allowing her memories to give her strength in battle.

But what she considered strength, Bhunivelze saw as a weakness, and thus, an opportunity. With immense speed, He charged forward and cut her down. Even with all of her powers, she could not have seen it coming. Her body lurched forward as His blade made contact, and she fell to her knees.

"Light, no!"

She could have sworn that she heard a familiar voice call out her name in desperation, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. Now was not the time to think about the souls of her comrades; she knew that for a fact. Crimson stained her side, and she could feel her strength waning. It would be over if she did not do something soon…

Gasping for breath and suppressing the urge to cough up more blood, she pulled a Phoenix Down from her pouch and tossed it in the air. Instantly, she felt a wave of healing wash over her as her immediate surroundings were bathed in a pure white light. Several protective barriers manifested themselves around her as well, and she thanked the stars that were witness to their battle. This was a fight that she would win, for them.

"Not yet," she whispered, and charged forward.

Bhunivelze's scream of terror echoed throughout the void as Lightning landed the final blow. Using her powers, she rent time and space, dragging them both down into the Chaos.

Only one soul remained to be saved – the soul of the one who had always supported her, even when her faith in him had begun to wane. Towards the end, she had turned a blind eye to his words of reassurance, and even after that, his soul had appeared before her, offering her advice in the moments before his possession by Bhunivelze. Regret had torn a hole in her heart at that moment, because even after saving the souls of everyone else she cared about, she had been unable to save the one person who had always stood right by her side.

But all of that would change in this one moment. She readied her final weapon; not her sword, but a small knife that she knew his soul would recognise. She channelled her thoughts and memories into it and drove the blade into Bhunivelze's forehead.

"This is the last soul I'll save," she declared. "Hope, I'll set you free!"

'It's done,' she told herself as she stood to face the Chaos, and Bhunivelze's now-silent form. Her battle was not over yet – once He regained His strength, He would emerge from the dark clouds once again. But now, the souls would be free to escape to the new world, and Hope's soul along with them.

"Go and live,"she told him as his soul still floated not far behind her, facing the planet that was now beginning to take shape in the distance. It was a place where she did not belong, not as she was now. But she would not allow Hope to drag himself down along with her. She had to make him leave before the Chaos consumed everything in the vicinity.

He was searching for her, calling her name. If he turned his head, the Chaos would find him in an instant, and she would not allow that to happen.

"Don't turn back," she insisted. "If you turn back, you'll never leave. I have to stay behind and control the Chaos."

If she had a choice, if she allowed herself to be selfish for once, she would choose to be reborn along with her friends. She wanted a second chance at life; to see her sister once again. But it was a choice that she could not afford to make. Not when the fate of humanity still rested on her shoulders.

He was silent, and she took it to mean that he understood.

"Go. And live," she repeated, smiling wistfully as she accepted Chaos' embrace. 'Live, on my behalf. And if you ever meet Serah…tell her I'm sorry.'

She closed her eyes, allowing the tendrils of darkness to wrap around her form and pull her further into the void. And it was there that she found herself within her own heart for the final time, chained to a crystal throne meant for the Goddess of Death.

Her heart spoke to her in the guise of her sister. Her words were cruel, and in Serah's voice, they sounded wrong.

"You look like you belong in the Chaos. You deserve this."

The more she heard, the more she struggled against her bonds, but to no avail. As the shadow of her sister began to leave her behind in the darkness, Lightning found herself reaching out to her.

"Wait!" she cried in desperation, finally realising the situation she had put herself in. No one was coming back for her; not even now, after she had changed her mind. A tear escaped her eye and floated upwards in the abyss, as she whispered, "Help me…"

Suddenly, everything was light. The darkness was engulfed in a silvery-grey cloud that emanated from a single source and gradually filled every corner of her vision. It was unclear as to where the light had come from, or why. 'Could it be that my call was answered?'

Then, she saw the silhouette of a figure floating not far above her.

'Lumina.' A younger version of herself; the person she had been before sealing her heart away. The figure drifted towards her, wrapping her in an embrace, and Lightning felt her soul grow lighter as a result. Her plea for help had opened her heart, finally allowing her to accept Lumina as a part of herself. She could not move her arms to place them around Lumina's form, but she knew that it was not necessary. After all, they were both one and the same.

Eventually, the younger girl dissolved into light, her soul becoming a part of Lightning's consciousness once again. And then, she saw the hand extended in her direction. A look of shock overcame her features when she realised whose hand it was.

'…Hope?!'

"I heard your voice," he said simply, a calm smile on his face. "Come on, let's go see the others."

Still in disbelief, she allowed him to take her hand and lead her out of the darkness. The fact that he had come for her despite her warning filled her heart with gratitude. 'Yet another thing I can never give back.'

Their battle was still far from over. Outside this realm, Bhunivelze still awaited them, no doubt readying a final attack that would destroy the old and new worlds simultaneously. The two of them would have to combine all of their strength in order to stop him

But for now, she would focus on the feeling of Hope's small, yet reassuring hand clamped around her fingers.

"You know, I never did thank you."

Hope glanced at Lightning, confused. "What for?"

She took a sip of her tea before setting the cup back down on the glass table in front of them. "For saving me, when I was trapped in the Chaos," she explained, meeting his gaze. "Even after I pushed you away…you still came back for me. I can't thank you enough for doing that."

Hope let out a soft laugh. "You did the same for me – you could've let my soul die along with Bhunivelze, but you saved me instead."

She looked away, embarrassed. "I had to save you. I didn't have a choice."

He smiled kindly in response. It was the same smile he had given her when he had taken her hand back then. Somehow, she thought it suited him better now. He reached across the table and placed his hand atop hers, and she noticed that his palm now completely enveloped her own.

"But you did…and you chose not to leave me behind. That's something I'll never forget."

"Then I guess we're even," she conceded with a sigh. "But you'll still watch my back? Even in this world, where there's no one left to fight?"

He nodded without hesitation. "Always. We're still partners, Light, no matter what."

She closed her eyes, a small smile on her face.

"Right."