SYMBIOSIS
He missed her, and that was obvious enough. Now, after ten years since the l'cie ordeal, he will finally get to see her elegant features once again, the features that had been embedded in his head so clearly. Even now, he remembered her striking cerulean eyes, her soft lushes pink locks and her smooth beige skin. He still remembered every word they exchanged and every touch they shared. For him, it had been ten years of nostalgia. Ten years without her touch, and, more importantly, ten years without her love. Even if she had not reciprocated the love he felt, it was love nonetheless.
Hope only wished he lived up to Lightning's expectations. Was he as strong as Lightning expected, or had he surpassed those expectations? Hopefully he was all Lightning expected of him, or more. He was hoping for the latter, after all, she was the woman of his life. Not even time could diminish his lover for her, instead, his love for her grew stronger by the day. There was not a minute when she wouldn't be on his mind. It seemed that everything would remind him of her, the soft pink hue of the many sunsets he had seen, the transparent turquoise water that lay peacefully on the coast of New Palompolum, and even the small pocket knife that lay on his desk.
Hope stared blatantly at the mirror, getting ready for his reunion with his friends and Lightning. He slowly fixed his tie, which belonged to his Academia uniform. His dad had once asked him, what colors should be used for the Academy uniforms. He chose colors that reminded him of her, Lightning. Blue was a reminder of her eyes, yellow was a reminiscence of her namesake, and the white stood for many things. It could have alluded to her white uniform, suggested her nonchalant nature, or signified a hope he possessed deep within the abyss of his heart.
Over the years, Hope had gotten stronger. Hope had defeated many monsters, surpassing the power he held as when he was a l'cie. During his time as a l'cie, he had time to observe Lightning's battle techniques and strategies. He had used those observations to develop his own strategies. After all, being on the field could be dangerous. As the director of Academy, Hope had to be ready for anything. Hope even swapped his boomerang for a more aggressive weapon, the gunblade. When he saw Lightning use her gunblade, he was instantly mesmerized. Since then, he had wanted to wield one. As a fourteen year-old, he could not. The weapon was much too heavy, even if he has the strength of a l'cie. Now, as an adult he had begun to use the gunblade. Not to say that he no longer used his boomerang. Instead, his boomerang had become a secondary weapon. No, more than that, his boomerang had become a memento of his journey and past.
Slowly, Hope walked away from his bathroom mirror. He was ready to reunite with his friends, and ready to celebrate their triumph over the Fal'cie rule. Hope was anxious to see his friends again. After all, he hadn't seen them since his departure from the crystal pillar. He had received many opportunities to see them, like Snow and Serah's wedding, Dahj's tenth birthday, and even Lightning's promotion to Lieutenant . Hope even missed the most important celebration, the day they 'saved' Cocoon. Every year the invitation would reach his hand, and every year he would be too busy. This year, he finally decided to take the day off, just for the occasion. Sure it wouldn't be the same, Fang and Vanille were gone, but they would remain inside their hearts forever.
Hope walked down to the first floor of his apartment. The keys to his velocycle were on the dinner table, which he never used. Hope would always be too busy, sometimes he wouldn't even eat. Promptly, Hope grabbed his keys and made his way to his own private elevator. Even after the fall of Cocoon, Hope could afford many luxuries because of his role in society. Yet, it seemed that he could not afford the simplest of commodities, time.
Hope pressed the button that led to his private garage. The elevator ride seemed excruciatingly long. Every second inside that elevator was a second more without his friends, a second without Lightning. Again, Lightning managed to make her way inside the director's head. How did Lightning do it? Was it Light's strength, determination, beauty, valor, or guile that made him think about her? Maybe it was everything about her? He didn't know, but he knew he was madly in love with her.
"Lightning, why do you make me love you? Why do you make me love you if you don't love me back?" Hope yelled within the confinements of the elevator. His right hand formed into a fist, which he smashed onto the elevator panel.
Hope's head was still on Lightning when the elevator arrived to his destination. For a while, Hope didn't even move. He stayed still, remembering how he came to meet her. They had met under difficult circumstances. She had lost her sister, and he his mother. Hope had just begun to see the cruel side of life, and Lightning helped him get through it. At first, she was just his mentor, but slowly they became more. They had become much more than two runaway fugitives, they had become friends. His other fellow l'cie had become his friends as well. Those very friends shaped him, making him who he was today. Lightning had the greatest impact on him, though. Lightning taught him how to defy a fate that seems inevitable, and now he knows nothing can stop him, only himself.
"Some things you just do." Hope whispered. A smile formed on his lips, and he was brought back to reality. "You don't know how right you were."
Hope made his way towards his velocycle, which lay directly in front of the exit. He opened the garage door with the button installed within his velocycle, and he rode the cycle out of the premises. As soon as the velocycle was completely outside, the garage's sensor automatically closed the door.
The velocycle cruised slowly over the small suburban streets, but as soon as the cycle got on the main street, Hope pressed down on the acceleration. The velocycle went from 25 miles an hour to 125 miles an hour in about a second. The different lights flashed rapidly, clashing together, until Hope wasn't sure which color was which, and all that he knew was the speed. In around 5 minutes, all the lights inside the velocycle turned from red to green, signaling that he had arrived at his destination. Hope slowed down the velocycle and made a turn on one of the many small streets of New Bodhum. It was a small peaceful town, much like the old Bodhum.
Not many people lived in New Bodhum, so it should have been easy to spot his friends. He guessed wrong, he searched the many faces of the people hopelessly. Yet, the velocycle seemed to drive itself on its own will, right towards a small shack. It was as if it knew where it was going, but he had a feeling that that shack was where he would find his friends, and Lightning. The velocycle came to a halt, and he turned it off. Hope promptly got up from the velocycle, making his way inside the shack, which from what he observed, a bar. He sat down on one of the stools within the bar, there was a sign hanging opposite of the stools, it read "Lebreau's Café." Lebreau, he had recognized the name as one of the NORA members. That meant he was in the right place, after all, they had told him to meet up inside NORA HQ.
"I'm sorry sir, the café is closed today in celebration of the l'cie heroes." stated a voice which was now approaching him. Hope was so deep in thought that it had managed to startle him, so much as to jump out of his seat and falling on the floor.
"Oh, sir, let me help you up!" apologized the voice. Hope looked up to see Lebreau offering her hand. Hope gladly took her hand, and she slowly helped him up. Lebreau stared into his eyes, almost as if she was mesmerized by the soft green which was his eyes. Hope just smiled in return.
"I'm sorry; may I ask you your name?" Lebreau stammered; her face embellished with a soft red hue. Her right hand still grabbed on firmly to his hand, while her left arm was over his shoulder. It seemed that Lebreau didn't recognize the ex-l'cie.
"Hope, Director Hope Estheim." Hope smiled at her. Lebreau staggered back haphazardly, and her face was full of surprise. Lebreau couldn't believe that the handsome man in front of her was the young boy she had met ten years ago. Hope chuckled at Lebreau's actions. Lebreau couldn't believe that she had just flirted with the director of the Academy.
"Hope, I hadn't recognized you." Lebreau admitted. Even if she knew who stood in front of her right now, she did not give up her attempts at flirting, as she once again took his hand. On the contrary, she had always thought the boy was cute, not that she would admit that. Plus, she was not ashamed of the five-year age difference.
"Well, I think I have changed a lot. You, however, have not aged a day." Hope claimed, still oblivious to Lebreau's flirting. Lebreau smiled back at him as she embraced him. Hope couldn't help but notice that Lebreau smelled like strawberries, it reminded him of Lightning.
"Well, it's good to have you hear in New Bodhum. Will you be here for the week's celebration? Or will you be here just for the day?" Lebreau asked enthusiastically as she ended their embrace. Slowly, Lebreau brought down her left foot, as she had lifted it up in her embrace. Although she was considered one of the guys, and she was proud of it, she couldn't help but keep some of her female tendencies.
"I still don't know. It depends, if I get a call from the Academy, I would have to leave." Hope sighed. Although he wanted to stay here all week, duty might call. One thing was for sure, he was going to be here all day, and he was going to take advantage of it.
"Oh, that's too bad! I hope you stay here all week, I could show you some cool place around town." Lebreau replied with a smile, only to be interrupted by Snow's husky voice. It seemed as if her diapason had been replaced by complete discord.
"Heya, Hope! It's been a while, how have you been?" Snow came barging in the building. Snow prompted towards Hope, giving him a big bear hug. For some reason, Hope was glad that Snow hadn't changed, even if he did get annoying sometimes.
"It's good to see you too, Snow. Now can you please stop hugging me, I can't breathe." Hope said as he was running out of air. Snow quickly ended the embrace, and Hope took a gigantic breathe.
"Snow, couldn't you see that we were having a conversation! Leave it to you to interrupt us!" Lebreau yelled in amidst of her chagrin. "You would think Serah would have taught you manners by now!" Lebreau seemed very angry about the whole situation, but then again, Snow did lack manners.
"Wohhhh, calm down Lebreau, I haven't seen you that mad since Cocoon." Snow replied. "Plus, what can really be so important between you two? I mean you guys have hardly interacted with each other." Lebreau blushed at this comment, but proceeded to kicking Snow's foot and leaving.
"What was that about?" Snow smiled as he scratched the back of his head. Both Snow and Hope were oblivious of Lebreau's sudden attraction towards the young Director.
"I don't know. So Snow, how's it been? How is it going for you and Serah? How's Light?" Hope asked rapidly, with his arms folded along his chest. Snow hardly had time to process each question.
"One question at a time," Snow bellowed. "But, I've been fine, and NORA has never been better. As for me and Serah, we are doing great; we are actually awaiting our first child. Now, Lightning, she has opened up a little more, but not too much. She constantly goes out on missions with the Guardian Core, not much has changed with her." Hope tentatively listened to his words. He was content to hear that Lightning hadn't changed, he wouldn't want the woman he loved to change one bit. After all, to him, Lightning was perfect.
"I'm glad to hear that things are going well." Hope responded while he unfolded his arms. "So, do you know when the others will be getting here?" Hope queried, hoping to hear that Lightning would be here soon. It seemed as if by a stroke of faith, Lightning and Serah entered the café.
"Hello my love," Serah chanted. "Are you ready for the fireworks tonight?" Serah walked over to Snow and gave him a small hug.
"You know it! It might not be the same as back in Bodhum, but it is still a sight to see!" Snow declared ecstatically. Hope didn't see how anyone could all in love with him; he was a little bit too happy for his own good.
"Snow, would you mind telling us who your friend is? I told you I didn't want any strangers, and you agreed it would only be family and close friends!" Lightning yelled with pure rage within her eyes. Yes, Lightning hadn't changed a bit. She was still demanding, strong and independent; all the things that made him love her.
"Sis, I can't believe you haven't recognized him! It's our buddy, Hope." Snow announced. Lightning looked shocked, but quickly recuperated from disarray, and once again returning to her cold hard face. She couldn't believe that the man that stood before her now was her ex-trainee, her old friend, Hope.
"Hi, Lightning." Hope shyly waved. He might have changed from the outside, but on the inside, he was still the same old Hope, and at the same time, he wasn't. He seemed stronger, mentally, as if the many scars of life finally sunk in.
"Hello, Hope. It's hard to believe that this is you, that you are who you say you are." Lightning explained flatly. She showed no emotions, but he felt the sincerity. What he didn't like was the fact that she still expected him to be a kid, but somewhere deep inside his heart, he had expected it.
"Yeah well, time passes, I wasn't going to be a kid forever. Plus, I needed to get stronger! You don't know what you could be facing when you're out on the field." Hope divulged earnestly. Hope noticed that Lighting was staring at his gunblades. The gunblades were a modified Blazefire Sabers which he had created. He named this model Lightning Strike, in honor of his ex-mentor.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Sazh stated as he came in with Dahj close behind. Behind Dahj was Chocobo, fully grown and ready to mount. Hope couldn't believe how much the chick had grown, it seemed like yesterday the chick was sleeping peacefully in Sazh's afro.
"No, you didn't interrupt anything." Snow smiled. "We were just clearing up some things with Lightning." Hope looked over at Lightning's direction, which Lightning responded with a glare.
"Hey, Hope, it's been so long! I can't believe you're a grown man! Next thing you know, you're going to be as old as me!" Sazh chuckled, and so did everyone but Lightning. Why had Lightning been the only one not to recognize him? After all, Lightning had been the person that he spent the most time with on their journey. She should have been the first person to realize it! Hope couldn't help but feel a little hurt.
"Heh…yeah." Hope simply replied. The NORA founders soon entered the café, consisting of Maqui, Yuj, and Lebreau. Maqui and Yuj seemed to be lost in a conversation, probably about a new gadget that Maqui made. Lebreau, however, met gazes with Hope's electrifying green eyes. It was then that Snow decided to speak.
"So now that everyone's here, how 'bout we get this party started!" Snow yelled, loud enough for the whole city to hear. Hope's mind drifted to Vanille and Fang, the saviors of Cocoon, the true reason they were celebrating. He couldn't help but wish that they were here. He had remembered what Lightning had told; they would one day be with them someday. Would Lightning's words ever come true? All he could do was hope.
"Hey, Hope." Lebreau smiled, interrupting his train of thoughts. She stared into his eyes for a while, until continuing. "I was thinking, maybe you should stay at my place for the night. I have an extra room, which you could use if you would like." Lebreau offered with pleading eyes.
"That would be nice, thank you." Hope avouched, as his stare slowly shifted to Lightning.
"Well, I'll show you your room later. So, I'll be with Yuj and Maqui if you want anything." Lebreau informed him as she walked away.
Hope slowly made his way towards Lightning. The beautiful pink-haired soldier was sitting alone, on a stool next to the wall. Hope shoved his way through Snow and Sazh until he finally reached the stool adjacent to Lightning's stool. He took a seat, and Lightning's eyes softened. He remembered that look, the look she only reserved for Serah and himself.
"Lightning, we have a lot of things to talk about." Hope cooed. There were so many things the young Director wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her about his life after the fall of cocoon, he wanted to talk about his position as Director, he wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, and he wanted to tell her that he loved her.
"Like what?" Lightning asked cautiously. Hope's muscles immediately began to tense up as soon as he heard her voice.
"I missed you Lightning." Hope admitted. "You can't imagine how many times I could have used your advice." Hope stated sincerely. There was now a small smile visible on Lightning's face.
"Hope, I'm glad that you didn't forget about us." Lightning started. "But, it was you who was never here for us, not us." Lighting stated roughly. Hope couldn't deny the truth. He had so many opportunities to see them, but he never took one, until today.
"I'm sorry, Light. But I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I kept on training after the fall of Cocoon." Hope informed. "I wanted to be like you, strong and determined." At this point, Hope had begun to play with his fingertips.
"I'm sure you're better than any of my new recruits." Lightning huffed. "You have no idea how useless they are!" Lightning replied, and her voice was full of vexation.
"Lightning, did I turn out how you expect?" Hope asked, turning his head to meet Lightning's gaze.
"No, Hope." Lightning stated coldly. Hope felt dejected at that moment, as if he had let her down, as if he had let the world down.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Hope replied sadly as he looked down at the counter top, removing his gaze from Lightning.
"You didn't let me finish." Lightning chuckled. "You turned out better than I thought. You're stronger than the boy I met ten years ago, Hope. I'm proud of you, of everything you've achieved. I mean, you're then director of the Academy! You basically have the world in your fingertips." Lightning finished. It wasn't often that Lightning spoke so enthusiastically, but he welcomed her words of praise.
"Thank you, Light." Hope whispered loud enough for her to hear. "But, all of that has kept me away from you, and the others."
"Yeah, well, some things in life you just do. I thought I taught you that already, or will I have to beat it in you again." Lightning threatened.
"No, Lightning. I think it's already been engraved in my memory far too deep." Hope chuckled. "And it's thanks to you that I am who I am today. You inspired to me to be stronger and do better. After all, there is no hope withou…" Hope was interrupted by Lightning's completion of the sentence.
"without light. I know Hope, I think you engraved that into my brain." Lightning said truthfully while she looked at Hope.
"You know, sometimes I wish I could relive the l'cie ordeal. I just wish I could see Vanille and Fang again; it's not the same without them. It's not the same without you guys. In the Academy it's all ways paper work or research missions. I guess, sometimes I just miss you guys." Hope claimed melancholically.
"Yeah, well, I'm sure that Vanille and Fang will wake up one day, and we will be there to greet them." Light reassured. "And, you don't have any reason to miss us. You can visit us whenever you want." Lightning smiled softly.
"Yeah, Light about that…I kinda wanted to tell you something, something that I've been hiding from you all these years." Hope began, not sure really sure how to confess his love for her. Hope decided that he would be himself, no gimmicks or disguises.
"There's Behemoths attacking the town!" Snow panicked. It seemed that his confession was going to have to wait. There was a city to protect, and this was not the time to confess. "All NORA members, come with me, we'll protect this city!" Lebreau, Maqui, and Yuj quickly ran to their leader, awaiting his orders.
"Now, don't go doing anything stupid." Lightning grumbled while she got up from her seat. Snow looked back at Lightning and nodded, leaving the bar with his fellow NORA members.
"We should follow him. Knowing him, he is probably going to try to be the hero." Lightning stated flatly. Hope then elicited all the past events where Snow would try to be the hero, and as he recalled, they would never end quite nicely.
"You're right." Hope confirmed. "We better go back that idiot up." Hope smiled as he ran towards the entrance of the bar, with Lightning following close behind.
"Hope, before we fight," Lightning stopped Hope amidst his tracks, "Do you know how to use those?" Lightning asked, referring to his two gunblades. Hope then turned back to see that Lightning had raised her right eyebrow up.
"Yeah, I created them myself." Hope stated proudly, "but, do you remember the paradigms?" Hope inquired.
"Of course, I don't think I'll ever forget them." Light retorted solemnly. With that said both Hope and Lightning departed from the bar and ran outside. There were at least six behemoths terrorizing the town. To the left, Snow was taking on one of the behemoths while NORA took on another.
"That dimwit is taking on a Behemoth by himself!" Lightning said running towards Snow. Hope expeditiously followed Lightning's tracks. As suspected, Snow was having a hard time defeating the Great Behemoth, and Snow had already been wounded.
"I told you not to do anything stupid!" Lightning reminded him.
"I can take him on." Snow reassured. "Remember, I'm the hero." Snow grinned as he took a punch at the Behemoth's face. This only seemed to fuel the behemoth's rage, as it stood on two feet and removed the blade that rested on its head.
"Snow, listen to me. I don't want my sister to be a widow just yet, go help your team. Hope and I will take this one." Snow nodded, seeing that he could not win this battle alone, he left to aid his teammates. Lightning then rapidly unsheathed her gunblade, blocking an attack that the Behemoth had launched.
"Hope, hurry up, Double Trouble!" Lightning yelled, announcing the name of their current paradigm. Hope nodded and unsheathed his two gunblades from the holster that hung behind his legs. While the behemoth was distracted with Lightning's block, Hope quickly ran behind the Behemoth, jumping atop his back and slashing it with his right gunblade. As Hope jumped back, he converted his left blade into a gun, shooting the wound that he had just created.
The monster roared in pain, dropping its blade and attempting to reach behind his back. In the monsters tribulations, Lightning shot the monsters eyes, rendering it blind. The monster once again stood on four legs. It had gone mad, hurling randomly in the air, hoping to disable its assailants. However, Hope and Lightning dodged its attacks expertly.
"Lightning, we need a different strategy!" Hope announced, noticing that their current paradigm was no longer having any affect.
"You're right, Divide and Conquer." Lightning adjured, swiftly eluding one of the monster's scratches. Hope nodded, casting poisonaga on the injured behemoth. The monster fell on its feet, no longer able to hold itself up. Lightning then leaped above the behemoths head and sliced its head off.
"We make a good team." Hope admitted, while starring into Lightning's eyes. She glared back at him with her powerful eyes. Her eyes said so much while not really saying anything at all.
"It's no time for compliments. There is still a lot of Behemoths left." Lightning huffed, running off towards another Behemoth. Hope noticed that NORA had only take out one Behemoth so far, and they possessed more in numbers. Hope shook the though from his head and followed Lightning towards the next behemoth.
The behemoth was right about to attack a small infant, when Hope blocked the attack with his left gunblade. The Behemoth was slowly beginning to overpower him as it brought down its arm with more force, so Hope took the infant in his right arm and evaded its next attack.
"Lightning, I'll take him somewhere safe." Hope informed. "You fend the behemoth off, for now." Lightning nodded and Hope ran towards the bar. He held the infant close to his chest, protecting him from any harm.
"Serah, take care of him, we'll find his mother later." Hope declared. Serah nodded as she took the boy from Hope's arms. That was, if the boy had a mother. Nora was now in Hope's mind, but he quickly discarded his thought because he had to go aid Lightning.
As Hope ran towards the battlefield, Hope noticed that Lightning was struggling with the Behemoth. Meanwhile, NORA had defeated another Behemoth and had moved on to the next one. Hope dashed to Lightning's side, seeing that the Behemoth had subjugated Lightning, leaving her without a weapon. The Behemoth was about to deliver a final blow, and Lightning braced herself for what was about to come. Had Hope not intervened, Lightning would surely be dead. Lightning opened her eyes, only to notice that Hope had protected her from the Behemoth's deadly blade.
"Lightning, get up and grab your blade." Hope commanded in his defensive position, holding both of his gunblades in an X shape, parrying the behemoth's blade. Lightning nodded, scrambling towards her gunblade. The behemoth pushed down harder on Hope, causing hope to stagger Hope. The Behemoth's blade then landed on the ground, embedded within the sediment and grass.
"Lightning, this is our chance!" Hope chanted. "His blade is affixed into the ground." The Behemoth desperately attempted to remove his blade from the ground, but to no avail. Lightning noticed this and quickly caught on to Hope's plan. "Slash and Burn." Hope yelled as a charge of electricity pulsated from his hand and into the gunblade. Lightning saltated over the monster head, dealing a crushing blow. The beast's head and body came crashing down, emitting a heavy rumble.
"Lightning Strike!" Hope evoked, before barraging the behemoths weak body. Hope conceived one last blow within the Monster's back, rendering it dead. Hope then, once again girdled his blades.
"Hope, it looks like they need help." Lightning informed, pointing towards the members of NORA. Hope turned back to see all the members of NORA struggling with two behemoths, even Snow had seemed to lose his vigor. Hope ran towards the afflicted member of NORA, with Lightning following right behind him.
"It looks like you guys need a little help." Hope laughed softly as he offered his hand to Lebreau, which was now lying on the ground, exhausted from battling the behemoths. Lebreau acquiescently took his hand, a soft red hue was now apparent on her face.
"Yeah, it would come in handy right about now." Snow gasped as one of the behemoth's attacked him. Fortuitously, Snow had used steelguard, and was able to withstand the monster's attack. "NORA, we got this, you guys go inside." Snow demanded. The NORA members nodded and followed their leader's orders, all except Lebreau, who still held Hope's hand.
"I think that means you too." Hope whispered to Lebreau. Lebreau nodded and ran inside the bar where NORA and Serah resided in, along with Sazh and Dahj. Hope unsheathed his blades and prepared to fight. "Offensive Screen?" Hope suggested, glancing at both Lightning and Snow for accession. Both Lightning and Snow nodded, taking their respective position.
Promptly, Snow used provoke, and both behemoths gave their attention to him. Snow then used steelguard, protecting himself from any oncoming attacks. As soon as Hope was sure that both behemoths had been provoked, Hope unsheathed his blades. Hope rushed towards the behemoth to his left, simultaneously transforming his right blade into a gun. Hope shot at the monster's eyes, trying to blind the monster. When the monster was blinded, it attacked Snow with its claws, an attack which Snow blocked. While the monster engaged Snow, Hope leapt on its arms, running along its arms until he reached his back. Hope then crushed his blades within the monsters back, hopping off the behemoth's back without them.
"Agression!" Hope shouted his command while he unsheathed his boomerang, Nue, from its pouch. Snow quickly took on the ravager role, and attacked the same behemoth Hope had engaged. The behemoth was about to transform, when Hope once again jumped on its back. Hope removed his blades from the monsters back and sliced the monster head off. As the monster fell to the ground, Hope leapt onto the back of the Behemoth that Lighting had engaged. Lighting was attacking the Behemoth's abdomen, while Snow used ice magic on the wounds that Lighting had created. The incessant attacks on Snow's and Lightning's part caused the monster to stagger back and fall back first. Hope landed on the monster's chest, and he quickly faced the beast's face. Hope stabbed his left gunblade into the monster's face, finally killing off the behemoth.
By this time, Snow seemed exhausted, and not to mention, injured. Hope observing this said, "Snow, I think you should rest. Lightning and I will take care of the rest." Snow wanted to complain, but he opted not to because Lighting had given him the glare. Snow then looked at Hope and nodded, and he sauntered into the bar.
"There are only two behemoths left." Lightning announced. Hope nodded and ran towards the closest one, and Lightning followed.
When they reached the behemoth, Hope noticed that it was close to its stagger point. Hope looked at Lightning, and, as if almost by telepathy, they switched to dualcasting. Lightning used a chain of lightning strikes while Hope used waterga on the behemoth. Lightning dealt one last lightning strike before having to evade one of the behemoth's attacks. The behemoth then stood on his two feet, ready to remove his blade from the peak of his head. Hope saw this and launched his left gunblade towards the monster's head. The blade landed perfectly between the behemoth's blade and head, jamming the blade in the process. Hope glared at Lightning, and they both ran towards the behemoth's abdomen.
"Double Trouble." Lightning ordered, and they both stabbed their gunblades within the behemoth. They both removed their gunblades from the behemoth's abdomen, this action finally killed the behemoth, causing it to fall. Hope and Lighting both evaded the dead behemoth's trajectory as it fell on the ground. Hope then walked over to the behemoth's head, removing his blade from the place it rested.
"One more left, Lighting." Hope smiled. Lighting, however, did not reply, instead she ran towards the final beast with Hope behind her tracks. As soon as they got to the Behemoth, it transformed. This behemoth seemed different from the rest, as if it was the pack leader. But, Hope was sure that he and Lightning could take him on.
"Slash and Burn." Lightning instructed, and with that said, Lightning went in and began to attack the behemoth's abdomen. With every slash Lighting would make, Hope complimented it with a fira spell, until the monster was staggered. "Now, Double Trouble." Lightning announced amidst her attacks. Hope rushed to her side, but the behemoth attacked her, launching her a few feet away.
"Lightning!" Hope cried, sending both of his gunblades directly at the beast's heart. The behemoth didn't die, but it did growl in pain. Hope ran towards Lighting's injured body, worried about her life sake. He kneeled down next to her, and she moaned it pain. Hope couldn't stand seeing her like this, injured, helpless, he was not accustomed to a weak Light. Hope wrapped his arms Lighting, and in return, Lighting looked at him. Her eyes looked weak, and the cold-icy blue had now turned into a dull, almost dead blue.
"Hope, don't get distracted and finish off the behemoth." Lightning rebuked, followed by a smile. Hope smiled back, even in her weak state, she couldn't stop giving orders. By this time, Hope's eyes were filled with tears, and then an idea popped up into his head.
"Symbiosis." Hope whispered loud enough for her to hear. Lighting slowly nodded, and Hope began to heal her. Lightning's scars and wounds from the attack and impact gradually began to disappear. Her vigor returned, and the dull-dead blue once again turned into the cold-icy blue eyes he fell in love with. "There is no Hope without Light, and there is no Light without Hope…And that's the perfect symbiosis." Hope stuttered, and Lighting smiled in returned. There was only one other time he had seen that smile, the day they 'saved' Cocoon.
"Haste." Lightning whispered as she touched his hand. Hope suddenly felt a wave of magic fluctuate and course through his veins.
He could feel the behemoth approaching from behind, so he removed his boomerang from the pouch that lay on his torso. Lightning just watched, still weak from the impact, but otherwise recuperated. For a moment their eyes locked, and with one last glance, Hope threw his boomerang into the air. Hope observed the boomerang disappear before him, and thanks to Lightning's haste, it had gone at superhuman speed. Then, a stroke of silver flashed before him, but he didn't bother to catch it. Both Lighting and Hope heard a tremendous impact from behind them, and when hope looked back, the behemoth was dead.
Hope slowly got up and walked towards the dead behemoth. The gunblades were still impaled within the beast's heart. Hope removed the blades from the beast's heart and sheathed them. As for his boomerang, it had landed direct-center of its chest. Hope also picked his boomerang up, and once again, he stored it in its pouch.
As hope walked back to Lightning, he could help but fell that right now was the right time to confess. So with that though in mind, he picked Lightning up, walking back towards the bar. For a while, they were just comforted by the silence of the sea breeze, but then, it seemed as though the wind was convincing him to confess.
"Lightning, I need to tell you something. It's something that I've been meaning to tell you for years." Hope uttered as he stared into Lightning's eyes.
"Wait Hope, before you say anything, I want to commend you. I'm proud of you, of your strength, and I'm glad to say that you have even surpassed my power." Lightning praised; her languid body still not able to move much.
"Lighting, thanks." Hope breathed, getting ready for what he was about to say, "I love you, Claire." Hope said, looking deep into her eyes, looking for an answer, looking for her acceptance. For a moment, Lightning's face was blank, and it seemed that she was deep in thought. Hope was prepared for the worst, but then her eyes softened, her barriers diminished, and he didn't need to hear her say it.
There was no Hope without Light, and there was no Light without Hope. Their beings depended on each other, and without the other, they were nothing. It seemed that, indeed, their relationship was the perfect symbiosis.
Final Notes: Well, I hope you enjoyed SYMBIOSIS. This story is a oneshot, and I am planning on makin other oneshots like it. I should be posting up a weekly HopexLight fic and VenxAqua fic. Also, if you want more HopexLebreau, leave me a request or pm me. Have a nice day!
EDITED ON: 6/28/12
Please, if you see any grammatical issues, tell me! I didn't have time to thoroughly revise it. Your time is much appreciated.
-Venrosonitas