Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
What's Your Reason?
The streets of Luxerion were almost deserted at that late hour in the night.
Monsters lurked in the darkness.
No one who valued his life even just a bit would dare to set foot on the streets of the city suburbs as darkness embraced everything, more than usual in that world.
But he had decided to take the risk again.
He knew he was protected against darkness.
He had to know…
He ran a hand over the wall. He felt the cold touch of the tiles, but he was able to sense that warm spark on it…
Magic…
However, the wall resisted his efforts to unravel its secrets. He had begun to think it wasn't him who had to solve the mystery.
Another prank of the gods.
The sudden appearance of that rune in that wall, months ago, had fueled his anticipation. Although it only shone for a few seconds.
Something was changing.
Changes in an immutable world…
What, or who, would be able to work such a miracle in that static world of real nothingness?
I know only one person who has ever done this…
Would that sign of magic be heralding the miracle he had been centuries waiting for?
He heard footsteps behind him. His instinct warned him before the sound reached his ears. He turned almost instantly to meet the edge of a small gladius, dark and showing blue lines in the metal, pointing directly to his neck.
A lock of greyish hair stood out the newcomer's shoulder-length, brown hair, softly illuminated by moonlight and the small light sphere that floated in the air.
"You're back", said his attacker, his voice cold and harsh, broken by the suffering of centuries. It wasn't a question, but a statement.
He simply looked back in a clear gaze of his pale aqua-green eyes.
"I am."
"I thought I warned you about what would happen if you ever came back here", the brown-haired young man added, bringing the tip of his sword a little closer to his neck.
But he gave him a laconic half-smile.
"The city belongs to everyone. The fact you think you have the right to claim for you this part of Luxerion just because the Order protects you doesn't mean I can't come here to investigate as many times as I want, Noel."
His attacker showed his teeth in a sneer.
"That name means nothing to me now."
"And, according to you, the name 'Shadow Hunter' does", he replied, raising his eyebrows. "I see that Chaos is as strong as ever within you."
Noel scowled. His deep-blue eyes were like a steel wall.
"And yours is meaningless in this world. Hope", he pronounced the word with distaste, as if he were spitting it. "There is no place for hope anymore."
The young man, of ruffled silver hair, tilted his head. He didn't lose sight of Noel's gladius' edge, still dangerously close to his neck.
"If we surrender to our fate, then definitely it won't be."
"We cannot defy fate", was Noel's sour answer. There was an intense rage in his voice.
In that point, Hope understood his reasons to say so.
But he didn't share them.
"I remember you much more willing to fight for a better future, Noel."
"Future doesn't exist", Noel replied harshly, and raised his other sword, a lot more ornate, to Hope's chest. "And you're so blind that you dare to deny it. A false hope."
Hope closed his eyes. It wasn't the first time he had heard those words from his mouth.
"It's not me who keeps it alive", he said calmly. "Hope never left us. But people refuse to see beyond Bhunivelze's mercy…"
Noel let out a bitter laugh.
"What a surprise to hear you say that. What would the Order say if they knew you doubt the divine teachings of God, Hope?"
"The Order has no business in what I do or I don't believe. My thoughts are mine, and mine alone."
"Let me doubt it", Noel's eyes sparkled with scorn. "If you live so far away from Luxerion and you come here to investigate, like a fugitive, is for saving your skin from the Order's grasp, and you know it. What else could the reason be, for the creator of the New Cocoon choosing to live in a place as devastated as the Shrine's lands?"
Noel's eyes showed disgust, but Hope's instantly flashed with determination.
"I have something very important to protect there."
Noel's grin became even fiercer. His two swords were pointing to both the neck and chest of the young scientist.
"That's in what you spend what you've left of your former brilliance", the Shadow Hunter spat. "In a stupid crystal."
For the first time, Hope's apparent calm vanished from his face, replaced by a dangerously fierce expression.
"Watch your words", the young scientist warned squinting so much that his eyes became two green slits. "I won't be the one who interferes in what you do or not, Noel, but I won't allow you to deliberately insult what I stand for."
"And how're you planning to not allowing me it?", Noel's swords came a bit closer to him, threatening. But Hope wasn't intimidated.
"I may not be an experienced warrior like you, but I'm still able to defend myself with magic. Don't provoke me, and I won't have to use it."
Noel frowned enraged, but in his eyes was a spark of hesitation. Although Hope wasn't a l'Cie anymore, he had heard many stories about the scientist's extraordinary gift for magic, no matter he didn't use it often.
"You know what my job is", the Shadow Hunter hissed, watching Hope like a predator about to tear its prey. "And why the Order has me in high esteem."
"So you're still hunting down those who have realized the truth."
"You've been in that list for so long. They offer a really high reward for your head."
Hope was aware of this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to investigate in Luxerion at night, always having to have an eye out in case someone approached. The bounty the Order was willing to give for him wasn't a small thing.
"And yet, this isn't the first time you have me at your mercy. What's your reason for not killing me, Noel?"
Noel showed his teeth in a raging grin.
"I shouldn't waste my time with false hopes. You don't deserve it. You've failed in everything you set out to, again and again."
The Hunter's words were harsh. But they were nothing that Hope didn't already know. He had repeated the same words over and over for almost five long centuries, a period of time that for people in general it had been but a breeze.
"I know."
"And yet you still rebel against what has no solution", Noel stared at him. "Why? What's your reason to keep fighting?"
Hope closed his eyes. That question wasn't unknown either. He had been wondering that for hundreds of years.
But I knew the answer from the very first time.
"I made a promise I've yet to fulfill."
"She won't return", Noel replied dryly. "She's dead. Caius killed her."
The young scientist shook his head gently.
"She will return. Of that, I am as sure as of time stopped flowing five centuries ago."
Noel winced.
"If time doesn't exist, future neither does."
Hope gave him a strange look, thoughtful, almost sad.
"Serah would suffer a lot if she heard you talking this way about the future she and you fought once for, Noel."
"Serah's dead", the Shadow Hunter's voice trembled almost imperceptibly, but Hope didn't miss that instant of pain. He raised his head and stared at Noel, his aqua green eyes showing decision.
"She will return", he repeated, and continued with a bittersweet half-smile. "Both will return. No matter how long I have to wait. Someday I'll see it with my own eyes."
"If I kill you before your premise won't be fulfilled", Noel murmured making his swords get closer to his chest. "It'd be such a humiliation for the rebel scientist the almighty Order fears so much…"
But Hope just gave him a serene gaze.
"Tell me, Noel. Is it what you really want? What would Serah say if she returned and knew what you've done?"
Noel held his gaze for a few seconds of tense silence. His swords were still pointing at both Hope's neck and chest, and for a moment the young man thought their edge was getting even closer.
But it was nothing more than an impression, because then Noel abruptly lowered his arms and turned his back, his hands tightly gripping his swords' hilts.
"Get out", the Shadow Hunter said in a whisper filled by bitterness.
Hope took a deep breath, and snapped his fingers to turn off the magic light-sphere he had lit before examining the wall. Noel ignored him; his back was turned to him, his body trembling… By rage? By helplessness? By both of them?
"I told you last time, Noel", Hope muttered, aware that he was testing his luck. "Chaos has taken a toll on you, but there's still hope for you. Don't reject it."
"That hope is as dead as the one that you claim she represents it, and her sister is as well. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind and follow the Order's commands as I should've done the first time I had you on sight."
Hope frowned, but nodded briefly. He covered his head with the hood and put on the dark glasses he used to hide himself in the shadowy nights of Luxerion, and started to walk away from there, back to Etro's Shrine.
However, he had barely moved a few steps when he heard again Noel's voice.
"How is it possible that Chaos hasn't taken you at all, Hope? What's your reason for not losing all hope along the way?"
This time it was Hope who didn't turn to answer him, but his lips formed that bittersweet half-smile he couldn't restrain every time he thought of his reason.
"The darkness of Chaos will never extinguish the light that fuels my hope, Noel. The same light that once taught me to find the hope I was named for."
A/N: This is a quite short One-Shot; at least, it's shorter than the ones I usually write. But it was just a random idea that I actually liked and I decided to give it a try. And I liked how it ended, so here it is.
This comes from a theory I have for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. I've been wondering why Hope couldn't accompany Lightning in her journey, and reading the new information for the game I found a possible explanation.
The Order of Luxerion hunts down and kills everyone who claims time has stopped. Clearly Hope doesn't live in Luxerion, as Lightning's shown to arrive there by the monorail, so, if Light woke up in Etro's Shrine and she already had the wireless device, I thought Hope would probably live in the Shrine's lands. And why's that? Well, my guess is that Hope's one of those people who realized time doesn't flow anymore; he's the Academy's genius scientist, after all. And, because of that, the Order's after him, so he's forced to live so far away from Luxerion. Of course, he obviously knows the city and the whole world of Nova Chrysalia, since he's guiding Lightning, so that's why I portraited him investigating at night in Luxerion.
About Noel, he's corrupted by Chaos, and calls himself the "Shadow Hunter". He's said to hunt wrongdoers down in Luxerion, and I thought that it was possible the Order gives him the mission of killing the people who know about what happened with time. We don't know which will be his relationship with Hope, but, judging by how he attacks Lightning in the trailer, I doubt they're in good terms now.
Although in this story Lightning's not mentioned by name, it features Hope/Lightning, of course. And a bit of Noel/Serah as the sharp-eyed ones should've realized. I'm more into Noel/Lumina, but if I ship them it's because I also love Noel/Serah, but I want Serah and Snow married, so Lumina's perfect for him. And no, it's not Noel/Hope at all, I freaking hate that shipping; they'd be great brothers, but a couple? Bleh.
This being said, hope you enjoy this one! I'll resume Partners soon, so be patient for the next update of it!