CHAPTER 1 – The False Future

" Hope, can you hear me? Hope…"

The familiar voice was keep calling him, but his head was still too dizzy. His vision is a bit blurry, and his head felt hurt.

" Please, answer me, Hope…"

His hand reached the phone near him to answer the call. " Yes… Hope Estheim is speaking…"

" HOPE! I'm glad that finally you're answering my call… Are you alright?"

" Not really…" Hope held his head. " My head is hurt…" Hope opened his eyes once again to see his surrounding. The complex cables scattered on the floor, a window shaped like wing, the half sphere shaped aluminum wall around him, the limited space on the room that seemed only fit to one person only. " Where am I…? Why am I here…?"

" Wait, don't tell me that you're having an amnesia… You do remember me, right?"

Hope giggled, " Of course I remember your voice, Noel… But my head is kind a hurt, maybe I banged into something when the machine was landing… Hey, how could you contact me…?"

" Through the cell phone you just gave me, of course… I'm glad that you taught me about the manual before so that I could contact you now…"

" I gave you the cell phone…?"

" Yeah, the metallic blue one with the wing-shaped strap, just like the painting on my back. You gave me the blue one, while you keep the yellow one. And we have the same strap, don't you remember?" Noel asked.

Hope looked at his cell phone. The casing was yellow, and the button is white. That's a cute wing-shaped strapped hung on it. Suddenly some memories flew into his mind.

~Flashback~

" What is that thing that you're holding?" Noel asked Hope who is texting at his coordinates.

Hope hid his yellow phone behind his back quickly, " Hey, stop peeping at someone's phone like that!"

Noel was a little confused when he saw Hope's act. " But why…?"

" Because it's personal… It's not good to look into the other's personal stuff, Noel…"

" I see, I'm sorry… so why did that thing have the picture of me?" Noel asked.

Hope smiled as he showed Noel his wallpaper picture. It was the photo of him, Noel, and Serah when they took a snapshot together near the time gate, the last time they visited Hope. " Listen, I like this picture because whenever I look into this picture, it remind me to help you and Serah. It really took some time just to meet you guys because both of you are busy with the time paradox. So looking at the picture of you always warms my heart because I knew that even we're far away, we will always have each other…"

" So the phone can freeze the moment we want as a picture?" Noel asked as he played with the wing-shaped strap on Hope's cell phone.

Hope tilted his head. It's the first time he met someone who is not familiar with cell phone. Well, Noel came from different era after all. " No, cell phone is originally used to communicate with the other people who is far away from us. However, lately the cell phone is also equipped with camera application to take photo, a music player to play the music, some chatting application, and the other stuffs."

Noel took the cell phone from Hope's hand. " So with this little thing, I can talk to you wherever and whenever I want…?"

" In the same era, yes, but since you travelled a lot in another time space, I think this cell phone cannot passed information across the time space …"

Noel looked a little disappoint. " Too bad… I wish I could use this thing to communicate with you anytime…"

Hope smiled as he saw Noel's pouted face. He looks as cute as a little puppy right now. " Anyway, you can have if you want to."

" Really, YEAY!" Noel bounced all around just like a little kid. " Wait, but… it's yours right? How can you communicate with your friends if you give it to me?"

Hope took another cell phone from his bag. The phone was exactly like the yellow cell phone in Hope's hand, and the only difference is the color. " Here, it's a new one. Actually I want to give it to you on your birthday, but since we haven't met for a long time, I forget to give it to you. Even it can not pass information through time space, you can take some good pictures with the camera if you want to…"

Noel's eyes sparkled as he saw the blue phone. " You remember my birthday?"

" Of course, Noel…" Hope smiled shyly.

Noel smiled widely as he took the phone " Thank you so much, Hope! I promise I will take some good pictures with this cell phone and I will show it to you whenever I visit this city! And what is this wing-shaped thing?"

" That's just a strap, but…" Hope showed Noel the strap on his yellow phone," See, it's a pair with mine. Maybe it's sound odd for boys for having paired straps, but…well, you can put it off if you want…"

" COOL!" Noel suddenly hugged Hope so tight. " I love it. Thanks, Hope!"

Hope was glad that he could bring back Noel's happy face. Hope pushed Noel away before some of his coordinates looking at them with weird look. " Sure… Anyway, would you like to learn how to use it?"

Noel nodded. Hope taught everything about the cell phone along the way. It was fun for him to teach someone like Noel. He's as white as a blank paper, so eagerly to absorb everything that interest his mind. The awkward moment that they have before has melted away and they began to enjoy their conversation.

" Hope, are you there?" Noel asked again.

Hope snapped back as he heard Noel's voice. " I'm sorry… the memories just flew back to my mind… I wonder what's wrong with me... I felt like I lost some of my memories… and as I saw the wing-shaped strap, the memories just went back into my head…"

" Did you bump your head into something?"

Hope held his head, " No, it's not like that… Noel, could you tell me why am I here?"

" You don't remember? Well, I don't know what have happened to you before, but when I saw you, you ran into your own room. Then when I was chasing after you, I found no one on your room… Your assistant told me that one device is missing from your room. It's the Time Machine…"

" Time… machine…?" Hope remembered now what happened before. He was ran into his room and saw that the time machine was turning on. The machine was never works before, so he wanted to check what is wrong with the machine. However, as he entered the machine, the door suddenly closed and he was trapped inside. He struggled to open the door, but the effort was futile. He didn't remember what happen after that. " Ah… you're right… I was riding my own time machine…"

" Did someone kidnap you? Do you remember who kidnap you?" Noel asked eagerly.

" No… no one kidnap me… I was accidently trapped inside this machine and looks like it took me somewhere…"

" You're trapped on your own device? That's not like you…

" Sorry…"

" So, anything familiar with that place you're in?"

" Let me check…" Hope tried to open the door, and it worked. He was sure that it was locked when he tried to open before. He stepped outside the device and saw the scene that he has never seen on his entire life. " What kind of place is it? The ground is dry and slightly purple… The sky is dark and gloomy… and the air is so dense…"

" Hope?"

Hope stepped on the ground. The ground is really soft, as soft as the sand on the dessert. Hope walked into the forest near him, " The trees are strange… and the color of its branch is strangely purple… And the water here… it's red…?" Hope took a snapshot of the scenery with his cellphone and sent it to Noel. " I have sent you the picture? Do you familiar with this place…?"

" Hope… it couldn't be…"

" What's wrong, Noel?" Hope asked.

" It's impossible. The picture that you just sent me… it's really like the future where I came from… How could you reach my era?"

" What? That's impossible…" Hope said. He thought for a while. " Wait… it's possible… So the time machine really works… But how can the cell phone connect us even we are in different era…?"

" That's the new mystery… However, now it's all clear about your memory lost… I think it's the effect of the time paradox. So because we don't belong to that era, some memories just lost from our head. I siffered the same things when I met Serah for the first time."

" I see… So how could I regain my lost memories?" Hope asked.

" I don't know, but I think they would just flew back to you later as you had before…?"

Hope nodded. " I hope that I don't forget something important…" As Hope looked around, he saw something fell beside his leg. It was a bright orange pumpkin that looks really delicious. " Hey… I found a pumpkin! Can I eat it?"

" NO, STAY AWAY FROM THAT THING!"

Hope stepped back as Noel ordered him to. Suddenly, that was a big explosion coming form the pumpkin. " Wow… that was close…"

" That thing is the exploded Pumpkin. As the fruit left its branch, it will be exploded in 3 seconds…"

" Okay…" Hope stayed away from the tree. " I got it…"

" Hope, listen to me! Go back to your time machine and return to your era now! And remember, never touch anything, it was really dangerous there!" Noel said.

" But… I want to explore this area for a while… It's the first time I can go into the different era… and I want to know more about this place…"

" No, you can't, Hope! You don't know anything about the era where I lived before. The monsters may be bigger and stronger than the one you found on your era. You may also find the creatures that are save on your era become wilder or become poisonous on my era. And the water on some area are already poisonous, you shouldn't drink nor touch the water that had any color…"

" But…"

Noel sighed. He knew that Hope might be gentle, but he could be stubborn sometimes. " I know that you want to explore the new land you have just found, but I couldn't let you explore that place alone because I know how dangerous that place is. How about this, you go back to this era first, and then we will go into that area together using the time machine. I will be your guide and your guardian there, how is that sound?"

" Okay, deal! It's a promise, okay? " Hope walked back into the time machine and opened the machine box on the time machine. " It seems that some parts on the machine are broken due to the crash when it's landing... Lucky that I bring a toolbox with me, but it may need some time to fix it."

" Hope, please keep on your guard …"

" I got it…" Hope answered. He put on his headphone as he checked the machine. " Noel, please don't worry about me too much, I know how to fight. It's not the first time that I'm facing the world with some monsters. I have fought many monsters before when the Cocoon was about to fall… Light has told me how to fight."

" How could I not worry?" Noel shouted, " You are predicted to be assassinated soon and I can't be with you now…" Noel kept silent for a while, " I'm sorry for rising my voice… I just… I just don't want to lose you, Hope… You're my important friend… I couldn't imagine if I lose you too…"

Hope blushed a bit as he heard something like that from Noel. He always thinks that Noel has a crush with Serah. Well, having a long journey with such cute and feminine girl like Serah, it's normal for having such feeling to her. But he never thinks that Noel would treat him as his important person in his life. " Thank you for your concern, Noel… I will figure a way back soon. Please don't worry about me, okay?"

" Fine…" Noel answered.

" HELP MEE!" Suddenly Hope heard a scream of a little boy. " PLEASE, SOMEONE! HELP!"

" Noel, I think I heard someone asking for help…" Hope put off his headphone.

" Wait, Hope, you can't go there!"

" Don't worry, I will be back soon. I have to save that person…" Hope pulled out his boomerang from his bag. Hope stared at his boomerang for a while. Holding the boomerang in his hand like that reminded him the adventures he has with Lightning.

" No, you can't, HOPE!"

" I'm sorry, but I think I will end the chat for a while… See you…" Hope said as he turned off his phone. He followed the voice that crying for help.

After scouting the area for a while, finally Hope saw a little boy with blond hair near the river. The boy was heavily injured, and that's a big monster approached him. The monster is very big, as big as a buffalo, and it shaped like a lion with purple color on its skin and hair. It was the Behemoth, just like the one he usually finds in Yashaf Massif. Actually, Hope never fights any Behemoth alone, but he can't let the Behemoth eat the boy. Hope pulled out the digital goggles from his bag and put it on his head to scan the monster. It was his invention to scan everything, like the monster location, the monster weakness, the map, and the others.

" WATCH OUT!" Hope threw at his boomerang to the Behemoth. It hit the eye of the Behemoth and the Behemoth became really angry. The monster rushed into Hope, just like Hope has planned before.

" Run, young boy, let me handle this Behemoth!" Hope shouted. The blond boy nodded and ran. Hope faced at the Behemoth in front of him. " And now it's time for me to face you… Here I come…"

Hope hit the Behemoth many times with his boomerang, but this didn't really work. None of the attack could hurt the hard skin of the Behemoth, even he had hit the Behemoth many times on its weak point. Noel was right, the Behemoth was much stronger than the one he faced on his era. Hope turned back and ran as fast as he could, but still the Behemoth could chase after him. He really wished that he could get back his L'Cie power, so that he could hit the monster with any magic.

As he saw the big hole on the tree, he leaped into the hole. Hope covered his clothes with the mud, so that the Behemoth couldn't sense his smell. As the Behemoth passed the hole, he held his breath. The Behemoth stopped in front of the hole. Hope kept praying to Etro for his safety. Lucky for him, the Behemoth left him and rushed into the other direction. Hope took a deep breath.

" GYAAA!" Hope heard another scream. He peeked outside quick and saw that the Behemoth has caught another victim. It was a brunette young boy now. The young boy screamed in fear.

Hope got an idea on his mind as he saw the pumpkin tree near the Behemoth. He quickly picked the pumpkin from its branch and threw it into the Behemoth's mouth just before the Behemoth swallow the brunette.

The pumpkin got into the mouth of the Behemoth. Just before the pumpkin exploded, Hope brought the boy into safer place. In 3 second, the Behemoth exploded along with the pumpkin.

Seeing the monster defeated, Hope made a promise that he would never eat any pumpkin for a while. Hope faced the little boy who was still shaking beside him." Are you alright?"

The young boy stared at Hope with his deep blue eyes. Somehow his face was familiar to Hope. The silky brown hair, and the sky blue eyes that full of curious remained him of Noel.

" Don't be afraid, the monster has died. So…Did the Behemoth hurt you?" Hope kneeled to check the boy's condition.

Suddenly the brunette cupped Hope's face. " YOU! You are the Angel that fallen with the meteorite, right? You must be it!"

" Auch… What? Wait… You get it wrong. I…"

Before Hope could explain, the young boy pulled him deeper into the forest. " Please save my friend, Yanny… I don't know what's wrong with him…"

Hope saw the blond boy with ponytail that he saved before. The young boy was lying on the ground. His body is cold, his skin is really pale, and his pulse is weak. Hope scanned the boy's body with this digital goggles. " It is the curse of Stigoid…. The Stigoid is the soul of the death that was raised from its grave and turned into a monster. With its long arms, it can easily catches the victims and drawn their blood until they die. It seemed that your friend can avoid the death, but he got the curse… The only way to save him is by giving the mixing of the chocobo grass and Yeul's flower vine…"

" Wow, you can tell everything just by taking a glance at Yanny. You are really a great angel! Etro must have sent you to help us!" the boy said cheerfully.

" No… it's because of my goggles…" Hope put off his goggles. " It is my invention to scan everything, just like a map, the monster location, and even the body condition."

" So with that device you can have the eye of Etro? Just like Yeul has?" the boy asked. " Cool, that mean you can help Yeul next time!"

" No… it's not like that…" Hope found it difficult to explain to the little boy because he was bouncing all over. " Anyway, do you know where I could find any Chocobo grass and the Yeul's flower? We have to make the antidote immediately or else your friend might die because of the curse…"

" The Chocobo grass, huh? Ah, we can find them easily around Yeul's house. But the Yeul's flower… it only grows near the Behemoth's nest… It's pretty far and dangerous…" the brunette said. " But maybe the Shaman on the village still have one…"

Hope carried Yanny's body on his back. " Then let's go to the village. I hope that the Shaman could give us the things to save your friend…"