Author's Note: I'm alive! 8) And there are some very minor spoilers for XIII-2 here. If you've already met Hope in the game, there's nothing to be spoiled, but you've been warned in case you haven't started and want things completely unfettered. XD

On with the show!

Distant Recollections

"People always say the future will be better. They believe the hardships of the present fade with the passage of time.

And so we hope, waiting for a future brighter than today."

Memory was his only memento of her. He could only hold on to the distant recollections and the image of their fading reflections. He didn't have anything else; not even the knife she had entrusted him with. He had been so careful to take care of it when he was young and still traveling with her. He always tried to find ways to keep it polished and sharpened, even when supplies ran low.

Hope Estheim smiled slightly at the memory of when he first tried to sharpen it on his own. It hadn't gone well and after she had noticed the increased amount of bandages on his fingers, she ended up showing him how to do it properly. The weapon had helped him get out of numerous tight situations. He still remembered the feeling of defeat that should have been triumph after the battle when he found her knife at the bottom of the pillar.

And it's already been ten years since the last time I saw you…

He let out a slow, tired sigh before getting back to work. It was always the late, quiet nights that stirred his memories back to life. The Yaschas Massif was cursed to ongoing darkness, but the hour had grown late and many of the employees had retired for the night. The sound of rain hitting the windows above was almost melodic, but he had no intention of putting his work aside so early in the night. There was far too much to do to take things easy.

It's not like staying up late to work in an office is very difficult.

It's nothing like being miles away from any form of civilization and looking for somewhere safe to spend the night while worrying about monsters and Cie'th.

But that little voice in the back of his mind told him that he'd go back to those days in a moment.

He made a few calculations and tried relaying the theories to the Oracle Cube, but to no avail. It remained tightly closed, as it had likely been since the oracle herself last sealed it so many years ago. He decided to shift his attention back toward the files from the location where they had originally found the relic.

These oracles supposedly recorded all of their visions. If we can just get in, we should have some answers.

And possibly even more questions.

He looked over the sparse information they had collected on the spell used by the oracle to access it. The Academy had been focusing on taking a scientific approach, half for the sake of protocol. He read through the data before standing up and walking over to the device. He removed it from the specimen container and set it down on the observation table.

There is some risk to this, but…

We've been struggling with protocol for too long.

It's time for a different approach.

He took a step closer and closed his eyes. He reached out toward the relic and kept his hand above it as he beckoned to the old abilities that still lurked in the back of his mind. It was almost ironic; after all, he had learned most of the spells he knew so many years ago when they were still together.

It's been too many years…

A gentle glow of light materialized around his hand and enveloped the Oracle Drive. The device produced a faint hum as the ancient machine started to come to life. It was slow at first, but it started to move and let out a wave of light.

This thing is several centuries old…

It's amazing that it still functions at all.

The panels moved apart and gave off a faint glow. He stepped back instinctively when a large image appeared above it. It was similar to a holographic screen, but not nearly the same. Light from a fal'Cie thought to be dormant shone brightly as the massive display started to reveal the ancient recording. It wasn't clear, but some things were still hauntingly discernible.

And there she was.

Just what…is this?

She was fighting and moving with the same lethal grace he remembered so well. She looked the same and every movement of her blade was as deadly swift as it should have been. It was impossible, but there she was – right before his eyes.

How could this be real?

He felt his heartbeat start to hasten at the sight of Cocoon falling from the sky. The image before him showed the sacrificial pillar starting to from, but the image in his mind was from not long before. He could still see the moment when her hand slipped away from his.

But it's still her.

Lightning…

It went dark for an agonizingly long moment. He stared in silence for another few seconds before another scene started to play. He held his breath as he watched the chaotic battle, but it was like he was watching it through a barricade of broken glass. It was too blurry and short to give a clear image of the woman on horseback.

Light…

But he still kept it was her. The image didn't reveal enough for certainty, but he still didn't doubt it. It wouldn't have been the first time he saw her riding into battle aboard Odin. The battle depicted was a chaotic one without any definitely conclusion. The ground was breaking to piece around here, but she was still there fighting and very much alive.

It had to be her.

She was still fighting, but…

She was alive.

"As you walk towards a brighter tomorrow, you have to look back to your past.

The path you have walked to reach the here and now will give you the courage you need to hope."