A/N: Another short drabble that popped into my head during gameplay. Not much, but I wanted to write a little something for Noel =3
Disclaimer: I don't own Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIII-2, or anything that the former had made.
Usually, incessant cries of "kupo!" in the middle of the night aren't good news.
But of course, when you're sleepy, you fail to acknowledge that.
"Go to sleep, Mog," Noel grumbled, shifting to his other side.
No sign of stopping.
Normally, as a hunter, Noel would've been able to decide to ignore Mog's crowing or wake up almost instantly. But ever since the time-traveling journey began, he found it much harder to tell exactly how long he's been awake or asleep. And it seemed that a good night's rest was harder to come by when day and night are simply blurred. In fact...exactly how long had they been traveling through time?
"Kupo! Kupopopo! Kupokupokupo! Kupooooooo!"
"For the love of Etro, Mog, shut up!" Noel growled as he flew upright. Yet Mog was still flitting back and forth frantically, showing no signs of stopping his hysteria. That was when Noel realized there was something missing from the picture.
"Mog, where's Serah?"
"That's what I'm wondering, kupo!"
Instantly, Noel was sprinting through the narrow valley of the Yaschas Massif with Mog in tow. The full moon well lit the usually darkened path to the Academy's excavation site. It was eerily silent in the usual bustling area. No sign of anyone else.
"Noel!" Mog's crystal bobble began to glow its iridescent magenta light. "I sense that Serah's over there, kupo!" He flourished his staff in the direction of the Academy base, where the Oracle Drive was. Though it was too dark to see if anyone was there, Noel followed Mog up to the cliff where the base was set up.
As the duo approached the platform, they realized there was not one, but two silhouetted forms in front of the dim light of the ghostly green sphere in the base. Noel made out the figure of Hope carrying a sleeping Serah in his arms. Mog cried out in relief and streaked to her side, flitting about her in anxiety before proceeding to scold Hope with defiant cries of "kupo!"
"Hope?" Noel caught up with the moogle and snatched him out of the air. Mog futilely struggled against his strong grasp. "What's Serah doing here?"
"I was working on something when Serah ran here crying," Hope explained quietly. He knelt down and set Serah down on the grass, resting her head in his lap. "She had a nightmare, and she wanted to see the Oracle Drive to reassure herself it was only a dream."
"So she ran here in the middle of the night just to see the Oracle Drive?" Noel asked letting Mog go. The rather aggravated moogle banged his staff against Noel's head before flying down to Serah's side.
"Not just the Oracle Drive, I don't think." Hope looked down at Serah's face, which was serene and peaceful. "She just wanted to see Lightning's image, or at least that's what I believe."
Noel watched Serah's face shift from tranquility to anxiety, back and forth. He felt sorry for her and her restlessness. He knew what it was like to feel that way. He knew that feeling all too well. "I don't really blame her," he said softly.
"I've noticed, Noel, that she tends to use the Oracle Drive a lot," Hope commented, looking up at the hunter. "It's been activated more than usual recently. I doubt any of the other researchers have any reason to view it so often."
"She just misses her sister," Noel said. "I'm sure they were very close."
"Very close. Serah was the reason that Lightning even tried fighting when she was a l'Cie," Hope revealed. "She was Lightning's motivation for moving forward. And now, Serah wants to bring Lightning back in return."
Noel let out a soft chuckle, and knelt down. "You miss her too, don't you?"
"Of course I do." Hope's eyes instantly took on a faraway look, staring deep into the shadows of his past. "She motivated me to keep moving even when I wanted to give up. She taught me how to be strong and find hope when I couldn't find any. Without her…" He didn't finish.
Even without a full explanation, Noel understood that Lightning held a special place in everyone's hearts. An irreplaceable woman who had been more than just an ally, sister, or friend, but someone who had fought to protect everyone she loved. In that way, Lightning was an admirable form of Caius.
"Noel." Hope was looking at him with a kind of melancholic, expectant look. It mirrored Serah's expression whenever she talked about Lightning…
"Bring her back. Please. Find Lightning, and restore the timeline the way it's supposed to be," the young director said.
"She'll come back, kupo. Once the timeline is fixed, she'll definitely come back for Serah, kupo!" Mog said encouragingly.
Noel looked from Hope's face to Serah's, and back again. These two were only two of many who were waiting for Lightning's return. He could not let her become a permanently lost victim of time. Ever since he was little, Noel remembered the pledge he had made to protect others from suffering what he had to. He had watched enough people disappear or die in his own time period alone, so often that death became a part of life. But he understood. And he wasn't about to let Serah and Hope wait their entire lives for her. Looking into them, Noel saw a vague reflection of himself as a young boy. Waiting for the lost people to return. They never did.
He wasn't going to let that happen here.
He slowly nodded at Hope, a firm look in his cerulean eyes.
"I'll bring her back. For you and for Serah. Promise."