Whew! This was a doozy. Anyway, this'll be a two shot. I think, might be three parts if I'm not lazy. And not quite sure if it's gonna be NoelxHope or just hints. Hmm. And if you find any errors or just frankly weird parts, please let me know. Appreciate it!

And dropping a review would make me very happy… *wink wink

Noel and Serah walked through the bustling streets of Academia, the pink-haired woman just having to find that last Brain Blast station. Why, Noel couldn't exactly grasp. He yawned and stretched his muscular arms while the streets became less crowded the deeper into the city they ventured.

They both watched as the women, one blond and the other pink-haired, marched away with the Graviton Cores, both excitedly chatting.

"So, what are you two going to do now?" Noel quickly shifted his eyes to the director, a smile having found its way to the soft face. Their eyes met and for the moment Noel gazed into those aqua-colored orbs, both innocent and mature, he forgot he had a question to answer. When the older man gave out a discreet cough, Noel slightly blushed before telling him their plans.

"Well, uh. We're gonna stay here for a few days, you know, to rest up before the big battle." The words had been unexpectedly hard to voice. Hope's expression turned thoughtful and he put his hand to his chin like he always did when he was reflecting on things.

"So, where did you two think of staying?"

"Seeeraaah…" Noel whined when an additional five minutes had passed and they had not yet reached their, her, goal. "Can't we go back already?"

Serah was a teacher, so her patience was quite stretchy. She mustered up a smile and made an attempt at cheering up her companion. "Come on, I'm sure it's just around the corner."

Noel scoffed at this; certain it wouldn't be. He'd much rather be at the Academy, maybe helping the director with some tasks or trying to coax the older man into eating lunch for once or even-

"Hey, there it is!" Serah shouted when she saw the small computer screen and Noel's train of thoughts was interrupted by her call. When she started to run toward it he sighed, silently wondering what exactly was so exciting about those damned quizzes. He had never had much luck at those. He wasn't exactly as smart as the silver-haired scientist he knew. In fact, Hope had mentioned he would like to try one of those question stations had his job given him time for it.

The teenager wasn't really that spirited hanging around when Serah answered the machine since it usually took at least twenty minutes for her to finish.

"Is it okay if I walk around a little?" he asked and got a quick "mm" from the school teacher, her brow furrowed as she concentrated whether to answer Black or Red.

Noel took off, the beeps and fanfares from the Brain Blast station fading the farther he went. As he walked he took note of the lack of people where he was located. Academia was a huge city, considering the huge amount of people that lived in it the fact that some places were ever empty seemed ridiculous. He somewhat wished that Mog was with him, fingers almost itching to chuck the helpless moogle around, hoping that the creature would return with something valuable. But Mog was with Hope at the headquarters, probably having the time of his life.

Noel wished too he was at the HQ. Helping Hope with chores or even just sitting there watching him work seemed far more worthwhile than going to some stupid quiz thingy to Noel. He rounded a corner and was pulled away from his pleasant thoughts by a bright light shining from farther down the alley. He stopped and squinted his eyes at it, thinking he was hearing the familiar mechanical noises a time gate usually emitted. For a moment he thought of getting Serah but something urged him to keep going. His hands automatically flew up to feel if his swords were hanging on his back and he let out a relieved sigh when his right hand enveloped the cool hilt it knew so well.

"Well, couldn't hurt to take a look…" he mumbled to himself and searched his pouch for a wild artefact. When his fingers at first didn't grasp one he somewhat panicky wondered if Serah had them but that worry was quelled as soon as he felt the smooth crystalline surface on his fingertips, pulling it out and giving out a small triumphant call. He looked at the small green crystal and how the green color reminded him of Hope's eyes. It didn't shine the same quite the same way though. Noel stood there a few moments before shaking his head and holding up the artefact before he had any time to change his mind. The gate responded immediately, making the youth elevate for a short moment before having him disappear with one last flash of light.

As soon as the gate spat out the young hunter he immediately drew his swords, his sudden appearance already attracting the attention of a few Gorgonopsids nearby. He made sure to remove himself from the location at once as he wasn't looking to fight anything at all. A couple of Gorgonopsids wouldn't be much of a hassle for Noel, but he wasn't one to take unnecessary risks, unlike a certain hot-headed blonde he knew.

"I didn't even bring any potions…"

The sun shone relentlessly on Noel's back and he wondered what he was supposed to do here. He made sure to not wander too far from the gate and made small markings on the ground whenever his path changed. Driven by his hunter's instinct, Noel began to climb a steep hill. When finding yourself in a location full of fiends, seek for higher grounds.

Where he stood all he could see were green plains, stretching beyond the horizon.

A scream.

Noel flinched and turned to its source, weapons at the ready. He peered, trying to find where it had come from.

There.

About ten meters away from the hill's foot he could see a young boy, around fourteen or fifteen years old, being attacked by four Gorgonopsids. Noel could see he was clutching his abdomen, indicating he was wounded.

"Hey!" he shouted and rushed down the hill with swords in hands and tried to catch the wolf-like creatures' attention. He almost succeeded. Two of them began to charge at him but the remaining pair proceeded to give the silver-haired boy two hard strikes with their paws before following the other two who had broken away. Noel had just enough time to see the boy collapse before he was forced to avoid the fiends' swipes at him.

He attacked furiously, defeating two of them within a minute. The third jumped and aimed for his face but Noel was one step ahead, rolling out of the way and stabbing the beast with his shorter sword in the gut. Blood gushed over it and his arm flexed, swiftly pulling it out as the animal breathed a few last times. The remaining Gorgonopsid whined before taking off into a sprint, apparently not wanting to share its comrades' fate.

Noel panted and sheathed his swords, sprinting over to the fallen kid.

"Hey!" he shouted as he neared, hoping for a response. No luck. He kneeled beside him and sat down, lifting him up on his knees. He was unconscious, breathing slowly and irregularly. But there was something else. He looked familiar to Noel somehow. The hair- and the face. His heart stopped for a moment when Noel caught sight of a piece of yellow fabric wrapped around a thin wrist and he carefully lifted it to recognize it as Hope's.

"Hope!" he called out and focused his eyes on the still face, blood trickling down his forehead. "Damn!"

The hunter supported Hope's head with one hand while he used the other to frantically search his pouch for a potion until he remembered he hadn't brought any. He inhaled deeply as he pulled back the arm and began to quickly look over Hope's wounds. His shirt and jacked were torn in several places, angry read scratches peeking out with blood seeping out. They were deep, and the pace the blood oozed out increased by each second. He needed medical attention and that soon.

Noel looked around, hoping to see some sort of town or village nearby. Nothing like that was in sight.

"How long have you walked?" he asked, more to himself than to Hope. He looked around one last time before preparing to lift him, not deeming lingering around a good idea. He was light, perhaps a little too light for someone that age. Looking closer, Noel saw that the teen he was holding was quite thin.

Noel began to walk even though he had no clue where. About ten steps away his foot met with something hard that cracked under his weight. "What the…"

The yellow boomerang had nearly blended in with the dry grass and Noel reached down with effort to pick it up. It had a few blood stains on it and seemed a little wiggly, possibly the result of him stepping on it. He slid it under his belt and continued, focusing on finding a safe spot.

It took Noel ten minutes but eventually he found a narrow path in the mountain wall, surrounded by tall, steep cliffs. It wasn't ideal, but it had to suffice for the moment. He slowly laid Hope down and quickly scouted the area, the lack of monsters satisfying him, before returning to his younger friend.

"Hanging in there?" Noel quietly said, watching the slow movements of his chest. "Alright then."

Gently placing his palms over wounded boy's torso, Noel tried his best to muster up a cure. Serah was the one most efficient at healing and when his feeble attempt did nothing but glow a bit he inwardly berated himself for going alone. The bleeding seemed to stop and whether this was because of Noel or not and it lifted the poor healer's spirits a little and he sighed with relief, pulling his arms away. His calloused hand found its way to Hope's forehead and its fingers dug into the hairline, trying to find the source of the small bleeding. A few seconds later Noel had removed his hands, content with seeing the small laceration not leaking anymore.

Noel snorted and watched the small blood stains on his fingers, "Well, it's certainly not perfect", he said, feeling lighter when he noticed that Hope's breathing had become less labored, "But I guess it will just have to do for now, huh?"

The hunter wiped his hand on his pants before grasping his trusty swords, even though doubting any enemies would show up Noel sat down and crossed his legs, intent on taking watch.

Hope led Serah, Noel and Mog, safely snuggled in Serah's arms, through Academia, the sky darkening as they walked toward the elevator closest to the HQ. Chatting was kept at a minimum, as all four of them were exhausted. Alyssa had taken Serah on a partial tour of the city while Noel had occupied himself with throwing Mog down to ground level. Hope rested his palm on the small screen that appeared when the group had neared the elevator doors. When they opened he stepped aside and let the time travelers enter first before following.

"You live all the- whoa!" Noel's question was interrupted as the elevator lurched, starting to descend at a frightening speed, "All the way down, Hope?"

Hope had barely swayed and smiled when answering, "Yes. My father and several others grounded Academia around 1 AF, as you know, Serah." He paused to nod at her, getting a sleepy smile in response. "It was just a small research town then, not primarily a residential settlement. It wasn't till later we started to plan the colossal metropolis it is now. I don't think a lot of people live at ground level nowadays, but it's the only place I call home now", he added thoughtfully, eyes distant for a moment.

Despite the elevator's almost terrifying speed the ride down took a few minutes, which passed in silence with only a few yawns temporarily breaking it. When the elevator slowed down, Noel wondered for a moment just how many miles they had descended. It stopped and the doors opened. This time Hope stepped out first and began to walk the path to his house. Being down here felt nostalgic for him.

If it had been dark up where the HQ rested it was nothing compared to down here. It was pitch black, a few failing streetlights illuminating the old cracked pavement as they made their way to Hope's house.

"Hey! Mister!"

Noel hadn't noticed he had fallen asleep till a boy's voice was heard. Blinking a few times, the first thing the youth discovered was that Hope had awoken and was looking at him with curiosity in his blue-green eyes.

"Hey, you're awake!" was the first thing the older man said before pushing himself off the ground and stretching. "Whoa, careful", he added when Hope made an attempt to stand up, forced to sit down instead when Noel ordered him to. Platinum locks bobbing, Hope shook his head and rubbed his stomach in an attempt to ease the throbbing pain that lingered.

"Ugh… thanks for helping me out, but who're you?" he finally said and looked up at the older boy, "Are you from… Pulse?" he then asked, as he took notice of Noel's clothes and weapons. They reminded the ex-l'Cie of Fang and Vanille, obviously not Cocoon fashion; even with the current Pulse-themed trend.

The Farseer sheathed his Flame Fossil and fell on his knees in front of the smaller lad and examined his wounds while answering, "I'm Noel, and I guess you could say I'm from Gran Pulse."

"Really!?" Hope said, excitement raising his voice's volume more than he had expected and sheepishly apologized when Noel visibly jerked away.

"Kind of…" the brunette answered elusively. "Hey, be still!" he exclaimed when Hope began to squirm and search his army pants' pockets.

"What is it?"

Hope stopped with a defeated expression, shoulders slumping. "You didn't happen to see a small comm. device around when you rescued me?"

The hunter thought back at it, trying to remember if he had. "No, I don't think so." He had been rushing to get out of there with the unconscious youth, only picking up the boomerang because he'd actually stepped on it. "I found your boomerang though."

He pried the odd, to him, weapon off his belt and held it out to the silverette, who somehow managed to pocket it with no effort.

"Uh."

"I should head back now", Hope said, ignoring Noel's flabbergasted look, "Think Snow's gotta be pretty worried." He began to stand up, slowly and sometimes groaning in pain as it flared through his body. Noel reacted quickly and took hold of his small shoulders.

"Wait, just let me heal your injuries a bit first, okay?" He would have preferred for Hope to just stay put but figured it was a good idea to get him to a city where he could get proper treatment. Noel doubted his weak cures did much but simply hinder the bleeding.

Hope widened his eyes as the man's hands began to glow. The warmth spread through his body and it was faintly similar to his own cures when he had had the power of a l'Cie. Of course, it wasn't nearly as effective, but then again, no one's magic could match what his had been a at that.

"You can use magic?" he asked as the pain lessened, shrinking to more of a nuisance than a holdback.

Noel finished his healing, irritated at the poor results it had accomplished. He stood and answered, "Yeah, can't you?"

In the Sunleth Waterscape the giant oaf known as Snow had told the time travelers some things about his and the other l'Cie's adventure. While Snow had been mostly interested in telling them about steelguarding against Adamantoises, Noel had caught that Hope had been an amazing mage, very efficient in healing. He'd also found out that Lightning once proposed for the gang to leave the "steelguarding idiot where he was" but the youngest member had apparently gone behind her back and cast a Raise spell at the knocked out sentinel.

Hope dragged his hands across the gravel, a meager water spell appearing in its trail and creating a small darkened patch on the ground. He bit his lip and looked up at the brunette, "I'm not very good at it."

Noel nodded. "Well, keep at it and you'll for sure get better." He held out a hand, waited for Hope to grab it and allow the older to pull him up. "Let's get you back to Sn- this Snow then."