Iron Heart – Chapter II

A/N: I would've had this chapter up sooner, but between summer courses and work, I couldn't. Luckily, I only have work to contend with now. And watching the World Cup. Those two will interfere with my ability/time to write…But here we go.

Originally planned for this story to be relatively short (3, maybe 5 chapters?), but I think it will go on longer than expected. At least, I think so. On a side note, I'm going to throw in 2 allusions to something. Because I have no originality whatsoever when it comes to making up names for things. So if you catch them…Uh, cool?

As always, don't own FF13 or characters, just writing this for fun.


Hope's driver sped along from his large mansion in the sleek, luxury class, black sedan. Hope just listened to music while on his PDA. He was still busy messing around with the blue prints he had been trying to figure out earlier. The puzzle before him refused to be solved; however, he was confident that if he could design his next big project successfully, it would propel him further than anyone would have ever believed.

Traffic on the way out of Cocoon was a nightmare. Many people made trips down to Pulse, whether it be to visit the new settlements, move to the new settlements, or to safely explore the newfound world. This traffic, coupled with some detours Hope decided to take (A guy had to eat, of course) led to him being almost three hours late to the military tech demo. This didn't bother Hope—he was a famous, rich, socialite and inventor. He could afford to be fashionable late. Just about anyone would wait up for him. Well, at least almost anyone would…There was one exception that came to mind. However, Hope dismissed his thoughts of the pink haired beauty in a moment.

When Hope arrived to the large expanse on Gran Pulse, he saw many upper echelon Guardian Corps top brass looking irate. In tow were lower ranking members who were forced to withstand the sun beating down on them, while waiting for Hope to arrive. In all, there couldn't be more than fifteen or so privates, and five officers with higher ranks. His car came to a halt a few feet away, and Hope stepped out, with a grin on his face.

"Had a little trouble getting here, you wouldn't believe who I saw on the way…" said Hope to the Majors and Generals before him, with that trademark Estheim grin.

"ESTHEIM! We've been out here for THREE HOURS? JUST WHERE IN THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" asked a furious general.

Hope entered his suave mediator paradigm, and poured on the sauce. After assuaging the general with calm words, reminders of what a good dinner his wife had prepared at his house when he was over, and promises on discounts for future Estheim goods, the general was remarkably content. Hope only needed to win over this man, for the rest of the Guardian Corps officers, soon followed suit. He scanned over the small crowd before him—all men from what he could see. No Lightning, he thought. He was a little disappointed, for he wanted to at the very least, see her. He'd have to test his defenses another time, for now it was show time.

"Gentlemen, we are gathered here today…Not for a wedding, but for my latest innovation in gunblade technology," Hope began. He had retrieved a metal suitcase from his car, and opened it. Out from the suitcase was a gunblade that looked like a cross between the already existing Blazefire Saber and Lionheart models. Being right off the production line, it was gunmetal grey.

"Really, Estheim? So what?" asked a soldier, who already seemed to be equipped with a Blazefire Saber. Hope deduced that he was probably a competent solider, for gunblades were only assigned to the elite.

"This is the latest model I've created. Affectionately known by model number as RX-78-2, I like to call it the Raikiri."

"Sometimes on the battlefield, or even against all the monsters out here, you need to pack more of a punch—after all, Behemoths don't go down after one swing," replied Hope, before holding down a trigger. The soldiers watched in amazement as an electrical current ran down the length of the blade. "Holding down the trigger runs a very strong electrical current down the blade, effectively increasing cutting power. Not to mention, anything that survives the first swing will be in too much pain or damage to retaliate very strongly."

Hope could tell they were impressed by this already, but he had one more trick up his sleeve. He switched the weapon to its gun form, and aimed at a rock off in the distance. Lining up his sights, he fired at it—and everyone watched as the rock soon exploded.

"This model is also capable of firing explosive rounds. But if you don't like those, it also fires incendiary rounds, tear gas rounds, knockout gas rounds, smoke rounds, shotgun rounds, or the regular bullets if you're boring." He quickly demonstrated each of the different types of rounds, and it amazed the Guardian Corps as to how that many different types of rounds could fit in there. Hope inwardly grinned at all of the open mouths before him, and the envious look the lower ranked privates shot at their superiors. They had wanted this.

"If you're thinking this may make the gunblade more complicated or delicate, you'd be wrong. It's made from a composite material of adamantite, tetrahedron, and uranite. The right ratio leads to a very durable metal that retains a relatively lightweight. And I've designed it from the ground up with soldiers in mind, and I know that you guys hate sloppy or complicated maintenance." Hope's mind flashed to his memories of Lightning constantly disassembling and cleaning her gunblade many nights when the gang would stop and rest for the night.

Hope ended his demo with once again demonstrating the explosive rounds—the army buffs really liked that one.

"So how many would you like? I can cut you a decent deal on them. This is cutting edge tech, and it makes whatever you have now look like an antique."

"Not so fast, Estheim. We're gonna have to field test this before we commit to anything," said one of the higher ranking officers.

"No problem…I've got ten with me. Go crazy. You'll be calling me back soon enough."

Hope turned to retrieve the other gunblades from his car, with the help of his driver. As Hope reached in he heard someone say "Lieutenant Farron! Please step forward."

Hope stopped mid-reach. His throat suddenly went dry. So…She is here, he thought. He took a deep breath, and composed himself. He grabbed a case from the car, and turned around. Before him stood Lightning.

Hope soon found himself smiling. He didn't intend to, but his face moved without his brain's command. He didn't see her before. She must've been somewhere in the back or showed up late—but it didn't really matter at this point. She was still as beautiful as he remembered. Her pink hair went well with her creamy skin. Her lips seemed to shine a little bit, and it immediately caught his eyes. Her eyes were a brilliant azure, and they were as piercing as ever. She didn't seem to change at all, except her rank, which he had noticed.

"Estheim…This is Lieutenant Farron. She is one of our best soldiers. And one of the most proficient at using the gunblade," said one of the top brass.

Hope extended his hand, and so did she. Their hands enveloped each others, and he squeezed lightly. She squeezed back harder.

"Hello there…Nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Farron" said Hope with a mischievous smirk.

"It's Lieutenant Farron, Mr. Estheim," she quipped back, also with a small smirk. It would have been more expressive, but Lightning remembered she wouldn't show this side of her in front of everyone in the Corps.

"Right," Hope smiled back.

"So, Farron, is this kid's gunblade as good as he says it is?" asked one of the generals.

Lightning picked up the gunblade with one hand, holding it out as if to test its balance. It seemed to rest fine on her fingers without dipping to either side when she tried to balance it. She then flipped it up into the air, and caught it with her right hand, taking a few diagonal slashes with it. It really is as light as he says, she thought. Then, she tried her hand at a few jabs and stabs with it. One of the privates brought over a dummy that Lightning decided to test the electrical current out on. With the press of the trigger, the blade flowed with power, and it honestly made the dummy look like it had been made of paper. Just like Sparkstrike, she deduced. She then switched to gun mode, and tested the various rounds. It held more ammo than her she originally thought, and wondered what shape the rounds were in to conserve space.

"Well, Lieutenant?"

"Not bad…For an Estheim weapon."

"Excuse her, kid, she's pretty fond of her current gunblade," replied the general, alluding to the weapon strapped into Lightning's holster. Hope noticed it had a dark colored blade, and upon looking at it further, realized it was the Enkindler. Specifically, the Enkindler that Hope himself helped Light to customize, all those years ago. Either she must really like it, or it has held up VERY well over the years, he thought. A strange feeling welled up inside him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he quickly dismissed it (yet again). Now wasn't the time for strange feelings—the time for that was three years ago.

Hope had conversed for some more with the high ranking officials, tying up loose ends and transferring the rest of the gunblades to them. Lightning would hold on to hers in order to field test it. Soon enough, the soldiers returned to their deployment vehicles and Hope to his own car.

"Lieutenantt. Farron, ride with Mr. Estheim," said one of the Captains of the group. He then turned to Hope and said "She'll be your escort until we make it to Cocoon. We'll form up around your car. You'll be safe with her around."

Wonderful, Hope thought. He thought about what he would say to her in private. Would they stay silent for the relatively lengthy trip? Would she bring up that the last time she saw him, was essentially when he tried to confess his feelings to her? Hope entered the car first, with Lightning following him. She sat next to him, but there was only a space of a little under two feet between them. The convoy started to move out, four Guardian Corps vehicles moving perpendicular to Hope's sedan. After they had been moving for a few minutes, Hope decided to break the silence. He could only stare at his PDA, and she could only stare nonchalantly out the window for so long.

"It's nice to see you again, Light," he said with a smile.

Lightning turned to face him, his words sinking into her head. "Yes...Though it's been so long." She moved her hand to his shoulder, and lightly squeezed it. "But it's nice to see you too." Hope could have sworn she looked him in the eye at that comment, and that her gaze lingered for a second or two longer than expected. She broke off the eye contact, and her hand moved up to ruffle his hair. Whatever she may have been thinking was broken off by the gesture she had used to do to him a lot when he was younger.

"We've all missed you. It was like you fell off the face of Cocoon for a while there."

"Heh…In some ways, you're right…I've been very busy lately. I'm sorry I've fallen out of touch with everyone." Hope began to feel bad. He had grown so close to his group of friends, closer than some people would ever experience in their lives. But, in a moment of sadness, he took steps to distance himself. He didn't think that he would end up distancing himself from the rest of his friends—he only intended to move away from Lightning…

"It's ok. We hear a lot about you…From the news, of course. Or the tabloids."

"You shouldn't really read those. Good to start a fire, but that's about it."

"Oh, it's not me who reads them—Snow does. Yeah, I know. But I suppose it's a start, him reading and all…"

Hope let out a genuine laugh. He hadn't done that in years. Whenever he was with other wealthy socialites or other higher ups in Cocoon, he always had to force his laughter. Their jokes never made sense, or were never funny to begin with. There were countless dinner parties where all he wanted to do was eat and leave, but he had to stay to socialize with these snobby, extravagant people. He realized in that moment that he missed Lightning's brand of dry humor. He missed normal, regular, everyday people. He saw that she flashed him a small smile at this.

"I just got really involved with some many things, whether it be school, a job, or this company. I know I have to catch up with you all sometime. But there is one thing I'd like to ask now…Snow and Serah…They're married now, right?"

"Yes, they are."

"Do they want to kill me? I really tried to make it, but…"

"Hm…Maybe not kill you, but I'm not going to lie to you. They were a bit disappointed."

Hope felt guilty again. He tried to schedule everything around their wedding. He really wanted to go and be there for the happy couple. However, Hope was just on the cusp of a radical new technology when their wedding was announced. He needed to work on it, or else he wouldn't be able to grasp this concept or idea again. It was a special type of reactor that gave out copious amounts of energy. If he could perfect it, it would lead to so much more, acting as a stepping stone of sorts. Truth be told, he did perfect it. And now he was working on something big. That reactor's creation led to what he was working on now—but was struggling to complete.

"Tell me about it. Please," asked Hope, his voice reflecting his inner turmoil.

"Of course…But…Don't beat yourself up over it. Should you have come? Yes. But that is the past now, and you can't change it." Lightning scooted over slightly, and put her hand on his chin, and pushed it up. Her fingers were so soft, for being a soldier's. "Chin up. All you can do now is make it up to them. And you're a good friend—they'll always forgive you. They would just like to see you again, is all. We all would like to." Hope felt better. He had missed this too about Lightning. She had a soothing effect on him, knowing what to do or say to calm him down or make him feel better. For the past couple of years, he had relied on work to take his mind off of everything. He had relied on drowning himself in it so he didn't have the time or energy to care about anything else. But it was nice to have someone care for him for once. He would have someone to lean on. He was being reminded of why he fell in love with her in the first place…

"Thanks, Light…" Hope said. Lightning took her hand off his chin, and gave him a reassuring smile. Over the next hour or so, she recounted every single detail of the wedding. Hope took in every single word that left her velvety lips, and he hung onto every one. He was very attentive, and her attention to detail made him almost feel like he was there too. Lightning's story was only interrupted once, by a transmission she received on her earpiece. Apparently, there were a dozen or so Adamantoises crossing their route, and to avoid being trampled to death, the convoy had to take a drastically different route around the herd. The detour would add more time to their travel, and especially so because the new route was over rough terrain, which would be difficult to traverse at a high speed. Hope did not mind, he liked not having to worry about work, and he was able to hear about the wedding.

"Sounded like fun…So Light, did you actually wear a dress? Dance?" Hope had asked with a smirk.

Lightning crossed her arms in front of her chest, and then closed her eyes seemingly in disgust. "Unfortunately. But I managed to avoid dancing."

Hope smiled at the thought of this. He didn't mean to, but he automatically did. She didn't dance with another guy, he thought…But then he had to do a double take. He dismissed the thought again—he had been doing that a lot lately. If Light wanted to dance with another guy, she should. She could. He didn't have a say. Not like they were romantically linked or anything, he said to himself. There shouldn't be any time or space for thoughts like these, he thought. Stay strong, he said to himself. He was going to will romantic thoughts away.

"We've talked a lot about me, and the others. But what about you? What have you been up to?" inquired Hope.

"There isn't much to say about me. I'm the same. I'm a Lieutenant now, that's about the only change."

"You don't live with Serah and Snow…do you?" asked Hope, wondering how awkward that would be if she said yes.

"Oh God, no. I moved into my own place before the wedding. I didn't want to get in between them. I have my own apartment in Bodum now."

"By yourself?"

"Yes," she answered quickly, almost reminding herself how lonely it could get. Hope picked up on this. "I'm sure you could find a roommate. Look online or something."

"No…I don't want to live with a stranger. Besides, I'm usually on the base a lot, so I really only sleep there most of the time."

"Assume you're still working yourself crazy then?"

"Heh…I could say the same about you, you know." She was right, Hope thought. They were both in the same boat: workaholics. Only difference was that he went out and lived an extravagant life in his free time, while she lived alone. He felt sad for her. While their lives looked different on the surface, they were both alone. Hope just decided to fill the void with the frills of life.

"They're talking about giving me more of break, less work and all. We'll see. Still a lot of work to do on this," she said, referencing the new gunblade by her side.

"It really is quite a work. I'm impressed. I'm proud too. You came up with this, and it takes a lot to improve what already works fine. You went outside the box—I don't think I ever could."

"Thanks, Light." There she went again, making him feel good, he thought. He wasn't going to fall in love with her again, that much he thought was sure—but she did a good job of reeling him back in.

As a comfortable silence fell between them, the convoy suddenly stopped. They were informed that one of the vehicles received a flat tire from running on the rough terrain for so long. Hmmph, maybe I should work on some kind of vehicle for them too, Hope said in his head. His thoughts were interrupted by a yell of "Look OUT!" and copious amounts of gunfire. Hope looked around to the source for the Corps aggression—he didn't find it, at least not on land, but in the air.

"Hope! Get back in the car!" yelled Lightning. Hope did as he said, but looked out the window when he was safely inside. In the air, Hope saw a swarm of Svarogs. At least ten that he could see. They were diving at the now stalled convoy. Guns were ablaze as they fired volley after volley at the swarm. Hope wanted to help, but he was useless now that he couldn't cast magic. He would also use his own new Raikiri, but the Corps had all of them. He heard the familiar bang of the gun part of the gunblade, and was glad they were being put to use. Can't get any more authentic field combat experience than this, he thought. The gunblades were working perfectly, but the soldiers couldn't aim worth a damn. Gunblades were meant for the experienced—it looks like the privates were eager to test them, and very few of them were proficient in its use. Lightning only seemed to be the capable one. She had managed to land several shots, and even killed one. However, the inexperienced soldiers kept missing the swift Svarogs as they filtered through the air, dodging and weaving around the explosions. Hope also saw that they started picking off some of the soldiers, one by one…

Lightning ran over the Hope's car, and he opened the window. Her forehead glistened with sweat as she fired off several rounds in between orders.

"Get out of here! Follow the ridge to a lake, then head north for a few kilometers! We'll hold them off! We're signaling for back up!"

Before Hope could protest, time froze for a second. He heard the Svarog before he actually saw it. It was bellowing roars and diving. Right for Lightning. In an instant, he flung open the door, and pulled her in. Lightning was surprised that she didn't notice the winged beast, and that Hope reacted so sharply. Had it been any other time, they both would have been embarrassed that Lightning was on top of Hope in the backseat, straddling him, her body essentially melting into his own.

The Svarog was not happy that its meal had been stolen from him, and now that he was close to the ground, right next to the car, he tried to fit his head in through the comparatively tiny window. The frame of the door buckled as this monster tried to force its way in. Over the crinkling and crackling of metal, Hope could only hear gunfire and the screams of men. What happened next was inconceivable. The landed Svarog took off to the air, and dove one again, but this time with its second head. It cut through the first half of the car, driver and all. Hope and Lightning remained compressed in the back part of the vehicle—the front half had been swallowed whole.

The Svarog was shot down, but as soon as it died, another one swooped down on the half eaten car, and now picked up the considerably lighter vehicle. Lightning shielded Hope with her body, refusing to let the monster pick him apart. The monster scooped the car up in his mouth, and took off into the sky. The duo couldn't believe this was happening: the Svarog was carrying them away, and quickly! Before them in the gaping hole of what was remaining of the car, they were able to look straight down the fiend's throat. The smell was worse, if anything.

They remained in the air for who knows how long—it felt like an eternity. Lightning shot out the rear window, and looked out—they were far from the rest of the convoy, and high off the ground.

"Hope, can we survive from this height?" asked a frantic Lightning. Hope looked out the window, and guesstimated the numbers—this car was constructed from his design, and had a roll cage (which the Svarog had conveniently eaten half of).

"It's a long shot—but if we don't, he'll eat us first!"

"Right!" Lightning shouted. "Hold onto me! Don't let go no matter what!" Hope did as she said. If they survived, they could worry about the close proximity later. Lightning grabbed her Raikiri and switched it to gun mode, then selected an incendiary round. She aimed right down the throat of the Svarog, and right before she pulled the trigger, thought "This will hurt."

The Svarog let out a monstrous wail, and released its grip. Lightning saw as they descended that the monster was descending too, and just as rapidly as them. Lightning weaved her arms around Hope, and he did the same. They both buried their faces into each other's shoulders, wanting this to end. The initial impact with the ground was thunderous, and it hurt too. What they didn't expect was the numerous rolls that followed. The wreckage of the car rolled down a ridge, gaining speed at first, but eventually slowing down. Both of their eyes were closed, but the vertigo they felt from the rapid movements remained. Through this, their clutch on each other tightened. The car eventually came to a stop, miraculously in mostly one piece—due to the strength and design of the roll cage. Hope opened his eyes, and looked at Lightning. Lightning opened her eyes and looked at Hope.

"Hope." "Light." They both spoke at the same time, before their eyelids fell. Their lifeless bodies lay still, remaining in an embrace.


A/N: Didn't think this chapter would run to this length. Oh well, more to enjoy I suppose. I tried addressing the critique that the first chapter seemed rushed—let me know if this is any better.

Please review, and try your hand at your own Light/Hope fic.