Chapter 2: Mission Vanille

After the whole fiasco with Hope's back, the L'cie, and Nora, went on their way, Hope being carried by Snow. As they walked farther and farther the sun started to set and it started to rain, hard.

"Uh-oh, uh Fang, can we stop now, you know how dangerous it is in the dark don't you, and I'll bet it's not any better in the rain." Vanille said quietly.

"I'm not sure I want to find out, especially with shaky over here in my arms", Snow added looking down at the now shaking Hope, who happened to stop for a minute to glare at him. "Why are you shaking anyway, it's just a little storm?"

"…I…I…" Hope stammered looking at his mother for help, "I…um…" he said.

"He's afraid of lightning" Nora finished taking a hold of Hope and keeping him close to her heart, "he always has been, ever since he was 2 years old".

"Don't worry kiddo, Lightning won't hurt you", Snow said, chuckling at his own joke, he only stopped when the person Lightning actually hit him, "Ouch! I think I'm getting afraid of it too."

"Stopping right now would be a good idea…", said Nora, "I wish my Bartholomew would appear right now, I'd probably be in his safe arms, Hope right next to me, and he would be telling us that it's okay, and that we're safe as long as he's here. Oh Bartholomew …where are you…?" Nora looked around her only to see that now everyone was staring at her strangely, even Hope, who knew how safe it was to be in his fathers' arms.

"…Alright we can stop for the night, but if you think I'm sleeping in the rain, you've got another thing coming", Fang shouted as she grew more irritated with every step, for unlike all the others, she and Nora had open toed shoes, and she doesn't like to get tem muddy.

"Look!" Sazh yelled over the rain, "there's a cave over there, we can sleep there tonight! Come on guys, there's no time to waste…literally".

They all rushed to the cave and set up camp, once they finished, Vanille went to go look for more fire wood while the rest of them sat around the campfire.

"HELP ME! HELP! HOPE!" Vanille screamed an hour later.

"VANILLE!" Hope screamed back, getting up he started to go after her, but was stopped by Snow and everyone else, "What are you guys DOING! We have to go after her, now!" He yelled at them all.

Just then Nora stepped up and pushed him down, not harshly, but just enough to knock him down, "you are staying here mister!" She snapped at him, "you're back has yet to heal fully, and I'll be darned if my little man is going out there like that, don't worry, Sazh will stay with you, and we'll bring Vanille back, I promise".

Sazh looked at her, about to reject when he caught her glare and thought better of it, Hope however wouldn't give this fight up, "NO! I'm not letting Vanille be in trouble and me not save her as well, I want to help, and besides, she called for me, so I'm going, you can stay here though, I would be open to that," he argued standing up again.

"No you're NOT!" Nora snapped getting closer, "you'll stay right here, or else" she then grabbed his boomerang, "or else I'll take your boomerang for a week!"

"HEY! That's not fair, I need that to fight…" Hope grumbled sadly. He then looked behind him in the direction Vanilles' scared voice had come from, looked back at his mother, and sat down in the dirt with nothing more than a little dust cloud, and a plop.

"Good!" Nora said triumphantly, giving him the boomerang and turning back to the others, "alright let's go! Oh, Sazh", she added turning toward him as he walked to the defeated Hope who sat pouting on the floor, "take care of him please, don't let him leave".

Sazh nodded, then tried to comfort the miserable looking boy who was now glaring at a pebble, Nora then went back to Hope, cupped his chin in her hand, and had him look up at her, "I know it's hard to let other people go, but I'm not gonna lose you to whatever's out there, if something ever happened to you especially, I don't know what I'd do, do you understand?" She said comfortingly.

Hope looked up at her for a moment, looked down and smiled a little, "…ok…but you'd better come back before an hour passes, or I'm coming after you no matter what you say, alright?" Nora nodded, knowing she couldn't talk him out of that one and sure that she would come back before then, she kissed him on the head, tickled his tummy, and then she, Lightning, Fang, and Snow went to look for Vanille.