Lightning was now standing in a dark room looking at eight dimly lit televisions. "Is this what Hope thinks of us...how could he think this...we're his family?" She walked to the other side of the room to another door this one automatically slid open upon her approach.
She walked out and upon her approach she felt a arctic breeze and shivered. "What happened to the nice dry desert?" She said unamused. She trekked for what seemed like hours until some of the snow gave out on her and she fell in a hole.
"Ugh dammit Hope..." She got up and looked up about 15 feet she couldn't jump back up she would have to follow this tunnel.
The pink haired warrior started decending the tunnel pointed icicles were stuck to the roof threatening to skewer her somehow some light was down here but she wasn't sure where it was coming from.
"HOLY SHIT." She looked around and backed behind a corner quite quickly and a verse from his journal echoed back to her.
"I wonder the dark halls wondering about all I've betrayed as I look up I see they're faces affixed upon Cie'th they look at me and cry only one word...Revenge."
Lightning poked her head out and saw the faces of Vanille,Fang,Sazh,Snow,Nora,Bartholomew and her fixed upon seven Cie'th they're faces were crystallized but still you could tell who they were easily.
"Shit what am I gonna do I'm unarmed...gonna have to sneak by them..." She thought to herself. She crouched and moved slowly hugging the walls her eyes locked on the cie'th. The Cie'th let out a gigantic roar and turned towards Lightning who then ran for the door on the opposite end of the tunnel. The cie'th chased with incredible speed saying only one word "Revenge."
She was almost at the door when she felt a cie'ths fist graze her back and she dove for the door running up a flight of carpeted steps and into what looked like a living room. She looked back and as the cie'th tried to pass into it they distegrated.
Lightning sat on one of the couches panting. "God dammit Hope why do you have to have such a vivid immagination?" She said out loud. She heard foot steps walking down the stairs and she looked up to see Nora and Bartholomew Estheim walking down the steps side by side she looked to the other side of the room and Hope was standing there bloodied and beaten.
"Hope!" Lightning called out and she ran to him but when she tried to grab him her hands just fazed through.
"An illusion..." She said in a choked up voice she thought she was so close to saving him but it was hopeless.
The illusion continued to play though as if she wasn't there. "Hope! you got beat up again at school!" His Father growled.
"Y..Yes Dad" Hope replied sounding terrified. "What a weakling!" His Mother laughed. Hope covered his ears and fell down on his hands and knees and screamed and everything faded away and Lightning found herself sitting in a tunnel once again.
Lightning continued down a corridor and went up a flight of metal stairs and came out onto a clearing in the desert once again. "The desert again...great better than the blizzard I suppose..." Lightning walked for hours and collapsed she was so thirsty and was ready to die from dehydration she was going in and out of conciousness and flash backs from the journal haunted her once again.
"I walked through the desert the sand buffeting my skin I was so thirsty I collapsed I cried out to my friends to no avail no one came to help me and I knew what to do I had to say...I had to say..."
The words escaped Lightning it was her only chance for survival but she couldn't say them she would never admit that never her mind started racing with thoughts "NEVER I'LL NEVER ADMIT THAT I'LL NEVER EVEN THINK IT!" and a smaller voice came into her mind Hopes voice he was crying calling for help... Lightning swallowed her pride and said the words.
"I Claire Farron am weak..." And just like that she felt renewed she got up without any trouble and continued walking thinking about what she just said...no admitted to herself.