Part One: Stretch of Shadow

"All right, let's go!" Hope decided to take charge, gesturing for Vanille to follow.

"Don't take any turns!" Sazh called after them. "Make sure you know your way back here!"

"If you don't seem to be getting anywhere, come back!" Snow added.

Vanille's fingers found his own, and he blinked at her in surprise as she said simply, "So we don't get separated."

"Uh…right," he agreed, nodding. He was grateful for the darkness that was probably doing a marvelous job at hiding the flush in his cheeks right now. They didn't walk far before encountering the patiently waiting Chocobo, and the great avian chirped at them before proceeding to strut onward. Hope gingerly took one of its tail feathers in his other hand.

Over his shoulder, he told his female companion, "Would you mind lighting a fire?"

"Oh!" Vanille opened her palm and let a Fire spell materialize, its orange glow illuminating as much of the shadows as it dared. Hope half expected to see the gleam of hundreds of eyes above them, but luckily the corridor was empty, devoid of life besides themselves.

This holding hands thing is really unnecessary…

Vanille hummed behind him, her song bouncing off of the walls.

But I really don't mind, I guess. If it makes her feel better.

Usually Vanille and Lightning were the ones reassuring him. He couldn't thank the Gran Pulsian enough though, for helping him through the events that had happened after his mother had died. Even if they had ended up as L'Cie partially because of her, if it hadn't happened that way, he'd not have met his new friends. Maybe, in the long run, the whole L'Cie thing would turn out okay.

Optimism was a good thing, right?

He watched the dancing shadows formed by the firelight as they flickered across his Brand. It had developed a nasty red symbol that made his skin crawl just by looking at it.

"Did you hear that?" Vanille asked after a few minutes had passed.

"What?"

"I thought I heard something. Like a distorted echo." She looked behind her, her green eyes tracing the darkness. But there was nothing there except for the tunnel's usual stretch of shadow.

Hope shook off his paranoia, putting on a nonchalant smile. "If the Chocobo isn't worried, we don't need to be."

The bird clacked its beak, walking straight forward.

"You're right," Vanille dipped her head, grinning. "I just hope this tunnel doesn't go on forever."

"Me too." Hope paused, and then came to a stop, groaning. His Chocobo gave an indignant squawk.

"What's wrong?"

"The ceiling was only shaky where we came down at…couldn't we have gotten our Eidolons to dig us out somewhere else?"

"Maybe. But these tunnels aren't tall enough for Alexander or Hecatoncheir."

Tapping his chin, Hope muttered, "Light and the others could have used theirs—above ground."

Vanille huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "A bit late for that now, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Guess so." Heaving a deep sigh, he watched the Chocobo as it tugged itself free and pressed on, staring at them from over its broad shoulders.

"It wants us to follow!" Vanille exclaimed, making to brush past him. Hope grabbed her wrist to stop her, and she narrowed her eyes slightly in response. "What's the matter?"

"We should go back and tell the others to dig us out somewhere else," he pointed out. "We'll move down the tunnels, and—"

An impatient huff came from the Chocobo, pausing just within the Fire spell's radiance. It stamped its huge talons and murmured irritably at the dawdling L'Cie.

"See? Chocobos are smart birds, I trust it." Smiling at him in a placating fashion, she once more tried to set off after the avian. Hope tightened his grip, and this time he quelled just a little as annoyance flashed in her pale emerald gaze.

"Vanille, really, we should go back."

"What about the Chocobo? We just can't leave it here!"

"It can either return with us or go where we're going," he stated firmly. He tugged on her arm this time, and Vanille yanked herself free, the fire in her other palm flaring brightly.

"We'll be okay. I promise." Her tone softened. "Besides, I don't think the Eidolon thing could work."

"Why not?" Hope growled, frustrated with her stubbornness. The Chocobo sighed and plopped itself down to wait.

"A lot of reasons. Weight, the strength of the ceiling, we might even have to walk way out into the plains underground to find sturdier land. And then how will they know exactly where we are?"

He considered that. "There's a way."

Vanille huffed, hands on her hips. "We'll follow the Chocobo first, and if that doesn't work out, then we'll do things your way. Okay?"

"Fine." He knew it was childish, but when Vanille offered him her hand again, he ignored her and stalked off after an infuriatingly smug looking Chocobo.

And in this fashion, they delved deeper and deeper into the tunnels.

~*X*~

Hope wondered about how long they had been walking.

There were no landmarks, no way to tell how far they had gotten. His feet were beginning to hurt a bit, and more than once he stumbled over a hidden rock that Vanille's fire didn't properly illuminate. After the third almost-trip, he called flames to his own hands and poured more energy into the spell than she had, so that everything seemed to glow bright orange.

In response, she put hers out by closing her fist. He tried to ignore the concern radiating out from her in waves.

What is she worried about, anyway?

His question was soon answered.

"Aw, you're not mad at me, are you?" Vanille skipped up to his side and leaned a little closer to peer at his face.

Hope glanced at her before shrugging, his gaze on the ground. "No, not really. I just…We're taking a big chance here."

"It's not any worse than—" Vanille abruptly cut herself off, and he turned back to her in surprise.

"What's the matter?"

She raised one hand, which was trembling a bit, pointing behind him. "L-L-Look!"

He whirled back around and his eyes shot wide open. The Chocobo had lifted into the air, struggling to make a sound as some gigantic…monstrous…thing that was just beyond his Fire spell's light hefted it high.

Vanille wasted no time. Her Binding Rod found its way into her hands and she brandished it whilst exclaiming, "Firaga!"

The flames burst brilliantly forward, clearly showing the pair of L'Cie a Behemoth of some sort. It was brawny, black-scaled, and standing on its hind legs. Every limb was as thick as a tree trunk. It took the hit like it was nothing, opening its maw wide—

"Vanille! Run!" Hope grabbed her arm and dragged her with him back the way they had come.

"But the Chocobo—"

He just shook his head. It took at least three of them to take down a Behemoth of practically any kind, but with just the two of them…it wasn't even a Behemoth that he recognized, either, and Lightning was the one with the Librascopes.

They heard the mortifying thump of a carcass hitting the earth, followed by a victorious roar that echoed up and down and all around the tunnels like the battle cry of a fiend from Hell.

Hope swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat as he imagined the mutilated state of the Chocobo's body. How had the avian not heard the approach of the Behemoth? Were there more down here?

Vanille seemed to regain her composure then, because she took the lead, pounding quickly through the passageway with a Fire spell springing into life beside her. "We'll be cornered!" She told him, her tone grimmer than he had ever heard.

He understood what she was saying. Once they reached the cave-in at the end of the tunnel, they'd have no choice but to face the Behemoth that was rampaging behind them. The battle would be ludicrously risky what with the shaky ceiling found in that area.

That meant they had a few choices. Hope chose one.

Pulling her to a standstill, he pushed the female behind him and flipped his boomerang open. Firelight gleamed all along its metallic surface as he gripped it tightly. "We'll have to fight it!"

"There might be other turns—" She began, but he cut off her off.

"We could end up getting lost down here if we go somewhere else, like Sazh said." Hope's heart thundered loudly as the ominous wumph of heavy paws grew ever closer. The Behemoth wasn't very fast. "I-If we have to, we'll run away again. We're not exactly cornered."

"What do you want me to do?" Vanille asked after a brief pause. This time the monster was a noticeable shape that shifted nearer with every passing second.

Odd how she was turning to him for advice now, like he was the leader. Back when they had first met, he had been the one listening to her orders. "Heal when necessary."

She nodded resolutely. "Okay." Shifting into her battle stance, she twirled her Binding Rod as the Behemoth bellowed.

Hope paced towards it, watching the gleam of red that was its eyes. They were far….far…far…above the ground. The thing's head must have almost touched the ceiling!

He took a leaf out of Fang's book. "Give it your best shot!"

The Behemoth didn't seem fond of that taunt, and it charged with a bone-chilling howl.

~*X*~

"Damn it," Lightning hissed, pacing back and forth and back and forth around the crumpled heap of debris that was the site of the cave-in. Fang was watching her with raised eyebrows whilst Sazh and Snow were reluctant to intrude on the ex-soldier's musings.

Who would have guessed that the rockier section of the Archylte Steppe housed a hidden series of underground tunnels? She wouldn't have thought of such a thing. Why would it collapse now, of all times, when there were much heavier things like Adamantoises wandering around?

"We should start digging, carefully." Sazh decided. "See where the ground collapsed here? I'm sure we can create a hole big enough for the two of them to fit through."

Snow circled the sloping mound. "Without the proper tools…could be a little difficult."

This was a massive understatement. There was so much dirt and rocks clogging up the hole that it would be nearly impossible to excavate properly. Magic might have made it easier, but then again, Vanille was the one with the Earth Eidolon.

Lightning ignored him, or at least it looked like she did to Fang.

At long last Fang said, "There's two ways we can do this. We can dig right here, or the lot of us can move and try to dig somewhere else."

The female solider paused, considering a few factors. She replied without looking, "Let's get to work."

Snow opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment, from the small gaps that dotted the cave-in location, a mighty growl echoed dimly from within the confines. He and Sazh grimaced.

Lightning glared at everyone, her scowl lingering on Snow—(he was fluent in Meaningful Glower)—before jumping to work.

~*X*~

Hope hit the cavern wall hard. Stars popped into existence before his eyes, and the world became black around the edges. Blood was running down his torso in shining rivulets, and his chest ached horribly. Regardless, he staggered to his feet and called on a Thunder-based spell of potent power.

The Behemoth seemed to be immune to everything. No matter what magical attack he tried, it bounced off of its dark hide without any effect. It was on all fours now, prowling towards him and ignoring Vanille.

That was good.

Healing magic suffused his body, swiftly healing him before the beast could strike again. Hope darted to the side to avoid a slow, staggeringly strong swipe from the Behemoth's claws. It snapped its huge jaws in agitation.

They couldn't keep doing this. He wasn't built appropriately to play Sentinel, of all things. He was too young, his pain tolerance definitely wasn't that high—(he had a newfound respect for Snow and Fang)—and he lacked the physical strength to counter properly.

His eyes roved everywhere as he ducked and dodged in an attempt to keep out of the Behemoth's reach. Vanille was faithfully keeping two Fire spells burning constantly at her side, though he knew the magical exertion must have been heavily taxing. Their fleeing from earlier had brought them to a previous tunnel that was wider and taller than the rest, hence why Hope had thought it would make a decent battle arena if need be.

And then…

Hope focused on an array of spiky shapes clinging to the ceiling.

Stalactites!

He had an idea, but it could go horribly, horribly wrong. He really didn't want to do this, but he had no choice but to put Vanille directly into the path of danger.

It made his stomach twist and his heart knot up into a little tangle.

"Vanille!" He called, grateful for the fact that the Maker had at least constructed this particular Behemoth has a giant amongst giants—that just happened to move slowly.

Her green eyes found his, anxious, obviously unhappy about his command to heal him and do nothing else. All in the interest of conserving her magic, naturally. (And so she wouldn't attract the Behemoth's attention.)

"Can you maneuver—" He ducked and rolled to the side to avoid a paw that nearly knocked his head from his shoulders. Reassuming his former position on his feet, he backpedalled rapidly, trying to finish his sentence. The black Behemoth with the fiery scarlet eyes reared up on its hind legs and roared again.

To Hope surprise, the stalactites trembled on the ceiling. That was also good.

"What?" Vanille asked, flinging a Cure spell at him just in case. The green, glowing force did succeed in helping him catch his breath.

"Distract this thing! Can you get it under the stalactites?"

Even if she didn't know what the scientific name for the hanging rock spires were, it was clear what he wanted her to do since he gestured upwards at the same time. She blinked for a heartbeat before nodding. "Mmhmm!" A burst of high-level wind magic struck the Behemoth directly on the back of its head and she exclaimed mockingly, "I'm not all flowers and sunshine!"

The Behemoth's eyes narrowed and it turned away from Hope, charging at Vanille.

It did really strange things to his body to let the monstrosity hurtle towards her, but he ignored his own fears for the girl and brought his arm back.

There are some things you just do.

Vanille was light on her feet, almost dancing from side to side as the Behemoth sought to cleave her innards out. He was momentarily transfixed by her, but Hope redirected his gaze on the stalactites as she coaxed their adversary underneath the spiky stones on the ceiling.

Wait for it…

The Behemoth inched closer, its irritation causing it to shake. It might pull its saw out at any moment.

Wait for it…

The tribe girl retreated again, her taunts growing more and more colorful. The Behemoth's crimson stare was quite obviously capable of killing, if looks were lethal.

Now!

He hurled his boomerang with all of the strength in his teenaged body, and he watched its spiraling arc with bated breath. His aim was true, striking each and every one of the four stalactites. The wild animal bellowed again, and he gave a small smirk that would have made Lightning proud as the rock detached themselves from the roof of the cavern and shot down.

One after another, the large and heavy spires impaled the Behemoth. It thrashed in confused pain as they pierced its thick skin, gravity aiding in their power. Vanille hurriedly raced to his side, and they watched the hapless creature struggle to its feet.

Hope feared that their efforts had been in vain, because it might very well somehow regain its footing and come back at them. There was no way in Hell that they had a chance of defeating it alone, that much was clear.

However, after one more attempt to stand, it collapsed onto its stomach with a defeated sigh. All of the pointed cave rocks were shoved deeply into its flesh, and blood oozed out from it in a blackish-red pool.

Vanille exhaled slowly before smiling, her hands clapping together as she put away her weapon. "We did it, Hope!"

He uneasily surveyed their kill, in case it was all a ruse and the determined predator would again rise. However, after several seconds had passed and nothing happened, he grinned too. "Yeah, we did, didn't we?"

"Wow, wait 'till I tell Fang!" She giggled a bit and he folded his boomerang, stashing the thing in his back pocket.

"Let's get out of here," he decided. "If that," he inclined his head towards the prone form of the Behemoth. "Gets back up, I don't want to be anywhere near it."

Vanille wagged her finger at him. "Uh uh. We can't leave just yet!" At his blank expression, she went on. "We don't have anything to eat!"

It took several seconds for the realization to sink in. To really sink in. His mouth dried. "Oh no. You don't mean…"

She went over to the Behemoth and poked its side. He flinched, expecting the monster to pounce, but it was truly and surely dead. Its red eyes were vacant and glassy. "This is perfectly good meat right here! And we can use magic to cook it!"

He sighed, gloved fingers running through his platinum hair. "I can go without food for today."

"No way, Hope!" Vanille turned back to him, hands on her hips. "Don't be picky! We don't know how long we'll be down here anyways, and we should eat something while it's still fresh."

The Behemoth didn't look particularly appetizing. He didn't even want to imagine what the scaly, fatty skin on that thing even tasted like. Still, she had a point; he just didn't want to acknowledge it. "Can't we just eat the Chocobo?" He complained half-heartedly.

Eyes narrowing, she shook her head. "Of course not! In a way, it saved our lives. We should bury it, not eat it!"

"We are buried," Hope pointed our wryly, earning a playful slap on the shoulder from the tribe girl.

"Don't worry; you won't have to cook it or anything. I'll handle that. You just sit here and rest, okay?" She flashed him that smile that always made it impossible for him to say no, and he sat down with a sigh as she went back to the carcass.

He supposed she had a skinning knife or something on her. It was beyond him. All of the cooking and preparing animals business had been left to the two Oerban women ever since they had first set foot on Gran Pulse.

Though he was grateful to the Chocobo for revealing the presence of the Behemoth, he still thought it would properly be better to eat.

~*X*~

Snow was surprised, actually.

He sat there, breathing hard, his gloves stained brown with dirt. The sun was beginning to set, painting the horizon blood red and the verge of twilight proudly bore a single white star. They had decided to start digging—without Eidolons—at the cave-in site itself, since the dirt there was recently overturned and easier to move. Though Hope and Vanille had obviously gone, everyone firmly believed that they were either already on their way out, or that they'd be back sooner or later reporting a dead end or something.

The monster call from far within the tunnels had been silenced long ago.

They were making a lot of progress, in truth, to be going at their task manually without any shovels or what have you. The drop was far larger than even Fang had expected, and though Sazh and Snow worked as hard as they could, not even the two of them put together rivaled the amount of effort that Fang or Lightning put in on the children's behalves.

Sazh came over to Snow and murmured, "They should rest, at least for a little while before they wear themselves out."

He always was the voice of reason, but apparently the gun-wielding man wanted him to go tell the two determined women that.

Well. He was a hero.

Snow raised his voice and said casually, "Why don't you two take a break? We'll take over for now. You guys haven't—"

He hadn't even finished his sentence before Lightning snapped, "I'm not tired."

Sazh attempted to reason with her, but she would not be swayed.

Fang simply replied, "If it were Serah buried down there, would you stop to rest?"

Already knowing the answer to that, Snow went back to scooping earth behind him without anything else in way of a reply.

~*X*~

"Here," Vanille announced with a smile, offering Hope her handiwork. It was a square segment of Behemoth meat that had been cooked over a magically induced fire.

He took it reluctantly, his nose twitching as he tentatively smelled it. It had a kind of…hamburger-ish scent, and to his shock, the meat wasn't a strange color like green or black.

The tribe girl grinned at him, making a point of biting hers and chewing slowly, all the while giving him a meaningful look.

Hope thought a quick prayer to the Powers that Be before he nibbled it, very carefully, as if he was in danger of dying on the spot if he did something wrong. It had a rough texture and left a tingling heat behind in his mouth when he swallowed it.

"So?"

Shrugging, he continued to eat. "It's not as bad as I thought it'd be."

"At least there's a Water spell," Vanille remarked cheerfully, resting her back on the wall as she positioned herself beside him. "We're not going to dehydrate!"

The celebratory tone that she used made him chuckle.

"Funny?" She inquired, appearing flummoxed about why it would be.

"Nothing. You did really well today; I can't believe we beat that Behemoth!"

"Me neither," agreed the tribe girl happily. "You were so brave, taking that Behemoth on!"

"Yeah…well…" Hope lifted one shoulder and let it fall. "It was nothing."

"No, it was." She put her hand on his arm, her green gaze becoming serious. "You protected me. I really appreciate that. Thanks."

He felt a blush creep up on him. "N-No problem. Thank you for cooking and luring that Behemoth underneath the stalactites."

Vanille waved it off as nothing, yawning and staring up at the ceiling. "I hope Fang and the others are okay."

"Me too. Is Gran Pulse that dangerous at night?"

"It can be. But Fang knows what she's doing!"

To his ears, it sounded like she was trying to reassure them both. "You have a lot of faith in Fang, huh?"

She nodded, smiling. "Like you have, for Lightning."

He stared down at his hands. "That obvious, is it?"

"Yep! But don't worry, everyone needs a role model. Fang's mine, and my sister, in a way."

"…Light's mine, and my mother, in a way."

That quieted her. Vanille said nothing for a handful of seconds, and then she murmured, "I'm very sorry about your mom, in case I didn't say so before."

His heart ached but he locked the pain away and ignored it. "Smile. It's okay. I'm fine."

"If you say so," she yawned again. She reclined slightly on her side and rested her head on his shoulder. This time he was certain his face was burning red, but her eyes were closed and she seemed to be already fast asleep.

This was further proven by the magical fireball flickering out, and Hope slowly put one of his arms around her before closing his eyes himself.

Even in the darkness of the underground tunnels that winded their way beneath the Archylte Steppe, they found no shadows in their dreams.

Author's Note: What's up people? XD Thanks for the reviews so far! Expect even more fluff later, but this chapter was me actually experimenting with writing fight scenes. Probably a fail. Anyway, mind dropping a review? Next part will be up soon!