I already have another chapter! You all left me such wonderful reviews! First, to those I can't directly contact:
Naoto7- So true! But he'll make it somehow! Lightning is there for him after all!
Hope's Light- Yes, and a very important one. And yes, during that instance. But he was just telling him that it wasn't him...well...torturing him. I'm sorry of that part was confusing!
HopexLightning- Thank you! I'm glad you'll still like it! Hopefully...it will get better...
HopexLight4ever- Hope is definitely on the wrong side. But now that a few things are out in the open...and Lightning is there, something has to get better!
In Light There's Hope :3- He is...I really don't give you guys very light chapters do I? But I'm glad you all enjoy it, thank you!
Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! They made me very happy, and I hope I can continue to deliver. But I don't think I'll be too worried! You give me a lot of support and I'm really grateful. So thank you again! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! It's a slight change in pace...
Disclaimer goes here.
…............................................
Sun shined brightly through the windows, the birds chirped loudly as they flew across the sky, and inside the others were huddled in Hope and Snow's room. The aftermath of last night had wound up with them all crowding inside the room , doing their best to take care of Hope. Eventually they all wound up sleeping in the room, Lightning holding Hope as she leaned against the bed's headboard, and Serah and Snow curled with one another on Snow's bed.
Hope slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the light that came pouring in. He sighed, trying not to notice the pain his muscles were in as he tried to crawl out of bed. He glanced down at the pair of arms that were holding on to him and smiled slightly. Leaning into Lightning's hold one more time, he gave her arms a squeeze before crawling out of bed. He bit his lip, holding back a swirl of curse words when he stubbed his toe on the end table, then eased his way out.
"Thanks you guys...for everything..." Hope whispered, looking at them all and taking in the scene before closing the door as quietly as he could. They've done so much...the least I can do is let them sleep for a while.
Hope sighed and walked around the house, tracing his way back to the field he had been in the night before. He looked back at the house, easily seen from the field, and felt grateful that it wasn't so far from the house. What would have happened if it was?
Hope closed his eyes, tilting his head toward the sky and basking in the warmth. But he could still feel the chill of the night and the terror those hands had caused him. He couldn't understand what was happening...everything was a mess. And the words...the words still haunted him.
Haunted him...because a part of him wanted it. And more than anything...that scared him.
"What do I do now?" Hope asked aloud, knowing there would be no answer, "Mom...dad...where am I supposed to go?"
The chirping birds were his only answer...
I guess...I could try it...
"If what happened last night means anything...then I should still be able to..." Hope mumbled, holding out his hand and concentrating on Alexander. A familiar light and warmth spread throughout his body, making his skin tingle. He had never tried to talk to Alexander like this before...but he needed to do something.
"Alexander....are you there?" Silence greeted his words and Hope began to berate himself for thinking it would work. Just when he was about to break the connection, he heard the low rumble of his Eidolon.
"Be wary...."
"What? Alexander why?"
"Do not connect with me...she can get to you..."
"Who...? Who?"
"You must not fall..."
And just like that, the connection was broken. Hope gripped his head as it gave a painful throb, trying to make sense of the message. It had lasted barely seconds but it left his mind racing. He tried not to get too confused with all the possibilities and meanings...but Hope could be sure of one thing.
It was yet another thing he had no control over.
"Dammit!" He shouted in frustration, throwing his hands into the air. There was a loud, resounding crash and the ground around him was scorched in a quick flash of light. Hope blinked, staring at the flaming and dead grass, and could think of only one thing.
Lightning.
"Great, so I can still do that?" Hope said, rolling his eyes. His sadness had not yet abated, but it was quickly being overcome with anger and annoyance. None of this made any sense. All he was doing was going in circles or waiting for somebody else to give him the answers. He couldn't actually seek them out himself and it was beyond frustrating. It was maddening! He wanted something he could do! Just pour himself into, whether it be another big bad or some poor creature that had the misfortune of crossing his path. Something he could really rip into, resolve some of his pent up emotions.
He blinked.
He was on Gran Pulse, haven of all manner of hostile dangerous animals just itching for a fight.
Duh.
He ran back to the house, found his trusty boomerang, and started his trek toward Gran Pulse, eager for a fight.
…............................
Snow followed the bobbing head of platinum blond locks as it traveled through the fields of Gran Pulse. When he saw Hope come in for his boomerang he knew something was up, so he made sure to follow him (stealthily of course) and was now hiding behind one of the rather large rock formations. He watched as Hope took out yet another pack of dogs (he couldn't quite recall their name) and felt his hairs stand on end, even once the blizzaga spell had dispersed. It had been like this for hours and Snow was debating whether or not he should go in and stop Hope before he killed himself...
Fwoosh!
"Rargh!"
Or half of Gran Pulse's beast population...
Hope, however, was slowing down a bit. He was bent double, hands resting on his knees, and he glared at one of the corpses he had made. Then he screamed, a scream filled with anger and something else...something sad...and it made Snow cringe. But then Hope let out a fury of spells, going so far as to unleash a Last Resort. Snow squinted his eyes against the onslaught, but saw the beasts around Hope in heaps on the ground once it all cleared.
Remind me not to mess with him again...
Deciding that enough was enough, Snow marched but of his hiding spot and stood just behind Hope. The boy jumped and whipped around, a fire spell at the ready, but immediately deflated at the sight of Snow.
"Hey..." he said gloomily, letting himself fall to the ground.
"Hey!" Snow sat beside Hope, watching the horizon with mild interest. "See you're off depopulating Gran Pulse. I gotta say, you're making pretty good progress."
"Snow..."
"But I'm sure there are better things you could be doing."
"Like what?" Hope said through gritted teeth,
Snow opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately, trying to think of what to say. But Hope grasped the silence and continued. "Besides...this helps. I have...something I can fight. A target. It feels like I'm actually doing something. I haven't had that...in a long time."
"But there's gotta be a better way to do it. I mean...it's not like this will fix anything."
"I know that..."
"We just have to get into a normal routine."
"What normal routine?" Hope spat, glaring at Snow, "We've been on the run for the past few months. We destroyed Orphan! My father is dead! Cocoon is in a panic because of the people that have died, and the Sanctum being a mess, and their whole way of living having been upturned! Nothing about this is normal and you want to try and find something...something...so-"
"Hey now."
"No! Because we can't just do that! I can't...I can't...I-I need..."
"Closure." Both Snow and Hope jumped at the new voice and turned to see Lightning. She stood stern, her arms crossed and glaring at the two of them. "Why are you two out here?"
"O-Oh...Hey sis."
"Don't you hey sis me. If you knew where Hope was going, why didn't you stop him?"
"Well I-"
"Whatever. What's done is done." Lightning interrupted, striding over to them. She paused in front of Hope and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure it out Hope...but we have to be patient...We will get answers though...I'll make sure of it." She turned to Snow, "Way to go hero."
"Aw...but I tried."
"Yeah...you just came at the wrong time." She shook her head and looked back at Hope, "I know you're frustrated...believe me. But...you can't go rushing into danger. Even if you can handle that." She glanced around at all the corpses, "That doesn't mean that's how you deal with your problems."
Hope looked into her eyes, searching for answers that were and were not there, then looked down at the ground. "Then...what am I supposed to do..."
Lightning sighed, eyes softening as she gave Hope a quick hug, "You live Hope. With us. That's all you can do for now." She looked around and brought out her gunblade, aiming it at a creature. "Now...maybe we can train to pass the time? Instead of that mindless killing you were up too." Hope looked back at her, startled, but a small smile graced his lips again.
"Yeah."
And for the first time...some weight seemed to be lifted off.
….......................
When Serah first heard of their training sessions out in Gran Pulse, she had been alarmed and....surprisingly to Lightning, angry. Really angry. She had said they shouldn't be taking Hope out like this when he had just gotten over his sickness. That it was too soon. That it wouldn't help. That it was too dangerous.
Lightning couldn't help but be reminded of how little of their journey Serah knew about. Of how much they had to endure. But she let her get it off her chest before calmly informing her that they had it under control, that Hope was at least a little better now, and that it was a good way to pass the time until they got news.
Serah just couldn't seem to see how logical this argument was. And when Snow agreed with Lightning...he had been once very lonely fiance.
But as the days passed and Hope's mood relatively brightened, so much so that he actually sought food outside of mealtime, Serah grudgingly admitted that it was helping. And when she had patted Hope on the head and he gave her a wide smile in return, she melted and said she wanted to help too. "By learning cure spells of course!" She had said happily.
Serah always did have a weakness for cute things. But when Lightning brought it up...Snow so ungraciously said, "Like you can talk."
It ended with one very bruised Snow, one very red Lightning, one giggling Serah, and one truly embarrassed Hope.
But all good things had to come to an end...even if they were small things. So when Colin showed up at their door, Lightning was glad she was the only one there at the time.
"Hey Light..." Colin said, none of the usual cheer in his voice. "I've come to tell you that the Sanctum has requested the presence of Hope Estheim and his current guardians in regards to the will of Bartholomew..." Colin looked down, obviously worried...
"What else Colin..." Lightning said, eying him carefully, "Is it something bad?"
"N-No...I think we've won....no, I'm certain we did. It's just...I think I've gotten some evidence about what happened in Bartholomew's death...nothing is concrete...I still have a lot to do...but it points to the Sanctum...after all." He stuttered over the words, biting his lip.
Lightning shook her head, trying not to think of what it could lead to. "A-All right...but-but we can't say anything yet...Not until you're sure." Colin nodded fervently before handing her the papers that detailed when they were expected and what they would be doing. She thanked him, saying that when this was over she had something she needed to tell him before sending him off.
Colin walked to the small airship that waited for him, thoughts returning to the Sanctum. "Sorry Claire..." Colin muttered as he approached, "But it's a little late for that..."
