"Welcome back, warrior goddess."
Lightning couldn't believe she'd been so blind. The changed behavior, the sword, the violet eye… It was all so obvious in hindsight. How on Pulse did Caius mind get into Noel's body? She clawed desperately at the gloved hand currently strangling her, but her human strength didn't stand a chance against the strength of a l'Cie. Caius tilted his head slightly to the side and stared at her, examining her from head to toe. The movement was eerily predatory.
"You used to be stronger."
"You used to be taller." Lightning wheezed the words out, lungs running out of air. The man smiled a wolfish grin. It looked strange on Noel's boyish face, so different from the cocky little smirk he used to wear.
"You are weaker than a kitten." He gingerly stroked her cheek and tucked away some escaped strands of hair behind her ear. The touch was so repulsive she had to fight the urge to throw up. In that moment she truly felt like a kitten, a prey stuck in the talons of a raptor. Defenseless. Pathetic. She thrashed even harder against his grip.
"Adorable," Caius mumbled, oblivious to her struggle. He continued to play with her hair. "Maybe I could keep you as a pet for a while..." He disappeared into his own thoughts. Black spots were starting to cloud Lightning's vision. She realized that Caius had probably forgotten that she was no longer immortal and that asphyxia could actually kill her.
I'd rather die than become his pet, anyway.
Hope was so angry he could barely even think. He helplessly watched the man who apparently wasn't Noel approach Lightning. He heard the sharp sound of Lightning's wrist breaking as the man trapped her against the wall. Her involuntary little cry filled his body with a feverish fury.
Hope tried everything to shift the man's attention from Lightning to himself instead, but no matter what profanities he yelled, he was still completely ignored. Lightning's face was turning paler by the second. She looked so small, dangling from the man's strangling grip. Hope's protective instincts were roaring at him, demanding him to do something, anything, when the man suddenly touched Lightning's face. At first, Hope thought the man was going to hit her, so he struggled even harder against his chain. Then, as he noticed the complete terror in Lightning's eyes, he realized what was actually going on. The man was petting her.
The chain didn't stand a chance.
"Don't touch her!"
The hand strangling Lightning was abruptly yanked from her neck. Hope had managed to wind his manacle chain around Caius' neck, and was now dragging him away from her as fast as he could. She fell to the floor, landing hard on her butt. She took a deep breath through her aching, already bruising throat, savoring the air reaching her lungs. Two deep breaths later and she were back on her feet, ready to join the battle taking place in front of her. Hope was still clinging to Caius' back in an odd-looking piggyback ride, and Caius was doing his very best to throw him off. The situation was so bizarre that Lightning had to repress a snicker. Must be the air deprivation, she thought, as she tried to figure out a way to help Hope.
To Lightning's great frustration, Hope had successfully moved the fight out of her reach. Caius managed to elbow Hope hard in the ribs, sending him flying through the room. Moments before colliding with the wall, Hope turned in the air and used the wall as a springboard. With newfound momentum he launched himself back into the battle. In a battle between l'Cie, gravity always seemed to take a break.
The men were almost equal. They had the same l'Cie induced strength, and though Caius was more skilled, Hope compensated by being twice as angry. Lightning noticed some new moves in Caius' fighting style. Some changes were to be expected, him having a shorter and scrawnier body than in Valhalla, but some of his new movements were pure Noel. Two souls, one body… She got an idea.
"Noel, are you in there?" she yelled. "I really need to talk to you." Caius froze. The air crackled, as if there was a sudden surge of electricity pulsating through the room. The man – Noel or Caius, she wasn't certain – turned around, eyes unseeing, lost in his own world.
"Dea Mortis, servabo, ut tempora recte ducam," he mumbled.
"You really are insane, aren't you?" Lightning whispered in awe. She recognized the words as the Time Guardian's oath. She wasn't very good at Latin, but she knew the oath went something like 'goddess of death, I will protect her, as I lead time straight'.
"Noel? Snap out of it, Noel!" Hope had noticed the sudden change, too. He seized the opportunity and moved next to Lightning. Are you okay? he mouthed. Lightning gave him a small nod, hoping that her hair was covering most of her new bruises.
"It's a necessary evil. I wish I didn't have to do this, I really do, but I have to protect the timeline. I'm sorry, Lightning, but you carry the last piece of Etro inside you. I swore an oath to protect time, and for time to flow freely Etro has to remain in Valhalla. I have to remove you from this timeline."
"What are you talking about? I'm human, Noel! I've been human ever since I returned from Valhalla." Probably. "I don't know why I'm here now or how I got here. All I know is that this is a timeline Etro didn't foresee. Something changed, Noel, and me returning to Valhalla won't make that change undone." Probably. "I'm a part of this timeline, now. How can you be sure that sending me back won't create another paradox?"
"I traveled through the Historia Crux. I've seen every possible timeline, and you weren't in any of them. Caius says this is the only way for me to protect time."
"Why on Pulse are you listening to Caius? He's the one who tried to kill Etro in the first place, remember? He tried to destroy the world!" Hope was still breathing heavily with anger.
"Caius is a part of me now. On my own, I wasn't strong enough to protect the people I loved when they needed it the most. Caius made me stronger. When I pierced his heart, Etro abandoned him. Instead of being transported to the realm of the dead, his soul ended up inside of me. She abandoned us. I have to protect time. I have to return Etro to Valhalla." Noel was starting to sound like a broken record, and the air around them was once again filled with static electricity. Caius was reemerging.
"What about Yeul, then?" Lightning was grasping at straws, trying to keep Noel from disappearing into his own mind. "She wouldn't have wanted this. She never agreed with Caius, she wanted the world to be safe."
"Yet still the world let her die every single time. Etro abandoned Yeul, too. In this timeline, Yeul was never reborn. She's gone forever." The crackling sound was getting louder and louder. It reminded Lightning of a game she and Serah used to play, where they would find a light switch and try to balance it right between the off and on mode. By doing so, they had managed to create crackling sounds and tiny flashes of lightning. They used to do it all the time, until they accidently made a light bulb explode. No wonder he's going crazy.
Noel/Caius started to mumble the Time Guardian oath again.
"Hope! What are you waiting for? Run! It's only me he wants anyway." Lightning grabbed Hopes hand. "Please. I'm begging you. Just… please, just run."
"I would never leave without you. You know that." Yes, she did know that. But she still had to try.
"I promised I'd keep you safe." The memory made her heart ached. She'd done such a lousy job at keeping that promise.
"I don't know if you remember it, but I promised I'd keep you safe, too." Hope grinned a little. "I promised I'd try, anyway." He grabbed her manacle chain in a firm grip and started to pull.
"I must say, that was quite rude," said the man who was no longer Noel. They'd once again run out of time. The door opened, and a time defender was suddenly visible in the doorway.
"Is everything okay in here? We heard some weird sounds."
"Everything is under control." Caius smirked. The time defender nodded and left the room. "Did you two really think Noel would help you? I have got that poor boy's mind wrapped around my little finger."
"Is that your plan? Slowly breaking Noel's mind, just to have his body for yourself?" Lightning was stalling for time. Caius let out a laugh that couldn't be described in any other way than evil. He really enjoys being the bad guy, huh, Lightning thought.
"I will have my body back soon enough. You are going to ensure that, my dear warrior goddess." He let out another laugh. Well, isn't that diabolical master plan.
With a rattling sound and a small cloud of dust, Lightning's chain left its socket in the wall. Caius glared at Hope.
"That little boy of yours is starting to annoy me." Caius pulled out his monstrous sword from its sheath on his back.
"No!" Lightning tried to cover Hope with her body but was just a notch too slow. Caius slammed the broadside of the sword into Hope's temple, rendering him instantly unconscious. Lightning managed to sling an arm around his waist and caught him before he hit the ground. Her knees nearly buckled under the weight. She glared at Caius with hate burning in her eyes. He will pay.
"Oh, kitten. How I wish I did not have to kill you." He disappeared into his own thoughts for a moment, and then added: "The portal will not open for a couple of days, though…" He reached out, as if to touch her hair again. She wanted to shy away, but that would mean dropping Hope. She felt like she'd rather die than being touched by Caius again, but dying was apparently not on the menu. Not yet. She helplessly watched as the man of her nightmares closed the distance between them. She was close to hyperventilating, fight-or-flight instincts kicking in. Her weakness disgusted her. Defenseless. Pathetic.
The moment Caius gloved hand touched her face, something strange happened. The world darkened, as if she'd put on a thick pair of sunglasses. Everything around her turned somewhat see-through, illuminated by an eerie green glow. She looked at Caius, who was completely unaware of her sudden change.
"Your l'Cie brand is placed right over your heart, isn't it?" Lightning whispered.
"How did you know that?" Caius raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I can see it…" The brand was shining brightly through his chest in that same green glow. It was connected to his veins, spreading the glow through his body in a rhythmical pulsating movement. She looked down at her own body. She didn't have a brand, but she could still see the same glow pumping through her veins.
As if using a new muscle for the first time, she tentatively reached for Caius' brand with her mind. She didn't know what she was doing or why, she just felt like it was something she was supposed to do. When she touched the brand, waves rippled through the glow.
"What are you doing?" Caius asked. His voice was tainted by the tiniest hint of fear. Lightning ignored him. Suddenly, she was inside his mind. It was an ugly sight; a mess of hatred and madness. She saw Noel's soul lying dormant in the middle of it all, a tiny peck of light in the overwhelming darkness. She could feel something flow from her soul into Caius' body.
Moments later, it was all over. Lightning's mind retracted from Caius', and her vision returned to normal. Caius' hand, still resting against her cheek, was completely motionless. The person in front of her was frozen in place. No way. This is not happening. No way, Lightning thought, eyes widened with shock. He's been turned to crystal. She could still feel his mind inside the man-shaped gem. Somehow, she knew he would wake up soon. Really soon. She looked at Hope. He was still unconscious, hanging from her quickly tiring arm. She picked him up in a fireman's carry, and took a trembling step. I can do this, she thought to herself as she took another step. She remembered what she'd once said to Hope, many years ago.
"It's not a question of can or can't," she said, as she forced herself to keep on walking. "There are some things in life you just do."
Lightning was rummaging through the storage room in the ITP lobby when Hope woke up.
"Light!" she heard him shout from the armchair she'd left him in.
"Just a moment!" She finally found her gunblade and her grav-con unit. The ex-receptionist had been right; the storage was a total chaos. Weapons, clothes, furniture, books; the storage had everything. And now I know why he collects it all... She refused to think about that. In fact, she refused to think about anything that happened in that cell at all.
Lightning grabbed Hope's airwing from a shelf and reentered the lobby. Hope was staring at her. He grabbed her undamaged hand as she handed him the boomerang.
"Are you okay? How did we get out?"
"I, uh, managed to lock Caius up in our cell. Then I carried you here." Which, in its own way, was the truth. It just wasn't all of it. Hope looked skeptical.
"You carried me?"
"Yeah."
"13 stairs?"
"Yes." The conversation was making her uncomfortable. She pulled her hand free. "Look, Hope, we really need to leave now. He won't stay in there forever." Lightning turned around and started walking. She could still feel Caius' mind through some distant mental connection, and she knew he would wake up any minute now. She also knew that when Caius actually woke up, she wanted to be far, far away from him. Caius had always been a sore loser.
Lightning came to an abrupt stop as strong arms encircled her waist. Hope turned her around and brushed away the pink hair covering her neck and shoulders. He gasped when he saw the bruises.
"I'm so sorry, Light. I tried to protect you. I tried to keep you safe. I'm so sorry." Hope hugged her close to his chest. He combed her hair with his fingers, as if to erase the memory of Caius' touch. "I'm sorry." She could feel his lips on her neck. His grip was hard but gentle and strangely soothing. She took a moment of just enjoying Hope's proximity before she pushed him away. I could probably stay in his arms forever. She quickly repressed the slightly embarrassing thought. They were running out of time.
"You did well. I couldn't have done it without you." Lightning gave him a smile, and then added: "But you know, I can take care of myself. I can take care of both of us."
"I know." He gingerly touched her bruises. "I just… I just want to protect you." His words lingered in her chest, making her heart tingle. She cleared her throat.
"We really need to go." She felt Caius open his eyes. "Now." They fled the room and started running. Hope pulled out his cellphone and called a number on speed dial.
"Hey, Sazh, it's me. I'm at the ITP again, and I need a ride ASAP." He paused for a moment, and then added: "We're going down to Pulse."
Hello, lovely readers! Your friendly writer Cia speaking. Sorry 'bout the hiatus. And all the cliffhangers. I'm a horrible person. Did this chapter answer all your questions? Probably not. But I promise, it will all make sense in the end. Love you guys and all your feedback.
- Cia
