In the previous episode, Noel witnesses a miracle — Vanille and Fang have been released from Crystal Stasis. Yet in light of this joyous news, Noel can't help but to entertain darker thoughts: To what ends has Hope gone to free his friends, and why hasn't Hope returned to consciousness? Unanswered questions lingering in the back of his mind, Noel is forced to prepare for the battle to come….

Crystal Fortresses
Two men seeking to save the future, driven by the burdens of their past: Perhaps they had more in common than Hope once thought.

Episode 10: Heroes' Charge

"Noel."

It took Noel several moments to realize he was being addressed.

"Sorry. You were saying?" Having been distracted with his own thoughts, namely those of Hope and Hope's well-being, Noel turned to face the wild-haired woman who had called him by name: Oerba Yun Fang. They were acquainted for nearly two weeks now, having been introduced within hours after Noel had returned from Gran Pulse; the only reason Noel was able to remember such a tiny detail was because exactly thirteen days had passed since Hope had fallen into unconsciousness in the Faultwarrens — not that he had been counting the days, of course.

Fang reminded Noel of Dr. Haussen, though only in appearance. Noel soon learned that Fang's character was distinct from that of the Director: personality, ideals and all else. Noel had never met a person quite like her — then again, he couldn't say he knew that many people very well, so if people like Fang really did exist somewhere, then they were certainly hard to come by. She was to the point, but she also stood up for what she believed in. She also valued the well-being of her friends, a trait Noel spotted quite easily, in particular wherever Vanille was concerned.

After having met Vanille, Noel could see why Hope held her with such importance. She was very kindhearted, always with a smile. She and Hope were compatible, Noel dared to conclude. He could almost picture the two chatting together — he was sure Hope relied on a smile like hers to keep him going, especially during their l'Cie days before Noel had met him. But Noel hadn't talked to her very much, despite these conclusions; it was too painful to watch her take in the sight of a lifeless Hope, on top of having to deal with his own feel—

"Noel."

He'd done it again.

"Sorry."

"Enough with the apologies already, will ya?" snapped Fang, and it took all of Noel's efforts to refrain from apologizing again. He wasn't himself. Ever since he'd returned to the Academy with Hope's unresponsive body, his words comprised mostly apologies. But the one person who needed to hear that apology most…

"They'll be fine," said Fang, as if having read Noel's mind. "Vanille. And Hope. They're in good hands. And I wouldn't trust just anyone with Vanille's safety, so that's saying something."

"Yeah." Noel wondered just what was Fang's relationship to the girl, but in his better judgment Noel decided not to ask, not in that moment.

"Besides," continued Fang as she gave a jerk of her head, "we've got business to do. No point in a rescue mission if you don't got the right mindset, yeah?"

Noel agreed, if only in his head. Even as they spoke, they were sitting aboard an airship and awaiting departure. It had all been discussed days ago, not too long after his return to Bhunivelze: a preemptive strike with the primary objective of rescuing Snow. It had even been his idea, knowing full well that Snow would be fighting from the inside if he'd been awakened like Fang and Vanille had. But they had delayed longer than Noel would've liked, though the delays had been necessary, and the rescue party — Lieutenant Strike, Fang, and himself — was only now embarking; Fang made it a point that Vanille not come along because of her injury, but Noel didn't really follow, and he chose not to question it because someone needed to look after Hope. Noel hoped Snow hadn't yet been defeated, though knowing Snow's character Noel was certain Snow was still putting up a fight.

Noel was surprised that anyone had listened to his suggestion at all, considering how unable he'd been to respond to questions regarding their travels on Gran Pulse and Hope's current state of being. Lieutenant Strike had been the first to support Noel's proposition, who was perhaps the least blinded by Hope's unconsciousness, and with time the proposition gained momentum and earned the approval of the Colonel. Noel was still slightly uneasy over leaving an unconscious Hope behind, but he knew his choices were limited. He would have to trust Vanille to take care of him, at least until everything tided over.

Now if only Noel could leave his worries behind, too.

"Speaking of the rescue mission," said Lieutenant Strike suddenly, who had previously been in the cockpit talking to Sazh and was now accompanying them; "I think now would be a good time for a quick strategy briefing."

Quite frankly Noel had had enough of strategy briefings — he'd sat in on several over the past few days, and without Hope they were painful to sit through — but he knew this particular briefing was a necessary one. Firstly it had been his idea, but more importantly their success was crucial in securing Snow's safety, and while Noel may not have always been on proper terms with Snow, he knew rescuing Snow would also have been among Hope's priorities.

Noel had failed to keep him safe. Advancing Hope's desires was by no means an apology for yet another failure, but it was all he could do. It was the proper distraction, the first step toward denying the very real possibility of Hope not—

"Might not wanna space out on this one," said Fang, interrupting Noel from his thoughts. Noel was thankful for the interruption, as he knew he couldn't afford to think so pessimistically, and after giving Fang an appreciative nod he turned to the Lieutenant and gave him his full attention.

Their destination was the Thirteen Ark, a tip the Academy would otherwise not have had if it hadn't been for Hope's genius. Getting inside the Ark was the bigger problem, however, and it was the primary reason for their delay; security barriers had been erected since the Ambassadors' occupation of the airborne fortress, and it'd taken days for Dr. Haussen to analyze them and determine how they could be breached. Several days' work yielded the possibility of breaking the barriers by impact, and with this theory in mind it was decided that the airship would be launched into the Ark via slingshot. Sazh seemed convinced, from prior experiences with Arks, that the airship would not crash into the fortress after breaching the barriers, and while Noel was not so easily convinced he eventually, albeit still reluctantly, gave the older man his trust.

Their objectives were straightforward: Retrieve Snow, then regroup and call for reinforcements. The plan itself, however, was not so straightforward. Not even Snow's old comrades could accurately predict thirteen days' worth of fighting, and just where on the Ark Snow would be was anyone's guess. But if there was anything they were all certain of, it was that stealth and secrecy would need to be maintained while aboard the Thirteenth Ark; this would prove particularly difficult considering their rather explosive method of entry, and for sure all secrecy would be lost once they were reunited the more proactive Snow, but until then keeping a low profile was essential.

"We're trying to retrieve allies, here," summarized the Lieutenant. "Having to rescue another is an unwanted item to add to our agenda."

"And then Snow'll just come after us, like the hero he is," said Fang with a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, better off not getting captured."

Before Noel could pitch in his two cents, the airship took off. There had been no warning — or perhaps there had been, but the three of them had been too busy talking amongst themselves to hear it — and Noel was consequentially not prepared for the sudden jerking movement his body gave in response to the slingshot launch. Noel had never experienced such turbulence before, in particular when the airship impacted and penetrated the Thirteenth Ark's barriers, but before Noel could even open his mouth to complain the airship came to a stop.

"That's it?" asked Noel in disbelief. Despite Sazh's affirmative answer, the three clamored out from the airship in order to see for themselves. Indeed, Sazh had been right, and they had somehow not crashed the ship into the fortress. But then, where were they? Unless…

"This is it," said Fang, who was leaning on her taming pole for support. "This beauty's got 'Ark' written all over it."

Noel reasoned her body was not quite used to the turbulence, not after hundreds of years of crystal sleep. But there was something strange about the way Fang was grasping her bladed lance, though Noel couldn't determine what was off. She held it in a typical manner, as one should, and it was as if the very act of holding her weapon normally was ringing bells in his head. Was the sight conflicting with something he'd been told before? — but Noel didn't give it too much thought, not without the ability to draw any conclusions, so for the moment he let it go.

Noel had no choice but to believe Fang's and Sazh's word. Somehow, after having breached the security barriers, they had found themselves not crashing into the fortress but instead warping inside it. How that was even possible, Noel couldn't quite fathom, but it wasn't the first time that technology from this age had left him overwhelmingly impressed.

"Reminds me of the good ol' l'Cie days," muttered Fang quietly, as if meant only for her own ears. A reminiscent yet bitter scowl was upon her face as she said these words. "Anyway. Snow, yeah?"

"Yeah." After seeking silent affirmation from Lieutenant Strike, Noel began to lead the party away from the airship and deeper into the Ark. Admittedly, leading the Lieutenant felt weird to Noel, considering that not too long ago he had been the one serving under his command. Perhaps it was because Noel had advanced the idea of rendezvousing with Snow that he was being given the lead. Still, he took the role with caution, and he took into serious consideration any piece of advice the Lieutenant offered him.

The inside of the Ark was like nothing Noel had ever seen before, and it most certainly did not resemble any of the architecture he'd seen in Bhunivelze; then again, Noel had only seen Bhunivelze's underground bunkers, which was hardly an accurate architectural sample of the current age. The tunnels they were now traversing always seemed to lead to spacious, dimly-lit, high-ceiling rooms, and it made Noel ponder over just what sort of final destination to expect. While their path was generally straightforward, Noel wasn't too sure if they'd be running into Snow or if they would have to go out of their way to find him.

As they walked, Fang enlightened him with a bit of history regarding the Arks; Noel only half-listened, keeping most of his attention to the path before him. Most of it he'd heard from Hope, anyway — or at least, he assumed such — so talk of l'Cie training grounds wasn't news to him. Fang made no mention of the Thirteenth Ark being a fighting grounds for some inevitable upcoming battle, so Noel was inclined to assume that this piece of information was something that Hope had uncovered solely from his research in the Academy.

"That reminds me," said Lieutenant Strike in a quiet voice, "you aren't l'Cie anymore, you and Vanille, correct? You think it's the same for Snow?"

"With that guy? Who knows." Noel chose not to comment on Fang's response, even as both she and the Lieutenant turned to him for his output. It had been a huge shock for Fang and Vanille to find their Brands gone, as if they had never been branded at all. Their Brands were what Fang first checked upon waking — she had actually checked Vanille's before her own — and this revelation had been Noel's confirmation that Hope's efforts really had proved successful.

But whether Snow would wake up to the same circumstance… well. Noel had once told the Colonel that l'Cie-Snow would be more of a force than the Colonel would; he wasn't sure if the same could confidently be said with Snow being human. Perhaps it was selfish, but for the sake of his own pride Noel hoped Snow was still a l'Cie.

Hope had sought his friends' salvation though, so if Snow were still l'Cie then their problems would not yet be solved.

But a new possibility dawned upon Noel: What if Snow had not awakened from crystal sleep at all? What if only Fang and Vanille had been the ones released from their stasis? It wasn't like anyone could explain the phenomenon–and even if Hope did bargain with the gods for his crystallized friends' lives, Hope wasn't yet conscious to give the details. And when Noel had put forth the idea of a rescue mission, no one had questioned his logic, no one had considered seriously the possibility of only several of the crystallized ex-l'Cie, not all, regaining consciousness.

If Snow were still crystal, their mission would be pointless. Snow would not have caused a riot to catch the Ambassadors' attention, and they would not be catching the Ambassadors at a disadvantage. Noel's only reassurance was that Ambassador soldiers had not yet come running to investigate as they should have — and their entrance hadn't exactly been discreet.

"You seem distracted," said the Lieutenant suddenly, snapping Noel from his thoughts. "Not doubting yourself, are you?"

"No, sir," Noel lied. Despite having removed himself from his voluntary service with the military, Noel still addressed the Lieutenant in the same respectful manner: Noel felt it strange to address him in any other way, much like how he could not address Dr. Haussen by her first name despite her reintroduction. Still, if he had to choose, Noel would rather formally address the Lieutenant than the Colonel. The Lieutenant had more of his respect, whereas the Colonel had nearly none.

They fell into a silence as they entered the next high-ceiling room; it had been the Lieutenant to caution the group against talking in these rooms, as their voices tended to echo here more than in the tunnels. They had been traveling for nearly half an hour now, and while they hadn't run into any complications, they had also not run into any signs of Snow or combat. The only concerning matter that arose was Noel's suspicion of being followed, though there were no signs or proof of any pursuers following them, so they only took extra caution and did not dwell on this thought much.

"The Ambassadors would come right out and attack us," reasoned the Lieutenant, while Fang pitched in with a "Secrecy's just not Snow's style, yeah?"

It wasn't too long afterward that their hushed conversation turned to the subject of Hope. The Lieutenant was still going on about some 'secret,' it seemed, and though Noel continued to insist he had no such secret, the Lieutenant did not stand down. He was gratefully saved from the Lieutenant's onslaught by Fang, who seemed troubled by Hope's continued unconsciousness.

"Something's fishy 'bout all this, though," she mused to herself. She was trying to recall the details Noel had disclosed in previous strategy briefings. "The way you describe Hope… sounds a whole lot like Vanille when she's trying ta hide something from me."

Noel sighed. He was at a loss. He didn't know much about Vanille's character, but he knew enough to understand Fang's point. Noel remembered the unsettling feeling he could not shake off during his voyage on Gran Pulse with Hope. He remembered wanting to get into Hope's head, wanting to constantly reassure Hope.

What if Hope had seen this end all along? What if he'd been hiding something the entire time?

"Trust me."

Those had been among Hope's last spoken words to him, and they were now ringing in his ears. Just how far were those words supposed to extend? Titan had been there, yes, that much had come true. But if Hope really had been keeping secrets from him, secrets involving the means in which he'd save Fang's and Vanille's and Snow's lives, had he expected Noel to come to terms with it, to trust him? And Noel wanted to trust him, he really did. Yet Noel knew Hope had set out wanting to save his friends, those whom Hope considered himself close to: Friends who had helped him mature at a young age, when he would not have been able to survive otherwise. Noel knew Hope was the kind to set his mind to something and not back down from it. And when it came to the safety of Hope's friends, when Noel's wasn't directly being compromised….

Was I… am I close to Hope?

"Hey, you space out this often, or what?"

That Noel remembered to bite back an apology was a surprise to the both of them.

"Your face says a lot, you know," continued Fang. "Nothing but worry. Seems to me like Hope's a big deal to you."

"Director Estheim's the reason Noel joined the army," said the Lieutenant, before Noel had the opportunity to speak for himself. "Also the reason he quit, might I add."

"That so?" Noel found himself not liking the tone in Fang's voice, and he didn't want to think about the conclusions she could have drawn from the Lieutenant's words. "Well, look what we have here."

"What's there to look at?" said Noel defensively. "Hope's just…."

Just… what?

"Someone special?" offered Fang, a cheeky grin upon her face. Noel turned to Lieutenant Strike for support, though he was only met with the Lieutenant's amusement.

"No…" Noel paused. "Well, maybe. It's like you and Vanille, I suppose."

"Like me and Vanille?" Noel immediately regretted making the analogy, and it was only after Fang rounded on him when Noel remembered just how intimidating the woman was. He hadn't meant the analogy in a bad way, only in that he and Hope were close just as Fang and Vanille appeared to be. But then, he didn't really know what Vanille meant to Fang, so perhaps he'd been overambitious in his analogy.

"Vanille's the world to me," said Fang, her eyes narrowing as she approached Noel. "I'd do anything if it meant saving her. Tear down the sky if I have to. And you're telling me, you'd do that for Hope?"

"I…."

Noel paused, though he did not need to. He already knew that answer.

"I would."

There was a moment of silence between them: Fang, who seemed surprised by Noel's answer; and the Lieutenant, who was still wearing a smile Noel could not decipher. In that silence, as Noel continued to stand his ground to the intimidating Fang, Noel gave more serious thought to the question and the response he'd given. The more thought he gave it, the more he was sure of his answer. Hope was important to him, the closest friend he had left. That much was certain.

Before Fang could comment further, sounds of shuffling feet began to echo down the tunnel. Noel and Fang were immediately pulled to the wall. Both were given alarmed glances from the Lieutenant, though Noel didn't need telling twice: It was easy to tell that a large group of soldiers — Ambassadors — were headed their way. The question was whether the soldiers were after the three or whether they were simply passing by.

"What should we do?" whispered Noel. His eyes quickly surveyed the room. There wasn't much the three of them could properly hide behind, especially not in these narrower tunnels. A fight was inevitable.

"Wait for them to pass," said the Lieutenant. "Maintain secrecy. Last resort, we can ambush this group and then make a run for it."

But they did not need to wait that long, and they were easily spotted in the narrow hallways. Fang, who had been bent on fighting from the very start, sprung quickly into action, and before Noel could even unsheathe his weapons her bladed lance was being swung in all directions.

"Fang!"

"You go get Snow," she yelled over the sounds of weapons clashing against each other. "I'll handle this!"

The Lieutenant was quick in following her orders, and without a word he fought his way through the group of soldiers and continued down the hall. Naturally the Ambassador soldiers attempted to pursue him, but they were hindered by Fang — wait, did she just fly?

"Noel!" yelled Fang, who had noticed he hadn't yet left. As she said these words, several soldiers were charging at her with weapons raised over their heads, but a quick blitz targeting their unguarded torsos saw their end.

"Get going! Snow needs you!"

"But–"

"Go!" she hissed, and Noel's retort was lost. He knew Fang was too stubborn to listen to him. Giving into Fang's demands, Noel reluctantly took off after Lieutenant Strike, catching a last glance at Fang as he passed her. It would be Fang against an entire army; Noel would have to trust that she was strong enough.

She has to be, Noel told himself. Hope hasn't seen her yet.

It occurred to Noel, as he took flight from battle, that Fang's situation was now no different than the one from which they were trying to rescue Snow. Well, there was a difference, he supposed, that Snow had already been fighting for days, and perhaps that was what Fang had meant by Snow needing him.

He better still be alive, Noel thought to himself. He would not forgive Snow if the man allowed himself to be defeated a second time.

Fighting through the onslaught of soldiers was no easy task. It was as if each soldier had personally taken to heart the mistake of letting the Lieutenant slip by and was bent on not allowing Noel to do the same. Pushing through the masses was especially difficult in the narrower hallways; Noel was given more freedom in the more spacious rooms, and instead of fighting he climbed the ledges along the perimeter, reaching heights that most of the soldiers clad in heavy armor could not.

Eventually Noel did catch up to his superior, though he was not met with good news.

"Dead end," said the Lieutenant hurriedly, and it then became clear why Noel had been able to catch up. True enough, a wall stood before them, and the tunnel did not appear to turn elsewhere. Noel supposed they were bound to have run into a situation like this sooner or later, and that it would happen while being pursued was certainly unfortunate. A dead end meant two things: One, that they would have to seriously fight; and two, that Snow was not there, that they would need to backtrack and find another path that might've been missed.

Weapons at the ready, both men turned to fight. It occurred to Noel that splitting up might not have been the best idea after all, and while they had succeeded in mitigating the fighting, it also made them very vulnerable. Noel knew Gregor was out there somewhere; Fang and Snow would certainly be at a disadvantage if he struck either of them. Fighting was now unavoidable, yet they needed to focus on getting Snow and then returning to Fang's side.

The Lieutenant seemed to understand this, and he was the first of the two to charge at their pursuers. Noel could hear noises from somewhere behind him, noises that were a sure indication that more men were on the way, and as he prepared to follow after the Lieutenant he did his best to ignore these signs.

Wait. Behind me?

Something was off. Why were there noises coming from behind him? He knew very well that they had come to a dead end, that there was nothing but a wall behind him. Was it an echo, then? — but even that conclusion seemed off.

Forgetting the fight before him for just a moment, Noel turned again with narrowed eyes to examine the wall more carefully. Upon closer inspection he noticed a slight crack in the wall, wide enough that a faint light filtered through the crack but not enough to be able to fit his fingers through.

"Noel!" yelled the Lieutenant's voice, and by the strain in his voice Noel could tell he was fighting many soldiers all at once; that no soldier had come after him yet was likely the Lieutenant's doing, also.

"Sir, I think there's something behind this wall!" Despite the circumstances, Noel could not shake the feeling that this was something worth investigating. There was definitely something on the other side, and if they weren't prepared for it they could potentially be surrounded by more soldiers. Indeed, the sounds from that side were that of more men, but he could also hear the sounds of panicked shouting, almost as if —

"COMING THROUGH!"

Noel barely had time to act, and he was only just able to flatten himself against another wall as the cracked wall was suddenly blown away. Dust quickly filled the area, the sounds of coughing ringing in Noel's ears. Despite this, Noel could still hear the sounds of Lieutenant Strike fighting; he was likely taking advantage of the distraction and striking the soldiers in their vulnerability.

"Miss me?"

Noel was sure he could recognize that voice in his sleep, and though the circumstances weren't exactly opportune to hold such casual conversation he gave a response anyway.

"Definitely not."

As if Noel could miss this cocky self-proclaimed hero.
Especially not if he was just as reckless as ever.
Even though it'd been his proposal to rescue him.

Still, seeing Snow alive in the flesh put to rest many of his doubts that had come about since having arrived on the Thirteenth Ark. Though Noel would not admit it aloud, Noel was glad to see Snow, and he was sure Hope would be happy to see him too.

"Been fighting for days," said Snow conversationally, as if blasting through doors was something he'd been doing regularly over the past few days. Noel bit his tongue with distaste. If only Snow looked and sounded like he'd actually been fighting: Snow was much too chipper, hardly convincing.

"Anyway," continued Snow, oblivious to Noel's distaste; "you got a way outta here? And hey, where's Serah?"

Serah…

Noel's eyes widened in realization: Snow didn't know yet, did he? How could Noel possibly bring himself to deliver that news? Though Noel had once had his doubts, he knew Snow held Serah very close to him. Should Snow find out he'd lost the very girl for whom he'd been fighting, would he still have the motivation to fight?

Noel's thoughts immediately flashed to Hope, and without meaning to he began to question himself. What would happen if Hope never woke up? Would he keep fighting, or would he—

"You done with your chitchat yet?" Both Snow and Noel turned to Lieutenant Strike, who appeared somewhat annoyed at Noel's lack of combat and was still fighting off soldiers as they were recovering from the mini-explosion. Never had Noel been so thankful for a distraction: he had been spared from having to deliver ill news and from entertaining possible outcomes he did not want to come to realization.

"Who's that guy?" asked Snow offhandedly. Noel had to remind himself that Snow had not yet lived in this time period for very long.

"We'll talk later." If he had the choice, though Noel technically did have the choice, he would've opted to not make such a promise to Snow. But Noel knew he owed him this much. Snow needed to know that he had failed to keep Serah safe.

Noel didn't want to admit it, but the odds were certainly in their favor with Snow now accompanying them. Snow excelled in taunting enemies and redirecting their attacks to him, which allowed plenty of room for Noel and Lieutenant Strike to deliver swift and clean finishing blows. In this manner, the Ambassadors' number quickly dwindled, until at last the remaining soldiers took flight.

"They're headed for Fang," observed the Lieutenant. "We have to help her."

"Fang?" said a surprised Snow, and he gave a soft whistle as if to portray his surprise. "Man, what did I miss?"

"Explanations later," said Noel. "Come on. We'll rescue her, then retreat and regroup."

"Wait, why?" asked Snow as they began to backtrack towards Fang's last known location. "See here, I don't really know who's who, but if we're fighting the same men, they must be the bad guys, right? Why not just stamp 'em out here?"

Noel did not respond immediately. They were regrouping because that was what they had agreed to before deployment, but would Snow buy that answer? Would Snow buy any answer, for that matter? From his own experiences and from others' perceptions of him, Noel was under the impression Snow simply did as he wanted, whenever and wherever he saw fit.

"We will, after we call reinforcements," said the Lieutenant after some time. "Our primary objective was to secure your safety and to better assess the situation. No point in sending an entire army into a losing battle, right?"

"S'pose you're right," said Snow. "But sometimes you got no choice but to fight, eh?"

Fighting's inevitable no matter how you look at it, Noel thought to himself, but he did not have the chance to voice this thought. A bigger concern presented itself as they drew nearer to where they'd split ways with Fang:

Gregor.

Fang, it seemed, had been able to hold the fight by herself, judging from the number of unconscious bodies that lay along the perimeter of the room. Apparently she had caused enough of a ruckus to draw in the attention of Gregor himself, with whom she appeared to have reached stalemate. Weapons locked, both Fang and Gregor were facing off in a battle of strength, though Gregor appeared to have the upper hand.

"Fang!" yelled Snow, killing every thought of preemption before it could even enter Noel's mind. As expected, the moment Snow made his exclamation he rushed forward, but not before a crowd of soldiers blocked his path; as Noel drew his swords and took a look around the area, he began to notice the numerous soldiers lining the perimeter of the room, much as the Academy had done at Port Dexum.

"Ah," said Gregor, and the tone of his voice was far too relaxed for Noel's liking. It was almost… expectant. "Told you they'd come. I see you managed to bring along the l'Cie, how courteous of you. He really was starting to become a bother."

"A bother?" repeated Snow, clearly provoked. But Noel was entertaining a different thought:

Had they been led into a trap?

"I implore you to drop your resistance," continued Gregor. "You're surrounded, and it really would make my life easier if you didn't put up a fight. Come silently, or I'll see to it personally that you're silenced." At these words, the soldiers along the perimeter began to move. Noel wanted to fight, needed to fight, but his hesitation and fear of Gregor's intentions were holding him back. All the while, Fang had been overpowered, and with one swing of the blunt side of Gregor's weapon she was knocked down and did not get up; an enraged Snow launched himself at Gregor, who only blasted the nuisance away with a well-aimed Ruinga.

Two downed, two still standing. Despite Snow and Fang's resistance, Gregor had not taken their lives, and it was with this thought that Noel permitted the approaching soldiers to take him into captivity. He could not let further harm come to anyone else.

I'm sorry, Hope, Noel said silently in apology. As he vowed to get him and the others out of their predicament soon, he caught wind of two things — a flash of green from the corner of his eye and Gregor shouting something about a brother — before a blow to the back of his head rendered him unconscious.

Noel awoke to the sounds of hushed conversation, though his consciousness was acknowledged before he could comprehend any of the words being said.

"Nice of you to join us," said a voice, namely Fang's. Noel acknowledged the greeting with a short nod, but not before opening his eyes to properly assess the situation. Fang's wrists and ankles were cuffed to the wall opposite of him, with Snow and the Lieutenant constrained similarly to the walls adjacent to him; one downward glance told Noel that he was bound in the same fashion.

"Could be worse," said the Lieutenant, offering Noel a weak smile. "We could be dead. Or knocked out like that guy." Here, Lieutenant Strike nodded stiffly to Snow, whose head was still bowed and who showed no signs of consciousness. After days of fighting and fending for himself on enemy groups, Noel was sure Snow had exhausted himself and pushed his body past its limits.

"Least he's got all his body parts," said Fang, after giving Snow a glance over. "Vanille, the poor girl. Missing most of her right hand."

"What happened, anyway?" asked Noel, regarding Lieutenant Strike and Fang in turn. "Back there with Gregor, I mean."

"Man's a clever guy," said Fang. "Went after me, knowing you guys would come back. Least you managed to find Snow before we got caught."

"More like he found us," said the Lieutenant. "Snow Villiers, what a guy. And all along I thought Noel here was being reckless."

"Hey now."

But the Lieutenant only chuckled and took back his previous remark.

"The guy made a good point, though," continued the Lieutenant. "Sometimes you got no choice but to fight. Guess this is one of those times, huh?"

Fang answered, "Yep, sure is. I wonder, though. Why didn't he kill us when he had the chance?"

"Public execution."

The two words had been whispered so quietly, Noel had almost missed them entirely.

"Gregor let it slip," explained the Lieutenant. "Besides, as a terrorist group, what's the point of eliminating the opposition if no one knows you've done it? They're going to want to instill fear into the populace's hearts."

"History repeating herself all over again," snapped Fang, shaking her head. She then turned to the Lieutenant and added, "You think your men are gonna come in time to get us outta this?" But before anyone could answer her, a sharp voice cried from outside their room, reprimanding them for too much ruckus.

No one spoke thereafter, leaving Noel to his thoughts. How was Hope doing? Now that he thought about it, for how long had he blacked out? Noel no longer knew how many days it'd been since they'd returned from the Faultwarrens; was there a chance that Hope had come around at last? He certainly hoped so. And what about Lightning? Where was she now, or had she not been saved like Snow, Fang and Vanille? — and what about what Gregor had said about Snow? Gregor had referred to Snow as a l'Cie. Was Gregor just misinformed, or had Snow not been saved like Fang and Vanille had?

There were still so many things Noel didn't know — did Hope already know of these things? — and he hated the feeling it gave him, because they were running out of time, and despite everything he'd done with Hope he didn't feel he was any —

"Noel," said the Lieutenant quietly, disrupting Noel from his disarrayed thoughts; "did you ever tell Snow about the girl?"

Noel turned to the unconscious Snow. He promised he would, but he hadn't had the chance. Hopefully he would be able to apologize to Snow before it was too late.

"No. Not yet."

Chapter Posted: 02 Jan 2013
Last Edited: 05 Sept 2013

Upcoming: Vanille and Hope share a heartfelt exchange; Noel struggles to help Snow find a sense of purpose.