A/N: wow it's been a long while since I made a new chapter. Sorry for the slow updates I only have one day of free time with my full schedule with school and sports :p. That is basically the bottom line for my absence, so lets start this back up again okay? Lets start.

Mels POV:

The cold darkness becomes overwhelmed with a strong source of light that my eyes sting even if I squint them nearly close. I thought that I had been summoned again by the Goddess Etro since I heard her voice when time felt slow and unbearably claustrophobic but instead the light was just the setting afternoon sun and I am where I have been before I must have blacked out, with Lightning and Fang who seem to be having a deep conversation of what? I do not know, but did Etro really reveal herself to me in her golden form? It felt different than before, maybe that was just her way of giving me a warning?, though I can see Fang is rubbing the side of her face and there seems to be a slight red mark beneath her hand, also I cannot hear nothing just barely my own thoughts but as time slowly begins to pick up back to normal I hear what the two women are talking about.

"That it?" Fang asks Light almost as if she could care less in her sarcastic tone of voice.

"You sure better hope so. But whether we're square that's up to Serah." Light says as she stares directly into the huntress green eyes with her arms hanging almost stiffly at her sides. Again Fang rubs the red mark and replies, as Light begins to turn her head at the moment Fang compares her to the self proclaimed hero.

"You sound exactly like Snow, and he didn't hit me."

Lightning turns her back to the huntress and me with her arms folded across her chest so I can't see her face nor what she is feeling right now. Though her voice says otherwise without seeing her expression.

"Wait, he already knows this?" In a sort of frustrated tone.

"Wow." Is all that Fang says as she stands to her feet and walks over to the former SOLDIER. I continue to watch the two with my eyes without moving for my limbs and will feel to heavy to even twitch my little fingers.

"That's a load off." The huntress starts as she swings her arms as if she's loosening them back and forth across her chest and she does the same with her legs by making them move upward and back to the ground a few times. She stops then continues,

"Glad I apologized." This got Light to turn and face her, her expression seems to be one of surprise mixed with slight annoyance.

"Wait you apologized so you'd feel better?" But as soon as she turned she turned her back again.

"Guess so. So how bout you? Feel any better now that you hit me?" Fang says questionably after she sighed away whatever she felt bothered her.

Lightning scoffs and looks away from the Huntresses gaze and replies,

"It didn't change anything."

Fang rubs her jaw from where she had been struck and says to her with a slight chuckle,

"Tell that to my jaw."

The two women remain silent for a few minutes only the sounds of metal footsteps, the soft afternoon breeze and the wings of birds flapping through the air made the silence feel a bit more... I don't know, heart tearing probably. I found my strength to move my fingers then the blood began to rush through my arms, my upper body then to my brain. I felt my blood turn warm again and I was now able to move at will again once my neck jerked a bit then I had control over myself but for some reason I felt as though I was being commanded to remain still, I stayed in place unmoving to see both the eyes of jade green and cerulean blue looking my way. I tried not to make eye contact at all with either of them so there I remain until Ligthtning speaks up.

"Felix heights is that up there, we should get moving but-" she suddenly stops. She gazes backwards seeing past Fang but where she is looking I am not sure of.

"But- what? Something the matter?" Fang asks Light as she follows her gaze back to me.

"Oh I see, it's him your worried about right? Don't worry we'll be able to make it up there with the boy on our backs yea?" She's says almost confident that is what Lightning is concerned about is me.

"Maybe I am concerned about this kid, I mean where ever we were with this kid they knew something would happen and something did. Now since they're unconscience I am unsure of what will come our way. To tell you truthfully I still have this flicker of suspicion still lingering inside of me, but if Hope trusts him then maybe I could try so too." SOLDIER girl says with a hand resting on her hip.

"Let me ask you something. Is there, a small possibility, that anything this kid could know that we don't? Did they say anything that could help us out here with our focus? I mean your focus? I really wanna know, to save Vanille!" Fang asks eagerly it shows greatly on her face. All Lightning does is shake her head. Maybe she is holding back but I think I remember telling her I would tell her anything if possible back at Vile Peaks. So all I did was push myself up with my arms until I sat upright, looking at the two women who are oblivious to me while cracking my stiff joints and said as loudly as my voice could muster,

"Well it is rude to talk about someone behind their backs even when they are right next to you asleep. A tap on the shoulder would have sufficed to you know. But I do know what will come out to nab us but if we don't hurry right now Snow and Hope will be in grave danger." I said slowly because my throat felt raspy and sore. I swung my legs over the wall I was laying on to set my in an upright sitting position where my feet could touch the metal grates. Fang scratches the back of her neck embarrassed and Lightning has a ghost of embarrassment in her eyes but locks it away. I began to crack my shoulders then my neck and lastly my knuckles once more for good measure, I looked at the two and said dryly,

" If you wanna know what's ahead of us then look straight at it and go against it head on." Fang realizes that I was telling her that and she walks past me in a hurry. Lightning remains fixed in her spot looking ready to hear what I'm going to tell her.

" If your worried about someone that's fine but if someone knows something and you don't and you are with them and you want to know what it is they know then doesn't that make it seem like you want to go the easy way out huh? Like your running away."

Lightning has an annoyed and upset look in her gaze as her blue eyes are bearing a small fire in them into my own eyes.

"I'm not one to run away at any given moment. I just want to be prepared for whatever is waiting for us up ahead." She says as she walks my way to get by but once she is almost directly beside me I say this out of instinct,

"We can never be prepared for everything. Like at Animas threshold, you weren't prepared to lose Serah the second you saw her turn to crystal right before your very eyes. You were so unprepared at the time you felt that you had to lash out and blame it on someone other than yourself... No one can be prepared for every disaster that strikes, otherwise we would feel nothing, right?" Lightning halts in her tracks and I think that I saw something that made her realize that I was right, maybe she feels a bit prideful right now, but she doesn't deny what I have told her.

" What makes you so sure? You don't know me, kid!..." She says in a tone full of anger and walks slowly after Fang. Before she disappears completely from my view I could hear her mutter something.

"But maybe you're right, I just can't admit it to myself or anyone. You got some mouth on you, you say things that's true and somehow open our eyes to the truth... Maybe that's why I feel like I need you here, someone like you who actually understands..."

I listen to her footsteps for a second and then silence, they pick up again until I see the fair pink haired SOLDIER came back and has a soft, but stoic, expression on her face.

"I just felt like I've lost too much to lose more than what I have left... I guess that is why I was running away like I had told Hope I was when we were within the Gapra White wood. I can't stand to lose anyone else, that is what clouds my judgement and my emotions. I go haywire because of how unprepared I am..." Silence hangs into the air but then I hear something soft escape her lips like a small laugh.

"I find this strange to tell you the truth. Other than Serah you make me feel like I'm safe, I actually have someone to turn too. Even though we are a few years apart you seem like you can make you seem to know more about the world than I did just like my sister. It seems weird but it feels... Good in a sense. To vent I mean." Lightning says openly and I stare at her in shock, she's actually opening up to me more than she did in the beginning, and I merely chuckle alongside her.

"Hey! You two done yet? If what you say is true then we better haul ass while we have the chance!" Fang calls from afar. Light and I look at each other for a second and nod to each other soon following the trail to find the impatient huntress.

Hopes POV:

My brain pounds against my skull as my eyes flutter open. I see the ground moving with familiar large boots and familiar clothing. I startle myself as I realize someone is carrying me but to my own realization it was merely him... That guy who couldn't save mom is helping me.

"Why are you-" I began but he cut me off.

"I promised Light that I would take care of ya. Also I don't ask that you forgive me kid but I want you to know something. Your mom asked me to take you home only I didn't know who you were until then where we were talking at. I regret that I couldn't save her because she lost her life to save me, I thought that I could make it up to her, to everyone, if I just saved Cocoon. But that wouldn't have changed what had happened..."

Snow says in a depressed but stern tone,

'Though I hate you because you couldn't save my mom I may not forgive you but it seems that if what I told you hurt you then you are shouldering more than your average guilt right?' I thought about it and realized how much I was ignorant to. I blamed Snow for moms death but it wasn't he who started it all but the Sanctum, if they didn't start the purge in the first place then mom and I would still be together... But then again that would mean that I wouldn't get stronger and I wouldn't have met everyone else too.

Snow trudges slowly onward and we came down a flight of stairs, one I am familiar with since I climbed them dozens of times long before. I gazed to the left to see birds with white feathers soaring through the air with the planted nature there glowing peacefully with the dew of the sprinklers shingling in the afternoon sunlight descending almost nearing the horizon. I felt Snow take a step down the stairs then the next thing I know he falls forward and I fall along with him.

"Gah!" I cried in pain as my face fell and slowly skidded across the asphalt, Snow grunted to as he fell before me. I pushed myself up until I was sitting on my legs and at vision was blurred but refocused themselves, my hand instinctively moved to my right cheek where I gasped at the touch which stung and I looked at my right palm to see a bit of blood had stained my white palmed glove. I turned around with concern controlling me to see Snow lying face down on the tannish orange cement ground, his body looks like its shaking violently from either strain or his body is just too tired to carry i could see it from a distance, but like Light said he's too stubborn to die and I believe her.

"Snow? Are you alright?" I asked as I crawled over to the large man who has trouble getting himself to even sit down in an up right position.

"Yeah... I'm fine kiddo, just... Just feeling a bit tired..." He says weakly as he breathes heavier now, much more than he did not even moments ago.

"All we gotta, ngh! Worry about... G-getting you b-back home..." He then starts to push himself back to his feet but instead collapses back down.

"Hold still, I'll... I'll heal you, but it will take some time." I say to him but I faltered unconsciously. I shake my head and hold my hands over Snows body and conjured Cura. The glow of brilliant green light formed from my palms the size of a volleyball, i hear something escape his lips maybe he sighed in relief but I'm not sure. My hands hover over his body from the chest up and as far down as my arms could reach in order to relieve Snow of whatever pain he had been inflicted with.

'Almost done, just need a few more minutes so he can at least walk for a while. If I remember how long the affects of my healing spells are then after I'm done he will last long enough to reach my home at Felix Heights.' I thought to myself as I saw the sun was getting lower and the light was growing dimmer but there was enough light to last for a few hours.

"HOPE!" Snow cried and I jumped in surprise, my spell abruptly ended and a huge gust of wind lashed from behind. I turned around and saw that huge praying mantis orange and silver robot me and Snow fought earlier before we were attacked by the Armies air ship. It looked damaged but something about it made my stomach twist and tighten really bad.

"Hope, get out of here. I'll... Do whatever... I can to hold it off. Trust me, get home and meet up with Lightning and Fang. I'll see you there later." Snow says to me as he steps in front of me with an arm raised as if acting as a shield but he hunches over using one arm as support on his knee and his breathing is still unstable, if only I had a few more minutes he would be in a better state than the one he's in now.

The Ushumgal Subjugator, the name given from the libra spell, let's out air from the engines and the force knocks Snow away. I hear something from him but nothing more, my stomach tightens more and my knees begin to shake again for it is now me against this thing. I want to run, run away and never look back but I remember the words Light told me,

"Some things in life you just do. You don't wait around for a miracle to happen you make it happen."

And I believe her even when Mel was around, told me that if I control my fear it will become and turn into power. The power I need to overcome my challenges before me. So I grabbed my boomerang and opened it standing firm with a hardened gaze at the mecha, I imagined the pilot is sitting there laughing at me but I'm not as weak as I was two days ago!

"PROTECT! SHELL!" I cried waving my arm in front of me to create a shield against both magic, physical and debilitating attacks but it will last for so long I gotta make it count. I sprinted to my left as saw the mecha had a bright ring shape surround me following me wherever I moved. Without hesitation I casted fira, blizzara and thundara at the robot to slow it down but as the embers of the flames died down, the ice shattered to pieces of melting glass and the sparks from the heavens bounced and flashed the tracker was still on me and my attacks didn't even scratch it.

"No way!" I say aloud but to my horror the robot shot multiple bullets of energy and they all were aimed at me, they shot from the sky and shot into the ground. A few connected with my clothing, shredding them, and debris surround me leaving me blind now. I cough and cough while my eyes are closed but nothing happens until I hear something coming closer and soon wind swishes away the dust and the mecha, as I looked through my blurry eyes, was standing above me charging up for an energy attack. My limbs feel heavy and I cannot move not even breathe. All I know is that once the light grew brighter everything went dark.

I thought that death would feel painful but I felt fine. I open one eye slowly and then my eyes snap open completely in shock; Light was with me, I was wrapped around her arm and her eyes they looked like they were filled with rage.

"You alright?" She asks me without looking at me. I try to respond but my throat also feels as tight as my stomach.

"I know your shocked but we need you to fight with us. With four we have a better shot at beating this thing." Light says as she draws her gunblade and switches it to sword form.

"So, shall we? This'll be fun!" A woman says in blue clothing and charges at the mechanical praying mantis. Another figure walks up to me and I felt happy again,

"You alright Hope? Don't need you to pass out here!" Mel says to me with a smirk but not a gloating smirk but a welcoming one.

I finally smile in return to the two before me and found the words to say,

"Don't worry I'm fine we just need to beat this thing and help Snow, he's in bad shape and I mean really bad shape." I say as I stand up to my feet. Happy that Light and the others are here with me gave me enough strength to continue on. The woman, Fang, jumps back beside the three of us after landing a hard blow to the head and smirks happily. Now we stand united side by side weapons drawn four against one strong enemy. Lightning standes firm beside me and says something defiantly,

"Not even worth my time! So lets end this!" With that said she charges, Fang follows and so does Mel. I watch for a second then enter the battle field. All I hear is sounds of shouting and deafening sounds of attacks.

A/N: finally done! Though this is sort of a three part chapter kind of thing. Sorry for the late update but at least I'm able to continue, we'll nothing more to say than thanks and, as always, Ciao! Til the next chapter. Review and whatnot, same as always in the previous chapters though it is up to you all as always... Ciao!