act ii. cycle xx. 4.
The mood was somber as they all gathered outside the broken gates of Sanctuary, but the camaraderie from hours before lingered. They all knew what had to be done and they all knew they were in it together.
The flat grey sky was streaked with waves of ash, an artist's rubbing over heaven's paper. The air tasted metallic and sulfurous, like brimstone. The land was silent, grimly waiting.
"Chaos has regained his strength," Noel simply said, and everyone knew they could delay no longer.
The Guardian stepped to the edge of the sea-washed chasm, tendrils of black criss-crossing over the empty space. With a wrench, fingers of chaos blasted through the fabric of space-time, a summoning circle gaping wide before the chasm burst into dark flame.
Bartz yelped, leaping back behind Squall. "What is that?"
Noel looked over his shoulder, darklight glittering in his eyes like blue diamonds. "The edge of discord."
Hope moved next to Noel, staring into the dark rift of fire. "This isn't a distortion."
"No."
"Hmph." Kain joined them with Tifa. "So our foe has always been upon our doorstep."
"Don't tell me we have to jump into that," Bartz said, peeking around Squall's arm.
"You can stay behind if you want," Noel replied, though he smiled. "But we'd have a hard time without you."
"Just close your eyes and hold your breath," Squall said. "I'll let you know when we hit bottom."
Bartz made a face and sighed, scooting out from the safety of Squall. "Between you two, it's hard to say no."
"So I guess we're doing this," Tifa said. She cracked her knuckles and took a deep breath. "Well, ladies first." She poised herself to spring.
"Wait, wait!" Bartz waved his arms frantically. "Shouldn't we have, like, some kind of encouraging speech before we go? To fire us up?"
"You're kidding, right?" Squall pinched the bridge of his nose.
Tifa smiled, a bit wanly. "I'm so wound up right now that I don't think you could psyche me up any more."
"That's why we should have a speech!" Bartz planted his fists on his hips, turning to Noel. "You're kinda the leader. Any inspirational words to put our hearts at ease blah blah blah?"
"Me?" Noel blinked and shrugged. "Uh… 'don't die and let's win?'"
Kain coughed. "Succinct."
Noel threw his hands up in the air, pointing at Hope. "Isn't this your forte?"
"No, I think you covered it fairly well." The scientist applauded politely. "Bravo, very inspirational."
"All right, guys!" Bartz fist-pumped and then stuck his hand out. The somber mood had all but lifted, the tension bleeding away from everyone. "You heard him. Don't die and let's win."
Tifa laughed helplessly and rested her palm atop Bartz's hand. "Can't argue with that."
"Are we really doing this gesture of solidarity again?" Squall asked, though he joined in.
"This is not one of my better moments." But Noel grinned and winked at Hope. "Don't hold it against me."
"Minus a million love points," Hope deadpanned, placing his hand down on Noel's.
Kain set his hand on top. "However said, the sentiment is accurate."
"That's right." Noel looked at everyone in turn, and each returned his determined stare with one of their own. "It might not be poetic, but I mean it. Let's all get home safely."
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The inside of the rift was not dissimilar to the distortion. Hope felt weightless, a sensation of falling simultaneously down and up. The complete darkness killed any sense of direction; it was like spinning along the currents of a watery abyss to some unknown destination.
They had all held hands and jumped in together, but he had long ago lost his hold on Bartz and Noel, their fingers slipping easily from his own as if they never were there. Without them, he felt detached from his body, the darkness so rich he couldn't see himself. He tried calling out, but his voice was greedily gobbled up by nothing. Then his limbs grew heavy and he dropped like a stone through eternity.
Suddenly his feet touched something solid and glowing pink glyphs scrawled to life beneath his boots, burning into his night-adjusted vision. He shielded his face, squinting; he recognized the calligraphy etched along the mystic symbols as Etro's. Light's crystal had guided him to safety.
The light of the emblem did little to penetrate the darkness. He took a careful step forward, another crest alighting beneath his foot, as if creating something solid for him to walk upon. With nothing to guide him and no idea where to go, Hope began moving onward.
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The trail of glyphs stretched far behind him. Hope had no idea how long he had been walking in the heavy darkness. He couldn't even hear his own heart beating and soon he began to wonder if he was even alive.
He prayed the others were all right. He had seen no sign of them; in fact, he had seen no sign of anything, other than the darkness stretching into darkness and the light under his feet. Trapped in this place without anything to engage his senses, his thoughts began to cannibalize themselves in a feast of negativity.
Were the others ensnared as he was? Or was he the only one? Perhaps there was no escape. And even if there was, what then? To face down a dark, terrible god, mad in his power, whom even Noel couldn't defeat?
"No!" he shouted aloud, though his voice was tiny to his ears. The sound died quickly without an echo, but the act of defiance was enough to turn his thoughts off that self-defeating path.
They had their crystals. Chaos had been defeated before, even when the despair had seemed just as great. They would make another miracle. This would be no different.
And if they won? What then? A sliver of gloom snaked a cold finger around his heart. Would this free Noel? Hope suspected Noel had remained trapped here due to his crystal. The crystal's protection prevented him from leaving at Chaos' last defeat; after that, its wishes forced him to remain. Would defeating Chaos return Noel home?
"Even if it doesn't, I'll find a way," Hope told the doubt eating him. "My wish…"
And when Noel returned home, Caius would disappear. The future would be changed and possibly even set free.
The future would be changed…?
Noel's future…
(If Noel's future changes…)
A soft chime rang under his next step, the seal suddenly stretching from infinity to infinity. Its gentle radiance lit the featureless darkness and Hope stopped.
A black silhouette wavered in front of him, swallowing the streaks of light emanating from the glyph beneath them. Chaos seethed like a rainbow on oil over the shadow and Hope stepped back, tensing.
Darkness solidified, compressing into arms, legs, torso, head. Black pulled back to reveal color, and he recognized her as when he had met her thirteen years ago. But her eyes were dark pools of shadow and her mouth was erased from her wooden face.
This wasn't Light and it wasn't a manikin; Hope gestured and vapors condensed into javelins of ice about him. There was no presence to this shadow, and he realized that was all it was: a shadow of the chaos projected by his own heart. This was why he couldn't escape this maze of darkness; Light's crystal had led him here but he had to be the one to conquer it.
A gunblade flashed into the shadow's hand and it slid forward with inhuman grace.
It fought like her, with a trained agility and tactical aggression, balanced in all types of combat for any situation. Had this been the real thing, Hope might have had a more serious battle on his hands, but this was a mere copy, based off Hope's image of Light.
Magic clashed with steel; Hope did not hold back, the need to defeat his enemies to protect his loved ones overwhelming him. It became a tangible pain in his heart, and this made him more coldly determined, more focused on the goal. A firestorm swiftly swallowed the shade of Light, the roar of flames popping in his ears. The pain lessened in his chest and Hope pressed a hand to it, inhaling deep.
But then the flames deepened into blue, their flickering dance stilling into frozen waves. Ice shattered and darkness slid out, twisting like putty into Snow's broad form, blank-faced and hollow-eyed.
Hope eyed this new opponent warily, spreading spheres of fire about him in a protective orbit. Just another projection of his heart, but it didn't matter what was in his way. He'd never give up; he'd ram through and save everyone, consequences be damned.
The shadow was as impatient and unrefined as the real thing, but Hope's heart pounded with a stubborn willfulness which drove out any strategy from his brain. The best approach would've been to maintain his distance, but he didn't care, playing close and personal, nothing on his mind but to smash this obstacle down so he could save his friends.
Snow melted into shadow under the intense heat of lightning, a bubbling puddle on the glyph-marked floor. Hope pressed a hand to his forehead, struggling to calm down. The pool of chaos swirled and lumped over each other, solidifying with each wave, and there was his father seated sedately before him. Black eyes watched him blindly behind the glint of its glasses, lipless mouth a thin pencil mark across its unreadable face.
A shuddering breath shook Hope's frame and he dropped his hold on his magic, stepping back in surprise. This was not what he expected.
A liquid heat seeped from inside his chest through his veins, like he had been injected with an antibiotic, warm but soothing. His mad, impulsive thoughts fell away like leaves in the wind and his single-minded drive to defeat the enemy faded away before the discourse of wisdom and reason.
This shade was another projection of his heart. But these projections were more than just shadows taking the shape of people important to him.
"You are me," he told the shadow of his father in epiphany, mind clear. "You are a manifestation of the passion in my heart."
Hope reached out and it was Vanille smiling at him. Its eyes were wells of darkness, but its mouth was human, and its smile was as brilliant as his memories of her. It was just a projection of his heart, his embodiment of happiness, but the effect was still the same and he found himself smiling gently back.
Chaos seeped from pores in its skin, melting away the recognizable form of Vanille, and Hope recoiled, his smile fading. The darkness stretched like taffy, molding into a new shape, and Hope knew the silhouette before color even bled into it.
Hope did not blanch at the shade of Noel standing before him. It made sense to follow happiness with this manifestation. The shadow more closely resembled its living counterpart than the others; its handsome face was whole, eyes bright with an almost purple glint as it reflected the pink light radiating below, mouth parted in a sweet smile.
But the shade drew weapons—black echoes of Noel's own swords—and chaotic energy swarmed around it. Hope stared it down, making no move to defend himself.
"I won't deny you," he said firmly, and the shade rushed forward, gladius passing through Hope's heart without piercing flesh. There was no pain and Hope wrapped his arms tight around the shade, wondering why he felt he had to be shy about love, holding himself back from giving to others that they gave so freely to him.
But it was not Noel he was holding. This form was smaller and a scent he had not known for over a decade tickled his nose and squeezed his heart. He drew back, holding the shade of his mother by the arms, and its smile was empathetic and nurturing.
Its slim hands brushed hair from his face, green eyes exuding pride at how he had grown. But Hope only made it this far because of his mother. No, not just his mother, but his father, and his friends, and all the people he loved… they took care of him, allowing him to mature into the adult he was now.
Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. It was only a projection of his heart, but the shade was so akin to his memories of his mother that it hurt. His heart ached and chaos swept over her. A child's stifled sob hiccuped through the darkness and the chaos fell away. Hope slowly knelt down, placing hesitant hands on the new shade's trembling shoulders. It was crying, choked sounds which racked its slim body, as if it was trying to hide its pain.
Hope had never outwardly cried during those years. He kept his grief bottled up; at first there had been no time to cry and then he just simply couldn't. He numbed himself to loss through school and work; while he didn't pretend everything was okay, he didn't allow himself to think it wasn't. Even when his father had finally passed he did not mourn; he only felt like the last string binding him to the world had been cut loose, freeing him to drift. They called him an automation during those two fevered years at the Academy's university; maybe they were right. He had been afraid to feel, despite the compassion he held for others, because feeling hurt him in ways he couldn't cope with.
He watched the shade of his fourteen-year-old self shamefully hide tears behind small hands.
"It all started back then, didn't it?" Hope asked quietly, his voice clear. He carefully pulled the shadow's hands from its face; red-rimmed green eyes flicked away from his steady gaze. "When your mother died. That was the first time you ever felt that kind of helplessness—the lack of your own strength. The first time you realized the world was unfair and devoured the weak. If had you been stronger, would she have died trying to protect you?
"You were at the wrong place at the wrong time and you lost your mother. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time and you became cursed. Suddenly all you knew was fear and anger and helplessness and all you could do was blame your fate—blame your powerlessness.
"So you turned to others, to lean on their strength.
"And even though you relied on them, like they were beasts of burden, you discovered your own strength through them. Because you found that you loved them, and you remembered how you once lost what you loved because you lacked strength. So you had to become strong, because even as you leaned on them, you couldn't lose them.
"The world is unfair and devours the weak. There will always be fear and anger and loss. But that is why I must persevere. I am strong. I've gained it through the people I love, and as I rely on them, they're relying on me. When they falter, I will be there, and when I falter, they will lift me onto my feet.
"This is the strength we gained together."
Hope rested a comforting hand on the boy's pale head. Serious green eyes turned up to him, believing, and Hope smiled, drying tears from its face with gentle fingers. He cherished all those people he loved, the ones that made him happy, and with the wisdom he gained, he would save and protect them all.
No matter his fear and doubts, or perhaps because of them.
He was strong.
Hands snagged his and between one blink and the next, the shadow of his young self morphed into another boy entirely. Hope did not recognize this colorless, sickly child, white haired and red-eyed, staring at him with a rapt fascination. Its eyes glinted with a fey light, similar to Noel's when he sank into the power of chaos.
"Is this strength?" the child asked. "Is this hope?"
A crown of flames erupted upon the boy's head and Hope fell back. Tendrils of chaos snaked around the boy and sliced into too-pale skin, bleeding out fire. A wild revelation hit Hope hard, and he remembered how long ago, Noel had been upset when Hope called Chaos evil.
This was the reality of the dark god of discord, Hope realized, and now he understood why Noel was so determined to save Chaos.
The flames consumed the boy's frail body, sweeping down along the glyph's script. It snaked under Hope's hands, but he felt no heat. A deep bell tolled head-splittingly loud from below, and Hope slapped his hands to his ears with a loud cry. Warm palms slid over his eyes from behind, blotting out the light, and he jerked upright.
[Please end his pain.]
Cosmos' voice was like cool rain misting through the turmoil of his mind. The hands slid away from his face and he saw his friends standing around him, looking about in confusion.
Dazed, Hope stood. The darkness was now like a moonlit night, the source of radiance unknown. Light's glyph was gone, but the black was solid under his feet.
"How did I... get here?" Bartz was the first to speak, scratching his head, puzzled. "There was some weird kid…"
"Yeah...and I heard Cosmos," Tifa added, just as puzzled. She shook her head, clasping her crystal close to her chest. "Is everyone all right?"
Squall drew forth his crystal, its pale light casting soft shadows onto his face as it shimmered sweetly with a new light. "Looks like we passed some sort of test."
Hope quickly glanced around. Someone was missing. "Where's Noel?"
"Perhaps he had not conquered his trial yet?" Kain answered, but the dragoon sounded doubtful.
The scientist shook his head. "It wouldn't make sense for Noel to have a trial. The chaos in his heart is unfettered. It's just a theory, but I surmise that's why we have crystals—"
"I can't believe you're going into Explain Mode right now," Bartz cut in, shaking his head and resting a hand on his brow in a dramatic pose of forbearance. "We're kinda at the rest point before the final battle, so don'tcha think a lecture—"
Suddenly, the darkness before Bartz ripped open, a monstrous tail whipping through to smash into the mime. The other four reacted slowly, dulled by surprise, but the appendage abruptly met ghostly twin steel, curved blades slicing upwards to bite into tough skin.
The empty darkness flickered like a candle and flames scrawled along it from the tear in space, burning it away like paper. A vast planescape was revealed around them, a fire-eaten land belching smoke into a thunderhead-drowned sky weeping meteors of flame. A broken stair, pockmarked and gutted, let up to a great dais high above, where darkness and fire clashed.
Bartz stared in amazement at his savior, the specter flashing him a cocky grin, his tail twitching. "Zidane!" The specter saluted and flickered from sight. His crystal hovered by Bartz's side, circling him once cheerfully.
Hope started forward. If Zidane's crystal was here, that meant—
"Watch out!" Tifa cried out, as a blast rocked the dais above, boulders crashing down.
"Noel must be fighting up there!" Hope flung aside debris with a compressed ball of wind.
A giant fireball arched out and slammed into the blackened earth past them. A great shadow of smoke and flame soared up from the dais, wingspan blotting the boiling sky with a curtain of flame. Orange light stretched between the god's many hands and he hurled liquid fire down onto the platform, pulverizing it straight to its base.
"Noel!" Hope shouted, as Kain jerked the scientist away from the raining rubble.
A figure nimbly leapt downward from crumbling rock to crumbling rock, easily escaping the maelstrom of rock and fire. Relief washed over Hope as the Guardian landed safely in their midst. Hope ran up to him, running worried hands over him, and then punched him in the arm for making Hope worry in the first place.
Noel winced, before smiling sheepishly. He was covered in soot and ash, and a nasty burn ate through the skin on his neck and cheek, glistening red. Hope immediately applied a healing spell to it, but Noel caught his hand, shaking his head. Lines of chaos crisscrossed over the wound, grafting the skin and healing it as good as new.
Hope stared at him; was this an evolution of Noel's immortality, to regenerate even minor wounds? The Guardian's eyes were purple with the light of chaos and Hope didn't think Noel was even approaching the limits of his power.
He squeezed Hope's hand reassuringly before gently pushing him aside to wildly grin at the others. "Glad you all could finally make it."
Squall drew his gunblade, slinging it onto his shoulder. He glanced at the dark god in the sky. "You looked like you had it under control."
"Won't refuse any help though, if you feel like having a little fun."
"Is now the time for jesting?" Kain asked mildly, loosening his wrists.
Noel smirked and Hope turned his head, sensing a change in the air. A faint breeze sifted through, carrying with it the slightest hint of ozone, undermining the stink of sulfur. He quickly summoned Light's crystal and it gleamed with a gentle, pulsating light.
Tifa and Squall blinked down at theirs, light shining between their fingers in response.
"Whoa, mine too! And Zidane!" Delighted, Bartz glanced back and forth between his crystal and the one floating beside him.
"We're all gathered together at the appointed place," Noel explained, as Kain held out his own gleaming crystal in question. "They know their purpose."
An earth shattering bellow shook the heavens. They all glanced up. Chaos screamed wordlessly at them, slavering like a mad dog. The small but steady lights of the crystals agitated him and recklessly he stormed a hail of hellfire upon them. Their crystals flared in response, a blinding white light, and the rain of fire splashed onto an invisible dome over their heads, spraying harmlessly away.
Noel opened his palm and a tiny spark snapped to life, flaring into the shape of Hope's crystal star. More tiny sparks sizzled around it, seven in all, swirling into the crystals of their friends.
"Ah!" Bartz jumped as ZIdane's crystal zipped by him to join its brethren. His own crystal slipped out of his loosened fingers, spiraling above him.
The smooth surface of Light's crystal slid out of Hope's hand, and he watched it rise with the others. All thirteen pulsed in accord with each other.
As the rain of fire sizzled into the ground, there came a deep rumble, far below in the bowels of the diseased earth. The geysers stopped spitting smoke and the land rolled, struggling against a hidden pressure, and it was all Hope could to do remain on his feet. When the earth could not contain the pain any longer, fissures split open across its face with a thunderous crack, and water spewed forth, a silver-blue blood spreading over parched skin.
It rolled over flames, quenching their light into hissing steam, swallowing the falling meteors with an inhuman hunger. Chaos howled at the water christening his destruction, but as the steam and fog drifted high, the wind rose, shredding smoke and black clouds into a silver sky. White mist dropped like a veil and Chaos swatted at it in confused agony, a child in a fever dream. Steam rose from his limbs as his fire dampened.
Hope lifted his hands to let the cool drizzle pool in his gloved palms, turning his face up to the sweet wind parting through the humidity. The sky was the same as the one which hung over Sanctuary and he wondered if this sky belonged to some place special.
Warm water lapped over the feet of the six companions. Nothing could be seen any longer of the burned earth; a cleansing lake reflecting the silver clouds rippled as far as the eye could see. Great black rock jutted from its mirror-like surface, still steaming, shells of the meteor rain.
Hope glanced over at Noel, and the Guardian's head was bent over the crystal star, eyes closed as if in prayer. A single crystal still orbited it, its light shimmering with each spin, and the reflection off the misty rain gave the illusion of an armored warrior facing Noel, gauntleted hands raised in benediction, a crown of swords upon his brow. Noel's own crown blazed once in response, smoky wings flaring off into white.
The rain stopped and Chaos howled.
But his flame did not answer.
"He's been weakened," Noel said, and the others turned to him. His fey gaze was now on his dark god. Hope had trouble reading his expression.
Light's crystal floated down to Hope, joined by two others. He recognized them and smiled to himself, reaching out to brush them in greeting: the one to watch over him and the one to help him protect all he loved, aided by one who wished for his happiness.
Chaos whirled to them, his four fists clenched tight. His eyes still burned with flame, feral and unseeing. He only knew that the warriors below were responsible for his pain, and as a child would seek to repay like with like, so did Chaos cling to blind retribution. His great wings rose up and with a mindless frenzy, he charged at the group below with deadly speed, desiring only to hurt and destroy.
But they were not unprepared. Tifa's crystal flared and she rushed forward past the group. A second crystal circled around her, and the specter of a young woman with long ears stood back to back with her as they halted Chaos' onslaught with their fists.
This spurred the others into action, and they fanned out around Chaos to join the fray; the specters of their comrades aiding them when needed. With absolute certainty, Hope knew this mirrored the first battle against Chaos, and just as that one had ended, so would this one. Pity filled him as Chaos struggled; the mad god grew more confused and desperate with each sword bite and magic spell, attacking blindly and at-will, with no regard for himself or his foes.
'Is this strength? Is this hope?' The lesson was merciless.
With a last desperate burst of weakened fire, Chaos soared up out of reach, roaring. Hope fancied he could hear the cries, "Mother! Father!"
Chaos tried to escape on his crippled wings, streaming dark blood, but then Kain plummeted from the heavens and drove his lance deep into Chaos' back, the momentum of his dive smashing the god into the water-drowned earth.
Liquid rose up in shining waves, as Kain landed safely away, tall and straight. Chaos screamed, half-rising, scrabbling for the lance protruding from his back. Unable to reach it, he crouched down on all fours and roared, frothing at the mouth. But the all too human pain in his weeping eyes struck Hope and he found he could not move to settle a deathblow on the god.
Squall glided to attack, not inhibited by such compassion, but it was Noel who moved before the feral Chaos, unarmed save only for his two crystals. The light of the Guardian of the Goddess' crystal sparked blindingly bright, the specter of the Warrior of Light stepping forth from its essence. The specter saluted once and Chaos raised an enraged claw to slash Noel to ribbons.
Noel did not look away and Hope knew that Noel could not kill the one he wished to save. But he still had the wish of the Warrior of Light to fulfill, and Hope turned his head away at the final blow, perceiving the cruelty he had forced Noel to bear.
A choked cry bubbled from Chaos' maimed body and he collapsed into the shadows as the Warrior of Light withdrew his shining blade, broken wings settling over him like a shroud. The dark god lay still, except for the faint rise and fall of his dying breath.
The crystals of the specters snuffed into nothing, like candle flames blown out. The Warrior of Light turned a clear gaze on Noel, who stared back impassively, and then he too was gone.
Bartz hopped down by Squall, wiping at a cut on his cheek. "Did we win?"
Squall's mouth was a grim line. It was a victory, but it was not sweet.
Hope quietly approached Noel, who was staring down at the gasping Chaos.
A dimmed eye stared back, filmed with recognition. "...I know you, my... Guardian," Chaos rasped.
Noel's fists balled at his sides, but he met that hollow gaze. "I'm sorry."
"My wish…"
"I'll see to it. Just… rest."
Chaos said nothing more, eyes closing and the monstrous visage smoothing with the comfort of oblivion.
Noel's shoulders dropped with the weight of a million cares, and Hope pressed a hand to the small of the Guardian's back in silent comfort. Tensing, Noel's head swiveled toward him before recognizing him. He smiled half-heartedly, leaning over to bump his forehead onto Hope's.
The remaining crystals pulsed as one with a hidden heartbeat, their light curling down onto their bearers like powdery snow.
"Looks like we're being sent back," Squall said, turning his hands over as motes of light effused from them.
Bartz threw himself at him. "You better not forget me! And you can't get any older. I have to catch up!"
Squall's smile was brief but genuine, and he ruffled Bartz's hair in affection. "No more falling off cliffs," he said and then he was gone.
Tifa fist-bumped with Kain, sparks fluttering off her. "Remember what I told you."
"Indeed."
She winked at Noel. "I'll tell Cloud you said hi."
Noel grinned. "I doubt he remembers me."
"Oh, I have my ways." She waved in farewell, her light fading into the sky.
"It was so great seeing everyone again. And Hope!" Bartz grabbed Hope's hand. His hazel eyes colored gold as his body also took on his crystal's glow. "Try not to get any worry lines, okay?"
"I'll do my best," Hope promised, squeezing Bartz's hand as it slipped from his grasp.
Kain gazed at Noel and Hope in silence as the light took him. The shadow of his smile was his farewell.
"And then there were two." Hope gazed down at himself. Pyreflies were slowly flaking off him, a faint aura outlining his body as Light's crystal sought to send him back to their homeworld. "It'll be good to return home."
"Mm."
Hope smiled at Noel. "Hopefully we'll remem… Noel?" His smile wavered and slid off his face. No aura surrounded Noel; the Guardian was watching him with somber eyes.
Noel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't go back yet."
Hope reached out to grab Noel's arm. "Why-" he bit off his words as his fingers slipped through Noel's limb. Desperate, he clutched at his chest. "No, let me stay!" he pleaded with Light's crystal. "I can't leave him alone again…!"
"What you needed to do is done."
"What I… needed to do?" Hope repeated, uncomprehending. "What about you?"
"Still some things I have to do here. I need to see Chaos' wish through. It's the least I can do after I betrayed him."
So his crystal once again anchored Noel in this otherworld, even if Noel was willing.
"And what about my wish?" Hope tried to cup Noel's face in his hands, but the crystal's radiance had consumed his flesh. He could feel nothing.
"Your wish?" Noel tilted his head. "With that new Cocoon of yours, you'll save my future—and you'll save everyone, including those I want to save."
Hope stared at him and then it dawned on him that Noel didn't know. Noel had never heard his wish...
The Guardian smiled, and Hope hated it. Noel said he never lied, but he lied everyday with his face and voice and he never realized it and Hope hated it.
'That's not what I wished for,' he tried to say, but by then he had nothing to say it with. Noel was still talking, though the words had no ears to reach, and as Hope's vision dimmed he saw Noel's lips moving very clearly through his smile.
save my future
and
i love you
and
good-bye
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(It all started because of a wish.)
(I wanted to save everyone.)
'So I don't like being alone. I'm afraid of being left alone.'
(But even more deeply, I promised myself I wouldn't let that happen.)
(... please… this selfish wish…)
The lights swam in his eyes and someone was shouting his name. He was resting on a flat surface, moving rapidly; a cacophony buzzed both in and out of his head.
Pain throbbed in his chest, muted by the warmth of healing light. His eyes rolled and he tried to orient himself. His body was as heavy as lead but hands still restrained him.
"... Noel…" he rasped. He was back, wasn't he? He was back and he remembered—
"Hope!" A gloved hand lightly slapped his cheek. "You're gonna be okay, kid. Just keep breathing."
Everything was a blur, but he did as he was told. It seemed like a good idea. Snow never had a lot of them, but this was a good one.
"Sorry I didn't get here sooner. But better late than never, huh?"
Hope closed his eyes; he couldn't take the light any more. "If this is late…" He took a deep breath and the pain shoved hard against the curative magic. "... I'd hate to see never."
Someone ordered Snow aside and the gurney was lifted up.
end act ii.
I never want to write a chapter like this again, ugh...
The next chapter might be released a day late due to work obligations. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Thank you, ryoko126 for your review! I have a love-hate relationship with Kain orz. He's also helluva cheap in DDFF.
Commentary always welcome; thanks for reading!