The next day Maqui walked in with Noel, Balthier, and Fran.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted," Maqui flopped onto the couch melodramatically.

"You've done nothing but complain since we picked you up," Fran rolled her eyes.

"No he's been complaining since we got here," Noel shook his head, "Anybody seen Yeul?"

"Not the last one," Serah shook her head.

"Man," Noel sighed, "Oh well. How've you guys been holding up?"

"We've been doing pretty well," Serah smiled.

"That's Enough!" Lightning's voice echoed through the halls.

Noel's eyes widened, "Who's in trouble?"

"Probably Noctis," Tifa chuckled. She skipped up the steps.

Lightning was on the second floor, standing between an angry Sabin and a smug Noctis, "Sabin, go outside and cool off. The fresh air will do you good."

"You always take his side," Sabin snarled, "You dismiss whoever he's picked a fight with and side with him. I think you're playing favorites."

Lightning drew her gunblade and pointed it at him, "If you want me to play favorites I can arrange that for you. Go outside now."

Noctis snickered.

Lightning rounded on him. "I'll deal with you in a minute," she hissed.

Noctis' eyes widened and he took a step backwards.

Sabin growled, "Later. You mean not at all. If you really 'dealt with him' then he would have stopped by now. I don't see you sparing anyone else the amount of attention you give to him. That attention only feeds his ego."

"Sabin, I'm not going to say it again," Lightning closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, "Go outside. Now."

"I'm not going anywhere until he's—,"

Lightning whipped around and punched the much larger man to the ground, "Go."

Sabin leaped to his feet and threw a punch at Lightning.

Lightning ducked and spun, kicking him in the back of the ankle.

Sabin kicked at her.

"Hey," Noctis spoke for the first time, "as much as I'd love to watch her destroy you, we were getting in trouble. Just giving you a friendly reminder in case you had forgotten, muscle head."

Sabin glared at him, "I'll show you friendly."

Lightning pointed her gunblade at Sabin and her survival knife at Noctis.

"You point the smaller blade at him?" Sabin hissed.

"I'm pretty sure it will slide quite nicely between those blades of his," Lightning hissed, "You have no protective boundary to speak of. Sabin, go outside or I will personally knock you out and lock you up, got it?"

Sabin growled and disappeared, mumbling under his breath.

Lightning glared at Noctis, "What was that?"

Noctis shrugged, "He is a muscle head."

Lightning's eyes narrowed, "Really? You called him names and started a fight?"

"No, he started the fight," Noctis corrected.

"You just said you called him names, like muscle head," Lightning hissed.

"Am I wrong in that observation?" Noctis asked.

Lightning growled, "Whether or not you are wrong is beside the point. I'm betting he's not the only one that thinks I'm playing favorites. You need to stop."

"I need to stop because it makes you look bad?" Noctis asked.

"You need to stop because it's tearing us apart," Lightning hissed.

"Really?" Noctis rolled his eyes, "I hadn't noticed."

Lightning growled and punched him.

Noctis fell to the ground with the force of the hit. He grunted, "What was that for?"

"I've had enough from you," Lightning glared down at him, "You will stop. Do. You. Understand?"

Noctis looked up at her with wide bright blue eyes.

Lightning growled. Why? Why can I never stay mad at him? Why do I lose my grip when he looks at me?

Noctis' gaze shifted to the ground. He picked himself off and brushed himself off, "Alright. I got the memo."

Lightning watched him walk past her and up to the roof, "Now I need to talk to Sabin."

"I'll talk to Sabin," Tifa appeared from around the corner.

"You were there the whole time, weren't you?" Lightning sighed.

Tifa nodded, "Noel, Maqui, Balthier, and Fran just arrived. They're downstairs." Tifa went out into the back yard.

Sabin was standing in the courtyard. His eyes were closed and his head was tilted to the sky.

"Hey, you alright?" Tifa asked.

"He's so smug. It's all because he thinks no one can touch him," Sabin sighed. He was much calmer now, "And Lightning doesn't seem to be doing anything about it."

"Actually, you missed it but she just hit him the way she does Snow," Tifa said, "I think it was the first time she did because he looked all shocked."

Sabin glanced at her, "Oh really?"

Tifa nodded.

Sabin sighed, "Alright. I guess Lightning's doing the best she can. With someone like him, that's not much."

Tifa shrugged, "Some people never change, and others just need a wakeup call."

"I guess."

Tifa went back inside.

"Who's Noctis?" Noel asked.

"Our resident pain in the ass," Gadot chuckled. He shook his head, "He's cool as far as the kids are concerned, the rest of us? Not so much."

"Oh," Noel sighed.

"He's not that bad. He's just kind of," Prompto seemed to search for the word, "distant."

"That's distant?" Cloud asked.

"Leave him alone," Tifa said, "Everybody handles life differently. Sometimes it's disruptive but they can't change unless they want to. They won't want to unless they see a reason to."

Cloud nodded, "Yeah, he just drives me insane."

"Why?" Tifa smiled, "Because he reminds you so much of you? Except, where you kept it all in and isolated yourself, he actively pushes us away."

Cloud stared at her, "Yeah, actually. That's exactly it."

Tifa nodded.

"Tifa," Marlene walked up and tugged on Tifa's sleeve, "Can I go outside?"

Denzel nodded pleadingly.

"I'll go with," Vanille volunteered.

"Actually," Tifa shot Cloud a sly smiled, "I know who's going to go with." She skipped up the steps.

Noctis sat on the roof. She hit me. 'I've had enough from you'. Her words echoed in his mind. "Is she really that mad? I always thought it'd be harder to get her to lash out like that."

"Hey, Marlene wants you to go outside and play with her and Denzel," Noctis recognized Tifa by her voice.

He glanced at her, "I don't want to."

"You sound so much like Cloud," Tifa chuckled and shook her head. "We used to tease him about how his catch phrase was 'Not interested.' And yet you're so different. Cloud isolated himself, while you actively push people away. You make everything, all the hurt pain and anger, very external. You pick fights. The more people Cloud lost the more pacifistic he became. You seem to get more aggressive."

"Whatever," Noctis muttered.

Tifa chuckled, "Play with Marlene and Denzel. They're young. They just need someone to look after them, make sure they don't kill each other. It doesn't take that much work. You can brood while they play." She turned and left back down the stairs.

Noctis glanced over his shoulder, "Fine, whatever."

Marlene sighed, "Is he coming?"

"Just wait," Terra smiled.

"He was all the way up on the roof. It'll take a bit," Rosa smiled.

"Really?" Denzel asked, "How'd he get up there?"

"He can teleport," Terra said.

"That's so cool!" Marlene squealed.

Noctis appeared and leaned against the wall.

Marlene smiled and grabbed Denzel's hand, "Let's go!" She led the way outside.

Noctis sighed and followed them.

"Why'd you put him in charge of the kids?" Gadot asked Tifa.

"Because, it'll help him get out of his own head," Tifa explained, "He'll feel better for it."

Gadot shrugged.

Noctis watched them play. Marlene threw a ball and Denzel hit it back to her. After a few passes Denzel jumped up and kicked it. The ball popped.

"Ah, man," Marlene sighed.

"Now what are we gonna do?" Denzel sighed.

Noctis smiled, "Hey, come here." He formed a ball of crystal in his hand.

Marlene and Denzel ran up to him.

"You'll have to be gentler with it because it's crystal," Noctis explained. He handed Marlene the ball. Suddenly he lifted his head, "Hey, go inside."

"But—"

"Now," Noctis' eyes turned red and he stood.

Marlene and Denzel exchanged glances. Marlene led him back inside.

Noctis backed up until his back was pressed against the wall.

"Hey, why're you in so early?" Lebreau asked.

Marlene shrugged, "Noctis said come in."

Denzel nodded, "It was really sudden."

"Tifa!" Lebreau called.

Tifa came down the steps with Serah Rosa and Lightning, "Yeah?"

"They came in because Noctis told them to," Lebreau explained.

Suddenly lightning in the room changed. The light was refracted into rainbows all throughout the church.

"What's going on?" Firion came downstairs.

Lightning looked at the window. On the outside of the glass was a thick layer of crystal. The building shook again and the crystal cracked.

"That's gotta be Noctis," Ignis said, "He's the only one that can do that."

"Then what is he doing?" Lightning asked, "Other than blocking his only support from helping him."

Gladiolus shrugged, "Protecting us. That's the only reason he would do that."

Lightning growled, "That's dumb."

"When has Noctis ever thought something like that through?" Ignis asked.

Lightning rolled her eyes, "Dammit."

The crystal crumbled.

"Well that didn't take long," Vaan commented.

"Meaning he's either dead or he's won," Snow said.

Lightning jogged out into the courtyard.

Noctis was gone. He wasn't there at all.