Hope swallowed hard as he sat down next to a sleeping Noel. Light had told him that it was nearly over. In a few hours it would be time for the change to happen. They would have to go outside and pass judgement. Only then would they be able to be taken into the new world. And sense everything that was created during the chaos infection would be destroyed.
They couldn't stay here. But the handful of days that they had Noel and that wasn't enough to even begin to fight the type of addiction that his body had. He stroked the sweat covered brow. It didn't sit right with him that Noel was suffering so much but he knew that there wasn't really anything that he could do. Only escaping the chaos would make things better.
"Hey." He looked up to see Lightning watching them fondly, she nodded vaguely. "You two are cute together."
"Light!" He grumbled as he turned away from her, a flush covering his cheeks.
"You're worried." She spoke quietly as she walked over and settled down on the bed. The hunter didn't move at all and that caused her neutral expression to turn into a frown. "I can understand why."
"What happens if he is repossessed? You said that it wouldn't be pretty for the people we can't save what will that look like?"
Lightning looked away and then gently reached out and took Hope's free hand, the one not touching Noel. She traced her fingers over his hands and it brought back memories to both of them of the things they faced in the Gapra Whitewood. She looked over at Noel and then finally up at Hope with a determined expression.
"It doesn't matter. He won't fall." She squeezed his hand but Hope shook his head.
"I need to know Light... I can't protect him if I don't know everything." He insisted.
She sighed softly and looked away. "He'll die."
"And." Hope hissed as he brought his other hand up to grip hers.
Light bit her lip in indecision. What she knew was damning and painful. What she feared was that this wouldn't help Noel but push Hope over the edge. She finally sighed, know that there was no way to change his mind and that it was either give in or be badgered until she gave in. Hope had grown into a firm serious man and as much as she wanted to not see it. She had to treat him like who he was.
"He'll die..." She started again. "Maybe. Most people will die simply with their souls taken from their bodies. Others might turn into cie'th as they have become something like 'l'cie' to the chaos but ultimately will die as soon as the sun of the new world touches them... Others will die painfully, extinguished by Bhunivelze's power.
"Noel falls into that last category doesn't he?" Hope asked quietly.
"He falls into a category of his own." She stated quietly. "Noel, as the container of chaos... If he allows it back in... it'll be sucked into him... He will become a monster. The terror he would bring upon us before he is destoryed by the change would be horrific. He would die in a horrible way Hope... The things I know, the things I have seen. The monster that he would become he... not only would he die, his soul would be removed from the cycle. I won't let that happen." She insisted.
"Then you should probably leave me here." The voice was soft and weak. Both snapped to see Noel looking at them with a pained look on his face. He pushed himself slowly into a sitting position. "If I am that much of a danger then it is not worth it."
"It is worth it!" Hope insisted as he turned to face his partner. "I won't leave you behind."
"Hey... don't give me that look." Noel rapped his knuckles against Hope's head gently. "It's not like I should exist anymore anyways."
Hope's eyes widened at Noel's words, while what the hunter was saying was true he'd assumed that none of that matter. He turned to Lightning and she shook her head before she smacked Noel rather abruptly, causing the hunter to fall back onto the bed with a pained grunt.
"You exist because that is the way things are. We aren't going back to the old world, to the way things were then. We are going to a 'new world'... one that will only look like the old one. The rules will be different. And all of us will be divorced from these roots that you think you have. And if you are going to use that as an excuse to be left behind I will shoot you right now."
"LIGHTNING!" Hope turned to her and reached for her hands, obviously afraid that she was going to follow through with that threat but Noel was laughing lightly as he stared up at the ceiling. He pushed himself up again and looked at them for a second and stared down at his hands.
"It's not that I don't want to go. It's not that I don't believe in my own power. But if I falter, if I fail... The first person that will be hurt is you Hope... And who knows what other damage that I would cause? Look at what Caius did and that was with chaos contained."
"You won't fall." Hope replied quietly as he released Lightning and placed his hands on his partner's shoulders. "I believe in you."
"If you did, you wouldn't have asked Lightning for a worse case scenario." Noel replied quietly without any bite. "It's okay to admit it. I'm weak."
"And so was Hope went I first met him." Lightning bit off roughly as she glared him down. "I was even dumb enough at the time to write him off." Lightning reached for her gun. "Either you try or you die right now."
Hope stared between the two with wide eyes. He felt his heart beating against his chest painfully. He turned away from Light to Noel and gripped his arms tightly staring into his downcast eyes. He wanted to say something but find that he couldn't speak.
Please Noel, he thought, please try.
"I love you Hope." A kiss was gently placed on his temple and Hope felt his heart in his throat. "I'll try, but you have to promise to kill me the second I look as if I'm going to turn."
