Sorry guys for the super long wait with this chapter. But here it is! Enjoy.

Chapter 12: Antagonize.

Midgar Area- 0:00am

"Outta my fucking way!" Oraian growled as his sword sliced through the stomach of a dark beast dog. Thankfully all of the tremors had come to a cease, it was really becoming an inconvenience, but now he was able to manuver the way he wished, and could quickly. The monsters were no big deal and could be handled with ease. He just hoped that Xayne would make it out alright. There was a lingering thought to turn back and aid his friend in this disastrous moment. The fact that he'd come all this way to Midgar in order to confront Hojo and didn't even get the proper chance, bothered him. What if Lightning was there? Then again if she was, she was no longer herself. With the way events are unfolding, it's no doubt that she was already full copy of JENOVA. The thought alone made his blood boil. He just hoped that Xayne kills that vermin of a man. In the meantime, he still had to find a way to get to Tifa and the others.

Another beast dog hopped from the bushes within the woods and dashed at the male. Oraian swiftly jumped over the beast's head and casted a quick spell of fire at the beast. The creature yelped and screamed as its body was engulfed in flames. Eventually the burning became too great and killed the creature.

"Nygh!..ahhgh!" His Geostigma started to flare up again. The pain was becoming more and more intense every episode that he had. The dark fluid that leaked from the darkened areas of his body, started leaking down his arm. He gasped and suddenly fell against the ground. "Aaaagh!" His heart pounded loudly and painfully within his chest. Muscles around the main organ constricted, making it hard for blood to flow properly. He coughed, spitting up black ooze as he did. "N-n-no..." He took in a deep strained breath but did not exhale. His eyes focused on nothing in particular, he just stared on blankly at nothing. Was this his end? Was he finally succumbing to his sickness? Though he was in extreme pain, he managed to let out a small laugh. He couldn't, he couldn't die now, not yet! There was too much to do? Too much he had to accomplish. People were depending on him. "Nygggggggh!"

There were a pair of footsteps off in the distance, two pair actually but Oraian did not hear them.

"You sure about this Alyssa? I'm pretty sure that Captain Rydega l said we were supposed to head south of our previous location. I doubt Hope out here parading in the woods." An ebony haired male said in an uncertain tone. His ember eyes cautious scanned the forest around them, especially the ground. It looked freshly cracked. "Not to mention, this particular area kind of gives me the creeps.."

"Would you stop complaining Domo!" The blonde haired females said and pointed her weapon at her partner. "Rydega told us to head south and that's what we did. It's said that Hope is in Midgar so that's where we are headed!" She turned on her heel and began walking again. "This is our chance to prove ourselves. You want to get promoted don't you? Or do you prefer to stay a rookie forever? I don't plan on that and I'm sure you don't either." She looked over her shoulder at her comrade. "I won't rest until I find him. Just imagine how many points we'll get for rescuing Hope!" She closed her eyes and imagined Hope praising her for rescuing him.

Domo sighed and continued walking behind his partner. He surely didn't feel like remaining a rookie which is why he took on this A ranked mission in the first place. Well stole it. Him and Alyssa lied to Rydega and the pilot and told them they were elite soldiers that were put on reserve. Neither of them had combat experience for they never went through basic training. All they knew was how to shoot a gun. He knew a little magic casting a a bit fighting since his father was also in the high ranks of the military. However, he could only do so much. "You also have this crush on him too you know. However you are aware that Sergeant Hope already has a lover right?"

Alyssa's images of praise and other crazy fantasies she was having were shattered upon hearing her partners words. She stopped and turned to face him, anger etched on her face. "So! Hope will want to be with me when he realizes how brave I was, to come and save him. Besides, where is his lover anyway?

"She's in a coma Alyssa. The girl that was in the ships medical quarters, she's Sergeant Hope's lover.."

Alyssa was paying the male no attention, she turned and sighed happily as her fantasies and wishes of Hope started up again.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well I can tell you now, whatever fantasies you got going through your head, isn't going to happen. If anything Sergeant Hope is going to chew our asses for lying to authorities. We may even get suspended!"

"Shut up Domo!" The blonde female growled as she started walking again. "You really know how to ruin a- Ah-A-aaah!" The girl was so busy arguing with her comrade she wasn't paying attention and tripped over something on the ground and fell.

"Alyssa!?" Domo called and ran to his partner's side. "Alyss-" Domo quickly jumped back in a panic when his eyes fell upon what his friend tripped over. "A body!" He shouted and pointed his weapon down at it. He couldn't keep the gun steady because he was shaking.

Alyssa quickly stood to her feet when she also realized what she fell over. she swiftly ran behind Domo and grabbed his shoulders. "Oh my gods! Shoot Domo! Shoot it!"

Oraian coughed a bit, more of the ooze spilled from the side of his lips, as his eyes rolled to the side to see the two terrified out of their minds. "D-d-don't..." He chocked out.

Alyssa whimpered and held on to Domo's shoulders tighter. "I-it spoke its a zombie!"

"D-doooon't sh-shoooot!" Oraian managed to get out a heavy gasp followed. Oraian turned on his side and and slowly, proceeded to stand to his feet. It was a little hard but he did it. He took a deep but shaky breath before speaking. "First off I'm not a zombie, secondly-" He proceeded to take a few steps but Domo gently held his finger against the trigger. "Woah." He rose his hands up in the air. "Look, I mean no harm I promise. "I over heard you say something about Hope. I know where he is..now could you put that gun down? You're not gonna shoot it because you're too much of a damn chocobo to do so. The both of you."

Domo lowered the gun and put his head down. It was a damn shame that the man was right. He was never going to excel through the ranks of the military at this rate.

Oraian whipped the sides of his mouth with his hand. Before proceeding in conversation with the two. He also took a few seconds to look them over. They appeared to be apart of some military ranks but it wasn't any that he was familiar with? The WRO didn't have any uniforms this uniquely designed. "Who are you guys?" Oraian asked. He had to know before giving out any information on Hope's whereabouts or information on the male period. For all he knew they could be affiliates of Deepground.

"I'm Domonic Mizurashi but you can call me Domo. And this here is my partner Alyssa Zaidelle. We are with the Guardian Corps from Pulse. We were sent to search for Hope when we received no word back for him since he left."

"We're here to rescue him!" Alyssa shouted out!

"Well it was never stated that he was in any danger..." Domo threw back.

"Domo shut up!"

"Pulse huh?" Seemed these two did know Hope then. Did that mean they knew Lightning too? He wanted to ask but then if they said yes that meant he would have to go into deep detail with what's happened to her. And these two were too scary to handle the truth. They thought he was a zombie for crying out loud. He'd leave that to Hope. "Alright, well Hope is currently in a location known as Modeoheim. It's in the northern continent. Unless you guys have a better way of getting there besides walking, we'd better get a move on now, cause it's a great ways from here." He explained.

"No problem, we can use the airship!" Domo suggested. We just have to get out of these woods first."

"You guys have an airship?"

They both nodded.

"Alright, lead the way. However I have a favor to ask of the two of you.."

~xxxxxx~

Modeoheim: Old Factory- 0:10am

Eyes slowly peeled open but to see noting in particular. Just a dark black abyss of nothingness. He blinked his eyes a few times in order to clear up bleary vision, just to make sure that darkness was what He was really seeing. But his eyes were not deceiving him as He had thought they were. It was pitch black -alright, what he was staring at was the ceiling. Then he suddenly remembered. Everything was flowing to the surface of his mind. However as it did, he could feel a small throbbing pain start to rise in the back of his head. Hope grunted and rolled over, well attempted. He wish He hadn't budged at all. His whole body felt stiff as a board, all the way to the limbs. Then he was freezing. He could feel the uncontrollable chattering of his teeth, and see the thick cloud of smoke that slipped from between chilled and chapped lips, every time he exhaled. The male attempted to get up but he failed and stumbled back to the ground, falling flat on his stomach. A chill breeze then blew over they entirety of his body and it felt like death the way it cut across his skin. Was this what hypothermia felt like? He grit his teeth nonetheless and took in long deep breaths. Not like he had much of a choice though, his lungs felt like they could barely take in air. Hope was gasping for air every two seconds. His heart muscle was tight in his chest, every beat felt like it was going to be the last one.

But he was a soldier, he had survived through worst than frigid weather.

'I was strong, I was strong. '

Is what Hope kept telling myself. He couldn't die now. He had people counting on him. He had people to save, people he cared about. And people he thought he would never care for again..

'Lightning needs you. She's lost in a dark place, and needs your help.'

"Lightning.." Of all people, she was the last person on his list that he thought would ever need his help for any reason. As much as he wanted to when he was younger, during the time they were all l'cie, Lightning never once asked for his help, no one's for that matter. But now, he was getting that chance for several days he could have cared less about what happened to this woman. All he wanted was to return her home for Serah's sake. But, so much has unraveled since then. He came across more than he expected coming here to Gaia.

"So let me get this straight, you're angry with her because she wouldn't let you go to the military?" Oraian raised an eyebrow. "Did you ever consider that she probably said that because she cares? Lightning knows what the military is like. It's no place to just go if you're not mentally or physically fit for it you know."

"Yeah, well I'm fine aren't I? I'm still here and in one piece." He stated proudly.

"Yeah physically. But how were you before you went in, compared to now. Ever thought about that?"

The silver haired male chuckled. "I regret nothing that I went through during my time in the army. It's made me into a better person than I once was. I'm more independent and I've grown as well as learned a lot from the experience. So I don't need a lecture from you."

Oraian raised his hands up. "Hey, whatever you wanna do go ahead. I'm just saying. You're pushing people away and don't even realize it. And over what? Something as little as disagreement." He shook his head. "I've lost many people in the twenty-three years that I've been here. I've been through so much pain and suffering I've become immune to it now. I've held grudges against others for no particular reason. When they left, I felt guilty because I never got the chance to apologize to those people or resolve any bad blood we had. And I regret that. Life is too short for grudges Hope, and yours is ridiculous. You never know when someone is going to leave you and never see them again. Fix your relationship with Lightning." He smiled and pat the male on the shoulder.

Now he felt as if he really needed to do something. Lightning was a very important person in his life an helped him through the darkest moments. It was his turn to do the favor and be the light in her dark moment. Oraian was right about everything he said. Life was way too short for grudges. While he still strongly felt that Lightning wasn't going to be leaving this world anytime soon, nothing was certain. "I'll s-save y-you.." He grit and grind his teeth as he picked his half frozen body up off the ground. Doing so caused his back to crack a bit. The sound reminded him of a tree that was falling after being struck by lightning. It was horrific but he was starting to feel better already, a little bit. "I'll save you.." He repeated through his heavy breaths. "Even if you don't want me to.." He managed to pull himself into a sitting position and rested his back against one of the rusty old beams.

'I'm not a puppet..'

'I'm not a..puppet..'

"What did she mean by that?" Hope asked himself. He recalled when he, Lightning and Oraian were in Mt. Nibel and the pinkette kept repeating those words. Then she when she was fighting the air, or possibly an illusion that neither he or Oraian could not see, she was screaming the name Sephiroth. He had yet to meet this menace of a man that everyone kept mentioning.

"It's done.." Some small but weak laughter followed after the words slipped over the lips of the person who spoke them. "It's finally done!"

"Done?" Hope mumbled as he looked over his shoulder to spot Kadaj. Well what was remaining of him that is. The silver haired male was was slowly disintegrating into the air. His body breaking down into fine particles of ebony dust, that seemed to hover in that one spot over that strange glowing symbol. Was he dying? No, that couldn't be. Bugenhagen said that the only way the Remnants could die off, is if their true form was to die off first. But what was the Remnant's true form then?

"The end is nigh!" He said maniacally, swinging his head back, then forward again. Even though he was slowly fading away he was still able to keep up his dramatics. The male staggered as he stepped forward, despite the fact that he was turning into a dust cloud. That glowing symbol at the center of the floor continued it ominous but radiant glow. It often flicked from time to time, giving Hope the impression that something even more sinister was stirring. "Alas," Kadaj spoke out wearily. The silver haired male took one last step. Hope wasn't sure if he was staggering around because he was fading and he had no control over his body, or if he was really trying to get somewhere. "He'll finally return..." He started off with a low laugh before it grew into a loud obnoxious cackle. "Sephiroth!" He spread his arms out into the air one last time before the rest of his body finally perished and continued to hang over the symbol.

Hope scratched the back of his head as he began to gather his thoughts on the situation at hand. There was too much transpiring at one time. What the hell was really occurring? What was going to happen to humanity? Were they all going to survive through the obvious terror that was soon to come? What was this terror? More importantly, "Who the hell is Sephiroth!?"

"A superior being, your soon to be god.."

"Neh, what!?" Hope quickly turned his head towards the right, where the voice had suddenly come from. He could barely see because his vision was wobbly and blurred because of his current condition. He tried squinting to see but that wasn't working either, on top of that it hurt. "Who's there!?" He said in one quick breath, which caused him to cough afterwards. He reached an arm out and frantically searched the ground with his hand to find his weapon but found nothing.

"Looking for this!?" There was a rip in reality that quickly opened up, exposing thin tendrils of darkness. Out leaped a figure, and the rip vanished. A girl. She giggled and waved Hope's sword in the air.

"S-Serah!?" Hope said with much excitement in his voice, however the events that occurred earlier replayed in his mind. This wasn't Serah, just some illusion. Or was it? "What are you still doing here?"

"Hm?" She tilted her head and placed a finger against her bottom lip. "Still? You say that as if I was here before Hope?" She chuckled again and skipped over to the ebony dust cloud that used to be Kadaj.

"Wh-what?" He murmured lowly. Was she trying to mess with his head? She was here. She stabbed him earlier, and with the same sword that she possessed right now.

"He's coming.." The girl spoke. She waved her hand through the dust then dropped her hand back to her side. Her back was to Hope as she talked. The cheerfulness that was present in her voice vanished in an instant. "Sephiroth.."

How'd she know of him? Serah shouldn't know of anyone or anything in this place if this was her first time here. No, this was an illusion again. It had to be."Serah, what do you know? And how do you know Sephiroth?"

"He saved me.." She responded and quickly turned to face the other. A smiled played on her lips as she recalled the moment.

Hope was suddenly confused. "S-saved you? When? How?"

The girl lowered her head and curled one of her hands into a fist against her chest. "I was stuck, not so long ago. You'd been gone from me for too long. I worried and worried so much about weather or not you were alive to the point I'd slipped into a sleep that I could not awake from. But the whole time I was sleeping, I didn't realize I was doing just that. When I had opened my eyes, everything seemed to be as it was. Except you were there, Lightning, Snow, everyone. I was living the way I had wanted to for the longest. Yet, I couldn't help but to feel, as if I was being watched. Every moment I was alone, it felt as though something in the shadows was watching me."

The girl turned and faced the platinum haired male. Her hand slowly fell from her chest and back to her side. Her expression was empty and also unreadable. Every now and then, Hope saw the girl's eyebrow twitch slightly, or her eye jump a bit. "I'd ignored it for a long time and blamed it on lack of sleep, but one evening when I was by myself, I awoke from my sleep for some unknown reason. The minute I opened my eyes, there was a figure standing over me. I almost screamed but, he quickly covered my mouth and told me that everything was going to be alright, and that he took care of the problem. When he clicked the lights on, blood had covered everything in my room." She shuddered at the memory. "Before I had the chance to ask what had taken place, he started to explain. He told me that a great malevolence that was slowly spreading and it was either killing people or driving them insane, and it wasn't long before that evil spread throughout the entire world." Serah's shuddering stopped and she slowly began walking towards Hope. "He then went on and said that I had nothing to worry about because if trusted him and believed in him that he would make sure no harm would come my way, and that he was going to be the one to stop the plague of malevolence in this world, and create a new one."

The pinkette continued her slow stride towards Hope, the sword that belonged to him, she kept clutched in her right hand. Hope observed the girl's actions closely yet he made no attempts to defend himself. "Of course I turned his offer down. I told him I already had someone to protect me. I told him, it was you, Hope. However," Her grip on the weapons hilt tightened. "What he said next really opened my eyes. How were you going to protect me when you weren't even there? You're gone and terrible occurrence are going on in the place you're needed most, yet you're nowhere to be found."

Terrible things were happening in Pulse? Was what's happening here rippling off and whipping across other regions? Hope's face twisted. If that were true, then Serah and the others really weren't safe..but- "Serah what he's saying is contradicting what you experienced. You just said when you first awoke, everyone, including me was there with you. So how wasn't I there to protect you?"

Serah's stride came to a stop when she was finally only inches away from Hope. She reached out and grabbed his hand, and placed his weapon within it. She then stepped a little closer, closing the little bit of space there was between them, and laid her head against his chest. The girl was quiet while Hope had gone completely stiff from Serah's gesture. "Where we're you then, when he was there..?" She said and leaned her lips agaisnt his ear, speaking something lowly.

"Serah!" Hope went to embrace the girl but a force dragged her back and away from him. As the girl was pulled back away from him, another figure appeared behind Serah. He placed his hands on top of her shoulders and pulled her back against his figure. Hope quickly recognized the person. That long silver hair, those eyes. He was that man that he'd seen moments before blacking out earlier. One of those Remnants! "You!" He whipped his sword through the air, and despite the way he was feeling, he charged at the man. "Get away! Get away from her!"

The male smirked at Hope and wrapped both his arms around Serah's body. Slowly the girl started to sink within the body of the male, until she was fully out of sight.

"Nygh! Serah no!" Just as he was almost a few feet away from the Remnant, he vanished into a cluster of feathers. "Wh-what!? Hope slid to a stop and quickly whirled around. The dark feathers were still slowly descending to the ground. "Serah!?" He yelled out. No answer. "SERAH!" He screamed even louder, Hoping for some type of response or outcry from the girl but nothing, just the light howling of the frigid air. "Dammit!" He tossed his weapon across the floor and slammed his fist against the steel floors, injuring his hand however he didn't care.

Was that real? He had his doubts. Was that really Serah? Could Sephiroth had really traveled to Bodum and corrupt her mind? But how? Sephiroth didn't even know Serah, nor did he know Hope. So how? Everything lead to questions in this place. The real could never be determined from an illusion. As long as Sephiroth was still around, then the difference between reality and fake will always collide together. "Serah.." He mumbled. Somehow this just felt too real. That was Serah, or a part of her. That definitely wasn't her in the flesh..then what she-

"Stop interfering.."

Hope quickly whirled around. The voice startled him a bit but he shook it off. It was that Remnant again. Hope growled and grit his teeth at the sight of him. "You bastard! Give her back!"

The male blankly looked at Hope and began to speak, both his arms spread and raised up over his head. "There is nothing more that you and anyone else can do. This planet and all its inhabitants belong to me now. I. Am. God." The ground started to rumble and quake beneath Hope's feet, cracking and crumbling away. The stream of life slowly started to expose itself and swallow up several portions of the ground. The Remnant lowered his left hand and casted it out in front of him. The dark dust cloud that once was Kadaj, was slowly being pulled in his direction and became absorbed by him. The Remnant soon began to rise into the air, watching as Hope panicked and looked for a way to escape his soon to be fate. "I. Am. Sephiroth."

"What!?" So this was the menace that everyone was referring to. This was the infamous Sephiroth. The ground continued to crumble and rot away into the stream of life as Hope frantically tried to escape it. "He looked up at the menace, to speak but as soon as he part his lips, Sephiroth vanished. Just as this happened, the whole warehouse began to quake. The dilapidated roofing began to collapse and everything started falling apart around him. Then soon the ground fully gave way, and he fell into the neon glowing substance. Hope began to see his life flash before his eyes as he desperately attempted to swim through the unknown liquid his body was drenched in.

Whatever this shit was he was beginning to feel woozy and lightheaded. He was already in a critical state from his slight hypothermia and this green shit wasn't making him feel any better. "N-no..gotta get through..." He said to himself. Pieces of debris continued to fall from above, as the rundown warehouse continued to cave-in. "Gotta..gotta save..gotta save...Ligh-light..S-ser.." The male outstretched a hand as if he were reaching out for something, yet he grabbed nothing but the air. He tried his hardest to keep his eyes open and his body in motion however, after a few moments, revert thing went numb. As he was loosing conscious he heard a loud whirring sound coming from above him. For all he knew it was something within the collapsing warehouse.

"I got ya Sergeant." A feminine voice said as a hand reached down and grabbed Hope's arm just before it sank with the rest of his form into the strange liquid. She yanked the male from what could have been his doom and threw him over her shoulder. "Alright Katzroy take off!"

Lindblum: Guardian Corps Airship- 0:41am

"It's about time yo! We been out here gettin' supa soaked in dis rain!" Barret yelled in Oraian's ear. "Hurry yo ass scrawny ass up!"

"Gotcha Barret. You and the others just hold tight we'll be there as soon as possible." He hung up the device and slipped it into his pocket.

"So you say your friends are stranded on an island called Medeel?" Alyssa asked Oraian who nodded in response. "Yeah. Our airship crashed there after an attack." He explained.

"Alright, just wanted to make sure, Domo is letting the pilot know right now."

"Thanks."

Rydega and Cid both emerged from the infirmary where Hope was currently being held. Cid nodded letting them know that it was alright for them to go in and see him. "Hope will be alright. He suffered from minor hypothermia but he's fine now and just resting."

Alyssa was the first to dart within the infirmary. Causing Domo and Oraian to look at one another. Domo sighed and walked in behind the girl, Oraian followed in suit.

Oraian stopped right in the door while the other two walked towards their superior. The room was all white, and gave off that hospital feel. Oraian shivered a bit. The color of this room filled his mind with horrid memories. Anyone who ever had to deal with Hojo or was an experimentation of Hojo's would understand why a white room was such a horrifying place. There were many beds set up within the large room, but only two of them were occupied. One by Hope and the other by a female. Oraian blinked and mazed his way through the many empty beds until he finally made his way to the girl's bed. He stood there and looked the girl over. She had pink hair and soft, but familiar features. There were several wires attached to her chest and hooked up to a heart monitor. And IV was embeded into her arm and connected to a pouch with clear liquid. Had to be some kind of medicine. Who was she? Though she was asleep, she was so beautiful to him. She also resembled...Lightning.

"She's been like this for almost two weeks now." One of the nurses spoke out. Catching Oraian's attention.

"What's her name?" Oraian asked out of curiosity.

"Serah.." The nurse responded.

"We can't seem to figure out what caused her to slip into a comatose state. We've ran all the tests we could but everything shows that she's perfectly fine. All we can do is pray that she wakes." The nurse turned to Hope who was talking to his cadets. He had a stern expression on his face as he scolded them about their carelessness and untruthfulness. "Poor boy, he doesn't even know yet." The nurse sighed and walked away.

"So this is Serah.." Oraian mummbled and looked at the girl one more time before looking towards Hope. So this was..

"Do the two of you even understand the peril you put yourselves in? You could have been seriously hurt or worse!" He sighed and pressed two of his fingers against one of his temples. "I'm extremely disappointed in the both of your actions. How can you be so rash!?"

"Sergeant-" Domo started, but Hope cut him off.

"Don't answer that. Get out of my sight the both of you until i come up with a decision of what I'm going to do with you. For the time being, the both of you are suspended until further notice."

"Hope-" Alyssa spoke out.

"That's Sergeant to you, the both of you are dismissed!"

The two walked from the infirmary with their heads hung in shame.

"Geez, who knew you could get so strict. Okay Lightning." Oraian laughed lightly.

Hope also chuckled a bit. It was times like this that he didn't mind being called the second Lightning.

"You alright there though?"

The platinum haired male nodded. "Yeah, nothing I can't handle." He responded. "I finally encountered Sephiroth.." He said, curling his hands against the sheets. Thoughts of the silver haired menace angered him. Remembering the part that involved Serah.

"Yeah, I figured you would sooner or later. But just know that's not the last of him."

"Yeah, I know. I'm not ready for it to be. Cause the next time I seen him, I'm going to kill him.." Hope sat up in his bed and allowed his legs to dangle off the sides. He was never a fan of hospitals and was in a hurry to get out. He was feeling better already. The platinum haired make stood from the bed and started walking towards Oraian.

"Yeah, that's all of our intentions but, it's easier said than done." Oraian quickly started walking in Hope's direction when he realized he was coming his way.

Meeting each other halfway, Hope tried to go around Oraian but he blocked him. "What you doing over there ?" Hope asked.

"Look, now Hope, before you.."

But it was too late. He wasn't even that close but he could easily see there was a body lying in the bed behind Oraian. "Friend of yours?" He asked. Oraian was at a lost for words as Hope gently pushed him to the side. He took a deep breath and just waited.

Hope made his way onto the other side of the infirmary and to the bedside of the person that was occupying it. From the moment his eyes set on the body lying in that bed, Hope felt his life suddenly pause. He felt lifeless. It was hard for him to breathe correctly. "No.." He kneeled down beside the bed and held on to the girl's hand tightly. "Serah!" He gently shook the girl. "Serah.." He placed a hand against the girl's cheek. "Please..please no, Serah!" His voice had gotten louder and the saddness within it was very clear. His eyes even started to grow watery. "Wake up...Serah!"

Cid and Rydega both walked into the infirmary upon hearing hopes loud outcry.

"What's wrong with her!?" Hope sniffled and whipped his eyes. He looked up at Rydega and Cid. "Answer me what's wrong with her!?"

Both men shook their heads. "Hope, we are unsure and are trying to figure it out. However, we have an idea of what could have caused her coma but we are not entirely sure. Which is why we were searching for you." Cid explained.

"I need a moment alone please.." Hope asked.

"Very well." Cid said. "Just come see me when you're finished." The two men and Oraian both left the room.

Hope looked at his lover as he gently brushed his hand along her cheek. "Serah.." He whispered quietly. A tear ran down his cheek and splashed onto the sheets. "I'm sorry..I'm so sorry! If I never left then this would have never happened to you.." He wipped his eyes and kissed her forehead. "I love you. I'll find a way to fix this okay? Just give me time.."

Hope stood to his feet and walked back to his bed. On a hanger above his bed was a new and clean uniform. Hope stripped from the robe and quickly dressed himself. So where was everyone else? Snow, Gadot, Lebreau, and the rest of them? Did they know what had happened to Serah? Did they even care? Hope adjusted his tie and picked up the black pouch and threw it over his left shoulder. He exited the infirmary and headed towards the bridge where Rydega and Cid should have been but they weren't. "Huh?"

"Oh hey kid! Long time no see!?" A cheery male voice spoke. A baby chocobo flew towards Hope and landed on his head.

"Sazh.." Hope was excited to see the man but his voice however did not reflect it. He was too worried about Serah to want to conversate about anything but her. "I'm good..where's Cid and Rydega?"

"Ah, they went to speak with a few other soldiers that are on board. They'll be back." He explained.

The chocobo chick jumped from Hope's head and back into Sazh's afro. "Ah...say Sazh.."

The man briefly looked I've his shoulder. "Yeah, what's up?"

"What's going on? Cid said he might know what caused Serah to go into a comatose state. But I'd also like to know what's going on? "

"Well, recently some strange happenings have been occurring on Pulse. Strange creatures have been appearing in certain locations. The grounds sometimes tremor. And some even claim to have seen a man in a black cape walking around."

"A man in a black cape?" Hope repeated.

Sazh nodded. "Yeah. He is said to have pale skin, unique colored eyes and long silver hair. Like I've said, only a few people have seen him. However, PSICOM and the Guardian Corps have been all over it.

Sephiroth..it had to be. There is no one else that he knew by that description. Except for Yazoo of course. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Sephiroth. "What was he doing wandering around Pulse, do you know Sazh?"

The man shook his head. "No, sorry kid, I wish I knew more. But there was a sighting of him in New Oerba recently. A twelve year old boy who resides there had gone missing the same day the man arrived. He returned of course, but not in the same state he left in. Many said he came back with strange glowing eyes and a black blotch over the top of his right eye. PSICOM now has the boy in custody and has the boy being tested."

This wasn't good. A black blotch. That meant the boy was suffering from a minor case of Geostigma. Sephiroth had to be wandering around these parts to gather others for his little "reunion." If PSICOM found out about this, it'll be a whole nother uproar like the l'cie outbreak on Cocoon. "Sazh, I need you to do me a favor. You have to somehow get that boy out of the clutches of PSICOM. That blotch that you're talking about, it's a terrible disease that came from this region. It's called Geostigma."

"Geo-what?"

"I'll explain later, just promise me you'll get that kid away from PSICOM. If they ever find out what that is, I'm sure another purge like the one on Cocoon would occur. The disease is not contagious, so they say. But it's not exactly that hard to catch either." He looked down at the floor as Serah came to his mind. That brief moment before she was ripped away from him by Sephiroth, Serah whispered something to him. She said-

Hope's eye grew wide briefly before returning to its original size. His hands curled into fist and a slight growl vibrated from the back of his throat. "She, she said.."

"Huh?" Sazh momentarily peeked over his shoulder. "You say something kid?"

"She said, help me.."

"What'cha talkin' about back there Hope?" The pilot asked.

"Serah!" He shouted out in a fit of rage. The platinum haired male swiftly pivoted on his right heel, and swung his fist into the steel wall. "She was crying out for my help!" He drew his fist back and connected it with the wall several times. "Why didn't I realize it! Why!?" His punches to the steel stopped and he soon sunk to the ground. His hand was throbbing in pain and heavily bleeding on his knuckles, however he didn't so much as care or show any signs that he was in any serious pain. All he currently cared about was how he could save Serah. What would Lightning think? He was supposed to protect Serah and failed.

"Hey," Sazh started. "Don't beat yourself up so much over there. Things happen and sometimes they are totally out of your control. Things will get better alright, this is an ordeal that we're all going through, and like the days when we were all l'cie, we'll get through it. You'll have Serah back. Keep your head up."

Hope shook his head. Sazh was wrong. He had full control over the situation. "If I never left her alone, she wouldn't be in this state. Had I stayed-"

"Had you stayed, the world probably would be in more turmoil than it already is." Sazh finished.

"The world is dying.." He said morosely.

"That's true." Oraian spoke, entering the bridge in the middle of the conversation. "The planet is dying. But we still can save it."

"Have you noticed what's going on out there?" Hope responded and pointed outside the window. "The cracking grounds, the exposure of the Lifestream. Tremors are occurring just about everywhere. Just as Sephiroth said, this is going to be, his world.."

"No it's not. This may sound crazy to the two of you, but just hear me out. Xayne and I we spoke to Etro and Cosmos, and they told us that we can save this planet."

Hope blinked. "What!? Oraian, Xayne's not even real, you sure it's-" Hope went quiet suddenly.

Sazh made no comments and just kept his eyes ahead.

The amethyst eyed male slapped his forehead. "I knew you guys wouldn't believe me. But I'm not lying to you. I promise I'm telling the truth! She said we can save the world from Bhuinevelze right now however we won't be able to destroy him or Sephiroth until 500 years from now!"

"R-really?" Hope rose from his spot from the floor, eyes suddenly went from sorrowful to showing the smallest gleam of "hope". He started walking towards Oraian. "So you're saying, you and Xayne had an encounter with Etro and Cosmos, and they told you guys," Hope's expression suddenly twisted into disgust. "That in 500 years, is when the world will see better days." He stopped a few feet away from the male, amethyst and emerald optics, glared into one another.

"Ah Hope," the door to the bridge slid open and in walked Cid, Rydega and a Corps soldier alongside them. "We just finished discussing a few matters with PSICOM and would like to get your take on it before we move forward with the operation.

Hope's eyes were still glued to Oraian's who also was still staring back at Hope. The platinum haired male was only seconds away from screaming how ridiculous Oraian's words were and how delusional and unreal it was. Other problems of how Oraian came up with such nonsense also crossed Hope's mind but it wasn't his place to say such things. He just turned away from the male and faced Raines. "Operations?" The Sergeant questioned. "What operations? Another thing, why is PSICOM even involved in this so early? This is a situation for the Guardian Corps."

"Well Hope, as you probably know already, there has been some strange occurrences going on as of late and the Guardian Corps have been all over this problem for the past week now. However, over the past few days, it's grown progressively worse.."

"Worse how?" The Sergeant asked.

"Well," the soldier that entered with Rydega and Cid stepped forth and began to speak. "According my calculations, there is a disturbance beneath the surface of the planet. From what I discovered its an ancient flow of energy circulating throughout this region as well as through Pulse and other places as well. I read up on it the other day and it's referred to as-

"The Lifestream." The soldier, Hope and Oraian all said it in unison.

"Y-yeah." The soldier said vaguely. "How'd you-"

"Nevermind that." Hope said shaking his head. "Continue on."

He nodded. "Well, you see as of late there has been some disturbance within the Lifestream. Whatever it is, that's what's causing the tremors to occur, and expose the Lifestream. Which isn't particularly a good thing either." The soldier took a deep breath and started to pace. "You see, there is also this...negative energy running through the stream as well. And with that mixing within the stream of life is bad because-

"With the exposure anyone that comes in contact with even the smallest bit of essence from it with catch a disease that you guys don't know is called Geostigma." Oraian finished. "We know this."

"Yes." Cid spoke. "And this Hope is why PSICOM is currently involved. "We have a child in our custody now who contracted the disease. He's under constant surveillance and is constantly being tested. "If push comes to shove. We may be looking at another purge.."

"Another purge. If that's the case why didn't the Guardian Corps just keep it quiet until they knew for sure what the diseases was capable of? You know one sign of any possible danger PSICOM won't care, they're just ready to eliminate!" Hope stressed.

"Screw being purged man, if we don't hurry up and act fast, you won't have to worry about PSI-whatever eliminating us. We have a bigger problem at hand, and you're worried about a purge?" Oraian said as he walked towards the window. The male stared outside watching as the dark ebony masses covered the skies.

'The planet is crying...'

'The world has been plagued by rain and it will not stop until the evil doing is over..'

His words. But when will the evil ever stop? A flash of lightning ripped across the sky and lit the entire ship. Not with Sephiroth around. Everything would surely go to hell. What were they going to do? How could they stop the worse from happening? He turned from the window and faced the others. How could they save everyone? Everything was a question. But there was still no clear answers.

"Hey?" Hope spoke, startling the amethyst eyed male.

Oraian huffed and turned his eyes out the window. "What?" He said rudely.

"Look, I still believe what you say is very farfetched, but I just remembered something."

Oraian blinked a few times and cut his eyes at the male. "Oh yeah..and what might that be?"

"It's what Bugenhagen told us." He started. "Remember, when he was being everything to a close. He warned us. He said that we had to get to Lightning before Hojo does."

It was a bit late for that from what him and Xayne heard from Cosmos and Etro. "Hope-" Oraian paused. An idea suddenly came to mind. "Hmm.." However it wasn't one that Hope would agree to at all. "Nevermind.."

"Alright guys," Sazh said as he began lowering the ship. We are above Medeel now. I'm bringing it down."

"Finally," Oraian mumbled. He was the first to walk towards the ships opening hatch. Lightning was now an incarnation of JENOVA, embodying the spirit, and powers of the entity. But fully under Sephiroth's control. His own personal puppet..

'I'm not a puppet..'

So that's why she kept mumbling those words..

"Lightning.."

The locks to the hatch clicked and turned until it was released and slowly began to open downward. The AVALANCHE crew all hopped aboard when it fully opened. Oraian stepped outside to take a glimpse at the wrecked ship. "Geez.." He mumbled. The Highwind was pretty much in pieces. Scrap metal was lying around scattered just about everywhere. It was a shock to him that everyone was really alright. Cid stood alongside Oraian's as he looked over his once precious ship. "Well, guess I gotta' build er up again." He said. "One of these days, when this is all over that is. I'll be back for ya!" He said to the airship and ran inside.

"Alright everyone, I'm lifting off." Sazh announced. "Everyone inside."

Oraian entered the ship behind Cid just as the hatch was closing up. Returning to the bridge area, all of his comrades just stared at him. He cleared his throat and began to speak. "Alright guys, I'm sure you all want an explanation for what happened back on the ship, so listen up.."

While Oraian explained that, the Guardian Corps soldier pulled tapped Hope on the shoulder and pulled him to the side. "I need to talk to you." He said and motioned for the Sergeant to follow him. "This way."

"O-okay.." Hope and the soldier exited the bridge and began walking down one of the ship's corridors. "What's going on soldier?"

The soldier stopped at a room and slid his ID in the card key slot. The security light turned green and the door opened. When the two entered the room the door immediately closed behind them. The room they entered was full of junk metal, tools, and several unfinished projects that someone was working on. There were also a desk full of books, scattered papers, and blueprints. There was one book sitting at Hope's feet, titled; JENOVA Project. Written by; Professor Gast.

"Excuse the mess.." The soldier said. "I'm not the neatest person. But never mind that.." The soldier removed his helmet and dropped it onto the floor. The person it revealed was a male, looking to be around the age of 20. He had blond hair and crystal blue eyes. "Hey..Hope.."

"Maqui!?" Hope said in shock. Of all people he never thought he'd see the NORA mechanic standing here. "You're.."

The male nodded. "Yeah. I joined the Guardian Corps. But not because I wanted to or anything. I'm not particularly fond of this lifestyle..."

"Then why'd you do it?"

Maqui sighed. "Because of Serah.."

"S-Serah!?"

"Yeah. You see, after you left. Well more like around the time Snow left her, everyone pretty much stopped talking to her. I'm sure you know that already. But after you left, it got worse. Yuj, Gadot, and even Lebreau completely cut her off. They didn't even care for her anymore. Whenever she came around, they'd act like she wasn't there. Snow too. Out of everyone I was the only one that spoke to her. I always made sure she was alright. But then, something strange started to happen.."

"Strange? Strange like what Maqui?"

"Serah began coming to me, mentioning something about an eerie dream she was having. She said something about a strange man leading her to some isolated place with water. The water was always dark and the man stood at the center, ordering her to drink it. She said every time she started to drink the water she awoke. She'd always end up outside by the water. She even said there was a set of foot prints along side her own." Maqui explained. "Now she's in a coma and I strongly believe the dreams she's been having is connected to it.

"Sephiroth.." Hope said. "This is his doing. He somehow took a part of Serah and holding onto it..but why?"

"This is why I joined up with GC. They're not allowing anyone in Pulse to wander anywhere. Everything is pretty much on lockdown by PSICOM. No one can travel to or from anywhere. So this was the only way I could do anything." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry this happened Hope, I'm trying my best, I've been doing a lot of research as well.."

Hope placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Maqui, thank you. Don't apologize for anything, I'm glad that you're trying to help Serah. I'm sure she would be just as grateful to know that she has such a great friend by her side.."

Maqui grinned. "Thanks Hope, and don't worry, we're gonna get Serah back.."

Midgar Area: 1:12am

"L-lightning.."

Xayne continued to mumble in disbelief. What happened to her? Why'd she look this way? Why did she appear so callous, soulless, empty? Lightning had always been one of no emotion, a very cold person in general, but not this way. There was some type of warmth in her heart, under that hard façade she had up, but not this Lightning. That's if this was even Lightning at all. He still felt doubtful.

"Ugh-ahh-ahhgh!"

Xayne quickly whirled around to see three of the hooded figures collapse to the ground, well what was left of it in that one area. The surface was in pieces floating around on top of the sea foam substance just below them. He and Lightning were standing on a large piece of floating terrain that was big enough just for the two of them to walk around on.

As the figures collapsed to the ground, a ball of luminescent light flew from their cloaks and entered Lightning's chest.

"Lightning..." Xayne said again. He still couldn't bring himself to fully believe that this..person was her.

Hearing the name that was being called, the woman did not respond right away. She held both her hands out in front of her and closed her eyes. Upon doing this a wind current began to pick up around the both of them. Xayne quickly put his arms up around his face. The figures of all the hooded beings that littered the destroyed terrain, disappeared in the wind gust but left behind glowing balls of light that found their way into Lightning.

The wind gust suddenly stopped Xayne's arms lowered, however Lightning was slowly, fading "!" He looked around frantically. "Lightning!?" Quickly, he grabbed hold of the woman's arm, he too began to fade with her. Everything around them went completely black, for a split second before they were surrounded by new scenery.

"The hell?" They were in what appeared to be a cave, a crystal cave. A crystal cave made of Mako. What the hell was going on? It was strange, now that he got some of his own memories back, he could barely remember anything when he was Equis. He needed something that would shed light on what was occurring here. He barely understood the message of Cosmos and Etro. The most he got out of that was that Sephiroth and Bhuinivelze could not be destroyed until a later time. But, then this JENOVA resurrection..

Lightning moved from her spot next to Xayne and took a few slow steps forward. He followed directly behind her before they halted to a stop just seconds after. "Light?"

The woman took in a deep breath and lowered her head. Closing her eyes she drew one hand up out in front of her. Quietly, she began mumbling something that the male could not quite make out. Xayne followed the woman's hand and looked up. Encased in the crystalline wall, he saw a figure, a sleeping figure.

"Sephiroth!?"

Yes, I decided to throw others of the FFXIII crew in here. Thought it was a great way to make the story a little bit more interesting. Especially with Maqui being part of GC. :DD But, hope you all liked it. Stay tuned to see what's coming next.