A/N: Well here it is, chapter XIII. Chapter XIII marks the first separation of the story blocks. I guess you will notice it. From now on, we get into the second block, which is more filled by action and introduction of secondary pairings. There's gonna be three blocks: first one was Hope's convalescence and his first contact with humans. Second block is the search you'll find out in this chapter. Third? Still a secret.

On another note, I gave several days for people to read chapter XII and know that I would be moving this story to the Final Fantasy XIII general category. I'm gonna give exactly 48h after posting this one to move it just in case, but after that, I'll change it.

As always, reviews will be deeply appreciated, and if there's any doubt or question, I'll be more than glad to answer them.

Wings of Light

| XIII |

Heart

For nearly three days Lightning didn't come back home after that conversation. Serah had to take care of changing the bandages and healing the wounds of Hope, who barely uttered a word after the young woman left abruptly after attempting to punch him. He kept looking at the door of the room, with that gleam in his eyes that Serah knew it was concern, and guilt as well, and he winced every time someone entered the room.

"It's not your fault", Serah had told Hope for the umpteenth time the morning of the second day as she healed him. "Don't torment yourself. My sister knows she can't blame you."

"But she is gone", he muttered. "And she doesn't come back."

"She'll return", Serah said with a reassuring smile. "It's not the first time she does this. I'm sure she's gone somewhere to be alone and vent."

Hope glanced at her. He clearly sensed that the younger Farron sister wasn't being completely honest.

"You are worried about her."

Serah sighed.

"Of course I am. But Lightning isn't a little girl and she can take care of herself. I have to think she's okay… physically, at least. Because emotionally… well, I'm not so sure."

Hope narrowed his eyes and put a hand to his chest, breathing deeply. He still remembered the pain he felt in Lightning's heart when the name of that king was mentioned.

"Why? Why does Light suffer so much? I don't like that she suffers."

"Neither do I, Hope", Serah said, smiling sadly at the innocence with which the young angel said this, "but it's not something that neither you nor I can solve. She's the one who has to do it."

He frowned, undoubtedly wondering why.

"I don't understand."

"She would explain it better than I do", Serah told him bandaging his back again; his wounds looked better, but they still bled after a month, which made very clear that they would take a very long time to heal. "Furthermore, it's a personal matter that I shouldn't tell you without her consent."

Hope didn't want to comment on that, but he didn't think Lightning would explain anything to him. More likely was that once she came back home, she gave him the punch she couldn't give before.

"But when she looked at me…", the angel thought, recalling the moment when their eyes met after Lightning got away from Serah and Snow. "There wasn't hatred inside her when she tried to hit me. It was as if she felt such rage and frustration that she had to release it against the closest thing she had at the moment…"

And all that pain and longing… Hope didn't understand much about human emotions and he didn't know much about Lightning's past, but he suspected it had to do with something she greatly cherished and she lost, and had been suffering for it for so long.

Once Serah left the room after closing the curtains so the sunlight didn't bother him, Hope laid his head on the pillow and let out a soft sigh, staring at the ceiling.

"Perhaps I should have let her hit me. Not that I haven't earned it."

Lightning shook her head briefly before crossing the threshold of her house the night of the second day. She didn't really want to answer to anyone, although she knew Serah would demand an explanation and the truth was she had every reason. No doubt she would be worried, but Lightning couldn't help it. She had needed all those hours to think about what she had learned… and reaffirm her determination.

"Been a while since the last time I almost lost control like that", the young woman thought carefully closing the door behind her to be quiet, just in case her sister and Snow were sleeping. "If I keep this up, my brand will awake, and I can't allow that to happen."

She walked across the hallway, walking as silently as she could. She went to the kitchen, where she found the leftovers of dinner: apparently Serah and Snow had already dined. But she wasn't exactly hungry, so she just opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of fresh water. She drank thirstily until she left it half empty.

"Sis!", she heard someone say from her back, startling her. She turned around and found Serah there, dressed in her nightgown and her eyes a bit sleepy, but deeply relieved. "You're finally back!"

"Serah…", she began, feeling guilty for worrying her sister, but Serah kindly raised a hand.

"No need to explain anything to me, I know why you left. But I've been worried about you… Where have you been?"

"At Noel's pub", she said, calmer now that she hadn't to explain herself. "He let me stay there and didn't ask me many questions, you know how he is. Who did question me was Fang, though. She didn't leave me alone until I tell them what happened."

"And you told them?", Serah frowned. "Everything Hope told us?"

"I had no choice. It's impossible to make Fang change opinions when she gets something on her head", Lightning snorted. "Anyway, they helped me vent a bit."

"That's good. And what did they say about it?"

Lightning looked away.

"That as long as Hope helps us we have to take the chance. And that we're always in time to kill him if he betrays us."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part", Serah made a displeased gesture, and changed topics. "He's been worried about you. You should go see him to calm him down, and apologize to him as well."

The young woman squinted as if she were struggling with herself, but finally sighed:

"I know. Even though it annoys me, he's not to blame for this. Bhunivelze is, as always."

"I'm glad to see that for once you're reasonable about him", Serah said, a bit slyly but smiling gently. "Come on, go. I'm going back to bed."

"Right. Goodnight, Serah", Lightning paused, and smiled at her. "And thank you."

Her sister smiled back and hugged her briefly before leaving the kitchen.

"You're welcome, sis. And goodnight to you, too."

Lightning stayed a little more in the kitchen, not quite knowing what to do. It was true that it hadn't been right at all to try punching Hope, but after wishing to do it for over a month, now she found very uncomfortable the idea of apologizing for it.

Then again, if she thought about it… Most of the reasons for why she had wanted to hit him had ended up not being his doing, if Hope was telling the truth. And actually at that moment who truly earned the punch was Bhunivelze, not the poor angel.

And besides she needed his help in the matter she had pursued for so long. And of all things she could have done, she had tried to punch him. "How smart of you, Lightning", she chided herself.

She sighed, going upstairs to the side of the upper floor where the bedrooms were located. Trying to be quiet to not waking up Snow and Serah in the case she was already asleep, she went to her own room. She hesitated before opening the door, but she pushed away the reticence of her mind and peered cautiously into the room.

As always, Hope was lying on her bed, but at this late hour it was unusual to see him awake as he was now. He lied on his back, but his head was turned on the pillow, staring absently at the moonlight that went through the curtains with a slightly grim expression. His eyes were narrowed and he looked thoughtful, or maybe concerned.

"Hope", she called him softly once she convinced herself she had to be honest with him. The young angel, startled, sat up on the bed, gasping in pain as the wounds on his back protested at the sudden movement.

"Light! …", his voice sounded a bit more energetic than usual, something that surprised Lightning because his tone usually was extremely serene, almost monotonous. "You're back…"

"Yeah", Lightning decided to go in, carefully closing the door behind her, and went to the bed; she noticed that Hope flinched at every step she advanced, and shook her head when she realized that he most likely feared to get the punch she couldn't give him before. "Stop doing that. I'm not going to punch you, so calm down."

Hope looked at her with curiosity and some disbelief. Although Lightning didn't precisely like the angel, she realized that Hope respected her too much, if not he outright feared her. She knew that scaring her enemies saved their lives on more than one occasion, but at that point she wasn't that sure that Hope was an enemy.

"You are better", the angel murmured; it was a statement, not a question. "Not completely, but better indeed. That is good."

"L'Cie have to learn to control their emotions", Lightning explained without really knowing how to answer to his words, sitting on the edge of the bed, "because we depend on it for our brand to stay inactive. But the other day I was about to lose control. It hadn't happened to me for a long time… I thought I could control myself completely."

"I sensed it", Hope said cautiously. "I didn't know that it had been a long time, but I felt what you felt at that moment."

Lightning looked at him. Hope seemed affected, and it wasn't difficult to understand why. Though that implied the angel was able to figure out better than anyone the feelings she wanted to hide so much. Pain, bitterness, longing… All that made her look weak, and the young woman couldn't allow it. But it was no use to try hiding them from Hope, though he didn't identify them well, which in a way was a relief for her.

"I guess I owe you an apology", she sighed, looking away. "Not only because you had to endure pain that isn't yours, but because I tried to hit you. It was stupid, and you're not to blame for this. It wasn't you who I wanted to punch, I just… I don't know, maybe vent my rage against the first thing I found."

"Or maybe against something that reminded you of God", Hope suggested softly. She turned to him, surprised. "You cursed his name. You blamed him. I was the closest thing to him you had."

Lightning pondered his words. Perhaps Hope was right… and not only about the punch, but everything else as well. Of course at first she couldn't have known, but even if it had been the case, Hope was still Bhunivelze's servant: if the Order's tyranny had been ordered by him, the angel wouldn't have been but the mere channel, not the issuer. She had no sympathy for him because she still thought he could've done something and the fact he didn't made him the being without will she despised, but it was also true that Hope had long been enduring the hatred not only from her, but from many people, without being directly responsible for all the things he was accused of.

"Maybe", she merely answered, reluctant to admit it. "In any case, I admit it wasn't right", she paused, reticent, but she eventually gave in. "… I'm sorry."

Hope narrowed his eyes and looked at her tilting his head. Lightning sighed as she realized the angel didn't believe she truly felt sorry and was trying to probe her aura.

"Would you stop doing that? I'm apologizing for real, idiot."

"Sorry", Hope looked away immediately. "I just didn't expect you to apologize. Though there is nothing about you should apologize to me."

This time it was Lightning who was surprised. Knowing that Hope couldn't lie, that line meant much more than the same on from a normal person. And being objective, she was sure the angel had more than one reason to feel offended at her.

"Really? I tried to punch you, and you say I have nothing to apologize for?"

"That's what I said", Hope stared at her again, that way that got the young woman on her nerves. "You got angry because I didn't recognize a name that meant a lot to you. So technically it is my fault."

"What kind of logic is that?", a puzzled Lightning asked herself, not quite believing what she heard. Was Hope truly placing the blame on him for it? She couldn't help but wonder if they wouldn't be inducing into him an excessive guilt complex through all the things they had told him.

She shook her head and frowned, looking severely at him:

"In any case, Bhunivelze would be to blame for not telling you. If you were born centuries after King Mikhail's fall, you couldn't possibly know if he didn't tell you."

Hope grew thoughtful.

"I was created with the complete knowledge of certain things. But at the end of the day everything I know is a decision of God. What I know about things I haven't witnessed is completely what he deemed I needed to know."

"You already told us. And King Mikhail wasn't one of them", Lightning closed a fist, anger quickly building up inside her; Hope backed away a bit when he realized. "I told you I won't punch you, Hope. Stop it."

The young angel looked at her, unconvinced. After a few moments, Lightning seemed to relax, but he could feel once again pain, frustration and longing in her heart. They were confusing energies he hadn't begun to decipher yet, but were so intense he had no doubts about what they were. And they always appeared whenever that name was mentioned.

"You suffer because of that king", he said quietly; she turned to him with a fierce gleam in her eyes. "Mikhail is his name, right?"

Lightning didn't answer quickly. Her expression was cold and defiant, but Hope stared back innocently waiting for the answer. And the angel felt perfectly that the young woman was debating between answering him or not.

In the end, her weakness prevailed. Lightning hunched her shoulders and lowered her head, letting out a sigh tinged with sadness. Hope sensed that sadness with crystal clarity, and briefly brought a hand to his bandaged chest: for a moment it had left him breathless.

"Yes", the young woman whispered, her voice slightly shaking.

"Is he the one to blame for your pain?", Hope wanted to know; if not because it seemed impossible, Lightning would've thought there was the faintest tinge of hardness in his usually calm tone. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, not in the way you think", Lightning shook her head, fearing that Hope got the wrong idea. "It's a very… complicated story."

Hope cocked his head in uncertainty, but stared at her with that spark of curiosity in his light-colored eyes, which in the moonlight looked even brighter.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She hesitated.

"Actually, the fair thing would be to tell you, you know… Because it has something to do with you."

"With me?", the angel blinked. "But I know nothing about King Mikhail."

Lightning hesitated again. She'd never told anyone that story before; her friends only knew the part that concerned her. They already knew plenty of the few remaining legends about the king that symbolized their cause. But somehow, she felt that the right thing to do was telling Hope.

"You see…", the young woman took a deep breath, thinking the best way to summarize it to him. "As I guess you remember from our conversation, Mikhail was the last member of the Dynasty of the Rising Star. He was the one who took the throne at the youngest age, and undoubtedly the most loved by his people. He was a great sage, and he fought relentlessly against anyone who tried to subdue his people to the gods. His reign is remembered among those who still know his name as the true golden age of humanity."

"But he died", Hope noted. She waved in pain, but she shook her head.

"We actually don't know. Any documents record his death, so we have always considered him as missing."

"But he lived 3131 years ago from what you told me. Humans don't live much."

"He was a l'Cie, just like us" Lightning replied. "The first l'Cie born in the Dynasty since his ancestor, the one who began it, so for the first time in many centuries the Rising Star ruled once more over both humans and l'Cie. And time isn't exactly lethal to l'Cie. Which leaves only three options. I'm sure you remember them."

Hope tried to recall the conversation in which she, Snow and Serah told him about the Eternals.

"Either you become crystal, or you turn into a Cie'th."

"Either that, or we die because of some illness, or we're killed", Lightning shook her head. "There's no information on the fact Mikhail could've been ill, so we always discard that hypothesis. He could be alive somewhere in the world even though we've looked everywhere for him. But he could've entered crystal stasis or gone Cie'th… or he could've been killed by the Order when they seized power."

There was true, deep rage in her voice. Hope had never seen the usually stoic Lightning with such raw emotions inside her.

"Our group aims to bring back the rightful King of Nova Chrysalia to overthrow the Order", Lightning continued. "My sister and I, Snow, several friends and some agents in different places of the continent… we're all part of this group. We've long been in the shadows fighting the Order and protecting Pandaemonium, the last fal'Cie, from their grasp. But the truth is that we're nothing against the Order's power. We need to find a way to bring back Mikhail… He's our only real possibility to restore in Nova Chrysalia freedom for both humans and l'Cie."

Her words were steady, but her voice wasn't so. It had broken slightly in the last words, and the emotions Hope was sensing in her aura had become even more confusing, pain predominating, as Lightning lately seemed to constantly feel.

He frowned a bit, his lips parted, as if he were to say something and not knowing how. Which was actually true because what Hope began to think it was something that if not for his –still brief– coexistence with humans, and particularly in the last days thanks to Snow's presence, he wouldn't even have thought of it.

But the idea of Lightning feeling that… The angel felt a strange twinge in his chest he thought he had felt before.

"That is not the only reason why you want to bring Mikhail back", he muttered. "Am I right?"

Lightning looked up at him, stunned. Hope's keen eyesight allowed him to notice, not without surprise, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Humans turn red when they are embarrassed", the angel thought, looking curiously at her. "Or when they feel hot. But now it is not hot."

"What…?", she began, almost breathlessly. "What are you…?"

Hope's eyes seemed to stare directly into her soul and read it like a book.

"You love him, right?", the angel asked in the same soft voice. "Mikhail, I mean."

The young woman was left speechless, her blush deepening. It was incredible Hope had gone so deep into her heart without even understanding what feelings truly were. Let alone something like that. Something that all of her friends had taken years to find out.

"You… you…", Lightning unsuccessfully tried to articulate coherent words until she managed to snarl at him. "… What do you know?! You don't… you don't have any idea about what that means!"

"You're right", Hope conceded gently tilting his head. "Human emotions are not something I know to easily identify. But I know love is the most confusing of them all. And your aura gives off a lot of confusion whenever you mention Mikhail. It is similar to what Serah feels when Snow is around, in her case lacking pain because she has her beloved one with her. And I feel so much anger and rage from you because the Order took him from you."

Lightning kept staring at him without finding the words. Again, Hope sensed she felt torn between two options radically opposed. But the angel waited in silence once again, not pushing her, simply waiting for her to decide.

And once again, she looked away, with that defeated expression Hope disliked so much to see in her, a human he considered strong and unwavering.

"Tch…", Lightning gave a bitter half-smile. "Many people wouldn't consider love what I feel. You think you can love what you never had?"

"What do you mean?", Hope looked surprised.

"I don't know Mikhail. I've never met him in person", a sigh escaped Lightning's lips. "I'm like the rest of the world in this. I don't even know how he looks like aside from a hazy silhouette."

"Really?", Hope tilted his head, intrigued. "I thought from the way you talked about him that you knew him. You are an Eternal."

"Yeah, just like you, in a different way", Lightning said with a half-hearted short chuckle. "I, too, was born long after King Mikhail disappeared; I'm only 213 years old. And all those who knew him personally died or were killed by the Order. Being their greatest enemy, they've been trying to destroy everything related to him for many centuries, many of them don't remember him as well. The idea was to erase his memory and existence, you know. What little we know from the last Rising Star is what we keep hidden in a secret crypt here, in Luxerion.

"Then, if you don't know him, why do you love him?", Hope asked, looking curiously at her. She gave him a sad look.

"Because of my sister. You know she's a Seeress", she replied. "In one of her earlier prophecies, many years ago, she saw that he and I would meet. That we would save Nova Chrysalia together… in all mean. I saw it, too. She recorded it."

The angel cocked his head.

"Do you trust that prophecy that much to love a man you don't even know?"

Lightning shot him a defiant glare.

"I know it sounds stupid", she replied defensively, "but… I do. I know King Mikhail and I are destined to each other. No one takes me seriously for a long time now. Everyone, specially Serah, insist me I should forget, they tell me that prophecies are just possibilities, but… Bah, who cares", she stopped and made an abrupt gesture. "You're gonna think it sounds stupid anyway."

"No", Hope said quickly shaking his head. "It is just that human feelings seem very complex to me. But because of this I have learned the more complex, the farthest from stupid they are."

There was a long silence. Lightning still didn't quite believe she was having this conversation with Hope, the angel of God. The one she believed the greatest enemy of their cause… and thus King Mikhail's. But she needed that angel. And the time to tell him why had come.

"In any case, the thing is we need to bring Mikhail back, whether or not my sister's prophecy is true", Lightning said then, regaining some of her composure. "And that's for what I need you, Hope."

"Me?", he slightly frowned. "Why?"

"Remember what we talked about a few days ago, when we declare ourselves mutual allies? I told you I needed your help", the young woman told him, and took a deep breath. "This is for what I need you. You're the key that can help us bring back the King, no matter how became of him."

Hope stared at her. This time it wasn't to probe her emotions, but by pure, sincere bewilderment.

"You want me to bring back Mikhail? Light, I am an angel, but I can't work miracles. I don't know if I can reverse crystal stasis or Cie'th transformation, but there is no way I can bring back the dead to life."

"I know you can't. But I'm not asking you to do it. What I want from you is that you help me find what can do it", Lightning's eyes gleamed in determination. "The Heart of Bhunivelze."

"The Heart of God?", the angel repeated blankly.

"The Heart of Bhunivelze", corrected her. "It has nothing to do with the god. It's called like that, according to an ancient prophecy. The tales say it's a treasure capable of working miracles, and its owner will get what his own heart yearns as long as it's his, or hers."

"I have never heard of it", Hope murmured. "God never mentioned the existence of such a powerful artifact."

"I told you your god has nothing to do with it. I guess you know the angelic language."

"Of course I do", the angel seemed a bit offended at the question. "Do you know it?"

"Hardly. My sister is the one who studied it, but I'm guessing you have to be the expert here. 'Bhunivelze' is an angelic word, right?"

"It is. It means 'cosmic light'. He is the God of Light after all."

Lightning nodded.

"Bhunivelze is the name that eventually it was given to that god, it's not his specific name. So we could say the Heart of Bhunivelze is actually the Heart of Cosmic Light. The creation power of the cosmos itself, condensed into a physical body."

"I see", Hope said, thinking about it. "But I don't understand what this artifact has to do with me."

She took a while to answer. It seemed she found difficult to find the words.

"You see, the prophecy that speaks of the Heart also states that only an angel could lead its owner to its whereabouts", she finally said. "And as we told you, angels disappeared from Nova Chrysalia thousands of years ago. Our only true chance was nothing than a utopia until you showed up, Hope. You're the only angel that we know, even if you're wingless, and the only one who can lead us to the Heart of Bhunivelze in order to bring back King Mikhail and overthrow the Order."

There was a brief silence. Hope simply processed the new information, but Lightning could appreciate at the faint whitish moonlight a hint of surprise in his expression.

"So that is why you told me if I accepted to become your ally I could be turning against God", the angel said then. "But in truth this is fighting the Order, not God."

"But Mikhail was his greatest detractor", Lightning noted. "Remember that the King fought against anyone who tried to impose the rule of the gods on Nova Chrysalia. If Mikhail were to return, Bhunivelze's reign would end."

Hope went silent again, frowning. Unlike him, Lightning couldn't read his emotions, if he had any. She could guess what he was thinking by his reactions, but in that moment she had no clue. And he was the only thing that could lead her to what she had been looking for so long without any success. If Hope refused…

The mere thought was like a stab in her heart. But she had to admit it was a very plausible possibility, and she herself would've been asking for it. "He doesn't owe me anything. I've done nothing but treat him like scum, and even though I don't like him, I can't force him to put himself in danger again for someone he fears at any time could stab him with a sword."

"I'm aware it's a risk you don't want to take", Lightning said, cursing the fact her voice sounded almost pleading. "And you could end up being punished again. I know I shouldn't ask anything from you considering how I've treated you, but–"

"I will", Hope suddenly interrupted her. "I'll help you find the Heart."

Lightning froze. Of all the answers she had expected to hear, this was the one she considered the least probable. She had mentally prepared herself to not expect much, let alone after having tried to punch him just two days ago.

"… What? …"

"I said I will help you find the Heart", he repeated calmly. "I'll do as much as I can for you and Mikhail meet each other."

If there was anything that could leave the young woman even more stunned, those were the words.

"But… I don't understand, Hope…", Lightning looked at him in disbelief. "Why would you…?"

He lifted his head and looked directly into her eyes. It was a clear, serene and sincere look, filled by genuine innocence, almost as pure as a child's.

"Because you suffer."

It was a flat, short answer, like every one Hope usually gave. But Lightning understood its meaning: the angel knew she suffered because Mikhail wasn't with her. He hadn't questioned at any time the fact she loved a man she didn't even know, unlike the rest of her world. Hope had understood it from the very beginning, and he was offering her his help to make the dream that up until now she had thought impossible, to stop that suffering that he, more than anyone –ironically–, could actually share.

"Hope…", for the first time, Lightning felt that the name she had given to the angel, initially born out of sarcasm, truly defined him. He was her hope. The hope that had taken form in her world, in a way she would've never had thought, to make a prophecy everyone thought false become true. "I don't… I don't know what to say. If you really manage to lead me to the Heart… I'd never be grateful enough."

"You have no need to thank me", Hope said, his voice softer than usual. "You suffer because Mikhail is not with you. I don't like to feel you suffer. So I want to help you to get what will make you happy so you don't have to suffer anymore. Is not that what is supposed to be done?"

The truth was the world was loads more hostile and selfish. People didn't usually put themselves in danger like Hope was just because someone was suffering for something that didn't concern them. Lightning couldn't help thinking the angel's innocence and simplicity endangered him the most in the world of humans. For the first time, she felt a strange instinct of protection towards him. She still didn't like the angel –or so she wanted to believe– but she couldn't help seeing him as a child in an adult body, who saw the world in a much purer way than any human, l'Cie, fal'Cie or god.

"Thanks, Hope", she simply said, feeling true gratitude towards him despite everything. She couldn't stop herself from briefly half-smiling. He didn't smile back, but his pale green eyes gleamed, and she guessed he was happy.

However, she couldn't possibly know that when Hope made his promise to help her meet Mikhail, that strange and painful twinge struck again the young angel's chest.

"It doesn't matter. She suffers, and if that king is what can make her smile, nothing else matters."

"You don't have to thank me", he replied, and tilted his head. "I am confident that we soon will be able to start our search for the Heart."

"But you've still got to recover, Hope. There's no rush."

He stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes, and then he focused on the more positive emotions Lightning was feeling towards him, and he recalled that brief smile she gave to him.

And then he conducted his renewed energy to the weakened parts of his body. With great effort, he began to move his stiffened legs, slowly moving his whole body toward the edge of the bed. At the same time, his back painfully started to protest, but he deliberately ignored the pain and kept going.

"Hope!", Lightning exclaimed, standing up like a spring, alarmed when she realized what he was doing. "What are you doing?! Stop it! You're still convalescent! …"

She was cut short when before she could finish the sentence she found Hope sitting on the edge of the bed, breathing heavily, his face paler than usual and moist by sweat from the effort. Lightning was left speechless again.

Hope caught her eye and looked back at her sideways, trying to catch his breath, his green eyes shining with that amused sparkle she had seen sometimes on them.

"I can feel… positive and negative energies from all living things…", the young angel reminded her between ragged breathings. "Energy projected at me affects my life force… either positively or negatively. So far my recovery… has been stagnant because of the negativity you felt towards me. But look at this, Light… A smile has been enough for me… to regain the remaining force I couldn't get back. If that's what you are able to do with me… imagine the wonders you could work with Mikhail…", he looked away, his eyes bright. "I want to see that, Light… I want to see that smile of yours work the miracles you've told me about… and I want to help you do it."

She was silent for a long time, processing what Hope had just told her. She would've never thought the angel of God would tell her such things. An emotionless being. A servant without will. The creature she hated.

"I hate him. That hasn't changed, and it won't ever change."

But deep in her heart, something had changed. For the first time, Lightning didn't see Hope as any of those things she had thought of him up until then. Nor as the angel serving God.

For the first time, she had seen him as a true angel.

The angel who embodied the hope for the deepest desire of her heart.