A/N: I'm not keeping track of how ofter I'm updating lately, but I've got the feeling you can't complain, eh? Here's chapter XXIV, an episode I've been itching to write for a long time, and I'm quite pleased with the result… though it falls on you, my dear readers, to consider if it ended up as good or bad.

This chapter includes major shock and it's somewhat graphic… Just giving a warning in case. Though I think you'll be fine. Hopefully. :)

As a side note, I personally love Fang in this one. Author's appreciation.

Wings of Light

| XXIV |

Wrath

The first thing Hope heard after a darkness that lasted what it seemed an eternity was the voices. Right after he felt that strange choking, as if air didn't reach his lungs; he coughed, trying to breathe. Until he realized that he was actually breathing without problems, so the oppression must had a different cause.

Bit by bit, the angel opened his eyes. It was night now, and in the distance was shining the eternal flame of the Oasis Lighthouse, softly lighting the sand. It was, however, in a different place than the last time he'd seen it, so he wasn't where he was before he lost all consciousness. "Where… where am I?"

He tried to move, and suddenly something caused a strong electric shock as a stream of reddish energy ran through his body. Hope let out a short cry of pain, feeling that kind of suffocation grow, forcing him to cough again.

"Hope…?", then he heard Lightning's exhausted voice by his side; the angel turned his head and saw her and Fang close to him, against the rocks. "You're awake…"

"Light…", he murmured; his voice was hoarse and drained too, as if it was very hard to pronounce each word. "Fang… What happened…? Where… where are we?"

Lightning was about to answer, but Fang beat her with the same exhausted voice, but not losing her nerve at all:

"Where are we, somewhere east of the Oasis Lighthouse, around the Grave of the Colossi. About what happened, if we're chained as we are, it's because we've been caught, don't you think? If I were you, I wouldn't move, if you don't want to have an even worse time than right now."

It was then when Hope noticed the shackles around his wrists, neck and ankles, secured by chains to the rock. The metal gave off an eerie red glow that looked familiar. Lightning and Fang were chained the same way too, even though they seemed to be dealing with it somewhat better than him.

"The Order has been… using this tactic against us for many centuries…", Lightning explained with obvious anger, despite how hard it was for her to talk. "A spell specifically designed… to block crystal-origin magic… such as l'Cie have. Just as you warned us, it's the spell that still haunts the jails… in the Palace of Yusnaan."

Then Hope recalled that just before losing consciousness, he'd sensed that same energy. A little further, he saw a tent in front of which was a banner stuck in the sand with the Order of Salvation's symbol. "The Order… caught us? How did they know where they had to look for us?"

"I've heard them chat before", Fang grunted staring at the tent where probably the Order's soldiers were taking shelter, her words dripping with such venom Hope shuddered. "Apparently they've lost all kinds of respect for the nomad tribes' neutrality. They captured a few hunters from the tribe of Mysidia and beat them until they confessed where you'd gone before killing them for anyone to find it out. As they were on their way to Ruffian, they came across us…", the dragoon clenched her fists, enraged. "The damn, conceited bastards…"

Meanwhile, Lightning looked more fragile and frightened than ever, despite her efforts to keep her composure. Hope didn't like seeing her like that, and wished he could move to offer her his support, even if it wasn't much.

"I only hope that if the Order attacks Ruffian… Serah will be able to escape. I was right to tell her to stay… If she'd come with us…"

"Those filthy cowards of the Order would never dare to attack Ruffian", Fang snapped as if the thought was preposterous. "Besides, why would they? They've got us already… Hurting your sister wouldn't benefit them, and you know it… but we're a different story."

Even though Hope wasn't that used to Fang's aura, he did sense some kind of dark resolution, an almost resigned determination. Like someone who has accepted a grim fate and is ready to fight until the fateful outcome.

"Fang…", Lightning muttered, shaking her lowered head. "I'm sorry… this is my fault. If we hadn't left Ruffian for my stupid idea–"

"Now there's little point in lamenting", Fang sharply replied. "I'm most interested in pissing the Order off enough for them to grant us a quick death. It's loads more than they usually offer l'Cie… and a miracle for traitors and spies like me, that I can tell you."

Lightning fell silent. She merely looked down, pale and her face serious and stoic in the outside, but Hope sensed her anger, her frustration, her sense of failure… and fear. "She is scared", the angel understood. "She fears that everything she has fought for will be for naught."

If they were prisoners of the Order and couldn't release themselves with magic, what would become of them? Fang assumed they'd be killed, but Hope couldn't help wondering if that was really it. If that was what they wanted, they'd have ended their lives once they left them defenseless. Why else they would've chained them up?

Maybe Lightning realized the young angel's concerns, because she turned to face him as he lamented having been weak enough to predict the ambush within a wider time range.

"Hope…", she said quietly, perhaps in an attempt to reassure him. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. I know it's quite ironic I'm saying this, but… I had no intention to drag you to your death."

"We are still alive…", Hope replied shaking his head. "Why are you apologizing? Besides, it was me who said I wanted to see the prophecy… Maybe if you had killed me earlier, I wouldn't have caused you all these problems…"

She was about to reply, but then Fang cut them:

"Enough of the last wills… Here they come. In the name of all that's holy for you two, don't tell them a single thing. Maybe our time has come today, but our people will survive."

Lightning nodded with sheer determination. Hope understood what Fang meant, and why the Secutors hadn't killed them yet: they wanted to interrogate them, learn about their hiding places and activities. He remembered what both women had told him, that only the Vermilion Dawn's members actively fought against the Order, while the innocent l'Cie hid of their hostile world in the village of Poltae. But the fact that they were simply living constantly hidden away wouldn't stop the Secutors from killing every single one of them.

The Secutors were headed toward them, holding their bayonets. Despite that they covered their faces under their helmets, Hope sensed the aura of sufficiency and pride they gave off: even him, who still didn't know much of the human emotions' secrets, knew it was because they'd captured what they thought they were three rebel l'Cie fugitives. "At least they don't know I am an angel", he thought. "Though, in my condition, who would even suspect it?"

"Why, it looks like that our elusive demons have woken up at last", one of the Secutors, who seemed the boss, said. "Who would've said it of you, Captain Yun… Not just a l'Cie, but the very leader of the rebel demons!"

"Spy, traitor, l'Cie and rebel leader in a single shot", Fang replied with obvious sarcasm, giving him her usual shark-like smile. "Today's your lucky day, right, Captain? Way luckier than all those years chasing us. You'd certainly have rushed your ass off to notify the High Priestess you've done well, for a change."

The Secutor captain looked briefly annoyed, but pulled himself together seconds later. He came closer to Fang at a deliberately slow pace and bent beside her, pointing at her with her bayonet's knife.

"Foul-mouthed as ever, Yun. Haven't you noticed you're unarmed, chained under the Demon's Bane spell and any lack of respect to the Order's sacred hand will be punished accordingly?"

"You speak of respect?", Fang laughed in the Secutor's face. "For a bunch of cowards that take advantage of corrupted magic to incapacitate their foes in their backs instead of dealing with them with minimal honor, which is the most one could ask from the Order? Not sorry to tell you that the day I respect the Order, Captain, will be the same your god earns it. Do the math."

The bayonet's knife touched the skin of Fang's chest. Lightning and Hope held their breath, but Fang merely widened her grin.

"You dare sully God's name with your rudeness, but you'll learn to fear his power and his word, Captain Yun. Despite you're part of the demons that plague our world, we intended to strike a deal of good will."

"Oh, you don't say. It's the first time I've been offered a deal of good will while I have a bayonet nailed in my chest."

The Secutor ignored the dragoon's sarcasm and continued:

"Since you've been part of the sacred army, despite our betrayal, I'm confident that part of God's teachings have gotten to your demonic heart", Fang snorted in evident disdain, to which the bayonet's tip plunged a bit more on her skin, still not causing any injure, as a warning. "And as leader of the rebels, Yun, you're the best person to make this covenant to the Order."

"Such good will indeed", she mocked. "I am most honored. Allow me to doubt the High Priestess has shown this much interest in striking a deal with the rebel chief. As far as I recall, her specialty was the massacre of all l'Cie who dared to breathe in her domain, which is more or less the whole of Nova Chrysalia…"

"The High Priestess doesn't know of this yet", the Secutor replied. "Undoubtedly her immediate command would've been your execution and your minions'. But although her actions honor the divine word, we believe there's a way for you to redeem yourself and perhaps even save your life as you serve the Order and God's will."

Fang raised her eyebrows feigning interest, but the gesture was clearly contemptuous. Despite the plight they were in and that the dragoon's taunts could entail a grim end for them, Hope couldn't but admire her cool. He understood better why she was the Vermilion Dawn's leader, and why she'd earned Lightning's respect.

"The deal is simple", the Secutor continued. "We'll take you and your minions to Luxerion and intercede for our salvation before the High Priestess herself… as long as you agree to confess here and now, and repeat to Her Grace, where are the rest of your demon cult hidden."

Hope felt the anger that Lightning gave off when she heard the Captain's conditions, but Fang's reaction was quite different: the dragoon stared for a moment at the Secutor as if he'd told her a particularly funny joke, and she burst out laughing:

"Oh yes, Captain. That's exactly what I was planning to do. Why didn't I think before of betraying all my kind to satisfy the wishes of a fanatical mad woman? Seriously, I'd love to make deal so much, but there are some teensy problems: I'm chained up, I care loads more about my people's survival than mine, and you're all a bunch of assholes, starting with you. I'm really sorry. Oh wait… nope, not sorry. Shame."

In that moment, the bayonet's knife pierced Fang's brown skin, causing blood flowing down her chest. Lightning let out a small gasp, but once more the Vermilion Dawn's leader, indifferent to the pain, simply smiled like a shark. "Fang would endure any pain if that way she saved those she cares about", Hope thought, amazed. "She would let these humans pierce her heart without hesitation if that could let us free."

"Perhaps I should explain myself better", the Secutor crouched and drove the knife deeper into Fang's flesh; she showed him even more teeth in that fierce predator-like grin. "The deal involves two options, Yun: you accept, or you die. I'm offering you the chance to live, which is more than you deserve, as you honor God's holy will by cleansing the land of demons. The Order forgives and allows demons who choose the path of redemption to live. All you have to do is tell us the whereabouts of your kind."

As her only reply, Fang spat him in his face. The Secutor was wearing a helmet, so the effect wasn't as satisfying as it'd have been otherwise, but it was still a clear and blatant act of utter contempt. Enraged, the man swore jumping away as if he'd been bitten by a snake –Hope was rather sure that spit carried more venom than any monster could pump– and brusquely pulled the knife out of Fang's skin before striking her with an irate slash, opening a cut on her cheek in retaliation.

"Very well", the Secutor grumbled wiping his visor with his sleeve in disgust, pricking the dragoon with his bayonet; she gave him her widest and most contemptuous grin. "I see your demonic nature is beyond redemption. However, your loyalty to your ilk is commendable…"

Then he slowly turned to Lightning and Hope. The angel didn't like what he sensed in his aura, much less when he saw Lightning going pale.

"Get them", the Captain told two of the Secutors with a short movement of his head; the two men, bayonets in position, moved to stand on either side of them both. "We'll see for how long you're able to bear watching your beloved demons suffer before you surrender, Captain Yun."

For the first time, Fang's smile faded from her face.

"You dirty scumbags", the dragoon's voice was dripping venom. "Don't you dare to touch them in front of me. Kill us all already if you've got any drop of blood in your veins."

This time it was the Secutor's turn to laugh, and it was a cruel, cold cackle that caused a shiver go down Hope's spine.

"It turns out that, no matter how much you've sought a quick death, we're more interested in the information that only you can give us", he replied, and at a wave of his hand, his minions pointed their bayonets to Lightning and Hope's necks respectively. "Difference being, unlike you, they're not essential… so if you insist on your refusal, you'll have to bear in your conscience the deaths of these two."

Fang gritted her teeth until they squeaked, trying in vain to break the magic chains that bound her and kept her from using her powers. The rage coming from the dragoon left Hope breathless: it was something he'd never sensed before, not even from Lightning. It was a fierce urgency of protection, a killer instinct not fed by bloodthirst, but by the rescue of those she loved. "Such rage…", the angel looked sideways to the knife brushing his skin, so thin that merely the edge touching it made it bleed. "If these chains weren't cursed, Fang would have already broken them."

"Let's see…", the Secutor's captain walked sparingly in front of Lightning and Hope, most likely to humiliate Fang further. He stopped before Hope, and looked him up and down in obvious scorn even though his face was hidden under his helmet, before pricking him in the leg with his bayonet. "This one doesn't look precisely strong or important. Actually, I think he's the puniest demon I've ever seen. Look, he wouldn't even be able to wield a sword. Are you so desperate to recruit followers to defy us that you even admit those as pathetic as this one, Yun?"

Fang simply winced, refusing to answer the taunt, but Lightning didn't hesitate to kick the Secutor closest to her as she was able to:

"Leave him alone! If he's that pathetic as you say, why don't you mess with those who are truly important, you bastards?!"

The Secutor that Lightning had kicked, irritated, pricked Hope on his side as retaliation, dangerously close to the wounds in his back; the angel gritted his teeth, enduring the pain and humiliation as much as he was able to, but he wasn't finding it easy. "The worst is that they're right. Have I fallen this low so mere humans are harpooning me like a fish now? Is there anything left of my dignity that hasn't been trampled yet?"

"No, wait… The demon girl is right", the Secutors' boss said raising a hand when his henchman was about to hurt Hope again, "this one probably doesn't matter even to their leader. No sense in wasting time with him", and in a swift motion, almost bored, he slashed Hope's cheek with his bayonet, leaving a cut in its trail quite similar to the one bleeding in Fang's face. The angel didn't even protest; he stared at the ground with his eyes unfocused, his blood falling on the sand. "No, I think there's nothing left of the angel of God's dignity that hasn't been trampled now", he thought merciless and somewhat sarcastically.

"But we already know you… Aren't you the sister of the Seeress demon who so generously gave us a prophecy?", the Secutor's voice turned particularly unpleasant as he said those words, and Hope sensed Lightning's rage clear as water. "The High Priestess ordered your death not so long ago, child, since in her infinite wisdom she suspected you were a l'Cie like your sister… and besides, you've been keeping us from welcoming her into the Order and put her gift to God's service for a long time. Yes, you've caused us a lot of trouble, demon girl."

"And I'll keep doing so", she angrily spat, "as long as the Order continues slaughtering innocent people and trying to take my sister away for your dirty purposes. If you want to get her, it'll be over my dead body."

The bayonet's tip touched the skin of Lightning's neck, softly sinking it. She couldn't help but cringe when she felt the cold touch of the weapon, and when he sensed her fear, Hope left his self-contemptuous trance and turned to her.

"Light!", he exclaimed, to what the Secutor by his side roughly speared him again.

"Shut up!"

The Secutor turned to Fang, who was forced to watch as her comrades were wounded and humiliated helplessly, before bending down next to Lightning for a better angle to whatever he had in mind doing to her.

"Don't bear the slightest doubt about it. Since you survived the High Priestess' sacred death sentence, we'll fulfill that command today, but not before you've served a last purpose for Captain Yun to reveal what she must. Consider it fair punishment and atonement for all the trouble you've caused the Order… You will be the first one to die, and then every last of you kind will follow", the man claimed, and he drove the bayonet's blade into Lightning's neck slowly spinning it, forcing her to cry out in pain, "as that's the divine word of the angel of God."

The sight of the young woman's blood, combined with those words, caused Hope's heart stop for a moment… before running wild in seconds, beating like a drum in his chest. And with each beat, blood burned more and more in his veins, like lava building up in a volcano about to erupt. "The divine word… of the angel of God?!" All of a sudden, it was as if all the humiliation and rage passed through him with a whirlwind's force. The angel yanked at the chains, his burning, enraged gaze fixed on the Secutor that was hurting Lightning; it caused him the same pain as the first time he'd tugged at them, but the pain was nothing compared to the power that was starting to overflow inside him, to the point that, in the middle of night, his body began to uncontrollably tremble as it gave off an increasingly bright luster.

Lightning, Fang and the Secutors, bewildered, turned to the blaze's source. What they saw was Hope with his face contorted in repressed anger, yanking at the indestructible ensorcelled chains that held him in a way at should've left anyone writhing in pain. But at that time they didn't seem that indestructible: in fact, they were beginning to crack at each enraged jerk from the angel.

"I…", Hope muttered through clenched teeth, as if he were in a trance, that exorbitant angered stare fixated in the Secutors, who fell back hastily. "I…"

"What the–?!", their captain turned to one of his minions, the closest to Hope. "You! Do something! Take him out!"

Even if the Secutor had reacted on time, he wouldn't have been able to do anything against what happened next. With a last, relentless yank, Hope's body let out an intense golden burst of light that left everyone breathless:

"I HAVE NEVER GIVEN SUCH COMMAND!", the magic chains, both his and the ones binding Lightning and Fang, specially designed to hold powerful l'Cie, shattered into pieces, and the next thing they could see was an enraged Hope, radiating that golden aura, lunging against the Secutors as he raised a hand: a huge, ornate curved double-edged weapon materialized in it, and the angel spun it around with amazing speed, as if it was light as a feather, reflecting the bullets fired at him by the terrified Secutors. Swift as a breeze, and without that spark of murderous rage leaving his eyes, Hope struck his weapon against them.

Even though Lightning and Fang had fought many battles and had seen death up close many times, nothing could've prepared them to witness the angel's wrath. Hope unleashed his strange and deadly weapon against every single Secutor without any kind of mercy or sympathy, cleanly mowing their bodies as if he were cutting a sheet of paper. He moved with feline grace and agility, dodging by barely flinching, not even making a single sound, but with the furious silence of death's shadow. The man who came off better was the one that the angel's blade impaled like a knife piercing through butter.

The last one that was left in a matter of seconds, the captain, who was a little further than the rest, tried to take advantage that Hope had killed one of his men with his back to him, and raised a trembling bayonet to shoot him down. If it were any other situation, Lightning would've warned Hope, but she found herself unable to speak, not even daring to step up into the angel's wrath with her voice. But it wasn't even necessary: so swiftly they barely had time to blink, Hope turned on his heels; he pulled his curved weapon's handled and a thread of magic energy appeared through his fingers like a bowstring, and the next moment an arrow of golden fire shot out against the Secutor, who barely had time for its light to be reflected in his helmet's visor before it hit him and exploded violently, disintegrating his body into embers and ashes that scattered in the desert's wind.

When silence finally came, Lightning and Fang couldn't believe the image before them, a scene they'd never imagined it could be remotely real. Hope, the angel who up until that day had even refused to hurt a single monster, stood in cold rage wielding that weapon between bow and double-edged blade in the middle of a huge pool of blood covering the sand and reflecting the Oasis Lighthouse and the New Cocoon's light, amongst the torn, broken Secutors' bodies. "Is this the true power of angels?", Lightning wondered, unable to look away. "Is this what the other day I could only glimpse?"

That image, however, lasted only a few moments. Suddenly, it was as if all that anger left Hope's body as soon as it had flooded him, and the young angel blinked as if he'd just come out of a deep trance. It was then, when he looked around, he faced the carnage around him

"No…", Hope whispered, opening his eyes wide, shaking like a leaf in a storm. His eyes fell on the weapon in his hands, stained with Secutor blood, and the gleam in his gaze, previously of unstoppable wrath, became of the purest horror. "No… It's not possible… I… I have done this? … I killed… these humans? …

The weapon fell on the sand when Hope's hands started shaking so much they were unable to keep holding it, and it dissolved in golden particles as it touched the ground. And then it was him who fell to his knees in horror, unable to fully believe it.

"No… please, no… It can't be…", he muttered over and over, his whole body in absolute tension, curled up on himself. "I can't have done this… I can't have done this! …"

Lightning and Fang were slow to react, still shocked and scared by what they had witnessed, but when they saw Hope collapsing on the sand they regained part of their poise. The first one to get up, not without caution, was Lightning, who slowly went to him trying not to startle him.

It didn't help much, because Hope sensed her move and turned to her like a scared animal, to what Lightning couldn't help but step back. And that was the trigger. The young woman knew she'd make a mistake from the very moment she realized Hope had felt the fear in her aura.

"Light…", the young angel whispered, his usually calm, monotone voice breaking definitely. She'd never seen so many things in his eyes, and any of them that she wanted to see: panic, confusion, dismay, and most particularly, horror.

"Hope…", Lightning stepped forward hesitantly, and extended a hand to him. "Easy… It's all over now… come here."

"No!", a burst of invisible energy, strong enough to throw her to the ground, was released from Hope's body, and Lightning was forced to back down and nail her feet in the sand to not fly away. "Don't come near me! Get away!"

"Calm down, Hope! It's me, Lightning! Come on, you can't stay here! We have to go!"

It was no use; as the young woman moved forward, Hope jumped away from her, trying to run on the sand as much as his shaky legs allowed him, which wasn't much. He stumbled after a few meters and fell down, but he didn't seem to care and tried to stand up again, not really succeeding.

"Get away!", the angel cried with that broken voice, tinged with panic and horror, when Lightning came too close; suddenly she hit a Protect spell that made her stagger. "Don't get close to me! Go away!"

"I'm not leaving without you, Hope! Put down this stupid barrier now!"

Hope managed to get up a bit, but he was forced to lean on the rocky wall to keep his balance. Between his broken voice, his eyes wide in horror and the cut across his right cheek, he looked as if he was crying tears of blood. It looked hard to believe that few minutes ago he'd claimed the lives of all those Secutors with such fury, and he was so terrified now.

"Do you want to end up like those humans?!", the angel snapped shaking frantically his head. He could hardly stand up, but he didn't lack the energy to keep the magic barrier up, even when Lightning tried to remove it with a Deprotect spell. "Stay away from me!"

"Hope, that's enough! You wouldn't do that to us!", Lightning wasn't sure why she said that since for a moment she'd actually thought Hope would kill them just like he did to the Secutors, but the truth was at seeing him like that she deeply regretted thinking so. "Please, come with me!"

He stepped back as he cold, but before he could do anything else, a shadow jumped from the top of the rocks and hit him right in the back of his neck. Hope froze a moment before his eyes went blank and fell to the ground, and the Protect spell vanished. Lightning's heart stopped for a second, but she soon recognized Fang when she moved and the Oasis Lighthouse's light brightened her figure.

"It was faster this way", the dragoon said as an explanation when Lightning came to her and Hope's unconscious body. "Don't you worry, I've only calmed him down."

"How did you get there without him sensing you?", the young woman asked kneeling by the angel's side, worried; Fang's method, despite being much more effective indeed, wasn't the one she'd have chosen.

"You were too focused on him, and he was too dazed to detect me", Fang shrugged. "But that's not the question right now. What do you have in mind, Lightning?"

She understood what Fang meant. She looked down at Hope; even passed out as he was, the angel's face, covered in blood, was twisted in an horrified grimace, and his whole body was still trembling. "He looks so fragile…", Lightning thought, still in disbelief. "It's so hard to believe he's the same creature that killed those Secutors that way…"

"I don't know, Fang. But we can discuss that later… We must go back to Ruffian as soon as possible, and once we're out of danger, we'll talk about this. Besides… I think we need some time to think."

Fang nodded.

"Alright. Luckily for us, these fools camped quite close to the lighthouse, and that means we're not too far from Ruffian. I'll get our weapons, and then we'll leave. You keep an eye on him until I return."

Lightning agreed. While Fang headed to the Secutors' tent, now empty, she examined Hope's wounds; they didn't look worse than hers or Fang's, but she'd got the feeling that they were merely a reflection of the ones that opened in his soul. "Hope always said life had to be cared for, he scolded us whenever we killed and he never raised his hand against any living thing… How has he been able to do this?", she thought, and she suddenly felt very sad when she remembered how he'd tried to run away from her. "This world is too cruel for someone like him."

Few minutes later, Fang came back with her trusty spear to the back and the sheathed Lumen, Lightning's electric sword, over her shoulder. She tossed it to the young woman, who caught it and put it to her back.

"How do we take him?", the dragoon asked looking critically at the unconscious Hope. "Even if Ruffian is quite close, we'll have to walk, and we're not exactly in our best shape."

"He's not heavy, if we pass his arms over our shoulders it won't be difficult to carry him between the two of us. We've already done it before."

Fang arched her brows, not really buying it, but once she did what Lightning said and realized that indeed the angel was rather light-weighted, she nodded, satisfied, and both women started walking away from the gruesome result of their capture by the Secutors' hands, relieved to lose sight of it.

So as they followed the Oasis Lighthouse's beacon, Lightning and Fang dragged Hope through the desert, constantly in alert, and they didn't utter another word until the massive rocky crag that housed inside the Dead Dunes' capital appeared in the distance after they climbed a cliff. Only then Fang allowed a little grin to show in her face, watching Lightning with the spark that always appeared in her eyes whenever she was impressed:

"Well, I suppose that despite all that mess, your angel has done two great favors today to us, sister. He's saved our skin and incidentally he hasn't left anyone alive to tell the High Priestess about me, so the Vermilion Dawn will be able to keep spying the Order from the inside. The third favor he's done is to the Earth Eaters… They'll probably be quite fed up about dining Secutor squads these days."

"I can't believe what you're telling me yet", Serah shook her head, pale and distraught, sitting on one of the cushions. "I know you're not making it up… it's just I can't believe it."

"Well then, start believing", Fang replied, bored at having to repeat the same thing yet again. "Your sister and I saw our angel in real live action slaughtering those Secutors with the ease you cut through butter and loads more enraged than a pissed-off behemoth. And it's not easy feat I admit he even frightened me…"

"But after seeing him… he doesn't look like that at all. He's so scared…", Serah said. Her blue eyes were watery, and Lightning couldn't blame her. It'd affected her too, more than she'd imagined, the state in which Hope was, after what happened a few days ago.

When Lightning and Fang managed to reach Ruffian, dragging a fainted Hope with them, they were lucky enough that the citizens were having lunch –or the nightly equivalent, given that they lived at night– and therefore they wouldn't draw unwanted attention. The guards came to meet them once they realized they were carrying a wounded person, and when they saw both women were injured too they rushed to notify Elder Fares. She immediately ordered to take the three of them to the healer's wing as they warned Serah of their arrival, and they'd stayed there for the rest of the night and next day until their injuries and the anti-magic chains' effects healed. Or, at least, this had been Lightning and Fang's case, because Hope was still there, secluded apart in a room away from other patients; they hadn't said anything about what happened in the desert, but they didn't have to explain much since as soon as the angel woke up, he'd desperately tried to get away from anyone who came close to him. The healers had to sedate him with spells before taking him to that room, where theoretically he was being treated… even if their cares apparently had little effect on the panic and horror that had overcome him, since it had been over four days already and Hope showed no signs of improvement.

Lightning and Serah had gone to see him the previous night. And literally, 'seeing' him was all they could do, for as soon as they tried to approach him, Hope barricaded himself in a corner of the room and raised a Protect spell to prevent them from keep advancing. Serah's pleas and Lightning's loss of patience were useless: the angel didn't budge, insisting over and over that they leave, to stay away from him, with those eyes wide in horror. Upon leaving, the healers told the Farron sisters that Hope spent the hours that he wasn't under the influence of their spells muttering constantly like a mantra: "what have I done", he said nonstop, his voice utterly broken.

"The healers say he's in shock", Lightning replied rubbing the bandage she had over her injured neck. "We haven't told them anything, of course, because if someone were to find out what he's capable of… I know Hope wouldn't hurt us, not by choice. Just look what having done what he's done has left him like… So I don't know what to think. I don't understand how it's possible that he got to do something like that."

"Hmm", Fang scratched her chin. "If you say your angel is unable to hurt us by choice, have you ever paused to consider that maybe it was an order from his master?"

Lightning flickered, pale. "An order from Bhunivelze? Could it be he still has such control over Hope?"

"That doesn't make any sense", Serah intervened before her older sister could think much of the implications. "If he'd gotten an order from God, why did he attack the soldiers of the Order that serve him? He'd gone straight against you, and yet… Sis, you said Hope was furious when the Secutor's captain said the angel of God claimed you had to die, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Just after he nailed that bayonet in my neck."

"There you have it", her sister said firmly. "Hope was only protecting you, and actually he saved your lives. Sure, none of us would've ever expected him to do it the way you told me, but… it's still something both of you would do."

"We both would've done it, indeed. I'd certainly had done the same or even more", Fang shook her head. "But coming from him?, not even in my life I'd have imagined that. And I know, it's ironic as hell to say this when we've believed for most of our existence that the angel of God did just that to us l'Cie. Even more ironic is that the only time we've seen him act as the Order preaches he does, he did precisely against them."

Lightning nodded, deep in thought. It was true Hope had protected them… but if a few days ago, during the Beacon Festival, she'd glimpsed the fire in the angel's eyes, what she'd seen the other night had been the very heart of a volcano in eruption. A quiet and peaceful creature, almost lethargic sometimes, until it suddenly exploded with murderous rage. "And in the process, it loses something of itself."

"But hey, let's talk about that most concerns us now", Fang said, looking seriously at the Farron sisters. "I must go back as quick as I'm able to Luxerion to report the 'loss' of both squads at the hands of the evil l'Cie; these wounds that jerk of the captain made to me will grant me a perfect alibi. As for you… when the enemy tracks fugitives, where they least expect finding them is in their own territory. Besides, I doubt the Order in Luxerion knows exactly which l'Cie they're looking for because Luxerion and Yusnaan's divisions don't get along very well. The best thing you can do is come along with me and rest well at home before you head to Poltae."

"Even if it nags me, you're right", Lightning sighed. "The shape we're in now, we wouldn't last long in the Wildlands. And we need Hope, too…"

"But he's still convalescent… When are you planning to leave, Fang?", Serah asked, concerned. The dragoon tilted her head to do a quick estimate.

"Two days' my limit. Each moment counts, and I can't delay my return more than that, or the Order will suspect. If the angel hasn't got better by then, we'll have to take him by force, whether he likes or not."

"I hope we won't have to come to that", Lightning replied with a raised eyebrow. "I already know your methods to calm people down, Fang."

She nonchalantly shrugged.

"And you think if not for my 'methods' you could've brought him here? Although you may not believe it, I've had to deal more than once with people in similar states to the angel's after seeing things that it's better you don't ever witness. Sympathy is a good thing, but there are times when it's better to save the dramas."

Before Lightning could reply, Serah got ahead of her sister, driving the topic away:

"Two days… it's not much time. But I think maybe it's the best for Hope we take him away from here. You know… to where he's not remembering all the time he's in the place where he killed those Secutors. We could leave earlier, perhaps it's the right thing for him."

Lightning agreed after pondering it, and Fang sat up on her cushion, toying with her glass of liquor, thinking about Serah's suggestion.

"I wouldn't mind leaving before two days, as I've told you I'd leave in no more than two days. If you consider it's better to scoot earlier, then that's perfect for me. Actually, if you say you wanna leave right now, all I have to do is ask Fares for a cart, and in half an hour at most we're leaving Ruffian."

"I think it's best to wait until morning, at dawn", Lightning said. "We've still got to pack, and besides that, Hope should rest as much as he can. I'll talk to him before we leave and try convincing him to come… It's enough we've calmed him down by your methods once, Fang."

"Your loss", the dragoon replied mockingly. "Then don't you come to me later pleading that I convince him if he doesn't listen. The angel's yours, do whatever you want with him."

Lightning snorted, irritated. "Hope's not my pet", she thought. "Everyone has been treating him as if he was nothing more than an animal, including myself… And now he's like a wounded animal that even shuns his own caretaker. I wish I knew what to do for him to let me get close, but it'd be easier if he was just afraid of me… not of himself."

"I'm gonna talk to Fares", Fang said then, jumping up; she didn't look like she'd been victim mere days ago of the anti-magic chains, unlike Lightning who still accused the effects, "so tomorrow morning we'll have the cart ready and we leave. You two, pack everything you've gotta take with you and rest as much as you can. And Lightning, if you're gonna try convincing your angel, you'll have to get up before us, so don't delay us."

And without adding another word, as usual, the dragoon crossed the room with a couple of long strides and left. For a while, Lightning and Serah fell silent, watching the sky turning gradually red as the afternoon advanced through the window.

"Don't blame yourself, sis", Serah said after a few minutes, putting a hand over her sister's. "You're not responsible for Hope's state. The Secutors are, and you know it."

She didn't ask her how she knew what she had in mind. Serah knew her well enough to get the idea, even without Hope's empathic powers.

"I know", the young woman sighed, lifting a hand to her forehead, "but I can't help thinking I'm the one who got him into this mess, and now… What if he doesn't ever get better?"

"Don't say that. He just has to cope with what he's done and learn to live with it… We've both done so, you and I."

"But he's not like us, Serah. He's not human, and we know he doesn't feel things the same way we do."

Serah shook her head.

"Yes, I know that, but that doesn't mean we can't help him", she insisted, staring at Lightning in firm belief. "I'm sure you'll find the way. Only you could."

"Serah says I'm the only one who could help Hope…", Lightning thought many hours later, when it was still dark outside, in front of the door behind which the angel was secluded in the healers' wing. "That's easy to say for her. How I'm supposed to help him, if he doesn't even let me get close?"

She hadn't too much time to try and persuade Hope to go with them, but she wanted to try by hook before forcing him to anything. She knew in part Fang was right, that people in shock as he was weren't in condition to decide anything by themselves, but she didn't find herself able to hitting him to leave him unconscious, as her friend had done.

She took a deep breath before turning the metal door's knob, bracing herself for what she'd find once she opened it. When the torchlight slipped inside the room, Lightning glimpsed Hope's crumpled figure on the rugs, hugging his knees and with that stare that startled her so much, his big eyes open wide and flooding with horror, lost in the infinity. It was as if the sight of the men he'd slain was still there, etched in his pupils, and it was all he could see.

Lightning tried to get in the room without Hope noticing her presence to come to him, but he turned his head to her when she'd just taken a few steps. Immediately Lightning slammed into the magic barrier she was starting to hate.

"Leave!", Hope cried, curling up even more despite being stuck in the corner, as if he tried to merge with the wall. "Don't come any closer!"

"And how do you want me to do so, if you don't stop summoning this stupid Protect?", she snapped, and angrily hit the green barrier with a fist. "Stop running away, Hope! Let me go there! I won't hurt you!"

"No! I won't do so to you!", the angel was trembling, terrified. "Do you think I want to see you sliced in two on the ground?! Get away!"

Lightning gritted her teeth, so frustrated and distraught. She was aware Hope was scared of himself, that was most obvious, but now she understood he feared hurting them, too. He was the first one who considered himself a danger to others, to the people he was supposed to protect. It wasn't just a question of guilt.

Scolding Hope, she realized, was the worst thing she could do. She was making him feel even worse. It couldn't be said that Serah's sweetness had done much the previous night, but she began to understand what the problem was and the root of the angel's panic. "And how can I convince him he won't hurt us? If only he wasn't this terrified…"

"Hope, listen to me! I know you wouldn't! You promised you wouldn't hurt us, remember?"

"I was supposed to had vowed to protect all life, too!", he replied. "You saw what I've done just like I have! I could do the same to you the same way I did to them!"

"You really think you would? You trust yourself that poorly?", she shot back, trying to appeal to Hope's pride. "I'm no Secutor, nor are Serah and Fang! Why would you kill us, if you have no reason to do it?"

"There is never a reason to take a life away! Never!", those words sounded like a learned lesson, and Lightning frowned, not knowing what to say. "Nothing excuses killing a living being… There's no excuse for what I have done… If I killed without reason, who's telling you I won't do it again?!"

Increasingly frustrated, Lightning punched again the Protect spell Hope still kept active, which logically didn't even budge.

"Damn it, Hope! I don't have time for this! We have to go back to Luxerion, you can't stay here locked up like a criminal!"

"Isn't that what I am?!", Hope had shunned her gaze all the time, but now he looked her straight in the eyes. Lightning had to force herself to keep her composure when she saw those eyes, up until then always calm and almost absent-minded, bulging with absolute terror and despair. "I'm nothing more than a murderer! Go away and forget about me!"

She had to take a deep breath to try calming down. "How in the world does Serah intend I help you? I don't even know what I can do or what I can say!", she thought, looking away, unable to hold the angel's terrified glare. "But the sun's rising, and I can't spend hours in here trying to convince him… for our own safety."

"Go away…", Hope whispered, who had also looked away and had buried his face between his knees, trembling, his voice quivering in fear and sorrow. "Please, go away…"

And Lightning made a decision. If it was too early to apply Serah's advice, then she'd have to follow Fang's. "But I'll do it my way… I can't give you more pain than you're already dealing with."

"I'm not leaving", she said in a low voice, raising a hand behind the Protect spell. "I won't abandon you."

With a gentle wave, she directed her magic to him. It passed through the barrier, meant to shield against physical blows, not magic unlike its Shell version. Within seconds, Hope's eyelids closed, and the angel fell fast asleep on the rugs. The Sleep spell or their variations was probably what the healers had used to sedate him, but Lightning was confident that one cast by a l'Cie would be far more powerful. Perhaps it'd take him a day or two to wake up.

"Sis?", then she heard Serah's voice behind her; Lightning turned to her sister, who had just arrived accompanied by two healers. "Fang says the cart's ready… How did it go?"

She simply let Serah see for herself Hope asleep in the corner. Serah's face took a saddened expression, but she nodded:

"He'll get fine in due time. Everything will turn fine, you'll see."

"I'm not so sure about that, Serah", Lightning sighed in deep concern, as the healers came into the room to take Hope to Fang's cart. "You haven't seen him like I have. I'm afraid he'll never be the same again…"

Her younger sister frowned, watching the healers carrying away Hope's sleeping body. Lightning seemed to want to go with them, but she knew those men were far better prepared than her for cases like this.

"No one's the same as before after killing another being, even if it was in self-defense. But we learn from it and we become stronger", Serah mused after a silence. "Once he overcomes it, Hope might be different, but even if he's now suffering, he'll tough up. That's all you have to teach him, the rest he must figure out himself."

Lightning said nothing. She and Serah left the place, each lost in their own thoughts, until they crossed Ruffian's gates, where Fang was standing with a couple of guards by the side of a small cart pulled by two sand sahuagins, on which the healers had already left Hope. The sun was starting to rise, so they had to hurry before the desert's heat got stronger.

Once the cart, led by Fang, began to move, headed towards the Dead Dunes' monorail station, Lightning stared at Ruffian's rocky crag until the city inside the rocks got out of sight, and then her gaze fell on the angel sleeping by the sisters' side on a rug, his face pale and drawn, almost like when he just descended and lost his wings.

They were leaving the desert at last, but a part of Hope would remain there forever, and the scar it had left in his soul would never fade away.

"His wrath saved us all… but the price was far too high. And I can't ignore that it was me who forced him to accept it…"