So hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of Revenant Wings!

Yes, I did it! This chapter is in no way short (clocking in at over 6,500 words), but I finally managed to do it! I actually started last night, but I was super motivated to finish it because it tied in so, so well with the last chapter—really, it could've been one. (but that would've been too long) The following chapter is pretty heavy on certain themes (and I'm not sure you'll like what's coming) but it had to be done and I regret that it had to happen so quickly. I wish I could've fleshed out certain aspects of it more for sure, but we really needed to move on... Lightning was spending too much time by herself and Hope, well... Hope is Hope. :(

Anyways; my love goes to: Jack Hargreave (you'll have to see about that soon enough), H-thar (Light-san is sorry she stepped on you, so I apologize on her behalf. And I totally had you in mind when I said that this chapter didn't have all likeable aspects... *kneels* forgive me?), GKMader (awh, hun, thanks so much!), and Tager96 (I try to respond to every review I get... unless it's super generic, but yes, I do try to respond n_n).

And to LadyAlaska—noooooooo way hun, I love you way more. I love you as much as *thinks furiously* Hope loves Light. (now there's an incentive) Can't top that, can ya? *cackles*

Enjoy as always!

Chapter 25: Within the Darkness

Lightning felt her hand grip the handle of the omega weapon tighter than she probably would've needed to: she'd know those particular wingbeats anywhere. Taksin seemed to recognize the sounds as well, because he quickly whipped his head up, readying an arrow at the point of his bow.

Arturo seemed to melt out of the darkness like a shadow; grinning as he usually was, Lightning felt a flicker of surprise cut through her when she realized he didn't have a weapon. He had one... before, right? She remembered the fight back at the gorge: he'd been the only Meurite who'd been armed back then. Of course, that was before he'd shed his cover, so to speak, but he'd been competent enough with a gun. She narrowed her eyes—Is he just that confident he'll win without one?

She didn't know—but she'd had her fair share of people who'd been disgustingly confident in their own abilities in the past to know to not take him lightly... but he didn't seem interested in attacking her—or them—because he held his arms aloft in a very odd position, one that she wouldn't usually have associated with an attack. "You're quite the sharp one, aren't you?" he murmured, looking at her. "That's why you'd be so much better off on my side... I can give you what you want most." He lowered his voice until he was barely audible over the sound of the rain. "Don't you want to see your sister again?"

The words seized her chest and lungs the moment they crashed into her eardrums; frozen in place and unable to process anything else, Lightning tried to fight—futilely—the panic and guilt that was rising in her chest. I-I want... Just like before, there was a part of her that knew it was a lie... that knew it couldn't be true, but there was some pathetically needy, pathetically stupid part of her that wanted to believe. She knew herself well enough to know that.

"Don't listen to him," came the hiss beside her. "It's a lie. He can't give you what you want."

But she wasn't listening anymore.

The images became unbearably prominent in the forefront of her mind, and Lightning couldn't push away the memories of both pain and longing—the desire to just forget, to stop living... and the desire to give up her own life for the things she'd done wrong. If Serah could come back... The dark desire was there, to want to believe, and it was only horribly punctuated by the dimmed sounds of battle around her. A rough hand seized her shoulder. "Don't."

The quiet command was familiar—and for a moment, she was confused: it plucked easily at long-buried memories...but in the light of her current condition, it didn't take long for those memories to resurface. "Don't." It was a word Hope had repeated to her often, when she was at her very worst; the demure tone of fear and loss in it always made her feel guilty... because she was supposed to be strong for him. She'd promised to protect him too.

I promised...

The memory jolted her out of her daze in a fraction of a heartbeat; shoving her pain and guilt back down her burning throat, Lightning tried to focus on reality. I'm supposed to be here to protect him, not... Her index finger tightened reflexively on the trigger, and she tried her best not to let the weapon tremble in her hands. She didn't know how vulnerable she was supposed to have looked to Arturo in those moments, but she raised her weapon to shoulder height all the same. I can't. As much as it pained her to think that, if there was one thing Hope had taught her since, it was to keep going, not dwell in the past; swallowing, she tried to keep that thought to heart. For the future... not for memories.

She could make out the tattered reptilian wings in the dim, water indigo light that was all the rainstorm offered; she could bury a bullet in one of them easily enough... and send her enemy plummeting down the canyonside just like she'd done to the bird Meurite barely half an hour ago. But instead of flinching back at her clear move to attack, a nasty grin was spreading on the scaly features as he lifted those wings."I suppose you can't win them all. Oh well," he lamented delicately, "it's your loss." The grin was spreading as he made a move to leave, melding back into the gloom of the storm. "But if I were you, I'd get to your little friend," placing an odd emphasis on the pronoun, "before I do."

Her bullet sliced through clean air.

Lightning found that she was breathing hard—much too heavily for the light exertion she'd put her body through—as she struggled to keep herself calm. But she couldn't: Arturo's words had awakened a desperate flare of panic inside her chest that eroded through all other emotions like fire melting ice. The only thing she could coherently think about right now was that Hope was indeed, somewhere in there, trapped inside the mountain that would be more dangerous than what was outside it to begin with. But... I have to... I have to get in there.

Responding to instinct, without thinking, Lightning leapt down the jagged mountain pass, past caring about the slick surface of the rocks that were none too stable underneath her feet. "Wait!" a shout echoed after her, but she ignored it—whatever the hell it was, it could wait, for all she cared. What mattered to her now—the only thing that mattered to her now— was that she reached Hope before something else got to him.

He hasn't got... he can't even defend himself... I have to get there! Loud, clattering footsteps behind her told her she was being pursued, but it barely registered in her immediate consciousness. Slipping precariously on the rocks that lined the mountain path downwards to the next peak, she let out a hiss of pain as a rock tumbled out from under her foot, driving her left shoulder into the rough rock face of the mountain. "Wait!" came the shout again, and this time, Taksin caught up to her before she could continue her way down the rest of the treacherous stone path. "Don't just—Look, I know you're worried, but you can't go charging in there by yourself! That's suicide."

"I don't care," she growled out between gritted teeth, trying to ignore the throbbing new pain in her shoulder. "He can't have Hope." No matter what. Even if I have to sacrifice myself to do it.

"But you're still only one person," he countered, though the tone in his voice was less sure this time.

She whipped around, tightening her grip on her weapon. "So what? I don't have an alternative, so stop wasting my time and get the hell out of my way." Lightning was past caring about how harsh her desperation was making her sound; her only concern right now was to get to him before it was too late... Before all of the mistakes I've made come back and hit me in the face.

She'd made him flinch back a little with her tone; a mess of emotions she didn't have the higher mental functions to figure out at this moment crossed his gaze for perhaps a fraction of a second before he opened his mouth again. "Look, all I'm saying is... not all of the Meurites down there are your enemies. Some of them don't know better, some of them were forced to join them. If we could just talk—"

"Talk?" Lightning wanted to laugh with brazen disbelief—time was ticking away and every second she wasted here debating morals with this Meurite was another second Hope would have to run—virtually defenceless—against a horde of enemies after him. "You really think that if we just waltz up to them and talk, they'll surrender?"

He stood his ground. "They just need to understand us." The statement was simple, firm, and she could see in his eyes that he really believed it... and for a moment, that made her pause.

"We need to understand each other." Words that both Serah and Hope had spoken, in some form or another, rang through her head like an alarum; bringing to light her current situation and the complications it presented. A flash of light lit up the sky for a moment—illuminating the chaos that in the mountainside spread beneath her, highlighting just how very little time she had left. Taking a breath and trying to calm her racing heartbeat and emotions, Lightning tried to understand what her sister had meant with that deceptively simple sentence. Understand? Understand what?

The only thing she thought she understood was how to fight... but according to Serah, that wasn't true either. Did I... Did I really understand him? She wanted to believe that it was true, certainly hoped that it was true, but Lightning was no longer as certain of that as she once might've been. "When you first met him... you thought he was some terrified, helpless kid. But you got to know him... you understood him... that's why you fell in love with him." She wanted to shake her head and snort at the thought... but the one thing she had learned about her little sister in the years past was that when it came to people... Serah rarely made mistakes. Unlike her, her sister had confidence in other people Lightning could only dream of: Serah hadn't been afraid to make the connections she'd been scared to make.

Shaking her head, she tried to dislodge those thoughts—compassion sure as hell wasn't going to help her find Hope any faster and she was wasting time thinking about it. And so what if I convince a few that we're not the enemy... or whatever? There must be hundreds of them down there. Moving forwards again, Lightning ignored the splutterings of the Meurite behind her, setting her sights on the very bottom ledge of stonemore than a hundred feet down, at the very least. Her path was interrupted more than once by cascading tumbles of water, no doubt caused by the rain; splashing through them, past caring about the water droplets that were flung up by her desperate steps to land on her back and cape, her only desire was to get to the bottom of the mountain pass before it was too late... and before the damn morals that were being preached at her in some form of another ate away at her current resolve.

We can't. Even if she thought that the particular Meurites behind her weren't enemies in the sense of the word... the Meurites spread out beneath her were. She didn't have time to explain everything to everyone; didn't have time to go about convincing them that fighting her would get them nowhere. Why can't you understand that? She might've agreed that they weren't all bad, but that didn't mean she had to go and buddy up with every single Meurite that she met. Because that's ridiculous... we want different things—and that's something that can never be simply 'explained'.

Skidding to a stop at the very bottom of the mountain pass, breathless and sweating even through the cold rain that was pounding down from the steadily-darkening skies, Lightning could see that she'd caught some unwanted attention already. Several Meurites—who'd been wielding various weapons—turned at the sound of the splash that her footsteps made.

Lightning flicked her gunblade into sword position, raising it to chest height in front of her; she still had several hundred meters to go before she reached the very bottom of the mountain—how she was going to get in was a different question, but she'd take that particular hurdle when she came to it; what was painfully dominant in her mind at the moment, though, was that in no way was she going to be stopped here. Not before I find him. Narrowing her gaze at the incoming enemies, she tightened her grip on the omega weapon. "Bring it on."

The initial blast of rock had barely missed him; as it was, Hope felt a sliver of sharp stone graze his cheek. Dodging under the swipe of the taloned claws, he realized with a pang of fear that he didn't have time to grab for a manadrive—the only thing he held solidly in his hand right now was Nue... and there were too many to hope to hit them all. Crap... crap!

Trying to think, Hope knew that he had to get away from the edge of the internal cliff: he had no chance of survival if he fell from this height, even if water was gathering at the very bottom of the mountain as provided by the storm raging outside. Trying to count in the darkness, Hope could make out the silhouettes of at least three Meurites in the gloom. Backing against a wall, he groped blindly in the darkness, feeling a surge of anticipation increase his heartbeat when the fingers of his left hand closed around something cold and small.

Right now, it didn't matter what it was: he had to use it. Flicking the manadrive on, he didn't know what spell would come out of it until thunder rocked the rock, sending sparks and thunderwaves rippling along the wet stone. Two of the Meurites fell on contact with the Thundara manadrive: whether it was because they had been electrocuted or whether the artificial magic had been enough to kill, he didn't know. I don't want to... Swallowing, he tried to push the familiar doubts out of his mind: even now, even when he could be literally inches away from death, he still couldn't shake off the thought that if they could only understand each other, then at least some of this violence could be avoided.

Lightning's words wormed their way into his brain. No, Light. I know what you meant... but it's not right. We need... The remaining Meurite launched itself at his head with a vengeance, having seen its companions drop once struck by the thunder; ducking underneath the initial swipe of the claws, this time, he aimed Nue at it as it tried to turn back for a second assault, making sure that the blow would not be one that would kill.

The rain was coming down harder now; he could see thin rivulets of water beginning to run from the opening at the top of the mine into the sky and the occasional flash of lightning lit up the sky for a brief moment, throwing everything into a sharp relief. "Snow?" His shout echoed uselessly off the stone walls—there was no response. Either the blong brawler had moved on, or... No. Snow would never go down without a fight.

Though he'd just taken down three enemies, Hope couldn't be sure of how many more there were: it was dark and though he would be able to hear enemies approaching from a long way off, the sound wouldn't be enough to give him enough information until it was too late. Remembering that there had been pursuit behind him, he gave the walls a cursory sweep—dread formed in his stomach when Hope realized that he couldn't discern—and couldn't remember—which entrance on this level he'd come out of through the confusion and disorientation of the were at least four separate passageways that led away from this central area on this level... and right now, he couldn't afford to take any chances.

There's gotta be a way down, right? And Snow should be somewhere down there too... right? It was a necessary precaution, and he knew he'd have to find Snow sooner or later. I'm—we're—not getting out of this without sticking together... Using the slick stone wall as support and as a guide, Hope cautiously made his way around the circular central area; wary of puddles that would not only give away his general location to any enemy in earshot but would also present the slight chance that he could slip. And for sure... I won't survive a fall down the central shaft.

Heartbeat still hammering in his throat and gripping both his weapon and the half-used manadrive tightly in one hand, Hope felt a flicker of relief when the path, indeed, began to slope downwards about halfway around the circle. Trying to ignore the dripping rain that fell from the cracks in the stone overhead, the lower level was even more dim that the one he'd left. He could make out more rusted brackets set into the wall, though, along with an decrepit mine cart rusted into the corner; the twisted tracks that began on this level led in many different paths, spiralling into the darkness.

What concerned him at the moment, though, was that fact that the sounds and shrieks from above his head were growing louder—Hope remembered, with a little too much clarity, the cave in that had barely missed his head; he'd been sure—as he still was now—that a Meurite had tried to bring down the rocks onto his head; with their unnatural strength, it wouldn't've taken them long to shift through that rock and unless they found a better target, they'd still be after him.

But where am I supposed to go? The locator on his wrist didn't map out the mountain for him because it didn't have enough data—and he couldn't afford to waste time by trying out every single path this place had to offer. Think! The rusted tracks had caught his eye. Minecarts are supposed to bring the mined metal, out... right? So wouldn't one of them lead out? He still didn't know which ones were which... but at least he could rule out at least half of the many choices he had now.

Quickly scanning the area again, Hope paused in front of a likely looking corridor. There was air—fresh air— flowing out of it, and the track twisted away into the darkness; in the distance, he could make out more spots where a bit of sky poked through: those spots were illuminated on regular intervals by a flash of lightning. He took a tentative step into the cavern; suddenly unsure if this was the right path to chose, his decision was made for him when a much louder screech split the air above him. The sound squashed his momentary indecision, as Hope stumbled blindly forwards into his chosen passageway, cursing silently to himself when his foot splashed through a puddle that had formed in the rainfall. Please let this be the way out...

Slicing upwards with her gunblade, Lightning paused for a split second to gauge her progress across the expanse of bare rock that still lay in between her and the dark mountainside. The Meurite that she'd been fighting dropped to the ground with a slow thud—leaping over its fallen body, she pushed her own into a dead sprint. I have to make it... I have to make it! Talons came for her head; ducking underneath them with a forward somersault, she scrambled back up the next second to bury a bullet in its wing.

A claw hooked into her cape, pulling her backwards; whipping around, she twisted until the end of the fabric ripped through the claws gripping it. Meeting those same claws with her weapon the next moment, she fought back a hiss between her teeth—she was getting pushed back on the slick surface and she knew it. Springing back with a backflip, those claws sunk into the ground, creating small fissures were the tips buried themselves in the rock. Using the momentary advantage this presented to her, Lightning dived forward to swipe her omega weapon across the Meurite's throat.

Panting, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath; resting her hand on her knee, she used the other to wipe her dripping pastel pink bangs off her forehead. The only good thing about this rain is that they can't use fire in it. Briefly, that thought scared her for a heartbeat: what if the phoenix couldn't attack in the rain either?—before she pushed it out of her mind. I'll be able to use my magic. That's all that matters.

As she pushed herself forwards again, a snarl came out of the darkness to her right: it sounded like it had come from ahead of her, but in the gloom, Lightning couldn't be sure. The Meurite in question exploded from the blackness, claws outstretched, and she'd just raised her weapon to meet its throat before those claws could catch her when something else dropped it to the ground, pinning it by the front shoulder into the wet rock. What the—

Turning quickly, the silhouettes behind her confirmed who it was in her mind; there was Taksin and his remaining friends, definitely looking the worse for wear, but still fighting all the same. Suppressing an exasperated sigh at their unwillingness to kill, she could see their intentions backfiring in the few seconds she'd spared to turn around: one of the injured enemy Meurites was still crawling towards them all the same; Lightning watched it bunch its back legs in a last ditch attempt to leap.

Her shriek of warning came at the exact moment that the enemy Meurite sank its teeth into the throat of one of his friends—there was absolutely no hesitation when she pulled the trigger to bury a bullet into its temple, dropping it like a dead weight. The yells of shock were immaterial to her ears as she stood still, watching the mix of blood and rain trail past her boots; still breathing hard through her nose, Lightning could see their last attempts to save their friend, but she'd been a soldier for too long not to know a fatal wound when she saw one. Once a pool of blood—even one that was being continuously diluted by the heavy rainfall—grew to a certain size, there was no going back. This is why... this is why it's kill... or be killed. Sure... talking might work before a fight... but when someone's been ordered to kill you, nothing you say will change their mind.

"You see?" she rasped hoarsely, once the twitching limbs were still. "This is why... talking isn't going to work." Her senses were screaming at her to just forget about them, to keep moving, but Lightning found an icy rigidity beginning to steal over her limbs as she watched the lifeless eyes that stared into the dark sky.

Taksin looked up. "No," he maintained quietly. "Wars aren't won because of force. If we kept fighting... there'd be no one left to protect. Eventually, we'll all get wiped out. Peace is kept through understanding."

"Understanding?" she seethed, feeling anger beginning to take over her little comprehension of the topic that kept being brought up around her. "Is 'understanding' going to bring someone back from the dead? You really think—" She wanted to continue, she really did, but the truth was that Lightning felt burning, agonizing fingers tighten around her throat even before the last syllables fell from her lips. She'd spoken in her anger without thinking again—the painful, icy shard was being pierced into her chest and she knew from experience it wasn't going to be one that was going to go away easily. Serah... I...

The Meurite had just opened his mouth to argue with her when a blast of energy hit the ground barely three feet in front of them; the effects of the Ruin spell hadn't been strong enough to hit her, but the aftershock of it had sent her stumbling back a few steps. Catching herself before she was knocked off her feet, all thoughts of arguing—and surprisingly, her own pain—evaporated from her immediate consciousness as a flash of lightning illuminated the last fifty or so metres before the dark mountainside. Lightning felt something seize her chest when she made out the shambling, large figure of her next enemy in the gloom; it was making its way slowly towards them, but she'd already seen the potency and range of its Ruin spell for herself. If I get hit by that...

Tightening her grip on the slick handle of her weapon, she was prepared for its next attempt to hit her with a spell; diving to the right, she shoulder rolled back up into a standing position as the Ruin crashed into a rock some fifty yards behind her, causing it to explode into tiny slivers that joined the downpour onto their heads. A low growl escaped the Meurite facing them, and with a twist of apprehension, Lightning realized that it looked distinctively Cie'th-like... a fact that she did not like at all. Trying to move around it would be pointless—the Meurite could probably cast Ruin faster than she could outrun its range and the last thing she needed right now was a Ruin to the back.

"Hey," came a hoarse hiss to her right; turning her head in that direction, she realized that Taksin had gotten up, an arrow already loaded in his bow; he was still breathing hard, and in the closer proximity between them Lightning realized there were several more wounds dug into the matted fur thrown into sharp relief by the brief flash of jagged electricity that tore through the rainy sky. "I'll distract it."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she gave him a critical glance; she appreciated the offer, but... Wouldn't that be suicidal as well? She didn't want to argue—painfully aware that every second she wasted here dawdling was another second in which Hope could get seriously injured... or worse, but she wasn't going to ask anyone else to die for him.

She had stayed still a fraction of a second too long to consider the offer; Lightning caught the brief grey flash of the Ruinga that was sent in their direction—though her legs moved on sheer instinct, before she was even thinking about what she was doing, her reaction hadn't been fast enough—even if it had been in time—to get her out of the way of the attack. The only thing she'd managed to do before the spell hit her body full-on was turn, so that her weapon and left arm shielded her ribcage and chest from the focal point of the attack.

Lightning awoke to the sound of thunder.

Unused to the sensation of lying on the wet, cold rock, for a moment, she was confused as to why exactly she was lying on her side to begin with, before her mind began filling in the grisly details. Right... that Ruin, but... She couldn't seem to coherently grasp the full implications of the situation, but what she could comprehend was that there was nowhere as much pain as she would've expected. Finding that she was able to at least pull the upper half of her body into a sitting position, she bit back the wave of nausea that assaulted her the moment she sat upright—accompanied by pounding temples and the bitter, metallic taste of blood in her mouth, Lightning thought she could safely conclude that this would be just another unwelcome addition to her growing list of injuries.

But why... Remembering how potent the Ruin spell had been before, when it had completely demolished the large boulder that had been behind her, she didn't understand. Why wasn't she some unrecognizable, charred corpse? Looking down, she realized that she hadn't even been burnt; there were some blisters on the exposed part of her left arm, but her omega weapon looked exactly the same as she'd seen it last. I'm not... Why? The majority of her newest injuries seemed to be from the fall she had to have taken when the impact of the spell had hit her... but why hadn't it done anything?

Slowly pushing herself up to her feet and trying to ignore the tilting dizziness of the world around her, Lightning had her answer when the shift in position brought something burning to her thigh. At first, she was alarmed—before she realized that it was a sensation she'd felt before: it was the same sensation that had travelled upwards from her palm the moment she'd clenched her hand around the tiny glass sphere back at the stone temple. It hadn't occurred to her then, but... But wasn't I under attack when I went for that, too? Did it... It was the only explanation she could think of—and she didn't have time to think of more; she had no idea how long she'd been unconscious, but from the silence around her, it was safe to assume that it had been awhile. Hope... Digging her hand into her pack, she tried not to wince at the sensation under her fingertips—if the sphere had felt hot when she'd last checked on it sometime that afternoon... then it was nothing compared to the fire that the glass contained now.

The dim glow that she'd grown used to seeing in it was like trying to compare a dim candle to a fire—the scarlet orb burned as though it was its own tiny star, illuminating at least several feet around her. Limping forwards, Lightning held the orb tight in her left hand with her omega weapon in her right; the Meurite that had cast the Ruinga in their direction seemed to have moved on... and the fact that there were no enemies in her vision or in her range of hearing was tantamount to the fact that they thought she'd been killed by the attack.

A faint moan attracted her attention, despite the fact that her desperation had returned as quickly as the raindrops were falling from the sky; if there were those enemies around... then how much danger would Hope have to be in? It hurt—and terrified her— to think about it, and it only kindled her burning need to find him before he could get attacked by one. The light being given off by the orb in her hands came to rest on a huddled form lying a few feet away from her; she moved to get a a closer look... only to wish she hadn't.

The Meurite lying on its side was one she recognized, and it was only then did Lightning realize the cruel fate she'd been spared because of the orb from the temple: charred skin burnt to the bone, she didn't need to be a healer nor know any field medic skills to know that it was fatal as well. "You survived," came the quiet croak.

Swallowing, and fervently hoping to the Maker that the nausea in her stomach would not get worse, she forced the words past thistles in her throat. "Yeah."

She met his gaze slowly, not sure if she wanted to see the weight in his eyes nor the sight of more death playing out right in front of her. Because this was death, as surely as she'd known it the moment Serah had dropped her hand back at the Ice Cliff Palace, as sure as she'd known it when she'd been pushed out of the dim hospital room for the very last time. But what Lightning also knew was that it would be equivalent to cruelty if she didn't—and that thought was the thought that finally drove her ice blue gaze to meet the golden one as she bent down.

"Lightning." There was a pause in which the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the rain pounding down around them, washing away the blood and rock slivers that would soon be all that was left of this battlefield, and the sound of battle in the far distance—still halfway up the mountain pass down or perhaps from inside the dark mountain itself. "We understood each other... right?"

The question caught her off guard—it wasn't one that she expected nor was it one she was prepared to answer. But... It pulled at something inside, because it was the one thing that had been repeated over and over to her throughout this entire mess... from Hope, to Serah, to the point where it challenged everything she'd ever thought she understood. Did we? Her grip tightened on her omega weapon as Lightning tried to keep her hands from shaking.

But despite the fact that they'd barely spoken civilized words to each other, despite the fact that almost all of their brief conversations had held barb in them from at least one side... she'd understood him better than she'd thought, and certainly better than her old mentality would've liked to admit. I knew what he was saying, even when I didn't agree with it. And what I can't forget is... She clenched her slim fingers into a fist around the burning glass sphere, remembering the weight, the finality in his tone when he tried to convince her that explaining things... talking was a better method than fighting. She still wasn't sure if she agreed with it... But I think I get it. I get what he's trying to say. And maybe, maybe it would've taken death for her to realize why he'd tried so hard to advocate pacifism on her... but what Lightning couldn't deny was that it was also what Hope had been saying all along—and for that sake alone, she knew—now—that she would have to at least try.

Taking a breath, trying to use it to calm her aggravated heartbeat, she tried to force the tremble out of her tone. "Yeah."

Her voice was hoarse, but she knew he'd heard the quiet assurance in it.

There was nothing here for her now; there was no sense in staying and wasting more time—and there was nothing left to stay for. Pushing herself to her feet; to her, it felt like the weight of her final conviction was dragging her down along with gravity itself, but she fought it. I'm here for someone. And for his sake, for the sake of everyone that's died here tonight... I have to win. There would be a time for her to mull over the events that had happened tonight at a later time, to mull over the weight of the final question that had been asked of her—and the implication it brought—but in order for that to happen, Lightning knew she would have to finish what she'd vowed the moment she'd figured out what was happening.

The way to the side of the mountain was clear now; quickly covering the last fifty or so metres that still lay in between her and the stone that loomed far above her head in the storm, her first step into a passageway that sloped steeply up was in no way hesitant or uncertain. The thought of the Cie'th-like Meurite in here, somehow stumbling after Hope in the darkness gripped her stomach in tight coils like a cobra.

There is an unusual evil here.

In the weight of what had happened, she'd almost forgotten the orb clenched tight in her left fist; Lightning had whipped around to attack an enemy that wasn't there before she realized who'd spoken. A surge of apprehension overtook the dark panic like a blade slicing though the darkness, as the smooth surface of the glass sphere dissolved under her glove, leaving her fingers clenching just as tightly into her palm.

The phoenix burst gracefully from its fiery prison, gliding effortlessly up the passageway that spiralled upwards into the darkness, illuminating the gloom that lay just ahead. For some reason, the sight of the bird, even through the ominous weight of the words it had spoken to her, instilled a deadly, icy calm in her chest—the one that she'd been unconsciously longing for the entire time she and Hope been apart: the old sensation that allowed her to focus on only one thing at a time, no matter how drained and empty she might've felt otherwise.

Staring up at the passageway that had been illuminated by the fiery entity, she felt that same rigidity take over her limbs, driving her upwards though phantom pain still throbbed through her entire right side. Hope was somewhere within her reach now—if she was careful and didn't make any more stupid mistakes, she could reach him and get him out of here before any more harm could befall him on her behalf; that thought was the only thought she allowed herself to think about, the only purpose that she allowed herself to contemplate.

And this time, that blissful clarity to her thoughts came easily; whether it was fueled by her anger at the death she'd just seen, or fueled by the harsh understanding of the brevity of the question that had been placed onto her shoulders, Lightning didn't know. But what she did know was that everything that had happened so far; her pain, the power plays that had juggled them all in its deadly embrace, and her desire to protect the one thing that she had the capability to anymore... had all contributed to this one moment, this one aspect of clarity that allowed her to embrace the nature that she'd been searching for for so long; each aspect of what had happened contributed to her need to protect...no matter what the cost would be to her.

Pace increasing on the slick floor of the passageway, Lightning set her eyes on only what was in front of her; moving on instinct and stilling her mind to all other things but the task that she had in front of her.

Alright... Whatever the fuck you are... you picked the wrong person to mess with.

All I can say is, this chapter was intense. Like, really, really intense, and I can only hope I did it justice.

I'm really hoping I did, at any rate, because I think I'd cry for a week if it comes out to be that I didn't. *sobs* I so wanted to capture the vividness of Light's emotions, especially at the very end there... *whimpers*

Anyways; reviews are my inspiration, seriously, I'd love to know how I did (and what I could improve on the next time such a scene calls for some serious brain-wracking moments) and what you guys thought about this chapter. ^w^ Leave some love, and I'll see you guys soon—I'm busy both tomorrow and Saturday, but my goal is to get Chaper 26 out by Sunday... I have a feeling it's a chapter that uhm, many? of you have been waiting for, though the moment you've been waiting for might have to wait until Chapter 27... I don't know...

Hearts!