Hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of NR! :3

I start off as usual by thanking my awesome reviewers: madapocket, Crystal, Mylaervain, OscarMerrinoz96, Whistlewind Wolf (D: I typed your name wrong last time! My apologies; it should be fixed now), Zapper90, and sorahikaru (and yes, you are completely right - those were the only appearances in XIII that Carbuncle had and I, for one, wanted to see more). And of course, hearts go to my muse, LadyAlaska, you know it! 8D

Anyways, I'm glad all of you thought the Eidolon was cute! I thought it suited Serah, and hmmm... some of your Gestalt Mode ideas are very interesting - I'll see if I can work it in somehow! 8D Anyways, enjoy as always! (:

Chapter 36: Born Anew

Rubbing the back of her head, Lightning slowly pulled herself up from the cold stone floor, fingers searching in her pink hair for any sign of blood. Finding none, she got up to lean against the icy wall, pressing one hand to her neck. Looking up, she saw the dim spot of blue light from where they'd fallen. Apart from that, she couldn't see anything else, apart from the black walls that pressed in all around her. Remembering what had lead to their current predicament, Lightning felt a spark of anger and frustration beginning to build in her chest.

Great. That fucking... She took a breath, forcing herself to stop - no one else needed to hear her snap. Snow was wrapped around Serah like a protective blanket, and Hope was just beginning to clamber up - she could see his black silhouette against the darkness, accented by the silver highlights that the faint light touched to his hair. His hesitant hand found hers; fighting the instinct to wrench herself out of his grip, she tried to see things from his perspective.

He was just a kid, and no matter how mature he acted, she had to remember he was still... just a teenager barely out of his childhood. Sure, he was only a year younger than she had been when she lost her parents, but fourteen was still only four more than ten. Trying to control her own slight trembling at the touch, Lightning let her fingers close around his.

The warmth was somewhat comforting.

Why is it... that I don't feel... What is it about him that makes me less inhibited when it comes to physical contact? It had started with the hug in Palumpolum. She'd done it out of pure relief and utter impulse; relief that 'Operation Nora' hadn't come to fruition, and the overwhelming rush of emotions to the tandem that he was okay. Because to her, he didn't... he hadn't been the 'whiny kid' she needed to babysit, but someone who was both fragile and strong at the same time, who needed to be protected. The embrace she'd offered was an amalgamation of her own feelings: her regret, her guilt, her relief.

Lightning let herself enjoy the brief moment of silence - she could feel his slight heartbeat through the contact of their fingers and she concentrated on that, using it as a metronome to calm her erratic breathing. The warmth of their fingertips locked together felt like something she could rely on.

"Light?" His voice was quiet. "You're okay... right?"

She snorted softly. "Do I not look okay to you?" But for some reason, the sheer sincerity of his question wormed its way into her, like acid eating away stubborn rust. And once again, the fact that his concern didn't bother her as much as it should have made her feel slightly uneasy. But this time, she found that she was embarrassed to even look into his sea green eyes.

Why... is that one question bothering me so much? I should be cuffing him over the head for even showing me this much concern, for holding my hand. But... I can't. I can't bring myself to do it. I don't even know why...

Why she was feeling this way. Why it felt okay for him to care about her. Shaking her head, Lightning tried to concentrate on his next words, spoken with a small smile.

"That's good. Why don't we, erm, wake up Snow?" Hope wiggled the fingers of his free hand playfully as he gently pulled her over. His hand left hers as he raised it to cast the Cura. The moment their small contact was broken, she felt like she was missing something; like warmth had been replaced with icy cold. She could still feel the phantom linger of their joined hands.

Urgh. I must really be going soft. I blame Snow. And Serah. And him.

Her own cure spell cast a soft mint green light in the darkness, blooming like a luminescent flower in a shadowed cave. In the wake of its light, she was able to see the chains that hung from the walls, and the grotesque figures of the demonic statues. Lightning felt an involuntary shiver go through her body - she had a nasty suspicion as to where they ended up and it was probably the worst place for them to be.

Snow got to his feet, grumbling about his back. A flash of irritation shot through her instantly - they were stuck in the dungeon of the freaking castle and Snow had time to complain about himself.

"Snow, how old are you?" she snarled into the darkness, glad he couldn't see her expression. "Fifty? Be quiet and let's get moving before I make you."

He only laughed, rather ostentatiously, into the black space behind her, unfettered as ever by her sharp words. "Awh, Sis, gimme a break. Maker knows we fell... how far? Anyways-"

She cut him off. "Anyways, we need to get moving before he gets the damn crystal before we do."

It was easier said than done. She could barely see anyone, let alone where they were going. The only way she could tell that there was anyone beside her was the calm breathing of Hope, a foot or two away from her, and the small scuffling that was Serah and Snow. The dim blue light so far above their heads provided no lighting in their wake.

Cringing a little at the thought of what she was doing, Lightning felt her way around until her fingers met the ridge of the cracks between the stone blocks used to build the place. Slime and other semi liquids met her fingers, and she wondered if she should have been feeling glad that she couldn't see what she was touching. Using the wall as a guide, she slowly, carefully, made her way down what she could only assume was a hallway, feeling her own racing heartbeat competing with the calmer breathing of Hope behind her.

Her foot kicked a chain more than once, the clattering in the eerie silence making the quiet more pronounced. I'm a soldier... and I'm kind of creeped out by all this. Obviously this is some sort of dungeon, but... where are we? No doubt miles from the top of the castle. That bastard...

Just thinking about him made her angry, and Lightning forcefully shoved the thoughts away from her. The time would come for her to bury her sword in his neck - she could think of that a different time. Right now, she needed to know where they were and how the hell they were going to get out.

Dim, silver blue lighting began to illuminate odd parts of the surroundings in front of her - she felt her fingers leave the icy stone walls as she began to make out different aspects of the place. They were definitely in some sort of dungeon; the light filtered through barred columns of stone, and she could see hooks and other bits of metal links impaled into the centuries old rock.

Why would a fal'Cie god make his place... like this? Or did other people live here afterwards, using his castle as a guide? She felt her heartbeat almost stop when the ceiling opened up a little, as more moonlight poked through the holes in the walls. In front of her was a chain, but not just any chain, ironically lying almost innocently in front of her. One link had to be as big as her entire body, and Lightning could see it was many links long, coiled up, eventually disappearing into a crevice into the wall.

"Whoa... what the hell was that used to chain?" Snow's hissed whisper came a few feet behind her, and she heard Serah gasp. She had been thinking the exact same thing, rational or not, the thought was the only thing she could think about at the moment.

What could possibly be big enough to merit that large of a chain? I don't think I could lift even one link on that thing. She bent down beside it to take a close look, despite her own inhibitions. The moment she drew near to it though, she knew it had been a bad choice. She had no idea why or how she knew, but the chain had been used for some purpose, some purpose she didn't want to even think about.

It's like... it's pushing me away. From what... I don't know. But as much as I hate fairytales, the thing just about screams 'evil' at me and something... urgh, something tells me not to touch it.

She didn't realize she was breathing too fast until Hope rested a gentle touch on her shoulder. "You sure you're okay?" This time, her eyes met his. She tried to look disdainful, she really did, but it didn't come off that way to him. She knew it by the sudden flash of concern in the familiar emerald eyes. "Light?"

She had to take a breath before replying, averting her gaze before his could rip her apart even more. "It's nothing."

"Claire?" Serah's timid voice provided her with the perfect excuse to get away from the chain... and Hope's prying, concerned gaze. I don't want... Her footsteps echoed on the stone a little too loudly; Lightning cursed herself when she realized it was because she was walking too fast - it made her look desperate in a bad way. Shit.

Her sister was standing with Snow, both of them observing something she couldn't see on the wall. What they were looking at, she didn't know, and frankly, she wasn't terribly interested, but... Between that chain and Hope, they've got me looking weaker than I'd like to appear to be. Serah turned the moment she paused behind the couple, pulling her forwards.

"Read that," she murmured quietly, indicating silver words hewn on the old, worn stone.

Lindzei, the Creator of Cocoon. Created by Bhunivelze, tasked with the protection of the world and Bhunivelze's existence, his spirit departed the mortal world into the Unseen World from here: Lahrima Castle. It stands as the legacy to the world's balance, the contrast between chaos and harmony.

Lightning snorted after finishing the short lines of text. "More mythology crap," she muttered under her breath. "Not interested."

"Awh, come on Sis, you could show a little more appreciation towards my find." Snow sounded offput, and she could imagine the pout on his face. Turning away, and pulling Hope, who had silently read the words over her shoulder, along with her, she refused to give the stone words another glance.

"No."

Unlike Hope, the stupid moron finds other ways to get on my nerves. And unlike Hope, I don't feel any reservations to slapping him.

Hope tagged after Lightning, blinking as the constantly shifting lighting in the hallway played with his vision. He was constantly having to rub his eyes to adjust to the stark contrast between the moon's light and the choking darkness of the places that weren't lit. He could feel his heartbeat thumping against his chest, but he didn't dare approach her.

The accidental concern in his voice had slipped through when he saw her freeze next to the giant chain, and Hope hated himself for letting the tone take over his words. He'd been surprised that she didn't reprimand him, but then again, the duality of the anger and guilt in her eyes had told him the real story. The few moments they'd held hands earlier had been a welcome intrusion into their otherwise frosty relationship - for the briefest couple of seconds that lasted both the blink of an eye and eternity she actually looked like a young woman, and not the battle hardened soldier he knew she was.

And with those thoughts, Hope felt the familiar flush of heat on his neck and the bottom of his cheeks. Why... Why do I feel this way around her? It wasn't that he was embarrassed to talk to her, to offer his suggestions, but it seemed the more they spoke, the more awkward it got. And that didn't even make sense - it was infinitely easier to talk to her now than it had been when he first met her, even taking out the fact that he had been paralyzed with fear every time she glared at him then.

So he'd had to admit to himself - he really didn't know how he felt about her. Yes, she was someone to look up to, someone to aspire to, but apart from that, apart from the awe she still inspired in him, what was there? He didn't know. The awkwardness of their shared moments was becoming so blatant he'd seen it in her eyes as well.

The only solace he could find was that she didn't seem to know their relationship any better than he did.

What... are we?

But Hope didn't have the time to dwell on the thought when he abruptly bumped into her back, her gunblade case poking into his stomach. "Watch it," he heard her hiss.

"Why'd we stop, Sis?" Snow's voice was as boisterous as ever behind him, and Hope was suddenly glad for the looming darkness - it would be hard to anyone to make out his expression at the moment and that was good.

"If you had eyes for the path ahead instead of only at Serah then maybe you'd have seen already," she replied dryly. Peeking around her right arm, Hope held back a gasp of disgust at the sight in front of him.

Coffins. Three of them, to be exactly. A pool of moonlight shone down directly onto their tops, and Hope could make out words written on their covers, but he couldn't see them from here. The sharp intake of breath just behind his shoulder told him someone behind him, probably Serah, had had the exact same reaction.

He watched Lightning slowly move forwards, her footsteps now silent - she was making an effort not to make a sound. He waited a few moments before walking forward himself, closely followed by Serah and Snow. While she had passed the stone tablet, Hope found that he couldn't tear his eyes off the small stone slab in front of him, eerily reminiscent of all the stone tablets they'd found at Tythell.

He heard Serah begin to read quietly beside his left shoulder.

"The chosen three. The three fal'Cie that were created by Bhunivelze, all of them left our world one way or another. Lindzei, through ascension. Pulse, through abscondence. Etro, through death. The three crypts you see before you symbolize their disappearance, and our everlasting appreciation of their grace."

Hope shivered. The words sounded foreign to him even though he knew what they meant; they opened an unseen world before him, a tale of lost strength and greed that he didn't want to think about. How much power the fal'Cie gods must have had, he didn't want to know. But if they could create Cocoon and Pulse, and the other fal'Cie in their stead, then... I should stop before I start... Though it was hard, especially when he knew that some power crazy maniac after them wanted to bring all three of the fal'Cie back.

He heard Snow give a depreciative huff behind him. "More of that stuff. 'Appreciation of their grace' my ass. That worship stuff is enough to make me puke."

Well, it would... for someone who's supposedly been defying authority his entire life.

Hope didn't voice his thoughts though - he wasn't Lightning and he was quite sure Snow wouldn't take kindly to a 'kid' saying things like that about him to his face. But before he could speculate with Serah as to the meaning of the words - again, he was quite sure Snow didn't even know what the word 'abscondence' meant, so the meaning of the passage would be completely lost to him - a blinding glow came from the coffins ahead, effectively lighting the entire place brighter than if they had lit several torches.

He heard Snow curse somewhere above his shoulder.

Snow held up a thick forearm to protect his eyes from the glare of light that was suddenly emanating from the ground below the coffins, splitting up through the cracks on the stone tiled floor like sunlight peeking through clouds, except it was the other way around. Lightning was quickly backing away from the three crypts, gunblade drawn, and Snow was fairly certain of what she'd done while they'd all been absorbed by the writing on the stone plaques.

This is the Pulse Vestige all over again. Sis just can't keep herself from attacking whatever pisses her off, can she?

He heard Serah whimper in front of him - squashing her face into his chest, he held his coat over her slender body as he turned, shielding his wife from the glow. Hope had also turned, his teal scarf lit to an almost lime green in the light.

"Sis! What the hell did you do?" he yelled into the light, not opening his eyes in the onslaught of bright light. Snow felt the collar of his coat beginning to flap in the sudden breeze. Now what?

"What it told me to do!" he heard her yell back. What the fuck she's talking about, I don't even...

And as abruptly as the light had come, it disappeared, plunging them all back into the still darkness. He felt Serah worm her way out of his cloak, her quick footsteps moving to her sister.

"Claire..." He could see her now, now that the aftereffects of the bright light was gone and his eyes had readjusted to the darkness. Her blue eyes were blazing with defiance as she glared in his direction, while simultaneously trying to brush Serah off of her. One of the coffin covers was open behind her. You didn't...

"I'm okay, Serah." He heard her quiet, reassuring tones as she tried to assuage her sister's concerns. "Stop worrying." Exchanging a glance with Hope, Snow picked his way over to her, putting on what he hoped was a stern expression on his face. She glared right back, seeing the disdainful expression on his face.

"Skip the idiot lecture, Snow," she snapped. "The coffin said to open it if we wanted to see Lindzei's manifestation of power, so that's what I did." Snow was just about to say something snappish back when a rumbling interrupted all thoughts of an argument. Backing away slowly, Snow dragged Lightning back by the cape as something formed in front of them, hovering ominously in the puddle of moonlight that stained the black floor.

It was an angel. At least, that was what it appeared to be, not that he had ever heard bedtime stories of the sort. That's what NORA is all about. None of that coddled upbringing. But the thing in front of him definitely had a pair of silver wings on its back... and elsewhere. A pair of peach wings adorned her chest and another pair formed what he thought looked like a feathery dress around her waist. The form was vaguely female, confirmed when he saw a long sheet of pale blond hair unfurl down her back and crystal grey eyes open to face them.

You desire my master's power?

But her mouth hadn't opened, and no one else had spoken. The voice held the tinkle of bells and an ugly rough grate in the same breath as the creature eyed them contemptuously. Snow saw Hope pull out his boomerang, and the gunblade being raised to attack position.

Mere mortals cannot hope to embody Lindzei's divine will. But if this is what must be, then you must defeat me!

Snow shoved Serah behind him at the pause of the last word in the sentence as the creature swooped down on them, scattering pale feathers that littered the dark floor, pristine shafts looking too pure for the dirtied, worn stone. A glimmering golden scepter appeared in her hand as she raised it.

The spell hit Snow like a meteor impact, and he saw Lightning drop to her knees in front of him; a grunt of effort escaping her lips. Her command was dragged out in the same breath as she struggled to rise; Snow understood her sentiment - he felt like tons of bricks were being weighted down on his shoulders as the cold floor leeched strength from him like ice pulling water into its wintery grasp.

"Hero's Charge!" Snow felt the smile crack his lips, despite their current predicament. The command could not have been more symbolic of his own title. He could imagine the look on Lightning's face if he could voice his thoughts aloud and she had the chance to respond. The thought pushed him forwards as her Esuna wiped all feelings of weight and feebleness from his body, and strength flowed back into his limbs at the embrace of the Bravery.

He sank his fists into the leg of the creature, but that hardly made it flinch. It simply showered him with a faceful of feathers before flapping out of his reach. Snow sent a Ruin in its wake - the pearl of light struck it evenly in the chest but all that did was land them more feathers as more peach coloured shafts broke off from the impact of the spell.

He cast a glance behind him. Lightning was on her feet now, gunblade drawn as she and Hope furiously exchanged spells - she was keeping an eye out on the creature floating above them as she waved her left hand, drawing power from her brand. Snow balled his fists again; the thing was watching them almost disdainfully, as if it was enjoying their futile efforts to win. Time to show you what a hero can do.

"Sis!" he yelled in her direction, as he sent up more Ruin spells, running to avoid the shower of spells aimed at him from the scepter.

"Right. Relentless Assault!" Snow continued his barrage of Ruin spells, trying to force the angel like creature to the ground so he could hit it with his fists. Lightning wasn't having much more success than he was - she was trying to do the exact same thing with her Thundagas, and he could almost taste her frustration that she couldn't hit it with an Aquastrike. But the barrage of spells was at least having an effect - the creature was putting much more effort into trying to dodge the storm of magic then slam them with more debuffs - the spells it did manage to cast were poorly aimed and easily dodged.

An Aeroga crashed onto the ground, whipping up a gale of stone chips and feathers alike, and Snow saw the sudden glint in Lightning's eyes. Uh oh. That usually means... She kicked against the ground, using Hope's Aeroga as a boost until she was face to face with the creature.

"I decide my own fate!" The flurry of gunblade attacks sent the creature into disarray as an unearthly scream filled the air. The last kick aimed at the thing slammed it into the stone as Lightning landed, and Snow leapt forward at the chance. The feathers on the ground were stained and splotched with a strange silver fluid - he suspected it was blood, of a sort, but Snow didn't waste any time feeling pity for it. Years of NORA monster hunting had taught him how quickly a wounded monster could turn against an assailant in a moment of weakness.

He drove the creature into the ground with his gloved fists, not giving it a chance to recover. Lightning's attack had effectively sliced off more than one wing and it was struggling to beat the remaining one on its back in an attempt to regain flight.

Suddenly, he was pushed back by an invisible force - landing hard on the ground, Snow rolled over in an instant and was back on his feet to retaliate.

I... yield. Perhaps fal'Cie servants who are no longer chained to a master are beings to be reckoned with. The glow of light wasn't blinding now, but warm, as the creature slowly rose from the crater they'd made on the floor. It was dissolving.

You may pass... But be wary - your next trial awaits you in the Sealed Tower.

The flash of light disappeared for a moment, before it relocated itself on the floor, slowly spreading into a circle emblazoned with a feather. Snow closed his eyes against the overwhelming burst of light.

A light breeze lifted the ends of her hair as Lightning opened her eyes again. They weren't in the dungeon of the castle anymore, but at the bottom of a flight of steps that lead into the moonlight filtering in through blue glass windows. Black roses twisted through the cracked stone columns - the place had the look of a dilapidated greenhouse left to the course of nature.

"Is everyone okay?" she rasped, her voice hoarse as she turned around.

Serah nodded as she clung to Snow - the big man gave her a thumbs up. Hope's silver hair glinted in the moonlight that was nearly the same colour, as he gave her a shy little smile. She felt the familiar confusion and mess of emotions tug at her heartstrings at the sight of the expression.

Turning around away from him was always a good solution - it was easier to suppress those feelings when she wasn't looking. Instead, Lightning focused her attention on her surroundings, taking in the blue-grey lighting, the withered black rose petals scattered by her left foot, and the tangle of barbed thorns that choked the stone stairway.

"Right."

Ha, I love that "Right" of hers; I think I mentioned about that Ali Hillis interview and how awesome it was in a previous chapter. (Which just goes to show how long this freaking fic is already - I can't even remember what chapter that was). Erm, yeah, I think this chapter was pretty self explanatory - I was going to include more mythology but my brain hurt (no joke) from the Lightning and Hope moments earlier in the chapter and I was too lazy to think of good new representations in writing of Fabula Nova Crystallis. *massages throbbing temples*

Anyways, leave love in reviews as usual, and I'll see you guys next time!
Edit April 15th, 2012: Because I was working on the LightxHope oneshot request, Chapter 37 will have to be delayed until tomorrow, Monday April 16th. The LightxHope oneshot some of you requested is now up, though! 8D Please visit my profile for the link to the corresponding story, and I have PM'ed those I can to let them know that their request has been filled.

Hearts!