33 Hue

Lightning and Caius spent a little over an hour helping Canopus Farms wherever possible, helping tend to the wounded or carry away debris, gathering up and burying bodies when the others could not spare the manpower, before Lightning expressed concern that crystal beasts would show up elsewhere in the world and decided to return to the train station.

Caius noted her unusual silence as they crossed the meadow, the way her eyes stayed on the ground when she walked, the way she squared her shoulders.

She did not look like a woman who wavered, or was afraid, or at all uncertain, and yet he could tell that this incident had struck her to the core.

The deaths of innocents was not something she had prepared for.

And not for the first time, he felt an instinct, buried for at least five hundred years, roiling in his heart. When Yeul became gravely upset by something, her first instinct had always been to come to him and take his hand, or wrap her arms around him, even if he did not always return it. The older they became, the less likely he was to respond in kind, but he did his best to soothe them.

He remembered the youngest ones, little more than toddlers, hugging them close and calming them as they shivered and curled up against him as their only source of comfort.

But he dismissed the thought each time it arose. The instinct to take Lightning in his arms, soothe her, to ease the tenseness in her bones, was a powerful one, but it could not overcome his willpower. While she was no longer an enemy, he knew she would reject his touch... and that it would be inappropriate. As comrades, rather than family or close friends, that was the simple reality.

Yet he could not merely dismiss her obvious discomfort.

"Where are we going, Lightning?" he asked of her, as they came within a few minutes' walk of the station.

"To Yusnaan," she said. "I want to check in on Snow, make sure he's okay."

"We must go through Luxerion to get there."

"I'm aware. And yeah, I fully expect Bhunivelze to have told the Order to watch out for me. Probably a price on my head, or some other big reward, for removing it from my shoulders." She shrugged. "Huh. Let them try."

"Are we going there now?"

"Yes." She glanced at him. "Got something on your mind?"

"You are on edge from the encounter with the beast, and the result of its rampage," he pointed out, ignoring the faint scowl that colored her features. "I do not need to remind you of why you cannot be allowed to fail. You should rest before we continue on to Yusnaan."

"Or, I could get to Yusnaan, check on Snow, then rest," she said.

He stopped in his tracks; she went on a few more steps before noticing and coming back. "You will not, at least not without being reminded. Did you forget that you cannot go to the Ark to rest now?" When she openly scowled and her lips parted, he held up a hand. "I cannot make you do it, but I can suggest that you rest."

"What, here, out in the open?" she demanded.

Caius raised both hands, palms to the sky, and tipped his head back. The sky overhead was blue, save for a few streaks of white cloud and the whiteness of the sunlight. The breeze was soft and warm, the air comfortably warm, and puffballs floated by on the breeze, oblivious to the destruction around them.

"Look around you," he said, looking at her. "Take in the sky, the grass, the wind. In a few days, you will never see this land again. Brand it on your memories."

Though she maintained the scowl for a few moments, it slowly fell away as her eyes moved from his to rove over the landscape. As he watched, her body began to relax. The breeze stirred her hair, making it shine a warm rose-gold hue, as she lifted her chin to look all around her.

"I... guess it is kind of pretty," she said, very quietly. "But it's a waste of time."

He shook his head. "Not at all. To pause and allow one's mind to rest is hardly wasted time. With so little left to spend, you cannot obsess over every minute detail. You cannot know when next you will have the opportunity to be still and absorb the reality that surrounds you. Does it not beckon?"

Her eyes returned to his, and they were softer now. "I don't know that I should," she murmured.

"It is your decision." He held his hands out, fingers spread, an image of supplication. "I don't want you to ever think that I am forcing you into anything. I am merely encouraging you."

The corner of her lips twitched. "There's so much on my mind, Caius," she said. "Resting is... kind of foreign."

"Then I encourage you to let the breeze and sun clear it."

Her eyes remained on his, but she dipped her chin. "Maybe it... wouldn't hurt."

He suppressed his relief at hearing those words and seeing her turn away. Walking into the dappled shade of a tree, she sat down on the grass with her back against the trunk, legs loosely folded before her, resting her arms on her thighs. He hesitated before coming up beside her and lowering himself to the ground, careful to keep at least an arm's length of distance, but hardly able to make himself move further away.

Be careful, his wiser half whispered.

"This isn't so bad," he heard her murmur. "It feels nice to just sit."

"I am glad you agreed to it," he said.

For a while, she sat and stared into the distance, worry lines still keeping her features tense. The breeze stirred her hair again, rose-gold highlights shining; he let his gaze rove over her, clearing his mind of all else, trying to keep it focused on his surroundings.

Suddenly, she met his eyes. "Something you want to say?"

Looking away would make him appear guilty, so he held his ground instead. "Nothing at the moment." He tipped his head. "Well, did Lumina tell you anything else of interest?"

"A few things." She studied him for a moment before looking down at her hands. "She seemed to think the chaos is going to affect me for a while, and that..." Her eyes flicked up to meet his before sinking again. "And... that you could get the rest of it out of me." She hesitated. "I don't think she wanted me to tell you that."

A spike of anger, directed at Lumina, touched his heart. "If I could, Lightning, I would have, but it is beyond my ability to do so. It will dissipate on its own, however."

"Really? And how long will that take?"

"I would say the rest of the day and a good night's rest," he said. "I perceive you will need it."

A hand gripped the grass at her side and tugged hard on it.

Caius watched her fingers for a moment. "Something else is on your mind," he said sternly to her, making it clear she could not hide herself from his perception. "Will you tell me what it is?"

The grass came out by the roots. "No," she said.

Unfortunately, he couldn't argue. "As you wish," he said, and sighed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Lightning said nothing for a long enough time that he had to look over at her and watch carefully to make sure she was even breathing. Her eyes closed, she rested her head against the tree behind her, the breeze stirring her hair, fingers clenching around the grass she had torn from the earth beside her. He waited patiently, glad he could not see the temple spires from this spot, and worked on keeping his thoughts under control instead, trying not let his mind drift to any of the thousand things that prickled in his mind, trying to keep his eyes from roving over her and appreciating her beauty.

It was only centuries of sheer willpower that keep him stone-faced. He had always perceived her beauty, even back when they warred on Valhalla's timeless shores. He had always known it existed, as he had known and perceived the beauty of countless other women throughout his too-long lifetime. Yet he had successfully ignored it, as he had all the others, and see her only as an obstacle to be overcome.

But here, the real danger of leaving the protective shell of the temple was laid bare. Here, there were no barriers to his eyes and no filter of hostility to see her through.

She was simply Lightning, terribly young and very old at the same time, the Liberator who would fix what mistakes she could that he had caused and bring the people he had hurt to a new world. And she was a woman, mortal, nearly as strong as himself yet just as capable of death as any other woman in this cursed world, and he could see her as such very clearly now – could see her sky-blue eyes and the way her hair shone in the sunlight, her determined gaze and quick, graceful movements in battle. Were she not so reckless, she would not have skirted so close to death and injury as many times as she had, and he hoped she could resolve that.

Careful, his mind warned him again, and the only way he could keep his thoughts from wandering further was by dragging them back and sealing them behind a steel trap.

He treaded too close to dangerous ground now, teetering on the edge of falling into an abyss he had never known for himself, but knew the existence and depth of merely from watching others, and he knew he would not be able to claw his way out again if he made the mistake of moving too close to the edge. He knew his own heart well, and exposing it to such a dangerous line of thought would be a final torment.

But perhaps it was something he deserved.

Caius turned and climbed to his feet, moving a few steps away and trying to focus on the hills in the distance, battling back his thoughts when they tried to surface and filling his mind with static, forcing himself to regather his focus and pretend it was like hiding his true feelings from Yeul all over again.

"Hey," Lightning said; he heard her get up. "Caius?"

"It is nothing," he said, too sharply.

Lightning heaved a sigh. "It wouldn't be fair for me to pry if I won't let you do the same," she said. "I feel good enough to keep moving. Come on, I've had enough of this continent to last a lifetime, and I'm hoping we won't have to come back here for a while." He heard the grass rustle as she turned away.

He hesitated before dutifully turning as well and following close on her heels, keeping his eyes averted, reminding himself of the eternity to come.

It would be bad enough without losing the last bit of control he had over his heart.

Yusnaan's climate was mostly dry and hot throughout most of the year, with a bit of cooling rain sprinkled throughout, and the winter months bringing even more rain in torrents for a few hours here and there. The land itself was mostly dead rock and sand. Few things would grow unless encouraged by the locals. Even the palm trees that sprung out of the ground were quite hardy, and no good for anything except a bit of shade. The palace had been built open to allow the evening breezes to sweep through, with a sloping roof to deflect the harshest rains. The gardens had to be maintained multiple times a day – left alone for too long, and things began to shrivel and die. It was a constant battle, but the resulting beauty paid off.

While maintenance worked on fixing the glass window he had shattered, Snow spent his time wandering around the palace, seeing it with new eyes. His heart still felt heavy, but not as though it were being dragged down into the depths of a vast ocean anymore. Instead, it was weighed down with the knowledge of Serah's fate, though he no longer felt as though he gazed into a maw of darkness when he thought of her. There was still a pang of guilt and the feeling of grief twisting his gut, but it didn't feel like death.

And he never wanted to repeat the experience of becoming a Cie'th again. Ever.

He rubbed at the arm with the white brand, not for the first time wondering how such a thing happened. All of their brands had turned pure white before they had faced Orphan for the last time, proof that they had defied their Focus and given themselves a new one, something beyond even the fal'Cie themselves. Lightning had mentioned that Etro had sealed Fang's brand; he didn't know the story behind it, but he could guess, from his limited knowledge of the timeline, that it had something to do with stopping her assault on Cocoon.

It didn't itch, or burn, or really feel like anything, but he still felt it somehow, and reached under his sleeve to rub at the skin all the same. He still had his power, but the brand no longer progressed.

With Etro gone, who, then, had done it?

"Snow?" a woman's voice called to him; he grunted and looked up to see Cora, dressed in her uniform.

"Cora," he said, and nodded. "Got something for me?"

"We finished the sweep of the palace," she said. "Nothing out of the ordinary to be found. Do you want to reopen the gates for visitors, or should we keep them locked?"

"Nah, reopen them," he said. "I'm done hiding up here and cringing like a coward. If Lightning comes back with Caius, tell your guards to don't even ask, just let them in. Same goes for anyone else who used to be part of my old crew." He flexed the fingers of his left hand. "Hey, Cora, check this out," he added, and pulled up his sleeve. "See what happened to my brand?"

She examined it, eyebrows going up. "Aren't they supposed to be black?"

"Yeah, and something sealed it." He tugged the sleeve back down. "I've still got all my power, but I won't be in danger of becoming a Cie'th again. It's a really weird situation." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm trying to think of something to do today. Do I have any patronly duties lined up?"

The corner of her lips twitched. "I'm just a captain, sir. I don't do administration."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He looked up at the window. It was nearly finished being put back together – the maintenance crew didn't have much else to do and almost seemed grateful for the opportunity to do some difficult work.

Cora cleared her throat. "I heard that Serah will be returning."

Snow felt a warm glow envelop his heart. "Yeah, so I've heard, straight from Lightning herself. I just..." Taking a deep breath, he let it out as slowly as he could. "I can hardly believe it. Knowing she's going to be coming back is just... it's a... nothing short of a miracle." Bringing his hands together, he interlocked his fingers and bowed his head, trying to calm himself. Thinking of the love of his life returning made his heart beat faster and his mind fill with senseless buzzing. "I'm still... I don't think it's really sunk in yet."

She shifted her weight. "It is good to hear," she told him. "I just wanted to congratulate you in person."

He hesitated, hearing a snag in her voice, and looked at her. Her face was a perfect mask of serenity, and he could not ignore the fact that she was tall, strong, and beautiful. To his eyes, not nearly as beautiful as his dear Serah, but a woman who could catch a man's gaze without meaning to – and, knowing her professional demeanor despite her unease at facing him in the dark not long ago, she never meant to.

He also recognized that she seemed to care for him, that she stood closer to him than the other captains and could recall her checking in on him even when everyone else had left him alone. Though she had grown increasingly nervous as his brand progressed and his attitude worsened, she had never given up on him.

And now, with Serah's return, she would have to.

"Cora," he murmured, "you know there's no rules against fraternization, right?"

He saw her brow twitch and admired her ability to stay otherwise completely professional. "Yes," she said, "but the palace guards generally aren't interested in each other, or the staff, or anything. I've never seen it become a problem that I or any of the other captains have to deal with."

"Then why didn't you ever say or do anything about me?" he said, tone firm and leaving no room for her to wriggle out of it. He noticed her flinch slightly and felt a twinge of guilt.

"Your heart belongs to Serah. It always has," she said. "It would have been wrong for me to try."

Her confession made his admiration for her grow. "That's... very... very thoughtful of you, captain," he said, and gave her a bow of the head. "In your position, I might've tried anyway. But what you did do for me, in hindsight... I didn't appreciate it then, but I do now. Thank you."

She nodded, but her eyes seemed anxious. "If you don't mind, I must continue my rounds."

"Of course, sure." He waved a hand. "Dismissed."

She saluted him and turned on her heel as was proper. Snow watched her go, wondering how many others like her there were in the world – people in love with those had lost their own, who could be faced with the reality of a lost loved one reappearing in the new world after having already found someone else, or who had moved on and would now find that they would have someone waiting for them they thought they had lost after having taken the time to shed the pain and heartache.

Could a heart take the strain of such a love, of losing and regaining? Could it take the difficulty of ripping open old wounds in such a fashion?

Snow shook those thoughts away and looked around at the grand hall instead. Pieces of crystal were still scattered across the floor, and the crater of his landing was still present. Such cleanup would take much longer, and it would be pointless to patch up the floor when he suspected the end of the world could now be measured in mere days rather than weeks. He did not know how much longer it would be now – he would need to ask Lightning the next time he saw her – but he doubted it was too much longer than a week or so.

There was something twisting up his gut with anxiety that whispered to him that he wasn't far off the mark.

And what of the reports of a massive crystal beast ripping up the Wildlands?

Snow patted at the brand again, wishing he could call upon the Shiva Sisters to help if the time came that he would need their power again. If one of those crystal beasts came here to Yusnaan and terrorized the populace, he might have enough power to fight back... but what if he didn't? What if his l'Cie abilities, amplified as they were by the chaos around him, were not enough to stop the onslaught?

And what, more importantly, could have summoned such a beast to this realm?

He looked quickly around and spotted another captain in the corner of the room, talking to several guards, and he hurried over. When the guard turned to him and saluted, he returned it, then said, "Captain, get the word out. Keep an eye out for intruders and beasts spawned out of the chaos."

"I heard the report from the Wildlands, sir," the captain said, frowning. "Worried it might come here?"

"I'd count on it happening," Snow said. "Let me know if anything changes."

"Yes, sir," the captain said, saluting again.

Snow nodded and turned away, but could not quiet his mind. Not wanting to return to the unfriendly shadows in his quarters and unsure of what else to do, he instead ascended the stairs to the grand balcony that looped around the ballroom and stood beside one of the open windows. It allowed him to look out over the city from a vantage point nearly as high as the gulls that circled the palace's apex and be reminded of how many lives depended on him to keep the city safe from the dangers of the dying world.

He rubbed at his brand again.

It might not be actively descending toward his oblivion anymore, but his Focus had not changed. He had been tasked with protecting the city and its last remaining, uncorrupted fal'Cie. If that meant going head-to-head with a crystal beast, or far worse, then so be it. Perhaps he still had access to his Eidolith, though Etro's death meant they could no longer be actively reached, but maybe he would find out in the heat of battle.

Probably the worst place to find out, actually, but the heat of battle was when he had first found Nix and Styria. It was fitting, then, if they returned when he needed them most.

Despite his worries, he felt the corner of his lips lift.

An ancient prophecy asserted that the end of the world would be preceded by a final, great battle. The forces of two worlds would collide and rend the earth, and both armies would break open the sky. No doubt at least some of it was embellished, as the poets of the past seemed to enjoy putting ornate touches on tragedy, but it was likely still going to happen, and what better way to end than with a bang, as the saying went?

And then, after this, he would settle down. No more dashing heroics or monster hunting. No more fighting wars and odds they couldn't fathom. It would just be him, Serah, and their family, maybe in a quiet home in the country, not too far from some big city with all the highlights.

First, though, they would just have to get through this. And they would, somehow, no matter the odds.

They had, after all, defied the odds before.

The train rolled into Luxerion's South Station nearly an hour later, as the sun moved into its afternoon arc. Lightning disembarked in a line of other passengers, knowing she stood out but trying to keep a sense of anonymity, the slow-lengthening shadows of the afternoon light softening the edges of the city's gray, dreary architecture. With Caius close behind her, she moved away from the station, nodding to the attendant as she passed, and moved to the edge of the pathway that overlooked the fountain in the square below. Watching the water sparkle as it flew through the air and splashed into the pool below, she closed her hands around the rail and leaned on it.

Right now, the area bustled, people scurrying about and a crowd of people standing off to the right, surrounding a girl who couldn't be much older than thirteen, a guard too busy eyeing the passerby to be interested in her off to the left, and a gull wheeling in the sky and squawking.

The railing was made of elegantly-twisted iron; she gripped it in both hands, feeling the rough texture even through her gloves, and let the surrounding ambience seep into her.

She could hear many things when she really stopped to listen to it. The dull roar of the crowd's chatter reached her, the sound of feet on the porous ground, the girl's voice mingling with the crowd that surrounded her, the water in the fountain, the gull, the distant thump of the Sea's waves striking the rocks.

It took her a moment to realize Caius was close beside her, maybe a forearm's length away, leaning on his elbow with his hands loosely folded, looking out over the plaza.

She studied him for a moment, knowing that she had made a decision she could not go back on. She hadn't told him to stay out of the heat of the moment. Lumina wasn't telling her the whole truth, that much she knew for certain, and all she was left with, instead, was what she knew of Caius... and what she knew of him consisted of two distinct persons: a world-destroying terror, unstoppable in his goals, who laughed in her face and wanted nothing more than to tear her apart, and this man here, quieter but with a raging heart, whom she could not understand no matter how much she tried to learn the language he spoke.

The two halves warred within her mind, and the quiet one who wanted to help her, to protect her, had begun to win out, slowly subjugating the other and banishing him from her mind.

She did not need his protection, she told herself, each time her mind wandered. And she did not need his help, she knew beyond all doubts. He was right – had she not been so reckless, she might not have ended up getting as injured as she had, or brushed up so close to death as she had done.

And yet, here he would stay, with her, until she needed him no more – not that she needed him at all, she reminded herself, as those thoughts crept through her mind.

She moved to rest on her elbows, silently accepting her new future. All this time, she had tried to pry herself away from Caius's influence, trying to keep him at arm's length – or further, when possible – but now she understood that if she was going to survive Bhunivelze's trials, or emerge without terrible injuries, she would need to have him at her side (just so she didn't need to watch her back so intently). Without Hope to give her gentle words, to be her companion, Caius would have to stand in for him, for now.

Though she wished to break the silence, she could think of nothing else she wanted to say. When Caius said he could not remove the rest of the chaos, she believed him. Though Lumina had seemed sincere enough, she could not make herself believe the girl's words. If she had lied about that, what else had she lied about?

Seemingly of its own accord, her mouth opened, lips forming words. "It's nice," she admitted, and let her eyes rove over the fountain again, enjoying its sparkling, splashing beauty.

"The fountain is a pleasant touch," he agreed. He spoke just loudly enough for her to hear, but it cut through the din as though he were the only other person there, and it did not set her ill at ease. Rather, she found it pleasant to hear him speak quietly, gently, to her, rather than raging and cursing her.

"We need to keep moving," she muttered, but said it while still staring intently at the fountain.

He shifted at her side. "So soon?" he said.

Feeling her lips twitch, she looked up at him and shrugged. "I mean, we have to move eventually. Can't just stand here and take in the sights all day. Though, really, I wouldn't be bothered too much by the prospect," she added, a note of solemnity drifting unintentionally into her voice. One day, when this was all over, it would just be her and Serah, together again like old times, and then she could relax. Then she could think about a future that didn't involve war and death. Then she could see the future as a bright one.

"Perhaps we can when we reach Yusnaan," he said, tilting his head slightly. "I seem to recall it being a beautiful city. Have you had the chance to take in the nightlife?"

She sighed. "No. I remember it being pretty at night. Maybe it'd be nice to watch the fireworks. But..." She shook her head. "I only have four days left, Caius. Four days before the world crumbles into oblivion. I can't waste that time sightseeing. I'll waste enough as it is just getting some sleep at night."

When she allowed her head to droop below her shoulders, she felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder. "So you waste an hour or two enjoying the time you have left," he said quietly to her. "Time is precious, yes, but it does not hurt to just... waste a little of it on small things in life."

She lifted her gaze again to his, searching his eyes as he looked at her. "But you're ancient, Caius. You are old enough to have seen the stars change position in the sky. I'm sure you've done all these 'small things' that you speak of, or am I wrong? Why would you encourage me to do the same when you know how it turns out?"

"My duties have always superseded my desires," he said. "Even my decision to flood the world with chaos came as a result of my duties. I have never appreciated time itself."

His hand still rested on her shoulder, but she felt no need to dislodge it, mulling over his words. "Well..."

The line of his mouth softened. "It won't hurt."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out as slowly as she could, she decided she believed him. "I used to go to the fireworks festival in Bodhum, but I never really, you know, enjoyed it," she said. Raising the arm he rested his hand on, she let her hand land on his upper arm, squeezing the armor there. "You're right, it won't hurt. Serah usually has to force me into these things, so it can't hurt to choose to do it."

His features tightened. "Don't think I am forcing you into it," he said, "because I am not."

"No, of course you're not," she said, giving his arm a gentle shake. "I can say 'no' whenever I please, and you know I will, so relax. Just stick with me, help me, and we'll be able to face anything Bhunivelze throws at us. Got it?"

"And what of Lumina encouraging you to send me away?"

She snorted. "Forget about her. I do what I please, and she can't make me do anything. Yeah, I admit I thought about it, but I decided it's for the best that you stay. As far as I'm concerned, you can stay right here with me until the final day comes and goes, when you don't have a choice anymore."

The tenseness vanished from his features. "Ah. Thank you for making that clear, Lightning."

"Sure," she said, and released him. At the same time, he let go of her shoulder. "Now, let's get moving. Need to get to the North Station so we can catch the next train out."

"It may be best to follow the seaside path," he said. "That will keep us away from the crowds."

"And most of the guards," she finished for him, nodding. "Good plan." She hesitated, looking over in the direction of the girl. The crowd had mostly dispersed, leaving a couple of people standing near her. To her surprise, the girl had streaks of tears down both cheeks and was just dabbing them away with a tissue provided by one of the patrons, but she did not seem upset, eyes clear and mouth now smiling gently.

Lightning frowned, but descended the stairs on the left side to the plaza and crossed, melding with the crowd where she could. Once away from the plaza, she slowed to a more leisurely pace.

Together, they crossed the clock plaza, carefully avoiding the guards, timing their passes for when they were not looking their direction, and kept as far from the gates of the cathedral as possible. Not to her surprise, the gates were shut up and locked, and most of the interior appeared dark except for the most basic lighting. Guards were posted near them, but they did not look across the street, or they didn't care.

Eventually, they reached the seaside path, and she began to breathe easier. The guard normally posted at the head of the path was missing, which she found odd, but began the crossing.

"I want to check up on Snow, make sure everything's okay with him," she said. "After that, I want to see if anyone needs help in the city. I haven't spent a lot of time checking up on the citizens there. I haven't decided if I want to spend the evening there, or in the desert just yet."

"You will know soon enough," he told her. "Of that I am sure."

As they crossed, she let her mind drift to the pounding of the waves below, grateful that it drowned out its attempts to go wandering off into the chaos again. It reminded her of home during Cocoon's periodic storms, when the sea would stir and strike the rocks, spraying high into the air. The facsimile of Bodhum that she had been dragged into while drifting in the Sea of Chaos had reminded her of times long past. Of happier days.

Those had been happier days. She just hadn't appreciated them.

Shaking her head, she squared her shoulders and quickened her pace. She could lament on lost hours and ill-spent days later, once they were through this mess. When she stood on the surface of the new world with Serah and all the people she loved and cared about, then she could reminisce.

At the other end of the causeway, the normally-posted guard was also missing.

Lightning stopped, feeling her skin crawl. "Both guards are missing," she said. "We made our way easy here, too."

"A valid concern," he said.

She slowed as she approached the edge of the North Station plaza, having cut through the older section of the city already, where there were no guards at all. It was not much further to freedom – Snow would welcome them, she knew, unless something terrible had happened to change his mind – but something held her back. The sense of unease that had come over her deepened. Something wasn't right.

When she stopped, Caius stopped beside her. He said nothing, instead exchanging a look with her that clearly said he understood her concerns very well.

Ready to reach for her sword, she walked into the plaza.

There was no one else in the plaza except for shopkeepers, and all of them kept their eyes averted from her. Not able to see the entire plaza at first as she emerged, she did catch movement in her peripheral vision and placed a hand on the grip of her sword, fully prepared to pull it free. When she turned her head, she caught a glimpse of white robes, a flash of sunlight on steel, and fell into a ready stance.

The impact came quite suddenly, causing her to stumble to the side, a sharp pain lancing from her ribs and shooting into her skull. Gasping sharply from the pain, she reacted, slamming the flat of her sword into her attacker. He fell into a heap with a sharp grunt, armor clanking.

As she turned to check her surroundings, Caius knocked another guard off his feet with a flick of the wrist, bringing him down hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

Catching a flicker of white, she faced it, sword at the ready, saying loudly, "Stop there!"

Caius, standing with his back to hers, remained in a ready stance, but did not move, though his eyes were fierce and focused on the guards that had been approaching but now wisely stayed back.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

The robed Order members – one in which, displaying her status as a high-ranking anointed member, and several in charcoal gray, lower-ranked acolytes – stood some distance away with no visible weapons. Remembering Vashti and her power gifted by Bhunivelze, Lightning did not lower her sword, not taking any chances.

"You are the Liberator, are you not?" the white-robed woman said. Her face was ashen, mouth pulled tight, and her eyes were blazing. "You betrayed us all!"

"Hardly," Lightning said. "Bhunivelze betrayed us. I am the one getting us out of this mess."

More movement in her peripheral vision alerted her to the arrival of more palace guards – a dozen or more, she guessed, fanning out to encircle them. She stifled a chuckle. Unless they had great power, they would not be able to put a scratch on either of them. Whoever she didn't smash into the ground, Caius would be more than capable of tossing about like rag dolls. It was amusing.

"Bhunivelze has come to us in a new and blessed form," she said. "He warns us of the false shepherd who will lead his people from the truth, that his chosen warrior has betrayed him, wrapping herself in the chaos instead of his own blessed, cleansing light! He instructed us to bring you back, or to kill you!"

Lightning sighed. "I figured," she muttered. "Look, I'll cut you a deal: all of you walk away, right now, leave me be, and every one of you gets out alive and unharmed."

"As if we'd trust you, after what you did," the woman said. "Bhunivelze promised you a chance. Come back with us now, reaffirm your belief in him, and all will be well."

"Bhunivelze is a liar and a thief," she snarled. "He plans to strip away our free will and enslave us in the new world, using us as tools to do his bidding. I don't know what else he has planned yet, but if he thinks he's going to get away with turning us into nice little slaves, he's wrong. I plan to keep us human and able to make our own decisions, and that means no longer being his precious little Liberator."

"You lie through your teeth!" The woman looked mad, her movements more animated now. "Bhunivelze loves us as his children! He only wants the best–"

"The only one who ever cared is Etro," she cut her off. "Why don't you believe me?"

Flickers of movement all around caused her to realize that every guard in the vicinity had raised their rifles to point at the two of them. Caius did not look concern, and his heart was calm. She, too, felt no concerns. If they wanted to fight, they were going to end up hurting.

"That was your final chance," the woman shouted. "Kill her!"

As the last word faded away, every rifle went off at once with a crack. Lightning moved to deflect the bullets, but she found them all suspended in midair, locked in place, before she could do more than twitch; Caius stood with one hand raised slightly, and pink energy could be seen wavering around the bullets. The faint black haze of chaos could also be seen, enveloping the pink energy.

"That... that is the power of the chaos." The woman had turned white as her robes. "The Destroyer stands with you. Bhunivelze was... he was right. You have... you..." Knees trembling, she stumbled back, and the acolytes around her went with her, their eyes wide with terror.

If only for the pleasure of knowing she had shaken this woman, and everyone else standing around her, to the core, Lightning felt very pleased that Caius stood with her now. When he reversed the bullets and sent them flying back into the guards, sending most of them staggering, she smirked and leapt forward with all the speed and strength she had. Diving into the midst of the madness, she swung both her fist and the flat of her blade around, crashing against armor hard enough to crack it and knocking the wearers down.

Someone fired a rifle, but the bullet never reached her – it pinged off a metal sign instead, and the guard yelped as Caius unleashed a wave of energy, cracking the stone on impact.

All too soon, the guards lay in heaps around her, most of them stunned or knocked out, others groaning in pain, and the white-robed woman and her acolytes had turned to run. Lightning ran to intercept them, leaping over the bodies strewn across the ground, and cut them off. Shrieking in terror, they scattered like leaves, but Caius stopped them with a barrier of invisible energy. The woman froze in place, looking terrified enough that Lightning would not be the least bit surprised if she simply crumbled apart.

The acolytes, on the other hand, needed no other encouragement, shrinking back.

Lightning came up to them, stepping through the invisible barrier with no resistance. "Did Bhunivelze put a price on my head, too, or are you just wanting to kill us out of principle?" she said, keeping the sword at her side and angled down, but also careful to keep it in clear view.

The woman shivered from head to toe, but she managed to get out, "Others will pick a price. You have to die."

Lightning leaned in. "Bhunivelze wants to enslave us," she said, voice level and low. "He will stop at nothing now that I've uncovered his plan for humanity, though I don't yet know the full extent. If you bow, that just means he'll take you with no resistance. Have you heard what comes out of your mouth? You already sound like automatons, lacking any will of your own. He's already halfway there."

The woman opened her mouth, but nothing came out except a few soft croaks.

Lightning leaned closer, eyes fixed on the other woman's. "You saw what happens when you come after me. I won't kill any of you, but it'll hurt. The end of the world is very near. You have four days, including today. Do you really want to bet your very soul on whether Bhunivelze is being truthful?"

The woman's eyes widened further. "F... f... four?"

"Yeah. So what's it gonna be?"

She opened her mouth again, but her eyes fell, filling with uncertainty.

"Food for thought," she murmured, and stepped back. When she looked at the acolytes, they averted their eyes, shivering, and made no other movements. Not perceiving them as a threat, Lightning returned her sword to her back and began striding back toward the train station. Caius released them.

"Is it wise to leave them alive?" he murmured.

"If they have even a shadow of a doubt," she said, "then it's enough. At least now I know for sure I'm not welcome here in Luxerion anymore." She frowned. "I wonder what Bhunivelze will do now."

"Whatever it is, nothing good," Caius muttered. "I may not have ever known of Bhunivelze personally, but I knew of his spawn, Pulse and Lindzei. If he was able to mold such cruelty into forms such as those, such callousness, and if the fal'Cie are reflections, then he is capable of much worse. The Wildlands will probably die next, and the temple will be all that is left standing in that area, in a sea of chaos."

She gritted her teeth, not liking the image he painted, but knowing it was a strong possibility. As they reached the platform, she said, "Any guesses on what else he could be up to?"

"Knowing a single beast wasn't enough to stop you means he will probably send more. I would expect more beasts to come, more eruptions from the chaos, more of his followers trying to skin you..." Taking a breath, he looked into her eyes. "I will watch your back if you can slow your pace, and try not to die."

The distant rumble of the train came to her. An attendant stood in the corner, wide-eyed, but came up despite visibly shaking ever harder the closer he came.

"Things are going to get a lot more interesting," she muttered. "He wants me to replace Etro."

Caius frowned. "Is that so? Did he tell you this?"

"Lumina did. I believe her."

He made a thoughtful sound in his throat. "Interesting. No need, though – Yeul and I can replace her. All you should focus on is saving your friends and the people of this world, and ensuring you escape death." The train came within view; he clasped his hands behind his back. "You needn't worry."

Lightning approached the attendant carefully, paying for their tickets, allowing him to step back before she turned away again.

"If you're right," she murmured, "and things are going to get worse, then pretty soon, I'll have plenty of things to worry about. If what you're saying is true, Bhunivelze is going to throw everything he's got at might, and it might not all be monsters." Flexing the fingers of her right hand, she watched the train roll into the station. "And I still have to figure out how I'm going to rescue Hope." She chuckled dryly. "Should be fun."

Sorry about the wait on this one, folks. I ran headlong into a roadblock... anyway, enjoy, and let me know what you think!