SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG, I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH THINGS. ALSO, I'M STUCK AT THE PALAMECIA AND I'D RATHER DIE THAN WRITE IT, BUT I'LL POWER THROUGH! I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS JUST BECAUSE I LIKE FLUFFY-ISH THINGS A LITTLE TOO MUCH. ANYWAY, UNTIL THEN, ENJOY.

We rush forward as a trio, ducking behind a stack of boxes. Snow leans forward to peek around the corner at the civilians that line the streets with the soldiers that are meant to be evacuating them. Curious, Hope follows suit, his eyes slitting over our familiar surroundings. Snow huffs.

"They don't really believe that become a l'Cie is contagious, do they?" I shake my head. "That doesn't make sense."

"The Sanctum doesn't," he answers, glancing back at me. "But the people panic if evil comes anywhere near them—they don't know any better."

"It's what they're fed." I suddenly remember all the lectures I got as a child about staying away from fal'Cie and about the horrible, horrible dangers of Pulse. They breathe fear into us for more control.

"The Sanctum follows fal'Cie orders. It's not just after l'Cie," he mutters, pulling his hat back out of his eyes. I watch a family follow orders uncertainly, hanging tightly onto each other's hands as they join their neighbors and friends. "They'll target civilians, and Purge everyone who's a threat."

"And more innocents are killed," Hope says, glaring at the troop that walks past, wielding their guns as an ever-present, silent threat.

"You can't take the blame for that," Snow replies under his breath.

"Someone has to."

"We can still save 'em," Snow insists, turning back to the crowd. "We let loose and bring the army to us."

"Draw their fire?" Hope frowns, nervous. Snow nods.

"I'm supposed to protect you. But I can't let this happen. It's a tough call, that's for sure."

"We can handle ourselves, remember?" I force a smile, reassuring him. He sighs.

"Only one choice, I guess… I try to save everyone." He shoots me a wink, grinning. Hope rolls his eyes, scowling at the ground. "So, you guys with me on this?" He stands, back pressed to the shadows. "You just need to look out for yourself."

A muffled speaker playing warnings of evacuation to the citizens covers the sound of our footsteps as we hurry into the nearest cluster of soldiers. Silently, I run at the closest one's back, slitting his throat and knocking him to the ground before he can make a sound. Snow dispatches the others and, somehow, the other troops scattered around don't seem to notice. We take a flight of stairs up to the next broad square of the city and I take in the smell of the polluted air, the sight of the bright colors, and the sound of the people talking amongst themselves. It almost feels like I'm back in a time before Cid left and Cassie… I shake my head, refocusing. It's still today, though.

I reach out a hand and run my fingers through the bushy plants that are lined in perfect rows along the walkways, relishing in the feeling as we keep moving, hoping that no one takes notice of us. Quickly, Snow leads the way up a bout of narrow stairs that leads us around a pair of soldiers safely, effectively keeping all attention off us. Where are we going? Hope stumbles on one of the cement tiles that's lifted on the edge; I lift my arm to catch him, gritting my teeth under the force of his weight. Still, I manage to keep him on his feet and keep us unnoticeable in the crowd. Snow takes a sharp turn into an alleyway and we follow, left with little choice. Four soldiers rush at us before we have a chance to hide, recognizing us from the broadcast earlier.

"Look out!" Snow shouts, shoving me behind him and raising his arms to deflect a round of bullets.

Fazed for only half a second, I turn my attention to the soldier behind him and sent a shower of sparks over his head, watching him fall to the ground with the scream and praying that no one could hear that over the sound of the loudspeakers. Braver by the minute, Hope throws his boomerang at another soldier and I take his moment of distraction to jump in and dig my dagger through the gap between his armor and his helmet. When I step away, the spray of the blood that releases makes me sick.

Snow cringes at the sight and quickly turns to lead the way down a curved, dark staircase that leads to the lower level of the street. We stumble to a sudden stop upon seeing an enormous crowd gathering, having been corralled by the guards and left there to wait. I start to suggest that we keep our heads low and mingle to blend in, but a young girl suddenly whips her head around, eyes wide, and her sharp gasp catching the attention of her mother as she stares at us. In her hands, she clutches a dingy stuffed Carbuncle doll.

"Not good," Snow mutters.

"What's not—" I start, wondering if she recognizes us. Snow doesn't hear me, running straight on into the crowd. "What are you doing?!" I demand, panicked. Hope grabs my hand and drags me after him, giving chase. My heart feels ice cold as it pounds in my chest, echoing my spike in fear. We stop just as suddenly as we started, and, peeking past Hope's head, I realize it's because a soldier is coming right at us.

"Is there a problem?" he demands, clutching his gleaming gun like a lifeline. Snow gets a look in his eye that makes my stomach churn. No… "Now why don't you just calm—"

Before the solider can get his words out, Snow's fist collides with his helmet and his back slams onto the ground. I have to force myself not to reach for my knives, unconsciously crushing Hope's hand in mine. The crowd's screams and gasps of shock feel like daggers in my heart and I squeeze my eyes shut. I don't want to be a monster…

"Don't—" Hope whispers. I open my eyes just in time to see Snow lift the soldier's gun above his head and fire into the sky.

"I am a Pulse l'Cie!" he shouts over the sound of gunfire. "I'm here to kill you all!"

"Stop!" I scream, but my pleading falls on deaf ears. "This won't help anything!"

"It's too late," Hope answers, shaking his head. He looks back at me, bitter. "He's trying to save them all from the Sanctum."

"But if we hadn't gotten involved—"

"I know."

The crowd scatters, screaming and crying and running for cover. Left with little choice, we run back to Snow, who throws the empty gun on the ground with a look of defeat.

"Had to clear the area," Snow explains, watching hoards of families run for safety. Hardly a second after the citizens run, bullets rain down from above and guards we bypassed earlier rush toward us. "Move!" Snow grabs hold of our arms and drags us to cover. "They'll open fire on a crowd. Doesn't matter who dies. Just wipe 'em all out!"

"There's so many of them…" Hope watches a group of aerial soldiers soar past. "Are they really that afraid of us?"

"Weren't you that afraid of us?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. He frowns. "It's how we were trained to think."

Quickly, we duck our heads and make a run for it, heading down the nearest alleyway in search of safety from the scanners and prying eyes of soldiers. Once we can't hear their guns clearly anymore, we slow down. I look up to see a colorful archway that introduces the name of the shopping mall. I've never even been here before. I huff, looking around at the sheer size of the buildings. Then again, I never spent much time on this side of town.

Snow runs ahead toward a crashed bike not unlike the ones we rode into the Pulse Vestige just a few days ago. My heart nearly leaps out of my throat when I hear a whimper to my right and see the Carbuncle girl curled up on the ground, clutching her doll as she trembles in terror. Hopes starts toward her carefully.

"Hey…" He reaches out an arm and she scoots away, sobbing. "You okay?"

I turn to see something that I might find funny if it wasn't real. "Hope…" A mob wielding brooms and shards of metal and debris creeps toward us, angry and afraid. The worst kind.

"Leave me alone!" she screams, throwing her doll at Hope.

"L'Cie scum!"

"Save the girl!"

"Call the army!"

"We can take 'em!"

As we watch the crowd come closer, the girl sees her chance and shoves Hope to the ground, smacking at me blindly as she runs past to find her mother. Her doll remains on the ground beside him. Snow huffs, coming back toward us.

"You better run, l'Cie scum!" a man shouts, coming closer than the others dare.

Snow stands in front of us, hatred clear in his eyes. But it isn't hatred for the people—it's hatred for what he has to do. Slowly, I take hold of Hope's arm and help pull him to his feet. Snow raises his arm, showing the blue glow of his brand. Suddenly, he pulls his hand back, forming a bright, spinning ball of light before hurling it upward at the arch. The ground shakes as it tumbles down, blocking the mob's path to us.

"That was magic! We don't stand a chance!" cries a woman.

"We don't stand a chance. We can't fight that!"

Hope lifts the doll off the ground and sets it on the fallen rubble, murmuring an apology. Snow taps my arm to get my attention and hangs on to a jetpack a soldier dropped when he died. The sound of gunfire draws my attention back, but Snow throws me over his back and hangs onto Hope like he's weightless, flying us into the rooftops. A bullet dings off the side of the pack and I shield my face, clinging to Snow's coat with a grip that turns my knuckles white. When he tries to steer us away from a set of telephone wires, he crashes us into a wall. Hope screams, dangling helplessly.

We just barely make it over the glass lip of the roof before the jetpack gives out, smoking. It throws us to the ground, skittering across the pavement and tumbling over the edge of the building. I grit my teeth as my hands and knees skid across the rough pavement. The blinding pain in my shins renders my useless as I lie on the ground, wishing more than anything that I could just stay there and cry. When the unbearable ache begins to fade, I drag myself to my feet, happy to see that my pants haven't ripped yet. Hope stays on his knees, clutching his side and gasping for air. Must've landed on his stomach. Snow heads toward him, leaning over to rest a hand on his shoulder.

"We've gotta stay ahead of 'em." He straightens, staring out at the skyline as the sun starts to disappear. "We walk from here."

Suddenly, my absolute exhaustion begins to dig its fangs into my spirits and I stumble in my steps, feeling week. It's been days… Hope gets to his feet somehow, and when his eyes meet mine, they reflect the same tiredness. I just want a good night's sleep more than anything. Gone is the adrenaline from the initial branding, the hope from our newfound direction, and the euphoria of knowing Cid is on our side. I'm too tired to care anymore. But that's how people die, Marhi.

"Time's a-tickin'!" Snow calls over his shoulder, hurrying across the rooftop without any reservations.

"Let's go," I huff, my legs numb as I run after him.

It feels as though I've run a marathon already; my muscles feel like jelly and my bones ache horribly. To make matters worse, I can't unsee the face of that little girl or jeering of the crowd. We really are monsters. Snow slows down at the edge of the roof, eyeing a distant billboard. Hope takes the opportunity to let his legs give way. He sits down, leaning back on his hands and staring at the mess of a city. A mess we made.

"Felix Heights is that way, right?" Snow asks, pointing at the buildings past the billboards. Hope doesn't answer, so I nod, falling onto the ground next to my grumpy companion. It feels so good to let my legs rest. "Still pretty far. 'A great place for family living'," he reads, resting his hands on his hips. "So they say. Looks like it might actually be, huh?" I scoff, shaking my head. A great place to raise spoiled brats.

"Yeah, well, l'Cie don't have family," Hope mumbles, crossing his legs. Snow turns back to face us.

"Listen to me, kid." He wanders toward us until he can stoop down to our level. "I'm an orphan—I barely got to know my family." That's better than knowing them and losing them… I wince at the pain in my chest, busying myself with relacing my boots. "But someday, I'm gonna have my own, once I save Serah and protect Cocoon." Hope scoffs, glaring up at him.

"How exactly?"

"That's a good question," Snow replies, laughing softly. He stands, wandering away. "I wanna do what's right, but everyone hates l'Cie. Kind of hard to help someone that's trying to kill you." He rests his hands on his hips and faces us. "It'll be tough, but everything will work out in the end—as long as we stay together and hold onto hope—"

"We don't have any!" Hope cries, leaping to his feet. "A l'Cie's only hope is a quick death!"

I stare up at them nervously, scared that Hope might decide this is his chance. I only get up when the billboard Snow studied in the distance explodes, poked full of bullet holes as the aerial troops speed past. Well what the heck was that for? Hope hurries past Snow, grumbling under his breath as he climbs down from the top of the building to avoid being seen. Snow follows, shooting me a frown. Caught in the middle, I take a deep breath and force myself to keep up, wishing I could run off on my own to sort all this out without a whiny little boy and a delusional romantic.

We make it to the underside of the building's edge just as the troops fly past, barely missing getting our heads blown off by the trigger-happy soldiers. Determined to make it to Felix Heights before we either die or run out of steam, I lead the way, keeping a close eye on Hope. Babysitting is exhausting. No wonder Light almost left us behind. Climbing along rafters and balancing on pipes, we make our way through the shadows, avoiding the plethora of velocycles and aerial troops. I nearly slip once or twice, managing to catch myself just before taking a rumble. Neither of them bothers to try to catch me. That's reassuring.

I roll my eyes and turn the corner to my left, finally reaching the safe ground of another flat, shaded rooftop. When I slow my steps, Snow walks past me, determined to get a move on. Hope has other plans, stopping altogether beside me. He clears his throat, his eyes filled with fierce determination.

"I wanted to ask you something," he says, staring hard at Snow's back. Snow sighs, turning back to face him.

"What's that?"

"You say you want a family," Hope starts, his eyes narrowing. My stomach does a backflip. Oh gods… this is it, isn't it? "What if—what if they were taken from you?"

"Well, then I'd take 'em back," Snow grins, raising a fist. Hope shakes his head.

"And what if you couldn't? What if you knew who was to blame?"

"Hope—" I murmur, uneasy.

"Well, then there'd be trouble," Snow answers, placing his hands on his hips. He chuckles to himself, still not quite catching Hope's serious tone. Or he's uncomfortable with it… My reading proves true when his smile fades and he frowns, genuine. "Hey, are you okay?" Hope doesn't answer, so Snow leans forward, trying to catch his eye. "Did you get hit in the head or something, or…"

The ground begins to shake beneath our feet, and to our horror, a Sanctum weapon the size of the building we stand upon hovers over us, flapping its metallic wings, though something tells me it doesn't need them to fly.

"We'll have to talk about this later!" Snow shouts over the wind, stepping back.

Hope huffs, shoving him aside. "Don't just stand there!"

"Hope, wait!" I call, hurrying after him when he rushes at the warcraft alone.

A burst of missiles is the first thing it throws at us. Hope throws up his hands and a green, glittering shield of magic blocks them. He grits his teeth under the weight of their explosions, but in the end, we're unharmed. We're getting stronger. I look from Hope to the giant… thing, wishing I had a name for its twisted crimson limbs that curl back into strange loops around a glass hull at the top. What is this design? Cid would mock whoever dreamed this nightmare up.

"Hit it with lightning!" I call, but my voice is drowned out by the sound of more artillery firing at Snow's braced arms. Hope frowns, throwing out another fire spell.

"What?" he shouts back.

"Lightning!"

"Lightning? Where?" Snow demands, turning his head sharply in search of the soldier. The machine takes the chance to smack him to the ground. I roll my eyes, letting sparks crackle down the length of my daggers just in case I can get close enough.

"Electrocute the shit out of it!"

"Oh!" Snow rolls to his feet, pausing to frown at me. "Hey, watch your mouth, kid!"

"I have a name!"

I roll under the second wave of missiles, letting a half dozen thunder spells loose on the machine. It shudders, but it hardly seems affected. This has to be it, right? The slightest glimmer of a golden shield gives me hope. Our attacks aren't weak, they're just being absorbed. I wait for Snow to run toward the bottom of the hovering war machine to race around the back, swinging myself up onto its jagged rungs of crimson metal.

Using my momentum, I hurl myself forward and catch myself on the back of its command center by burying my daggers into its shell-like climbing picks. It jolts with the wave of electricity that bypasses its defenses. After catching my balance, I kick off the back and slide down, using the buried knives to slow my momentum as they tear cleanly through the sheet metal.

"Get off it!" Snow shouts, nearing Hope.

"Gimmie a sec!" I huff, irritated. "No one trusts me," I add to myself, diving back behind Hope's barrier just before a big burst of explosives goes off. "Hit it!"

Hope cuts the shield to bring a storm's worth of lightning down over the machine's head. It stutters, its wings wilting like the petals of a flower in overwhelming heat. Another round from the two of us sends it soaring back into the air, making its retreat. Snow laughs, throwing a fist into the air.

"Aw, yeah!" he cries, excited to see a victory that I conducted.

I sigh, rubbing at my sore arms and turning back to the two standing behind me. Hope clutches his knees, trying to catch his breath. Thankfully, Snow catches on and points toward a walled-off landing that would hide us from anyone that wasn't already there.

"If you need to take a break, why don't we do it over there?"

Slowly, we head through the doorway to the balcony overlooking the city, staying close to the walls. Snow laughs upon seeing a row of vending machines, banging on one until a can rolls out. He holds it out to Hope.

"Here."

"I'm not thirsty," Hope replies sharply. Snow raises an eyebrow at me and I shake my head.

"I don't drink those."

"Okay," he answers, confused. "Not the time to be picky, is it?"

"I don't drink them," I repeat, eyeing the sugary drink in his hand. I almost feel guilty, knowing that he beat that out of a machine just for us to lighten the mood. He's trying his best. I look toward the ground, trying to fight the ache in my chest.

"Well, don't want to waste it," he mutters, wandering toward the railing and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He cracks the can open, chugging the drink down quickly. Must be nice and cold. Still, I can't help but hear Cid's chiding voice in the back of my head. Fill yourself with trash and that's all you'll be. Gee, thanks. I glance over at Hope to see him staring hard at the railing. Suddenly, he shakes his head, squeezing his hands together.

"I can't…" He looks up at Snow, his eyes gleaming with tears he's suppressed for so long. Don't do it. "Snow? What do you plan to do? I need to know." Snow belches and I cringe. Not the time.

"I told you. Save Serah, protect Cocoon, and have myself a big, happy family. Still, it's a long road ahead." He raises his arm, looking down at his brand. "Or, maybe not so long. Whatever happens, things will work themselves out. Even if you're l'Cie, you've got to keep fighting."

He throws the can toward the trashcans along the other wall, making it in easily with a fist pump to celebrate. My stomach starts to ache from being tied up so tightly. Hope steps forward, demanding answers from his rival.

"And what if that gets people around you involved?" He walks toward Snow, watching as realization starts to dawn in the towering man's eyes. "What happens when your actions end up ruining someone's life? What if someone dies? What then, Snow?!"

Snow backs into the railing, stuttering. His eyes are wide, searching the empty space for any explanation other than what's come to his mind. Has he realized who Hope is yet? I bite down on my tongue, wishing I could speak, but I know this has to happen.

"How do you pay for what you've done?" Hope demands. Snow turns and slams his hands down on the railing.

"I can't, alright?!" he shouts, startling me. "There is nothing that can make something like that right again. When someone's dead, when someone's gone, words are useless."

"So that's it? People die and you just run away?"

"I know! It's all my fault!" Snow kicks at the railing and I squeeze my eyes shut. Stop fighting. "But I don't know how to fix it! Where do you start? What do you say? All I can do is go forward. Keeping fighting and surviving, until I find the answers I—"

"There are no answers!" Hope shouts. "You're running from what you deserve!"

"Well, why don't you tell me what I deserve?!" Snow demands.

"The same fate!"

The air around Hope begins to shimmer and my heart begins to pound louder than before. Please be careful. I can't fight an army with two dead guys at my back. Shuddering, I begin to wonder if this is my fault. Maybe they don't have to talk now, not if Hope can't handle it.

"Hope, wait," I start, hurrying to grab him arm.

He shakes me off, angry past the point of reason. The light gathering around him bursts into an explosion of flames, slamming me into the wall and knocking the breath from my lungs. Snow goes tumbling over the edge of the balcony, managing to hang on with just his fingers gripping the concrete edge. Help him… I wheeze, trying to think past the pain, but nothing comes. Hope grabs hold of the knife Light gave him and walks toward the edge. Through bleary vision, I try to see what he's doing. Even though the tears that sting my eyes from the smoke, I know what Hope's after. It's not what he needs. Stop.

"Nora Estheim…" He glares down at Snow. "She was my mother. And she died because of you!"

"You!" Snow cries. "You're the one she meant!"

Hope screams, raising the knife over his head. I clutch my aching stomach, stumbling toward the edge to stop Hope from exacting revenge he'll always regret. The pain in my bones is enough to knock me to my hands and knees. What's wrong with me? Before I can recover, I see a flash of light and feel the overwhelming heat of the fire behind me as the missiles hit the wall, breaking the entire balcony into a hundred pieces. I soar forward, hands flailing for anything. My palms skid across the concrete and I slide over the edge only to crash headfirst into a pipe connecting two buildings and crash into the waves of darkness that swallow me whole.