A/N: I was rather mean with that cliffhanger, huh? I do apologize, I just couldn't resist. So what happens now that Hope is nowhere to be found and Lightning is in the grip of despair? Well, read and find out :)

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy and review. See you next update

Revised: July 2014

Hope woke up with a throbbing headache. It felt like his skull was being drilled into whilst being bashed repeatedly with a hammer. He didn't want to open his eyes in fear that light would make it worse. His instant reflex was to grab his head and hold it, but as he raised his hand, something prevented it from moving towards him. In fact, he couldn't move either of his hands nor his feet. Eyes shooting open, Hope searched for the reason.

His chest and feet were bare. His wrists and ankles were strapped down tightly with leather cuffs, tying him to a stone table. He struggled to pull himself free, but they wouldn't budge. And the more he fought, the more the bindings began cutting into his skin.

Trying to recover from the shock of his situation, he attempted to figure out where he was. The room was moderately dark, lit by a few torches along the walls. The whole place was stone, bare, with no personalization, so it most likely wasn't someone's home. The air held a bitter coldness that stung his exposed skin. Hope scrunched up his nose, smelling a very distasteful aroma. The room smelled of dirt and must, but most noticeably, it stank of blood and vomit.

Now breathing through his mouth, Hope continued to survey the room. His heart stopped at the sight of what was beside him on his left. Less than ten feet away, strapped to a stone table much like his own, was a woman. I'm not alone. She seemed young, maybe some years older than him, but it was hard to tell with the grime that covered her skin. She had very disheveled, long green hair with beads of various colors threaded throughout it. He couldn't see her face for it was covered by her messy hair. Her skin was ghostly white, having a paleness that rivaled his own. Left only in a bra and a mid-thigh length skirt, her torn and tattered clothes matched the green of her hair. Blood stained her skin and clothes, as well as the table beneath her. Yet there wasn't a scratch on her. Not that he could see anyway. Despite the look of her body, she seemed to only be sleeping for her chest moved steadily up and down.

Although he was thankful that he wasn't alone, Hope scolded himself for finding any sort of joy in her captivity. It looked like the woman had been there for quite some time. But why? Who is she? And why does she deserve this? No... no one deserves this, but... does she have something to do with Yeul? Hope gasped at his thought, remembering the prophecy. 'Only through his suffering, can humanity prevail.' Did she mean... me? But... why would I be so important? I mean, yeah, I'm the director, but only Lightning... Oh, Maker, Light! She's never going to forgive me. Once she finds out I left... If she finds out. What if no one... No, I'm the director, they'll notice me missing, but... what if they...

Hope groaned and found his throat to be painfully dry. Instead of drowning in his rampaging sea of thoughts, he thought to try and wake his unfortunate companion. "Hey. Hey, can you hear me?" Hope's voice was hoarse and raspy. He tried to swallow, but it only made the pain worse. How long was I unconscious?

Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what last happened to him. He remembered working with Lightning and her accompanying him home, then finding the letter... then leaving... Hope's memories went fuzzy from there. He couldn't recall why he'd left his house or where he'd headed toward. He furrowed his brow in confusion, but winced and squeezed his eyes shut at the pain the movement caused. Okay, focus, Hope. What happened? Why would you leave? Did it have to do with work? No, Light made you go home. Was it something to do with Light? No, she'd just left and threatened to hurt you if you stepped a foot outside. So why would you leave? What was worth pain by Light?

Searching deep into his mind, he found it. The letter! But what was written... It was from my father... but... Hope's grief threatened to surface within him, but he pushed it back. No, focus. You read the letter. You put it away and... went to see him. You went to the cemetery, but... something happened... That woman... with the robe and the voice... and those eyes. That's right... I tried to fight back, but was blown forward from behind... I hit my head on a grave stone.

"Anyone awake down there", called a voice as they came down the stairwell.

It's her!

As she entered, her eyes went straight to Hope. "Ah, so we are. How are we?"

Tensing as the woman approached, Hope knew there was no use fighting her or his restraints. He was stuck. The only thing he could do right then, was get all of the information from the woman he could. "What do you want with me?"

She smiled as her slate colored irises ran over the length of his body. She slowly put her hand on his chest. Hope jolted at the touch, which only caused her devilish smile to grow. "As much as I love kidnapping pretty-boy egg-heads, I want nothing to do with you. You are a very well known, important person in your world. Taking you caused us a lot of trouble and keeping you will only cause us more. Hopefully...", she stopped, smiling and shaking her head for the obvious reason, "... it will be worth it."

"So why take me? Worth what? Wha-"

"Calm down." The woman brought her hand up to his forehead, pressing gently. Hope clenched his teeth and jerked his head away from her. A flicker of agitation passed through her eyes as she grabbed his chin harshly and forced him to face her. Her fingers then brushed lightly over his slightly swollen eye before running down over the small bruises on his chest, undoubtedly caused by Lightning's fit of frustration.

Hope wanted desperately to escape the woman's touch. The minute her cold bony fingers had found his skin, he felt angry and undeniably trapped.

A thin white eyebrow arched as she continued brushing over his bruises, as if she were inspecting them. "It would seem that your Guardian finds more pleasure in harming you, than protecting you." Her eyes flickered up to his at her statement.

Guardian? Does she mean Light?

"Oh, quiet now, are we? You have no more questions for me?" She stood up straight, walking a few steps away from his table. After waiting for a few moments for him to respond, she continued. "Too bad. And I was actually entertaining the idea of answering some." Turning back toward him, she fixed him with another wicked grin.

There were hundreds of questions shooting through his mind and Hope wasn't sure where to start. He was confused, really. She had kidnapped him, but didn't really want him. She had him strapped to a table, but seemed concerned about his injuries. And she was holding him captive, but she was willing to answer the questions he asked. "Who are you?" Naturally any sane attacker and kidnapper wouldn't give their name, but it was worth a shot and maybe he'd still get some sort of answer.

At his question, she walked over to the corner and grabbed a wooden chair. Bringing it back and setting it a few feet away on his right, she sat and answered. "My name is Castea Hidon." She crossed her legs and sat back in the chair, folding her hands in her lap. Her face became neutral, finally ridding itself of the creepy smile.

What? She told me her... Does that mean she's not planning on letting me go? Or she could be lying. "Are you the... Who's in charge here?"

Her smile returned, albeit smaller and gentler. "I am, of course. Well, over these weaklings, anyway. I call the shots around here, that's all you need to know."

"What did you take me for? What do you plan to do with me?"

Her eyebrows rose and her smile seemed to reach a whole new level of creepy. "Finally, the good part." Her eyes searched his for a moment as her hand preoccupied itself with her sleeve. "I imagine you received our present?"

Hope's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. "What-"

"Yeul." She deepened her gaze into his confused eyes. "You had to have figured it out by now that we were the ones…" her voice became mockingly sad as she finished her sentence, "who had done all those horrible and monstrous things to her. Same as with that one", she added, pointing to the women beside him. "And you know what? We're going to do all of those nasty things to you as well."

He visibly tensed as his heart froze inside his chest. "Why", Hope croaked.

"Because we have to. We were called upon to use the great power inside of us to help you fulfill your destiny."

The young man's eyes danced around the room, processing her words. "You're l'Cie?" She nodded her head in reply. "And your focus is to capture and torture me, this woman, and that poor girl?" Hope shot her a look of disgust and Castea's smile shrunk slightly. "Why? What does a focus like that accomplish?" Slowly she sat up and uncrossed her legs, but remained silent. Hope clenched his jaw and his fists tightly. "Just let me go. Please, I won't-"

"Won't what?" By Castea's expression, she was clearly amused. "Is this about the time where you start begging... bargaining for your life? Don't worry, we won't kill you." She walked back over to Hope and brought her face above his. Running her hands through his hair, she looked into his eyes. The deep green orbs were filled with such fear and confusion that it excited her. The silveret tried to shrink back farther into the table, attempting to get away from her dark stare, but she was too close. "But soon enough, you'll wish that we had."

His eyes snapped up to hers, and through her gray gaze, he could see her brutal honesty. He wasn't sure about everything else she had said, but in this, there was no lie. No matter how much he wanted her to be lying, between that demonic look in her eyes and what he knew of Yeul's torture, there was no chance. He was going to be in immense pain very soon.

Hope felt an emotion creep into him, deep into him, that he hadn't felt in a long while. He felt fear. A deep, bone-chilling fear set into his veins. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had nothing to protect himself, even if he could move to use it. There were no guards... no one was there to shield him from any of his ensuing hurt. And he had no one to blame but himself.

Castea, looking thoroughly pleased with herself for causing the scared puppy look on his face, stood up. With a flick of her wrist, a soothing warmth washed over him. She was healing all of his wounds. The horrible ache in his head was gone as well as the dull pain of the bruises, and he imagined any trace of the door incident had vanished with them. Why is she healing me?

A loud stomping sound could be heard from the corner as someone descended down the stairs. Hope's gaze turned from the horrid woman to the approaching person. It was a rather large, muscular man, with sharp facial features. "Lady Hidon? Barsilisk wishes to speak with you." He had a gruff and harsh voice, but was quiet. He bowed before Castea. Between that and the way he had addressed her, it told Hope that he worked under her.

She rolled her eyes before walking to the steps. "Honestly, that man can't manage a thing by himself." Turning back to her underling briefly, she spoke, "Deal with them, Sebastian. Especially the girl", and then continued leaving the room. The man, obviously named Sebastian, watched the entryway until he could no longer hear Castea's retreating footsteps.

As he turned to face Hope, he spoke. "Do not fret, you're safe." His expression didn't change from the stern look he'd entered with, but his voice held traces of amusement. "I was ordered to leave you alone, for now."

The teen felt a bit of trepidation at speaking with the large man, but he decided to anyway. "So you work for...", Hope's voice trembled a bit, so he cleared his throat, attempting to find a relative calm, "...Castea? Are you a l'Cie too?"

"I think you've asked enough questions for one day, little Director." Sebastian went to give his full attention to the woman beside him. He pushed her hair out of her face, revealing it to Hope. Even through the dirt and blood on her face, she seemed fairly attractive with smooth facial features and high cheekbones. Grabbing her cheeks harshly with his hand, he picked her head up and looked into her face. "This one's a stubborn little whore. She should mind her manners." He let go of her head and it collided back with the table with a thump.

As Sebastian walked over to him, Hope noticed there was what seemed to be a scar across the man's throat. "Just let me go, please. I didn't do anything to you. I don't even understand why I'm here."

"You will… in due time."

Hope bit down softly on his cheek, pushing back his threatening tears. "Fine, but let her go. You have me... what you wanted. Why do you have to torture her?"

The large l'Cie stood over Hope, an alarming smirk appearing on his face. "Compassion for a woman you don't even know. And you want me to let her go when you haven't even spoken with her. Too priceless." He laughed bitterly, the sound echoing around the room, mocking Hope's compassion further. "She has a purpose here, same as you." Sebastian leaned on Hope's table, hands gripping the edge of the rough stone. Hope looked at the man's hands, noticing similar scars on his wrists as to the one on his neck. Sebastian took note of the young man's interest. "Courtesy of your Guardian. She put up quite a fight. One I didn't expect."

Hope grew concerned. Castea had mentioned a Guardian before, when tending to his wounds inflicted by Lightning, so Hope had assumed that's who she had been referring to. But if that was who Sebastian was speaking of, then how was he still alive? "You mean Lightning", Hope asked. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as worry about her well-being grew inside him.

The bulky man stood back up, his right hand cuffing his left wrist as he rubbed it. "Yes, the beauty with the soft pink hair and rose colored lips. I didn't expect someone so gorgeous to be so deadly."

Hope bared his teeth. "I swear if you hurt her-"

The man only laughed. "She fought well. It was fun until... well, anyway I achieved my goal. The threat of the Guardian was eliminated so we were able to collect you without too much of a fuss."

Eliminated? "No, Maker, no", Hope whispered to himself as despair began to take over him.

"Don't listen to this fool." The woman beside him spoke as she stirred. "He's just a lackey trying to break you for his boss." She tilted her head up to give the burly man a look of defiance.

"What did you say, bitch?" Sebastian stomped over to her and smacked her across the face, the hit so strong that it resounded off of the chamber walls. "I am no lackey." She breathed roughly for a moment before turning her head back toward him and spitting out blood into his face.

He landed a heavy punch on her jaw, causing her head to hit the stone harshly, knocking her back out. As he lifted his hand for another punch, Hope tried to stop him. "Don't. She's already out and-" Hope's words abruptly stopped as the man fixed him with a withering stare.

Turning back to the woman while calming considerably, Sebastian undid her bindings and tossed her over his shoulder, silently leaving the room.

Hope's head fell back to the table, his mind falling back to his worry about Lightning. No, she's strong. Too strong. She couldn't have been... eliminated. That woman is right. He was just lying. But those marks did look like they'd come from a gunblade. If he'd faced off against Light, there's no way she would have left him alive... unless...

Hope's thoughts were interrupted by a returning Sebastian, obviously not through with his earlier conversation. "As I was saying, that Guardian of yours was a real beaut. And a damn fine warrior. Shame really. I would have loved to have spent more time with her."

Hope looked toward Sebastian, enraged as he struggled against his binds. This only caused the man to laugh. "She would have been much more fun than that little seeress." He stopped, pulling out a long serrated blade from his belt, causing Hope to swallow. "I'm sure you saw my masterpiece. Sadly, you only got to see half of it. We had to heal many of her serious injuries so she could make it to ya." He ran his finger along the edge of the blade, staring sadistically at it as blood began to drip from his finger.

"You're sick", Hope spat, feeling hatred and disgust surface. It sounds like he was... is taken with Light. And he's the one that did all those monstrous things to that poor girl. Maker... why?

The man's smile dropped as he looked at Hope with fury in his eyes. The last thing Hope saw was the large man's hand reaching up in the air with electricity flitting through his fingertips before an unbearable shock was sent through him, causing blackness to overtake his vision.

Bright lights greeted Lightning as she awoke from her slumber. She groaned as her eyes lazily opened to find that she was in a hospital room. What the hell happened? In a flash, it all came back to her. She'd let Hope get taken. Her right hand balled into a fist and she hit it against the side of her head. But why am I here? I should be out looking for Hope. She couldn't recall what had happened after she'd found Hope's boomerang. It was all a blank. Looking over herself, she took note of her injuries.

There was a large bandage on her left forearm from the burn, a slightly smaller bandage covered her right bicep from the cut, and her neck felt painful when she swallowed, obviously from being strangled. But there was a bandage wrapped around the palm of her left hand. She didn't remember getting injured there.

Her thoughts went back to Hope as she laid there. His smile, his warm embrace, his heartbeat under her hand, it all came rushing to her mind. Sorrow hit her briefly before being replaced by anger. She was unbelievably furious. She was furious at Hope for sneaking away. She was furious at him for disregarding everything she had said to him not a day before. She was furious at him for leaving her alone. But mostly, she was furious at herself for letting him slip from her grasp.

She couldn't stay there anymore. All she was doing was wallowing in her own misery. As she went to get up, her door opened to reveal a familiar face.

"Lightning, you're awake. How's our favorite soldier?" Sazh had a smile on his face, but there was a sadness within his eyes that couldn't be missed.

Lightning growled. "Yeah, and I want out. How did I get here?" She moved her leg over and off the side of the bed, but Sazh stopped her.

"Stop, Lightning. I just got back from my flight, I've had zero sleep, I'm old, and in no mood to be chasin' after your rampagin' ass." His tone was stern, but Lightning would have none of it.

She fixed her elder with an ice cold glare. "Hope is gone and we need to find him. If you want to sleep while he's Maker knows where, go ahead." Lightning was steadily yelling at him now, which she really didn't want to do, but she couldn't stop. She had to find Hope. She couldn't lose anyone else. "I'm not going to sit here and wait until he turns up-"

Sazh stopped her, covering her mouth with his hand before pushing her back down. "Stop. There is a search team covering all of Academia and three teams covering Pulse. Hildough and some guards are headed to Sanctum City to check there, as well."

The soldier, completely pissed by Sazh's forceful action, pushed his hand away. "It's not enough. I have to-"

"Calm down, that's all ya gotta do", said a semi-familiar voice from the doorway. In stepped Rygdea, looking almost exactly the same as she remembered him. The only differences were a few more wrinkles, worry lines, and his hair was tied back in a ponytail. "We need you calm, Lightning, so you can tell us what happened."

Lightning huffed as she settled back into her bedding. She hated it, but they were right. The only good she could do now was explain to them what she knew so they could come up with a course of action. "I take it you didn't find any of his attackers?"

Rygdea stepped closer to the bed. "No, the G.C. found nothing other than Hope's boomerang with the cloth and the blood on Bartholomew's headstone."

Lightning tensed, her feeling of despair coming back at her hard. She held the back of her hand to her mouth, trying to keep her breathing even.

Rygdea began to wring his hands. "Look, Lightning. I know your hurtin', but-"

"Please, if you cared half as much as I do, we wouldn't still be sitting here."

The man's eyes filled with frustration. He stalked towards her with half a mind to hit the woman telling him that he didn't care. But he stopped himself. "Hey, missy, I love that kid like a son." Rygdea breathed heavily as he tried to calm his rage. "I was very close with Hope and his father. Bartholomew told me himself to watch over him in the event that-" A flicker of immense pain registered in the man's eyes as he spoke of Bartholomew. "So I feel as much pain and worry as you. If not more."

Lightning looked away. She actually hadn't given Hope and Rygdea's relationship any thought at all. Sorely regretting her words, she blew out a sigh. She then went over the events that had occurred at the park and the graveyard. After she had finished, Sazh and Rygdea exchanged worried glances. "What?" She knew they knew something.

Sazh was the first to speak up. "After they... the Guardian Corps soldiers found ya, well... through what happened, you told 'em about bein' attacked in the park, but..." Sazh stopped as he ran his hand over his face.

"They found nothing." Rygdea had finished for him. Good thing too, because Lightning was about to sock Sazh out of impatience. "There was no trace of anything there. No bodies, no blood... not even a scorch mark."

Lightning balled her fists. "But that's impossible. I took out six of them. They were wearing the same fabric as the piece Hope's boomerang caught." Her voice caught in her throat a little at her mention of Hope, but no one said anything about it. Feeling unbelievable frustration yet again, she figured it was time to get answers of her own. "Why am I here? I don't remember anything passed the graveyard and somebody better tell me why."

Rygdea's comm went off then, cutting into their discussion. He gave Sazh a look of sympathy as he exited the room to answer it. Sazh bit his tongue and stepped back from Lightning before answering her. "You had to be... sedated."

The eldest Farron's jaw dropped. She definitely didn't remember that. "Why?"

Sazh 's eyes remained on the floor. "The soldiers who found ya said you were screamin' for Hope and you wouldn't settle down. You had serious injuries that needed looked at, but you wouldn't let anyone touch ya. You tried to leave to find him..." Sazh stopped. He looked at Lightning. Her expression was a mixture of pain and confusion. When the soldiers had told him what happened, he couldn't believe it. He hadn't known how much she cared about the kid. Of course, Hope made a great impact on many he met and he seemed to have a way with people, but this was Lightning. The soldier that was always guarded. She'd taken good care to make sure he was safe when they were l'Cie, yes. But this was different. "...but they needed to help you and speak with you... You were also holdin' Hope's comm so tight that it broke in your hand... glass cut into your skin, but you wouldn't let go of it and you wouldn't stop...so they-"

"Drugged me." Lightning's head dropped back down to the pillow as her hands rubbed her eyes.

The pilot stood and walked over to her. "We'll find him, Lightning. He couldn't have gotten far without his soldier girl." The old man winced, ready for a strike, a spiteful comment, but nothing came. Lightning just stared into the distance.

A knock sounded from the door, followed by Rygdea entering her room. "That was the Academy lab. They ran a test on the blood from... Bartholomew's headstone."

A minute passed as Sazh and Lightning waited for him to speak. "And", implored the impatient pinkette.

Rygdea looked down to the floor for a moment before sighing. "It was Hope's."

Hope sat in the corner of a dark stone cell, his knees to his chest, arms around his legs, with his forehead resting on his knees. He'd woken up just twenty minutes earlier to the screams of, who he could only assume, was the woman he'd seen beside him before. He had no idea how long he'd been out. The pain of the electrocution was gone, so he must have been healed. All that remained now was the slight shakiness in his limbs from the after effects.

The cell was small – about eight by six feet. There was no light except the small amount that filtered in through the bottom of the door and the small slot that they slipped trays of food into. In the back left hand corner was a bare mattress on the floor and on the right side was a bucket. Other than that, it was empty and cold.

A tray of food sat on the ground in front of him. It held a sandwich, an apple and a cup of water. Although he didn't trust it in the least, he drank the water, finding it too hard to resist with how unbearably dry his throat was. Everything else, he let sit.

In an attempt to escape the poor woman's cries and screams, Hope delved into his thoughts. He still couldn't believe what was happening to him. It felt so unreal. He wished desperately to be back home. To be with Lightning, Sazh, Rygdea, Nivien, Maqui, and the rest of the NORA gang. Although he tried to focus on all of the happy and good things in his life, he couldn't get what Sebastian had said out of his head. Lightning has to be okay. They were only there for me. She wasn't even with me. They had no reason to go after her, or to kill her. Getting those thoughts out of his head, Hope began processing everything that had happened and everything he'd been told. Okay, so they're l'Cie. They are the one's responsible for torturing Yeul, and they sent her to us for a reason. They wanted us to see her. Did they also plan on us hearing the prophecy? It's very likely, although by how Light had put it, it seemed that it had been sudden. Like it had been a new vision.

So these people work for Castea Hidon. How many of them are there? I know there are at least seven others from what I saw when they attacked me. Which doesn't include Sebastian because none of them were that big. Why would they be doing this? Does Castea work for someone? Well, obviously a Fal'Cie if they're l'Cie. But... the Sanctum! Could they be working for the Sanctum's Fal'Cie? It's possible, but there are many Fal'Cie. Well, I have a right to be suspicious of them though considering... Anyway... their focus... Castea said that it had something to do with my destiny. What is my destiny? And why does it have to involve so much kidnapping and torture? And what does that woman have to do with all of this?

Hope's thoughts turned to the woman currently being tortured. He couldn't believe how she'd spoken to Sebastian. The way she showed no fear or restraint when speaking to him so sharply amazed him. Even though she had only been awake for a short minute, she had also calmed Hope's thoughts about Lightning. And he was grateful for that. He hadn't been in the right frame of mind to rationalize that the man could have just been trying to get a rise out of him.

Maker, why didn't I listen to Light? I wouldn't be in this mess if I'd just been more careful instead of so stubborn. Regret filled Hope to the core. He knew he'd been stupid, but what could he do now? He just wished, now more than ever, that he could be with his family. New and old.

Hope's train of thoughts abruptly halted as he heard his door slam open. He stayed in his same position, thinking of ways to escape, but nothing came. A man approached him and gripped Hope's hair tightly, pulling him up. He had expected it to be Sebastian, but it wasn't. It was a new bulky man that he hadn't seen before. He was smaller than Sebastian, but still fairly intimidating.

Throwing Hope against the opposite wall, he laughed. "Try anything and I won't be afraid to break a few of your bones."

Hope grunted as his shoulder met roughly with the wall. He listened to the man, unsure of what to do. The man was chuckling as he spoke, but was dead serious. Hope wanted to escape. Every bone in his body fought against the urge to just book it and run. But he wasn't a moron. He knew he wasn't fast enough to escape him. Even if he managed to flee from the l'Cie in front of him, he didn't know how many more awaited him outside. Plus, he had no idea where he was, or how to get through the place. And taking Castea's henchmen on would just be suicidal. The teen nodded to the man, assuring him that he wouldn't try anything stupid.

The big guy grinned. "Good. A scrawny kid like you wouldn't last very long against me." Grabbing a black bag from his pocket, he pulled it over Hope's head before gripping his arm and pulling him into the hall. As they walked through the place, Hope tried to memorize his way in the case a miracle happened and he found a chance to escape. It didn't take very long to reach their destination. Two right turns, a left, down a flight of stairs and they were there.

As they approached, Hope could hear the woman's screams getting louder as well as her ragged breaths. He could see nothing through the bag on his head, but by the sound and smell, he knew where he was. The man pushed him into a stone table before slamming his head down onto it. Feeling pain and dizziness take over his functions, Hope fell to the floor, stunned that the blow hadn't knocked him out entirely. Hearing Sebastian laugh made him angry, but there was nothing he could do.

Through raspy breaths, the woman spoke. "Stop it. You… wou-wouldn't want to-to kill him now, would you? T-That would… kind of…fuck up you…your focus, wouldn't it?" She let out a light yelp as she was smacked.

"Keep your whore mouth shut", shouted Sebastian.

Hope grimaced as he felt the other man pick him up and set him on the table. His head rolled to the side as the man strapped him back into the familiar restraints. The bag was lifted off of his head, giving Hope his sight back. His relief was short lived as he turned his head and saw the state of the woman beside him. She had numerous bruises and shallow cuts littered along her body. Her right eye was horribly swollen, her lip was split, tears stained her cheeks, and three fingers were bent in painfully odd angles. And as if that wasn't enough, there were horrid bruises and burns along her jawline and neck. Blood dribbled from her lips as her desperate gaze met his.

Sebastian left her side and went to speak with the other man quietly in the corner. The woman tilted her head to look fully at Hope. He couldn't see her right eye, for it was swollen shut, but her left eye held despair and terror in her green gaze. Giving him a small smile, she went to speak, but nothing came. Hope shook his head. "Don't talk", he whispered.

Sebastian slapped the other man on the back jovially before waving toward the woman and sending a powerful cure spell over her. Then both the bulky men left them alone. Hope watched as her cuts and bruises healed. Her eye returned to normal size. Her fingers snapped back into place as she gasped at the pain. Her breathing was heavy, but calmed with time.

"You would be Hope, right?" She gave him a strained smile, though the immense pain kept it from reaching her eyes.

Hope laughed lightly. "Seems everyone knows my name."

The woman looked up at the ceiling before closing her eyes and sighing. "I'm Zalera. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I was really hoping they wouldn't get a hold of you."

"You knew they were after me?"

"Yes, almost since they first caught me or… us." A solemn look overtook her expression as her fists tightened. It was her fault. It would always be her fault...

Taking in her body language, he got who she was talking about and wondered if they'd been close before captivity. "Yeul? You knew her?"

A small cry escaped her throat. She attempted to restrain the grief, but it was damn near impossible. "Yes." She sniffed and fought her tears back. "I was supposed to protect her… and I… failed her instead."

Hope's eyebrows shot up in discovery. "You're her Guardian."

She laughed bitterly. That title should have never belonged to her. "Was. I was her Guardian."

That doesn't make sense? "But you're a l'Cie. How come you can't-"

"Nope." She turned and gave Hope a grim look of defeat, a stark contrast to her defiance she'd shown before. "I am not and never was a l'Cie."

Hope took a second and thought back to all of the scripture he'd read about the Farseer tribe. He could have sworn that it all had said that Yeul's Guardian was a l'Cie. A person that lived a timeless existence, watching over every Yeul to come. Which would make sense with what it could take to guard such a powerful being. Glancing at her, Hope noticed her body subtly shaking. He wanted to ask her to elaborate about Yeul and her guardianship of her, but he felt concern for her state. "Are you okay?"

Zalera glanced over at him, a hint of shock and annoyance in her expression. Of course she wasn't okay, not in the least. But he was expressing concern for her, a complete stranger, over the many things he could have said or asked. "I'm sorry."

Hope gave her an incredulous look in return. An apology? For what?

"How are my guests today", asked Castea as she entered the room.

Zalera gave her a death glare that could easily match Lightning's own. "Why don't you untie me and I'll let you know exactly how I am."

Castea merely glanced in her direction before Zalera's back arched. She screamed out in pain and her breaths became short and erratic until she wasn't breathing at all. It wasn't until her face began changing color that Castea's everlasting smile widened and Zalera was finally allowed air.

Hope was stunned. Castea didn't even have to lift a finger to almost take Zalera's life. She was a devastatingly powerful l'Cie.

"It's a shame. I thought all this time down here would have taught you how to be a lady. I guess Yeul's death wasn't enough of a lesson."

Zalera's nostril's flared as her eyes filled with hatred. She began fighting against her binds with all of her strength. "Don't you dare say her name, you murderous wench."

The blonde merely waved her off. "And how are you, my pet", Castea inquired as she turned to Hope.

Swallowing harshly, Hope glanced at the ceiling before turning his attention to the black-hearted woman. "I've been better."

She hummed as her eyes swept over his body, taking in his condition. "Well, I thought you might have some last questions that you may want answers to. Considering you might not be in the best state of mind for the rest of your stay. I've found that it's very hard to process and absorb things when your mind is being clouded by pain." Her smile widened at Hope's small change in expression.

He didn't speak. His mind was far beyond his control as he began to imagine his torture.

She walked over to his hair and began fiddling with it. "No, well I'll just talk then."

"Maybe we don't want to listen", snapped Zalera, practically foaming at the mouth.

As Castea lifted her hand from Hope's head, he spoke to stop the wicked woman's next actions. "No, I-I want to hear what she has to say."

The green-haired woman stopped her futile struggle and laid still, her face scrunched up in frustration.

Castea's hand rejoined its partner in Hope's hair. He hated her touch, but he wanted more information. Why she was so forthcoming was beyond him, but he thought to take advantage of it. For all he knew, in the end, he could use the information. If there was an ending to this that was something more ideal than his death, that is. "First of all", Hope was mildly surprised at how strong his voice was, and by Castea's expression, so was she, "I want to know, why me? Why am I so important to you?"

"You know we've been protecting you, right?" Hope's eyes shot up to the woman standing before his head. He found it extremely hard to believe that she nor any of her goons had protected him. His eyes asked her to elaborate and she complied. "That assassination attempt, I'm sure you remember it." His body stiffened and her hands finally unfurled themselves from his hair. She walked over to the unoccupied stone table at his right and sat on it. "It must have been... so painful for you. I'm truly sorry we couldn't have been there in time to save your poor father." Hope bit his tongue, trying not to bark and scream at the witch of a woman before him. "We were almost too late to save you. But the other times..."

The young man's eyebrows rose at that. No one had known of any other attempt. Well, besides the one at school...

"We managed to eliminate the other threats. There were four other attempts, just so you know." She raised four of her fingers to emphasize the number. "You're not very popular over at the Sanctum. You should show us some gratitude."

Zalera scoffed at that. "Whoopee, you kept him alive so he could end up in your basement while you get off on his torture."

Castea rolled her eyes. "We do what's necessary for the future. Keeping you safe was a top priority."

Hope fought to keep himself from visibly shaking, fear and anger bubbling inside of him. "Why? What does this have to do with the future?"

The woman, now sitting in a very casual position as if not having a care in the world, shook her head slowly. "You have no idea how important you are. You are potentially the most powerful human on this planet. I would kill for that power."

Scrunching up his nose at her statement, Hope fidgeted. He didn't want that kind of power. "You're a l'Cie, and a very strong one at that. Why can't-"

"As much as I despise it and loathe you for it, I am not powerful enough. None of us are."

"Powerful enough for what?" Hope had always loved how easy he'd taken to his powers. Magic just seemed like a part of him that he'd been missing. But he knew his great skills with it would get him into trouble one day.

A dreamy look of wonder and happiness washed over Castea's face as she answered him. "To change the world." She stopped and clapped her hands together, prepping her speech. She'd been waiting far too long. "We've had people watching over you, you know?"

No, Hope hadn't known and he found it to be particularly creepy. He had spies watching him and his goings on for who knows how long, sent from his future tormentors, and he was supposed to take that how?

"You got through that mess of research rather quickly. I was impressed. You figured out so much about the crystal so fast that I no longer wondered why you were talked about as this brilliant leader." At the mention of the crystal, his ears perked. "You even got the location right." Castea paused, waiting for a reaction, which Hope, being the open book that he is, gave easily. His astonishment and confusion was easily viewed by her and she went on. "It was the reason we had to fetch Yeul and why we had to wait to take you. We wanted to know, for sure, the location of the crystals, and Yeul was the only one who knew. A shame we had to torture the girl to get it out of her. Her cries and screams were heartbreaking. Especially when she cried out for her Guardian who could no longer save her. Right, Zalera?"

The woman in question gave her a scornful look. "Just you wait, bitch."

"Please, you won't live long enough." Smiling back at Hope, she moved back on topic. "The crystal shards are in Etro's shrine, and the places where Pulse and Lindzei departed from the world."

Hope raised a brow. "But we already-"

She waved him off. "It can only be found by you with your powers. Your silly little underlings couldn't find it if they searched for decades."

"And you torturing me helps me accomplish my destiny how exactly?"

Castea pursed her lips as she looked to his left wrist. "If you hadn't noticed, your brand is gone. Without your brand, your powers lay dormant inside you." Her smile grew as she spaced off into a corner. "It's ironic really. Etro took pity on you and your friends by releasing you from your fate as l'Cie, and this in turn left you with another terrible fate - having to reawaken your brand. Not easily done, mind you. Your freedom from the l'Cie curse is also why you all awaken at different and unknown times. A l'Cie with no further purpose can only awaken when and if they are willing to. You all could go on in a stasis paradise forever if you wished to."

Hope's head was spinning with all of Castea's information, but he tried to soak it all up and store it for when it was useful.

Zalera continued to lay there, listening to the woman speak, wanting all the while to rip her head off.

"So torturing me will help bring my brand back? But... Why do you care? What's your purpose with the crystal?" He had his reasons for its use, bringing back his friends and all that remained trapped in Cocoon's crystal shell. But what were their intentions?

She laughed. "Ah, you want to know the root of it all, huh? Well, we know you want to awake those in stasis, saving all of your little cuddle buddies and your previous home. It's sweet and touching and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." She rolled her eyes to accompany her sarcastic comment. "It's a smart plan, by the way. Who knows when they'll all wake up. Tomorrow... centuries from now... and undoubtedly Cocoon's fate as well as that of its citizens rests in your Oerban friends' stasis'. Should they awaken... Cocoon may just continue it's plunge toward Pulse."

Zalera sighed. "Just get on with it before you bore the kid to death."

Castea smoothed her hair back with her hand as she glared at Zalera. It was obvious she was thoroughly enjoying Hope's reactions. "That crystal is the most powerful object in this world. Only you have the power to find it and wield it. I have no doubt that it could wake your friends. But what we want brings us back to the whole reason you six were made l'Cie in the first place."

Emerald eyes bulged and he struggled against the leather cuffs, ignoring the sharp pain in his wrists. "No." He knew what she meant. He knew exactly what she meant.

"Yes", she replied, her voice dripping with desire. "You shall use it to bring the Maker back to this world. It shall be rebuilt as a new world, made only for those who deserve it and those powerful enough to rule it." She laughed harshly. "You didn't think it would be that easy to escape your fate, now did you?"

Easy? She thought him fighting for his life and that of his friends as well as the rest of the world was easy? After everything he'd lost and sacrificed, he was going to have to face that horror of an unbreakable fate again? "No", Hope cried. "I won't do it and you can't make me. I fought my focus before. I'll do it again. No matter how or if you bring my brand back, I won't."

Castea stood and waltzed over to him. "Oh, you will... and that's the fun part. The only way to bring back a brand is through the l'Cie's sheer pain and broken will. It's never been done before, but we all know you love challenges. Or is that just your Guardian?"

Hope glared at the woman as he clenched his jaw. How dare you talk about Light.

"I know it's not easy to accept, and really you probably shouldn't. It'll just make it that much harder to reawaken your brand." She brushed her hand against his cheek and only smiled as he pulled away from her. "It's funny. 'Salvation is born of sacrifice – miracles, of misery.' I'm sure this phrase isn't new to you. You probably just never knew how much it would mean for you in the future."

Hope jolted and fought even harder to get free. Hearing Orphan's words made him want to scream. He couldn't believe it had all been for nothing. They had saved the world just for it to be in jeopardy again. His plans for the bright and happy future he had tried to create for his people would be ruined by beings once again trying to bring back their lost deity.

Castea sneered as she walked over to the staircase. "Sebastian", she called.

Quickly running down the steps, the man returned in the doorway before Castea. "Lady Hidon", Sebastian addressed, bowing.

"It's time, my friend." Sebastian looked over to Hope with a crooked smile.

Hope stiffened. "Don't give in, Hope." He looked over to Zalera. She was glancing worriedly between him and Sebastian as she spoke. "You can't give in. Please, just stay strong."

Castea left. Hearing Zalera's words, Sebastian came over to her, rage written on his face. "What did I say about talking?" He delivered a devastating blow to her stomach, knocking the air out of her. As she struggled to breathe, the man waved his hand in her direction, sending the girl a fog spell. In turn, all sound slipped from Zalera. He then pulled his long knife that seemed to be his favorite, from his belt. "This should be fun."

As he walked over towards him, Hope swallowed. His heart was beating at a rampant pace as he imagined the knife's first plunge into his skin. Sebastian stood over the young man, smile widening as Hope's terror grew. He touched the blade gently to Hope's chest, before slicing down his abdomen slowly.

The air in the airship was hot and stifling. Lightning was now a part of a search team covering Pulse alongside Sazh, Nivien and twenty other soldiers. They were to check the abandoned castle on the northern side of Pulse. It had already been eighteen hours since Hope's abduction and the teams were sent to check every location they knew of.

Lightning sat in the back of the ship away from the rest of the soldiers. She was still pissed at how long it had taken to be allowed on the search team. She still couldn't believe all of the tests she had been made to go through to be eliminated as a suspect. The fact that she had been a suspect in the first place, was infuriating. How they could think that she could ever hurt Hope was beyond her. But considering that there had been no evidence, other than her wounds, of her story and the attack in the park, she had to admit, she would have made herself a suspect to.

Even after all of the times of going over her story, it still took major convincing to allow her out on the team. She had been hurt badly, and then there was the question of her mental state, but she wasn't going to let anything get in her way of searching for Hope. Besides, it was the best option. If they did come across any of Hope's attackers, Lightning was the only person that had experience in fighting them. But even so, she had to agree to take it easy and remain in Sazh and Nivien's sight at all times.

Nivien's continuous glances were getting on her nerves. Lightning tried to ignore them, but she wouldn't let up. It was insulting enough that she had to be babysat, but by Hope's ex? Lightning looked over at Nivien. Thankfully it was one of the few times the lieutenant hadn't been looking at her. Her posture was off by just a bit, but her face was sullen and her eyes held a lot of worry. Her gaze came up to meet Lightning's. She smiled slightly, before gazing back down at her feet.

Sazh yelled to everyone from the pilot seat. "Alright, y'all better strap yourselves in. We're landin' this thing." The aircraft shook slightly as it began its gradual descent to the ground. It jerked a few times as the wheels tried to find purchase on the terrain. About a minute passed before the airship slowed to a stop.

All the soldiers stood and grabbed their gear before heading out of the ship. They were split into two teams. One would cover the outside and perimeter of the castle as well as guard the ship, and the other would search the interior of the large structure. Naturally, she was on Sazh and Nivien's half of the team and they were the ones to check inside the castle.

The building was grand, but very old. Many walls had crumbled over the centuries that it had survived through, so they had to be extremely careful about watching for falling stones.

Lightning made sure to stay seen by her babysitters, but searched thoroughly where she could, all the while feeling that it was a futile effort. She knew Hope wasn't there. They had no leads on where he could have been taken, so they were looking everywhere. As much as she wanted him to be there, there was a very little chance that he was.

After spending so much time with Hope since she'd woken from her stasis, Lightning found that she hated Hope's job. He had too much on his shoulders. He worked all the time on project after project while never having time to relax or enjoy himself. Although he'd tried so hard to stay upbeat when he was around her, there was always an air of sadness and exhaustion around him. She blamed his job for it seeing as no matter how smart or mature Hope was, he was still too young for such a burden. But now, she appreciated his position a little more. For if he wasn't the director, there definitely wouldn't have been such a fuss in finding him. Most certainly not teams of soldiers scouring Pulse. Of course, if he wasn't director, he probably wouldn't have been taken in the first place. For why else would they take him?

Sighing, Lightning felt like attacking something. She needed a release for her rage and unbearable grief. She tried to come up with any other reason for his being a target at all. Other than his position, the only thing he could be taken for was his previous status as a l'Cie, but why now? Why would that be a problem now? It's been a year since the only attack on Hope ever, right? Of course is it just a coincidence that the attack happened exactly a year after that incident? The only people she could think that could be responsible was that city of Sanctum scum. But again, it didn't make sense. The people that attacked them were using magic and were most likely l'Cie as well. The Sanctum wouldn't work with l'Cie to abduct a l'Cie. So what else? Hope is a sweet, smart, innocent kid. There are no other reasons for his abduction. He's harmless. They probably couldn't have taken a nicer person if they tried. He's the last person on Pulse to deserve any pain or attack. Lightning was only making herself more upset, but she couldn't stop. There had to be a reason and she was going to find out. Hope was out there somewhere and she was going to find him.

After a few hours of searching every inch of the castle, they decided it was time to move on. As they were walking down to the first floor, static came over Nivien's radio before horrified shouts. "Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Come in!"

Quickly answering her radio, Nivien replied. "Yes, what's your status?"

Erratic breathing came back at her. "Oh, Maker. It's bad. We have three down, two wounded. It was an Adamantoise attack. It came out of nowhere. It's not far from the castle and is approaching."

Nivien's eyes bulged and her face turned grim. "Get everyone you can back on the aircraft", she yelled. She then turned to the rest of her team. "Everyone, to the ship."

As they all started running, the soldier came back on her radio. "What about the others? There are soldiers still by it. They could still be alive."

Lightning's eyes shot over to Nivien. They were nearing the entrance of the castle and could hear the scrambling soldiers outside. "We have to leave them."

Lightning stopped and yanked on Nivien's jacket. "They'll die."

Nivien gave the younger woman an impatient glance. "We don't know how hostile that thing is. It could come after all of us or even our ship. I'm not risking it."

Lightning growled as they ran outside and toward the ship. The Adamantoise was about a mile away from them and it roared as it was coming in their direction.

"Damn, its close", said Sazh.

As they all began entering the aircraft, they heard a shrill scream of a soldier from the Adamantoise's direction. Lightning stopped. Just as she was about to enter the ship she spun on her heal and barreled off toward the beast and fallen soldiers.

Sazh caught sight of this and yelled after her. She ignored him and continued her path. He turned to Nivien who looked extremely pissed, but unsure of what to do. "Ah hell." The pilot ran off the ship after her.

Nivien cried out in frustration before telling her soldiers to stay put and guard the ship. Speeding off after the two, she cursed the sergeant's idiotic behavior. She knew this had nothing to do with the soldiers and had everything to do with Hope.

After a few short minutes, Lightning was within striking distance when the giant swung its head down, swiping at her with its tusks. Leaping out of the way, she hit the ground and rolled off of her shoulder, then stood up in her usual battle stance. Shots rang out from a few feet behind her. She glanced, seeing Sazh and Nivien joining the party.

No one spoke as they looked at the beast in front of them, gaping at their challenge.

Lightning knew she must have lost her mind. The few times they'd gone up against these things, they'd barely made it out alive. And that was with magic on their side.

Focusing on the battle, the sergeant rushed at the Adamantoise, striking its left foreleg. Nivien began slashing at its right as Sazh fired off a few distracting shots in its face. It lifted its right leg and Nivien leapt away from its coming step, sighing when it just missed her. Lightning slashed and scraped at the feral creature's leg relentlessly until giving it one final stab. Its left leg began to buckle, but it didn't topple over until a few well-placed shots from Nivien and Sazh hit its right foreleg.

It then crumpled to the ground. Nivien took this opportunity to check the soldiers around the fallen beast. As she suspected, they were all dead. Lightning and Sazh continued their attacks as they shot at the Adamantoise's face. Nivien joined in as she began slashing into the monster. Using one of her most powerful manadrives, Nivien sent a shock into the beast that didn't seem to even tickle the monster.

It slowly stood, leading the party to quickly jump back from the giant. When it gained its stance, the three went back to swiping at its legs and dodging its attacks until it fell back to the ground.

Nivien took the opportunity to yell toward her two battle mates. "We have to leave. They're all dead and we will be too if we don't get out of here."

Lightning wanted nothing but to destroy the monster in front of her, but Nivien was right. They were all already tired, sweaty and sore. The monster was nowhere near death and they couldn't finish it off with just them alone.

The group turned tail and ran. Nivien went to speak into her radio, hoping to get the co-pilot to start up the ship. "Come in, this is Lieutenant La Salle. I need Pockelle to get the ship going. We're on our way back."

"Roger that", came a soldier's reply.

The group continued speeding off toward the ship and they could hear the beast stomping behind them. Their only advantage was that the creature was slow, but even so, its steps were long and covered far distances.

After a few nerve wracking minutes, they finally came upon the ship and jumped inside of it. The beast wasn't far so Nivien yelled toward Pockelle to get them into the air fast.

When it was over and they were safely away from the castle, Sazh took over piloting. Nivien, still completely shocked and infuriated by her soldier's rash actions, walked over to Lightning. She was standing against the wall of the back of the ship, arms crossed. "What the hell was that, Farron? I gave an order and-"

"I didn't agree with it." Lightning came off of the wall and stood before Nivien, her face stoic.

Nivien's eyes flared with anger. "I would have left you back there if Katzroy hadn't run after you, you know that?" She put her hands on her hips as she continued yelling. "You're done. I'm not allowing you off this ship for the rest of the trip." Lightning went to speak, but Nivien turned away from her and began walking back toward the front of the aircraft. "And when we get back to Academia, I'm recommending that you get taken off of the search." She had only made it a few steps when she stopped, hearing a gunblade switch modes. She turned to see that Lightning had drawn her weapon. "Think this through, Farron."

Lightning couldn't believe what she was doing. It was as if her arm had acted of its own accord. She was extremely pissed at the lieutenant for her plans, but she would never draw on a superior officer. Especially when Nivien was right. Lightning had gone rogue back there and endangered everyone. But she wasn't listening to reason anymore. It was as if her body had shut off her brain and was listening only to her emotions. "I have to do this. I'm the one responsible for his abduction. I should have been there to protect him."

Seeing Lightning raise her gunblade, Nivien whipped hers out of its holster. "Don't do it. You know you aren't capable of making the right decisions right now. I know you want to find Hope and so do I-"

"Then how are you so calm", Lightning asked, practically in a yell. The other soldiers stayed away from the two's bickering, trusting their commanding officer to handle it, but it didn't stop them from watching the scene intently.

Hearing the conversation that would no doubt turn into a fight, Sazh gave his copilot the controls. He stood up and walked back to the two women.

"I'm calm because I have to be. You don't think I care, is that it? I know what that was about. You weren't concerned about those soldiers. If you had been thinking, you would have made the same call as me and you know it. That was about you looking for a fight." Lightning's eyes grew wide, her lip curling at the accusation. "You were reckless. Hope needs us to be level-headed or he'll never be found."

Lightning huffed, still not lowering her weapon. "'Cause you know what Hope needs."

Nivien's jaw dropped and it was the lieutenant's turn to lose herself in her emotions. She went to strike Lightning with her weapon, but was easily parried. Lightning sent a kick in her direction, but Nivien blocked it, and in turn almost dropped her weapon. Noticing this, Lightning moved to knock it out of her hand completely, but was stopped by Sazh grabbing her around her waist.

"Now that's enough", he yelled.

Lightning elbowed him in the chest until he let her go. She looked back at Nivien, who now stood with an expression of contempt on her face, and holstered her gunblade. Sighing, she went to walk back to her previous spot. She knew what she had done was stupid and she'd only made it worse. There could be serious consequences for her behavior and actions. Taking on my superior? What the hell is wrong with me?

Nivien watched Lightning walk away, but she wasn't finished. She'd allowed herself to be baited into a battle and she couldn't stand it. Worse, she'd been baited with her feelings about Hope. Lightning had questioned hers and Hope's relationship and she wouldn't let that go. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that you are the only one who cares for him."

Lightning froze. Sazh slapped his forehead as he sighed. "Come now. We don't need this. La Salle, don't you think you oughta go over what happened with your soldiers and call base about the incident?" Nivien shot a hard glance at Sazh before nodding and leaving to find out what had happened. He then went over to Lightning who was still frozen in place. "What were ya thinkin', girl? Are you even thinkin'?"

Lightning brushed him off. "Get away from me, Sazh."

"Oh, no. You could have gotten me killed. I think I deserve an explanation." The soldier sat in one of the seats on the wall of the back of the ship. Sazh followed, standing in front of her. When she didn't respond, he continued. "I've seen you pull a lotta crazy shit, Lightning, but that was just dumb."

"I know, alright", Lightning relented, aggravation evident in her voice. "I just... I deserve to be taken off the team and I know it. I shouldn't have been allowed on it in the first place, obviously, but... I was supposed to protect him. I promised him that."

Sazh, deciding it was best to leave her alone, went to return to his job. They still had a few more places to check before returning home, after all. As he went to take back over controls, Nivien grabbed his shoulder. She was on her comm. Her previous pissed expression was now replaced by worry. "We have to go back to base. There's been an emergency. Everyone's being called back in."

Castea sat at an old desk, listening to Hope's cries of pain. She smirked as she reveled in the continual success of the plan. She had no idea how long it would take for them to bring the boy's brand back, but they would at any cost.

A harsh knock pulled Castea out of her happiness and a look of unpleasantness shot across her face. "Yes", called the woman grumpily.

The door opened and in stepped a man also adorned in a white robe much like Castea's. His eyes were dark, black as earth-ridden coal. His hair was of the same shade and pulled back into a small ponytail. A jagged scar trailed along the left side of his face, marring his otherwise princely features.

"We have a problem."

Rolling her eyes, she stood. "I knew this was all going too smoothly. What is it, Barsilisk?"

"I already have a plan and... have kind of already put it in motion, but I-"

"And you didn't come to me first?" she snarled, eyes filling with rage.

The man gave a constrained smile, unaffected by her small fury. "Please, remain calm, my dear. There was no time." She huffed as he drew closer. "They're headed in our direction."

Castea's gaze darkened. "I thought they didn't know this ark's location?"

"Apparently our intel was wrong. But it doesn't matter, my plan's going fine. I just require some assistance."

After they had landed back in Academia. All of the soldiers were told to report to G.C. and Calvary headquarters immediately. All except for Nivien, Sazh and Lightning. They were told to stay put in the hangar.

They waited quietly. Nivien and Lightning wanted nothing to do with each other and Sazh was too afraid to say anything to the very pissed and dangerous women. Amodar and Rygdea appeared about ten minutes after their arrival. Nivien and Lightning saluted to the General as he approached. However, he went straight over to Nivien. "We need to talk", he said sternly with sympathy in his eyes. Amodar grasped her shoulder and pulled her away to the other end of the hangar.

Sazh and Lightning turned their attention to Rygdea. His eyes were filled with a mixture of emotions. "What's going on, Rygdea", asked Lightning as she crossed her arms.

He grimaced before raking a hand through his hair. "We've lost a search team."

"What", asked Lightning and Sazh simultaneously. They glanced at each other before Sazh continued. "A whole team? So soon? Which-"

Sazh was cut off by a sharp cry from the other side of the hangar. "No", Nivien shouted. "No, they can't..." They watched her fall to her knees, clutching her sides. The pilot knew the answer to his question immediately.

Rygdea shook his head before speaking. "One of our ships was attacked. When we sent a team to find it, all they found was our crashed ship and Maqui all beaten to hell inside. The rest of the team was nowhere to be found."

Now Lightning understood Nivien's cries. If it was the team that Maqui had been on, then Olly La Salle had been on it as well. They had been put on the team checking the eastern side of Pulse. That was all Lightning knew of their mission. But if only Maqui remained, then that meant Nivien's brother was now missing too.

They watched the woman cry for her brother as Amodar knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder. "Wha-what do we do", asked Sazh

Rygdea sighed. "Maqui woke up in the rescue ship on their way back. He told the medics that it was a bunch of men in black cloaks that had attacked." Lightning looked up from the ground to find Rygdea staring at her as he spoke. "He said that there was one man, a leader in a white robe that told him to tell us something." Rygdea swallowed and clenched his fists tightly. "He said to call off the search or there would be a body a day delivered to us."