A/N: A bright good morning to all! I've been dealing with a few personal issues on my end, which my friends from the Nier fanbase know about and have been helping me with, which is why this chapter wasn't posted two weeks ago when it should have been. But it's up now! And I got a review too! It was a guest one, so I'll reply to it here, but please, keep those reviews coming! You have no idea just how much of an improvement it makes on an author's mindset - and at any rate, it's just a generally nice thing to do. Doesn't take too long.

So, Guest, I'd like to thank you personally for your kind review, and I promise you I will keep this going.

Story time! Read on :)

Chapter Nineteen – Devastated Dreams

The tunnel eventually deposited them into a thin, shallow gorge, with a linear path forward. Lightning headed the pack, with Sazh and the younger l'Cie trailing behind her. After a small amount of time, they found themselves in a wide-open area punctured by the remains of a Pulsian airship in the centre. The water around it was eerie, oily-looking but not, shimmering with multicoloured hues. It was here the l'Cie decided to take a small breather. As the kids stayed below, talking amongst themselves, Sazh followed Lightning as she scaled the ship further, sitting above the water.

Sazh spoke first. "Not much of a future for us, huh?"

"Hard to picture a happy ending." Both adults looked below, where they had a clear view of Vanille, Hope and Galen.

"We don't even know where to go."

"I do." Lightning got to her feet, staring up at the sky. Sazh made a small noise of confusion, craning his neck to look up at her.

The glowing, airborne metropolis. The centre of Cocoon. Eden. "There." She gestured towards it.

"Eden?" Sazh's voice rose in surprise. "The Sanctum's seat o' power. Oh, that's a great idea." He laughed, waiting for her to admit it was a joke and sit back down so they could discuss some real, attainable plan as he continued. "Just charge right in there. Give 'em a taste o' l'Cie terror!" When she didn't speak, instead continuing to look up at the city as if mesmerised, Sazh felt a ball of anxiety form in his gut. "You're serious." His expression screamed, are you crazy? Perhaps she was.

Finally, she spoke. "Keep running – it's die or turn Cie'th." She put more distance between them, stepping closer to the edge. "There's no place for l'Cie to hide. No…they want a fight? Let's take it to the Sanctum's door!"

"This isn't a game!" Sazh exclaimed, half-hoping he could convince her to lay down her reckless plan.

"No. that's for damn sure." Her eyes met his. They spoke of pain, of a desire for vengeance. "It started with Serah. The fal'Cie took her. Now I'm a l'Cie too. And the Sanctum's hunting me, an enemy of the state. But who's pulling their strings? A fal'Cie. Eden." Her voice was calm as she explained her reasoning, contrasting oddly with her eyes and expression. She turned away, looking back up at Eden. "Cocoon's Sustainer and Guiding Light." She spat one of the many titles Eden held, as if it tasted wrong on her tongue now that she was on the other side. Maybe it did.

Lightning's heart coiled with pain. Only a night, and already she was tired of running. She wanted a fight so badly, it clouded her mind. A tiny voice of reason pointed out that this was simply the grief, the pain of having lost her home and her family in one fell swoop, but she angrily silenced that little voice and locked it inside the deepest recesses of her mind. A realisation made her spine bend, her hand reaching absentmindedly for the pendant on a silver chain around her neck, one shaped like a bolt of lightning. Serah had gifted it to her on her sixteenth birthday, barely a year after…

"It probably ordered the Purge, too," she continued, beating back the memories. As she turned her back on Sazh, she was faced with the other l'Cie, who had made their way up to them. How much did they hear? It didn't matter. She faced them, talking to them, too. "Pulse and Sanctum fal'Cie? They're all the same. And we're all the same to them – expendable." Her expression shifted to one of defiance. "I'm not dying a fal'Cie slave."

"So? What are you gonna do?" You, he said, not we. There was already a line in the sand. That thought hurt more than it should have.

Lightning brushed it aside. "Destroy it."

"By yourself? What, are you crazy!?" Why did he sound so shocked? It was the only way. The only way they could live what was left of their lives free from the Sanctum's hunting dogs. "Say you pull it off…what's that get you? Satisfaction? Somethin' happens to Eden, it's lights-out Cocoon!" A beat of silence, and then, "You want that. You're a Pulse l'Cie now, so you just wanna snuff out Cocoon!" It was an accusation.

It was also wrong. He really didn't get it.

"No!" It was Vanille who interjected. "What about Serah? She said to save Cocoon! It might even be our Focus to make sure Cocoon stays–"

"Our Focus doesn't matter," snapped Lightning, now rounding on the tiny redhead. "I don't take orders from fal'Cie. How I live is up to me."

"Don't you mean, how you die?" asked Sazh succinctly.

"Think like that, and it's already over," she replied, already mapping out a plan. Her eyes met Hope's this time. "Better to pick your path and keep moving." Breaking the contact, she turned her body so that she had eyes on Sazh. "Don't worry. I'm after the Sanctum. I'm not out to destroy the world." She looked down, a small smile tugging at her lips that had nothing to do with happiness. "If it did come to that, wonder if our 'hero' would try to stop me?"

"You wanna fight Snow now? Just like that, and you're enemies?"

"Next time we meet, we might be too." Because there was no doubt in her mind that they would. She wasn't a big believer in fate, but she did just out her plans to them. No doubt they'd try to stop her somewhere down the road.

She walked back down, de-scaling the ship until her feet touched solid ground once more. And everyone else let her go.

When the fear sank in, it tore us all apart. Lightning was suffering. Reaching out to us.

But none of us could see it.

If only I'd been stronger, none of this ever would have happened.

As they watched her go, Hope finally spoke up, shattering the silence left in Lightning's wake. "Snow deserves it!" With those three words, he ran after Lightning.

After that, Galen just felt plain uncomfortable. Should they have let either of them go? Even he knew it was madness to take on the entire Sanctum alone, even if they were l'Cie. But they were only just beginning to tap into their powers. They all were. No-one was ready to take on the world just yet. His decision was made. He had to stay. With Vanille, with Sazh.

Sis, did I make the right decision? What would you have done, if the decision was yours?

He wasn't the only one struggling. "I don't know what I should do," said Vanille.

"That makes two of us." Sazh had his arms folded, watching as Hope and Lightning disappeared deep into the Vile Peaks.

"I'm the same," said Galen.

Vanille looked from male to male, the sullen, silent expressions on their faces too much for her. She clapped Sazh on the back so hard he almost tumbled into the water below. "Hey! You're taking care of me!"

"Well I won't be if you keep pushin' me like that."

"Do you always try to push your caregivers off edges, Vanille?" Galen chuckled, and she joined in.

The pain and hopelessness of it all, it faded away in the wake of their laughter. It was only for a while, but it was enough.

"Wait for me!"

Lightning's brisk pace slowed, then stopped, in spite of herself. She turned and found Hope before her, doubled over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. It looked as though he had sprinted in an effort to catch up to her.

Once he'd caught his breath, he looked up at her, their eyes meeting for the second time that night. His green orbs were shining with conviction. "I'm going with you."

"I can't babysit you anymore." Her words were cutting, brutal. Perhaps she could still steer him back to the other l'Cie.

But as he straightened his back, that conviction still burning in his eyes, she knew that would be an impossible task. "I can fight. I'm not afraid."

Light footfalls reached her ears, and she whirled to find the source. A squad made up of five PSICOM units, four rangers, one tracker, faced them, guns levelled at their chests.

"Great," said Lightning, stance shifting from relaxed to combative. "A PSICOM hit squad."

The PSICOM tracker signalled, and behind them an explosion rocked the earth beneath them. Flaming rubble and debris crashed down behind them, blocking their path.

There was certainly no turning back now.

Lightning quickly pulled her Blazefire Sabre from its holster. This would get messy. But could they take on all five of them at once?

They were about to find out.

Hope immediately slapped a protect on the both of them before whipping out the librascope and taking a peek. All five of them had fire listed as a weakness. He thanked whatever idiots had been stupid enough to place Sanctum staff in the database and tapped into the well of magic within him, casting fire spells with vigour.

Lightning, meanwhile, went for the more direct approach. Darting up to the rightmost soldier, she landed a high kick aimed for the head, and he went down before he could fire. A heat-seeking fire spell finished him off, and she bolted for the next one, grateful for the protect spell that hampered any bullets aimed for either of them. The next soldier lifted his gun, catching Lightning's blade before it could strike home. Shifting the weapon, she fired at him from point-blank range, and he dropped like the first with several new holes in his face.

The tracker was stupid enough to come at her head-on, baton swinging. She shot him down before he could get anywhere near her, and she aimed for one of the rangers focused on Hope. Both dropped relatively quickly. Not to be outdone, Hope sent a barrage of fire spells at the last ranger standing. He screamed, the magical fire eating at him far faster than a normal fire would have, before his body disintegrated. One by one, the other bodies folded into black ashes and drifted away.

"Not bad," she said as he paused for breath.

"Really?" he said, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth as he straightened. "Thanks."

Vanille, Sazh and Galen stood in front of the now-barred path before them, the rubble still smoking faintly.

Sazh came to the same grim conclusion Galen did. "Uh-oh. Army's out to play."

"What now?" asked Vanille, her voice small. Galen placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What now?" Sazh seemed put-off by the question. "I mean, well, we could stay here, but shouldn't we–"

"Run?" she finished.

"Huh?"

"We should run." Her voice rang with certainty, and a tiny hint of venom. "If we rush in now, we'll just get in her way." Bitterness cloaked her words.

"You know, you're right. I guess…" Sazh still seemed unsure. "I mean, it's not like Lightning needs any help." He nodded, and she nodded back. Her gaze then turned to Galen, who hadn't spoken.

"You in?" she asked.

"Yeah." I've already made my decision. Better stick to it.

With that, they left, found a new path snaking out and away from the army's presence.

"There'll be more soldiers," said Hope. "We should keep moving."

His gaze turned to her. Her back was turned, eyes fixated on the smoking rubble. "Lightning? Are you worried about the others? I'm sure they got away okay."

"So can you, if you leave now." She turned, her cool cerulean gaze meeting his.

Hope bit his lip.

"With me, it'll be fight after fight. I don't know how it'll end. It's anybody's guess."

"I know that. But – I need to be stronger." It was a thought that had been running through his mind for most of the night. If he was going to bring about vengeance, and put his mother to rest, he needed to get stronger. Strong enough to take on the man who had brought about her death – and win. This opportunity was too perfect to let pass. This was his path. He needed to keep going. "Lightning?"

"Call me Light."

Light…that fitted her better, in his mind. "What's the plan from here?"

"Through the Gapra Whitewood to Palumpolum. We'll find transport to Eden."

"I live in Palumpolum. I can show you all the shortcuts."

"No side trips."

"No need," he said as they began to walk. "I don't think l'Cie are welcome at home."

The air between them was silent as they followed the winding path before them. A short way away, more PSICOM soldiers paced the small area, barring their way. Checking both sides – the path split from here – they found that the left led only to a dead-end occupied by a military sphere containing their haul: three lengths of fibre-optic cable. Gaining a pre-emptive and taking out the soldiers before any alarm could be raised, they pressed on down the right-side path.

Further down, they discovered a beast of a mech patrolling a small stretch of path. It was boxy, all angles, with four boosters on the bottom to keep it up and hovering above the ground.

Peering through his fast friend, the librascope, Hope discovered it had an aversion to thunder and water magic, and was dangerous when paired with soldiers.

Once they had reduced it to ash, they pressed on – until they heard voices to their left that had them ducking for cover. Peering ahead, both saw the block in the path, and both wondered the same thing: how would they get past?

"Any trace of the l'Cie?" asked the CO. He and another PSICOM grunt were surveying one of the dreadnaughts for signs of use.

"Nothing," replied the grunt. "No sign it's been activated."

A small shift had the CO whirling to check his surroundings, a hand on his weapon. "Huh? Who's there?"

The l'Cie had been spotted.

Lightning stood to her full height, gunblade already drawn. Hope followed her lead, drawing his boomerang just as the two PSICOM soldiers ran to meet them.

The battle was quick; two human soldiers were no match for two Pulse l'Cie who had already managed to eliminate several hit squads and scouting teams.

Once it was over, Hope's curiosity took him straight over to the dreadnaught.

While he never thought himself anything special while in school, his teachers had already noticed his love for tinkering and engineering, borne out of a driving curiosity to know how things worked. So, when he had already worked through everything the school had to offer and talked with the principal about it, he had been given the option to participate in an engineering course, courtesy of the prep school's higher staff, fully funded. He had, of course, jumped at the chance – being by far the youngest in a course for those at least four to five years older than him hadn't diminished his love for the subject any, and it wasn't considered by any means a disadvantage for the fourteen-year-old.

Of course, this meant most of his knowledge was theoretical – they were meant to start on the more practical side of the subject, as well as specialisation, later in the year before the Purge had been enacted.

"What was PSICOM doing here?" he wondered as he ducked under the dreadnaught's chassis to take a look – a cursory glance, that was all, he thought. Just to see how it worked.

"Probably thought we'd try and use a Pulse machine to escape," said Lightning from below. The ground the dreadnaught was sitting on was higher by a few metres.

"Maybe we should try it," said Hope, more absentmindedly than anything else. He scaled the machine, having previously noted the seat on the top when they had fought the previous dreadnaught. There must be some kind of control on the top… "What does this do?"

"Hey, you're gonna hurt yourself! Don't touch that!" warned Lightning.

"Wait. What if it works?" said Hope as he neared the top, excitement in his voice.

"Leave it!" said Lightning, annoyance in her tone. They didn't have time for this!

But the warning came too late – the dreadnaught hummed to life, dropping from the crop of rock it had previously been sitting on – with Hope at the controls.

"I told you to leave it," she murmured, a steady hand already reaching for her weapon.

"Stop! Stop already!" yelled a desperate Hope as he lunged for the panel in front of him. Something must have worked, because it did what was told, and stopped. Experimentally, he flicked the levers on either side, and the dreadnaught seemed to flex its stiff joints. "I think I got it," he said, the excitement back in his voice. "Light! I think I can work this!"

Satisfied that Hope was not, in fact, going to injure himself or her trying to control the dreadnaught, she turned away from him and surveyed the tall blockade in front of them, hand on hip. A few moments later she heard slow, clunking footsteps that told her Hope was coming her way, quarry in tow. She turned, about to tell him to get the hell off the dangerous machine before he hurt himself, when he lifted the dreadnaught's arm and gave the blockade a powerful right hook.

If she hadn't dodged in time, she'd be a hunk of flesh and shattered ribs against the metal.

She gave him a dirty look, one he didn't seem to notice as he continued forward, still on the dreadnaught. Rolling her eyes, she ran at a steady jog behind it, noticing as she ran over it that the blockade was not in fact a blockade, but a bridge over the gaping abyss below.

The dreadnaught was faster than it looked, but with Lightning's stamina, it was easy to keep up. It was just as well that Hope had found the thing anyway, because the sheer number of mechanical Pulsian soldiers in their way was beyond ridiculous. It was no problem for Hope, though – one mighty swing from the dreadnaught sent several flying away at once; walking through the horde kicked many of them into walls or their own, the effect nothing short of comedic. When they encountered more drawn bridges, one tap from the herculean machine lowered them, and they crossed safely.

But, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and this was no exception.

One misstep on a drop, and Hope and the dreadnaught went tumbling over the edge, landing – not very gracefully – on the ground below. Very much winded, Hope lay on his back, trying to remember how to breathe, next to the dreadnaught; which, it seemed, had stopped moving for good this time.

"Nice landing," called a voice from above.

Was that a hint of cheek in her voice? Hope couldn't be sure.

Lightning, by contrast, jumped gracefully from rock to rock, landing smoothly next to him and the sparking dreadnaught. "Let's get moving," she said, back to business once again.

Hope, by this point in time, had rolled onto his hands and knees, breathing heavily. "Just need a minute," he said as he made his way onto his feet. "Still a bit winded."

"You're too soft," was her impatient reply as she set off, leaving Hope to trail behind her.

He must have mistaken her tone before, he thought sadly. She wouldn't ever be caught teasing someone else. But he couldn't escape the lingering thought that, somehow, he was right; and she had been, for one moment in time, outwardly human.

A/N: So, what did you think? Was it good? Bad? Adequate? Let me know in a review!

Fang out.