danger ahead; what should totally be the LR universe

To think that the Ark was a safe haven was still something Lightning couldn't quite comprehend at times, especially when the world was so close to its end. A place where time didn't exist was more than welcome. It was almost like being crystallized, except…more alive, somehow.

The fact that Hope was there probably helped, she imagined.

Honestly, she was just grateful to have someone so capable on her side. Despite his appearance, he had consistently continued to prove himself to be in his right mind and always had some sort of insightful advice.

At least she could take what little emotion she had left and use it to tease him.

"All right, Mr. Hope Estheim. I'm on my way back."

"Come on, Light. How many times have I told you? Just call me Hope."

She smirked a little, imagining the exasperated expression on his face. It was nice to have someone to act somewhat normal around - whatever normal even was for her anymore. But she knew that no matter what, she could trust Hope indefinitely.

"Sure," she replied, huffing a bit in amusement.

"You know - "

Lightning wasn't sure was she was expecting the rest of his sentence to be, but it was suddenly cut off by a loud, animalistic roar. The sound of breaking glass echoed in the background, and she could just make out the sound of Hope shouting something unintelligible.

"Hope?!" she cried. "Hope!"

The communicator went dead.

Any trace of hesitation disappeared. Lightning went straight for one of the teleporters that usually took her back to the Ark, and she wondered for a brief moment if whatever had just happened would prevent her from arriving there.

Luckily, she was wrong and came to the Ark without any trouble…but that seemed to be the only good thing. Instantly, she realized Hope was gone - he'd always greeted her and welcomed her home when she was here, but now…

A second glance around told her that something else was amiss - Yggdrasil, the tree she'd been giving her Eradia to, was missing as well. In fact, the whole Ark reeked of Chaos.

Perhaps this was another good thing. Whatever had taken Hope was obviously a product of the Chaos…and it tended to be dark in the trails of anger it left behind. She didn't know what it was - something Lumina had sent, perhaps? - but that hardly mattered.

Lightning's fists clenched. "I will save you," she murmured.

Strangely enough, the trail was clear and Lightning was soon able to follow it. The destination seemed to be Yusnaan.

When she got there, however, she immediately noticed it was quiet. Too quiet. This was the area, she recalled Hope telling her, that was 'popular for couples'. She would have stood out…had there been anyone around. In fact, the entire town was quiet, which was a feat in itself - Yusnaan never seemed to turn its lights off for anything.

Except perhaps a manifestation of Chaos.

The second she heard the roar, Lightning spun around and jumped, immediately drawing out her weapon. The noise was much like the one she'd heard over the communicator, and it came from a beast with fangs bared right at her. She heard a vaguely familiar voice calling out to her, but could give it no thought as she plunged into battle.

The beast was a strange one. It almost seemed to avoid her at times, but then would glow strangely and charge at her impeccably. This was where she would have appreciated any advice from Hope - it was strange to fight without hearing him urge her on.

Her breathing was ragged and she was more than a little worse for wear when the beast finally fell. To her surprise, instead of fading away like usual, the monster exploded into a bright, white light that was reminiscent of something familiar.

"Eradia…?" she murmured, brows knit in confusion. It dissolved into nothingness and her stomach clenched in horror. Was it gone? Had Yggdrasil reappeared at the Ark? What was going on?

"…Light?"

It was that same voice - the one she'd heard before battle that sounded familiar, and yet somehow different. Somehow, she knew whose it was before she even turned around, because only one person called her Light anymore.

It still didn't prepare her for the shock.

Hope stood before her, looking about as worse for wear as she was - perhaps the Chaos had tried to consume him during the battle. That wasn't the surprising part, though; it was that he was now almost a head taller than her. He looked just how she'd briefly seen him centuries ago while visiting his dream.

Except this was real.

Lightning's lips parted in surprise. For a moment, all she could do was stare. It wasn't until he said her name again that she walked forward.

"Hope?" Her brows knit together briefly. There was no denying that this was really him, and it wasn't just a trick of the Chaos. "How…?"

"I…" He looked down at himself briefly, but his eyes were back on Lightning's almost instantly. "I don't know. I think it happened when Chaos infested the Ark."

She shook her head, simply a bit amazed. "How did you keep it from consuming you? You've been safe in the Ark all this time." Her heart wrenched with some kind of painful, muted emotion she couldn't put a name to - likely because she couldn't really fully feel it. "I would have thought that if the Chaos touched you, you would have no chance of escaping it. You'd be like the others."

"That's easy." He smiled, and it was warm like it always was when he welcomed her home. "I know that I have to help you. I mean...you could probably do this alone, but why should you have to?"

"But - "

Lightning immediately cut herself off when Hope abruptly stepped forward and flung his arms around her. She was reminded of when she'd done the same thing centuries ago - another lifetime, really. But it was still the same in that the embrace was tinged with utter relief of being together again.

At the same time, she did not expect the sudden feeling of feeling utterly safe when his arms were around her.

"You and I are partners, Light," he murmured. Again, she recognized the words from another lifetime. "And I won't leave you alone."

She felt strange, and could tell that he did, too. Emotions that were supposed to be dulled and muted were trying to flare and rise again; ones she tended to ignore wanted to take over her being. Not for the first time, she cursed the fact that she'd been chosen for this task. But if she had someone so dedicated on her side, surely that meant she could worry less.

Wordlessly, Lightning lifted her arms and hugged Hope in return.

Everything was different now, including them.