Chapter 17: Hunter In Light And Shadow

Day 2, 03:45

Lightning followed Noel's trail back to The Warren. Evading the Gertrude she found her way to a small alcove where a few Children of Etro stragglers were waiting. She didn't have time to deal with them and leapt across the rooftops to the other side of the small gate. This back alley was stranger than any other part of the Warren. There seemed to be no light whatsoever and it had nothing to do with Chaos.

She felt a strange presence at her back, and recognized it at once. She sighed. "Not you again, this is no place for kids."

Lightning turned and saw Lumina walking about casually, waving her arms out in a sort of lazy dance. "Oh, I'm safe. The children of Chaos, they look after me. If you ask me, you're the one who doesn't belong."

Lightning put her hand on her hip and shrugged. She wasn't sure what the girl was getting at. Lumina elaborated.

"Is Noel that important that you'd chase him here?"

Barring the obvious need to save his soul, that was a fairly decent question. What drove her to follow him to this desolate corner?

"We were on the same side once. Friends, I guess."

Lumina spun about. "But that was such a long, long time ago. Do you think he's still your friend?"

Again Lightning said nothing. She was determined not to get sunk into a long philosophical discussion with this girl. She had precious little time left in the day. Yet once again, Lumina chose to elaborate anyways.

"See, there's only one person Noel ever truly loved. And she's long gone. The Children of Chaos told me the whole story. It's a sad but sweet tale of a proud hunter and his friend, a girl called Yeul. Poor Yeul. She left a hole in his heart that just can't be filled." Lumina swept past Lightning and put her hands on a nearby railing, looking wistfully out over the darkness. "It's not surprising though. Considering that she died in his arms."

Lightning recalled the events witnessed from her time in Valhalla. The ability to see all possible futures and pasts had a way of making one an uncomfortable repository of images. Noel holding a sweet young girl who looked no more than 12, but in a time before the freeing of Chaos, when that age was genuine. The timeless seeress Yeul, dying in his arms.

"In those last moments they had, she looked up and said to him: 'Don't cry Noel. We will meet again in the future.'" Lumina stopped and sighed. "Like you'd believe that, right? But Yeul was a seeress who could see the future. Now, Noel knew that. So, when she told him they would be reunited, what else could he do? He had to believe her."

Lumina turned to Lightning and gave her an uncomfortably sinister smirk. "And so, he's been waiting ever since. The poor, sad fool. Centuries and centuries of waiting, all on his own."

Lightning folded her arms. Of course. The Oracle Drive, the promises of a Savior. Everything that had led Noel to become a most unwilling Shadow Hunter. They all tied back to something she'd known all along.

"How could I have missed that?" She said. "All this time, the one thing that's kept him going are his memories of Yeul."

Lumina turned about to face her again. "Oh, no. Nothis memories. The promise of a future gave him hope. There's another Oracle Drive up ahead. When you see the prophecy, you'll understand."

Lumina turned to leave. "You'll see why..." she turned back one last time to face Lightning with that innocent face doing nothing to hide her darkness. "He wants you dead."

She disappeared into nothingness and Lightning was alone. For a moment at least. Off in the darkness, she saw him. Noel was staring at her, with a single gesture of his hand he beckoned her to follow him.

"I've spotted Noel," Lightning said to Hope. "I'm going after him."

"Don't be so hasty!" Hope said. "We know he's trying to draw you to the-"

"He has to be egging me on," Lightning concurred. "Drawing me toward the killing ground. Like he needs everything to be just right for his prophesized set piece."

Hope actually seemed angry at her. "Don't make light of this. The prophecy is real enough. The moment you die, the world dies with you. You can't forget that."

"Yeah," Lightning said, drawing her weapon. "But I'm gonna save Noel- whether he wants it or not."

Following dim walkway lights and the occasional burning barrel, she found Noel awaiting her in a wide dead end street. Four of the barrels lit each corner in a make shift arena. At the back end was another Oracle Drive, which Noel was pouring over before turning to face Lightning.

"Noel," Lightning said, reaching out to him.

Just above him was the shadowy image of the prophecy. It was more or less the same as the one she'd seen before, except it featured more detail of Noel and Lightning locked in combat.

"So this is the prophesized future," Lightning said as the Oracle Drive showed an image of Noel standing over her own lifeless body. "By killing the savior, a brand-new world will be born." The Oracle Drive now showed a scene of a reborn Yeul running up to Noel in the new world. "Yeul? So that's it. All this time you've been dreaming of a new world where you're reunited with Yeul."

Noel nodded. "It's no dream, Lightning. The future is right there in the Oracle Drive. If I kill the savior, then the world will be reborn. And this time, it's going to happen like it's supposed to. It's going to work."

Noel turned back to the Oracle Drive and twisted a single white flower in his hands. A flower like one that had once been worn in the hair of the girl Yeul. Noel seemed lost in the flower's petals for a moment before continuing.

"I failed once before. Long ago. But you know that story. I defeated a friend because I believed that would save everyone," Noel sighed. Lightning nodded. She did indeed know the story. And the friend- Caius Ballad. "Everything went wrong. Yes, I won our fight like I was supposed to... and then he died. But that just unleashed the Chaos that's tearing this world apart."

Noel continued to spin the flower, somewhat faster now. Lightning's mind was racing once more with the images she'd recalled from Valhalla, but again there was another piece that hadn't clicked into place until Noel's next sentence, which he delivered in a detached, almost matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"So yeah. I destroyed the world. It's a hell of a thing." Noel shrugged his shoulders. "Snow never blamed or judged me though. And Hope tried to lead humanity in the fight against the Chaos. Of course, I fought alongside them both. Damn it, but we were fools back then. We might as well have spat in the wind, the good it did. I'd already signed the world's death warrant. Five short centuries, that's all we had. And now even that's gone."

"Noel, it wasn't your fault. It never was. If anyone's to blame, it's me," Lightning said.

"Maybe you're right, but you know what? I don't think it even matters anymore. I'm only interested in creating a new future. That prophecy is the key to my dream- my dream of seeing Yeul again. I'm going to make it happen. It's nothing personal, Lightning. I wish... I really wish the prophecy didn't show you dying." He stood up and turned away from the Oracle Drive. "But it does, and I'm sorry, but I'm going to make it happen. Five hundred years ago I committed the ultimate sin. One more death on my conscience won't do anything to me!"

Noel raised his spear and rushed towards Lightning. "It has to be done!"

He slammed his spear down on her blade. Even without Lightning's muted emotions, battle was battle. She knew Noel would be a worthy adversary and she had no interest in showing any mercy. She met his swipe lazily.

"That all you got?" She asked, bored.

The two remained locked for several seconds before Noel broke it off and swept back. Lightning pushed forward and lunged. Noel dodged. The clean shot at Lightning's neck was there, but he hesitated a moment too long, and Lightning recovered with a brilliant circlar slash. Noel barely evaded losing an arm and backed up.

"Damn. That god of yours gave you some serious power," he cursed.

"I'd call it a mixed blessing. I'm more powerful than I ever was- but it came with a price. I'm not even sure if I'm human anymore," she replied, steadily approaching him with her sword.

"Not human? What are you, Lightning?" Noel asked, getting back up and meeting her footing. The two circled each other waiting for an opening.

"I wish I knew, believe me. I've taken a lot of lives, more than I can count. If I had any humanity left, I would have been crushed by the guilt by now." She began to move in, closer to Noel. "Do I look crushed to you? I am going to see Serah again. I am going to fight for as long as it takes, give whatever it takes. Even if it's my humanity. But you're not like me, Noel. I know you're different. Even if it's for the future, even if it's to see Yeul again."

She stopped mere feet from him. "You don't have it in you to kill me. You're still human. You killed a friend once, in order to save the world. And you can't do it again."

Noel lowered his weapon for an instant.

"Right?" Lightning continued. "You know it's true. I can see it in your eyes."

"You think you're safe from me? Sure about that?" Noel asked, his temper rising with his weapon.

"No. But the clock is ticking on this world... and I've got things to do before time runs out. You don't want to get in my way, Noel. You might still have scruples, but I don't. Not anymore."

Noel raised his weapon up to attack position but then slammed it down again and roared in frustration. "Damn it, Lightning. Is this all you are now?!"

"That's right. To save Serah, I'll throw everything else away. I'll even be God's little pawn." Lightning moved even closer now her sword steadily raising. Noel raised his weapon up to meet her. "No one's gonna stop me from trying, not even you. You want to find Yeul?" She put both hands on her sword which was now raised high above her head. "Then find her in death!"

Their blades met with a terribly fury that seemed to shake the alley. There were a few quick blows before Noel once again fell back to recover himself.

"Oh I'll find her alright. But we'll both be alive. In a new future... in a new world that I'm going to make happen with my own two hands! Even if it means destroying you!"