Chapter 11

Hope only ever had fleeting memories of how he ended up back at the Menhirrim's ark. He had vague images of plummeting several hundred feet from the exploding ark, riding on Alexander's shoulder and staring down at the crystal body of Lightning that the eidolon cradled in his arms. They had landed and he remembered Alexander and Odin running to get clear of Cocoon as the ark collided with it, loosing a tremendous wave of energy. But Hope cared little about any of that. The woman he loved was locked in crystal stasis because he hadn't been strong enough to protect her. He didn't even look back as the place that had once been his home shattered. His eyes never left Lightning's as millions of shards of crystal rained down around them.

The hum of the eidolons' airship soon reached them, and they looked up to see the ship descending towards them. The hatch opened to reveal Serah, Snow, Sazh, father, and several other members of Snow's gang. It seems that the others picked them up, along with Zack and Dajh, on their way out of the city. Hope had felt none of the elation he had expected to feel at this reunion; he hadn't even been able to summon enough feeling to be happy when his father had hugged him. All of them had cheered and called his name, but their thoughts of a happy reunion were soon shattered into as many pieces as Cocoon when they saw Lightning in crystal stasis. Alexander had taken Lightning aboard the ship, and Hope had sat down next to her, gripping her unfeeling hand as Odin had explained to them what had happened. The others of course didn't know anything about much of what the eidolon said, but Stiria had silenced their questions, promising them that they would explain the situation to them back at the ark. Hope had been grateful for this; he didn't want to have to sit through another Pulse history lesson and be reminded how close Anima was to accomplishing his goals. Lightning's frozen face staring up at him was enough of a reminder of how he had failed her, the Menhirrim, and the rest of the people that lived on Gran Pulse.

Hope now sat against the wall in a small room of the ark where Alexander had put Lightning. They had been back for a few hours, and Hope had not moved since then, nor said a word to anyone. He assumed that the others were settling in and getting some answers from the eidolon, so Hope knew that he would have at least a little more peace. He dreaded having to face them all. He knew that they wouldn't blame him for any of what had happened, but he would rather face their anger than their pity and attempts to comfort him. Lightning may not be dead, but she may as well have been. There was no way to tell if and when she would wake up from her stasis.

Hope looked down at her, and though fresh waves of grief assailed him, he did not shed a tear. His insides felt too numb to cry, and he rubbed his thumb across the only tear that he had let slip when Lightning was being crystallized. It remained as a small lump on her cheek, frozen by the crystallization. He studied her, and couldn't help but notice that she looked peaceful. He hated to think it, but he envied her. He was alone now, alone to finish the job they were tasked with, to stop Anima from taking over Pulse. Every time he thought about what he still had to do, he remembered the glimpse he had gotten of Zalera's power, a bottomless pit of black energy. Hope knew he couldn't defeat the man, knew he couldn't hold a candle to him in terms of power. Every time he remembered it, a cold pit formed in his stomach. There was no way he could defeat the aspect of darkness.

He sighed heavily, trying in vain to shake the thoughts from his mind. He knew that if Lightning was still with him, it wouldn't have gotten to him. No matter what they were up against, Hope knew he would be able to face it with confidence if he had Lightning at his side. He could already feel his resolve ebbing away in her absence. He closed his eyes, trying again to will his dark thoughts away, but again he failed. For the first time in six years, Hope wanted more than anything to give up.

XXXXX

As expected, the others came to visit Hope after another hour or so. Hope was surprised, however, when they came in one by one to see him through the course of the day. He was beyond grateful for this; Hope didn't think he could handle all of them trying to give him a pep talk at once, nor did he think he could endure their attempts to cheer him up one after the other. His father came in first, and Hope sighed, trying to pull himself together as much as he could.

"Hope," his father said as he stood over his son. Hope did not stand or remove his hand from Lightning's, but looked up at Bartholomew and saw the pity etched in his expression. He saw his father glance towards Lightning, noticing Hope holding her hand. He sighed and averted his eyes, not wanting to be felt sorry for. Bartholomew anxiously cleaned his glasses on his shirt, and then sat down against the wall next to his son.

"I know what you're going through…" his father said tentatively, and Hope turned to him with a blank expression. "When I found out that your mother died…I felt like I had lost a part of myself, like I had no reason to go on…but I had to be strong for you." Hope looked away again, back towards Lightning, and his father continued speaking. "When other people depend on you, you have to keep going for them. I know it's hard but you're a strong kid…you can get through this." He put an arm around Hope's shoulder, trying to comfort him, but Hope did not respond, his gaze falling to the floor. "Besides, the way I hear it, she'll wake up eventually…you just have to hold on to that hope."

"Hold on to hope, huh?" Hope said, still avoiding his father's gaze. "If you listened to what the eidolons had to say, then you know that all Anima needs to free himself is the last aspect inside me. Stopping him seemed like a long shot from the beginning, but I never thought it was impossible because…she was with me. I was there, I watched Zalera do this to her, and I couldn't do anything to stop him, and I can't do anything to help her now. I can't even get revenge, Zalera is too strong. All I can do now is wait here for him to find us and take Eden." His stare returned to Lightning. "And then I'll end up in crystal stasis like her. There's nothing I can do."

Bartholomew stood up and walked a few steps. Hope thought he was going to leave, but he stopped. "I don't pretend to understand any of this, about Ultima and Anima or magic. But I do know that you're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for Hope. When you were born, your mother picked that name for you, because she knew that whatever happened, if a person held on to hope, they would find a way to overcome anything. As long as we hold onto hope, we hold onto the chance to be happy. That's the hope that your mother named you for." With that, Bartholomew left the room, and Hope stared blankly after him.

"Hold on to hope…" he repeated to himself.

Some time later, Sazh came in next, a rather uncomfortable expression on his face. He walked over to Lightning, crouching over her, shaking his head. He then went over to Hope and leaned on the wall next to him. Several minutes passed in a slightly awkward silence, but Hope was in no hurry to start up another conversation like the one he had just had with his father. Finally, Sazh spoke.

"Look kid, they wanted me to come in here with some fancy speech to try and cheer you up. They wanted me to tell you that it's gonna be alright and that Lightning would want you to keep going and all that. But I know that none of that will help you now, none of it means anything to you." Hope looked up at him, but said nothing. "When Dajh turned to crystal, that was hard enough, but then I found out that Vanille was there the day he was made a l'Cie and might have been responsible. I didn't know what to do, and I almost killed myself because I couldn't deal with it." Hope's eyes widened at the declaration. "But I didn't. I realized that I wouldn't be doing anyone any good by taking the easy way out. It was hard, but I kept going." Sazh sighed, and shook his head helplessly.

"The only one who can decide what you do from here is you. If you decide to keep fighting, that's up to you. If you decide not to, well, that's fine too. I don't know what the others might expect you to do, but you shouldn't have to deal with something like this alone." He walked away, not waiting for a response. At the door, he turned back to Hope. "If you need anyone, you know we're all here."

It was Snow's turn after that, and when he came in an hour or so later, Hope inwardly groaned. He knew the man meant well, but Snow's…unique personality wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now. Nevertheless, he tried to keep his annoyance out of his expression as Snow sat down next to him. Snow did no immediately begin talking, which surprised Hope until he saw that the man was rifling through several coats in his pocket, searching for something. Hope watched him dig through three pockets before he apparently found what he was looking for and pulled it out with a flourish. Hope looked at the small object Snow held up to him, and after a moment recognized it as the tear shaped crystal that had come from Serah when she had entered crystal stasis.

Hope stared blankly at the small object, lost in the teasing reflections from its depths until Snow spoke up. "I know what you're going through," he said, echoing the words of Hope's father. Hope shot a glance at Lightning and turned back to the man beside him, to see that Snow had a slight grin on his face. "You know, I actually notice a lot more than you guys give me credit for, especially stuff like this. I've known you had a thing for Lightning for a long time, kid."

Hope sighed and looked back at Lightning. "Was I that obvious?"

Snow laughed again. "Let's just say you're lucky Lightning isn't as observant about these kinds of things as I am." Hope gave Snow a half exasperated look, but it eventually became a small smile. "So how far along have you gotten?" he asked, catching Hope by surprise with the question.

"W-what?" Hope stammered.

"Have you talked to Lightning about how you feel?" Snow pressed.

"Uh, y-yeah, I have," Hope replied.

"And?" Snow continued, egging him on. "Did she, uh…reciprocate?"

This time, Hope began to cough violently as Snow's question sunk in.

Snow laughed and thumped Hope on the back as he leaned forward. "Take it easy, Hope," he said, trying to stifle his chuckles. Hope eventually calmed down, but Snow was still looking at him expectantly. Hope opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it again, unsure if he should answer. "Come on, kid," Snow said, gently elbowing Hope in a brotherly fashion, "don't hold out on me."

Hope sighed, leaning his head back on the wall and staring at the ceiling. His mind wandered back to the weeks he and Lightning had spent training on the ark, how she had slowly but surely let him in. He caressed her crystallized hand absentmindedly as he remembered her scent and her sleeping form next to him. He ran his thumb over his lips as he remembered kissing her…

"Yeah…there was some definite reciprocation…" It took Hope several minutes to realize that he had said this out loud. He groaned inwardly again, turning to Snow to find the man staring at him with eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Several seconds passed in silence as Hope continued staring at him, waiting for the inevitable reaction. Finally, what Hope had said and the dreamlike manner in which he had said it seemed to hit Snow, and the man burst out laughing, clapping Hope on the shoulder.

"Damn, Hope, you must be a lot smoother than you look to get anywhere with Lightning," he managed to say through his laughter.

Hope knew Snow meant well, but that comment ignited a slight spark of anger in him, and he turned to glare at Snow. "It wasn't like that," he said slowly, his deadly even tone and fierce gaze quieting Snow. The man looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments before responding.

"I know you care about her, Hope. Just trying to lighten the mood a bit; you looked like you could use some cheering up." Snow's serious tone more than anything dissipated his anger. Hope relaxed, turning to Lightning, his fingers interlocking with her crystalline hand. The sight of her looking up at him while she entered crystal stasis flashed before his eyes and abruptly stole away the levity Snow had managed to conjure up. It left Hope feeling hollow again, and he turned back to Snow to see an understanding look on the man's face.

"How did you manage to stay so upbeat when this happened to Serah? She's right in front of me and I can't talk to her…I can't hear her voice or feel her warmth…And I can't do anything to help her." Hope lowered his gaze, looking at the ground in front of him, not wanting Snow to see the pleading look in his eyes begging for answers.

"You don't give in," Snow responded simply. "Back then, I convinced myself that completing our focus and saving Cocoon would bring Serah back, and that was what kept me from losing to grief."

"I don't know if I can do that. With what happened to her…" Hope flashed back again, seeing Zalera draining Kujata from Lightning. "I don't know if she'll ever come back, even if I do find a way to stop Zalera and Anima. And as of now, I don't know how the hell I'm gonna do that."

"Don't worry, there's always a way, kid. I'm sure the eidolons will find it," Snow replied, attempting to placate Hope's fears. "And I wouldn't worry about Lightning too much."

Hope cocked an eyebrow at Snow, waiting for elaboration. "What do you mean?" Hope asked when one was not forthcoming.

Snow laughed. "I've been married to Serah for a while now, and if there's one thing I learned, it's that Farron women are tough." Hope's quizzical look returned, and Snow sighed. "You don't believe me? Serah can be just as brutal as Lightning sometimes…she just hides it better. Trust me, Lightning is way too stubborn to stay in crystal stasis forever…and she cares way too much about you." Seeing Hope's puzzled look again, Snow patted him on the shoulder and gestured at Lightning. "She's not so great at hiding it either."

Hope chuckled, the sound surprising him. Snow began to laugh again and Hope almost joined in, but the sound caught in his throat. Snow had managed to cheer him up slightly, but the prone form of Lightning snapped him back to reality. Snow's laughter died down, and after a minute of silence, he stood.

"I know jokes and reassurances aren't gonna help you, Hope, the only way you'll get through this is by sorting it out on your own." Snow once again adopted a serious tone that Hope rarely heard from the man. "She'll come back to you kid, so don't give up. You're the hero now."

He left, leaving Hope to wallow in his thoughts, which he did over the next hour or so. What had happened on Anima's ark kept flashing through his mind unbidden, and after failing to quell the unwanted memories for the better part of an hour, he began to truly appreciate Lightning's distress after fighting Phoenix. He slipped into the meditative state he had used to help her, and for a while it seemed to work. Eventually though, the energy flowing through him lost its calming effect when he realized that the power would never be able to stand up to Zalera's. He soon gave up in disgust, and lost himself to his tumultuous feelings and memories.

Hope last track of time as he sat there, the only thing he was consciously aware of being the feel of Lightning's crystal hand. After an indeterminate amount of time passed, Hope was stirred from his trance by a sudden noise. He looked up and saw locks of pink hair out of the corner of his eye and his heart skipped a beat. "C-Claire?" he murmured to himself as he blinked his eyes several times. A smile almost reached his face, but he was quickly snapped him back to cruel reality when he took in the rest of the scene and realized it was Serah. He looked up at her as she knelt at her sister's side and felt a twinge of unease. He was sure that Serah wouldn't even think to blame him for what happened, but couldn't push away a nagging feeling that he should have been able to do something. Hope knew this was an absurd sentiment, but on top of everything else, he didn't have the willpower to squash it. His grip on Lightning's hand tightened.

Serah held her sister's other hand, and stared down at her for several moments, then walked around Lightning and sat next to Hope. He could feel her gaze on him, and he turned to her with the same disinterested expression he had shown the others, hoping she would get the message like Sazh had and skip the 'chin up' speech. As he looked at her up close, however, he saw too much of Lightning in her face to keep up the stony façade, and his expression softened. With great effort, he offered her a sad half smile to let her know that he appreciated her presence.

She returned the gesture and sighed, looking at her sister sadly. Hope thought that he should say something, and opened his mouth to try and voice an apology, but Serah cut him off. "No one blames you for what happened Hope. We know that there wasn't anything you could have done." This did little to cheer Hope up however, and his gaze dropped to the floor, his hands gripping his head in frustration.

"I know there wasn't anything I could do...and that's the problem. I can't do anything for her." His head lifted slowly and he looked down at his hands. They began to crackle with energy, and Hope's expression turned to one of anger. "I have all this power, but it's not enough. I can't do anything with it…I'm useless."

Serah put an arm on his shoulder, unshaken by his sudden display of magic. "That's not true and you know it, Hope. I've known you for a while now, and you're not the kind of person who gives up just because things look bad."

Hope sighed heavily, turning back to Serah. "I wasn't always like that...when I first became a l'Cie with the others, I couldn't accept it. I tried to ignore it, to convince myself it was all a bad dream, but your sister is the one who helped me through it. She gave me the strength to keep fighting no matter what happened, but without her…I don't know what to do."

"You don't give up." She gestured at Lightning. "She wouldn't want you to roll over and die, would she? She might be a bit…standoffish sometimes, but she cares about you more than even she realizes. And I know that you care about her too."

Hope chuckled softly, drawing a curious look from Serah. Hope noticed, and said "You know, Snow said pretty much the same thing."

Serah laughed lightheartedly. "I'm not surprised; you two aren't that hard to read when you're around each other. Pretty much everyone besides the two of you have known for a few years now. Anyone who watches you together can tell there's something there." She motioned towards Hope's hand, which still held Lightning's tightly. Hope flexed his fingers and found them to be stiff and cramped. He realized he must have been gripping Lightning's frozen hand for several hours. He looked back at Serah to see her flashing him a knowing smile. "Pretty obvious." He gave her the same exasperated look he had given Snow, but he didn't argue. He knew she was right.

"But let me tell you something, Hope Estheim," she said in a tone that made him cringe in fear. Her abrupt change in demeanor shocked him, as did her use of his full name. He tried and failed to babble a response as she fixed an unwavering glare on and, and he quailed under its intensity. He was painfully reminded of Snow's declaration that Serah could be just as brutal as her sister.

'You'd better be sure about wanting to be with my sister. If she opens up to you and you break her heart, she won't ever let anyone in again. And if that happens," she said, leaning in closer and cracking her knuckles, "You'll have to answer to me. I don't know exactly how much you care about her, but you better decide soon."

Hope glanced at Lightning, squeezing her hand again, and a genuine smile crossed his face. "I love her…more than anything. I…I don't know if Claire feels the same way, but…I do know that I'd spend the rest of my life with her to find out."

Serah's fierce expression was quickly replaced with a shocked one at Hope's declaration, especially with the speed and ease with which he had said it. She knew he was telling the truth, both from the tone in which he had spoken and the misty look in his eyes when he turned back to her. But what surprised her most was Hope's use of Lightning's real name. She knew he would not use it unless she had told him to, and she also knew such a gesture was huge for Lightning. Serah was the only one who called her Claire, and even then Lightning only allowed her to grudgingly. She stared at Hope, as devastated as he was over what had happened to Lightning, and knew that if they all got through this mess, her sister might finally be able to find some happiness of her own.

She stood and took a few steps before turning back to face Hope, who looked at her with a slightly curious expression. "Thank you," she said, and left the room. Hope blinked a few times as he stared after her, perplexed by her sudden exit and even more by her parting words. Shrugging it off as a matter for another time, Hope mulled over his answer to Serah. The sentence ran through his mind several times, and he soon realized that it was the resolution he needed. From the bottom of his heart, he was in love with Lightning, and the thought of drowning in misery while she lay locked in crystal stasis was unacceptable. There was a way to free her, and Hope knew that it lay in defeating Zalera and Anima. His mind shifted to his encounter with the aspect of darkness, but it filled his mind not with hopelessness, but with determination. He would find a way to become more powerful, and he would kill the aspect. After that, he would deal with Anima. Somewhere along the way, Hope knew he would find the trigger that would awaken Lightning from crystal stasis.

He would find his path, but for now, he would have to wait for it to be revealed to him. Hope accessed his magic and entered his meditative trance, his renewed conviction allowing him some peace.

XXXXX

"Sir, can I ask you something?" asked a soldier as he led who he thought was the councilor Rufus through the production factory that housed Carbuncle. The men stationed at the place had initially been surprised by the unexpected visit, but they had accommodated Zalera due to his host's prominent position.

A twinge of annoyance crossed Zalera's face at the man's question, but the aspect quelled the urge to kill him. He would only have to put up with the humans for a little longer, so he may as well play his part until then. "You may, Commander," Zalera said flatly.

"Well, sir, it's been almost five days since we lost contact with the ark…" the man trailed off as Zalera turned to him with an odd expression. It seemed impassive, but with an almost imperceptible trace of cold anger beneath the surface. "W-we've stalled the public as long as we can, but the people are starting to have doubts…they want to know what's become of the ark and their primarch…"

"Don't worry, Commander. I have arranged for a press conference later today to explain the situation to the people of the city," Zalera replied smoothly.

"What are you going to tell them?" the commander asked curiously.

"You'll have to wait and see," Zalera said with a smirk that went unnoticed by the soldier. "This is it, is it not?"

They had stopped in front of a large metal door with a small window near the top. A soft yellow light emanated from the window. The commander escorting Zalera assumed he guess that this was the room holding Carbuncle because of the light, but Zalera could feel the energy being given off by his fellow aspect. "Yes, this is where Carbuncle is housed, Sir."

"Open it," Zalera commanded.

"Yes Sir," the commander said quickly, opening a keypad in the wall and punching in a code. The door swung open, and Zalera entered. The room was small and cylindrical, with a circular metal pillar in the middle of it. The three feet at the center of the pillar was made of glass, and yellow glowing orb containing Carbuncle was visible within, bathing the room in light.

Zalera pressed a hand to the glass. "Open this too," he said, turning to the commander.

The soldier hesitated. "I…y-yes Sir," he eventually said as the aspect fixed a stern glare on the man. He entered a code into another keypad, and the pillar sunk into the floor. The light enveloped the entire room now, and was joined by a soft heat.

Zalera stood over the pedestal holding the orb, looking down at it with a satisfied look. His hand shone with black energy and he grabbed the orb and wrenched it from its resting place.

The commander took a step back. "W-what the hell are you doing?" the man stammered, reaching for his gun.

"I am here to repossess this," Zalera said, casually disarming the man with a flick of his wrist. "And to…repurpose you and the rest of this city." He held up the yellow orb and his body was cloaked in dark energy. Zalera poured his energy into Carbuncle, and black tendrils of energy crept across its surface, swirling with the yellow light. Zalera smiled triumphantly and pointed at the commander. A beam of energy erupted from the orb and hit the commander, who immediately began to scream in pain.

Zalera watching with increasingly evident delight as the man began to twist and mutate from the magic surging through him. The man continued to writhe and scream as his features became more and more distorted. The man eventually fell silent and stood, Zalera appraising the creature in front of him. The man resembled a Cie'th, but with a much more humanoid form and size. It looked as if his face had been blurred and stretched until it was only remotely recognizable as having once been a human face. His left eye was gone and right darting around wildly. The rest of his face had taken on a grayish blue tinge and had stretched in several directions, forming ridges and spines. The rest of his body was still in the uniform he had worn, but had also taken on the grayish blue tinge of his face. His left arm, however, had grown, and reached past his knee. It was thick and muscular, and covered in what appeared to be gray crystal shards down its length. A tormented groan escaped his mouth as he shambled around the room.

"Perfect," Zalera said with a wicked smile.

XXXXX

Several hours later, Zalera was approaching a podium outside of the capitol building of New Eden. A massive crowd of people, military and civilians alike, had gathered in the square to witness the speech. A look of distaste appeared on the aspect's face as he saw the crowd, and when he reached the podium, several people at the front of the crowd began to frantically question him. But Zalera had long since lost his patience for the humans.

He withdrew the yellow sphere holding Carbuncle and held it up, silencing most of the crowd. The majority of the people did not know what the thing was, and those that did were too shocked by its appearance to speak. Nearly everyone in the crowd let out an audible gasp however, when Zalera was shrouding in black light and floated up, settling several yards above the podium in mid-air.

"As promised, we will usher in the future of Gran Pulse," he said to them, his voice magnified by an unseen device. "You, however, are not a part of that future." He raised the orb above his head and once again infused his own power into it, but this time pouring nearly all of his energy into the thing. When it reached its peak, instead of a fixed beam, the orb released a wave of energy in all directions. The wave sped across the city as Zalera willed it, unaffected as he was by the screams and shrieks of agony that it left in its wake.

XXXXX

Zalera walked casually through the Pulse Vestige some time later, flanked by two grotesquely transformed humans. They shuffled along behind him obediently; the occasional gurgle or moan the only sound they made. Zalera reached the dome that contained Anima, and it shifted aside as the aspect stopped in front of it.

"I have Carbuncle," Zalera stated, withdrawing the yellow orb and holding it up for inspection. Anima's sealed form came into view, staring down at Zalera. The aspect squeezed the orb until it shattered, releasing a surge of power. The small yellow crystal set into the floor beneath Anima glowed brightly momentarily, indicating that Carbuncle had returned to its crystal prison.

As the yellow light subsided, Anima spoke. "What are these…creatures?" he asked. If Anima was capable of making expressions his metallic visage would be wearing one of mild curiosity as he studied the abominations flanking his most powerful servant.

"The humans had served their purpose by helping with the ark, but I found another one for them. With Carbuncle's help, I have procured a new force to aid us in our cause," Zalera answered proudly.

"They appear to be Cie'th…but something is off," Anima pointed out.

"They are not fully Cie'th, no," Zalera said. "We would not be able to control them if they were. They are something…in between human and Cie'th." Zalera looked away towards the two creatures behind him with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I call them…the Broken."

"How many did you create?" Anima asked, sounded intrigued by the resourcefulness of the aspect.

"Several million, actually," Zalera responded, turning back to Anima with a smirk.

"You turned the whole city then?" Anima wondered, and Zalera nodded. "Impressive."

"They should be able to help us in locating Eden's host and the Menhirrim that aid him," Zalera declared. "Speaking of which, have you received word yet?"

"Yes," Anima responded. "The Espers have answered the call. They will serve me once more."

XXXXX

Hope had elected to sleep in the room with Lightning rather than in the room the two of them had shared before the disastrous assault on Anima's ark. The room wasn't exactly well furnished, but Hope didn't mind. He lay next to her, trying to fight back the ache he felt whenever he brushed against her crystallized form.

XXXXX

Hope didn't remember falling asleep, but when he suddenly opened his eyes and found himself once again in the old fashioned bar, and he knew that he was dreaming. Hope had been a lucid dreamer for quite a while, attributing the odd skill to the mental awareness he had picked up during his time as a l'Cie six years ago. Since then, he had always been able to recognize his dreams as what they were.

This time, however, it felt different somehow. It was strange, it felt more tangible than his usual dreams, but at the same time he knew it wasn't quite reality. He looked around and saw his friends in the same places they had been in the dream he had had the night before discovering his brand, but it was as if someone had pressed mute; there was no sound. Hope also noticed a few cloaked figures at the tables, and their appearance struck his as odd, but they were pushed from his mind when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hope?"

He turned slowly to see Lightning walking through the door towards him, with a curious expression on her face. She wore an elegant violet dress with a slit up the left side, showing off her shapely legs while she walked over to him. Although he knew it was only a dream, Hope couldn't help but be overjoyed at the sight of her. She stopped in front of him and cocked an eyebrow at his expression. "Hope, what the hell is going on?" she asked.

Having expected some profound or enigmatic piece of dream wisdom, Hope could only stare at her blankly at the abrupt question, not sure what was going on. "Hope, are you in there?" she demanded impatiently, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Uh…yeah…what?" he said, confused.

"Where. Are. We?" she asked again, punctuating each word by poking him in the forehead.

"We're…in my dream," he responded, the answer sounding awkward even as it left his mouth.

"We're…what?" Lightning asked, joining him in confusion. She looked around, taking in the scene of all their friends noiselessly engaged in strange activities, and then down at herself. "What the hell am I wearing?"

"I've had this dream before," Hope told her. "I can usually tell when I'm dreaming, and this is definitely a dream."

"So why am I in your dream?" Lightning said, looking back to him.

"I…I don't know. If you're actually you and not just a part of my dream…"

"I'm pretty sure I'm me," she said to him, looking slightly annoyed now. "What's going on?"

"Well, you're in crystal stasis…After you defeated Barthandelus, Zalera came," Hope explained.

"I…I remember that," Lightning said, trying to take in what he was saying. "We fought, but…he was too strong."

"He took Kujata from you," Hope told her. "And you…fell into crystal stasis," he finished sadly.

"What happened to the ark? And Serah and the others?" she asked suddenly.

"Zalera detonated the core of Anima's ark, and it destroyed Cocoon. We managed to escape in time, with you. We met up with the others after than, they're all okay. We're back at the Menhirrim's ark right now."

They sat down at an empty table, and Lightning held her head in her hands, understandably overwhelmed by the situation. "So, I'm in stasis…what are you gonna do now?"

She looked up at Hope, and he looked away, unable to face her as he talked. "I don't know, Claire. I just don't know. Zalera is way too strong for me to fight alone, and I don't know what might wake you up from crystal stasis. I…fell apart. You were only gone for a few days and I couldn't hold myself together." He looked back to her with a somber expression. "But I swear to you that I'll find a way to get through this…"

"Hope…" Lightning murmured, reaching for his hand. She grasped it and he squeezed back. Suddenly, the scene swirled around them. Their friends disappeared and the lights dimmed. The piano started playing itself, filling the room with a graceful melody. Lightning hesitated for a moment, but got up, pulling Hope to his feet with her. "Let's dance," she said as she led him to the middle of the room. She probably would have never have asked him to dance in reality, but this was a dream after all, and Lightning could tell that Hope needed some cheering up.

"I didn't know you danced, Claire," he said teasingly as she moved his hand to her waist and struck up a slow dance.

"Don't push it," she answered, pulling him closer and resting her head in his shoulder as they swayed back and forth across the floor. Hope went silent, enjoying the moment. He breathed in her familiar scent and felt her warmth, surprised but thankful for the vivid clarity of the dream, though he had by now realized it was something more than a simple dream.

"So," Lightning said after a few minutes, "Is this how you usually dress me in your dreams?"

"W-what?" Hope stammered, put off guard by the question.

"I would imagine it's usually something more revealing than this if you're a lucid dreamer," she continued teasingly.

Hope sputtered unintelligibly as Lightning pulled back to look at him as he tried to fumble for a response while he blushed furiously. She started to laugh, drawing a stern glare from Hope. "Take it easy, I was just kidding." she said to him, pulling him close once more. Unable to resist, she said "Besides, I don't think I want to know the details about any nighttime cameos I might have in your head."

They continued to dance for a while, Hope merely enjoying Lightning's company in any form he could get it, dreading his return to harsh reality. As the thought crossed his mind, the music stopped, and Hope groaned, thinking he was about to wake up, but the scene did not dissolve around him as it usually did. He and Lightning glanced around, and Hope noticed that one of the hooded figures had got up and was walking over to them. The figure removed his hood, and Hope sighed with annoyance as he found himself staring at Cid Raines.

"What is Raines doing here?" Lightning asked, perplexed by the man's sudden appearance.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he's not part of my dream," Hope responded, feeling something strange from the man, knowing he was out of place.

"That is correct," Raines said, nodding slightly at Hope. "I am here to discuss a matter of great importance with you."

"Well since the last time we saw you, you were being worn by Barthandelus, you'll have to forgive us for not exactly believing that," Hope said as he clenched his fists angrily.

"Your reluctance is understandable. I am here by Barthandelus's power, but my mind is my own. If you hear me out, I can explain everything to you."

Lightning and Hope exchanged glances, and Lightning looked as if she didn't want to trust him, but Hope shrugged. "I don't think he can do anything to us here, so we may as well listen to what he has to say."

Raines offered him another nod, and launched into his story. "Barthandelus has been working against Anima and Zalera since Cocoon fell six years ago. When you defeated him in Orphan's cradle, you noticed that Orphan initially manifested himself using Barthandelus's form. Due to their true nature as aspects of Ultima, this connection revealed to Barthandelus the truth of Anima and Zalera's deception. He regained his memories of being Ultima, and decided to try and thwart Anima's schemes. He used Orphan's power as the aspect of death to revive me and transported me to the Pulse Vestige without Anima's knowledge."

Lightning and Hope exchanged another glance, trying to decide whether or not Raines was telling the truth. Giving no indication that he noticed their silent exchange, Raines continued. "After that, Barthandelus bided his time until Anima began to put his plans in motion. They eventually found me, and as Barthandelus had hoped, they used me as his host. Our past connection would make him more powerful merging with me than some other human turned l'Cie off the street. I willingly allowed Barthandelus into me, and my being was preserved. Anima's control over Barthandelus was powerful, but with my help he was able to regain control of himself for brief intervals that we used to try and undermine Anima and Zalera."

"When we found out about you, however, we tried to use our time to help you. We kept your ark hidden from the scanners of Anima's ark, but we weren't able to do much more than that without arousing suspicion. We knew Zalera might make an appearance when you attacked the ark, but we could find no way to warn you. We could not break free of Anima during the fight, but we eventually managed to afterwards, and we tried to distract Zalera so that you could escape. Before he destroyed us, Barthandelus managed to attach a remnant of my consciousness to Lightning's crystal form so that I could reach you."

Hope and Lightning were silent for several moments, but Lightning soon spoke up. "That's great and all that Barthandelus tried to make up for what he did, but how does that help us now?"

"We managed to find a faint energy signature with the ark's scanners. Barthandelus recognized the coordinates as the site of the temple where Ultima first created the Menhirrim. We don't know what might be down there, but it may be your only chance to gain enough power to defeat Zalera."

"Where is this temple?" Hope asked.

"It lies beneath the faultwarrens," Raines replied. "The minerals in the area mask magical energy, so for even a small signal to be detectable there must be something of value in the temple." He waved his hand a small screen appeared in mid air next to him. It showed what Hope recognized as the entrance to the faultwarrens, and it began to move through the area. Hope memorized the route as best he could, and it soon came upon a cave hidden in a cliff face.

"The temple lies within this cave." He closed his eyes and grimaced as his form began to flicker. "My time is up; this is all that I can do for you," Raines said, and his form began to fade. "I pray that you find something that can help you." He was gone.

"Well that was…interesting," Lightning said when Raines vanished. "What do you think?"

"I don't think he was lying," Hope answered. "Whatever's down there, I might as well go look. I don't have any other options left."

Lightning pulled Hope into a tight embrace. "I know you can do it, Hope. If anyone can stop Anima, it's you."

Hope smiled, intensely grateful for her words. He kissed her deeply as he felt her and the rest of the dream dissolve around him.

XXXXX

Hope woke with a start, his hand going to his lips as he felt the linger sensation of the kiss. He rubbed his eyes and went over the dream he had just woken up from. He wanted to believe it was real, but a nagging doubt developed that told him the dream might just have been his mind trying to make up something to alleviate his distress. These doubts were dispelled, however, by a flash of purple light next to him.

He looked over and saw as small, purple crystal rose formed in Lightning's hand. Hope tentatively picked the crystal up, surprised to feel the warmth emanating from it. Elation filled him as he realized the dream was real, and that he had found a path to follow again.

He checked his watch and found that it was still the dead of night, which suited the resolve quickly forming in his mind. He knew that the others wouldn't want him to go alone, but he knew this was something he had to undertake by himself. He gathered his belongings as quickly as he could, throwing his cloak over himself and strapping his small satchel of provisions on his belt. As he packed, something caught his eye.

Before jumping, Hope had retrieved Lightning's gunblade and stowed it in his pack. At the time he didn't know why, but he couldn't leave Lightning's weapon behind. He looked down at the magnificently crafted blade and had a fleeting memory of asking Lightning once if he could use one of these. Hope knew the weapon wouldn't do much good in his inexperienced hands, but he strapped it to his belt anyway. He remembered the vicious creatures that stalked the faultwarrens, and knew he would need every advantage he could get.

Once he had everything, he knelt down at Lightning's side, and planted a kiss on her cold, crystal cheek. "I'll get you out of this, Claire. I promise." He felt the small crystal rose pulse slightly in his hand, and he smiled as he left the room.

XXXXX

"So the Espers will join us after all," Zalera said. "I'm a little surprised that they even remembered you. I didn't even think any of them were more than mindless beasts now."

"The majority of those that remain aren't, but there are a few that have retained their sanity over the long years." Anima responded. "I have made contact with the strongest Esper, and he wishes a meeting. If he joins us, the others will rally behind him, sane or otherwise."

"Who is it?" Zalera asked.

"Titan," Anima replied.

"The biogenitor?"

"Yes. I would like you to meet with him and convince him to join our cause."

Zalera bowed. "As you wish. Where am I to meet him?"

"Titan dwells within the faultwarrens," Anima told him.

"I shall leave at once."

XXXXX