Hope didn't have time to explain how his best friend was leading an attack on Fisherman's Horizon and rather selfishly didn't care, he was just glad to see him. Hope broke free from Squall's hold and leapt from the roadside down onto the dock, knowing he had to move fast since Squall and Zell were now racing after him. They would catch him easily and so he abused his short-cutting ability and jumped and leapt over obstacles, pushing others into the SeeDs' paths, all the time calling Snow's name.
One of the round metal bins caught Zell's legs and Hope cringed as the young man tumbled into the drink with a splash and a curse thrown Hope's way for good measure. He took full advantage of the fact that Zell's little detour occupied Squall for a few seconds and the young L'Cie sprinted for the monster of a man.
"Snow!" Hope grabbed the blond man's left hand, both of his own required to capture Snow's one wrist and even though Hope had his entire body weight on that single limb, it didn't budge an inch. "Snow, it's me!" He said, around gasps, and slowly Snow turned his attention from the SeeD troop that had cornered him, to the boy currently hanging to his arm. "Snow?"
Hope let go and took a step back. Snow's face was partially hidden behind a mask similar to what the soldiers of the Legion wore, except Snow's more intricate and far larger. The icy-blue colour of the decoration was dotted with a flowing white design that reminded Hope of winter somehow and where the eyes should have been peering through the mask continued solidly, the same white markings depicting eyes closed, as if sleeping.
While it was obvious Snow should not have been able to see anything he most definitely knew where Hope was right then. The L'Cie boy refused to believe it, even when Snow's hand had already connected with his cheek and sent him hurtling back, he refused to believe that Snow would do this.
Hope skidded to a halt and slowly picked himself up off the floor, wiping the blood coming from his mouth he screamed out at Snow angrily.
"What are you doing!?" His question went unanswered and Snow just charged for the boy only to be stopped by Zell.
The athletic teen came from nowhere, dripping as he went; dwarfed by Snow by a substantial amount but that didn't seem to bother Zell in the slightest and Hope soon saw why. Small he may be, but he was a power-house, fast and agile and possessed of a great deal of skill with fists and feet alike.
Zell avoided Snow's blows easily and landed many of his own, however Snow was built perfectly for taking hits and as hard hitting as Zell was, Snow was more than equipped to deal with it.
Hope didn't know what to do or who to fight with, and though his choice should have been obvious, he could not abandon his friend so easily. He was going to fight his best and make Snow realise just who he really was.
With a cry of determination, Hope unleashed a weak elemental spell of fire on his dear friend, seeing him stagger back enough for Zell to get the upper hand. In a flash Squall was flying past Hope, cutting and slashing Snow mercilessly, and he begged him to stop. Again Hope reached out with his magic, this time encasing a staggered Snow with a protective barrier just as Squall readied a finishing blow.
The SeeD's blade ricochet off the barrier and Squall hurt his hand as he met with the unexpected resistance. Hope himself felt the power of the blow recoil back and hit him knocking him off guard for a second, but it was enough for Snow to retaliate and knock both Squall and Zell down. As Snow snarled, his hands ready to beat the life out of the two at his feet, Hope again cast a second magical barrier, this time protecting Squall just in time to halt the blows as they rained down from the six-foot-five tank, Hope felt them all and had to summon more and more of his Synergy to replenish the barrier, calling for the relentless assault to stop while trying to cope as a fraction of each blow pierced his own defences.
"You need to decide whose side you're on, kid!" Came Irvine's callous remark as he took aim and fired at Snow who jumped back to avoid the deadly accurate sniper.
Hope shook his head to clear the thumping from his ears, an echo of each pounding collision of Snow's earlier combo, before chasing after Snow once more quickly followed by Squall and Irvine.
Again Snow became cornered and Hope halted, not knowing what to do as his friend squared off, prepared to pound him into the ground if necessary. Hope just looked earnestly up at him, knowing that the mask covering Snow's eyes was the thing responsible for stopping him from seeing reason.
With a little huff, Hope readied himself and charged for Snow, his left hand fed with a white hot flame, he threw it at Snow but the guy managed to block it. What he couldn't do was block one after another and so Hope unleashed three more fire balls in quick succession before finishing with a quick bolt of thunder. Snow convulsed as the electrical energies surged through his body and as he struggled to deal with the pain his defences came down.
Out the corner of his eye Hope spotted Irvine ready to take a kill shot and with out hesitating, Hope ran into his line of sight.
"Damn-it!" The sniper lowered his weapon and ran forward, Squall and Quistis standing ready, but they couldn't do a whole lot with Hope sabotaging their every effort.
With Snow toppled, Hope reached for the thing blinding his friend, and was a finger tip away when Snow's senses returned and he snatched Hopes right hand and lifted the boy clear off his feet.
With a terrified yelp, Hope hung there as Snow kept him elevated at arm's length above him, his feet kicking wildly in air, trying to find a purchase on anything.
"You have no idea of the power you are denying, child." Snow spoke for the first time, but now Irvine had a clear shot.
Hope surrounded Snow with protection just as the sniper pulled the trigger. The snap of the shot pounded loudly in his mind and Hope almost lost himself.
"Will you stop doing that!" The tall cowboy kicked a random piece of trash, reluctant to fire a second time knowing Hope would put himself in harm's way before he allowed anyone to hurt Snow.
Hope's struggles became non-existent and he hung there weakly, as his big, brotherly friend laughed cruelly before pulling his right fist back, ready to slam it into the boy he held captive.
Hope tried to cower away, but there was no escape and where he expected pain, all that came was the crack of a whip as Quistis snapped her weapon, trapping Snow's hand and held it there.
Snow glared angrily and tried to work himself free, now busy with that Hope took advantage of the distraction and started to reach for the mask Snow was a victim of.
He stretched as far as he could but it was still just out of his reach. He grunted as his muscles cramped and pulled in ways they were not meant to, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain of being alone again in this world and he had to get through to Snow.
As Hope's fingertips glanced the mask, it seemed to ripple, like he had disturbed the surface of water. Snow snapped back to face Hope, no longer concerned with Quistis. Hope didn't recoil, not prepared to give up now he was so close.
"Snow!" Hope ground out his name as a brilliant light shone from somewhere behind them, but he paid it little attention. It seemed to hurt Snow's eyes, though how that was possible when they were covered by an eyeless mask, Hope didn't know. Strangely, his own eyes felt fine, unaffected by the light he continued to reach for the mask.
Finally Hope's fingertips brushed against the solid form of the mask and he focused on trying to pry it away, but there was nothing to hold as the piece of the mask he had been able to take hold of broke away leaving a crack in it.
Snow screamed and went wild. Hope screamed as he was pulled to and fro like a rag doll, before the vice-like hold on his hand was finally released and he went sailing through the air.
***
Squall squinted through the bright light coming from the young boy currently captive, while his friends turned away. Squall didn't dare. His hands shielded his eyes from the worst of the light but he could still see everything going on and he knew where the light had emanated.
Hope's mask had crept into being, framing his eyes in an intricate holy design and it shone brighter than anything Squall had ever known. The holy light spread to encompass the boy and it glared fiercely at the attacker known only as Snow.
Suddenly there was a shattering sound, like someone was crunching glass underfoot and all at once the light was gone as Snow hurled the boy through the air.
Hopes body slammed against a metal bill board and tumbled to the ground rolling to his hands and knees favouring his right side. He couldn't spare the boy another thought as the giant of a man grabbed Quistis' whip and pulled her clean off her feet and sailing in the direction he had discarded Hope though she managed to land with more finesse.
"After him!" He ordered and he, Zell and Irvine gave chase as Snow bolted for the dock.
"No!" He heard Hope plead but Squall didn't have time to rethink this.
He had been with these guys most of his life and they knew exactly how to deal with this situation. Zell was their fastest and he sprinted on, sliding along the floor kicking Snow's feet out from under him. Irvine was up next and shot a net at the hulk of a man just as he fell. Snow tumbled, the net wrapping around him more securely.
Squall charged forward and drove his Gunblade into the ground piercing the net and halting Snow's roll. He was now pinned via the net and Squall's Gunblade, but that wasn't enough.
Snow roared and burst from the net effortlessly. The guys covered their eyes as Snow unleashed his own brand of magic and icy blasts of air licked their exposed skin painfully. By the time they had recovered Snow was gone, a fine mist having settled around the town during the course of their battle.
"Where the hell did he go?" Zell asked incredulously dusting the shards of ice from his arms.
"Gone." Irvine knocked his hat clean. "Can someone tell me what the deal is with that kid?"
"I'm. . . NOT a kid!" They turned seeing Hope standing there, still nursing his right side, Quistis close behind him. Squall might have smiled at his sheer determination but there were a lot of questions he needed answers to.
"You just put this whole town, at risk!" Irvine stated, taking the initiative. "We came here to help these people from the likes of him and you go ahead and aid his escape."
"I was trying to help him!"
"Yeah, and you did!"
"Irvine." Squall shot his brother in arms a look and he stubbornly backed down, turning away from the silvery haired teen in disgust. "He's right though, Hope. We would have had him if you hadn't interfered."
"I'm not about to let you hurt my friend! This isn't him, Snow isn't like this!" Hope flinched as he tried to stand straight. "He'd do anything for anyone, it's that mask, it has to be…"
Squall nodded. "What did you do to it, Hope? That light. . ."
"What light?"
Squall hadn't known Hope long, but he knew him well enough by now to know that he didn't lie. Hope seemed oblivious to the gifts he had and the power he had over the people who were blinded by these masks. The battle here had been easy and Squall somehow knew that was because of Hope.
He looked at each of his friends while Hope healed the bruising to his side and was now able to stand straight again.
"I'm going to look around, Snow might have left a trail." Hope was jogging off before anyone could tell him otherwise and Squall sighed.
"I'm not sure there will be but, Irvine, go with him."
"What?!"
"If there is a clue as to where this Snow went and we can follow, I want to know about it."
"Understood, boss." Irvine shouldered his weapon with a sigh before jogging to catch up to the youth ahead.
"Did you see?" Quistis asked and Squall nodded while Zell seemed oblivious.
"Hell I still can't see!" Zell blinked a few times, trying to clear the glare from his eyes.
"The mask." Squall mused and Zell suddenly concentrated on the conversation no longer concerned with his partial sight.
"It is different." Quistis confirmed.
"And it can shatter the others."
"Do you think he could shatter Rinoa's?" Zell asked, his tone cautious.
"I really don't know." Squall rubbed the back of his neck, in his heart he was leaping but the part of him that had been hurt before by the loss of loved ones refused to celebrate just yet. "Quistis. . ."
"It's under control." She said before he could even ask her to assume command. "I'll head to the bridge and call for Ragnarok to pick you up."
***
Hope had searched the entire area and come up with nothing, it was literally like Snow had just popped out of existence leaving no evidence of him ever having been there.
He kicked the ground in frustration and sat himself down on a metal railing over looking the dock below not aware that he had a shadow until Irvine chose that moment to reveal himself.
"That kind of day, huh kid?"
Hope sighed, but chose not to correct the guy a third time in the same day, he knew the sniper was just trying to wind him up.
"Now I know exactly how you feel. Nothing going right, the one that got away and all that."
"What do you want?"
"Well I don't wanna be here talking to you if that's what you're asking." Hope glared down at his feet. "I'm just wondering if you're prepared to go back now so we can call off this wild goose-chase?"
"Okay, fine!" Hope stood angrily. "He's gone and I don't know where or how, are you happy!?" Irvine just tilted his head with a casual smile.
"Not really. Believe it or not, I know how you feel." Hope turned away.
"Of course you do. Because you've had to make a spilt second choice between doing what's right when it meant hurting someone you care about." Hope still had his back to Irvine so he didn't see the hurt in his eyes.
"Exactly like that, actually."
"Well, say you do know how I feel. Do you think I've done the wrong thing?" Hope waited for his answer keeping his back to the older teen who sighed.
"I don't know, kid. I asked myself the same question back then and I was filled with the same doubt and even criticised for not taking the shot." He laughed. "These days I'm thanked for it."
Hope turned seeing Irvine smile kindly despite his earlier anger.
"Heat of the moment and all that." He explained, as if reading Hope's mind.
"I understand." He bowed his head and turned back to the dock, looking out over the waters as the sun started his gradual decent towards the horizon. "I wish I knew what to do. I wish. . . I wish I understood why this was happening." He felt more than saw Irvine stand beside him.
"Yeah. You and me both, kid." Hope suddenly didn't mind the title; Irvine's tone was not mocking or condescending in any way. "Come on, it's been a long day and I get the feeling it's not over for you just yet." Hope looked up at the cowboy, curiously, and his sights were trained on something approaching. All Hope could make out was a black speck set against the brightly coloured sky, Irvine seemed to know exactly what it was however, and smiled.
***
As cool as the airship was, as soon as Hope was buckled in and they were underway to Esthar, he dozed off, his head rested against the window he had been watching out of.
Now they had taken off and were cruising steadily towards Esthar, Squall got up to walk around, not being one to sit for great lengths of time. He helped himself to a Potion soft drink from the dispenser at the back of the cabin and passed the cans around to Irvine and Zell who had accompanied him this time.
He was nervous and couldn't think of anything but their imminent arrival and he glanced across at Hope wondering if the lost boy really could free those trapped by the masks. It was a wild card, he wore one of his own and while Squall had genuinely felt eased by the light that had shone from it, he was still very much aware that they were trifling in powers they didn't completely understand.
"Communication incoming, Commander." Came the pilot's sudden announcement and Squall headed for the cockpit knowing it could only be one person.
"Laguna," He greeted Esther's president.
"Aww come on, Squall. Why not call me dad?"
"How is she?" He asked ignoring the request wondering why parents insisted on humiliating their children.
"No change and she's getting weaker. We're doing all we can, providing intravenous nutrition, but that can only keep her alive so long, she'll waste away if we can't wake her soon." The older man rubbed the back of his neck, not able to look Squall in the eyes. After all it was Laguna's involvement that had been the catalyst in Rinoa's condition.
"Don't worry, I think we might have stumbled into a solution."
"Quistis mentioned the boy, are you sure he won't make it worse?"
"How could it get any worse. . ."
"She could die this time."
"She's going to die anyway if we don't try."
"I know." Laguna tried to lighten to the mood. "Okay, when you put it like that, it's worth a try. We'll make the preparations." Squall nodded as Laguna's face disappeared from the view screen and he asked the pilot to pick it up a gear. There was a slight lurch from the craft as it sped up and it was enough for Hope's head to roll from the window, the sudden shift causing him to wake.
He blinked, wearing a grumpy expression so Squall handed him the canned drink.
"Energy in a can." He said trying to hide his mood.
"Thanks." Hope accepted the drink and popped it open, taking a long draw from the can.
"We'll be there soon, if you can do this, if you can remove these masks. . ." Hope looked unsure but Squall continued. "You'll have your work cut out for you when we get there."
"What do you mean?"
"It's not just Rinoa who's been cursed by them. At least fifty-two more are in the hospital in the same condition."
"But, I don't even know if I can do this yet?"
"All you can do is try; I'm not expecting anything more." Squall assured and sat back in his own seat as they made preparations to land and despite his restrained outlook, he just couldn't stop his heart from racing with the expectations that he was about to see her again.