They all turned as Hope came into the room. His eyes instantly fell on Rayne, but he pulled his gaze away to look over at Lightening and Snow.
"My dad said he'd like to see you guys. He wants to talk."
Snow sat up in his position on the bed, somewhat painfully from the injury he had gotten. The two nodded. Hope, Fang, and Rayne left the room and Lightening grabbed Snow's trench coat for him. The three stood in the hallway waiting. Hope and Rayne stood in awkward silence. Fang watched the two of them with some amusement.
"So what happened between you two? Unrequited love?"
"Not even close!"
"No way!"
The two had protested in unison. Looking at each other, they both fell silent again. Hope moved off toward the living room, leaving Fang and Rayne to wait for the others. Rayne kicked the carpet with the toe of her purple shoes.
"It's not…exactly like that. You can't love someone when you're seven. It was just…"
Rayne's voice died and Fang put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Hey. I'm not going to pull it out of you. If you ever want to talk, I'll listen."
Snow and Lightening came out of the room at that moment. Snow dropped a hand onto Rayne's shoulder as if he'd known her forever. Rayne couldn't help but blush at the contact. She didn't understand why, but she had been impressed with his will to fight from what she'd seen on the screen and when he'd put a barrier between them and the mob of people. She also felt a pull from his friendly personality. Fang chuckled at the girl's complexion as they made their way into the living room and took seats. Hope was sitting beside his dad on the couch, so Rayne sat on Bartholomew's other side. Fang sat on the arm of a chair, Snow sat in the chair across from Bartholomew, and Lightening stood across from Fang by the only other empty chair in the room. It was quiet as they waited for someone to speak. The silence was broken as Snow got up out of his seat and knelt on the floor to bow to Bartholomew.
"The blame is mine. I couldn't save her."
Rayne wasn't sure about what had happened to this point, but she could only assume that he'd had a part to play in Nora Estheim's death. Bartholomew put a hand to his forehead and sighed as Hope looked between the two of them. His gaze rested on Snow.
"If it wasn't for Snow, I wouldn't be here right now."
His father looked up.
"Snow. Did Nora…Did she say anything to you?"
Snow looked up from his position on the floor.
"Hope. She said to…to get him home."
Bartholomew looked at his son who nodded.
"And that's exactly what you've done."
Snow looked up in surprise at the forgiveness. An obvious weight lifted off of the group in the room and a few even smiled. Lightening even sat down in relaxation. Hope's father continued.
"Face to face like this, it's hard to believe you're all dangerous fugitives. But the entire world is scared to death of you l'Cie. No, not even just you. People who've helped you, bumped into you…Sometimes it's even just people who've walked by one of you. They think they're "tainted" and want every one of them Purged."
Snow suddenly kneeled up.
"The Sanctum's a puppet of the fal'Cie!" he shouted," To them, our lives don't mean anything at all. We'll stop this. Take down the Sanctum, and save Cocoon."
"You've thought that through?" Bartholomew asked.
Snow lost a bit of his momentum.
"If l'Cie take down the Sanctum, fear of Pulse will only get worse. It won't stop at fear. People will take up arms and stand against you. Can you imagine it? The rampant violence?"
Rayne sighed. People were so afraid of them. She put a hand to her chest, remembering all the pain she'd gone through for being a l'Cie.
"When the government's control is gone, the citizens will revolt," Lightening added.
Fang stood up.
"So, what then? We're supposed to just smile and eat a bullet? That means you, too."
Bartholomew gave an unamused laugh.
"I know I'm part of this. I'm on your side of the fence. Harborer of l'Cie, and a public enemy."
"Coming here was a bad idea," Hope said.
Rayne agreed. She'd run straight here when she had nowhere else to go. She hadn't thought about how that would have affected Bartholomew. He put a hand on his son's shoulder.
"This is your home."
Hope smiled at him. Bartholomew turned and smiled at Rayne.
"And it was yours as well the moment your parents died, Rayne."
The young girl blushed as he ruffled her hair before getting up.
"We're all here. Let's figure this out together."
Suddenly the lights began to flicker. They all jumped out of their seats and looked around. Lightening seemed to be listening for something. Rayne had instantly put her hand to her hip, her fingers curling around her whip. Lightening suddenly looked to the ceiling.
"Heads up!"
The glass roof shattered as gas grenades were dropped into the room. They scattered, coughing as the gas reached their lungs.
"Hope! Rayne! In the back!" Snow shouted, but he fell to the ground from pain.
Hope grabbed his father and pulled him over to where Snow was. He knelt down by Snow.
"You're not ready for this," he said," I'll stay here."
Rayne couldn't listen anymore as PSICOM soldiers dropped into the living room. She and the other girls began kicking and punching them away. Hope joined them shortly. The four of them grouped together and fought all the soldiers who dared come into the house. The windows to the house were completely shattered and the four of them hid behind a wall as Snow and Bartholomew peeked out of the room they had been hiding in to check on how things were going. Suddenly, a light from an airship shined into the room. PSICOM was re-grouping and surrounding the house again.
"Who ordered the battalion?" Fang asked, slightly annoyed.
"They'll take out the whole building next," Lightening said.
"How do you know that?" Rayne looked at her in surprise.
"I was once a member of the guard. Didn't you notice from the outfit?"
Rayne went silent as Lightening motioned for Snow and Bartholomew to come over by them.
"Dad!" Hope said, running over to his father.
"Hope! Thank goodness. Are you hurt?"
"No. How about you?"
"Still in one piece."
Snow gave out on the floor, leaning on Rayne for a little support. She was kneeling on the ground beside Fang, who was standing, and Lightening was kneeling on Fang's other side, keeping an eye on the enemy. Bartholomew looked over at Rayne.
"Rayne?"
She smiled and nodded.
"No problems."
Snow crawled over to look at the enemies outside.
"My turn," he muttered.
He got up and the girls all moved out of his way. Taking off his coat, he stuck just that out so that the soldiers could see it. They instantly began shooting.
"Snow," Lightening said in concern.
He held her back with his other arm.
"Don't shoot!" he shouted to PSICOM," I'll show you what a l'Cie looks like."
They stopped shooting and he stepped out in front of them, his hands held up to his ears. The guns were all trained on him, ready to shoot him when they had the order. Snow stepped through one of the broken windows and faced all of them. Rayne was astounded that he could be that brave.
"Me! I'm a l'Cie! Surprised? Expected some kinda monster? I'm flesh and blood like you! An ordinary citizen of Cocoon! Don't you get it? This has been our home our whole lives! How could we even think about destroying it? We want to protect this place just as much as you!"
The soldiers began talking amongst themselves, unsure of what to do.
"You must be Snow Villiers."
A man in a long black coat and wearing a black outfit stepped forward. His hair was silver and he had a cold expression.
"Yaag Rosch, PSICOM division. I understand your plight. However, the Pulse threat is not so easily dismissed. The very existence of you l'Cie puts every last one of us in danger. Tell me, do you really think your life is worth more than the lives of millions of Cocoon citizens? I do not. And so it falls to me to order your execution. It's that simple. It is my responsibility to see you put down. Your lives are forfeit."
Rosch turned and began walking back toward his ship.
"Aw, cut the crap!" Snow shouted," You want l'Cie, then kill l'Cie! Why do other people have to die? The Purge has got to stop!"
The man stopped and turned back to Snow.
"Do you think we want to Purge our own people? If any trace of Pulse remains, the populace will erupt into chaos. Without sacrifice, without the Purge, Cocoon will die!"
Suddenly, smoke grenades were thrown between Rosch and Snow. The soldiers all looked around in confusion.
"Who fired?" Rosch demanded," I gave no order!"
There was a sudden explosion from behind Rosch's group. Shooting started and grenades were dropped, taking out soldier after soldier. No one could see anything that was going on. There was a shout that sounded like Rosch, but no one could be sure.
"We're leaving!" Lightening announced.
This was probably the only chance they would have to get out of there alive. Lightening turned to Hope.
"Hope! Tie up your dad. We threatened you and forced you to help us. Got it?"
His father tried to protest, but Hope stopped him.
"Do what she says! I can't let you get dragged into this."
Fang and Rayne watched as his father listened and complied. Hope tied his father's hands behind his back.
"I want to stay here. But there's no place for a l'Cie. I'm going with the others. And I assume Rayne is as well."
Rayne was surprised that he mentioned her, but she nodded at Bartholomew who gave both of them a saddened look.
"We'll survive somehow," he told his father," I promise you that. Dad. I hate to run out on you-"
"You're not running! This is not running away. You've made a choice. You and Rayne both. You'll survive, and do what needs to be done."
"You mean complete my Focus?"
"Don't you worry about that! You make the choice."
Hope gave his dad one last hug.
"Thanks, Dad."
The group ran out to where Snow was. An enemy airship had just come in before them.
"Our turn, Hero," Lightening told Snow," Rayne, let us handle this and you keep Snow out of the fight."
"What? I can handle a little gas," Snow complained.
Hope stepped in front of his friend.
"Catch your breath! I'll throw in some hits for you."
Snow began coughing till he was on his knees. Rayne stayed by him.
"They're good fighters. This'll be over quickly," she reassured him.
"Yeah, I know."
They took out the airship in no time, like she said. Another airship floated up as the other one fell, ready to attack.
"Again? There's no end to these guys!" Fang complained.
Suddenly, a laser beam went through the airship, taking it down instantly. They readied themselves for another battle as a new airship took its place and a few soldiers came off the ship.
"Heya, Fang," one of the soldiers said, walking up to them casually with his gun hung over his shoulder.
The soldier took off his helmet and laughed.
"Need a ride?"
They all stood down.
"Don't get cute," Fang responded with a smile," Right, let's move it."