The annex facility was a nondescript building with an Academy insignia on the sign leading up to it. Inside was the machinery that was directly connected to the placement of the gravitation cores. They assumed that some kind of armed attack would most likely take place here and so they made sure to place as many Guardian Corps people as they could around and near the facility.
Which Noel thought was stupid, making it more obvious. But even the hunter had to admit that there was nothing else that they could really do. They stood quietly, saluting as the two men passed and the hunter looked over each of them uncomfortable. It could be anyone that was going to attempt to take Hope's life. He found his mind wandering to Augusta Tower in the thankfully ended timeline, remembering how Hope had died once. Due to an error of the scientist's own judgement. A time in which Hope could have died before he'd even had time to understand that he cared so deeply for the master mage.
Once they were inside the control room of the complex, Hope turned to the master panel and begin to work vigorously. They both felt the need to get back into the city as soon as possible. Everything about this place felt far to vulnerable. As the hour droned on, Noel found himself becoming unreasonably bored, even though he knew he should be on high alert.
"Noel, could you go into the next room and send the forwarding message to Director Nabaat? When you get back, we should be ready to go." Hope replied without looking as he sensed the other's boredom and impatience.
"On it." Noel waved as he exited the room glad for something to do.
Hope began to shut down the computer in front of him. He felt nervous and achy. He wanted out of here as fast as possible. Usually he had no particular feelings about the annex center but considering what was meant to happen today, he felt nervous. After shutting down the computer, he headed into the antechamber to check the visuals of what the inside of the new cocoon looked like, and the camera modules. As the door slid shut behind him, the first blast happened.
Hope flew forward into the console. Gasping in pain as his shoulder was jarred. He rolled over groaning in pain. The control room had been completely destroyed. His guards and any scientists that in there were dead. Only the metal doors had spared his own life. He felt a power surge and rolled under one of the blown off doors as the second explosion went off. He swallowed hard in fear. Had Noel come back to the control room? Was there yet another bomb in the communications room?
He pressed his head into his hands as he leaned down with his eyes closed. He choked on a cry as another explosion sounded. It was most likely that he was going to die here and when Snow had told him of the assassination, he hadn't been too horrified at the thought of it. It had never occurred to him that the attack would be on such a grand scale. He had assumed an assassination, not a massacre.
"HOPE!" He heard the cry of his name and it made him jerk up as he swallowed down his terror. After all, the explosions seemed to have stopped now. Which meant that if terrorists were going to be through that sweeps would start. The call sounded out again. The panic in Noel's voice rekindled the terror that Hope had felt before hand.
The silver haired man opened and closed his mouth a few times, but he couldn't get himself to speak up. He could hear the sounds of Noel's foot steps coming closer as he tried to will himself to call out. Suddenly there was a face that appeared at the other side of the door. He scrambled back and then winced as he realized that his arm was injured.
Noel was over him immediately, he grabbed Hope's injured arm and careful examined the deep cut. Hope whimpered and tried to pull back but the hunter pulled him forward and kissed him roughly across the mouth.
"You scared the shit out me." The guardian hissed, the rare obscenity scaring some of the shock out of Hope's system but not enough to make him much more useful. Noel turned away from him still gripping his arm and looked back into the destoryed control room. "We need to get out of here."
"N-N-Noel." Hope reached for his shoulder and missed. He felt weird. Noel turned into time to see the scientist's eyes roll up into his head. Confused he pulled Hope up into his arms and began to search for a way out.
Noel managed to get them to the upper levels and down a hall before he heard the sound of bullets and he cursed. He couldn't carry Hope and fight. But leaving the other behind was not an option he could consider. He ducked into a room and noticed that most of the room was missing in the face of a bomb probably having blown it out. He sat Hope down slowly and gently looked him over. He found that in his back, was some kind of small dart, like the ones that had been all over the gore he had found in the destroyed control room. He pulled it out and tossed it aside.
Without much time or the knowledge to analyze it, the hunter just assumed that that was the cause for the man's unconscious state. The other people in the room being beyond mutilated would be the reason that he hadn't seen the effects on others. After checking for more injuries and then casting a minor cure on himself, the long cut in his side from shrapnel probably wasn't going to get better any time soon, but the blood flow was now sluggish and that was good enough.
The hunter paused as he heard footsteps but no one checked the room, probably assuming that it was blown out and empty. After the steps faded he headed towards the edge and noticed that this part led out into the wilds. Noel sighed, it was their best bet at this point. He checked his comm for damage and found that it was okay though he was glad it was still off and began to look for a way down.
As he scanned it, he noticed an odd collection of rocks that made a rather jagged slide. If he jumped carefully he could probably hit the smoother parts and get down to the base before it fell. He then looked back at his friend? Partner? Lover? He shook his head. He could make it, braving his way through the complex wasn't a good idea.
He walked back over to Hope and brushed a hand across his face but there was no response from parted lips. Noel had a feeling that these terrorists had wanted him alive regardless of what Snow had said but in their hands it's not like Hope would have lived much longer. He pulled the scientist onto his back and secured him as best he could. He approached the edge of the building. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself and took the first jump.
It was hard going, his leg got caught on a jagged edge on the second jump throwing him off balance but he managed to on the third get his equilibrium back and get to the fouth, fifth and sixth no problem. On the last jump, he slipped and they both tumbled to the ground. Noel groaned in pain and looked for Hope, finding him not too far away, blood flowing from the side of his head. Swallowing down panic he moved closer and rolled him over. The unconscious man must have hit a rock or something. Sluggish blood flow turning his silver hair into a murky red and slipping down his cheek.
"Let's get some where safe." Noel told him and lifted him into his arms and headed into the forest.
As he began to walk into the forest, another larger explosion occurred, forcing Noel to take refuged behind a rock. The hunter figured that it destroyed the rest of the building which hopefully meant that the terrorists might go back to where the hell they came from. One could only hope anyways. He looked down at his precious cargo and sighed softly. If he could make it back to the city limits he could meet up with the Guardian Corps and get back to headquarters.
The walk was long and quiet and even though Hope's breath remained strong and healthy, the hunter still found himself getting increasingly worried about the other. When he finally broke the tree-line, he realized they were near the service road for the rail system that moved between Academia and New Bodhum. Obviously much closer to the former then the latter, he slipped back into the trees with a renewed sense of direction and headed for where he hoped the nearest service station would be.
It took hours to get there, especially since he had to take breaks to cast healing spells on himself and Hope, thankfully far away enough to not attract people with the glows of Curas. He placed Hope down and slowly approached the building and waved down a member of the Guardian Corps that was on patrol.
"Noel Kriess? What are you doing out here?" The soldier asked as he looked at him curiously. "And where is the director? We heard about the attack."
"The director is safe." Noel replied quietly. "Can you please call the Academy and get someone out here."
"Sir. If you would like you and the director can wait here." The grunt said as he motioned to the station. Noel didn't really like the idea, but he found he had no choice as he was going to have to really figure out how much longer Hope was going to be unconscious. He stayed still for a moment thinking but he knew that for the most part the building had been destroyed and most of the terrorists would have assumed that Hope had died in one of the blasts, since it was obvious that they didn't do an actual search to check for survivors. The explosions were too close in time.
Those footsteps he'd heard were probably escaping traitors.
"All right." He spoke quietly and walked back into the woods and hefted the still unconscious director into his arms and headed for the station. The soldier gestured him to the small medical bay that existed in case accidents happened on the railroad. The bed was unbelievably tiny and Noel was sure he'd rested on softer rocks in the Yachas Massif. He slowly sat on the side of the bed and rested his hand against the others face.
The silver haired mage's breath was still strong but relaxed as if he were asleep, which just confirmed Noel's earlier thought. A sedative. Which still didn't make sense when he thought of the attack on the facility. Why were the first few bombs sedative shots and shrapnel? Lack of money? He knew that was important in times like this... but that still didn't make sense. Wouldn't the sedative be expensive?
Especially because it wouldn't have made a difference if Hope had been in the room with the sedative bomb. Those who had been there weren't only dead but completely mutilated in way that would probably contribute to his nightmares. When the grunt soldier had left to contact command with the codes that Noel had given him. The hunter shut the door and set his larger blade against the bed and leaned down.
"Stop worrying me jerk." He whispered before he kissed Hope's temple, he thought it was too weird to kiss an unconscious person's mouth. Still sleeping rather like the dead, Noel sat back up, his senses still on high alert. He wasn't sure he'd be able to come off of the adrenaline anytime soon as he was still nervous about trusting the grunt.
Hope felt like he was back in crystal. His sleep deep but nerve wracking as half formed phantoms chased him. He jerked awake as if he'd hit the surface after a long time under water and gasped for air as he clutched at his chest. He trembled as he sat there, alone in an unknown place. He closed his eyes and took deep breathes as memory came back still too disoriented to protect himself.
It came as a surprise to him when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up to see Noel staring nervously at him before his eyes darted to the door. Hope turned expecting to see someone there but the door was shut. He looked back up at Noel and the hunter shook his head.
"No one enters until I give the go ahead. Are you okay?" The guardian asked quietly.
"No." The silver haired man easily admitted as he stared down at his hands. Part of him was actually surprised to see the pale fingers that he dealt with day in and day out instead of something horrifying such as being a cieth. Noel sat down in front of him and gently cupped his cheeks.
"Hey." The hunter murmured as he moved his partner's head so that their eyes could meet. "You're safe now."
"Really?" Hope muttered back grumpily and then sighed deeply. "I know Snow said an assassination attempt. But an assassination and a bombing are two different damn things."
"Well... considering what the aims of this group maybe be. I think it was effectively both. You were hit with a sedative dart from the explosion. Apparently the first few bombs were filled with them. It couldn't have hit you directly... You wouldn't have survived that." Noel stroked silver hair and then kissed a sweaty forehead.
Hope seemed to deflate after that and leaned into Noel with his arms closed. A weak laugh leaving him as the dark haired man looped his arms around him. He breathed in the smell of Gran Pulse that clung to the hunter's tan skin and let it calm him down as the delayed adrenaline wore off. After a few minutes Noel sighed and kissed his temple.
"An envoy to take us back to Academia should be here soon. We're in a service station. Right now, it's just us and the unfortunate grunt who was manning the station." Noel spoke quietly and soothingly but Hope just now noticed that the other was on high alert.
"Don't trust him?" He asked quietly.
"I don't trust anyone right now." Noel stated. "We have no way of knowing who is what... other then they won't risk an attack on Headquarters."
Hope nodded his agreement and then pulled back slightly. "It make sense though... Headquarters has a lot more protections as it houses the government as well as the research facility. Killing me will only disrupt the cocoon project. Attacking HQ might throw the city into a panic if government officials get into the crossfire."
"Which means that the best attacks are when you are outside..." Noel sighed softly and tilted Hope's head up to kiss his mouth. "Don't scare me like that again you ass."
"You're one to talk. Last I checked, you were the one who through yourself in front of a behemoth." Hope teased back before he kissed Noel again. Now that the adrenaline and terror had worn off all he wanted to do was go home and bury himself in his sheets.
"Sir!" The envoy is here." The grunt from earlier called as he knocked on the door.
"Well enough to fight?" Noel asked quietly and Hope nodded. The scientist appreciated his partner's paranoia as anything could happen on a day as shitty as today had been so far.
Hope leaned his head against the window as they road in the bulletproof hover car. It was quiet inside their isolated car. The military taking no chances with the great 'Director from the Academy's past.' Next to him, Noel was quiet as well, arms curled around his large sword as he listened to the sounds of the car moving. Hope sighed softly, it was odd to him sometimes to realize that Noel could be so quiet and still.
While what he knew about 700AF would constitute such behavior for a hunter. Noel was usually such an explosion of motion and snark that he wasn't yet completely use to the long quiet spells of the man he was falling love with. As the sight of Headquarters came into view he let loose a breath and slowly relaxed. He reached out for the dark haired man's hand and squeezed it gently. Noel returned the gesture and laced their fingers together.
The silence stretched between them as they pulled into the hanger and the doors were opened by members of the Guardian Corps. Hope released his hand immediately, and got out of the car. Outside unsurprisingly were Director Nabaat, General Yurg and Councilor Ulman. Hope nodded at them and then turned to watch Noel get out and sheath his swords.
"I see your young protector has more then proved his worth today." Councilor Ulman stated as she pushed her glasses back into place. A tall and willowy woman, she reminded Hope of some of the school teachers of his youth, though she was much more cunning then any of them could have ever hoped to be. "After you've been to the medical bay I must request that you come to my office. Someone has decided to take credit for the attack as well as claim to have proof you are dead."
Hope swallowed hard at that and resisted the urge to reach for Noel's hand. But, as much as Councilor Ulman was important to his work, the head of the government's science committee, he knew better then to let his guard down around anyone in this place.
"Also." General Yurg stated as she cross her arms and glared at Ulman. The two had never gotten along as far as Hope knew. The general reminding him of Lightning in her firm countenance and permanently neutral face was also a contrast. Shorter then his mentor and psudo sister, she had dark skin and a thicker build then most, but the scientist had no doubts that most of it was pure muscle. "We have started to fan out to see if we can find anything about said attack. It seems that that they must have connections to some of the robberies that happened in the New Town district at the medical facilities."
"The sedative bombs." Noel replied unsurprised and the stern woman nodded, her green eyes flashing on the hunter with respect.
"Thank you for taking care of our Director. We may not be the same Academy of centuries past but he is important to all of us." She saluted and turned for the door. "If I find anything important I'll send a runner."
Nabaat who'd been silent so far sent a fond look after General Yurg and then nodded to the two. "If you'll follow me I'll let the medics get a look at your injuries and then maybe get some food in you? You can't go back to your rooms for a few hours unfortunately as security is searching for bugs and updating your security systems... As I know you appreciate your privacy."
"Thanks." Hope said quickly before Noel could ask questions better stated in private. Nabaat looked over at Ulman who waved her hand politely and turned to head back to the political levels of Headquarters.
Nabaat led them quietly to the elevator and as they rode up to the 500th floor, the beginning of the Research levels Nabaat let out an annoyed breath and rolled his eyes. The hanger was only a fifty floors down as they'd come back in the military wing to not alert others but it was obvious that meeting with the other two women was something he wished he hadn't had to do.
"Yurg is an admirable women if you don't mind the frostbite." He grumbled good naturedly. "But I'd sooner go to Bresha without a guardian unit then spend more time then I have to with Ulman. I swear she doesn't see people anymore just pawns and political gains."
"Well, she is hoping to be the next Chancellor. I would assume that takes quite a bit of ego and calculation." Hope replied as he slid his eyes over slickly.
"And yet, you were technically the head of the government in 10AF right? Wouldn't gaining your favor mean something?" Director Nabaat asked teasingly.
"Now, now... If things worked like way back then you'd be the head of the government and trust me... It's a job you don't want. I was only the defacto head as the Academy was mostly concerned with building a society at the time. As head of Alpha team, that made me the head honcho as it were." Hope was surprised that he'd managed to keep a straight face so far. "But I assure you that fighting on the Archylte Steppe is much more fun then those idiots were."
Both Nabaat and Noel let out surprised laughter at Hope's disdainful look as he made the deadpanned comment. It hadn't really surprised Noel to find that the other thought this way, since Hope seemed more a man of action then talking. And while science wasn't necessarily a battle, he found that it was a very hands on and goal oriented type of work. Something Noel could respect even if he didn't have the fortitude for that type of work.
It seemed like an eternity before they reached Hope's office. The former Director dropped into his chair and leaned forward with his head in his hands. The current Director, Nabaat sat down on the chair across from the other and Noel still keyed up stayed standing as he looked out the grand windows in to the peaceful looking world.
"At the present time, it seems that the group who is taking credit for this is connected to a sect that we believe is in connection to a Paradox." Nabaat murmured. "Their manifesto talked about the glory of the world under a Fal'cie. But there was also something about a place called Augusta Tower..." Nabaat started quietly watching as the two men stiffened. "I take it that this is something from the past?"
"Not the past." Noel murmured quietly. "The present... a different present. I came to 400AF once... but in that timeline... Academia was ruled by a Fal'cie."
"The Fal'cie of Gran Pulse have shown no interest in interfering with human affairs."
"Not a Gran Pulse Fal'cie." Hope's voice was muffled as his head was still resting on his folded arms. Huddled like that his eyes darted back and forth across the ground as he thought back to those original plans. His mind blasted with information about a woman with short yellow hair and a charming demeanor. "A Fal'cie created by the Academy. According to what we learned about that timeline... Alpha Team would have created a Fal'cie... Adam who would have turned on it's creators and then replicated the staff to rule over humanity as Cocoonian Fal'cie once had."
"And by replicate you also mean, that the Academy staff would have been murdered."
"Yes, but a long time ago. " Noel interjected as he looked over at Hope. The silver haired man seemed to be deflating in on himself. Whether it was because he was tired or because they were discussing his death in an alternative timeline. He turned to Nabaat. "Shouldn't we go to the medical bay?"
"Actually we are waiting for Lissa Maudlyn... She is know for her discretion and is someone I trust at a time like this." Nabaat replied as he looked over at Noel. "She should be here soon. Right now I'll leave you to your own devices."
Noel managed to wait until the door slid shut before he shot across the room and laid a hand across Hope's shoulders as he knelt down. He slid the hand up into silver hair and kissed his arm. Silence stretched between them quietly only broken by Hope's harsh breathes. Noel tilted that head slowly, wincing at the still reddish, brown streaks from the blood.
"I'm here." He murmured quietly. "I've got you."
Hope sighed tiredly and slipped down out of his seat and leaned into Noel. A hand clutched at the hunter's shoulder tightly, pale and shaky. The silence stretched on long and Noel shifted into a better position as he held the older man tighter. It was something he was sure they both needed. To feel each other's warmth and to know they were okay.
"I'm scared." Hope whispered and Noel looked down to see the man still curled tightly into him his eyes closed. "If those people want a Fal'cie leader... They won't stop. While there is no Augusta Tower... The is the Central Intelligence Core. Which stores all of the research of all the scientists. The work that was left of Alpha Team's Fal'cie research is still there. It's not much... but if they have access to more research through a paradox..."
"Hey, shush." Noel stated as he kissed the shorter man's clammy forehead. "We'll be fine."
Hope opened his mouth to say something else. Instead he sat up and clutched Noel's shoulders. The hunter tilted his head as he stared at the younger man. Hope slid his hands up and into the younger man's brown hair and pulled him towards him so that their mouths met. The kiss was hard and deep. Noel groaned as he returned the kiss and clutched at the mage tightly.
As they kissed the silver haired men let out all that he was feeling, adrenaline that was rearing it's head as the sedative continued to wear off. The fear he felt for his life as well as the man in front of him. He also felt his own terror from all that had happened today shooting up and wearing down.
The kiss ended slowly and Hope melted into his partner and closed breathed in his scent. The high now gone, he felt weak and tired. Noel stroked his head, now that Hope was coming down, he could feel the tiredness and ache in his own bones that was now slowly pushing to the forefront.
"Hey, the healer should be here soon. So let's just go sit on the couch or something for a while."
Hope nodded tiredly and Noel was a bit worried about how quiet the shorter man was. He wanted the other to actually respond to him with words but it seemed like it wasn't going to happen. Finally they situated themselves on the couch as they waited quietly for Maudlyn, neither man really able to share their thoughts.