While I have canned my attempt at a schedule... I do still hope to finish this before the New Year so I can start a new story... *sigh* we shall see...

Snow and Serah settled into life in Academia much faster and better then Noel had. The hunter figured it was because Cocoon had been much like this. A zenith of technological accomplishment. On the other hand, he was still having trouble coping. Most things he understood in theory but most certainly not in real life. And furthermore he was bored. Snow had settled in with the Guardian Corps trying to sniff out the terrorist group that was after Hope. Serah was working for Academia as Hope's assistant and Noel was technically still the mage's bodyguard.

Of course, this was all temporary work. According to Hope they would have to travel into the future to the year 500AF where their plans would come to fruition. Also, when Caius was most likely to attack. But first there were preparations to make now. And more importantly Hope had his own goals to achieve. He wanted to restore Noel's memories as well as figure out a way to store Etro's heart. Noel wasn't quite sure if either was doable. But if anyone could do it was Hope.

Mostly, they waited around for a sign from Lightning that they were on the right track. According to Snow, they should hear from her within the month and know what to do then. But time was fickle and Noel was worried about what would happen if no news ever came. He was in the garden of the apartment block that the Academy had given to Hope and the rest of them. Even now the hunter couldn't help but stare longingly beyond the city limits. Academia was a giant city yes, close to the crystal pillar where one of the few human cities existed.

But beyond that was the wilds of Pulse. Fal'cie and monsters for the hunter. Research sites that probably would have excited Hope much more then the bullshit they dealt with now. New Bodhum, though much different then what he'd seen when he'd went to get Serah. Noel sighed, he knew that he could probably go out there, but he wanted to go there with Serah or Hope, even Snow at this point he was so bored. It was too dangerous to go out now unfortunately with the terrorist group around. And still no sign of a motive.

"That's where you went to." He looked up and Serah and smiled brightly, this was a friend, one of the few friends that he'd ever had.

"I like being out here better." He shrugged lightly and she laughed.

"Yeah, being in the city is a bit hard." She admitted as she sat down on a synthetic stone bench. "Being in New Bodhum is much better... I think Hope's the only one of us that actually came from a big city."

"Palumpolum right?" He asked quietly and she nodded.

Cocking her head to the side Serah looked out into the city. "The ruins of it still exist on Cocoon I'm sure. Maybe not in very good condition though. I remember that in the days after... He and his father recovered what they could of the apartment. It had been shot up during the events before the fall."

"What do you mean 'shot up?'" Noel asked vaguely alarmed. He and Hope had talked about his hometown and his parents. But only events before the Purge. Never anything about those days.

"His mother died in the Purge right? Well... before they really started the journey to stop the Cocoonian Fal'cie, Snow and Lightning had been committed to getting him home to his father. Snow had promised after all..." She trailed off. "I don't really know too terribly much. I just know that they made it there and his father tried to help them... but the Sanctum knew they were there. Or knew they would go there. Hope was the only one who really had family left. So... the Sanctum attacked his home for harboring l'cie."

"..." Noel's mouth opened and shut a few times, but he found that he didn't have much to say. Hope didn't often talk about his past but it was mostly due to the fact that Hope was more interested in the future. There was little he cared to speak about of the past. His mother, but only before the Purge. Fond childhood memories. Noel sometimes wished that he could remember his own mother's face. Or well, anyone from the village this point.

"His father built this you know?" Serah suddenly spoke again. "The Academy I mean. Hope often said that without a doubt his father believed in them immediately and in the aftermath wanted to create a place where his son would never be hunted again."

Noel scoffed slightly as he thought of their terrible adventures with the terrorists so far. Serah cut him a look and Noel sighed sheepishly. "I wasn't... Not against his dad... just..."

Serah nodded to herself and turned back to the great view that they had in the garden. She sighed softly and looked down at her hands. "I talked to Hope earlier. He said that we would have to continue on our journey you and I. The one Lightning started."

"What? Leave him and Snow here? What good what that do..." Noel trailed off as he swallowed hard. "To stop Caius." He found he still couldn't say kill. He still after everything didn't want to kill his friend and mentor.

"Hmmm." She agreed slightly and looked back over at him. "It sounds kind of nostalgic now. The idea of us traveling together."

Noel hummed an agreement. He had the urge to leave and go do something else. He wasn't sure of what to do. Just the very thought of facing Caius with the intent to kill made him feel sick to his stomach. He wasn't one for hiding away though as his insides continue to twist.

"I saw Lightning." Serah started quietly. "While Snow and I were traveling. I haven't told him yet. I've been kind of afraid about it."

"But wasn't it important? I mean our mission..."

"She told me... That we would all be together in the end. All of us... Sazh, Daijh, Fang, Vanille..." She trailed off slightly and then looked at him. "You as well. In the future. I remember being so happy about it. Thinking that my family. The family that I'd made would be together. Until I realized that Gadot and the rest of Nora wouldn't be there. Hope's father is gone too."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Noel protested. "I would go back to 700AF right? And you all would..." He swallowed hard as he thought of Hope talking about his sacrifice. He thought about what Snow had said seemingly so long ago. This was a battle they could win, but the cost would be high. It seemed it was beginning to be too high for the hunter's taste.

"No." She stared down at her hands and then away from him. "We can't... We can't undo all this. That's what Lightning told me. The chances of us stopping Caius is good. But... We can never go back. That's what Lightning said."

"What does that mean? Will we all just stay in 500AF? I mean, that's where the finally battle is. The last shatter point in this timeline. She sent us on this road to tear out Caius' heart and THEN WHAT?!" He was standing and shouting before he even realized what he was doing.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Serah shouted back before she deflated. "That's why I haven't told anyone else yet. She didn't say what time we'd end up in. But I know it's not our time. And I know it's not your time. I thought... All I can think is that we are going to be punished. And you... It's our fault. You will be punished with us."

"What do you mean punished?" Noel asked as he sat back down, attempting to be calmer now. Not just for her sake but his own.

"When a l'cie completes their focus. They are meant to remain crystal until the Fal'cie wakens them for another mission. Our master... Anima... Lightning and the others killed it with their own hands. At the bottom of the Bresha Lake ruins. The sea of crystal beyond the part we explored... You remember? Those are what's left of Anima. We should have remained crystal forever."

"But Etro saved you right? When I met Lightning she told me that Etro awakened you."

"Yes and that brought the chaos!" Serah pointed out but Noel shook his head lightly and moved closer to his friend, his best friend and took her hand.

"No... I think." He took a deep breath. "I think Etro woke all of you to stop the chaos, even if that event hadn't happened Caius would have still be working to open the gate and kill Etro. The Fal'cie would still have been-"

Loud sirens began going off in the building and both of them shot up nervously. Above the sirens came a voice over the intercom. "Breach, breach. Intruders have invaded the building. All soldiers report to defense positions. Enemy combatants on the research floors."

"Hope." Noel gasped as he turned trusting Serah to be behind him as he dashed towards the elevator to get down to the 500th floor research block.

Hope gasped as he turned the corner and ran. His left hand pressed tightly against his waist. The light bullet had punched through his lower side and while he could hear the sounds of fighting behind him. He knew he was in a bad position. They had all be caught off guard. When the guards had flooded the floor, much in the same way they'd had long ago during Snow's strong entrance to stop Alyssa. He had simply thought that something was going down. Not that that set of guards would be terrorists.

He had dived out of the room, he had to get to the emergency system. Half stumbling, and half walking he whimpered as he slid along the wall. Finding the building wide alarm, he slammed his fist against it and winced as the loud klaxon alarm system startling him.

"Someone set off the alarm! Find them!" Someone commanded from the main hub.

Hope groaned knowing they would begin trying to secure the floor and count their hostages. He was one of the few people who worked in this sector with silver hair. They would probably notice him gone fairly quickly. Especially when he was probably who they were looking for. Feeling the shock and pain slowly beginning to settle a bit. He laid his left hand on his waist.

"Cure." He whispered and waited for the glow to fade before pulling his hand out from his shirt and looked around. This floor was mostly large open rooms and few places to hide. It was probably only a short amount of time before he was caught. And without a partner and minus his boomerang he would mostly be a long range fighter.

Cursing to himself he made his way towards the back block where the service elevators and stairs were. It wouldn't very useful to him, especially if the terrorist had blocked that area off. But for right now, it was the best plan he had. With a hiss of pain Hope crashed through the door as a body collided with his. He stared up into the eyes of Arcane and she smiled at him grimly.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" Hope hissed as he laid on his side staring up at her.

"Let's just say I had a feeling." She commented as she pushed him further into the storage closet.

"We should get to the elevators." He said as he sat up slowly wincing in pain.

"No can do." Arcane shut the door quietly and sheathed her gunblade. "These assholes have all the usual exits secure. I'd take you through the ventilation system but our own anti-spy shit has us at a loss. Especially with an injury like that."

Hope nodded grimly. He worked himself into a comfortable position and lifted his shirt up to actually look at the wound. It was a mess, the wound was worse then he thought. Jagged lines were etched into his side from the rounds fired. He hadn't been able to distinguished what had happened between the pain and the adrenaline. It looked like a whole round of light pulse bullets had hit him.

"That looks like it should have you down for the count." Arcane commented as she pulled out a potion and skin slim bandages. She tossed them at him and the silver haired man began to clean and care for his wound. "Lightning said you were tough but I didn't know you were that tough."

"Lightning?" Hope's head jerked up and looked at her with wide eyes. Arcane's eyes widened and then she winced, her purple eyes rolling skyward. Hope watched as her right hand, dark skin with pale splotches was rubbed across her face.

"I don't know how much I am allowed to tell you but... Lightning visited me in a dream." She paused as they heard gunfire outside. Confirming it was heading away from them she continued on. "She told me to protect the 'hope of the future.' At first I thought she was talking about the Cocoon project. And thus I signed up for the Guardian Corps. But then I met you."

"But..."

"She chose Noel didn't she? To protect Serah... and she chose me to protect you." Arcane commented off handedly.

"But Noel?" Hope flushed and Arcane laughed softly.

"I doubt she foresaw most of what has happened when she made the initial decisions. She's the goddess' protector not an actual goddess." Arcane sunk down the wall and leaned her head forward. "While this is all a good distraction, we should probably focus more on the fact that this floor is flooded with people who want you dead."

"Sadly." Hope replied as he finished securing off the bandages. "This is not something new to me. Anything I can learn about Lightning is much more interesting to me."

"Oh ho ho, should I inform Noel of this?" Arcane tease lightly as she checked her bullets.

"I'm not in love with Lightning." Hope flushed at the thought. He was devoted to Lightning in a lot of ways. Mostly because he cared about all his friends deeply and what had happened to Lightning and Vanille and Fang were all things he needed to fix, but he guessed he did talk about Lightning more. After all, she was the one that he knew nothing about. Figuring out where she was and of course Serah's almost singleminded focus on her sister had led him-

"All right. You are thinking of this far too much." Arcane stood up after the silence had stretched on for a few moments. "I need to get you off this floor."

"But how? You said all the usual exits are closed." Hope pushed himself into a standing position.

"Well they are." Arcane reached up and pulled aside her shirt to reveal a strange mark. It was the mark that Noel often talked about when he discussed his culture with him. The mark of Etro."It doesn't make me an awesome warrior like a l'cie. But it does allow me little perks."

"What do you mean perks?" Hope asked grumpily and then paused. "Wait... You can summon?"

"Well sorta." She flushed a bit and then turned around. "I have a vehicle summon. She can't fight but then again... you've probably just never noticed her."

"Noticed her?"

"Ever notice I always have some sort of transportation when we need it? That's her... Her name is Chariot."

"Wait... then what are you planning?" Hope asked nervously as he stared at her.

"While it's not a perfect idea.. If all else fails I figure I can bust open a window and we can use Chariot as a ride to get to another floor."

Hope felt a little queasy at that but he nodded. He wasn't comfortable with impromptu rides in dangerous situations. He still felt nervous as he remembered all the faulty vehicles that he had to deal with back when he was a l'cie dealing with Pulsian technology. He found the more things got heated up around here, the more his mind wanted to align things to back then. As Arcane began to formulate her plan, Hope swallowed hard as his own apprehension grew worse. The research floor was the 500th floor of the Academy HQ and dangling from a building was not on his list of reasonable pastimes.

The ringing of their ears as an explosion sounded at the end of the hall brought both of them back to a general consensus. Explosions were highly dangerous in tall buildings. Especially if near the wrong points. While the building itself was built to withstand most things that would cause it to collaspe it wasn't an impossible gambit either. Especially if the terrorists were really determined to make it so.

"Maybe the calvary?" Arcane asked optimistically as she checked her equipment and stood up. "Our position isn't safe enough to wait it out so..."

"Not much else to do." Hope grunted as he stood up and stretched slowly, testing his limits. The gunshot wounds from earlier were still messy. No longer bleeding as far as he could tell but the internal damage was probably worse then he thought. Not good for close quarters combat. "You'll have to maintain distance. I think I'm support only."

Arcane regarded him faintly. There was no way he'd be able to use his boomerang in such narrow areas anyway. She had always regarded Hope as having relatively low close combat skills. Mages were distance fighters and his boomerang was only useful to help maintain that distance really.

"How about casting offensively? Still think that's a go?"

Hope nodded stiffly. Honestly, as bad as this had turned his day out to be throwing a few lightning and areo spells sounded like a good solution to his problems. Arcane turned to the door and slid it opened slowly. She checked both ways, hands on her gunblade and then pulled it out as she moved into the doorway. "While it's safe to say it's probably useless let's go with your original plan. If help is coming the service elevators are where it's coming from."

Hope nodded immediately and let Arcane lead the way as they crept down the hall. Another set of explosions sent Hope to his knees. His balance already compromised from the blood loss. He groaned slightly turned to Arcane weakly. "I can't make it much farther if this keeps up. It's probably already reopened."

"Just a little farther." Arcane replied gently as she helped lift him up. "We've got to get to the elevators. If more explosions keep happening they are going to try and disassemble the building to save it from collapsing."

"And then what happens?" He asked grumpily.

"They will move the affected portions to outside the city. Every 5 floors has it's own propulsion system to lift it up and move it just past city limits to prevent as much damage as possible for all the government buildings that could be attacked. If we're really unlucky... They'll just blow it up once it's outside."

"You can't be serious." Hope rasped as he shakily moved behind her.

"Well... It's mostly meant as a preventative measure to get faulty parts of buildings out of the way. But... There's only so long the building can maintain flight. They'd have to get it out of the way. I know you know that the buildings can come apart in case of emergency-"

"It was made." Hope interrupted her. "To make evacuating to the new Cocoon easier. Not to send people to their deaths.

"You're faith in humanity continues to astound me." Arcane admonished gently.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Someone shouted. And Hope crouched down and closed his eyes. He was too weak to do much more and the building was shaking again. The explosion erupted almost simultaneously with the impending attack but the sound of bullets against steel and the angry sound of a Moggle being thrown forced him to open his eyes. In front of him stood Noel, arms holding his swords forward as he defended the injured scientist.

"Noel?" Hope asked as the building was rocked again this time more violent then before. The building was separating. Hope was jerked back and he slammed into the wall head first. Almost immediately, Noel, who had hit the wall beside him was curled around him, supporting his body.

The scientist opened his eyes weakly and cursed as he realized someone was wrong with the blocks propulsion system, the floor was tilting. He clung to Noel and watched as everything slid towards the wall they were against, thankful the floor didn't have a lot of funiture in the hall and that most it was also nailed down.

"This isn't right." Serah called out as she kneeled on the floor, her weapon gone as the Moggle floated above her head, flittering nervously. "They said they weren't going to separate the floors."

"Each group of floors has it's own control system as well as the central. It seems our terrorists targeted it. Which would explain the hard ride. The other 200 floors aren't mean to come with it. The sections operate on a 5 floor system. Hopefully the controllers of the other floors will separate otherwise we won't stay airborne long!"

Hope's ears were too busy ringing for him to add his thoughts to the situation. Instead he moaned miserably as Noel's hands searched his hair coming away covered in blood. He winced roughly and Noel emitted a low jerk in the building sent them falling the other way before the building slowly righted.

"That... Would be us being fully separated." Snow said as he stood up and stared out the window. "Guess we're being kidnapped."

"Like hell we are." Arcane stood up and brandished her sword. Their attackers from before were both incapacitated or even dead from slamming into the wall head first. Much harder then Hope had unfortunately. "Hope needs medical aid and we need a base. From there, were are going to take this floor back."

"Just this one? What if they are on the other five?" Serah asked as she stood up and called to Moggle.

"We'll get to that later. The main thing is to take back control and the controls are on this floor." Arcane replied. "If we can land it peacefully outside the city limits and get ahold of the Guardian Corps everything should go well."

"Well for us?" Noel asked as he looked down at a still ailing Hope. The hits that the other took looked bad and he wasn't all too sure that Hope could handle much more.

"The lounge." Hope finally croaked out. "It's a good defensible position."

"Sounds good." Snow replied. "What direction?"

"It should be over in the next hallway." Serah replied as she knelt down on the other side of the scientist. A soft healing spell stopped the bleeding and had Hope thinking a bit more clearly. "I can probably do more for him if we get there."

Noel nodded and with a grimace at what he knew was going to happen, he carefully picked the mage up. Hope hit him (the silver haired man hit harder then he thought!) and glowered as the hunter shifted him in his arms. Serah smiled at them thinly and Hope started to struggle.

"Me or Snow?" Noel asked quietly and Hope quickly calmed down into his partner's arms. Arcane looked between the two remaining fighters and sighed deeply. She wasn't worried about anyone's abilities but this was not going to be easy.

"I'll take point." The purple eyed woman commanded as she flipped her gunblade into a gun and lifted it up in front of her. "Snow take rear."

The large man grumbled but followed her direction. Arcane started down the hallway. Everyone was tense waiting for an attack. Hope found himself ailing and he curled further into Noel. Arcane tried to move around the corner but there was a hail of fire and she reared back, slamming into Serah who had to balance herself on the wall. Hope whimpered at the sound, it sounded more like the loud klaxon horns he had turned on earlier and it caused his already aching head even more pain.

"Hey... Stay with me." Noel whispered quietly, wishing he could actually cradle the other but Hope wasn't as light as he looked, muscle hiding up his Academy uniform.

"Snow with me." Arcane ordered.

"I can fight." Serah hissed at the perceived slight.

"I need a long distance fighter to protect the director." She looked at her. "If someone comes around the back end we'll need your bow and arrow."

Serah nodded and gestured to Moggle who turned around and took point behind Noel and Hope keeping watch. Noel gritted his teeth as Arcane and Snow charged around the corner. He wanted to be with them helping, but he also didn't want to leave Hope behind being so weak. The other had taken a few terrible hits and his head wound was worrying him as the other continued to be dizzy and weak. After what seemed like too long Arcane turned back around the corner grim faced.

"Let's go." She commanded and spun on her heel.

The two rushed to follow her, Snow further ahead guarding the door to the lounge. It was more of a distance then Hope remembered and between the pain in his head and the pain in his side that made him want to vomit. Once inside the room, Noel laid him down on the longest couch in the room. Serah grabbed a few pillows off another and used them to adjust Hope down.

"Noel, there's a sink could you get me a few cupfuls of water? And napkins or towels if the have them." Serah ordered as she knelt next to Hope's head and slowly turned his head before sorting her way though blood stained hair. The hunter moved towards the sink and carefully gathered the supplies the other asked for on a tray. He came to kneel down beside her and hissed as he saw the bruised cut on the other's head.

"It's not as serious as it looks." Serah murmured as she continued to attend to the wound and Noel had to remind himself that it wasn't like his time period were such an injury could spell death. He rocked back on his heels and willed himself to calm down. There was a quiet moment and then Snow spoke up.

"So who has a map to plan strategy? Or can we do it my way?"