Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Square-Enix!
Pairing: SnowxHope
Warning: Contain Yaoi!
My valentine gift to my readers. If you're not getting a kiss from a very special person today, then try get one from your mom. Happy Valentine!
Chapter 12: Love and Lost
In Eden
Eden was a mess long before the sun could rise above the horizon. Hope's green eyes scanned the highway where they were tailing the movement of Calvary to Eden Hall only to see dead corpses of civilians, PSICOM soldiers, and pulse fiends. He felt his inside coil for causing these commotions. They arrived in the city of Eden during an ongoing race and it seemed like the people were still clueless of the fal'Cie and the Calvary's intentions. With little options, they rushed into the city, guns blazing with their Eidolons, only to cause a mass panic among the spectators. PSICOM along with the resident Guardian Corps units quickly were dispatched to halt their presence, but their movements were cut short after worm holes suddenly appeared in Eden, warping Pulsian fiends and automata from Grand Pulse and the Fifth Ark.
Despite the commotions around the party, Hope noticed everyone was quiet to themselves. The party found themselves a bit lacking in concentration at their task. Everyone had something running through his or her head at the moment. Lightning and Fang were taking the lead. Those two were an unstoppable force to be reckoned; a two-soldier army. Sazh and Snow were taking the rear. The blond and himself had not made much contact other than a few glances since leaving Oerba. Hope could feel his chest swell and constrict thinking about the man. Despite everything that had happened recently, he couldn't forget the strong feeling he once had for the man. He clenched his fingers into a fist. He should not be thinking about the blond-haired man. His mind was in turmoil whenever those beautiful aquatic eyes met his; he quickly drifted his gaze away. He was losing his concentration. With everything that had happened, the party continued strolling along as a team.
"There! A shortcut." Fang pointed to an alleyway.
The party quickly and stealthily walked into the narrow corridor between the closed buildings, keeping a low profile from PSICOM and the Pulsian wildlife. The party kept a high alert of their surrounding as they passed through chaos with little efforts. As the group reached closer and closer to Eden Hall, the party saw more and more civilians. Cocoon's inhabitants were taking refuge in the capital as a safeguard. As much as Vanille's regards to the capital, Hope did not pay attention to much of the details. He had seen Eden many times, mostly when his family went to visit Siren Park on the weekends.
The party ventured on, staying away from the populace to avoid meaningless squabble by evoking them with their presence. They could see Eden Hall in the distance when the area opened, but the pathway looked treacherous. There were Adamantoises and other larger pulse wildlife roaming the roads. And on top of that, PSICOM was there too. It seemed like fortune was not smiling on their faces today.
"L'Cie! Freeze." An authoritative voiced yelled. The party turned around to come face to face with a PSICOM soldier who had his gun aimed at them. Luck really was not on their side. Lightning placed her palm on the hilt of her blade and before she could unsheathed her weapon, a group of soldiers joined the PSICOM.
"Shit." Lightning cursed.
"I think we better run." Sazh advised and the party sprinted into the highway infested with pulsian wildlife.
"Capture them." A soldier yelled.
"Great! Don't... we ever... catch a... break." Sazh whined between gasps of breath.
"If you have the energy to complain, then you have the energy to run!" Fang snickered.
"Open fire!" A soldier ordered.
"Behind the car! Quick!" Lightning order.
The party of l'Cie quickly ducked behind a burnt car, avoiding the onslaught of bullets.
"We're cornered." Hope spoke.
"Load your bazookas!" The same soldier commanded. The men placed their guns back in their holsters before grabbing their bazooka.
"We need to act fast." Vanille yelled, seeing the soldier switching weapon. She quickly climbed on the burnt vehicle with her binding rod in her hands and casted a firaga spell towards the group of soldier. Some of the PSICOM soldier quickly saw the magic and dashed away from the fire spell before it hit on impact. There were screams coming from the explosion and the soldiers who managed to avoid the spell were concealed in a cloud of black smoke, blinding their vision.
"There!" Lightning pointed to a broken bridge, which laid collapsed on the edge of the road. "We can hop onto the broken pathway down to the lower level, under the road, to avoid their pursuers." Lightning quickly lead the way, searching for a pathway as she leapt from one of the crumbling stones to another. Snow followed the rogue, only to stop at the side of the road. He looked down to lower level. Jumping down there looked dangerous. The bridge itself seemed unstable. He suppressed a snort seeing Lightning already on the ground, waiting impatiently for the others. Sazh and Fang quickly dashed away behind the car, following the same course as the rogue soldier down the creaking stone bridge.
"C'mon! The coast is clear." Vanille piped, glancing over the vehicle to see not a single soldier in the area. She quickly ran towards Snow with Hope following her shadow.
"Wait! L'Cie!" A PISCOM soldier yelled, suddenly appearing out from the smoke. The soldier ran after the two l'Cie, closing the distance between him and the two fugitives.
"Run Hope!" Vanille called, stepping up her pace.
Hope was running as fast he could but it wasn't enough, he felt a large body of leather armor tackled him to the ground. He fell face flat on the ground and winced in pain. He quickly thrust an elbow against the figure hovering over him, though his hits only connected with the soldier's superior armor. He readied his glowing hands to unleash a magic spell, but the PISCOM soldier quickly grabbed both of his wrists, pinning him on the floor. "You're under arrest l'Cie." The soldier stated trying keep the teen from squirming.
"Hope!" Vanille cried, readying her binding rod in her hands. She didn't get the chance to cast her spell as a whooshing flash streaked past her.
Hope growled when the soldier grabbed a handful of his silver locks and pressed his head against the cold stone floor. He tried to kick and twists to push the man off of him.
"Quit ya squirm-" Hope heard the PISCOM soldier say but the trooper was rudely interrupted by a fist full of knuckles connecting to his jaw. Hope didn't get the chance to push himself up from the ground because a strong and protective arm wrapped itself around his middle, pulling him to a warm and muscular chest. He raised his head and his light-emerald orbs met a pair of shimmering cerulean orbs. There was a fierce look of anger with a hint of possession crossing the blond's feature, but it was aimed at the soldier laying on the ground knock out.
"Snow?" Hope said softy, blinking in mild astonishment. He just stared incredulously into those intense blue eyes. He felt something flutter in his chest, making his heart torn between pain and contentment.
"Bastard." Snow snarled at the unconscious soldier on the road. It only took a microsecond for Snow to react when he saw the soldier pin a defenseless Hope to the ground.
"Snow! Hope! Watch out!" Vanille yelled.
Both l'Cie turned their gaze to the right coming face to face with a group of PISCOM soldiers appearing from the cloud of smoke, readying their weapons at the target. Snow muttered a curse under his breath as he tightened his hold on the teen before dashing toward the unstable bridge. Vanille was already hopping down the bridge, joining the others.
Hope looked over Snow's shoulder as three soldiers took a crouching stance, aiming their bazooka. Even with Snow's speed, they wouldn't make it to the lower bridge. He needed to stop them before they got killed. Hope quickly pushed himself up on Snow's shoulders, the man's hands wrapping around his thighs.
"What are you doing?" Snow questioned.
"Trying to stop them before they can fire." Hope said. He gasped, as three missiles were fired towards them. He quickly conjured a firaga spell en route to the closest missile. The fire magic hit precisely on one of the missile, causing a bright flashlight of explosion which grew bigger as the other two missile exploded also. The force from the explosion propelled the two l'Cie into the air and onto the lower bridge but Snow did not let go as Hope clung tighter on the blond. Snow landed both feet on the lower bridge, but the support pillars holding the bridge shook, creaking after the shock wave from the explosion and the sudden weight of the two l'Cie. They both gasped as the bridge started to crumble piece by piece.
Snow quickly jumped to what look like a more sturdy stone, but it only fell apart under his feet.
"Snow! Hope." Lightning called out helplessly as she saw the two l'Cie plummet from the bridge into a cloud of dust.
Deep down, Hope never expected to wake up. From the aching pain soaring through his body, he rather preferred resting comfortably on whatever warm bed was under him rather than getting up. He heard voices invading his consciousness, but he ignored their pleas. It's not every day, being a l'Cie like himself, that you could find a warm comfortable bed to sleep in. Then the sudden revelation of the curses hit his head harder than the fall he'd just endured. His green eyes opened slowly and the world seemed foggy, spinning unsteadily. Everything was confusing. He didn't know where he was. The last thing he remembered was his heart beating heavy against his chest and he holding on to something. He managed to apply pressure on his hand, pushing himself up only to hear that something under him groan. His eyes widened, only to see the thing he was lying on was Snow. Then piece by piece his brain placed the puzzle together.
The blond was lying on the ground, fighting his senses back to consciousness.
"Snow?" Hope called place his hand on the man's temple.
Snow groaned, slowly opening his eyes. He saw a pair of panicking green eyes staring at him. "Hope?" Snow muttered softly as he pushed himself up on his elbow. He winced, feeling a rush of pain through his back and left side. Falling from the bridge may have broken a rib or two.
"You okay?" Hope asked worriedly.
"I'll be fine." Snow said with a smile as to cover his discomfort. "You should be more worried about yourself. Look!" He said pointed to the teen's right arm. The soft pale flesh was scraped and it was bleeding. The man placed his hand under the boy's chin, examining the scratches on Hope's cheeks.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Hope chanted mindlessly, clenching his jaws. With all the commotion that just happened, he had not realized the wounds on his body.
"I'm not as good as you and Vanille when it comes to healing..." Snow trailed off, taking off his gloves. Medic was not one of his primary roles. Healing spells needed a different flow of energy and he didn't have the delicate touch like Hope and Vanille to control healing magic. "Hold still a bit."
Hope raised a brow when he saw that Snow's hands began to glow alight with white energy. The man grasped his wounded hand gently, feeling a warm and soothing flow of energy course through his body. Little by little, he could feel the pain from his hand and under his jaw dissipate.
"Better?" Snow said giving Hope his signature smile.
Hope's cheeks flared, the heat rushing to his face. He nodded and glanced away, not meeting the man's gaze.
Moments like these are what Snow missed the most between him and Hope. The way the teen would look away embarrassingly, eyeing the man with hooded eyes. He really had forgotten how fetching silver and red looked together. The moment, however, was crushed when they heard familiar voices yelling around them, causing the teen to break away the close contact and stand up. He wanted to reach for the teen, keep the silver-haired boy safe. He dug his fingers into the ground, the pain in his chest wouldn't go away. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't forget the rush his heart feel being with Hope.
"Light?" Hope called glancing around, but all he could see was fogs of dust.
"H...ope. Where... are you?" Lightning voice echoed through the fog.
"I'm here." Hope yelled a bit louder.
Hope nearly jumped when a boulder was pushed aside behind him, revealing Fang.
"Found them." Fang stated whimsically over her right shoulder. Lightning, Vanille and Sazh quickly rushed behind the pulsian women with a worrisome expression on their faces. All three l'Cie rushed towards the teen, examining his body for injuries.
"God Hope! You scared the focus out of me." Lightning stated.
"Sorry about that." Hope said giving the woman a sympathized look.
"I'm fine also." Snow said sarcastically, struggling to stand up. "You guys don't need to worry about me."
Lightning shook her head in amusement. She gestured to Vanille to look after Snow. "We weren't even vaguely worried about you. Stubborn mule like yourself doesn't die so easily."
After Vanille had patched up Snow's wounds, the party continued their destination to Eden Hall only to arrive at the safe haven with less harm. It seemed like there were more monsters and destruction around the Eden Hall than they had expected but the group out of sight from PSICOM and the pulse fiends. The place was disaster and as the party walked up the stairs toward the building, they were surprised to see small fragments of crystal floating toward the sky.
"What the-" Sazh said in disbelief.
"It's like Oerba." Vanille stated.
"What does this mean?" Snow asked curiously while watching in mild amusement as Hope tried to catch the lucid crystals with his hands.
"You don't think Orphan is losing control of the situation with all the fighting and everything that going on?" Sazh contemplated.
"I don't like this." Lightning said.
"We can sit down and have some tea while discussing this or we can quit wasting time here before we miss our date with the fal'Cie." Fang said mockingly and impatiently, gaining an approving nod from each member of the party.
"So this is the heart of Cocoon." Fang said while everyone else was staring in awe at the building.
"That's were Eden sits, controlling all the actions of the Cocoon's fal'Cie... And also where we can find Orphan." Hope informed.
"So we finally made it. What's the plan?" Snow asked.
"Your usually plan. Charge in the front door." Lightning said seriously. The others thought the woman voiced a joke, but after the rogue strolled away not looking back, they realized she was serious.
"Well that would only get us so far." Sazh said apathetically.
"Where is the Calvary?" Vanille asked glancing around, gaining the other's attention. They were walking to Eden's front door and yet the party had not seen a soul soldier from the Calvary.
"There is another squad up ahead." Lightning called from the distance. The others quickly rushed to the rogue soldier staying behind a wall. There were a group of soldiers armed with weapon, standing on a platform.
"Look like PSICOM and they are guarding the entrance." Sazh informed.
"They haven't noticed our presence yet. C'mon, let's get them. We'll have the surprise attack-" Lightning came out from her hiding only to stop when a blinding flash of light filled the room. Everyone gasped, covering their eyes from the streak of light blinding their vision. They didn't open their eyes until a ghastly howl resonated in the room. Each l'Cie's eyes widened in shock, turning frozen solid on the spot when they saw something more worst than PISCOM soldiers.
"They all turned to Cie'th." Hope said in disbelief.
"A friendly reminder that we don't have time to waste." Sazh said.
"Great!" Lightning sighed in frustration, placing her hand on her blade's hilt.
After making quick work of the Cie'th, the party entered Eden through the gate. They walked into a room that looked like a chapel, a sanctuary with pillars touching the roof. The room emitted a red glow from the setting sunset from the horizon through the glass-stained widows. There were three statues, sculpture of angels holding a spear imbedded on the walls. Unfortunately, the room was desolate.
"Where is the cavalry?" Vanille asked again, her worried eyes searching the room. But before anyone can answer the girl's question, the sound of sluggish footstep echoed in the room. One by one each l'Cie gasped when they saw more Cie'th moving toward them.
"Ahhh... them again." Sazh grumbled.
The l'Cie took a defensive stance, weapon in their hands ready to strike. Suddenly the room began to shake uncontrollably. Everyone gasped, their eyes scanning the surrounding area for whatever was causing this disturbance. Then the three statues began to glow an ominous color. The figure in the middle glowed brighter and the glass-stained widows behind the sculpture began to crack, falling apart to pieces. Eventually the walls followed, crumbling down to pieces also. The room then turned white from a bright light that engulfed and blinded their eyes.
When the party opened their eyes, they were shocked at the change of scenery surrounding them. They were in a different world, unknown to the principles of their own world. There was a strong disturbing force in the distance, purging out platforms across the dimensional plains. The party of l'Cie stared in reverence at the profound space surrounding them. They were still standing at the circular sanctuary after the room had fallen apart. They were lucky to come out from that with no harm done.
"So it's here we'll find Orphan." Hope said, his green eyes wandering the world around him.
"This is it. A lot of people endured suffering to get us here and we can't let their pain goes in vain." Lightning stated.
"Yeah. We're not fighting for our future but for Cocoon's people's future also." Sazh informed.
"Fal'Cie rule ends here." Snow optimistically yelled.
The Narthex Throne
A menacing chuckle resonated in the gold and blue room filled with cogwheels hanging from the ceiling. The former primarch smirked watching his errant l'Cie through the eyes of his rukh. They had finally come to Orphan's Cradle. It seemed like they had taken the bait, trying to stop those foolish soldiers. The end of Cocoon was near. All that was left was for the l'Cie to slay Orphan, to summon the Maker who would rectify this world. He still held on to his two triumph cards, which were hovering over the stone throne. They still had a part to play in his plan after all.
"Now the fun begins." Barthandelus said triumphantly as he shifted his cold and lifeless eyes on the party.
In Orphan's Cradle
"I think we're lost." Snow muttered, speaking out loud the same thought that everyone was thinking.
There was no end to the hallways. The entire dimension was crawling with all sort of fiends. Some of the l'Cie could feel the strength draining out from their body. Fight after fight were starting to strain their body. Their brand was also burning, a constant searing pain which only intensified when the party casted spells. They had to regroup their tactics, using less healing if possible and more potions to reduce their magic consumption. Vanille and Hope took turns using their medic role to ease the straining on their bodies. It had become a burden to the party to use magic.
"Look!" Sazh said as he pointed at a distance. "There is another of those sculptures inside of Eden."
"Then let's go." Hope said, his breath ragged. He walked past the others only to stumble in his steps, falling to his knees.
"Hope?" Snow called before running to the teen's side with the others around them. He placed his hands on the boy's shoulder, adding a light pressure as to comfort him. "You should take it easy."
The teen brushed the man's hand away, standing up. "I'm fine. Just a little light-head." Hope said with a confident expression. But it was obvious from the teen's breathing and the sweat pouring down his face that he was pushing himself. Everyone knew that the young silverette could be as stubborn as the blond sometimes.
"Snow is right, Hope. Don't over exert yourself." Lightning advised.
Hope only glared at the woman but the woman was wearing a Hope's glare protection suit. Though they were right about him to cut down on the action. He mostly focused on spells rather than physical attacks. His body didn't have the stamina to recover from imploring spell after spell and his boomerang didn't have enough kicks like Fang's spear or Snow's fist to leave permanent damage on enemies.
Brushing his trail of thoughts away, Hope continued following the others. After some minutes of walking, he could feel the strain on his body intensify, but his body wasn't returning to its normal functions. His heart was beating rapidly for some uncontrollable reason and his vision was becoming foggy. The room was moving, side to side. He tried to shake it off the horrible feeling and glanced ahead, but his green orbs widened in shock when he saw that the others weren't there. He stopped and did a double take at the scene. Lightning, Snow and others, they were there a moment ago?
"Light? Snow?" His head quickly turned at every direction, but there wasn't anyone. Before he could call out for Lightning and Snow again, he felt a wave of heat course through his branded left arm. "Ahhh!" He growled, clenching his fingers into a fist, his right hand grasping his left hand. His legs shook violently, feeling too weak to sustain his own body's weight. He fell on his knees and then on his side on the floor, feeling his entire life being drain. Unconsciousness was creeping through his senses and his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy as he could see dark patches appearing around his vision.
Before Hope could feel his consciousness fading, he heard footsteps approaching him. The sound of heels tapping on the floor was drawing closer to him before stopping near him. He tried with much effort to glance from the corner of his eyes to get a better view of the presence beside him. He could barely make out the person's appearance from his murky vision. Hope could make out a blur of silver and a distinctive fragrance. The figure leaned down, a woman face slowly appearing before his eyes. She carried a familiar warm smile on her soft facial features. It was a comforting and sweet smile that always welcomed him at every dawn.
"Mom." Hope whispered before succumbing to darkness.
'Mom.' Snow's heart froze when he heard the word echoed softly through his ears. His blue eyes widened in pain as his heart trembled when an image of woman with silver hair flashed through his head. Hope was thinking about his mother and the way the teen said it so quietly, could only mean that it wasn't something good.
"Hope?" Snow muttered slowly, turning around hoping not to see a crying teen. Well, the man didn't need to worry himself seeing a silver-haired boy crying, though the man's cerulean eyes did widen in shock at the sight when he did not see the teen there.
"Hope!" Snow called out, his voice peaked with dreaded horror.
To be continued...
A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger. There is still so much that left unsaid to be reveal in the story. You have to wait for the next chapter, cuz it will be awesome :) Thanks for those who review the last chapter.
Please Review!