Hey guys, and thanks for tuning into the next chapter of NR! :3

Appreciation goes to my reviewers: GCFarron, Mylaervain, and OscarMerrinoz96! (:

So, as stated last chapter, this chapter is late due to my busy weekend schedule, but I did sit myself down today and crank it out - most of it was planned already though so it wasn't that hard. n_n

I won't spoil anything more here - there is finally some more action in this one, and expect the action to continue into the next chapter; you'll see soon. Enjoy as always, my lovelies!

Chapter 24: Malevolence

Lightning crept forwards in the shadows, pressing her back against the stone wall. Her omega weapon bumped against the back of her legs, and she fixed her eyes on Snow's hulking backside a few paces ahead of her. She was still angry that Snow, being the idiot he was, had gone ahead and agreed to follow the woman, but at least... Better than standing there and arguing with Serah about the best way to get in. She shot another glare at his backside.

The taller brick buildings began to slowly disappear in favour of shady pine trees, and she realized that they were leaving the town borders and entering the wilderness again. Her boot bumped against a rock, and she held back a hiss - even the small impact rubbed against the raw skin on her calf. Letting her soldier training take over, Lightning let her mind wander off as to exactly how they were going to rescue Hope.

There was no way she was fit to take on monsters - she knew that much. She could probably muster some magic, but her currently injured left side was going to be a big problem in their mobility. But that left Snow... and Serah, whose stamina wasn't nearly enough to cast the magic needed to take out the monsters that were no doubt waiting for them. She muttered a curse under her breath; this wasn't going to be easy.

And then there was the problem of actually getting Hope himself. She didn't know where he was kept, and she didn't know how many enemies lay between the point of their entry and him. And I have to keep him safe... I promised.

"Shit." She'd bumped into Snow, who had stopped. "What the hell are you doing?" she snapped at him.

"Be quiet, Sis, wait." His whispered reply didn't make her feel better - she was sorely tempted to kick him before she reminded herself to save the violence for the monsters. What now?

Someone else's hand found hers, and interlaced their fingers with hers. Serah.

"Why have we stopped?" Her quiet whisper sounded loud when the only sound Lightning could hear was the wind whistling through the pine branches.

The woman's voice came from somewhere up ahead. "Come into the trees." Every instinct screamed at her not to follow the instructions, but she couldn't leave Serah behind, who was already following Snow deeper into the pine forest. She pulled out her gunblade - there was no way she was going in there without being armed. Lightning flipped her weapon to gun mode - it didn't involve as much movement to her side if she wanted to attack something. Snow, this had better be safe... Or else.

Leaning against a tree trunk, she crossed her arms, careful not to brush her left side, eying the woman suspiciously. Snow had his arms around Serah - she trusted he'd be able to keep her safe if something attacked them. Painfully aware of her own vulnerability at the moment, Lightning held back a growl of frustration as the woman began to speak.

"Yorun was once an inhabitant of Teh Rya. Though we have no l'Cie ourselves, he threw himself into the study of mythology. And he began to think that through the Eclipse, he could attain the power of a fal'Cie." Lightning let out a snort. Figures. Another power crazy maniac.

"He came back after he watched Cocoon, the floating paradise, fall, after many years of disappearance to study the fal'Cie of Pulse, and their various kinds. And he was, well, very intrigued by the fact that a few l'Cie were able to defeat the Cocoon fal'Cie Orphan. He thought that if he could use warrior Pulse l'Cie, he could make the Eclipse his own." The woman shot her a piercing stare that made Lightning feel like every single one of her secrets was laid out for the woman to inspect. What the hell...

The piercing gaze was turned to Snow. "You are the l'Cie, correct?" Her fingers tightened on the omega weapon - was this woman on this Yorun's side or not? A thick hand shot out in front of her.

"Easy, Sis." Snow, you freaking idiot, what have you gotten us into this time?

Hope shielded his eyes from the bright sun, blinking and trying to adjust to the stark difference of light and dark. Trying to resist the temptation to rub his eyes, he stumbled a bit. And that was when the feral snarls of monsters hit his eardrums like raindrops on earth during a thunderstorm. He couldn't see them yet, but the urge to cover his ears was strong - the monsters' squeals chilled him to the bone. Just how many are there?

The instinct to curl up and hide was overpowering. Light... If you're here... He shook his head - he couldn't think about that now. Even if he needed her, even if he wanted her to protect him, he had to accept that for now, he was alone. Hope hadn't gotten his head around to Xue's words yet - he'd worry about that later. Right now... he needed a way to somehow get away and back to Snow without...

"Your friends are here, by the way." The satisfied words sounded somewhere above his head, and Hope tried to ignore the smugness in it. No doubt we've walked right into... what they want. He tightened his fingers into fists - he hoped he had enough magic left to take out at least some monsters, even if it meant...

Shoved onto a platform overlooking the monsters with Xue, Hope cringed at the sight of the writhing mass below him, spread like a black blanket over the earth in front of the black stone of Demonsoul Tower. They'd even got their hands on an Adamantortoise. Who... He flexed the fingers of his left hand - it was going to take a lot to take them all out. And from this vantage point, Hope could see the tower clearly for the first time.

The stone that created its outer walls wasn't black, as he'd assumed when he looked at it from a distance; it was a deep purple that reminded him of poison. Chains dangled off the steepled roofs and his eyes widened to see that there were multiple floors to it - nine, in total. But there seemed to be no front door in sight - maybe that was what they were trying to achieve, but Hope really didn't see any way in from the ground. His eyes traveled upwards to its top, and they lighted on its roof - there was an open space where he was fairly someone even as big as Snow could easily fit, and jump down into. Maybe you enter from the top...? But it didn't make sense - then why were monsters needed to be sacrificed?

A rough poke in the middle of his back made him stumble into the railing, and he clung on for dear life, hands clutching the wooden railing. Hope braced himself to begin the maelstrom of magic, focusing his power into his left hand, but the shove he expected into the throng of monsters never came. What...

He was thrown to the ground as an earth shattering boom rang around his ears and the entire world trembled and shook.

Lightning fought back the nausea as the earth shuddered under her feet, and she was thrown against the stone wall of the outer palace. Her weapon was crushed against her palm and she hissed a curse under her breath.

What the hell is going on?

But she wasn't going to complain - her magic might not be up to standard at the moment but the distraction would hopefully provide cover for her to get to Hope. A hand gripped her shoulder, and she impatiently slapped away Snow's thick fingers.

"Sis, go! Serah and I will deal with the rest, you go find Hope!" He shoved her towards the now cracked wall - she didn't know who the hell had blown up the place, or whatever, but she'd take the chance. Slipping easily between the split stone, she flattened her lithe body against the side of the rock as stone dust rained down on her head. Coughing, she fought against the thin mist of rock that obscured her vision, and pushed her body forwards, ignoring the pain that flared every time her left leg touched the ground. It wasn't bad, but it distracted her that she could painfully feel every step.

Keeping her eyes on a door to the back entrance of the building in front of her, she let her instincts take over as she easily sniped a guard leaning over the outdoors hallway. Her Fira was weak - and it made her head spin to cast it, but it left a gaping hole in the thick wooden door for her to squeeze through. She hoped Serah and Snow were okay - it wasn't that she didn't trust Snow to take care of her sister, but... Serah...

The words of the woman pounded into her skull. "You're the l'Cie, correct? Then you have the power to stop Yorun. And bring him back to the person Teh Rya once knew." Lightning snorted, and hastily raked her pink bangs back - now was not the time to be showing sympathy to the enemy. This Yorun bastard is going to really regret messing up my life... and hurting the people I care about.

She buried bullets into the next guards that happened to stray across her, letting her soldier training guide her actions and suppress her emotions. I'm not up for melee combat... but I can deal with you, she thought grimly. Every turn she made, she wanted to be greeted by the familiar glint of sunlight on silver hair, and every turn that didn't show her the sight she wanted, Lightning felt herself beginning to panic. Whatever the explosion was wouldn't distract anyone for too long, and she expected more guards after her just about now.

She didn't dare risk calling his name though - undue attention was sure to gain her the defeat that was inevitable soon in her condition. Something passed her shoulder, and caught several pink strands of her hair, and she whipped around, finding herself the target of three crossbows. Goddammit, I don't have time for this!

The Thundaga nearly sent her collapsing to the ground, black crowding her vision, and Lightning couldn't hold back a hiss of frustration. Why... does it have to be now that I can't...

"Light! Light, are you okay?" A desperate voice, layered with obvious tones of relief came from behind her, and she froze, unable to process it for the moment. Is it... The gentle brush of small hands on her right arm confirmed it as he bent down to her level. The silver hair and emerald eyes.

"Hope..." Her voice was a gasp of effort, and she struggled to push herself up, the world spinning around her as gravity tried to drag her down again. "You're... okay..."

"Light!" Arms wrapped around her, and despite the fact the she literally felt like shit, Lightning found herself returning the gentle embrace. The moment of solace disappeared as he let go of her, and she found his eyes scrutinizing her. "You didn't say you were hurt..." She felt the Cura spell wash gently over her skin, erasing the pain on contact. It lifted the black smog that had been in her head since last night, and for the first time that morning, Lightning realized she was actually conscious of controlling her mental capacities. Thanks kid.

Pulling him after her, she pushed herself over the split wooden hallways, making for the way she'd come in. What she didn't expect was his resistance when she tugged on his hand.

"Hope, what...?" Her irritation had returned with the full use of her l'Cie powers, as she looked at him suspiciously over her shoulder.

He stood there, resolute and yet hesitant, his green eyes full of some strange hesitation she couldn't decipher. "Light... it's Xue, she's here somewhere and we can't leave her..." He was pointedly not moving as she let out a hiss of frustration.

Urgh... he's serious...right? Snow must have really rubbed off on him - it's the hero mentality all over again.

Hope could see the hesitation and impatience in Lightning's eyes, and he knew she would want him to leave with her. And on any other day, perhaps he might have. But he couldn't ignore the fact that Xue was still here, and... We owe her a favour that ought to be repaid. He hoped he looked convincing enough - despite his enormous relief that she was okay, that she was really here, he needed to do this; desperate to make her understand.

"Fine," she snapped resignedly at him; apparently she had decided it wasn't worth arguing over. "Where is she?" The frustration in her voice was as plain as the monsters he could still hear behind him somewhere - he'd bolted the moment the bomb had exploded and had sent several spells behind him at the guards - it was the Vile Peaks all over again.

But her question had stopped him for a moment - he didn't know where she was. He hadn't seen her since, and part of him was afraid that she'd already been... Shaking his head to clear the thought, Hope glanced behind him.

"I don't know," he muttered lamely. "But she was behind me before the explosion." Setting off at a brisk jog in the direction that he'd come from, he felt largely relieved when he heard her start after him, and in moments, her bigger stride had allowed her to catch up to him.

"You're serious... right?" The look in her eyes held a mixture of disbelief and impatience. Hope nodded, not trusting his voice to speak, but before he could choke out a coherent reply, several Gorgonopsids burst out a hall on their right, claws ripping at the walls.

"Slash and Burn!" Her quick command made him snap into action; painfully aware that he had yet to find Nue, he positioned himself behind Lightning, who had jumped ahead of him to cut away at the monsters. The Aeroga was enough to make the first two stagger in midstep and for her to launch them into the air with her weapon. She fired several bullets at the others, sweeping her omega weapon in a large circle before turning her attention to the ones that had just landed back on the ground. He covered her back with a Blizzaga as she slashed at the two Gorgonopsids that she was currently aiming for.

The black smoke from their remains greeted his eyes as he pressed himself against the wall, barely dodging the leap of another. He heard several bullets fire, and he flattened himself into a corner before throwing another Aerora.

"Archmage!" Raising his hand, he cast the Protect over both himself and her, before focusing his attention on her gunblade. The Enthunder left his hand, just as a monster claw caught him in the side - he'd been too busy casting spells on her. Her Sparkstrike that caught the monster in question told him that she knew, knew he was hurt, before she quickly hissed another command. "War and Peace!"

The Cura he cast on himself erased the pain, and Hope quickly pushed himself after her, she was running down the hall the Gorgonopsids had appeared from. Picking up his pace, he found himself struggling to keep up with him. The current hallway took them down an outdoor one that overlooked the monster pen, and the flash of a white dress caught his eye. He stopped short as his hand closed on her cape, stopping her as well.

And then it wasn't just a white dress - familiar pink hair and a white coat were also present, barely visible in the still numerous throng of monsters below them.

Snow punched the Monstrous Flan, hoping the Aquastrike would be enough to stagger it. Did I ever mention... I really hate these pudding things? He gritted his teeth - there were more and he couldn't afford to spend much time on this one. Even with the constant buffs from Serah, he was getting tired. Before he could send another Blizzara at the flan, a Thundaga and Aeroga crashed into the ground, momentarily clearing the space around them of monsters.

"Need some help, hero?" Lightning's hiss was beside him as she jumped down from the ledge above, shortly followed by, to his eternal relief, Hope. He huffed in her direction, and he caught her smirk. She pulled Serah behind her as she straightened, flipping her omega weapon to gun mode.

"Malevolence!" He followed her lead, sinking punches into monsters on the left while she took the right. A rush of power filled him as he recognized Hope's Bravery, and he sprang back to avoid a swipe from another flan. Maker in hell... just how many of these things are there?

"Shit," he heard Lightning curse as finally an opening appeared. Wondering what had made her mad this time, he whipped around. Expecting her to yell at him, he didn't expect her to be standing her, omega weapon useless at her side, before he saw what she was looking at.

Vaguely familiar uniforms crowded his vision as they jumped down into the open area before the Demonsoul Tower, slashing away at the monsters. The numbers had definitely lessened, and he felt Serah press against his back. Who...

"The Farseer Tribe." Hope's voice was filled with a mix of distaste and surprise as he looked at the monsters from where he was standing with Lightning. Snow quickly scanned the area, and... there! He saw it, the distinctive cape of Yangt'zu. Here for his sister?

He hadn't seen Xue yet, but that was the only reasonable explanation for their presence. The bomb from the bazooka had been theirs as he and Serah had fought their way in after Lightning, that much he had figured. There was only one person who they would have risked this fight for. Heh. Guess the guy isn't as sadistic as Sis figured.

The last tendrils of black smoke had just faded from Serah's vision when she felt her sister's fingers close around her arm. A slim weapon was pressed into her hand - looking down, Serah saw it was a light katana, no doubt from one of the guards they'd defeated on the way in.

"You'll need it," her sister hissed at her. The heavy weight of metal in her hands felt odd - she'd never held anything bigger than a kitchen knife, and this was...

But Serah didn't have time to dwell on the morality of holding a weapon and using it, before a laugh that literally made her press her figure against Claire's hit her ears. An angry hiss from Hope on Lightning's other side confirmed Serah's suspicions and fears of who it was.

"It's so lovely when a plan comes to fruition so wonderfully, no?" Serah forced herself to look up, but against the noon sun it was hard to see in front of her. A figure standing in front of the Demonsoul Tower was all she could make out, but she had heard the several noises of both anger and hatred around her, and she looked closer. Her pulse leapt to her throat as she made out another figure beside him in a white dress - Xue; there was absolutely no doubt about it.

"Opening the door to Demonsoul Tower this way was so much more pleasant." Lightning let out an angry growl beside her, and the steel grip on her arm tightened. Serah tried to remember the bits and pieces of legends that they'd gathered around Teh Rya as a fact wormed its way into her head. No... Did we just kill enough monsters to...

Her question didn't need to be voiced aloud to be answered. But the "door" they'd all expected didn't appear in the wall. A yellow circle appeared beneath her feet, and Snow's yell snapped her sister into action. Lightning pulled her arm roughly as her sister rushed forward; desperate to get out of the glowing yellow insignia.

But they didn't make it in time before the yellow glare overpowered everything, and Serah closed her eyes to shield herself from the blinding light.

Silence greeted her, and stale air suffocated her from every side.

When Serah dared to open her eyes again, she was standing in a dark room, small and lit only by torches, giving the eerie deep purple walls a flickering, flaming effect that somehow added to the overall creepiness of the place. Her sister had let go of her arm, and in the darkness she could only make out Lightning's pink hair. Straining to see, she could catch a glimpse of the torchlight flickering off platinum hair beside Lightning, and strong arms found her shoulders. Snow.

Xue, Yangt'zu, and who she could only assume was Yorun were nowhere to be seen, but echoing footsteps that didn't belong in the still air were ahead of and below them... somehow.

"Fuck," her sister hissed, the curse sounding from somewhere in front of her.

"What, Sis?" Snow's voice held tentative wariness; completely unlike his character. "What's wrong?"

"Do you realize where we are?" The reply was sharp in the stillness and the rapidly fading away footsteps. But her sister didn't wait for a response before continuing on. "That 'door' we opened... it was a portal. We're not on the bottom floor... this fucking tower must start at the top. Demonsoul Tower... shit."

"I don't... get it..." Serah hated the fact that her voice sounded so pathetic in the dark room. She knew her sister was right - they weren't on the ground; a faint breeze played with her pink hair, giving it life of its own. But she didn't get why...

Blazing turquoise eyes fixed on her as Lightning whipped around, gunblade ready in one hand.

"Don't you get it? The crystal he needs... is here. And we just gave him a free entry ticket."

D:

On one hand... Hope is safe, kudos to Light for finding him...sort of. On the other... oh my god do we have a problem. Because Light's completely right - they just gave Yorun a free entry ticket to the tower and now they're stuck in it too.

Ha, I wonder what's gonna happen next? Hmmm... I really like leaving you guys dangling, didya know that? Heehee, of course.

So anyways, you'll have to wait and see. Next chapter should be up by tomorrow if everything on my day schedule goes as planned; leave love in reviews as always, and I'll see you guys tomorrow! 8D

Hearts!