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

Once again I begin with a thanks to all my reviewers: GCFarron, Mylaervain, and OscarMerrinoz96; seriously I love you guys.

Not a lot to say before this chapter, only that you guys probably know who got his Eidolon, and I can only say that I hope I do said Eidolon justice; it was awesome ingame and man... I love that Eidolon. D: Enjoy as always! (:

Chapter 26: Beyond the Beyond

The explosion of power from his brand made Snow wince - it had been a long time since he'd felt that kind of power. But he was glad - Serah had been in danger, and Lightning had been about to... Urgh, why wasn't I there for her when she needed me? The one moment of absolute desperation, fear, and horror had brought forth the trembling sphere as two very familiar forms burst out of the frozen bubble.

Snow took the moment of distraction to knock the spear out of the suprised Yorun's hands, aiming another punch at him, but the man dodged swiftly away, disappearing behind the dragon that had been caught in Shiva's summon sequence. It was still flailing, but it was struggling to free itself from the ice that surrounded it, and the slivers of ice that came off the frozen structures melted into steam against the floor tiles.

Whipping around, Snow saw that Lightning had pulled Serah away from the edge, along with a flushed and out of breath Xue. Pushing them back against the stairwell again and after making sure they were unharmed, his attention was caught by an enormous shatter as frozen shards rained down over his head. Instinctively holding his arms over the top of his head, Snow dashed forwards again to meet the newly freed dragon, pushing beads of nervous sweat off his forehead.

The Shiva sisters swooped down beside him, their lithe forms posed to attack as he felt the frigid breath of their presence wreath around him. A Cure spell brushed his shoulder as it passed him - Stiria had aimed it at Lightning. A flash of pink hair in his peripheral vision told him that she had gone after Yorun, leaving him with the dragon, and Hope with Serah. Heh. Watch this, Sis.

Nix had already gone ahead, casting ice spells around the dragon and pirouetting out of its way, and Snow didn't hesitate to follow suit, sinking punches into the dragon's flank. It was tired already - he could see that, and he suspected it wouldn't take much more to reduce it to monster remains. The swirl of magic around him gave the orange lighting of the place an ice blue aura, and Snow cracked a small smile - with Shiva he was not going to lose to this thing. Let's show this thing how we really fight, hm?

The Eidolon seemed to have heard his thoughts and Stiria and Nix gracefully combined into the motorcycle, leaving Snow free to clamber onto it. Kicking the bike forwards, he put his eyes on the target.

"Cool em off!" The spin of the vehicle slammed him against the dragon, but strangely, he felt nothing but the exhilaration of the momentum of the bike. A roar behind him quickly died as he leapt off the motorcycle; the Eidolon dismissed. Black smoke crowded his vision for a moment before the entire floor fell eerily silent except for the drip of melted ice.

Slender arms embraced him as he turned back to Serah, whose arms were firmly wrapped around his middle, and Hope, with a small smile on his face. Cracking his knuckles, Snow turned back to face the far side of the hallway. Where's Sis?

The sound of metal on metal erased the brief reprieve of silence. Weapons locked, Lightning and Yorun were about three quarters of the way down the hallway, with her left foot dangerously close to the side of the walkway. And beyond them, a glimmering something told Snow exactly what she was trying to prevent him from getting.

A growl of frustration fought its way past her teeth as Lightning tried to push back against the spear. She'd already placed both hands on the omega weapon's blade, but it wasn't enough. Just like the time she'd been attacked outside their home in New Bodhum, she was trying to push back against the force of the man and the weight of the weapon aided by gravity. Her left foot was sliding closer to the edge of the walkway, and she knew there would be no second chance if he did actually drive her there.

But she couldn't let him get the crystal - she knew that had been his goal all along, and the dead bodies around the altar several dozen feet away from them proved that.

His smile didn't touch his eyes when he noticed the strain in her arms. "Why don't you just... give up?" Biting her lip, Lightning shot back a glare. If he thinks I'm giving up now, he's dead wrong.

"You wish," she snarled at him, pushing her left hand harder against the top of the omega weapon, hoping Snow had the intelligence quotient to notice the situation and grab the crystal before Yorun overpowered her, which wasn't going to be long. Thumps behind her told her that Snow had indeed noticed, and she spared one small breath of relief. But the one heartbeat of relief was short lived - taking advantage of her lessening the force on her weapon, he thrust his spear up, sending her sprawling on her back against the cold stone floor.

Lightning let out a gasp as the breath was driven from her body; coughing, she tried to push herself up as arms supported her shoulders, shaking her roughly.

"Light! Light, please tell me you're okay..." Hope's desperate voice sounded somewhere above her head, and she impatiently brushed his hands off her, reaching for her weapon. Her blue gaze fixed on the sight in front of her - Yorun was rapidly catching up to Snow, and she could see that he would overtake him within the next few metres.

"I'm fine," she gasped out, pushing herself to her feet; but there was no way she'd get there in time now. Still, Lightning forced her body into a run with Serah and Hope chasing after her. Sending an Aerora from her left hand, she hoped to distract the man as he closed a fist around Snow's coat. The next blow would drive a weapon into him, and that couldn't happen. Shit... Why am I so useless...?

Snow had punched aside the weak grasp of the cloth, but the motion caused him to stagger. The Aerora crashed into the ground beside the altar, cracking the stone and throwing the limp forms of death into the air. Lightning reached to flip the omega weapon into gun mode - she was a good enough shot to catch the man in the shoulder, and she only hoped that her bullet would catch Yorun before he closed his fingers around the crystal.

The bullet that left her gun smashed into the wall. It wasn't possible that she could have missed - she had a clear shot and Yorun hadn't been moving fast enough to dodge it - nor had he known she was going to fire. Stopping short, hands gripping her knees, Lightning gasped for air while clutching her weapon with one hand, sweeping her ice blue gaze around the room. What the hell...

She hadn't missed. Yorun was nowhere to be seen. This is impossible... how the fuck could he have... Something slammed into her memories - she was back at the Guardian Corps Building. The moment she'd jumped onto the back of her Eidolon, the man there had disappeared into the teleport circle... and again at their home. So he can teleport too?

Hope's short breathing was beside hers, and Serah had rushed ahead to Snow, who was standing at the altar. His fist had just closed around what she could now see as a black jewel before something pulled her roughly away from Hope, grip closing around her neck. Lightning tried to fight back against it, struggling against the strangling hold, but the grip tightened, and she felt something sharp against her arm.

Choking for breath, her fingers closed around the arm wrapped around her neck the moment the something pushed roughly against the top of her rib cage, and in that moment, Lightning felt absolute fear spike through her system for the first time since they'd entered the Tower. She knew what it was.

Maker... no...

A scream worked its way up Serah's throat when she saw what was happening, and she felt rough arms pull her back; she could feel Snow's erratic heartbeat against her back and his heavy breathing. The red eyed figure holding Lightning turned his gaze onto them; specifically, onto the black crystal Snow held in his other hand. Yorun appeared in a flash of smoke beside them; the indulgent smile on his face reminded Serah, sickly, of the way a teacher would at several misbehaving students he'd caught red handed. He held out a hand, fingers outstretched in their direction.

"Now. Or else... well, need I really explain?"

Hope hadn't moved at all since, but now Serah could see that he was quivering, but whether it was from fear or anger she couldn't tell. His back was to them, but she saw him gripping his brand like it was the last thing he could hang onto before he snapped. It was so quiet in the room that Serah couldn't hear Xue, who was now crouched next to several of the bodies that had been flung aside in their frantic fight. The only thing she could hear was her sister desperately gasping for breath. Maker, please, no... Claire...

But her sister's icy gaze was clear when they locked eyes - Serah recognized the mix of fear, determination, and pain. But she wasn't going to let her do this this time. Claire, there's no way I'm letting you...

Snow's arm let go of her as he slowly made his way over to Yorun, whose smiling was widening with every inch Snow moved. His grip on the crystal was tight, though, and Serah took several tentative steps, carefully following him, keeping her eyes on her sister.

"That's a good boy... now give me the crystal, and you can have her back." She heard a growl of fury from somewhere ahead of her, but Serah couldn't tell whether it had come from Hope or her husband. The platinum haired teenager was advancing on the figure holding Lightning, and she saw Yorun narrow his eyes.

Serah didn't know what exactly happened next, and she didn't know who had made the first move. But within several heartbeats, Yorun had moved to Xue's side, gripping the now unconscious woman in one hand as several sections of the ceiling rained down around them; sparks still present in the air; obviously someone had cast a Thunder spell. She raised her hands to shield her head as several sections pelted down beside the walkway, only to be obliterated by the floor tiles beneath them. The smell of smoke reached her nose, and she coughed, trying to rid her airways of the acrid scent.

A small, choked whimper of pain somewhere near her made her look up; the tip of the weapon had disappeared against the cloth of her sister's uniform and she saw red. The same action seemed to snap Hope out of his stupor. Serah fought back the scream, tears forming at the back of her eyes. Maker, please, Claire... no! She tried to keep the images away from her mind, but there wasn't anything else to cling to. The only things she could see was the weapon pierced through her sister; unable to help her with magic while the weapon was still in her body.

"Lightning! Let her go!"

The sharp snap of a weapon hitting the floor interrupted Hope's desperate cry and Serah forced herself to look up again. The strange golden eyes were no longer amused, and Serah felt icy claws rake down her spine when she saw the clear malevolence in them. "I told you..." he hissed quietly at Snow, who was standing several feet away from her. "Give it to me, and you can take her." She saw him cast a look full of fear at her, then at Lightning, before walking forwards gingerly, holding the black crystal tightly. His gloved hands were shaking.

Serah found herself standing next to Hope, who was trembling. She felt her hands close around his shoulders, and instantly, he tried to pull away from her and towards her sister. She found the words tumbling from her lips before she could stop them.

"Don't... that's not going to help her. She'll be okay... alright?" Maybe the words were meant to comfort him, but Serah found herself desperate to believe them as well. We'll be okay... we'll be okay...

A clench of cloth on crystal made them both turn around - the black crystal glittered ominously in Snow's hand for a moment before it was dropped into Yorun's outstretched fingers and she saw the smile return. Something heavy hit her left shoulder - the red eyed figure had thrust her sister roughly at them before he walked to Yorun and Xue. She felt the Cure spell rush over her skin before it reached its destination - she breathed a sigh of relief as the magic wiped the growing bruises on her sister's neck and whatever the weapon had done, as turquoise eyes fixed on her before flitting to Hope.

"You're okay..." Serah couldn't hold back the tears as she knelt by her sister, pressing her knuckles to her lips. She felt strong arms gently wrap around her as Lightning pulled herself to her feet. She buried her face against her neck, unable to control the rush of emotions.

"Stop fussing... Serah, honestly..." But the words held no force behind them, and she'd noticed the faint shadow of fear in her eyes. You were scared too... Her sister impatiently brushed her off and raked her fingers through her hair as Snow came towards them, sighing. Serah met him halfway as he opened his arms to her silently. You always know what I want... no, what I need. His arms became her protector as she leaned against him, and with the warm contact, Serah felt herself stop shaking.

She turned in time to see the fingers of Hope's left hand tightly twined with her sister's, and she let herself smile a little. I was right to put my faith in him.

A low moan interrupted them, and she saw her sister quickly detach herself from Hope, bending down to grab her weapon off the floor. The moan had come from somewhere around the altar, and slowly, she followed Snow as he warily made his way there, their footsteps now echoing ominously off the cold stone floor.

Who...

Lightning found herself warier than ever as she carefully made her way to the altar, trailing after Serah and Snow. The moment she'd let her guard down had let Yorun... Why did I... Hating herself, she tightened her grip on her weapon, trying to calm her erratic breathing and heartbeat. Pulling in her next breath through her teeth, she pushed the memory of the knife scraping her top rib out of her mind.

It was hard to make out the source of the noise, but it took a few heartbeats to discern the mangled body it came from. Heartbeat hammering in her throat, she swallowed before making her way over to the corner of the raised platform that held the altar. A slumped form against the wall that she could now see was still breathing. Barely.

Serah had knelt down before her, hands clasped in her lap, before looking at her hesitantly. Lightning exchanged a glance with Hope, the look in his eyes confirming her thoughts: no amount of magic would be able to help now. And it was only then, as she bent down to more closely examine the injuries did she realize who it was. How did he...

"Save... my sister." The hoarse voice was barely audible, and she fought back the sudden urge to run.

"We will," Hope whispered softly from behind her. Lightning felt a small spike of irritation at his promise, but she let it go. He doesn't need to hear me yell at him right now.

"Their next destination is Tythell, the sunken city. You have a map... find it." She felt bloodied fingers clamp around her left hand, and she forcibly suppressed the instinct to wrench her hand away. There would be no way she could rip the fingers from her skin. It's the only thing... I can do for him. To hold on.

"We'll find her. Trust us." Snow. But for once, he didn't have his usual self serving hero attitude; he sounded like the person who had promised her he'd never let Serah down, the person who assured her things would be okay. Huh. Guess you really... aren't that bad. Sometimes.

The fingers relaxed on her left hand, and Lightning fought the impulse to pull her hand back. She knelt there, motionless, beside her sister, who she was glad to see hadn't puked nor flinched, and for the first time, Lightning entertained the thought that maybe... maybe her sister didn't need as much protection as she'd thought. The next moment, she angrily shoved the thought away. Because I'll never stop protecting you... no matter what. It was different with Hope.

For some reason... I trust you. I trust the fact that you won't... leave, and that you can take care of yourself. Maybe I trust you more than I do Serah, but I promised too. And I promise, right here, right now, that I will never see you like this. That I will never have to hold your hand like this; beyond my help.

She rose to her feet, letting go of the limp digits that now only loosely wrapped around her hand. And just like she had noticed before on the battlefield, deadly soldiers suddenly looked ten years younger than they had in the moments they'd been alive. Even Yangt'zu, the man who had threatened them and ordered his soldiers to attack, who had looked so fearless and angry when they'd refused, suddenly looked vulnerable in death. Really... how much older than me could he be?

Nudging her foot through the glass shards on the floor, she noticed a small switch on the altar where the crystal had been set. Snow beat her to it, as she heard the groan of stone as something opened before them. A breeze swept into the floor they were in, washing away the sharp, metallic scent of blood and death, and brought in the smell of what she could only describe as spring; so unsuiting for their current setting. She caught the glimpse of a star filled sky in the deepening navy of the sky that was now open to them.

Lightning curled the gloved fingers of her left hand into a fist. Serah and Snow had already walked ahead of them into the outdoors, and she felt Hope tug impatiently on her arm. But she cast one more glance behind her, through the crimson and the glass. Closing her eyes, she steeled her will before making one final, silent promise to herself, taking in the soft pink glint of her sister's hair in the starlight, the stark contrast of Snow's black bandanna against his pale blond hair, and the expectant glimmer of Hope's sea green eyes.

I promise... none of you will have to walk beyond the veil like this. Beyond the beyond.

Okay, wow. The ending to this chapter was super deep to me, and I sincerely hope I got the tone of it right. D:

So anyways, Chapter 26 closes off the current arc, and I'm actually excited to move on to the next arc - I've pretty much got the whole thing planned already, and I'll spoil just one thing: the next major "city" so to say, is the "City of Angels." 8D But yay, some awesome things happened this chapter: Snow got Shiva! (imo, that bike is super win - if I were related to Snow that bike would have disappeared a LONG time ago and he'd never know what happened to it. B) And he'd never get it back. *cackles*)

Leave love as always in reviews, and I'll see you guys tomorrow! (:

Hearts!