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

Once again, hearts go to my reviewers: OscarMerrinoz96 (hopefully you had fun? 8D), Crystal, Zapper90, and of course, to my everlasting inspiration, LadyAlaska. And thanks go out to all of those who enjoyed my first oneshot request, Concrete Angel (LadyAlaska, Mylaervain, and Crystal); you guys make me want to write more, and I'll be getting onto the second prompt, the SerahxLight sistery stuff one, soon! (: Thank you guys again for all of your support.

At any rate, yeah, this chapter is a bit late because I was working on the oneshot... I was going to work on it last night, but I couldn't even get that storyline out of my head, especially since this chapter opens with Light. I couldn't disassociate myself from that particular plot enough to write effectively on this one. I tried going to game to get my mind off of it, but the moment I loaded my XIII save file (on a friend's PS3 that I've borrowed, since my own is somewhere in a box) I knew it wasn't going to work out - that was just going to rub the characters more in my face. So I made Seymour my beatstick as I proceeded to beat him up with my party in FFX.

Anyways, I'll shut up now, and enjoy the chapter as always! :3

Chapter 37: Beauty Out of Pain

The stone steps were unforgiving as Lightning slowly made her way up them, using the barbed thorns as a guide, even though they hampered her movement. The brambles were thick enough though, that she didn't have to worry about her spearing her hand on a thorn. This place is one overgrown greenhouse that looks like monsters were the gardeners.

Using her omega weapon to slice through the remaining brambles in their way, she cursed when a thorn sliced her face. The instant cure spell did away with the small cut the plant had left on her cheek. This place... She readied her left hand - the next plant that got in her way was going to get burned by a Fira whether it was going to cut her or not.

And the ominous silence was getting on her nerves. I find it doubtful that that creep didn't get here before us... so where are his taunts when I'm looking for them? Her gunblade gleamed in the darkness, catching the light of the moon. Pressing her shoulder against the large, glass door at the end of the long stairway, she tried to see through it as she waited for everyone else to catch up.

The dark blue door didn't budge - it was translucent and she couldn't see much through it. Whatever was beyond it though, she could tell it was bathed in moonlight.

"Sis, you ready?" Snow's voice was at her shoulder. Ignoring him, she put more strength into the push that slowly creaked the door open. Large hands joined her as the blond oaf pressed against the glass.

What lay beyond them was some sort of tangled web of gears that clicked to some unknown rhythm, each spoke highlighted in silver as they meshed together in a random symphony of metallic sounds. Picking her way through it, the only thing that seemed organic in any sense of the word was the breeze that played with her hair and the crescent claw of the waxing moon.

She heard Snow curse as he touched a spoke.

"Ow..." Serves him right. Making a mental note to watch her cape in case it caught on something, Lightning made her way carefully around the maze of gears and metal twisted into undefinable shapes. When she reached what seemed to be a break in the monotonous mechanical opera, there was only one thing on the ground: a silver lithograph.

Great. More Maker mumbo jumbo.

Tapping her foot impatiently, she watched Serah and Hope approach it, Snow not far behind. She crossed her arms, fingering the blade of her weapon - she'd hear about it in five, four, three...

"Light! You have to come and see this!" I was right, wasn't I?

Bending down, flicking her cape behind her, she inspected the small plate set, curiously, several feet away from them in the middle of an open space that dropped down into darkness.

Lindzei, creator of Paradise, ascended this world here, at the peak of the Sealed Tower. His will lies beyond this maze, lost in the ticking of time spread across infinite universes. Should you desire his power, you must pass this trial.

Show your guardian spirits, oh mighty warriors, and may the Maker bless you with the will of Lindzei.

She hadn't even said a word before the sphere of ice cracked behind her, whipping icy cold gusts of wind around her. The lithe twirl of the Shiva Sisters above her head turned the world into an ice sheathed maze of mechanics, gears frozen in place as the clicking faded away to the sound of just the wind. The sisters vanished into a puff of snow, as Lightning moved back a few steps - for a moment, the place was bathed in a soft peach light.

What's...

Before she could voice the question out loud, the gears began to groan again, starting in unison as the clicking filled the air again.

"Okay..." she heard Snow mutter behind her. "Weird..."

She was about to tell him to shut up when the ground beneath the lithograph split, and the gears and various other mechanics started whirring even faster. Lightning felt her heart and breathing accelerate - there was something definitely up, and she didn't want to be caught off guard. Someone pressed against her back, touching the cape to the back of her legs, the cloth rubbing her skin just below her knees.

She didn't even need to turn around to know it was Hope. They were standing in the same position they had been in Palumpolum, backs pressed together. And for some reason, it didn't bother her... that much, even with Snow and Serah near them, and she knew they could see. And somehow... I don't think I mind... that much. It was a funny feeling, one she wasn't used to. But it's not... all bad. She could feel her own heartbeat now, feeling the blood push through her veins.

The fact that he had her back in a sense felt comforting.

But she didn't have time to dwell on the budding new feelings inside before glass sprayed over them, earning a surprised shriek from Serah and Snow quickly bundled her in her coat. When it was safe to open her eyes again, Lightning cursed quietly at the shards of glass embedded in her forearms when she'd raised them to protect her chest and face.

"Light! You okay?" Hope, and a small bubble of relief grew in her when she saw he wasn't hurt - the position he'd taken behind her had protected him from the glass. She nodded, wincing when she pulled out one shard - it was going to take awhile to pick them all out, and she could see similar splinters in Snow's face because he'd been busy trying to protect Serah. And time was the one thing they didn't have at the moment, as a plated figure rose from the centre of the glass sphere that had replaced the lithograph.

Its enormous sword was raised.

Hope found himself automatically pressing back, shrinking away from the blue armoured figure standing... no, floating there in front of them, moonlight bouncing harshly off the plates of armour. It was humanoid, not unlike the angel figure beneath the ground in the dungeon.

I am Asgard, guardian of Lindzei's will. If you want this power, you will defeat me here! This one also had a telepathic ability - the words seemed to resonate in Hope's mind like the clanging of a gong. He felt himself looking worriedly at Lightning and Snow - they'd taken most of the glass shards from the creature's emergence, and even though he didn't think it was going to be that much of a hinderance, not only could he not cast Cure on them while the shards were still embedded in their flesh, the small splinters were going to be a distraction.

And this is one fight we have to win.

"Decimation!" Hope threw the Haste in their direction, hearing Snow hiss "thanks" as the big man moved by him, after depositing Serah behind a mass of structures where she wasn't likely to get hurt. Watching the Bravery and Faith fuel their movements as he continuously cast the supports, Hope felt a spike of dread drive itself deep into his stomach.

Their attacks weren't doing anything.

Deflected uselessly off the armour, he could see Lightning struggling to keep up with the armoured knight's movements as they exchanged sword blows. She barely moved out of the way in time, and Snow's desperate rain of spells glanced uselessly off the back plate - the knight wasn't even affected in any way by the spell. And each swipe drew closer to her skin.

"Solidarity!" Her voice was hoarse as she tried to dodge the next sweep of the sword - her back was almost to a structure and soon she wouldn't have anywhere to run. Suddenly, the knight's movements were drawn away from her - Snow had yelled something at its back and it had turned, whip like, to advance on him. Hope took the opportunity to send a Cure spell her way before she shot him a glare, and he turned his attention to Snow, repeatedly casting Cure spells as the big man crossed his arms in front of his face, taking the blows of the sword.

Why she had ordered Solidarity, he could only guess at. Lightning wasn't stupid - all this was doing was wasting time... or buying time, if one looked at it a different way. The realization hit him as soon as he thought about it - of course she was buying time. She had to have realized that their attacks were useless, and he could only hope that she would come up with something in the limited amount of time they had left.

Think, Light!

Her gunblade scraped the cement floor as Lightning struggled to keep it upright and in her hand. She knew they were running out of time - Snow couldn't Steelguard and Provoke forever and Hope couldn't keep casting Cura. She focused again on the sight of the cerulean blue armour of the knight, trying to see if there was a chink in it that she'd missed.

But there were none. Nothing had worked, not spells, not attacks. Her omega weapon hadn't even made a scratch.

What the hell are we missing?

Trying to focus, she blinked at the harsh moonlight reflected off the armour. How do I even manage to see... And that was exactly it. She couldn't. And the moment that realization slapped her in the face, she heard something.

Clever, my l'Cie warrior. Have you never thought that this is the reason that Lahrima Castle is cloaked in eternal moonlight? No one had spoken, and the voice hadn't been the same one that had announced the knight's presence earlier.

Who... are you?

But there was no response.

"Sis! Hurry up... and think of something!" Snow's voice sliced across her thoughts like a blade, and she forced herself up. The big blond sounded tired and she could only guess that Hope was too, but there wasn't...

Fuck, there isn't anything I can do! How do I stop moonlight? And what does he mean... this place is always nighttime?

But she couldn't let them keep taking attacks forever, as she pushed her body into action. "Aggression!" She caught up with Snow as they attacked the thing from different sides. It couldn't attack both of them at the same time, so the swipes were easier to dodge. Lightning let out a hiss as her left arm was grazed by the sword - and she couldn't even Cure it unless she wanted glass shards as a permanent feature of her arms.

Wait. Time. Nighttime. Those gears.

The pieces of the puzzle fell in place so fast she stopped attacking for a moment, her weapon falling still by her side as she landed to avoid a blow. Why Lahrima Castle was enclosed in darkness and moonlight, and why the moonlight never changed. Because it wasn't nighttime. The pink glow that had bathed the gears for the moment Shiva's ice froze them had been real time - it was morning. But the gears, as soon as they started spinning again, encased the place in blackness and night again. And the moonlight was making the armour invincible to their attacks.

They needed to destroy the gears... somehow.

"Hope!" Her hiss sounded strained as she backflipped to avoid a second swing of the blade. She saw him turn to look at her questioningly. "Summon Alexander!"

It was the only way. His Eidolon was the only one with enough power to hopefully destroy the gears in a few blows.

"Why?" She heard him call back. A flash of irritation crossed her mind the moment he questioned her. It wasn't a searching, doubtful question, and she allowed herself to feel a small spark of appreciation and relief that his tone wasn't that. It was an honest, genuine question and she tried not to let it get to her that he'd never questioned anything she commanded before.

"Just do it!" she snapped back, holding up her omega weapon to block the downward blow of the giant sword. "Snow!" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

He grunted in reply.

"Get Serah... and move as far away from us as possible."

"Wait... what?" She pushed him away with a hand she was only able to spare for the fraction of a heartbeat before she had to place it again on the handle of her gunblade.

"Go!" He cast one scared glance at her before he turned his back, flat out sprinting for the column Serah was hidden behind. The ground shook beneath her feet as Hope's Eidolon rumbled into existence, and she sprang back to avoid the projectiles being fired in their direction. She shot a glance at Hope, who was standing behind Alexander, casting spells.

She hoped he'd get the message.

Move away... with Alexander, and have it fire everything it's got at the thing... and this mess of gears in the middle.

She saw his eyes widen, and his question was only too clear in the frightened look in his green eyes. What about you? Lightning made sure her ice blue gaze hardened.

She would only have to hope she would be okay.

Snow pulled Serah around in his jacket, bundling her in the safety of the AMP coat as he pulled her, as par with Lightning's instructions. She pulled against him, resisting his grip.

"Snow, what... where are we going? Claire and Hope... they're still back there!" Serah's voice had a hysterical tone to it - Snow winced; his wife wasn't stupid, she had to know perfectly well they weren't winning at the moment. "Snow, you have to go back for them!" She kicked out against his grip.

"Sis's instructions," he gasped back, fighting her struggles as he pulled her away. Sis... you'd better have a brilliant plan in mind because this is not making your task for me any easier. There was only so far Serah was willing to go, he knew that. Any more than the limit and she'd go snapping back like an overstretched elastic band...

...Right to where Sis doesn't want her.

He tightened his grip on her as he heard the rumble of Alexander's Gestalt Mode, seeing the silver toned fortress land next to him, Hope standing on the top of the Eidolon's platform. Snow had to blink several times before he realized what he was seeing.

Wait. Hope's here too... But not Light. And that means she's still there... He's here... Fuck, NO!

The realization must have been plain on his face - he saw the same twisted horror on Hope's face as the teenager acknowledged his reaction, and Snow felt an anxious, desperate tug on his coat. Serah.

"Snow... what's wrong?" Serah's voice hit the edge of hysteria, and he could see tears beginning to form in her wild, anxious blue eyes.

He couldn't tell her. There was no way... he could let her know. About what her sister was planning to do. Shit... I can't tell her... why did I listen to Lightning like a blind fool? He should have known she was going to try something like this. Something so goddamn foolish like this, something so unbelievably suiting for her character.

He'd heard about her from Hope... what she'd almost done in Palumpolum if he hadn't shown up with Fang. The lines Hope had almost been too scared to repeat to him. "You survive." That was exactly what she was planning here and now. He didn't even notice when the fortress Eidolon began firing all its weapons, cracking the gears and mechanics that surrounded them, causing pale pink breaches to push through the unforgiving moonlight.

Fuck, Lightning, why are you such an idiot?

He had been about to shout his last, angry thought out loud when Alexander let loose with its final blow, and the entire floor of the Sealed Tower cracked underneath his feet, sending millions of beautiful blue shards and shiny silver scraps of metal downwards in a deadly tornado. And just before the panels under him gave way, full morning punched through the midnight illusion, flooding his vision with streaks of pink and orange, turning the world into a kaleidoscope of colours and glass.

Right before he began to fall along with the pieces of the tower onto the ground below, Snow found a morning star, twinkling innocently in the brightening sky, like beauty that had been formed in their moment of pain.

Bullshit.

Serah eased a slab of glass off her back, pushing herself to her knees, brushing away sweaty stands of pink hair that were clinging to her forehead. The last vestiges of her tears just before the ground had cracked underneath them due to Alexander's attack were still streaked on her cheeks, and she hastily wiped them away, feeling the wetness on the pale skin at the back of her hand.

And then she remembered why she'd been crying. Panic and desperation raced through her, accelerating her heartbeat and sending her onto her feet. The moment she got up, the world spun around her, not the slight vertigo that accompanied a long night's sleep, but one that required several minutes of holding herself upright in order for it to pass.

Hope and Snow were nowhere in sight... but she could see the being they'd been fighting, hacking away at the blocks of cement and panes of glass that were pinning it to the floor. Its armour was gone... the blinding armour that she could barely bring herself to look at no longer existed. It was only then that she understood what her sister...

Claire! Where was she? The tears returning full force, Serah covered her mouth with one hand, desperately looking for her sister in the debris that littered the ground - they'd crashed right back into the entrance atrium of the castle. Red cloth caught her eye; running desperately, Serah knelt by it, putting the strength she had in her thin arms to ease the slab of concrete off her sister's shoulder.

There was no blood in sight, apart from the glass that had already been in her arms. Shaking her, Serah tried futilely to wake her up. The omega weapon was still in her hand, fingers curled so tightly around its handle that Serah couldn't see how Lightning hadn't already broken her hand holding it while falling down.

Wake up... please! Claire, you have to be okay...

A soft groan greeted her thoughts, as she felt movement under her arms. Lightning slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, hand clutching the back of her head, the other brushing dirt off her cheeks and neck. Serah felt the tears beginning to flow more strongly as her sister gave her a look.

"Don't look at me like that... I'm okay, alright?" Her voice held the slightest tone of a scoffing rebuke. Serah felt the overwhelming relief push her emotions into overdrive, as she abruptly closed her arms around her sister's shoulders, crying against her collarbone. She couldn't help it - she knew her sister hated tears, but she couldn't control them.

Something like a slight embrace met the small of her back.

"Get off... I already said I'm okay..."

Serah didn't let go. Her voice was slightly muffled. "Promise me... you'll never do something so stupid like that ever again."

A sigh. "Alright... alright... let go of me already."

"Darn straight that had better be the last time you do something like that, Sis!" Snow's loud voice made both of them look up, as Serah felt her sister let go of her, unsuccessfully trying again to push her off. Snow's blue eyes held a playful sternness in them, and she could see Hope just behind him, green eyes filled with the same relief Serah knew her own eyes had. Both of them looked a little worse for wear.

Snow didn't stop walking until he stood just above them, towering over them like a hulking menace. "I. Am never, ever taking stupid orders from you ever again. Got that?"

She heard her sister snort softly, and Serah finally moved off of her, giving her some space. "Right. Whatever, Snow." Hope hadn't said anything, but he saw the silver haired teenager exchange a long look with her sister. Serah couldn't read his expression, but apparently Lightning could, because she sighed again.

"Sorry," Serah heard her mutter quietly. She glanced back and forth from Hope to her sister, her mouth slightly agape. She just... apologized to him. Since when...? Snow had the same incredulous look on his face, but he made less of an attempt to hide it as he openly stared at the two.

Movement beside her made Serah scoot away from her sister; Lightning was trying to stand up, and it was immediately obvious that she couldn't. Her hand gripped the half fallen column beside her, as Serah heard her gasping for breath. Immediate concern replaced the happy surprise she'd felt just a moments before, as both she and Hope rushed to her, trying to keep her steady.

"Light, Light... what's wrong?" Hope's voice was low and urgent.

She shot them both a glare, but unfortunately it didn't look as menacing as it ought to have been. Her pink hair was plastered to her face with sweat and dirt, and the same dirt was smeared across both cheeks; her panting didn't make her look any more threatening.

"Dizzy. That's all. Stop worrying."

Serah felt Snow cross his arms behind her. "Ah ah, Sis, you shouldn't be-"

The words were cut off by a loud rumble as cement and glass crashed to the tiled floor, shattering into pieces; Serah turned around to see that the guardian of Lindzei they'd been fighting had managed to free itself from its debris cage, and was advancing on them again. It definitely didn't look as strong as it had before - the shining armour was gone and there were several dents and cracks in its now ordinary looking armour.

She heard her husband crack his knuckles. "Looks like we've got something to finish," he muttered. His voice grew a little louder. "You stay out of this one, Sis, we've got this!"

Hope let go of Lightning as he reached for his boomerang, and Serah took her place just behind Snow, her left hand raised.

This time... Claire, we'll be fighting to protect you.

Hm. So yeah, ha!

Lightning pulls one of her "you survive" moments again (That scene was so intense/touching in game with her and Hope just standing there facing like... thousands of soldiers), and well, obviously no one's happy about it. And we still haven't killed off the thing, even with Alexander's help! D:

Oh well, you guys will have to wait until tomorrow - the next chapter will be up then and expect it to be full of action/twists! We're almost done with Lindzei's Castle though, so... *rubs hands*

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

Hearts!