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

Once again, I begin with my usual thanks for my supporters: Mylaervain, H-thar (I've kept those stitches in for a reason... haha. You'll see the reason why in the next chapter), OscarMerrinoz96 (and don't even worry about it man, you've been so supportive and amazing that that hardly matters), Lightarcana, Crystal, thewhitespirit, Zapper90 and LadyAlaska (who shall forever inspire me)!

I left you guys with that cruel, cruel cliffhanger last time, so I think we'll dive in right away, won't we? Enjoy as always!

Chapter 53: Rebirth

Hope felt the cold crystal of the flower shaped basin hit his back when he stumbled backwards, trying to move away from the sight in front of him. He really didn't know what the sight in front of him was supposed to be... and didn't really care to know. He felt like being sick - the bile was rising at the back of his throat and he wanted to look away... only he knew he couldn't. Snow had tensed beside him as the big man took a step forward, raising his fists.

The thing in front of them looked like one of the clones... in its facial features only. There were several wings sprouting from its back of different assorted shapes and sizes, some of them not avian at all, but that wasn't what was disturbing about it. Instead of a left arm, all it had was a tentacle with several large spikes on the end of it. That thing looks like it belongs in... He didn't even want to know. That was when it opened its mouth.

"So you've found it." Its voice was gravelly, almost as if it spoke through rocks. "Ceres. The source of... shall we say, my children." Hope backed away from the crystal orb as the thing slowly drifted towards the basin, its wings barely moving to propel it along. Hope saw Snow move away from it as well, a look of disgust evident on the blond brawler's face. It rested its single arm on the side of the crystal, almost indulgently, staring down into the milky depths of the liquid. "You see... Ceres is eternal. Childlike, certainly, but unlike the rest of us... she is part of this world, and yet, at the same time, not part of us."

Why is it... speaking in riddles? Who-

Suddenly, it looked up, straight at him, staring at each of them in turn. "Do you know... why Yorun needed l'Cie to face him?" What? "You see," it mused quietly, looking down again before it continued, gently drumming its long, pale fingers against the crystal. "Power is not created. No matter how much you hold... there is always more. And that is why he chose to make you... the l'Cie who defeated Orphan, face him. To create a new world, power beyond that of even the god Pulse is needed. To absorb your power... that is his desire."

"Bull," he heard Snow snarl in the darkness. "We don't need him." Hope saw the thin smile stretch the snakelike lips.

"Whether or not you do... your fate has already been decided. I gave him the power to absorb the fal'Cie Anima... You will meet the same fate." The tentacle like arm suddenly whipped out, smashing the crystal of the basin and sending him backwards with the soundwave it created. Hope found himself on the cold stone floor, watching the liquid seep out of the cracked crystal before a slender hand pulled him up by the collar.

"You okay?" Lightning's voice was hoarse and shaky, but he could detect the concern in it. Allowing her to pull him upright, Hope reached for Nue, holding the boomerang in his right hand, feeling its weight, before he replied.

"I'm fine." The words were more confident than he felt. How are we supposed to take it out? The sonicwave had been at least as powerful as the one that they'd experienced back in Lahrima Castle, and they hadn't fared very well against that one to begin with. And that time, Light was... herself... and Serah was still... Hope shook his head, dislodging the thoughts before they could continue. I can't think about that now.

He saw Snow clamber to his feet, fists clenched, but the thing made no move to attack them again. Hope felt and heard Lightning draw her weapon; standing just beside her, he could see that her right hand was trembling slightly. Maker, no, Light...! He didn't know exactly how the previous words of the creature had affected her, but he could see it in her eyes - pain, guilt, doubt... He resisted the urge to grab her hand; she didn't need more distractions now.

It was absolutely silent as the thing slowly bent down to reach for the childlike form in the pool, almost cradling it with its single arm. "Ceres..." it murmured quietly. "Your cells are immortal... that is why we were able to create such perfect soldiers from you. But, your task here is done. Our stronghold has been discovered, and we have enough soldiers to last until the Eclipse creates us a new world. This... is your final task!" Hope barely caught a glance of the childlike thing before the tentacle arm wrapped around it, holding it aloft, before a blinding light that made him close his eyes to the brightness consumed it in a flash.

When Hope found it dim enough to reopen them, 'Ceres', or whatever the thing was supposed to be... was gone. In its place was only the unfurled tentacle. Hope didn't realize he was backing away in a mix of disgust and fright until he bumped into Lightning's right side; she hissed at the contact, but didn't make a move to push him away. Realizing that her breathing was coming in short, even gasps, he glanced up in alarm - but Lightning didn't look like she was caught in the grips of some mental instability. Shadows of doubt and pain still lurked at the back of her expression, but he could see nothing but a grim sort of determination in her icy blue eyes. She almost looks like... herself. The old Lightning.

He didn't have an opportunity to say something to her before the thing spoke again, the smile still stretched thinly across its lips as it turned to face them. "What happened to Ceres... is your fate, my errant l'Cie. You were tempered to serve the same purpose."

"No!" he heard Lightning hiss just behind him. What-

"Yes. Just like Ceres, you add to our power by being absorbed. Why else were you allowed to run amok... run around disrupting Yorun's plans like nothing else mattered?" There was a small, almost musing pause. "Of course. Your powers were needed. You were needed to actuate the Eclipse... but now that that has come to pass... you are but mere pawns that must be eliminated."

"Fuck, like we're gonna let that happen!" Snow's angry snarl sounded like it was coming from a long ways away as a Blizzara crashed into the ground. Hope had been about to send a spell of his own before a steel grip closed on his upper arm and roughly dragged him out of the way of a retaliatory bolt of energy. Stumbling, he looked up into her passive teal eyes, struggling to his feet.

"We have... to win." Lightning's voice was a hoarse, deadly whisper that tugged at the most primitive part of his brain, the part that spoke directly to fear and how he should react to it.

Lightning found that the dull pain that pulled at her abdomen was easy to ignore when there was a threat in front of her, blatantly spelling out what she had to do. The pain and emptiness of the lingering depression that clung to her was suddenly remarkably easy to push down when she processed what had just happened in front of her very eyes as she pulled Hope out of the way of the attack that was the answer to Snow's curse and hastily cast Blizzard spell. Serah... We have to win. For you, if nothing else. I promised... right?

She knew Hope had seen her intent the moment he clambered to his feet, pulling out his boomerang - Snow gave her a discreet thumbs up. Suddenly painfully aware of the warm presence just at her left shoulder, she pushed down the nurturing thoughts of warmth that managed to bubble up inside. I won't let what happened to Serah... happen to you. The weapon in her hand felt ten times lighter at the thought.

Slowly advancing, conscious of Hope's quiet, light steps behind her, Lightning hoisted the gunblade to shoulder height. It had seen her - its smile grew as it saw they were prepared to fight. "Pity..." the voice was mocking, almost deceptively pitying. "You want this to end the hard way. Well... if that's what you want, that's what you'll get!"

Sudden force crashed into her weapon. She had only a fraction of a heartbeat to press her left hand to the other edge of the blade to hold off the attack, the omega weapon digging into her hands as she met the war scythe, pushing back against the force pressed at her hands. A hiss was ripped from her lips - Lightning knew she didn't have the strength right now to push back and win... and the thing was holding the war scythe with only one hand. She saw the tentacle reach out to grab her before several spells broke apart the contact between the weapons. Staggering back, Lightning realized she couldn't perform her customary back flip to regain her balance as the floor rushed up to meet her.

"Sis!" Snow's voice sounded muffled through the rain of spells as he ran up to her and Hope, who was still several feet behind them. "You okay?" She nodded once, trying to get up at the same time - Lightning knew how out of shape she was when the simple effort was enough to bring on one or two heavy breaths. I can't let that... stop us. Snow cast her a concerned glance before continuing. "Relentless Assault, aight?" The fog of magic was dispelled instantly as they both looked up sharply, the figure emerging from the soft drizzle of water that was all that was left of the two Watergas.

"You see? The difference of power here could be between a candle and the sun." The words were spoken with a soft, cynical smile. "This could be blissfully short, or long and painful." Slowly, Lightning lifted her weapon to attack position again, letting the tip of the gunblade catch the last few drops of the soft drizzle. No.

The soundwave could have knocked them all through the walls at the back of the room if it weren't for the tanks that were lined against it. The breath was knocked out of her as her back collided with the curved glass of one of them, feeling the glass shatter behind her back. For a moment, all Lightning could comprehend was how to breathe properly again as her right hand slowly curled around the handle of the omega weapon, using it to push herself up again. The pain in her middle was no less, but it didn't have appeared to have increased from the attack. Slowly closing a hand on Hope's arm again, she was relieved to find he let her pull him up, his green eyes a mix of relief and concern. I'm... okay.

For a moment, all they could do was stand there. Lightning found that she was clutching her chest in an attempt to relieve the panting that she couldn't seem to stop, and Hope was breathing hard too. How... the hell are we supposed to win? The thing couldn't be as formidable as it appeared - they'd defeated Orphan, hadn't they? There had to be a way... Snow's hoarse gasps were suddenly beside her.

"What now?" For the first time since they'd entered the cavern, she detected a small twinge of doubt in his voice. No... She couldn't give into that now. She couldn't let that despair and emptiness control her again.

"Distract it." Lightning was surprised at how steady her voice sounded, despite the inner doubt that was stirring again. "I'll think of something..." There has to be something there. There has to be...

The big blond gave her a thumbs up. "Think fast, aight, Sis? Hope, Slash and Burn!" Watching them move towards the thing, she swallowed the uncertainty that had unexpectedly risen in her throat. I should be... What if... Pushing the unsettling feelings away, she tried to focus on the thing's movements as it took on both Hope and Snow.

It was fast, for sure, easily keeping up with both of them as Snow tried to sink some punches into it, parrying him with its war scythe and fending off Hope's magic attacks with its tentacle, easily dispelling even the Aeroga that picked up a whirlwind of glass, crystal, and liquid drops from the ground. For some reason, it was clearly keeping both of them in front of it, using its wings to keep it airborne only. It makes sense, but... But it looked like it was trying too hard to keep its back away from them. Wait...

Pulling the omega weapon into gun mode, Lightning aimed an experimental shot at one of its wings while pushing herself into the fastest pace she could manage without tearing the stitches in her abdomen. It moved away from the projectile too fast to be natural for a dodge, and she saw it cast her a scrutinizing look. Is this... it? She had no way of making sure, no way of actually knowing, but it was an angle to try, before Snow and Hope were obliterated by its attacks and before she... Before I let... that... take over. It was eating at her again - watching them fight without a chance of winning, all she was doing was sending them to an earlier death than her because she'd wanted for them to distract it while she uselessly tried to figure out a strategy that could be good for nothing. Indecision consuming her, Lightning tried to stop the onslaught of panic and pain that was ripping at the delicate homeostasis of her emotions. For all I know... I could be doing the wrong thing. All over again...

Before she could shout out the what she thought she'd found out to Snow and Hope, the tentacle flashed out - it had seen her hesitate and she didn't move quickly enough away from it before it pulled tight around her left forearm, dragging her forwards.

"Light!" Hope's panicked cry sounded from somewhere on her left as Lightning tried to fight the grip as she stumbled forwards the few steps, struggling to remain upright. It was impossible - like prying a sea star off the glass of an aquarium, the grip felt like it was suctioned to her skin and it only got tighter as the long moments passed. She saw the slightly panicked look of the thing turn into something of triumph as she struggled uselessly against the hold. The attacks from Snow and Hope were useless - it didn't let go of her even amidst their desperate spells.

For a moment, the grip relaxed, almost as if giving into her attempts to free her left arm before nausea and vertigo slammed into her slender frame, dropping her to one knee. Strength she didn't know her limbs had felt like it was being drained from her arm. Almost like... It was so, so easy... to just let the rest of her troubles drain out of her arm and not feel anything ever again. I'd see Serah...

Something hooked at her interior the moment that thought crossed her mind. Hope. Whatever else was there, she couldn't let it consume him too. He had to exist in the future... he had to be okay. Hadn't that been what she'd been fighting for now? The realization triggered some sort of reaction inside - Lightning had staggered to her feet before she realized what was happening, pulling weakly back at the grip. She watched surprise cross the creature's face as she resumed her struggle - it tightened its grip on her accordingly, becoming borderline painful as it began cutting off her circulation to her left hand.

But that wasn't what the thoughts of Hope had triggered inside: what had been triggered was something she hadn't felt in a long time. Not like this... The Fira left the hand entangled in the tentacle before she realized that she'd cast it. The hastily cast spell missed his face, but it hit something else. Lightning watched as the thing instantly recoiled from her, the flame consuming the tip of a mismatched wing on its left shoulder as it let out a pierced, guttural shriek. The moment the grip on her arm was loose enough, she wrenched it out of its grip, feeling the strength it had tried to drain from her come rushing back.

Hope was beside her in an instant. "Light... Light, you're okay, right?" Still feeling too breathless to speak, all she could do was nod in his direction, letting him pull her up. Lightning was surprised to find her world clearer than it had been before it had attacked her.

"I'm... okay," she coughed out, tightening her own grip on her omega weapon. Snow barreled past them, left hand raised to cast a spell.

"What the hell are you two waiting for, get it while it's down!" The Blizzaga from his hand this time slammed directly into the thing, and Lightning saw it stagger back before she raised her own left hand hesitantly, suddenly unsure. The magic that had left it earlier had been an act of desperation, conjured both out of the resurrected will to keep fighting and the thought that she could not let Hope see the same end that had met Serah. She wasn't sure if she could do it again.

A small tug came to her other hand, and Lightning found herself staring at the intent viridian gaze of Hope. "You can do it," he encouraged quietly, before he moved away from her to go after Snow. Slowly taking a breath, she moved to follow him. The Ruin left her hand easily enough as the creature sank sluggishly down onto the ground as spell after spell crashed into it. The wings were starting to crumble - Lightning had a pretty good idea now of why the wings had looked so haphazardly mismatched. It absorbs power from different things... doesn't it?

The explosion that followed couldn't have been a result of their amassed spells as they were blown back a second time. Lightning raised her head in time for her to raise her right arm and the weapon it was holding to shield her eyes - the brilliant golden glow was blinding. Through the radiant glare, she could see the darker silhouette of a matching pair of wings raise themselves to spread into the space around them. The moment the wings fully extended, it dispelled the light, plummeting them into momentary darkness again.

"Enough," the creature rasped, lifting itself into an unsteady flight as it glared down at them. "This... is not over. I will see you... all of you, on the eve of the Eclipse."

"Wait." Snow's voice was steady as the big man pushed himself to his feet beside her. "If that Yorun creep is going to be the 'ruler of the world'... or whatever garbage he's claiming to be, why are you helping him? What do you get out of this?"

The thing chuckled, and Lightning could see that it was amused at Snow's question. However, she had to admit it was a genuine one. Why... indeed, would you... "Because," it replied smoothly, a thin smile stretching its lips once more, "the new world will need a proctor, will it not? I granted Yorun his power... he cannot dispose of me."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Snow shot back angrily. She could see the frustrated look on his face.

The creature's smile was its reply. "That is beyond your concern. You only need to know... that had you not been so disobedient, he might have chosen for you to live too... after the Eclipse has run its course. It is really too bad all of you will die by my hand. So, rest assured that I, Alomere, will be there to greet you on the night of the Eclipse!" The creature vanished in a flash of dark light, aided by its wings as long, ragged feathers drifted gently to the ground.

It was a long while before anyone else spoke.

"What are we going to do?" Hope's voice held some of the fear and despondency that she felt at the thought of what was still to come. Snow cracked his knuckles, and Lightning could see that he had a determined grin on his face.

"Is that supposed to be a question? We fight, of course. You gonna let these guys get away with this? I don't wanna be absorbed... or whatever." His tone took on a more serious overlay, and she noted a sad note whittle its way into his voice. "Besides... it's what Serah would have wanted us to do."

Serah. Her sister had been everywhere tonight... in the long trek outside, during the fight, during those panicked, despairing moments in which she thought she'd lost Hope too, even when she'd finally found the inner strength to muster a spell again. The familiar prickle of pain was impossible to push away this time, as Lightning dropped her head onto her knees, her right hand letting go of her weapon to bury itself in her hair, digging into her scalp.

"Light? You... You're not going to..." Hope's small hand found its way into her left, his grip finding her fingers. Raking her right hand slowly through the pink tangles, it was awhile before she gathered the inner equilibrium to look up again, carefully not letting go of him with her other.

"No, I'm not." A sound, half sigh, half groan, made its way past her lips. "It's just... Snow's right. We have to finish this." Her voice was barely louder than the sound of her own heartbeat. The clench of their intertwined fingers tightened, and she let that warmth calm her breathing for a moment, trying to focus on his steady breaths and not her own uneven, erratic ones. Snow grinned sadly down at her.

"You got that right, Sis. Good job on the Fira, by the way." She supposed his compliment should have made her feel better, but it did nothing to touch the emptiness inside this time. She let Hope pull her up, not fighting the grip of their contact, pulling in another breath before taking a few unsteady breaths forward. I have... to keep going.

A small pull at her left hand. "Light? You're really... alright, aren't you?" He sounded scared again, and she met his uncertain, apprehensive emerald gaze. Because of the choice I made... I could have really... killed you. Unable to hold it without thinking of that thought, she looked away carefully, not wanting him to see her feelings ravage her exterior again. It was undeniable at this point. I can't... keep going without him. The two near brushes with exactly that had taught her that tonight.

Swallowing the guilt and doubt, she tried to make her voice as lifeless as she could, but the concern and pain spilled out on the last few syllables of her sentence. "I'll be alright." She knew, the moment the words left her mouth, that he didn't believe her. The grip tightened until it was bordering painful, as she was forced to look at him again.

"You're... sure?"

Pushing words past her raw throat, it was awhile before she replied, the words raspy but certain, reflective of how she felt at the moment. "I won't... stop fighting."

Because that much... is the truth. No matter what, you, if nothing else, have to exist in the future we've been fighting for this whole time. You have to live... no matter how much that hurts. And I intend on making that much become reality.

Hm. Not terribly pleased with how the beginning of the chapter came out, but hopefully it makes sense and I did alright... n_n It's been a long time since a chapter was pretty much all action, and I'll have to admit I've gotten kind of rusty. Anyways. The next chapter won't be action, as I have it planned out already... and I'll say this right now: there's going to be quite a bit of HxL (sorry, Snow) before we lumber off to 'the beginning of the end'. As it is more of a character-orientated chapter, it might take me awhile to crank out and work out the details I want to get right - I might have it up by tomorrow if I'm on a roll, if not, I'll see you guys on Wednesday.

Leave love as always, and I'll see you guys next time!

Hearts!