Review Thanks!

thewhitespirit: Thank you! I'm glad you like young Hope :)

xXAngelWithDragonWingsXx: Thanks!Hope you are having a good day ;)

rebirth-flame: Wow! You're good at figuring out the story. Cookies for you! Yes Bhunivelze is still there. I mentioned it but I didn't call it that (my bad). And Noel's time (as he knew it) no longer exists. If you have questions you can ask. If it will ruin a surprise in the story i will warn you first :)

ben4kevin: Hate Alyssa. Ick! She was way to grabby with Hope :(

madapocket: Thanks!

HrMajesty: Thank you :)

AN: Okay here's the next chapter! I also updated the time explanation on my profile. I am working on Chapter 15 now. It should be up by the end of the week. Next Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Please leave a review and tell me what you think :)

Chapter 14 Contradictory Memories

Hope wasn't sure what to make of this person that came into his life so suddenly. After what happened to the others he never thought that he would see another person again. He thought that he would spend the rest of his short life alone but Noel.

The man was different to say the very least. He seemed to genuinely care about him. And with some of the things he said. Hope had a feeling that Noel knew more than he let on. Hope also couldn't shake the feeling that he had met Noel somewhere before but if he thought about it too long his head started to ache. Like it was doing now. He rubbed his forehead wanting to stop the oncoming migraine.

"You have another headache?" Noel came up and asked him. Hope nodded and then winced. That wasn't the smartest thing to do. "You shouldn't even be outside with how sick you are."

"I needed to think," Hope told him. Noel just looked at him; something the man did a lot. Hope could tell that Noel was once again holding back. He had only known Noel for three days but sometimes it felt as if he had known the man for much longer.

"Come on," the man eventually said. "Let's get you back inside. Don't want you getting sicker."

Hope followed the man quietly back to what had become his home. He wanted to trust the man but he was terrified that he was some trick or more likely a trap sent by Barthandelus. If Noel wasn't then the man was putting himself in danger just being near him. Hope looked down at his wrist and stopped. His brand hadn't changed but that didn't mean it couldn't happen suddenly. He thought it best that he should warn Noel.

"What's wrong?" Noel asked as he also stopped.

"You shouldn't be here," Hope told him.

"Why?" Noel asked looking hurt.

"Because I'm a l'cie. Do you know what happens to l'cie that don't fulfill their focus?" Hope asked.

"I do but I am not about to leave you," Noel said his voice sad.

"You're an idiot then!" Hope snapped. "You could get hurt or worse."

"I can take care of myself," Noel insisted.

"That's what we all thought but…" Hope said as his head started to hurt more.

"What happened to them?" Noel asked quietly.

"It happened not long after we got here," Hope said deciding that he better tell the man. If he heard the story then he might do the smart thing and leave. "They turned into cie'th. Fang and I tried to keep them under control but, they turned on us. Fang managed to defeat them but I couldn't heal her wounds…"

"Hope…" Noel said looking even sadder.

"But we…" Hope said as he closed his eyes. His head started to hurt even more. When he really thought about his friends he remembered traveling with them to Fang and Vanille's home. He remembered fighting Barthandelus there with everyone but that didn't happen. He remembered how him and Fang felt when the others turned. How Fang protected him them when they attacked. How guilty he felt when he couldn't save here in return. And the despair he felt when he buried them and he was truly alone.

His headache intensified. He couldn't stop the groan of pain as he fell to his knees his head in his hands. Both couldn't be true. He knew that they were dead so why was he seeing them alive doing things with him.

"What's wrong?" Noel asked his voice laced with concern. Hope could tell from the sound of Noel's voice that he was kneeling next to him.

"My head," Hope told him. "It's not possible."

"What's not?" Noel asked as he felt the man's hand gently touch his shoulder. If Hope wasn't in so much pain he would have shook it off but he found it oddly comforting.

"I see me and the others fighting far from here but they died. We never did those things," Hope said as he continued to hold his head.

"Maybe you did and this is a dream," Noel said his voice sounding odd. For a moment he almost believed that but he could feel Noel's hand on his shoulder, the small pebbles digging into his knees, and he could smell the plants of Pulse. No. This was reality and the other was just wishful thinking.

"No that doesn't…" Hope started to say but Noel cut him off.

"Just think about it," Noel said sounding desperate. For some reason that Hope couldn't explain he listened to the man. The last 'memory' he had of them all was after the fight with Barthandelus. He tried to remember what might have come next. Hope just saw a glimpse of something he knew was very important when his head felt like it was going to split open. He saw a bright flash and then nothing.

Noel caught Hope just before he hit the ground and frowned. The boy was way too warm unlike his Hope back home who had the opposite problem. He easily scoped up the small Hope and started to make his way back to where they were staying. He felt so small and delicate it was frightening. Noel knew that he didn't have much time left.

For a moment he thought that he almost had Hope believing that this world wasn't real but then he screamed in pain and collapsed. Noel did not like that. Fang and Vanille told him that he would have to convince Hope they never mentioned that the nightmare would fight back.

It was bad enough that by saving his friends Hope had lost them. Hope had mentioned a few times that all he had left of them was what they taught him but here that was taken away from him. Here he had nothing but to wait for the inevitable all alone. Next time Noel saw Alyssa he would make her pay for what she had done. He would not let her get away with hurting Hope and putting his life in danger.

Once he reached the sad little dwelling Noel gently laid Hope down on the makeshift bed and covered him with one of the lighter blankets. All he could do now was wait for this Hope to wake up. Noel didn't know what he was going to do now. If this episode was any indication it looked as if anytime Hope would come close to remembering the truth it would cause him a lot of pain.

Noel sighed as he looked down at the sleeping boy. Hope looked so small lying there like that and he was clearly hurting. Noel had never spent any time with children as there weren't any as he grew up so as an adult he tried to avoid them. He really had no idea how to help this young Hope especially if remembering the truth was going to cause him physical pain. The boy on the bed began to stir and let out a small moan.

"Noel?" Hope asked his voice horse.

"Right here," Noel said as he kneeled down next to the boy. "How are you feeling?"

"My head really hurts," Hope mumbled. "What happened?"

"You collapsed so I brought you back here," Noel explained.

"Oh," Hope said as he looked at him curiously. "Noel I have to go to Fang and Vanille's home."

"Why?" Noel asked him wondering what brought this on.

"Because most of my…the things I see. I can only see that far. I need to see if those things I'm seeing are real," Hope explained as he rubbed his forehead.

"Hope I don't think…"

"Please Noel. I can't do this on my own," Hope said looking so sad and lost. There was no way Noel could say no. A small part of him also thought it might be a good idea. Maybe if they traveled the same path that Hope and the others did all those years the memories might come naturally and not cause him pain. Maybe then Hope would believe that this world was the dream.

"Alright. We'll leave tomorrow morning after you've had some rest" Noel told him as he smoothed the blanket needing to do something. He hated feeling helpless.

"Thank you Noel," Hope said with a small smile.

"You don't have to thank me Hope," Noel said as he ruffled the boy's hair. He would do anything for Hope.