Review Thanks!

simply anonymous: Welcome back! Totally understand the lack of time to read. I surprised a lot of people with being Alyssa but she was to grabby with Hope so I always hate her ;)

thewhitespirit: Sorry I didn't update sooner. Was house sitting and their internet went down :( At least it wasn't too long.

ben4kevin: Thank you!

madapocket: Yeah. Poor Hope. And I have more planned for him to (evil laugh)

Lazy Gaga: Thank you. I am glad you like the young Hope!

rebirth-flame: Thank you! Yes Noel is the jealous type and he will get very jealous of the surprise character (not telling who that is). And yes I am mean to poor Hope and it only only get worse from here.

AN: Real author's note at the bottom as I don't want to spoil anything for his chapter. Read and enjoy!

Chapter 16: Waiting for You

They weren't even halfway through the 'swampy' area before Noel made them take another break. Hope was breathing heavy like he had run all day and Noel did not want a repeat of what happened earlier. That was one of the most frightening moments of his life. He thought that Hope was just having one of his normal episodes when the boy got that faraway look in his eyes. But when Hope collapsed this time he had some type of seizure to go along with it.

His heart broke as he watched Hope spasm on the ground. And after it had finished Hope laid there so still that for a moment he had thought that the nightmare had won. Then he heard Hope's ragged breathing. Noel knew that they had a little more time but Hope was even paler after his attack and seemed tired. Not only physically tired but just plain tired. Noel wanted to push him into realizing that this was all a dream but he was worried if he did that it might end up killing him.

"We should move on," Hope said breaking into Noel's thoughts.

"Are you sure you're up for that?" Noel asked as he looked at the boy. Hope looked like he was about to fall asleep where he sat.

"No, but we have to get to Oerba," Hope said surprising Noel by the admission of being tired. Even as a child Hope didn't want to ask for help. Noel looked down at the exhausted, sick boy and frowned. He didn't know why Hope was so obsessed with going there. He assumed it was because that's what he and the others had done but now he had a feeling that there was more to it than that.

"Alright," Noel sighed. "I can carry you on my back then."

"I can…"

"It's either that or we stop here for the night," Noel said as he cut the boy off.

"Alright," Hope agreed. Noel nodded in satisfaction then kneeled down so Hope could climb on. He was now glad that the bag he carried was a shoulder bag as now he could carry both of them. Hope climbed onto his back and the boy wrapped his slim arms around his neck.

"You ready?" Noel asked him.

"Yeah," Hope muttered quietly.

Noel slowly stood up surprised by how light the boy was. After he got Hope resting comfortably he continued on his way through the jumping mess that was this water area. They hadn't been traveling long like this when he felt Hope begin to play with his hair.

"It's so long and soft," the boy quietly said. Noel chuckled. No matter his age Hope was Hope.

"My boyfriend likes my hair too," he said with a sad smile. He had never felt so far away from Hope yet so close.

"I can see why," Hope said as he continued to play with Noel's hair.

It wasn't too long after that, that Noel felt Hope rest his head against his shoulder and his gentle breaths against the back of his neck. It disturbed him how hot Hope was. Noel quickened his pace and they eventually made their way out of the swamp. Once again it worried Noel that they hadn't really run into any monsters along the way especially since when he first arrived here the place was crawling with them.

Noel continued on the towards the tall tower he could see off in the distance. Hope was still sleeping and Noel preferred it that way. The boy needed his rest. Eventually Noel came to the entrance of the rather tall building and scowled up at it. He didn't like the idea of traveling through it but he didn't see any way around it.

"Where are we?" hope asked sleepily.

"We're at that the tower," Noel said as he looked up at the building in dismay. "Do you recognize this place?"

"Yeah," Hope muttered tightening his hold around Noel's neck. Noel wondered why Hope sounded so upset by recognizing the tower. He thought that the boy wanted to regain his memories.

"Hope what's wrong?" Noel asked.

"I…nothing," Hope said quickly.

"Right then," Noel sighed not believing the boy for a moment. Not wanting to push Hope into having another fit though Noel dropped the subject. He opened the doors to the tower and they stepped inside. He looked around the place and shuddered; there really weren't any windows.

"We have to take the elevator," Hope said as he pointed over Noel's shoulder, "to different floors so we can fix it so it can get us to the top floor."

"And what's on the top floor?" Noel asked not liking the idea of doing that. That would take a while and waste what little time they had left.

"A fal'cie," Hope answered.

"A fal…" Noel shook his head. The monsters may have disappeared from this nightmare but Noel had a feeling that one would be there. And with the condition that they were in he had a feeling that they wouldn't win. "Let's skip that fight, shall we."

"We can't," Hope said quietly. "We have to defeat in order to get the vehicle to get to Oerba."

"Of course we do," Noel sighed wondering why things could never be easy or simple. Why was it that they would almost reach their goal only to find another obstacle?

"Let me down. I can walk," Hope said as he squirmed. Noel was hesitant to let him walk but kneeled down anyway.

"Fine but let me know if you get tired," Noel told him.

"I will," Hope said. "Follow me. We go this way," Hope said as he walked towards what Noel assumed to be an elevator of some sort.

Their journey through the tower was long and tedious; not to mention all of the backtracking they had to do. To make matters worse here they had the occasional battle. Noel made sure to dispatch them before Hope even had a chance to draw his weapon. He didn't want to have Hope fight and waste what little energy he had left.

"We should be able to reach the top now," Hope said as they stepped into the elevator what Noel hoped was for the last time. He really hated the thing. He thought the tower was bad with the lack of windows but the elevator had no openings whatsoever.

"You said that we have to fight the fal'cie next, right?" Noel asked as he leaned against the wall of the machine feeling tired. Hope nodded.

"Are you going to be okay?" Hope asked.

"I'll be fine," Noel said as he tried to give Hope a reassuring smile. In truth though he was feeling tired. Even though he hadn't fought many battles they still exhausted him.

"I'm sorry," Hope said as he looked down at the ground. "I have been nothing but a burden to you since you found me."

"That's not true Hope," Noel said his heart aching at the utter devastation in the boy's eyes. "I wouldn't even have found this place without you." Hope gave him an unreadable look and then elevator came to a sudden halt. They both stood there in silence a moment neither one wanting to fight the battle ahead.

"We should just get his over with," Hope said as he hit the button that opened the door.

"Right," Noel said as he stepped outside and took a big gulp of fresh air. A moment later something knocked him into a wall and things went dark.

"Noel!" Hoped screamed as he saw the man going flying. He hit the wall with a rather loud thump, slid to the ground, and did not get back up. Hope quickly jumped in front of the fallen man. Noel had been taking such good care of him it was time to return the favor.

"I will not let you hurt him!" Hope shouted at the creature. The fal'cie just hovered in front of him and Hope thought that it almost looked confused. The things that Noel told him about this all being a dream came to mind and his other memories became even clearer.

"We already defeated you," Hope said quietly as he looked at the creature. It seemed to shutter. Hope then realized what he had to do. "We already defeated you! You can't be here!" Hope shouted.

The fal'cie shuddered once again before disappearing in a burst of light. Other images began to surface in his mind. Him and the others fighting Orphan and winning. Then being alone and searching. They weren't very clear and he didn't want them to be. It looked as if this was a dream then his future was still bleak. Even if they won, completed their focus, and woke up from crystal sleep everyone would still leave him. No matter what he would lose them. He would be alone.

Noel on other hand. He had someone waiting for him. Someone that needed him. Hope had no one. He needed to get Noel home to his boyfriend. Pushing the memories away only made his headache worse but he ignored that and pushed harder until things went blurry and he could no longer stand.

Noel slowly opened his eyes and winced when the light hit them. He couldn't remember what happened exactly. The last thing he remembered clearly was him and Hope walking out of the elevator and then…then he remember the fal'cie attacked him. He sat up and didn't see any signs of the creature. He didn't see Hope either. He began to panic thinking that the nightmare had one.

He then saw Hope lying crumpled on the ground. Noel quickly crawled over to the fallen boy and gently rolled him over. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Hope's eyes were open.

"Noel you okay?" Hope asked weakly.

"Yeah," Noel answered as the brushed the hair out of the boy's eyes. "I don't see the fal'cie did you destroy it?"

"Already destroyed it with the others so it shouldn't have even been here," Hope answered.

"You believe this is a dream then?" Noel asked hopefully.

"Need to get to Oerba," Hope told him.

"But Hope…"

"Please Noel," Hope pleaded his eyes looking sad and desperate.

"Alright," Noel said as he gently scooped the boy up. He knew that Hope was past him limit when he didn't protest at being carried.

"The machine that will get us there is that way," Hope said as he pointed to something that looked similar to the elevators that they had been using.

Noel bit his lip and climbed inside of it. The door closed with a whoosh and Noel sat him and Hope down. He gently arranged the boy so he was sitting comfortably on his lap. On the trip Hope had his eyes closed but Noel knew that he was awake by the tight grip that he had on his braid. It was as if Hope was afraid to let him go.

What Noel couldn't understand was why Hope was clinging to his nightmare. It sounded as if he was getting his memories back he just wasn't accepting them. He felt the machine come to a stop and the doors opened revealing a snowy landscape. Noel slowly stood up with Hope gently cradled in his arms.

"We're here Hope," Noel told the boy as he stepped out and started to walk towards the cluster of buildings. Hope blearily opened his eyes.

"Good," Hope said and then took a deep breath. "Now I need you to listen. Go past the buildings and then up a ramp. It will lead to a road. Follow the road; we've already desfeated Barthandelus so you shouldn't run into him. You will then reach a ship. That ship will take you home."

"So you do remember things," Noel said stopping in his tracks.

"Yes," Hope said quietly.

"Then why don't you accept that this is a dream?" Noel asked not understanding why he would want to stay here when this place held nothing but saddness.

"Because," Hope said with a hitch in his voice, "I saw what happened after Orphan. They all disappeared and I was alone and…"

"And," Noel pressed when Hope didn't continue.

"If this is all a dream then that means you aren't real and I want you to be real. I want you to be able to go home to your boyfriend. He's waiting for you. I have no one but you do. I wanted to get you home," Hope said as a tear slipped down his cheek.

"Oh Hope," Noel said as he sat down next to one of the buildings and rested his back against it. He pulled Hope closer and placed a kiss on top of his head. He couldn't believe that Hope was staying in this nightmare because of him. Even though Hope was only a child he was still protecting him. "Always the self-sacrificing idiot."

"Noel?" Hope asked curiously.

"I am real Hope. I came here to get you," Noel told him. Right now Hope felt so fragile in his arms Noel was afraid that if he held him any tighter that the boy would break. "And you aren't alone. You live with me."

"You and your boyfriend?" Hope asked.

"You could say that," Noel told him. "Hope you were alone for a long time and even helped save the world for a second time. After that we found each other and we weren't alone anymore. You need to try and remember." Hope got that faraway look in his eyes that Noel recognized as Hope remembering. It went on longer than normal and so far Hope hadn't screamed in pain nor had a seizure or anything of the like that but Noel was still worried. He was afraid that Hope wouldn't come back from the trace he was in. But his eyes suddenly cleared and there was recognition in them.

"Noel…" Hope started to say when they were suddenly enveloped in a bright light. It was so bright that Noel had to shut his eyes and instinctively shielded Hope's smaller body with his own. When he opened his eyes again it was to see Fang looking down at him.

"Welcome back," she said with a small smile. Noel momentarily panicked thinking that he failed until he noticed the extra weight on his chest. He looked down and saw Hope was using his chest as a pillow. He ran his hand through the smaller man's hair and smiled. Hope wasn't freezing like he had been before and he wasn't burning with a fever like he had been in his nightmare.

"He's fine," Fang said. "You both are. A bit tired maybe." He wanted to tell the woman thank you but a yawn came out instead. Fang chuckled. "Get some sleep. Me and Vanille can stay for a while longer."

Noel pulled Hope closer and smiled down at the sleeping man. Now that he had Hope safely in his arms he finally let himself rest.

"They're both back where they belong," Vanille said as she looked down at the two men who were cuddling on the bed.

"Yup," Fang agreed as she looked out the window looking deep in thought. Vanille though continued to look down at the two sleeping men.

"We made a good choice. They look good together," Vanille said with a smile. She found it adorable the way that Hope was laying more on Noel than the bed and the way Noel had his arm protectively around Hope's slim waist.

"They do. I never would have thought that they would get together that way but I'm glad they did," Fang agreed giving Vanille what she was happy to see was a real smile.

"Do you think they'll able to handle what's coming?" Vanille asked with a frown.

"Alyssa has already set her plan in motion. It's not like they have a choice," Fang pointed out.

"I know," Vanille nodded. "I wish that we could fight with them."

"We're not allowed to get involved like that anymore. We're already pushed the rules by helping them out like we already are. Besides it's not like they'll be fighting alone. Help is on the way," Fang said with a nod towards the window.

"You're right. We'll just do what we can," Vanille agreed. Still she couldn't help but feel bad for them. They both had already been through so much. It wasn't right that they would have to fight again.

AN 2: Well there it is. The last chapter for the Nightmare Saga. The next chapter will have all of the reunions. Plus it will show Hope and Noel reconnecting. Trust me it's cute! As for the rest of the story I plan on expanding on things the games didn't explain very well. Or maybe I just missed them. There was a lot of reading.

1) Hope sensed the fal'cie. He did this when they were on the ship before they landed on pulse. He made the comment that something was coming. This was never mentioned again. (FF XIII)

2) Hope collapsing and having that dream about them having to go to Oerba. I've already mentioned this in my story but they never did explain why it only happened to Hope. (FF XIII)

3) Vanille being able to understand the chocobo chick. It went to her and it told her that Hope collapsed and where to find him. No one else could understand the bird. (FF XIII)

If there was anything else like that in either of the games and you would like to see it in the story let me know in a review or even a PM. I have played FF XIII several times but FF XIII-2 only once as the end depressed me so I don't remember as well. Anyway please leave a review and tell me what you think!