Hope had bolted forward ahead of us, causing Snow and I to have to pick up the pace to catch up with him. Hope laid in a barrage of attacks on a velocycle that was waiting for us- he managed to nearly take it out by himself before we helped out. The cycle dropped to the ground with smoke, and we kept moving, evading further attacks from other soldiers.

We made it to an open area on a rooftop lower down. Hope had stopped behind us and spoke up. "I want to ask you something, Snow."

"What's that?"

"You say you want a family." Hope quoted Snow. "What if- what if they were taken from you?"

And here we go. I stayed quiet and watched the two talk. I thought that if I let Hope get some of the stuff off of his chest now, it would be easier to go further into his issue with Snow later.

Snow answered immediately. "Well then, I'd take them back."

"And what if you couldn't?" Hope countered. "What if you knew who was to blame?"

Snow's next answer was also quick. "Well, then there'd be trouble." He chuckled a little, but the amusement dropped as he looked over to Hope. "Hey- are you okay?" Hope didn't respond, and I saw Snow looking the boy up and down and all over. "Did you get hit in the head, or something, or—?"

I could feel the ground vibrate and I looked around. "Wait, shh-" I listened closely for the source.

Over the edge of the rooftop came flying an aircraft of sorts, resembling a large orange bird with a white halo and mechanical wings. It also kinda looks like a lobster?

"Guess we'll talk about this later." Snow said.

Hope shoved Snow aside and ran past us. "Don't just stand there!" He brandished his boomerang and aggro-ed on the robotic enemy.

Snow and I leapt forward to also ready for our fight with the thing.

It was quick to start lashing out at us and whip its wings down, creating a surge of air that would almost knock us off of our feet.

Hope had decided to take a different approach than his usual method, opting for a more offensive procedure and launched stormy magic at the metal enemy. His spells were mild, especially in comparison to what Snow could do- but it was erratic and quick, catching the driver of the aircraft offguard enough to give us leverage. Snow had even considered summoning the Twin Sisters, but we managed to weaken it enough for it to fly off, leaving us alone for the time being.

As would be expected after a fight like that, Hope was drained, breathless. He pocketed his boomerang. I, too, put my gauntlets away. Hope took most of work of the battle and ended up exhausted. He rarely uses magic like that.

Concerned, I went to Hope's side. "Hey?"

Hope looked up to me, only for a moment, and looked away. He straightened up and started walking away.

Snow shot me a confused look. My hands went to my hips and I shook my head. I'm not the one who's supposed to tell you.

Not far from where we fought the aircraft, we found a rooftop lounge. It was empty, anybody who had been there before either ran off or were taken away by the government for the Purge. Luckily for us, this meant we could have a moment to ourselves to just sit back. Even if it were to be brief.

Snow found a vending machine and giddily went up to it. He rummaged around his coat pockets and found a couple of coins. In went the coins and out came three cans of soda. He held out two cans towards Hope and me.

Hope declined. "I'm not thirsty."

I wasn't really thirsty either. Sure, my mouth was a little dry from all the running, but I didn't have that dehydrated feeling you get when being out all day. Further proving my theory. I still accepted the drink, anyway. There was a drink machine at my school, and it always sells this same soda. I didn't mind having the little moment of nostalgia to block out the bleak situation. "Thanks."

Snow was definitely puzzled by Hope's refusal for the soda, probably having assumed that a teenage boy would gladly take a free soda. "Well… I don't wanna waste it." He cracked his can open and started drinking it, still holding the other soda as well. I just assumed he'd drink it, too. I also took a few sips of my can, offering some to Hope when Snow wasn't looking, thinking to myself, maybe he'll accept if it's from me. Didn't work, though.

I went and leaned against the vending machine. It was cool against my back and I closed my eyes. Any moment of calm, of comfort- I was going to take it.

Snow walked along the side of the railing, finishing his first can of soda and popping open the other one that Hope didn't take.

Hope stayed put where he had been standing. He was quiet, likely thinking over Operation Nora, Snow, being a l'Cie. I knew by now that his mind worked at a mile a minute when he wasn't busy with anything else. My previous attempts at trying to soothe him ever since we reconnected with Snow were futile, and I just decided not to try anymore.

"Snow?" Hope then broke his silence.

In response, Snow belched, since he literally chugged the second soda down. I groaned and threw my now empty can at his head. "Ewww." He laughed and threw his can back at me.

Hope didn't react to any of this. He just continued his question. "What do you plan to do? I need to know."

"I told you." Snow went and picked the cans back up, tossing them in a waste bin by the vending machine. "Save Serah, protect Cocoon, and have myself a big, happy family." He fluffed up my hair when walking past me. "Still, it's a long road ahead." He sighed. I saw him look at the brand on his him. "Or, maybe not so long."

I tilted my head and looked at my own brand, then to Snow's. Wait, they're- why are they different? I hadn't noticed till that point that our brands weren't actually identical. In fact, my brand had definitely looked different than from when we first received them. It changes?

Snow proceeded with talking to Hope while I was examining my brand. "Whatever happens, things will work themselves out. Even if you're l'Cie, you've gotta keep fighting." I heard the clinking of cans as Snow finished trashing the empty sodas.

"But what if that gets people around you involved?" Hope slowly stepped closer to Snow. "What happens when your actions end up ruining someone's life?"

Snow's reaction shifted to a more panicked one as he took in Hope's words. I frowned at the sight of the 'hero' stumbling back over his feet and his eyes wide. Hope was striking a nerve in Snow.

"What if someone dies?" Hope asked. "What then, Snow?"

"I…"

"How do you pay for what you've done?"

"I can't!" Snow yelled, slamming his hands down on the railing. "There is nothing that can make something like that right again. When someone's dead and gone, words are useless."

I then decided to step in between the two when I felt the tensions rising. "Maybe we should keep it down?"

Hope pushed me away and kept pressing at Snow. "So that's it? People die and you run away?"

"I know! It's all my fault!" Snow was getting more emotional by the minute, and I was getting more stressed. Do I let them keep on? Is this what's best for them? I didn't like that they were getting louder and louder, but I also felt that, maybe, this was exactly what Hope needed to do to grieve.

Snow's head was bowed. "I don't know how to fix it. Where do you start? What do you say?" He let out a breath. "All I can do is go forward. Keep fighting and surviving until I find the answers I need."

"There are no answers!" Hope shouted.

Their volume was picking up too much and I had to step in again. "Guys, please-"

"You're running from what you deserve!" Was I imagining things, or was Hope glowing and glittering?

"Then why don't you tell me what I deserve!" My eyes went down to Hope's brand which was lit up with a slowly brightening color. Uh oh.

"The same fate!"

A forcefield of energy flashed from Hope's body, colliding with Snow and myself and knocking us both back. I hit the segmented wall behind me and landed on the ground in a heap. The air was taken out of me- I tried to cough to rid myself of the choking feeling that I had and made myself sit up.

When I saw what was happening ahead, my body went cold.

Snow was hanging off of the ledge, his body impacting with the railing had broken it off and he was now dangling. Hope stalked up, like a predator, and I saw him flip out the knife that Lightning had given him.

"Hope…" I huffed and worked, shakily, to get back up to my feet. "Hope, don't-"

"Nora Estheim." He declared. He stood over Snow, and I had never seen Hope look so broad and proud like he was in that moment. "She was my mother."

Having been winded, I was dizzy, struggling to get back up.

Hope was glowing brighter. "She died because of you!" He screamed down towards Snow.

I still fought against my body. Once I was balanced back on my feet, I rushed forward.

Hope had knelt down. The knife was raised over his head.

"No, Hope, stop!"

He let out a cry, shining brighter, aiming straight for Snow.

I reached out towards Hope, towards the knife-

-not seeing the army aircraft over our heads.