A/N: I'm very, very sorry for the long wait, but between university and fickle inspiration I couldn't find time to sit down and finish this. But finally! Next chapter of this story, in which we begin the Wildlands' arc! Probably my favorite arc of the second part of Wings of Light. Brace yourselves for some chapters filled by lore, past of some characters, and new faces! And of course, more conflict. What's life without conflict?

So, you ready to begin the path to unravel all secrets that are to be found in the Wildlands? I truly hope you are and share your thoughts with me! ;)

Wings of Light

| XXVI |

Secrets

The first thing Hope could see after his feet left the monorail wagon and the world around him stopped spinning around was green. The station was carved into the rocks, yes, but by then the monorail had already left and one could see the lush meadow before it, under a strikingly blue sky. The angel took a deep breath, feeling how his dizziness disappeared as his life force absorbed all the vibrant energy in the air.

"Welcome to the Wildlands!", Noel announced as he jokingly opened his arms wide. "Best place to live in the whole Nova Chrysalia. Nature everywhere, healthy cuisine and free of undesirable fanatic presence!"

"Oh, so now you're a Wildlands' tourism promotor as well as an innkeeper?", Lightning mockingly asked him; she was helping Hope keep his balance until he completely overcame his dizziness. "I didn't know business was going that bad for you."

Noel ruffled his nose; it was not the first, nor would it be the last, that his comrades teased him about his work as 'warden' of the Vermilion Dawn's operations' base.

"It wouldn't be going that bad if it weren't because it's good for us not many people know about its existence. But anyway, what do you think, Hope? Liking the Wildlands?"

"Even if it is too early to grant you a definitive answer", Hope replied, still feeling a bit dizzy but already able to stand by himself, "but first impression is good. There's so much life in here… Much more than in any other place I have been."

"Not for anything this is one of the few places in the world where the Order doesn't have any power, so they haven't been able to take the land and cut down the forests to build any camps. Not because they haven't tried, of course", Lightning made a wry half-smile, "but keyword here is 'tried'. The Wildlands still resist the invasion of Bhunivelze's creed… but that also means sometimes Secutors come and try their luck."

Noel laughed.

"Yeah, but it's evident they're not used to deal with the Wildlands' beasts. Many of them end up as main courses for the behemoths' stomachs. And those who don't, either they flee like the coward rats they are, or our hunters finish the job."

"All of this you're telling me sounds like, no matter how peaceful it seems around here, there is war here in the Wildlands", Hope noted, slightly furrowing his brow. Lightning sighed, following Noel close when he waved them to move, and they went down the station's steps to the outdoors.

"More or less. I guess it's been that way for so long that we no longer consider it as such. After all, Secutors have never been a real threat here."

In that moment, the exit of the cave that housed the station appeared before them. The bright noon sunlight briefly blinded Hope, who had spent a lot of time without going outdoors, and that morning they had left Luxerion so early it was almost dawn. "Now that I am looking back… I realize I might hadn't seen the sunlight anymore, if I had not come out of that dark pit inside me", the angel thought. "If it hadn't been for Light… I don't want to imagine what would have become of me. Even though deep inside, I know."

"Well!, now let's recap the plan", Noel put his arms on his hips. "We have a long road ahead, fraught with dangers and obstacles, and we'll have to sleep in the open as bloodthirsty monsters lurk around us wanting nothing but gutting us right there and–"

"Noel, no matter how hard you try making this journey to sound epic, it won't change the fact we're in an errand", Lightning cut him slyly, and the young man rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay! I just wanted to give some excitement to it. However, the second part of the trip will be epic, I grant you that. Anyway…", Noel pointed to the east, where high rocky hills rose. "Behind those hills are the Eremite Plains, our first stop in our adventure in the Wildlands. There we'll find our mark."

Lightning nodded and Hope simply tilted his head.

"I know the Wildlands quite well, but I haven't been around that area many times and never by walking. Do you know how long will that take us to get there?", she asked him. Noel shrugged.

"A couple days, perhaps, if we don't stop on the way more than necessary. But I thought we shouldn't tire Hope, right? You know, in case he still can't keep our pace."

"Don't worry about me", Hope replied before Lightning could. "I will keep the pace you decide. I'll be following."

"You sure?", Lightning seemed unconvinced. "You're not fully recovered. And yes, your back is much better than before, but if you overreach yourself the wounds could open again…"

The angel frowned.

"I'll go through it. That is nothing compared to what I already have endured."

She wanted to argue, but she couldn't think or anything appropriate, so she chose to remain silent. She did not know if Hope was referring to their previous journeys across Yusnaan and the Dead Dunes or those weeks of suffering and despair that befell their last one. As they both followed Noel, who beckoned them to do so, Lightning wondered if Hope was really prepared for the trials that the Wildlands were about to put them through. He insisted that they did not have to worry about him, but that had not answered her specific question.

"Even if some things have change, others remain as ever, and Hope's ambivalence is one of them", Lightning sighed, side-glancing him. "I guess he'll have to prove if he's truly ready for this."

"Alright", Fang had said a few days earlier in The Farseer's Rest, standing in front of the table where Lightning had spread her map of Nova Chrysalia, studying it with obvious interest. "If you're completely sure your angel's gonna be able to withstand the journey to the Wildlands, there's no reason to further delay what we've gotta do. We've waited well enough, don't ya think?"

Lightning had to agree with her. Between Hope's convalescence began and since he told her he was willing to go with her to the Wildlands around two months had passed and gone. And while it had given them time for the Order to lower its guard and keep going with their activities more safely, it had also been a long, uncertain wait when they already got in their knowledge the information they needed to continue their search.

"So what's our next step?", the young woman asked, studying her old map. There were many notes written over it, the result of her travels through the four continents in pursuit of the Heart of Bhunivelze. "Who'd have thought its track would be so close…"

"Obviously, you've gotta go to Poltae, the angel and you", Fang smiled, pointing to the point of the map where the hidden village was. "Isn't that what the fal'Cie told you to do? Getting there is simple: you take the monorail and walk up to Poltae. You know the way, so that's the least of our worries. The most one, as you'd have guessed, is the many obstacles you might find in that way."

"Secutors and monsters", Noel intervened, who was sitting in a chair, absently fiddling with a glass between his fingers. "Generally, in the Wildlands the dangerous ones are the latter. It's quite pathetic, but even nowadays Secutors still have no idea of how getting around there."

Fang frowned, and she remained silent for a few seconds with her arms crossed, staring at the map. Lightning knew her well enough to know when the dragoon feared for her agents' safety, and that if she did it was for good reasons.

"Even if these weeks of staying idle have indeed been frustrating, they've served me well to monitor the Order's movements", she finally said, looking gravely at them. "And besides, they provided me the time I needed to get data from inside, thanks to Vanille. According to my findings, Noel, the Secutors could be a bigger problem than usual."

"How's that?", Noel blinked, puzzled. Lightning couldn't blame him: he was a Wildlands' native, and he had spent much of his lifetime protecting his land from any threat, and that included Secutors. And according to the hunters' criteria, these were among the least dangerous ones.

Fang did not answer immediately, and once she did, she chose her words more carefully than usual in her.

"I wouldn't like rushing to confirm anything, but it'll do for now if we just don't take the Order lightly. Now, I know you're gonna tell me you don't, but knowing the Wildlands' history in dealing with Secutors, it's almost a tradition to do so. For now, sunshine", she said, turning to Lightning, "you focus yourself on getting the angel safe and sound to Poltae and come back in one piece with all the info you gather. I'll be monitoring what the Order has at hand… and cut it if they begin causing more trouble than usual."

Lightning was not so convinced, but she had no choice but to accept. She knew Fang was keeping something from them, but on the other hand, she might have her reasons. She was the Vermilion Dawn's leader, after all, and the safety of her group was on her. No matter how much concern her secrets gave to her subordinates.

However, Fang must had sensed the discontent of both, so she grinned.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't give me the long face, there's a time for each thing and this one isn't to discuss this stuff. Still…", the dragoon reached into the folds of her long scarlet skirt, and she pulled out a rolled parchment with a string and sealing wax. "Maybe I could use a little help, y'know, Noel?"

The young man looked up at her, almost letting the glass he was fiddling with fall, caught by surprise.

"Help? For what? Why you looking at me like that?"

"C'mon, you're the one who's always complaining about being locked in the inn and not being allowed to show your worth", Fang rolled her eyes theatrically, and she waved the parchment inches away from his nose. "Well, it just happens I've got the perfect mission for you. Or is it that all your talk about pushing the rookie aside was only talk after all?"

Noel blinked as if he could not believe what he was hearing.

"A… a mission? Really?", he stammered. "You're not kidding me, are you?, because that'd be too cruel, even for you."

"Well no, not this time", Fang let out a laugh. "You see, I've gotta give this secret message to one of our agents in the Wildlands. You might think going from innkeeper to messenger isn't much different to being the errand boy, but it happens that even though I'd go myself, right now I can't leave the Order unchecked for our own well-being, and that's not even considering you know the Wildlands loads better than I do. Besides, the content of this message is too important to entrust it to anyone else; in short, I trust you, Noel, that this message reaches its destination intact. So you better not betray my trust, have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal clear", Lightning thought, barely holding back a smile. Fang wanted the message to reach its addressee remaining secret even from its holder, and despite her brusque manners, she trusted Noel's integrity. At first glance it did not seem like a very relevant task, but if the letter was truly that important, then it would mean a lot to Noel that he had been assigned to carry it out.

"Yeah… Yes, of course! I'll make sure this message arrives to its destination!", once he recovered from the surprise, Noel nodded enthusiastically, beaming. "You can count on me, Captain Yun!"

"Atta boy", Fang smiled. "So let's do one thing, then. You go with Lightning and the angel to the Wildlands, and you guys first give the message over. And then you escort them to Poltae so we don't have to regret any casualty along the way. I don't think you have any complaints about this, have you? And you, sunshine? Neither you? Well I'm glad, 'cause I wasn't gonna listen to them anyway."

Lightning and Noel had not even had time to reply, but they did not object either. Not just because, indeed, Fang would have not listened, but because the plan worked perfectly for both. It was much safer that they all traveled together, if the Order was truly up to something serious. "Every day I'm more convinced that no one in Nova Chrysalia has more nerve and leadership gifts than Fang", the young woman thought, amused. "Sometimes I think, we wouldn't even need Mikhail to defeat the Order, as long as she remains at the forefront."

Although the Wildlands were filled by life on all sides and it was like a balm for Hope's weakened aura, the angel was beginning to understand why Lightning had not brought him to this place earlier, not until he considerably got better. It was a land plagued by feral and ruthless life in which the monsters thrived across and considered meal any traveler who ventured into their field of vision. Only because they were constantly alert they had been able to repel their ambushes as they made their way toward the first stop on their journey, north of the Wildlands. Fortunately, they had not been very powerful monsters the ones that attacked them, but Noel warned that overnight was when the fiercest beasts went hunting, and those ones could be a challenge even for the most experienced hunters.

Still, Hope wondered what kind of monsters could pose a challenge for a l'Cie. Lightning and Noel had cleared the way with hardly any trouble whenever hungry and bold beasts gave a try at them. For the moment, the hardest part of the journey was the route itself, especially once they left behind the meadows and ventured into the rocky, arid land that were the Eremite Plains.

"How are you feeling?", Lightning asked Hope the night of the fourth day; they had camped under a huge crag, around a small fire, after casting a series of defensive spell that would protect them from nocturnal predators. As usual, Noel fell asleep shortly after devouring the frugal dinner –valis' ribs, apelike creatures that were commonly sighted running around the plains– and he was a bit away from them.

"I'm tired", the angel replied, and slightly shrugged, "but otherwise I am fine."

Lightning nodded, satisfied. She had seen by herself that Hope was able to keep their pace during those four days, which was remarkable considering it had been not that long after he was convalescent.

"I'm glad. How about your back? Does it hurt?"

The last few times Lightning checked the wounds on Hope's back, she had realized how much they had improved in recent weeks. They still looked swollen and the skin was extremely sensitive and fragile, but they had already closed and began to heal properly. "It sometimes looks like he has forgotten about his wounds", the young woman thought, "and to think that just until a month ago he found hard to even move without hurting."

"Only if I make prolonged efforts. Right now, I feel it a little stiff, but…", Hope carefully stretched, as if trying out the limits of his pain. "I will feel well again tomorrow. And, ever since we got to the Wildlands, I'm feeling much better."

Lightning carefully observed his moves. It was true that, for some time now, Hope was much more agile, stronger than before. She had not stopped to consider that it might be due to the recovery from his wounds, especially because he was deep in his post-traumatic crisis when the signs began to manifest. "Or maybe it all started even before all that…", the young woman mused, looking away from the angel, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Maybe it happened during the time we spent in the Dead Dunes, and it's just that at the time we didn't realize…"

"What is exactly what we have to do in the Eremite Plains?", Hope asked, pulling her out of her memories of their stay in Ruffian. "I know you told me we have come because of a mission of the Vermilion Dawn, but you didn't give any details to me."

"I couldn't give you any details while we were in Luxerion", she clarified, "because it's supposed to be info the Order can't know that we have under any circumstances, and it'd be foolish to talk about it in their power's seat. Now that we're in the Wildlands, I can tell you. We're gonna deliver a message to one of Fang's agents; well, actually it's Noel who has to do it. We're just going with him, so after he does, he'll escort us to Poltae. And I can't tell you more, because not even he knows what that message says."

A little further, Noel shifted in his sleep and mumbled something by the fire, just when Hope stared at him.

"An agent of the Vermilion Dawn, then? Do you know him or is it the first time you're going to meet him?"

"We're not as many as to not know each other", Lightning sardonically half-smiled. "His name's Sazh, and he lives in a wrecked airship with his family, breeding chocobos. It sounds quite bucolic, but he's actually one of our best informants, and he provides us mounts and provisions here in the Wildlands as well. Despite living away from other villages, which in some ways is good for him, around here everyone knows him."

Hope tilted his head. It was hard to know what was he thinking, but Lightning guessed he was wondering what kind of person would live in the middle of nowhere inside a downed airship. She asked herself the same question in her day, until she personally met the kind chocobo breeder.

"I have never seen a chocobo", the angel suddenly said. Lightning blinked at the sudden comment, although she was used to him noting things that apparently had nothing to do with the topic discussed minutes earlier. It was just that she still was caught by surprise by his –sometimes– erratic way of thinking.

"Really? You've never seen one?"

"Well, I might have in my visions up in the Ark…", Hope mused. "But I've never seen one up close. I do know they are large birds that humans use as mounts in the surface, but not much more."

"The truth is that time ago, when the Rising Stars ruled, it was quite usual to see chocobos all throughout Nova Chrysalia", Lightning explained; she found a bit curious how Hope referred to the world, as 'surface'. "Now you'll only find them in the Wildlands. The Order doesn't like them at all, you know."

"Why not? They are just big birds."

She let out a short chuckle. "And yet he retains his innocence, bless him."

"They're much more than that. They have magic abilities, almost like l'Cie, and that magic depends on the color of their feathers. According to some legends, they were a gift that fal'Cie Pandaemonium for its newly born l'Cie: magic birds that would serve them as mounts, companions and protectors. In fact, the Order coined the term 'demon birds' to refer to chocobos, and it is considered extremely suspicious to own one out of the Wildlands."

Hope seemed surprised in his limited spectrum of facial expression. Almost like a child who is told a fantastic tale for the first time.

"And this man… Sazh, you say… breeds them?"

"He's not the only one who does", Lightning shrugged, "but he's the best of them. Sure, not everyone can afford one of his chocobos. We Vermilion Dawn's members are fortunate in that regard."

"You mean you all have your own chocobo?", the angel's eyes widened a bit more than usual.

"I had my own chocobo", she noted reluctantly, and then she pointed to Noel, "but Noel and all others still do. Or they should, in any case. Sazh hasn't yet given one to Serah because apparently any hatchling has been appropriate for her to date. He's quite picky in that sense, he can wait for years until he gets the one he thinks it's best for you."

She was almost sure that Hope would ask about her lost chocobo, but to her relief, the angel did not say anything about it. He probably felt she did not want to talk about it. "I'm the black sheep, as always. Somehow, and never meaning any good for me, I stand out from the rest." And it was not just the chocobo thing. There were more reasons, and Lightning was reminded of them every single day of her life. They were always present to a greater or lesser extent.

"There are so many things I don't know of this world…", Hope muttered after a while, staring at the fire. "I've seen a lot, but I have never understood it. Your myths, your history… everything is alien to me. And fascinating. I find it fascinating as well."

"Nova Chrysalia's history would be much more interesting and rich if the Order hadn't spent so many efforts erasing the parts that didn't suit them. But some things have endured, especially here in the Wildlands. I haven't studied the old legends as Serah did, but I could try telling you some stories", Lightning replied. Deep down she was not surprised by Hope's interest on the past; he had already sneaked away during their stay in Yusnaan to the palace's library to read everything that he could get his hands on. "If I saw myself trapped in a world of which I know nothing, and I was forced to live with its inhabitants, I guess I'd also want to know everything I could about them."

The angel gave her a long gaze. It made her nervous when he did that, mainly because it was virtually impossible to know what was going through his head.

"That would be nice", he said then, slowly blinking. "I'd be most grateful if you told me about the world, Light. That way I could understand it better… actually, I want to understand it better."

Any other person would not have been so taken aback by those words, but Lightning had shared enough time with Hope to realize this was the first time the young angel spoke aloud of something he wanted. Yes, indeed he had done it in his own way, with well chosen and almost tentative words, but not so long ago it would have been unthinkable that the shy, quiet Hope would loudly mention a personal wish. Ever since he left behind his post-traumatic shock, he was much more straightforward and dry in some things than before, but not that much until then. Prior to that moment, in order to guess what Hope wanted, they had to wade through a sea of cryptic comments and body language.

"If it's not too much trouble, of course", the angel suddenly added, almost cautiously, and Lightning realized she had been so stunned and silent that Hope probably thought she had taken his request the wrong way.

"Dummy head", she grumbled, a bit flustered, and lay down on the grass. "Did I ever say there was any trouble? I've suggested it myself. Stop making stupid guesses and go to sleep, tomorrow we have a long road ahead. And yeah, I'll tell you things about Nova Chrysalia's history, if I haven't been clear enough for you."

Hope shortly nodded before he lay down as well by the fire. To the other side, Noel snored, and Lightning considered for a long moment to cast on him a Silence spell, but she finally restrained herself. "If the protective spells fail, maybe his snoring could be of some use and scare the monsters away."

"Watch out! Move!", Noel cried a second before a massive, greenish arm hit the ground where Lightning had been standing. She jumped and rolled to the side, dodging the attack, and pointed Lumen, her electric crystal sword, to the creature they had the misfortune to encounter.

After two more days walking through the Eremite Plains, they finally spotted on the horizon the remains of a wrecked airship on a hill. That, according to what Lightning told Hope when the angel asked her, was Sazh and his family's home. It had taken them nearly a week to reach their destination, and that had made Hope realize the vast expanse of the Wildlands. It was hard to believe all that territory still resisted the Order's influence, but after all it was the land that l'Cie had chosen to be their haven. "It is even more surprising that the Order still tries to conquer a place where the Eternals have so much power", Hope thought. "It would be suicide. No human could ever defeat a l'Cie, let alone dozens of them."

But that afternoon, when the sun was already setting, a sudden Cosmic Chaos infusion that had appeared somewhere nearby and its influence covered the area where they were. It did not take long for a Cosmic Chaos-infused monster to emerge with clearly murderous intent, and it had not been any other than a chocobo eater, a huge beast with deadly strength and voracious hunger. And, as it was logical, three small humans –even if they actually were two l'Cie and an angel– were rather tasty.

Lightning hated chocobo eaters. With all her passion. Not only they were the deadliest creatures in the Wildlands, but her aversion to them was personal too. Even experienced hunters had to be extremely careful when they faced those beasts, and for someone who was not a l'Cie, fighting one amidst a Cosmic Chaos infusion was a direct ticket to the grave, or rather, its stomach.

By her side, Hope swiftly dodged a bite of the chocobo eater. He seemed to be assessing the situation, because so far he had limited himself to casting a couple of defensive spells when she and Noel had been in serious trouble. But the truth was that Lightning could not blame him for not yet deciding to use his power: she had seen what he was capable of, and she also knew Hope was still afraid of losing control. To him, it was much safer to simply support them with his magic.

Noel jumped towards the chocobo eater rising his twin katanas, one wreathed in flames and the other in swirling water. With them he slashed the hard skin of the beast, but he knew that would not do much: chocobo eaters had amazing physical resistance, so those who could not use magic had no chance at all. The problem was, neither he nor Lightning were expert mages beyond their l'Cie condition, and Hope was not sure about using offensive spells. Lightning cursed their bad luck; that battle could only be won by attrition, as things were. And an attrition battle against a Cosmic Chaos-infused chocobo eater was a very dangerous thing.

In that moment, the chocobo eater threw a punch toward Hope. The angel jumped to the side, similar to what Lightning had done before, but then he winced in pain when he was about to stand up. "His back", the young woman guessed when she saw him gritting his teeth, and she could not help but close his fist angrily around Lumen's hilt. Definitely, no matter the good pace of his improvement, he was not completely recovered, not at all. She wanted to rush to his side to help him, but the chocobo eater was faster, and the next moment the mouth full of teeth the monster had in its belly hovered over Hope, whose reflexes were too slow to dodge what was coming for him.

"Hope!", she called out, extending her hand towards him in a vain attempt to reach him. Suddenly there was a flash of green light, and the chocobo eater found an energy barrier between it and its prey, giving off sparks each time it tried to get through. Even lying on the ground, Hope had managed to cast a Protect spell at the very last second, so much that apparently the beast's jaws touched him because his left hand, the one he raised to cast the spell, was bleeding.

"Come on!", Noel made Lightning react with those words, and without losing a second he jumped on the chocobo eater's back with his katanas in hand. He delivered several slashes before dodging the angry creature's punch, and as he did he cast an Aerora spell on it, which seemed to stun it for a moment. That was Lightning's turn, and she cast a rapid succession of Thunder spells that hit the chocobo eater; she would have cast a more powerful one like Thundaga, but Hope was too close to the beast and the Protect barrier, even though it protected him from physical blows, it did not repel magic. Taking advantage of the stunned chocobo eater, Hope managed to overcome the sheer strength of its jaws against his Protect and he blew up the barrier, throwing the monster in the air a few meters away. It soon got up and tried to strike again, but by then the angel had already stood up and had gotten far enough from it.

Apparently, that its prey got away angered the chocobo eater even more, and its attacks became increasingly frantic and violent. Lightning and Noel avoided a few blows that would most certainly be fatal thanks to the timely Protect spells that Hope cast, yet they already had suffered several injuries that even if they were not serious, they did affect their combat capability. The beast looked tired, but because of the Cosmic Chaos' influence, Lightning knew well that it would not prevent it to keep struggling to the end and still be a threat. "Dammit! You couldn't stay away from us, didn't you!", she furiously thought, casting a Fira spell on the chocobo eater before hardly dodging a punch. A while ago, Noel had tried to cast Haste on them, but that was a spell that required a bit of casting time that the chocobo eater would not grant him. It was fortunate enough that Hope still could cast Protect, and only because his magic power allowed him to cast spells almost instantly. Even the angel looked tense and nervous as the monster gained ground, and that wasn't usual at all coming from him. For a moment, Lightning feared he would lose control as he did in the Dead Dunes.

And then, all of a sudden, they heard a gunshot, and flames burst into the chocobo eater's side. It turned around, caught by surprise just like Lightning, Hope and Noel, but the moment it did, it got another direct shot in the face, followed by a wind stream that made it stagger and lose balance, undoubtedly an Aerora spell just like the one Noel cast before. As the beast tried to get up, an orange light enveloped all three of them, spinning around them like the hands of a clock: the Haste spell that Noel could not cast because the chocobo eater would not let him.

"How's that you've gotten this rusty, kids!", a deep, mature voice said, with a hint of amusement. "Since when chocobo eaters pose so much trouble that you need the help of a geezer like me?"

When Lightning, Hope and Noel looked up, they saw a large, yellow bird with a mischievous spark in its eyes, a single chestnut-colored feather sprouting from its head, standing over the rocks, and mounted on it there was a middle-aged dark-skinned man, who sported a short beard and his afro looked like a nest. He wore rumpled green clothing and a beige scarf around his neck, and in his right hand he held a long, lustrous black revolver with golden decorations. The bird let out a squawk that sounded like a 'kweh!' and jumped down with its powerful legs to where they were.

"If it isn't other than Sazh!", Noel said with a wide relieved smile. "You couldn't have come at a better time!"

Hope slightly raised his eyebrows at hearing the newcomer's name. "So this is Sazh, the chocobo breeder?" His eyes strayed to the yellow bird he was riding. "Then that must be a chocobo… They're bigger than I imagined they were."

Lightning also looked relieved by Sazh and his chocobo's timely arrival.

"Better late than never! Come one, let's finish this at once!"

Neither Noel nor Sazh considered necessary for her to say it twice. Still taken off guard by the chocobo breeder's sudden entrance, Hope watched in amazement how the chocobo Sazh was riding tackled the chocobo eater and kicked it with its clawed feet wreathed in whirls of magical wind as he fired his revolver from its back. He started to understand why chocobos were considered that special, and that what Lightning told him about their magic powers were no exaggeration. The bird's attacks seemed to be almost as powerful as a l'Cie's.

Against the combined attacks of Lightning, Noel, Sazh and the chocobo, the chocobo eater was more and more exhausted and cornered, and as it is logical, cornered beasts are the most dangerous. Its punches turned brutal and unpredictable, and Cosmic Chaos made it even harder to kill. "Die already, you wretched bastard!", Lightning thought angrily as she slashed the chocobo eater's rough and bleeding skin with Lumen's electrified edge. But her impatient fury clouded her senses and reflexes for a moment, long enough for the beast to strike her with a glancing blow from its fist, knocking her to the ground with a gasp of pain; even an indirect hit like that, coming from a Cosmic Chaos-influenced chocobo eater, was quite dangerous and able to incapacitate anyone. She tried to get up, but a sharp pain in her hip did not let her, and the chocobo eater took the chance to pounce on her with its belly jaws wide open, its countless teeth irrevocably hovering over her. Well aware that she had no time to protect herself nor escape, Lightning instinctively closed her eyes, curling up and preparing for the end.

But the death bite never came. Instead, she heard a loud blast, an agonizing roar and a sudden slap of heat on her face. She ventured to open her eyes, and she could see the remains of a flame burst between her and the chocobo eater, now face up several meters away, its belly severely charred and clearly dead. Noel, Sazh and the chocobo alternately stared at the beast and at something behind her, looking astonished, and Lightning dared to turn around.

What she saw was Hope, holding the curved weapon he summoned out of thin air in the Dead Dunes, one arm outstretched and the other tensing the energy bowstring that at the time was bright red and gave off little dancing flames. For a second, Lightning's heart was filled with fear when her eyes noticed that golden double-edged blade, realizing the angel had, once again, taken away a life with it, even if it was the life of a monster who was about to kill her. The last and only time he had done that, the consequences were terrible for him. And it had not been that long since Hope got out from that pit of darkness in which he had been trapped for weeks and nearly crushed his sanity.

However, Hope did not seem to react to a death caused by his hand beyond frowning deeper than usual, and with a dry motion of his arm he made his double-edged bow vanish in myriads of golden particles before rushing to Lightning's side, who stared at him as if he were a ticking time-bomb about to explode.

"Are you alright?", the angel asked her, kneeling beside her. Hearing his voice was what made her snap out of her expectant state, as if she were waiting for his emotional collapse at any time. More than anything, because Hope's voice, if drier than his default tone, remained calm and quiet.

"Yeah… I –I'm fine", Lightning managed to stutter, but Hope had already found the point of her hip in which the chocobo eater hit her before she could say anything; he made a swift motion with his hand over it, which briefly gave off a blue glow, and the pain disappeared immediately. "Not even Serah can heal wounds with such ease", the young woman thought as she recognize it as a Cure spell, and an exceptionally powerful one.

The angel helped her to get up without a word, but he did it gently. It was obvious that he did not like at all having to kill the chocobo eater himself, but the truth was he did not hesitate a single second to do so when he saw her in imminent danger. Just like in the Dead Dunes, only that this time Hope had not done so in a burst of anger and violence, but he remained calm and impassive, and fired the magic arrow coldly and accurately. Lightning recalled what he said when he told her he was ready to go with her to the Wildlands: that if he had to get his hands bloody again to save her life or her sister's, he would do it without hesitation. And so he did.

"Hey!", Noel cried then, going to them with worry on his face. "Is everything alright, Lightning?"

She nodded.

"Don't worry. It's been close, but everything's fine now."

"Sure thing it's been close! What Hope did was awesome!", the hunter said, staring all amazed at Hope. The angel ruffled his nose, clearly showing he did not quite agree, and Lightning could easily guess why: one thing was having to take a life to save another, but she doubted Hope considered such thing as 'awesome'. "He hit the chocobo eater right in its belly! That was an incredible shot!"

Lightning simply nodded, still pale and shocked by having seen death so up close; it was not the first time, of course, but that had been the first one she could have not done anything about it if not for Hope's intervention. He saved her life, almost nonchalantly. "Once again. I already owe him my life a few times now. Who would've imagined that…"

"At least we're not regretting any major damage", Sazh noted, who had dismounted and came to them with his chocobo by his side. "Lightning, you silly lass, how come you've taken such risks against that godforsaken beast? You well know how dangerous they are!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just been… acting out of instinct, nothing more. I don't like chocobo eaters, you know."

Sazh sighed, just like a father who was scolding his daughter for being careless. Then he glanced toward Hope, who was still holding the young woman in his arms, even though she need it no longer. When she caught Sazh's gaze, Lightning became aware that Hope still had not pulled away, so she impulsively stepped back. The angel turned his head and stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable, but he said nothing and he looked at Sazh in the eye.

"And I don't know you, lad", the chocobo breeder said, looking at him with interest. "But judging from what I see, you're not a common l'Cie, huh? Unless the scar and ears are the new trends in the big city."

Despite himself, Hope brought a hand to one of his pointed ears, slightly brushing it, but he realized Sazh had quickly noticed those details that betrayed his non-human condition, not even l'Cie. He did not know what to say, but luckily for him, Lightning took the wheel.

"This is Hope, Sazh. Perhaps Fang has already told you about him, you know. The key to the Heart of Bhunivelze."

"Ah!, I see", Sazh studied the angel more closely. "Yeah, Fang told me about you, but it's better we discuss the intricacies of the issue well away from prying ears. But it's a pleasure to meet you, Hope. As I suppose these two had already told you, the name's Sazh Katzroy, and I breed chocobos for all people in the Wildlands… plus some small extra jobs", he added, kindly winking to them.

Hope was about to greet him back, but in that moment the chocobo let out a rather irritated 'kweh, kweh!' and pushed Sazh away, and it looked at the angel up and down with its big, brown eyes.

"Alright, alright!", Sazh protested, rubbing the spot where the bird hit him with its beak, even though he was smiling. "I wasn't forgetting about you, woman, even if you won't believe me! But since you're here, how about you introduce yourself?"

Lightning and Noel smiled as well, amused by the scene, but Hope didn't quite understand how the chocobo, who seemed to be a female, would introduce itself. However, his non-spoken question was unexpectedly answered when, all of a sudden, the bird gave off a deep reddish light that enveloped it completely, nearly blinding him. Then, the chocobo's figure quickly and steadily changed in the light: its feathers disappeared, its torso narrowed and lengthened and its head became beakless and smaller, and its tail vanished. And when the glow dimmed away the angel, amazed, was looking at a young woman with brown hair and eyes, dressed in light green and white clothing with quite long, feathered sleeves that covered her hands, and she wore a cap topped with a red feather. Her pants looked very tight and her shoes looked like bird feet… until Hope realized they were not pants nor shoes, but her very own legs were those of a chocobo. "What kind of magic is this?", he thought, stunned, stepping back instinctively.

But that strange woman merrily laughed at Hope's apprehension, as Sazh and Noel did as well. Lightning, though, put reassuringly a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep herself from laughing too.

"Aw, come on! Don't tell me you're scared of me!", the woman's voice was almost like a trill, so singsong and high-pitched that Hope's sensitive hearing found it uncomfortable at first. "I thought your kind was, don't know, more stoic than you are! It's okay, it's not like I'm gonna peck you or anything like that!"

"I'm sorry", Hope muttered, still watching her cautiously. "It is the first time I see an animal transforming into a human."

She gave him a radiant smile, showing her perfect white teeth.

"Then now you've seen it! Don't sweat it, there's a first time for everything! My name's Chocolina", she said rising a hand covered by her feathered sleeve to her chest, "but you may call me Lina! I'm Sazh's life partner, and as you can see, I'm an Animist!"

"An Animist?", Hope tilted his head and slightly frowned.

"It's one of the gifts l'Cie are sometimes born with", Lightning explained him, "just like Serah and her Seeress powers. Animists are l'Cie that can transform into animals at will, and in Chocolina's case, as her tribal name says, she's a chocobo."

"That's right", Sazh confirmed, putting an arm around Chocolina's waist fondly, and she smiled. "Well, if we're done with the introduction, then how about we going, kids? You sure will enjoy sleeping tonight under a roof. And if I'm not mistaken, we've got several things to talk about before you go on with your little journey."

Lightning and Noel nodded in agreement. Hope followed the l'Cie group towards the downed airship in the horizon that was Sazh's home, musing to himself about all the new findings that he was doing. He imagined the Wildlands kept many secrets waiting to be revealed, and that was certainly one of them. Who would have thought that among l'Cie there were ones that could shapeshift at will? "How many mysteries surround the Eternals and the gifts fal'Cie granted them? How far does their magic potential goes?", the young angel asked himself, and it was a question that made him feel a strange shiver. For some reason, perhaps deep down he did not want to know.

Several hours later, late at night, Lightning, Sazh and Noel were sitting around a table in comfy armchairs. It had been a while since they had dinner, a tasty behemoth and tantal greens Chocolina cooked with all her kindness and radiant willfulness. Dajh, the son of Sazh and his first partner, was playing on the floor with a toy airship; Lightning and Noel already knew him, and the kid was very happy to see them again, but he had been uneasy around Hope. To the angel, it was the first time he interacted with a human child, and he did not know what to think of Dajh's fearful behavior towards him. "The mighty angel of Bhunivelze, worried because a kid might not like him", Lightning thought, smiling to herself. Despite how inexpressive was Hope, she read insecurity in his eyes when, when he motioned toward Dajh, the boy ran to hide behind his father's legs, and he turned his head to her as if to ask what he was doing wrong. Then, throughout dinner, it became obvious enough that Hope spent all the time trying to make Dajh not afraid of him and he did not know how, since all he had done was side-glancing him every now and then. Lightning, who was well aware that the angel was like an overgrown kid, found it endearing: just like two children that are too shy to talk to each other, even if they wanted to be friends.

"Yet Dajh has reasons to be wary of strangers", the woman thought. Because it was something Sazh had instilled in him for a very long time. The Katzroy family was anything but normal, even by the standards of a l'Cie family: Chocolina was an Animist, a very rare gift among Eternals; Sazh's brand awoke when he was a middle-age man, which made him one of the few l'Cie whose physical appearance was that of a mature adult rather than a teen or a young adult; in Dajh's case, it had been the complete opposite, as his brand awoke when the boy was only six, stopping his aging at such a young age. Those l'Cie fated to remain as children for eternity were known as Enfants, and even if their future did sound unflattering, truth was Enfants never lost their childhood innocence. They were highly treasured by l'Cie communities, who considered them a gift to relieve the cynicism and ennui that eternal life, both blessing and curse, brought to them.

Although the Order of Salvation could not care less about what Enfants meant for l'Cie, they certainly would show special interest in taking Dajh if they knew of his gift, in the same way they once abducted Serah and forced her to use hers for their own purposes. But in Dajh's case, it would be infinitely more dangerous for them. Because that kid had the ability to recognize l'Cie and all magic that came from them. And the Order had its own methods for detecting l'Cie, yes, but it was based on the simple concept of quantifying the magic level in people's auras, and that was not exactly reliable. In their hands, Dajh would be the perfect l'Cie detector, so Sazh had devoted his life to protect his child from any harm. And of course, he also helped him identify the new Vermilion Dawn members who came to his door.

"Now let's see", Sazh said then, pulling Lightning out of her thoughts, "Fang told me you had something for me, kiddos. What's all that about?"

It was Noel who rummaged through the pockets of his baggy pants until he pulled out the sealed roll of parchment that the Vermilion Dawn's leader gave him. Barely concealing his pride, the young man gave it to Sazh.

"There you go. In one piece and unread, as the Captain commanded."

Sazh briefly raised his eyebrows as he ripped off the seal, undoubtedly surprised at Fang's unusual request. No wonder why, because despite the caution that was the dragoon's trademark, she usually shared her plans with her trusted agents, and Lightning and Noel were certainly part of that group. The contents of that letter had to be of utmost secrecy.

For long minutes, Sazh read the message very carefully as Lightning and Noel impatiently waited for him to finish, partly wanting him to tell them something about it. She glanced at one of the wrecked airship's windows: Hope had gone outside a while ago because upon learning she was the first chocobo he had seen up close, Chocolina considered it unacceptable and she led him to the stables for him to see all the birds she and Sazh raised in that remote spot of the Wildlands.

Finally, with a deep sigh, Sazh rolled up the letter, frowning. Lightning did not consider it a good sign. She knew the chocobo breeder was a cheerful and optimistic man, and he was not one to look worried.

"It seems our fears weren't as unfounded as we thought", he commented thoughtfully, and he drummed his fingers on the table. "If what Fang has found out is true… hopefully it's just gossip and nonsense, but if it's not, soon the relative peace we've been enjoying these years is gonna run out."

"But what does it say?", Noel demanded, intrigued. Lightning wanted to know as well, but she had the impression that Sazh would not say anything, probably because Fang told him in the message not to do so. She knew her well, and she also knew Sazh enough to know the chocobo breeder loved to share news with others.

"I can't tell you that, even if I really want to", Sazh replied, confirming her guesses. "Boss' commands. But I think I can share some info… See, the Order has lately increased its presence in the Wildlands and causing lots of trouble we didn't expect. And I don't mean isolated problems: they've been attacking small villages and they've been moving closer to larger towns. The other day, the Jagd hunters and the Nightblades had a very hard time driving away a group of Secutors who tried to attack Aryas Village."

Noel jumped up as if he had been bitten.

"You mean the Order is openly attacking the Wildlands? But they had never before dared to venture far beyond the borders! What about the l'Cie who are supposed to protect the area?"

"That's what many of us would wanna know. But from what Fang tells me, I'm starting to get why they're becoming this bold", Sazh frowned. "And that's no good news. Besides, they're resorting to guerrilla tactics, and that makes them harder to spot for our patrols. All this doesn't sound good for us at all, kids."

"We can't allow them to run freely around the Wildlands!", Lightning was outraged, clenching her fists. "If they keep that up, they could even endanger Poltae! If they're really causing trouble to us l'Cie, how's possible that Fang hasn't called everyone up to arms? I won't allow it, even if I must kill them all myself and–!"

"Calm down, now", Sazh cut her rising his hands. "You young ones always think you can do everything alone. It may sound harsh, but I think that's what thousands of years ago doomed the king you admire so much." Lightning shot him a withering glare, but he was not even fazed by it. "Look, I know you've got good intentions and indeed your help would be quite valuable, but Fang hasn't sent you here to exchange blows with the Order. That's the hunters and the Nightblades' job, so you focus on doing what the boss commanded you to do."

"I should be fighting alongside them", Noel muttered, his head down, his fists clenched and his knuckles white in tension. "Fighting and protecting the Wildlands."

"You should go with Lightning and the angel lad to Poltae as you've been ordered to do. Stop punching yourself with stupid thoughts, you're not the only one who can defend this land."

Even though Sazh was right, Noel was not convinced at all. Lightning was aware the young man felt responsible and partly guilty, but she could not tell him anything she had not already done. And the thing was, despite his humble work as innkeeper in The Farseer's Rest inside the Vermilion Dawn, he had a higher rank in the Wildlands' society. Or at least he had before joining Fang's rebel group.

That was when, suddenly, Dajh, Sazh's son, went to his father with the toy airship in his hands. On the back of his left hand there was a white brand, different in shape from those the present l'Cie sported: Dajh was a l'Cie from the House of Lindzei, unlike them who were from the House of Pulse. There were no major differences, but for some reason l'Cie from House of Lindzei were not as common.

"Daddy, is the angel lad one of the good guys?", he asked, with the childlike innocence his many years of life could not take from him. The question brought a smile to everyone; since Hope was a new face to him, Dajh did not know how to take his presence in the household.

"Well that's a hard question", Sazh replied pulling up the boy to his lap. "Let's see, is he a good angel or a bad one? What do you think, Lightning?"

"Why is it me you're asking?", she thought, taken aback. But she was starting to get used to the idea that everything about Hope was also related to her in the eyes of others. Not surprisingly, though, given that she was the one who supposedly had to return the glory to her people with the angel's guidance.

"You don't have to be scared of him, Dajh", the young woman told him with a small smile. "He wouldn't hurt anyone if it was his choice. Even if he's not a l'Cie, you have nothing to fear."

Dajh stared at her with wide eyes.

"I thought angels had wings. The angel lad hasn't got them. Why he doesn't have wings?"

Lightning hesitated. To be honest, Hope had never talked much about the true nature of the loss of his wings. He mentioned that the Ark ripped them off when he disobeyed Bhunivelze's command, but that was it. And indeed, Hope could not lie, so that had to be true… but to what extent, she wondered. She had already seen by herself the angel knew how to weather the storm by telling only a part of the whole truth, and he was rather good at it.

"An evil god took them off from him", she heard Noel say, and she sighed in relief then the young man lend her a hand by summing up what little they knew, "when he wanted to descend from the heavens to learn about we humans and l'Cie. And now he's going with Lightning to help us all and kick the asses of the bad guys who are on that god's side."

"Really?!", Dajh's eyes lit up, fascinated. "It's just… it's weird. He has no wings, and he has strange ears… He doesn't look like a bad guy, but it's just… he makes me nervous."

"Nervous? How come?", his father asked. Dajh shrugged.

"I don't know… It feels like what I feel when you guys are around me, but… it's as if something is wrong inside him. It's a little bit scary…"

Lightning frowned. "As if something is wrong inside Hope?" What did the kid mean with that? His gift allowed him to feel the magic of l'Cie because he sensed it in other people's aura, something that by itself was weird because the angel was not; actually, she assumed Dajh felt uneasy around him because he could not sense the aura of a l'Cie and thought he was one of the people his father warned him so much about. But apparently, what bothered the child was that something was wrong in his aura, whatever it was.

Sazh probably guessed what was going through her head, so he gave her a reassuring smile.

"That's most likely because it's the first time you've met an angel. They're much more powerful than we l'Cie, son. I'm sure that's what you feel around him, but you don't have to be afraid of him. He's only different from us, just that."

Yes, that made sense. Not in vain angels, according to legends, were made by fal'Cie in order to replace l'Cie as their servants, and since l'Cie themselves were born because of a spell of fal'Cie origin, it was logical the magic their auras gave off shared the same footprint. And no wonder an angel's power level might have scared a poor kid used to sense l'Cie magic, which was below angels'. But still… Lightning could not help but worry about Dajh's comment that something 'was wrong' inside Hope. Especially since, not so long ago, she found out he was unable to channel and express his own emotions, and that certainly fell within the category of 'wrong'.

While Noel, Sazh and Dajh quickly forgot about the topic and started chatting around the table, Lightning found herself looking at the window, toward the stables, where Hope and Chocolina had gone to see the chocobos. She got the eerie feeling that the discovery she made weeks ago about the young angel's limitations was merely the tip of the iceberg. And she feared that, if she found out, the conclusions would not be precisely pleasant.

"What is what Hope truly hides? Which is that terrible secret that makes something be wrong within him?"