The thing that would later tear at Lightning the most was that she had been powerless to stop it.

She would later remember the details as clear as day. Everything from the chilling, gentle breeze of the Gapra Whitewood brushing over her skin to the synthetic beauty of the deceptively enchanting forest and the way the twinkling light made Hope's gleaming silver hair seem even brighter than normal. The boy walked in front of her with a hurried pace, trying to compensate for his shorter legs. He did do a good job at taking point, dodging around the Whitewood's monsters and scampering away before they even knew he had been there. He would make a decent infiltrator, she thought, given the proper training.

They reached another clearing, this one looking no different from the others they had already been through. Cool, blue light filtered from above through the crystal forest canopy and lit every plant it touched in a brilliant, sparkling halo of prismatic colours. The fresh, dewy air felt good and cool on her face as they made it to the centre, the ground hard and smooth under the thick rubber soles of her boots. All was silent save for the gentle ringing of the foliage brushing on itself and their muted footfalls, quiet as they were.

A heart-stopping, earth-shaking roar broke the tranquil calm as a massive, bulky form emerged from the forest depths and landed crashing right in their path, a spray of shattered blue and white crystal left in its wake. Lightning instinctively flinched, felt the rush of its warm and putrid breath as it whirled upon them, gaping jaws several feet in length open to reveal glistening, curled fangs. With a yell of warning, Lightning shoved Hope out of the way while throwing herself to the side. The Alpha Behemoth's jaws closed with a snap over empty air where Hope's head had been moments before. Even as it turned to face Lightning with a vicious growl, she was on her feet with her gunblade-saber out and battle-ready.

Before it could make the first strike, Lightning slashed the Behemoth on its side and back as she rushed at then vaulted over it, blade flashing white in the ethereal light. It screeched in pain and defiant rage, whirling around to catch Lightning in its jaws, only to be struck across the forehead by a spinning boomerang which rebounded to slap back into Hope's hand as he snatched it out of the air. The Behemoth bellowed like thunder, head snapping towards the boy as its body tensed to spring, only to howl when Lightning's saber reduced its meaty shoulder to ribbons in a flurry of expert slashes.

Disoriented by the full-on assault from both sides, the monster let loose a furious roar and thrashed like a deranged animal. Lightning latched on to its mangled bicep as it trampled around in a desperate rampage trying to throw her. Her blood-red cape billowed like a sheet in a storm as the Behemoth rolled and tossed and slammed her against tree trunks. Showers of glittering crystal fragments flew into the air and littered the smooth ground from the shattered pieces of bark. It slammed her into another crystalline tree and Lightning gasped through clenched teeth, her arms and back bloodied from the imbedded shards in her skin and muscles going numb from the effort of clinging to the Behemoth. It showed no signs of stopping its berserk stampede, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on.

"Hey, you! Over here!" Hope's hoarse shout came out of nowhere and was accompanied by a flash of magical fire and a deafening cry from the Behemoth as it came to a jolting halt. In an instant, Lightning lost her grip and was tossed high into the air. She crashed onto solid ground in a flurry of twinkling crystal. Despite her injuries, she was up in a flash, half-expecting the beast to already be upon her and snapping her up in its powerful jaws. But before she could straighten up from her crouch, the sight that met her eyes struck her like a bolt of lightning, freezing her. Her heart seemed to stop beating, her breath dying on her lips.

No...

Right in the heart of the clearing, wide-eyed and gasping soundlessly with a giant, monstrous claw goring him right through his abdomen, was Hope.

Time seemed to slow down for Lightning. Red was everywhere; in the flow of her cape as she screamed his name and stumbled into a run; her warm blood as it left a spattering trail behind her on the pristine floor; the Behemoth's blood as it streamed down in rivulets from its exposed sinews; Hope's blood – Hope's blood as it gushed and gushed and gushed and painted the ground a frightening colour that shone like the most brilliant ruby. It almost seemed impossible that such a small body could contain so much blood.

The Behemoth removed its gore-stained claw and Hope crumpled to the ground like a dropped ragdoll. It reared back, teeth exposed in a snarl and going in for the final blow – when Lightning slammed her entire body into it, crying a full-throated roar of her own. With an enraged growl, it toppled and crashed to the ground only to release an ear-rending scream as she drove her blade into its neck, right up to the hilt. Not giving it time to recover, Lightning wrenched the saber free before burying it into the soft, vulnerable flesh again, and again, and again, attacking with a ferocity and speed she didn't know she was capable of. Her victim bellowed in agonised torment as Lightning had its throat slashed open within seconds. She bared her teeth in blinded fury – hot, dark blood was flowing over her arms and staining her clothes – but she didn't stop.

She wasn't sure how it happened or how long their struggle lasted, but through the dull haze, she heard one last, lingering wail before the Behemoth finally went limp and folded its legs with a booming thud, throwing her to the ground. It stayed where it lay and moved no more.

"Hope!" Lightning called out in a shaky voice, whipping about and casting her eyes about wildly before spying his small figure lying sprawled on the ground a dozen paces away in the growing pool of his own, bright red blood. The bright yellow boomerang lay abandoned a few inches from his fingers. He wasn't moving either.

No.

"Hope!" she repeated, taking a stumbling step towards him and nearly falling. Her left leg throbbed with a dull ache. Something was probably dislocated, or maybe twisted, she didn't know. But it hardly seemed important right now.

Reaching him, she threw aside the gunblade, which skittered several feet away, as she dropped down next to his prone form. "Hope! Hope!" He still wasn't responding, but the blood continued to seep from that horrible, gaping hole in his stomach. Too horrible. There was no saving him. She was too late, too late to do anything. Lightning knew that. She knew that.

Her hands shook as they tore her cape from her back and bunched it up to staunch the blood flow. The deeper, darker crimson soon stained the scarlet fabric like a blooming flower. With her heart hammering in her throat, Lightning lowered two fingers to his thin neck below the jawline and waited. At first, nothing. Then, so weak she almost didn't feel it, a pulse beneath the skin.

"Hey! Hey, kid!" She slapped him across the face with a light hand, afraid of aggravating his injuries if she shook him. "Kid! Wake up! This isn't funny, Hope! Hope, come on!"

There was a sudden, sharp intake of breath, and Hope's glass-green eyes flashed open as his body spasmed to life. Coughs racked his small body as he choked and hacked, blood dripping from his mouth to trickle down his chin. Before she knew what she was doing, Lightning had taken him into her arms and was supporting his head in the crook of her elbow, trying to ease his breathing, which was coming in short, quick gasps as he struggled against the pain. More blood bubbled over his lips as he coughed again, clearing his airways of his own blood, before settling his hazy gaze on Lightning.

"Li-Light?"

His voice came out as barely more than a wheezing rasp, almost drowned out by the gentle tinkling of the canopy above like a million crystalline wind-chimes. She felt her face soften even as her heart fell and she tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Yes, Hope, I'm here."

"It- it hurts… It hurts so much-"

The ruined cape in her other hand was now soaked through with blood, staining her fingers and gloves. She ignored it. "I know."

Tears sprang from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. The agony on his still-childlike face was palpable, and she thought she felt his pain as much as he did himself. "I… I'm g-going to die, right? I'm dying… r-right? I don't want to die, Light! I d-don't w-want to die…"

"Hush," she whispered, trying to make her tone as gentle as possible, the one she used to use with Serah once upon a time. She'd almost forgotten she could sound like that.

"P-please don't leave me here, Light! Please… please d-don't leave me alone…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Hope." She abandoned the cape; the wound still weeping red, blossoming over his clothes; and reached up to brush the hair from his face. The blood on her fingers left a red streak through the gleaming silver bangs. "I'm staying right here."

It felt strangely like she was losing Serah all over again. Strange, because she had barely met this boy and already he reminded her so much of her sister. But it wasn't just his resemblance to Serah that endeared him to her. She looked at Hope and saw herself as a young girl; lost, wandering alone in an unfamiliar world, no parents to keep him safe and being amongst strangers he didn't know. She thought she could protect him, this motherless child who was forced out too early into a war he didn't belong in.

With Serah's recent death, this proved too much even for her. Lightning brought him closer to her and wrapped him in a hug, cradling his head under her chin so he wouldn't see her own tears as they dripped into his hair. His body felt colder than it should be, his pale skin clammy and damp with cold sweat. He was getting even more blood on her, she realised. She was covered in so much of it now that she was hardly recognisable as Lightning Farron, but she didn't care.

"Lig…ht?" he rasped, his eyes already fighting to stay open and looking very far away.

"It's okay, Hope. It's okay," She stroked his hair, shutting her own eyes and tightening her hold on him even as the sound of his voice like that ripped her heart from her chest. "You're safe now."

So she held him, unmoving. Held him still long after the breath had left his lips, long after the heat had fled his body and the final vestiges of life faded from his innocent eyes. She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, but it was long enough that when she finally found herself again, her surroundings were noticeably dimmer, the Whitewood perceptibly quieter and the pool of blood surrounding them had dried and crusted over on the stone-cold floor.

She looked down at the small, still body in her embrace, peaceful in death. Pale lids hid his clear green eyes and his beautiful silver hair still fluttered in the flow of the breeze as it did in life. But his body was cold and his chest no longer heaved in ragged, desperate gasps for air. The wound had stopped spilling blood long ago.

Without a word, she lowered him to the chilled, blood-caked ground. Her steady hand concealed her frayed nerves as she caressed a pale, colourless cheek. She reached into one of his pockets and retrieved the pocket knife she had given him not too long ago. He didn't need it any more. With another swift motion, she picked up and folded his boomerang before setting it down next to his body. Then she rose, eyes never leaving his face. Her mind was numb. It felt odd, seeing him lying there, as if he were only sleeping. As if at any moment, he would turn over and mutter under his breath, lost in dreams. As if at any moment, he would unconsciously twitch and call out for his mother again.

But he didn't.

Hope was with his real mother now, Lightning reminded herself. He was free, no longer a cursed l'Cie. No longer tied to this cruel world with all the pains and worries it loaded on his too-small shoulders. No more unknown Focus, no more running from the corrupted law, no more fighting, no more condemnation by a damned fal'Cie.

Lightning screwed her eyes shut and spun away, suddenly finding herself unable to face him any longer. She stooped to pick up her bloody weapon, reholster it and walked away and out of the glade. She never looked back.

You're safe now.

A/N: What?! Kasumi updates and it's not more YGM? BLASPHEMY!

Heh, but yeah, I'm gonna use that age-old tried and tested but true explanation of saying that I've been pretty busy lately and everything's just blocked right now. This was the only one that felt like working a little and it was on hold for months now so I rolled with it.

It feels like I'm among the few of the fandom who view the relationship between Lightning and Hope as more familial than romantic. So I'm kind of let down at the sparse amount of fan media that doesn't depict them in a romantic light. Lightning took on a motherly role towards Hope and Hope, who had just lost his mother and had nobody to look to for guidance, latched onto Lightning. He was clingy, because he was afraid he'd lose her too.

/del/Frankly, I'm rooting for Snow and Lightning to get together./del/

Yeah, I'll probably get shot for that bit. xD

So I wrote this after getting a stroke of inspiration from 'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift. Hunger Games fans theorised that the song referred to Katniss and Rue during Rue's final scene (though the more hardcore seem to think it's for Katniss and Peeta instead) and I couldn't help but think that the relationship between Katniss and Rue was similar to the one Lightning and Hope shared. And, as said before, there's hardly enough media for the motherly!Light and protege!Hope category and the song is among my all time favourites, so this came up.

Another thing I'll get shot for - I predict Hope's death in the third instalment of the game. In retrospect, it does make sense and that could be the reason the devs changed him back to his original physical appearance. Though I am quite hoping I'm wrong, it will have a significant impact on the story. Yes, I am aware that the Japanese version is already out but I'm going to wait for the English version since I watched the first two in English as well anyway. So please, please, please don't give me spoilers! :D

If you made it this far and read all of this AN, thank you so much for listening to my meaningless and fluffed up thoughts! I know I can get a bit off tangent sometimes. Even if you skipped the entire thing and read only the fic, thank you for taking your time to read this, in which I did my best to reproduce my intangible thoughts into tangible words. Writing this after a period of abstinence reminded me how much I love writing and that, in some part of my heart, I will write forever and ever.

Thank you.

- Kasumi