[FFXIII] Derivation, 2/3

[shamera]

Title: Derivation
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIII
Character/Pairing(s): very light Maqui/Hope
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Spoilers for end of game and the sequel to Kinematics.
Summary: Politics is a powerful thing on Pulse, and a lot more irritating than what Maqui wanted to think about. But as Bartholomew Estheim lobbies for l'Cie rights, Maqui has to learn that people don't always like to see reason.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3



n. 1; The source from which something is derived; origin. 2; Something that is or has been derived; derivative. 3; Development of a theorem.




Never let it be said that a teenage boy wasn't proud of his video game collection. In fact, Maqui had two large knapsacks strapped onto his airbike that morning, whistling tunelessly as he cataloged it all in his head. He had spent the past two days practically floating on air even as Lebreau had ordered him to clean the kitchen and bathroom and then scrubbed at his face with a towel because apparently he looked like he had just emerged from the Mah'araba by the time he was done.

He had spent a good hour scrubbing down and having both Yuj and Lebreau check him over before he went to gather up his games, and then another hour to get to the area where Hope lived... the area was so different from where Team NORA had set up base, especially with its stacked apartments built up in the sky... high security, that was for sure. Higher than what was needed for Pulse in a settled area... Maqui didn't exactly approve, figuring that the security would probably have been better put to use in areas on the outer rims of the colonies, where factions of the military still patrolled and worked hard to protect everyone in the settlements.

Still, it wasn't like he had a say in any of this, anyway. Maqui liked where he was- even if it was just being the mechanic for Team NORA, he was proud of who he was and what he could do. He didn't really want to be some big-shot politician or anything of the sort-- Bartholomew Estheim had that covered quite nicely, and while he would love to learn more on piloting from Sazh, he always felt like more of a behind the scenes guy. Someone who fixed things and made it work rather than someone who shouted their importance to the world.

Still... he approached the door nervously, realizing there wasn't any sort of lock or key... nothing more than an identification pad on the side with a scan and a number pad. Maqui tugged nervously at his collar, dropping his bags of games next to him as he debated to himself whether he wanted to call Hope now and say that he was just... waiting before the front door, like some sort of creeper.

Maybe the games at home idea wasn't the best thing. If they had met at an arcade, then any awkwardness would have been easily drowned out through the noise and other teens in the building, but here...

There was a click, and Maqui startled as the door slid open to reveal a grinning Hope, dressed more casually with his black shirt and green capris, still wearing the scarf and his gloves, but without the jacket and even his shoes, so that he was just padding around in ankle socks.

"Hey, you're early!" The silver-haired boy stepped back to invite the other in, but then peered curiously at the two bags. "Are those... all games?"

"I brought a few consoles and extra controllers just in case. I know you said that you have the consoles, but..." Maqui held up one of the bags with a grin. "It never hurts to be extra prepared."

"Guess not, but if these were supplies, I think we'd have enough to survive a war." Hope looked amused as Maqui went to get his other bag, and nudged the budging bag with a socked foot before he chuckled. "I don't think we'd have enough time to go through these for years."

"Then I can leave these with you, and I'll come over again so we can play." It was a big jump, but Maqui figured it was a good idea. Why wouldn't it be a good idea, right? It was a fantastic excuse to come see Hope again.

"Maqui, I live... an hour away?"

"So? You visit Miss Lightning's house all the time, right? It's the same distance."

Maqui beamed as he watched Hope try to hide a smile behind his hand. He was getting familiar with the younger boy's mannerism already, and while he wished Hope didn't feel the need to hide his smiles, it was nice to see them never-the-less.

"Besides," Maqui dared a brief clap on the shoulder for Hope, figuring that it would seem casual enough and wanting the other boy to feel included. "You're one of us now, okay? I don't mind driving an hour to and back every day to see you!"

Once that was out of his mouth, Maqui flushed. That... sounded a bit more, well, less like a comrade and just-a-friend than he had intended. And despite everything, he really did want to be Hope's friend and someone the other boy could depend on. It wasn't just a crush-- crushes were kind of lame, anyway. It was the fact that despite everything, Maqui wanted to be Hope's friend first of all. He wanted to be able to support the other boy whenever he could, in whatever manner he could.

"You should have better things to do than video games." Hope scolded lightly, although it made Maqui sigh in relief realizing that the silver-haired boy hadn't picked up on his feelings through that statement. He would just have to be more careful in the future. He didn't want to... ruin any sort of friendship with the boy.

"You know what they say about all work and no play, though," Maqui teased back. "You should always set aside some time to just enjoy yourself."

"I thought you liked what you do, though." Hope helped to lift up one of the packs, pulling it over his shoulders almost effortlessly in a way that made Maqui want to sigh again. He had figured that it would be too heavy for the other boy so he could show off being able to carry both at once, but... that never seemed to turn out the way he planned it to.

"I do! I mean," Maqui pulled up his own bag and made sure not to wince at it pulled at his arm muscles. "It's the best. I wouldn't trade it for the world, you know? But it's still work! Even if you like doing schoolwork, you should always give your brain a rest." He grinned shamelessly. "Or in my case, give my muscles a rest!"

Hope laughed at they moved the bags over in front of the holo-vid screen and dropped it unceremoniously. "What muscles?"

"These muscles, of course!" Maqui grinned widely and flexed his arms, uncaring that whatever movement was covered by this sleeves, anyway. It didn't matter as long as he made Hope laugh, which he was managing just fine right now. "Don't you know? I'm the one to call for if you need heavy moving!"

"Right-- like that time when you needed help lifting those water jugs Lebreau wanted you to move?"

"That was only because I sprained my wrist that day," He wiggled his fingers at the younger boy with a grin. "Or else I'd be able to move all of them- at once!"

"You've only got two arms. There were five jugs, and you needed help with all of them."

His grin didn't deflate even as Hope gave him an incredulous stare, and he leaned in closer to the other boy, keeping his eyes staring into Hope's. "You don't believe me?"

It felt almost like a victory when the other boy backed away with a flush, and turned to look elsewhere as he exclaimed, "Well, maybe if you prove it next time!"

Feeling elated by the movement (had Hope been embarrassed? There had to be a reason for that, right? Was there a chance for him at all?), Maqui just nodded toward his bags and unzipped the top, grabbing a handful of games. "I can definitely prove it! Here, we'll play this one-- I'll show you just how much my character can lift--"

Hope laughed as he snatched the box away. "That's cheating!"

"What? How's that cheating? That's not cheating! You wanted to see how strong I was, right? I'm totally super-humanly strong." He snatched the box back. "I'm just going to make the avatar do all the work for me, that's all!" Still, his heart beat faster as he watched Hope laugh, and for some reason, he wanted to add: I can be strong enough for you.

"Fine." Hope's smile was wide even as he finally took the box from Maqui again, and scanned the back just a moment before opening the case to insert the disk into his system. "Show me how to play, then. We'll see."

--------

It was a few hours later when Hope paused the game to answer a call from his father, and Maqui yawned widely. He hadn't sat around to play video games for hours on end in... years, actually. It wasn't as interesting when you were playing by yourself, but with someone else... well, he had made Hope laugh twelve times in the past few hours. He had kept count. Even if he hadn't wanted to, he had just... beamed each time and it seemed engraved in his mind.

Was this was it was like to have a crush on someone? Because he had never cared much for other people before outside of Team NORA, and while girls were pretty, he never had time for them over all the things he assigned himself to do. He enjoyed them being pretty well enough, but hadn't felt any need to spend extra time with them or even impress them. It was hard enough work to impress his own teammates and be a hero.

And it just felt so much harder to impress Hope, still, his thought sputtering around the other.

The younger boy wandered back into the room while Maqui stretched and smiled at the older teen. "Dad's asking if you want to just spend the night over here, since it's a bit late to be driving all the way back home."

Was it that late? Maqui took a look out the window and startled to notice that it was night time already. Where had the time gone? A grumble of his stomach told him that it must have been hours since he last ate.

Gadot and Lebreau would understand, right?

"Sure, that sounds great." He stretched out his legs and stood up, wincing slightly as his joints cracked. He didn't want to feel old at seventeen! "I'll just give the others a call." Which reminded him. "Do you want me to call for pizza or something, too?"

Hope brightened at the prospect. "Yeah, that would be great. I'll just tell dad we're getting pizza and he won't have to bring anything home."

"Any preferences?" He'd have to look up a pizza place near here, but that wouldn't be too hard.

"Extra large! And lots! You can choose what goes oon it, I just feel like I haven't eaten in days." Hope grinned at him, and the went back to his conversation with his dad, leaving Maqui to wonder what that even meant. Was it a test? Was it to see how much he knew Hope to see what the other boy would eat? What if the younger teen was allergic to something?

...Or maybe he was just over-thinking it. There was a good chance that Hope would eat just about anything. That was the experience that Maqui had with people his age (or around his age, anyway-- Team NORA counted, right?), and especially since they were growing boys...

His fingers hesitated over the dials and he grinned to himself. Staying over? He wasn't stupid enough to think that anything was going to happen (and honestly, he didn't want to think of it like that yet), but that just meant it would save him the trip back tonight and then the next morning. He had originally planned the spend the weekend with Hope, anyway, although he hadn't figured that he'd be allowed to stay over. He wondered if they would spend the night playing video games as well. It didn't sound so bad at all.

He took a moment to bask in the knowledge before dialing the generic number for pizza and... sprouting off some toppings that he figured Hope might like. This could turn out well... or very bad.

"So," Maqui looked up as Hope flopped back onto the couch, drawing his legs up even as he picked up the controller again. "He'll be back in an hour or so since his meeting ran late. But we can order out for just about anything we want if pizza's still on your list."

"Already got it," He waved his phone at the other boy. "How come your dad's leaving you by yourself, anyway?"

"He's not. But he's just... been busy with meetings, you know? Trying to change the world and all that. He used to just do the paperwork, so he says he knows what strings to pull and what's actually legally possible." Hope shrugged even as his eyes remained on the holo-vid screen. "He's trying to make things better."

"Sure, but--" Maqui cut off as he thought about he. He knew that Bartholomew Estheim was making the world a better place, but being an orphan himself, it just felt unfair that Hope was left alone so often when he still had a parent with him. From what Snow had explained, it was a near miracle that Bartholomew was even alive at all, seeing that he had been left with the Cavalry and the rest of them were Cie'th... not to mention the portion of the population that died during the fall of Cocoon.

"It's okay, though." Hope interrupted, still fiddling with his controller. "I understand. If it weren't for the laws he helped establish, all of the former l'Cie would be lynched by now." He turned toward Maqui finally. "So you really can't say anything about the fact that we still have our magic. Please."

"Of course not!" Maqui waved the thought off. "I wouldn't tell anyone at all. You saved my life that time with it, so it's a good thing you still have it."

Hope barely managed a strained smile. "Y-yeah. It's just... everyone's angry enough already, and people would probably be even less happy if they knew that we kept our magic."

"Angry? You guys managed to save everyone! I mean... okay, not everyone, but everyone who's still alive should be thanking you guys."

"It just... doesn't work that way, Maqui." The younger boy sounded very quiet. But he shook his head and changed the topic. "Did you want to finish this game tonight or did you want to start another one?"

Maqui stared at Hope for a while, wondering what was wrong. He had always figured that the younger boy was the happy, optimistic kid that he wanted to take care of since he and Dahj were the only two in the group who were younger than him, but... That brief conversation made him feel like there were too many things that he wasn't seeing, and too many parts of the equation that he was missing. But he didn't want to push, and Hope had already trusted him with a lot of information. Just be patient, right? Besides, he was there to make sure Hope had someone to talk to.

It hadn't been hard to realize that the others wouldn't talk to him, since it was the same thing that Team NORA tended to do with Maqui. It was because he was the youngest, and because they wanted to protect him-- all good things, but it had frustrated him to no ends before, and while it still did now, he just tried to focus on his part in the group-- he was there in the background to provide support.

He couldn't imagine how the other boy felt, but if it was anything like how he had felt before, then... well, it wasn't pretty.

Could he even dare to tell the other boy that it was going to be okay? Because that was what Team NORA did... they were the heroes and they always saved the day and made sure it was okay for everyone. That was how it went. But the truth of the matter was that they hadn't been the ones to save the day when Eden had been overrun. They had helped, yes, but the people who had saved everyone they could on Cocoon that day had been the l'Cie. Snow had told him a brief tale of his journey, and Maqui wasn't stupid enough to believe that was all of the story. Snow had a tendency to leave out the dirty details, embellishing until things sounded like they were straight out of a fairy tale.

An impossible task. A princess (Serah) to save. Friendships forged. Families mended. Happily ever after.

But it had been Maqui and Yuj huddled in front of the holo-vid in the month Snow had been missing, watching the Sanctum continue their hunt for the errant l'Cie, the destroyers of all that was good and right. They had spent countless hours staring at the screen and watching, hoping, that Snow was still alive and alright, and that he hadn't turned his back on his hero ways like the holo-vid had proclaimed that he did.

He had watched then as the commentators put up wanted posted everywhere, proclaiming how dangerous these l'Cie were... and all he could think about during that time was that Snow would never hurt anyone if he could help it. That Serah was the sweetest, gentlest person he ever knew. That the girl in pigtails they had captured also looked sweet and bright. That the boy they claimed was a dangerous terrorist looked so much younger than him and so terrified on the screen.

Were those people really the enemies of humanity that the government made them out to be? There had to be some mistake somewhere.

Everyone in Cocoon were taught as they grew up that Pulse was Hell. That Pulse l'Cie were monsters and out to kill everyone. It was such an easy story to believe, like the monsters that lurked underneath the bed. No one had ever seen a Pulse l'Cie, after all. The last time anyone had seen someone from Pulse had been five hundred years ago during the War of Transgression. And instead of making peace, Cocoon had lived in fear for five hundred years, waiting for that retaliation.

Now that he thought about it, Maqui couldn't understand it.

He risked a glance at Hope while they were playing their games, and watched the younger teen's pale green eyes as they focused on the objects on the screen. From what he had learned, the fal'Cie chose people at random. They leeched on to the closest humans who could do their bidding and turned them into l'Cie. Shouldn't that mean there were some people who had no choice? Shouldn't it mean that there would be people who would rather die than do the bidding of the fal'Cie?

Those people should be heroes. The Cocoon l'Cie were all considered heroes. They did the important missions for everyone in the world, and fail or succeed, they gave the entirety of their lives to it.

It was strange to think that from the other side of the glass, it could have been the same way.

So even that night after Mr. Estheim had gotten home, and the two of them got ready for bed (Maqui was staying in the guest room across the hall), he couldn't understand why no one had thought to see things from a different point of view.

---------

"--roger that, base team two. Infiltration was successful and we are moving the hostage now."

Maqui woke up groggily at the sound of broken glass and shouting, feeling like his limbs were made of sludge. He took several seconds just to open his eyes, forcing himself to see even as his heart-rate picked up at Hope's voice and he attempted to push himself up from bed.

He was groggy... so groggy... what was going on outside? Why couldn't he move right?

Another crash and this time the sound of gunfire and Maqui's brain struggled to wake from the haze it was stuck in. He knew he should be panicking right now, or he should be helping. He should be doing something other than trying to get out of bed, that was for sure.

Just lifting his hand felt like so much work... had he been drugged? What was happening outside? It took a moment, but he managed to push his upper torso up and fall out of the comfort of bed, the stinging pain as his jaw connected with the floor helping to rid the haze in his brain just a little. Something was going on outside. He had heard gunfire, he just knew it. And glass. And--

Hope! Maqui curled his hand into a fist as he pushed himself up from the floor, trying to stand on legs that felt like jelly. He had been drugged! Possibly a gas through the entire house? It meant that there was people in the house that shouldn't be there, and that there was more than likely a struggle outside.

Maqui breathed hard as he got to his feet, and grabbed on to the dresser, groping for the table lamp that he knew was there. He remembered asking Hope about it, since it wasn't the normal type of wall-lights that most people had, and Hope had responded that his mom liked the look of lamps and the extra light provided. Right now, though, the lamp was a solid weight and he curled his fingers around it, lifting the object clumsily and glad that it was cordless.

It took him a moment to stumble to the doorway and brace himself against the touchpad to open the door, and what waited for him outside was pure chaos.

"You let go of my son, you bastards--!" A kick from one of the half dozen soldiers in the living room practically threw the older man across the room, and Bartholomew wheezed as he attempted to shakily get up again.

"What's with the geezer, wasn't that gas supposed to knock him out completely?" Asked what sounded like an older man, voice muffled by the gas mask he was wearing. "This was supposed to just be in and out, grab the kid and go."

"Yeah, I ain't surprised, can't see why you would be, either. We all know that Mr. Estheim's just putting all those ridiculous laws into effect so that his son could live down here in the settlements. Otherwise the disgusting l'Cie would have no place with us!"

"We'll take care of that soon enough, though--"

Maqui had seen and heard enough, and with a stumble and a lift of the lamp, he brought it down as hard as he could against the neck of one of the masked soldiers, hearing a suspicious crack even as it was drowned out by the surprised shouts of others, and he swung blindly as dizziness over took him. From what he could piece together of the night, they had gassed the house and then tried to take Hope, and Bartholomew had woken up and tried to stop them... was he the last one in the house to wake? Was Hope okay? He hadn't heard anything from the other boy since the moment he opened his door...

Pure rage took over him as he felt the lamp collide with another armoured body. Soldiers! These were soldiers in the house trying to take Hope away! And they had gassed him and hurt Mr. Estheim, those damnable cretins--

"Get the boy!"

"Fuck this, you said there were only two people in the house! What's going on?!"

"Just shoot him already!"

"The mission is compromised; I repeat, the mission is compromised--"

"Langston's down! We need medical help here immediately, requesting phoenix downs--"

Maqui took another swing even as he heard the close ranged gunfire and coughed as one of the soldiers let loose a smoke bomb, his eyes watering how and vision swimming as he tried to keep them in his range of sight. He was dizzy and disoriented, still struggling for the control of his body through the gas and now through the dimmed vision, but luckily seeing someone in front of him raising a rifle pointed at him... he lifted the lamp and gave another heavy swing, knocking the gun out of the soldier's hands and silently thinking Mrs. Estheim for having such fantastic choice in furniture and decorations.

"Ow! That little shit, he bit me--!"

"Maqui, get out of here! Get help!" Hope's voice was a beckon through the haze and nearly made the older boy drop the lamp in relief. He was okay! For a moment, Maqui had to stop himself from entertaining the thought that they had shot the younger boy to silence him, and that was why Mr. Estheim had been so panicked--

"Hope, where are you?" Maqui shouted, feeling the dizziness fade with the rush of adrenaline. There was no way gas was going to take him out right now, not unless they dosed him again, that is. There was no way that he was letting Hope get taken, not when he was there! He was Team NORA... he was a hero, damn it!

A gloved hand grabbed on to his arm, and Maqui nearly jumped out of his skin and brought the lamp down on the intruder when he saw the pale silver hair as opposed to the intimidating masks the soldiers wore. Hope looked like he had managed to smash his head against against something, and blood matted in his hair even as the younger boy brought a finger up to his lips to indicate silence. His pupils were overblown, nearly drowning out the pale green irises, and for a moment Maqui recalled Gadot lecturing him about concussions.

"We've got to get out of here," Hope whispered frantically. "Do you have a manadrive--?"

Maqui just shook his head, but broke from from the younger teen's grasp to lace his fingers with the other boy's. There was no way he was going to lose him in the smoke, and have him be kidnapped by soldiers. "What about your dad?"

Hope's expression was grim. "It's not him they're after. You need to go and contact Lightning. I'll lead them away."

Maqui tightened his grip on Hope's hand and leaned in furiously. "No way. No way! I'm not letting you go alone, Miss Lightning would skin me alive! No way, man, I'm much more scared of her than of these goons."

Hope looked like he was about to argue when gunshots broke through their vicinity and he thought better of it, tugging hard on Maqui's hand. "This way, then!"

They kept low to the ground, and Hope managed to drag Maqui away from the center of the room without running into any of the cursing soldiers, Maqui trying very hard not to think about that one soldier on the ground with his neck at such an awkward angle. It was doubtful that a phoenix down would be able to save him now that so much time had passed.

Hope tugged again and Maqui stumbled forward as the younger boy leaned in close to whisper into his ear, "We'll have to break through the window and jump."

Jump? There was no way!

"We're twenty stories up, man!" Maqui hissed back. "We'd never make it!"

"Just trust me." The smoke was dissipating already and the room was starting to clear. It was only a matter of seconds before the soldiers would realize where they were again, so Maqui allowed himself to be dragged behind Hope, who made a grab for the lamp Maqui was holding as they passed the hall into the sparse kitchen. The young boy gave the kitchen window a few solid whacks before the glass even started to break, and the shattering sounds no doubt drew the attention of all the soldiers in the living room.

Maqui shielded his eyes from the glass as the night winds started blowing into the house, reminding him of just how high up they were. His grip on Hope's hand tightened impossibly as he stared out into the Pulsian wilderness, and the string of buildings around, none of them as high as where they were standing. Twenty stories... there was no way they would survive a jump like that! At least a kidnapping... there was a chance off survival there!

"Maqui, c'mon!" Hope hissed, tugging ruthlessly at his hand. "If you don't want to jump, you can stay here, but I've got to lead them away!"

No way. He couldn't do it. It was a sure fall to death, and staring down at that abyss of darkness with the wind whipping his hair into his face, Maqui felt himself petrified. He couldn't jump that. Twenty stories... wasn't that two hundred feet? It only took six stories before chances of death, and they were fourteen above that. He heard Hope curse and attempt to let go, but he only clutched on harder the more Hope tried to shake him off.

No! He wasn't going to let Hope jump, either. It was suicide! He grabbed on tighter to the other boy's hand even as Hope's cursing grew louder.

It wasn't until the younger boy's eyes went wide and he screamed at Maqui to look out that Maqui remembered about the danger that had been chasing after them and felt a sharp pain against the back of his head before his vision grew dim and everything.... just fell away.

------

Consciousness came back slowly and viciously as he grew more and more aware of pain. His entire body was one giant ache throbbing in time with the pulseworks in his head, and he groaned pathetically against... stone?

This wasn't his bed. And it wasn't Lebreau trying to wake him up...

Maqui kept his eyes tightly closed as he tried to figure out what happened and take stock of all the aches and pains. This wasn't anything like working in the garage for a full day-- those aches were pains he was proud of, meaning a hard day's work, but these... these hurt so much more. His head felt so swollen and his arms hurt, and every point of his body pressed against the ground ached and his hand--

"Do you mind letting go now?"

Maqui jerked awake and his eyes flew open as he heard Hope's voice, both soft and somewhat bitter.

The younger teen looked exhausted and dirty, still in his t-shirt and capris, although his scarf was missing and he didn't even have his socks. There was dried blood matted in his hair and he looked vaguely disappointed. It took Maqui nearly a full minute to understand what he meant, seeing as it took that long before his gaze wandered down to their still linked hands.

He attempted to flex his fingers, muscles stiff as blood started to circulate again. Had he really been holding on that tightly? Even with his flexing, it took a while for him it manage to wiggle his fingers, and then came the the struggle of trying to move his hand away from Hope's.

The silver haired boy sighed gratefully as he moved his own hand again, cradling it to his chest and flexing his fingers as well.

"Well, I don't know what you were trying to do, but we're both locked up now."

Maqui winced and sat up slowly, feeling his body scream in relief as he moved himself away from the stone. "What... happened?"

"You wouldn't jump." Hope said sulkily, still flexing his fingers. "And you wouldn't let go, either, so I couldn't draw them away. In the end, the just bagged both of us and dragged us away. Well, they took you because you really refused to let go. Like, they seriously couldn't pry you off. Good job on that."

He couldn't remember it. They must have knocked him out before all of that happened, because the last thing Maqui could remember was the panic as he watched Hope try to jump out a twenty story window, and knowing that if nothing else, he wasn't going to let the younger teen fall to his death.

He looked up at the stone walls and ceiling, to the rusted metal door that was the only change in texture of the room. The place was small, and completely barren with the exception of what looked like a narrow slot on the door.

"Where are we?" He asked dumbly, not understand how they'd gotten there. Was this the work of those kidnapping soldiers? What exactly were they trying to accomplish, anyway? He jerked back to stare at Hope. "You said that they were after you!"

"They were." The boy in question was standing up and stretching, looking smaller than usual without his jacket and capelet. "Dad and I talked about the possibility already. We had guards posted outside. Guess those guys came prepared."

"How do you even sound so casual about this?" Maqui demanded, feeling his panic rising as his brain functions slowly returned to him. He had no idea where they were, what they were up against, and what those soldiers wanted from them!

How was he supposed to be the hero in a situation like that? How was he supposed to keep Hope safe?

"It's not hard to figure out that this was what might happen." Hope explained calmly, stretching to touch his toes. "People don't like l'Cie. They don't like change. Anyone who instigates change is a target for terrorism by itself, but when you've got self-righteous pricks in the equation thinking they could make the world a better place if they dish out the 'just desserts' to people they think are bad? What did you think, that it would be easy to make everyone get along?"

"What? Well, no, of course not!" It was a lie, though. Maqui had always figured that people had more common sense than that. If you need people to work together to survive, surely they'd actually work together, right?

"They just want people to blame." Hope looked a bit sad, and he turned his gaze over to Maqui. "I shouldn't have asked dad to see if you could stay over. I'm really sorry."

Maqui felt his heart skip a beat as he realized it hadn't been Hope's dad who had suggested that, then. Did that mean Hope wanted him around?

"Hey, hey, don't be sorry! We had fun, right? And it's not like something like that happens every day!" Maqui rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly, and then winced at the tenderness he found there. Wow, someone really hadn't liked him to hit him so hard.

"Besides," He added, "You shouldn't not invite people over or have friends just because something like that can potentially happen. I mean... protecting other people is good at all, but I wanted to be there. In fact, I'm glad I'm here, too. So you're not alone."

Hope had an indescribable expression for a moment, and then he dropped into a crouch in front of Maqui, reaching out. "How's your head?"

"Feels like crap," Maqui said honestly, and leaned in as he felt fingers along the back of his hair line, and then the faint warmth of a healing spell.

Hope just smiled and said, "I can't do much... no one's supposed to know, remember?"

It took the older teen a moment to get that, but when he did, he nodded. No one was supposed to know that Hope had magic, so he couldn't heal the wound completely. That would definitely raise a few questions if they were ever interrogated by their captors. It was probably also the reason why the entire garrison of soldiers weren't dead and twitching at their feet when they went in to kidnap Hope in the first place.

Which reminded him...

"Is your dad alright?" Maqui asked, even as he basked in the warmth of Hope's healing, feeling the magic seep into his bones, very slowly dampening the pain and stop the bleeding even as they didn't close any wounds.

"He'll be fine. He knows what to do in an event like this. Like I said, we've discussed it before." Hope pulled away when Maqui finally relaxed, his aches and pains gone even as his wounds throbbed dully. "He'll know what to do."

"Know what to do as in he'll know where we are?"

Hope just shook his head. "No. Light'll know, though."

Maqui frowned, "I'm sorry for not calling her."

"No, don't worry about it." Hope sat down with his legs crossed. "You didn't have to, anyway. I just didn't want you involved in this whole mess. She'll know where we are."

"What do you mean?" He rubbed tentatively at the back of his head again, and this time it barely triggered a dull ache rather than the sharp pain he had experienced before. It was actually a good job considering that that Hope was trying to cover for the fact that he could heal the wounds.

The younger boy was quiet for a moment. "Nothing. But she always knows, right? She'll get to us, don't worry."

That sounded oddly familiar, like what Yuj had said to him before.

"That doesn't make any sense," Maqui grumbled. "I don't get it at all-- first you predicted getting kidnapped, now Miss Lightning already knows where we are when I don't know yet? I mean, do you even know where we are?"

Hope shook his head. "I don't have to."

"Shouldn't you be sounding more worried about this? I mean, you knew that these freaks would come for you, and that they were looking for you instead of your dad, and now we're locked up in some cell like... like some kind of criminal or wild animal!" Agitated, Maqui tested the strength of his legs before getting up, watching as Hope followed him in gaze although the other boy continued to sit.

Taking a shaky step, Maqui assessed his own situation-- generic pajamas that had been provided to him, and no shoes. Great. Last time it had been no weapons, and this time it was no weapons and no shoes. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? He didn't want to wait to be rescued!

"I am worried." Despite the words, Hope only looked tired. "But there's not exactly anything either of us could do right now."

"You can." Maqui crouched in front of the other boy, keeping eye contact. He itched to reach out to Hope, seeing the other look so defeated, but refrained from doing so. "I mean, you're never hopeless."

Hope scrunched up his nose. "Oh, thanks. Haha. That was a funny pun, wasn't it?"

"No, really, I mean it." Hope had his magic, and he was bright. Maqui knew this. What he didn't understand was why the other boy would want to hide that fact. Why would be pretend to be normal when he wasn't? From what Maqui had been able to gather the past few weeks, Hope was amazing.

He wanted to tell Hope that the boy was aptly named, and that Maqui would find a way out of this situation if nothing else, and that there was really nothing to worry about. Even if he wasn't feeling that. He was certain that there was a lot to worry about, and things really were beyond his control, but...

He was a part of Team NORA. Even if he wasn't exactly a hero, he definitely had to be hero in training. Why was he feeling so doubtful of himself? It didn't matter if the situation was bad! He would find a way out of it, and he'd definitely protect Hope this time. He wouldn't leave himself to wait to be rescued.

But Hope was right... what could he do at the moment without knowing anything?

"Hey, how long have we been here for?"

Hope huffed slightly at the question, and blew a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Don't know. A few hours? Can't exactly figure out what time of day it is since there's no daylight here. But I'm not really hungry, so it can't be that long."

Maqui made a noise in agreement. He wasn't particularly hungry yet, either, since they had the pizza right before bed, and he was used to being hungry every few hours. Still, he stood up and went straight to the door, pressing a hand against the rusted metal and giving a test push. It was as solid as it looked, as if it wasn't rusted over at all. He knelt down a bit to attempt to peer out of the slot, but seeing nothing more than stone corridors beyond the door.

"I tried looking already," Hope said. "All I know is that we're underground. They carried us down stairs. Don't know how far down, though."

"Carried us?" Damn it, he couldn't see very far at all through that stupid slot.

"Yeah-- I meant it when I said they bagged us. Like, they literally put a bag over our heads after they tried to separate us. Crude, but I guess it was effective."

"Why were they after you, anyway?" Maqui grumbled. Hope was still a kid-- he remembered being fourteen all too well, and remembered how much it had sucked back then.

"Because my dad's important. Because I was a l'Cie. Because they blame me for Cocoon dying." Hope just shrugged. "Because they hate me, and I guess I'm the weak link in the group of l'Cie outside of Dahj."

Oh. Dahj. Maqui panicked at the thought of the little boy locked up in a cell just like theirs. "Do you think they got him, too?"

The younger boy just shook his head. "No. He was a Cocoon l'Cie. A hero to them all. They would never think about doing anything to him. If anything, he'd be well-protected, and they might target Sazh if they thought he was in any way a danger to Dahj"

Maqui was quiet for a moment, staring at the silver hared boy. "How do you even know all of that?"

The teen shrugged. "I told you. I've talked about it with my dad before."

"What, are they some group of known terrorists, then? Out to get former l'Cie and... just some sort of hate group?" He had half a mind to kick something before realizing he didn't have any shoes on and the stones hurt his bare feet already. "How come we've never heard of them?"

"Because they weren't a group. They were... just about everyone."

Everyone? Maqui paddled back toward Hope when he saw the boy's downcast expression.

"Not everyone hates you, you know." He didn't. But how could he say that without sounding like a creeper the same way Yuj had warned him about? "I don't. I think you're amazing."

Hope flushed, which only made Maqui grin. He must have said it right, then.

"We should look for a way out. Although, I'd like to hear more about why you think you need to be prepared for kidnappers and stuff later. Just not here in this cell. Not where they can hear us or whatever. Think you have a plan to get us out that doesn't include us being rescued?"

Hope stared for a moment, but then gave a slow nod. "I might. I kind of remembered the way they carried us, so there should remember the way to get out. But I can't use... well. Do you think you could find a manadrive?"

Where would he get a manadrive in a situation like this? Those things were rare and only military-issued, with extensive warrants before you could get one. "Maybe if one of the soldiers was carrying one." He answered dubiously.

"They were," Hope confirmed. "We'll just... need to find out of them, then. Think someone will come if make a lot of noise?"

"We could try. I bet they're like everyone else in the world."

"What do you mean?"

Maqui grinned. "I bet they hate teenagers."

-----

Maqui had to give the soldiers credit for their tenacity. It took nearly two hours of general shouting, havoc, and finally a staged fight between the two of them before someone was finally sent to break them apart from the yelling and shouting and general shoves at each other.

"You fucking brats!" Came the shout down the hallway as Maqui hit the stone wall from where Hope had shoved him when they were tossing insults about each other and general elementary grade curses. Thinking about it, it was actually quite hilarious, whatever names they could come up with for each other. It just got more and more colorful and creative.

There was the sound of ringing keys and the beep of what must have been a mechanical keypad before the door was opened and an armoured soldier stood there with a gun pointed at them.

"Break it up, you fucking geeks! What the fuck, we put you together out of the kindness of our hearts and you go and start fightin' with each other?" The masked soldier jerked the rifle off to the side to indicate the both of them to step away from each other. "Each of ya at a corner! Get to it now!"

Maqui raised his hands and backed away slowly, keeping his eye on the soldier even as he watched Hope as well and made sure the other boy was doing the same. Drawing the soldier in was the easy part... this was where their plan got a little messy.

"Hey, why'd you take us, anyway?" Hope demanded, adopting a more irritating whine to his voice close to his age. "What do you want with us, huh? Dad won't let you get away with this!"

"Oh, like your dad can do anything!" Maqui snapped back, although there was an apology in his expression. It was a good thing that the soldier was more focused on Hope at that moment. "Get real! It's probably all his fault that we're here in the first place! He wanted to be some big-shot politician, right? I shouldn't have stayed over at your place, man!"

"You take that back--!" Hope lunged for him, and Maqui met him half way, making sure their scuffle took them even closer to the soldier.

"Fuck! I said break it up, boys--!"

Half a second, and Maqui whirled around to punch the soldier in his masked face, cursing as he felt the skin on his knuckles give way, but it didn't stop him from taking another shot even as Hope grabbed for the rifle and Maqui could feel the heat of magic as the other boy froze the weapon over as subtly as possible, jamming whatever gears were needed to make the weapon work.

"Grab his manadrive!" Hope shouted at Maqui, jerking his chin toward the device on the man's waist, and Maqui obliged even as the soldier sputtered curses at them. It was harder than he had anticipated, though, and he got an elbow to his ribs for his trouble. He nearly let go if not for the yelp of pain that escaped Hope, and then he just held on tighter, and grabbed for the frozen over rifle first.

It was a brief struggle for the weapon seeing as Hope was still holding it as well, and with the soldier trying to shoot them now, but a good few seconds of two teenage boys struggling harshly against even an armored soldier, and the rifle finally gave, and Maqui took that opportunity to take the frozen rifle and draw back as far as he could before swinging it around and whacking the soldier as hard as possible over the head.

A shouted curse, and the soldier went down, not yet unconscious, but definitely in pain. Another heavy hit from Maqui, and the man stumbled onto the ground, grabbing onto his helmet. Hope cringed back as the man attempted to grab at him with bloody hands, and Maqui practically saw red before swinging the rifle again, remembering how even bones had given the last time he swung an object like that (the table lamp just hours ago).

"Maqui, stop!" Hope grabbed onto his arm in mid-swing, and Maqui's head jerked sharply to stare at the younger teen, who looked almost scared and still had the dried blood matted in his hair. His tone was strangely soothing, as if trying to placate a wild animal. "Stop. Please. We just need his manadrive." Hope's fingers slowly pried Maqui's grip from the frozen gun. "We don't need this. Come on. He's down already. Any more and you'll kill him. And I don't think you want to do that."

He stared at the other boy for a minute, taking in the pale skin that looked even paler with the specks of blood, and the widely dilated eyes. He had barely ever been that close to the other boy before; had never noticed the spatter of freckles over his skin, a bit dark on the bottom left of his face. It was all pale enough that it was barely noticeable, though.

"Come on." Hope managed to take the rifle away from him and drop it on the floor. "We need to go. Now. They've definitely heard that and are sending reinforcements now. Maqui. We've got to go."

Maqui nodded dumbly for a moment, and the spared a glance at the downed soldier, who looked knocked unconscious with his helmet cracked and blood seeping out. He could feel his hands shaking slightly because, oh man, what had he just done? Was the man alive at all? He knew he had killed someone the night before trying to protect Hope, but that had been trying to protect someone, and he'd done that before, but this time, the plan hadn't called for that much violence and--

Hope was crouched down unstrapping the manadrive from the man's waist, and then handing it over to Maqui, fingers quick and nimble as he tied it around Maqui's waist.

"I don't know how to use this," Maqui mumbled quietly down to the other boy.

"Don't worry," Hope whispered frantically. "All you have to do is look like you know how to use it. I'll provide the magic. I need you to lead, though. Make it look like you're doing the attacking."

"You sure about this?" Maqui mumbled.

Hope took one last moment to tighten the strap before looking up and giving a determined nod.

"All right," Maqui said, this time in a normal tone if not a little louder than how he usually talked. "Let's get out of here, okay? I'll keep you safe, don't worry!"

It was something he had always meant to say, and he took a little pride in the words, even if he knew that it was Hope who would be the one really doing the fighting. Still, for the safe of appearances, Hope nodded a bit meekly and grabbed onto Maqui's shirt, walking behind him even as Maqui stepped over the downed soldier and into the stone halls.

"Which way?" He asked, feeling a little panicked as both sides looked the same to him.

Hope pointed left. "That's where they came from. Then a right turn. There should be stairs there."

"Think they'll be coming down?"

There was a nod from the other boy. "They'll have to bottleneck down the stairs, though. We can pick them off there. Just need to make sure that we take everyone out or else they'd be able to surround us."

"Okay. We'll do this carefully, then." Maqui made sure to cover Hope's hand on his shirt with his own, and then lace their fingers together again. They had managed to stay together like this before, they'd definitely be able to stay together again on the way out. Together, there was no way a bunch of soldiers would be able to take them out. "I think I'd rather you take up the gun, though."

"I don't know how to shoot," Hope admitted quietly. "And I'm not supposed to. Dad's been trying to promote non-violent ways and stuff. Technically I'm not allowed to touch guns or even manadrives."

It was understandable, in the same way that Hope had tried to explain why he couldn't take self-defense classes. But still, the image was choppy in Maqui's head and he wanted a better clarity of it later. But not now. Now, it was better to focus on their escape and making sure nothing happened to Hope.

"Just keep to the corners," Hope whispered. "Don't worry. I'll make sure everything's okay."

It wasn't long before the came to the corner, and the shouts of soldiers came filtering down the hallway. The boys looked at each other before Hope gave a nod and the both of them leaned out slightly to see what was coming. It took a moment for Hope to summon a Blizzara and freeze over the floors, nudging at Maqui to make it at least look like he was casting something.

How would he cast magic? Only the best soldiers were allowed manadrives, and even then, it took years to train them in the usage of the technologically supplied magic. At best, Maqui just waved a hand uncomfortably, hoping no one would notice that he wasn't really the one casting the magic.

"Now we wait," Hope whispered for him, and Maqui nodded.

It only took a moment before a flood of soldiers came down the stairs, the first few slipping and almost falling on the slick ice before they regained their footing and called out to their comrades to be careful. Hope nudged Maqui again, and the older boy again waved his arm, feeling like a fool even as he watched Hope cast a waterga and listened as the soldiers cursed and splash in the water before Hope gave him another nudge and then took a moment to gather his magic for a thudarra.

"Don't go anywhere close to the water." Was the only warning Hope gave him before all the soldiers trapped in the water started screaming with the pain of being electrocuted to death. A few more whispered spells, and Maqui could barely manage to look on in shock as an entire troop of soldiers slowly electrocuted to death, the smell of cooked flesh and clothing slowly wafting his way.

"Alright, done." Hope whispered. "Water will be safe now."

"Yeah, unless someone else decides to pull something like you just did," Maqui whispered back harshly, but Hope only scoffed lightly.

"I can heal us faster than that can do damage." He whispered, although that didn't make Maqui feel any more at ease. "Come on. They'll just keep sending more people. And I'd rather not have to hurt anyone else."

That was a way of putting it that made Maqui wade through the ankle deep water, slipping slightly on the first few steps into the melting ice. He shivered as his pajamas pants started to soak through, and pulled hard on Hope's hand as he felt the other boy slip as well and brace himself against the ice with his free hand. He could feel the younger teen's shivers through their connected hands even as he attempted to weave a path that would keep them from brushing against the corpses in the water.

He didn't want Hope to have to fight any more than he had to, either. Fourteen wasn't an age to understand how to deal death and manage to guilt of killing another human being. Hell, seventeen wasn't an age where he wanted to understand death. He knew that the other boy already had to deal with a bunch of that crap already from the journey he had taken as a l'Cie (and from when the entirety of the Sanctum had been hunting him down) but it was over and this was supposed to be a time of peace.

His grip on Hope's hand tightened for just a second as the thought ran through his head. It had only been three weeks ago that he understood why he wanted so badly to protect the other boy, but the revelation didn't change the aversion he had to the idea of Hope in danger... in fact, if anything, it only made the aversion stronger. He didn't want to see the other boy in a situation that resulted in death or even danger, even if he knew that he couldn't prevent Hope from being in such a situation considering his status and life.

A few more splashes through the water and they were racing up the rickety stairs, feet freezing from lack of shoes and the ice underneath. Maqui could feel his clothes soak through with freezing water as Hope grabbed onto his sleeve with his free hand, stumbling as they tried to stay together and run at the same time.

"Think we can take on whoever orchestrated this plan?" Maqui asked as the reached the door upstairs. He had a hand on the old fashioned keypad, looking to Hope to see if the other boy was ready.

With a quiet wave, there was a near invisible shield in front of each of them, and Hope nodded. "As long as you know what you're doing with that manadrive."

"Know more than you and guns, seeing as you just dropped that one," Maqui shot back, completely aware that someone could be watching them at that very moment. It was a good thing he had seen soldiers use manadrives before, but he was having a hard time imitating their actions. He didn't know the difference for each spell, and with l'Cie, well, all they had to do was think of what they wanted and the spell was effective. So getting tips from Hope was out of the question.

"Let's just get out of here before--" Hope's words were drowned out by the sounds of gunfire, and he cried out as bullet holes appeared through the weak door, and Maqui reacted immediately to draw the other boy close and crouching down, biting down hard on his lip to stifle his cry of pain as he felt bullets rip through his right shoulder and side.

"Maqui!" He could feel Hope's panicked shout reverberate through his ears even as he felt the younger boy's hands over the wounds and the warmth of healing magic. It was a sharp relief to the pain, but he only allowed it for a few moments before he reached to pull the other teen's hand away.

"Can't." He hissed out, almost feeling tears in his eyes. It hurt, damn it, more than he would ever have expected. "They're watching, remember?"

And most manadrives didn't include cures spells. It was something to do with the type of energy necessary for healing human beings being extremely delicate, but Maqui was extremely doubtful that there would have been cures on this manadrive. It was suspicious enough that Hope was using certain elemental spells... neither of them knew what the machinery provided, and for all they knew, the only thing that specific manadrive was capable of was something akin to sparkstrike.

Hope looked panicked. "What if that hit something important? I think that's more important than what I said earlier!"

Maqui just shook his head. He wasn't going to ruin Hope's cover. He had little doubt that Hope could escape by himself had it not been for his need to conceal his magic abilities. He had seen the other boy in action that time three weeks ago, and the sight had been.. awe-inspiring, to say the least. The magic that l'Cie possessed far outstripped anything that manadrives could provide. As it was already, he had whispered to Hope that he had to keep his magic low and not as powerful.

He wasn't going to ruin anything. There was no way he'd put Hope in danger, even if it was just his secret. He was a hero.

And damned if he didn't feel like a big, stupid hero right at that moment with the pain in his side and shoulder, but filled with pride knowing that Hope was alive at the moment thanks to him, if not--

"Wait, were you hit?" Maqui asked, voice panicked even as he realized his question was redundant. The younger boy was bleeding profusely from his left arm, but he didn't look too bothered by it. Suddenly, he didn't feel that much of a hero anymore if Hope was holding against the pain better than he was.

"It was a clean shot." Hope gave him a meaningful look to explain that he had already healed the majority of it. "Don't worry about it."

"Well, now we know they're armed and waiting for us." Maqui grumbled, even as Hope tore at the bottom of his pajama shirt to wrap his torso wound. It would be easier to heal if it was hidden under bandages, but if they were going to keep up pretenses, then Hope would only be able to heal any life threatening internal injuries... everything on the outside had to be kept as is to keep it realistic.

"More than just armed." Hope grumbled quietly under his breath, voice too low for any eavesdropping cameras to pick up. "That went through my shields. That means there were a lot more bullets that didn't. This is more than a few guns out there. I wouldn't be surprised to have them greet us with half a dozen gattling turrets."

Well, shit. He doubted even Hope's magic could heal them from being ripped apart by bullets.

"How are we supposed to get out, then?" Maqui whispered back, tone slightly hysterical. This wasn't going according to his plans... unlike Snow, he didn't exactly have the constitution to keep Hope safe from all the bullets.

Hope didn't answer for a moment, looking deep in thought. "They've got field advantage. And weapons as well as their own manadrives. We've got the disadvantage of position, knowledge... well, just about everything." He frowned. "We'd just need to get through the room, but we don't know how big the room is, how many enemies, or where exits would even be. The only thing we have on our side is the idea that they might not be shooting to kill."

"Idea? Hey, wait, that's not good enough! They already shot us!"

"Yeah, that's the flaw in my plan." Hope said, and then jerked Maqui behind him, the older boy fumbling slightly at the change in pace. "But why bother to capture us if they wanted us dead? They lost two men last night, so it can't just be because we can take out some of their troops. They'd want us alive for a reason, so they wouldn't want to change that fact right now. Which means..." Hope pursed his lips. "Damn it. Even if we grabbed the guns off the people downstairs..."

They'd still be outnumbered in firepower. And Hope wasn't allowed to carry weapons and while he wouldn't mind a gun himself, it would be hard for him to shoot and pretend to work the manadrive as well. Which made them... pretty much screwed.

Two choices, then. Stay there, or charge into the situation blind. Maqui already knew which choice Snow would have picked.

"I say we charge through the doors." Maqui whispered. "We won't know what we're facing until we do."

Hope yanked him back. "Yeah, and we'd be dead before we could take anyone down! That's not funny, Maqui, even Snow's not dumb enough to charge against gattling guns!"

"Don't worry--" Maqui tried to reassure him with a grin. "I'll keep you safe, okay?"

Seeing as Hope was about to protest, and with the adrenaline pumping through his veins knowing that he was about to pull something truly suicidal, but he was a hero and there was no way that he would die especially if it meant leaving Hope on his own because before anything else, Maqui was going to get Hope out of this safely... he hadn't managed to do it three weeks ago when they had crashed, but by the Maker, he was going to do it this time.

With the excitement (terror?) or certain doom rushing through him, Maqui leaned down for just a moment, hands still clasped against the other boy's, to kiss Hope on the lips. He felt as the younger boy froze up, and pulled back with a grin, barely able to feel the contact. It was a spur of the moment thing... if something bad really did happen? At least he could say he had kissed Hope.

"I'll keep you safe." Maqui repeated, utterly convinced that he would do just that, and reached out for the keypad to open the door.