Learning My Roots (Hope Estheim Love Story)

Chapter 7: Toughen Up

Disclaimer: Everything besides Bella and her family belong to Square Enix.

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We walked for a while until we hid behind a corner of a turn. There was PSICOM troops around the area. They were looking for us. "What was PSICOM doing here?" Hope asked. "Probably thought we would use a Pulse machine to escape," Lightning said.

"Maybe we should try it. What does this do?" he said. He walked up to the pulse armament. "Are you even sure that you should go up to it?" I asked with worry. "Hey you're gonna hurt yourself. Don't touch that," Lightning yelled at him. "I would listen to her if I were you Hope," I said to him.

"Wait. What if it works," he said as he got on. "Hope don't go on that," I told him. "Leave it," she said with a stern voice. Suddenly the machine was on. He was having a hard time controlling it. "I told you to leave it," she said. "Me too," I said in agreement. "Stop. Stop already!" he yelled at it. He looked like he had some control. "I think I got it," he said. "You better," I said to him. "Light. Bella. I think I can work this," he told us.

Lightning and I walked away while he worked the machine. He punched the metal wall to create a bridge for us. The place had so many PSICOM troops. Luckily they were no match to Hope in a good way. Soon, Hope tripped on a ledge and he fell out.

"Nice landing," Lightning said. Hope looked at both of us. Lightning jumped down first. "Lets get moving," she said to Hope. I jumped down very easily. "Just need a minute. I'm still a bit winded," Hope said as he got to his feet. "Too soft," she said to him. She started to walk away and I followed behind. "Hey, wait up," I heard and he walked towards us.

We've been walking almost all night. We made it to the front of a waterfall and there was a bridge. Lightning started to cross the bridge. Hope tried to catch up to her but, he tripped. I went up to him and helped him up.

"This isn't working. I mean you both are a liability. You'll just slow me down," she said and turned away from us. "What?" Hope said in disbelief. "Sorry, but I can't protect you and Ack...," she screamed in pain at the end. "Lightning!" I called out.

"You can't leave us here. You gotta take us with you," he said to her. "Enough! The whole world is against us," she said as she fell to her knees. We flinched at her words. "I could barely keep myself alive. Let alone some helpless kids,' she said in pain. "Light," I said. "I don't have time to baby both of you. You wanna get tough. Do it on your own," she said.

A light and symbol appeared below her. The light was a bit blinding. A big thing appeared before us. "This cannot be happening," we heard Lighting said. Hope looked scared. I was really scared by the appearance

It was about to strike us. "Look out!," we heard. Hope covered me. I closed my eyes. I didn't feel anything for a while. We looked and saw Lightning blocking the attack. She pushed the weapon and We got ready to fight.

We fought it for a while. It later turned into a horse. I thought that I heard her say Odin. The thing disappeared and we saw Lightning fall to her knees. "Light," I called out and kneel in front of her with Hope. I just stood next to her.

"Woah!" Hope said. Her brand was glowing pink. "Was that an eidolon. Like l'cie can summon?" he asked her. "Magic and mumbo jumbo. I must have hit my head on that purge train," she said in response to the question. They got up on our feet.

"Um...are we really in your way," he asked her. I could see Lightning's regret for telling us that we were in her way. She started to walk across the bridge again. "I'll do better. I'll." "Hope!" Lightning cut him off. She turned to us. "We'll toughen you up," she said. She started to walk a bit. "Huh" was all Hope said.

"I'm sorry. About before," she said and walked off. We both followed her. There were more PSICOM troops around us. We got ready to fight. "Got my back," she asked us. "Yeah," Hope said. "No problem," I said in response.

Lightning summoned Odin onto the field. It really helped us. After the battle, I was exhausted. So was Hope. "We'll stop here," she said. "Sorry," he said. "Don't sweat it," she said. Hope sat down and leaned against a rock.

"I'll look around. You both rest up," she told us and walked off. I looked at him. "You should sleep," I told him. "What about you?" he asked. "Don't worry about me. I'm used to it," I told him. "What do you mean?" he asked. "My godmother trained me in combat. We would always look out for each other at night," I told him. "Oh," he said. Soon, he drifted off to sleep.

Soon, Lightning returned to us. "He's asleep," I told her. She sighed and sat across from us. I turned to him. "Mom," he said in his sleep. {He really misses her.} "Tsk, not by a long shot," Lightning said to him.

I took my chakram and cleaned it a bit. She turned to me. "You are pretty good with that thing," she told me. I looked up at her. "Thanks. My godmother gave it to me. She taught me how to fight," I told her. "You seemed a bit quiet," she said.

I looked at the chakram. {I should tell her first.} "That's because I'm not from this world," I told her. She looked a bit surprised. "What do you mean?" she asked in a bit of confusion. I looked up at her. "Maybe I should start with the story of my mother first," I told her.

She gave me a nod.