[FFXIII] Kinematics, 2/3

[shamera]

Title: Kinematics
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIII
Character/Pairing(s): very light Maqui/Hope
Rating: PG
Warning: Spoilers for end of game!
Summary: Maqui may be older, but Hope was the more mature one... even if they were both stupid enough to take a joyride in the wilderness of Gran Pulse without telling anyone. Post-game.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3



Kinematics; n. The branch of mechanics dealing with the study of the motion of a body or a system of bodies without consideration given to its mass or the forces acting on it.

Maqui made sure to take the long way towards where Hope had indicated, flying high to circle around the settlements and letting the younger teen catch a look, and feeling oddly pleased with himself as Hope's grip on him tightened when he pulled a sharp turn. So far the airbike was as smooth as he had promised, and the longer it stayed that way, the more Maqui relaxed, letting himself enjoy the warmth of Hope sitting behind him.

The younger teen was gazing intently at the landscape, not saying a word as Maqui flew them over the Yaschas Marris, high enough in the air to avoid all the remaining monsters, including the flying ones that stayed close to land to find their prey. The warm wind and sunlight gave Maqui extra confidence that the cool artificial light in Cocoon never managed to. He was content just gliding on the wind, feeling it in his hair as he watched Hope's expressions in the rear mirror.

They passed a fight between two Behemoth Kings, and Maqui just shook his head at the brutal sight. "I don't know how you guys managed to survive here."

"Don't know, either," Hope admitted. "I guess we did because that was just what we had to do."

In the distance was what looked like an opening between the mountains, and Maqui took a hand off the controls to point. "There?"

"Yeah."

The blond guided the airbike over to the opening, pulling the machine lower the closer they got to the opening, distracted by his own internal musings as he saw a large tower come into view beyond the springs.

"That's Taejin's Tower," Hope offered, voice close to Maqui's ear. The blond felt shivers run down his arms, and he resolved to grab thicker material once they got back. "Had these great stone warriors last time we were there. They're gone now, though."

Maqui swallowed, and just opted to nod, not knowing what to say in response.

He pulled the airbike into the narrow crack between the mountains, starting the process for landing as the engine rumble grew more violent. A sudden shudder through the bike incited a squeak from Hope and a tightening of his arms, and Maqui cursed as the engine sputtered, much too conscious of the silver-haired boy who was now suddenly pressed much too close to him.

The bike already had two converters for the landing mechanism! They should be able to land with just that, even though it would be a bumpy ride.

"Hold on," Maqui ground out as he tried to pull the bike up from its too rapid descent. "This might get a bit shaky..."

'A bit' was more than an underestimate, as the airbike shuddered violently enough that even Maqui yelped as he was nearly jerked from his seat, only managing to stay on because Hope had grabbed tight to him. A rapid beeping noise started as they approached the ground of the springs, and Maqui cursed as he struggled to turn off the proximity alarms. He already knew they looked like they were going to crash, he didn't need the damned bike to remind him-

A spark, then another, and then the rumble of the engine stopped completely. Maqui's eyes widened and both he and Hope let out a yell as they dropped the last few feet onto the dirt, Maqui managing to twist around and grab Hope, kicking them both far away from the airbike before it crashed so that they wouldn't be trapped under its heavy weight and sharp machinery.

He wrapped an arm around Hope's head and the other around the boy's waist, and ducked his own head into silver hair as they hit the ground with a sharp thump and rolled the rest of the way, Maqui gritting his teeth as he felt his bones jerk and ache. It was lucky that the dirt was soft with grass and plants, and slightly damp as well.

He lay there for a few seconds, trying to access his aches and pains. Maqui's eyes were wide as he wondered at how it was that he was okay and could only feel what seemed like a few bruises rather than broken bones. After taking a moment to accessing his own injuries, he listened closely to Hope's rapid breathing, and felt the thick mud of the Springs seep through his shirt.

"That..." Hope's voice was shaky. "That wasn't a smooth landing at all!"

They looked at each other, still close enough to taste each other's breath and hearts thumping rapidly from their near-death experience, and then the both of them burst into slightly hysterical laughter.

Maqui withdrew his arms, face red as he watched Hope sit up, wincing as he rubbed the back of his head. Then he shifted his gaze to beyond the boy, and moaned pitifully as he saw the smoldering remains of his precious airbike, the one he had been working so hard on the past several weeks. While it was still in one piece, the smoke was more than enough indication that it wasn't going to run again any time soon without some TLC.

It was a sad thing. The bike was finally gaining some soul under Maqui's patient (or not so patient) care, developing its own quirks and individualizing itself. A bit more growing on the poor thing's part after he had completely fixed the bike, and he would have added some special customizations to it to give it some glamor and personality. All that work gone to waste... Maqui groaned at the thought, and rolled onto his back in the mud, pulling up his goggles so that he could rub at his eyes. He lay a dirty arm over his face, determined to wallow just a little longer.

"Maqui," Hope was shaking him now, and the older boy opened one eye, staring up at the pale boy questioningly. "We've got to move. We're drawing too much attention."

Attention? Whose attention did he manage to draw so far away from civilization? He had already humiliated himself in front of Hope, he wasn't up to seeing someone else point and whisper in their cell or something.

Still, he ignored the aches and skinned elbow as he sat up, groaning as his bones protested against the action. "What are you talking about-?" He shut up when he saw the groups of large frog-like creatures eying them suspiciously, all wet gleaming skin and sharp teeth, with a long whip-like tail with painful looking spikes.

Hope was already on his feet and trying to drag Maqui away as the older teen scrambled to his feet, this time completely ignoring any aches he might have.

Guns, guns... he didn't bring any weapons with him! Maqui panicked as he determinedly shoved Hope behind him, knowing that if anything, anything at all, happened to Hope, then he probably wasn't going to survive Lightning's wrath... or Snow's disappointed looks. He gave a sharp glance to the downed airbike which was too close to the monsters, and wondered if hurling bits of scrap metal at them would keep them away or just agitate them.

"It's okay," Hope told him, clutching to the back of Maqui's shirt. "We're far enough away that they won't actually wander over, but getting to the bike right now probably wouldn't be a good idea..."

True to his word, the monsters just kept a wary eye on them and didn't move any closer as Maqui continued to back up. He felt Hope stumble and turned around to catch the other boy before he fell off the patch of land into the springs. Maqui held on tightly as Hope cursed under his breath and then thanked him.

"Best not to disturb the water," Hope explained. "There's a fal'Cie here that guards the springs... won't do anything to you if you don't disturb the land, though. Although we may have agitated it by crash landing..."

Great. Not only were they surrounded by monsters, they were much too close to a fal'Cie for Maqui's liking. He didn't exactly have any intention of becoming a l'Cie, or to be eaten by either the Pulse fal'Cie or the frog-like monsters.

Maybe, Maqui swallowed thickly as his eyes remained on the water and his grabbed onto Hope's wrist, it was a bad idea to take that joyride. An even worse idea to venture somewhere that wasn't deemed safe yet because of numerous monsters. And without any weapons. Or telling Lebreau where he had gone.

"C'mon," Hope tugged his arm, jerking Maqui's attention away from the potential fal'Cie. "We should get to a safer spot, at least."

Yeah, a safer spot sounded like a great idea. Maqui swallowed through his insecurity and asked, "You know anywhere?"

Hope nodded, jerking his head to the left and Maqui looked over as the younger teen said, "There's a small cave area over there. We can sit in there for a moment until we come up with how we're going to get back."

Maqui eyed the dark cave suspiciously, but went along as Hope dragged him further away from the monsters and the fal'Cie. He wondered how he should be behaving right now, knowing that he had told Lightning he would protect Hope, but wanting nothing more than to have someone else of Team NORA there with him right now. Snow, preferably. Or even Gadot and Lebreau. He was sure that they would have kept a cool head and not be panicking inside like he was. It was easy to be brave when the others were brave.

But he was a part of Team NORA. There was nothing to be scared of- they were the heroes, after all.

With that in mind, Maqui stumbled forward so that he wasn't being dragged by Hope anymore. "Did you bring your cell?"

The silver-haired boy shook his head. "I left it at Light's. Dad kept telling me to keep it, but it's not like the reception on Gran Pulse is anything spectacular. Chances are it wouldn't work at all this far away, anyway."

Hmm. No transport, no weapons, no cell, no one knew where they were... Maqui pondered the situation, feeling just a bit distant. What would the others have done in their situation? Well, Yuj would have never gotten caught this far in the wilderness; he liked staying with people, people who could appreciate his sense of style so he could preen. Lebreau... well, she would never have taken a joyride, or be caught without a weapon. That went double for Gadot, although he could probably take on the monsters without any weapons.

And Snow... well, Snow would probably get caught in a situation like this while trying to impress Serah. Maqui kicked at a pebble, not sure how to feel that he could compare himself trying to impress Hope to Snow trying to impress Serah. He really didn't want to think about that. But Snow always knew what to do, and had Lady Luck on his side. No matter the situation, he always seemed to emerge victorious. Maqui wasn't sure how he did that, but he'd been trying to find out for months now.

A vicious snarl on his left caught him completely by surprise. He jerked his arm away from Hope as he spotted the lone monster creeping up toward them, teeth gleaming in its wide mouth, body hunched close to the earth as its tail swung back and forth in low arcs.

He was a part of Team NORA! He was a hero! Heroes didn't need plans, they charged in and protected everything. With that in mind, Maqui was ready when the creature lunged at Hope, and shoved the younger teen away as he hopped in the other direction, calling out to the monster, "Come on, you ugly mud frog!"

He bent low to the ground, picking up the smooth pebble that he had kicked earlier. He kept his centre of gravity low as he eyed the monster, willing his heartbeat to calm. The beast had turned its attention away from Hope now, and was baring its teeth at him, circling around.

Maqui waited, crouched low until the monster made a lunge for him, and he flung the pebble as hard as he could with deadly accuracy into the creature's eye, watching in satisfaction as he screeched in pain, falling back mid-air and hitting the ground hard, curling into itself.

If you don't have any weapons, the blond thought with grim satisfaction, then everything around you could be a weapon.

"Maqui, look out!"

Hope's warning came late as a vicious pain erupted through Maqui's arm, and he fell. He was stunned to see another one of the monsters, one that had snuck up on him, and currently it had a mouthful of razor sharp teeth in his arm.

Wait a minute, Maqui thought frantically as he felt waves of pain from every twitch of the creature, you can't assault a hero. Can't ambush them like that.

A stream of magic whizzed by his head to hit the creature dead on. It dropped Maqui's arm, screeching in pain and backing away as more Fira spells assaulted it, and the air was filled with the scent of burnt flesh.

The blond looked up in disbelief to see that Hope had already taken out the other monster, and was now flinging spell after spell at the creature curled up in pain beside him. Orbs of fire and water pushed the monster back until it finally gave a finally shrill scream and died.

The scream had drawn the attention of what seemed like all the monsters in Sulyya Springs, and a few were already making their way over to them, not sensing intruders yet but far too close for comfort.

Hope dropped into a crouch beside Maqui and placed a hand over the bleeding wound on his arm, gloves cool to the touch and glowing slightly from healing magic and the remnants of offensive magic from the last battle. The blond boy watched in fascination as the deep wounds started to close over with each cure spell, and the ache in his bones dissipated.

Before the wounds closed completely, though, Hope was already on his feet again and dragged Maqui up as well. His steps were more frantic and hurried as he pulled the two of them over to the dark cave. "We've disturbed the place. We should hide for a little while until their interest dies off."

Maqui let himself be dragged, this time not minding the look of the darkened cave at all, far too curious about the sudden onslaught of magic than scared of whatever lay in the darkness.

They entered the black of the cave and Hope urged Maqui to sit down, now rummaging through the pouch he kept with him at all times, pulling out rolls of white sterilized bandages before gingerly rolling up the bloodied sleeve.

"I didn't know you still kept your magic," Maqui said softly as he leaned against the hard stone of the cave, watching Hope wrap up his arm and trying not to wince as the bandages pulled tight. There was a smear of dirt against the younger boy's cheek and a frown on his face as he worked. Soothing green magic seeped out from his fingertips, making the wound numb.

"I didn't know either, at first," Hope admitted. "I thought we'd lose all our abilities once we lost our brands. But I guess that's the one gift that we were left with- being able to defend ourselves. Better than nothing, I suppose. Still, it would be nice..." his voice cut off as he tied the last of the bandages into a hard knot, Maqui yelping loudly as the pressure increased and then whimpering as Hope gave him an amused look.

"That smarts!" he whined, covering his arm with his other hand. But the deep wound was barely more than a scratch now, and for that Maqui was more than grateful. It was fine acting childish, if it got Hope to smile. He smoothed his hand over the injured arm, remembering the tingling of the healing touch racing into his bloodstream. "But that's awesome that you can do magic. Makes things so much easier, you know? I wish I could do magic. I'd blow up an old building or something, bam!" He hesitated at the odd look on Hope's face. "I mean, not one with people in it! I'd make sure there wasn't anyone in there first! Double check, triple check!"

Hope chuckled, but Maqui could tell it was a strained sound.

"I don't think you'd want to go through the process to get this magic," Hope stated lightly, and Maqui wondered just how insensitive he was being, and just how it was that Hope could have that much patience with him.

The older boy was silent for a moment to berate himself as Hope sat down beside him, pulling his knees up to his chest as he glanced out the cave.

"Was there anything you missed, though?" Maqui asked, wanting to make up for his earlier stupid comment. "I mean, it's got to be great not to be labeled as different anymore, but..." he trailed off. You look like you miss it. Being a l'Cie. Of course, Maqui had some semblance of tact and wasn't going to voice that aloud. He had learned through Snow that sometimes if the words didn't feel like it would help, then it was best not to say them at all.

"Not really," Hope said, arms around his knees as his eyes turned toward the darkening sky. "I miss Fang and Vanille, of course. I know they're watching over us. I hope that they'll wake up soon, that they'll be able to join us and we'd all grow up and grow old together, but... well, they did what they had to. We all just tried to do what we thought was right. And we made it through. It was scary back then. It's easier now."

Maqui thought back to the confident boy who had stood up to inspire them all in Eden, and couldn't associate that image with the Hope he saw now, green eyes glassy with heavy memories. The blond boy had never seen this side of Hope before, so melancholy and quiet and deeply troubled. The younger teen had always seemed quiet, yes, but it was more of a calming presence, reminding him quite a bit of Serah. Those times, Maqui could understand why Lightning had taken so well to Hope.

"Still." Hope turned back to look at Maqui, the sadness broken as he grinned a bit mischievously. "I really miss my Eidolon."

Maqui perked up out of his thoughts. That's right- he had forgotten about Eidolons, the summons that responded to l'Cie. He had seen through the holo-vids in school, of course, about the War of Transgression and the l'Cie who fought in it with their Eidolons. The summoned creatures were beings of awe to Maqui, and just about every other child who had grown up on Cocoon. He used to daydream all the time as a child of having an Eidolon; a fierce being who would fight for him and protect him. In fact, he was sure he still had his Carbuncle plushie around somewhere...

He had never seen it; Hope had never talked about it... but the younger boy once had an Eidolon? The idea was mind-boggling. Snow talked about his all the time, combined with the wistful looks and the fond tone he got whenever he mentioned the Shiva sisters, Maqui thought that Serah probably had every right to slap his head every time he got too into his memories. But two goddess creatures who transformed into a motorbike at his command? What man wouldn't miss that?

"An Eidolon?" Maqui was excited. "You never told me about your Eidolon!" He could imagine all sorts of things- a giant robotic warrior that would fight for the boy or a goddess like Shiva with fierce magical attacks. "What was it like? What was its name?"

Hope settled his chin on his knees, now looking less like a war-battered veteran and more like an excitable teenaged boy. "Alexander. He was... really big. Surprisingly big. Like a giant warrior. And different. Everyone else had these gestalt modes that..." his voice faded off in memory, and Maqui nudged the other boy to keep him talking. "Well, Snow talks about Shiva often enough. Alexander couldn't change like everyone else who wanted a quick get-away. He was... he was a castle." The younger boy gave a chuckle. "He really was."

Maqui wondered what kind of analogy that was... he couldn't fathom it. All the Eidolons he had seen (and heard from, thanks to Snow) were giant fighting beasts or quick, agile warriors who could change forms to carry their summoners to safety.

"Not a motorbike, then?" Maqui joked.

The silver-haired boy shook his head. "He was... safe. He couldn't get anyone to safety, but it was like when he was there, nothing could come close to hurting us. A... well, an ultimate defense rather than a quick get-away."

The blond nodded, not quite understanding, but glad that Hope was telling him this anyway. Eidolons were like a distant fantasy, a childhood dream of warmth and protection. He tried to remember how he felt in those childhood fantasies of being a summoner, of having a celestial warrior to fight for and defend him. He wondered if those feelings held even an inkling to have actually having an Eidolon was like.

He glanced out of the cave they were nestled in, and grimaced at the amount of monsters he could see distantly. He was sure that he could take on a few of them, and if Hope had retained his magic, then quite a few more... but those things were all huddled close together, and Maqui wasn't sure how he'd fare injured and trying to take down a dozen of those beasts while keeping Hope safe.

Keeping Hope safe. That was a new concept to him. Usually, the others of Team NORA were telling him to get out of the way, or keeping him at the very back of a battle. He was usually the one kept safe, and while he had experience defending others before (the Hanging Edge was certainly an experience), he had never actively looked out for anyone in specific before.

Maqui shifted, trying to ignore the remaining sparks of pain from his wound and the rest of the scrapes and bruises he had, finally allowing himself relief as he glanced the other boy over to make sure Hope wasn't hurt in any way. At least he had done that much, right? Kept Hope safe?

He slumped his shoulders in defeat. He really shouldn't have boasted about how the airbike would surely work. Why did he have to show off like that? It wasn't hard to figure out that the reason Hope wasn't hurt was not because of his amazing protective ability, but rather because the younger boy was quick and agile on his feet, knowing when the duck and when to feint. The sad truth was just that Maqui would have been worse off if Hope hadn't been there.

"That's really cool," Maqui said in all honesty. He flexed his injured arm, noting that even the dull ache was slowly fading away. Other than the Focus thing and the pariah thing (and the Cie'th and crystal and the whole no happy ending thing), being a l'Cie sounded a bit cool. To have magic powers? Enhanced strength and agility? An Eidolon?

Hope hmmed in agreement, eyes turned toward the cave entrance, but then he looked back at Maqui and the older boy caught his breath as he realized, in that instance, just how close they were sitting in the little cave... and how much Hope's silver-white hair stood out in the darkness.

"How," he asked, unable to stop himself. "Did any of you guys manage to hide from monsters in the dark?"

Just as he said it, he snapped his mouth shut. It wasn't as if he had any ground on that statement, seeing as he was just as blond as Snow and while nowhere as pale as Hope, still burned unbearably if he stayed outside for more than an hour a day under the hot sun of Gran Pulse.

Hope looked confused rather than insulted, though. "What?"

Maqui reddened. "Nothing, sorry, sorry. Just... something that caught my attention."

The blond boy let out a quiet, uneasy laugh as he rubbed at the back of his head with his uninjured arm, wincing slightly at the thought of how easily he had been injured. How was he supposed to protect Hope if he had to rely on the younger boy for cures like that?

"Stop thinking about it."

"Huh?" Maqui lowered his arm, staring at the silver-haired boy.

Hope poked him in the bicep. "Your arm. It only hurts because you won't stop thinking about how it hurt."

The older teen rubbed his arm gingerly. "It doesn't hurt," he lied.

"It shouldn't. It only does because you think it does- like phantom pains."

Maqui never understood the concept of phantom pains much. He figured that something either hurt or it didn't, and if there wasn't anything hurt, then nothing should actually hurt. Like machines. Things only went wrong when something was actually wrong, but if all the wiring was connected properly, then everything should be peachy-keen.

He winced. Should be.

Hope was glancing out the cave again, this time with a more wistful expression on his face. It made the older teen wonder why Hope had chosen this death trap in the first place. Sure he had heard that all of Gran Pulse was pretty dangerous in the unsettled areas, and NORA certainly had their hands full just dealing with the strays that wander just a little too close to the new cities. But those were the rare beasts that were dumb enough to venture close enough, thinking they could handle squadrons of soldiers with too many bullets and firepower and not enough brains.

But he hadn't been out to see the wilds before, at least not out of the lands close to the settlements. The beauty of Gran Pulse was intense and deadly, and the enormity of it all sometimes made Maqui want to hate Snow and the others for Cocoon's downfall in those rare moments before he tacked on the thought that without them, everyone in Cocoon would be dead. Their old lifestyles on Cocoon couldn't have been saved... at least the l'Cie had managed to save its people. Still, it was a lingering thought the blond knew was in everyone's heads. Cocoon had been a paradise. Gran Pulse, no matter how beautiful it was, was hell.

It was no wonder that some people still refused to leave Cocoon, even without fal'Cie power and having to live with the fear that it may someday come crashing out of the sky.

Still, sitting here with Hope, Maqui couldn't bring himself to hate the untempered world that made life so much harder with every twist and turn. Sitting in the dark cave with monsters waiting outside to slash them open, thinking about the absurdity of phantom pains and with the remains of his airbike smoldering away in the distance... it didn't feel as bad as it sounded.

Hope stretched out an arm to point to a distance, and Maqui followed the movement with his eyes. "See that flower there? It apparently used to grow lots of places, but now I've only ever seen it near the Mah'habara."

Maqui squinted to see small pink flowers covering an area of land near the exit of the Springs. "What's it called?"

Hope seemed to hesitate, and then responded quietly, "I never asked her."

Her. The wistful tone was enough for Maqui to figure out that it would be either Fang or Vanille.

Hope turned to him and scrambled up, a smile lingering on his lips despite the nostalgia before. "C'mon. We've got to get some of those flowers."

The blond sputtered and clambered up after the other teen, "Flowers? We're going to risk our butts outside with the monsters for flowers?"

"Yup. As long as we're careful, everything here looks like its lost interest in us already." Hope was already out of the cave and walking close to the water ledge, Maqui behind him half wanting to hold out his arms in case Hope lost his balance and half terrified for his own safety out in the open. "It's on the way out, anyway. We're going to have to leave sometime if we ever want to find our way back again."

Maqui wasn't so sure he was that ready to leave the relative safety of the cave at the moment, though. He had finally gotten comfortable with the idea of spending some time in the cold, damp, scary place as long as he was the one there with Hope, and to have that thought (which was slowly getting more and more appealing) change so suddenly was quite shocking.

"What good would it do us to get out of here, though?" Maqui muttered, mostly to himself as he navigated carefully around the slippery slopes of the water edge. He flailed his arms for a bit when his footing slipped, but managed to catch himself fast enough. The older teen chanced an embarrassed glance up, but Hope didn't seem to have noticed his blunder at all.

"What I don't understand," Maqui stated, his voice just a bit louder to be heard by Hope but not attract the attention of the creatures in the Springs, "Was how you guys managed to stay sane through this place. I mean, it's hard enough with the Guardian Corps clearing out the area and having to take care of the remnants, but to actually have to trudge through this place without help?" There were thousands of monsters on Gran Pulse, each one more dangerous than the previous. Realizing this made it so much more feasible for the former l'Cie to have taken down Orphan.

"But we had help," Hope didn't sound concerned with the blond's question. "We had each other. That's how we knew we would make it through." At this, the silver-haired boy gingerly climbed atop a taller ledge, and then turned around to reach a hand down to Maqui with a smile. "And it's going to be fine. We have each other here as well, right?"

The youngest member of Team NORA stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide as he stared at the gloved hand offered to help him up. For a moment, he was completely lost as to what he should do- this wasn't something he had anticipated on- wasn't he the one there to protect Hope? Right now, at that moment, with Hope smiling down at him and extending his hand, telling him how everything was going to be okay... it really didn't seem that way. And for that, Maqui was lost.

The older teen swallowed thickly, and offered a hesitant smile, reaching out to grasp Hope's hand. "Yeah."

That was right. As long as he wasn't alone, there was a better chance of making it out just fine.