„I'm a failure!"

The wail was heard throughout the whole of the room.

"I was meant to protect her, to shield her from harm. And now she's dead!" he yelled, oblivious to his surroundings. To the soft clanking of armour behind him.

"I should've died! It should've been me!"

His cries drowned out the sound shallow breathing at his back. The sound of rustling clothes.

"She'll never forgive me!"

"But I do." A voice from behind him answered his cries.

Noel turned around, his eyes red and puffy, tears staining his cheeks. His hair, greasy and dirty was plastered to his head and face.

"What?"

She knelt beside him, an arm thrown around him to heave him from the dusty floor. He didn't struggle and let her do what ever she wanted to do with and to him but watched her incredulous.

"What did you just say?"

"I said," she repeated, "that I forgive you. It wasn't your fault. Nothing of it."

Her arm never left its place around his torso. "If anyone is to blame, than it would have to be me. I asked you to bring her to me, after all."

Noel stared at Lightning. Hard. A scowl was firmly placed on her face and her jaw was clenched. She didn't look back at him but rather at the ground in front of her feet.

"Lightning.."

He didn't know what to say. What could he say to make her feel better? She wasn't beating him into submission like he thought she would. She wasn't crying – he thought she would. It was her sister after all. All she did was scowling, like she did every day.

Noel did not want to know how broken she was on the inside. She blamed herself for something that was clearly not her fault. It was his.

"Lightning...do you need help?"

Her gaze snapped to him and he wondered how that speed didn't break her neck. She rose her sword, pointed it in front of them.

"Help? With what? There's only one thing we can do. Go on. Move forward."

He scrunched his eyebrows together.

"Are you saying you're just forgetting tha-" He had to stop as he was pushed to the ground. She was as fast as her namesake, if not faster. The tip of her blade was lightly pushed into his chest, just enough for him to get the point but not enough to draw blood or hurt him.

"Never." she snarled. "I won't ever forget what has happened. Don't suggest I do."

"But -"

"She wouldn't want me - us -to hang onto this moment and never start living again. You know that." Lightning said, slowly shaking her head. "So let's do this."

Noel didn't understand - not during that small moment at least - what it meant for the both of them. He took the hand she offered to him to get back to his feet.

"Thank you."

Her whisper nearly didn't register in his mind as soft as it was. But in the end it did and he smiled. Offered her a bit of hope and light and just a bit of future. She held her sword to her side, not letting it go. Her gaze was directed to the front, the corner of her lips tugged up a tiny bit. Barely noticable.

Noel ruffled his hair a little bit, feeling the grease in it. He frowned. How long had he been sitting there, grieving? How long would he still have been there, had Lightning not come to pick him up? He shook his head.

"So," he turned to his companion. "What exactly are we going to do now?"

"I don't know." she answered.

"Huh?"

"Well. I haven't planned anything. Yet."

"Oh."

Noel started fiddling with his sword, restlesness consuming him. He wanted to do something. He didn't mind what it was, as long as he acted.

"Before he died, Caius told us he had killed you."

Lightning looked at him, not knowing what he wanted to say. "He said you had fallen into a deep slumber and wouldn't awaken in time."

"He was obviously wrong, wasn't he." she stated, huffing and crossing her arms.

"But why?" he questioned, looking at her, trying to find reason. "Why aren't you still asleep?"

She didn't immedietly answer and an uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Lightning clenched and unclenched her hand on the hilt of her sword while biting her tongue, thinking. Just as Noel thought she wouldn't answer anymore, she did.

"Because you needed me."

She turned to him, a hand on her hip. "I felt how lost you are. How deep you had sunken into grief...it...roused me from the stasis."

"Wha-?"

Lightning scowled at him. "Don't think I didn't want to be there when Serah needed me. Don't think I didn't want to go to her." She scoffed. "As powerful as I am, I'm equally as useless it seems. I felt my heart break...and then I felt yours break. So I awoke."

"Y-you only came for me?" he stuttered.

"No."

"But?"

"I'm not here..not completely at least." She gestured to herself. "What you see is only a remnant of my soul. No idea why I'm able to touch you."

He stared at her, for the first time noticing the soft flickering of her body. As if she would vanish into air at any moment.

"Noel."

His head shot up, her steady gaze drilling into his. "Yeah, Lightning?"

"Serah...wanted to create a new future, didn't she? Where everything was peaceful and where everybody was there. All of us."

He nodded to her words, silently urging her to go on.

"I.." she hesitated. "I want to complete her dream. It's possible."

"Yeah, me too." he agreed with her.

She brushed a hand through her hair.

"Noel. I'm bound to Etro's throne. To my body. So.."

"You want me to do it?" he guessed. She inclined her head.

"Please. For Serah."

"Sure. For Serah."

Lightning started walking once more and Noel couldn't do anything else but follow her. He had no idea where she was going but what did it matter. He sword was stashed away on his back, his arms swinging lazily beside him in the rythm of their feet. He watched the way Lighting moved. So..graceful. Agile. Swift.

She stopped at once and he was hard pressed not to bump into her back. When she turned her focus was solely on him. A frown marred her face and her eyes were narrowed.

"I want you to create a paradox."

He did a double-take at her words, finding nearly no spit to swallow. "What?"

"You heard me."

She held a hand to his face, something burried in her fist.

"With Etro dead Chaos will reign anyway. There's nearly no way to stop it."

He shook his head, pushing her fist away. "You're wrong!"

"I wish I was." she snarled. Snarled. "But I'm not. And you know that!"

Lightning opened her hand showing him what she had held in it. Serah's engagement necklace. She pushed it into his chest.

"Take it." she urged.

"Why?" He was confused. What was going on? He took it anyway, cradling it to his chest.

"You'll need something to verify your claims on who you are and where you're from."

"What the hell is going on, Lightning? What are you planning?"

She glared at him, scoffing. He glared back.

"To change the future you need to change the past. That's what's going on. I'm still able to create a gate. Send you back. To safe us all."

His eyebrows rose until they made aquaintance with his hairline.

"You want me to change..everything?"

She brushed a bit of her hair behind her ear.

"How else can we do anything?"

The question threw him for a loop and he couldn't find an answer, no matter how willing he was. He thought about what she had told him, what it would mean for him, for everyone.

"So what exactly am I going to do? Where are you sending me?"

The grateful look she threw him eased the pain in his soul. It just helped. Her voice was soft when she answered.

"You'll be going to Cocoon. To Eden. You'll meet some people there and I want you to help them with their journey."

"What journey?"

She ignored his input and contiuned.

"Tell them who you are, where you are from. If you ever need any help.." She stared at the necklace in his hands. "Call for me. I might be able to help you or at least send someone."

A soft smile graced her lips. "Thank you Noel."

"I haven't even agreed."

"But you haven't declined either."

He sighed, throwing his head back. "This will ruin everything."

She smirked. "What else is there to be ruined?"

He laughed. "True. When am I going?"

Lightning pointed behind him, towards the far wall. "Now." A portal appeared, swirling menacely. "Be careful."

Noel nodded, smiling at her once more before he walked towards it. "Sure."

Preparing for the worst, he stepped threw the colourful arc, feeling a biting wind and seeing nothing but white for a second.

Then the colour returned to the world and he found himself face to face with the tip of Lightnings Blazefire Saber.

Only...a few years in the past.

Soooo. This time it's Noel being the one send back, not Lightning. Poor fellow having to put up with her moody self. You'll have noticed that the beginning was a kind of AU version of FFXIII-2's end. It was meant to be that way.

Lightning coming back from stasis upon noticing Serah's death..that was an idea that stuck in my mind for a while.

The whole thing is pretty short at the moment but I do have a few ideas in mind, so there might be another chapter soon. Or not.

ANYWAY.

Tell me what you think about it.

Regards

Taka.