Life went on as it had before. Memories slowly faded until she truly believed it all to be a dream. Lightning had never been there.
Serah grew used to it. The dreams she had of Lightning in another realm were just dreams.
She married Snow a year after she returned from her crystal form. They were happy and content, finding the other to truly be their soulmate
Two years later they welcomed their firstborn, a daughter. Naturally, her name was Claire. She grew up being sheltered from the horrors of what had happened, never once questioning why her parents never liked it when people spoke about L'cie, or why Yuj and Lebreau went with here everywhere when her parents couldn't.
Serah taught school as her husband protected and led the community of New Bodhum. Team NORA had started to become the "authority" which they had once been against, and it caused for a lot of jesting between group members.
Everything was safe, peaceful, and for once, normal.
But one night, a dream shook the now five year old Claire Villiers. A dream of a woman named Lightning and a man named Noel being sucked through a "shiny purple light" after defeating a purple haired man and appearing at their doorstep.
Serah and Snow were both worried and confused by their daughter's dream. Lightning was holding up the pilliar, they thought. How could their daughter, who never met her, dream of her?
They contacted Hope. He too had said that there had been some unnatural time disturbances causing strange dreams for the people still on Cocoon. The nineteen year old had taken interest in hearing the information directly from their daughter.
Claire was excited to see Cocoon. She had heard stories, whispers of what happened there, but nothing had been mentioned of her parents roles in the story. Or of the fact she was named after this Lightning woman she heard mentioned.
Hope listened with great joy as the girl spoke about Lightning and Noel. It seemed as if her dream setting matched the others he had heard about.
"Her description matches the setting of all the dreams we've heard."
Snow, Serah, and Hope were making sure not to become too optimistic. But if here was the possibility of Lightning coming back, well, it was more than they could wish for.
Days passed, turning into weeks, then months, and finally years.
Claire was eight, and by now she knew the story behind her name and her parents stories as well. She had forgotten her dream, and her parents had lost the hope of Lightning returning. Hope had come to do research on Pulse about the time disturbances, taking Claire on as his assistant - yes his assistant at the age of eight- and telling her stories of her aunt.
Claire had grown to look just like her mother, but with the pale hair of her father. So it wasn't a surprise when she was out at twilight and a man she hadn't met before recognized her as Serah's daughter. She was used to such things. But when she actually looked at the man, his face was startlingly familiar. She gasped when she saw the woman with him. It was not doubt Lightning.
"Can you take us to your mother please?"
All she could do was nod as she led her Aunt and Noel to her home, where there would be tearful embraces and a long awaited reunion.
Lightning had asked Serah why she hadn't believed the memories and thought them her own dreams. Serah had apologized for it,but how could she believe what everyone thought false?
Lightning had laughed then, smiling at her sister and pulling her into a hug again just as Serah had thought she remembered. She joked about the two getting married without her blessing, and Snow and looked away when Lightning sent him a small glare at that, though she then surprised him by hugging him as well.
Noel helped her explain what had happened and how they returned back. They spoke of a large battle and fixing time so it returned to as it had been predestined by the goddess.
Hope had returned then from finishing up at the research site. At the sight of Lightning he became rather overjoyed, hugging her quickly. They caught up rather quickly, and everyone was back together.
And life went on, creating new memories with Lightning, Serah's dream of everyone together becoming a reality.
