Author's Note: Hi guys so I really, really wanted to start a new story though this is totally out of my fanfiction range since this is my very first Final Fantasy fanfiction ever. So I apologize if it's no good. It takes place right after the ending of FF XIII-2 so if you haven't played the game yet or read translations and watched spoilers then you should avoid this at all cost since the first chapter opens up with the game ending!

This is a HopexVanille fanfiction because they're my absolute favorite pairing in FF XIII and I'm totally routing for them!

Story wise if you want to skip the game ending please search for the words, The calling of a chocobo… That is where the true story really begins. Though if you start there you might be confused as to how he got there. Anyways I hope you all enjoy the story.

I'm actually writing it completely out of order on my livejournal psychobrit2008 where I'm posting chapter parts out of order as I write them and then piecing them together to make the chapters. Right now I just have this chapter up right now. So if you're curious about updates please check there!

Also when you see this ''''' it means it's separating points of view or sections of the story that are either going on at the same time or separating the times like AF 200 etc.

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Hope and Vanille belong to Square Enix as well as everything else mentioned in this fanfiction!

Summary: Looking at her he gave her a reassuring smile before he lowered his hand and carefully took her hand, "I promise," he said as their pinkies entwined, "One day we'll see Gran Pulse together," You said it yourself after all. – My take on the HopexVanille Gran Pulse scene and what she meant by "Another lifetime".

Story Words: 2,371

Let the Story Begin!

'''''

AF 200 – Academia

It had been exactly one hour now since Caius' defeat and Serah's untimely death. Hope and Noel had now migrated into the infirmary in Academia. The sky outside raging with ominous black clouds. Everything was falling apart. And falling apart fast.

"Damnit…" Noel cursed under his breath as he balled his hands into a fist in the chair beside Serah's lifeless form. I should've understood sooner. Noel guilted himself as he placed his head in his hands and tried to weigh out all his options. With the state of the world, the Historia Crux was going haywire and reading dates from all over, some even before the fall of Cacoon. If I go in now…there's no telling where I'll end up not to mention when… We need to find a way to fix it so we can somehow change things again.

"I'm going to take a look at things," Hope finally spoke up from his position by the window; walking over to the door, he entered into the hallway. Just like the room he was just in it smelled of sanitizer and was just as black inside as it was outside. Everything was getting darker by the minute, if they didn't move soon… there was no telling what would happen.

Pausing by the window, he looked over at Neo Cacoon and the crystal ruins that lay beneath it. At least they're safe for the moment. He managed to think as he remembered Sazh's words over the intercom when he was getting ready to launch Neo-Cacoon into the air. When he first learn about the Historia Crux, he had hoped that there would've been a way to save everyone. To make it so neither Fang or Vanille had to sacrifice themselves for Cacoon, get his mother to come with them during the purge and somehow find Lightning in it all. Yet… everything was going wrong. Serah was dead, Caius was dead, Yuel was dead, Alyssa had betrayed them, it was all falling apart.

There has to be a way to fix things. With that idea in his mind he ran off in the direction of the time gate.

'''''

He's taking awhile. Noel thought to himself as he got to his feet and gave Serah one final glance as he made his way out into the hallway in search for the silver haired director. "Hope!" he called out as he continued to make his way through the building. It wasn't until his eye caught the time gate outside that he knew something was about to go wrong once again.

'''''

"That should do it… If I got back that far then I should at least be able to stop Noel and Serah from killing Caius… It's a long shot but it might hold off all this," he told himself as the time was set. Activating the time gate he stood there patiently a small tinge of fear entering his stomach.

"Damnit!" Noel cursed out as he bolted down the steps and out of the building as fast as he could in an attempt to stop Hope. Rushing over in his direction he began to yell, "Hope! Get away from the gate! It's not working right there's no telling where you'll end up!" though his shout was all too late as the gate sucked Hope in in a flash of light.

With the gate now deactivated, Noel dropped to his knees. Hope was lost.

'''''

The calling of a chocobo echoed unkindly in his ears as he slowly began to move. He didn't know how long he'd been out let alone if he'd even gone to the right place, but something was telling him something had gone horribly wrong.

Sitting up in the over grown grass he held his head briefly as a sharp throbbing began to get the best of him. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw an eerily familiar sight. "This is… the Archylte Steppe," he breathed out in surprise as he slowly got to his feet. Looking around it seemed the time gate had completely vanished leaving him stranded there in who knows when. Holding the bridge of his nose, he let out a agitated sigh. This must be what Noel was trying to tell me when the gate was warping me. Guess I should've waited for him after all… He told himself with a bit of a laugh. The Historia Crux would be malfunctioning when he went to use it.

"Well, no point sitting around here all day, " he told himself as he slowly got to his feet and dusted some loose grass from his uniform as the spring breeze blew against his cheeks. Well first things first, guess I better figure out when I am. With that in his mind he headed in what he remembered was the way to Oerba.

'''''

"Hey come back here!" Vanille called out in frustration as the chocobo she'd been chasing since the outskirts of Oerba finally leaped out of her range in the Archylte Steppe. "Aw, it got away!" she pouted as she finally came to a stop and lowered her binding rod. Placing her hands on her knees as she caught her breath a bit just as the spring breeze tussled her pigtails.

"Everyone's going to be angry with me if I don't catch something soon," she mumbled as she tightened her grip on her rod a bit as she raised a hand to her head and over looked the steppe from the cliff where she stood. Time to focus!

With that she began to make her way down the cliff and onto the base ground where most of the monstrosities on Pulse ran rampant and free. Making her away she found herself sneaking from cliff to cliff to dodging glances by ducking down in the overgrown grass. Finally seeing another chocobo she found herself slowly inching closer and closer with one hand out stretched, "Nice boy… don't worry I'm not going to hurt you," she lied in a comforting tone her eyes not leaving her target for an instant. That is…until an earth shattering shriek came from above as an ominous shadow enveloped her. Shivers running down her spine she glanced up her emerald orbs wide with fear as the winged beast Svarog, which ruled the Yaschas Massif, came flying her way.

'''''

"Doesn't look like this place has changed much… maybe it hasn't been that long," he mustered out as he wiped some sweat from his brow as he took another leap down from the cliff he had been standing on. Reaching a lower level he found himself looking around at the beauty of the steppe. It seemed like yesterday when they had all fought their way through it on their way to Oerba, the place where it all began… The thought alone was enough to make him smile a bit. Despite how their journey had started… everyone had become like home during it and… after it.

Just then a familiar cry ran through his ears. Jerking his head up right, Hopes eyes shot down to the ground where he saw her… Vanille! He felt his heart beat pick up as his legs moved on their own accord; drawing out his faithful boomerang, he sent it flying right in the direction of the Svarog.

Reaching the beast just in time, the boomerang gave it a good whack just as it tried to close its claws on pulsian. Forgetting her dilemma, Vanille's Emerald eyes darted to the young man coming to her aid, "Ah…W-who are yo-" she began to ask only to be silenced by Hope's wave of the hand as he looked back at her as she stood ready for the fight, "We can do introductions later, right now… Let's take care of this."

"Right!" she agreed with a quick nod as she picked up her binding rod and got ready.

'''''

After a tireless fight, the two finally raged victorious placing his boomerang back in his pocket, Hope finally turned back, his eyes falling on Vanille's face; while his own showed a smile, he felt his heart beat picking up once again just like it did all those years ago when they last stood on the Steppe.

Just as he took a step forward he found himself getting struck by the binding rod as it knocked him back a bit, "Stop right there!" she called out as she kept the rod ready to go, her eyes shooting daggers at him a bit while his own gave her a look of sheer pain as all his memories of her came crashing down on his shoulders.

I- if she doesn't recognize me then does that mean that I've… somehow gone into the past? Is that what Noel meant when he told me to use caution… Guess that means the Historia Crux really is malfunctioning to send me this far back.

"I said... who are you?" he heard her say as he finally snapped out of his thoughts and back into his current situation, "Um… I'm Hope," he replied to her as he began to remember the first time they'd introduced themselves as well back during the purge. Their whole conversation echoing in his head,

-Flashback -

"Vanille." He had heard her say as she had leaned down her eyes looking down at him completely taking him by surprise as he let out a small "Whoa?" in response to her sudden outburst as she got closer and closer before she reached out a hand to him, "It's my name. And yours?"

-End of Flashback-

"So you're name is Hope, huh?" she replied as she kept her rod up her eyes scanning him like she had scanned her prey from afar before the Svagor had swooped down. Just the way she said his name was enough to make his heart burst a little, though he didn't expect to be sent to this time of all places. A time where Vanille was still alive and moving.

"So how'd you get here?" he heard her ask him her accent thick just like it always had been as they stood there in the tall grass of the Archylte Steppe; the wildlife running rampant all around them. "You're from Cacoon, right? I can tell by the way you talk and the outfit you're wearing," he heard her go on as her eyes seemed to scan him from head to toe. "Though… I'm not sure what kind of uniform it is…" she added as she cocked her head to the side the way she had done several times during their journey to change their fate.

Shooting her a glance he could only give her an uneasy look. It was true that I got there by getting sucked into the Historia Crux. But… as for why it picked this time and place I don't know. With that in his mind he finally looked away from her emerald eyes and tossed his hands up in the air in an I-don't-know fashion.

"I'm not really sure myself but… I think it was supposed to happen," he finally got out as he took a small step closer to her. "It was supposed to?" she asked as she leaned to her right side a bit, "You…think you were supposed to come here? And you were supposed to save me like you did?"

"I-I guess so," he stammered a bit as he looked away; his cheeks burning up a bit as Noel's voice rang clear in his ears "Listen Hope when you use the Historia Crux for fix past events you have to make sure you don't interfere in core events, if you do something or meet anyone that you know you might change how you're supposed to meet."

Even still when he thought about Vanille's Shriek when the Svarog was chasing her by the air. He just kind of lost it. I couldn't have left her like that…

Even still everything he was saying were all riddles to her. It all made perfect sense to him, but if he said anything about the Hisoria Crux or about the purge or orphan. She wouldn't know anything…

"Hello!" he heard her call out as a hand waved across his face; blinking in surprise Hope lowered his head and stared down into her eyes, "Didn't you hear me?"

"No…I was –" he was cut short as the sound of chocobos irritating shriek sliced through their conversation causing them both to look away. In the distance several chocobos could be seen with riders atop their backs heading straight for them. This can't be good… Vanille mentioned Cacoon which means the war of transgression must be going on right now… then if I get caught…

He felt his heart stop as his eyes stayed fixated on the enclosing figures before Vanille came running up in front of him, "You have to hide!" she called out her voice rining clear in his ears as he snapped out of his fear as she gave his chest a quick shove, "If they catch you… you'll" she paused her eyes lowering a bit as a hand rose to her chest her words caught in her throat. She didn't know why but there was something about him. Something that she didn't want to lose just yet by the hands of her family. Besides, she owed him… he did help me I'm sure Fang would understand and … I have some more questions to ask him.

It's just like back then. He told himself as he remembered when he first saw his mother fall to her death in the purge, if she hadn't slapped some sense into him there's no telling what would've happened that day. Glancing over at her with halfhearted smile, the Director of Academy Research Team Alpha gave a quick nod.

"R-right," he managed to muster out as he turned and ran off to the closest Cliffside he could find out there in the Steppe, just as he was about to round the corner he stopped and shot back once last glance, his heart tightening a bit as their eyes locked one last time as she mouthed the word "later" before he vanished from view.

'''''

End of Chapter 1! Let me know what you thought in the comments!