Notes: So while I was sick with the flu, I went and replayed FFXIII and FFXIII-2 (and went and preordered FFXIII-3). And while I suffered through a high-grade fever, this idea popped into my head: what happens after FFXIII-3 when Lightning saves everyone and the world is returned to 'normal'? This is just my attempt to show what I think life would be like for the heroes after, through Hope's POV.

After Fall: The First Year

Hey mom. It's been a while since I last spoke to you, sorry for that. I was going through a lot, you know, trying to cope with the fact that you wouldn't be around any more to protect me, and then being made a l'cie...

It was terrifying. I thought I was gonna die so many times, and even though I was scared, I was kinda okay with it. Because it meant I'd be able to see you again, and I miss you. A lot. I blamed Snow for your death back then, even though I guess it wasn't really his fault. But I didn't want to blame you for trying to protect me, and I couldn't handle the guilt of every awful thing I'd said to you when you were alive. Those memories haunted me, and even now, I still regret so much of it...

But that was mostly the past. When we came to Gran Pulse, and I really thought I'd never make it, I received an eidolon of my own named Alexander. Lightning and Snow were the ones who convinced me that Alexander represented the strength within me, a strength that I must've got from you. It gave me the courage to go on, to try to get stronger, to do what needed to be done.

Along the way, I made really good friends. Sazh taught me how to fix this mechanical robot thing that was apparently Vanille's pet five hundred years ago, and Fang showed me how to hunt. When things really got tough in a battle, I always knew that Lightning and Snow had my back. A few times when I was injured, Snow even carried me on his back - you know, the way you used to when I was really little. Kinda like I always wanted dad to do, but he never did. I guess I'm trying to say that Snow feels as guilty about your death as I thought he should back then, and he's doing his best to make up for it.

I never imagined that we'd end up fighting Orphan. I can honestly say, to this day I've never been so... overwhelmed. I mean, fal'cie on Cocoon were always so useful, you know? They gave us food and water, they protected us. I never imagined there were fal'cie who wanted to destroy humanity. But apparently, Orphan didn't want to exist. He felt abandoned by the Maker, Bhunivelze, and like a kid throwing a tantrum, he thought killing the inhabitants of Cocoon would bring his erst-while creator back. We fought him, and we barely won.

Then Fang and Vanille sacrificed themselves, turning to crystal to save Cocoon from falling to Gran Pulse.

And don't worry, mom, but for a while there, the rest of us turned to crystal, too. It's what happens to l'cie who complete their focus, and defeating Orphan had been ours. But Etro, the daughter of Bhunivelze, took pity on us.

I'm not sure why, but I was happy to wake up to the sight of Gran Pulse, the place that made me what I am today. I was really happy when Lightning and the others decided to stay on Gran Pulse - actually, we helped build the first living village in over five centuries. It's called New Bodhum, and it looks so much like Bodhum did back then... Lightning's kinda like our mayor, she takes care of all the important things like telling the soldiers where to patrol, and figuring out what to do when disaster strikes. Serah, Lightning's sister, takes care of the kids in the village. Most of them are like me, with one or both parents killed during the thirteen days prior to the Fall, and even though they'd deny it to her face, they all love Serah. She's really great with them, but when she gets angry, she reminds me a lot of her sister. Really scary.

Snow and Serah haven't married yet. They say they're waiting until life gets more stable, which I guess is understandable. Snow usually hangs out with Sazh, fixing the mechas around the village, or helping to clear out ruins that are found pretty frequently out here. Sometimes I go with him, especially to the ruins near Paddra. They're really neat - some of the pillars are as tall as Carbuncle was! The last time we went, I found this really cool object near a statue. It kinda looks like a ball made of hexagonal plates, and apparently it used to be called an 'oracle drive'. We haven't figured out how to use it, or if it's even operational at all, but I'm really excited to get further into the ruins.

I know you're probably worried about me - I know Lightning is. She keeps telling me I need to spend more time with kids my age. It's tough though, being the only fourteen-year-old in the village, and the only one other than Dajh under twenty who has experience as a l'cie. Dajh doesn't have as hard a time as I do at making friends, but then he's apparently always been a pretty outgoing kid. I'm happier playing in the dirt looking for relics than hanging out with my peers, I guess.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is my birthday. It's almost been a year since we defeated Orphan, can you believe it? A lot of people have moved to Gran Pulse, but we still haven't heard anything about dad. I guess that means he's with you, or busy with whatever work he's obsessing over now. It doesn't bother me much, any more. I have my l'cie family who look after me, and who I try to take care of as best as I can. I just hope that Lightning isn't the one making the meal tomorrow, she's really... not that good at it. Not that Snow or Sazh are much better, but Serah's probably the best cook in the village. Or at least, best at making food that I like. Though I really miss the croquets you used to make for my birthdays, mom. As much as I try to tell Serah about how they tasted, she never quite gets them the way you always did. But she does her best, and they're not bad.

Sometimes, the others get the same way. It's different for them, though, because the ones they're missing, the foods they're remembering, have been gone a lot longer than one year. Sazh's wife has been gone for almost four years, but he and Dajh always talk about how delicious her cakes were, and Serah and Lightning both talk about their dad's stir fry like it was a five-star meal. Snow never talks about food he misses - he only ever says how much better even Lightning's cooking is compared to the Sanctum orphanage where he grew up. I guess compared to that, the rest of us were lucky to have food and loved ones to miss.

There is one thing that Snow suggested, back when we started building New Bodhum, something that I'm really grateful Lightning agreed with. It's this... well, it's not really a cemetery. More like a memorial. It took a while to find a stone large enough to carve into a proper slab, and a few months later the village raised it on the hill near the crystal pillar holding up Cocoon. It's got the names of those we know were killed during those thirteen days, including yours, mom. It's supposed to be a reminder, that even without fal'cie intervention, humanity will continue to thrive. There's even plans for a festival for the anniversary of Orphan's defeat - Serah and the children of the village have spent weeks making candles and costumes for it, and Sazh has been working with the other villagers to make fireworks. I hope wherever you are, you'll be able to see them with us.

"It's getting kinda late, kid."

I nod silently, and lay the wildflowers I'd brought with me at the base of the stone where my mother's name is carved. I don't need to turn around to know that Snow is standing behind me, his coat billowing in the early summer wind. I'm a little surprised when he comes to stand beside me, and lays two seashells beside my own offering to the dead.

"Are their names on it, too?" I ask. "Your parents?"

"Nah, never knew who they were." Snow replies. He touches a name several inches above my mom's - a name I don't recognize at all. "But there's one or two names that belong to people who were good friends. Good people who shouldn't be forgotten."

I read the name silently as Snow turns to leave. "People like 'Noel Kreiss'?"

"Yeah." Snow's shoulders stiffen slightly, then slowly relax as I fall in step with him. He puts an arm around my shoulder, then ruffles my hair with his free hand. "People just like Noel."

~fin?