Crystal Fortresses is a post-game fic that will contain spoilers from Final Fantasy XIII-2. It continues immediately after the game's official ending, thus it ignores the existence of all Paradox Endings. This story will also ignore all information released via DLC (and Lightning Returns) unless otherwise noted; because of the nature of DLC's staggered releases, it becomes difficult to twist the story's plot to adapt to newly revealed information, even if this story is meant to be a direct continuation of Final Fantasy XIII-2. (Though not strictly a canon continuation, this story will nevertheless aim to be realistic.)

This story features the development of the relationship between Hope Estheim and Noel Kreiss, and the narrative will switch between that of these two characters; this story will not contain explicit material, though same-sex relationships will be portrayed once Hope's and Noel's friendship develops to that point.

This story is also a continuous work in progress. This means that, though new chapters may be posted, all content is subject to editing (for grammatical correctness, characterization, etc.), even after posting date. A notice will be made when this story has reached its final version.

Our story begins with Serah's and Noel's return to Bhunivelze in 500 AF, and it will start by summarizing/highlighting certain parts of the ending that this story builds upon later.

Crystal Fortresses
Two men seeking to save the future, driven by the burdens of their past: Perhaps they had more in common than Hope once thought.

Episode 1: The Beginning of the End of the World

They were falling from the sky at an alarming rate. Up until now, Noel would never have thought in all of their travels to be thankful for their gates being at ground level (except, perhaps, for the gate that had first brought him to Valhalla, though that was now but a distant memory). Why this gate had opened miles high into the air, Noel didn't know, and for a split second he wondered if even their Anti-Grav skill could help break this large of a fall.

At least it'll be our last, Noel thought to himself.

Serah was falling somewhere above him, Noel could sense it. If he could manage, he would break his own fall and then catch Serah. If only Mog were blessed with extraordinary strength along with that strange ability to fly (the little guy had wings, but Noel was sure Mog never used them), maybe Noel wouldn't even have to worry about landing safely.

How ironic would that be, death by falling from the sky? Of all the places in the timeline to die….

But these worries were only in the back of his mind: Noel was being his usual self, cautious and guarded. In actuality, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. How could he not? They'd stopped Caius's schemes (though he was still shaken from Caius's last actions), they'd corrected the timeline, Serah hadn't seen any visions – there was much to be grateful for. The grounds of Gran Pulse were a welcoming sight, despite how quickly he and Serah were approaching them, and even more pleasing of a sight was the unharmed Bhunivelze afloat in the distance, proof that they'd truly triumphed and gone against the odds of time itself.

"Hey, look! The heroes are back!"

Noel smiled at the voice. He hadn't heard it much, but there was no denying a voice that distinct: Sazh. He must've vocalized this thought, for moments later Serah gave a soft noise of affirmation. Noel looked on as the airship grew closer, and he began to brace himself. His landing was slightly rough and he staggered a bit from the momentum he'd gained from the fall, but otherwise he landed safely.

"Nice catch!" shouted Noel, not really sure if Sazh could hear him. Noel supposed he could, though, as Sazh was soon greeting him warmly and welcoming him home. Noel then turned to Serah, catching her at the last minute with Mog joining them soon after.

"You're okay, now," Serah reassured the moogle. Not wanting to ruin the moment, Noel bit back the urge to ask if Mog had ever been in any real danger. Instead, he chose to pursue a more important issue: Serah's well-being. She'd been fine so far, but he was still slightly apprehensive. In correcting the timeline they had changed the future, so Serah was at risk of having visions. If she did experience visions, Noel hoped that nothing would follow, that Serah would be fine and not suffer like the Yeuls before her.

Noel was relieved to hear that Serah was still feeling fine, but his worrying did not cease. He hid his apprehension as best he could and followed Serah's gaze to the civilization on Gran Pulse below the airship. Sazh had grown quiet, he noticed; perhaps he was explaining something to Dajh. The ship had also stopped moving, though this didn't seem to bother Noel much – maybe Hope was on his way to meet them here.

"It'll be good to see everyone again," said Serah. Noel knew what it meant to Serah, to be able to see all of her friends again. If everything had gone according to plan, Hope would have successfully rescued Vanille and Fang, both whom he knew only by stories and legends. He wondered, vaguely, what had become of Snow, if Serah would be able to reunite with him. If the goddess was on their side, Snow would also have found his way to 500 AF much like Hope and Sazh had, though Noel did not know how the latter had managed to enter this era if he'd truly been one of the l'Cie with Serah and Hope.

More importantly though, Serah would be able to see her sister, which was significant not only because she loved her as much as she loved Snow but because her sudden disappearance from history was what had scarred Serah the most.

The two took in the scene before turning to the direction of Bhunivelze, and they managed a glimpse of the gate they'd passed through before it vanished completely. That was it, then. With the gates closed, it really was the end of their journey. Serah seemed to realize this as she glanced at Noel. He was caught by the combination of her eyes and her smile, something he hadn't truly had a chance to appreciate with the strain of their journey having always loomed over them. But with everything said and done he could tell that, even just by the look in her eyes, Serah was genuinely happy, if not relieved.

Noel barely had time to register that Serah was thanking him (For what, Noel thought to himself, if anything I should be thanking her) before he noticed something was amiss.

"Serah!"

The sparkle in her eyes, which he'd witnessed only moments before, was now gone. Her smile vanished, suddenly she was experiencing palpitations –

"No, not now, please!"

But Serah was not responding. Noel panicked: The moment he'd dreaded had come, and much too soon had it come indeed. He watched helplessly as her eyes flashed, and because it was the only course of action that came upon his panicked state of mind Noel violently shook her in an attempt to wake her from her vision.

"Serah! Snap out of it! No!"

And just like that, Serah collapsed without warning. Noel reached for her, hoping to keep her upright, but she only fell limp against him. Her body gave way, eyes shut, breathing silenced.

She'd succumbed to fate.

Hope tried to meet Noel and Serah the soonest his team could afford his absence, not wanting to be scolded again by Serah for being too carried away in the excitement of seeing his goals realized. He owed her so much: were it not for her constant reminders, Fang and Vanille might not have been successfully rescued.

He owed everything to her – Serah and Noel, both. Caius had been stopped from interfering with the levitation of Bhunivelze. The crystals of Vanille and Fang had been rescued and were kept intact. Everything was as they should have been, or at least Hope thought so. He trusted Serah would see everything to their end, just as she and Noel had trusted Hope in preparing for this day since their meeting in 10 AF.

Hope couldn't wait to greet them, to show Serah what he'd accomplished over the years. Sure, he hadn't yet accounted for Light or Snow, but he knew it wouldn't be long, now. Light no longer had to fight in Valhalla, if he understood everything correctly. And Snow… well, somehow Hope was sure that man wouldn't die. He only wished Snow was in a place where Serah could still reach him.

Sazh's airship remained stationed in mid-air, though from Hope's perspective it was fast approaching. Hope's eagerness got the better of him, and he jumped off before his airship had properly stopped. But something wasn't right. Noel was hunched over, and Hope could only guess he was holding Serah in his arms.

What could have happened? Perhaps Serah had landed on the wrong foot? Or maybe she had passed out from overexertion?

Mog was the first to notice his presence, but the moogle chose not to address him and instead floated away. That should have been the first sign, but instead Hope's attention was fixated on Serah. Her eyes were closed, and she did not seem to be moving.

Please just be sleeping, please just be –

"Noel?" But Hope did not need to ask any further, nor did he need Noel's slight shaking of his head to piece together what had happened. Though he tried convincing himself that Serah was only sleeping, Hope could not ignore all the signs: her lifelessness, the way Noel was cradling her, and Noel and Mog's despondence. Hope, too, felt a sudden sharpness from within his chest, an emotion he had not felt since he'd lost his mother.

"But why…?" Hope's frustration swelled. He couldn't understand what had gone wrong. Serah and Noel had arrived safely, everything had gone without complication…. There were so many things Hope hadn't had the chance to tell her or thank her for what they'd accomplished. He would never have the chance to repay her. Serah hadn't even been reunited with Light and Snow – this alone killed Hope's mood. Did Serah even get the chance to witness Bhunivelze afloat in the air? He owed her that, too; without her, without the Graviton Cores, Hope's ideas would have crashed to Gran Pulse along with the old Cocoon.

Hope vocalized these thoughts, though not to anyone in particular. But Noel answered him: His explanation was that they had changed the future, that their actions thus rippled up and down the timeline, and that the seeress was forced to see it all. Even still, Serah knew the risk, and she had altered the future knowing what it could do to her.

Hope watched as Noel held her helplessly in his arms, as he spoke of his now unfulfilled wishes of wanting to protect her. Noel was distraught, Hope could tell, as was he. Resentment, disappointment, frustration, grief. He wished he could find a tangible explanation for everything that had happened – since when had Serah been a seeress, had she been experiencing visions this entire time – but he had nothing. Fate was always cruel to him, as if every time he did something right for Cocoon, something or someone had to be taken away from him.

But something tells me we won't have any chance of saving Serah. Not like Vanille and Fang.

If Hope were still his fourteen-year-old self he might've blamed Noel for what had happened to Serah, for having not protected Serah just as Snow hadn't protected his mother. But he knew they were entirely different circumstances, because Noel had done everything in his power to protect Serah, and he had protected her. If Serah really had died because of these visions of the future, then there was nothing anyone could've done – except not change the future at all, but Serah would not have had that.

Hope could not bear the sight any longer. It hurt too much. Serah had been a huge motivation in his research: Hope remembered their meeting at the Yaschas Massif, how happy he had been to be reunited with her again. He remembered how hard it had been for him prior to that moment, when everyone he knew had disappeared one by one – by the hand of the paradoxes, as he later learned. He remembered how Serah's ideals had inspired him to continue his research in the present time, even long after she and Noel had left him behind, with the assurance that together they were working for a better future.

A future without Serah.

Hope turned away, catching a glimpse of a darkening sky before closing his eyes….

…darkening sky?

Hope straightened up once more and looked around. The sky appeared as if someone had completely blocked out the sun. Yet there was something eerie about the entire situation. Hope wished it were nothing, they didn't need anything else going wrong, but his instincts were telling him that something was about to happen.

What went wrong? Had they miscalculated somewhere through the years? Hope rarely made mistakes in his research… was there something in the timeline that had not been fixed?

Without warning Mog floated to the ground, no longer able to levitate. Hope managed to catch the moogle, who could only manage, "The goddess… she has gone, kupo," before falling limp. Hope panicked – he didn't really know much about moogles, more specifically how one could tell if a moogle was still conscious and if they even could die – but he did not have much time to act. Hope barely registered what Noel said next (Hope thought he heard him say he had killed the goddess, but he couldn't have heard him correctly, as those words didn't even make any sense) before hell broke loose:

Gran Pulse below, Bhunivelze in the sky – everything as he knew it, engulfed in a strange unidentifiable aura.

"Uh, you guys?" Both men atop the ship were roused from their thoughts as Sazh's voice boomed through the air. "What now? What the hell's going on?"

"We need to get everyone to safety," said Hope, the first of the two to recover from his daze; Sazh's second question remained unanswered for the moment. Then, turning to the airship, he added, "There are bunkers and emergency shelters on Bhunivelze, we can head there first. I'm not familiar with what the Pulsian cities have developed over the years – "

"There's no stopping the chaos," said Noel quietly. There was something about him that was bothering Hope. From their previous meetings, Hope had always seen Noel as a character of confidence and determination. He'd never seen Noel so pessimistic. (Though, Hope reminded himself, Noel was still grieving for Serah. He prayed it would not get Noel killed.)

"I know," said Hope, "but we have to do what we can."

Hoping his words would set in Noel a little, Hope continued on. "I'll take my ship back to Bhunivelze to advise the Academy on our course of action. Despite the technological advances we've achieved, I can't say we've got anything to combat – "

"Get to the point, we're wasting time." Hope smiled inwardly: Even if only a little, Noel seemed to be regaining some vigor. "Just tell us what we need to do."

"You, Noel, are coming with me," said Hope. His eyes met Noel's for a fraction of a second before Hope turned away, continuing in a louder voice: "Hey Sazh, I need another favor: Can you descend to the Pulsian city? Someone needs to inform them of the situation. If they have some sort of evacuation plan, help them evacuate."

"Roger that," came Sazh's voice. "Just tell me when you've boarded your airship so we can be on our way." Hope nodded, then belatedly remembered that Sazh could not see his physical acknowledgement. After verbalizing his actions Hope tugged on Noel's sleeve, signaling for him to follow.

"What about Serah?" Noel asked, turning to Serah's body which lay undisturbed on the ground. "We can't leave her."

"We'll take her with us," said Hope, not sparing her a glance. He was still unable to look at her. "Can you carry her?"

"Yeah, I've got her." Noel then bent over and picked her up, cradling her in his arms as he turned back to Hope. Hope offered him a weak smile before slowly walking away, with Noel close behind.

"Sazh, go!" Hope yelled once they were both safely aboard the other airship, and not even a second had passed before Sazh was off.

"He better make it okay," Noel muttered to himself, watching the airship descend into the chaos below. Hope heard him, and with his head bowed he wished Sazh all the best. He wasn't sure how he would feel if he were to lose yet another friend. He knew Sazh was strong, but then so had been Serah… and his mother.

"What about Light?" asked Hope suddenly, turning to Noel as their own ship began to make its way back to Bhunivelze. When Noel did not respond right away, Hope feared the worst.

"Caius said…" Noel began slowly, drawing in a breath; "…Caius said he defeated Lightning… in Valhalla."

Hope bit his lip; he knew where this was going, and he almost wished he hadn't asked….

"And did he?"

"I don't know. I thought he was bluffing, but after this…."

Hope frowned. Noel was hiding something from him, Hope could tell simply by looking at him. Hope supposed he would have to get it out of Noel later, especially if it were something important.

"So she's not…" started Hope, and Noel nodded curtly.

"Time doesn't pass in Valhalla. Even if we did correct the timeline, somehow I don't think she'd come back…."

"And correcting the timeline… means this?" asked Hope as he nodded at the greenish aura surrounding them. He was surprised when Noel shook his head – had the timeline not been corrected, then? – but when Hope tried to get more out of him, Noel only hung his head and said nothing more.

Hope sighed. Overcoming the collapse of Cocoon had been a challenge enough. Dealing with the aftermath would certainly be a taller order.

The airship reached Bhunivelze not long after having split ways with Sazh. The city they arrived in reminded Noel vaguely of the first Academia he'd visited with Serah (Hope did mention the city's name, though Noel hadn't paid enough attention to remember it), and while this city did without the wandering Cieth Noel wasn't sure if the chaos was any better. It was an otherwise beautiful city, really, and it held all the magnificence that Academia once had. But there was an eerie presence within the city, something that gave him an unsettling feeling, and it kept him on edge.

Hope wanted to show Noel to his home, but Noel refused the offer outright and convinced Hope that he was needed at the Academy. There was a slightly pained expression upon Hope's face after hearing these words, but he eventually gave in; as a result, Hope sent Noel off on his own, and Noel was only given a set of directions and a vague description of the building to work with.

Noel must have looked strange running around the foreign city with an unconscious girl cradled in his arms, but he didn't care. Nor did anyone else, for that matter: The citizens appeared too busy panicking. (It was that or, given the recent developments, Noel represented the norm.) Noel highly doubted that he would be able to find any peace and quiet to grieve for Serah properly, especially not after watching the people around him run amok.

He found Hope's house after what felt like an eternity, though in reality only half an hour had passed at most. It was a humble, one-story abode of simplistic design. Noel wasn't expecting such a structure, as the stone walls were in stark contrast to the more futuristic designs of the surrounding buildings; he supposed the disparity was because in the construction of Bhunivelze there was a greater focus on ensuring its levitation rather than minor, architectural details.

Noel was surprised to find no problems with opening the door, though he didn't question it too much. He left the door slightly ajar to let in whatever light remained outside, and in the dimness of the building's interior he found a bed, presumably Hope's. He lowered Serah onto it carefully, not letting go until he was sure she was properly and comfortably resting.

Even with limited lighting, the sight of Serah resting motionlessly pained Noel. He couldn't tell if she was still smiling; he vividly remembered the bright smile she had offered him before experiencing her last vision. Though he did not want to admit it, Noel was somewhat relieved that she'd passed away before the chaos had been born: to Serah, their efforts had not been in vain. The only thing that would have hurt Noel more was if Serah died knowing her best efforts had not saved the world as she'd so desired.

Saving the future, saving the world – it seemed futile, now. Noel had regrets. He should not have let Serah convince him to finish what they'd started. Maybe he would've been happy living in his dream forever? – Noel would never know, now. But was this chaos truly a better future than the lifeless era without humanity which he had to endure alone? Had he only brought about the worst for an entire population?

And Caius. Caius. Had he known all along? Had they played right into his hands? But he had warned them, he had told them what he'd done… Noel had just called it all a bluff….

And I… I killed….

He could not bring himself to say it. Noel knew he was responsible. But how else, then, could he have stopped Caius? There had been no way of knowing that stopping Caius would mean giving birth to a new evil. And now….

"Serah…."

Noel stood up. He did not want to stain Serah with his tears. He wanted them to stop, but they wouldn't. To how many people had he made the promise of keeping Serah safe? He had made that promise to her friends in New Bodhum, who may have spent their whole lives waiting for Noel and Serah to return through that gate, and though her friends were hundreds of years before the present time now it hurt Noel to know he had still let them down. He had also made that promise to Snow, wherever along the timeline that reckless guy had landed himself in. How could he even face Snow, let alone bring to him the news?

Noel was so caught up in his own emotions that he did not hear the front door opening, nor did he hear his voice being called. Noel only came to his senses when the lights in the room were turned on, nearly blinding him.

"How's she – whoa!"

Clearly, Hope had not expected Noel to turn one of his swords on him. It took Noel a second longer to name his visitor before lowering the sword.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you."

"I could tell." Hope hung his head. "How's she doing?" he asked again, and Noel gave a shrug.

"She's dead, Hope. I don't think she'll get any better. We made it here unharmed, if that's what you were asking." Noel did not mean to sound cold, but then again there were a lot of things he didn't mean. Things that happened anyway. "What's the damage outside?"

"A state of emergency was just declared," said Hope. As he passed, Hope gently placed Mog on the bed next to Serah. "We don't really know what we're facing yet, and despite the violent winds and the sudden darkness we haven't had any major problems."

"You're dealing with Valhalla," said Noel. "The unfathomable chaos contained there, it should never have entered our world."

"I know." But there was something about his face that told Noel he really didn't. "But we have no idea if we're dealing with monsters, or an epidemic, or… you get the idea. So there's no clear course of action, because there's no real safe place to hide from something that's present everywhere. But just as a precaution we're evacuating everyone to the bunkers."

"So… why are we still here?" Noel asked curiously. He turned to Hope; in his hand was a boomerang, much like the one he'd used when they first met. "Why haven't we evacuated?"

"Sazh is meeting us here. He's not very acquainted with Bhunivelze, let alone the bunkers, so I wanted a place close to port. I wanted someone to be here to meet him, in case I didn't get here soon enough."

Hope paused for a moment, as if contemplating a painful thought, before continuing, "Then, there's Serah. We likely won't have any peace to give her a proper burial, so I thought you could use the time alone, I guess. I likely won't be returning to this house, so we could even let her rest here, if you know what I mean. I know it's not much – "

"She'll appreciate the thought, I'm sure of it." Noel caught Hope's gaze as the older man turned to him. "If we get through this somehow… we'll do it properly."

Hope nodded and turned away, and Noel turned back to Serah and the resting moogle. Mog. He hadn't thought to ask, nor did he know if Hope knew, but….

"Mog's fine," said Hope, as if having read Noel's thoughts. "My guess is that he drew power from the goddess Etro, hence his severely weakened state. But he's alive, if not asleep. We might have to start carrying him around from now on."

Noel was pained upon hearing this particular revelation; only moments ago, Noel had been teasing the moogle for that ability to 'fly,' and now Mog no longer could.

"There're a lot of things right now that are making my head hurt," continued Hope. "The Academy of this era has been relatively accepting of me – and by that, I mean they were okay with letting some guy from centuries in the past direct them. They treat me like I'm some revered hero. They seemed to believe me when I explained to them what was going on, that the chaos had nothing to do with us levitating Bhunivelze. This said…."

Here Hope trailed off, and Noel didn't need to look at the man to figure out what the man wanted.

"You want to know what happened."

Hope nodded. "What did happen? Everything seemed fine. I know you changed history, but for something like this to have occurred…."

Noel sighed. This certainly was not what he and Serah had set out to do. They were correcting the timeline for the better – and Yeul had foreseen it. And maybe things would have been that way, had Caius not….

Caius.

"I never wanted to kill Caius," Noel said at last. "I wanted to stop him, but I could never kill him, not even after we defeated him in battle. Even when he targeted Serah and threatened to kill her, I still couldn't. But Caius… Caius believed that if Yeul kept coming back because of him, only to die again, then he needed to die so she wouldn't come back to die again. So he… he took my sword and…."

Noel made a stabbing motion to his chest; he could not bring himself to say it in words.

"But how does that explain what's going on now? Did his death bring about…" – here, Hope made a waving motion with his hand – "…all this?"

Noel nodded solemnly. His next sentences were swallowed by his inability to come to terms with reality. "Inside Caius… the Heart of Chaos. And Etro's…."

"Etro?" asked Hope, but Noel did not finish. "Etro's… what? Noel, what –"

But Hope was stopped there, for Sazh's voice suddenly rang through the house, his voice dripping with alarm.

"Hey! You guys in here? We've got trouble."

Chapter Posted: 05 Feb 2012
Last Edited: 07 Feb 2014

Upcoming: The Academy takes action; Hope asks a favor from Noel.