Okay, yeah. I really didn't know what genre to post this under. If anyone has better ideas, feel free to tell me. X3

Final Paradox readers - I know, I know, you miss the lyrics I posted on every chapter. I'm lazy. Apologies.

Anyway, after our mysterious prologue, this chapter does most of the explaining. Hope you like it... :3

Day One: Reunion

The next morning, the members of NORA and a few others living in their Academia apartment complex had called a meeting downstairs before breakfast. Lightning got the message via the comm pad in her room sometime early. But by then she was lying awake, and was glad for the diversion.

She pushed open the door of the small closet and examined the contents. They were the same as they had been yesterday. With a sigh, Lightning began to pull out a new outfit. There was a thin white T-shirt that probably wouldn't look all too flattering on her, and a pair of pants made of material that somewhat resembled the skirt from her military uniform. It was all she could find.

Then she spotted Caius's jacket on a chair a few feet away. Who was going to recognize that it belonged to him?

She crossed the hall and changed into her new clothes in the bathroom, and then headed downstairs.

Lightning was one of the last few to arrive, but they didn't seem to notice; everyone was too immersed in their conversations.

"Hey, Light!" a familiar voice called out just loudly enough for her to hear. "Come sit over here."

She broke into a small smile when she saw him. "Hope."

Lightning took a seat beside him and glanced around the lobby. It was a high-ceilinged room with lots of windows and chairs and sofas. Snow and Serah sat across from them, deep in conversation with some of the other members of NORA. On the opposite side of the circle of chairs, she recognized, was Sazh. And then there was a face she hadn't expected to see. Noel Kreiss, the boy who'd come to Valhalla through Etro's gate once upon a time, sat alone and listened to the others talk.

"Light?" Hope asked, nudging her slightly. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered coolly. Then she added, "You directed all these people to Academia?"

"Yeah," he said. "We found an Oracle Drive where I was working a while back. We decided that the end of the timeline wasn't something we wanted to experience. So, after a little bit of research, I found a way to get to the time bubble."

She wanted to ask him about Caius, but didn't dare mention his name around all these other people. And besides, who was to say he wasn't lurking somewhere nearby at that very moment? Lightning kept quiet about it.

"Well," she said, forcing a smile, "it's good to see you again."

Hope laughed and ran his hand through his silvery hair in response. "You too."

Eventually the conversations died down a bit. Hope stood up, intending to speak to the group, and they all turned to look at him.

"Everyone," he said, "Welcome to Academia."

There were murmurs of approval around the circle. Hope continued, "As you all know, this is what the Academy has come to call a 'time bubble'. Time doesn't pass here. Academia will stay like this forever, and as long as you're here, you will too.

"I'd like to get to the point of your rooms upstairs. You can do what you like with your designated room. There are also touch screen panels on the walls that can be used for various things, such as ordering new clothes and meals and such," he told them. "If you need anything else, just ask the Academy staff."

Thank Etro, Lightning thought. I can ask for some new clothes. She shifted against the bulk of Caius's jacket on her shoulders.

"How long will we be here?" Serah asked.

"It doesn't matter," Hope answered. "From this point, the timeline is basically frozen to us." He looked around the circle again. "Anything else?"

There was no answer, so he nodded, sitting back down. People started talking around the room once more. Lightning sat in silence with a blank stare masking her face.

Hope leaned over to her. "Hey, Light," he said. "How have you been? I'm glad you made it."

She shrugged. "All right, I guess. It was a little rough in Valhalla. I suppose you know about that already, though."

"No," he said. "What happened? Tell me."

She normally wouldn't have felt like talking about it, but for some reason she allowed herself to explain it all to Hope. For a little while, even as some were leaving, she talked to Hope about how she'd ended up in the timeless realm. When she was finished with her story he sat back and looked at her.

"Wow. I can't believe…" Then he stopped himself, laughing slightly. "Yeah, I can believe it. You were always strong. Back then."

The memories of what had happened enveloped them for a while. Lightning finally broke the silence. "Hope," she said, glancing around to make sure no one was listening, "why did you bring Caius here, anyway?"

He looked offended. "I didn't. I—I don't even know how he got here."

Lightning sighed. "He doesn't belong here. But he's pretending like he does."

"We'll just have to work around him," Hope responded, forcing a smile.

"If he steps out of line…" Lightning slapped her open palm with a fist. "I'll deal with him."

"We'll all deal with him," he amended. "But it's not likely we'll have to. Only the military has weapons, after all."

"There must be some reason…," Lightning hissed under her breath.

"Don't worry about it, Light," Hope said. "We're here for you. There shouldn't be any trouble."

"With him around—" Lightning began, but she cut herself off as she recognized his reassurance as a cue not to say any more. She glanced up suddenly and saw Snow leaving the room and Serah standing. She had to talk to her sister. "I have to go. I'll see you later, Hope," Lightning said, trying to manage a small smile in his direction.

"O-okay," Hope agreed. He looked confused. Still, she quickly stood and walked across the room.

"Serah," Lightning said softly as she approached her sister. Serah turned and looked at her with wide eyes, as if Lightning had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Lightning?" she asked.

"You're here," Lightning answered, and embraced her suddenly. "Thank the goddess."

There were no words between them for a few moments. Then they broke apart. "Where have you been?" Serah asked.

"Valhalla," Lightning sighed, "It's a long story. You've heard what you needed to."

"Yeah," Serah agreed. "I'm just glad you're back."

"What happened? While I was gone, I mean?"

"Nothing, really," Serah told her. "We were all too preoccupied looking for you."

Lightning laughed sarcastically. "I guess I should be flattered."

"The only thing is," Serah continued, "On the way here I lost my engagement necklace. When I stepped into the gate it was there, and when I came out it was gone."

Lightning stared at her, unsure of what to say.

"I'm just kind of…confused about what to tell everyone," Serah went on. "I don't want them to get the wrong idea."

"Does Snow know about this?" Lightning pressed.

"Yeah, he lost his necklace too."

"Just don't tell them anything. If they ask, then you can explain."

"I guess so," Serah agreed.

Lightning took a deep breath, shrugging off her serious demeanor, and teased, "Don't be using that as an excuse to date Noel."

Serah's face went red. "Oh, Lightning, you know I wouldn't—" she began, flustered.

"I'm just kidding, Serah," Lightning said. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

When she looked over at Hope's chair again, it was empty. He must have already left. Lightning followed Serah into the kitchen area across the hall and took her seat at the table where everyone else sat. A few people were already eating, but most were just entering the room and had no food in front of them. She felt hunger stirring inside her as she watched.

The long table filled up fast, but there were still a few seats left empty. Lightning scanned the faces she knew. Everyone who had been there during Hope's announcement was present now.

Which meant: Caius was AWOL.

Lightning felt relief wash over her at the realization. She wasn't going to have to deal with him this morning—and he wouldn't see that she was wearing his jacket.

Soon enough, some of the staff was bringing them breakfast, setting it on the table in front of her. Lightning felt like she hadn't eaten in years. She concentrated on eating as the others talked around her.

Finally Hope turned to her. "It's weird, isn't it?" he teased. "Being around people after so long?"

"Actually, it is." She pushed food around her plate with her fork. "Every time someone comes around the corner I think it's someone I should kill."

He paused. "You mean Caius."

Lightning sighed. Then she said, "I don't know how much more I can take."

"I'm here for you, Light," Hope told her.

"Thank you," Lightning murmured in response.

Soon she was tuning in to the others' conversation. "So, Serah," Lebreau said curiously, "why'd you stop wearing your engagement necklace?"

"Oh," Serah gasped quietly. She put a hand to her chest as if the necklace was still there. Lightning cringed. She didn't think the absence of her sister's necklace would be so obvious. "I lost it." She looked down as she spoke, avoiding Lebreau's gaze.

"Really?" Lebreau raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. When I stepped through the rift to get here…" She blinked hard, as though the movement was painful. "It was there. But then in my first minutes in Academia, I realized it was gone. I think it might be a paradox."

Hope looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself.

"That's a pretty good cover," Lebreau whispered across the table to Serah. "Let's hear the real story…"

"Lebreau, cut it out," Lightning found herself saying sharply. "She's telling the truth."

Lebreau stared at Lightning as though she was the one who'd just stepped out of a rift. Then she shrugged. "Fine. Whatever," she said, dropping the subject.

Lightning stared down at her plate. It felt like no one had remembered her since she'd been gone so long, like she had just stopped existing while she fought in Valhalla. Sensing the anger building up inside her, Lightning pushed her chair back and stood up, causing several people to turn and look at her.

"See you later," she told them curtly, and left the kitchen.

Though she was reluctant, she reconvened with the others at lunch. Hope had practically begged her to come back over comm messages, and she'd finally agreed.

But this instance didn't seem to be much different from the last. Hardly anyone spoke to her, aside from Hope, who went out of his way to make sure he at least wasn't ignoring her.

And then she was just about to raise her fork to her mouth when she heard a familiar voice behind the door. A familiar voice belonging to someone she had really hoped she wouldn't run into today. The door slid open, and across the room she could see the shadowy figure of—

"Damn," Lightning muttered, setting her fork down a little too quickly. Hope looked over at her.

"You alright?" he asked quietly.

"Gotta go," she replied, and dashed out of the dining room.

Lightning barricaded herself in her room after that. Hope sent a message to her comm pad asking if everything was okay, but she didn't answer it. She stared at Caius's jacket sitting on her chair. Would he be so inconsiderate as to ask about it at lunch? Then again, why was he there in the first place? Lightning shook her head. Being in the time bubble was supposed to be less stressful than Valhalla, and yet here she was, agonizing over running into her eternal opponent.

But she had to give him his jacket back, didn't she?

The thought plagued her to no end.

That night Lightning finally decided to return what had been borrowed. She still wasn't sure why Caius had given her his jacket, considering she could have just walked back into her room if she was worried about the cold. But she had to give it back either way, so she headed up the stairs to his floor.

She knocked on the door to his room a few times, and not long after, he opened it. Lightning couldn't help but notice his new attire was more like Snow's, a black long-sleeved shirt and gray pants tucked into boots. Not sure whether to let herself look at him, she decided to get it over with and do what she'd come here to do.

She licked her lips and began, "I brought—"

He shook his head. "Come in."

Lightning began to reply, but he turned his back on her and walked deeper into the room.

"Shut the door, will you?" he asked.

"What—" was all she could come up with as an answer.

"So you brought it?"

"Yes." Lightning extended his jacket out to him with one hand, still hovering near the door. "Th—thank you."

"It was nothing." He took it from her and draped it over a chair. "I must request your assistance."

"Oh?" Lightning stared at him suspiciously. Since when did he so blatantly ask for help? Or, more importantly, ask her for help?

"I did not mean to stay in this time bubble. It is…breaking the rules." He slowly began to pace back and forth across the room.

"What rules?"

"The rules of becoming a Guardian. I shouldn't have left Yeul." He closed his eyes and inhaled. "Lightning. Will you help me leave this time bubble?"

"I don't know if I can do that," she responded.

He whipped around to look at her. She wondered vaguely why her refusal surprised him so much. He should have expected it. "And why do you say that?" he spat.

"You're trapped, Caius. You can't leave the time bubble." Lightning met his gaze steadily. "What were you thinking when you came here? That you could just, what, visit us at will? Or maybe kill us from inside and create a paradox?"

"No." His eyes were cast down. "I—" He broke off with a sigh of exasperation.

"What?" Lightning prodded.

"I thought I could take her with me." Caius's voice was so quiet she almost didn't hear him. "I thought it would save her."

"Yeul?"

"Yes."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Caius Ballad," Lightning said, raising an eyebrow, "but you've definitely broken the rules. You abandoned her."

The comment did exactly what it was supposed to. Caius's gaze snapped up, his eyes locked with hers, and he glared at her for a moment. Then Lightning turned around and pushed the door open. "Good luck," she began.

Then Caius was next to her, slamming the door closed again, his hand on her wrist to make sure she didn't try to make a sudden escape. An unforeseen consequence of her accusation. Still, she quickly composed a plan for getting away on short notice.

"You must help me." He tried to hide the pleading tone in his voice with a demanding one, but it was still there.

"Why?" Lightning shot back. "Because I'm the only one you can talk to around here? Well, that's going to change pretty soon if you're not careful."

She glanced pointedly down at his hand clasped around her wrist. With a resigned look, Caius withdrew his hand and took a step back.

"I cannot just stay here," he informed her. "I—"

"Fine." Lightning cut him off. "I'll think about it."

Before he could say anything else to her, she had opened the door, slipped out into the hall, and closed the door again.