Hello again! Did you miss me? …of course you did. Well, here's the second installment of The Final Fragment. Please tell me what you think!

Chapter 1

…no matter what, we should never give up on hope…it's okay; I don't mind if I'm gone…remember me, and we'll see each other again. – Serah

There is war in the afterlife.

Well, okay, maybe not a war exactly, but some conflict. Yes, definitely a conflict.

So let's try this again…

There is conflict in the afterlife. Quite a bit of conflict.

"No! I've said this before, and that answer still stands! You can't come in here!"

That's the guy who guards the door to the afterlife, which is situated somewhere in the Void Beyond. They call him the Keeper of the Gate. Never heard of him? Not many have – unless they're dead, of course.

Right now, the Keeper of the Gate is frantic, and for good reason, too. Never before had a higher-power being come to these gates for the soul reason (no pun intended) of they being dead, and now that it is happening, Mr. Keeper has no idea how to handle it. Etro is at the door to the afterlife, and he is not about to let her in.

Meanwhile, there is someone else waiting at the gate, being held up by all this celestial traffic. Let's give her some attention.

Serah really has no idea how long she's been here. It seems like it's been here for an eternity, and as time practically has no meaning here, nor any correlation with the natural flow of time, she may well have been.

Sitting here, watching the commotion at the gate ahead, Serah wonders what's going on. She remembers dying; she remembers accepting her fate, settling it with Lightning…her sister. What is she doing now? Serah shakes those thoughts from her head; what's the point? It will do no good to think about such things, it's all out of her hands now – she is gone from that world. The world she loved, where she had so many hopes…so many dreams…plans…it is out of her reach now…

Stop it! She tells herself. Stop thinking like that! She curls up where she is sitting, resting her head against her knees, and gazes at the gate ahead of her, wondering when she will finally be able to go in, to rest. Serah sighs. Who knew that even after death, one could still be sad and tired?

She returns her attention and her thoughts back to the gate, where its Keeper is still being incredibly stubborn. When the Yuels brought her here, they never said anything about there being waiting time, or rules to go in. They only said that she would have to stay here, in the afterlife within the Void Beyond until time ended. Then at the end of time, there would be no more purpose for Serah or any of the Yuels; they would truly die - their spirits and consciousness becoming non-existent, not to be found in the Void Beyond, in the world left behind, or in any other place of being.

Serah knew the danger of becoming like Yuel; she knew that she would die before her time - that during her journey the time for her departure had been coming ever closer. But becoming non-existent, just because seeing the future was a skill that was no longer needed? Now, that she didn't sign up for. Nor is she about to. But what can she do? If a gift is given by the goddess of death, then death is bound to come with it. Speaking of which…

"I'm sorry, but this place is for mortals, ones who have death as a natural occurrence. I cannot let a goddess in here! You can't be here!" the Keeper of the Gate insists. Other departed, along with a couple of annoyed Yuels, are crowding at the other side of the Gate. The commotion is probably enough to wake a sleeping giant.

Etro sighs, brushing back the tendrils of her long blue-white hair – it feels strange to her, being in human form. This wasn't supposed to happen – she wasn't supposed to die, and have time die with her, plunging the world into a chaotic Valhalla. She's tried to just accept her fate - as many of the lower humans have learned to do – just accept it, and reap the consequences of her failure. Unfortunately, she isn't able to, and for obvious reasons. The Keeper of the Gate, guardian of the door to the afterlife in the Void Beyond, is not going to let a goddess into the realm of the departed mortals.

In light of this, Etro knows that even though she was no longer in the world she left behind, she must do something. The Maker, when he left, had given her stewardship of this world. She was supposed to guard it, give strength to her chosen (Serah, Yuel, Lightning), keep time and order in the realm. As she now cannot simply accept the death she brought upon herself and her beloved realm, she has to do something to fix it, even if it isn't directly. It is time for plan B.

Perhaps not being let it into the afterlife is not so unfortunate after all.

Etro turns away from the gate, and, looking behind her, she sees another familiar face. It is Serah, the one who took up Etro's blessing – and her curse – to save her sister, and is now experiencing the curse.

Etro senses something different about her; unlike the Yuels – except for one – Serah has something tying her to the living world. Someone – Lightning, perhaps? – is keeping her memory, not allowing it to die. Etro realizes something; Serah's time to leave the world has not yet come. With the world in turmoil, there is still more work to be done, and Serah is one who can do it.

Etro turns, leaving a frazzled gate keeper behind her, and comes to where Serah is sitting. Serah, in the mean time, is also thinking about her own failure. This wasn't supposed to happen, she thinks sadly. Noel and I, we were supposed to save the world, and get Lightning back. It's all our fault – my fault. We killed Etro, and played right into Caius's hands. It's our fault – we failed. And now Etro's here, where a goddess should never be. Is she angry with us? She must be – .

Her thoughts are abruptly stopped when Etro kneels down in front of Serah at her eye level. Serah, startled, looks up, watching the goddess with a confused look on her face.

"Do you know who I am?" Etro asks Serah. An introduction seems to be a good place to start.

"You…you're Etro, the goddess. You had my sister fight for you." Serah replies, wondering why Etro is talking to her, especially after all that has happened.

"Correct. She has served me well, as have you." Humans tend to respond well to praise, Etro has learned. "And now it is time for you to do so again. Chaos may have triumphed for now, but this war is not over."

Now Serah is really confused. Why would Etro come ask for her help, right after she and Noel failed? And what does she mean "this war is not over"? Without Etro in the world, there was no way to bring things to rights…was there?

Etro sees the confusion on Serah's face, so she continues with an explanation. "Killing Caius did lead to death, by no one's fault but my own. I should have known better than to give my connection to the world to the guardianship of someone so bent on destroying time, and making myself so vulnerable. He knew this and cornered you, giving you no choice. You and Noel are not to blame – this is my doing." Etro pauses to see Serah's reaction, to see if she understands.

Serah lowers her eyes, thinking about what was said. Then, lifting her eyes, she slightly nods. "So…now what?" She asks timidly. "You said we could do something, right?"

Etro nods and continues. "Yes. As I said, the war is not over. You see, the heart that Caius guarded is not my only tie to that world. There is another – a crystal shard. This shard is a fragment of my throne, which resides in Valhalla. Do you know of what I speak?"

"Yes, your throne in Valhalla. I saw it when I saw Lightning. It's on top of the tower."

"That is right. That shard, as I said, belongs to my throne. It was broken off long ago, and hidden as a tie to that world should my major tie – the heart that Caius guarded – be destroyed. If that piece were to be found and restored to its rightful place, then my ties to that world would be restored."

"So, where is the shard?" Serah asks when Etro pauses.

Etro sighs. "That's the trouble. The fragment has long been misplaced. It is somewhere in Valhalla, and that place could be anywhere. But Serah," – the Serah makes eye contact with her – "I believe you can find it. Your purpose in that world is not yet over. This final fragment – our final hope – must be found at all costs. It is our last chance to restore the world. Are you up to the task?"

Up to the task? Serah thinks. Of course! I can't believe this! I'll get to go back to my world, see Lightning, see Noel and Snow. And I still be able to save the world. I won't fail this time!

"Yes," Serah says, nodding and with renewed purpose in her eyes – which is ironic for a dead spirit. She and Etro both stand to their feet. "Yes, I'll find it!"

And so it begins.