At the top of the stairs, Lightning was greeted by two guards; one on either side of the hut's only door. She almost thought they would deny her entrance just as a final laugh from the cosmos, but they nodded and allowed her and her companions to pass without issue. The guard on the right pulled the decorative curtain aside courteously and Lightning stepped through the doorway to find herself in what looked to be a waiting room. There were colorful cushions in lines on either side of the room and in the middle was a plush rug that stopped just before another door which Lightning assumed led to the seeress' private chambers.

Just as she was contemplating whether or not she was meant to proceed to the next room herself, the guard from before brushed passed her and stopped before the door. He gave the wood a crisp rap and then grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

Lightning awarded the guard the courtesy of a nod and proceeded into the next room, her companions on her heels. She'd been afraid for a moment that they'd be asked to wait some ungodly amount of time for the seeress to collect her foreteller mojo or whatever, but it seemed the waiting room was in fact just a normal waiting room.

The person waiting on the other side of the door was not at all what Lightning expected. Rather than a wrinkled old shaman, the face that greeted her was that of a teenager who looked to be about Hope's age. She had long, immaculately combed silver hair and she wore an elegant golden headdress that resembled a wreath. Her face was young but her expression was composed and her gaze steady. She nodded to each of them in turn as they were ushered by the guard to their seats; two rows of cushions beginning on either side of the room that angled inward to form a V. Lightning took a seat on the leftmost cushion and her companions followed suit until all the cushions had an occupant. Hope took the seat beside hers and she noted with come curiosity that his eyes were fixed on Yeul's face. He looked like he was thinking hard about something. When they were all seated, Noel stepped around them and took his own seat at Yeul's side.

Lightning heard the door click shut behind them and Yeul's expression became a hint more relaxed. "Welcome," the seeress bade in a soft voice. She touched her fingertips to the floor and bowed low, exposing the back of her neck. She held the position for a few seconds before righting herself. "You overcame undue adversity to meet with me today and for that you have my sincerest gratitude." She lifted a hand to her chest. "I am Yeul. It is for my sake that this village was established and it for my safety that the people here treat outsiders with wariness and suspicion. I apologize for the actions of my followers."

Lightning wasn't surprised when Snow chose to speak up, taking it upon himself to be the first to get the ball rolling in airing their grievances. "Your apology is appreciated," he said sincerely. "But I gotta ask. If you don't want your followers kidnapping people, then why don't you tell them to stop? Surely they'd listen to you."

Yeul didn't look offended. She merely shook her head and said, "Yes, they would. And that is precisely why I may not. As the seeress, I can guide them, but I cannot do anything that could be construed as meddling. The fate of the people who live here is in their own hands and any decisions I make as leader must be reached without the perceived benefit of foresight."

Lightning raised a brow. "So, what you're saying is, you don't want anyone to think you're using your power to steer their fates? But if you can't use your visions to help people, then what's the point of having a seeress?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Lightning wanted to smack herself. So much for tact.

Well, diplomacy never had been her strong suit.

Yeul turned her face to look at her with that same, steady gaze. Her expression didn't change. "You misunderstand. The reason I may not meddle is because my prophecies cannot be changed. My visions will come to pass regardless of any action taken to prevent them."

At the group's collective look of confusion, Noel took it upon himself to explain. "It's like this," he said. "Imagine if Yeul were to predict something really bad. For instance, she saw the village being wiped out by a virus. No matter what she did, the village would succumb to the virus because that's its fate. But the people won't want to just accept a fate like that, right? That's why if Yeul were to do something to try to prevent it…"

"It would give the people false hope," Hope finished for him. Lightning looked over and saw that his eyes were still fixed on Yeul. There was a shimmer of clarity in his gaze that told her his mind had just finished working out some problem. His hands were clenched tightly over his thighs.

"Bingo," Noel said, pointing at him. "And that applies to every decision she makes. That's why she has to remain impartial. The people have to believe that any fate that befalls them, good or bad, is brought about by their own hands, otherwise they'll give up all agency and Yeul will be crushed under the burden of their expectations."

Sazh was the next to speak. "I see. That's pretty rough."

Yeul smiled slightly. It was the first glimmer of personality she'd shown since they entered and Lightning was glad for it. It was unsettling talking to a person who acted like a robot.

"It is what it is," she spoke in that same soft voice. "But there is another matter which you have come to discuss with me. That of the soldiers who were stolen from their camp by our warriors. You wish to free them. I wish for their release as well. And, in return, I hope that you'll grant my request."

Sazh spoke again. "Aha. So, that's the plan. You're going to use our men as a bartering piece."

Yeul shook her head. "No. You may refuse if you wish and your soldiers will still be free to go. I merely ask that you consider what I have to say."

Snow scratched the back of his head and looked briefly at Rygdea before saying, "Well, if you put it like that, I guess there's no reason not to hear you out."

Yeul smiled again gratefully. "Thank you. The truth is, you six are the only Cocoon dwellers who know the way to this village. Your comrades were all put to sleep for the transfer. I ask that you keep this information to yourselves and also that you talk to your commander and ask him to consider pulling his forces from the massif." She looked at Rygdea as she said this as if she somehow knew that he was the highest-ranking officer among them. "One day, I hope my people will be open to the idea of collaborating with your settlements, but I'm afraid that day is not today."

Rygdea seemed to ponder this for a moment. He was probably considering how to propose such a thing to the general. Lightning didn't doubt that Caragan would be open to Yeul's request but keeping the situation hush-hush was going to be a challenge no matter how they went about it. After a minute, he said, "I'll talk seriously about it with my commanding officer. It'll be difficult explainin' to the men why we're abandonin' a project we've pumped so much money and resources into, but as far as I'm concerned it's a small price to pay for the safety of both our peoples. Not t'mention, I think everyone'll just feel relieved to have the missing team back."

Noel issued a not so subtle sigh of relief and grinned. "Great. That's all we wanted to hear." He made a show of smacking his right fist into his lift palm and twisting it back and forth. "Man, I wish I could rub in Kurlic's smug face how painless that was. I keep telling him all these tired, old traditions are just dragging us down."

Sazh chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's easy for the young to think progressively, but us old folks have a bad habit of falling back on what's familiar. It's not always a simple thing for us to change our minds."

Lightning saw Snow grin and she could tell that he was about to chime in with a jab at Sazh's age but he didn't get the chance because Hope chose that moment to speak up. "But in Noel's case, it's less a clash of generations and more a clash of eras, am I right?" His eyes were narrowed and calculating as they watched Noel's face. "Since you weren't actually born in this time period."

As one, the room's eyes turned to him. Rygdea's eyebrows shot up and Sazh and Snow looked at him, baffled. "Wait, hold the phone," Snow said, raising a hand palm-outward. "What?"

Lightning frowned at Hope who still had his eyes fixed on Noel, awaiting the tall brunette's response to his statement.

Noel crossed his arms and looked back at Hope with an expression that said he was impressed. "You figured it out, did you? I should've guessed you would."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Snow spoke again, leaning out over the floor in Hope's direction. He looked back and forth between him and Noel as if he were adding one and one and getting three. For once, Lightning identified. "Somebody explain."

Noel shared a look with Yeul and the seeress nodded. He then turned back to them and said, "It's true. I wasn't born in this time. Actually, the time I'm from doesn't exist anymore." He looked around at each of them and Lightning raised a brow when his gaze landed on her. "It's a long story that isn't really relevant to today's conversation so I'll spare you the details. Suffice to say that I'm here now under somewhat special circumstances to serve as Yeul's guardian."

Snow frowned and his gaze travelled back to Hope. He crossed his arms. "And just how exactly how did you put that together?"

Hope glanced at him. "You must've noticed it too, right? How Noel kept talking like he knew us." He looked back at Noel and his green eyes were sure. "He was willing to bank on Lightning without ever seeing her fight and he told us himself that he saw the future with his own eyes. His disdain for tradition and his familiarity with Cocoon's AMP technology tell the rest."

Noel smirked. "As astute as ever." He crossed his legs and rested his elbows atop his knees. "Has anyone ever told you that being a know-it-all isn't considered a desirable trait in kids?"

Hope didn't bat an eyelid. "You learn to take the bad with the good."

Noel's eyebrows shot up and he looked like he wanted to clap back to Hope's superbly delivered retort but Snow wasn't finished. He looked back at Noel and said, "So, you really do know us? Does that mean you were born into a Cocoonian settlement?"

Noel shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you more than I have already. There's a chance you'll remember everything for yourselves somewhere down the line, but I'm not allowed to aid in that. It's one of the terms of my being here."

Lightning decided to speak then. She was already confused enough without Noel giving her even more to question. "How can we remember something that hasn't happened yet?"

This time, it was Yeul who answered. "You can remember because the future Noel speaks of is one you have lived already. In this timeline, the future has become the past. The present you live in now is a paradox."

Sazh lifted his hands helplessly. "A paradox? You lost me."

Yeul looked around at each of them. "It is a final farewell to a world that could not be saved. A chance to experience the life that Etro once gifted you. You can think of it as a reward long overdue."

If Yeul was hoping her explanation would clear things up, she was very much mistaken. Looking at the faces of her companions, Lightning could see that she wasn't alone in thinking this. The only person who looked as if he somewhat followed what Noel and Yeul were saying was Hope.

Noel seemed to realize this because he said, "You don't have to understand. In fact, you were never meant to even know this much."

Sazh grunted and scratched at his afro. "Well, that's a relief. I don't think I could understand even if you explained it a hundred times. Are you saying that we all travelled back in time?"

Yeul nodded. When she spoke again, her tone was almost lofty, as if she were reciting holy rites. "As the souls of humanity are ferried to a new world, the dead goddess gathers the scattered remnants of her powers to keep a millennium old promise. It is Her last gift to Them, her most precious children, and a final chance for Two whose regrets could not be eased."

Lightning saw Snow lift a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Them…refers to us, I assume?"

Yeul inclined her head, confirming his assumption. "It was Etro who released you from your crystal slumber. She wished to reward you for freeing humanity from the fal'Cies' plot."

Snow crossed his arms and seemed to consider this. "And the two with regrets are…Fang and Vanille?"

"No."

Everyone turned to look at Hope. His hands were once again clenched above his thighs and he was looking at Yeul. "The goddess' gift will expire. But not for many years. Go and make sure to take care of any regrets," he recited and Lightning remembered the words from the evening after his fall. They'd been the words spoken to him by the girl in his dream. "That's what you said to me two days ago."

Yeul regarded Hope with her steady green gaze, just a few shades off from his own. She was silent for a moment in which everyone waited with bated breath, then she said, "The one who spoke to you was not me. That was another Yeul. One who watches from the Chaos." She looked again at Noel and a wordless message was passed between them. Then she looked back at Hope and said, "However, her words are fact. You are one of the Two. The leader of humanity plucked from his people by a shining god. And the other…" She paused to lift her hand and Lightning couldn't have been more surprised when the pale, slender digit pointed at her. "Is you."

Lightning furrowed her eyebrows and shared a look with Hope before looking back at Yeul. "Me?"

Yeul nodded. "God's Savior; the soldier tasked with easing the regrets of the living so that their souls could be led to the new world. That was your role and you performed it admirably. Even now, the fruits of your hard labor can be seen in the smiles of the strangers you pass on the streets." She closed her eyes and raised her left hand to the area over her heart. "However, in looking after the needs of the people around you, you neglected to look after your own. You still have a regret that binds you to this world and you must take this chance to resolve it lest it follow you into the next."

Lightning regarded the young seeress without reaction. Truth be told, she hadn't the slightest idea how she was supposed to respond to being told something like that. She would love nothing more than to chalk Yeul's story up as the ravings of a loopy religious nut who believed drinking gremlin blood gave her psychic powers, but something deep inside her resonated with the word savior. There was a shadow of a memory attached to that word; a jumble of half-formed emotions that echoed the strong feeling she'd had during her fight with Kurlic. And then there was Noel's confirmation of Hope's outrageous claim about him being from another time. Even if Noel and Yeul had concocted such a story beforehand, there was no way they could've convinced Hope to be a part of it.

And she had to admit that it did explain a few things. Such as why she felt so disconnected from the fight with Orphan and why it seemed like all of them had changed so much in such a short amount of time. Particularly Hope. If what Yeul said about them going back in time was true, then it would explain why he talked and acted like an adult. It was certainly a convenient explanation.

But was that really possible? Time travel? If so, then why couldn't they remember anything? And just what was this regret she supposedly had? How was she meant to resolve it when she had no idea what it was?

"I apologize," Yeul spoke again before any of these questions could be voiced. "We have said too much already. It was never my intention to reveal any of this to you." She looked back at Hope then. "However, if you have already put this much of the truth together, then perhaps it was an exercise in futility to think having you pick up your old lives afresh would be as simple as wiping your memories and sending your souls back in time. I believed some memories would return, but I never anticipated that it would happen so quickly."

"Wait just a minute," Sazh said, drawing the room's attention to him. "If this is supposed to be some sort of reward like you say, then what about Fang and Vanille? Why do they have to stay as crystal while we walk free as chocobos?"

This time, Noel was the one to answer, and Lightning couldn't have been less prepared for what he had to say. "They're not."

Sazh's face screwed up in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Noel's smirk returned. "Your friends are free. They woke up back in Oerba at the same time you did. The reason you haven't met them yet is because they left on a quest to find out if any other Pulsian civilizations managed to survive. I imagine they're halfway around the world by now."

Sazh's shoulders dropped in astonishment and Lightning mirrored the sentiment. So, Fang and Vanille were awake. They weren't trapped in the pillar. Would the shocking news ever stop?

Snow, who had been sitting cross-legged up until that point, unfolded his legs and brought his knees in toward his chest to lay his forearms atop them. "Alright. Say I believe everything you've just told me," he started. "So, basically, we're just supposed to live out our lives as normal until…what? The world ends and our souls are taken to this 'new world'?"

Noel nodded. "Until Etro's gift expires, yes. Could be years, could be decades. Could even be centuries. To be honest, nobody really knows."

Lightning shot a look at Hope and quirked a brow. "Then I guess we'd better find out what these regrets of ours are quickly, huh? We might only have a few years."

Hope's lips curved into a small half-smile. "Better a few years than centuries. Any idea what yours is?"

Lightning shook her head. "Not a clue. You?"

Hope hesitated a moment before answering. His eyes stayed on hers and the green was as bright as ever when he finally said, "I might have an idea."

Lightning once again found herself having to avert her gaze under the weight of that unfathomable challenge. She really wished he would stop looking at her like that. The more he wore that expression, the clearer it became to her that such a look didn't belong on a boy his age.

Luckily, Snow drew the room's, and also Hope's, attention away from her by saying, "That's possibly the most ominous thing you've ever said. Don't tell me you actually remember something."

Hope shook his head. "No. I've just got a feeling."

"Well," Noel spoke again. "Even if you don't know for sure, all you have to do is live in the way that makes you the most happy, right?" He looked around the room and nodded. "That goes for all of you. If there's something you've always wanted to do, do it. If you've got a dream, seize it. There aren't any higher powers left to meddle in your fates anymore, so you're free to live in any way you want."

Lightning took a moment to consider this. Any way she wants, huh. It's not like she needed some celebrated mystic to tell her that. Her fate was her own. That was how she'd always lived and she didn't plan to change now. But Noel's words did give her some food for thought. It was only now that she was realizing that ever since the Fall she'd begun taking somewhat of a passive role in her own life. That was where all her present concerns stemmed from, wasn't it? Somewhere along the way, she'd become content to watch the lives of others—her sister, Sazh, Snow, Dajh, Hope—unfold around her while she simply scraped by continuing to do what she knew. She wasn't unhappy, certainly, but she wasn't really happy either. Perhaps it was time she did a little soul searching to finally hammer down what it was she really wanted from her life.

"In any case," Noel continued. "The first step is getting those soldiers of yours home safe and sound. Now that we can safely tell the village that peace has been negotiated and we're not in danger of being discovered, there's no more reason to keep them. I'll mobilize our magic users to get them sent back to their outpost, so all you've gotta do is have that talk with your commander."

"Ah, speaking of magic," Snow cut in, setting his fist in his palm. "I've been meaning to ask: These magic users of yours…are they l'Cie? Kurlic said something about 'the goddess' gift'."

His question caused Noel to take pause. "Right. I forgot that that would be strange for you. No, there are no l'Cie here. The magic used by our tribe is a power that developed naturally over the past few centuries. Originally, there was only one person capable of using magic in this village and that was Yeul's former guardian—a man named Caius. He was a l'Cie. But Gran Pulse is a land overflowing with magic and over time that magic began to manifest in humans as well. I imagine that even your people will begin to see magic users cropping up within the next few years."

Lightning let out a breath of relief. So, it wasn't just them. It was going to be much easier to make the people accept her and Hope's powers if more people started to be able to use magic as well. They would just have to keep it on the down-low until then.

"Well, then. Just one more thing," Rygdea spoke up. He looked at Yeul and nodded. "I know y'said that the people here ain't ready to collaborate with us just yet, but I was wonderin' if maybe it'd be okay to keep a road of communication open. Just on a small scale. I feel like there's a lot we could learn from each other."

Yeul seemed to consider this. After a moment, she said, "I cannot allow your soldiers to come to this village. But perhaps there is a way that I can grant your request. The six of you know of this village and the people here know your faces. We may be able to allow small, occasional meetings…perhaps within the Paddra ruins. It would serve to ease the people into the idea of working together with your settlements."

Rygdea's face brightened. "Cooperation's gotta start somewhere. If that's okay with you, then I'm happy to accommodate you."

Yeul nodded. She looked at Noel then and another wordless message seemed to pass between them. Noel smiled and looked back at Rygdea. "In that case, I'll be happy to act as a go-between to help you arrange meetings. I'm familiar with your society and I'm confident that I can come and go without raising suspicion. Think of me as an ambassador of sorts."

Rygdea nodded. "I'm countin' on you, then."

With that final matter wrapped up, the meeting was finally able to come to a close. Lightning was glad for it because she wasn't certain how many more startling revelations she'd have been able to handle. Just the fact that she was apparently reliving a life she'd lived once before was a hard enough pill to swallow without adding gods and regrets and all of humanity supposedly moving to a new world into the mix. She had plenty to come to terms with already.

A future she couldn't remember. The savior.

The savior.

Her eyes found Hope. He was already standing, making to leave with the others. Yeul had called him the leader of humanity. Plucked from his people by a shining god. The same god, by the sounds of things, who was responsible for tasking her with her role. If everything they'd heard was true, just how far back in time had they traveled? Just what kind of future had they come from?

A world that could not be saved.

Lightning shook her head and stood. She needed time to wrap her head around this—time put her thoughts together; to decide how much of it she believed. She would figure out where to go from there.

oO0Oo

The truth comes out. Two chapters left.