"It's only after you've lost everything, that you're free to do anything."

—Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Forget saving the future and reuniting with lost loved ones—all Ashe wanted to do right now was give Hope the slap he so very much deserved. Those who sought the aid of the gods were hardly ever in their right mind. The first face that came to mind was Snow's; after all, he admitted to accepting Etro's aid in his task. To becoming a l'Cie again for a still unknown reason. His heart was in the right place, but he would always be a fool. She expected that sort of behavior from him, but not Hope.

While she could understand his desire to save Cocoon, and Fang and Vanille, Ashe couldn't help but wonder: just what was Hope thinking?

A fal'Cie… He built an entire fal'Cie to save his friends, and instead he met his end at the hands of his own creation. It was tragic irony at its best, but now was not the time to question Hope's sanity. No—right now there were more… important things to focus on.

Ashe raised her hand and sent another flurry of thunder spells at the fal'Cie, but each bounced off just as easily as the rest of their attacks. She was already exhausted; each spell drained her of magickal energy, and her arms ached with every swing of her sword. A bead of sweat trickled down her brow, and she wiped it away with a trembling hand.

Lightning had once told her of the time she fought the fal'Cie Anima, felling the godly machine in a manner of minutes. This fal'Cie was not even a real one. It was merely a copycat of Anima… a sentient machine. And yet no matter how much damage they dealt, Adam kept coming back, even stronger than the last incarnate.

Again she wondered: what in all of Ivalice was Hope thinking?

Noel and Serah were not faring any better. Maybe the fake Caius had been right—this tower was going to be their tomb.

"As long as the crossroads between past and future exist, you cannot defeat the Proto fal'Cie, kupo!" Mog cried, falling into Serah's arms.

The fal'Cie vanished after Ashe finally landed a scathe spell—but then, to no surprise, the machine appeared once more.

"Not again…" Serah groaned.

"This is Hope's fault," Noel growled, raising his dual blades. "He was the one who started building these things! The Proto fal'Cie and AI both… If we don't stop this thing from regenerating, we're never going to get out of here!"

Ashe whispered a cure spell to soothe the sores on his hands. Her fingers grazed his, and she lifted her eyes once his skin stitched itself back together.

"What can we do?" she asked.

"I… I really don't know. Part of me wishes Yeul could've… told us how to beat this thing," Noel panted, resting against Ashe's shoulder for a moment. "Or maybe the real Caius could've helped…"

"Wishful thinking?"

He nodded, grinning at her. "Wishful thinking."

All the while, Serah seemed to be cooking up a plan of her own.

"The machine must be manipulating the past… but then, there's no reason we can't, either! Please, I hope you're watching this!"

Both Ashe and Noel turned, just as Mog reverted to his sword form and fell into her welcoming hands.

"Hope! Can you hear me? I've got a bone to pick with you! These machines you built are driving me nuts!"

Without any warning, Serah made a mad dash straight for the fal'Cie, sword raised above her head as she screamed in anger. Then, seconds before the blade could connect—the fal'Cie vanished from sight. Serah gave a sigh of relief, but her boots slipped against the cold metal of the platform, and as she turned to face the other two, Serah lost her footing. Noel dashed for her without a second thought, snatching her hand and pulling her back up.

Then the lights went out with a loud crack. Ashe brought her sword up and spun around, then settled down once she knew—rather, felt that they were safe.

"You did it, Serah!" Noel laughed. "The fal'Cie's gone."

The girl stared at him with wide eyes. "But I didn't do anything. At least, I don't think I did."

"Well, it worked. Now we need to find the gate, and—Serah?"

Serah had gone strangely rigid, staring straight up at the ceiling, an eerie, yellow glow in her eyes. Her body jerked with a gasp, and Noel caught her before she could hit the floor.

"Serah! Hey, Serah!" He shook her, practically pleading with her. "Serah, are you all right? Can you hear me?"

Ashe bent down beside them, readying a cure spell in case Serah needed it. The girl's eyes fluttered open, and she touched her pendant with a weak hand.

"I'm alive?"

"What? Why wouldn't you be?" Noel asked, half-laughing. A nervous reaction, of course.

"I… I'm not sure. But I'm okay now."

"That's a relief. You had me worried there for a second. Can't break my promise to Snow, can I?" He pointed at her pendant.

Serah smiled. "No, of course not. You worry too much, Noel."

The elevator brought them back down to the base level of the tower. All the duplicates were gone, and the computers had all shut off. The whole tower had become nothing more than a ghost town—Serah moved closer to Ashe and Noel, while poor Mog shivered anxiously between the trio. They were relieved to find the time gate right where they left it.

"Hey… guys?" Serah fiddled with her pendant. "If we could so easily change the past… and the future like we did…"

"We'll change them both for the better. Okay?" Noel gave her a confident grin. "The future will be a better place, and you'll be reunited with Lightning and Snow in the past. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"More than anything! It's just… I've got a bad feeling about this. About everything."

"But this is what we're meant to do. Yeul said so herself… we're doing the right thing, Serah," Ashe added. She understood how the girl felt, doubting their intentions and wondering how fine the line was between right and wrong.

Serah seemed unconvinced; her lips were pulled back into a firm frown. "Even the smallest paradox can mess up the timeline! We could do something wrong, just one thing, and… and everything we worked for wouldn't mean anything."

"They believe in us." Noel turned around and grabbed Serah's shoulders. "Lightning, Snow, Hope and Yeul—they all believe we can save the future. I do, too."

"If Lightning did not believe in us, why would she ask for our help?" Ashe patted Mog's head, smiling when the moogle plopped into her arms. "This is what we're meant to do. We'll save our friends, Serah, and we'll get our happy ending."

"A happy ending…" Serah cast her eyes downward, finally letting go of her pendant. "That's one thing all of us deserve."

Ashe opened her eyes to a bright, bustling city. Buildings towered over them, almost like they reached and could touch the sky itself, and there were so many people. She could hardly believe it! Noel looked utterly overwhelmed, much like he was back in Yaschas Massif when he first laid eyes on the Academy.

"Welcome to the future you saved."

Hearing Hope's voice again was a bit of a shock, for more reasons than expected. The time gate in the Historia Crux read 4XX AF, which meant this version of Academia was four-hundred years into their future. Hope shouldn't have been alive at this point, especially considering what had taken place in Augusta Tower.

But here, even in this time, Hope was alive and well. Alyssa was there, too, waiting by the train with a big smile on her face.

"Are they real?" Noel murmured, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Is that a polite way to greet old friends?" Hope asked, waving them over. "We haven't seen each other in, what, how many years?"

"It's been all of three-hundred-ninety years. I guess you guys have been busy, huh?" Alyssa offered her hand to Noel, who took it with a little bit of hesitancy. Ashe kept her distance, however.

"We saw both of you die," she said slowly. "The AI killed you."

Hope frowned. "Is that what would have happened, had we continued with the project?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"We activated the Oracle Drive and watched the prophecy, and I saw you fighting the Proto fal'Cie. I wasn't sure what to make of it until Serah started screaming out at me."

The girl giggled, holding Mog close. "Well, I was pretty ticked off by that point."

"Exactly. So we were forced to reevaluate the project, and eventually we abandoned it."

Noel burst out laughing at that point, holding his sides and bending over. "So you saw Serah getting mad at you, so cancelled your project, and poof! The Proto fal'Cie disappeared."

"So fighting it did nothing after all…" Ashe said, shoulders slumping. All that work, and it was for nothing. All Hope needed to do was understand how foolish he had been.

"We were following the wrong path to the future," Hope continued. "If the Proto fal'Cie had managed to get control of Cocoon, it would have made itself the second Eden, and we'd be back where we began."

How ironic—they'd get a second chance, if that were the case.

"We realized we couldn't let that happen, so we have to levitate Cocoon using only human technology. We've made progress on the investigation into the Thirteenth Ark… and we're almost ready to start the main stage. The Academy has collected these ore clusters called Graviton Cores over the past four-hundred years, and these ores can power the Ark's reactor."

"That's great news!" Serah exclaimed.

"It will take us a century to complete the new Cocoon, but it's worth a shot." Hope grinned, looking more like an excited child than the Director of the Academy they knew so well. "We can only hope that the pillar stays intact during this time."

"Well, if it's stayed up this long, we should be all right. We stopped the flan from melting the pillar in Sunleth, after all."

Hope nodded, then motioned toward the train. "Speaking of which, Serah—there's something you should see."

The Graviton Cores weren't something the Academy had stumbled on during their research. About ten years ago, while Hope and Alyssa were still in their deep sleep through time, someone, another time traveler, had visited the Academy and gave them the ores. At first Ashe wondered if Balthier had finally returned, or that Lightning had escaped Valhalla—but even she couldn't help but smile when that familiar grinning face appeared on the screen.

"—not even sure this thing is working, but… hey, anyway!"

"Wait a second, that can't be Snow, can it?" Noel spluttered. "How the hell did he get to Academia?"

"All paradoxes vanish from the timeline, but…" Ashe pursed her lips. "Apparently not."

"Not sure if I'm in the future or the past to you guys, and… I was kinda hoping we'd meet up again, but I guess Noel was right—our paths are different for now. But that doesn't mean we won't see each other again soon." Snow looked over at something off-screen, then grinned again. "After we went our separate ways, I found a gate in the Void Beyond… then I started looking around. For Balthier and sis, you know."

"Of course," Noel murmured disdainfully.

"And then I ended up here, and apparently all these… crazy scientists have actually been looking for these Graviton things I picked up. Dumb luck, huh? Oh, yeah, before I forget! I swear I saw Balthier the other day, but… I don't think he saw me. Figures; he's still looking the other way." Snow looked down, fiddling with his necklace—the same thing Serah did whenever she was anxious. "Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know I'm still out there, rooting for you from afar. Maybe we'll cross paths again?"

The image fizzled out, and the screen went blank. Ashe's gaze lingered on the empty space, then after a moment she turned and faced the others.

"I'm a little disappointed I was still asleep while he was here. It's been hundreds of years since we last spoke," Hope said, pressing a few keys on the computer. "But apparently Snow left quite the impression on the Academy at the time."

"I don't doubt that one bit," Serah said, crossing her arms behind her back.

"And it's thanks to him you guys are able to get moving on the next phase, right?" Noel asked begrudgingly. "I thought you were going to send us on another errand."

Alyssa hummed softly over by another computer. "Our little errand trio! Think of it this way: you get a century long break."

"It's more like a day for us, but… sure, thanks."

"Anytime! You can stick around for a while, if you want. This morning we recovered an artefact for the recently repaired time gate, but we're not done analyzing it. We should be done by tomorrow, though."

Noel smirked. "But we can always jump forward in time and see tomorrow sooner than later."

"Shall we make a game of it? First one to tomorrow wins?"

"Abusing the goddess's gift for mere 'games' does not sound fun at all," Ashe muttered, crossing her arms. Noel's smile vanished instantly, and he shuffled off to the side to speak with Hope.

There was never any way of telling where the artefacts would take them. Noel firmly held the belief that each artefact would bring them closer to Lightning in Valhalla, and soon they would be reunited again. Serah, on the other hand, didn't mind to wait a little longer to see her sister.

"If we can help as many people as we can along the way, I think Lightning would understand if we took a few side-trips."

"We're not rescuing any more cats, Serah," Noel grumbled.

"I am no cat!" the Madness snarled from inside his crystal. "Parachute pants, please—I am a lion. A fierce, proud lion."

"Emphasis on the proud part."

The time gate stood at the end of a courtyard, nearly hidden by the glittering water pouring from a fountain. A few people gazed at the strange anomaly in wonder, but moved on and went about their day without a single care in the world. The city of Academia was well protected, and its people had no fear of danger outside the city walls. Ashe wondered if Snow had something to do with that. Protecting others was certainly his goal in life, after all.

"So… I guess we move on now." Serah held the artefact, an gray stone encased in twists of emerald. "We let the Academy do their part, and we head off to the future…"

"I wish we could stay," Ashe replied. When Noel and Serah looked at her with their brows raised and eyes wide, she spluttered, "N-not that I want to abandon our task! It was… nice to settle down for a night… to not care about the world for a moment."

She hadn't felt like this since… well, since her time in Sunleth. Of course there was the initial anger and fear due to Snow's sudden reappearance, but when she listened and understood him, she felt at ease. She felt… safe. Perhaps knowing Snow was still alive helped her see that things would be all right. They could do this. They could save the future.

Ashe chuckled and pressed a hand to her forehead. Snow's ability to lift any dampened spirits must have rubbed off on her.

"Leaving without even a farewell?"

Hope stepped out of the Academy cruiser with Alyssa at his side. Mog flew over to greet the pair, whizzing around the heads and swatting at them with his crystal baton.

"What? No, of course not!" Noel stammered. "We were going to drop by and see you before we left."

"That's what we figured," Alyssa chimed in, wagging a finger at his face. "Thought we'd save you the trip!"

"How… kind of you," Ashe said, resting her hands on her hips. "Thank you."

Alyssa giggled, so childlike and giddy.

"I hope the future turns out like this," Serah marveled. "A place where we can be happy."

"Sometimes, when it looks like all hope is lost, people can turn against each other. They end up full of hate." Alyssa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "But really, when they stop and think about it, they're making themselves sad for no reason, and—Director, why are you looking at me like that?"

During the few moments Ashe had looked away, Hope had been staring at Alyssa with that all too familiar look—guilt, dejection, and regret.

"Sorry," he said, bowing his head. "I was just remembering something… There was a time when I almost lost myself because I had so much hate inside. And then some friends showed me a way out."

"Right," Serah breathed. "You mean Lightning and Snow."

Hope smiled at the memory, and walked a few paces to the side. "It all began back then. I remember, Serah: weren't you the first one who said you wanted to save Cocoon? It was because Snow and Lightning vowed to carry out your wish that we all came together. And to this day, Vanille and Fang still keep Cocoon safe."

"And maybe Lightning does, too," Noel added grimly. Hope turned away for a moment, looking towards the crystal pillar.

"Yes, but the old ark is almost finished. It will fall soon… and it's going to be hard for many of us to abandon our old home."

"But when you raise the new ark, maybe you can help your friends as well. They won't have to bear the burden of a world anymore, so maybe they'll finally be released from their crystal sleep."

Alyssa gave a sudden gasp, then prodded at Hope's chest accusingly. "That was always in the back of your mind, wasn't it, Director?" she asked. "If we abandoned the old Cocoon, maybe you could free your friends. Or am I wrong?"

"Er, well—"

"It's okay, we all knew. We wanted to help anyway."

"And I'm grateful. I've had the great fortune to be helped by so many people over the years, and I've got you three to thank for that. You are the ones who showed me how the future should be."

Isn't that what Serah had been worried about earlier—whether this truly was the right path?

What if it wasn't?

"Humanity is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past," Noel spoke, breaking Ashe from her thoughts. "It's part of being human. But we also have the ability to build new futures and new beginnings." Noel rested a hand on Ashe's shoulder. "Right, Ashe?"

"New beginnings…" She closed her eyes and clasped the lightning-bolt charm. "Yes, that's exactly what we can do."

Lightning, Snow and Hope—they believed in a better future. She couldn't let them down.

"Once preparations are complete," Hope said with sigh, "we plan to journey ahead one hundred years. I want to be there. I want to see the raising of Cocoon with my own eyes."

"I'm sure we'll meet again, Hope," Serah promised and took his hand. "And we'll have the whole gang back together again, too."

He returned her smile and nodded. "In the new future, then."

Ashe couldn't shake that bad, ill feeling even after they entered the Historia Crux. She glided alongside Noel, watching the wheels of time turn on each locked gate, the cool air brushing against her clammy skin. This couldn't have been anything like the feeling Serah had in the Augusta Tower, but this was… gods, she felt so ill.

It seemed she wasn't the only one.

"Mog, what's the matter?" Serah asked when the moogle came flying over to her, 'kupo'ing about something.

That was when things took a turn for the worse.

Time gates crashed and clambered against one another, falling and cracking around the three. Some of the gates activated themselves, flicking with life as a distant clock began ticking. Ashe ducked her head when one wheel came spinning right for her, but Mog wasn't so lucky; the moogle went tumbling away, crystal pom-pom bobbing all the while.

"Mog!"

Serah lunged for the moogle and managed to catch him, but—another wheel went spiraling out of control, and took Serah with it.

"Serah!" Ashe screamed, reaching for the gate. She felt Noel grab her arm and pull her into a firm embrace. Her nose pressed against the crook of his neck, and Ashe could feel his heart pounding beneath her hands. A time gate opened before them, and soon everything went dark.