Okay so this one got really long because of how many triggers there are in Bodhum. I'm sorry. My OCs like being adorable boops. Next chapter should hopefully see is leaving New Bodhum. Woo!

The four members of NORA, Serah, Noel, and all of the fal'Cie had gathered in NORA House just after lunch. Some of them still had food or remnants of it around them.

"And so it appears that our new friends are each from different potential timelines."

Maqui seemed fascinated by everything he was hearing, Yuj was writing down notes to try and keep it all straight, and Gadot just looked lost.

"So whatever that meteor did," Lebreau summarized, "it really did bust up the timeline or whatever and cause all these anomalies?"

"The timeline appears to be fragmenting, bits and pieces getting mixed up, overlapping, or broken off," Rei agreed. "It seems that our companions here are refugees of their timelines and homeworlds."

"If they're all human fal'Cie like you guys, does that mean they're alternate versions of you guys?" Serah asked.

"Oh no," Orlov interjected, "we're just creations of them! I'm a creation of the High Fal'Cie Asushunamir!"

Shu gasped. "Besties!"

"I know!"

The pair of them clasped hands. Yeah, they were definitely related.

"I am a creation of Anima," Gideon announced.

"Wasn't she…?" Serah began.

"The fal'Cie from the Bodhum Vestige, yes," Sai recalled.

"I was put into stasis upon the loss of the war between my mother and the lord Barthandelus. Recently I woke up on the planet of Cocoon. I have been surviving and learning the nuances of humanity in the intervening years."

"What about you, Rufus?" Noel asked.

"I'm a child of the Blade Phoenix and the Chaos Dragon," he said. "Though I was raised human as a child and integrated into their society before I met Orlov and we discovered my origins. Turns out, my parents were living with Orlov's Creator."

"The Blade Phoenix is sister Rei," Shu informed them. "But who's…?"

Rufus glanced at Charon. "I'm the son of Hotareichan and Hyacinthaja."

Rei and Charon glanced at each other. Then they each took a long step away from the other.

"Nope."

"Yeah, not gonna happen."

"I love you but no."

"You're a great person but ew."

Rufus's face twisted with concern. "Okay…"

"But that explains why you have blades like them both," Sai interjected.

"Yeah, I've…Orlov's been helping me get better at controlling them. I grew up human, so I had this block on me that prevented my power from manifesting."

"Why were you raised as a human?" Rei asked.

He shrugged. "There was a war. My mom got caught up in it. Right before I was born, my mom went missing, my dad…he went mad with grief but got subjugated by the enemy thanks to it. My mom eventually got revived, but…not…not as she was."

"She got revived into that other Rei," Charon realized. "The one combined with Barthandelus."

"Yeah. Dad called her 'Rue.'"

"Like a variation of Rei —" Shu began.

"And like 'You'll rue the day you crossed me'!" Orlov finished.

"Homonym?"

"Double entendre?"

"A dang good name for her," Rei muttered. "I would've gone for something Barthandelus related, but that is so much better."

"So you're saying that's why you attacked Rei when you first saw her?" Sai asked. "You thought she was this Rue?"

"The last thing I saw before…waking up here," Rufus said, "was her throwing both Orlov and I into separate…glowing portal column things."

"Rifts in the timeline," Rei explained.

"That means that Rue is out there, right?" Noel asked. "She might be causing all these time distortions?"

"If we can figure out how to get that gate working, we might be able to follow her and track her down," Charon said. "It does bring up the question of how she's still alive after we killed her, and why she's doing this at all."

"You killed your Rue?" Rufus asked. "We, uh…haven't been able to manage that…yet. My parents and Orlov's creator were living together, recovering. Hiding. They were happy though. I didn't want to drag them back into this mess after all they'd gone through. Orlov and I were still…trying to figure out how to stop her."

"It was hard," Shu admitted. "But we did kill her. Didn't we…?"

"A part of her was still connected to Barthandelus when he was assimilated into Orphan," Charon recalled, "but then the real Rei came back in this big burst of light and magic and hope and miracles or something…"

"I returned through Etro's gate to bring the gifts of Etro," Rei explained. "Though I admit, I don't know where Barthandelus would have gone, nor Orphan, when they died, and how Rue would have factored into that. Because she is so…unique, I'd have assumed she would have gone to Valhalla. But when the timeline fractured, when Lightning, Charon, and the fall of Cocoon were altered, she must have used that opportunity to escape."

"To cause chaos?" Orlov suggested.

Charon shook his head. "This feels more calculated."

"Maybe she's out to get all of you," Mira suggested. "I mean…I'd be mad too if everyone kept rejecting me for the 'real' Rei. She didn't ask to be born with Barthandelus's will inside her, and nor did she want to be killed for following him. I wonder if she even had any free will at all or if it was all just Barthandelus puppeting her around the whole time, controlling everything about her — even everything she felt."

"So when she was killed, she got sent to Valhalla like Rei and Shu were," Sai followed. "That's how she gained access to the timeline?"

"Remember that all of the fal'Cie left by Pulse and Lindzei had the ultimate goal of finding a path to the Unseen Realm," Rei said. "Dahaka in particular found out that the four of us held the key to that portal. If Rue's death indeed sent her to Valhalla with Barthandelus's will…perhaps she had more knowledge of her situation than we anticipated. Perhaps that was a part of Barthandelus's plan all along."

"If he wanted control over the four of us, using Rue's power in Valhalla could have been intentional," Charon admitted.

"It's possible," Rufus said. "And since I'm a creation of Rei — even if from another timeline — and Orlov is a creation of Shu —"

"And I'm a creation of Charon," Mira added.

"Then that's likely the reason we were brought here. We're essentially your descendants."

"But why not just take your kids from your actual future?" Lebreau asked. "I mean, at the very least you have Mat. Unless he doesn't make it past puberty, I'd assume that Rue would take advantage of a way to hold him hostage…"

Mira frowned. "You probably have a lot of kids to choose from, too."

"It shouldn't even be a power thing either," Noel added. "Rufus seemed powerful enough on his own, at least enough to fight back."

"But I wasn't strong enough to beat her." Rufus dropped his head. "If she'd been out to kill…"

"But that either means all of your kids were constantly protected and never vulnerable, or they grew strong enough to ward Rue off."

"What about Gideon?" Orlov realized. "He's just a creation of Anima! Why would he be brought here if Rue was just trying to spite Hotareichan, Asushunamir, and Hyacinthaja?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Gideon, standing silently beside Orlov. He readjusted his glasses, even though they fell to nearly the exact same position. "I can only speculate," he said, "however it appears that I am from the same timeline as Rufus and Orlov. Since Orlov was quick to take a liking to my presence, it is likely I was chosen because of my importance to them. We were likely to have met on our own with a similar reaction."

"So she sped up the process then," Serah murmured. "You were meant to meet and be important to each other, she just got there a little too early?"

"If we want to return you all to your timeline, then we're going to have to open that gate," Rei announced. "Which means finding a corresponding artefact that can open it."

"If an artefact is just something that doesn't belong in this time, can't any one of them open it?" Maqui asked. "They don't belong in this time, right?"

She shook her head. "Gates can be picky, unfortunately. Some won't even let you through once they are open. By some unseen definition, those who travel through gates can't be artefacts themselves. Artefacts get consumed by a gate when you use them — they're like keys need to be permanently placed in the lock in order for the door to stay open."

"Okay, so what else would we be looking for?" Serah asked.

"It can be anything big or small," Charon admitted.

"Maybe we should investigate the mountain path where all the meteorite shards fell," Rufus suggested. "I'm sure we fal'Cie kids can handle it."

"Yeah! Go team!" Orlov held up their hands. Rufus and Mira moved to high-five them. They took Gideon's wrist and gave him a high-five too. Gideon seemed baffled by the motion. "We need a name. Team…"

"Fal'Cie spawn?" Charon drawled.

"Something more fun than that, Chare," Shu scolded. "How about…Descendants?"

"Scions?" Rei offered.

"How about you name yourselves for who you are, not for who you're related to?" Sai suggested with a laugh.

"The Neurodivergents…" Mira sighed quietly.

"What?" Orlov asked.

"I said the Divergents!" she exclaimed. "The Extraordinaires. The…Cool Kids. I dunno. Are we cool?"

"We're pretty cool," Rufus agreed.

"We'll figure it out later," Rei sighed. "For now, we should split up and look for artefacts. You kids take the mountain paths. And stick together, will you?"

Mira raised her hand. "Uh, actually…can I stay with you guys? I have some more questions. Besides, I think the boys will be fine without me —"

"I'm fluid!" Orlov volunteered.

"Right. They'll be fine without me. And I wanted to spend some more time with Mat. He seems like a good kid."

"Well, the best place to hide an artefact is where there's a ton of stuff already," Charon said. "Why not? Serah, Noel, how about you see if Mog can track anything down?"

Serah's head tilted in confusion. "Mog?"

"Your moogle."

"Oh! He can track things?"

"Kupo, kupo!"

Noel stepped forward. "These gates are all interconnected, yes? That means there's a gate out there that can take us to Lightning."

Gadot finally had something he understood. "Look, if you think you're taking Serah through some magic portal just to try and find her sister —"

"I managed to come through the gate thanks to Noel," Charon said. "Lightning is out there, Gadot, you can't deny that. Look, Noel has the ability to travel through gates; he might unintentionally be a guide that can actually narrow down the locations of the gates' entrances and exits."

"Then he should go out and find Lightning if you're so sure she's out there, not drag Serah into this mess!"

"Gadot," Serah said. "I can speak for myself."

"She is out there, but she told me to bring Serah to her," Noel said. "I…I don't know why, but she was fighting in Valhalla —"

"All the more reason not to drag Serah there to get tangled up in the middle of it." He grunted in frustration. "I just…Snow told us to keep you safe, Serah."

"I know," she said gently. "But I've been waiting here for a long time, Gadot. I was asleep in crystal when Lightning and Snow and everyone else became l'Cie, when they were fighting their fates and just hoping to come home to see me one day. All I could do then was wait and watch in my dreams. Same as right now. Maybe it's time I stop being just everybody's consolation prize."

He sighed and turned away, unable to meet her gaze. "You're more than that, Serah —"

"Then it's settled." She turned to the group. "I don't know if I want to go on a journey to find Lightning. I don't know if it's possible, how it works, or if it'll even be possible for me. But…we can't just let our new friends get back home all on their own, right?"

Yuj chuckled. "NORA's always been known for helping out, right?"

"You're family!" Shu exclaimed. "That means you're part of our village, and we help our own."

"Thanks," Rufus said. "We appreciate it."

"So then," Rei announced, "let the hunt begin."

"Serah, wait up for me," Noel called.

She sighed. "All this talk about artefacts and gates and time travel…it's all kinda overwhelming. To be honest, I don't know if I'm ready to believe it. I trust Rei and the others, but it all just seems…beyond me, ya know?"

"Serah. There's still so much I don't understand myself. If we can actually find an artefact, then I'll know what we've been saying is true. And once we open the gate, you'll be able to put some of your doubts to rest as well. So what do you think? Will you search for the answers with me?"

Serah nodded. "So…where do we start?"

"How about we get Mog's moogle senses working?"

"Right. How…do we do that?" She poked the hovering moogle beside her. "Can you…start the search, little guy?"

"Kupo…" It began flying around, but it didn't seem to have a location.

"Hm…" Noel put his hand to his chin. "Maybe it only works if we get close enough to the artefact."

"Guess that means we'll be doing some blind searching still. Is this really a moogle?"

"He sure looks like one," Noel admitted, "but to be honest, I don't really know. Lightning just called him a 'good luck charm.'"

"I remember that part. That's what she said in the dream I had."

"You saw the future? But that means…"

"Something wrong?"

He tapped his chin. "Ugh, my memories are fuzzy. It's like…when I think I know something and try to pursue it, I second-guess myself. I'm sure I remember something about people being able to see the future. But power like that comes at a cost, I'm sure of it."

Serah frowned. "You mean you might end up forgetting things? Like how Cocoon only existed in the past for you, is that right?"

"Uh-huh. I…" He shook his head. "W-Well the history books say Cocoon existed in the past."

"Is the memory fuzzy, or…?"

"No. It's more like…my memories are jumbled up. Things that I do remember are in different orders, and things that I don't remember remembering are now my memories…? I'm sorry, this is probably really confusing."

"Well, what do you remember about these 'gate' things?"

"It's a time portal — they appear when the timelines are out of synch. But apparently not just anyone can pass through them."

"And that's where the artefacts come in?"

"Right. You use an artefact to attune the portal, thereby activating it. At least, that's what they say."

"The fal'Cie guys did say that the distortions were like a distinct hum or frequency…" Serah mused. "So maybe the artefact stabilizes all the distortions in the area, like some sort of harmony."

"Or maybe it's the reverse — stabilizing all the distortions allows the artefact to appear." Noel groaned. "If only I'd had the time to ask Lightning. She seemed to know how the gates worked."

"How well did you know her?"

"I met her for the first time in Valhalla. I thought I was done for, and when I called the goddess's name, she appeared. Is your sister some sort of deity?"

Serah giggled. "Of course not. She became a l'Cie and turned to crystal. She did it to protect Cocoon."

"So, the Lightning I met in Valhalla is someone else then?"

"Maybe. To be honest, even if you did meet Lightning, maybe she's just an echo or a reflection of my sister, like with what happened to Rei. I'd be open to any weird suggestion at this point."

"Kupopo!" Mog called. They turned to see its bobble glowing bright even in the midday sun on the beaches.

"Look, I think Mog has found something," Noel exclaimed.

"But…that's just a cat. Oh! And it's with the one we keep at NORA House. Wait, the cat isn't an artefact, is it? Didn't they say living things couldn't be artefacts?"

"No, I don't think so. But maybe the cat could've picked up the artefact." The moogle was flying away quite quickly; it was already halfway across the small village. "Let's hurry!"

She nodded. "Okay!"

Mat giggled as he gathered a group of cats on the beach. He fed them little bits of fish he'd caught and cooked with some of his magic.

"Hello there, Mat." He glanced up just in time to see Mira moving to sit on the beach. "Is this spot taken?"

He shook his head. "No. Ma'am," he added quickly.

"It's okay. You can just call me Mira."

"Me…r-r-r…" His face twisted with focus as he struggled to get the syllable out.

"Shh, it's fine. I know it's hard. I had a stutter when I was little. I couldn't speak properly until I was…gosh, ten? Even then, I always slipped up. Everyone told me it was fine. My family was very supportive. But others weren't so forgiving."

Mat lowered his head. He tossed another chunk of cooked fish at the cats. "Mama see bad mans. Mama nice. Bad mans bad."

"I know. Your Mama is a good person. She tries to help people, even when they're mean to her."

"Mama and Tama say I no mean. If do, I bad like bad mans."

"Well, they're right. It's easy to be mean in this world. But for every mean person out there, there's a good person too. When I was growing up, I wanted to be mean. People were mean to my family, so I wanted to be mean to them. But this girl came and showed me that I could be nice, and maybe if I was nice, I'd make other people nice too."

"Girl nice?"

"Yes, she was very nice. Her name is Ella. She's very nice."

"Eh-ya."

Mira nodded. "Right. You'll find an Ella one day. Or maybe you won't. But I know that you will be nice."

Mat nodded. "Nice good. Good nice. Mama and Tama and Susu nice."

"They are. You look after them, okay? You hold them together when they're sad."

"I good."

"You're good. And don't ever think you have to be what others want of you. You can be whatever you want, and you are who you are."

"I'ma Mat."

She giggled. "You're a Mat."

Mat glanced down at his hands and then held up half of a fish to her. "Wanna feed-a cats?"

Mira reached into the remains of the fish and pulled out a small chunk of meat. "I'd love to."

"After her!"

"Stay on her Mog!"

"Kupokupo!"

Serah sighed. "Do your people have special magic in the future? Like spells that could capture runaway cats?"

He laughed. "No, not everyone can use magic, but there were some who could. The ability was referred to as the blessing of the goddess. You don't have a lot of magic users around here?"

"Not a whole lot. No one could use magic back before Cocoon fell to Pulse."

"Wait, after people moved here, some people began using magic? Sounds like a side effect of this time warping business."

"What were the people like in your time? Tell me about the people you lived with."

"They were an ancient nomadic tribe. They wandered Gran Pulse for centuries. They were here long before Cocoon was created."

"They were the hidden tribe of Pulse."

"Yes, that's what they called them. But they did have some contact with people who left Cocoon."

"Operation Artefact is go!" Orlov exclaimed.

"Why must we create names for our intended actions in such code?" Gideon asked.

"Because it's fun."

"And it allows us to more easily communicate our goals by summarizing the actions necessary to move forward," Rufus added.

Gideon nodded. "Understood."

Orlov giggled. "You're so cute Gideon."

"I accept your compliment."

"You don't have to say that every time, you know. You can just say, 'Thank you,' or some other means of appreciation."

"I do not know what it means to appreciate, and therefore cannot show my appreciation."

"We'll teach you!"

"If he can even be taught," Rufus pointed out. "He's not like us, Orlov. He wasn't born from the Children of Etro."

Orlov stuck out their lip in a huff. "Don't say it's impossible. Gideon can learn really well, can't you, Gideon?"

"I am ever in the pursuit of knowledge," he agreed.

Rufus sighed. "Right, right, I didn't mean to say it's impossible. But we don't really know how to teach him, do we? We've never dealt with…non-human-like fal'Cie before."

"We'll figure it out. Gideon's ours to keep now, right?"

"He's our friend, not a stray cat we picked up off the street."

"Right, right. Let's start by teaching him all about love and compassion and friendship!"

"We'll be here all night if we try to explain all of the human intricacies at once, Lov. And probably all the way through tomorrow as well."

"Then we'll explain all we can and add more as we encounter them. If we're going on a journey to get home anyway, then we'll probably meet tons of people to practice on!"

"I would hope to benefit from your guidance," Gideon said.

Rufus sighed. He had to admit that Gideon was quite a nice person, even if he was mostly just mirroring events that were happening around him rather than giving his own input. Maybe Orlov was right, all Gideon needed was some practice and some training.

"Okay then. Where do you wanna start?"

"Love!" Orlov exclaimed.

"Perhaps something less broad and complicated and nuanced for our first topic, please."

"War?"

"Nope."

"Happiness!"

"No."

"Growth? Magic? Life? Death? Pain? Colors? Food —?"

"Snow! So this's where you got to." Serah knelt before a small calico cat and began petting her head. They'd had to chase the feline all the way around the residential area until they'd found her waiting outside Shu's Garden. "And the artefact…isn't here, huh?"

"Snow?" Noel repeated.

"Kupo?" Mog agreed.

"Oh, yeah, she's my pet."

"Kupo."

"Yuj found her and brought her home."

"Can we keep her? Can we keep her?!" Shu exclaimed.

"Hey, I don't see why not," Gadot shrugged.

"I think we should keep her too," Maqui said. "But…just as long as she doesn't make a mess in my workshop." He reached out and booped the kitty's nose.

"Are you sure you can look after her?" Lebreau questioned.

"Can't we all do it?" Yuj shrugged. "I mean, we are one big family, right?"

"Maqui'll do it!" Gadot announced, pointing.

"You too!" he exclaimed.

"We can be best friends!" Shu was saying.

"You can't spoil her," Rei said.

The cat dived out of Yuj's arms and half the room made a move to catch her before she ran off, but she had already moved to Serah, rubbing up against her leg. Serah knelt down and ran her hand along the cat's back. She seemed pleased.

"Thanks." Serah smiled up at them. "She's adorable."

The rest of them broke out into smiles.

"She really does have a favorite," Maqui said. "It's just not you, big guy!"

"Hey!" Gadot exclaimed.

"Everyone loves Serah," Shu sighed.

I thought I could hide it from them. But they knew. They saw right through me. I'd lost Lightning, and then Snow. But those guys, they really tried to cheer me up.

"Let's call her…Snow!" Gadot suggested.

"Huh? You think so?" Maqui leaned down to get a better look at her. "Does she look like Snow?"

"Hard-headed and likes Serah," Sai said. "I think she's qualified."

Snow dashed away, free to roam about New Bodhum so long as she didn't try swimming out into the ocean or sneaking out past the protective fences.

"Oh…" Mog sighed.

Serah merely giggled and waved the cat goodbye.

"So it hasn't been all bad," Noel said.

Serah rose to her feet. "No, not at all. Life is harder here, compared to back on Cocoon…but everyone sticks together. Even in the tough times, we have each other. That helps."

"Those friends of yours are like family, aren't they?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. It's strange, but when Snow first introduced me to them, I never imagined they would become such a big part of my life."

"They sure are a motley bunch…NORA especially."

She clasped her hands together in front of her. "Yes, but it's only part of a family. It just doesn't feel whole without my sister, you know? Without Snow himself, too, I still feel as lonely as can be. Even with all these friends around me."

"If it's what you really want, one day you'll be together again. You and Snow, you and your sister, you all want the same thing. I'm sure you'll find each other again."

She smiled. "Why don't you settle down with us? I'm sure everyone would like that."

He chuckled. "It's good of you to offer, but I can't do that. I made a promise to Lightning."

"To bring me to her in Valhalla?"

"More than that. I have a journey to go on too. Hopefully, you can join me."

Serah paced around the small area. "Hm…I mean, this is why I can't just up and leave, ya know? Little Snow means so much to me now."

"Wow. You like animals that much?"

"Yep! Are you a cat or a dog person?"

"Hm, I guess I like dogs. They're handy to have around in a hunt."

They made their way back to the beach.

"We're way off track," Noel sighed.

"Where else should we look?" Serah exclaimed.

"Mog, help us out here!"

"Kupo!"

Serah led the way around the village, trying to discover a place where Mog's senses would activate. "What is an artefact, anyway?"

Noel shook his head. "No one knows. Only that it's something that 'doesn't belong' in this time."

"Something that doesn't belong… Hey, you don't belong here!"

"That's certainly true. But I don't think it'll be that easy."

"Did someone in the future tell you about gates and artefacts? What does it look like? A key or something?"

"Yeah, but… now all I have is memories. I wish I'd thought to ask more questions, while I had the chance. An artefact can be any shape or size. We just have to check out anything unusual. Sorry I can't offer much more than that."

"Luckily Rei seemed to know a lot. Guess that's the fal'Cie for you."

"It's kinda cool and kinda unnerving to know they're fal'Cie. In my time, fal'Cie were known as very inhuman creatures that toyed with mankind as puppets — or at the very best, pets."

"Well, that's how most of them were. But those guys are long gone by now."

"Good to know."

She sighed. "I can't really get my head around it. How do we find something that doesn't belong?"

"You're thinking too hard. We'll have more luck if we just follow our instincts."

"Any other hints? Anything would help at this point."

"'A moment of time, captured in crystal. A gift to travelers from the goddess'. That's all I've heard that describes them."

"Where d'you think we should look?"

"Well, this isn't my native time period… Maybe we should start by asking the locals if they've seen anything."

"Good idea. I just hope they don't think we're crazy."

"These disturbances are all happening in the area around the impact site. I'd say our best bet is to search around the town."

"This place is beautiful, Flower."

Shu nodded. "I've been building it up for a long time now."

Charon knelt in front of some bioluminescent flowers. "They all smell like you."

"Oh?"

"Like life and happiness."

"Well, they weren't always like that. They were sad when I was sad. But when Mat was born, they perked up. He likes to tend to them, keep them happy. He likes plants more than people."

"He's yours all right."

"He also tends to kill a lot of them."

"Ah, so that's why he's mine."

Shu shoved him. Then they pulled him close. The plants in the Garden rippled and then sighed, as if relaxing along with them.

"I'm here, Flower," he said. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Right. My Garden will keep you trapped if you ever try to leave without permission."

"I'm not leaving. Never again."

"It was three years."

"I know."

"Three years for me." Shu took his hand and began playing with his fingers. "How long was it for you?"

He laced his fingers with Shu's. "That doesn't matter, sweetheart."

"Hmm…" Shu nodded. "Okay."

But it wasn't okay. How long had it been for him? Had it been an eternity of waiting? Or no time at all? If Charon had been fighting with Lightning, did that mean he'd abandoned Lightning to fight all alone? If one of them had to stay and both of them couldn't escape, what were they fighting? This Rue person? Could Lightning handle that on her own?

Or had Charon left a bigger fight than any of them understood? What had he left to chance just for this moment with Shu?

"I wonder if the others are facing memory troubles as well."

"Could be. But maybe it's because I'm from the future and they're from different timelines."

"Well, hey, you coming here at all means we're on a different timeline, right?"

He chuckled. "I guess so."

"Kupopo!"

"Look, the moogle's reacting to the kids!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. But I don't think he's just looking for playmates."

A group of kids was chatting excitedly on the beach.

"Good morning!" Serah called.

Upon noticing her, they rushed over calling, "Miss Farron! Miss Farron!"

"These are my students," she explained. "I teach their classes."

"A school teacher, huh?"

"Right!" one of the girls exclaimed.

"I'm so glad you're all safe," Serah sighed.

"Yeah!" one of the boys called.

"Now, did everyone do their homework?"

"I did mine!" a girl announced. "'Cause…I didn't want you getting mad at me like the last time."

Noel chuckled. "Seems like you'd be soft on kids, but you're pretty strict, huh?"

The kids chuckled and began clapping and chanting together, "Meanie Miss Farron! Meanie Miss Farron!"

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" The kids ran off before they could face the consequences. "Wha — come on…" But they were already gone. She huffed and crossed her arms. "You know, I'm only strict because my teacher was strict." Her arms fell and she clasped them behind her. "Lightning must've rubbed off on me."

"My grandmother was a teacher too," Noel said. "She taught me everything I know. She taught me about Gran Pulse and its history."

"What was your grandmother like?"

"I was always her favorite. She kind of spoiled me. She lived until she was fifty, so she had a lot to teach me."

"Life spans were longer during this age. If my grandmother were still alive…I could've learned so much more. I could've… I could've handled things better."

"Was your grandmother able to tell you about Valhalla?"

"Valhalla… She said there was a shrine there, where the goddess Etro lay sleeping."

"Hmm… Etro must be one of the Gran Pulse gods. What kind of deity is she?"

"The legends all say different things. She's a cruel incarnation of death. A merciful angel of the afterlife. A deity without divine power, like Lindzei and Pulse had."

"Rei and the others said they were the fal'Cie of Etro, but Etro had no divine power…? Are the fal'Cie still around in the future?"

"They still exist, but keep to themselves. They don't meddle in people's lives anymore."

"I guess Cocoon's fal'Cie were never the same after the fall."

"Cocoon is no longer there, after all. History says there was an age where the machines built by humans replaced the need for fal'Cie."

"Do you want to go back to your own time?"

"Even if I did, there's no one waiting for me. Besides, I don't even know if it's possible."

"So…what are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure. First, I want to help you track down your sister. Then… Well, there are things I'm looking for." He shifted from foot to foot. "Sometimes it bothers me to think I might never make it back. But if you do come with me, you'll be feeling that same fear. That's why I want you to fully understand what you're getting yourself into."

Serah tapped her chin in thought. "Do you…know what happens next?"

"Well, I'm still not sure this place is the past world of my time. But assuming it is, chaos rains down on Cocoon, and the disaster in the prophecy comes…to…" He trailed off.

"What's wrong?"

"Comes to…It's weird. It's like my memories are slipping away from me. Sorry, I…I don't mean to be cryptic. I'll let you know if it comes back to me." Noel rubbed the back of his head.

"Noel —"

"That's the kid I was looking for!" Maqui cried. "I knew my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!"

"It's Maqui!" one of Serah's students exclaimed. "I better get outta here!"

"Kupopo!" Mog exclaimed, bobble shimmering as it flew after the boy.

"Hey, what's he got there?" Noel realized.

"Let's follow him!" Serah shouted.

They rushed after the kid, but he bounded over the gate to the village and dashed up to the mountain path.

"What are you running from?!" Serah called.

"Watch it, don't go that way!" Noel warned. But it was already too late. "Guess we're gonna have to keep the kid from danger too…"

"No rest for the wicked!"

"Rei," Sai urged.

She had been cleaning NORA House non-stop. She liked keeping busy helping people when she was stressed. These past few years, she had been looking after everyone else, as though the weight of the world rested on her shoulders.

Well, technically it did. She was looking after Cocoon and the population as they moved on from the era of the fal'Cie — ironically enough under another fal'Cie's aid — and moving them to Pulse, she was looking after Shu and Serah while they grieved, she was helping Sai learn his new abilities, and she had barely had a chance to rest. Not that she needed sleep or rest, but then again, she liked it.

She had been grappling with her own mortality on top of it all. Now free of Barthandelus, Rei was finally allowed to be herself. She had wanted to be human. Oh how she had wanted it. Barthandelus had made it so that loving Sai, loving humanity, it would give him control over her. But now she was free. And being human was really, really hard.

"Love, take a break," Sai said.

She had washed the dishes so clean they were going to be stripped. "Sorry. Did I use too much strength?" She'd broken things before, still adjusting to doing domestics with human-level strength.

"You're fine. Hon, please. I'm worried about you."

"I've lied," she confessed. She dropped a plate into the sink and leaned over it. "I knew where he was but I lied this whole damn time! And now he's back and he knows and I know and —"

"Hey." He reached out to take her hand. "It's okay. I think we all knew, to some extent."

"Knew what?"

"That you knew he was out there. That you were always staring into your blades when you thought we weren't looking. That you were hiding something that was painful because you didn't have an answer yet and so you didn't want to worry us."

"You knew? Shu —"

"They knew you were just looking out for them. Rei…" He slipped an arm around her waist. "You're always looking out for us. You're always acting like everyone's happiness is your responsibility."

"I can't just leave something alone when I know someone's being hurt."

"I know. That's very human of you."

"I've always been that way, but it was once just Shu I had to worry about. There was just us. That was okay. An eternity of just us was okay."

"And then life had to interfere. I know. Before I met you, my life was just okay too. And then I did."

She choked out a laugh. "And you nearly died multiple times because of it."

"I know. And it was the best journey I'd ever had. It was sad, when you were gone, but you gave me something else too. You gave me a family to look after. And suddenly I knew how you felt."

"In what manner?"

"You were looking after everyone when times got hard. You were the rock that stood against the swirling tides." He'd taken his free hand into hers. She rested her hand on his shoulder on instinct. "I had to look after my friends who were in turmoil, I had to look after Shu who had just lost everything they'd loved. And yet it was a good feeling. Before that journey, I'd have never thought I'd have a family that I needed to look after. I felt so much stronger because there were people I needed to be strong for."

"You were always strong. Stronger than I was."

"No. I was just different. I was there when you needed me, and you were there when I needed you. Now? You're here when we need you. But you need to remember that we're here for you too. Charon's back. It's gonna be fine."

She frowned. But Sai had pulled her into a small dance. All they were doing was swaying gently, but Sai made her feel like she was floating. Not in the air, but in water. She wasn't cut adrift in the sky, she was just…floating. Letting the current that was Sai, gentle yet fierce, take her where it pleased.

"Something's broken, Sai. We probably broke it. All those miracles…they came at a cost. I don't know if we can ever undo it. I don't know if we can mend it."

"I don't know either. But you're the strongest person I know. You can kick these anomalies in the face and be back in time for dinner. And knowing you, you'll say it was nothing, like you were striking down a Spiceacilian fish-frog on the beach and not a threat to time itself before you returned to us."

"I'd tell you…" But she cut herself off and flushed slightly. "Okay, maybe I wouldn't, if I thought you'd all freak out."

"You're strong enough to lead us through this, okay? You can do this. And if you trust us, we'll be behind you."

"I'm not a goddess, Sai. But even then, goddesses make mistakes."

"I trust you. We trust you."

"But what if I'm wrong about something? Or I hide something, or I —"

"We'll probably be no better, Rei. We're making the decisions to follow you or not, and we'll protest if we think something's wrong."

She huffed, as though he wasn't hearing her properly. She tended to slip into fal'Cie language with Shu, and Sai could now sort of understand them, but still. "If I keep my decisions from you, then —"

"Then we'll figure it out a little later and we'll keep that from you too and then we'll eventually figure everything out and all be up to speed even though neither of us communicated. We got this."

She laughed at the absurdity of it all. But that was humans. That was what it meant to be human, to never give up. They were stubborn. This was what it was like to be human, even when you weren't one.

"I love you." She could say that freely now. She was always still so careful about when she said it, as though any time she did, she'd be taken over by the evil entity that had haunted her. It had taken over for such a short period of time, but it was enough to scare her even now.

"I love you too." He kissed her nose. She liked that, when he kissed her in funny places, like her forehead, her shoulder, her wrist, palm, and fingers, her forearm. He was like no one she'd ever known before, and no one she would ever know. She was his, and he was hers. "Now let's go fix the timeline, shall we? One day at a time."

She nodded. "One day at a time then."

"Ah ha!"

"There, now we've got you!" Serah sighed. "Noel, this is Rhett, one of my students."

"M…Miss Farron…" the kid muttered, now finally cornered halfway up the mountain path.

Thankfully, Gadot's insistence that the path to the meteorite — or the gate now, actually — be closed off meant that there were barriers up preventing anyone from going too far out of town.

"Why did you run away?" Serah asked carefully. "I promise, I won't get mad if you tell me."

"I know you say you won't get mad at me, but I can't tell you." He waved his arms defensively. "I don't wanna get yelled at."

"That kid was trying to get away from Maqui," Noel provided helpfully. "I bet you anything he was up to no good."

Serah nodded and focused back on Rhett. "You were running from Maqui, weren't you? Did you do something you weren't supposed to?"

"I-I was watching him work on the robots, and then I saw it and I just…couldn't help myself…"

Noel scoffed. "This oughta be good. And then what happened?"

"I hope you're not misbehaving," Serah pressed. "It makes me sad when my students don't behave…"

Rhett wrung his hands nervously, biting his lip. Finally, his shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Miss Farron. Guess I'll own up…" he sighed. "The truth is, I stole something from Maqui."

"And that's why he was chasing you?"

"What did you take?" Serah said, keeping her tone from growing too upset.

"This necklace. It belongs to you, doesn't it?" The boy walked over, pulling it out of his pocket and setting it into Serah's hand.

Then, he dashed away and jumped down a shortcut back to the village.

"H-Hey! Wait!" Serah sighed. She looked down to the necklace in her hand and held it up.

It was a replica of the promise necklace around Serah's very neck now, a pendant of Cocoon that Snow had gotten her when they'd gotten engaged back in Bodhum. Serah had been a l'Cie. She'd tried to break up with Snow because of it, but he'd refused to let her go. Time was ticking for her, her fate was uncertain. But Snow hadn't given up on her. He believed she'd find a way to turn to crystal, and that they'd meet again one day even if she did. He'd been planning to propose to her anyway, but now there was no time to waste.

Under the sparkling sky of the Bodhum fireworks, Serah had said yes.

And yet they still weren't married.

"What was he doing with this, anyway…?" Serah muttered.

"That belongs to Maqui, doesn't it?" Noel questioned.

"No, i-it's mine. It's a reminder…of a promise a good friend made me."

"Serah, I believe you. Your sister's alive. She's out there somewhere."

Serah's head fell. "Thank you, Snow."

Still, Snow being the only one to believe her, it didn't change anything. It didn't bring Lightning back. Snow was always there for her, and she would forever be grateful, but believing wasn't enough this time.

He exhaled, deep in thought. Then, he reached up and removed his promise necklace. Taking Serah's hand, he dropped it into her grasp and pulled her fingers tight around it.

"Here, you hang on to this for a while. When I come back, it'll be with Lightning. Then there's no way she can say no to us getting married."

Serah stared down at her hand and then up at him. Then, she nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." He placed one last encouraging pat to her shoulder before turning and taking off, determination in his every step. That was just like him, to commit to doing whatever it took to make her happy in an instant, with his whole being.

And that was the last time I saw Snow. The memories I had of Lightning, standing on the plain beneath Cocoon…he was the only one who believed. Believed them enough to do something.

Serah lowered her necklace and stared off into the peaceful midday sun. It was a partly cloudy day, but it was still wonderful here. Just like Bodhum, in its own Pulsian way. "That's…why I've been waiting here."

"And doing nothing, right? Lightning and Snow are long gone, but you still sit here and wait. Why didn't you go after them?"

It must've been a sensitive subject for Noel. If he'd really lived in a future like he said he did, in a village where if even one person went missing, there was always the worry that they'd never come back…he must be so used to running after those he loved to make sure they were okay and to keep them safe. He must've been too familiar with when he didn't go after them, and because of that they never came back on their own.

"Did I tell you? I was once a l'Cie… An enemy of Cocoon."

"A l'Cie? A chosen servant of the fal'Cie? But… that was in the past, right?"

"Yes, it was. But a lot of people in Cocoon lost their lives back then."

"Uh-huh. And some people haven't forgotten. Is that what you're saying?"

"Snow and Lightning were l'Cie too, along with a lot of their friends. It was a tough journey. They were protecting me for a long time. I never learned to fight like them. I didn't save the world like them. I wanted to go, Noel," she confessed. "I wish I had."

"It's not too late. You can leave now, if that's what you really want."

Serah turned back to him quickly. "I know! But…I just can't! Not yet. I…this is a lot to think about, okay?" Her eyes dropped to the pendant in her hand. "Snow told me to wait for him. I have faith in him. He's a hero, after all."

"And has that faith been enough? Neither of you wanted to be apart. Yet, here you are, alone. I wonder if he really meant it. Maybe you didn't want to go, and you were glad to have the excuse…"

"No, that's not true. Of course I wanted to go! I mean…what if he came back and I wasn't here? Then we'd just be going in circles."

"What good is a hero if he's never around? You have responsibilities here, I get that, but what about your responsibility to yourself?" He dropped his head into his hand. "I'm sorry. It's that in my world… Saying farewell…well, it was usually for good. We didn't like to let go so easily. But I shouldn't pressure you. In the end, the decision has to be yours."

She tucked the pendant away in her bag. "Noel, have you ever traveled a long way to find someone important?"

"I went to find the goddess of Valhalla. I was looking for a way to get back someone I loved."

"And that's where you met my sister."

"Yeah. I'm not sure, but I think she was there to protect the goddess."

"Hey, guys!" Orlov waved and jumped down from a higher mountain path. Rufus followed after. Gideon just seemed to walk off the cliff, land, and keep his stride with barely a thud for his landing. "We've been searching all over the place, but all we found were these cool berries and a new hat for Gideon!"

He was indeed wearing a crown of flowers. He barely seemed to notice them on his head. Orlov had one too, but theirs was made from green leaves weaved together with some vines and berries. Rufus just had a white flower tucked behind his ear.

"We've clearly made some…progress," Rufus said, "but no artefact. You guys?"

"Well, not really," Serah admitted. "We were out here chasing a lead, but…it wasn't the artefact after all. And we came all this way, too…"

"Are you losing your touch, Mog?" Noel joked.

"Kupo…" the moogle lamented.

"It's not his fault," Serah insisted. "Come on, let's head back."

"Did you know that Gideon's like suuuper magical?" Orlov said as they walked. "Kinda clumsy with a weapon though."

"I was not designed with physically offensive capabilities," he said flatly.

"But he can blow things up! Watch —"

"Uh, how about we demonstrate later?" Rufus interjected. "Like, on an enemy or something. Clear of any potential collateral?"

"Oh, right."

She giggled. "I'm sure you're all very powerful. You'd make a good team."

"Not good enough to find an artefact, though," Orlov frowned.

"Don't beat yourselves up over it. Maybe what we need is a good meal and some rest. Lebreau always says that taking a break can help clear your head enough to solve any problem you're struggling with."

"Can she make us more food?" they exclaimed.

"As long as you repay her with good company. And maybe hunt down some extra supplies if you're going to eat like you did at breakfast."

"On it! Gideon! Help me blow up some more monsters!"

"I've got a question for you," Noel announced. "Who's this Snow person? A boyfriend?"

"Wasn't that the name of your cat?" Rufus recalled.

"Your cat? This is the Snow everyone's been going on about?"

Serah smiled. "Yup. He's real important. Everyone has different names for him though."

"I never would've thought it was a cat… You people are weird."

She laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But Snow is the name of my cat. We named her after my fiancé. He's the most important person in the world to me. He's my hero. He's off trying to find Lightning for me."

"You mean, he's trying to get to Valhalla?"

"Well, no. I told everyone there was something strange about Lightning just disappearing. And only Snow believed me. He left to search for Lightning… for my sake."

"Brave guy. That's the kind of person that everyone looks up to, huh? So you're not the only one who believes she's alive."

Serah nodded. "Snow and Lightning came to save me when I had been turned to crystal. They were turned into l'Cie because of it."

"Are you serious? What happened to them after that? They aren't still a l'Cie, are they?"

"Oh, no, not anymore. Once Cocoon was safe, they were turned back to normal. Or…at least I know Snow was."

"That's one crazy story. I guess the goddess smiled upon him."

"I have not heard of one being freed of the curse of a l'Cie beyond transformation into crystal or Cie'th," Gideon announced. "You, too, were crystal, yes?"

"Blessed by the goddess, like Noel said," Serah shrugged. "I don't know how it happened. No one really does."

"So Snow lives in this village with you?" Rufus asked.

She nodded. "But he's been gone a while now. He's out there somewhere, searching for my sister."

"Braving the wilds to find a lost friend. Now that's the kind of person who might believe our story."

"Is he that cool?" Orlov mused.

"Definitely! He's just this super cool guy, you know? He doesn't care about the way he looks, but that just makes him so much cooler."

"Uh huh," Noel muttered, losing interest. "That's great, I guess. Maybe we should —"

"And he's not just kind, he's reliable too. He always means what he says, and you can totally trust his word. I-mean-he's-my-hero!" Serah started staring off into space, her words blending together in her haste as Orlov nodded and urged her on. "Oh-and-I-know-you're-thinking-no-one's-perfect-I-know-he-has-his-flaws-and-sometimes-he-makes-me-so-mad-but-I-love-that-about-him-too-no-other-guy-can-compare-to-my-hero!"

"I…yeah, I get it, can we just get back to —"

"He-has-this-amazing-body-and-his-face-is-so-handsome-he's-tall-and-broad-and-makes-me-feel-so-safe! Oh, and even though he's big and tough, he can be so adorable! That's my Snow. You done asking?"

"IIIIII think we're done," Noel declared. "Thanks for all the…detail."

"You know, I was thinking, if Noel and the others here really are from the future or some other random points in time, they must be pretty curious about this time period," Lebreau said.

"That's true. We should probably explain a few things."

"I'm all ears."

"Me too!"

All of them gathered around as Lebreau began her story. "We were all born and raised on Cocoon. But three years ago, our home basically fell out of the sky. We couldn't rely on the broken fal'Cie anymore, so most of us made the decision to move to Pulse. Rei and her family are the exception, but they've gotten some backlash from being fal'Cie in human form after a fal'Cie called Barthandelus disguised himself and took control of the government, basically leading to Cocoon's fall in the first place."

"Weren't there millions of people living on Cocoon?" Noel asked. "It must have been pretty cramped."

"Well, it was. But on Pulse we had to deal with new hardships, like vicious monsters and a lack of provisions."

"Sounds like a rough time."

"Yeah. But eventually things settled down, and some former military types helped get things organized. Now there's a growing town at the base of Cocoon's pillar. The guys who used to be in charge are long gone."

"Although Rei wanted to help during the beginning, there was a lot of backlash about her being a fal'Cie," Serah admitted sadly. "But she did a really good job. Thanks to Charon's former access in Barthandelus's army, she was able to salvage a lot of stuff from Cocoon to act as a crutch while we were first getting started."

"Like you said, there were millions of people, and it wasn't easy for a lot of them to abandon their home, much less learn to live without the fal'Cie. We'd been reliant upon them for our whole lives — yes, even us NORA folk who resisted the government back in the day."

"If most people are still over near Cocoon's pillar, how'd you end up in this place?" Noel asked.

"Our leader, Snow, suggested we live somewhere near the ocean. Shu offered the location that wouldn't hurt the ecosystem and would be a relatively safe place to start a town. We used to live in a seaside down on Cocoon, so it was like we were rebuilding our home. Snow and the rest of us were used to fighting monsters and getting our hands dirty. So we pretty much settled back into our old way of life."

"Snow's not around right now, so we do the best we can," Serah said. "But if Lightning were back, everything would be so much better."

Noel crossed his arms in deep thought. "So for everyone here, your sister being gone is the reality. Odd."

"I know people have changed since we came down to Pulse," Lebreau went on, "but some folks have even learned how to use magic, like our Serah."

"It used to be really taboo to be able to use magic," she explained. "Back on Cocoon before the Fall, the only people who could use real magic were l'Cie. Though the military had found a way to at least mimic magic through technology, but I'm told it was nothing like the real thing."

"We've always been able to learn magic in my time," Noel said. "You think that everyone is just capable of magic and no one knew."

"Or maybe it's more of the timeline stuff releasing magic into the world. One thing's for certain: everything changed after Cocoon fell."

"Maybe there's something up near this reservoir!" Orlov exclaimed. They were leaning over a map of the area.

"We don't want to contaminate the water supply, but it's possible something fell in there when the meteorite came down," Rufus agreed. "You really have made a wonderful home here after all you went through. We're sorry to have brought all this on you."

Lebreau laughed. "It's okay. We love a little adventure every now and then.

"We should keep investigating," Serah said. "Mog, got anymore leads?"

"Kupo…" The moogle went flying out of NORA House, wandering around and trying to sniff out a location.

"We'll keep investigating on our end," Rufus assured her. "You and Noel make a good team too, ya know."

"Just two folks doing our best," Noel shrugged.

"Aren't we all?"

"Hi Mira!" Orlov led their boys onto the beach. "We found a frog!"

They held up a squirming Spiceacilian.

"Please explain to Orlov why we cannot keep the frog," Rufus begged.

"I go fish!" Mat held up a wiggling fish to Mira.

"No, no, put it back in the water or it will drown," she insisted.

"What a drown?" The boy tilted his head in confusion.

"It can't breathe air. It breathes water. Just like humans breathe air but cannot breathe water."

"Oh. Bye-bye fish!" Mat set it back into the water and it quickly dashed away.

"Orlov, let the spiky frog go."

"But it can breathe air!" they protested.

"It is hostile and it will spike you and you might kill it. You cannot keep it."

"Aw…" But they tossed the frog into the water where it gave an annoyed croak and swam away as well.

"Any luck on the artefact?" Mira asked.

"We've looked everywhere!" they lamented. "My sniffer says it's somewhere in the village."

"You sense it too?" Rufus asked.

"That odd hum in the air? Yes." She tapped her finger to her chin. "I'm not that good with…well, useful magic. I just destroy things. My siblings are far more capable…"

"You have siblings?"

She nodded. "I have twin siblings, a boy and a girl, and a baby sister. I also have twin cousins, both girls, and their baby brother. My cousins are a lot nicer than my siblings. Though the baby kids are pretty much opposites. My parents always dote on the youngest."

"Aw, did you feel left out?" Orlov asked.

"I preferred being alone. The twins never really cared much about me, but my cousins wanted to be my defenders, so I'm thankful for them. I just wanted to be left in peace, most of the time. That, or with the animals."

"Animals are nice. Gideon, do you like to be alone?"

"I have no opinions on companionship so long as they do not impede my basic necessities."

"That's so cute!"

Rufus sighed, shaking his head. "Regardless…I'm sure you're more than useful, Mira. I'm not exactly a good artefact hunter myself."

"You're the child of the Blade Phoenix and the Chaos Dragon, right?"

He nodded. "It mostly just gives me the power to fight really well. My mom was incredibly powerful. It's…weird, seeing her here. Married to that other guy. Not that I knew my mom very well…"

"We were all dragged to this world for a reason," Orlov insisted.

"But we don't know this place, so it's hard to find what exactly might be unnatural."

"What if we ask our creators?! They're smart and wise and such, even if they aren't precisely the ones we know."

"I cannot ask my creator," Gideon announced.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to exclude you, Gideon!"

"I do not feel excluded."

"Great! Then let's go find them!"

"Oh, wow." Noel made his way over to the entrance to Shu's Garden near NORA House in awe. "You grow vegetables?"

Serah smiled, tucking her hands together behind her back. "What? You mean you don't?"

"Well, the soil is…barren. Nothing will grow at all. We have to survive by hunting. It's that or starve."

She shifted from foot to foot. "Yesterday, you said you were the last of humanity. What did you mean?"

He frowned over at the garden. "Just what I said. When I was born, there were fewer humans in the world than live in this village. After a while…I was the only one left."

"You mean… it was the end of the world? It's just so… unreal."

"I can barely believe it myself. Although I can tell you, it's not as unreal as being here in the past, seeing all these people alive in one place. I still can't get over seeing so many people all at once. But you know, I think the future can be changed."

"How… did it happen?"

He shrugged. "There were monster attacks, and illnesses… people die. But everyone said the same thing before they passed on. 'The future is yours.'"

"Surely that wasn't what happened to wipe out the entire human race."

"War," he explained, "one that happened long before I was born. There were uncounted casualties; whole towns were blown off the map. There were survivors of course, but we never recovered. We just slowly faded into oblivion."

"So if we don't keep you safe, the human race will die out completely?"

"Hey, I'm not an endangered animal you can lock up, you know."

She smiled. "Well, I suppose while you're here, you aren't really the last. After you arrived here, I wonder what happened back in the world you left."

"Well, it just became an empty world. Nothing more would happen. It would be like time had come to a stop. Something like Valhalla, I guess. They say it's a place where time stands still."

"You're all together! Brilliant. Can you help us search for some artefacts?"

"Surely there must be a technique for it," Mira agreed.

Rei and Shu were sitting at opposite ends of the couch in NORA House with Sai and Charon laying across their laps and against the arms of the couch respectively. Mat dashed over and jumped in the middle of the couch, laying so that Rei could pat his head and Shu could swat his feet away.

"Well, you'll likely have to resolve any distortions in the area before an artefact will manifest," Rei said. "Follow your nose. Is there anything that you sense that's just wrong?"

"Lots of things feel wrong in this village," Rufus admitted, "and yet at the same time, nothing's particularly in need of righting."

"It's a peaceful and protected era, yes."

"Mrs. Rei, what do you know about the timeline and all these…distortion things?" Orlov asked. "And why did Mr. Charon arrive alongside Noel and that meteor?"

"I'd actually like to know more as well," Shu confessed. "What happened? What's happening now?"

Rei exhaled. "It's a long story. You know that there are four special fal'Cie of Etro, correct? The four of us. We were created from Etro herself, as a sort of counter to Etro's role in the Unseen Realm. The fragments of Etro's existence, scattered to enact Her will. Where the timeline is involved, so too are we. Etro's miracles brought about the salvation of Cocoon, but something else happened in the process. The entire timeline was warped, and now our roles as the fragments of Etro are coming to fruition."

"What are your roles?" Rufus asked.

"I am the wings of Etro. Asushunamir is the voice of Etro. Styxcaliaja — now Saitama — holds the ears of Etro. Hyacinthaja, now Mataecharonsan, holds the mind of Etro."

"We have allies in Valhalla," Charon went on, "named Ananda and Kasyapa. The right and left hands of Etro. They guard over Her Providence with the Knight of Etro now. Etro's Champion. Lightning."

"So…" Orlov tapped their hand to their chin. "If you're all the parts of Etro, what would that make us, as your creations?"

"Since you're not directly our creations, it's hard to say."

"Maybe you have variations of our powers," Shu suggested. "Or maybe you get to be your own people! No more of all this destiny or what you were born to be. You're free to choose. That's a lot."

"I would hazard a guess that perhaps their very existence is a result of the timeline splitting," Sai said. "Their purpose here might be to assist in the fixing of the timeline."

"It may yet be our only way to get back to our home," Rufus admitted. "But how to find the anomaly that's hiding the artefact?"

Rei sat forward. "Why don't we try something? The four of you could roughly represent and inherit each of our four powers, correct?"

"I do not represent any of you," Gideon pointed out.

"Styx has technically died, meaning her place can be taken by any worthy. If you are here, Gideon, there must be a reason. All four of you, link hands."

Orlov quickly took Rufus and Gideon's hands. Mira carefully reached out to take Rufus and Gideon's other ones.

"Mat, if you would?"

The young boy nodded and moved out of the way so that Sai and Charon could stand and form a loose circle with Rei and Shu as well. Mat sat in the middle, cheerfully.

Mira flinched. Her hands were humming with an odd feeling.

"Serah," Gideon announced.

"Yeah…" Rufus frowned. "That's…odd. I'm just getting this thought about Serah. Her hesitancy."

"Her decision to go on this journey is a distortion?" Orlov realized.

"This journey may very well change the timeline and her fate," Rei agreed. "Now try this. Follow our lead. Focus on the distortion and your desire to help fix it."

The four fal'Cie began to glow. The light coalesced into a spark of beautiful multi-colored light in the center of their circle. Mat reached up to poke it, but his hand merely brushed through it. It then flew off out the door of NORA House and out to the beach towards where Serah and Noel were wandering about (with Mog too, of course).

Rufus, Orlov, Gideon, and Mira focused their energies into their own small light. This one was a darker swirl of black, blue, green, and purple. It certainly wasn't as pretty as the fal'Cie light, but it took off all the same. This one, however, went further into NORA House and into one of the bedrooms.

"Did we do it?" Orlov asked.

"Follow it and find out," Rei said.

They broke their circle, Orlov rushing after the sparkle first and Rufus right behind him. Mira and Gideon followed after with less enthusiasm. Mat curiously wandered after them.

"Are they going to be okay?" Shu asked.

"I think they need a journey of their own," Charon mused. "To find themselves. And to continue the story that we ourselves should have concluded long ago."

"What's this then?"

Mog had found another trinket left sitting on a rock near the tree by the entrance to the village.

"What…?"

"Is that the artefact?" Noel exclaimed.

"This is Lightning's knife. I keep it in my room, but…how did it get out here?"

"Hey, look there." Serah pointed forwards, urging Dajh to focus in on his father up ahead.

"Go on, kiddo," Rei urged. She tapped Serah on the back. "Come on."

"Dajh!"

"Daddy!"

"Snow!"

"Serah!"

The Snow pulled Serah into a hug and spun her around while Sazh laughed heartily at having his son back, with the chocobo chick flying around them and squeaking in celebration.

"You're all right, aren't you?" Sazh asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Rei!" Shu surged forward and tackled her with a tight hug, holding her with an iron grip to make sure she was real and that she wasn't going anywhere.

Hope ran forward and looked across the empty field, but no one else was coming behind them. Snow and Serah excitedly spoke to each other, Shu crushed Rei in a hug and sobbed about ice cream, and Sazh knelt down to lift Dajh onto his shoulders with the chocobo chick resting in Dajh's hair.

But Hope was alone. Despite the happy scene in front of him, Hope hung his head. "They're gone, aren't they?"

"Hey." Sai moved to wrap his arm over Hope's shoulder.

Hope lifted his head. "I guess they meant for this to be goodbye. Then again, we've changed our fates before."

Sai smiled. "Don't give up hope, kiddo. You never know in this life. You really don't."

"Sai," Rei called. She brought Shu over and moved to take his hand. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm fine."

"Good. That's…good."

"Come on," Serah urged, taking Snow's hand and leading him back towards Hope and Sai.

"'Kay," Snow agreed.

But then Serah stared past Hope. She looked over his shoulder. She looked at the broad, empty expanse of Gran Pulse. There was…no one.

Rei suddenly looked down at her hands. She was gripping something in each, as though she had summoned them and didn't even realize they were there until that moment. "Um…Serah…"

Her gaze moved to Rei's face, then down to her hands.

"It's…It's her knife. I…I-I found it…near the base of the pillar."

Serah's hand rose. Then she paused. Finally, she reached out, fingers curling around the hefty knife that Serah had picked out for Lightning's birthday.

She remembered agonizing over what to get her sister, before Snow had helped her decide on a weapon. Serah had spent weeks searching for the right knife, something useful, practical, sleek, yet strong.

It felt so much heavier, now, than when she had last held it, wrapping it up in a gift box with Snow's help. Setting it on the dinner table as she prepared to tell her sister she was a l'Cie, when she was preparing to tell her that she was engaged to Snow. She had been terrified then, of what her sister would say. And a part of her hoped that Lightning would take it in stride.

Serah had run off crying that night. But she had known her sister loved her. She would never stop loving her sister. Lightning was strict because they'd had it hard, but Lightning wasn't always like that. Her sister was kind, and all she ever did was try and make sure Serah was happy.

Lightning had never liked Snow, but she hadn't forbidden Serah from seeing him — probably because Serah was as stubborn as her sister and wouldn't let something like that stop her. But Lightning had allowed them to go on. She had only snapped that night because it had all added up — being a l'Cie, getting engaged to someone Lightning barely tolerated for her sister's sake…

All she wanted to do was apologize. For being stupid enough to become a l'Cie in the first place, for being too scared to tell Lightning the truth until it was nearly too late.

It wasn't too late…

It shouldn't have been too late.

Serah had apologized. Lightning had apologized. It was all okay. Snow promised he would make Serah happy, and Lightning had believed him.

"Snow…" Serah said desperately.

"Serah, I'm sorry…"

"Lightning must be inside the pillar," Rei said. "They…they're with Vanille and Fang. Both of them."

"Sister…?" Shu whispered. They didn't look down at the remaining blade in Rei's hand, but that didn't stop them from sensing what it was.

"Wait, no…!" Serah snatched Snow's wrist. "What are you talking about?! She was right here a second ago!" She lowered her head, stepping back. "I saw her. We talked. She…gave us her blessing…"

They could only watch as Serah staggered forward, gripping her hands into tight fists. She turned back, staring at the gathering. Her sister still wasn't there. She had been there a second ago, but she wasn't there.

Her tears fell on the knife gripped tightly before her.

"No…" Shu said. "No, we…we just need to find them. We can find them —"

"Shu," Rei snapped gently, keeping her voice as light as possible. "I'm sorry. I-I tried…I couldn't…he…"

Shu's fingers curled around Charon's Kozuka in her hand. "No…" They shook their head. "No, he promised.

"I'm sure he's dreaming of you right now, my gem —"

"No!"

Rei thought they were going to try and punch someone. She thought they were going to run away. Instead, they just joined Serah in sobbing. It was gentle at first. Then it grew heavier. Then they both collapsed, the sounds of agony ringing out across the empty fields.

On the broad plain beneath Cocoon were the remains of a happily ever after that had been torn apart. Not everyone had come home.

I won't forget that moment. Lightning was happy — happy that Snow and I were getting married. She laughed, and said, 'Congrats.' But then, all of a sudden, Lightning disappeared. She was gone, like she was never there to begin with. No one else remembered her smiling and laughing. No one…but me.

Rei and Sai knelt over Shu while Snow rushed to Serah's side.

"It's gonna be okay," Rei muttered. That's all she could say. That's all she ever would say for a long, long time. "It's gonna be okay…"

"All your friends think your sister is inside that pillar," Noel muttered.

Serah nodded weakly. "I was scared. People said I was dreaming. They said…They said I was just making up stories so that I didn't have to face the truth."

Noel frowned. "Listen, Serah. Your memories are the truth. Lightning is alive. The question is, why are you the only one who remembers?"

"Well…perhaps history…changed somehow."

"You mean, your memories are true, but history was altered afterwards?"

"Of course, that's not really possible. I know that."

"But I just don't understand how I can remember it so clearly, when no one else can. Perhaps I saw a different future."

"You're talking about another possibility. A world that might have been."

"Does such a world exist? A place where my sister is still alive? Could it be a message from Lightning?"

"You mean, before she became trapped in the crystal, she was able to give you a glimpse of something… Something important."

"But, what? What was she trying to tell me?" Serah shook her head. "Maybe we're overcomplicating all this. Perhaps it was just a dream."

"It could be. Or, maybe it's your friends who are the deluded ones."

"And only I can see the truth? Hm. I mean, I was once a l'Cie. Perhaps it's just a memory from that time."

"You were chosen by a fal'Cie…? So maybe everyone else has false memories, and only l'Cie remember the truth."

She frowned. "But that can't be it. Snow was a l'Cie too, and his memories are the same as everyone's."

"I think it's something bigger than just your sister's disappearance. She might be trying to warn you about something — the very reason she disappeared in the first place."

"Has something powerful warped the fabric of history, you think?"

"Who could do such a thing? The gods? Perhaps the fal'Cie?"

"The power of a goddess?" she realized. "In my dream, Lightning prayed to a goddess…" She sighed and stared down to the weapon in her hands. "Weird. The knife looks like it's been polished."

"Maybe someone was cleaning it out here and then forgot about it. I don't think this's our artefact, though. Let's keep looking."

"Hey! Guys!" Mira came running down the beach with Mat trailing behind. He had picked up a crab and she had decided to let him keep it so long as he didn't kill it. "No artefact yet, huh?"

"No," Serah sighed, "instead, my things are showing up in places they shouldn't be…"

"I wonder if someone's trying to mess with us," Noel grumbled.

"I doubt it. No one here would do something like that."

He sighed, but Serah knew her village better than he did. "I guess not. Unless they think they're doing the right thing."

"It might not be a person at all. I mean, with time and space being warped everywhere, anything could happen, really."

"Right. And that's how my things ended up out here? It's not a bad theory."

"Okay, so maybe we should ask if anyone else is missing stuff."

"If they were, they'd report it to NORA," Serah said. "Let's head to the House and find out."

"Oh, speaking of which, there was something in NORA House that everyone was talking about," Mira said. "We found something, but we're not really sure of its importance since we don't know about your era."

"We can certainly investigate. I'll take anything I can get, at this point."

He sighed. "Think, Serah. When your sister and Charon went missing —"

"Charon…what if he knows something?"

"He's offered up all the information about the gates that he can, how finding an artefact and somehow using the gates again is the only way to find Lightning and Valhalla again. Not that he's eager to go back." He frowned. "Charon seemed…he was desperate to get through the gate — to get here. Guess it was to get back to his family, but it feels like he's hiding something."

"Charon wasn't the only one informed. Rei seemed pretty knowledgeable about this whole situation too. She gives off these vibes of always being wiser than she lets on, but that's how she always is. She's always more than she looks. She can't help it."

"If they're fal'Cie, I'd assume they'd be up to speed on all this godly stuff. Timelines and whatnot."

"I wonder…did Rei know from the beginning what had happened?" Serah reached into her pocket. "She was the one who found Lightning's knife that day…"

Mira sighed. "There are a lot of questions, I'm sure. But it can't be easy on them, being stronger than everyone else, knowing more than everyone else, and yet being just as helpless as everyone else."

Serah nodded. "They're good fal'Cie. Not even that. They're just…people. That's all they ever wanted to be."

"Let's let them sit this one out," Noel announced. "We'll handle the heavy lifting." He held up an encouraging fist. "After all, we make a good team, right?"

She grinned. "Right!"