Hey Guys.

I'm baaaaack, well for as long as possible this time :). Finally getting back to normal and being able to turn my head to writing again. It's been a tough couple of months! Anyway, thanks for the reviews, alerts and story favourites. Much appreciated.

Here is the next instalment.

Enjoy.

XX

Darkness – That's the first thing that graced her when she tried to flutter her eyelids open. With a momentary feeling of panic, she blinked in, trying to move a heavy dark cloud of nothingness from her mind. Besides the darkness, the first thing that came to her attention was a cold surface beneath her. Blinking in once again and getting her focus to clear a little, Serah moved her unwilling arms a little, trying to get them underneath her. Pushing herself up slightly, her eyesight began to clear just a little bit more, this time the contrast was bright, almost too bright.

Where was she? The last thing she remembered was a horrible vision of the future, of Valhalla. Now she was waking up somewhere she didn't know – Was this truly death?

The funny thing was, she felt very much alive. At least, that's what her aching muscles were telling her. Pushing herself completely upright, she groaned under the force of her shaking body, her arms unwilling to take even her slight weight. Her head was spinning, the visions of the future still floating in and out of her memory. The darkness of Valhalla still very apparent in her head.

Looking around, she decided it was perhaps time to get her bearings. Dead or alive, it would be nice to know where she had woken up. The last place that her feet touched down was on the top of Sazh's airship. She remembered now, she had been with Noel. They had just saved the time-line and arrived back home.

Where did it all go wrong? It was supposed to be the end of their journey, they had achieved the impossible. Caius was gone, killed by Noel, the goddess saved.

So why was she here? Wherever here might have brought her.

She gingerly got her feet underneath her, carefully steadying herself until she felt strong enough for the final push upright. Her legs wobbled dangerously beneath her and she swayed for a moment, cautious of the fact she could plummet straight back down to the hard floor below. Looking down at her feet she realised she was stood on some kind of light-coloured marble, it was a sight that flashed recognition through her mind.

She had been here before.

Looking up quickly, her eyes finally adjusted to the strange light that greeted her. They widened in shock when the sights before her became apparent. She had indeed been here before.

The void beyond, the place caught between life and death. It was a mini manifestation of Valhalla, of where she and Noel had faced Caius, to where she had once faced him alone. Etro's throne lay before her, darkness shrouding it's marble appearance.

Serah's eyes fixed themselves on that point, the throne where she had once seen Caius sit, full of glory and fight. It was the throne that Etro herself once graced as she looked upon the makings of her world. The goddess, maker of all things good and bad. The giver of unwanted gifts, of unwanted sights and protection detail. She was to be loved, loathed and respected all at once.

Another memory flashed across her mind, but it was not one that she had seen through her own eyes, she had seen it through the 'gifted' eyes of the goddess. The image was of Lightning, still donning her soldier uniform, full of promise and the recognition that she had just saved Cocoon along with her companions. Lightning had stood in front of the throne herself, army-grade boots holding her long legs steady. She had looked upon the throne with a strange expression. She was here for a mission of sorts, for a moment there had been a flicker of nervousness, even fear in the heroine's eyes. The look only lasted for a split second, before the young soldier had been consumed in a swirl of light, replacing her well worn uniform with the outfit that Serah had seen on her last – The outfit of the goddess herself, the outfit of Etro's Warrior.

Lighting had knelt then, before the impressive looking marble throne. With her hand on her heart, she had made a promise. A promise to protect the goddess, to protect all that Etro was, for the future and for the past. She had been stuck in a suspended time-line, far from the comforts of her own world, or even Pulse. The darkness had gripped her, and it had brought her to the shores of Valhalla. For one purpose, to defeat Caius.

Serah took an unsteady step forward, almost tracing the steps her sister had taken before. She was confused, the vision that had flashed before her eyes in death had been a grim one, the throne had been occupied by her sister, frozen in crystal.

She placed her hand across her heart nervously. Either the vision had been untrue, or she had been propelled into some other kind of twisted time-line, far from Noel and Mog. She took another step forward, even her light footsteps were echoing around the still room. The void beyond was no longer dark, she could see everything clearly, a difference from when she had fought Caius, before she had been sent into a dream state.

As she neared the base of Etro's throne, she paused, unsure of what to do next. Should she kneel, pay her respects to the goddess of all things? Should she continue forwards boldly, into some kind of hope that this was just another dream on the outskirts of death?

She quickly decided on neither, aided by the fact a small object caught her eyes. She looked down quickly, her eyes falling on the object in question. Laying at the base of the throne, it's tip almost touching it's marble base as the breeze gently swayed it, was a bright white feather. She shot forwards quickly, reaching out for the little unstable object and feeling it's silky texture against her fingers.

This belonged to Lightning, it was part of her sisters armour. She had half expected the little feather to blow from her reach, a memory of what had happened and a reminder that this trance was a dream. Yet it didn't, it stayed firmly in her hands, still as real as she herself.

A sudden thought hit her. Lightning had been here, and recently. The little feather wouldn't have lasted long in this breeze, she couldn't have left many seconds before Serah woke up. She was confused, where was here? Why was she still alive to see this?

"You will get your answer – soon."

Serah whipped round quickly, her eyes wide and a sudden quickening of her heartbeat putting her on alert. She scanned the throne room quickly, looking for the source of the spoken words. The voice had sounded oh so familiar.

"This is not a dream, merely a new challenge. We must protect the time-line."

Serah's heart jumped faster. She knew that voice.

"Yeul?" she whispered, clutching her sisters feather even tighter, She was determined to hang on to it, it meant Lightning was still out there. While the feather still touched her skin, she knew her sister was okay. That she was still alive.

"You're not dead Serah. Not Yet." Yeul's voice sounded distant, it's mellow tone echoed around the void before coming back to Serah. It wasn't until the small green-eyed girl stepped out from behind one of the marble pillars that her vocals continued in a less roundabout way.

"Yeul!" Serah leaped forward, desperately happy to see another person. If this was death, she was certainly a lot happier having company. She bounded up to the other girl quickly, yet was stopped from taking her in an embrace by a quick wave of Yeul's hand.

"Serah, listen. I don't have much time to explain." Yeul's voice held a sombre tone that Serah hadn't often heard.

Serah paused, close enough to the other girl to feel comfortable that she wasn't going anywhere, close enough to grab her if she tried to leave.

"You're not here alone Serah. Lightning is here with you. Something happened on Cocoon." Yeul looked down at her feet, she almost shuffled them nervously.

"H... How am I not dead?" Serah asked quickly, finding the stammer in her own voice slightly unnerving. She had begun to think that her journey to save her sister, all the time she had spent with Noel had toughened her, obviously it was just wishful thinking. She was about as confused and scared as she had ever been.

"There must always be a Seeress. The time-line cannot exist without one, just like me. You cannot really lay to rest, not without someone to replace you." Yeul looked back up at Serah, her eyes holding a haunting expression. Serah shivered, her pale-skin suddenly cold.

"The time-line has been corrupted once more, Valhalla wreaks havoc on your world. The current time is unstable, gates have closed and Caius has unleashed a darkness that cannot be fought." Yeul paused for a minute, just enough time for Serah to find her voice, her head was swimming with questions.

"What do you mean Valhalla? This is Valhalla. Isn't it?" she asked, figuring that where she currently resided was the most important question to ask.

"This is a manifestation of Valhalla, yes. There are many Valhalla's, just as there are many Seeress's." Yeul said quietly.

"So, this is Valhalla, but it also isn't?" Serah's head was swimming, a strange pounding had replaced the confusion and she rubbed at her temples quickly.

"This is a past Valhalla. When you saw your vision of the future, The void beyond had spread into your world. Your body shut down, unable to cope with the vision. For a moment, the world was without you or me, there was no Seeress to protect the time-line, thus opening a gate to bring you here."

"So this is a past Valhalla?, How come my sister's here?" Serah asked quickly, Why had Lightning been dragged into this in the first place?

"Lightning is Etro's Warrior, without her, the goddess would be jeopardized by Caius. Lightning was chosen to defend all that the goddess is, a worthy champion, raised from the saving of Cocoon." Yeul spoke in an almost text-book melody, her voice growing more sombre.

"While Caius still lives, there can be no peace for you or for your sister. Valhalla will reign in your world, and chaos will prevail. Your sister waits for you on the shore, go, make sure this time-line is secured and the darkness of Valhalla will lift."

With her words, Yeul's form began to fade, the outline of her body becoming unstable. Serah took a step back, alarmed.

"Wait! Yeul, what's happening?" she asked desperately. She reached forwards, trying to grab the young girls arm. She recoiled quickly when she grabbed nothingness, Yeul's form had become nothing but a phantom.

"Yeul! How am I supposed to defeat Caius? Even with Noel, he was just too strong!" Serah could feel tears pricking at her eyes. The young girl was asking the impossible, and if the only way to free the world from darknesses reign was to kill Caius, she suddenly didn't feel so sure.

"I can no longer help you Serah, you are the Seeress now, it's your job to be Etro's eyes. You cannot die without chaos ensuring, be wary. Lightning holds the answer to your question, I only appeared here because your subconscious called for answers. Go, your sister is waiting..." Yeul's voice lightened, her tone growing weaker.

"Wait, Yeul!" Serah called once more, as even the slightest outline of Yeul's body faded. The young girl had disappeared, right before her.

Serah sunk to her knees, Yeul's voice ringing in her ears. The young Seeress had caused more questions than she had given answers and Serah found herself more confused than ever as to why she was here.

She placed her head in her hands helplessly. She was alone once more, with nothing but a slight sea-breeze blowing through Etro's slightly transparent veil. Ahead of her lay the balcony, she had seen Lightning step towards it in her vision, sword held to one side, shocking blue eyes fixed on an army of monsters. The beginning had all happened here, the first vision she had seen through an oracle drive was her sister fighting Caius. On this very battlefield.

It had all started here, and here it must end.

Raising her head, she forced her very unwilling feet to bear her weight once more. Stepping over to the rooms edge, she cautiously approached the balcony, her eyes scanning over all that was Valhalla. Her vision darted instantly to the beach, to where Caius had been 'killed' by herself and Noel. She could still imagine the same spot that Noel had raised Caius's blade, striking in into the sand as a headstone.

Instead, the world around her was deserted, and she stood alone. The same figure that had stood in the form of Lightning, another servant of Etro. Her light-pink hair even blew backwards in the same manner and for a moment, she felt a small flash of confidence.

Her sister was alive, Yeul had confirmed everything. While Lightning still lived, she still had something to fight for.

She had to find her, if the answer to everything lay with her sister, she had nothing left to lose. She looked down at her hands, the absence of Mog's comforting bow-form gave her a little uneasiness. She had no weapon, bar magic, she had no way of defending herself. In a world as wide as this one, she was unsure of what she might find.

Instead of a weapon, she looked in surprise at her left hand, gently opening it she found that she still had a firm hold of Lightning's feather.

She smiled lightly, an unsure kind of smile that confirmed all her wants and fears. She had to block out any doubts. She had been given a second chance, when death had come knocking on her door she had managed to survive. Here she was once more, with the chance to start over, to do things differently.

Perhaps with Lightning's help, she really could end this.

The war had begun once more and this time – she was at the front of the battlefield.