And Pandaemonium is introduced! This chapter is so much shorter because I took a long time to try to imagine what Pandaemonium would have looked like before eventually deciding that I wanted it to be the opposite of Titan. I figured that with the new world, this thing is essentially a biogenerator like Titan was for Gran Pulse, only Pandaemonium grows food. It made sense for them to be polar opposites. This chapter had a lot more to do with exposition and setting up for parts of Lightning Returns, so I'm sorry it was kind of short. Working on the next chapter, and I'm actually really excited for it :) thanks for reading! I hope y'all had a happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Summary: Sazh's discovery of the fal'Cie leads the heroes to come face-to-face with the doubts of their past.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy XIII series

The New World – 500 AF (Two Days after the Chaos)

"A fal'Cie?" Hope asked, stunned. Did he hear that right? "Sazh, I did a full scan of both Cocoon and Pulse in 10 AF, 400AF, and as soon as I got here in 500AF. The fal'Cie have all died out."

"There were a few who were sucked into the Historia Crux and the Void when the Chaos took Lightning though," Snow pointed out, raising the arm that contained his l'Cie brand. Sazh opened his mouth, presumably to ask how he even got branded, but the blond just held up his hand. "Story for another time."

"So one of them could have just been thrown out of the Historia Crux simply by chance here?" Noel asked, trying to clarify the situation.

"Possibly."

The four men started to make their way inside the airship when the hunter suddenly remembered something crucial. He sprinted back across the bridge and up the stairs into the Temple proper without an explanation, ignoring the concerned shouts from Hope, Snow, and Sazh. He had to complete the circular paradox; this was one thing he couldn't afford to forget. As the Chaos of the Temple enveloped his body, he reached out with his mind, praying that she could hear him.

Yeul? Yeul, please. Please, I need your help.

It wasn't two seconds after he finished his thought that the Chaos swirled in front of him, the blue-haired teen appearing. This incarnation had her hair pinned up in the back, her long bangs framing her thin face. Noel's breath caught- could this be his Yeul?

"I heard your call, Noel Kreiss," she said gently. The hunter tried to swallow his disappointment.

"Yes. Please. I need your help. There is a circular paradox that must be closed. I need to send a message out to New Bodhum in 700AF. I know that Chaos can warp time; could you get that message there?"

"There are many things the Chaos can do. Reach into the Chaos and tell us your message. We will do what we can for you," Yeul replied.

A black mist appeared in front of him, and Noel hesitantly put his hand in; the empty air took him by surprise. He had expected there to be some sort of matter in the Chaos. He closed his eyes, trying his best to remember the words from the crystal fragment.

Focus.

Hey there, Noel. This might be hard to believe- but this is you from the future. I'm just a little bit further along the timeline. This is a warning to my past self. There's a serious trial ahead of you. I know we're pretty tough, but this almost broke me. Just don't give up, and don't give in. I know it's weird coming from yourself, but trust me, I know you can do it.

Noel slowly opened his eyes as he finished, looking back into the cryptic eyes of this particular incarnation of Yeul.

"It's done," he told her, slowly withdrawing his hand from the Chaos.

She raised her arms in an arc above her head, tilting her head up before bringing them back down.

"We will do what we can, Noel Kreiss," she said before disappearing back into the mist. The hunter nodded- he had done his part. It was critical for him to send that message; he held on to his own words, repeating them over and over again each time the thought of his best friend's death threatened to push him over. As for Serah's message they found…he prayed to whoever was listening that she would be able to get her message there too. Turning around, he walked down the steps to where everyone was waiting, giving them smiles and quick answers to their questions as they boarded the airship and Sazh took off toward their newly-discovered problem.

Hope was the first to spot the unusually large life form wandering in what looked like the ruins of a city…but instead of it having been decimated, the rocks and rubble were floating, piecing themselves together like the Chaos-infested Academia just before Serah and Noel faced off against Caius. He was briefly reminded of his childhood five hundred years ago, when he still had the heart and time to play video games. The towering fal'Cie stood in the middle of the mess, the eye of the storm, as it fashioned bricks and cobblestones. From its side the four men could see the beginnings of a road, the base stones of walls not yet erected.

"Think it's safe to just…approach it?" Noel asked nervously. Snow took a moment to remember that his young friend had not dealt with a fal'Cie before; that at the very least, the people at the end were never their puppets or slaves. For that, he was grateful.

"This one just looks like it's...building," the silver-haired man said slowly.

The fal'Cie reminded Hope, Snow, and Sazh of Titan, the fal'Cie that had put them through a handful of trials to test their mettle on Gran Pulse five hundred years ago. They both had that towering shape, its arms and legs as bulky and muscular as rock and metal allowed them to be. While Titan was made of black volcanic rock with bright orange bands running all over its armored body and had bright orange eyes, this one was made entirely of white marble, green vines covering its body, and had green eyes. Wordlessly, Snow put a hand over his brand to draw out his eidolith, summoning Shiva and Nix. The two eidolon sisters flew toward the fal'Cie cautiously before a loud voice caused the four men to jump with surprise.

"I am fal'Cie," the giant boomed, turning toward the party. The Shiva sisters flew back to where they stood, Shiva flanking them on the right and Nix on the left, ready to jump into the fray if a fight broke out. "The Maker has named me Pandaemonium."

"The Maker?" Sazh blurted out before he could stop himself. "Isn't that what all the other fal'Cie were looking for when they wanted to destroy Cocoon?"

Pandaemonium took a giant step in their direction, the floating rocks clearing a way. "The Maker has given me two purposes and two purposes only," he started, not answering Sazh's question. "In the world of Nova Chrysalia, to shape the land. I am to build the holy city of Luxerion and the land of pleasure, Yusnaan, and to bury in the Dead Dunes secrets of the ancient past. I am to provide the human race with all supplies needed for their survival." The enormous being turned its head, looking straight at Snow. "This is the will of the Maker. L'Cie, will you accept a new Focus and protect me?"

"What, fal'Cie ask permission before branding people now?" the pilot snorted. Even though he saw him as a father figure, Hope shot him an exasperated look.

The blonde's face was a complete mask, no flicker of emotion giving his thoughts away. "Not until we get some answers," he said, voice unwavering. He had the feeling that unlike the fal'Cie before, this one was not going to outright kill them if he didn't accept the Focus. "What exactly is 'Nova Chrysalia'?"

"It is the name that the Maker has chosen for this new world," Pandaemonium replied. "A world tainted by the Chaos that Etro failed to contain in the Unseen Realm, the same Chaos I have been made to produce necessities for humanity."

"You sure that trusting what it says is the way to go?" Sazh asked his companions quietly, running a hand through his afro. "We don't have any fond memories when it comes to fal'Cie."

"Maybe we should take a look around Pulse- Nova Chrysalia," Hope corrected himself. "Before taking him up on that. And this whole thing about the 'Maker' is making me uneasy. It feels like Cocoon all over again. I mean, to help the human race survive? That's Eden."

"I agree with Hope. My old Focus- I can't fulfill it anyway now," Snow said, nodding. "We can check on Nova Chrysalia before coming back to this guy here."

"You sure it'll just let you walk away without getting pissed off and branding all of us again?" the pilot asked worriedly. The blond turned to the waiting fal'Cie.

"I get the feeling you aren't one of those fal'Cie that will kill us if I say no," he called to the giant. "We will return in a week's time."

Pandaemonium didn't respond. The enormous marble structure only turned, walking back to the floating rocks to resume construction of the First City.