AHH! I'm SUPER behind in updating this chapter! The holidays were a pretty busy time, what with travel and all, and I took the time out complete chapters for Nox Caelum as well as a oneshot. This chapter has been sitting in my computer for a week or so now; it's much shorter, but it's setting Nova Chrysalia up for the next five hundred years, and the ways that it will change in those few centuries. Next chapter will be up soon! It'll be much longer, and we'll start to see some weird things since the world is all out of whack. It'll be up to Hope, Noel, and Snow to figure this new world out when nothing is certain.

Thank you guys for your support! See y'all soon!

Summary: It was comforting to have family around, Chaos or not. He had never really known what having family was like anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII

Nova Chrysalia – 500AF (Thirty Days after the Chaos)

"There!"

Another patch of land covered in the black mist, where by experience, Noel knew dangerous and powerful monsters lurked. The Chaos, ever in flux, seemed to swirl in a circle, its movements creating a checkered pattern for those looking form the outside. Snow skimmed a hand over the map he held, marking with red ink the spot the young hunter pointed out.

"We've barely covered a quarter of this place; there's already six Chaos spots. Who knows how many more there could be?" the blond asked. He almost felt like throwing both map and pen over the side rail of the airship as Sazh circled around slowly, giving them ample time to survey the area below. He and Noel, recommended by Hope, were placed in charge of a squad of Academy soldiers by Director Nazca for reconnaissance of the situation on the ground after Noel's stumble into the Chaos a few days ago-

Noel hadn't meant to wander far, really. He was with Snow on Nova Chrysalia, waiting as the bigger man spoke to the fal'Cie. Sure, Pandaemonium was intimidating and unlike anything Noel had seen before, the closest comparison being the Atlas machine he and Serah had defeated in the past, but there were only so many minutes he could ogle at it before he needed to do something. It and Snow kept talking as the fal'Cie kept building cobblestone streets and brown stone buildings and structures, so Noel walked off, intending to inspect the city that Pandaemonium had constructed so far.

So engrossed by the sights and picking apart all the details was he that he hadn't even noticed that he was surrounded by Chaos until he was quite literally blinded by the black mist, the wind picking up and ruffling his hair and clothes when he reacted purely out of instinct. Something tugged at the back of Noel's mind, and he drew his swords just in time to stop the attack of a raging dragon and several gremlins. The latter were quickly disposed of, but the former, well…Noel ran as fast as he could until he was out of the Chaos, the dragon's roar ringing behind him.

The young hunter almost shuddered at the memory. "Better safe than sorry," he reprimanded Snow, who cracked a grin. "Besides, if Hope is really trying to convince the Board to start colonization here, we'll need to have the full picture of what's happening. Wouldn't want anyone to, you know, accidentally walk into one of these and get themselves killed."

Snow snorted as Sazh put the airship down outside of the Chaos zone, the squad disembarking.

"Scour the area for any enemies that may have escaped," the blond ordered. "We'll regroup in fifteen here to go into the zone and take on the monsters there."

"We haven't been this far out before," Noel murmured as he took in his surroundings. Their ventures in following the Chaos spots took them beyond explored territory; they had flown beyond the Wildlands, and into a rocky terrain, moss clinging to the stone and water vapor heavy in the air. Streams of water cut through the rock, a lake on the sides of the stone paths that lay from the Wildland roads to whatever lay ahead. The brunet took in a deep breath, admiring the scenery around him. Snow bent down on one knee, putting a gloved hand onto the rock.

"The Sulyya Springs," he said. "Who would have thought. Five hundred years and a terraform later, and this place is still here."

Noel smiled. "Lots of memories?" he asked, noting the wistful look in his friend's eyes.

"Just one of the places we passed by when we were l'Cie- all l'Cie," Snow said, hastily correcting himself when he saw the look the brunet shot him. "It was real nice here to take a breather in the middle of our way through Gran Pulse. Before everything changed. It's nice to know that just a small piece of what happened all those centuries survived. It's comforting."

He didn't have to elaborate for Noel to know what he meant. Even throughout his journey with Serah, Noel had found himself looking for things that reminded him of the time he was from- though it was hopeless and dead at the end of the world, he couldn't change his roots any more than he could change the fact that Yeul and Serah were gone. In the midst of the Chaos, both literal and figurative, he, too, had looked for some sort of consistency to anchor him to reality. Fighting Chaos monsters, like he and Snow were doing now, helped. The hours he spent in the Academy library, throwing himself into education, helped. Snow and Hope's presences helped. Noel almost shook his head; he had no idea when he first met them that he would consider them brothers. It was comforting to have family around, Chaos or not. He had never really known what having family was like anyway.

FinalFantasyXIII

Dajh was there to greet the squad at the airship ramp with Sazh two hours later when the soldiers and their two leaders had scoured the entire area and cleared out the monsters. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially if the colonization plans did go through the Academy board and people were really going to move down here within the next few years. The city that Pandaemonium was building looked promising; Snow could envision people living there, no longer in fear, but cared for. The hero in him would not let him rest until that vision was seen to.

The airship took off, climbing higher and higher above the area, prepared to fly back to Bhunivelze when Noel stopped them. "Sazh!" he yelled into the intercom. Something in the distance caught his eye, an uncomfortable feeling stirring in his gut. "I think I see something! Head due west!"

Despite his confusion, the pilot heeded his words. Snow stepped up to the railing next to him, putting a gloved hand up to his eyes and shielding them from the rays of the sunset, trying to see what the hunter was looking at. "What is it?" he asked, ducking his head around in different angles. Noel lifted his finger to the horizon.

"There! Don't you see it?"

"What's there to see?"

The brunet almost growled in frustration. "There's a whole bunch of Chaos just gathered there!"

It wasn't until the airship flew closer that Snow was able to clearly understand what he was talking about it. His mouth went slack; his arm fell to his side, and all the words he had in mind flew out of his open mouth. Looming in front of the airship was the black mist of Chaos, hovering just over what looked like black ink. It was too thick to be water; whatever was crashing onto the shore in waves was too dense.

"What…is…that…" the blond breathed, barely managing to form a coherent thought. The Chaos swirled threateningly in the cloud, warning them to not come any closer. Sazh pushed the ship up higher, and sure enough, all the party on the deck could see into the horizon was Chaos. "It's like a sea," Snow remarked. In an instant, his thoughts were transported to Bodhum on Cocoon, to New Bodhum on Gran Pulse. His home was no more; this was a poorly-constructed mirror image, and it pricked at his heart knowing that this was the closest it would come to his hometown.

"A sea of Chaos," Noel mused quietly. "Maybe we should just call it that. I wonder if it goes all the way around Nova Chrysalia."

Snow couldn't find the will to respond.