The final chapter, do you guys know how good it feels to complete a story for the first time? Man! It feels good~! Anyway I did change some things around but not much lol.

Haha well guys enjoy the chapter and I will answer the question of a sequel…at the end of this chapter~!

When Prayers Turn to Promises

The six l'Cie were suspended in the air, floating above the collapsing Eden.

"Stay together," Lightning yelled as she grabbed the hands of her closest comrades. She looked around frantically as she heard Snow yell, desperation and surprise evident in his voice.

"Fang! Vanille!"

Lightning spotted the two floating below them, separated from the group. Her azure orbs locked with Fang's as the warrior glanced up. The soldier wanted to speak but her body resisted and could only scream her thought through her eyes.

Fang…what are you doing…

Come back here…you can't possibly….no…

Lightning felt an odd tingling sensation throughout her body as she began to crystallize. She watched Fang take Vanille's hands, their l'Cie brands glowing brightly. The light then grew and before the soldier knew it, everything went white and then black.

Lightning regained consciousness but kept her eyes closed. She felt a cold floor beneath her and heard many voices above her. She pushed herself up, supporting her weight on her arm. The strawberry-blond then opened her eyes, vividness of the light causing her to close them again. She held her head as she opened her eyes again, letting them adjust before completely exposing them to the brightness.

Lightning blinked as she noticed that she was surrounded by people who seemed to be walking in various directions. The people passed by her as if she was just an obstacle on a sidewalk. She looked at the individuals that passed her by, their faces indistinguishable and blurry. The soldier stood, assessing at her surroundings. It was as if she was in a corridor, much like one she usually be in when she was about to take the train. She noticed that something about her location was off. Everything seemed bright and foggy and it gave off an otherworldly vibe.

Was this real, or is all of this a dream?

The strawberry-blond pondered but she found no answer, she knew that it all felt real enough. It was just at the same time, everything seemed so bizarre. Lightning folded her arms across her chest, her cerulean orbs filled with utter bewilderment.

"Where am I," she asked herself.

She glanced around trying to see if she could pinpoint a sign on any of the walls. Unfortunately she didn't find any, which added fuel to her already building frustration.

The people still passed her, oblivious to her existence. Lightning considered asking someone but the people here seemed to be pre-occupied. With an audible sigh the pink-haired woman started to walk, seeing as that was her only option. She hoped that by walking she would be able to find something that hinted to her location. She walked and walked, her eyes darting from wall to wall and to every pillar. It was then that she noticed something familiar when she was searching. Blue and pink stood out from the constant gray shades of the other individuals. She froze, her azure eyes widening for a second as she caught a break in the crowd.

There, sitting on a bench was Fang, who was smiling as she conversed with Vanille. The pink-haired soldier had to blink a couple of times to make sure that the two Pulsians weren't an illusion of this perplexing world. When she was certain that the women were still there, she pushed through the crowd. Lightning heard the complaints and unpleasant remarks from the people she bumped into but she ignored them. Once she was able to push her way through Lightning stumbled over towards the duo.

"Fang? Vanille?

The two women looked up, the two of them blinking simultaneously. Fang sat on the bench, her legs crossed and her arm draped over the bench. The tanned woman's mouth was slightly open as if she had just finished a sentence.

Vanille smiled at Lightning before waving to Fang, "Looks like I've gotta go…I don't have much time left yah?"

Fang nodded at the redhead, smiling also. "See ya."

Vanille giggled and turned away, her body fading as she skipped away from the two women. Her voice echoed as she faded into nothingness.

Lightning stared at the spot where the girl disappeared, her eyes wide with silent awe. The ex-sergeant then turned to Fang who still sat in her casual position, her emerald orbs on the ground. The warrior then suddenly looked at Lightning, patting the space next to her.

"Sit."

Lightning hesitated, her mind still trying to compute what had just happened. Fang rolled her eyes and patted the bench again, this time a little louder. "Come on, don't be shy…I don't bite…unless you want me to."

Lightning blushed and sat down next to the woman, muttering a curse under her breath. The raven-haired woman laughed, wrapping her arms around the soldier. The taller woman held Lightning close, nuzzling into the nape of the other woman's neck.

"I'm going to miss being able to do this the most…"

Lightning tried to control her blush and managed to push away from Fang, who seemed disappointed. "Fang, what are you talking about?"

Fang looked down, biting her lip, "I…I don't have much time left…"

As soon as the warrior finished her sentence her arm that was closest to Lightning had begun to crystallize. Lightning looked down at her arm, her eyes widening.

"We completed our focus…"

Fang shook her head, "You completed yours, but ours was different."

"Different," Lightning repeated as she tried to make sense of all of this. Then the memory of Fang and Vanille drifting away from the rest of them flashed in the soldier's mind. "Fang-"

The warrior took Lightning's hands, causing the strawberry-blond to fall silent. "Look…I don't have much time before I…" Fang closed her eyes and ground her teeth together. "Lightning…I won't be with you when you wake up, and neither will Vanille."

The pink-haired woman froze, her heart skipping a beat as the words echoed in her head. "What?" Lightning's eyes went blank for a moment, "You…won't…be there?"

Fang frowned, shaking her head as her arm completely crystallized. She looked away, her emerald orbs now a dark void. "Light…I…"

Lightning looked down at their hands, her body trembling violently. Anger lined her breaking voice as she spoke, though her voice was dangerously low. "You're telling me that you're not coming back! This isn't real!" She laughed bitterly, "This is some screwed up dream right?" Angry tears spilled from her eyes as she tightened her grip on Fang's hands. "This is some joke right? You're just kidding around with me! Just stop it…it isn't funny!"

Fang lifted Lightning's face up, wiping away her tears. "Don't cry…"

"I'm not crying," Lightning shot back. Then her lips curved into a miserable smile, "I just have something in my eye."

Fang blinked as she heard those words, remembering that they were once spoken by her. As the realization struck her a smile appeared on her face as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. She chuckled as she quickly wiped the tears from her own eyes. "I guess I do too huh?"

The tribeswoman's smile faded as quickly as it came, the crystal creeping onto her face. Lightning noticed it too, sadness taking root deep within her. As much as the soldier wanted to reject this cruel truth, her heart couldn't and left her in a state of frailness. Sadness and dread took root deep within her.

Fang looked down, "I guess this is when I say-"

"No."

Lightning tried to hold back her tears as she spoke but her feelings began to overpower her stability. She looked up at Fang, shaking her head. "Don't say it Fang...this, this isn't goodbye!"

Tears streamed freely down the Pulsian's cheeks, her whole form tormented and in pain. The dark-haired woman closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "Fine then...this isn't goodbye..." Fang put on a false smile, "How about we say good night instead?"

Lightning forced a smile also as her azure orbs locked with Fang's. "Okay..."

The Pulsian woman wiped her ears, a chuckle leaving her as she remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot...Vanille said to check you pocket; she left something for you. Also she said to tell Serah that she has apologized to the right person...whatever that means."

Lightning blinked as she felt her body being pulled away from Fang. She reached out and grabbed hold of the warrior's hands as the force intensified. For a moment time seemed to slow down and Lightning watched as a single tear rolled down Fang's cheek. The soldier felt her grip beginning to become weaker as her hands started to lose their grip.

"Goodnight...Fang..."

Fang smiled sadly as the pink-haired woman lost her grip."Light...don't wait on me. Just be happy alright..."

The soldier's eyes widened as the words hit her ears but Fang was already out of her reach and she was unable to respond. It seemed that whatever was pulling her away felt like she being lifted. Lightning reached out one final time, Fang's voice echoing in her ears. Then suddenly everything went white as a familiar voice filled her ears.

"Wake up."

Lightning opened her eyes as her crystal shell started to dissipate, turning into nothing but crystal dust. She looked around as her other comrades began to wake from their brief crystal four of them looked up to see their home, Cocoon, supported by a pillar of magnificent crystal that towered over the terrain of Pulse.

"They did it," Lightning muttered. "They saved the world..."

Vanille's voice filled their ears, "We've done our part...the rest is up to you..."

Lightning looked at them a smile gracing her features as she gave them all a nod.

"So, does this mean we completed our focus," Hope asked.

Snow chuckled, "Well Cocoon has seen better days..."

Sazh took a step forward, his eyes on Cocoon. "Well I think this qualifies as a demolition, focus complete!" He laughed.

Fang's voice echoed in their ears next, "It's whatever you want to believe old man..."

"It really is a miracle," Lightning said, her azure orbs glistening in the morning sunlight.

Hope looked down at his arm and saw that his brand wasn't there. "My brand, it's gone!"

Snow and Sazh looked in the spots where their respective brands were as Lightning touched her chest, glancing down for a moment. Sazh and Snow cheered as they spoke in unison. "Our brands are gone!"

"When prayers turn to promises, not even fate can stand in their way." Fang said, Lightning imagining the smile on her face.

Snow looked off in the distance, his eyes widening as he spotted a familiar head of pink hair. "Serah!"

Sazh and the others looked up too as Dajh was spotted next to Serah. The pilot smiled as Serah pointed towards Sazh and the small boy spotted his father, hurrying to him. Snow and Sazh both ran towards their targets, Snow lifting Serah off the ground and Sazh pulling his son into a warm embrace.

Lightning smiled at the scene when Fang's voice echoed in her mind. "...Vanille said to check your pocket. She left something in there for you." The soldier reached into her pockets, pullingtwo pieces of paper out of her right pocket. She looked at the pieces of paper realizing that they were photos, the pictures that she, Vanille and Fang took on Pulse. Lightning looked at the first picture, which was the one that was taken when that three women were caught off-guard. She smiled at her own shocked facial expression and Fang's goofy smile; Vanille even looked silly in this picture...well more than usual.

The pink-haired woman then looked at the nextpicture, feeling her heart tug painfully in her chest. It was the three of them all smiling happily. genuine smiles on all their faces. She stared at Fang and Vanille's smiles before looking at her own. That had been the fist time the strawberry-blond had smiled since the death of her parents. Her smile was true and it reflected how she actually felt. She had to admit that she was truly happy for the first time in a while. The soldier flipped the picture over and noticed Vanille's attempt at using Cocoon's alphabet.

"Together forever and family to the end!"

Lightning smiled at this, her eyes burning with tears that never fell. She closed her eyes for a moment as she put the pictures back in her pocket. When she opened her eyes she caught sight of her sister walking towards her, the smaller Farron smiling warmly.

"Lightning..."

Serah held out her arms as tears pooled in her soft blue orbs. Lightning approached her sister slowly and hugged her, the stinging in the soldier's eyes becoming stronger. She squeezed her sister tightly before pulling away, a single tear falling down her cheek that was almost unnoticeable. "Welcome back Serah..." Serah's smile widened as she wiped away her streaming tears. Lightning frowned slightly as Serah took her hand. "Serah...I'm sorry..." Serah shook her head, dismissing her sister's apology and she gave her a hug. "It's okay."

Hope ran forward and looked around, his eyes searching for any trace of Fang and Vanille. When there was none he looked down, biting his lip. "They aren't coming back are they?"

Lightning smiled at her sister and walked over to Hope, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her smile turned into a sad one as she realized what her said. "Hey..."

The teen shook his head and smile appeared on his face, his eyes lightning up with hope (A/N: please excuse the pun folks). "We've changed our fate before right? Maybe...maybe we'll see them again."

The pink-haired woman nodded as she took her hand off of the boy's shoulder. "Yeah, maybe..."

Snow walked over to them, draping his large arms over their shoulders. "Hey! Hey! We've got a wedding to plan you know?" Hope smiled as Serah joined them, her eyes on Snow.

"You don't waste any time do you," Hope asked in-between laughter.

Snow shook his head as he wrapped an arm around Serah. "No...no I don't." He then turned to Lightning, his facial expression serious. "I promise to protect her...always."

Lightning smiled, "I believe you...congrads."

The large blond smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Haha, thanks sis."

Lightning looked up at Cocoon as ships and other vehicles poured from the fallen sphere. Her eyes then flickered to the sun as its light caused the crystal to glisten and glow.

"Just be happy alright..."

The soldier turned her gaze away from the crystal and looked at the others who were smiling and chatting. A smile graced her features as she joined them.

"So, what are we going to do now," Hope asked.

Snow grinned and trotted over to his future sister-in-law. "Well...what do you think sis?"

Sazh laughed, "Yeah, without the fal'Cie things are going to be a lot different now."

Lightning shrugged, "Well the first thing I'm going to do is sleep for a month..."

"Oh my, did you just make a joke Lightning, "Serah asked in mock horror.

The older Farron's mouth fell into a flat line. "No, I'm serious."

The group laughed while Lightning simply shook her head, looking up at the sky as animals took flight. She sighed, her lips curving into a small smile.

Fang, Vanille...you two left us this new world to explore, ponder and learn of its wonders. I have to say that it a pretty heavy task you left for us but I'm not one to complain. No...not in the slightest. We owe you two everything, including the safe return of my sister and Sazh's son. Humph! Don't stay up there sleeping for too long though, we're waiting for you to wake up. Until you do...goodnight...and Fang...you said to be happy and I'll try.

Lightning glanced at the crystal pillar and smiled before she and the others joined the crowd of the survivors. As she mixed in with the crowd she put her hand in her right pocket, grabbing hold of the pictures, her smile widening a little.

Sweet dreams you two...

I wanted to make the ending close the the cannon one with a bit of changing, the ending that you just read seemed a bit more real to me. It was how I saw it in my head lol

Anyway, about a sequel, I have decided...to let you guys make the choice lol. If you guys want me to write one I will because I do have the story idea for it. So drop me a line and also vote (in the review) if I should make a continuation of this. I just wanted to thank everyone who has stayed with me on this story because without you guys this would have been a three-shot XD so thank you all SO much!

Love you guys!

-NEKO