AN: This takes place directly after FF XIII-2. It's an extended, alternate ending to the story. If you haven't finished FF XIII & XIII-2 be warned that there will be spoilers.

This is also a BL story between Noel and Hope.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Prologue

Noel walked out of his small, comfortable home. It was a warm summer night and as he looked up at the night sky he couldn't help but remember his journey all of those years ago…

After Serah collapsed and everything was being swallowed by chaos Noel thought for sure that it was the end of everything. Just when he thought that things couldn't get any worse they did. Another gate appeared and all kinds of monsters came pouring out. Noel was just about to give up.

"There's another gate over there," Hope said as he pointed. "You need to take Serah and Mog through."

"But…" Noel started to argue but Hope shook his head.

"Go. This may be our last chance to save everyone," Hope told him. Noel wanted to argue again but he saw the truth behind Hope's words. He didn't want to leave his friend behind to face all of those monsters but if he didn't go they really wouldn't have a chance.

"We'll be back," Noel told him as he threw Serah over his shoulder and carried Mog under one arm before jumping through the gate. He wasn't sure where this gate would take them. He hoped that where ever it was he would be able to fix what he had done. Noel did not want anyone else he cared about to die.

They landed at their destination in a heap. Noel didn't know if he was surprised or not to realize that the gate had taken them back to Valhalla. He quickly checked on Serah and Mog. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Serah was still breathing and a dim light in the depths of Mog's crystal.

He moved them to what he hoped would be a safe spot and began his search. There had to be a reason a gate had opened up and took them here. After what seemed like years but was probably only moments Noel saw someone standing off in the distance. He immediately recognized their silhouette. Not knowing how they could be there but not questioning on what he was seeing Noel slowly walked towards them.

"You aren't suppose to be here," they said without turning around.

"Neither are you," Noel said as the glared at the man's back. "Why'd you make me do it?"

"You know why. It's for the same reason I did everything else. To save Yeul," Caius answered. Noel shook his head in disbelief.

"Didn't you listen to a word I said?" Noel asked.

"I heard but I didn't listen. For what it is worth I am sorry," Caius said; the man had yet to turn around and look at him.

"You're sorry!" Noel snapped. "Do you realize what you've done! Chaos has been released on the world. Hope is fighting hordes of monsters as we speak and Serah…"

"Did she die?" Caius asked almost sounding regretful.

"No but it was a close thing. She had another vision of the future and collapsed," Noel told him as he looked over his shoulder. If he squinted he could just make out where he had left her. "Do you still want to fight to the death?"

"No. I've given up on that idea," Caius said as he finally turned around and looked at him.

"What made you change your mind?" Noel asked not daring to hope. If Caius no longer wanted to fight then maybe they did have a chance of saving everyone.

"I did," someone said as they came up behind him. It was a voice that Noel recognized immediately. He turned around to see Yeul walking towards him with Lightning following.

"Which Yeul are you?" Noel asked.

"One that hasn't been," Lightning answered and Yeul nodded.

"I want to live and die," Yeul said; Noel noticed that Caius looked slightly chastened by this statement. He had a feeling a lot had happened since the last time that him and Serah had been here.* "but…"

"But?" Noel asked.

"Someone needs to watch over Valhalla while the goddess…rests. Yeul and Caius have volunteered," Lightning explained.

"I didn't kill her then," Noel said feeling a small amount of relief. "But what about chaos and Hope and the others. He's still back there fighting."

"Time is being corrected," Yeul told him. "Your part in fixing the timeline is done as is Lighting's time battling in Valhalla."

"Lightning! Noel!" Serah shouted as she ran towards them Mog flying right behind here.

"You don't have long to say your goodbyes," Caius told them. Noel knew that the man was telling the truth. It felt like something was pulling at him. It wasn't painful. It was as if he was being called home.

"What's happening?" Serah asked sounding frightened. He could understand she was. He could see her and Lightning fading. He looked down at his hands and saw that the same thing was happening to him.

"You are going to where you belong," Yeul told them.

"But what about Noel? I mean we changed the future. Will he…" Serah started to ask looking upset. Noel knew how his friend worried how if they fixed the future that he would no longer exist.

"He'll be fine," Caius answered. Serah didn't look as if she believed him but she smile and nodded anyway.

"Don't worry Serah everything will be fine. Go home and marry your hero," Noel told her hoping to put her at ease.

"Yeah," Serah said as she gave him a watery smile. "I'll never forget you."

"I won't forget you. Any of you," Noel said as he looked at them one last time before they faded from view…

On the journey back through the historia crux Yeul had explained to him how he no longer existed but since he had been one of the ones to change the future that he needed to exist or a paradox would be created. It didn't make a lot of sense to him but he wasn't about to argue. He wanted to exist.

The world he returned was nothing liked he remembered and nothing like he expected. Something really must have happened in Valhalla while him and Serah were with Hope. The new Cocoon was up in the sky but Academia was still thriving along with the other settlements. Somehow the old Cocoon didn't crash into Pulse but it wasn't in the sky either. It was just gone.

One of the first things Noel did upon arriving 'home' was to see what Hope's new ark was like. He was very impressed by it and was tempted to live there but he couldn't get use to the fact that when he looked up that he would see ground instead of sky.

Next he tried Academia; he enjoyed the city when he visited it with Serah. But without Serah and Hope there it wasn't the same. He found the city, loud, crowded, and busy. Realizing that he couldn't live in big cities Noel tried a few of the smaller settlements but those didn't work out either. After spending almost 18 years of living with only a handful of people he couldn't live with them. He felt crowded. Noel ended up making his home at a base of one of the mountains. The nearest settlement was a day and a half's ride away by chocobo.

It had been just over five years since his journey though time ended. He missed the friends he had made and hoped that they were happy. He tried to see if he could find anything on them but the recorded history didn't go that far back. He did manage to find something on Hope. It was mentioned in some document that during the new ark being lifted and the evacuation that he disappeared. Noel figured that he was sent back with the others.

He let out a long sigh and was about to go in his home when he thought that he saw a falling star. Noel watched it a moment and soon realized that it wasn't. He got a sick feeling in his stomach as he watched as it fell towards the ground and eventually landed about a mile away from his house.

Hoping that he was wrong but knowing that he wasn't Noel quickly jumped on the back of his chocobo and rode in the direction that it landed. He had to make sure. To his eyes it looked like a person. The question was who and the even bigger question was why. He knew that they had saved the future but what if something happened in the past that now needed to be fixed?

When Noel got to the crash site he hesitated a moment before he got off of the back of the animal. The moon wasn't bright that night and he couldn't see who they were. Friend or foe whoever they were needed his help. He wasn't stupid though he made sure he had knife drawn incase whoever they were decided to attack. As Noel crept closer and saw who it was he sheathed his knife and ran the last few feet.

"Hope!" Noel called as he kneeled by his friend's side. With how still he was lying Noel feared the worst. He gently rolled Hope over so that he was lying on his back and gently laid his hand over where Hope's heart was. Noel let out a sigh of relief when he felt a steady heart beat beneath his palm.

Noel sat back a moment and studied his friend. It had been five years since he had seen the other man yet he looked just as he did when he left them all of those years ago. Upon closer inspection Noel could also see that Hope had many injuries. He shook his head and wondered what was going on.

As gently as he could Noel managed to get an unconscious Hope on the back of the chocobo and then got up after him. As he rode slowly back to his home Noel was concentrating on his injured friend so intently that he missed the fact that they were being watched.

*If they make a third game this is where I have it taking place so most things are restored.

AN: Hello everyone and thank you for reading :) This is my second story for this site. After finishing the game…well let's just say I didn't like the ending. It worked for Angle but not here. I wanted it to have a happier ending so I'm writing my own and extending it.

The chapters for this story will be short but I already have the next 2 written! Please leave a review and tell me what you think. The more reviews I get the faster I write!