Looks Like the Welcome-Home Party is Waiting

The bright sun radiated in the sky, revealing the natural beauty of New Bodhum. It was almost an exact replica of the original city on Cocoon, save for the hazard perimeter protecting them from vicious Pulsian wildlife. Since the fall of the great continent just a year ago, everyone had worked hard to make life on Pulse bearable and safe, if not normal.

Still, it was hard to keep a smile on Serah's face for any longer than five minutes. Snow had tried countless times for the first few months, but it was inevitable for him to just step back and let her deal with it on her own.

Today was one of those days that were starting to become extremely rare. As Snow and the rest of NORA sat around Lebreau's bar, Serah leaned against the railing on the patio, holding her head up to stop it from falling off her shoulders. On a normal day, she would have been with everyone else inside, taking the free summer time for granted until school started up again…

But that dream last night was impossible to ignore. She hadn't talked about Lightning for so long, but seeing her sister's face didn't bring the expected pain in her chest. Thinking about her finally brought hope and light into Serah's eyes.

'She's out there,' she reminded herself for the ten thousandth time. 'Lightning's alive – I just know it.'

It was that one idea that captivated her whole attention for the day. This past year, she struggled against the belief that Lightning was truly dead, and this was the jumpstart that reassured the gut feeling inside.

But then, if she was even alive, who was to say she could come back?

That debilitated Serah to her last straw. Gripping the railing, she leaned back and sighed. Who was she kidding? There were barely any leads on Lightning's whereabouts, and their only clue was a girl who had just woken up from crystal stasis. For all they knew, it was just probably Serah dreaming while in crystal. Maybe Lightning really was holding up Cocoon with Vanille and Fang. Nobody had tried to check for fear of ruining the pillar, but what else could be a possible explanation?

Giving up indefinitely, she let go of the rail and straightened herself before heading toward the bar's entrance. Peering inside, she found her fiancé and the rest of NORA goofing off just like any other day in the lounge. Maqui and Yuj got into one of their usual bickering debates, and the others were left to enjoy the spontaneous entertainment. Glancing up from the main sofa, Snow noticed Serah just a few yards away, his smile softening in that gentle way that was only for her. He knew it was one of those days she felt like being by herself for just a while, and he was more than happy to give her space.

Serah was always grateful for how kind he was. Since his time as a l'Cie, Snow must have learned when to not just charge in to matters with guns blazing. If Lightning were here, it would be amazing to see her and Snow in the same room without her wanting to kick his ass within the first five minutes. Serah was surprised herself when her big sister gave the two of them her blessing.

When she hypothetically gave them her blessing.

She pressed her lips tightly together, turning away in time so Snow wouldn't notice. She had to stop doing that and try to be happy. As her eyes deviated to the sky, she noticed the sun beginning to descend, though not quite touching the horizon yet. What she would give for a star to wish upon….

A tiny ball of light glistened in the vast space, bright enough to be seen against the sun's rays. At first, she assumed it was some aircraft heading back toward Cocoon, finishing up some scouting mission…but it started to grow in size and radiance. It was directed toward the ground, though it drew closer by the second. Serah worried it would crash into her seaside village until she heard a loud whistle through the air as the UFO landed into the waters with a loud splash just a few yards from the shore.

The noise got the attention of everyone in the village; people ran back into the perimeters while others rushed out of their homes, their heads turned to the waters stretched out before them. Serah stepped to the top of the bar's stairs, and everyone inside came to stand right behind her.

"What was that?" Snow asked as he placed a hand on Serah's shoulder.

His fiancée just shook her head. "I'm not sure…" Despite her words, her hopes began to soar inside. It was crazy, but she had nothing else coming to mind.

At first, the waters remained still for what seemed like the longest time…until a head burst forth from the surface to gasp for air. Everyone in the village muttered incoherent speculations, wondering exactly who could be suddenly falling from the skies. The figure struggled to stay afloat and collect its thoughts, and in time, it began to make its way toward the village.

Serah rushed down the steps and headed to the edge, her eyes squinting in defiance of the glaring sun. A voice was muttering in a very familiar tone, all the while gasping for air as it staggered closer. By the time the water was waist deep, the figure straightened up and sighed, directly facing Serah, who had difficulty completely seeing who was right in front of her.

There was one thing she could definitely make out, though – light pink hair, in a similar shade to her own.

"Serah," it said in a voice she knew all too well. Her heart felt like bursting out of her ribcage, ecstasy rushing through her to make her limbs spring into action. The figure took just a few more steps forward, getting in the way of the sun, and Serah could finally see her clearly just before a wide grin broke out on her face.

"Lightning!"

She threw her arms over Lightning's shoulders, caring less about the soaked uniform she was pressing into. It only made the moment more real, reaffirming the truth that no one could deny anymore. Lightning was here.

Lightning was alive.

"I missed you!" Serah cried out on the verge of tears, very much like the day she awoke from crystal stasis.

Speechless, Lightning hugged her close, mixing the sea water on her face with her own tears. Her chest heaved as utter joy filled every part of her; she rubbed her cheek into Serah's hair, and she was home.

"Serah," she croaked this time, her throat choking on a sob. "How long…?"

The younger sister pulled away, tears falling down her cheeks as she looked up. "You've been gone for a whole year." She very briefly shook her head, still unable to believe what was right in front of her. "W-What happened to you? Where did you go?! I thought—"

"Lightning," said a voice just behind Serah. Looking back at the shore, they saw Snow trudge up with a pale face, his eyes fixated on his future sister. "It's really you."

Lightning breathlessly chuckled before giving him a wry smile. "Of course it's me, you idiot."

Though Serah would naturally frown at the many insults Lightning threw at him, she was glad it was all the more assuring that it wasn't just a dream.

With a beaming grin and raucous laugh, Snow rushed up and crushed Lightning in a bear hug. At first, she thought about punching him to set herself free, but she found herself amazed at how much she missed the big oaf.

He swung her around in a circle, Serah off to the side in joyous laughter. Soon enough, he reached out with one arm and pulled Serah into the embrace, and for the first time ever, the three of them were like one happy family – something that had only dreamed about for so long.

"Where have you been all this time?" Snow asked as he set them down. "We all thought you were crystal, with Fang and Vanille."

"Heeey! Lightning!"

Back at the bar, Gadot and the rest of NORA waved their arms around in excitement. For once, Lightning actually felt happy to see the ridiculous group; nothing much had changed in a whole year, which she was kind of grateful for.

"I'll tell you everything later," she promised Snow and Serah before smirking. "Looks like the welcome-home party is waiting."

With a goofy smile, Snow ran back to the bar, whooping and shouting all the way: "She's back! Come on! We gotta celebrate!"

Chuckling, Serah took Lightning's hand and started pulling her forward. All the while, she continued glancing back at her sister, making sure it wasn't an illusion, until her head tilted to the side.

"Hey, Light. Is that an earring?"

The smile faded away in shock as the memories came flooding back. In an instant, her hand was at her ear, feeling the stud in the shape of a wolf's head. Lightning abruptly stopped in her tracks, jerking Serah to freeze as well.

With deep breaths, she finally felt it – the hole in her chest that was going to mock her for the rest of her life. Lightning wondered if it would ever disappear, if she would ever see him again. She was able to leave this world once…maybe she could do it again.

For now, they settled on being apart, but she couldn't say if she could endure it long enough. With the last glimmer of hope she had left, Lightning turned back to the sunset, the rays glinting off her shimmering eyes, and prayed.

When two people part and go their separate ways, their memories split as well. Some people wish they could go back and be together like before. Others look forward to the day they can meet again.

I debated or not whether to post this final chapter along with Ch. 29, but seeing how it's brutal to make you wait that long, I decided to complete the Vessel now instead of waiting for a whole week.

Now, if this story ended here, it could be a solid ending...

BUT! I am working on a sequel. Since the beginning, I had planned for this story to span the events of DoC and Final Fantasy XIII-2 in a trilogy set. The Vessel is part 1 of a project titled Guardians of the Legacy. Tbh, I was getting iffy about actually going through with the trilogy when the response was dwindling in the second half of The Vessel, but the reviews I got on the Ch. 29 definitely encouraged me to continue.

So, given that I will be eventually posting up the sequel, here are some things y'all can think about to understand where I'm going with the plot:

1) What exactly instigated Vincent - or the Chaos entity within Vincent - to pull Lightning off of Pulse and drop her onto the Planet/Gaia?
2) Why was Deepground so intrigued with Lightning? Consider who the ultimate bad guy was, who was pulling the strings behind everything.
3) Something happened to Lightning when she was captive in Deepground, which immediately sets up the conflict and story of the sequel.

So, look out for my new story - Guardians of the Legacy: The Hero. I'm unsure of when I'll start posting, given that I have applications to go through, work, and other things piling up.

Anyway, thanks for reading, reviewing, laughing, ranting, and crying while reading my story. If it weren't for you guys, I probably would have ended the journey here altogether.

Lil' Miss Mezzo