Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII-2 or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Note: Hey! This is Deiru Tamashi, bringing you this last and final bonus chapter! This last Paradox Ending is a double-shot. To obtain it in the game, you must replay the section where Serah is trapped in the dream world (do NOT have the Paradox Scope on) and when presented with option to stay in the dream, select "yes". The second half of this ending will be if the same applied to Deiru in his dream.

Final Bonus Chapter: Fate and Freedom

Serah slowly approached the figure at the end of the dock in New Bodhum, unable to believe it. She had seen Gadot, Yuj, the rest of NORA, even Snow. But this... "Is that really you?" Serah asked softly. The figure turned, revealing herself to indeed be Lightning. She looked exactly as she did three years ago, Guardian Corps outfit and everything. Lightning smiled. "Welcome home, Serah," she stated. Serah nearly collapsed, so great was her shock. "Lightning. But... how are you here?" she asked. Just like hat, her sister was standing there, looking as of she hadn't been gone for more than a moment. Lightning's eyes lit with humor, the kind of humor only she, her sister, could cause. "Because you want me to be," she stated, as if were obvious. Despite that, Serah still didn't understand. She remembered Yeuls' words. "In this place, all of your heart's desire come true."

Lightning walked past her, and stopped. "You've changed history, and your back where you belong. This is it. Your adventure's over," she said. Serah was silent, and Lightning smiled again, stretching out her hand. "Serah, come with me. Your family's waiting," she said. Serah looked down at the ground. "Yes... My family," she said, sounding as f she were convincing herself. As if in a dream, her feet began moving forward. "That's right. I'm home. My family are all here," she muttered, her eyes slowly losing a light in them. Her own hand began rising. Deep down in her heart, the truth still glinted like a razor. This wasn't real. It was a dream. If she accepted it, her journey through time would end.

But... Lightning was here. Snow was here. If she stayed, she would be with everyone she'd ever loved. This was what she's been searching for all this time. She'd found her home, she'd found happiness. At that Serah smiled. And if this place could make her feel so happy... then it couldn't be a dream. It was real.

Lightning stared into Serah's eyes. "Serah, let's go," she said. Serah nodded. "Yeah," she said, placing her hand in her sister's and walking back to the NORA house.

Now, Serah stood again at the deck, gazing out at the crystal blue sea. Half a year had passed since then, since the end of her journey. Just being here with Lightning filled her with joy. It was almost like the happiness had taken over, forcing out emotions that had been there before. At first, she had been overwhelmed with loss. She no longer remembered the final battle against Caius, but she knew Noel and Mog had been lost in that fight. At that thought, her eyes pricked with tears. At first, Serah had been overwhelmed with loss. Both of them had been so precious to her, and they gave their lives for the future. But Lightning and Deiru had been there, along with Snow and everyone else, to help her get through. And eventually, that loss faded away with the rest.

"Serah, come on. We've got guests," she heard a voice say. Turning around she saw Deiru and Lightning standing there at the beginning of the dock, hands held with their fingers interlaced. Her tears faded at that, replaced with a smile. That's right. About two months after Lightning had come back, Deiru and Lightning had finally gotten together publicly. It was a bit funny to see her formerly stoic sister blush whenever Deiru felt like teasing. Though when Snow tried to make a comment, they both beat his ass. She wouldn't be surprised if Deiru ended up popping the question soon. Serah would gladly be the maid of honor. Remembering what Deiru had said, she frowned. "Guests? What do you mean?" she asked. Lightning huffed and smirked. "Don't you remember? Sazh said he would visit with Dajh today," she said.

As if on cue Dajh's pet chocobo, Chocolina, appeared from behind Deiru and chirped happily, flying towards the one-eyes warrior and landed on his hair. "What the-? Hey! This is not Sazh's Afro! Get off of me!" Deiru complained, letting go of Lightning to try and knock the chick off. But to no avail; the bird was as fast as it was small. Serah laughed at that while Lightning chuckled. "Okay, let's go," Serah said, walking forward. Lightning followed with Deiru taking up the rear. He finally gave up and let the chick be. Serah walked back up the steps of NORA house, looking around. Now, every day is paradise. Lightning was there with her, as well as Snow and Deiru. Lebreau and Yuj, Gadot and Maqui, the whole gang.

Dajh was currently sitting with Maqui, who was showing him a new device he made- some kind gun that fired tennis balls. You'd think the fal'Cie would have invented that already, but nope. The credit all went to Maqui. "hey, Serah! How've you been?" Sazh asked. Serah nodded. "I've been pretty good. What about you?" she asked. Sazh grinned. "I've been alright. I got a letter from Hope. Said he wanted you all to know what's in it," he told me, pulling said letter out if his pocket. "Really? What's he got to say now?" Gadot asked, leaning back on the couch. Sazh shrugged, not knowing, and flipped the envelope open. Pulling the letter out, he read it before gasping. "There's no way!" he exclaimed. "What? Is something wrong?!" Deiru asked, reaching for Indomitus.

Everyone look at him, but he shook his head. "No, thing's are fine. Better than fine, actually. The Academy think they found out a way to extract Fang, Vanille and Sofia from the crystal pillar!" he revealed. Everyone gasped, a shocked silence filling the room. Though it only lasted a second before Snow grinned and threw his fist into the air. "Alright! That's Hope for ya!" he cheered. That set off the others, and they all began cheering and talking about the news or some other subject. Serah smiled wistfully. "If only Noel and Mog were here to see it..." she said to herself. Lightning heard her though, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, there's no need to be upset. They did what they had to do. And I'm sure that, wherever they are, they're looking down on us and smiling at seeing us so happy," she said gently.

"She's right, you know," Deiru added, grinning. Serah smiled as well.. Just looking around the eyes at everyone, her eye landed on the corner of the mirror in her room. At the sight of it her smile faded, and she quickly looked away. Snow noticed her reaction, and said "Something wrong, Serah?" She nodded. "It's the mirror in my room. It scares me," she admitted. Snow looked at it. "What, this thing?" he said, rapping his knuckle against the frame. Serah nodded. "It feels like... on the other side there's a whole other world. And if I look inside, I'll be lost.," she said. At that Snow laughed, stepping in front of the mirror and waving at his reflection. "Well, I don't see anything. Really, I think you're just being silly," he stated. Deiru frowned, but Serah slowly nodded. "Maybe... maybe I am. I can live with that. All I want is for these days to stretch on forever," she declared.

Deiru blinked. "You think so?" he asked. Serah nodded, never noticing the distraction at the edge of the mirror's reflection. "Yes, I just want these wonderful, magical days to continue. This is where I'll stay. I'm home," Serah stated, before looking outside.

"And I never want to leave."

XXX

(Author's Note: Okay, that was the Fate and Freedom ending with Serah. Now is the one with Deiru.)

As I ran I somewhat noticed that the garden too was like the one in Palumpolum, only larger. Why was beyond me, but the added space gave me farther to run. Eventually I did reached the edge though, and sat down and held my head in my hands. So much was happening and I couldn't even begin to remember why. It was all impossible. These things were what I had always hoped for, but how could fate have given me all the things I desired. No one got everything they wanted. As I sat there and tried to piece together all of this, I heard steps behind me. I looked back and saw that it was Lightning, her expression one of pure sympathy. "You know, you were like this he last time you had amnesia attack too," she said, sitting down next to me.

I looked at her, trying to convey all that I was feeling. "How is all of this even happening. How did Fang and the others escape from crystal?" I asked. "When you saved the timeline at the cost of Serah and Noel's life, the goddess Etro saw it fit to reward you for your efforts. She had been weakening, but with the timeline restored so was her strength. And so she cast a spell so that the crystal pillar of Cocoon would never break down, immune to anything that would affect it. Since Fang, Vanille and Sofia were no longer needed to uphold Cocoon, the Etro's Light spell you cast on them went into effect, releasing them from crystal," Lightning explained.

I looked away and stared at my hands, thinking. Was it possible? Could the timeline returning to normal be that which restored the goddess to her former strength? "And since Etro was at full power, she no longer needed you to guard her?" I asked, looking over at Light. She nodded. "That's right. And the moment I came back into this world the first you and I did was find each other," she said. I chuckled; that certainly sounded like me and Light. I was starting to believe all of this. It seemed impossible that all of my wishes had come true, handed to me on a silver platter. But if what Lightning was telling me was true, then I did go through the hard work and sacrifice needed to gain it. This was just another bout of amnesia.

Deep down in me, something was still calling out to stay on guard. But that little voice was fading, as I turned to look at Lightning. Just as I did though she gasped and placed a hand to her stomach. "What is it?" I asked, instantly concerned. Rather than frown, she smiled widely. "It's nothing to worry about. It just kicked," she said. I began to nod before freezing, processing what she had just said. It kicked. I looked at her stomach. Although it wasn't noticeable at first there was indeed a slight curve to her stomach, and it wasn't fat. I slowly looked up at Lightning with wide eyes. "L-Light? Are you...?" I asked, trailing off. She nodded and looked at me, her eyes full of happiness. "Yes. We're going to have a family," she told me.

Now I was fully and completely blown away, and I stared. This was it. This was the final wish of mine that had yet to have been granted. I barely ever even thought about this, dismissing it as an impossibility on the few occasions it crossed my mind. It was one of the deepest, most hidden desires of my heart, now come true. I could have a family with all of my loved ones and friends, in a place modeled after where Lightning and I had admitted our love for each other. I smiled in joy and looked Lightning, who was smiling back. She extended her hand. "Come on, Deiru. Let's head back inside; Vanille and the others will want to know things are okay," she said. I nodded, and slowly I began to raise my hand. All through, I continued smiling as I gazed into her loving eyes.

For a second I could have sworn they were grass-green, before blinking and they were aqua-blue again. "Deiru, let's go," she said. I grinned happily. "You said it," I told her, taking her hand and standing.

Ten months have passed since the incident. The memories of the two years in between the events of the Void Beyond and then never came back, but that was alright. I had Lightning there, my loving wife, to fill in the gaps for me, and there was always that good old thing called painkillers whenever I developed a headache. Lightning's twenty-third birthday was just last week, and Snow had apparently decided that throwing a surprise party was a good idea. Unfortunately, Lightning hated surprises. Still, with me with there she was able to get through it, and when it came time for her to blow out all twenty-three candles I helped. Hope and Vanille were there as well, having been a couple for over a year now.

Lightning gave birth to our children two months ago- twins. There was a black-haired boy with Lightning's eyes, and a pink-haired girl with my sapphire eyes. We named the boy Noel and the girl Serah, after our loved ones that had fallen so we could live. Fang actually remained single, having been unable to find what she called "a good, decent man". But she did help immensely in watching the kids, especially when I applied for the New Guardian Corps and Lightning took up a job at Lebreau's bar. In just a year I was able to reach Corporal, with recommendations for Sergeant. Sazh joked that if I kept it up, I might actually pass Lightning in rank. To which Lightning replied that, even then, she'd still be my superior officer. I was inclined to agree.

Then came the anniversary of our wedding. We had gotten married on New Year's Eye (even I have to admit that was cliché) and went out for a romantic dinner in Serendipity. Lightning wore a dress similar to the garb she would once where called "Crimson Bloom" while I wore a classic black-and-white tuxedo. The Casino Owner was kind enough to let out reserve an entire floor of the restaurant to ourselves- though I suspect the fat wad of gil I passed him had something to do with it. In any case, it was one of the best nights of our life, and I was certain to remember it for many years to come. When Dajh asked why, I told Sazh to simply covered his son's ears.

After our home in New Palumpolum was demolished by a hurricane, we built a new house for ourselves in New Bodhum with NORA's help. Since it was easier to visit us, Snow took it upon himself to visit us. Once Noel and Serah began growing up, I fear that he make Noel turn out like him. The thought made me shudder. Currently, I was standing on the porch of our new home holding Serah in one arm, wrapped in blankets, as I gazed out at the ocean. The morning sun was just coming up, and reflected off the waves like countless gems of gold, yellow, orange and red. Serah was giggling and trying to grab hold of my hair, which I had let grown out to to reach my shoulder blades. Still couldn't get rid of the spikiness, unfortunately. I grunted when Serah caught hold of one lock of hair and pulled, making me wince and grunt in pain. The girl had her mother's strength at such a two months old.

Lightning chuckled behind me and I turned, seeing her holding Noel and sitting down on the porch chair, also looking out at the see. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, although I wasn't sure if she was talking about the view or our current life. Either one was a yes, so I simply nodded. Lightning stood and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek, a gesture I returned. "You know that it's your birthday in a few months, right?" she asked, and I nodded. "Of course I do. I hear Hope, Vanille, Sazh and Dajh are coming from Academia to help celebrate," I said. Lightning chuckled. "Hope and Vanille... when do you think he's gonna finally work up the nerve to ask her the question?" she asked. I chuckled as well, making sure not to wake Noel. "Who knows? Guy can lead an entire government like the Academy, and still not have the nerve to drop on one knee," I said, smirking.

The former solider turned to me. "I'm glad that you managed to though," she said. I smiled lovingly and grabbed her hand, raising it so that I could kiss each knuckle, lingering on the one that she wore her wedding ring on. Once I finished I looked her in the eye, my own gaze showing every single bit of unbridled happiness I had felt since I woke up here.

"So am I, Lightning. So am I."

And so, this brings and end to the final Paradox Ending, the last bonus chapter, and with it the complete end of Threads Connected! NOOO!

...But, it was nice having so much support for everything all this time, and I cannot tell you how thankful I am to all of you, my readers, for supporting me. And the sequel to Threads Connected, known as "Strings Unraveled" is already posted and several chapters along. Read it; it's worth it! Again, thank you all, and I hope to see you again!

As always, please review! If you me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)