Episode i: Part II

[Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for the game.]



The moment he had her in his arms again, Snow’s mind went white. As if it had been wiped of all his memories. No past, no future. Just the feeling of having Serah returned to him. He had no room for anything else. My mind is a simple thing, Snow thought. There is only so much it can take.
I’m sorry, Snow said, whispering to Vanille and Fang, asleep in their crystal tower. He had seen Serah looking towards Cocoon, and was brought back to reality. His memories came flooding back. There were still two people he hadn’t saved. This wasn’t the time to forget everything.
In the vision he’d had in his cold sleep, he’d seen a future were everyone was laughing together. He knew, he just knew, that Vanille and Fang had been there with them. Which meant it wasn’t over, it couldn’t be the end yet.
“It’s broken now, isn’t? Destroyed...” Her voice brought Snow back to the present. “I am saved... I am human again, and am able to see you and Lightning again. But...” Serah looked up at Cocoon. “I know there is something I must do. It’s not fair for only me to be saved, to become happy. But... I don’t know what to do...”
Serah was right, of course. Everyone had lost their homes. The very tenets of their life were no longer valid. There was an uncountable number of people that needed to be saved. The amount of work that was needed was enough to make him dizzy.
The only thing Snow could do was to stop thinking about it. After all, his brain wasn’t really made for thinking of such things.
“If it’s broken, we’ll just have to make a new one.” A simple answer from a simple man.
“A new Cocoon?” Serah’s eyes grew round.
“No no, not that. I mean something different, instead of Cocoon. We’ll build it here. We can make a new city on Gran Pulse. Together.” Snow had just been trying to say something, anything, but once he said it out loud it didn’t seem like a bad idea. In fact, he thought, there could be no better plan.
“We can build our own houses, and grow our own food. We can do it. We already did it in Bodhum, remember? We made a vegetable garden, and hunted monsters.”
“Just make a new one? That sounds like you.” Lightning said, looking up towards Cocoon. “You know, you’re right. We’ll just have to make a new one.”
“Exactly! From this day forth, this will be our new home!”
“There isn’t even anything here yet.” Lightning retorted, laughing. Serah stifled a giggle.
“Oh... oh yeah. On Gran Pulse, everyone is family.”
Lightning glanced at Snow. You remember? She seemed to say. Snow nodded, of course I remember. What Vanille always said.
“Then this is our home. It has always been our home.” Lightning turned towards the tower and smiled.
“Because it’s their home.”
The days they spent wandering Gran Pulse, holding onto their small hope as they walked towards Oerba. They were friends that fought together, they were family. It was then that this place become home to them. It wasn’t hell, it wasn’t the land of their enemies. Just home.
They heard a breath behind them. Hope. Beyond they could see a group of soldiers wearing uniforms of blue.
“Hey aren’t those... that’s the Calvary.” Hope whispered, then broke out running. Of course, they didn’t yet know if his father was safe. The last they had heard of him, he had been rescued by the Calvary. Perhaps they had some news of him.
“Let’s follow him.” Lightning said, following after him.
“When a friend is in a pinch...” Sazh said, lifting up Dajh.
“What do you mean ‘pinch’ daddy?”
“It means when there is some trouble. Though, I’ve been in quite a pinch for some time now.”
The baby chocobo on Dajh’s shoulder turned around to Snow and whistled at him as if to say Aren’t you coming with?
In his heart, Snow sent another apology to Vanille and Fang. We’ll rescue you soon enough. That vision I had? It wasn’t an illusion. I won’t let it be.
“We should go too.”
“Of course we should!” Serah nodded. She seemed different now, not as sad as when she had looked towards Cocoon. He put his arm around her, and held her once more.