Hello! I'm back! This takes place after the game, so a spoiler warning is here. This is from Lightning's perspective right now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII, or any part of the franchise. I just love it a whole bunch.

She was bloodied. She was broken. She was lost. Wasn't everything supposed to be okay? Why did none of this turn out like it was supposed to? The world hadn't been saved. It had only been ruined. More than half of Cocoon's population was gone forever, most likely encased in crystal along with everything else. Whoever was left had lost their homes and family… They'd lost their jobs, money, status, valuables…everything was gone. They had to completely start over from scratch. And she couldn't do it.

She couldn't watch her sister and future brother-in-law start their lives together and live happily. She couldn't watch her dear friend Sazh raise his son with joy. She couldn't bear to watch Hope mourn the loss of his father. He would be fine, though. Serah and Snow had taken him in without a second thought. She had to get away.

She stared up at the planet being supported in the sky. Her friends were there, set to sleep for eternity. But at least they were together.

The sound of a bell rung throughout the air, signaling the time for the day's mid-afternoon feast. Lightning sighed, ignoring the sound from her hidden perch in the tall tree that stood as the base for the growing society. She saw several people abandoning their tasks to join the others in the newly built dining hall. She scoffed at them. They were so insignificant… Those people had held such high statuses back on Cocoon, and still believed that they were the bosses of their new primal home. But what else could they believe, anyway? There was no leader. There were no rules. It was survival of the fittest; the wild beasts against the clueless humans. Eventually, the beasts would win. Hopefully the Pulse Fal'cie would leave them be until that could happen.

It was a game to them. The Fal'cie enjoyed watching stupid citizens falling over themselves and making utter fools of their race in hopes of completing their impossible focus. It happened before, and it would happen again. Once l'cie were made, a war would break out between the pitiful pawns. Whoever was left would turn Cieth, and that would be the end. It was all a game indeed.

Lightning wished she could have become Ragnarok. Then she wouldn't be forced to watch humanity screw up the rest of their lives. This unfortunately included her sister, and that bumbling idiot of hers. He would tell her what a great society would be formed on Pulse, and how it would be better than their home on Cocoon. He would fill her head with empty promises, just like always. He would convince the populace that they could do great things. He would convince them that the Fal'cie would ignore them, and no one would become a l'cie. Who would be stupid enough to believe that, especially coming from a former l'cie?

There would begin the revolt. Part of the populace would willingly follow the former l'cie hero, while the other would violently oppose every word he said. Who's to say he's not lying? Who's to say that he's not still a l'cie? The people of Cocoon hated anything even remotely related to Gran Pulse, so why would they ever believe anything to be good about something so evil? Not evil… No, not evil at all. Just raw and primitive. The former citizens of Cocoon had been groomed and cultivated to live in a perfect world where they never had to lift a finger to accomplish anything. They were by no means prepared to start from scratch in such a crude, undeveloped world. She wondered when the truth would hit them. They would realize that the truth that if it weren't for them, their lives wouldn't have been stripped of any normalcy. They would rise up against the former l'cie after the Fal'cie had weeded through most of them. The rest would revolt against the ones truly at fault, and continue to amuse the Fal'cie. It would be an endless cycle of warfare, never to end.

That's how it began, and that's how it would end.

I know it's a short chapter, but I thought I should end it there. I dunno, somethin' just told me to. Hope you enjoyed! Comments are welcomed, flaming is not. 3