Rayne Neirien was dismayed by the sight of her hometown being overrun with PSICOM's members. The Purge had already taken both her parents and it apparently wasn't enough. Rayne hid in an alcove on the roof of one of the many houses in Palumpolum. With a sigh, she leaned back in the alcove and placed a hand on her whip, which was curled against her hip on a holster she'd made for it herself. Her long dark hair fit in with the dark alcove, making her less visible to anyone who would even think of looking up. She watched people being lined up to be put on the trains and PSICOM soldiers overseeing the endeavor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her head on them. The chocobo feather that she wore as an earring dangled next to her cheek. The yellow color contrasted drastically with her hair and her dark purple outfit. Her ruffled skirt almost reached mid-thigh, but just almost. The shirt she wore was sleeveless, yet she wore dark purple gloves that went just past her elbows. The gloves had no ends, so her pale fingers were free to grip her whip when she needed it. She jumped as she heard a voice come over the town's intercom announcing l'Cie on the loose. Rayne peeked out from her hiding place and looked up at the huge screen closest to her. Many of these screens were placed all over the city so news could reach the civilians. Rayne gasped at the screen.

"L'Cie? Hope?"

On the screen, looking straight at the camera with worry written across their faces was a young woman with light pink hair and a younger boy with silver hair. Rayne gaped at the image of the boy.

"No way."

Rayne watched the screen as another young woman and a young man came onto the scene. She was amazed to see l'Cie fighting back. Examining the area, she took off across the rooftops. She saw figures of pure ice pop up in the center of the city, but she was a long way off. She stopped and stood on a rooftop looking around at where she should go. The screens showed that Hope had made his escape with the young man. Thinking carefully, she anticipated where they would go. It took her quite a few minutes, but she found them. She was slightly alarmed to see a crowd of people advancing on them. It was a mob. Rayne sighed at the sight. She knew that people were afraid of what they didn't know, and this was one of those instances. It hurt her deep in her heart to watch. She'd been through this herself so many times and she could see Hope was upset at the predicament. The mob was almost upon them when Rayne used her whip to swing herself down in front of the two males. The crowd stopped, unsure of the newest person on the scene.

"Back off," she said, cracking her whip.

The crowd took a step back. Someone seemed to notice she had a black brand on her shoulder.

"She's a l'Cie, too! Get her!"

Rayne readied herself to fight off an attack, but a hand wearing a black glove rested on her shoulder. She looked up to see a handsome young man with a black bandanna and light blonde hair grinning down at her.

"Don't fight them. They don't understand."

Rayne stared at him as he brought down the archway in front of them with l'Cie magic, putting it between them and the crowd. The man smiled down at her, but Rayne shook her head and pulled away from him. Turning, she looked at the familiar boy who stared at her in shock.

"Rayne."

She cringed slightly at the broken tone in his voice. Without a word she quickly took off running. The man shouted after her, but she kept moving. It was too hard for her to face him now. She wasn't ready yet. What had she expected? That he'd just forget how they had been for the past seven years? She didn't know where to go or what to do now. She was a l'Cie and it was a matter of time before they found her and the others as they ran around Palumpolum. She didn't have a home anymore. Her parents were dead. There was only one place she could go, but it was probably where Hope would go. It was his home after all. But, Mr. Estheim had always been nice to her. Even though he knew she was a l'Cie. With a deep breath, she ran off toward the Estheim home. It took her a long while, but she apparently got there before Hope and his friends did. Bartholomew Estheim pulled her into the house as soon as he saw it was her. He was moderately tall and wore a grey outfit. He had stubble growing on his chin and his glasses gave him an intelligent look.

"Rayne! Are you alright? Where have you been hiding? Have you seen Hope?"

Rayne was about to answer when the doorbell rang. She pointed at the front door.

"I think that is him. I'm gonna hide out in the spare room."

Before he could call her, she rushed down the hall and disappeared. She didn't actually go into the spare room, but she listened to the conversation Hope had with his father. The boy was obviously surprised that his father truly cared about him. They had always had a bit of a strange relationship, but it was only due to the fact that Hope didn't seem to understand his father. He had always been very close with his mother. Apparently she had died, just like her parents had. Rayne was alarmed as a tall woman came up beside her. She had wavy dark brown hair and her outfit was black with a pretty blue wrap worn around her body.

"Hello, there," she said, in a strange accent," I'm Fang. Who are you to be eavesdropping on them?"

"I'm…a friend of the family….My name is Rayne Neirien. I've known Hope since we were little."

Fang smiled.

"You two still look little to me. How old are you?"

Rayne's face went red and she gave Fang a slightly defiant expression.

"Fourteen."

The woman smiled. She had only just met Hope and this young girl, but she could tell that Rayne was more outgoing, where Hope was shyer.

"So you two are friends?"

The girl's expression faltered and she looked away. Her eyes drifted into the living room where Hope and his father were having their heart-to-heart discussion.

"No."

Rayne turned and began walking toward the spare room, but she stopped at the sound of her name.

"Hope…Rayne is here as well."

There was an awkward silence in the house. Bartholomew pressed on.

"Maybe you should talk to her? You can understand her now…"

Rayne ran to the spare room, only to be surprised at finding the young woman with light pink hair and the guy who had been with Hope in there. The man lay on the bed, his torso bandaged, but he managed to smile at her and wave. She blushed slightly and moved toward them. The young woman didn't smile, but just watched her enter. She wore a guard outfit, which confused Rayne. A guard for Cocoon couldn't be a l'Cie, right?

"I'm…sorry about earlier," Rayne told the man with an apologetic bow," I ran off without introducing myself. My name is Rayne."

He waved a hand at her.

"Hey. No worries. The name's Snow. It's nice to meet you, Rayne. This is my sister, Lightening."

Rayne looked between the two. They looked nothing alike. She nodded her head toward Lightening. The woman gave her a small nod in return and looked at Snow.

"I'm not your sister, so don't tell her that."

Rayne didn't understand what was going on between these two, but she decided it wasn't her place to get involved. Snow encouraged her to take a seat by the bed, but she stayed where she was.

"Are you a friend of Hope's?" Snow asked, conversationally.

Rayne shook her head.

"Not really, but I've known him for a long time."

"Okay, okay. Well, the more l'Cie the better, right? If you stick with us, I'll make sure you're not hung in public like the rest of them."

Rayne stared at him in surprise.

"Really?"

Lightening gave Snow a stern look.

"Don't make such reckless promises. You just met her and now you're putting her life in your hands. You can't save everyone you meet."

"I can try."

Rayne looked between the two of them.

"What…exactly are you guys planning? To escape from public death?"

The two of them looked at her.

"We're taking down the Sanctum."

He said it so nonchalantly that Rayne was stunned.

"B-but…that's…"

She half expected Lightening to disagree, but she didn't. Rayne looked at the other two before standing up straight.

"I don't know either of you, or Fang, but please let me go with you."

Lightening and Snow watched as she bowed to both of them as she asked.

"I can't stay here and I have nowhere to go. It is only a matter of time before they hunt me down. But if you guys are going somewhere and there is a chance of surviving…please let me go with you. I can fight and I'm not afraid."

Rayne stood up and looked Lightening straight in the eyes. She had a feeling that this solemn young woman was the one she needed to impress. Lightening crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall.

"Of course you're afraid. We all are. But if you're willing to come and fight, then I won't stop you."

Snow smiled at her and winked.

"Welcome to the team. Can you handle being with Hope since you both aren't friends, though?"

"Uh…huh."

Rayne's confidence wavered at the comment, but she felt she needed to agree.

"Alright then, I'm sure Fang will be more than happy to bring you along with us."

Fang, who had apparently been listening at the door, smiled and put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"You bet."