Got into a Final Fantasy XIII mood. Yippee!

Warning: This probably needs a lot of editing.

Nope, don't own the game. Well, I own a copy of the game, but not all the copyright stuff, etc. You know the drill. Just own my OC's and their storyline.

She waited patiently on the train. Her hands were shackled though she knew they couldn't hold her. She wore a white robe matching everyone else on the train with a hood over her head. A soldier walked through a door and began looking at people suspiciously. Unlike the despairing people around her, she had a goal and was focused, like the women to her right.

"You serious?" The man two people to her right asked in a hushed tone.

"Be quiet," The woman to her right between Rei and the man hissed.

"Hump. Best of luck."

Rei taped her finger, counting the beats and right on cue a crash took place. The woman to her right instantly jumped up, charged at the soldier, jumped into a flip and used her cuffed wrists to snap the soldier's neck, and landing on her feet swiftly. As the soldier fell, a device went sliding across the floor before the woman promptly stomped on it, releasing all of the handcuffs for the people on the train.

"She did it!" The man from before exclaimed.

While everyone was in shock taking in the situation, Rei calmly stood up and removed her robe, happy to be free of the dead weight and casually joined the woman in taking back the train. The two had never worked together before, however, they moved without a word shared between them, both holding experience beyond anyone else on the train.

The door opened and two more soldiers ran through.

"Freeze!" One shouted before they instantly tried to fire on the women, but the first woman jumped up, ditching her robe in the process as they fired at it, and jumped above their attacks, landing in front of them - revealing a pink-haired soldier.

They were temporarily caught off guard from seeing her skill and she blitz kicked the first one in the head, instantly taking him out. Rei grabbed the gun from the second one, spinning to whack him in the head, knocking him out.

The two women ran through to the next room, Rei firing the gun forward to draw the soldiers out. The first unfortunate soul ran out and attempted to open fire, only to be met with a kick to the face from the pink-haired woman. The second soldier was farther down the car, too far for her to charge at before she would get shot, but Rei instantly had her gun aimed forward, opening fire before he could even raise his weapon.

Her new partner snapped her fingers and activated her AMP Grav-Con unit that gave her a temporary anti-gravity field. Rei followed her lead, the two women jumping backwards, flying past each other to smack a soldier into the wall - the Grav-Cons increasing the power of the blows. Then, each turned and pushed herself off the wall, flipping in the air to kick another of the guards back.

Rei tossed a gun to her partner in mid air, and the two opened fire as they spun through the air, skillfully avoiding the other while also taking out every guard in sight.

The man, Sazh had begun rallying up the people that were willing to fight and getting them all armed with guns from one of the weapon cars while the rest of them ran.

"So far, so good," He said running up to the woman, named Lightning, who'd gotten her gunblade back. "They all wanna fight."

Lightning hefted her gun and primed it for battle. "Good for them," She said sarcastically, clearly uninterested in what anyone else was doing.

Rei ran up behind them, having raided the place for her own weapons and now being fully armed again. She stood at the front with Sazh and Lightning, looking out one of the doors. The train exited the tunnel to reveal Hanging Edge, now a full out war zone.

"Incoming," She warned. Not a moment later, the train shook from an electric attack. The source seemed to have been one of numerous mechanical beasts flying through the skies of Hang Edge.

Lightning took a RPG from Sazh with a quick "Give me that," and fired upon some of the attackers before they retaliated with an attack that overturned the second half of the train, causing it to fall down off the tracks.

Down below, some of the rebelling fighters were going against the soldiers that summoned some monsters through transgates.

A scorpion-like monster flew down and landed on their part of the train, the added weight and force of it's landing bringing the train to a stop. It's tail tore through the train, leaving a large hole just in front of Lightning and Rei.

"Run!" Sazh yelled. Lightning and Rei complied, jumping up through the hole to face the robotic monster. "I meant away!" He yelled before eventually following.

When he finally got up to join them on the roof, Lightning was aiming her sword at the mechanical monster in challenge. Rei drew her own three-foot-long golden sword from it's sheath, spinning it as she took up a fighting stance as well.

The machine seemed to understand the challenge, jumping up and landing in front of them, causing the whole place to rattle and Sazh to scream. Lightning and Rei held their ground but Sazh was crab-walking backwards in fear.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He said backing away. "Let's be rational now!"

It attempted to swipe at Lightning and Rei but they easily back flipped out of the way while Sazh got to his feet.

"They're sending in the big guns now," He noted. "What do we do?"

"Watch and learn," Lightning said.

The monster took its serrated-wheel-claws on its left side and had them spin with electricity as it attacked Lightning who jumped back and then assumed a battle position. The Manasvin Warmech, Rei knew from her memory.

Sazh drew his guns, staying back and out of range of the machine's arms, while Lightning and Rei charged in to attack, jumping out of the way whenever one of the Warmech's claws came their way.

They were able to work together to damage it, but then it jumped back and grabbed onto the sides of the train car and shook it.

"Fall back!" Lightning ordered and they complied, running back to the train car behind them so that the Warmech couldn't shake the car so violently.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Sazh taunted, laughing. The Warmech seemed to take that as a challenge and activated rockets to propel forward with. "Hey, that wasn't like a challenge, now. All right?" He said holding his hands (and his pistols) up as though trying to calm it down.

"How about you try not provoking the large metal machine trying to kill us, Sazh?" Rei recommended, priming her weapon. "And I don't think gloating is going to help us doing anything but anger it."

The train began to rise and fall in a wavy pattern because of the pushing, allowing the Warmech to shake the train violently. Combined with the shaking, they had to get off the train or risk being thrown down into the abyss below.

Lightning was able to keep her balance as she slid down the train and jumped off with Rei right behind her. Sazh was running as best he could to get off but wasn't doing too well, as he wasn't exactly a gymnast.

"I'm coming!" He called, grunting as he ran down quickly.

"Jump!" Lightning and Rei yelled at the same time. He did his best, but wasn't able to properly land on his feet, falling forward, but his chocobo chick stuck the landing.

"Heads up," Lightning warned casually as Sazh regained his balance and stood.

"This thing…won't give up," He said, catching his breath.

The Manasvin Warmech landed in front of them again and they primed for a fight again. It's body split open to release a large blast of energy, sending the three back. Rei passed out potions, quickly healing up, before charging in again. The Warmech's tail shot out small beams the consistently made it's target flinch, and though it wasn't very damaging, it was getting annoying.

Finally, Rei struck her sword into the side of the Warmech's body, sending sparks flying. The three backed up as the Warmech began to spark and spasm, it's controls most likely shot, and an explosion sent it flying over the side of the train into the dark depths below.

Sazh sighed and fell down saying, "Oh goodness" and "Whew! We did it."

Lightning kneeled down, examining the path below, as more ships flew overhead. She stood again and sheathed her gunblade, Rei sheathing her sword into the sheath at her hip as well.

She wore a battle uniform with a skirt that went down to her knees and leather straps wrapped around her upper arms. She had purple colored fabric, with golden armor on her shoulders, chest, and her skirt had armor falling over in vertical strips like the classic Roman warrior you'd see in books, along with a purple cape that symbolized she was some kind of leader or general, a belt holding a bag at her right hip, her two handguns at the back, and her long gold sword with a royal purple ribbon wrapped around the hilt at her left hip. On her wrists were two cuffs, matching her armor Wonder-Woman style, along with fingerless gloves that covered her hands. She had tight silver-gray combat boots that looked similar to Lightning's, and overall, she was a pure warrior.

"Looks like there's only one way forward," She said, motioning to the only path below the crashed train that way available to them.

The two women began walking away, ready for more, when Sazh stopped them.

"Aren't you supposed to protect civilians, Soldier? I mean you are Sanctum, aren't you?" He stood back on his feet. "What're you doing trying to stop the Purge? Why don't you tell me that?"

"I was a soldier," Lightning corrected before jumping off the train down to the path.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" He called, but she was already gone. He sighed and turned to Rei. "And you? You clearly have skill like her. You Sanctum?"

"No, far from it," She said. "As for my reasons, I'm here because I have a vow. I intend to keep it, no matter what." She jumped off the train to the walkway below.

Sazh sighed as the chocobo chick flew out of his afro and landed on his hand.

"Chocobo, we just can't catch a break, can we?" He asked. It squeaked in reply and flew up.

"Yeah that's a good question," He sighed. "Oh well, better follow 'em." He grunted as he began climbing down the train. "I'm getting too old for this…"

They followed the pathway, encountering some soldiers and their Pantherons. Rei knew facts about Lightning, but fighting with her in real life was a whole other level. Lightning was a worthy ally in many ways and would hopefully become a friend in the future. She was like Rei in many ways and maybe that was the main reason Rei liked her. Rei proved she was tough in battle, but she knew that in this world magic was a touchy thing so she kept it on the down low.

After they'd made good progress, the path in front of them was suddenly struck down as a passing ship crashed into it. Rei pulled Lightning back just in time, the section merely a couple feet in front of them dipping down into the chasm. They were lucky, as the other side of the bridge was completely collapsing for a good twenty feet from where the blast had taken place, a good number of people screaming as they slid down the falling bridge. Any who had managed to hold on to the sides ended up falling with the rest of the bridge when it disconnected from the rest of it and plummeted into the darkness below.

Sazh fell back from the winds caused by the explosion, and even Lightning and Rei had to hold their arms up to block the smoke blowing at them. When the smoke cleared, the large chasm was revealed.

"Do we turn back?" Sazh asked.

"There's no time," Lightning declared.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Quiet!" She demanded, walking forward to the edge of the gap.

Assessing the length of the bridge that was gone, Lightning snapped her Grav-Com to life and began floating.

"Hey, hey!" Seeing her plan, Sazh immediately ran up and grabbed onto her. "Wait! No, no, don't leave me!"

"Let go!" Lightning ordered, fighting to get him to release her.

"Hell no! You're my only way out of here!"

She finally had to resort to kicking and slapping him to the ground. She snapped her Grav-Con, but by then her charge was gone, and she'd have to wait for it to recharge before she could use it again. Lightning cursed under her breath before looking around for another path.

"Hey, that might get us across," Rei said, pointing.

Coming their way was one of the ships that was used for sending out some of the mechanical monsters. Basically, it looked like a miniature runway with jets. On either side extending two long platforms, and in the center was a roofed section that held some artillery as well as the controls to fly it around.

"Looks that way," Lightning agreed. It wasn't exactly what she had planned, but it would work.

She and Rei walked back the way they came to head over to a platform that would reach over to the machine, Sazh following behind and holding his arm where she'd struck him.

Activating the platform to hover down to the ship, they jumped onto the runway and walked into the main section. At the controls was a PSICOM Marauder, along with two PSICOM Enforcers.

"Deportees, are we?" The Marauder asked, turning from the controls as he noticed them. "Weapons down. I'd hate for this to turn ugly." He held up his fighting staff as the poles extended, walking forward.

"Uh…'turn ugly'?" Sazh asked.

Lightning drew her gunblade and stepped forward. "He wants to kill us without a fight," She explained.

Sazh grabbed his pistols and took up a fighting stance, joining her.

"Time's up!" The Marauder shouted, beginning to hover and then shooting forward to attack Lightning.

Rei drew her sword and intercepted the attack, knocking the Marauder back. He slid across the deck, before then taking a defensive stance and beginning Charging Manadrive - something that the PSICOM military used in place of magic. Soldiers like Marauders had special kinds of Manadrives, ones that could perform multiple spells at once - impressive for technology, but nothing compared to what a real magic caster could do.

Meanwhile, the other PSICOM Enforcers ran up to attack, but they didn't hit very hard, and weren't as skilled as neither Lightning nor Rei when it came to battle prowess. The ladies each sliced down an Enforcer within seconds, before joining Sazh in attacking the Marauder.

Together, their attacks built up a stagger, causing the Marauder to glow golden just as he unleashed his Manadrive. The only spell he got out was the thunder spell, which Rei easily blocked with her cuff, and then the stagger took hold of the Marauder, causing him to be extremely prone to attacks. The three of them all attacking at once didn't allow him any time to recover and get in even one attack, and within seconds, the menacing Marauder was defeated.

With all the security on the ship gone, the three were free to walk into the main section and work the controls.

"So, Soldier…" Sazh began as they walked in. "What's your angle?"

Lightning stayed silent and Rei knew that the question wasn't directed at her since "Soldier" was Sazh's nickname for Lightning.

"What? Is it classified military info?" He asked, tapping the controls. "What's the matter? You quit, didn't you?" He turned towards her. "You think I'm gonna go out there and just tell everybody your secret?"

"The Pulse fal'Cie," She interrupted at his last word. He looked at her in shock as she turned to him, dead serious. "My 'angle.' I'm after the fal'Cie."

Rei looked down, a bit uneasy with the topic, before turning to the controls and touching a few buttons. Lightning joined her, pulling out a handle and moving it down in the Z-shaped slot to activate the thrusters.

"Still happy you tagged along?" Lightning asked, walking away without his answer.

"Didn't have a choice," He mumbled quietly to himself which Rei heard.

"Going there too?" She asked.

"Yeah," He muttered in reply.

"Well, you stumbled across the right pair of soldiers."

"Why are you going?"

"Same reason as her," She said, nodding towards Lightning, who had walked over and was studying the scene below. "Well, sort of."

With that, she joined Lightning out further on the deck, looking at the war below as they passed. She already knew Sazh's reasons for going. All three of them, in one way or another, were going to the fal'Cie for someone else. As she looked down over the battle field of Hanging Edge, she saw the rebels fighting and more standing in fear in safe places.

Sazh joined them, watching as ships flew by striking at civilians.

"It's an out-and-out massacre," He said. "Those people won't even live long enough to die on Pulse."

"That was probably the idea," Rei said.

Sazh looked to her, surprise laced throughout his tone and face. "What?"

"Sanctum logic," Lightning agreed. "They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat."

"Why carry the danger all the way to Pulse?" Rei asked. "Why not just stamp it out here?"

"Execution masquerading as exile. That's all the Purge ever was."

Sazh sighed. "'Relocation to Pulse.' How does a government get away with pulling crap like that? And you?" He turned to the two of them. "You know this was gonna happen?"

"Relocation to Pulse sounded too…easy," Rei admitted. "I mean, it's not like Cocoon has some kind of base on Pulse where the people would live or anything. They're practically throwing all these people to the wolves by sending them to the big bad enemy land."

"The Purge was PSICOM," Lightning said. "Private Sanctum troops, not the Guardian Corps."

"PSICOM, Guardian Corp…" Sazh muttered. "Soldiers are soldiers, aren't they? Pulse fal'Cie, and their l'Cie, are enemies of the state."

Rei took a deep breath, trying to keep her heartbeat under control.

"Tell a soldier to kill an enemy, and you really think it's gonna matter what uniform he's wearing?" Sazh continued.

"Might've mattered to that one," Lightning said, referring to one of the Enforcers, who's dead body was still lying where he'd been struck down. "Couldn't shoot, got himself shot instead."

"How about you?" Sazh asked. "Hm? Orders say shoot, you pull the trigger?"

Neither person gave an answer.

"Fine. Forget I asked."

The ship suddenly began to slow down, bringing the craft to a halt, and the three looked around just in time to see a Myrmidon come flying in. They all drew their weapons, attacking the monster.

It was remarkably agile, moving to strike Sazh with it's electric arm. Lightning struck it, forcing it to retreat back again, but as the two women charged at it, the mechanical bird had already recovered enough to move forward and swing at the two of them.

It jumped back, but only a second later, in jumped forward again and attacked once more. Sazh began his firing at it, forcing it to jump back and take the defensive again, and that allowed the girls to recover enough to get in their attacks.

They staggered their strikes, not giving the monster a chance to retaliate, and eventually, they were able to stagger it, the electronic monster glowing gold and becoming even more prone to attacks. It attempted to fly to attack Sazh once more, but Rei struck it hard and it flinched, unable to complete it's charge. That gave Sazh enough time to start firing again, and the assault continued.

The Myrmidon didn't stand a chance after that, and Rei finished things by jumping forward and stabbing it in the back, her sword coming out of the bird-like automaton's chest. She twisted her sword so that it tore through the core of the machine, and it went limp, sparking and shutting down. She ripped her sword out, and then, using a small bit of her real strength, kicked the hunk of metal off the side of the aircraft's runway.

Not a moment later, they heard an alarm ring out through the Hanging Edge. Up above, three doors that were triangular shaped parted like teeth in a monster's opening jaw, while an announcement rang out over an intercom.

"Attention Purge deportees. Attention Purge deportees. Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon. Should you attempt to flee, the Sanctum will employ every resource necessary to bring you to justice. This land is no longer your home. Cease hostilities and surrender at once."

Rei scoffed. "Disgusting. They ostracize these people so easily, kicking them out of their homes and treating them like criminals. None of these people did anything wrong, and now suddenly this world isn't their home anymore."

A large machine held up the Vestige containing Anima, the Pulse fal'Cie, guided down by numerous Skytanks.

"Just what you were looking for," Sazh said.

"Yeah, right in there," Lightning replied.

"The Pulse fal'Cie. Huh."

"Almost there," Rei muttered.

She walked over to the controls and diverted their ship to get them as close as possible. Lightning walked over to the edge of the runway and looked down, searching for one of the walkways that would get them to the fal'Cie.

"So, how do you figure that Pulse fal'Cie is different from the Sanctum's?" Sazh asked, his chocobo in his hands. "All things being equal, I'd just as soon keep wondering."

"It's more docile," Rei suggested, walking over to join Lightning. "I mean, it's not like it's doing much except just sitting there. Other than that, a fal'Cie is a fal'Cie. The only real different might be that one is from Cocoon and works to sustain it while the other is from Pulse and works to destroy it. In any case, it's not like the one fal'Cie can just declare war out of the blue. It would instantly be crushed, if the War of Transgression was anything to go by."

Suddenly, Lightning noticed a pathway leading right to the base of the fal'Cie Vestige. She looked to Rei, and she nodded that she saw it too. The path was right beneath them…by over 300 feet, give or take.

Lightning took a few steps back while Sazh was looking at his cute chocobo chick.

"Time to jump," Lightning announced, before running forward and jumping head first.

"Wha-?" Sazh exclaimed. "Hey, hey! Hey, hang on!" He ran to the edge and looked down. "What the-? Hey!"

"Keep up, Sazh," Rei said, before falling after Lightning.

The two women fell head first before each snapping about 50 meters from the ground and activating their Grav-Cons. Only a few seconds later, they flipped in the air to hit the ground on their feet, the Grav-Cons, taking the force of the landings and dispersing them. They each still landed with a thud, but at least there were no bones broken.

"Liking these things more and more," Rei muttered.

Sazh, not being a very bold person (understandable when you were jumping from a 300 to 350 foot drop with no guarantee that your landing is going to be survivable) climbed down the edge of the runway so that his legs hung first and he was still holding on my his arms, before finally letting go - a pointless act, as falling was falling, no matter how you started, but at least he got off the ship before it overshot the path he needed to land on.

Leaving the energy bubbles that the Grav-Cons made to catch Sazh, Lightning and Rei hurried forward. Sazh let out a shout when he hit the bubble, but then eventually realized he was okay and tried to calm his heartbeat enough to get up and hurry after the ladies - the chocobo chick merely flying down.

Behind them, their ship crashed into a building, while the three of them hurried into the Vestige.

Yep, staggering is just a thing that happens in this world. It's pretty important to defeating certain enemies gameplay-wise, so why not incorporate it into the story too?