Final Fantasy 13
Gran Pulse…the parallel of Cocoon… a world of natural evolution where animals and plants can grow to tremendous sizes…A world that's wild, beautiful, and untamed. A place ruled by the brutal struggle for survival under the control of the fal'Cie. There's no such thing as mercy…only the never-ending string of trials and challenges that force out the weak and leave only the strong. It's my home and I love it. It was a world with a thriving civilization and many great cities…now however it's becoming a home to ruins where people are slowly dying off…all because of Cocoon.
The people of Cocoon believe that Gran Pulse is a living hell for humans when it really isn't. Those softies didn't know how to survive is all. How dare they look down on us way up in the sky…hanging over us like a moon that never disappears. It's a false paradise…all those cities and people. We, the people of Gran Pulse, despise the people of Cocoon. We see them as impending intruders waiting to destroy our world. It has happen a few times where weak minded humans try to venture to Cocoon to take back the resources the fal'Cie of Cocoon stole from us. A trap the weak always fell for…but enough is enough. We refuse to be played with…we refuse to be afraid of that floating paradise in the sky. If they want a war…we'll give them one…
Welcome to Bodum
I read the sign quietly to myself. I'm unsure how I ended up here, but I do know for sure that I'm not on Pulse anymore. 'The question is how do I get back?'
"Freeze!"
I let out a long annoyed sigh hearing the many scurried feet of the armed men that patrolled around here. Letting my red sarong brush against my ankles as I turned to face them, "What?"
They held their guns to me "Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air."
I fingered my bow, "By whose orders?"
"By Lieutenant Yaag Rosch." The leader said stepping closer to me with four others behind him, "Now drop your weapon and put your hands in the air. You're joining the others to be purged."
"Purged to where?"
They exchanged looks through their ugly helmets as if they couldn't believe what I had asked. "To Gran Pulse. There's a train to take all pulse l'Cie to Gran Pulse."
I held in a smirk. 'Ah my way back home.' I didn't drop my weapon but I approached them willingly, "Alright. Take me to this train."
When they tried to take my weapon away from me I disposed three of the troop men leaving only the leader. Trapping his head in between the string and notch, I pulled it back to cut off some of his air, "Take me to this train now and I won't kill you." I threatened.
With little choice he took me to the train that would take Pulse l'Cie to Gran Pulse. I'm personally glad that this wouldn't turn into a grand adventure for me to get back home.
"Join at the end of the line!" A soldier ordered as other soldiers pushed other people towards the trains with their guns, "Attention purge deportees follow instructions and stay in your lines. Personal belongings will be returned upon arrival. Do not leave your lines – it's for your own safety."
Standing in line I waited my turn to get those stupid looking garbs placed on. Behind me a young woman with light pink hair and a black man with an afro whispered back and forth with each other. I only caught every other word they whispered but I was sure I heard her tell the man that if he wanted quiet, he better get on the next train. I don't know what that meant but they better not mess with my chances of going home.
A few hours into the train ride I had overheard the soldiers saying that the train will arrive in Hanging Edge, wherever that was, in a few minutes. Glancing up at the other passengers again, I noticed their somber faces. Some were muttering things to themselves while others were crying. The rest just stayed silent, knowing that there was nothing they could do to stop what was happening to them.
Letting let out a small sigh, leaning her head back against the metal wall of the train
"You serious?" A man that sat a few seats away from mine asked.
"Be quiet." The woman next to him ordered in a low voice as a PSICOM soldier came in, pointing his gun and staring down at everyone. We were all dressed in the same grayish white cloak with blue linings running down it, our faces hidden by the hood.
"Hmph. Best of luck." The same man that had spoken before said to the woman next to him.
We were nearing the Hanging Edge when the train started shaking as it got through the force field, making the soldier lose his balance. The woman took the opportunity and launched herself towards the soldier, knocking him out before stepping on the controller he was holding, breaking everyone free of their cuffs. All the passengers stood up cheering silently as they realized they were free.
"She did it!" The man that had previously spoken exclaimed as he stood up, just as two other PSICOM soldiers rushed in shooting as they realized what had happened.
The woman jumped out of her cloak before kicking one of the soldiers in the head and then elbowing the other, taking the gun he was holding. She kicked another oncoming soldier in the head, before shooting the one behind him.
I just watched in shock as all of this happened. I glanced to my right to see the man that had spoken to the woman had taken off his cloak as well, revealing a black man from before. He seemed to be in his early 40's and his hair was styled in an afro. He was wearing an olive pilot coat over a white button-up shirt, khakis with black boots and black fingerless gloves. He also had two pistol holsters strapped to his thighs.
He looked at me and smiled before kneeling beside a little boy with blonde hair and asked him if he was all right. "I'm not a l'Cie". He assured him. The little boy looked up hesitantly, when suddenly a chocobo chick popped out of the man's hair and chirped, making the little boy laugh.
'What in the name of Pulse are they doing?!' I decided to follow the man.
Afro guy started to hand out guns to the other passengers. "So far, so good" He says as he lead us to where the woman from before was. "They all want to fight." He informed her.
"Good for them." She dismissed, frowning.
I looked at her closely. She had pink hair thrown over her left shoulder. She also had blue eyes and wore a Guardian Corps uniform, which consisted of a white leather vest over a sleeveless brown turtle neck. A red piece of a cape covering her right backside. She also had a black sleeve on her left arm, blue fingerless gloves, a short brown leather skirt and belt, a leg pouch was attached to her left thigh and she had knee-length boots.
'No wonder she can fight! She's a soldier!' I concluded after I had finished analyzing her. I mentally cried since I realized I probably had no chance of getting home if she kept this up! She looked out the train's door to see that we had entered the Hanging Edge. I began to chew nervously on my bottom lip in anxiety when suddenly, air planes started to shoot at the train.
"Give me that." The woman snapped, taking afro man's bazooka from his hands and shooting at one of the planes, successfully taking it down. She then shot at another, but missed. I helplessly watched as the plane shot a beam of electricity and destroyed half of the train. But thankfully the train kept going. I leaned my weight against one of the walls as I continued to watch. My heart was beating a mile a minute. Then the mechanical scorpion jumped on the train, stopping it from going any further. He smacked his tail on top of the train making a huge gape.
"RUN!" Afro man shouted, doing just as he said, though he slightly turned back when he noticed he wasn't being followed. "I meant away!" He added as the pink haired woman jumped towards where the mechanical scorpion rested. He sighed as he climbed up after her.
Well there was no way I was going to let them get away with ruining my one way home. I followed after them.
"Hey! Come on! It's not safe!" I looked up to see afro guy shouting at the pink haired woman .
'Oh, and fighting a mechanical scorpion is…?' I mentally as I got on top of the train, I saw that the pink haired woman had drawn her weapon, cerulean eyes glaring intently at the robot, scanning for weak spots.
Afro man fell over on his back at the sight of the scorpion. "Hey, HEY! Let's be rational now!" He shouts inching backwards to where I was. I looked down at him and then looked up in time to see the scorpion swing his tail at us. I rolled to the side while the other man rolled the other way rolled backwards, the pink haired woman executed a somersault in midair.
"He's drawing the big guns! Now what do we do?!" Afro man shouts exasperated.
"Watch and learn!" The pink haired woman replied, glaring at the mechanical scorpion before launching herself towards it.
BATTLE COMMENCE
The pink haired woman attacked the mechanical scorpion head on, directly attacking the head. The only sound that could be heard was the clashing of metal against metal. Afro man and I looked at each other; he shrugged and then started to shoot at the robot. The man did slightly ridiculous moves that looked like he was dancing as he attacked it, while I shot at the tail hoping to break it off. A few minutes the mechanical scorpion was severely damaged judging by its jerky movements and sparks flying from it.
"Not so tough now, huh?!" Afro man yelled at the thing, laughing
The metal monster flew to the back of the train and started to shake the already damaged bridge.
"Fall back!" The pink haired soldier ordered
"Hey that wasn't like a challenge now, all right?! Hey!" Afro man called out at the thing. The Militarized Unit started to lift the train off the bridge.
"Run!" The woman commanded. We followed her order and ran down the jerking bridge.
"Jump!" I heard the pink haired woman yell jumping off the train.
"C'mon kid!" The man yelled soon after jumping off with me behind him.
The train falling to the darkness bellow as we safely landed. "You okay kid?" Afro asked his eyebrows furrowed in concern. I nodded breathlessly.
Clunk.
We sharply turned our heads at the sound, the mechanical scorpion stood before us once more.
"This thing just won't give up!" Afro said as it went after us again. We loaded up our weapons and let loose a relentless assault.
BATTLE ENDS
"We did it." Afro man breathed out as he sat down on the floor. The pink haired woman kneeled by the sides of the bridge, probably to check if the thing would pop out again, just as a few air ships flew by.
"Aren't you supposed to protect civilians, soldier?" Afro man asked. I looked up to see that she had started to walk away. "I mean you are sanctum right? What are you doing trying to stop the purge? Why don't you tell me that?" He asked as he stood up.
She stopped and turned her head slightly to look at him, "I was a soldier." She coldly replied and walked off.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" He yelled after her. The woman ignored him and continued on her way. He sighed, the Chocobo from before flying out of his hair. It chirped and landed on his outstretched hand. "Chocobo, we just can't seem to catch a break can we?" He asked the chick. The Chocobo chirped in return "Yeah that's a good question." He said as he started to climb down after the pink haired soldier, grumbling about how he was too old for this.
So far we have encounter PSICOM soldiers everywhere we went.
"Not wanting to get purged I get, but taking on trained soldiers?" Afro questioned as we kept watch on the PSICOM warden.
"Better to die than to get sent to Pulse. It's hell." The former soldier answered. The PSICOM warden pushed some buttons on his arm device and two Pantherons jumped out of the portal.
"Yeah well hell's not sounding too bad. 'Cause this place ain't exactly paradise." He countered as he looked around.
How dare they talk about Pulse like that! Sure there are monsters that want to kill you every day, but that's no reason to insult my home.
"Domesticated peacekeepers, nothing to worry about." The pink haired woman assured.
"Maybe not for a Soldier Girl, but I'm trying to s-eh hey hey!" Afro man started but cut himself off when he noticed that the pink haired woman had ignored him. She darted forward towards the enemies with us following after her.
BATTLE ENDS
I looked around as we kept walking, fighting more soldiers on the way. We reached a platform and I looked over the railing. There were a few people fighting a Beta Behemoth on the bridge below. The Behemoth, annoyed at being shot, lashed out angrily, easily killing the citizens fighting it.
"Murder. Cold-blooded murder." The former pilot murmured at the scene. I shook my head with indifference and followed after the ex-soldier. We had an encounter with another PSICOM soldier and a Pantheron.
"Preemptive strike" She declared slightly and dashed towards the enemies, but the Pantheron caught sight of her and snarled making the PSICOM warden turn around.
"Rebels!" The PSICOM warden exclaimed.
"So much for the element of surprise." Afro man grumbled, seeing as the surprise attack backfired.
"Maybe we shouldn't shout what we're going to do next time…" I concluded.
The pink haired woman shot me an annoyed glare before she then took care of the Pantheron while afro and I took on the PSICOM warden. It was getting annoying fighting these grunts.
As we moved forward I heard the sound of a zooming object. We looked up in time to see that an airship, on fire, was quickly taking speed towards the ground. We gasped as it fell on the path before us, making a huge explosion.
"Do we turn back?" Afro questioned seeing as we couldn't possibly cross now. He gulped watching in horror as people were falling off of the bridge as the airship had cut right through it, half of the bridge gone along with tons of people.
"There's no time." The pink haired woman shot back, her cerulean blues taking in the destroyed bridge.
"Then, what do we do?" I questioned, taking a step towards the woman.
"Quiet." The woman ordered. She walked towards the edge with narrowed blue orbs, eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully and her lips in a thin line. Then all of a sudden, she snapped her fingers. A blue light emitted from her hand. It spread all over her body and then her body started to lift itself from the ground.
"What the-?" I started but got caught off by the pilot as he latched himself to her to stop her from leaving.
"Hey- wait! No, no, don't leave me!" He shouted desperately at her as she fought her way out of his grasp.
"Let go!" She grunted as she put her hand on his face to push him away.
"Hell no, you're my only way out of here!" He responded, still attached to her with no intention of letting go.
She kicked him in the stomach and then elbowed him in the face. I didn't personally care what happened to them but she looked like she knows where she's going and if she can get me close to where I can find my own way back to Gran Pulse.
The woman started to snap her fingers again, but nothing happened. "Tch!" She scowled and looked towards the edge again.
"Hey that might get us across! Right there!" He says he stood on his knees, pointing at a nearby platform.
The pink haired woman walked towards him to look where he was pointing, "Looks that way." She answered. She glared at him, clearly annoyed and started off towards the platform. I walked behind her and stopped to look back at the man, who was now standing up holding his left arm. He started to limp slightly.
"So, Soldier… what's your angle?" The pilot questioned the pink haired woman. She didn't reply. "What, classified military info? hmm? What's it matter? You quit, didn't you?"
"The Pulse fal'Cie." She cut him off.
"What?"
"My 'angle'. I'm after the fal'Cie." She continued as she turned to look at him.
My eyes widened. 'What?! Going after the fal'Cie?! Is she crazy?' I stared at her as she walked towards the console. "Still happy you tagged along?" She questioned as the platform started to move.
"Didn't have a choice." The pilot whispered as the platform made its way to the other side of the bridge.
"What about you, kid?" He asks me seeing that the woman wasn't going to say anymore.
I blinked at him, "My angle? I'm trying to get home."
He sighed sadly, "Aren't we all?"
The sounds of airships and gunshots were heard. I wonder why she was after the fal'Cie. Humans who encounter Pulse fal'Cie are cursed by being turned to l'Cie. 'How can a mere human possibly take on a fal'Cie? What were her reasons?'
"It's an all-out massacre." He was looking out the edge at an explosion happening on the bridge below. "Those people won't even live long enough to die on Pulse."
"That was the idea." She spoke up as she walked over and stood beside him.
"What?" The pilot asked surprised.
She looked over at him "Sanctum logic." She continued. "They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat." She kneeled by the sides of the platform and then stood back up as she spoke "I mean- why carry the danger all the way to Pulse? Why not just stamp it out here? Execution masquerading as exile. That's all the Purge ever was."
The old man sighs, lets out a breathy chuckle and turns away from her. "Relocation to Pulse. How does a government get away with pulling crap like that?" He says as he started to pace, obviously angry.
I was already aware of the fact that they sometimes send people of Cocoon to Pulse ever since the War of Transgression.
"And you- you knew this was gonna happen?" He asks addressing the former soldier, who shakes her head.
"The Purge was PSICOM. Private Sanctum troops not the Guardian Corps." She clarifies crossing her arms.
"PSICOM, Guardian Corps… Soldiers are soldiers, aren't they?" He continued. "Pulse fal'Cie, and their l'Cie, are enemies of the state. Tell a soldier to kill an enemy… and you really think it's gonna matter what uniform he's wearing?"
"Might have mattered to that one." She replied. I looked over at the dead soldier on the floor close by with my arrow sticking out of his neck as she spoke. "Couldn't shoot, got himself shot instead."
They both walked over to the edge of the platform. "How about you? Hmm? Orders say shoot, you pull the trigger?" The man asked the former soldier who didn't reply. "Fine, forget I asked." He says throwing his hands in the air when she remained silent.
Suddenly an alarm went off. Making us look around wondering what was happening.
"What's that?" The ex-pilot asked pointing upwards.
A glowing green light emitted from the ceiling as it split open.
"Attention Purge deportees. Attention Purge deportees. Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon."A voice echoes around us as an airship started to lower some kind of structure surrounded by more airships from the opening in the ceiling. "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."
"Just what you were looking for." He said to the pinkette crossing his arms.
"Yeah, right in there." She replied nodding towards the moving structure.
"Is that…" I trailed off moving to stand beside the woman. I watched on as multiple airships carry the large towering cross-shaped structure made of scrap metal slowly across Hanging Edge.
"Yeah, the Pulse fal'Cie." The pilot finished for me. "So, how do you figure that Pulse fal'Cie is different from the Sanctum's?" He asks the former soldier as she kneels by the sides of the platform to see which path would lead to where the airship was leading the Pulse fal'Cie. The man continues looking at his pet chocobo, who was standing on his outstretched hands. I walked over and petted it on the head slightly with the tip of my finger. It chirped in return and I smiled. Seeing the little chick reminded me of the large ones back home. It flew over to my hands and I giggled slightly as it chirped again.
The woman backed away from the edge and looked over at us. "Time to jump." She says and then starts running.
"Hey, hey! Hang on!" I heard the pilot beside me cry out holding his hand out too late to stop the woman from diving to her possible death.
The chocobo flew out of my hand as we watched her getting closer to the ground. Suddenly she snapped her fingers and a blue light spread all over her body. She flipped and landed safely. A circle of blue electricity was left from where she had previously landed.
"Damn." I heard him mutter. "What now?"
"Better hurry before it wears out." I muttered backing up a bit before I dived after the pinkette. My eyes narrow as the wind rushed by me. My heart thundered in my chest in excitement as I neared the ground. I twisted my body my in perfect timing and landed in a crouched position and walked over to the pink haired woman moving out of the way just in time for afro guy to land in the spot.
-0-
'CLUNK! CLANK!'
I only stared out of boredom as the pink haired woman attacked the door that was stopping us from going any further again. The door was emitting a red glow in the form of a strange symbol.
"Still won't budge?" The pilot asked somewhat sarcastically from his place on the floor. "I think the door is winning." He added standing up. She's been going at it nonstop for at least twenty minutes. I wouldn't have guessed this place was built like a maze that twisted and turned given the outside exterior. As beautiful and alien it looked on the inside, we agreed to keeping going forward and tried not to back track as much as possible in a place like this.
"Why didn't I listen?" The woman seemed to be talking to herself.
"Uh, beg your pardon?" The man asked confused.
She raises her hand to place it on the door, but stops and clenches her hand into a fist. "It was me. This is my fault." She continued.
"Beg your pardon?" The pilot tried again.
"Cover your ears." The woman commands.
"Oh, blast charge?" He stutters before backing up in a panic, "Hold on, hold on!" The man runs past me and hides behind my legs in a crouch, covering his ears. "All right, go for it! Make it happen!" He yells. Seriously, did he expect a kid like me to cover him? Isn't he supposed to be an adult? I turned my head slightly to see her with her hand on the door's surface, her head hanging down. To my surprise the door changed color and opened to her.
"What the- hey! What did- how'd you open it?" He asks running over to her seeing as there was no blast charge. She ignored him and started to walk forward. "Oh well, after you!" He sarcastically gestures to the open door.
I walked past him and turned around walking backwards. "C'mon old man!"
"Hey!" He called after me as I ran to catch up to the pink haired woman.
We fought a few militarized units as we moved on. "If those things are still around, might be some soldiers trapped in here, too. Except they'd probably be l'Cie right now. Not even human anymore." The pilot spoke up as we walked on one of the many pathways in the Pulse Vestige. "Just Pulse l'Cie. Enemies of Cocoon. Can't show 'em any mercy." He added.
I blinked once but continued on walking, "So…what…anyone you encounter from Pulse…you automatically make them an enemy? Just cause they're from Pulse?"
"That's right."
I held in a scoff, "So say you met an innocent child who escaped from Pulse because it's 'hell' do you show it mercy and allow it to live happily in peace on Cocoon or do you pull the trigger on an innocent child just because of where it's from?"
He looked startled even troubled by the question. "Well…I'd have to…"
I shook my head, "Bunch of whimps." I muttered.
"Beg your pardon?"
"Why are you so scared of Pulse anyway? They haven't attacked Cocoon in ages." At least I don't think they have. Since I've woken up, I've had little time to research if Pulse made any more attacks on Cocoon since the War.
He chose to ignore me, probably to 'mature' to get into an argument with a kid. "What's gotten into you, Soldier? I thought you came for a fight." He asked the pink haired woman when he noticed a slight change in her demeanor.
She stopped walking and spoke up, "My sister…" She trailed off. "She's a l'Cie."
"What? A Pulse l'Cie?" The man asked walking towards her.
She nodded and continued, "The fal'Cie has her captive. But I'll find her." Now it made sense why she's on this suicide mission and why she stopped that train from taking me home.
"Is she still…?" He trailed off unsure of how to finish the sentence. She huffed lightly and began to walk again. "What was her focus?" The man asks running in front of her. "When she became a l'Cie, what did the fal'Cie ordered her to do? It wasn't 'blow up Cocoon' or anything like that, was it?"
The woman looks off to the side, her pale pink bangs falling over her eyes slightly. "I didn't ask."
We looked over at another door with the same strange symbol glowing red. It flashed brighter and when it was gone the door was opened.
"Listen to me." The man spoke up again. "When a person gets cursed by a fal'Cie, they become a l'Cie. Then they get given a Focus, right?" He paused, "How do I put this? If they don't carry it out, l'Cie end up as one of those things." He finishes nodding at the blue and grey grotesque creatures on the other side of the door. "What I'm saying is, if your sister's gone that far…" The woman narrowed her eyes and turned her back towards him. "I, I mean-! She might still-! How can I-?" He sighed. "Oh, man. There's no way to turn a l'Cie back into a human. Even if she completes her Focus, there's no changing her fate. She'll live a life as a fal'Cie slave. Don't make her suffer."
Her head snapped up in an instant, her eyes narrowing into a glare. She pushed him away as she spoke.
"Just say it! Any l'Cie… Anyone who might ever become a l'Cie should be wiped off the face of Cocoon." She turns away from him and he looks down. "It's people like you that started the Purge in the first place." She finishes with another glare towards the pilot.
"So, that's a Cie'th, huh?" I asked looking over at the strange creatures before us. The pilot hummed in response to my question and we moved forward fighting off the Cie'th in our way. It's hard to believe this things use to be human.
As we went up the stairs we saw a figure in the middle of the room's floor. I squint my eyes to get a better look. The person that laid there on the floor was a girl pink hair just like the former soldier, except hers was pulled into a side-ponytail. She was wearing a red plaid pleated skirt lined with black lace, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent pink sweeper, black thigh-high stockings, ivory ankle boots and she also had a black armband on her right bicep, like the former soldier.
"Serah!" The pink haired woman yelled when she caught sight of the girl on the floor. She ran up to her and quickly scanned her for injuries. When she saw none, she picked her up bridal style. "Time to go. We have to leave before the army- What?" She starts but cuts herself off when she caught the look the pilot was giving her.
"That's a Pulse brand." The pilot says nodding to the girl's branded arm. "That girl's a l'Cie."
"I already told you that" The woman replies with an annoyed look in her face, her brows knitted together.
"Pulse l'Cie are the enemy of Cocoon." The man says reaching down for one of his pistols.
My eyes widened. I looked over at the woman to see her eyes widened in surprise as well before she glared at him.
"So they should die?" She asks pulling her sister towards herself for protection. I stepped closer to them with my bow already in hand and my left reaching for an arrow. We're not necessarily comrades so I'll have no ill feelings if I have to kill him to keep him from killing her.
"Listen; if she fails her focus, you know how that'll end." The man replies, a solemn look on his face. "And killing her is a mercy?" She asks incredulously, her eyes in a fierce glare. She stops when a hand reached over to her face. She looked down to see her sister's cerulean blue eyes open, the girl's being a slightly darker shade than the soldier.
"You came." The girl said. The pink haired woman gasped slightly and kneeled to lower the girl gently to the floor.
"Serah!" A voice called from behind us. I turned around to see a man with light blond hair, blue eyes, and a stubble beard running towards us. He was wearing a black bandanna, black gloves, large gray boots, a light blue vest over a black shirt, and a striped blue scarf hanging from a belt. He also had a long beige trench coat. "Serah." He says again taking her hand in his.
"Is that… my hero?" She asked a small smile on her face. The soldier stared at the strange man with her eyes narrowed into a glare.
I looked behind me to see where on Pulse he could've come from and saw two more people approaching. A boy and a girl around the same age as me thank goodness because I'm glad that I'm not the only teenager in the in this group of misfits. The girl was dressed like she wasn't from around here; She had bright red hair tied in curled pigtails, green eyes, and pierced ears adorned with silver hoop earrings. Her appearance was somewhat tribal looking. She was wearing a light pink halter top, an orange and yellow skirt, beige boots and a fur pelt around her waist. She also had numerous bracelets, and beaded necklaces, along with an assortment of beads attached to various parts of her clothing. I had a feeling that she might've not been from Cocoon just by that fur pelt around her waist. Cocoon was more of a civilization with technology while Pulse was more wildlife and ruins.
The boy looked more like he was from around here; silver hair, blue-green eyes, short-sleeved orange and yellow jacket with a detailed green neckerchief over a black shirt, and black gloves with white palms. He had deep green cargo pants with a black storage pack hanging from a black belt over his left leg, and light green boots.
"Hands off." She demanded the blonde, "I'm taking her home."
"Sis, I-" The blonde man started but was interrupted by the pink haired woman.
"I'm not your sister!" She hissed, "You couldn't protect her. It's your fault she-"
"You can save us."
"Serah?" Asked the former soldier when she was interrupted by her sister.
"You can save us." Serah whispers, "Protect us all. Save… Cocoon." She finished weakly.
"Save Cocoon? Serah? That was your Focus?" The older pinkette questioned, though the girl didn't reply.
The blond man held her hand strongly, "Anything, I'll do anything. Leave it to me- you'll see. I'll protect Cocoon! I'll save everyone!" The blonde man promised.
The pink haired woman glared at him before looking down at her sister. "Somehow, I'll make things right." She told her.
"You just relax." Finished the blonde shooting her a small smile.
She smiled weakly before she started to glow. "…thank you…"
"Serah!" The former soldier cried out as her sister's body started to levitate into the air and out of her grasp. I looked away from the scene as the girl's body started to crystallize. A lone crystalized tear escaped from her eye and fell into the blonde man's hand.
"Serah! Serah!" He cried out as he reached out to her.
"Why is she turning to crystal?" The redhead now beside me asked her hands clasped together in front of her chest.
"L'Cie who fulfill their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life." Replied Hope as we all turned to look back at the scene.
"Just like the stories say." Spoke up the pilot.
"Serah… Sweet dreams." The blonde man wished as the crystalized body of the girl lowered itself on to the ground. At that the pink haired woman sharply turned her head towards him.
"Sweet dreams? She's not sleeping!" She yelled at him as she grabbed the front of his shirt. "Serah's… She's-" She let go of the man's shirt unable to finish the sentence.
"She's alive!" He insisted.
The woman glared at him. "No."
"The legend! Remember the legend! L'Cie who fulfill their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life. It's the same with Serah! Eternal life! She's not dead!" The blonde man cried out and everyone lowered their gaze solemnly.
"She may as well be." I told him looking at the crystalized girl, "Spending an eternity as an immobile crystal is no different than death. She was cursed between eternal damnation as a Cie'th or eternal imprisonment as crystal…"
"Serah's my bride-to-be. I promised to be hers forever!" He clenched his hand into a fist. "I don't care how many years I have to wait-" Our eyes widened as the pink haired woman cut the man off by punching him in the face.
"It's over! Open your eyes and face reality!" She yelled at him.
Silence followed but suddenly the ground started to shake and the boy fell to his knees covering his ears.
"What now?" The redheaded girl spoke up.
"The army." The pilot answered as the ground kept shaking. "They're bringing it down!"
The pink haired woman and the blonde man covered the crystalized Serah with their own bodies as rocks crumbled down from the ceiling.
"What?" The redhead asked looking around.
"I think is a Sanctum strike." I told her as I kneeled down to keep myself from falling over with all the quaking and shifting.
"They're going to bring down the Vestige and the fal'Cie with it!" Afro continued.
"Aren't they taking it back to Pulse?!" The redhead asks desperately, grabbing onto the older man and vice versa to keep each other balance. "That's what the Purge was, right?!"
"All they care about is getting everything from Pulse off Cocoon. Dead or alive, it's all the same." After he said that the girl backed away from him, a slight flicker of fear in her emerald green eyes.
"We can't stay here!" The boy cried out. Literally. You can hear the tears in his voice, "They'll kill us!"
I was about to suggest that we leave immediately when suddenly the shaking stopped and a door on top of a staircase opened. I had a feeling that at least one of us planned on going in there.
"I'll be right back. Hold on." The tall blonde whispered to Serah before backing away and start towards the staircase.
"Trench coat." The pilot called out to him. "Where you going?"
"Date with the fal'Cie." He replied. "Got some things to talk about."
"What? You're gonna ask it to help her?" We all looked at Serah with pity. "Are you out of your mind, kid?" The pilot asked throwing his hands in the air. "That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!"
"Well, what do you want me to do?!" The man exclaimed turning to look at the pilot. His passion for this woman was strong but even he must face the fact that there's no way to turn her back.
The pink haired woman sighed and then made her way over to the staircase. The blonde man watched her go. "Lightning?" He asked before going after her.
'Lightning?' I wondered as I stared at their retreating figures.
"Here we go." I turned my head towards the voice to see afro shaking his head and make his way to the staircase as well.
I looked to the only people in my age group, "Are you two coming or…?"
The redhead head looked down at the boy, "C'mon, you want to talk to him, right?" She encouraged softly, "C'mon, we have to keep up, yeah? Up we go!" She said brightly nudging him.
A few Cie'ths were in our way, but we easily took care of them since there were more of us.
"So, this is… the fal'Cie." He says as we entered a dark room filled with little specks of lights, before us sat dormant the fal'Cie…the mechanical being… Anima.
"Serah's a crystal now." The blond states standing before the machine. "You gave her a Focus and she did it! You got what you want! Now let her go!" The blonde man exclaimed at the fal'Cie, which remained motionless. "Please." He begged as he fell to his knees. "Turn her back! I'll be your l'Cie instead!" He shouted holding his hand over his heart.
Still no response. Then again we never really expected one.
"Fine, you go on begging." Lightning said as she drew her gunblade from her weapon holster. "Like this thing gives a damn about what we want!" She shouted attacking the fal'Cie. The clash of metal against metal echoed around the room. In one of the strikes, the weapon bounced from the fal'Cie's shield from the force of the hit.
"Lightning!" The blonde man exclaimed when the woman staggered backwards slightly.
"It's this thing's fault the Purge started, and it's people who are dying." Lightning said, panting lightly. "Serah told us to save Cocoon. That means this thing needs to die!"
As she finished that sentence lights began to light up the darkened room, signaling that the fal'Cie had woken up. Tendrils began to pop out from the floor and the shield where the fal'Cie resided split open and out came a mechanical being with a glowing crystal core.
"What the-!" Afro exclaimed at the image before him.
I heard the boy next to me gasp in fear before turning tail and ran away like a coward. He didn't get far though because as soon as he tried to make a break for the only door a red seal appeared on the door, blocking him and the rest of us from leaving.
"Punk kid." I spat at him for even thinking of trying to abandon us to fight this thing alone. Just for that he should die with us. I made up my mind and started to make my way over to the others. They were ready to fight and so was I. I took my spot in between Lightning and Trench coat guy.
The latter shot me a glance from the corner of his eye. "Are you sure?" He asked me, slight concern in his voice.
"Do you have a plan?" I retorted with utmost confidence. I've faced bigger and uglier things than this.
He must've heard it because he chuckled while getting into a fighting stance. His only weapon were his fists, "Real heroes don't need plans."
Rolling my eyes in his arrogance, I drew my arrow and took aim at the purple crystal in the center, the weakness surely, "Anybody got a good plan?"
"Got these things." The pilot pulled out his pistols and stood at Lightning's right, "I hope you guys don't mind an amateur."
The blonde man was the first to move. He immediately went for Anima ignoring the two appendages at its sides. He managed to land a hit before the mechanical being slashed at him with the clawed arm attached to its body. He was pushed back gritting his teeth in pain and when he regained his composure he went in again. I shot at its crystal core along with the pilot, but it protected itself with its clawed arm.
The blonde man was thrown back again not by Anima but by the mechanical arms that hovered close to Anima's main body.
The woman dashed forward towards the tendril on the left. "Go for the manipulators!" The former soldier yelled as she attacked said object. The blonde man looked over at her and did as she said running over to her and attacking the same appendage as her. I looked over at afro and we both nodded. We attacked the manipulator on the right and dodged when it attacked us back. One attack came particularly close on my right side but I threw myself to the side just as the pillar crashed to the ground. When it levitated again it left a sizzling imprint.
We kept at it and soon both appendages vanished. Then we turned towards Anima. The mechanical being's crystal core started to glow a clear blue. The blonde man looked over at afro and me, and nodded. We nodded back and started to shoot at the crystal core as the other too attacked it head on. I was pretty confident that we would win this over soon, until the manipulators reappeared out of thin air again. My eyes widened in surprise and I took a step back.
"It can regenerate?" I asked breathless as the fal'Cie attacked more fiercely this time. We were taking some damage by its relentless assault. In between attack turns we would toss each other potions that we acquired during our travels into the Vestige.
"Watch out!" Came a yell from the redhead who was standing by Hope watching the fight from the entrance. I looked over at her curiously to see her looking at something behind me with fear written across her face. I had enough time to see Hope with the same expression, before I was blown back with the others by Anima's magic. I landed roughly and gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of me. Spots danced in my vision as I clenched my teeth tightly, trying to regain my bearings. They distracted me! If they weren't going to help they should keep quiet!
I managed to lift my head slightly to look over at the others. The two manipulators had vanished again and they were attacking Anima's glowing crystal core. If that thing regenerates again we're done for!
"No!" Lightning growled with frustration when Anima regenerated.
"This isn't working!" Afro stressed.
I rejoined the group, "We've got to hit it with everything we've got. There are four of us and the more we take down those manipulators the weaker they get. Two of us go after the manipulators while the other two go after the core!"
"Sounds like a plan!" Trench coat shouted going directly to one of the manipulators while Afro shot at the other one.
"Watch my back." Lightning demanded charging in to hack away at the core. When Trench coat and Afro finished the manipulators they went to the core to help Lightning and that's when I took notice of something. A crack was beginning to form on the core and it was getting longer with each strike. I pulled another arrow and took careful aim at the crack. When the others were knocked back by Anima's arm I released the arrow and it embedded itself right into the crack causing a bright light that blinded us all.
When the light subsided and we were able to somewhat see again thanks to a floating crystal. If that wasn't strange enough we were all floating with large rings spinning slowly around us.
The sound of bells and someone singing echoed around.
"Where are we?" Lightning breathed out looking around.
"What's going on?" The blonde man asked in confusion as well.
Then all of a sudden a light beamed from what I assumed was the floor. It shot through the crystal and out came a giant mechanical being. We all gasped at the ginormous creature floating before us.
My eyes widened in fear as glowing blue wires flew towards us. They grabbed us by the arms, waist and legs, making it impossible to get free. I struggled to break the tendrils, but it was pointless. I could only watch as another set of glowing blue cords flew towards us. One hit Lightning on the chest before she passed out. The pilot was next, the cord hitting him in the same place as the former soldier before he too passed out. Then another flew towards the blonde man and latched on to his left arm. I looked up at the being's face before one of the glowing wires flew towards me. I grunted as I struggled once again to get away. I helplessly watched as the wire came closer with great speed. I closed my eyes tightly and felt my right hand burn. I cried out and the wires finally released me with the others.
Fast images began to play in my mind. I couldn't really tell what it was or what was going on. I could only see a monster with many arms… explosions of fire and I think ice with arms wrapping around something? I think had something to do with the destruction of Cocoon.
End of chapter 1. So despite the hate Final Fantasy 13 often gets I decided to do a rewrite already fully written out until my computer decides to format it again. I know the basics of Final Fantasy (Basically the bishi boys) and Final Fantasy 7 is high up there as the best but Final Fantasy 13 was the first I ever bought and played. Yes it's linear and the plot is basically a lost cause but I love the characters and the graphics and that's all I ever really want out of a game anyway. So thanks so much everyone for taking the time to read and I will be posting chapter 2 shortly.