Title: Yaag Rosch's death and meeting NORA; or rather, Of martyrs and heroes
Story: So Starstruck
Author's Note: Do you SEE this? If I had added this into the original story, it would have been its own chapter. Yeah. Insane, isn't it? I had fun writing this out, nonetheless. I really do miss this story...

The Cocoon l'Cie brand never looked so menacing.

Balthier felt his blood turn cold at the sight of it upon the massive door, and he couldn't find the means to move from where he stood beside Lightning. She eyed his tense form, and almost looked as if she considered asking him what was wrong. However, Snow's reaction to the obstacle earned the attention of every one of them.

He slammed his fist against the door's brand, his lips formed into a firm scowl. "So close!" Snow snarled, his hands clenched tightly. Balthier walked up beside him, tentatively placing a hand upon his shoulder.

"Easy now, Ice. We'll just have to find another way around."

"There's no time for that!"

Snow's fist came in contact with the door again, but that time the roaring of an engine erupted from behind the wall. The door lit up, rising above their heads, and each of them pulled out their weapons, preparing for battle. Balthier narrowed his eyes as the sunlight was revealed to them, but flying toward them were two...hoverbikes?

"Gate got ya beat? Hero?"

"Pretty lame."

The two bikes flew past the group, and Maqui excitedly waved at them from where he sat on one bike with Gadot. "Heya Snow! Where ya been?"

As the hoverbikes lowered to the floor, Balthier inched between Lightning and Sazh, watching with raised eyebrows. Snow walked over to his NORA gang, tentatively covering his l'Cie brand. The lanky man with blue hair, Yuj, noticed this and frowned faintly.

"So, Snow...You're a Pulse l'Cie now, huh?"

The blond sighed heavily. "Yeah. Good times."

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Yuj walked off his bike, glaring up at the other man. "Why the hell didn't you come and find us?"

Lebreau, the girl wearing less clothes than Fang, hopped to the floor and smirked. "Yeah, we've been waiting."

Maqui gave them a confident thumbs up. "Us and the rest of the Purge fugitives!"

Vanille and Balthier exchanged glances, and she started to laugh when Lightning cracked a small smile. Gadot crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. "But damn, those Pulse l'Cie sure know how to pick 'em."

"Yeah," Lightning agreed, walking forward. "Out of all the idiots in the world, they choose this one."

Eyes wide, Balthier looked between her and the NORA gang as everyone else laughed, save for Snow. Who knew—Lightning actually had a humorous side. A smirk formed on his lips, and he looked toward Lebreau as she, not trying to it, curiously eyed him. He winked at her once, and she blushed, turning away.

"Hey, hey, hey, now wait just a minute here!" Snow's cheeks were pink for once, and he tried to get his group to stop laughing. "I am your fearless leader. You're not supposed to laugh at the boss!"

While he tried giving one of his 'hero' speeches, Balthier slowly made his way over to Lebreau, ignoring the suspicious glares from both Lightning and Fang. He took her hand, and that was when they managed to get Snow's complete attention. "A shame you and I shall not meet again after this day," Balthier told her, pretending to be disappointed. "I would have enjoyed your company."

Snow growled quietly. "Balthier..."

The girl waved her free hand at him, smirking. "Oh, be quiet, Snow. I should be mad at you for not introducing this real hero to me earlier. You didn't have to keep him for yourself." She looked at Balthier, eyelashes fluttering. "The pleasure's all mine."

Balthier kissed her hand lightly, and bid her farewell. He was telling the truth, that he wouldn't have the chance to see her after the final battle against Orphan. It was painfully obvious, no matter how hard he tried to deny it. Surely he wouldn't live to tell the tale of his travels with the l'Cie, nor would he even get the chance to really explore the new world. Fran would have liked hearing about it.

As the NORA gang departed to go help civilians, Lightning waltzed over to Balthier with a frustrated look in her aqua eyes. He realized that it may not have been the best of ideas to openly flirt with Lebreau when Lightning was standing right there. She slapped him upside the head, walking off without saying a single word. Snow roared with laughter, at least until Balthier punched him in the shoulder.

It had been a while since Balthier had been around regular humes that weren't trying to kill him and the l'Cie. True, the civilians were scurrying around the place, trying to escape the inevitable destruction of Cocoon, but it was some-what calming to be around people like him. Seeing their faces only reminded him that he had a world to save.

They continued their march to the lower section of Eden, and as they reached what looked to be a large stairwell, crystal particles started flowing to the sky from the floor at their feet. Vanille caught some in her hand and remarked on how beautiful it was, while Balthier merely collected one particle between his fingers. He could make out his reflection inside the crystal, though the moment he looked into his own eyes, the particle vanished in thin air.

"What is this stuff?" Vanille asked, turning toward her companion. Fang only shrugged, not knowing the truth herself.

Sazh shook his head. "I don't like this. Is Cocoon falling apart already?"

"Could be," Hope agreed. "Maybe Orphan's having trouble holding things together with all this fighting going on."

Balthier was just about to answer him, but the voice of Dysley boomed over their heads, chuckling darkly. "The clamor of this conflict rouses Ragnarok." The old Primarch popped into their view, blocking their path to the lower parts of the city. He held out his arms, acknowledging the area around them. "Can you halt the Calvary's charge? Filled with righteousness, they will slaughter Ragnarok in the name of freedom. Your only recourse will be to deliver them death, swift and certain."

The female soldier wouldn't listen. "No," Lightning snapped. "Unlike you, they'll listen to reason."

Dysley snickered again. "We will see about that. I shall savor the demise of Cocoon from atop the highest seat in all of Eden. You, too, should hurry along to the heart of our grand capital. Your loved ones miss you so."

Upon hearing this, Snow growled and moved to strike the old man down, but Balthier held up a hand and stopped him. The Primarch rose into the air, and before disappearing he cried out, "Come, l'Cie! Fulfill your destiny!"

They were alone again, and Hope clenched his fists. "Your destiny...We'll decide our own destiny!"

Lightning agreed with him, leading the way down the stairs. "Right. Over Barthandelus' dead body."

The heart of Cocoon was just an open stadium, where the sky above was shining down upon those standing away from the shade. Lightning was staring at something behind the clouds, and it wasn't until Balthier touched her shoulder that she snapped out of her daze. She looked as if she had something to say to him, but didn't know exactly how. Her lips parted as if she was trying to speak, but Fang's interruption forced her to stop.

"So this is the heart of Cocoon," the dragoon murmured, walking ahead of the group. "It's incredible."

Hope directed their attention to a set of doors just on the other side of a long bridge. "That's where Eden sits, controlling all the other Cocoon fal'Cie. It's also where we'll find Orphan, the battery that keeps Eden running."

"Good to know," Snow said with a deep sigh. "So what's the plan?"

Lightning brushed past him, crossing her arms. "Your usual plan. Charge in through the front door, what else?" She started to walk away when the blond tried talking to her, and was quietly followed by a smirking Balthier. Snow scoffed, ignoring the amused giggles and chuckles coming from the Oerban partners.

However, as the group went on, a small legion of soldiers came out from the shadows and stood in their way. Lightning rolled her eyes, not affected by the multiple guns aimed at her. "Right," she groaned.

Balthier stood beside her, sighing and clearly mocking her just to lighten the mood. "Right." She glared at him, cheeks flushed.

A violet light erupted behind them, and a horned beast came charging out of the portal. It rammed most of the PSICOM soldiers, even beheading a few, and screeched until there weren't any men left. One soldier's body was tossed over the group, and Balthier evaded it by ducking down. Blood splattered onto his vest, and with a loud groan he hung his head. "Some welcoming party."

There was a brief opening in the direction they needed to go, and the sky pirate was quick to take that chance. He grabbed the hand closest to him, which happened to belong to a slightly confused Vanille, and pulled her past the beast and dead soldiers. The others followed, taking the hint, and dashed down the bridge. A PSICOM droid distracted the horned beast, giving the l'Cie and sky pirate the chance to escape.

Yet, when they reached the entrance to Orphan's Cradle, the remains of the Proudclad and bodies of soldiers turned Cie'th lay before them. Balthier saw a hume hand among the wreckage, and he almost wondered if his fate would be the same. Sazh must have shared this view, because he stood beside the sky pirate and frowned.

"Looks like no one was spared," he murmured, looking all around at the destruction. Just as he spoke, however, a man stumbled out of the ship.

It was Rosch. He was coughing violently as blood dripped from his forehead and onto the bridge of his nose. Balthier moved forward, seeing that the others weren't willing to help the man.

"Rosch," Balthier stated, facing the man. "It's over."

He was ignored. "What of my soldiers?" When Balthier cast his eyes downward after looking toward the Cie'th corpses, Rosch frowned. "I see."

"Why are you doing this, Rosch?" Sazh asked, narrowing his eyes. "I mean, haven't you done enough?"

"Enough? Under fal'Cie orders, I've orchestrated mass murder." Rosch coughed again, and blood seeped from his lips. "All to answer the fears of a panicked populace. For a people utterly dependent on the fal'Cie, it was the only solution I could offer. Even if it meant that solution was a farce."

"Then you knew the fal'Cie were using us."

"I believed their rule was best for Cocoon's present and future prosperity. But it seems," Rosch chuckled, "I misjudged their benevolence. If this is my punishment, I accept it."

Fang reached for her lance, but one look from Vanille stopped her. "So, you're just gonna let everything go to hell. Is that it?"

"You're right. One thing remains." He pulled out a communicator headseat and attached it to his ear, and started to speak into it. "This is...this is PSICOM Director Rosch. Attention all PSICOM and Guardian Corps units. Suspend all l'Cie operations. I repeat, suspend l'Cie operations. All units should focus their efforts on evacuating the civilian population. I do not issue this order as an absolute. You...are free to make the choice."

Rosch collapsed, dropping the head set as more blood escaped his weak lips. Balthier ran forward, forgetting that this was the very man that nearly killed him, and helped him sit up. "Rosch!"

The man pushed Balthier's hands away. "Go. You're here to save Cocoon and your world, aren't you? Or was that a farce, as well?"

The group remained silent, but Snow started to head for Orphan's Cradle. "Stay alive," he muttered through clenched teeth. "We'll see you when its over."

The rest went after him, and though Balthier was uneasy about leaving a hume behind, he knew that there was no other choice. He stood up and walked on, closing his eyes the moment he stepped into the hall with the others. Lightning was watching him with worried eyes, and for once he didn't notice her. An explosion from above caught their attention, nearly knocking them all off their feet.

Balthier turned around, staring at the closed door. A hand rested upon his shoulder, and he allowed Snow to lead him away and further into what seemed to be the end.

Oy. Long deleted scenes are long...