CHAPTER 1 - WE'RE ON GRAN PULSE?
Serah Farron Serah's house, Oerba, Gran Pulse
"Who's that?" Serah asked when she saw the hedgehog and the wolf. "They aren't Cie'Th."
"Probably just some Pulsian wildlife." Snow said, ignorantly. "They might not even speak." He was shocked when he saw that the blue hedgehog walked up with a remark.
"Nice to meet you too, spalding." the blue hedgehog said in a clownish tone. "We aren't even 'Pulsian'."
"You'll have to excuse my husband." Serah said politely. "He can be a little brain-numb sometimes. It might be because of his Eidolon." She chuckled a little when she said the last part.
"I love you too, Serah." Snow said embarrassingly. "It still doesn't take care of the little blue ball of fur . . . or skin . . . or whatever his spikes are made of."
"You were right on fur." Sonic said, giving Snow his trademark thumbs-up. "Name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Well," Serah said, with a bright smile on her face. "My name is Serah Fa- . . . um . . ." She stopped herself, knowing she took on her husband's name now. "Serah Villiers. This is my husband, Snow. It's nice to meet you, Sonic" She lost her smile when a pack of Varcolaci showed up behind the two. "Snow, we have more visitors, and they look a little 'crystalline', if you know."
"More Cie'Th." Snow said with a grunt. "I'll take care of them, Serah." He walked right past his wife and the hedgehog named Sonic.
Pulse the Wolf
Before Snow even said anything about Cie'Th, Pulse knew something was not right. His aurakinesis allowed him to sense a group of winged monsters behind them, if their screaming didn't alert anyone. He quickly turned around and drew a sword from his belt, then went into a combat stance.
"Alright, Cie'Th." He sais calmly. "Come closer if you want a split headache."
Snow walked up and raised his fists, ready to fight the Varcolaci. An emblem began to shine on his trenchcoat, and a tattoo the shape of a wickedly drawn, gray rectangle began to shine blue, making Snow's gloves cold with ice.
"Serah, stay back." He quickly orderedc his wife. "And keep the porcupine safe."
"I believe he said he was a hedgehog, dear," Serah calmly corrected, seeing his sarcastic tone. She went inside and grabbed a wicked-looking blade from under the chair, then came out and stood behind Snow. "And Sonic," She said in a tense tone. "Please stay away from these Cie'Th. Their breath tends to poison people."
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic just ran ahead and encircled the Cie'Th. With them confused, and kicking at empty air, he jumped up and spin-dashed straight through 2 of the Cie'Th. However, the 3rd one flew in and breathed a toxic mass of brown, stagnant air at Sonic, knocking him back and making breathing difficult. He also lost his train of thought, as if he was in a daze. Stunned, Sonic was helpless against the stampede of the Varcolaci's feet, almost knocking him out were it not for the support of the young woman in the white lace-coat.
Serah Farron
Serah saw the Cie'Th's actions from behind the protection of the crimson wolf and Snow, and knew he was in trouble. She had figured the hedgehog wouldn't hold up against the miasma of the toxic breath, so in an instant, she muttered one word, one life-saving word.
"Esuna." She whispered softly. A softly glowing purple orb flew from a mark exactly like Snow's, and raced down into Sonic's chest, clearing it of the poison. She also ran up and defeated the 3rd Varcolaci in a single strike to the back. The Cie'Th fell to the ground, and vaporised itself into a purple mist, never to be seen again.
Miles "Tails" Prower Palumpolum, Residential District, Cocoon
Miles had awakened to the sound of people talking. It sounded like Amy was talking to another woman and a young boy. When he got up, he saw a kid dressed in a black T-shirt, an orange overshirt, and a yellow shawl. He had black-and-white gloves on his hands, and on his left arm was a yellow cloth. Under the cloth was some sort of wicked-looking tattoo.
"Hello?" Tails said, still dazed from the recent Chaos Control. He looked at the kid and tried getting up, but he felt a lack of concentration and an empty, foggy feeling in his head.
Hope Estheim
"You're still fogged." Hope said calmly, sitting down by the young fox boy. "We thought you two were Cie'Th. Lucky your pink friend, Amy, over there told us who you were." He held out a hand, and muttered something under his breath. "Esuna." Upon saying this word, Hope had sent a lavender orb into the fox and cured his mind-fog.
Miles
"Was that . . . " Tails said, stunned, "Chaos Energy?"
Hope
"No." Hope said assuringly. "That was L'Cie magic."
"L'Cie what?" the fox said, confused.
"You saw the brand under my cloth, didn't you." Hope said, in a calm voice. "It's burned out, but I am still a L'Cie. I'm just glad they've stopped the Purges."
"What's a L'Cie?" the fox asked, with a confused, curious look in his big-eyed face.
"I figured you'd say that." Lightning spoke up. "I explained to Amy, and she'll tell it to you when you have the time."
Miles "Tails" Prower
"What's a L'Cie?" Tails asked again, keeping polite to the new faces. This time, he was looking at the woman. She had fiery pink hair, with a pigtail doing down the left side. She was also wearing a sleeveless, white coat over a green tunic, with a black spaulder on her left shoulder. She had a case on her back, which Tails had remembered she pulled something mettalic out of it, and turned it into a sword.
"A L'Cie is a slave of a Fal'Cie, which hold themselves and their L'Cie up as gods." The woman said, a small shred of anger in her voice. She then walked over and inspected Tails' arm. She revealed the same tattoo on him as he did on Hope. "So who caught you in their net? Anima? Atomos?"
"I don't know." Tails said innocently. "All I remember before I blacked out was seeing this huge black monster near a steppe."
'Titan." The woman said, turning away to look up. "No wonder you have a L'Cie mark." She turned back around and held out her hand, after telling the kid - who was named Hope - to go back inside. "I'm Lightning. You can call me Light."
"Ok . . . Light." Tails said, grabbing Lightning's hand and getting up.
