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On this day, the tragedy fell, and two seeds were planted in the earth.
- Episode Zero: Tomorrow
Apply Standard Disclaimers Here
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Odds and Ends
War Blossoms, Part 3
By: E.G. Szyslak [02/15/11-04/06/11]
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Six
Fang tries to stay still as the matron puts ointment on the wounds on her back. She runs a hand through her hair, still wet from the bath she's just taken, and then she rubs the back of her neck. It's pointless; she's squirming a few seconds later. She's uncomfortable, but this is something she can't do by herself and Vanille's not around to tend to her.
"Not much longer now," the matron soothes her, calms her enough to make her stop fidgeting.
She drops her hand to her lap and thumbs the fresh bandages on her palm.
"Gorgonopsid?" the matron guesses.
She shakes her head.
"Armadillon," she says.
Gorgonopsids are easy game for her, the matron should know that. The matron should know that she has her eye on other things – things like daemons and oretoises and behemoths – the likes of which she'll be ready to fight soon because every day, she's getting better. Every day, she's getting stronger.
But right now, it seems like all matron sees is the eleven-year-old girl with the broken ribs and the broken arm, and it reminds her of the way Vanille looks at her sometimes.
That was five years ago, she wants to say, wants to show and prove.
"Were you by yourself?" the matron asks, sounding like she already knows the answer.
Fang just nods.
"Left the spoils to scavengers?"
She almost grunts at the question.
"Yes," she sighs instead.
The matron isn't about to scold her or lecture her, isn't about to tell her to stop going off alone.
"You're too stubborn," she's been told.
She doesn't say that a murder of giant crows swooped in as soon as the armadillon stopped twitching under her spear, that she didn't even have a chance to take at least a tooth or a claw, that all she could do after the kill was grab her weapon and get out of there.
If not crows, the horde would have been wolves, wildcats or gorgonopsids along with goblins and spooks, or maybe even a behemoth. It would have been stupid to stay and fight – but she wanted to; she almost did – and it's not like she could drag a kill that big and heavy all the way back to Oerba while fending off other predators.
Not yet, she tells herself, she reminds herself.
She also reminds herself that she's done something like that before: something stupid, something worse. She's been told – again – she's lucky to have survived that fight against the ochu, even luckier to have made a full recovery, but she doesn't care about that. It's been a year and she still thinks about the sleepless nights in the hospital. She still thinks about how she made Vanille cry.
"That's a shame," the matron says, patting her shoulder then moving on to dressing her wounds. "I know a few blacksmiths who are quite desperate to get their hands on some scales. You could have traded for cobaltite, have that bladed lance you've been wanting made..."
Fang blinks. The matron does and says things she least expects, almost as much as Vanille does.
"On my next hunt, then," she decides.
"Ask Orvin and Raya to come with you, perhaps? Maybe a few other hunters, as well. Even with just a share of the pickings, it'd be more than enough."
Fang hesitates.
"Maybe," she mutters. She hesitates again, then says, "Moriel said he'll give me a Kain if I beat him in a fight."
"Did he, now?" the matron chimes, and Fang could tell she's smiling. "Does he make this absurd offer to all of his students?"
"Yes, but he's never lost."
"Well, you tell that mentor of yours that he better be ready to hand over that weapon when he loses you," the matron says, sounding much like a proud mother.
It makes Fang grin a lot more than she realizes.
"There," the matron murmurs. "You're all patched up."
Fang shifts and turns around.
"Thank you, Yeta."
The matron smiles at her.
"You're welcome, Fang."
She smiles back and starts to put a shirt on.
"You go on ahead; no need to help me put these away," the matron tells her. "Vanille should still be at the farm with Alden."
She stops suddenly.
Alden, she thinks, Oerba Reu Alden: the matron's nephew, Vanille's friend, and a l'Cie, one of many branded over the past weeks.
Fang pulls the shirt down. She wonders if the matron has gone outside recently, wonders if the matron already knows. She sees the matron placing the gauze, tape, and ointment back into the box that she's seen so many times.
"An ark airship here," she says simply, bluntly, not knowing how else to say it.
An airship from the First Ark has come to Oerba to take the new l'Cie away.
The matron looks at her, as if not hearing what she just said, as if not wanting to believe that she said it at all.
Fang finds Vanille walking alone in the streets, away from the farm that belongs to Alden's family. Vanille sees her, then hurries over and hugs her. It takes only a moment before she hears Vanille gasp, feels her about to pull away.
"Fang, you're hurt-"
"It's not bad," she cuts in, holding Vanille and keeping her close. "Where are you going?"
"Home," Vanille says, almost whispers. "Alden and I saw the airship. We were at the store and people were talking about it, then they saw his brand and started asking him all these questions, saying all these things. We went outside, went to see for ourselves, and it was there, near the Temple..." she trails off and shakes her head. "He's talking to his family now. I have to tell Matron."
Fang is surprised then, when Vanille is suddenly out of her arms and running past her. She easily catches up and grabs Vanille's wrist.
"I already told her."
Vanille stops.
"You saw it, too?"
"Yeah, I did, when I got back."
Fang loosens her grip as she answers, letting her hand slip down to Vanille's. After a while, Vanille squeezes her hand and nods. They start heading back to the orphanage. Fang is quiet, feeling helpless, feeling useless. No matter how it ends, Vanille is going to lose a friend and the matron is going to lose a nephew, and she can't change that.
At the end of the week, the airship leaves. Fang wakes up in the middle of the night because Vanille is crying.
Within the next two years, the other orphans are branded and taken away: first Safiyah, then Wynn and Irvette, then Orvin. Vanille's nightmares come back; Fang barely sleeps because of it. Every night, she holds Vanille and tells her the same thing over and over, makes the same promise again and again.
"I'm still here, Vanille," she would say. "You'll always have me."
She says it every night, but it's not enough anymore.
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Seven
Fang sits on the ground, getting a little dirt and blood on her clothes. She's panting, but just a bit. The cut on her lip stings; it's bleeding. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, then she puts her bladed lance on her lap, never taking her eyes off Raya. Her foot nudges something: Raya's sword. She grabs it.
A quick, "Catch," is the only warning she gives before she tosses the sword, and Raya does catch it, like always.
Raya uses the sword to pull herself up and get to her feet. She's winded and worn out, but she's smiling.
"A fight like that, and all I give you is a puny nick on the lip?" she wheezes, shaking her head. "I'd have fared better against a pack of starved, rutting ugallus."
Fang grins. One more quip out of Raya and she would be smug and smirking.
"Another round, yeah?" she asks eagerly.
Raya seems like she's about to say yes, but she laughs instead.
"I realize my judgment can be... questionable when it comes to you," she drawls, still a little out of breath, "but as shocking as this may be for you to know, Fang, I do have a sense of self-preservation. So, I must refuse and walk away, if I can even manage that... I can scarcely stand on my own feet!"
Fang's already smirking.
"Sit down, then?"
Raya laughs again.
"Cheeky whelp."
Fang narrows her eyes when Raya approaches her. She scowls, knowing exactly what Raya's about to do and daring her to go through with it. She looks up and she's about to say something unpleasant, maybe even threaten to bite, but before she could even get a word out, Raya puts a hand on her head and ruffles her hair.
"Bloody-!" she growls, knocking Raya's hand away. "What the hell was that for?"
"Your temper, Fang, seems to have grown with the rest of you, and, my, how you've grown!" Raya says, sitting beside her and grinning at her. "It's hard to believe you used to be this little nuisance that followed us whenever we were after big game. You were already causing trouble even before you started hunting with us."
Fang snorts.
"Fine hunters, the lot of you. Couldn't even tell you had a kid on your tail."
"Yes, yes," Raya easily agrees. "You always were a sneak, Yun."
Fang blinks; there's something different about the way Raya says Yun this time. It makes her think about her clan, of what little she understands and what more she'll never know. It makes her feel restless, makes her want to leave Oerba and see the rest of Gran Pulse: see how much of it has changed and see if she can survive in it, live in it.
She's eighteen now, turning nineteen soon. She wonders if she is what a Yun is supposed to be.
She touches her left shoulder. It's bare, has no mark. She doesn't know what kind of mark she's earned, doesn't know what kind of mark she deserves.
On her right arm is a snakeskin armband, her first trophy: Vanille made it for her, made it from the giant snake that she fought and killed when it attacked Oerba a year ago. She then looks at her lance and reads the name 'Oerba Yun Fang' on the blades. She thumbs the word 'Oerba' and frowns.
It's wrong, she thinks. It's all wrong.
She has to remind herself again that Vanille made the armband for her, that the lance was a birthday gift from Vanille, Yeta and the older orphans, before they were taken away.
Raya nudges her, and she's not sure if it's gentle or just weak.
"I have fond memories," Raya tells her, "of dragging you back home and listening to my proud, brave father stutter to your dear, sweet matron that you were nearly trampled by oretoises or flattened by an ochu, or that you hopped on a wyvern's back and got chased by a greatwyrm. Such fond memories. Feels like so long ago, doesn't it?"
Fang nods. It really has been a long time. Raya's the head hunter of Oerba now, not her father, who's more known these days as a l'Cie of the Eleventh Ark, and not any of her brothers, who, like a few others, sought fal'Cie to be branded. Fang has bested every fighter she's ever challenged, even l'Cie from up to the Eighth Ark, but she can't forget that she never did beat her mentor when she had the chance a year ago.
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"You're going to an Ark?" she snarls and glares at her mentor, suddenly forgetting that she just lost yet another fight. "What for? To get branded?"
Moriel holds out a hand to help her stand, but she gets to her feet on her own. He frowns at her.
"The priests have asked me to help train the l'Cie in the arks," he says, then stops her before she can talk back. "Fang, you should know by now, better than anyone, that just having power isn't enough. Just being a l'Cie isn't enough. It's why only a few actually make it to battle; most perish in the arks."
"You're going to turn into one of them, then?" she demands. "Leave your students? Leave Yeta?"
Moriel doesn't answer, not out loud, and Fang's thinking – promising – she will never, ever do that because she doesn't want Vanille to cry over her crystal corpse every ten years.
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Raya nudges her again, this time with the hilt of the sword.
"Don't forget: we leave at dawn tomorrow."
"I remember," she mumbles.
"And don't forget to tell Vanille."
Fang stares at Raya.
"She's not coming with us."
"No?" Raya echoes, frowning at first, then sighing. "That's too bad. I've grown so accustomed to having Vanille around on our long hunting trips. It's been like that the past... two years, is it? Yes, almost two years. What's keeping her home?"
"Doesn't want to leave the kids," Fang replies, and it almost sounds like she's grumbling.
She wouldn't have been in any of those long hunting trips if not for Vanille's insistence. She would have stayed in the orphanage so she could hold Vanille until she falls asleep.
It's been two weeks since Vanille told her that the new orphans are family to her now, like how Safiyah, Wynn, Irvette and Orvin are – were – family. It's been two weeks since Vanille's been able to sleep better and easier, and Fang's sure Vanille's going to be fine if she's gone for a little while.
"Should have expected as much from Little Matron," Raya remarks, and it's only now that Fang realizes just how well the nickname suits Vanille.
"She's very impressive with a rod. No one catches wyverns quite like you two," Raya murmurs. "But I have to say, I'll miss her cooking and smiles the most."
"Yeah," she says, "me, too."
"And she killed a bear, saved my life. Let's not forget that," Raya chimes, beaming. "I'm going to have something made from its pelt. Do you think she'd like it?"
"I hope so," Fang mumbles, looking sour, "maybe she'd wear it over her skirt, give men less to see."
Raya laughs.
"With you around, whelp, the most a man can do to Little Matron is look. Who can fault them, really? She's an attractive young woman with an endearing personality."
Fang sneers.
"Her endearing personality isn't on her bloody legs."
"You realize you'd be dooming the Dia line to end with Vanille if you keep this up," Raya teases. "I could say the same for you, in fact. When will you consider letting some romance into your life, hm?"
"When Cocoon falls out of the sky," Fang drawls.
"Ah, you're no fun sometimes, Yun," Raya tells her. "Life can't be all about chasing oretoises and riding wyverns."
Fang grins. It's a proud grin, almost smug.
"What, you don't think that's fun?"
Raya shakes her head, looking amused.
"So, then, do you feel like leading this upcoming hunt, Fang?"
She snorts.
"Funny."
She can't do it. She can barely work with the other hunters; she doesn't trust or respect them enough, if at all.
The other hunters, like most people in Gran Pulse, are becoming cowards and fools: cowards who beseech Anima to keep them safe from the Culling, "From 'Lindzei," they would say; fools who do nothing but wait for the next l'Cie to be branded and hope it's enough of a sacrifice, enough of an offering to end the war. They hide in Oerba, afraid of the world outside that's supposed to be their home, and they entrust their lives to a fal'Cie as if they don't know how to fend for themselves anymore. They're no different from the people of Cocoon.
Raya sighs dramatically.
"Who shall take my stead when I'm blessed and crippled with pregnancy?"
Fang blinks, then bursts into loud, obnoxious laughter.
"Never going to happen!"
Raya sighs again.
"You are a rotten little beast."
Fang walks Raya to her house and gets to the orphanage well before dinner. There's noise coming from the kitchen. Four kids – three boys, one girl – run to greet her. She notes that two others aren't around, which is odd since she's usually swarmed by all six.
"Fang's home!" the girl squeals and clings to her waist.
"Hey, Fang, Vanille showed me where to put your lance!" a boy brags. "Want me to do it for you?"
Fang holds her weapon away just as a small, chubby hand makes a grab for it. She's about to say no and remind them Yeta and Vanille wouldn't approve.
"Liar!" another boy growls, pushing the other boy away. "Vanille couldn't have shown you! I spent almost the whole day with her and we were fishing and picking flowers. We brought Bhakti and took pictures! I even gave some flowers to Matron so you'll know I'm telling the truth! Fang, Fang! He's lying! He always lies! He's gonna use your lance to scare me and make me give him the top bunk!"
"I'm not lying! I saw where Vanille was going to put it last time," the first boy hisses. "It's the same thing!"
"No, it isn't! Fang, let me do it. I'll ask Vanille and she'll tell me!"
"Yes, it is! And, hey, I asked her first!"
"You two are stupid," the third boy snaps. "Why do you think they hide it? 'Cause they don't want us to find it! No way they're gonna tell you where!"
Fang almost praises the kid but manages to stop herself the last second. He'll probably think she's encouraging the name-calling.
"Hey, hey!" she barks, effectively quieting the boys down. "Okay, you brats, if you're all so eager," she starts to say, making sure her lance is still out of reach, "you can have my old spears, but," she quickly adds, "only if Yeta and Vanille allow it."
All three boys gape at her, and then, one by one, they start grinning.
"Really? You mean it, Fang?"
"I'll ask Vanille. She's gonna say yes if I do it!"
"What? Why does it have to be you?"
"'Cause she likes me best, that's why! She even let me use her binding rod today!"
"That's because you act like a girl. That's a girl's weapon!"
"At least I'm not a liar! And now I'm gonna be learning how to use two weapons, hah!"
"Stupid. Both of you are so stupid."
Fang ignores the rest of the bickering and looks at the girl still latched onto her. The girl smiles sweetly and keeps hugging her, giggling.
"Boys are so silly," she girl cooes.
Fang chuckles.
"Sure are."
The noise from the kitchen gets louder. Fang looks up in time to see Yeta walking up to them. The boys stop arguing and two of them try to smile innocently while the third calls them stupid yet again.
"All right, children, that's enough for now," Yeta says. "Let's give Fang some time for herself before dinner. You can talk all you want after we eat."
There's a loud, "Aww," and then different kinds of, "Yes, Matron."
The boys move along, and they can't even wait until they're out of sight before they start yelling at each other again. The girl remains attached to Fang's waist and is now pouting at her.
"Am I getting a spear, too?"
Fang pats the girl's head, grinning.
"Only if you want it."
"I do, I do!" the girl exclaims, then finally lets her go and runs off screaming, "Fang's giving me a spear, yay!"
Yeta watches the girl leave, then turns to her with a smile.
"I see there's much to talk about after dinner."
Fang just keeps grinning, then she gives Yeta all the money she's earned from today's hunt.
"Thank you, Fang," Yeta whispers, taking the money then squeezing her hand before she pulls away.
Fang nods, but she thinks it's strange that Yeta keeps acting like it's something she doesn't have to do, as if she could just take Vanille and walk away. This is what Vanille wants – living in the orphanage, living with the matron and the orphans – so there's no reason for them to be anywhere else.
"But, Vanille, I wanna cut the veggies!"
"Vanille, is the water hot enough? I'm gonna check!"
Fang turns to the direction of the voices, eyebrows raised. Yeta says something about curious children and cooking being a health hazard. Fang quickly goes to put her lance away and follows Yeta into the kitchen. Vanille is there with the two orphans not present earlier.
"- so don't put your hand in boiling water, okay?" Vanille finishes telling the frowning little girl.
Fang sees the boy sulking by the fridge and staring at the knives on the counter, guessing he's just been told why he shouldn't hold the pointy end of sharp objects. Vanille notices her and smiles, looking tired but happy. The two kids also notice her and happily scramble over to her like Vanille hasn't been chiding them.
"Fang, we're helping Matron and Vanille cook dinner!" the boy declares.
"I picked what soup to make!" the girl says. "It's oretoise, 'cause I know you love it."
"And your portion's extra salty," Vanille adds.
"Extra salty!" the girl chirps.
Fang laughs, then smiles when she sees Vanille come over for a hug. She holds out her arms expectantly, but Vanille stops just out of reach.
"What? What's wrong?" she asks, tilting her head.
Vanille puts her hands on her hips.
"No hugs when you're all dirty, Fang, you know that."
Fang blinks, and when she hears the kids snicker and sees Yeta trying not to smile, she frowns.
"But I want my hug."
Vanille huffs.
"Don't be cute. It's not going to work."
"Yeah?" Fang drawls, now smirking at the challenge. "Well, I'm getting my hug whether you like it or not."
She takes one step forward, and Vanille quickly brandishes a ladle to defend herself.
"You think that's going to stop me?" Fang taunts, chuckling maniacally.
The girl runs up to her.
"I'll give you a hug, Fang!"
Vanille shakes her head and puts away the ladle, but she's smiling now.
"You kids are spoiling Fang."
Fang grins and easily picks up the girl, who happily gets snug in her arms. She notices that the girl is holding something: it's Boco, the plush chocobo Vanille made and named for her five years ago. She shakes her head and tries not to think about it too much, tries not to wonder if it means Vanille can move on from her – if Vanille will replace her – like she's done with Safiyah, Wynn, Irvette and Orvin.
The boy is given a snack so he'll sit still. Yeta and Vanille go back to cooking.
"You two better be clean by the time dinner's ready," Vanille tells her.
Fang's quiet for a while, and before she can answer, there's a loud knock on the door.
"Visitors at this hour? Strange," Yeta says, washing her hands and heading for the door.
Fang turns, about to leave the kitchen, but then the visitor speaks.
"Oerba Reu Yeta, I believe. I trust there is no need for further introductions."
"Of course not, Your Reverence," she hears Yeta say. "To what do we owe this visit?"
Someone else answers.
"We are here for Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille."
Fang tenses. She knows that voice: it's the priest from the Temple.
"Your Reverence, I don't understand..."
She doesn't wait to hear the rest of what Yeta says. She moves, hurries over to Vanille and puts the girl down.
"Vanille," she whispers, "get the kids and hide. Don't make a sound. Don't come out until I say so."
"Fang-"
She's doesn't wait; she's already out of the kitchen and running to Yeta.
"Insolent woman!" yet another voice screeches. "Who are you to demand-"
The talking stops. The priests see her. There's five of them: the two priests at the back are wearing white robes, one is in red, the other is in purple, and at the front is the priest in black. They're looking at her like they've seen her before, like they know who she is.
Yeta is looking at her like she shouldn't be there.
"Come with us," the priest in the black robe says. "Where is the other girl?" he asks Yeta.
Fang growls.
"What do you want?"
They're surprised by her tone, by her disrespect.
"An atrocity! This is an atrocity!" the priest in purple hisses at Yeta; he's the one who's been yelling at her. "Is this how you raise children here in the orphanage? Do you feed them spite and lies on these cheap platters? Better for this place to be torn down than have you poisoning the minds of our youth!"
He swings his arms wildly at Yeta, almost hits her.
Fang lunges – she's going to knock him down, get Yeta away from him – but the priest in black is closer and shoves Yeta aside, away from her. The two priests in white get in the way, coming at her fast and forcing her to the ground. She can throw them off easily but she doesn't struggle, doesn't even think to do it. She's only aware of Yeta hitting the wall – hitting her head – and Yeta falling at the priest's feet.
The priest in purple looks down on her.
"Filthy mongrel," he mutters in disgust.
He goes to search the house – Fang hears doors slammed, glass breaking and beds knocked over – but he quickly comes back: alone and annoyed.
"I cannot find her!"
The priest in red steps forward. He's almost as slight as the priest in purple, nothing like the hulking priest in black, but he's clearly in charge.
"Oerba Yun Fang," he drones, and she immediately recognizes him as the first person who spoke earlier. "It's a terrible thing, is it not, growing up in a world plagued by war, death and tragedy? Tell me, child, do you ever wish to put an end to it all? The Culling? Lindzei? Yes, of course you do. The opportunity, the power, the privilege to bring peace back to Gran Pulse, who would not seize it?"
Fang's not listening. She's staring at Yeta, watching, worrying.
The priest in red keeps talking.
"The riches of our land have been ripped from the very earth and left only ruin covered in the blood of innocents. Lindzei's brood spills by the thousands from that cursed nest in the sky. They raze our villages, butcher our people. Gran Pulse weeps for a savior! For years we have searched, for years we have waited, but no one was worthy: those souls were weak, greedy and evil."
He pauses to look at her, to smile at her like she's supposed to be happy.
"But today, oh, today! Today is a joyous day, for Anima has blessed us. Anima has answered our prayers. Anima has chosen our savior, and it is you, child- you, Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille! You are the Chosen! It is your focus, your fate to cast down Cocoon and deliver Gran Pulse peace at last!"
Yeta tries to get up.
"You can't mean that, Your Reverence!"
The priest in black sneers.
"You are questioning the will of Anima. Your faith is as feeble as your body."
Yeta grabs the priest's arm. She's on her knees and pleading with him, begging for them as she had begged for the other orphans.
"Your Reverence, please, they're just two girls. This is cruel!"
He shrugs her off his arm.
"Where is the other girl?" he asks again. "Where is she hiding?"
It's getting harder and harder for Fang to stay still. The priests holding her are putting more pressure, pinning her harder to the ground, as if they're afraid she's going to lash out any second. It's still not enough to keep her down. They're weak, but she can't fight, not when Yeta is still there, not when they can hurt Yeta again, not when they can kill Yeta.
She can't fight.
"Take me," she says, she offers. "Just take me. I'll do it myself."
"That is not up to you, child," the priest in red tells her. "Anima has already decided. It must be you two."
"Anima has done nothing!" she roars, almost throwing off the priests holding her down. "The fal'Cie have done nothing but turn you all into idiots. How did you even know about its choice? Did Anima speak to you? Then talk back and tell the fal'Cie to finish this war themselves. They don't need l'Cie to bring Cocoon down!"
"The audacity..." the priest in purple mutters. "Your clan of arrogant mutts never fails to make my stomach turn. It's fortunate you're the last."
The priest in red ignores her.
The priest in black repeats the same question to Yeta.
"Where is the other girl?"
Yeta still doesn't answer. The priest in purple scoffs at her.
"Look at you, so invested, so committed! It's sickening how much you care about them. Well, then, if you care so much, you should be more than happy to hand these two over to us! When they fulfill this focus, the rest of these wretched orphans don't have to become l'Cie. It's a small, small price to pay."
"No!" Yeta cries. "You're not taking any more of my children!"
The priest in purple howls in outrage.
"You do not touch me!"
The next thing Fang sees is a blinding flash and then she hears a scream – loud, so loud – that barely sounds like Yeta. When she blinks, when she can see again, Yeta is on the floor, trembling, twitching like she can't stop and gasping, nearly choking on her own breath. The priest in purple is standing over her. His hand is glowing, sparks at the tips of his fingers.
Fang knows what that is; she's fought enough l'Cie to know a lightning spell when she sees it.
The priest in purple uses his other hand to brush his sleeve, the part of his robe that Yeta held. He scoffs again.
"You really are a foolish woman. These aren't your children! Even if Anima had not chosen them, they would have become l'Cie like all the orphans before them. That's all they're good for! But I waste my breath on you and my patience only goes so far," he hisses, and the spell he holds changes, turns into flames. "I will burn this house if you have me search for her again!"
Fang sees the sparks turn into fire. Yeta looks at her, and she's seen that look before, from Vanille's mother.
Run, is what Yeta's telling her. Take Vanille and run.
It should have been an easy thing to do. It should have been so easy.
"No! Please stop!"
Fang freezes.
"Vanille, don't-" she tries to say, but Vanille's already walking past her and approaching the priest in red.
"I-I'll go," she hears Vanille stutter, and she can tell that Vanille's trying not to cry. "I'll go, just please... please don't hurt anyone anymore. Please."
The priest in red nods.
"Very well, child."
The priest in purple just shrugs. The flames in his hand disappear.
The priest in black casts a healing spell on Yeta.
"It did not have to come to this," he says.
Fang just stares as Vanille checks on Yeta. The priests in white let her go but she doesn't move, even when Vanille goes to her and hugs her.
"Vanille-" she tries again, but that's all Vanille lets her say.
"It's okay, Fang," Vanille whispers that promise to her. "As long as you're with me, it's okay."
The priests in white pull them apart and take them outside.
.
Eight
Vanille is quiet, has been since they entered the Temple. Fang doesn't like it.
An airship from the First Ark is outside, ready for them, waiting for them. People are gathered around the Temple like today is the festival. The priest in red is standing at the entrance and speaking to the crowd, preaching as if he still has to, as if these people aren't stupid enough.
"... and from these very doors, the Chosen shall emerge, the focus of Anima bestowed upon them!"
When the priest is finally done talking, the people cheer loudly, selfishly. Fang ignores it, but Vanille is upset. Fang wants to hold Vanille and tell her not to be scared, tell her not to worry because it's going to be all right. But she can't, not when the priests are watching and listening.
She has to play along. The priests need to keep believing she's not going to put up a fight.
The doors are closed and the two of them are told to follow. The priest in red is up front, the priest in black is at the back and the priest in purple is in the middle, between them. Vanille is on the left and Fang is on the right.
The priests are holding spears. Fang wonders if it's just for show, like the staves at the festival, like the golden robes she and Vanille have been made to wear.
They walk into a hall that Fang doesn't remember seeing last time because it's supposed to be a dead end. They stop at the bottom of a long staircase. At the top of the stairs is a door with a symbol that looks like a l'Cie brand.
They climb the stairs. The priests stop and pray after every thirteenth step; this is done thirteen times. Every time, Vanille stares at her feet while Fang stares at the door ahead.
When they reach the top, the priests kneel and pray. The l'Cie brand symbol on the door glows red, its eye opens and so does the door.
Fang notices another door to the right, and yet another to the left, but she only spares them a glance. She keeps looking ahead. The open door leads to another hall, and at the end of it is another staircase. The priest in red starts walking and they follow.
Later, when it is done, a priest wearing white robes steps out of the Temple, spear in hand.
"My brothers and sisters," he says to the anxious crowd, "know that it was seven years ago when a fal'Cie of Lindzei's touched Gran Pulse soil for the first time. Know that it was seven years ago when the village of Cheis became nothing more than a hollow grave for souls that shall never find rest. It was the first Culling, the first of many, many more. It was the first of many, many loses. Even today, our lands are stolen, our people are slaughtered!"
A mix of anguished howls and angry roars come from the crowd. The priest raises his hand and demands silence.
"Gran Pulse weeps for a savior!" he repeats the words of the priest in red. "For years we have searched, for years we have waited. Great warriors and scholars alike sought to be worthy of the focus of Anima, yet all of them failed the trials. Their hearts did not contain strength, honor and the holy spirit, no. Their hearts held weakness, greed and evil. They were not worthy."
He lowers his spear, striking the floor.
"Also know this, my brothers and sisters," he says, "it was seven years ago when Anima guided us to they who lived through the Culling of Cheis. Two children, they were, found on the outskirts of Oerba. A miracle brought to our doorstep! Today, they entered the Temple as the Chosen and a miracle has happened once again. They were accepted by the gate of beginnings for they are strong. They were accepted by the gate of the center for they are honorable."
The next door also has a symbol that looks like a l'Cie brand. It, too, glows, the eye of the brand opening as does the door. They pass through the door. They walk into yet another hall and come to yet another staircase.
When they reach the top, it's different. The three priests still kneel and pray, and there are still doors to the right and to the left, but the door in front of them is bigger than the other two and it's being guarded by ten priests wearing white robes and holding spears. There's a strange kind of dust floating in the air, glimmering like crystal.
As the priests pray, Fang looks at Vanille.
She thinks of the orphanage, of Yeta and the kids, how the kids are probably crying and how miserable Yeta must be. It's her fault. She couldn't protect them, couldn't even fight for them.
It won't be like that this time.
Vanille looks at her and smiles sadly.
Fang tries to smile back.
The three priests finish praying and stand up. The eye of the l'Cie brand symbol glows just like the other two and the door opens. The ten priests in white step aside. The priest in red is the first to enter the chamber. Fang and Vanille, along with the priest in purple, are next, and the priest in black is last. The other priests remain outside. The door closes.
There's Anima, at the very center of the chamber. It doesn't look impressive or intimidating: nothing at all like Titan, and not even close to Atomos or Bismarck. It's fused to a larger metal structure like it's just another part of the Temple. It looks stuck, and how fitting that is for a fal'Cie that has done absolutely nothing all these years.
They follow the priests and approach Anima as they're told. The priest in red stands before Anima, and the priest in purple stands to his left while the priest in black stands to his right. Fang almost can't believe the priests have actually turned their backs on her.
The three priests kneel, put their spears down and lift their hands up.
Now that she and Vanille are this close, Fang can see that Anima has almost a human shape, a torso, one arm. It seems to have a head, but it has no face.
"Anima," the priest in red calls out, his hands still raised. "We have delivered to your chamber the Chosen."
Anima doesn't move, doesn't respond.
Fang holds an arm in front of Vanille, slowly backing up and leading her away from the priests.
"Your Chosen, Anima!" the priest in red goes on. "They who you have chosen on the very day Cheis was culled. It was on that day Dahaka came to us three high priests and tasked us with a focus: to bring to you your Chosen should you desire it. You have asked, Anima, and your Chosen you have received. They who you have chosen to bear the Burden of the Beast! "
"We have delivered, Anima!" the priest in purple exclaims. "We have fulfilled our focus!"
A glow bursts from the front of the priests' bodies, where their brands probably are, and patches of clear liquid spread all over their exposed forearms and hands.
Fang snarls, rushing at the priests. She won't let them turn to crystal. It's too good a death for them.
Only the priest in black sees her coming but he's too slow. She shoves the priest in purple, grabs his spear and then blocks the priest in black as he swings at her. She pushes him back roughly, almost knocks him off his feet. He flails and she rams the spear into his chest. She takes his weapon and whips around before his body hits the ground.
She doesn't notice that Anima's faceless head turns to her, that it looks at her. Anima is watching her.
The priest in purple is still sprawled on the floor; Fang's been moving that fast. She stabs his leg, driving the spear through him and nailing him to the floor.
"H-how-how dare you!" the priest in red stutters, and she can barely hear him through the other priest's screams.
He tries to fend her off with magic, tries to stop her or slow her down with spells, but it's weak, like him, like all three of them. He can barely move his crystallizing body. She stalks over to him, easily dodging whatever spell he throws at her. He takes a swing at her, mimicking the priest in black, and just like before, she catches the weapon, only now with her bare hands.
Fang grips the spear and starts to force the blade to his neck. He tries to hold her off.
"Stop this at once!" he commands her, but it sounds more like he's pleading the more she overpowers him. "Anima will not stand for this! Anima will not tolerate a sin this great! Anima will-"
She slits his throat, not letting him finish.
Anima isn't doing anything. Anima won't do anything.
Fang goes back to the priest in purple, taking the spear with her. He's not screaming anymore. He's freed his leg and he's trying to cast healing spells. He's only using one hand; his other hand has crystallized. He sees her and he's afraid of her, but it's nothing like the way Yeta was afraid of him: it's nothing like a mother afraid of her losing her children.
"Mercy! Spare me!" he begs, but she keeps moving, keeps coming at him. "I've done my focus! I deserve my eternal reward!"
He's crawling away from her, crawling toward Anima.
"Anima, help me! Please!" he cries, reaching out to the fal'Cie with his able hand. "Protect me, Anima! Save me! Please, please!"
She breaks his arm with the spear and kicks him until he rolls on his back. She grabs him by the neck, effortlessly lifting him off the ground. He sobs and chokes and begs some more, desperately nudging her fingers with his crystallized hand. She sneers and tightens her grip.
Crystal is starting to cover his face. He's getting heavier. He's about to turn to crystal.
She snaps his neck before it happens.
She sees Anima stir. The crystal on its chest glows, then suddenly, it releases a bright, blinding light.
Fang looks up and blinks. The lights have gone out; she can't see a thing. The floor is gone, the Temple is gone. She's somewhere else, floating in a strange, dark place.
"Vanille!" she calls out. "Vanille!"
Then something – ropes, feels like ropes – grab her, take the spear away. She struggles, swinging her arms wildly and kicking hard with her feet, but the strange ropes hold her still, the grip on her tightening. She can't get rid of them, can't even touch them.
A sound fills the space, the sound of bells tolling. A light flashes but it doesn't last long, then it comes back and then it goes again. The bells keep tolling. Under the flickering light, Fang sees Vanille, eyes closed and ears covered.
"Vanille!" she yells, thrashing, trying to drag the ropes with her to get to Vanille.
Vanille stops shaking, seeming to hear her, and then slowly looks up.
"Fang," she whimpers. "Fang, what's going on? Where are we? What's happening?"
Fang tries to get closer, tries to reach for Vanille's hand.
The flickering light stops, and so do the bells. From above there's a new light, and Fang sees something large floating over them. The glow gets brighter and brighter until Fang can see that the ropes are connected to this thing, a fal'Cie, but not Anima. This fal'Cie has a body, two arms, a face, and it's smiling at her.
More of those ropes come out, this time towards Vanille. Fang's only able to touch Vanille's fingertips before the ropes wrap around Vanille and pull her away, pull them both higher up, towards the fal'Cie
"Let her go!" Fang snarls at the fal'Cie, at whatever this thing is. "Use me! I'll be your l'Cie!"
The sound of the bells get louder.
The fal'Cie holds out a massive hand, white light shooting from its palm, light that splits into two, going to each of them.
The ropes on Fang's body move and wrap tight around her right arm. The light hits her, shoots into her shoulder and it feels like her skin's being burned right off and split open, but the pain is nothing and forgotten when she hears Vanille scream.
Vanille is clutching her left thigh, screaming.
Fang jerks forward, fights against the tight restraints. She feels a pull at her arm and her shoulder and the pain gets worse but it doesn't matter; she doesn't care. She has to go to Vanille.
She can still stop this. She can still save Vanille.
The white light on her shoulder is fading. She sees Cocoon and an angry, howling beast, and there's more but she shakes her head and the images go away.
There's still time; it's not happening to Vanille yet.
Fang struggles and it hurts. Those ropes are still gripping her, but she keeps moving, keeps going and it hurts so much she loses the feeling in her arm. She can't feel her arm. She can't feel her arm, like it isn't there anymore.
All she's able to do is hold Vanille's hand before she passes out.
When she opens her eyes, she's sees the ceiling of Anima's chamber and she sees Vanille, covered in blood and crying. Vanille's calling her, sobbing her name. She hears a lot of other voices. There's five, maybe six priests in white surrounding them. Vanille's hands are on her shoulder – on her arm – and she can feel it, but barely.
Vanille's hands are glowing. Vanille's using magic. Vanille's a l'Cie.
"They were accepted by the gate endings for their hearts contained the holy spirit," the priest in white tells the crowd.
He lets go of his spear. The people remain silent.
"By the sacrifice of the high priests, the Chosen have become l'Cie! Endowed are they with Anima's focus, to bear the Burden of the Beast!" he proclaims. "They left behind weakness and held close strength. They left behind greed and held close honor. They left behind evil and held close the holy spirit. They have received their power! They have received their focus!"
The priest raises his hands.
"My brothers and sisters of Gran Pulse, honor the Chosen in your prayers! Let the blade forged of their will be tempered by your faith, that it might sunder that devilish Cocoon's facade!" he exclaims, and the people rejoice like the war's already been won.
.
Note:
In case it's confusing, the italicized scenes in Eight indicate that they happened after the scenes in the Temple.
Some of the priest's speech is either lifted or paraphrased from Episode Zero: Tomorrow (dilly-shilly . blogspot 2010 / 06 / episode-zero-tomorrow-it-was-on-that_13 . html) and Analect III (finalfantasy . wikia wiki / Datalog / Analects#III._The_Chosen)