I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared….

Hi, who are you? Please help, please help me!

I'm Ellie, and I just took a nap in my kindergarten class and then I woke up here and I don't know what to do and I'm scared…

Why did this happen to me? Did I get kidnapped or something? Why am I here?

No grownups around, and people are shooting things and I don't want to get hit and why did this happen to me?

I'm scared, so I hide behind that big rock thing. I don't want to get hit, and that looks like a gun, and those scare me. I wait a bit, and look around, so no one knows that I'm here and take me away and I want Mommy…

There are two people, all white colored and stuff and blue. They're staring something, and I look. Then I wish I didn't. There's a big bridge. It broke, and people are sliding. It looked fun. Then I look down, and see a fire, and they're going to die…

Then the white people run away, and I follow them, because I don't want to be all alone.

I look closer and they join a crowd of white people. Except they're not really wearing white. The two take off the white, and one of them looks pretty, but why's her hair pink? I didn't know there were pink-haired people and stuff.

They run, and I run with them, because I saw them and I don't want to be alone.

They're talking now, standing in front of laughing people. And then one guy rides off in the circle thing.

I hide in one of the places, the circle things, where I'm safe, and it's not very weird. I'm glad I'm tiny, so I can fit without anyone seeing. And then the two come in, and they put their shoes on my head and it starts moving, and I want scream, I want scream, but I can't let them find me, or else they might beat me up.

It's like a roller coaster and there's no seat belt. It's not fair! They scream, but I can't!

It lands sideways, in weird place. I get out after they do, quietly. They don't have guns, and I think I'm safer with them then with anything else here…

"Guess it's just us…" the pink-haired one says. I want to laugh, because I'm here, and it's not just them.

I learn the boy's name is Hope and the girl's name is Vanille. That's kinda funny, because I've never seen someone named Hope, or Vanilla or anything. What's wrong with this place?

They decide to look around, and it does look interesting. I think. I see them looking happy for some reason. Vanille gets something else, I can't hear them and I don't what it is.

I gulp. In front of them are all these things that are attacking them and look scary. I don't what they are, and I want to know, but from what I can see, they're doing good.

So I follow them, always behind them, because they can beat everything up. Behind them, so they don't see me, but they can still protect me; they look much bigger than me, and can beat me up but I don't want them to. So I be careful, be very quiet so they can't hear me or see me.

Except then, Hope looks behind him.

"Hey!" he yells. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Vanille looks back. "Oh." She sounds…sad.

"Umm…hi?" I say, nervously. They found me, and I don't know if they're going to beat me up…

"Who are you? How'd you even get here?" Hope asks.

"I'm Ellie. Circle thing," I say. "You put your feet on my head."

Hope's face looks funny now. "What, you were in there?"

"Yes? Please don't beat me up or feed me to the zombies," I beg.

"Zombie?" Vanille asks.

I nod. "Zombie. There!" I point behind her at the very scary zombie things.

They both look around. Hope starts breathing in really hard. Oh, they're coming from all sides…

"What are they?" Hope asks.

"Zombie!" I nod.

Vanille shakes her head. "Cie'th!" Vanille says. "L'Cie who failed! This is what happens – when l'Cie don't complete the Focus the fal'Cie gave them!"

I raise my hand. "What are l'Cie?"

Now they both stare at me. "You don't know?"

I shake my head. "Sorry."

Then some guy – the same guy on the circle thing – busts in and hits one zombie. "Let's even these odds!"

I stare. He didn't turn to zombie!

Then they start fighting.

"Hmmm…" I walk up behind the zombie. The others are too busy to notice. Then I fall down and crash into zombie legs. Zombie fall down too.

"What are you doing?" Hope shouts at me.

The circle guy looks at me. "You bought a kid here?" he shouts at Hope.

Vanille shakes her head. "No, she followed us!"

"Why?"

"I don't know!" Hope shouts. Then fight is all over.

The circle guy tells us to find somewhere quiet and hide and say we leave later. That's good with me, but Hope and Vanille say no. Why? I don't get it. No, why is Hope yelling now. Then circle guy comes back. I follow him, since he say we leave later and I want to go. We go down on an elevator thing. Then I see more pink-haired people. I don't get it. What is up with the pink people? One of the pink people look she fall asleep. Then she starts glowing and flying. She's shiny, and this diamond things are starting to grow all around her. Pretty… So pretty…

Why does everyone else look so sad? Oh no… the other pink person and the circle guy start fighting.

And then they go somewhere and I follow, because circle guy says we leave.

We get to somewhere called a fal'Cie. Then circle guy starts yelling and pink person gets violent, and then there's this giant robot machine thing, and I'm scared.

I start running, just like Hope. And then there's this big force-field that comes and we can't get through. I'm so scared right now. It looks like that robot is about to kill them…

So I hide. I can't punch that, I can't throw anything, I'm useless here!

Then… I see pretty crystals… So pretty…

Then the robot came back but bigger. And it grabbed me with weird things and it hurts

I'm falling I'm falling

Scary

Where's my Mommy? Where's Daddy?

What's that?

Crystal Everything's getting destroyed

And now it's all crystal what's happening.

Dark…

"Serah!"

Then I wake up. Pretty crystals, all around us… I wish I could take a picture.

What, what, my mind can't keep up, and magic, that doesn't exist but circle guy just used it so… I don't get it!

No time for that now, and if they use magic I can use magic so I try to cast and… what?

"So we really are L'Cie," Circle guy says, looking at a mark. Pink person turns away. "You too?" He looks at Vanille.

"Yep," she says. "Right here." She lifts up a part of her skirt thing and it has the same mark. Do have that too?

I think I do, but I don't know where…

"What about you?" He looks at me.

"I don't know," I say.

Vanille nods. "Yes. Back of her neck."

He shook his head. "Even the kid. She's what, five?"

Oh… that explained why I couldn't see it…

"I don't get it," I say out loud. "What's a L'Cie? And why is everyone so sad?"

Hope snorted. "With an attitude like that, she's never going to turn Cie'th."

"What?"

"Look," Vanille started. "There are beings called fal'Cie. When you come near one, you become a l'Cie and are given a task. If you complete it you turn to crystal and gain eternal life."

"Oh. That sounds nice."

"If you don't complete it," she continued, "you become a Cie'th."

I don't know what she's talking about…

Seeing my look of …er… confusion, she tried to explain. "How do I put this? You, um, turn into zombie?"

Zombie? "I don't want to be zombie!" I yelled. That can't be I don't think so what's wrong I don't want to

Didn't notice I was glowing…

Vanille bit her lip. "This can't be good…"

What what what I don't want to be zombie what no no no no no feel weird now

Didn't notice I was flying too…

"What's happening to her?" one guy yelled.

"She can't have… she can't have completed her Focus already, could she?" Hope asked.

"That's impossible!" the pink person shouted.

Oh no I'm growing crystals on my skin what's happening why do I

"She's not turning crystal!" Vanille shouted. "She's turning Cie'th!"

Zombie? Zombie now what's happening why I don't want all I did was take a nap and now… whats wrong why can't I talk right why NO it's growing on my face argh make it stop make it stop!

What…this…in my way? kill it… kill it…

"She was five! Why did that happen to her?"

…kill it… kill it… too loud…

"Give her mercy! Kill her! Hurry!

…no….it…attack… need to kill back…

"Don't just stand there, do something!"

…die…what's wrong…die…

"Why did that happen to her?"

…no nono it attack… too fast… can't see…

"Hurry! Use that gun of yours!"

can't move…