Author's Notes: Finally, we put when end to the longest prologue ever! After this, the story can truly begin. For those into RWBY, Serah will be wielding weapons from the series. You'll also see influences from Watch Dogs, which is a kickass game by the way. And again, if you're a fan of Snow, TURN AROUND! This story is NOT for you!
Also, as of this chapter, this story is now called Final Fantasy Uzumaki XIII: Crystal Legend Beginnings.
The series is now a trilogy with the events of Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII being in separate stories: Final Fantasy Uzumaki XIII-2: Time Crystal Paradox and Final Fantasy Uzumaki XIII-3: Shattered Chaos Crystals.
-Review Responses
CloudBloodbane – It's a toss up, but Serah wins in the speed stats.
Tenma Sosei – Yuffie might appear later in the series.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Final Fantasy, or any other crossover that'll appear.
Special thanks to Rixxell Stryfe for being my beta!
Last time on Final Fantasy Uzumaki XIII: Crystal Legend Beginnings…
"Serah…the enemy of the world? My enemy?! Ha, what a load of crap! No matter what, she will always be my beloved kawaii imouto (cute little sister)!" Averia screamed in anger and defiance, "I don't care if I become Sanctum's Most Wanted! If anyone hurts Serah in any way, I'll make them beg for mercy before I tear them apart limb from limb!"
At the last part, Averia's pink and red Aura flared and exploded, making a now frightened Lebreau jumped back.
'Eep! Beware of Averia's sisterly fury!' Lebreau thought fearfully, "Woe betide anyone who harms…Serah…"
Realizing what she just said, Lebreau clenched her fist. Now inspired by Averia's resolve, she made her own decision.
"Grr, I can't count on Lightning to help. Considering what happened back at Euride Gorge, she's a wild card." Averia bit her thumbnail before turning to Lebreau, "Lebreau-chan, you're my and Serah's BFF. Can I count on you, even though Serah's now a Pulse l'Cie?"
"Oi, who the hell do you take me for, a random citizen who would scream at the sight of a real live Godzilla? I'm Lebreau, member of Team NORA, but above all else, yours and Serah's best friend, now and forever. We've gone through too much for a simple l'Cie brand to tear us apart!" Lebreau declared with a wink.
"Lebreau-chan…"
Averia was surprised. Then again, she felt that she shouldn't be. It's Lebreau after all. Wiping a tear from her eye, Averia smiled, and Lebreau smiled back.
"Saa, let's go to Serah!"
"And protect her from the world!"
As Averia grasped Lebreau's wrist and used her speed to leave the area, the two failed to notice an uninvited guest stepping out from behind her of the landmark's pillar.
"You two won't be the ones protecting Serah. The one who will protect her and figure out her Focus…will be me!"
Prologue Part Final: The Thirteen Days of Serah Farron Part II of II
(DAY SEVEN, Bodhum cont.)
"Well…that went well."
Serah was at the beach, standing on a small boardwalk directly across from the landmark where she was with Averia and Lebreau, looking over the water towards the beautiful sunset.
The last she ever thought she would see.
As she continued to look over the horizon, she realized that she had not planned her getaway well enough; then again, not at all. She never even packed a small bag with essentials, nor even prepared her motorcycle for the long road ahead. Which means that she'll have to sneak back inside her soon to be former residence that she shares with her sisters.
Just great.
"Looks like I'll have to be like one of those Assassins in Assassin's Creed…"
Serah loves to read and is an avid reader, reading several book series like Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, The Matrix Trilogy series, etc. The adventures written in the books made Serah wish that she was just like the heroes, living their lives since despite fighting monsters, the events in their lives seem so much more interesting.
Just like hers' is now.
"Now I get to live my own adventure…only as a fugitive of the law and an enemy of Cocoon. All because I decided to play Tomb Raider in the ruins…"
"I don't know about that. You were always prone to running off to explore before you read Tomb Raider when we were kids."
Serah jumped and looked behind herself with wide, shocked, and frightened eyes to see Averia and Lebreau at the beginning of the boardwalk, both smiling.
"But still, why is it that when something happens, its always you?" Lebreau asked in a reproachful yet playful manner.
"Averia-oneechan! Lebreau-chan!" Serah panicked and summoned the red Crescent Rose gun-scythe in Scythe Form; slamming the tip of the blade in front of her, "Stay away from me, please!"
"Don't want to. Don't be so quick to run a suicide mission, baka." Averia told her, frowning.
"Besides," Lebreau added as Averia started walking toward her sister, "You won't hurt us, because you don't want to hurt us. You just don't have it in you."
"Serah, Serah, Serah, my kawaii imouto-chan. Unless your Focus is to fight me and/or Lebreau-chan, I don't think you're going to try and even then you'd probably run anyway." Averia said, not breaking her stride, "So don't…"
"Why? Why are you making this so hard?! I don't want to you to get involved!"
"Sorry, but it's our choice to be involved with your curse." Averia started before disappearing and reappearing in front of Serah with her speed, "And you can't stop us."
Before Serah could react, Averia tackled her into the water, making them splash into the water and causing Crescent Rose to fly in the air until it landed in Lebreau's hand.
"Argh! What the hell was that- Wah!" Serah cried as Averia held her close from behind, squeezing her breast.
"I got you Serah, and I'm not let you go, you hear?"
"Ah, Averia-oneechan…" Serah moaned, shivering from the pleasure of her sister's ministrations.
"That's right. We're not gonna let you become a Cie'th, and if we're lucky, we won't let you become crystal either." Lebreau said as she bent down at the edge of the boardwalk, "We may not be l'Cie, but we'll help you carry your burden. What say you, Serah?"
"Lebreau-chan…"
Tears rolled down Serah's eyes as emotions filled her being, "You'll never give up on me, no matter that I say or do…"
"…Never." Averia and Lebreau said together and smiled.
"Thank you." Serah whispered as she sank back into her older sister's embrace.
"I'm not alone. No matter what I do, I'll never be alone. It feels that my soul is no longer mine, but at the same time, it feels natural. Averia-oneechan… Lebreau-chan… I…"
(DAY EIGHT, Farron Residence)
Serah was laying on the couch in the living room; re-reading one of her books in the Assassin's Creed series. To avoid things like naivety in her new life as a l'Cie, she looked at the adventures of a Native American Assassin named Conner, since she noted that out of the all the assassin's, he was the most naïve of them, and had it in spades. After that, she planned on moving on to re-reading Mass Effect II to learn from the two Shepard twins' adventures with Cerberus and how they handled it.
Serah had a feeling that she'll need to learn all the morals and lessons she can if she wants to survive her new life; while she's still safe.
"Let's see. Cocoon. Night sky. People scared shitless. Shooting in the streets? Okay, Serah, anything else from that dream you wanna mention?" Averia asked shortly, looking up from the list she's made from the table, "There must be reason for all this to be happening?"
"What? Do you have to fight a kaijin like Godzilla?" Lebreau asked, returning from the kitchen after getting a drink, "If so, then you're not the enemy of the world if you have to fight to defend Cocoon from it."
"How about ravishing Cocoon by turning into Ragnarok, how about that?" Serah countered as she turned a page in her book while Averia looked up in horror and Lebreau spat out her drink.
"What?! Seriously!" Averia shrieked, sending the table flying, where it embedded itself on the ceiling.
"I'm. Dead. Serious." Serah deadpanned calmly, "That's right. You're in the room with a girl that's gonna turn into Ragnarok to destroy Cocoon."
"Hey, you don't know that, but we can only hope that the dream has a different meaning." Lebreau said with Averia agreeing.
"She's right. Remember, a l'Cie's dreams are only hints to their Focus. But what are the fal'Cie planning for Ragnarok to be involved? What are they up to?"
"You're…taking this rather calmly." Serah noted, looking up from her book.
"At least some of us aren't acting so negatively, Serah." Lebreau snapped, "Why so apathetic? You're not planning on running away from us again, are you?"
"No, I'm not. It's just…" Serah tried to explain.
"Okay! That it! We'll discuss this somewhere else!" Averia said loudly, striding over to her sister, "In the bath for the Averia Special!"
Serah was now horrified, "No! No! No! Absolutely not!"
Said "Averia Special" was when Averia takes Serah to the bathroom upstairs, where she throws Serah into the bath, turns on the shower, and proceeds to do a thorough cleaning of Serah...everywhere on her body.
Serah tried to escape, but Lebreau discreetly tripped Serah up, allowing Averia to catch her with Chrono Trigger in its Whip Mode that wrapped around her body in an erotic way.
"Good luck, Serah. Be sure to come back down with a clear head and not a perverted one so we can figure this out together." Lebreau said, laughing as she went into the kitchen to cook something for the three of them.
Lightning was working one of her usual, pointless all-nighters.
"Lebreau-chan!" Serah wailed as she was hoisted over Averia's shoulder.
"Let's go, you little Ragnarok!"
"Not funny, you demon! Why must my onee-chan be an evil Akuma!"
Averia laughed evilly as she took a now miserable Serah upstairs with her.
"Now that I think about, if Averia or Lebreau took my place and became a l'Cie, I wouldn't leave them be like they aren't leaving me be."
(DAY NINE, Bodhum Beachside)
"How the scrape?"
"Huh? Fine. Much better, thanks to you."
The late afternoon found Serah wandering along the beach with a new friend after dealing with the usual troublesome monsters trying to cross Bodhum's borders. Her new friend is a young woman who's 5'3", has bright red hair tied in pigtails, green eyes, pierced ears with silver hoop earrings, a slender body build, and wearing a bright pink halter-top, an orange and yellow skirt with a fur pelt, and beige boots.
The young woman, whose name is Vanille, had fell and hurt her knee, scraping it, so Serah decided to help. The bright red-haired girl was cautious, but sensed that Serah means no harm when she bandaged her knee. An hour later, they were chatting it up like they were childhood friends.
To be honest, Serah feels as if she knows Vanille from somewhere but can't exactly place it.
"Sure you don't mind?" Vanille asked as she sat down next to Serah, "I mean, I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?"
Serah shook her head, "Not exactly. Don't worry, I could sit here for hours, until my sister comes looking for me."
They watched the cloudy sunset together, each in their own thoughts, thinking different things. In the corner of her eye, Serah eyed Vanille, noticing how cute she looked.
"Hey Serah? Do you think we'll meet again?" Vanille asked after a while.
"Of course. Why wouldn't we?" Serah replied, smiling, "What's on your mind?"
Vanille stood up, stretched, and took a few steps towards the water, "See, the thing is… I was chasing after someone. And there's something I really need to apologize for. But, I just… I just can't ever find the words."
"Gee, that's got to be tough, huh?"
"Yes." Vanille said, "I even have nightmares about it."
Serah sighed, "Well, if it's too much to deal with, face it later."
"Really?" Vanille asked, turning to her.
Serah nodded, "Sometimes things seem easier when you look at them from a distance, you know?"
Vanille was unsure, "But does that really work?"
Serah stood up and dusted off her skirt, "Good question. I'll let you know. To tell the truth, I've been trying to keep something at a distance myself lately, and trying to figure it out."
"Like what?" Vanille inquired curiously.
"Don't laugh, okay? It's a dream I had. A bad one. I dreamt I destroyed the world. It was terrifying. I needed some time alone. It had me so scared I tried to run away from everyone I loved."
Vanille looked surprised as Serah kicked the sand under her feet into the water.
"But then my sister and our best friend, they came chasing after me. That's when I understood. Running away and leaving behind the people you care about? That isn't love. Though you might just want to keep them safe, shutting them out of your life and making them worry only hurts them more. The point is," Serah turned to Vanille, "The point is, I have people I can count on. I'll make it through, for their sake and my own."
"I think you'll be fine." Vanille assured her as she skipped over to her.
"And you will be too. When you find the person you're looking for, the words will come to you. I'm sure of it."
Serah held out her hand, with Vanille clasping it with both her hand for a moment. She then gently grabbed Serah's arm, the one with the covered l'Cie mark, making Serah's heart skip a beat.
"Hey! Wha-?"
"I'm sorry." Vanille whispered, falling to her knees in front of a surprised and confused Serah, "I'm so sorry! What else can I say?"
"..."
Serah lifted Vanille's face up by her chin and caressed her cheek, "I'm not the one you should be asking, Vanille. You'll know what to say when you find your friend. You'll see."
"Woah! Hey, keep it clean out here! We're out in the open you know!"
Serah and Vanille jumped and looked to see Averia, her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised.
"Oh Averia! Vanille, this is my sister, Averia-oneechan. What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you." Averia said, walking up to them, "We have a problem, and it's a migraine-class one. Lebreau just reported that Snow knows about you being a l'Cie because he blabbed to Gadot about it and is looking for you to "help" you."
"What?!" Serah started to panic, "How does he know?!"
"By my guess, he must've been nearby that day when you revealed yourself to be a l'Cie, like your new friend there is."
"Wha-"
Serah looked at Vanille in shock, who had a saddened expression and didn't deny Averia's accusation, as she recognized her too.
"I never forget a face, even in the heat of a chase, and by the look on her face, so doesn't she. Miss…Vanille here was at Euride Gorge with her friend. Between the two of them, I think it was her friend that started the whole mess there to begin with because she doesn't look the part." Averia explained, walking up to them, "But what concerns me is her lack of reaction when I mentioned that you're a l'Cie, like she already knew..."
"Vanille? Are you-?" Serah started, "Were you the one who took me out of the Vestige?"
"…Serah...me and Fang...we couldn't leave you there..."
"…I think we should all talk, but not here. The last thing we need is for someone to overhear us like that big oaf did. Let's go." Averia said, motioning for them to follow her.
"Hai. Vanille, it's okay." Serah said softly, gently holding Vanille, who allowed herself to be taken by Serah.
"The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person - if you must. There is no third best."
(DAY TEN, Eden Shopping Center)
"Aw, crap! Hide!"
Serah dived into an empty, hidden stairwell leading downstairs, with Averia, Lebreau, and and their newest member of their group Vanille following behind her; the reason being that she just saw Snow walking around.
"What is he doing here?" Serah groaned, peeking around the corner.
"Serah, who is that?" Vanille asked, in the dark about the situation between the Farron sisters and Snow.
"Snow Villers, my former boyfriend who's obsessed with being and acting like a hero." Serah replied, "And reaping the 'rewards'."
"He's also the "esteemed" leader of our group, Team NORA." Lebreau added with distaste.
"What does Team NORA do?" Vanille inquired as they moved further downstairs when they saw Snow getting close to their location.
"Deal with monsters attacking the borders of our town of Bodhum that the Guardian Corps usually miss." Lebreau said, "Though lately, his focus seems to be getting you back, Serah, without Lightning and Averia here being present."
"Oh joy, will he ever stop?" Serah muttered sarcastically, "There's more to life than just being a hero and getting the girl. This isn't Super Mario Bros! I'm not Princess Peach dammit!"
"What exactly happened between you two?"
"Snow happened. He showed his true colors." Serah explained in sorrow, "He made me rise up against Lightning, making her think that I didn't need her anymore. He just wanted her out of the way of our relationship. I was such a fool back then to fall for his ploy."
"Lightning was right about him, but the part of him thinking of such a malicious plan to separate family for the sake of a relationship, we did not see coming. I really thought he was a stand-up guy, but he's nothing but an immature brat playing hero." Averia commented.
"He...doesn't look that bad." Vanille noted slowly, "He looks like a nice person..."
"When he's actually doing some good during Team NORA missions, but appearances can be deceiving, like you." Averia stated bluntly, making Vanille flinch and look downtrodden, while Serah smacked Averia on the back of her head, "Ow! Serah!"
"Be nice. And please don't quote Agent Smith from The Matrix again." Serah scolded.
"Aw come on, little sis. I didn't mean any ill will." Averia said, waving her hands, "Sorry Vanille."
"Mmm. Its okay." Vanille said brightly, making the sisters sweatdrop.
"Getting back on track, I'm curious to what's in that box he's holding." Lebreau said, "I'll go check it out."
"Wait, he'll figure out that I might be here!" Serah protested.
"Not if you move, but you giving him too much credit. I know him, and he's not very bright, which will work to my advantage. Since he's heading down the other way, I'll meet back up with you all at the northeast exit." Lebreau told them as she left.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Averia said, and dragged Serah and Vanille with her.
As Serah, Averia, and Vanille headed off, Lebreau took a breath to keep herself calm and went over to Snow.
"Hey, Snow!"
"Oh, Lebreau." the big guy of Team NORA greeted as Lebreau caught up to him, "What are doing here? Is Serah with you?"
"That's it? No asking how I'm doing, just if Serah's with me? Good to see you too, jackass." Lebreau thought in anger while forcing herself to smile, "No, it's one of those rare times that I'm by myself, buying stuff for the bar. And you? What are you doing around this section of the mall? There are a lot of expensive items here, even for you, the team, and me. Are you working for Guardian Corps now or something?"
"What? Hell no! Even if Lightning wasn't with them, there's no way I would join their military. They only handles cases after the incidents happen, while we of Team NORA take care of them before and exactly when they happen." Snow explained while Lebreau frowned.
"What are you talking about, Snow? The Guardian Corps and PSICOM are not gods, and neither are we of Team NORA. Our group is a neighborhood watch for only Bodhum, and we don't have the manpower to cover all of Cocoon."
"Yeah well, guys like me dream big, you know? And this here item I got will be the first step to that dream." Snow said, opening the box to reveal two beautiful necklaces with a silver pendant that's shaped like Cocoon.
"What is that Snow? They're beautiful!" Lebreau exclaimed, memorized by their beauty.
"You like it? So will Serah. They're engagement necklaces I got, and I'm giving one to her tomorrow."
Lebreau snapped out of it and nearly did a spit take. Does his guy have rocks for brains or something?
"Wow… That's...nice..." Lebreau said slowly, "Just in time for the annual fireworks show..."
"Yep. And once I get Serah back by my side where she's meant to be, I'm going to expand NORA with a mass recruitment rally in a few days. Then we'll have branches everywhere in Cocoon that'll prevent crime better than the Sanctum can. Then, and only then, will Cocoon be safe. With no crime, Serah and I can finally start a family..."
"Uh...that's...pretty amazing Snow...and ambitious..." Lebreau said, while in shock at Snow's delusional declaration.
Not only is he still delusional about Serah, he also plans to basically wrestle control of Cocoon from the Sanctum and the government it take it over. This is outrageous, even for someone like him!
"So...what brought this about?"
"Lebreau..." Snow started, lowering his voice to a whisper so only Lebreau can hear, "I know you know. Serah's a l'Cie."
Lebreau's eyes narrowed, not liking where this was going, "Oh boy, so you heard..."
"That's right. If I can keep the Guardian Corps and PSICOM at bay, then I can help Serah with her Focus. I'm sorry Lebreau, but you...and Averia...aren't suited to help Serah with it. I'm the only one who can, so stay away from her." Snow said in a sudden cold tone, "That's an order, and I won't have you, Averia, or even Lightning get in the way. Serah is mine."
Closing the box, he lost his cold look and replaced it with his goofy grin for appearances, "See ya, Lebreau."
Lebreau glared daggers at Snow's retreating back, before disappearing into the crowd. By the time Snow quickly turned around to try and follow Lebreau, who'll no doubt lead him to Serah, she was gone, nowhere to be found.
"Dammit!" he growled out.
Meanwhile, Lebreau arrived at the northeast exit where the others were waiting.
"Girls, Snow's officially nuts! He's lost it! He's absolutely lost it!" Lebreau exclaimed, "Did I mentioned he's lost it?"
"...We know..." Serah said, holding up her smartphone with an app activated that allowed her to listen in.
"You bugged me..." Lebreau noted, searching herself and finding a small device in her pocket, "Saves me the explanation. Not bad…"
"How…how could I have fallen in love with him?!" Serah cried, sinking to her knees, burying her hands in her face, "What was I thinking?"
"I'm sure things would've been much different if Lightning was involved in our lives more." Averia said, "Come on, let's get to the car. We're causing a scene, and that'll lead Snow to finding us."
"Serah..." Vanille grabbed Serah's arms and gently pulled her up, "It'll be alright."
"H-hai..." Serah said, her face tear stained as she and others quickly moved to the parking lot and into the red sports car Averia owned.
Thankfully it was a new car that Snow wouldn't recognize.
"Too bad we couldn't help Serah find a present for Lightning." Lebreau grumbled.
"Actually, we did." Vanille said, holding a box that she took from Serah then she fell.
"Well, what is it?"
"It's a...survival knife..." Serah sniffed as her calmed down, "It'll keep Claire safe during her work. I think she'll look cool...dual-wielding it with her gunsword."
"Let's just hope that she'll take the bombshell you'll drop on her well, but first we gotta get to Gadot and the other to figure out how we'll deal with Snow." Lebreau said as she drove them out of the parking lot.
"He's beginning to be more of a pain in the ass, that's for sure." Averia noted.
"Do you really think he's capable of doing what he said he'll gonna do?" Vanille asked, worried.
"We're not gonna wait around to find out." Serah said, looking out the window as the car turned into the highway.
"'When you think you know all the answers, I change the questions'... That's a quote from a book called Titan City, where corporations and insurrection are best for business, and wearing a suit changes a man. Snow was not the man I thought he was. His obsession with me ends now!"
(DAY ELEVEN, Lebreau's Beach Cafe)
At Lebreau's beach cafe, Snow arrived after receiving a message from the others at Team NORA to head there before the firework, and found all of Team NORA alone in the cafe, with Gadot sitting down with his feet up on one of the tables, Lebreau cleaning behind the bar, and Maqui and Yuj going head to head in Magic: The Gathering.
What really caught his complete attention was the fact that Serah was there, appraising a set of special dual red and white longswords she recently forged called Summer Rose, with her sister Averia looking out the window, watching the sunset.
"Hey guys! What's up?" Snow greeted brightly, drawing everyone's attention to him, "And Serah, I'm glad you're here."
"That makes one of us..." Serah replied flatly, "Considering what we heard..."
"What? What do you mean?" Snow asked, confused and looking around towards the others, who were looking at him in disappointment, "And what with those looks?"
"Snow..."
Gadot stood up and walked in front of his longtime friend.
"I'm not going to beat around the bush with you, Snow. What the hell is going on? I'm all for bringing in new blood and expanding our team, but what I don't agree with is using them for that idea you told Lebreau."
"Heh, news travels fast. It was supposed to be a surprise."
"A surprise we're not taking so well. Creating an army to take over Cocoon? Really Snow? Seriously? Even if that were to happen, what would be your plans for the Sanctum fal'Cie that runs most of the systems here in Cocoon? Have you ever thought of that?"
"Aw come on Gadot, you know me! I would figure something out!"
"Like what?"
"...Uh...well..."
"Exactly! Let it go, Snow. Taking over Cocoon isn't gonna help Serah's problem, and before you talk, yes we know. Lebreau and Serah told us about it along with your plan. You think overthrowing PSICOM is gonna keep Serah safe? It's gonna cause anarchy and disorder, and we're not gonna be able to stop what the fal'Cie might do in response!"
"I guess we'll find out then, but you're either on board with me or against me." Snow counter angrily.
"Snow!" Maqui cried in disbelief that his idol is acting this way, "We wanna help Serah too, but we can't start a war with PSICOM! It's suicide! I'm sorry, but I just can't!"
"I second that. I'll go as far to say that there's a better chance in surviving the wilderness down below on Gran Pulse than what you're planning. And I don't plan on dying anytime soon, so count me out." Yuj said while Maqui nodded in agreement.
"You already know what my answer is…" Lebreau simply said.
"You heard them Snow, so drop this idea, and then we can think of different ways to help Serah." Gadot said, "She's part of the team, as well as our friend."
"But I'm doing this all for her, and I'm sure she appreciates what I doing," Snow protested before turning to Serah, "Right Serah?"
Serah just looked at him with an unreadable expression, "You really think I appreciate what you're doing?"
"Of course! You're my girlfriend after all!"
The silence that followed was deafening as Snow continued, "I'm the only one who can help you with your Focus, not your sisters! We just need the Sanctum out of the way so you can be safe!"
"Snow…" Maqui muttered, the image of his idol shattering before his eyes while Maqui looked appalled, Gadot looked like a gaping goldfish, and Averia and Lebreau double facepalmed in exasperation.
"In one ear and out the other. Color me disgusted…" Serah growled out.
"You won't be once you see these!"
Snow whipped out the box from yesterday and opened them to reveal beautiful necklaces, but Serah didn't look impressed in the slightest.
"You're being rather forceful, don't you think? You believe me seeing those engagement necklaces will make me change my mind?"
Snow blinked in surprised, "How did you know they were-" he started before rounding on Lebreau, who didn't looked concerned at the look he was giving her.
"Sorry Snow, but its not working. I will admit that they are beautiful, but if you think I can be bought off by expensive jewelry, you're sadly mistaken, so I strongly suggest you drop this stupid idea of taking over Cocoon, and stop obsessing over me before you dig yourself in a hole you won't climb out of."
"No! Everything will become clear once you see my way!" Snow countered, "I'm the only person you need in your life, and nothing you or anyone can say that will make me think otherwise!"
"In that case, I'm sorry for what's about to happen, Snow."
"What?!"
Snow turned to Gadot, who stood up and faced him.
"As vice-leader of Team NORA, it's clear to me and to everyone else that you have become unfit to lead Team NORA any further. You're not the same Snow we've known since some of us were kids, given the fact you've slowly changed when we got older. We can tolerate rebelling against the Sanctum when it comes to protecting our home, but not to the point of overthrowing them. Therefore, I'm initiating a team vote."
"A team vote?! For what?!" Snow demanded as the rest of team stood up, including Serah and Averia.
"For your removal as leader and from the team, since your now selfish goals threaten to compromise the team and everything we stand for."
"What?!"
"It's too late for you to stop us. We discussed this while you were taking your sweet time getting here." Lebreau said, "The others believed that you can change your tune, but you just proved them wrong."
Gadot nodded, "Everyone, considering what we just heard from Snow, an Aye of all in favor of him continuing be a member, and leader of Team NORA..."
"Come on, guys! Enough with the joking around!" Snow said, trying to laugh it off, but no one was sharing the sentiment after a while passed.
"And an Aye for all in favor for his removal from Team NORA?"
"No guys, stop it!" Snow shouted, getting angry, "Don't do this. You don't have the right-"
"We don't, huh? Watch this." Yuj countered, standing up and look Snow straight in the eyes, "Aye."
"You used to be my idol, but now I don't even know you anymore." Maqui said, "So…aye…"
"Yuj! Maqui! What the hell?! After all I've done for you!" Snow snarled before turning to Lebreau and the others, "Guys, don't you dare-"
"I have nothing to say to you." Lebreau snapped, "Aye."
"I'm barely part of the group, but what the hell." Averia said, waving her hand lazily, "Aye!"
"Lebreau! Averia! You-!" Snow snarled angry before rounding on Serah, "Serah, stop-!"
"Aye…" Serah interrupted him, shocking him to the core that she was against him, to no one's surprise.
"To no surprise, the ayes have it. Snow, I'm sorry, but you're no longer a part of us, of Team NORA. Our goal is the safekeeping of our town of Bodhum and Cocoon when it comes down to it, NOT to completely rebel against the Sanctum, let alone overthrow them!" Gadot snapped at his soon to be former friend, "And now, with no leader, we're gonna need one. I nominate Lebreau."
"As team leader, I-" Snow started to rant, but everyone ignored him.
"Sorry, Gadot, but I decline on the grounds that I don't want too. I'm better at being the support of the team." Lebreau interjected, "I say you do it, Gadot. You were always more of the voice of reason of the team besides me."
"She does have a point, Gadot. Go for it!" Yuj agreed along with Maqui, who nodded his head.
"I don't mind…" Serah shrugged as she sheathed Summer Rose on her back.
"Me neither…" Averia added, "Looks like you're the new leader of Team NORA Gadot. Congratulations. Hopefully you'll learn from the mistakes of your predecessor."
"Indeed I shall." Gadot remarked while ducking a fist from Snow, "We'll have a team meeting tomorrow. I'll text you guys the location in the morning. For now, we're dismissed. Let's go enjoy the festivities!" Gadot declared with the team agreeing.
"You guys are going nowhere- GAH!"
Snow suddenly dropped to the floor when a black object collided with the back of his head, dazing him as it retracted back to Serah, who used the non-lethal part of Gambol Shroud, a transforming katana/cleaver/pistol/kama and chain compound weapon, to knock him out.
"I guess we are going somewhere after all." Serah said sweetly with everyone sweatdropping.
"You guys go on ahead. I have to close up shop here." Lebreau said while Gadot dragged Snow out of the café, "Serah. Averia. I'll meet up with you before the fireworks start. Is that fine?"
"Sure. We'll be looking for Lightning anyway." Averia said, "Come on, Serah."
"You be careful, Lebreau." Yuj told her as Maqui followed him out.
It didn't take long for Lebreau to close everything down, though she got a feeling that she won't be around for a long time. Banishing those thoughts, she set the alarm and locked the door, before her danger sense reacted to an attack from behind. Ducking, she whipped out her rifle, charged it up for a concussion shot, and fired at her assailant, knocking him off his feet and to the ground.
Rushing forward, she put a foot to her attacker's chest and saw that it was Snow, who managed to recover from Serah's knockout shot. Having no time to deal with Snow's bullshit, she bent down quickly, crashing her knee into his face, knocking him out again.
"Bastard. Me and Gadot may have tolerated you stealing that AMP technology from the Guardian Corps, but we will not stand by you splitting up a family and taking over Cocoon." she growled before leaving. By the time Snow woke up again, Lebreau was long gone.
Hours later, nighttime…
"Did you find her?" Serah asked, but Averia shook her head as Lebreau and Vanille arrived from the beach bar after Lebreau opened it back up for a while to see if Lightning might swing by looking for her sisters, but she didn't.
All four girls have rendezvous at the edge of the beach after searching for Lightning, to no success.
"Not surprising. She always knew how to disappear from us when she wanted to." Averia commented as she checked her phone, "She has been ignoring my calls…as usual…"
"Mine too… I'm starting to rethink if it's even a good idea to tell her what happened to me. That her little sister is a l'Cie…" Serah muttered, looking crestfallen, "She'll be so mad, knowing we hid it from her."
"Yeah well, don't. She needs to know, and its better if it comes from us than from a different source. We don't know how much time you have, or what your Focus is yet, though we know it has something to do with Ragnarok." Averia told her, "She'll get mad, but we'll share the blame equally."
"Let's just call it now. Lightning's not gonna be found unless she wants to be found. Besides, the fireworks are starting." Lebreau said, point up to the huge sphere where the fireworks are detonating, "Weren't we going to fly up to get a front row seat?"
Averia nodded and put a hand on Serah's shoulder, "Time doesn't wait for anybody, little sis. Come on."
Serah whined a bit as she followed the others into Averia's midnight-silver hover car, but she knew Averia was right.
"Um, won't we get in trouble getting close to the fireworks?" Vanille asked as Averia took to the air and pressed some buttons on the dashboard.
"I've installed a prototype cloaking module in here. It'll keep us hidden until the end of the fireworks, and we'll get away in time before the Guardian Corps come calling." Averia explained as the roof folded to the back of the car as the car got closer to the sphere, "It'll be a while, enough time for you to make a wish."
"A wish?" Vanille asked as Averia came to a stop.
"Yeah. These fireworks here are special. They grant wishes, like in the stories around here; like shooting stars." Lebreau explained before turning to the others, "So what do you guys wish for?"
"You first since you asked." Averia said, nudging her.
"Me? Well, I originally had the wish of expanding my café for the volume of people that come by, but under the circumstances, I wish for we of Team NORA to stay true to ourselves and never lose our way to continue being the protectors of Bodhum." Lebreau said with conviction before sighing, "And I just realized how cheesy that sounded."
"Yeah, it kinda did…" Averia deadpanned as they flew to the top of the sphere, "But that wish will be true forever, right Sera-?"
"Serah, wait!" Vanille suddenly cried, making Averia stop and turn to find Serah gone from the backseat.
"Serah!" Lebreau spotted Serah freediving into the bubble-like sphere and into the fireworks, "That crazy little- Woah!"
The moment she saw Serah falling, Averia took the car to a sharp downward descent into the barrage of fireworks. Flipping a cover off of a button near the control panel, she pressed it, causing the car in increase it's speed.
"Hang on!" Averia shouted as Lebreau and Vanille did just that, with the former keeping a firm grip on Lebreau's seat as the firework explosions rocked the car.
When the car finally caught up to the falling Serah, Averia positioned the car beneath her where she landed safely back in the backseat, allowing Averia to fly out of the sphere.
"Serah! Are you alright?" Vanille asked her friend.
"Yeah, more or less. It wasn't a suicide attempt if that what you're thinking." Serah answered while looking back at the fireworks.
"Could've fooled us, idiot." Lebreau muttered as Averia set the car on autopilot, "Your crazy antics are gonna be the death of me."
"What can I say? I always wanted to try that!" Serah stated, making Lebreau facefault, "I won't have much time let after all. A week, a month, who knows? I'll either become a Cie'th, or turn into crystal…"
"Well, you're definitely not going to turn into a Cie'th. Not while I still draw breath." Averia said, turning to face her sister, "At least when you turn to crystal, you'll live forever."
"But I'll outlive you-"
"I don't know about that. Vanille, you and your friend Fang came out of crystal stasis, correct?" Averia asked the Pulsian.
"Yes, but it's been 600 years." Vanille replied, looking downtrodden as Averia laughed nervously.
"Oh joy is me…" Serah mutter sarcastically, but stiffened when Averia took her hand.
"But there's a third option: Getting rid of the curse altogether. That was my wish upon the fireworks. It's bound to come true one day or another. These are wish-granting fireworks after all." Averia said with a grin, "Won't stop me from protecting you… in Lightning's place."
"Averia…"
"I know, I know. You love her, more than a sister, but…"
Serah's cheeks started to turn red when Averia inched closer to her.
"You could say the same about myself when it comes to you, Serah."
Serah wasn't able to respond due to Averia closing the distance and kissed her right on the lips, making Lebreau and Vanille blush a lot, with the latter being reminded on how she and her companion were before completing their Focus and entering crystal stasis.
Averia pulled back and caressed Serah's hair, "Don't worry, imouto. We'll get through this. You'll get through this."
"Onee-chan…"
"Averia. Lebreau. Vanille. I…will never be alone… Lightning… Claire… will you be by my side?"
(DAY TWELVE, Farron Residence)
Worst. Birthday. Ever.
That was the thought going through the mind of the Sergeant of the Guardian Corps Bodhum Security Regiment whose birthday is today. She is a young woman with long, strawberry-pink rose-colored hair, pale aqua-blue eyes, a slender body with D-cup breasts, and wearing a variation of the white Guardian Corps military uniform, adorned with several belts and buckles and a red cape, the green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder bearing yellow stripes symbolizing her rank as Sergeant.
She is Claire Farron aka Lightning, the eldest sibling of the three Farron sisters.
As for the youngest sister, Serah, her plan to get Lightning alone to tell her what happened to her had been driven straight to hell.
Late in the morning, Serah and Averia went out to gather some things for their sister's birthday, with Vanille helping after getting roped into it while Lebreau went to check up on her bar.
Little did they know that Lightning would return home early after an early morning exercise run on her day off, only to find an unwelcome guest and a bane on her family.
Serah was sent to pick up the cake she and Averia pre-ordered several weeks ago for Lightning, while Averia and Vanille sent to the store to pick up some party essentials. The best part is that the bakery is a shorter distance from their house, so Serah would have pretty of alone time with Lightning to explain everything.
But things went downhill when Serah got back to the house. The box with the cake was big enough to obscure her vision as she made her way to the kitchen while humming a little tune and set the box down when she heard Lightning's voice.
"Serah…"
"Claire-" Serah responded a bit cheerfully as she turned around, only to falter in horror when she saw the last person she ever wanted to see.
"Heya, Serah!" Snow greeted his; in his own mind of course, fiancé.
Serah had a look similar to a deer caught in the headlight and was struck speechless, literally.
Why the hell is Snow here?!
A horrible bubbling feeling rose up within Serah as her body went cold. She was gone for 15 minutes picking up the cake, and Averia and Vanille would be gone for another half hour. But 15 minutes was more than enough time…and Snow found out that she was a l'Cie a few days ago…
"Serah, is it true?"
Lightning's voice brought Serah back to hellish reality before her.
"Snow tells me that you've become a l'Cie, and because of that, you're gonna marry him. You think I'm gonna buy that?" Lightning scoffed and glared at Serah, "Full points for originality."
Her harsh words stabbed through Serah like a silver stake running through a vampire's heart.
"But don't forget…" Lightning continued, looking directly in her eyes, "If you really are a l'Cie, it's my job to deal with you."
"N-No…" Serah whispered, despair started to consume her when she knew what she meant.
Lightning was willing to kill her.
"This is ridiculous. Worst birthday ever." Lightning spat, turning her back to Serah, "You get made a l'Cie, and you accept the proposal? All the poor choices you made, making up a story to marry this idiot? Mom and dad would be ashamed of you. Get out, and don't come back until you have a clear head."
Unfortunately, the "don't come back" part is where Serah went figuratively deaf and her mind blank.
"Lightning, that wasn't necessary!" Snow said angrily, but smiled in the inside knowing that things were going this way, "Serah, are you-"
He never got another word in edgewise, due to Serah's fist meeting Snow's face with the force of a speeding locomotive, sending him crashing through the window and into the backyard in a heap, while nearly hitting Lightning who jumped out of the way at the last second.
"Serah, what the hell!" Lightning shouted reproachfully, but was shocked at the look Serah was giving her.
It was the look of absolute betrayal; betrayal for believing Snow over her, and saying all those hurtful things that shattered her heart. In retaliations, she ripped off the bandage on her arm, revealing her l'Cie mark in all its ugly glory.
"Serah…?" Lightning reached out to her little sister, but Serah flash stepped out of the house, "Serah!"
Lightning ran to the front door, but Serah was nowhere to be seen.
"Serah!"
A while later at Lebreau's Beach Bar…
Lebreau's phone rang as she entered her bar, locked the door behind her, and headed to the back room.
"Yeah?"
"Lebreau, it's Gadot! I trust you saw?"
"Yeah, the town is being quarantined by PSICOM! But why?"
"Remember that fal'Cie in the Vestige Serah found? It came out into the open at the beach, and people took pictures that ended up on the net! The whole of Cocoon is up in arms against Bodhum!"
"How can that be? Did it make any other l'Cie yet?" Lebreau asked as she locked the door to the back room and opened a trapdoor that leads to a hidden basement under the shop, accessible only to Lebreau via a entering a code in her smartphone at the door that would allow it to open.
"No, but because of higher-up's stance regarding Gran Pulse and people believing them, everyone within the quarantine zone is considered tainted by the fal'Cie's presence, including us."
"Damn, I saw people leaving, but I didn't know it was this bad." Lebreau said, holding her phone between her ear and shoulder as she started equipping her combat gear, "All right, so what's the plan?"
"We're retreating to the fallback hideout that we set up yesterday morning. Maqui and Yuj are already there, and I'm out there doing recon and saving whomever I can. You better get Serah. I've already contacted Averia and your new friend, and they're on their way back. Lightning should be fine since Sanctum officials are immune to the Purge, right?"
Lebreau finished packing a duffle bag with a backpack configuration full of her long-ranged weapons and put it on, "Yeah. We'll be right there. Looks like Lightning's birthday party will have to wait- *static* What the? Gadot?"
"Shit! They're *static* -arting a commu- *static* blackout! Lebrea- *static* -t of there! *static*" Gadot shouted before the line went dead.
"Damn it!" Lebrau growled and looked at her phone to find it 'out of range', "So much for calling Serah and Averia. I'll have to get to the network box under that monument to reboot the system to re-enable communications."
Knowing that she couldn't walk out the front door due to the possibility of patrolling PSICOM guards, she moved side of nearby wall picture, revealing a tunnel that'll take her to the outskirts of the beach.
Cocking her favorite rifle, she ran down the tunnel.
Several minutes later outside the Farron residence…
A midnight-silver car slowly drove out of the nearby alleyway, with the occupants looking up and down the street. When they saw no one, the driver drove into the driveway of the Farron residence. Stepping out, the driver revealed herself to be Averia, and turned to her passenger, who was Vanille.
After Gadot's call, Averia and Vanille took what they had and quickly got out of the mall just in time for the news to hit the TVs about the quarantine that sent everyone into a panic with chaos ensuing.
"Stay here and keep down." Averia instructed the Pulsian, "But keep an eye out all the same."
"All right." Vanille said, with Averia nodding and shutting the door.
She then activated the invisibility module in her smartphone, with the car disappearing as Averia entered the house she shared with her sisters.
"Lightning! Serah! I'm hom- What the hell?!" she exclaimed, seeing the window leading to the backyard smashed to bit, "What in the-?!"
"Welcome back."
Averia looked over to see Lightning sitting at the dining room table where all the food is.
"Lightning, what the hell happened?" she demanded, with Lightning looked annoyed.
"I could ask the same about you and Serah." Lightning countered, "What changed so much that she punched her fiancé into next week?"
"Huh, what? Fiancé? Sound like someone's out of the loop…as usual." Averia replied coldly before looking into the backyard and finding Snow in a heap, "What the hell is this bastard doing here?! Where's Serah?!"
Averia rounded on Lightning, who looked confused at her words.
"What the hell did I miss?" she asked, with Averia scoffing.
"So now someone's interested in our lives." Averia said sarcastically, "Took you long enough."
"Averia, don't play games with me. That idiot came here telling me that Serah became a l'Cie, causing Snow to pop the question, which she said yes. We were arguing until Serah came and I questioned her about it. She never denied Snow's claims, which meant he was telling the truth. I just told Serah that I would have to deal with her if she was a l'Cie like Snow said, but out of nowhere, she punches Snow out of the house."
Averia's hair casted a shadow over her eyes, "I…see… And where's Serah now?"
"After attacking Snow, she bolted out of the house with that speed of hers. Probably went to go clear her head. I did tell her to go out and do just that by the way." Lightning turned to the side and rubbed her eyes, "Why even tell that lie that she became a l'Cie just to marry the idiot. She didn't need to go that far."
Averia's Aura was leaking out and her presence slowly became eerie as she balled her fist, "Serah is a Pulse l'Cie. I'm sure she showed you the mark on her arm."
Lightning shrugged, "I'm not sure if it's even a mark to begin. Probably a trick on my mind due to the many hours I've work to keep us afloat."
Averia SNAPPED.
When Lightning turned her to look at Averia, her face was greeted with a completely enraged Averia's fist that bought her crashing through the dining room table with the food still on it, covering the birthday girl in it as the house shook.
In the car, Vanille jumped when she saw the house shook.
"What is going on in there?"
Meanwhile on the beaches of Bodhum…
"There she is! Stop her!"
"Stop right there!"
A bunch of PSICOM soldiers were chasing Serah, who was spotted after helping some of the residents of Bodhum get away from them when they started to use unnecessary brutality when capturing the resisting residents.
Vaulting over a car in the parking lot, she used Starseeker in Bow Mode to fire upon the soldiers, who were forced to take cover, but a few were not so lucky. The ones taking cover from her arrows were even unluckier when Serah used an explosive arrow on the car they were using as cover, blowing it up and knocking them down.
"Don't move! Hands up!"
Serah looked over to see more soldiers flanking her, but they were sent flying when a hoverbike came out of nowhere and rammed them, with its driver being Lebreau.
"Come on! Get in!" Lebreau shouted, with Serah wasting little time and got on the back of it, "Hold on!"
The two girls took to the air as the soldier attempted to shoot them down.
"Air support, don't let them get away!" one of the soldier shouted into his intercom, with several ships responding to the call and chased after Serah and Lebreau as they ascended up into the air.
"We got company!" Lebreau called out when she looked at the rearview mirror, "Serah, why the hell are you here at the beach? You were supposed to be at your house!"
"I'll explain later!" Serah snapped, dismissing Starseeker and summoning two Gambol Shrouds in the Pistol Mode and fired upon their pursuers.
Several of them went down, but one of their shots got through and nearly damaged the engine.
"Crap!" Lebreau shouted as she started to lose control of the hoverbike.
"I'll get you a new one! Get ready!" Serah said and jumped off the hoverbike and soared towards the remaining pursuers.
"Serah! Oh, not again!" Lebreau groaned and steered towards Serah and the pursuers.
Serah landed on one of the pursuers' hoverbikes and shot their engine out. Serah managed to jump away in time as it spun out of control, and used the ribbons on the Gambol Shrouds to latch onto two more hoverbikes. Pulled back, the two compound weapons shot a bullet into the engines, with the recoiling helping Serah jump onto the last hoverbike.
"Why you-!" the soldier started, but was kicked off his ride and sent screaming down into the water below.
"Lebreau!" Serah shouted and launched her Gambol Shroud at a now falling Lebreau, who grabbed it, allowing Serah to pull her up.
"Next time, warn me before you pull a stunt like that!" Lebreau yelled as she took the controls, "Hey, are you even listening-"
Serah just stared and pointed ahead, "The Vestige… why is moving?!"
Lebreau looked and saw large ships dragging the structure to who knows where. How it's even possible they have no idea.
"Could it be that they discovered that fal'Cie in there? It would explain the reason why this Purge is happening." Serah commented, "How did they- What's that?"
In the middle of the Vestige, a silver liquid-like substance came out of a silver pool from one of the openings and it flowed toward where Lebreau and Serah is as it got closer.
"Let's not stick around to found out!" Lebreau said, with Serah agreeing, but the hoverbike was shot thanks to another air support squad who came out of nowhere, with the shot knocking Serah off the hoverbike.
"Serah!" Lebreau screamed, reaching out but unable to catch her hand as she fell.
The mysterious substance in the form of tendrils however managed to catch Serah instead and dragged her to the Vestige.
"Lebreau!" Serah cried as she was pulled into the Vestige, but knew that Lebreau couldn't make it in time to pull her out, and she was going to be captured, so she tapped a few icons into her smartphone before being completely pulled into the silver pool with the hatch shutting.
"No!"
Lebreau tried to get to the Vestige, but came under heavy fire, and retaliated with her rifle. With nothing more she could do, she steered the severely damaged hoverbike in another direction as it went down fast.
Back at the Farron residence…
Inside the car, Vanille sweatdropped when she witnessed Averia dragging Snow's body out of the house and into the alleyway, while in the foulest of moods. Vanille doesn't know what's going on, but it wasn't anything good, if the shouting and the sound of things breaking were any indication.
But right now there are more pressing matters at hand that Averia and the others needed to know. She discovered one of the car's unique tricks that allowed "camera surfing", in which the car hacks into a camera and hacks into another hack from a camera to view what's going on. It allowed Vanille to discover the true nature of the "Purge".
There is truly a dark side in every utopia.
Using the camera surfing feature, she saw Averia lifting Snow into a dumpster and slammed the top shut, making sure it hit his head in the process. Averia then stomped out of the alley and made her way to the house until she spot something falling from the sky, leaving a trail of smoke. When it was identified as a damaged hover car, it suddenly exploded, with a body falling out.
Thinking fast, she equipped her Grav-Con Unit manadrive and generated a modified gravity sphere in front of her house, with the falling figure landing in it, slowing their fall until they hit the ground. Averia gasped when she saw the figure was Lebreau, her clothes ripped and bloody, and went over to tend to her.
"Lebreau?! Lebreau, what happened?!"
"There were soldiers everywhere. And the fal'Cie that's inside the Vestige…took Serah captive as it was being transported away." Lebreau gritted out in pain.
"What?! NO WAY! That can't be true!" Averia cried, shaking her.
"Don't! You'll injure her further!" Vanille suddenly came up from behind Averia and knelt down to Lebreau, "Cura!"
"Sorry…" Averia muttered, getting her together and dug in her pocket, finding a Potion, "Here, take this."
As Lebreau's wounds started to mend, Averia helped Lebreau drink the Potion, allowing her to be revitalized, if only a little.
"Can you stand?" Averia asked as she lifted Lebreau up and put her arm over her shoulder.
"Barely. I just need to rest for a few hours." Lebreau admitted as Vanille helped keep her steady.
They entered the Farron residence and went up to Averia's room. Along the way, Lebreau was bewildered to find the kitchen and dining room in disarray, with a figure stirring on the floor.
"Forget her. She proved that she can't be counted on due to believing Snow's tall tale about him and Serah, and threatening to kill her!" Averia said angrily.
"What?! Snow was here?! And Lightning threatened Serah's life?! How could this have happened?!" Lebreau said, shocked that things fell apart like this, "Damn it! As much as I want to get my hands on Snow, we have more important things to do. We have to get back to the beach to activate the network box under the monument so we can track Serah's location. Before she was swallowed into the Vestige, she activated her GPS, but with the communications blackout…"
"He's in the dumpster, so don't bother. We'll go reactivate it once I pack up my stuff here since Serah did the same before running away." Averia said and packed her own duffle bag.
"Um, Averia, Lebreau…" Vanille started slowly, "There's something you need to know about the Purge. The Sanctum's been lying to everyone in Cocoon about it."
"It's can't be any worse than what happened today." Lebreau said as she started putting bandages on the bruised parts of her body.
"It is. I've looked through the nearby cameras on the car, and heard one soldier explaining the Purge to a new recruit. The Purge…isn't a relocation to Gran Pulse like everyone is told… It's a massacre." Vanille revealed, making Averia and Lebreau freeze.
Lebreau was wrong. It was worse.
"But PSICOM hasn't started the massacre yet, but they will tomorrow when they take the captives to the outer rim of Cocoon." Vanille added.
"The outer rim of Cocoon? That's the Hanging Edge, a city that's been abandoned after the War of Transgression. It's perfect for what they're planning…" Lebreau noted with Vanille flinching, but it didn't go unnoticed, "Tell us about it later Vanille."
"Okay then, there's the plan. We get to the network box and reactivate it. Then we meet up with the rest of Team NORA to plan our attack, and then get to the Hanging Edge before the civilians get there to prevent the massacre. No doubt they're going to transport the Vestige there as well and waste it. We need to get Serah out before that happens." Averia said and finished packed her bag, "Let's move out."
The three quickly moved downstairs, but found an angry Lightning blocking their way to the front door with her Blazefire Edge in Sword Mode in hand.
"You three aren't going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on!"
Lebreau and Vanille stopped in their tracks in fear, but Averia never broke her stride and brought out her Chrono Trigger gunswordwhip. Before Lightning could say or do anything else, Averia disappeared from her view and reappeared in front of her, kicking her through the front door. Lightning gasped for breath when she crashed into the ground, and tried to get up when Averia pointed her compound weapon at her throat.
"Here's the cliff notes 'cause we're in a hurry. Serah broke up with Snow several months ago, and that was before the incident between you and her in your bedroom a month back, with Snow being on a creepy stalker binge since then. You were right about Snow, but not for the reasons you stated. But now Serah's a Pulse l'Cie, and was just captured by the fal'Cie inside the Vestige. She needs us now more than ever, and the last thing she need is her older sister believing her douchebag of an ex, and THREATENING TO KILL HER BECAUSE ITS HER JOB!" Averia yelled at her and turned to the others, "Lebreau! Vanille!"
Twirling her weapon away from Lightning and dismissing it, Averia got in her car with Lebreau ushering Vanille inside and followed suit.
As the car speed away and disappeared via the invisibility module, Lightning stared after them shellshocked just as the Town Announcement System came on.
"Residents of Bodhum, this is an urgent Sanctum bulletin. Late last night, officials confirmed the presence of a Pulse fal'Cie inside the city of Bodhum. Acting with fal'Cie Eden's approval, authorities declared a state of emergency. The entire district will be quarantined in response to this crisis. This is a Sanctum bulletin. Late last night, official confirmed the presence of a Pulse fal'Cie inside the city of Bodhum…"
What has she done? Snow's tall tale angered her to the point that all rational thought were wiped from her disciplined mind, and Serah is suffering because of it. She pushed her sister away, and even if she didn't say it outright, she threatened to end her life if she really was a l'Cie.
But now, she learned that Serah really was a l'Cie, and she was captured by the Pulse fal'Cie that branded her. Despite Lightning's own words, she couldn't bring herself to kill Serah. She and Averia promised on their parents' graves that they would protect their family; protect each other no matter what.
Lightning has failed because she hasn't interacted much in the lives of Averia and Serah, and could've prevented this from happened, but it was too late for regrets. Much too late. She is just like her namesake: Lightning. It doesn't protect, it's destroys.
Wandering back into the house, her feet kicked something on the ground. Picking it up, she saw that it was the gift box Serah gave her before she went to go get the cake. Opening it, she picked up the survival knife, along with a note.
'It doesn't matter how long it takes. We'll all be together, and stay together…as family. You can't hide from us forever…' – Serah and Averia
"How…practical…" she mused as she examined the knife before pocketing it.
She's going after Serah…as soon as she freshens up of course from Averia's now justifiable assault on her.
(DAY THIRTEEN, Hanging Edge)
The Hanging Edge area in Cocoon's outer rim is a series of highways, railways, and used to be a bustling metropolis year ago until the conflict between Cocoon and Gran Pulse known as the War of Transgression resulted in it being abandoned and deemed as a restricted zone by Sanctum.
It was later used as a waypoint for those caught in the Purge to be transported to Gran Pulse to live out the rest of their days, or so they say.
Unfortunately, a certain someone wasn't made aware, and she was right in the middle of it.
Awakening from a dreamless sleep, Serah opened her eyes and found herself falling head first in the air with her Starseeker and her phone in her hands. Remembering what happened, she quickly righted herself and meant to use her manadrive to use a gravity spell, but instead used a natural gravity spell that slowed her fall until she could land safety. She then took in her surroundings, the result causing her to groan, recognizing the area as the Hanging Edge.
"How long was I out?" she wondered and looked at her phone only to find that it was 'out of range', and yesterday has already passed, "Oh, great…"
Speaking of yesterday, it was a complete disaster. Serah was about to reveal to Lightning that she was a l'Cie, only to find that Snow had already intercepted her. He revealed her status, only to mix it in with a lie that caused Lightning to assume and say all those hurtful things to Serah. While Serah could've told Lightning about her break-up with Snow, Lightning was barely around and barely answered her phone that was pretty ancient, so Serah couldn't get in a word in elsewise. So in other words, Lightning was a ghost and practically unreachable.
Cue the Snow-sized hole in the window leading to the backyard, followed by Serah expressing her rage at Lightning's betrayal for listening to Snow, packing her things, and leaving the house, which lead to her capture by the fal'Cie after getting chased by PSICOM soldiers.
After think all that, she checked her l'Cie brand and groaned some more, this time in despair. The "eye" on her brand is nearly opened, with yesterday's events no doubt accelerating the process of her becoming a Cie'th.
She hasn't got long.
Cursing her ex-boyfriend and calling Lightning an idiot under her breath, she ripped off a piece of her skirt, with a side of her thigh now exposed, and tied the cloth around her bicep to hide her l'Cie brand. She then dismissed Starseeker and equipping her dual Gambol Shrouds, she jumped and used the compound weapons to swing through the abandoned highways and railways.
Like a certain friendly-neighborhood webslinger…only more awesome.
Making her way across the Hanging Edge, she came across a battle that was taking place between PSICOM soldiers and…armed civilians? They must be the ones caught in the Purge, but it wasn't just them.
They were being lead by Team NORA, as she saw Gadot, Maqui, Yuj, Lebreau, and Averia. To her displeasure, she also saw Snow on the other far side of the highway they were on with a lot more people.
Before she could get over to them, a missile hit near Snow's position, scattering them about, but some of the people got knocked off the ledge. Acting quickly, she changed course and used her Gambol Shrouds' Kusarigama Modes as a slingshot to launch herself towards the falling combatants as Team NORA retreated further down the highway to find cover while Averia ran forward to deal with the PSICOM soldiers closing in on the civilians with Snow.
Catching up with them, she grabbed one of them, a woman, and shouted, "When we get close, grab the nearest person! We'll be linking up. Don't worry, I have a Grav-Con Unit, so I can slow our fall!"
"H-Hai!"
Following Serah's instructions, she grabbed the nearest person and relayed the instruction. Soon, everyone who was falling was holding each other by their arms for dear life.
"Hang on!" Serah shouted, and activated her Grav-Com Unit enhanced by her newfound magic, deploying a large gravity sphere that caught them and gently lowered them to the ground.
"Thank you for saving us." the woman Serah saved first said, "Are you with-"
"Team NORA, not PSICOM nor the Guardian Corps." Serah assured her, with the woman looking at her in surprise, "What?"
"NORA? That's actually my name. Nora Estheim" the woman named Nora said meekly.
"I'm sure to just coincidental. I didn't come up with the name." Serah said and readied her Gambol Shrouds, "I'll take you guys somewhere safe, and then I gotta go get back to my friends."
"But there's nowhere safe to go!" one person said fearfully, "The Sanctum was never relocating people to Gran Pulse! If they find us, they'll kill us on sight!"
Serah was stunned at the revelation, "What?! Then all this time…!"
An explosion knocked her out of her thoughts and turned her attention to the top, where no doubt PSICOM was trying to put the survivors out of her miseries. Swearing, she checked her phone's map app and saw that there was a tunnel, with a path that leads to Lake Bresha, not too far.
"Come on. There's a tunnel that's emergency stairwell leads away from here to Lake Bresha below."
"But there's monsters…!" a person protested.
"And getting shot by PSICOM's much more preferable? At least you'll be hidden, and still armed!" Serah snapped, "Those who wants to live, follow me!"
10 minutes later, they reached the tunnel and led the survivors to said emergency stairwell.
"Can we take that ship there?" a child asked, pointing to an abandoned passenger ship down the tunnel.
"We don't know if it works or not. For now, you should be safe here. If I'm not back for you, Team NORA will, and they will take you wherever you want to go. For now, stay hidden. No following!" Serah instructed and shut the door behind her.
Once again, Serah took to swinging through the highways and railways to get back to Team NORA. Along the way, she noticed PSICOM ships lowering the Vestige into the Hanging Edge. She wasn't itching to get anywhere near it, so she ignored it, but she didn't notice a trail of silver tendrils flowing toward her from the Vestige, also unnoticed by PSICOM.
When she got to the spot where the missile hit before, she saw Team NORA ushering the survivors to their barricade, but one of them tripped and fell. The girl screamed and held her head when a PSICOM soldier bore down on her. He was about to shoot her dead when Serah landed in between them, swapping out her twin Gambol Shrouds for a single Myrtenaster, a multi action mana rapier, and stabbed the soldier in the heart, killing him instantly and saving the girl. She then summoned a glyph that acted as a shield when the other soldiers shot at Serah and the girl.
"You! What's your name?" Serah asked over the hail of gunfire.
"A-Alyssa!" the girl squeaked, "Alyssa Zaidelle- ek!"
"All right, Alyssa. I'm getting you out of here!" Serah assured her and stabbed her Myrtenaster to the ground to create a thick ice wall, "Run!"
She grabbed Alyssa's arm and they ran for it as the ice wall started to break down.
"Serah?!" Averia's surprised shout reached Serah's ears, "Serah, is that you?!"
Serah created another ice wall and managed to get Alyssa to the others.
"No, it's an assassin coming to knife you… Of course it's me- Urk!" Serah said before Averia hugged her tightly.
"I'm so happy you're okay!" Averia said, "You should've waited for me you know."
"Yeah well, we can't wait now. I heard from one of the survivors that there is no passage to Gran Pulse, only mass murder. I took them to a tunnel where they're hiding in a stairwell. There's a ship in the tunnel that's big enough to fit the survivors inside, but it needs to get fixed up a little. We can escape in there."
"We can get it working!" Maqui stated with Yuj nodding.
"Sounds like a plan. Well, lead the way, Serah." Gadot said before remembering something, "Oh yeah, just so that you know, Snow's here, and he took off on a hoverbike looking for you."
"Yeah, I saw him a while ago. He didn't see me, and that's a good thing for him." Serah mutter ominously, "Where's Lebreau and Vanille?"
"They took off after a kid who hijacked a hoverbike after Snow left. Hope they're alright." Yuj said.
"If it's Lebreau it'll be alright. She'll find the kid and protect Vanille." Serah assured him.
Serah lead Team NORA and the survivors to the tunnel while avoiding the patrols. It was easy to do by sticking to the walls of the freeway. It was pure luck that they weren't randomly shooting. No doubt they were conserving bullets for the destruction of the Vestige.
They managed to make it to the tunnel, which took longer than before due to the patrols and lead them to the stairwell. Along the way, Averia restored Serah's network connection on her phone so that it was no longer 'out of range'.
When Serah opened the door to the stairwell, she and the other found the survivors she found still there, waiting.
"They're the ones who fell after the missile strike!" Maqui exclaimed.
"After I saved them, I couldn't leave them unprotected." Serah said and pointed to the airship, "Yuj, Maqui, you think you can fix that ship so it'll be flight-worthy?"
"Well, the ship doesn't look too damaged on the outside so the problem might be internal. If so, it couldn't take too long. Come on, Maqui." Yuj said, and he and Maqui entered the airship to fix the problems with it.
"How bad is it?" Gadot asked through the radio on his phone.
"Not too bad. We'll have her up and running in about 10 minutes!" Maqui responded, "Lucky I brought my tools!"
"Make it fast." Gadot said and cut the connection.
"Serah, behind you!" Nora suddenly shouted as the silver tendrils from earlier made themselves known and grabbed Serah.
"Huh? Oh no, not this time!" she shouted, summoning another ice wall that cut the tendrils off of her.
"What was that?" Averia asked as Serah brushed the dead tendrils off her.
"The same thing that caught me yesterd-" Serah started to answered but the tendrils suddenly multiplied and grabbed her once again, "Gah! Averia!"
"Serah!"
Averia leapt forward and grabbed Serah's hand with Gadot joining in.
"What the hell is that?!" Gadot demanded as he and Averia tried to pull Serah away.
"It's that fal'Cie! Ek, that tickles!" Serah wailed as she squirmed as the tendril groped her like slimy tentacles, causing Averia and Gadot to lose their grips, "No!"
"Shit!" Gadot shouted as Serah was pulled away and taken to who knows where, "Averia, go after her!"
"Way ahead of you! Damn perverted fal'Cie!" Averia yelled, seething at the way the fal'Cie grabbed Serah and used a hookgun she has to go after her.
A while later, Serah managed to get herself loose as she was pulled back into the Pulse Vestige and cut the tendrils with her Crescent Rose in Scythe Mode. Using Myrtenaster next, she fired an ice wave at the pool where the tendril came from and sealed it. She then proceeded to run out of the Vestige to discover a graveyard of PSICOM ships outside, with the reason right in front of her.
It was an Undying Cie'th: Cie'th with monstrous forms different from a normal Cie'th due to the resentment of their fal'Cie masters back in their previous life. This one had a body similar to that of a bug, with several bird-like wings, and a head shaped like a dragon's head with eight eyes, with all of them looking straight at Serah.
The Undying Cie'th let out a mighty roar, a roar that blew a wailing Serah back into the Vestige, and followed after her, only to be met by a hail of arrows from Serah that hit it in the face making the beast roar in pain.
It retaliated by jumping to use its body to squash her, but Serah backflipped out of the way, jumped onto its body, and used Starseeker in its Dual Blade Mode to slice its wings. They didn't come off, but damaged them enough to render it flightless. She then shot it on the back of its neck in Bow Mode, making it thrash about and throwing her off, causing her to slam into a wall.
Ignoring the pain, she continued firing at the Undying Cie'th, but only succeeded in making it angrier. It moved forward with its jaw wide open to chomp her in two, but Serah combined Fire and Thunder spells into her next arrow and fired it into its mouth.
"Hope you're hungry!" Serah taunted and jumped high in the air to avoid its jaw, with its teeth nearly nicking her arms but taking off the bandage that hid her l'Cie brand, just as the arrow exploded within the Undying Cie'th.
Switching Starseeker out for Magnhild, a large transforming war hammer/grenade launcher weapon, and stuck the Cie'th head with its War Hammer Mode, augmented with the recoil of the grenade launcher part, before using it again to jump off and land on the ground.
Serah suddenly felt woozy and leaned on her weapon for support. There was no way she crashed into the wall that hard. She managed to jump away from the weakened Undying Cie'th's next attack, but felt that her energy started to leave her body, bringing her down to one knee as she switched back to her Starseeker and charged it with energy.
"Disappear! Hissatsu: Ultima Arrow!" Serah yelled and fired an overcharged arrow into the air, with it exploding into light and raining down a storm of arrows that pierced through the Undying Cie'th.
The Undying Cie'th let out a death cry and reached its claws out at Serah, but several bullets pierced its head, and it disappeared, a red light appearing out of its chest and floated away.
"Sorry for the wait!"
Serah turned and saw Lebreau and Vanille running toward her, with a young boy tagging alongside them. Following close behind in the air was Averia who landed next to them.
"Averia. Lebreau. Vanille." Serah said and tried to get up, only to collapse onto the floor.
The three girls rushed to Serah's side while the boy stayed back after eyeing Serah's Pulse l'Cie brand.
"How do you feel?" Averia said worriedly as she held Serah in her arms.
"Tired…" Serah groaned, "I feel my body's trying to shut down…Vanille, what's happening?"
"You must have a passive-type Focus. Those with Passive Focus's tend to get weaker when their Focus is near completion." Vanille explained, "They're very rare too."
"Oh joy. Don't I feel lucky?" Serah muttered sarcastically.
"So, Serah is…" Averia started slowly.
Vanille nodded, "About to go into crystal stasis…yes. Which means whatever her Focus was, it's being completed. I'm sorry."
"Is there anything we can do?" Lebreau asked, holding Serah's hand, "I mean, there's gotta be something-"
"Why would you help her?! She's a Pulse l'Cie! She's the enemy-" the boy protested but he flinched when Averia and Lebreau turned to look at him
The death glares and killing intent he was receiving from Averia and Lebreau practically said 'Say another word and you'll wish PSICOM killed you', and forced him to shut up.
"That's what the Sanctum…wants us to believe… The fact that anyone who bears the mark of a Pulse l'Cie, whether from Pulse or Cocoon, accidental or not, and need to be put down…is a little strange. There has to be more to this…" Serah aid as she looked in the direction of the doorway to the Pulse fal'Cie that branded her, "Too bad I won't be around…to find out."
"Don't say things like that. You're not gonna die. You just be…hibernating…" Averia said, getting a laugh out of Serah.
"It's going to be a really long one." Serah mused, "But how could my Focus…be completed? What did I-"
"Serah!"
Averia's eye twitched when she held the familiar voice and saw Lightning running towards them, with the man from the Euride Gorge incident right behind her, Sazh Katzroy, as the sisters learned during their debrief.
"Hello, Lightning." Lebreau said, standing between her and her sisters and narrowed her eyes at her, "Just a little late…as usual when it comes to your family…"
"Get outta my way, Lebreau!" Lightning snarled with full intentions to knock Lebreau to the side.
"Let her pass, Lebreau." Averia said quietly, standing up with Serah in her arms, "At least she'll get to talk to her before she goes…"
"Averia, how is she?" Lightning demanded, not to the mood to ask how she got in the Vestige.
"She'll live." Averia said simply in an emotionless voice.
"Then we have to go before the army comes! Come on!"
"That's a Pulse brand." Sazh suddenly said, drawing Averia's attention to him, "She's a l'Cie…"
"I already told you that!" Lightning snapped.
"You," Averia whispered, about to asked what was he doing here when he saw his hand reach for gun holstered on his pants, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Watch your hand!"
"Pulse l'Cie are the enemies of Cocoon." he explained, looking at Serah sorrowfully, remember what she did for her son before he was taken into PSICOM custody.
Lightning moved in front of Serah and Averia with her arms out, "So they should die?!"
"Listen, if she fails her Focus, you know how it'll end." he said, as he knew due to his son being a l'Cie, and the possible fate that awaits him.
"And killing her is a mercy?" Lightning argued, glaring at Sazh.
"That won't be necessary." Vanille interjected, "Serah won't become a Cie'th!"
"Apparently she has a "passive" Focus, and somehow she's completed it, and we don't even know what it is." Lebreau explained, with Lightning rounding on her.
"And how do you know that?!"
"Never mind how we know!" Averia snapped as Serah tugged on her, "What is it?"
"Averia-neechan… Lebreau-chan… Save the others… Find the truth… Stop PSICOM… I know you can…" Serah said, her voice getting weaker.
"Hey, save your strength, okay? We will, ne?" Averia assured her with Lebreau nodded.
"You can count on us!" Lebreau added.
"Vanille-chan…thank you…and don't be afraid…ok?"
"Ah, ok!" Vanille said, holding Serah's hand with her grip weakening.
"Lightning…I…"
Serah barely reached out to Lightning before her eyes closed completely and her arm fell. Her body then glowed and radiated a bright blue before her body lifted out of Averia's arms. If the situation were different, it would be a beautiful sight, but as Serah's body crystalized, reality set in.
"Serah…" Averia said softly as Serah's crystallized form lowered to the ground, "Good night…"
"What are you talking about? She's not sleeping!" Lightning said angrily at Averia who glared at her, despairing that Serah turned to crystal.
"l'Cie who fulfill their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life. Just like the stories say. Serah is not dead." Lebreau countered, "Then again, you barely even know what's happening, especially in her life. Hell, you barely even know her, so you might as well be strangers."
Lightning moved to strike Lebreau, but Averia caught her fist.
"She's right. Ever since you entered the Guardian Corps, you slowly drifted away until you were barely at home, except when it's your birthday or you're sick and your superiors send you home. You always push us away, and never asked anything about what's going on in our lives. Even worse, you believed that asshole over your own sisters, but now you care all of a sudden? Sorry, but you're five years too late!" Averia ranted and pushed her with such force Lightning nearly tripped.
"Averia-san, don't! I'm sure Serah doesn't want you two to fight!" Vanille protested.
"I know." Averia said and took out her phone, "Gadot, are you there? What's your status?"
"We're up and running. The patrols were all over the place, but they're gone. But you guys need to get outta here! Every ship in the Hanging Edge are converging on the Vestige! You need to get Serah out of there, now! …Oh shit, brace yourselves!"
Suddenly, the Vestige started shaking, with everything trying to keep their footing. Then red rods started appearing all over the place, piercing one wall to another. Averia and Lebreau synced their manadrive and created a barrier to protect their group.
"It's a Sanctum strike!" Sazh shouted.
"We can't stay here! They'll kill us!" the boy cried, his hands over his head.
The gate up the stairs then glowed, showing a Pulse l'Cie mark, before it disappeared with the door opening. By then, the bombardment stopped.
"Is everyone okay?" Lebreau asked, looking around to see everyone is fine.
"Hey! Where you going?" Sazh called out to Lightning who was walking to the open door.
"Date with the fal'Cie. The fal'Cie who turned my sister into it's servant. I'm going to force it to reverse it." Lightning growled out.
"What?! Are you out of your mind? That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!"
"I'm surprised. I thought you'd jump at the chance to destroy it and save your son." Lightning retorted and walked on, downing the incoming Cie'th in one strike.
"Man, here we go." Sazh muttered, shaking his head as he followed her, with a frightened Hope following, not wanting to be anywhere near the crystallized Serah.
"So what now?" Vanille asked Averia and Lebreau, who were looking at Serah and shook their heads until they saw a platform slowly coming down.
"Hold on baby! Your hero's coming!"
"Oh crap!" Averia whispered, the three girls recognizing the boisterous voice, "Hide!"
Averia took Serah, surprised to find her crystal form as heavy as her original weight, and quickly moved her out of sight behind a thick concentration of red rods with the others following. Then, they saw Snow jump off the platform.
"Mmm, she must be up there." He said to himself and pound his fist into his hand, "Don't worry, Serah, I'll be right there!"
"Like Vanille said, what now?" Lebreau groaned.
"Pray…" Averia responded, with no clue what to do now.
(SERAH, Lake Bresha, hours later)
Serah opened her eyes and blinked. Letting out a yawn and a little grunt, she attempted to sit up only to feel someone supporting her in their arms.
"Claire? Averia?" she called out and coughed.
"Serah?" she heard Averia's excited voice, "Serah!"
"Urk!" Serah felt Averia hugged her tightly, "Averia!"
"You're okay! I can't believe that ninja magic actually worked!" Averia said excitedly.
"Ninja magic?" Serah asked skeptically as her vision cleared.
She saw Averia, Lebreau, and Vanille gathered around her on their knees and smiled, but was confused when she saw four other females standing behind them.
A blue-eyed blonde Caucasian woman with a casual outfit on who faintly reminds her of Lightning.
A blue-eyed redhead young girl wearing a pink outfit with zippers and holding a strange key-like weapon.
A red-eyed dark brown-haired woman wearing a black outfit and sporting the biggest pair of breasts she ever seen.
A blue/green heterochromia-eyed brunette woman with a long ponytail wearing a camisole and hot pants with a long sash.
"I prefer ninjutsu and fuinjutsu if you don't mind. Ninja magic is too generic."
Serah nearly flinched at the male voice and looked to find a blonde with blue eyes. At first her instincts screamed that he was Snow and she was about to push him away, but then noticed that he lacked the hat and the beard Snow had, and instead was clean-shaven and sported whisker marks on his cheeks that Serah thought were cute.
"Who are you?" she asked, memorized by his stormy blue eyes when she looked at him.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm the one who saved you from your crystal prison. Pleased to meet you, Serah."
END OF PROLOGUE FINAL PART TWO
Next time – Chapter 01: Team XIII and Team NORA
-Serah is freed from her crystal stasis, but how? She was fated to sleep for hundreds of years until she is summoned to do the bidding of the Pulse fal'Cie. Who are these people, and how did they free Serah? What is their role in her world?
Released: Monday, June 23, 2014
