Rosalia sat on the bed of one of the rooms on the Lindblum, staring down at her hands as she clutched them tightly. She was trembling and her eyes showed her fear. She didn't move when the door opened nor when Hope sat down beside her on the bed. Hesitantly, the silver haired boy reached out, pried the Mage's fingers apart and took one of her hands in his own, trying to calm her down before he did anything else. Rosalia still looked down, her hand limp in Hope's, as he softly began to sing,

"Outside you're trembling as you stand,

In falling rain

Try to find where you belong,

As you drown the pain

You hear the voices crying

Inside a world monochrome

But their eyes are bleeding tears of

Magenta

Don't you let go

Take another breath when you're lost again

If you only break the walls within,

Find the courage

When you feel like the world is falling in,

And you can't seem to find the way back in

Don't cry

Just hear these words and remember again"

Rosalia allowed the smallest of smiles to slip past her lips as she joined Hope, their voices harmonizing instantly, as if they were meant to.

"Another silent prayer fades

As the night slips past

I try to reach out to the light through the glass

As it shatters"

Hope smiled as Rosalia's grip tightened around his fingers and he stopped singing, as he always did so she could sing her part.

"Don't you let go

Take a look around, you are not alone

If you'd only stop and close your eyes

Find the answers

When you feel like the world is falling in,

And you can't seem to find the way back in

Don't cry

Just hear these words and remember"

Rosalia leaned closer to Hope, resting her head on his shoulder as she stopped singing. The boy stiffened before he slowly relaxed as he saw the Rosalia he knew was there, smiling gently. Smiling gently down at her, Hope began to sing his part.

"Don't you let go

Take another breath when you're lost again,

If you'd only break the walls within

Find the courage

When you feel like the world is falling in,

And you can't seem to find the way back in

Don't cry

Just hear these words and remember again"

Hope leaned his head against Rosalia's, almost by reflex. He didn't know what was encouraging him to act like this, considering until he saw his father he hadn't been himself and even before that he could never work up the courage to so much as hold her hand unless she needed comfort. Most of the time, Rosalia had been the one to grab his hand or hug him, never him. But, as he breathed in the familiar scent of her familiar strawberry scented shampoo, he couldn't help but think this was natural and right. As if…he was supposed to do this for the rest of his life…and he was more than happy to comply as he felt the Mage turn her head so she was facing his neck and he could feel her gentle smile, a smile he'd never seen or felt her where before. He opened his eyes, which had closed at some point, and his thumb paused in tracing the white Etro's Symbol on her wrist, he didn't even know when he started doing that, as he realized that he wanted to be with his best friend exactly like this and more for the rest of his life. Yet, at the same time, the thought didn't scare him or even surprise him. All it did was fill him with an indescribable warmth that made a goofy grin spread across his face. But the strangest thing of all was that he didn't mind any of this.

"Rosa…I'm sorry about your mom." He finally whispered as his goofy grin fell away when he remembered the issue at hand.

"…She's been gone for my entire life, I'll be okay." Rosalia whispered back.

"Rosa, don't lie." Hope stated. The Mage stiffened slightly as she pulled away from Hope slightly to meet his eyes, though she still sat close to him and had her hand in his still. "You can't keep everything bottled up anymore, it'll only hurt you." The boy could only watch as tears formed in her eyes and her head bowed.

"It's so hard…" She sobbed as Hope pulled her closer, allowing her face to rest in the crook of his neck while he ran his hand through her hair, feeling her tears on his neck. "S-she's been gone for f-fourteen years and I c-couldn't do anything because I h-had to be strong f-for everyone. I…I-I tried to stop feeling this way b-but I can't! Why…why can't I stop?"

"Because you love your mom, even if she had to leave you." Hope whispered into her ear, feeling her shiver against him. "She loved you too and you've never allowed yourself to grieve, just like I didn't until we went to see my Dad. You need to grieve when you lose someone you love otherwise…you'll lose a part of yourself along with them." And it seemed Hope's words broke the final wall as the tears Rosalia had been holding for fourteen long years fell and she let out a loud wail as sobs racked her body. She gripped Hope's jacket tightly, as if she was silently telling him not to leave her. "I'm not going anywhere." Hope whispered as he bowed his head so his face was buried in her hair and his eyes closed.

Because of their position, neither teenager noticed as Lightning, Snow and Fang all watched them from the door. All three adults had small smiles on their faces as Lightning quietly shut the door before they faced each other.

"Okay, when do you think they'll get together and how much do you bet on it?" Fang asked with a wicked grin that Snow returned while Lightning shook her head slightly, though she was smiling slightly. All three wrote down their bets and their amounts before they went their separate ways, though they now all planned on keeping a close eye on the teenagers.

There she is. The Palamecia, pride of the Sanctum Skyfleet! This mighty flagship currently serves as a prison for the l'Cie apprehended in Nautilus. The l'Cie will face official sentencing upon the convoy's arrival in the capital.

The people on the Lindblum stared at the TV as the reporter stated this.

"So what's with the freak show?" Snow asked.

"So the Primarch can stand in judgement of the villainous l'Cie…" Cid Raines said, "…with their execution as the climax. The people will cheer their demise, and fal'Cie dominion will be undisputed."

"All part of the plan." Lightning stated.

"Yes, but it also presents an opportunity." Raines continued.

"It's gotta be Vanille and Sazh, right? Then we've gotta save them!" Rosalia insisted.

"Don't worry, Ro. We'll get 'em." Fang smiled as she nudged the young Mage.

"I hope so…" Rosalia whispered as her Gran Pulse accent slipped into her speech, causing Fang to look at her in appreciation.

In a display of unwavering dedication to duty…the Primarch himself has boarded the Palamecia…and focused his personal attention on resolving the Pulse crisis.

"They're baiting us. Trying to draw us out." Fang stated as Rosalia's fists clenched in anger.

"Bait, huh?" Snow asked as Hope reached out and put a hand over the Mage's clenched fists.

"It'll be okay." Hope whispered.

"Yeah, that's right: 'Here are your friends. Come and get 'em'." Lightning summed up.

"Well, if they're daring us to mount a rescue…I'll take that action. All in." Snow agreed.

"Alrighty, bets are on the table. We leave when you're ready. I'll be standing by." Rygdea informed as he ran off. Rosalia began to pace, which was how she got rid of any extra energy, though she knew it wouldn't do much for her in this situation.

"Rosa?" Said Mage turned as Lightning approached her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I know the full truth about my mom now, for better or for worse, and I finally grieved both of my parents' deaths. I'm ready to accept my duty as the Mage now. I'm going to protect the people of both Gran Pulse and Cocoon, just like the Mages before me did. I'm gonna make them proud, starting by rescuing Vanille and Sazh, my ancestor and my friend." Rosalia smiled softly.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." Lightning smiled a motherly smile as she placed a hand on Rosalia's arm.

"Thanks Light." The Mage smiled.

Light, by that point, had become my mother figure. Where nobody else was could reach me, she could. She didn't fill the role immediately, of course, but by the time we went after Vanille and Sazh, she had changed and became my mother. That wasn't the only time she made me feel better, but the next time…it was as if she brought me back to life itself. But that's not for a long while and I'm getting off topic. Sorry, heh.

The party followed Rygdea to the ship they were going in.

"This baby back here's a PSICOM vessel. It'll deliver you to the Palamecia." Rygdea explained.

"Oh, we're cargo now?" Snow asked, crossing his arms.

"A parting gift to our rotting government. Take those PSICOM guys apart." Rygdea requested.

"And we're supposed to take on all of them? I think the whole division's on board." Lightning commented.

"If I was a full Mage, I would probably be able to hold half of them back at least but my fear, whatever it is, is still holding me back." Rosalia commented as she brought her hood up and began to play with it.

"I don't care how many lackeys they've got. Bring 'em on! Vanille's in there." Fang said as she stepped forward.

"I'm sure she's fine." Hope assured the dark haired woman. "Vanille's tougher than I could ever be."

"But you're braver than most people, including me a lot of the time. You're fine." Rosalia smiled as she nudged Hope's shoulder.

"Heh, and you're stronger than me. You wanna keep playing this game?" Hope teased.

"Oh, shush." Rosalia grinned as she pushed his shoulder only for him to grab her hand in his and intertwine their fingers as he lowered them, causing a faint pink blush to color the Mage's cheeks, though she quickly pushed it down.

"Hope, Rosa, are you two scared?" Lightning asked as the adults looked at the two. With their eyes on the soldier, Fang and Snow made motions over the teens' heads, both basically telling the other they were going down in regards to the bet. As Hope began to speak, both Snow and Fang turned to the two.

"Yeah, I'm terrified. But I'll be okay." Hope smiled.

"I'm just as scared, but I'm not giving up and I'm not abandoning my family. I'll be fine." Rosalia smiled as she looked at the party that really had become her family in the course of a few days.

"Because we have you, and this guy, and Fang." Hope added, looking at each adult in turn before he looked down at Rosalia. "We're all in this mess. We've got to stick together." Rosalia smiled and stepped closer to the boy, leaning her head on his shoulder as she did so.

"There's my Hope. What took you so long to get here?" She teased. Hope chuckled.

"I was lost, but the light you guys showed me brought me back." He stated.

"I guess I should thank you guys then for bringing my best friend back to me." Rosalia grinned as she straightened out and looked at the adults, all of whom wore teasing smiles, though the teens' ignored them. Rygdea cut in then.

"Right, enough with the bonding." He said, "It's go time." Lightning joined Rygdea in leading the way as Rosalia and Fang fell into step behind them and Snow and Hope took up the rear, Snow pushing Hope as they walked.

"What do you mean 'this guy'?" The hero asked, Hope laughing as they walked.

"Well, looks like you two are close." Fang teased Rosalia.

"We've always been that close, I don't know what you're talking about." Rosalia stated, crossing her arms.

"Nuh uh, nice try, Ro. But last time I saw, you two weren't that close at the Estheim house. He didn't grab your hand and, according to Light and Snow, you never laid your head on his shoulder." Fang smirked, causing pink to spread over the Mage's cheeks.

"Sh-shut up, Fang!" She said, pushing the dark haired woman as her accent came out in full force. Fang simply laughed.

"Nice accent, by the way."

Fang was always the one that teased me the most. She was a great friend, she was like my aunt in my mind. She spent that entire flight teasing me about Hope though, so I ended up on the Palamecia with a very red face that I would rather not have. Snow, on the other hand, kept teasing Hope, who denied any kind of romance between us. At the time, he was right, we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend or something like that. But that was at the time.

Once Rygdea was cleared to land, he let the party out. Once the five were out, they all stretched out the kinks in their muscles as they walked. It was silent for several long minutes when an alarm went off.

"Code Red! Repeat: Code Red!" As the alarm went off, the party looked around, trying to figure out what was happening as PSICOM troops ran out. "Attention all crew: this is not a drill! Code Red!"

"Wonderful. Not even ten minutes and we're already having trouble." Rosalia huffed as she took out Angel Wing and Demon Wing. Before they left the ship, she had gotten rid of her robe and returned her beads to her neck in order to not show she was the Mage. Being hidden was better than being captured.

"Alright. Let's tear 'em up!" Snow grinned as he got into a fighting stance.

"We're here for Vanille and Sazh. Stay focused!" Lightning called out.

"And remember: no one gets left behind!" Rosalia cried as she ran forward and struck one Raider while casting Water on another. Hope cast Fire, Lightning cast Blizzard, Sparkstrike, Aquastrike and Fire, Fang attacked and Snow cast Thunder. Hope threw his boomerang as Fang cast Fire and Snow punched one of the Raiders. Lightning and Rosalia both casted Thundara as Fang launched the troops into the air, causing the boys to jump up in order to strike them down. Rosalia cast Quake as she punched a soldier, knocking him down as she hissed in pain before a Cure from Hope rushed through her. Snow cast Aero as Lightning cast Protect and Rosalia cast Slow. With so many soldiers slowed down, Fang, Hope, Snow, Lightning and Rosalia all attacked repeatedly. Eventually, the soldiers were down. However, more soldiers were not too far behind.

"Looks like they want to play." Fang stated as they all prepared for battle again.

"No kidding. So where to?" Snow asked.

"Right up there." Fang smirked as she pointed up.

"Then let's go." Rosalia said as they took off.

After several fights and a couple elevators later, the party reached the outside, which caused Rosalia to grin as she felt the wind blow through her white streaked blonde hair and rose petals as she jumped.

"Won't be going back that way." Snow commented as Hope helped the Mage up, since he caught her.

"We'll find another route." Lightning stated.

"Way ahead of you." Fang smirked, "See that?" She pointed.

"Let's go!" Hope nodded.

"I'm up for this. But be careful to not fall." Rosalia warned.

Several fights, of course, later, the party reached a hallway where they paused with Snow in the lead and Hope and Rosalia at the end.

"Let us through! Block our way, you die!" Snow yelled.

"You trying to get 'em angry?" Fang asked, her hand on her hip.

"Even I have more tact than that." Rosalia commented as she crossed her arms and the party was startled to hear her Gran Pulse accent.

"Thought maybe they'd run. There's been enough blood spilled." Snow explained.

"Don't say that." Rosalia whispered as she looked down, her accent still obvious. She hated the blunt reminder Snow gave her that she hadn't done her job as the Mage by allowing so much blood to be spilled. Hope's arms surrounded her, rubbing her back to comfort her as Snow hastily apologized.

"You thought they'd run?" Lightning asked Snow, changing the topic. "Let me refresh your memory. Those soldiers think they're protecting Cocoon from l'Cie. The fal'Cie have them all brainwashed." Snow punched the wall they were leaning against in anger.

"Fal'Cie…I have had it! We cannot let this go on!" Snow cried.

"It's my fault it's happening in the first place. I'll fix it, I promise." Rosalia swore as she stepped away from Hope.

"No way are you going alone!" Snow protested.

"I wasn't planning on it." Rosalia grinned.

"You know the accent's gonna take some getting used to." Hope whispered to her. Rosalia giggled,

"Of course it is." Suddenly, another alarm went off.

"Attention all crew: Code Green! Repeat: Code Green! Security forces stand by! Hostile forces on board, Code Green!"

"We'd better move." Lightning stated as she began to lead the way.

The party continued running when they found a screen and watched it change as the alarms sounded again.

"Code Purple! I repeat: Code Purple! Security breach! All units on alert! Code Purple!"

"All these colors. What's it mean?" Hope asked.

"Means we're doing our job. Making a lot of PSICOM guys nervous." Fang smirked.

"The fact that there are so many codes shows that." Rosalia agreed with a smirk. Suddenly, there was a shaking.

"Who are they fighting?" Hope asked.

"Vanille." Fang stated.

"Then let's go get them!" Snow cried with a grin.

Eventually, the party reached the weather deck on the starboard side, with lots of fights getting in the way, of course.

"The wind-it's dying down." Hope commented.

"Yeah, it's stopping." Lightning nodded.

"And we're slowing down." Rosalia added.

"They up to something?" Lightning asked as she crossed her arms.

"I don't suppose it could just be-I don't know-good luck?" Snow asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"That looks a lot more like bad luck." Fang stated.

"What else is new?" Rosalia sighed but she was simply serious.

"You've got a point." Snow conceded to the Gran Pulse girls.

"Not to me." Lightning stated. "That? That we can do something about."

"Then let's get to it." Hope smiled before the five charged in, ready for battle.

It was when they reached the side of the Palamecia that things got complicated.

"Watch out!" Rosalia cried as she spotted a Kalavinka Striker flying close.

"So, Light…How you figure this makes us lucky?" Fang asked.

"Because when we kill it, we're one step closer to Vanille. How's that?" Lightning asked.

"Well, when you put it that way!" Fang grinned. Instantly, Fang and Snow began casting Slow as Hope and Rosalia casted Protect around their friends and Lightning cast Libra. Snow cast Shell after that followed by Rosalia casting Ruin as Hope kept up Protect as the Kalavinka Striker flew and attacked while Fang kept casting Slow. Lightning then cast Shell and Hope cast Ruin while Snow took up Libra and Rosalia took Protect before casting Cure. The party continued with those same spells until they killed it and it fell off the ship's side…only for another to take its place.

"Another one!" The teenagers shouted as it flew up.

"One big, fat stroke of luck after another. I'm so happy I could cry." Snow said sarcastically. As the Kalavinka Striker flew closer, Rosalia held her hands up and a wave of light flew up and protected the party only for the Mage to stumble and fall down, though Fang caught her in time as Hope, Lightning and Snow all cast Cure on the girl.

"Tease us, will ya?" Fang cried as Rosalia righted herself, giving the dark haired woman a smile in thanks.

"Come down here!" Snow yelled. Suddenly, an explosion sounded off and the party turned to see a coughing Vanille and Sazh come out of their manmade hole.

"Vanille!" Fang cried.

"Fang!" Vanille cried and the two ran towards each other, meeting in the middle. The entire party, minus a huffing Sazh, watched as the two Gran Pulse women smiled at each other with Fang's hand on Vanille's arm, all of them smiling.

"There you are." Snow said as Sazh walked towards them.

"Miss me?" Sazh asked with a wave when Snow cut him off,

"Not you, the monster!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Rosalia snarled as she watched the Kalavinka Striker came back into sight, her accent thicker than it was.

"What? Where?" Sazh asked as he turned around. Fang and Rosalia instantly got to work casting Slow while Hope cast Barthunder, Lightning cast Ruin, Snow cast Blizzard, Vanille cast Water and Sazh cast Fire. Sazh then shot at the monster as Hope threw his boomerang and Vanille swung her staff. Rosalia crossed her swords and whispered a spell into each before she threw each of them and clapped, causing the spells to ignite, Blizzard from Angel Wing and Fire from Demon Wing. Several spells and attacks later, the monster roared before it fell, dead, causing the whole party to sigh in relief.

"Vanille!" Fang cried as she ran towards her friend.

"Fang!" Vanille cried as she met Fang in the middle. Fang's free arm wrapped around the redhead as she cried, as if she were trying to protect her from the world. The entire party smiled as they watched them, glad to have reunited the friends.

"It's good to have both of you back." Rosalia said as she turned to Sazh. Sazh smiled as he playfully messed with the Mage's hair, earning a 'hey!' from her.

"It's good to be back." He smiled as he watched the girl fix her hair, though she smiled back at him. Just then, Fang released Vanille, bent down, turned her and lifted her skirt to check her brand as everyone made a point to look away.

"You've still got time." Fang stated.

"Fang…There's-there's something I need to tell you." Vanille said when the spear wielder hugged her again.

"Making me worry like that…We'll talk later, Missy." Fang stated. As the two pulled away, Sazh sighed, drawing attention to him.

"What's wrong?" Snow asked.

"Huh?" Sazh asked, confused. "Oh, uh…nothing! It's nothing. Uh-so? What's on the agenda?" Snow stepped forward and slammed his fist into his hand.

"Toppling the Sanctum." He stated.

"No, I mean really." Sazh repeated.

"He's serious. We're gonna take down the Sanctum and give Cocoon back to the people." Lightning explained. "The fal'Cie have called the shots for long enough."

"If we pull this off, it will be a miracle." Hope stated.

"Well, good thing Lady Luck's on our side." Fang stated.

"Which Lady Luck are we talking about here, Fang? The real one or the l'Cie bad luck version?" Rosalia asked as she crossed her arms. Just then, more Strikers flew above the party. "Never mind, there's my answer." The Mage sighed.

"More of 'em?" Sazh asked.

"You know, this is getting really old." Snow stated.

"Check this out. A miracle-Gran Pulse style!" Fang grinned.

"Why do I have a bad and a good feeling about this?" Rosalia asked as she watched Fang and Vanille run forward.

"Because you're a Cocoon born girl with Gran Pulse flowing in her blood." Hope answered which earned him a nudge and a 'shut up'.

"Vanille, go fish!" Fang cried.

"Got it." Vanille stated as a Striker flew towards them. After it flew over the two, who barely avoided its attack, Vanille threw her staff. As the Striker was caught, Fang jumped in the air. "Fang!" Vanille cried as she released the monster. A second after, Fang jumped down and stabbed the beast.

"That's a good girl!" Fang said before she turned to the party. "Alright!"

"Let's get on!" Vanille cried as she made her way towards the beast, Rosalia right behind her.

"We need to talk, Vanille." Rosalia whispered as the two led the way to Fang and the Striker.

Of course, I didn't get to talk to her while we were flying…I was more occupied by what was going on at the time.

As the Striker flew, the party held on, Rosalia up front since she was the smallest with Hope behind her, then Vanille and Lightning while Fang knelt, Snow stood while holding onto the side and Sazh was forced to hand on with only his hands as he flapped in the wind.

"Believe in Lady Luck now?" Fang grinned as they flew.

"I am renaming the Lady Lucks! There's Cocoon Lady Luck and Gran Pulse Lady Luck!" Rosalia cried as she held on.

"Yeah-Lady Bad Luck!" Sazh cried as he tried to not let go.

"Time to Purge a Primarch!" Snow cried.

"You got it!" Fang agreed. "Ya!" It was just then that they were under fire from all sides as Sazh screamed. As they got closer, the Striker fired, giving them space to fly.

"Jump!" Lightning cried and they all complied, screaming as they fell.

There were doubts, we all had them. After all, we knew what could happen to us if we failed our Focus or if we completed it. While Vanille and Fang gave us hope of everything being alright, we all knew we would have to face many struggles in the future. I…knew that better than anyone. Because I had yet to conquer my biggest fear, it hadn't manifested yet. But I didn't care because they gave me hope that, even without my Semblance and full strength, we could change fate, both ours and Cocoon's.

The entire party was groaning as they landed and all stood up, Fang, Snow and Sazh helping Vanille, Rosalia and Hope respectively.

"Everyone okay?" Rosalia asked and as she heard the responding groans, she cast Cure, healing all of them.

"Since when do you use magic, anyway?" Sazh asked.

"Oh, right, you weren't there for that." Rosalia said, "Well, the truth is…I'm the Mage. My name is Rosalia Propheta."

"You're the Mage that's been missing for 14 years?!" Sazh cried, shocked.

"Well, for most of them I was growing up but yeah, that's me." Rosalia admitted. "My mom was the last Mage, Elena Propheta, and PSICOM killed her because she was a Pulse l'Cie. How ironic." She chuckled mirthlessly.

"Dysley's through there." Lightning stated, changing the topic.

"We're still gonna talk." Fang reassured Vanille as Snow walked forward. "But let's survive this first, yeah?"

"Right." Vanille nodded. As the party started walking, Rosalia fell into step beside the redhead.

"Vanille…you knew I was the Mage as soon as we woke up at Lake Bresha, didn't you?" Rosalia asked.

"What? But, how could I-?" Vanille started to ask.

"Because of this." Rosalia cut in as she held up her right arm, showing her ancestor the Mage brand. "And the reason you knew was because…your sister had the same brand." Vanille sighed and hung her head.

"Fang told you?" She asked.

"Yeah. Vanille…why didn't you just tell me? I'm your friend and your descendent. You can trust me." Rosalia said.

"I know but…you looked like Tikal did before she got her full powers. So, I figured you weren't going to use them and nobody else called you the Mage…I just didn't want to upset you." Vanille explained. Rosalia instantly gathered the older girl in her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for respecting my privacy and thank you for being my family." She whispered. Vanille smiled and wrapped her arms around Rosalia.

"Your welcome." As they pulled apart, Vanille added, "By the way, when did you get an accent?"

"Heh, I've suppressed it since I was a little kid and knowing I'm actually from Gran Pulse makes me comfortable enough to use it again." Rosalia admitted.

"Well, I like it." Vanille grinned as she linked arms with the Mage and they continued walking. "By the way, when are you and Hope going to become a couple already?"

"Vanille!"

Honestly, Hope and Vanille had a gift. They could both make me smile and laugh no matter what was happening. The world could've been ending but if the two of them were by my side, I would wear a smile through the whole thing. The ironic thing is…when the world truly was ending, neither of them was themselves and they weren't there for me. Of course, I don't have any excuse either…but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The party ran as fast as they could down the hallway when they finally reached the room where the Primarch and a woman Rosalia sensed was named Nabaat were waiting.

"Been looking for you, Nabaat!" Sazh cried as they continued to run. Nabaat jumped down and met them in the middle as Sazh took out his gun and pointed it at the woman.

"Your Eminence, please escape. I'll cover your retreat." Nabaat said as she took out her weapon.

"Why don't you leave, Jihl." The Primarch cut in. "Or rather, take your leave. Humans have no business here."

"What?" Nabaat gasped as she turned to face the Primarch. "Your Eminence!" Suddenly, light covered the woman as she was electrocuted by the Primarch.

"Wha-?" Sazh gasped, "Magic?" Light suddenly covered the Primarch and he flew into the air.

"No!" Rosalia cried as she realized what he was going to do. A second later, the Primarch shot the light at every human in the room.

"Dysley!" Snow shouted in anger as people continued to fall and the Primarch floated into the air once he got rid of the roof.

"I've failed…again!" Rosalia whispered.

"Monster! People are not yours to use!" Snow shouted. The Primarch floated down then.

"What else does one do with tools?" He asked. Snow cried out in anger before he ran forward and tried to punch the leader only to be electrocuted and shot back.

"Snow!" Hope and Rosalia cried as they knelt beside him with the rest of the party standing behind them and tears falling from Rosalia's eyes as she cast Cure.

"Cocoon is a factory, built by fal'Cie." The Primarch said, "A factory for the mass production of human thralls."

"Not anymore, it's not!" Snow said as he pushed himself up, strengthened from Rosalia's magic.

"What can mere men do?" The Primarch asked as the teenagers helped the hero to stand. "Without our help, death is all of which you're capable. You saw the fools. A mindless mob drunk on fear of a few l'Cie."

"If they only knew a l'Cie was the one filling their glasses!" Lightning cried as she stepped forward, gunblade at the ready.

"L'Cie?" The Primarch chuckled, "You mean me? Oh child, perish the thought. I am more than that!" The Primarch held his staff up and in a bright flash of light, he changed form. "I am fal'Cie. My name is Barthandelus. Voice of the Sanctum, and Lord-Sovereign of the Cocoon fal'Cie." The party stared up at the former Primarch in horror as they realized what he was and that they, and the Mages before Rosalia, trusted him. "Your kind feared the darkness, so we gave you light. You begged us for the Purge, and did it not come to pass? Now you spurn our counsel? You must learn your place!"

"No…this can't be happening…" Rosalia whispered but she didn't sound like herself. Her voice was now a mixture of voices, too many for any single member of the party to pick out in that moment. But, the thing was, each voice was female and held some similarities, such as many had the Gran Pulse accent while others had the Cocoon one. It seemed as if several Mages were suddenly speaking through the newest one. "We trusted you…we fought for you! …How could this…be? How could we…not see? We were blinded…we failed the people!" Crying out, light surrounded the Mage as her robe reappeared and the beads returned to her forehead. She was holding her head tightly, the voices still mixed with Rosalia's own as she continued to speak in the same way when she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Rosa!" Most of the party cried.

"Ro!" Fang cried before she turned to the party. "Light, Snow, Hope, you take care of him. We've got Ro." Lightning and Snow nodded, though they hesitated for a minute. Hope, however, was frozen as he looked at his best friend, the girl he now could admit, to himself, he was in love with, as she laid on the ground, her face contorted in pain when Barthandelus struck him, forcing him out of his thoughts.

While I was asleep, I saw every Mage that came before me. They were all panicking because none of them, not even Tikal with her Semblance of Sight, saw this coming. The leader of Cocoon that so many of them had trusted and fought for…was truly the enemy all along. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised he never branded a Mage before Mom as a Sanctum l'Cie. But, again, I'm getting off topic, sorry.

Rosalia regained consciousness as Barthandelus disappeared. She slowly sat up, Vanille supporting her as she did so.

"A fal'Cie running the Sanctum…" Snow shook his head.

"Then…I guess it wasn't Eden controlling things after all." Hope said as he helped Vanille bring the weak Mage to her feet. As Rosalia righted herself, she leaned her head onto Hope's shoulder, not that the boy seemed to mind.

"As I said." Barthandelus suddenly as the ground shook and Hope cried out while tightening his grip on a now whimpering Rosalia. Suddenly, Barthandelus returned in a flash of light, once again in his Primarch form. "I am Lord-Sovereign."

"Guess fal'Cie don't go down as easy as the rest of us." Sazh commented.

"Ease is not the issue. You have not fought to win." The fal'Cie said, "You should know quite well already the sure way of dispatching our kind. Ragnarok." Rosalia gasped and her eyes snapped open, though instead of her usual gray eyes with blue specks, her eyes were now blue green. They turned back however, when Fang spoke up.

"What's Ragnarok?" She asked. The woman suddenly cried out in pain as she held her shoulder that had her white brand tightly, breathing heavily.

"Pitiful l'Cie, you've forgotten your Focus." Barthandelus said before he pointed at the party. "Ragnarok is the beast one of you must become in order to lay waste to Cocoon. You have had the dream. One among you will become that monstrosity, defeat Orphan and destroy Cocoon." As he spoke, the fal'Cie vanished only to reappear near a new member of the party.

"Orphan?" Lightning asked as he appeared in front of them.

"The font of Eden's power." Barthandelus explained, "Orphan fuels Eden with strength, and Eden in turn sustains you and the rest of our kind. Destroy Orphan and you'll release a force such as this world has never seen. Cocoon will be torn asunder."

"So if I did that…" Fang said as she stood up. "Destroyed Orphan…"

"Your Focus will be fulfilled." The fal'Cie stated as he appeared in front of the woman.

"So what?" Lightning asked as she attempted to strike the fal'Cie only for him to vanish. "Who says it has to be?" The soldier demanded as the Primarch reappeared. Snow stepped forward and held up Serah's crystal tear.

"Serah asked us to save Cocoon before she turned to crystal." He said, "Save it. And that's what we're gonna do! Serah was trying to tell us how to complete our Focus, and we have-" Snow was cut off by the Primarch's laughing.

"Allow me to help you see the truth of things." He said, "The moment you arrived, your friend wept crystal tears. This was because her Focus required that you be brought together. That girl did nothing but assemble the tools for Cocoon's destruction." Snow stepped back slightly, looking down in shock. "Did it never occur to you? Or did you simply refuse to countenance the thought?" Suddenly the ground shook and the entire party cried out. "If you will not face the truth, then face the peril of your plight." An owl flew past them only to grow into a ship as the Primarch rose into the air. "Run, l'Cie! See how stark reality is!" He vanished then and the ground shook again, causing Rosalia to fall to the ground as Hope lost his grip on her.

"Come on!" Lightning cried and the entire party, including Rosalia who was now strong enough, ran into the ship.

As they flew away from the exploding main ship, Sazh cried,

"This is bad! The yoke's jammed!"

"What?" Lightning cried.

"I knew it was a trap!" Snow cried, angrily.

"Something's coming!" Hope cried.

"Everybody hold on!" Rosalia added when she suddenly sensed who it was. "Rosch…" As missiles were shot at the party and they barely avoided them, Snow cried,

"Hang on!" Several more missiles were shot at them and it was only when one was getting really close that Rosalia managed to do something. She threw her hands out towards where the missile was coming from, the Mage shouted,

"Barrier!" A second later, the missiles struck, but its smoke simply covered the barrier of light the Mage was trying to maintain. It was only when the smoke was cleared and they were flying up that the barrier was lowered, due to Rosalia's weakness.

"The hell kind of ship is this? Fighting on its own?" Sazh cried as the ship began to control itself, firing back at Rosch and expertly avoiding the coming fire.

"Can't we do something?" Hope cried as the ship shook.

"Got me! I give up!" Sazh cried.

"Rosa?" Hope asked, almost desperate.

"No way! Anymore and I'm gonna be out." The Mage argued as she tried to stay in her seat with all the shaking. Eventually though, the shaking stopped as Rosch apparently gave up. The entire party was looking out the back window when Vanille suddenly cried,

"Sazh, look out!" The party turned and they all screamed as they saw they were heading straight towards a building to crash, only to vanish as they struck it.

There's the chapter! I'm so sorry it's been so long, I've just been really busy with school, my new job and other stories. Even now, in summer, I'm still busy with homework that I just can't seem to finish! But I finally managed to get this chapter up so I hope you guys enjoyed! Also, Rosalia will now be voiced by Maia Mitchell since I've decided I wanted her to have a Gran Pulse accent like Vanille and Fang. Also, Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon is a new theme for Hope and Rosalia because I feel each verse fits a part of their story. Honestly, I have so many ideas for 13-2 and LR and I cannot wait to get to them! Also, to the issue of Mages. I realized that I had 8 Mages I was going to use, 9 if you count the one mention of another, and so I decided to have 10 Mages in total, 5 on Gran Pulse and 5 on Cocoon. The newest Mages I came up with are as follows.

Fenna: Daughter of Propheta. Has pale green hair and gold eyes. Song: Heart Realize from Noragami.

Ramona: Ancestor of Tikal and Vanille, not certain. Has dark black hair and brown eyes. Song: My Soul, Your Beats from Angel Beats.

As you can see, neither has a Semblance because I couldn't come up with any, which is another reason this chapter took so long. So, you guys can submit any powers that you want either of these two to have as their Semblance and the ones I feel fit each girl best will be it! Oh, side note, thanks to ChaosDancer12 for introducing me to Magenta by Nano again, as the song used here is the rest of the song Rosalia sang in the Whitewood. Speaking of the first scene, I left no comments from Rosalia in the future simply because that scene was focused more on Hope, who's finally overcome his anguish that's clouded his mind this whole time, and I haven't really explored his feelings yet. How'd I do?

Alright, so thanks to Guest (Right here!), Gry18 (Sorry for missing your birthday, happy late one and I'll use your idea, though I'm gonna modify it just slightly and don't worry, Fang and Vanille will see Tikal many times in these games.), Guest (Nothing's wrong, just busy. But it's nice to know you care!), Guest (She'll still have Etro's symbol on her wrist because it's part of the Mage's brand, so it'll still be there.), Guest (Thanks! I'm glad you like it!), LadyAmazon (At least someone likes it. This chapter took me days to write cause I got kicked off my laptop and then I couldn't find the incentive to finish this chapter until tonight where I made a point to finish it and I did!), Gry18 (It's coming soon, don't worry.), ChaosDancer12 (Thanks again! You've been such a big help!), Horsemadgirl, limeemil1, Raizel R. Night, xXYuseiXAkikoXx, Agnew-San, CommanderofInsanity, kathia05 and CatLoverx33 for reviewing/following/favoring along with all 1,443 readers! Okay, that's everything! Phew, oh and is it just me or were the fight scenes in this chapter…awful? I feel like I'm getting worse with these, ugh! Oh and check out The World Ends With You simply because it's my newest obsession that I can't seem to get rid of and it's amazing! Okay, I'm done now. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, leave a review to let me know what you think! Later!