Fallen Innocence
Riding the sky bridge and watching the battle unfold below them, Lightning's eyes widened, her back turned towards Sazh. He wouldn't have any idea what she was thinking, or that she might have feared who might have been with the group falling to their deaths. He had promised... She had no idea why she thought she could count on him, but she had. There was a small part of her that thought, if he had managed to survive the initial attack, he would have eventually met up with her.
However, that hope dimmed as she watched so many people perish in a carefully executed attack. Even if PSICOM lost the gun ship, taking out that platform, killed most, if not all the resistance against the Sanctum. Snow... She kept telling herself that she hated the NORA commander, that to rely on anyone other than herself was complete nonsense and childish. Since she was 16, she had only herself, and any chance at friendship or a life of her own, the Sanctum made sure never happened.
That is why she had fought so hard against his efforts to recruit her, but there had been moments when she looked into his blue gaze, she saw so much more reflected back at her. He wanted more than just another recruit, and she had never dared to allowed herself the luxury of considering the option. Now, as she watched the events in front of her unfold, she wanted nothing more than to apologize for the things she had said to him.
Sazh, fueled with rage and oblivious to her internal pain, stared in horror as the resistance died. If she had to guess, Sazh was in his late forties, a gloved hand on a cable bar. If he continued to follow her at this point, what did it matter? The chances of her finding the Pulse Vestige were slim, and her sister even slimmer.
Lightning had known the moment she boarded the train people were going to die, but not like this. Trained in combat, she understood the losses both sides took, but this wasn't even a fair conflict. PSICOM had so much fire power, so many resources to pull from, that even with the assault rifles the people had found and used, they were not a match against a fully militarized strike. All these people had wanted was to find a safe haven from all the violence. Is this my fault? She wanted to sink to her knees and clutch at her head, but she didn't dare.
Her parents had died at sixteen, and the Sanctum had kept her locked away for days, asking question after question. In the end, they had allowed her to walk away, but on the condition she join the military. One wrong move, and they'd force her to watch Serah die in a public execution. She wasn't Pulse, but the Sanctum seemed certain that she was, and everything she did, the Sanctum scrutinized. For almost two years, the Sanctum randomly performed tests on her, and if she tried to fight them, they either made it extremely painful, or threatened her with her sister.
To say that she hated the Sanctum was an under statement, but Serah had always kept her in line. On the lonely ride over the Hanging Edge, both of them could only watch, one with despair, the other with a growing rage. Sazh was the closest, standing at the edge, and his hand on a cable wire. "It's an out-and-out massacre," he hissed, seething with anger. "Those people won't even live long enough to die on Pulse."
She couldn't blame him for not knowing the Sanctum's true nature, and Lightning no longer had a reason to keep quiet about it. For the moment, they were companions, going with the flow of things. She didn't know when they would die, only that they would die, but she'd continue going for as long as she could. Didn't anyone pay attention to their history lessons? Pulse was a resisting shadow of Cocoon, the home of unknown terrors, and the land believed to be inhospitable to humans. Since the War of Transgression, no one had been allowed to travel to Pulse. As far as Cocoon was concerned, Pulse was hell, and people feared it. The younger generation might have had an excuse for not knowing the truth about Pulse, but not this man. He was older than her, and not being in the military wasn't an excuse. Even Snow wouldn't have believed that the Sanctum would have allowed them to go to the lower world.
"That was the idea," she quietly agreed with him. Joining him at the edge, not bothering to hold on, she watched the glow of the fire. Was Snow one of the ones that had fallen? She had no idea, or if he had been on one of the trains at all. Despite her animosity towards them, her sister had a connection to them, and if she never saw her again, they were the only people to have been with her prior to becoming a fal'Cie slave. Her voice was melancholy, having time to reflect on the past several hours and days.
Startled at her response, thinking she might have known about this, he stared at her in horror and distrust. "What?" There was no anger or hatred he could find on her face, only sorrow and pity for the people below them. He might have been one of them, but instead he had chosen to follow this woman. These people had been so brave, but in the end, for nothing. PSICOM, as lazy as they were, had enough fire power at their disposal to make up for the lack of training over the past several centuries.
At that moment, she seemed more uncertain and young, than she had ever felt since the death of her parents. She had never told anyone how or why they had died, despite Snow's efforts through Serah to find out. That was one thing Serah hadn't been able to give him, nor had Lightning been willing to make her sister suffer with the knowledge. No, she'd take those memories with her to the grave.
Snow had been 16 when he founded NORA, and five years into it's creation, Lighting had joined the Guardian Corps. Now, at 21, she had finally returned home to Bodhum to discover that her sister had joined their ranks, and fearful for her life and safety, she had clashed with the NORA commander, Snow Villiers. Granted, NORA had a purpose, and judging from today's events, an important one.
Despite all that, however, she had wanted her sister as far from military organizations as possible. Snow had tried more than once to recruit Lightning, but she fought him at every turn, but not for the reasons he thought. In truth, she was terrified of the Sanctum, having just as much of a reason to hate them as Snow. However, unlike Snow who only had his friends to consider, she had her sister and her well-being to think about. It didn't matter anymore. The fal'Cie had taken her, and even if Lightning managed to find her, the Sanctum would never stop pursuing Serah, not until she was dead and no longer a threat. As soon as they managed that, they'd turn all effort to finding her. It all started with her, and it would all end with her.
Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes, not for the first time since all of this had started. She refused to let them fall, to ever show weakness to those around her. To everyone, she was an emotionless robot, only caring about the mission and nothing more. Serah saw through it, and she had a hunch Snow did as well, at least partially. He knew she possessed memories of a devastating past, but even if she had told him, there was nothing the idiot could have done to change it.
Glancing at Sazh from the corner of her blue eyes, she gave him a full explanation for once. They weren't in the middle of a fight, and until they landed, she had time to answer his questions. "Sanctum logic. They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat." How did she best explain this to a civilian that had always believed in his government? Most of the people did, and she didn't blame them really. It was easier to believe that those that gave them orders, had their best interests at heart. She knew better.
Kneeling, acting as if she were studying everything below, she continued to battle her overwhelming emotions. Everything was to close to the surface, and she had no way to tell anyone that she was sorry. If she had listened, none of these people would have had to die today. "I mean - why carry the danger all the way to Pulse?" Did he hear the guilt in her voice, the agony of what her actions had caused.
At the moment, she no longer cared if he had tagged a long. So long as they were still moving, she'd ensure his safety. She had the training, and he would have been one of those civilians if he had stayed with NORA instead of her. The situation was hopeless regardless of which path he might have chosen. Once she had herself back under control, the anger back in her voice, she stood and faced him. "Why not just stamp it out here?"
She had never hated the military as much as she did then. Would the Corps side with PSICOM? She didn't want to fight the people that she had once trained with, but if they chose to fight for PSICOM, then they supported what had happened here today, even if it was unknowingly. She'd never forgive this, and for the rest of her life, she'd fight a personal war against the Sanctum and PSICOM. This must never be allowed to happen again. "Execution masquerading as exile." She met his stunned look with one of her own, trying to make him understand. "That's all the Purge ever was." She was former military herself, so she understood what they were doing and why. It didn't mean she agreed with it, nor would she participate in this kind of behavior.
Listening to her explanation, he wasn't sure how to feel about Lightning. She didn't seem to like what was happening, but she was a Soldier. Didn't that now make her an enemy? He threw up his hands in confusion, wanting to hate her, but not able to. "Relocation to Pulse. How does the government get away with pulling crap like that?" Whirling back around to look at her, her head turned away; "And you - you knew this was going to happen?" He was angry, and justifiably so. If she had been in his shoes, she might have felt the same, but she wasn't. Not since she was a child, did she blindly believe in what was told to her, a mindless puppet for the government to control.
She shook her head violently; she seemed just as taken aback at the length the Sanctum was going to kill these people, but she also understood the military better than Sazh. It had been her entire life for almost six years, and if it hadn't been for her sister, there was a good chance she'd have been one of the ones called in to stamp this out. However, she didn't see any sign of Guardian Corps here; they possessed a stronger empathy towards the people than PSICOM, and she wanted to believe that the Corps would refuse to do this. "The Purge was PSICOM. Private sanctum troops, not the Guardian Corps." Until she learned that Guardian Corps was her enemy, she'd defend their honor.
"PSICOM, Guardian Corps... Soldiers are Soldiers, aren't they?" he shouted, trying to rationalize this kind of murder. It made no sense to him, but when she looked at him with so much sadness, her emotional barriers down, he had to look away. She stared down at the dead Soldier close by them, the situation finally hitting home to her. If she had stayed with the military, or even joined PSICOM instead of the Corps, that might have been her. The Sanctum had given her a choice, join either military organization, or they'd take Serah from her. No, they would have killed her in front of her, and then kept experimenting on her. As long as they had Serah, she was beneath their full control.
No... That was in the past and it needed to stay there, behind locked doors where no one would ever discover what had happened.
"Pulse fal'Cie, and their l'Cie, are enemies of the state. Tell a Soldier to kill an enemy... and you really think it's gonna matter what uniform he's wearing?"
He truly didn't get it. There was always more than one side of a coin, and all he chose was to mix the sides together, as if they were the same. Would he assume NORA was like the Corps or PSICOM if he had been given a choice to join them instead. Just because an organization had military training or knowledge, did not necessarily make them a direct threat. The same was said of the l'Cie that everyone seemed so afraid. She knew her sister, and Serah would never harm the citizens of Cocoon. Why couldn't anyone other than Snow or herself see that? She jerked her head at the dead Soldier; "Might have mattered to that one. Couldn't shoot, got himself shot instead."
With her emotions carefully back where they belonged, buried, she walked away from Sazh and no longer felt like explaining the differences. Sazh had to make up his own mind, and he either had to continue following her, or go his own way. "How about you?" he demanded of her, trying to figure everything out through his confusion. A Soldier, in his eyes, especially after what he had just witnessed, were as bad as the l'Cie threat. Still, if she had been like PSICOM, she wouldn't have bothered trying to help him. She had several opportunities to turn on him, and other than the one incident from earlier, she hadn't tried to stop him. Even then, she hadn't struck to kill, only to disable. "Orders say shoot, you pull the trigger?"
Lightning had said everything worth saying, slipping back into silence. He had gotten a lot more out of her than anyone else ever had, and it wasn't something she felt like repeating. Conversations meant they were becoming friends, and she refused to make them. Friends meant a liability or getting them killed by PSICOM, and she'd never give that to the Sanctum more than she already had. Serah was enough, and while they threatened to kill her, Lightning was now their enemy. "Fine! Forget I asked!" She already had, but something brought her out of her depression. Action kept her focused, but this wasn't something she would have chosen as a distraction.
"Wait... What..." The last thing she wanted to fight, was the metal monster flying past them. It was possible the thing had been intended for the resistance, but having spotted them, it changed course and straight for the sky bridge. It was a Myrmidon, possessing strong attacks that could and would damage them both. Not only did she have to fight it, but keep both of them alive with potions. One critical hit and she was done for, as well as her angry side-kick.
Thankfully the Myrmidon focused all it's attacks on Sazh, thinking him the bigger threat because of his pistols. It wasn't the first time her adversaries under estimated her, but she wasn't about to call foul play and demand equal opportunity. In this case, she'd let them learn when she chopped the thing to pieces. Throwing Sazh potions when he needed it, she used her blade to slice into key sections of the enemies metal armor, watching sparks fly into they managed to land a critical hit.
Sazh had to admit that she was good, and she always had his back regardless of how she felt about him. No, she wasn't like PSICOM, and he had to take it on faith that he could continue to trust and follow her. He had no other choice, and if she truly wanted to, he'd never have a chance at stopping her from taking his life. She knew the robot was being controlled from a computer, and by the time PSICOM realized they had chosen the wrong, initial target, the machine was already destroyed and crumpling to the ground.
At first, she thought the Myrmidon had been dispatched for her or the resistance, but seconds later, she discovered the real reason. All fighting had paused, and the intercom sirens blared to life again. It had been moving to intercept something... the Pulse Vestige. The place, other than the Trussway lights, had been dark, but the military quickly lit up the entire Hanging Edge, and turned lights towards a spot in the ceiling. "What's that?"
Exactly what I'm after, she thought. Apparently it wasn't her time to die after all, and as long as she still had a chance to find her sister, she wasn't going to stop. Basically, the ports in the ceiling were like gates for freight to be lowered into outgoing and incoming trains, or at least that had been the purpose before the War of Transgression. Now was the same, but the freight that started to lower through the port, was none other than the Pulse Vestige, the reason so many had died.
Lightning hated the object dropping in front of them, but at the same time, she felt awed at the size of it. "Attention purge deportees! Attention purge deportees!" If the Sanctum thought the Bodhum citizens would believe relocation to Pulse at this point, they were bigger fools than she thought. Only an idiot would believe the Sanctum had their interests at heart after taking out an entire town of civilians. Any survivor left was already running for their lives, joining together if possible, and hiding if they thought it was best to try on his or her own. "Put down your weapons and surrender immediately."
She had read of this place, but in the light, she turned and saw that the Hanging Edge was not only enormous, but an incredible design of architecture. It had been the main focal point from one city to the next, now long forgotten and mentioned in history books. She doubted seriously people studied this in normal classes, but in military history. There were so many platforms, and below, she made out the wreckage of the trains.
The thing she had given up everything for, was now before her. This thing was responsible for so much, Bodhum, her sister, and regardless of how she felt about the Sanctum, this thing needed to go. However, the Vestige didn't seem to even fight back, letting the Sanctum escort it through the outer rim. What was going on?
"Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon." Dysley was full of crap! Cocoon had no idea what was going on down here, foolishly believing they were being sent to another world to live the rest of their lives away from the only homes and families they knew. Everything seemed to grow brighter with the presence of the Vestige, glowing a bright green. "Should you attempt to flee, the Sanctum will employ every resource necessary to bring you to justice."
These people would never see a trial, and she seethed with rage. The Sanctum was not what these people thought of it as. On the surface, it portrayed having the will of the people at heart. However, just because these people had lived next to the Pulse Vestige, they were now classified as a taint on society that needed to be removed. Lightning had had enough. The Sanctum no longer had anything to keep her in line anymore, and she was about to challenge it. They were going to regret the day they gave her a choice to become a Soldier. The same gun ships that had taken out the Trussway, were now surrounding the Vestige, to ensure nothing happened to slow its progression. "This land is no longer your home. Cease hostilities and surrender at once."
Never! she vowed, blue eyes glaring at the Vestige.
Barely clinging to life, and hearing the announcement, Snow stirred. Every part of his body screamed in agony, and he knew that without a potion, he'd bleed out. Turning over, he crawled towards a body, and finding nothing on the first one, he crawled to one right after the other until he managed to find a medical bag that wasn't crushed or filled with broken vials.
His vision swam in and out of focus, and with all his will power, he forced himself to drink one of the vials and then another. Five healing potions later, he found himself able to stand again, but he was still weak from the fall. Glancing up, he had no idea how he had managed to survive, but that didn't stop him. Instead it fueled him to keep going. The Vestige reminded him of the person trapped inside of it, of the reason all of this had started in the first place. Snow's thoughts mirrored Lightning's exactly, and he swore revenge, but not before he found and rescued a certain sister from its bowls.
Walking after it, he kept an eye out for any familiar faces or bodies, hoping against hope he wasn't the last survivor of Bodhum.
Sazh and Lightning also felt a similar relief, each for their own reason. "Just what you were looking for," Sazh stated. His arms were crossed, and he had to soon make a decision. Did he go with her, or go his own way once she went towards it?
"Yea," she agreed, a smile of triumph on her face. He had to admit she was beautiful at the moment, unaware that he was studying her, but hell if he told her that. She knew about as many ways to kill a man as he knew how to count bolts on a piece of machinery when he put it back together again. "Right in there."
"The Pulse fal'Cie. Huh."
Everyone the Vestige passed, created the same type of fear and awe. Yes, it was a magnificent site, but at the same time, it was also the reason so many of them had suffered horrible losses that day. The survivors were discarding the Sanctum robes, and one boy watched and blamed the thing that had caused his mother to join Snow's call for Volunteers.
No longer having a reason to keep the robe on, Hope discarded it and stood, keeping track of the passing Vestige. Most of the survivors were no longer fighting, tending to the wounded, and waiting for what ever was going to happen. Without Gadot or Snow, the NORA fighters left, stayed back to keep careful guard in the event PSICOM tried to take them out.
One careful blow, and they'd meet the same fate as the resistance fighters, and that thought kept all of them somber. With both train survivors united and moved to a temporary, safe location, Hope glanced at a mother and her child. "Mom..."
"Don't worry," the mother spoke, her hands on the small child's shoulders. "We'll be okay," she lied. He no longer had that false reassurance, and he wanted it back desperately.
Hope didn't say anything, but he mentally called out: Mom... He missed her terribly, and he wished she'd stroll up through the dark chasms and hug him, to tell him it had all been a horrible nightmare. He'd do anything at this point to wake up, to beg her to take them to see his father like she had wanted. He had been so selfish, and she had only stopped in Bodhum because he hadn't wanted to forgive him. Another robe landed beside him, breaking him from his thoughts.
It was the girl that had slapped him across the face, with fiery red hair and green colored eyes. Smiling, she bent over and took up the weapon given to her from earlier, trying to give it to him. "Here," she spoke, watching him take it with surprise. In all honesty, she had no idea how to fire it, not familiar with Cocoon weapons. He stared at it, uncertain of what to do, and that's when her arms wrapped around him, like his mother should have done. Vanille truly hated war and the effect it had on normal, happy, people. She couldn't have been more than 16, but she acted and seemed so much older. "It's too much, isn't it?" Pulling back, she gave him a soft smile of encouragement, unable to give him any more comfort than that. She understood losing people you loved, and kind words wouldn't change that feeling for a long time. "Face it later."
She waved, "Ciao!" Turning around, she took off, to where he had no idea.
Still in shock, he went after her, having no one else to follow. "Hey! Wait!" he called after her.