A/N: Five days until finals come along... I really, really want to try and polish up chapter fifteen before they start, but until that gets sorted out, our favourite Oerbans have some explaining to do. xD
14
"They have to get out of there!"
"Vanille, listen-"
"There isn't any time for that! If I can hear him now, then I'll be able to hear him when She comes and when he -when everyone-"
"Don't even try it. I'd sooner string Her guts about the warrens before you give up on them!"
"Fang, they still don't know who they're dealing with-"
"Fal'Cie, plain and simple."
"But they haven't even seen Her! They don't know Her weaknesses, Her motive -nothing!"
"They know how to survive. And you know as well as I that we can't put our energies towards fretting. Not with this weight on our shoulders."
"But Fang-"
"Keep it together, Missy. Remind me why it's taken her so long to find them in the first place."
"I can't…"
"Worrying won't be any help to him, not to any of ours."
"… In the early eras, Dahaka and Asura were intended to be two parts of a whole. Dahaka was tasked to be the eyes of Asura, scouting the skies in search of foreign forces, anything that might pose a threat to Gran Pulse. Upon the discovery of an intruder, Dahaka would combine his flight with Asura's might -together, they were known as Taejin. With the wings of Dahaka and the strength of Asura, they would ascend their lofty lair and decimate their targets."
"..."
"When he said they would be waiting-"
"There's more to it."
"I was just getting to that part -I was, honest! All that scoffing is bound to be trouble on your throat..."
"Let's hear it."
"Hmm... The rest is just a guess, but after the War ended and the Cocoon fal'Cie stole more and more of Gran Pulse, from fields to cities, Asura fell into a terrible rage. She lay in wait until there were enough vipers in the skies to make an example of. Then, with Dahaka's constant loyalty, She took to the heavens with fearsome power. Not a single Cocoon l'Cie was left alive, and all that remained of their final theft lay for centuries in the Vile Peaks. Content with Her judgment, Asura burrowed deep into the earth to slumber until Dahaka heralded another invasion. Years became decades and grew longer still, yet Dahaka spied no further attack on Pulsian soil. Eventually he began to roam in circles, driven to madness, for he never found Asura's place of slumber, and so he felt abandoned. He sought to destroy anything he felt was out of place, even if it was born to travel the very land he did. By this he earned his downfall."
"Times have changed, Vanille. The spire is broken, Dahaka's done with. She's been blind from the moment She woke."
"It doesn't matter if the stars fall or the triffids wither away. You heard Hope as well as I did! Even if She was coming later, the ones we hold dear would still be like sitting sheep, just as unaware as the rest of their people."
"And you're not hearing me out. If they can see past illusions, then they'll do just fine dealing with a surprise visit. The best we can do for them is to keep this place standing. You with me on that?"
"... Okay."