Oh, school. All my free time has been taken away because of you, I'm stressed out, and it's only half way through the school year. AP classes suck, my brain is worn out, and I have fanfiction to work on, dammit!

So, yeah. Updates might slow down because life sucks, and I'm finally getting back into my Heroes of Olympus story, also my stories on Fiction Press, and I have so much I want to do and not enough time or brainpower to do it all.

Reviews decide which stories I place most of my attention on.

Enjoy!

:)

"Rescuing Sazh, Vanille, and Sai is our top priority," Snow said. "We've got to play it smart this time - no charging in without a plan. Heh. Listen to me, talking strategy!"

"My dad's all right," Hope reported. "Another Cavalry unit rescued him and moved him somewhere safe. I kinda wish I could talk to him, but I guess I have to make my own choices now."

"Come on, let's get this show on the road!" Fang urged. "I finally found Vanille again, and I'll be damned if I'm just gonna stand around while she's in trouble!"

"I should've never left Sai," Rei muttered.

"You were trying to keep him safe," Shu pointed out. "What's so wrong with that? Besides, since you weren'twith him, you get to help break him out!"

She smiled. "I've missed you, Su."

"Aw, me too! I mean, I've missed you. I don't miss myself."

She chuckled and slipped her arm around their waist to hug them as they walked.

The group of l'Cie gathered to join Rygdea as he showed them to one of the ships in the hanger. The lights snapped on to reveal a ship that didn't seem to resemble the current ones flying in and out, and it looked a bit old and beaten up - certainly not new or used often, at least.

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

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

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

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

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

"I'm sure she's fine," Hope said. "Vanille's tougher than I could ever be."

"Don't sell yourself short, kid," Shu said. "You're awesome!"

"Hope, are you scared?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, I'm terrified," Hope admitted. "But I'll be okay. Because I have you, and Light," he nodded to Snow, "and this guy, and Fang-"

"And me!" Shu jumped in enthusiastically.

Hope chuckled. "Yeah. We're all in this mess. We've got to stick together."

Rygdea chuckled. "Right, enough with the bonding. It's go time!"

He nodded towards the ship, and they moved to board it.

"Do we get to blow up the ship?" Shu asked.

"Maybe, once we're done," Rei admitted.

"Yeah!"

Snow chuckled and shoved Hope playfully before putting his hand on his shoulder. "What do you mean, 'this guy'?"

Hope only chuckled in response. Rei was happy to see that those two were getting along. Shu was looking forward to meeting Sai, and Rei couldn't tell how she felt about that conversation, but she imagined that they'd get along fine. Anyone who had a heart could get along with Shu, and maybe Charon was an example that Shu could give anyone a heart if given enough time.

They boarded the ship, Rygdea taking the pilot's seat, and they blasted out of the Lindblum and to the Palamecia to rescue their friends.

On the Palamecia, the Primarch Dysley sat on his throne, with Jihl Nabaat at his left and Charon at his right. Below him, people were working on the computer screens and managing the ship, with a large open deck in front of and below where the throne sat. The perfect place to oversee an execution - or that's how it looked.

"We didn't expect to see you here in person, Your Eminence," Jihl said.

"This crisis threatens the entirety of Cocoon, my child," He said. "You agree that standing at the fore is a leader's charge?"

Jihl bowed. "Wholeheartedly."

Charon rolled his eyes. These two were just too much for him. Being at Dysley's side was bad enough, but with the suck up loyalist Jihl? He was dying on the inside, even if he'd mastered the ability to keep his face straight.

He wanted to be with Shu. Despite how he acted while the quirky fal'Cie was around, pretending as though he couldn't stand the person's inability to take things seriously, he loved having their upbeat and cheerful aura beside him. It gave him a peace he hadn't had in a long time, a peace he thought he'd never have again. And now he was spoiled by that serenity, addicted like a drug even though he knew he shouldn't be. Stupid emotions.

"It also affords a splendid view of the impending execution," Dysley continued, before chuckling evilly.

Charon sighed on the inside. If he rolled his eyes anymore, they were going to get stuck.

His attention was drawn when his ears picked up Rygdea's voice coming through one of the computer coms down at a man's station below. He focused in on listening to the conversation far below.

"What's the holdup?!" Rygdea demanded.

"Stand by," The guy at the computer said. "Verifying identification code."

"You let me land this bird, or I'll crash her into your ass!"

Charon would've rolled his eyes, but for an entirely different reason this time. He just let a small smile escape instead. Rygdea had no etiquette or respect. He was a rebel to the core, and someone Charon could appreciate. All the work Charon went through to procure that ship for them and Rygdea was ready to crash it already.

"Sorry about him," He heard Rei say. "But please, do make haste. We are on a schedule."

At Rei's voice, he thought about how Shu was on that ship as well. Shu had always talked about their best friend/sister figure, and in the short time that they'd been together, Charon had come to like Rei, and knew that those two were family and would always look out for each other. Rei hadn't had the chance to give the 'protective sister' speech, which Charon was secretly glad for. He knew that one day he'd hurt Shu, maybe sometime very soon in the future. This was the hole he'd dug himself into when he starting falling for that fal'Cie.

"Mataecharonsan," Dysley said, snapping him back.

"Yes, sir?"

"Go oversee the guarding and movement of the captive l'Cie. Make sure they stay and go exactly where we need them to."

He saluted and bowed. "Yes, sir."

Finally, a chance to leave him. Charon internally smiled at the thought that he'd be seeing Shu again soon, but he also worried that him time with them was coming to an end. He kept in mind what was at stake, and made his way down the corridors of the Palamecia to the prison hold, trying to push thoughts of losing Shu out of his mind. Of course, once they'd entered, there was no way for him to be rid of them.

"Sorry about him," Rei said over the coms. "But please, do make haste. We are on a schedule."

Two flying robotic scanners flew parallel to each other on either side of the ship, releasing beams of energy to scan the ship. When they were done, they flew off in either direction.

"Code verified. You're free to dock."

"About damn time," Rygdea muttered.

"Thank you!" Shu said cheerfully.

At the base of the ship, one of the landing runways lowered to allow the ship to dock. A part of the ship resembling the tail end of a bird stretched out like an upside-down runway, holographic targeting ovals appearing to guide the ship as it came in. As they flew through, Shu whooped, saying it was like they were going into someone's eye.

Once the ship landed, the l'Cie and the two fal'Cie quickly hopped off and allowed Rygdea to retreat before things got hectic. As the ship flew away, Snow an Hope gave final waves, and they walked forward onto the landing bay, the wind still flying past.

"Code Red! Repeat: Code Red!" An announcement suddenly blared. "Attention all crew: this is not a drill! Code Red!"

A group of soldiers ran up from within the ship, readying their weapons.

"That certainly didn't take long," Shu pointed out, readying their hefty sword.

Snow took a battle stance. "All right. Let's tear 'em up!"

"We're here for Sai, Vanille, and Sazh," Lightning reminded him, drawing her gunblade. "Stay focused!"

Fang swung her lance into a battle stance, Hope drawing his boomerang and Rei her swords. "We move swiftly," Rei agreed.

They all began attacking the PSICOM troops, Raiders and Infiltrators.

A PSICOM Raider took of a defensive Guard stance that blocked a good deal of attacks and damage, but that didn't make him immune to the staggering capabilities, and once Lightning and Hope had thrown enough spells to make him glow golden, Rei launched him up into the air and hacked and slashed until he was a goner.

Snow and Hope's spells were taking a wide radius, using things like Thundara, and a PSICOM Infiltrator attempted to use a Manadrive Cura to heal his comrades, but the artificial magic was nothing compared to something the l'Cie could pull off, so it didn't come close to being effective enough to be a problem. One of the Raiders did try to use a Manadrive Pain on Lightning, but it didn't hit.

Shu sliced down the Raiders in his path, knocking one out of his Guard to jump up and dealing a Heavy Slash, slamming his blade down in a heavy final move. Hope healed up some accumulative damage they were taking while Lightning staggered another Raider and Fang launched it up. Snow staggered the Infiltrator that was trying to heal his buddy and himself, kicking him up into the air as well, and the troop pf soldiers was wiped out.

They sheathed their weapons just in time for another platoon to come running from inside.

"Looks like they wanna play," Fang commented.

"No kidding," Snow said. "So where to?"

The door that led back into the ship from the landing bay was sealed shut, but Rei looked up and noticed the catwalks above leading further into the ship. "Right up there."

They quickly wiped out the soldiers that had come from inside, before Rei dug through the bag at her side and tossed a bunch of seeds at the group's feet.

"Hold on," She advised.

Shu raised their hands and the seeds cracked open, sprouting green plants that began growing at an alarming rate, picking up the group and extending up to the catwalk about sixty feet up. They dropped the l'Cie on their feet before the plants began reversing their growth, pulling up from the level below until they were seeds at Rei's feet again, who picked them up and slipped them into her bag.

"Something bad's waiting for us," Rei muttered. "I can feel it."

"Let's go kick its butt!" Shu declared.

They headed down the catwalk before being forced to turn down a corridor that led outside to another ship launching and landing area, however, this one was completely exposed to the wind and air. There were stations for ships to be held with platforms and bridges connecting them. The platform was a good deal down from the door they'd come from, and there was little use going back the way they came.

"We'll find another route," Lightning declared.

"Way ahead of you," Fang said. "See that?"

She pointed to an exit further down the deck. It was just as high up as the exit they'd come from, but the platforms had a clear bridge leading up to it. All they had to do was take the right path to get up there.

"Let's go!" Hope announced.

"Don't go getting blown away now," Fang commented.

"We'll keep you safe," Shu declared. "I've been getting better at flying. And teleporting."

They made their way down the decks, which were guarded by Deckdrones and PSICOM Dragoons - who had those glossair-ring jet-packs. They didn't prove to be much of a challenge with the larger group able to throw spells as well as attack physically. In bigger numbers, the Deckdrones did managed to pull off some powerful Tornado Kick damage, and the Dragoons' Missile attacks were annoying, both powerful and causing the target to flinch, but Hope and Shu were quick healers. Hope put up some Barthunders and Protects, Fang tossed some Slows, and Rei hit them with Debrave, and Defaith, so it wasn't a hard battle even so.

"Ah, feel that wind on your face!" "You can barely see the top." "Not even l'Cie could survive a fall from up here."

They used the parked ship to jump up the platforms to make it to the higher levels, and they fought their way past the patrols to hurry into the ship again.

Not a word had been said since the l'Cie had woken in the holding cell on the Palamecia.

Finally, Vanille couldn't stand the silence and looked up. "Sazh?"

"Enough…"

Vanille put her head in her hands to look away, and even the chocobo chick closed its eyes and looked away as it hovered next to her.

"Sazh-!" Sai began.

"…is enough."

And he pulled the trigger.

But when Vanille and the chocobo chick hesitantly looked up again, Sazh remained standing where he was. In the throne attraction a small distance away was a smoking bullet hole from where Sazh had shot it. Sazh's pistols slowly fell to his side, before he dropped them to the ground.

The chocobo chick flew over to land in front of him, just as Sazh fell to his knees and then pounded his fists to the ground, his arm barely missing the small chick beside him - who closed its eyes and looked away, but quickly recovered and looked back up to him.

"Why can't I do it?!" Sazh shouted. "I got no reason to keep living! I can't even kill you…"

Sai kneeled beside the sobbing man, and Vanille walked over as well putting her arms on his shoulders. "Sazh…"

"You're alive for a reason, Sazh," Sai said. "You can't give up."

Vanille was at a loss for words, when she and Sai looked up to find the PSICOM soldiers surrounding them. The chocobo chick panicked and retreated to Sazh's hair as a dozen weapons were trained on them from all sides.

"Freeze!" "Take 'em!"

Soldiers ran in and grabbed them, one at each arm, before forcing them onto their knees. Nabaat walked through the circle of troops, tapping her baton in her left hand, ready to lay down some punishments, no doubt. The soldiers forced them to bend forward as though they were bowing, pushing down on their shoulders and shoulder blades, Vanille wincing and Sash and Sai grunting.

"You should be proud," Nabaat said, flicking her baton out so it extended and stepping forward, raising Sazh's chin so he looked her in the eye. "Your son's a hero. The boy who saved Cocoon. We'll erect a memorial in Eden and put his crystal on display."

Sazh shook the baton away. "A memorial? He's a little boy!"

"As the son of a Pulse l'Cie, he would have in shame and misery."

Vanille's head fell at the reminder, reminded that had she never gotten Dajh turned into a l'Cie, perhaps Sazh might not have gone and been turned into one as well in his attempt to help his son.

"Isn't it better he be treated with reverence, as a monument to sacrifice?"

At that, Sazh screamed in anger, the men around the ground training their guns on him as he struggled to get free of his captors. Nabaat calmly walked up and swung her baton, hitting him at a pressure point on his neck and causing him to stop. The soldiers released him as he fell forward, catching himself with his arm and reaching out, but he was woozy and losing consciousness fast.

"Next time your eyes open will be the last," Nabaat declared.

Sazh fell to his stomach, only able to watch Nabaat retreat before he blacked out.

Sazh sighed, uncrossing his arms and pushing away from the wall to sit on a pipe across from the seats Vanille and Sai were sitting on. "I'm pathetic."

Vanille looked down sadly at the chocobo chick in her hands. "That's my line. I'm the one who lied to everyone."

"Forget it," Sai said. "You can't change what's done."

She surged to her feet, the chick squeaking as it was forced to take flight. "But…! If I'd just told the truth…!"

"Now, now, now," Sazh said, holding his hand out as the chick flew to land in it. "I've been thinking. Youwoke up from being a crystal once." He chuckled. "Well, that means Dajh will wake up one day too, right?"

Vanille looks down in realization, but nodded her head with a smile.

The little chick flew to sit on the pipe besides Sazh, while Sai asked, "What was it like? I mean, how did it happen? You were done with your Focus, right? Did you just suddenly transform wherever you were?"

She looked up solemnly. "I was chosen. I was made into a l'Cie to fight against Cocoon."

She took her seat once more.

"It happened back on Gran Pulse, hundreds of years ago. We finished our Focus, and we fell into a long crystal sleep."

Day 1

Bodhum - The Pulse Fal'Cie

When Rei had walked into Anima's Vestige, she hadn't expected to fin the fal'Cie asleep. It was then that Rei had felt an enormous burst of power fighting against her mental barriers, and she had been forced into her own coma.

When she came to, she was in the middle of the main hall. Her form barely fit in the area, but luckily the ceiling was high. She felt groggy, her body and mind tired, but she managed to condense her form down to human size.

"Anima, what has transpired? How did I end up here?"

"The cursed Cocoon fal'Cie - Barthandelus - has brought the two of us to the enemy's land, along with the two l'Cie who were tasked with becoming Ragnarok. Their eyes had long since turned to crystal, yet now they shall wake with a new Focus. It would seem a resident of this retched planet found their way to this vestige, and I have given her a Focus as well. Cocoon shall pay for what it did to us."

She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up, before she felt a wave of energy, powerful, yet somehow familiar, fly past her like a breeze. She saw as small shards of crystal in the air began to gather, flying past her and to a crystal of a woman at her right and up above. A second woman's crystal was being held above opposite to the first, and Rei realized these were the l'Cie Anima had spoke of, the ones that Rei had turned to crystal.

The first crystal began to glow, shimmering as she was transformed back from crystal to flesh. She floated up, her clothes rematerializing onto her, first just in light silhouettes, but then turning into the real fabric.

Rei realized she was reverting and pulled herself to her feet and ran. She stumbled, stiff from being asleep, but she made it through the doors and down the stairs to the outside. If Anima had given these l'Cie new Focuses, Rei wanted to be nowhere near a confrontation with them and Cocoon. Rei had had enough of wars and conflict. She'd had enough of Anima's anger and grudge. She just wanted to go and find Shu.

Rei mustered the energy to disguise her human form properly into hunter attire, before heading out. Anima had said that she had been taken to the enemy's land, but all Rei needed to do was regain enough strength to get home. Shu would be worried about her, after all, and she needed to make sure the fal'Cie stayed out of trouble.

Yet when she met the human man that took her in, he explained that the war had happened centuries ago, known to the people of Cocoon as 'The War of Transgression,' as opposed to simply, 'The Great War,' as Pulsians had called it.

It was then that Rei realized, sitting in her savior's room after he'd left her to try and figure out some outfit while he went to the 'store,' that her home was gone. Fal'Cie lived with infinite life spans, unless they found conflict between each other and killed their own, but being asleep, missing centuries worth of time, was just as scary to a fal'Cie as it was a human, especially if the sleep wasn't something she had planned.

What had she missed? What had changed?

Was Shu out there still? Were they looking for her? But if they were, they would've gone to Anima's Vestige and would've been there with Rei, or at the very least guarding it and waiting for her to wake up. But she didn't sense Shu in the area. She couldn't sense them at all. Could it be that the years merely weakened their bond, or was it that Shu was just…gone?

Her heart sank at the thought. Shu was just as immortal as any other fal'Cie, but they were very sensitive to emotions for their kind. If Rei went missing and Shu wasn't able to locate her, maybe because of Barthandelus…Rei knew that Shu wouldn't survive. They would die from grief, alone, afraid, insecure, and without any comfort, any path.

Fal'Cie didn't cry, Rei told herself. Fal'Cie didn't feel pain or remorse. But she had never been like other fal'Cie. She and Shu were the outcasts, the oddballs who had emotions, feelings.

She hugged the squishy rectangle that was sitting next to her on the bed. She wished Shu were here. She wished she hadn't gone to the Vestige and left them behind. She wanted their quirky jokes to cheer her up; she wanted to complain about their hair just so that they would have something to talk about, a friendly conflict; she wanted to protect her little sibling like a proper sister.

Instead, she could only say that she'd let them down.

"We woke up…on Cocoon, to the start of a new Focus," Vanille explained. "Fang, she'd forgotten everything. And for me…just the thought of hurting people again…it was too much. So I lied. I played dumb, said I'd lost my memory. I wanted to escape my fate as a l'Cie. And ever since then, I've been running away from it."