Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.54 What Drives Us

Orphan was on its last legs, and Snow, Fang and Hope were all on their Eidolons. "Hey Fang, let's finish this!" Snow called, and she nodded. Snow revved the engine of his motorcycle and said "Let's rev it up!" before using Diamond Dust. The move enveloped Orphan in sub-zero glaciers of ice, and Fang rose into the air, where she told Bahamut "Bring down the sky!" Hope, atop Alexander, called "Take them down!" and it used Divine Judgment. The Mega flare attacks shattered the ice to make way for a blast of energy, and when Alexander attacked it combined into one ultimate blast that sent the being so far back it hit the wall. They there of them got down and dismissed the Eidolons, seeing the devastation of their attack.

However, Orphan merely laughed, rising up into the air, the symbol of Lindzei on it glowing bright red. A tail with the end shaped like that symbol rose into the air, crackling with energy before it shot that power at us. We were all enveloped in a huge storm of energy, and I screamed in agony, stabbing Indomitus into the ground. Fang did the same with her spear, but the others couldn't all fell to the ground, knocked near-unconscious and completely unmoving from the pain. Orphan lowered back down, asking "Have you ever paused to consider our reason for making l'Cie of men?

"We fal'Cie are crafted but for a single purpose, and granted finite power unto that end. With men it is not so. Men dream, aspire, and through indomitable force of will achieve the impossible. Your power is beyond measure. We take l'Cie that we might wield such strength. Through you, we obtained freedom from our bondage. And now, your Focus alone remains," Orphan said, before looking at Vanille. "Defy it, and it will all be for naught. Cocoon's sacrifice, and that of Gran Pulse as well." Its hand held an orb of energy, and suddenly both Vanille and I were lifted into the air. "But, if we but summon the Maker, we will be given the chance to begin again. All our sins absolved, and the world born anew!" That was when we were electrocuted. I screamed in pain; nothing, absolutely nothing compared to this.

"Submit l'Cie. Become Ragnorak. Lead us into the light!" My arms legs move in random spasms, no longer under my control as I writhed in pain. Besides me the same thing happened to Vanille, who tried curling into a ball but failed. "Fang!" Vanille called, and the voltage increased. "Let them go!" Fang said, and Orphan replied "We have no need for flawed l'Cie." "Orphan, I'll do it. I'll destroy you," she announced. Less than a second later the voltage disappeared, and both I and Vanille fell to the ground. "Fang, no!" I said weakly, but either did ignore me or didn't hear at all.

"Ragnorak. The will to guide a world unto oblivion. Can you bear the sin of our salvation?" they asked Fang, and she replied "You heard me. I said I'll do it!" Vanille managed to prop herself up with her arms, and said "You can't! I'll be fine! And you can't forget our promise! We promised to save Cocoon! We promised!" But then she stopped when Fang pointed her spear at her. "I made another promise too. To protect my family," she said, looking at her and stepping forward. Digging down, I found the strength to begin pushing myself up. "Sometimes… you've got to choose!" she said, pulling her spear back. I wrenched strength from my core and grabbed Indomitus, jumping forward and knocking Fang back.

Before she could attack again Snow grabbed her spear, saying "What are you-?" Sazh wrapped his arm around her stomach, saying "This isn't the time to be losing it, lady!" "You too, huh?" she asked. Lightning stood next to me in front of Vanille, asking "What do you gain from hurting Vanille? We're in this together!" Fang calmed enough to say "This is my Focus. And no one's going to stop me!" Using that strength she only unleashed on enemies, she knocked Snow and Sazh away before jumping into the air. Orphan's tail flashed again, and both Fang and her spear were enveloped in light. She shot down, and with a yell she slammed her spear into the ground.

The light that had enveloped them shot outwards and the other were all sent flying, me included. I could feel my body changing, but just as my vision went white I felt the crescent on my arm pulse.

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When the whiteness faded I saw that the others had all been turned to Cie'th with the exception of me, Vanille and Fang. "Everything I do…" Fang said, looking at one of them toss a gunblade aside. Lightning. "Is this what you meant to happen?" she demanded, and the Cie'th of the others stood as well. "All of them," she said sadly, and Vanille said "After all we went through." My eyes were unable to look away, and as they began attacking Fang she said "Guess I deserve it, after what I did!" They began hitting her, hard enough to send her back and forth before she feel to the ground, and as they lumbered forward they fell on top of her, trapping Fang beneath their weight.

"Stop it!" Vanille said, and the last of them fell down. "Salvation is born of sacrifice- miracles of misery. From shattered shards a new crystal legend will arise," Orphan said. Beneath the Cie'th Fang's hand curled into a fist, and her arm glowed before the Cie'th were sent flying. In Fang's place stood Ragnorak, she having successfully turned into the beast. She roared and ran forward, but was sent back by Orphan's barrier. Shaking it off, she ran forward and jumped onto the barrier itself, her body shining with power and she clawed and pummeled away at the crystalline surface. "Yes! Let anger be your strength! Despair. Despair and save us all!" Fang managed to punch a hole in the barrier, and she gripped the edges before ripping it apart.

The barrier shattered, and Orphan spreads its arms, saying "Lo! The Day of Wrath is come!" I looked away, unable to take the sight anymore. Memories flashed through my head, of times past all throughout our journey. There was Lightning arguing with Snow, punching him down when he tried to stand up. Me, knocking Lightning out of the path of a group of Lightning bolts, and our first kiss that had occurred soon after. Vanille spreading her arms to be shot and Sazh lowering his gun. All of us flying through the air by the Palamecia, ready to save the world from the Sanctum and fal'Cie.

The time Uried awaken when we were in the Ark, our travels across Gran Pulse, returning to Cocoon to save the world. All our hardships, all the challenges we faced, all the things that had changed and define us as who we were. Vanille was right; anger didn't define us. We just had things worth fighting for. There was a flash of light, and I looked up to see that Ragnorak was gone, an unconscious Fang lying on the ground. Orphan frowned in anger, saying "Yet again. How many times must you fail?" They waved their smaller arm, and sent a wave of healing light to revive Fang.

She stirred, and both hands rose dark energy into the air. A pair of shackles appeared around her wrists, and they carried her up to hang in the air. "Let me go," she said. "Retake the form of Ragnorak. Deliver us that which we have for too long been denied!" Orphan demanded angrily. They clenched their hands into fist, and Fang screamed in pain as she was electrocuted the same way we were. It lasted only a few seconds, but then Orphan healed her before doing it again. The torturous process repeated over and over, and Orphan said "Step yourself in hatred. Let it infuse your soul with the strength it craves!"

Finally we could take it anymore, and Vanille and I stood, walking forward. Orphan frowned and looked at us, saying "Finally we could take it anymore, and Vanille and I stood, walking forward. Orphan frowned and looked at us, saying "Your awakening demands an offering of pain." Fang looked back at us and weakly said "Vanille, Deiru… run." "No! I swore I wouldn't run away anymore!" Vanille called. "I'd rather fight and lose everything than give up without even trying!" I nodded and pulled my hand back, summoning a ball of silver-blue flame. "Yeah, so with that, here's a gift from me!" I called.

I threw the fireball, but the moment I did three more flew forward from behind me, and they all hit Orphan. The being screamed in pain and Fang was sent through the air, until she was caught by Snow. Snow! I saw a pistol enter the edge of my sight, a pistol that I knew and recognized, and Sazh said "Miracles out of misery? You have got to be kidding me." Hope cast Cure, asking "Yeah Fang, who's be dumb enough to swallow that crock?" "You're alive!" Vanille exclaimed. "But how?" Fang asked, standing. "Could be more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors," Lightning suggested.

"Lightning!" I called, running forward. We both wrapped our arms around each other, and while we were like that Snow said "Fang, I'm sorry." Lightning withdrew from our embrace, and said "We made you go it alone." She held up her spear, and Fang said "Second time now, isn't it?" She grabbed her spear. "But where were you?" Vanille asked. "Somewhere cold and dark, thinking about everything that happened up until now. And then… and then it was like-" Hope started.

"It was like… I had a glimpse of the future. Everyone was smiling and laughing. Even Serah. Even Light," Snow said. Light looked back at him, surprised. Sazh said "I don't know. It was a new Focus, or something. You know, I'm thinking, it didn't really make sense of course. I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all, but… As luck would have it, next thing I know I feel somebody pushing me right along." "You were there too Fang. Same side. All of us. Together to the end." Fang looked at her, and I could see the promise Vanille and fang made on Pulse flash through her mind. She looked at Vanille, who said "We promised, didn't we." Fang nodded, smiling.

Orphan was still screaming in agony, sinking back beneath water and disappearing. Snow curled his hands into fist and said "The heroes never die. Come on. We've got a world to save!" Hope nodded, saying "You say you want your Day of Wrath do you? Well it's coming right up!" Sofia smiled. "Once all this is over, I really hope that we can just spend one simple day relaxing with each other. Not having to be either saving, hunted by, or trying not to be killed by the entire world would be nice," she said. "We've face hardships before. Let's make a real miracle happen!" Vanille said.

There was a high-pitched laughter, and light shined from within the pool. Slowly a figure arose from it, shaped like a golden clock with a human face in the center. Orphan, the real Abandoned One. Once he was facing us he opened his eyes, saying "You overreach yourselves." Lightning and I stepped forward, and she said "No. We overreach you." "Is that so?" he asked. "You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life even before you were born," I said. "Sat poisoning Cocoon from inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release. So take it, and leave the rest of us alone."

I stepped forward. "We don't think like that. When there's no hope left, we keeping looking until we find some!" I called. "Maybe Cocoon is past saving. But it's our home, and we'll protect it or die trying!" Lightning announced. We both pointed our weapons at Orphan, and Lightning said "We live to make the impossible possible!" Then together, we said as one "That is our Focus!" Orphan shouted in rage, and we all tightened our grips on our weapons before attacking.

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Well this chapter went by quick; I guess I just want to get to the next one that sooner. Because come next chapter is the final battle against Orphan, along the fabled plot twist I've been telling you about, so stayed tuned!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)