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.

Notice: Even as this story reaches its conclusion, I still get readers. The fact makes me smile, along with reading the number 18,000! But I wouldn't have gone even one had it not been for all of you, my readers. Thank you!

Ch.55 Soul of Chaos

We all held our weapons, prepared to go into the final battle against Orphan. "Does eternity not entice you?!" he demanded, and cast Doom on all of us. We could feel our life force already draining away, but refused to give up and attacked. Snow punched the being in a blow that would have sent it flying, but absolutely nothing happened. Vanille used Thundara and Firaga, but both spells didn't even make Orphan blink. "What's going on?!" Fang asked, trying and failing to stab it with her spear. "All our attacks aren't working!" "Orphan's immune to any damage until he's staggered. We have to stagger him as soon as possible!" I informed them. With that Lightning nodded, already beginning to use Army of One.

While she did that Hope used Last Resort, and Sazh unleashed Cold Blood. The trio of Ravager moves already set the chain gauge to half, and the rest of us used our spells. Oprhan's face disappeared, a huge arm extended forth to sweep across the ground. I jumped to avoid it but Vanille and Snow weren't so lucky, sent into the air. "Curse upon curse!" he called, using Necrosis on them. The move inflicted both Snow and Vanille with Pain and Fog, forcing Fang and Hope to switch to healing and casting Esuna. I stabbed Indomitus into the ground and focused, two fireballs appearing my hands. Throwing them, I hit Orphan with a double Firaga that successfully staggered him.

The clock-like shell around him shattered, and Fang smiled as she hit him with her spear and sent him into the air. "Take this!" Sofia called, casting Deshell and Deprotect. Both spells hit easily, and in seconds Orphan as inflicted with both ailments. Lightning cast Thundaga and the being literally spasmed from the attack, while Sazh fired his pistols and Hope threw his Boomerang. "I'm not all smiles and sunshine!" Vanille said, casting Imperil. That spell worked as well, making Orphan even more susceptible to elemental attacks. I jumped up and slashed with Indomitus, watching as the blade tore through metal-like skin.

I could sense the stagger coming to an end, and I relayed that information to Snow. He nodded, running forward and using Sovereign Fist. He punched the ground and his fist glowed, before the ground exploded in a devastating blast that sent Orphan back into the wall, where it caused cracks from the impact. He fell to the ground and I tried to deal few last hits, until he used Rebirth, restoring his shell and creating two spheres of white and black energy. The white one hit him with healing spells, while the black one sent lasers at us. I dodged one and cast Blizzaga, but then Orphan used Kaleidoscopic Ray.

The attack created a blast of fire so strong that I skidded along the ground, the end of my trench coat having caught fire. Hurriedly I stamped it out, glaring at the fal'Cie while doing so. He seemed to smile, but it faded when Lightning changed her blade to gun form and fired a round of bullets. They bounced off Orphan without even leaving a dent, but they did draw his attention and made him glare at her. "Fool!" he yelled, and used Kaleidoscopic Ray again. Lightning shouted in pain and I cast Cura, healing her in addition to her own spells. She nodded her thanks and ran forward, jumping on and slamming her gunblade down with Flamestrike.

The attack staggered Orphan again, and he shouted as he was sent into the air. Fang and Vanille inflicted Deprotect, Deshell and Imperil again, but when Sazh bestowed us all with Haste Orphan used Temporal Hallow. Waves of energy spread outwards, removing all of our buffs and Orphan's debuffs. The two of them grunted before casting again, and I took my irritation at the move out on him with a vicious uppercut attack that sent him even higher in the air. Snow jumped up and kicked with his massive boot, this time creating a dent in its body. The orb of dark energy still kept going, but now Sofia absorbed it all with Elemental Storm.

The orb grew larger as more lasers were fired, also ironically absorbing the healing magic from the white orb. Sazh combined his pistols into a shotgun and fired, creating large hole that made Orphan cry out in pain. I smiled; looks like he was getting his just deserts. To help I jumped and spun in a circle, my blade covered with my fire to make a flaming whirlwind that dealt massive damage. Every slash make I made sizzled, and when Orphan tried used Necrosis again I used Absolute Protection, guarding everyone from the assault but me. I grunted as I was inflicted with Pain and Fog, but with no small amount of satisfaction I watched as his other attacks simply bounced off the others.

Orphan tried to use Rebirth and restore his immunity, but when he did Snow and Fang attacked at the same time, using Sovereign Fist and Highwind. He was sent spinning through the air and slammed against the ground, spinning like a top. I smiled at the image before using Blizzaga, hitting him in the side and making him spin faster. Fang laughed and spun her spear, hitting him to increase the speed even further. Then Snow ruined it by kicking him, only in the opposite direction of the way he was spinning. Orphan's spinning stop and rose, dazed and more than a little dizzy from the spinning.

"You will fall!" he called, and was about to unleash Necrosis when Vanille smiled, casting Death while he still didn't have his shell on. Black mist enveloped him and exploded, and he shouted from the unexpected attack. Sazh cast Aeroga and Firaga, while Hope used Thundaga, Vanille cast Waterga, and Sofia fired her Elemental Storm. The combined assault re-staggered him and dealt a unbelievable amount of damage, enough to create a huge fissure in Orphan's skin. Snow smiled and said "Hey Deiru! Hand me your sword!" I was confused but did as he asked, and he jumped up to stab Indomitus into the fissure, wedging it so it wouldn't come out. He pulled Orphan by it and he fell back to the ground, and Snow pushed against my sword like a crowbar.

The force he put on it would have made a regular sword bend like a pretzel, but Indomitus was made from the fang of Lindzei; indestructible. The fissure widened, and Lightning and Sazh both fired a stream of bullets at the inside. Hope threw his boomerang while it was charged with electricity, Fang threw her spear and both Sofia and I cast Ruinga, making the spells only explode once they were inside. All the attacks connected at once and resulted in a blistering explosion of light and heat, throughout which we could hear Orphan's screams of agony. When the light faded enough that we could see we saw Orphan still screaming, with miniature explosions occurring all over his body.

We watched in shock as he fell beneath the surface of the water, his screams quieting until they completely disappeared. We were silent for a moment, until Snow said "Yeah! That's how it's done!" Sazh sighed. "Oh goodness. Please do not make us fight another enemy," he said, almost falling from exhaustion. I smiled; but was also confused. In the game after we had beaten Orphan the light from Etro's gate would envelop us, and we would turn into the crystal while floating above Eden. But none of that had happened yet. What was going on?

Then the crescent on my arm seared with pain.

I shouted out and fell to one knee, clutching my arm as the pain grew with each passing moment. The others stopped and looked at me, and Vanille asked "Deiru! What's wrong?" "Aargh! I... don't know!" I managed to say. I pulled back my sleeve, and saw that my mark was pulsing black. It had never done that before, but then I heard a piercing cold laugh and looked up. "What was that?" Snow asked, looking around. I was just bout to say what when my mark turned pitch-black, and suddenly black mist shot out of it in a vicious torrent. I screamed; it felt like someone had set that part of my skin on fire. The laughter grew, as the last of the mist left my body and formed into a sphere above us.

"The hell is that?" Fang asked. Lightning helped me up, and I muttered "Uried." "What?" Sazh said, and I spoke louder. "It's Uried! He's escaped from my body and is trying to make one of his own!" "How can he make a body of his own?" Hope asked. I wasn't sure, until it clicked and I gasped. "Remember when Anima died and Lake Bresha turned to crystal?" They nodded. "That was because of the energy released by Anima's death. The same thing happened when we killed Orphan and Barthandelus, and Uried is using that released energy to take physical form!" I explained. "Is that why we haven't turned to crystal yet?" Sofia asked, and I nodded.

"The last of Orphan's energy is being used by Uried, so we haven't completely destroyed him yet. But if we kill Uried, then that energy will disappear along with him," I said. Snow smiled, turning to the sphere and saying "So all we have to do is beat him, and the last of Orphan will be gone?" My eye widened, and I said "You're not seriously thinking of taking him on, are you?" "Why not? He's just one more enemy to take down," Fang said. I shook my head. "That's just the thing; Uried is not just another enemy. He is literally made of chaos, and that same power makes him stronger than any single living being in existence."

Lightning looked at me. "You're right, he's stronger than any single being." She smiled. "But there are eight of us here, not one. We can win this," she told me. I was about to argue, but I saw the conviction in her eyes and stopped. She was right; we would win this. Just like everything else. I smiled and walked forward, drawing Indomitus. "You're right guys, we can take him." I looked back. "Let's do this," I said, and they all nodded. Uried's laughed ran through the air, and suddenly the sphere of mist burst outwards, enveloping us all and blinding us.

When it faded we saw that we were still in the same place as before, only different. The floor and walls were now black, adorned with the Eyes of Etro while a single huge one was on the floor. But rather than gold and seemingly divine, these ones were purple, and filled with malevolent power. The pool of water and the throne had disappeared, and the spinning gears around the edge had turned off-white. The sphere of mist was still there, but it faded to reveal Uried, in his true form.

Uried was huge, easily as tall as Snow and even wider in frame. Every inch of him was muscle, and what of his skin could be seen was white as a bleached-bone. His hair was spiky like mine, but the color of silver and gleaming in the light. His face was all planes and angles, with a sharply define chin, and the same said for his nose and ears. His eyes were the color of rubies and slitted like a snakes, while two of his teeth tapered into a pair of thin, two-inch long ivory fangs. He was wearing a armor like the kind Lightning wore in XIII-2, only it had no shield, was black as night and adorned with lines of silver, the finger of the gloves forming metal claws. Uried raised his hand and summoned his sword Calamity. It was like a Japanese katana, only straight, six feet long and serrated on one edge.

Uried laughed once again, the sound echoing off the walls until he stopped and looked at us. "Oh, I never expected having my own body to feel so good. Tell me Deiru, does having flesh always fell this great?" he asked. I glared at him, saying "Some times aren't as good as others, Uried." He mock-frowned. "Are you still mad about the times I tried to emerge? I only wished to have my own physical body, anyone else's would have worked just as fine," he said, smiling sadistically. My rage grew and I gripped Indomitus tighter. "You are sick," I declared, enunciating each word. He chuckled. "I am chaos made flesh; you would always see me as evil." Then his smile faded and he moved into a battle pose. "Any last words before you die?"

Now it was my turn to smile. "Just one: Die," I said, and charged forward. For some reason I heard "Guardando nel Buio" from Kingdom Hearts playing, but I was too focused on fighting Uried to care. Sazh and Hope cast buffs on everyone while Vanille and Fang cast debuffs, and I used Libra. I learned Uried was immune to all status ailments, with the exception of Slow, Imperil, and Deprotect. I told them that, and they switched to casting just those spells. "Face my power!" he called, bestowing himself with Bravery, Faith and Vigilance. Sazh switched to casting Dispel, trying to get rid of those buffs.

Uried chuckled and ran forward, slashing with Calamity at Lightning. She blocked the move, already having been acquainted with Uried's savage fighting style. He pulled back and cast a volley of Dark Fires, and she had to move to the side to avoid the blows. Fang cast Ruin and he dodged, swinging at her. Even though they were more than a few feet apart the length of his sword cleared the distance, and Fang grunted in surprise as she had to block. Snow called "Hey, take me on!" and used Mediguard. Uried glared at him and did so, casting Black Blizzara and moving forward.

The shards of black ice exploded around Snow, dealing damage despite his Mediguard, and when Uried jumped up he slammed his sword down against Snow's arm, dragging it so the serrated edge would inflict extra damage. I cast Bravery on myself and ran forward, slashing at him. He jumped back at the last second and cast Dispel, but Sazh did the same and we both lost our Bravery status. Uried jumped at Sazh and cast Toxic Aero, inflicting Sazh with Poison. Vanille used Esuna to heal him, but then he did the same to her and she had to stay in medic. Hope cast Firaga, and Uried was engulfed in the blast. Once the blast faded we saw that the tips of his hair were singed and there were a few streaks on his armor, but not much else.

He growled and held up his sword. "Foolish boy, take this! Decaying Ruin!" he called. His sword shimmered and he pointed it at Hope, where it fired a barrage of energy blasts. They sent Hope into the air, where Uried jumped up and smiled at him, before flipping and slamming the back of his boot into Hope's back, directly on the spine. Hope shot down and crashed into the ground hard enough to break his arm. Uried smirked at the sound of it. He stood and cast Curaja, healing himself and some of our other injuries. "You're done!" Lightning called, bringing out her eidolith to summon Odin.

"Oh?" he asked, before flinging his hand out and calling "Take this! Bloodlust!" A red orb fired from his hand and hit her straight in the chest, and Lightning went rigid for a second. Her eyes glowed red, and she bared her teeth angrily before calling "You bastard!" and charging forward. He blocked her easily, and I could see the smugness in his eyes after causing her anger. "Uried!" I called, running forward and attacking. He blocked me as well, and I demanded "What did you do to her?!" "You like my Bloodlust spell? The move bestows the victim with Bravery and Faith, but also casts Fog and disables the use of items or role shifts, forcing them to attack and only attack. And of course the spell makes them too furious to care," he added.

As if in agreement Lightning charged her blade to gun form and began firing like there was no tomorrow, glaring in pure rage all the while. Uried pushed me back and moved at blinding speed, deflecting each of the bullets and casting Hell Thundaga. The purple and black bolts hit her dead-on, inflicting both Slow and Poison. But Lightning didn't stop, still trying to attack even though her movements were impaired. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, saying "Lightning! Snap out of it!" She glared at me, her eyes now the same red as Uried's, and swung her arm to punch me away. Luckily she was still inflicted with Slow, and I dodged.

But when I did I let her get past, and she ran for Uried. He laughed at her furious attack and blocked them, kicking her legs out from under her. Stubbornly she tried to get up, and he laughed. "I'll enjoy seeing your face when I kill you, so here," he said, and cast Esuna. The red faded from her eyes, leaving them their usual aqua-blue, and she gasped. Uried turned his sword over in his hands and was about to stab her when Fang cast Ruinga, forcing him to jump back to avoid the assault. I helped Lightning up and asked "You okay?" She nodded, before glaring at Uried in actual anger this time, not an artificial fury he forced on her. "Time for him to die," she said, and I smiled. There was the old Lightning. As one we ran forward and Fang smiled as she made room, still attacking with her spear. Uried blocked her movements easily, but with all three of us together he had to work harder to avoid being damaged.

Snow jumped above us and yelled "Hello down there!" before casting Blizzaga. The ice shards exploded outwards right in the middle of us, and while we were safe the same couldn't be said for Uried. He yelled in pain as one of the spikes pierced his armor and shoulder, and he gripped the spike before forcing himself of it, the tip red with blood. He glared at us and held up his sword, calling "You've sealed your fate! Otherworld Ultima!" Chaotic energy swirled around us before it exploded, the blast powerful enough to send us to our knees. I held up my hand and called "Salvation!" Milky white light enveloped us, before we were completely healed.

I swayed around dizzily, the price for my Salvation spell, while the others attacked. Vanille tried to use Death but failed, so she instead cast Quake. Pillars of earth shot out of the ground and Uried had to jump, barely avoiding being hit by one. I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs, and drank an Elixir. The drink completely healed me and cleared my head, and I joined the others in attacking. Sazh cast Imperil and Aeroga, and the first spell ensured that Uried was tossed into the air by the second. Uried shouted as he was thrown against the wall, but he landed on his feet and growled ferally.

"So that's how want to it? Then taste my Magma Quake!" he yelled, stabbing Calamity into the ground. The ground shook and pillars of earth erupted, but along with them were geysers of burning lava. One drop landed on my arm and I hissed, the intense heat searing the skin it landed on. The others made similar, but only partly successful, attempts to dodge, burnt on various part so their body. Uried grinned as he watched and although pillars kept erupting I charged at him, swinging down. He blocked and our swords locked, my face inches from his. "Why are you doing this Uried? You have your body, what more do you want?" I asked. He laughed. "Why, nothing less than the complete disintegration of this world.

"With your deaths I shall force open the Gate of the Goddess, allowing the chaos of Valhalla to flood through. When it merges with this world and destroys it, all realty will dissolve into pure chaos, unending and ever-changing for eternity. And I, a physical manifestation of chaos, will rule of this world until the Day of Judgment when bells toll and trumpets sound. You ask what I want? I desire this entire world, and all its inhabitants brought to their knees before me," he told me. My lip curled in disgust and I pushed harder, matching his strength ounce for ounce. "I hate to break it to you, but that's not going to happen!" I said.

He raised an eyebrow and asked "And why would that be? Time will eventually end, one way or another. I'm simply making it happen sooner." "You seem to be forgetting one crucial detail: We are l'Cie. We've defied fate before, and we will do it again!" called, shoving hard enough to send him back. He staggered for a second, but looked at me gloatingly. "Is that so? Then let me give you a challenge you cannot win!" He held his sword in both hands, pointing it up and calling "Chaos Unleashed!" His body was enveloped in darkness, and I could feel his power amplifying. The top half of his armor shattered, and a pair of smoky wings sprouted from his back, crackling with red lightning.

He rose into the air and called "Dark Firaga!" sending a black orb of flame at us. It exploded and we braced ourselves, the flames burning our clothes and skin and also inflicting Deshell and Imperil. Vanille, Hope and Lightning hurriedly began casting Esuna, while Uried flew down and slammed his sword against the ground, sending a wave of energy at Sazh. He tried to dodge, but a combination of exhaustion, old age and just plain bad luck didn't let him, and the wave exploded in front of him, sending Sazh back into the wall. Uried laughed as he fell to the ground, turning and casting Black Blizzaga at Vanille and Fang. Fang used her Steelguard while Vanille jumped to the side, barely evading the spell.

Now that he was in the air Snow had to jump up and attack, which proved to be a problem when Uried gave him an uppercut to the stomach before kicking him back down. "Give it up, no one can hope to defeat me," he said. I tried to jump up and attack him but he knocked Indomitus aside, punching me in the jaw hard enough to send me flying. I landed on my back, quickly standing, but I was exhausted. We had fought three powerful enemies prior to this, and Uried was proving the most difficult of them all. And he was nowhere near as tired as we are. I began to lose hope.

Then Lightning shouted in pain as she was hit in the stomach, falling to the ground next to me. Seeing the love of my life knocked down filled me with rage, and my rage gave me strength. I glared at Uried, and called "That's what you think. But we refuse to lose!" running forward. I jumped up and slashed, but this time I dodged the attack from Calamity and slammed the flat of my blade against his chest, sending him down to the ground and knocking his sword out of his hands. I called "Everyone, your ultimate moves! Now!"

They all nodded and Vanille cast Death, the black mist exploding and knocking him off balance. Hope cast Last Resort, and the orbs of magic turning to lances that punctured and went through his body from several different directions. Sofia cast Elemental Storm, the explosion sending him back until he crashed into the wall. He stood just in time to be hit by Snow's Sovereign Fist, catapulting him into the air where Fang was waiting. She stabbed her spear into his chest and unleashed Highwind, making him crash back into the ground along with the resultant explosion.

Lightning unleashed Army of One, kicking and slashing at him in a flurry of blows so quickly I could barely follow her movements, until she kicked him in the jaw, snapping his mouth shut and forcing his head back so far his back arched. Sazh fired Cold Blood, the flaming bullets creating a dozen holes in his torso and causing him to double over. While still in the air I caught Calamity, placing my sword and his together. The two swords fused into one and Indomitus regained its full power, and I called "It's over, Uried!" I spun in the air, charging power until I called "LUNAR BLADE!" and threw my sword at him. He looked up in time to see it coming, but was too disoriented to dodge, and the blade pierced his chest, part of it going through the back.

Uried looked at the sword in his chest, but then it began to glow and cracks appeared on his skin, starting around the sword and spreading outwards. "No, no!" he said, grabbing Indomitus. He yelled in pain, pulling his hands back. The skin on his palms on fingers were gone, burnt off from touching the blade. The cracks continued spreading, a brilliant white light shining through them. He clawed at his skin, futilely trying to remove them but only making it worse. "No... No..." he said, holding his head in his hands as the cracks reached his face. Just before he died, Uried reared his head back and screamed "NOOOOOO!" Then the light flared and Uried's body exploded, dissolving into particles that were burnt out of existence. We watched as my sword clattered to the ground, and behind Uried I could see even more light spilling forth.

The Gate of the Goddess was opening.

xxx

Well, there was the entire plot twist I was talking about... or was it? Because the ending is still to take place, and I have one more thing to add in! So stayed tuned for it!

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?)