Okay, but like, why are there so many different dialogue options for the Bresha Ruins? I'm not talking about live triggers, I'm talking about the dialogue that happens when you're just running past people. I've played this game so many times that I know there are different sentences said depending on weather Noel or Serah is in your party, but also depending on which path you choose right after you see the first gate — whether you choose to go underground into the first tunnel, or whether you continue onwards aboveground and take the short path — Alyssa's line changes when she mentions wanting to find a graveyard.
I wish I could just have access to the code of this game to extract all of the dialogue as well as the conditions required to trigger them, dammit. This is probably why I held off on starting this story for so long after Hidden Origins was finished.
Not to mention the fact that I want to include mentions of every monster you can encounter in a certain area. Thanks to the 13 series in general having a limited but diverse variety of monster types, it's a feasible task, but that also means I have to remember to research the rare monsters that won't show up in a first playthrough before you have the ability to make rare encounters more frequent. Then, there are monsters that only show up in a specific area and are rare, which means I have to look up every monster in a certain area in a certain timeline or otherwise just run around in circles myself until I've determined that I've found everything there is to find.
But, ya know, deep breaths. It's all gonna be fine. It's all cool. It's not like my PS3 is broken and I have to wait to set up a new PC to actually play the game myself rather than relying on online walkthroughs. It's fine.
Hey, so anyway, I love the music in this area. Enjoy!
"Potions, Phoenix Downs, Remedies — ooo Wound Potions!"
"Antidotes, Holy Water. Whoa, Painkillers and Mallets. Useful! Just 100 gil each…"
"Do not neglect Wax for Imperil."
"Ooo, and some accessories. Stamina boosters, defense boosters for both physical and magical, some warding…"
"Gysahl greens!"
"Thanks Miss Choco-lady!" Orlov called as they finally left the shop.
"Don't you think you guys went a little overboard?" Noel asked.
"No such thing!"
"We can't be too prepared for whatever we're facing out there — if not here, then wherever we end up next," Rufus agreed. "I prefer to be stocked whenever possible and only refill on what we need any time we do need to restock. And if nothing else, we have some extra stuff to sell back in an emergency."
"Well, guess that means there's no more room for delay!" Serah announced.
"Kupo!"
They made their way past the guard leading further into the ruins. Their ID badges easily got them through, and they started up a large staircase.
"Why did you offer to stop the giant?" Orlov asked. "Not that I'm not glad to help out people in need, but it seems like a bit of a detour."
"Because we can't let Atlas shut this place down," Noel explained. "We need to search the ruins. There might be other gates we can use."
"Like the gate to Valhalla?" Serah followed.
"Exactly. And how can I take you to Lightning without those handy-dandy portals?"
"Right. We'll do it your way."
At the top of the steps, the terrain became uneven. The stone grounds that might've once been flat were now upended and jutting out at sharp angles. Jagged edges threatened to cut them if they took one wrong step — and there were many opportunities. It made for a lot of slippery slopes and huge puddles of water that were barely draining thanks to random nooks and crannies that the water could slip through.
Gideon stared down at his feet and then began hovering.
"Whoa." Orlov began clapping rapidly, almost at the same beat of the rain slamming down from all sides. "Nice job Gideon!"
He hovered over one of the steep ledges, but then stumbled as if he had tripped on something in the air. His foot had gotten caught on a branch from one of the trees whose roots had been upended. It had looked like just another crack in the stone pavement.
He came crashing down onto Orlov, who rushed to catch him, and then Rufus, who had rushed to catch them both.
"I got'cha!" he announced, somehow able to lift both their weights. Then again, Orlov seemed to weigh barely anything. "Better be more careful, but you got this Gideon!"
He nodded, regaining his footing.
Noel helped Serah climb down one of the stones as they hopped over a large puddle that had pooled at the base of it.
"Not a good place for heels, I admit," Mira said, "but if a woman can survive in terrain like this, she can do anything."
"What about with ice?" Noel asked.
She frowned. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"
The ground shook from a distortion in the air. Monsters were starting to appear sometimes out of nowhere thanks to the whole distortion thing. Luckily, these ones gave plenty of notice.
"Uh-oh. Monsters!" Orlov cried. "Aw, look at how cute and tiny they are…"
"Is that a cat in a pot?"
"Floating cat in a pot."
Gideon tapped his glasses. "A Cait Sith. Capable of weak attacks as well as healing spells. High defense. Stagger threshold is approximately 150% with a weakness to lightning and wind."
"A walking, talking bestiary, love it!" Rufus slapped Gideon on the back, nearly knocking him over thanks to his greater strength, and dashed past to summon his swords and attack.
While Rufus wasn't that good at casting regular spells, he was decent at infusing spells into his weapons for -strike abilities, so he went in with some Sparkstrike attacks.
"What's that other thing?" Noel called.
"A Zwerg Scandroid. Higher chain resistance, 200% stagger threshold. Not native to this area or timeline. Artificial military machine, weakness is being launched. Specializes in spellcasting and spell-strikes."
He chuckled. "No problem!"
The two monsters were little challenge to take out, even if the group was still adjusting to their team dynamic.
When the two creatures disappeared, both of them left behind shimmering white crystals that glowed like stars in the stormy day.
"Whoa, pretty…" Orlov muttered.
"What? The monster turned to crystal!" Serah exclaimed.
"Servant of time. Daughter of chaos. Unto the world unseen, the untamed you guide."
Orlov's head moved back and forth in confusion at the new little voice.
Noel reached over and tapped Mog in the back of the head, causing him to squirm and drop his head forward like he'd been knocked off balance in the air. "Huh. Whaddya know? It talks."
They gasped. "Moggy Mog Mogster, you can talk?!" Orlov snatched Mog in a tight hug, causing the moogle to squirm in a panic. "That's so cute!"
"Kupo, kupo!"
"Wait, what do you mean? 'Guide the untamed'?" Serah repeated.
Orlov let Mog finally slip free so he could dash back over to Serah. "Your power over monsters, kupo."
"Over monsters?"
Mog nodded.
Noel's arms slid into a thinking position, arm across his torso, elbow resting upon his hand, and the other tapping his chin. "Now that you mention it, Lightning had monsters fighting with her in battle."
"You can do the same, kupo."
Serah nodded. "Okay. This power, can you show me how it works? I want to learn how to protect myself. Might as well start now."
Mog spun in an excited circle. "Kupo!"
Gideon grabbed the crystal and handed it over to Serah. The crystal disappeared the moment she touched it. "What the —?"
"Don't worry, kupo! It has been stored in your heart and will be called upon when you are in distress and in need, kupo."
"It appears you can capture one of most monsters you encounter, to varying degrees of success," Gideon explained. "You may hold three at your immediate command in any given battle, but if you wish to switch out those three, you cannot be in combat."
"I've gotta be focused and not in a stressful situation. I get that."
"While only one may be on the battlefield at a time, you may switch between the three of them. Each monster can only fulfill one role, so your current monster will be able to fill three roles at most. Cait Sith, for example, is a Medic, and your Zwerg Scandroid is a Ravager."
"That makes sense."
"Feral Link information available. Would you like to proceed?"
"What's that?"
"Proceed," Noel replied.
"Understood. Mira, please stand in a Sentinel target."
She was pulling her wet hair up into a pony. "Hm? Oh, okay." She moved out into the open and took up a defensive Steelguard. "Whenever you're ready."
"Summon your Cait Sith," Gideon went on.
Serah concentrated and the crystal appeared once more before forming the Cait Sith around it in a small flash of light. It had a new glowing aura around it, and a summoning ring beneath it to mark it as under her control so that they didn't confuse it with a similar enemy.
"Whoa, I did it! Hey, buddy!"
The cat meowed back in response.
"All three monsters will charge a Feral Link in response to your bond with them in combat," Gideon explained. "Once the Link is full — and it will fill for both your current monster and your two supports — you need only connect with them and focus your energy into their ability."
"So I have to be focused in order to make sure their ability goes off smoothly?"
"Yes. You may need protection from your allies while you engage in a Feral Link. However, should you properly execute the technique, your current monster will perform an ability unique to them. Often monsters of a similar species will have similar Feral Links, but that is not always the case."
"Wow! How do you know all this, Gideon?" Orlov asked.
He tilted his head, his threads pulsing as he thought. "The data appears to have been automatically inserted within my archives."
Noel frowned. "I wonder if Lightning put in there, or maybe Rei and the other fal'Cie. Or…it could be something else trying to guide us along."
"Oh, you're so skeptical, Noel," Orlov grumbled.
"Hey, guys?" Mira called. "You gonna try it out or what?"
"Yes," Gideon said, "do attempt it. Your Cait Sith is ready. It has an offensive Feral Link, but there will be both offensive and defensive abilities, such as healing and granting positive status effects instantaneously."
"Cool!"
Serah took up a battle stance and stared intently at her Cait Sith. "Kitty Clock! Go!"
The Cait Sith screeched and jumped free of its pot. Serah had to remain concentrated on the monster while it attacked, but the Cait Sith jumped up, flipping its pot while still managing to remain balanced in the air, and then lashed out with a series of rapid scratches, ending in one final blow before it hopped back into its home.
"Ha! It worked!"
"Your focus is key. While you can improve at each specific ally's Feral Link, if you lose concentration, it's always possible to fail. However, killing an enemy with a successful and accurate Feral Link may increase the chances of taming them, so do keep that in mind."
"Wow." Serah dismissed her Cait Sith. "What an interesting power. I'll have to practice."
Gideon held up his hand to reveal a data screen. "You can strengthen them with monster parts, and each monster comes with unique abilities such as the Cait Sith being Hexproof and the Zwerg Scandroid being Thunderproof. Though, your Cat Sith is also a Late Bloomer in the growth category, so it appears it will take a great deal of work to fully level it, and there will be many more monsters to come, so you will soon have to choose who to invest in and strengthen to their peak. There is also a difference between artificial monsters and natural monsters, and you can prioritize strength, magic, or vitality — or all three."
"Yes, yes, but let's get to the important part!" Orlov exclaimed. "Can we dress them up with Adornments?"
As they were heading up another long set of stairs, half of which was covered in the fallen debris of the ancient ruins, the ground began to shake again with the stomps of a giant.
"Kupo!"
"It's here?"
"Look out!"
The giant's arm smashed through the pillars above, sending giant chunks of rubble flying. Mira, Rufus, and Noel threw the others behind them in Sentinel mode to block the debris, but then the rubble vanished completely, along with Atlas's arm.
"Stay back!"
"Hey, isn't that…Sai?" Serah exclaimed.
It was indeed him, standing unaffected by the rain on the midpoint of the stairs. It took him a moment to find them standing behind him, but when they did, he could clearly see them so he wasn't some illusion… "Oh, so this is where it's overlap —"
He vanished in a flash just like the giant and the debris did.
"Wait!" Serah stepped through the spot where he'd disappeared, but he was gone. She sighed. "What just happened?"
"Hm…" Noel turned to her. "Looks like…we're getting overlap from another reality. Atlas has disappeared into another world, or…another time, I guess. Sai must be there fighting Atlas in that time period."
A small wave of screeches rang out, causing Orlov to cover their ears.
"Nektons!" Serah recognized. The small blue bug creatures had formed and swooped in to attack.
Luckily, they weren't too difficult to dispatch together, being relatively weak overall. They were joined, however, by a pack of Gremlins. The little bird-type creatures were decent at casting spells, and they always came in large packs.
"Hey! Got a Gremlin crystal!" Serah exclaimed. "Another Ravager. Frostproof. Nice."
"Those were Void monsters," Rufus muttered. "Guess if we needed any more proof that time is being tampered with here…"
"If Atlas keeps popping up, that means Rei and Sai are going to be fading into this reality as well," Mira guessed. "If we can find a way to coordinate our attacks and keep Atlas in one place, we might be able to take it down."
"Guess that means we need to search the ruins for a good spot." Noel crossed his arms. "Someone a little more open, somewhere where Atlas is stuck in permanently and won't keep phasing in and out."
"Guess that means we just follow the trail of Atlas parts jumping across the timeline," Rufus shrugged.
They headed down a path, but found it was covered by debris and blocked off.
Serah pulled out her communicator. "Hey, Alyssa, is there any way you guys can open up some of these blocked paths?"
"Unfortunately, what you see is what you get. We're sifting through the ruins to see what hidden technologies we can dig up. Since the fal'Cie lost their power, human science is all we have left to rely on. We've relied on the fal'Cie for so long that human technology is basically whatever we can scramble together from the remains of Cocoon tech."
"Guess we head the other way and hope for the best. Let's see if we can find something deeper into the ruins. Gideon, the map?"
After doubling back and searching around, they came across another occupied area where the Academy soldiers were set up. And in the dark night, it was easy to see why they had stopped here.
"Another gate, huh? Figures," Noel sighed. "Looks like that one's a sun gate."
"And we need an artefact to open it, right?" Serah frowned. "We might have to search across the ruins for them."
"Right. The 'key' is something that doesn't belong in this time." They approached the new gate. The metal didn't even seem wet in the rain. "Can't activate the portal without the 'key'. First we have to figure out what opens this gate."
"Wouldn't Atlas be the key?" Rufus suggested.
"Bingo. I heard legends that people from centuries past were responsible for building him. But that was in my past. It's still years ahead of this present. My guess is that he's a weapon from your future."
"So Atlas definitely doesn't belong in this time. If we can stop him, then maybe we'll find the artefact we need."
"Maybe. It's worth a shot at least."
"We can't exactly leave it just stumbling about like this," Mira pointed out.
Rufus sighed. "Something that doesn't belong in this time…sounds like us."
"I wish it were that simple," Noel smiled. "It would save us the trouble of searching."
Orlov tapped their chin. "Something that shouldn't exist…someone that shouldn't exist. What about Mog?!"
"Kupokupokupo!"
"Your thought process shouldn't exist…" Noel sighed.
"You think it's gonna look like the thing we used last time?" Serah asked.
"Not exactly like it, no. I think each gate uses a different key. There might be similarities in size or material though."
"So we should at least be looking for another crystal, though we aren't sure what form it will take…"
Mira attempted to wring out her wet hair. "Hmm…what about Alyssa?"
Their communicators beeped. "Hey…you should take this more seriously."
Noel gave a sly grin. "Hehe, she's keeping tabs on us."
"Lots of unfamiliar monsters emerge in this area. The more information we can gather, the better our chances of saving our men."
"Are there any other monsters that have appeared in the area?" Gideon questioned. "We can exchange data if you are interested."
"You know anything about what's happening around here?" Orlov asked another man.
"Scholars believe the paradox is a natural phenomenon, but I think it was created by man. That glowing thing has to be a weapon sent here by someone."
"Exploring, are we? Might wanna be careful in here. Someone spotted a Cie'th in one of the tunnels, deeper in the ruins."
Rufus frowned. "A Cie'th? You're sure…?"
"I'm Chester. And yeah, we've got multiple reports about it. We haven't seen a Cie'th on Cocoon for several years now. There's definitely something spooky going on here. I hope someone takes care of it soon…"
"We'll take care of it. Don't worry."
"You think you can handle one of those monsters?! Maybe you should just leave it to the soldiers."
"I've faced some strong Cie'th before, don't worry.
"Cie'th are shambling monsters created by the fal'Cie, right? It just creeps me out. A creature like that shouldn't even be here. With the paradox effect thrown in, there's no telling what it's capable of. Watch your step, and be ready for anything."
"Uh, excuse me —" Mira began.
"Sorry, I can't deal with you right now. I'm in the middle of a crisis here."
"Oh?" The soldier had different armor from the others, and markings that seemed to denote him a captain. "What's happening?"
"One of my men lost an experimental drug that our unit was testing. It's a reaction-enhancing substance. The kind of thing that civilians shouldn't be playing around with. If the substance was stolen, there's no telling where it will end up. We have to retrieve it immediately."
"I'm General Mira of the investigative unit under code 46321. I have the authority necessary to help you investigate the matter."
"You'll help us search for the capsules? We could certainly use an extra hand or two."
"How much of the drug is lost?"
"We're missing two capsules. They look just like ordinary medicine, but they'll have this code on the bottle. If you find them, bring them directly to me."
"Kupopo!"
"What is it, Mog?" Serah hurried after the moogle, whose bobble was glowing just like it had in New Bodhum when Mog had thought he'd sensed something important. She approached a soldier who was searching around the area where Mog had begun searching himself. "What's going on here?"
"We had some supply stations around here — then they sorta…disappeared. Probably another paradox side effect."
"Leave it to me, kupo!"
"Interesting…so there are smaller objects that are simply out of phase with the current timeline," Gideon explained.
Serah's eyes widened. "So you can dispel the paradox effect, Mog?"
"In the immediate vicinity, kupo! Just give the word, kupo."
"Okay then! Go, Mog!" Serah waved her hand to urge Mog on.
"Kupo!" the moogle giggled, dancing in the air and summoning an aura of some sort of time flux with clock hands. It built up with a blue aura, then thickened to red, then it all coalesced into Mog who did a twirl in the air. The aura exploded out in all directions, temporarily turning the air itself into whatever flux Mog had summoned.
When the new Mog aura touched a translucent object with a strange, shimmering aura, it flashed and was sucked inside. The object absorbed whatever Mog had shot out and then reformed into a solid object.
"Whoa! Cool!" Orlov grabbed the now-tangible object, which was some sort of spiky crystal.
"Is that a Fragment?" Noel asked.
"No, it…it looks like a Wild Artefact!"
"Really? So now we can open a crystal gate if we ever come across one."
"Collectables! Score!"
The other soldiers had gathered around the area, both confused, slightly scared, but amazed. Mog also seemed to have found their supplies that had gone missing.
"We should probably get out of here before we draw too much attention," Noel said.
"Let's."
Gideon held up his map of the ruins. "There appears to be a path down into the underground area, or we can continue along this path above here."
"Maybe we can split up," Orlov said. "I like the rain."
"The path appears to loop back upon itself. We will be traveling a longer distance underground and emerge further down this straight away."
One of the guards at the exit to the area eagerly approached them. "Oh, visitors? Can I help you with something? Why are you here? How are you doing? Is there anything you need?"
"N-No, we're okay!" Serah stuttered. "Thank you for asking…"
"Well, now she's all flustered," Noel chastised. "Nice going, buddy."
"I'm terribly sorry. I couldn't be more apologetic. I've been told, I can be quite nosy. No, I know it may seem hard to believe, but all my men tease me about being a busybody."
Orlov frowned. "Oh, um, you seem really nice —"
"Lov!" Rufus called.
"Right! Sorry, gotta go!"
"What an odd man," Noel sighed.
"Cheerful, for the military, but at least he seems nice," Mira said. "Hey, Mog! I think I found something! Mind lending me that moogle-finding ability?"
"Go, Mog!" Serah gave the activation gesture (it was just a wave) and Mog did his little ritual dance and swept the area with light. When the distortion resolved, Mira knelt to pick up a small item.
"What's that?" Orlov asked.
"A medicine capsule. The Captain back there was looking for a couple of these." She slipped the Capsule into the bag on her hip. "One more to go."
Gideon held up his map to Rufus. "The Cie'th you are looking to hunt appears to be located here within the underground ruins."
"Nowhere near where we are now…"
"Still, there does appear to be a marker of interest down in these ruins based on the data provided to me."
"So are we going down there or not?" Orlov grumbled.
After facing two tough Uridimmu with their Virulent Breath that inflicted Poison (Serah captured the Uridimmu as a new Commando), a variation of the Gremlins called a Garchimacera, and then a gathering of Meonektons and Nektons (Serah managed to get the larger Meonekton but not the smaller Nekton), they eventually decided to head down into the ruins.
"I think there may be a cemetery somewhere in the ruins. I mean, there used to be a cemetery in the runs. But…now it's gone. If you come across any gravestones, let me know — please tell me if you think you've found it. It's driving me crazy. It scares me, but…I have to know."
"Looks like there are some dangerous mechanical monsters stored down here."
"Pulsework Knights and Hoplites," Rufus read off of Gideon's screen. "Those are old devices. Pulsian origin. Must've been left here during the War of Transgression and reawoken when the ruins got dug up."
Gideon twitched. "Communication device offline. We are far enough into the ruins."
Orlov sighed. "I don't like being all quiet about this!"
"It's a necessary precaution," Rufus assured them.
"So…about Alyssa," Serah said lightly. "You think we can trust her?"
Noel sighed. "It does kinda feel like she's using us, huh? But that's okay."
"You like being thrown around by others?" Mira asked.
"More like…I don't mind pulling my weight if it keeps others out of trouble." He paced over to the railing, where the platforms had been built over what appeared to be something close to the Lake part of Lake Bresha. "When I was a kid, I knew a guy around the same age. We didn't get along too well. He was always trying to…get me to do his share of the work. Then one day, he asked me to go hunting with him. I refused. I'd had enough of being bossed around."
Noel exhaled and turned away, continuing down the path.
"So…he ended up heading out alone. And that was the last time I saw him. If I had just sucked it up and gone hunting with him, he might still be alive."
"Noel…" Serah whispered.
"So…now…I just…do my best to help out. It's better than dealing with the alternative. That isn't fun. Anyway, uh, let's head down here. Maybe you'll find that Capsule thing you're looking for. Oh! Look! Right there."
Mira grabbed the abandoned Capsule and made sure it was the one she was looking for. "Yup…Noel —"
The communicator beeped as they came back into range of the device. "There's something I just have to make sure of. They can't seal off the runs. Not yet."
"Helping someone find what they're looking for…I don't mind that," Noel said lightly.
Orlov frowned, but they took the communicator and put it to their mouth. "Hey, Alyssa! We're back!"
"Oh! Good! I thought I'd lost you. Sorry this technology isn't the best. Honestly, we're working on such a shoestring budget. They're threatening to close the ruins when they're the ones who are still dealing with threats the same way as always — running away and never taking responsibility. The government didn't learn anything from the Purge…"
Orlov reached up and summoned the moss hanging from above. "This place is vast. What a beautiful underground. Look at this lake!"
"These ruins appeared to be a large city that became uninhabitable after the War of Transgression," Gideon supplied.
"Marvelous…"
"Hey, there's a gate over the waterway." Mira pointed to some more metal paths a short distance away. "Looks like a crystal gate! And we picked up a Wild Artefact earlier. I wonder if we can get over there."
"I could fly you over in a couple trips," Rufus offered.
"If there's scaffolding over there, it means we can probably get there on foot," Serah reasoned.
Gideon opened his map. "It seems we can reach that area from back at the camp we arrived in. In fact, it seems our temporary holding cell leads to a gate where we can go into that area. However, there is a report that the key to the back end of the holding cell has been lost."
Orlov shrugged. "So if we wanna get over there, we'll help them find the key. Easy."
"Bit of a trip back to camp though," Mira pointed out.
"For now, how about we focus on that gate right there?" Noel suggested.
A glowing sun gate stood a short distance from where they were standing.
"Another gate," Serah mused as they approached. "Are these all linked to different time periods?"
"If that's true, the timelines must be pretty tangled," Rufus sighed. "Hey, Alyssa? When did these portals first appear?"
The line crackled to life. "Well, no one can say for sure. It's like they'd always been there, and one day we finally noticed."
"Not exactly a meteor falling out of the sky," Mira pointed out.
"But they still took everyone by surprise," Noel said. "Either that or someone's been hiding them…"
"What are these gates anyway?" Serah wondered. "They look like some sort of device. The design seems too deliberate to be natural."
"That's one of our theories. Like, maybe there's a fal'Cie we don't know about who built these gates as a way to invade Cocoon."
"What does the Academy make of all this?"
"Everyone has their own opinions on this particular subject. Are they portals to another world? Or just basic teleporters. We know they have a powerful warping effect on the surrounding area's temporal stability."
"But what do you think the gates are, Alyssa?" Serah pressed.
"They're portals," she said confidently. "And they lead to a different spacetime. That's my theory. Also, they scare me. Somewhere beyond those gates is a truth that I don't think I want to know…"
Rufus frowned and lowered his voice. "The meteor back in New Bodhum came here from Valhalla, and Valhalla is where the chaos first leaked out to drag Charon away, right? My guess is that they are naturally-occurring gates, but they're being used for a new purpose."
"You mean that they were always here, invisible in a way, to serve some purpose, but now because of all the spacetime warping, they're now being used for a new function…like…traveling the timeline?" Mira followed.
"They're Time Gates," Gideon announced. "Portals connected to different times." He seemed confused by all the speculation.
"You seem awfully sure of yourself. Maybe you came from a different time period, huh?"
Orlov slid their hand over Gideon's mouth and shook their head. Gideon at least had the wisdom to stay quiet.
"Well, they're definitely causing the paradox effect," Noel announced loudly. "I've seen the warping energy pouring out of them."
"Perhaps you're right. But maybe the opposite's true. Maybe that energy caused the gates to appear."
"That lines up," Serah agreed. "So they were once invisible or something, used for another passive purpose that we never noticed, but when the warping energy and distortions started occurring, it caused them to become visible and serve a new purpose."
"But they're portal things that are useful as heck!" Orlov exclaimed. "You can travel to the past or the future, as easy as walking through a door."
"A door with a bit of a complicated lock," Mira grumbled.
"I'm not sure I can tell if you're being serious or not…"
Gideon shook free of Orlov. "It appears the gate was the only marker of interest in this area of the ruins."
"If a gate leads to another reality, does that mean there's another 'me' somewhere in that world? I think about it sometimes. I mean, maybe I don't really exist, and I'm just a character in the 'real' me's dream."
They headed down the remaining path, leading back up to the surface down the same alley they had left into the ruins from, just like Gideon's map had said.
"Hey! Got the Nekton!" Serah announced.
Orlov placed their hands on their hips. "Now all we need are the Pulsework Knight and the Garm…Garch…"
"Garchimacera," Gideon corrected.
"So smart!"
"According to the Bestiary data, the Knight will be a very useful Sentinel."
"Might as well get stronger before we move on. We're gonna fight a giant and punch him in his big ol' face!"
"Kupo!"
A stone pillar was chucked through the sky and smashed into the area in front of the group, just as they came out of the ruins with a new Pulsework Knight and strength for all of them and Serah's monsters. The pillar vanished in an enormous void, dropping a figure from the rubble.
"Rei!"
Serah dashed over to help her stand. She was wearing her armor that she hadn't worn since the fall of Cocoon. While she looked a bit battered, she was as invincible as ever.
"Rei, what's happening?"
"We'll pin the giant down!" she said instead. "You find the device and —" She was sucked into a void and vanished just like the many other anomalies.
"Wait!"
"Pin the giant down?" Noel repeated.
"Um…over there maybe?" Orlov pointed around the corner.
"Kupooooo!"
"It's Atlas!" Mira cried.
The giant was there, fully formed, with a new layer of spells lining its body. It had a blue aura lining its whole body, with a red tinge to its head, shoulders, and horns. The flaming sections also seemed to appear on its forearms and ankles like armor. As the giant stood at full height, the red accents flared and the blue lighting down the rest of its body flashed.
The communicator device beeped and Alyssa's voice came through. "We've detected a large energy surge in the center of the ruins. Another unknown device has appeared!"
"The device," Rufus repeated. "Rei mentioned something like that."
"Did the device appear along with Atlas?" Serah speculated. "If Atlas is a weapon built by humans, they must've designed a way to stop it."
"And that machine showing up is no coincidence," Noel followed.
"Right!"
"Two choices. We try that new device and hope it controls Atlas, or…do it the old-fashioned way, and fight him head-on. No regrets, no looking back."
She shrugged. "Well, I'm all for living in the moment. I'm with you! No regrets! I'll leave it up to you."
"Wait a minute. Does that mean you trust me? Or you don't want to make that decision yourself?"
"Alyssa, what do you think?" Rufus asked.
"Even the army's having a hard time with Atlas. If you wanna take him on, be my guest…"
"I'm not so sure about this," Mira admitted.
"A little caution can go a long way," Noel agreed.
"What about you, Gideon?" Rufus asked.
"You desire my opinion?"
"Yeah."
He stared up at the giant. Even from far away, he towered over the ruins. "I have no opinions of my own that I wish to exert upon others…though I would indeed prefer to examine the device that has appeared. It is likely to have something to do with the paradox."
Noel tapped his head. "Right, let's check it out. You know, if we try to take out Atlas while the paradox is in effect, there's no telling what else may happen."
Orlov walked over to the moogle. "Hey, Mog. What do you think about all this?"
"Umm, I think…I like Serah more than I like Noel. Kupo!"
"Ouch," he said. "You know I have feelings, right?"
"Wah! A Dendrobium!" Orlov cried.
"This section of the ruins is said to have the target Cie'th as well as the device."
"Oh, hey! It's the Captain!" Mira grabbed the Capsules from her bag and hurried over.
"Yes, these are the capsules we lost. That's a load off. We should count our lucky stars they didn't make it to the black market. When we misplaced the substance, it set back our testing schedule. Now it looks like we have a chance to get back in the field. Thanks to you, we've avoided a lot of backlash. This isn't much, but please take it."
He handed over a small Fragment.
"Thank you. Glad to be of service."
"I see. You found the capsules in the ruins? Well, I guess that rules out theft, then."
"Try not to let your men lose them again."
"Don't need to tell me twice. Thanks again for your help."
"Yay! Now all we have to do is find the big bad Cie'th!"
Gideon held out his hand for the Fragment. "Unio Mystica."
"What's that mean?"
"Another language. And the Cie'th should be nearby. A Ghast."
"Those are the big ones," Rufus recalled. "Ready yourselves."
"Hm, so Cie'th are one type of monster I can't tame," Serah mumbled. "Not that I'd want to tame them. They're kinda scary."
"A Ghast Fragment! Neato."
"Pretty deep in the ruins," Rufus noted. "Poor thing must've gotten locked down here for centuries, waiting for someone to come and destroy it."
"I wonder how long a Cie'th has to wait…how long before it turns to stone," Mira sighed. "Or perhaps, that one was waiting for something, some vengeance or desire that kept it going. If a Cie'th was down here in the old ruins, that means it must've been left here since the War of Transgression."
Serah frowned. "Hey, Noel. Is Atlas used in some war that happens in the future?"
"Hmm, let me think… Yeah, I remember this."
"Are you forgetting stuff?"
"My…memories are unreliable. There are events I should remember, but my memory is hazy. Like I'm seeing them through fogged glass. But not this time. I remember this one. There was a war, hundreds of years before I was born. That's when Cocoon crashed into Pulse."
"Wait, you're not talking about what happened five years ago? That was the day my sister disappeared into the pillar."
"The day of Ragnarok is recorded as a separate event. The final fall of Cocoon happens much later."
"So when does that happen?"
"About halfway between your present and mine. So, not for centuries yet."
"But what happens to Cocoon's pillar?" Orlov asked. "What happens to your friends inside of it? And that much crystal can't just vanish."
"They say the pillar crumbled. In my age, there is nothing left but crystal sand."
"A pillar that big…there'd be crystal dust everywhere. It'd poison the waters, the air, across at least half of Gran Pulse, if not all of it."
"And that's the world I live in," Noel agreed. "Crystal dust everywhere, diseases from breathing in or drinking too much. It's hard to find pure water sources, and you can't avoid breathing in the air."
"So, wait, in the future, humans fight against each other, right?" Mira asked. "What started that war?"
"Hmm, let me think about it. As I recall… It was either believe in humanity, or believe in the fal'Cie. There were two schools of thought, and people fell into one or the other."
"So even in the future our people can't live in peace."
"After what happened with Barthandelus, people stopped relying on the fal'Cie," Serah pointed out. "He tried to bring down Cocoon three — er, well five — years ago. Who's to say relying on the fal'Cie again wouldn't lead to that kind of future?"
"But we're different," Orlov insisted.
Mira rested her hand on their shoulder. "Yes, but the world doesn't necessarily accept that. We're anomalies — even before we came to another dimension. Just like our Creators are anomalies of Etro."
Gideon frowned. "The giant ushers in the end days. Its name… is Atlas."
Serah nodded, as though she had expected Gideon to say that. "Atlas is the giant who brings down Cocoon then?"
Noel raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. It was common knowledge in the age I come from, but still…t-that is to say, there were many other giants made like Atlas, but Atlas specifically is the one said to have brought Cocoon down specifically."
"Many giants like that?" Orlov pulled their sari tighter around their shoulders. "You're joking…"
"You'll know when I'm telling a joke. Trust me."
"A war between giants…" Rufus tapped his lip. "No wonder the pillar fell. And it all started because humans became divided on fal'Cie…"
"It started as a normal war. Then, one side made giants. Instead of surrendering, the other side made their own giants, and soon, it grew beyond the people's ability to control."
"But…" Serah's eyes widened. "If Atlas is phasing into this reality, that means that if we send him back where he came from —"
"He'll be the one to destroy Cocoon," Noel agreed. "But then again, if we keep unraveling these knots in time, we might just be able to prevent Atlas and the other giants from ever being made in the first place."
"Besides, Rei and Sai are there!" Orlov reminded her. "If they're on the case, those giants won't stand a chance!"
Rufus smiled. "My mother would sooner wipe out every giant on the battlefield before she let them end the world."
"So chin up," Mira agreed. "We'll figure this out."
"If we travel to the future, maybe we can stop it," Serah agreed.
"Who could say what's possible?" Noel shrugged. "That could be the reason we're here in the first place."
"Weird machine. Must be it."
"Gideon, do you think you can figure it out?"
Orlov frowned down at the structure. It was just a column with a bunch of rocks sitting on it. They looked artificially cut, like diamonds, but they didn't seem to be doing anything. It certainly looked like some sort of interface, but it wasn't very user-friendly. There weren't even any buttons! "Looks all future-y."
"Well, Gideon is the most advanced tech I've ever seen," Rufus said.
"I accept your compliment," Gideon replied. He stepped up to the device and carefully lowered his hand onto the gem.
A quake rattled through the area, strong enough to knock them all off their feet.
"What the —?"
"I haven't activated anything," Gideon announced.
"Defense mechanism?" Orlov guessed, before they sneezed.
"Distortion!" Rufus shouted.
A wave of the warping effect swept over the ground beneath them like an oil spill, and before they could react, they were surrounded by it. The very air around them stretched and refracted the light and made it hard to see anything but the basic figures of their friends.
Noel rose to his feet and turned to help Serah up, but her gaze was locked on something high up behind him.
"Kupo!" Mog warned.
The enormous hand of Atlas rose out of the distorted portal and then slammed down upon them. Mog was the only one thrown out of the fray because he had been floating, but he quickly flew in after them. The hand clasping his friends faded into pure warping energy, and then eventually formed the shape of a rift.
The world went white, and then faded into emptiness.