Chapter 3

Where men fear to tread

Vanille couldn't breathe. Her cheek was pressed against cool stone, but that was all she could make out of her current situation. It was dark, her body was pressed against a stone wall, and her lungs couldn't draw in air. There was a peculiar pressure on her back, probably from the force pressing her against the stone. She tried to move but found that the weight atop her was too much. She managed to let out a soft groan and her eyelids fluttered open. That explained the darkness. She was met with the scene of a dimly lit room made entirely of stone.

She wriggled around a bit more freeing her left arm from under her torso. Forcing her body to move she propped herself up on her elbows and managed to twist around to see what the weight was, that was holding her down. It was the boy that she had been traveling with. He was unconscious draped over her back. A thin line of blood trickled down from his forehead.

It all came flooding back to her, the Purge, the train, the terrorists, and the bike they stole. Once the boy had control of the bike they nearly made it to the Vestige with no problems. Unfortunately they were spotted by PSICOM troops and shot. He lost control of the bike and they crashed into the side of the vestige.

She managed to twist herself free of the boy's weight and surveyed the surroundings. "That was close." She whispered. She grabbed the boy's shoulders and gently nudged him. He groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes. When he saw Vanille he immediately shot up and almost regretted it. A wave of nausea overcame him and he fought the urge to vomit. His head was throbbing. He placed his hand to his head and wondered where the familiar yet sickening coppery smell of blood was coming from.

"Your head…its…well..its bleeding" Vanille said softly

The boy removed his gloved hand from his forehead and saw the stains of blood. Fear shot across his green eyes.

"Hold on. I can clean that up" she replied as she took off the purge robe she was wearing and used the sleeve as a cloth. She dabbed the wound near his scalp and cleared away the blood. Luckily it wasn't deep. "It will be alright. Just let the blood dry."

He got a good look at her. Since she wore the robe, he could only make out her facial features and hair color. Now he saw that she wore a pink camisole and brightly colored orange skirts, both adorned with embroidery and beadwork like he had never seen before. Wrapped around her waist was a half skirt of what looked to be bear skin and she wore a pair of sensible and well worn boots. She looked like she had stepped from a tropical paradise.

The boy copied her action and removed his Purge robe as well. He wore a dark pair of pants and dark shirt. Over his shirt was a brightly colored orange and yellow jacket. Around his neck was a green bandana that matched his eyes. This was traditional Cocoon attire; Where as Vanille's outfit was not and was categorized as something slightly eccentric.

When both were feeling up to it, they stood up observing the area.

"Where is the…." Vanille began but her breath caught in her throat as she turned around. "Uh-oh"

Sitting in a pile of rubble and twisted beyond distinction was the bike they used to get here in the first place. They had crashed directly into and through the wall of the Vestige. The boy ran over to the bike and sighed. "Well, there's our ride out of here. Now what?"

She surveyed the area. The inside of the vestige looked like a labyrinth with twisting stairs and corridors that seemed to melt into one another. It was also very dim. Soft lights glimmered from the walls along the corridors but the mist inside the Vestige was so thick it made the room only barely lit. "Well, I guess its just us then?"

He snapped "Well what did you think? Even PSICOM soldiers know not to go near the fal'Cie. You become a Pulse l'Cie, and you're finished."

Vanille looked at him with slight confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean by finished exactly?"

The boy looked at her, astonished he was hearing this. Didn't this dumb girl know what life was like as a Pulse l'Cie? "What do you mean by that Miss…" but he stopped. He just realized he didn't even know his companion's name. He had been traveling all this way with her, and his mother risked her life to save this girl, and he didn't even know her name.

She smiled "Vanille"

"What?"

"My name" she said "what's yours?" she held out her hand to shake his.

He hesitated but obliged. "Hope. My name is Hope"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hope. Since we're here, why not have a look around?" Vanille suggested.

Hope looked horrified. "Why?"

"Because, we need to find a way out of here eventually don't we?" she replied. She ran off down a corridor. Hope struggled to keep up with her, but the dim rooms and swirling mists were making it very hard to keep her in his view.

"Hey check it out" Vanille called off in the distance. When he caught up with her he found her near an oddly shaped pillar. Vanille was behind it rifling through something. She emerged holding an intricate staff looking object. "What do you think?"

"What is it?" Hope questioned.

"It's a fishing rod silly" she replied nonchalantly. "I can use it as a weapon." She began to pose with her newfound toy and started swinging it around.

Hope stood with stupid look on his face as he watched her. She was far too cheerful. It seemed….odd…especially because of the predicament they were both in. He was beginning to regret chasing after Snow. Who cares if he never got to talk to him and confront him about his mother? At least he'd still be alive. Now he was beginning to question his future. Stay here too much longer and he was sure to become a Pulse l'Cie. "Why do you want to use it as a weapon?" he asked Vanille who was still happily twirling the rod around.

"PSICOM and the sanctum may not venture in here, but that doesn't mean that we won't run into any kinds of beasties and monsters in here. Plus, PSICOM troops won't come in here, but they can certainly send in their robotic toys to kill us without fear of becoming l'Cie themselves." She tossed him a yellow boomerang. "Will that work? It's the only thing in here that it looks like you can control."

Hope peaked around the pillar and saw that there was a door attached to the back and the inside was stuffed with weaponry. The pillar served as a kind of closet or miniature armory. "Um, yeah, a boomerang will work"

"Great" she cried.

Hope was trying to understand this girl's way of thinking, but he could come up with nothing more than the fact that she was crazy. "Aren't you scared?" he asked as she led the way through the twisted corridors.

She thought for a moment. "Um, no Not so much."

"You really don't get it do you?"

She turned abruptly with her hands on her hips. "I get it just fine! Pulse fal'Cie and their l'Cie are bad news. That's why the people of Cocoon want them kicked out. Live too close to the fal'Cie or come in contact with it's l'Cie and you've got yourself a one way ticket to Pulse. That is the Purge in a nutshell."

Hope nodded "yeah, but if they catch us in here, they'll for sure purge us to Pulse"

Vanille rolled her eyes. For the first time she looked irritated. "Dummy. We were on the Purge train. We are gonna get purged no matter what. At this rate, we'll be lucky if they purge us at all. I think they really just want to kill all of us. Everyone in Cocoon is so afraid of Pulse they will do anything to rid themselves of it."

"I would rather die than go to Pulse. Pulse is hell on earth." Hope spat. "At least if they kill me here, it would be quick and I could be with mom again. I don't want to have to go through the hell of Pulse before I die."

Vanille's eyes softened. She walked up to him and pulled him into her arms. "We'll be okay. Calm down."

He pushed away. Anger etched on his face. "Get off me" He was about to give her hell for touching him, when another voice cut through the air

"Serah! Can you hear me? Where are you?" It was Snow.

Hope looked around. He couldn't see Snow anywhere through the dim corridors. He sounded like he was on a higher level than they were. "Fine then…I'm coming for you Snow, and when I find you, I will tell you exactly how I feel…then I will kill you…like you killed my mother"

Lightning was exhausted. Her arms were burning in protest, but she continued to strike her sword against the door of the Vestige which was firmly sealed shut. The sound of metal scratching at stone filled the air giving Sazh the chills. He sat off to the side of the corridor that lead up to the doors of the Vestige and watched Lightning hack away at the door to no avail.

"Still won't budge?" he asked her.

Sweat was beginning to form on her brow and was threatening to drip into her eyes. "I don't see you helping" she thought silently but thought better of saying it. Though she still wasn't thrilled with her traveling companion, he did help her get this far and he did watch her back in the midst of combat.

"I think the door's winning" he replied trying to lighten the mood.

Lightning was about to snap on him when it occurred to her that maybe slashing away at the door was not the best way to trick the fal'Cie into letting her in. She was there to persuade it, not to anger it. "Why didn't I listen" she said to no one in particular.

Sazh got up from the spot he was sitting on the floor. The chocobo chick in his head peered out curiously. "I beg your pardon?"

She ignored him and placed her hand to the door. Slowly she breathed in and let the memories flood back in her mind. She remembered how angry she was when Serah had told her that she was made a l'Cie by a fal'Cie sleeping deep within the Bodhum Vestige. Her own sister, a l'Cie! And as a member of the defense corps, it would be her responsibility to hand Serah over to the sanctum and PSICOM where they would no doubt have a public execution of the dangerous l'Cie. On top of that her sister told her that she was getting married to that arrogant hard headed idiot Snow. She was so angry she stormed out of the house telling Serah that she was going to have to turn her over to the sanctum for the good of Cocoon. "Its all my fault. If I had just listened and supported Serah, she wouldn't be trapped in here."

"I beg your pardon" Sazh whispered again.

Without warning Lightning's voice hardened. "Get back! And cover your ears."

Sazh's eyes widened. "You're gonna try a blast charge?"

Lightning glared at him.

"Wait! Hold on! Hold on!" He ran to the end of the corridor and fell to his knees. He placed his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut and yelled. "Okay! Go for it! Make it happen."

Lightning placed her hand to the door and activated her blast charge particle accelerator. "I'm so sorry. Please let me in." Surprisingly the door didn't explode with the force of the blast charge, but rather it began to glow. "Please" she pleaded again. She wasn't sure if she was speaking more to her sister who was somewhere inside, or to the fal'Cie that was keeping her prisoner.

With a sudden jolt of energy the lights in the corridor they were standing in burst with energy. Slowly the door creaked open. Sazh, feeling the rumble of the door behind him uncovered his ears and said "Hey, how'd you get it to open?"

Lighting was so caught up in her own amazement that her plan worked, that she didn't bother to answer Sazh. Not that it was anything new. The sooner she rescued Serah and stated her business with the fal'Cie, the sooner she could go home and talk some sense into that girl. No way was she going to stand around and watch her sister marry that bonehead. The sooner this happened the sooner she could get rid of her annoying companion and get out of here. Deep down she had the feeling that something was watching her every move and it gave her the chills. She walked through the open doors into the Vestige.

"Fine! Ladies first, after you" Sazh retorted to her silence. He followed her in and the doors abruptly closed behind them.

The Vestige was overrun with mechanical PSICOM units. It didn't surprise Lightning in the least. At least PSICOM could keep control over the fal'Cie and Serah inside the Vestige without actually going in themselves this way. She fought effortlessly through waves of the monsters. Having been so exhausted trying to break in, her renewed hope had given her the strength to continue further.

"We best be on our guard" Sazh said as he jogged to keep up with her. "If those mechanical nightmares are in here, there's the chance that some PSICOM troops are too. Except they'd probably be l'Cie by now…not even human any more…just monsters with the focus to kill us all."

Lightning fought the urge to tell him off. To tell him that her own sister was made a l'Cie and was probably given the focus to kill them all. She wanted to tell him that l'Cie didn't have their humanity stripped away at the time of branding and that they still remained the same, just with a task that must be completed. She wanted to tell him to keep his nose out of other people's business and quit following her around and leave her be, but time and again he somehow proved to be worth far too much traveling with her and aiding her quest. Though she hated to admit it, he had gotten her to smile a little, and there was no way she could have made it this far without him.

"My sister" she whispered.

Sazh looked at her quizzically. "Excuse me?"

"Serah, my sister. I came here for her."

"So miss tough stuff has a sister?" Sazh questioned. "So what exactly does this sister of yours have to do with you stepping down from Sanctum guard and risking your life venturing into the realm of the fal'Cie?"

"Serah was…." She began but felt her throat close up on her. The words wouldn't come. Somehow deep down she didn't want to admit it, but she hung on to a thread of hope that "none of this was real. That she would wake up from this nightmare. "She was made a l'Cie"

Sazh let out an involuntary gasp. Eyes wide with horror he whispered "A pulse l'Cie? You mean it's your sister that started this whole purge mess?"

"Yes!" Lightning snapped. She was fighting back tears at this point and found it easier to channel her frustration and anguish about the situation into determination to save Serah. "I'm here to save her. She was captured by the fal'Cie here in the Vestige. Her bonehead fiancé convinced her to come back to the vestige after she was branded to ask the fal'Cie to help her with her focus. Needless to say the wretched thing took her prisoner and the Sanctum sealed the Vestige and began stage one of the Purge."

"So, what's her focus then?" Sazh asked.

Lightning didn't respond.

"It must have been big if she intended to ask the fal'Cie for help. It was probably to destroy Cocoon or something." Sazh replied.

"I didn't ask her" Lightning retorted. "I didn't want to believe it was real. So I didn't want her to say or do anything to prove me wrong. I didn't want her to tell me the fal'Cie branded her so she would destroy Cocoon, because then, I would have lost hold of the hope that this was all some sort of misunderstanding."

Sazh looked at her awkwardly. This changed things. If her sister was a l'Cie, then she'd probably do anything to protect her. L'Cie needed to be destroyed before they completed their focus or turned to Cie'th. "So…. Suppose your sister was given the focus to destroy all of Cocoon. Either she completes it kills us all, or more likely she fails and turns into a monster, a Cie'th. You'd best just put her out of her misery and…..well….you know."

Lightning turned on him, her sword held against his neck. She was furious, but on the inside she was hurting. She knew he was right. The best ending for Serah was to die, but she couldn't bring herself to believe that entirely and somewhere in some corner of her mind she thought that maybe begging the fal'Cie for mercy and it would release Serah from its grip. More than anything Lightning wanted to hold on to the hope that she wouldn't be the last remaining member of the Farron family.

"Just say it already! I know what you're thinking!" she snapped. "Just put her out of her misery and kill her! You know, its people like you that start horrendous things like the purge!" She retracted her sword and continued walking down the dark hall of the Vestige. He helped her get this far, but from here on out, she was finished being nice with him, this was her mission and she intended on finishing it.

Vanille and Hope were following the sounds of Snow's battle cries through the Vestige which had gone from narrow hallways to a labyrinth of open passages. The only thing indicating that they were getting closer to their goal was the sound of Snow's voice getting louder and louder.

The two of them reached an open chamber with vaulted ceilings. The mist that swirled through the corridors dispersed and the lighting was much better.

"We must be pretty close to the center of this thing" Vanille chirped. "This looks like an outer chamber or something."

Hope couldn't see anything good about it. "The closer to the center of this thing we get, the closer to the fal'Cie right?"

Vanille nodded "Probably, but it also means we're getting closer to Snow too."

Hope wanted to abandon his quest to get revenge on Snow and run away. Nothing was worth coming into contact with a fal'Cie. He mustered up his courage and took a deep breath ready to tell Vanille he changed his mind and wanted to turn around when he saw them out of the corner of his eye.

"What are those?" he questioned as he pointed a shaking finger down a dark corridor.

Tall figures trudged down the hall closer and closer to their prey. Their form was semi-human-like, but their flesh was white and looked burned and melted in places. They gave off an odor that resembled rank meat. Throbbing brightly at their core was a pulsing red light, perhaps the remnants of a human heart?

Vanille didn't scream, nor did she run. She gripped her weapon to her chest ready for a battle but didn't spring into action. Her face was somber. "They're Cie'th."

Hope covered his nose and fought the urge to vomit and half wondered why Vanille didn't.

"They were l'Cie who didn't complete their focus in time." Vanille continued. "They're hostile to humans."

Cie'th began pouring out of every corridor that led to the large Chamber. The two companions were surrounded in a matter of seconds. Hope pulled out his boomerang ready to fight, but he knew that there was no possible way that just the two of them could take down that many of the hideous creatures. For a second he thought "well, at least I won't have to live as a l'Cie and die, this will just bring the end quicker." He closed his eyes ready to accept his fate when he heard a very familiar voice.

"Get away from those kids!"

Hope opened one eye to see Cie'th bodies go flying across the room. Before he could see who had done it, another body crashed to the floor. Standing on an elevator that had descended from some floor above was Snow. His grin was wide as he flawlessly punched the Cie'th clearing a path from where he stood to where Hope and Vanille were surrounded.

Vanille took advantage of the diversion and began using her rod to take down the Cie'th as well. Hope followed in step but couldn't concentrate. The man he loathed and had risked his life coming here in search of was standing right next to him. The man he wanted to kill was just feet away. He could do something drastic. He could trip Snow and hope that maybe the Cie'th would finish the job. He wanted to so badly, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Snow at that point in time was keeping him alive, and as long as Snow had his back, he felt he should do the same.

"There, that should do it" Vanille said softly as the last of the Cie'th fell to the stone floor. It became eerily quiet in the chamber. Snow was the first to speak up.

"What are you kids doing here? You should go. If you don't think you can walk, find somewhere to hide and stay put and wait for me. After I rescue Serah, I'll find you and we can all escape this nightmare together."

Vanille raised an eyebrow and whispered "Who's Serah?"

Snow grinned. Vanille noted a set of seemingly perfect glimmering white teeth. "She's my darling wife…well, future darling wife that is. I'm gonna save her, make that fal'Cie remove her brand and we're gonna have a happy ever after."

Hope gasped. "Wait…this Serah girl is a Pulse l'Cie?"

Snow nodded.

"But, she's the enemy. You'll go and rescue the enemy but you can't even save my…..my…." Hope choked. The words were caught in his throat. He could barely feel Vanille place her hands comfortingly on his shoulders.

"Hey, I know it sounds stupid, but it's what I gotta do" Snow replied. "Listen to what I said. Go find a place to hide; I'll come for you in a bit." Before Hope could say another word, he ran down an arched corridor that led to the heart of the Vestige.

Vanille sighed. "We should hide and wait for him. There's nothing else here for us."

Hope snorted. "Be rescued? By him? Yeah right! As if I'd let that happen. Because of him my mom is dead!"

"Well then, let's go tell this to him. If you don't you will always feel this pain. Tell him how you feel, then act upon it." Vanille whispered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked

"I saw how you acted in that fight. You wanted to hurt him didn't you? You wanted to hit him while he was off guard. Trust me, until you talk with him, nothing is going to help." She replied.

"Alright" hope replied. "Let's go". He took off running down the hall. Vanille scurried after him trying to keep up.