Untraditionally, I'll start out with Hope and Vanille instead of the rest of us (I need to work out where we'd be in the plot). Much like one would expect from a 14-year-old with no driving experience, Hope crashed the airbike thing, but luckily onboard the Fal'Cie. The funniest thing to note was how they were positioned: They were both face down on the ground- err, Vanille was face down on the GROUND, Hope was face down with his head on the small of Vanille's back. That'd be an embarrassing situation to explain, huh? Good thing they both didn't notice. "That was close." Vanille said as they got up. "Now, where is?" She said, looking for and finding the airbike, which was totaled. "Well then… Guess it's just us." She said, crossing her fingers in a weird way and praying.
"Well, what did you expect? Even soldiers know not to go near the Fal'Cie. You become a Pulse L'Cie and you're finished." Hope said in a somber tone.
"What do you mean finished?" She asked.
"Haven't you heard? Ms.-?" He asked.
"Vanille." She said.
"Huh?"
"My name. And yours?" She asked, holding out her hand.
"Hope." He said, reaching up and taking her hand. She pulled him to his feet, fixed his hair and dusted him off. "Thank you." He said. He then sighed, looking down. "What were we thinking?" He asked.
"Well, since we're here, let's look around." She said (I could've sworn he just said you're NOT supposed to go near a Fal'Cie).
"Uh…" He said, unsure, but followed her anyway.
They continued up the stairs until she noticed something. "Hey! Check this out!" She said, climbing onto some decoration.
"Vanille!" Hope warned.
She didn't listen. She continued climbing and it sounded like she was reaching for something, then she came back with a weird device that looked like deer antlers on a stick, looking like a slingshot without a rubber band to hold the ammo. I honestly don't know how to describe it. "Well, what do you think?" She asked, taking some form of stance with it.
"That's…" He said unsure of what to say.
She continued playing with it and making a bunch of noises, alerting one of those little tiger things, which was asleep on top of a pillar, then jumped down and roared at them. Vanille walked up beside Hope and got ready to fight. At this point, Hope sighed and pulled out a… -.- Seriously, dude? He pulled out a boomerang. The hell's he gonna do with-. He threw it at the monster and it bounced off, but then rebounded and hit the monster again, then came around and came back to him (nevermind). Vanille fought by swinging the… weapon like a fishing pole, making the spikes fly towards the thing on strings and lash at it like a sharp whip. They dealt with the monster incredibly effectively and folded their weapons, both of which folded intricately.
"Okay! Back to exploring!" She said as they continued on.
They continued on, fighting quite a few monsters along the way. "I thought this place was supposed to be empty!" Hope complained. They eventually came to a red door with a big weird mark on it. "Aren't you scared?" He asked her.
"Hm… Not so much." She said nonchalantly.
"You really don't get it." He said.
She turned around and looked back at him, then walked up and past him, waving her finger. "Pulse Fal'Cie and L'Cie are bad news. That's why Cocoon kicked them out. Get to close to the Fal'Cie, one way ticket to Pulse. That's the purge in a nutshell." She said.
"If they catch us here, they'll purge us, too! And then-." He started before she interrupted.
"What's your problem?" She asked (Let's see, he thought he saw his mother die when the bridge fell and she would've if I hadn't saved everyone, you smacked him in the face right after that, then dragged him into going after us against his will and everyone thinks going to Pulse is a death sentence. When you look at it, Hope has reasons to be a whiny baby. I don't approve of it; I'm just saying I understand).
"What's my-?! Pulse is hell on Earth!" He told her (I thought pulse is the planet itself, so how can it be hell on EARTH if it's its own planet?).
She thought about that for a second, then hugged him. "We'll be okay. Calm down." She said.
He stood there for a moment, then pulled away. "Get off me." He told her (What's your problem?! If I were you, I'd let her hug me as long as she wanted).
Suddenly, they heard Snow shout. "Serah?! Where are you?!" He called out.
Elsewhere…
"Finally! Back to me. The story don't start 'till I walk in." I said, Tik Tok playing in my head.
Snow looked at his surroundings, then to the path ahead. "Don't worry, Serah. You're hero is on the way." He said.
"You're no hero." Lightning huffed, walking ahead.
"She has a point. A lot of that stuff you pulled there was just plain reckless. Especially that epic fail with the rocket launcher." I said, following her.
We continued on and Snow activated the thing. "Just hold on, Serah." He said as the various stairs shifted and moved.
"Whoa, it's like Harry Potter and those rotating-ass staircases." I said in awe.
"With all these monsters around, there might be some soldiers still around. 'Course, by now, they'd probably be L'cie. Not even human anymore. Pulse L'Cie, enemies of Cocoon. Can't show 'em any mercy." Sazh said.
"Watch it, man." Snow said with a glare.
"Wait, what, what?" Sazh said, surprised.
"My sister Serah is a L'Cie." Lightning said.
"And she's my fiancée." Snow added.
"Oh, you're getting married? Congratulations." I said.
We cleared the area and another lift came down. "Alright." Snow said, leading the way and jumping onto the thing. "Hang on, baby! You're heroes on the way!" He shouted.
"Are you going to keep repeating that?" I asked, annoyed.
Back with Hope and Vanille…
They heard Snow's echo and suddenly, the area they were in lit up and a staircase rose up, allowing them to continue. "He is here. Calling himself a hero?" Hope said angrily, lowering his head.
Vanille walked up and leaned forward a little to look at him better. "He's coming our way." She said.
"What should I do?" He asked.
"Tell him what you need to." She said (by the way, looking back, does anyone else think that Vanille's voice actor seems to mess up her accent quite often? This line is the perfect example).
"But nothing I say will… Change what happened." He said, looking down again.
"We could just… Run away." She said. He looked at her for a moment, then nodded (you know, one would think he'd be a lot more pissed at the fact his mother just supposedly died). They then ran off, not knowing where. After continuing on for a while, they were suddenly surrounded and cut off at all angles by some weird creatures that looked like zombies!
"What are these things?!" He said, freaking out.
"Cie'th. L'Cie who fail. This is when L'Cie don't complete the focus the Fal'Cie gave them." She explained.
Suddenly, they heard a scream and Snow ran in and tackled a Cie'th to the ground, running up beside the two. "Let's even these odds!" He said.
"For Pony!" I shouted randomly jumping into the air and throwing a couple of fireballs down at the Cie'th, landing elegantly in front on the side opposite of Snow.
Lightning also ran in and cut a few more of them, also joining the group. "Man, this is some trouble!" Sazh said, shooting a couple more of them. With all of us there, it was over in a matter of seconds.
"That was fun. Let's do it again!" I said cheerfully.
Snow then turned to the two younger members of the newly formed group. "How'd you get in here?! You gotta leave now." He said.
"How do you expect them to leave? I heard a crash earlier, so whatever they used to get here isn't gonna work now." I told him.
"Okay, listen. Find some place to hide and keep quiet. We're gonna go get Serah, then we'll all leave together." He said, rushing forward and signaling us to follow.
"You-!" Hope said angrily.
"Wait!" Vanille called, stopping us all and causing us to look back at her. "Who's Serah?" She asked.
"Haven't we been over this?" I asked.
"My sister." Lightning said.
"And my wife." He said, then dodged a punch from lightning and I struggled to hold her back. "Future wife, that is. She's a Pulse L'Cie." He said.
"Oh, no." Vanille said sadly.
"Ooh." I said, grimacing.
"She's here somewhere, along with that Fal'Cie. I gotta set her free." He said.
Hope stood up suddenly. "What's wrong with you?! Why do you wanna help a L'Cie?! They're the enemy!" He shouted angrily.
"Dude, chill. It's also his fiancée. What would you do if you're girlfriend you loved more than life itself was a L'Cie? That's like breaking up over religious reasons: Just stupid." I said, sighing.
"How can you save a L'Cie! And not… And not…" He stammered. "That's insane!" He shouted again, stomping one foot.
I looked at him closely and walked up. "Hey, I recognize you. Your mother went to fight with us when the bridge collapsed. Don't worry. She's safe. I saved them." I said, drawing his attention. I then smirked and winked. "Yeah, I'm a bit more reliable than Mr. Hero over here." I said.
Snow chuckled. "Watch it, buddy. You're still on the possibility of being a L'Cie list." He said.
"And I still have the vaguest clue what a L'Cie is." I said, walking back.
"Wait!" Hope called.
"Yeah?" I said, turning around.
"Thanks." He said.
"Yeah, no problem. You two may be safer with us. Those things showed up from nowhere, so for all we know, they could come back. Besides, the more the merrier. And for a boomerang and an I-don't-know-what-the-hell-it-is, those are some good weapons." I said, flicking my head as in indication for them to follow.
There you go, fans! We kept everyone and Hope won't be as whiny as he was in the game.
[Took quite a bit of mind-power, but it will be worth it.]
"Probably a good idea not to leave 'em alone." Snow said with a nod.
"Yep. Let's go." I said, walking ahead like a badass.
"Hey, what is your sister's focus? When she became a L'Cie, what did the Fal'Cie order her to do? It wasn't blow up Cocoon or anything like that?" Sazh asked Lightning.
"I didn't ask." She said.
"If they've got the power to blow up something the size of a moon, I wouldn't mind becoming a L'Cie." I said.
"May wanna hold off on that decision." Snow said.
"Listen, when a person gets cursed by a Fal'Cie, then they become a L'Cie. And they get given a focus, right?" He asked, to which she sighed. "How do I put this? If they don't carry it out, L'Cie end up as one of those things." He said, nodding towards more of the Cie'th, which I promptly blew up. "What I mean is, if she's gone that far- I mean-." Then he kept tripping over himself to find the right words, but you can't really blame him. This is a touchy-ass subject.
"Ouch." I said.
"There's no way to turn a L'Cie back into a human. Even if she completes her focus, there's no changing her fate. She'll live her life as a Fal'Cie slave." He continued sadly.
"Dark." I said somberly.
Lightning sounded like she was weeping a little. "Don't make her suffer." He said.
She glared at him and pushed him. "Just say it! Any L'Cie, anyone who might ever become a L'Cie should be wiped off the face of Cocoon!" She said, trying to fight tears and crying.
"Damn." I said, shocked that her rough and stoic exterior was cracking.
"It's people like you that started the purge in the first place!" She said to him.
"Getting a little accusing now." I said.
After A LOT of fighting and progression, we went up a lift and saw a girl who looked like Lightning, but a bit younger, laying on the ground. "Serah!" Lightning said, rushing to her side and picking her up, bridal style, carrying her away. She was unconscious. "Time to go! We have to leave before the army-! What?" She asked, Sazh standing in her way.
"That's a Pulse brand. That girl's a L'Cie." He said.
"I think we've been over this more than once. You gotta keep up, man." I told him.
"I already told you that!" Lightning snapped.
Sazh began reaching for his guns. "Pulse L'Cie are the enemies of Cocoon." He said.
Lightning gasped and turned away slightly, knowing what he was thinking. "So they should die?!" She demanded.
"Put the guns down, man. This will not end well for you." I told him.
"Listen, if she fails her focus, you know how that'll end." He said, looking at both of us.
"And killing her is a mercy?" She demanded.
Suddenly, Serah reached up and touched Lightning's face. "You came." She said weakly, Lightning setting her down.
"Serah!" Snow said, coming to her side, holding her hand with both of his.
"Is that my hero?" She said.
"I'd call myself a little bit more of a hero. I've saved a few more people's asses than he has so far." I said.
"Is now really the time for that?" Sazh asked.
"I try to make each of my lines as humorous as I can when it's appropriate, yes." I said.
"Let's get you out of here." He said, but Lightning leaned in more to keep him back.
"Hands off! I'm taking her home!" She said.
"Aren't we all on the same side here?" I asked.
"No!" She snapped at me.
"Okay, I vote for Lightning." I said.
"Sis-." Snow said.
"I'm not your sister! You couldn't protect her! It's your fault she's-!" She said, but then Serah said something.
"Save us." She said.
"Huh?" I asked, confused.
[Us?]
"Serah?" Lightning asked.
"You can save us… Protect us all… Save… Cocoon." She said.
"If that gets me back home, I'll help." I said.
"Save Cocoon? Serah? That was your Focus!?" Lightning asked.
"I'll do anything! Leave it to me, I'll protect Cocoon, I'll save everyone!" He said.
"You haven't been doing the best job so far." I told him.
"Somehow, I'll make things right!" Lightning told her.
"You just relax." Snow said soothingly.
She smiled at both of them after that. "Thank you." She said. Suddenly, she began glowing light blue and levitating up in the air.
"Ooh, shiny! Pretty colors." I said.
And she's like Chris Angel, too!
[She's magic, she can fly!]
"Serah?!" Lightning said, panicked. As soon as both of them had let go of her, she suddenly put her hands together and turned into a crystal.
"Ooh, shinier." I said, the image reflecting in my eyes.
We DO love shiny things!
[One of the best things on earth.]
A small shiny thing then flew into Snow's hand and became an Ocean-blue crystal tear. "Serah?! Serah!" He shouted, jumping and flailing.
"What's happening, she turned to stone?" Vanille asked.
"L'Cie who complete their focus become a crystal. And gain eternal life." Hope said.
"Just like the stories say." Sazh said.
"Shiny… Very shiny…" I said, still distracted.
[Yes, that's actually what we focused on most throughout this scene.]
We can be EASILY distracted.
"Serah, sweet dreams." Snow said.
Lightning walked around her crystallized sister, pushed Sazh out of the way and grabbed Snow. "Sweet dreams?! She's not sleeping! Serah's… She's…" She said, distraught and at a loss for words.
"She is definitely an inanimate object." I said, looking closely… And secretly cracking off crystal points to sell for a fortune back home. Nothing important, don't worry.
"She's alive!" Snow protested.
"No!" Lightning wept.
"The legend! Remember the legend! L'Cie who fulfill their focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life! It's the same with Serah! Eternal life! She's not dead!" He said as if nothing could make him think otherwise. "Serah's my bride-to-be. I promised to be hers forever! I don't care how many years I have to wait!" He said, but then she threw a haymaker and decked him.
(So that's what Damion meant when he told me about pink-haired Yandere women.) I thought.
Flashback…
I called up Damion to tell him about a fight I was watching between some pink-haired dominatrix woman and his eventual ex-girlfriend (who he has not said the name of). "Damion, it's about your girlfriend." I said.
"Yes?" He asked.
"How do I put this… SHE'S A FUCKING JET, MAN!" I said, watching as she, as some form of humanoid jet, was sailing right at the pink-haired bitch.
"How the FUCK did that happen?" He asked.
"She was fighting that pink-haired girl, all of a sudden, the pink-haired girl started spouting out how no one will hurt her love, who as you know, is the bitch your girl is after for killing her parents or whatever. Anyway, she attacked your girlfriend, then she came out of the debris as a jet." I explained.
"I see. Wait, did you say PINK HAIR?!" He said, sounding slightly panicked.
"Yeeees? What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.
"2 things: 1, Pink-haired women tend to be Yandere chicks, with the exception of Outer Moka. And 2, DON'T FUCK WITH YANDERE chicks!" He said.
"The fuck is Yandere?" I asked (he actually had to explain this to me).
"Haven't you seen Mirai Nikki?" He asked.
"No, is it hentai?" I asked.
"No, it's a freaky-ass anime. You do watch more anime than Soul Eater and Rosario Vampire, right?" He asked.
"I have ADD, you ass! Anytime you tell me to watch something, I forget." I said.
"My point being, there's this pink-haired chick that kills people for getting too close to her boyfriend. My baby's in danger." He said.
"What about the jet thing?" I asked.
"FUCK THE JET THING! WORRY ABOUT THE PINK BITCH!" He snapped.
"Well get here and help me, you mental motherfucker!" I snapped.
There was a pause. "That's low, man." He said.
"My apologies." I said, then went to YouTube to take a look at the anime. "Holy shit!" I said.
"It's fine. Asshole. I'm on my way." He said.
I forget what happened after that, I got hit in the head with a giant rock.
Ending flashback…
"Damn, what a weekend." I thought.
"It's over! Open your eyes and face reality!" Lightning snapped.
It think we should all just calm down and-." I started, but then she put the gunblade to my throat. "Nevermind." I said.
Suddenly, the whole place began shaking. "What now?!" Vanille asked, panicked.
"I think we made it mad!" I said, trying to stay in one spot.
"The army!" Sazh said.
From outside, the army was indeed attacking and were shooting wires in that was literally ripping the Fal'Cie to shreds. "This is gonna SUCK." I said.
"What's happening now?!" Vanille asked as everyone else was trying to cover themselves, except Lightning and Snow, who were covering Serah.
"Sanctum strike! Must be trying to bring down the Pulse Vestige!" Sazh answered.
"Aren't they taking it back to Pulse?! That's what the Purge was, right?!" She asked.
"All they care about is getting everything from Pulse OFF Cocoon! Dead or alive, it's all the same!" He said.
"You guys SERIOUSLY need cultural acceptance meetings! Or whatever the hell those interracial and whatever those meetings are called. Someone tell me in the comments!" I said, having slammed my fists into the ground to hang on for dear life.
"We can't stay here! They'll kill us!" Hope shouted.
Suddenly, a door to the further interior opened. "Stay here, I'll be right back!" Snow said, walking towards the door.
"Trench coat! Where you goin'?" Sazh asked.
"Gotta be specific. There's two guys with trench coats here." I told him.
"Oh, yeah. Uh—Snow!" He said, finally remembering his name.
"Date with the Fal'Cie. Got some things to talk about." He said.
"What?! You're gonna ask IT to help HER?! Are you out of your mind, kid?!" Sazh asked, not believing what he was hearing.
"If he is, then I've found someone here I can relate to." I said.
"That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!" Sazh continued.
"Well what do you WANT me to do?!" Snow shouted furiously.
Sazh was at a loss for words. Lightning then huffed and walked by him and past Snow. "Lightning." Snow said quietly, following.
"Oh, goody, we're gonna kill a god." I said, following.
[I don't think this will end well.]
But if we win, We'll have bragging rights against Damion!
"If we ever SEE Damion again." I said.
"Here we go." Sazh groaned following us.
Oh, man, fighting a god!? Shit's about to get real!