They all boarded the airship gratefully. The man introduced himself as Rygdea and showed them all to rooms on the ship. Fang let Lightening share her room, Snow got a room to himself, and Hope and Rayne were put in a room together. Rygdea decided that kids should stick together, apparently not noticing that the two of them hadn't spoken a word to each other. It was awkward for the two of them to be stuck in the room together. Neither of them knew what to say. Hope kept looking at Rayne, but she wore an expression of severe hurt. He didn't blame her, either. He'd been horrible to her. Luckily for him, she spoke first.

"What happened to your mom?"

Hope looked down at his hands.

"We were Purged, but Snow's group called NORA rescued us. Mom went with Snow to help fight so that we could leave the city. She…ended up dying. She fell when a bridge was blasted apart. Snow tried to hold onto her, but he couldn't and he fell with her. But she didn't make it."

The two were quiet for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Rayne said, "So…how are you…?"

"A l'Cie? I went after Snow so I could talk to him about killing my mom. I thought it was his fault for a long time. A friend named Vanille went with me. Snow and Lightening were trying to save Lightening's sister Serah who is Snow's fiancée. When we all met up, we watched her turn to crystal after telling Snow and Lightening to save Cocoon. They then went on to attack Anima the fal'Cie. It then made all of us l'Cie with the same Focus. I was…distraught to say the least."

Rayne could imagine how hopeless Hope must've been at that time. Hope had always been like everyone else, thinking l'Cie were monsters that needed to be destroyed. She felt bad for feeling somewhat content with the irony of it all. She got up and headed for the door.

"Rayne, where are you going?"

"I can't stay here with you for longer than this. It's too hard."

"But, Rayne, I'm-"

"DON'T!

Rayne turned to him. Her eyes burned with pain and anger.

"Don't apologize to me. You think that's enough? You were the first person I went to and you…ugh. Just shut up."

With a sigh, she left the room and stalked down the metal hallway. She walked for a long time, not knowing where she was going at all. When she felt she couldn't walk anymore, she sat down and rubbed her temples. She didn't want to yell at him, she'd just done it instinctually.

"Damn, emotions," she mumbled, sitting up straight and tilting her head till she was staring at the ceiling.

"I hear ya."

Rayne looked over to see Fang smiling down at her. She gave the older woman a small grin in return as she sat beside her on floor.

"Yelled at him pretty good back there," Fang commented.

Rayne groaned.

"I was that loud?"

"Don't worry. I think I was the only one in the hallway at the time. You dashed right past me without noticing."

Rayne gave her a guilty look.

"I apologize."

"Ah, don't worry about it. At least now I understand how deep the argument between our youngest group members goes."

Rayne looked over at Fang. The woman had a very comforting presence, at least for the young girl. Fang was the type of woman she felt she wanted to grow up to be. She felt she could confide in her.

"I was made a l'Cie when I was seven years old. I don't know why. It was like the fal'Cie were preparing…planning for something. My vision for my Focus consisted only of the words "SEVEN YEARS". My parents just made sure to keep me in shirts that covered the brand on my shoulder. They protected me and loved me despite the population's majority believing that we l'Cie are monsters. I don't remember a time when I didn't know Hope and his parents. Our father's were old school friends and were always very close. Hope and I spent a lot of our childhood together. I trusted Hope. He was my best friend. I made the mistake of telling him I was a l'Cie because I thought that no matter what, he'd still be my friend. But the moment I did…he wanted nothing to do with me. He never spoke to me again. He didn't tell anyone, at least. I asked him not to. He didn't even tell his parents. We still lived in the same hometown and he was forced to be around me as we attended the same school. I was hurt, though. I can remember the way he'd look at me. As if I weren't human. For years, our classmates thought he was just being a jerk, but one day when we were ten, our class was playing a game. I was accidentally bumped into and I fell into a thorn bush. It cut the sleeve of my shirt and someone noticed the brand. It was white at the time, since I had to wait seven years for my Focus to begin, but the teacher came over and looked at it. I remember standing in front of people who I thought were friends. Faces that had once smiled at me, loved me, told me that we'd be friends forever…The expressions were now of hate, disappointment, and fear. I ran away. My parents secretly moved us to another house in Palumpolum so that no one knew where to find us. Nora and Bartholomew Estheim didn't stop liking me. They helped my family keep me at home and I went through homeschooling. It was a lonely four years. Then one day…the Purge started and my parents were Purged. Killed because their daughter is a l'Cie. My brand turned black not too long ago and I had a strange vision. It resembled…Ragnarok from the old story of the fight between Pulse and Cocoon. It made no sense, so I've just been hanging around…trying to find somewhere to belong."

Fang put an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"You belong with us. Sounds as if you're supposed to be with us. You have the same Focus as the others in our little group of rebels. And I know it's hard, but maybe you can find it in yourself to forgive Hope. He's stubborn, but he comes around eventually. I think he understands how you felt now. Give him a chance or don't. It's up to you, though."

With a last smile, Fang got up and began walking somewhere. Rayne sat in the hallway for a little while longer. Eventually, she got up and made her way back to the room. Hope wasn't there anymore, which eased her nerves enough for her to climb into bed and fall asleep.