A/N: So, I'd like to thank Stonehenge for being my first reviewer! I feel motivated to write a bit more for this story now! So, here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of ff13. I only own this story and Lyra Gaines.

"Mom's birthday is tomorrow, Matt."

"I know."

"Did you get her a present yet?"

"Huh?"

I sighed, crossing my arms across my chest and frowning at my older brother. "Matt, you know mom will be really upset when she realizes you forgot her birthday when you walk up to her with no present."

"What'd you get her?"

"None of your business. Now get off your butt and go buy mom something fast!"

"Geez, love you too, my bossy little sister!"

The memory of that day before my mothers birthday ended when I bumped into the boy, proving that I had been so distracted, I wasn't even paying attention to my surroundings, or where I was walking. He looked at me confusedly, and I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment as I gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry…"

He nodded instead of speaking, before he glanced forward again, gesturing over to the group of people. I noticed that Trench coat was there with them, and not dead and all squished like I had thought him to be when he fell.

"That's the one." The boy said, nodding to over to Trench coat.

"Didn't you have something to tell him?" Vanille asked.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"All right then!" Vanille exclaimed quietly, a smile on her face.

"But…I…" The boy began, apparently not being able to find the right words to say.

"We'll go with you." Vanille told him, looking over at me, the boy turning his gaze to me as well. I smiled, nodding my head in agreement.

Vanille moved to stand behind him, and she pushed him forward. "Go on!" He nearly fell, and I mentally asked if she needed to push him that hard. Even though she had done that, the boy still didn't budge, and it was clear to me that he still wasn't confident enough to go up there. Vanille sighed and walked forward a bit, and yelled to them. "Hey!"

The only reply we got was the from their vehicles, which made an awful and loud noise. We all covered our ears, the three of us watching as the vehicle that trench coat was on lifted up and took off, Vanille trying to run forward, as if to stop it, but she stopped and dropped her arm, groaning in disappointment. While Vanille stood there and moped, and the boy just simply stood there, I noticed another vehicle like the one trench coat had taken off on. I moved over to it, Vanille and the boy right behind me. Vanille and I looked inside of it for a moment before looking over at the boy.

"Hm? You okay?"

"I want to tell him, it's just that-" He stopped and grabbed my arm, surprising me a bit. He gave me a surprised look before letting my arm go, and I simply smiled.

Vanille looked back at the vehicle before looking back at the boy. "Say…You know how to fly this?"

He glanced at the vehicle and gave a small nod. "Yeah. I think so."

While Vanille shook his arm up and down and laughed happily, I stared at the vehicle unsurely. "But…it's a piece of junk that looks like it's about to fall apart." I stated, only to be ignored. Vanille came up behind me and pushed me into the vehicle so I was seated behind the boy. She climbed in after me, putting her hands on my shoulders and pointing forward. "That way!"

We both followed her finger to a large machine that looked anything but safe. I wrapped my arms around the boys waist while Vanille wrapped hers around mine so we wouldn't fall off. The boy made a shocked sound before looking down and shaking his head. "No, no…If we go in there, that thing could-It could make us l'Cie ." He glanced at us over his shoulder. "This is… I don't think I can-"

I silenced him by releasing my grip on his waist and grabbing the wheel, smiling at him while Vanille smiled as well. "You can do it!" Vanille told him, me nodding in agreement.

"What are you three doing?" The orange haired man yelled as he spotted us, now running towards us.

"Here we go!" The boy exclaimed, pressing something, causing the vehicle to shake slightly. I wrapped my arms back around his waist as the vehicle lifted up into the air. We hit something, and I nearly screamed, squeezing my eyes shut and burying my face into the boys shoulder. I was beginning to doubt the boys statement about being able to fly this thing, since he was doing a pretty bad job at it. We all screamed as we were thrown out of the machine and to the ground, the sound a loud crash sounding near us. Vanille got up and dusted herself off.

"Wow, that was close." I nodded my head, sitting up, the boy doing the same. "Now, where is the…" Vanille mumbled as she stood up and turned around. The vehicle was now a piece of even bigger junk as it lied near us in a big heap, completely destroyed. "Oops…."

I sighed, glancing around. "Looks like were the only ones here…" I stood up and dusted myself off.

"What did you expect?" The boy asked. "Even soldiers know not to go near the fal'Cie. You become a Pulse l'Cie, and you're finished."

I frowned. "What do you mean, 'finished'?" I asked.

"Haven't you heard, Miss-?" He paused, and I realized that I had yet to introduce myself to him.

"Lyra."

He looked up at me with a confused look. "Huh?"

I giggled slightly. "Lyra Gaines. My name, silly. And yours?" I asked as I held a hand out to help him up.

He took it and sighed. "Hope."

"And I'm Vanille." Vanille introduced herself as she moved forward and began to dust Hope off.

Hope mumbled a thanks before he frowned again. "What were we thinking?"

Vanille put a hand to her chin. "Well, since we're here, let's look around!" We followed her up a set of stairs, where she suddenly took off, Hope and I running after her. She came back out with a Binding Rod, striking a pose for us. "Well?"

"That's, uh…" Hope began, stopping when he couldn't seem to figure out what to say.

Some strange monster appeared before us and let out a roar, surprising us a bit. Vanille got into a stance, and Hope pulled out an Airwing. I smiled. Instead of pulling out one of the many weapons I had on me, I cracked my knuckles together and got in a stance, launching the first attack on the creature with a forceful punch while Vanille and Hope both finished it off with their weapons. Vanille smiled, putting the Binding Rod away. "Okay! Back to exploring!"

"Aren't you two scared?" Hope asked us as we followed Vanille.

"Not so much." Vanille said.

He glanced over at me while I played with my fingers. "I'm not quite sure…whether I should just be scared, terrified, or both. But, I'm not here by myself, so I guess I really have no reason for being scared or terrified."

"You really don't get it." Hope said, and I wasn't really sure whether the words were directed to me, Vanille, or both of us.

Vanille, apparently aggravated by Hope's constant moping, huffed and turned around. "Pulse fal'Cie and l'Cie are bad news. That's why Cocoon kicked them out. Live too close to the fal'Cie? One-way ticket to Pulse! That's the Purge in a nutshell."

"If they catch us here, they'll purge us too. And then-"

"What's your problem?" Vanille asked, interrupting him.

"What's my-? Pulse is hell on earth!"

Vanille pulled him into a hug. "We'll be okay! Calm down!" Vanille assured him.

Hope moved out of her embrace. "Get off me." He began to walk off a little ways and I heard Vanille sigh next to me. I opened my mouth to say something, but someone shouting from above stopped me from doing so.

"Serah? Can you hear me? Where are you?" And then… "Hang on, baby! Your hero's on the way!"

All the sudden these orange lights appeared and a set of stairs emerged from the ground in front of us.

"He is here." Hope said from in front of me, staring down at the floor. "Calling himself a hero…"

Vanille and I both walked over to stand next to him. "He's coming our way." Vanille pointed out, causing him to look over at the both of us.

"What should I do?" Hope asked us.

"Tell him what you need to!" Vanille told him.

He got a sad look on his face. "But nothing I say will change what happened."

I sighed and put a hand to my chin. "We could always just run away, y'know."

He gave me a look before he nodded his head in determination, moving off, Vanille and I moving after him. Not too far ahead, there was a large Machine thing, and it was apparently our destination. Once we had reached it, I stared up at it in awe, surprised that it was bigger than it looked.

"Woah…" Hope mumbled.

I was content for a moment, until the sound of roaring reached our ears, making me jump slightly. I glanced down from where the sounds had come from, nearly screaming when I realized they were monsters that were walking like zombies from a horror movie would, not to mention that they looked like zombies as well. And just like zombies, they didn't look too friendly either. I looked towards the other side, where there were more monsters just like the other ones, making their way towards us. Either way, the chances of us getting out of this were pretty slim.

"Wh-what are those things?" I asked as the three of us moved to stand closer to each other.

"Cie'th! L'Cie that failed!" Vanille explained to me. "This is what happens-when l'Cie don't complete the Focus the fal'Cie gave them."

The monsters had us surrounded now, and to be completely honest, I was terrified. I was ready for the end, when I heard someone give a battle cry. Trench coat came running up the stairs, knocking one of the Cie'th out of the way, standing in front of us with his arms held out. "Let's even these odds!"

We all nodded in agreement, getting into stances. This time, I pulled out my dual blades to fight with, figuring now was as good as anytime to use them. It didn't take long to get rid of those monsters, but it was very tiring. I thought that maybe I was the only one who felt exhausted, but Hope and Vanille proved me wrong, Hope falling to the ground on his knees while Vanille had her hands on her knees, panting and trying to catch her breath. I put my dual blades away, trying to catch my breath, while Trench coat turned around to face us.

"How'd you get in here? You've gotta leave."

Vanille and I both looked over at Hope before looking back over at Trench coat, Vanille laughing innocently while I simply smiled and innocent smile before speaking. "Ah, well see, we would leave…If we knew how to get out."

He sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Okay, listen. Find someplace to hide and keep quiet. Once I find Serah, we'll all leave together." He began to walk away, Vanille making a shocked sound, while Trench coat chuckled slightly, giving us a smile and a thumbs up. "You'll be home in time for dinner."

"You-" Hope started, only to have Vanille cut him off.

"Wait!" Vanille called, causing Trench coat to stop. "Who's Serah?"

"My wife." Trench coat explained, a small smile on his face. "Future wife, that is. She's a Pulse l'Cie."

"Oh no." Vanille mumbled from her spot next to me, a sad look on her face.

"She's here somewhere, along with that fal'Cie. I've gotta find her and set her free." Trench coat explained to us, determination clear in his voice, beginning to move off again, only to have Hope stop him.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you want to help a l'Cie? They're the enemy!" Trench coat turned around to stare at Hope. "How can you save a l'Cie, and not…And not…That's insane!"

Trench coat laughed slightly. "Probably." He said, scratching the back of his head. "But I gotta do something, right? I'll be back!" With that said, he took off again, leaving us behind.

His words echoed in my head. They were the same words that Matt had said to me before everything bad happened.

"Matt, don't you know what they'll do to you? They'll kill you if they see you and you start attacking them!"

"Probably. But I gotta do something, right? I'll be back! And I'll be just fine! You stay here, 'kay, Lyra?"

"Matt! MATT!"

'Why couldn't you have just stayed put?'

Vanille's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Should we wait around for him, and hitch a ride?"

Hope slammed his fist into the ground. "I'd rather go to Pulse!" Hope yelled at us. "Why is this happening to me? When they found the fal'Cie the other day, we were just visiting Bodhum. But the army took us. Threw us on that train…And because of that guy, Mom is-And he wants to help a l'Cie?"

"Stop it." I ordered him quietly. He opened his mouth to yell at me, but I silenced him again. "Look, losing someone is hard…But you need to understand that you're not the only one that's suffering from a loss. In fact, you're actually quite lucky, Hope."

"Lucky? My mom is gone, and it's because of that guy! You don't know anything about how I'm feeling-"

"My family's gone…" That shut him up. "My mom, my dad…and even my older brother…They're all gone. When they threw me onto that train, I was all alone. I didn't know anybody. But…when I say that you're lucky, I mean that you're lucky because you got to have your mom with you the entire time on that train. You're lucky because you got have her a little a longer then I got to have mine. I wish that I could've done something to save them, just like Trench coat is trying to help that Serah girl. But…well, I'll never get that chance. The only thing I can do is try to keep going on."

I was glad that I was turned away from both of them, or they would've seen the tears sliding down my cheeks. I didn't think anyone else would say anything, but Hope spoke up. "I'm sorry…"

I wiped my eyes as soon as I heard footsteps coming back towards us. Trench coat walked up the stairs and stopped, smiling at us and waving. "Hey again."

Vanille greeted him back while I simply waved. Vanille grabbed one of my hands and one of Hope's, pulling us up. "Let's go with him."

I nodded and looked over at Hope, who looked at us as if we were crazy. "What?"

"You've gotta talk to him, Hope. If you don't take this chance, you'll regret it forever." Vanille told him, and I nodded with her in agreement.

"She's right, y'know. Why wait when you have the opportunity to do it right now?" I sent him a smile.

He smiled back and nodded. "Okay."

Vanille and I helped him back up and we stared at Trench coat. He smiled at us and waved us over. "Let's go!"

And so, we followed him.

Eventually, we had reached the bottom of wherever we were headed to while we rode down on a platform, and Trench coat yelled. "Serah!" With that said, he jumped off and ran over to the group of people.

We followed after him, and I noticed that this girl Serah was being held by someone who looked like an exact copy of her. I heard Vanille gasp, but I didn't bother to see why. When I could tell how Serah was struggling to talk and keep her eyes open, I had a good idea of what was happening.

"Let's get you out of here." Trench coat said, only to have the woman that was holding Serah send him an angry look.

"Hands off. I'm taking her home."

"Sis, I-"

"I'm not your sister! You couldn't protect her. It's your fault she-"

"You can save us." Serah intervened, her voice weak.

"Serah?" The older woman asked.

"You can save us." Serah repeated. "Protect us all. Save…Cocoon."

"Save Cocoon? Serah? That was your Focus?"

"Anything, I'll do anything. Leave it to me-you'll see. I'll protect Cocoon! I'll save everyone!" Trench coat assured her.

"Somehow, I'll make things right." The older woman told her.

"You just relax." Trench coat said.

Serah smiled. "Thank you." She began to glow a bright blue, and began to float up into the air.

"Serah!" The woman exclaimed.

She was beginning to crystallize, and before I knew it, she was completely crystallized. Trench coat called out her name. "Serah! Serah!" He tried to reach her, but he couldn't.

"Why is she turning to crystal?" Vanille asked no one in particular.

"L'Cie who fulfill their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life." Hope explained to us.

"Just like the stories say." Another man who was there with us said.

"Serah…Sweet dreams." Trench coat told her, a sad look on his face. The other woman pushed the third man out of the way as she made her way to Trench coat.

"Sweet dreams? She's not sleeping! Serah's…She's-"

"She's alive!" Trench coat assured.

"No."

"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! Serah's my bride-to-be. I promised to be hers forever. I don't care how many years I have to wait-"

He was silenced by the older woman, who punched him, knocking him backwards and flat onto his back. "It's over! Open your eyes and face reality!"

We were silent, until a loud crashing noise was heard and everything began to shake. Hope fell to the ground and covered his ears with his hands, and I nearly fell down, struggling to keep my balance.

"What now?" Vanille asked.

"The army!" The man with the afro exclaimed.

Things were beginning to fall, like the beams that held everything up, and the shaking was beginning to get worse.

"What's happening?" Vanille asked as she helped me keep my balance.

Afro spoke again. "Must be a sanctum strike. Bring down the Vestige and the fal'Cie right with it!"

"Aren't they taking it back to pulse?" Vanille asked him as she ran over and grabbed his arms. "That's what the purge was, right?"

"All they care about is getting everything from Pulse off Cocoon. Dead or alive, it's all the same."

I felt someone grab my hand and I looked down to notice that it was Hope. He spoke as he squeezed it. "We can't stay here! They'll kill us!"

I knelt down next to him and squeezed his hand back. The shaking ceased, and all of us looked around anxiously. Trench Coat began to walk off, afro yelling after him. "Trench coat. Where you going?"

He stopped and turned around. "Date with the fal'Cie. Got some things to talk about."

"What? You're gonna ask it to help her? Are you out of your mind, kid? That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?"

The other woman walked ahead and left us, Trench coat calling after her. "Lightning?"

Afro followed after them, and eventually we did as well, Hope holding onto my arm the entire time, until we reached a dark and pretty much empty room, save for the extremely big and creepy machine in front of us. "So this is…the fal'Cie."

"Serah's a crystal now. You gave her a focus, and she did it! You got what you want! Now let her go!" Trench coat ordered, not getting a response. He got down on his knees. "Please. Turn her back! I'll be your l'Cie instead!"

"Fine, you go on begging." Lightning said, pulling out a Gunblade. "Like this thing gives a damn what we want!" She tried hitting it but it didn't do much good.

"Lightning!"

"It's this things fault the Purge started, and it's people who are dying. Serah told us to save Cocoon. That means this thing needs to die!" The floor began to glow all of the sudden, causing everyone to shout in surprise and cover their eyes. When the light died down some, it revealed the machine, which looked more like a monster now. Hope took off, Vanille and I running after him, while Lightning, Trench coat, and Afro took on the machine.

The next thing I knew was that we were all falling, or more like floating, in the dark, the sound of bells tolling. I was so confused, that I couldn't exactly realize what was going on until tentacles shot out and grabbed us all. It was the fal'Cie. I felt something burn into my hip. And then…these horrible pictures flashed through my head of some monster, and the destruction of Cocoon. And then I saw nothing…just darkness.

A/N: Blegh, I finished this yesterday, and it didn't seem to come out too well D: I'm sort of home with a terrible cold, so I guess you could blame it on that. Eh, whatever! Hope someone enjoyed! LATER TATERS!