"You foolsss-" The voice of Bhunivzelze rings out from all corners of the crystal cavern, so loudly that the very stones and walls start to shake alarmingly. The friends feel the floor of the delicate little chamber start to sway under their feet, and many grab crystals or the corners of walls to steady themselves under the onslaught.
The friends turn this way and that, trying to ascertain where the god's voice is coming from, but the voice emanates without a face.
"You have now destroyed the very last essence of the fal'Cie which brings you your power. You may have your fal'Cie powers back, but you are left without a focus! You will turn C'ieth and share my oblivion with me, doomed for all eternity in a mindless slumber!"
Claire rises first, her fist clenched at the ceiling. "This is a battle you can't win! We will continue to conquer you, throughout all of the ages! If you would like another dance, then let's take another turn!"
"Claire, wait!" Snow yells, throwing out his hand. "He's right…I was a l'Cie for much longer than any of you…I can't, I can't think about turning Ceith once more, now that…now that…" He turns to Serah. "I will fight. But I don't know if I will be there to protect you, once this is all over."
Serah looks up at him, and closes her hand around his arm. "The time for protecting is over. We fight now, but you don't have to protect me anymore. I can protect myself. I'm pretty strong too, you know."
Claire drops to one knee, eyes closing in thought. "Our focus is simple. We kill Bhunivelze. That's our focus. We don't need a vision to understand that."
Fang runs to where the crystal heart of Anima was once kept. Not a trace remains. "Damn, what I wouldn't give to have our weapons back."
Hope nods in agreement, then a thought occurs to him. "Wait, we don't have our weapons from our old world-that's true. But, we do have another weapon. A better weapon. The weapon of the l'Cie."
Vanille grins. "If they are still awake, we have our own army. We shall see."
Each hero of old looks on their person for their brand they knew so well on themselves. The old brands are back, each where they were once before. Almost as if in one motion, the room touches their brand and closes their eyes, thinking of their old friends. There is a whisper that flits through the room, and a slight wind stirs; but otherwise, nothing.
"Wait! I have an idea." Sazh runs up, pointing his hand at Snow. "We have to call them in the order they came to us. Blondie, that means you're first up."
"The sisters." Snow brandishes his forearm, calling out to the Shiva twins.
After a slight pause, the sound of glass shattering is heard, and everyone gasps and looks behind where Snow is standing. A huge tremor shudders the little cave, and the breath is stole from every mouth as up from a tower of crystals in the ground, the two beautifully lithe women burst free. Spinning round in a disk, the two ladies hover in the air for a moment, arms twined and sparkling brightly, before landing.
"Ha! That's my girls." Snow pumps his fist into the air.
"Just one question-how do we get out of this cave?" Claire narrows her eyes and looks around.
"I think I can handle that one." Hope speaks up, remembering Alexander. "Just call the rest of your Eidolons to you, if they can come. Alexander can help get out, though who knows where that will lead."
Rumbling laughter echoes through the little cave, causing more crystals to shudder and drifts to sprinkle down from the cavern. "Exit this cave at your peril! I await beyond…I cannot see you, Anima's last resting place shields you from my sight, but I know you are all there, I can sense what is happening. Your l'Cie status and your Eidolons cannot best me-there is no longer a Savior among you. I am a god!" With that last sentence, the cave heaves with the booming echo of the word "God" being thrown around all corners of the cavern. Everyone reaches out to grab something, and a crack appears in the top of the cave.
"The cave is cracking! Anima's heart no longer binds this place together! Quick, call your Eidolons to you, the rest of you, we gotta fight!" Sazh gestures wildly at Claire, who nods.
"Odin," she whispers to her chest, for what may be the very last time. There is a pregnant pause of expectation, but a horse's whinny sounds above the heads of the party, and everyone smiles at the familiar sound.
"Oh, I always loved the rose petals!" Vanille giggles from a corner of the room.
Each l'Cie calls their Eidolon to them once more, none of them truly knowing from whence they came, or how they survived the downfall of their planet. There isn't any time for questions at the moment-they are tossed once again into battles that they do not understand in order to fight for their lives.
There is one slight hitch, however.
Vanille and Fang stand together, arms round each other's waists, looking at everyone with their old Eidolon alongside them, but Fang remains unable to call Bahamut. Fang looks at Vanille silently, and in their eyes, unspoken worry is plainly shared.
After a moment, those gathered take in the two females without their behemoth friends alongside them.
Sazh tilts his head. "Hey, why can't you call Bahamut to you? We need him to come so Alexander can bust us out of this time capsule."
Vanille speaks aloud the single thought that the both of them share, giving voice to the deep seated pain between them.
"I think-I think it has to do with the fact that we are Ragnarok."
"There's only one real way to find out." Fang points at Hope. "Call Alexander to you now. He should come. But it won't be him that busts us out of this cave. He won't be strong enough." Fang turns to Vanille again, and holds her close. "It will be us, combined, that will open up this crystal coffin."
The others murmur among themselves, turning to each other and their respective Eidolons for comfort upon hearing this. The Eidolons remain silent, but steadfast-they neither confirm, nor deny, the statement made by Fang.
Hope sighs, bows his head slightly, and closes his eyes. He will have to try, and if Alexander comes to him, that would mean that Fang would be right. It lies upon him to choose whether or not to summon his Eidolon. No one could summon the Holy Warrior, save Hope. Should he call, and doom Fang and Vanille to become Ragnarok?
The thought occurs to him that they would merge to become the world-eater themselves, whether or not he chose to summon Alexander at all. He looks up into Vanille's eyes, and she gives him such a sorrowful look beyond a forced smile.
Summoning Alexander is just as much a way to protect himself as it would be to fight Bhunivelze. Hope's Eidolon would keep him safe just as much from the dark god, as it would be from Vanille and Fang. He needed to summon his old friend, for his own sake.
"Very well." With that stated, he whispers the name of a friend that he had been told throughout this entire life had never existed. He lets himself voice aloud the memory of a friend he had been told never was.
"Alexander." There is a pause, and for a moment Hope feels that everyone in the room is relieved that Ragnarok would not be making an appearance. Sazh starts to laugh and clap his hands together, and with the concussive sound that his clapping hands make, the room begins to rumble.
"Wait! I-I didn't do that-" Sazh throws up his hands when all eyes turn to him.
"You didn't. Hope's Eidolon is coming." Fang speaks into the wind made from a hole being dug out of the crystals around their feet. "I told you." Her tone betrays not the slightest hint of fear or worry that what is coming only heralds the reality of their possible doom.
Indeed, yellow and blue steel shine in the light refracted from all corners of the cave, and Alexander, the chains of his holy office belted around him like medals, comes bursting into view.
For a moment Hope forgets what the face of his friend is meant to portend. "Hey, big guy." He says, and doesn't care that his voice chokes for all to hear.
The room is considerably cramped, but must be able to hold more for the transformation to take place between Fang and Vanille. Alexander whines softly, and the rest of the Eidolons soundlessly take their prospective l'Cie to the corners of the room, backing away from Fang and Vanille, who now stand in the center of the room.
Light shines all around them, and after a moment, Vanille turns to Fang, who is waiting patiently by her side.
"I always thought that this may have to happen again." Vanille confides aloud, her soft voice somehow picking up around the crowded cave. They enfold each other in their arms, Fang bundling the littler Vanille into her chest. The rest of the room gives them a moment, knowing that only those two can understand the emotions that flow between them. Fang tilts Vanille's chin to her smiling eyes.
"Let's go put a God to bed once more, shall we?" Vanille nods once, and Fang turns to those assembled.
"We're about to go live. Give us as much space as you can. I know there isn't much here, in Anima's little coffin, but we're about to bust out of here in a major way. I don't know what waits on the other side, but Bhunivelze isn't going to win."
"The scariest part isn't whether we will win this battle-we will win, as always-the scariest part, is what will happen after." Serah touches Snow lightly on the arm. Though she is l'Cie, she is the only one of them that doesn't have an Eidolon. Hope had always wondered why Snow had two Eidolons as his protectors-now, seeing Serah close to one of the frost twins, it makes sense. Snow carried two Eidolons; one for himself, as well as one for the love he cherished for Serah. Seeing both Shiva sisters take an arm of the newlyweds is comforting-Serah now has protection surrounding her as well as Snow.
Light speaks up, her arm touching Odin. "There are some things in life that you just do." She looks across the room at Hope, and the two share a look that spans the distance between them.
The love that Anima carried within that beating heart now manifests inside all of those l'Cie assembled inside the room-the heart has drifted to dust, but beats on in those it has chosen for its children.
"Let's go." With those two words, the rest of the room takes cover. Vanille and Fang stand in the center of the room, raised on a crystal platform, and Hope averts his gaze along with the rest of his friends to give the two a modicum of privacy. Their love has lasted the longest, their love was the most hard-fought for, in this realm, or any other.
There is a silence.
Then, a roar.
It's a roar that shatters the very foundations of the cave, a roar heard only for the third time in any age.
It's the roar of love, revenge, and righteousness.
Only one word can describe the mournful sound that rips the very fabric of worlds. It heralds the day of reckoning.
Ragnarok.