Part 20
Update 20: Panicked L'Cie Continue Flight From Justice Part 1 (Polsy)
Part 2 (Polsy)
Music
Separate Paths
Atonement
Bestiary
Datalogs
quote:
Over the Edge
...Elsewhere, Lightning listens as Fang makes a confession.
When Fang and Vanille awoke from crystal stasis, they had no memory of their past. Thinking it might give them a hint about their Focus, They decided to attack the Sanctum fal'Cie in Euride Gorge.
Unfortunately, Fang left the scene none the wiser, and is still desperately trying to figure out their task in order to prevent Vanille from becoming a Cie'th — and to stop the creation of any more l'Cie.
The Gran Pulse native then reveals that she believes Serah was chosen by the fal'Cie to carry out the Focus they no longer remember.
Lightning takes the news with mixed emotions. Fang deserves to pay for what happened to Serah. But at the same time, she gives Lightning hope — her sister may not be a crystal forever.
quote:
Until She Wakes
Just as the citizens of Lightning's world fear the lowerworld of Pulse, the people of 'Gran' Pulse — as Fang calls her home — fear the floating nest of vipers that is Cocoon.
It would seem that the two women are not so different. They each grew up in fear of another world, bear the mark of a Pulse l'Cie, have a Focus they don't understand, and live as fugitives from the Sanctum.
But unlike Lightning, Fang has not given up hope. She still plans to track down Vanille, finish their Focus, and then get back to Gran Pulse.
Hearing this, Lightning laments the fact that she has no plan and no reason to keep fighting. Fang responds that she has all the reason anyone could need; to stay alive until Serah wakes up from her crystal sleep.
As Lightning comes around to this idea, there is an explosion in the distance. Could Snow and Hope be in trouble? Trading worried glances, the two l'Cie race off in the direction of the fighting.
quote:
Sustained by Hate
Hope regains consciousness to find himself being carried on Snow's broad back.
The self-styled 'hero' staggers under the boy's weight as he forces his wounded body forward. Pausing to rest, he talks about the anguish and guilt he hides behind a cheerful mask — before returning the knife to Hope's hand.
The NORA leader is defenseless. With one thrust, Hope can finally claim vengeance for his mother's death. This is the moment the boy has fought for. His chance for revenge.
But Hope hesitates and then the moment is gone.
Hope reveals that he always knew killing Snow wouldn't bring his mother back, but he had no choice but to cling to that goal. He didn't survive this long to see revenge — he saw revenge as a means to survive.
It is his hatred of Snow that has sustained him through countless battles. In a strange way, the man who made a promise to his mother has been protecting him all along.
When he is later reunited with Lightning, Hope tells her that Operation Nora is over, and gives her back her knife. He doesn't need it anymore.
Having avoided further military pursuit, the group finally arrives at the Estheim household, where Hope breaks the terrible news to his anxious father...
quote:
People: Vanille
Pretending to be branded at the same time as the rest of her companions, Vanille actually became a l'Cie on Gran Pulse long ago.
She and Fang completed their Focus and turned to crystal, but upon waking, they seemed to have lost all memory of those events, and had no knowledge of their present task.
While trying to prevent Vanille from becoming a Cie'th, Fang caused the incident at Euride Gorge—the event that turned Dajh into a Sanctum l'Cie.
Parted from her friend, Vanille wandered Cocoon alone until the day of the Purge.
quote:
People: Fang
Fang is a l'Cie who was born on Gran Pulse, the world that stretches out below the floating shell of Cocoon.
She joined Vanille in a crystal stasis, but awoke with no memories of her Focus or what she did to complete it. To prevent Vanille's transformation into a Cie'th, Fang tries to recapture memories of their task but in doing so, causes the incident at Euride Gorge.
Separated from her friend, the proud warrior-woman finds herself working with Raines and the Cavalry he leads as they track down l'Cie.
Fang's brand is scorched and twisted, its progress halted.
quote:
The Thirteen Days: Day 3 - Escalation
Fang and Vanille discovered the unconscious Serah deep within the Vestige. They could see the girl had been branded with the mark of a l'Cie. The door to the Pulse structure, closed until now, was thrown open when Fang and Vanille awoke from their stasis -and Serah had chosen to walk through it.
They took the newly branded servant outside, and watched over her until she recovered and set off home. The two women, their Focus forgotten, assumed that the fal'Cie Anima had chosen a new l'Cie.
quote:
The Thirteen Days: Day 4 - Searching
Fang was feeling anxious. Her own brand was scorched and showed no sign of changing, but Vanille's mark was still active. If they didn't remember and complete their forgotten Focus, her friend would become a Cie'th.
With nothing left to lose, Fang suggested they visit the Sanctum fal'Cie in the Euride Gorge energy plant. If they approached one of their sworn enemies, then perhaps the memory of their Focus would return...
quote:
The Thirteen Days: Day 5 - Goodbye
Fang's plan to infiltrate the energy plant with Vanille, and recover the memory of their Focus, ended in failure. Sensing their presence, the fal'Cie Kujata attempted to defend itself by creating a servant out of the closest human -a little boy. Including Serah from the day before last, now two innocent lives had been forever altered.
The fluctuations in the plant's power levels alerted the Sanctum army, and Fang drew the attention of the soldiers onto herself in order to give Vanille a chance to escape.
quote:
The Thirteen Days: Day 6 - Alliance
After shaking her military pursuers, Fang returned to the Vestige to find Vanille already gone. She searched the town for her missing friend, but was eventually captured by Sanctum soldiers—members of the Cavalry, a unit commanded by Brigadier General Cid Raines.
Raines, a man opposed to a fal'Cie-controlled Cocoon, offered Fang his protection. Not fully trusting him, but without a way to locate Vanille on her own, the desperate l'Cie decided to join the general and his fleet.
quote:
History and Myth: Brands
The brands that mark a l'Cie as one of the fal'Cie's chosen change gradually, passing through several different stages. When the "eye" at the center opens - the brand's final stage - the l'Cie become a Cie'th.
A brand's rate of progression depends partly on the difficulty of the l'Cie's Focus. It is also linked closely to the individual's mental state, with severe psychological trauma sometimes spurring rapid advancement. In the most extreme cases, severe fear and shock at being made a l'Cie has turned newly made l'Cie into Cie'th at the instant of their branding.