Final Fantasy XIII: Slaves of Fate

Gripping Jaden as they rode on Belias, Mia looked at the sky. 'Snow, I hope the wind carry this to you. Please, give us strength. We need your kind of strength, all of us, especially Lighting...........' She prayed to herself as Angel had her arms around her neck. Mia sighed and looked back toward Alice, but she disappeared. Smiling, Mia figured she flew off, waiting for her new orders or something. She looked toward the Wyvern and smiled.

 

"Snapshot of the future."
​

This time, Jenny laughed, though her laugh was full of hate. "You don't understand, Ms. Farron. Etro didn't sacrifice herself for the likes of you. She didn't sacrifice herself at all. Once again, I'll say it. Know your place!" She sent another blast of force towards Lightning. "Let me shed some light upon your misconceptions, poor child. I am the only fal'Cie with a heart! And my heart precedes yours." She walked forward, unfaltering in her conviction. "Snow? He was merely a tool to motivate the other tools. Though maybe I should have kept him and crystallized you instead." She could feel one of her l'Cie disappearing from existence. "At least he would have protected your 'students.' As for your sister, I'm afraid my warrior, Cidolfu, lied. I have no idea what happened to her. And that is the very irrelevant truth." She sent another blast towards Lightning. "Go back, Ms. Farron and fulfill your Focus. Fulfill the Focus and bring back the Gods!"
​

"Naivete and innocence. Such is the mind of youth."
As soon as Belias was far enough from Oerba to escape the Rift, he stopped and disappeared, leaving the girls on the ground. As Leo ran, he nodded towards Akira, his mask disappearing with his Eidolon. "Come on, let's go!" He told her as he grabbed her arm. Oerba was almost completely gone. When a shadow loomed over them, he looked up to see a wyvern. "Jaden!" He waved and pulled Akira. "We gotta go!" He jumped onto the wyvern and, as they flew off, looked down towards Oerba. He heard a scream as the town disappeared.​

 

​

"Never lose yourself.."He stood over the grave marked 'Anna Lee Connery' The grave was a bit mossed, it was quite old, perhaps a year or two. The man standing infront of the grave was the unfortunate husband to a tragic decease. His blank ebony eyes scanned over the grave with both sadness and anger. Anna and his unborn son lain there..his first shot at a family and settling down."Did Destiny..run out of happy things to give me..?"He said gently. He kneeled, placing Pulse Lilies on the grave."I love you.."He told no one in particular, stood, and turned, leaving towards his residence.​

 

Job's done. Time to fetch the Dragon. Omega cupped his hands over his mouth and blew a small amount of his energy into them, coalescing into a small, white light in which he held out in his right hand towards Shinryu's general direction. Bright enough to see from long distances, he hoped that this would catch the Dragon's eye and lure him here.

Out of the corner of his eye, an odd light piqued Shin's curiosity. It called out to him. "Power," said a voice that echoed within him as he stared at the light, "Give me more...power." He looked back at Lightning, Leo, and everyone. "I'm sorry," he mouthed. Jumping off Alexander, he went from roof to roof towards the light. The closer he got, the more visible the light holder became. Of course it'd be you. It's always you. At the last sinking building before Omega, he makes one final leap...

He smirked. The light in his hand died out. When Shin was in arm's reach Omega tightly grabbed him by his shirt collar and together plummeted down into the Void. "Do you want to see Oerba?" he whispered into the boy's ear before they passed through the black ground.

 

Lightning dodged each of the blasts, though she was tired and Jenny's words made her even more angry. "A fal'Cie with a heart? Don't make me laugh! Your heart can never precede a human heart. You're not human! My students can protect themselves. I taught them all they need to know about being alone in the world with fighting ability." At least...I hope I did. I know Leo can guide them down the right path. And the others will pave that path with him. Light shot the Ruinaga towards Jenny, not caring if it actually hit or not, "You...don't know where my sister is?! Then I'll find her just like I did before! I'll never do what you order me to do! I decide my own fate!" Lightning stood, panting hard and held her gunblade up in an offensive stance. "Get out of my way, Jenny. I won't hesitate to kill you. Even...with Snow gone, and me gone, the others will move forward and defy the orders from slaves to humans! Fal'Cie were made to protect mankind! Etro cared about us. You...will never have a heart!"

 

Kross paused in his steps and looked up, his eyes tracing the outlines of Cocoon and he reached out, as if he tried to grab it."Anna, I will find the evil that ended your life..I swear, I will avenge you."He said in a lower and darker tone. His heart was torn, this had happened long ago. He had cut contact with everyone, he was once a very happy man. Now he was broken, was there any way to get that back?​

 

"...It resides.
It sleeps.
From the heavens..."

His fingers twitched. Shinryu was slowly regaining consciousness after the fall. How long was I...? Something bright was glowing in his face.

"...rains Hell from the skies.
Annihilation sparks from..."

Who is that? Is someone... He slowly opened his eyes.

"...The true, inner self must awaken..."

The bright thing in his face turned out to be a small white crystal the size of a small pebble. Something was odd about it though. Omega was standing not to far away from him. Regaining control of his body, he picked himself up.

Omega turned his head toward the shuffling for a moment. "You're up," he said to the boy, "So, how do you like what I did to the place?"

After rubbing his eyes with his hands, he realized where he was. Oerba! Everything that sank into the darkness was here, exactly where it once stood. Every single thing that once was in, at, or above Oerba was here. But nothing moved. The flames didn't flicker. All the ash, dust, and embers were suspended in the air. Even the air itself was still. Time had stopped for the entire village, or rather, time had never existed here.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Beautiful...but sad." Omega looked away from it all. "This is what's left of Oerba. It can never be destroyed or erased, but it can never be restored. It won't see the Pulsian sunrise ever again or feel the winds blowing through its streets. What you see is a phantom, one forgotten by time," he confessed. He stared up into the empty "sky". "Right now, Oerba's just a black dot on the face of the Gran Pulse. Nothing will go near it. Not the animals. Not the plants. Not even the wind and rain. And if people have as much sense as nature does, they won't either."

 

OOC: And...BUUUUUUUMMMMMMPPPPPP

 

Sorry, guys, will be starting up again soon~~

 

OOC: Way overdue post. Will post as the rest of the characters later~
BIC:

"Snapshot of the future."
​

And that was the final straw. "Insignificant, confused child!" She said it with anger as she stepped towards Lightning. Her eyes were glowing a bright pink and her hair was flailing, flailing way more than it should have in the mild breeze. "Listen closely for this is the last I will you of it, Miss Farron." She walked until she was directly in front of Lightning. Even though Jenny was smaller than Lightning, she looked up at her eyes with her own glowing ones, not intimidated in the slightest. "Etro was the one who gave humans their hearts, but she did it not by her own volition. She was told to do it! And before she did," Jenova raised a hand and slammed into Jenny's chest, where her heart was located, "She created mine. The first heart. The first and only fal'Cie to have one, but, child, that's the horrible part!" Her voice grew louder, almost shaking the ground as she spoke.. "I was more than a fal'Cie! I was a God fal'Cie, just like the Makers! Hallowed Pulse, Fell Lindzei, and the Goddess Etro herself!? Those are my family! We were all gods, makers, whatever you wish to call us...until Etro gave me a heart and robbed me of my status!" She glared at Lightning. "Etro...is not the benevolent goddess and does not care for you like the poor orphaned children crying out for mommy that you are." Jenny may have been a god, but she was no fool. She needed Lightning. "Tell me, Ms. Farron, what do you hope to do now?"
​

 

Lightning shook her head and laughed a bit, "I plan...on dying and saving the world that way. No...I don't plan on saving the world anymore. Let it go to hell, if by your hand or someone else's, I'll keep it safe, but I won't save it. You get past me, you win. Game over." Light touched her twisted brand through her shirt and sheathed her gunblade, "So go ahead...do what you want. I'm done playing your game. But when I come back...I'll come back at you with everything I've got. You and anyone else who stands in my way of keeping my promise to Fang." Turning away, Light walked away from Jenny and returned to her path of heading towards Cocoon. "If Etro gave you the first heart...then maybe you should stop complaining and spend more time figuring out why she gave it to you."

 

"Snapshot of the future."
​

Jenova was awestruck. Lightning dare speak such words to her in such a way? It was insulting! It was disgusting! It was...admirable. "Very well, Ms. Farron," she said, still using pleasantries as her eyes ceased to glow and her rested upon her neck. "I will leave you be, free to do as you wish. Fulfill this promise of yours, if you can. You will find the truth regardless." She disappeared and reappeared in front of Lightning. "There are no more fal'Cie on Cocoon, but do not confuse yourself: they are not completely gone. They still speak and for the last 400 years, they have spoken of you, oh, how they have spoken of you!" She laughed. "I thought the fabled Lightning Farron was the exaggeration of the fal'Cie, a mighty warrior fabricated to justify their deaths at the hands of a human. It was for that reason that I chose you, Ms. Farron, and I am not disappointed." She turned around, showing her back to Lightning. "I will not stand in your way any longer. I will allow you to do as you wish, as your Focus is halted," she hinted at Lightning's brand, which would now resemble Fang's white one from ages ago. "However, keep in mind that those apprentices of yours do have an unhalted Focus and they do not have the resolve you do. In fact, some of them have perished already!" She chuckled at the last phrase before her body started to fade. "Ms. Farron, I wish you well. Whether you decide to save your students or condemn them to my Focus is up to you, but at the end of your journey...you will find out the truth. And it will destroy you!" And with that, the body of Jenny was no longer there.
​

"Naivete and innocence. Such is the mind of youth."
"We're here," Leo panted as he pulled Akira to the rest. They were now well outside Oerba, well, what was left of it. He was tired and fell to his knees. He looked up at Akira, then to Jaden, Mya, and Mia. "Ryo's," he struggled to find the words. "Ryo's dead..."

​

As long as I have a want. I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.

Cid was silent at first, hearing voices in his head. Five minutes must have passed before he turned to address Grey. "Are you fine with this?" He asked, his usual demeanor replaced by a stone and serious tone. "Your hometown is gone, possibly forever. You are turning on your friends. Your brother will have you as the Sanctum's most wanted. You come with me and we will fulfill your Focus. We will destroy Cocoon, as it should have been centuries ago. Now ask yourself before you answer me, Are you fine with that?"

 

Jaden woo'd and chuckled as he flew Liz with great-ish (for an amateur) control as he bought her and the other L'cie passengers to a smooth landing Somewhere well outside Oerba.
He looked at Leo, and first misread his face, assuming he was sad about Oerba. "Hey... I'm sad too... but we can rebuild. We've done it before."
but then... he heard about Ryo.
...Ryo... dead?
His face was completely different now as he clenched a fist.. "H-how? I mean... he can't be...
We're Team Oerba... he... he.. he can't be..." he muttered in a state of shock.

 

Letting out a harsh cough, Ren struggled to his feet, shaking from the effort he had put into running.
"I just join up with you guys, and almost straight away we wind up black hole'd, running for our lives, and somebody dead. Tell me this isn't a running thing for you guys?"

"Can it. We don't need jokes right now." the light-blue-haired teen stated harshly, before examining the surroundings.
Oerba... his home... it was gone. There was nothing in its place.
Just... emptyness.
Now I have two reasons to kill that miserable piece of...

"Alright, fine." Ren replied, holding both hands in the air in mock surrender.
"I'll just check... something." he sighed, wandering off to see what he could do to help someone, if anything.

Finally, he looked around and took in who he was with.
Some of the new L'Cie he recognised. They were Oerban, just like him. This worked even better than he thought; if they recognised him, he'd be trusted immediately.
Oerba was gone. All that was left now was Coccoon.
But not for too long. he thought to himself in anger.

 

OOC: Omg I cannot put my image up >_<



BIC: Mya's heart fell, hearing that one of their fellow members has fallen and died. It wasn't fair. They didn't want to have a fate like this and to suffer for it. Th-this isn't fair! Is this what awaits as the end?! Despair and death?!

 

Lightning kept walking, keeping her face set in stone. They'll take care of themselves...if they don't...I'll drag them back from being Cieth myself and kill them again. No one threatens my students and gets away with it for long. Her legs gave out for a moment and she rested on the ground, "For once...I'm the fool." Light hauled herself up and kept walking towards Cocoon. "You're wrong about one thing Jenny...I've got nothing to lose. And you're the one with everything to lose."

Akira wiped frantically at her tears. "L-Leo...I'm...I'm so sorry. Lightning...I...I couldn't stop her..." Guilt burned through her like poison as she looked at the blurry images of her friends.

"Kupo?" Lightning jerked her head up at the familiar sound, "You're...a Moogle. Heh, who would've figured a Moogle coming to me when I'm on a suicide mission." The little creature flew around her and healed her wounds. "Kupo, kupo!" Folding her arms, Light glared at the little thing, "If you're trying to say you want to come with me...you're outta luck. I'm not looking for a companion." She walked on but the Moogle followed after her.

 

Shin picked up the crystal that was by him and approached Omega. "So that's it? It's just gone? Forever?" he seemed to want to ask.

He looked at Shinryu and sighed deeply. "Bringing back Oerba would require opening a world encompassing connection to the Void, which is completely out of the question," he answered. Not wanting to continue the subject, Omega headed deeper into the phantom village. "...They should be half-erased by now. Come, Shinryu. Let's go see who else passed through with us."

Half-erased...Oh my god... The boy looked all around him as he followed. Everything was desolate. So silent. So empty. How many died today? How many would be forgotten? So fixated on the changes in town and the outcomes of the recent events that he bumped into Omega, who had stopped. In front of them was some sparkling crystal dust blowing up into the air.

"You know that stone you have in your hand? It's called Voidshard. Only found here, it protects its holder from erasure by taking his or her place instead. Because it's being erased, it's on a timer before it stops working, so when it's gone, you'd better find another quick. Or you'll begin to fade and end up like him." Omega walked up to the body, revealing to Shinryu that it was Ryou, and crouched down next to him. He took a moment to think of what to say and how he would deliver it. "Although your mind's nearly gone and your body's eroding away, I know you can still hear me, or at least I hope you still can. I just want to say...I'm sorry. I'm sorry about banishing this place down here. I'm sorry for what's going on in the world. And I'm extremely sorry for what's happening to you right now. No one deserves to be erased from time and space or existence itself. No one especially deserves seeing it with their eyes open. But things like this just happen from time to time. I know what I'm saying isn't comforting, but it's the truth. What's also the truth is that when a second passes out there a thousand years would have gone by down here and therefore you'd be dead for countless millennia, but anyway. Farewell, son of Man. And goodbye." Having been so accustomed to death and people dying all around him, Omega was very apathetic towards this and had to fake the emotion in his voice just to have it sound realistic. Every death is just another number for him. This one was no different.

 

His ebony eyes looked towards the sky, then his gaze turned south to where Oerba stood. His eyes narrowed gently. He sensed a great force from there."..." He turned and faced the direction of the graveyard."Hey..what should I do Anna..?"He asked, a little bothered. What would his family do? He turned, high tailing it towards Oerba, he may be in for a suicide mission but no one was getting hurt on his watch.