Final Fantasy XIII Fanfic - Saviors of Heroes

Chapter 3

Kane kept an eye on Zora, making sure she wasn't harmed. She kept out of the battles, letting him, Nyla, and Laura take care of it.

"How are we supposed to figure out what the plan is if we're not allowed to ask them?" Zora asked. The L'Cie were following their Focus, trying their best to remain hidden.

"Hopefully we can piece it together as we follow them," Kane said. "Remember, they don't know their Focus either. The only reason we know ours was because Barthandelus told us. You heard him, he said he usually doesn't tell L'Cie their Focus."

"I still can't believe he's a Fal'Cie," Nyla muttered. "Do you think he's made any L'Cie."

"I don't know," Laura replied. "But he mentioned the name Anima. That must be the Fal'Cie who Branded us. He knew it's name, which means they knew each other. But...he's also the one who ordered its destruction. Why would he do that, if they were working together?"

"Maybe he had to," Kane suggested. "To keep under the guise of a human primarch. If he hadn't, there would be suspicion."

"He could have just transported it back to Pulse, like he said he would," Nyla said. "I think being exiled to Pulse would have been much better than becoming a L'Cie."

"I'm sure there's plenty of people on Pulse who would be overjoyed to help destroy Cocoon," Kane muttered.

"Hey!" Zora exclaimed. "We don't even know if their plan is to harm Cocoon. Why would Barthandelus destroy the place he rules? We know him to be a good primarch, so let's not doubt him just because he's a Fal'Cie. It's not like he's from Pulse. He's a Cocoon Fal'Cie, and we can't survive without those."

"This must be why the Fal'Cie let him rule," Laura sighed. "I always thought it was weird that they would make a world, then let a human rule. But he's not human."

"There's three Pantheons ahead," Zora said, nodding in the direction. Looking ahead, Kane could see the bodies of the red hounds waiting for them about a hundred yards away. He paused, and looked over the edge of the path they were walking on. They had managed to climb one of the waves, and were able to walk above the other group of L'Cie. It was an easy way to follow them without being spotted. Sure enough, the four L'Cie were still heading in the same direction as them.

"Woah!" Zora exclaimed, drawing Kane's attention back to her. "What's that?!"

Her eyes were wide, and she was staring ahead. Following her gaze, Kane saw a giant beast tearing apart the Pantheons. "An Alpha Behemoth," he identified it. "And it doesn't look happy."

"Do we have to fight that?!" Zora asked, taking a step back. "It's so big!"

"So was the Ghast," Kane pointed out, beginning to walk forward. Might as well get it over with.

"Yeah, but the Ghast wasn't really fast, have sharp claws and teeth, and it couldn't swallow me whole!" Zora exclaimed.

"It's not as big as you think it is," Kane said, looking back to see Laura following him. "Don't worry, Nyla, Laura, and I will take care of it. You don't have to fight."

Once they got within fifty yards of the Behemoth, it noticed them, and came charging. Zora let out a squeal of terror and jumped back, but the other three brandished their weapons. Nyla made the ground in front of the Behemoth slick with ice, which made it slip and forced it to slow down. Laura stopped it by flicking her whip, enchanted with fire, pulling one of it's legs out from under it. With the beast halted, Kane was able to dash forward, and bring his fist down on it's head.

Roaring, the Alpha Behemoth swiped his claw down, scratching Kane. As Nyla worked on healing the wounds, the Behemoth instead turned to Laura, and began to attack her. Odd. All the other creatures would only focus on one person at a time. Nyla shifted her attention to Laura. Kane wasn't fully healed, but that was okay. The pain had turned into a dull ache.Running back up to the beast, Kane smashed his fist into it's side, this time enchanting his punches with different elements. He took notice that fire seemed to be doing the most damage.The fight didn't go nearly as well as any of them would have preferred. The Behemoth would focus on one person, fight them until they were too weak to fight back, and turn to somebody else while Nyla healed them. It took too long for them to defeat it.

By the time the fight was finished, everybody was doubled over, out of breath. "Are you guys okay?" Zora asked, walking around a piece of debris. She had been hiding behind it, watching. Nyla was busy tending to Laura's wounds. Kane focused his effort on healing himself, and was pleasantly surprised to find he could.

"Oh no..." Kane heard Nyla mutter. He looked up to see many PSICOM soldiers running toward them. There were at least twenty.

"I'll help this time," Zora said, grabbing an arrow out of her quiver. But, she didn't have time to draw it, for bullets began to shower them. "They're not even checking if we're enemies!"

"We need to take cover!" Laura exclaimed. Kane looked around, and spotted the debris Zora had been hiding behind before. The others were already heading toward it. Kane followed, but he knew that it wouldn't protect them forever. All the soldiers had to do was to surround them, and they would be finished.

"What do we do now?" Zora asked, her eyes wide. "We can't hide here forever."

"I don't think we can take on that many soldiers," Nyla said. "Not without getting grievously injured."

"We have to get away," Laura said. "There's no way the four of us can take on twenty armed trained soldiers."

While the others discussed what to do, Kane tried to calculate the time they had until they were killed. They couldn't run, because they'd just get showered in bullets again. What other options were there?

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Were they already here, shooting? He looked around, but all he saw were his companions, still arguing. He gasped as the pain became considerably worse, which grabbed their attention. "Kane?" Zora asked, her eyes growing even wider. But Kane had no explanation for her.

In a flash of light, the pain disappeared. Kane heard cries of pain from the soldiers, then silence. Laura peaked over the edge of the debris, but quickly lowered it again. "Be completely silent," she mouthed. Kane was surprised to see fear in her eyes. She didn't seem like one who scared easily.

Kane slowly lifted his head to see what had happened. Where there once stood soldiers stood a lone figure on a pile of bodies. It wore a cloak that covered it's whole body, and seemed to have no arms. Multiple tentacles sprouted from it's back, and a scythe floated next to it. He slowly lowered his head. and looked around at his companions. "I've never seen anything like it," he whispered, barely audible. "Is it from Pulse?"

"It doesn't look friendly," Laura replied back. Suddenly, the debris they were hiding behind shifted. The silence seemed to go on forever as they all stared at it. They watched as a pair of tentacles lifted it, and threw it far away. The creature stood only a few feet away from them. Zora let out of scream, and scrambled back. The poor kid.

"Can't we ever catch a break?" Laura mumbled, readying her whip.

"I hope this is a better alternative than the soldiers," Nyla said, even though Kane knew that wasn't possible. This thing dispatched the soldiers in heartbeats.

Before it attacked, it turned to Kane, as if he deserved it's attention. Even though he couldn't see it's face, he felt it's gaze piercing him. He got the sudden urge to finish it off quickly. "Nyla, you're on healing duty. Don't worry about attacking. Laura, do your best to weaken it."

With those simple instructions, Kane charged forward, his fists up. It knocked him away with a sweep of it's scythe before he could get close enough to attack it. As Nyla patched up the wound, he charged again, determined to hurt it. He landed a blow on what he guessed was it's gut, but was surprised to hear the clang of metal. Was this thing a robot? Maybe it would be susceptible to lightning attacks.

To test his theory, he enchanted his bladed knuckles with lightning, and hit again. The thing still wasn't phased. Instead, it's tentacles retaliated by repeatedly casting Blizzard on him, sending a chill to his bones. It finished off the series of spells with a swipe of it's scythe, which Kane managed to dodge. "I've done everything I can to weaken it!" Laura called. While Kane had been fighting, she had been casting spells. He wasn't sure what they had done, but it had to be something.

"Help me attack," Kane called back. In an instant, he heard the crack of the whip as it wrapped around the scythe. She was trying to unarm it. It seemingly dropped it's weapon, but as soon as the whip let go, it floated back. The creature took its revenge by swiping it at her.

"Hey! Over here, you creep!" Nyla called, grabbing the figure's attention. She cast the same spell she had in their first battle. The one that included her crossing the blades of her sword. The creature attacked, but, like before, it hardly dealt any damage.

Laura cracked her whip again, this time aiming at it's body. The figure didn't even seem to notice. Are we doing any damage? Kane wondered. He charged up, bringing his fist down on it's head. It never made contact. Instead, it collapsed the hood, and hit the body. The thing didn't have a head!

It launched into the air, and Nyla lowered her guard, watching. It floated for a few moments, before the ground around the L'Cie exploded. Tentacles launched out of the holes, casting Blizzard at all three L'Cie. Kane tried punching one of them, but only made a small cut that healed instantly.

He was blasted back by a large Blizzara, and was knocked to his back. The tentacles returned to the ground, and the creature returned to the ground. It didn't attack to finish them off, just watched. Kane staggered to his feet, in immense pain. Looking around, he noticed the others had serious injuries too.

Nyla began healing Laura's injuries, so Kane began to heal hers. Laura didn't seem capable of casting Cure. Kane briefly wondered if only certain L'Cie were. He glanced at the figure, but it still stood there, unmoving. For the first time, Kane noticed a rasping sound coming from it. But it doesn't have a head, he thought.

After Nyla finished helping Laura, she healed Kane's wounds. After they were all back to full health, the creature jumped into the air again. Not again! Kane thought, filling with rage. "That's it, this ends now!" he yelled as the tentacles burst from the ground. He grabbed one as it rose, and was soon on the figure's level. He looked straight into where it's eyes would be. "You're finished."

He didn't actually have a plan. He was just so filled with rage that his friends were getting hurt, he wasn't thinking straight. He didn't even notice that he was no longer holding onto the tentacle, but was rather floating in front of it. He did, however, notice when the tentacles around him exploded into what looked like pixels. They were suspended in the air for a few moments, before moving toward the creature as if they were being pulled by gravity. The grouped around it, like a shield.

Kane fell to the ground, but didn't feel any pain from the impact. The figure's scythe landed next to him, its blade in the ground. He looked up to see the figure had moved. Looking around, he didn't spot it, but he did see a skeletal horse running around in the air. It spiralled down to the ground, and stopped in front of Kane. Was this the same thing? Why was it a horse now? Why wasn't it attacking?

Maybe I tamed it, Kane thought. He grabbed the scythe, and hopped onto it's back. It dramatically reared onto it's hind legs, neighing. It landed back on all fours, letting out a huff of air. It seemed to have given up. Kane, deciding it was no longer a threat, slid off. He turned around and offered the scythe to the horse. It grabbed it in its jaws, then dashed off, disappearing from sight.

"What just happened?" Zora asked, only now getting to her feet. "It just...left! You didn't kill it!"

Nyla inspected Kane, as if he were an alien. "It's like you tamed it," she said. Kane shrugged. After a few more moments of silence, she asked, "Where is your Brand, again?"

"On my abdomen," Kane replied, remembering the pain he had felt when the light from the Fal'Cie had pierced him.

"You felt pain there before the thing showed up, right?" she asked. He nodded, wondering where this was going. "I think...that thing came from your Brand. I think it's an Eidolon."

"What's an Eidolon?" Zora asked.

"Not much is known about them, but they supposedly show up to L'Cie to put them out of their misery," Nyla replied.

"How do you know this much about them?" Laura asked. "I know what an Eidolon is, but how did you draw a connection between the pain? It could have just been a cramp."

"In Palumpolum, I passed the time by reading about Pulse," she replied. "It's a fascinating subject. Everything isn't confirmed, and some things are unfinished, so I like to draw my own conclusions."

"If an Eidolon is supposed to put a L'Cie out of their misery, why didn't it?" Kane asked. "I don't think we actually inflicted any damage. We were way outmatched."

"I think...there was a story," Nyla said. "It was about a L'Cie who survived an attack from her Eidolon by proving she was strong enough to take care of herself. The Eidolon became a servant to her. It appeared every time she called it's name. The Eidolon never told the girl it's name, she just knew it. So, Kane, do you know it's name?"

Kane thought for a moment. Random names raced across his mind, and he hoped there would be one that stood out. "It looked like a grim reaper," he mumbled. "I can't think of any names."|

His heart sank as he heard another roar in the distance. Looking over his shoulder, he saw an Alpha Behemoth charging at them. Why was everything always trying to kill them? They just finished two hard fights. "If we have any hope of killing this thing, you'll have to figure it out," Laura said.

"Good idea," Nyla nodded. "Giving him incentive."

Kane frowned. Now, there was too much pressure for him to remember. "How am I supposed to know?" he asked. "I know nothing about Eidolons."

"They don't have human names," Nyla said. "The girl's Eidolon was Reselda. Funny story, people of Pulse would actually make fun of anybody with that Eidolon. They say she's reserved for the weakest L'Cie."

Kane sent a glare her way. Why was she talking about "funny stories" when death was charging toward them. As it got closer, Kane's brain thought harder. It seemed to go into overdrive as the Behemoth got within ten feet. The girls drew their weapons, ready to fight, but Kane knew they were drained of energy. He really needed Jazeel to show up.

Wait...Jazeel! That's it! he realized. He took a step forward, coming face to face with the Behemoth, which had stopped it's charge to attack.

"Jazeel!" Kane called. His Brand began to tingle, and a crystal formed in his hand. That's not Jazeel, he thought.

"Break it!" Nyla called.

Kane, trusting her, threw it into the air. He caught it as it came down, with enough force to shatter it. Time seemed to stop as it dissipated into mist. A large rune appeared on the ground surrounding Kane. The sky became dark, and the mist expanded until it covered the area. Jazeel rode in on a horse. Kane only see silhouettes in the mist. With a hiss, the mist dissipated, the light returned, and time resumed, except this time Jazeel stood beside Kane. "Count your last breaths!" he called to the Behemoth, and Jazeel brought down his scythe.

The Behemoth, taken aback by the power, stumbled to the side. Kane rushed up, punching it's head. Together, Jazeel and Kane outmatched it. He jumped back when he was pleased with the damage, then shouted, "You're finished!" Like before, Jazeel transformed into a skeletal horse. Kane grabbed his scythe, and hopped on him.

"Let's show him what death feels like," he said. Jazeel dashed forward, and Kane swiped the scythe, knocking the Alpha Behemoth off it's feet.

"Trample him to death," Kane ordered. Jazeel charged again, this time trampling the Behemoth while it was on the ground.

"Bring Hell's Reign," Kane said, noticing Jazeel only moved when Kane said something. Jazeel jumped into the air. Kane held the scythe up, and large, sharp shards of ice fell, piercing the Behemoth.

"You're lucky you're not dead yet," Kane told it, and Jazeel ran forward. Kane swiped the scythe multiple times, harming it as much as possible before it could attack.

"Finish him," Kane said, pointing at the Behemoth again. Jazeel reared onto his hind legs, like before, and neighed. A dark mist, similar to the one that had appeared beforehand, rolled across the battlefield. Kane wasn't sure how this would do anything, but he was pleasantly pleased to see the Behemoth fall, defeated. The mist disappeared, and Kane slid off Jazeel. Handing him his scythe, he said, "To the victor go the spoils."

After Jazeel ran off again, Kane turned to see the girls had just been watching. "I want an Eidolon!" Zora exclaimed. "That was so cool!"

"Very dramatic," Laura commented. "Talking to it."

"Eidolon's only respond in Gestalt Mode when L'Cie tell them to," Nyla said.

"Gestalt Mode?" Laura asked. "What's that?"

"It's an Eidolon's final form," she replied. "Like when he turned into a horse? That's his Gestalt Mode."

Kane looked at the body of the Behemoth. Jazeel had totally obliterated it. "It'll be hard to lose a battle now."

"Actually, there's a cool-down time," Nyla explained. "Jazeel needs to rest. It'll be a while until you can call him again."

Laura walked over to the edge of the crystal, and looked down. "Darn it!" she exclaimed. "We lost them. Come on, we need to go. We can walk and talk."