Working as Intended

Early last week, while I was feeling a little down in the dumps, a friend gave me a physical translated copy of Final Fantasy XIII -Episode Zero-. Sadly, no official English version of the novella compilation was ever released, so my copy is basically the Japanese cover with the pages inside replaced with a fan-translation. There's also a very nice online translation over here for people who, for some crazy reason, can't find someone willing to import a novel they can't read, replace the pages with ones they can, then throw it at you and go, "Stop being so sad, jackass!"

Episode Zero is a series of web novellas that were released before Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. Most of them can be found on Square-Enix's site, but new chapters were added when they published a physical copy. The novellas revolve around most of the cast and act as a prequel to XIII, with Fang and Vanille being the main focus. As a huge fan of XIII's backstory, I just couldn't put the book down, and now feel the urge to go on an very long rant/borderline analysis of it all. Or, specifically, of Fang and Vanille's importance to the story.

When Final Fantasy XIII was first released, I like many people naturally assumed that Lightning would play the starring role in the game's world. It initially looked that way, with the first handful of Chapters being almost entirely about her and her plight. However, about seven or eight hours into the game, a realization dawned for many; while Lightning was an interesting character, she wasn't doing anything particularly remarkable for the scale of story the game was trying to tell. Her story (or at least her impact on it in the grander sense) seemed as if it was a holding pattern while the game fumbled around in the back and tried to find the real story.

Not surprisingly, although still unfortunately, a lot of the criticism launched at the game comes from these hours. Thankfully, this all changed in Chapter 7, when we're introduced to one Oerba Yun Fang (the game magically becoming more awesome may or may not be coincidence). While she appeared earlier on, this was our (and Lightning's) formal introduction to her. After some amusingly snarky banter between the two, Fang explains her backstory and connection to Vanille, who had been following the group since Chapter One, but didn't seem to have any deeper significance beyond being the required Hyperactive Teenage Girl. The game's plot was almost entirely kicked into gear with one line from Fang.

"I've got a few screws loose, but I'm a l'Cie, same as you. Difference being... I wasn't born on Cocoon. I'm from Gran Pulse. The 'world below' you all hate so much. My partner and I'd turned to crystal there and gone to sleep. But when we came around, here we were. The reason Cocoon's in an uproar is the same reason you're here now... Vanille and I woke up."

While the story continued to wander around for a little bit longer, it started to become clear that Lightning wasn't the main character at all. The main characters, and the ones that would later be found to have an almost frighteningly large amount of the game's backstory and plot revolve around 'em, were two women players could have easily have dismissed as the typical Hyperactive Teenage Girl and Mysterious Warrior Woman.

This sort of thing is certainly not new to the Final Fantasy series. While you played as Tidus in FFX, and he did have a major role in how things unfolded, the game could be very arguably be seen as Yuna's story. In FFXII, while Vaan was advertised as being the main character, he basically fell off the podiun about an hour or two in and Ashe reigned over the plot from then on. Balthier as well, to a lesser, but still important, extent. Lightning falls between these two examples, but edging closer to Vaan in terms of overall importance to the game's story.

As Final Fantasy XIII progressed onwards, the realization wasn't that Fang and Vanille were important. It's that they were so important that, outside of Sazh and maybe Snow, the rest of the cast was in the proverbial background. Which is most likely why after arriving on Gran Pulse in Chapter 11, Fang and Vanille take the spotlight and never let it go. To the point where, reading through the (unfortunately Japanese only) Ultimania Omega guide book, it's not that surprising to learn that the developers speak of how Vanille was originally going to be the 'official' main character of the game, but declined simply because trailers and artwork of Lightning had already been released.

There were two XIII novella's released -Episode Zero and Episode i- and both revolved around the two Gran Pulse women. While it's fairly easy to see why the game considers the two so important without reading the books, they explain and shed light on so many details of their (and the world's) backstory that you could honestly make a new game about it all. Which Square should totally do. Hint Hint.

To understand what exactly makes the two crucial to the story, you have to go back to events that transpired before the game.

Way, way, way back.






While Final Fantasy XIII explains what needs to be explained to understand the plot (sort of), a lot information comes from Episode Zero and the Ultimania Scenario guide book. About 1,300 years before XIII takes place, a schism occurs among the fal'Cie of Gran Pulse. There are broken up into two groups; those who followed the fal'Cie Pulse, and those who followed the fal'Cie Lindzei. The Pulse-following fal'Cie believed that by tending to grounds of their sacred Gran Pulse world, they could find the door to the Invisible World, a task set up Pulse's supposed creator. The Lindzei fal'Cie had something far more horrific in mind.

The Lindzei fal'Cie believed that by sacrificing enough human lives (fal'Cie, being crystal/machine creations, apparently don't count) they could open a portal to the Invisible World; the realm of the dead where they believed both Pulse and Lindzei fled to; along with the goddess Etro, who was said to have created humankind. To get enough humans to hopefully open up a way to the Invisible World, the Lindzei fal'Cie ripped apart the ground of Gran Pulse and created a massive hollow planet in the sky. Countless fal'Cie agreed to protect and provide for all who wished to reside in this floating paradise. Many humans, tired of the struggle for survival on Gran Pulse, agreed and fled to the world, which was then called Cocoon. Apparently the significance of the name was lost on them...

"When our earthly vessels meet their end, the souls they housed must leave this world. Would the path of their migration not be the same one as our departed gods? Must they not pass through the same doorway the Divine employed to reach that place that lies beyond?

If this is the case, it stands to reason that, should a great many lives at once be cut short, a flood of souls would surge through the aforementioned portal. The Door would be thrown wide, and perhaps we might even glimpse the gleaming light of Divinity beyond."

-- On the Nature of Fal'Cie

The Pulse fal'Cie condemned the destruction the creation of Cocoon left on their hallowed Gran Pulse, all of which worked in the Lindzei fal'Cie' favour. Fal'Cie, by design, cannot harm their own. To do this, and many other tasks they deemed appropriate, they created l'Cie; humans who are branded with a mark and given a Focus; a task to complete. As Final Fantasy XIII mentions many times, once someone's been branded l'Cie, they're pretty much forever a slave to the fal'Cie.

Failure to complete their Focus, whatever it may be, would have the l'Cie's brand crystallize and cover their entire body, turning them into a Cie'th. The poor l'Cie can still see, but their body is controlled by the crystal. They spend countless years wandering and attacking all who stand in their way, until the just body gives up and turns to stone. The broken l'Cie then spends the rest of their eternal life pleading for someone, anyone to complete their Focus for them. A l'Cie who successfully completes their focus doesn't fare much better, however. They instantly crystallize and go into a deep sleep, only to be awoken when a fal'Cie needs them once more. They're given a new Focus and the whole wretched cycle endlessly repeats itself until the l'Cie gives in and just goes Cie'th. It's an no-win scenario.

The Lindzei fal'Cie relied on the hatred the Pulse fal'Cie held for them, for Cocoon could only be destroyed by a l'Cie given that Focus. There were two methods: Either destroy the fal'Cie Orphan at the core of Cocoon, who was responsible for holding the planetoid up in Gran Pulse's atmosphere, and/or for the l'Cie to turn into Ragnarok, a being capable of tearing Cocoon right out of the sky.

Final Fantasy XIII briefly explains Fang and Vanille's Focus on Gran Pulse, but very little is said in-game about their past or why/how they turned into l'Cie. Most of that is left up to the final chapter of Episode Zero, which reads out an ancient fable, or one of the many Analects you can find in the game. One of the most important bits comes at the end of the first short chapter, which details a Cocoon fal'Cie attack on the village of Oerba, over 500 years before the game takes place.

... It devoured the fruits of the earth which would become food for the people. It took the fertile lands with its hands, rolling it up and carrying it away. Metals which slept deep within the earth it tore out with its cursed right hand, stole with its cursed left hand, and then this too, it carried away.

Buildings it turned to rubble, and carried away without a trace left behind.

The only thing wasted was the countless lives of the people.

Screams of pain and terror filled the earth, but the destruction continued. Soon the only sound left was the silence of death.

On completing it’s atrocious acts, it flew once more into the sky. Only two children, now homeless and shaking, watched it as it went. Watching it return to that den of demons, that round den of thieves which floated in the sky.

In the eyes of one child; anger was born, and in the eyes of the other; sadness. 

On this day, tragedy fell, and two seeds were planted in the earth.

The attack on Oerba wasn't anything new or isolated. Mentions of fal'Cie ripping up the land to bring back to Cocoon appear quite a few times through the game and novels, but this is obviously a very important moment in the backstory for XIII, with both Fang's parents and Vanille's parents killed in the attack. Fang in particular holds a deep hatred for the fal'Cie Anima, who was supposed to protect Oerba from outside threats. The two girls eventually meet in an orphanage and form a close friendship.

Chapter Two of Episode Zero takes place an unspecific amount of years later, and sheds a little light on Gran Pulse society, which is usually left as vague as possible. Humans on Gran Pulse saw fal'Cie as protectors and gods, with many ceremonies and festivals occurring for important fal'Cie-based events. Usually the crystallization and completion of a Focus for a l'Cie. Speaking ill of a fal'Cie was considered a traitorous crime in the more religious circles, who were responsible for human/fal'Cie relations and bringing those they thought 'worthy' of being a l'Cie forward to a fal'Cie. Not that it mattered to the fal'Cie, who considered all human life expendable; something which Fang gets very upset about before the l'Cie ritual can take place, when she first spots Anima.

“Why are you here? It should be easy for a fal’Cie like you to crush Cocoon. Why don’t you go destroy Lindzei right now? Instead of making all these l’Cie, wouldn’t it be faster to just get all the fal’Cie together and go to fight them yourselves? Can you not figure that out for yourself, even though you’re a fal’Cie?! [...] How many l’Cie have become Cie'th while you sit here and do nothing?! How many homes have been lost? While your friends do nothing but dig holes!”

One of the most interesting points Zero reveals as well is that Vanille was never meant to become a l'Cie, or at least not a l'Cie given the Focus of destroying Cocoon. It was originally just meant to be Fang, but her outburst upon seeing Anima almost has her killed by the priests of the fal'Cie vestige, until Vanille intervenes and pleads for them to forgive her. Anima, through means of probably not really caring what Fang said, turns the two of them into l'Cie and they're given the Focus of transforming into the beast Ragnarok and destroying Cocoon.

The reason for why did Fang, and eventually Vanille, have no particular issue with destroying Cocoon is never explicitly stated, but hatred of Cocoon from Gran Pulse citizens was pretty widespread. Vanille's reasons (if she even had any) are never seen, but Fang makes constant references in Episode Zero to Cocoon citizens and fal'Cie being 'thieves', who steal the land and homes from Pulsians so they can live up in that floating little abomination. In the game itself, you can visit the remains of a school in Oerba and investigate a model of Cocoon, which says it's been defaced by derogatory writing. It's probably no stretch to say that hatred of Cocoon began at a very young age, which would be a massive help to the fal'Cie and their Foci.

Not all that much else is said about Fang and Vanille's upbringing, or the society they came from. Gran Pulse was a place of constant trials and fights to survive, with the many villages that scattered the land being home to tightly-knitted communions, who shared food and housing with one another. Neither Fang nor Vanille left the village very often outside of hunting, if at all; as Episode Zero says that they never rode on the train that went by their village. Nor did any Oerbans.

Outside of that, the rest is just guesswork. Fang's referred to as a hunter and has a number of scars on her right arm, so she probably helped provide food and/or protection for Oerba, or at least the home she was raised in alongside Vanille. As for Vanille herself, nothing's ever said, except that she had Bhakti, a little robot pet. Fang refers to her as being constantly scared and crying, so she probably didn't go out and do the hunting of the monsters, unless it was alongside Fang. However, it's shown several times that despite growing up alongside other children and orphans, Fang and Vanille mostly kept to themselves and relied on each other constantly as they grew up.






Speaking of vagueness, little is ever outright stated about Fang and Vanille's focus to destroy Cocoon besides the basics. The two were supposed to transform into Ragnarok during the War of Transgression, which involved Pulsian and Cocoon forces duking it out to see who could wipe out who first, but Vanille was too scared of the power that was bestowed upon them by the fal'Cie. With little other options, Fang transformed into an incomplete version of Ragnarok and started ripping Cocoon apart. While she did extensive damage to the world, which still hadn't been repaired some 500 years later, both she and Vanille began to crystallize before the task could be complete. It's implied the goddess Etro may have crystallized them to try and stop the war, but it's never explicitly said and may just be some religious-like imagining.

"Two l'Cie are they, the Chosen, and from the North they hail. Endowed are they with fal'Cie Focus, to bear the burden of the Beast.

My brothers and sisters of Gran Pulse: Honor the Chosen in your prayers! Let the blade forged of their will be tempered by your faith, that it might sunder that devilish cocoon's facade!"

--A Call to Arms 

"Ragnarok took wing; made to smite Cocoon, and thereby deliver us our everlasting peace. But Her Providence would not let it be. 

The Goddess pitied the fools who so blindly bowed to Lindzei's will, and so She robbed Ragnarok of power, putting the l'Cie to an early crystal sleep, Focus yet incomplete."

-- Sermons of the seeress Paddra Nsu-Yeul 

Shortly after turning to crystal, Fang and Vanille are placed within Anima's vestige, where various festivities take place. Food and garments are offered to their crystals for some time afterwards, as it part of Pulsian (or at least Oerban) tradition. It's not said when, but some time after the failed attack on Cocoon, the fal'Cie Barthandelus orders the vestige, with the sleeping l'Cie and Anima still within, be raised from Oerba and placed on Cocoon for future use.

The aftermath of Ragnarok had a huge impact on both Cocoon and Gran Pulse. The citizens of Cocoon grew to fear Gran Pulse, with the fal'Cie of that world very quick to produce anti-Pulse propaganda to brainwash the masses into never leaving Cocoon, so they could one day be sacrificed to bring Lindzei back into the world. Though they obviously didn't tell them that last part...

Gran Pulse did not fare as well. The exact date is unknown, but some time after the War of Transgression Pulse society began to break down; wars broke out and it all sadly ended with the complete destruction of their cities and the apparent extinction of every human living there, bar the crystallized l'Cie and the Cie'th. As for what exactly triggered the fall of Pulse, it's just short of stated that things began to go south after the fal'Cie started to turn humans left and right into l'Cie, over increasingly pointless and suicidal tasks. Many of the Analects and Cie'th Stone Missions you can play in XIII once you reach Gran Pulse point towards this.

"You mean to tell me my Focus is to hunt that one-eyed adroa that plagues the Ascendant Scarp? Did I really need to be made a l'Cie to go hunting? Did I not do that every day? Are l'Cie not meant to fight Cocoon? Is that not the reason I left, boasting of the feats of heroism I would accomplish?

...Am I never to return home again?"

--Cie'th Mission 04 

"How long now, since the demons of Cocoon violated this land? Where once the peoples of Gran Pulse stood as one, united against a common foe, today we stand divided, at war amongst ourselves.

We walk on the edge of a knife, teetering, ever but one step from our demise. How tired a species, that we must rob our own of the necessities for life lest we succumb to the fate to which we so willingly subject others!

Even Haeri, at the height of its glory, laid to ruin by a menace greater still! Surely the vipers within that floating nest look down upon us with self-righteous scorn, to see this decline of our once-great civilization."

--Criticisms of a Pulsian People

"The fal'Cie of Hallowed Pulse offer us no salvation. Populations dwindle, and still they but make more of us l'Cie, dealing out one incomprehensible Focus after the next as they drive us toward our end.

Men take up arms against their brothers now. We, who should be joining hands to survive in the face of nature's trials, turn on one another to secure what few of her blessings remain.

I suspect that even the city of Paddra, this last bastion of civilization, will not long stand against the evils we now perpetrate. Human life on Gran Pulse has passed the point of no return."

--Criticisms of a Pulsian People

While the timing is unknown, in Oerba in Chapter 11, you can visit Fang and Vanille's home and find a picture of the two on the table inside. Proof of their past on Gran Pulse and maybe-kinda-sorta evidence that Pulse society started to fall very shortly after the two were crystallized?

As Fang and Vanille slept in crystal stasis up on Cocoon, the world below they came from slowly killed itself over the failings of Ragnarok. If anyone did survive, they probably fled as far away from the Gran Pulse mainland and fal'Cie as humanly possible. In Episode i, which takes place just after the events of XIII, Lightning muses the notion that there might be survivors from Gran Pulse out there somewhere, but never finds them.

Other than that (that being 'the complete annihilation of a society') nothing particularly major happens between the War of Transgression 500 years before the game takes place and when Fang and Vanille wake up 13 days before XIII. The fal'Cie grip on Cocoon society and its human inhabitants only strengthens more, and Barthandelus, under the illusion of Galenth Dysley, becomes Lord-Sovereign over Cocoon. From there, he can manipulate pretty much anything he needs to in order to bring about the destruction of Orphan and the falling of Cocoon.

All that was left was for Fang and Vanille to wake up.






Final Fantasy XIII shows what needed to be shown about the 13 days before the events in the game transpire, but it's Episode Zero that goes into detailed accounts from all the characters' points of view. Obviously, for the purposes of this post (and just in general, honestly) the chapter focusing on Fang and Vanille waking up within the Pulse Vestige is the most important and interestin'.

Fang awakens with all memory lost about anything regarding Ragnarok, and discovers her l'Cie brand is scorched white and has frozen any progress towards becoming a Cie'th. Vanille, presumably in avoiding to become Ragnarok, is not so fortunate. She remembers everything Fang had to do and her brand still progresses onward. However, in not wanting to harm anymore people and fearing for Fang's safety if she ever discovered Ragnarok again, Vanille lies and says she's lost her memory too. Unfortunately, all this serves to do is make Fang panic and take reckless action in order to save her friend. Vanille's lies and trying to run away from her problems are probably the single largest impact she has over the events of the game. It effects everyone and almost every situation, to one degree or another.

At this point, XIII skips ahead a few days and shows Fang and Vanille heading towards Euride Gorge to talk to the fal'Cie Kujata, but Episode Zero shows what happens between the two events and gives us a look into Vanille's mind.

The two awaken to discover the food and general offerings given to l'Cie statues, just in case they wake up, have long since rotted away. After successfully hunting down some Cocoon wildlife and stealing vegetables from a nearby garden, only to discover they all taste like crap, Fang and Vanille slowly make their way towards the town of Bodhum. They're initially very cautious of Cocoon's citizens (with Fang amusingly trying to stab her way out of nearly every problem), but slowly discover that the residents of Bodhum don't really pay much mind to the two at all. As far as they're concerned, they're just slightly odd residents of Cocoon.

In Bodhum proper, Fang and Vanille come across two guys, who offer to buy them lunch. Starving, and having the Pulsian tradition of a food offering being somewhat of a peace/family affair, the two take them up on the meal. They amusingly bumble their way through the lunch, with neither being able to read the Cocoon alphabet, being completely befuddled by many terms the two men use (such as 'University'), and Fang's table manners consisting of finding the meal rather bland, so she just dumps a heap of salt all over it and starts tearing into it. Despite the shocked reactions from the men, and Vanille acting as if they were just busted as being from Gran Pulse, Fang just shrugs it off, insisting that she 'always eats like this'.

As the meal continues, the discussion takes an awkward turn when the matter of the Pulse Vestige outside town comes up. Fang and Vanille discover that the War of Transgression happened over five hundred years ago, and they quickly learn that Cocoon citizens don't have a very high opinion of people from Gran Pulse. The people of Cocoon know nothing of the Gran Pulse extinction, as the constant propaganda from the fal'Cie that's fed to them leads them to believe that Pulsians still alive and are useless barbarians who were no better than animals. Needless to say, this kinda ticks Fang and Vanille off. Fang in particular.

After forcing the two men into an alleyway outside and giving them a swift punch to the face, Fang discovers their ID cards, although she and Vanille have absolutely no idea what they are. Through the tried and tested method of 'pushing buttons randomly while getting rather annoyed' the two are able to figure out what the cards do exactly, and head back to the vestige. Inside, they discover that Anima has turned a young girl (later found out to be Serah, Lightning's sister) into a Pulse l'Cie.

With Fang being, as she'd call it, a 'broken l'Cie' with a scorched brand, Anima most likely reached out for someone else to replace her. As Serah rather rightfully freaks the hell out and leaves the temple, Fang and Vanille feel an immeasurable amount of guilt. While Fang wants to continue to find a way to jog her memory and complete their Focus, Vanille's mind is already made up. While she wishes to stay close to her friend, the fear and guilt she feels over Ragnarok and their waking up on Cocoon is just too much. It's most likely at this point that Vanille just loses all desire to continue her Focus, even if it means becoming a Cie'th. While she tries to lie to Fang in order to spare her friend's feelings, all she's doing is making things worse and leading Fang into taking increasingly irrational actions.

After a few days of searching and being in wonder of Cocoon's technology, the two find themselves at the Euride Gorge facility after overhearing someone mention that the fal'Cie Kujata resided there.

The events that occur at Euride are only shown in the game, but it's a major moment in the backstory for not just Fang and Vanille, but for Sazh as well. The three of them cause one of the biggest turning points in the story, all while Lightning, Snow and Hope are off doing something completely irrelevant!

Sazh, Fang and Vanille arrive at Euride Gorge on the same day (and even shared the same train, although none of them knew that). The two women stumble across Kujata, and after failing to get its attention, Fang takes matters into her own hands and prepares to attack the fal'Cie. Kujata responds by branding the nearest human as its protector, which just so happened to be Sazh's son, who wandered away from his father as he was buying a pet Chocobo for the boy. With Dajh branded, alarms begin to sound and Sanctum troops are dispatched throughout the facility.

While the Sanctum and Sazh discover Dajh passed out in front of Kujata, Fang and Vanille were long gone. With troops pursuing them at every turn, Fang forces Vanille to escape from Euride after promising that she'll find her soon enough. Vanille tries to object and says that she'll just give up on the Focus, but Fang will have none of it. The two are separated and won't see each other again until the end of Chapter 9 in Final Fantasy XIII.

Back with Sazh, he is completely in ruins over seeing his son turned into a l'Cie; a fal'Cie slave. Dajh can detect Pulsian l'Cie, but Fang and Vanille are long gone, with everyone who encountered the two (or at least Fang) very much dead or near abouts. With the Euride Gorge incident, Cocoon is now aware of Pulse l'Cie in their little paradise. This leads to Bodhum being put under quarantine and then eventually Purged, Sazh boarding the Purge train to try and complete his son's Focus at the Pulse Vestige, Lightning doing the same only for her sister, and Snow ditto, except he's also trying to rescue the Bodhum residents as well. It's the event that pretty much causes the game to even begin, and it's not done being important yet, so we'll come back to it.

With Fang and Vanille seperated, the story takes two different paths. Fang eventually bumps into the Cavalry, an anti-Sanctum branch of the Cocoon military, while Vanille stumbles around Bodhum in a depressive state. The Cavalry eventually manages to persuade Fang to join their cause (after a lot of bickering and sarcastic back-and-forth), but only if they help her find Vanille first.

Vanille is unable to spend the night alone in the Pulse vestige, practically breaking down and crying whenever she thinks about Fang, Dajh, Serah and all the trouble she's caused for them. Returning to Bodhum, Vanille encounters Serah on the beach, and the two strike up a friendship. While Serah has no idea of Vanille's indirect involvement in turning her into a l'Cie, Vanille falls to her knees and begs Serah for forgiveness. Serah never puts two and two together, because she's kind of a ditz like that, but explains to Vanille that if things are too hard for her to tackle now, she should try to deal with them later, as things are easier to judge from a distance. For Serah, this is an explanation for just taking your time and dealing with things as they come; for Vanille it's vindication for running away and hiding from her problems.

Serah explains to Vanille a nightmare she had of destroying the world, with Vanille knowing this refers to Ragnarok and Serah essentially replacing Fang in the Focus. The two eventually part ways as the Sanctum begin rounding Bodhum citizens up for the Purge down at the Hanging Edge, a place that was all but abandoned when Ragnarok attacked Cocoon five hundred years ago. Cocoon citizens are told that the Purge involves banishing anyone 'tainted' by Pulse l'Cie or fal'Cie down to Pulse itself, which is considered a fate worse than death. In reality, the Purge is just a slaughterhouse. Those tainted by Pulse are dragged out to the Hanging Edge and then murdered, with the Sanctum being told by Cocoon fal'Cie that nobody can step foot on Pulse, lest they join the 'barbarians' that don't actually exist and plot to destroy Cocoon.






The final section of Episode Zero takes place just moments before the beginning of Final Fantasy XIII, and explains more about Vanille's character in its first few paragraphs than the first half of XIII ever does. Without Zero, it's difficult to have proper context for Vanille's chipper personality and mannerisms for Chapter 1-8 on the first go-around of XIII.

Believing that she'll never see Fang again, coupled with the crushing loneliness of being stuck on a world that's actively trying to hunt her down and the wall of guilt she feels over her lies and attempts to flee from her problems, Vanille spends the last night in the Pulse vestige screaming and eventually crying herself to sleep. It's entirely possible that if Vanille had become Ragnarok alongside Fang all those centuries ago, she could have awoken with a burnt brand as well, and the events that transpired afterwards never would have happened. Although not intentional on her part, almost every single negative event that occurs before XIII is Vanille's fault. The amount of guilt the poor girl has on her shoulders is often too much for her, and for the reader if you're the sympathetic kind.

Even though she admits it's just her running away from her problems again, Vanille believes that the best she can do to atone for turning Serah and Dajh into l'Cie is to bring no harm to their world or their loved ones on it. She plans to board the Purge train and head back to Gran Pulse, even if it means leaving Fang all alone on Cocoon and eventually turning herself into a Cie'th on the world below. Vanille's very depressed and often borderline suicidal thoughts in the final moments of Episode Zero go a long way to explaining her character and the amount of shit she has to go through. There are only two options available to her: either complete her focus and kill millions of innocent people and forever remain a fal'Cie slave; or run away from it all, saving Cocoon, but abandoning her best friend on the hostile world and condemning herself to an eternity of sorrow and suffering as a Cie'th.

And, after god only knows how many paragraphs, only now do the events in the game take place. Whew!

As for why is Vanille portrayed the way she is in the game? Events in Chapter 8 of XIII, and little moments foreshadowed beforehand, show that Vanille's been doing a classic but deeply unfortunate thing anyone who's been around someone depressed, or has been depressed themselves, would probably know all too well...

Suffering from a very rightful and crippling case of depression over everything she's caused, Vanille starts trying to act overly happy; both to try and make sure nobody she's around worries about her, but also in a doomed attempt to try and believe her own lies. If she acts happy, then maybe the pain will just go away? Vanille tries to run away from her problems yet again, and like every other attempt the poor girl's made, it'll all come crashing down around her...

Aside from introducing Vanille as the supposedly typical Hyperactive Teenage Girl, the first few Chapters of Final Fantasy XIII come and go with annoyingly little happening. We're introduced to Lightning, Sazh, Snow, Hope and Vanille, and all of them meet within the Pulse vestige and eventually fight Anima. The group are branded as l'Cie, with Vanille lying about her brand to try and hide from being discovered as a citizen from Gran Pulse, and that's about it, aside from two interesting little tidbits.

From a gameplay perspective, there's some really nice attention to detail regarding Vanille in Chapter One and Two. Every other character you play as only has access to two ATB bars in-battle, while Vanille has three. When the rest of the group are branded as l'Cie, they gain the third ATB guage that Vanille had all along, which is a cute little hint that most won't even notice until a secondary (if not more) playthrough.

From a story perspective, there's a major hint of the game's ending when the group encounters Serah in the Pulse vestige. A cutscene far into the game and a chapter in Episode Zero confirm that Serah's initial Focus is to turn into Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon, since she's acting as a replacement for the 'broken' Fang. However, when the group finds her, she very quickly crystallizes without obviously smashing Cocoon into itty-bitty pieces, so what the hell? Serah is proof, although never explicitly stated, that a l'Cie can actually change their Focus and defy the fal'Cie under specific circumstances.

After Chapter 2, the plot begins its unfortunate meandering about. The group is formally introduced to each other, they contemplate their fate of being turned into l'Cie, Lightning punches Snow a bunch and the group eventually splits up and goes their separate ways. We get a few more hints to Vanille's hidden depression while she travels with Sazh; and Snow (as well as the player) is introduced to Fang, who's running around with the Cavalry. Aside from that, not much of consequence happens. It's all good fun, but it doesn't give me much to write about, dang it.

Actually, the next bit of truly relevant story wouldn't rear its head until Chapter 7 when, as mentioned at the start of this worryingly long entry, Snow sort of ditches Fang with Lightning in Palumpolum while he runs off to be a BIG DAMN HERO. As the two make their way through the city, Fang discusses what little she can remember to Lightning, including the Euride Gorge incident and Serah turning into a l'Cie because of what she and Vanille did. The latter revelation earning Fang a slap across the face from Lightning.

Gameplay-wise Chapter 7 doesn't change the formula much, but it starts to pass the 'main-character' torch from Lightning to Fang and Vanille. Just earlier in the Chapter, Lightning opens up to Hope and reveals her past and the 'Lightning' persona she created to protect herself and Serah. That's the last major chunk of character development she has for the rest of the game. Her bit's over and it's time to start transitioning over to the real meat and potatoes of the game's plot.

"Until we woke up here, we'd been in crystal stasis. Which means, we must've complete our first Focus. Why can't I remember that part? My childhood's clear as day. But the one thing I need—it's just gone... Blank. Like an empty page.... I reach for the memory, and nothing. Then there's my brand, it's all messed up! Vanille and me, we lost our past and our focus."

"And now, you want to find them. Be a Pulse l'Cie. An enemy of Cocoon?"

"Pulse and Cocoon can rot for all I care! If I don't figure out our Focus soon, Vanille's gonna be a Cie'th. I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her." 

-- Fang and Lightning

For those who didn't get to read Episode Zero beforehand, or couldn't because Square was a smelly jerkface and never officially released any version of it outside of Japan, Chapter 7 was the big introduction to Fang's backstory and character. In Zero, we get to see a lot of Fang as she joins the Cavalry and desperately searches for Vanille. She's depicted as being very strong (with the Cavalry having to basically tie her up to get her on board the Lindblum without killing them, even with their advantage of guns) and dryly sarcastic, but intensely loyal and kind.

Aside from bringing about initial signs of the true plot, Chapter 7 also marked the end of many of the characters stories. Lightning was already discussed, but Snow and Hope's progression more or less hops off at this Chapter too. Snow gets a tiny bit more in Chapter 10, but Hope's practically pointless to the main plot now and doesn't contribute much for the rest of the game. He gets a bit of spotlight at the start of Chapter 11 with the Eidolon battle against Alexander, but that's it. Such is the nature of secondary characters, particularly in this series!

With Lightning, Snow and Hope's stories coming to an end, Chapter 8 whisks the player over to Sazh and Vanille in the city of Nautilus. While everyone who plays this chapter remembers the very dramatic finale, there's a very nice little nugget of information about the War of Transgression in the Pompa Sancta ceremony Sazh and Vanille watch near the beginning. How much of the pageant is actually true and not just fal'Cie/Sanctum propaganda is unknown (probably leans very high towards the latter) but it does provide some nice info if you're the type of person who loves over-analyzing completely fictional stories!

According to the Totally Overdramatic and Mostly Likely Not at All Accurate Pageant, Pulse l'Cie attacked Cocoon with a whole slew of Eidolons, until one l'Cie transformed into Ragnarok and began to break Cocoon apart. The wonderfully glorious Cocoon fal'Cie who are flawless and amazing in every way leapt forward with their l'Cie and protected their little floating abode. Really, it's not the details that are important (because most of it is stupid and doesn't make sense), but it's Vanille's reaction to the parade and cheering crowds that is. Already bearing the burden of effectively turning Sazh and Serah into l'Cie, as well as lying to and abandoning the one person in the world she could honestly trust, Vanille now starts to believe that everything would have been better if she and Fang had just died during the war.

Vanille's unfortunate habit of running and hiding from her problems comes to a very dramatic and inevitable front in Nautilus, when she and Sazh discover Dajh, who immediately turns to crystal. Jihl Nabaat of the Sanctum (who has a total screentime of maybe three minutes before anti-climatically dying) reveals to Sazh that Dajh's Focus was to find Pulse l'Cie and that Vanille and Fang were the two behind the Euride Gorge incident.

Discovering that he's been traveling and protecting the woman who ruined his life, as well as having the realization finally sink in that his six year old son will forever be a slave to the fal'Cie, Sazh completely falls apart and hunts down Vanille. The poor girl runs off into the night, crying, but eventually loses the will to run, or even live anymore.






The scene, alongside the shocking follow up, are generally considered to be the most emotional moments in the entire game, and test just how invested you are in the game and its characters. If you're not, then you may as well quit it right there and then. It marks a pretty significant change for both characters as well. Sazh goes on to be quieter, but much more determined to break the fal'Cie grip over both him and his son. Vanille on the other hand, while still chipper, definitely mellows out and tries to focus more on keeping the group going than just simply trying to cheer them up. Vanille still holds her fair share of lies and secrets, however, so she's unfortunately not done yet.

Chapter 9 revolves around Lightning, Fang, Snow and Hope rescuing Sazh and Vanille from the Sanctum, after the two were captured in Nautilus. It's also the chapter where the game takes its firm grip off the player and allows them to freely swap characters in and out of the current party, and ramps up the difficulty of the boss encounters.

After running around the Palamecia like idiots for a while and pretty much just stumbling across each other, the two groups are reunited, with Lightning and Snow hatching a plan to kill Galenth Dysley and 'give Cocoon back to the people'. Fang and Vanille are also reunited for the first time since Euride, in a rather heartwarming scene. Anyway, with current plan to topple the Sanctum underway, the group storms the bridge of the Palamecia, encounters Dysley, who then reveals himself to be the fal'Cie Barthandelus and proceeds to smack the group around with a wall of exposition.

"Ease is not the issue. You have not fought to win. You should know quite well already the sure way of dispatching our kind. Ragnarok."

"What's Ragnarok?"

"Pitiful l'Cie, you've forgotten your Focus. Ragnarok is the beast one of you must become in order to lay waste to Cocoon. You have had the dream. One among you will become that monstrosity, defeat Orphan, and destory Cocoon."

"Orphan?"

"The font of Eden's power. Orphan fuels Eden with strength, and Eden in turns sustains you and the rest of our kind. Destroy Orphan, and you'll release a force such as this world has never seen. Cocoon will be torn asunder."

"So if I did that... Destroyed Orphan..."

"Your Focus will be fulfilled."  

-- Barthandelus and Fang.

There's a lot of discussion over the nature of Ragnarok and the l'Cie, all of which has been mentioned in the above gazillion paragraphs, but there's one thing ol' Barty slips out that plays a massive role in the finale of the game. Barthandelus' tells them (mostly to try and motivate 'em to destroy Cocoon) that Serah's true Focus was to bring the group together so one of them could turn into Ragnarok.

While most of the group was around Serah when she turned to crystal, Fang wasn't there (and Serah didn't know who she was, but Anima obviously would've), and the dream Serah mentions to Vanille is the same Ragnarok-based one everyone else got. Which means either Barthandelus was lying (shocking, I know), or Serah changed her Focus before encountering the group in Chapter 1. Or, most likely, both.

After the group escapes from Barthandelus, who leads them to an Ark full of Pulsian wildlife and machinery hidden underneath Eden (the city, not the fal'Cie), Chapter 10 centers heavily on the group's reactions to the Ragnarok story and what their plan is. Do they destroy Cocoon, allowing themselves to go into crystal stasis but murdering millions of innocent people, or do they give up on their Focus, opting instead to turn into Cie'th and live a life without control and full of sorrow and lament? The full story behind Barthandelus' motives (sacrificing humans, bringing back Lindzei, ect) isn't revealed until Cid Raines, leader of the Cavalry, appears before the group in the Ark.

Cid also reveals himself to be a l'Cie and actively tries to reject his Focus, attacking the group in hopes of stopping them from destroying Cocoon. However, the group defeats Cid and he is turned to crystal; his Focus apparently just being to empower the group to fight. After the fight, Snow decides on his new course of action. He plans to defy his Focus as Cid tried to, and follow what he believes Serah's Focus was; to protect Cocoon. The rest of the group agrees with Snow's stupidity heroism and it's decided! The group will protect Cocoon, even if it means a horrible eternity of suffering for them.

"Well, count me out. If you all want to go it on your own... Then so will I! Let Cocoon gets what's comin'. They hate us for being l'Cie. What's it to me if they die? Better that than watch a friend go Cie'th! If you don't have the nerve for it, I'll do it myself. Go on alone, get stronger, and smash Cocoon out of the sky!"

"... Fang?"

"You turn Cie'th, and there's no coming back! I'm not letting it end that way!"  

--Fang, the one sensible, if somewhat psychotic, person in the group and Vanille.

The group eventually sways around to Fang's controversial strategy of not dying horribly and they escape the Ark and eventually find themselves on Gran Pulse for Chapter 11. From this point on, the story is purely about Fang and Vanille. The rest of the group essentially tag along, due to their being l'Cie and tied to the fate of Ragnarok and all that. They don't stop being interesting or important in their own way, but their role is purely supportive now.

Upon the return to Gran Pulse, Fang and Vanille discover the ruins of the once-great civilization, but have very little reaction to it. Episode Zero hints that the two felt alone in the world and never ventured outside of town, so maybe they just didn't care about the rest of Gran Pulse outside of Oerba (which they do react to when they find what remains of their hometown). In any case, with the arrival on Pulse, the gameplay significantly opens up, including there being entirely optional and possibly missed cutscenes. The first revolves around Hope and Vanille, which can be seen in the Yaschas Massif at any time, but the second (and far more important) cutscene in the area can only be found near the ruins of Paddra after the group arrives on Pulse, but before you head to Taejin's Tower.

Vanille: "Must have been centuries ago now, when me and Fang joined the battle against Cocoon. During the fight, I became Ragnarok... and cracked Cocoon's shell. [...] The memories--they're all pretty fuzzy."

Hope: "Cocoon's version of the War of Transgression must have been built up around what you two did."

Fang: "I didn't do anything! I just got turned to crystal, and I can't even remember why that happened. Don't even have the memories to show for it."

Vanille: "It's all my fault. So many people died because of me."

While entirely optional (and very easily missed), the cutscene helps drive home a series of clues that've been lingering throughout the game if you never read Episode Zero. Vanille doesn't wish to see Fang hurt or take reckless action to complete their Focus, but lying is just making things more and more complicated, confusing all around her and making them take reckless action anyway as the metaphorical timer on their brands tick down.

As the group explores Gran Pulse and encounters many Cie'th Stones, each with their own little hints as to the fate of humanity on the world below, Vanille continues to (very unsuccessfully) lie to Fang about becoming Ragnarok. Fang eventually works her way through the lies and tricks Vanille into admitting the truth after a battle with the Eidolon, Hecatoncheir.






The developments in Chapter 11, and importantly the cutscene above, show what Final Fantasy XIII is actually about. While there are other developed characters and a story about saving/destroying the world, as is the case of every game in the franchise and many others, XIII is really all about Fang and Vanille. Not so much their goals, or how they tie into the world, but the two characters specifically. Much like how Final Fantasy VIII is actually the story of Squall and Rinoa, with the rest of the characters and world being a framing device for the two, XIII's backstory and ongoing plot serves mostly to develop Fang and Vanille. Two friends, initially alone in the world, who go through complete hell to protect one another.

With the big realization about the story all said and done, all that's left is for the game to wrap everything up. Very little new information comes out of Chapters 11, 12 and 13, with the goal instead being to have the characters realize what it takes to defy their Focus and be free of fal'Cie oppression. While all still very important and interesting (go play it, darn you!) there's not much to mention here specifically. Except that Oerba's music is really good.

In terms of importance to this particularly long entry, the final truly significant part of the game occurs at the very end. As the group heads back up to Cocoon and invades Orphan's Cradle with still unsure intentions, they eventually locate and fight Barthandelus and Orphan itself. Despite a lengthy and exhausting battle, Barthandelus appears to be immortal. In a moment of despair and desperation, with Vanille's seal just being moments away from turning her into a Cie'th, Fang attempts to perform a mercy killing on her friend, but is tackled aside by the rest of the group.

Barthandelus preys on this moment and apparently turns everyone but Fang and Vanille into Cie'th and relentlessly tortures Fang, trying to have her bring about Ragnarok. She eventually caves in and transforms into the incomplete version of the beast, managing to crack the shield around Orphan before returning to normal.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group breaks free of being Cie'th, with it apparently just being an illusion that Barthandelus conjured up (one of many throughout the game) and they achieve what Serah managed at the start of the game; changing their Focus.

"I don't know. It was a new Focus, or something. You know, I'm thinking, didn't really make sense, of course... I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all, but... As luck would have it, next thing I know I feel somebody pushing me right along."

"You were there too, Fang. Same side. All of us. Together to the end."

"We promised, didn't we? Anger didn't drive us. We just had things worth fighting for." 

 -- Sazh, Lightning and Vanille to a distraught Fang.

"You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release. So take it, and leave the rest of us alone! We don't think like that. When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home. And we'll protect it or die trying! We live to make the impossible possible! That is our Focus!" 

--Lightning, doing her best Gurren Lagann impression.

The group attacks and defeats Orphan, completing their original Focus, but seemingly dooming Cocoon in the process. With Orphan dead, Eden and the rest of the fal'Cie start dying off. With Eden dead, Cocoon starts falling out of the sky. As the rest of the party makes their reluctant escape and the portal to the Invisible World opens up above Eden, Vanille accepts her fears and her fate and joins with Fang to transform into the true version of Ragnarok. Using all their power, the two sacrifice themselves to create a massive crystal pillar that holds the dead Cocoon up in the sky above Gran Pulse.

The rest of the group awaken from their crystal sleep shortly afterwards and discover their brands are gone! The exact reasoning is never given, but it's implied to be Etro's doing; although if that's actually accurate or not is unknown. As they group discusses what happened, they learn that Fang and Vanille aren't among them, since they willingly crystallized themselves and stayed up in the Cocoon pillar. Their 500 year Focus is complete and for the first time in a very long while, the two friends finally know peace.

In the Episode i novella, it's revealed that not only did Fang and Vanille willingly allow themselves to turn to crystal, they also wish to remain in that state. While the rest of the group recovers from their sleep and begins to make plans for the future, the two Pulsians watch over them, and everyone else, from above.

"Don't even think of trying to help us, or bring us back, or whatever stupid plan you might come up with. Don't you dare. You worry about yourselves, you hear me?"

"What are you gonna do? You know what they're like..." 

-- Fang and Vanille, knowing their friends all too well.

And... well, that's really all there is!

To me, Fang and Vanille are easily the two most developed and interesting characters in the entire Final Fantasy franchise. Though that much probably should've been made obvious by this point. For Vanille, it does require a trek into Obscure Novel Land to help bring context to her appearances for the first few chapters of the game, but even so, she's a darn sight more developed than other characters of her type. Fang doesn't need the help of a novel to get her character across, but she's still an interesting read in it all the same. The two play off each other extremely well, and I'm glad Square-Enix decided to focus on them for Final Fantasy XIII.

Now if only we could get some sort of prequel about the two...

I have no idea what Square has in store for the two when it comes to XIII's sequels, but it doesn't seem like they're going anywhere, and I think that's probably the best decision. I absolutely love the characters, \ but if you bring them back from being crystallized then you run the risk of cheapening their sacrifice and the ending to XIII. Much like how bringing Tidus back for X-2 cheapened X's very bittersweet ending and almost every single message in X-2 about how Yuna should stop concentrating and wishing about the past.

Episode i establishes that Fang and Vanille are perfectly happy where they are. More than willing to 'waste away' in a deep crystal sleep if it means being beside one another. It's a great way to finish off their arc, and there's very little you could honestly bring them back for, aside for a corny ending for XIII-3 or whatever DLC XIII-2 has cookin'. If they could bring the two back in a believable and appropriate manner, then, well, sign me up for the sequel/s!

I really hope we get more characters like them in the future. Characters who have very in-depth and interesting backstories and personalities. Characters who are more important to the story than just being some dumb muscle to progress things along. Characters who... well, honestly feel like characters.

In Final Fantasy XV, perhaps?

"When prayers turn into promises, not even fate can stand in their way."

 "We held the light of hope in our hearts, and achieved the impossible. Now we live on, to greet a new dawn." 

-- Guess.