History NightmareFuel / FinalFantasyXIII2

** In the subtlest Shout Out, a sound effect plays '''every 15 seconds''' during a small part where you search for Noel, who's also wandering around like the other spirits, sounding ''exactly'' like ''VideoGame/SilentHill3's'' "Red Light Chase."[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTT-2xYAKyE&t=3m24s The link]] [[SchmuckBait for those who are curious]] (after 3:24).

* Imagine this: In Oerba 400 AF, you're strolling along the shores minding your own business, when suddenly a space time distortion appears. You strike it and [[EldritchAbomination Oh my God what is that thing?!]] It's a [[BossInMookClothing Cie'th that is tough to beat even at Maximum Level]], and is also the scariest Cie'th you'll find in the game to boot. [[DemonicSpider Spider-like legs? Check.]] [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Snake-like lower body? Check.]] And being a Cie'th? Double check. Not to mention it has all those human-like arms...

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpsgk7b3R3w&feature=related "Ruined Hometown"]]. It's beautiful, but the opening has a sound in the back that sounds like a constantly whirring saw.

** In the subtlest Shout Out, a sound effect plays '''every 15 seconds''' during a small part where you search for Noel, who's also wandering around like the other spirits, sounding ''exactly'' like ''VideoGame/SilentHill3's'' 'Red Light Chase'.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTT-2xYAKyE&t=3m24s The link]] [[SchmuckBait for those who are curious]] (after 3:24).

* Anything from 500 AF and onwards (except for the possibility of Archelyte Steppe (not the one from the paradox ending) being somewhere at this time):

** '''Paradox Ending #8:''' '''A Giant Mistake''' has a possible Archelyte Steppe 500 AF Paradox where the peaceful plains of the Archelyte Steppe have been reduced to a flaming war zone. Which may imply that the last area of peace may have been destroyed if it wasn't for them weakening Atlas, and that probability alone is disturbing.

* Just the intro when you first play as Serah. You open your front door and step outside, expecting to see your friends and neighbors and a beautiful beachfront view...and then the air seems to warp and fold in on itself as you find yourself walking in a blasted, desolate landscape completely devoid of human presence, or any life at all for that matter.
* Adam's plan, as revealed by the Augusta Tower Paradox ending. First, he brainwashes Serah, Mog, and Noel into becoming his knights while he begins work on an army of fal'Cie. The worst part? This plan is called The Eden Project. He intends to make history repeat itself.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpsgk7b3R3w&feature=related Ruined Hometown]]. It's beautiful, but the opening has a sound in the back that sounds like a constantly whirring saw.

* '''[[DownerEnding The ending]]'''. It starts at such a typical high note, complete with hopeful pop music... and then [[TheHeroDies Serah falls over, dead, due to the timeline changes]]. Then a loud thud and clocks are heard, the sky starts to darken, a time paradox gate the size of ''Neo Cocoon'' appears, and Mog collapses. He weakly warns Hope and Noel that the goddess Etro is ''dead'', with Caius' mocking voice reminding them that if he died while Etro was still recovering from her wounds, she would die, too. Cue the TimeCrash as chaos erupts from Etro's prison, destroying the entire timeline - everyone, everywhere, every''when'' is trapped in a Valhalla-like existence with no causality. The game finishes with a shot of Lightning's crystallized body on Etro's throne and a ToBeContinued message. Caius's theme plays triumphantly over the credits. That's right - for the first time ever, a Final Fantasy villain ''won'' at the end of a game, and it's just as terrifying as it sounds.

* '''[[DownerEnding The ending]]'''. It starts at such a typical high note, complete with hopeful pop music... and then Serah falls over, dead, due to the timeline changes. Then a loud thud and clocks are heard, the sky starts to darken, a time paradox gate the size of ''Neo Cocoon'' appears, and Mog collapses. He weakly warns Hope and Noel that the goddess Etro is ''dead'', with Caius' mocking voice reminding them that if he died while Etro was still recovering from her wounds, she would die, too. Cue the TimeCrash as chaos erupts from Etro's prison, destroying the entire timeline - everyone, everywhere, every''when'' is trapped in a Valhalla-like existence with no causality. The game finishes with a shot of Lightning's crystallized body on Etro's throne and a ToBeContinued message. Caius's theme plays triumphantly over the credits. That's right - for the first time ever, a Final Fantasy villain ''won'' at the end of a game, and it's just as terrifying as it sounds.

* '''[[ShootTheShaggyDog The ending]]'''. It starts at such a typical high note, complete with hopeful pop music... and then Serah falls over, dead, due to the timeline changes. Then a loud thud and clocks are heard, the sky starts to darken, a time paradox gate the size of ''Neo Cocoon'' appears, and Mog collapses. He weakly warns Hope and Noel that the goddess Etro is ''dead'', with Caius' mocking voice reminding them that if he died while Etro was still recovering from her wounds, she would die, too. Cue the TimeCrash as chaos erupts from Etro's prison, destroying the entire timeline - everyone, everywhere, every''when'' is trapped in a Valhalla-like existence with no causality. The game finishes with a shot of Lightning's crystallized body on Etro's throne and a ToBeContinued message. Caius's theme plays triumphantly over the credits. That's right - for the first time ever, a Final Fantasy villain ''won'' at the end of a game, and it's just as terrifying as it sounds.
** The secret ending (obtained by collecting every single fragment for HundredPercentCompletion) twists the knife even further. Caius is alive. He knew the entire time that all timelines end with Etro dying and him winning, only the specifics differ. He's sitting in the Void Beyond, ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall laughing at the player]]'' for trying so hard to find an escape, because ''there isn't any.'' He's won. He knows it, he always knew it, and there's literally ''nothing'' the player can do about it. Cue his RedEyesTakeWarning kicking in, as well as chaos itself surrounding him like a cloak as he heads off to reunite with Yeul in the post-TimeCrash universe. Oh, and Lightning knew too, and her hitting the DespairEventHorizon is what leads to her voluntarily crystallizing herself to try and ride out the ensuing apocalypse.

* Gogmagog looks like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Anima]] mixed with [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Occuria and the Bombs of Ivalice]] with a [[EyeScream nail in its right eye]] and a ''bunch of nails on its head.'' Made worse once its complete appearance is revealed: It has many nails on its body, ''two'' heads and ''the other head has a sword through it.'' Heck, the rest of its body proves how much of an EldritchAbomination it really is! It also has a disturbing ability where it bashes its heads together.
* Royal Ripeness, unusually, since most of the times Flan-type enemies are funny. Not this one due to it leading to Cocoon crashing into Pulse, and if you don't stop it, Cocoon crashes into Pulse early! But once the Faeryl is destroyed, it becomes NightmareRetardant.

* Gogmagog looks like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Anima]] mixed with [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Occuria and the Bombs of Ivalice]] with a [[EyeScream nail in its right eye]] and a ''bunch of nails on its head.'' Made worse once its complete appearance is revealed: It has many nails on its body, '''two heads!''' and ''the other head has a sword through it.'' Heck, the rest of its body proves how much of an EldritchAbomination it really is!

* '''The ending'''. It starts at such a typical high note, complete with hopeful pop music... and then Serah falls over, dead, due to the timeline changes. Then a loud thud and clocks are heard, the sky starts to darken, a time paradox gate the size of ''Neo Cocoon'' appears, and Mog falls down. He warns Hope and Noel that the goddess Etro is ''dead'', with Caius' mocking voice reminding them that if he died while Etro was still recovering from her wounds, she would die, too. Cue the TimeCrash as chaos erupts from Etro's prison, destroying the entire timeline - everyone, everywhere, every''when'' is trapped in a Valhalla-like existence with no causality. The game finishes with a shot of Lightning's crystallized body on Etro's throne and a ToBeContinued message. Caius's theme plays triumphantly over the credits. That's right - for the first time ever, a Final Fantasy villain ''won'' at the end of a game, and it's just as terrifying as it sounds.
** The secret ending (obtained by collecting every single frgament for HundredPercentCompletion) doesn't help matters, either. Caius is alive. He knew the entire time that all timelines end with Etro dying and him winning, only the specifics differ. He's sitting in the Void Beyond, ''laughing at the player'' for [[HundredPercentCompletion trying so hard]] to find an escape, because ''there isn't any.'' He's won. He knows it, he always knew it, and there's literally ''nothing'' the player can do about it. Cue his RedEyesTakeWarning kicking in, as well as chaos itself surrounding him like a cloak as he heads off to reunite with Yuel in the post-TimeCrash universe. Oh, and Lightning knew too, and her hitting the DespairEventHorizon is what leads to her voluntarily crystallizing herself to try and ride out the ensuing apocalypse.

** It does not help that it looks eerily like Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei's [[http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080808004019/megamitensei/images/f/f6/SatanSMT2.jpg Satan]], a common high-end BonusBoss.

* In ''[[DownloadableContent Requiem of the Goddess]]'', hearing Yuel's laughter as Serah's soon-to-be corpse ''bleeds black out of its closed eyes'' with chaos engulfing it, with Yuel saying she will remain in darkness, like anyone else, until TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The fact that it's really Caius messing with Lightning does not help.
** Except it isn't Caius. As revealed by the novella "Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After", the voice of Yuel speaking in that scene is in fact a collective of dead Yuels' souls merged with the Chaos in Valhalla and they they conjure Caius to fight Lightning and later they claim it was Lightning herself who caused Serah's death by sending Serah on her journey through time in the first place, which is true as she did do so. Also the Yuel who speaks to Noel and Yuel in Academia 500AF is one of these Chaos-merged Yeuls and tried to stop Noel and Serah in their mission, knowing that it would result in death, suffering, and eternal darkness.
* Indeed if one delves into the background such as the FNC mythos, all the Analects of XIII and the Fragments of XIII-2, they'd realize that the universe was screwed no matter what anyone did, including Caius, as its revealed in the lore that Etro was dying anyway and was inevitably going to fade into the Chaos like Mwynn before her (along with the rest of Valhalla, indeed most of Valhalla had already been swallowed up by Chaos prior to the births of any of the characters). Meaning the Chaos was going to destroy the world no matter what, no matter which timeline. All Caius did was make it happen sooner (though ironically it actually happened 200 years later in time then in the timeline he left) then it would have naturally. Really puts the futility of his and everyone's else's struggles in the games into perspective.

''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' [[UpToEleven is even scarier than]] NightmareFuel/FinalFantasyXIII. Not to mention the first sequel game to have its own article for it.

** It doesn't help that both themes are essentially a [[UpToEleven really]] DarkReprise of the usually-cheery [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsPRNAZ2ILU Prelude theme]] heard throughout the rest of the series. You will never hear that piece of music the same way again.

** Then there is that alarming mission in 110 AF where one of those Crimson Spheres says something about some fatal error that could turn hazardous, where you have to talk to some guy who won't believe you no matter what you tell him to reconsider unless you find the manual. That whole overtone is just terrifying and makes you wonder: [[FridgeHorror what happens if you don't?]] Even worse is, after finding out that one of the Crimson Spheres was a [[AdultFear child]], 110 AF plays scarier music than the music above, and in 010 AF, if you look in a certain area, you see one of those Crimson Spheres floating beyond reach.

** Academia 500 AF is a seemingly bottomless city with floating mechanical things all over the place, which gives an eerily mechanical feel; the green, clouded skies somehow make it worse and knowing this is the time Cocoon crashed into Pulse makes it just straight-out horrifying. To make things worse, you don't see any people until the end of the area. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTWPdcXm0Iw This]] is the background music playing, which seems to say no matter what you do, you are screwed. Once you reach the end, you hear the sound of a bomb alarm go off.

** It's made worse in the area where they're reintroduced. [[spoiler:Academia 400 AF, which is a beautiful utopia... until you show up! Not long after entering the area, everything falls into a chaotic [[AIIsACrapshoot machines-destroy-humanity kind of theme]] while dramatic music called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm9VacI-oG0 Condition Omega]] plays up until Caius' appearance.]] You are also shown a [[BodyHorror graphic transformation into a Cie'th]] when the first few people you see there shake violently and then become the monsters. To add insult to injury, you have to fight them immediately afterward. [[spoiler:It goes FromBadToWorse when this later becomes recurring in the same place and time, only now there are screams heard throughout the city. And the boss of the area is none other than the horrifying Zenobia, a giant Cie'th with tentacles.]]

** For added guilt, as you go through the city, you can watch [=NPCs=] who are absolutely terrified of the monsters that the people around them are turning into run towards you ''and get turned into Cie'th themselves because they got too close to you''. Oh, and don't forget the screaming in the background as [[spoiler: the half of the city that's been turned into Cie'th kills the other half.]]

* It goes FromBadToWorse in Yaschas Massif 100 AF, where the permanent eclipse suddenly turns the skies blood-red and there are Crimson Spheres floating as soon as you enter ([[spoiler:which turn out being [[AndIMustScream the petrified ghosts of people who were killed in the paradox!]]]]) They [[BlackSpeech speak]] [[EldritchAbomination like Cthulhu]], and that creepy music continues to play.
** Then there is that alarming mission in 110 AF where one of those Crimson Spheres says something about some fatal error that could turn hazardous, where you have to talk to some guy who won't believe you no matter what you tell him to reconsider [[spoiler:unless you find the manual]]. That whole overtone is just terrifying and makes you wonder: [[FridgeHorror what happens if you don't?]] Even worse is, after finding out that [[spoiler:one of the Crimson Spheres was a [[AdultFear child]]]], 110 AF plays scarier music than the music above, and in 010 AF, if you look in a certain area, you see one of those Crimson Spheres floating beyond reach.
* Anything from 500 AF and onwards (except for the possibility of Archelyte Steppe [[spoiler:(not the one from the paradox ending)]] being somewhere at this time):
** Academia 500 AF [[spoiler:is a seemingly bottomless city with floating mechanical things all over the place, which gives an eerily mechanical feel; the green, clouded skies somehow make it worse and knowing this is the time Cocoon crashed into Pulse makes it just straight-out horrifying. To make things worse, you don't see any people until the end of the area. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTWPdcXm0Iw This]] is the background music playing, which seems to say no matter what you do, you are screwed. Once you reach the end, you hear the sound of a bomb alarm go off.]]
** New Bodhum 700 AF. [[spoiler:Seeing the starting area of the game become an uninhabited wasteland is deeply disturbing.]]
** '''Paradox Ending #8'''[[spoiler:''':A Giant Mistake''' has a possible Archelyte Steppe 500 AF Paradox where the peaceful plains of the Archelyte Steppe have been reduced to a flaming war zone. Which may imply that the last area of peace may have been destroyed if it wasn't for them weakening Atlas, and that probability alone is disturbing.]]
* Neo Bodhum. [[spoiler:For starters, the Game Over music plays when first entering the area, the skies are beige and you can see blackness. But hey, at least you see old friends...but as soon as you talk to Snow, they disappear. Then you have to go to Lightning, who gives you two options: 1) Stay in Neo Bodhum and live a lie, or 2) Refuse, where Dream Lightning's [[BlackEyesOfEvil eyes turn a monochromatic black]] and she then fades to darkness.]]
* Gogmagog looks like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Anima]] mixed with [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Occuria and the Bombs of Ivalice]] with a [[EyeScream nail in its right eye]] and a ''bunch of nails on its head.'' [[spoiler:Made worse once its complete appearance is revealed: It has many nails on its body, '''two heads!''' and ''the other head has a sword through it.'' Heck, the rest of its body proves how much of an EldritchAbomination it really is!]]
* Royal Ripeness, unusually, since most of the times Flan-type enemies are funny. [[spoiler:Not this one due to it leading to Cocoon crashing into Pulse, and if you don't stop it, Cocoon crashes into Pulse early! But once the Faeryl is destroyed, it becomes NightmareRetardant.]]
* '''The ending'''. It starts at such a typical high note, complete with hopeful pop music... [[spoiler:and then Serah falls over, dead, due to the timeline changes. Then a loud thud and clocks are heard, the sky starts to darken, a time paradox gate the size of ''Neo Cocoon'' appears, and Mog falls down. He warns Hope and Noel that the goddess Etro is ''dead'', with Caius' mocking voice reminding them that if he died while Etro was still recovering from her wounds, she would die, too. Cue the TimeCrash as chaos erupts from Etro's prison, destroying the entire timeline - everyone, everywhere, every''when'' is trapped in a Valhalla-like existence with no causality. The game finishes with a shot of Lightning's crystallized body on Etro's throne and a ToBeContinued message. Caius's theme plays triumphantly over the credits. That's right - for the first time ever, a Final Fantasy villain ''won'' at the end of a game, and it's just as terrifying as it sounds.]]
** The secret ending (obtained by collecting every single frgament for HundredPercentCompletion) doesn't help matters, either. [[spoiler:Caius is alive. He knew the entire time that all timelines end with Etro dying and him winning, only the specifics differ. He's sitting in the Void Beyond, ''laughing at the player'' for [[HundredPercentCompletion trying so hard]] to find an escape, because ''there isn't any.'' He's won. He knows it, he always knew it, and there's literally ''nothing'' the player can do about it. Cue his RedEyesTakeWarning kicking in, as well as chaos itself surrounding him like a cloak as he heads off to reunite with Yuel in the post-TimeCrash universe.]] Oh, and [[spoiler:Lightning knew too, and her hitting the DespairEventHorizon is what leads to her voluntarily crystallizing herself to try and ride out the ensuing apocalypse.]]
*** We learn from VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII that [[spoiler:the world stays this way for '''five hundred''' additional years, during which the cast from both games have almost all fallen to some form of despair over what's happened. Lightning is tasked by the god Bhunivelze with saving all of them, with Serah's very soul acting as a bargaining chip...]]

* Adam's plan, as revealed by the Augusta Tower Paradox ending. [[spoiler:First, he brainwashes Serah, Mog, and Noel into becoming his knights while he begins work on an army of fal'Cie. The worst part? This plan is called The Eden Project. He intends to make history repeat itself.]]

* Caius is basically a purple-haired version of Sephiroth who has ''extremely'' powerful attacks. The really scary thing? [[spoiler:WordOfGod states that Caius is the most powerful BigBad in the series.]]

* Pacos Amethyst and Rubrite are this along with being a TearJerker boss fight. [[spoiler:They are large, paper-thin, crystalline giraffes that have an alternate version of Yeul's Theme playing in the background while you hear Yeul's disembodied voice telling you to turn back throughout the boss fight.]]
* In ''[[DownloadableContent Requiem of the Goddess]]'', [[spoiler:hearing Yuel's laughter as Serah's soon-to-be corpse ''bleeds black out of its closed eyes'' with chaos engulfing it, with Yuel saying she will remain in darkness, like anyone else, until TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The fact that it's really Caius messing with Lightning does not help.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v083EX9LCKI This song]] sounds like something from ''Franchise/SilentHill'', and it plays during a scene like the Scarecrow scene from ''NightmareFuel/BatmanArkhamAsylum''.

** In the subtlest Shout Out, a sound effect plays '''every 15 seconds''' during a small part where you search for Noel, who's also wandering around like the other spirits, sounding ''exactly'' like ''[[SilentHill Silent Hill 3's]]'' 'Red Light Chase'.[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTT-2xYAKyE&t=3m24s The link]] [[SchmuckBait for those who are curious]] (after 3:24).

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v083EX9LCKI This song]] sounds like something from Silent Hill, and it plays during a scene like the Scarecrow scene from NightmareFuel/BatmanArkhamAsylum.

** It's been repeatedly stated Noel's world is after [[ColonyDrop Cocoon crashed to Gran Pulse]], [[AfterTheEnd dooming the world]]. The result is a blackened ash-filled wasteland where nothing grows, the sky is darkened to the point that you can barely see five feet away, [[RedSkyTakeWarning showing a blood-red color where it isn't black]], with everything else in an extremely-dim glow. When we visit it in a dreamworld recreation, only three people + a moogle are around, but demonic red shadows of everyone who used to be alive wander about... all in terrible pain as they succumb to illness and death, ''and you hear everything''. Just when you bring them back into phase, ''they fall to the ground dead'' '''instantly''', ''crying out... for their love ones, cursing why this had to happen, praying to the goddess, and so forth''.
** And even worse? All this is part of Noel's dreamworld, ie the distortion that caters to Noel's happiest desires. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt His past]] - before Caius left and Yeul died to after they're both gone, with Noel on the verge of death by the end - ''is all it can come up with''. Even after seeing Academia 4XX AF, seeing what a happy future looks like, parts of him still can't imagine what he hopes to achieve... and when he was on the verge of death, his numbing pain was so much that he didn't resist...

** It does not help that it looks eerily like ShinMegamiTensei's [[http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080808004019/megamitensei/images/f/f6/SatanSMT2.jpg Satan]], a common high-end BonusBoss.

** It's been repeatedly stated Noel's world is after [[ColonyDrop Cocoon crashed to Gran Pulse]], [[AfterTheEnd dooming the world]]. The result is a blackened wasteland where nothing grows, the sky is darkened to the point that you can barely see five feet away, [[RedSkyTakeWarning showing a blood-red color where it isn't black]], with everything else in an extremely-dim glow. When we visit it in a dreamworld recreation, only three people + a moogle are around, but demonic red shadows of everyone who used to be alive wander about... all in terrible pain as they succumb to illness and death, ''and you hear everything''. Just when you bring them back into phase, ''they fall to the ground dead'' '''instantly''', ''crying out... for their love ones, cursing why this had to happen, praying to the goddess, and so forth''.

** And even worse? All this is part of Noel's dreamworld, ie the distortion that caters to Noel's happiest desires. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt His past]] - before Caius left and Yeul died to after they're both gone, with Noel on the verge of death by the end - ''is all it can come up with''. Even after seeing Academia 4XX AF, seeing what a happy future looks like, parts of him still can't imagine what he hopes to achieve... and when he was on the verge of death, he didn't resist it reaching for him...

** And even worse? All this is part of Noel's dreamworld, ie the distortion that caters to Noel's happiest desires. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt His past]] - before Caius left and Yeul died to after they're both gone, with Noel on the verge of death by the end - ''is all it can come up with''. Even after seeing Academia 4XX AF, seeing what a happy future looks like, parts of him still can't imagine what he hopes to achieve...

* A Dying World. It's one of the darkest areas in Final Fantasy (in terms of lighting), has only three people present beside the visiting Serah, and spirits of others wander around with a red demonic glow. ''And you hear their pain''. What happens when you bring them back into phase with Mog? They fall dead (often while crying out in some way) '''instantly'''. [[RedSkyTakeWarning Oh, and it has a blood-red sky]].
** [[SerialEscalation And even worse?]] In the subtlest Shout Out, a sound effect plays '''every 15 seconds''' during a small part where you search for Noel, who's also wandering around like the other spirits, sounding exactly like ''[[SilentHill Silent Hill 3's]]'' 'Red Light Chase'! [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTT-2xYAKyE&t=3m24s The link]] [[SchmuckBait for those who are curious]] (after 3:24).

** '''Paradox Ending #8'''[[spoiler:''':A Giant Mistake''' has a possible Archelyte Steppe 500 AF Paradox where the peaceful plains of the Archelyte Steppe has been reduced to a flaming war zone. Which may imply that the last area of peace may have been destroyed if it wasn't for them weakening Atlas, and that probability alone is disturbing.]]

** The secret ending (obtained by collecting every single frgament for HundredPercentCompletion) doesn't help matters, either. [[spoiler:Caius is alive. He knew the entire time that all timelines end with Etro dying and him winning, only the specifics differ. He's sitting in the Void beyond, ''laughing at the player'' for [[HundredPercentCompletion trying so hard]] to find an escape, because ''there isn't any.'' He's won. He knows it, he always knew it, and there's literally ''nothing'' the player can do about it. Cue his RedEyesTakeWarning kicking in, as well as chaos itself surrounding him like a cloak as he heads off to reunite with Yuel in the post-TimeCrash universe.]] Oh, and [[spoiler:Lightning knew too, and her hitting the DespairEventHorizon is what leads to her voluntarily crystallizing herself to try and ride out the ensuing apocalypse.]]

* It goes FromBadToWorse in Yaschas Massif 100 AF, where the permanent eclipse suddenly turns the skies blood-red and there are Crimson Spheres floating as soon as you enter ([[spoiler:which turn out being [[AndIMustScream the petrified ghosts of people who where killed in the paradox!]]]]) They [[BlackSpeech speak]] [[EldritchAbomination like Cthulhu]], and that creepy music continues to play.

* '''The ending'''. It starts at such a typical high note, complete with hopeful pop music... [[spoiler:and then Serah falls over, dead, due to the timeline changes. Then a loud thud and clocks are heard, the sky starts to darken, a time paradox gate the size of ''Neo Cocoon'' appears, and Mog falls down. He warns Hope and Noel that the goddess Etro is ''dead'', with Caius' mocking voice reminding them that if he died while Etro was still recovering from her wounds, she would die, too. Cue the TimeCrash as chaos erupts from Etro's prison, destroying the entire timeline - everyone, everywhere, every''when'' is trapped in a Valhalla-like existence with no causality. The game finishes with a shot of Lightning's crystallized body on Etro's throne and ToBeContinued.]]
** The MindScrew secret ending (gotten for HundredPercentCompletion) doesn't help matters, either. [[spoiler:Caius is alive. He knew the entire time that all timelines end with Etro dying and him winning, only the specifics differ. He's sitting in the Void beyond, ''laughing at the player'' for [[HundredPercentCompletion trying so hard]] to find an escape, because ''there isn't any.'' He's won, he knows it, he always knew it, and there's literally ''nothing'' the player can do about it. Cue his RedEyesTakeWarning kicking in, as well as chaos itself surrounding him like a cloak as he heads off to reunite with Yuel in the post-TimeCrash universe.]] Oh, and [[spoiler:Lightning knew too, and her hitting the DespairEventHorizon is what leads to her voluntarily crystallizing herself to try and ride out the ensuing apocalypse.]]
*** '''The only upside to this, is that there is still something the player can do, it just wasn't obvious when the game first came out.''' You can get ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII and save the world as Lightning, 500 years after XIII-2's ending.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpsgk7b3R3w&feature=related Ruined Hometown]]. It's beautiful, but the opening has a sound in the back that [[HellIsThatNoise sounds like a constantly whirring saw]].
* [[spoiler:Hearing Serah call out for her friends in fake Neo Bodhum after they disappear is somewhat unnerving. As she goes through the list of people that should be there, her calls get progressively more urgent and scared...]]