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[[center: [- [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIIIMainParty Main Party]] ([[Characters/FinalFantasyXIIILightning Lightning]]) | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIII Final Fantasy XIII]] | '''Final Fantasy XIII-2''' | [[Characters/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII]]]] -]

A list of characters from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2''.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Noel Kreiss]]
!!Noel Kreiss
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/221px-NoelKreiss_2143.png]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/DaisukeKishio (Japanese), Creator/JasonMarsden (English)\\

->"You want her? Then you're gonna have to go through me!"

A mysterious youth from Gran Pulse who appears to protect Serah when New Bodhum is attacked by monsters. They set out together to find Lightning.
----

* TheAloner: In the time period he comes from he's the final human. He wandered Pulse without as much as a monster to fight before he was dropped in Valhalla.
* BaitAndSwitchComment: 90% of Sunleth Waterscape, 300 AF and related Crux destinations is Noel complaining about Snow's "hero" behaviour in such a way that you think he's just being a {{hypocrite}}. His last line in his argument with Snow after the flan paradox is resolved is a revelation that he sees himself as a FailureKnight; he hates Snow because Snow does exactly what he did ''and is successful''.
* BifurcatedWeapon: Subverted with his paired blades. The short sword isn't ''part'' of the larger blade; the sheath is just mounted on it to make it seem like it.
* CharacterCatchphrase: "Exactly." [[MundaneMadeAwesome Most mundane catchphrase ever.]]
* CoolSword: It is both stylized and powerful.
* CombatMedic: Noel specializes in the [[AttackAttackAttack Commando]], [[TheMedic Medic]], and [[StatusBuff Synergist]] paradigms.
* DeadpanSnarker: He makes light of the many odd and/or dangerous situations he comes across, but he can also be serious.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: He is this to Serah because they are partners and equally important in the story.
* TheDulcineaEffect:
** His DeclarationOfProtection to Serah came before formally meeting her, but it's justified in that he was specifically tasked with finding Serah by Lightning. He may have protected her immediately after meeting, but it was part of his job at the time.
** It's played with for Yeul. [[spoiler:Although he already knew of his Yeul from the Dying World 700 AF, he was unaware of the existence (at first) of other Yeuls along the timeline. Technically they are different Yeuls, but Noel treats them all the same, even after her reincarnations are revealed. This is best exemplified with Noel's protective reaction for the Yeul in Academia 400AF, even though he knew she wasn't his Yeul.]]
* DualWielding: He wields two swords and all the swords he finds come in pairs.
* ElementalPowers: As a [[BlackMage Ravager]], he excels in [[AnIcePerson ice]] and [[BlowYouAway wind]] spells.
* FailureKnight: TheDulcineaEffect he displays upon meeting Serah is explained when we find out [[spoiler:the people he wanted to protect before, including his Yeul, all died and he was powerless to stop it.]] This is also the source of his antagonism towards Snow.
* FashionableAsymmetry: Downplayed, but present in everything except his ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' and ''Franchise/MassEffect'' costumes. His normal outfit and Spacetime Guardian outfits have an inexplicable cord hanging off the front of his left side, his Battle Attire is missing its right gauntlet, and his Black Mage robe comes with asymmetrical pants.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: He comes from a Pulse that is centuries further ahead in time; [[spoiler:700 AF]] to be precise. Then he's dropped into 3 AF, and follows the Historia Crux through five hundred years of prosperity. Most of it is just the shock of seeing so many people in one place, but he admits to technology being mostly foreign to him in Augusta Tower, and there's a moment in Sunleth where he asks what a theme park is.
* {{Foil}}: To Snow (FailureKnight with a brighter outlook) and Lightning (Serah protector).
* HeadbuttingHeroes: With Snow. He doesn't get along with the NORA leader because they're so similar, and it annoys him to see the same thing that failed for him working for Snow.
* HunterOfMonsters: He is from a time where monster hunting is one of the only reliable ways of getting food.
* InTheHood: His ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' DLC costume provides him with one.
* JavelinThrower: His Meteor Javelin skill which shifts his swords to its spear form and throws it at the enemy multiple times. He will also toss his spear, summon it back, and toss it again if he uses his physical attacks on an enemy out of reach.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: He can't recal a lot of information related to the seeress or how Etro's [[BlessedWithSuck "blessing"]] works.
* LastOfHisKind: He was the last human born and is the last human alive in AF 700.
* MagicKnight: His primary weapons are his swords, and his stats are biased for physical damage, but he's got all three tiers of Blizzard and Aero magic, and can get a weapon that matches his Magic to his Strength. A replay option for an early Live Trigger reveals that few people had access to magic in 700 AF, but Noel having Ruin and Blizzard out the gate implies that he was one of them.
* MorphWeapon: Like most weapons in the Lightning Saga. His dual blades can combine/transform into a long lance.
* MythologyGag: His Fragment Energy weapon, the Odinblade, is named after one of Lightning's level 100 exclusives in ''Dissidia 012''.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Looks and acts like a young Tom Cruise.
* NothingPersonal: Said verbatim at times after landing a finishing blow.
* TheNotLoveInterest: Both he and Serah have their own LoveInterests in Yeul and Snow.
* OrnamentalWeapon: He has a knife hooked on the back of his belt, but he never uses it; his DualWielding is done with a short sword whose sheath is mounted on his main blade.
* OverratedAndUnderleveled: Downplayed. Despite being a monster hunter capable of taking out a behemoth all by himself in his backstory, Noel starts the game with two Lv.2 roles and one Lv.1 role, just like Serah. However, he ''does'' start off with slightly higher stats than Serah does, his stat growth for both HP and cumulative Strength/Magic outshine Serah's by a mile each, and the behemoth in question [[spoiler:seen during his dreamworld sequence]] uses the model of one of the early-game Behemoths from ''XIII'', rather than the Feral Behemoth that is the first enemy behemoth available to be fought. [[spoiler:The same dreamworld sequence also indicates that he spent some time wandering the Dying World as the only living thing on Pulse and ended up in Valhalla once his body stopped willingly moving, so it's not implausible that the exhaustion/starvation took its toll.]]
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Blue to Serah's pink.
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Serah. They become very close over the course of the game, but they have love interests in other people (Yeul for him, Snow for her).
* PossessionImpliesMastery: Subverted; he doesn't seem to have any trouble handling Mog's bow form despite his preferred weapon being paired blades [[MorphWeapon and/or]] a javelin, but a comment on the Archylte Steppe implies that he's done archery hunting in 700AF.
* PrettyBoy: His status as such is lampshaded by Ultros. It's now the page quote for {{Bishonen}}.
--> "What a pretty little girl! I do like 'em pretty! But look at this boy, [[EvenTheGuysWantHim he's even prettier!]]"
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: All of his people were hunters, and they built their culture around this sort of thing. Behemoth feasts for birthdays, for instance.
* ReverseGrip: His left-hand sword.
* ScrewDestiny: He wants to use the Historia Crux to prevent the extinction of humanity which happened in his home time period.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: A minor point in Yaschas Massif 10 AF. The Academy official at the entrance to the Paddrean Archaeopolis tells them that the only people allowed in are those on official Academy business. Noel is content to leave it at that... until Aloeidai shows up. Then he jumps in swinging for the express purpose of stopping people from getting hurt.
-->'''Noel:''' Maybe this'll count as official business!
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: His goal as the only survivor of a BadFuture.
* SheFu: Another rare male example with the first being [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Tidus]], he does a lot of backflips with his attacks.
* SticksToTheBack: Downplayed. There is a small, almost impossible-to-see hook that his swords attach to on his back, near his right shoulder.
* SummonToHand: He has this ability, which is what allows him to perform the Meteor Javelin skill.
* SurvivorGuilt: Carries this around, being the last human and all, although he hides it well.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Coming from a time where he was one of only three human beings left in the world, he refuses to kill any human life.
* TheWatson: His introduction in the prologue is so Lightning can explain a few things and give him a mission. Then he immediately inverts it, as he's the one explaining time travel stuff to Serah.
----
!!Tropes present only in ''Lightning Returns''

[[quoteright:344:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lrffxiii_noel_cg_render_2568.png]]

->"One more death on my conscience won't do anything!"

500 years later, Noel is suspected to be involved in a string of serial killings that have occurred in the city of Luxerion by the Children of Etro. Now known as the Shadow Hunter, he seeks to kill Lightning to avert a disaster he has seen in a prophecy.

----
* BolivianArmyEnding: Shows up [[spoiler:at the end of the game in Luxerion's cathedral. Initially the Secutors think he's on their side, but he cuts them down and opens a path for Lightning to get into the basement as he stays to fight two huge monsters alone. He most likely died (given how he didn't reach Lightning at the altar), but his soul returned after Lightning fought Bhunivelze.]]
* BlowYouAway: More-so than in the previous game, as wind magic is his ''only'' magic.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: In one of XIII-2's cutscenes in the Void Beyond, Noel says that "There's too much sadness in my world, your future. It'd be better if it never existed at all. Although it's ambiguous as to whether the apocalypse qualifies as a TimeCrash or simply TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, the fact of the matter is that A Dying World -700 AF- has never existed... and few would say that it is better.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:Absolutely ''thrashes'' the Children of Etro before they can commit another murder alongside Lightning.]]
* TheCorruption: Early trailers & magazine articles hinted that Noel had been corrupted by Chaos since the events of ''XIII-2.'' However, this turned out [[NeverTrustATrailer not to be the case.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Not only does he get to survive in the end, but he also gets to stay friends with Caius on good terms, and succeeds in getting ''his'' Yeul with no hitches.]]
* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Assists Lightning in killing off the Children of Etro right before they can murder another victim.]]
* LetsYouAndHimFight: [[spoiler: Both he and Lightning are heroes in this setting and both of them are working towards a new world, however, Noel thinks he has to kill Lightning, the savior, in order to bring about this new world because of an oracle drive showing him a prophecy of it. He doesn't want to fight Lightning but feels he has no choice. Unknown to both of them at the time is that Lumina created a "pretty fake" to manipulate him.]]
* LimitedWardrobe: Appears in the same costume from ''XIII-2.'' This means he hasn't bought new clothes in ''five hundred years''. [[spoiler:Saving the fight for Day 7 has him subvert the trope by fighting in his Battle Attire from the ''XIII-2'' DLC.]]
* PaintItBlack: The bright blues and reds of his outfit and swords have been replaced with black to better represent his darker and somewhat antagonistic stance here.
* RedBaron: The Shadow Hunter.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Subverted [[spoiler:after his boss fight. He throws his larger blade at Lightning, but she easily deflects it; it's largely a diversion while he readies to throw his short blade, which is more akin to knife-throwing than sword-throwing and thus much more realistic.]]
* TragicDream: He dreams of being reunited with Yeul, not helped by the prophecy he sees in the Oracle Drive. [[spoiler:After you beat him, he elects to destroy the Drive and give up on his dream... [[SubvertedTrope but then]], Yeul's spirit appears to tell him he made the right choice and that they will meet again.]]
* TrueCompanions: A flashback shows he was this with Hope & Snow during the 500 year interval since the second game; they did a three pronged fist bump to initiate their united stand against the chaos.
* UnwantedFalseFaith: Noel may accept being the Shadow Hunter, but he doesn't like being worshipped by fanatics like the Children of Etro.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He's trying to kill Lightning because the prophecy in the Oracle Drive makes it look like she destroys the world as God's Savior.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mog]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-XIII-2_Moogle_artwork_3021.png]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SumireMorohoshi (Japanese), Creator/ArielWinter (''Final Fantasy XII-2'', English), Bailey Gambertoglio (''Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII'', English)\\

->"Time for some moogle magic, kupo!"

A mysterious little creature, he makes himself useful by transforming into a weapon for Serah. No one knows much about this strange animal who calls himself her guardian. People were led to believe that moogles don't exist, and those who meet him for the first time assume he is merely a stuffed animal. Although shy at first, once he opens up, he is quite the chatterbox, teaching Serah and Noel all about the world and its history.
----

* BerserkButton: Mog is not a stuffed toy, kupo!
* {{BFS}}: His sword form usually stays out of this territory (although long enough that Serah swings him two-handed), but Arcus Chronica has an ornate blade at least twice as broad as any of the other bowswords.
* ButtMonkey: He gets poked, nudged, held, mistaken for a stuffed toy... ''XIII-2'' has a gameplay mechanic about throwing him, and ''Lightning Returns'' sees him [[FingerPokeOfDoom flicked across a forest clearing]]. Then there's his journeys in the Void Beyond, not to mention his Valhalla fight record...
* CloudCuckooLander: Most of the Live Trigger options that involve turning to Mog for advice end up revealing a rather less-than-stable mindset. Unlike with Serah, there is nothing indicating this is strictly player-induced.
* CurbStompBattle: He is so out of his league in Valhalla as to maintain an extended losing streak. Odin, Valfodr, and countless others took him out so quickly that they didn't even see his servitude worth the trouble.
* DisproportionateReward: He swore fealty to Lightning because he lost to her... in a game of ''RockPaperScissors''. [[SubvertedTrope While this seems disproportionate]], you learn the full story in fragments. They explain that ever since Mog fell into Valhalla, he's been going with the 'weak obey the strong' rule there, but he's been rejected and abandoned multiple times by many powerful opponents, who didn't want such a weak creature. When he ran into Lightning, and lost his game, he expected to be abandoned again... but she told him to come with her. It was ''this kindness'' that made him swear fealty to Lightning.
* DeadpanSnarker: He has a few shades of this, though it doesn't get a lot of showcasing.
* EquippableAlly: He transforms into swords or bows, Serah's choice of weapons.
* ExpositionFairy: Mog sure knows a lot about time travel and paradoxes.
* GiveMeASword: ''Fragments After'' reveals that he accompanied Lightning on her first trip to Etro's throne. A run-in with Bahamut in the temple had Light losing her gunblade, but Mog turned into the Starseeker and gave her something to fight with.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Mog doesn't remember much of anything before Valhalla. [[spoiler:Turns out he had a long trip through the Void Beyond that ended when he washed up next to Odin.]]
* LegacyCharacter: One of many Moogles in the series to be named Mog and play a larger role in the game than other Moogles.
* LivingWeapon: He turns into Serah's bowsword.
* MadeOfIron: Go on, throw him at anything. No matter what he bounces off or where he falls, he'll be fine. As Serah's bowsword, he'll also take a lot of abuse without much trouble, both in gameplay and cutscenes.
--> "You guys play rough, kupo."[[note]]Said after taking what looks like ''Thundaga'' while in sword form, and then changing back to moogle form before the charge wears off.[[/note]]
* MorphWeapon: He takes the form of a bowsword, which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin changes between bow and sword forms]] depending on Serah's need.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: He's a Moogle. Comes with the territory.
* UniversalTranslator: Communicates with monsters.
* VerbalTic: Kupo!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alyssa Zaidelle]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Alyssa_Zaidelle_2264.png]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YokoHikasa (Japanese), Creator/KimMaiGuest (English)\\

->"It's my friend's. She died here. Running from the Purge. And me? I'm one of those who survived."

One of the young Academy researchers. Bright and cheerful, she is a popular figure within the institute and the leader in Paradox studies. She is also a smart and canny scientist, and she has become Hope’s trusted assistant. [[spoiler: In truth, she was one of the many faceless victims of the Purge in the first game and is only alive thanks to a paradox that created a timeline where she survived]].
----
* BitchInSheepsClothing: When Serah and Noel arrive in 4XX AF, Alyssa comes to meet them at the gate and greets them with a smile. [[spoiler:Yet she's planning to stuff them into a LotusEaterMachine after believing their actions will make her RetGone]].
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:In the unaltered timeline, she was one of the many casualties of The Purge. She died after being buried alive by wreckage from the resistance attack and subsequent crystalization of Lake Bresha]].
* BystanderSyndrome: Her reaction upon learning that Coccoon will collapse in several hundred years? Why bother when she'll be dead by then?
--> '''Alyssa:''' When is Cocoon supposed to fall? How many years? Is it soon?\\
'''Noel:''' No. Not for a couple of centuries.\\
'''Alyssa:''' Oh, that's a long time from now. I mean, none of us'll even be alive to see it.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She clings to Hope's arm in 10 AF and again in 4XX AF. She also doesn't like when he goes off without her.
* ConsummateLiar: Revealed in the ''Fragments After'' novel that Alyssa is very good at lying, especially at creating false pasts, and attributes this to her time spent with her father.
* CustomUniformOfSexy: All other female Academy members wear an off the shoulder dress similar to the shirt of the male uniform. Alyssa, however, wears a short sleeved top and short shorts.
* DeusEstMachina: The Proto Fal'cie Adam she created carved itself a god-like role, similar to its predecessors.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: While not explicitly shown on-screen in ''Lightning Returns'', Alyssa appears as a Canvas of Prayers requestee, as a soul inside the chaos. Given the way the game ends, it can be assumed that Alyssa's soul is one of the ones Vanille and Fang save, and she gets reborn in the new world]].
* FaceHeelTurn: Alyssa really was helping [[spoiler:Hope, Noel, and Serah initially]]. [[spoiler:She didn't start actively working against them until she went into the time capsule in 13 AF and was given the boobytrapped artifact for Noel and Serah in exchange for Caius making sure she stayed alive]].
* FreudianExcuse: Alyssa believes that she [[spoiler:is only alive because of an [[TemporalParadox anomaly in the timeline]], and that if Serah and Noel correct the timeline, then she will be RetGone. She's right]].
* GirlyRun: She runs in a similar fashion to Serah, that is, with her arms held out from her sides, kicking her legs up.
* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: While Hope is reminiscing about his friends, Alyssa points her finger at him and accuses him of staring at her.
* HopelessSuitor: For Hope. She's fairly forward in her advances towards him, but he brushes her off every time (even pushing her off of him). This is partly because he's a {{Workaholic}} and partly because he's in love with [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIIILightning someone else]].
* LuredIntoATrap:
** [[spoiler:How she betrays Serah and Noel; a Time Gate with a booby trapped artefact]].
** [[spoiler:Also how she attempts to get Hope killed, she lures him to the manmade fal'cie in guise of helping him while actually having a small army of AI duplicates waiting to attack him]].
* TheMole: You wonder just how ''long'' she's been working [[spoiler:against Serah and Noel. She was the one who proposed the Proto fal'Cie Project, and it's implied by Hope that the rebellion of its AI was no mere accident]].
* RetGone: [[spoiler:She was supposed to die during the Purge and fears that she'll disappear once Serah and Noel solve the paradox that ensured her survival. She is conspicuously absent from the story after 4XXAF Academia because she faded from existence once Serah and Noel fixed the timeline as revealed in ''Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After'']].
** [[spoiler:In ''Lightning Returns'', completing a Canvas of Prayers request from an 'A.Z.' reveals that her soul still exists inside the chaos, and still remembers the timeline where she survived, even though she's been forgotten]].
* MortalityPhobia: Her motive the entire game [[spoiler:is to figure out a way to keep herself alive in this new timeline]]. Justified a bit [[spoiler:in that she actually experienced death as she was buried alive in the Purge]].
* PastExperienceNightmare: She tells Serah several times that she has recurring nightmares about [[spoiler:her being buried alive, which is how she died in the original timeline]].
* QuizzicalTilt: A character tic of hers, as a researcher she naturally asks a lot of questions and tilts her head whenever she's thinking.
* RegretfulTraitor: [[spoiler:She expresses sympathy after watching Noel and Serah fall into Caius' trap]]. [[spoiler:She also starts begging for forgiveness after almost assassinating Hope once she begins to disappear due to Noel and Serah correcting the paradox that allowed her to live. This goes further in ''Lightning Returns'' where a Canvas of Prayers quest will reveal Alyssa is still sorry about what she almost did to Hope]].
* SexySecretary: She's Hope's, and so good at her job that he brought her to the future with him. He hired her for a paper she wrote about paradoxes [[AvertedTrope and seems oblivious to how "sexy" she is or not]].
* StepfordSmiler: She presents herself as rather happy and carefree, but in reality she's constantly afraid and paranoid [[spoiler:that she will die and be forgotten]].
* TeenGenius: She's an Academy researcher at the age of 19.
* ThinkingTic: Her head tilts and also she puts her hand on her chin when she's thinking.
* TraitorShot: She is given one that Mog witnesses once [[spoiler:Serah and Noel unknowingly enter a sabotaged time gate]].
* WalkingSpoiler: If the above blanked lines didn't tip you off, she's far from the nice girl introduced at the beginning of the game.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Caius Ballad]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/270px-Caius_Render_FFXIII-2_918.png]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HiroshiShirokuma (Japanese), Creator/LiamOBrien (English)\\

->"Lose yourself in battle, and rejoice!"

A mysterious figure, said to be a rival to Lightning and shown to be an antagonist to Noel and Serah.
----

* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: [[spoiler:He wants to create a timeless world so Yeul no longer has to die from visions of the future. Saving her from death was worth destroying the world to him.]]
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:He just wants to save Yeul from her curse so she can keep living, but to do that he must kill the Goddess of Death to save Yeul.]]
* BadassTeacher: [[spoiler:He used to train Noel.]]
* TheBadGuyWins: A first for the series. [[spoiler:Despite everything the heroes do, their efforts ultimately amount to nothing in the face of Caius's EvilPlan.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: After the final battle, [[spoiler:Caius claims that he has killed Lightning. The strong implications are that he's either [[TheHeroIsDead telling the truth]] or just [[KickTheDog trying to provoke Noel]] into killing him. Then ''Requiem of the Goddess'' reveals that he just knocked down in the middle of a HeroicBSOD, saw her disappear into the chaos, and ''legitimately mistook her for dead''.]]
* TheBattleDidntCount: Constantly, and {{Justified|Trope}} in game mechanics by giving him the Reraise status. Every fight with him except the last ends when the revival kicks in.
* BigBad: He's the primary antagonist of XIII-2; his goal is to destroy all of time in retaliation for Yeul's repeated deaths. Stopping him is why Lightning sent Noel to fetch her sister; she needs help foiling his other plans.
* {{BFS}}: The biggest one in the game.
* BlessedWithSuck: Stated as much by Yeul herself. He can't die. He's lived for all of recorded history, at the very least. [[spoiler:Every 10-15 years, he has to see the girl he loves and has sworn to protect die, ''and he can't do anything about it.'']]
--> '''Yeul''': He has been gifted with the curse of eternity.
* BloodKnight: He enjoys his occasional battles too much.
-->"Lose yourself in battle, and rejoice!"
* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[spoiler:He talks to the player the first time the opening battle in Valhalla is replayed. Upon obtaining all 160 fragments and witnessing all Paradox Endings, clearing the final boss again shows an alternate ending where Caius is seemingly talking about the player again.]]
--> '''Caius''': They have seen all of history, all of its possibilities. They have seen all the endings. [[spoiler:But they must know, the goddess Etro is already dead.]]
* BroughtDownToBadass: Subverted. [[spoiler:He was formerly a l'Cie before Etro gave him her heart. However, he's still got an eidolith, which seems to indicate that the only thing differentiating him from any other l'Cie is [[TheAgeless age]] and [[MortonsFork Focus]].]]
* ColonyDrop: He uses the Meteor spell twice during the opening war against Lightning, and his Plan B for destroying reality involves [[spoiler:smashing the new Cocoon into the old one. Whilst everyone's inside]].
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Has purple eyes and purple hair.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Not so much because he wants to die, but because he'll take Etro with him. When Noel proves incapable of killing him, he moves on to Plan D; forcing Noel's gladius through his heart.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:He crosses it and comes out the other side with an EvilPlan -- if Yeul keeps dying because of seeing the future and changes to the timeline, he'll just ''destroy time'' to stop it.]]
* {{Determinator}}: He's been working on his EvilPlan for a ''long time''. [[spoiler:We don't know exactly how long, but "all of recorded history" is a ballpark guess.]]
* DramaPreservingHandicap: Physically, he's nigh-invincible. Mentally, he's a traumatized wreck.
* TheDreaded: Aside from the fact that his feats are the stuff of legends (hence, "Caius of the Ballads"), he's legendarily dangerous enough for Fang, who's [[OneWomanArmy no slouch in a fight]], to be fearful of him and to warn Serah and Noel to be extremely careful.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Thanks to the Heart of Chaos, he's no longer an ordinary warrior.
* EvilPlan: He has three of them, all with the same goal of opening the Door of Souls (AKA Etro's Gate) to cause a TimeCrash. The first is to do the direct thing and slay Etro personally in Valhalla, which fails because he can't overcome Lightning. His second plan is to [[spoiler:crash Hope's new Cocoon into the old one and thereby [[OmnicidalManiac murder the entire human race in one fell swoop]], much like Barthandelus's {{plan}} in the original; however, Serah and Noel are able to overcome him and he is forced to flee to Valhalla]]. His final plan is to [[spoiler:have Noel destroy the Heart of Chaos, i.e. Etro's heart. [[TheBadGuyWins This is the plan that works]].]]
* EvilSoundsDeep: He's voiced by Creator/LiamOBrien, after all.
* EvilWeapon: Less evil, more the result of some ''interesting'' design decisions, but the end result is the same. That massive, sinister-looking sword of his contains his Eidolith for Bahamut, which takes the form of an eye that occasionally ''opens''.
* {{Expy}}: Every gaming outlet on the planet has compared the sword to [[VideoGame/SoulSeries the Soul Edge]] at some point because of its nature as a {{BFS}}, the fact that it has an Evil Eye, gives off [[DarkIsEvil some sinister]] [[CastingAShadow dark powers]], and has a semi-organic appearance to it. The only difference is that his sword isn't sentient.
* FeatherMotif: He shares this with Lightning (his are, of course, black, to contrast with her white). Both of them are connected to Etro, after all.
* {{Foil}}: To both Lightning and Noel, though more obviously to the former. He is everything she could have been, had she not called off her plan of [[spoiler:killing the fal'Cie Eden and destroying Cocoon]] to save Serah in the first game - ever deeper into grief, anger, and eventually madness in a desperate [[spoiler:and ill-fated]] plan to save the one they love most (Serah for her, Yeul for him).
* GravityMaster: Outside of summoning comets, his favorite spell is Gravity; he spams it in every fight.
* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: Serah and Noel have to win the 'boss fight', but storywise he will always survive and trash them later because he has Auto-Raise from the Heart of Chaos.
* HeartbrokenBadass: [[spoiler:Watching Yeul die over and over again hits him hard.]]
* HeartInTheWrongPlace: When the Heart of Chaos begins to glow, it is visibly on the left side of Caius' chest. Supplemental material confirms that it is Etro's ''physical'' heart acting in substitute for Caius' own. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope That being said]], when Noel does kill him (or rather, Caius ''makes'' Noel kill him) via impalement, it goes straight through the center.]]
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: With Yeul. To a lesser extent with Serah and Lightning, considering that Lightning is [[YourSizeMayVary between 5'7" and 5'10"]] herself and she barely reaches his ''shoulder'' when they're standing back to back.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: Only his successor as Guardian, Noel, has the ability to bypass the immortality granted by the Heart of Chaos and kill Caius. [[spoiler:As it turns out, that's exactly what Caius wants.]]
* ImmortalityInducer: The Heart of Chaos makes the True Guardian immortal.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:What he does to Noel and Serah, and how he kills himself in the end, with Noel's sword. Too bad that this accomplished his goal much the same as killing Etro herself.]]
* TheJuggernaut: ''Nothing'' will stop him. Even Lightning has trouble with him, and he trounces Serah and Noel with no problem at all. [[spoiler:It takes four battles for Serah and Noel to finally bring him down]].
* JustToyingWithThem:
** Lightning disgustedly remarks, during the FinalBossPreview upon the opening of the game in Valhalla, that Caius is going easy on her and Noel, and that he's only testing them. She's right.
** This comes more into play with Serah and Noel since he uses few of the mind-boggling powers that he used to fight Lightning against them. In fact, whereas Lightning could give as good as she got... both Serah and Noel were shown to be 100% helpless when fighting him. Caius even condescendingly touches Serah's face when using time voodoo to show how helpless she is... [[spoiler:before subsequently impaling her through the back]].
* KillTheGod: His central game-plan, though he's moved past mere {{Physical God}}s and is now onto ''personifications of abstract concepts''. [[spoiler:[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu He succeeds, too.]]]]
* LightningBruiser: He is ''fast'' and he hits ''hard''. [[RecurringBoss Each and every time]].
* LivingForeverIsAwesome: From his perspective, the problem isn't that ''he's'' immortal but that ''nobody else'' is. [[spoiler:He fixes that]].
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:All of that chaos and destruction just to keep Yeul alive.]]
* MagicKnight: He is lethal with that sword and has access to both projectile magic and summoning magic.
* ManipulativeBastard:
** [[spoiler:He [[MindRape visits Alyssa in her dreams]] and twists her fear of being RetGone into obedience, turning her into TheMole.]]
** [[spoiler:He trains Noel as a student, and then repeatedly tries to get Noel to kill him and accept his power.]]
* MayflyDecemberRomance: A harsh example; Yeul is in love with him in every reincarnation [[spoiler:save the last]], and Caius grows increasingly broken as a result.
* MorphicResonance: Look closely at [[spoiler:Jet Bahamut. On the left side of its head are a pair of white feathery things and something that looks like a string of beads, mirroring Caius' hair feathers and beads in his human form.]]
* MrFanservice: [[TallDarkAndHandsome Tall]], extraordinarily powerful, deep voice, and the camera takes [[FemaleGaze several opportunities]] to emphasize his long legs and [[FormFittingWardrobe almost pointlessly form-fitting armor]] to make it even ''more'' obvious. While we don't know if he has any in-universe fangirls (aside for [[spoiler:probably Yeul]]), he certainly has them in the real world.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: [[spoiler:Caius's Jet Bahamut form has four regular arms, in addition to the standard draconic wings from the shoulder.]]
* MultipleChoicePast: His surname. Either it's a shortening of "Caius of the Ballads" or it's a name he took from a fallen man out of respect; both are used in canon. Although, considering the TimeyWimeyBall in play in this game, it's entirely possible that both are true.
* NamedWeapons: The sword is called "Chaos' Revenge". Given his [[DarkIsEvil powerset]] [[LoveMakesYouCrazy and]] [[KillTheGod motivations]], no one would call the name unfitting.
* NotSoStoic: He's shown crying once, and goes batshit crazy during the final battle.
* OneWingedAngel: Has two of them, Chaos Bahamut and Jet Jahamut.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real first name ''is'' Caius, but Ballad is not his real last name. He took on the name after defeating a warrior who nearly killed him as a show of respect. Alternately, he was originally known by the epithet of "Caius of the Ballads", meaning that his great deeds were the subject of many songs, which then became Caius Ballad. The canon disagrees with itself on this. To a lesser extent, although he was born on Gran Pulse and raised from before Cocoon's fall, he never uses the Pulsian naming fashion (Hometown-Clan-Given Name, i.e. Paddra Nsu-Yeul or Oerba Yun Fang), instead opting for the Cocoonite form (Given Name-Surname). When replaying Yaschas Massif 1X AF, Hope does mention reading scriptures of "Paddra Ballad-Caius", but it is never used again.
* ParentalSubstitute: The best way to describe his... complicated relationship with Yeul. Someone has to raise her every time she's reborn.
* PlayingWithFire: His Bahamut forms use this, although it ultimately counts as NonElemental for tradition's sake.
* PunctuatedPounding: During the cutscene on Valhalla's beach, before [[spoiler:he transforms into Jet Bahamut]].
-->''I've known and protected hundreds of Yeuls! Though they had the same soul, every one of them was unique! A Yeul who dreamed of travel! A Yeul who loved to sing! A Yeul who collected flowers...''
* PurpleIsPowerful: From his armor to his sword to his eyes, everything about him is some shade of purple.
* RealityBreakingParadox: [[spoiler:When he dies, it causes the goddess of death to die, which unleashes the chaos she was holding back, which causes the world to merge with Valhalla, which means everything is both dead and not dead at the same time.]]
* RecurringBoss: You must fight either him or [[spoiler:one of his transformations]] no less than ''eight times'' in the main storyline alone -- if you're after OneHundredPercentCompletion, you'll have to fight him an additional three times.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His eyes [[GlowingEyesOfDoom glow red]] when he invokes the powers of chaos. The eidolith in his sword might count as well, being eye-shaped and opening with a red shine.
* TheRival: To Noel [[spoiler:Ideally, he was to be succeeded by Noel, but Noel refused to do the KlingonPromotion.]]
* ScaledUp: He can transform into "Chaos Bahamut" to fight the heroes. [[spoiler:In the final battle, he transforms into Jet Bahamut and summons Amber and Garnet Bahamut. You have to fight them at the same time.]]
* SlouchOfVillainy: [[spoiler:Does so -- on Etro's throne, no less!]] -- in both occasions where he breaks the fourth wall to talk to the players: the secret ending and the scene when the opening cinematics are replayed. In these scenes he casually mocks the player for their foolish attempts around his evil plan.
* SticksToTheBack: His sword has no sheath, possibly because he couldn't find one big enough.
* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Part of his EvilPlan calls for [[spoiler:Noel killing him. Destroying Cocoon, claiming he killed Lightning, attempting to murder Serah in front of him, it was all to goad Noel into killing him.]]
* SummonMagic: Notable for having a very different kind of summon magic than everyone else in the series; his eidolith ''manifests Bahamut in his body'', which makes this a case of OneWingedAngel as well. Backstory explains that this kind of 'incarnate' summoning usually takes his life, but then the Heart of Chaos happened and now he can just kinda shift back and forth as he so pleases. He also summons Amber Bahamut and Garnet Bahamut during the last fight with him.
* SwordBeam: One of the peskier attacks he uses when you fight him.
* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler:He carries Etro's heart in his body, as shown in the normal ending. This means that in her weakened state, his life is tied to Etro's -- kill him, and she dies, leaving the chaos of Valhalla to overflow into the real world... which would allow him to create the timeless world he wanted. His plan to destroy Cocoon, if it failed to open the Door of Souls, was supposed get Noel angry enough to murder him.]]
* TimeMaster: He can jump back and forth through time and, because of Yeul, he knows every prophecy.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: [[spoiler:His guiding philosophy is creating a world without death and pain. The problem is that there's plenty of room for debate on whether what he's creating will truly be a utopia (the LotusEaterMachine element is creepy), and he refuses to listen to any of it.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: Frequently, courtesy of the many deaths of Yeul -- in fact, his despair and apathy is often the only thing keeping Serah and Noel alive. He gets a particularly big one in the ending, when Noel points out ''why'' [[spoiler:Yeul keeps choosing to reincarnate, despite knowing she'll just die again: to be with Caius]]. He is openly devastated at the realisation, [[IgnoredEpiphany but it changes nothing in the end]], as he continues with his goal of destroying Etro regardless.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Can transform himself into ''Bahamut''.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: One of the very rare ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' villains who has a sympathetic end to their evil means and ''doesn't'' just want to kill everybody for kicks. [[spoiler:He's prepared to kill millions of people and/or the Goddess Etro in order that the countless billions of Yeuls (and everyone else, though that's very much a secondary concern) might live forever. The good news is that [[BackFromTheDead given what happens to him]], the dead might not stay dead once reality collapses. The bad news is that eternal life [[LotusEaterMachine isn't quite what it's cracked up to be]].]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Noel calls him out for his actions in-universe, [[spoiler:since he's gone from fighting for Etro to battling against her because of Yeul's constant deaths]].
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:He watched Yeul die over and over again in the prime of her life because of a god-given superpower that he could do nothing about. It's hard not to feel sympathy for him even as he's working to destroy the timeline.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Considers Lightning to be this, and says so in the Cinematic Action sequence during the prologue. After she deflects his Gravitons, he proclaims that "The goddess made a wise choice", and if none of the Cinematic Actions are outright failed, he'll call her "[his] finest opponent" near the end of the sequence.
* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Either his plans to destroy Time succeed (by killing Etro directly, or by forcing open the Unseen Gate), or the heroes kill him... [[ThanatosGambit which would destroy Time as well]].]]
----
!!Tropes present only in ''Lightning Returns''

500 years later, Caius mysteriously survived the events of ''Final Fantasy XIII-2'' and now lives in the ruins of Etro's Temple in the Wildlands.

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: Has been trapped inside Etro's Temple for 500 years by Yeul and is completely incapable of dying or leaving the ruins.]]
* TheAtoner: An implied reason why he [[spoiler: has ultimately accepted his fate is that he feels guilt for what he did in the previous game.]]
* BackFromTheDead: Pretty literally, since [[spoiler: Yeul is capable of resurrecting him regardless of what he tries.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Noticeably more subdued than in the previous game, and lacks most of the hostility he used to have toward Lightning.
* DeathSeeker: Even more so than in the previous game, [[spoiler: as Yeul absolutely refuses to let him die]]. As implied by his nonchalant [[spoiler:self-impalement with his sword, he's tried to kill himself before, likely ''many'' times before, and none of them have ever stuck]].
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: It's a complicated case. On one hand, [[spoiler: he was basically imprisoned in Etro's Temple for five hundred years and his plan to save Yeul didn't pan out like he thought it would.]] It's basically an IronicHell that he can't do anything about. Also, [[spoiler: he's doomed to die with the world because Lightning, the Savior, can't save him due to Yeul's inability to let go of him.]] On the other hand, [[spoiler: he ultimately gets exactly what he wants. He depowers the final Yeul so she will be able to live out her life and then entrusts her to her boyfriend and his former apprentice, who he knows will take good care of her. He himself stays in Valhalla with the rest of the Yeuls who are implied to no longer be a "cancerous mass" like they were in the dying world.]]
* MeaningfulLook: After being defeated by Lightning, he calmly explains that [[spoiler:he is unable to die or be saved, and none of the Yeuls can go to the new world because they'll bring the Chaos with them]]. As Lightning tears into him for what she thinks is a foolish attempt to atone, Caius simply gazes at her with an unreadable expression that could be interpreted [[WhoWantsToLiveForever any]] [[ReformedButRejected number]] [[LoveHurts of]] [[DeathSeeker ways]].
* TheStoic: In contrast to his increasingly unhinged and emotional behavior in the previous game, Caius this time around is restrained, more quiet-spoken, and oozes self-hatred in almost every word. [[spoiler:In ''Tracer of Memories'', the epilogue novella, he appears completely unreadable and impassive, save for a small smile at the end.]]
* UnwantedAssistance: Because he [[spoiler:cannot be killed or saved]], Caius tries to turn Lightning away when she first reaches the temple and again when she reaches the throne room, believing her time better spent on [[spoiler:those who can still be saved]].
* VocalEvolution: Unlike the previous game, where Liam O'Brien sometimes sounded as though he strained to reach Caius's distinct tone, there's no hint of such here, and the performance comes off much more natural.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler: A more indirect than usual example of this trope, but he ultimately becomes the guardian for the replacement of the goddess whose death he arranged.]]
* WhenHeSmiles: Smiles for real, for the first time, in the Japanese ending of the game [[spoiler: before letting Noel and Yeul leave the chaos]]. He is also described to smile at the end of the ninth chapter of ''Tracer of Memories''.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: [[spoiler: He considers his current life to be without meaning. Even though he technically achieved what he wanted, he finds no satisfaction or enjoyment in the company of the Yeuls that don't want him to die.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Paddra Nsu-Yeul]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/150px-Paddra_Nsu-Yeul_3046.png]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MariyaIse (Japanese), Amber Hood (English)\\

->"I saw death. If I were to live, it would bring contradiction to... to the timeline."

A young girl seen in the company of Caius. She seems more friendly towards Noel and Serah than he is. If her name is any indication, she was the author of some of the Analects from the first game. States that Serah is like her, as the latter's psychic dreams would indicate.
----

* AChildShallLeadThem: [[spoiler:Long ago, she was a theocratic ruler. The ruin that Hope investigates? That was her palace.]]
* ApocalypseMaiden: ''Lightning Returns'' reveals that [[spoiler:she is responsible for everything that goes wrong from ''XIII-2'' onwards. She forced immortality onto Caius so that she would never lose him, eventually driving him insane with grief. The combined despair of the infinite reincarnations of Yeul created the Unseen Chaos, a natural disaster that destroys the world entirely. Then because no singular Yeul can control the HiveMind of the Unseen Chaos, there is nothing any of them can do to stop it: if one Yeul attempts to do something, another Yeul (from a different reincarnation with a different personality) will override her]]. Lightning is [[WhatTheHellHero outraged with this revelation]].
-->'''Lightning:''' [[spoiler:So... [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt this]] [[TimeCrash all]] began because ''you'' couldn't let go of Caius? The Chaos, and all its power, grew out of your ''[[LoveMakesYouCrazy need]]''!]]
* BlessedWithSuck: Like Serah, she was blessed by Etro with the Goddesses' eyes. [[spoiler:Also like her, she is killed by her visions.]]
* BornAgainImmortality: Sort of. [[spoiler:While she is reborn every time she dies, each Yeul has a distinct personality.]]
* CassandraTruth: She warns our heroes that facing Caius for the final time won't go well. If you want to finish the game, you have no choice but to ignore her.
* CastFromLifespan: [[spoiler: The Eyes of Etro are what give her visions of the future, and they drain her life force as she has more visions. The stronger the visions, the more they drain, until they finally kill her.]]
* CompressedHair: The device on her head is able to compress her hip-length hair.
* CreepyChild: Every version that is not the sweet little girl Yeul, including the various [[spoiler:'Black Mist' versions seen in Snow and Lightning's [=DLCs=].]] Thanks to [[AllThereInTheManual various sources]] and LR, all of these versions are either illusions (such as before Caius attacks and stabs Serah), manifestations that simply took her appearance, or [[spoiler:the spirits of dead Yeuls intermixed with Chaos itself.]]
* DeathIsCheap: Again, sort of; Yeul is eternally reborn but each Yeul is distinct; same soul but different personality.
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Three times on screen and many more off-screen. [[spoiler:Though it's not the same Yeul each time.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After thousands of years of constant reincarnation and [[spoiler: premature death]], Yeul finally gets the ending she deserves in ''Lightning Returns''. [[spoiler: All of them in fact. The majority of them stay with the love of their life Caius in the unseen realm to take Etro's place as the collective Goddess of Death to prevent another TimeCrash. The final incarnation of Yeul is freed from this fate, and allowed to go with Noel to the new world.]]
* EmotionlessGirl: Her voice doesn't change much from her normal monotone. She seems to feel normally, though her expressions are a bit limited.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: She always knows when and how she's going to die, but refuses to change it, and instead calmly faces it. [[spoiler:If only Caius would face it as well as she did...]]
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:Though she can die, her soul is forever reincarnated, being born into the Farseer tribe again and again. Whenever the future changes, her lifespan is depleted, causing her to die in her teens over and over. In addition to retaining the memories of the other Yeul's, she is capable of seeing her own death and, at one point, she allows a monster to fatally injure her in order to prevent a contradiction in the timeline. She is forbidden to meddle with the timeline (doing so doesn't work out too well for one of her incarnations) and she's forced to be a puppet being thrown about time forever. It is revealed in ''Lightning Returns'' that she's the Unseen Chaos, a hive mind composed of thousands of reincarnated Yeuls, each one filled with despair due to her fate.]]
* FlowerMotifs: She is often seen with a daisy; a pretty flower that blooms and fades quickly. [[spoiler: One specific Yeul really loved flowers.]]
* GodOfHumanOrigin: At the end of ''Lightning Returns'', [[spoiler: she takes Etro's place as Goddess of Death, Ruler of the Unseen Realm. The new world would not live or prosper without someone to breath life into new generations, and keep the Chaos from touching it. Caius stays with her as her guardian.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: After Noel and Serah fix the paradox at 400 AF, [[spoiler: the Yeul who loves flowers has one final vision of 4XX AF that kills her, but she nonetheless dies with a smile on her face because she got to see the beautiful future that would happen because.]]
-->'''Yeul:''' Everyone is smiling. This is the future...I wanted to see.
* HairstyleInertia: [[spoiler: Each and every Yeul has the same long hair. Downplayed in that each Yeul tends to wear her hair a little differently, but even then, many of them just wear it down.]]
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: The tiny girl to Caius's huge guy; the height difference contributes to the Caius-as-Father-Figure idea.
* HumanoidAbomination: As revealed in ''Lightning Returns'', [[spoiler:the accumulation of her other selves, which continuously are reborn and die, became this by becoming the Unseen Chaos that is destroying the world]]. See ApocalypseMaiden for details.
* IdenticalGranddaughter: She was created in Etro's image, and Etro herself was said to be identical in appearance to Bhunivelze's mother Mwynn. Effectively, Yeul's likeness is very likely what Mwynn and Etro both looked like, even though neither are actually physically seen.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: To both Caius and Noel. Although it is only the Yeul from the [[AfterTheEnd Dying World]] that Noel has a fixation on. Caius certainly loves her but whether this is paternal or romantic love is fluid.
* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler:Through {{reincarnation}}.]] Ironically, [[spoiler:there is a "real" Yeul. It's the Yeul that ends up in Valhalla after dying. She ''chooses'' to become her own LegacyCharacter in order to be with Caius again -- and because living in Valhalla is not actually "living".]]
* TheLostLenore: For Noel. [[spoiler:"His" Yeul, the one he grew up with and fell in love with, dies pre-story and wrecks him emotionally. Every time he sees another Yeul, it's like re-opening a wound.]]
* MoralityChain: She kept Caius in "heroic warrior mode" while she lived, but after humans stopped being born ''anywhere'' he slips his leash.
* MysteriousWaif: A fragile young girl who appears before Serah and Noel in many different time periods and dies each time after speaking of time and prophecies. Unlike other examples, she does not serve as TheHerald.
* OneTrueLove: [[spoiler:''Lightning Returns'' reveals this regarding her and Caius. The collective incarnations of Yeul are all in love with Caius and keep him anchored to them through the Chaos, preventing him from dying even though he no longer has the Heart of Chaos -- that is, all Yeuls save for the final incarnation, who loves Noel instead.]]
* {{Protectorate}}: Both Noel and Caius have goals involving her well being.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: ''Fragments After'', a compilation of tying up loose ends within ''XIII-2'', states that [[spoiler:the original Yeul was the blood of Etro after the latter spilled it to get the attention of Bhunivelze. Simply put, Yeul was the ''first'' human.]]
* {{Reincarnation}}: When one Yeul dies, another identical girl named Yeul is born in the Farseer tribe -- although she will have a unique personality. [[spoiler: This is because her soul is fragmenting with each reincarnation. The souls are similar, but not the same, and the fragmented souls collect into the unseen Chaos, causing all of the problems across the series in the first place.]]
* ReunionVow: Right before [[spoiler:the last Yeul dies]], she tells Noel "You don't have to cry. We will meet again." [[spoiler: The vow comes true at the end of ''Lightning Returns'', where this specific Yeul is allowed to live with Noel in the new world, free from her fate as the seeress.]]
* {{Seers}}: Her prophecies were mentioned in many, many datacores in ''Final Fantasy XIII.'' One of them flat out spells out the plot for ''XIII-2''.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Caius has this belief about her, as she's nothing less than a sweet girl BlessedWithSuck. She's also doomed to die and reincarnate over and over, and her deaths take a toll on Caius [[spoiler: and eventually lead to him becoming a villain who successfully creates a TimeCrash to put an end to her fate.]]
* UniformityException: Yeul's final incarnation is different from the rest of them. While all of them are unique in personality, and some have slightly different clothing styles, they all share a commonality in that they all are close with Caius and love him dearly. [[spoiler: The final Yeul is in love with Noel. She's also very disconnected from the HiveMind of the Unseen Chaos created by the Yeuls' collective despair over their shared fate. This allows Yeul's final incarnation to move on to the new world with the rest of the cast.]]
* WaifProphet: Unlike Serah, she truly has been a prophet to a civilization and a fragile one to boot.
* WalkingDisasterArea: In ''Lightning Returns'', [[spoiler: she is the only soul in all the world who cannot be saved, because she is the Unseen Chaos; the poison that is currently killing the world will always follow her. Before, Etro kept it in check, but since she's dead it can flow freely.]]
* WhatBeautifulEyes: Due to being at least a partial EmotionlessGirl, her green eyes usually seem cold and distant. Noel sees right past this and may even find it hot, and Serah thinks she looks angelic with them.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: A teenager with the grace and wisdom of an old sage. [[spoiler:This is because she ''is'' an old sage, sort of, since each Yeul has the memories of all previous Yeuls. However, she never matured beyond her teens and this becomes a problem in ''Lightning Returns''. All the Yeuls fuse into a HiveMind but cannot agree on anything nor can they allow themselves to separated from Cauis despite the harm it does to him and the world.]]
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Her visions tell her precisely when she will die and this is a fact she has come to accept as an inevitability.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Chocolina]]
[[quoteright:263:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lrffxiii_chocolina2.png]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Seiko Ueda (Japanese), Creator/JulieNathanson (English)\\

->"The beauty's all mine, but the products can be yours--but only if you show me the money!"

A quirky traveling merchant dressed in a costume that looks like a red chocobo. She sells a wide variety of equipment to Serah and Noel during their journey.
----

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Describes herself as a "time travelling temptress" in Academia 4XX AF, and invites the player to peruse her "charmingly cheap chest of charity" on the Archylte Steppe.
* AnimalMotifs: The chocobo. [[spoiler:Fitting, because she is one.]]
* CloudCuckoolander: Aside from her odd costume, she never seems to grasp the seriousness of the current situation, almost always staying peppy and cheerful even when a giant, rampaging robot is on the loose. In Academia 400 AF, however, she is openly distraught by the events going on around her, which makes the situation all the more jarring. She also notes in Academia [[spoiler:500AF]] how determined Noel and Serah look, as if they were getting ready for a big battle ahead. [[spoiler:This is effectively her way of queuing the player of the memo "You are in the FinalDungeon, prepare yourself."]]
* FluffyFashionFeathers: [[spoiler:Averted. They're closer to MorphicResonance to her true form, a chocobo.]]
* GenkiGirl: She always greets Serah and Noel with some peppy sales pitch or other and sometimes strikes a pose.
* IntrepidMerchant: She appears at least once in most of the timelines and even a Lotus Eater Machine designed as a 'no exit trap' by Caius.
* NoHeroDiscount: She claims she has "every day low prices" and informs you that there's no haggling. However, there are fragment skills that lower the price and raise the sell price.
* ShapeShifting: It's implied in-game that she is [[spoiler:the SexierAlterEgo of Dajh's Chocobo chick. This is later confirmed in Sazh's DLC. As it turns out, Chocolina got caught up in the distortion with Sazh and Dajh and wished to help others like Sazh always helped her, so Etro gave her a human body and the ability to be everywhere at once.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: There are only a few instances where she ''isn't'' her peppy self. [[spoiler: During 400 AF Academia after TheReveal with Yeul and during Sazh's DLC when she realizes Sazh doesn't recognize who she really is.]]
* {{Stripperific}}: She's certainly showing a lot of skin. [[spoiler:Given she's truly a chocobo, she likely has [[InnocentFanserviceGirl no nudity taboo]].]]
* ThePollyanna: Downplayed. While she is normally cheery despite the monsters and paradoxes and stuff, 400AF depresses even her.
* TookAShortcut: She's always ahead of you, all set up and ready to do business, whether it's across the map or across timelines.
** She's set up shop in Oerba 200AF despite the ''dimensional flux''.
** She's even set up shop in [[spoiler:Hollow Seclusion, a ''dream world'', of all places!]]
* VisualPun: She's an attractive woman scantily clad in a chocobo costume. In other words, [[spoiler:[[{{Foreshadowing}} she's a]] ''chocobo chick''.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Valfodr]]
!!Valfodr, The Arbiter of Time
[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/valfodrnormal_7031.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:330:[[labelnote:Click here to see Valfodr's battle form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/valfodr_1335.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomomichiNishimura (Japanese), Creator/SteveBlum (English)\\

->"You seek a harder path..."

The keeper of the Coliseum, where he handles the downloadable content fights and gives a background story to each enemy. Originally a knight of Valhalla serving the goddess Etro, he will test Serah and Noel's strength upon defeating Snow in the introductory coliseum fight.
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* EleventhHourRanger: Upon defeating him, you get a chance of obtaining his monster crystal, although the drop rate percentage is proportional to the level you fight him at. It's also worth noting that the Coliseum can be unlocked early on in the game, potentially turning him into a DiscOneNuke instead. Just like Twilight Odin, however, [[MagikarpPower you'll need to level him up from 1 to 99]], and beating him sometimes means [[BraggingRightsReward there's not a lot of challenging enemies left afterwards]].
* ArtificialLimbs: His left arm is an ArmCannon [[MoreDakka that fires like a machine gun]]. His overall centaur design also looks mechanical.
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Mog's records state that Valfodr is one of Valhalla's most powerful warriors, and, having been granted the title of "Arbiter of Time", he's able to round up characters from different dimensions and put them in battle against each other.
* BloodKnight: He seems to enjoy the battles taking place in the coliseum, and often teases Serah and Noel with taunts of cowardice should the player refuse to fight in one of the DLC battles. He's also ecstatic when the party wins against him, saying it's been a very long time since the last time he stood grinning after a defeat.
* BreakingSpeech: Gives a pretty epic one as soon as Noel and Serah defeat Snow in "Perpetual Battlefield".
-->'''Valfodr''': "Foolish children of Man. The crime you commit is grievous indeed. [[BadassBoast The Arbiter of Time serves the Goddess of Death in all her merciless splendor. All mortal beings stand as equals when they receive their ultimate judgment]]. Only the most powerful is chosen to pass the sentence. (Voice suddenly deepens) ''Your sin is your arrogance. Such hubris, to think you could challenge me! Drown in seas of blood, writhe in infernal flames and and suffer eternal torment!'' '''''YOUR PUNISHMENT AWAITS!'''''"
* DamageSpongeBoss: He has the highest HP count in the game, topping at 15,516,000 in his level 99 incarnation. He's also able to heal himself (something which is emphasized upon with the summoned Cactuaramas at level 45), and has very high resistances.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: It's just "Arbiter of Time". His actual name is only mentioned in the game's text and never said on-screen.
* FlunkyBoss: In every iteration of his fight save for level 99, he summons various rare monsters, of which Serah and Noel can capture their crystals if you're lucky with the drop rate. From the Golden Chocobos to the Cactuaramas and [[KillerRabbit Chichus]], they'll often pose as much of a threat as himself. He conspicuously ditches this ability in the ultimate difficulty setting, instead bombarding Serah and Noel with increasingly heavy attacks.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Flashes yellow ones in the level 70 and 99 versions once you bring his health down to half.
* GracefulLoser: He takes no offence should Serah and Noel defeat him, even going as far as saying he thoroughly enjoyed the battle.
--> '''(When first defeating him):''' "Travelers of time, your skills at arms is unrivaled. You have earned the right to declare yourselves as the ultimate victors. Go now. May the light of your spirits guide the progress of time, and give rise to a new future."
--> '''(When beating his level 99 version):''' "Incredible! The Arbiter of Time, bested by mere mortals? Long has it been since I stood thus, grinning on the precipice of oblivion!"
* GuardianEntity: Watches over the Coliseum, and wanted Serah and Noel to leave once they entered his domain. He does not take it well when they come back in the downloadable content, prompting him to challenge them.
* TheGrimReaper: He is "a servant of the goddess of death", with a long polearm weapon, though not a scythe.
* LargeAndInCharge: He absolutely towers over Serah and Noel at roughly twice the duo's height and scorns them for thinking they could challenge the Coliseum's master.
* LargeHam: He's very bombastic when describing the bosses. His voice is also thundering when he fights the heroes.
--> "''UNWORTHY FOOL!''"
--> "''THIS IS YOUR FATE!''"
--> "''REJOIN THE VOID FOR ETERNITY!''"
--> "''KNOW YOUR FOLLY!''"
--> "''COWER!''"
--> "''PERISH!''"
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ0T5JJPUc8 The unnamed Coliseum theme]] when speaking to him normally for other DLC fights; [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aLV0et4T5Y "Time's Master"]] for his proper boss fight, which is shared with Caius (the first of the last three fights).
* LightningBruiser: He executes multiples attacks in quick succession, notably "-ga" spells followed by either his axe swings or ArmCannon. On top of those, he'll start casting even more powerful spells like Gagnrath and [[FantasticNuke Ultima]] at higher levels.
* MagicKnight: He's able to cast powerful spells and debuffs throughout his fights, on top of his two [[ArmCannon main]] weapons.
* OurCentaursAreDifferent: His battle form is that of a mechanical centaur with ArtificialLimbs.
* RecurringBoss: An odd variant, since all battles happen in the coliseum. He is fought at different levels, starting with level 1 right after you defeat Snow. Subsequent fights with him raise his level to 15, 45, 70, and 99, with increasing difficulty each time.
* RedBaron: "The Arbiter of Time".
* TheSocialDarwinist: While's not a villain per se, the law of Valhalla states that the "the weak serve the strong", and he certainly adheres to that, smiting down any enemy no matter how weak they are. The only exception he made was with [[ButtMonkey Mog]], rejecting him instead of taking him under his wing with the excuse that he's "too weak".
* StaffOfAuthority: Sports one in his normal form as "The Arbiter of Time".
* {{Superboss}}: After Snow's fight in "Perpetual Battlefield", he takes the center stage and fights you right away as a superboss. Each subsequent fight against him raises his power and changes his abilities, up until level 99, where his HP rivals [[Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII Vercingetorix's]].
* TurnsRed: On his level 70 and 99 versions, he will start using [[DeathFromAbove Gagnrath]] and Quasar, both of which will deal heavy damage to your party unless they're in the Tortoise paradigm, with the latter also causing [[WoundThatWillNotHeal Wound damage]].
* VaderBreath: His breath seems to echo throughout the entire coliseum chamber.
* WhamLine: The point in the above BreakingSpeech where his voice takes on the deep rumble qualifies, at least from the perspective of Noel, Serah, and Mog. That's when they recognize the voice and form of the freaky ''thing'' they ran into while solving the Sunleth paradox... and for Mog, that's when he realizes this is the same guy who kicked his ass and left him behind in Valhalla.

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