The main character of Final Fantasy XIII. A former Sergeant of Cocoon's Guardian Corps who resigned so she could be free to rescue her beloved sister Serah from the clutches of the Pulse fal'Cie. Her weapon is a transforminggunblade called the Blazefire Saber. Her Eidolon is Odin◊, who transforms into a horse during his Gestalt Mode.She changed her name to "Lightning" after the death of her parents as part of an effort to change herself into a stronger, more confident person capable of protecting both herself and her little sister. While her new Stoic personality was perfect for the Guardian Corp, she ended up developing a Married to the JobIce Queen persona that hindered her Relationship Values and distanced her from Serah.The first game centers around the defrosting of this persona as she is forced to confront her failings as a caretaker and as a sister.General tropes and those present in the first game:
Armor Piercing Punch: Lightning scores three of these on Snow within the first three hours of the game. To release her pent up anger and frustration towards him.
Badass: Just look at the first cutscene... and that's before she becomes a l'Cie.
Berserk Button: Do NOT mess around with Serah or Hope, you will not get a chance to regret it. Betraying her isn't the best idea ever.
With Snow only, she doesn't take kindly to him calling her "Sis". Mostly because she doesn't approve of him at first (and also because it's not technically true until the wedding).
Bifauxnen: Not in game, but in a cross promotion. She appeared in Japanese mens fashion magazine Arena Homme Plus modeling Prada's mens summer collection.
Blade Brake: Thrown in an uncontrolled manner by a massive Behemoth? No problem for Lightning. She'll just slam her gunblade into the ground with a single arm while flipping backwards and then proceed to steady herself quickly enough to pull off a badass pose seconds later before engaging in battle.
Broken Bird: Lightning's opinion about her moniker at the start of the game is that it reflects how destructive "Lightning" has been in regards her relationship with her sister, Serah.
By-the-Book Cop: One of the reasons she had such a problem with Snow was because she saw him as a jobless law breaking thug.
Character Focus: Final Fantasy XIII only came out at the end of 2009, but Lightning has become the modern face of the entire series in the years since. She got Wolverine Publicity as the face of XIII-2 despite having a minor role), is the sole playable character of the upcoming Lightning Returns (which obviously is named after her), and has appeared in ensemble pieces like Dissidia 012, Theatrhythm, Itadaki Street Mobile, and Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade, announced as being included in the final product the very same day the game itself was announced, before anyone else was mentioned. There's also an avatar of her in Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, The 3rd Birthday has Aya wear Lightning's costume as an alt outfit, she appears in the "Long Live Play" commercials for the Playstation 3, and there have been calls for her to show up in Playstation All-Stars as a DLC character.
Sazh refers to her as 'nee-chan' once in a while, though in his case it's less straightforward. The only time he actually says it to Lightning's face is when they've just met and he doesn't know her name — in Japan, addressing strangers as sister/aunt/grandmother depending on their age is pretty common. The rest of the time, he's talking to the others about her, which can be seen as Sazh encouraging them to think of Lightning as such.
Despair Event Horizon: Was about to cross it after Serah crystalized and Hope clung to her for help she couldn't provide, then Odin teleported to the area and smacked it out of her.
Determinator: Her motto for living can be boiled down to: keep moving no matter what.
Dub Name Change/Woolseyism: Her real name, Eclair, was changed to Claire, due to the fact that an Eclair is a type of pastry over in English speaking countries.
Effortless Amazonian Lift: Easily carries around the unconscious Serah at the beginning of the game, looking rather protective.
Embarrassing Tattoo: Her brand is on top of her left breast where her heart is, hidden under her shirt. You never actually get to see it. Until Aya Brea wears her costume in The 3rd Birthday.
Good Is Not Nice: She's a cross between a type IV and type VI. While she shows a large capacity for gentleness and kindness, she also tends to be strict (according to Serah in XIII-2), harsh (seen with Hope as she scolds and reprimands him for showing emotion upon coming across slaughtered soldiers), and generally only hands out accolades when she feels moral is low or when someone meets her high standards... However, some of her more harsh tendencies (i.e. pushing Hope to the floor) stem from the fact that the entire world and the God-like beings that run it are out to kill her and her companions as well as the fact that she and her companions are ticking time-bombs. In this scenario, you either learn how to survive quickly or you end up dead just as fast, which is why she is also in the Type VI category.
Guilt Complex: She blames herself for not being around enough for Serah and she wholeheartedly believes that she failed to raise Serah; she blames the entire birthday incident on herself (when in all fairness, it's a 50/50 split); in XIII-2 she blames herself for everything that has gone wrong, even though she is actively trying to protect the timeline and caused none of it to happen; the list goes on.
Guns Akimbo: Pulls this off during the opening of XIII.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: The further and further you get into the narrative of "The Lightning Saga", the more and more you'll discover that it doesn't matter what she does or accomplishes, Lightning will always find a way to cast herself in a negative light or at the very least downplay the whole thing.
The Leader: Defied at first as she wanted nothing to do with the others and tried to abandon Hope. Character development makes her a Type II.
Implausible Fencing Powers - Especially during XIII-2 where She deflects an entire energy based shockwave and an energy beam from a Chaos Bahumut with her sword.
Improbable Aiming Skills: Can shoot a small stone out of the air with her gunblade in one shot. With one hand. While falling.
Jack of All Stats: If fully developed, she has the second-best Strength and ties for second in Magic with Vanille. She also has the second-lowest overall HP, but learns Sentinel skills that allow her to dramatically increase her evasion to physical attacks, so she can step into any role easily.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Cold, distant, and extremely snarky to even those closest to her. However, she really does care deeply for them as she willingly joins The Purge to save Serah, is ready to sacrifice herself for Hope without a second thought, and feels so torn about Fang and Vanille's sacrifice that she immediately sets out to find a way to save them. She'll also generally try to do the right thing.
Knight in Sour Armor: She believes in doing what's right, which is not to say she's not incredibly bitter about just about everything.
Made of Iron: Becoming a L'cie apparently does this to a person. Taken much further in the sequel as Lightning is first slammed by a chunk of meteor, then smashed by the full force of a Chaos Bahumut punch, then takes an entire meteor to the face... and seems none the worse for wear because of it.
Magic Knight: Equally skilled in sword melee and magic.
Mama Bear: For Serah (the director stated Lightning has both maternal and sisterly feelings toward Serah, so it works both ways) and Hope. For Serah she willingly volunteers to be "Purged"; proceeds to hijack a Purge train, taking out all the soldiers on board; plows through several more platoons of soldiers/monsters on her way; then proceeds to hijack a military barge to infiltrate the Pulse Vestige where she then fights off the monsters within; and then decides to take matters straight to the God-like Fal'cie all within the first two hours of the game. And for Hope? "Start running,I'll keep em' busy. You Survive!. Luckily Fang and Snow showed up just in time.
Master Swordsman: Episode one states that only the best get to handle Gunblades.
Married to the Job: Her dedication to the Guardian Corps; a possible reason she has no canon love interests.
Meaningful Name: She changed her name to Lightning when her parents died to be a stronger person for Serah, but ended up alienating her and ruining their relationship. Lightning comments to Hope on this "Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys."
It is implied that Serah doesn't see it this way at all as not only does she refer to Lightning as "oneechan" in the Japanese version on a regular basis, she also hints that she saw Lightning as a role model/mentor in XIII-2 and never once gives any hint of resentment towards her elder sibling.
Morality Pet: Serah and Hope demonstrate the heart of gold inside the jerk.
More Dakka: Her gunblade, which usually is seen only to fire one bullet at a time, suddenly becomes a rapid fire machine gun during the Chapter 7 airship fight. It is surprisingly effective.
The Musketeer: When she isn't deflecting energy waves, cutting through an entire security fleet, and taking on 10 ton robotic scorpions and winning with her sword, she is shooting objects that are only a few inches in diameter, at a distance of several hundred feet while falling at terminal velocity, and only takng a second to line up the shot... without sights... WHILE upside down.
Not So Different: During the time when Hope wanted revenge against Snow, Lightning remarks how similar he is to her.
Noel certainly thinks Serah and Lightning are not that different from each other when they are angry (though one must wonder how he makes this claim when he knew Lightning for less than 5 minutes).
Off Model: In close-ups, her hair is quite clearly floating in the air above her collar and not moving, and once noticed it's hard to un-notice.
One Woman Army: Lampshaded; her signature skill is called Army of One.
Taken further in the sequel: her Limit Break is named Legion of One.
The Red Mage: She's considered the best Ravager (i.e. the XIII equivalent of the Black Mage) by many and is also quite skilled as a Medic (i.e. the XIII equivalent of the White Mage) on top of being a great Commando (i.e. physical attacker). Later on, she even gains access to buffs and debuffs.
Perpetual Frowner: Variety 3: You can count on a single hand the amount of times Lightning truly smiled in XIII. Otherwise, her default expression is one of focus and alertness with a healthy amount of seriousness being conveyed.
Promoted To Parent: Once legally for Serah, once metaphorically for Hope.
The Protagonist: Its her story, though the fragmented nature early on makes this difficult to see.
Speak Friend and Enter: In one of the early cutscenes, she pounds on a door that looks like a l'Cie Brand, and then apologizes and asks the door (or the fal'Cie controlling the door) nicely to open, which works. It is explained in Episode Zero that this door turns away those who are evil:
“This door is a door of trials. It will turn away those who hold evil in their hearts, and lead on those who hold the holy spirit.” The girl with the eyes of an adult knelt before the door, and prayed. The girl with the eyes of a child followed suit. The symbol on the door glowed red, and the door opened.
Stepford Snarker: Sarcasm is definitely part of her personality and she even shows shades of being a Snark Knight. However, as she develops, it is revealed that some of her more jerk ass comments come from her own insecurities, feelings of guilt, and anger at the situation she has found herself in. She even apologizes to Snow later on in XIII for the numerous comments and healthy amount of disdain she showed him and immediately apologizes to Hope after making some of her harshest comments.
Still Wearing The Old Colors: She quit a minute or two before she boarded the train in the opening, and didn't have time to change.
Super Reflexes: While in Sentinel mode, she can use Elude which gives her a 50% chance of dodging an enemy attack.
Swiss Army Weapon: Her gunblade (unlike Squall's) is a weapon which can shift between its sword form to a submachine gun instead of being a bullet-powered Vibro Weapon.
The Musketeer: Uses both sword and gun, but focuses on the sword.
Third-Person Seductress: A beautiful aversion. She's attractive but is not played for fanservice nor is her outfit particularly revealing, especially in comparison to Vanille and Fang.
Transhuman: In XIII she goes from a Human to a L'cie. After XIII she goes from a L'cie to a human possessing the magic of a L'cie (according to "The Fragments After"). Just before the events of XIII-2, she goes from a human possessing the magic of a L'cie to merging with the Goddess Etro and being called a "Warrior Goddess" at one point and having the manual state she's "something more than human... almost a Goddess herself". During Lightning Returns, she will now serve as "The Soul Liberator" and has been said to be even more powerful than before.
After the events of XIII-2, which detailed the rather brutal outcomes and who needs to be stopped, she crystallized herself for three hundred years so she would come back again in a later and more proper time. Now, she has to save the world from chaos. She is the only playable character in this game.Tropes present only in 'Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII:
Badass Longcoat/Badass Long Robe: While what she wears can't actually be called a coat or a robe, it's clearly designed to invoke the imagery of one.
Snow is the leader of NORA, an armed neighbor watch that fights local monsters. When the Purge starts, they rebel against the Sanctum. He is engaged to Lightning's sister, Serah. Snow fights with his bare hands and Ice magic. His weapon is a special coat developed by the government which can alter the strength of the wearer. His Eidolon is Shiva, which splits into two sisters, Styria and Nix◊. They transform into a motorbike during their Gestalt Mode.General tropes and those present in the first game:
Always Save the Girl: Snow is VERY dedicated to rescuing Serah, to the point where he abandons the others to save her at one point.
Badass: Leads a rebellion against the Sanctum at the beginning of Chapter 1.
Empowered Badass Normal: Twofold for Snow, since he clearly knows how to fight, the bullet proof strength enhancing coat lets him make the most of it. Being turned into l'cie with magic powers is just the cherry on the top.
Bare-Fisted Monk: Although it's obvious he relies more on brute strength than technique. There's some skill there though, just enough for him to be efficient about it.
Companion Cube: Treats Serah's crystal tear as such, talking to it like Serah can hear him and encouraging the same from the other party members occasionally. All things considered in this series though, it's entirely possible she can hear him somehow.
Determinator: He never, ever, gives up. He never accepts his Focus or the idea of fulfilling it and vows that no matter what happens or what it takes, he will save Cocoon and bring back Serah. Lampshaded by Lightning, who mentions "He's too stubborn to die. And that's his best quality."
Dumbass Has a Point: Sure, his claims that being a hero will save the world ultimately lead them to doing everything that Barthandelous wanted them to do... but his point about doing nothing doesn't help anything rings true (i.e. they are ticking time bombs... time isn't exactly on their side).
Fake Ultimate Hero: Claims to be a traditional 'save the world' hero when all he's done is trounce local wildlife. After transforming, he tries to be the real deal. He was some sort of revolutionary before the game started, and while his tactics were questionable, he was charismatic enough to garner followers. Not exactly a hero, but probably where he got the idea that he was heroic.
Five Stages of Grief: While Lightning is trapped in the anger stage following Serah's crystalization, Snow is stuck in the bargaining stage. He is convinced that he can free her from her fate if he just sacrifices something, anything.
Gentle Giant: Jokes about his shoe size aside, Snow is a determinedromantic who believes in doing the right thing as a self-designated hero. Also, he insists on calling Lightning 'nee-san/sis' even though he isn't married to Serah yet and Lightning hates him.
Good Old Fisticuffs: He's more of a brawler than a Martial Artist, using his aforementioned coat as an Amplifier Artifact to augment his strikes rather than a pair of gloves.
The Hero: Deconstructed. He identifies himself as one, but at first the world is just so crapsack that he mostly serves as a source of irritation for Lightning until Character Development happens. At which point, he's the one to set their long term goal and gets them to acknowledge how much of a team they've all become. While Lightning leads more often then him, he's more traditionally heroic and steers them towards helping bystanders (often to the other's exasperation).
Most pronounced after Barthandelus delivers a Breaking Speech about Serah's Focus to the party after their first boss battle against him.
Before that when Hope started to question his actions.
Hidden Depths: While he appears to be oblivious, arrogant, or thoughtless, he is in fact masking his intense fear of failure and guilt for those he's failed (Nora and Serah, in particular). Since he doesn't know how to make up for those deficiencies, he tries to be gregarious and active. He's so afraid that he'll never make up for it that he can't bring himself to apologize or acknowledge what he did that was wrong. Hope convinces him to be more mindful of his sins.
Hot Blooded: He charges headlong into danger with nary a thought.
Idiot Hero: Thinks he can save everyone with enthusiasm. His plans are never more complicated than: Summon Shiva, kick ass. He does show a practical mindset at times, but it's clear he tries to fight it.
Indy Ploy: He is quick on his feet, which is the only reason he gets away with the above.
"Heroes don't need plans!"
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's mostly arrogant, doing things without thinking, but he's willing to do anything whatever it takes.
Memetic Hand Gesture: Snow's "right fist punches left palm" motion. Often includes a Rousing Speech. Done so often, however, that it undercuts such speeches in later chapters.
Nice Guy: Never has a bad word to say about his allies or the people of Cocoon. Even if they punch him in the face or are terrified of him.
No Sell: One of the Synthesis abilites available to him through his Feymark/Soul Blazer can render him immune to magic attacks; unfortunately, it can't be used to heal him either.
A more conventional No Selling can be done through Paladin/Winged Saint, which increases the effectiveness of his Guard stances; the official guide claims in optimal conditions he takes 1% DAMAGE
One-Man Army: Not as much as Lightning, but still very much present.
The Paragon: He tries to be, and he can play the part, but by refusing to recognize his flaws or the challenges around him he endangers others as much as he tries to empower them. During his journey, once he actually thinks through his (rather dire) situation, he acts as one to the group, being the first to commit to rebelling against the fal'cie and by being continually cheerful in the face of the others' gloom. It pays off.
Throw Down the Bomblet: Before he gets l'cie powers he uses hand grenades to deal area damage.
Understanding Boyfriend: Stands by Serah when she becomes a l'Cie, proposing to her shortly afterwards.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Refuses to believe they'll all either Cie'th or commit genocide; always knew they'd save the day.
Wrong Genre Savvy: He thinks he's a hero and if he makes the most heroic choices, everything will be fine. If he was in a Lighter and Softer RPG series, this would work, but not in this one...
You Are Worth Hell: Firmly believes that Serah is worth it, even if she's a l'Cie.
Oerba Dia Vanille
"Wishes can come true. But not if you just wait for miracles. Miracles are things we make for ourselves. Here, and now."
Voiced by Yukari Fukui in Japanese and Georgia van Cuylenburg in English.
Badass Adorable: The girl gets to fish enemies to death in the beginning of the game.
She learns DEATH. The adorable girl, who all but skips her way through the game learns the one spell your party can learn that will outright kill an opponent. Badass Adorable indeed.
Vanille: My name is Oerba Dia Vanille. I'm a l'Cie, from Gran Pulse. And to everyone on Cocoon... evil.
The Call Knows Where You Live: Vanille keeps silent and is willing to turn into a Cie'th rather than put Fang and the world in danger, and she unwittingly sucks the other four members of the cast into being L'cie themselves.
The Chick: Female, cute, cheerful, and tries to support everyone.
Combat Medic: Vanille is the best Medic in the early and middle stages of the game, but is eventually outpaced in terms of raw healing power by Hope. To compensate, her HP is considerably higher, improving her survivability. She is also capable of acting as a fairly good offensive mage and is the best debuffer in the game.
Death Seeker: After Jihl shows Sazh that Vanille and Fang are responsible for Dajh being made a l'Cie, Vanille begs Sazh to shoot her.
Fish Out of Temporal Water: She, along with Fang, was crystallized five centuries ago and was just brought back to life 13 days before the beginning of the game.
Faking Amnesia: Vanille pretends that she's forgotten a substantial plot-relevant swath of memory in order to avoid having to share her Dark and Troubled Past (and its ramifications for their current situation) with the rest of the party. Her partner Fang, who really has forgotten, eventually tricks her into admitting it by pretending that she's also been faking her own amnesia.
Genki Girl: Consistently cheerful and energetic despite how long they march.
Ms. Fanservice: Makes frequent sexual-sounding noises in battle for no apparent reason.
Beyond that, while everyone else's l'Cie brand is on a reasonably harmless position (except for Lightning's), hers is right on the side of her asscheek, meaning she has to lift her skirt to see and check it. Wonder why that is.
As a more meta example, her design in general, considering that Word Of God says her outfit is based on Namibian Himban women. For anyone who doesn't know what the average Himban woman wears, it's...very revealing.
Reality Is Unrealistic: There has been some complaints about how fake her Australian accent is, even though Georgia von Cuylenberg is actually Australian (and for one based abroad for so long, retains her normal accent). A likely reason is that she seems at times to be trying for the Hollywood Australian accent rather than her own authentic one, leading to Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping — by contrast, Fang's accent is unauthentic, due to her voice actress being an American, but it's consistent.
Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: With Fang. As behaviour typically seen in younger girls, it's a sad reminder of how fractured their childhood and development has been, living in war-torn Oerba as orphans, being forced to rely heavily for emotional support (Vanille more so than Fang), not to mention having a Focus that demanded they wipe out thousands to millions of lives.
Stepford Smiler: Type A. Vanille's cheerful attitude is just her way of running away from the fact that she knows that it is her Focus to destroy the world. Despite being always upbeat and positive, she has an authentic death wish and blames herself for everything that has happened.
Token Nonhuman: Vanille serves as this for the first two chapters, being the only l'cie out of the playable characters. She loses this role when everybody else becomes l'cie.
What Could Have Been: According to the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, the development team at one point considered making Vanille the official main character of the game, but dismissed the idea as they had already released a trailer and art featuring Lightning in that role.
She also would have been a shade of blonde if they went through with it.
Whip It Good: Vanille's weapon of choice is a Binding Rod which is a whip combined with Magic Staff.
Sazh Katzroy
"You think you die, and that's that?! You think you die and everything'll be sugar and rainbows?!"
Voiced by Masashi Ebara in Japanese and Reno Wilson in English.
A professional airship pilot from Cocoon, he tags along with Lightning so that he can confront the fal'Cie. His weapons are dual pistols. His Eidolon is Brynhildr◊, a female Fire-elemental, who can turn into a race car in her Gestalt Mode.
Ace Pilot: He was a civilian pilot before the plot kicked off, but his skills are definitely top notch.
Action Survivor: Early cutscenes would seem to imply that he just picked up the guns somewhere and had no real familiarity with them. Meaning he had no combat training or experience. The description of his pistols claim they are emergency weapons assigned to pilots in case of crashes in the wilderness.
Bottomless Magazines: Never needs to reload, no matter how long the battle lasts.
Death Seeker: Slips into this briefly in chapter 8, accepting that he'll be executed if he turns himself in but being willing to do it if he can see Dajh as a last request. Then goes over the Despair Event Horizonhard when Dajh turns to crystal before his eyes and Jihl reveals Vanille was the one who caused him to be branded. He puts his gun directly to his head, but can't bring himself to end it.
Master of None: His Strength and Magic stats are both below average; they become the worst of all six characters in the postgame. On the other hand, he has the second-highest HP and compensates for his lack of power by Dual Wielding with a ranged attack and being the earliest character to get offensive Status Buffs. With a maxed Crystarium and Ultimate weapon, he can hit a single enemy up to 18 times, making him stronger than Snow.
Sad Clown: By far the most comedic character and deliberately designed after Richard Pryor, personality-wise. Also, probably the most tragic character too and at times outright suicidal.
Team Dad: Takes it upon himself to look after Hope and Vanille, and, to a lesser extent, Snow and Lightning.
Token Minority: Sazh is the only black member in the cast of XIII. His son, Dajh, may qualify as a Twofer Token Minority, being the only named black NPC and the only named young child NPC.
Hope Estheim
"And what if that gets people around you involved? What happens when your actions end up ruining someone's life? What if someone dies? What then, Snow? How do you pay for what you've done?"
Voiced by Yuuki Kaji in Japanese and Vincent Martella in English.
A young boy originally from a high-class family. His mother was killed while volunteering to help Snow and NORA, so for that he bears a grudge against Snow. His weapon is a boomerang. His Eidolon is Alexander◊, which has the ability to turn into a fortress in Gestalt Mode.
Action Survivor: Like Sazh, Hope has likely never seen combat before the events of the game although his weapon implies he has experience with hunting with a boomerang.
Cannot Spit It Out: For a good portion of the game, Hope cannot bring himself to say something about Snow's responsibility for the death of his mother, Nora.
Casual Danger Dialogue: Once he gets his head on straight, he starts doing this a fair bit, from summoning Alexander with "Need your help, big guy!" to dropping into the middle of a racetrack directly in front of an oncoming enemy mech which skids to a halt right in front of his face and saying nothing but "Hey there." He's clearly taking a leaf out of Fang's book.
Child Mage: (Eventually) the most powerful one; by end-game, the only magic class where he's weaker than Vanille is Saboteur, and only because she's got the Deathspell.
Death from Above: Hope's signature skill, Last Resort, also has elements of this trope.
Gadgeteer Genius: Alexander aside, Hope inexplicably has a knack for machines, activating a few Mini Mechas the party finds during the game to help them out.
The Load: Played with. How competent or not Hope is depends on how the player uses him, but in the story he knows he's much less capable than Lightning, Snow or Sazh, and if he wants to survive and confront Snow he has to toughen up and learn to not be this. With Lightning's help training him, that's just what he does.
Magikarp Power: Some players dismiss Hope as an inferior medic to Vanille because he doesn't get the higher-level healing spells until later in development. However, his magic power ultimately outstrips Vanille's.
No Sell: You wouldn't think Hope'd be the sort to be able to do this, but his Simurgh/Tezcatlipoca weapons can render him immune to physical attacks if it's Synthesis ability is activated.
Revenge Before Reason: He blames Snow for his mothers death more than the Psicom soldiers that actually killed her, despite that she joined his revolt completely of her own volition. Understandable in that he's still a kid who just suffered a series of traumatic experiences, and he does get better as his character develops.
Red Mage: Hope will out do any characters magical abilities in any role with the exception of Vanille in Sabetour.
Squishy Wizard: By far outstrips the other characters in magic, having the highest Magic in the game and being the only character to learn all four Cure spells, all four "-ga" spells, and he learns all but four Synergist buffs. However, his HP is the lowest in the game.
Whole Plot Reference: His circumstances and costume are largely modeled on Tidus from Final Fantasy X, from color scheme and daddy issues to adjusting to being taken out of his comfort zone and having his hometown blown up and separated from his parents by an evil government.
"Let Cocoon get what's comin', better that than watch a friend go Cie'th."
Voiced by Mabuki Andou in Japanese and Rachel Robinson in English.
A mysterious woman from Pulse who grew up with Vanille. Her weapon is a double-bladed spear that can be split into a three-section staff. Her Eidolon is Bahamut◊, who has no element, which also turns into a flying dragon in its Gestalt Mode.
Blood Knight: It's not extremely obvious, but she seems to really enjoy kicking her opponents around. One of her battle quotes is, "You're gonna squirm!"
She seems audibly excited when casting debilitating spells as a Saboteur.
Fluffy Tamer: "What a sweetheart!" in regards to Bahamut.
Glacier Waif: She has the highest Strength and above-average HP, but subpar magic. She is the best Commando in the game and the second-best Sentinel after Snow.
Heroic Sacrifice: Fang is crystallized at the end of the game to save Cocoon.
Land Downunder: Gran Pulse, a challenging world with unique wildlife? Check. Fang using an appropriate accent? Check. Devotee of Deadpan Snarking? Hooboy, check.
Mythology Gag: Has quite a few; her specialty skill Highwind resembles the signature command of the Dragoon Job and is named after the surname of many of the series' previous dragoons like Ricard, Kain, and Cid. Her ultimate weapon is Kain's Lance, and she even rides a Dragon as a mount like Ricard did.
No Sell: The straightest example; while not as resiliant as Snow, she can reduce damage quite a bit as a Sentinel, and has access to Dragoon Lance/Dragonhorn and Shamanic Spear/Heretic's Halberd, which can make Physical and Magical attacks respectively completely ineffective; she's the only one who can nullify both.
Sticks to the Back: Her spear curiously does this while most other weapons have carrying cases. There are straps near her waist, but they aren't large enough to keep the spear from jiggling everywhere.
What Could Have Been: Her character was originally conceived as a male in early preproduction. Noel in XIII-2 was likely based on this original design.
When All You Have Is a Hammer: While most of the other party members tend to agonize over solutions to their plight, Fang's solution for every problem seems to be to stab it until it stops twitching.
Younger Than They Look: Completely ignoring that she's five centuries old Fang has the physical attributes of someone several years older (With her features, demeanour, height- not to mention the scars on her right arm- would you believe she's only 21?).
Sanctum Officials
Primarch Galenth Dysley/Barthandelus
"Without our help, death is all of which you're capable. You saw the fools. A mindless mob drunk on fear of a few l'Cie."
Voiced by Masaru Shinozuka in Japanese and S Scott Bullock in English.
The Primarch of Cocoon, he is revered and loved by his people as a wise and fair old ruler that protects them from the horrors of Pulse, even if it means Purging cities at times. In reality, however, he is really the fal'Cie Barthandelus, leader of the Cocoon fal'Cie who pulls the strings on Cocoon while secretly plotting its destruction. Much of what happens in the game is according to his plans, including Vanille, Fang and Anima being brought to Cocoon 500 years ago, setting the stage for the day when he can use Pulse l'Cie to act against Cocoon in his stead.
" I am fal'Cie. My name is Barthandelus; voice of the Sanctum, and Lord-Sovereign of the Cocoon fal'Cie. Your kind feared the darkness, so we gave you light. You begged us for the Purge, and did it not come to pass? Now you spurn our counsel? You must learn your place!"
Batman Gambit: Once he reveals his true hand in the game's events, he spends the rest of the game tricking the party into doing what he wants by playing to their sense of righteousness, such as relying on them to return to Cocoon to try and protect it when he tells them he's set it up to be destroyed without them.
Xanatos Gambit: And the reason they follow it is because they know he has other pawns he can use and will explore other methods to destroy Cocoon if they don't cooperate.
Death Seeker: "Release... at last, release!" Like his ally Orphan, Barthandelus never intended to survive his plan.
Early-Bird Cameo: Although he doesn't physically appear until the third chapter, he can be heard speaking to the Purge victims at the very beginning of the game.
There's also a literal bird cameo as his Rukh Menrva shows up very early in the game.
Establishing Character Moment: His entire confrontation with the party aboard the Palamecia, but especially this exchange, his first words to them.
Snow: "Monster! People are not yours to use!" Dysley: "What else does one do with tools?"
Evil Is Hammy: Particularly notable as his appearances in public portays him as a perfectly sane and competent leader. When he's alone with the party, all that slips away.
Evil Mentor: Has shades to the party. They got as far as they did because he was pulling strings to allow them to, and when they confront him he spells out plain for them that their Focus is to destroy Cocoon by becoming Ragnarok. Then he sends them off to Fifth Ark to train them up for the job by pitting them against the enemies within.
Beam Spam: In fact he never stops attacking with them. And then there's Thanatosian Laugh and Thanatosian Smile, which truly exemplify this trope.
Gold and White Are Divine: Leader of the Sanctum and most powerful human in Cocoon answering direct to the fal'Cie. His true form initially subverts this when it first appears, almost entirely black with little gold and white, then plays it straight when his later two fights have him appearing as white and silver with more gold.
Humans Are Morons/Humans Are The Real Monsters: "What can mere men do? Without our help, death is all of which you're capable. You saw the fools, a mindless mob drunk on fear of a few l'Cie."
Human Sacrifice: Created Cocoon for the entire reason of breeding humans to be the ultimate sacrifice to bring the absent Maker back to the world.
Kick the Dog: Constantly and fearlessly, in order to keep pissing off the party or drive them further into despair, either way making them easier to manipulate. At the end of the game he orders the Calvary into Orphan's Cradle to protect Orphan from the party, then turns them into Cie'th. The party speculates this is just a reminder from him that their time as l'Cie is almost up and they'd better give in to their Focus soon.
Kick the Son of a Bitch: Killing Jihl Nabaat earned him a lot of goodwill from players. Of course, he proceeds to totally squander it afterwards by being such a Manipulative Bastard.
Kill Steal: Ganks Jihl Nabaat before you get a chance to.
Leitmotif: Notably the only character outside the main cast (and Serah) with one.
Loophole Abuse: The reason his entire plan hinges on manipulating the party into doing his work for him instead of doing it himself. As a fal'Cie he is bound by his own Focus to serve Cocoon and lacks the willpower to defy his Focus, but humans are not so restricted.
Master of Illusion: Presents himself to the people of Cocoon as an old man, but is really a multi-faced fal'Cie. Also presents himself to the party as Serah at one point.
President Evil: As seen above, the Primarch is an elected position.
The Emperor: On the other hand, seeing as how he's been planning things out since the War of Transgression, it's likely that every Primarch over the centuries has been him changing forms to keep up the Masquerade and using his powers to manipulate the Sanctum to ensure he keeps getting into office.
Slasher Smile: How he always looks in his true form.
Spell My Name with an S: Some fans romanize his real name as Baldanders, a mythological shapeshifter. The Spanish translation has that romanization as canon.
Staff of Authority: Although it seems to be just a badge of office it also doubles as a Magic Wand, although he doesn't ever use his human form to battle you.
Title Drop: When disguised as Serah, he recites the lyrics to his battle theme, "Fighting Fate".
Transforming Mecha: Though it's likely an extension of his powers as an overall shapeshifter.
The Unfettered: He's been waiting a very, very long time to put his plan into motion. though how long it's been for a fal'Cie, probably not as long as it seems to us.
Ungrateful Bastard: Invoked when he tells the party that after centuries of Cocoon prospering under fal'Cie rule, who are they to suddenly start questioning their government and being indignant about the fal'Cie controlling things? But considering they nurtured Cocoon to prepare for the day they destroyed it, he's just being a dick about it.
Unwitting Pawn: The party assumes he's just a puppet ruler doing what the fal'Cie tell him. They couldn't be further from the truth.
Villain with Good Publicity: If only the adoring public knew they were being bred as human sacrifices for his grand scheme.
Visionary Villain: Is out to see the world reborn by sacrificing all the fal'cie and humans alike.
Walking Spoiler: Anything aside from the fact he's evil is off-limits for those wishing to be unspoiled.
Wham Line: "Why don't you leave, Jihl? Or rather, take your leave? Humans have no business here."
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He mercilessly slaughters Jihl Nabaat and his staff prior to revealing his true identity to the protagonists.
Lieutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat
"Your son's a hero. We'll erect a memorial for him on Eden... and put his crystal on display!"
Voiced by Mie Sonozaki in Japanese and Paula Tiso in English.
A colonel in charge of running the military division PSICOM (Public Safety and Information Command) which are charged with the handling and containing Pulse activity, and as such opposes the party.Is available as DLC for FFXIII-2's coliseum.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At first, she was nice to Sazh, but that was only to get close to Dajh and his L'Cie-detecting abilities. She's quite the bitch after the kid turns to crystal.
Cleavage Window: One that you can put Adornments in! Yeah...
For Science!: After revealing to Sazh that Vanille is the reason his son crystalized, she lets them fight it out to 'gather data' on l'cie battle power.
Glasses Pull: Jihl does this a few times to punctuate particularly callous lines. Later, she whips off her glasses and crushes them in a fit of abject rage and frustration, then gets killed a few minutes later.
Karmic Death: She holds the belief that people only live to serve a use to more important people. Cue the last seconds of her life where she realizes that she has that exact same role placed on her by her boss.
Magic from Technology: Uses Manadrives built into her stick in her boss battle in XIII-2.
Staff of Authority: Carries a fancy swagger stick for both combat and command purposes.
The Unfought: She was willing to try and give it a go, but was struck by Dysley's magic instead.
She's available for a thrashing in the DLC of XIII-2, though.
Unwitting Pawn: She didn't even know that the Primarch was only using her until he tells her, just a few seconds before he kills her by shooting his magic in her back.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: As a gameplay mechanic in her boss fight, she has the ability Sacrifice Pawn where she sacrifices any allies you haven't killed yet. Depending on the type and number of allies she sacrifices, she gains various effects: PSICOM Wardens restore her HP, Nightblade Pumas cast Daze on your party and Azure Behemoths allow her to use her Limit Break and if none are present, she instead sacrifices a large chunk of her HP to use it.
Lieutenant Colonel Yaag Rosch
"Tell me, do you really think your life is worth more than the lives of millions of Cocoon citizens?"
Voiced by Hiroki Tochi in Japanese and Jon Curry in English.
Jihl Nabaat's second-in-command, Rosch is a field commander and regularly participates in battle alongside his troops, hence the scar on his forehead. Rebels against Sanctum in the end, presumably after learning of Bart's human sacrifice plan. He dies by blowing himself up to kill two King Behemoths.
Ace Pilot: Has his own transforming mecha/airship called The Proudclad which he challenges you in.
Anti-Villain: The party has his sympathies, but he does what he thinks is best for Cocoon.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a faint one on his forehead. It's there to show that he's not afraid to mix it up and fight to the death alongside his own troops.
My Country, Right or Wrong: Played straight in an interesting way. He has the best intentions for the people of Cocoon, and he feels that the governance of it should be left to them. However, he is afraid to speak out against the fal'Cie for fear of the retribution that may befall the citizens he's sworn to protect, so he shuts up and does what he's told.
Redemption Equals Death: After being defeated by the party, he leaves Cocoon in their hands and does this combined with You Shall Not Pass to stop some Behemoths from reaching the party.
"The public fears what it doesn't know... Strike down the phantoms before their eyes, and they sleep like babies."
Voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura in Japanese and Erik Davies in English.
A Brigadier General who runs a fleet of airships called the Cavalry. Cid, however, has secret machinations of seizing power in Cocoon and giving rule to the people rather then the fal'Cie, and helps the party in order to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, he is really a l'Cie and only helps the party on the orders of Barthandelus. He asks his Number Two to 'cut his strings' and kill him.
Adaptive Ability: Notably because he, like you, uses Paradigm Shifts to change his fighting style to better suit the battle.
Screw Destiny: He turns his back on his Focus in order to stop you, but...
You Can't Fight Fate: He becomes a crystal for his efforts and is later revived, but still kept under Barthandelus' control.
Shadow Archetype: He can easily be described as the Anti-Snow. He's idealistic, but it was turned against him. Wants to defy his fate, but is forced to follow it. Fights with his fists. The only thing missing is a short fiancée.
Satellite Character: Although supplementary materials expands his behind the scenes role as one of the co-founders of Academy along with Hope's father Bartholomew.
What Happened to the Mouse?: The game does not elaborate to his fate after he mercy kills Cid. It was implied that he is among the men made into Sacrifice cie'th in Orphan's Cradle just prior to your arrival, but the sequel then implies he survived somehow.
Other
Team NORA
Left to right: Gadot, Yuj, Maqui, Lebreau.
"The army's no match for NORA!"
Gadot Voiced by Biichi Satou in Japanese and Zack Hanks in English.
Yuj is Voiced by Wataru Hatano in Japanese and Jeff Fischer in English.
Maqui is Voiced by Makoto Naruse in Japanese and Daniel Samonas in English.
Lebreau Voiced by YūAsakawa in Japanese and Anndi Mc Afee in English.
A team of rebellious monster hunters from Bodhum. The name is an acronym for "No Obligations, Rules, or Authority" in the English version, but is a play on the word "noraneko" in Japanese (meaning stray cat). When the Purge breaks out, they become La Résistance to combat PSICOM and protect the Purge victims.
The Cavalry: The whole team in Chapter 12. Triples as a Crowning Moment of Awesome and a Crowning moment of Heartwarming when they tell Snow that they don't care whether or not he's a l'Cie, they're still a team to the end.
Development Gag: During the demo stages, the art team couldn't decide what hairstyle and colour to give Yuj so they made him look like a random NPC. They went on to lampshade this in his bio, saying that he went to Eden to get a whole new look.
Voiced by Shotaro Uzawa in Japanese and Connor Villard in English.
Sazh's young son, he loves Chocobos, and Sazh purchases the Chocobo Chick for him as a gift. Showing extreme maturity for his age, he comforts his father over the untimely death of his mother. Shortly before the game started, he was branded by the Cocoon fal'Cie Kujata and was taken by Jihl Nabaat into PSICOM custody. He completes his Focus and is crystallized a third of the way through the game, nearly prompting Sazh to commit suicide. Along with Serah, he awakens from crystal stasis during the game's ending.
A baby chocobo Sazh bought for his son Dajh at Euride Gorge. It has human intelligence and frequently stands in as a physical form of Sazh's conscience.
The Conscience: Talks Sazh out of killing himself multiple times.
Killer Rabbit: Its entry in the Datalog implies it. The fact that it took on a armed PSICOM soldier and won confirms it.
No Name Given: The chick is unnamed. The implication is that Sazh wants Dajh to have the honor of naming it. In Episode Zero, Sazh declares that he'll give it a name "as soon as they get back" and wants to give it a "cool, cute name".
In XIII-2, Dajh named her Chocolina, as it turned out she was a girl. Yes, the same name as the merchant.
The fal'Cie powering Cocoon hidden within the capital city, He is in stasis while the other fal'Cie draw upon his massive power to cater to the whims of Cocoon's inhabitants. He is in league with Barthandelus, wishing himself destroyed to release himself from the eternity of servitude he was created for.
And I Must Scream: It wasn't until Barthandelus's death that Orphan was truly "born", until then he existed in a sort of in-between state, aware but unable to take action as the other fal'Cie took their power from him.
BFS: Its shell is one, and it rises up into the air to use it for Merciless Judgment.
Clipped Wing Angel: In comparison to his monstrous first form, his true form is quite tame.
Creepy Child: Has a childlike face in the middle of an angelic wheel. Word Of God says when he was designing Orphan, one of two guidelines he had was that its true form have such a face.
Death Seeker: And unlike Barthandelus, it has a few centuries of existing in purgatorial un-life adding onto its misery after the Maker left the world.
I Am Legion: When fused with Barthandelus and a representation of Lindzei.
I Cannot Self-Terminate: The premise. If he could, there would be no need to train l'cie, the main party, into killing him. So there would be no game.
Meaningful Name: As invoked by Orphan himself, he is the Abandoned One, created by the Maker to power Cocoon and then left in a state of un-life and forgotten about. His design was also made to invoke the idea that when his shell is destroyed and you face his true form, his "parents" in the shell have abandoned him to fight alone.
Orphan also ties into the "Ophanim", singular form "Ophan", a class of angels also known as Thrones for they carry the throne of god, and are depicted as giant flaming wheels covered in eyes.
My Name Is Orphan: "Our name is Orphan! By our hand, the world shall know redemption!"
Additionally, the very impressive music that plays when he appears for the first time has an extremely big, dramatic, and loud opening, and the translation of the choir's Latin is "My name is Orphan! ORPHAN!"
Nietzsche Wannabe: As noted by Lightning, it gave up on living before it was even really alive.
No Sell: He's completely immune to all damage in his final form, until you Stagger him.
One-Hit Kill: His final form has only one attack besides Doom, which he casts at the beginning of the battle, and repeatedly casts Death.
Also, it's possible to slaughter him with Vanille's Death if you're lucky.
Timed Mission: Casts Doom on the party leader in the final battle, though with a much higher timer than usual.
Voice of the Legion: His shell speaks in male and female voices in unison, and refer to themselves in the plural.
Yin Yang Bomb: His first form is encased in a shell made of a light and gold image of a female Lindzei on the right, and a dark blue and black image of Barthandelus on the left. He also has the debuffing skill Consummate Darkness and the buffing skill Consummate Light.
Lindzei
The deity who is said to be the creator and master of Cocoon. He is the creator of the world in which the games take place and is such worshiped by the people of Gran Pulse.
Abusive Parents: Like Pulse, he was a parental figure to the Pulse fal'cie and abandoned them long before the game begins.
Final Solution: Lindzei and his Fal'Cie children Barthandelus, Orphan, and Lulusathian Judge seem to like commiting mass genocide. While Lindzei's reasons are unknown the others attempted it to open the Door of Souls.
Omnicidal Maniac: The prequel story states that Lindzei is the one who destroyed a good deal of Pulse, and that only two children - Fang and Vanille - survived the slaughter.
Riddle for the Ages: Why did Lindzei abandon Cocoon? Doubles as a bit of a Driving Question, especially to the Cocoon fal'Cie. Whether or not Lindzei is The Maker is also a bit of a puzzle.
Sigil Spam: Lindzei's mark is prominent throughout Cocoon, such as the head Dysley's Staff of Authority as well as Dajh and Cid's l'cie brands.
Satan: To the people of Pulse, at any rate. The viper comparisons really drive it home.
Pulse
The deity which the land Gran Pulse is named after. Appears in one scene where he turns the party except for Vanille into l'Cie.
Abusive Parents: Pulse was a parental figure to the Gran Pulse fal'Cie and abandoned them long before the game begins.
Lightning's younger sister and Snow's fiancée, Serah was branded a l'Cie by the Pulse fal'Cie Anima prior to the game. Her Focus is what draws the party together, setting the plot in motion. Along with Dajh, she is revived from crystal stasis at the end of the game.
Body to Jewel: She sheds a crystal tear which Snow keeps with him for the duration of the game.
Demoted to Extra: She was originally meant to be the seventh party member, but problems with her implementation led to her being made an NPC, which resulted in Lightning's more serious personality and Fang's Gender Flip.
Posthumous Character: Subverted; she is largely developed as such, but crystallized l'Cie are indeed Only Mostly Dead, and she's revived along with Dajh during the ending.
Living with the rest of Team NORA in New Bodhum (Snow off searching for a way to free Vanille and Fang), Serah's world is shattered when monsters attack the village. Noel saves her, handing her a weapon so she can fight.The two then set off to investigate Lightning's fate — everyone believes she's dead, but Serah's memory shows the opposite. What is behind these strange events?Tropes present only in XIII-2:
Badass: After being seperated from Noel, Serah runs into Caius. Knowing she can't win, she fights anyway and all with just one monster. She loses but Caius compliments her for doing a much better job than Noel did!
Badass Adorable: Possesses fighting skills on-par with the original party members now, but she's no less cute while doing it.
Her victory pose is catching Mog and giving him a hug. Aaaaaaw.
Badass Teacher: She scolds a school of miniflan into submission.
The Beastmaster: As with Lightning, she can collect crystals of monsters and raise them akin to Pokémon, the datalog explains this is a lesser form of Summon Magic.
Beware the Nice Ones: Among her students she has a reputation as a strict teacher and both Snow and Noel comment she is like Lightning when she is angry.
Combat Pragmatist: One of her specialities is sabotaging the enemy to given herself an advantage. When a monster is staggered, she shouts "Go! Go! Go!" to make sure her teammates hit them harder.
Fangirl: Of Snow. Best demonstrated in an optional Live Trigger where Noel asks her what Snow means to her where she goes into a rapid rant about how awesome he is as seen here.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Although she has never actually fought before in her life, she is just as useful as Noel, who has been fighting monsters all his life, from battle one.
It was mentioned that she learned how to defend herself, which makes sense as she and the people of Bodhum chose to go off into the wilds of Pulse in search of a beach.
The Heroine Dies: During the ending, she has a vision that ultimately kills her.
In the Blood: Takes charge after Lightning goes missing.
Muscles Are Meaningless: Serah was given a bow to "preserve her femininity". However, as any real-world archer will tell you, it takes a decent amount of strength and stamina to pull a bowstring properly and effectively enough to use it as a weapon. Serah's arms don't look muscular in the slightest.
Serah: "I know the truth, Caius. I know that every time I change things, I lose a part of my life. But don't you see? I don't care. I'm here to protect the future. And I will.
Silk Hiding Steel: In the words of Noel she is an "angel hiding an ogre."
Stern Teacher: Her students in New Bodhum call her "Meanie Miss. Farron."
Stripperific: Her outfit in XIII-2 shows significantly more skin than her one in XIII-1.
Development Gag: Many suspect that he's derived from the original designs for Fang when she was a male. Noel also combines his weapons to form a spear akin to Fang's.
The Dulcinea Effect: He knew Serah for how long? In fairness, 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. Although he already knew of his Yeul from the Dying World 700AF, he was unaware of the existence (At first) of other Yeuls along the timeline. And yet as technically different Yeuls, Noel treats them all the same, even after her reincarnations are revealed. Best exemplified with Noel's protective reaction for the Yeul in Academia 400AF, even though he knew she wasn't his Yeul.
Failure Knight: The Dulcinea Effect he displays upon meeting Serah is explained when we find out the people he wanted to protect before, including his Yuel, all died and he was powerless to stop it. This is also the source of his antagonism towards Snow.
Genre Savvy: He sees right through Caius's attempts to provoke him in their final battle, when he claimed that he killed Lightning and that she would never wake again. Unfortunately, he wasn't entirely lying...
The Hunter: He is from a time where monster hunting is one of the only reliable ways of getting food.
Javelin Thrower: His Meteor Javelin skill which shifts his swords to its spear form and throws it at the enemy multiple times. He will also toss javelins when he cannot reach the enemy.
Summon To Hand: He has this ability which is what allows him to do said multiple spear throws.
Overrated and Underleveled: Despite being a monster hunter capable of taking out a behemoth all by himself in his backstory, Noel starts the game at the game's equivalent to level 1 just like Serah.
Evil Twin: Whether or not she's truly evil, she does seem to be an antithesis to Serah. At the least her appearance is designed to invoke this, with her outfit inspired by Serah's original clothes, but with a black gothic feel, and having a ponytail tied on the left side of her head like Serah.
Identical Stranger: Despite her looks, she doesn't have much in common with Serah as far as personality goes.
◊, who transforms into a horse during his Gestalt Mode.She changed her name to "Lightning" after the death of her parents as part of an effort to change herself into a stronger, more confident person capable of protecting both herself and her little sister. While her new Stoic personality was perfect for the Guardian Corp, she ended up developing a Married to the Job Ice Queen persona that hindered her Relationship Values and distanced her from Serah.The first game centers around the defrosting of this persona as she is forced to confront her failings as a caretaker and as a sister.
◊. They transform into a motorbike during their Gestalt Mode.
◊, and it transforms into a bipedal mech with four machine gun turrets in its Gestalt Mode. The resemblance to magiteck armor is a complete coincidence.
◊, a female Fire-elemental, who can turn into a race car in her Gestalt Mode.
◊, which has the ability to turn into a fortress in Gestalt Mode.
◊, who has no element, which also turns into a flying dragon in its Gestalt Mode.
Living with the rest of Team NORA in New Bodhum (Snow off searching for a way to free Vanille and Fang), Serah's world is shattered when monsters attack the village. Noel saves her, handing her a weapon so she can fight.The two then set off to investigate Lightning's fate — everyone believes she's dead, but Serah's memory shows the opposite. What is behind these strange events?
