Orphan



Orphan is the final boss and the primary antagonist of Final Fantasy XIII. He is a wheel-like fal'Cie and the source of Cocoon's power, and rests within Orphan's Cradle. Orphan is voiced by Hiro Shimono in the Japanese version and Michael Sinterniklaas in the English version.

Datalog
''This mysterious being fuels the fal'Cie Eden with the power necessary to maintain Cocoon's complex operational systems, and as such, its death would bring about Cocoon's certain destruction. Nevertheless, its death is what Barthandelus desires, for he seeks to offer the lives of the world’s millions of inhabitants in sacrifice to call the vanished Maker back to this realm.''

''As Sanctum fal'Cie and l'Cie are themselves incapable of harming Orphan, Barthandelus requires the assistance of Pulse l'Cie. If they can transform into Ragnarok and destroy Orphan, Cocoon's demise will be assured.''

Story
Residing within a pool in a deep sleep, Orphan is the main power source to Eden, enabling the city to siphon power from other fal'Cie to keep Cocoon afloat. By the game's end, Orphan is awakened from its rest after Galenth Dysley's defeat, assimilating him and Menrva as it emerges. Using Barthandelus as its shell, Orphan reveals having the same desire to use Ragnarok to destroy Cocoon as a means of summoning the Maker, even if it meant it would die in the process.

In fact, Orphan's true desire was to be killed all along. He lived for so long, keeping Cocoon alive, but to him, it was a curse never to experience death. So he poisons Cocoon by making Barthandelus form the Sanctum, and spread out rumors about Gran Pulse and all l'Cie and fal'Cie being the enemies, so that in time, someone will come, believing Barthandelus's lies, find Orphan, and kill him.

After the first fight, having absorbed Barthandelus to use as a shell, Orphan reveals Lightning, Snow, Hope, and Sazh as bait made to bring the intended l'Cie and become Ragnarok. Fang attempting to finish what she started 500 years ago in the War of Transgression, transforms into Ragnarok to Vanille's horror, as the others apparently turn into Cie'th. However, due to Fang's lack of anger, Orphan survives Ragnarok's attacks. After Fang becomes human again, Orphan tries to force Fang to transform into Ragnarok again by repeatedly attacking, then healing her to take in her rage, while Vanille refuses to leave Fang behind.

Then something unexpected happens; the other characters reappear in human form, along with a new Focus, this time visions of smiling, happy people. They destroy Orphan's shell, forcing the fal'Cie into its true form. After Lightning tells Orphan that they don't share his ideologies, the group destroys him for good.

Battle


Orphan is fought as the game's final boss in two states. The first is using a blade-like shell created from Barthandelus with elements of a female angelic figure, possibly Menrva, Dysley's owl, whose face also present on the wheel on the fal'Cie's back. After the shell is destroyed, Orphan appears as its true self during the final battle, assuming a near-invincible wheel-like form that when staggered causes him to assume a weakened angel form.

In his true form, Orphan is at level 51 and has 3,390,000 HP. This makes him the final boss with the most HP, a record previously held by Safer∙Sephiroth with a maximum of 400,000.

Music
Orphan's battle theme consists of two parts: "Born Anew" for its first form and "Nascent Requiem" for his second form.

Etymology
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of his or her parents. This is proved when Orphan's first form is introduced, it refers to itself as "The Abandoned One". This can be seen in Orphan's position as a fal'Cie, infantile visage and boss themes, "Born Anew" and "Nascent Requiem". In addition, Orphan's final appearance and name allude to the (singular form: Ophan), a class of celestial beings described in the Book of Enoch (a non-canonical work excluded from Biblical scriptures). They are never-sleeping creatures guarding the throne of God, and are generally depicted as fiery, eye-covered wheels.

Trivia
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 * The script engraved on the blade-like structure of Orphan's first form appear to be a revised version of the lyrics "Fighting Fate" written in the Cocoon alphabet. While in its first form, Orphan refers to itself with plural pronouns.
 * Orphan's final form when staggered is not immune to the instant death by Vanille's Full ATB Skill Death. As explained by battle planner Nobuyuki Matsuoka in Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania, this is done to pay homage to The Final Fantasy Legend in which the final boss can be instantly defeated with the weapon Chainsaw, which may inflict instant death.