Oerba Dia Vanille

Oerba Dia Vanille [væniːl] is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII. She is a mysterious young girl with red hair tied into pigtails. Despite facing many hardships, she remains an upbeat and caring person; though her cheerfulness is mainly a facade she uses to hide the inner guilt she has felt for over five hundred years.

Vanille serves as the game's main narrator, and in the English dub, she has an Australian accent. Her full name stands for "Vanille of the Dia clan, from the village of Oerba".

Appearance and Personality
Despite her chronological age, Vanille has the physical appearance of a nineteen year-old. She has bright red, almost orange, hair tied back in pigtails, striking green eyes, and both of her ears are pierced, adorned with small silver hoop earrings. She wears a light pink top, a short orange skirt, and yellow boots. Vanille adores accessories, as most notably seen by the fur half-skirt she wears around her waist, which she uses to attach her weapon when not using it. Her wrists are also adorned with numerous bracelets, and she wears three beaded necklaces, along with an assortment of beads attached to various parts of her clothing. Her outfit is apparently inspired by the traditional clothes of the Namibian Himba women, the notable additions being her pink top and shoes. According to Dengeki PS3 magazine, the fur half-skirt she is wearing was made from a bear she managed to defeat herself. Vanille's l'Cie brand is located on her upper left thigh, and remains hidden beneath her skirt most of the time.

Vanille seems to have a child-like innocence, akin to that of a younger child. When she is with Hope Estheim, she shows playful, understanding, and compassionate sides of herself. Vanille also cares deeply for Fang, constantly worries for her, and does not like being away from her. Vanille also seems tougher than she appears to be since she was able to kill a bear alone. Throughout the game, Vanille is shown to be caring, considerate, and at times somewhat stubborn. She mostly appears to be happy and cheerful when, truthfully, she is afraid. She usually tries to cope with her fears by closing her eyes and "losing herself in happier days." In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise, Fang describes Vanille to be careless at times, naive, a crybaby, a scaredy-cat but also curious about everything. Her curiosity is evident by how she wants to explore her surroundings no matter what others might think. Fang also says that she laughs a lot and is kind to everyone. Vanille also tends to remain positive in situations that others would deem hopeless, and tries to see the brighter side of things. During her time traveling Cocoon with Sazh Katzroy, as he talks about his son Dajh, Vanille starts to show guilt for the part she played in his accident. Once Jihl Nabaat reveals the unfortunate truth to Sazh, which she, herself, was building up the courage to do before the interruption, Vanille breaks down and runs off crying. She also shows guilt for lying to Fang and causing her friend to act recklessly for her sake, although she had good intentions for lying to begin with. Vanille ultimately feels guilty for her lies and actions affecting the lives of many innocent people. Over the course of the game, Vanille learns to stop running away from her fate as a l'Cie, and come to terms with it.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise
Vanille is a resident of Gran Pulse, and comes from the village of Oerba along with Fang. Five centuries before the events of Final Fantasy XIII take place, during the War of Transgression between Gran Pulse and Cocoon, Vanille and Fang both lost their families at the hands of Cocoon's l'Cie and fal'Cie. After meeting at Oerba's orphanage, they quickly became close friends and developed a sisterly relationship. Not long after, Fang decided to become a l'Cie so that she could protect her and Gran Pulse. Vanille, worried about Fang's safety and not wanting to be left alone, tagged along with her and decided to become a l'Cie as well. By the powers of the Pulse fal'Cie Anima, Vanille and Fang are granted the destructive power of Ragnarok and given the Focus to destroy Cocoon. In the climax of the War of Transgression, Vanille is too scared to use the power of Ragnarok, so Fang is forced to transform into the beast on her own. Fang's incomplete form of Ragnarok manages to leave a huge scar in Cocoon's shell, but she is unable to destroy it. Taking pity on the people of Cocoon, the Goddess decides to intervene in the war and crystallizes both Vanille and Fang before they are able to complete their Focus.

Five-hundred years later, Vanille and Fang awake from crystal stasis on Cocoon. They find themselves inside of the Pulse Vestige, which was taken to Cocoon in secret by Barthandelus in the aftermath of the War of Transgression. Vanille discovers that Fang has lost her memories of the events surrounding their previous Focus and Ragnarok. Not wanting to hurt more innocent people, and afraid of Fang risking her life again, Vanille decides to lie and pretends that she has forgotten her Focus as well. Although Fang's l'Cie brand is scarred, scorched and unchanging, Vanille's brand appears to still be active and is progressing at a steady rate. Fang is unwilling to simply stand by and watch Vanille become a Cie'th, and she vows to remember and complete their Focus, whatever it may be. The two start to explore the nearby town of Bodhum, and they slowly adapt to life on Cocoon. After a few days of looking for answers with no luck, they return to the Vestige. Upon arrival Fang suspects an intruder, and they quickly rush to the center where the fal'Cie Anima dwells. They discover Serah Farron lying there unconscious, and Vanille notices a Pulse l'Cie brand on her arm. They carry Serah outside of the Vestige and watch over her with concern. As she starts to wake up, they quickly hide themselves and look on as Serah examines her newly acquired l'Cie brand and runs off in tears.

Vanille immediately blames herself for Serah's misfortune. She assumes that the fal'Cie Anima has seen through her lies and transformed Serah into a l'Cie to complete the Focus that she herself does not want to. A few more days pass, and Fang starts getting desperate. They travel to Euride Gorge and see the fal'Cie Kujata. Vanille says that she still can not remember anything, and asks Fang why their Focus even matters. Angered, Fang asks her if she wants to be a monster, and Vanille does not answer. Then Fang tells her that they are Pulse l'Cie and concludes that attacking the enemy may just be the key to kick-starting their memories. In a reckless attempt to remember their Focus, she plans to attack Kujata although Vanille is reluctant. However, things quickly spiral out of control as Dajh Katzroy enters the room and the fal'Cie brands him. Fang and Vanille set him on a couch, they hear his father coming and run. The two are chased by PSICOM soldiers, and Vanille tells Fang that they don't need their Focus. Fang tells Vanille that if they do not figure it out, she is going to be a Cie'th. Then Vanille says that it is not right for the fal'Cie to brand a boy so young. Fang agrees with her and says that if they don't do their job, the fal'Cie will continue branding more people like Serah from two days ago. Then she tells Vanille that if they call it quits, the people of Cocoon will not let them go quietly so they have to do what they have to and get off Cocoon as quickly as possible. Fang decides to face the soldiers alone in order to give Vanille a chance to escape, and the two are reluctantly separated.

Lost and alone, Vanille returns to the Vestige at Bodhum. After falling over and scraping her leg on the beach, she is aided by Serah, and they quickly strike up a friendship. Serah asks Vanille about her scrape, which the latter says is fine now thanks to her. Vanille sits down next to Serah and asks if she was not keeping her from anything. Serah says that she is not and that it is alright. Then Vanille asks Serah if they will ever meet again, and Serah says sure. Vanille tells Serah that she was chasing after someone and wants to apologize for something she did, but is simply unable to find the words, and even has nightmares about it. Serah tells her to face it later if it was too much to deal with (something Vanille would repeat to Hope four days later), as things can look more clear when looked at from a distance. Then Serah tells Vanille about her nightmare of destroying the world, and how it made her try to run away until her boyfriend came after her. She also tells Vanille that running away from the ones that she cares about is not love, and although a person might want to shut them out for their safety, that will hurt them even more. Vanille takes Serah's hand and touches her bandage with her other hand. She gets on her knees and apologizes to Serah for her role in the latter becoming a l'Cie, although Serah is completely oblivious to Vanille's involvement.

Two days later, Vanille attends Bodhum's annual fireworks festival. Inspired by her meeting with Serah, she decides to wish for the safety of Cocoon and all of its people. Even if it ultimately meant becoming a Cie'th, Vanille had made up her mind - she would not bring harm to Cocoon. The following day, the Sanctum announce their plans for the Purge after discovering the fal'Cie Anima deep within the Vestige. Unaware of the true nature of the Purge, believing it is just a forced migration to Gran Pulse, Vanille decides to board the Purge train out of her own free will. Although she does not want to leave Fang behind on Cocoon, she figures that if she can return home to Gran Pulse she can prevent her Focus from causing more suffering.

Hanging Edge
As the game opens up, Vanille is among those saved by Snow Villiers and the members of NORA from the Purge train. She is sitting behind Hope Estheim and his mother as Snow calls for volunteers. She watches Hope's mother answer Snow's call and leave her son behind. Vanille volunteers to hold on to the last gun Snow offers after Hope refuses, and pretends to take a shot at the NORA leader. Later, she and Hope watch as NORA and its volunteers are defeated by PSICOM. After Hope loses his mother, Vanille sees him frozen in shock. As she hears firearms going off, she tries to pull Hope away but he is still frozen stiff. She slaps him across the face and tells him that they have to move. Hope complies and they retreat to a safer location. After watching the Pulse fal'Cie be carried by, Vanille takes off her Purge robe. She fixes her hair and turns around to Hope. She smiles at him, gives him a gun, and hugs him. While hugging Hope, Vanille asks him if it was all too much for him and tells him to face it later. She waves good-bye to Hope and runs off to be followed by him.

When they find Snow with the other members of NORA, Vanille encourages Hope to follow him in order to get the pain off his shoulders. He is hesitant but Vanille tells him that she will go with him. She pushes Hope in order to make him go, but to no avail. Vanille tries to get Snow's attention by shouting, but he doesn't hear her and heads for the Pulse Vestige. When Hope approaches her as she checks out Gadot's air vehicle, Vanille asks him if he is okay. When he grabs her arm, Vanille realizes that he does not want to go alone. She asks him if he knows how to fly the vehicle, he answers probably, and Vanille says "Great!" and shoves him onto it. Hope begins to hesitate before takeoff, and Vanille once again has to reassure him. When Gadot arrives and tries to stop them, they fly to the Vestige.

Pulse Vestige
They crash land inside the Vestige and she sees that they are the only ones around. Hope asks her what did she expect, since even soldiers don't go near the fal'Cie and that once someone becomes a Pulse l'Cie they are finished. Vanille asks Hope what he means by 'finished'. He asks her if she had heard, and she introduces herself to him then asks for his name. She helps him up, brushes him off, and says that since they were already there, they might as well look around. Vanille climbs up onto a pillar and takes out her weapon from behind it. She starts dancing around and strikes poses with it as Hope watches. Suddenly, a Pantheron attacks, Vanille and Hope fight it and continue onwards. Then Hope asks hers if she is scared, and she says "Not so much." After Hope criticizes Vanille for not understanding the danger of the situation, she pouts at him and does a speedy explanation of the current events in what she calls, "The Purge in a nutshell." Hope worries that PSICOM will try to Purge them again for being in the fal'Cie. Vanille hugs him and tells him to calm down, but Hope pulls away from her.

Soon they hear Snow's voice and Vanille says that he is coming their way. Hope asks her what he should do, and Vanille answers that they could always just run away. After journeying further into the fal'Cie together, they are assaulted by Cie'th. Vanille explains to Hope that they are what l'Cie become if they fail their Focus. As the Cie'th close in around Hope and Vanille, Snow comes to their aid and helps fight them off. Snow explains that he is searching for Serah, and allows them to tag along out of concern for their safety. Vanille takes Hope's wrists and says, "Let's go with him. You've gotta talk to him, Hope. If you don't take this chance, you'll regret it forever." They eventually find Serah and when Vanille sees her, she gasps in shock. She and the rest of the party witness Serah's transformation into a crystal. Afterward, the door to the fal'Cie Anima opens, and the rest of the party are transformed into l'Cie.

Lake Bresha
After waking up in Lake Bresha, Vanille is surprised that everyone is alive and wonders how. Snow says that Serah saved them, much to Lightning's dismay. Vanille, Lightning, and Snow fight a group of Cie'th, and the party discuss their fate. Snow asks Vanille if she was transformed into a l'Cie as well. Even though she was already a l'Cie, she decides to lie and pretends that she too was transformed by the fal'Cie, and shows him her l'Cie brand. When Hope cowers in fear after yelling at Lightning and Snow, Vanille reassures him that everything will be alright and walks off with him holding his hand. Everyone starts wondering how to understand and complete their Focus, Vanille tells Lightning that she saw it. They interpret their Focus having something to do with Ragnarok and Hope asks what they are supposed to do, Vanille tells them that how to complete it is entirely up to them. When Snow says that their Focus is to save Cocoon, Vanille asks him why. He says it is what Serah told them to do, so he runs ahead to find her, and Vanille hurries behind him. After Vanille helps Lightning and Snow defeat a PSICOM unit trying to arrest them, and Lightning mentions PSICOM having beasts, she says "Oh-oh! Then let's run away! Ciao!", and joyfully takes off. Later when the rest of the party begins to fall behind, Vanille starts waving her hands, telling them to hurry up, and then she makes Hope wave his hand along with her. Eventually, Lightning finds Serah and Snow frantically tries to dig her out. Vanille volunteers to help him, but the party are attacked again. A while after separating from Snow with Lightning, Hope, and Sazh, they come across PSICOM looking for Purge survivors. Vanille hopes that everyone made it out okay, and Sazh says that he hopes so too. After he says that the survivors will not be safe now that everyone believes that they were tainted by Pulse, Vanille asks if people really hate Pulse that much. Sazh corrects her and says that everyone fears Pulse. Then she says that it was crazy to Purge an entire town. After Hope says that l'Cie are not human, Vanille tells him that is enough, grabs his wrist and sees his brand. She lets go of him, walks away and says, "We're still alive. That's something!" Later, she asks Lightning if Serah told her what her Focus was. Lightning says that Serah did not tell her anything, but Vanille says that Serah probably did not want to worry her. They party eventually finds some ancient ruins. Vanille runs ahead to explore the area despite Lightning's warning, but she is soon chased by a Garuda Interceptor. She outruns it and hides behind Sazh. After the creature is defeated, Vanille finds a Sanctum airship, and the party boards it and fly out of the ruins. Lightning destroys a Sanctum ship attacking theirs; Vanille asks her if they got them, though Lightning tells her that they only got one of them. After eluding the enemy, a broadcast on the status of the Purge being a "success" and a mysterious man is shown. Not knowing who the man is, Vanille asks Sazh and he tells her that the man is Primarch Galenth Dysley, leader of the Sanctum. The airship suddenly comes under attack again. Upon seeing the fal'Cie Phoenix, Vanille awes at the amazing sight. While inside the fal'Cie, she warns Sazh that they are still more enemy ships left. Their airship gets damaged by the fal'Cie and they crash in the Vile Peaks.

Vile Peaks
After coming to, Vanille sees Lightning about to take on two Pantherons. She wakes Sazh and Hope and warns Sazh about the monsters. They help Lightning defeat the Pantherons and collapse from exhaustion. After Lightning and Hope leave, Vanille gets up and tells Sazh that they should get going. Sazh asks where they should go since all of Cocoon is against them and the Cie'th clock is counting down. Vanille tells him there is still time and that he gives up too easily. Sazh tells her that he is not giving up but there are some things that can't be changed, and a kid like Vanille would not understand. She says, "Yeah, I'm a kid. I don't understand." They go off to try and catch up with Lightning and Hope, but a piece of machinery cut off their route. Sazh says that it is the end of the road, and Vanille tells him at least it is not the end of the line. Then she remembers the night of the fireworks festival in Bodhum and making a wish upon the fireworks. Vanille and Sazh take a new route through the area, and eventually find Hope with no sign of Lightning. When Hope says that it is over for him since he could not keep up with Lightning or go home, Vanille tells him it is not over and that they will get him home. Vanille asks him about his dad and this causes Hope to remember the night of the fireworks with his mom, as well as the events of the Purge and Snow leading his mother to her death. Vanille says they will get him home since his dad must be worried. Now joined by Hope, they come across a warship from Pulse. Vanille is surprised that it managed to get into Cocoon but Sazh corrects her and says that Pulse's forces never came close. He asks her if she slept through history class, and Vanille tells him more or less. She asks Hope what the ship was doing on Cocoon. He explains that the fal'Cie took scrap from Pulse and used it to rebuild Cocoon after the War of Transgression. Sazh says that the Pulse fal'Cie must have gotten mixed in with all the trash, while Vanille bluntly says, "Who'da thunk..."

They are all rejoined by Lightning, who is not in a better mood, and they soon encounter a Dreadnought. Lightning, Sazh and Vanille fight it and the party moves on. When Lightning says that she plans to destroy the fal'Cie Eden, Vanille reminds her of Serah and tells her that saving Cocoon might be their Focus, but Lightning tells her that their Focus does not matter. Lightning leaves again to be trailed by Hope, leaving Vanille and Sazh together. Vanille says that she does not know what to do and Sazh says neither does he. Vanille pushes him and tells him that he is taking care of her. They find themselves officially separated from Lightning and Hope when they find their path blocked by debris. Sazh knows the army is around and Vanille asks what they should do now. Sazh says they could stay there but Vanille tells him that they should run since they would only get in Lightning's way. They find a different path to take after Sazh says that Vanille is right, and Lightning can take care of herself. They come across a processing plant with no sign of soldiers. Sazh says that Lightning must have gotten their attention. Vanille wonders how Hope is doing and Sazh tells her that Hope is heading home to Palumpolum. She sees a concerned expression on Sazh and asks him what's wrong. He says that it would be good news if they manage to slip in quietly, since all of Cocoon was paranoid in fear of the l'Cie. Vanille says that they do not even know why they are scared. Sazh answers that it is due to fear of the unknown and finding out more. After Sazh says that the world would be better off without Pulse l'Cie, Vanille is visibly upset but Sazh cheers her up and they continue forward. After activating the processing plant, they find a secluded area to sleep. Vanille sets up an old rug and tells Sazh good night, to his amusement. When he approaches her, Vanille wakes up, grabs a stick and draws a curved line in front of her. Then she tells Sazh not to cross the line, he tells Vanille to grow up, she says good night again and goes back to sleep. Although some time later, she ends up right behind Sazh crying in her sleep.

Sunleth Waterscape
They reach the Sunleth Waterscape, and Vanille is glad to finally have some fresh air. Sazh asks her where they are going and Vanille says she doesn't know. Sazh says that she must have had some place in mind by how she took off, and Vanille tells him that she just followed the smell. She smells some nearby flowers and comments on how nice and "naturey" the place smells. Vanille hears birds fluttering in panic and tells Sazh to hide. They see soldiers on air vehicles fly overhead, most likely heading towards Palumpolum. Sazh wonders if Hope and Lightning had gotten caught. Vanille asks him what they should do but Sazh does not know. Then she suggests that they run in the other direction towards Nautilus. She eventually asks Sazh to tell her about himself, like if he had any family. He tells her that he has a son and that he was married. Vanille tells him that he needs to get home because his son will be worried, but Sazh says that it is too late. Vanille asks if it is the l'Cie thing and tells Sazh that although he is a l'Cie, he is still a dad. Then she asks what his son's name is but he stands silent. She asks him if he is alright and he assures her that he is. Vanille then says, "Come on, Pops! You've really got to keep it together, okay? Now - let's go?", and they both set off. Later, they find a place to rest. Vanille tells Sazh that he looks tired and asks if it is due to lack of sleep. Sazh says, "I guess," and Vanille answers, "Not surprising. Cute girl like me, it's hard to close your eyes, huh?" Sazh lies down to rest while Vanille talks with his chocobo about her thoughts and feelings. She talks about being worried about the l'Cie thing, and having to keep their dreams alive although they don't know what will happen. The chocobo returns to Sazh and Vanille goes to sleep.

She is woken up by the chocobo and sees Sazh no where in sight. She follows the chocobo to him by the nearby lake. Vanille asks him what is up and Sazh tells her that he was just thinking. Vanille tells Sazh not to blame himself since someone cannot control who a fal'Cie picks for a Focus. Then Sazh reveals that his son Dajh is a l'Cie, branded by the fal'Cie Kujata at Euride Gorge. Sazh also reveals that Dajh found the Pulse fal'Cie in Bodhum, and that he got involved with the Purge because he believed that Dajh's Focus had to do with destroying the fal'Cie so he thought that he could help Dajh complete it. Soon they encounter Enlil and Enki sleeping. They try to sneak past quietly but to no avail. Later after the battle, Vanille and Sazh go through a hole in a fence to a station where they can board a ship to Nautilus. It begins to rain heavily, forcing them to run into the station. Meanwhile, Vanille asks Sazh if he hates Pulse. He says that he hates Pulse for getting them into this mess but he did not always hate it until the Sanctum's lies got to him. Sazh says the Purge was started because Dajh found the fal'Cie, but Vanille says that it was not Dajh's fault. Before she says who's fault it really was, Sazh blames the Pulse scum behind the Euride incident, therefore causing Vanille to run out into the rain to hide her tears. Sazh tells her that she is getting soaked but Vanille tells him she will be fine since it is only water.

Nautilus
Upon arriving in Nautilus, Sazh asks Vanille if she got seasick and she tells him that she is fine. They see a televised advertisement for the Pompa Sancta, as well as news footage from Palumpolum depicting Lightning, Hope, and Snow. At the end of the footage, Vanille catches a glimpse of Fang and gasps in shock. Sazh asks Vanille what is wrong, and she says "It's her!" Not knowing that she was talking about Fang, Sazh says the army finally found the others and they leave to see the parade. On the way, Sazh tells Vanille to loosen up which she agrees to do. During the parade, she catches a disk that shows a hologram of Carbuncle. Near the end, she sees a summon that reminds her of Ragnarok. When the parade ends, Vanille begins to cry while everyone else cheers. Then Sazh suggest that they go to Nautilus Park next. Vanille asks him if it is somewhere special, and he tells her that he was going to bring Dajh there someday. When he asks Vanille if she had someone special, she answers no. Upon arriving in the park, Sazh's chocobo gets excited and starts jumping on Vanille's shoulder. She tells it that it could make some new friends. They go into the Chocobo Corral and unlike Sazh, Vanille is used to the foul smell since it reminded her of Pulse. After chasing around the chocobo chick, they find it in the back part of the area and Vanille says that it is already part of a gang of adult chocobos. She begins stroking the closest chocobo as Sazh says that it's good to be among friends. Sazh tells Vanille that Dajh is being held by the military, Vanille asks if he means PSICOM and continues petting the chocobo after it played with her hair. When Sazh says that he is going to surrender and be executed, Vanille tries to talk him out of it. She believes that if Sazh gets revenge on those responsible for Dajh being made a l'Cie, then he would no longer be willing to give up. She tells him that she knows who is responsible for the accident at Euride. Sazh demands her to tell him but before she can, they are attacked by soldiers.

After defeating the Midlight Reaper by the Clock Tower, Dajh appears and runs to Sazh, much to his and Vanille's surprise. Then Dajh crystallizes and Jihl Nabaat appears with troops. When Jihl tells Sazh that he should be proud of Dajh, Vanille steps in front of Sazh to shield him from her. As Jihl goes on to say that the data she has been able to collect on Pulse l'Cie thanks to Dajh is invaluable, Vanille angrily pouts at her. Through the security footage from the Euride Gorge Energy Plant, Sazh learns of Vanille's inadvertent role in his son becoming a l'Cie, something Vanille herself had been about to tell Sazh before getting attacked by Jihl and her squadron. Vanille begins sobbing much to Jihl's sadistic amusement. After Jihl tells Sazh that Vanille stole his son, a saddened Vanille says "No!," and runs off crying. The soldiers take aim at her but Jihl makes them hold their fire. She is soon followed by Sazh at Jihl's insistence. Coming across the Fiendlord's Keep, she has a vision of Sazh calling her a cold-blooded killer pretending to be like the others and using them as shields. He asks her why she should live unlike the people she uses and shoots at her. As his bullets go through her, Vanille stumbles to the ground. Then Sazh tells her to die with her guilt if she can no longer live with it. Then the real Sazh arrives and points his gun at Vanille. Prepared for death, she reveals her true name and her nature as a l'Cie from Gran Pulse, therefore being seen as evil to all on Cocoon. Vanille tells Sazh to shoot her for all the suffering that she caused him and his son. After Sazh asks her if she thinks he will forgive her if she dies, Vanille asks him what he wants from her and what he wants her to do, since she can not live or die. He tells her to figure it out for herself, and she says that she doesn't know what to do. After Sazh summons Brynhildr, who is about to strike him, Vanille stands between them in order to shield Sazh. She tells him that it is not over and prepares for the Eidolon to strike her, but Sazh intervenes. She helps him defeat and tame Brynhildr, but still feels that she has to die for her sins when Sazh turns his gun back on her. Not long after Sazh almost commits suicide, they are both captured by the Sanctum, and she is restrained in a Purge robe walking in a funeral procession overseen by Jihl while Sazh is encased in the casket.

The Palamecia
During their captivity aboard the Palamecia, Vanille tells Sazh about how she became a l'Cie to fight Cocoon centuries before, how she and Fang awoke on Cocoon with a new Focus, and how Fang lost her memory. Vanille says that she was afraid of their new Focus hurting more innocent people, so she "played dumb" and pretended that she did not remember anything either in an attempt to run away from both her Focus and fate as a l'Cie. This would later be the reason behind Serah and Dajh being turned into l'Cie themselves. Sazh forgives Vanille when he realizes what happened to Dajh was an accident and not really her fault. Soon, two PSICOM soldiers accompanied by a Watchdrone enter their cell to move them. One of the soldiers pulls up Vanille by her arm and the other goes after Sazh. He knocks out the soldiers and Vanille uses one of their guns to destroy the Watchdrone. They retrieve their weapons and Vanille asks Sazh if she deserves to escape. He asks her if she wants to die since it has to scare her. Then he tells her that he wants to see her smile again. After learning that Lightning and the others are there to rescue them, Sazh says that it is time to be rescued. Vanille disagrees with him and says that for the first time in her life, she is going to save Fang. Then she fights her way through the Palamecia with Sazh. They eventually meet up with the rest of the party, and Vanille is finally reunited with Fang. After they hug, Fang abruptly examines Vanille's l'Cie brand to see how far along it is, and is relieved to discover that she has more time left than she initially thought. Vanille tells Fang that she needs to tells her something, but is interrupted when Fang hugs her again. Vanille helps Fang take down a Garuda Interceptor by entangling it in the wires of her Binding Rod. The party then uses the monster to reach the bridge of the ship and confront Galenth Dysley, who reveals himself to be a fal'Cie named Barthandelus. After evading Yaag Rosch who was pursuing the group by entering Eden, Vanille warns Sazh to look out ahead and their airship crashes into a structure.

Fifth Ark
In the Fifth Ark, Vanille says that it looks like a piece of Pulse. When Hope asks if their Focus is truly what Dysley said, Vanille asks if it is to become Ragnarok. Then she calls out to Snow but does not get an answer. Vanille says that she does not understand why a Cocoon fal'Cie wants to destroy Cocoon. Hope tells her that it is possibly some fal'Cie grand design too hard to understand. Later, Vanille remembers a legend from Gran Pulse about the Arks. She says that the fal'Cie created them out of fear of an invasion from the outside, built living weapons for a time of war and stored them within the Arks. After the party defeats Cid Raines, Vanille and Lightning help Fang tame her Eidolon, Bahamut. A new path is then suddenly revealed, and at the end Vanille finds a Pulse airship and guesses it to be another one of the Ark's weapons. With seemingly no where left to run on Cocoon, everyone agrees to visit Gran Pulse in hopes of finding a way to change their fate as l'Cie.

Gran Pulse
Upon entering the atmosphere of Gran Pulse, their airship is attacked by a monster, and Vanille gets sucked out along with Hope. She manages to grab his wrist, but eventually loses her grip on the ship and they both plummet to the surface below. Fang immediately jumps to their rescue and summons Bahamut. She manages to catch them both just in time, and the party fly off into the sunset, looking for a safe place to land. A few days later in the Vallis Media, Vanille wakes up after having a strange dream. When Sazh's chocobo comes back to the campsite alone, apparently trying to tell the party something about Hope. Vanille interprets the chocobo is talking about Hope's brand, causing everyone to worry and go look for him. Back at camp, she watches over Hope as the rest of the party wonder where to go to find some answers. Vanille tells them that there is one place that they can go, Hope wakes up and tells them about Oerba as the place where it all began. When he tells everyone to go without him, Vanille tells him that they can't leave him. After he tames Alexander and decides to go with everyone, Vanille hugs him and says, "I told you. On Gran Pulse, we're all family. You can moan all you like, but you're stuck with us." In the Archylte Steppe, Vanille and Fang show the rest of the party a Cie'th Stone and explain it's purpose.

Later in the Yaschas Massif, Vanille asks Hope if he was thinking about something complicated. He talks to her about being grateful for being able to see Gran Pulse for what it truly is, and that if he had not gone to Bodhum and gotten mixed up in the Purge, he never would have gotten this chance. She tells Hope that he would have ended up here anyway and reminds him that he promised her that they would see Gran Pulse together. Hope says he does not remember making that promise and Vanille tells him that he probably made it in another lifetime while doing a pinky swear with him. He asks Vanille what she means by that, she tells him that it is a blur since she has told so many lies. After Hope tells her that her smile makes him happy, Vanille puts her hands to her cheeks, surprised by this. She says that she never knew that Hope felt that way but after he starts laughing, Vanille realizes that he was only joking. Hope tells her that they are now even and runs off. Vanille chases after him for doing that to her. Later when the party find the ruins of Paddra, Fang says that is it strange that she and Vanille are going back home with the very people they were chosen to fight against. Then Vanille tells the others that she and Fang never would have helped them back then, much to her embarrassment. Vanille says that she became Ragnarok and scarred Cocoon centuries before. As Fang talks about being turned into crystal despite not doing anything in the war, Vanille once again shows guilt due to knowing that what her friend believes is false. Then she says that she feels awful for killing so many people, but Lightning says that their souls can rest now. Soon, the party see the fal'Cie Dahaka fly by them. Vanille says that it resides near Oerba, and so they decide to follow it.

In the Flower-filled Fissure of the Mah'habara Subterra, upon realizing Fang had remembered that she became Ragnarok and was responsible for the destruction of everyone on Gran Pulse, Vanille tries to insist that Fang was not. This causes her to go into a state of emotional distress, and her l'Cie brand begins to glow, initiating the start of her battle with her Eidolon Hecatoncheir, appearing as though to put an end to Vanille's lies once and for all. After the Eidolon appears, Vanille learns that Fang was lying about getting her memories back in order to get the truth out of her. After they tame Hecatoncheir, Fang tells Vanille that ever since Raines told the story of the Maker in the Fifth Ark, Vanille always knew about Ragnarok being the embodiment of destruction and had been avoiding their Focus since the day they awoke on Cocoon. Vanille says that it was not fair that Fang had to do the horrible things while she stood back and did nothing. Fang forgives her for all of her lying and reassures her that she is not alone anymore. Vanille begins crying and tells Fang that she is sorry. Fang hugs Vanille and tells her that they now have a new family and will get through this. In the Sulyya Springs, Vanille reveals to Snow that she had met Serah. Then she tells Snow that Serah probably also had a vision of Ragnarok, and that her Focus was to pass on that vision to them, along with Cocoon's fate.

Upon entering Taejin's Tower, Vanille asks the group if she is the only one hearing a strange sound. Hope and Fang hear the sounds as well, and the latter interprets the warning from the Menhirrim. Vanille begs it to help them and the Menhirrim accepts for plea, revealing a capsule for the party to ride to the upper levels of the tower. After defeating the resident fal'Cie Dahaka, the Menhirrim appears one last time to thank the party. Then Vanille and Fang start reminiscing about their hometown, describing it as a small village filled with lots of nature and flowers. However, Sazh quickly warns them that the view from the top of the tower does not exactly fit their description. Concerned, Lightning asks Vanille if she wants to stay behind, but Vanille simply shakes her head and says that she needs to see it for herself. The party look out upon the remains of Oerba, and Vanille is shocked to find her home devoid of life and color. She is immediately filled with despair, and questions whether they really will be able to find a way to remove their l'Cie brands. However, despite the hopelessness of the situation, Vanille vows to continue, and the party ride a capsule down the other side of the tower towards the outskirts of Oerba.

In Oerba, Hope asks Vanille which house is hers and she says that all of the houses belong to her and Fang. When everyone else walks off, Vanille takes a moment to take in the feeling of being back home after centuries. After defeating Barthandelus for a second time, Vanille activates a Cie'th Stone that is left behind. She reads the runes that it projects, documenting the events of the War of Transgression and those after she and Fang were placed into crystal stasis. Then she tells the party that she had wished on the fireworks at Bodhum, that she wished for nothing to happen to Cocoon this time. Vanille says that she shouldn't have wished for that since wishes and prayers are not enough, and that she now promises to keep Cocoon safe no matter what.

Back to Cocoon
After arriving in Eden during Raines' race on the Grand Prix Circuit, Vanille attacks soldiers while being protected by Hecatoncheir. She is blasted off a platform and saved by Sazh and Brynhildr. When the party reach the end of the circuit, Vanille sees that it is a long way down and wishes that they could fly. She is given a Gravity Bomb by Lightning, who then jumps off the platform to Vanille's shock. Sazh follows suit along with Snow and Hope. Vanille calls them crazy but then Fang jumps as well. Vanille hesitates but eventually jumps herself. While midair, Vanille screams while flapping about all over the place. As she is about to land, she drops the Gravity Bomb and has a slightly painful landing. Vanille tells Fang that she could have warned her. Fang tells her it is how people on Cocoon get around, but Hope says it is how Lightning gets around. After fighting Yaag Rosch and his Proudclad, Vanille says that they also want to save Cocoon and asks why they can just work together. Fang answers it is because the people are too blinded by fear.

In Orphan's Cradle, Vanille notices that the room is also filled with crystal specs like those from Oerba. The fal'Cie Orphan demands her and Fang to become Ragnarok to complete their intended purpose. Orphan tortures Vanille into becoming Ragnarok until Fang volunteers once again. Vanille is released and she tries to stop Fang to no avail. After Fang becomes Ragnarok and fails to destroy Orphan, she is subject to an agonizing cycle of torture as Vanille watches. She almost accepts the fal'Cie's demand as she promised not to run away from her fate anymore, until the rest of the party revert back to normal from their Cie'th forms and save Fang. After Orphan's destruction, the party float helplessly above Eden and begin to crystallize except Vanille and Fang, who stay behind. They become Ragnarok together to stop Cocoon from crashing into Gran Pulse by crystallizing it. Now crystallized within Cocoon's crystal pillar with Fang, Vanille encourages the rest of the party to wake up from their crystal stasis. She tells them that it was all that she and Fang could do and that the rest is up to them. Then she says that it is easy to lose what they are looking for in such a large world, but if they keep going forward, they will soon find what they are looking for. Vanille says that they held the light of hope in their hearts and therefore achieved the impossible, and that now they move on to greet the new dawn.

Abilities and Equipment
As a l'Cie, Vanille has the ability to summon Hecatoncheir, a many-armed Eidolon that transforms into a bipedal mech with four machine gun turrets. In battle, Vanille's weapon is a unique type of rod called the Binding Rod. The Binding Rod's head piece looks like a pair of antlers and the body consists of four long wires with hooks that deal damage to enemies by latching on and pulling, similar to a fishing rod. She concentrates on casting magic spells from a distance, as opposed to the close combat style of Lightning and Snow. Vanille is ranked second for highest Magic Attack making her a good Ravager, with the ability to learn all elemental spells up to the -"ra" rank with Fire and Ice being her -"ga" specialty. She also makes a very effective Saboteur, possessing abilities the majority of enemies are weak to. There's even her Full ATB Skill, Death, that deals non-elemental magic damage to an enemy and may inflict instant KO. Vanille also truly shines in the Medic role, where she rivals Hope when it comes to effective healing and is less likely to be KO'd by powerful attacks.

Vanille's Rods

 * Binding Rod
 * Hunter's Rod
 * Tigerclaw
 * Wyrmfang
 * Healer's Staff
 * Physician's Staff
 * Pearlwing Staff
 * Brightwing Staff
 * Rod of Thorns
 * Orochi Rod
 * Mistilteinn
 * Erinye's Cane
 * Belladonna Wand
 * Malboro Wand
 * Heavenly Axis
 * Abraxas
 * Nirvana

Musical Themes
In Final Fantasy XIII, "Vanille's Theme" is composed of solo piano, and represents her unrelenting cheerful nature. It plays during various moments in the game like she and Sazh arriving at the Sunleth Waterscape and one instance of a scene not involving Vanille, is when Lightning and Hope promise to look after each other in Palumpolum. There is a variant of her theme called "Memories of Happier Days," which also contains solo piano but slowly turns into a melancholy but uplifting orchestral piece. It plays when Sazh tells Vanille about Dajh in the Chocobo Corral in Nautilus, and during the moment between her and Serah.

Kingdom Hearts Mobile
Vanille appears as a selectable avatar in Kingdom Hearts Mobile. She and Sazh are currently the only two characters from Final Fantasy XIII to appear in the game.

Etymology
Vanille is French for "vanilla," a type of spice used as a flavoring for various sweet foods.

Trivia

 * Vanille's crystal is in the rough shape of a brilliant cut, which is popular for diamonds in real life and depicting gems in games.
 * Vanille shares her clan name with the spell Dia from Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy XI.
 * Vanille occasionally calls her Eidolon by the pet name "Hecaton."
 * Vanille is the oldest of the series' "perky young girl" archetype of characters, with Krile, Relm, Yuffie, Selphie, Eiko, Rikku, and Penelo also included.
 * Vanille is the only other character, besides Snow and Lightning, to hold Serah's crystal.
 * When Vanille shows Snow her brand, an arrow is visible, showing proof of progression.
 * When you first acquire Vanille, she already has three ATB slots due to the fact she is already a l'Cie.
 * Vanille's ultimate weapon, Nirvana, shares its name with that of Yuna's from Final Fantasy X.
 * A photo of Vanille and Fang can be found in Oerba, which is proof of their past existence on Gran Pulse.