Beginner's Primer

The Beginner's Primer is a comprehensive summary of the story of Final Fantasy XIII included in the main menu of its sequel Final Fantasy XIII-2, enabling those who have not played the original game to get familiar with its plot before playing XIII-2. The summary of each chapter is read by the narrator, Anna Vocino, and accompanied by music and clips from the game relevant to each chapter.

Prologue
Cocoon—a utopia in the sky.

The populace live a life of ease under the protection of almost godlike beings, known as the 'fal'Cie.' The lowerworld, Pulse, over which Cocoon floats, is believed to be a land both hostile and uninhabitable.

One day, on Cocoon, a dangerous Pulse fal'Cie is uncovered in the seaside settlement of Bodhum. The governing body, known as the Sanctum, announces that all residents of the town are now contaminated. The Purge is enacted—legislation that requires every citizen from the infected area to be forcibly relocated to Pulse.

Chapter 1 - Hanging Edge
The Purge has begun.

A band of young rebels emerges to oppose the army and its attempts to exile innocent civilians to Pulse.

Moving through the midst of the confusion is Lightning, a soldier who fights against the Sanctum's forces, along with Sazh, a middle-aged man with his own purpose. She makes her way towards the structure where the Pulse fal'Cie was found. In that lowerworld 'vestige,' her sister Serah is being held prisoner. Others also converge on the same location: Snow, Serah's fiancé; Hope, the teenager who watched his mother perish; and Vanille, a young girl of unknown origin.

All those who would play a part in Cocoon's future are unknowingly drawn together.

Chapter 2 - Pulse Vestige
Fal'Cie possess the power to transform humans into accursed l'Cie. Both Lightning and Snow have entered the vestige to rescue Serah from just such a fate.

As if guided by an unseen force, the would-be saviors arrive in the deepest part of the structure along with Sazh, Hope, and Vanille. There the five discover a bewildered Serah, only to witness her transformation into crystal.

Lightning, driven by rage at losing her sister, hurls herself at the Pulse fal'Cie. She is joined in the battle by a determined Sazh, who has his own reasons for wanting the fal'Cie destroyed.

Chapter 3 - Lake Bresha
The battle with the Pulse entity changes the destiny of the five companions forever.

They have become l'Cie—cursed servants of the fal'Cie. All l'Cie are given a 'Focus.' Those who complete this Focus are turned into crystal. Those who fail, however, are doomed to become mindless monsters. Their master is an enemy of Cocoon. Are they now fated to destroy their own home? As the others sink into depression, only Snow retains a positive outlook. He believes that Serah's last wish, for them to 'protect Cocoon,' is their true Focus. Snow stays behind to protect her crystal, while Lightning and the rest attempt to break through the army's rapidly closing net.

Chapter 4 - Vile Peaks
Lightning and her companions, now enemies of the state, are pursued by Sanctum forces.

The former soldier makes a decision—rather than be hunted down, she vows to take the fight to Cocoon's capital and slay the fal'Cie in charge of the government. The young boy Hope, drawn by Lightning's strength, chooses to follow her. Sazh and Vanille choose another route and flee through the Vile Peaks. Meanwhile, Snow is captured by an army unit under the guidance of a mysterious woman known as Fang. These soldiers are member of 'the Cavalry'—a group that professes to be an ally of l'Cie.

Chapter 5 - Gapra Whitewood
As part of their journey towards the capital and the Sanctum fal'Cie, Lightning and Hope enter the Gapra Whitewood. The Whitewood serves as an experimental facility for the army, but patrols here are few and infrequent. As they walk, Hope explains his reasons for being there.

At Snow's urging, Hope's mother joined the battle at the Hanging Edge, and was killed in the fighting. The grief-stricken youth had then chased Snow into the vestige. Lightning tries to counsel the young man, but Hope's desire to exact revenge on Snow burns brighter than ever.

Chapter 6 - Sunleth Waterscape
With no place else to go, Sazh and Vanille find themselves wandering the Sunleth Waterscape. Sazh eventually spills his story to Vanille. He explains that he joined the fight for the sake of his son, Dajh, who had been chosen as a l'Cie servant by a Sanctum fal'Cie.

Sazh thought that if he could defeat an enemy of Cocoon, he might release his son from his Focus. After hearing his story, Vanille is consumed with guilt. Both she and Fang are Pulse l'Cie, and enemies of Cocoon. Their presence near the Sanctum fal'Cie is the reason Dajh was cursed in the first place. However, she cannot bring herself to tell Sazh the truth.

Chapter 7 - Palumpolum
With the help of the Cavalry, Fang searches for the other l'Cie. She has a debt to pay—her lost memory and forgotten Focus were the reason Serah was cursed by the fal'Cie. The Gran Pulse native later encounters Lightning in the city of Palumpolum and apologizes for Serah's fate. Lightning's response is a blow to the jaw. Elsewhere, Hope finally gets up the courage to confrot Snow. the teenager is consumed by his lust for revenge, and attacks the NORA leader.

Despite the boy's actions, Snow puts himself in danger, protecting Hope from an army air strike. The four l'Cie later regroup at Hope's house, and meet his father. They reconcile their differences and decide to work on finding a future, rather than dwelling in the past.

Chapter 8 - Nautilus
In Nautilus, the city of dreams, Sazh and Vanille's frantic flight from the Sanctum comes to an abrupt end. Dajh, now in the custody of the army, has used his l'Cie powers to track down his father. The boy turns to crystal upon completing his focus—to locate an 'enemy' of Cocoon.

A PSICOM officer appears before the unbelieving Sazh, and tells him the truth: Vanille is the reason his son was made into a l'Cie. Vanille admits her guilt. She offers no resistance when Sazhh raises his pistols to fire. But Sazh realizes her death will change nothing, and lets Vanille go. Such mercy is all he has left to give.

Chapter 9 - The Palamecia
Lightning joins Snow, Hope, and Fang in an assault on the Sanctum flagship. The Cavalry has lent them its aid in rescuing the captured Sazh and Vanille. After a long search, Fang is finally reunited with Vanille. The six l'Cie then fight through the ship's defenses and come face-to-face with the Primarch, representative of the Sanctum.

However, the truth that he reveals is beyond their wildest imagining. The Primarch who they thought to be human is actually a powerful fal'Cie by the name of Barthandelus. The fal'Cie also shocks them with knowledge that their Focus is, in fact, the destruction of Cocoon. Barthandelus guides the l'Cie to a vestige hidden beneath the capital, where other truths await them.

Chapter 10 - Fifth Ark
The companions encounter Cid Raines, the commander of the Cavalry, in the bowels of the monster-infested Fifth Ark. He explains that should they complete their Focus and destroy Cocoon, then countless lives will be lost. This sacrifice is necessary to draw a deity known as the Maker back into the world.

Raines then reveals himself as a l'Cie of Barthandelus. The soldiers of the Cavalry had been mere puppets of the fal'Cie. Now, however, the commander is acting under his own—human—will. To prevent Cocoon's destruction, he attacks Lightning and her friends. Although he is ultimately defeated, Raines still turns to crystal. He shows them how the fate of a l'Cie can be overcome.

Chapter 11 - Gran Pulse
The six l'Cie have crashed on Gran Pulse, the terrifying lowerworld that the people of Cocoon speak of in whispers. Seeking for a way to overcome their cruel fate, the companions travel to Oerba, Fang and Vanille's hometown. There they uncover an ancient prophecy that tells how Fang and Vanille attacked Cocoon several centuries in the past. It also speaks of how they entered into crystal stasis, and later awoke, once again driven to destroy the floating shell.

All their actions recorded and prophesized, but no mention of how to avert the catastrophe. But if they refuse to fight, then Cocoon will fall. Readying themselves for the conflict to come, the l'Cie head for Cocoon's capital once more.

Chapter 12 - Eden
Chaos rules in the capital city of Eden.

Raines, though he wishes for the independence of mankind, is a helpless tool of the fal'Cie. And the soldiers of the Cavalry who trusted him have now risen in revolt. They mean to slay Orphan, the fal'Cie that lies at the center of Eden, unaware that its death would mean the destruction of Cocoon. To prevent this cruel catastrophe, Lightning and her fellow l'Cie battle through the streets in pursuit of the vengeful soldiers. They finally catch up with the Cavalry, only to see them transformed into hideous Cie'th. Only one thing remains to be done: the l'Cie must face Barthandelus, the mastermind behind all that has transpired.

Chapter 13 - Orphan's Cradle
Lightning and her companions claim victory over the mighty Barthandelus, but in doing so awake Orphan—the fal'Cie who keeps Cocoon aloft. Their first battle with Orphan ends in failure, but through the sheer force of their belief, the six rise to fight again. They have the power to make miracles happen, and the strength to change their fate. Awakened to the power within them, the l'Cie achieve the impossible and defeat Orphan.

At the moment of the fal'Cie's death, Cocoon begins to plummet towards Gran Pulse. Then a miracle occurs—Fang and Vanille undergo a transformation into a great crystal pillar that halts the fall of Cocoon. As the dust settles, Serah is freed from her crystal stasis, and greeted by Lightning's smiling face. Or so it was meant to be...