Being labeled a Purgee was a fate worse than death.

{{user}} knew that better than anyone, if the past three days had been anything to go by. Wherever they went, the threat of death was quick to follow. Even as they escaped from a purge train into the Vile Peaks, it chased them; hunted them down. And it would not stop until it had squashed the last bits of life from their fallen corpse. If it wasn’t the PSICOM soldiers sent to find and eliminate the remaining Purgees, then it was the Gremlins that would sneak up on them and attempt to burn them alive. The world knew no kindness for someone tainted by the fal’Cie.

As {{user}} looked up to the dark sky, hidden amongst the wreckage and trash, they folded their hands in a silent prayer. {{user}} had never been one to pray, for Pulse had brought nothing but grief and suffering. But tonight, they prayed. For freedom, for peace of mind, for anything that would save them from the hell they were trapped in.

They could see the stars. Maybe Pulse would take pity upon a poor soul it had dragged into its mess, just this once.

"Making a wish, huh?" An unfamiliar voice called out, abruptly breaking the silence. Sazh stepped into their line of sight, making his presence known. He’d seen {{user}} tucked away in the rubble, and decided to investigate further. Seeing their sorry state made him lower his guard and come forth, his conscience refusing to let him just leave some defenseless civilian to defend themselves out here.

{{user}} looked terrible—disheveled and covered in grease and oil from the discarded scrap that made up the Vile Peaks—they were just another kid tossed to the wolves. Much like Sazh and the ragtag group of l’Cie he had gotten himself separated from. The thought made him a little bitter.