1. The Prologue

The man was running fiercely across the white, flat plain, with only some rocks and arching green beams as features of the area. The sky was grey, hinting at the chaos to come. He had to reach the other Warriors of Cosmos before it was too late, and the battle began without him. "Might I be too late...?" he pondered curiously. "No, I have to make it!" he shouted breathlessly. "I will not give up on something such as this. I cannot, if only for my comrade's sake!"

All of a sudden, seemingly out of nothingness, a figure appeared to impede the man's progress, causing the running man to stop and stare in shock. However, he was no ordinary man. He looked to be made out of a blue crystal, and was a striking image of the man that it had stopped, down to the armour with two horns built into them and the sword that it was wielding.

"What kind of abomination is that?!" the man wondered aloud, not liking how things were turning out. At that, the imitation pointed it's sword at the man, wishing to engage him in a fight. But the man was in a great hurry, and had no time for such petty encounters as these. There was only one definitive way to sort something like this out.

"Intervene and be slain!" he yelled, pointing his sword at it. The imitation did the same pose. The man sighed in frustration. "Fine, if you will not let pass, then I will force my way though you!" At that, the man ran forwards, swinging his sword about in all directions. The imitation was defeated in a heartbeat, and the man breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it was over, and that he could now concentrate on the task at hand.

However, it was obviously the task of these imitations to not let him though, as he was confronted by another one, and then yet another one. In fact, the latter one had caused the man to become so emotional that his armour and weapons had changed mid-battle, and he inflicted six rapid slashes on the imitation, throwing it high into the air and overkilling it into oblivion. But, they were defeated as easily as the first one had been, and the man internally celebrated as he moved onwards.

Pausing a moment to catch his breath back, the man shut his eyes, and thought back to the moment that he had first appeared in this new place. He had been training with the other Warriors of Light outside the city of Cornelia, training to protect the citizens and residents of both the town itself, and the castle that dominated the skyline. Suddenly, he had fallen unconscious, and the next thing he knew, he had awoken on this plain, with no idea how he had gotten there. All he knew was, a mysterious voice, calling herself Cosmos, he told him to meet the others for a massive battle of good versus evil.

The Warrior opened his eyes, and saw another man walking towards him. The man was also wearing amour and a cloak, but in a dark and light blue colouration, respectively. He was carrying a great number of weapons on him, including an axe, lance, bow and sword. The man who had approached spoke up. "Good to see that you're safe and sound, fellow comrade," the man said in a relieved tone of voice. "My name's Firion. What's yours?" As much as the Warrior wanted to find out what was going on, and to learn some of his comrade's names, there was no time to be sitting around.

"The pulses of disorder are getting stronger!" the Warrior contemplated as he looked around him. The two of them stare off into the distance, each one contemplating exactly what the words meant for them personally. Firion nodded in agreement. "Let us hurry. The fighting is far from over! We must win, or there is no foreseeable future for us."

The two men ran off in that direction together, uncertain for the future, but confident in the fact that they weren't alone in winning this fight – if not the war.

After much running, the Warrior and Firion had finally reached the other Warriors of Cosmos. There were eight people waiting there – seven males, and one woman, looking extremely nervous, with dazzling blond hair, and wearing a red top and white stockings with red polka dots on them. She was standing next to a child of no more than seven-eight, wearing red armour, and a large feather in the top of the helmet.

He himself stood next to a teenager, who was wearing a dark yellow hooded shirt, which showed off some of the toned muscles that the boy had presumably developed from training heavily, and was torn quite a bit. The shorts were also torn, with one leg being longer than the other, and he was also holding an unusual sword. Inside, there looked to be a good amount of water inside, and some bubbles were rising from all around it. They, and the rest of the Warriors, were staring at something in the distance, waiting for something to happen.

As the sky got darker, thunder and lightning dashed about the sky, like nothing any of them had ever seen before. They prepared their weapons for a tough battle, trepidation heavy in their hearts. The ground in the distance quickly tore apart and lifted into the sky, creating a platform. Shortly afterwards, bright orange magma roared out of the ground, nearly blinding them after the continual darkness.

As if in a serial dream, figured began to walk out of the magma, faint at first due to the distance, but soon enough, getting larger and clearer. The Warriors scowled at the development, realising that it was their eternal foes from their respective homelands. Behind the villains, the magma roared and churned, and seemed to create an outline of a fierce demon with large wings, and two horns on its head. On the other hand, a hole appeared in the thick clouds above the Warriors, and a body of a woman, with her arms and hands outstretched was formed from them. This seemed to give them, if possible, even more hope and courage that they could win this battle, despite the cost it might bring.

It was the villains who made the first one, running and leaping off the cliff, with no apparent concern for their safety. The Warriors ran forward, brandishing their swords and preparing for anything that might come at them. The Warrior was the first to reach his foe, fighting a man clad entirely in armour, so that not even his face could be seen. His name was Garland, and the sword was special, as it could transform into a number of different weapons, including a whip, an axe, and a lance, to name but a few. He had been a loyal knight to the Kingdom, before betraying everybody, and kidnapping the king's youngest daughter. The Warrior hadn't known what had happened to him before now.

The fought intently, trying multiple times to strike each other, but each continually blocked the other's attacks, allowing them no progress. All of a sudden, a man with spiky blond hair stepped in to help the Warrior. He was wearing a dark purple turtleneck jumper, a harness to keep the black trousers up, and a metal pauldron on his left shoulder. The man's most distinctive feature was the massive sword he was dragging across the ground. The sword itself was as big as Garland's, hopefully meaning that more progress could be made in terms of attacks being successfully landed. The Warrior moved away, fully intending to help out other warriors in need.

However, the blond haired was knocked away, and from behind him appeared a semi-naked woman, with two yellow tentacles with mouths on them, and being partially covered by a large red cloak. She was charging up a ball of energy, which would have hit him, had a man with a lance stepped in the way, and deflected it away from harm. Abruptly, he changed from a man wearing black armour covering his face and showing off his developed chest, to a man who was wearing white armour, carrying an ornate lance, and having white hair. Turning around, he saw a villain leap into the air, weapon at the ready. The man prepared for the inevitable blow.

Still up on the high ledge, a woman wearing a body length red coat with a fur edge on the collar was preparing an attack that would cover a large area, and do great damage to the Warriors of Cosmos. Before the bullets of energy could hit anyone, though, the girl put up a barrier to stop them from hitting her or her companions. However, they deflected off, and were heading in the direction of the small boy in red armour, who ran away from them; mastering all the energy he could to stay alive. He leaped over the massive beam that the woman with the tentacles had produced, and did a few futile hits on Garland, who was distracted by the man in white. Some of the bullets hit Garland, and appeared to do a bit of damage to him.

At the same time, an old teenager was running alongside the child. He wore stripy, skin-tight leggings, a blue cloak, but strangely, he didn't have a sword on him, despite the situation at hand. The two of them were dodging a number of lightning strikes that were coming down around them, from purple floating balls of energy. After a little while, however, the kid was thrown up into the air. This appeared to make the other person angry, as he summoned a sword from somewhere, and leaped into the air to deal with the person who had committed the act. It turned out to be a man with a very pale face, wearing a purple cloak and gold armour, as well as manipulating a fancy lance.

Meanwhile, a man with long, flowing, silver hair, a black coat held together with an ornate belt and a silver, carrying an elongated sword, was in the middle of a duel with a teenager, had who had short brunette hair, wearing a black leather coat with a white fur trim on the collar, and duelling with a sword that also had a trigger on it, for an unknown purpose to everybody else but himself. The two of them were running across the ground, and then up the side of the cliff, with neither of them pausing for a moment, least the other get a hit in. They continued the fight in the air, the brunette's sword glowed a bright blue colour, preparing for an attack. But, like the other attacks that had been performed thus far, these too were blocked skilfully. The man with the long sword made it glow briefly, and then sent a blade of energy towards the other man.

Back on the ground, Firion was engaged in battle with a tanned warrior of the demon that had appeared before. The middle aged man was wearing no shirt, and had tattooed onto his chest a large stylisation of the letter 'J', which could also be seen as a 'T'. On his left shoulder and right leg were tufts of cream coloured fur, and he was fighting with a sword with an arrow point on the end of it. The two of them were fighting in an extreme close combat situation, each one staring directly into the eyes of the other. The blast from the man's long sword threw itself into the ground, separating the two fighters. However, each of them managed to gain their balance as the ground beneath Firion was thrown up into the air in small pieces, controlled by a man with full dark blue armour and a large blue cloak swirling about him. Both of his hands were glowing from the untold energy that they contained. Along with the rocks, he too was also floating in mid-air.

Firion, deeply surprised by the developments, barely struggled to hold on as he was sliding off the rock that he had attached himself to. The tattooed man, meanwhile, was fully running down his rock, and leaped into the air, only to land on Firion's rock causing him to let go and fall to the ground. Luckily, he had a long line and hook on him, which he used to pierce a rock, and swing in a wide arc towards relative safety.

On the other side of the battlefield, a man with an ambidextrous rat tail, wearing blue trousers and knee high loose boots, and sporting two daggers simultaneously was heavily engaged in battle with a man who looked like a demonic clown, what with the white painted face and mix-mash of all sorts of clothes and colours, topped off by his evil cackling laugh, which he was using with great effect to unnerve his opponent. The former was currently blocking multiple fire attacks from the latter, whilst simultaneously dodging the rocks that were still floating about. The attacks came sporadically, so the rat tail guy couldn't predict when they would come.

Unexpectedly, he was grabbed by the tail, spun around a few times, and thrown into the air, far away from his opponent. At the same time, the leggings man was holding onto his yellow coloured sword for dear life, which he had stuck into one of the floating rocks before he slipped off, and was in pain from the smaller loose rocks falling past him, hitting his bare skin. Above him was a man dressed similarly to the man who was holding the rocks up, except his armour and cape were sky blue in colour, and the former was much more ornate, with gold trimmings. He carried a basic sword, but was very evidently more effective in dealing with magic, as shown by his attempt to kill the man dangling by a tread.

Before he could do such a thing, though, he was knocked backwards by the man with the rat tail, who had gotten some help from the teenager with the water sword. He had desperately ran forward when he had seen Firion beginning to fall, skilfully back-flipping over a man who had lavender coloured hair and was wearing a thong, surrounded by white balls of some spell or other. He fired them at the running man, but he managed to dodge all of them expertly. The spell followed him, but the teenager ignored them, as he was more focused on helping his friend out.

Seeing the rat-tail person falling, the water sword person stopped momentarily, and he did a powerful standing jump, launching him high into the air. Spinning around rapidly to allow him to stay aloft for longer, the two were the same height when the former wrapped his tail around the latter's leg. The spin gave more thrust to the forward motion, allowing the rat tailed person to stop the man in the sky blue armour.

In the intervening time, the woman on the cliff had been throwing down yet more bolts of energy onto the battlefield. However, this was stopped when the woman in polka dot tights continually dodged out of harm's way by back flipping to various heights. The man in the gold armour looked on with interest, as she created a circle with some strange symbols within. As the circle began to glow brightly, purple spheres surrounded her and it, and bolts of energy came down from them, trapping her within. But these were destroyed, as the kid in red armour, the man with the massive sword, and the Warrior protected her from harm by standing in her way.

All of the Warriors of Cosmos had gathered together again, as had the villains; and they both tried an all out assault. Suddenly, they had disappeared into coloured lights and flew up into the sky. Where to, nobody knew – only the Gods did, and they weren't going to be telling any time soon. Once they had disappeared, the sky cleared of the dark imposing clouds, and the physical landscape was restored to how it had been before the battle had began – bright white with very little features.

The Warrior of Light slowly opened his eyes, after being used to the darkness that had been unconsciousness. He groaned, and wondered where in the world he was now. After a moment's reflection, he realised that he was in Cosmos' place – the place where his adventure had began. He stood up and looked around, and noticed that he was alone again, left to his own devices. He sighed in frustration, wondering what it was he was supposed to do.

All of a sudden, he heard a voice that he recognised easily – it was Cosmos, and it sounded like she was in trouble. "I have been defeated," she said wearily. Yet, she wasn't anywhere that the Warrior could see, so he assumed that she was speaking telepathically. "Cosmos!" he shouted, in case she could hear him. He had to find her, and find out what was wrong. But she already had an answer for him. "I could not...protect the world," she replied in the same tone as before. He began running in a random direction, hoping that it was the right one, when a pillar of light appeared to his side. He stopped and looked at it, wondering whether it would take him directly to Cosmos. He weighed up the pros and cons, and decided to chance it.

Stepping out of the portal, he noticed that he was in exactly the same place as he was previously, and wondered why that way. After thinking about it for a moment or two whilst walking to conserve his energy, he decided that he didn't have enough information to come to even a speculative answer. Thus, he continued on his way.

Along the way to his unknown destination, he fought yet another imitation of himself. _"Why do they always wish to fight at the most inconvenient times,"_ the Warrior thought to himself angrily. _"And what are they in the first place?"_ he wondered curiously. He certainly wasn't expecting a reply from Cosmos, but was glad when he did.

"They are Manikins... Shadow entities employed by Chaos's forces as troops," she divulged. "They are used to weaken and pick the Warriors off."

"Such shallow imitations have no chance against me. I have trained my whole life for the unexpected," the Warrior somewhat boasted to himself, although he wasn't sure how he would cope against any stronger versions of himself.

He continued onwards, fighting against several more of these Manikins, each victory making him feel as if he was getting stronger all the time. Eventually, he reached a manikin that looked rather different from all the others that he had fought thus far. Cosmos gave him some comfort in his personal hour of need.

"Remember, Warrior of Light... Even in the darkest of times, there is always a light. Believe in your own radiance... Never give up... There is always a way..." she practically whispered. The Warrior could tell that things were seriously getting desperate.

"Cosmos...? Cosmos!" he yelled, but she didn't reply. Taking this to be a sign of a bad omen, he made his way forwards. "I must find her... I have no time for such interruptions!" he shouted at the Manikin, which resembled Garland in every way, except that it was light cyan in colour.

The fight began with the Warrior being thrown backwards from an unexpected blow. He responded by hitting it was a combination of his stoutly shield and his sword, which threw the Manikin into the air. The Warrior followed closely behind it, hitting it at every opportunity. When it was nearing the ground from its decent, the Warrior dealt the killing blow, causing it to moan in its defeat.

Afterwards, the Warrior continued forwards in his search for Cosmos. Having travelled for quite a while, he was beginning to feel tired, but he had to keep going – for her sake at least. A while later, he saw someone ahead of him, collapsed on a small throne, in the middle of the empty area. He realised that it must have been Cosmos, and ran towards her. He noticed that she was glowing slightly.

"Cosmos! I am glad that I have managed to find you at last," he panted, the run having taken the last of the breath from him. He kneeled in front of her, as a sign of his immense respect towards her. But she had some disturbing words for him in response. "I have been defeated by Chaos." He held out his hand, wanting to help her so much, but knowing that he couldn't. She looked him in the eye when she spoke next. "The god of discord, Chaos... His brutal powers have destroyed the balance of all things, threatening the fabric of reality itself."

"What do you mean?" the Warrior enquired, but she took no notice of him as she produced several intertwining beams of light, and sent them into the sky. This process caused several astral projections to appear where the other Warriors of Cosmos were located, allowing them to hear the next part of her message to them all.

There were four groups in all, formed when they had disappeared into the sky after the battle had concluded. One group was made up of the male with the rat tail, and the teenager with the tight leggings. Another was made up of Firion, the man who could change appearance instantaneously, the young man with the large sword, and the teenager with the water sword. The third group consisted of the only female Warrior, as well as the kid with the feather in his helmet. The final group was made up of just the man with the trigger on his sword. The message was thus:

"All existence is on the brink of doom. Ten of you remain--and you are the last hope left to this world. I implore you. Obtain the light that even in a broken world could never fade-- the light of the crystals. The crystals embody the strength to face despair. With ten gathered, there is hope yet to save the world. The path to your crystal will be perilous... and different for each and every one of you. But you must believe in and follow your own path. Even if you know not where that path leads..."

There was a moment's pause, and the latter spoke up first. The Warrior could hear him as if he was in the room himself. "Not a problem. I've always gotten by on my own," he expressed emotionlessly, as he put his sword on his right shoulder.

Meanwhile, the first two people were joking around with each other. "If the treasure were really that easy to find, it wouldn't be a treasure hunt, would it?" the rat tailed person stated obviously. "Defiantly no horsing around, though. This isn't the time for games. It's time for some serious fun," the other replied seriously, but eagerness creeping into his voice by the end. The other nodded in agreement.

In another place, where there were few large land surfaces and a strange green liquid was flowing up the sides, the boy was comforting the woman. "You don't have to worry. I'm here with you. If it gets scary, just believe in me!" he said to her affirmably, holding his hand over his heart. The woman nodded. "I'm counting on you," she said with a smile.

The largest group, in the meantime, were having their own discussion. "The paths to our crystals may be different for each of us. But we've strength in our allies," confirmed the man with his face covered. Firion responded with the affirmative. "And if we put all that strength together, we'll have nothing to fear."

However, the man with the large sword wasn't quite as positive as his comrades. "I don't know about that." The rest turned to look at him "The god Chaos is leading his forces of disorder — and they're headed straight for us." He put his right hand on the grip of his sword, which he managed to carry on his back. "But I'm ready for whatever comes my way," he added, almost as an afterthought. The one with the water sword helped picked up the mood. "The tougher the enemy, the more fired up I get!" he yelled.

Seeing the positive responses that she had received, despite the circumstances, she was glad that she had picked this group. It was just a shame that those other three couldn't be a part of it as well, as they had been previously. "I thank you all – for your kind words..." she said them before the projections disappeared. With only the Warrior remaining as an audience, she continued to speak to him.

"Though what remains of this world is on the verge of collapses... I must hold it together until you find your crystals... Forgive me... I want to be with you... But allow me to rest... Then soon enough..." she said, almost begging for him to complete the quest quickly. After a slight pause, the Warrior responded.

"Cosmos... Your radiant light shall always be with us."

Cosmos paused a moment, reflecting on the words just said, before teleporting away, and safe in the secure knowledge that their task will be completed successfully, given enough time. But, could she allow them to have it, without doing the nefarious deed too early, she wondered.

The heroes set off on their individual journeys, confident in their abilities as colleagues and friends to do the right thing.


	2. Chapter 1

The allies of Chaos had gathered in the Chaos Shine – one a place of worship to a God long forgotten; now it was thoroughly rundown place, with a large hole in the roof above the throne. They had grouped here, so that the leaders could reiterate their ultimate aim, regardless of any personal goals that they might have. The woman with the red coat and two black wings coming out of her shoulders; was the first to speak. "All shall bear fruit in due time. The ultimate mortal conflict-" There was a small pause as they waited to hear what was next.

The man in the gold armour spoke next. "...as well as the absolute end of the world. Perhaps the only thing that is out of our reach - is the whimsy of the gods." Once he had finished, there was a minute of silence, before they all dispersed in separate directions. Garland, however, lingered behind for a moment, to make sure that everyone had gone before he made his move. He didn't want to chance them finding out his secret too early, after all...

After he checked that the coat was clear, as if anyone could guess where he was going, he teleported to an area that no-one but him had been to before. It was a simple area, consisting of a small circle, and a large throne at an edge, with a skull engraved in it. The platform was surrounded by larva, and tall, sharp points of rock. However, sitting on the throne was Chaos himself, lord and master of the Warriors of Chaos. He was a demonic creature, with wavy horns on his head, four arms, and crescent shaped wings. He was naturally in direct opposition to Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony, who he eternally despised.

When he noticed Garland entering the area, Chaos sensed uneasiness about him. "I am the god of discord - destined to rule this world. Am I not?"

Garland was slightly taken aback by the statement, but didn't allow Chaos to notice. "Indeed. Our objective is all too clear: to defeat Cosmos and bring chaos to the world."

"But the conflict will only be brought to an end as soon as I regain my lost strength," Chaos replied. "It is only a matter of time until all the pieces are in place for the final victory."

Chaos suddenly felt that uneasiness about him again, and felt compelled to ask his loyal servant. "And yet... Something does not feel quite right. Garland, are your words truly worthy of my trust?" There was but a momentary pause, but Chaos noticed it.

"...Of course, my lord."

The Warrior barely started walking when he came to a stop. It took a second to recognise what the feeling was, but when he did, he wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword. "I feel the presence of evil... Does anyone dare stand in my way?!" he shouted at seemingly nothing. In a flash, a Manikin appeared in front of him, ready for battle. It was no match for the Warrior, though, and he dispatched it without hassle.

"I have no time to waste. I must hurry, for Cosmos' sake..." he reminded himself, and continued on his way.

As he was walking at a steady pace, not taking much notice of where he was heading, he thought back to what Cosmos had said to him earlier. "I implore you. Obtain the light that even in a broken world could never fade - the light of the crystals."

The Warrior stopped and nodded in remembrance. "Cosmos... We have heard your wish, and we shall fulfil it. With the crystals in our hands, we will bring a fresh hope to the world-"

From seemingly out of nowhere, there was a voice that the Warrior recognised, and had hoped that he would never have to hear again. It was Garland's. "And where do you think you're going, unnamed warrior?" he enquired.

"Garland, it is you!" the Warrior exclaimed. Garland ignored this outburst.

"Do you dare run from a battle?" he asked.

"I do not intend to run from anything," the Warrior replied, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Then let us start this fight. A great destiny is at hand. We might as well enjoy it while it lasts!" Garland declared, as they both prepared for battle.

In another place entirely, the girl and boy had been walking casually with each other, and they were beginning to get use to the other's presence. The girl had introduced herself as Terra, whilst the boy was called Luneth, although he preferred Onion Knight, as that's what everybody called him back on his home world. They were currently deep in convocation about the crystals that they were supposed to be looking for.

"Crystals...have the power to break through despair, huh? I wonder what they look like," he wondered absent-mindedly, whilst looking over the edge of the platform they were currently standing on. He saw that there was nothing to break their fall, except for a random black portal currently floating in the middle of the bright blue sky.

"Do you think we can find them, Onion Knight?" He turned around, wondering what she was going to ask. "What if we do find them, but we still can't save the world?" asked him inquisitively. Although she was the older of the two of them, she still looked up to him in terms of wisdom. He seemed to have plenty of it, such as when he replied to her.

He sighed in slight frustration and annoyance. She always sounded so pessimistic. "Gods always seem to have a habit of sounding pretentious, don't they? Admittedly, there's no proof that Cosmos is telling the truth, but we don't know that she's wrong, either. Anyway, our only choice at the moment is to believe her and move forward in that belief. Let's start with what we can do, rather than with what we can't."

Terra nodded in agreement. "Mm-hmm... You're right, of course."

"Alright, then. Standing around here isn't going to give us any answers. Come on, let's get moving. You don't need to worry, as long as I'm around. I'm going to figure this all out," the Onion Knight replied, somewhat arrogantly.

Moving on ahead, they saw that much of the path that they were walking on was empty. This made Terra nervous again, although she continued walking.

"Look...the path ahead is hidden. Could enemies be hiding there? Or..."

Luneth cut in before she could finish her sentence. "There could be an ambush, could be treasure, and could be anything. Until we know for sure, we'll have to be careful, and try to work out where we're heading. As for the enemies themselves, you just have to take a good look at it before going into battle. Based on their equipment, you can figure out their strengths and weaknesses - the spell or the sword."

She formed her mouth into a bright, illustrious smile, and directed it at him, and the Onion Knight realised that he liked her a lot more than as just a good friend. He had a strange feeling when he was close to her, something that he didn't feel around Refia. He couldn't work out what it was, only that it was getting stronger with each passing day they spent together.

Once the villain's meeting had been disbanded, the Emperor and Kefka had gone off to discuss about some matters privately in the Emperor's stronghold from his home world – Castle Pandemonium. "What does he know? What is he after?"

Kefka gave a cackled laugh in response. "Who knows, who cares? He's just another sadist with a god complex...like THAT'S something special!" he shouted as he grinned and moved erratically about. The Emperor ignored the movement, and continued.

"Sephiroth took his own life during the last battle, right in front of my eyes." This caused Kefka to stop moving about, and look at him in shock.

"Seriously? What did he do THAT for!?"

"I do not know. He must have had some ulterior motive. We'd best keep an eye on him..."

Kefka nodded dumbly, not really believing what he was hearing.

At the same time, Cloud and his group were making steady process, defeating the Manikins as they appeared. They worked particularly well as a team, working together to take them down quickly and efficiently. Cloud was slightly ahead of the others at the moment, and this gave him time to think about things – things that he had done, and had happened to him, before he entered this place.

As he was walking, he suddenly got a strange feeling that passed as quickly as it had come. "I felt like something was...calling me. A crystal, possibly? No, something...much darker..." he pondered curiously and cautiously.

Continuing onwards, the group encountered yet more Manikins. _"Enemies, everywhere I look... Is this the way it's going to be forever?"_ he speculated internally to himself. He sure hoped that that wouldn't be the case. He had done enough fighting on his own home world, and he just wanted a break from all of that.

Cloud found himself walking alone and so came to a stop, to allow time for the others to catch up. Eventually, Cecil, Tidus and Firion did manage to join him. Firion was the first to speak. "Well? Any clues on where the crystal can be found?" Cloud turned to look at them as he shook his head. Why did Firion expect him to know something like that?

"No, nothing..."

"So, these crystals can save the world, huh? I wonder how we're supposed to find them," asked Tidus. Cloud found that he didn't like him much – he was far too optimistic for his liking. A strong sense of realism was what was needed on a journey like this. Firion responded with words that Cloud certainly didn't want to hear at the moment.

"We'll probably have to fight more. Just defeat every enemy we encounter-" Cloud interrupted quickly before he could continue.

"Don't know if we should be running into battle without knowing what's going on. After all, most people can't win every fight," he said quickly. He knew that from personal experience. It was only by fighting together, when their friendship was at its strongest, that they had managed to beat Sephiroth once and for all. And Zack couldn't win in the end, when he had been protecting Cloud. He shook his head at the memory. Tidus took notice of this.

"I guess...we gotta rest up sometime," he reasoned. Firion and Cecil nodded in agreement.

"There is some truth to that," Firion agreed.

"It's good to have you with us, Cloud. You've the sense to think things through," Cecil responded with kind words.

Then Tidus spoke up, his slight stupidity showing through. "You could learn something, Cecil." Cloud internally sighed, and was about to say something, but Firion wittily beat him to it. "Look who's talking!"

This caused everybody to chuckle at the friendly banter. They were all having fun with each other. Why couldn't Cloud join in? _"Is it because I don't know them?"_ he wondered. _"No, that can't be it. They haven't known each other for very long, yet they're getting along just fine,"_ he thought to himself. Firion's next words snapped him out of his self-inflicted trance.

"I guess we all need some of that common sense every once in a while!" he said. The convocation clearly over for the moment, the other three began to walk off, but Cloud stayed in place for a moment, thinking about what Firion had just said.

"_Common sense? No, that's not it. I'm just-"_ he thought, letting the words trail off into nothingness.

The battle that the two had fought had been an intense one. The Warrior had been hit a number of times by Garland's unexpected sword changes, but he had been beaten in the end, which is what the Warrior had wanted. Garland was now kneeing whilst the Warrior walked towards him, grunting from the inevitable pain.

"You truly think that you can save this world, Warrior?" he bitterly said.

"That is precisely our mission. Our hopes have not been crushed yet, nor will they ever be." At this, Garland began laughing quietly to himself, although still loud enough to hear.

"What a fool you are. What you hope for is nothing but an illusion. Pursue it, and it will run from you. You may ever draw near, but never truly obtain it."

"What do you mean by that?" the Warrior asked; a hint of worry in his voice. Garland picked up on this.

"Eventually you will see... the truth behind this conflict..." Garland answered as a black substance began coming off his body. "...and the world will betray you!" he finished, ending in a fit of laughter, which continued even as his body disappeared from sight. The Warrior continued to look on the spot when the man had formerly been.

"_No, Garland's words surely cannot be true_," the Warrior thought to himself. _"I will not let them unnerve me. I must continue to be strong, and find my crystal as soon as possible." _

Aloud, he said in a confident tone. "No matter what becomes of the world as we know it... the light will always be with us," he asserted as he walked off to his next destination.

The group of four had made good progress so far, or so they believed at least. However, there hadn't seen any sign of the Crystals so far, and the number of enemies they had to fight were beginning to increase. But it was still early days yet, so they were keeping somewhat optimistic. They paused to rest for a minute. After a period of silence, Cecil was the first to speak. "We're beginning to see more enemies as we progress. We can't let them wear us down..." he trailed off.

Cloud gave some advice in that monotonous voice of his. "Just watch them closely. Strike when they're off-guard, right after an attack. The manikins here are weak. The trick is not getting too caught up in the brawl."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Got that, Firion?" said the ever arrogant and boastful Tidus.

"Yeah. I wish I were as calm as he is," replied Firion. They moved onwards, leaving Cloud to his thoughts again.

"_...I'm not calm at all. I think...I'm more scared..."_ he thought miserably, and then walked quickly to catch up with the others.

The group had stopped for the night, to get some sleep and have something to eat. As they were setting up camp, so to speak, Tidus asked the question that they were all privately thinking about. "Can somebody tell me what the heck these crystals are, anyway?"

Cecil followed this up with an even more doubtful question. "Once we've obtained them, will we be able to defeat Chaos?" he asked. No one spoke, and then Firion found a suitable and somewhat predictable response.

"If that is what Cosmos wishes, it is up to us to fulfil it to the best of our abilities, right," he said confidently. Except Cloud didn't want to think of it in that way. Where was his personal motivation for doing this? He wasn't sure, so he decided to ask the others about it.

"But what are we - What exactly are we actually personally fighting for?" Everyone turned to look at him, and Firion had a shocked expression on his face.

"What do you mean? Isn't it to defeat Chaos and bring back peace to the world?" he asked. Cloud responded immediately.

"Cosmos only said that we had to get the crystals. There's no guarantee that defeating Chaos will bring peace. Nobody knows for sure what's going to happen to the world," he finished on a downer. That didn't seem to stop Tidus, however.

"I think we just have to keep faith!" he affirmed. Firion nodded in agreement.

"That's right. We don't need to know much in order to fight, do we?" But Cloud still had some doubts.

"I just...need some convincing. I don't want to find myself swept into more battles... without knowing why I'm there," he added. He thought back to the day before him and Tifa had made love under the Highwind...before they had gone into the Northern Cave and defeated Sephiroth...how he had spoken to his friends, encouraging them to go back to a place that was special to them, and to think of a reason for why they were doing this. He had done well there – everybody had come back, after all, so now shouldn't be much different. Should it?

He thought he must have had a spaced-out look on his face, because Cecil calling his name brought him back to the world with a bump. "Cloud..." he said worriedly. Cloud continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Can any of you guys tell me? If there's a good reason to be here fighting, I want to hear it," he demanded. Cecil was the first to speak up after the inevitable silence as they thought about what he had just said.

"A reason to fight, huh...I suppose I've never really thought about that before," he mused. Then it was Tidus' turn to say his piece.

"I'm settling things with my old man! But that's a very personal issue, I know..." For the first time since Cloud had met him, he felt that Tidus had spoke with a true sense of seriousness. He thought he ought to acknowledge it.

"Good for you, Tidus," he said encouragingly. He then turned his attention over to Firion, who hadn't said anything yet. Cloud saw that he was walking over to him, as if wishing to say his wish privately. But he did no such thing.

"Could you give me some time?" he asked Cloud. Cloud was shocked at this, but didn't let it show in any way. Firion continued. "I just want to come up with an answer that would convince you." Cloud guessed that the others saw him as being the group's leader, as he always managed to remain cool and collected. So he nodded his head as a sign of approval for Firion to do so.

In the place that represented her the best, the Cloud of Darkness felt truly at home. This was the place where she had first been created by Xande being killed by those Onion Knights, and where had controlled him from. Of course, it was the place where she had been destroyed, but she had great confidence in ignoring that memory. She was speaking to Kefka, who was scheming to kidnap Terra, and make her work on their side. She had some doubts, however. "Is that girl truly worth the trouble?" she asked dubiously. Kefka laughed with glee.

"Ab-so-lute-ly! Her powers are the real deal!" he shrieked loudly.

"Then we will take your word on it. We shall soon see how strong she is."

"You won't regret it...as long as she performs as well as she did before," he said as he pranced around, but covered his mouth when he realised what he had said. The Cloud of Darkness looked at him suspiciously.

"Before?" she questioned. But knowing his mistake, Kefka wasn't going to say anything else about the subject, so she gave up trying.

"Oops, just talking to myself! Before, after, now, all the same thing! Now, off you go! Happy fighting!" he shouted as he skipped away. The Cloud of Darkness set of herself, intent on finding both Terra and they boy.

The Onion Knight and Terra were walking in a place that had a lot of crystals surrounding two large platforms, also made of crystal. In the distance, they saw a large, jagged crystal floating in the sky, with a ring surrounded it. They had begun talking about something when Terra suddenly stopped. Luneth hadn't noticed, and continued on walking.

"Wait a minute, Luneth..." He paused and turned to look at her.

"What is it?" he enquired. At this rate, they would never get their crystals.

"I feel something... Something very powerful from that direction..." Terra said, facing the direction they were heading in. The Onion Knight got very excited at this.

"Do you think it's a Crystal?" he questioned curiously. If it was, then he was extremely lucky! If it wasn't, then it had to be a powerful Manikin for him to pummel into the ground.

Terra responded with "I can't tell. It's just a strong presence." The Onion Knight's previous enthusiasm fell slightly. If she couldn't tell what it was, then it wasn't likely to be a Crystal, he reckoned.

"Let's check it out, then," he said as he began to run ahead. When he noticed that she wasn't following him, he turned round to face her again.

"What's wrong?" he asked. If they didn't get going soon, then the presence might disappear, and then they might not be able to catch to it again.

"Something about this doesn't feel quite right," she said. "I don't think we should get any closer." That wasn't what the Onion Knight wanted to hear. So he moved towards her to confront her about the issue.

"Look, Terra, even if it isn't a crystal or enemy, we might be able to find some clues. It'll be alright. I can handle anything that comes our way, OK."

She began to protest at the prospect. "But..." she started. Before she could continue, however, he interrupted her.

"Chaos's puppets may be strong, but they're just big lunkheads. And I've got something they don't... Right here, if you know what I mean," he said as he pointed towards his helmet. "Brains. I can strategise plans of attack that'll keep them off-guard, so you have nothing to fear, as the hero's here," he boosted as he pointed his thumb at his chest. Terra giggled at this display, and responded.

"You're so strong. I envy your courage."

Once she had finished, he became serious again. "Come on, then, let's keep going onwards," he said as he walked onwards, with Terra following on behind him, thinking about what he had said.

Zidane and Bartz had started out their journey quite well. They had learnt each other's names, and a bit of background on the other, such as how they had saved the world. They had managed to reach the place where Cloud and the gang had stopped earlier. Bartz had started talking about his pet chocobo when a Manikin had ambushed them. They hadn't prepared for something like that so soon into their journey, so they had been defeated easily. However, before they could do anything, a man wearing a black leather jacket and trousers, held up by a lot of belts, had saved their lives, defeating the Manikin in the process. They were currently running up to the man to thank him properly.

"Whew! Thanks, man, you really saved our hides. Thanks again!" said Zidane thankfully. Bartz, however, had noticed something strange.

"Oh. Are you all by yourself?" he queried. The man replied in the affirmative. "Yeah, I am. What's it to you?" Zidane had no answer, but Bartz did. "Then you can come with us. Let's look for our crystals together!" he exclaimed. But Zidane wasn't sure that that was such a good idea.

"Dude, we don't even know the guy's name. Besides, he might want to work on his own. He looks the kind of person to do so, don't you think?" Bartz paused a minute, and agreed that that was probably correct. However, that didn't stop Bartz from trying his luck.

"Fell free to follow us, if you want. We'll be a little ways ahead, if you want to catch up to us." So they began to walk ahead, leaving the man to his thoughts.

"Why does this happen to me every time?" he moaned internally. He hated having to make such decisions when he was around people he knew, let along people he didn't, such as these two. He thought he'd better say as much, before they missed him.

"No offense to you guys - But I'd much rather be by myself."

At this, Bartz and Zidane stopped and turned to look at each other, before then turning to look back at Squall. Zidane spoke up this time.

"But doesn't it get...lonely sometimes?" he speculated. The man nodded in the affirmative.

"Well, I guess if he wants to go off on his own... At least tell us your name first," Bartz quizzed.

"It's Squall," he replied monotonously.

"Okay. Our names are Bartz," pointing to himself, "and Zidane," pointing to the companion next to him. "Well, if you do want to catch up to us at some point, we're heading that way," he said, gesturing with his hand and head in a vague direction.

"I guess we'll meet up later - after we get our crystals, of course!" Zidane exclaimed. Squall defiantly thought that they weren't the kind of people that he wouldn't like to be a part of – even if they did have a personality like Rinoa.

At that, Zidane and Bartz then ran off to wherever they were heading to. A moment later, however, Bartz had come running back to Squall a few seconds later, with something clutched in his hand, slightly out of breath.

"I'd almost forgotten about this-" Squall wondered what it was now – he really wanted to get onto his journey.

"What is it now?" he asked.

"I thought you should have something, something to remember us by," Bartz stated as he pulled out a yellow chocobo feather from the pouch he carried with him. Squall looked at it in disdain - it looked dirty, like it had been recently plucked.

"Here, take this! It's a good-luck charm, one I took from my chocobo companion, Boko." At the mention of the name, something stirred in Squall's memory, despite the fact that he couldn't think why. Although the disuse of Guardian Forced had been rigorously enforced since the defeat of Ultimecia, there were still some holes in his memory, and this was properly one of them.

"What's the deal with that nasty-looking feather?" Squall asked nastily. Bartz took obvious offence from the comment.

"Hey, watch your mouth, now!" he exclaimed. Squall internally cursed himself. Why did he have to say a thing like that to a fellow comrade? The man was just trying to be friendly, that's all. "That feather's been my trusted companion. Whenever I've found myself in danger, this good-luck charm saved me."

"This is a fierce battlefield," Squall belated. "It's not the place to be concerned about others."

Not that Bartz seemed to care. "I'm just looking out for you, that's all. I should be alright, though. I got Zidane with me. As a companion, and a friend. Just be sure to give it back the next time we meet, alright," he said as he forced the feather into Squall's unwilling hand before the latter could protest.

"You promise, okay?" he continued before running off to catch up with Zidane. Squall was left by himself, speechless at the developments that had just occurred. He had only one though as he set off.

"Who said anything about a promise? This feather... It must be important to him. But if that's the case... Why did he give it to me?" he pondered.


	3. Chapter 2

The group as a whole had been working well together. If there were a lot of Manikins blocking their path forwards, then they would split apart, and fight them individually, so as to destroy them quicker. But something was bothering Firion. He still hadn't thought of a valid reason of why he should be fighting in this war, and it bothered him a lot. Eventually, he hit on it, but couldn't think of a way to describe it. So he went up to Cloud.

"Cloud, I need to speak to you." Cloud was curious to hear what he had to say. They had always spoken as a group before, so this had to be very personal to Firion.

"Sure, what is it?" he asked curiously.

"We need to speak in private," Firion insisted. So Cloud shrugged his shoulders, and told Cecil and Tidus to stay where they were, and he need to discus something with Firion. Then they were a reasonable distance away, Cloud asked the question.

"What is it?" he asked again.

Firion sighed before he responded. "I've been thinking about why we have to fight. But...I'm finding it difficult to put into words," he said quickly.

"I see..." Cloud acknowledged. None of his friends back home had had this problem.

"Still, there is one thing I came up with. Whether it's convincing or not..." Firion replied, holding out his hand, and making a strange flower appear. It was a deep red, but it had thorns on it that looked sharp enough to pierce the skin. Cloud studied it out of interest – he had never seen a flower like that before.

"What's that?" he interrogated. Firion responded with a smile on his face.

"It's the wild rose. There's something I've been longing to see, ever since I joined the Wild Rose Rebellion on my home world. That's the reason I want to end this conflict. Of course, that's all just still a faint dream at the moment."

"A dream?"

"Yes. It's a dream I can't give up on, not for anything. That's the reason I can keep fighting like I do," he ended, a feeling of happiness seeping into his voice with every sentence. But Cloud, having thought about it for a second, was to shatter this temporary sensation.

"Firion - will you fight against me?" he requested. Firion's happy face changed to one of shock in an instant.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "But why?"

"I want to know. I have to know if that dream is really strong enough. Strong enough to keep you fighting," he simply stated.

"But Cloud -"

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, as Firion contemplated why Cloud was even thinking of doing such as thing. Shortly, he had.

"Fine, I understand. I'll take you on, with my full strength."

Cloud simply nodded. They got into battle position, ready to fight for what they believed in.

The Onion Knight and Terra were working well together – at least, that's what the Onion Knight thought. With her magic, long ranged attacks, and his physical one's, there was nothing that they couldn't fight. They were currently taking a break, as Terra seemed to quickly get worn out if she used her magic powers for too long. Abruptly, she stood up, a worried look on her face.

"Terra, do you feel something?" Luneth asked. Terra shut her eyes for a moment.

"No, it's still up ahead..." All of a sudden, she saw a white circle form on the ground in front of them. "Watch out!" she shouted to Luneth, who had had his back to it. He turned around fully prepared for anything that might happen. A knight in exquisite sky blue armour with gold edges materialised, and walked towards the duo. Luneth put himself in front of Terra. The knight looked at the scene in front of him before speaking.

"You are pawns of Cosmos, I presume," he questioned menacingly. Neither Terra nor the Onion Knight could say anything, as they were awe-struck by the power he emitted.

"_Whoa... What's with this guy?"_ the Onion Knight thought nervously. _"I've never felt such an intimidating aura..."_

"I merely come out here to kill the time, and what do I find but a woman and child," he said with a sneer.

"_No way I can look after Terra while fighting him,"_ Luneth deducted. But then, something came to him. _"I think I've got an idea that might just work..."_ Aloud, he walked up to the knight, and said:

"C-could you possibly let us go, sir?" Luneth said in the bravest voice he could master. The knight seemed shocked by the proposition.

"What? Me, the mighty Exdeath, controller of the Void, let you go?" he questionably boomed.

"Our strength is no match to yours," Luneth continued, growing braver by the minute. "We're hardly worth your time. I think you'd be much better off finding a stronger opponent to fight. Unless you're the cowardly type who only picks on those weaker than yourself, of course..."

Exdeath seemed to consider this. "I suppose there is no point in sending harmless insects to the Void. Very well, I will let you go. This time. But keep this in mind, little worm." Luneth was surprised that he had more to say. "The crystals shun the unworthy hands of those without valour," Exdeath continued before disappearing into thin air. The Onion Knight and Terra shared a sigh of relief that they didn't have to fight him. This time, at least, if his last words meant anything. Luneth was the first to speak.

"Well, that was easy! Of course, even if he came for us, I would have run. I don't fight against anyone unless I know I can win," he assured Terra confidently. But she wasn't quite sure.

"But...don't you it was a bit strange?" she questioned. Luneth wondered what she meant.

What do you mean by that, Terra?"

"It almost seemed like he let us go on purpose. He sort of even gave you advice when you wouldn't fight him..." she finished. The Onion Knight scoffed at the mere idea.

"You mean the 'those without valour' line? Fighting against someone you can't beat isn't a sign of valour. It's simply being reckless and stupid!" he frustratingly replied, whilst beginning to get angry at her again. She may have been the adult of this partnership, but she sure didn't act like it sometimes. Terra must have realised her mistake, because she tried apologising.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just -" she started, but was cut off.

Fine, then. I'll prove it to you by getting my crystal. That'll show I'm not 'without valour.' Let's go. Do you still feel the presence?" he asked begrudgingly. Although he hated her at the minute, he still relied on her to get around safely.

"...It's up ahead," she said, all the fight having been taken out of her.

"Right! On we go then," he replied as he walked ahead, Terra reluctantly following. She felt she didn't like him as much as she had done when they had first started their journey together "he's very aggressive for a kid his age, it's a surprise that he even had friends to begin with from where he came from." Terra mused bitterly.

At Pandemonium, two of the world destroyers were talking about something intriguing. They were working only temporarily, and were prone to frequent arguments.

"The girl awakens to the light. Your plans have come to nothing, Kefka." Kefka just stuck his tongue out at Exdeath.

"Nothing? Are you blind or just plain stupid? You saw her power firsthand!" he yelled uncontrollably.

"She was merely an empty vessel then, able to be controlled by the Slave Crown that you put on her. Not anymore. Even you must be aware that she acts on her own will now," Exdeath argued.

"So?" Kefka questioned, feeling extremely bored. Why was he even talking to this blockhead in the first place? Kuja was much more fun.

"So cease your senseless plotting now. She will never join Chaos. She is irredeemably sided with Cosmos now."

Exdeath left Kefka to his own, insane musings. He himself had other things to do and places to be.

"No way I'll give it up!" he screamed to himself. I swear I'm going to draw her powers out. Then I'll be absolutely untouchable! HAHAHA!" he laughed manically.

In the meanwhile, Terra and the Onion Knight were walking along, deep in convocation.

"I wonder where that man went... I hope everyone's doing alright," she wondered.

"Eh, let them figure it out. They can use their swords if they want. Me, I'm using my brains. I just know the crystal is close," he boosted arrogantly. Terra took no notice.

"It's just... I have a bad feeling..." she muttered. He, in turn, ignored her.

"Do you still feel it? Is it up ahead?" he enquired. She nodded absentmindedly.

Mm-hmm..."

"Okay, then. We're almost there!" he exclaimed, as they continued to walk ahead to their ultimate destination.

Firion is on one knee, fatigued. The battle against Cloud had been intense, and he had lost. This made him feel angry, as a person defending a dream shouldn't be beaten so easily. What infuriated him more was that Cloud was as calm and collected as ever, with no change to his expression. Plus, there was the fact that he was also still standing. He began to turn away, exposing his back to Firion. He took the opportunity to strike.

"It's not...over yet!" he yelled as he telekinetically threw all of his weapons at Cloud, hoping to catch him off-guard. But the strikes never came. They circled Cloud and stopped just inches away, as Firion realised what he was doing. How could he do such a dirty, cheating thing to a friend and comrade – just as Leon had done to him, Maria and Gus all that time ago? He wasn't about to make the same mistake he had.

After a few seconds, Firion allowed the numerous weapons to uselessly clatter to the ground. Cloud had turned to look at Firion when he heard them coming towards him, shocked and a little scared. After a few seconds, he walked over to him, and offered him his hand to help him to his feet. Firion took the offer gladly.

"Not bad at all, Firion..." Cloud said warmly. Firion couldn't help but smile at this.

"Thank you. Like I said... I won't give up on my dream, not at any cost..." This caused Cloud to go back to his monotonous voice – it was a shame – he reckoned that more people would like Cloud more, if showed even the smallest bit of emotion.

"Yeah. But... I can't be like you." This surprised Firion.

"Why not?" he asked. Cloud's answer shocked him, all things considering.

"I've looked within myself, but I'm still empty-handed. And without a dream, what do you suppose I should do?" Cloud answered and asked. Firion noticed that Cloud couldn't look him in the eyes, almost like he was hiding something from him. Firion's face must have had a startled look on it, as he next said:

"Sorry. I didn't mean to confuse you."

"No, it's alright, I guess," Firion said.

"So, what's with the wild rose?" Cloud asked. Firion guessed that it was to deflect any more questions from him, but Firion didn't mind. It was a personal matter, after all.

"It's a symbol of the rebellion that took place on my home world. When Emperor Mateus came up from the pits of hell, he destroyed any town and cities that dared to resist, and enslaved those that didn't, including my birth town of Salamand. Anyway, he and his army naturally also targeted a large city called Fynn, where I was living with my half-brother and –sister, as well as good friend that I found wondering in the wild. The city resisted, and our parents were killed, and to top it off, we were ambushed by a group of the Emperor's minions. Luckily, we were found by a resistance group, called the Wild Rose. They took us in, healed our wounds, and allowed it to become members, despite our ages at the time. And that's where my dream came from," Firion finished. He looked to Cloud for a response.

Cloud had listened, mostly to be polite. He didn't want to have to think about the past – he had had enough problems with that as it was. Instead, he wanted to live in the present, and for the future, where he wouldn't have to remember about Sephiroth. He was gone forever, Cloud knew. He had beaten himself, after all. And he didn't want to burden Firion with his own problems, so he walked off, leaving Firion in total and utter disbelief.

"_Maybe what I'm looking for... isn't here..."_ he thought.

In a far distant place, where Ultimecia had once resided over the future, and had been the sole Sorceress, before that bastard had come and destroyed all that she had, including her life. She was currently talking to Kuja in what had formerly been her clock tower.

"No... That's an utter lie! It has to be!" he shouted.

"I'm afraid not. Sadly, you are no more than a vessel. Built to serve one purpose, and one purpose only. Even then, you are a flawed one at that," she repeated. This made Kuja very angry.

"Shut up, witch! Do not look down on me! My performance will be the brightest in this entire cast! Just you watch. When the curtain falls, even you will have to give me a standing ovation!" he yelled before storming out. Ultimecia was silent for a moment.

"What a pathetic child he is... But perhaps he can handle the little monkey. With a bit of luck," she muttered, before departing herself.

Bartz and Zidane had left Squall to his own devise, wondering whether he was going to be okay on his own. Soon, though, they began to get bored with the whole idea of travelling together to get their Crystals. So Zidane came up with an ingenious idea as they wondered onto an area that looked like a moon. Looking into the distance, they could see a planet, but they didn't recognise it as either one of their home worlds.

"Hey, Bartz. You wanna have a race?" he suggested. Bartz seemed surprised at the prospect.

"A race?" he questioned.

Zidane: "Yeah, why not? Whoever manages to find his Crystal first wins. What do you think?" I smile appeared on Bartz's face.

"So it's a treasure hunt, then? This is gonna be easy," he bragged. Zidane laughed.

"Hey, don't forget, you're talking to a professional thief here. You don't stand a chance against me," Zidane boasted just as pridefully, as he pointed his thumb at his chest to prove the point. Bartz had the perfect resort to a remark like that.

"Then I'm going to be just like the thief and steal victory!" Bartz said as he copied Zidane's pose.

They both had a small laugh at the idea.

"The treasure...is this way!" Before Bartz could comprehend what Zidane had just said, the latter had already started off on the race. The former felt that that was unfair and cheating.

"The treasure...is this way!" Bartz said as he ran off in the same general direction. Soon enough, the two were neck and neck, before Bartz managed to take a huge lead, mostly due his longer legs.

"Go, go, go!" Bartz shouter as he got even further ahead.

"Is that supposed to be me?" Zidane retorted, but Bartz couldn't hear him.

All too soon, however, Bartz had to stop to catch his breath, and also deliberately allow Zidane to catch up to him. _"It wouldn't be fair to get too far ahead,"_ he reasoned. _"After all, he's shorter than me, which gives me an unfair advantage."_ Soon enough, the two were reunited, and were laughing about their race, until they had no more breath within then. However, Zidane's face developed a worried look, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, Zidane, is something wrong?" Bartz enquired, concern plastered on his face.

This got Zidane's attention. "...Hm? Uh...nothing. Heh, just let a real thief show you how it's done!" he responded, the worried having completely disappeared. This cheered Bartz up immeasurably.

"More like I'll show YOU!" he shouted as he ran off again. However, Zidane had stayed behind, thinking about the confused feeling he'd just had.

"What...what is this feeling?" he thought, before deciding to worry about it later and catch up to Bartz.

Terra and the Onion Knight were walking along the roof of an ancient shrine, with numerous battered down walls (although some of the pillars had managed to survive), and large holes in the ceiling. Their relationship with each other was no going well – Terra thought the Onion Knight were arrogant prick who didn't know his own limits, whilst he thought that she didn't trust him at all to do anything. Unexpectedly, she stopped, although the Onion Knight continued to walk on.

"It's here. Something powerful is close by." That got him stopping. He didn't trust Terra's judgement at the moment, but just in case she was right...

"I don't see anything unusual around here," he said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. Not that that would stop him attempting to find the source. Whatever, 'it' was. "Let me go take a look around and-" he began before being cut off by Terra loudly whimpering.

"Terra?" he quizzed as he turned around. As much as he disliked her at the moment, he would feel awful if he allowed anything to happen to her.

"What is...this voice...in my head?" she moaned, as a blue aura surrounded her, and small rocks were being randomly picked up. This got Luneth very concerned now.

"No! What is this... Aaagh!" Terra moaned loudly, whilst clutching her hands to the sides of her head.

"Terra! What's going on!?" he asked.

"What's happening to me," she screamed. In a flash, Terra's face had turned from one of pain to one of a fierce anger, something that the Onion Knight had even seen a hint of before now. As she looked at him with that horrible expression, she fired off a ball of holy at the Onion Knight. He was quick to dodge the blast that headed his way, but she just sent more and more in his direction.

"Terra, what are you doing? Don't you recognize me!?" he practically screamed. She was dangerous and out of control, and would surely kill him soon without a second thought. He had to take a drastic plan of action. He drew his sword in anticipation.

"It looks like I have no choice but to fight you, Terra," he said, sadness heavy in his voice. He readied for what was to come next. Suddenly, a flash emitted from her body, and instead of her normal appearance, she was pink all over, with claws replacing hands and toes. The Onion Knight saw that she had become a thousand time more dangerous then she had before, and he prepared himself for the worst, tears appearing in his eyes.

The man with the long Katana and Garland had walked together, and were residing in an area which had a blazing 'J' in the sky – evidently Jecht's personal area. Not that they gave a damn about that at the moment.

"Garland... Do you have any of your former memories from before you woke?" he wondered aloud, curiosity getting the better of him. Normally, he wouldn't care about what anyone else thought, but this was different. Garland was silent.

"...Why do you ask, Sephiroth?" he wearily questioned.

"We often hear that memories can be suppressed. Watching him, I find myself thinking... Perhaps we are born knowing everything, but are only allowed to live after having had that knowledge sealed away."

Garland had no answer to that.

"And one more question... When I awoke, I saw a dragon with an unearthly glow. What was that?" Sephiroth asked. Again, Garland was silent, and then spoke.

"...What makes you think I would know the answer?" he challenged.

Cloud and Cecil had decided to walk about whilst Firion and Tidus set up camp for the night. Cloud had gone on ahead slightly, and was looking over the edge of the platform that he was standing on, looking at the high drop, as well as the spiral staircase that ran up the middle of the room, when Cecil approached.

"Cloud; did Firion give you his answer?" Cecil quizzed, causing Cloud to turn around and face him.

"Yeah, he did. He says he has a dream," he said as he again faced the precipice. "And that he'll keep fighting until he can make it come true," Cloud said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Sounds like Firion, sure enough," Cecil said lightly. This caused Cloud to rapidly turn his head to face Cecil.

"He told you?" he said. He thought he was the first one Firion had told his dream to.

"Yes, although he was embarrassed at first. He says...he wants to create a world where wild roses grow in perpetual peace," Cecil finished.

"It sounds so...childlike."

"Honest men have honest dreams," Cecil reported. Cloud privately agreed. After all, hadn't his wish essentially been a honest one when he had been with Tifa, the night before the ultimate victory?

"Maybe he wished it on a star," he said absentmindedly. "What about you, Cecil?"

"I don't think I can give you the kind of answer you're looking for," he said firmly. "But perhaps there is someone somewhere with an answer. Why not go and search for it?" he encouraged. But Cloud was having none of it.

"But I..." he started, but was cut off as Firion and Tidus approached them.

"You should go, Cloud," Firion encouraged.

"You too?" he asked, surprise seeping into his voice. Why did have to end up with him against the world? But he had no time for such things.

"We're rooting for you!" Tidus added. Cloud felt as if he had no choice now, but one little last push of resistance couldn't hurt.

"You really don't mind?" he enquired, but knew as soon as he said it that it would futile. Firion confirmed this by nodding.

"Just one thing, though: When you find your answer, you come back and tell us what it is, okay." Could felt that was reasonable, all things considering.

"Got it. That's a promise."

Cloud walked off into the distance, not knowing where this journey would take him, or what he would encounter on it.

"_Why am I fighting?"_ he wondered internally. _"Why do any of them allow themselves to fight? Someone must have the answer. A path I can follow..."_

The Onion Knight felt vastly relieved, now that he saw that the battle was definitely over, although Terra was still whimpering like mad; but she had calmed down considerably since she reverted back to her original appearance, even if she was apparently still in a lot of pain. He ran over to he, but kept some distance away in case she decided to strike back unexpectedly.

"Terra! Terra! It's me! Are you alright? Terra!?" he uncertainty questioned her at the top of his voice, but he didn't seem to be reaching her at all. All of a sudden, she screamed one last piercing scream, and then disappeared from in front of his eyes. Before he could react, however, energy blasts had been thrown at him from an unknown assailant. When he heard the laughter, however, he knew exactly who it was, and that sent shivers deep down his spine. He turned around to face her.

"It's you. The Cloud of Darkness," Luneth exclaimed. He was shocked that she had managed to survive, despite the thrashing he, Arc, Refia and Ingus had given her.

"Stay out of the way. Her true powers are beginning to awaken," without a (not unexpected) care about Terra's safety.

"What have you done to her!?" the Onion Knight yelled angrily at her. She simply responded with more laughter.

"The legendary Onion Knight. A title far too grand for a child such as you," she said haughtily as she sneered pompously at the child in question. "Do you not understand who caused this to happen?"

"What?" he answered, surprise at what he was being asked evident in his tone of voice and his face.

"Who was the brute who chose not to ease the girl's pain, but to use his sword instead? Who was the fool who dragged the unwilling girl here?" she asked, her voice getting slightly happier at each question asked.

"I, I-" the Onion Knight stuttered, but he knew, deep in his heart, that he had no answer to her seemingly relentless questions.

"The girl knew in her heart all along. That is why she was so reluctant to travel with you! You have only yourself to blame for this. Your shallow cleverness got the best of you!" She turned to face away from him now, so he didn't have to look her in the eye. "You should curse your own ignorance and powerlessness. Nothing you can do can save the girl now!" she finished as she teleported away.

The Onsion felt depressed at what he had done and said to Terra whilst they had been travelling together, and regretted every moment of it. He wished he could've turned back time, but knew he couldn't, and so had to make the best of an awful situation.

"Terra..." he moaned pitifully, feeling all alone in the world, and began to cry again.


	4. Chapter 3

Squall was moving along at a steady pace. Although he was a loner by nature, his girlfriend Rinoa had softened him up in terms of talking to new people. He was thus getting slightly lonely, and regretting not joining Bartz and Zidane. However, he didn't think about them when fighting the Manikins, so as to not get distracted.

"_They keep coming...one after another, swarming like locusts,"_ he thought bitterly. "Hmph... I'm not doing half bad," he encouraged himself, something he had to develop after Ellone had left the Orphanage.

At the moment, Squall had reached the bottom of a large, deep cave, with green stuff flowing up the walls. This slightly unnerved him, but not by much. He pulled out Bartz's feather and looked at it, remembering the memory associated with it. Out of nowhere, a strong presence appeared behind him. He knew it had to be Cosmos, and was confirmed when she spoke to him.

"Did a friend give that to you?" she asked, her voice echoing around the cavernous area. Squall didn't reply immediately.

"More like shoved it down my throat," he bemoaned, although not as much as he would have normally. Cosmos walked forwards to stand beside him, and studied his face intently, although Squall didn't acknowledge it.

"I can see it on your face, Squall," she concluded, as he shut his eyes and turned his head away from her. There was something that didn't seem quite right about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"You regret not going with them, do you not?" Cosmos added.

"I don't regret anything. I just...never thought anyone cared about me. Sympathy is a burden I don't need. But, it wouldn't hurt to know someone's got my back. Perhaps I...shouldn't have turned down their invitation," he finished lamely. Cosmos nodded in understanding.

"No. You made the right choice, Squall. In order to obtain the crystal, one must fight the real enemy that dwells inside his heart. That enemy must be confronted alone."

"My real enemy... Her..." he said as he finally turned to face Cosmos. She nodded again.

"Yes... Ultimecia, the witch who controls time. Defeat her, and the crystal shall truly be yours. It is a long and lonely road, with many tough challenges. Will you be able to maintain your lofty dedication to solitude?" she concluded. Squall hmphed in annoyance.

"That goes without saying. Or do you want me to swear it on this charm?" he said sarcastically as he walked off, leaving her behind.

If he had stayed behind, then he would have seen Cosmos's body and voice being mixed together and superimposed with someone else – someone who was the total opposite of the pure and good Goddess of Harmony – Ultimecia.

"No... You're doing fine."

"'Lofty dedication to solitude'?" Squall silently questioned. "She made it sound like a pretty big deal. But I AM on my own. I'll have to proceed with caution. There must be some pattern to the way they fight. I just have to figure it out..." he wondered as he let his thoughts trailed.

The scene stays with Ultimecia for a moment, within the area she and Squall had been talking in. Garland appeared to discuss about what she had just done.

"We merely have to eliminate Cosmos and the rest of them will fall. There is no need for unnecessary risks you are taking," he belated.

"Do you mean to tell me that you truly have faith in the Emperor's schemes?" she in return retorted. "Is it even possible to give Cosmos an absolute death?" she demanded.

"...I suppose you have your own plan," he asked. Ultimecia laughed.

"As do you, Garland. I know you have a direct link with Chaos." Garland was shocked that anybody knew about this – not that he was going to let it show.

"Hmph..."

"I would do anything to live long enough to witness the dragon's coming. I trust I can count on your cooperation?" she questioned.

He gave no answer.

The Onion Knight was standing still, deep in thought, thinking about the consequences of his actions that he had taken with Terra, as well as the unintentional hurtful things he had said to her, when Cosmos appeared in a flash of white light. He ignored her appearance.

"I felt the fear in Terra's cry." He turned towards her, tears still streaming from his green, sorrowful eyes. "She is in vast pain. The Cloud of Darkness has taken hold of her with her curse..."

"It's my fault..." he muttered. Shockingly to him, Cosmos agreed.

"Yes, because you were overconfident of your powers." This got the Onion Knight angry.

"Cosmos, how could you say such a thing...even if it is true," he said. Then, as he thought some more about Terra and what had happened to her, he got an inspirational brainwave. "You know how... You know how to save Terra, don't you?" he asked excitedly.

"You must defeat the Cloud of Darkness."

"Her...?" the Onion Knight questioned. "But I can't fight her... I don't fight against anyone I can't beat... Oh, right! The crystal!" he said loudly as he ran closer towards her. "I should be able to save Terra if I can get my hands on the crystal... It has the power to save the world, right? Then I won't have to fight anybody! Please, just tell me where I should go find the crystal!" he finished, practically begging Cosmos to give him the answer, as he whipped the tears away from his eyes. But she wouldn't relent to his questions.

"Avoiding conflict is certainly a choice," she agreed. "Few would say it is wrong. But is that truly what is in your heart?" she quizzed. The Onion Knight had no immediate answer.

"What's in my heart...?" he repeated. Cosmos nodded.

"The crystal lights the way to what you seek. It is yours if you look inside your heart and follow what is most important to you. I'm afraid that is all I can tell you," she concluded before vanishing as swiftly as she appeared. As Luneth was thinking about what she had said, a person in armour appeared behind him, and spoke.

"Such a pity," the man tutted, as Luneth drew his sword to do battle

"Chaos's minion..." the Onion Knight muttered to himself. The man ignored it, as he continued to walk towards Luneth. He wore deep blue armour, with a slightly lighter coloured cloak attached, and one spike coming out from each shoulder. He looked slightly intimidating.

"Terra was her name, was it not? Unless the curse is lifted, she will live only to fight for the Cloud of Darkness. When at last her strength fails her, she will fall to some faceless foe." The Onion Knight let out a gasp as the man said that. "You cannot hope to defeat the Cloud of Darkness. You'd show wisdom in choosing to avoid her. Why do you hesitate? You do not trust what your mind knows to be true?"

"I..." the Onion Knight stuttered. The man walked forwards some more, past Luneth.

"If not to reason, than listen to your heart," he completed, before vanishing like Cosmos, leaving the Onion Knight alone again.

"I know I have to save Terra," he said aloud to himself. He groaned in frustration. "But how can I fight HER and win?" he complained, before an idea struck him hard. "Wait... Yeah! That just might work..." he said, with a smile on his face.

Kuja, after absorbing what Ultimecia had said to him about being flawed. In a fit of rage he had gone to Kefka to talk to him – even if he was psychopathic. Kefka was unusually silent after Kuja had told him everything.

"Mmmm. I think what you need is bait," he said as he pranced around Kuja, and then did a handstand.

"...Bait?" Kuja asked. Kefka laughed in response.

"That monkey would risk his own life to save a friend, right? There's your answer!"

"But they travel together," Kuja protested. "The bait would be no easier to acquire than the prey..."

"Nonsense!" Kefka scoffed. "Haven't you noticed the loner yet? You've never liked Ultimecia, anyway. I say kill two birds with one stone!" he shrieked with another burst of laughter, as Kefka mulled the idea over.

Squall had defeated a particularly nasty Manikin, which appeared to be several levels stronger then he was, but he had managed to get out of it by the skin of his teeth. Once the battle was over, he pulled out the chocobo feather that Bartz had given him.

"_I used to think good-luck charms were stupid-- but after having one on me for a while, it doesn't feel bad at all,"_ he thought.

As he was thinking that, he nearly tripped over a bright red stone lying right in the middle of his path. He bent down to get a closer look.

"What's this little stone doing here?" Squall wondered, when he heard a voice in his head.

"I am the dragon king Bahamut, ruler of all... To you I grant my strength," it boomed. Squall picked it up, wondering how the king had managed to become a stone, when he had defeated it in the Deep Sea Research Centre. As he stood up, two Manikins surrounded him, and he was forced to do unexpected battle with them, he collapsed to the floor, worn out by the surprise attack.

"I know the enemy's supposed to be inexhaustible, but this is ridiculous," he gasped as he drank some water to quench his thirst and rehydrate himself.

After Squall had had his fill, he continued on his journey. He soon reached an area with a main castle in the central area, and many side peaces floating in the middle of the air. However, he heard a faint swishing noise from somewhere beside him, so he pulled out his gunblade, and tensed in case it was a sneak attack.

"Are you enjoying your solitude?" a voice seemingly echoed all around him, and a man appeared in front of Squall. However, it was the creepiest man he had ever seen. The man had dark lavender hair, and was wearing a very short overcoat, which showed off a great deal of the man's midriff. However, the scariest thing was that he was wearing what appeared to be a thong, which must have hurt a lot, Squall reckoned.

"What do you want?" Squall asked, keeping his cool.

"Just came to get my bait for Zidane-fishing," the man said matter-of-factly. "And a reckless, lonesome traveller like yourself is just what I needed."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested," Squall responded in his 'I'm-not-interested-so-piss-off' tone of voice.

"Beg pardon?" the man questioned, with a hint of anger in it, like he was used to totally getting his own way.

"I see that Zidane has some worthwhile enemies," Squall said sarcastically as he held his gunblade in front of him.

"Hm. Bark while you can, boy. You'll soon be yelping for mercy," the man said, almost appearing to look down on Squall. The two prepared to fight, although Squall knew who would win.

Once Terra and the Cloud of Darkness had disappeared after the former fighting the Onion Knight, they had appeared in the World of Darkness – where the latter had controlled the events of the Floating Continent and the Overworld by manipulating Xande. The Cloud of Darkness had tested Terra's power against a group of Manikin's one after another. Although the latter had defeated them easily, she had soon collapsed to the floor out of exhaustion, and hadn't woken up yet. The former was currently floating above Terra, muttering her distaste.

"Unconscious already... She's far too fragile to be of any use," she moaned. She felt something in the air which she instantly recognised. Turning towards the source, she welcomed him in her own way.

"Well, now. Have you not learned yet? Are you here to challenge us again?" she mocked seductively as the Onion Knight ran closer towards the Cloud of Darkness, and stopped just short.

"I don't fight anyone that I can't defeat. I will do whatever you want. So please, spare Terra's life," he bargained, once he had caught his breath back.

"So you have learned after all. Your decision is a wise one, Onion Knight. Very well. Then you shall serve us," she said as she glided towards him, her cloak billowing out behind her. "Prove yourself more useful than the girl," she finished. However, as she got closer to him, she saw that there were no tears in his eyes, and that there was a small smile on his mouth.

"I didn't think you'd be so gullible," the Onion Knight mocked, before suddenly striking the Cloud of Darkness whilst she had her guard down, forcing her to move back slightly. Using the distraction he created, he ran over to Terra and stood between her and the Cloud of Darkness.

"No way I'm joining Chaos!" he said angrily, causing her to laugh.

"Foolish child... You should know better by now than to deceive us!" she shouted.

"I finally got it," the Onion Knight said as he shook his head. "I was a fool to defy my heart, just to bind myself to reason," he continued calmly. "I will protect Terra with my own strength. That's what's most important to me!" He began to walk towards the Cloud of Darkness. "Don't get me wrong--I still won't fight against anyone I can't beat. But I've decided in my heart to fight. That's why I'm going to beat you!" he said as his sword materialised from thin air, the blue and gold edges glinting in the dim light.

The Cloud of Darkness laughed again. "Enough chatter!" she commanded, as a hole appeared in the middle of the ground, forming a pillar of darkness, allowing her to disappear.

At this, the Onion Knight looked around for where she might appear from in shock at what had just happened. If he had looked behind him, he would have seen her walking down the steps at the back of the arena, her tentacles stretched out, attempting to bite Luneth.

"You have already taken such a beating..." the Cloud of Darkness spoke, causing the Onion Knight to rapidly turn around. However, she had already disappeared from sight, and disappeared to behind some pillars, which she casually drifted between.

"...and you still want to save her?" she questioned as she did so. This time, the Onion Knight was able to react fast enough to strike at her, although she disappeared yet again before he managed to get a true hit in. This caused him to hit the ground hard, and roll on his side once. He quickly got to his feet, and looked around to where the Cloud of Darkness might appear next. The next thing knew, he was hearing her voice echo around the stage.

"A lone heart will not change the world..." she said as she appeared in a pillar of darkness, much like she had disappeared originally, at the opposite side of the area to where the Onion Knight was standing.

"What awaits when you awake is always-" she began as she charged up a ball of energy. Luneth looked at her and gasped in shock at what was about to happen to him, but found that he couldn't get his legs to move, mostly out of fear.

"-nothing but despair," she finished as she fired the blast at him. It completely engulfed the Onion Knight.

"No, I can't die now," he thought desperately, so he did the only thing that he could do. When the thick cloud of dust had disappeared, the Cloud of Darkness could only gasp in despair. The Onion Knight had crossed his arms crossed in front of him to shield himself from the mass of highly concentrated energy, and got as much as a grip as he could into the flooring to prevent himself flying backwards.

"Not even you can destroy this. What I've found is strength-- Strength to protect everyone!" he shouted. The Cloud of Darkness disappeared by reappeared instantly in front of him. But he wasn't scared any more.

"But can you use it?" she mocked, and the battle began in earnest.

He ran towards her, waving his sword rapidly in front of him, hoping to get lucky and strike the Cloud of Darkness. But she had anticipated his attack, and had fallen backwards to avoid it, meaning his struck thin air. Not to be discouraged by this, he began to move forward, hoping to have the chance to hit her. However, she was waving her tentacles about in an unpredictable fashion, forcing him to run backwards.

In response, he prepared a Blizzard spell to use. Luckily, she stood still after the attack, allowing her to be hit by blocks of ice immediately afterwards, fiercely slamming her into the floor, leaving a relatively deep crater. After she had gotten up, she prepared to attack, but the Onion Knight was moving too quickly to be able to get an attack off. Soon enough, he moved in to try his luck, although she blocked the strike. However, there was a delay when she finished, allowing him to get a number of hits in, hurting her badly, again throwing her into the ground.

After that, they mostly circled each other, finally having a true chance to assess the other's strengths and weaknesses. Eventually, the Cloud of Darkness moved in to hit him with a tentacle, but he successfully blocked the attack. In spite of this, he made the mistake of turning around, leaving his back exposed to any hits that she might deliver. She made full use of the opportunity, striking him multiple times.

In the process, the Onion Knight was thrown up into the air, where he transformed into a ninja with bright red clothing, having gotten full of emotion from the battle. He forced himself towards her, him now carrying two swords – the Ragnarok and the Muramasa, two of the most powerful weapons from his home world available and known about. The former was a deep yellow in colour, almost golden. The latter was a deep blood colour. Once he had reached the Cloud of Darkness, he did even more rapid slashes on her – the unexpected job change giving him more speed than he had previously.

The force of the attacks sent the woman reeling backwards, allowing her to black his next set of attacks, and come out with some of her own, all of which connected. He himself was thrown backwards now, allowing her to make her escape on one of the coloured beams of light that dotted the area randomly. However, she didn't get far before she jumped off and turned to face him. In the meanwhile, the Onion Knight had been running in her direction, but was surprised when six thin beaks of darkness appeared out of nowhere, and he was sent backwards after running straight into them.

Whilst he was in the air, Luneth prepared to form an attack which he hadn't used in a while – he formed a black, swirling portal, which when completed, would spew out numerous Comets at the opponent, doing a great deal of damage. However, the Cloud of Darkness was too far away for the attack to be of any real use. As she sent several small balls of darkness at him, he tried the attack again, but it produced the same result. As this happened, he couldn't sustain the emotion that he formerly had, so he reverted back to his normal form.

Disappointed, he dodged out of the way as the Cloud of Darkness sent more ball of energy in his direction. He dodged them successfully, before getting close and personal again. The Onion Knight backed off soon enough, however, as he saw the tentacles began to extend and move unpredictably again. This caused some of the pillars to be knocked down into large pieces, which he managed to dodge with expert timing. After that was over and done with, he tried his rapid swinging of his sword, which actually managed to hit her successfully, leaving a third crater in the floor. He backed off as he saw he prepare the beam attack that had hit him previously. This time, however, he was prepared for it, and managed to act appropriately.

The Onion Knight hit the Cloud of Darkness with yet another rapid attack – his arm was getting tired from doing it so frequently – and she slammed into the floor, as previously. She prepared her preceding attack again, but he didn't allow it to happen by hitting her. This caused her to go off-course and thump some pillars. In the meanwhile, the emotion had returned, and he allowed it to overcome him. Once again, he changed into a ninja, but he fell into her trap as she produced the six pillars and he was catapulted into the air. He tried to hit her to start his ultimate attack whilst in this form, but she dodged, and he fell over, flat onto his face.

Running forwards, he tried again, but only got a face full of tentacle for his troubles. This threw him against one of the pillars. Thinking quickly, he used the Comet attack, which caused him to change his Job Class into a Sage. The Onion Knight wore a white cardinal's hat, as well as white robes, and wielded the Elder Staff, a weapon which vastly raises magic power. The attack had caused him to get so emotional that he went into the Job's ultimate attack, whereby he used a Holy attack – the most powerful spell at his disposal – before sending a fury of Meteor's to rain down on the Cloud of Darkness. Having such powerful attacks forced on her caused her to collapse on the floor, defeated at last.

Squall had, in his own humble opinion, totally owned Kuja into the grown. The latter was currently down on one knee, catching his breath. Squall made his sword disappear.

"Knew you were all talk," Squall said bitterly as he walked towards the fallen man. Kuja looked up at him.

"I've come to realize... that Zidane would never be interested in chasing a lone wolf like you," he said as he stood up. Although he had sustained many hits, they weren't life-threatening. "So, I have come up with a far better idea to make Zidane come to me," he concluded as Squall stood in front of him, apparently unfazed with what Kuja had just said.

"Enough!" Squall warned. With this, his gunblade materialised into his right hand again, and lunged to strike Kefka hard. However, the mage had pre-empted this, and was now floating several meters above the ground, having narrowly dodged the strike aimed at him.

"I am done dealing with you. Just sit back and watch the second act unfold." With that, Kuja dematerialised into thin air, leaving Squall to his thoughts.

"_Is worrying about them going to help any?"_ Squall wondered. Then he shook his head in response. _"No, of course not..."_ he criticised. As he did, the last words Zidane and Bartz had said to him came floating back.

"_We'll meet up later-- after we get our crystals!"_

"_Promise, okay?"_

Squall pulled out Bartz's chocobo feather out and looks at it, remembering what it symbolised.

"There's something I have to do. I must...persevere. I have to keep fighting alone. If it's my mission to get the crystal as soon as possible, I have to..." he reasserted to himself.

The Warrior was walking along, minding his own business, when he heard the sound of frantic voices discussing something. Running in their direction, he came across Tidus and Cecil, standing up, and packing like they were in a great rush. The Warrior walked up to them.

"My comrades... What's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked, when he got bombarded by Tidus.

"We've got big trouble! It's Firion!"

"Where is he," the Warrior questioned, knowing that it was dangerous to travel alone. Cecil picked up, and the Warrior was privately thankful for small mercies.

"He headed for the enemy's lair alone; he said something precious of his was stolen – the Wild Rise," Cecil explained, whilst pointing in a direction.

"...In that direction?" the Warrior confirmed. Cecil nodded.

"Yes. Let us join you to rescue Firion!" Cecil pleaded, but the Warrior held his hand out.

"No, leave this to me. You must attend to other duties," he said, whilst Cecil began to protest.

"But..." he started, but the Warrior stopped him.

"Cecil, please listen. Your brother knows something about this world. You must determine if he can be trusted. That is your current role." Cecil wondered how the Warrior knew so much about him, but now wasn't the time, or the place to question such things. Tidus seemed to agree with the latter.

"Cecil, that last fight left you in a bad shape. Let's listen to him, okay?" he requested. Cecil considered a moment, and then sighed.

"...Understood. Please look after Firion. And may the goddess light your path!" he shouted as the Warrior ran off into the distance.

"_To go so far into enemy territory alone... The Wild Rose must have meant something very dear to him,"_ the Warrior thought.

After a lot of running and ignoring of the Manikins that stood in his way, the Warrior finally reached the place that Firion was located. It was a strange place, with lots of tiny platforms, with a large one in the centre. What concerned him most, though, was coming upon Firion wounded from having battled Sephiroth. Sephiroth stood calmly nearby as the Warrior ran between them.

"Firion! You have fought well. Leave the rest to me."

"I can't!" Firion protested, but the Warrior was having none of it.

"You must go and look after your comrades to keep their paths to their crystals open."

With a huge doubt on his shoulders, Firion hesitantly left the scene, leaving the Warrior and the man with the long Masamune to stare intensely at each other.

"A fresh one. You won't get your crystal fighting against me," the man pointlessly noted.

"I thought not," the Warrior dryly replied.

"Then why do you stand in my way?" the other man questioned.

"You have injured one of my comrades," the Warrior simply said.

"Hmph. And you want revenge, I take it. So, on a whim, you would risk your life-" the man started before being cut off.

"Let us begin, and see this put to rest," the Warrior said as he summoned his sword to his side.

"This might be entertaining," the man responded as he raised his Masamune in defence.

The Cloud of Darkness was now floating in the air, a short distance from the ground – a last act of resistance before she disappeared forever. She laughed at what was happening to her.

"We have been defeated by a child!" she shouted before discorporating into a dark smoke and vanishing. The Onion Knight stared at the spot where she had once been, before running over to Terra to see if she was okay.

"Terra!" he shouted as he made his way over to her. She moaned quietly at the sound of her name being called, so Luneth repeated it in the hopes of waking her up.

"Terra!!!" he practically screamed again, but she didn't respond that time. Suddenly he heard a voice that he instantly recognised.

"She has merely fainted," the man said as he walked up to the pair. The Onion Knight stood up and looked at him, surprise etched on his face. "The girl drew too deeply upon her powers," he added as explanation, stopping a short distance away.

"You again... You're not getting near Terra!" Luneth said, his voice getting hoarse from all the shouting he had done.

"I admire your resolve. You should protect her with your life," the man said. The Onion Knight's face changed from anger to surprise again, as he couldn't quite believe what he had heard.

"What?" he quizzed.

"For all the awesome power she wields, the girl fears what she is. You must be her shield, her pillar of support," he said obviously.

"I don't need you to tell me that!"

"I suppose not," said the man as he turned to the side. "You know the path that lies before you. And the crystal lights the way to that which you seek," he added.

As he finished, a light appeared in from of Luneth, nearly blinding him. Once it disappeared, Luneth saw that a crystal had appeared – but it looked very familiar. As he looked at some more, he realised that it was a scaled down version of the Wind Crystal from his home world, the one that had started him on his original quest all that time ago. "This is the crystal..." he muttered as he held out his crystal to claim it for his own. It disappeared, but as it did so, it felt as if a hole had been filed within him. He felt much more mature, even with the harsh lessons that he had learnt so far in terms of his behaviour.

When he looked up to thank the man for all that he had done, the Onion Knight was shocked to find that he had disappeared into thin air without warning – or even a goodbye. As he contemplated what the man had said to him, he heard another moan from Terra, and then she spoke.

"Where are we...?" she asked weakly. Luneth was by her side in an instant.

"Terra... Everything is alright. I'll be right here, so you can rest without fear or worrying," he responded. She closed her eyes, peace coming to her face in the form of a small smile. The Onion Knight gave one back.

"Because I'll protect you. But...maybe for a minute, I'll-" he began, but never got to finish his sentence, as he too laid down beside Terra and slept, without a care in the world.


	5. Chapter 4

Kefka was currently in his tower, made up of junk that had come from the destruction that he had caused on his home world, such as the Magitek Research Facility where the Espers had been drained of their powers, and where he had been created as the first Magitek Knight. Out of nowhere, however, he felt a presence disappear, and realised that it was the Cloud of Darkness, who had disappeared to hide out until the time was right for her to strike back. He let out a scream of frustration, despite knowing Gabranth would restore her life, and she would be able to fight again seen enough.

"BOOOOOO!!! How could she not draw out the girl's powers?" he questioned angrily. "That hag isn't worth the dirt on the bottom of my boots! This is why I hate working with amateurs. Guess it's my turn to stir up some trouble!" he shrieked with joy, before leaving the tower to make his first move.

(Scene break)

Meanwhile, a mime and a rat were walking along in a arbitrary direction, not seeming to care that they were part of something much bigger. However, Zidane was getting bored of this. Sure, he liked to go wherever he wanted, but he wanted to make some progress soon. Although they were still racing each other, they had decided to work together due to the excessive amount of Manikins they were facing.

"_Phew... I wonder if we're making any progress at all?"_ Zidane wondered to himself. He then spoke aloud.

"Bartz, do you even have any idea where you're going?" Zidane questioned. "If you only focus on what's right in front of you, you'll never see the route ahead!"

Bartz just shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, I don't mind a little aimless wandering. In fact, it's what I do best!" he exclaimed. "Besides, since there're all these guys trying to stop us, we must be going the right way!" he reasoned.

"...Is this guy for real?" Zidane muttered under his breath. Bartz heard something, and turned to face him.

"What was that?" he asked. Zidane looked up at him, put his arms up in front of his face, and waved them about frantically.

"Nothing, nothing at all," he said anxiously. Bartz looked at him suspiciously, and then laughed.

"Ha-ha, don't worry about it, I wouldn't accuse you of anything," Bartz replied. "You're one of my best buddies, and besides, I wouldn't want our friendship to go sour, because you're the only person I can talk to at the moment," he completed, before laughing again. Zidane realized what he had said, and joined in. Once they had both finished, they got underway again.

A little while later, they were now walking in Kefka's Tower, whilst talking about how Squall must be getting along on his own. Out of nowhere, a black and orange portal appeared in the middle of the ground. Floating above it was a crystal Zidane instantly recognised. It was an exact replica of Gaia's Crystal, the one that had given life to the planet, and where Zidane and the rest had defeated Kuja for the first time. They both stopped to look at it.

"What could that be?" Bartz solicited. Zidane soon answered.

"It looks like-" Zidane started, before Bartz finished his sentence, excitement heavy in his voice.

"-a crystal!"

Before Zidane could do anything else, however, Bartz's impulses overtook him, and he ran towards the crystal, intending to claim it for his own.

"Wha-? Hey, wait!" Zidane called out to him, but it was too late – as soon as Bartz had touched the crystal, he was enveloped in a blinding pillar of light, forcing Zidane to put his arms over his eyes. When he removed them, Bartz had disappeared into thin air.

"Huh... Bartz? Where did he go?" he questioned, as he looked briefly around the place. "Heeey!" he called out, hoping Bartz would hear him, wherever he was now. However, he heard a piercing sound of laughter, which sent shivers down his spine.

"How perfectly poetic!" a voice said from somewhere, in a terrifying tone, before the person appeared in front of Zidane. The person wore heavy white make-up with purple lipstick, as well as brightly coloured clothing. "The mouse scampers off, but the monkey just keeps hanging around!"

Zidane let out a "Huh?" in response. He was starting to question the man's sanity, as he was speaking the same way as Kuja had. Zidane shook his head, however, and focused on the situation on hand.

"Well, whatever," the man continued, dismissing Zidane's confusion. "This should still be interesting, at least."

"Hey! Is this your doing?" Zidane accused. "What did you do with Bartz?" he demanded.

The man "phffed" and responded. "What's wrong with you, you noisy baboon? Too stupid to even get caught in a trap?" he answered angrily. Zidane didn't say anything for a moment, as he closed his eyes to calm himself down.

"Tell me where Bartz is... or I'll force it out of you!" he shouted, making the Mage Mashers that he always carried with him materialise into his hands, ready for anything that might come his way.

(Scene break)

It had been a tough battle for the Warrior, fighting against the man with the exceptionally long Masamune. He was exceptionally skilled, and knew how to wield it well to block the majority of the Warrior's attacks. But the Warrior, and thus Light, had come through in the end, and had won him the battle. The two men faced each other on the relatively large central platform.

"Not bad at all..." Sephiroth praised in his dead-pan tone. "But I now realize there is only one who could defeat me," he said, almost to himself. The Warrior ignored that.

"What in the world are you-" he began, but was cut off.

"I have one question for you, Warrior. For what reason do you take up that blade?" he asked.

"To obtain my crystal, and put an end to the conflict," he replied. Sephiroth chuckled softly.

"So you fight to end the fighting... You have a long road ahead," he said. "Do you really expect to end the conflict after all your battles?" he mocked. The Warrior responded almost instantly to the accusation put before him.

"However long the road, each battle brings me closer," he asserted. Sephiroth "hmphed" in response.

"I think not. You don't wish an end to the fighting," Sephiroth claimed. "You find pleasure in it, just as I do," he claimed. As he said that, he held out his right hand, and a flower appeared in it, glowing and floating slightly. The Warrior recognised it as the wild rose that Firion must have been fighting Sephiroth for.

"_The wild rose..."_ the Warrior pondered internally. _"That must be what Firion came looking for..."_ he concluded.

"You and I are the same-- entities befitting this closed world," Sephiroth finished mysteriously. The Warrior was shocked by this disclosure, and he speculated what it meant.

"Closed world?" he questioned worriedly. Sephiroth nodded in response.

"The time has come," Sephiroth said abruptly. "I must face him and fulfil my obligation," Sephiroth said before he teleported away. The Warrior ran forwards to try and stop him, but it was too late.

"He got away..." the Warrior exclaimed bitterly, but deep inside, knowing that he wasn't the one to beat Sephiroth.

"_What does the enemy know about this world?"_ he meditated to himself. Then he realised that he was just being stupid. "...No use worrying, I suppose," he said aloud. "For now, I must continue my quest for the crystal. Only then, can we know the full truth."

"Whatever truths the enemy know, I possess even firmer convictions of my own," he asserted to himself as he continued onwards towards the ultimate goal.

(Scene break)

Zidane slammed back into the ground, the fight having finished when he used his ability Tidal Flame to defeat that clown that was constantly floating about. Despite his defeat, Kefka was still standing. Zidane was becoming frustrated.

"Just give it up already. I wanna know where Bartz is!" he demanded. Kefka just laughed again, which sent shivers down Zidane's spine and tail when he heard it.

"I'm afraid the mouse is... SMACK ...dab in the middle of enemy territory," he mocked, placing unnecessary emphasis on the word 'smack'. "Go look for him if you want, but you'll just be wasting your time!" he scoffed before he disappeared. Zidane felt worse than he ever had been before.

"Bartz... I'm coming to find you!" he said before running off to do just that.

Kefka had teleported to the one place he knew that Kuja would defiantly be at - the Crystal World, where he had previously been defeated completely. Kuja had seen what had happened, and was understandably angry at Kefka when he appeared.

"All my plans are ruined thanks to you, you bastard" he shouted at Kefka. Kefka seemed to take no notice. "How do you plan on making up for this?" he enquired. Kefka gave a laugh.

"My goodness, you do seem absolutely piqued! Is someone having a bad hair day?" he gloated. He really didn't want to work with Kuja, but beggars can't be choosers, especially when your previous partner was defeated by a mere kid.

"Quiet, you imbecile! Don't you dare mock me!" Kuja whined bitterly. Kefka just looked on in amusement.

"Hoo boy, I hate hissy fits... Okay, follow me. You're gonna like this," Kefka responded, as he indicated that Kuja should follow him. Kuja rolled his eyes.

"Hmph, we'll see," he muttered. "...Ugh, how far have I fallen that this clown is my closest ally?" he moaned. "No matter. A poor prelude may yet lead to a grand finale, he proclaimed, as he went to follow Kefka.

Zidane was moving slowly ahead, making sure that he searched every area thoroughly before moving onwards. "Ugh... How could I have let this happen?" he self-pitied. Then he re-asserted himself. "No, this is no time for self-pity. I have to find Bartz! Heeey! Bartz! Where are you?" he shouted in every area he visited, but there was still no sign of him anywhere.

(Scene change)

Cloud found that he was coping better than expected working on his own. Normally, his thoughts would be full of thoughts about how he couldn't prevent either Zack or Aerith from dying. Nowadays, he was more concerned about how well his comrades were doing, as well as dealing with the Manikins that were constantly blocking his path forwards. That didn't leave him much time to think about anything else.

He was currently walking through an area that looked like it might have been a stadium once. There were broken stands all around the place, and a giant sword that was stuck in the middle of a platform that was in the centre of the area. In the sky, there was a blazing logo, which exactly matched the logo on Tidus' 3/4- length trousers.

Cloud was currently thinking about how easily he had beaten Firion in the mock battle they had together, and whether Firion's dream had made him any stronger, when he was disturbed by a voice. A voice that he never wanted to hear for as long as he lived. Sephiroth's voice.

"Good to see you, Cloud," Sephiroth said in that creepy voice of his. Cloud looked up to see him standing on a higher ledge, Masamune at the ready.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud exclaimed when he saw him standing there, a calm look on his face. It set his blood boiling. Sephiroth himself prepared for the inevitable battle that was supposed to come. But Cloud did nothing – he just stood there in silence, staring at the floor.

"Why won't you take up your sword?" Sephiroth asked, totally unsurprised at the turn of events. Cloud was quiet for a second before he came up with what he thought was a suitable answer.

"Fighting you...would be meaningless," he replied monotonously. "I'm tired of taking part in pointless battles."

Sephiroth chuckled a little. "Then if you had a reason, you would fight anyone?" he counter argued.

"No!" Cloud reciprocated. "All I want is to believe in why I fight," he finished. Sephiroth "Hmphed" at that answer. Cloud was exactly as Sephiroth remembered him from the last conflict.

"You should know by now that you are nothing but a puppet. A puppet which has no mind of its own," Sephiroth mocked.

"What?" Cloud retorted, somewhat desperate for some answers. Sephiroth ignored the comment, however.

"Then let me give you a reason," he continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted. He held out his hand, and a flower appeared, floating slightly as well as glowing.

Sephiroth again continued. "A dream is easy to nip in the bud. How pitiful. To live life hanging on to something this fragile..." he said as he let the sentence trail off, knowing Cloud knew what he was getting at. As he said that, Sephiroth dropped the rose in front of Cloud, helping to prove a point. Cloud suddenly realised that this must be the "Wild Rose" that Firion had been talking about.

"_But why's Sephiroth got it?"_ Cloud pondered to himself during the speech.

"It's Firion's wild rose...!" Cloud burst out. Sephiroth chuckled to himself again as he saw the pitiful expression on Cloud's face. "No... What have you done to them!?" Cloud bellowed.

"So now you have your reason, Cloud," Sephiroth smirked as he turned his back on the man. "Come after me," he said as he disappeared.

Cloud stood silent for a moment, and then grunted as he picked up the rose and followed after Sephiroth, for the ultimate confrontation.

(Scene change)

The Warrior was walking along in what appeared to be a clock tower, as it had numerous clogs scattered about the place, as well as a winding spiral staircase, with some of the boards missing. He did wish sometimes that he had one of the other comrades to talk to, but ultimately, this was a personal quest, and another person might distract him long enough to have fatal consequences. All of a sudden, he came to a stop, feeling a strong evil presence nearby.

"Do you think I don't notice your presence? Why not just show yourself?" he called out to seeming thing air. A woman with black wings and a red dress with fur edges appeared in front of him. She laughed as she did so.

"Impressive," she commented. The Warrior was a little surprised to see her.

"Ultimecia..." he said absent-mindedly, not particularly caring if she was surprised to hear her name coming from her lips. She didn't appear to be, though.

"Where are you headed?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Might you still be in search of your precious crystal?" she scorned.

"The crystals are indeed our goal," the Warrior said. "I do not intend to stop until I find mine," he continued.

"Why don't you just give up?" Ultimecia questioned. "The crystals are nothing more than the fabrication of a fallen goddess. To so willingly risk your life over such things is beyond ridiculous," she gloated as she shook her head. The Warrior was getting bored of her antics.

"Are you finished talking?" he almost demanded. She was shocked by his attitude and tone of voice – she hadn't expected him to raise his voice, let alone get angry at all.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"If you have no business with me, you should leave now," he belated. "The world's time runs short. There is not a moment to waste with the likes of you," he finished.

Ultimecia had got over her initial shock, and was now admiring his willingness to get his views across, no matter how wrong they might be. "You are bold for one so young..." she began. "Then have it your way. It is time for you to face the harshness of reality!" she concluded, with the Warrior getting his sword ready to do battle with her.

As soon as he had done so, he ran forwards in an attempt to strike her. But she had already prepared for such an occurrence, and had produced a bunch of magical bolts of energy, which she immediately fired off at the Warrior. He hadn't expected such an attack, and was thus thrown back into the air. But he recovered quickly, and moved rapidly towards her again, this time staying in the air. He certainly wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. So he brought his sword in a circular, diagonal movement, to try and cover as much ground as possible. But she managed to dodge out of the way and move a suitable distance from the Warrior.

Once she had done so, she produced a black portal, out of which would come a number of energy bolts, which would be very hard to dodge at such short notice. But amazingly, the Warrior did feel something develop behind him, and thus moved out of the way before he could be hit be the impeding attack. What's more, he managed to hit her, causing her concentration to waver, and for the portal to disappear. The Warrior didn't let up on the assault, eventually causing her to smash painfully into the ceiling.

She fell to the ground, with him behind her. Although she turned to face him, she didn't appear to be doing much to attack him, so the Warrior took the opportunity to hit her with his sword again. Doing this threw her backwards into the open area where the central staircase was located. He managed to land so many hits on her, each one of them managing to push her higher upwards, without a suitable opportunity for her to strike back, that she eventually hit the ceiling – or what constituted the ceiling in this place. For instead of hitting a solid surface, like one would have expected, she disappeared into a black portal. The Warrior was confused as to where she could have gone, but he got his answer when he looked to the other side of the room.

So he made his move, practically flying as quickly as he could to get there as soon as possible, so she wouldn't have a chance to retaliate. However, when he did get over there and did a sword strike, she managed to dodge the attack, despite still being caught up in the portal. Again, she made the fatal mistake of being in front of the Warrior, allowing him to strike her from behind, and to actually manage to push her into another portal, the first one having disappeared when Ultimecia came out of it fully. This time, however, she managed to fight back, producing a dozen or so bolts, intending to hit him with them, But even being at such close range, he managed to dodge them all, and retaliated with a sword strike. This managed to hit her, and due to the angle there were at at the time, pushed her all the way across the room.

He dashed rapidly towards her and did a spinning sword strike, whilst, yet again, also throwing her up into the air. The Warrior realised that the fight was very suspiciously constantly going in his favour so far. However, he didn't allow this to distract him from what he was currently doing. Therefore, he continued with the attack by sticking the sword straight up, and allowing gravity to push Ultimecia onto it, doing a massive amount of damage. If she was a normal human being, then she would have most likely died instantly, but with her sorceress powers, she managed to survive it, and heal the wounds that she had sustained. Again, this forced her to crash into the ceiling, and be teleported elsewhere. As this happened, the Warrior felt his confidence and bravery going up, and knew that if he managed to land another successful hit of her, he would do serious damage.

As he made to do so with a circle of Light, and a beam coming out of it, hoping to strike her, and end the battle as soon as possible. What he hadn't banked on, however, was the short range of the attack. This gave Ultimecia the opportunity to jump high into the air, and sail right over him. Now the previous situations were reversed, with her attacking from behind the Warrior. He was prepared for anything that came his way, in spite of this, and moved out of the way when he heard something like a bomb being thrown his way. It exploded on contact with the ground, and left a miniature crater. By doing this, though, the Warrior had caused himself to go into a newly formed teleportation thing. Luckily, he managed to escape from it easily enough.

He ran to the other end of the platform that they were on, if only to allow himself a little time to think about what his next move should be. Then it occurred to him. He should try and get close enough this time, and use the beam attack that he had attempted previously. It was a powerful attack after all, and he would only have to focus a little of his energy to make it work. So he ran towards her, and prepared the attack again. But as he was about to pull it off, something unexpected happened – she managed to dodge out of the way again. Now this was getting frustrating for the Warrior. This battle should have finished ages ago, with the amount of attacks that he was pulling off, but Ultimecia was apparently having none of it.

Jumping into the air, Ultimecia prepared an attack that she didn't get the opportunity to use very often – namely, Apocalypse, the ultimate Black Magic spell, even more powerful then the fabled Ultima. It was a homing spell that did a massive amount of damage to the opponent, and could never be dodged. Predictably, the Warrior was hit by it, causing him to cry out from the pain that was being inflicted on him. In retaliation, once he had been released from the spell, he produced a straight line of Light, which would destroy anything in its path. Ultimecia, on the other hand, had other ideas, and managed to dodge out of the way before it hit her. In retaliation, she created a dark, spinning portal which fired out her typical bolts of energy, which the Warrior managed to expertly dodge. He attempted to move behind her, but she constantly moved the portal to follow his movements. In the end, he gave up, and attempted to do his Shining Wave attack again, the one which produced a straight line of light. As before, Ultimecia dodged out of the way.

Feeling angry at how long the battle was taking, she concentrated fiercely and produced another Apocalypse. The Warrior tried to dodge out of the way by dashing to the other side of the room, but the spell was not only homing on him, but it was also much faster. Without any hesitation, the spell caught up to him, and trapped him. This time, he didn't cry out, as he endured the spell, and didn't want to give any sign that he was weakening. Once the spell had finished, he dashed right over to where Ultimecia was standing, and used the appropriately named Shield of Light. Again, she managed to dodge out of the way, and the extended beam merely hit a wall, cracking it heavily. Now behind him, Ultimecia used Shockwave Pulsar, a powerful Blue Magic attack from her home world. She missed completely as the Warrior moved out of the way.

Feeling desperate, the Warrior moved in close to her, and started to use a particular attack. Ultimecia was defiantly beginning to getting a pattern of what he did before he used an attack, and thus knew how and when to dodge it. However, what she didn't see coming was him changing his attack pattern midway through, and using a completely different attack. This caught her off-guard, so she got hit and slammed into a wall, doing a massive amount of damage. Ultimecia was defiantly feeling fatigued, but she knew she couldn't let up the attack until the fight was over – with herself as the winner.

Once the attack had ended, the Warrior put as much distance between himself and the hag as humanely possible, considering the tight space they were in. Ultimecia soon followed, and soon enough, it was a cat and mouse game, each one not wanting to be hit by the other for fear of being defeated. In the end, it was the Warrior who made the next move, when he charged towards her, and flung her into the air. The manover was too much for her, and she fell to the ground – defeated and humiliated.

(Scene change)

Meanwhile, in the currently empty tower that belonged to Kefka, Sephiroth and Golbez were walking past each other, each on individual business of their own – Sephiroth to meet Cloud in the core of Gaia, whilst Golbez was going to meet a very important person, who he hoped could stop this endless conflict. They passed each other in total silence, each not particularly caring what the other was doing. Sephiroth stopped, however, as he felt something troubling Golbez.

"Do you miss the light?" Sephiroth asked, turning round to face the other man. Golbez Hmphed in response, as he turned his head in Sephiroth's direction.

"I merely have duties to fulfil and attend to," he countered. Sephiroth turned back to the direction that he had been previously facing.

"Get too close to the brightness, and you may get scorched," he simply said, before walking away. Golbez stood still for a moment, mulling over what Sephiroth had said, before carrying onwards with his business.

(Scene change)

The Warrior now stood on the central staircase; his previous injuries were now healed, and he was preparing to move on with his journey. He had been delayed for far too long, and now just wanted to get underway again. Nonetheless, before he could make a move, Ultimecia voice could be heard from some mysterious dimension. "Do you think...your victory means the end?" she asked, before reappearing in front of the Warrior, arms crossed in front of her. "Nothing you do will ever matter. Your strength is not enough to save the world, no matter how hard you try," she alluded. He wasn't fooled by her antics, however.

"Your deceptions fail you," he asserted, still holding firm in his believes. "I have comrades who are in search of their own crystals." Ultimecia laughed in response.

"I think you're rather unaware..." she suggested, but was cut off by the Warrior.

"What?" he asked, somewhat curious to what she had to say. It wasn't good.

"Those comrades that you speak of are suffering. Some do not yet know why they fight, while others stand alone, having lost faith in their comrades," she said, sighing and tutting as she did so. "When this conflict comes to an end..." she continued, "all you will gain is utter despair. You will not find hope. You will not find a future!" she finished, laughing as she teleported from the scene, scattering a few feathers about as she did so.

The Warrior contemplated what she had said. _"It is true, I have not yet found a way to the crystal, nor do I know what the future holds..."_ he brooded to himself. "But the future... is yet to come. Moreover, it is mine to shape to my own desires," he concluded, as he walked away.

(Scene change)

Golbez had moved as discreetly as he could, due to the fact that he didn't want to be seen by anybody – friend or foe. It would be disastrous to his aims and goals if they found out what he was about to do. Yet, he had a sneaking suspicion that Sephiroth knew, or at least guessed, his true allegiance, even if his body had been irredeemably tinted by darkness, and was now forced to work for the side of Chaos. Luckily, he hadn't been seen,except by Sephiroth, but he didn't seem to particularly care one way or the other. He was now patiently waiting for the Goddess of Harmony to appear. She did so soon enough, and the two of them began talking about the plan that the Goddess had thought up.

"You are fully aware of what your proposed actions imply, I presume?" Golbez catechized. Cosmos nodded.

"I am. As long as the crystals shine, they will survive," she asserted. Golbez wasn't quite sure of that, however.

"You would risk everything on this gamble. Such conduct is unbecoming of a goddess," he criticised. Cosmos had no answer for him. "Discord or harmony...the victor matters not. The dragon arises; the cycle continues. The gods will live again, as will their champions, and conflict will begin anew. Yet, if the cycle itself is as transient as the lives trapped within it... Think long upon this, Cosmos. If you lose this gamble, your warriors will never rise again." He didn't have to remind her about that. She had lived through many such conflicts that he had described, both one's she had lost, and one's where she had won.

"Then, a true ending means never-ending discord...a perpetual darkness?" Cosmos queried, although she could guessed the answer for herself. Golbez confirmed her suspicions.

"Indeed. The world would fall into eternal despair," he affirmed, before walking away, leaving her alone to consider her options.

(Scene change)

The group of three, consisting of Tidus, Cecil and Firion were moving onwards splendidly. They were also generally much happier then they had been when Cloud was with them. Although he brought a strong sense of realism and common sense to the group, he didn't smile or laugh a lot, and he seemed to take an instant dislike to the upbeat Tidus.

The three of them were converged on the roof of a rundown shrine, where the three of them had taken down a particularly strong Manikin. They were exhausted after the battle, and so decided to recuperate on the roof of the place – that way, they could spot any Manikins coming their way. Tidus puts away his sword, as it wasn't needed any more.

"Okay! We're done here!" Tidus confirmed, although all of them already knew that. Just to be on the safe side, however, Cecil was scouting the area, in case any of them were hiding.

"I guess we got through that somehow," Firion commented, remembering a particular incident whereby the blade of the Manikin had pierced his shoulder, and lifted him off the ground to inflict maximum pain. It worked, and Firion was now sitting down and tending to it.

"Piece of cake!" Tidus exclaimed. "I'll take down every last one of Chaos's bunch!" he boasted, before shutting up as Cecil approached. He appeared to have heard what had been said, however.

"We're counting on you," Cecil expressed. Tidus tried to take back what he had said, in case Cecil was upset. It was difficult to tell, as he was currently in his Dark Knight Armour, which meant that his face was covered up.

"Yah...! E-every last one but Golbez," Tidus stuttered. "Don't worry. I won't finish HIM off," he promised.

Cecil chuckled at the proclamation. "Heh. He's no easy adversary to take down," he said. I should know. I never managed to fully take him down, when I still thought that he was evil and didn't know that he was my brother," he finished. Firion then remembered something that Tidus had said earlier in their journey.

"You have family, too, don't you?" Firion mentioned. Cecil was privately glad that the convocation had changed course.

"Jecht, wasn't it?" Cecil asked.

"My old man doesn't count." Both Cecil and Firion were shocked at what they had just heard. The former was the first to speak.

"What? How can you say such a thing?" he questioned. This seemed to provoke Tidus a bunch.

"He's going down first! I don't care if he begs for mercy," he shouted loudly, letting his anger and frustrations of his father off his chest.

"But he's your own flesh and blood. Are you sure you're-" Cecil began, but Tidus cut him off.

"I'm looking forward to it!" he exclaimed, before running off. Firion and Cecil looked at each other, with worried expressions on their faces, before following him to places unknown. They managed to catch up with him when they reached a crossroads in their path.

"Okay, let's get this over with!" Tidus said, impatiently hopping from one foot to the other, eager to get on with their journey.

"Slow down, Tidus," Firion complained. "The road splits ahead... Cecil, what should we do?" he asked his companion. Cecil thought for a moment.

"By deciding whether to prioritize speed or treasure, we can judge which path to take..." he decided, ultimately not helping matters at hands.

Tidus moaned in frustration. "Guys, you're totally over thinking this. Let's just go, and figure out the rest later!" The pair followed him, during which all three of them got caught up in an surprise ambush from a Manikin. However, it was weak, and they managed to dispatch it easily enough. Tidus celebrated.

"Alright! Who's next?" he asked as he pumped his arms in the air. Firion and Cecil sighed in union.

"At least he's not lacking in energy..." Firion commented. Cecil nodded in agreement.

"That is so... And he's all the more blessed for it," he remarked.


End file.
