Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo. Final Fantasy is property of Square. Other characters may belong to Capcom, Origin, ect, and many to myself.
This is a massive, very long crossover. Hope you enjoy...
THE NEW STATUS QUO...
Prologue:
Setting the stage...
_________________
"I am Alpha and Omega. I am the Beginning and the End. I am the End-all and Be-all. I am the First and the Last."
The dark haired, dark armored man stands there, for a moment, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow in thought.
"I'll admit, Krelian," he says, "I like the sound of that."
The man with long, fair hair and in robes similar to a priest smiles, chuckling slightly.
"It fits you well, Emperor Zog.", he responds, in a softly accented voice, "Your demeanor is almost that of a God."
"As is the power of my clan."
Krelian chuckles, as the others begin filing into the room.
"We will see, Zog," he says, "We will see."
He turns to the assembled five people, and smiles, widely, opening his arms.
"Ah. Welcome.", he says, and waves his hand, a round, ornate wood table appearing at the center of the impressive, decorated dining room.
He strays his glance to the white-haired and bearded, wild-looking man in a black robe, to the light haired, unstable man in the clothes of a noble, to the imposing, bald man in the red cloak.
"I am Krelian," he says, "I am the benefactor that has summoned you. To my side is the first I have contacted, Emperor Zog of the Dark Dragon-clan. And I welcome you,"
He gestures to the unstable, wild haired man.
"Evarai."
He gestures to the red haired man in white and grey robes.
"Indaleccio."
He gestures to the fair haired, flightly noble.
"Kefka."
He gestures to the barely humanoid being, a third eye shifting open and closed in the middle of his forehead.
"Lord Tanzra. Thank you for tossing together an avatar with such short notice."
He gestures to the imposing, red cloaked man.
"And Lord Sigma.", he finishes, "Thank you all for coming. As you know, we have all faced defeats in the past. And so I have created a new...neutral ground. Using a world in this parallel universe, our enemies have been trapped, stripped of their memories and given new ones. So they are now easy prey. And, in some cases...no longer opposition to us."
"I...see.", Kefka intones, stroking his chin, "And what about the one who normally torments this world? That Gannondorf fellow?"
Indaleccio chuckles, smiling.
"He's taken care of.", he intones, "Unlike you, I have no enemies in this universe. I'm simply here to observe."
Tanzra snorts, a sore under his eye dripping fresh puss.
"Of course," he says, "I wish to shed this shell soon, Krelian. Make it short."
"I agree.", Sigma says, his eyes flashing blue, "We have tasks to see to. If you would, I need help to construct the continent given to me."
"Then I shall help.", Indaleccio says, snapping his fingers, "I will meet with you later, Krelian."
With that, he, Tanzra, and Sigma disappear. Krelian turns to the others, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Well, then.", he says, "Let us get to our individual plans."
Chapter 1:
Locke
_________
All in all, it wasn't as bad as the other dungeons.
Sure, it was cold, damp, dark and deep. So what, he brought his jacket instead of his vest.
It still had treasure in it. Rare, worth very much type of treasure. Which was the only thing Locke Cole really gave a damn about.
And so, after hours upon hours in the deepest, darkest cave he knows of in Western Hyrule, having traversed its deep, deep depths...
"Boy, that sounded stupid.", he mutters.
He looks up from his narrative revere as he exits one of the many tunnels he's been travelling through...and smiles as he sees the torchlight.
"Jackpot."
Before him is a long hallway lined with torches, all the light shining off the silver and iron plating on the walls...which means this place was built by someone advanced...and leading his gaze to the end of the hall...where a solid gold, diamond encrusted statue of a fearsome looking, multi-eyed demon's head.
"Oh, yeah...", he mutters, walking down the hall, "Definitely the jackpot..."
He can off-handedly feel things gazing at him through parts in the metal...but he always feels like that. Paranoia lends itself to someone who often bends the law to overlook what he does. A bribe here, a drink there. It's amazing how far you can go when people are either really open minded or rather gullible.
He hops up the three steps in front of the pedestal, tilting his head at the statue.
"Very nice...", he says, "You are going on my mantle."
He traces his finger along the circle around the statue, checking that it's seemless. No hidden traps means that it's easier to get out of here. And, since there are no seems on the pedestal...well, that's all the better for him.
He reaches into the pouch by his belt, pulling out a handful of coins.
"A bit of an offering," he says, to nothing in particular, swiping the statue, dropping the coins on the pedestal, "Consider it my thanks for leaving this for me to find."
He taps his two fingers to his forehead, snapping it out to a loose salute.
"Tally-ho, people. Thanks for the workout."
He jumps the three stairs in one leap, skipping down the hall...and stops as he heads a rumbling.
He turns, slowly...and sees the circle where the statue was standing beginning to liquify, sucking down the coins as the pedestal melts...and holes open behind where the pedestal once stood.
Revealing large, sharply honed arrows.
"Well...that just ain't right..."
He ducks as eight spears fly over his head, travelling the length of the hall...and embedding themselves in the quickly closing entrance.
He swears, loudly, running, arrows firing from the wall and barely missing him, slicing parts of his jacket as he sprints to the exit, leaping, rolling along the ground....and barely clearing the entrance before the large, jagged slab of metal slams down.
He lies there, for a moment, catching his breath, checking to see that his bandana's still tied to his head, and that the statue is still in his hand. To him, both are of equal importance. Actually, the bandana is of slightly more import.
He picks himself up, climbing to his feet as he places the statue in a pouch by his belt. With a whistle and a smile, he begins walking down the dark corridor, skipping along...until he feels the ground shake. And again...and now it's becoming more constant.
He turns, slowly...and sees a massive, spherical boulder barreling down a ramp in front of the closed hallway...and heading right for him.
He swears, loudly, running, nearly loosing his footing as the boulder impacts on the ground behind him and continues on its course. He can hear rocks shattering as the boulder continues its pursuit, smoothing down the hallway as a slightly disturbing side effect.
Locke reaches into the small pack on his back, pulling out a long, coiled rope with a grapple at the end.
"Gotta love these magic backpacks...", he mutters, twirling it about as he reaches the end of the corridor and the bottomless pit he nearly fell into earlier.
He tosses the rope, the rope moving by will of its out, shooting up and latching onto something far, far overhead, Locke gripping the rope and screaming as he jumps...and watches as the boulder flies off the ground, smashing into part of the winding stairwell that lead him here.
He looks up...and watches as other boulders fly from corridors, smashing into the stairwell at higher intervals, reducing the normal way out into rubble.
"Well," he grunts, beginning to climb, hand over hand, up the rope, "That was lucky."
And he consoles himself with that fact for the hour it takes to ascend, beginning to scratchily sing an old folk song he remembers...
He's reached the third verse of the eighteenth song he knows by the time he reaches the exit to the cave, limply walking up the two large steps into the daylight.
Ch-chk.
He looks up...and sees seven barrels aimed at his head.
"Shit."
He rubs the glare from his eyes, looking up...and sees seven people(six men, one woman) in white-and-black military uniforms aiming rather nasty looking, high-tech minirifles at his head. The sun is burning his eyes, as he sees they're only a few yards from the cliffside.
"Is this about my singing?", he asks.
"The statue, scum.", the eldest man, the leader of the merry little military troop, says, "Hand it over."
Locke sighs, rolling his eyes, glancing at the sole woman of the group. Youngish, maybe around early-to-mid twenties. Red hair. Looks like a crackshot. The others here look like brutes. Rely on guns for intimidation, so...
"First off," he says, "It's not scum. Name's Cole. Locke Cole. Second off, you're probably just angry because I have the balls to actually go into the cavern and get the damned statue in the first place. Ball which obviously, you don't have."
Which is when he brings his foot up into the leader's crotch.
He allows himself a little satisfaction as the man's eyes cross, the wind forcing itself out of his lungs.
"Well, what do you know. You do have balls."
Locke reaches out, slamming one hand into the underside of the leader's gun arm, throwing off the aim, the shot flying overhead and into the upper cave entrance, his other arm wrapping around the man's neck as he turns him around, Locke forcing the leader's back against his torso.
"Now," Locke says, "I'm laying odds that you don't get promoted for offing your superior officer. So, you can continue aiming if you please, but don't think about firing."
He rips the gun from the leader's hand, flipping it in his hand and aiming it at his head.
"Back away," Locke says, "And move aside."
He pushes the leader forward, turning him about as they pass the other six soldiers, their sights still aimed at them.
"Drop the guns, you idiots!", the leader says, "Now!"
The other five men drop their weapons, backing away as Locke sees the cliff nearing his back, groaning as he reaches into his backpack and pulling out the magic rope.
"Lieutenant!", the leader screams, "Drop your weapon! That is an order!"
Locke turns...just as a bullet cracks the leader's knee, the man screaming in pain as he drops to the floor...and leaving Locke an open target as the other soldiers reach for their weapons.
Locke swears, cocking the gun and firing a spread at their feet, dust picking up and choking them as he grabs the rope...and jumps off the cliff.
He tosses the grapple seconds after he jumps, the metal head shooting out and boring into the side of the rock wall as Locke grabs the ends of the rope with both hands, giving off a triumphant, swearing yell as he swings...and lands, rolling, on the ground nearly a quarter of a mile from the cliff.
He yanks out the rope and coils it as the woman stands at the edge of the cliff, still holding his rifle.
He stares at her for a moment...and blows her a kiss, smiling widely and waving as he turns and sprints to the forest behind him, catching a glimpse of her tossing down her weapon and swearing loudly as he disappears from her view....
Chapter 2:
Guardians
___________
Hyrule was under attack. And this battle they were not guaranteed to win.
Their enemies were numerous and advanced in technology beyond them, using weapons that fire off spheres of metal that can penetrate much of their soldiers' armors.
Using barrels that emit flame, and mounts that travel faster than the fastest horses.
This is something that Link, Prince of Hyrule, weilder of the Master Blade, Hero of Light, considers as he watches three of his soldiers get cut down by a spray of weaponry from the Dracos troops.
"Bastards!", he yells, swinging the ornate Master Blade, his amber hair whipping about, a beam of force lancing from his weapon and exploding the ground beneath them, sending them flying.
He turns as a soldier barrels towards him, a quick swing of the Blade slicing the weapon in the soldier's hand, another swing cleaving him in two.
Link closes his eyes, letting the Blade guide him, blocking the bullets, deflecting the fire, working his way into the mass of soldiers as the Knights follow his lead....
Until a high-pitched shriek sends the hyrulian defenders to their knees, Link clenching his eyes shut as blood trickes from his ears.
He looks up, at the scale-armored Dracos general, black eyes hidden under a dragon mask.
"We'll accept your surrender, Your Highness.", he says, "The King will meet our terms when he sees his favored son-in-law is ours."
Link grits his teeth, bracing himself on his sword.
"Death....first."
He looks up as the general points the pistol at his forehead, pulling back the trigger....
And screaming as an amber blurr shatters the gun and his hand.
An invisible force sends Link tumbling back, as something appears....and runs the general through.
The hyrulian soldiers look up, to see a nine foot tall, amber-brown skinned gargoyle in a crimson tunic, with massive wings and red horns, blue crackling eyes staring down as the general, one of his massive, amber fists coming out the general's back.
The Dracos soldiers back away as the gargoyle grabs the general's head, pulling him off, the white cloth wrapped around his hand soaked red with blood, the armor of the man crunching as the gargoyle tosses him away.
"I am Garr," the gargoyle says, "I am a Guardian. And this planet is my charge."
The soldiers look between each other, raise their weapon, and fire.
Round after round flattens itself on Garr's skin, his hands becoming blurrs as they capture the stray bullets.
Link looks up, gasping as he sees the bullet careening towards his head...and the amber blurr plucks it from the air.
He looks up...and sees Garr, standing in front of a small pile of flattened bullets, holding up to handfulls...and crushes them, letting the black powder fall to the ground.
The Guardian's eyes crackle with blue energy, his fists clenching as he folds back his wings.
"And I," he growls, "Have had....ENOUGH!!!"
The sheer force of the gargoyle's voice throws the Dracos soldiers back, forcing them off their feet and sending them sprawling to the ground, the hyrulian soldiers rising to their feet.
"Leave now," Garr intones, "If you value your lives."
Which is all the encouragement they need as the Dracos soldiers turn tail and run for the hills.
Link looks up, rising to his feet as Garr turns to him, folding his wings about him like a cape.
"Thank you for the aid, Guardian," Link says, bowing his head, "We owe you our lives."
"Dracos soldiers have no honor. If you surrendered, they would have killed you and displayed your corpse as a trophy.", Garr responds, "I need to meet with the King. Can you do that?"
Link nods, smiling slightly.
"It's the least we can do.", he says, and turns to his soldiers, "Move out!"
The soldiers salute, turning, and march back to the east, Link and Garr behind them...
Many, many miles away. The distant west of the continent.
At the center of a sprawling, bleak town, stands a massive, pyramid-shaped ebon building, overshadowing both the town and much of the countryside beyond.
And at the room at the peak of the pyramid, in a room with an ornate throne and decorated with the bronzed skulls of many a slain animal, Emperor Zog looks out the window over his growing empire.
Behind him is a mid-thirties attendant, in black, formal clothing and a black ponytail reaching down his spine, adjusting his glasses as he reports of the losses in Hyrule.
"A...gargoyle, you say?", Zog asks.
"Yes, your Emminence.", the attendant responds, his voice completely calm, "Amber-brown skin, large wings, no tail."
Zog says nothing, looking out to Scande, his eyes watching the people far below him mulling about their days.
"Shall I order another legion?", the attendant asks.
"No, Hyuga.", Zog responds, narrowing his eyes, "I have another task for you. I will explain it later. For now, leave me."
Hyuga bows, backing away before turning and walking out the massive double doors, closing them behind him.
Zog's nails turn into talons as he slides his hand down the glass, leaving large scratches, his brow furrowing, his eyes slitting like a cat's.
"Krelian!", he roars.
With a flash of light, Krelian appears, clad in an ankle-length, closed lab coat.
"This had better be important, Zog," he scowls, "I was in the middle of an experiment."
"There...is...a Guardian on this world!"
"Yes, Garr. The Destined Child of the Urkans. I know. Evarai requested him."
Zog turns to him, his talons retracting into his fingers.
"Evarai is insane. You should not grant his requests.", Zog says, "The Guardians eradicated my Brood on my world. I will not see it happen here."
Krelian sighs, rolling his eyes.
"I don't see the problem, Zog. It's only one Guardian. And the Brood laid down and died on your world. Doesn't mean it'll happen here-"
A scaled hand lashes out, wrapping around Krelian's throat and lifting him several feet into the air, the scientist not even bothering to struggle, looking down and seeing the glowing green eyes staring back at him.
"I will forgive that effronty," the scratchy, low voice growls, "But remember this: The Fallen never lay down and DIE!"
The hand releases him, Krelian falling onto his feet, burying his hands in his coat pockets.
"Very well, Zog.", he says, "I'll look into it."
He snaps his fingers, and disappears in a burst of light.
And Zog turns back to his city, his hand turning back from scales to flesh as he calms himself...
Chapter 3:
Elly
__________
She waits, fiddling with her tied back red hair as she sits on the bench outside the massive double doors.
She saw a black-haired man walk out earlier. She thought she heard yelling from inside earlier, even though only one person was in there.
And she stands as the seven foot tall man in full, silver armor walks to her, bowing.
"He will see you, now."
She nods, walking through the opening doors, straightening out the knee-length tunic of her white dress uniform, standing stock-still and saluting.
"At ease.", the man at the window says.
She nods, clasping her hands behind her.
"Elly Marsilli, yes?", he asks.
"Lieutenant Commander Marsilli, reporting as you requested, your Highness.", she quickly responds.
He nods, clasping his hands behind him.
"I understand," he says, "That you were with a unit trying to catch a treasure hunter named Locke Cole."
"We were, sir. He escaped."
"And during the altercation, you shot your commander in the knee."
She nods, swallowing down her dry throat. Not something that will look well on her record, she admits...
"Cole was using the commander as a human shield. I needed to get a good shot at him, and to do so I needed to take away his cover."
He says nothing, making no move...and chuckles, slightly.
A sound that sends chills up her spine.
"Commander Korvis.", he says, "Incompetant. Lets himself be taken hostage by a common thief."
"Cole had magical equipment on his person. He was not common."
"I...see."
"He displayed expert fighting skills and high-level marksmanship abilities. I do not think he is of a normal background."
The Emperor nods, sweeping back his cape as he turns to her.
"Indeed.", he says, "Then you will look into this. Your assignment, Commander, is to find and capture Locke Cole. By any means necessary. You will be given your equipment and armor, and leave tomorrow for Western Hyrule. Find him and bring him to me. Understood?"
She salutes, sharply.
"As you command, Your Highness."
"Good. You have the rest of the night to yourself."
She nods, backing away, turning as the door opens...and the oddly familiar, black-haired man from before walks through, exchanging a glance with her before she walks past, closing the doors behind her, and hurries down the hall...
The sun begins to set on Scande as Elly walks down the paved street, tightening her overcoat around her as she feels the slight wind picking up.
The sun is completely set by the time she enters the apartment building, silently climbing the stairs to her floor and walking through her door into the largish, white-walled apartment.
She recognized that man, from somewhere...dark hair, unassuming build, some lines on his face...and glasses. Glasses that look completely natural, but she knows are out of place...
The hands. She recognized the hands.
She recognized how they could break stone, dent metal. She recognized...
She shakes her head, pressing her palm to her forehead, groaning at the sudden headache.
She has far too much to worry about to wonder about the Emperor's personal attendant.
"My name is Eliana Marsilli," she whispers, "I am a Lieutenant Commander in the Dracos Legions. My parents are favored of Zog. My mission is to capture a thief."
She has made this into a habit. A daily reaffirmation of her identity, her mission, her heritage. It would go from a military mission to a reminder to restock her icebox to finding herself a better rate on her apartment.
She still remembers that glance Cole gave her before he ran away.
"Pompous bastard.", she growls, undoing the tail, throwing back her hair as she starts unzipping her tunic, and walks into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her...
The shadows between the lights on the ceiling cross his face as Hyuga walks down the hall, his steps silent as he mulls about his new mission.
A faint smile crosses his lips at the thought. The little secret that none of them know of, which works to his advantage...
He reaches the door at the end of the grey-carpeted hallway, opening the door with a wave of his hand.
He stands at the doorway for a moment, smiling, as the blonde-haired little girl on the couch looks over.
"I'm home.", he says, walking into the apartment, the door closing behind him.
The door at the other side of the apartment opens, revealing a blonde haired woman, holding a large bowl with a spoon in it, smiling as she sees him.
"You were early.", she says, "Is something wrong, Hyuga?"
"The Emperor has a new assignment for me.", he responds, "I leave tomorrow for a few days. It's an abroad assignment, so I will be out of Scande."
"Ah...I see. Anything I should know?"
He shakes his head, taking off his glasses, cleaning them with his shirt.
"It's also classified. Nothing I can tell you.", he says, "It hopefully won't be too complicated."
She sets aside the bowl, walking over, working her fingers under the frills of his formal, buttoned shirt.
"Well, I'm sure I can pry some of the information out of you.", she says, smiling, "And when do you leave?"
"Not until tomorrow.", he responds, placing his hands on hers, "Meaning I have the night free. Zog gave me at least that courtesy. Which means for the next few hours, I can devote myself completely to you,"
He turns, picking up the little girl in his arms, making her squeal, smiling, as he holds her.
"And to our daughter.", he responds, "It's rare that Zog lets me off for the day before Midori's asleep."
"It's rare I actually see you happy about a mission, Hyuga-"
He places his index finger on the woman's lips, shaking his head.
"Yui, my mission begins tomorrow.", he says, "I need to be able to act the part. For tonight...call me Citan."
She sighs, shrugging, folding her hands in front of her.
"Very well...Citan. I swear, you spend so much time in that identity that I'm beginning to think you are him."
"Is that a bad thing? It's just a name."
He smiles, adjusting his hold on his daughter, both of them staring at Yui for a few moment.
She sighs, throwing up her arms, picking up the bowl.
"You two are both insufferable.", she says, "Alright, alright. It's good enough we both get to have you for the night. We might as well make the most of it. I may be a psychic, since I made enough for three, tonight. So get in here, Citan. Let's have a normal family dinner, for once."
She walks back into the kitchen, leaving the door a crack open.
He looks over to Midori, raising an eyebrow.
"Is she like this during the day?", he asks.
She shakes her head, pursing her lips.
He smiles, widely.
"Good. Then I do have an effect on her."
He laughs, and walks through the door, closing it behind him...