Title: Destiny Impulse
Author: Infectious Mike
Category: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Chapter: Prologue
Word Count: 4,968
Summary: The warriors of both Cosmos and Chaos have been summoned once again. The heroes have won before but their counterparts seem to have grown in power while they have not. With two of their own captured and the Warrior of Light nowhere to be found, can they achieve victory?
Chapter Start
The warriors of Cosmos stood in front of Cosmos's throne. The Warrior of Light stood facing the rest of the warriors from beside his Goddess. Firion stood with Tidus and Cecil discussing things and catching up with one another. The Onion Knight and Terra were sitting down leaning on one of the debris in the ground chatting away. Bartz stood with Zidane and Squall, the three of them discussed whatever came to mind, for Bartz, adventure, for Zidane, women, and for Squall, solitude. Cloud stood aloof from everyone else not really interested in being in anyone's crowd. The ex-SOLDIER simply watched everyone else.
The Warrior of Light called the warriors' attention. "For whatever reason, you nine have been brought back from your worlds to fight for Cosmos. Let it be known that Cosmos was not the one who called you. She herself is looking into the matter. We can only speculate that the reason for that which we fight, but I assume it is because Chaos has somehow returned."
Onion Knight spoke timidly. "Is it truly possible for him to have survived?" He looked at a frightened Terra.
"He's a god, what did you expect? It's not like we actually saw him die." Cloud answered stoically.
"But we were all sent back to our worlds after we defeated him. I thought that meant that we won for good," Zidane said.
"Zidane by that logic, just how my death was not as absolute as our enemy thought perhaps you hadn't really defeated Chaos as we thought," Cosmos said calmly.
"This whole thing is stupid. If you have to have a fight why did you have to include me?" Cloud said turning to walk away.
"Cloud!"Tidus called. "Don't leave, we need you."
"Not interested," Cloud gave his usual answer stoically.
"Enough!" the Warrior interrupted.
"Excuse me?" Terra said shyly. Everyone turned to look at the girl. "Chaos's warriors are preparing for battle. It feels like they're very serious. I've never felt this kind of power before..." she trailed off to the Onion Knight.
The Warrior summoned his sword and shield. "Everyone prepare for battle, be at your best, it sounds like they mean business.
The Warriors of Cosmos arrived at their battlefield within minutes. Their arena consisted of a large open barren plain with a few plateau's here and there. They stood at the border between Cosmos's domain and Chaos's. They could only wait for their enemy to arrive before plunging into enemy territory.
The Warrior of Light stood by himself in the middle of everyone else, sword and shield at the ready. He was still questioning why they were there. What could have happened? Cloud was right. They hadn't seen Chaos perish. Why did Cosmos not explain anything to him? The Warrior knew that she would always be able to tell him something, especially if that something concerned why they were all summoned here again. He brushed his doubts aside and set his mind on the coming battle. He looked towards the ten shadowed figures and was easily able to make out Garland's shape.
Firion gazed out towards the ten figures and immediately spotted The Emperor. He clenched his jaw and moved to charge but the Warrior of Light stopped him by putting his blade in front of the liegeman. Silently nodding he waited for the Warrior's signal. Firion was hungry for the blood of The Emperor. He knew that if he could defeat him now then it would bring everyone one step closer to victory and his dream. Firion prepared his bow with three arrows and had his target set on the Emperor, who merely smirked.
The Onion Knight turned to Terra and stepped in front of her. He was happy to see her again. The youth thought he would never get to see her. Terra looked at him and smiled weakly. The Onion Knight assumed that she was still doubtful about using her powers. He consoled her and told her that he would protect her from anything. The Onion Knight took his fighting stance and wouldn't cower in the face of anything, even Exdeath.
Cecil spotted Golbez from afar easily recognizing the ebony plated armor. Cecil couldn't believe that Golbez was still on Chaos's side. Cecil wouldn't be able to fight him. He shared this thought of not fighting family with Tidus whom he had grown close to since the last war. Tidus assured him that everything would be fine and Tidus himself would take care of Golbez. With his doubts erased he turned towards the oncoming warriors of Chaos who are no doubt getting restless.
Bartz was bent down on his knee next to Firion. He had a bow in his hand with three notched arrows exactly the same as Firion's. The two decided they would work together to take down The Emperor. Bartz kept his sights on the despot and hoped his aim was as great as his energy. Bartz mind wandered to Zidane and Squall. He wanted to be able to talk with the thief and the lion again. They were his closest friends, at least Zidane was. Bartz sighed and in doing so accidently loosed his arrows. Firion yelled at him. His arrows traveled towards The Emperor who merely deflected them away.
Terra looked down at the youth in front of her. She felt better now that he was there. His was a blade that she could depend on. She pulled her hands towards her heart. Her mind was filled with doubts. The last time the twenty warriors had a showdown between each other before she believed she was one of the weakest links. She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to endanger everyone else with her powers. She fell to her knees. The Onion Knight quickly turned around and consoled her. Her mind was still racing with thoughts of doubt but when she saw Kefka staring at her with his beady eyes she regained her resolve to fight.
Cloud stood aloof from everyone else. The ex-SOLDIER stared down Sephiroth. Cloud had his trusty Buster Sword shouldered and he looked as calm as ever. He wouldn't let Sephiroth get the best of him. Just don't listen to him Cloud reminded himself constantly. Half of his offense is his words. The soldier broke his stare from the champion and held his blade out in a ready position in front of him. While he still had the conviction he had to strike.
Squall held his gunblade out with one hand and was ready to strike at anytime. He was ready for any tricks Ultimecia might throw at him. While most of them didn't know who they were going to end up fighting, Squall and Zidane had already decided they were going to fight their counterparts together and try to end the conflict as quickly as possible. When he spotted Ultimecia he thought he felt time stop for just a moment.
Zidane stood beside Squall with his daggers in the form of a swallow. He spun the blades in his hand effortlessly. Zidane thought of Kuja. Did they really have to fight again? The thief held feelings for the reaper that neither of them could understand. Zidane didn't want to fight his genome brother. The thief soon realized that it was simply fated to happen and there was nothing he could do to go against it. Zidane pulled Squall down to his height and began whispering to the lion.
Tidus stood beside a troubled Cecil. He eyed Jecht standing in the horizon as Chaos had begun to appear behind his warriors. Tidus advised Cecil not to fight his brother. Tidus would not fight Jecht. There was no reason to. While Jecht was his counterpart, neither of them had the heart to destroy the other not even for the sake of love. He thought it best to avoid his old man instead of running away from him.
Battle Start: Warrior of Light vs. Garland
The Warrior of Light lowered his blade and began charging towards the enemy. The other nine warriors followed suit as did the ten warriors of Chaos. The Warrior of Light immediately charged towards Garland who met his challenge with earnest. Garland swung his mighty multiform weapon into the ground shattering the earth, then kicked the great slabs of rock that shot up towards the Warrior.
"Shine!" the Warrior deployed his Shield of Light towards the rocks shattering them with ease. He caught his sword and shield and slashed diagonally at Garland. Garland deflected slash after slash from the Warrior and countered with his own.
The Warrior defended himself but was thrown into the air from the force of the blow. "You have grown stronger," the Warrior of Light noted. He spun in air and created a seal in the air. "Come light!" He swung his blade through the seal and seven blades of light formed in a horizontal line in front of him. He thrust his blade forward and the blades flew towards Garland. Garland took to the air and swung his weapon around him in a wide circle. Two cyclones formed and he sent them towards the incoming swords of light. The cyclone assimilated the blades and shot them all out in random directions until they reached their maximum range and dissipated.
"You cannot win!" Garland shouted as he swung his weapon towards the Warrior. The hero dodged effortlessly but Garland ejected half of his multiform weapon. The chained projectile torpedoed towards the unsuspecting warrior. The Warrior had the left side of his torso ripped off from the attack. He fell on the ground and landed on his back screaming in pain. Pieces of his armor had shattered and lay on the ground clanking as they struck it. The Warrior of Light was hacking out blood and his skin paled. His sword and shield disappeared and blood painted the ground a dark red. Garland stood over him looking at the maimed body of his adversary.
The Warrior of Light with one eye cracked open looked at the stalwart standing over him. "Bathe in the light!" he cried with the last bit of his strength. The shining pillars of light jetted out from the ground and closed in on Garland from four sides catching Garland by surprise. The four pillars met where Garland was standing creating a single large pillar of light. The Warrior heard Garland's scream and smiled to himself. The light destroyed most of Garland's armor and the chainmail he wore underneath. The stalwart fell on his stomach next to the hero. "The...light will...never..." The Warrior of Light blacked out.
"This...I can't...end...yet. The...cycle..." Garland's weapon disappeared a few moments later.
Battle Start: Onion Knight and Terra vs. Kefka and Cloud of Darkness
The Onion Knight ran forwards with Terra following him. Naturally the youth knew who the both of them were going to fight. Kefka and Cloud of Darkness were already on their way towards them. Terra stopped and began muttering an incantation for one of her spells. The youth drew his blade and dashed towards the Cloud of Darkness. The wraith vanished and then reappeared behind Terra. "Look out!" Onion Knight called realizing her plan.
"Too late, fool!" Cloud of Darkness charged her particle beam from behind the girl. Terra quickly turned and formed a barrier of magic in front of her. She struggled with the attack and was able to deflect the wave away. Terra was breathing heavily. She turned towards Cloud of Darkness and shot a burst of wind at her. It struck the wraith and sent her back, giving time for Terra to recuperate.
"She's so strong," Terra said to herself. "Can I win?" Before she knew it Cloud of Darkness was behind her again and fired another ray of darkness.
"Over here!" Kefka called from in front of a distracted Onion Knight. "If you keep on getting distracted like this you're going to lose!" The harlequin began shooting random fire and thunder spells at the youth who dodged them effortlessly.
"I will protect her!" the Onion Knight cried. He charged at Kefka with his blade ready. Kefka quickly backed away and began firing magic wildly. The youth rushed the harlequin while dodging his berserk magic. With a loud shout the Onion Knight thrust his blade at Kefka. He felt the blade connect with Kefka's torso and saw the ribbons of blood fly out, but the harlequin only laughed.
"Now I've got you!" Kefka shot out a large chunk of ice from his hands. The Onion Knight let go of his sword and ducked under the block of ice and put his hands to Kefka's stomach, then fired his own magic.
"Firaga!" he cried. The heat formed in his palms and shot outward. The explosion that followed sent Kefka flying through the air. The fire enveloped Kefka who laughed maniacally before falling to the ground as the flames slowly ate away at his body before it finally extinguished itself. The youth then approached the fallen mage and removed his blade from what was left of Kefka's torso. Kefka was still laughing hysterically. "You should go protect your girl. I think she's losing!!" Kefka said before vanishing.
Terra backflipped away from the particle beam and fired her spells at Cloud of Darkness. "Blizzara!" She followed up by casting Holy and Flare spells at the wraith. Cloud of Darkness used both of her tentacles to negate the attack.
"You will have to do better than that!" she smirked. Cloud of Darkness started charging one of her beams again.
"Harmful waters!" Terra placed her hands on the ground and called up geysers of water underneath Cloud of Darkness.
"You fool!" she cried before vanishing. She reappeared next to Terra and fired her laser point blank. Terra screamed. The attack connected fully and sent the girl flying. She spun through the air with her arms extended and landed with a loud crash on the ground. She slid a few feet leaving a trail of dust in her wake and blacked out.
"Terra! No!!"The Onion Knight quickly rushed over to Terra's side. "I'm...so sorry." He fought back tears and then glared at Cloud of Darkness.
"She couldn't defeat me, what makes you think that you can?" she laughed, "Silly boy."
The Onion Knight continued to glare at her and clenched his jaw tightly. He thought about his possible choices. "I can't just leave Terra like this. She needs treatment before it's too late," he muttered. He bent on his knee and took the girl in his arms. She was lighter than he thought. He turned his back to Cloud of Darkness and ran away.
Battle Start: Cecil vs. Exdeath
"Cecil! Leave Golbez to me!" Tidus said to them before the two of them split up to fight their own battles.
Cecil watched the battles and saw their outcomes one by one. Some he was satisfied with but the others he couldn't help but feel horrible inside. He noticed that everyone was fighting except for him and one of Chaos's own warriors. Exdeath. The tree stood on top of a cliff surveying the battle. Cecil noticed Exdeath's aversion to the fight and decided that the tree would be his opponent. Cecil ran down the side of the cliff he was on and then jetted across the battlefield only to run up an even higher cliff.
"It is about time," Exdeath said when Cecil arrived on the cliff.
"This is all too familiar," Cecil noted. "It will end the same way as before."
Exdeath simply laughed. "Why don't you try and find out."
Cecil took to the air and morphed into his Paladin form. He fired a ball of light at Exdeath and followed it up by charging down with his lance. Exdeath put up his defensive barrier around him and deflected the blast and Cecil's charge. The tree then appeared behind Cecil and fired a blast of energy into the knight's spine. Cecil grunted in pain as he was sent a few feet away. "Do you still believe you can win?" Exdeath taunted. "The void will take you!" Exdeath cried before engulfing the area around Cecil in the power of the void.
Within the voided area Cecil transformed into his Dark Knight form. Without warning Cecil shot his lance out from the darkness at Exdeath, taken by surprise, Exdeath teleported away. The voided area cleared and Cecil summoned his lance back to him. "Where...?" His question was met with Exdeath's sword coming at him from nowhere. The sword danced around Cecil who could only block its attacks. With no enemy to strike Cecil continued to defend himself until he could find the entropic tree. Cecil looked around for Exdeath; spotting him on a floating rock. There was no doubt that Exdeath was using his powers to levitate the rock as well.
Cecil deflected the sword away and charged up towards Exdeath. He switched to his paladin form. The knight gripped his sword tightly. Exdeath called his blade back to him and put up a large red barrier in front of him. A momentous Cecil couldn't stop his attack and was driven back when his blade connected with the shield. Exdeath counterattacked with a large blast a blue energy. The blast struck him in the stomach and disintegrated the armor plates there. Cecil flew through the air and landed on an elevated platform of rock.
"You aren't even worth sending to the void. Be gone from this place!" Exdeath vanished.
Battle Start: Tidus vs. Golbez
Tidus was running circles around the thaumaturge. "Why did you stop? This is a fight, gotta keep moving!" Tidus side-stepped to Golbez's blind side and threw his blade at him. Golbez easily deflected the blade and sent it back to the vision. Tidus back flipped and caught the blade in his left hand and threw it again. The second attack caught Golbez by surprise and the blade actually hit him. Golbez took a few steps back.
"Why do you defend my brother? Isn't there someone that you yourself should be fighting?" the thaumaturge asked.
"Because Cecil is my friend and I'll help him anyway that I can. And as for my old man..." Tidus flipped over Golbez and placed both hands on the ground. "I'll handle him later!!" Tidus charged at Golbez he collided with the ebony armored man and both of them were sent sprawling into a plateau. "That could've been executed better..." the dreamer said. Tidus was dazed and it showed in the way he was stumbling over himself.
"That was reckless, boy," Golbez said. He was levitating over a still stumbling Tidus. The thaumaturge placed both of his hands in front of him and shot out rays of lightning at the vision. The ray fully connected and the dreamer dropped to the ground face-down. His sword was lying a few inches in front of his hand. "Your resolve is shaking. Are you sure you can take on your father like this?" Golbez didn't give Tidus a chance to answer. "Do not worry, child. This conflict will see its end either way," Golbez muttered before levitating away.
Battle Start: Squall & Zidane vs. Ultimecia and Kuja
"Let the prelude begin!" Kuja cried taking to the air and dashing straight to Zidane. He made spheres of holy in his hands and began throwing them at the thief. Zidane easily dodged all of them running on the cliff sides and jumping. Using the flat end of his knives he struck the spheres and sent them straight back at Kuja. Kuja jumped backwards from where he was levitating. "Very clever, Zidane, but let's see how you handle this," he shot his right hand up towards the sky. He concentrated energy into his palm. A purple electric energy swirled around his hand and it shot out quickly over Zidane. Spheres began falling from the sky above the thief. Kuja was laughing maniacally.
Zidane realized what the reaper was doing and reacted swiftly. He took to the air and combined his knives into a swallow. He spun the weapon in his hand before thrusting it forward at Kuja.
"Time!" He heard a woman shout, and it felt like he couldn't move, or do anything for that matter.
Ultimecia smirked to herself. She stopped time for the monkey. Kuja owed her now. Ultimecia vanished and reappeared in front of the thief. She created multiple spells that the monkey would have to deal with when she released her hold on time, which was soon running out. What she didn't expect was for the lion to be closing in on them like he was.
"I got you!" Squall shouted before bringing his charged Blasting Zone down on both mages. "You were right Zidane. It was worth waiting," he said to no one in particular. Both Kuja and Ultimecia cried out and were driven into the ground by the attack. The witch's spells disappeared and Kuja's UIltima faded.
Ultimecia's grip on time over the monkey ceased and Zidane fell forward barely catching his balance. He still hadn't realized what happened. He looked down and saw Squall with his gunblade shouldered. Silently smirking at the thief. "It worked?! You mean I missed the finale?!" he fell to the ground and over to the lion. "I can't believe you.
"Your plan worked though. I can't believe they fell for something that you came up with," Squall put his hand on Zidane's head that was promptly shaken away. "Well this battle's over, time to go find everyone else."
"We're just going to leave them here?" Zidane asked following the lion.
Squall didn't answer. He simply looked forward and continued to walk.
Battle Start: Cloud vs. Sephiroth & Jecht
"Hello again Cloud. It's so nice to see you," Sephiroth murmured to the ex-SOLDIER. "How have you been?"
"Better since you aren't around," came Cloud's cold reply. "Why can't you just vanish into the shadows where you belong?"
"You should know by now that I will never fade away. There's nothing you can do. I will keep coming back stronger and stronger than before. You can't defeat me. You know this. We all know this," Sephiroth raised his blade. "Let us begin."
Cloud jumped onto the plateau behind him. Sephiroth followed him and swung his blade. Cloud swiftly blocked the shot and countered with his own. He swung the blade hard against Sephiroth's and sent the champion into the sky where he levitated. "Not bad at all," Sephiroth noted. Cloud jumped into the air towards Sephiroth. He got above his adversary and swung his blade down sending Sephiroth into the ground. The man simply laughed. He stopped himself from hitting the ground and brought himself back to his feet. "You can't win with power like that," he swung his blade vertically. Blade Beams came out rapidly, all of them hitting Cloud. Cloud fell to the ground on all fours.
"I...won't give up," Cloud stood up slowly and gripped his blade tightly. He tapped into the materia in the Buster Sword and used a Cure spell and a consecutive Lightning spell. The lightning caught Sephiroth off guard but it gave Cloud an opening that he gladly took. He charged forward with his blade in front of him. Sephiroth dodged the sword but Cloud quickly turned and grabbed Sephiroth's head with his hand. With a scream he fired consecutive fire spells out of his hand. Cloud then tossed the body away. He looked at Sephiroth who began laughing loudly. "You did well!" he said standing up. Sephiroth's entire left side of his face was coated in blood that dripped down to the ground. He laughed before vanishing away slowly. His laugh echoed through Cloud's mind.
As Cloud began to walk away he felt his head tingle. It was that feeling again. He fell to his knees. It felt like his head was going to explode. He cried out, Memories swarmed at him. "Why now?" The feeling soon subsided and the ex-SOLDIER made it to his feet. "Sephiroth...what did you do to me?"
"You shouldn't worry about him!" a man said from in front of him. Jecht began running forward barehanded. Cloud raised his weapon and moved to strike but Jecht ducked under his swipe and swung his fists at the ex-SOLDIER. Jecht got him in the stomach knocking the wind out of him and brought Cloud to his knees clutching his bruised stomach. Jecht relentlessly side-kicked him in the head sending him flying into a boulder latched to the ground. Cloud sat leaning on the rock his Buster Sword lay on the ground under his hand. "That's all you've got?!!" Jecht yelled. "You're not worth anything! I can't fight someone who can't even fight back!" Jecht turned and ran away to search for anything to fight.
Battle Start: Firion & Bartz vs. The Emperor
Firion and Bartz ran side by side notching arrows and firing at the Emperor who continuously deflected them away with ease. "This isn't working!" Bartz called. He called off the bow and materialized Zidane's swallow in one hand and Cloud's Buster Sword in the other. "Take this!" Bartz charged up to the Emperor's platform and swung both weapons down on the despot.
"No! Bartz!" Firion called. He was too late. Halfway through the swing, Bartz could no longer move.
"You fell right into my trap foolish boy!" The Emperor smirked. A ball of lightning encased Bartz. Five chains of electric energy held Bartz in the trap one around each of his wrists and ankles and another around his torso. Bartz weapons disappeared from his hands. He began to struggle but was electrocuted. "Keep struggling boy, see what happens."
"Bartz!" Firion yelled. He shot four arrows aiming for the chains within the electric sphere. The arrows sunk into the sphere and stopped then burned away.
"Don't worry about me! Just fight him," Bartz said through clenched teeth.
The Emperor was sitting in mid-air like he was on a throne. "An insect defeat an Emperor? I shall end your fantasy here!"
Firion tossed his knives into the cliff and used the ropes as leverage to get him up the cliff. He jumped up at the last stretched taking his knives out of the rocks and letting them fall into place at his ankles. "I cannot let you leave here alive, Emperor." Firion stated drawing his sword.
"Let me leave? You don't even have a say, tool," The Emperor chided. "You can't defeat me idiotic boy." The Emperor summoned multiple small spheres of lightning around Firion. "You can't escape!"
Firion threw his axe out from his imprisonment and caught the Emperor off guard. "You can't run!" He proceeded to send all his weapons out mentally at The Emperor. The seven weapons surrounded the Emperor before converging on him. "There's no escape!" Firion yelled.
The Emperor smirked to himself as he dodged the weapons gracefully. "Look behind you!" The Emperor taunted.
"Like I'm going to fall for a trick like that!!" Because Firion couldn't resist, he glanced behind him then turned back around. He did a double-take and his opened wide. There was a blue flare behind him. "Ah sh-" He screamed as the ball of fire exploded right next to him. The liegeman fell on his stomach unconscious. Pieces of charred clothing began peeling off Firion's back and flying away in the breeze. His back and legs were seared. The scent of burning flesh was heavily prevalent. He was bleeding from both ears.
"You both will make excellent bait!" The Emperor's laughed echoed through a still barely conscious Bartz until the mimic's body could no longer handle the voltage of his prison and blacked out.
Chapter End
