A lovely sunset bathed the landscape, it was as if all colors were inexistent before this occured. The sun was now creating a complete palette swap of the picture. The hills, the trees, the river, the houses, all became covered in vermillion shades as if they were on fire, and only a small amount of it remained in the shadows and shyly showed their true color.
An old man fishing on the stream with a wide smile on his face.
A happy couple hugging as they observed the warm colors of the horizon.
A group of children playing in the backyard of a house, enjoying the few last moments before it turns dark and their mothers call them home.
And, which was not unusual, a bright stream of aurora-shaped lights dancing in the skies, adding up to the rapsody of coloration. It resembled the polar light in many aspects, except it's movement caused tiny wispers to be heard to whoever bent his head to observe the sight.
These are Hills Echo, and it is a world at peace.
But...
All of the sudden, the sun died. The sky became dark. Darker than night. Darker than cold. Darker than sin.
Not even stars were visible anymore. The only light that was left to illuminate the sanctuary below was the everdancing bright aurora in the sky, and even this seemed uneasy.
The darkness came all of the sudden. No one knew what it meant.
The old fisherman looked up in confusion, not even he saw anything of the like in his lifetime.
The couple that gazed the sunset was now looking around in fear, as if they felt a sudden pain of having the sunlight taken away.
The kids that played ball all stood still, and the ball was left alone on the ground.
„What is it?" one of them asked. No one answered. No one dared.
And this was the short calm before the cataclysm...
The fisherman suddenly felt his fishing rod being pulled. After the split second when he looked down to see what was happening, hoping to have caught some fish, something jumped out of the water, creating a great wave upon ascencion. The thing's features were blurry as everything was covered in darkess, but it's sinister crimson eyes that gleamed in the dark were more than enough to terrify the old man. Seconds later, more of them jumped out. Needless to say, the man was terrified.
„Wha- What's going on!"
A similar thing happened to the couple on the hills. Out of nowhere, a bunch of shady creatures appeared, with eyes as red as blood and with glares as sinister as rage. In size, none of them surpassed a ten-year old child, but they had sharp snouts and tips of fingers, and their proportions were way to edgy and way to bizzare to be human.
„Dear, what are they?" the girl asked in fright.
„I don't know" the man responded as the creatures slowly surrounded them.
The same kind of creatures surrounded the playing children. They appeared like slimy extentions of shadows arround them. None of the kids dared to say a word. Fear left them completely stiff.
And then, without warning, one of those things suddenly blew his mouth wide and spat out a slimy ball of fire at the house behind them.
The first scream announced the state of panic,and everyone scattered as more and more of those things followed the attacker's example, incinerating everything in sight, occasionally slashing things down with their claws, and (offscreen) turning on the people as well. And the people... They just kept running away. No one knew where, or why. Their entire world was in flames and smokes. There was no escape. Terror consumed Hills Echo.
Among the frightened crowd was a boy, about ten years at age, with black short hair that was mostly pointed backwards, except for the few strings in front, which in shape resembled a windmill. He kept looking around, in fright, in panic, helpless, trying to find something but instead just saw destruction going on. A woman called out to him:
„Vosel! Vosel!"
boy: „Huh? (looks around) Mother! Mother!"
„Vosel!"
At last, he saw her, but this was not what he wished for: his mother was at the doorway of their home, which was completely consumed by flames, and those evil creatures kept closing in on her...
„Vosel!"
boy: „MOTHER!"
...
episode 1: "Rushdown in Midgar. Awaken Full Form!"
(seven years later)
The City of Midgar.
It is a typical urban area in which people go around their daily duty and don't really feel any difference in their daily schedule, or care about it. A completely dull system that works like a many-geared watch. And if one of the gears gets removed, the city groans, but basically ignores it. It is because it was more like a hill of power than a real city: those in the center dominate over those at the edge, and things become more severe as you make a greater distance between yourself and the central area.
People were left with nothing to care about. Most things they ever desired were delivered to them by the newly founded Shinra company. It is the company that has found a way to provide limitless energy for the city's residents... under the cost of drying their world's life energy away. The entire enviorment, even in sunny days such as this, gave up a gray scenery.
And the boy from seven years ago is here. Ony the boy grew up to become a young man.
Name is Vosel. Currently having his face hidden behind a very large map, sticking out of the crowd for bearing more color than most people around him, even if it was only his indigo shirt.
Vosel: (puts the map down, sighs)„Man, there's no telling up and down in this town. (puts the map away, and speaks to random people) Hello, excuse me... Pardon me... Do you mind? Is there a way to... (realizes no one cared) Oh confound it. (looks up in the sky; a bird is flying high above him) Would it have been any different if I...?"
Elsewhere, a man with long silver hair gazed upon the city from one of the skyskrapper's rooftops. (that's not exactly true: the skyscrapper he was standing on was one of the reactors in the city center)
„... (grins) He's here."
And the next moment, he vanished.
Vosel kept pacing his way through the city without seemingly getting anyway. His expression wasn't anything special either, he seemed dulled as if he just woke up.
Vosel: „(sigh) Something's telling me there's no way finding anything here either. (notices a sign hanging out; a sign for a bar) Huh? (read it out loud) '7th Heaven'1, huh?"
With nothing else in mind, he though why not have some rest. Not that it was anything to be resting from (yes it was one of those kind of days), so he decided to have a drink at the bar.
The atmosphere inside the bar was no different than the one on the outside. No one seemed to care or know about life. People were thinking about nothing.
Vosel: „Some crowd we got here... (sigh)"
And then, there was the first sight of real life in the city: the woman behind the desk was a pretty lady with long brown hair.
/Tifa Lockheart/
She was cleaning a glass and humming a strange tune until she noticed Vosel approach. It's her smile that gave life a new meaning in this otherwise dull city. Vosel couldn't help but to smile back.
Tifa: „Good afternoon, welcome to 7th Heaven."
Vosel: „Good afternoon. (sits down)"
Tifa: „What's it gonna be?"
Vosel: „Hmmm... Surprise me, I have no preferences. Something simple would be nice,and a
glass of water."
Tifa: „Alright then."
Another costumer was calling out.
„Oi, check please."
Tifa: „Coming. (to Vosel) Excuse me for a second."
Vosel nodded to the girl before she left to serve other costumers.
Vosel: „Can a single person really make that much of a difference? (shrugs)"
Elsewhere, on the streets of Midgar, a young man was riding a heavy motorcycle. It was a blonde man with spiky hair and mostly black garments, and out of all the possible safety equipment he seemed satisfied only with a pair of sunglasses. He also wore a large, and I do mean large sword on his back, whose blade was covered in bandages. The ride itself didn't seem anything out of the ordinary, considering how much „ordinary" you'd think a bike was regarding the status of the person riding it.
/Cloud Strife/
As he rode undisturbed down the streets, he barely noticed he was being watched from above. The only clue left to this fact was a shadow striding next to him on the road below, but then...
„Sanshinrei!"
Cloud heard that call, and in the next few seconds he was almost hit by a series of 3 shockwaves shaped like swordslashes from above. Fortunately, he dodged them all, but the shock he took forced him to brake and pull over. He raised his sunglasses to get a better look at what was comming.
„Long time no see, Cloud."
It's hard to say whether Cloud was surprised or shocked on who he saw standing on higher grounds looking down at him, but fact was he didn't like it.
It was the same long silver haired man from before. Given his position in the sunlight, you could now cleary see his vile blue-eyed glare and his attire. The most notable feature was his weapon of choice: a katana at least 3 times the length of a normal one.
/Sephiroth/
Cloud: „(tsk) It's you."
Sephiroth: „Why so disappointed? How long has it been since last you saw a worthy
opponent? Time did not go easy on you."
Cloud: (grabs his sword) „Easier than you think. (unsheats it) Wasn't it you who abandoned the fight?"
Sephiroth: (puts his katana ina fighting stance) „I was just letting you become stronger. That way my triumph would be verified."
Cloud: „You'd be surprised!"
At that moment, they both leaped in the air and held their weapons in offensive stance. The leap on Cloud's behalf was greater than Sephiroth's since he had to catch up with the heighst.
Sephiroth: „Sanshinrei!"
Cloud: „Cross-Braver!"
Both warriors slashed the air in front of them, sending waves of energy in form of cuts at each other. Sephiroth's attack included 3 fast slashes with his katana and Cloud's was one larger shockwave. The attacks collided and ended in an explosion, and both fighters descended at the ground with weapons on standby.
Cloud: „You haven't changed a bit, always using the same tactics."
Sephiroth: „Really? Then how about I show you something new? (fingersnap)"
On Sephiroth's cue, Cloud sensed a disturbance in natural balance. He looked around and noticed something that horrified him: out of the shadows, a bunch of strange creatures started emerging, with bodies as edgy as death and eyes so red and sinister it was like the entire world was on fire in those eyes.
Cloud: „(gasp) What are they...?"
One of those things jumped at him...
Meanwhile, in 7th Heaven:
Tifa just served Vosel the meal he ordered. It was a simple sandwitch and a glass of water.
Tifa: „Here you go."
Vosel: „Ah,thanks. (picks up the glass of water)"
The so called dulled silence in the bar suddenly broke to shreads as a huge man walked into the bar, almost crushing the door as he made a sudden enterance. Vosel coughed some of the swallowed water back into the glass out of sudden uproar.
„Tifa! We've got trouble!" he yelled.
The man looked like a huge, black brute, with black hair and a short beard in T-Bone style. Notably, his right hand was completely covered by what seemed to be a large metal glove.
/Barret Wallace/
The conversation that followed was loud enough for everyone inside to hear.
Tifa: „Barret? What's the rush?"
Barret: „It's Cloud, he's engaging Sephiroth!"
Tifa: „What, Sephiroth returned?"
Barret: „Yeah, and looks like the sucker brought company. Cloud's having the fight of a lifetime!"
Without thinking, Tifa jumped across the serving desk in figher fashion and got next to Vosel in a moment.
Vosel: „Oi, what's happening?"
Tifa: „A friend in distress. I gotta go, lunch's on the house!"
And she stormed out, and Barret soon followed. Vosel watched them in confusion, not knowing how to react to the sudden turn of events.
Vosel: „A friend... (loks at his meal) So freinds are still valued here. I went on this journey to become stronger. How do I acomplish that without compassion?"
In his memories:
A strange man whose visage was shaded by the sun handed something over to the 10-yearold Vosel.
„You wish to become stronger? Take it. Become strong. It is still incomplete, though."
Present time...
Vosel: „... Alright. Here I go! (stands up)"
At the streets of Midgar, the once dull atmosphere turned upside down. Panic and uproar consumed the streets, as people were running around in different directions, most notably, away from something... except for Tifa and Barret, who were headed just in the opposite direction.
Tifa: „You think it's this way?"
Barret: „It's either them or a really ugly guy performing over there."
And all of the sudden, a large bang followed as at least one of the surrounding houses' walls collapsed. Out of the smoke screen that followed, two warriors came out: Cloud and Sephiroth. Not waiting a second, both clashed in mid air, their weapons creating sparks upon colliding. They eventually leaped to one of the rooftops of one of the houses, facing each other.
Tifa: „Cloud!"
Cloud: „(notices the two of them)... Tifa, Barret, stay out of this!"
Sephiroth: „You shouldn't let your guard down. The fight is not over yet."
Barret: „Wanna bet! (points his right hand in Sephiroth's direction; the hand suddenly shapeshifts into what appears to be a metal cannon of sorts; it started charging energy) Big Shot! (fires it)"
Barret shot up a large projectile that looked like an orange ball of energy, in Sephiroth's direction. Seconds before it hit it's target, Sephiroth vanished from the spot he was standing on. The projectile created a mighty explosion on where Sephiroth was standing, either consuming the place in flames or turning it to ashes. A lot of property below was in flames as well, and a great chunk of concrete fell down on the street.
Barret: „Did I get 'im? (suddenly changes his expression into a shocked one) Hmgh!"
Sephiroth walked out of the inferno Barret created, completely unphased by the fires around him. He picked up his large katana and put in on his shouder.
Sephiroth: „Hmph, you two are annoying. (snaps his fingers)"
By the time Cloud noticed what he did, it was too late.
Cloud: „(gasp) Tifa, Barret, look out!"
Tifa: „For what? ... Huh?"
And there it was: the air started shiverring around them, and those awful creatures materialized in front of them. Those egdy, red-eyed things from before, dozens of them. Only now in the sunlight,their features were finally exposed:
/Scrapper/
Apart from their red eyes, their bodies where either blue or black. Their heads where diamond-shaped, and the tips of their fingers sharp enough to cut through metal. There was a strange symbol engraved on their chest: a malformation between a bunch of arrows and a heart. The lot of them growled and brandished their claws.
Tifa: „What the...?"
Barret: „Who invited these guys?"
They did not response in terms you'd understand. The Scrappers all leaped up and attacked at once.
„Twin Claw!"
Tifa managed to avoid all those attacks, but Barret was a little too slow and got hit by a few of them. Still, a big man like himself withstood the impact. The claws of those creatures created a few scratches in his chest and his right arm.
Barret: „You little pieces of rot, that's my favorite arm! (points his gun-arm at them) Smash Angermax! (rapidly fires a gatling-stream of bullets from the gun-arm; all Scrappers hit by that fire were pulverized on the spot)"
Tifa: „(releases a battle-cry, then attacks) Take this, Beat Rush! (rapidly punches all Scrappers in front of her, beating them badly)"
Both attacks hit a great amount of enemies, and the Scrappers were either beaten up or shot to pieces and vanished.
Tifa: „(smiles) They ain't tough."
But that was a ruse. Before their eyes, Scrappers that were in pieces were reassembling themselves, and those that were beaten up stood up with no apparent signs of damage. Worse yet, more Scrappers appeared out of nowhere in exactly the same numbers as those that were pulverized by Barret.
Tifa: „What!"
Barret: „If they weren't hit, then what have we been doing?"
Another surprise hit them soon. Barret noticed a large shadow covering him, and when he turned around to see what it was, he was punched in the face by something. The punch had enough strength to crack a wall, and Barret only stepped back a few feet. He then noticed what attacked him: a creature similar to the Scrapper, but at least two times his own size, and instead of claws, it had knuckle-shaped fists and a huge belly covered with rough skin with the same odd heart-symbol on it.
/Bruiser/
Barret:"What, you wanna piece of me? (charges up his gun-arm) Hammer Shot! (punched the Bruiser in the belly while releasing a powerful shot)"
The attack damaged the Bruiser severely. In fact, there was a hole in it's belly. But the Bruiser, well... he looked up and took a deep breath, and just like that, the ole filled up again and it was completely healed.
Barret: „Come on, what gets rid of you?"
The situation was turning for the worst for those two, and Cloud only watched as the Scrappers and Bruisers kept regenerating or returning in greater numbers. None of the attacks worked against them.
Cloud: „They keep coming back no matter how many times they are defeated... (looks at Sephiroth) Sephiroth, what have you wrought!"
In reply, Sephiroth simply smiled and lifted his katana up.
Elsewhere, Vosel was following the source of the panic streak and run downstreet. People around him kept screaming in panic of monsters having appeared in the city.
Vosel: „There is comotion up ahead... I cannot... I will not let it spread!"
And then he saw the scene: Cloud, Tifa and Barret desperately fighting off those odd creatures, only for them to either regenerate or return with backup. Then one of those Scrappers looked at him, and Vosel... he recognized it...
Vosel: „(gasp) Those are..."
In his memories, those exactly the same things attacked and destroyed his home. His mother, his friends, they took it all away...
Vosel: „Those are... the same things... (screams up and charges the scene of event) Now I deffinitely won't back down! Keyblade, to me! (his right arm radiates an odd light)"
Cloud: „Tri-Buster!"
Cloud smashed the ground with his giant sword, creating 3 individual shockwaves in front of him. Every Scrapper that happened to be in front of his edge was eliminated on the spot. But these regenerated and more of them stood in their stead moments later.
Cloud: "Not again..."
Tifa and Barret were in an even worse situation, cornered by an entire horde of those things.
Barret: „There's no end to them... How the heck do we beat those things?"
Vosel: „YEAAAAAA..."
Barret: „Huh, what the...?"
Vosel: „...AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGG! Bomb Rusher!"
To everyone's surprise, Vosel came by running, right at the spot where the monsters gathered.
Most notable feature was his newfound weapon: it looked like a large, dark steel cane with 3 edgy tips on one end and an oddly designed handle witch overall gave it a key-like appearance.
He rushed at the Scrappers, slashing them one at the time in random order, rapidly attacking every Scrapper he came across. Once the number of attacks reached a significant level, he stood still, and let the slashes catch up with them. Behind him, all Scrappers that were cut by his weapon, all of the sudden, turned to dust.
Without backing down, Vosel got up searching for an alternate target. However, it seemed the target found him instead, as a Bruiser approached him and attempted to punch him. Vosel was just fast enough to avoid a narrow hit, and the monster cracked the ground below him instead.
But Vosel wasn't done yet.
Vosel: „Hrrrrrggghhh... Frost Spike!"
A large chunk of ice formed at the tip of his weapon, and Vosel launched in at the Bruiser, hitting it in the head and backing it down.
Vosel: „Burning Halberd!"
The weapon then ignited and was surrounded in flames, and Vosel slashed the Bruiser vertically with it leaving an obvius scorch-mark over it. After the flames consumed it, the Bruiser exploded. Vosel kept breathing heavily, as the array of attacks took their toll on his stamina. The other fighters were... well, I'd say astonished, but surprised is a more proper term to use, the point is they didn't expect to see him come around.
Barret: „Hey, who the heck are you now?"
Vosel: „The name's Vosel. And I want these things dead. Doesn't that make me an ally?"
Cloud: „Don't get cocky, just because you... Wait a minute! ... Those enemies he slashed up, they didn't come back. (looks at his weapon) That's an interesting sword you've got there."
Vosel: „What, this? Heheh... It is my special Keyblade, Tri-Disaster. As fast as my thought, as strong as my heart."
„Keyblade you say?"
Vosel: „Huh?"
Vosel barely noticed it, but behind him, in a flash, Sephiroth appeared. It was a moment of horror, having a superior opponent behind his back. He didn't even have the time to turn around before...
Sephiroth: „You, Keyblader... You're annoying."
Then, he slashed Vosel with his katana, and Vosel was practically catapulted into a nearby wall. The might of the impact was immense, the wall cracked and a great amount of dust raised up, so no one could see in what condition he was in. No normal human would have survived that anyway.
Tifa: „(gasps and wides her eyes) That kid..."
Barret: „(same expression) There's no way he stood a chance against Sephiroth's Masamune."
Sephiroth: „Hmph, you're not that strong. I didn't even use the sharp edge."
(if he had, the scene would have become a lot messier)
Sephiroth had little time to boast, as Cloud suddenly charged him and the two again clashed in a battle, apparently in favor of Sephiroth. Things weren't exactly bloomy for Barret and Tifa either, as there was a whole lot of Scrappers left.
Barret: „(readies his gun-arm) Not to be stupid, but any ideas?"
There was a short moment of silence from both sides before a new voice was heard:
„Guys!"
Everyone's attention was turned towards the source of the voice: it was a young brunette girl with long, curly hair and wearing a pink dress. She beared a concerned expression on her face, praying for the conflict to end.
/Aerith Gainsborough/
Cloud: "Aerith, stay back!"
Aerith: „I won't. My friends need me. And so do you. (puts her hands into a praying position, and soon she started radiating with bright light focusing on two floating spheres of light in front of her) Healing Wind."
The two orbs of light she formed flew all the way to Tifa and Barret, healing their respective injuries and recovering their stamina. Seeing how well her technique worked, she tried again:
Aerith: „Healing..."
Sephiroth: „Well..."
Aerith: (gasp)
Sephiroth: „You finally arrived."
It was hard to realize what just had happened: whatever occured, Sephiroth was now standing right behind Aerith.
Tifa: „Aerith!"
Barret: „When did he get there!"
Cloud: „(observes as Sephiroth is dangerously close to Aerith) No... Aerith, run!"
Cloud jumped forward in an attempt to intercept Sephiroth, but one of the remaining Scrappers saw him and counteracted:
„Breath Blast!"
It spat a slimy ball of fire about the same size as the creature itself, and this hit Cloud hard and forced him for a hard landing. While he was slowly getting up, he still cared more about his friends than his burnmarks.
Cloud: „(shivering in pain)... Aerith..."
Sephiroth: „I thought I told you to become strong, Cloud. You disappoint me. You're still far too concerned for your own friends than yourself, and that makes you weak. So... (flips his Masamune up) how would you be if I... (gets into an offensive stance)... Killed this woman?"
The last sentence shocked everyone present, and their stress-rate increased exponentially.
Cloud: „DON'T DO IT!"
Cloud tried to get up, but as soon as he was half way up,dozens of Scrappers surrounded him and pinched him to the floor.
Cloud: „ AERITH!"
Tifa and Barret were in no better condition: Scrappers kept grabbing their bodyparts immobilizing them. Even the hulk Barret couldn't move from that point on, and they so really wanted to break free, otherwise...
Sephiroth: „Then it is decided... (leaps up, Aerith was frozen in fear) You die. Murasama!"
Sephiroth dived down, about to slash Aerith with his huge sword...
She couldn't move...
Cloud: „NOOOOOOO...!"
clang...
Aerith had closed her eyes expecting the finishing blow... But she felt nothing. She opened her eyes, and saw the reason: there was someone blocking the Masamune from coming any further. It was Vosel.
Sephiroth: „What?"
Vosel was barely standing up, and most of his face was covered in his own blood. Hid keyblade,Tri-Disaster, kept a strong position and wouldn't let the Masamune move any further despite his injuries.
Cloud: „He's alive?"
Aerith: „You just..."
Vosel: „You alright?"
Aerith: „Huh?"
Vosel: „The big bad boogyman didn't scare you... did he?"
In a split second, Vosel gathered just enough strength to backoff Sephiroth and put some distance between the two of them.
Sephiroth: „So you survived. Then why did you not flee for the hills as you were supposed to?"
Vosel: „I have... No interres in fleeing... anymore."
Sephiroth: „This doesn't concern you, keyblader. I was to take but a single life. What drove you into this kind of acting?"
Vosel was gasping heavily so it took him a while to respond... He remembered again, the day when he lost everything. The flames, the screams, the voices, and him, helpless, weak...
Vosel: „I have failed an entire world once... I will not... (looks up to him, and responds screaming) I will not have a single more life on my conscience! (his keyblade became engulfed in flames) Burning Halberd!"
Vosel tried to attack Sephiroth from short distance while his keyblade was still blazing, but the expert swordsman dodged every single one of his slashes, then pushed the keyblader down and pointed the Masamune right into his face.
Sephiroth: "As if you have a choice who remains on your conscience. You're just like Cloud, the poeple you're fighting for are all weak, and so are you. A pathetic weakling, that's what you are!"
Vosel: „YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW!"
Sephiroth: „What?"
Vosel: „I know that I'm weak. I know...That I cannot match you in strength. But still... (looks up to him) That doesn't mean I can just sit around and do nothing while everybody else is getting hurt. I just won't!"
Cloud: „... (silently) Neither will I. (starts fighting the crushing pressure the Scrappers have put upon him)"
Sephiroth: „... Hmph, how touchy. In that case, you just might... (lifts his blade above him, then suddenly Vosel gets up and attacks him) What? (Sephiroth blocks all of his attacks, but Vosel doesn't back down) Just how great is your enduriance? (kicks Vosel in the face, sending him backwards; he had trouble getting up) I've had enough of you."
Cloud: „SEPHIROTH!"
Sephiroth: „What?"
Cloud somehow overwhelmed the Scrappers that kept peeling him down, and was now rushing for Sephiroth with his sword at offense. He clashed the ground in front of the silve-haired swordsman, and this one had no choice but to leap away.
Cloud: „It's just as he said. I cannot let you hurt anymore of my friends. As much as I won't admit it, I need them! And they need me!"
Aerith, Tifa and Barret were all touched by what they heard. By this time, Vosel got up and started gazing upon the many Scrappers that remained standing. Sephiroth just scofled.
Sephiroth: „Then you really are weak. (to Scrappers) Finish them!"
The Scrappers kept slowly closing in to Vosel and Cloud, both fatigued beyond words, but neither one of them standing down.
Vosel: „I've got it up here with running... If I turn my back now I will never be able to live with myself. I don't won't anymore people to suffer!"
Then, something unexpected occured: his keyblade, Tri-Disaster, it started giving out a strong radiant glow, which surrounded it like a mist.
Vosel: „What the...?"
Without warning, Cloud was surrunded with the same kind of glow, however, he didn't notice it.
Vosel: „Cloud too..."
And then he remembered:
At the time he met the strange man from his past, he handed him over the Tri-Disaster keyblade and told him:
„It's still incomplete. Become strong. Attain it's full form. Just... call the name."
Vosel: „It's all making sense now. (looks at his keyblade) This better work. (out loud) Cloud, Full Form! (the glow of the blade increased intensively)"
Cloud: „What did you say?"
Then, the powerful glow erupted before their very eyes, everyone, including Sephiroth and even the Scrappers, were blinded by the occurence.
Sephiroth: „Gyaaaah, what is happening?"
But Aerith... she saw what was happening, all the beauty of it:
Aerith: „Keyblade... Full Form."
„Cloud! Full Form!"
Cloud dissolved into particles of light, and this stardust encycled first Vosel's keyblade, and then the rest of his body, showering him in radiant light. The light covered him up like a blanket, and then the respective parts of the body became visible: first his ams, then his feet, then his torso, and finally his head, in a new form: the entire body, tip to toe, was covered in shining armor that fit his body like a glove. Distinctive features were a heart-like symbol on his chest, and the same emblem was visible on his shouldes, gauntlets and legs. His helmet bared extentions that looked like horns in the area where his ears would usually be, and the cover-up is so intense that only his eyes remained visible. Finally a cape appeared, and the knight grabed it and tosed it aside in gentleman kind of way while speaking up his own name:
„Vosel... Knight!"
Where once two people were left, now a single warrior stood his grounds: a powerful knight completely covered in radiant armor.
Vosel: „What just happened? (looks at his hands, now armored up) I've got armor?"
Cloud: „Hey where am I?"
Vosel: „What?"
(Cloud appears next to him in spiritual form)
Cloud: „Where did you bring me here?"
Vosel: „I honestly have no idea... It's like I can hear your thoughts from the inside."
Sephiroth was not amused by the sight.
Sephiroth: „Is that the same kid from before? They have the same voice... Unversed, attack!"
On their cue, the Scrappers started charging the armored warrior with their claws in the very front.
Vosel: „No time for argument. First I'll fulfill my sworn duty. Keyblade! (summons a keyblade) Fang Edge!"
He summoned a keyblade into his hand, but this was not his Tri-Disaster. It looked more like Cloud's Buster Sword given a key-like appearance. It also now held a keychain, shaped like the logo on Cloud's motorcycle, not to mention the dimensions of the blade were greater than before.
Vosel: „Wha the... My Tri-Disaster has changed. (sees the rampaging Scrappers) Alright, let's put it to use. Deep Divide!"
Vosel then suddenly sped up and charged the horde of Scrappers, ramming most of them in the front with the keyblade in front of him. Every demonic creature hit turned to dust upon impact.
Vosel: „Such speed. Zero Sacrament!"
Energy bursted through the keyblade, the Fang Edge, and as soon as Vosel smashed it into the ground, a ring of light surrounded him and vaporized many Scrappers that were around him.
Vosel: „Such power! Heheh, it's awesome!"
Tifa: „Is that... Vosel?"
Barret: „I dunno what he ate today, but I wanna try it."
Sephiroth: „Impossible, where did that kid suddenly get this much power? ... Huh! (he notices it; from a different plain of observation, he saw 2 heart-shaped objects beating inside Vosel's being) Two hearts? Then that means Cloud is..."
Vosel: „Deep Divide! Hargh! (rams a group of Scrappers, aninilating them) Hyah! (rams another one) Zah! (and another) Oh yeah! (and another)"
He got really close to the group that was holding Tifa and Barret tight, and these showed no regard for abandoning their duty.
Vosel: „Let them go. Zero Sacrament!"
Vosel smashed the keyblade into the ground in front of Tifa and Barret, thus sending a showering array of light that anihilated all Scrappers holding them down, but the human friends were untouched by that attack.
Vosel: „Heheh, this rocks! Such power!"
Barret: „Wow, you really caught us on a freaky Friday, say when did you get this strong, kid?"
Vosel: „No idea, It's like I and Cloud felt the same thing, and then we somehow fused with each other."
Tifa: „Fused? Then where's Cloud?"
Vosel: „Well..."
„Murasama!"
Vosel was cought off-guard as Sephiroth attacked him from above, and knocked the powerful knight into the next wall.
Sephiroth: „I didn't expect that, least from you Cloud."
Sephiroth did not seem at all surprised when Vosel got out of the smokescreen created when the wall collapsed, completely unphased by his attack.
Sephiroth: „Say it again, who are you?"
Vosel: „Say my name. ... Say the name! The name is... Vosel Knight! (quickly charges at Sephiroth, who barely halted his bullet-fast advance with his blade)"
Sephiroth: „Such a powerful attack... (he is still knocked back a dozen feet)"
Vosel: „Your last stop, Sephiroth. (charges up his keyblade) HaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHH! Thunder Tower! (raises the blade high, now piled up with a tall cloud of electricity) Yeah! (smashes the pile in front of him, creating a linear shockwave)"
Sephiroth didn't evade the attack in time, and the entire pile of lightning stream hammered him down and knocked him into the remains of walls at sonic speed. More than a few crumblings of walls signified his certain defeat, although this was unverified due to the humongous amount of dust that raised in it's place. Vosel Knight observed the result of his last attack, prodly punching his own chest once, then raising the two fingered peace sign on the same hand. Hard to see from the helmet, but he smiled.
Vosel: „Heheh, Victory."
Seconds later, a radiant light swalloed Vosel Knight's being, and spat out what appeared to be Cloud and the original Vosel. Out of those two, the first difused into a strong standing position, while the other one (Vosel) ended up knocked down to the ground like he sliped on something.
Vosel: „/O.O/ (blink, blink) Wow... That was amazing, I never knew I could do that."
And without warning, Cloud pointed his Buster Sword at him.
Vosel: „Wha'? Hey..."
Cloud: „Spare me your heys, what was that thing you did moments ago?"
On that cue, Tifa and Barret came running to them.
Tifa: „Is everything alright?"
Barret: „Now hey, what's that for?"
Cloud: „You wanna know? Ask him. I don't know what happened during the battle with Sephiroth, but I do know you've been using my skills, and I was left somewhere without a phisical existence. You absorbed me, didn't you!"
Vosel: „What? (sweats heavily and rapidly waves his hands) Now wait a second, it was my first time doing that too, I have no idea what I did either."
Cloud: „Tsk... (puts the blade away) Well anyway, don't do it again without my approval. I would like to thank you, however, for saving Aerith's life."
(just for the record, he didn't seem that grateful, at least his expression wasn't)
Tifa: „Well that's true, I think he does deserve a little credit."
Barret: „Yeah, if it wasn't for the dude we probably wouldn't have beaten Sephiroth and the little nasties this easy."
„Defeat?"
Everyone's attention turned into the direction where the last voice came from: it was the cloud of dust where Sephiroth was launched at. And the voice, also belonged to Sephiroth.
Seconds later, someone, well guess who, leaped out of the cloud of smoke higher into the air than anyone would anticipate. There was still something different from his current attire, though.
Sephiroth: „(chuckles) No, I am not defeated that easily, only my actions postpone a little."
The smoke then cleared, and there was no doubt it was the sinister grin of Sephiroth behind it.
But then...
Sephiroth: „You amazed me, keyblader. I never thought I would be forced to use this today... (suddenly, a huge black-feathered wing sprouted out of his right shoulder, and he remained floating in the air)"
The people below where in yet another state of shock.
Cloud: „But that's the..."
Sephiroth: „Hmhm... One-Winged Angel. (lifts his Masamune)"
Vosel: „(shocked, gasping)... What is that? ... "
- to be continued...
Vosel: „Yosh! It's time to check my journal for all the nasty things I run into. Let's see, today's featured page is...
Scrapper
This Unversed attacks usually with it's claws and moves at great speed, but the latest model also features a combustion attack, the Breath Blast, seriously dude, get a breathmint. They appear very commonly and make up the most of the bad guys' army, but they're fortunately weaker than usual and my faithful skills can fell them in a single blow!
Yosh! Now let's see what happens next! Please come watch, heheh."
(next time)
Vosel: „So that thing I did was the Full Form, right?"
Aerith: „Yes, when it comes to it, a keyblader can unite his heart with another one to..."
Vosel: „Yeah, okay, better save the explanation for the next time, but why won't it work now!"
Aerith: „Full Form doesn't work always, you know?"
Vosel: „No, but how do you know?"
Vincent: „She just does."
Vosel: „WAH, there's a vampire out there!"
Aerith: „Nope, our friend is just a little paler than usual."
Vosel: „You've got some weird crowd, and now there's these Unversed guys and this huge Weapon, what the hell!"
Vosel: „Next time on 'Heartkeepers': Train, Vosel! Battle the Ultimate Weapon! I'll definitely become, Kingdom Hearts!"
- Kingdom Hearts concept and it's characters are created and owned by: Square Enix, Disney, Pixar, and many more
original appearances:
Tifa, Barret, Cloud, Sephiroth, Aerith- „Final Fantasy VII"
Unversed: Scrapper, Bruiser