The four of them sat there on the cold blue crystalline floor. The small campfire they had managed to get going flickered in the dark expanse of the void and its orange and red flames illuminated a small portion of the landscape. The rest of the light was provided by the mysterious runes which glowed with a pale purple light which gave off a soothing presence and a sense of safety in an otherwise inhospitable place.

Looking over his shoulder after volunteering to take the first watch, Bartz, the reluctant leader of the group cast his eye to the three women he travelled with - the two Tycoonian princesses, Lenna and Faris, and the Balan heir Krile. All three of them had lost so much over the past few months as they journeyed to try and prevent the destruction of all life as they knew it, but the final loss they had all suffered hurt him more than it hurt them. Bartz closed his eyes for a moment, letting a single tear which had been forming roll down his cheek. Brushing it away with the back of his hand, he opened his eyes again.

"Why? We could have got you out... The five of us could have taken on Exdeath... We could have stopped the fighting"

Bartz gripped the handle of the Masamune tightly in his left hand. The legendary sealed sword was his choice of weapon for this final conflict and wearing the Genji gear he had claimed as spoils from previous fights, he was almost as well armed as some of the most legendary warriors. The only thing he was missing was up until a few hours ago was the final piece of the set - the fabled Genji Armour, the chest piece which completed the set. He didn't wear it though, he simply looked at it as it lay by his side, bloodied and burned from previous encounters. It wouldn't take long to clean up and it was near indestructible so the damage was only cosmetic, but it was beside the point. He had the Genji gear, he had the legendary sword, but something was missing, a part of him he couldn't quite place until it dawned on him - the will to fight. Right up until they encountered the fearsome Necrophobe a few hours ago, they were all raring to go and bring the pain on Exdeath, but what happened in that battle chilled Bartz more than the others.

=...=...=

"Faris, Lenna, focus on defence. Re-classify to Red Mages and alternate between attack and support magic. Krile, Use your Ranger abilities with the dual wield ninja class to hit this beast hard and fast. Between the multiple attacks and the magic, we should be able to bring this thing down!"

Bartz, clad in his Genji gear and diamond armour stood holding the Masamune. He nodded to the women who fought with him as they formed up behind him, readying themselves for the battle. The Necrophobe floated there, a husk of grey torn flesh which resembled a corpse of a dead wizard, reanimated by the power and presence of Exdeath. Alongside him were four strange artefacts. As the sisters launched the magic attacks, throwing blasts of Firaga and Blizzaga at it, the spells just vanished as they neared the creature. The artefacts must have absorbed the magic or nullified it.

"What in the name of the crystals happened?"

Krile exclaimed loudly as she wielded Sauske's katana in one hand and the Assassin's dagger in her other hand, two of the twelve sealed weapons. Running forwards, she slashed at the monster, but her blades simply cut through the Necrophobe without even drawing blood or leaving a trace of damage. Jumping out the way as the strange artefacts which surrounded the Necrophobe started to rotate, as if moving in a defensive pattern, Lenna held the Sage's staff in the air and unleashed a holy-spell, utilizing the full benefits of the legendary weapon but it too was futile, the spell just vanished.

"This can't be... We can't even touch the varmint!"

Faris' blunt and colourful assessment of their situation was acknowledged by her three companions. Bartz raised the Masamune and spun it round in his hand before he ran forwards, instead of aiming at the monster, he sliced wildly at one of the artefacts. It let out a high pitched shriek of pain.

"That's it! These things must be protecting it! Everyone, refocus your efforts on the artefacts!"

Lenna cast another holy spell, this time the white light exploded across the artefact. The spell worked, and the strange object disappeared from view, fading into the very void which seemed to have spawned it. Their celebration was short lived however as the other objects reacted to the attack. One of them glowed red before it cast a spell on itself. Realising what was going to happen, Faris started to chant, using her blue mage skills she quickly cast Mighty Guard, softening the blow of the flare spell which had been flung her way. Dropping to her knees from the damage of the spell, Faris swore under her breath.

"Krile, attack the next one, I'll help Fairs. It seems some of these things have reflect so they'll bounce spells of themselves"

Bartz issued the orders and as the ninja moved off to attack, he threw a small flask filled with purple liquid towards the princess-turned-pirate. Faris nodded in appreciation and pulled the cork from the top of the bottle and drank the foul tasting liquid. X-potions were vile, but they were also highly rejuvenating and could swing the tide of battle in anyone's favour if they were ingested at the right time.

The battle raged on, Lenna and Faris alternated between healing and offense whilst Krile and Bartz hacked away at the strange creatures. It was tiresome; they could feel their will and the energies being drained with every attack they made and each one that they took. It wasn't until the last object had been destroyed that things finally got interesting.

"Hit it hard, it seems those objects were protecting it"

Krile was right with her analysis. Whatever the mysterious objects did, once they had been removed their effects were no longer relevant and the Necrophobe was vulnerable to every attack they thrown at it. The blades cut at its decaying flesh and the spells pierced its skin, but they still couldn't defeat it. Running low on magic, ethers and energy, things looked bleak as the Necrophobe boasted about how it was the one true deity of the void and how the crystal's power couldn't harm it. One by one the warriors slowly began to accept their fates. Krile closed her eyes and thought about her deceased grandfather, King Galuf of Bal. Lenna and Faris held each other's hands, cherishing the renewed relationship they shared as sisters whilst Bartz stood there, undeterred. He couldn't show weakness, everyone was counting on him. But inside, he just wished that he could be with Boko, riding on the open plains in the sunset when everything was so much simpler. Gripping the handle of the Masamune tightly in his hand, Bartz stood there. Raising his sword against the Necrophobe he took one last deep breath and let out a war cry.

"This... Ends... NOW!"

As he moved forwards, a large figure appeared from out of nowhere. Clad in well-worn armour and wielding a large array of swords, spears and axes in his multiple limbs. Spinning his spear around, he struck Bartz in the stomach and forced him backwards towards his comrades.

"I'll handle this... Surprised to see me?"

Bartz coughed as he struggled to regain the air which the mysterious warrior had knocked out of him - it was Gilgamesh, the legendary swordsman who had the strength of the entire Balan army.

"Wha-Gilgamesh?!"

Bartz'ss surprise was resonated by the rest of the party as the legendary warrior stood between them and the monster they were fighting.

"Phew! Made it. I guess you're all surprised to see me eh?"

Gilgamesh gripped his weapons tightly in his multiple arms. His eyes were filled with the same fiery determination which had filled them in their first encounter when they clashed on the big bridge.

"Hah! As if I'd just leave you in the lurch like this... I'd look like the biggest jerk in all of history! You think I'd be willing to let that happen? As If!"

The party rose to their feet, inspired by the eleventh-hour reinforcement from their unlikely ally who mere weeks ago had been their enemy, delaying them and fending them off at crucial points of their quest to destroy Exdeath. As Gilgamesh smiled, the monster behind him spoke in a chilling voice.

"Hmph! You've a big mouth... If you're so eager to fight, then you shall be the first to die!"

The monster focused its magical energy and hurled a massive Firaga spell at Gilgamesh. The flames exploded around him and danced across his skin as he shouted in pain and brushed them off.

"Oh yeah... Like that is it? Just try it Baldy!"

Gilgamesh turned to face the monster. Raising his spear and sword up, he braced himself for combat and continued his verbal assault on the creature.

"You couldn't even hold a birthday candle to the blazing flame of my winning spirit!"

Bracing himself for the next attack and the chance to make his own, Lenna cast a party-wide Curaga on herself and her allies whilst Faris renewed their magical barriers. Krile and Bartz gripped their weapons tightly but both refrained from making their attack as Gilgamesh stood before them, blocking the way, effectively taking the fight off their hands.

"Krile"

Gilgamesh's voice caught the young blonde girl's attention. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Your Grandfather... He was a pretty strong guy!"

Krile's eyes started to fill with tears at the mention of Galuf. She bowed her head respectfully to the praise Gilgamesh had lavished on him and she was thankful for the heartfelt acknowledgement to her family.

"And you Faris..."

The purple-haired princess gripped the handle of the Magus rod tightly in her hand.

"You must fall in love, or something. And try acting like a woman! If you still know how to!"

The others laughed a little at Gilgamesh's words for the tomboy princess as she shouted at him in response, but she knew deep down he was right. She had to reconnect with her feminine side, time was running out and there was no guarantee that any of them would make it through the final battle with Exdeath. Raising her rod to him, she acknowledged his words for her. Bartz however shook his head. He sensed something wasn't right. This wasn't the boastful, happy-go-lucky swordsman that they had encountered previously; it was almost like he was resigning himself to fate, and making peace with the people he considered friends in some strange way. As Bartz tried to work it out, giant spears of ice crashed down against the swordsman who again brushed the magical spell off, taunting the monster as if to say "I am invincible, you cannot harm me".

"Lenna!"

The pink haired princess' eyes shot towards Gilgamesh as he spoke to her directly.

"Always so selfless towards animals... Never lose that pure heart!"

Lenna couldn't find it in herself to reply to Gilgamesh. This was not out of spite or hatred because they had fought in the past, but like Bartz, she too had reached a similar conclusion. This wasn't Gilgamesh fighting with them or alongside them as an ally. This was Gilgamesh fighting for them, supporting their cause. She cherished his kind words and the single tear which she shed was enough acknowledgements for him.

"...And Bartz"

Bartz looked at Gilgamesh as the swordsman braced himself for another attack off the monster.

"I wanted to fight you one more time... Mano-a-mano."

Gilgamesh paused. Bartz stepped forwards as if to speak out but Faris and Lenna both stood next to him and placed their hands on his shoulders. He looked at each of them as they shook their heads. Cursing under his breath, his eyes met Gilgamesh's yellow eyes as he turned round towards them once more.

"You have admirable companions. I envy you."

Bartz looked at Lenna, Faris and Krile and then to the sky, thinking of Galuf. He closed his eyes and shook his head before he looked back up at the warrior.

"Gilgamesh"

His voice wasn't its usual steely determined self. Instead it was hoarse, weakened, filled with sorrow and sadness. He tried to be strong but he couldn't.

"Enough of this... DIE!"

The Necrophobe screamed loudly as it cast a flare spell at Gilgamesh. The powerful non-elemental spell smashed into him, dealing massive damage. The warrior didn't drop to his knees though. As the orange light from the spell faded off him. Gilgamesh used his two empty arms to remove his Genji chest piece and cast it aside. He looked over towards the party and smiled one last time before he turned his attentions back towards the Necrophobe. He snorted loudly before his eyes narrowed.

"I do believe that is my line!"

Gilgamesh's skin started to glow with a red aura. He ran forwards in a blind-charge with his weapons out, ready to strike and screaming out a powerful battle-cry. Bartz shook his head and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"NOOO!"

He tried to run forwards but he couldn't. Faris, Lenna and now Krile all held him back and held on to each other as the warrior, who hours earlier had explained how if things had been different and they met under different circumstances, maybe they all could have been friends carried out his final act. With a burst of bright red light, he grabbed hold of the Necrophobe and with one last turn of his head, his eyes met the eyes of the four crystal warriors. As all their eyes locked one last time, Gilgamesh smiled before he closed his eyes and exploded with a blast of magical energy. The four warriors were flung backwards across the crystal terrain by the blast. Once the dust and smoke from the explosion cleared, there was no trace of Necrophobe or Gilgamesh. All that remained was the cosmetically damaged piece of Genji gear and the purple runes which the Necrophobe had been guarding.

=...=...=

"You didn't have to sacrifice yourself to save us... We could have done this together. The five of us... The new generation of the Warriors of Dawn and the greatest Sword in the land... We could have done this"

Bartz closed his eyes as he held the chest piece in his hands. This time, the tears flowed freely. Rolling down his cheeks, he didn't care if the others saw him in this state. He had lost enough already, his friends, his family, his hometown, and now because of him, another person had died. Even if it was through self-sacrifice, how many more would die in the struggle to defeat Exdeath?

Looking down at the armour and then to his katana, doubts started to circle in his mind.

"Am I ready? Can I really do this? Fight Exdeath... I can't even keep myself together anymore... How can I be strong enough to lead Krile, Faris and Lenna into the biggest challenge we will ever face?"

As Bartz spoke out loud to himself, he was startled to hear the familiar sound of Faris' voice respond to him. It was rough round the edges in parts, but soothing at the same time.

"You don't need to be strong... We all do. We is all in this together Bartz... Evr'y last one o' us... Gilgamesh did what he had to... He did that so we could survive and avenge him... He might not have been one of us t'begin with, but he sure was one of us when he went out"

Faris sat down by Bartz. She placed her arm on his shoulder and pulled his head towards her chest, cradling it in her arms as he slipped his arms around her waist.

"He said what we all needed to hear... And he's right y'know. All of us, we need to remember what makes us who we are, what we have to do, what we need to do and what he believed about us... We can't let that go to waste; otherwise we'll be the biggest jerks in all of history!"

Bartz smiled as he pulled himself away from Faris. She kept her left hand on his shoulder, but with her right hand, she wiped away a tear which rolled down his cheek. She then gently caressed his cheek as he placed his hand on her thigh and rested it there.

"You're right Faris... We gotta do this now... Gilgamesh gave us yet another reason to take down Exdeath and I can't let his sacrifice be for nothing!"

Bartz stood up. He picked up the Genji chest piece and slipped it on. Faris helped to fasten him in and dusted him down before standing in front of him. Months ago, she wouldn't have thought he would be such an imposing warrior, but over time, the shared hardships they had all endured on this journey and quest to save the world had shaped them in different ways and Bartz had definitely became the strongest out of them all. Taking his hands in hers, the purple haired princess looked into Bartz's eyes. His brown eyes, still red from the mourning of their unlikely ally seemed to spark back to life. The crystal fragment he wore around his neck on a chain started to glow a pale green as a faint breeze fluttered around them. Looking back, his brown eyes looked into her pale blue eyes which burned with a passion, like the glowing red fire crystal fragment she wore on her wrist.

They both looked at their crystals resonating and then to each other. Taking the first step, Faris lifted her left arm up and took hold of the Green crystal which hung from the chain around Bartz's neck. Her hand shook as the red light from the fire crystal and the green light from the wind crystal started to crawl across her hand and link together. Bartz brought his hand up and placed it around Faris' keeping the energy contained in the link between them.

Fire - burning with courage and power. Wind - blowing across the land with freedom. The two elements combined greatly amplified each other's strengths.

Bartz looked into Faris' eyes once more. The burning flame of courage shone through in her pale blue eyes. Faris gazed back at Bartz, the free spirit of the wind swirled in his. Caught in each other's gaze and linked by the bond of their elements, the two passionately kissed, enveloping themselves in a green and red aura.

They eventually broken away from their kiss but they still stayed holding each other. Faris smiled as she looked at Bartz. Gilgamesh had given her two important pieces of advice - fall in love and remember that you are a woman so act like it from time to time. She smiled to herself as she thought to herself.

"Thank you Gilgamesh... Thank you for giving me a reason to fight once more"

Bartz placed his hand on his crystal before he let it drop down against the Genji chest piece he now wore. He ran his hand down it before letting it stop just over where he his heart was. Closing his eyes, he nodded his head and silently spoke to the deceased warrior.

"I wish I could have fought you too, one on one... Thank you for giving me a reason to believe"

Faris rested her head against Bartz's chest as he looked down at her.

"You should get some rest..."

Faris shook her head as she held Bartz tightly in her arms.

"No, not tonight... If this is the last night we are alive for... I want to spend it with you Bartz"

Faris looked up at Bartz and kissed him on the lips softly. Bartz returned her kiss and held her even tighter in his arms. As the two explored their feelings for each other, Lenna and Krile woke up. They glanced over at the new couple and exchanged glances.

"I guess Gilgamesh got through to us all..."

Lenna sighed as she remembered the words the warrior spoke before he sacrificed himself. Krile patted her on the shoulder.

"I think we need to get to sleep now, something tells me that we don't want to be awake much longer!"

Lenna nodded in agreement. As the two rolled back over by the fire and tried to sleep again, Lenna thought about Gilgamesh one last time.

He had given Krile the closure she craved by telling her that her grandfather, a man who fought against him was one of the strongest men to ever live.

He had reminded Faris that she was a woman and she should fall in love... something which Lenna had watched her sister slowly do over the past few months.

He had reminded Bartz that he wished he could have fought him one on one and that he envied his comrades and the bonds they had, which in turn seemed to strengthen his resolve and also allow him to realise his feelings for her sister.

He had told her he admired her selflessness and her pure heart. She wished she could have spoke earlier so that he could hear her words, but she couldn't as she was too overcome with emotion then. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on what she wished she had said before she whispered it, hoping that her words would somehow reach the other side and their intended recipient.

"Thank You Gilgamesh... You might have just given us the final push we needed to fight on and save the world... I hope you're watching over us."

=...=...=

A/N: Gilgamesh in FFV is one of my favourite characters in the game AND the entire FF series. I love playing the game, but the battle with Necrophobe is one of the saddest moments of the game. Since the game is severely lacking in in-depth dialogue, I thought I'd make this scene up, set in the aftermath of the battle where Gilgamesh sacrifices himself to help the heroes one final time and give them the chance to prepare for the hardest fight of the game [Shinryu doesn't count - break-sword lol!]

Read and Review please. If you like what you read, I might do some more stories based on FFV