Dissidia 011: Undecim

As Fate Would Have It…

"Our fight with the warriors of Chaos ended with us victorious. But, that was only a slight altercation really. We had now lost time drastically and couldn't afford to dawdle any longer. The real fight…lay ahead."

Garland laughed as he and his allies stood across from us.

"Well, you're not bad after all. But, as we've said before…your attempts are futile. Defeating us in no way means that you can defeat Chaos. You should have given up long ago."

"No crying because you lost." I replied, smirking proudly at our victory.

Ultimecia laughed to herself at the overconfidence we'd clearly obtained after just one fight.

"The only tears any shall be seeing are those of Cosmos upon her dear warriors' tragic demise. Though you've defeated us…your so-called "fight" with Chaos will be anything but easy. You won't be bragging for much longer."

We all stared at them intently; ready to go for more if we had to, though we knew such a thing couldn't afford to happen. Any longer standing around, and our efforts really would be wasted. I couldn't stand the thought of that. Snow and Locke may have gone some more, but there were bigger things at hand…in case they'd forgotten.

"Just get out of our way! If you're so anxious to see us fall, you're sure doing a good job of delaying it." Locke said.

He took his stance once again.

"Unless, of course…you want some more." he said, taunting them.

Garland and his allies looked at us in annoyance. They finally realized they couldn't stop us no matter what and let things go how they were…much to our relief.

"Very well, you fools, have it your way. Go forward…and take on Chaos for yourselves. The consequence that awaits you is befitting of ones so naïve."

He looked at his allies one last time.

"Come. Let them face the end their pride so beckons for. We're finished here."

At his words, they all departed…except for one. We slowly approached him as we saw him fading away.

"What's…happening to him?" I asked.

Snow looked at his hand in silence for a moment.

"…He's fading away. That's what happens to warriors whom fall in battle. Just like Zack told us."

He clenched his fist lightly as he closed his eyes for a moment, clearly in deep thought.

The warrior sat kneeling on the ground out of breath.

"It seems…we share the same fate…in this battle. Never once has Chaos lost a warrior in this undying conflict. I suppose…even the god of discord makes mistakes."

We stared at him in silence and sorrow – our minds now clear on the thought of what would happen to us. Seeing it before our very eyes - a visual taste of what was to come…it hit each of us hard. This truly was our final time…and we had even just a mere moment to really come to understand exactly what we'd done by pursuing Chaos.

The warrior laughed lightly before speaking his final words to us.

"Rejoice, warriors of Cosmos…even in your own defeat. Despite where you may find yourselves in the end…it's nowhere near the tragedy of this harsh battle. I myself…find no regret or pain in such an end."

Finally losing his strength completely, he faded from sight in front of us. I wanted to cry, even for him, but I held it in; instead, grabbing my amulet and holding it close as I closed my eyes. It was all I could to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. Even for an adversary, I was crying – and not just a little. Maybe it was just because I'd seen death before me. Maybe…it was because I now fully understood what we faced, and fear was taking hold again.

Still…I tried to hold back the tears, but a few still fell; seven…to be exact.

I turned around to face everybody – all lost in silence and thought about what was next. One thing remained, and despite how long we'd been waiting for this…it still had us all on edge – of anticipation…and tears. Seeing Garnet's face, though she tried to hide it, even got to me.

"Alright. Chaos is up ahead. This is what we've waited for. Let's do what we came here to do." I said.

It was an uninspiring tone, but I still had my resolve. I didn't want the others to lose theirs now either. Not before the finale.

We all looked at Snow, realizing what he was trying to do, and snapping ourselves out of our current state of mind. Now wasn't the time for thinking and wondering. We'd already done all we could as far as that went and now…it was time to make it so. Whatever else remained to ponder…it would have to be left aside. Maybe, at some point, our friends would wonder the same and finally find all the answers we'd been fighting for all along. For us, however...the story was coming to a close and it was up to us to make sure this final chapter would make everything worth it.

"Right. Are we ready?" Balthier said.

Locke nodded, followed immediately by Snow, then Zack – granted, he had words to accommodate himself.

"I'm not backing down now. Are you kidding me? We didn't do all of this for nothing. Even if we fall…our efforts won't be wasted. The only way we can really fail…is to back down now." he said.

He was right, of course, and we all knew it. The only thing standing in our way now…was ourselves; this lingering feeling of doubt and fear. It was too late for second thoughts though. We all knew what we'd chosen upon pursuing Chaos alone – without our crystals – but, we hadn't let that stop us. To do so now…would make everything up to this point totally pointless, and that was far stronger than any feelings of dread.

Garnet and I were the last to respond, both with a light nod of our heads.

"Let's go." I said, softly, but in a calm voice.

We all looked ahead in the direction of Chaos with determination. No matter our fate…we'd take it head on. The only thought left on our minds, was that Cosmos and our friends could carry on later, and maybe then…we could finally and truly defeat Chaos.

Snow, Locke, Zack, and Balthier started walking as one last thought jumped to the front of my mind. I grabbed my pendant tightly as I closed my eyes, staring at the ground; one last memory of him. I just had to see his face one final time…even if I couldn't do it in person. It was too late for regret, but that wasn't what this was. I only wanted one last moment; just a quick reminder of what I was doing this for. For once…it was my turn to save him.

"Squall. I'm sorry." I said softly.

I couldn't say for sure, but I got the feeling Squall had heard me…or, at least sensed me in my final words to him. That was good enough for me as I hurried to catch up to the others, not realizing that Garnet still held back.

I turned around to see her standing quietly, perfectly still – like a statue. She appeared to be thinking of something or someone. Whatever thought was on her mind…it was clearly a bit deeper than mine.

"Cosmos. Please…forgive us." I said.

I waited a moment, standing there with my eyes closed. Upon a rising sensation that she'd heard my plea, I opened my eyes and looked ahead at the others. This was it. There was no turning back. I wasn't afraid anymore.

I took a deep breath.

"…Zidane."

At that moment, there was a loud rumbling sound and we all looked ahead knowing exactly what was going on. We couldn't wait any longer. If we didn't hurry…it would all be over. If it had to end now…it would end how we intended – not the way Chaos would have it.

"COME ON!" Snow shouted.

We all ran toward Chaos. Our final battle was about to begin.

*Author's Note* - There is an epilogue. The last little bit will be covered then. There's also a reason why only Seymour faded away.