KH4 Tales of the Radiant Garden gang and others:
Cloud's resolve
This slightly overlaps with my KH3 story and beyond. Depending on how this turns out, I'll probably do different short stories here as a collection.
-Before Birth By sleep in Radiant Garden-
Cloud lived in the town with Tifa, who he'd known for a long time, Yuffie, the self-proclaimed 'Greatest ninja ever', Squall (Leon), who had recent lost someone close to him, Aerith, Cid, Merlin and Zack.
Minus Cid, a lot of them were young teens at this point: Squall was currently 13, Zack was currently 14, Aerith being the same age as Zack, Cloud 13 and Yuffie being a year younger than Cloud but Tifa was about the same age as him at this time.
They mingled with the townfolk whenever they were in the market area or near the castle that belonged to Ansem the wise. Scrooge had just recently landed there after the gummi-ships had been invented.
One day there were whispers of a warrior from another world named Sephiroth.
Zack had his original hairstyle of short, thick black spikes with bangs framing his face and bright blue eyes wearing grey armour over his SOLDIER uniform of two silver pauldrons, black gloves, a brown guard over his abdomen, two belts over the aforementioned guard, and his blue pants and turtleneck, significantly brighter than Zack's original navy-coloured clothing.
Zack's brown, knee-high sandals also bear the vague design of his original black, knee-high boots, and he wears black socks underneath them. Small parts of his outfit have had swirls added to them. He had his original SOLDIER sword as a weapon. The SOLDIER's logo was om both in his sword and in his brown guard, just above the belts.
Zack and Cloud went out to see him.
"I have fought alongside other soldiers in different wars. I'm here to find potential helpers" Sephiroth said in a professional manner.
"Is it hard to fight enemies with your long sword?" Zack asked.
"It doesn't really bother me but...if you used my sword it would difficult, yes" Sephiroth replied, respectfully.
"Can I watch you fight?" Zack asked, eagerly.
"Sure. Any volunteers?" the famed warrior requested.
Everyone stepped back in response.
A projection of Darklings were used to demonstrate his strength as Sephiroth slashed them effortlessly with his sword.
The crowd cheered and Zack's eyes lit up.
"Sephiroth, sir can you tutor me to be a hero like you?" Zack pleaded.
"Sorry, I can't do that but a trainer might be able to. I can tell you have potential, kid…and your friend too" Sephiroth replied.
Cloud was visibly shocked by this but used his scarf to hide it from everyone else.
Sephiroth left to wander about the oceans between to fight in any wars he could find on new worlds he came across.
Zack ran to Merlin's house and almost broke the door in the process.
"Great Merlin, do you know where I can find a hero trainer?" he asked.
"You can go to Olympus Coliseum. You'll have to get your magic and combat skills to their training level first" Merlin advised.
After that, Zack worked as hard as he could to be at the right level to face Olympus Coliseum.
Two years later, he finally got to go to the Coliseum.
-Everything in BBS occurs-
When Master Xehanort was defeated the first time and became Terra-nort, Zack watched while leaning on a wall as Hercules trained with Phil.
A black feather fluttered beside Zack, and he looked around in surprise.
All that was seen of him was a single, black feather drifting down where he once stood.
Zack fought Sephiroth on his own in a place similar to between and Bewixt near the edges of the ream of between itself.
When Cloud went to look for Zack, he found his friend's Buster Sword on the grass of the Mysterious tower.
He began his search for Zack, only to find his family had been killed by Sephiroth.
Using his buster sword in his friend's memory, he began his 10 year search for Sephiroth…..
-end of long prologue-
-In an unfamiliar world-
There was a mysterious man, within a technological circular city, casting a dark spell to contact anyone who had made contact with Sora.
This world was located in the realm between and linked it partly to the Final Fantasy universe-or at least an alternative version of it.
This man was connected to one called 'Cloud Strife' and had last been seen fighting him in Radiant Garden before disappearing.
He had blue eyes, his distinctive long, silver hair with long bangs that frame his face (which resembled Cloud), and dresses in a black leather tattered coat. The coat has a large collar that reaches his ears even when folded back and is kept closed by a black belt with a silver buckle around his waist with a red-violet lining in the front.
The sleeves of his coat end in metal rings in place of normal cuffs, and he wears black leather gloves. For some reason there is an odd, black and red, fin-like growth on his right forearm.
He had a large, navy blue wing on his right shoulder and two more wings of the same colour sprouting from either of his hips with his chest exposed, showing a grey strap around his abdomen with two black belts over it, as well as two brown, overall-esque straps that intersect over his chest. He wears black pants and knee-high boots of the same colour, with two grey belts wrapped around each boot. He wears a silver pauldron over each shoulder, both of which closely resemble the pauldrons he wears in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series.
He carried his iconic weapon, the Masamune (which is a katana with a massive length but thin width, making the sword resemble a Nodachi), as his weapon.
"Cloud hasn't located my presence yet…but with an ally using darkness, I can influence anyone if I can make contact" he muttered to himself.
A creature appeared behind him in the shadows of the room he was in with distinct yellow eyes.
"Chosen one…." It said.
An hour later, a 20-year-old tall girl with dark brown eyes, long dark brown hair in a ponytail and mixed complexion appeared in the same world as him only through her dreams.
She wore a purple hoodie, blue jeans, black boots and dark purple glasses.
Due to this, Sephiroth could not touch her.
I was in an unfamiliar city looking for the girl I wanted to return to existence.
"You won't find her here" a voice pointed out.
She turned around and saw a man with long silver hair and one blue wing on his right shoulder.
"You're…Cloud's darkness!" she gasped.
"That is correct. You want to find the one you miss right? Try using the darkness, it can help you get this person back" Sephiroth suggested.
She hesitated.
"What's stopping you?" The winged warrior asked.
"My friends. I'm worried if I use it, it was corrupt me like what happened to Xehanort and Terra" I admitted.
I'm afraid of it not working she thought.
Sephiroth gave me a small smile.
"Girl, you won't know until you try. Light and darkness can't exist without the other; why else do you think Cloud can't get rid of me?" he pointed out.
I looked down as my hand, still worried that it wouldn't bring her back, as a dark aura started surrounding them.
"Good luck, little hero" was the last thing she heard him say.
After she left, Sephiroth waited for Cloud to return so they could finish the battle they started in Radiant Garden.
Cloud finally found him waiting in that same place.
"You finally decided show up. Are you going to finally give up?" Sephiroth asked.
"No, I…have to keep fighting until I defeat you!" Cloud cried.
Cloud was a young man with light skin and is slightly below average height, with a lean and toned build. He has spiky blond hair that in Final Fantasy VII features one particularly long spike. Cloud's hair has become one of the trademarks of his appearance, although in later appearances the spikes have been toned down. Cloud has blue eyes. He wore a high collar sleeveless indigo shirt, black pants and boots, and black cloth covering his left leg and arm. Cloud gains a new pauldron, and his chest is covered by two straps, held in place by a badge representing Fenrir, a wolf that has come to be associated with him and a pink ribbon around his left arm.
He wielded his fusion sword with bandages as his Buster sword was in Radiant Garden.
His sword clashed with Sephiroth's as they locked into a long battle full of anger, guilt and hope.
Cloud used the light that Tifa helped him tap into during the fight.
Sephiroth smiled.
"You know I 'helped' encourage a hero to use darkness to save a friend" he goaded.
"I won't let you hurt any more innocent lives!" Cloud remarked.
As they fought, Cloud recalled the last time they had fought by at the coliseum.
-Flashback-
"I have to awaken from this nightmare by defeating you" Cloud said.
"Why don't you use the darkness instead? You can channel it for power" Sephiroth offered.
"No, that's enough!" Cloud cried.
They began to fight as Sephiroth invoked memories of Zack in Cloud's mind.
"Did you know that boy…Zack was it? He said he looked up to me as a hero once….It was only after I discovered darkness could help me understand my existence better when I abandoned the hero life. Do you wish to know what happened to him?" Sephiroth stated.
Cloud glared.
"You're trying to influence me again…." He trailed off.
Sephiroth smiled.
-End of Flashback-
This battle went on for days on end as the second keyblade war came and went…
-Meanwhile-
Donald and Goofy arrived in Radiant Garden after receiving King Mickey's call in the Mysterious Tower.
They headed inside Merlin's house where Leon, Aerith and Yuffie were waiting.
Cid was typing on his computer.
"Thank you for coming. Cloud and Tifa have been gone too long. The town has thrived well with the security placements and Restoration committee and we've taken on different roles since then but…" Leon began.
"It's a concern for all of us…especially since….he doesn't like to talk about the past…due to an old friend" Aerith added.
"We need you to find them and bring them home" Yuffie stated.
"Preferably in one piece" Cid added.
"We'll bring them back as soon as we can" Goofy said, confidently.
They proceeded to leave in their Gummi-ship and went to the Mysterious Tower again.
Blake had just finished his training for the day and was leaving the room the good fairies were located in.
"Oh, hey guys. Are you here to watch Naminé's training?" Blake asked.
"We need your help to look for Cloud and Tifa" Donald explained, quickly.
"Like…an adventure with you guys?" Blake's eyes lit up.
"Alright, I'll help" he added.
He paused.
"But….can I bring Sebastian?" he asked, quickly.
Goofy and Donald looked at each other, all puzzled for a moment.
"Fine but remember Blake, this ship runs on happy faces" Goofy replied.
They took the Gummi-ship with Donald at the wheel.
Sebastain the crow with an injured right eye rested on Blake's right shoulder inside the Gummi-ship.
"Say Donald, have you met this 'Cloud' before?" Blake asked.
"Yes, but normally Sora helps us get to places because of his keyblade and connections. He's the 'key that connects everything' as Yen Sid put it" Donald replied.
"Fellas, how are you planning to even find Cloud and Tifa?" Jiminy piped up.
Everyone sighed in embarrassment.
"Wait…why don't we just search any new worlds to find clues to reach them?" Blake offered.
"Maybe…we need to combine our strength to find him" Donald suggested.
He offered his right hand which Goofy and Blake touched as a gate appeared in front of them.
They flew through it and looked in different locations like San Fransokyo, Lakewood Plaza Turbo etc.
-Back in Midgar-
Cloud was still fighting Sephiroth at full force just as Tifa finally found the two fighting.
"What did you do to Zack?!" Cloud demanded.
"If I tell you, will you finally move on from the past?" Sephiroth questioned.
"Maybe" Cloud replied as their swords were locked to each other in a struggle.
Sephiroth laughed softly.
"He's not dead…..he's in the place they call 'The abyss'" he revealed.
Cloud managed to injure him enough for Sephiroth to stop fighting.
Sephiroth looked closely at Cloud's face.
"You don't resemble me anymore….I'm glad you're able to move on. Sometime ago, I was chosen for an experiment with darkness -a role that intrigue me. Now I will find that 'New purpose' that role might help me with" Sephiroth stated as he then left.
"Cloud, you actually defeated him. Well Done!" Tifa exclaimed.
"But there's no way out of here" Cloud sighed.
Not too long after, a gummi-ship arrived with Blake, Goofy and Donald inside.
"Oh boy, we found them!" Donald cried.
"Donald, Goofy; you were searching for us?" Cloud asked in confusion.
"Sure did and our friend Blake helped too" Goofy added as Blake gave a small wave.
"Guys, Zack, our friend, is in a place known as 'the abyss', do you know anything about that?" Tifa asked.
"Oh….Sora might be able to find him there then. You can come home with us" Goofy offered.
"Thanks, guys" Cloud said with a small smile.
When the group arrived back in Radiant Garden, Sebastian used his working eye to report to his master what he had seen.
-Meanwhile-
Using the power of darkness, Sephiroth ended up in the same realm as Sora.
He managed to use his power to link to the darklings in the other realms including the Noise located in Shibuya.
This alerted Luxu to his presence in the realm of Dusk.
After his 'test of strength' with Roxas, He met with the conductor in a private place.
"See if this Sephiroth can become a reaper as well, it will make it more exciting to see Sora face past foes" He stated.
The conductor nodded before going back into hiding.
"Let the games continue" Luxu, or rather Xigbar stated as he then left to see how Maleficent was doing.
-The end of 'Cloud's resolve-
I'm not great at developing characters I don't know much about but I wanted to find a way to connect even just a few final Fantasy characters to the main plot.
Depending on how many other ideas I get for this side of the story, it will all connect to my KH4 story and possibly beyond. I'm unsure yet, I hope you like this little experiment.
Please let me know if I got any personalities wrong…I feel I need help in that area.
Bye.