I do not own Kingdom Hearts 1 or 2, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters from them. However I do own the nameless character that appears randomly throughout the story.
Cloud hides behind the Buster Sword as the bullets from Xigbar's gun bounce off of it. Ever since he first started shooting, the bullets haven't stopped coming. He hasn't even taken a break to reload. Cloud sat on the ground, his body pressed close against his weapon. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his materia. He looked for one that would be useful in this situation. He quickly scanned them over and found two that would be perfect. He pressed them into the Buster Sword and it began to glow a greenish white. Cloud lifted the sword and held it out in front of him. Xigbar's bullets didn't stop coming but they didn't reach Cloud because of his choice of materia. He had managed to find his barrier materia and the holy materia, the materia that helped defeat Sephiroth.
Cloud dashes at Xigbar then swings his mighty sword at him. Xigbar dodges and kicks Cloud in the chest. Cloud grabs Xigbar's leg and hurls him into the air. Cloud leaps up to follow him and slashes Xigbar's left hand off. Xigbar points his other gun at Cloud and fires. This bullet is different than the others. The bullet tears through Cloud's barrier and rips some skin off of his left shoulder. Both men land on the ground, clutching their injuries. Xigbar is first to move as he summons a group of light purple Nobodies each carrying its own crossbow. They surround Cloud and aim at his vital organs.
"Sorry but I can't afford to lose, even if it means fighting dirty." Xigbar smirks.
Cloud raises the Buster Sword above his head just as the Nobodies fire at him. The barrier materia protects him from the arrows and he dashes at Xigbar. The Nobodies step in his way but he cuts them down with little difficulty. He reaches the spot where Xigbar once stood only to find that Xigbar has moved to a balcony above him. Xigbar starts to fire a hail storm of bullets down on Cloud. Cloud raises his blade to shield himself from the bullets, bouncing some of the bullets back in his direction. Cloud starts moving back, trying to adjust the angle of his sword. As he does the bullets start bouncing closer to Xigbar's location. Soon Cloud reaches the perfect angle to hit Xigbar in the chest with his own bullets. Xigbar drops his gun and falls over the balcony and down into the pit.
Cloud takes a deep breath and starts walking towards the exit of the area. As he does, a portal opens in the spot where he stood when Xigbar first showed up. The young man with the daggers walks through it and watches Cloud leave. He looks around and examines the area. He notices the blood that is on the floor and looks it over.
"Well at least they can handle themselves. All I have to do is make sure that nothing too chaotic happens." He starts walking in the same direction as Cloud, being careful not to get too close to arose Cloud's attention.
While Cloud was trying to find his way back to the higher level, Ike was struggling to deal with Luxord. Luxord had turned himself into a card and had hidden among the other giant cards that were spread across the ground. To make things even worse, all of the cards were moving around. Some of them were even attacking Ike. Their edges were razor sharp and they were fast moving. Ike was barely managing to dodge the cards but his clothing was getting cut. Ike started swinging Ragnell in every direction, slicing cards in half until there were only three cards left. Ike walked up to a card and slammed the sword into it. As he did, Luxord popped up out of one of the other cards and threw a dice at him. The dice hit Ike and he started to glow a bright white. Once the light faded, Ike was horrified to find that he had been turned into a dice.
Luxord started to laugh but was stopped when dice form Ike tackled him right in his gut. Ike continued to assault Luxord until he started to glow white once again. When the glow vanished, Ike was human again. Luxord glared at Ike who glared back. Luxord threw a card at Ike but Ike slashed it to bits. He charged at Luxord and started swinging Ragnell in an attempt to end this fight before Luxord got a chance to transform into something else. Luxord dodges all of Ike's attacks and jumps back away from Ike. He throws a dice at Ike again. Ike blocks the dice with his sword and sends the dice flying back towards Luxord. Luxord gasps as the dice flies back and hits him in the chest. On contact he starts to glow white and transforms into a dice. Ike waste no time in running at the now transformed Luxord and slashes him in half. The two halves vanish in a bright white light just as Cloud shows up.
"So you had a fight too?" Cloud walks to Ike's side.
Ike's breathing is heavy. "Yes, I did and that guy was a serious pain."
"And it can only get worse from here. We have to go and see if we can help Sora." Cloud starts walking towards the exit with Ike by his side.
The young man from the temple enters the room as the two heroes leave. He looks in their direction very impressed with their performance. He walks around the area where Ike battled Luxord. He picks up one of Luxord's playing cards and looks it over briefly before throwing it aside. He hears a low rustling sound and turns around to find Sephiroth behind him.
"You have a strange energy." Sephiroth starts walking towards the young man. "I'm interested to see what kind o power you possess." Sephiroth reaches his side. "But for some reason you don't seem all that interested in fighting me." He starts to walk pass him. "May I ask why exactly that is?"
"My reason for appearing in this place isn't to defeat you." The man turns his head towards Sephiroth.
"So are you saying that you actually think you have the power to defeat me?"
"I don't think it, Sephiroth; I know it for a fact."
"So you even know my name." Sephiroth smiles as he walks away. "Well I hope that you will change your mind one day. I would love for you to prove yourself to me. . ." Sephiroth disappears. The young man turns around and sighs then starts walking after Cloud and Ike. As he does, he tries to weigh the possible outcomes of his arrival in this realm. While his presence would help stop a great evil, if he was to get involved with the battle that Sephiroth set into motion, the results could be horrific.
