Warrior of Light's Story
The Warrior of Light returned not too long after Golbez had returned with Gabranth and Gilgamesh. By his side was Shantotto and they were followed by a troop of about a fifty or so manikins, marching orderly. The queer sight caught most of the warriors by surprise.
A brief introduction to Shantotto and her experiments on the manikins was given by the Warrior of Light while Shantotto stood in her obnoxiously arrogant manner on a rock beside him. With the manikins under their control and with their newly introduced allies, all the warriors are more confident than ever in their quest.
Without wasting any more time, they began their treacherous journey towards the Land of Discord, the heart of Chaos's domain. Garland, Chaos's right-hand man, and their last target, should not be far from where his master was.
It was not an easy journey. The land on the northern hemisphere was rocky and unstable with occasional minor eruptions on random places on the ground. By the time they were near Chaos's domain, Laguna, Tifa, Firion, Cecil, Vaan, Bartz and the Onion Knight have gotten scalded one way or another.
"It should be there," Gabranth pointed to a floating island above glowing lava some distance away from them.
"Ohohoho," Shantotto gave a sudden burst of excited laughter, "I'm glad we're near, for I can't wait anymore I fear."
As he looked at Shantotto's reaction in bewilderment, Bartz whispered softly to Kain, "Why did she even agree to help? She looked as though she really enjoys this world."
"If we defeat Chaos, then there would be no more fighting. She can research everything in this world freely to her heart's content. Magic, manikins… That's the deal we struck with her." Kain replied back in a low voice, careful not to be overheard by Shantotto. But neither Kain nor Bartz needed to worry since Shantotto was too busy observing a lava fountain which had just erupted.
"One hell of a mad scientist," Cloud remarked from behind them.
…
"This is it." The Warrior of Light took a deep breath as he faced a series of floating islands leading to the Edge of Discord, the gateway which would lead them to Chaos.
"And so you think this is your route to victory." A snide growl interrupted them.
Garland, their final hurdle towards Chaos, stood menacingly before them as he materialized out of thin air. He was huge in size with his whole body and face covered in grey armor. He wore a purple cape and brandished a gigantic sword which could extend in battle.
"We'll take him out together and make a quick work out of him!" the Warrior of Light bellowed to his fellow warriors, "We attack in groups. Too many people on the battlefield would not work either." And with that, he gestured towards Firion, the Onion Knight and Cecil to fight with him in the first round.
Hissing angrily at the humiliation, Garland made the first move, creating a series of earthquakes which created a fissure between the warriors and the manikins. The Warrior of Light retaliated with a series of shining waves which was countered by bright red rays from Garland's sword. The two moves collided in the air to create an explosion which destroyed half a dozen manikins unfortunate enough to be standing close to the blast.
Garland proved to be a worthy adversary, befitting of his title as Chaos's highest rank warrior. Even with the four warriors fighting together, he could still put up a strong resistance. Furthermore, it seemed as though he never tires out, countering Onion Knight's relentless piercing, Firion's arrows and axes, Cecil's dark flames and the Warrior of Light's light rays. The other warriors watching the ferocious battle were all on the edge of their seats, itching to get into action.
But the most impatient of all might just be Garland himself. The fight was going nowhere and he was surrounded by the crowd of warriors. In his anger, he finally dodged the Warrior of Light's incoming charge and brandished his sword at Yuna and Tifa.
The unforeseen attack caught Yuna and Tifa by surprise as they gave a cry of astonishment as Garland charged towards them at high speed. With his sword aimed at the two female warriors, Garland was smirking inwardly to himself. This was to be their death…
Until his gigantic sword was countered by Lightning. She, however, was not using her usual gunblade but gigantic, ornately-decorated S-shaped swords which allowed her to match Garland's equally enormous blade. The two locked swords, staring at each other furiously. But without warning, Lightning had spun around Garland, taking him by surprise as the pressure he placed on his sword was lifted abruptly. In one swift, elegant move, Lightning had twirled her gigantic blades and struck Garland squarely on the neck…
The moment Odin's Blade struck Garland's neck Garland dissipated into wisps of black smoke which in turn dispersed in the air, growing thinner and thinner until it was no more.
Cheers erupted following a silence which accompanied Garland's dissipation. Their road was finally clear. Their final battle loomed before them, but their hearts were filled with hope. Hope that they can get their memories back. Hope that they can finally go home.
But how wrong were they…