Had a new idea for a short series of one shots. Since DFFOO keeps adding in more and more characters, I thought it would be fun to do a completion of characters I hope for in Dissidia Opera Omnia.
Through the fields, Noctis, Tidus, and Noel, marched carefully. There were monsters still roaming the area, and one could strike at any moment.
Though what they didn't expect was various beasts slaughtered along where they were headed.
Tidus ran up first out of the three and knelt down to inspect them. "It doesn't look like another creature. Looks like a weapon did this."
"Anyone else in the area?" Noel asked.
Noctis shrugged. "I don't think any of the other groups are around here."
"So could be someone from one of our worlds," Tidus commented, a glint of curiosity in his eyes.
Noel nodded, though he remained much more calm. "Yeah, but we don't know if it's a friend or enemy. Stay cautious."
The three continued to follow the carnage until they could hear the sound of someone fighting, accompanied by the roars of some beasts. They ran ahead as quickly as they could and saw a man with dark hair and dark clothes, fighting a behemoth.
"He's taking it out all on his own! That's some strength." Tidus exclaimed.
Noctis narrowed his eyes, staring at the clothing the man was wearing. "That uniform…"
"You recognize it, Noct?" Tidus asked. "Someone from your world, I guess?"
"He's a Kingsglaive," Noctis muttered. "They're like a special protection force that protected my kingdom, if that makes sense."
"Well let's go give him a hand then! Can't let him do all the work!" Tidus stated as he ran ahead, down towards the fight.
"Ready to go?" Noel asked as he readied his weapon.
Noctis summoned his own sword and nodded. "Ready."
As they headed down, Noctis could only hope that this Glaive wasn't one of the traitors that he had heard about. He knew there were plenty that had not betrayed his kingdom, but from what he had heard, there were still plenty during the Attack of Insomnia.
But as he approached, watching the Glaive fight, he recognized him, almost finding it a bit shocking to see him. Though being in this strange world himself, along with Ardyn, and even recently Luna, nothing was too shocking now.
With the three of them joining alongside Nyx the Glaive, the very one who Noctis heard wore the Ring of Lucii when protecting Insomnia, they were easily able to defeat it. Once the beast toppled over onto its side, Nyx turned around to face the three.
"I was beginning to wonder when…" he trailed off when he saw Noctis. He saluted in a way that was strange to Tidus and Noel, but they had seen Cor do it, so it probably was something rather common in Noctis's world.
"Your Maj… Your Highness, you're here? I wasn't really expecting that. Unless…" he started to say before he cleared his throat. "Well, still I wouldn't have thought to see you out there."
"There's probably a lot you won't be expecting here," Noctis replied. "And please, you can just call me Noct. But you can come with us, we are going to reunite with the main group soon enough."
"Main group, huh? More people like them?" Nyx asked as he pointed to Tidus and Noel.
"Their friends, Tidus and Noel. They're uh, well to put it lightly, they're from other worlds," he then looked at the other two. "This is Nyx."
"Nice to meet you, Nyx," Tidus replied with a smile. "It's cool to see another from Noct's world."
"So just how many are we talking here?" Nyx asked, not even seeming phased by the concept.
Noctis shrugged. "Uh, I think I've lost track at this point, probably over a hundred."
"But that's including everyone from all the different worlds," Noel added. "I believe we have people spanning over at least 19 different worlds."
Nyx nodded. "Alright, and how many does that include from ours?"
Tidus started to walk back the way they came. "Come on, let's explain it on the way back! I'm sure everyone else is already heading back."
The other three nodded and started to follow, with Noctis drifting back to walk alongside Nyx. "So uh, I guess I have to ask, how much do you remember?"
"Remember?" Nyx asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Last thing you remember doing on Eos before waking up here," Noctis replied. "A lot of us didn't start with all our memories and had to find them later on. But there were some who had everything from the start. Ignis was one of those, meanwhile Prompto and I had to regain our memories later on."
"Ah, now that's starting to make sense. Guess it means I remember everything, because I was wondering why you would be here after I had… Well, after I died being the hero. I thought this was just a strange afterlife at first, until I found you three."
Noctis breathed in deeply, not wishing to go into the entire set of events that happened after Nyx's final battle. It would have to be something to discuss at a later time, preferably once everyone had regrouped.
"Well this isn't the afterlife, but there's just a lot that happens to be going on. But you get used to it."
Nyx chuckled. "It seems like it. I know I never saw you much before at the Citadel, but you seem more mature."
Noctis started to laugh, knowing how much older and mature he really was on the inside. "Yeah, guess you could say that. Oh uh, probably should let you know who else is here from our world. There are me, Ignis, Glado, and Prompto, Aranea, though I don't know if you know of her, Cor, oh and Ardyn somewhere around the world. He doesn't usually show up often though."
"Ardyn? You mean the Chancellor from Niflheim?"
Noctis scrunched up his nose. "That's probably another thing that needs explaining… but don't worry, he's fine. He's just usually off somewhere. Then there's also Luna."
This seemed to be the most shocking out of all the names to Nyx. His eyes widened slightly as they made it over a hill. "The princess is here too?"
"Yeah, not too long ago I think. She's well though."
A smile crossed Nyx's face. "Well, it'll be nice to see her. Along with the rest too."
"Then let's hurry up, our pick up point for the airship is just ahead," Noctis said, walking a little faster to catch up.
Upon being brought back onto the airship, there were already plenty of groups back from their excursions. Tidus and Noel went off to find their own respecting friend groups, leaving Nyx to wait with Noctis until someone from their world showed up.
It wasn't long before Prompto came running up to Noctis, giving him a hi-five upon arrival. "Hey dude, how'd it go for you. And uh… whoa wait! You found a Glaive!?"
"Nyx was one of the Glaive who fought for Insomnia during the Fall," Noctis explained.
"Whoa! Pretty crazy, but, uh, hi! I'm Prompto," Prompto said as he faced Nyx.
"I heard the prince had a friend outside of the Citadel. Nice to meet you."
"I'll check back in with you guys later, I was going to help out Ignis tonight with cooking. See ya later!" Prompto said before he ran off.
"So where's Princess Lunafreya?" Nyx asked, looking around at all the strange and different people aboard the ship.
"I don't know, but she should be back soon, I'd assume. Come on, we can have you meet some others while we wait."
Nyx was brought around, being introduced to various people nearby. Most of the people Nyx met looked normal and human, though there were few that were an expectation. But everyone was warm and welcoming of him.
Eventually, he caught something white in the corner of his eye. He turned to see and found Lunafreya walking towards him. She was smiling warmly towards him before she spoke.
"It's good to see you again," she said with a smile before adding, "Hero."
Nyx laughed. "And it's nice to see you too. How's that duty of yours going?"
Lunafreya gave him a soft smile. "There's much we have to discuss, Nyx Ulric. Please, why don't you join me and Noctis down in one of the lower floors. I'm sure we can talk more privately down there."
"Answers sound fine to me," Nyx replied as he followed after the two royals.
Later that evening, Nyx was out on the deck of the ship, staring up at the stars. It was a galaxy unlike anything he had ever seen back home. It was awfully pretty to look at though.
As he watched, there were others out there as well. Some chatted, others just rested and watched the skies as well. Nyx kept to himself though, that is until he saw someone walking towards him from his own world.
"Is there something I'm needed for?" Nyx asked, turning to face Ignis, the advisor to Noctis.
Ignis shook his head. "No, but I came to talk to you. To talk about something in our world."
"What's there to talk about? I thought everything got covered earlier when I talked with the prince and princess."
Ignis stepped closer to where Nyx stood, leaning against the railing. Ignis stared to stare out into the landscape cast in the dark of night.
"There was plenty they explained, but not everything was said. Mostly, something from my own experience… and it concerns the Ring of Lucii."
Nyx raised an eyebrow to this. "And what about that ring?"
"During my travels with Noct, I came to hear a story told by a Glaive who had escaped to Lestallum. I believe he is a comrade of yours? Libertus, if my memory serves me correct."
That was a name that brought a smile to Nyx's face. "Ah yeah. So Libertus is still kicking in the future? Good to know."
"He helped many of the other Glaive during the Long Night, as well as many others in Lestallum. But he had told stories of what happened during the Fall of Insomnia. One story included that you had put on the Ring of Lucii to defeat General Glauca."
"Leave it to Libertus to spread the word like that," Nyx replied. "But what does this have to do with you then? You said there was something of your own experience?"
"When it came time to fight the Empire in Altissia, I found myself facing Ardyn. I had gotten the Ring in my hands, and with the story I had heard, I took my chance to ask for the Lucii's strength."
Nyx started to laugh bitterly. "And they let you actually live? Pretty picky assholes if you ask me, save for King Regis of course."
"While I did live, my sight was taken as part of the cost. Though in this world, my body is what it was before that event occurred."
"Hm, so it's more than just having the dead being alive here," Nyx said. "But it just makes me wonder, I guess…"
"Wonder why the Lucii allowed me to live but took your life?" Ignis finished. "I wondered that many times myself. Perhaps it was the amount of power that you called upon versus what I did."
"Or maybe those old kings just didn't give a shit," Nyx grumbled.
"Apologies. I don't mean to upset you with the matter."
Nyx shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. They tried to make me choose between Lunafreya and Libertus before I eventually had them decide it would be my life. It was kind of my own fault honestly, if you are looking at it that way. I cared for the future of Eos more than my own, so they took that as an opportunity to make me the bargain of a lifetime. And I accepted it, knowing I could do something to help the future."
"But you may have a point, and those old kings and queens did seem rather stubborn. To make you choose between lives, and then make it your own is still far from fair. Especially since I was willing to give my own life for Noctis's, yet they didn't go as far as to say that to me."
"Picky assholes then, just like I said," Nyx replied.
"Hmm, perhaps so. The more I think about it, the more I do question it. Because there was another who tried to wear the Ring. He wasn't worthy, but he survived."
"Ah, you mean the Tenebraen prince, right? Yeah, I was right there when he put it on. Burned his arm, but the ring dropped before it could finish the job. Opposed to Luche, who definitely didn't deserve any of that power, who burned up completely. But the prince kept on going, didn't he?"
"He did until his end when the Starscourge had consumed him. We fought him to… it was the only way," Ignis replied, lowering his head.
"Don't worry about it. I get it. We've all had to make tough choices. But thanks. Guess it's nice to talk to someone else as crazy as me, willing to put that damn ring on."
Ignis smiled, giving a small chuckle. "Of course. But I do wish to give my thanks for your bravery. What you did for Insomnia, we are all thankful for it."
"It's what a hero does," Nyx replied with a grin.
A little after Ignis said his goodbyes and headed off, Nyx was approached by someone else. This man, who was not from his world, sported black, spiky hair and blue eyes that looked like they glowed in the nighttime.
"Hey, uh, hope you don't mind me popping in here. But I kind of overheard you two talking there, and I wanted to ask something. Oh! I'm Zack, by the way! I don't think we've properly met yet!" he said enthusiastically as he held out a hand.
"Nyx," Nyx replied as he shook Zack's hand. "So, what's on your mind?"
"Well, it was the part you said about giving your life for the future, and being a hero and stuff? I don't know, I just… hearing that, it really reminded me of what I went through. So I guess I was just curious what it was like for a hero of another world."
Now Nyx properly turned to face Zack, reading his expression. Despite looking younger than Nyx was, he could see the tiredness in Zack's eyes. This guy had been through and probably seen a lot, maybe just as much as Nyx had, or maybe even more.
"Don't tell me you asked crazy magic kings for power as well and they took your life as the price," Nyx replied, trying to laugh a little.
Zack shook his head. "Nah, but I had always dreamed of being a hero growing up. I joined SOLDIER so I could become a hero to protect those I cared about. I… I ended up losing a few people I cared about when things got tough, and I was starting to think it was getting hopeless. But then, I started protecting and looking after my buddy Cloud for nearly a year. Long story short, he was comatose and I did whatever I could to protect him. We were trying to get to Midgar, where I knew we could try and hide, but Shinra sent a large wave of Infantrymen out after me. We were, uh, ex-employees and they didn't really like that," Zack said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"So you were a one man army versus an entire infantry?" Nyx questioned.
Sure, Zack seemed strong just by his appearance, but it was hard to believe. Even when Nyx had taken out plenty of monsters recklessly on his own, there was always someone nearby to step in at the last minute.
"Yup, it was the only way to make sure Cloud would be safe. I was doing it all for him, to ensure he could live," Zack replied.
He smiled fondly, reflecting on the memories for a moment before he looked back at Nyx. "I came pretty close for both of us living. But after hours of fighting and being shot and stabbed, I was on my last legs. There was maybe… two or three Infantrymen left… and they got the better of me."
"Sorry to hear that," Nyx said, trying to give some condolences. "But I'm guessing that Cloud lived?"
Zack beamed happily. "Of course! He went on to be the hero who saved Gaia multiple times after that! He was much more of a hero than I ever was. But I know I was a hero to him."
"And without you being a hero, he wouldn't have lived," Nyx offered.
"Yeah, guess it's something similar for you?"
"I wasn't saving someone in particular, but ensuring some hope for the overall world, and our prince. It worked out in the end, he did end up saving our world."
"Looks like we got that in common then, fellow hero! Being the heroes that helped the other heroes," Zack laughed.
Nyx laughed in return. "Nice to know another hero then. Maybe we could trade hero secrets sometime."
"Sounds like a plan!"
With a new friend so suddenly, Nyx started to see why Noctis said it was easy to get used to. Though there were many people from many different worlds, there were those who had similar experiences and adventures. It made him wonder just who else he had yet to meet, and who else could show up after him.
