Gilgamesh III

"Prepare yourself now…" Gilgamesh's voice had grown deeper as a result of his transformation. "For now, we fight like men! And ladies! And ladies who dress like men! For Gilgamesh...it is morphing time!" Gilgamesh declared, brandishing six weapons with six arms and his eyes blazing bright.

Team STRQ could only stare in horror, eyes wide, jaws gaping and Qrow could only sum up their predicament with two words. "Oh Fu-"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gilgamesh charged at them with a full battle roar.


(Final Fantasy V - Battle on the Big Bridge(Gilgamesh Theme) Begins)

Aqua couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Gilgamesh had not only sprouted four extra arms, but his armor had also changed, now having his arms and lower torso bare, both of which were very muscular and showing grey skin. His helmet resembled a demon's face, and his hair was now longer and tied in a ponytail. His steel boots were now pointed with a golden sash tied around his waist with eye shaped symbols running down it.

Aqua knew what form he had taken because it resembled the pictures that she had seen in the books she had read about while growing up in the Land of Departure.

This truly was the great warrior Gilgamesh!

"Hurricane!" Gilgamesh suddenly shouted and a literal hurricane surrounded him that spread out in all directions.

"Defend!" Aqua shouted, conjuring a barrier that just barely blocked the attack just in time. "Thunder!"

She called lightning down from the sky down onto Gilgamesh who erected a barrier himself, easily blocking the lightning attacks. He then fired a magical missile at Aqua who teleported out of the way, dodging the attack as it continued behind her and blasted several trees.

"You are skilled in magic, Aqua but I was a skilled warrior in my past life, both before and after the loss of magic." Gilgamesh held a hand up to the sky. "Behold, my power to command space itself!"

Aqua looked up and her eyes widened in horror. Above them was the shattered moon of Remnant and raining down were pieces of debris, coming down like flaming comets!

"These cannot be blocked by magic for my own power guides them!" Gilgamesh declared.

Aqua aimed and pointed her Keyblade up at the falling debris.

Even if she can't block them…She might be able to destroy them before they cause damage. She couldn't take the chance that a meteor shower won't cause damage to the rest of Remnant.

She activated her Shotlock and in her mind she 'locked' onto all the falling debris. "Rainbow Shower!"

This was an evolved version of her Prism Light Shotlock that had evolved over the years while in her previous 'life' and she was glad to see she retained the majority of her skills from that time. Rainbow Shower allowed her to fire more magical orbs than before and much faster as shown as she fired a literal rainbow of magical energy spheres that collided with each 'comet' and destroyed them on impact.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

One by one the comets were all destroyed before they hit the ground that would have likely caused a large amount of destruction to Remnant.

Aqua spun and faced Gilgamesh with a sharp glare. "What was that?!"

"My Quasar spell. It allows me to pull objects from the very cosmos itself." Gilgamesh answered like it was obvious.

"And you planned to pull down pieces of the moon itself to defeat me?! What kind of honorable warrior are you!?" Aqua shouted.

Gilgamesh sputtered. "I beg your-"

"If you want to fight me, that's fine but don't endanger the rest of the world for your so-called glory!" Aqua shouted, pointing at Gilgamesh. "The planet and its people don't deserve to suffer the consequences of our fight! You preach about honor so show it!"

Gilgamesh sputtered a bit before raising a hand to his chin in thought. "…Okay."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"You have a point, Aqua. I got so carried away with our battle I didn't take into account the possible damage my Quasar spell could cause. For that, I ask thee forgiveness." Gilgamesh bowed to her. "Please, allow us to continue our battle without the need for such theatrics."

Aqua could only stare for a moment before nodding. "Agreed. This fight between the two of us is just that…Between the two of us."

"Very well." Gilgamesh straightened himself, holding the six weapons in his hands.

Three swords with one of them being Zantetsuken.

The naginata he first showed when he appeared.

An axe.

And a sword that looked like a fusion of a gun and a sword.

"With that, we continue!" Gilgamesh shouted and shot forward, twirling all weapons in his hands as he let loose a fierce onslaught on his opponent.

Aqua quickly fell back, desperately blocking or dodging the strikes from a now six armed Gilgamesh as he charged straight at her, locking her Keyblade with a sword and spear but leaving four more weapons to strike at her. Aqua swept the sword away, allowing her to retract her Keyblade and flip away as the four weapons stabbed the ground where she had stood. Aqua rolled and flipped back to her feet as Gilgamesh pulled his weapons out of the ground.

Gritting her teeth, Aqua held out her Keyblade and it morphed into its naginata form.

"A brilliant new form, Aqua." Gilgamesh admitted before charging once more.

Aqua spun her Keyblade/Naginata as she called forth her spell. "Hydrospiral!"

Spinning her weapon gracefully, Aqua released crescent arc shaped waves of water straight at Gilgamesh who stopped and quickly blocked the attacks with his weapons. Aqua then plunged her Keyblade naginata into the ground and to the shock of Gilgamesh, a literal whirlpool exploded out of the ground around him, trapping him in the spiraling water as it towered over the surrounding trees. Before Gilgamesh could even blink, Aqua jumped into the literal tornado of water and shot around him, striking from all sides before he could react or even register what was happening. Aqua's form exploded with light as she moved so fast, she was a literal lightning bolt in the water.

She then shot up out of the top of the spiral tower, aimed her weapon down and down came a pillar of light that split the whirlpool apart, causing water to splatter. The spear even struck Gilgamesh, slicing down through his armor.

(Final Fantasy V - Battle on the Big Bridge(Gilgamesh Theme) Ends)

Gilgamesh cried out as he fell to his knees, still holding his weapons though and was breathing heavily as Aqua landed in front of him, panting heavily.

This was her newest and most powerful Shotlock: Hydrospiral.

In the years following retrieving her original Keyblade Stormfall that then evolved into Ocean's Apart, Aqua had continued her training and battled countless Grimm and evil beings as she walked the surface of Remnant. She found that not only did her new Keyblade gain the ability to form change like Terra's did, but she also gained new abilities and Shotlocks that came with it. Her newest Shotlock was something she had gained shortly before her battle with Salem in her castle.

Gilgamesh grunted, placing a hand on his knee as he panted. "I would expect nothing less from you, Master Aqua. Your strength hasn't changed at all since then."

"If you really are the same Gilgamesh that helped me against Surtr, show me the sword." Aqua pointed her Keyblade as it returned to its normal form at the downed warrior. "The sword you took as a trophy."

Gilgamesh chuckled as he held up one hand and summoned a flaming sword.

The sword that had been originally Surtr's.

Twilight.

"Does this answer your question?" Gilgamesh questioned.

Aqua stared at it before she came over to him…and offered him a hand.

"Not even close. How are you alive? How did you become this…great warrior I see before me?" Aqua carefully asked. "Did you make a pact with the Brothers?"

Gilgamesh stared at the hand…and accepted it, allowing her to help him stand back up.

"I did. At the end of my mortal life…I was never expecting to live for very long, even before the Gods stripped mankind of magic. All I cared about was the next great fight." Gilgamesh answered, his voice becoming low and sullen. "And I had it, that day when we defeated the demon."

"NO! NOOO! THIS IS NOT MY DESTINY!" Surtr screamed as he forced into the tomb, the darkness gone and leaving behind a purple flaming specter. "I WILL NOT LET THIS BE MY FINAL MOMENT!"

He was forced into the tomb and Aera used the Earth Scythe to manipulate the stone lid to close over the tomb, trapping the demon. The Keyblade Wielders then pointed at the tomb, releasing seven more beams of light that caused chains and seven glowing locks to form around the tomb, trapping Surtr inside. Once the seven locks were formed, the Keyblade Wielders dismissed their magic and Luxu immediately dismissed his Keyblade, looking upon the tomb.

"I had one of the last items of magic left…And so many came for it." Gilgamesh continued as he stood up.

The one-armed mortal Gilgamesh was breathing heavily, his form bloody while his single hand held the flaming sword…

In the center of a field of corpses.

"Countless people, yearning for the days of old wanted the sword to just feel the magic again…And then finally, I could not fight anymore…And then they came."

Just as the claws of a Beowulf pierced his chest, the God of Light waved his hand and in a flash of light the dying warrior was summoned before them in the Relic of Time.

"Wha-What-" The man could barely speak as he collapsed onto the floor with his chest bleeding out.

"There is no need to speak, Great Warrior." The God of Light said soothingly. "Your thoughts will be made known to us as you hear our voices."

"I am sure you can guess who we are." The God of Darkness folded his hands behind his back. "We have summoned you for a purpose."

Purpose?

"You showed yourself to be strong in life, even after the gift of magic was stripped from mankind for their betrayal. You faced down the last acolyte of my brother and though you were not alone, the fact that you survived speaks grandly of your skills." The God of Light continued. "You lived as a warrior and died as a warrior."

"But perhaps you need not end your journey here." The God of Darkness stated.

Need not…end…

"We offer you to become the first your kind as an immortal warrior." The God of Light answered the question in his mind. "A human to be transformed into a being of magic."

"And unlike your previous life, you will not age or succumb to sickness. Nor will you be limited to just one world now."

Limited to one world?

"You will be allowed the gift to travel between worlds, to seek out new and strong warriors to challenge you and your new might."

"What say you? Do you lie on the ground and die a pathetic death, or will you be reborn as the greatest of warriors?"

The man who was known in his life as Gilgamesh struggled to lift his head up, holding the last few moments of life in him as best as he could. "…I…acce-"

Accept.

"Then from this point on, you are reborn." The God of Light proclaimed as he and his brother raised their hands. "The first to receive this gift."

"And the human Gilgamesh was reborn as the eternal warrior you see before you now." Gilgamesh finished his tale. "I walked the lands of this world and many more, battling countless warriors in the name of the Brothers who saved me."

Aqua was quiet as she took in this story.

Izanagi and Erebus had offered Gilgamesh a chance to be reborn as a mighty warrior. She should have guessed they would have tried something like this. Instead of directly testing her now, they were using people she knew to continue their crazy games.

But if this Gilgamesh was the same one that she had read about in legends…

"How many worlds have you been to?" She asked hesitantly.

"Countless. I was always attracted to the ones where great warriors fought." Gilgamesh chuckled. "I collected the weapons of so many that were bested in honorable combat."

Aqua wasn't sure if she was somehow to blame for all of this but she knew one thing. "You have to know the Brothers are just using you for their own experiment."

"So what?"

Aqua paused, not expecting such an answer. "Doesn't it bother you that the whole reason you are what you are now is because they made you into a pawn?"

"I am a warrior first and foremost, Aqua." Gilgamesh scoffed. "The desires and schemes of everyone else, including the Gods mean nothing to me. I do what I please, I go where I please and I fight only those who are worthy. You are a worthy opponent because you are a Keyblade Wielder."

Aqua's eyes widened a few inches, but she remained composed. "So, you know who I am."

"I learned about the Keyblade a long time ago and I believe it was not an accident that one came to this world and from that point on everything changed. And now you stand before me, centuries later. A testament to the great power you wield." Gilgamesh stated as his wounds began to immediately heal.

"My power does not come from simply having my Keyblade. It's being worthy of it." Aqua placed a hand over her chest. "The Keyblade's power comes from the heart, Gilgamesh. My heart is strong because I fight for more than just myself. I fight for everyone I bond with, including you when we fought side by side against Surtr."

Gilgamesh paused, seemingly mulling over Aqua's words. "A noble speech, but I am not like you, Aqua. I fight to become the strongest warrior to ever walk the worlds. A warrior was what I was as a human and warrior is what I shall remain as until the very end of time itself."

"And you'll keep fighting me until you kill me." Aqua stated.

"I was ordered to fight you, Aqua. Not kill you." Gilgamesh corrected. "After you reappeared, they sent me to test my powers and skills that I have amassed since our last meeting against you. I lost this battle, but it will not be the last."

A Corridor of Darkness appeared behind Gilgamesh as he shifted back into his normal two-armed form with his grey armor returning to cover his body.

"It's been fun and all, Aqua but I have to go now. I encourage you to train and grow ever stronger as I will training to become even stronger than I am now. I look forward to the many spars we might have as you continue your journey through the ages. Fights to the death against a noble and worthy opponent like you leave a bad taste in my mouth."

Aqua simply watched as Gilgamesh entered the corridor and was gone…

Then she fell to her knees and let out a sigh of relief.

She couldn't believe she faced down the great warrior Gilgamesh himself and lived to tell about!

Or that she had known him before he rose to fame.

'I doubt Ven, Terra or even Master Eraqus would have believed this unless they saw it with their own eyes.' Aqua managed to lift her head up and look at the clouds before falling onto her back, completely exhausted.


(Final Fantasy V - Battle on the Big Bridge(Gilgamesh Theme) Begins)

CLASH!

Summer, Raven and Qrow blocked blades with three of Gilgamesh's weapons, two swords and one axe. However, the other three holding a sword, a gunblade and a naginata were free to stab them.

"HA!" Tai shot up, a fiery aura surrounding him as he punched at the naginata, forcing the six-armed hulking warrior to take a step back.

Summer and Raven swerved their heads to avoid the upper weapons as they swung at their heads. Summer ducked as the golden sword swung at her and then blocked as blue and gold sword swung at her, shoving them off and spun, only for her axe to be blocked by both weapons. Summer reversed direction but they were still there to stop her. Raven shoved the axe up and stepped back as the naginata stabbed down at her.

She slashed again, meeting the axe, sidestepped and stepped back from the middle hand holding the gunblade and came back, her blade striking both the gunblade and the axe as she came from the left. First there were two strikes, one up and one done, both of which were turned away. No matter where struck or how fast she was, there was always at least one of the three weapons she was fighting to meet her sword.

Qrow leapt back to avoid a stab from the naginata, and Tai threw himself backwards as with two blades that had been scissoring for his going in opposite directions. Gilgamesh turned to Summer and swung the two bottom swords upwards and then the naginata and the axe in quick succession. Summer's Semblance saved her as her form scattered into white pedals, knowing she couldn't block all four weapons at once. She landed a few feet away and her weapon shifted into its sniper form again and she immediately fired.

BANG-BANG-BANG!

They barely even scratched Gilgamesh as Raven sprinted forward. Gilgamesh turned to meet her and her Dust nodachi head on.

ZAP!

Even though Raven had brought a Lightning Dust blade, Gilgamesh seemingly did not even feel the electricity that had just blasted through his body. However, Raven didn't stop or even blink as she came from the side twice, then preformed quick up and down motions and then backflipped away before he could respond. He slashed with his golden sword at her, all the while keeping Tai back with the naginata and shot at Qrow with the gunblade.

BANG-BANG-BANG!

Sheathing her sword, Raven brought it back out immediately to turn away two slashes aimed at her in an almost dance like fashion. Then she jumped straight over Gilgamesh, slashing at him from above which he managed to block. However, ice suddenly began forming along the ground underneath his feet which he immediately realized.

"Ice Bird!" Summer called out.

Suddenly Qrow's sword, Harbinger shifted into its scythe form, and he swung down, catching two of Gilgamesh's arms and managed to pin them down. As this happened, Tai grabbed onto the lower arm, leaving just two on his side while the last free on Qrow's side was the top one blocking Raven's sword. Summer shot forward, her Semblance propelling her at amazing speed as she disappeared for one second…

And then reappeared in front of Gilgamesh, dealing a double kick to his chest that sent him stumbling and the ice actually made him slip and fall.

"Oof!" The immortal warrior grunted from landing on his bottom.

Just as he was about to get back up, the ice seemingly grew, and he found himself encased all the way up to his head. He looked up to see Raven with her Ice Dust sword embedded into the ground where the ice had started.

"Fire Bird!" Summer called out.

Tai grabbed onto Qrow's scythe as its owner gripped the handle with both hands and began to spin. Tai held onto the end of the weapon as Qrow spun, spun and spun with him holding on. With enough moment built up Tai was shot at Gilgamesh like a cannon, his Semblance powering up again and fire surrounding him as he reared one fist back…

POW!

CRACK!

BOOM!

The sheer strength of Tai's punch shattered the ice and impacting Gilgamesh straight in the torso, where Tai's weapon let loose a blast of Fire Dust at close range that knocked him back but Summer shot in and caught him and Gilgamesh was sent flying back, crashing through several trees. All of Team STRQ were panting now, their skills and strength having been pushed to the very limit to stay alive, let alone win this fight.

(Final Fantasy V - Battle on the Big Bridge(Gilgamesh Theme) Ends)

But it was over.

They won…

"Impressive."

All of them paled as they watched Gilgamesh stand up, seemingly unharmed from having just crashed through several trees along with being hit by a fully charged Taiyang Xiao Long. There was a black mark on his stomach where Tai had hit but it looked more like mere soot than an actual wound.

"I heard of the impressive teamwork of Team STRQ, and you all clearly live up to the praise." Gilgamesh wiped some dirt of his armor.

Raven's hand was trembling as she tried to appear calm, Qrow was gaping, Tai was sweating and panting from having just used up all his strength and Summer was speechless.

They had given it all they had, and he seemed to just shrug off their attacks like they were nothing!

"I salute you, Team STRQ. It has been a while since a single Huntsmen Team, let alone a single warrior has given me such a challenge." Gilgamesh praised, glancing at Qrow. "You there, Qrow Branwen!"

Qrow's eyes widened but he remained on guard. "Y-Yeah?"

"That scythe of yours…I remember fighting a weapon like that a long time ago." Gilgamesh brought a hand to his chin. "What was her name? Hm…Oh wait, she didn't give a name but she wore a skull mask and called herself the Reaper."

"Reaper…As in…The Grimm Reaper?" Qrow slowly said, shocked by what he had heard. "You fought the Grimm Reaper?!"

"Of course, I fought the Grimm Reaper!" Gilgamesh chuckled.

"No way…" Qrow mumbled.

"Way." Gilgamesh nodded.

"You?" Qrow pointed at the six-armed warrior.

"Me." He gestured to himself with all six hands.

"What was she like?!" Qrow zipped right up to Gilgamesh, his red eyes sparkling with his lips curled into an excited smile. "Did she fight with two scythes like they say she did?! Did she truly take one hundred Grimm and win without a scratch?! Did she have a pretty face under that mask?"

Raven's eye twitched, becoming annoyed and embarrassed by her idiot of a brother. "Qrow…"

"She fought with two duel kamas that contained a gun barrel, and they had Gravity Dust in them. Yes and I wouldn't know. I didn't get a good look under her mask." Gilgamesh simply answered.

"Dang." Qrow snapped his fingers. "I have a bet going on that she was quite the looker, but I can't find anyone to tell me what she actually looked like!"

"Qrow!" Raven barked, halting the conversation between the two. "He's the enemy! We're fighting him!"

"So, Summer got an autograph from him." Qrow pointed to Summer who scratched the back of her head. "Why can't I have my turn and get some questions answered?"

Summer had a weak smile on her face as she looked at Raven. "He's…not wrong."

"No, he is not, but I am out of time."

A Corridor of Darkness appeared behind Gilgamesh as he shifted back into his normal two-armed form with his grey armor returning to cover his body.

"It's been fun and all, Team STRQ but I have to go now. I encourage you all to train and grow ever stronger as I will training to become even stronger than I am now. I look forward to the many spars we might have. Fights to the death against a noble and worthy opponent like you leave a bad taste in my mouth." Gilgamesh said before entering the corridor and vanishing, leaving Team STRQ standing in the middle of a burnt and scorched forest.

"So cool." Summer whispered with a giddy smile on her face.

Raven could only cover her face with the palm of her hand. "I am surrounded by idiots."