Tale of the Wanderers: A New Story Mode for Dissidia

[Zadimortis]

So yeah, this is a little Story Mode that I whipped up in my free time. It’s based off of the first three characters I made, which you can see in the links on their names below. I hope you enjoy it! Please comment and give your thoughts at the end, ‘twould be greatly obliged


Now, without further ado:

Tale of the Wanderers
(10.5 stars) – Play as Terranova, Gance, or Tasios.

Cutscenes in this story will be presented in prose fiction form.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Gance, Tasios and Terranova walk along the Void Castle, to be stopped by Exdeath.

“What… Who are you? Why have you come to our world?”

Tasios stepped forward. “We were bored, is all. What’s the big deal?”

“You were summoned by Cosmos, then. I will have to destroy you.”

Tasios palmed his Mezraq. “Why do you think we would-”

“Wait.” Terranova stepped forward. “Why would you have to destroy us? It doesn’t sound like you terribly want to…”

Exdeath chuckled. “It is simple. You are warriors of Cosmos, fighting in vain for your imaginary world of harmony. It is my job to return you to the Void of which you were birthed.”

“You’re not making a very convincing argument,” Gance said, his hands in his pockets. “You still haven’t answered Terranova’s question.”

“Why- but, it is simple! You are wasting my time!” Exdeath swung his sword out, and a series of black voids appeared in space behind him. “Manikins! Destroy these meaningless wanderers of our world! Now,” Exdeath bellowed, “stand and fight! I have a feeling this will be … entertaining.”

“No thanks. Don’t feel like it,” Gance said, waving his arm as if a courtesy. “I mean, we just ate. I hate fighting after a meal.”

“But, you are being absurd! This is-”

“Gance said we’re done, so we’re done!” Tasios snapped back. “Terra, let’s get out of here.”

“Right,” Terranova muttered, and waved his arm upward. The three became engulfed in a white sphere, then vanished into the air. Exdeath stood in stunned silence, then lowered his sword. The portals behind him vanished.

“I… I don’t believe it. The audacity…”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Start board, over Gustaberg (Final Fantasy XI stage: a three-tiered hill with a plateau on top, with a gravestone.)

Terranova: “Looks like we’re gonna have to fight anyway…”

Gance: “It’s all right. I think my lunch has settled. I could use a warm-up or seven.”

Tasios: “Ember, you ready?”

Ember: Rawr!

Stage Bonuses:
1 DP: 50 PP
2 DP: 2,000 Gil
3 DP: 100 PP
4 DP: Rosetta Stone x5 >150 PP
5 DP: Summonstone: Ultima (explanation below) > 10,000 Gil
6 DP: Summonstone: Knights of the Round (explanation below) > 300 PP
7 DP and greater: Rosetta Stone

Summonstone: Ultima (Non-auto, 1 charge, 8 recharge)
“Eschaton” – Reduces Bravery to zero, but bravery doubles every 15 seconds. Lasts 2 minutes.
Summonstone: Knights of the Round (Non-auto, 1 charge, 8 recharge)
“Fealty Rend” – Reduces HP to 1, doubles attack power. Lasts for the duration of the fight.

Level 1 Board pieces:
Bartz manikin, level 90, DP condition: Win without taking damage
Kuja manikin, level 90, DP condition: Win without taking damage
Shantotto manikin, level 90, DP condition: Win without losing HP
Treasure Chest: 250 PP
Potion
Rare Battle Piece: Warrior of Light, initiates cutscene below.
Warrior of Light, level 100, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Rare Battle Piece: Firion, initiates cutscene below.
Firion, level 100, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Rare Battle Piece: Onion Knight, initiates cutscene below.
Onion Knight, level 100, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
[NOTE: All rare battle pieces are fought in this order according to stage layout and locked areas. They cannot be fought out of order. This applies to all Rare battle pieces listed.]


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Warrior of Light walks up to the trio, who stand up.

“Who are you, and why have you come here? I do not recognize you.”

“We killed your parents and we’re here to eat your soul,” Gance said casually.

The Warrior of Light palmed his sword, but drew his hand down. “You have a very strange sense of humor.”

“You get used to it,” Terranova muttered.

“Have you been summoned by Cosmos to help restore order to the world?” the Warrior of Light asked in his robotic tone.

“Cosmos, Chaos, everyone thinks we’ve been ‘summoned’ here by some divine will. We were just bored, so we stopped by to find some adventure. People have a hard time understanding that around here,” Tasios said.

“But, if there IS any problem,” Terranova interrupted, “then we’ll gladly help.”

“Like we said,” Gance started, “we’re just here for fun. If we can fix up things around here, all the better.”

“I see.” The Warrior of Light pondered for a second. “I highly doubt you will be able to find a crystal, because you are foreigners to this world. However, we can use all the help we can get.” The Warrior drew his sword.

Tasios stepped back. “Hey hey, what’s the big idea?”

“I would like to test your strength, if you do not mind. Consider it a friendly duel.”

The three adventurers stepped forward. “Not a problem!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The trio rests on a platform in Pandaemonium, partially drifting to sleep. Suddenly, whistling is heard.

The three jerked up and grabbed their weapons. “What is that?” Gance asked.

“It sounds like… music,” Terranova responded. The two turned to a nearby corridor.

“Ember? Hey, wait!” Tasios shouted as he chased after his wyvern, who had flown towards the corridor, the source of the music. Terranova and Gance followed.

At the end of the hall was a strangely clad liegeman, wearing a multi-colored bandanna and a plethora of weapons attached to his belt – spears, swords, axes, wands, everything imaginable. He was playing a flute, and the tune had seemed to hypnotize Ember, as she was hovering in circles over his head, her eyes half closed. She seemed strangely content. He looked up and stopped playing. “I see you’re a Dragoon. A companion of mine, Ricard, was also a Dragoon. He taught me that song.”

“I see,” Tasios replied, both fascinated and slightly annoyed.

“And you are?” Gance asked.

“Firion. Yourselves?”

“Terranova, Tasios,” Gance replied, motioning to each one, “and I’m Gancathion the Almighty, Destroyer of Worlds, Ruler of Man.”

Firion chuckled. “I’m sure. You mind if I just call you Gance to keep it short?”

“Gance the Almighty.”

“Fine,” Firion replied. “Gance the Almighty.”

“Destroyer of worlds,” Gance muttered under his breath.

“Not to interrupt or anything,” Terranova interrupted, “but maybe you can explain this whole Cosmos and Chaos business.

“You were not summoned by Cosmos?” Firion replied, slightly surprised. He motioned to stepping back. “Then by who?”

“Ourselves,” Tasios replied.

“But why?” Firion asked. “Are you meaning to accomplish something?”

“Nah. We just flow along, doing whatever we feel like. We just got bored,” Terranova answered.

“Surely you have some dream you wish to achieve?” Firion asked.

“Well-” Terranova started.

“Nah.” Gance answered.

Firion stepped back, then grabbed his lance. “Then may we do battle, beings who drift along in the wind. I would like to see how well you fight with no guiding light.”

Gance grabbed his daggers. “We don’t lack a guiding light. We simply wish to see what the world has to offer for us.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The trio is seen on top of the rounded pillars in the World of Darkness, doing a coordinated jig. Terranova sees something and jumps down.

“Terra, what are you-” Tasios started, then stopped dancing. Approaching the taru was a kid of similar stature, clad in red armor with a helmet blossoming white plumes in a circle. Terranova and the Onion Knight approached each other, then both jumped back in shock, holding their arms up, as if the other one was about to attack. After a second, they lowered, then both raised their eyebrows at each other. There was a silence, then they both pointed at each other. Then, without warning, they started to panic, flailing their arms in place and dancing around madly, both perfectly simultaneous.

Tasios sat down on his pillar and pulled out an apple. “Now this is entertainment.” Gance nodded in agreement.

After their panicking, the two stopped, frozen towards each other, then they simultaneously broke out into a coordinated jig, each one tapping at exactly the same point. After what seems like several minutes of this dancing (which involved a tapdancing portion), the two swung their arms up in a finishing flourish. Then, without warning, the little kid grabbed his sword and leapt at the taru. He instinctively grabbed his maul and whipped it up, forming a blue shield that the kid slammed into. He collided head-on into it, falling and flipping backwards. He lay there on the ground when, suddenly, he started to laugh. He scrambled to his feet, grabbed his sword, and smiled a wide grin to the taru. Terranova returned the favor, and the two wordlessly charged each other.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After defeating Warrior of Light, Firion, and Onion Knight, the Stigma of Chaos will appear.


(continued below)

[Zadimortis]

Level 2 Board pieces:
Level 92 Golbez manikin, DP chance: Win in 60 seconds (DP+1)
Level 92 Gabranth manikin, DP chance: Win in 60 seconds (DP+1)
Level 93 Warrior of Light golden manikin, DP chance: Win in 30 seconds (DP+1)
(Starts the fight with 1 HP, full EX gauge, immediately opens with Ultima summonstone.)
Treasure Chest: Rosetta Stone
Ether, Potion
Rare Battle piece: Cecil, starts cutscene below.
Cecil, level 105, DP chance: Win battle (+1)
Rare Battle piece: Bartz, starts cutscene below.
Bartz, level 105, DP chance: Win battle (+1)
Rare Battle piece: Terra, starts cutscene below.
Kefka, level 105, DP chance: Win battle (+1)
(This is not a mistake. The battle piece says Terra, but the fight is against Kefka.)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Gance and Tasios are seen sitting in the Lunar Subterrane, watching Terranova synthesize something with a water crystal. When he’s finished, the three stand up. They see Cecil (Paladin form) approach them from behind.

“A Dragoon, huh. That brings back memories…”

“And you are?” Terranova asked.

“Cecil. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have something I must do.” He turned and walked away, but Tasios stepped forward.

“Wait. You know of other Dragoons?”

Cecil stopped. “Unfortunately… yes.”

“Unfortunately?” Tasios asked.

“You see, long ago I fought alongside a dragoon known as Kain. He was truly loyal to his calling, and we stuck through things, even when they got tough. But nowadays…” He turned and looked up. “All the Dragoons I see parading around the kingdom merely boast of their power, and stop at nothing to get more of it, even if it means neglecting their friends, or family. Kain… had valor. Pride. It is upsetting, seeing Dragoons now. You could learn something.”

“Well excuse me,” Tasios replied, annoyed, “but… I know what you are talking about. I was born and raised a Dragoon, and I have seen first hand this… degrading of honor of which you speak. I no longer speak to others of the pride of the Dragoon, because it no longer exists where we come from… But I know I still have it! Deep in my heart is the azure flame that carries me forward.” Ember flipped backwards in acknowledgement.

“I see,” Cecil replied. “What is your name?”

“Tasios,” he answered, then paused. “One of the last remaining true Dragoons.”

Cecil smiled, then grabbed his sword. “Then let us duel, friend, so I may witness this pride firsthand!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Exdeath is seen walking across the Void Castle. Bartz runs up from behind.

“I’ve got you now, Exdeath!” Bartz hollered, leaping into the air, his sword spinning.

“No,” Exdeath simply replied, and launched him away with a single swipe of his arm. Bartz hit the castle wall hard, slumping to the ground. He got back up to his feet. “But-”

“Silence. I have no time for this. We shall settle our qualms another day.”

“Hey, wait! Get back here! Just what are you doing that’s so important you have to ignore me?”

“You shall see soon enough,” Exdeath laughed in his low, earth-shaking voice. He turned, sweeping his cape, and walked away. “Now, if only I could encounter that trio again…” he muttered to himself as he vanished into the rift. Bartz cupped his ear.

“The trio…Who could he possibly mean? Last I checked, there wasn’t any-” he started, but was interrupted by a noise on the other side of the castle wall. He snuck over and peeked past. Just beyond the corner sat Gance, Tasios and Terranova, playing cards. Terranova slapped a hand and pulled it in, laughing, as the other two groaned.

Bartz leaned back and thought. “I don’t remember seeing them before… Maybe they’re the trio! And they must be in the Void Castle because they’re working with Exdeath!…” Without thinking, he jumped past the corner and pulled out a silver sword from thin air. The three immediately jumped to their feet. Terranova jumped up too quickly, though, sending all the cards flying into the air. He frantically jumped around trying to grab them while Gance and Tasios drew their weapons, seeing Bartz’s drawn.

“You guys aren’t from around here! You’re working with Exdeath, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry, who?” Tasios asked.

“You can’t trick me!” Bartz shouted. “Now, stand and fight! I will destroy you in the name of Cosmos!” He charged the group.

Gance sighed. “Teenagers…”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The three are seen skating along the rims of the pathways in Kefka’s Tower. Terranova looks down and sees someone enter.

“Hey, guys. Stop having fun.” The other two knew this cue, and they jumped down immediately to the floor, where Terranova was standing. Their gaze turned to a girl of moderate height with messy green hair, a red shirt, and a white skirt. She saw them and turned away.

“I’m sorry, maybe I should leave…”

“No, no,” Gance offered, “we were just taking advantage of the… facilities here. Didn’t even pay rent. We just-”

“Wait.” Terranova stopped him, and walked up to her. He pulled his Light staff out of his bag and held it up to her. The girl shied away.

“You’re not human, are you… Well, at least not entirely.” Tasios and Gance raised an eyebrow.

“Please, no! Go away!” She turned, tearing.

“Sheesh, I never said it was bad or anything,” Terranova muttered.

“So what is she, then?” Tasios asked. “She’s not… evil, is she? Er…” He turned to the girl. “What are you?”

“I’m… I’m, uh…” Terra answered, flustered. “Nothing. It’s really not-”

“In my hands, she could be a GODDESS!” a cackling voice shouted. The four of them looked upwards to see a zany, maniacal figure dressed in a clown costume jump down from the ceiling of the tower to them. He giggled to himself.

“I see you’ve made some new friends, my dearest. You didn’t tell them Papa’s little secret now, did you?” he said, putting his finger to her chin. She shrieked and slapped it away, grabbing her rapier.

“I don’t want to fight! Please, Kefka, go away!”

“But Daddy just wants to play with you a little bit-”

“I think it’s pretty clear,” Tasios said, whipping out his lance, “who the evil one really is here." Gance had already grabbed his daggers, and Terranova pulled out his mauls.

“Ohh, come on! Daddy just wants to play with his-” he turned to Terra, but saw she had already ran away. He turned back, his face having turned from playful to vicious. “You… imbeciles! I almost had her!” His voice had turned raspy with rage. He started floating in the air, flames engulfing his hands. “You’ll PAY for this!”

After the fight, Kefka’s last words appear:
“It’s a shame, I was just starting to like you… Oh well. A little birdie told me that you’re in for a real treat… kekekee!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After defeating Cecil, Bartz, and Kefka, the Stigma of Chaos will appear.

(continued below)

[Zadimortis]

Level 3 Board pieces:
Level 95 Bartz manikin, DP condition: Battlegen in 30 seconds (DP+1)
Level 98 Terra manikin, DP condition: Battlegen in 30 seconds (DP+1)
Level 99 Jecht golden manikin, DP condition: Win in 30 seconds (DP+2)
(He starts out the fight in EX mode with the Knights of the Round summonstone, reducing his HP to 1.)
Treasure Chest: Rosetta Stone x3
Potion
Rare Battle Piece: Cloud, starts cutscene below.
Cloud, level 110, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Rare Battle Piece: Squall, starts cutscene below.
Ultimecia, level 110, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Rare Battle Piece: Zidane, starts cutscene below.
Exdeath, level 110, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
(Again, the battle pieces say Squall and Zidane, but the fights are against Ultimecia and Exdeath.)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The trio is shown skating along the rails of the Planet’s Core, when Cloud warps in. The three of them see this and jump down, surrounding him in a triangle on the center platform. Cloud immediately grabs his sword. Tasios and Terranova grab their weapons, but Gance holds off.

“You.” Cloud pointed at Gance with his sword. “Why haven’t you pulled out your knives?”

“Don’t feel like it. By the looks of it, I’m pretty sure Tasios or Terra could destroy you. That is, if they even feel like fighting you.” Terranova turned toward Gance, feeling slightly ashamed.

“But…” Cloud hesitated. “You neither want to fight, nor do you want to flee. I don’t get it. Are you not intimidated?”

“Nah. I would be intimidated, if you actually wanted to fight.” Cloud lowered his sword, taken aback by this statement.

“If I wanted to fight… You’re right. I don’t want to fight you because I have no reason to, especially seeing that you aren’t hostile, even though you enter this world as armed outsiders. You would see this and merely accept this?”

“If you have no reason or will to fight, then don’t. Simple as that. If you don’t have an end worth fighting for, don’t try to achieve it.”

“So… we don’t have to fight?” Cloud asked.

“Well, actually…” Gance palmed his daggers. “This conversation is really boring me. I wouldn’t mind a good warm-up at this point.”

Cloud grabbed his sword again, then paused. “Thank you…”

“Eh?”

“Nothing. Now, let’s go.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




The trio is seen skating down the spiral contraption in Ultimecia’s Castle. They get to the bottom and jump off, seeing Squall standing there.

“Hah. The world’s about to end, and you’re just sitting around having fun.”

“We’re actually skating. It’s really awesome,” Terranova answered. Squall ignored him.

“We’re not affiliated with this ‘cosmos’ character, so apparently we can’t find the proper ‘crystal’ with which to save the world. So we’re just gonna chill until we can be of use.” Terranova spoke in a more stern voice, so as to grab Squall’s attention. After the Taru was done talking, Squall looked down at him condescendingly.

“Shut up. You’re not worth it.”

Tasios and Gance grabbed their weapons. Terranova stepped forward. “Well, I never-”

“Oh Squallie, did you bring some friends?” a female voice echoed throughout the castle. The four of them froze.

“Ultimecia!”

“There really is no point in trying to stop Chaos, you know. I’m not sure why you even keep on trying…” The time witch hovered down in front of the gentlemen. Squall brought his gunblade around.

“You three get out of here. I’ll take care of this.”

“Uh, hell no,” Terranova answered. “We said we’d help, so we’re helping.”

“I don’t need your-”

“Shut up,” Terranova snapped back, pushing Squall’s leg aside. “Now I’m sorry miss, was there a problem?”

Ultimecia drew her arms up, synthesizing a multitude of arrows out of thin air. “No, my dear. Not a problem at all.” Squall stepped back as the three lunged at her.

After the fight, Ultimecia’s last words appear:
Damn you…all…to Hell…
I shall… see you… soon…enough…”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Zidane walks along the main platform in the Crystal World. Terranova is seen sneaking up behind him. Then, without warning, he grabs Zidane’s tail.

“Hey- what the!…” Zidane shouted as he frantically shook and spun around, but the Taru flew through the air along with it, not letting go. Gance approached the two.

“What kind of human has a tail, anyway?” he asked. The two stopped and looked up at him.

“I’m a Genome,” Zidane answered, annoyed. He yanked the tail out of Terranova’s grasp. “What’s it to you? Who are you anyway?” Tasios landed on the ground next to Gance, startling Zidane.

“Messengers sent from the future,” Gance replied. Zidane’s eyebrows narrowed.

“Ha ha, very funny. Look, if you’re working with Chaos, I’m going to have to defeat you.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a crystal by any chance, would you?” Tasios asked. Zidane looked up at him, then at Ember. She barred her teeth, making him shy away. He looked back up at Tasios.

“Yeah, I do.” He pulled out his glowing orange crystal. “It’s Cosmos’s gift to me.” The three of them walked up and examined it very closely. Zidane whipped it back when he saw this level of fascination. “It’s my crystal. Get your own.”

“I don’t think we can,” Tasios replied. “Are they all stashed somewhere or something?”

“I knew you were with Chaos!” Zidane shouted, grabbing his scimitars. “I’m gonna cut you down to size!”

Gance and Tasios grabbed their weapons, but Terranova held off. “Wait,” he replied, holding up his hand. He aimed it at Zidane. “Now hold still.”

“I’m not gonna-what? Aagh!” he replied, frantically, as he realized he was frozen in place, paralyzed. Terranova approached him, and pulled out his Light staff. He aimed it up at Zidane’s head and looked into it, then his eyes widened and he took a few steps back.

“I…You’re not…!”

“So you found me out, “ came a booming voice. Zidane’s figure glowed black and starry, then morphed into the massive, towering armored figure of Exdeath. He reached his arm up into a rift in space that appeared out of nowhere and pulled out Zidane, tossing him to the ground. He hit with a muffled “Aah!” Terranova immediately ran over to him with his Light staff, and a curative light shone over Zidane. He rolled over, bruised and broken in several places. Tasios and Gance whipped their weapons out, in the ready position.

“You must be Exdeath. That guy from earlier. Couldn’t get enough of us?” Gance mocked.

“Enough of your tomfoolery! Give in to the power of the Void! I will destroy you!”

“Not until you explain why you did that to Zidane,” Tasios said.

“It is of no matter! He accomplished his purpose… and you are wasting my time again!”

“Don’t…” Zidane’s crackled voice became evident. “Don’t… fight him… he has a…”

“Don’t worry,” Terranova stood up, his Light staff hovering in place where he held it. He pulled out his mauls. “If he’s anything like the other guys we’ve faced, we’ll make good work of him.” The three turned to Exdeath and charged him.

“No… you don’t… get it…” Zidane muttered, but went unheard. “He’s…going to…”

After the fight: Exdeath’s last (?) words appear:
“You have ended me… but merely for a moment.
It is of no matter. You have done everything that you need to…”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After defeating Cloud, Ultimecia, and Exdeath, the Stigma of Chaos will appear.

(continued below)

[Zadimortis]

Level 4 Board pieces:
Level 99 Garland manikin, DP condition: EX Burst in 20 seconds (DP+1)
Level 99 Exdeath manikin, DP condition: EX Burst in 20 seconds (DP+1)
Level 99 Gabranth manikin, DP condition: EX Burst in 20 seconds (DP+1)
Level 99 Squall golden manikin, DP condition: Win without taking damage (DP+1)
(He will start the fight with 1 HP, boosted Attack, and open with the Eald'Narche summonstone - see description below.)
Secret Battle Piece (obtainable via story bonus at the end): Level 120 Terranova, DP condition: Win battle (+2)
Potion
Secret Treasure Chest: Hero’s Spirit (S-ranked special accessory, gives CP+80 but unable to equip any other CP-enhancing accessories.)
Summonstone: Eald'Narche (1 charge, 8 recharge)
Phase Shift: For 30 seconds, when your opponent Breaks you, instead of Breaking, you copy your opponent’s bravery, and double it.
Rare Battle Piece: Tidus, starts cutscene below.
Jecht, level 115, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Signet of Cosmos: Shantotto, starts cutscene below.
(No fight actually takes place, even though the signet of Cosmos is a battle piece.)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Trio walks into Dream’s End. Without warning, a blitzball comes flying straight at Terranova. He raises his staff up in shock, bracing for the hit, but Ember intercepts the ball. She knocks it into the air with her nose, then spins around and bats it with her tail. Tidus climbs up from over Sin’s Fang and jumps out, catching the ball in mid-fall, landing with a roll.

“Nice,” both Tidus and Terranova mutter under their breath. Tidus leapt into the air, flipping upside down, and kicked the blitzball back at the trio, but without warning a red and black blur flies between the two, intercepting the ball. Tasios, Gance, and Terranova, grab their weapons instinctively.

“What the- Ah!” Tidus shouted as the same blitzball collided with the side of his head at high velocity, knocking him to the ground. It bounced off, flying back to the source, whereupon it launched back at Tidus at even higher speed. Jecht slowly raised up from the side of the platform, jumping higher into the air with each kick, every impact of the ball knocking Tidus closer and closer to the edge, whereupon he dropped off, dangling on the edge of the platform. Jecht landed, palming the blitzball, and walked towards the edge. He slammed his sword into the ground, dangerously close to Tidus’s fingers.

“You never did learn, did you?” Jecht growled.

“We have to go help him!” Tasios said. He clasped his spear and stepped forward, but Gance’s outstretched arm blocked him.

“No. Not yet.”

“What?” Tasios asked.

“This is one of those battles that he has to do for himself. If we interfere, we’ll destroy his dignity. This is a fight… that he needs to finish himself.”

There was a silence.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Terranova said aloud. Gance turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

“But this is-!” Gance started.

“It looks like he needs help to me,” Tasios said. Ember nodded in agreement.

“No… you don’t get it! This is his fight! This is a fight that he needs to do alone!”

“NO IT’S NOT!” Tidus hollered.

“Oh,” Gance said, staring straight forward. Wordlessly, the three charged Jecht, who turned, smiling.

“Even you?” Jecht said. “Oh well. I was starting to like that fellow over there. You won’t get anywhere without overcoming me.”

“Maybe if I-“ Tasios started.

“Too late!” Gance shouted, leaping into the air at Jecht, who raised his sword, swinging out to deflect the flying thief. Jecht backhanded the blitzball at Terranova, who went flying against the wall, and leapt out of the waly of Tasios’s Jump attack. He leapt up to Gance, raising his sword.

“You look like the most fun!” Jecht swung, but Ganced ducked under, kicking him back to Sin’s Fang, whereupon he smashed against the sword. The three met in the center.

“Sorry,” Gance said, smirking, “but you’re gonna have to deal with all of us.”

“Three to one… I like those odds!” Jecht said, enthused. The three charged Jecht.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Shantotto is seen sitting on the tombstone at the top of Vomp Hill. She spies the trio approaching from the base.

“Wandering adventurers travel near, their clothing rather austere… by th-AAAH!” she yelped as Gance appeared behind her in an instant.

“Well well, what have we here?” Gance assumed a casual pose. Tasios landed in the midst of the grave, and Terranova poofed in. Shantotto grabbed her fire staff.

“Now that was horribly rude of you, to treat a lady like that! You should know I can drop you in the drop of your hat!

Gance casually leaned away from the gravestone and strutted towards the Black Mage, clearly not showing any fear. “Now now, no reason to get hasty like that. I’m sure you’re not in the mood, and besides,” he said, tipping his hat off, “I like my hat.”

With a grunt, Shantotto blasted a bolt of Fire at the hat, which immediately burst into flame. Gance dropped the hat, shocked, then looked up, smirking. “My my, you really are some hot stuff…. But you know what?” He whizzed around at Thief speed to around behind Shantotto and pulled the cuff of her robe up to his face. “I like it rough!” He pushed her away then jumped back, synthesizing his hat out of thin air, and let it fall onto his head while he grabbed his daggers. Shantotto jumped back up and grabbed her fire staff again.

“Now wait a minute, we don’t have to-” Terranova started.

“Ohohoho! No need to make a fuss,” Shantotto interrupted, looking at Terranova, then turning to Gance, “I’m sure this’ll be fun – for both of us!” She made a very slight smirk. Gance’s eyebrows flared, and the two lunged at each other. Gance went for a slash, but missed entirely. He stopped and turned around, realizing suddenly that Shantotto wasn’t there anymore.

“What the-”

“AAGH!” came the familiar voice from above them. The three looked up to see the black mage hovering in the air inside a starry black spherical cage. Holding the cage in place was the wispy, ghostly figure of Exdeath hovering in the air, but his armor had a greener tint to it – and had increased in size roughly threefold.

The three adventurers gaped. Tasios stepped forward. “Exdeath…?”

“Hah, fools!” the massive ghostly figure spoke, hovering above them, his mighty voice rumbling. “You thought death could stop me? As long as the Void exists, my soul will remain eternal! I couldn’t simply let my plan go to waste because I lost my physical form!

“Plan? What are you talking about? Let me go!” the black mage howled.

“You’ll find out soon enough!” the soul of Exdeath bellowed. In an instant, Tasios jumped up, spear in hand, but passed straight through the ghostly figure of Exdeath, and by the time he realized it, the two had vanished. Tasios landed, and the three stood there, speechless.

“Where do you think they went?” Terranova asked.

“Exdeath kept using and talking about the “powers of the Void,” so my guess is he’s headed there. We should be too,” Tasios deduced.

“Right,” Terranova replied, and in an instant the three vanished in a flash of light.


(continued below)

[Zadimortis]

The board changes from Gustaberg to The Rift. The ambient music changes to “Rise of the Zilart boss battle theme/Avatar theme.” The trio’s avatars are seen talking over the board:
Terranova: Damn, he sure has this place guarded!
Tasios: He must be working on something really important…
Gance: I don’t care what he does, as long as Shantotto gets out safe!

Level 5 Board pieces:
Level 100 Garland manikin, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Level 100 Emperor manikin, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Level 100 Cloud of Darkness manikin, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Level 100 Kefka manikin, DP condition: Win battle (+1)
Level 100 Gabranth manikin, DP condition: Win battle (+2)
(Has Puppeteer’s Wheel accessory.)
Signet of Cosmos battle piece: “???”, starts cutscene below.
See cutscene below for battle details.
Stigma of Chaos battle piece: “??!” starts cutscene below.
See cutscene below for battle details.


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Upon selecting the Signet of Cosmos “???”:
The trio jumps up to the top of the tallest central castle of the Rift, where the ghost of Exdeath is holding Shantotto hostage. The cage she is in has been transformed into a machine of sorts, and Shantotto is hovering inside it, unconscious. Black void tentacles are seen draining her energy and clustering it into a metallic spherical device pulsating a red light. As soon as the trio gets to the top of the castle, the pulsating increases. Exdeath’s Soul turns around.

“Hah! How good of you to join me in the Grand Finale. After all, it was you who made this possible.”

“What are you talking about? What is this big plan of yours?” Terranova asked.

“Oh, simple, simple. When I took on Zidane’s form to fight you, I was intending to lose.”

“What!?” Tasios blurted.

“Yes. The intent was to use Zidane’s body instead of mine to perish for the test, but you meddling imbeciles found me out. It was of no matter, though – my Aura Scanner was able to gather all of your knowledge – on fighting techniques, styles, your different types of magic, your experience, and how you were able to amalgamate it all into a crystallized form.”

“But why would you want that? What could you do with our…” Terranova started, then his eyes widened. “…The manikins…”

“Yes, I see you catch on quickly. Synthesizing a manikin based on observation alone is an arduous task, one almost entirely based on guesswork. With my Aura Scanner, I could take your fighting techniques and copy them exactly… make them absolutely perfect, then crystallize them into a figure that would be nigh invincible. All I needed were the perfect warriors, and through observation, your techniques were well near undefeatable. Finally, everything is in place for me to fulfill the will of Chaos-” Exdeath swept his arms up, “-and after his petty desires are fulfilled, return this world to the Void!” He waved his massive arm out, forming a black sphere, then shot it outward, where it froze in the air and grew in size to roughly the size of one of the smaller Void Castle cubes, then crystallized golden.

“Do you know what that is? That is one of Enuo’s Scourges. A vessel that is said to contain within one-tenth of the soul of Enuo, the Being that Dwells in the Void. It is written in prophecy that he who obtains all ten of Enuo’s Scourges will have the entirety of the Void at his command. I have arduously fought through and obtained all ten of these fragments, and have been waiting patiently for the perfect moment to use them. That time,” Exdeath’s Soul bellowed as he waved his arms outward, synthesizing nine other black orbs in the air, “is nigh!” Each one expanded outward around the central castle tower, creating a ring of ten golden orbs. The orbs started pulsating and glowing, and Exdeath began a bellowed laughter.

“Witness the creation,” Exdeath’s Soul thundered, “of the new Gods of this world!” He thrust both his arms into the air, and the ten golden orbs shone a brilliant beam of light towards the metallic sphere in the center. The trio shielded their eyes from the blast and stepped back.

Exdeath threw his head back. “Hah hah hah hah hah hah- what?” he interjected. A smashing sound was heard, then the machine in the center began to sputter and spark. A blinding light erupted from the metallic sphere, followed by a slight explosion and massive amounts of smoke. The trio slowly stepped forward.

“Is that…?”

“You always did know just how to piss me off!” a familiar gruff voice hollered. Stepping out of the smoke was the figure of Jecht, who walked forward and slammed his sword into the ground. “Sorry to ruin your parade, Gance. I brought a few friends along.”

The trio turned around to see the heroes they had met along the way perched on each of the Scourges. The Warrior of Light rose his sword in a prideful stance, then looked down at the trio, smiling. “You said you wanted to help us? Now here’s your chance.”

Firion nodded at the trio in the middle. “We have to protect the world, and all of the dreams it’s cradling.”

The Onion Knight did a flourishing jig on top of his orb, ending in an upward sweeping motion of his arms. He then turned and winked at the group.

Cecil got up from his knees and assumed Paladin form. “As long as you have pride in yourself, you can accomplish anything.”

Bartz looked up at the group, then looked back down. “I guess I was wrong, earlier… sorry about that… He looked up again. “But you have to stop Exdeath! And we’re going to help you as best we can!”

Terra turned towards the group bashfully. “I don’t know what sort of evils I’ll have to face… But I know what it’s for. I have to fight… for everyone!”

Cloud grabbed his Buster Sword. “You have made things clearer for me. Now, I know why I must fight.”

Squall mounted his gunblade on his shoulder. “Hmph… guess you guys aren’t so bad after all.”

Zidane flipped backwards, then turned to the group. “Just consider it as returning the favor!”

Tidus got up from his knees. “My dad may be a jerk, but he knows what he’s doin’.”

Jecht stepped back and flung his blade at the metallic contraption, which launched off the castle and exploded in mid-fall. The dark energy veins leading to it from Shantotto vaporized, and the black mage fell to the ground, unconscious. The ten golden orbs shattered, revealing black void masses that morphed into the archenemies of each of the Warriors of Cosmos facing them, immediately beginning an assault.

“What…” Exdeath began. “What is this cockamamie intrusion!? It is of no matter… I have obtained enough aura to create, at the very least, protoyptes. Behold!” The ghost of Exdeath thrust his arms out and shot bolts of black energy into the ground before the trio, and, starting from the ground up, like water filling a glass bottle, muted periwinkle doppelgangers of the trio formed. When the last sliver of energy had been transferred, Exdeath had returned to normal size. The manikins looked up and, with a wave of their hands, pulled their weapons out of thin air and assumed fighting stances. Exdeath’s soul took on a physical form and staggered slightly, obviously drained of energy.

“Now, my minions! Make us forget these bystanders! And I, your master, shall-” Exdeath’s soul began, but was interrupted by a charge of Jecht’s sword. He looked up.

“You take care of your problems, and I’ll take care of this one!” Jecht shouted.

“Right!” Gance shouted back. The three of them turned towards their respective manikins, and charged each other.


The fight is tripartite: similar to the fight against Chaos, except each time the player will face a different manikin. The battle takes place in the Rift. Using the order Terranova → Tasios → Gance → Terranova…, the player will fight the manikins, level 120 each, in this order, always ending on the manikin of their own character. (For example, Tasios would fight the manikins in the order of Gance → Terranova → Tasios.) Each is level 120. Terranova uses the Ultima summonstone at the start of the fight, Tasios uses the Knights of the Round summonstone near death or loss, and Gance uses the Eald'Narche summonstone immediately when the fight starts.

After the fight ends, the player returns to the Board Map, and the route to the Sigil of Chaos battle piece “??!” is opened.


(to be concluded below)

[Zadimortis]

The camera pans around to different platforms in the Rift, where each of Enuo’s Scourges lay, near defeat. The Warriors of Cosmos raise their respective weapons (this is shown in a “flashing” sequence of each one doing this,) when Terranova cries out, “Stop!” They all stop.

The trio’s manikins collapse to the ground, and fade into dust. Exdeath gets to his knees, grunting, and turns around. The three surround Exdeath, their weapons drawn.

“You are done. You have no chance against us,” Terranova stated solemnly.

“That’s…what you think…” Exdeath’s soul muttered. He thrust out his arms, and each of the Enuo’s Scourges shoots up towards Exdeath, reverting to the black energy state. The now shrunken orbs formed a ring and rotated around Exdeath’s arm.

“I was afraid…I would have to resort to this…But it seems to be…my only option left…Consume my soul, Enuo, creature of the Void! Use me as your vessel…to manifest yourself in the physical world!” Exdeath cried. The void orbs converged in on his hand, and slowly peeling down his arm, across his body, like unwrapping a piece of candy, the eerie green armor of Exdeath’s Soul turned blue, gold, and starry black of the Void. His ordinarily nominal sword turned into a flaring golden menace, and hovered in the air in front of Exdeath. When the transformation was complete, Exdeath’s luminous black and gold figure swept his arm out, his cape wafting in the air.

“I… am Enuo…” came a far deeper, more ominous voice that seemed to come from all over the Rift, not just from Exdeath’s former body. “God… of the Rift…” He began hovering in the air, and black bolts of energy began convulsing all over him. “That pawn of mine… Exdeath… has released me in my lowest form… bringing me to near death…but I will use his body…to become what I once was… but first…” He thrust his arms out, dispelling the black energy, and dropped to the ground. “As the taker of Exdeath’s form, it is my duty to fulfill his last wish…which is…to bring utter destruction to Cosmos…and her warriors…”

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Terranova remarked. “You’ll have to face us instead. And we’re going to end you.”

“Insects of the manifested world…” rang Enuo’s ambient voice. The blue sky of the Void became in an instant black and filled with flame. “By all means, try!”


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Fight against Exdeath (alternate color), level 120, has four accessories equipped: Puppeteer’s Wheel (Initial EX Force+100%, EX Mode Duration+500%, EX Force Absorption+200%), Divine Will (EX Burst does not cancel EX Mode), and two Shinryu’s Scales (“Second Life” – Will restore HP to full upon receiving the killing blow, breaks upon use.) Using these, he is able to maintain EX mode throughout the entire fight, use Neo Almagest (EX Burst) as many times as he feels like (he tends to do it more near the end of the fight), and revives to full HP twice in the fight.

After the fight, there is an 80% chance the player will obtain a Shinryu scale, 15% chance the player will obtain Divine Will, and a 5% chance the player will obtain the Puppetmaster’s Wheel. Divine Will and Puppetmaster’s Wheel have a 100% breakability rate, and the Shinryu’s Scale will break upon the effect usage.


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Enuo keeled down to one knee. “The power…of the void…” he muttered in a weak, crackling voice that no longer rang throughout the Rift, “is…insignificant? Defeated…by a mortal…or…is…he…” Exdeath’s armor burst into pyreflies, leaving not even dust. The Warriors of Cosmos assembled on the castle top in a circle. All the Warriors, including the trio, were very clearly weakened. Terranova got up to his knees, grabbed his Light Staff, and muttered, “C-Curaga!” A blinding white light filled the Rift, and all the Light Warriors got up to their feet, their strength renewed. Terranova staggered, then collapsed on the ground. The warriors looked at him with worry, but Gance chuckled and picked him up by the arm, slinging him around his back like a backpack.

“He’ll be just fine.”

“That’s good, ‘cause we still have our own problems to deal with,” Tidus barked.

“You had best return to your realm,” the Warrior of Light said, stepping forward. “I am not quite sure how we can repay you for what you have done for us.”

“You sure we shouldn’t stay to help you guys out with this Chaos guy?” Tasios asked. Gance kicked him in the shin.

“Thank you, but no thank you,” Firion answered. “Chaos is our problem, and we shall deal with him. You have done more than enough for us.”

“Ah well. If you insist.” Tasios and Gance, holding the taru, stepped forward. Tasios poked Terranova, who stirred briefly. Gance lowered him to the ground, where he stumbled, then fell on Gance’s leg. He leaned up.

“I think it’s time we go,” Gance said. “Get us outta here.”

“Ruh-ruh-right,” Terranova stammered, holding up his light staff. “Uh…whuwazzit again…right. Warpg-oof,” he started, falling over. A miniature warp portal appeared around the white mage, and he vanished. Tasios and Gance turned towards each other.

“Uhh…”

“Well, this sure is inconvenient. How are we supposed to-”

“Now now, no need for this fright!” came a familiar voice. The other taru of the group came waddling towards the duo. In a single wave of her hand, Tasios and Ember vanished in a warp portal, much to their surprise. The black mage turned to Gance. “Your lovely mistress Shantotto will make things right!” She raised her hand to create another warp portal, but in an instant Gance dropped to his knees and stayed her hand. She looked up, and saw that Gance had palmed a red rose in her hand.

“You know, my dear lady, my Mog house is open, and it would be an honor for you to spend the night…”

“What… manner of invite…is-“

“It would truly be… a delight,” the red thief replied, winking.

There was a pause, then the rose Shantotto was holding burst into flames. Gance stepped back in sudden fear.

“Boy, what are you trying to incite!?” Shantotto yelled. “Get your head right!”

“But I-“ Gance started, then became engulfed in a warp portal. Shantotto dropped the rose, now a pile of ashes, and marched off.

“Let that be a lesson for all of you!” she shouted over her shoulder. “To your elders always be polite!”

“Hoo boy,” the Onion Knight muttered, turning to Zidane. “Remind me never to make her mad.” Zidane nodded in agreement.


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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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So, ‘tis all done. Thanks for reading, if you made it this far :3

What do you think?