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Chapter Text

Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia

The Story So Far

Act 1

The story opens with the Warrior of Light, who has a vague memory of getting cut down by his arch enemy, Garland, before he wakes up in a sunny field. Here, he meets Vivi, Rem, and Mog, where he learns that he has been summoned to this world by the goddess Materia. Materia and her counterpart, Spiritus, have been at war and they have been summoning champions from across many different worlds to fight for them. This world, the World of Respite, was meant as a place for the warriors to rest from these constant cycles of battle - but something new threatens the stability of this world.

The Warrior of Light sets out with his new companions, with Mog acting as their guide, and over time they continue to find more allies and confront foes from a multitude of worlds. Mog charges them with recruiting "warriors with the Light," who have all been summoned by Materia, and Mog alone has the ability to track this "Light" to find their allies. They have another goal of closing the Torsions, rifts between worlds, that are causing the World of Respite to be destabilized.

Soon, the party discovers that this "Light" is simply a force that all warriors have, not just Materia's chosen, and it is this Light that empowers them to open and close the Torsions. Learning that Mog has intentionally kept this from them, and combined with the fact that the warriors are all starting to realize they lack certain memories of their home worlds, they grow distrustful - especially when it is discovered that Mog is not only subservient to Materia, but secretly to Spiritus as well. Furthermore, just like in World B (the setting of the previous Dissidia games), their battles create a form of energy that sustains this world - but something has been sapping that energy away.

With even the villains becoming suspicious of Mog, they all eventually learn that he has been possessed by the larval form of a "planesgorger," an agent of Shinryu, the divine dragon from the Interdimensional Rift who engineered the cycles of conflict from previous Dissidia games to empower itself, which has also been absorbing the energy created from battle. With the very stability of the world at risk, the party battles this planesgorger and frees Mog from its control, but the Crystal Core of Light, one of the two pillars of the world, gets destroyed.

Act 2

The destruction of the Crystal Core of Light sends the warriors to the World of Darkness, a world supported by the Crystal Core of Darkness. Here, the party begins meeting the Dark Manikins, crystal copies of the warriors that are more "advanced" than the standard Manikins they have encountered thus far, and have thoughts and feelings of their own. However, Dark Manikins are easily manipulated by those with a powerful "will." The power of "will," they come to learn, is a force in this world that can be wielded to alter even the fabric of reality, summoning landscapes from their home worlds and even creating things such as airships.

Throughout their journey, they rush to save the last standing pillar of the world, the Crystal Core of Darkness, from forces that are threatening it. As they travel, the party begins to restore their lost memories with the help of the Dark Manikins, defeat more planesgorgers, and eventually they learn that Ardyn is threatening the crystal core for his own ends. They learn that Materia is the one who has been taking away the memories of her summoned warriors, with her motivation being to spare them the pain they experienced in their own worlds so that they can find true rest in this one.

The party finally comes to confront Ardyn and Shinryu also makes his move. When the Crystal Core of Darkness is devoured by Shinryu, the party defeats it, and the Warrior of Light sacrifices himself in order to save this world. With both pillars gone, the Warrior of Light and Garland choose to become the new pillars for a new world - locked away in eternal conflict in the old world while everyone else is sent to the new one.

Act 3

In the new world, the Onion Knight wakes to learn that all of their allies have been separated across the world, and that he has been entrusted by the Warrior of Light to lead the party and guide them to find each other. Helping him in this quest are the "light compasses," special crystals that allow him to track down their lost friends. When he begins reuniting with the others, the Onion Knight learns that no one else remembers the Warrior of Light or the sacrifice that he made. Some, like Yuna, have vague memories of another person they used to call their leader, and it seems only those who fought in the previous cycles of battle (AKA, the other Dissidia games) have memories of this, but only the Onion Knight and Prishe remember him in full.

Figuring that the light compasses are gifts sent by the Warrior of Light, the party resolves to use them to find their lost friends and eventually the Warrior of Light himself. As they continue to travel, reunite with their friends, and restore more lost memories, they soon learn that the balance between Light and Darkness has been thrown out of equilibrium. One of the factors at play is the Cloud of Darkness, who is becoming empowered by this imbalance and is set to restore it by any means necessary. They also soon discover that all of the villains have had their most destructive powers sealed away by Spiritus as a precaution for summoning them to this world. Eald'narche is the first to discover that this power has been sealed away in the Crystal Core of Darkness, and he goes around the world to track down its shards, which he dubs "silt," to restore the sealed powers to the various villains - both so he can get some measure of control over them himself, and also to overwhelm the world with a flood of darkness so that it goes out of balance and they can all go home.

Meanwhile, the party begins to lose faith in the gods, and thus Materia and Spiritus begin to slowly lose their power. When the gods themselves start to come under threat from the villains, Materia and Spiritus put aside their differences and begin to put their trust in the party, acknowledging them as the protectors of this world. They vow to no longer take away the memories of their summoned warriors, since this world is for the warriors, not Materia and Spiritus, and those painful memories helped to make them who they are.

Eald'narche discovers that there is an entity sealed away inside of Hope, and forcefully gives Hope "silt" in an effort to free this being, thinking it is a powerful agent of darkness. In reality, it turns out to be the god of Hope's world, Bhunivelze - a god of light, who is the true source of the light compasses. After the party defeats Bhunivelze, the world becomes dangerously unbalanced, but it enables them to rescue the Warrior of Light. All their memories of him are restored, and with his help they are able to defeat the Cloud of Darkness before their worlds are devoured by the Void. However, to take the place of the Warrior of Light and Garland, Materia and Spiritus decide to seal themselves into crystal, becoming the new pillars of the world and unable to interact with it again.

Act 4

Reunited with all of their friends again (sans Ramza and Agrias, who had lost their light compass), the party sets out to restore the world and re-stabilize it from the forces that had been threatening it. During his time locked in conflict with Garland, the Warrior of Light learns that he has gained the ability to restore this strength to the world by granting wishes, helping the party come to terms with events from their pasts. Enna Kros, a god of many dimensions, promises that Materia and Spiritus may one day be saved from their fate as crystal pillars if the party continues to restore the world's strength.

They continue to travel and find new friends, and one of the more notable new arrivals is Selh'teus, who had become the sixth Mothercrystal in his world and thus acts as a third crystal pillar in this one. His arrival shakes up the goals of some of the villains, who seek to use him to set the world out of alignment again and destroy Materia and Spiritus.

Foiling the plots of many different foes, the party finally reunites with Ramza and Agrias.

In Act 4's Final Chapter, Materia and Spiritus are freed from their crystal (and I believe the warriors even get sent home). However, the events of that chapter are going to be ignored in favor of this story, since that is when the game ended service.

Current character roster (with more to come in Opus Divinitas):

• I: Warrior of Light, Garland
• II: Firion, Maria, Leon, the Emperor, Guy, Leila, Minwu
• III: Onion Knight, Cloud of Darkness, Desch, Xande
• IV: Cecil Harvey (Dark Knight), Yang Fang Leiden, Edward "Edge" Geraldine, Kain Highwind, Palom, Rydia, Cecil Harvey (Paladin), Rosa Joanna Farrell, Porom, Golbez, Edward Chris von Muir, Fusoya, Rubicante
  
  • The After Years: Ceodore Harvey, Ursula Fang Leiden, Leonora
• V: Bartz Klauser, Galuf Halm Baldesion, Faris Schweriz, Krile Mayer Baldesion, Lenna, Charlotte Tycoon, Gilgamesh, Exdeath, Dorgann Klauser, Kelger Vlondett, Xezat Matias Surgate
• VI: Terra Branford, Shadow, Setzer Gabbiani, Sabin Rene Figaro, Cyan Garamonde, Edgar Roni Figaro, Celes Chere, Relm Arrowny, Locke Cole, Gau, Kefka Palazzo, Leo Cristophe, Strago Magus, Mog
• VII: Cloud Strife, Yuffie Kisaragi, Tifa Lockhart, Vincent Valentine, Aerith Gainsborough, Cid Highwind, Cait Sith, Barret Wallace, Sephiroth, Reno, Rude, Jessie Rasberry, Rufus Shinra
  
  • Crisis Core: Zack Fair, Cissnei, Angeal Hewley
  • Advent Children: Kadaj
  • Dirge of Cerberus: Shelke Rui, Weiss
• VIII: Squall Leonhart, Laguna Loire, Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Rinoa Heartilly, Seifer Almasy, Raijin, Fujin, Ultimecia
• IX: Zidane Tribal, Vivi Ornitier, Adelbert T. Steiner, Eiko Carol, Garnet Til Alexandros XVII, Kuja, Freya Crescent, Beatrix, Quina Quen, Amarant Coral
• X: Yuna, Wakka, Tidus, Auron, Seymour Guado, Lulu, Kimahri Ronso, Jecht, Braska
  
  • X-2: Paine
• XI: Shantotto, Prishe, Lion, Lilisette, Aphmau, Kam'lanaut, Arciela V Adoulin, Eald'narche, Iroha, Selh'teus
• XII: Vaan, Penelo, Balthier, Ashelia "Ashe" B'nargin Dalmasca, Fran, Basch fon Ronsenburg, Vayne Carudas Solidor, Gabranth, Reks
  
  • Revenant Wings: Llyud
• XIII: Hope Estheim, Sazh Katzroy, Oerba Dia Vanille, Lightning, Snow Villiers, Oerba Yun Fang, Cid Raines, Jihl Nabaat
  
  • XIII-2: Serah Farron, Noel Kreiss, Caius Ballad
• XIV: Y'shtola Rhul, Yda Hext, Papalymo Totolymo, Thancred Waters, Alisaie Leveilleur, Alphinaud Leveilleur, Lyse Hext
• XV: Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum, Ignis Scientia, Ardyn Izunia, Aranea Highwind, Gladiolus Amicitia, Cor Leonis, Lunafreya nox Fleuret, Iris Amicitia
• Type-0: Rem Tokimiya, King, Ace, Cater, Seven, Deuce, Cinque, Machina Kunagiri, Eight, Jack, Trey, Nine, Kurasame Susaya, Queen, Sice
• Tactics: Ramza Beoulve, Agrias Oaks
• Crystal Chronicles 1: Ciaran
• Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers: Layle, Keiss, Amidatelion, Jegran
• Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates: Yuri, Chelinka
• Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time: Sherlotta
• World of Final Fantasy: Lann and Reynn, Enna Kros
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin: Jack Garland, Neon, Astos

Chapter Text

Tyro ( Final Fantasy Record Keeper )

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima

A historian from the Royal Archives who maintains the paintings that store the history of the world. When a mysterious force begins to invade the records, the apprentice Tyro investigates the cause and ventures into the paintings to fight the corruption. Though he is an avid lover of the histories contained within, he sometimes struggles to separate himself from the tragedies they depict.

Mustadio Bunansa & Construct 8 ( Final Fantasy Tactics )

Both voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata

A machinist from the Clockwork City of Goug. When he and his father come into possession of an auracite stone sought by the church, he is rescued by Ramza and company and joins the fight against the Lucavi. Alongside an ancient device named Construct 8, he happily handles any mechanical needs to support the cause.

Ryne Waters ( Final Fantasy XIV )

Voiced by: Kana Ichinose

A young girl from the First, a world alongside the Source on the verge of falling to a Flood of Light. Held in a cage her whole life due to her ability to vanquish Sin Eaters, the monsters of the First, she was freed by Thancred and taught to fight to help save her world from destruction. Originally bearing the name “Minfilia,” after the woman who gave her her powers, Ryne was given a new name by Thancred after she forged her own identity.

TYRO

The royal archivists of the kingdom had a sacred duty that, for reasons Tyro could not discern, he had failed overnight. And as far as he knew, none of them in all of history had ever failed as badly as he just did.

All the paintings had vanished.

They were not ordinary artworks clad in paint and varnish. Rather, the paintings in the royal archives were stories – histories, fantasies, romances, and tragedies most of all – depicted in a wondrous splash of colors and scenes instead of ink on a page. Tyro had always been entranced the most by what made the paintings magical: one could jump into their stories as easily as a pool of water, experiencing them in a way that storybook readers never could. He loved meeting the characters, hearing their songs, smelling the wild roses…

His duty necessitated protecting them. Sometimes that involved cleansing them of corrupting darkness. Defeating the nightmares that spawned from within. Stopping the memories and colors from fading. But they had never outright disappeared before, as far as he knew. But Tyro was only an apprentice.

Dr. Mog was going to kill him.

“And where is everyone else, anyway?” he wondered, peering down the Hall of Records. The royal archives bathed in the morning sun; the ceiling was made of windows, the light refracting against the glass to make a crystalline rainbow dance above. The sunlight seemed to taunt him by shining down on the open spaces on the white marble walls where the paintings were supposed to be, their scarlet and gold curtains open like arms outstretched: Look, Tyro, here is where your precious paintings would be, if you could do your job correctly . He could even see the line of dust on the walls where the picture frames had been.

It had been silent since he woke. He wondered if something had happened to Dr. Mog, Elarra, and the other archivists as well.

The double doors at the end of the hall opened, their age and weight discernible through the groaning. Tyro jumped, nearly fumbling his tome.

From behind the doors came the knights and warriors of the stories he knew so well, living and breathing and, more importantly, outside of their paintings.

MUSTADIO

Machinists of Goug were considered learnéd in the ways of things, scholars of a sort that studied to understand how the world worked. Oftentimes by taking things apart and rebuilding them, utilizing the old to improve upon the new. As such, Mustadio Bunansa never cared much for libraries – he preferred to work with his hands to learn things directly rather than read about them.

So that made his current predicament especially frustrating: trapped in a library with no tools beyond what he had in his belt, a malfunctioning automaton, and a horde of rampaging monsters on the other side of the door that threatened to devour him. Books couldn’t fix Construct 8. He needed replacement parts.

“C’mon, buddy,” he said to the hulking piece of metal. “Work with me here.”

The automaton sat hunched against a bookcase as unresponsive as the day he’d met it. He feared he’d have to get his hands on some auracite again, but the odds of some miraculously showing up in this library were slim.

He couldn’t even move the bookshelves to block the door, since they had been carved from the same white stone as the walls and floors. He had already tried rolling up the carpets to stack them against the door in a flimsy red and gold barricade, leaving the pale floors bare. Books lined the shelves from floor to ceiling, many of which he had already added to his defenses.

Construct 8 was strong enough to drag the shelves and block the doors, or better yet pulverize everything trying to claw its way in behind them. But it seemed Mustadio was on his own with only his gun to defend himself. He didn’t even know how he got here, nor where he was – perhaps the Royal Academy in Gariland, based on how pristine everything looked. Not that he’d ever been there.

The door shuddered and something behind it howled. For all he knew, a behemoth was trying to force its way in.

Mustadio was no great knight or hero. With no other way out, he knew he’d have to face them – but his courage didn’t compare to the likes of Ramza or Agrias. “Gods, it would be nice to have Agrias here,” he said, priming his pistol. 

A crackle of magicks burst from behind the door and a sliver of the hall outside showed from behind his meager barricade of rolled carpets. A spindly arm ending in a taloned hand took advantage of the opening, some kind of yowling undead thing intent on getting inside. Mustadio took careful aim and shot the arm, shattering the bony invader. More monsters with fur and fang pressed against the breach, widening it as they forced their way inside. He caught a glimpse of something giant and feral with horns on the other side, but his hand remained steady as he pulled the trigger over and over again.

On the other side of the door, spears of crystalline blue energy pierced the rabble just as the smaller ones made their way into the library. Monsters shrieked in pain as stone and metal crunched, but Mustadio barely heard it over the bang of each bullet. He backed further into the room, sniping a raven-like fiend that tried to swoop down on him from above. A pair of floating heads bobbed in with manic grins, but once he dispatched them he realized that far fewer monsters made their way in than he had expected, with no sign of the behemoth that besieged the door in the first place.

Someone on the other side of the door had destroyed them all.

“Hey, I’m in here!” he called, shoving his pistol into its holster and tugging away the rolled up carpets. 

“Could that be?” a voice rang out in response. One that made his face redden just to hear. “Mustadio, is that you?”

“Agrias!” He was not a religious man, but perhaps the gods had come to his rescue after all. “Aye, it is me, but I can assure you my disbelief is greater! Thank you for the timely rescue, as always.” When he pulled the door open to regard her with sword in hand and none the worse for wear, as majestic as he always knew her to be, he could have hugged her. But he knew she wouldn’t appreciate that. “How did we come to be in Gariland?”

“Gariland?” she asked. “Whatever makes you think we’re in Gariland?”

“Er, well…”

“This a friend of yours, Agrias?”

A boy appeared from behind the corpse of the behemoth when it vanished in a whorl of darkness and magicks, with spiked hair, a red and black jacket, and trousers that cut off at the knee. He bore no weapons, indicating to Mustadio that he must be a monk of some kind, but none with any clothes or bearing that he recognized.

Agrias looked back at the boy and sheathed her sword, then back to Mustadio with a bit of a wry smile that Mustadio longed to know the meaning of. “Indeed he is,” she said. “Zell, meet a comrade of ours from Ivalice – the machinist Mustadio.”

Mustadio didn’t like the way she specified he was from Ivalice. As if he was far, far from home. “Agrias, would you mind telling me what is going on?”

THANCRED

The boy at the other end of the hall regarded them with wide eyes as he grasped his book close to his chest. His mouth worked at words that didn’t seem to want to come out.

Thancred exchanged a glance with his companions, the nameless Warrior of Light and Onion Knight in the lead. With their swords bare, it likely contributed to the poor boy’s fear. Thankfully both had enough tact to realize this, sheathing their weapons now that they had made it through the monsters outside the entrance of this grand marble hall.

“Our deepest apologies for alarming you,” said the Warrior of Light. He put a hand to his breastplate as he approached, slowly but steadily. Like the erstwhile hero from Thancred’s world, he had a way of pacifying situations just from his presence alone. “There are some fierce monsters outside. Do you live here?”

“How did you get here?” the boy asked. “How is this possible?”

“Our friend Mog told us he sensed the presence of a few strong warriors in this building,” said the Onion Knight, stepping forward to explain and get to the heart of the matter. “We came to investigate. Are you okay?”

Thancred stayed in the rear of their company, watching their backs in case any more monsters tried to barge their way in. Y’shtola’s eyes traced the walls, no doubt drawing her own conclusions about their environment, while Ramza focused on the boy and Quistis admired the glass ceiling. Unfortunately no one in their current party was the more nurturing type for scared children.

“Mog?” With the mention of the moogle’s name, the boy seemed even more alarmed, and his eyes kept flashing to the curtains on the walls. “Do you mean Dr. Mog?”

“We can assure you our Mog is no doctor,” said Y’shtola, brushing a hand along the curtains that looked as if they should have had windows between them, but instead framed nothing but a blank wall. “You are in another world, one which we have all been chosen to fight to maintain and prevent destruction from spreading to all of our respective worlds. This building is simply a recreation of one you may know.”

Trust Y’shtola not to sugarcoat it.

Rather than reacting with surprise or more fear as Thancred expected, the boy looked relieved, if anything. He blew air from his lips and slackened his grip on his tome. “So this isn’t the real Hall of Records, then? I was worried you’d all gotten out.”

Quistis’s gaze shot to the boy like the snap of her whip. When she spoke, it was in a voice as direct and measured as Y’shtola’s.  “What do you mean, ‘gotten out?’ Do you know who we are?”

The boy held his book over his mouth and his words came out somewhat muffled. “Do you… not know who I am?”

“I am reminded of a similar situation,” Thancred said, partially in an attempt to assuage the boy’s fears – whatever they were. “Lann and Reynn also expressed familiarity with us, but no one knew them in return.”

Y’shtola tapped her knuckles against her cheek. “How many different versions of us exist in other worlds, I wonder? Perhaps it can be likened to the different shards of our world, though on a grander scale than I had even considered.”

The Warrior of Light looked between them and shook his head, as unperturbed as always. He seemed content not to question the ways of other worlds, or their mysteries. “What sort of records are kept here? I don’t see any books, other than the one in your hand.”

Thancred peered closer at the boy’s attire. He appeared to be a scholar of some sort, with a hat that seemed a cross between a mortarboard and scrolls of parchment. His type seemed to be the kind of person immersed in books at all times, except when he was in mortal danger. And sometimes even then, as he well knew from the behaviors of his fellow Scions. He tried not to glance at Y’shtola – sometimes he had a niggling suspicion she could read minds.

Apparently deciding they were no threat, or that his secret was safe, the boy folded his book under his arm. “I’m a royal archivist, or… er, an apprentice, really. We don’t keep the stories we guard in books, but rather in paintings. I was worried they had all been stolen… but it appears they just don’t show up in this world. Our library is in the east wing, I can take you there if you want!” He turned toward the door at his end of the hallway, ready to lead them there without hesitation. “Oh, I’m sorry, I almost forgot! My name is Tyro.”

Thancred had to reassess his earlier opinion of the boy. He wasn’t afraid of the monsters, nor the strangers, nor even the concept of being in a different world – Tyro had just been scared of getting in trouble.

Quistis cupped a hand over her mouth to whisper to the others. “He seems eager to keep us from lingering here.”

The Onion Knight furrowed his brow and frowned. “Like he’s hiding something.”

“The east wing,” Ramza mused aloud, looking back at the door they’d come from. “Agrias and the others went that way, did they not? They were tracking monsters in that part of the building.”

Tyro opened his tome and set his face into a frown. “Monsters, inside?”

“And getting fiercer by the day,” said the Onion Knight. “The ones we found here have been unusually aggressive. Mog thinks it’s because it has been a long time since we’ve found so much new light in one place.”

“The world is changing again,” added Quistis.

“Then we’d better hurry,” said Tyro, pushing open the heavy doors into another hallway. “We’ll take a shortcut – I’ll bring us through the Astral Gallery!”

MUSTADIO

All things considered, he felt like he took the news of being in a different world well. He was glad to hear that Ramza had been summoned, too. And perhaps even a little gratified that some great crystal somewhere judged him to be a warrior worthy of such a grand battle.

But he still couldn’t get Construct 8 to work.

Zell punched the air repeatedly while Agrias explained the situation of this world to Mustadio. When Mustadio went back to his maintenance work on Construct 8, Zell crouched down next to him.

“I’m pretty good with machines myself,” he said, patting the automaton’s massive iron shoulder. “But I’ve gotta say, you don’t need all those tools.”

Mustadio sighed. “I know. What I really need is some auracite. Are you aware of where to find any in this world?”

Agrias shook her head. “For a blessing, this world lacks those infernal stones.”

The other pair who fought alongside Agrias and Zell, who had been introduced to him as Eight and Cinque, walked over. Cinque brushed her hair out of her eyes. “Ooh, that’s Magitek, isn’t it?”

“We can’t assume all other worlds have Magitek, Cinque,” said Eight, sighing. He turned to Mustadio. “Does it function through the use of both magic and technology?”

Mustadio scratched the back of his head. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. Sometimes it seems like it, but I think he’s just a really advanced piece of ancient technology. He actually negates magicks used against him.”

“Perhaps the magicks used to transport you both to this world caused him to deactivate,” Agrias surmised, turning away to return to standing guard.

Zell pushed himself up straight, then stretched out his legs. Mustadio had the impression that he struggled to sit still. “Then I think I know the solution,” said Zell. “Just gotta focus our will and he’ll wake up!”

Mustadio furrowed his brow. “Huh?”

“The power of will gives us the ability to do pretty much anything in this world,” said Eight, gesturing to Construct 8. “So focus on what you want, and watch.”

“I doubt it’s that easy!”

Zell took a stance, took a deep breath, and whirled to strike Construct 8 right in the head with a roundhouse kick.

“Hey!” Mustadio protested, scrambling to his feet. “Don’t damage my automaton!”

For a moment, nothing happened. But the whirr of machinery rumbled from underneath Construct 8’s casings and it fizzled to life, the lights in its eyes shining. It pushed itself to its feet, joints clunking as exhaust vapors escaped from behind its armor.

“POWER RESTORED. AWAITING NEW ORDERS.”

Mustadio’s jaw hung open.

“So that’s Construct 8, huh?” asked Zell, cracking his knuckles. “Cool.”

Cinque crossed her arms. “Hmm… ‘Construct 8’ is such a boring name. Is that really what you call him?”

Mustadio stammered. “Well, uh… I never asked if it had other names.”

“DEFAULT DESIGNATION: CONSTRUCT 8. ALTERNATIVE DESIGNATION: WORKER 8. ALSO SATISFACTORY.”

“Nah,” said Cinque, tapping her foot. Behind her, Mustadio spotted Eight rubbing his temples, as if anticipating a headache. “I’m gonna call him ‘Connie’ instead!”

“What? No!” Mustadio scoffed. “We are not calling my automaton Connie.”

The robot’s internal exhaust fans intensified, then calmed as its mechanical voice rang out. “SETTINGS ADJUSTED. NEW DESIGNATION: CONNIE. ACCEPTED.”

“You can’t just decide to rename him! Hey!”

RYNE

If this was a real place, Ryne imagined herself being able to live here forever.

The grand halls had a beauty to them, a marble austerity that made her think of how Voeburt may have once looked in its prime, before the Flood of Light. Statues and paintings lined the walls around the main floor, with an upper level accessed by a marble staircase that had bookcases and nooks and crannies for reading. The floor had a mosaic symbol that she didn’t recognize, but everything seemed to be framed around a centerpiece in the massive chamber – enormous windows from the floor all the way to the ceiling of the second floor.

Two of the window panes were made of stained glass, depicting a starry night. The third was clear, with a giant bronze astrolabe placed in front of it. It made her think of Urianger, and the home he made in the faerie kingdom and all the evenings she spent there studying. The thought made her ache with longing, for it was on those nights that she felt safest in her years traveling with Thancred. But it made her miss her friends even more, so she pushed the feelings away.

She didn’t know what this place was, but she knew it wasn’t real because the books weren’t real. All of the shelves had been built into the wall, but she couldn’t take any of the books from it – they all felt like they had been carved from a singular block of wood. Standing in front of one of the shelves, she tried to read the titles but all seemed to be gibberish.

“Thancred always told me to learn what I could of the situation I’m in, whenever I find myself in trouble,” she said to herself. “But how am I supposed to learn anything if none of these books will yield their knowledge?”

Her hand brushed against one of the books, and its cover felt softer than the others. Like leather. Real.

She pulled it from the shelf at once and peered at the cover. It depicted artwork of fairies frolicking in a landscape that looked just like Il Mheg. “A fairy tale,” she said, shoulders falling. “I fail to see how this would help me.”

“Your will made that book real,” said a voice behind her. “Your longing for a place far from here.”

“Oh!” Ryne dropped the book and turned to regard the source of the voice, hands pressed to her heart and back against the bookshelf. A woman appeared who wasn’t there before, with hair styled into a shape that resembled horns, a scarlet dress with a low cut, and black wings draped across her back. “My apologies. You startled me. I didn’t think anyone else was here – only monsters.”

“My fault entirely,” said the woman. “For quite some time, it is true that only monsters dwelled here. But then you came, and others like you.”

“Others?” Ryne asked. As far as she could tell, the woman didn’t seem to be a threat, so she didn’t draw her daggers. “I haven’t met anyone else. But I haven’t been here long. In fact, I don’t know when I arrived or how I got here.”

“The crystal chooses another warrior,” said the woman, turning toward the marble staircase and the statues of armless torsos flanking it. “Do you like artwork, little girl?”

Ryne folded her hands behind her back, confused by the sudden question. “I think so. There wasn’t much time for admiring works of art where I come from. Might I ask… is this the Source? Or some other place?”

“ Is this the Source?” the woman mused, turning back toward Ryne. She repeated the question, but not in a mocking way. “I wonder. A world where the past is captured and futures rewritten… a world where none of it matters at all.”

Ryne tilted her head. “Excuse me? Perhaps… perhaps if you are as lost as I am, we could travel together? My name is Ryne.”

“I had a castle not unlike this. Long ago, far in the future, in a different world entirely. I adore works of art. An attempt to capture the ephemeral in perpetuity.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand,” said Ryne, frowning.

The woman regarded her. Stared. Ryne shuffled her feet, staring back for only a second or two before dropping her eyes. She felt as if the woman was weighing her, but for what she couldn’t divine.

“You have a power within you,” she said. “A wondrous light.”

Ryne gasped. “How did you…?”

The woman finally looked away and closed her eyes. “Do not venture forth from this room,” she said. “Your allies are coming.”

Before Ryne could get another word in, the woman vanished.

“My allies?” she said. She didn’t dare hope. They had gone back to their own world, forever. She looked back to the astrolabe and gripped her daggers. The strange woman had said that her will made the book real, so what if…?

A voice echoed down a hall to the west, beyond the marble staircase. A high voice that sounded like a child, but here, where monsters roamed? “And here’s the Astral Gallery! Just like in the real archives.”

A boy entered the chamber leading a motley group consisting of two knights, a swordsman, a girl in blue, and two people who made her heart nearly burst from her chest. 

“Thancred! Y’shtola!”

They both wore unfamiliar clothing. Thancred didn’t have his gunblade, and something about his face seemed as hard and stern as the day she had met him. When she ran to them, smiling so wide she thought it would hurt, both of them reacted with surprise but neither greeted her with open arms.

Thancred stepped back from her. “I’m sorry, but… do we know you?”

Abilities:

Tyro (Unique - Grimoires) 

15: Keeper’s Tome

35: Sentinel Grimoire

EX: Last Judgment Grimoire

LD: Warder’s Apocrypha

FR: Story’s End (with Papalymo)

BT: Fantasy Unbound

BT Theme: "FINAL FANTASY Main Theme (FFRK Ver. Arrange)"

All of Tyro's ability names come from abilities he uses in Record Keeper (with the exception of his Force ability, which will be original for everyone like they are in game). I'm no good with balancing and stats, so I will never delve deeply into that part of it, but I imagine he would play as a buff-oriented character with some magic damage capabilities -- a pretty basic all-rounder.

For his BT theme, most of Record Keeper's soundtrack is remixes of other music throughout the series. So considering he's a crossover character visiting all their worlds, I decided to give him the FF main theme.

Can you guess the reason for his Force partner?

Trey (Type-0)

FR: Study Break (with Tyro)

BT: Freezing Rain

BT Theme: "War: Pursuit"

His BT ability comes from an ability he uses in game. Though he doesn't appear in this chapter, if I don't include his update now I'll never remember to! We can imagine he might be on the banner for this chapter. :) Can you guess the reasoning behind this Force partnership?

Chapter Text

Part 2

RYNE

Ryne stopped in her tracks. She felt as if she had been kicked in the chest.

“You… you’ve forgotten me already?” Her eyes dropped to her feet, an old habit, as she tried to hide the pain that was surely brimming in her eyes. “You shouldn’t joke about such things.”

The girl in blue approached her in the silence that followed. “There, there,” she said. “Don’t take it personally. We’re in a world where some of us don’t have all of our memories. Maybe, as far as they are concerned, Thancred and Y’shtola haven’t met you yet.”

Ryne looked up at her. Though taller, Ryne had a feeling the other girl wasn’t much older than her. “Is… is that so?”

She put a comforting arm around Ryne’s shoulders. “Yeah, and we can always go look for those missing memories, and make new ones in the meantime. So try not to be sad, and introduce yourself to them again! My name is Rinoa.”

Ryne forced herself to look at the gathered party, all of whom had their eyes on her. She struggled to read Thancred and Y’shtola’s expressions beyond the complete lack of recognition in their eyes. Even if what Rinoa said was true, it still hurt almost more than she could bear. “My name is Ryne,” she said slowly. “I’m from the First. You came to my world to save it from the Flood of Light.”

Thancred’s eyes widened and he stepped toward her. For one hopeful moment, she thought her words might have triggered his memory. “To the First? Did we find Minfilia there again?”

Minfilia. Of course. If she told him who she was, then Minfilia would be all he’d see.

Knowing it was selfish, knowing the lie would feel foul passing through her lips, she stared back down at her feet. “I don’t know. Perhaps… perhaps I have lost some memories as well.”

“It perturbs me to know we have yet to regain all of our memories,” said Y’shtola, crossing her arms. “I’d thought we recovered them back when Lyse revealed her true name. If there is more to remember, then perhaps we are all more in the dark than it seems.”

“A harrowing thought,” said Thancred, walking toward the other end of the gallery without another glance toward Ryne. “At any rate, we should continue onward. We have yet to reunite with Agrias and the others, and there is still another warrior to be found here.”

Rinoa stuck her tongue out at him behind his back and whispered conspiratorially to Ryne. “His complete disregard for your feelings reminds me of a certain other stick-in-the-mud that I know. Well, since no one else is introducing themselves, I’ll do the introductions. That’s the Warrior of Light and the Onion Knight – our leaders. Then that’s Ramza, and that’s Tyro, who we also just met here.”

“The Warrior of Light?” Ryne asked. She knew the Warrior of Darkness was called that in their world, but she did not recognize this person.

“Many worlds have warriors of light, we’ve come to learn,” said Y’shtola as she passed. “He is not the same as our friend, if that is the one you are thinking of.”

“Apologies for my rudeness – I had thought to give you time to reunite with your friends. Welcome to the fight,” he said in greeting.

“You said you’re looking for another warrior here?” Ryne asked. “I met someone before you all found me. She was a woman in a red dress with black wings, and she spoke of strange things.”

She felt Rinoa tense at her side and her arms dropped from Ryne’s shoulders. “That’s not who we’re looking for. But it sounds like you met Ultimecia.”

ZELL

“Hey, watch that mace swinging!” Zell shielded himself with his arms from a rain of bone shards – pieces of the skeleton that Cinque pulverized – then ducked out of the way of an iron giant’s sword that came crashing down on him.

“Whoopsie!” Cinque exclaimed. “That’s a big one!”

Before Zell could think of a way to strike the giant’s weak points, Construct 8 came crashing through with its hands locking onto the iron giant’s wrists. Iron screeched against iron as both titans competed in strength, groaning as their inner workings strained. Construct 8 managed to force the giant to drop its sword, and then the panels in its chest opened up and launched a missile at point blank range. The iron giant crashed into the ground, a heaping mass of glowing metal.

“Woohoo, Connie is so cool!” Cinque cheered.

As the last monster toad fell to Agrias’s sword, Mustadio doubled over. “Is this world always full of fighting like this?” he asked, panting.

“Not always,” said Zell, stretching his wrists. “These are way stronger than usual.”

“We should turn back soon,” said Eight. They had already started climbing the east wing tower, which marked the end of their expedition. “Maybe the others had better luck finding the other sources of light here.”

Agrias took a look around the rest of the landing before continuing the ascent. “Let us reach the summit before returning.”

They found a room at the highest point of the tower behind another set of heavy double doors marked with a sigil that resembled a pair of spectacles. When they opened the doors, the light coursing out of the chamber nearly blinded them. Magic roiled in the center, a whirling mass of shining white that resembled stars. With daylight streaming in through the enormous windows beyond the magic mass, the whole chamber felt awash in energy and warmth.

Eight tried to step forward but guarded himself with his arms when an invisible force shoved him back. “What’s happening?”

Zell squinted as he looked around the chamber. When his eyes adjusted to the overwhelming light, he spotted more bookshelves, but also a mahogany desk against the far wall and flurries of documents disturbed by the magical energies. It felt too large to be at the top of the tower. It made him think of a study, particularly the one like Headmaster Cid’s at the highest point of Garden. In the center of the chamber, he spotted a figure in a slim dress with garments like black, feathery wings.

He recognized her silhouette at once. “Ultimecia!”

“Who’s that?” asked Mustadio. “Bad news?”

Agrias held her sword in a stance, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. “A witch most heinous. Be on your guard.”

“You are foolish children to stumble upon me here,” said Ultimecia, barely sparing them a glance. She focused on the magic power building in the center of the chamber. “Especially now – in this single moment, in this infinite moment, when I will achieve everything.”

The magic solidified into an orb. It rippled and churned as if filled with fetid water. Zell felt dizzy just looking at it. It flashed into a multitude of colors faster than he could register them, settling on a sickly green. Tendrils of energy snaked out, striking the bookshelves and making them disintegrate into dust scattered by wind. Other tendrils struck objects throughout the room – a globe, plush chairs, a standing chalkboard – and seemed to pull them into the greater mass, stretching them into impossible shapes. He knew this feeling. He recognized this phenomenon.

“It’s Time Compression!” Zell shouted. “How are you doing this? Don’t you need a Sorceress from the past?”

“You know nothing, idiot boy,” she said, arms spread as if to encompass and embrace the swirling energy. “Though I must admit, it took me longer than it should have to realize the Junction Machine is unnecessary here. This world had the capability for it all along. A world where past and future intersect. Memories and dreams. Where the dead return to the living, and the living cannot die. All this time, we have been in the source. A nexus from which all other worlds spring. A world with no beginning and no end.”

Zell felt the tower lurch and struggled to keep his balance. He looked at Agrias. “We have to stop her!”

“We must get reinforcements,” Agrias responded. “We cannot defeat her with so few numbers.”

“Big spell incoming!” Cinque warned, pointing their attention back to Ultimecia.

The Sorceress turned away from the origin of her Time Compression, arms raised high as she cast a spell at them. “Accursed SeeDs,” she said, her voice scathing. “You will not defeat me again.”

Her spell lashed toward them, a conflagration of pure magic that seared the air. Zell braced himself for the impact, but all he heard was the crash of Construct 8’s footsteps when it stepped in front to take the blast.

Holding its hands up high, the magic from Ultimecia’s spell siphoned away into nothing.

“Connie!” Cinque hooted with joy. “You saved us!”

“COMMENCE RETREAT,” it said. “THIS UNIT IS NOT CAPABLE OF PERMANENT MAGIC NULLIFICATION.”

“Not a chance!” Mustadio shouted. “I am not leaving without you!”

“ADDITIONAL MAGICAL OFFENSIVE INCOMING,” said Construct 8. Glyphs shone on the floor, crimson light intensifying as Ultimecia continued her assault. Construct 8 crouched down and placed a palm against the floor, making the glyph fade away like her previous spell. “REPEAT COMMAND. COMMENCE RETREAT.”

“We should really go!” Eight yelled out. “We can’t take her!”

“Mustadio, you heard him!” Agrias said, pulling Mustadio by the arm. “That is an order!”

Ultimecia’s face twisted into a scowl as she watched Construct 8 nullify her spellwork. “Begone!” Meteorites materialized above their heads, raining down in a way that Construct 8 couldn’t block them all. Zell and the others cried out in pain as her spell scorched the entrance to the chamber.

Mustadio tried shooting Ultimecia with his pistol, but she summoned a barrier to deflect the attacks. When he reloaded his gun to continue his assault, Construct 8 stepped in front of him with his back to Mustadio.

“COMMENCE RETREAT,” it said again. “THIS UNIT WILL MAINTAIN STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.”

“You’d better,” he said in return, as he finally consented to Agrias pulling him away.

Zell led the way back down the spiraling stairs as he felt the world rippling around them. In this world so far from home, he wondered if destiny would save them a second time.

THANCRED

Thancred watched Ryne dispatch her foes with practiced ease, biting with her two daggers and eyes detached from the violence. He couldn’t deny that he was curious about her, since she seemed overjoyed when they first met her. But it was Minfilia who primarily occupied his thoughts. Minfilia who he longed to see again. Minfilia, who he had failed time and time again.

Many nights since coming to this world, he would lie awake wondering if she would be summoned to this world. He wished for it. He wanted nothing more than to see her again so he could apologize for all the ways he had failed her. And though this world had endless fighting, it still gave the gift of letting them enjoy so much extra time together. But while Minfilia was a fighter, she was no warrior. The will of the crystal wouldn’t have a use for her.

The irony. In one world she devoted her life to the Mothercrystal and sacrificed everything for it, and he hated it. Yet here, he wanted it desperately and knew the futility of it.

“You fight like I do,” he said to Ryne, keeping his own daggers ready.

“You’re the one who taught me,” she said, continuing onward without a backward glance at him.

He suspected as much. “What am I to you?”

She stopped. Before she could speak, a yelp from Tyro interrupted them.

“So you know us from your paintings,” Y’shtola said, looking entirely too pleased with herself. “How does that work, then? Are they mere windows into our worlds, or are they worlds themselves contained within portraits and landscapes?”

“I shouldn’t say any more,” Tyro said, looking away from her. “You already got too much out of me.”

“To your credit, you lasted a while,” Thancred said, having overheard most of their discussion. “It was but a slip of the tongue that betrayed you. Innocuous comments. When Y’shtola wants a morsel of knowledge, she gets it.”

“And the only superior interrogator is you, is that it?” Y’shtola said back to Thancred with a wry smile, to which he shrugged back with a grin.

Rinoa cupped her cheek and tilted her head into her hand. “Should we bail him out?”

“I can’t deny my own curiosity about his world,” said Ramza, pursing his lips. “They sound like wondrous things, those paintings.”

“Are we simply art come to life for you, then? Works of fiction rendered in paint on canvas?” Y’shtola asked, pressing her attack.

“Oh, Relm would have a field day with this,” said Rinoa.

“And if we’re just stories,” said the Onion Knight, “does that mean you know how our stories end? What about this journey – is it a story that just goes on and on?”

“Listen, I can’t tell you,” said Tyro, waving his hands as if to ward them off. “We are not supposed to interfere, much less tell you these things. I’ve already broken so many rules.”

“Leave him be,” said the Warrior of Light, stepping in. “That’s enough. He already asked you to stop.”

Y’shtola’s tail flicked. “Very well. But know this: I will not be deterred from discovering the truth of this world. Of all our worlds. If it is Tyro’s world from which all our worlds spring, then we deserve to know the truth of our existences. I will discuss this with Enna Kros later – she may have insights to share regarding the versions of us in her world.”

“Everyone, stop,” Ryne said suddenly, holding out her hand from her position at the head of the party. “Is that… normal?”

The walls rippled. A portrait of flowers – presumably a normal one, not Tyro’s magical portraits – flickered in and out of existence before the daisies within simply floated away. Fish swam by, and as soon as the absurdity of it registered to Thancred he realized they all swam in water themselves.

“What’s happening?” Onion Knight asked, kicking his feet furiously. “How can we still breathe?”

He saw places from the World of Respite far below them. The Dimensions’ Labyrinth melted into Capta Est Tower and then Altissia, but somehow he knew they never left the royal archives. He felt the touch of the Blackened Will, smelled the burning left behind by Shinryu’s divine breath. The tears and laughter of his friends rang in his ears. All of it combined into a singular experience, everything happening at once. The world fell apart in a blink before they could even stop it. Before they even knew.

“I know this!” Rinoa exclaimed. He didn’t know how he still heard her, she seemed so far away. “This is Time Compression! Ultimecia is behind this!”

“What do we do?” asked the Warrior of Light.

“We have to defeat her,” she said. “Focus… focus on each other, think of who you want to be with the most and don’t let them go! We can’t lose each other!”

The thought came easily to Thancred. He knew who he wanted there with him. He pictured her as he last saw her, vanishing into the rift to save a world that wasn’t her own. He saw her on that fateful night of the banquet, under the palace when he stayed behind to face their pursuers to let her escape. He saw her as a child, when monsters rampaged through the city on the day her father died. If the crystals wouldn’t summon her, then perhaps he could.

He felt a hand clutch his. When he looked at who it was, his jaw slackened when he saw Ryne, her eyes screwed shut in concentration. And it felt… right.

“Our friends!” Ramza called out, looking ahead at figures drifting toward them. “They’re here! Agrias and… Mustadio!?”

“No time for introductions!” Onion Knight said, swimming through the air in a frenzy that indicated to Thancred the boy barely knew how to swim. “We have to deal with Ultimecia!”

RINOA

She didn’t care how it had happened again.

All she knew was that Ultimecia had unleashed her horrors on the world again, eliminating time itself to make them experience all moments at once in her twisted desire to combat her loneliness. Rinoa was past feeling pity for her. All she had left in her was anger, fear, and the desire to fix things again alongside her friends. Alongside Squall.

When Zell and the others reunited with them, she thought she had told him to go find Squall and the others. Or did she only think to tell him that? She couldn’t tell anymore.

She had to face Ultimecia. Rinoa was a Sorceress too, after all.

“What is that creature?” 

The vague realization that someone new was next to her registered in the chaos. She thought she heard Ramza say his name was Mustadio.

Below them at the convergence of magic and time, a demonic being with no face, wing-like appendages on its head, and blades up and down its monstrous, veiny arms floated as if waiting for them. Red fabric billowed from its waist in a twisted approximation of Ultimecia’s gown, but instead of legs another figure hung upside down in a mirror of the creature, like a bat with folded wings. From experience, Rinoa remembered this figure to be Ultimecia herself.

Rinoa’s angel wings unfurled and when she spoke, her voice thrummed with power. Even to her own ears, it didn’t sound like her at all. “Ultimecia,” she said, both to address the Sorceress and to answer Mustadio’s question. “How are you doing this? Why now?”

Ultimecia’s response rang out all around them. “This world is a mockery of life and existence. Here, all creation will become one. It will become me. It must end – for the alternative is to fight each other for eternity. I will not have it.”

“Surround her,” said the Warrior of Light, pointing his sword in Ultimecia’s direction. “We attack as one.”

Rinoa unleashed a barrage of magic to hold Ultimecia’s attention while the others took position. Ultimecia responded in turn, her onslaught of spells so powerful it was like holding back a flood with her bare hands. But her angel wings, at least, helped her maneuver through the currents of time, blasting fire from her hands to save Ramza and Mustadio from Ultimecia’s ice. Her Holy magic augmented Ryne’s light spells. She flew through Y’shtola’s windstorm to strike at the abomination with her blaster edge.

The monster and Ultimecia raised their hands in tandem and pointed at Cinque and Eight, who had rushed Ultimecia together. Space warped around them before Rinoa could come to their rescue, shrinking them down to nothing until they disappeared into the void.

“Eyes front, Ryne!” Thancred urged. “Go for her blind spot!”

Rinoa shouted for him at the same time as Ryne did. Before he could strike the Sorceress, the void devoured him as well, erasing him. All three of them, gone before she could even react.

Ryne’s scream shook Rinoa to her core. “Thancred!”

Rinoa flew to Ryne’s side, clutching her arm to prevent her from doing something rash. She braced them both in the midst of the swirling nothingness all around them and she shouted above the roar of magic. “Ryne, this isn’t the end! There’s still a chance to save him and all the others – I’ve fought her before, experienced this before! You just need to hold onto him, and once she’s beaten we can bring them back!”

“How can I… when he hasn’t held onto me?”

Rinoa looked her in the eyes and smiled. “You’ll just have to hold on harder, then.”

A meteor materialized above them and almost crushed them both, but a spectral shield blocked it and gave them both time to dodge. Tyro floated above them, his tome held open. “Go, I’ll cover you!” he said.

For one brief moment, Ryne smiled. Then she took a deep breath and readjusted her grip on her daggers. “I’ll distract her. And you go in and strike.”

Ryne flashed forward, her daggers lengthening into swords made of ice. Rinoa flew toward Ultimecia’s other side. Ahead, she saw Mustadio get launched into the air by a robot, and he shot in tandem with missiles from the robot’s chest cavity. Ramza and Y’shtola flanked Tyro, defending him from a magical assault while he healed their wounds. The Warrior of Light dropped spectral swords from above, stabbing through the creature’s wings and arms.

Ultimecia focused her ire on Ryne, who dodged and retaliated with light and ice. With Ultimecia distracted, Rinoa joined her hands together and blasted the Sorceress with all the force she could muster.

While she struck the Sorceress below, she saw others arriving to join the assault from above. Squall was in the lead, gunblade flashing toward the monster’s head with Zell, Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, Seifer, and the Onion Knight at his side. Everyone attacked with spell and steel together.

And then everything went black.

TYRO

Rinoa had said to hold onto each other. But in this void, Tyro didn’t know if he had anyone to hold. None of his friends were in this world.

Tyro stood upon barren earth. The dark sky extended above him forever and ever, not a star in sight.

Dr. Mog, Elarra, and all the others weren’t here. But wasn’t he surrounded by his friends? He knew all of them, even if they didn’t know him. Or did he just know their stories?

A light shone ahead. There, parting the darkness, he saw Y’shtola, Thancred, the Warrior of Light, Ramza, and all the others – all holding their hands out for him. They didn’t know him, but they weren’t going to abandon him. He should have known that. He loved their stories, after all.

The light encompassed him. When he could see again, he found himself right outside the royal archives, its ivory towers gleaming as if Time Compression had never happened.

Ultimecia hunched over in pain in front of their gathered party, bloodied and beaten. Rinoa stood before her. Cinque, Eight, and Thancred had all returned as well, none the worse for wear. Ramza, Agrias, and Mustadio gathered together around Mustadio’s automaton.

“What do we do with her now?” Rinoa asked. “Seal her away, like we did to Exdeath, Kam’lanaut, and Eald’narche?”

“She’s trying to die,” Squall said, hardened eyes fixed on Ultimecia. “But she can’t. Not until she gives away her powers. Just like at home.”

“Don’t you understand, foolish child?” Ultimecia’s breaths came out ragged and gasping, taloned hand pressed against her stomach. “I cannot die. Not here, in this world. None of us can. That is what I was trying to do… I sought to end the story.”

Tyro stepped forward. “But these stories don’t have an end. Not here. I may not know what’s going to happen now… but they’ll continue on. All of ours.”

“Why now?” Zell asked. “You’ve been fighting us here in this world all this time, but why did you wait so long to make time compress?”

“The stasis permeating this world – the energy that keeps us all alive, fighting over and over again – is decaying. There is a rot at the center of this world and it is befouling the Guardian Forces that defend it. I took advantage of the opportunity.”

“Guardian Forces?” Quistis asked. “The GFs? They are the ones preventing us from dying?”

“The summoned creatures, right?” asked the Onion Knight. 

“They have all different names,” said Tyro. “In all your worlds. What is the rot that’s afflicting them?”

When he turned back to Ultimecia, hoping for an answer to his question, she disappeared. 

“Well, that’s rather ominous, isn’t it?” said Thancred. Something glinted at his feet, and when he knelt down to pick it up, a light shone in his hand. He looked toward Y’shtola. “More memories, eh? Think these are ours?”

“Depends on where they came from, I suppose,” she responded. “Shall we fetch the others?”

“I think I summoned these memories back,” Thancred said, staring into his cupped palms. “When we were all lost in that darkness, the person I reached for was a memory.”

“Minfilia,” said Ryne.

The glittering light dispersed, showering on Thancred and Y’shtola and disappearing into the sky, presumably to find Alphinaud, Alisaie, Lyse, and Papalymo. Thancred closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, he fixed them on Ryne. She lowered her eyes in return.

“Minfilia,” he said. It was curt, almost cold – and if Tyro had to guess, nothing had changed. “Hm… Minfilia. You did know what happened to her, and you kept that from me.”

Ryne winced. “Do you… remember now?”

He walked over to her. Everyone fell silent. Then he placed one of his hands on top of her head. “Of course I do, Ryne,” he said, and the warmth spilled forth from his voice. “Though I must confess to being ashamed of my behavior. Both in this world and the First. To think that you would be afraid to tell me the truth, hiding Minfilia’s fate from me in fear of how I’d react… I must have failed you, haven’t I?”

She looked up at him, her eyes watering. “I’m sorry.” She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his torso. “Oh, I’m so glad you can remember me now!”

He lowered his hand from her head to her shoulders, pulling her into the hug. “You should never have to hide,” he said. “I care for you as you are, and I always have. I’m the one who’s sorry for forgetting.”

Ryne pulled away and wiped her eyes. “We can do things with the power of will in this world, can’t we? Then… I have something I need to return to you.”

She closed her eyes and held out her hand. Tyro waited with his breath held. A light flashed, and a sudden weight in Ryne’s arms made her nearly fall over, but when she straightened she held out a silver gunblade to Thancred, who took it with a smile.

“Thank you, Ryne,” he said, hefting it onto his back.

“A gunblade, huh?” Squall asked. “You never mentioned you could wield them.”

“I didn’t know until now,” Thancred replied, testing its weight. “Anyway, all that about ‘Guardian Forces’ and ‘Time Compression’ – how worried should we be?”

“She came to know some things about the nature of this world, I assume,” said Y’shtola. “Things I need to know as well. Is the ‘source world’ this one or Tyro’s world? I’m inclined to believe there is one, whichever the case – I do not think it mere coincidence that we have so many similarities in each of our worlds. Gil, chocobos, moogles, even a common language.”

“I’m just concerned that she got away again,” said Squall, turning away to head back to the airship. “Don’t know how we’d be around to stop her from initiating Time Compression again.”

Mustadio cleared his throat. “There’s a lot I need to be caught up on, I think,” he said. “But maybe first we can start with those Guardian Forces?”

Tyro smiled as the others explained to Mustadio. Maybe it would be nice to be part of the story himself for once, rather than just observing.

Abilities

Mustadio Bunansa & Construct 8 (Guns)

15: Aim

35: Dispose

EX: Seal Evil

LD: Pulverize

FR: Percussive Maintenance (with Zell)

BT: Elimination

BT Theme: "Tension 1"

I imagine Mustadio to be a ranged attacker with debuffs coming from his Aim: Arm and Aim: Leg skills - so he can probably shut down enemy attacks. Perhaps Aim debuffs enemies so that they cannot deal BRV damage and delays them. Pulverize and Elimination come from Construct 8's moveset, and I would also imagine him to use follow-up attacks alongside Mustadio. Since both of them have limited abilities (and Construct 8 has little to no characterization) I made the decision to combine them into one character.

His BT theme is one of the battle themes, notably playing when rescuing Mustadio at Zaland.

Ryne Waters (Daggers)

15: Banish III

35: Aeolian Edge

EX: Absolute Zero

LD: Light Rampant

FR: Oracular Sorcery (with Rinoa)

BT: Shattered World

BT Theme: "Return to Oblivion," the boss theme when she is faced in the Eden raid series

Costumes: She would have two - her appearance from the Eden raid and her original blonde hair/bright blue eyes as "Minfilia"

Ryne's abilities come from a couple different places. Banish III is an ability unique to her as a Duty Support party member, while Aeolian Edge is a Ninja ability. Her EX, LD, and BT all come from the Eden Shiva trial, where she transforms and is faced as a boss. Banish III does holy damage and inflicts a debuff that makes all damage to enemies for a few turns critical, and in general she does light and ice elemental damage with her attacks.

Can you identify the reason for these Force partnerships?

Chapter Text

Cid Haze ( Final Fantasy III )

Voiced by: Michio Hazama

An eccentric inventor from the town of Canaan, initially cursed into the form of a spirit due to the djinn of Sasune. Freely lending the party his airship and his support, he later reveals the secret history of the four warriors of light. Dearly loves his wife and his airship, the Enterprise .

EDGAR

“There is genuinely little I’d enjoy more than a card game with a beautiful woman,” Edgar said, leaning against the bar with a martini in hand. “How about it? Would you fancy a go?”

Quistis sat at her table with her chin in her hand and her legs folded, eyes rolling. “Do you even know how to play Triple Triad, Edgar?”

Edgar scoffed, eyes roving around the bar in the Falcon ’s cabins before settling on Tifa, who scrubbed some glasses clean behind the bar. “Do you hear that, Tifa? She asked if I knew how to play Triple Triad.”

Tifa exchanged a glance with Quistis and grinned, as if knowing something he didn’t. “Well, do you?”

“Absolutely not,” he said, laughing. “But I am open to learning.”

Quistis shuffled her deck, gesturing to the seat opposite her. “Well, sit down then. Let’s see if you pick it up even faster than Steiner did.”

“Rusty knows how to play? Color me surprised. Well, then I am up to the challenge.”

The airship lurched at the most inopportune moment for his dignity – just as he lowered to sit into the chair. The movement made him stumble and fall right on the tiled floor with a yelp. Edward and Deuce’s duet on the other side of the bar came to an abrupt halt as the airship’s engines made a whining noise that rumbled through loud enough for likely every occupant on board to hear.

From the floor, Edgar scowled. “What’s Setzer doing?”

“He’s taking a break from the wheel today,” said Tifa, bracing herself against the bar. “Is everyone alright?”

After verifying that no one else got hurt (or even fell, like Edgar did), Quistis tapped the table thoughtfully. “I think it’s Cid’s turn today.”

“Excuse me, ladies,” said Edgar, picking himself up off the floor. “I think I better make a call to the bridge.”

He made his way to the two-way intercom system against the wall just outside of the bar, flourishing his cape as he departed from them. He thought he heard Tifa giggle as he left, which was fine by Edgar; he was content for others to simply view him as some fop.

He pressed the intercom button harder than he intended to. “Highwind, what’s going on up there?”

Cid’s unmistakable voice buzzed back at once, heavy with feedback. “$&^@ if I know! Something’s wrong with the engines – go and take a look for me, ya hear? I’ll keep her under control. Setzer, calm the %# – ”

His voice cut out, and Edgar wasn’t sure if it had to do with the airship’s troubles or an argument brewing on the bridge between two of their pilots as Setzer came to check on his baby. His eyes roved the lounge area for someone’s aid he could use and found Prompto searching for something out the windows – perhaps one of their enemies.

Edgar snapped his fingers and pointed. “Prompto, with me! I need your company in the Falcon ’s belly.”

Prompto turned, eyebrows raised. “Me? Uh, sure. D’you know what’s going on?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” he said. “I may have use for your phone – bridge comms seem as if they are out.”

The pair made the descent toward the engine room together, meeting up with Desch on the way who had the same thought to check the ship’s engines rather than any outside interference. Edgar had to restrain from hitting himself – Desch tended to understate his engineering skills so it hadn’t occurred to Edgar to seek his help. It was getting harder and harder to maintain his mental list of all their allies and all their skills, a roster of strengths and weaknesses.

Just beyond the engine room’s door, a haze of smoke and steam blocked their path. All three men covered their eyes and mouths, but Edgar managed to cough out orders, pointing to the tangle of pipes and cooling chambers lining the walls. “Find the leak, quickly!”

“Hold your chocobos!” shouted a hoarse voice in the back of the room. Dimly, Edgar could make out an unfamiliar old man in a red hat, goggles, and white beard hammering at something in the floors, the grated walkway opened. “You kids can’t breathe it in yet, I’m fixin’ up the air filtration system!”

“Wait, Cid? Is that you?” Desch called out.

Edgar and Prompto tied scarves around their mouths and exchanged a glance to each other, tools ready. “While you fix the filtration, we’ll get the pipes!” Prompto said. “It’s dangerous for you too, old man!”

After the source of the leak was fixed, Cid hooked up a propeller fan to the filtration system that sucked away all of the gas and steam in the room, letting them breathe in peace.

“Thanks for the help,” said Edgar, surveying the room for any other signs of damage. “It wasn’t your summoning into this world that caused that issue, was it?”

“Only a Cid could get summoned directly onto our airship,” Desch noted with amusement. “And especially right into the engine room.”

“Of course I wasn’t the issue!” said Cid, jumping up and down with his hammer raised. “Your engine room is bigger than anything I’ve ever seen, perhaps even greater than the machinery in the Tower of Owen! You think the problem was solved already?”

“What do you mean?” Desch asked, furrowing his brow.

“You’ve got a lot to learn, my boy,” said Cid. “This is just the vestibule to the engine room. I can’t fathom the size of the airship that needs something like this beauty to fly. I can’t wait to see it.”

Edgar scratched his head. “Well, this ship grows the more we need it to. Perhaps the engine room has expanded since the last time I was here…”

“Oho! Is that so? Well, into the depths!” said Cid, pulling more of the grate away.

Prompto pulled out his phone and made a call. “Hey, Iggy! Pass the phone to Cid – er, Cid Highwind. Tell him we found another Cid down here in the engine room! He’s helping us fix it, but we have to go deeper inside.”

“Well I’ll be!” Highwind’s voice rang out from the phone. “Good to hear that there’s another Cid down there helpin’ ya! Makes me feel a lot better.”

“You guys heard that, right?” Prompto asked, holding the phone away from his ear and wincing. “He’s not even on speaker.”

The elder Cid’s head popped out from the floor. “Oh, another Cid? How about that.”

“You seem remarkably unconcerned about there being another Cid, and about being in this world,” Edgar said to the old man.

“Plenty of time to hear the details later,” he responded. “Now, are you kids coming?”

They followed a trail of pipes through a cramped series of halls that felt barely bigger than ventilation shafts, descending deeper and deeper into the hull. As they made their way through, Edgar tried to make conversation.

“So you are from Desch and the Onion Knight’s world, right?” he asked. “Glad to have another ally of theirs among our ranks.”

“Indeed I am,” Cid said, hammering away at a metal panel that blocked their way. “Thanks for taking care of them – those boys get lost in the little details a bit too much.”

“Hey!” Desch protested.

“Ah, I don’t wanna hear your complaining,” said Cid, grin visible through his bushy beard. “Salina’s not here to watch out for you, I take it.”

Desch’s face softened at her mention. “No, she isn’t. But we do have many great allies among our number. And I’ll have you know that I keep a close eye on our hero’s well-being.”

“Good, good,” said Cid, ducking underneath a low hanging pipe. He glanced back at Edgar and Prompto. “As for you two, do you have a special someone back home to help keep your heads on straight?”

Prompto gave a dreamy, wistful sigh. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

Edgar peered at him, wondering at the story behind that. “No great queen has yet graced me with her love, but we have many on board this ship that may one day return my affections.”

“Hmph,” said Cid, and Edgar couldn’t tell if it was a scoff or a chuckle. “Well, lads, a bit of advice – make sure you find one. And above all, cherish them. Maybe one day you’ll be as lucky in love as my dear wife and I!”

Before Edgar could formulate a response to that, the narrow service shafts opened up into a cavernous chamber that defied belief. Belts and gears churned and clanked while steam hissed from massive wheels and coolant tanks. Most of the pipes led to the coolant tanks or the gargantuan furnace in the center of the chamber, upon which sat a living bomb gorging on its flames. The coolant tanks had started superheating on their outsides, the metal plating turning molten under the heat of the steadily growing bomb.

“Well, there’s our issue,” Desch stated, deadpan. “What do we do? The moment that thing blows, the whole airship is going down.”

“Even if we had water magic, I doubt we could stop it before it explodes,” said Edgar, tapping the haft of his spear. “And no one else would make it down here in time even if we called.”

Prompto stared at it with wide eyes. “At least it’ll be quick here at ground zero…”

“Quit doomsaying so soon,” said Cid, cracking his knuckles. “We’ve got four great machinists, inventors, and engineers right here – what else do we need?”

Edgar switched his gaze from the bomb gnawing on the furnace door to Cid, wiping the sweat from his brow. “What do you suggest?”

“We can use that bomb,” said Cid, proudly putting his hands on his hips. “It can be this giant ship’s infinite fuel source.”

Prompto was the first to break the silence following his declaration. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. That’d be the most unstable fuel source ever.”

“Not if we heavily regulate it with that incredibly robust cooling system,” Cid said, pointing to the cooling tanks on both sides of the furnace. “It’s working in overdrive right now because the bomb got so big, but if we get that bomb to let out some steam and do some repairs, we can maintain that easily! A ship this big’s got to have a team of engineers to monitor it, doesn’t it?”

“With how much our numbers have grown, we have enough on our team with the mechanical know-how to more or less keep an eye on it at all times,” Edgar said, considering the merits of the idea. “As long as we keep the bomb happy – which it should be, considering the size of that furnace – it should work. It’d be a self-perpetuating fueling cycle!”

“But the bomb is way too big already,” Desch pointed out. “Anything we try doing to it will make it explode immediately.”

“Don’t attack it, of course,” said Cid. “Instead, let it attack us. Once it’s small enough, we’ll shove it in!”

“We’ve got to hurry,” said Edgar. “Desch, Prompto, you two get to fixing those cooling tanks. Mr. Cid, can I trust you to help me keep the bomb distracted?”

“Of course you can, lad,” he said. “Try not to get burned, y’hear?”

EDGAR

The four of them emerged from the engine room covered in ash and burns, but they left the bomb happily munching on fire and coals inside of the furnace, reduced to a manageable size with the cooling tanks keeping it that way. After Prompto departed from them to show his pictures of the battle to the others, Edgar and Desch made their way to the bridge with Cid in tow.

Even the bridge had changed since the last time Edgar had been up here. The cockpit in the center had expanded to house some walking room, a monitor, and a central control panel alongside the pilot’s seat. Two upper walkways led the way to what Edgar assumed to be navigator and comms stations, with Selphie and Shelke respectively sitting at them.

Cid Highwind lovingly stroked the control panel. “Whatever y’all did down there, she’s running great now.”

The Onion Knight had been waiting there for them to arrive. “Glad to see you’re all okay. Welcome to our airship, Cid! Thanks for coming up with that upgrade to our engines.”

“Thank you, my boy,” said Cid Haze, whistling appreciatively as he looked around the bridge. “I expect I’ll be down in that engine room more often than not, but I’d like nothing more! You’ll all have to pull me away from there!”

Edgar exchanged nods with Setzer. “I’ll leave all of you to show our newest member around,” he said. “I’ve got to get cleaned up, and then I have a game with Quistis to finish.”

Overhead, Selphie laughed into her hand.

Setzer wagged his finger at Edgar, his scarred face turning uncharacteristically somber. “If you’ve any sense at all, my friend, don’t play Triple Triad against her. Quistis is a monster at it. She went easy on me until I learned the game, but then I lost over a week’s worth of winnings!”

Abilities

Cid Haze (Unique - Hammers)

15: Hammer Slam

35: Flaming Crash

EX: Wheel of Time

LD: Enterprise Fire

FR: Tinkers' Combo (with Xezat)

BT: Airship Smash

BT Theme: "Sailing the Enterprise"

Most of his abilities were created by me, since in game he appears as a guest with only a hammer strike and the Fire spell that he uses sometimes. His BT, "Airship Smash," comes from a unique ability he has as a playable character in Theaterhythm. He is a pretty standard fire elemental physical attacker, perhaps with some physical attack party auras and such.

When I first posted this, he had a different Force partner (Cid Highwind) before I realized I made a mistake and Cid Highwind was already taken by Balthier in canon. Whoops. Now he has a new one! What do you think the connection is here?

Chapter Text

Kiros Seagill ( Final Fantasy VIII )

Voiced by: Subaru Kimura

Close friend to Laguna Loire and Ward Zabac who served in the Galbadian army alongside them several years ago. Nowadays, he and Ward work as President Laguna’s aides in Esthar and help him run the country. Though he often has to keep Laguna in line, he really enjoys the unpredictability his friend brings.

KIROS

Kiros crept low to the ground as more of the crystalline humanoids passed down the country lane, their footsteps silent and no air passing through their lungs. Three of them had already attacked him wielding powerful magic and it took him everything he had to escape without too much damage. The creatures unnerved Kiros more than he could say – they looked almost human on the surface, but their unnatural movement and faces devoid of emotion said otherwise. They seemed almost robotic, if not for the magic – perhaps some sort of Para-Magic?

He straightened again once they left. If he didn’t have to worry about those creatures, this place would have been peaceful and relaxing. A warm breeze drifted over the fields. It was rare for him to find time to enjoy sunny days like this nowadays; his work as the presidential aide kept him far too busy. But he felt more lithe and less achey than he had in years, almost as if he became younger somehow. Perhaps he had gone back in time, a side effect of Time Compression? He even felt like he was right outside of Winhill.

Distant gunshots echoed across the fields. On the swift feet of a man about half his age, he ran toward the sound, hopeful for company that wasn’t one of those crystal people.

When he crested the hill, his heart leapt when he recognized Laguna as the source of the gunshots. A pack of wolves surrounded him, but even more alarming was that one of the crystal people that had attacked Kiros had also found his friend.

Katars fixed to his hands, he leapt into action, slicing through muscle and fur. He was about to strike the crystal person from behind when they noticed him just before the blade touched their neck; they whirled away from his attack and retaliated with a ring of holy magic that descended on Kiros from above.

“That will teach you to attack me from behind, witless cur!” The magic-user sneered, and Kiros’s eyes widened when he realized they weren’t made of crystal at all.

“Kiros!” Laguna shouted.

Laguna barreled into Kiros, knocking him out of the way of the holy magic with a shoulder tackle and taking the brunt of it. His friend grunted in pain and fell to his knees.

“Laguna!” said Kiros – and, more surprisingly, so did the one who attacked. Kiros made it to Laguna’s side first, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to pull him away. “Careful, this Sorceress attacked me earlier.”

“I am a sorcerer, I’ll have you know,” they said, throwing their hair over their shoulders. “Laguna, who is this person who is touching you with such familiarity?”

“Kuja, this is my friend Kiros I’ve told you about,” Laguna said, biting the cork off of a potion bottle and swallowing its contents. “And Kiros, man, it’s good to see you! About time you joined us here. This is my comrade, Kuja.”

Kiros didn’t put his weapons away, even though the wolves had been dispatched. Sometimes Laguna could be too trusting. “Sorcerer? Are you a SeeD, then? You don’t really dress like one.”

“Ugh, don’t try to kill me and then insult me,” said Kuja. “I’m no SeeD. The rules about magic are different here.”

“What do you mean?” Kiros asked. “And why did you attack me earlier?”

Laguna scratched the back of his head. “Sheesh, I’ve got a lot to explain, huh? That probably wasn’t Kuja before – that was a Manikin. They look just like us, and they’re all over the place in this world.”

Kuja clenched his fist. “ Probably ? I’ve been here with you the whole time!”

“We’re on an expedition to kill some living flower monster in the woods down that way,” said Laguna, pointing down the dirt path. “It has some oil we’re after for fixing things up around the airship. I’ll explain it all on the way.”

Comrade. He called this Kuja a comrade after all that they had been through in this world. Kiros felt ashamed that he missed all of it. Not even Ward was here to keep Laguna company all this time. Laguna had Squall, at least – but Kiros would have liked to have been there for their time together.

They passed under the shaded boughs of the forest, the sunlight casting dappled rays across the loamy ground. The shade brought more monsters – goblins, ochus, and even ghosts assaulted them as they made their way through the forest in search of the specific flower they needed.

“Laguna, not that way,” said Kiros. “That is back the way we came.”

“How would you know where we’re going?” said Kuja. “You don’t even know the flower we seek.”

Kiros kept his expression impassive, a skill he learned from years of dealing with Esthar’s most irritating politicians. “I know Laguna, and any way he thinks is right is the wrong way.” He also knew that when he left Laguna to his own devices, things tended to work out anyway. But he had a lot of lost time to make up for.

Laguna grinned sheepishly. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Why don’t you lead the way, Kuja?” Kiros suggested. “Unless you don’t know which way to go, yourself?”

Kuja scowled at him. “Of course I know the way. Why else would I have come along on this waste of time?” He stopped and brought his fingertips to his lips, smiling devilishly. “Oh, right, it is because I was here to accompany my comrade. Laguna would be simply lost without me, especially since you weren’t here either.”

Kuja was as deft as any of Esthar’s politicians. He knew exactly what to say to get under Kiros’s skin.

Kiros turned away. “Hm. We should keep moving.”

Laguna looked between them. “Uh, is something going on here?”

“Nothing in particular,” said Kuja, waving his hand as if swatting a fly. “You heard the man – let’s move along.”

Behind him, Kiros heard Laguna’s footsteps abruptly stop moving in the underbrush and he turned to see what happened before Laguna even finished loading a bullet cartridge into his gun.

A man with long blond hair appeared in a clearing, white and gold armor gleaming under the sunlight. He held a sword out toward them, eyes holding the same wicked spark of amusement that Kiros had seen in Kuja’s face.

“Kam’lanaut!” Laguna exclaimed, holding his gun ready. “What’re you doing here?”

Kiros tensed every muscle in his body, ready to spring to action at a moment’s notice. Two Manikins waited at Kam’lanaut’s side, one of which resembled Kuja. It was the same one that had attacked Kiros when he first found himself in this world.

“How were you freed from that prison?” Kuja asked, floating inches off of the ground. He winced. “Something happened. We’re missing a few memories, aren’t we?”

“I saw that new warrior there, traveling alone,” said Kam’lanaut, gesturing toward Kiros with his sword. “I thought I would give him a warm welcome to this world.”

Kiros readied his katars. “You set those Manikins on me.”

“How dare you present that ugly thing to me,” said Kuja, magic flickering in his hands as he glared at his copy. “Begone, before we use force.”

“You think you’re such a hero now, don’t you, Kuja?” said Kam’lanaut, his grip slackening on his sword. The same mask of detached amusement still hung on his face. “Need I remind you of the horrors you tried to commit, not so long ago? And that was just in this world – who knows what terrible villainy you carried out in your own to be summoned by Spiritus?”

Kiros’s eyes flicked to Kuja, whose face twisted into a snarl. “You know nothing about me, Kam’lanaut. You’ve been too busy sniveling at your brother’s boots.”

Kam’lanaut scowled at him, but rather than saying anything in response, he vanished in a flash of light.

“What a coward,” said Kuja, shrugging. “And one who can’t even take a basic insult. Let us dispose of this trash.”

The Kuja Manikin rose up high, magic building above its head. It unleashed a rain of energy, ripping up wood and earth from the ground as Kiros and Laguna took cover. The roar of gunfire broke through the clearing while the real Kuja retaliated with his own spells, sparks of circling magic converging on his enemy.

The second Manikin dashed toward Kiros and with a start he realized it was fashioned after himself. Its katars lashed out at Kiros, leaping and twisting through his counters in a perfect mirror of his own attacks. They found themselves in a dance of constantly dodging and revolving around each other, both unable to score a hit, and Kiros wondered if it was capable of tiring out. A flare of magic erupted beneath the Manikin’s feet, and Kiros snapped his blade out on a reflex without taking the time to think of the source of the distraction.

He slashed across the Manikin’s chest, making it stumble backward, but it barely reacted otherwise – it would have been nice if one of the others told him these things didn’t feel pain. He pushed forward, using his momentum to leap over the Manikin’s shoulder and stab it in the neck from behind. Rather than bleeding, it burst and crumbled into crystalline dust. He found himself grinning in relief. He hadn’t pulled off that little maneuver in years, and it felt good to move like this again.

Across the clearing, Laguna finished off the second Manikin with a well-timed bullet, and in the briefest moment when it shattered to pieces just like its partner, Kiros thought he saw sorrow flash across Kuja’s face.

KIROS

After they had procured the oil Laguna and Kuja needed and brought it back to the airship in little glass vials, Laguna introduced Kiros to the others. The affection everyone felt for each other was apparent, the airship more lively than he could have imagined, and though a little overwhelming he had the feeling he would like it here. Laguna had chosen his company well.

After they had taken to the skies again, Kiros found himself looking out over the deck toward the distant clouds, wondering when Ward might arrive. He froze mid-stretch when he heard a voice from someone approaching behind him.

“Welcome to the party,” Kuja said. “Now that you’re here, I don’t need to spend so much time with that fool Laguna. Thank you for relieving me of that.”

“That is a rather unkind way of saying you think I am here to take your place at Laguna’s side,” Kiros pointed out, turning toward him. “Unless you truly are a villain of some sort, after all, like that Kam’lanaut said. But I believe he was wrong – don’t think I didn’t notice how you saved me back there.”

He expected Kuja to scoff at him, but instead his gaze went to the sky, perhaps at something Kiros couldn’t see. “Kam’lanaut doesn’t know the half of it. You strike me as the sort of person who wouldn’t run away from the things I’ve done. Spending time with that fool Laguna helps me pretend it happened a long time ago.”

“It’s okay to call him a ‘friend,’ you know,” said Kiros. “Or your comrade. Though I will admit, he can be a fool sometimes.”

That got a hint of a smile out of Kuja, which Kiros matched.

“Ah, it’s good to see that you two are getting along now!” said Laguna, approaching them with two people he dimly remembered to be named Layle and Keiss. “Kuja, I just wanted to say – none of that stuff that Kam’lanaut said matters, and, uh… even though Kiros is here, it doesn’t mean we can’t still hang out. We’re friends, aren’t we? Kiros and I have been buddies for nearly twenty years, so I hope you can call him your friend too.”

Kuja tensed and anger flashed across his face. “How dare you presume I would feel such things! You really are a sentimental fool. I have had enough of this for today.”

He pushed past Layle as he strode across the deck at a fast pace, and Layle only shrugged. “That went about as well as I expected,” he said.

“Thank you all for looking after Laguna in my stead,” said Kiros, folding his hands behind his back after Kuja departed. “Our friend Ward would be grateful for it too, I’m sure, if he were here. Laguna can be a bit of a handful at times, I know, but I am here now.”

“Hey, I’m still here,” said Laguna, rubbing the back of his neck. “And I shouldn’t have to remind you that I’m the president of a whole country.”

“Trust me,” said Keiss, glancing toward Layle. “I can relate to your struggles.”

Layle crossed his arms. “I took care of myself for years before you came along!”

Kiros followed Kuja to go below deck. “Ah, but what would you do without people like us encouraging you to greatness?”

Abilities

Kiros Seagill (Fists)

15: Expert Slice

35: Mental Pain

EX: Blood Pain

LD: Deadly Dance

FR: Flawless Second (with Keiss)

BT: Bloodshower Festival

BT Theme: "Ride On"

Alternate Skin: Esthar presidential aide robes, Galbadian soldier armor

I had a harder time coming up with his abilities than I expected to. "Blood Pain" is his Limit from VIII, and I believe "Mental Pain" and "Deadly Dance" I took from Record Keeper. The rest of these are original, though. He's probably a turn stealing physical attacker - possibly even a linked attacker. Katars generally go over the hand like claw weapons that show up throughout the series, so I classified them as Fist weapons rather than Daggers. He's got some pretty nasty ability names for such a nice guy, doesn't he?

Kiros's BT theme was a bit tough, but I ended up going with Mrfipp's suggestion from his Reddit posts on this subject! "Ride On" is the airship theme when you get the Ragnarok. I was tempted to do "The Man With the Machine Gun" again, even though Laguna already has it! It's just too fitting. His FR partner of choice should be obvious from the end of this chapter ;)

Chapter Text

Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 1, Part 1: Vermilion Wings

Joshua Rosfield ( Final Fantasy XVI )

Voiced by: Natsumi Fujiwara

Second son of the Archduke of Rosaria, and Clive’s younger brother whom he has always adored. Awakening as the Dominant of Phoenix at a young age despite being frail and bookish, he had a heavy burden placed upon his shoulders as the most powerful person in Rosaria. He was believed to have lost his life in an incident that later came to be known as the “Night of Flames,” an event which shook the realm.

Ravus nox Fleuret ( Final Fantasy XV )

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura

High Commander of the Niflheim army despite losing his family and home to them. Elder brother to the Oracle Lunafreya, he cares for her deeply even though he blames and hates her betrothed, Noctis, for his perceived abandonment of Tenebrae. His arm was replaced with magitek after a failed attempt to wield the Ring of the Lucii so he could become the King of Light rather than Noctis, though he later comes to support Noctis as the True King instead.

Feolthanos ( Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings )

Voiced by: Akio Otsuka

An aegyl from Lemurés with designs on the land of Ivalice below. Extending his life with auracite, he is the ancestor of all feol viera and stole the anima – the souls – of all his aegyl followers to make them easier to control. Using the power of auracite, he became something of a god to his people.

FEOLTHANOS

Feolthanos slumbered. While he slumbered, he dreamt. 

He often visited the realm of dreams during his long imprisonment on Lemurés. With the floating Purvama sealed away from the rest of Ivalice, he had little else to do except bide his time and wait. Enjoyment scarcely found him anymore, but occasionally the subconscious fancies of the mind occupied him. Memories of long forgotten days. He suspected it had to do with the anima of his people he had absorbed into himself, or the fact that Lemurés was rich with Mist and the lines between the realms of Yarhi and men were blurred.

This time, he saw something unusual while he slept. A hume boy with red wings, like an aegyl, his magicks blinding in vermilion brilliance. He stood before a machine of such resplendence that even through the dream Feolthanos could feel his heart quickening through the weight of its aura.

His eyes opened. As ever, his waking mind brought with it recent memories when the haze of sleep lifted. He had perished. He knew this. But somehow, here he sat upon his throne in the Keep of Forgotten Time as if his death had never happened.

He knew little of machinery, in truth. He had slept so long in Lemurés that the innovations of mortals in the world below eluded him. But Feolthanos knew he needed the power of the one from his dreams to renew his holy crusade of Ivalice. As if he were a prophet or dream reader divining the Ring of Pacts, he felt his vision engraving its name on his mind, further convincing him of the righteousness of his mission.

Alexander .

ASHE

Despite being so high up in the air, the breeze on the Falcon ’s deck never felt cold or overpowering. Ashe felt that it was yet another miracle of this strange world that they were able to stand together and hear each other over the roar of the open sky.

Even so, a chill descended on the gathered party as they discussed Ultimecia’s ominous parting words. Ashe stood beside Rydia and Yuna, and Hope leaned against the mainmast with his hands in his pockets. Ryne, Terra, and Garnet stood opposite them, while Enna Kros lingered outside their circle gazing at the sky with a full mug of coffee.

Rydia wrung her fingers together, her sleeves billowing in the wind. “Mog, is it true what Ultimecia said? That the reason we can’t die in this world is that the eidolons are protecting us?”

“That’s right, kupo,” said Mog, floating in the center of their circle without any of his usual cheer. “Materia and Spiritus themselves figured it out shortly before they turned into crystal. In this world, kupo, there is one that represents each elemental force, for a total of twelve. We have been borrowing their power this whole time throughout our adventure, but we never knew they were that closely tied to the thread of this world!”

“Are the eidolons the same in most of your worlds?” Yuna asked. “In mine, they are called aeons, and several that we’ve met here are unfamiliar to me.”

Mog shook his head, his pom swinging back and forth. “No, kupo,” he said. “I don’t know why these twelve are most prominent in this world, but I think they’re different in all your worlds, kupo. Like all of you, the ones we’ve met here aren’t even native to this world – they come from the World of Illusions.”

Terra clasped her hands over her chest. “That is another similarity between many of our worlds,” she said. “Maybe Y’shtola was right and that is something we should be thinking about more. I’m not sure what it means for me… I don’t think I have told many of you, but in my world they’re called espers, and my father was one of them.”

Ashe found herself agreeing with Terra. She didn’t know why they had all overlooked the multitude of similarities between each world. She knew in just her own world there were varieties of cultures and people, and so much of the world beyond Ivalice that she knew precious little about. Could those lands really be like home, as similar to her as the friends she had made in this world? Or was this the anomaly?

Instead of voicing all that, she decided not to steer them away from the topic at hand. “We call them espers in my world as well. But I believe they all have different origins, as none of the denizens of the World of Illusions we have met are familiar to me. In Ivalice, espers are creations and servants of the gods, cast down and bound to glyphs to serve us in punishment for their rebellion. Some of you may recall that Vayne once summoned Ultima, the High Seraph, against us – she was the leader of their unholy uprising.”

Terra frowned at her. “That sounds awful.”

“Indeed it was,” Ashe responded. “Yet we, too, eventually fought to break the gods’ hold over Ivalice, so the espers lent us their power.”

Enna Kros clapped her hands together as if to dispel the gloom Ashe’s words brought upon them. Her coffee mug had vanished. “Now, now, Terra – there is nothing wrong with being part esper. I am too, after all. It’s kind of why I’m God.”

“Not the sort of god that Ashe just mentioned, I trust,” said Hope.

She covered her mouth in a polite laugh. “No, no, nothing of the sort. Or do I truly hold Grymoire in an iron fist? You’ll have to ask Lann and Reynn.” When no one else laughed, she cleared her throat. “Anyway, I think the one we should seek first is Alexander. I may be a bit biased, but he is always quite reasonable and should be able to tell us what is happening to break their protection over us, like Ultimecia said.”

“I am in favor,” said Garnet, wrapping both hands around her staff. “Alexander is the protector eidolon of Alexandria, my home. Eiko and I summoned him once to defend it from Kuja’s assault.”

“Me, too,” said Hope, standing up straight and raising his hand. “As a l’Cie, I have an eidolon partner and he is mine.”

“How can we find him?” Yuna asked. “Mog, can you please take us to the World of Illusions as you always do?”

“Um… about that,” said Mog, his pom drooping. “Ever since Materia and Spiritus went into their crystals, I have been unable to connect us to the World of Illusions, kupo. We’re going to have to find the summons the long way.”

“Alexander is a holy eidolon of divine light,” said Garnet. “Can we not follow his light as we do for everyone we’ve met in this world?”

“It’s not the same kind of light, kupo,” said Mog. “Alexander is Light light.”

Everyone fell silent after that, but if they were all feeling the same way Ashe did after his statement, it was not out of reverent awe or confusion about the lack of leads. It was because, to Ashe, Mog’s words felt a bit like nonsense. The distinction meant nothing to her.

Ryne folded her hands behind her back and cleared her throat. “I think I have an idea,” she said. “My world doesn’t normally have Primals – or eidolons, or espers – but I am somewhat familiar with them from Thancred and the others. We did have beings called Sin Eaters, though. Monsters born from the Flood of Light that ravaged my world. As the Oracle of Light, I have the ability to sense them. Perhaps I can use it to help us track this Alexander.”

As the others praised Ryne and considered the merits of the idea, Ashe found her gaze drifting skyward. Ramza had once mentioned to her that he was familiar with the espers in her world, but to him they were demons.

So which sort of being awaited them, now that their protections were failing?

LUNAFREYA

When Ryne detected a powerful source of Light far above them, Lunafreya couldn’t help but marvel at the idea. How wonderful some of the other worlds seemed, with landmasses that floated high above the clouds. Some among them reacted with excitement. Others with simple curiosity. Yet others regarded the idea with uneasy tension. Perhaps floating continents varied as much as all of their worlds did.

Cid Haze was one who had the experience of flying that high. Stating that the Falcon needed necessary adjustments, he led the other engineers in modifications to their airship that allowed it to ascend even higher. Once that was completed, Luna ventured out to the deck where she found her husband and his friends to watch the floating isles come into view.

Massive islands of earth and crystal appeared above them, parting the clouds like waves in the sea. Greenery draped from them with ribbons of waterfalls that dispersed into the sky. Crystal columns grew from the islands like splayed wings, natural and glittering, and so beautiful that Luna thought they might ripple like they were real.

Noctis took her hand and she felt her heart leap. “You really like the view, huh?” he asked, a soft smile gracing his lips.

“It is as if from a story,” she said. Though she had to admit, it paled in comparison to being able to share this with him. “From which world do they hail, I wonder?”

“Ours,” said a voice behind her. Both Luna and Noct looked over their shoulders to see Vaan. “I know this place. It’s called Lemurés – Llyud’s home.”

They followed his gaze across the deck to their winged companion, who stared up at the islands as they approached with spear in hand. Without looking back at any of them, his wings extended and he leapt from the deck, flying toward the nearest island.

“Excited to see home, I guess?” Noctis asked.

The airship followed, engines humming as the propellers spun and they ascended through the clouds. Luna and the others went below deck again to avoid getting wet, but she emerged again as soon as she felt the airship land. Eager to disembark, she and Noctis found themselves alongside Vaan, Ignis, Aranea, Balthier, and Penelo as they stepped off of the airship and into a jungle.

The ground was soft with moss and moist soil, the air thick with fog and the smell of wet earth. Vegetation with leaves bigger than her head hung high, with lances of sunbeams piercing the canopy above them. Insects chittered around them and birds called to each other in song. Luna half expected such a place to be stifling in its heat, but it felt rather cool.

Ahead, they found Llyud standing and staring into the jungle. “We are in Tswarra, Isle of the Lost,” he said. “A holy place for the aegyl.”

“Few from our world have ventured to Lemurés,” said Balthier, leaning his gun over his shoulder. “Mostly us sky pirates. For untold years, this place had been shielded from the outside world, and once it was discovered many came in search of treasures.”

Luna braced herself with her trident on the unsteady ground as she walked to Llyud’s side. “I can imagine you would have complicated feelings about that,” she said. “All those outsiders coming to plunder your home.”

Vaan scratched his head, averting his eyes. “Not like we knew people lived here at the time…”

“I bear no ill will toward my friends,” Llyud said, offering Luna a smile. “After all, they helped save it.”

Ahead of them, a white shape appeared from the fog, like a wraith. Luna readied her trident at the same time as the others drew their weapons. The white shape solidified into a man with a long coat and a steel arm, and as he came closer Luna felt her breath stop.

“Well, how about that,” said Aranea, confirming what Luna saw. “The high commander, in the flesh.”

“Ravus,” she managed to get out. “Brother. Is it truly you?”

Once he came closer, she saw her disbelief mirrored in his face, one that she longed to see again ever since coming to this world.

“Lunafreya?” he said, mouth working to form words. “Twice now I thought you dead and twice you have returned to me. How cruel it would be for the chancellor to play his tricks again.”

She dropped her trident as she approached him, placing one hand tenderly upon his cheek. “There is no trickery this time, I assure you. You and I both live, yet we are in another world that lets it be so. Noct is here with us, as is Ardyn – and many others besides.”

He leaned into her touch with closed eyes, but at the mention of Noctis and Ardyn he opened them again, his jaw clenching. His magitek hand went over hers and he looked past her toward her companions as their hands fell back to their sides. “So you two have finally reunited. I am… heartened for you, sister.”

“Hey there,” said Noct, offering him a wave. He looked hesitant to approach, kicking his toe into the dirt. “Er, about the last time we met…”

“You put me out of my misery,” said Ravus. “I remember. And I thank you for it.”

“No hard feelings, then,” Noct said, grinning. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“Though be warned that Ardyn himself does travel among us,” said Ignis, putting a hand on Noct’s shoulder as he stepped forward to his friend’s side. “Many of us have put his dark deeds behind us, but it would not be remiss of you if you struggled to do the same. I remember the occasion on which we joined our blades together, and would gladly do so again.”

“Indeed,” said Ravus, nodding to him. “It will not be easy to come face to face with him. I want nothing more than to thrust my blade through his black heart.”

Luna let out an unsteady breath. That was one aspect of her brother's arrival to this world that she had dreaded. The anger in him had the potential to overflow, and while she could not blame him for it, she also wished for Ardyn to find the light again.

“Glad to have you added to our cause. Before we do any thrusting through hearts, shall we continue our venture across this isle?” suggested Balthier. She dearly wanted to thank him for the change in subject. “We’ve much to see and investigate, as we do not yet know the reason for the isle’s appearance, nor why Alexander’s domain is here.”

Penelo gave Balthier a disapproving frown. “Can’t you give Luna a moment to have a heartfelt reunion with her brother?”

Lunafreya gestured with her palm to Penelo to indicate her assent. “No, Balthier is correct. We have much to do here – and I can always speak with Ravus as we venture across Tswarra.”

RAVUS

When he had found himself in an unfamiliar jungle and heard the telltale rumble of an airship’s engines, he had rushed to it expecting to find an imperial warship. Never did he dream he would find his sister on board, together with the True King – revived from their untimely ends to fight in an endless war in a different world. Hardly the fate he had ever wanted for his sister, yet according to her their journey had been one filled with unexpected joys. Joys she wished for Ravus to share.

“Here, we can be free of our duties,” she said.

Free from the duties that were killing her, yet fighting alongside the man who had dealt the fatal blow.

“Just the kind of life I like,” said Aranea, walking past them with her boots crunching the underbrush. “So I shouldn’t have to call you ‘High Commander’ anymore, eh?”

“As long as I do not need to address you as ‘Commodore,’” he said in return.

“Llyud, would you mind telling us what we may expect to find here?” Ignis asked the winged boy, scanning the jungle for any signs of trouble to his liege. This world had even returned the vision Ignis had lost upon wielding the Ring of the Lucii, it seemed. “What might draw a being such as Alexander to this place?”

“As Balthier mentioned, Lemurés is a holy land that was sealed off from the rest of Ivalice, keeping my people in isolation. One aegyl, our leader and god, stole our anima to keep us subservient to him during all those years, extending his life with the power of auracite. The crystals are plentiful here.”

Penelo scowled. “What Feolthanos did was awful. I hope we never have to meet him here.”

“If the trend holds, I’d expect him sooner rather than later,” said Balthier, with wry amusement. “If Lemurés is here, he may not be far behind. Though young Filo or Kytes are a possibility.”

“They’d be much better,” Vaan said, leaping over a fallen log. “None of us really have great memories of the rainwood, though.”

“We met Mydia here as well,” said Penelo. “She was the Judge of Wings, a knight in service to Feolthanos. I’d prefer if she didn’t show up here, either.”

“Such negativity doesn’t suit you, Penelo,” said Luna, accepting Noct’s hand to climb over the log. Her clothes didn’t exactly suit a traipse through the jungle. “This world is a new start for everyone.”

Ravus spoke his thoughts faster than he could rein them in. “From what little I have gleaned of this world so far, some may not change at all,” he said. “Here you are, sister, on a journey to forge pacts with yet another Astral. Must you carry on endangering yourself?”

“It’s not the same,” Noctis said at once. “Alexander isn’t one of our Astrals.”

Luna put a hand on her husband’s shoulder, unperturbed by either of their comments. “I do this not out of my duty as an Oracle, but as one of many who are fighting to keep this world safe. I look forward to meeting this Alexander, but it should have no adverse effect upon my body as forging covenants with the Astrals do.”

Ravus lowered his gaze to the path ahead. If only she knew what it looked like from the outside, for him to have to watch her become more and more frail while he could do nothing to stop her. Even an armed escort back to Tenebrae did not keep her from her mission. “Very well, then,” he said.

She leaned forward to catch his eye, smiling. “I thank you for your concern, though,” she said.

He looked up, wondering if he should say something more, when he saw a white dog sitting on a wide, low hanging branch of a tree behind her. He recognized that dog. Before he could point it out to Lunafreya, it barked to get all of their attention.

Noctis gaped. “Wait, that’s – ”

“Pryna!” Luna exclaimed, in an expression of shock so unlike her. 

“Is that yours?” Penelo asked, beaming with her hands clasped under her chin. “That’s such a beautiful dog!”

Rather than running toward her master, Pryna’s tail wagged and she leapt off her perch as if weighing nothing, and ran off further into the rainwood.

“Let us follow,” said Luna, gesturing toward Pryna with her trident. “She is a dear friend, but Pryna is no mere dog – she is a messenger of the gods, along with her brother Umbra. Perhaps she is leading us to Alexander’s domain.”

“Be warned,” said Llyud, as they all moved to follow. “When we made camp here in the Zwaua Rainwood before, the isle visited visions upon us, and they are the source of great dangers here.”

“But we’ve got to make sure,” said Noctis, rushing ahead.

Vaan nodded to him. “Yeah – in this world, anything can happen.”

BASCH

Basch cut down the last of the lamiae that had assaulted them, turning to his companions as he shook his head free of the monsters’ beguiling influence. “The Mist is thick here,” he said. “Loathe am I to say it, but it may mean we are on the right path.”

“Indeed,” said Fran, returning fallen arrows to her quiver. “And the monsters ‘twixt here and the airship have grown yet more fierce. Mayhaps we should summon the other search parties to us.”

“I would sooner wait until we find something of note,” said Basch. “Some sign of this holy esper.”

Iroha, the third member of their party, pointed ahead. “What of that black dog?”

Basch and Fran turned to look. He was certain he didn’t see anything there before – it was as if it had sprung from the pond next to it. Too small to be a war hound, it didn’t seem like any sort of monster to him, with its jet black fur and gray around the eyes. It yipped at them, then turned to the north to point with its nose.

“A grim portent, or a new ally?” Fran mused.

“I hope the latter,” said Basch, leading the way to follow it.

Their guide kept an easy pace, trotting happily through the dense jungle and waiting for them every time it got too far ahead. They passed roaring falls, white with rage that would eventually be devoured by the clouds below. The dog led them past parts of the jungle so thick and so dense that Basch would have thought they’d have gotten lost if left to their own devices. It even seemed to avoid most of the monsters, as if projecting an aura of sanctuary.

Eventually they stopped in a clearing bathed in sunlight. There, among the moss, they found a boy with his arms around a white dog. The black one ran to their side, circling around them as it nuzzled against the laughing boy, and before Basch could offer him a greeting he saw several of their companions emerge from the greenery on the other side of the clearing. Lady Lunafreya, Noctis, Vaan, Balthier, and the others all looked just as surprised to see him as he was to see them. A man in white stood next to Lunafreya, though Basch didn’t recognize him.

“Umbra, too,” said Lunafreya, smiling as she approached the center of the clearing. “Apologies if my companions caused you any trouble. My name is Lunafreya,” she said to the boy. “And those dogs are Pryna and Umbra.”

“None at all,” said the boy, smiling with his arm over the white dog. “I love dogs. They’ve kept me safe here, and led you to me.” He stood and gave them a formal bow, and that combined with his manner of dress indicated to Basch that he was some kind of nobility, whichever world he hailed from. “My name is Joshua. Would you… would you know my brother Clive, by chance? I’ve never been to such a place before, and I think he would like to see it. He’s a great warrior.”

“Afraid not,” said Balthier, bumping his fist against Fran’s as the two rejoined each other’s side. “Though it seems someone out there decided you are a great warrior yourself, if you’ve been summoned here.”

“Is… is that so?” Joshua asked. He seemed as if he didn’t want to leave Pryna’s side, clutching her fur with both hands. Pryna, for her part, kept brushing against him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Joshua,” said Penelo, dragging Vaan over as well. “C’mon, Vaan, say hi!”

“Ow!” he said, stumbling as she pulled him. “What’s that for? I can say hi on my own.”

Joshua looked as if he tried to restrain himself, but he let out a laugh into his hand.

“You don’t have to be nervous around us,” said Noctis, putting a hand on his hip. “We’ve got plenty of kids your age back on our airship.”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “You have an airship? What is this place?”

“You’ve been very brave to be on your own here,” said Iroha, kneeling next to Joshua. “But you are in a different world, summoned here as we have. Perhaps others from your world are with us, but if not, I should be glad to offer you my spear. Phoenix and I will protect you.”

Joshua’s arms wrapped tighter around Pryna. “Phoenix? You know who I am?”

Iroha furrowed her brow. “Do you have a connection to the Phoenix as well? Is that why I feel this compulsion to aid you…?”

The ground shook, and far away above the trees they saw a great pillar of light pierce the sky. The magicks rang out in deafening fury, sending a shockwave across the jungle that bent the trees. The pillar of light seared Basch’s eyes, but the flash died down as quickly as it came, and he furiously blinked away the spots of brightness.

“By the gods,” said Basch, checking that no one had been harmed. “Was that Alexander?”

“No,” said Llyud, flying to the treetops. “I believe that was one of the auraliths, the crystals from which the auracite are born. There has been a grand summoning of Yarhi. We must go to them.”

Joshua tentatively released his grip on Pryna. “Alexander is there,” he said, as everyone turned to him. “He spoke to me earlier. He says he needs your help.”

Abilities

Ravus nox Fleuret (Swords)

15: White Lion

35: Dark Spark
EX: Daemonic Surge
LD: Tenebrous Sword
FR: Alba Slash (with Jegran)
BT: Last Rites

BT Theme: "RAVUS AETERNA"

I imagine Ravus to be a Dark and Lightning-elemental attacker, with a mechanic wherein his daemonification worsens as the battle goes on, making his attacks stronger and his turns more frequent. Maybe not the best idea in terms of balancing, but as I mentioned I'm not great at that part of it (lol). Of these abilities, only his BT actually exists in game as a technique he uses when he is a party member in Episode Ignis. The rest are all original names, but the central mechanic (and his BT theme!) comes from his boss fight in the main game.

Joshua Rosfield (Swords)

15: Rising Flames

35: Fireball

EX: Cleansing Embers

LD: Heatwave

FR: Undying Will (with Iroha)

BT: Flames of Rebirth

BT Theme: "Away"

Joshua has a mix of ability name sources. His 15CP ability is the default Phoenix skill, and I imagine it turns him into a launcher. Fireball he uses in the segment of the game where he is playable in the beginning, transformed into Phoenix. Cleansing Embers is original, and I figure it is the barrier skill he uses at times, which enables him to defend and heal the party. Heatwave is another one of Clive's Phoenix skills, used most often as a counterattack, but I am not sure I envision Joshua being a counterattacker. His Burst is Phoenix's iconic skill. He is mostly a fire magic attacker with some healing and defensive abilities.

His BT theme plays when playing as Phoenix against Ifrit and Bahamut.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 1, Part 2: Ode to Light

JOSHUA

Joshua heaved in great breaths as he struggled to keep up with the others, carefully maneuvering his way around tangles of tree roots and pits of deceptively soft soil and mud. He stumbled and wheezed, his limbs exhausted so soon after they had started running toward the crystal structure they called an auralith (not a Mothercrystal?), and had to question the veracity of the claim that he was some great warrior summoned to fight on the behalf of gods he didn’t know.

Clive was the warrior. It should have been Clive they summoned. It always should have been Clive, just like with Phoenix.

This world was hot and sticky and so unlike Rosaria, with so many great knights and fighters who could wield magic without the blessings of any Eikons and who did not seem to be Bearers. Even the other children, like Eiko, wielded powerful magic of their own and suffered none of the frailties that afflicted Joshua. What would Mother think of him trying to keep up with all of these people, hiding behind them while they battled the monsters on the way? She would be livid about him being so close to the danger and the dirt, even with these strange new allies defending him.

An enormous flying insect launched at Joshua from the trees, and though his first reaction was to cower he gripped his shortsword and closed his eyes and cried out as he swung, a trail of flames following his blade. The monster shrieked and clicked its mandibles to attack again, but a barrage of ice magic converged on it and the insect crumpled to the ground.

“Careful,” said his savior, a man named Kurasame. He called ahead to the front of their party as the rest of the assaulting monsters were dispatched. “Llyud, we should stop for the moment.”

Joshua’s hand shook as he gripped his sword. He wanted to drop it. But Clive’s lessons rang through his head, as did his father’s words to fulfill his duty. They spoke louder than Mother.

“Apologies for my lapse in attention,” said Iroha, bowing to Joshua. “That insect escaped my notice.”

“It’s… it’s okay,” he responded, panting. In some ways, her excessive formality reminded him of the way Clive would behave in public. “Do you need any healing?”

“I think you should be worrying about yourself first!” said Eiko, casting her own curative spells on Llyud. “Do you need something for your coughing? You should ask Rem!”

“We need to find Alexander,” said Joshua. “He needs help the most.”

He knew it from the moment he found himself in this jungle. A searing light woke him and a booming voice reverberated through his mind. It was like no voice he had ever heard before, but he knew it to be a desperate plea for aid.

“Findeth the gods’ chosen guardians… We cannot suffer this defilement… Mine brethren keen…”

“Do you have some sort of connection with Alexander in your world?” Aphmau asked, kneeling at his side. “How have you heard his voice?”

“I am not sure what Alexander is,” Joshua admitted, frowning. If it was some sort of Eikon like they said, he did not know why he would have been chosen to bear that message. He already had Phoenix. But Eikons were not known for having a will of their own, and no one in the history of Rosarian Dominants had ever divined Phoenix’s words. This was something altogether different – and he wasn’t sure if he had a longing for Alexander to speak with him again, or shame because it should have been Phoenix. “My brother would know what to do…”

“You look up to your brother, huh?” said Aphmau, smiling. “I have a brother, too. Things were always cold between us, and through much of my childhood I wished it could have been better. I always thought he was the strong one, and I was weak.”

“I’m sorry,” said Joshua, because he didn’t know what else to say. “Clive is my shield. He’s always been there to look out for me.”

“I am envious that you’ve grown up with a relationship as valuable as that,” said Iroha.

“My brother sought Alexander’s power in our world,” Aphmau continued. “And… I’d thought I lost him. He wanted to wield Alexander as a weapon for the good of our empire, and that power consumed him. He’s better now, though, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, he has been supporting me. It’s… nice. I think I can finally understand how it feels to have an older sibling like that. Alexander, thankfully, is no longer a threat to my nation.”

“Your Alexander sounds frightening,” said Eiko, hugging herself. “When Garnet and I summoned him together, he was really powerful, but he saved us.”

Kurasame continued walking down the path, speaking as he passed Llyud, who listened silently. “In my world, summoning a being like Alexander required a massive sacrifice. Hundreds lost their lives just in the act of summoning, and thousands more in the destruction left in its wake. Let’s hope the same thing doesn’t happen again.”

Joshua stared up at the auralith and shivered after Kurasame’s ominous words. With a different Alexander in each of their worlds, he did not know what to expect of this one.

The same feeling of dread from when he journeyed to Phoenix Gate weighed in his stomach. The memories of fire, heat, and blood stung at his eyes and he wiped away the falling tears before the others could see.

RAVUS

“Here we go – Heaven’s Pillar. Lofty name, huh?”

Ravus stepped up to Noct’s side as they stared at the mountain of crystal stretching to the heavens. “Arda, Llyud called it,” he said in response to Noct. “A fitting appellation for a mountain range of crystal high in the clouds.”

The magic that suffused through the auralith earlier had mostly dissipated into the air, a glittering wind heavy with a substance that Balthier had called ‘Mist.’ No ordinary mist, Ravus assumed – especially as it bore an army of summoned espers to patrol the skies. They looked out at the auralith from a place called Heaven’s Vigil, where the jungle ended and the Ymir Qul Range began. The mountains floated among both clouds and Mist, blending into each other as if like a hazy dream. 

While the airship bore most of their fighters to battle in the skies, Ravus accompanied Noctis and several others on an excursion beneath the espers’ notice, deep into the Ymir Qul Underground where they intended to ascend through Heaven’s Pillar from the inside – and then to where they believed they would find Alexander, at the top. Someone had to summon all the espers, and according to Vaan and Llyud they expected one of their foes to be behind it.

“Your Majesty,” Ravus said, not taking his eyes off of the roiling Mist ahead. “Before we go – ”

“Drop the ‘Your Majesty’ bit,” Noctis interrupted him. He glanced at Ravus with a raised eyebrow. “Not even sure why you’re starting that now. Just ‘Noct’ is fine.”

“It was an acknowledgement,” said Ravus. He flexed the fingers on his Magitek arm. “And the beginning of an apology. For many years, I had falsely blamed you and King Regis for the fall of Tenebrae. I knew it was folly, and I knew it was misblamed, yet it was anger born of my own incompetence and failure. I’d thought I could be the King of Light, and that such power would be wasted on you. But now… Now, I give you my sword, ever and always.”

Noctis put a hand on his shoulder. The Magitek thrummed ever so faintly under his touch the same way it did under Luna’s, in the brief moment when she had touched him. If only this world had restored his old arm the same way it had restored sight to Ignis. He wanted to be rid of this accursed thing.

“I’m glad for it,” Noct said. “And, y’know, you and I are technically brothers now.”

“What a touching sentiment.”

The familiar voice made the daemonic energy within his Magitek arm pulse like blood. When Ravus turned to regard its source, he already had his sword in hand.

“I should cut you down where you stand,” Ravus said to Ardyn, face twisted into a scowl. “After what you did to me in Gralea. After murdering Lunafreya. After everything you’ve done.”

Ardyn offered no more than a shrug. “You’re free to try,” he said. Ravus hated the man’s constant nonchalance even when he only knew Ardyn as chancellor. “Your new bosom-brother certainly did. Regretfully, you’ll find that I am no less immortal here than I am in our own world – and unless you do something about that Alexander, your own mortality will come back in full force.”

“Ravus,” said Noct, holding out a hand. “Let him be.”

“You’d really join together with him?” Ravus asked, his stance like stone. “Trust him?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’d trust him,” Noctis said. “But he’s helped us a few times. Things are different in this world. We’re all alive again, the empire is gone. The strength that all of us bear is needed here.”

Ardyn flipped his hat and put it back on his head, smirking at Ravus. “It is indeed as he says. Though I still despise the Lucian royal family and everyone in it, I have even more of a bone to pick with the enemies you all face. While our goals align, you have nothing to worry about from me.”

Ravus narrowed his eyes. “You lack even a shred of remorse, don’t you?”

Ardyn’s smirk didn’t fade. “That word, I regret to say, is not in my vocabulary.”

“Luna forgave him,” Noctis said. “That’s enough for me. For now.”

That was enough for Ravus to lower his sword. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing his anger to fade. It was a titanic effort. “If my sister insists, then I will stay my sword. But if he ever acts against us, I will spare no mercy.”

Ardyn glanced toward his Magitek arm, his face bearing an unreadable expression. “From one daemon to another, you have my word that I will not oppose or obstruct you and yours while our enemies are the same.”

Ravus clenched his jaw, turning his back on Ardyn’s cruelty as he made his way into the caves.

IROHA

Iroha followed from a distance as Joshua listened to Llyud speak of Lemurés. The boy was entranced as Llyud told him stories of the aegyl, his adventures with Vaan and the others, and the wonders of espers in this floating continent he called a Purvama. Even Iroha had to admire the marvels inside the caves as they made their way to the auralith – crystals in the rock hummed with energy, dust and shards lending an azure glow to the fungus and plants clinging to the walls.

“It’s like right out of a story,” said Joshua. She had to agree – it made her reminisce about the stories she had heard from her master. Reisenjima had beauty of its own, but much of her home had been devoured by the Emptiness. If places like this had existed there, they were long gone.

“What of your home, Joshua?” Llyud asked him. “I am curious to know about it. It has been a true joy to hear of all the other worlds, and we have yet to meet someone from yours.”

“Most of my days are spent in training and study, so I don’t get to go outside of Rosalith often,” said Joshua.

“Rosalith? Is that like an auralith?”

“Oh, no, sorry, it is the castle…”

Iroha smiled as she watched Joshua slowly become more comfortable around them. At first, he would only cling to Pryna and Umbra, but in such a short period of time he began to speak more outwardly, laugh and smile, and battle alongside them with fire spells rather than hide behind Iroha. He was more talented than Iroha had initially thought – he commanded powerful fire magic when facing his foes, and wove potent curative spells besides. He didn’t go into the details of his training, but Iroha suspected something to do with the Phoenix – her own inner fire flared up whenever he cast his spells. She could feel him like a flickering ember, growing in warmth as he became less withdrawn.

A beam of sunlight broke through a gap in the cave ceiling ahead, casting the embedded crystals in gold. The tunnel opened up into a wide cavern. On the floor among the stalagmites, Iroha spotted bullet casings – Prompto had already been through here, likely alongside Ignis and Gladio and the others in one of the parties assigned to ascend Heaven’s Pillar to find Alexander.

“How much further?” Iroha asked Llyud.

“Not far,” said Llyud, unfurling his wings. “We are nearly through Ymir Qul. I will fly outside and check our progress, as well as the state of the esper battle in the skies.”

Iroha and Joshua watched him ascend through the hole in the cave ceiling, then exchanged a glance with each other. Iroha suspected that he, too, wished to soar as easily through the sky. When Iroha continued walking, she heard a heavy wingbeat behind her and she turned to question why Llyud had returned so soon.

But it was not Llyud. This aegyl was an older man with a beard and black wings, like a raven’s. He looked at them with hardened eyes, sword bared but not pointed at them. With wings outstretched, he looked like he weighed nothing as his feet just barely touched the ground. Based on the descriptions offered to her by Llyud and the others, she knew who he was at once.

“Feolthanos,” she said, hefting her spear. “Joshua, please stay behind me.”

“It’s you,” he said, his voice surprisingly smooth. He looked past her directly at Joshua. “The child from my dream.”

Confused, Iroha took her eyes from Feolthanos to glance back at Joshua – a mistake that nearly cost her. His wings made no sound as he cut through the air and slammed his sword against the shaft of her spear with so much force that she almost fell backward into Joshua. She let his blade slide along the haft and brought the blunt end of her spear up to strike him in the knees. His wings carried him above the attack, giving him the freedom to strike her from above. Iroha dodged, then focused Phoenix’s energies at the end of her blade to strike upward at him.

Her fire soared, but Feolthanos enveloped himself in his black wings to defend from the heat, spreading them again to disperse her attack. He descended to fly along the ground in a low sweep, but she whirled to the side to dodge him. When she brought her spear around to strike him as he passed, his wings flared and struck her, knocking her off balance. She recovered just in time to prevent herself from being beheaded, fire coursing up the length of her spear to block the swing of his sword. 

“Yield to me,” Feolthanos said, eyes locked on hers. She saw no emotion in them – only emptiness. “Pitiful hume. Stand aside and know your place. I seek only the child borne by wings of brilliant flame.”

Iroha grit her teeth. “Joshua, run away! He is a powerful foe.”

“O-okay!” he said, going back down the tunnel from where they had come.

Wordless, Feolthanos disengaged from Iroha and soared above her, but she expected the movement and leapt as high as she could, cutting him along the torso with white hot steel.

She smirked as she landed. She may not have been a Dragoon, but she had picked up some things from Freya and Kain.

Feolthanos let out no more than a mere grunt after taking her attack, holding a hand to his bleeding and burned torso. Though he had stopped pursuing Joshua, his wings continued to beat as he hung higher up in the cavern. With his sword arm raised, magic swirled around him, summoning two espers that looked vaguely like masked aegyl from the Mist. One of them dove toward her like a swallow in flight while the other sped toward Joshua.

“Joshua!” she cried out in warning.

He turned in time to block the enemy’s spear swing with his sword, but the force of it knocked him to the ground. Fire erupted from his form, immolating the esper, but two more converged on Iroha before she could go help him.

“Stop!” Joshua yelled. “Leave us alone!”

She couldn’t handle Feolthanos and all of his summoned espers alone.

“Why?” she asked, hoping to stall. “Why do you want Joshua?”

But instead of answering, more espers poured in from the sky – fairies and bombs and zus, all of which descended on Iroha at the behest of Feolthanos.

GARNET

At the top of Arda, Heaven’s Pillar, they found a metal fortress.

They had been fortunate to discover teleportation glyphs within the Ymir Qul caverns that made their journey faster. With so many different paths and junctions, they had to travel in smaller groups. But it had all been for naught.

“I take it… this is Alexander?” said Kiros, the first to find his words as they all stopped and stared at the colossus. This high up, they heard nothing from the battle far below, only the roar of wind at the top of the world. But even further above them, an ancient keep floated.

This Alexander looked different from the one she knew at home. Rather than crenelated stone ramparts, it had massive legs that clung to the side of the auralith. Instead of angelic wings, it wore a crown of iron spires. But Garnet felt none of its protective aura, its ancient majesty. It just felt cold and empty.

“It is,” said Garnet, holding a hand to her chest. “Or rather, it appears to be.”

Aphmau stepped up to her side. “Maybe… maybe we just need to activate it?” she suggested with a worried frown.

“I bet we could do that by performing another summoning!” said Eiko, clutching her pendant.

Steiner held his sword up high. “I will defend you while you carry out your duty, Your Highness!”

“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, big guy,” said Hope, crossing his arms in thought. “I’m not sure it’ll be that easy. Something feels… wrong.”

Garnet nodded and looked back at Hope. He had voiced exactly what she was feeling. “It’s as if… Alexander has lost its soul.”

JOSHUA

“Let me go!”

Feolthanos had Joshua in a grip as hard as steel as they flew away from Iroha in the caverns. But when his captor started to rise from the ground, Joshua found himself clinging to Feolthanos instead.

“You are needed,” said Feolthanos, his voice a low rumble. “For with your power I will reign absolute in my crusade against the gods of Ivalice.”

Joshua tried not to look at the clouds beneath them as Feolthanos carried him away from the island. Far away, the airship launched attacks at the hordes of espers assailing them from the skies. He had never felt so alone, so helpless – he wished Clive was here to save him. He wanted his father back.

“You mean… my powers as a Dominant?” Joshua asked.

“No,” he said. “Within you sleeps the anima of Alexander, gifted to your frail body for safekeeping for reasons I know not.”

Joshua screwed his eyes shut. He had no idea what Feolthanos meant; no inkling as to why he would have Alexander’s anima inside of him. But his words called to mind his mother’s lamentations about his weakness. About how he was not the Dominant she wanted. He was weak. He was frail. He needed to be protected.

“I don’t care!” Joshua shouted. “I don’t care about Alexander! Leave me alone!”

He didn’t feel the flames bursting from his body, only the sudden rush of wind as he fell from Feolthanos’s arms. Joshua’s cries became drowned out by the Phoenix’s keening as scarlet flames surrounded him like a falling comet. Above, he could see Feolthanos swooping down at him, and more than anything he knew he did not want Feolthanos to take him again.

Wings of fire burst from Joshua’s back and he took flight. He took no joy in soaring on the wind, focusing everything he had on getting away from his pursuer and not falling to his doom. But memories of the last time he summoned Phoenix’s power filled his mind. He saw red; blood and burning flesh filled his nostrils. He could smell it on Feolthanos. He could smell it on himself.

“Get away from me!” he screamed, tears falling from his eyes. “Get away from me, or I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

He didn’t know where his sword had gone, so he wove the magicks with his hands. An inferno burst forth from his fingertips, striking Feolthanos, but the aegyl dove through it with scorched wings and magick that kept him aloft. Joshua tried to create a barrier of flame to defend himself from the ensuing assault, but Feolthanos cut through his feeble defenses and slashed at his flaming wing.

It knocked Joshua off course, but before Feolthanos could deliver another blow, a red blur shot through the sky and speared Feolthanos through his wing, sending him spiraling down toward the mountain of auralith below. Joshua didn’t realize they had gone so high up. Feolthanos righted himself in midair before he crashed, facing down the one who had struck him – Llyud.

“Ah,” said Feolthanos, halting his attack. “I remember you. The traitor who consorts with the hume invaders. Curious… There is a fire in my breast when I think of our previous battle. The memory of my death is… disconcerting.”

Llyud readied his spear. “I wonder… is that anger? Or perhaps fear? Has your anima finally returned as well?”

“I have long ago forgotten the feel of anima,” said Feolthanos. “I feel nothing but the desire to eliminate you as I do the Occuria. For that, I need Alexander’s holy might. A power untainted by the anima of humes. I will rip the anima from the boy and turn him into a lifeless husk if I must.”

Llyud angled his wings and beat his wings, launching himself toward Feolthanos like a hawk at its prey. Joshua could barely follow them as they traded blows – they looked like no more than a whirl of black and red, spear against sword. As Joshua floated in midair, watching, he felt himself steadily descending, his breaths getting more ragged, the cold seeping into his clothes. He grew tired as Phoenix’s power left him and he drifted toward Heaven’s Pillar, coming to rest on a crystal slope with sparse trees under Alexander’s shadow.

A man in black with a black hat walked up the slope toward him, followed by Noctis, Vaan, Penelo, and Ravus.

Joshua stumbled as he spoke to them. “Llyud’s in trouble. Iroha, too – she’s down in the caves. Someone needs to help her.”

“You sound awfully calm given the circumstances,” said Noctis, furrowing his brow. “You okay?”

Vaan looked up at Feolthanos and Llyud. “I know what this is – Feolthanos is taking his anima! His emotions!”

“We need to get him off the auralith,” said Penelo, rushing to Joshua’s side to put an arm around his shoulders. “Quickly!”

“I’m… fine,” Joshua said. His head swam, but he told the truth. If anything, the events of that night at Phoenix Gate felt so far away now.

“Resist thy desire to sleep. Thine aid is still needed.”

Espers appeared to block their way down the mountain, while a wounded Feolthanos landed on their other side.

“You will not obstruct me,” said Feolthanos, hunched over and panting. Llyud landed hard behind him, propping himself up with his spear. “I will have the child’s anima. He is a vessel for Alexander’s soul – pure and holy power, gifted to the undeserving.”

The man in black scoffed. “Pure and holy, you say? How disgusting.”

“Ardyn, do not underestimate him,” said Llyud. “His will is absolute.”

“Oh, nothing is quite so absolute,” he said. “Nor is it ever so ‘pure and holy.’ In fact, we daemons excel in tainting those sorts of things, do we not?” Before Feolthanos could react to his words, Ardyn threw his blade, vanished, and reappeared right in front of Feolthanos, their swords clashing together.

While they fought, Ravus walked over to Joshua and put a hand on his shoulder. “Does Feolthanos speak true? Is Alexander’s anima inside of you?”

“I… I think so,” said Joshua. “Ever since I came to this world. I don’t know why. I don’t want it.”

“Then I am sorry,” said Ravus, kneeling down in front of him. “Truly, I am. This will hurt.”

Joshua didn’t react in time. From where Ravus touched him, he felt a burning spread throughout his body – not a burning like Phoenix’s flames, but something deeper. A darkness like he had never known. 

He saw his father, clearer than ever before. His head separated from his shoulders, drenching Joshua in his blood. He saw iron and death and flames, the life leaving his father’s eyes, the wet choking of soldiers beside him as they were impaled by men they had trusted.

And he saw the dark Eikon. He remembered the end of their battle. He remembered dying.

Joshua screamed.

“NO!” Feolthanos roared and unfurled his wings. "All that sanctified power -- corrupted by your mortal hands. I have returned upon wings undying on my holy mission, only to be foiled by an imperfect darkness?"

"There is much you need to learn of this world," said Llyud. "This is not Ivalice, and it is not the real Lemurés."

Instead of saying anything else, Feolthanos simply glared and vanished in a flash of light.

Joshua found himself on the ground, covered in sweat and scorch marks. His head rested in Penelo’s lap as she stroked his hair.

“Are you okay? What happened?” She looked up at Ravus and he couldn’t see the expression on her face, but he heard the hardness in her voice. “Why did you do that?”

“I knew it was there. I felt the holy power pouring off of him in a deluge. It is anathema to us,” said Ravus. “I did as daemons do – I tainted that power, just enough to make it useless to Feolthanos.”

“So that is why he fled,” said Llyud. “But Joshua… what did that do to him?”

“The boy will be fine,” said Ardyn, shrugging them off. “Our dear Ravus is a weak daemon, and he did not expose the boy to the scourge enough to corrupt him.”

“That was a huge risk,” said Penelo, frowning back down at Joshua.

Joshua sat up, groaning, and looked up toward the mountaintop. His eyes stung, his throat burned, and all he wanted to do was sleep. But they weren't finished yet. “I’m okay. But… I’m not sure about Alexander.”

LLYUD

“I knoweth not what planted the seed of corruption into me and mine brethren. Bequeathing mine anima to the boy was all I could do to forestall it.”

Terra clasped her hands together as she looked up at Alexander. Life had returned to the mighty fortress, but the holy light that had previously surrounded it had begun to fade. “What do we do to stop it?” she asked. “Where are the other espers?”

“Find them and free them ere they art lost. Now that thou art hither, I giveth to thee mine essence. Safeguard it, so that we may continue to be the wardens defending this world.”

All at once, Alexander’s form shone with a brilliant, holy light, forcing them all to hide their eyes from the radiance. When it died down, a round crystal – almost like a large coin – rested in Terra’s hands.

Enna Kros stroked her chin. “Alexander gave us his magicite,” she said. “How interesting.”

“Do you know why this is happening?” Terra asked her, holding the magicite close. "In my world, they gave their magicite to us as they died, lending us their power that way. But now it sounds like he needs us to protect it."

“I know as much as you do,” said Enna Kros, shrugging. “Which is to say: no idea. Sorry. Sounds like he was just barely able to avoid getting corrupted by whatever it is that went after the other ones, though – and I doubt it had anything to do with Feolthanos.”

“Why did Alexander give his anima to me?” Joshua asked. “I wasn’t strong enough to be worthy of protecting something so precious.”

“Dunno,” said Enna Kros. “Maybe it’s just because you were closest.”

Llyud frowned at Enna Kros and shook his head. “I disagree,” he said. “I saw you fighting against Feolthanos. You are strong, Joshua. You just lack experience.” Llyud had to give it his all to even stand against Feolthanos for as long as he did, himself. Something about the god of the aegyl seemed different here – Llyud suspected that either death had changed him or being in this world was restoring his anima to him.

Iroha, her wounds healed from her own battle with Feolthanos, approached Joshua’s side. “What is that power you wield? Perhaps I can help you refine it.”

Joshua wrung his hands. “I am the one person chosen to be the Dominant of Phoenix. It’s a power I was born with, and one that everyone expected my older brother to bear instead. But…” He shook his head, and smiled up at Iroha. “Thank you. I would like that.”

Lunafreya scratched Pryna behind the ears. “Perhaps that is something we have in common,” she said. “As the Oracle, much has been expected of me all throughout my life. Yet I have always been heartened by having my brother at my side.”

Ravus turned away – and if Llyud had to guess, it was to hide the expression on his face. “Come. We are all in need of rest. We should return to your airship and plan our next course of action.”

Both Pryna and Umbra let out barks and trotted up to Joshua’s side as they began to make their way down the mountain, making Joshua laugh. “They’re coming with us, right?”

Llyud thought back to their first encounter with Pryna, in the same jungle where he had once been assailed by countless illusions. “They may not be real.”

“To me, that does not matter,” said Luna, patting Umbra’s head. “Whether they are or not, both Pryna and Umbra are very dear to me. I’d like nothing more than if they came with us on our journey.”

Enna Kros crossed her arms and grinned. “At this rate, we’re going to need kennels. And more dog treats.”

Feolthanos (Swords)

15: Judgment (enables Dex follow ups)

35: Condemnation (enables Sinis follow ups)

EX; Faithless Cry

LD: Wing Wraith Scythe

FR: Eternal Gate to Paradise (with Kam’lanaut)

BT: Feolthanos Exultant

BT Theme: "The Ultimate Trial"

In my version, Feolthanos is a non-elemental melee attacker focusing on traps and follow-ups. His abilities all come from his boss battle. Another mechanic idea I had in mind for him is a new one I came up with. I always thought the devs could have done more with the launch mechanic, since that is something pretty unique to Opera Omnia. This mechanic would be called "juggling" - basically, after all 3 party members do their attack as part of a launch, the juggler does another attack that launches the enemy up again, allowing all 3 party members to do an attack again. As a flying character, I see this fitting with Feolthanos pretty well.

His BT theme, like most of the RW soundtrack, comes from XII - in this case, The Zodiac Age which replaced "Flash of Steel" for the Third Ascent of the Pharos.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Like Powdery Snow

Ritz Malheur ( Final Fantasy Tactics Advance )

Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu

An outgoing young girl who was the class head at school before getting drawn into the fantasy world Ivalice, wherein she became the leader of her own clan. Independent and outspoken, she clashes several times with Marche in his mission to revert the world to normal. Despite her outward confidence, Ritz is self-conscious about her naturally white hair and dyes it pink to hide from bullies.

RITZ

The streets of St. Ivalice felt strangely quiet.

Ritz’s footsteps crunched in the snow as she looked around the empty cobbled streets. The cold bit at her nose so she tucked her face into her scarf, rubbing her mittened hands together to stay warm. As was usual in St. Ivalice, the cloudy sky offered little in the way of warm sunlight.

“It’s supposed to be a school day,” she said. “Where is everybody?”

It was difficult to see against the snowdrifts, but down the street ahead of her she saw a figure in a white jacket, with long white hair. Their back was to her, so she couldn’t see their face, but her heart skipped a beat when she saw them – no one else she had ever met had hair like hers, and for a moment she thought them to be a viera. But they lacked a viera’s distinctive long ears.

“Excuse me?” she called out, carefully running toward the figure to avoid slipping on ice. “Do you know where everyone is?”

They kept walking without stopping to look back at her, and vanished from her view when they rounded a street corner. Ritz followed them, but when she swung around the street lamp in a sharp turn, she almost slipped and fell from the sheer surprise of seeing a trio of goblins swinging clubs at a parked car.

“Goblins!” she exclaimed. “Here? How is this possible?”

She regretted her words as soon as she said them, because that attracted their notice.

Ritz turned around and ran back down the street as they followed with raucous cheers and shouts. She felt pathetic running from goblins – back in Ivalice, these were considered small fry. But now she was back in a world with no magic. She was a normal girl who didn’t own any weapons, and her only friends who would help her fight instead of run away screaming were nowhere to be found.

She heard three quick fwips of arrows slicing through the air, a sound she knew well, and the shriek of the goblins as they perished. Ritz slid to a stop and looked around, wondering – hoping – her best friend had been the one to save her, against all odds…

She put her hands over her mouth in shock when she saw a viera standing on top of a parked car, bowstring still vibrating from the arrows she had shot. But this was no viera she recognized. It wasn’t Shara.

Even so – goblins and viera, here, in St. Ivalice?

“Are you hurt?” the viera asked her, clouds forming in her breath.

“No,” Ritz said, shaking her head. “Just confused.”

“Well, anyone would be – we’re in a different world, after all,” said a voice behind her.

Ritz turned to look at the new arrival and her eyes widened when she saw another girl with hair as white as snow, just like hers. And she lacked a viera’s ears – but rather than a hume’s, hers were pointed. “But there aren’t any elves in Ivalice,” she caught herself saying aloud, and then winced at her rudeness.

“I’m an elezen, I’ll have you know,” the girl said, putting a hand on her hip. “But you’re from Ivalice? Then perhaps if you don’t recognize Fran, you may know Ramza?”

“I’ve never heard of either of those people,” Ritz said, looking between the elezen and the viera. “What’s going on? What are goblins doing in my town?”

The elezen girl gestured at herself. “I believe some introductions are in order. My name is Alisaie, and that’s Fran. Welcome to the World of Respite.”

Ritz’s head spun. “So it’s not that goblins came to my world, but we all went to a different world that just looks like my street?” And it was here, of all places, that they had hoped to find clues about 'Primals,' apparently. Or other lost adventurers, like her.

“Indeed,” said Fran, looking around. “Though if you say this is Ivalice, then it is no Ivalice I have ever seen.”

“It’s Saint Ivalice,” said Ritz. “And I once traveled from there to a different world called Ivalice. But… it wasn’t real.” She rocked on her heels and tried to sound as flippant about it as she could. “The Ivalice we went to was a dream world, created from stories in a magical grimoire.” She had learned from Shara not to even bother trying to explain what a ‘video game’ was.

Alisaie crossed her arms. “For you, Ivalice is a dream world? How interesting… This lends credulity to Y’shtola’s ideas about all of our worlds springing forth from a hypothetical ‘source’ world. If you recall Ivalice to be a dream, I wonder what that means about some of our other worlds. Shall we ask Tyro? He called all of our worlds stories.”

“Ivalice is no mere dream to me,” said Fran, frowning. “I would respect you not to refer to it as such, nor as a story. Is it so far-fetched that there could be various worlds named Ivalice?”

Alisaie swallowed her words. “Apologies, Fran. I did not mean to offend. As you say, there could be several Ivalices. If I recall, there are stories of an historical region named ‘Ivalice’ in my world as well, though I’m far from an expert on it – I only know that much because I’ve heard a little about it from a friend.”

Ritz tugged at the cuff on her jacket. “If you ask me, I think there’s an easy way to determine if they’re the same. We should compare what we know of our Ivalices. Start with something big that the general public might know, then work our way down to more specific things if we keep finding similarities. For example, have you ever heard of Queen Remedi or Prince Mewt?”

Fran peered at her in the inscrutable way viera often did. “I know no such queen or prince. But that is a clever idea. Are you familiar with the Archadian Empire?”

“No,” Ritz said, smiling. “So, there we have it – that means I just went to a different Ivalice, and your world probably isn’t fake.”

The jury was still out on this world, she supposed. For all she knew, she was dreaming even now – she longed to go back almost every night when she lay in bed.

“Well, then,” said Alisaie. “Let us go back to our airship so you can meet the others.”

Ritz rewrapped her scarf around her neck. “Wait,” she said, before they could turn to leave. “Earlier, before I saw those goblins, I saw someone with white hair go down the street. I’d like to know who that is.”

“White hair?” said Alisaie, glancing at Ritz’s own snow white hair. “Do you have the slightest idea of how little that narrows things down?”

Ritz puffed out her cheeks. “Well, I knew they weren’t a viera.”

Alisaie and Fran exchanged glances.

“Let us bring you to those who ventured off of the Falcon with us,” said Fran. “Mayhaps it was one of them.”

Ritz massaged her temples. Snow fell in a delicate flurry, and lit under the dull golden glow of street lamps, Ritz had to concede Alisaie’s point.

Alisaie and Fran brought her to the park, where they had gathered together the scouting party that had come down to investigate St. Ivalice with them. Here, Ritz was introduced to Thancred, Alphinaud, the Warrior of Light, Firion, Cecil, Setzer, Kadaj, Fujin, Arciela, Hope, Ravus, and Seven. 

“Okay, fine,” Ritz said. “Point taken. But the person I saw was none of these people.”

“Do you oft associate with viera, Ritz?” Fran asked, as night began to fall and they continued their search through town. “You seem particularly keen about white hair.”

Ritz stretched her arms over her head, smiling wistfully. “I did, when I went to Ivalice. I met a whole hunting party of viera who took me in and showed me how to fight. When we all became friends, I suggested we become a formal clan and take on jobs. And, well… after that they voted to make me the clan leader. I miss them a lot.” She brushed the snowflakes from her hair as they walked. “In St. Ivalice, it wasn’t common for people my age to have white hair. I had always hated it, and all the other kids used to bully me. So when I met Shara and the others, I learned that it didn’t matter. It was something to be proud of, and to them white hair was beautiful and sacred.”

Alisaie blew warm air into her palms and rubbed them together. “So when you saw that person with long white hair…”

“I’ve felt alone in some ways ever since coming back to St. Ivalice,” Ritz admitted. She had Marche and Mewt, and even Doned, but things had been tense at first. “I have some of my friends, true, but I never felt such a sense of belonging as I did with my clan.”

“You’re very well-spoken for your age,” Alisaie said.

Ritz scowled. “Well, I was class rep. But you’re not much older than me!” she said, and then paused. Elves in all her favorite games tended to live eternal lives, after all. “Wait, are you?”

Ahead of them, Fran stopped and held out her hand, causing them both to fall silent. “I believe we found who we’ve been looking for,” she said.

Ritz looked at the man facing them down the street. With long spiky hair and a white jacket, she was certain that was who she had seen earlier. He wore no shirt under his jacket, and wielded two blades and a confident smirk.

Alisaie drew her sword, face twisted in anger. “Weiss! What are you doing here?”

Weiss twirled his swords. “Took you long enough to find me. All I’m doing is searching for Manikins. Is that a crime?”

“With you, probably,” Alisaie said. “What do you want with them?”

Fran readied her bow. “Our party has been surveying this town since dawn, and we have seen naught of any Manikins. What is it you truly seek?”

“Ritz, can you fight?” Alisaie asked her, low enough that Weiss couldn’t hear.

“Only in Ivalice,” she said, drawing back behind them. “I don’t have any weapons.”

“If you have the will, then you have a way,” Alisaie whispered, without taking her eyes off Weiss. “That is all you need in this world.”

“But that sounds like nonsense!”

“And yet none of you could find me until I wanted to be found. I wonder why that is?” Weiss asked, in response to Fran. “Because you are all weak. And now I will eliminate you.”

Alisaie beat him to the attack, joining her rapier and crystal together into the shape of a staff to cast an explosion of crimson gemstones at Weiss. Weiss shot bullets from his sword so recoil would throw him out of the way, letting him rush into close range to attack Fran.

Fran let go a volley of arrows, but before Weiss reached her, Alisaie blocked his path with her own blade, engaging him in a battle of swordplay. But he had her on the backfoot, unleashing a relentless barrage of sword swings that she struggled to block and parry. Fran pressed forward with her palm and ice crystals bloomed across the ground. Alisaie dodged out of the way, but they encased Weiss before he could avoid them and Ritz realized that Alisaie had maneuvered him to be trapped between two cars.

“Well, now what?” Weiss asked, encased from the shoulders down. He looked more amused than anything. “This won’t hold me forever.”

“Come on, Ritz,” Alisaie said through grit teeth. “We could really use another sword arm right now.”

Fran snapped her fingers before Weiss could burst free, and the ice shattered around him.

“How do you expect me to fight?” Ritz retorted. “I’m from the real world. Magic doesn’t exist where I’m from. And…” She trailed off, backing away from the battle. And what? It was right in front of her face. Ritz had never been the kind of person to doubt what was right in front of her. “And yet…”

She didn’t just fall into Ivalice. She threw herself right in. She had fought for it. She even fought against Marche to preserve it. She had known it wasn’t real, had always known that it was nothing but an escape, but she wasn’t ready for it to end yet.

Alisaie made a grunting noise that sounded a little like a growl as she dove back into the fray. “Who cares what’s real or what’s not? You’re being daft!”

Ritz just wished she had her sword back in hand. Then she would know what to do.

A light burst from her hand, and with it she felt a comforting weight.

There was a lightness, too. It accompanied the familiar rush of magic flooding through her veins, the connection to nature around her. She didn’t feel the cold anymore – only the snowflakes falling from the sky, the gentle caress of wind, the ground beneath her feet.

Her gauntlet tightened around the hilt of her rapier, and she summoned fire from within.

White, healing fire surrounded Alisaie and Fran while a whip of red flames lashed out at Weiss, and both Ritz and Alisaie closed in on him together. Bullets riddled the ground as they danced around his attacks, stabbing toward any opening they could find, working together in perfect tandem. His swings came with vicious ferocity, but focused and honed to a point where Ritz struggled to keep up even with Alisaie at her side. The forms all came back to her, though – parry, strike, sting – and she kept her footwork as light as a feather.

Weiss backed up to a cross street, but orbs of holy light shone and converged on him, followed by Cecil coming in with a low swipe. Firion joined Fran in firing arrows and Arciela appeared to provide magical support. Together, they all closed in around Weiss, surrounding him with a shop front at his back.

“Oh, one day I will mutilate you all beyond recognition,” Weiss said, baring his teeth. “Just you wait.”

“What was it you wanted with the Manikins?” Alisaie pressed, rapier pointed at his face. “Tell us.”

“Well, they’re changing, aren’t they?” he responded. “Along with everything else in this world lately. Call it experimental curiosity. If we are supposedly becoming mortal, what about them? What would I find if I ripped open their insides? Do they have blood? Viscera?”

“So you’ve learned about the summons, have you?” Firion asked.

Behind him, black energy swirled to life in the shop window, bringing with it a gust of wind and crackling energy. Ritz felt it dragging her in – dragging everything, like a black hole.

“A Torsion!” Cecil warned. “Back away, Ritz!”

Weiss gave them one last grin before the Torsion swallowed him and vanished, but as no one else seemed surprised by that development, Ritz assumed the danger had passed. “Is… is that something that happens here often?”

Alisaie sheathed her blade, turned to Ritz, and grinned. “More or less,” she said. “What do you say? Would you like to join us? There is still plenty to learn of this world, apparently – and I would certainly like to know what maniacs like Weiss are up to.”

Ritz clenched her fist. “Of course. I hate guys like him.”

“We are all heartened to hear it, I’m sure,” said Fran, gazing at Ritz from the corner of her eye. “Does this mean we are real enough to you?”

Ritz looked around at them all as they awaited her answer. It was still strange to see so many fantastical things right on the streets of her own hometown, but she had never felt so at home since Ivalice. “Yes,” she said. “I was so afraid to get my hopes up, to admit to the possibility of this being real… but yes, I’m certain now. I’m here, and I plan to fight.”

Ritz Malheur (Swords)

15: Swallowtail

35: Shining Air

EX: Elementalshift

LD: Nighthawk -> Enables Featherblow followup

FR: Red Remise (with Alisaie)

BT: White Flame & Sliprain Flurry

BT Theme: "Battle of Hope"

Costume: Another appearance she'd have is her St. Ivalice winter coat outfit, with white hair

Ritz is a non-elemental melee damage attacker with some critical damage buffs, follow ups, healing, and battery. Her EX ability, Elementalshift, can convert all elemental absorption/nullification into weaknesses. She uses Fencer and Elementalist skills. Despite her character image, she uses swords just like in game.

Mrfipp gave Ritz "Painful Battle" (which is the theme of any non-hostile battles), and "Battle of Hope" (the boss theme) went to Shara. I decided to swap them, because I like the idea of a more prominent character like Ritz getting the more dramatic music.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Around the Candle’s Warmth

Red XIII ( Final Fantasy VII )

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi

Originally from Cosmo Canyon, where he lives with his beloved grandfather Bugenhagen. Once a prisoner of Hojo’s inhumane experiments, Cloud and the others help free him so he can return home where he discovers the truth of his father’s disappearance. Though outwardly wise and collected, he can be more emotional than he lets on, and is younger than he seems.

TIFA

Tifa stretched her arms over her head and took in the sight of the sky turning a brilliant crimson as the sun began to set. It had been a long day of exploring a new region in this ever-expanding world, but no matter how different things seemed here the sunsets all looked wonderfully the same. On this particular sunset, however, she crested a hill and noticed that the ground ahead seemed to turn a brilliant red under the light, so much that she first thought it was fire or gold, until she realized it was just that the color of the earth and stone had changed.

She walked near the bottom of a cliff, sparse with greenery, but further ahead she saw another slope rising up opposite the cliff and realized it was the beginnings of a canyon.

Tifa stopped walking. She recognized this place.

“Tifa?” Krile asked, stopping alongside her. “Is something wrong?”

“This is Cosmo Canyon,” she said, turning to her companions behind her. “Cloud – !”

Cloud put a hand on his hip and then crossed his arms and tapped his foot. Though he didn’t show it, she could tell he was excited. “Yeah,” he said. “I bet Red XIII’s here.”

Aerith clenched her fists in a more obvious display of excitement. “Let’s hurry and find him – it’s been too long!”

RED XIII

Everything smelled different here.

At home, everything was vibrant. Bonfires churned with the scents of woody smoke and cooked meats. Spices drifted up from the cookpots – bergamot and mustard, sage and juniper, mint tea and rose hips. Aromas of cedar and oak still permeated in the dwellings built long ago. In Cosmo Canyon, Nanaki could even smell the dust of the earth, the winds from distant lands, and sometimes even the sea.

Here, the scents were muted. Numb. There and not there. Not quite artificial, but even the sterile labs in Shinra headquarters didn’t smell this bland.

The only conclusion he could draw was that, despite looking like home, this was not Cosmo Canyon. This was not the Planet he knew.

He turned his back on Cosmo Candle, the eternal bonfire lit in the center of the village, and turned down the walkway to depart and investigate his surroundings. As soon as he left the village border, however, he saw figures coming his way.

Cloud walked in the lead with the familiar silhouettes of Tifa and Barret alongside him. His tail flicked back and forth as he restrained himself from running up to them. Next to Barret, he saw another hulking figure covered in blue fur with white hair and a broken horn. The sight made him pause; he had never seen such a person before, which furthered his opinion that this was not the Planet he had sworn to protect.

Tifa ran ahead of the others when she saw him. “Red! It really is you!”

Nanaki sat back on his haunches as she approached, pleased that they, at least, seemed to be the genuine article. “I am glad to see you have all come to join me in this unfamiliar world,” he said. He looked the giant blue-furred person up and down, who crossed his arms and examined Nanaki in turn. “Along with new allies besides.”

“You got it the wrong way ‘round,” said Barret, chuckling. “It’s you who took your sweet time coming to join us!”

“Is that so?” Nanaki asked. His tail flicked again as he looked them over, drinking in the sight of his friends and their new allies. “I believe some introductions are in order.”

Cloud cleared his throat. “Yeah. Kimahri, Amarant, Krile – meet Red XIII, a friend of ours.”

Nanaki regarded Cloud out of the corner of his eye. He had thought both Cloud and Tifa stopped calling him that. “You may call me Nanaki if you wish, but it makes no difference to me. I am only that which you see before you – no more and no less.”

“Nanaki,” said a hauntingly familiar voice from behind Kimahri, soft and full of affection. “It’s good to see you again.”

Aerith emerged from behind Kimahri, as if she had been hiding -- or nervous to see him. Nanaki stood up on all fours with such speed that it was as if he had stepped into a bed of cactuars.

“Aerith!?”

None of the others acted as if her presence was unusual, causing him to make a double take at all of them. Were they all monsters taking on the guises of his friends? Illusions? Merely a dream?

She pressed a finger to her lips. “It’s okay,” she said, giving him a placating smile. “It’s just me. Remember?”

Tifa touched Nanaki’s shoulder, making him flinch. “What’s wrong?”

Beasts roared from deeper in the canyon, making them all turn toward the source of the noise. Nanaki felt all of his fur standing on end – he suddenly found himself wanting to go out there and hunt whatever it was causing the tumult, anything to get away from these imposters who wore his friends’ faces.

“Kimahri will dispatch those fiends,” said Kimahri, summoning a spear. “Kimahri will return.”

“I shall accompany you,” said Nanaki, heading off into the canyon at a sprint without looking back.

“Kimahri heard Nanaki was a great warrior,” said Kimahri, finishing the last of the bear-like monsters. “But Nanaki’s mind is clouded.”

Nanaki rubbed his face clean of the monsters’ blood. They even tasted bland, so he was not sad to see them disappear into the whirling vortex of black energy that Kimahri called a ‘Torsion.’ “I am a great warrior,” he said. “I have long fought to protect this canyon, as my mother and father did before me.”

“Is that why Nanaki ran?” Kimahri asked. “Friends were happy to see Nanaki. Or did new world bring something Nanaki did not expect?”

Nanaki sat and dropped his head onto his paws, closing his eye. Why did he run? He should have been happy to see them. But something wasn’t right. “I ran because I am a coward after all, even though I spent the greater part of my youth ashamed of my father for thinking he was the coward instead. I have no honor.”

“Kimahri knows that isn’t true,” said Kimahri, pressing the butt of his spear against the ground. “Sometimes, those who come to this world have memories beyond those of friends.”

Nanaki opened his eye again. “You’re saying I may just remember more than they do? They just don’t remember that Aerith…” He trailed off. Did this world revive her, then? “I don’t like feeling confused. I don’t like the feeling that I remember more of the things we went through than they do – throughout our journey, they have become the most important companions in my life, especially after I lost my grandfather. I told them it does not matter what they call me. But they called me Red XIII. That tells me everything they know about me.”

He did not know why he opened up to Kimahri this way. The other warrior seemed strong in so many ways – ways that even reminded him a little of the Seto he remembered as a pup.

“Nanaki.”

There it was again. Aerith’s voice. She stepped from the shadows into the moonlight, hands clasped in front of her.

“What are you doing out here?” Nanaki asked, standing. “It’s dangerous to be alone.”

“I’m fine,” she said, brushing loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Can we talk?”

AMARANT

While the others discussed Red XIII’s sudden departure, Amarant noticed Aerith quietly sneaking away outside of the village. Since no one else saw, he followed her from a distance. Mostly so he could tell her off for being reckless if she found herself surrounded by too many monsters.

As he expected, she sought out Red XIII. When she asked to speak with him, Kimahri departed but Amarant lingered outside their field of vision. Not because he was curious to eavesdrop, of course – mostly so he could take down any monsters wandering over to interrupt them.

“So I guess you remember, huh?” she asked, bunching up her shoulders. “I figured someone would, sooner or later.”

“You mean to ask if I remember what Sephiroth did to you?” Red XIII asked, so tense that he looked like an animal ready to spring into attack. “So the others have forgotten? How could they forget something so important?”

“It’s not their fault,” Aerith said, eyes on her joined hands. “To fight in this world, the gods took away some memories that could be a burden to us. It was meant as a kindness. They just haven’t found their lost memories yet. I’ve known all along, but…”

“That is wrong,” Red XIII barked. “They need to know. You need to be honored for the sacrifice you made for the Planet!”

Ah, so he wasn’t as calm and collected as he seemed. Despite his appearance, Red XIII was just another hot-blooded bonehead hiding under a mask. Amarant rolled his eyes.

Aerith shook her head. “I don’t think they do. We’ve seen this same situation with others here… they will learn on their own time.”

“And then what? They will simply suffer the pain of losing you again? Why am I the one who must remember, who must bear this burden?”

Amarant scoffed. Bold words, and then an unsaid admission that he wanted to forget the tough memories too.

“I think Vincent knows, too,” said Aerith. “He has always looked at me differently since coming here, and he has his memories of Shelke back. And the Turks know. And Sephiroth himself. But honestly… their memories seem a little spotty. They don’t seem to know about the Sector 7 plate dropping, and Jessie dying, either. I’m not even sure if Jessie herself knows.”

A low rumble escaped from Red XIII’s throat; a growl. “So Sephiroth’s here, too… Perhaps if we stop him before he hurts you…”

Amarant emerged into the rocky clearing; he’d heard enough. “Alright, enough whining already,” he said, as both of them looked at him in surprise. “So Aerith died in her world. Big deal.”

Red XIII lowered his front legs, hackles raised and snarling as his flaming tail straightened. “You watch your tongue!”

“Tons of people came back to life here,” Amarant replied. “Instead of complaining about who does or doesn’t know, look at it like it is – another opportunity to spend time with someone you’ve lost. You’re really just an idiot kid, huh?”

Aerith clenched her fists as if about to tell him off herself, and then her shoulders slumped. “Amarant… You could have phrased it a little more nicely,” she said softly. “Please don’t tell the others.”

Red XIII showed his fangs at Amarant, but then closed his mouth and his eye. “What do you know?” He walked back toward the village, and Amarant let him depart without a parting shot.

When Amarant moved to follow him and Aerith back, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he spotted Kimahri watching him from the shadows. “Shit! Were you watching me there the whole time?”

Kimahri only nodded at him with something like approval before leaving.

RED XIII

When he returned to the village, he found his companions sitting around Cosmo Candle just as they used to each time they had visited. He paused outside of the circle in the flickering shadows cast by the flames, and he watched them. He wondered – without their memories, did they care for him as he did for them? How much of their adventures did they recall?

Tifa stared up at the stars rather than into the flames. Barret cleaned out his gun arm as he listened to Yuffie tell him an animated story. Cait Sith danced on the ground in front of his moogle doll while Vincent sat so still with his eyes closed he appeared to be sleeping. Cid sat cross-legged as he smoked his cigar. Cloud was the only one who noticed Nanaki and gestured him over to sit at the empty seat between him and Cait Sith.

Perhaps Amarant was right. These peaceful moments were something to cherish, while he still could. It felt just like the old days.

Aerith walked past Nanaki, her fingers trailing through his mane.

This wasn’t home, but that didn’t matter as long as he was here with them.

Character abilities:

Red XIII (Unique - Combs)

15: Sled Fang

35: Lunatic High

EX: Stardust Ray

LD: Blood Fang

FR: Crimson Lore (with Amarant)

BT: Cosmo Memory

BT Theme: "Red XIII's Theme"

Red XIII is a non-elemental magic damage dealer with lots of party buffs - mostly based around HP Dmg Up, speed, and attack power. He is also a party EX recharger with some healing capabilities, and a buff that enables the party to do rainbow BRV damage. All of his ability names come from his various limits.

His FR partner was originally Alisaie before I had to shuffle things around, and then Alisaie ended up with Ritz who I think fits better anyway.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Filling in the Pages

Luso Clemens ( Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift )

Voiced by: Yū Kobayashi

A truant boy from St. Ivalice who discovers a mysterious book that transports him to the world of Ivalice. Though a habitual prankster, he has a strong sense of justice and is eager to explore and have fun, acclimating himself to his new environment in no time. In his journey to fill the pages of his grimoire and return home, Luso matures into a hero others can count on – but he never loses his fear of ghosts.

LUSO

Luso hugged himself and shivered as he hid behind a tree.

He was hopelessly lost. When he woke up, he had found himself in Ivalice again somehow, but not in any forest he recognized. Moss and foliage covered the ground, dark and damp and perfect for mushrooms in all sorts of colors. The trees were taller than any on Jylland, with layers and layers of branches and massive leaves to make a canopy that blotted out the sun. Far away, distant beasts howled. But it was not them that he feared.

It was a perfect environment for the bane of his existence – ghosts.

Three spectral wanderers appeared in the clearing Luso had been about to pass through to try and orient himself. But now that he saw them, he froze in place. He could handle fighting them… sometimes. If he had his clan or his friends with him. But now he was alone.

Despite the cool air, he felt sweat dripping down his brow. His pulse quickened as he tried to hold his breath out of fear of the ghosts detecting it and stealing it from him. He heard their ghastly moans carrying across the clearing and to his hiding spot. The chill crept into his bones; surely a sign that they could sniff out the scent of the living. He was done for.

He heard the telltale whisper of magicks being woven as the ghosts closed in on their prey. Luso shut his eyes tight and prepared to run for it. Just as he braced himself to sprint, a sword sliced through the air and the ghostly wails grew louder before abruptly fading to nothing. When he peeked around the other side of the tree into the clearing, his eyes widened when he saw his savior.

The person who had defeated the ghosts was… himself.

“What the…?” he said, emerging from his hiding spot to approach. Upon closer inspection, his other self looked like he had been carved from crystal, lacking color in his skin and hair, eyes blank and face expressionless. “What are you?” It didn’t appear to be aggressive, so he crept closer.

“I’m a Manikin,” it responded. Luso nearly jumped back in fright – its voice had a vague echoing quality to it. “Copied from you, I guess.”

“You guess?” Luso asked, frowning. “You look just like me! Who made you? And why?”

“This world made me, and all the others,” said the Manikin, sheathing its sword. “As for why… who knows? Why were you made?”

Luso didn’t have an answer for that, so he just scrunched his nose at it. He didn’t even want to think of the possibility of others. “Are you some sort of… I dunno, crystal machine? Or golem? I bet you’re a golem. You’re not gonna activate and try to kill me to take my place, are you?”

Its mouth moved as it spoke, but the rest of its face kept still. It was unnerving. “Why would I do that?”

Luso crossed his arms. Now that he mentioned it, that was kind of a ludicrous suggestion. It sounded like something from a movie. He hoped he didn’t give it any ideas. “Uh… never mind that. Hey, if you’re me, why aren’t you afraid of ghosts?”

“Would you like me to be?”

Luso shook his hands at it. “No, no! Actually, that works out better for us. Maybe we can fight the ghosts together.”

The Manikin nodded. “Sure.”

The foliage rustled behind him and Luso whirled around to look, shouting and drawing his sword when he spotted a wolf man emerging. “Monster!”

“Sheathe your sword, boy! I am no monster!” The wolf man backed away, arms lifted in a gesture of surrender. “Unless you would prefer to see my secret technique in action, I suggest you stand down.” Others emerged from the underbrush behind him – other humes.

“Sorry, sorry!” Luso said, though he only lowered his sword instead of sheathing it. “I’m, uh, a bit jumpy from the ghosts earlier.” He narrowed his eyes when he recognized someone among them. “Wait, Vaan? Is that you?”

“Luso?” Vaan sheathed his sword and tapped his thumb once against his chin. “You’re here now too, huh? And with your Manikin!”

“Is this a friend of yours, Vaan?” said another swordsman at his side, a boy with blond hair who looked a bit like Vaan. “You’ve become quite popular, haven’t you?”

Luso furrowed his brow. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far. And I’d like to throw out there that Vaan’s the one who joined my clan.”

Vaan straightened the collar of his shirt, shooting a look at Luso out of the corner of his eye. “Your clan? Clan Gully belonged to your friend Cid. Besides, Penelo and I only joined to help you guys out for a bit.”

“Well, whatever,” said a girl’s voice. When she poked her head out from behind the legs of the others, Luso had to hold back a gasp. She was tiny – and adorable. “Can we back up for a sec? You said there were ghosts here?”

Luso nodded, and on a reflex he looked around at the surrounding trees for signs of more. But he focused his attention back on the tiny girl. “Yeah. This Manikin helped me fight them.”

“Actually,” said the Manikin, “I did all the fighting. You were hiding.”

Vaan laughed and Luso felt his face reddening. “Well… I fought other ones earlier!”

“Hey, I don’t blame you,” said the tiny girl, hugging herself and shivering exactly as Luso did earlier. “Ghosts are terrifying! Finally, someone else who is sensible about them. I’m glad I found a kindred spirit that understands… pardon the pun.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, tiny person,” Luso said, crouching down to look more closely at her. “I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

She grimaced at him. “I’m a Lillikin, you know, and I don’t always look like this. And that’s not surprising – you’re in a totally different world. I guess I’ll explain since Vaan’s not being helpful. My name’s Reynn.”

“This one’s pretty vexing for a Dark Manikin, eh?” said Leila, walking in a circle around the Luso Manikin to examine him more closely. “Haven’t seen hide nor hair of ‘em in a while.”

Luso took the news of being in another new world well, he thought. All things considered. He was fairly certain he didn’t open any grimoires this time to get here, though. Though he was surprised to learn that Vaan had a brother, Reks – he had always pegged Vaan as an only child.

“Dark Manikin?” Luso asked. “Does that mean it’s, like… evil or something?”

“Of course not,” said Vaan, a little pompously. “Dark Manikins just come from the World of Darkness. We’ve found plenty of them a while back – unlike regular Manikins, they talk and think and don’t attack us unless someone else makes them do it.”

Luso rolled his eyes. “Okay, know-it-all. Didn’t realize you were such a professional.”

“You asked!”

“I’m not a Dark Manikin,” said Luso’s Manikin, shutting down their bickering. “I’ve got both darkness and light inside of me.”

Kelger, the wolf man, made a rumbling noise in his throat. Luso had to admit, meeting a wolf man was pretty cool. “How unusual… Does that mean they are, indeed, evolving into something new?”

“It would seem so,” said Reks, reaching toward a songbird chirping away at one of the lower branches, with his finger held out to it. “I wonder if it has to do with the eidolons’ protection on this world being lifted. Or something we’ve done.”

“Weiss did say they were changing,” said Ritz, rubbing her chin.

Vaan headed off deeper into the woods, not even pausing to see if the others followed. “We should go find more and see if Red Cap’s is the only one around here. The others might need help.”

Luso held his hand out in Vaan’s direction. He knew from experience that he needed Penelo around to rein him in -- and Luso was not about to pick up her slack. No way was Vaan going to upstage him. “Hey, wait up! I’m gonna find them first! And don't call me that!”

Leila put a hand on her hip and gave an amused smirk. “I reckon we’ve found Vaan’s rival.”

Reynn groaned. “Well I reckon I spoke too soon about Luso being a kindred spirit. He’s just an idiot, like Lann.”

Luso stuck his tongue out at her. “Try to keep up!”

Ritz was the first one to spring into action alongside him, running at Luso’s pace through the woods. “Even though you know Vaan, you’re not from his world, are you? You don’t speak like an Ivalician.”

Luso supposed such a thing wouldn’t be as far-fetched here, so he decided to tell her the truth. “It’s that obvious, huh? Yeah, you’re right – a magic book took me to his world.”

Ritz stopped running. “A magic book?”

Luso slid to a stop as well, panting. Water trickled somewhere nearby, and the sharp scents of a bog stung at his nose. “Something wrong?”

She walked closer to him, her gaze locking him in place. “A magic book took me to Ivalice as well. But a different Ivalice, a dream world. How did that happen? Where did you find yours?”

Luso backed away – something about her eyes seemed a little intense. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, just the town library. It was blank, and I scribbled my name in it. Then it brought me to Ivalice, where I met Cid.”

“What town?”

“Well, I landed in the Targ Wood near Wood Village, but Camoa wasn’t far away – ”

“No. I mean what town did you come from?” Ritz asked, standing so close to him now that he thought she would grab him by the shoulder straps to demand her answers.

“Oi, you two!” Leila called out, running up to them. Ritz backed away from Luso, averting her eyes. “We interruptin’ something?”

“No,” said Ritz, shaking her head. “We’re just talking about our experiences.”

Kelger looked at them both with an expression Luso couldn’t read. “I think young Vaan has gone up ahead. Shall we continue?”

Luso’s Manikin brought up the rear, showing no signs of exertion. “I sense others like me up ahead. I believe Vaan has found them.”

“Aw, man,” said Luso. “Ritz, you let him get ahead of us.”

“Aren’t Manikins supposed to have the same kind of personality as us? Or our memories?” Reynn asked as they followed after Vaan. “This one’s nothing like Luso. It’s way more eloquent.” 

Luso only shrugged rather than taking offense. She had a point.

“I wonder if it is because there is something different about these new Manikins,” said Reks, pushing aside leafy branches and swatting away gnats as he cleared the way into the next clearing. He stopped suddenly, tensing as he saw something in the clearing ahead. “Oh, no…”

Luso wriggled around him and nearly dropped his sword.

Vaan stood in the center of the clearing, perfectly still and surrounded by over a dozen dead Manikins. They had fallen at the edge of a lake, positioned as if they were trying to swim out of it. A beam of sunlight broke through the dense canopy overhead, falling squarely on Vaan and making the crystalline forms of the Manikins glitter. Luso thought of puppets that had their strings cut, but the heavy feeling in his gut felt as real as any life lost. They seemed like corpses.

“Who did this?” Luso asked, hand clenching around his sword hilt. His voice shook as he looked over the dead Manikins. Another one among them resembled Luso. Vaan’s eyes were fixed on his own copy, scattered among others that Luso didn’t recognize.

Leila knelt down to examine them, her expression grave. “I’m not sure any knave we know is the culprit. This be the work of beasts.”

“I see,” said Luso’s Manikin. It alone seemed unresponsive to the tragedy. “Just as this world birthed us, it ends our lives as well. In your worlds, you call this a natural cycle – do you not?”

“Maybe so,” said Kelger. “But that does not make it right.”

“They all fought back,” Ritz said, crouching down alongside Leila. “This is interesting… Manikins and monsters don’t usually fight each other, do they?”

“They don’t,” said Vaan, a little gruffly. “But now this means we have a new duty.”

Luso looked him in the eye and nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “We’ll protect them, right?” He turned to his own Manikin, standing at the edge of the lake. “Starting with you. Why don’t you come with us?”

The Manikin shook its head. “My place is not alongside you. I’ll make my own way in this world, with other Manikins like me. And if I end as these other Manikins did, then I will have lived and died as you do: without knowledge of when it comes.”

It turned to leave without saying a farewell, another sign to Luso that they were not quite hume. Luso reached out to stop it, but Ritz caught his eye and shook her head. “Let it go,” she said. “It should be allowed to make its own choices, right?”

Luso sighed. “Yeah, I guess so…”

Vaan stepped away from the dead Manikins, patting Luso on the shoulder as he passed. “You had a good idea,” he said. “We've gotta go and tell the others. From now on, we’ll protect the Manikins as much as we can. And we’ll make sure this is a world they can all live in. Even after we go home."

Character abilities:

Luso Clemens (Sword)

15: War Dance 

35: Magick Hammer

EX: Vitals Shot & Sidewinder

LD: Sandstorm Hunting

FR: Gully Graviga (with Layle)

BT: The Gran Grimoire

Burst Theme: "Green Wind," from the first battle of the game

Luso's got a mix of different ability sources here, and with the exception of his Burst and FR they are all taken from different TA2 jobs. I like Ramza as a Soldier and Samurai and Marche as a Paladin, personally, so I like to keep Luso thematically separate from them. (Plus, there's already a canonical Paladin in TA2 that isn't Luso). And with his appearance in War of the Lions, he has an innate Poach ability so that tells me Hunter. He's not only a Hunter though, as you can see, so I also gave him Blue Magic to play up his loose association with monsters and protecting monsters from actual poachers.

What do you think of Layle being his Force partner?

He plays as a non elemental melee damager dealer with a focus on auras to buff his party's damage, like Attack, Max BRV, and HP Damage Up. Luso himself also specializes in dealing critical damage and backstab bonuses, and Magick Hammer reduces enemy BRV to zero.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 2, Part 1: The Search for Summoned Beasts

Elena (Final Fantasy VII)

Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi

The newest recruit to the Turks. Though rather green, she is determined to prove herself to her new colleagues and has big shoes to fill after following in her older sister’s footsteps. Occasionally clumsy, she can be surprisingly talented at times, and has not-so-secret feelings for her superior.

Luneth ( Final Fantasy III )

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama

An orphan raised in the village of Ur. Adventurous, protective, and a little blunt, his curiosity often gets the better of him. The way he encourages the party has caused them to view him as a pillar of support in their journey to restore the light of the crystals.

Luca ( Final Fantasy IV: The After Years )

Voiced by: Ai Nonaka

The princess of the dwarves who Cecil and the others first encountered as a child, when her precious dolls Calca and Brina fell under Golbez’s control. As an adult, she showed prodigal skill with engineering and became Cid’s best apprentice, with sights on surpassing her master one day. She still loves her dolls and has a soft spot for Palom.

LUNETH

Fire scorched the ground just inches away from Luneth’s feet and icicles burst into a sunburst of tiny shards. He shielded his face with his arms as he ran and dove for cover around a corner into the next alley between clusters of buildings. Pressing his back against the wall, he caught his breath and tried to make sense of his surroundings in this chaotic city of steel and bolts.

The mad giggles of his pursuer rang out, reverberating across the empty streets. “Come out, come out, little boy! I need to give you a warm welcome to this world! Or how about a blazing hot welcome?”

Luneth wasn’t afraid of jesters. Nor was he afraid of a fight. But he also knew when he was outmatched.

He tightened his grip on the haft of his handaxe and kept running.

RENO

“There’s no mistaking it. That’s my father’s favorite cannon.”

Reno craned his neck up at the massive barrel of Junon’s signature Mako Cannon jutting out from the city toward the sea. As far as cities went, Junon was marginally better than Midgar but still a cesspool at the best of times – the difference was that Junon was a cesspool whose filth saw the light of day. Even Under Junon, beneath the airfield, got more daylight than Midgar’s slums.

It was strange to see it so quiet, though. Gulls flew by overhead and for once he could hear the waves lapping against the shore, but no people walked the streets. The memory of soldiers drilling filled his ears to make up for the lack of the real thing. And even though this replication of the real Junon looked like it had its filth caked to the walls, he couldn’t spot any wind-blown garbage on the ground. He wondered why the World of Respite would reproduce a trash heap like this place.

He never mentioned it aloud to anyone but Rude, but he always thought the old president was compensating for something with the size of this cannon.

Cid Haze gave an appreciative whistle. “That’s some big gun. Hope your father didn’t use it for anything nefarious.”

Rufus ran a hand through his hair and smirked. “I don’t think you need me to answer that. To be honest, I always thought it was ridiculously over the top. Junon was the seat of the Vice President and I suspect it was because my father wanted the public to think I was the one compensating for something.”

Reno had to conceal a chuckle and even Cissnei coughed into her hand. “Cid, I think you’d be more interested in Junon’s airfield. Or even the Underwater Reactor – I wonder if that is here as well,” she said.

The Onion Knight walked ahead of them and looked around. “So would you associate any summons with this place? Why do you think the city appeared here?”

Reno and Rude looked at each other and both of them shrugged in tandem.

“Our world does not have such strong associations to the summons as some of your other worlds, from what I have gathered,” said Rufus. “There are rare types of materia that someone can use to call them forth, but they are difficult to find.”

Rydia, who had been looking out at the sea, turned back to Reno and the others and brushed her wind-whipped hair out of her eyes. “Do you think we might have to find one of those special materia? Is there a way to track them?”

“You’re the summoner,” said Reno. “Wouldn’t you know? Or why can’t you just – ” He waved his hands around in mimicry of casting a spell. “ – summon one of them to us?”

Rydia folded both of her hands over her chest. “I think I speak for all of the summoners among us. Since coming to this world, the eidolons I summon in battle have been different from the ones I’ve always known in my world. It’s like… they’re an imitation, or a small fraction of their power. I can’t speak with them or understand their feelings.”

Cid scratched at his beard as they all considered her words. “Well, we won’t get anywhere by sittin’ here and talkin’ about it. Let’s get to the search.”

Reno looked at the storefronts and smirked when he saw one he recognized. The dirtiest, shadiest hole in the wall in Junon. “Before that, how about we stop for a drink? I see a favorite haunt of ours, and with no one here that means everything behind the bar is free.”

Rude turned to Reno and Reno didn’t need to see his eyes to know about the panic behind his partner’s shades. “Reno, that would be extremely unprofessional. We’re on the clock – and with the boss.”

Rufus waved a hand. “No, no. Your boss isn’t here. Don’t refrain on my account.”

Cissnei glanced at their companions. “Our leader is here and he is underaged, so I’m not sure it would be appropriate.” She looked Rydia up and down and folded her arms. “Though I have to admit, I don’t know how old you are, Rydia.”

Rydia only shrugged with an all-too-innocent smile and led the way to the bar. “Me neither,” she said. Reno grinned with approval.

The Onion Knight scowled. “You don’t have to worry about me. If I really wanted to – and I don’t – I’d just will it into existence on the airship.”

The inside of the bar was as dark and dingy as he remembered, with few windows and years of cigarette smoke clinging to the upholstery. Oak lined the sides of the bar, the stools, and the pool table, a hint of elegance withered away beneath the years of Shinra employees drinking away the stresses of their jobs. Garish neon signs still decorated the walls or advertised brands of beer and whiskey. Everything looked so similar that Reno didn’t immediately notice the lone figure in a suit slumped over at the bar with a morose expression, staring at the empty bottle in their hands – another common fixture.

“Elena!” said Rude. “What are you doing here?”

Elena’s head shot to the doorway and her eyes widened when she saw them. “Rude? Reno? And… Mr. President!” She hurried to her feet, nearly tripping when her feet got tangled in her barstool, and glared at Reno and Rude reproachfully when she straightened. “You both know the boss wouldn’t approve of bringing the president here.”

Rufus held up a hand to suppress her objections. “It’s fine, Elena. This place is rather… quaint.”

Rydia waved. “Nice to meet you! Are you another one of the Turks?”

“A new recruit,” said Cissnei, crossing her arms and smiling. “One I haven’t had the chance to work alongside. Welcome, Elena.”

Elena frowned. “I’m not that new anymore. Are you the Turk known by the code name ‘Shuriken’? It’s been a long time.”

“I go by Cissnei now,” she said. Cissnei straightened her posture and folded her arms behind her back, making Reno roll his eyes. Why did everyone insist on being so uptight? “I used to be on the same team as Elena’s sister.”

“Who are your new associates?” Elena asked, swiftly changing the subject – as Reno knew she would when the subject of her sister came up. “Have they been properly vetted?”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Reno, digging behind the bar. “There’s a lot we gotta brief you on.”

ELENA

When she ended up in an unnervingly empty Junon, she wandered for hours before she had ended up in that bar. Bereft of any orders or guidance, she didn’t know what else to do and wandered – in part subconsciously – to a place associated with comfort and warm memories with her colleagues. She had been thinking about what to do next when Reno and the others showed up and told her that she was in a different world, of all things. But if even the president bought into that crazy story, who was she to deny it?

In all honesty, the worst part was that she was supposed to trust Kadaj, or at least expect him not to stab her in the back, but thankfully he didn’t join the survey into Junon.

Monsters and machinery roamed and rampaged through the empty streets, clanging in the distance, which in any other scenario would have caused mass panic in Junon but was apparently business as usual for everyone here. Even so, Elena couldn’t help but try and focus on her job. It was her way of maintaining normalcy.

She took down the last unmanned gunship that assaulted her with a well-timed grenade into its loading bay and flipped open her PHS. “West 7th Street is clear,” she said. “Targets eliminated.”

“Well done,” said Cissnei, on the other end. “Survey is ongoing here.”

“That was amazing!” said Lyse, pumping a fist into the air. “Are all the Turks as efficient as you four?”

Elena snapped her phone shut and pocketed it. “Nowadays, it’s only Reno, Rude, myself, and our boss Tseng. Cissnei quit before I joined up. So… yes, if you think I’m efficient, then we all are.”

Elena didn’t know how she found herself with only Lyse for company – an otherworlder. Reno and Rude kept Rufus safe as they explored while Cissnei led a separate group in searching for the summoned beast that they all thought might be here. Elena had actually gone off on her own, but Lyse had followed her for some reason.

“Even though I’m sure you’re capable enough, I figured anyone new to this world shouldn’t be going off on their own,” said Lyse, stretching her arms over her head as they walked. She looked a little too relaxed for being in an area infested with monsters and murderous machines.

Elena wondered, briefly, if people from other worlds could read minds. “But I know Junon pretty well.”

Lyse winked. “Don’t forget, it’s not the Junon you know! As much as it looks like someplace familiar to you, we’ve still got to be careful.” She sniffed the air and glanced toward the sea wall, scrunching her face. “That said… I hate to offend, but is this place special to you? The water smells awful. Everything is so… industrial.”

Elena laughed. “No, not particularly – I’ve just spent some time here for work. My favorite part is probably that bar we were in earlier.” According to the others, it was possible that Elena herself had summoned Junon here somehow, but she didn't know how or why she would have done it.

Lyse looked back at her. “You work really hard, don’t you?”

“Of course! I’m proud of being a Turk,” Elena said. “And we do important jobs. Surveillance, intelligence, protecting persons of interest, apprehending other persons of interest, protecting company secrets…” She clapped her mouth shut. “I’m not supposed to be saying all that.”

“It’s fine, Reno and Rude have already mentioned all that, more or less,” said Lyse, laughing. “But I don’t get it. You seem… nice. All of you do. Yet you do work like that for a company that’s draining the planet’s life away, to hear Barret tell of it.”

Elena looked up at the sky – one place mostly untouched by Shinra. “We found ways to justify what we did,” she said. Lyse fell silent after that, and Elena wondered what judgments she passed. “If it makes you feel any better… Those Avalanche guys don’t seem to remember, but Shinra the company isn’t really around anymore. No one’s draining mako energy and we’re actually helping to restore the planet.”

Lyse grinned. “Oh, really? And you can all just come together like that and rebuild?”

“Of course, there have been challenges,” said Elena. “But yeah, I suppose so.” The silence between them lengthened as they looked around the empty streets and Elena weighed her opinion of Lyse, wondering how much to tell her. “You know… when I was younger, I didn’t want to join the Turks at all.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“My big sister,” said Elena. “Oh, she annoyed me so much. She was a Turk, too, and I never wanted anything to do with Shinra because of that. She did everything better than me. But eventually, I decided to join up so I could surpass her.”

Lyse looked at Elena and her eyes softened. “That’s as good a motivation as any,” she said. “Some big sisters can be tough. I wanted to measure up to my sister, too. She was one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. After she was gone, I didn’t really know what to do… so I spent a while pretending to be her, in a sorry attempt to fill her shoes.”

Elena wanted to hit herself for her social blunder. “Oh, no, uh… I’m sorry. My sister is still around. She just left the Turks.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry about your sister. Here I am complaining about mine.”

Lyse shook her head. “No, no, it’s okay! I understand if your feelings for your sister are complicated. I don’t know her, but I bet she was like that so she could be a big sister you could admire.”

Elena wanted to scoff. “Maybe,” she said. She looked off toward the city’s skyline again, but far away toward the base of the cannon she saw an explosion burst from the base of a building, causing it to topple. She halted and pulled out her PHS. “What was that?”

Lyse squinted. “There’s someone flying around over there, using magic. Is that… Kefka?”

ONION KNIGHT

“Kefka’s here? Then there’s got to be something nearby that he wants,” Onion Knight said. At one of the upper levels of the city, they had a vantage point of most things this side of the cannon. But he would have thought Kefka would make his presence known.

Rude hung up his phone. “Agreed,” he said. “He should be near the base of the cannon. She said it looks like he’s chasing something. Or someone.”

Red XIII growled. “And if that’s the case, then we may be close to one of the summoned beasts.”

Desch clapped the Onion Knight on the shoulder. “Ready, partner?”

Onion Knight looked up at the buildings towering on both sides of them. “How will we get there?”

Cid Haze pointed to the end of the street, which opened up to a flat platform with a black machine that had crossed blades on top of it. “Well, how ‘bout one of them flying contraptions? I bet I can fly it!”

Rude adjusted his sunglasses. “That would be a helicopter. And since you called it a ‘flying contraption,’ I think I’ll be the one who takes the liberty of flying it.”

PALOM

The blue image of Shelke shimmered as she used her ability to contact them. “Kefka has been detected near your location. Be on your guard.”

“Yeah, we’re kind of aware of that with all the explosions!” Palom said, ducking his head to avoid shrapnel from the fire magic up above.

They had found themselves in a section of the city charred black and with metal warped beyond recognition, a cacophony of monsters hiding the true reason for the devastation. The wreckage of living machines littered the streets, belching fumes that made the air heavy with smoke and the scent of oil. Kefka’s mad laughter echoed as he flew about the scene – whatever had occupied his attention earlier did not make for prey as appealing as Palom, Porom, and Leonora.

Shelke’s holographic form vanished.

“What do we do?” Leonora asked, lip quivering. “He does not seem inclined to talk…”

“That guy? No way!” Palom exclaimed. He gestured to his student with his staff. “C’mon, keep it moving!”

More fire rained down on them, but Palom neutralized it with ice that bloomed in midair. Kefka skipped away from the exploding ice shards as if he walked on solid ground, and with a flick of his finger he unleashed another conflagration condensed into a sphere that screamed toward them. Porom whirled around Palom and conjured a barrier to protect them from the blast, while Palom launched a volley of thunderbolts from under the cover of Kefka’s own attack.

One of the bolts struck the mad clown right in the butt, causing Palom to grin. 

“Don’t underestimate us!” he shouted up at Kefka.

If anything, that seemed to amuse Kefka even more. “Aww, is the widdle baby teething? That almost felt like a bite!” He wagged his finger at them. “Now, now – I think the kiddies need to be scolded! Hmm… am I above immolating toddlers?”

“Be careful, he’s preparing something big!” Porom warned, gripping her staff with both hands.

Kefka tapped his chin, finishing his thought with a wicked smile. “Nah!” Still in midair, he spread his arms out and the glow of something holy burned behind him. Palom sensed the ambient magic around them warping like the city’s metal as the light condensed into a solid beam that descended from the heavens. Palom locked eyes with his sister and he lent her his power.

Before they could form a barrier together powerful enough to stop the spell, Leonora stepped in front of them and formed her own.

“No! Don’t be stupid!” Palom yelled out, but he was too late to stop her. His vision turned white as Kefka’s Light of Judgment seared everything, blinding him and silencing all other noise. For a moment, he wondered if this would actually do them in – no one knew if the eidolons’ protections from death had actually fallen yet. It wasn’t something they could just test.

The whiteness felt like eternity but the pain was brief. Fleeting thoughts came and went. He supposed, if this really was the end, that he could do much worse than fighting alongside his twin and Leonora. Shame he had to have his final moments in his child body, though.

“Leonora? Leonora!” he heard his sister shouting, as if distant. Palom opened his eyes and realized he was still on the city street – but further down the road. His ears rang and his vision swam back into focus when he saw Porom bent over a prone Leonora, the latter’s robes smoldering.

“Oho? A teleportation spell?” Kefka asked, still levitating above them. “That was quick, but it wasn’t far enough, kiddies!”

A teleportation spell? Palom didn’t cast that, and he knew Porom didn’t either. Was it possible Leonora had managed it in addition to casting the barrier?

Palom grit his teeth and tried to stand. Even if the teleportation spell didn’t bring them far enough, Leonora’s barrier had done its job to protect them from the worst of the damage. He prepared another spell against Kefka when he descended to the ground, laughing derisively.

Leonora blinked weakly up at them when Palom approached. “I’m so terribly sorry…” she said.

“Oh, I love it when your big, heroic efforts amount to nothing,” said Kefka, waving his arms in circles to generate magic. A cloud of poisonous gas ballooned around him; a harbinger of the destructive spell to come.

Palom glared, heat rising in his chest. His cape fluttered as he prepared his own counterattack. “You hurt my student! What do you even want with us?”

“Want, want, want – is it not enough to pay you losers a little social visit?” said Kefka. “And by social, I mean coming by for this big ol’ cannon! Just imagine the kinds of social calls I can make with it!”

“What do you mean?” Porom asked. “You really just want the cannon?”

The earth erupted beneath Palom’s feet and he realized the poison cloud was a misdirection. A barrage of fire, ice, lightning, and poison followed, but Palom wasn’t quick enough to retaliate. Porom managed to cover herself and Leonora from the onslaught. A wave of sickness washed over Palom as the Bio spell took hold. Kefka’s attacks came from too many directions, erratic and impossible to predict, and it was all he could do to just survive.

A figure with silver hair darted toward Kefka while his back was turned, swinging an axe that Kefka barely noticed in time with a yelp of surprise.

“Oh, lookie here – you’re still alive!”

The one with silver hair was a boy that Palom didn’t recognize. He stopped to catch his own breath, but his rescuer looked in even worse shape than Palom did. His face was covered in dirt and ash, clothes singed and blood on his arm. He strained to hold his weapon with his uninjured hand, bright eyes fixed on Kefka with fierce determination.

“Are you okay?” the boy asked Palom without taking his eyes off Kefka. “My name’s Luneth! Do you know where we are?”

“We don’t really look okay, do we?” Palom asked, grimacing. Even so, he held his staff forward and prepared for another round of attacks.

Luneth’s eyes diverted to something behind Palom, widening with recognition and something that looked like anger. “What the – Xande!?”

Palom spun around so fast he almost stumbled. The last time they saw Xande, something seemed to change in him, but it was impossible to know the mage emperor’s allegiances.

“Begone, fool,” said Xande, his staff spinning behind him as he gestured forward with both hands. Stone burst from the ground beneath Kefka’s feet while darkness and fire converged on him from above. He avoided earth and fire but the darkness spell struck true, launching him backward where he landed on his feet with a murderous glare directed at Xande.

“Spoiling my fun,” Kefka said. A flying black vehicle with a single propeller flew toward them, kicking up wind. “Oh well. I know when I’m outnumbered. Bye-bye!”

When he vanished, Luneth immediately turned on Xande, struggling to hold his axe straight. “What’s this? How are you alive? We beat you!”

Xande regarded him for a moment, arms crossed even after the threat had passed. “I have no recollection of who you are,” he said.

Leonora’s voice called out weakly as Porom worked her healing magic on her. “Don’t… don’t hurt Xande. He’s… a kind man.”

Luneth looked at her in disbelief. “Huh? Do you have any idea who he is?”

“Xande!” The flying vehicle landed, revealing its occupants who jumped down with their weapons drawn. The Onion Knight was in the lead, glaring at Xande. “Was that all you? Where’s Kefka?”

“No,” said Palom, leaning on his staff. “Xande saved us from Kefka. Kefka was here to try and use the cannon. What he wanted to use it on, I have no idea.”

At Palom’s words, the Onion Knight frowned but lowered his sword. “Really? Why would you help them?”

Xande glanced toward Leonora, who now sat up, before fixing his gaze back to the Onion Knight. His face betrayed no emotion. “Kefka did not mention what I believe to be his true purpose. He was here because he sought a creature that escaped from him. I, too, have concerns about our protections from death being lost, and I believe this creature has something to do with it.”

“Cid? Desch!” Luneth called out suddenly, grinning as he noticed two of the vehicle’s other occupants. “Wow, you’re here too! Who are all these guys?”

Cid and Desch looked at each other before Desch stepped forward, regarding Luneth with hesitation. “Uh… do we know you?”

Luneth’s axe hung slack in his hands. “C’mon, that’s not funny.”

Apparently deciding that Leonora would be okay, Porom switched her attention to Luneth. “Things are not as they seem,” she said, as the healing light enveloped him. “We’re all from different worlds, so this Cid, Desch, and even Xande might not be the same people you know.”

“How’s that possible?” Luneth asked, frowning. “They look exactly the same!” He looked back toward Cid and Desch. “Don’t you remember? We saved the world from Xande and the Cloud of Darkness together!”

“I’m sorry, boy,” said Cid. “I can’t say I recognize you one bit.”

The Onion Knight shook his head. “Yeah,” he said. “They did all that with me.”

Luneth furrowed his brow. “But I have no idea who you are,” he said to the Onion Knight. “Do you guys remember Arc, Refia, and Ingus? What about Aria?”

“Aria, I know of,” said Desch. “But not those other names. Sorry, kid – that’s just how this world works sometimes. Different versions of us seem to exist in multiple places.”

Luneth crossed his arms and tapped his feet, frowning thoughtfully, and everyone else fell silent until Mog drifted toward them from further down the street with Elena, Lyse, and Rydia in tow.

“Thank you for helping us, Xande,” Leonora said, using her staff to pull herself to her feet. Palom suspected she timed her comment to avoid the new arrivals having to ask more questions.  “We owe you a great debt. Can you tell us more about that creature Kefka was chasing?”

“It was small and made of magic, with a glowing ruby on its head,” said Xande. He pointed down the street, toward the elevator that Palom and the others had arrived with. “I believe it escaped to that elevator when Kefka’s barrage on this boy began.”

“The name’s Luneth,” Luneth said, scowling. “Don’t forget it!”

“A ruby?” Lyse asked. “Was that Carbuncle? Is that one of the ones protecting us in this world?”

“No, he isn’t, kupo!” said Mog. “But Carbuncle’s power is tied closely to theirs, and he knows just about everything that happens in the World of Illusions, kupo! If we find him, he might be able to tell us what happened to the others.”

“Did it go to Lower Junon, then?” Elena asked.

Xande crossed his arms again, closing his eyes as if bracing himself to say something he would regret. “I will help you find this Carbuncle,” he said. “For now, our goals are aligned in preventing the corruption of the summoned beasts.”

Palom looked around at the others. It was his turn for Porom’s healing, and he shrugged as she went to work. Luneth bit his lip as he looked around, likely still perturbed by the situation, while the Onion Knight regarded both Luneth and Xande thoughtfully.

“Hey,” said Palom. “We’ve done weirder things here in this world. Like Leonora said, we owe ya. Welcome to the team, Xande.”

LUCA

Luca’s dolls, Calca and Brina, spun in place and danced idly while the adorable creature in front of them entranced Luca. She had never seen anything like it in the Underworld before – it looked supremely out of place amidst the scorched earth and flows of magma.

The creature shone with light, but it did not seem to notice her. Then it ran away, chasing after a series of twinkling lights that looked like stars.

“Hey, wait up, little guy!” she called toward it. “Are you from the Feymarch?”

It looked at her and the ruby on its forehead blinked before it turned back to chase after the lights.

“ My name is Carbuncle ,” a voice resounded in her mind, startling her. “ Sorry I can’t linger – you’re going to meet some people shortly who will need these lights !”

Character abilities:

Elena (Throwing - Bombs)

15: Kick

35: Bewildering Throw (inflicts Confuse: enemies do not attack on their turns)

EX: New Recruit

LD: Grenade Barrage

FR: Icy Cocktail (with Cater)

BT: Try This on For Size!

Burst theme: "Hurry Up!" which places in the Battle Square and tense moments, such as when the Diamond Weapon appears on the map

Elena's abilities mostly come from her boss fight. She has nothing named, so I had to come up with them on my own. She is a non-elemental ranged attacker specializing in multi-target damage. She can also inflict Confuse which is one of the more notable abilities she has in her boss fight, some turn delay capabilities, and offensive party auras. Since she's the only boss in the game that switches rows, she also has a bit of a stance system going on where her auras actually change to become more defensive after using her LD (or maybe in my world Opera Omnia has front and back rows, hehe). Her Force ability, "Icy Cocktail," refers to a Molotov Cocktail rather than a drink!

Lyse

FR: Proven Strength (with Elena)
BT: Perfect Balance

Burst theme: "Liberty or Death," which plays in the Ala Mhigo dungeon at the end of the Stormblood main story

Alternate costume: Her dress that she starts wearing at the end of Stormblood

And now Lyse gets her Force and Burst, too! Her Burst name is a Monk ability.

What are your thoughts on this chapter and the Force partnerships? To be honest, Elena is in the story so early not because of a chain of Force partnerships (though hers was easy, both of her partners are already in game), but because of another character who I did need to introduce early because of their "Force chain"... we'll be seeing them soon.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 2, Part 2: Ode to the Shining Ruby

RYDIA

When they crowded into the elevator separating the upper part of the city from the lower, Cloud told Rydia about Lower Junon – a fishing village with polluted waters trampled underfoot by the city above. When the elevator doors opened, Rydia expected to see – and smell – a derelict collection of fishermen’s huts, rotting docks, discarded rods and torn nets, and rusted metal propping up the city above. Instead, heat blasted them and instead of water they saw black stone and the glowing flow of hot magma.

“How strange!” said Rydia. “This looks like the Underworld.”

Elena jumped and pressed herself against the back of the elevator. “The Underworld? Do you mean we’ve died?”

Yang was the first to step out, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. “This indeed appears to be the Underworld. Not to worry – it is nothing so grim. It is simply the world below the planet’s surface, domain of the dwarves.”

“And the eidolons!” Rydia exclaimed, grinning. “The Feymarch is down here, so this is where we should find Carbuncle. And maybe some of the other eidolons!”

Elena straightened and cleared her throat, tugging on her suit to smooth it out. “Ah, right. Yes, everything appears to be in order. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

Mustadio sniggered as he stepped out of the lift. Rydia tried not to laugh as well – for all of Elena’s professionalism, she could be a little overeager. She found it rather endearing.

Cloud and Mustadio walked ahead, taking in the sight of the cavern that seemed to stretch into the eternal darkness. Meanwhile, Rydia turned to the final three members of the party that had fit into the lift after it ascended back to pick up more people.

“Xande, do you know why Kefka was attacking Carbuncle?” she asked. He kept his arms crossed and his eyes closed the whole way down, as if he couldn’t bear to look at any of them. Rydia found him intimidating, but not quite as fearsome and despicable as some of their other foes. From what she knew of him, he had been driven to commit his evil deeds out of a desire for an eternal life. With their immortality in threat now, his desire to join them made sense to her. “Palom, Luneth, did you learn anything from your fight?”

“I suspect Kefka has no reason for doing anything beyond his desire for ceaseless destruction,” said Xande. “Perhaps he is the cause of the phantom beasts becoming corrupted and losing their ability to protect us.”

“I dunno, that doesn’t seem like something Kefka would do. He’d just keep trying to kill us over and over again,” said Palom, face screwed up in thought. “He didn’t say anything about Carbuncle while we fought him. He just wanted that Mako Cannon. More destruction, like Xande said.”

“He doesn’t seem like the type to give up so easily,” said Luneth. “He was toying with me while he chased me through the city, and only stopped because Palom and the others came around instead.”

“Why did he want that cannon, anyway?” Mustadio asked. “It didn’t look like it was particularly mobile. Does it only shoot in a straight line?”

They all looked at Cloud and Elena, who both shrugged. “Don’t ask us,” Cloud said. “It’s destructive, but can only do so much.”

“Cecil, Celes, and Kain are guarding it, in any case,” said Yang. “In the event that monster tries to commandeer it.”

“The other Turks are helping, too,” said Elena. “Kefka won’t get anywhere near it on their watch.”

They continued their trek through the Underworld, with monsters as plentiful as the Underworld back home and twice as vicious. Rydia wondered if it extended across the span of this world as well, or if like everything else it was slowly expanding. If so, they would have to find a way to explore more of it – who knew how many allies could be down here?

Palom froze a trio of living bombs in a block of ice far bigger than it needed to be, the sheer cold making Rydia shiver despite the heat from the rivers of magma. His casting came with harsh gestures and a scowl unbefitting the face of a five year-old.

“Is there something bothering you?” Rydia asked him, edging a bit closer to the heat.

“No,” he said.

Rydia frowned, but figured she didn’t ask him the right question. “How’s Leonora’s recovery going?”

“She’s fine,” he said, just as curt. Just as Rydia was about to try a different angle, he spoke again. “I don’t get it – how’d she make a barrier strong enough to defend against Kefka’s spell and teleport us away from the damage at the same time? Why even do both?”

“The girl is a mage of unusual talent,” said Xande from behind Rydia, making her jump. “Though she did conjure a powerful barrier to protect you from the worst of the damage, it was not enough. It was I who teleported you away from the danger.”

Palom’s eyes widened, but he seemed pleased with that answer. “Oh,” was all he said. Rydia gave him a knowing smile; he wasn’t ready for the student to surpass the master, it seemed.

The ground shook. Rocks tumbled down the craggy mountainside and dust rose in clouds down the path ahead. Stone golems and coeurls groaned and hissed as they fled from the source of the noise.

“What is that?” Elena asked, pressing against the stone lining their path with her eyes fixed upward for falling rocks. Rydia followed her lead.

Cloud, Yang, and Palom were the first to rush to the source of the noise. Rydia shared a glance with their other companions and followed with slightly more hesitation, but when she rounded the bend her eyes widened when she saw a nightmare smashing its giant head against the ground to crush monsters.

But it was a nightmare she recognized.

“Calcabrina!” Palom exclaimed.

Cloud, Elena, Mustadio, and Xande prepared for a battle, but Rydia shook her head at them and smiled. “It’s okay – that’s a friend,” she said, to their increasing perplexion.

When the dust cleared, the giant, monstrous doll lolled in midair as if it was a puppet without strings, and spun so that a whirl of magic circled around it. When it stopped, two much smaller dolls stood in its place: Calca and Brina, separated. Behind them, Rydia could now see a familiar face – a dwarf girl with a visor and toolbelt, goggles hanging around her neck, and hammers dangling at her waist.

“Oh, lali-ho, guys!” said Luca, waving. “Lots of monsters around here!”

Palom slid to a stop, his face an equal mixture horrified and surprised. “Luca!?”

Rydia ran over and hugged her. “Oh, it’s so good to see you!

Luca grinned and hugged her back. “I’ve got no idea what’s going on, but I saw some little animal that called itself Carbuncle – he said he was trying to catch these twinkling lights for some people I was about to meet. Did he mean all of you? Who are all these new people?”

“Twinkling lights?” Rydia asked, tilting her head. “Did he mean… someone’s memories?”

Mustadio stood frozen with his eyes fixed on Calca and Brina, who stood equally as motionless but with eyes staring blankly ahead. “Is anyone going to explain what the hell that thing was?”

AERITH

Aerith joined the second group descending down into the cavernous darkness that Rydia and the others had called the Underworld. At this point, the wondrous sights of other worlds no longer surprised her, but they never failed to captivate her. Even with the stifling heat and dry air that made the back of her throat tickle, the thought of a place like this where people could live felt like a fantasy. Under the earth, never knowing sunlight. On second thought, perhaps it was not so different from the Midgar slums.

“We’ve got dwarves in my world, too!” Eiko said, excitedly chattering with Luca while they took a break in their search for Carbuncle. Alphinaud, Noctis, Ciaran, Chelinka, and Bartz sat in a circle with them away from the sight of monsters. “Though they say rally-ho in greeting instead.”

“Rally-ho?” Luca asked, leaning against a rocky alcove while her dolls stood guard. “Well, that just sounds silly.”

Alphinaud raised a finger. “The dwarves that I know have a fierce rivalry with the other dwarven villages, going so far as to ensure they greet each other differently. A dwarven greeting is an important cultural cornerstone, it seems.”

“Yeah,” said Luca, grinning. “You’re explaining that to a dwarf.”

His face reddened. “My apologies. I was simply making an observation about similarities to my world.”

“No worries, I’m just teasing,” Luca said, laughing. Aerith giggled with her – something about her laugh was infectious. “So… what’s the deal with Carbuncle, anyway? Is it an eidolon?”

“He is,” said Eiko. “Well, Mog says he’s not quite like the others here, and mostly just lives in the World of Illusions rather than helping us in battle. But he’s really helpful in my world!”

“In mine, Carbuncle is a magicked creature summoned by engraving geometric symbols upon gemstones,” Alphinaud said, observing his own moonstone carbuncle. “It is an aid for spellwork rather than a Primal. It’s quite useful as a familiar.”

Noctis sat with his arms hanging over his knees. “Carbuncle’s a divine messenger,” he said. “It, uh, actually guides me through my dreams sometimes.”

“And in our world, Carbuncles are quite large, though they are a race of peaceful sages who know much about our history and the miasma, sleeping away in Mag Mell,” said Ciaran. “Some say they even guide people through the realms of the dead.”

Chelinka nodded, her eyes downcast. “They do,” she said. “It seems Carbuncle acts as a guide of some sort in a few different worlds, even if they look different.”

Aerith frowned, sensing the weight of Chelinka’s sadness but unwilling to pry. “So… the common thread is their ruby?” She crossed her arms, pursing her lips in thought. “Is this one guiding us to whoever’s lost memories those are? I wonder why he’s deciding to help now.”

“The Carbuncle I know wasn’t a guide,” Bartz declared, putting his hands on his hips. “It turned into a giant monster that tested our strength!”

Eiko threw her arms up in the air. “A monster!? That cute little guy? No way, that sounds dumb!”

“It’s not dumb!” Bartz shot back. “It was really powerful, with huge rippling muscles and everything!”

Aerith had to admit – the concept sounded a bit unbelievable. Even Alphinaud’s carbuncle tilted its head in confusion at Bartz’s antics and Aerith couldn’t help but laugh.

LEONORA

“Ohhh, but you’re just too cute!” Luca exclaimed, bending down to pinch Palom’s cheeks. Magma sizzled around them, shooting gaseous fumes into the air from vents in the earth.

He batted her hands away, scowling. “Yeah, yeah. Not like you’ve never seen me as a kid.”

“He is rather adorable,” said Leonora, laughing into her sleeve. Porom had finished healing her and as soon as she learned that they’d found Luca in the Underworld, she rushed to join her friends. “Seeing him like this does make me nostalgic.”

“Yeah, really makes you realize how young we all were back then, huh?” Luca said. She looked over her shoulder toward Ceodore and Ursula. “That was before you two were even born!”

“It’s pretty amazing to think King Cecil and my dad let you two fight with them, as young as you were,” Ursula said to the twins. “It took forever to convince my dad I could handle myself, even at my age now!”

“Hmph,” said Palom with an upturned nose. “We’re just that good.”

“I have to say, it is strange to see such a young child acting so cocky,” Ceodore noted. “Seeing that expression on an adult is one thing, but…”

Porom sighed. “No, he was always like this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Palom asked, shaking a fist at his sister. “I’ve completely changed from how I was when I was a kid!”

Luca clasped her hands together and cooed at him. “You were such a ladykiller even back then. But now looking at you I just can’t help but wanna squeeze you! You’re just like Calca and Brina!”

His eyes bulged and he sputtered, making Leonora laugh more and this time even Ceodore and Ursula joined in.

“Okay, I’ve had enough!” Palom exclaimed, stopping and clenching his fists. “It was fun for a bit, but I’m over being a kid!” A bright light enveloped him, forcing them all to shield their eyes.

Porom shrugged. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to want to change back,” she said, and a bright light surged around her as well.

Ursula spread her legs to brace herself as a wind swept over them. “Whoa! Give us some warning before you use super powerful magic or something!”

Leonora blinked away the light in her eyes as it died down. Where the children once stood, an older Palom and Porom had taken their place. Palom scowled at them all, throwing his braid over his shoulder, while Porom patted the dust from the familiar pink outfit and cape Leonora recognized. Even her hair had been dyed pink again.

Ceodore stepped back in surprise. “Wait, it’s a choice? How?”

Porom winked at him. “It’s just a matter of willpower, like everything else here.”

Leonora smiled softly at Palom while she watched Luca blushing and grinning at him. No matter how much her teacher insisted otherwise, he never changed in his desire to impress them.

LUNETH

Luca’s boisterous enthusiasm intensified when she met Mustadio’s automaton partner, Construct 8. The two machinists shared notes on their respective robots, talking about their inner workings in such complicated, technical terms that it went completely over Luneth’s head. He stood with Elena and Lyse, watching the pair in confusion while Luca and Mustadio raved.

“Do either of you know what they’re saying?” Lyse asked.

“Not a clue,” Luneth admitted. “Cid would know, though.” Mentioning the old man brought a pang of sadness. As fun as it was to meet so many new people, it didn’t feel right that Desch and Cid couldn’t remember him. It made him feel lonely; he could only hope that the memories Carbuncle pursued belonged to his friends so they’d remember him instead of whoever the Onion Knight was.

“I do, a little bit,” said Elena. “Robotics isn't my field, but we’ve got plenty of them in Shinra.”

“I’m an apprentice to a Cid, you know,” said Luca, apparently overhearing Luneth’s comment. “Seems like the old coot is taking his sweet time coming to this world, though. I can’t wait for you all to meet him!”

Luneth trailed behind everyone as they all walked ahead, tracking Carbuncle’s path. Normally, he wouldn’t let something like this bother him – Desch’s lost memories came back once before, after all. It was just that he didn’t know what to think about the Onion Knight. Could they all really be from a world just like Luneth’s own? He didn’t want to consider of the possibility of other versions of Arc, Refia, and Ingus coming here and not remembering Luneth either. Wallowing and being sullen wasn’t really Luneth’s style, but he didn’t think he’d be able to bear the idea of his closest friends forgetting him, too.

“Aw, sad your widdle friends don’t remember you?” said a jeering voice behind him. Luneth felt gooseprickles rise on the back of his neck and whirled around with his axe in hand, recognizing the voice as Kefka’s. But he couldn’t see the clown anywhere. The others had gone too far ahead – now he was alone. “Maybe I’ll give them a big knock on the head to help trigger things. Or just to rattle their brain matter loose.”

“Don’t you dare touch them,” Luneth said, his feet sliding across the ground into a stance. “You were listening back in Junon, weren’t you?”

“Heeheehee.” Kefka’s disembodied voice rang out. “Maybe it’s not their memories. Maybe you’re just a doll, like that girl’s little puppets! Oh, I do love playing with dolls.”

Luneth’s stomach twisted. “Go away!”

“Ooh, struck a nerve, have I?” The clown’s voice deepened. “I think I’ll keep an eye on you. How funny it’ll be to watch you realize you don’t exist!”

Luneth grit his teeth and was about to shout a rebuttal back at him, but the air felt lighter and less oppressive and it made him realize the presence had gone. He hadn’t even noticed the weight in the air choking him like the volcanic fumes.

“He’s lying,” Luneth told himself, putting his axe back on his belt and bracing himself. “What does he know? I know I’ll see my friends again, and they’ll all get their memories back!”

AERITH

Aerith flourished her staff as she spun to dodge a flan’s fire spell and countered with ice, reducing it to a pile of red sludge. As soon as Barret and Cait Sith took down the last of the flans together, Cloud pushed ahead through the monster nest, bracing himself against a tower of volcanic rock. 

“There!” Cloud called out. “I think I just saw it.”

“Me too!” Bartz exclaimed.

“Eh?” said Cait Sith, jumping up on the moogle’s head. “That radioactive squirrel thing?”

Aerith followed Cloud’s line of sight, catching a glimpse of a glowing tail disappearing behind more rocky crags jutting out from the landscape. A red blur shot by at the corner of her vision.

“On it,” said Nanaki. The others raced after him like hunters after their hound, with Cait Sith staying behind to tell the others. They came to a stop within a smaller cavern lit by multifaceted crimson crystals, casting the area in a red glow. At the center of the cavern they found Carbuncle with its back to them, but it turned and stood on its hind legs when they arrived. The red ruby on its forehead matched the crystals embedded in the cave walls, but in its joined hands it held something made of a pure, white light.

“I’m feeling something warm,” said Yuffie, pushing her way to the front. “Those memories… are they ours?”

Luneth looked from Carbuncle to Yuffie. “Yours? But… how do you know?”

Carbuncle’s mouth opened and words came out; not like how Luca had said he spoke into her mind. “These memories do indeed belong to those among your number,” he said, voice high and a little musical. His long ears flattened to the side of his head. “I’ve found them for you. They were lost for a long time.”

Aerith took a deep breath and stepped forward, turning her back to Carbuncle, and faced her friends. Particularly Cloud. “If these belong to who I think they do… are you sure you want to remember? There’s no turning back after that.”

Nanaki looked first to Cloud, who appeared hesitant, and then to Aerith. “But they deserve to know. They can’t go on living like this.”

“You had your memories all along, didn’t you?” Cloud asked her. “I can’t have all these holes. I feel… incomplete, with all of my memories missing. I’ve already felt like this before.” His shoulders slackened and he lowered his head. “Zack…”

“We’ve gotta know,” said Barret. “There’s no gettin’...”

“Off of this train we’re on,” Aerith finished for him. “Right. I just… thought it’s been nice, being here with everyone. I know it isn’t ending, but things will feel different. You’ll all look at me differently.” She rubbed her arm and turned back to Carbuncle. “But I know that’s selfish of me. If Galuf and all the others were able to do this… then I guess I will do it, too.”

Carbuncle’s tails flicked and he released the lights into the air. They fell like snowflakes back down onto Cloud, Barret, and Yuffie, who closed their eyes. When they all opened their eyes again after the memories settled in, they turned toward Aerith in tandem and her heart dropped when they looked at her the exact same way she expected them to – with a grief that threatened to burst free. Like she had died.

“After what you did for us, for the Planet, no one could ever call you selfish,” Nanaki said.

Yuffie rushed forward and threw her arms around Aerith with a loud sob. Over her shoulder, Aerith saw Barret rubbing the tears from his eyes, Cloud staring at his feet, and Luneth staring wistfully at Carbuncle, as if he could dispense more memories for them. 

Aerith hugged Yuffie tight. “There, there,” she said. “I’m not gone yet. And besides… we still need to ask Carbuncle for his help.”

“You’re searching for the others who have been corrupted,” Carbuncle said, causing all of them to turn back toward him. “I can help you find them. But be warned: the corruption has turned them all aggressive. Alexander was able to fight it off long enough for you to find him, but you must be strong enough to face all of the others if you are planning to reach them through the darkness clouding their minds.”

Cloud clenched his fists. “We’re as strong as we need to be.”

Carbuncle lowered to all fours and his tails wavered. “I will be the judge of that,” he said.

His ruby shone. Fur rippled as Carbuncle grew in size, muzzle lengthening as sharp fangs grew from his jaws. His paws writhed against the stone and claws emerged to cut deep gouges in the rock. Muscle stretched out from his back to his limbs underneath a thick mane of fur that grew from the back of his head. A deep rumble shook the cave and Aerith realized the monstrous Carbuncle had let out a low growl, threatening to pounce.

“See?” said Bartz, pointing at Carbuncle when they all stood with jaws dropped. “I told you!”

Nanaki launched into action, leaping with claws and fangs bared but Carbuncle lifted up on his hind legs and grabbed Nanaki, using his momentum to hurl Nanaki into the stone wall behind him. Barret unloaded with a barrage of bullets, but they did little to pierce the fur of Carbuncle’s thick arms. Cloud and Luneth attacked together, but the monstrous Carbuncle flew out of the way, high up and out of their reach.

Aerith twirled her staff and sent a healing spell Nanaki’s way before unloading the strongest fire spell she could muster. As it erupted around Carbuncle’s floating form, she jumped back in alarm when Bartz dove at her with a yell.

A barrier flickered around Carbuncle and the fire burst from where Aerith had been standing before Bartz pushed her out of the way. They landed heavily on the ground.

“No magic!” Bartz said. “Carbuncle will just reflect it all back!”

“How was I supposed to know?” she said, scrambling back to her feet. “We don’t have Carbuncle in our world… I think.”

“Ninjutsu’s not magic!” Yuffie exclaimed, hurling her shuriken and unveiling her techniques with a series of hand signs without first testing it. Bolts of lightning flashed in a series of short bursts, piercing the reflective barrier, but magic whirled around Carbuncle as he prepared to cast his own spells at them. Aerith prepared protective magic as a rain of lightning and water fell on them in a torrent, battering her shields in a chaotic and unpredictable pattern; she realized he had bounced the magic off of his own shields, making his aim wild and erratic. While she focused to maintain their defenses, she spotted Nanaki leaping from crystal to crystal as he ascended the cave wall, launching himself at Carbuncle’s throat. He struck where Carbuncle’s thick mane was weakest and both of them yelped as they clawed at each other.

Barret charged up a heavy shot from his gun arm, striking Carbuncle in the haunches while he was distracted by Nanaki, knocking him back against the stone wall and allowing Nanaki to free himself. The magical assault let up as Cloud, Luneth, and Bartz closed in at melee range, dodging claw and tail swipes as they hacked at his magical form.

Carbuncle roared and poison dripped from his maw, coating the ground in an acidic, foul-smelling liquid. Aerith and Yuffie rushed to a higher perch as Aerith cast spells only to keep the others healed. After everyone rushed away from the flood of poison at the cave mouth, heading deeper into the cave, Carbuncle reapplied his reflective barrier and renewed his onslaught of magic. Without focus, bolts of lightning and fire crashed into the cave wall and made the crystals explode into thousands of tiny shards, adding to the cacophony.

“What do we do?” Yuffie asked, eyes wide with panic as she tried to shield herself behind an outcropping of stone.

Luneth readjusted his grip on his axe. “We’ve got to overwhelm him up close!” he shouted. “All of us, attack at once!”

Barret just barely dodged a bolt of lightning. “Are you out of your damn mind!?”

“Can’t use magic,” Cloud said. “So I’m in.”

Luneth led the renewed assault while Barret shot a hail of bullets to give them an opening. Yuffie let out what sounded like a little whimper as she emerged from her cover. Wind circled around Bartz’s sword as he caught up to Luneth and Cloud and Aerith did all she could to deflect the worst of the damage away from them.

Alphinaud and Cait Sith appeared at the cave mouth. They shouted something Aerith couldn’t hear, and behind them the hulking mass of Calcabrina appeared and pushed its way into the cave. Its eyes glowed and lasers beamed toward Carbuncle, striking him from behind. Carbuncle howled and turned to face the new arrival, but before he could attack, the monstrous doll struck with its massive head, slamming Carbuncle into the ground.

Calcabrina pounded again and again, battering Carbuncle and making the entire cave shake so much that Aerith feared it would collapse with them in it. When Carbuncle tried to get up, Calcabrina’s eyes pulsed again and the lasers fired until Carbuncle moved no more.

“Amazing!” said Bartz, his eyes bright.

“Eh, we softened it up,” said Yuffie, edging away from the monstrous doll as Luca, Alphinaud, Elena, and many of the others arrived to fill in the cave – mostly those from Aerith’s world. Mog floated in the rear.

Carbuncle shrunk in size, changing shape back to its normal stature as Calcabrina did the same, splitting into two separate dolls again.

“Great timing,” said Luneth, grinning. “Uh… Carbuncle, are you okay?”

The little creature curled up into a ball, unmoving, but jumped up after they all started to crowd in closer with its fur standing on end. “That hurt ! You didn’t have to hit me so hard! What gives!? I’m just a cute little animal and you guys didn’t hold back at all!”

Aerith and the others drew back, stunned. “But… you asked us to,” she said, gathering herself again. “You said we needed to show our strength so that we could face the other summons.”

“But they’re way stronger than me!”

Luneth knelt down next to him. “Right, well, we’re sorry. But we really need your help. And if you can find any other lost memories…”

“Yeah, and you better give me the nicest room with the softest bed,” Carbuncle said, licking his paws. “I’m going to be bruised for weeks.”

“So it’s gonna be like that, huh?” Cid Highwind asked, lighting a cigarette. “This lil thing’s comin’ with us?”

“But I’m supposed to be the guide, kupo,” Mog said, his pom drooping. “Is Carbuncle trying to take my role?”

Tifa grabbed Aerith’s hand, steering her away from the others, her eyes brimming with tears. “You knew all along, didn’t you? You remembered?”

“I don’t know why I knew,” Aerith admitted. “But I’ve been too happy to spoil it. Besides, that’s not the most important thing you’ve all been missing out on. You beat Sephiroth! You saved the world. You saved Cloud.”

“But we couldn’t save you.” Cloud joined them, with Barret, Nanaki, Yuffie, Cait Sith, Cid, Vincent, and even Jessie behind him.

“Or you, Jessie,” said Barret, frowning. “Here we are, fightin’ alongside Shinra goons and even Rufus himself – yet they’re the ones who dropped the plate on you. On everyone in Sector 7. How can you even forgive us?”

Jessie folded her hands behind her back and stared down at her feet, quiet in a way that made Aerith think she was trying to hide her tears. But when she looked up at them, she was smiling. “It’s… it’s all okay now,” she said. “Like Aerith said, I’m happy to actually fight alongside all of you here. I couldn’t remember all that either. But now that I do… well, what difference does it make? It’s all in the past, right? Years ago now for you guys.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay,” Cloud said with a grunt.

Jessie shook her head and wagged her finger at him. “Stop moping. I never even got to meet most of you guys – and it’s been great to make more friends with people from my world! Seriously, I knew something was up anyway when you all seemed to know each other but a bunch of you had no idea who I was, talking about everything with that Sephiroth.”

Aerith smiled at her, astounded at her strength. “It’s been great to become your friend, Jessie. Now that you remember too, I want to keep treasuring our friendship.”

Jessie winked. “Us dead girls gotta stick together, right?”

Tifa gasped. “Jessie!”

“What?” she asked. “It’s true. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. Even with my memories back I can’t remember a thing from after the plate fell, so I can only assume that means I died. And I can make light of my own death if I want to, thank you very much.”

Cid shook the ashes off the butt of his cigarette. “Well, s’far as I’m concerned, you’re one of us,” he said. “Girl like you, great with machines and explosives? Hell yeah!”

Vincent crossed his arms. “I didn’t think it was in question. You’re on our team, Jessie.”

“I’m guessing the boys didn’t make it either though, huh?” Jessie asked. “Biggs and Wedge?”

Barret shook his head. “Naw… Maybe it’s best you didn’t see how bad it was after the plate fell.”

Aerith clapped her hands together. “Jessie’s right. No moping about us. Besides, even in the Lifestream I’ve got Zack now – and who knows how much time we all have together in this world? Let’s spend our time cherishing it.”

Cloud turned away, back to the others – above everyone else, she knew he had the most to reckon with after gaining his memories back. His identity had been tangled up and he had to make sense of it all over again. And she didn’t know if he had ever let go of his guilt.

As if sensing her thoughts, Tifa squeezed Aerith’s hand and smiled. “He’ll be okay,” she said. “ We will be. All of us are here together.”

KEFKA

Their airship looked like a toy as it flew away from Junon. Toy for smashing . He’d blow it up! Idiots fools where did they go such wimps for running away. Joke’s on them, leaving the big wonderful destructive cannon for him to play with. They forgot. Oh, they forgot. He wasn’t just god of all magic. He was once no no don’t think about that a Magitek knight too. He knew machines. The cannon was a lot like his Light of Judgment. No effort in comparison. This would be fun.

Well, well, well. It only fired in a straight line. Right at the end of the barrel, a Torsion opened up, swallowing devouring black hole . Cannon built up energy, fire fire fire! Devoured by the darkness .

Near their airship, distant and so far away, like a tiny toy on the horizon, another Torsion opened up spitting up the beam from the cannon and ripping away its hull a conflagration spreading from bow to stern and tearing apart the wings and propellers. The fire spread to the ball of gas, that wonderfully reactive balloon, and Kefka heard the explosion all the way from the cannon.

The ship rocked back and forth, black smoke rising in plumes as it fell to the water below. “Such a shame that I missed,” Kefka said, laughing. “I wanted to hit them dead on! Oh, now their deaths will be drawn out and miserable. I guess that’s even better! Oh, Kefka, you’re just too good!”

Even as the airship fell, the fire coalesced into a round shape and launched back at Junon like a comet. Kefka’s eyes widened as he recognized the figure as a bomb monster, hungry for more energy and fixated on the source of the airship’s destruction.

“Now, now, where did that come from?” Kefka asked, just as it crashed against the cannon and reacted with the Mako and it all erupted into a glorious inferno and – 

Adult Palom voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi

Adult Porom voiced by: Rie Kugimiya

For Palom and Porom's adult forms, I imagine they'd be an alternate costume rather than a new unit. Their abilities don't really change as they get older to justify it. Now you can assume they'll look like this for the rest of the story.

Regarding "canon" character costumes (meaning how they appear by default in the story), most of the time the character appears the latest they do in their canon story, assuming their memories go up to that point. So for example, Lightning is wearing her Savior costume from Lightning Returns. Cecil, Rosa, Edge, Edward, Yang, and Rydia are wearing their After Years clothes. After the events of this chapter, Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and Yuffie wear their costumes from Advent Children onward. Vaan's wearing the shirt he has in Tactics A2. Lyse has her red dress she begins wearing at the end of Stormblood, while Y'shtola's dressed in her Sorceress dress (sorry, I don't think she gets abilities interesting or unique enough to give her a new kit with it). I'm gonna say that the XV Chocobros have their pre-time skip appearances, but they switch outfits around whenever they feel like it.

That said, these characters are all still wearing their default costumes: Yuna, Alphinaud, Penelo, Snow, Kain, and Golbez. (You may be able to guess why...)

Character abilities

Luneth (Unique - One Handed Axes) Non elemental melee, offensive tank, offense buffs, spiker

15: Advance

35: Provoke

EX: Guiding Swipe

LD: Close-In

FR: Vigorous Assault (with Luso)

BT: Quake & Tsunami

Burst theme: "Eternal Wind," the main theme of FFIII

Luneth is typically portrayed as a Warrior in his crossover appearances, so I kept that. I also gave him Geomancer and even a Viking ability snuck in there. His EX ability, Guiding Swipe, is one of Onion Knight's skills in Dissidia NT. Luneth is a non-elemental melee attacker and tank, but a more offensive variety with lots of damage and offensive buffs.

For Feolthanos's skills, I shared that I came up with a new mechanic for launches - the "juggler," who can give all party members an additional turn in a launch sequence. Luneth, on the other hand, is a "spiker," meaning he shows up at the end of a launch sequence (similar to Raines in game), but his attack "spikes" them back down to the ground, dealing additional damage and even splash damage to other enemies.

Luca (Greatswords - Hammers) Non-elemental ranged, critical dmg, follow up heals/damage, battery

15: Big Throw -> Enables Brina’s Curaga follow up

35: Lightning Brain Buster -> Enables Calca’s Thermal Rays follow up

EX: Makeshift Cannon 

LD: Double Tomahawk 

FR: Doll Construction (with Mustadio)

BT: Final Calcabrina

Burst theme: "Dancing Calcabrina," the boss theme of Calcabrina

Luca's abilities are pretty easy. Big Throw is her unique skill that lets her do normal damage from the back row. All of her other abilities are her various Band attacks with other party members. Since she has a couple skills based around throwing and being in the back row, I actually made her a ranged attacker who focuses on critical damage and follow up attacks with Brina and Calca (who do White Magic and Blue Magic, respectively).

Any ideas for their Force partners? This is the first time that my new character additions are starting to show up as partners for other new characters, so we're making our way into the "Force chains" now!

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: A Thousand Years of Suffering

Shuyin (Final Fantasy X-2)

Voiced by: Masakazu Morita

A man from the Zanarkand of a thousand years ago. When he lost his lover in the Machina War against Bevelle, his hatred clung on for centuries in the form of a shade – pyreflies gathered together by strong emotions. He seeks to use Vegnagun, an ancient machina weapon, to attain revenge on Spira.

TERRA

Terra’s eyes shot open and the chaos of the Falcon ’s crash came flooding back to her.

The blast of energy came with only the brief warning of the Mako Cannon charging up and firing, but too quickly for anyone to do anything about it.

A flash of light and silence had deafened her to everything else, and then everything lurched and fell away and heat washed over them. She had been on the deck – she saw the Torsion and the beam of mako slice through the part of the airship where the equipment was kept. She had no idea who had been there at the time. Who took the brunt of the attack.

She was on a beach. Dusk had come and gone. Parts of the Falcon ’s wreckage – mainly a wing – burned on the beach with her, bonfires belching smoke into the night sky. She sat up on shaky arms.

She heard screaming. She saw Mog amidst the fire, the moogle of Respite, teleporting as many of their allies to safety as he could manage. They had grown so much since the last time he had saved them all. He couldn’t get all of them anymore.

Miraculously, she wasn’t wounded. She looked around – scared for those who may have fallen into the dark ocean.

The impact threw Maria from the deck. Terra acted without thinking, hurling herself into the sky, catching her in midair before going into Trance.

“Maria!” Terra called out. She vaguely remembered flying as fast as she could, trying in vain to find and rescue the others who might have fallen. She thought she had seen Kuja doing the same, and Llyud.

She scrambled to her feet, searching along the beach for any others but afraid of what she might find. Dread settled into the pit of her stomach when she spotted a prone form on the sand – Maria. Terra dropped to her knees at Maria’s side, healing magic glowing in her hands. “Maria? Come on, please wake up.”

She didn’t seem wounded, either. Maria groaned, her brow furrowing, before her eyes fluttered open. “Terra? You saved me…”

Terra let out a breath of relief. “You’re okay!”

One. She found one of her companions. But so many more…

The waves washed against the shore, tranquil in spite of everything that had just happened. They’d been split apart before – everyone had to be okay. They just had to find everyone. Again.

Further inland, she saw rocky crags and a mountain that looked host to a cave system. Just at the edge of where the sand met the stone, Tidus stood as still as the stones behind him. He just watched them.

“Tidus?” Terra said. When he didn’t respond, she called to him louder, though hesitant. It was difficult to see him in the darkness, but the silhouette was unmistakably his. Perhaps a Manikin? “Is that you?”

He turned away from them and walked into the caves with long, purposeful strides.

Wind howled through the cave system as Terra and Maria approached. The stones twisted into swirling shapes, flattening out near the tops to make a series of platforms all at different levels, smooth and reddish and seemingly worn away by years of high tides. Several of them seemed to be shaped like saucers or mushroom caps, framing the opening to the caves.

“Why would he just walk away from us like that?” Terra asked. It hurt more than she thought it would have when Tidus turned his back on her. “After what just happened. Isn’t he worried about everyone?”

“I know I am,” said Maria, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Grains of sand from the beach blew inland, skittering down the slope of smooth stone. “Something isn’t right. Tidus wouldn’t do that.”

They found Tyro lingering near the entrance to one of the caves, staring into its dark depths. Around its mouth, it had what appeared to be the edges of something man made, like an ancient door part of the stone that had yawned open. Terra felt the weight on her chest lessening when she saw him. She was especially worried about the children on board, so seeing one of them unharmed helped to lift her spirits.

“Tyro!” Terra exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

He jumped in alarm, turning to face them with his chest pounding. But when recognition dawned in his features, he calmed himself. “Terra! Maria! Yes, I’m fine – Golbez opened a Torsion before the airship fell and a few of us hopped inside. He and I are the only ones who came out, so I’m glad to see you’re okay too!”

“If they went into Torsions, they should have escaped the crash,” Maria said. “But who knows where they’d be now?”

Terra looked into the darkness of the cave and a chill that had nothing to do with the night crawled up her spine. “Where’s Golbez now?”

Tyro frowned and followed her line of sight. “He went in here. But… something feels wrong about it.”

“If we go in together, we should be okay,” said Maria. Terra knew the other woman could be a bit reckless sometimes, and normally she wouldn’t be so put off by a cave, but she had to agree with Tyro. Something felt strange about this cave.

“Wait, don’t go inside!”

Yuna’s familiar voice rang out in the night and they all turned to look at the ravine further inland to see her running down the path toward them. Tidus and Paine flanked her; both women appeared to be on edge, but Tidus just looked worried.

“You’re all okay!” Terra exclaimed, but her smile faltered when she noticed their expressions. “Or… are you?”

“We’re alright,” Tidus said. “Yuna summoned and flew us out of the danger. I doubt the others are far away!”

“Don’t take a step into that cave,” Paine said, cutting into their reunion with a harsh order. “It’s way too dangerous.”

“It’s called the Den of Woe,” Yuna explained, catching her breath. “In our world, a shade dwells inside and possesses people to make them fight each other.”

“So the more of us go in, the more ammo he gets,” Paine added. “Especially if someone has darkness in their heart.”

“But Golbez went inside!” said Tyro. “And… he’s been possessed before. I think he might be vulnerable.”

The familiar clutch of anxiety grasped at Terra’s chest. Golbez was powerful, but she didn’t fear him. She ached in sympathy for him; she knew what it was like to lose control at the whim of someone else. But every fiber of her being rebelled at the idea of being possessed. She hated the idea of going into this cave. “We have to rescue him,” she said, nonetheless.

“Then let’s go,” said Tidus, moving to enter. “We can’t leave him there on his own.”

Yuna grasped his hand and held him back. “Wait! I can’t bear the thought of fighting against you, too. I know we have to find Golbez, but… I’ve already gone into the Den of Woe before. I will do it again. Just please… wait outside.”

“Are you saying you want to go in there alone!?”

“Don’t be foolish, Yuna,” Paine said. “We’ll manage it together just like we did last time.”

Terra fixed her eyes on Tidus. “Can this shade’s influence reach outside of the cave? Earlier, Maria and I saw Tidus on the beach. And he was acting strangely.”

Tidus looked at her and blinked. “Huh? Me? I’ve been with Yuna and Paine the whole time.”

Yuna and Paine exchanged glances. “That may have been the shade,” Yuna said, hesitant. “His name is Shuyin. They look similar.”

“And if he’s here, then this cave really is trouble,” said Paine.

“You’ve told me a bit about him,” Tidus said, lowering his voice. “We’ve got to go in. Yuna, I can never hurt you. I’m still your guardian.”

“I know,” said Yuna, taking a deep breath. “I’m just worried I might hurt you.”

Lights that Yuna called pyreflies lazily drifted through the darkness of the cave, beautiful and trailing a rainbow of colors behind them. The Den of Woe wasn’t particularly deep, but it was cavernous, and the pyreflies acted as their only source of light until Terra lit a flame in her palm. As they navigated the darkness, Terra felt flashes of painful memories: the slave crown. The war. Transforming into an esper for the first time. The catastrophe of the World of Ruin. Kefka’s laughter, ringing out in her head over and over again. How could they have left the Mako Cannon in working condition when they left Junon? How could Terra have been so stupid?

“Think of your friends,” Yuna advised. “Think of the people you love. Shuyin’s soul was trapped here for centuries, reliving the moment of his death and his lover’s death over and over again. It twisted him. Tortured him. We brought him rest, but… it seems this world has other plans.”

“That’s horrible,” Terra said, heeding her words with images of Celes, Locke, Edgar, Mog, and the others, but an ache settled in her heart for Shuyin’s sake. She couldn’t imagine living through such a thing for that long. Thoughts of Mobliz helped her feel warmer again.

“My mind is still my own,” Maria said. “Perhaps the dangers are not as much of a concern as in your world.”

A scream echoed from deeper in the cavern as if to instantly prove her wrong, hoarse with pain. “Get out! Get out!”

They all froze in alarm, broken only when Paine shouted out in recognition. “That’s Golbez!”

Deeper into the darkness, they found the armored sorcerer fighting off invisible foes, clutching his head and shouting in agony. Pyreflies swarmed around him, no longer placid like at the cave’s beginning. “Foul spirit, out! Out of my head!” Ice and lightning burst from his hands, aimed erratically but nearly striking Tyro.

“What do we do?” Terra asked, magic crackling in her hands. “Do we fight him?”

“Many have lost their lives in the Den of Woe,” Yuna said, bearing her staff. “We’ll have to think of another way!”

“Well, think of something quick,” Paine said, as Golbez’s shadow dragon swiped at them. “Or else we’re going to have to kick his ass. Nonlethally.”

“Not… again!” Golbez shouted, clutching his helm. “I will not yield!”

“He’s got nothing but darkness at his core,” a voice rang out around them, echoing off of the cave walls. “I see only destruction in his memories. He deserves this, just like the rest of you.”

“That’s not true!” Tyro shouted back at the voice. “Golbez has changed!”

“That’s Shuyin,” Paine said, her voice gruff as she hefted her sword. “He’s just an angry spirit. He won’t listen to reason.”

“Well then we’ll make him listen!” Tidus declared. “No one who looks like me is going to act like this.”

“Zemus…” Golbez said, making them all stop. For the first time since she had met him, Golbe’s voice actually shook with fear. That scared Terra most of all. “Leave me be…”

“We have to hurry,” Paine said. “The longer we’re here, the more we’re at risk of being possessed.”

“Wait,” said Yuna, holding her arms out. “Something isn’t right! I've just remembered -- Seymour is no longer an Unsent. In this world, when we are summoned, anyone who has died is brought back to life. Shuyin shouldn’t be able to possess us!”

“Then what’s he doing to Golbez?” Maria asked.

“He’s controlling the pyreflies,” Yuna said. “It’s those that are getting into Golbez’s head. Shuyin, show yourself!”

A man appeared behind Golbez, emerging from the shadows. Terra gasped – he really did look just like Tidus, but with narrower eyes and a harsh gaze. Even his clothes looked vaguely similar. They could have been brothers. “Even here, in a completely different world, you all still fight and hate and destroy,” Shuyin said. “I saw that machina weapon strike your airship down.”

“C’mon Golbez, fight it off!” Tyro urged the knight in black. “You’ve faced much worse than this!”

“Think of your brother, Cecil!” said Maria. “He knows you are strong. He cares for you, just as we all do!”

“Well, now he’s got a physical form,” said Paine. “All the better for us.”

“Shuyin, don’t you remember what Lenne told you?” Yuna's plea made Shuyin's eyes widen. “The message we worked so hard to deliver?”

He glared at her with such revulsion that it made Terra take a step back. “How do you know that name? Who are you!?”

“With her final breath, Lenne told you that she loved you,” Yuna said, unwavering. “You can’t have forgotten!”

“Yuna, that was never Shuyin,” Paine said. “Just his shadow. This is the real thing – he never got that message!”

“I don’t know who you people are!” Shuyin spat. “Get away from me!”

Golbez let out another wordless yell, Flare magic ripping apart the air all around him. The sudden brightness and heat made Terra shield her eyes. She saw Tidus grab Yuna and cover her with his body, and the explosive power behind Golbez’s spell threw them all back.

By the time Terra reoriented herself, Shuyin was gone.

Scorch marks formed a circle around Golbez, who stood hunched over with his armor rising and falling from deep breaths. Most of the pyreflies around him had vanished. Everyone else looked unharmed except for Tidus, who already had Yuna at his back to administer healing. Terra rushed to Yuna’s side to supplement the healing with her own.

“Golbez, you back with us?” Paine asked, back on her feet.

He looked up at them. Terra couldn’t sense his feelings underneath the helm. “I am,” he said. “My apologies for – ”

“No apologies,” Maria cut him off. “No brooding about this like Leon does. Just say ‘thank you’ and be done with it, alright?”

He exhaled and stood up straight. “Then… you have my thanks.”

“Who is Lenne?” Terra asked Yuna later, after they returned to the beach. So far, no one else showed up from the crash.

“The woman he loved,” Yuna said, staring out to the sea. “She was a summoner called to the front lines of a war from a thousand years ago. Shuyin gave his life to save her, but they died together.”

Terra had no words. To go so far for love, and to still perish like that… and furthermore, to suffer for a thousand years. She couldn’t imagine a worse fate.

“How are we gonna find the others?” Tidus asked, recovered from his burns. Terra turned back to the others, who found an open area on the beach away from the wreckage. “Golbez, can you make us a big airship again like you did last time?”

“It seems I cannot,” he said. “I have already tried. Anything I try to create with the Torsions is a pale imitation of what came before. And furthermore, it did not seem to have the same capabilities as our previous airships – growing and changing to accommodate our increasing numbers. We may need the help of the engineers to create a new airship from scratch, or perhaps find a new one. I only wish I knew what happened to those who leapt into my Torsion on the airship."

“I hope that bomb Mr. Haze put in the engine room is okay,” said Tyro. “When the cannon hit, I thought the fire was going to consume us all – but I think the bomb ate all the fire and stopped it from blowing everything up.”

“I saw it fly toward Junon,” said Maria. “Who would have thought that bomb would protect us?”

The fact that Golbez could not create a new airship for them was another unsettling reminder that this world was changing. Now that they had been separated again, without an airship or either of their leaders, Terra wondered how they would be able to save the espers now.

Character abilities:

Shuyin (Swords) Non-elemental melee damage, follow ups, turn steal, self buffs, HP Poison, HP Silence, Blindness

15: Vita Brevis

35: Noli Me Tangere

EX: Memento Mori (enables Pallida Mors, Mors Certa follow ups)

LD: Guardian of Woe

FR: Lamentation of Loss (with Thancred)

BT: Terror of Zanarkand

Burst theme: "Their Resting Place," which plays during the final battle against Shuyin

Most of Shuyin's abilities actually come from the sequence of Vegnagun boss fights at the end of the game with its tail, body, and head. His LD is an original ability that allows him to buff himself and turn steal, while his Burst is an ability that Shuyin himself uses in the final battle against him (which is basically Tidus's Blitz Ace animation). I wanted to focus more on Vegnagun with his kit since everything from the Shuyin boss fight is basically a reskinned Tidus Overdrive.

He has a pretty nasty combo of HP Poison, HP Silence, and Blindness as a follow up attack with Mors Certa to shut down enemies.

His Force partner actually changed a couple of times but I'm happy with this one. Originally his partner was Lunafreya, which kinda fit as a Lenne stand-in, and Thancred was actually Kimahri's partner until I moved things around.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Ode to Kweh!?

Chocobo ( Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon )

A chocobo named Chocobo who adventures in search of treasure as a loyal partner to Cid. Pure of heart, he arrives in the town of Lostime to help the people by delving into mysterious ‘memory dungeons’ within the recesses of their minds. Above all, Chocobo loves to make people happy by cheering them up with a hearty “kweh!”

Shirma Magnolie ( Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon )

Voiced by: Sayaka Senbogi

A young white mage who lives on the outskirts of Lostime with her aunt. Believing that everyone should have the right to keep their own memories, good or bad, they avoid the ringing Bell of Oblivion in the center of town that makes everyone forget their troubles. Shirma is the Oracle of Light, a guardian of the seal that binds the Destroyer, and uses her powers to help Chocobo in his battles.

ACE

Ace groaned as he felt something hard nudge against his cheek. His whole body ached; exhaustion weighed down his eyelids and all he wanted to do was keep sleeping. Everything felt so warm.

Something nipped at his fingers and he yelped, opening his eyes to see two chocobos in his face.

He blinked away his grogginess and gently pushed both beaks out of the way so he could sit up straight, stretching out his neck and rubbing his shoulder. He had quite the fall – the blast from the airship had thrown him around his cabin, and when he went out into the hall he stumbled until he found Minwu, who cast teleportation spells on everyone he saw to get them to safety. The problem was, Ace distinctly remembered the rush job releasing him in midair. At least nothing was broken. Much better than falling to his death, at any rate.

He scratched under Chichiri’s chin. “Thanks for keeping an eye out for me, girl. I’m glad you made it.” She warbled at him happily in response.

When he looked at the second chocobo, his eyes widened. He expected it to be Chichiri’s mate, the one she found in this world, but he didn’t recognize this chocobo at all. It was smaller than normal, but without the down of a chick, with large blue eyes and a pouch strapped around its neck.

“Uh… hello,” Ace said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your breed of chocobo around. Since you have that pouch, do you have an owner around somewhere?”

The chocobo only blinked and tilted its head at him. Ace reached out to see if he could get a clue from the contents of the pouch, but the unfamiliar chocobo pecked his hand away.

“Ouch! Okay, I get it. Sorry for reaching.”

He pushed himself to his feet and stretched out his stiff legs. He already felt the bruises along his back and shoulders forming. Shielding his eyes from the bright sun, he took in his surroundings. He’d been teleported to an open, grassy field. Mountains rose high in the distance with a forest around its base that looked like tiny bushes from his location. Everything was nondescript enough that he didn’t know where to begin searching for his companions. He really wished this world was easier to map.

“Where’s your mate, Chichiri?” Ace asked. “Did he get teleported out of there with us?”

Chichiri let out a low cooing sound and her head drooped. 

Ace frowned, petting her with sympathy. “I’m sure he’s fine,” he said. “Just like everyone else. We’ve just got to find them.”

The other chocobo nudged against Chichiri and let out a little song in what Ace could only assume was encouragement, and Chichiri jumped up and flapped her wings in response. She stomped both of her feet and then lowered her neck toward Ace, as if she wanted him to mount up and ride her.

“Pumped up now, huh?” Ace asked, smiling. “Alright, let’s go search.”

Chichiri pulled him with so much intensity toward a grove nestled between a pair of hills that Ace kept bouncing up and down in the saddle. She only ever paused to let the smaller chocobo catch up to them; Ace suspected that some conversation transpired he couldn’t begin to fathom. Despite their urgency, his bruises, and the fact that all of his friends were missing, he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the ride across an open field, bathed by the sun’s rays.

At the edge of the grove, he spotted familiar figures and his shoulders sagged with relief. Krile stood just outside the treeline, peeking into the forest with Carbuncle at her feet and Mog curled up next to him.

“Hey there!” Ace called out. Chichiri crooned as they came to a stop and he dismounted, but she still appeared restless and ready to dive right into the grove. “Thanks, girl – but what has you so worked up?”

“Ace! You’re okay!” Krile said. “And you too, Chichiri! But ohh, who is that cutie?” She put her hands on her knees as she bent down and grinned at the little chocobo.

“I woke up and he was there with Chichiri,” Ace said. He frowned with worry as he regarded Mog, whose pom sagged while he rested. “Is Mog okay? He teleported most of us out of there, didn’t he?”

Krile smiled at the moogle fondly. “He did, but he’s exhausted now. I did what I could, but I think he just needs rest. He really saved all of our lives once again.” She bit her lip. “I’m just worried about everyone else. I didn’t see what happened to Grandpa…”

“I’m sure everyone else is fine,” Ace said. “Even if Mog didn’t manage to get all of us to safety, we’re all really strong. And great in a pinch.”

“It was that Kefka, was it not?” Carbuncle asked with an upturned nose. “Nasty piece of work, that one. I am sure you’ll all make him rue the day he attacked your ship. Now… may we get to the matter at hand?”

Chichiri crowed as if in agreement while the smaller chocobo chirped.

“Do you know what they’re saying?” Ace asked Krile. “What’s going on?”

“Chichiri says her mate is in there! But Carbuncle led me here,” she said. “It’s a chocobo forest! And he says the Chocobo summon is inside.” Krile looked toward the trees. “To be honest, I’m a little hesitant to head in there alone. The Chocobo summon isn’t a particularly powerful one, but if it’s corrupted I’m nervous about dealing with it myself, you know?”

“You’ve got me now,” Ace said. “But… I don’t blame you. I think it feels wrong to fight a chocobo.”

The little chocobo tilted its head, but marched right in.

“Wait, little guy!” Ace exclaimed, following it. “It’s dangerous!”

Krile cradled Mog in her arms and gently placed him on Chichiri’s back. “Let’s go,” she said.

Within the shadows of the trees, Ace felt a marked difference in the air; a weight from something dark and foul. For a chocobo forest, Ace found the lack of chocobos disturbing – until he heard a chocobo’s cry that made Chichiri answer it in distress. The little chocobo picked up speed, outpacing both Ace and Krile with a fervor it didn’t show on the field, and when they all burst through the bushes together into a clearing Ace readied his deck of cards.

A girl – a white mage, from the look of her – held her staff out to ward a cluster of imps away, protecting Chichiri’s mate. Before Ace or Krile could attack, the little chocobo launched forward with a flurry of kicks and pecks, dispatching the monsters when Ace could only slacken his jaw in surprise.

“I’ve never seen a chocobo fight like that,” Ace said.

The white mage smiled. “That’s Chocobo – he’s the most heroic chocobo I’ve ever met.” She patted him on the beak as he preened. “Thanks for helping us!”

“He’s a friend of yours?” Ace asked. “I’m Ace, and this is Krile, Carbuncle, and Mog – and that’s Chichiri.” Chichiri nuzzled up against her mate, and it made Ace realize they never thought of a name for him. “That’s her mate. Thank you for looking after him.”

“Chocobo led us right to you,” said Krile. “He said he met Chichiri’s mate earlier, and he rushed right in!”

“I’m Shirma,” the girl said. She stood on her tip-toes to look at Chichiri’s saddle. “Does Mog need healing?”

“The moogle will be fine,” said Carbuncle. “But we have to find Chocobo. Let’s go!”

“Kweh?” said Chocobo.

“I think he means the summoned Chocobo,” Krile said. “Let me explain…”

“Chocobo and I have been through a lot together,” said Shirma. They searched through the forest, though the eidolon proved elusive. Carbuncle insisted it was still nearby, but couldn’t pinpoint its location any further. “But I never expected us to end up in a different world.”

Mog had awoken during Krile’s explanation, but his pom continued to hang as they made their way through the forest. “I’m sorry, kupo – I didn’t help Ace and Krile find you.”

“You couldn’t,” Ace corrected him. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, Mog. You were unconscious after saving our lives.”

“And now I don’t know where everyone is again, kupo…”

“We’ll find all of our friends,” said Krile. “I know our search for the summons will lead us right to everyone again.”

“Yes, you found Chocobo and I,” said Shirma. “So don’t sweat it!”

“At least this time we didn’t forget our leader again,” Ace said. He supposed the reason for their split was rather mundane compared to the destruction of the previous World of Respite.

Krile frowned. “Well… we wouldn’t really know if we forgot about someone, would we?”

Ace pondered her words as he searched the shadows among the trees. “I’m not so sure. I feel like I’d at least have an inkling. When you lose a memory, it’s like having a hole but you don’t know what’s supposed to fill it.”

“I know what you mean,” said Shirma. “Where I come from, all the people think they’re better off forgetting everything. That it’s better to live in bliss rather than deal with bad memories. And as much as I believed that they were all wrong, that we all had to accept the good and the bad, there were things that I forgot, too. For so long I felt lost without those memories. Like I didn’t fully know who I was.”

“Sounds like the people in your town thought the same way as Materia,” Krile said.

“Unsure of your own identity when you’ve got lost memories, huh…” Ace said. His elbow settled into the palm of his other hand as they walked. What did that say about the people of his world who forgot everyone who ever died? “I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it that way.”

“Hey, have you all been paying attention?” Carbuncle asked suddenly. “This chocobo forest didn’t seem so big from the outside. It’s like we’re going in circles.”

Krile stopped. “Do you think the Chocobo summon has trapped us here?”

“Kweh!”

Chocobo turned toward Chichiri’s mate, eyes narrowed and legs bent as if he prepared to charge. Chichiri’s mate had stopped walking. Chichiri’s feathers ruffled as she backed away, and even Ace felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as they all turned to look behind them at the three chocobos. Wisps of darkness seeped from the male chocobo’s feathers and his eyes turned black.

“The corruption!” Carbuncle exclaimed.

“Wait, kupo,” said Mog. “Does that mean Chichiri’s mate was the Chocobo summon all along!?”

“He’s got so much anger in him,” said Krile, holding her staff in front of her as Shirma did the same. Her voice shook. “He wants to hurt us. Wants to end us. He’s mad that I figured out his trick!”

Ace’s cards fluttered around him, floating as a sort of barrier. “Are we supposed to fight a chocobo?”

Chocobo, the smaller one, trotted up to the summon with determined chirps and warbles. The summon squawked back at him. Chocobo shook his tail feathers. The larger chocobo pecked at him but Chocobo didn’t back down, shaking and flapping his wings as he circled around Chichiri’s mate. Chichiri stood by Ace but kicked out her legs and hooted in distress.

“What’re they saying?” Ace asked Krile.

“Chocobo is trying to make him remember his love for Chichiri,” Krile translated. “And he’s denying it… but it sounds to me like he’s in a lot of pain. Chocobo’s insisting there’s still light in him, and telling Chichiri to keep calling out for her mate!”

“Come on, Chichiri!” Shirma cheered her on. “You can do it! Help him remember!”

Both Chocobo and the summon fixated on each other, shaking their tail feathers as they circled and pumped their wings. They fell into a sort of dance; time seemed to slow as both chocobos fought with beak and talon, but this was more than a simple scuffle between two birds – love and fate were riding on their backs in the ultimate struggle for salvation of the hearts of Chichiri and her mate. 

The summon stretched its neck out high, flapping its wings as it focused its magic to conjure a meteor high above. It came crashing down, tearing through the sky to bring calamity down upon the chocobo forest below. Ace knew this titanic clash was just between the two chocobos – all he could do was shield himself along with Krile and Shirma as wind and heat threatened to flatten the forest.

Before the meteor impacted, Chocobo leapt up and delivered a mighty kick to the summoned Chocobo’s face.

The meteor vanished and wind rushed to fill in the space it left behind, kicking up dirt and dust and leaves. Both chocobos froze in time, the silence between them so dense that Ace couldn’t even hear the others’ breaths. Like the moment before a wave crashed against a shore, everything hung in a balance until the deluge broke and a shockwave spread out from their clash. The darkness swarming around the Chocobo summon dissipated like the meteor had, and he collapsed.

“Amazing…” Krile said. Then she gasped. “Oh! He needs healing!”

“I’ve got him!” said Shirma, but then a light shone around Chichiri’s mate and he floated above them. As they gathered around him, he warbled at Chichiri.

“He’s saying he cherished his time among us, walking among mortals and real chocobos outside of the World of Illusions,” Krile said, tears welling in her eyes. “But he’ll never forget us. He’ll never forget Chichiri. He wants to thank us for everything.” Chichiri herself let out a cry, jumping up as if trying to reach him. “Oh, Chichiri… He knows.”

The light intensified, and when it died down, a piece of magicite floated down to land in Ace’s hands. It was warm, but his heart ached in sorrow for Chichiri as he leaned into her and pet her neck.

“He’s still with us, girl,” he said, holding the magicite up to her. “See? You’ll always be able to sense him. We saved him.” He looked down at Chocobo, smiling. “Chocobo saved him.”

Chocobo swayed in a way that made Ace think he was being bashful. “Kweh…”

Chichiri dropped her head but let out a trilling sound that was both beautiful and sad.

“She understands what needed to be done,” Krile said. “She’s thankful that he’s free from the darkness now.”

“I see the edge of the chocobo forest, kupo!” said Mog. “And I can sense the lights of our friends!”

“And now we have two new friends,” Ace said, more for Chichiri’s benefit. “You’ll never be alone.”

“You hear that, Chocobo?” Shirma asked, grinning. “They’re our friends now!”

Chocobo let out a happy sound, waving at them with one wing.

“And that is our second magicite. Though I must warn you – they will only get more powerful from here. So be resolute, and remember your strength.” Carbuncle walked ahead of them, waving his tails as he left the heartfelt goodbye behind him seemingly without a care. It was as if the spell had been broken. “Even Chocobo’s uncommon tenacity will not be enough to save your sorry hides.”

“Ouch,” Ace said, as both he and Krile winced.

“Gee, thanks,” said Krile.

Chocobo tilted his head but chirped as he followed them out of the forest.

Character abilities:

Chocobo (Unique - Talons) Non elemental melee damage speed buffs, turn manipulation, offensive auras

15: Choco Kick

35: Chocobo Drop

EX: Chocobo Dash

LD: Camelot

FR: Cavalry Chocomet (with Ace)

BT: Chocobo Kick Zero

Burst theme: "Dubstep de Chocobo," the Chocobo theme from Every Buddy!, the remake of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon

Chocobo's abilities all come from his Freelancer job, with his LD coming from Knight. His fighting style is pretty much what it says above, basically allowing him to pull the party's turns around to keep them away from enemies.

Shirma (Staff) Non-elemental magic attacker, healing, battery, support, BRV and HP shield, Sleep

15: Cure Charge

35: Manaward

EX: Lostime Dia

LD: Sleepy Shuffle

FR: Memory of Light (with Ryne)

BT: Oracle’s Holy

Burst theme: "The Town of Lostime," Lostime's normal town theme, which is itself a remix of a different song from earlier in the series like the rest of the soundtrack -- in this case, "Tarutaru Male," from FFXI

As one of Chocobo's Buddies who can come along with him in dungeons in the remake, Every Buddy!, she only has the Cure spell. I expanded it to give her more abilities (or variations of them) from the White Mage job, plus one from Dancer for variety. She is a healer and battery who can defend allies with BRV and HP shields to reduce damage, and also inflict Sleep which functions more or less like Edward's does.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Walking Tall

Regis Lucis Caelum ( Final Fantasy XV )

Voiced by: Tsutomu Isobe

113th monarch in the line of Lucis and father of Noctis. Regis channeled the power of the Crystal to conjure an enormous barrier and shield the city of Insomnia, though sustaining the barrier took an enormous toll that sapped him of his life force over the course of thirty years. At present, Regis's condition has worsened to the point that he can barely walk without aid—yet he still managed to send his son Noctis off to his wedding with a smile on his face.

SEYMOUR

The dry, dusty air irritated Seymour’s skin as he wandered the unfamiliar desert landscape. His robes felt heavier than usual, making the heat even more unpleasant, and it reminded him more and more that the protections of this world’s aeons were fading. The inconveniences of life were becoming more pronounced; heat and cold and exhaustion had begun to plague him again as it likely did for the others, and “will” was becoming less effective. Reality would not just bend to the whims of anyone anymore.

Soon, they would be able to die. If it had not happened already.

The curse of immortality granted to them in this world had neutered Seymour’s plans to grant the respite of death to everyone. But he still couldn’t act. Though death once again prepared to rear her beautiful head, Unsent did not exist in this world. Death only meant pain. In a way, the protection of the aeons felt similar to being Unsent. With its absence, Seymour only felt more keenly aware of that. Here, death was finality. It meant the end of his ambitions.

So now he wondered: could he find a way to change the laws of this world, as so many others had failed to do before him, and become Unsent?

Or would he reinforce the protections they had lost?

His musings were interrupted when he came across a small settlement of rusty metal, battered by the desert as if for decades though Seymour knew this landscape had only recently appeared. Machina vehicles suffered from years of disuse, but it was quiet here. Peaceful, away from the distant roars of monsters. In front of one of the buildings, he saw a man who stood with a cane as if deep in thought, swathed in a black cape that looked about as stifling as Seymour’s robes.

Seymour had come because he wanted to investigate the change in the landscape. With it, he knew that typically accompanied new warriors. But this man, with his cane and a leg brace, did not appear to be much of a warrior.

“Greetings,” Seymour said as he approached. “I take it you are a new arrival to this world?”

The man turned toward Seymour, eyes widening only a fraction before the man schooled his initial reaction behind a careful mask. The man was older than he appeared at a distance, with wrinkles around his forehead and eyes, and hair that had long since gone gray. “A new world, you say? But it looks just like one I recognize, just without the people.”

“Let me take the liberty of explaining, since the gods of this world are still indisposed,” Seymour said. “The will of the crystal summons warriors from worlds far and wide with the singular intention of fighting each other to generate an energy that keeps this new world alive.”

“Crystals and gods,” the man mused with a low rumble of thought. “Hmm. Not to alarm you, but does this crystal also summon its warriors back from the beyond? Because if my memories serve, I should not be here.”

Seymour’s lips curled into a smile. “It has a habit of doing that, yes.”

The man grasped the top of his cane with both hands. “I see. You have my gratitude for this information. Might I ask one more boon of you?”

Seymour dipped into a bow, more out of a desire to appear accommodating and trustworthy rather than any form of obeisance. From his disposition and manner of dress, the man seemed lordly – if not kingly. Always the right sort of person to know. “However may I help?”

“Do you know of anyone named Noctis? He is my son, and I should like to see him again.”

Seymour’s smile fell. Yet another whose father had been summoned to this world from beyond death. Another who had a chance to reunite with those they loved. How could even this world continue to be so cruel in robbing Seymour of the same grace? Lady Yuna could see Lord Braska again. Would Seymour’s own mother never arrive? She was a warrior, a guardian – his guardian – so he did not understand why she wouldn’t come. Questions stormed in his mind. Was it a matter of waiting? Would he need to reestablish this world’s protections after all, to keep it alive as long as possible to make way for her summoning?

Then another question snaked to the forefront of his thoughts, a potential outcome so maddening that Seymour had never allowed himself to consider it before.

What if the crystals summoned his father instead?

He would simply murder Jyscal again. And he would continue to kill again and again until his mother showed up if that was what it took.

Amidst the cacophony of his thoughts, Seymour smiled again as he answered the man’s question. “I do know him – and furthermore, I know how to find him.”

NOCTIS

“Hey, would you look at that,” said Noctis, putting his hands on his hips. “We’re in Leide.”

The familiar sun-baked desert stretched out before them, an expanse of dirt and stone broken by the occasional parched skeleton of some long-fallen creature and the distant Longwythe Peak. Asphalt roads connected to each other in a spider web of routes, dotted with rest stops and power lines. He could even see the Wall in the distance, but experience in this world told him that it didn’t necessarily mean Insomnia was on the other side.

“Perfect,” said Gladio, joining him at the top of the ridge as they overlooked the area. “Wonder if we can find Hammerhead and get some wheels. Or at least some spare parts to repair what parts of the Falcon we can find. If that's possible."

“Assuming cars work in this world,” said Cor, with his usual practicality. “Always consider the possibility that things may not be as they seem, and unlike home.”

“Kinda brings me back,” Noctis admitted. Right at the beginning of his journey to wed Luna, the Regalia had broken down and they had to push it on foot. Now, they were without an airship and had to hoof it again. “Think we’ll find the Regalia itself there?”

“Maybe, but if you think you’re driving it ‘cause Iggy’s not here, think again,” Gladio said, slapping Noct’s back. “We’ve got the safety of your lady wife to think about now.”

Noctis furrowed his brow. Did he have to tease right in front of Luna? “You know my driving is totally fine!”

“I kindly ask you not to tease my husband,” Luna said, almost imperiously – there was a hardness in her voice that Noctis rarely heard. Gladio’s mouth clamped shut, startled, and Noctis himself stared at her in surprise. “I happen to know from experience that his driving is perfectly adequate – he so adored showing me his collection of toy cars when we were children.”

Noct’s jaw dropped as she smiled , and Gladio howled with laughter.

“Betrayed by my own wife,” Noctis said, his face reddening as he held a hand over his heart. “Ouch.” He said that, but as they both locked eyes for a moment he knew that neither of them would trade an opportunity like this for the world. He never imagined she would ever join in with banter, and he loved it.

Ravus didn’t so much as crack a smirk. “Let us hope that we find more than one vehicle,” he said. “Since we would not all fit in just one.”

Noctis looked back at the last two members of their traveling party that had escaped the wreckage. Joshua kept close to Braska, perhaps because they were the only two among their company not from the same world. “Are you going to be okay in those heavy robes?” he asked Braska.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” he replied. “I am accustomed to traveling all through Spira’s many climes.”

“If the king ends up driving, I may have to worry,” Cor quipped, getting another laugh out of Gladio. “Without your two guardians here, I’ll protect you in their stead.”

Noctis groaned. “You too, Cor?”

“I would be glad to have you as my temporary guardian.” Braska smiled, but his eyes followed the road ahead and then narrowed. “Is that Seymour I see coming our way?”

Noctis squinted and shielded his eyes from the sun as he watched the person approach – but it didn’t take much to recognize Seymour’s distinctive silhouette. “What’s he doing here?” he asked, as he and the others tensed.

Gladio, Cor, and Ravus put a buffer between Seymour and everyone else as the maester approached. He didn’t look like he was ready to fight, but Noctis knew he was always usually up to something.

“My, my, what has you all on edge?” Seymour asked, offering them the Spiran prayer bow.

“Do you need to ask?” Noctis said. “What do you want?”

Seymour smiled. “Such hostility. I have only come to notify you that I believe an ally of yours has made his way to this world. He was an old man, and we spoke down by the settlement that way.” He pointed toward the direction Noctis knew Hammerhead Station to be.

“An old man?” Gladio asked, glancing back at Noctis and Cor. “Cid, maybe?”

“It would make sense,” Noctis said, shrugging. “He wouldn’t want to leave the garage if he could help it.”

“Do not listen to his lies!”

A voice – one that Noctis knew well, and never expected to hear again – shouted out in warning, giving them time to shield themselves from a blast of lightning that snapped toward Seymour. Seymour barely managed to shield himself, but then a black streak flashed in front of them – then the swirl of a cape, and Noctis nearly dropped his sword when his father materialized in front of them. He threw his sword at Seymour and teleported to close range, slashing to kill.

Seymour avoided most of the damage, stumbling back, but the sword cut a gash across his chest. He let out a grunt of pain and a Torsion opened behind him. “So it seems this world hasn’t degraded enough to let you die yet after all,” he said, seething at Regis.

Before anyone else could go on the attack, Seymour vanished into the Torsion and it closed behind him.

“Dad!” Noctis yelled out, rushing to his father’s side. He grasped his shoulder just as Regis turned around. Though his father cringed with pain, his face softened into a smile.

“My son… so it’s true,” he said.

Noctis looked down at where his father held the left side of his ribs, spotting blood seeping through his fingers. His eyes widened. He couldn’t lose his father again. Not now. “No! You’re hurt!”

“I can heal him!” Joshua said, rushing over with healing magic at the ready. “Let me help!”

“A child who can use magic… this really is a different world, after all. He took me by surprise,” Regis said through rasping breaths. He stumbled backward, but Gladio and Cor caught him. “I…”

Noctis watched his father collapse, and dread gripped every inch of his body.

“I’ve never seen you move like that, Dad,” Noctis said, once they had managed to carry him to Hammerhead Station so Joshua and Luna could tend to his wound more easily. Both of them noted how their healing magic didn’t work like it normally did in this world, indicating to everyone that Regis really did have a chance of dying there. But according to Luna, the worst of it had passed – he would be okay.

Noctis had his father again.

They found him a camp chair and they all rested outside of one of the Hammerhead RVs as night fell. 

“Though I may look as you knew me last, I feel quite a lot younger,” Regis said. “Invigorated. The crystal is no longer sapping my power in this world, it seems.”

“You still need to be careful, Your Highness,” said Cor, standing guard behind Noctis. “This world has plenty of dangers, even before we started to lose our immortality.”

“Enough with the ‘Your Highness’ formalities,” Regis said, waving him off. “I am no longer your king – he’s right there next to you.”

“You will always bear the title of a king, like your forebears,” Luna said, leaning forward in her own chair. “You must still be given all the honors you deserve. I’ll never forget how you gave your life for the Ring of the Lucii. For the world.”

“For you, my dear,” Regis corrected her. “And for Noctis. Honors and titles mean little when in this world I can simply be a father who is happy for his son and his wife.”

“I agree with the sentiment,” said Braska. “This world has given so many of us another chance.”

“Woo, yeah!” Gladio’s voice rang out from the direction of the garage. It accompanied the growl of an engine. “Got her working again! Got another junk car going, too – we’re gonna need at least two.”

Noctis stood up and grinned as Gladio steered the Regalia out of the garage, its black paint gleaming in the moonlight. “Picked up a few things from Cindy, huh?”

Ravus walked out of the garage with him. Noctis had been surprised when he volunteered to help get the car working again, but he realized later that Ravus had been avoiding his father.

“Would you two like some time alone while the rest of us go take a look at this car?” Braska asked, looking between Noct and Regis.

Luna stood, departing with Joshua to join the others with a smile at Noctis.

After they left, Noctis didn’t really know what to say, so instead the two of them watched everyone crowd around the Regalia from a distance.

“That boy reminds me of you when you were young,” Regis said, watching Joshua push himself up to climb into the back seat.

“You think so?” Noct asked. “We’ve made a lot of friends here.”

“So it seems,” Regis replied. “Though I was attacked upon first coming here, this is still an amazing world.” He looked at Noctis, his eyes twinkling. “It has given us the opportunity to speak again. With each other, with Lunafreya – even with Ravus.”

“Doesn’t seem like Ravus is ready to talk with you yet, though,” Noctis said, lacing his fingers together.

“He will, in time,” Regis replied, leaning back. “The fact that he is fighting alongside you says enough. I’m so proud of you, my son. Both as a king and as your father. And I’m sorry for everything you have gone through – for saddling you with the immense burden of the whole world. For raising you to give your life in service to it.”

Noctis felt his face reddening. “I know that already. And it’s okay. Everything worked out.”

Regis looked at him, and for the first time that he could remember he saw true apprehension in his father’s eyes and heard hesitancy in his voice. “Is it? Truly? I know a simple apology could never suffice for…”

“Really, it’s okay,” Noctis assured him. “I’m happy here. More than I can say. You were the missing piece – there’s nothing more that I can ask for.”

Regis closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. “You have lived your life walking tall. Taller than I ever could. And now, for the first time – I will fight alongside you, instead of in front or in back, for the sake of this world.”

Character abilities:

Regis Lucis Caelum (Swords) Holy/Lightning magic damage, Holy/Lightning enchant, turn deletion, turn warp, gravity dmg

15: Ring Magic Holy

35: Ring Magic Death

EX: Elemancy - Lightning Strike

LD: Armiger of the Father

FR: Honored Fallen (with Angeal)

BT: Alterna

Burst theme: "The Final Battle," boss theme in "A King's Tale" against Ultros

Since Regis mostly has the same abilities as Noctis, I decided to give him the Ring Magic from the Ring of the Lucii. When he uses magic in the movie, it's also a lightning spell. He deals Holy and Lightning magic damage, with turn warping mechanics similar to Noctis, turn deletion, and gravity damage.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Heart of Stone

Sarah Burtgang ( Final Fantasy Dimensions )

Voiced by: Chiwa Saito

A princess of the fallen kingdom of Burtgang, which was conquered by the Avalonian Empire. Taken captive by the empire and forced to carry out their dirty work, she is on a mission to steal the crystal of Lux when it unexpectedly chooses her to be a Warrior of Light. Generally cautious and reserved around others, she has a caring heart and becomes vocal about defeating the Empire, avenging her family, and restoring her kingdom.

LIGHTNING

Jihl Nabaat was not one of her first choices for a companion, to say the least.

The Torsion that opened as the airship started to crash had spit them out in a craggy mountain pass, with gray slate, dirt paths, and scraggly weeds that clung to the mountainside. When it had been just the two of them, Lightning wasn’t concerned about Nabaat taking her by surprise and betraying her, but when they regrouped with Lenna and Sherlotta she wasn’t sure if the others would be on their guard around her. With so few allies, Lightning wondered if Nabaat would take her chance.

“Where should we go?” Lenna asked, when they took a moment to rest after coming across a den of coeurls. “Without Mog, how are we supposed to find everyone?”

“We wait for Mog to find us,” Lightning said, dismissing her sword. “It’s our only reliable way to regroup with the others. He has our dimensional coordinates.”

“So what do we do? Just wait here?” Sherlotta asked, and her expression of distaste told Lightning everything she needed to know about her opinion on that.

Nabaat brushed her hair over her shoulder and looked around. “I say we make ourselves more accessible, at least. Work our way down the mountain pass so it is easier for the others to find us.”

“Not a chance,” Lightning said, narrowing her eyes. “You know there’s tons of monsters down that way. We’ll be overrun with just us four.”

Maybe it was best that Nabaat was close so that Lightning could keep an eye on her.

“Very well,” Nabaat said, showing her palms. “It is only natural for you not to trust me yet. But I needn’t remind you that I was a PSICOM officer – and an accomplished strategist, if I say so myself.”

“Maybe we should consider it,” Lenna said to Lightning, an imploring softness in her eyes that reminded her all too much of Serah. “This pass is like a maze, and that path was the only way down that we’ve found so far.”

Lightning was about to retort to Nabaat when a screeching sound echoed among the crags.

Sherlotta clamped her hands over her ears and scowled. “What was that?”

“Mandragoras!” Lenna exclaimed. “Sounds like they’re fighting something. Maybe one of our friends!”

When they arrived at the scene of the battle, it was to see an unfamiliar girl with blue hair and a dull yellow shawl over a leather bodice and white robe. She fended off her enemies with a sword, light on her feet and jumping in and out of range of her five mandragora foes. Two lay dead at her feet.

Lenna was the first to attack, striking one of the mandragoras with a flurry of arrows. Sherlotta followed it up with a blast of magic from her hands, while Lightning dashed to dispatch two of them together before Nabaat could join the fray herself. With four of the monsters taking their focus off the stranger, the girl finished off the last one with an elegant slice, and then all the mandragoras disappeared into Torsions.

“Are you all right?” Lenna asked, dismissing her bow. Lightning was slower to unarm herself, checking the area for more monsters, but Nabaat didn’t even lower her baton.

“I’m fine,” the girl said. She looked between the four of them, her expression yielding nothing other than what Lightning perceived to be guarded indifference. “Who are you?”

Lenna introduced them, gesturing to each of her companions in turn. “Do you know this place?”

“I do,” the girl said, apparently deciding it was safe enough to dismiss her own sword. “My name is Sarah, and you are on Mt. Burtgang.”

Sherlotta clenched her fist and grinned. “That’s great! Then maybe you can guide us out of here. I’m so tired of just wandering around!”

Sarah’s eyes widened upon seeing Sherlotta’s tail flicking back and forth, but it was brief and she schooled her expression back to show an impassive wall. “Very well. Though it is rather strange… some parts of these passes appear to be different from what I am used to.”

Lightning put a hand on her hip. “There’s a reason for that.”

Sarah remained withdrawn as Lightning explained the World of Respite to her, but through the clenching of her jaw and the widening of her eyes Lightning saw right through her mask to the doubt carefully hidden beneath it. She walked at the head of their party with Lenna, who kept a conversation going to get to know their newest companion.

“You are awfully quick to trust her,” Nabaat said to Lightning, out of Sarah’s earshot. “She could be leading us right to our doom.”

“We have to give anyone new the benefit of the doubt, at least,” Sherlotta said. “What kind of life is that, to just reject them outright?”

“She could be taking advantage of our ignorance,” Nabaat continued. “Both regarding her identity and this place. It does not seem as if she is from the same world as any of our allies. She could be anyone.”

“You mean she’s only pretending to be friendly like you did when you first came to this world?” Lightning asked.

Nabaat smirked. “Exactly.”

Lightning quickened her pace, walking past Nabaat to match Lenna and Sarah with the gravel crunching underneath her feet. “That’s the difference with what we do. We don’t immediately assume the worst of people.”

Not anymore, at any rate.

“Do you live here, Sarah?” Lenna asked, as Lightning caught up to them.

“I live in the Kingdom of Burtgang,” Sarah said, keeping an eye on their surroundings. “If I really am in a different world, I worry for the state of my people. We’ve only just emerged from the end of a horrible battle and things are still unstable. Can you show me how to go back home?”

Lenna frowned. “I’m afraid not. I’m sorry. I worry for my kingdom back at home, too. But we must have faith they’ll remain strong in our absence.”

Sarah caught Lenna’s eye, then lowered her gaze to the ground as they walked. “I see,” she said, and offered nothing more.

Lenna looked back at Lightning with a wordless gesture, as if not sure what to make of Sarah.

“Well, we know Nabaat’s wrong,” Lightning said. “If she’s ‘acting friendly’ to get our guard down, then she’s doing a bad job of it.”

Sarah shot her a look, brows furrowed. “Excuse me? Are you accusing me of being the enemy? I have no association with the Empire of Avalon.”

“If you think your enemies only consist of that empire then you’ve got another thing coming,” Sherlotta said. “This world is full of all kinds of foes. Plus, you may have forgotten – we have no idea what Avalon is.”

Sarah looked away and crossed her arms. “Right.”

“Maybe we should stop and rest for a little,” Lenna suggested. “Regain our bearings. It’s been a long day.”

A chill descended over the mountain as the sun began to set, but after Lightning built a fire she still had to deal with Nabaat pushing her issue with Sarah.

“You just let her go off on her own?” Nabaat asked, the firelight reflecting in her glasses. “No one to watch her, no one to ensure she won’t just find some way to betray us?”

“She’s entitled to her privacy.”

Lenna clasped her hands together, frowning at Nabaat. “Coming to a new world, especially with none of her friends, is overwhelming. I’m sure you remember, yourself – it wasn’t that long ago for you. Sarah is kind. I can tell, so we don’t need to talk about her like this.”

“That boy Vivi trusted me from the moment he met me, and look how that turned out for him,” Nabaat countered.

“Are you trying to get us to kick you out of the group?” Lightning asked.

Sherlotta pursed her lips as she watched Nabaat. “I think I know what’s going on here. You’re not used to the concept of trust, especially if someone’s a stranger. You think the world is out to get you, and can’t really fathom when that isn’t the case.”

Nabaat scowled at her. “You don’t know me.”

A monster roared from the darkness, putting an end to their argument.

“That’s coming from where Sarah went,” Sherlotta said, springing to her feet.

“That sounded like a wind drake!” said Lenna, rushing toward the sound. Lightning scoffed at her tendency to rush right toward the danger without a second thought – without Faris here, it was her job to look out for Lenna.

“Are you coming?” Lightning asked Nabaat, who gave her a wordless nod and followed them into the night.

Beyond their camp, the sharp rocks jutting up from the mountainside looked like teeth, casting shadows under the moonlight that elongated into fangs that almost felt like they would clench around the party. Lightning mentally pushed away Nabaat’s warnings – she would not let Nabaat turn them against each other.

They found Sarah in an open space below them in a part of the mountain that seemed to have been a quarry at some time. She had her back to a winged blue drake, which bled from a gash across its scaly chest. Opposed to Sarah, with his blade glinting under a moonbeam, was Sephiroth. He looked as if even his hair was spun from moonlight.

Lightning cursed and leapt down to fight him, but Sephiroth was too fast for her and went on the attack.

Sarah’s shortsword came up in time to parry his first strike, but she had to dodge his follow up blows which cut gouges into the earth. When she was unable to dodge further, she conjured a magic barrier to block his next attack, but the force of it launched her back toward the wounded drake. Before he could finish her off, Lightning made it in time to lock her sword against his.

“What do you want?” she asked him, staring into his eerie, unblinking eyes.

He pushed her blade off of his and leapt backward so gracefully it was as if he was floating. “Conflict. As we always do. We were summoned here for a singular purpose, and it was in my way. I sought to impale that dragon upon my blade. A trophy.” He smiled at her; the grin of a predator locked onto its prey.

Lightning clenched her jaw. She wondered if he knew their protections against death were failing.

“Cloud’s not here, so you’ve got no reason to obsess over us,” said Sherlotta, as the others caught up and checked on Sarah. “Leave us alone, why don’t you?”

“If it’s a fight you want, fight me,” Lightning said, holding her blade ready for any sudden movement.

“I’m fine,” said Sarah, refusing to back down. “It’s the drake that’s hurt, not me!”

“This wind drake is Hiryu!” Lenna exclaimed, and she fired off arrows at Sephiroth. “You hurt him!”

Sephiroth’s mirthless smile didn’t leave his face as he calmly cut her arrows from the air, and Lightning pressed her attack to avoid giving him time to retaliate. Her sword was as fast as his, but she knew enough about him to know he had inhuman endurance. As long as she kept him away from the others, they would be able to get out of this.

Sparks trailed from the end of her blade as she pressed her attack. Wielding his massive katana with one hand, he used his other to call swirling black magic in his other palm, pressing it downward where it exploded outward in a blast of energy. Lightning shrugged it off, leaping high to attack him from above while Nabaat pounced on him from behind. Her baton struck him in the back of the knee when Lightning stabbed down from above, preventing him from fully defending himself from her aerial attack.

“Stand back, everyone!” Sarah called out, and the shaking of the ground accompanied her words. An eidolon from another world – Titan, if she remembered correctly – materialized as if from the mountain itself, calling forth the energy of the earth. Lightning grabbed Nabaat and leapt away, leaving Sephiroth at the epicenter of the blast while they all shielded themselves behind Sherlotta’s magic.

When the dust cleared, Sephiroth had unfurled his black wing and floated high above them, arms spread out. He continued smiling at them as Titan faded away, but his black wing curled around him and he vanished, acknowledging his defeat.

As a single black feather fluttered down to the ground, Lightning turned on Sarah and the drake. “What happened? First rule in this world: don’t confront people like him alone.”

Sarah knelt at the wind drake’s side while Lenna and Sherlotta worked on healing it. She furrowed her brow in Sephiroth’s direction, surveying the damage left in Titan’s wake. “As I mentioned, Burtgang is my home. I ventured out to see if I could recognize any other places and I saw that man about to kill this wind drake.”

Sherlotta shook her head in disbelief. “You put yourself in danger for a wind drake you didn’t even know, huh?”

Lenna’s eyes widened and she reached out to grasp Sarah’s arm. “Thank you,” she said. “Hiryu is very dear to me.”

Sarah averted her eyes, her cheeks reddening. “It was a creature that needed help. I couldn’t hesitate.”

“As I said, wait for backup next time.” Lightning turned to Nabaat and gestured toward Sarah. “Does this suffice for trustworthy now?”

Nabaat pursed her lips. “One of these days, you will meet someone you can’t trust and you can’t use. And it will come back to bite you.”

Lightning wondered if she was just reacting to her own history of distrust and being used as a tool, as Sherlotta theorized. Or perhaps it was just her way of making up for trying to betray them. Or maybe it was something deeper, and trying to understand her former enemy was a futile effort. She decided not to voice her thoughts.

“Oh, Hiryu, I’m so glad you’re here,” Lenna said, rubbing the drake under its chin while it nuzzled its big scaly head against her. It let out a low rumble – presumably from pleasure. “When you’ve recovered, will you let us ride you? We’ll have a much easier time of finding our other friends.”

Nabaat’s eyes looked as if they threatened to leave her skull. “You want me to ride that?”

Hiryu spread its wings and let out a cry.

For the first time since they met her, Sarah smiled. “I think that means yes.”

Character abilities:

Sarah Burtgang (Swords) Non-elemental magic damage, healing/support, buffs, fixed damage based on total party dmg taken/healed

15: Brave Ballad

35: Alabaster Veil

EX: Argy

LD: Dire Shock

FR: Memorandom: Hiryu (with Lenna)

BT: Heroic Hymn: Sunder Earth

Burst theme: “Imperator,” which plays during the penultimate boss fight

Final Fantasy Dimensions uses a job system, and there's really no "canon" job for these characters. In game, you control two separate parties: the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness, and the story jumps back and forth between them, with their own pools of jobs to pick from (the starter jobs are common to both parties, though). Sarah is a Warrior of Light, so she gets the Light Warrior jobs. One unique mechanic is "Fusion abilities" that are unlocked when two abilities from different jobs combine during battle, which can then be used at will.

Personally, in my game, I made her a Summoner because I think it fits her personality, and it's one of the jobs common to both parties. Story-wise, though, I think Paladin fits her very well, since Burtgang was a kingdom of paladins. That said, the only official artwork that depicts the characters with jobs (as far as I can find) chose to depict Sarah as a Bard. So..... I basically combined all of them into one! It makes her kit a bit busy, but what can ya do. I feel it preserves the spirit of her being a magic sword fighter with support abilities so she looks a bit like a Paladin without fully being one (Paladin will go to a different character).

Brave Ballad is a Bard ability, obviously. Alabaster Veil is a support ability belonging to Paladin. "Argy" is a Summoner spell, one that heals the party, and Argy herself is also one of the guest party members who has a close bond with Sarah. "Dire Shock" is a combination of "Dire Dirge" (a Bard ability) and "Shock" (a Bard/Paladin Fusion ability). "Memorandom" is technically a Memorist ability, which is Argy's job, but the Force ability basically consists of Sarah summoning Argy and Lenna summoning Hiryu for a combination attack. Finally, her Burst is a combination of Bard's ultimate song and a Fusion ability involving the Titan summon.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Corrupted Future

Shadowsmith ( Final Fantasy Record Keeper )

Voiced by: Chihiro Suzuki

A high ranking official from the Royal Arcanium who arrived to the Archives to assist during the Hall of the Magicite incident. With his extensive knowledge and magical expertise, he aids Tyro in restoring the records, though he has secrets of his own and is eventually revealed to be behind the corruption in pursuit of his own ends.

SHADOWSMITH

From the moment he woke up here, Shadowsmith knew he was in a different world.

The magic here felt strange. It had an energy all its own, crackling and rejuvenating, making him feel more powerful than ever before. This was no record painting, corrupted or otherwise.

He also knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Ullr and Jord – his erstwhile collaborators – weren’t here. A pity.

Since his arrival, he spent his time gathering information. Watching from afar. He saw Tyro in the recreation of the Archives join up with the countless heroes he knew from the records. That had been Shadowsmith’s first surprise, to see them all together. 

Like the researchers in the Arcanium, he took meticulous notes of his observations. He learned of Torsions and strange landscapes that appeared as if at the whims of gods. The beasts and monsters which appeared seemingly at random, with no consideration for their environment, were considerably more aggressive than he expected. He noted his lack of hunger and exhaustion. It almost felt timeless, like in a painting, but something wasn’t right.

The time for observation was over. Now he needed to seek out information himself.

Y’SHTOLA

A wasteland of unaspected crystals stretched to the horizon, naturally formed as if in the wake of a terrible calamity. The sky was white, more like the harbinger of snow than the disaster of Light like on the First shard in her world. Y’shtola wondered which barren world had made its way to this one, for it was no landscape that she recognized.

After the destruction of the Falcon , she traveled alongside Thancred, Papalymo, Shantotto, and Seifer across this wasteland to find their multitude of lost companions. Papalymo had advised waiting for Mog to track them down, but Y’shtola refused to sit idle. When the vaunted professor of the mystic arts agreed with Y’shtola, even Seifer knew it was wise not to cross either of them.

“I begin to suspect the mystery has unfurled,” Shantotto said suddenly, breaking the silence as they walked. “These crystals do not belong to anyone’s world.”

“How have you come to that conclusion, Professor?” Papalymo asked.

Shantotto stopped to inspect one of the crystal growths more closely, and they all stopped with her. “They bear no element nor hue, and it is from this world’s energy they grew.”

“The energy from our battles, you mean?” Thancred prompted her. “We’ve not yet seen it crystallize like this, have we.”

“We have encountered the two crystal pillars of this world, and some of our foes have drawn power from Jegran’s corrupted crystals, the Torsions, or the manikins themselves. But to see the ambient energy from our battles crystallizing like this means it is overflowing in ways it hasn’t before,” Y’shtola realized, thinking out loud. “It is a natural consequence of the buildup of energy, at least according to the natural laws of our world.”

Seifer crossed his arms. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. So what does that mean for this world, huh?”

Y’shtola traced her fingers along the crystals’ surface, her thoughts racing. They really needed a proper name for this nebulous ‘battle energy,’ because it was not aether. She couldn’t see the traces of it moving through the environment when she closed her eyes – that was one of the primary reasons she suspected she wasn’t blind anymore. This world needed her to see with her original eyes. “I believe there are two possibilities,” she said. “This world has always been suffering from a dearth of energy from the beginning, and is now becoming healthy. Or, more concerningly…”

“The opposite,” Thancred finished for her. “It was sustaining itself on a steady flow of energy, and now it is amassing at an alarming rate. Turbulent and dangerous.”

Y’shtola nodded, offering him a grin that lacked mirth. “Experience tells me the dangerous outcome is often the most likely.” She even wondered if the corruption of the primals could be related.

Papalymo tilted his head toward her. “Some might call that pessimism.”

Shantotto’s eyes twinkled at Y’shtola, as if impressed by her thought process. “To put your hypothesis to the test, we must find where this energy makes its nest. Here is my own theory forged: it’s been some time since Shinryu’s gorged.”

Y’shtola’s eyes widened. The implications of that were too alarming to think about, but she was never one to shy away from the truth, no matter how grim. “So you’re saying Shinryu and his planesgorgers were regulating the energy of this world?”

“Let’s not forget – regulating, or stifling,” Thancred pointed out. “If we want to be optimists like our dear Papalymo suggests, we must consider that Shinryu’s defeat meant nothing but good for this world.”

Assuming that they had even fully defeated Shinryu in the first place, which Y’shtola wasn’t so sure of. As those thoughts stewed in all of their heads – except perhaps Seifer’s, who looked around as if bored – Y’shtola closed her eyes and sensed the movement of aether in their environment. Though it wasn’t as sharp as it used to be back in her world, her ears pricked up when she felt an unfamiliar source of aether nearby – a stranger.

“Someone is on the other side of this crystal growth,” she said.

Seifer drew his gunblade at once. “Who’s there?”

A figure stepped out from behind the crystal wearing a black jacket trimmed with red, black gloves, and a grimoire strapped to his belt. “I should have known you would be able to sense me there, Y’shtola,” he said.

Y’shtola frowned. Precious few knew of her blindness in her own world. “You have me at a disadvantage. Who are you?”

“Have you been listening to us?” Seifer asked, keeping his gunblade ready.

The man shrugged. “I am called Shadowsmith, and I assure you I haven’t been eavesdropping for long. Put the gunblade down, Seifer – before you do anything reckless like back in Dollet. Or Timber. Though Y’shtola is a Sorceress, she is not the one who saved you there. And your dear friends Fujin and Raijin are not here to hold you back.”

Seifer lunged forward, but Thancred held out an arm to stop him. “You seem to know a lot about Seifer,” he said. “Are you from his world?”

Shadowsmith shook his head, unflinching. “I am not. But I know you, too, Thancred Waters – the orphan picked up from the streets of Limsa Lominsa, trained in the art of subterfuge only to fail someone you loved like a sister, losing her to her fate forever.” Thancred froze, fists clenched, and Shadowsmith moved on to Papalymo. “And the finest student of the great Archon Louisoix, who gave his life in a futile attempt to temporarily seal away a Primal.” Then to Shantotto. “And it is not only those two worlds I know, but yours as well – it is a pleasure to meet you, Professor Shantotto. Ex-Minister of the Orastery and hero of the Crystal War.”

Though he spoke in a light, almost conversational tone, the tension was palpable.

“You’ve made your point, though it’s rather blunt – what do you hope to accomplish with this stunt?” Shantotto asked. “If you know my reputation then you better speak before my next incantation.”

Seifer scowled. “How d’you know all that stuff about us?”

“Before I tell you, there is information I need from you first,” Shadowsmith said, wiping his spectacles clean with a handkerchief before putting them back on. “I am a rather recent arrival to this world. Tell me what has summoned us here and why I do not feel the need to eat or sleep. Are we frozen in time?”

Y’shtola looked to the others. Thancred had his jaw clenched as tight as his fists, all of his walls up in front of this man. Papalymo had a thoughtful frown, no doubt calmly analyzing the situation on his own. Seifer still looked ready to attack, but Shantotto looked vaguely amused by the stranger. Y’shtola thought Shadowsmith should have played his cards closer – the answers to his questions were things they would have freely given to any new arrival, but now they knew not to trust him. Perhaps he didn’t care about making allies.

“We have been summoned either by the two gods of this world or the will of the great crystal itself,” Y’shtola said, seeing no harm in answering. “It is unclear how time passes in this world, and though some of us eat or sleep out of enjoyment of it, we do not know for sure why we function without it. This is meant to be a world of rest, a reprieve from the countless battles waged in cycles we cannot remember, but many different forces threaten it.”

“I see,” said Shadowsmith, furrowing his brow as he brought his finger up to his lips, deep in thought. He walked up the slope of a buried crystal shard, getting the high ground over them. “Though it does raise more questions.”

“Now tell us how you know so much about us,” said Thancred.

“Perhaps you should ask Tyro,” said the Shadowsmith, straight-faced. “He knows all the same information I do.”

It clicked into place. “You’re from his world. You know us from those paintings,” Y’shtola said. “How? What does it mean?” After meeting Tyro and grasping that nugget of information from him, she had questioned Enna Kros, hoping her divine knowledge would shed some light on the state of this world – of all their worlds. But the god had remained frustratingly quiet about it, citing rules she could not break.

“So he told you about the record paintings, did he?” Shadowsmith asked, eyebrows raised in amusement. “Never would have thought he’d break the cardinal rule of the Royal Archives.”

“Records, you say, as if citing history,” said Shantotto with a grin. “I believe I see the root of this mystery.”

“Then we are historical figures to you?” Y’shtola asked, tail flicking. Tyro had revealed only that they were paintings, but Y’shtola had surmised they were perhaps windows into other worlds. Or perhaps even stories. But not factual historic records. “That cannot be possible. All of our worlds cannot share the same history. We cannot all be from the same world, with you and yours as the custodians of its record.” She stepped forward, past the crystal formations that twisted to the pale sky. “In each of our worlds we share a common language, a common currency. Yet just in the recorded history of my world we can trace the rise and fall of languages, the first minting of gil – and it differs even across the Shards. It wouldn’t make sense for all of us from throughout time to speak the same language and use the same gil. You are wrong, Shadowsmith. Your portraits do not record our history.”

Shadowsmith held out his hand. “I’ve often wondered the same thing myself. My world carefully records every facet of its history, yet the stories of all those worlds never seemed to fit neatly into it, from my perspective. There is something else at work here.”

“The girl Ritz said Ivalice was but a dream,” said Papalymo. “Then are these ‘portraits’ flights of fiction? Just wondrous works of art?”

“It doesn’t align,” Thancred said with a grunt. “Tyro knows her story, too. Unless it’s a dream within a dream, then Ritz may be wrong as well.”

For the first time, Shadowsmith smiled. “Come with me, Y’shtola. I believe you are one of the very few among all the inhabitants of this world that I can trust. You and I can follow the trail of this secret together, to find the truth of this world. Of all our worlds.”

For one tantalizing moment, Y’shtola considered it. Not out of any inherent desire to trust him, but from her thirst for knowledge. Questions kept flooding into her mind and the answers still eluded her grasp. If she never found the answers, she wondered if they would ever find their way home. But what if she discovered a way to traverse the worlds, the stars – to travel between them at will? What if that included the Source of her world and all of its Shards?

“Why me?” Y’shtola asked. “You know so much about me, it seems. You may claim to trust me, but I would never be able to trust you for that reason. I know nothing of your past nor your future, yet you know mine.”

“And I can tell you yours,” Shadowsmith said. “I can tell you where your story goes – even how it ends.”

Seifer threw himself forward with a shout, leaping off of the side of one crystal to propel himself to the one Shadowsmith stood upon. He slashed downward, shattering the crystal on impact and making the Shadowsmith lose his footing. “She’s not gonna go with you, bonehead,” Seifer said, looking down the barrel of his gunblade at the tip of the sword held inches from Shadowsmith’s face.

“Thank you, Seifer,” said Y’shtola, rolling her eyes. Though it was rather uncouth, his aggression helped remind her of the folly of joining Shadowsmith. “I’ve heard enough. I care not for the knowledge of my own future – that may be perhaps the only thing I’d like to remain a mystery. Seifer is right, Shadowsmith. I will not go with you.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised if you were a bit tempted, though,” Thancred said, gripping his daggers to prepare for a fight.

The Shadowsmith vanished in a flash of light, then reappeared at a higher vantage atop another crystal. “All right,” he said, sighing. “That was my only offer. Thank you for the information you have provided, but we are done here. I’m not going to waste time fighting you.”

A Torsion opened up behind him and he vanished into it. This time, he didn’t reappear.

“Yet another foe to contend with,” Thancred said, dismissing his daggers. “Splendid.”

“We’ve no shortage of them, true,” said Papalymo. “What do we do now?”

Shantotto laughed. “Ohoho! What an intriguing fellow! Seifer, that was quite the bellow. But your assault prevented us from learning more – Shadowsmith was far from being a bore.” Y’shtola thought she saw Shantotto’s eyes glow. "With Y'shtola does my thirst for knowledge compare. But to trust me? He wouldn't dare. On that account was Shadowsmith wise, but he and you have kept me from my prize."

“By that, I think the professor means you should start running,” Y’shtola advised Seifer.

“Damn it, I’m no chicken-wuss! I’m not afraid of her!” Even so, he backed away, eyes wide.

Shantotto smirked, and that was all it took for Seifer to swallow his pride and run.

Character abilities

Shadowsmith (Unique - Grimoires) Ice/lightning/darkness magic dmg, BRV manipulation, EX charger

15: Stormspell Strike

35: Chilling Blizzard

EX: Lunar Dragon

LD: Deadly Innocence

FR: Corrupted Story (with Shuyin)

BT: Soul of Nihility

Burst theme: “Shadowsmith’s Theme," his own character theme, which is actually very cool

All of his abilities barring his Force ability come from skills that he knows, either while he is briefly playable or during his boss fight. Like Xande, he is a magic attacker who uses three different elements in battle - in his case, Ice, Lightning, and Darkness with the associated Imperil debuffs. He's primarily a magic attacker despite being a jack-of-all-trades similar to Tyro in game. Since he also notably uses Entrust to charge the soul breaks of his allies, he can grant his current BRV value to party members (which is sapped from enemy BRV) and help recharge their EX abilities.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 3, Part 1: Into the Deep

Rikku ( Final Fantasy X )

Voiced by: Marika Matsumoto

One of the Al Bhed, she is Yuna’s cousin and joined her as a guardian to save the world from Sin two years ago. Now spending her days as a sphere hunter, she travels the world as one of the Gullwings. Though she claims to enjoy her life, she can’t sit still for long.

Aria Benett ( Final Fantasy III )

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu

A priestess who serves the crystal of water. While trying to restore the crystal’s light, she is shipwrecked and ends up traveling alongside the party to the Temple of Water after they find her. She is prepared to give all to preserve the light of the world.

Hauyn ( World of Final Fantasy )

Voiced by: Maaya Uchida

A young summoner raised by Lusse, Lann and Reynn’s mother, whose personal Mirage is Siren. Imprisoned in a cage for hundreds of years due to the recklessness of her siblings, she bears a grudge toward them and resolves to save their parents on her own. Though she doesn’t hesitate to berate the twins for their failures, she has a kind heart underneath it all and deeply cares for her adoptive family; with them she often goes by the nickname “Wyn.”

RIKKU

When Rikku met the girl in the white dress speaking of crystals and sea monsters, she assumed the girl had some kind of amnesia, since it sounded like nothing Rikku ever encountered. But no one had been affected by Sin’s toxins in years.

But once she got a good look at the ships, Rikku started to think she might have been the one who wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about. It was as if she wasn’t even on Spira at all. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure how she found herself marooned on a graveyard of wrecked ships in the middle of the ocean in the first place. Maybe she was the one with amnesia.

All of them were made of wood rather than the metal of Al Bhed ships, with huge sails of rotting canvas unlike those used by the rest of Spira. Hulls had been punctured and torn apart by the tides – or perhaps something else, like fiends – and infested with barnacles. Masts had been felled like trees, bridging the gaps between some of the ships, many of which had been mostly submerged. But the one that Rikku and her shipmate were on felt safe enough, at least for now.

The shipwrecks made a ring around an island of coral at the center, a rainbow sea fortress of hundreds of colors and styles of coral. Some of it protruded from the water, strange textures and shapes that made her long for the sunny beaches of Besaid. Beyond the shipwrecks, she saw only endless fog.

Despite her confusion, she could only rub her hands together and grin at the sight of all the ships. “Looks like a hotbed of treasure to me! What do you think, Aria?”

The girl in the white dress frowned. “I am capable of swimming, but it looks dangerous. Perhaps we should stay up here.”

Rikku glanced over her long, sleeveless dress and sandals. Not really ideal for swimming, she had to admit. “Don’t worry, I used to go deep sea diving on a salvage ship all the time. I’ll be fine! You just sit tight and I’ll be right back, okay?”

Before Aria could protest, Rikku dove right into the water.

TIDUS

Tidus smelled the sea before he saw it.

It came into view when he crested the rocky trail to a sheer drop, a cliffside that loomed over a rocky shoreline far below. The greenish water looked calm, perfect for practicing in, with an overcast sky that didn’t quite seem to be ready to break with rain yet. Below, on the shore, he saw a single wooden dock, rickety and sagging with age, a long metal tube bobbing next to it. He took a moment to catch his breath as the others joined him.

“Hey, there’s people down there,” Tidus said, pointing. “Think Mog’s with them?”

After they traveled from the landscape that resembled Mushroom Rock Ravine, where they had met Shuyin, they all heard a moogle’s cry ringing through their heads. Terra had thought it was Mog calling out to them, so they followed it here.

“People, or manikins?” Paine asked.

Maria, the one among them with the keenest eyes, peered down the shoreline. “Those are people! I see one of the Class Zero uniforms, and a chocobo. That must be Chichiri!”

“They’ve got a submarine!” Tyro exclaimed. “I wonder where they found it.”

Yuna gasped when she made it to the top. “What a view!”

His heart soared and he smiled as he grasped her hand. She wasn’t out of breath at all; she handled the climb better than he did. He wasn’t looking forward to the climb down to the shore, though. Right when he started the descent down the steep and narrow pass, Yuna whistled, sharp and high enough to carry to the others down at the shore, grinning at him with pride.

The waves swept against the rocks as they approached the submarine dock, where Ace and Krile waved to welcome them. Chichiri the chocobo stood with them, warbling happily as Tidus and the others arrived, but another chocobo that looked a bit like a very large chick sat with her, alongside a girl he didn’t recognize. Carbuncle sat curled up on the dock with his tails wrapped around him, ignoring their arrival, while Mog floated above them all. His pom pulsed with a gentle light.

“Mog, it worked!” Krile said, once Tidus and the others were within earshot. “You did it!”

Tidus beamed, glad to see them all okay. “Hey there!”

“What’s Mog doing?” Terra asked, looking up at the moogle with worry. “Is he alright?”

“Yes, he’s fine,” said Ace, putting a hand on his hip. “When we found Cid Highwind, he had the suggestion of ‘broadcasting’ dimensional coordinates, like a radio. But rather than building one, Mog said he’d try to use his pom. Instead of using the coordinates to track all of our lost friends, this way everyone can come to us.”

Tidus had no idea what a radio was, but either way that sounded like good news. “Cid’s here?”

“Yeah, he’s inside the submarine, trying to get it repaired,” said Krile. “Luckily, we found all the right people to get it moving again! Cid Haze is in there, too, along with Xezat and Luca.” The little chocobo chirped, and Krile laughed. “Oh, how could I forget? Meet our new friends, Chocobo and Shirma.”

“Pleased to meet you!” said Shirma, after they finished their introductions. “Mog, why don’t you take a rest? You’ll overexert yourself.”

“I can’t,” Mog said, his voice strained. “I’ve… got to work harder to find everyone again, kupo. I promised myself I’d never lose you all… a second time.”

Yuna reached toward him, brow etched in concern. “Oh, Mog…”

“Just wait, kupo,” Mog said, quivering with effort. “Others are close by.”

No sooner than the words were out of his moogle mouth, they heard a roar coming from the ocean. The Spirans reacted with immediate alarm, but a massive blue sea creature with a long neck swam toward them with riders on its back. As it came closer, Tidus beamed when he recognized Faris, a pair of Lilikins he knew to be the twins, and Enna Kros. The latter calmly sat with a mug of what surely had to be coffee in her hands, apparently not spilling a drop.

“Amazing!” said Krile, clapping her hands together. “That’s Syldra! Faris found Syldra!”

“Who’s Syldra?” Terra asked.

“Her best friend,” said Krile, beaming.

“That’s not all, ya?” a familiar voice called out. From further down the shore, opposite from where Tidus and the others arrived, Wakka walked in the lead of a group that consisted of Lulu, Kimahri, Auron, the Onion Knight, Desch, and Luneth. Tidus and Yuna both waved. “We made it!”

After that, Mog’s pom finally stopped pulsing with light and he lowered, and Shirma caught him in her arms. “See, Mog?” she asked. “Your hard work has paid off. You can rest now.”

“Thank you, kupo,” Mog said. “I’ll keep working hard after a little shut-eye, kupo…”

Once everyone gathered together on the shore and made their introductions, Carbuncle stood and stretched. “Now, if you’re all ready,” he said, leaping to Chichiri’s back for a higher vantage point. “See that shipwreck out on the water?”

Tidus used his hands to form circles around his eyes in an attempt to focus his vision more. “Uh, I think so. In all that fog?”

“Leviathan is there,” Carbuncle said, with all the care of a behemoth. “Deep underwater. You will have to be ready to face him.”

“Then we’re lucky to have a submarine,” Desch said, as Xezat climbed out of it. “But I’m not sure it’s wise to confront a creature like Leviathan deep underwater, where he has the advantage. Where’d the submarine come from, anyway?”

“We found it here,” said Xezat, stretching out his back. “The Cids, Luca, and myself met our manikins not far from here and they brought us to it. We’ve been trying to get it fixed up and ready to go, but no luck so far. Even with all our brilliant minds together.”

Luca’s head popped out of the top of the submarine next. “Eh, submarines aren’t dwarven technology. We’ll just need more time before we get it moving.”

“Time is one thing we don’t have a lot of right now,” said Ace. “Mog mentioned earlier that he sensed some lights in the shipwrecks. And Leviathan may realize we’re here and wash us all away with a tidal wave before then.”

Lulu stepped forward. “Can we find some way to distract him, then? Or lure him to the surface, where we can fight. At least so we can buy enough time to retrieve the people trapped there.”

“It sounds dangerous,” said the Onion Knight. “We may only be able to send a few. The rest of you will need to get to high ground.”

Chocobo let out a chirp that sounded like a protest. “Not a chance,” Krile translated. “We can’t leave the ones working on the submarine here alone.”

“Syldra can ferry a team out to the shipwreck, right girl?” Faris asked, scratching the beast’s neck. “Not counting our Lilikin mates, I can take two more.”

Reynn groaned. “Did we just get voluntold to go?”

“What’s wrong?” said Lann. “We can totally kick Leviathan in the tail! And we’re small, so we’re one fighter for the price of two!”

“Wrong way around, brother. We’re two for the price of one on Syldra’s back.”

“I’m going,” said Onion Knight. “I’m still your leader, and I let the group fall apart again. I’ve got to fix this.”

Yuna shook her head. “No one blames you.”

“I’m going, too,” Luneth said, and he strode into the surf before the Onion Knight could protest. The Onion Knight and Desch exchanged a look, but neither of them stopped him.

Chocobo chirped and made to follow along, but Shirma blocked his path. “Maybe you should sit this one out, Chocobo,” she said. “You can’t expect yourself to do everything, you know.”

“C’mon, Wakka!” said Tidus. “We can swim alongside them.”

Wakka clenched his fist. “You know it!”

“Me, too,” said Paine. When Tidus looked at her in surprise, she shrugged him off. “What? I know how to blitz. So does Yuna, but I don’t think she’d keep up in the water dressed like that.”

“Don’t drown out there,” said Auron, never one for softening his advice. “Know when to pick your battles. Go, find whoever is trapped there, and bring them back.”

Enna Kros nodded. “He’s right. To face Leviathan, we’ll need the strength of all of us. Don’t do anything stupid, Lann.”

“Hey! Why’d I get singled out?”

LUNETH

“So, how’d you find Syldra?” Luneth asked, once they got moving across the water.

“She rescued me,” Faris said proudly, standing at the base of the sea monster’s neck. “After the airship went down, she found me clinging to some of the wreckage in the sea. Think I wished for her to come to this world, and she came.”

“Do you think if we wish really hard, Leviathan won’t find us?” Reynn asked. “I’m worried about Tidus, Wakka, and Paine. They may swim fast, but they can’t keep up with Syldra.”

Luneth looked back at the three swimmers trailing behind them. “Dunno. The others back at shore are thinking of a way to lure Leviathan out when we’re ready to fight, aren’t they?”

“They are,” said the Onion Knight. “We can’t fight him now – not until we can ensure the people stranded on the shipwreck are safe. We’ll have to use that submarine to lure him up once we’ve got them.”

“I know that,” Luneth grumbled.

The mass of ruined ships and thick fog creeped closer, some bowheads and hulls towering high above them. Syldra passed into the ring of ships and Luneth realized this place was an entire ship graveyard. It was eerily quiet, with only the distant groan of rotting wood echoing across the waves.

“Okay, I instantly regret coming here,” said Reynn. “This place is creepy.” She let out a sudden shriek and jumped up into Luneth’s arms when Paine’s head appeared above the water.

“Do that again and I’ll give you a real reason to scream in terror,” Paine said, swimming ahead. Reynn let out a breath of relief and dropped from Luneth’s arms.

Lann pointed to the left of the coral island in the center of the graveyard. “Uh… you mean a reason like that?”

Following the direction of his fingerless hand, Luneth’s eyes widened when he saw a lonely figure standing at the bow of a ship, white dress billowing.

Reynn shrieked again, and this time she jumped into Faris’s arms. “A ghost!”

Rather than reacting with fear, Luneth felt a sudden pang of recognition. “Wait, I know who that is!” he said.

The Onion Knight beat him to it, making Luneth’s stomach drop. “Aria!?”

This world couldn’t be so cruel. It had to be his Aria. It had to be.

“I’m sorry, could you please repeat that? You said this is a new world?”

Syldra ferried them over to the ship where they saw Aria and Luneth’s heart wrenched when her eyes lit up upon seeing the Onion Knight. He saw his answer there. She had no idea who he was, just like Desch and Cid. At this point he would have even been open to Xande recognizing him.

“It is,” said the Onion Knight. “Not like the floating continent and the lower world, like at home. But we’re in a brand new place.”

Aria smiled, full of affection for the Onion Knight, which he returned. “In any case, I am glad to be here with you, my friend.”

“This takes me back,” said the Onion Knight, looking around the remains of the ship. “I first found you at a place like this, didn’t I?”

Luneth grit his teeth. “You didn’t. I did, with my friends.” He turned to Aria, his chest aching. “Don’t you remember, Aria? The things we went through. I was there when you…” He swallowed his words, unable to finish.

Aria frowned, her eyes soft. “I’m sorry, I really don’t recall ever meeting you.”

“Let it go, lad,” said Faris. “I’m sure your friends will show up eventually.”

“But Aria is one of my friends!” Luneth insisted. “Someone very important to me. I don’t even know the Onion Knight. He wasn’t there!”

“We already explained it to you,” said the Onion Knight, with the air of one of the elders at Ur explaining something to a child. “There are different worlds out there and many of them have things in common. You just happen to be from one that’s very similar, but it’s not the same.”

“Stop explaining it to me like you’re pretending to be an adult,” said Luneth, clenching his fists. “You don’t have to repeat yourself. You’re just some kid, too!”

“Well, you’re acting like a kid!” the Onion Knight retorted. “Just accept that things are different in this world!”

“Yeah, lots of our friends don’t know us here,” said Lann. “You get used to it.”

Aria clasped her hands together. “I’m sorry if I am the cause of this…”

Luneth was about to tell her otherwise, but Paine interjected. “Can we discuss this later?” she said. “We’ve got Aria, so we really need to get out of here before Leviathan shows up.”

“Oh, no!” said Aria. “We can’t leave yet – I am still waiting for that girl to return. She went diving for treasure.”

“There’s someone else here?” Tidus asked. He pumped his fist. “Alright, let’s go find her! We can handle the swimming.”

RIKKU

Below the island of coral, Rikku found what looked like an old temple beneath the waves.

Its flooded halls were lit by glowing crystals and twisting blue coral, dim and otherworldly. Pearls inlaid in the walls also pulsed with a gentle light, but Rikku couldn’t pry them free. She swam through the mysterious ruin, eyes peeled for anything valuable or even something to denote where in Spira she could be. She saw no faded writings or statues of high summoners that she recognized, no ancient Yevon secrets or even broken machina.

But as she swam through a hall of fluted pillars, many of which had crumbled to the floor, she began to think this was a wasted effort and considered swimming back up to find Aria. As for what to do after that, she had no idea.

At the end of the hall, she saw something glowing brighter than everything else she had seen so far. As she approached, her eyes widened and she almost gasped when she saw that it was a barrier or cage of some sort – with a girl inside.

She had white hair and a black hood, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she was standing up straight Rikku would have thought she was sleeping. The glowing cage kept the water away from her – the girl was as dry as she’d be on land.

When Rikku approached, the girl’s eyes opened. And Rikku almost shouted out in alarm. Whoever she was, she needed help – and Rikku wouldn’t just leave her down here. She swam to the base of the cage, looking around it for some kind of hidden switch or something.

“No, don’t touch it!” the girl said. Rikku heard her clear as day, as if the water didn’t separate them. “You can’t let me out!”

Rikku frowned and put her hands on her hips, wordlessly trying to communicate her incredulousness. What was she supposed to do, just leave her here?

“If you come too close, Leviathan will notice!”

Elsewhere in the temple, something shook. Rikku looked up and around, preparing to dodge out of the way of falling rocks or crumbling infrastructure, since this temple didn’t exactly seem to be the most secure ruin she’d found. But then she noticed the water current strengthening, as if it was trying to pull her away from the girl in the cage.

“Oh, no,” the girl said. “He knows you’re here!”

Before Rikku could grab onto anything, the current dragged her into the darkness of the deep.

PAINE

No sooner than Paine, Tidus, and Wakka jumped back into the water, the current strengthened and dragged them in a ring around the coral island at the center. Even Syldra fought to stay afloat. She distantly heard Faris shouting but the water grew stronger, powering into a roar that drowned out everything else. She tried to cling to whatever she could find, but every floating piece of debris slipped through her fingers.

Leviathan had awoken.

There was no other explanation for the sudden change in the water. She lost sight of Tidus and Wakka in the struggle. They had all been captured in a whirlpool, with even the shipwrecks rocking and getting torn to pieces. The water spread away from the coral in the center, extending out to the ring of shipwrecks and revealing a towering shape beneath the sea. Something dark and serpentine swam in the opposite wall of water that Paine just barely saw through the frothing whirl. She kicked and fought to keep her head above the water, coughing out the sting of salt in her throat and eyes, but above all she couldn’t let herself panic. If she panicked, she’d drown.

She couldn’t spare a thought for the others. The water dragged her closer to the structure hidden beneath the coral, swallowing her in its depths.

The sound of water dripping into puddles roused her back to consciousness. Paine’s whole body felt bruised as she struggled to her feet, the sharp tang of low tide assaulting her nostrils. Fish flopped against the ground. Beyond the hall she’d found herself in, she heard the roar of water, like a river, and when she looked she saw the whirlpool making a wall that blocked her inside of the structure that had seemingly been completely submerged before. How nice of Leviathan to leave them a pocket of air.

“Paine!” she heard Tidus shout, and his footsteps splashed as he ran down the hall. “There you are!” Wakka, the Onion Knight, Luneth, Aria, Faris, Lann, and Reynn followed behind him, all looking as waterlogged and miserable as Paine felt.

“Oh, praise be,” Wakka said, doubling over. “We all made it. Everyone’s okay, ya?”

“Do you need any healing?” Aria asked her. “I can help.”

“I’ll live,” Paine said, waving her off and stretching out her shoulder. “We’ve got to find a way out of this, fast, before Leviathan decides to drown all of you. And I imagine the water rushing back into this temple would crush those of us who wouldn’t immediately drown against the walls.”

“Thanks for painting that pretty picture,” Reynn piped up.

“You should worry about yourself first, Aria,” said Luneth. “You don’t feel ill or anything, do you?”

Aria smiled at him. “I do not,” she said. “Thank you for asking.”

“I hope Syldra had the good sense to swim away,” said Faris, looking out toward the wall of water. “She doesn’t do well with whirlpools.”

“Does anyone recognize this place?” the Onion Knight asked. “This doesn’t look like the Water Temple from our world, Aria. How are we supposed to get out of here?” Luneth scoffed at his words, and Paine had to admit she couldn't exactly blame him - it was as if the Onion Knight was reminding him that he and Aria knew each other, and Luneth was the stranger.

“This sorta looks like the Sunken Shrine,” said Reynn. “Remember, Lann? Where the Quacho Queen lives.”

“Oh, sure, of course I remember her,” said Lann. “But this can’t be our Sunken Shrine. The acupuncture’s all different.”

“Do you mean ‘architecture,’ dummy?”

“Before we go anywhere, I’m worried for Rikku,” Aria said. “I hope she’s okay…”

Paine, Wakka, and Tidus all looked at each other. “Wait, did you say Rikku?” Tidus asked, eyes wide. “You met Rikku!?”

“Oh, I’d recognize that loudmouth voice anywhere! Yeah, the one and only!” said a loudmouth voice down the hall that Paine recognized at once. Rikku stepped into the light of the hall, her scarf sopping wet, bearing a grin so wide it almost hurt Paine’s cheeks. “Look at all you guys! What’re you doing in this place?”

“We can ask the same of you,” Paine said, smirking. “Nice of you to join us, Rikku.”

“Yeah, you sure took your time!” said Wakka.

Tidus scooped her into a hug. “I almost thought you’d never show up!” he said. “Yuna and the others will be so glad to see you. We’ve got lots of friends to introduce you to.”

Rikku looked around at the others. “Um, yeah – to be honest, I’ve got no idea what’s going on. Who are these people?” She waved at Aria. "Well, besides Aria, of course."

“Well, first off, we’re trapped down here because of a giant magical sea monster named Leviathan,” Paine explained. “So there’ll be time for catch-up later, assuming we get out of here alive.”

“Always the doom and gloom with you, Dr. P,” said Rikku, balancing on the balls of her feet. “But, uh… that Leviathan thing might be sorta my fault…”

HAUYN

She knew something was wrong with the man pacing outside of her cage. His eyes were hard and piercing, like a predator’s, as he watched her. Despite the water that had just drained out of the shrine, he looked completely dry, like he had expected it to happen. Even before he spoke, she knew he wanted something of her. He looked a tiny bit familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“You’re a summoner, aren’t you?” he asked. “Are you the one who summoned that serpent? Is it protecting you?”

“Protecting me?” she retorted, glaring. “Does it look like it’s protecting me? I’m down here in a cage. I’ve been imprisoned.” By who or what, she didn’t know. She had woken up here, locked in a crystal cage seemingly deep in the ocean. The girl from earlier was the first human she had seen, and now this man with the intense stare had come. “I didn’t summon Leviathan. It was here before I was – he spoke with me before he went into a frenzy.”

“Can you control it?”

“I can’t do anything from in here,” Hauyn replied. It wasn’t the first time she had been locked in a crystal cage, after all. She knew how it worked. For all she knew, she could have been locked down here for centuries. Maybe it was Lann and Reynn’s fault again. “Who are you?”

“My name is Shuyin,” he said. “And I can let you free. I just need your help to control Leviathan. Together, we can use it to stop anyone who’d oppose us.”

Hauyn stepped away from the bars of the crystal cage. “Oppose us in what?”

“Ending this battle,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “I’ve only just come to this world, but it’s full of so much fighting. So much pain.”

Hauyn’s mouth twisted. “You’re from a different world?” But she supposed that would answer some questions, like why summoning Siren or Carbuncle didn’t seem to work the same way. This Leviathan also didn’t seem to be part of the Pleiad. “That won’t work, though. Leviathan is not my Mirage. He wouldn’t listen to me. At best, maybe I can calm him down… he seemed kind, back when I first woke up. But something changed.”

Shuyin’s eyes narrowed. “If you can’t help me, then you’re useless to me. I’m leaving.”

“No, wait!” she called out to his retreating back. “Help me, please! I can’t stay down here… can’t stay in this cage again! Come back!” She shouted as loud as she could to no avail. “Come back, please…” She should have let that girl free her. Even if she would have drowned. But now that the water wasn’t here, this was her best chance to escape. Shuyin couldn’t just leave her here.

She sank to her knees, hopelessness bubbling up in her chest like bile. For all she knew, she would be down here for an eternity. And worst of all, she’d never know why. “Reynn, Lann… Lusse… Where are you?”

New ability: Ultimates! Mostly for those who, even with Bursts, still never got their most iconic/most powerful ability.

The way I imagine them working is that they are one-use skills, but unlike Bursts not all of them just do damage. The main thing, though, is that they bestow a permanent effect on the user after it is used that does not use up any buff slots or overhead mechanics, which enhances something they currently do or gives them a new function altogether. Some may want to be triggered ASAP, some may want to wait for something like a Burst phase or Force Time for maximum damage. So here are the first two examples:

Character abilities

ULT updates:

Terra ULT: Trance Holy Combo

Effect: Terra maintains her Trance form for the rest of the battle, increasing her damage dealt. "Holy Combo" is one of her abilities from the Dissidia games.

Squall ULT: Lion Heart

Effect: All attacks break through enemy shields, such as BRV Barriers. This, of course, is his most powerful Limit Break.

Rikku (Fist) Non-elemental melee, debuffer, buffer, Esuna, defense reduction, healer, rainbow dmg, dmg immunity

15: Hazardous Shell (becomes Hi-Potion when using Mix)

35: Frag Grenade (becomes Bomb Fragment when using Mix)

EX: Mix (becomes Light Curtain when using Mix)

LD: Al Bhed Potion (becomes Door to Tomorrow when using Mix)

FR: Machina Mayhem (with Luca)

BT: Guided Missiles (becomes Blessed Gem when using Mix)

ULT: Chaos Grenade (Effect: Rikku Uses items as she selects them for Mix)

Burst theme: “Launch,” which plays when the Fahrenheit first takes flight

Alternate Skin: Dive suit

Finally, here's Rikku! I had a lot of fun designing her kit. At her base level, she is a debuffer and buffer with some healing abilities. Her main mechanic comes from her EX, where she uses her famous "Mix" ability to combine two items together for a brand new effect. Once she uses Mix, the ability buttons change to the items that need to be selected for the combination, with the full set of outcomes listed below! Her Burst is "Guided Missiles," which is the action command from the airship during boss battles on top of it. Her ULT is a Mix command, and the ULT Effect is that whenever she uses Mix, she also "Uses" items as she's mixing them together (so High Potion to heal the party, then Bomb Fragment to damage enemies, and then they combine into "Mega NulAll."

Light Curtain + Bomb Fragment = Mighty G (Damage reduction, fast EX recharge)

Light Curtain + Door to Tomorrow = Hyper Mighty G (Phys dmg immunity + regen)

Light Curtain + Hi-Potion = Megalixir (Full heal, battery)

Light Curtain + Blessed Gem = Megalixir

Bomb Fragment + Hi-Potion = Mega NulAll (Magic dmg immunity + regen)

Bomb Fragment + Door to Tomorrow = Quartet of 9 (Rainbow damage for Rikku, fast EX recharge)

Bomb Fragment + Blessed Gem = Cluster Bomb (Repeated fire damage, fast EX recharge)

Door to Tomorrow + Hi-Potion = Hyper Vitality (Party Max HP Up, Max BRV Up)

Blessed Gem + Hi-Potion = Megalixir

Blessed Gem + Door to Tomorrow = Trio of 9999 (Rainbow dmg for party)

And that's not all! With Rikku, there's another new mechanic -- she gets the "Cecil/Yda" treatment, but it works a little differently. You'd pick the character's "dressphere" like you would their costume, and it is done only outside of battle. This way, for someone like Yuna, you could use her Gunner abilities but she would have only taken the Gunner appearance if her costume was bought, lol. So technically it is the same character unit.

Rikku (Daggers) Non elemental melee damage, delay, free turns, restore ability usage, position based

15: Borrowed Time (delay and free turns with HP+)

35: Stash Abilities

EX: Homing Ray

LD: Howitzer (if Rikku is on the left: adds party "Protector" BRV shields; if Rikku is on the right: adds party turn rate up "Booster"; if Rikku is in the center: she does a double Howitzer)

FR: Starry-Eyed Hunting (with Locke)

BT: PuPu Platter

ULT: Vajra (Effect: Rikku becomes immune to status effects)

Burst theme: “YRP, Fight No. 1,” which plays during the first boss fight of X-2

This kit is much simpler, but sometimes simpler is better, right? "Borrowed Time" comes from her Thief dressphere, which delays the enemy and gives Rikku two free turns with her HP+. "Stash" is an Alchemist ability. In this case, she can actually restore a party member's last used ability stock by 1. Her EX, LD, and ULT come from her ultimate dressphere, Machina Maw -- her LD changes depending on her position in the party, similar to Paine's mechanic. Her BT, PuPu Platter, is a special ability unique to Rikku with the Mascot dressphere.

Her ULT effect makes her completely immune to all negative status effects.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 3, Part 2: Ode to Water

YUNA

While many of the others went up to higher ground for safety, Yuna stayed at the shore. The sea looked dark and foreboding compared to earlier, with swelling clouds gathering over the distant shipwreck. Waves continued to lap at the shore in a continuous rhythm; a steady pulse before the storm broke out. It did nothing to ease her nerves.

Carbuncle stood at the end of the dock, looking out toward the sea. “Leviathan stirs,” he said. “Regardless of whether or not the others are ready, we should prepare for battle.”

“I will not stay behind,” Yuna said, following Carbuncle’s gaze. She may have not been familiar with this aeon of water, but she knew she could make a difference in this battle. “I am joining, whether I go by submarine or if I need to fly there.”

Lulu stood at her side. “I’m coming, too. Wakka is there,” she said, the only explanation needed. Kimahri said nothing – if Yuna was going, she knew there was no question about him joining the fight as well.

Xezat, the one with the most submarine experience, nodded to them. But he looked back inland, past Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri. He whistled. “Might be a squeeze, but I don’t think he’d sit this battle out.”

Yuna turned to see who else would be joining. The Warrior of Light had found them again.

REYNN

“Ohh, but you two are just so cute!” Rikku cooed, squatting down to pinch Lann’s cheeks. “I wish I could go to your world so I can shrink down to be super tiny!”

“But we do know you in our world,” Reynn said, as Lann ineffectively tried to bat her away. She was just glad that Rikku wasn’t doing that to her. “It’s actually reversed there – we can get big or small whenever we want, but all the rest of you are Lilikins.”

Tidus gave Rikku a perplexed look. “Why do you want to be tiny?”

“Because it’s cute, duh!” Rikku retorted, standing up straight. “But you know me in your world? So there are two of me out there…”

“One is enough,” said Paine.

Rikku grinned. “It’s okay, Paine. I know you missed me.”

“She’s always running off looking for her ‘trejjies.’ Totally hard to pin down,” said Lann.

“Yeah, that sounds like Rikku,” said Wakka, continuing on their path and ducking underneath a fallen pillar propped up by the wall.

“Hey, I’ve never said the word ‘trejjies’ before!” Rikku protested as they all walked ahead. “But now that you mention it, that’s a pretty cool word. Other me sounds like she knows her stuff.”

Paine cleared her throat. “Can we focus? We split off from the others to cover more ground and find this caged girl before Leviathan floods out this temple again, but if we fool around we’ll all end up drowning.”

When Rikku mentioned that she met a girl in a cage, Reynn didn’t want to immediately get her hopes up. Her heart broke all over again for her sister, trapped once again somewhere dark and alone. Was it their fault again? Did something happen that they had forgotten?

“Hey, sis,” said Lann, walking up to her side. “Are you thinking that it’s… her? Y’know, it’s weird if it happened twice, but someone says ‘girl in a cage’ and that’s the first person to come to mind.”

“Ugh, Lann,” said Reynn, grimacing. “I was just thinking that I didn’t want to get my hopes up that it’s Wyn! Now that we’re on the same page that makes it worse.”

Lann frowned. “Why would it be a bad thing? We’d get to see her again!”

“Because we don’t know why she’s trapped down here,” Reynn said. She took a deep breath. “What if it’s something that we did again? When I think of her stuck in this place… who knows how long she’s been here? What if she got summoned to this world ages ago and she’s been trapped all this time?”

“If it’s our fault, then we’ll free her again,” Lann said. “Simple as that! And she’ll be angry, and maybe belate us a bit, but then things will be all good again. And besides, there’s no way she’d have been stuck in this world all that time – Mog would have sensed her Light! Wyn’s really Light-y, I’m sure.”

Reynn looked away, unable to help her smile. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” she told him, against her better judgment. “And it’s ‘berate,’ by the way. But either way, it is a belated rescue. This time, we’ll do it right.”

LUNETH

Luneth really, really wished the Onion Knight had gone with the other group to find the caged girl that Rikku had seen. Instead, he had to watch him and Aria talk with each other and  laugh with each other as they searched for a way out among cisterns that had long since broken and drained. This wasn’t fair. Luneth had been so happy to see that she lived in this world. But… if this really wasn’t the Aria that he knew, did that mean the one from his world really was lost?

“Hi, Luneth,” said Aria, startling him from his thoughts. He hadn’t noticed that the Onion Knight and Faris had gone on ahead. “Apologies if this is too forward of me, but… are you okay?”

Luneth exhaled. “You can ask me anything, Aria. You may not know it, but in my world we really are friends,” he said. “I just… I’ve been thinking about how the version of you from my world sacrificed herself for me. The Kraken attacked us from behind, but you saved me. I owe so much to you… but it hurts that you’re not the same Aria. That you don’t remember.”

Aria grabbed his hand, taking him by surprise. “For what it’s worth, I believe you,” she said. “I’ve only just come to this world, and there are so many things that I do not know. But it does seem strange that those events happened exactly the same as in my memories, just without you in them.”

“I don’t seem to be in anyone’s memories,” Luneth said, sighing. But the fact that Aria believed him meant more to him than he could say. “None of my friends are here.”

“Well, it seems to me that there are many new people here,” said Aria, smiling. “While you wait for more of your friends to arrive, why don’t you take the opportunity to make new ones?”

Luneth smiled back. “Yeah, you’re right!” He had been so focused on everyone forgetting him that he didn’t think of making any new memories to treasure. It may have felt like he had been replaced, but dwelling on that pain wouldn’t do him any good.

Aria let go of his hand and gestured to herself. “And you can start with me,” she said. “Please think of me as the Aria that you know. I would be honored to be your friend, Luneth.”

“Thank you, Aria,” he said. “I’m pleased to meet you!”

The shrine’s foundation shook. Further down the hall, stone ground against stone as pillars fell and walls crumbled. Luneth and Aria grabbed each other for balance as the floor shifted. The flow of water intensified outside, but he heard it falling and churning elsewhere in the shrine.

“Is Leviathan flooding the temple?” Aria asked, eyes wide.

“Back to the stairs!” the Onion Knight shouted back at them. “C’mon, we need to get to higher ground!” Though considering the entire shrine had been submerged before they arrived, Luneth wasn’t sure how high they could go.

“Incoming!” Faris warned, and the water rushed in faster than any of them could have anticipated.

It swept at their knees, nearly making them buckle. Each of them grabbed onto whatever they could grab – Luneth found a crumbling statue of a mermaid. The Onion Knight almost lost his balance as the current pushed him back to Luneth and Aria, but Luneth reached out his hand and grabbed the other warrior’s arm. Though the current didn’t relent, it also didn’t intensify, and the volume of water continued to flow no higher than Luneth’s knees. The Onion Knight was right – they could buy more time by going up another floor.

“Thanks,” the Onion Knight said to Luneth.

In response, Luneth nodded back. “Don’t mention it.”

They fought their way to the stairs, an uneven jumble of partially broken steps that looked as if they had been carved into the wall. Further down the hall, they saw through a window to the currents outside. The whirlpool around the shrine continued to spin, but something had crashed against the temple, cracking against the wall and extending the hole. The object was dark and cylindrical, a piece of metal that made Luneth gasp.

It was the submarine.

“Did they start the attack already?” the Onion Knight asked, trying to force his way over to it. “Or… did Leviathan drag it out into the sea?”

“That was quite the crash,” said Faris. “Aria, I reckon they’ll need healing!”

The hatch opened, revealing a horned helmet. The Warrior of Light tumbled out, splaying over the steps, but the Onion Knight caught him and propped him up with his arm. Kimahri emerged next, helping Yuna, Lulu, and Xezat up and out – all of which looked to be in considerably better condition. Carbuncle popped out last, dizzy but unharmed.

“Are you okay!?” the Onion Knight asked, slinging the Warrior’s arm over his shoulder.

“He shielded us,” said Yuna, casting a soft glow from her hands to heal him while Aria looked over the others.

“I’ll be fine,” said the Warrior of Light, standing straight. Luneth thought he always looked unflappable. “The real battle is yet to begin.”

“I take it you’re one of the ones who was stranded here,” Lulu said to Aria.

“Yes, my name is Aria,” she replied with a warm smile. “I am pleased to meet you all.”

“We found one of your friends here, too,” said Luneth. “Her name is Rikku. She’s with the others – we’re looking for someone else who’s trapped here.”

Yuna’s face lit up. “Rikku! That’s wonderful news!”

The Warrior of Light stood at the bottom of the stairs, just above the flow of water flooding this floor of the temple. He looked down each hall. “This is very unusual,” he said. “It’s not often we come to environs that resemble my world. I know this place – we are in the Sunken Shrine, home of the water crystal.”

“And this is not so unlike the Temple of Water in my world, where our crystal is kept!” Aria exclaimed.

“Maybe our worlds have more in common than we thought,” said the Onion Knight, and Luneth found himself nodding along.

“Come,” said the Warrior of Light. “Let us regroup with our allies and prepare for battle.”

REYNN

Rikku led them through so many halls that Reynn was convinced she had gotten them lost. Despite the urgency of the situation and the fact that she knew it wasn’t the Sunken Shrine from her world, Reynn kept expecting to see quachos behind every corner. Past the statue of a headless mermaid, they found a room with high, pointed arches and a cylindrical, glowing cage of light.

Inside, she recognized Hauyn at once.

“Wyn! It is you!” Reynn cried, rushing to the center of the chamber. Around its edges, water flowed through divots in the floor and the light from the cage refracted off it, dancing against the wall in a shimmering mosaic. Basins of water and broken ceramic ewers littered the chamber, worn away and faded with age. “How did you get here?”

Hauyn blinked as she watched them arrive. She almost seemed as if she didn’t truly believe they were there. “Reynn? Lann? You remember me this time?”

“Of course we remember you!” Lann exclaimed. “But how’d you get so big? When we came to this world, we were stuck in our Lilikin forms!” She indeed towered over their heads, like all their other friends.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I just woke up here, and this is… how I normally look?” She scanned all of their companions, eyes widening on Tidus. “You…”

Tidus bunched up his shoulders. “Huh? Recognize me from your world?”

“We’ll get you out of there,” Reynn said, deciding to leave the question of her recognition for later. “We’ll break the cage just like last time – just stand back!”

“Yah!” Lann exclaimed, punching the cage with his gauntleted hand.

“Was something supposed to happen?” Tidus asked, after a lengthy pause.

“Yes, it was supposed to break,” said Lann, trying again. “But my powers aren’t working right!”

“And I can’t even dismantle it,” said Rikku, approaching the cage to examine it. “What is this thing even made of?”

“We’re an Architect and a Breaker, like our parents were,” Reynn explained to the others. They should have been able to break Wyn free with no effort. Lann was the one who had created the original cage in the first place. “Maybe it’s because we’re Lilikins?”

“So change back,” Hauyn said. Magic popped and she appeared as a Lilikin, and then back to her Jiant form. “Can’t you switch back and forth like normal?”

Lann jumped back. “Whaaa!? No way! I thought Enna Kros was only a Jiant because she was … y’know, Enna Kros! But you can switch back and forth too? Not fair!”

“Wait, you guys don’t always look so small?” Wakka asked.

“We’ve been trying to tell you all that from the beginning!” said Reynn, rubbing her temples. “Ugh! Was it really just a matter of willing ourselves to go Jiant all this time? I mean, if Palom and Porom turned to adults, I don’t see why we can’t become Jiants…”

“It’s about will, huh?” Lann asked. “Okay, here goes!”

He spread his legs, bending them at the knee with his arms spread out on both sides. If he had muscle definition in this form, Reynn would have thought he would be clenching every muscle in his body. His face screwed up in concentration, then shut his eyes and started grunting. Then the grunts turned into a growl as he invoked whatever energy he could draw from inside.

“What’s he doing?” Paine asked, something like a grimace on her face.

“I’m concentrating,” Lann said. “Rahhhh….!”

“Don’t hurt yourself now,” said Reynn.

“I got this! Stand back and prepare for my macho form!”

She put a fingerless hand on the bars of the cage, locking eyes with her sister. “I think I haven’t been able to transform yet in this world because you haven’t been here, Wyn. Right now… I feel small. Childish. And for a long time, that was how I felt through our childhood. You’re our older sis, but we failed you. We should have looked out for you more like you looked out for us. I’ve kind of just been going along with the flow since we’ve been here, fighting to protect this world and our own by extension, but now that you’re here… I want to be bigger and stronger to protect you now, too.”

Hauyn grasped her hands through the bars and smiled. “We’ll protect each other,” she said. “You’ve got a lot to fill me in on. And look – you really have grown while you were talking.”

Reynn looked down at her feet, noticing that they suddenly looked a lot farther away. “I did it,” she said.

“Aw, lame!” said Lann, who was still a Lilikin. “Why can’t I get bigger too?”

“Perhaps you need to find your light, as your sister did.” Armor clinked from one of the other archways and Reynn gasped when she saw the Warrior of Light stride into the room. Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri entered behind him.

“You found us?” Reynn asked, grinning.

“Yunie!” Rikku exclaimed, rushing over to squeeze Yuna into a hug. “Lulu! And Kimahri, too! Ohh, it’s so great to see you guys again!”

“Rikku!” said Yuna, squeezing her back. “I promise, it’s been a lot longer for us.”

“YRP is in the house!” said Rikku, pumping her fist. “What, Auron didn’t wanna come down here to see me?”

“Sir Auron would prefer to see you on dry land,” Lulu quipped. “As do we all. Then we can have a proper reunion.”

“Let’s hurry it up, then, and find Leviathan,” said Paine.

Wakka slapped his forehead. “Lu, are you crazy, coming down here? What if you drowned?”

“We nearly did,” Lulu responded icily. “So make our trip worth it.”

“We’re trying to free our sis from the cage,” Lann said. 

When Reynn turned to look at him, she jumped up in surprise. “Whoa, you got bigger again!”

Lann looked at himself and jumped, too. “I did!? Awesome!”

“I think I can help,” said the Warrior of Light, approaching the cage as the others made their introductions. “Somehow… this cage reminds me of Materia and Spiritus.”

“Both of them?” Reynn asked. She clutched her dagger tightly. “Well… if that’s the case, you’re gonna have to help us break it, right?”

Lann flexed his gauntlet again. “Don’t know what Materia and Spiritus have to do with this thing, but let’s do this! Stand back, Wyn!”

TIDUS

Reynn and Lann both wrapped Hauyn in a hug when she was freed from the cage, which she returned. He thought he saw some tears fall down Hauyn’s cheek, but she hurriedly wiped them away. Then her eyes hardened as she looked past them all at someone behind the crowd, entering from yet another archway.

“It’s him,” she said, and the coldness in her tone seemed to suck the jubilation out of the room. “He wanted to use me to control Leviathan.”

Like the last time Tidus saw Shuyin, it was like looking into a mirror.

“Shuyin,” said Yuna, an uncharacteristic hardness to her voice. Or maybe it was born from her journey to save Spira from him. “What are you doing here?”

Rikku pointed at him. “Yeah, what is he doing here?”

“Tidus. Dude!” said Lann. “You never told us you were a twin!”

“I’m not,” Tidus replied, clenching his fists.

“I need the help of a summoner,” Shuyin said, glancing toward Hauyn. But then he fixed on Yuna. “Or two. You’re a summoner as well, aren’t you?”

“Not anymore, zangvyla !” said Rikku. “Get with the times! Oh wait, you’re long dead.”

Shuyin sneered at her. “I’m very much alive.”

“And Yuna’s sort of a summoner again, y’know?” Wakka said to Rikku, scratching the back of his head. “We’ve got to catch you up on some things.”

“As if we’ll let you just take control of Leviathan,” said Paine, hefting her sword. “You don’t have Vegnagun here, so you’re just going to try and destroy the world in a different way, huh?”

“What do you know of Vegnagun?” Shuyin lunged forward so quickly Tidus thought he was about to attack. “Why do you all think you know me!?”

Tidus summoned his sword to his hand and took a stance, and faced Shuyin while glancing back toward the others. “Yuna, everyone – you all go ahead and deal with Leviathan. I’ll handle Shuyin!”

“We will leave this to you,” said the Warrior of Light, leading the others away. “Be safe.”

Yuna, Wakka, and Rikku lingered. “But… do you have to fight him alone?” Yuna asked.

“You’re needed more to fight an aeon,” Tidus replied. He grinned at her. “I’ve got this!”

Shuyin looked at him – really looked at him – for the first time, and his eyes widened before narrowing into hateful slits. “I don’t understand,” he said. “What kind of trick is this?”

“C’mon, Yunie,” said Rikku, pulling Yuna by the hand. “Let’s give Tidus a chance to sock him one. It’s only fair!”

Yuna squeezed his hand and looked as if she was about to say something else, but thought better of it and fled with Rikku and the others.

Tidus smirked at Shuyin. “To answer your question, there aren’t any tricks. But I have no idea why we look alike. You’re from Zanarkand, right? So am I.”

“This isn’t possible,” Shuyin said, crouching into a stance that mirrored his own. “Aren’t we in a different world?”

“Yeah,” said Tidus. “We are. But we come from the same place. Maybe there’s more to it. But y’know what? I don’t really care. All that matters is stopping you.”

“You love that girl, don’t you?” Shuyin asked, taking Tidus off guard. “What would you do if she was cruelly taken from you? How far would you go? Would you make them all pay?”

“That’s where we’re different,” Tidus replied, locking his eyes with Shuyin’s. “I wouldn’t lose Yuna.”

Shuyin’s eyes widened, and then pure rage overtook the features that looked so like Tidus’s own, and he lunged forward with his blade and the intent to kill.

RIKKU

“Sir Xezat is working on repairing the submarine,” Yuna said, running alongside her after the others. “We left the Onion Knight and the others to guard him.”

“We must hurry before Leviathan floods this place,” said the Warrior of Light.

Rikku felt the floor vibrate under her feet. “Uh-oh,” she said. “I think you spoke too soon.”

“Hurry it up!” Paine shouted as they all sprinted. “This floor’s about to go!”

Rikku pumped her legs as fast as they would go. Holding her breath for hours underwater wouldn’t do her any good if the current slammed her body against stone. Despite that thought, running alongside Yuna and Paine – and even Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri – made her nostalgic for the good old days. They found the submarine at the end of another hall with a cluster of others Rikku didn’t know guarding it, and as soon as they saw the water coming after them no one questioned twice when it was time to pile back in. Outside the shrine, the wall of water whirling around them looked like it was falling apart, cascading down in a frothy roar. If it all came down at once, she doubted the shrine or the little submarine would be able to take it.

The Warrior of Light ushered them all inside before going in himself – surprising her with his old school chivalry – and as soon as they closed the hatch, the submarine lurched as water impacted it from the outside. It was cramped. Really, really cramped. Rikku fell into Yuna, and then Wakka, and then someone she didn’t know as they all tumbled through the tiny space and the water threw them back and forth. She managed not to hit her head as an old man that sounded a little like her dad yelled that the sub wasn’t ready yet.

“Just get us to the surface!” Wakka shouted over the din.

Dark magic swirled around them and Rikku groaned – what now? But it pinned her to the floor, and she realized it was a Demi spell. She wondered, briefly, if that was Lulu’s doing. Somehow, one of the Lilikins ended up in her arms – they had the good foresight to shrink themselves down for such a tiny space. With the spell holding them down, they all stopped flying around the sub.

“Gonna be hard!” the old man crowed back. “Currents are dragging us deep! We didn’t have time to pressurize!”

Rikku’s head started to hurt – a sure sign that they were descending fast. She had to help. “Do we have a visual on Leviathan?” she asked. “Does this thing have depth charges!?”

“I do believe it does!”

Rikku squeezed the poor Lilikin in her arms and braced herself. “Then what are you waiting for!?”

The old man straightened his crooked, horned helmet. “For us to stop moving so much, for one!”

Something smashed into them and roared so loud it shook the whole submarine. Yuna locked her arm into Rikku’s, stuck between a bolted down chair and Rikku herself, and looked up. “Was that Leviathan?”

“No,” said someone else – someone she hadn’t met yet, their voice dripping with pride. “That was Syldra! She’s pushing us up!”

It wasn’t just the gravity spell that pushed them against the floor now, but the force of them rising quickly toward the surface. The old man shouted that they had breached, and for a moment silence reigned until the Warrior of Light opened the hatch and looked outside. Sunlight poured in.

“We can climb onto the shipwrecks,” the Warrior of Light said, helping some of the others out of the sub. “It’s not any safer, but more of us will be able to attack.”

“I’m staying in here,” Rikku said, releasing poor Lann from her arms. She glanced back at the engineer. “I’ll be more useful with some good missiles. You with me, old man?”

“The name’s Xezat, brat!” he said, but he grinned.

“It’ll be no use if we can’t get him to swim to the surface,” said Paine. “How will we do that?”

“Leave it to me,” said Hauyn, flourishing a dagger. “No sea monster can resist Siren’s song.”

TIDUS

Tidus pressed himself against the wall and braced with a heavy stone basin as water flooded into the chamber in the midst of their fight. He saw Shuyin copy his move just in time to avoid getting flattened by the current. The water came all at once, slamming into them with all the force of a chocobo stampede. Tidus kept his head down and his limbs locked into place, shaking with the effort to keep from slipping. It felt like it lasted forever, an unceasing deluge that threatened to entomb them here for eternity.

The force finally stopped, leaving them in silence.

Before Tidus could shake the feeling back into his limbs, Shuyin darted through the water like a fish – or a blitzer. In one smooth motion, he sliced at Tidus, but Tidus managed to block it with his own blade. With neither of them impeded by the flooded shrine, they continued their battle.

LUNETH

The hooded girl – Hauyn – raised her dagger up high as she stood at the bow of a ruined ship, and from the winds a womanly figure materialized at her side. She had wings, with green feathers and hair that seemed to meld together into one, with an additional pair of wings that bore her aloft. Without waiting for a verbal command, she unveiled a harp and delicately strummed along its strings, her wordless voice ringing out over the ring of shipwrecks in a melody that Luneth found haunting.

Though the whirlpool around the shrine had collapsed, the water continued to churn. The party had positioned themselves roughly equidistant around the shipwrecks to attack Leviathan from as many sides as possible once he emerged. Aria had volunteered to perform a prayer to the water to keep it calm so they could battle without getting pulled under the waves. While the song continued, Luneth gripped his handaxes and waited.

The anticipation was broken by the sound of muffled explosions deep under the water – the weapons Rikku shot at Leviathan from the submarine. A wall of water burst from the surface, revealing Leviathan in all his glory with a roar that shook the heavens.

His serpentine body coiled, fins splayed out and fangs bared, towering high above their heads. Orbs of water hovered in a ring around his maw, orbiting like liquid stars, and launched in all directions toward his attackers. Luneth dived out of the way before he could see how the others fared, cursing to himself that Leviathan got the first attack despite their preparedness.

In the air, something screeched as a draconic figure descended down on Leviathan, pecking and clawing at his eyes – one of the summoned beasts that belonged to Yuna. Then Wakka’s blitzball slammed into Leviathan’s face, followed by a barrage of thunder magic that lanced up and down his spine. Leviathan shrugged off their attacks and swung his tail at Wakka’s ship, smashing it in one strike while Wakka went sailing through the air. Paine dove into the water to get him while Lulu kept his focus with a storm brewing above his head.

The Onion Knight ran across the wreckage firing ice and lightning magic from the tip of his sword, scurrying from mast to balustrade to run ahead of bullets of water headed his way. Luneth realized Onion Knight was coming in his direction just in time for Syldra to burst out of the water, clamping on Leviathan with her teeth while Faris clung to her back. Lann and Reynn summoned dragons that appeared in their portals and unleashed breaths of fire and plasma.

Carbuncle wasn’t near Luneth, but he heard the creature’s voice clearly. “Do not hesitate!” he called out. “Leviathan may have been your friend, but you must defeat him to free him from this imprisonment of the mind!”

Siren’s magic carried Onion Knight to safety, but closer to Luneth who stood guard over Aria as she continued to pray. Leviathan focused his ire on all of them at once, but when Luneth prepared to defend himself a glowing magical shield sprung to life to defend them, and then the Warrior of Light appeared with light searing at the end of his blade. He hurled the energy at Leviathan, making the monster screech in pain and dive back into the water. The Warrior of Light stayed on the move, leaping from ship to ship to follow its destination under the water with surprising agility considering his heavy plate.

Distracted by trying to predict where Leviathan’s head might resurface, Luneth didn’t pay enough attention to the tail.

It shot from the water like a lance, blindingly fast and too swift for Luneth to react. He gripped his axe and prepared to be disemboweled by the barbs at the end of the tail, but someone pushed him out of the way. As he fell, he spun to see that it was Aria who pushed him, and his scream died in his throat when he replayed the memory of Aria – his Aria – pushing him out of the way of a different attack… And here he was, powerless to watch it happen again.

But this time, the Onion Knight was there, cutting Leviathan’s tail and cleaving the barbs before they could impale Aria.

Stunned, Luneth could only gape while the Onion Knight nodded to him. “I wasn’t about to let that happen again,” the Onion Knight said before leaping back into the fray.

“Luneth, are you hurt?” Aria asked, pulling him to his feet.

“You saved me,” he said, still trying to process that the Onion Knight managed to save her this time. “Even though you barely know me. Thank you.”

“Well, we’re friends, aren’t we?” she asked, smiling. “You’d do the same for me!”

Yuna’s Valefor gathered energy at the end of its beak and launched it down at Leviathan, solidifying into a ray that exploded upon impact. Below the water’s surface, more of the submarine’s depth charges launched and struck, making Leviathan roar louder in pain. Kimahri leapt from one of the ships onto his back, piercing scales with his lance. The serpent tried to retaliate and strike Lulu, but Faris and Syldra appeared in his path and rammed into him. Hauyn commanded Siren like a conductor, weaving her dagger while Siren blasted Leviathan with music and wind.

Water circled around Leviathan and rose into a tower of seafoam. Leviathan swam to its top, and Luneth knew this was going to be his final – and his ultimate – attack. Aria knew it as well, clasping her hands together to conjure a barrier of soft blue energy around them just in time for Leviathan to crash back against the surface of the sea, cratering it with his impact.

The ships rocked with enough force that Luneth was nearly hurled from the deck. The tsunami crashed with the sound of cannonfire, water raining down on them in a torrent and hurling waves in every direction. Luneth clung onto Aria with one hand while the other gripped the gunwale with all the strength he could muster. Aria’s shields protected them from the bulk of the attack, and if he was struggling this much to hold on he feared for the fates of the others.

When it finally calmed, he looked up to see Leviathan’s shimmering form hovering above the water. Hauyn flew in Siren’s arms while the Lilikin twins clung to her feet. Valefor circled in the air with Yuna and Lulu on its back, searching for the others. Luneth couldn’t see anyone else in the immediate aftermath of the attack, but a voice rang out in his head.

“ You have my gratitude for freeing me from that pall of misery ,” said the voice – Leviathan. “ Dark forces clouded my mind, tainting our pure desires to protect this world. Your gods foresaw this, keeping me bound to the caged summoner to prevent my maelstrom’s rage from wreaking destruction upon this world. In that, they pass their sincerest apologies .”

Siren flew to drop off Hauyn and the twins near Luneth and Aria, then took to the air again to look for the others. Hauyn lowered her hood. “So it was the work of gods that kept me imprisoned here? I suppose if it was for the sake of protecting others, I can’t blame them…”

Reynn turned to her larger form and stomped her feet. “What do you mean? It’s okay to be mad that Materia and Spiritus put you in a cage like that again! Who cares if it was to protect us all? Whenever we see them again, or break them free of that crystal, I am gonna give them a piece of my mind!”

Hauyn placed a hand on Reynn’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Really. After all, you came and freed me. I understand why it had to be done.” She looked back up at Leviathan. “Thank you – I could tell you were trying to fight through whatever it is that has a hold over you. That last attack… you directed it to cause as little damage as you could.”

“Whoa, Leviathan’s got a deeper voice than I remember,” Lann asked, tapping his lips. “Cool, good for him!”

Luneth couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s your takeaway from this?”

“ I now bestow upon you my magicite ,” Leviathan continued, descending toward Hauyn. The light around him intensified, and when it died down a piece of crystal hovered in his place, coming to rest in Hauyn’s hands. “ Safeguard it well .”

“We will,” said Hauyn. When she turned back to the others, she took a deep breath. “Now, we have to find everyone. I think they all made it through that attack, but…”

“Well done, all of you,” said Carbuncle, somehow unharmed in the battle. Though he did look a little like a wet cat.

The submarine surfaced, revealing Rikku who stumbled dizzily out of the hatch, and shortly after Syldra did as well with Faris on her back – along with an unconscious Tidus slumped in Faris’s arms.

“Found him floating down there,” she said, her expression grim. “Think he’s alive, but…”

“Tidus!” Yuna swooped down on Valefor, dropping into the water to swim to Syldra’s back.

YUNA

Back on dry land, Yuna sat by the warm fire with all of her dearest friends, Tidus’s head resting in her lap while she stroked his hair. Tidus, Kimahri, Lulu, Wakka, Rikku, Auron, and Paine were all here – she felt complete, especially with even her father somewhere in this world. Though he wasn’t with him now, she felt comforted by the fact that he was safe. She was reminded of another moment with them all seated around a fire, but the melancholy of that night felt like a distant memory.

“I pity Shuyin,” Tidus said suddenly, staring up at the sky. “Even here, in this world, he’s only focused on his loss and hatred. We didn't get to finish our fight because he escaped into a Torsion, but I know we're gonna see him again."

“He had a tragic story,” said Rikku, somber in a way that Yuna rarely saw. Rikku understood his pain, as she had admitted to Yuna once before.

“I want to know about it,” said Tidus, his gaze switching to Yuna’s eyes. “Can you tell us, Yuna? All of it?”

She thought of Lenne, who had wanted them to try and save Shuyin’s soul. Perhaps, throughout their adventures in this world, they may have the opportunity to save him again.

She would have to try.

New form (I won't do this for every new costume, just for those who can or do change their appearance for story purposes so you know what they look like):

Jiant Lann and Reynn

Character abilities

ULTs (I am just going to go in order starting with FFI to save myself the headache):

Warrior of Light ULT: Oversoul

Effect: When shielded, party members gain BRV as enemies attack.

This ability name comes from his EX Mode in Dissidia 012.

Garland ULT: Indomitable Resolve

Effect: Garland cannot be broken.

This ability name comes from his EX Mode in Dissidia 012.

Aria Benett (Staff) Water magic damage, healer, revival, water enchant/imperil, enchant enemy attacks to water -> absorb water

15: Water Maiden’s Blessing

35: Healing Spring

EX: Flood

LD: Crystal Protector

FR: Crystal Resolve (with Leonora)

BT: Wave of Rebirth

ULT: Aquaveil (Effect: Dispel-proof)

Burst theme: “Elia, the Maiden of Water,” Aria’s character theme

Since Aria's a guest character with only some basic white magic, I had to take some creative liberties. She copies Leon's mechanic where he enchants enemy attacks to the Darkness element and then gives the party a buff to absorb Darkness damage, but in her case she uses Water. Rather than focusing on damage like him, though, she is more of a support unit with healing and revival capabilities. Her ULT effect prevents her from losing buffs to enemy attacks for the rest of the battle, and her Burst theme has the distinction of being the first character theme in the franchise.

Hauyn (Dagger) - Non-elemental magic damage, auras, buff extender, no BRV breaks against party, HP/BRV regen, HP Silence

15: Lunatic Voice

35: Balancega

EX: Endless Blessings

LD: Topaz Light -> enables “Searing Light” follow up

FR: Weight of a Legacy (with Sarah Burtgang)

BT: Silent Voice

ULT: Prism Break (Effect: HP Silence duration extend)

Burst theme: “Another World of Battle,” battle theme for later dungeons

Hauyn is not directly playable in battle, but she does fight in cutscenes and her partner is Siren so she gets the abilities of the Siren Mirage, including some supportive auras. She shuts down enemies with a potent HP Silence (with a permanent duration increase thanks to her ULT effect). Balancega is a spell that keeps allies from being broken for a few turns. Though she was never directly shown to summon Carbuncle, her "Who's Who?" entries mention that she also once had a Carbuncle partner as well that was taken away from her, so I gave her a Topaz Carbuncle ability with a follow-up attack. The name of her ULT is an original, referencing her breakout from the crystal prison. Overall she's a pretty good utility fighter.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Idle Chatter I

Scene 1: To Be an Oracle

( Lunafreya, Ryne, and Shirma explore a snowy forest )

RYNE: I’m glad the three of us are getting to spend some time together.

SHIRMA: Oh? Me too, Ryne! It’s been great to meet you both.

LUNA: We make an unlikely trio, do we not?

RYNE: Well, I’m not so sure it is that unlikely – Thancred tells me you’re an Oracle of Light, Lunafreya. Is that so?

LUNA: Indeed I am. It is my sacred duty to travel the land and help purify it of darkness, and to heal those who are suffering. It is a gift passed down through my family, chosen of the gods.

SHIRMA: Wow! Did you know I was an Oracle of Light, too? But in my world, it is the duty of the four oracles to watch over the guardians of Lostime, where I live. We are supposed to keep them safe. But, well…

RYNE: It doesn’t always go how you plan, does it?

SHIRMA: No, not really.

RYNE: I am known as an Oracle of Light as well. In my world, overrun by Light, the oracles before me were raised to battle the sin eaters, vicious monsters that painfully turn people into more sin eaters. I alone am immune to their corruption. It was always so lonely…

LUNA: It sounds like it is a heavy burden to bear for all of us.

RYNE: It became better when I made my friends. When Thancred rescued me from where I had been locked away.

SHIRMA: Locked away? You mean they didn’t want you to use your power?

RYNE: It’s complicated… but things are better now. We stopped the encroaching Light.

SHIRMA: I’m glad to hear it! It felt lonely at times for me, too. But my sister is the Oracle of Darkness, so that always made it easier. Do either of you have someone like that?

RYNE: Oh, I do! Well, of a sort. Her name is Gaia, and she is someone very dear to me. What about you, Lunafreya?

LUNA: Please, just Luna is fine. But… no, there is no ‘Oracle of Darkness’ in my world. To be honest, it is a rather strange concept to me. But I suppose… Ardyn might be the closest equivalent?

RYNE and SHIRMA ( looking at each other ): Oh…

LUNA: What is it?

RYNE: I’m not so sure it is the same…

Scene 2: Callers’ Conundrum

( Rydia, Terra, Aerith, Squall, Eiko, Yuna, Ashe, Sazh, Y’shtola, Noctis, and Joshua in the Underworld )

RYDIA: We’re not so far from the Feymarch, where the eidolons live! I wonder if we can go visit?

YUNA: Would they even be there? Other than the twelve who protect this world, it is empty of all the other aeons. Though it does sound like a wondrous place, where they all live together…

EIKO: Hey, I was wondering. Why don’t you call them eidolons, too?

YUNA: Well, I suppose I haven’t really thought about it. The teachings of Yevon speak of them with that name.

Y’SHTOLA: It is representative of our different cultures. Language evolves in all different ways – our common tongue notwithstanding.

TERRA: In your world they are known as primals, if I remember correctly? And I was told they are violent and dangerous there…

Y’SHTOLA: Indeed – and just being in the presence of one risks your mind becoming enthralled by them.

TERRA: That’s horrible. ( Pause ). The Feymarch sounds similar to the Esper World, where they all lived before the Gestahlian Empire invaded.

ASHE: The espers I am familiar with come from their own domain, as well. But they are so unlike all of those that you are familiar with. It is strange that my world seems to be the outlier.

SAZH: We use ‘eidolons,’ but some of the ones I hear all of you talking about sound more like fal’Cie names, to me. My eidolon, Brynhildr, can transform into a car! Can any of yours do that?

SQUALL: I think you’re alone in that.

NOCTIS: They’re Guardian Forces in your world, right? That… take your memories away?

SQUALL: Right.

EIKO: That’s scary! Why are all the eidolons from other worlds so weird!?

YUNA: We should be respectful of the ways of other worlds, Eiko.

JOSHUA: In my world, we call them Eikons. And those who transform into them are known as the Dominants.

Y’SHTOLA: The term ‘Eikon’ is not unheard of in my world, either.

AERITH: They don’t even have a proper name in my world. They’re just powerful beings whose essences are contained in the materia.

NOCTIS: Maybe we should take a vote on a common term to use. I say ‘Astrals.’

EIKO: Eidolons!

SAZH: That’s got my vote.

TERRA: In the essence of fairness, what if we came up with a new name for them? Just to use in this world? They do have a different purpose here, after all.

EIKO: …Eikolons.

AERITH: Vetoed! You just want your name in there.

EIKO: Nuh-uh! It… it’s a combination of ‘Eikon’ and ‘Eidolon.’

NOCTIS: Why’d you pick Joshua’s term for it?

EIKO: Well… because.

NOCTIS: Nice try.

RYDIA: Some used to call them ‘phantom beasts.’ So… perhaps Phantoms?

SAZH: Sounds a bit spooky.

ASHE: Yes… I am not so sure I would refer to them as ghosts.

( Enter Carbuncle )

RYDIA: Oh, good timing! We were just talking about what to call the eidolons of this world. Do you have an official name here?

CARBUNCLE: Before all of you showed up, we didn’t have a need for something to call ourselves. So, no.

Y’SHTOLA: Since your domain is the World of Illusions, and along the lines of Rydia’s idea… What do you think of Phantasms?

TERRA: I think we should leave the choice to Carbuncle.

CARBUNCLE: I don’t hate it. But it does not sound all that impressive to me. What about ‘The Guardians of the Phantasmagoria'? That name is one worthy of our splendor.

AERITH: Too long!

JOSHUA: I am not sure what that means.

EIKO: I still like Eikolons.

(In the end, they could not come to a consensus.)

Scene 3: A Youthful Perspective

( Vivi, Eiko, Palom, Porom, Yuri, Lann, and Reynn are on a sandy beach together, under the bright sunlight )

VIVI: I feel like the kids among us keep growing up.

EIKO: Yeah, that’s right! Palom and Porom used to be the youngest. But now they’re old. I wonder if I’ll suddenly remember that I am a mature and beautiful woman and get to grow up too?

LANN: Don’t count on it.

EIKO: Hey!

VIVI: Hey, Eiko. Are we the youngest now?

YURI: I’m really young, too! And don’t forget Chelinka and Joshua.

POROM: I feel like we’re going to be excluded from a lot of the fun now…

PALOM: Now I know how Hope feels. Even though we’ve had the memories of being adults for a while, it’s like they forgot until we got bigger like this.

VIVI: I hope you don’t suddenly get old like the rest of them, Eiko. I like you just the way you are!

EIKO: Aw, thanks, Vivi!

REYNN: Wait. Did you guys think that Lann and I were little kids because we were stuck in our Lilikin forms before?

( Everyone stops and looks at Reynn and Lann in silence, unwilling to admit it )

LANN: Seriously!?

Scene 4: It’s Hard to Stand on Both Feet

( Red XIII, Jack [Type-0], Queen, Kimahri, and Mog [VI] are patrolling ancient ruins )

JACK: Nanaki, you’re really good at tracking! Is it because you have such a strong nose?

RED XIII: As a matter of fact, I do.

JACK: Hey, Kimahri, Mog – are you the same?

QUEEN: Jack! You can’t just ask them questions like that! That is so insensitive!

MOG: Moogles aren’t known for our strong noses, kupo.

KIMAHRI: Kimahri not insulted. Ronso noses may be stronger than others’, but not like Nanaki.

RED XIII: Both of our peoples come from a long line of warriors, don’t they? Perhaps we have more in common than we think.

KIMAHRI: Nanaki’s strengths are Nanaki’s. Mog’s are Mog’s. Kimahri’s are Kimahri’s, and Jack’s are Jack’s.

MOG: None of you can dance like a moogle does, that’s for sure, kupo!

RED XIII: That is something I’ve never really been able to do. I’ve tried to stand on two feet before… and though I did well, I think dancing may be out of my range.

JACK: I wish I could run on all fours like you! And that I had a moogle pom!

QUEEN: Jack, why are you so weird?

KIMAHRI: Kimahri also wishes he could run on all fours. Kimahri would run faster than wind.

MOG: It might be nice to have Kimahri’s muscles, kupo.

QUEEN: Ugh. Well, if we’re all admitting things… Nanaki does have a cool tail…

Scene 5: Dresspheres

( Rikku, Yuna, Thancred, and Iris are battling monsters in an open field. After the last monster is dispatched, Rikku turns to Yuna )

RIKKU: Yunie, I’ve been wondering – did you forget all your dresspheres? Why are you always in your summoner getup?

YUNA: Well… I didn’t forget them. I just don’t have them in this world.

RIKKU: Oh! Well, luckily for you, I brought along a bunch. Here, take it! I’ve got your grid, too!

IRIS: What’s a dressphere?

RIKKU: They’re spheres that hold memories, and when fixed to a garment grid, you can use them to change your clothes and access all new weapons and skills. Yunie stopped being a summoner over two years ago, and now she can do a bunch of different things!

IRIS: Wow, really? Can I see?

YUNA: Um, sure thing! I’ll change right now.

( Yuna does so, equipping her Gunner dressphere and changing her clothes in a flash of light. After changing, she brandishes her pistols )

IRIS: Wow! I didn’t know you could do that, Yuna!

THANCRED: That’s an immensely useful item to have. It makes it easy to change your fighting style on the spot. We have something somewhat similar in my world, though they’re rare beyond belief – soul crystals, which access the memories of past wielders to imbue the bearer with new skills.

RIKKU: Why don’t you give it a try?

THANCRED: I just might. That would make it effortless for me to use either my gunblade or daggers, no matter the mission.

RIKKU: I don’t have one for gunblades, but… Here, try this one!

( Thancred accepts the sphere and the garment grid, and when he changes his clothes, he is wearing spiked shoulders lined with fur, bear claws as gloves, fur-lined boots, and a very short kilt around his waist. Other than body paint on his exposed skin, and two horns on his head, he is not wearing anything else )

RIKKU ( whistles ): Lookin’ good, Thancred!

IRIS: Well. I’m not complaining. But maybe I’ll pass on trying it out, too.

THANCRED: This is… not what I had in mind. But I make it look breathtaking, I’m sure.

YUNA: You make a great Berserker.

RIKKU: Maybe we can make a sphere just for you next time.

Character abilities

ULT updates:

Maria (FFII)

BT: Love and War

ULT: Ultima XVI

Effect: Permanent HP Drain

Burst theme: “Battle Scene,” the music for regular encounters

She already has a Force ability and partner, so all she needed was a Burst (and now an ULT), so you can have both at once. Her Burst is an original with no precedent. Her ULT is the highest level of the Ultima spell, bringing her back to her common black mage roots in other adaptations. The effect lets her drain enemy HP and overheal for the party with every hit for all of her abilities, that never runs out.

Leon ULT: Darkness Breaker

Effect: When party members are attacked, counter with Scourge

Alternate Skin: Black Knight

I think I got his ULT ability name from one of his Record Keeper Soul Bursts. It gives him a new counterattack ability, the Scourge spell from II. He also gets his fully armored Black Knight appearance as an alternate skin.

Gunner Yuna (Guns) Non elemental magic damage, position based, multiple BRV dumps, battery

15: Enchanted Ammo

35: Scatterburst

EX: Trigger Happy

LD: Floral Fallal Magisol (if on the right; offensive buffs), Ash Panic Floralysis (if on the left; debuffs), Silent White Honey (if in the middle; Regen and HP Silence)

FR: Banishing Stroke (with Bartz)

BT: Moogle Beam

ULT: Great Whirl (Effect: Transformation, extra damage)

Burst theme: “YRP, Fight No. 3,” X-2’s battle theme

Alternate Skin: Songstress dressphere

And here we are with Yuna's job change. This is one that I've always wanted in game. All of these abilities come from Gunner or Floral Fallal, with her Burst coming from her Mascot dressphere. Despite using a ranged weapon, she focuses on magic damage with lots of BRV dumps, especially with Trigger Happy. Like Paine (and Gullwing Rikku), her LD is position-based - but the difference with Yuna is that the name and function of the ability outright changes depending on if Yuna's in the left, right, or center position. The names come from combinations of Pistil abilities. "Great Whirl" is her strongest Floral Fallal skill, and upon using it she takes on the appearance of her Floral Fallal dressphere for extra damage all around.

Though Rikku is an example of a unit like this having two different Force partners, most of them will have the same Force partner they do in their "base" form (and for the record, they don't appear as Force partners twice for other people - so Yuna will always just be Rinoa's partner). Though perhaps the animation would change. Instead of summoning Yojimbo, Yuna might transform into her Samurai dressphere and join Bartz in attacking.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Echoes of a Rewritten time

Lilith ( Final Fantasy XI )

Voiced by: Emiri Kato

A version of Lilisette from an alternate timeline where the Shadow Lord was never defeated. She forged a pact with Odin in order to end the Crystal War, but in the process learned that in order to continue her existence, Lilisette and her timeline had to end. To preserve her life and the future she fought for, she battles against the goddess Altana Herself.

LILITH

Despite her presence in the hellish landscape that stretched into this eternal space between dimensions, Lilith knew that she lived again. This was not an afterlife.

She did not know how. Divinity had been fleeting, slipping away like the sands of time between her fingers. Atomos had devoured her as it tried to devour her timeline. Yet here she stood, standing underneath its gaping maw like she teetered on the edge of an event horizon. Dark towers leaned toward it as if craving the empty sky. Had it regurgitated her? Spit her out somewhere else, in a different timeline, a different universe?

She knew this place. This was the Walk of Echoes. Her salvation. Her moment of defeat.

Lilith called to her Spite Wardens. None of them answered.

When that failed, she instead thought of the girl. That foolish child with her enviable innocence. As soon as she pictured Lilisette in her mind, darkness swirled in front of her. A portal, of some sort. Or a window.

Through it, she saw bright sunlight. Flowers bloomed on an open field. She saw Lilisette dancing alongside a stream unburdened by the weight that should have been draped across her shoulders. Another girl walked alongside her; another adventurer, perhaps. A friend.

Lilith’s fingers curled into a fist. That was not her timeline, not her world. Lilisette had promised to go to the world of strife in Lilith’s place, to close the gate between their worlds and take on the mantle of Lady Lilith. To lead mankind to a brighter future. Yet here she was, traipsing about in a world at peace, nary a day older, back in her own time. She had broken the promise she made to Lilith. Abandoned it.

But how? Something wasn’t right. If Lilisette never went to Lilith’s world, then both of their worlds would have been devoured by the cavernous maw. Cast to the void.

“What the hell is this place?”

The sudden voice startled her. Lilith turned to regard the man who had entered the Walk of Echoes, face harsh as if smelted from steel. A scar crossed the bridge of his nose and his short messy hair looked uncombed, adding to his rugged appearance.

“How have you come to be here?” she asked back. “Only those who get swallowed by a cavernous maw come to this place. And they should all be gone.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said. “I went into a Torsion. Like that one behind you.”

Lilith looked back toward the window through which she viewed Lilisette, and waved a hand to will it closed. To her surprise (well hidden, of course), it vanished.

“Tell me the state of the world outside,” she said. She hated feeling ignorant. She would not let him have control of this conversation.

“I don’t listen to anyone’s commands,” the man replied. “Did you summon this place here?”

Lilith furrowed her brow. He was an impertinent one. “Summon?”

Two others walked up the steps behind the man, appearing at his side as if they were allies of his. One was an Elvaan with ashen skin, dressed all in black, while the other was a girl with bandages around her arms and legs. Lilith’s wings unfurled, prepared for the possibility of them attacking. She would make them rue their recklessness.

“Don’t mind Jack,” said the girl, unperturbed by Lilith’s appearance. “He doesn’t like explaining things to newcomers. I’m Neon, and this is Astos.”

“Newcomers?” Lilith asked, scoffing. “You three are the newcomers here, to my domain.”

Jack smirked, but it was Astos who answered, calmly sweeping his hand out over the dark wasteland. “Though this may resemble a place you know, it is a mere reconstruction – though an unusual one, since the space inside the Torsions is typically a black void. You have been summoned to another world in order to do battle on behalf of two gods.”

Lilith sneered. “Two gods? I will take no part in such a thing. Begone from here, before I smite all three of you where you stand.”

“You seem like someone who’s drowned in darkness before,” Jack said. “And with a poor opinion of divinity to boot. You don’t want to be our enemy. We’ve never cared much for the gods ourselves.”

“If you are about to suggest I join your merry little band of adventurers, shut your mouth and forget you ever thought of it.”

“No such thing,” said Neon, crossing her arms. “Jack’s pretty picky about who he lets with us. He was just making an observation.”

“And a thinly veiled warning,” said Astos, eyes passing over her wings. “Why were you scrying on someone through the Torsion? I saw that redheaded dancer and one of the Class Zero cadets. Which one of them interested you?”

“It is of no concern to you,” Lilith said. Something about this Elvaan’s energy unnerved her. He seemed like he held a power unlike that of the others. But even Jack had a darkness about him, as hungry as Atomos.

Astos held out a hand. “We believe it is. Those are allies of ours.”

“Hard to narrow down which cadet it is, but the other one sounds like Lilisette,” said Neon. “If you’re a threat to one of them, we’ll have to give them a warning.”

Lilith waved a hand dismissively. “Do as you will. But if she was summoned here as well, then perhaps she need not be my enemy this time.” She floated upward and lounged on an invisible throne, tapping her outer thigh. “Actually, you may deliver a message for me. Find Lilisette and tell her I am here. And that I am… disappointed that she broke her promise.”

Jack turned around and walked away, causing her to shoot a glare at his back. “I’m no errand boy. I’m out of here.”

Neon frowned. “What promise? If it’s something related to your home, she had no more agency in coming here than you did.”

Lilith leaned her cheek against her fist and waved the remaining two away. She cared little and less about hearing excuses. “Begone from here. I am done talking to you.”

LILISETTE

“Ugh, I don’t even know where to start in finding everyone again,” Lilisette groaned. “How’d we get separated from literally every other person in our party?”

Rem walked alongside her, giving her an encouraging smile. “Look on the bright side. At least we’re not alone, we weren’t wounded in the airship crash, and we have this stream to guide us.”

“Guide us where?” Lilisette asked. “It’s not like it’ll lead to any recognizable landmark. We’re in the middle of nowhere, Rem.”

Rem sighed. “I suppose you’re right. We don’t even know if anyone got hurt. I’m trying to keep a smile on, but I’m really worried.”

Lilisette had no words for her. Instead, she lowered her head as they walked, careful not to step on the wildflowers growing along the banks of the stream. She was worried for the others, too, but Rem had her close friends to occupy her thoughts. Lilisette, despite making friends since she had come to this world, really didn’t have anyone else close to her here like Rem had Class Zero. She missed Troupe Mayakov. She even missed Cait Sith. And most of all, she missed…

“Oh, Lilisette! Look!” Rem called out suddenly, pointing further ahead. “It’s that girl Neon – the one who travels with Jack Garland.”

She didn’t look as surprised to see them as they were to see her. Neon walked toward them with purpose, but not urgency – telling Lilisette that for whatever reason, Neon had sought them out. But she smiled rather than wearing a grave expression, meaning it wasn’t an emergency. Lilisette’s guard fell.

“Here you are,” she said, running the last few steps. “Astos told me I’d find you here.”

“You were looking for us?” Lilisette asked.

Before answering, Neon looked around. “Where’s everyone else? Are you two alone?”

Rem put both hands over her chest. “Our airship went down. We were separated from everyone.”

Neon frowned. “Oh, no. We didn’t realize. Do you need help?”

“Astos knew where we were?” Lilisette asked, brow furrowed. “Could he find everyone else?”

“I think so, if he focuses hard enough on it,” Neon replied. “I don’t think it’s any different from how our enemies show up out of nowhere to bother us. But, er, don’t tell Astos I made that comparison.”

“It’s good to see you, Neon,” said Rem. “I’m glad to see you’re doing okay. But did you come find us to tell us something?”

Neon nodded. “Yes, and to give you a warning. We met some lady who mentioned you by name,” she said, looking at Lilisette. “She said she was disappointed or something by a promise you broke. Tall lady, black dress, horns, wings. Does that ring any bells?”

Lilisette felt queasy. “Oh, of all the people… Yes, that sounds like Lady Lilith. I fought against her in my world. We both traveled back in time, but she came from further in the future than I did. From… my future,” she said. Perhaps if she kept it vague, they wouldn’t pepper her with questions. “When we defeated her, I ended up going to her timeline to protect it in her place.”

Rem covered her gasp. “You left your home behind to go save hers? That's very brave of you!”

Neon scrutinized Lilisette in a way that made her think the other girl might have realized she was hiding something. Or maybe she thought Lilisette and Lilith looked similar. “Well, she also mentioned something about how maybe you might not have to be enemies in this world. But either way, she seemed like a piece of work.”

“I heard that.”

A Torsion opened and Lilith herself walked through it, arms spread and wings unfurled. Lilisette stood her ground as both Rem and Neon backed away with their weapons drawn. Lilith had eyes only for Lilisette, a devious smirk splitting her lips as she stared down at her.

“Why’d you make me deliver that message if you were just going to show up anyway?” Neon asked.

“So this is where you’ve been, little girl,” said Lilith, ignoring Neon. She slowly raised an arm as she approached, but it shot toward Lilisette with sudden force and speed.

“Lilisette!” Rem cried out.

Rather than striking her, Lilith’s clawed hand gripped Lilisette’s cheeks – hard enough to sting but not to draw blood. Lilisette grimaced but didn’t pull away, and she waved the other two off before they could attack Lilith in retaliation.

“If one little lie passes through those lips I will make sure you regret it,” Lilith said. “Did you do everything in your power to protect my timeline?”

“I did,” Lilisette answered through smushed cheeks. "And still was, before I was summoned here."

“And did you work to lead them to an age of peace?”

“Working on it,” Lilisette said. As if that could be accomplished in a short time!

“And if you had the chance, would you leave this world to return to your own, or to my timeline?”

Lilisette pulled away from her grip. “I made a promise, didn’t I? No matter what, I intend to keep it.”

Lilith’s shoulders straightened. She looked satisfied. “Very well. For now, I shall not oppose you here.” Her wings flared. “Though I suppose the whim may strike. This is not an offer of friendship. This is not even a peace offering. If you oppose my efforts to send you back to our world and my timeline, then we shall once again be foes. Do I make myself clear?”

Lilisette scowled. “As if I’d do that!”

Lilith nodded. “Good. Until next time, then.” The Torsion opened up again behind her and she vanished into it, not taking her eyes off of Lilisette’s until she was gone.

Neon put her hands on her hips. “What’s her deal?”

“It’s a long story,” said Lilisette, rubbing the feeling back into her cheeks. “Despite what she said, we’ll need to watch out for her in the future. She can be bad news, if she wants to be.”

“What a fearsome person,” said Rem.

“While we’re looking for everyone else, why don’t you two travel with our group?” Neon asked them. “It’ll be safer for you – especially with people like her around. Jack wouldn’t mind.”

Lilisette nodded as Rem graciously accepted her offer. Lilith was most assuredly not one of the people she missed from her adventures, but in a way, she was the most familiar person Lilisette had in this world. She wouldn't have gone as far as to say she felt lonely, or that Lilith made it better. But Lilith being here was a reminder: she still had a world full of people counting on her back home and the faith of one person in particular. That thought, above all, would keep her company - always.

Character abilities

ULT Updates:

Leila

FR: Open Seas (with Lion)

BT: Stormcall

ULT: Armada (Effect: Follow-ups)

Burst theme: “Battle Theme B,” which plays during several boss fights

Both Leila's Burst and Ultimate are original abilities. Sadly, Faris was already taken as a Force partner, but Lion is the next best thing. Her ULT effect gives her a new follow up, which would be cannonfire like Faris's ability.

Minwu ULT: Seal of Heaven (Effect: Extra trap damage)

The name of his ULT comes from Record Keeper, and improves his trap damage overall.

Lilith (Unique - Crowns) Non elemental magic dmg, turn deletion, buffer, healer, follow ups

15: Durance Whip

35: Moonlight Veil

EX: Dark Moon & Dark Sun

LD: Subjugating Slash

FR: Lost Future (with Shadowsmith)

BT: Spite Tempest

ULT: Ancient Dark Magic (Effect: Transformation, extra damage)

Burst theme: “Goddess Divine,” final boss theme of Wings of the Goddess , against Lilith Ascendant

Lilith's abilities all come from her boss fights, both in her normal form and in her Lilith Ascendant form. After using her ULT, she keeps her Lilith Ascendant transformation for the remainder of the battle and does extra damage. Overall, she is a non elemental magic damage dealer with turn deletion, buffs, follow ups, and even healing capabilities through her Moonlight Veil ability, though her main focus is damage and turn deletion, so she could be thought of as a more supportive Cloud of Darkness.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Director's Orders

Tseng ( Final Fantasy VII )

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe

Director of Shinra’s General Affairs division known as the Turks. His history has long been entwined with the company’s and he spent most of Aerith’s youth monitoring the Ancient, eventually growing feelings for her. Ruthlessly efficient and stoic, Tseng will do anything his boss asks.

LAGUNA

In his travels to find the others, Laguna had found himself in the strangest temple he had ever seen, and that was saying a lot. The architecture blended together all kinds of geometric shapes, hard angles melting into soft spirals and curves. Though its age seemed obvious to him – ancient, even – he found it odd that nothing seemed to be in rough condition. No crumbling arches, pockmarked floors, or fallen statues blocked his way. He supposed that must have been the doing of the World of Respite.

Worst of all, he was lost. Hopelessly lost. And this place was a labyrinth.

He had discovered it deep in the woods where he had found himself after Kuja had teleported him away from the crashing airship, though it seemed that Kuja had misjudged the distance because now Laguna had been left by himself. Figuring the temple would be a recognizable landmark with the potential for finding the others, he went inside with little regard for his safety. But now the monsters were the least of his concern.

He heard the sudden hail of gunshots and he ran toward the sound, bounding around corners with his own gun ready. The roar of monsters intensified as he drew near, torches dancing in their sconces and casting frantic shadows in his wake. When the halls opened up into an expansive chamber, he saw a man in a pressed suit shooting monstrous lizards with a handgun and alternating with kicks and palm strikes. Laguna opened fire against the monsters furthest from the stranger, but after two of the lizards went down under his gunfire another two appeared. He kept them away by hurling a grenade, but when he turned it was too late to avoid a fireball headed his way from the gullet of another while he had been focusing on his targets. He barely had any time to curse his lapse in attention – rookie mistake.

“On the ground,” the stranger calmly ordered, and Laguna dropped just in time for the fire to sail harmlessly over him. Though he had been left open to attack, the other man dropped down on the lizard from above, striking it right in the jaw with his heel. Laguna let out a sigh of relief when he realized that was the last of the monsters.

“Thanks for that save,” Laguna said, pushing himself back to his feet. “I came here to save you, but it looks like you did the saving.”

“I was rapidly becoming outnumbered,” the man said, adjusting the cuffs of his suit. His long, straight hair barely looked out of place. “Your aid was timely. Thank you.”

Laguna grinned. “Of course! My name’s Laguna. Need help getting outta here?”

“The name’s Tseng,” he replied, not so much as cracking a smile. “How did you get here? This place shouldn’t exist.”

“I found it in the woods,” Laguna said, scratching the back of his head. “I thought it would be a good place to find my friends, but so far I’ve had no luck. You know this place?”

Tseng nodded. “This is the Temple of the Ancients. Not the sort of place you just stumble into. To be honest, I’m not sure how I got here – I suspect I may have been taken against my will.”

Laguna gestured to himself. “Though it may look like it, it’s not really the same place as you know. Follow me – let’s try to find our way out of here. And I’ll explain everything!”

CLOUD

With only Aerith, Rufus, and the Turks for company, Cloud was already on edge as they made their way through the dense, overgrown forest. When they broke through the foliage to find themselves under an open sky again, Cloud slackened in shock when he saw a familiar rope bridge spanning across a gap to stone walls and the terrible memory they housed within.

“Well, well,” said Rufus, stepping past Cloud to take in the full view. “The Temple of the Ancients. I wonder who summoned it here?”

Reno, Rude, and Elena turned to Aerith, who only shook her head and shrugged.

“I think… it was me,” Cloud admitted, clenching his fists. It had to be. His memories had only just returned – it was cruel of this world to taunt him with such a shameful memory so soon after he knew its significance. Going into the labyrinthine temple was the last thing he wanted to do.

Aerith frowned at him, her eyes soft with sympathy. “We don’t know that for sure. I’m sure none of us have fond memories of this place.”

Elena crossed her arms. “Yeah. This is where you took out the director. Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for that.”

Cloud glared, the memory of their scuffle at the Icicle Inn resurfacing. He still wasn’t used to all of these memories popping up without warning, along with sharp pains in his skull. “I told you, that wasn’t us. And he didn’t die.”

Rufus waved a hand. “I’ve never been here, so none of my memories summoned this place. Though to be honest, I am eager to see the inside.” Ignoring the protests of his subordinates, he walked across the bridge with Darkstar following at his heels.

Aerith lingered with Cloud while the Turks followed their boss. “In our world, the temple itself was the Black Materia. D’you think that means the Black Materia exists in this world as well?”

Cloud grit his teeth and looked down at his feet. “I don’t know.”

Aerith leaned forward to catch his eye, furrowing her brow. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t know where to begin. Since the return of his memories, he had to contend with the knowledge that he had lost Aerith. That everything he knew of his identity had been a lie but also something he had resolved years ago. His false memories clashed with the real ones; his mistaken time as a member of SOLDIER, the Nibel Reactor, the remainder of their adventure to defeat Sephiroth, the Geostigma crisis and clashing with Kadaj only to regard him as a friend – even a brother – in this world. Every wonderful and terrible memory had come flooding back in equal measure, not dulled by the passage of time, and it made him feel more tangled than ever before, mixing with the memories they had made in this world. And now he knew that there were even more, endless cycles of battles in the other world that he didn't remember but keenly felt as another hole in his memories nonetheless. He had been ready to take them all back, good or bad, but he didn’t account for how his previous memory issues would be compounded by having it all restored at once.

“Nothing,” he answered. He turned away from her. “Everything. I don’t know.”

“Cloud, you can tell me,” she said.

He let out a heavy sigh. “This is where I let Sephiroth take control,” he said. “Where I gave him the Black Materia. And where I hurt you.”

Aerith straightened. “I already told you, I understand what happened. There’s nothing to feel sorry about.” She crossed her hands over her heart. “Besides… despite everything, there is one good thing about this place. The last time we all fought together was while we were here.”

Trust Aerith to regard that as a fond memory whereas for him it was another reason to hate this place. “C’mon. We should go after the others.”

LAGUNA

“Kiros! Man, am I glad to see you!”

They found Kiros in a long chamber lit with braziers that seemed to cast the walls in gold, his back to them as he examined murals on the walls surrounding an altar at the end of the chamber. Upon hearing Laguna’s voice, Kiros turned to them and offered Laguna a smile.

“Ah, there you are,” he said. “I was getting concerned that no one else would be here.” He glanced at Tseng, who still stood at Laguna’s side and quietly absorbed everything Laguna told him about this world. “Who is your new friend?”

“This is Tseng,” Laguna said. “This temple seems to be from his world.”

“Could it be something you have summoned?” Kiros asked. “Tseng, I would advise not following Laguna through a labyrinth such as this. He could get lost going in a straight line.”

“Is that so?” Tseng asked, peering at Laguna with a straight face. “I am not sure how I would have summoned this temple, but I did nearly face my end here.”

“Don’t listen to Kiros,” said Laguna, laughing off the barb. “My sense of direction has gotten better over the years. I mean, I am the president of an entire country, and all.”

“Interesting,” said Tseng, which to Laguna felt sort of damning, making him hang his head.

Kiros covered his smile. “Believe it or not, he makes a fine president.” He looked Tseng up and down. “Could it be you are a member of the Turks? You dress similarly to them.”

“Very astute of you,” Tseng replied. “As a matter of fact, I am. Are you familiar with my associates?”

Then it clicked for Laguna – Tseng had been comparing him to his president, Rufus. “We do know them! And Rufus, too.”

“Even the president is here?” Tseng asked, propping his elbow up on his arm. “I have been complacent in my duties. But before we leave… it seems even this version of the temple has something we need.” He approached the altar, and for the first time Laguna noticed something that looked like a crystal on a dais. “I would advise you two to begin running now.”

CLOUD

Not long after they entered the temple, the ground started to rumble. Dust shook from the walls and ceiling as the sounds of crumbling stones rang out through the halls.

“What’s happening?” Cissnei asked, bracing herself. “What has triggered this!?”

Aerith gripped Cloud’s shoulder for balance. “Was the Black Materia here after all?”

Cloud grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “Even worse, it’s like someone’s taken it.”

“We need to get a move on, people!” Reno shouted out, leading the charge back toward the entrance. Rude urged Rufus along while Cissnei and Elena took the rear, rushing past monsters in their hurry to escape. Cloud wasn’t sure if they had time to stop and concentrate long enough to summon a Torsion.

“C’mon, not much further!” Elena yelled. “We weren’t far from the entrance!”

Cloud picked up the pace when he saw sunlight, and when he burst free of the temple he turned back to look at it as it began to shrink in size, just as it did back in their world. Aerith doubled over to catch her breath while Cloud’s mind raced at the possibilities. Was Sephiroth behind this? If it was the Black Materia, it had the potential to fall into the hands of any of their enemies – he didn’t know which one of them would be the worst. And there was also Rufus to consider, who had a pondering expression with narrowed eyes. Perhaps he was thinking about what to make of this development as well. Or wondering how to turn it into an advantage.

He heard shouts from inside the temple and his eyes widened when he recognized Laguna and Kiros running for their lives as everything fell apart around them. Together they leapt through the entryway just in time for the temple to shrink to a size small enough to crush them, crashing against the ground with chests heaving.

“Laguna! Kiros!” Aerith exclaimed. “What were you two doing in there?”

“Wandered… in,” Laguna said through heavy breaths. “Ugh… My legs… are gonna fall off!”

Kiros pushed himself to his feet, eyes widening when he looked at Rufus and the Turks. “We met one of yours in there,” he said, once he caught his breath. “His name was Tseng. I’m sorry… he seemed to know what would happen when he took the object from that altar. He didn’t follow us out.”

“Impossible!” Elena exclaimed, lunging toward him with her fists clenched. “The director wouldn’t do something so reckless!”

Aerith’s shoulders fell. “Tseng…”

The temple finished collapsing in on itself, and in its place was a crater with a crystal floating in the center. Rude held out his hand for it before Cloud could, and it drifted over to him.

“It’s one of those energy crystals,” Rude said. “Thankfully not the Black Materia.”

“All that, and it wasn’t even the Black Materia?” Rufus mused. “Disappointing.”

“But sir, the director…” said Elena, weakly.

“I find it hard to believe he was in there,” said Rufus. “As you said, he wouldn’t do something so reckless.”

“Maybe he used a Torsion to escape,” Cissnei suggested.

“Hm. A Torsion? I wasn't aware those were able to be controlled. Perhaps in the future I will consider it as an option."

The voice came from behind them and Cloud spun to see Tseng, perfectly unharmed.

Elena let out a sigh of relief. “Director! You’re okay!”

“Of course. I’ve been in this world for some time now. Luckily, I met a Manikin who was willing to venture into the temple in my stead to assess the threat and possibility of the Black Materia being here. I have been out here the whole time.” Tseng folded his hands behind his back. “I regret not finding you sooner, sir. That is my failing and I take full responsibility.”

“You’ve failed nothing,” said Rufus. “Good job discerning the truth here. This crystal can prove useful to us, and though it is not as dangerous as the Black Materia I would rather keep it out of the hands of… unsavory people.”

“Wait… you sacrificed a Manikin just so you could figure out what the temple was?” Laguna asked. “And he also lied about being new to this world! Not cool, man. Why?”

“That Manikin was a copy of me, and thus he understood the need to find out about the temple,” Tseng said. “Were you familiar with that Manikin? I had not meant to deceive you, if you thought it was truly me.” He turned to the other Turks. “Reno, Rude, Elena – I’m disappointed that you allowed the president to do field work like this. And Cissnei, I was under the impression that you had retired from the Turks.”

“We’ll do better next time, sir!” said Elena.

“For the time being, I have decided to continue my employment,” Cissnei said, shrugging. “Company’s a bit shorthanded in this world, anyway.”

“Aw, man,” said Reno. “Things are about to get real serious, huh. Just please don’t make us do paperwork here.”

“Fine,” said Tseng. “If you don’t want to get paid, that is. I was going to make adjustments for back pay once we returned home, but if you would prefer I didn’t…”

Rude rapped Reno on the head while the latter groaned.

“Cloud, is this guy bad news?” Laguna asked, jerking his thumb toward Tseng. Cloud shook his head and shrugged – having Tseng here was only a concern depending on Rufus’s goals, which were as mysterious as always.

Aerith smiled. “It’s good to have you with us, Tseng.”

Tseng regarded her for a moment, and it seemed that his professional composure might break and he would crack a smile, but he only nodded. "I am glad to see you well, Aerith."

Character abilities

ULT updates:

Onion Knight

ULT: Forbidden Wisdom & Power (Effect: Does not get delayed when broken)

Alternate Skin: Sage

His ULT ability name comes from some of his Record Keeper skills, which are called Forbidden Wisdom and Forbidden Power, once again referencing the combination of his Sage and Ninja jobs. After use, whenever he suffers a BRV break, his turn no longer gets pushed back. I'd also love to see him get the Sage costume, since he got Ninja as another skin!

Cloud of Darkness

ULT: Flood of Darkness (Effect: When deleting, gain a free turn)

Alternate Skin: Original appearance

Not really much to say here -- the Flood of Darkness is its ultimate goal, and I believe also the name of some abilities in spinoff media. Whenever the Cloud of Darkness deletes an enemy turn after use, it gains a free turn. And as an alternate skin, it gets its original appearance from FFIII, rather than the appearance it started taking from Dissidia onwards.

Tseng (Guns) Non-elemental ranged damage, free turns, linked attacker, launch support, turn manipulation

15: Palm Strike -> Pistol Shot follow up

35: Asuran Shockwave

EX: Vortex Kick (starts with Knifehand Swipe and Furore)

LD: Instant Chi Blast

FR: Efficiency (with Kiros)

BT: Air Raid

ULT: Last Order (Effect: Enemies take longer to recover from BRV Break)

Burst theme: “The Turks,” the Crisis Core version

Alternate Skin: His Crisis Core and Remake appearances

So as for the spoilers I mentioned in my author's note -- he is a boss battle in Rebirth, marking his first time appearing as a boss in the Compilation (not counting Before Crisis, which featured him as a boss in the training mode, but he had no unique abilities to my knowledge). So it was pretty fortuitous for me. Before this, he had mostly original ability names. Now Palm Strike, Asuran Shockwave, Vortex Kick, Knifehand Swipe, Furore, and Instant Chi Blast all come from his boss battle! "Air Raid," his Burst, comes from Zack's DMW ability in which he "summons" Tseng for airship fire, which in that game is called "Air Strike." His ULT is technically original but it is meant to reference the Last Order anime OVA depicting the Nibelheim incident, as narrated by Tseng. The animation involves a combination attack from every Turk: Tseng, Reno, Rude, Elena, and Cissnei.

For his Burst theme, I've always found that version of the Turks theme very catchy, and he's a prominent character in that game so I gave it to him.

He is a linked attacker who gets some free turns and turn manipulation. Previously, I have added new launch mechanics called spiking and juggling, so here's the third and final one - it's called launch support. A launch supporter does some extra damage during the launch sequence by providing attacks from the ground after each member of the launch sequence does their attack. The longer a launch sequence is, the more effective they are, so they would benefit from a "juggler" ally.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: The Bedeviled Bookworm

Arc ( Final Fantasy III )

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae

A timid boy raised alongside Luneth in Ur. While initially fearful, his friendship with Luneth helps him to find his inner bravery which he puts to great use as a Warrior of Light. Arc enjoys reading and studies to accrue knowledge of the world.

ARC

He discovered the town just before night fell, a sleepy village just at the edge of the desert. Most of the homes had already lit their lanterns for the evening, but as far as he could tell they had no guards or gates. The blazing heat of the sun had parched his throat and as he ran a hand through his hair to shake out the sand, he longed for an ice cold drink and a night at the inn. Then he could wait for his friends to find him – wherever they were.

As Arc approached the village outskirts, his eyes widened when he recognized it as Kazus. How strange! He didn’t remember being anywhere near Kazus.

Within the confines of the village, he stopped and looked around at his surroundings. It felt quieter than he remembered. A pall seemed to hang over it, suppressing noise of the outside world in a way that reminded him of when Kazus suffered from the djinn’s curse. Despite the lingering heat, a chill swept over his spine.

He heard something cackling and spotted an imp-like creature at the source of the noise, swathed in shadow with red eyes and tiny wings. When it saw that he spotted it, the creature flitted out of its hiding place under the eaves of a home and flew toward Arc with its teeth glinting and tongue lolling. Before it could reach him, Arc opened his tome and unleashed a thunder spell to strike it down in midair.

Something else struck him in the back of his head, causing him to let out a yelp. He spun with his heavy tome swinging, just missing another imp as it skittered away from the blow with a cackle just like the first one.

“What’re you even doing here in the middle of town?” Arc asked, furrowing his brow. Just as he prepared to cast another spell to take it out, he heard more laughter ringing out all around him and another imp swept at his feet and made him fall.

Townspeople emerged from their homes, pointing at him – and it took Arc a moment to realize they were all laughing at him. But these weren’t normal townspeople.

They appeared to be ghosts.

About a dozen faceless and colorless ghosts emerged, their voices echoing into a cacophony of jeers.

“Ha! They totally got the sneak on you!”

“This dumb kid got taken out by a bunch of imps, of all things!”

“Even I could fight better than that!”

Arc shuffled back to his feet and looked around at them, frowning. On a second look, they didn’t appear to be ghosts like the cursed townspeople of the Kazus he knew. These people were solid, pushing open doors and leaning against window sills. They looked to be made of a crystalline substance, if anything.

He felt as if he had fallen into a prank. Or a trap. “Is Takka here?” he asked them, gripping his book.

“What do you care?” one of the crystal people asked. “You don’t live here.”

“Yeah, we don’t need a wimp like you here!”

“What on earth is going on?” Arc asked himself. “If I did anything to offend, please let me know.”

A girl with pink hair appeared down the road from further in town, running toward him. “Hey! Are you just gonna let these Manikins talk to you like that?”

“Manikins?” Arc asked, looking between the girl and the townspeople. She gestured for him to follow her away from the manikins who pointed and whispered and laughed behind their hands. “What are they? I’m glad to see someone unaffected by whatever curse has stricken these people.”

The girl shook her head. “It’s no curse. They’re beings that live in this world.”

Arc felt like he knew what she was going to say next. “But I don’t live far from here and I’ve never seen them before. Do you mean I’m in a different world?”

“You catch on quick,” she said. “My name’s Ritz.”

“Um, Arc,” he said, his mind whirling. How did he even end up in a world with a town that looked just like Kazus?

“Why’d you let those guys talk to you like that? You should stand up for yourself!” she said, stopping in front of the inn. 

A gust of wind blew grains of sand in from the desert and Arc squinted. “Oh, that was nothing, really,” he said. “I’m used to that sort of thing, and it doesn’t bother me anymore. I was just more perplexed than anything.”

“Me too, to be honest,” she said, rubbing her chin. “Manikins don’t normally act like that. And they certainly don’t gather together like this to live in towns, either.”

“Like everyone says, they’ve been changing,” said another boy who approached. He adjusted his red cap and huffed. “It really bums me out to see copies of our friends acting that way!”

“Luso! You came back quickly. Did you find anything?” Ritz asked. “Any clue as to where our friends are?”

Luso chopped a hand into his palm, eyes shining. “Oh, yeah! I found Mr. Cid!”

Arc straightened. He had been trying to make sense of their words – and the situation as a whole – but he perked up at the mention of the familiar Cid. “Cid’s my friend! Can you please take me to him?”

Luso scratched the back of his head. “Well, pretty much all of us know a Cid, but maybe he could be yours!”

LUNETH

Luneth found Cid Haze and the Onion Knight deep in discussion when he returned to the campsite, a bundle of firewood in his arms. So close to the desert, wood had been sparse, but he found enough for a good campfire just as night fell. Both the child and the old man fell silent as Luneth approached.

“You went out to gather firewood alone again?” the Onion Knight asked, frowning. “You really should take someone with you. Just in case.”

“It’s okay,” Luneth said, shrugging after he deposited his load at the edge of the circle. Their friends had begun to lay out the sleeping rolls even though they had no real need to sleep. No one wanted to travel miles and miles without rest, even in this world. The search for all of their other friends hadn’t ended yet. “Any luck out there?”

Cid put his hands on his hips and grinned. “You’ll never believe it, my boy! I found a town that looked like Kazus. I found Luso there, and he said he’d go fetch Ritz before followin’ after me.”

“You know Kazus, right?” the Onion Knight asked.

Luneth’s eyes widened. It was rare for the Onion Knight to acknowledge one of the similarities between their worlds. “Yeah, where the townspeople got cursed into being like ghosts. Including you, Cid.”

“That’s right,” Cid said, nodding. “But there’s another thing – Luso told me the Manikins’ve been acting strange there.”

“They are living together as if they are regular villagers,” said the Onion Knight. “Though rather mean-spirited ones, if what Luso says is true. Want to come with us to investigate?”

It felt a little bit like a peace offering. “Yeah,” Luneth said, accepting it. “Let’s go!”

The village looked exactly like the Kazus Luneth knew. Other than the Manikins in the windows and wandering the darkened streets, he would have thought he’d gone back home.

“There’s no mistaking it,” said the Onion Knight, confirming Luneth’s thoughts. “Who could have summoned Kazus here?”

“Guess Manikins don’t need to sleep either,” said Luneth. He approached one of them outside a storefront off the main throughway. She looked like Lulu, with her braided hair and long, fur-lined dress. “Hi, d’you know who summoned this town here?”

“Who knows? It’s our home now,” she said, faced etched in a grimace he never saw on the real Lulu. “Buzz off!”

When she turned her shoulder on him and walked away, the Onion Knight walked up to his side. “They’re pretty defensive of their town, huh?”

“You sure these aren’t those Dark Manikins you guys met a while back?” Luneth asked. “They’re… not friendly. I mean, Lulu's not the friendliest person out there, but she's not like that."

The Onion Knight shook his head. “No, Dark Manikins acted mostly like us. These have neither darkness nor light, apparently. I wonder what has influenced them to act this way?”

Cid stroked his beard. “I don’t think it was anything. If you ask me… they’re just like kids.”

“Hey, you guys!” a voice called out to them. Luneth grinned when he saw Luso. “Finally, we found you!”

“Glad to see you, too,” the Onion Knight said as Luso approached with Ritz. “And with a new ally besides.”

Luneth jumped when he saw who accompanied them, trailing at their heels. He would have known that bookish boy with his green coat anywhere. “Arc! Is that really you!?” Luneth ran past Luso and Ritz and grabbed Arc by the hands, jumping up and down. “Please, please, please tell me you remember who I am! You do know me, right?”

Arc blinked as if in a daze. “Know you?” he said. Luneth’s heart fell. “Of course I know you! You’re my best friend – why wouldn’t I remember you, Luneth?”

Luneth’s face split into a grin and he threw his arms around Arc in a hug. “Oh, finally! I was starting to think I was dreaming everything up somehow!”

“I’m still not really sure what’s going on,” Arc said, adjusting his collar. “But I’m happy to see you too!”

“Let me introduce you,” Luneth said, turning back to the Onion Knight and Cid. “These are… some of my friends. Onion Knight, Cid, meet Arc. We grew up together.”

“Um, but I know Cid,” said Arc.

“Sorry, but I don’t know you, lad,” said Cid. “But Luneth sure spoke of you a lot, so in some ways it feels like I do!”

“Remember what I said about different worlds?” Ritz interjected. “Things may not be as familiar as they seem here.”

“It’s great to meet you, Arc,” said the Onion Knight. “And I’m glad Luneth won’t feel lonely anymore.”

“Hey, that makes it sound like I wasn’t making friends,” Luneth protested with a scowl.

Arc put his hands on his hips and tilted his head. “Well… it’s a lot to wrap my head around, but I think I understand. I’d still like you to fill me in on the whole story later, Luneth.”

Luneth beamed. “Will do!”

Ritz turned to the Onion Knight. “Back to the matter at hand… the Manikins. Since you have the most experience with them, what do you think we should do?”

“I’m not really sure there’s anything to do,” the Onion Knight replied, lips pursed in thought. He looked around at the town and the Manikins as they walked the dusty streets under the moonlight. “I think Cid’s right. It’s like they’re kids blundering their way through the world.”

“Might be they need someone to look after ‘em, then,” said Cid.

Luso put both hands behind his head. “Nah, I’m not sure they do. When I met my Manikin, he wanted to make his own path. If they’re really learning how to be people, maybe we should let ‘em do it on their own.”

Cid let out a low whistle. “Well, not sure if it feels right to leave a bunch of kids like them alone… my wife sure wouldn’t stand for it.”

“Hmm… How about this?” said Arc, tentatively raising his hand for their attention. “I’ve read in a book that imps like to cause lots of mischief, and I saw a couple around town before. Maybe if we get rid of them, it’ll give these Manikins a good start in their town…”

“Sounds like a good idea. Maybe it’ll make them less inclined to bully people, too,” said Ritz. She pointed toward where Takka’s smithy would have been. “I think I see them playing with that anvil over there!”

Arc pulled out his tome, lightning crackling among its pages. His eyes twinkled with confidence. “Let me handle this.”

Character abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Desch

BT: Devoted Heart

ULT: Primeval Lightning (Effect: Paralyze duration extend)

Burst theme: “Battle 1,” the standard battle theme

Alternate Skin: The version of him that appears in the Yoshitaka Amano artwork

His Burst name is an original, referencing his love for Salina. His ULT comes from an ability he has in Record Keeper. After using it, every time he inflicts Paralyze on a foe it will last longer.

Cid Haze

ULT: Soaring High (Effect: Party stat boosts with each ability used)

He already has the rest of his moveset shared in his debut chapter, so this is just his ULT. It's another original, and after he uses it, he gives the party stat boosts every time he uses an ability. They start small, but it adds up over time and they are permanent, and don't use buff slots.

Arc (Unique - Tomes) Lightning magic damage, unique stacking imperil, follow ups

15: Study

35: Wind Shear

EX: Spark: Thunderstorm

LD: Item Lore: Zeus’s Wrath

FR: Thundersnow (with Ritz)

BT: Magus Flare

ULT: Bahamur: Rend (Effect: Stronger follow ups)

Burst theme: “Dungeon,” the dungeon theme

Alternate Skins: Scholar, Magus appearances

His abilities, like Luneth, have a couple of different job sources, and he's mainly a Lightning element magic attacker. Study comes from Scholar, which allows him to inflict a unique imperil debuff on enemies that actually stacks with other imperils so the whole party does extra damage. Wind Shear he borrows from Onion Knight's Dissidia NT moveset, like Luneth does. Spark is a Summoner spell, which summons Ramuh to cast Thunderstorm. Item Lore also comes from Scholar -- I know it's not the best job out there by any means, but character-wise it's really fitting for Arc and it enables him to use the Zeus's Wrath follow up attack. "Magus Flare," his Burst, is a Black Magic spell that comes from Magus, obviously, and Bahamur (not a typo) is another Summoner spell, since he is occasionally associated with Bahamut, such as in Memory of Heroes. After using his ULT, his follow up attacks get a damage boost.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Eternally Optimistic

Sol ( Final Fantasy Dimensions )

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi

A youth from the village of Lux who dreams of one day becoming a soldier for the Avalon Empire in order to ride on their fabled airships. Though a student in swordsmanship to the more experienced and level-headed Aigis, he can be brash and insensitive at times. He has been friends since childhood with Glaive and Diana, though when Sol is chosen to be a Warrior of Light, they find themselves on separate journeys.

SARAH

Life with her new companions in a strange new world never stopped being eventful. Flying on the back of Hiryu, Lenna’s wind drake, they watched the patchwork world pass by underneath them. The hodgepodge of different environments changed as rapidly as the weather did in this world, making her head spin as they flew over forests, deserts, swamps, and snowfields in rapid succession. She didn’t think it would be something she’d ever get used to, but Lenna, Lightning, Sherlotta, and Nabaat all seemed to have been in this world long enough to become accustomed to its strangeness.

One afternoon, they landed in a meadow to let Hiryu rest. In her travels with her friends back home, stops like this were a time to gather materials for food and cook over an open fire, bonding over their meals. But here, where they didn’t hunger, they mostly just took the opportunity to stretch their legs and get some space from each other. It all felt rather… empty.  Apparently they had many, many more allies that they had lost track of in a recent airship crash, so things were quieter for everyone.

As she knelt among the flowers, one in particular caught her eye. It had soft pink petals edged in white, with a sheen that made them reflect sunbeams. Sarah lay down next to it, using her arm as a pillow as her fingertips ghosted along its petals. She smiled as this particular flower brought back fond memories of Argy, the gynoid that had called her “mother.” And the one who Argy had called “father”...

“That’s a really pretty flower,” Lenna said. “Is it one you know?”

Sarah abruptly sat up. She hadn’t heard Lenna approach. “Yes, it is. In my world, we call it an Espilia flower. It’s a symbol of hope.”

“Is there something in particular you are hoping for?” Lenna asked, her prodding gentle. Sarah may not have been adept at showing it, but she did find herself growing to appreciate Lenna’s company.

Sarah dared not voice it. Instead, she picked the flower, which according to the superstition killed your hopes with it. But as she held the flower up to her eyes and gazed across the meadow, she spotted a figure running toward them.

“Sol!” Sarah exclaimed, pushing herself to her feet.

“Sol?” Lenna asked, but then followed Sarah’s eyes and joined her in standing. “Oh! Is that someone you know?”

“Heeey!” he shouted out as he approached, his wind-tousled hair bouncing. “Sarah! Is that you?”

Sarah smiled at the Espilia flower in her hand. “Why, of course it is. I am heartened to see you again.”

“You gotta come look – there’s this really cool monster down this way,” he said, barely even pausing to catch his breath. He rocked on his heels, ready to go back the way he came whether she liked it or not. “It seemed dangerous!”

And then he ran off again before she could get out a response.

Lenna watched him go. “Is he… always like that?”

Sol had never been one to stand still for long, and as happy as she was to see him again she wouldn’t have expected anything less from him. “He is indeed. Let’s hurry after him.”

He acted as if nothing had changed as he led them on a chase down a ridge, too far ahead to converse with them. Sarah didn’t mind at all – she felt her worries carry away on the wind as they ran in his wake. She never knew why he had this effect on her. As she ran, she let the flower drop from her fingers. Sarah had little need of vague hopes now. Perhaps their other friends would not be far behind.

Sol stopped at the bottom of a slope, crouching behind a mossy boulder and holding his finger to his lips so they’d keep their voices down. Grinning, he gestured over the top of the boulder to his quarry.

It was a giant boar monster, huffing and snorting as it nosed for truffles in the grass. Bigger than a chocobo, it had two massive sets of horns, one of which had broken, as well as tusks that could impale them as easily as any lance. Bristly black hair and quills ran along its spine, every inch deadly.

“Hiding like pitiful insects, are you?” a voice boomed out. Behind them, darkness swirled and a hulking armored figure stepped out of a Torsion.

Lenna stood with her bow drawn. “Exdeath! What are you doing here!?”

“Aw, c’mon,” said Sol. “Now that monster’ll know we’re here.”

“I think we have more pertinent things to worry about, Sol,” Sarah advised him, following Lenna’s lead and drawing her weapon. Even having foes like this appear at inopportune moments felt just like their adventure together.

The knight, Exdeath, raised his own sword which floated inches from his gauntlet. “I am here to eliminate you – to hunt you down and expose your viscera to the light of day!”

“That sounds gross,” said Sol.

“Do not take him lightly,” Lenna warned. “Exdeath is a terrible foe.”

“What does he want?” Sarah asked, eyes fixed on the knight. Something about him seemed otherworldly, yet familiar – as if no mere man was underneath the armor, but a hollow and eternal darkness.

“It seems death and mortality have returned to this world. Now you shall perish!” Exdeath roared, which was the only warning for his attack. He thrust his hand forward, blackness swirling into existence. Sarah, Sol, and Lenna all dove out of the way, and the energy devoured the boulder, cutting a perfect sphere in the rock.

“Huh? That looked like the Nil!” Sol exclaimed, voicing the horror in Sarah’s thoughts. The levity disappeared from his face as he unsheathed his blade and attacked, swinging at Exdeath while using his buckler to block Exdeath’s retaliatory strikes. Lenna cast a spell on Sarah and she felt her limbs lightening as she rushed to join Sol’s side, both swords dancing in sync to strike around Exdeath’s solid defenses.

Flares of darkness and light burst from Exdeath’s fingertips. Sarah conjured a barrier to defend herself from the worst of it while Sol leapt high above, coming down on Exdeath with a series of kicks. The warlock responded with a gravity spell that slammed Sol into the ground. A rain of arrows, courtesy of Lenna, hammered against his armor and before he could strike back against her with a spear of lightning, Sarah streamed holy light at the end of her blade and struck him as a distraction.

The earth trembled. The sounds of snorting and squealing behind Sarah indicated to her that the boar had not only noticed them but taken offense to their presence. It charged and Sarah threw herself out of the way. Exdeath, on the other hand, showed no such reservation and stood his ground.

“You will not stand against me, beast,” he said, dropping an orb of darkness right over its head. The dense concentration of energy made the boar squeal out in pain and then crash into the ground, coming to a stop right at Exdeath’s feet.

Sol stood again, glaring at Exdeath with his sword raised. “Whoever you are, you’re just like the emperor! You have no regard for life at all, do you? Using the Nil like that… it’s despicable!”

“What is this ‘Nil’ you speak of?” Exdeath asked. “I wield the power of the Void. It is supreme – greater than all other forces.”

“I dunno, if you ask me, your capacity for saying a whole lot of nothing is the only ‘supreme’ skill you have.” Behind him, Sherlotta had appeared with Lightning at her side, both ready for battle.

Lightning held her blade forward. “Enough, Exdeath. Now you’re outnumbered.”

“You think a mere five warriors is enough to give me pause? Mwahaha!” Magic built up around Exdeath’s form, fierce winds threatening to make them all topple. Before he could renew his assault, another Torsion opened up at his back and the wind reversed direction, sucking Exdeath into it. “Nooo…!”

Exdeath lashed out at the Torsion, making it grow and become erratic. Now it threatened to pull all of them inside of it. Sarah braced herself as much as she could, looking around for the source of the new Torsion – and saw Nabaat straining to maintain it on its other side.

“Who dares…!?” Exdeath growled. “Wait, are you Bartz?”

“You’re goin’ down!” Sol shouted out suddenly, leaping into action. He slammed into Exdeath with his shield, sending Exdeath reeling with the force that pulled away at him, but the Torsion yanked Sol off of his feet as well. Right as Exdeath was pulled into the Torsion, it vanished, releasing Sol and all of the others from its hold.

Sarah propped herself up with her knees as she caught her breath. “Is everyone unharmed?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” said Lenna. She smiled at Sarah. “You know, perhaps Exdeath was right. Sol did remind me of Bartz just now."

Sarah smiled back. “Then I fear the day they meet each other.”

“What’d that guy say about our butts?” Sol asked, scratching his head. Both Sarah and Lenna fell into a fit of giggles.

“Nabaat, what was that about?” Lightning asked, marching up to the other woman. “That was risky.”

“How have you all never thought to just summon a Torsion on your enemies?” Nabaat asked, brushing her hair over her shoulders. “Honestly, it is a simple solution and would avail you against any undesirable foes.”

“You almost took this new guy away, too,” said Sherlotta. “Sol, is it?”

Sol grinned. “You got it. Whatever that thing was, that was cool. So thank you, Nabaat!”

Nabaat folded her arms. “I accounted for the possibility that the strategy would work against us. Of course, there is the possibility that Exdeath will just return, so we shouldn’t linger here.”

“Aw, shame about the boar, though,” said Sol, looking over at the creature’s prone form. “Looks like Exdeath killed it…”

“And after it tried to protect us, too,” said Lenna, kneeling next to the carcass. “How awful… but this is also very strange. Monsters usually vanish into Torsions after being defeated, yet this one lingers.”

“Maybe battles won’t be so tidy anymore,” said Lightning.

“Shall we give it a burial?” Sarah asked. It seemed like the right thing to do after its untimely end, but she never gave much of a second thought to monsters they had slain before. Now that it hadn’t vanished, it seemed like a new sense of permanence had fallen over the world. “Do we think this will continue to happen to other monsters?”

“Well, I would say it is less of a monster and more of a regular animal,” said Lenna.

“Only one way to find out,” Sherlotta said, shrugging. “But like Nabaat said, we shouldn’t stick around here.”

“Aw, it sure does stink to leave this behind,” Sol said. “This thing would make such a great meal. Anyone else starving?”

No one answered immediately. Now that Sol mentioned it, Sarah did feel an emptiness in her belly. She thought she even heard someone’s stomach growl.

“Hmm… This is unusual,” Sherlotta admitted first.

“I almost forgot what hunger felt like,” said Lightning. “This want for food is another sign of our mortality, isn't it?"

"To no longer eat just for the simple joy of it," said Nabaat. "It is like this world is becoming more like our home worlds."

Lightning put a hand on her hip. "Say, this boar…”

“We can’t!” Lenna interjected. “We need to move on before Exdeath returns. Though now that we are six, we can no longer fit on Hiryu’s back. We will have to walk until we find the rest of our companions.”

Sol turned to Sarah as the others began to leave. “Hey, Sarah. So… what’s going on here, anyway?”

Character abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Luneth

ULT: Strong Heart

Effect: Boost to Launch damage

Not much to say on this one. Strong Heart is his Limit Burst from Brave Exvius. It gives him a boost to overall launch damage.

Dark Knight Cecil:

ULT: Shadowbringer

Effect: Last Stand leaves Cecil at 25% HP instead of 1%. If he takes fatal damage again afterward before being healed, it then brings him down to 1%.

Sol (Swords) Non-elemental melee damage, Self-buffing, offensive auras, critical counters, break BRV shields

15: Piercing Blast

35: Battle Arts: Strike

EX: Earthshatterer

LD: Enraging War Cry

FR: Light Warrior Radiance (with Luneth)

BT: Mighty Double Assault

ULT: Howling Gale (Effect: Instant turn when breaking foe)

Burst theme: “Journey of Light,” theme for the World of Light

As mentioned in Sarah's blurb, this game uses a job system with abilities that can combine with those used by other party members to form "Fusion Abilities." None of them have any canon jobs, but the one time they are all depicted in artwork with an assigned job, Sol is a Warrior. However, I gave him abilities and Fusion abilities from both Warrior and Monk, neither of which are restricted to the Warriors of Light. I really wanted his main weapon to be Fists for some variety with his fellow party members, but even in the story he is training in swordsmanship so I felt like I couldn't avoid it. For the ULTs of the Dimensions cast, I gave them abilities belonging to one of the Four Generals/Four Divine Generals (recurring bosses) that are associated with them. For Sol, he is most associated with Vata, the Wind General.

He is a pretty typical non-elemental melee damage dealer with some self-buffing and offensive auras for the party. He also has a counterattack that always deals critical damage, and his 15 CP ability allows him to break enemy BRV shields, for foes that have them.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 4, Part 1: The Seed of Despair

Wol & Echo ( Mobius Final Fantasy )

Wol voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki

Echo voiced by: Sakura Tange

Wol : A warrior who woke up on the shores of Palamecia one day with no memory of anything, even his name. He is known as a “Blank” and bears the name of a prophesied “warrior of light.” He journeys to understand the prophecy despite his doubts about it.

Echo : A spirit from the mountains of Palamecia, one of many assigned to guide the Blanks. Playful and mischievous, she balances out Wol’s cold sarcasm.

Raffaello ( Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon )

Voiced by: Yuko Sanpei

A purehearted boy who hatched from an egg that fell out of the sky. As he grows at an accelerated rate, he befriends Chocobo and Shirma and aids them in delving into the memories of Lostime’s townspeople. Adventurous, though not without a curious and contemplative side, which comes out the more he feels the mysterious power inside of him growing.

Edea Kramer ( Final Fantasy VIII )

Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka

The Galbadian Sorceress who instigated the war by murdering President Deling. With her motives shrouded in mystery, she seeks the White SeeD ship, which bears Ellone. In reality, Edea is the wife of Headmaster Cid and kindly Matron of the orphanage, victim of mind control by the future Sorceress, Ultimecia.

SQUALL

Squall had never thought that Balamb Garden in its entirety would make its way to this world.

They had discovered it after traversing a mountain pass and coming to open fields that he had immediately recognized as the Balamb region – his home. Even the breeze coming in from the sea smelled the same, but Zell had been disappointed not to see Balamb town as well. Squall had to hold himself back from reminding him that it wouldn’t be the same, anyway.

Selphie bounced up at Squall’s side and grinned. “Hey, Squall. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I won’t know unless you tell me.”

“We could use the Garden,” she said, clenching her fists. “As our perfect new base! C’mon, imagine the looks on everyone’s faces when they’d see it taking off in flight!”

He had, in fact, been thinking what she was thinking. Aside from the fact that it could fly, it was big enough to have room for their entire party and more besides, with all of the resources they’d need if hunger and rest were becoming a concern again. Logistically, it made the most sense for them. When they reunited with Balthier and Fran days before, they had managed to summon their airship the Strahl , but unlike their previous airships it didn’t expand on the inside anymore. Selphie was right – Balamb Garden would be perfect.

“What’s this? A town from your world?” Cecil had quickened his pace to catch up with them as they made their way to Garden in the distance. “It cuts an impressive figure.”

“It’s our school,” Squall said. “And it actually fl – ”

“ – Flabbergasts me how big it is sometimes, yeah!” Selphie interrupted, winking at Squall. So she wanted to preserve the surprise. Got it.

“A school,” Cecil repeated, rubbing his chin. “How interesting. I look forward to seeing it on the inside.”

Since the Falcon went down, they had discovered many of their scattered companions, but they still had more to find. They’d found all of Squall’s fellow SeeDs sans Seifer, most of Cecil’s group, Zidane, Noel, Serah, Hope, and Sazh. Balthier and Fran had gone off on their airship to search for the others and bring back as many as they could carry.

As they approached Garden, they saw a scuffle ahead between a swordsman and several Manikins. Though the silver-haired swordsman appeared to be handling himself well, Cecil rushed to his side.

“Please, sheathe your swords!” he called out. “We may be able to talk instead of coming to blows.”

“With these?” the swordsman asked, deflecting a blow and jumping away from his foes. “They’re mindless monsters.”

“Hey, one of them is me!” Selphie said. “Manikin-me, chill out!”

Squall paused. Though these did appear to be the mindless sort of Manikins they first encountered, he wasn’t sure if they could grow into being like Dark Manikins or even the Neo-Manikins (as Selphie had dubbed them, which managed to stick). But their attacks didn’t relent, and if they didn’t act then the Manikins would kill them. Squall struck back alongside the stranger, cutting down the Manikin of himself while Selphie struck her own copy.

“It is a shame it had to come to this,” Cecil said, slicing across the Manikin of Zell.

“Thanks for the help,” said the stranger, once the Manikins were gone. “This place is swarming with them – and they all look like some of you.” He didn’t dismiss his sword, eyeing Squall and Selphie. “Big group, huh?”

“It’s a long story,” Squall said. “But those were Manikins, and you’re in another world. The rest of us won’t attack you unless you give us reason to.”

“That’s his way of saying, ‘Hey there, I’m Squall.’ But my name is Selphie,” Selphie said. “What’s yours?”

“Call me Wol,” he replied. “Trying to get inside this place?”

“Yeah,” said Squall. Though the other man’s guard stayed up, he didn’t seem suspicious. “It’s our school.” He wasn’t sure how they’d deal with all of the Manikins inside the Garden, but first they’d investigate and figure it out from there.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” Wol asked, making Squall do a double take at the man.

“Yet another version of me out there?” Squall grunted. Knowing one lived in Lann and Reynn’s world was strange enough, but a third? “Don’t put much thought into it. Apparently there are lots of us out there.”

“Not so sure about that,” Wol said. “You came to Palamecia, but I guess you forgot.”

Squall frowned. “That’s not something I’d easily forget.” But he supposed memory issues were nothing new. Just how much was missing? The idea that he had gone to another world - in addition to this one - and forgotten about it was preposterous.

Cecil looked between them. “We can discuss if there are others from your world among us, Wol. Or perhaps you’re both just from the same world.”

Selphie gasped and her finger shot up toward the sky. “Whoa, what’s that?”

Something ovular dropped to the ground faster than Squall could identify it, heavily enough to make a small crater not far from them. Selphie ran toward it first, while the others followed upon hearing the crash it made when it landed. Putting the matter of Wol aside for now, Squall approached as everyone crowded around the fallen object.

“Is that… an egg?” Serah asked.

“Can’t be,” said Zell. “Fall from that high? It would’ve shattered.”

No sooner than he had finished speaking, a crack appeared in the shell. And then it wiggled.

Selphie knelt down next to the impact crater. “Wow, it’s hatching!”

“What kinda bird egg falls right outta the sky like that?” Raijin asked, crouching for a closer look.

But rather than the beak of some kind of chick, the hand of a human baby punched through the shell.

“CHILD?” Fujin exclaimed.

“Guess this isn’t normal here?” Wol asked with a wry grin. He managed to look just as unfazed as Squall did, on the outside.

“Not in the least,” Squall said. Looking around at all the others, Squall registered the unabashed shock on their faces; Ceodore had actually fallen over. Apparently children hatching from eggs were just as unheard of in their worlds, thankfully.

Rosa was the first to approach the baby pushing its way out of the egg, giving the rest of them a reproachful look. “Honestly, a baby shows up and all the rest of you can do is stare?” she asked. She looked it over, apparently decided that it seemed unharmed, and then swaddled it in extra cloth before hugging it close. “What an adorable child! Where did you come from, little one?”

Hope peered around the taller crowd to look at the baby. “Babies are being summoned here now? That’s just…”

“Wrong,” Rosa finished for him with an uncharacteristic scowl. “Babies can’t fight. What is that crystal thinking?”

QUISTIS

“According to Wol, he has another friend who went to investigate the inside of Garden,” Quistis said, sitting outside with the others while they formulated a plan to get past all of the Manikins. “This ‘Echo’ hasn’t returned yet, meaning that she may be in trouble. To that end, we may have to herd the Manikins into the training center while you, Irvine, will lock them in. Irvine?”

He had been gazing over at Rosa and the baby. Sazh and Cecil had been taking turns with the boy as well, and Irvine looked a little wistful. “I’m listening,” he said, turning back to Quistis. If it was anyone else, she would have doubted him – well aware of the behaviors of students who daydreamed from her instructor days. But she couldn’t blame him. Looking at that infant surrounded by three experienced parents, who took to babysitting with no hesitation, made her wistful too. She didn’t know yet how they would be able to look after a baby in a world as dangerous as this one, but she figured he was in good hands. She didn’t want to admit it, but it made her a little jealous.

“What the – ?” Sazh suddenly exclaimed. When Quistis looked back at him, her jaw dropped. “This baby can fly!”

It hovered above Sazh’s head, giggling and cooing and supported by no wings – seemingly only magic.

“As ridiculous as it sounds, maybe it is part bird after all,” Noel said, eyes wide. “Or maybe aegyl, like Llyud?”

“Oh, get him down before he falls!” said Rosa. When Sazh and Cecil tried reaching for him, the baby wove between their hands and instead flew toward Garden – and the den of murderous Manikins.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Zidane. “Alright, let’s hurry after him!”

“There goes our plan,” said Quistis, following as the others rushed ahead. She ached with longing for home as Balamb Garden loomed overhead. Everything looked the same, down to the empty parking lot just outside the gate. The entrance gate itself was locked tight, but the baby flew right over it.

“This is about as far as I got,” said Wol. “Get ready… the Manikins should be showing up any minute now.”

They used to fight Manikins without a second thought. But now, after meeting the Dark Manikins and Neo-Manikins, Quistis found herself hesitating. As Wol predicted, many of them started appearing at the gate, manifesting from swirls of black energy. Squall, Rinoa, and Angelo fought at the front as more and more kept appearing, but shortly into their battle Quistis realized these Manikins were only copies of the same group of people: Squall, Selphie, Zell, Irvine, Seifer, and herself. She spotted no one else among them.

But behind the gate, she spotted a figure in a slim, dark purple dress approaching. A golden, fan-shaped ornamental crest had been fixed to her back with a train of silk falling from it. Quistis felt her heart leap when she recognized the woman, but her hopes quailed when she saw the cold hatred in her eyes. Sorceress Edea had come. Their Matron.

“Is this it?” she asked, and though she did not shout they all heard her clearly even over the sounds of battle, her voice projected with magic. “The time has come. You’re the legendary SeeDs destined to face me?”

“Matron! It’s us!” Irvine shouted out. “Don’t tell me…”

“She’s possessed again,” Squall finished for him, his voice low and cold.

“Die at the hands of these puppets,” Edea continued. “They shall consume you and you will never again walk in the light of this world.” She turned away from them without a second glance, leaving them to their battle as she vanished into a Torsion.

“What do we do?” Selphie asked, swinging her nunchaku before backing against Quistis. “There’s too many of them!”

Wol sliced and shattered a Manikin of Seifer. “Looks like they’re filling in at our backs, too. There’s no retreat.”

Rinoa unfurled her angelic wings and her voice changed with them. “I will handle these. If a Sorceress summoned them here, then a Sorceress can banish them.”

Rinoa hovered above them all and magic flashed from her hands. Harsh winds blew and gathered the hordes of Manikins together while Comet spells rained down around the ones closest to the gate. Just as Quistis was about to renew her attack on the ones at their backs, more comets crashed onto the field just outside the parking lot. Rather than Rinoa being the source, however, Golbez drifted in with his shadow dragon coiled around him.

“Golbez!” Zell shouted out in greeting. “Nice timing, man!”

“Thank you, brother,” said Cecil, finishing off the last of the stray Manikins. “Your arrival is timely.”

“I come ahead of another group,” said Golbez. “Which includes both Mog and Carbuncle. They are coming, and Carbuncle believes one of the summoned beasts is in this place.”

“We can’t wait around for them to get here,” said Edge. “There’s, uh, a baby that got summoned to this world now. And he flew inside.”

“I agree,” said Rydia. “We have to go inside now. How do we get through these gates?”

“Break them down?” Ceodore suggested.

Quistis couldn’t shake the identities of the Manikins. “Maybe the gate will let us through if we show it our SeeD tags.”

Squall, closest to the gate, held up his tag as Rinoa’s wings faded. As Quistis predicted, the gates swung open for them. “Do you think Matron wants us to follow?” he asked.

Edward’s expression was soft as he looked at Squall. “She is your mother?” he asked.

“She’s the matron of the orphanage we all grew up in,” Quistis explained. “She’s a Sorceress like Rinoa, but for a while we believed her to be a foe until it turned out she had been possessed by Ultimecia the whole time.”

“I’ve had enough of Ultimecia,” Zell said, scowling. “When’s she going to learn to give it up already? And here she is possessing Matron again!”

“Then this means all we have to do is find Ultimecia,” said Selphie. “And give her a good knockout to free Matron!”

Squall’s expression darkened. “My guess is that she’s inside Garden. Let’s go.”

“If it is a matter of possession, let me accompany you,” said Golbez. “I know a thing or two about that. I will help you stop Ultimecia.”

GOLBEZ

Balamb Garden seemed to Golbez a spacious palace rather than a school, with domes and a levitating ring that could be seen from the first floor entrance lobby. He tried not to gawk, too focused on the task at hand, but the whole structure seemed a technological marvel, with a central tower that Quistis explained housed a lift that went to the other floors.

He ached with sympathy for the woman named Edea, forced to fight against those she considered family, slave to her own body. He had known Ultimecia possessed such skills, but thus far she had only ever used them once, on Lunafreya. Perhaps that had changed as she became increasingly driven and desperate to eliminate her foes. He would not stand for her schemes any longer. Not after what Golbez had been through with…

“The directory is up ahead, but why don’t you give everyone a tour, Squall?” Rinoa asked with a grin, interrupting Golbez from his thoughts. “I seem to remember you’re pretty good at them.”

“We don’t have time to fool around,” he said.

“How big is this place?” Sazh asked. “We’ve gotta find that baby before he gets hurt.”

“Whoa, what the heck is that thing?” Selphie asked, pointing straight ahead. “That’s never been there before!”

A white object, like a large egg or cocoon, rested in front of a simple map of the school. Feathers curled around it and it gently pulsed, giving Golbez the impression that something might burst out of it at any moment. He had never seen anything like it.

“Perhaps there is a monster of some sort growing inside of it,” he said. “Shall we destroy it before it hatches?”

Lights twinkled in front of him and they coalesced to form a little fairy, of all things. “No, don’t do that!” the fairy exclaimed, wings fluttering in agitation. “This sounds crazy, but there’s a little baby in there!”

“Crazier than a fairy randomly popping up?” Selphie asked, hands on her hips. “What’s going on?”

“Wol, tell them they can’t!” the fairy said, whirling on Wol.

He waved her away. “This is Echo, the one I told you guys about,” Wol said. “Normally, I’d say fairies can’t be trusted… but we did see that baby fly in here.”

“Thanks for that glowing recommendation,” Echo said, scowling at him. “I was gonna try to sneak my way out of here when I saw it fly in and then form… whatever that thing is.”

“Wol, you didn’t mention your friend was a fairy!” Rinoa said, eyes wide with awe.

“Well, this proves we’re in a different world,” Wol said to Echo, shrugging. “Normally, other Palamecians can’t see fairies like Echo.”

“I used to pull the wings off of butterflies like you when I was a kid,” Selphie said, smirking at Echo.

Echo fluttered away from her. “Don’t even think about it!” She hid behind Wol’s shoulder. “Wol, who are these psychopaths?”

“Selphie, behave,” said Quistis.

“I only did that to the already dead ones, of course,” Selphie clarified.

“Well, I’ve always liked butterflies,” said Irvine. “Echo, did you happen to see a woman in a purple and black dress? Lots of feathers?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Echo, peeking out from behind Wol. “She’s pretty freaky. She seems to be controlling all those crystal people.”

Quistis held a hand over her mouth and gasped. “Oh, no! What if it’s mass hypnosis, and we have been fighting Neo-Manikins all along? Remember, like she did to the crowds at Deling City?”

“I don’t know,” said Squall. “Why would the Manikins only be taking our appearance? I think she created these Manikins herself.”

Golbez nodded. Even while he suffered at the hands of Zemus, he still found subtle ways to reach past the darkness enshrouding his mind. “It is possible. The real Edea may be trying to signal that she remembers you all, deep down inside.”

“We’ve already forgotten her once before,” said Zell. “Because the GFs took our memories. And we didn’t see any Manikins of Rinoa – just us, from the orphanage. I think Golbez is right. We've got to let her know we're getting her message."

“Is this place significant to her?” Cecil asked. “Or did you only know her from the orphanage?”

Quistis shook her head. “The headmaster of this school is her husband, Cid. He formed Balamb Garden with her in order to defeat Sorceresses, specifically the one from the future: Ultimecia, who possessed Sorceresses throughout time to act in her stead and bring about Time Compression.”

“That’s why SeeD was made,” said Selphie. “Our true purpose was to fight the Sorceress. Well, not Rinoa, obviously. Our Matron was always kind, but after we forgot her and met her again, it was after she came under Ultimecia’s control. I don’t understand how this could’ve happened a second time…”

“For possession to take hold, one must have some sort of darkness already in them,” said Golbez. He did not want to elaborate on his own, but he continued. “A doubt. A fear. Perhaps rage. Ultimecia must be preying on feelings that Edea has locked within her heart.”

“I can’t imagine someone like Matron having that kind of darkness in her,” said Irvine, head lowered.

Golbez turned to Echo, letting them stew with that thought. “What of a woman in a red dress, with black wings? Did you see aught of her?”

Echo rubbed her long sleeve against her cheek, thinking. “Well… that sounds like Ultimecia, but I haven’t seen anyone else here.” She paused. “Why don’t you seem surprised or impressed that I know who Ultimecia is?”

Before Golbez and the others could consider their next move, the cocoon trembled. The wings cradling it unfurled and it glowed with a blinding light, forcing them to shield their eyes, and when it faded they saw a young child standing there, appearing younger than even Eiko. He had the same green hair as the baby, a scarf around his neck, and trousers. He looked up at them, blinking.

“Hi!” he said, giggling, when they had all been stricken silent.

“No way,” said Zell. “The baby got older? So… it’s like Palom and Porom?”

“I’m Raffaello!” he exclaimed. “I wanted to get older so I could talk to you all!”

Rosa knelt down next to him, straightening her robe. “Raffaello, please be more careful in the future. If you fly off, we can’t protect you. This place is dangerous.”

“No danger,” he said, giggling again.

“So first this egg falls out of the sky, hatches into a baby that flies into a hotbed of monsters where it turns into a cocoon, and now it’s suddenly older?” Wol asked. “Something’s suspicious here.”

Raffaello pouted. “I told you, I just wanna be friends!”

Rosa shook her head at Wol. “He’s just a child. We are ignorant to the ways of other worlds, and we do not know from which one he hails yet. I ask that you hold your suspicion in check for the time being.”

Sazh crouched down next to Raffaello and ruffled his hair. “Hey, little guy. Mind telling us why you ran in here?”

“Well, lots of people are comin’ from far away,” he said. “I got a bit scared, but now I think they’re friends of yours. They’ve got the same warm feeling as you.”

Golbez tried to make sense of his words. Could this child be more powerful than he seemed? “It is true that more of our party is on the way here, our two leaders among them. Are you saying that you can detect their presence?”

Raffaello nodded and grinned. “Yeah! I think they’re right outside now, too.”

“I will bring Raffaello out to them,” Rosa said, grasping his hand. “This is no place for a child such as him.”

“But I wanna help!” Raffaello protested. “I can show you the way to that evil lady.”

“She’s not evil,” said Squall. “Just under mind control. Unless you mean Ultimecia?”

“No, I meant that lady,” said Raffaello, pointing toward the center lift. All of them looked up at the top of the stairs where they saw Edea. Her right hand raised toward them, ice magic swirling in orbit around her and solidifying into deadly spikes. Thrusting her hand forward, the ice rained down on them, sheer cold permeating the lobby as the shards cut through the air like knives.

“Begone, SeeDs,” she said. “You may have prevailed over those puppets, but you shall not defeat me.”

The mages conjured barriers to protect them from her assault while Rydia stepped forward to summon and Yang leapt toward Edea with a flying kick.

“Wait!” Irvine called out. “She’s our Matron, we can’t harm her!”

Yang landed on the top of the directory but was forced to dodge out of the way of another magic blast. “What would you have us do?”

“Matron, don’t you remember us?” Zell asked. “From the orphanage! We know you do!”

“You can do it,” Selphie urged her. “Break free from Ultimecia’s control!”

Edea’s face showed cool indifference. “You SeeDs are a scourge upon this land. You hunt Sorceresses like animals, slaughtering us until we pass our powers onto another just to continue the cycle. I will visit that pain – that endless cycle of the deaths of countless women – upon you now.”

“Would your feelings reach her?” Zidane asked, daggers ready. “What if we called out to Ultimecia directly, instead? Remember, she’s just lonely!”

“That’s a good idea,” said Noel. “C’mon, Ultimecia – let Edea go! Your battle is with us!”

“The seed of darkness and despair has been planted,” she said. “And soon you shall all perish.” She waved her hand and fire and lightning bloomed, searing the floor around their barriers. Raffaello let out a scream and cowered, clamping his hands over his ears.

Rosa looked back at Raffaello as she held both of her hands forward to maintain their defensive barrier. “We need to get Raffaello out of here!”

“We need some kind of offensive,” Squall said. “I know we can’t hurt her, but it was battling against her that freed her from Ultimecia’s control in the first place. And then she gave up her Sorceress powers to Rinoa, making her useless to Ultimecia. We’ll have to do the same thing here.”

Rinoa clenched her fist and nodded. “Right. I’ll take her powers again.”

“Between all of us, we can take her,” said Cecil. “Brother, you and I will distract her.”

Golbez nodded, leaving the protection of the barrier to attack her from the left while Cecil went right in a pincer attack. As he wove more spells and stayed on the move to dodge Edea’s, he couldn’t help but think of where Ultimecia could be. Hiding in the shadows seemed unlike her – from all the time he knew her in this world, he had thought she would have shown herself to gloat by now.

Golbez stopped. Something wasn’t right. “Why would Ultimecia use mind control?” he said aloud. Though she had used it on Lunafreya, she had meant to mislead and deceive them then. But Squall and the others knew her well, and she must have known they would see right through it at once. “Was that not her tactic only because she struggled to directly intervene in affairs from the future?”

As he spoke, a bright flash of light shone forth from the rest of the party, and when he turned to look at it, he saw another cocoon where Raffaello had been standing.

A sharp, brutal pain erupted in Golbez’s shoulder in the gap between his armor. His inaction had cost him – Edea’s ice pierced him straight through the shoulder, coming out bloody on the other side. He grunted in pain as cold spread through his body and his breaths quickened, becoming shallow. He put pressure on the wound, but his vision swam.

“Brother!”

“Golbez!”

Darkness flooded his vision and darkness took him in its embrace.

Character Abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Paladin Cecil

ULT: Final Fantasy

Effect: Party stats up with each ability used

Paladin Cecil's ULT name is actually the name of a Band Attack in The After Years where he combines power with Rosa, Rydia, Edge, and Kain. It has the effect of boosting party stats with each ability use thereafter, by a small amount that stacks.

Rosa

ULT: Holy Burst

Effect: Revives fully heal & restore 1 ability use

Similar to Cecil, Rosa's ULT is also a Band Attack. Every time she revives an ally after use, they restore full health and even one ability use. Side note, I've been loving how these ULT updates have been aligning pretty well with the relevant characters for the past few chapters!

Lulu

FR: Maelstrom Fury (with Edea)

BT: Onion Knight Ultima

ULT: Death (Effect: After enemies target Lulu, they suffer BRV Break)

Burst theme: “Assault,” played when Yuna’s guardians rescue her during the wedding, and a number of battles against Sin

In keeping with the naming theme of her abilities Fire Moomba and Stinger Mog, her Burst references the name of her Celestial Weapon, the Onion Knight doll. "Maelstrom" is a spell that Edea uses so I combined them together into their Force ability. Her ULT insta-breaks any enemy that tries to target her, after their turn.

New Character Updates:

Wol & Echo (Greatswords) Non-elemental melee damage, auras, overhead buffs (free instant turns with Break)

15: Onion Dicer

35: Echoing Cut

EX: Radiant Sword

LD: Breaker’s Gift

FR: Chaotic Dance (with Jack Garland)

BT: Burst Flare

ULT: Aubade Cantata (Effect: Instant Break every time he strikes enemy weakness)

Burst theme: “Warrior Battle Theme #1,” the battle theme for Warrior-style jobs

Though Wol is capable of using any job, I kept him as mostly a melee attacker here with ability names coming from his various special jobs. His EX, Radiant Sword, comes from his portrayal in Theaterhythm Final Bar Line. His 35 CP ability, Echoing Cut, is an original ability name though and I did it to incorporate Echo into the attack. Breaker's Gift is all Echo, though, and allows Wol to get a free instant turn when he breaks a foe. Speaking of Echo, I decided to combine them both into one character rather than making Echo her own unit (like Record Keeper did) because I thought it would make them more unique. They've got a Yuri & Chelinka situation going on, and in the original Mobius game Echo isn't directly a party member anyway.

Though his ULT effect is pretty strong, Wol has no way to strike enemy weaknesses himself, so he works well with someone who uses an enchant or imperil. He also has some offensive party auras, and Breaker's Gift, as mentioned above, has him revolving around breaking foes.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 4, Part 2: Ode to Darkness

SHIRMA

Shirma had been told they traveled with many, many companions. But she didn’t expect to see this many people all gathered together, chatting and catching up and embracing from the joys of their reunions. As she stuck by Chocobo, happily greeting everyone who came her way, she thought to herself that remembering all of their names would be a new kind of training in and of itself.

“Even Balamb Garden’s here now, huh?” Seifer asked, looking ahead at the towering structure with its floating rings. “I gotta go in and find my posse.”

“Hold it,” said Carbuncle. “Before we go, we must procure a plan. One of the summoned beasts is inside, I am fairly certain. But something about it has become… muddled.”

Y’shtola’s ears perked up. “In what way?” She looked around, eyes passing over Shirma, Chocobo, and Hauyn. “Before we delve deeply into this conversation, might we bring all present up to speed? I see we have some new companions since we have all been together last.”

Shirma cleared her throat. “My name is Shirma, and this is Chocobo. We’re here to help! Chocobo is stronger than he looks.”

Chocobo chirped happily and held up his wing.

An old man who had arrived with several others in a glossy black vehicle held up his hand and gave them all a regal nod. “I am Regis, father to Noctis. It is my pleasure to meet you all.”

“Our group met Sarah and Sol,” said Lightning, looking around. “I don’t see them now, but they’re somewhere nearby.”

“We’ve got all the Turks here now, too,” Cloud said, putting a hand on his hip. “Their director Tseng has joined us. I think they’re already scoping out the area.”

“Arc’s here, too!” said Luneth, looping an arm around his friend’s shoulders, who blushed in embarrassment.

“Not to mention Rikku, Aria, and Hauyn,” said the Onion Knight. “When we met them, we found Leviathan, too, and attained his magicite.”

“And don’t forget the Chocobo eidolon’s magicite as well,” Ace reminded him.

“Now that makes three, with Alexander,” said Garnet. “Three eidolons who are now under our protection, free of the corruption that has been plaguing them. We still have far to go, but we are making progress.”

“That said, we have new – or rather, old – enemies that have appeared here, as well,” said Yuna. “Like Shuyin.”

“And we met a man who called himself Shadowsmith,” said Y’shtola. “I believe you are acquainted, Tyro?”

Tyro’s jaw dropped. “Shadowsmith is here?”

“Lady Lilith, too,” said Lilisette, scowling. “From my world.”

“Despite the presence of new villains, I am heartened to see us all together again,” said the Warrior of Light. “Let us take joy and relief from everyone being reunited.”

Carbuncle had been focused on the direction of Balamb Garden, tails flicking irritably. He spoke over their discussion. “Now that we are all caught up, can we please focus on the present? I think I have determined which summon we are dealing with. I am not sure what form he has taken, but the darkness I sense is unmistakable: Diabolos should be inside.”

HOPE

Hope assisted Rosa and Porom in healing Golbez after they had managed to get him away from Edea, leaving combat with the Sorceress to the others. Porom floated him away from the battle and to the entrance and the three of them focused on fixing his wounds.

“Hang in there, Golbez,” Hope told him, gently removing his gauntlet and pauldron to reach his shoulder. “Cecil and Ceodore are fighting for you, okay?”

Golbez responded with a weak groan. Blood pooled underneath him, staining his black armor.

Beyond the entrance gate, Hope spotted more of their missing allies and his face lit up when he saw them, but Rosa and Porom remained deep in concentration. Now, Golbez would have a whole team of healers.

Most of all, he was happy to see Lightning in the lead. “Hey, Light! Great timing,” he said, as Rem, Minwu, and Aerith made a beeline for Golbez. “We’re going to need all the help we can get – there are tons of Manikins here.”

“No time for reunions, right?” Lightning asked, smirking. “Just fine by me.”

Laguna pumped a fist into the air. “Well, I disagree! It’s great to see you guys again!”

Hope nodded to Rosa and Porom. From what he could tell, they had managed to stabilize him. “I’m going back in – they’re going to need some support.”

Rosa barely looked up from Golbez, sweat beading on her brow. “Look after Raffaello, please,” she said. “Be there for him when he emerges from the cocoon again.”

“Uh, okay,” Hope said, not sure what he would do with the kid when he changed. They still knew next to nothing about him. Hope couldn’t deny his curiosity about the boy, but he wasn’t sure how he would be able to look after Raffaello in the midst of all the fighting. While he pondered what to do about Raffaello, he spotted Joshua behind Lightning and Laguna, frozen in place as he looked at Golbez. “Joshua? Are you okay?”

“Hey, kiddo, what’s wrong?” Laguna asked, crouching down to his level.

Joshua stared straight ahead, unblinking, but his breaths became rapid. He stumbled backward as if he’d been struck, landing hard on his back.

“Joshua!” Hope said, rushing to his side. The other boy propped himself up, tearing his gaze away from Golbez, face pale. Hope wondered if it was the sight of blood. “Do you need to go back outside?”

“N-no!” Joshua exclaimed. “I’m fine, let me come with you!”

“There’s no shame in turning back,” Lightning said. “If you’re gonna freeze up like that, it could mean the end.”

Joshua shook his head. “I’m… I’m okay. I was just… surprised.”

Hope let out a sigh, recognizing a bit of himself – the desire to prove that he wasn’t just a kid to be left behind. “It’s okay. If you’re serious about joining us, I’ll watch your back.”

Hope returned to the entrance lobby with the others in time to see that Edea was gone, but Squall had begun giving orders to their companions so well that Hope thought he was a natural at it. When they arrived, his eyes widened when he spotted the empty cocoon and an unfamiliar boy standing next to it.

He still had the same green hair, but now he appeared to be a teenager, perhaps around the age of Hope’s physical body or younger. He had more clothes than before, with gloves, a scarf, and a wing-like ornament at his back. He looked a little out of place compared to the others, who prepared for further fights with Edea and the Manikins, but his eyes lit up when he saw Hope arrive with the others.

“Hi, Hope,” he said. “Look, I’m older again! Now we’re close to the same age!”

Hope scratched his cheek. “Well, about that…”

“Um, hello,” said Joshua. “You must be Raffaello.”

Raffaello grinned. “I am. Wow, there are really so many of you – I can’t wait to become friends with you all.”

“Agreed,” said Hope, though inwardly he mused that right now wasn’t really the time for that. He still seemed so childish even though he had changed so rapidly. “But first, we have to deal with the Sorceress. Squall, is there a way we can help?”

Squall took a moment to consider his request, glancing at Raffaello and Joshua as if measuring them. “Zell’s at the cafeteria, Selphie the quad, Quistis the classrooms, and Irvine the training center. You’ll come with Rinoa and I to the ballroom. Matron has retreated, but she should still be around here somewhere. Ideally, she’ll lead us right to Ultimecia.”

“Assuming she’s even here,” Lightning said.

“If she’s not, then fighting Edea will still free her,” Squall said, but Hope wasn’t sure how confident he was in that.

“A ballroom?” Raffaello asked, grinning. “I’ve never seen one before.”

Hope exchanged a glance with Squall and Rinoa before responding to Raffaello. “Remember, we’re not here for fun. Okay?”

Balamb Garden was bigger than it looked. Squall led them down a hall that led to an outdoor area called the quad, then broke off down a separate corridor to an expansive ballroom with marble floors and a high, windowed ceiling, dome-shaped with an upper area that looked out over the dance floor. Pillars lined the outside of the room and banquet tables draped in blue and white cloth contributed to the opulence, but Hope’s eyes were first drawn to the grand crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Then he saw the figure in the middle of the ballroom. Though her back was to them, her red dress and black winged ornament were unmistakable. 

“Ultimecia! You really are here,” Rinoa said, her weapon fixed to her arm.

Squall’s voice came out low and harsh. “Let Matron go.”

Ultimecia turned to them, her movements slow and languid. “Matron? Your dear mother?” She regarded them with vague amusement. “I have nothing to do with her actions here.”

“Don’t lie,” Squall said, drawing his gunblade.

“What would I have to gain by lying to you?” Ultimecia asked. “You would bare steel against me regardless of what I say or do.”

She had a point. Hope glanced at Raffaello and Joshua to make sure they stayed back before speaking. “If you’re not the one controlling Edea, then who is? What are you doing here?”

“That Sorceress and I are intertwined,” Ultimecia said. “It is true that I once took dominion over her mind, but she is also the one to whom I bequeathed my powers. As I am sure you well remember,” she said, directing her gaze to Squall. Then to Rinoa, she added, “As you once offered to take from me.”

Rinoa frowned. “So?”

Ultimecia spread one arm wide, as if to encompass the ballroom. “So I sensed her arrival to this world. And furthermore, a great nest of darkness has grown here.” She smiled. “And I must admit, this ballroom very nearly compares to the one in my castle. But, of course, I require no reason to go anywhere – I venture where I please.”

Raffaello wrung his fingers. “A nest… of darkness?”

“What darkness are you talking about?” Hope asked.

“Diabolos,” Joshua said, his sudden declaration taking Hope by surprise. “Or, well, I think that was his name. Carbuncle mentioned that he sensed an Eikon of darkness here.”

“A Guardian Force, is it?” Ultimecia asked. “There you have it. I am not to blame.”

“If it’s Diabolos possessing her, then we’ll free her regardless,” Squall said. “Whether you’re lying or not, if you intend to use that darkness, we’ll stop you.”

“You’d save her even though your beloved Matron has subjugated countless people?” said Ultimecia, unmoving. “Her mind was in my grasp, but I could not have taken hold without darkness already within her. She is a Sorceress.”

“We don’t care,” Squall said. “Everyone’s got some kind of darkness in them. Everything she did, you forced her to do.”

“It was not the darkness in Edea that compelled her to evil deeds, but your influence.” Golbez had arrived behind them, unarmored and supported by Cecil with bandages around his shoulder. “It is your actions that are unforgivable, not hers.”

Ultimecia narrowed her eyes. “Struck a nerve, have I? It matters not. You children shall never understand me, as you have proven time and time again.” She scowled at them one final time and then vanished in a flash of light.

“She’s got it the wrong way around,” Rinoa said, shoulders dropping. “But I guess that’s why she always feels so lonely.”

ASTOS

The darkness here was palpable.

He had no idea how none of the others could sense it as keenly as he did, the gloom so deep and all-encompassing that Astos felt on the verge of letting it embrace him. It was so stifling that he did not know from whence it came, nor how to track it. Yet Diabolos did linger here, hidden amongst the shadow. Was it the matron at its source? The child? Or perhaps even the man in whom he saw something of Jack…

He followed Wol at a distance, praying he was not wrong.

JOSHUA

“Joshua, you’re improving by leaps and bounds with your battling,” Hope said, catching his boomerang after the Manikin had been dispatched. “I know I can trust you to lead the way with your sword.”

Joshua felt his face redden. “My skills pale in comparison to my brother’s,” he said. It felt strange to talk to Hope sometimes – though he seemed scarcely older than Joshua on the surface, he had learned that Hope was older than even Clive. “But thank you.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Raffaello said. “I don’t think I could fight like that.”

“Can you wield any weapons, Raffaello?” Hope asked. “We may not always be here to look out for you.” Though Squall, Rinoa, Cecil, and Golbez led the way, dealing with the majority of their foes, some made their way through their defenses to Joshua and the others in the rear. He found himself astounded by Golbez and his capacity to keep fighting despite his wounds, but watching him together with Cecil made Joshua fervently wish he could look out for Clive the same way.

Raffaello gave Hope a wistful smile. “I’m not sure. I can’t really remember.”

Joshua supposed he had been improving. Before coming to this world, the only real combat he had ever seen was during that terrible night. Though he had been hesitant to wield a blade after arriving here, something about it felt natural in his hands in a way it never had before. Even his fire magic had come easier to him lately. He wondered what kind of warrior he may have become if only he had survived that night. Maybe he would have even become as strong as Clive one day.

It hurt to think about, so he tried to continue the conversation to distract himself. “Is there anything you remember of your world, Raffaello?”

“Oh yeah, plenty,” he said, putting his hands behind his head as he looked up at Balamb Garden’s rings overhead. “I remember a town named Lostime and getting to know all the people there. Stella’s great food, and playing with all the other kids. One of my favorite things is to look out over the water. And most of all, I remember my friends! Chocobo, Shirma, and Cid.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Hope said with a grin. “We know Chocobo and Shirma – they’re here with us!”

Raffaello beamed. “Oh wow, really? I should’ve known! They’re both really strong. And very, very brave.” He let out a sigh as he looked down the walkway that led to a place labeled as the library, where Squall and the others had gone.

Joshua wasn’t sure if it was a sigh of contentment or stress. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Raffaello turned back to look at them. “If I tell you guys something, do you promise not to tell anyone?”

Hope exchanged a glance with Joshua and paused only a moment before nodding. “Promise. What is it?”

Raffaello stared expectantly at Joshua, who set his jaw. “I promise, too.”

“At home, I felt like no one could really understand me,” Raffaello said. He put a hand over his chest. “As I got older… even now, I’ve felt so lonely in ways I can’t even describe. I try to put on a happy face, but sometimes it’s really hard.”

Hope frowned. “But didn’t you have people you could trust, like Shirma?”

Raffaello shuffled his feet. “Oh, I did… And she really did try. So did Chocobo – did I tell you I could understand animals?” His face brightened for a moment before becoming somber again. “But I dunno… Sometimes I feel this darkness inside of me. Is that… normal, like Squall said?”

“Well, you heard Squall,” Hope said, after a brief pause. “Everyone’s got some. For a while, I wanted revenge against someone and pursued it at the expense of everything else. And trust me, too much light inside you is no good for you either.”

Joshua didn’t know what to add. Did he really have darkness of his own on the inside? His whole life, he had been taught that the Phoenix was something pure, even holy – as was its Dominant. His encounter with Alexander swam back to the surface of his mind, as did the darkness that Ravus gave him. He wasn’t sure if it was still inside him or not. He tried to imagine what his father would say, but when he spent too long thinking of the words, the moment had passed.

“Okay, if you say so,” Raffaello said, wringing his fingers and swaying on his heels. “Thank you… I was just worried. That Diabolos guardian sounds scary, and I don’t wanna give him more darkness, y’know?”

“I’m not sure if it works like that,” Hope said, chuckling. “Besides, it sounds like he’s busy with Edea, anyway – if what Ultimecia says is true. So it’s not like Diabolos is inside you, either.”

“I don’t think there’s anything scary inside of you, Raffaello,” Joshua said. “I haven’t known you long, but I already feel that we are friends.”

Raffaello beamed again. “I’m glad to hear you say that! Me too. And thank you both, I feel a lot better now!”

SHIRMA

More and more Manikins kept showing up in the entrance lobby, giving them little space to push past or even hold their position. But as Shirma supported those who were fighting, she nearly dropped her staff when she heard a name she recognized being thrown around.

“Can’t believe that Raffaello kid went out there with them,” said Raijin. “Wasn’t he just a baby a little bit ago?”

“Wait, can you repeat that, please?” Shirma asked. “You met a baby named Raffaello?”

“We did,” said Porom. “He fell right out of the sky from an egg earlier today – but then he went into a cocoon twice, and grew older both times!”

Shirma put a hand over her mouth. “So quickly? Oh, no…” She didn’t know what he remembered, if anything. But he could not grow up. Not here. Not now. She glanced down at Chocobo, who gave her a determined set of the brow and wiggle of his tail feathers. “Please excuse us!”

With Chocobo at her heels, they ran through the battle to find their dear friend Raffaello.

HOPE

“Hey, Hope? Joshua? Can we go back to the ballroom, please?” Raffaello asked. “Something Ultimecia said really stuck out to me. About how she sensed a ‘nest of darkness.’ Maybe it was right there, and we were missing it.”

Hope folded up his airwing and pocketed it, feeling the strain of all the fighting that continued throughout Balamb Garden’s halls. “Let’s tell Squall and the others,” he said. Joshua heaved in deep breaths, his sword arm shaking from exhaustion. Hope wondered how much he had left in him – he should have noticed earlier that Joshua had been tiring. “Joshua, maybe you should go back. You need to rest.”

“So do you,” Joshua replied, doubled over.

“I’m sorry I haven’t really been able to help,” Raffaello said, staring down at his feet.

Wol ran up to them with Echo the fairy trailing behind him, as well as Quistis. “There you are,” he said. “There’s been no sign of the Sorceress.”

“We’re holding every area of Garden so far except for the ballroom,” Quistis added. “The fighting has been tough, but thankfully we’ve got the numbers again. The Manikins keep coming, so we are led to believe that Matron is still here, summoning them. Do you want to give the order to check there, Commander?”

Hope thought he saw Squall roll his eyes at her teasing use of his title. “We’ll go,” he said.

“Raffaello just suggested the same thing,” Hope said. “Maybe Ultimecia was being literal when she said she sensed the ‘nest of darkness’ there, whatever that means.”

Raffaello looked at Hope appreciatively as the others agreed and they made their way back to the quad. Hope kept an eye on Joshua, wondering why he seemed so eager to prove himself, hanging back with them as they trailed behind the others again.

“Maybe I’d be able to help more if I was older,” Raffaello said, tugging on his scarf. “I bet I’d get all my memories back. And I’d be strong!”

“Maybe you could,” Hope said. “Can you control if you go into one of those cocoons again?”

“Sorta,” Raffaello responded. “I have to be ready for it, you know? But to be honest… I’ve been a little afraid to grow up.”

“Afraid?” said Hope. He scratched his chin as they walked. “Well… that’s only natural. But to be honest, it’s never as scary as we think. It still is, to some extent – but I think it’s worth it.”

“How do you know?”

“Well… I never told you, but I’m actually older than I look,” Hope said. “I’ve just been in my younger body in this world.”

“Wow, really? I thought you were pretty wise for a kid!” Raffaello said, laughing. They arrived back at the ballroom, but everything appeared to be just as they left it. No Edea, no Ultimecia, and no Manikins. 

“This is so frustrating!” Rinoa exclaimed. “She has us going in circles.”

“She’s tiring us out by making us face endless hordes of Manikins,” said Wol. “Not a bad tactic, really.”

Joshua leaned against the wall and sunk down to the floor while the others discussed what to do next. Hope went to him, kneeling down to ensure Joshua didn’t need any healing.

“Good,” Hope said. “Sit down and take a break. You’ve earned it.”

Joshua gave him a weak smile. “Thanks.”

Raffaello approached them, crouching down on Joshua’s other side. His lip trembled. “Guys, I… I don’t feel so great. I think the time’s coming.”

Hope frowned. “Another cocoon? To be honest, I don’t know if it’s the best timing.”

“I dunno, I…” Raffaello stood up straight and looked around, then grabbed his head. “I don’t think I’m ready.”

Hope felt way out of his depth between both preteens. “It’s okay, Raffaello,” he said, trying to come across as comforting as he could. “Everyone has to grow up sometime. I guess for some of us it just comes faster.”

Raffaello pressed his fingers to his face so hard that his knuckles turned white, and Hope realized that he seemed to be in real pain. “No… No! I remember now. I can’t… I can’t get any older!”

By now, the others had heard him and came back to the entrance of the ballroom. Cecil knelt down to Raffaello, but Raffaello pulled back so roughly that he almost fell back against Joshua, who scrambled to his feet. Hope stood in front of Raffaello, trying to get the other boy to look at him.

“Raffaello, listen to me,” Hope said, grasping at anything he could think of. “You’ll be okay! I promise you. Hey, what if I grow up alongside you? Would that make you feel better?”

Raffaello took in deep breaths. “W-would you?”

Hope nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I won’t go in a cocoon like you do, but if Palom and Porom can do it, then I can too. I’ll be right there with you, buddy – and we’ll face whatever’s on the other side together.”

“Thank you,” Raffaello said. “I’m still scared… but maybe it’ll be worth it. It’s building up in me so much, I don’t think I can stop it. Maybe this time it won’t be so dark and terrifying.”

Hope smiled. “Y’see? You remember now that you did it once before. So you’ll do it again. And me? Well… I guess it’s about time I go back to my normal self. When I came to this world, I think I subconsciously picked my younger body because that’s how Light knew me best. And it felt great to be with her again – and all the others – like the old days. But now, I’ll show them the real me. And I’ll be standing beside them this time.”

A warm light enveloped them both as their willpower flared, and when it faded, a cocoon of white feathers enclosed around Raffaello while Hope found himself an adult again.

“Wow, Hope!” Rinoa said, grinning. “I knew it’d happen sooner or later, but it’s wild to see you growing up like that right before my eyes!”

Hope scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, I’ve been an adult this whole time. Kinda felt like I had no choice, y’know? Raffaello would’ve gone into full panic mode. It seemed like it was gonna happen whether he liked it or not, so I figured I’d make it easier for him.”

The ballroom doors slammed open to reveal Chocobo rushing toward them with a chorus of urgent warks. Shirma tumbled in behind him. “Raffaello!” she called out. “Is he here?”

“He is,” Cecil said, gesturing to the cocoon with a frown. “Is something the matter?”

“He’s your friend, right?” Rinoa asked. “Aren’t you excited to see him?”

Chocobo slid to a stop in front of the cocoon, flapping his wings frantically as he turned back to Shirma.

“Oh no…” Shirma said, hugging her staff. “We’re too late!”

“He’ll come out soon,” Hope assured her. “It’s been pretty quick the past few times.”

Darkness burst from the pure white feathers of Raffaello’s cocoon, a deluge of shadow that swept over them all. Hope crossed his arms in front of his face, feeling the surge of power threatening to rip away parts of his being.

“No way…” Hope said. “Was Diabolos really in Raffaello all along!?”

Shirma shook her head, just as frantic as Chocobo. “No, you don’t understand! Every time Raffaello goes into his cocoon, the Destroyer’s power comes out more and more!”

“‘The Destroyer’?” Golbez asked. “What does it have to do with the boy?”

“The guardian of darkness, a being so terrible that myself and all the Oracles had to seal it away,” Shirma explained. “We couldn’t fight it. It… killed so many people. To free itself, it created Raffaello. He didn’t know he had the Destroyer in him, honest!”

“And its darkness is ripe for the taking.”

Edea appeared in the center of the ballroom, a halo of ice shards around her head.

ECHO

“I didn’t know Raffaello was being literal about darkness in him!” Hope said, turning with the others to face the Sorceress. Dark, magical forces pulsed around Raffaello’s cocoon, and Echo hung as far away from it as she could. It made her feel sick to her stomach.

“You mean he told you and you ignored it!?” Echo waved her arms at him.

“I just thought… teenage melodrama, and all that,” Hope admitted. “Squall, Rinoa, what do we do?”

“Don’t give her the chance to attack,” Wol answered for him, rushing forward with his blade. Edea didn’t move, instead conjuring a force field that blasted him backward and then rained ice spears from above. Echo flew to his side, enchanting his blade and doing a quick once-over for wounds – not that she would let him see her concern. “Don’t pretend to be worried,” he said to her, smirking.

Echo scoffed. “As if!”

Squall, Rinoa, and Quistis attacked together next, with Rinoa shielding them as the others struck from both sides. Edea crossed her arms at her elbows and darkness swept over the floor, bypassing Rinoa’s defenses. Squall leapt over it but the dark flood held Quistis down like sludge, dragging her to the floor. White wings erupted from Rinoa’s back as she floated above the darkness, her magic lifting Quistis from the mire as she simultaneously pelted Edea with meteorites. They battered against Edea’s shields, but she punched toward Squall as he approached and a whirl of magic struck him in the chest. Cecil rushed forward with a blade of light while Wol renewed his attack.

“What do we do about this Destroyer?” Golbez questioned Shirma, swathed in his shadow dragon.

Chocobo chirped at him while Shirma answered. “Chocobo defeated him once. And together, we will have to do it again!” she said. “Or… I hope we can. Before, we had my sister, the Oracle of Darkness, to help us contain it.”

Echo peeled her eyes away from the battle against Edea to focus on the cocoon. “Well, did you guys even consider that it might not be the Destroyer in there at all?” she asked. Traveling so long with Wol, she had become accustomed to questioning things rather than just accepting whatever was laid in front of her. “What if it is Diabolos, like Hope said?”

Golbez considered her words with a low rumble, turning back to the cocoon with a sweep of his cape. “But if Diabolos is in here, could Ultimecia be possessing Edea after all?”

“Matron!” Seifer bellowed, entering the ballroom with his gunblade ready. Selphie, Zell, and Irvine were right behind him. “Snap out of it!”

“That damned Guardian Force needs to let her go,” Irvine said, holding his shotgun but not yet aiming it.

“Hey, what if we try using our will to reach out to her?” Selphie suggested.

“Yeah!” said Zell, pumping his fist. “I know I always had Ma, but I treasure my memories of Matron, too!”

Edea drifted high into the air, close to the windowed ceiling and unaided by wings. “You think me a slave to that mere beast?” she asked, hollow laughter ringing out through the ballroom.

Echo was about to question her words when another pulse of darkness, stronger than all the others, burst forth from Raffaello’s cocoon. When it cleared, in its place was a being with six moth-like wings and two dark, spiky growths that looked like eyes emerging from its back. A humanoid figure that vaguely resembled Raffaello grew from the center of the being, but pure white and terrible, face contorted in agony.

Shirma stepped back on shaky legs. “It’s really him… the sacred beast of darkness. The Destroyer!”

Wol pivoted from his attack against Edea and rushed directly toward the Destroyer in a move that surprised Echo, reckless and straightforward and so unlike Wol. “At last,” he said.

Echo put her hands on her hips. “Huh?”

Before Wol could reach the Destroyer, a spear of darkness impaled him through the chest, halting him in place as Echo felt her own heart drop. It held Wol suspended for just a moment before the darkness dissipated. A man she didn’t recognize stood on the upper level, hand still raised from the magical attack he conjured to strike Wol.

“Astos!” said Golbez. “What is the meaning of this?”

Echo fluttered to Wol’s side as he collapsed. “Wol, stick with me!”

“Stay back, fairy,” said the man, Astos. “That is not your friend. It was hard to identify with all of the dark forces at play here… but he is the one who has Diabolos inside of him.”

“No way,” said Hope. “But if Diabolos is in Wol, and the Destroyer’s in Raffaello… then what’s controlling Edea?”

Echo gasped as something inky and black poured from Wol’s wound, pooling on the floor before it swelled into a perfect sphere of darkness, completely enshrouding him. Demonic wings flared from the sphere, which melted away to reveal a humanoid figure with black and red skin, stretching up to its full height.

Wol’s limp body fell to the floor, a discarded shell. Diabolos had finally shown itself.

EDEA

The thrill of so much power concentrated into one place made everything else insignificant. The humans on the ground below her were as insects, trilling in fear and letting it control them. They cowered and they crawled while Diabolos and the Destroyer clashed, a tempest of darkness and despair.

“Are you certain, my dear? It will cause them – and you – nothing but pain.”

“I am, my love. As sad as it is, this future is set in stone.”

Diabolos flapped his wings, carrying him toward the ceiling of the ballroom so that the moon framed his form. A cloud of miasma exhaled from the Destroyer’s wings as magic blades sliced through the air toward Diabolos, who instead held out his claws and dark magic made them drop to the ground below. The pathetic humans scattered, retaliating with their feeble attempts at what they called magic.

“They’re called SeeDs, you said? Then we will grow for them a wonderful Garden. One they can call home.”

“No matter what we call it, it doesn’t change what we’re raising them to be.”

The Destroyer’s power would belong to her. Diabolos would be slain. Then the humans could die. They were unworthy. Unevolved. She just had to ensure Diabolos lost this battle. Her magic bloomed in sickles of ice around Diabolos, then she conjured a maelstrom of energy to swallow him. But he roared, an otherworldly sound, and glyphs shone in a circle of red light.

“But why? Why do you have to leave so soon?”

“Soon, I think, I will become a danger to them. Our precious children. Our soldiers. I’m sorry, my love – but I will have to leave them to you now.”

“There are some days I want to curse him. The one who appeared to you that day, who told you all this…”

“You can’t. You must love him, look after him as you would your own son. Even as you raise him to be a killer. You must bear the rest of this burden alone, but it will be a sin belonging to both of us. Forever.”

The room quaked as the glyphs exploded. Mages and the young Sorceress made feeble attempts to protect their friends. The Destroyer let out a howl so piercing that it caused even Edea some pain; Diabolos dove down with claws swiping, but the Destroyer conjured a sword to block his strike. Gravity spells attempted to crush the Destroyer beneath their weight, but the monstrous beast moved with inhuman speed to the other side of the ballroom. Diabolos ascended once again, gathering together an orb of pure shadow.

“Edea, how long will it be until we can see each other again?”

“I don’t know. But I promise we will be together again… I want to give you this.”

“A lamp?”

“A magic lamp. Like one from the stories you enjoy so much. A guardian dwells inside – one who will protect you while I am unable.”

The memory tugged at her. Diabolos unleashed his ruin just as she clutched at her temples, groaning and writhing with pain in midair. She knew Diabolos. This was wrong.

Black wings embraced her and she realized another had joined her, hands held inches from Edea’s face. Golden eyes met Edea’s own, but only for a fleeting moment. She knew those eyes. They haunted her dreams.

“Resist. You are a Sorceress – do not let this foreign intrusion take dominion over your mind.”

Her eyes burned. Her head swam, grasping in vain for memories that eluded her. “How…?”

“Give name to this presence that has staked a claim on you. And then force it away.” She heard a lilt of humor in the voice’s tone. “You may even think of your… connections, to force it out.”

Her memories. No, this dark force could not take her memories. The field of flowers, the children. Cid. And when she held the image of all those things in her head, clutching it close to her chest, she named the dark presence looming in her mind:

“Ze… mus…”

The scream reverberated through her entire being and through the ballroom, and then Edea fell.

SQUALL

Squall shouted as he watched Matron fall, running to catch her. Golbez beat him to it, his shadow dragon coiling around her prone body and gently resting her on the floor. While Diabolos and the Destroyer continued their battle, thrashing and clawing each other with animalistic rage, Squall knelt over Matron as he glared up at Ultimecia.

“What did you do to her?” he asked.

She regarded him with half-lidded eyes. “I freed her, you fool. That dark presence will plague her no more.”

Squall unclenched his fists. “Why?”

“Did she say… Zemus?” Golbez asked, shaken.

Before Squall could say anything else, Ultimecia vanished. Without Edea hurling magic and catching them in the crossfire, the rest of his companions were able to contribute to the fight again. Astos and Jack Garland led the charge against the Destroyer, supported by Hope, Joshua, Chocobo, and Shirma. Rinoa and the others joined Cecil in subduing Diabolos.

“C’mon, we know darkness,” Jack growled, his sword cleaving the Destroyer’s tendrils. “Don’t let it win.”

“Raffaello, we know you’re in there, just like last time!” Shirma called out. “We’ll never, ever give up on you!”

“Break free, I know you can!” said Hope.

“We’ve no choice but to prevail,” said Cecil, his blade glowing with holy light to ward away Diabolos. “This darkness will yield to us, as it always does.”

While Diabolos quailed under Cecil’s light, Squall took the opportunity to bear his gunblade aloft as he moved to strike. With the end of his blade glowing a frigid blue, he slashed toward Diabolos just as Chocobo, Shirma, Hope, and Joshua focused all of their power together to vanquish the Destroyer. Their light united against the warring dark, overpowering and isolating the forces of the Destroyer and Diabolos. Squall’s arms shook with the force of the power as he cleaved at the Guardian Force, the radiance and darkness blinding in equal measure. When Diabolos finally faded away and his gunblade met no more resistance, he stumbled forward until he regained his balance. The magicite clattered to the ground.

“Freed from my chains by mere mortals… I bestow upon thee this magicite. Guard it, for darkness yet stirs at the heart of this world. Scour the shadows in the endless dreams of mortal slumber and thou shalt find it.”

Diabolos. His words festered in Squall’s mind, a garbled tongue that he nonetheless perfectly understood.

Just like Wol and Edea, Raffaello appeared unconscious where the Destroyer had been, once again older.

Shirma rushed to Raffaello’s side, propping him up with her arm while she provided healing with her other hand. “Oh, please be okay!”

Wol stirred first after Hope kneeled over him, clutching his head as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “Damn, that Diabolos…”

“How has he been inside you this entire time?” Echo asked, zipping over him in an agitated flight display. “Really, we went through all of that thinking nothing was wrong with you! Then you pull this!”

“Pipe down,” Wol said, waving her off. “Dunno when he took control.”

“Remember what we told you, last time?” Echo asked, hands on her hips. “Stop trying to make a habit of this.”

Chocobo warbled over Raffaello, whose eyes fluttered open. “Shirma…?” he asked.

She hugged him tight around the neck. “Raffaello!”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, sitting up. “I can’t believe I let the Destroyer take me over again. I don’t deserve to be with you guys – maybe I should go traveling on my own, just like I did back home.”

“I don’t wanna hear any of that!” Shirma admonished him. “Not here, not now, just after we got you back. You guys don’t mind letting Raffaello come with us, right?”

“Not at all,” said Hope, grinning.

“Yes, please stay with us,” said Joshua. “We’ve only just become friends.”

“You’re not the only one with something dark in you,” said Astos, gesturing to both Wol and Jack. “You are in good company.”

“Guess you’re including me in this group now, huh?” Wol asked, leaning on his sword to help him stand. “Don’t worry – I don’t intend to let any dark beings hitch any more rides. There’s still a lot I need to understand about this world, and I expect to get answers traveling with you all.”

Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Seifer all crowded around Edea as she returned to consciousness. Selphie whooped as she awakened, but Quistis shushed her.

“She has been through a great ordeal,” Golbez said. “She will need time to rest.”

At the headmaster’s office, Squall stood with Rinoa, the Onion Knight, Warrior of Light, Cecil, Selphie, Cid Highwind, and Edgar as they looked out of the window toward the school below. Selphie was the one who had insisted on bringing the latter two up to the office. Squall and Rinoa were the only ones who knew the reason for her restless excitement; the others must have thought she had too much coffee again.

Though Squall had a lot on his mind – particularly Edea’s wellbeing, whoever Zemus was, and why Ultimecia of all people appeared to help Edea, Diabolos’ warning – he couldn’t deny that they had accomplished a lot today. It made him wonder if this world would summon even Sis, so that everyone he cared about would be together. Perhaps Selphie’s anticipation was infectious.

Squall crossed his arms and smirked as the entire Garden rumbled. “Look outside – you’re all in for a treat.”

New Character Skin: Adult Hope

Character abilities

Previous character updates:

Rydia

ULT: King and Queen of the Feymarch

Effect: Blink also deals damage upon hit

Her ULT is an original that summons both Leviathan and Asura together. Afterward, any enemies that attack an ally with Blink on take damage.

Golbez

ULT: Cosmic Ray

Effect: Forced weakness to Dark

His ULT name comes from his Dissidia 012 moveset. Afterward, enemies suffer a permanent forced weakness to the Dark element.

Raffaello (Swords) Melee non elemental damage, turn warp, self buffs, HP Regen

15: Memory Cut (Enemy cannot target Raffaello)

35: Aero Blade

EX: Timeless Power

LD: Sealed Destroyer (Changed BRV and HP attack, higher damage with HP cost)

FR: On Wings Aflame (with Joshua)

BT: High Speed Black Cloud

ULT: Nightmare Guardian (Effect: Transformation, extra damage)

Burst theme: “Battle with Raffaello,” a remix of “Battle on the Big Bridge” that plays during the Raffaello boss fight

Some of Raffaello's abilities, such as Aero Blade and High Speed Black Cloud, come from either his boss fight or his unique ability as a playable Buddy, where he wields a sword. Memory Cut is original and inflicts a debuff on the enemy where they cannot target Raffaello with any single target abilities. His EX, LD, and ULT refer to story events. His LD, when used, gives him new HP and BRV attacks that do more damage with an HP cost.

Overall, he is a melee non-elemental damage dealer with turn warping capabilities, self buffs, and party HP Regens. His ULT effect allows him to transform into the Destroyer, giving him extra damage.

Edea Kramer (Unique - Crests) Ice/holy magic dmg, ice/holy imperil, ice enchant, defense piercing, BRV reduction, EX recharge

15: Astral Punch

35: Sorceress Blizzaga

EX: Ice Strike

LD: Great Attractor

FR: Frigid Future (with Lilith)

BT: Maelstrom

ULT: Holy Judgment (Effect: BRV barrier after every EX usage)

Burst theme: “FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC,” the parade theme in Deling City

Alternate Skin: Her black dress with her hair down like in the ending cutscene and in flashbacks, and her fully masked appearance from her introduction

Edea's unique weapons are her back fan things, which I'll call "crests." Most of her abilities come from her various boss fights, though Ice Strike is her personal Limit Break when she's a playable guest. Her LD comes from Ultimecia's boss fight, though. For the FFVIII cast, most of them have an ULT that comes from one of the Guardian Forces that are associated with them or loosely associated - in Edea's case, she gets Alexander, who can be Drawn from her in one boss fight.

She's mainly an Ice and Holy mage with the associated imperils, and she also has a party Ice enchant. She's capable of piercing enemy defense values so she's great against high defense foes, while also reducing enemy BRV regardless of damage dealt. She can also recharge party EX gauges faster. Her ULT effect allows her to give a temporary BRV barrier on party members after every EX usage).

I wish "Premonition" went to Edea for her Burst theme, but Rinoa took it first. :(

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Idle Chatter II

Scene 1: New Transfer Students

(Selphie, Cinque, Deuce, Queen, Vivi, and Arc walk together through Balamb Garden’s second floor hallway)

CINQUE: Wow, Selphie! Was this place really your home and your school? It’s amazing!

QUEEN: I mean, it’s nice and all – but it shouldn’t really be that surprising for you, Cinque. Akademeia’s not that dissimilar.

DEUCE: Well, Akademeia doesn’t fly.

VIVI: I’m excited that this is our new home! Can you please show us around, Selphie?

SELPHIE: Of course! Y’know, this reminds me of when I first transferred to Balamb and Squall gave me a tour. Really takes me back – it’s so cool that I get to do the same for you guys now! It’s like you’re new transfers, too! So to start with, down these halls are all the classrooms.

VIVI: Miss Quistis and Miss Serah will love those, I bet! I’m excited to get to use them – I wonder what sorts of things we’ll be able to learn in a real classroom like you have here.

(Scene change – the tour has moved downstairs, around the main circuit)

SELPHIE: Down that way’s the cafeteria. The food here’s great! You gotta be quick, though – hot dogs are always the first thing to go. Zell’s always missing them.

ARC: Hot… dogs? Will our chefs even cook the same foods here as they did in your world?

DEUCE: Well, we should tell Ignis and Quina to follow Balamb’s recipes! Then we’ll get an authentic experience.

SELPHIE: Further down this way’s the infirmary. Back home, we had Dr. Kadowaki to look after us. I guess here all of our healers will take turns, huh? But my favorite place is the quad! It’s a really fun outdoor area where students go to relax. Remember how I told you guys I was part of the Garden Festival Committee? That’s where we’d put on our shows and performances!

DEUCE: Ooh, I can’t wait to play there! I saw the stage earlier. It’s so lovely!

CINQUE: And this way’s the dormitory? I’m so excited to get my own room again!

SELPHIE: Yeah, there’s plenty of room for all of us! But be careful going down to this next area. That’s the training center – some of the kids call it the monster lair, and for good reason!

VIVI: Monsters? Right in your home? Wow!

SELPHIE: It also gets locked up at night, but I’ve heard rumors about ‘secret meeting places’ there…

DEUCE: Ooh…

QUEEN: Sounds like plenty of opportunity for gossip.

ARC: Oh! This last section – a library? I am looking forward to seeing what kinds of books you have there.

VIVI: I see a lot of our friends in there… I didn’t expect to ever see a library so crowded!

SELPHIE: I guess we really do have a lot of bookworms in the group. Y’shtola, Shantotto, Serah, Minwu, Cid, Cid again, Arciela, Hope, Desch, Garnet, Lenna… I’ve never seen this library so full of people!

QUEEN: I’m sure Trey is in there, too. I’m also really looking forward to some time with the books.

ARC: I guess I’ll have to find somewhere quieter to read…

Scene 2: Choco-Boco-Mart!

Chocolina voiced by: Seiko Ueda

(Lann, Serah, Sazh, Lightning, Enna Kros, Chocobo, and Gilgamesh are walking together through the first floor lobby, where they encounter a strange woman in red with a chocobo plumage tail and hat, with sleeves that made her arms look like wings)

SERAH: Whoa! Wait a minute, is that Chocolina? When did she get here?

LIGHTNING: No idea. But she always did have a knack for showing up randomly.

LANN: Chocolina? Don’t you mean Tall Chocolatte?

CHOCOLINA: Welcome to my brand new Choco-Mart! It’s good to see you all again. Bet you’ve been waiting for me, huh? And I’d prefer if you called me Chocolina here, Lann.

LANN: How’d you even get here? Shouldn’t you be in Nine Wood Hills?

SERAH: Wait, you know Chocolina too?

SAZH: Who is this lady? Something about her seems familiar…

ENNA KROS: This isn’t that surprising. She always had a tendency to cross dimensions whenever she felt like it.

LIGHTNING: So she can cross through time and space even without being summoned… that goddess really gave you tons of power, huh?

GILGAMESH: A fellow dimensional traveler? Wow, she’s a choco-gal after my own heart!

LIGHTNING: What’re you even doing here, anyway?

CHOCOLINA: Well! Now you’ve all got a permanent base with plenty of space – perfect for setting up my new shop! I can sell you all sorts of materials, foodstuffs, late night snacks. Whatever you like! I know everyone’s getting a little peckish now.

SERAH: Wow, so you knew what’s been going on here all along? Amazing…

SAZH: Chocolina… you don’t mean…

CHOCOLINA: Oh, hold that thought, Sazh! The best is yet in store! Maybe even my store – I’ll pop on back to your worlds any time my choco-stock is running low, so give me a holler if you need! Maybe I’ll even get some supplies to help you personalize your fancy-schmancy new dorm rooms. Ooh, now that’s a million gil idea!

CHOCOBO: Kweh!

CHOCOLINA: And I love that you’ve got a chocobo fighting alongside you now! As you should – we’re the best party members you can find, anywhere! Guaranteed!

GILGAMESH: She’s got some great energy!

SERAH: You know, she’s kind of like a mercantile version of you, Gilgamesh. But instead of an obsession with swords, it’s all about her choco-mart.

ENNA KROS: She’ll surely be helpful to have around. I wonder if she’s bound by any of the same rules as me.

LANN: Wait! I just realized – we don’t even have gil here!

SAZH: Huh? We’ve found plenty. You just haven’t been saving.

LANN: Oh... guess not.

CHOCOLINA: Well… I suppose for my grand opening, I’ll do a mega choco-boco sale! I can’t wait to do business with all my favorite people again!

Scene 3: Lord of All Waters

(Rydia, Lunafreya, Firion, Yuffie, Garnet, Thancred, Hauyn are sitting together in the quad, around a table with the piece of Leviathan’s magicite)

LUNAFREYA: It sounds like it was a fearsome battle, facing Leviathan as you did. I am glad to hear that you prevailed, and that you are here with us now.

HAUYN: Thank you. It was due to everyone’s combined strength. I never knew Leviathan was so powerful! In my world, she was one of the Pleiad’s Seven, who wreaked havoc on the world under the servitude of the Demon Dyad… in other words, Lann and Reynn. But I had only heard the stories.

YUFFIE: Well, of course Leviathan’s powerful! He’s the guardian deity of Wutai, after all!

LUNAFREYA: She’s a capricious deity in my world. When I entreated her for her power, she nearly flooded all of Altissia.

GARNET: And that was a pilgrimage you had to do alone, correct? How horrifying… I too lack fond memories of Leviathan, despite his appearance in legends as a protective dragon god. Though perhaps I sought his powers for the wrong reason, at the time.

THANCRED: I know Leviathan as the Primal of the sahagin. A nasty folk, at times, as I am sure you are all aware. We call those who have been enslaved by his power ‘the Drowned.’ As you can imagine, it is not a pretty sight.

FIRION: We encountered Leviathan in the sea – it was quite the monster, known for swallowing entire ships. We even went inside its belly because it swallowed something we needed, and met our friend Ricard there.

YUFFIE: Man, no offense, but Leviathan sounds terrible in all your worlds.

RYDIA: Not in mine. Though I first met Leviathan when he attacked my ship, he was coming to find me. He brought me to the Feymarch and he raised me there. He’s very dear to me, like a father.

HAUYN: Sounds like you have many fond memories of him. Though Leviathan used to be pretty scary, Lann and Reynn got her to soften up. She was a big help in all their battles.

GARNET: You have our sincerest apologies for speaking of Leviathan as we did, Rydia.

RYDIA: You don’t have to worry, I know how they all seem so different in each world. I hope you’ll all get to meet my Leviathan one day – he’s even the king of the Feymarch, ruling alongside his queen, Asura!

YUFFIE: I don’t know who that is, but she sounds cool! Is she another sea serpent?

RYDIA: Well, no, actually… She looks nearly human.

THANCRED: Ah, so that’s how it is.

Scene 4: Supply and Demand

(Ciaran, Shirma, Ignis, Yuri, Layle, and Noctis are standing together in the fields outside of Balamb Garden)

CIARAN: You know, this’ll be perfect!

NOCTIS: Perfect for what?

CIARAN: Starting a farm! Now that everyone needs to eat real food again, and we can’t just summon it up with willpower anymore, we’re going to need to grow our own food. Chocolina’s market will just be enough to get us started.

IGNIS: I am in full agreement. Quina is perfectly at home in the kitchens, but they will not be able to provide sustenance for all of us forever. I will be helping, of course, but we will need fresh produce.

NOCTIS: Are you a farmer, Ciaran?

CIARAN: You bet I am – I came from a family of them back home. And I can tell you right now, this soil will be great. It’ll feel really good to till the fields again.

YURI: And we can get cows, goats, pigs… We’ll need all sorts of livestock.

NOCTIS: Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so fired up, Ciaran.

LAYLE: You two are such typical Clavats. Besides, won’t we need to stick around here permanently to have a farm? Balamb Garden can move.

IGNIS: That is true, but while it is good to have mobility perhaps it would behoove us to remain stationary most of the time.

SHIRMA: I will help as well! My aunt and I live on a farm back home. I’ve got plenty of experience in growing vegetables.

NOCTIS: I’ll do all the fishing necessary so we can get some great seafood dishes, too. Vanille and Noel can do the hunting, and Arciela the foraging.

LAYLE: Well, count me out – I hate farmwork.

SHIRMA: Hmm… your gravity powers would be quite helpful with moving around heavy equipment. We don’t have it yet, but I’m sure the machinists will help us build it all.

CIARAN: This is great! I can’t wait to get started!

LAYLE: How did I get stuck helping…?

Scene 5: Dark Messenger

(Zell, Prishe, Reynn, Papalymo, Braska, and King sit together at a table in the cafeteria, keeping the Diabolos magicite at a safe distance)

BRASKA: We don’t have Diabolos in my world. May I ask what he is like?

ZELL: He’s a real tough Guardian Force. We found him in a lamp that our headmaster gave to us. Sucked us into a whole different dimension and everything to battle us.

PRISHE: Ah, the Diabolos in my world does stuff with other dimensions too! In Vana’diel he’s what we call a Terrestrial Avatar, and the lord of a realm called Dynamis. Bit rough, but he took humanity’s side. Just a bit awkward about it, is all.

KING: Awkward?

PRISHE: Y’know, saving people by imprisoning them in a realm of dreams where they’re locked in eternal conflict. Stuff like that.

PAPALYMO: That’s not what I'd call… Oh, nevermind. I’ve heard tell of Diabolos as a deadly Voidsent, sealed away in a lost city for centuries. Certainly not a friendly fellow.

REYNN: He’s another one of the Pleiad’s Seven who served Lann and I. Just as destructive as the rest of ‘em, but loved slipping into people’s dreams to torture them.

ZELL: And he… served you?

REYNN: We kept him under control, I swear! But after we vanished from the world, he kinda became extra cunning and scary. When we came back, we sternly told him to stop.

BRASKA: ‘Sternly told him’? That was all it took?

REYNN: We were, um, extra stern. Might have involved hitting him really hard.

KING: He’s a Verboten Eidolon in my world, one of the many summoned for purposes of war. Though it’s a bit odd that he’s not particularly common in other worlds.

PAPALYMO: He seems to be as frightening as he looks in all of them.

BRASKA: I agree. Now that we have his magicite again, I must admit that I am quite relieved he has returned to being our protector, rather than a foe.

Scene 6: Mirrored Worlds of Light and Dark (requested by Mecho101)

(The Warrior of Light, Wol, and Mog [OO] are scouting the mountains outside of Balamb Garden when they run into Jack Garland)

WARRIOR OF LIGHT: Jack. It is unusual to see you traveling alone. Haven’t you decided to stay with us at Garden yet?

JACK: Nah. We’ll drop by sometimes when Astos and Neon complain about wanting a roof over their heads, though.

MOG: What brings you here, kupo?

JACK: (Pointing at Wol) I was looking for that guy. The one who lost control of his darkness.

WOL: And why’s that?

WARRIOR: As you know, Jack, that was the doing of Diabolos.

WOL: No, he’s right. I did lose control. And it wasn’t the first time. I was once caught in a web of lies of my own making and it made me fall to despair. And I lied to someone important to me.

JACK: You can learn to control that darkness, you know. That is, if you’re not afraid of losing your light, too.

WOL: Your offer sounds pretty suspicious.

WARRIOR: Jack can be trusted.

MOG: All of our warriors have light, Jack. Even you, kupo.

WOL: Your surname’s Garland, right? I knew someone with that name. And you remind me of him. The fallen knight.

JACK: Popular name for knights.

WOL: I’m betting yours is a similar story, huh.

WARRIOR: We know another warrior here by the name of Garland, who hails from my world. He was indeed once a heroic knight before he fell to darkness. You are sure to meet him eventually, Wol.

WOL: How do three different worlds have a man with a similar name and background?

MOG: Lots of worlds have similarities, kupo.

WOL: That answer’s not good enough for me. I got as far as I did by questioning things about my journey that everyone just accepted as fact. So I’m not about to stop now. The Blanks who kept quiet all died before they could fulfill the prophecy. 

JACK: I come from a world closely intertwined with our knight in shining armor here. Beyond that, I’ve got no idea.

WARRIOR: Is that so? The Garland I know did seem quite fixated on you.

WOL: You mean you never knew? Never thought to ask him?

WARRIOR: Should I have? I am content with what I know, and with my duty to fight in this cycle as I have countless times before. In fact, I take pride in this duty. Perhaps it is because this is my world.

WOL: Ugh… ( Pauses ) I don’t get it. So you’re from this world, yet Jack’s is related to yours?

JACK: Time loops complicate things. So do prophecies and the damn Lufenians.

MOG: I am still trying to understand it myself, kupo, but it seems some worlds may be closer to each other than others within the Interdimensional Rift. And some may be extra super close – close enough to influence other worlds! Tyro’s world or Enna Kros’s world are another example, kupo. I’ve been thinking of them as a ‘nexus’ of sorts.

WOL: And how do you know this?

MOG: I’m a spirit from the Rift, kupo!

WOL: Of course you are… Well, Palamecia’s a world that’s constantly shifting, too. One that was also caught in time loops thanks to a prophecy. I was a blank slate that woke up in that world, so who knows where I really come from.

WARRIOR: Perhaps you may learn the truth in this world.

WOL: I hope not. I better not find out I’m Jack’s brother or something – that’d be terrible.

JACK: Don’t get your hopes up, bro .

Scene 7: The Sorceress and the Lunarian

(Edea rests in an infirmary bed when Laguna arrives)

LAGUNA: Hi there, mind getting some visitors?

EDEA: Not at all. To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr. President?

LAGUNA: Ahh, Laguna is fine here. It’s nice to properly meet you – I know we didn’t really get the chance to talk when you came to Esthar.

EDEA: True. Seeing Dr. Odine had been my main intention back then. I apologize for not introducing myself.

LAGUNA: No, no. I, uh… came here to thank you, actually. Y’see, I…

EDEA: You’re Squall’s father.

LAGUNA: How did you know!?

EDEA: Ellone told me.

LAGUNA: I see, well… Thank you for raising him in my stead. If I only knew… No, I won’t make excuses. I would’ve been a lousy father. But it means a lot to meet you.

EDEA: In truth, I barely raised him myself. I took part in creating a military academy where my husband and I trained him and the other children to be mercenaries and killers. It is nothing you should be thanking me for.

LAGUNA: Maybe… But after Raine died, you took him in. And Ellone. And that’s something I should’ve been there to do. So you have my gratitude.

EDEA: He’s grown up to be a strong man. You should be proud. Does he know yet?

LAGUNA: I am proud. And… I’ve been a coward about it. But I think he knows by now.

EDEA: Of course he knows. Squall isn’t an idiot. What I meant is – does he know you are proud of him?

LAGUNA: Ah… It’s a conversation I’ve been meaning to have. I kinda worry that it isn't really my place. He doesn't need me.

(The doors slide open to reveal Golbez and Fusoya, who enter the room)

FUSOYA: Are we interrupting?

LAGUNA: Well, sorta…

GOLBEZ: I am sorry, Edea. But there is a conversation we need to have now that you are awake.

EDEA: I expect so. Zemus is familiar to you, isn’t he?

GOLBEZ: He once enslaved my mind, as he did yours. We did not know he had come to this world.

EDEA: I am sorry he did that to you. And I am sorry for wounding you, Golbez. I hope you have recovered.

GOLBEZ: I am recovering well, thank you. You have been through much worse of an ordeal. Is there anything you might have been able to glean of his plans?

EDEA: I’m sorry, but no. When he was in my mind, it was like I was lost in a sea of pure malice. He hates us all with every fiber of his being. Who is he?

FUSOYA: Zemus is a Lunarian, like I am – a sorcerer from the moon. He sought the eradication of humanity until the other Lunarians sealed him in a deep sleep, as the rest of us preferred to live in peace with the humans.

GOLBEZ: But he has terrible psychic powers. Even within the seal, his mind reached out. And it found me, as a young boy, forcing me to do evil deeds in his stead to accomplish his goals and free him.

LAGUNA: That sounds kind of like Sorceress Adel. We sealed her in orbit and she found ways of reaching out, too.

FUSOYA: Now that Zemus is in this world, we must remain ever vigilant. It is impossible to tell what he could be planning, or when he may strike again.

GOLBEZ: I knew this day would eventually come…

Character Abilities

Previous Character updates:

Fusoya

ULT: Moonlight Mark

Effect: Damage attacks also heal allies

I believe the name of this one came from Record Keeper. Any time he damages a foe, he also heals and batteries his allies.

Rubicante

ULT: Malebranche

Effect: Absorb elemental BRV damage

His ULT name is an original, which comes from the general name given to the demons in the Divine Comedy, from which the Four Archfiends and Golbez get their name. After using it, Rubicante then absorbs all elemental BRV damage. Though his cloak normally lets him absorb ice, I thought that might be too weak of an effect, so I let him absorb them all. :P

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: A Life Devoid of Honor

Goffard Gaffgarion ( Final Fantasy Tactics )

Voiced by: Tessho Genda

A veteran of the Fifty Years’ War who was disgraced for his use of barbaric tactics. Turning to life as a mercenary after years of battle achieved him little of note, he takes Ramza under his wing until it comes to light that Gaffgarion had been in Dycedarg Beoulve’s pocket all along. Though they came to blows, Gaffgarion earnestly sought for Ramza to understand his cynical worldview before he perished in battle.

RAMZA

Mustadio had been right. It truly was Lionel Castle that loomed in the distance, stronghold of Cardinal Delacroix. One of the hosts of the Lucavi.

“It beggars belief that the cardinal of all people would be summoned here,” said Agrias, standing alongside him in the fields surrounding the castle. The walls nestled up against a mountain not unlike the castle in Ivalice, easily defensible from invaders. The gate had been sealed shut as if ready for a siege, and it reminded Ramza of the time they had been the ones to penetrate its defenses. It was far from a fond memory. “Though I suppose anything is possible.”

“If it is the cardinal, we can only hope this world summoned him sans auracite,” Ramza said. “Then, perhaps, we need not worry.”

Mustadio scoffed. “Experience tells us that our adversaries find some way to empower themselves regardless. T’would be better to hope one of us summoned this castle rather than an old foe.”

“Would that we could be so fortunate,” Agrias responded. “Mustadio, you are certain you saw those Neo-Manikins gathering here?” It was his scouting mission that alerted them to the castle’s presence in the first place, and the second time that Neo-Manikins had been observed to gather in such large quantities. It necessitated a look.

“Lady Agrias, you wound me,” Mustadio said, dramatically holding a hand to his chest. “I’m sure of what I saw.”

“Checking status of master’s biological integrity,” said the hulking Construct 8. “Results: healthy. Corrective actions unneeded.”

“I meant it figuratively, big guy. Please don’t hurt Agrias.”

Two others traveled with them, Angeal and Cyan. Angeal gestured back the way they had come. “Should one of us head back to Garden for reinforcements? It’s best not to do something rash with these sorts of things.”

“This is the domain of a powerful man who was once our enemy,” said Ramza. “But there are others who may have summoned it here.” Including, potentially, the old knight who Ramza had once respected.

When they came to the gate, they found Manikin guards on the other side, silent and motionless, but others looked busy within the castle bailey. Distant snippets of conversation carried to them – a debate about monsters they'd encountered, an exclamation of surprise, small talk about the weather, even declarations of love. It seemed almost… normal, as they carried baskets of crystals across the bailey, along with weapons, tools, fibers, or lumber.

“These Neo-Manikins make a mockery of hume life,” said Agrias.

“No… I’m not sure it is a mockery,” said Mustadio. “They’re learning.”

“Can we call it learning if it is mere imitation?” Agrias asked. “Though I suppose you may be right. We cannot be sure.”

“Halt! Who goes there?” called a voice from above. When they all looked up to the top of the gate, they saw a Neo-Manikin of Yuffie with her hands on her hips. “You come before the lady of this castle. It is by my decree that outsiders are permitted to pass in or out. What is your purpose for traveling here?”

“Oh, don’t tell the real Yuffie about this,” Mustadio said, low enough so that the Manikin couldn’t hear. “It’d go right to her head.”

“We come to investigate this castle,” Ramza responded. “Its appearance is a concern of ours, as we may have a foe inside.”

“And why would we let those who cut us down by the hundreds – perhaps thousands – inside our home?” the Manikin responded. “What would stop you from slaughtering us all in pursuit of this singular foe?”

Ramza’s answer died in his throat. How could he blame them for thinking that?

“Thou art mistaken,” said Cyan. “We battle only in defense of our own lives.”

“Says the one who cannot die. We were simply in your way – there’s no denying it.”

“Urgh… I fear I would give offense should I mention that our foes were only their mindless cohorts,” said Cyan. “Though it would seem they are unaware of our recent plight.”

“We have always been sympathetic to your Dark Manikin brethren,” Agrias said to the Manikin. “Those we fought only to free them from the shackles of enemies with dastardly whims, who took advantage of their lack of hearts.”

The clatter of plate and chain mail alerted them to the approach of someone from behind. “It is useless to argue with these uncanny artifices.”

The voice chilled Ramza. He recognized it before he turned to look, the ringing of drawn steel from Agrias echoing in his ears.

“It’s you!” said Agrias.

“Gaffgarion,” said Ramza. The old knight appeared as if he hadn’t changed at all, with armor rusted in places after years of his hardened mercenary lifestyle, particularly corroded around his gauntlets. Ramza tried to keep his voice carefully measured. “I knew that seeing you here was not outside the realm of possibility. Though I must ask – why have you summoned the place where you once met your demise?”

“I summoned this place here, you say?” he asked. He did not seem fazed by Agrias’s sword pointed at him. “Perhaps that is precisely the reason. Until this moment, I assumed I was in one of the hells. Either there is something afoot, or you’ve also met your grave earlier than even I expected, boy.”

“Fortunately for you, you’re alive again and in a new world,” Mustadio told him with a look of distaste. “Quite unfortunate for us, though.”

“He is thine enemy, I take it?” said Cyan, following Agrias’s lead in drawing his katana.

“He is a Fell Knight who abandoned all honor and gave us up for coin,” said Ramza. Despite his charges, he still hadn’t drawn his own sword.

“You abandoned your honor?” Angeal asked. “Then what is even left?”

“What use is honor in a world ruled by gold and power?” Gaffgarion retorted, apparently at ease, but Ramza knew him well enough to know the mercenary would be ready for battle at a moment’s notice. It was as if he kept his blade sheathed only because Ramza did. “Ramza, my boy, it seems that once again you’ve surrounded yourself in a haze of lofty ideals, with companions bearing your fumid torches.” He sounded almost disappointed.

“Is that not an indication that others share my view?” Ramza asked. “That I am not alone, as you once tried to claim? I say those torches shed light, not smoke, and I bear it alongside them.”

“You who have cast aside your blood for notions of an unattainable romantic dream will always be an anomaly in Ivalice.”

“Well, good thing we’re not in Ivalice, then,” Mustadio replied. “Money and nobility are nonexistent here. But what you may not know is that we succeeded. We fought the Church and the Knights Templar and found its corruption at the source. The war has ended, and Ivalice has a new king.”

Delita. Ramza wished he could have stayed to support his friend. But Ivalice had stopped being safe for them. He wished he could be sure Delita’s reign would be a peaceful one.

“And with Ovelia at his side as queen,” Agrias said. “The princess you once tried to murder. Together, they will stop at nothing to guide Ivalice into a new era.”

“What a foul knave!” Cyan exclaimed. “To think thou wouldst commit such underhanded tactics!”

“We stopped Dycedarg as well,” Ramza informed Gaffgarion. “If anything went up in smoke, it was his schemes.”

Gaffgarion scoffed. “No matter what you do to upend the plot at its roots, yet more corruption would just quicken in the hole you left behind. Is that not so even here? These facsimiles in Lionel have already established their own balance of power. Is that not an indication? Even if money and nobility are as nonexistent as you claim? Corruption is a cancer, aye – but it is natural.”

“Mustadio mentioned how this world has brought you back to life,” said Angeal. “But has it, really? To me you seem like a man with nothing to live for. Someone without the courage to change what he sees is wrong with the world.”

“I put my head down and ensure I’m on the winning side,” Gaffgarion said to Angeal with a grunt. “Where goes coin and clout, so do I – it is the only way to survive in a world such as ours. It may be different where you hail from, but in Ivalice, survival is a path paved in the blood of the trampled. And so far, I see no difference here. Who do you subjugate so that fearsome sword on your back scarcely sees direct battle, with its lack of scrapes and scuffs? What’s it for, then?”

“This sword’s a symbol of something I don’t believe you’d ever understand,” Angeal said, his voice cold.

“Thou dost journey on the path of a craven,” Cyan spat. “And if the bloodshed is of thine own making, then I say that is no path of survival at all.”

“My friends, please disregard his words,” Ramza said, holding his hand out. This had gone on long enough. “Gaffgarion means to goad you into battle in a feeble attempt to prove his words true.”

“Is that wisdom I hear in your words, boy, or coy misdirection?” Gaffgarion asked. “Either way, it seems you’ve grown. I acknowledge that you seem to have survived Ivalice at its dirtiest and foulest, but what is next for you? How do you expect to stay above the tide of blood?”

Ramza shook his head. “I have no answer for you, Gaffgarion – despite my successes I know not what the future brings. But rather than trying to drag us down into the muck with you, why don’t you join us in the light? Perhaps one day you may understand my views as you tried to teach me yours.”

Gaffgarion responded with a bellowing laugh. “Even though we traded blows – though you emerged the victor, even! – you persist in extending the hand of friendship. That’s an admirable trait, my boy. At least, in fairy tales.”

“How dare you?” said Agrias. “Ramza affords you more grace than you deserve, cur.”

“Are you all quite done down there?” the Yuffie Manikin called from above. “As amusing as this is, I’ll not have you debating on my doorstep. Begone from here – this is our castle. We want nothing to do with you people!”

“As the lady of the castle demands,” said Gaffgarion with a sardonic bow that he gave without taking his eyes off Ramza. “We commoners of the muck know our lot in life.”

“Their lives are new,” said Ramza, gesturing toward the Manikins. “They do not know any better. We can teach them and build a peaceful realm with our own hands.”

“Not with me,” said Gaffgarion, shaking his head. “Not with me. My hands are too bloody for this fresh new world – all I would do is sully it. You go your way and I will go mine. Perhaps I will find a new master, though one less cruel.”

Ramza watched him go as he departed with his companions in the opposite direction. Despite everything, he quietly wished Gaffgarion the best.

“I’m surprised you offered to let him come with us, Ramza,” said Mustadio, once Balamb Garden came back into view. “I don’t think I could ever trust that conniving bastard.”

Ramza didn’t think of his former employer as a conniver. Just a rusted blade wielded by those higher than him. “Who knows? We may see him again one day, and he could change. Others in this world have.”

“I fear you give him too much credit, but whatever you may decide to do about him, I would support it,” said Agrias.

“He was right about one thing, though,” said Angeal. “We’ll have to offer the Neo-Manikins our hand of friendship. And like you said – we’ll teach them.”

“As dishonorable as Gaffgarion is, I fear he may join forces with the likes of Kefka,” said Cyan, scowling. “Let us hope they never come to meet.”

Ramza shook his head, remembering his service as a mercenary – the darkest time of his life, yet perhaps the most educational. Today felt like a failure in some ways, but he could learn from it. “Though he lacks honor, Gaffgarion would not ally with such a monster. There are some lines that I truly believe even he would not cross. Despite everything he has done, I have hopes that one day I will reach him.”

Character abilities

Previous character updates:

Kain

ULT: Cross Slash Prime

Effect: Follow-up damage increase

Kain's ULT is another Band ability from The After Years that he does with Ceodore after his true identity is revealed. After use, it enhances all of his follow-up attacks.

Porom 

FR: Prodigious Healing (with Alphinaud)

BT: Pure White Magic

ULT: Break Breaker (Effect: Doublecast)

Burst theme: “Palom and Porom,” the DS version

Porom gets her FR, BT, and ULT update! Both Pure White Magic and Break Breaker are Band abilities from The After Years. After using her ULT, she double casts all of her abilities aside from her Burst and FR.

Gaffgarion (Greatswords) Dark melee damage, HP drain, BRV to zero, dark/melee imperil

15: Duskblade

35: Sanguine Sword

EX: Shadowblade

LD: Abyssal Crush

FR: Cold Precision (with Tseng)

BT: Infernal Sacrifice

ULT: Cimmerian Edge (Effect: When striking native dark weakness, attack twice)

Burst theme: “Backfire,” a battle theme that plays in the last battle against Gaffgarion

Gaffgarion only gets a couple abilities with his unique Fell Knight class - certainly not enough for a full moveset - so I gave him some from the Dark Knight class available to everyone else (with his BT being a slightly modified one). His ULT is a Brave Exvius Soul Burst ability.

He is a Dark elemental melee attacker who can drain HP for healing, reduce enemy BRV to zero, and imperil enemies for both Dark damage and melee damage. With his ULT effect, if he strikes an enemy that is natively weak to the Dark element (meaning they don't need an Imperil to deal weakness damage), he will execute his ability twice.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: The Hermit’s Wisdom

Doga ( Final Fantasy III )

Voiced by: Naoki Tatsuta

A powerful wizard and student of the great magus Noah alongside Unei and Xande. Gifted with mastery of magic after his master’s passing, Doga lives as a recluse until he decides to help the Warriors of Light defeat his former peer, Xande. He has a close friendship with the moogles.

STRAGO

His back ached. His feet ached. His knees ached. Oh, how he had enjoyed the reprieve this world had given him from the woes of aging. If anyone cared to hear his opinion on the matter, he would tell them the world was just fine the way it was before, thank you very much, and that those young gods should change things back, wherever they were now. So he found himself a little more curmudgeonly than usual when he had gone on this monster hunt with some of the others, and when he got separated from them he wasn’t sure if they were in too much of a fuss to find him again.

Walking through a stony mountain pass, he discovered a somewhat hunched figure in a hooded red cloak and robes, stroking his impressive mustache as he mumbled something at the rock wall in front of him.

“Hello there,” Strago called out as he approached. Oh, why couldn’t he remember this man’s name? He felt certain he should at least know the older folk of the party. Or perhaps this one was new. He couldn’t keep track anymore. “Did you lose the others?”

“Lose anyone? Oh, no,” the other man replied. “Every person I know appears to be in order. Though there are not many people I really know anymore. What I have lost is my grotto.”

“Eh?” said Strago, scratching his brow. “How do you go about losing a whole grotto?”

“Oh, you know how things are,” he replied.

Ah, so he couldn’t have been new, if he was already familiar with the way things shifted around here. “Does finding it involve looking at this rock wall?” Strago asked, after a moment of looking at the mountainside with him.

The other old man pointed toward the ground. “See that little hole down there? It appears to be the entrance to a cave. I believe I must miniaturize myself to enter.”

Strago hummed. “Is that so? I don’t believe I’m familiar with that sort of spell, I am sad to say. My expertise is in monster spells – blue magic.”

“Oh, very good, very good,” the man mumbled back. He still appeared rather distracted; Strago wasn’t sure if the man heard him.

“What was your name, again?” Strago asked, a little louder. “You have my deepest apologies – I appear to have forgotten!”

“Oh, not to worry,” said the man. “I am the magus, Doga. There are a great many people in this world, you can’t be expected to remember them all.”

“That’s what I keep trying to tell them!” said Strago. “Thank you, friend.”

Doga tapped the stone in front of him with the head of his staff. “I apologize, but I must continue my search now. Good day to you.”

“And to you,” Strago said. Doga waved his staff and in a whirl of magic, reduced himself to a fraction of his height to disappear into the tiny cave entrance. “My word! What a wonderful display of magic.”

Strago found the others again just in time for them to defeat the monstrous spider they’d been hunting, further down the path where he had run into Doga. He wondered if Doga must have just missed them.

“Oh, I was hoping to find this monster first!” said Strago. “Just to show it the what-for!”

“There you are, Strago,” said Aria, spotting him first. “We were worried about you.”

“We had begun to assume the worst when you hadn’t shown up again,” said Leonora, frowning. “Please be careful when you go wandering off!”

Strago was pleased to hear they didn’t just forget about him, but he couldn’t just let them know that. “Oh, no need to fuss about little old me. I can handle myself!”

“You do not have need of healing, I trust?” said Minwu.

“I am doing just fine, thank you for asking!” said Strago.

“Ugh, look at him preen under their attention,” said Kuja. “I am certain the old coot wandered off on purpose.”

Strago shook his fist at Kuja. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that!”

“Too bad we didn’t bring Relm along,” said the Onion Knight, his lips quirked into a smile.

“What, you think I need a babysitter?” Strago groused. “Honestly, I am sure none of you ever treat Doga this way!”

Luneth and the Onion Knight looked at each other in surprise, then back to Strago. “Wait, did you just say Doga? You met Doga?” Luneth asked.

Strago crossed his arms. “Eh? Of course I did! We old folks can go exploring on our own every so often without supervision, I’ll have you know!”

“Strago, Doga isn’t a member of our party,” said the Onion Knight. “We didn’t even know he joined us in this world!”

“Ahh, is that so?” said Strago, tilting his head as he stroked his beard, trying to remember. “You know, I thought he looked unfamiliar. Glad that my memory isn’t failing me yet!”

“Um…” said Leonora, but he suspected she was too polite to say what she was thinking, and didn’t say anything more.

“Is this ‘Doga’ from your worlds?” Minwu asked Luneth and the Onion Knight.

“Yes,” said the Onion Knight, turning away from the bright sunlight to look back through the mountain pass, from which Strago came. “He’s a powerful mage – one of the former students of the Archmagus Noah, just like Xande. Strago, can you show us where you met him?”

“Down into that tiny hole?” said Kuja, sneering at the cave entrance Doga had disappeared into earlier. “You cannot expect me to debase myself by squeezing in there.”

“Does anyone here know the Mini spell?” Luneth asked. 

“Why would I know such a useless spell?” said Kuja, with an upturned nose.

“I know it,” said Leonora, raising her long sleeves. “Don’t be silly, Kuja. It certainly has its uses!”

“I can cast it as well,” said Minwu.

“That Doga could use it, too,” said Strago. “So surely it must be a respectable sort of magic!”

“Doga’s the master of all kinds of powerful magic,” said the Onion Knight. “That was the gift he received from Noah.”

“Whereas Xande received the gift of mortality…” Leonora mused. “When the two are compared side by side, I think I can see why Xande felt he had been disrespected by his master.”

“And yet, I believe a shortened life makes you appreciate the value of everything in it much more,” said Aria.

“That can be seen even here, in this world,” said Minwu. “As we are losing the protections that made us all immortal… the little pleasures of life are returning to us. The taste of a warm meal, a dreamless sleep, the reward of a breathtaking view after the struggle of the climb.”

“Yes, yes,” said Kuja, waving his hand at them. “So make us smaller before I change my mind.”

Minwu cast the spell on Kuja first, then made his way to the others. Leonora smiled at Strago before casting it on him. “Okay, Strago!” she said. “I hope you are ready.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said, and then the world stretched far beyond his reach as he found himself closer to the ground. He stretched out his back until a jolt of pain rattled his bones. “Ah… I suppose it was just a feeble hope that my aches and pains would reduce, too.”

“Hmm, I’m sorry,” said Leonora, shrinking down at his side. “I’m afraid the spell doesn’t work that way.”

“This master of magic better be worth finding,” said Kuja. “I have never felt so humiliated in my life. I feel like an insect.”

After passing into the cave, they realized they would be forced to keep their current sizes because the tunnels were far too small to accommodate their normal heights. Strago just hoped they didn’t run into any monsters that would be extra terrifying in their current forms. A few of them cast mage lights to guide their way, but every shadow felt particularly threatening.

“This is delightful,” said Aria, looking around at the tunnel. “I believe we are even smaller than the Lillikin forms of Hauyn and the others!”

“Without a point of comparison, it feels like we’re in any other cave,” said the Onion Knight. “Regardless of size. It would be different if we saw an animal or something.”

“There’s a Manikin ahead,” said Minwu, pointing further down the tunnel. “I do not recognize him.”

“Ah, that’s Doga!” said Luneth. Even the Manikin had been shrunk down to their size; Strago found this whole ordeal a little less exciting than he would have expected. “Hey there! Have you seen, uh, the other Doga?”

“As a matter of fact, I have,” said the Manikin. “How strange! So many new strangers in my cave in one day, one of which looked like me. I must apologize – I am not very used to visitors.”

“The other Doga lived on his own, too,” said the Onion Knight. “He even protected his manor in a whirlwind to deter visitors – all except the moogles, of course.”

“Ah, a magical whirlwind?” said the Manikin. “What a novel idea. Please, don’t let me hold you. Go on and search for your friend – but beware, there are some deadly serpents that live within this cave.”

“Thank you very much!” said Leonora, bowing deeply to him. “Please be safe, yourself. Monsters have been known to attack Neo-Manikins like you.”

“Oh, my dear, there is no need to worry for me,” he responded. “I have only just awoken, but I feel my body just brimming with magical power!”

“Well, if you’ve only just become sentient, no wonder you’re not used to visitors,” Kuja said, rolling his eyes. “Shall we continue on, then?”

True to the Manikin’s word, a snake with brown and green scales appeared down the next tunnel, hissing from the moment it saw them, yellow eyes aglow. Fangs larger than the Onion Knight’s sword dripped with venom as it prepared to strike. If they were their normal sizes, it likely would have fled without a fight.

Luneth went on the attack first, swiping faster than the snake could, but his axes bounced harmlessly off its scales. The snake struck blindingly fast but its head repelled off of a barrier hastily conjured by Aria. Kuja blasted it with a surge of holy magic from below and Strago conjured a hail of needles, making the serpent hiss and cower away until it fell to the ground with final twitches before fading away.

“Don’t you know, Luneth?” the Onion Knight reprimanded him. “Magic is the way to go when we’re smaller!”

Luneth eyed the spot where the snake faded away as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah…”

“While you fought, I saw a figure in a robe of red and orange further down this path,” said Minwu. “Let us hurry, and we may catch up to him.”

“I’ve had enough of this already,” said Kuja, scowling. “Even pests like that serpent believe they can stand up to me like this.”

Strago laughed into his hand. “Oho! Kuja, I think you would benefit from this new perspective, wouldn’t you say?”

“How did we keep missing him?” Luneth asked, once they made it outside of the cave through an equally small exit on the other side. “He’s an old man! He can’t have gone that far!”

“Perhaps he’s as spry as I am!” said Strago, trying not to take offense to his comment.

A shadow passed over them, and when Strago looked up, his eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he recognized the giant moogle floating above them. “M-M-Mog!?”

“Kupopo!? How did you all get so tiny?” Mog asked, floating down to look at them more closely.

Echo the fairy floated next to him. “Oh, wow! You’re all my size now!” She descended to their level and danced in circles around Leonora and Aria. “It’s like you’re all little fairies too!”

“Minwu, end this spell at once,” Kuja ordered.

Before he could, the ground rumbled as something enormous and heavy approached them – a tower of red and orange. Strago prepared for a fight until he realized it was the same man he had met earlier – Doga.

“Oh, look at this. A moogle!” said Doga. “How fortuitous. Might you know where my grotto has gone, young one?”

“Uh, kupo?” said Mog. “I don’t know where there are any grottoes. Are you a new ally, kupo?”

“Doga, down here!” Luneth called, jumping up and waving.

“What’s this?” Doga asked, peering down at them. His hood shadowed most of his face. “Did a monster cast this curse upon you?”

“No, not at all,” said Minwu, waving his staff. All of them turned back to their normal sizes – with the exception of Kuja. “Ah, this is better.”

“What is the meaning of this!?” Kuja exclaimed, floating up to Minwu’s eye level. “Change me back this instant!”

“My sincerest apologies,” said Minwu. “But I appear to have depleted my mana.”

"You and I both know that isn't true!" Kuja exclaimed. "Your magical reserves don't hold a candle to mine, but I know you're not exhausted!"

Leonora hugged her staff. “Um, I can…”

“Leonora, do not overexert yourself,” Minwu said. “You need rest as well.”

Strago turned away from that growing fiasco to speak with Doga. “My apologies for earlier,” he said. “I’d thought you were part of our group already. You should have said something – we could help you find your grotto!”

The Onion Knight readjusted his helm before speaking. “Doga, it’s good to see you here. I’m not sure we’ll find your grotto, though – right now, we’re in a different world.”

“Ah, is that so?” said Doga. “Well, perhaps I will take you up on your offer to help me find it. What’s your name?” he asked Strago.

“I am Strago Magus, Blue Mage of Thamasa,” said Strago, with a flare of his cape. “And I will certainly not forget your name after this brouhaha!”

“I look forward to traveling alongside your party again, Luneth – and my dear Onion Knight,” Doga said, turning away. “Now, to continue my search…”

Luneth gaped. “Wait, does he…”

“...Know us both?” the Onion Knight finished, equally stunned. “Wait, Doga!”

“Now that is mystifying,” said Aria, clasping her hands together. “Do you think he would explain?”

“Doga! How do you know us?” Luneth said, following after Doga, but the old man hummed, as if ignoring him.

Strago turned back to the others when he heard an explosive burst of magic. “I needn’t remind you that my magical prowess is no less diminished with this size!” Kuja yelled as he pursued Minwu, still just as tiny. “Minwu!”

Leonora frowned, her eyes soft with worry. “Oh, I do hope Minwu knows what he is doing,” she said. “And that he is not just antagonizing Kuja… But Kuja seems to have forgotten about me, hasn’t he?”

“Perhaps you should be thankful for that, lass,” Strago advised.

“I wonder if it’s a matter of pride, kupo,” said Mog.

“Come on, Kuja!” Echo called. “Being the same size as me isn’t so bad!”

DOGA

Doga hung at the rear of their traveling party after the Onion Knight and Luneth eventually tired of peppering him with questions that he wouldn’t answer. They would find out on their own time.

When the others walked ahead, a figure flashed in front of him – red-eyed and heavily muscled, with silver hair and an ornate staff. Doga recognized his fellow student at once. “Xande,” he said. “Those boys told me that you had been summoned here as well.”

Xande didn’t attack. Didn’t so much as sneer at him with hatred or malice. “Did my will reach you, within the Spirit?” he asked.

“That place I have been pulled away from, to be summoned here?” Doga asked. “If it did, I have no memory of it. Perhaps my soul has been washed clean of its experience in the afterlife.”

“To think you would be summoned here as well,” said Xande, crossing his arms. “And Unei?”

“I don’t know if she has arrived here,” Doga admitted. “Even if she did, you know her. She would be dreaming away.”

Xande turned away from him. “We are not done yet,” he said. “Rest assured, I will make you understand Noah’s folly.”

He vanished just as swiftly as he arrived, and Doga stared at the place where he had stood. “Perhaps one day you will, old friend.”

Character abilities

Previous character updates:

Ursula

ULT: Delta Evolution

Effect: Break will also delay foe 1 additional turn

Ursula's ULT is, like many of the others, another Band ability - in this case, a combination attack with Ceodore and Luca. It has the benefit of delaying an enemy 1 additional turn every time she breaks her foe.

Leonora

ULT: Dualcast Tri-Disaster

Effect: When below Max BRV, deal rainbow damage

Tri-Disaster is a Band ability she uses with Palom and Rydia, in which they all combine their black magic together. The only addition is that she dualcasts it, since she's one of the Dualcast users of the game. After use, any time she has less than Max BRV she will deal rainbow damage.

Doga (Staff) Fire magic damage, Fire enchant/imperil, offensive auras, party linked attacker, Petrify

15: Flare

35: Firaga

EX: Clone’s Breakga

LD: Dualcast Shadowflare

FR: Sagacious Teachings (with Fusoya)

BT: Master of Magic

ULT: Monstrous Magus (Effect: Maintained transformation, stronger attacks)

Burst theme: “Doga and Unei/Now I Know the Truth”

When he joins as a guest party member in game, he sometimes casts Flare and Firaga in battle. His EX comes from one of the Doga's Clone enemies, so the animation might involve him casting Breakga alongside one of his clones. I cannot find in my notes where I got the name for his LD, so it is probably original, like his Burst and ULT names.

He is mainly a fire mage, packaged with the matching enchant/imperil. He also has some offensive party auras as well as being a linked attacker, since his function as a guest is to follow up on the party's attacks. With his EX, he can inflict the Petrify status, which is an instant break and turn deletion packed into one debuff. After using his ULT, he will transform into his monstrous boss form.

As a little fun fact, his Burst theme is my absolute favorite song in the entire franchise (though I think the version from XIV is my personal favorite rendition of it).

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: The Aroma of Flowers and Rainbows

Tama and Serafie ( World of Final Fantasy )

Tama voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu

Serafie voiced by: Eri Kitamura

Tama: A fox-like Mirage and trusty navigator to Lann and Reynn. Bearing a multitude of strange and unusual powers, she supports the twins on their journey to restore peace to Grymoire. Upbeat and perky, she’s good at letting a joke run its course.

Serafie: A pixie Mirage who manages the twins’ Prisms and knows all sorts of things. Queen of gossip and rumors, she’s otherwise too laid back to fuss over much. She and Tama go way back with Enna Kros – even before the latter’s days of godhood.

REYNN

Reynn kicked her legs as she lounged on a bench in the quad, stretching her arms back to bask in as much sunlight as she could. Balamb Garden was wonderful as their new home – spacious, cool, and with tons of places to explore or relax. In some ways, it even reminded her of Nine Wood Hills. Most of all, it just felt good to be a Jiant again. She wasn’t sure if anything could spoil her mood right now.

“ Aaiiiieeeeeeeeee ! Don’t eat the-me!”

She jumped up at the shrieking sound, just barely catching the sight of a blur of white fur flying by. Magic rent the air in front of the quad stage and a portal opened up – tall and with a familiar glyph, rather than a Torsion. The furry blob stopped long enough for Reynn to recognize it before it disappeared into the portal.

“Tama!” Reynn exclaimed, too shocked to call out anything else.

Quina bounded into the quad, looking around hungrily with their tongue flapping. “Wha? Where yummy go!?”

Red XIII had been dozing in the sun off in the grass, but he opened his eye when Quina passed. “Were you hunting that fox creature?” he asked, without lifting his head from his paws.

Sol came running out behind Quina. “C’mon, Quina – that thing was totally talking. We can’t eat things that talk to us!”

Reynn jumped to her feet and stood in front of Quina, crossing her hands together to block their path. “No, no! You can’t eat Tama – she’s a friend!”

Quina looked at her with something that looked a bit like disappointment – she couldn’t really tell. “I no can eat? Big shame… friend look tasty. Why Reynn have tasty friend?”

“I, er… what?” Reynn sputtered out.

“Tama have tail gummies,” said Quina, leaning forward excitedly. “I can eat tail gummies, yes?”

Reynn was about to loudly protest eating any part of Tama, but then she thought about it. “You mean… the stars on her tail? You think they’re gummies? I, uh, never thought to ask what they were made of, now that you mention it.” She shook her head, dismissing that train of thought. “You’d have to ask her first!”

“O-K,” said Quina. They pointed ahead at the Gate with its swirling energy. “I go in there now.”

“What is that thing, anyway?” Sol asked, gesturing to the Gate.

The Gate shifted and then abruptly shrunk in size the moment Quina took a step closer. Red XIII stood up and plodded over to them to examine it closer, sniffing the air curiously.

“It’s a Gate,” Reynn said. “Tama opened them for us, and Lann and I used them to get around Grymoire. Usually they bring us to Nine Wood Hills, but… I don’t know where they’d go in this world. Either way, I wanna go inside and find Tama. She’s a good friend.”

Enna Kros walked out onto the quad from inside the school. “That Gate does indeed lead to Nine Wood Hills. But is it the real one, I wonder? In all likelihood you’ll still be in this world, but we won’t know until we go in, will we?”

Quina, who had up until this point shown remarkably more constraint than usual, went through the rapidly shrinking gate without another word. She was starting to think the gourmand had barely any sense of self-preservation.

“Ack! We gotta go before they try to eat Tama! Or parts of Tama!” said Reynn. Red XIII beat her to it, then Reynn followed right on his tail, with Sol and then Enna Kros taking up the rear.

When the light faded and Reynn opened her eyes again, she found herself in the breathtakingly familiar Sylver Park, with its lush greenery and water garden. Even the flowers smelled the same. She gasped as she took in the sight, smiling and waving her arms. It made her realize she may have been more homesick than she thought. “Wow, it really is Nine Wood Hills! Ha, Lann and Wyn have got to see this.”

“Hm, I’m afraid it isn’t the genuine article,” said Enna Kros, striding out of the Gate behind her. “Just a recreation, like everything else.”

“Oh. Well, it’s still nice to see it,” she said, shrugging. She hadn’t bothered to get her hopes up; questioning Enna Kros, who created Grymoire in the first place, would be pointless. Tama was good, but not that good. “Besides, the Nine Wood Hills we know is an illusionary copy of the original, isn't it? C’mon, follow me to Plaza 99! Looks like Quina’s heading there.”

“Wait, is that Edward?” Red XIII asked, nose pointed toward the plaza. On the path there, they found Edward playing his harp with an audience that consisted of Serafie – and a moment later, Reynn spotted Tama hiding between his legs. He looked perfectly at home sitting on a mossy boulder, the gentle notes of his music echoing through the mostly empty garden. It sounded almost surreal.

“Tama! Serafie!” Reynn called out, running over to them. She felt a little bad breaking the spell, but she couldn't hide her excitement over seeing them. “Wow, you’re both here!”

“Of course we are,” said Serafie, in her usual drawl. The pixie yawned. “Were you expecting anything different?”

“We’re not in our world anymore,” Reynn said. “So… yes, kinda.”

Serafie took a moment to digest that information. “Oh. Sure.”

“How’d you get here, Edward?” Sol asked. "You are our Edward, right? Not some copy living in this world?"

“Well, I was playing back at Garden earlier when this wondrous sylph appeared,” Edward explained. “She seems to adore it so she brought me here to continue playing. I quite enjoy their company. And don't you worry, I am the same Edward you know from the World of Respite.”

“Pixie, not sylph,” Serafie corrected him. “What can I say? His voice is like silk.”

“That the-scary one isn’t with you, are they?” Tama asked, quivering from behind Edward.

“Quina is here, but they know they can’t eat you now,” said Red XIII. He looked toward Quina, who approached and then fixed their eyes on Serafie. “Right, Quina?”

“I allowed to eat bug?” they asked, arms swinging as if raring to start eating at any moment. Their tongue lolled - Reynn was just thankful they weren't a drooler. That would get messy fast.

Edward laughed, his fingers pausing on the strings. “Sorry, Quina – Serafie’s not a bug, and she’s not for eating, either. She’s a lovely little pixie friend of Reynn’s.”

“Yeah, I’d rather you didn’t,” said Serafie, who looked rather unconcerned about the whole thing. “I get indigestion sometimes. So you’d probably get it from me.”

“That’s not how that the-works,” said Tama, floating out from behind Edward with a scowl. “Indigestion is not the-contagious!”

“Can Quina even get stomach aches?” Sol asked, scratching his head. “I’ve seen them eat all kinds of things! Stuff I didn’t think you could even eat!”

“As long as you no rotten,” said Quina. “And you no look rotten. So I can have taste?”

“Ugh,” said Serafie, groaning in full resignation of her fate. “If you must. Goodbye, cruel world…”

“Yes, eat the-Serafie!” Tama exclaimed. “Just the-stay away from me. Even though I would taste the-wonderful, like buttercream and warm hugs. But you’re the-not gonna get the chance!”

“What do warm hugs taste like?” Sol asked. “Now I’m a little curious…”

“Ah, this reminds me of home,” said Enna Kros, crossing her arms and smiling.

“Anyway,” said Reynn, before the tangent could go off the rails even further. “Tama, how’d you make a Gate, anyway? Most people use Torsions to get around this world.”

“The-Torsions?” Tama asked. “Oh. I guess I can’t make the-Gates anymore, then.”

“Huh? That’s it?” Reynn asked. She slumped over. “Oh, that would’ve been so convenient for getting around.”

“Now that she knows about Torsions, she can’t make Gates anymore,” said Enna Kros. “Even Tama is bound by some laws, it seems. But really, Torsions are just fine for getting around, too. Not to mention the Garden. I wouldn’t worry.”

“Before you arrived, Serafie was telling me about all the ways she helped you in your adventures,” said Edward. “She helped you with all the ‘Mirages’ you captured?”

“Yeah!” said Reynn. “Hey, Serafie – can we get them back so we can summon them in this world again?”

“None of ‘em are here,” said Serafie. “So no. Sorry.”

Reynn frowned. “Uh… Well, then how about you, Tama? We’ve been worried about how we can die lately in this world. Can you save our souls again like you did back home?”

“Also the-no,” said Tama.

“You can make those Gates, hold Mirages, and save their souls from death?” said Red XIII, tail flicking with interest. “You are more powerful than you look.”

“I am the-pretty big deal, yeah,” said Tama. “But if you say the-things are different in this world, then I can’t do all that anymore.”

“So if you can’t do any of that, what can you do?” Reynn asked.

“If you find stuff on my head again, you can help yourself to it,” Serafie suggested. Reynn was about to tell her that wasn’t as helpful as she thought it was, but Sol jumped in front of her.

“Whoa,” said Sol. “Stuff just shows up on your head?”

“Yeah,” said Serafie. “Sometimes.”

“We should head back to Garden before the Gate closes all the way,” said Enna Kros. “Don’t want to miss our chance. Tama, Serafie, why don’t you two come with us? We could use your help in saving this world and the people in it.”

“Saving the world, huh?” said Serafie. “Again? Well… sure, I guess you can count me in.”

“We can help the-fight your enemies!” said Tama. “Serafie will try to the-slack off, but I won’t let her.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Reynn, grabbing Tama out of the air and hugging her close. “I don’t just appreciate you for your navigator abilities, Tama. I really did miss you!”

“Aww, I the-missed you too, Reynn! Even idiot Lann!”

“I’ll keep playing for you whenever you like,” said Edward. “And we’ve got plenty of musicians in our party – perhaps you can sing for us, Serafie, like you mentioned earlier.”

“Me? Sing?” said Serafie. “Oh, maybe if I go full diva…”

“Anyway,” said Enna Kros. “Before we head back, there’s just one thing I think we should bring along with us. Something that we’ve been missing.”

“Oh?” said Red XIII. “What could a god possibly have need of?”

“Nine Bean Coffee, of course,” she replied. “Balamb Garden is seriously lacking in cafe options.”

Reynn drew back, surprised. “Eh? The whole cafe!? Don’t your rules, er, prohibit that sort of thing?”

Enna Kros turned and faced Reynn head on with such a penetrating, threatening stare that Reynn felt a sudden cold breeze gusting through the park. “No one has to know. This time.”

Reynn gaped. She had to be kidding. “Wait, so you can just break them if it’s convenient for you? Don’t tell me those rules you’re always going on about are just arbitrary!”

“Of course not,” she replied. “But many worlds are still unaware of the wonders of coffee. We can bring that to them.”

“Coffee just fine,” said Quina. “I bake yummies for cafe! But I no going between cafe and cafeteria at same time. Someone else will work cafe.”

Reynn sighed. “Lann worked as a barista back home. I guess I gotta help him out, huh? It’ll probably be way busier than it was at Nine Wood Hills…”

“Time to go back?” Red XIII asked, gesturing with his nose toward the Gate.

“Yes, let us return before time runs out,” said Edward.

“You better not have any other the-friends who want to eat me!” said Tama, drifting through the Gate. “I’ll have the-words for them if so!”

“I saw lots of people when I went to go pick up Edward,” said Serafie. “Well… Looked like lots of cool stuff there, I guess.”

Reynn glanced back at Enna Kros, who had started heading toward Nine Bean Coffee without any more hesitation. It’d be nice to have the coffee shop back, she thought, but nothing beat reuniting with friends. When she saw Quina jump back through the Gate, Reynn realized she had forgotten something. “Oh, I forgot to ask Tama! Are the stars on her tail actually gummies…?”

Character Abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Luca

ULT: Phase Cutter

Effect: Thermal Rays triggers twice

Phase Cutter is actually a piece of equipment in The After Years - the most powerful that can be given to Calca and Brina. After use, Calca uses his "Thermal Rays" follow up attack twice in a row, every time.

Bartz

ULT: Good-Luck Charm

Effect: Stat increases for every ability used

His ULT ability comes from his EX in the previous Dissidia games, which generally served to give him huge buffs. Following that, the ULT effect increases all of his stats a small amount after each ability use for the rest of the battle.

Tama & Serafie (Unique - Crown and Watering Can) Fire/Wind/Holy magic dmg, Fire/Wind/Holy imperil, instant break debuff, buffs, battery, HP Silence

15: Foxfire & Aero

35: Faith & Tickle

EX: Banishga & Aeroga

LD: Transfig Diva Voice

FR: Navigators’ Field (with Raffaello)

BT: Transfig Blazing Blossomstorm

ULT: Timewalk & Loud Whisperwind (Effect: Transformations, extra damage)

Burst theme: “Mega Mirage Melody,” Mega Mirage battle theme

Alternate Skin: 2P Tama and Serafie

I decided to group these two together into one unit, just like Lann and Reynn. They're both fully playable Mirages in their game with their own movesets so I just combined them together. Tama uses different crowns as weapons while Serafie uses watering cans. All of their abilities are usable in game with slight variations - for their LD, Serafie Transfigs into her Diva Serafie form, and instead of calling the ability "Silent Voice" like in game, I decided to name it Diva Voice instead since Hauyn already has that ability name. For her Burst, Tama transforms into Tamamohimé - but since the twins already stole that for their Burst, she combines her Blaze and Blossomstorm abilities. Their ULT, Timewalk & Loud Whisperwind, are not actually usable as player Mirages; Tama and Serafie use those skills when fought as a boss battle in Maxima.

They use a total of three elements in their moveset - Fire, Wind, and Holy, with the requisite Imperils. "Foxfire & Aero" inflict Fire and Wind damage. "Faith & Tickle" is a magic attack buff for the party and a debuff that causes the next attack inflicted on the foe to instant Break them (since Tickle makes stacks topple). "Banishga and Aeroga" is Holy and Wind damage. "Transfig Diva Voice" is a Wind damage attack that also inflicts HP Silence. Their ULT effect, like other transformations, enables them to permanently transform into their Diva Serafie and Tamamohimé forms, which lets them do extra damage for the rest of the battle. While it does do some damage, it's mainly for healing and revival, unlike most other ULTs - unlike Bursts, ULTs don't solely deal damage.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: A New Clan

Montblanc ( Final Fantasy Tactics Advance )

Voiced by: Hyosei

Leader of Clan Nutsy who guides Marche when he arrives in the fantasy land of Ivalice. An experienced adventurer and loyal friend to Marche and everyone in his clan, his talent in magicks and strategy helps lead them to victory on many occasions. Known to keep an eye on his six younger siblings, and though responsible, he can sometimes be a little gullible.

MONTBLANC

Montblanc held his staff in a defensive stance as he eyed the pack of wolves that had completely surrounded him.

He’d made a rookie mistake. Though he thought he knew his surroundings, something about Giza Plains seemed off; so much that he had gotten himself lost and disoriented and surrounded by monsters that seemed much deadlier than the normal fauna of this area. He raised his staff and called down a jolt of lightning, making them back away from him, but they slavered and growled and didn’t seem likely to back down anytime soon.

“How did I get myself into this, kupo?” he said.

A man with long hair and a noble bearing appeared behind the wolves, regarding Montblanc and his foes calmly. “Do you require aid?” he asked.

“I certainly wouldn’t deny it, kupo!” Montblanc replied. One of the wolves snarled and lunged at him, but he managed to strike it first with ice. After that first attack, all the others bared their teeth and pounced at their prey, but Montblanc’s savior punched the ground and a pillar of energy wiped out a wave of his would-be predators. Montblanc flapped his wings just enough to carry him out of the reach of another’s bite, then struck with lightning again. After they saw him fighting back, the rest of the wolves yelped and dispersed, fleeing back to their den. “That was a close one, kupo. Thank you!”

“You are most welcome,” the hume said, folding his hands behind his back.

“This might sound crazy, kupo, but I don’t think this is the Giza Plains I know,” Montblanc said. “I don’t see any muscmaloi around, for starters.”

“If you know Giza Plains, you must hail from Ivalice,” said the stranger. “Rabanastre is typically visible from the plains, yet it isn’t here, either.”

“Rabanastre, kupo?” Montblanc asked.

The man put a hand over his chest, bending just enough to barely be considered a bow. “If that is not a familiar name to you, then you must be from another Ivalice. Let me explain. You may call me Vayne Carudas Solidor, and I am at your service, master moogle.”

RITZ

“This looks like Giza Plains to me,” Penelo said, pointing at a collection of tents. “Look, that’s one of the hunter camps. Vaan and I used to come out here all the time.”

“Hunter camps, kupo?” Mog asked, twirling his lance. “That means there’s lots of big nasties around, huh? I’m ready for them, kupo!”

Ritz knelt down to run a hand through the dry grass, searching for an herb called muscmaloi that she often had to pick for various odd jobs. “I know a Giza Plains, too,” she said. “But I guess this is different from the one I know in dream Ivalice.”

Doga walked up next to her, peering at the spot on the ground she examined as he leaned on his staff. She wasn’t sure why the old wizard had come with them; Desch had mentioned he was a bit of a recluse. But he did seem to like Mog. “My friend Unei would say that most dreams have a basis in reality,” he said.

“So does that mean my Ivalice was based on Penelo’s?” Ritz asked, standing up straight.

Penelo smiled. “A dream version of my world… that sounds wonderful.”

Ritz shook her head. “It was pretty great, but don’t get the wrong idea. That world had its fair share of problems, too – deadly monsters, corrupt Judges, harsh laws. I miss it a lot, though.”

“I cannot say for certain if your world is based on theirs,” said Doga. “There are countless worlds out there. An infinite number of them, I’d suspect – as numerous as the stars. But many of our worlds seem to have similarities to each other, so perhaps your dream world could have been based on any number of them.”

“That’s just confusing,” said Luso, throwing his hands up in the air. “It’s weird that Ritz’s book took her to some dream world, but mine took me to the one where I met Vaan and Penelo.”

“Doga’s explanation wasn’t that confusing, kupo,” said Mog, planting the butt of his lance in the ground and putting a hand on his hip. “I bet even Umaro would’ve understood that.”

“Hey! I don’t know who Umaro is, but that sounded like an insult!”

Ceodore laughed but patted Luso sympathetically on the back. “Don’t worry, Luso – I knew what you meant!”

Ritz had to admit, she had no idea why some grimoire in St. Ivalice would take Luso to a completely different version of Ivalice. But then again, once she weaseled out of him that he was from St. Ivalice too, after her initial surprise she realized that she didn’t recognize the name ‘Luso Clemens’ from school at all. She wondered if there were even two St. Ivalices… if so, then maybe Doga was right about there being countless worlds. Or maybe it was pointless to try and make sense of ridiculousness.

Ceodore furrowed his brow and pointed. “Hey, I just saw a person with wings flying around down that way. It looked like they were fighting something!”

Ritz followed his line of sight and saw the silhouette of a black-winged figure, along with the flash of lightning. “There’s definitely a fight going on there. Let’s go!”

When they got closer, it was Penelo who recognized one of the combatants first. “Wait, that’s Feolthanos! What’s he doing here?”

“And… is that Vayne he’s fighting?” Ceodore asked. 

Mog pumped his little legs to keep up with them. “An enemy against an enemy, kupo… should we be helping?”

“Let ‘em fight it out, huh?” said Luso. “Wait… is that a moogle fighting with Vayne?”

“A moogle?” said Ceodore. “That looks like a hummingway to me.”

“A whatingway?” said Luso. “That’s definitely a moogle!”

“Perhaps we should stop arguing while there is a battle,” said Doga, who lagged a little behind them.

Mog leapt the rest of the way, launching himself high into the air with his lance coming down on Feolthanos. The aegyl banked out of the way of the attack. When Mog landed, he flourished his weapon at Feolthanos. “I’m more inclined to attack our more recent enemy, kupo! And there’s a moogle on this side!”

Ritz recognized the other moogle as she neared, eyes widening. “Montblanc!”

“Kupo!” Montblanc replied, just as surprised to see her. “Ritz, is that you?”

“Vayne!” said Penelo, sliding to a stop with her dagger bared. “What’s going on here? Montblanc, why are you fighting alongside him?”

“Uh… kupo?” said Montblanc. “Vayne saved me earlier.”

“Might I suggest exchanging pleasantries after this foe is defeated?” Vayne suggested. Ritz immediately disliked the man; something about his expression made her think of something slimy. If he was an enemy of Penelo’s, that was enough for her. But the winged man, Feolthanos, paused only for a moment to watch them with a solemn silence; raising his sword, he churned magicks in the air that came crashing down on them. That made things easy – his action meant he was the more pertinent foe for now.

Doga was the first to retaliate with a lash of fire, and Ritz didn’t want to give Feolthanos a chance to swoop down on them so she summoned rain. Mog leapt up at him again, but Feolthanos slashed him out of the air, sending him crashing back down to the ground. Shrugging off both spells, he dropped with his sword pointed toward Doga, but Luso and Ceodore stepped into his path with their own blades readied. The three fighters parried each other’s blows in a complicated dance of swordplay until Feolthanos blasted them away with magicks from his free hand.

Ritz compelled the grass to coil around his ankles as she took their place with a thrust of her rapier, binding him to the ground. His sword came much faster and heavier than she expected, jolting her arm and leaving her open until Doga conjured flames to distract Feolthanos before he could strike. Penelo had healed Mog, who returned to the battle with a dance that augmented Ritz’s rain, and Vayne joined the brawl with a sweeping kick that forced Feolthanos to use his wings again to right himself.

“What’re you all doing, kupo?” Montblanc called out. “How’re we supposed to fight him without a Judge?”

“Things are a bit different here, Montblanc,” Ritz informed him, wiping her wet hair from her face. The rain died down and Feolthanos ascended again, giving them breathing room.

“What are you two doing fighting against each other, anyway?” said Penelo. “You both hate the gods, don’t you? I’d sooner think you’d be allies… not that I want that, mind you.”

“It takes more than similar goals to unite two ideas,” said Vayne, massaging his wrist. “Besides, he seeks godhood, and I prefer Ivalice to be in mortal hands.”

“I owe no explanation to you,” said Feolthanos, speaking for the first time. “This insolent hume seeks my power for his own ends. I am bereft of the auracite because it is in the hands of this man.”

“Ah, so Vayne hit you first,” said Doga, chuckling. “I am reminded of squabbling children.”

“Kupopo? Vayne, is that true?” said Montblanc. “You told me Feolthanos was hunting you, kupo!”

“And Ritz was an enemy of yours once upon a time, was she not?” Vayne said. “You said as much when you inquired about whether your friends were in this world. You are a mage of considerable talent – might we join forces to keep power out of the hands of those who would abuse it?”

Ritz felt the others’ eyes shoot between her and Montblanc. “We did fight each other a couple of times,” Ritz admitted. “But we don’t have to here.”

“What do you want with the auracite?” Penelo asked. “Montblanc, Vayne’s no good – you know that. He conquered Dalmasca and almost destroyed Rabanastre!”

“Kupo?” said Montblanc. “Who are you?” He shook his head. “Sorry Vayne, but I can’t abide stealing and lying about it, kupo! Ritz and I may have fought before, but I know her, kupo.”

“Very well. ‘Tis a pity,” said Vayne, disappearing in a flash of light just moments before Feolthanos could strike him.

“You have no quarrel with us today, Feolthanos,” said Doga, holding up his hand to stop Ritz and the others from attacking him. “Begone from here – it seems to me that Vayne is your foe.”

Feolthanos clenched his jaw, grip tightening on his blade. Shooting one last glare at them, he vanished into a Torsion, presumably to pursue Vayne.

Ceodore let out a sigh of relief. “Between the two of them, I had no idea what was going to happen. I wonder what Vayne is up to…”

“Maybe he’s just looking for more power, kupo, as usual!” said Mog, stomping both of his feet. “That Vayne causes nothing but trouble!”

“And I think Llyud was right about Feolthanos,” said Penelo, tapping her cheek. “He seems… a little more emotional than usual.”

Luso squatted down to Montblanc’s height, grinning. “It’s good to see you, Montblanc!”

“Um… why does everyone seem to know me, kupo?” Montblanc asked.

“Aw, c’mon! Missing your memories?” Luso asked. “You joined up with Clan Gully for a bit, remember?”

“You don’t know Luso either?” said Penelo. “I thought maybe you just might not remember me because it was Vaan who did most of the Clan Centurio business, but we fought alongside you in Clan Gully as well. But if you don’t even know Luso… I guess you’re from Ritz’s Ivalice?”

Luso stood back up and whispered to Penelo. “Does that mean he’s from the… y’know, D-R-E-A-M Ivalice?”

“I can hear you, kupo, and I am aware that the Ivalice I come from is a dream world,” Montblanc said, sniffing. “I don’t know of any Clan Gully or Clan Centurio – I’m from Clan Nutsy. But that doesn’t mean that I’m a dream, kupo!”

“No, I suspect not,” said Doga. “You seem as real to me as anyone else. It is nice to meet you, Montblanc.”

“I really thought he might be a hummingway,” said Ceodore, scratching his chin. “In my world, they’re rabbit people who live on the moon.”

“You can’t call a moogle a rabbit, kupo!” 

“If he kupo’s like a moogle and he’s got a pom, then he’s a moogle to me, kupo,” said Mog. “Welcome to the team! But, uh… is there some history between you and Ritz, kupo?”

Ritz clasped her hands behind her back. “Well, Clan Ritz and Clan Nutsy were opposed for a while. It’s a long story. But Marche is a friend we have in common.”

“Is Marche here, kupo?” Montblanc asked, looking at her hopefully.

Ritz shook her head. “No… it’s just the two of us. Not even Shara’s here.”

“Well, if you two are able to get along now, then there’s no harm, right?” said Penelo. “C’mon, we should head back to Garden before Giza Plains has its next rainy season. We can introduce everyone to Montblanc there!”

“It’s good to have another moogle in the group, kupo,” said Mog, turning to depart with her and the others. “The other Mog will surely be happy, too!”

Ritz hung back as the others walked ahead. She weighed her words for a moment, hesitant to speak them, but forced them out. “Montblanc, can we talk really quick?”

He stopped with her. “What is it, kupo?”

She twisted her fingers as she spoke. “I need to know… what happened to everyone in Ivalice after you and Marche destroyed all the world threads? We went back home to St. Ivalice, but…”

Montblanc gave her a soft, almost sad smile. “I don’t know, kupo. The world changed… and then I don’t remember what happened after that. I woke up here, kupo.”

“That’s what I was worried about,” Ritz said, sighing. “I guess we won’t know for sure. Do you have any regrets about it?”

“Of course not, kupo,” he replied. “If I knew I was going to, then I wouldn’t have helped Marche. I wanted to stop the lies spread by the palace. I think… in the end, it was all worth it for me, kupo. Even if I can’t remember, I think life did go on.”

“Though that Ivalice was a dream world, I’m pretty sure this place is real,” Ritz said. She felt the excitement bubbling up in her; she hadn’t voiced these thoughts to anyone yet, too afraid that if she spoke them into existence things would crumble around her. But she had been here for some time now, and it felt different. “And… if this world is real, then you and Marche won’t have to end it. We won’t have to go home this time. We just have to wait for everyone else to get summoned here, and then we can all be here together!”

“Is that so, kupo?” Montblanc asked, considering her words for a moment as he thoughtfully chewed his lip. “If that’s the case, I hope you’re right. It’d be nice to be friends with you this time, kupo!” He furrowed his brow. “Even though you’re all crazy to carry out engagements without the Judges here, kupo! Is it always like fighting in a jagd?”

Ritz grinned. Though she revealed her secret hopes, nothing fell apart, and it felt like a burden had lifted from her shoulders. “Unfortunately, yes – but we’re trying to fix all that. Well, we do have one Judge, Gabranth, but he’s not really the same kind… Ah, that doesn’t really matter.” She hurried after the others, ushering him along. “I just want to say – thank you, Montblanc! I completely agree!”

Character abilities

Previous character updates:

Lenna

ULT: Antilixir

Effect: Always deal critical damage

Lenna's ULT is a Mix (Elixir + Dark Matter) that comes from the Chemist job. After use, she will always deal critical damage.

Faris

ULT: Killer Cannon

Effect: Increased follow up damage

"Killer Cannon" is a Cannoneer ability. Open Fire is the more useful ability, which she already has, but Killer Cannon is a special cannonfire combination which in game deals more damage to human enemies. It doesn't have that trait here - instead, the ULT Effect is that she deals increased follow up damage in general.

Montblanc (Staff) Ice/Lightning magic damage, Ice/Lightning imperil, EX recast, Slow, turn steal

15: Quicken Blizzard

35: Thundaga

EX: Time Combo

LD: Slow

FR: Moogle Mirage Melody (with Tama & Serafie)

BT: Nutsy Flare

ULT: Trinity Combo (Effect: After using EX, all enemies get full imperil for 2 turns)

Burst theme: “Painful Battle,” the theme of non-hostile battles, such as in “A Moogle Bride,” a quest involving Montblanc

Though Montblanc can use any job, his default job is Black Mage and he is typically portrayed that way in his appearances. I gave him Black Mage spells and also Time Mage (the only other Moogle spellcasting job) for variety, and also because there are few Time Mages in the series. Thundaga is a Black Magic spell, obviously, while Slow comes from Time Mage, but he combines both jobs together for "Quicken Blizzard," while his Burst, "Nutsy Flare," is an original spin on a typical Black Mage spell. Combo abilities are a gameplay mechanic in FFTA, one for every job, but for the life of me I cannot remember where I got the "Trinity" part from in his ULT. I think I just liked the sound of it (maybe because it reminds me of Kingdom Hearts...? Lol).

He is primarily an Ice and Lightning magic damage dealer with imperils for both. Quicken Blizzard allows him to turn steal. He can also double cast his EX ability thanks to "freezing time." He has the unique debuff Slow, which delays enemies and makes them have fewer BRV attacks/HP dumps on their turns, which is probably his biggest use in battle. After using his ULT, all enemies have lower resistance to all elements for 2 turns.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Renewing Friendship’s Melody

Ulmia ( Final Fantasy XI )

Voiced by: Nana Mizuki

Granddaughter of one of the elders of Tavnazia Safehold, where her people took shelter after the fall of the Marquisate near the end of the Crystal War. A talented singer for the Cathedral Choir, she was one of the first people to show kindness to Prishe, and subsequently became her closest friend. An elvaan who is demure and sometimes shy, she learns to stand up to her strict grandfather and is the only person capable of performing the last verse of the Lay of the Immortals, which can awaken the sleeping gods.

PRISHE

Prishe let out a jubilant shout as she leapt up over the bugard’s head and crashed down in a heel kick right on its skull, then punched so hard with a fist wreathed in wind that she blew all the leaves off a treant. She followed it up with a spinning kick that tore through the treant’s defenses, then rolled, crouched, and sprung up underneath the bugard’s chin in an uppercut that sent it flying. Both of her foes toppled and she went right on to the next.

“Wow, Prishe sure does have a lot of energy today!” said Vanille, following behind Prishe with her staff ready but nothing to really fight with it.

“Well, can you blame me?” Prishe shouted back, dodging the next bugard’s tusks before it could gouge her. “Look where we are!”

Rikku rushed toward a bugard with her daggers spinning. “It’s super pretty, but leave some fiends for the rest of us!”

Prishe finished off the last monster with a dropkick and then stood up straight, arms spread wide as if to encompass all the beauty of Lufaise Meadows for her companions. Tall grasses dotted with flowers stretched to the horizon, with lush forests swaying gently in the wind. Rams and sheep grazed and dozed at the edges of placid ponds. The whole sight made her ache for home more than anything else since she had come to this world and she couldn’t help but continue grinning.

“Welcome to Lufaise Meadows!” she said.

Celes sheathed her sword. “Is this place meaningful to you?”

“Sure is,” Prishe answered. “The place where I’m from, the Tavnazian Safehold, is near here. Well, I know it won’t actually be here in this world – but if this is here, then someone must’ve summoned it. And I think I have a good idea who did.”

Zack put his hands on his hips and grinned along with her. “Well, spill the beans! Who is it?”

“I’m thinking we’ll see Ulmia here,” Prishe said, clenching her fists excitedly. “She’s my best friend. If it’s anyone else, well… there’s a couple bastards it could be, but my bet’s on Ulmia.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting her, too!” said Vanille. “This meadow is beautiful, and it feels so peaceful. I can only imagine what it’s like to live here. Oh, I wonder if we can bring some sheep back for Ciaran’s farm?”

Rikku waved her arms at her. “What d’you expect us to do, carry them back?”

“It wasn’t always great here,” Prishe admitted, ignoring Vanille and Rikku's exchange - they'd figure it out. “It’s thanks to Ulmia that I even like Tavnazia at all, really.” She crouched down and hugged her knees, blanching as another thought occurred to her. “Well… I guess it’s not totally guaranteed to be Ulmia. I hope it’s not those damn Chebukki triplets. Those kids are way brattier than Palom ever was."

“Let us be swift in finding her,” said Celes. “It wouldn’t do to leave any new companions on their own for too long. Do you know of any particular places she might be?”

Prishe jumped up to her feet again. “Yeah, for sure! There’s one place Ulmia always liked going to sing…”

ULMIA

Her voice carried through the air as she sat at the cliffside, fingers gliding along her harp in tune with her song. The wind gently brushed her hair and the flowers at her feet, filling her nose with the fragrances of Lufaise Meadows. No matter how she felt, singing here never failed to bring her a measure of peace.

And peace she did find. Though she had found herself in this strange copy of her home, the town itself was nowhere to be seen. Even the ruins of the city proper were gone, and she did not quite know what to make of it yet. She also failed to find any people, much less Prishe. But she was safe here, happy in the embrace of her favorite melodies.

“What’s that terrible racket? It’s making me sick! Sick, sick, sick!”

The shrill voice behind her made Ulmia tense up, startled enough that she stopped playing. “Oh, my apologies, I hadn’t…” She turned to regard her surprise audience, eyes widening when she took in the sight of the figure with a painted face and garish clothes, as if like a jester. “...realized someone was here,” she finished.

“What makes you think you can interrupt my perfectly good day of blowing up Manikins by playing that earsore you call music!?” He clenched his fists and shook them at her, then dropped to the ground and rolled as he kicked and beat the grass. “I hate it, hate it, hate it!”

Ulmia stood and put a hand to her lips. “As I said, I am terribly sorry…” But when he didn’t stop, her eyes lit up as she realized what this was about. He may have been a little rude, but fools had a part to play whenever she heard about them in stories. “Oh, right! This is a performance, isn’t it? Blowing up… mannequins, you say?” Prishe sometimes practiced her martial arts on her training dummies, and she seemed particularly overjoyed whenever she punched them hard enough to make the wood shatter. “I have a friend who would sometimes do the same. She didn’t always know her own strength.”

The stranger froze his childlike tantrum and stared at her. “Oh?”

She wondered if there was something else he expected her to do. Whether she was supposed to continue playing music for his silly tantrum or play along. Perhaps she was meant to react with fear? Or joy? “Is there another song you’d like to hear instead?” she asked, smiling at him.

He somersaulted to his feet, then jumped up into the air where he remained, floating into a lounging position as he scratched himself and yawned. “Why do you think I’d want to hear any song?” he asked, rolling his eyes at her.

Ulmia clapped her hands at his display, laughing. “What a wonderful acrobatic stunt – and display of magic! You make it look so effortless.” He looked perplexed by her reaction, sitting up straight instead of lounging. “Well, to answer your question, wouldn’t music be a lovely accompaniment to a performance of yours?”

This time, it was his turn to laugh, a guffaw so loud that it disturbed the nearby wrens. “The only music I like is the sound of screaming!”

Ulmia’s smile faltered as she shook her head. What had she gotten wrong about this man? “That is a horrible thing to say. You are dressed as one who lives to spread happiness and joy. Why do you not live up to that ideal?”

“Enough of this! This is the part where you scream and wail and run away as I roast you alive,” he said, floating closer to her. She backed away toward the cliffside, wondering if she got herself in way over her head. “Oh wait, looks like you have nowhere to go, lady!”

Her grip tightened on her harp. His painted face showed no hint of jest or remorse – how had the situation changed so swiftly? “Did I do something to offend?” she asked.

The clown’s face contorted into a horrid grin. “Your whole existence off – ”

Then she saw Prishe appear as if from nowhere and slug him across the jaw.

“Don’t even try laying a finger on her, Kefka!” Prishe exclaimed, as the force of her strike sent the clown rolling across the grass. She rubbed her knuckles as four more strangers came up behind her.

“Prishe!” said Ulmia.

“You worm! How dare you!” Kefka yelped, flapping his arms. “You’re worse than a worm! Worse than the dirt that clings to a worm! Now I am going to wipe you from the face of this earth!”

“Oh, please don’t do that,” Ulmia said. “Kefka, was it? There is no need for this misunderstanding. If you would just like someone to watch you perform, you need only ask. Or perhaps we could even share the stage together.”

Kefka sputtered. “What? What makes you think anything besides the promise of sheer destruction would bring me joy? Seeing you all dead and strung up in a monument to nothingness is my only goal!”

Ulmia shook her head. “Well, I have seen a Keeper of the Apocalypse more fearsome than you. You’d be better suited to bringing smiles, as I said.”

“Uh, Ulmia, you’re just gonna make him angrier,” said Prishe.

“Haven’t your parents ever told you not to judge a book by its cover?” Kefka asked, after he recovered the use of his words again. “Oh, puh-lease. Now you’ve got me teaching clichés. I’m outta here – bye bye!”

When he vanished in a flash of light, Prishe and all of the others turned to Ulmia in disbelief.

“Amazing,” said a girl with bright red pigtails. “You got Kefka to leave without a fight!”

After Prishe made the introductions, Ulmia put a hand over her heart. “I apologize. I hadn’t realized Kefka was such a hated foe.”

The one named Celes shook her head. “No, Vanille was right. It’s quite something to make someone like him just leave. After our most recent run-in with him where he destroyed our airship, I wasn’t planning to back down, myself. Yet with only six of us we would have been hard-pressed to fight him. Even so, even thinking of the possibility of sharing a stage with a monster like him is enough to turn my stomach."

Rikku grinned. “That was my first time meeting Kefka, but I’ve heard all kinds of things about him. Just imagining you performing with that guy is outta this world. From the way Prishe was talking about you, though, you could totally do your own concert!”

Ulmia blushed. “Oh, if only you could hear the Cathedral Choir in its entirety. On my own, there is no way I would compare.”

“You sang for a cathedral, huh?” Vanille asked. “Sounds like you have fonder memories of that than I do.”

“Oh, yes,” Ulmia said, unsure what to make of Vanille’s comment. “Apologies if that comment stirred up anything unpleasant.”

“No, no, not at all!” Vanille said. “I’m sure Luxerion was way different than anything in your church.”

“We gotta introduce you to the others,” Zack said. “I’m sure we’d all love to hear you sing – we even have a stage for it back home!”

Ulmia hugged her harp close. “A stage? I am just fine performing in nature, like this…”

“Nah, you can have a whole new choir to sing with here,” said Prishe. “Celes has been pretty quiet about it, but she loves singing, too!”

“E-excuse me!” said Celes, turning away abruptly. “I’m a general – I’ve never performed in a choir!”

“And wait ‘til we tell ‘em all about how you stood up to Kefka,” Zack continued, clenching his fist. “Getting a guy like that to leave without fighting! You’re so brave, Ulmia!”

Oh dear – they had all gotten the wrong idea about her, hadn’t they? “You misunderstand. Between the two of us, Prishe is the brave one. And she is quite talented at singing as well, I promise you.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Ulmia?” said Prishe, bouncing on her feet. “You’re braver than you give yourself credit for – and the better singer! Now let’s go, I’ve got so many things to show you. I’ve been waiting so long for you to join us!”

When her best friend ran ahead, headfirst into a new adventure as always, Ulmia smiled to herself. No matter what they faced, Ulmia would fight right alongside Prishe for as long as she was able.

Character abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Gilgamesh

ULT: Gilgamesh Morphing Time

Effect: Transformation, increased damage

Alternate Skins: FFVII, FFXII, FFXIII-2, FFXIV appearances

His ULT, of course, comes from his iconic transformation and his EX Mode attack in the original Dissidia games. After use, he gets to keep his multi-armed transformation and does more damage all around, like the other transformation characters. As alternate skins, he gets his various appearances from other games!

Dorgann

ULT: Mastered Holy Blade

Effect: Break delays enemies 1 extra turn

I gave Dorgann a Spellblade skill for his ULT, in keeping with his portrayal in this game. He also references the "Mastery" mechanic with it. After use, every time he breaks an enemy their break pushes them back one additional turn.

Ulmia (Unique - Harps) Non-elemental magic damage, buffs, buff improvement/extension, regen, battery

15: Blade Madrigal

35: Pianissimo

EX: Mage’s Ballad III

LD: Sentinel’s Scherzo

FR: Astral Song (with Lunafreya)

BT: Victory March

ULT: Clarion Call (Effect: Buff limit on party increased to 8)

Burst theme: “Memoro de La Stona,” the plot-important hymn to awaken the sleeping gods that she can sing

Ulmia's skills all come from her abilities as a Trust ally, or general abilities available to the Bard class. Unlike Bards in XI, though, some of these songs actually deal damage, like Blade Madrigal.

She has a unique mechanic with her Pianissimo skill. She selects an ally, and all active non-unique buffs on the party focus on that ally with triple potency & duration, while also effectively casting Dispel on her other allies. Not sure if that's actually terrible in practice, but she's got plenty of buffs herself that she can cast back on them (remember how I said I'm not good at balancing? I just like coming up with the general ideas, lol). After using her EX, allies do not spend any ability uses for 2 turns. Her LD, Sentinel's Scherzo, gives the party a big defense boost and Last Stand. She has a unique ULT effect where she raises the buff cap on allies to 8 slots (which can only be taken up by buffs, not debuffs), further cementing her role as a buffer. In addition, she generally has regen and battery capabilities.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 5, Part 1: Lore Etched in Lightning

Emet-Selch ( Final Fantasy XIV )

Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi

One of the three Unsundered Ascians who engineered the plot over eons to Rejoin the worlds and break the chains binding Zodiark, their god. An unmatched sorcerer of the ancient world, he longs to restore his civilization to its former glory. As a member of the Convocation of Fourteen, the name “Emet-Selch” is a title for the one who oversees the flow of the Lifestream; to his closest friends he was simply a man who could be affectionately pestered until he followed their whims.

Zangetsu ( Final Fantasy IV: The After Years )

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji

One of the Eblan Four and the eldest of Edge’s ninja apprentices. Known as Zangetsu of Lightning, he greatly admires his master despite being much older, and considers himself a “late bloomer” in regards to becoming a shinobi. Sprightly and always seeking to learn new things, he oft shares his wisdom with his fellow apprentices.

Princess Sarah ( Final Fantasy )

Voiced by: Yoko Asagami

The elder princess of Cornelia and symbol of hope for her people. After being kidnapped by the errant knight Garland, it sets into motion a series of events that results in all four of the world’s crystals losing their light, yet also the salvation of her world. A dreamer at heart, Sarah adores her younger sister and playing music with her lute.

RYNE

Carbuncle’s tails waved rhythmically as Ryne and the others followed him along the sun-dappled trail after he had caught another whiff of a nearby Primal. She had been so transfixed by watching him walk ahead of her that she hadn’t even noticed the trees thickening until Y’shtola pointed out where they had arrived.

“Well, this is unexpected,” she said. “It seems we have come to the Rak’tika Greatwood.”

Ryne looked up. Lush greenery stretched high into the sky, leaves and branches overlapping into a thick canopy that cast more shadow the deeper inside they ventured. Moss and lichen crept over the trees and the ground, soft and loamy with a body of water in the distance that she recognized as Lake Tusi Mek’ta. The bulbous tree at the center of the lake glowed with inner aether, guiding travelers through the occasionally perilous and difficult to navigate wood.

“Where those who worshiped the dark took shelter from the all-encompassing light of the First Shard…” Alphinaud said, his voice almost reverent. “I will never forget our journey through here.”

Garnet turned to Ryne. “The First Shard… the reflection of the world where you come from, if I remember correctly?”

Ryne nodded. “It is. Though I only came here for the first time with the Scions.” She smiled as she looked toward Y’shtola. “Y’shtola lived here for a time. Perhaps since we are once again under its boughs, we should all resume calling you ‘Master Matoya,’ like we used to?”

The Warrior of Light’s armor rattled as he moved from surveying their surroundings to regard Y’shtola. “You went by the name Matoya? I am familiar with that name.”

Y’shtola sighed, looking away from them both. “That will not be necessary. It is customary among the Night’s Blessed to use a different name, so I borrowed the name of my master while I lived among them.”

“And these people were devoted to the dark?” Arc asked. “That sounds like the practices of ancient people in my world.”

Alisaie raised a finger as if she was in a classroom. “In a world where light-aspected Sin Eaters caused terror for a hundred years, it was only natural for people to turn to worshiping the dark.”

“Thankfully in this world we have restored balance between light and dark, so we should not encounter these Sin Eaters,” said the Warrior of Light. “Y’shtola, since this place is familiar to you, would you mind taking the lead?”

“Not at all,” she replied. “I would be pleased to come across the Ronkan ruins here, as well – if we are fortunate, we may even glean knowledge of the state of this world from their ancient tablets… provided it is not just the same writing I have discovered on the First.”

“Ronka!” Krile exclaimed. “We have an ancient Ronkan Empire in our world, and we’ve found plenty of their ruins. I wonder if they look the same here!”

“Another fascinating similarity,” said Y’shtola, her flattened ears betraying how much she sought to sink her teeth into this mystery. Ryne herself didn’t know what to make of Krile’s world having something in common with the First. “Carbuncle, have you yet determined which Primal is our quarry this time?”

Carbuncle sniffed the air, stopping his determined stride to turn around in circles. Ryne was reminded of a hunting hound. “Based on the concentration of lightning aether… I am thinking this time we are to deal with Ramuh.”

The others of their current travel party – Rydia, Terra, and Tama – all reacted with recognition. Tama spun and rose higher into the air. “Ramuh? He’s the-always been the strictest of the Pleiad! He can keep all the other the-rogue summons in line once we find him!” she said.

Rydia faltered a little bit at Tama’s words. “Strictest? Well… he is known to dole out judgment on the wicked with his lightning bolts. So he might be really dangerous, but he is also wise. I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t hear us out, at least!”

“Ramuh is indeed a wise sage in my world, as well,” said Terra. “It was his mind that called out to me when I lost control of my powers and rampaged, and he watched over me while I recovered. I have so much respect for him… so if he has been corrupted, I want to reach out to him this time and return the favor.”

“And if we can speak to him, then we may not need to find those ruins,” said Garnet. “Ramuh is an eidolon with great knowledge of ancient lore and legends. He could tell us all we need to know.”

Krile pumped her fist into the air. “This seems like just the kind of place he’d be, too. In stories he was always the sort of wise old sage to wander around in the forest. That’s how we found him!”

“It’s amazing that he is so similar in all of our worlds,” said Arc. “His great power and wisdom would surely be a boon to have.”

“Though it is strange he would appear here in the Rak’tika Greatwood, and not where we encountered him in our world,” said Alphinaud, rubbing his chin. “Do you remember, Y’shtola? He is the deity of the sylphs, so it was in the depths of the forested Sylphlands where the Scions met him.”

Y’shtola peered at Alphinaud from the corner of her eye. “It is perhaps you that needs your memory triggered. I seem to recall that you were not present for that debacle. Traipsing about in that labyrinth of a forest as we contended with tracking him down, suffering the trickery of those sylphs, while you were otherwise occupied with your Crystal Braves.”

Alphinaud’s shoulders slumped. “Ah, right…”

“Open mouth, insert foot,” said Alisaie, chuckling. “When will you learn, dear brother?”

Ryne laughed as she walked along. Though she did find it strange that their Primal would choose a locale on the First for his appearance, she did recall a version of Ramuh that they had summoned to surge the barren lands of the Empty with lightning aether. “The Ramuh I know has the lower body of a horse,” she said.

Everyone stopped to look at her. “Er, what’s wrong with the Ramuh of your the-world?” Tama asked.

Ryne blushed. “Well, perhaps those were different circumstances…”

FANG

Cater ran ahead with her magicite gun, firing magical blasts that covered the vines and tendrils of a plant monster in a layer of rime. With it frozen in place, Kimahri took the chance to leap up high and impale it on his spear, while Gabranth sliced off the other vines that flailed in its death throes. Fang turned her attention back to the giant horned beetle caught between her and Lightning, finishing it off with a shout of triumph before it could skewer either one of them.

Fang breathed in deep of the forest, exhaling with a grin. The Rak’tika Greatwood smelled alive, earthy and wet and fragrant with flowers and ferns. Birds and insects trilled in the distance, coming together in a chorus the likes of which they rarely encountered in this world.

“Enjoying yourself?” Lightning asked, dismissing her blade.

Fang propped her spear up on her shoulder. “That obvious, huh?” Out of habit, she knelt to check the severed vines of the plant monster for leaves or fibers they could use. “So this Ramuh’s an old man in every world? I know he’s given us his power a few times here, but how sure are we that we can find him?”

“It won’t be hard,” said Cater. “Just gotta find an old coot slinging lightning around. Aren’t you guys familiar with him?”

“Ramuh’s a fal’Cie in our world, but not an eidolon,” said Lightning. “It’s actually Odin who wields lightning for us.”

“I have no knowledge of Ramuh,” said Gabranth. 

Alongside him, Kimahri shook his head. “Kimahri knows only Ixion.”

“Well let’s hope he’s not hiding inside someone like Alexander and Diabolos were,” said Fang. She smirked at Lightning. “Or maybe he liked the sound of your name and hitched a ride.”

Lightning scoffed. “As if. Well, this is great. None of us really know him.”

A cracking noise split the air, like the snapping of a tree, causing all of them to turn in the direction of the sound.

“But we do know what thunder sounds like,” said Fang. “Let’s go!”

They ran through the trees, leaping from root to root over the shallow parts at the edge of the lake. After Fang cut through a canopy of vines, they emerged in another clearing where an old man swung lightning at the end of his staff to smite a raptor. He jumped up high, spreading his arms so that his clothes fanned out, floating on the wind for a moment out of his enemy’s reach before crashing back down and spearing it with the sound of another thunder strike.

“Well, that was easy!” Cater exclaimed, taking aim. She fired her gun just as everyone drew their weapons, but Ramuh crossed his staff in front of himself to block the attack.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked, lightning crackling at the end of his staff. “Who might you young folk be? I believe this is a misunderstanding!”

“Eh, save it, Ramuh,” said Fang, hefting her spear as she approached with Gabranth and Kimahri. “Easy now, old man – they tell us you’re wise, so do the wise thing and stand down.”

“Ramuh?” said the old man, blinking. His perplexed reaction gave her pause. “You stand before Zangetsu of Lightning, of the Eblan Four! Is Ramuh not the name of an eidolon?”

“Are we mistaken?” said Gabranth, sword arm faltering.

“That’s what one of the corrupted eidolons would want us to think!” said Cater, taking aim again. Fang was about to reach out and stop her, thinking they should at least hear him out, when a rain of shuriken struck the ground in front of her and a cloud of smoke appeared just as she shot her gun. When the smoke cleared, Edge stood in front of the man who called himself Zangetsu.

“Just in time,” said Edge, weapons drawn. Shadow had appeared as well, standing on Zangetsu’s other side. “It’s alright, Cater. He’s one of ours.”

“Master!” said Zangetsu, lowering his weapon – which Fang realized was a spear, not a staff. “Might you explain what is going on?”

“Master?” Fang asked. “Don’t you mean student?”

“Not by any means,” said Zangetsu. “I am one of Master Edge’s ninja apprentices.”

“Whoa, that’s cool!” said Cater. “Sorry for almost shooting ya, old man.”

“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” said Lightning. “Edge, care to introduce us?”

After they had filled Zangetsu in on his summoning, he seemed to take it in stride.

“It’s the ninja fortitude,” Cater said. “Cool, calm, and collected! Edge must be a great teacher.”

Zangetsu shook his head. “When you get to be my age, little surprises you. And I like to keep an open mind – you never know when a new experience may come your way. I’d say this certainly counts!”

“The others aren’t here yet, are they?” Edge asked. “You’re the first of the Eblan Four to make it to this world, Zangetsu.”

“If they are here, I am unaware of it,” he said. Zangetsu bowed deeply to them all, as if presenting himself as a student to each of them. Fang scratched the back of her head, unused to such formality. “But if I am the first, then I must represent your teachings to the best of my ability! It is my pleasure to meet you all.”

“It takes a great master to inspire such loyalty,” said Gabranth. “Edge must be a skilled teacher.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Edge, face unreadable beneath his mask, but he appeared to retreat into his scarf a little. “Let’s not overdo it, now. Zangetsu, we’re here to look for Ramuh. Let’s show everyone what the Eblan Four are made of and put those surveillance skills to work.”

“Of course, Master!” Zangetsu replied, and he leapt into the trees to flit among the treetops without another word.

Shadow crossed his arms. “Where can I get students like that?” he said. He disappeared in a flash as well, no doubt off to join Zangetsu in the search.

Fang hung her spear on her back, exchanging a glance with Kimahri and Lightning. “That old man’s got more energy than I do. Then again, I think it’s a safe bet that I’m older.”

RYNE

The settlement of Slitherbough that normally should have been in Rak’tika Greatwood wasn’t there – rather, they found only the tunnels and caves that the Night’s Blessed used as their homes. It was like they had found the ghost of a village instead, a memory of what had once been there. Continuing onward with Thancred, the twins, Tyro, Fran, and the Warrior of Light, however, they eventually came across wooden platforms raised high around the trunks of trees: the village of Fanow.

“The likeness to my home village of Eruyt is… comforting,” Fran said, pausing at the village entrance before it ascended on a ramp into the treetops. “If viera live here as well, then our cultures really are not so unlike each other. For a blessing, this Wood does not reject me, but neither can I hear Its voice.”

Rather than viis – the viera of the First – Ryne spotted Manikins peeking at them from higher up. “Just like we hoped,” she said. “We can ask these Manikins if they know anything of Ramuh.”

“Tread carefully,” said Thancred. “We can’t be sure if they are open to visitors.”

“Oh, it appears that they are,” said Alisaie, with surprising venom in her voice.

Ryne followed her line of sight and gasped when she saw the figure in black and gold, with a streak of white through his otherwise dark hair. He stood among the Manikins with his slouched posture as always. Ryne could see the tiredness in his eyes when he noticed them at the same time as they noticed him. His nostrils flared and he strode toward them purposefully, descending down the ramp without pausing even as Thancred, Ryne, and Alisaie drew their weapons.

“Twelve forfend… Emet-Selch!” Alphinaud exclaimed.

“You,” Emet-Selch said, stopping barely a stone’s throw away. He still stood higher than them, pointing a finger at their group. “It’s not enough that I was ripped back from my endless rest, mired in a world that seems a pale shadow of a reflection , but lo and behold I find you lot at the center of it all. I thought I was clear that I was not to be disturbed again from my impending dispersal into the Lifestream?”

“A foe, I take it?” asked the Warrior of Light, following their lead in drawing his sword.

“Not one I remember from their records,” said Tyro.

“One of our mightiest and most despicable,” said Thancred, fists clenched over the hilts of his daggers. “An Ascian. And an Unsundered Paragon, no less – a sorcerer of the ancient world that caused the demise of untold people and worlds.”

Emet-Selch scoffed at him. “This again? Yes, yes, your unbendable will prevailed against mine. Now where is your oh-so-esteemed ‘Warrior of Light and Darkness’ friend? Your numbers appear to be lacking, and I would sooner converse with the one who is usually more amenable.”

“They’re not here,” Alphinaud said, guarded. “This is no mere copy of the First Shard. We find ourselves in a completely different world, where the dead have come back to life along with those of a myriad of other worlds.”

“And aren’t you lucky to be one of the warriors chosen to populate it,” said Alisaie, scowling. “We’re about as happy for it as you are. But as you said, we’ve defeated you once – we can do it again.”

Emet-Selch rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard all your empty platitudes of friendship and determination so I’d rather not suffer them again. Did it even occur to you that I may not be here for a fight? Clearly you all have me at a disadvantage, newly revived and as helplessly ignorant about the world as a babe.” He took a few more steps in his descent, making them all brace themselves again, but stopped when he was at level with them. “So here I am, at the mercy of what information you’d all care to share.”

“And you’d expect us to trust you not to use it against us?” Alisaie asked through grit teeth.

“You should never trust me,” Emet-Selch said with a shrug. “But fine, if you prefer to hold your cards close, what of you?” He looked toward the Warrior of Light, Tyro, and Fran. “I haven’t a clue who you are, so I assume we have not wronged each other already. Are you more willing to share?”

The Warrior of Light looked back at Thancred, Ryne, and the twins, hesitating a moment before turning back to Emet-Selch. “This is all knowledge that the gods would typically impart upon their chosen warriors, so in their absence I see no reason why you should not know. This is a world that is ever-growing and ever-changing, with warriors from many worlds chosen to defend it from threats of all kinds – though there are some summoned who wish it harm. It is meant to be a World of Respite where we no longer suffer death, but those who uphold those protections have fallen to a corruption that endangers us all.”

“I think that about covers it,” said Tyro. “The short version, anyway.”

“Happy now?” said Alisaie. “So now you can go on your way.”

Emet-Selch said nothing for a moment, looking over their party. Ryne found herself thinking that she had never seen him look so alone. He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not so sure I will,” he said in response to Alisaie. “I feel I will regret this immensely – but I propose cooperation. As we once had in this very forest.”

“After you ended it by quite literally shooting one of our allies in the back?” Thancred asked, brow furrowed. “I don’t think so. You’ve said yourself that you find humanity to be wanting. Pardon us if we have no reason to assume your viewpoint has changed.”

“Even after I conceded that you won?” Emet-Selch asked, scoffing again. “After you proved that your people could overcome what the Unsundered of eld could not. Your precious friend summoned Hythlodaeus and myself from the Lifestream for aid in your titanic clash against that entelechy, and we answered . We entrusted our legacy to you.”

Ryne frowned and looked at the others. “Entelechy? Do you know what he refers to?” Did something else happen with Emet-Selch after they returned to the Source? She gasped as she remembered their friend coming back to the First to inform her of the phenomenon plaguing them on the Source. “Is this related to the Final Days? It was my understanding that dynamis was threatening the Source and all the Shards, but you all stopped it.”

Alphinaud floundered before finding his words again. “No, that does not sound familiar. The concept of the same Final Days that brought an end to the Ancients also affecting our time is frightening, but I am heartened to hear that we stopped it. Though it is disconcerting that we still lack memories.”

Emet-Selch raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

He looked like he was about to say something more when a booming noise erupted from deeper in the forest, so clamorous that it made the trees shake. The Manikins in Fanow scattered as the booming became louder and a moment later Ryne realized it was the roll of thunder. Flashes lit up the sky – penetrating even the thick canopy – and a few bolts struck the trees, making them burst into flame.

“Ramuh approaches,” said the Warrior of Light, and no sooner than he had spoken, a pillar of lightning coiled in the space just beyond Fanow, coalescing into a crackling snake before a flash of blinding light revealed the wizened Ramuh in its place. His beard rippled as magic flowed from the end of his staff which he held aloft to summon stormclouds just above the treeline. “He is targeting the Manikins!”

Fran made her way to higher ground first, shooting arrows as she ran that fizzled before they could strike Ramuh. Alisaie followed right at her heels with an assault of magical gemstones blooming in the shape of a rose, gathering Ramuh’s attention and interrupting the judgment he had been about to serve to the Manikins.

“Lure him to solid ground!” Thancred exclaimed, joining the fray with his daggers. He made his way to attack from another angle alongside Tyro, Alphinaud, and the Warrior of Light, leaving Ryne alone with Emet-Selch.

The air felt heavy with the pulse of electricity as Ramuh’s magic hummed. Ryne watched him focus his ire on Alisaie and Fran and then turned to Emet-Selch, who stood still with a sullen frown as he watched the battle unfold. “You have to help us!” she said.

He looked from Ramuh to Ryne as if he had forgotten she was there. “What?”

“I know how much power you wield,” she said. “Once, you had refused to help us in battle, insisting that we had to face our foes on our own. But I ask you again, knowing all I do now: you can aid us, as a show of good faith.”

He looked away from her with a groan. “You pester me.”

“Please,” she said, putting a hand over her heart. “I know this is in your power, Hades.”

“You know, it’s improper to use the name of a Convocation member like that.” Emet-Selch dragged a hand down his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, fine! As a show of good faith. If only to put a stop to your incessant begging.”

He walked toward Ramuh, held his right hand straight up in the air, and snapped his fingers.

An orb of darkness cut a hole in the air in front of Ramuh, devouring the conjured cage of lightning he summoned around Fran and Alisaie’s tree. Black chains shot from the orb to coil around Ramuh’s staff, yanking him toward the ground. Emet-Selch threw out another hand and spears of darkness materialized around Ramuh, striking and piercing his defenses. Ramuh groaned with a rumble that sounded like more thunder, releasing more lightning with a clap of his hand against the ground that spread out in a shockwave. Emet-Selch floated above it, but then snapped his fingers again and they all disappeared in a flash of light.

Ryne fell to her knees in a different part of the forest, blinking away the patterns of lightning on the backs of her eyelids. Emet-Selch stood before them all as the others stood back on their feet. He had teleported them all away.

“He was preparing a spell I am not sure you would have withstood,” Emet-Selch said, before any of them could question him. “I judged it necessary to save all of your lives.”

“You have our gratitude,” said the Warrior of Light, looking around at all of the others as if to usher them to say the same.

Tyro sat down and opened his tome. “How strange… Ramuh used attacks I’ve never seen before…”

“I am not certain if the Neo-Manikins managed to escape,” said Fran.

“Those ‘Manikins’ were able to run thanks to your foolish and heroic charge,” said Emet-Selch, lips pinched as if he tasted something foul.

Thancred and the twins seemed as if they struggled to bite their tongues, but Ryne put a hand over her heart as she turned to Emet-Selch. “Thank you,” she said. “Now that we know what Ramuh is capable of, we will have time to plan our next course of action.”

Emet-Selch rolled his eyes at her and turned away.

GALUF

After Galuf had learned of the others’ clash with Ramuh, the darkness of Rak’tika Greatwood intensified further as black stormclouds seemed to blanket the entirety of the forest. Thunder shook the earth and lightning occasionally webbed across the pockets of sky they could see through the canopy, but the clouds yet refused to break with rain. It made his bones ache as they descended down a slope toward a collection of pyramids and ruins that the others said had belonged to a Ronkan Empire.

Cecil approached from down the slope with an old man at his side that Galuf didn’t recognize, so he assumed this was their new ally, Zangetsu. “Greetings, my friends – are you well?” Cecil asked, coming to a stop slightly below them. “I’d like to introduce you to Zangetsu, an ally of ours and ninja student to Edge. Zangetsu, this is Galuf, Regis, Strago, and Relm.”

“Another crusty old guy,” said Relm, blanching. “Great.”

“Relm!” Strago reprimanded. “Be polite to our new allies!”

Zangetsu laughed. “No, no – she may be right! It was to avoid becoming ‘crusty’ that I sought to reinvent myself and learn new skills by apprenticing to Master Edge. I cannot fault the youth for perceiving us this way!”

Galuf nodded, impressed. “Oho! So it was as an elder that you decided to do something new? I think all us old men could learn from your example.”

“Yes, I agree,” said Regis, tapping his cane against the ground. “There is always an opportunity to learn new things, no matter our age. That is something I can respect.”

Zangetsu crossed his arms, eyes staring upward as if trying to recall something. “That said, I have been an apprentice for nearly twenty years now. You’d think I’d achieve mastery by this point!”

“Ah, well,” said Regis, faltering slightly. “We all learn at different paces. Sometimes you are not ready for moving onto the next level yet. I see no reason to rush.”

“Other than dying of old age,” Relm quipped.

“Pardon my granddaughter,” Strago said. “She will say whatever comes to mind.”

“There’s no harm in that. She’ll keep us old folks on our toes!” said Zangetsu, grinning.

Cecil nodded to Galuf and the others. “Might you escort Zangetsu to the ruins? Perhaps you can all help keep the perimeter around them safe while Y’shtola and our other scholars do their research. I believe they are surveying the ruins to see what they may find different from Y’shtola’s world.”

“I am told that Y’shtola has a habit of ignoring her surroundings while she works,” Zangetsu said.

“Entrusted with bodyguard work already?” said Galuf. “Of course, we would be honored to help.”

After Cecil left, Strago snickered. “It would be nice to sit and rest once we got there… watch the clouds, reminisce about past adventures…”

“I am not opposed to taking it slow,” said Regis. “There is much to catch Zangetsu up on.”

“Oh, no – I’m afraid there won’t be time for that,” said Zangetsu. “There is much work to be done and foes to fight. Hup, hup – let’s get moving, my friends.”

“Perhaps he has more energy than the rest of us old men,” said Galuf, slumping.

“Y’know, maybe he’s not as crusty as you guys,” said Relm, nodding approvingly. She looked off into the distance, squinting suddenly. “Hey, is there something wrong with the Warrior of Light? And does anyone else hear that music?”

They all turned to regard the knight as he approached, alone, but Galuf strained to hear music. It was so faint that he wouldn’t have noticed it if Relm hadn’t pointed it out. The Warrior of Light barely seemed to register them, walking forward in a way that made him seem almost in a trance. Galuf stepped closer, waving as he entered the Warrior of Light’s field of vision. “Are you all right?” he asked.

The Warrior of Light looked startled to see him. “My apologies, Galuf. But… don’t you hear that melody? It is familiar to me, and I must find its source.”

RYNE

She had never seen the Warrior of Light act this way as they followed him down the trail. He always seemed so stoic, full of purpose – not unlike a certain other warrior she knew – but as the music grew clearer he seemed increasingly concerned, sharing little more than that he knew its source.

“Whatever it is, it is a beautiful song,” said Ulmia. “I believe it is coming from a lute.”

“Do we have time to chase mysterious music through a dark forest with a godlike enemy?” Wol asked. “Ramuh can appear at any time and we still don’t have a plan for stopping him.”

“It is coming from a new ally,” said the Warrior of Light. “I’m certain of it. One that I never expected to see here.”

“Someone from your world?” said Rem, eyes wide. “Wow, that’s rare! After all this time, we still haven’t met any friends of yours. Garland certainly doesn’t count.”

The music stopped. The Warrior of Light tensed for a moment, then quickened his pace, giving Ryne the impression that something had gone wrong. They all followed and it turned into a run – the music had been so soft and gentle that its absence felt like danger. It even made the thunder feel far away.

They came to a clearing where a woman in a dress and lifted veil sat on a log, lute in hand. She didn’t appear to be hurt, or in danger – she had splayed out her sheer golden dress as if she had been sitting and waiting for quite some time. Ryne thought she was beautiful.

The Warrior of Light approached and knelt at the edge of the clearing. “Princess,” he said, head bowed.

The princess raised her eyes, but though she did not stand she appeared to be on guard for the new arrivals. “Sir knight,” she said. “Are you pledged to Cornelia?”

“I am, my lady, ever and always,” he said in response. “Princess Sarah. Are you well?”

“Princess Sarah, of Cornelia?” Wol said to Ryne and the others, still standing at the edge of the clearing. “Heh… figures.”

“I am unharmed, if that is what you mean,” Sarah said, looking past the Warrior toward all the others for the first time. “Though I must admit ignorance to my current situation. I know not where I am.”

“I can tell you all you need to know,” the Warrior of Light said.

“The music only stopped because she needed to tune her lute,” Ulmia said. “Seems there was nothing to worry about after all.”

“Rise, knight of Cornelia,” Sarah said. “Are these friends of yours?”

“Wow, she’s so proper and dignified,” said Rem, clasping her hands together and smiling. “I’m so glad that our Warrior of Light has reunited with a dear friend.”

“Dear friend?” said Sarah, tilting her head. “I’m afraid I do not know this knight personally. But you say he is a Warrior of Light? As if from legend?”

The Warrior of Light stood, but if he was disheartened by her lack of recognition, he didn’t show it. Ryne ached for him, well aware of how it felt to be reunited with friends who didn’t immediately remember her. “So you don’t remember him?” Ryne asked. “Ah… maybe the memory will return, as it has for others.”

“He’s the kind of guy that is right out of a prophecy,” said Wol, smirking. “So yeah, probably the legend you’re thinking of. The rest of us are from different worlds, though.”

Sarah straightened her posture. “Other worlds?” she asked, and she stood to look out further over the forest. “What a strange story… but looking upon this place, I am inclined to believe it. Please, spare no effort in explaining what has happened.”

Ulmia walked up to her side and propped out her arm when the Warrior of Light appeared to hesitate. “I would be happy to tell you what I know,” she said, guiding the princess back down the path they came from.

When they walked ahead, Ryne spared a look heavy with sympathy for the Warrior. “It’s okay to be upset she doesn’t remember you,” she said. “I am sure she will find her fragmented memories here soon enough.”

The Warrior of Light shook his head with a distant smile. “I’m not so sure she will. After Chaos had been defeated, the time loop was broken and it was as if my adventure never happened. So if this Princess Sarah doesn’t know me… then she comes from a world where there was no Chaos or Four Fiends. As far as she is concerned, we have never met before.”

“That’s horrible,” said Rem, putting a hand over her mouth. “After all this time, you finally reunite with someone from your world only for them to have no knowledge of you…”

“Please do not worry for me,” he said. “I think it is better this way.”

When he followed in the wake of Sarah and Ulmia without another word, Ryne exchanged a glance with Rem and Wol. Wol crossed his arms, staring at the Warrior’s retreating back. “He may say that,” he said, “but it’s obvious he’s more bothered by it than he lets on. He should be more open with his friends.”

JACK GARLAND

Though she had pink hair and a golden yellow dress, Jack recognized the woman among the other familiar warriors at once. Princess Sarah, of all people, here? She stood among the pyramids, struck with awe and surrounded by several of the others that seemed to become fast friends with her. She was ethereal. Radiant. Why had the damned crystal chosen her to fight on its behalf? She deserved better than this. 

“That’s Sarah, isn’t it?” Neon asked, walking up behind him. “What’re you doing all the way over here? Go and talk to her.”

Jack stood just beyond the four pyramids that marked the entrance to the Ronkan ruins, leaning against one with his arms crossed. Sarah wouldn’t be able to see him around the corner. “That’s not my Sarah,” he said. “She’s from another world, another time. Lufenian bullshit.”

“You could still stop being an idiot and just talk,” Neon said.

He scoffed. “Nah, it’s better this way.”

Lightning flashed and struck the top of one of the pyramids, splitting the stone at its peak and raining dust and debris down below. Electricity pulsed just above it and in a whirl of robes, Ramuh materialized, arms spread wide as he gathered magic at the tip of his staff. Jack and Neon called their swords and rushed into the fray as smaller elementals appeared – like Ramuh in miniature.

“Ramuh has returned!” someone shouted. “How have we not sensed him coming?”

“He’s summoned egis!” Alphinaud warned, codex opened as he summoned his own Carbuncle. “Be on your guard!”

Jack found himself standing in front of Sarah, who to her credit had not run away. She pulled out her lute and her fingers hovered just above its strings. One of their new allies, a man in black and gold, snapped his fingers and magic flared to life to consume several of the egis at once. The conflagration roared and expanded in Ramuh’s direction, who pointed his staff at the ball of fire and electricity exploded, bursting outward with force and heat. Jack braced his sword in front of himself and Sarah, and then leapt into battle before the smoke cleared.

He cleaved two egis as he made his way to Ramuh, jumping up high to come down on Ramuh with an executioner’s swing. Wordlessly, Ramuh swung his staff and lightning struck Jack from above to stun him before the staff collided with him and flung him bodily into one of the pyramids. Neon shouted something and attacked alongside Y’shtola and Ryne, a gust of wind magic clearing the smoke and dust.

Jack shook his head and leaned on his sword to stand again, but was distracted from Ramuh by an armored figure dashing between the pyramids. He realized a moment too late that it was Garland, and he was fixated not on Ramuh, but on Sarah – and Jack was too far away to stop whatever he had planned. Ramuh became irrelevant. Jack ran to intercept Garland as fast as he could. Sarah herself noticed him too late, turning just in time for Garland to punch a gauntlet into her stomach, making her double over, and then he slung her over his shoulder in one smooth movement.

“SARAH!” Jack shouted, reaching for her. “You bastard!”

Garland barely looked at him and turned away. Just one glance, almost like a taunt. A reminder. A memory.

Jack heard a fingersnap that silenced all other noise. Then light flashed again, and Ramuh’s lightning tore up the ground, and white hot pain lanced through Jack’s entire body.

Character abilities

Previous character updates:

Kelger

ULT: Wild Wolf March

Effect: Increased trap damage

Kelger's ULT name is technically original but it is meant to evoke one of the Ranger's "Animal" abilities combined with the Bard song "Mighty March." I like how his DFFOO skill set gives him some Ninja and Bard abilities because that's just a neat combo, so I threw Ranger in there too. After use, his trap damage is increased.

Xezat

ULT: Dark Flare

Effect: When striking native weakness, attack twice

Though he's typically characterized as a Mystic Knight, he's also noted for his powerful magic abilities. Dark Flare is one of a Necromancer's Dark Arts, and since he's the Dawn Warrior most associated with magic I gave it to him because I thought it would be fun, and a nice balance to Galuf having some Gladiator skills. After use, whenever he strikes an enemy's native elemental weakness (meaning their weakness before any Imperils), he will attack twice.

Emet-Selch (Unique - Gloves) Dark magic damage, BRV poison, overhead BRV storing/release, traps, dark imperil/enchant, FR charger

15: Titanomachy

35: Hellborn Yawp

EX: Shadowstream

LD: Nether Blast

FR: Archmagi (with Doga)

BT: The Dark Devours - Black Cauldron

ULT: Gigantomachy (Effect: Enemies that heal themselves suffer damage instead)

Burst theme: “Invincible,” second phase boss theme against Hades, the final boss of Shadowbringers

Alternate Skin: His appearance in A World Unsundered; his Ascian robe

All of his ability names come from his boss fight as Hades in "The Dying Gasp" duty at the end of base Shadowbringers. He is a heavy damage dealing Dark magic attacker with the matching Dark Imperil/Enchant, capable of using a BRV Poison debuff. He can also store BRV in an overhead buff similar to Astos, he has traps, and on top of that he's a Force charger. His ULT effect prevents enemies from healing or "batterying" themselves. Maybe a pretty loaded kit, but he's a powerful character.

Zangetsu (Spears) Lightning ranged damage, high jump with follow ups, launch counter, Lightning imperil

15: Human Kite

35: Shadowbind Blitz

EX: Flash Twin Break

LD: Mecha-Kite

FR: Battering Storm (with Raijin)

BT: Wheel of Elements: Shock

ULT: Lightning Strike (Effect: Follow up damage increase)

Burst theme: “Land of Dwarves,” map theme for the Underworld, which he is associated with due to spying on the dwarves

Zangetsu's abilities come mostly from his Band options, with Shadowbind and Blitz being two ninjutsu he has access to. His Burst is a Band he uses with the other Eblan Four with a unique addition, "Shock," differentiating it and making it his own. His ULT is an original ability.

Like other spear users, he is a ranged attacker, but one who focuses on Lightning damage with a Lightning Imperil. Similar to Kain and Freya, he has the "high jump" mechanic where he becomes untargetable and uses follow ups.

Also, now enemies can also use some of the mechanics that we use against us - namely, launching. Zangetsu has "launch counter" capabilities, and the way I'd envision that is when an enemy launches any party member, he attacks the foe in response and it deals bonus damage as if the enemy was launched themselves. IDK, I thought it might be fun, and I had to come up with some new mechanics to make each character feel a little different. :P

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 5, Part 2: Ode to Levin

NEON

With the unpredictability of a summer storm, Ramuh retreated after the combined effort of all their currently gathered mages and fighters managed to overpower him. Neon’s ears continued to ring, deafening her to all other sound, as she stumbled around the Ronkan ruins in the wake of his departure. The storm clouds lingering above the treetops finally broke with rain, pooling at the bottom of the uneven slope and soaking the ground with mud. Neon checked on her allies while the healers went around to administer treatment to anyone who needed them most, but thankfully no one seemed to sustain any serious wounds.

“Jack!” She ran over to her friend when she noticed him stumbling away from the pyramids with angry, jagged burns running up his arms. He didn’t pay them or her any mind, even as his limbs twitched in obvious pain. “Jack, you’re hurt!”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said with a grunt, fixated on stumbling straight ahead. “That asshole’s got Sarah. I’m going to find him.”

“Who does?” Neon asked, catching up to him. The ringing in her ears stopped. “Who has Sarah?”

“Who else?” Jack said through grit teeth. “Garland. And he’s going to pay.”

ALPHINAUD

He couldn’t stop revisiting the memory of fighting alongside Emet-Selch in his head. Walking through the Rak’tika Greatwood, he kept expecting to encounter Sin Eaters, so Alphinaud was already on edge as it was.

Twice now the Ascian had directly offered his aid to the Scions and the party as a whole against Ramuh. Though it was reluctant, though he complained, though he dragged his feet every step of the way, he wielded his considerable power in their favor and Alphinaud wasn’t quite sure why. None of the other Scions trusted him, and with good reason; least of all Lyse and Papalymo.

“I’d heard about your encounters with him in the First after you all came home,” Lyse said, as they searched for any sign of Garland, Sarah, or Ramuh together. The rain continued to fall, putting a damper on their overall search and their moods. “But can we really fight alongside an Ascian? After seeing what he’s like in person, I’m not about to trust him anytime soon.”

“I thought the Scions battled against Emet-Selch?” Prompto asked. “Don’t you know him, Lyse?”

She shook her head. “I left the Scions before they were all called to the First, where they met and battled Emet-Selch. Shame, really – though I was busy helping my homeland, I really would’ve liked to punch some Ascian faces in. I so missed the chance with Lahabrea.”

Ravus flexed his Magitek arm as they walked. “Would you care to explain what an Ascian is? I envision something similar to what Ardyn is.”

“My information may be a little outdated as the fight against the Ascians continued long after I was gone,” said Papalymo. “But we understood them to be immortal, formless sorcerers who sought to bring about the Rejoining and revive their dark god, Zodiark. To accomplish their tasks, they sought to possess corpses or hapless individuals like our dear Thancred. Emet-Selch, from what little I know of him, was one of their leaders. Do I have the right of it, Alphinaud?”

Alphinaud nodded. For all he knew, his own information was outdated as well, especially if what Emet-Selch said about the Scions entreating him for help in their battle against an ‘entelechy’ was true. “Emet-Selch was one of the three Unsundered – those who escaped the Sundering of the ancient world into all of its Shards in order to bind Zodiark, their elder primal. Ascian plots necessitated the destruction of entire Shards and a Calamity on the Source to go with it – catastrophe so overwhelming that it quite literally shaped each era in our world’s history.”

“They destroyed the Shards?” Prompto’s face screwed up in thought. “But aren’t those worlds, like where Ryne lives?”

Alphinaud sighed; if only they understood how thorough Ascian plots ran. But they were starting to see the breadth of Emet-Selch’s monstrosity. “Indeed. By Emet-Selch’s reckoning, he was not committing genocide – Sundered as we are, with our very souls split into many smaller pieces and cast through the Shards, he does not see us as truly living beings.”

“Absolutely mad, the lot of them,” said Lyse, her face darkened. “We’ve lost people we love to Ascians as well.”

Alphinaud’s explanation continued as he noticed the puzzlement flash across Ravus, Prompto, and Kuja’s faces. “Though it would be overmuch to explain the exact mechanism of a Rejoining, they required the engineering of Calamities on our Source world as well as a Shard. To that end, Emet-Selch personally constructed at least two empires in order to sow discord and strife throughout history. Including the Garlean Empire, which embroiled our homeland of Eorzea in war.”

“Two empires?” Ravus asked, eyes wide. “One is disastrous enough. I struggle to think of a more reprehensible foe. Why must we simply tolerate his presence?”

“Yeah, I agree with Ravus,” said Prompto. “Does he want a fight? Should we make him go away?”

“Emet-Selch is immensely powerful,” Alphinaud replied. “If he is predisposed to stay with us, it may not be so easy to dismiss him. He did the same to us in our journey in the First – we had little choice but to let him accompany us.”

Kuja had remained mostly silent as he walked with them and listened, but his lip curled with distaste. “And you say these Ascians possess corpses in order to walk among mortals?”

That raised a good point – Alphinaud did not know if Emet-Selch needed to possess anyone in this world. “At times. We learned that Emet-Selch in particular created a cloning facility for ready-made bodies to inhabit.”

Prompto’s face turned pale. “Clones? Man, this guy had his hands in everything, huh?”

“All that being said, what do we think his goals may be in this world?” Papalymo asked. “Could he perhaps be trying to summon Zodiark here?”

“Remember us. Remember that we once lived.”

Emet-Selch’s words flashed in his memory. “I’m not so sure,” Alphinaud admitted. “He acknowledged that we have won, that our wills prevailed over his. He has accepted that the time of his people has passed, and we have been entrusted with their legacy. I suppose we will have to wait and see if he will show his hand.”

“Does he have aught to do with the Fulgurian, Ramuh?” Ravus asked.

“He does not,” said Alphinaud. “At least, not to my knowledge.”

“A man who accepted the death of his people…” Kuja mused. “A foreign concept. If only a certain someone else could have drawn the same conclusion.” When Alphinaud gave him a questioning look, Kuja waved him off. “Pay no mind to my words – I am just idly wondering to myself.”

RYNE

Their search for Garland and Princess Sarah brought them on the path toward the Qitana Ravel, one of the sacred sites of the Ronkan Empire. The whole time, Alisaie glared at Emet-Selch’s back, prodding him forward as if her eyes were as sharp as her rapier.

“You’re sure we’re on her trail?” Jack asked Emet-Selch with a glower that rivaled Alisaie’s.

“I’ve told you, I can see trails of aether,” Emet-Selch said, rolling his eyes. He looked as if he considered saying something else, but apparently decided against it. Ryne had the distinct feeling that he was hiding something.

“This is the Qitana Ravel,” Ryne said, as they approached the ruin. “Where you once revealed to us the ancient truth concerning Hydaelyn and Zodiark.”

“A stroll down memory lane is the last thing I want,” Emet-Selch said with a scowl.

“That makes two of us,” Alisaie added. “Ryne, let’s not encourage him to monologue at us again, please?”

Princess Sarah of Burtgang gave Jack a contemplative frown. “Jack, I cannot claim to know you well, yet you seem more driven than usual in regard to finding this other Sarah. Might you be familiar with her?”

“It’s nothing to you,” Jack replied with a grunt.

“Perhaps it can give us a hint as to her whereabouts, or what that vile Garland might want with her,” said Zangetsu.

“I’m not so sure I’d call Garland ‘vile.’ He has been open about helping us in the past,” said Alisaie. “If anything, his action to kidnap our newest ally is rather peculiar.”

Jack scoffed. “It’s nothing new for him. He’s… kidnapped Sarah before. You should ask your Warrior of Light for what happened there.”

Alisaie’s jaw slackened, but Jack quickened his pace to signal an end to that conversation before any of them could question him. Ryne knew next to nothing of Garland, yet despite his status as one of their foes no one ever had anything particularly concerning to say about him. As far as their enemies went, Garland seemed to have a code of honor – yet she couldn’t make sense of why he would kidnap the princess. Perhaps Jack had something to hide as well, she thought. 

They descended into a cavern that delved into the ruins, but Ryne spotted a strange light near the end of the tunnel. As they progressed, her eyes widened when the cavern opened up to admit a wondrous sight that she never thought she would see again.

Rather than the crumbling ruins of Ronka, they stumbled upon the shining metropolis of Amaurot, capital of the Ancient world. Skyscrapers stretched to the darkened sky, arranged on a perfect cityscape with a pall of melancholy clinging to its pristine streets like a heavy mist. Just as she remembered, everything here seemed larger than life – from the decorative trees, to the benches, and even the doorways of buildings.

“My word,” said Zangetsu, eyes wide with awe. “What a wondrous sight…”

“Couldn’t help recreating it again for us?” Alisaie asked Emet-Selch.

“I had no hand in this,” Emet-Selch replied, languidly waving his hand in dismissal. “This is merely a lifeless facsimile of Amaurot. This is not my home.”

Alisaie crossed her arms and smirked. “Oh, like the facsimile you made for us deep beneath those dark waters of the Tempest?”

“That was different!” he protested. The look he gave Alisaie was almost petulant. “That was a memory. A monument. An opportunity to educate you Scions.”

“This world calls memories from our homes,” said Ryne. “Perhaps it was you who called Amaurot here.”

“I struggle to comprehend the scale of this place,” Sarah said, eyes drawn to the sky. “I have never seen buildings so tall…”

Jack alone seemed unimpressed by their surroundings. “Garland brought Sarah here?”

“It seems so,” said Emet-Selch. He got that same look as before, as if weighing what he was about to say. This time, he grimaced. “There is something you all should know. For reasons I cannot fathom, in this world all of our souls seem to have the same level of density. You, me, Garland, that princess – all of us. Equal.”

Ryne clapped her hands over her mouth. Of all the things she expected Emet-Selch to reveal, it wasn’t this. “But… how is that possible?” she asked.

“Soul density?” said Zangetsu, crossing his arms. “What does that mean?”

“When our world was Sundered into fourteen pieces, the souls of all of its inhabitants were Sundered as well,” Emet-Selch explained. “Each living being – myself and two of my fellows excluded – became diluted, their souls split among each Shard. This made all of the people mortal. Weak. Unable to manipulate aether to the level that we did in ancient times.”

“Yet here, we are all the same?” Alisaie asked. “But does that imply…?”

“That you are now among the Unsundered?” Emet-Selch finished for her. “Or is it instead that I am now at a fraction of myself, reduced to your level? Without a frame of reference to compare to, I am ashamed to admit that I cannot tell. I’ve been trying to determine as much since I came to this world. It is quite the conundrum.”

“Excuse me if I have no pity for you,” said Alisaie. “Seems that whether you like it or not, we’re equals now – regardless of if we are Sundered or Unsundered.”

“That is enough,” said Sarah, shaking her head. “This is no time for squabbling amongst ourselves.”

Jack kept walking ahead of them. “If you’re all done, we’ve got a princess we need to find.”

SARAH I

Garland brought her to a grandiose palace, empty and spacious, with rows of what could have been benches for giants. Curling designs sprawled across the walls and the floor, decorative and unfamiliar in a way that highlighted how otherworldly it felt to Sarah. Whatever sort of people lived here, she could not discern this chamber’s purpose.

He made no effort to bind her after they came here, and also hadn’t harmed her aside from the initial strike to render her unable to fight back against him. Once he released her into this chamber and closed the doors, Sarah held her hands over her abdomen and let her healing magic do its work to mitigate any future bruising there.

“Will you explain your purpose for kidnapping me?” she asked him. “Or do you intend to hold your silence further? If this is some ploy to hold me ransom, you will be sorely disappointed – we are far from Cornelia.”

“So you truly do lack your memories,” he said. “And it is not the doing of this world, but our own.”

She couldn’t make sense of his words. “I remember enough to know your identity: fallen knight of Cornelia, the disgraced Garland.”

“Hmph,” he said. He turned away from the doors, gesturing to something behind her. “You could not begin to fathom how much time has passed since then. I’ve brought you here for a reason, and it is not for anything as banal as gil. Look.”

She turned, and resting high upon a counter she regarded the most beautiful lute she had ever seen. It looked to be made of a deep mahogany, polished with a sheen that looked almost like a magical glow, inlaid with a gold filigree that swirled like vines of ivy. Its rosette appeared similar to the sigil of Cornelia. Even standing from here, she felt a thrum of power emanating from it. “What… is this?” she asked.

“The Lute of Ragnarok,” he said. “A sacred Cornelian treasure from another world. I’ve been searching for it ever since the summons fell to their corruption – and at last it has been found.”

She had never heard of such a thing. “And you couldn’t bring it to me, rather than forcing me to come with you?”

Though she couldn’t tell with his full suit of armor, she had the suspicion that she managed to fluster him when he cleared his throat. “I could not risk Ramuh destroying it. I believe this has the power to soothe his rampage, and whatever dark force has a hold over them did not want it to fall into our hands. With this, Ramuh may see reason again.”

“So you seek to help us,” Sarah said. She folded her hands together. She had no memory of ever meeting the knight before today, but if he spoke true, he had gone through great pains to help them. Though she had reservations about trusting him considering how he took her, he was not the first one to make reference to something she was forgetting. If only she could remember why he had been disgraced in the first place… “Thank you, Garland. I will ensure it is used to quell Ramuh’s fury. Now… if you could escort me back to the others?”

JACK GARLAND

He hated having to rely on Emet-Selch to track down Garland, but he was at a loss as to what else to do. The moogle couldn’t detect him. Nor could Astos. Something wasn’t right here.

He hadn’t felt such a burning need driving him forward this much since Chaos.

His already bitter mood soured further the more they explored this empty city which reminded him of the Lufenians in so many ways. Jack barely paid attention to the monsters he brutalized with his sword, fists, and crystal, mowing down anything that crossed his path. If Garland wanted a fight, he’d get one.

“Jack, please do not push yourself so hard,” said the Warrior of Light, catching up to him with a wave of radiance from his blade to dispatch a reptilian monster. “You may end up hurting yourself before we face our true foes.”

“You’re not pushing yourself hard enough,” Jack shot back. “Isn’t she your princess to guard?”

The Warrior of Light sheathed his sword, their enemies dispatched, and lowered his gaze in contemplation. “She is indeed. Though I failed to be there when Garland took her, I know that I have saved her before. So I can do it again.”

“That so?” Just some empty optimism again. “If you’re about to preach about hope to me, think again.”

“I heard you were there when she was kidnapped,” the Warrior of Light said, ignoring his barb. “Is it perhaps guilt that drives you to rescue her?”

He didn’t know the half of it. If anyone else asked, he would have assumed the Warrior of Light’s comment to be a return volley. But as always, his intent seemed frustratingly genuine. “Something like that.”

“Well, worry not,” the Warrior responded. “I can’t say what Garland wants with her, but I am confident he would not truly hurt her. We will find her together.”

He remembered the blood. The soldiers who fruitlessly threw themselves at him in defense of their princess, cut down by the dozen in his onslaught. They hadn’t even known that their deaths served as a stepping stone to Cornelia’s true freedom. Jack had hurt – and killed – so many people. And in truth, he didn’t fully know what this Garland was capable of.

Emet-Selch caught up to them alongside Thancred and Terra before Jack could share any more words with the Warrior of Light. “Amaurot is inundated with Ramuh’s aether and his egis,” Emet-Selch drawled. “It makes it difficult to track that knight and princess.”

“We’ve been wondering about Ramuh’s behavior,” Thancred explained. “The more we think about it, the more we wonder if he is testing us in some way.”

“One common trait he has across all of our worlds is that he is never so aggressive,” Terra said. “On many occasions, he seems to only fight us as a test of our skill or resolve.”

“He’s been corrupted,” Jack said, furrowing his brow. “That’s reason enough for his changed behavior.”

“But he has sought us out to attack us more than the other espers did,” said Terra. “And he retreats afterward as well. Even if it is simply the corruption, he seems even angrier than the others were.”

“It is pointless to make sense of his motives when he has said nothing to us,” said Emet-Selch. “I once put the Scions through a test of their resolve myself. And if you must know, their results disappointed me.”

“He speaks in no words we can understand, true,” said Thancred, rolling his eyes at Emet-Selch. “But his tactics suggest he is aware enough to seek us when our guard is down, penetrating our defenses.”

“What do you think he is testing this time?” the Warrior of Light asked.

Terra’s fingers curled around her pendant. “I’m not so sure.”

Jack shook his head. “I doubt it’s a test. You’re just being naive and hopeful. I think he’s trying to fight his way through the haze of darkness clouding his mind. Trying to reach out to us.”

The Warrior of Light, Terra, and Thancred let those words sink in for a moment, hanging between them like the Amaurotine mist. It was Emet-Selch who broke the silence. “Thinking more of my test for our Scion friends, I have to wonder if it really is the same after all.”

Thancred narrowed his eyes. “How so?”

Emet-Selch spread his arms wide. “I sought to determine if Sundered humanity, amidst all of their conflicts and woes, was worthy of following the legacy of my people as stewards to our world. If Ramuh and these other primals were once the stewards of this world, protecting you and yours from suffering pain and death, is it not reasonable to assume they are testing your worthiness as stewards in their place? Or perhaps they have already decided your time here is truly at its end, and you must finally rest to make way for the world’s actual new stewards – those Manikins?”

A silence that was heavier than the previous one fell over them, stifling in its weight as they considered his question. Jack, however, cut through the silence with all the delicacy of a blunt cleaver. “Bullshit,” he said. “Those Manikins just woke up. They don’t know anything yet – they claim to have both light and darkness, or neither, but they’re still weak. If that’s what those gods intend for us, then they’re a hundred years too early.”

Emet-Selch’s brow twitched and he did little to hide his annoyance, but he looked away with a sigh before tensing. “Wait. I sensed a surge of aether. Ramuh is building up to strike again. I suggest going on the attack this time before this flash of lightning fades.”

Y’SHTOLA

“I can sense him again, too. He’s close.”

Carbuncle skittered to the top of a decorative tree lining the streets of Amaurot after his declaration, but Y’shtola didn’t need his ability to sense the primals to know that the storm rolled and swelled ever closer. Static made her skin prickle and hair stand up. Violet lightning streaked across the dark sky, striking repeatedly not far from them as if beckoned by a lightning rod. Petrichor stung at her nose until another bright flash unleashed a rainstorm that drenched them in moments.

“I hope Ramuh’s not in pain, kupo,” said Mog, tugging at his ears. “He’s the one who taught me the human language through my dreams, you know.”

“We’ll be sure to free him from his suffering,” said the Warrior of Light. “And we will dispel the storm to show him the dawn again.”

“No flying for you, Zangetsu,” Edge told his student as they picked up their pace to confront Ramuh. “You’ll be too much of a target.”

“As you say, Master – I will keep my feet firmly planted on the ground,” Zangetsu replied.

It still felt strange to Y’shtola to be able to combat the threat of primals without the risk of enthrallment, even against one who tended to be as benign as Ramuh. But even stranger still was to fight alongside Emet-Selch; in this world bereft of Shards and calamities, empires and dark gods, perhaps they could find some common ground after all. And that common ground would allow them to stand fast against the storm.

They found Ramuh in the canyon between two towers with his staff raised, like a spider perched on its web of lightning. Black clouds swirled in a vortex high above him, his robes and mighty beard rippling under his power and the growing wind. Thunder crashed as lightning struck his staff but he didn’t so much as flinch as he bore the weight of the heavens.

“Can we try talking to him first, kupo?” Mog asked, hesitating in drawing his lance while the others unfurled their weapons.

Y’shtola looked to Jack, who seemed ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. “Provided our allies are open to communicating first,” she said.

“Fine. No matter what we do, once he’s outta the way I’m going to find Garland,” Jack snarled.

“Ramuh, please heed us!” the Warrior of Light called out. “You are known for being a champion of wisdom and logic. Before you pass your judgment, let us know your purpose! Tell us what has happened to you and your brethren!”

Ramuh looked down at them, but rather than speaking in response, he pointed his staff and all of the lightning he had gathered at its tip exploded out with enough force to gouge the street with a crackling scream. Y’shtola, the Warrior of Light, and Emet-Selch joined their power together to create a triple-layered shield to block his attack, but even that strained against Y’shtola’s mental faculties. Glass shattered as lightning snaked across the surrounding buildings.

“I take it he is not inclined to parley,” said Emet-Selch, as Edge, Zangetsu, and Mog went on the attack together.

“Even if it means fighting against our former allies, we will do what we must to save this world and protect each other,” said the Warrior of Light.

“Yeah!” Edge exclaimed, fire surging from his fingers toward Ramuh. “I’m not gonna roll over and die just because something’s wrong with you eidolons now!”

Y’shtola held her staff high as she gathered magic in her other hand, cradling it between her palm and the head of her staff. Ice and stone converged on Ramuh, but he swung his staff like a hammer and bolts crashed down from the sky to obliterate her spells. More sparks flew toward Edge, but Zangetsu held up his spear like a lightning rod and absorbed Ramuh’s attack while Edge took the opportunity to strike up close. The Warrior of Light shielded him just in time from a swing of Ramuh’s staff, freeing Edge to cut with both of his blades. Ramuh let out an almost bestial roar, but then Mog dropped from the sky and ripped through Ramuh’s defenses.

“This is revenge for earlier!” Jack shouted, hurling himself at Ramuh while the sage buckled under the force of their attacks. His blade cleaved horizontally at Ramuh, who roared again with the rumble of thunder, dropping toward the ground.

“Prepare yourselves,” Emet-Selch said, though he sounded oddly unconcerned.

Lightning pulsed out from Ramuh in all directions, striking Mog, Edge, and Jack and hurling them into buildings. Zangetsu withstood the blast, but Ramuh’s staff slammed into him instead. The Warrior of Light stood alone against Ramuh’s onslaught.

“A little more help would be most welcome!” Y’shtola exclaimed to Emet-Selch, weaving more spellwork to press the attack and distract the primal long enough for the others to get back on their feet.

“Unbelievable, all of you,” Emet-Selch muttered. “Truly, it boggles me that you fail to see the depths of your own folly. Your own hypocrisy.”

Y’shtola unleashed a conflagration over Ramuh, mind whirling with what he could have meant by his words but too busy to dwell on them.

Ramuh turned his ire on Y’shtola, and just as she prepared to face him in a battle of sorcery, she heard gentle music echoing through the empty city streets. Strings thrummed as a softer undercurrent to the thunder above, almost like a lullaby. From behind Ramuh, she spotted Princess Sarah in the lead of a group that consisted of Thancred, Alphinaud, Alisaie, Ryne, Lyse, Papalymo, and a number of others who came to join the battle.

“Princess!” the Warrior of Light shouted out, sword arm raised.

Sarah continued playing, fingers sliding down the lute’s neck while she strummed with her other hand, eyes closed as she slowly approached with the others flanking her, who battled Ramuh’s egis. Ramuh contorted, electricity crackling as he writhed as if in pain from the sound of her music. A low moan escaped his lips, the breath of a man who seemed almost mortal, old and weak. But Thancred and Ryne sliced across Ramuh’s robes with both of their daggers, leaving the twins to drop spells on Ramuh from above. The Warrior of Light was the one to strike last while Ramuh’s defenses were down, spinning and slashing with light that cut a swathe through the air.

Ramuh doubled over and dropped his staff, and the chatter of lightning faded with it. Wisps of darkness emerged from his form, like smoke, before fading away as he lowered to the ground.

“Is it over?” Lyse asked.

“I yield to you, o chosen warriors,” said Ramuh. If it wasn’t for the aether composing his entire being, rapidly fading, Y’shtola would have thought of him as no more than a mortal man. Upon closer inspection, though, he didn’t seem to breathe. “You have fought well, and have my gratitude for guiding me through that storm.”

Y’shtola sensed that they did not have much time left, so she leapt straight to the point. “Can you tell us what it is that’s corrupting you and your kind?”

Ramuh was still, his robes spread and rippling under what power remained. “It is something alive. Malevolent. It seeks to destroy our ability to maintain everlasting life in this world – that power which we have inherited from the dragon god Shinryu.”

More than a few sharp intakes of breath echoed among the gathered warriors. It was Papalymo who recovered from the surprise first. “I had begun to theorize that it was Shinryu who was behind this whole debacle, returned from when we defeated him some time ago. But it was his power that maintained our lives here?”

“It was indeed his power of revival,” said the Warrior of Light, with a solemn frown. “That was how the cycles of battle kept repeating. He had only become our enemy when we sought to break the cycle and find rest.”

Y’shtola raised an eyebrow at the Warrior of Light. That was not the first time he had made reference to ‘cycles of battle’ – just another mystery she had to solve. But he was unflappable, and content with keeping that knowledge close for now.

“Shinryu’s power was not freely given to us, but dispersed upon his defeat,” said Ramuh. “It was a responsibility willingly taken by my brethren. We wished to watch over you, as we do in all of your worlds.”

Y’shtola’s ears perked up. “So it’s true!” she said. “You are indeed the same beings in our worlds?” Her mind raced. Primals of her world were essentially copies of divinities from lore and legends of various races, but she took Ramuh’s words to mean that those gods had an origin somewhere.

“Well, not quite.” Enna Kros pushed her way to the front, winking at Y’shtola. “I know what you’re thinking – and you’re not entirely wrong! I can help explain it from here, Ramuh, since you let the cat out of the bag. No offense, Y’shtola.” She inclined her head in Y’shtola’s direction before continuing. “The espers, or eidolons – or whatever you want to call them – do have an origin world, but in a way that’s kind of similar to the Source and Shards of your world. You can think of the World of Illusions as the ‘Source’ and the dozens of variations of espers as different ‘Shards.’ Even though the way their appearance may be different, or their origins, or the ways they bend to fit the rules of each world, whether they’re fayth or even gods… at their core, they’re really all the same. In most worlds, they may not even know that themselves.”

“And our worlds?” Alphinaud prompted her to continue. “How are they all related to each other?”

“Pressing your luck, aren’t you?” Enna Kros asked, grinning. “The rules prevent me from revealing too much, but since I’m still the only god on your side for now, I guess I can tell you more. The worlds are all separate, but certain ‘nexus’ worlds – like this one, Grymoire, Tyro’s world, or our Warrior of Light’s world – are a bit more connected to others. Some ideas just get picked up across the Rift separating them, you know?”

“Fascinating,” said Y’shtola, tail flicking with excitement. Her world had expanded all over again. She wanted to know more. Needed to know more. Most of the others seemed like they had been struck silent with awe or perhaps confusion, but she wanted the answers to keep coming. “And you? Does your status as the god of one world give you this knowledge of all the others?”

Enna Kros wagged a finger at her. “Come now, do you expect me to tell you everything? There are still rules to follow. And I’m sure the pursuit of knowledge you so crave would be far less satisfying if you had it all just handed to you.” She turned to Princess Sarah. “That Lute of Ragnarok really did the trick – I didn’t really expect that to make it here from Grymoire. To be honest, I don’t think that’ll work so well a second time. I suspect whatever dark force corrupting Ramuh and friends will be ready for it.”

“I’m not so sure I understand, but thank you for that warning,” said Sarah. “This was given to me by Garland.”

“And do you know what’s corrupting them?” Jack asked. Y’shtola caught the look he gave Sarah after she proclaimed where that lute had come from; though he quickly hid it, she saw genuine surprise flash across his face. “I don’t give a shit about all the other worlds. I’d rather just find whatever’s causing all of this and stop it.”

“I’d really rather you watched your language, Jack,” said Enna Kros, sighing. “Or else I’ll have to censor you. But no, I genuinely have no idea this time.”

Ramuh let out a groan like the rumble of thunder. Amazingly, in the midst of everything, Y’shtola had nearly forgotten he was still there. “Chosen warriors, children of other worlds,” he said. “I entrust the safety of my remaining brethren to you. Though we have failed to protect you, you have our unrelenting gratitude for endangering your lives to maintain this cherished world. And thank you, Carbuncle, for being their guide.”

Carbuncle’s tails waved. “It has been my honor.”

“You don’t need to thank us, Ramuh,” said Mog, jumping up. “We love this world, kupo!”

“Mog is right,” said the Warrior of Light. “We will never falter in our duty, for we cherish this world just as much as you and yours.”

Ramuh looked down at them all, smiling in a way that reminded Y’shtola of a grandfather to his grandchildren, and he began to fade away into the aether. His energy coalesced into a crystal of magicite which fell gently into Mog’s hands.

Laughter rang out from the back of the group, which parted to reveal Emet-Selch as its source. Derision was at its core, puncturing their moment of victory with mockery.

“What’s so funny?” Thancred asked. A chill descended over the gloom of Amaurot.

“All of you,” Emet-Selch replied, running a gloved hand through his hair. “All of this posturing to save this world, prattling on about your love for it, your vows to protect it – I’m reminded of myself.”

Y’shtola narrowed her eyes. “Earlier, you called us hypocrites.”

His lips curled into a rueful, empty smile. “Indeed I did. For when I fought, and when I persevered, and when I endured for thousands of years to restore my world and the people that I loved, you declared me and my fellows the villains. You decried our methods, slayed my cohorts, and undid thousands of years of plotting and planning just as we were on the cusp of restoring our people.”

Alisaie looked like she was about to attack him. “You destroyed entire worlds in that pursuit!”

Emet-Selch stood up straight, his face sobering. “Wouldn’t you have done the same?” he asked. “You Sundered were to us what the Manikins of this world are to you, are they not? Now that you and I are alike in our souls, you should see that.”

Thancred clenched his fists. “We don’t slaughter the Manikins by the millions!”

“No, but perhaps you slaughter them by the thousands,” Emet-Selch replied. He looked over each of them, eyes passing over the Warrior of Light, Edge, Sarah, Mog, Jack, and all the others. “How many of you are there? And how many Manikins have each of you cut down in your time here? I spoke to the Manikins in the Rak’tika Greatwood – many of them live in fear of you.”

“That was only in defense,” said Ryne, head bowed. “Now that we’ve learned they are growing and changing, we want to protect and nurture them.”

“Oh, what a noble sentiment,” Emet-Selch drawled. “And what would you do if they fought against you? If they wished you gone from this world, the same way you fought against the Ascians? I somehow doubt you’d simply pass stewardship of this world over to them willingly.”

“We’re not like you,” said Alphinaud, his voice shaking but jaw clenched. “I don’t speak for everyone, but I would accept it. I had thought long and hard of what I’d do if I were in your position, and – ”

“Oh, save it,” Emet-Selch cut him off. “It’s one thing to posture and preen and pretend you would do the right and noble thing, but let us see what would happen if the Manikins did indeed turn against your patronizing attempt to nurture them. You all genuinely disgust me.”

“Then it seems our alliance was once again short-lived,” said Alisaie, glaring.

At her words, Emet-Selch sighed. He looked tired again. “So it was.” He vanished in a flash of light, leaving them in the shell of his former home.

“I don’t know him well,” said Zangetsu, as they all regarded the weight of his disappearance. “But that fellow seemed almost… disappointed. I’d even hazard to say he may have been saddened.”

“Maybe so,” said Alphinaud, frowning. “It’s almost like… he took our determination to save our home world to heart. As if he learned from us.”

“And now he wants to use that lesson against us here?” Alisaie scoffed. “Ridiculous. He has no idea what we’ve been through in this world to keep it safe.”

“I think he might have a point,” said Jack, shrugging. “But it doesn’t matter to me. I’m not just going to keel over and die if the Manikins suddenly decide they don't want us here. If they want this world, they’d have to prove they can fight for it.”

“Take heart, my new friends,” said Sarah. “We have emerged victorious over a powerful foe, and from what I hear many more await who would threaten both us and the Manikins. Let us not lose hope – there will be time to ponder Emet-Selch’s words later.”

“The princess is right,” said the Warrior of Light. “Though we may one day meet him again as an enemy, we still have much to learn of this world ourselves. When that time comes, let us show him our capacity for growth and understanding.”

Y’shtola trailed after her friends as they departed back to Garden. Emet-Selch had likened their party to the Ancients, those who pursued despicable ends to maintain their utopia. Yet here, their souls shared the same density. She could only wonder what that meant for them, and if even someone like Enna Kros was just like the mortals here after all. But despite everything they had learned thus far, only one question burned at the forefront of her mind.

The longer they stayed here, what would they become?

Character abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Krile

BT: Heritor of Earth

ULT: Divine Judgment (Effect: BRV overflow value is retained)

Burst theme: “Battle 1,” the game’s main battle theme

Alternate Skin: Beastmaster clothes

Her Burst is original, referencing how she inherited the power of the Earth Crystal from Galuf, but her ULT is an Oracle ability, since she already uses an Oracle ability in her kit. After use, any BRV overflow she gets from her battery abilities is retained and dumped on her next HP attack. Her additional costume is her Beastmaster outfit, because she makes it adorable.

Celes

ULT: Triumphant General

Effect: When absorbing BRV, inflict damage back

Her ULT ability is from Record Keeper. After use, any time she absorbs enemy BRV with Runic, she inflicts equivalent damage back to her enemy (does she do that already? I hope not, I can't keep up!).

Princess Sarah I (Unique - Lute) Non-elemental magic damage, auras, healing, gold buffs, regens

15: Ancient Lute

35: Hero’s Song

EX: Light

LD: Age-Old Hymn

FR: Joyous Aria (with Aria)

BT: Hope of Cornelia

ULT: Soul Voice (Effect: When allies restore HP, buff duration +1)

Burst theme: “The Lute," the melody she plays on her lute

Alternate Skins: Her Stranger of Paradise appearance, and her post-NES appearance with a white dress and tiara

Sarah's abilities are a mix of originals and some skills she has in spinoff appearances like Record Keeper and Theaterhythm. She is primarily a buffer and a healer, able to turn ally buffs golden. Her ULT effect lets her extend ally buffs by one turn every time she restores their HP.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Idle Chatter III

Scene 1: Eyes On Me

(One warm, breezy night, Ulmia is on stage in the quad performing a song. Once she finishes, she bows and leaves the stage to her audience’s applause and stands outside of Nine Bean Coffee to catch her breath when Laguna and Kiros approach.)

LAGUNA: Ulmia… that was amazing. Where did you learn that song?

ULMIA: Oh, thank you. Rinoa asked me to perform it. She told me it was her mother’s song.

LAGUNA: Is that so?

KIROS: I know we’ve heard that song before…

( Rinoa approaches with Angelo at her side, who licks Laguna’s hand. )

RINOA: Thank you for performing that, Ulmia! It means so much to me to hear that again.

ULMIA: Of course. Your mother is a talented songwriter – those lyrics are beautiful.

LAGUNA: Rinoa… I gotta ask, is your mother’s name Julia?

RINOA: That is her name! How did you know?

LAGUNA: I, uh, saw her perform a lot back during the war. She was… really something.

RINOA: She really was. What a small world.

KIROS: You don’t know the half of it.

RINOA: I’ve always wondered who she wrote that song about. Definitely wasn’t my jerk of a father, I know that much.

LAGUNA: I’m really sorry to hear she didn’t marry someone nice. She deserved much more.

RINOA: Like a president of Esthar, maybe?

LAGUNA: What gave you that idea!?

RINOA: I’m just teasing. But I bet you’d have made a great father.

KIROS: If you knew any better, you’d say otherwise. For a few reasons.

LAGUNA: Gee, thanks, dude.

RINOA: To be fair to my dad, they really did love each other. She was… happy. We all were, way back when. Things only changed after she died.

LAGUNA: She was happy back then, was she? I’m glad to hear it. Really.

Scene 2: Reflective Ruby

(Mog [OO], Serafie, and Eiko are in a classroom together where they find Carbuncle curled up in a corner.)

MOG: Carbuncle! What are you doing sleeping in here, kupo? Do you want to take a class?

EIKO: Ohh, Carbuncle! Can I be your tutor? That would be fun. Miss Serah says I’m doing really well in my lessons.

CARBUNCLE: That will not be necessary. I just came here to take some time away from everyone else, that’s all. There are lots of classrooms to get lost in.

SERAFIE: I know the feeling. It’s so noisy.

CARBUNCLE: That is not really it. I so rarely get to go on an adventure such as this outside of the World of Illusions. Most of the time you have only come to visit me to partake of my treasures, which I enjoy sharing, but after meeting Lord Ramuh I am really coming to understand this responsibility of guiding you.

MOG: Wow! We haven’t really seen this side of you yet, kupo. All I can say is that it is a really big responsibility. And an honor, kupo! But don’t forget that you and I are partners in this.

SERAFIE: It’s not that hard. I guided Lann and Reynn all the time. Just gotta tell ‘em where all the gossip is and they shoot off to go so fast. It’s like those kids are drama hounds. They always know when to find me for the best rumors.

CARBUNCLE: Thank you, Mog. I must admit, when I first met you I did not know what to expect of a mere spirit moogle from the Rift… but it is clear to me that you care for these warriors and their safety. Thank you for the reminder – I will treasure our partnership.

MOG: You can rely on me, kupo!

EIKO: Serafie, I hope you’re not spreading rumors about everyone here…

Scene 3: Remnant of Pain

( Elena and Tseng are walking toward the library when Kadaj and Zack catch up to them. )

ZACK: Hey, Tseng! Elena!

TSENG: Zack.

ELENA: Oh! Uh, director! Don’t we have an assignment elsewhere?

TSENG: You can’t avoid him forever, Elena.

KADAJ: So it’s true. You were avoiding me.

ELENA: Well, how can I not!? You nearly killed us!

ZACK: Kadaj has changed. He’s a lot different in this world. Tell ‘em, Kadaj.

KADAJ: Brother! I can speak for myself. Tseng, Elena, please accept my apology.

ELENA: Wait, is that all you have to say?

KADAJ: Er…

ZACK: C’mon, Kadaj. You got this.

KADAJ: I know I really hurt you. And… I’m sorry. We don’t need to be enemies in this world.

ELENA: You’re sure you’re not gonna transform into Sephiroth again?

KADAJ: Yes. If he tries, I’m going to kill him. You have my word.

TSENG: In the spirit of apology… Zack, it seems I am overdue for one with you.

ZACK: Oh, Tseng, you don’t have to worry. I know you were just doing your job.

TSENG: Even so, Cissnei and I failed to retrieve you before the infantry completed their work. We had meant to help you escape unnoticed.

ELENA: Wow, it’s rare to see him like this…

ZACK: I understand. Things worked out in the end. And besides, here in this world we can be buddies now!

ELENA: Oh, I think he might be pushing it…

KADAJ: Well, I’m living proof that Zack could befriend anyone.

TSENG: Let’s try ‘work friends’ before moving onto that level.

Scene 4: Supply and Demand, Again

( Ciaran, Shirma, Layle, Aerith, and Aria are outside Garden, in the fields where the party plants their crops. )

AERITH: Hi guys! How’s the farm coming along?

CIARAN: It’s been great! We already planted wheat, carrots, potatoes, celery, pumpkins…

SHIRMA: It’s been a lot of work, but we’re having fun. We even got our hands on a cow, some sheep, and chickens! Layle’s been a huge help with his gravity powers. Even Guy and Gau have been taking care of the livestock.

LAYLE: I was dragged into this.

AERITH: I’ve been growing flowers in the quad, but it’s not as easy as it was before. Willpower alone just doesn’t cut it anymore. It feels weird to say, but it’s like the weather here is too nice. We need more rain!

CIARAN: We’ve been running into that issue, too. I don’t think this world has normal weather patterns.

SHIRMA: And we’re also worried about seasons. It’s hard to even tell what season we’re in now.

LAYLE: So far, we’re still relying on Chocolina and her shop a lot.

CIARAN: But once that’s all figured out, we’ll be able to produce! Maybe as the world continues to change and grow, we’ll also get different weather and seasons.

ARIA: In the meantime, perhaps I can help you as far as the rain is concerned. As the maiden of the Water Crystal, one of our duties was to pray for rain to nourish the crops in our home. Though, we have no such crystal here…

LAYLE: Maybe not a big crystal like the one you had, but I wonder if we can trade with the Manikins for some crystal shards. Every little bit could help.

AERITH: I’m sure we can offer some things to the Neo-Manikins in the area! That’d go far to improve our relationships with them, too, I think. Aria, I’d love to help you.

ARIA: Thank you, Aerith. I look forward to seeing the fruits of our labor. Watching this world’s growth and the growth of this farm will be such a delight.

SHIRMA: Layle, that was a great idea! I’m glad you’re getting more involved.

LAYLE: Ugh, I should’ve kept my mouth shut…

Scene 5: The Academy Director, Hope Estheim

( Hope, Snow, Serah, Locke, Raffaello, Tseng, and Iroha are taking a break from planning their next moves outside of the second floor classrooms. )

IROHA: Hope, if I am understanding correctly, you too were an instructor at an academy?

HOPE: Not quite. The Academy is a research institute that also became the new government of Cocoon after Sanctum fell. I was the director.

LOCKE: No way! You basically lead an entire government?

SNOW: More or less the only government. Hope is a pretty big deal in our world! Not bad for the kid you thought he was before, huh?

TSENG: Not so unlike President Rufus. To be honest, I wouldn’t have guessed.

HOPE: Er, it’s not really like Rufus. Besides, I worked with a committee to make all of our decisions. Our main focus was on scientific development and the creation of a new Cocoon. But it took hundreds of years to create…

RAFFAELLO: You sound like a leader that so many people can count on. Doing all that at the age you are now… I hope you made time for fun.

TSENG: The burden of leadership scarcely leaves time for those sorts of things.

SERAH: Being able to travel through time, it was amazing to see the impact Hope’s actions had on the world.

LOCKE: That’s some legacy to leave. Shame you couldn’t really see the fruits of your own labor.

HOPE: It wasn’t without its challenges, of course. But… I did get to see it. We managed to invent a time capsule that allowed me to wake up again five hundred years in the future.

SNOW: Even though it was a one way trip. 

IROHA: A one way trip five hundred years into the future! That is some sacrifice. When I journeyed into the past, I had no choice if I wanted to save my world. But to do so willingly…

HOPE: It had to be done. Besides, most of my closest friends and family from my time were gone, or they were traveling through time like Serah and Noel. And I can’t deny that I was curious about the whole thing.

SNOW: Sorry to do that to you, Hope. I know I ran off to go find Lightning, but it wasn’t my intention to leave anyone alone.

SERAH: It all worked out in the end, didn’t it? After about a thousand years of fighting… but it was all worth it.

LOCKE: Sounds like you were waiting there for them in the future, Hope.

RAFFAELLO: To guide them. To be there for your friends. Bet they were surprised to see you!

HOPE: I guess so. What’s with all this attention? Please don’t think of me any differently. Nothing’s changed about who I am, just how I look!

IROHA: We will look forward to how you contribute to Garden’s leadership. It is an honor to have you with us, Director Hope!

Scene 6: The Dancer of Rabanastre

( Rikku, Penelo, and Montblanc are watching a performance on stage in the quad. Deuce and Princess Sarah are providing the instrumentals, Lilisette is dancing, and Yuna is singing. )

PENELO: Wow, this is amazing. And it’s that dressphere that lets Yuna sing that way?

RIKKU: Well, she was always talented. But really, I think it’s the duds that give her the confidence to sing her heart out!

MONTBLANC: Don’t you like dancing, Penelo? Why don’t you go up there, kupo?

PENELO: Oh, it’s fine. Normally I’m okay with just dancing in the streets of Rabanastre for a small audience. I don’t need to go up on stage.

RIKKU: Aw, it’d be nice to see you up there tearing up the stage! You can do it!

PENELO: I don’t know…

MONTBLANC: Is it a lack of confidence, kupo? Okay, we won’t push you.

PENELO: I don’t think it’s even that. It’s more like… when I look at Yuna or Lilisette dressed up like that – I just know they’re performers when I look at them! They look amazing.

RIKKU: I can understand that! New clothes can totally give a different kind of confidence boost, too. Well, lucky for you, I have just the thing. You can use your own dressphere!

PENELO: What? Really? It’s no trouble?

RIKKU: Not at all! They’re so much fun – let me show you how they work!

MONTBLANC: Wow, Rikku’s really good at this, kupo… Break a leg, Penelo!

Character Abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Locke

ULT: Ruthless Talons

Effect: Whenever one ally is downed and the remaining party is wiped out, Phoenix revives them all

This ability comes from his Dissidia NT moveset. The effect is similar to Eiko's Phoenix ability, but it's automatic and has the requirement that one party member must already be knocked out for it to trigger (so basically, they are revived if one party member is unconscious, and the boss wipes out the remaining two with one ability). If all three party members are one shotted, then it doesn't trigger. If Locke is the only one left standing, then it does trigger.

Setzer

ULT: Cursed Card

Effect: Random damage inflicted as follow up

This ability comes from one of his Brave Exvius skills. When used, he will then use a follow up that inflicts random damage.

Dancer Penelo (Staff) Holy magic damage, debuffer, battery, healing

15: Mystic Dance

35: Mincing Minuet

EX: Forbidden Dance

LD: Holy Frolic

FR: Heartbreaker’s Scolding (with Sol)

BT: Blade Dance

ULT: Dance of Rapture (Effect: When hit by an attack, get free instant turn)

Burst theme: “Dalmasca Estersand,” theme of eponymous location

Alternate Skin: Her Revenant Wings appearance

Since Penelo gets her own skillset as a Dancer and is shown to use a different primary weapon than what she has in Opera Omnia, I decided to give her an alternate moveset. These skills come from her appearance in Revenant Wings and the Dancer job in Tactics A2, though her LD is an original variation. This version of Penelo is still a healer capable of supporting the party, but she is less focused on buffs and more focused on dealing holy damage and debuffs.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Bewitching Sea Breeze

Meia ( Mobius Final Fantasy )

Voiced by: M.A.O.

Known as the Azure Witch, a heretic who was banished from Palamecia. With darkness in her past, she acts as a rival and companion to Wol as she seeks to find answers about the prophecy and Chaos. She has the ability to summon and is not above using others to obtain treasures.

THE EMPEROR

The Manikin whimpered under his feet.

It pressed itself flat against the dead tree, sprawled over its roots and under the moonlight. The Emperor used his scepter to lift its chin toward him. How pitiful these creatures were, that he could not even see the sheer terror in its eyes. He wanted to make them feel true fear. To beg. Without fear, he would never be able to truly subjugate them – the fact that these creatures had developed wills of their own was an inconvenience.

An owl hooted somewhere above them. Skeletal branches scratched at the sky, casting swordlike shadows over the ground.

“Well?” the Emperor prompted the Manikin again. “Where are your fellow Manikins? Tell me the location of that hovel you call a home. This is your last chance to confess.”

“I… I can’t,” it said. Ah, there was its fear – clinging to its voice.

“This is my territory. I cannot have you vermin crawling upon my land without permission. If you cannot serve your emperor, then you shall die.”

“Emperor? I was not aware that I had come to tread upon imperial territory.”

The speaker was no Manikin – she emerged from behind a tree, hooded and fearless, with all of her face draped in shadow except for lips that curled into a smile.

“You stand before the emperor of Palamecia,” he said. “Unhood yourself, you indolent wretch.”

“I also wasn’t aware that we even had an emperor,” the woman responded. “I know I’ve been away for some time now… but I know enough to confidently say we are not in Palamecia. Which emperor do you claim to be?”

“You are not worthy of knowing my name. I am the only emperor – the one true ruler of all dimensions.” The Emperor sneered. Manikin forgotten, he let go of his scepter and let it levitate around his body, focusing magic into a blast aimed directly at the stranger. It passed harmlessly through her, and she betrayed no reaction. An illusion, then.

“Come now,” she said. “I thought we would talk before proceeding on to a fight. Here I was hoping we could… get along.”

He had learned a long time ago that partnerships in this world would get him nowhere. Even so, he lounged back and sat upon the air, fist curled up under his chin. He appeared relaxed, but expanded his senses to try and pinpoint the woman’s actual location. “Why would I waste time talking with you?” he asked.

“Because I know where these – what did you call them? Manikins? – are living.”

Of course, in reality, he did not care much for that information. If he burned down this forest, sooner or later he would find it. “One measly village offers little value to me,” he said.

“Then perhaps I could tell you what I want,” she said, hugging herself. Her voice came out lower, almost sultry. “And you can let me know what you’d like in return.”

He scowled. “I do not make deals or alliances. If you want to survive, then you will serve me.”

Skeletons and imps emerged from the shadows as if coalescing from tar, swords and daggers pointed at the woman. She backed away from the Emperor, arms spread into a battle stance, and a giant bladed weapon that looked like a crescent moon appeared in her hands.

“Well, then,” she said, and the tone of her voice became sharper. “I see now that this was a waste of time. I should tell you, so-called Emperor, that I serve no one.”

WOL

A barren forest filled with the bones and souls of the undead sprawled out before them, their last barrier on their return trip back to Garden. A slight breeze whistled through the trees that loomed over their heads, dark shapes scurrying in the dry underbrush between them. The silver moon, swelled to its brightest, gave them enough light to second guess every shadow.

“Are you kidding me?” Echo whined. “Why do we have to go through here? We didn’t pass through this forest on the way out for our hunt!”

“Would you rather spend the whole night away from Garden?” Leon asked, pausing at the forest’s entrance. “We have no camping supplies.”

“C’mon,” Wol said. “A spooky forest is just the thing you need.”

“No it absolutely is not!” Echo protested, swinging her arms. “Why would you even say that!?”

“Sorry, Echo,” said Yuna. “We misjudged how long we would be out. Going through here will get us home faster.”

Hauyn walked up next to Echo and crossed her arms. “What is it? Are you afraid of ghosts?”

“Nooo,” Echo said with a soft moan, hiding behind Wol’s shoulder. “Don’t say that… you’ll summon them…”

“There is nothing to fear,” said Beatrix, leading the way into the forest. “We will banish anything that comes across our path.”

Their party entered the forest behind Beatrix with Echo clinging to Wol’s back the whole way. Every twig broken under their footsteps made her wince. Shadows that might have been owls or bats swooped overhead, with each movement making her yelp. Wol was starting to get annoyed with every sound she made in his ear, and was about to wave her off when a chill descended over them that was enough to make even his hair stand on end.

“So cold!” said Hauyn, rubbing her arms. “Where’d that come from so suddenly?”

“A ghost!” Echo shrieked, until Wol abruptly muffled her with his hand.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Leon, kneeling down to examine a tree’s tangled roots. “There’s frost forming on these trees. Spirits don’t really do that.”

“Look,” said Beatrix, her voice barely above a whisper as she partially hid herself behind another tree. “I see a figure drifting ahead – a blue woman. Is that…?”

“...A dead lady!” Echo shouted. “She’s going to take our souls!”

“Will you shut it already?” said Wol, rolling his eyes.

“...An eidolon,” Beatrix finished.

“That’s Shiva!” said Yuna, and Hauyn nodded along with her. “Oh, no – are we ready to face her?”

“Wait, I’m not so sure if that’s the Shiva,” Hauyn said, taking a step closer to peer at the distant figure, who was indeed bright and blue, drifting further away from them. “I think someone summoned her.”

“Then we should follow,” said Beatrix. “It could be an ally who needs us. Perhaps she even wants us to follow.”

They picked up their pace as they went off the beaten path, pursuing the recognizable form of Shiva even as the forest grew more frigid around them. Her footsteps left icy blooms in her wake, but she made no sound as they followed. Eventually, they heard the crackle and burst of magic ahead, and when Wol ran to the source of the noise it was to see a man floating near the treetops and unleashing darkness and lightning below.

“Emperor!” Leon shouted, drawing his blade.

“And now the worms have arrived,” said the Emperor, irritation flashing across his face. “No matter. I will just crush you all, then.”

Yuna held up her pistol, looking around the clearing. “Who was he attacking?”

“I don’t think it matters,” said Leon, brow furrowed. “He would make an enemy of anyone and anything.”

Shiva went on the attack first, flicking her wrist to conjure icy wind that solidified into a pillar of frost that reached for the Emperor. He floated out of the way, but Yuna’s gunshots forced him to dodge and retaliate. As he scowled and called on more magic in retribution, Valefor appeared and unfurled her wings right in front of him, blasting him back with a burst of wind.

“Nice timing, Yuna!” said Echo.

Yuna paused. “But… I didn’t summon!”

Wol caught a glimpse of silver emerge from behind a tree, which lengthened into a weapon he recognized as a blade that could only belong to one person. Meia lowered her hood, shaking out her raven-dark hair, and smiled at Wol. “About time you showed up,” she said.

He should have expected this. “Meia,” he said. “Who did you aggravate now?”

“He claims to be from Palamecia,” she said, smirking. “So I had to give him a Palamecian welcome.”

“Be on guard!” Beatrix warned, after casting a Holy spell that struck the Emperor. The dark sky churned above them, revealing a meteorite that belched from the clouds. Wol and Meia caught each other’s eyes, then leapt to the treetops to vault themselves straight at the falling satellite. Beatrix and Leon joined them, all four blades raised to strike at the Emperor’s conjured spell together. The heat intensified as it neared, but light and lightning and darkness coalesced at the ends of each of their weapons as they all swung with all of their might.

The force of the meteorite meeting all of their attacks exploded outward, sending Wol crashing back down to the ground. Shards from the broken meteorite rained down over the forest, but he fell underneath a barrier summoned by Yuna and Hauyn as small fires burned and sputtered out. Wol clung to consciousness just long enough to see Echo’s worried face above his own.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid! All of you! I can’t believe you’d do something so reckless!”

Echo’s voice, shriller than usual, cut through the fog around Wol’s head and roused him back to the world of the living. His whole body felt bruised and hot, with painful burns running up both of his arms. He pushed himself up, looking around. A few of the trees had been flattened, smoke billowing into the sky, but most of the fires seemed to have died out. Yuna, Hauyn, and even Beatrix knelt over the wounded.

“Echo’s right,” said Yuna, frowning with disapproval as she used her healing magic on Wol. “That was reckless of you.”

“It was either that or letting the meteor crush us,” Wol responded. “Where’d the Emperor go?”

“Fortunately, he vanished,” said Beatrix, leaning on her sword as she administered healing to Leon.

Leon gave a surly grunt. “He’ll be back soon enough,” he said. “What did he want?”

He directed his question to Meia, who was already on her feet with her eyes on her surroundings. “He seemed to think he was creating an empire here,” she said. “Wherever ‘here’ is. One of those things he called Manikins got in his way. They remind me a little of Blanks, come to think of it.”

“And you put yourself in danger to protect it?” Echo asked, doubtful.

Meia looked back at her. “Yes, fairy, I did. There’s a whole village of the poor things nearby. I suspect that man went to go look for it.”

“Then we should go check on them,” said Hauyn. She looked between Wol, Echo, and Meia. “So… do you know each other?”

“We do,” Wol said, offering a smirk of his own. “She’s a summoner who was branded as a heretic by the world itself. Meia is known as the Azure Witch, and all Blanks are ordered to kill her on sight.”

“You do know how to make a girl blush,” Meia said. She brushed her fingers through her hair. “Though you conveniently left out all the times we fought alongside each other.”

“A summoner and a heretic...” said Yuna. “Well, if you two are allies, then you are welcome to join us. I'd love to hear your story."

Meia nodded to her. “I think I shall. Thank you. I will lead the way into the Manikin village – they have met me once before, and should welcome us.”

Echo hung her head as her shoulders slumped. “It’s deeper into this spooky forest, isn’t it?”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” said Wol, grinning. “There’s been a ghost hiding behind you this whole time, and it hasn’t harmed you much.”

Echo’s shrieks and curses tore through the night, unsettling every creature in at least a mile radius.

Character abilities

Previous Character Updates

Sabin

ULT: Suplex

Effect: When buffs wear off or get overwritten, attack again

His ULT finally gives him the ability to suplex his foes!

Strago

ULT: Dischord

Effect: Lowers enemy stats with each ability usage

Strago gets another Blue Magic spell as his ULT. In the original game, it halves the levels of foes, which is why it reduces enemy stats here. It's not really his strongest spell in VI, but it can be useful and some of his more signature spells were already taken.

Meia (Unique - Moonblade) Water/Dark magic damage, Water enchant/imperil, Dark imperil, summon follow ups, auras, debuffs

15: Brutal Wave

35: Fiat Lux

EX: Farfall Nera

LD: Undine Jig

FR: Seafoam Spellwork (with Hauyn)

BT: Summon Sicarius

ULT: Pallida Mors (Effect: Resistance to all elemental damage)

Burst theme: “Battle Tower,” battle theme where she is first encountered

Meia's abilities all come from some of her unique jobs. She is generally focused on magic, but in Mobius she doesn't have any particular focus on Water or Dark. I gave it to her because it felt thematically appropriate, and she has ties to the sea. She gets some follow up attacks with her summons (the Sicarius), along with some offensive auras and debuffs.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: The Beauteous Bounty Hunter

Lani ( Final Fantasy IX )

Voiced by: Yūko Kaida

A bounty hunter hired by the queen to retrieve Garnet and kill Vivi. Initially working alongside Amarant, he found her methods too distasteful and ditched her to capture Garnet on his own. After witnessing the destruction of the entire Alexandrian fleet firsthand, Lani is stranded on the Outer Continent where she is taken in by the moogles and learns the error of her ways.

STEINER

It had been gratifying when Steiner’s capabilities were acknowledged by the rest of the party and their leader assigned him to be Balamb Garden’s captain of the guard. Among all of these great heroes and knights, the posting was a great honor. How glad he was that they would trust him with such a responsibility! He was almost as proud as he was on the day he was appointed captain of the Pluto Knights. 

Perhaps it would be apt for him to name this new group something similar… But since guard duty was on a revolving shift schedule undertaken by most of their companions, he would not be able to foster the same sense of brotherhood as in his Pluto Knights. He weighed his options over and over again while he patrolled in front of Garden’s front gate.

His consideration of that conundrum was interrupted when Rude, Chocobo, and the cadet Jack approached him from outside the gate in a hurry. It was a beautiful morning and Steiner had been feeling optimistic about today – what could possibly have gone wrong already?

“Hey there, captain!” said Jack, giving him a sloppy salute. “We’ve got something to tell you.”

Steiner scowled. The boy needed some work on how to take his job more seriously. “Well? Out with it!”

“We noticed a suspicious character on the outskirts of Ciaran’s fields,” Rude said. Now that was someone who knew how to be a professional. It was a shame that he didn’t have the Turks working guard duty full time. “I was unable to get a good look, but it looked to be a woman with a big axe and feathered bandana. She ran when we tried to get closer.”

Chocobo raised a wing and chirped, presumably in agreement.

“It was Chocobo who first saw her!” Jack declared proudly.

“Is that so?” said Steiner, putting his hands on his hips. “Well, then! We shall go and apprehend this intruder. Let’s move out!”

“Wait, you said you saw a woman with a big axe?” Amarant approached, surly as ever, and Steiner had to make a conscious effort not to jump up and down in frustration upon seeing him. Amarant had blown off his guard duty shift just yesterday. “I’m comin’ along.”

So Amarant had the thought that this was his old companion, it seemed. Steiner, personally, doubted it – this world had no use for more of that ilk. Queen Garnet had enough enemies to deal with already.

VIVI

Vivi kicked his legs from atop the newly erected fence and watched as the farmers did their tasks for the day. Ciaran and Shirma had insisted that this was the time for the greatest work and thus required the help of as many of their warriors as they could enlist, and since they all wanted to eat they had no shortage of volunteers. Vivi and the other children were forbidden by Rosa and Edea from helping, though, so he contented himself with watching and keeping their spirits up as they worked.

Today, he waited for Chocobo so they could go out further in the fields and play. Chocobo was supposed to be busy with guard duty today but Vivi convinced him to sneak away from Steiner so they could go have fun.

When he saw Chocobo trotting down the dusty lane accompanied by Steiner, Rude, Amarant, and Jack, he thought Chocobo had been caught trying to escape. Vivi jumped down from the fence, wringing his fingers in the fear that they’d be scolded.

Vivi pulled at the brim of his hat and winced when he saw Steiner’s eyes bulge and mouth open wide in an expression that could only be described as abject horror. But, Vivi realized, it wasn’t directed at him.

“YOUR MAJESTY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WORKING THE FIELDS LIKE THAT!?”

Vivi hadn’t noticed Garnet among the day’s farmers, pitchfork in hand and dirt all over her clothes. She jumped up and ran over to Steiner. “Steiner, really! It is fine – I volunteered for this duty!”

Her attempt to placate him went unheard, his armor rattling as he jumped up and down in a tantrum. “TO THINK THAT CIARAN WOULD MAKE YOU DO MANUAL LABOR! HE WILL PAY FOR THIS!”

“Steiner, please,” said Garnet, rubbing her temples.

“What’s the big deal?” Jack asked. “She looks like she’s doing great!”

“Thank you, Jack,” said Garnet, beaming. “I am learning quite a lot from Ciaran and Shirma. I’ve never tried my hand at farming before.”

“I would say Steiner is just concerned for your safety,” said Rude. “We spotted someone unfamiliar sneaking around out here. They could be dangerous.”

“Nah,” said Amarant, crossing his arms. “Not if it’s who I think it is. She’s no big deal.”

“I HEARD THAT!”

A woman with an unforgettably giant axe that Vivi didn’t expect to see again appeared from behind one of the mounds of dirt, shaking her fist at Amarant. Her sudden arrival made Vivi jump back in alarm, and Steiner, Jack, and Rude took battle stances.

“Lani,” said Amarant, dropping his arms to his sides. “What’re you doing here?”

“Do you see what I mean, Your Majesty?” Steiner asked, gripping his sword with both hands. “You cannot wander off too far with ruffians like her about!”

“Watch yourself, rustbucket,” Lani said, glaring. “I am no mere ruffian – I am the beautiful hunter of love! My axe and I demand respect put onto the name.”

“Does that still make you some kind of ruffian?” Jack asked, scratching his head. 

“She was a bounty hunter hired to kidnap the princess and Master Vivi,” said Steiner. “To my great regret I was not there to protect them, but she was a persistent foe.” He turned his glare on Amarant. “And she was hired alongside you!”

“Yeah, but I never did crap like take child hostages,” said Amarant, waving his arm. “You’re not gonna do that here, are you?”

Rude adjusted his sunglasses. “If you are going to be a problem, we will be forced to swiftly eject you from the premises.”

Lani stomped her feet. “Of course I’m not gonna do that! I have no idea where ‘here’ even is, anyway! No one hired me for anything.”

Garnet stepped between her and Steiner, which only made Steiner bluster more. “Please, let us make peace. If I recall, did you not come to live with the moogles in Madain Sari, after having come to see the error of your ways?”

At her words, Lani’s whole demeanor changed. She folded her hands behind her back and kicked at the ground with a pout. “I did. Seeing all that we went through… it made me think about where my life had gone, you know? And now here I am, with no idea what’s really going on.”

Chocobo gave a little wark of sympathy for her, his eyes downcast, and followed it up with an upbeat “kweh!” that made her laugh.

Vivi never found it in himself to hate her for battling them. “Why don’t you come with us, Miss Lani?”

“M-master Vivi!” Steiner sputtered.

“I don’t mind at all,” said Garnet, and Steiner sputtered so much that Vivi couldn't even discern words.

“Salamander,” Lani said to Amarant. “You were okay with letting us team up again after all that, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” grunted Amarant. “C’mon, there’s someone you should meet back at Garden.”

“Ohhh, you’ve got moogles here, too?” Lani clasped her hands together near her face and cooed at Mog and Montblanc. Amarant, Garnet, and Vivi brought her back to Garden, where they found the moogles in the first floor lobby. “The moogles of Madain Sari saved my life. I owe you little guys everything.”

Mog whirled and rose higher into the air. “I-is that so? Well, I’m glad the moogles of your world are so nice, kupo!”

“As expected, kupo,” said Montblanc. “I’ve heard that they did raise Eiko, after all.”

“Lani here would make for a strong ally,” Garnet said to the moogles.

Vivi nodded. “Yeah! I hope we can be friends here.”

Lani blushed, but flipped her hair over her shoulder as if to hide it. “Friends, huh? Yeah, I guess I can try that out.”

He knew, somehow, that it would make her happy. After meeting her again in Madain Sari, he had gotten the impression that she was just lonely. “I’m glad to hear it!”

“Let’s go put that strength to the test,” Amarant said. “Make sure you haven’t been slacking. This place has got a training center – just over that way. And sometimes really big monsters show up.”

“Watch out, kupo!” Mog warned. “I’ve heard there’s sometimes a really big dinosaur!”

Lani grinned and hefted her axe as she ran off toward the training center with Amarant. “Wait up, Salamander! My axe is ready to rend any prey in our path!”

Character abilities:

Previous Character Updates:

Relm

ULT: Friendship Portrait

Effect: Blind effect duration extend

Relm's ULT is an original one where she paints the rest of the cast of VI. After use, her Blind debuff gets a longer duration.

Leo

ULT: Aegis Strike

Effect: Follow up damage increase

Aegis Strike is an ability he has in Record Keeper. After use, all of his follow-up damage is increased.

Lani (Unique - Axes) Non-elemental melee damage, 5 follow ups that build up each turn she targets the same foe, instant break, counter, launcher

15: Bardiche Cleave

35: Scan

EX: Hands Off!

LD: Black Magic Bounty -> Enables Fira/Thundara/Aera/Watera/Blizzara follow ups

FR: Bladed Kiss (with Meia)

BT: Hunter of Love

ULT: Elegant Swing (Effect: Scan inflicts full imperil)

Burst theme: “Madain Sari, Village of the Lost Summoners," the theme of the village where she has a big breakthrough about her life

Lani's got a few different sources for her abilities. Scan and all of her follow-up spells are from her boss battle (though she does cast Water instead of Watera in FFIX). Notably, she is one of the few enemies in the franchise that actually uses Scan on the party, so I wanted to incorporate that into her kit. "Hands Off!" and "Elegant Swing" come from her kit in Brave Exvius, but the rest of her abilities are original.

By default, she deals non-elemental damage. As a boss battle, she mainly focuses on attacking Garnet (if she's alive), so I wanted to replicate her tendency to focus on one foe by giving her a boost to attacking the same target. After using her LD, she will begin following up her attacks with Fira. If she targets the same foe again, she will then cast Fira and Thundara. If she does it again, then she will cast Fira, Thundara, and Aera -- and so on, capping with five follow ups. When she uses Scan, the following attack on that foe will instant break them (from any party member), and have boosted HP damage as well. After she uses her ULT, Scan will also inflict a full elemental Imperil on her foes, ensuring that she is not locked out of any fight with her Black Magic follow ups. She can also counter attacks and launch foes, giving her some more damage potential.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Memories of a Promise Made

Gaia ( Final Fantasy XIV )

Voiced by: Yuna Kamakura

A mysterious young woman who can wield darkness in the First, a world flooded with light. When the Scions ventured into the barren lands of the Empty to restore its balance of aether, Gaia appeared with no memory of who she was or where she came from; through battling the forces of the gargantuan Sin Eater, Eden, she comes to learn she is the reincarnation of an Ascian. Dubbed the “Oracle of Darkness,” she forms a close friendship with Ryne, her prickly personality contrasting with the Oracle of Light’s kindness.

GAIA

Gaia knew this place.

It was an empty city, far larger than her home of Eulmore had ever claimed to be. Skyscrapers towered high above her, longing for a dark and cloudy sky. Streetlights lit the way through the gloom, dotted along pristine white streets. Doors and benches and black iron archways loomed taller and larger than any she had seen before. It was a city for giants.

This was Amaurot, capital of the ancient world. The seat of the Convocation of Fourteen, its ruling body – which she had once been part of, long ago and in a different life. Her title had been Loghrif, the Pastor. Overseer of all terrestrial life. Those memories came flooding back, but they didn’t belong to her. She had come home. She had never been here before.

Just as she started to think that she didn’t want to be alone here, she saw a figure ahead of her. Gaia picked up her pace when she recognized Ryne from behind – but rather than her orange hair, this figure seemed to be made of pale blue crystal.

“Is that… a statue?” she wondered aloud.

The crystalline figure moved and turned to face her, revealing blank eyes. Gaia froze – as much as this thing looked like her dear friend, its movements seemed unnatural and unnerving. “Oh, get over it,” the creature said; a twisted mockery of Ryne’s voice that had none of her warmth. “I’m just a Manikin.”

Gaia’s jaw slackened, but she clamped it back shut as soon as she remembered to compose herself. “A what?” Her tucked away Ancient knowledge told her nothing of this ‘Manikin.’ “What manner of creation is a Manikin?”

“I was summoned by the will of the crystal, just as you were,” said the copy of Ryne. She turned her chin up in a haughty way that the real Ryne would never do.

“And did you do anything to the real Ryne?” Gaia asked, fists clenched. She knew not what to make of those words. What crystal did she speak of? But to admit to her ignorance would be to put herself at even more of a disadvantage.

The Manikin walked closer to her and crossed her arms. “Calm yourself, I have never even met her,” she said, which loosened the tight knot in Gaia’s chest. “All I know is that we resemble other inhabitants of this world. I even lack her memories. If you know aught of this city, then do feel free to share.”

Gaia’s cheek twitched. She was reminded of the worst of the Eulmoran nobility when she spoke with this crystalline Ryne. But there was one thing, at least, that Gaia seemed to know more than the Manikin – little comfort as it was. “This is Amaurot. Supposedly, deep beneath the sea – but I clearly see the sky, dim as it is.”

“Hm. Then clearly you know as much as I do after all. Which is to say, nothing. Obviously, we are not under the sea.”

“Obviously! I am well aware this isn’t the same Amaurot I’ve been told about!”

“Well, you may accompany me as I search the area for answers,” said the Manikin, pivoting on her heel and turning her nose up. “Please be sure to keep up – I will not slow my pace on account of your impractical heels.”

Gaia simmered. She much preferred the real Ryne to this one, but she followed instead of being left with only the loneliness of the empty city and her past life’s phantom memories for company. “The real Ryne is much kinder than you,” she said. “And makes for much better company.”

“Is that so?” said the Manikin. “Then perhaps I will consider not using her name.”

“I forbid it,” said Gaia. “Choose your own name.”

“Ugh. This girl must have an infinite well of patience if she would put up with you.”

“Ha,” Gaia looked away, lips pressed into a smile. “I suppose she does.”

“This Ryne – whose form I have taken… you care for her?” she asked after a few minutes of blessed silence.

Gaia took a moment to answer, weighing how much she wanted to tell this strange crystal being. “When I had no memory of who I was, she was there. She never let me feel alone.” She looked toward the Manikin with an eyebrow raised. “I don’t suppose you can change your form, can you?”

“What, do you find yourself flustered by my beauty?” she asked, and then laughed into her hand.

Gaia laughed as well and was about to retort when a dark portal swirled into existence in front of them – for all she knew, a doorway to the Void. But rather than Voidsent, a man in black and gold stepped out of it, and it closed behind him.

“What an unexpected surprise to see you here,” the man said, regarding Gaia with a penetrating gaze. His face softened and he put a hand to his chest. “Ah, but you wouldn’t recognize me, would you? I am Emet-Selch. Ascian.”

Gaia’s eyes widened and she recoiled away from him, her hammer appearing as if from nowhere. She clutched the shaft with both hands, its weight the first comforting familiarity here, and glared at him. “Ryne and the others told me all about you! How do you live?”

“The will of the crystal, or so I’m told,” he said, whirling his hand dismissively as if to show what he thought of that. “Just as you yet live again, Loghrif. The color of your soul hasn’t changed.”

Gaia shook her head. So that was how he knew who she was. “I’m not Loghrif. My mind is my own.”

Figures – a colleague of her past life. She wanted nothing to do with him.

“Is that so?” he asked. “I could raise you again back to your former station with nary a finger lifted, if you so wished. All your powers and memories returned.”

The Ryne Manikin drew her daggers. “Bugger off, before we make you,” she said. “I believe she’s made it clear she wants nothing to do with your offer.”

“I’ve remembered enough and rejected it,” said Gaia, pleased and a little surprised by the Manikin’s defense of her. “Ryne and the Warrior of Darkness helped me cleave through the shadows in my mind. I will not throw their efforts away so easily.”

Emet-Selch’s face twisted into one of disgust. “Did they, now? Even you have thrown your lot in with them? I’d thought to find a fellow Ascian on my side, yet you buy into their drivel, too, even as you travel alongside a Manikin that you infantilize.”

“Infantilize?” said the Manikin. “She’s done no such thing in our short time together. If anything, she has been struck dumb by my intelligence.”

Gaia scoffed. “That is one way to put it.” She narrowed her eyes at Emet-Selch. “You speak nonsense to me. I’ve only just found myself here in Amaurot. Where are my friends? Have you hurt them?”

“They’re somewhere far from here, I expect,” he said. He rolled his eyes. “And no, I haven’t lifted a finger against them. Though I disagree wholeheartedly with their actions, I have decided not to oppose them. I want no part in their hypocritical struggle to maintain their own lives at the expense of this world’s burgeoning life – like that of your Manikin friend.”

Gaia’s face twisted into a scowl. How dare he show himself to her after everything he had done, both from what she had discovered in Eden and all that she had heard from Ryne, Thancred, and Urianger? “I care little about whether you mean to oppose them. You show no remorse for what you’ve done to me , and your plot to destroy the First.”

Another man appeared, then, coalescing as if from the shadows. The Manikin turned to face the man in the fedora and unruly hair, with a long jacket and flowing scarf. “I’d thought I’d sensed a confluence of darkness gathering here,” the man said with a flowery bow. “Ah, you’re Emet-Selch, aren’t you? I’d heard about the little debacle with Ramuh, but you and I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet.”

Emet-Selch looked as if he caught the scent of something disgusting. “And you are?”

“Ardyn, if it pleases you,” said the other man. “Young lady, you’ve mentioned a name that I recognize. It may hearten you to learn that Ryne counts among my many travel companions in this world.”

“You’ve been listening, have you?” Gaia said. Something about this man gave her a chill, like darkness at the edge of an abyss that could drag her down into its depths. She had witnessed forever, though; she had come back from it. He may have been darkness, but she was the Oracle. “Well, before I go with you, I have business to finish with Emet-Selch.”

“Allow me to aid you, then,” said Ardyn. “One ‘Oracle of Darkness’ to another. I’d like to see how I compare to a sorcerer of eld.”

Gaia’s eyes widened. She didn’t know what to make of him knowing that. Had Ryne mentioned…?

“You, Manikin,” said Emet-Selch, pointing to the copy of Ryne. “To them you will never be more than a pale imitation of true life. I would know, as I once thought the same of them. Would you still fight alongside her?”

The Manikin sunk deeper into a fighting stance. “I’ve no reason to doubt her yet. We’ve only just become acquainted.”

Gaia hefted her hammer and launched herself toward Emet-Selch, roaring out a challenge. “Enough of this! You don’t speak for me, Emet-Selch!”

Her hammer came down hard over Emet-Selch’s head, but he looked almost bored as he snapped his fingers and a barrier appeared to deflect her attack. The force of it knocked her back, but she waved a hand and conjured swirls of dark magic to surround him. She went to swipe at him again, leaping over the wave of darkness he cast over the ground back at her, but he swatted her out of midair with a backhanded swing. Ardyn moved into the opening, teleporting with a sword strike and a tornado of black energy, which Emet-Selch dispelled with a wave of his arm. The swirls of darkness that Gaia had cast then erupted, her delayed spell taking him by surprise.

An enormous, shadowy arm made of oily darkness appeared, slamming down against the ground. Emet-Selch had withstood her attack, making Gaia curse under her breath. The Manikin leapt onto the arm and used it to run toward her target. It tried to shake her off, but the movement propelled her into the air and allowed her to fall down on him from above. She stabbed down at him, but black fire erupted and struck her twice with swift movements from Emet-Selch’s arms, blasting her back.

“Ryne!” Gaia shouted out – it was automatic, slipping out before she could stop herself.

Ardyn’s dark magic swelled in the space between Gaia and Emet-Selch, his movements too fast for Gaia to track as he teleported around the street that had become their battlefield. Black energy pulsed from Emet-Selch in turn, washing over them as he tried to swat Ardyn away. Emet-Selch treated them all as if they were little more than a nuisance to him.

Gaia felt the frustration building in her chest and pushed forward, struggling against the tide that threatened to sweep her off her feet. Emet-Selch watched her come. He lifted one finger and pointed at her and Gaia saw the piercing attack coming; she swung her hammer at it just in time to block the spear. The force of the attack made the shaft of her hammer vibrate painfully, all she wanted to do was let go – but to do that would be to let the Ascian win. So she persisted, she pushed forward; straining against the lance of darkness and light focused on the head of her hammer that threatened to pierce her through, balancing it as she progressed closer and closer to Emet-Selch. Her own magic rushed up around her to strike, fracturing his attack into a prism of reflected beams that went off in multiple directions.

The Manikin had risen, stumbling toward Emet-Selch to join the attack again, when one of the errant beams struck her.

Gaia’s voice broke. “No!”

The darkness vanished as quickly as it had come, the magic fading as they all ended the battle at once. Gaia rushed to the fallen Manikin.

“You did this, Loghrif. I had no desire to fight,” Emet-Selch said. His face was unreadable. “I pity you. I do. Perhaps these Manikins will disappoint you in the end. But until we are gone, they will be mere casualties in the battles waged here by our kind. Remember that.”

He turned away from Gaia, from the aftereffect of their battle, and gave a languid shake of his wrist as he departed.

Gaia took the Manikin’s hand, staring into her empty eyes. She expected the Manikin to be cold, like a stone, but she was warm. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“You… called me Ryne,” she said. The echoing quality of her voice started to die, and it made her sound almost like she was made of flesh and blood. “I rather liked that. Thank you for not letting me... be alone."

Her hand crumbled away first, and then the light at her core faded as the rest of her crystalline body turned to dust in Gaia’s arms before she could even say anything else. Her words died in her throat before she could get them out.

“Come,” said Ardyn, stepping up to her side. “I shall bring you to the companions from your world.”

Ardyn brought her through something he called a Torsion into a bright and sunny environment that was so large and with such high glass windows and ceilings that she didn’t realize it was partially indoors at first. He called the circular white tower her new home. Balamb Garden.

Gaia saw Thancred first, talking to someone in a black jacket with a fur-lined collar. A girl in a long blue cardigan ran up to them, laughing about something Gaia couldn’t hear, and her heart leapt when she saw Ryne trailing behind her. Gaia wanted to yell for her attention, but it was as if she had the Manikin’s crystal dust in her throat, so instead she waited for Ryne to see her.

She almost turned away, almost asked Ardyn to take her elsewhere. She wondered, briefly, if she needed to learn more about the Manikins before she had the right to reunite with her friends again. To make up for letting one of them die. But Ryne noticed her before she could make up her mind, eyes widening and mouth opened in an unheard gasp, and it dispelled any doubts Gaia had.

“Gaia!” Ryne shouted with joy, running toward her with arms outspread. “I can’t believe it! You’re here!”

Gaia opened her arms on a reflex as Ryne neared, and they embraced before Gaia could even think about how foolish they must have looked to everyone else. “Yes,” she said. “I am here to stay.”

Character Abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Mog

ULT: Twilight Requiem

Effect: Additional follow up "Cave-In"

Mog's ULT is one of his unused Dances, particularly the one that he uses in caves and dark areas. After use, he gets an additional follow-up ability.

Shadow

FR: Interceptor & Darkstar (with Rufus)

BT: Last Second

ULT: Throw Ragnarok (Effect: Instant turn when inflicting breaks)

Burst theme: “The Fierce Battle,” played in difficult boss battles such as against Ultima Weapon

Shadow's Force partner is a character who is already in the game, so here's his update! I'm sure you can see the reason for this Force partnership... His Burst ability is an original, referencing how the player needs to wait until the last second when fleeing the Floating Continent to save him. His ULT has him throwing one of the best weapons in the game at his foe, and after use he gets an instant free turn after breaking foes.

Gaia (Unique - Hammers) Dark melee damage, Dark imperil, Rainbow damage, traps, Petrify, BRV to 0

15: Doomvoid Slicer

35: Spell-In-Waiting: Unholy Darkness

EX: Hell Wind

LD: Shadoweye

FR: Unexpected Brutishness (with Lani)

BT: Quietus

ULT: Terminal Relativity (Effect: Casts Memory’s End - fixed 5% dmg at foe 10% health)

Burst theme: “Promises to Keep,” the theme for the final battle in Eden’s Promise

All of Gaia's abilities come from her boss battle in the Eden raids when she is first met as the Voidwalker in Eden's Gate: Descent. I tried to replicate some of the battle mechanics from that boss fight with her kit.

Doomvoid Slicer inflicts a unique debuff called Diabolic Curse, which turns all Weakness damage inflicted on a foe into Rainbow damage. "Spell-In-Waiting" inflicts a trap debuff to replicate the delayed detonation of her spells. Her EX, Hell Wind, sets all enemy BRV to 0. Her LD is an interesting one -- she selects one party member, and if any foe attacks that ally, they suffer the Petrify status effect. Petrify is an instant break and turn deletion debuff packed into one. She also has a unique ULT effect in that she inflicts fixed 5% damage one time once the foe reaches 10% of their total health (perhaps this allows her to bypass some enemy mechanics?).

Her Burst theme does not come from the battle against the Voidwalker (which plays remixed FFVIII music). Instead, it is from the final battle of the Eden raids overall.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Darksteel Hurricane

Zeid ( Final Fantasy XI )

Voiced by: Satoshi Hino

A former member of the Republic of Bastok’s all-Galka brigade that fought in the Crystal War against the Shadow Lord over twenty years ago. For a time, he sought vengeance against Bastok for failing to help his brigade, of which he was the only survivor. Though he prefers working alone, he once helped Lion in her adventures and it was his blade that had slain the Shadow Lord to end the Crystal War.

MACHINA

When Mog sensed a new light far to the north, Machina set out with a few others to go and find it. Balthier and Fran, reluctantly accepting their role as the main form of transportation when the entire Garden didn’t need to move, took them on their airship.. Though they came with a small group – which consisted of Leon, Cecil, Lyse, Lion, Prishe, Agrias, and himself – Machina felt prepared for anything to come their way, whether it was a new friend or a new foe.

What he wasn’t quite prepared for, however, was a frigid, snowy wasteland.

“We’ll leave you to it, then,” said Balthier, waving them off before shutting himself inside of the Strahl .

“Lovely, thanks,” said Lyse, hugging herself for warmth. Machina heard more than just a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

The wide, open snowfields were mostly barren, with distant peaks and unforgiving stone cliffs. Occasional winds battered their faces with tiny ice crystals, stinging Machina’s eyes. He had to keep wiping away the tears forming out of a fear that they’d freeze to his cheeks. Ahead, dark gouges in the snow-laden ground revealed scars in the earth where some sort of magical energy seeped out, bleeding in pillars that stretched into the air and faded into the sky.

“Wait, I know this place,” said Lion, rubbing her hands together. “I almost didn’t recognize it without all the Kindred around, but I’m certain this is Xarcabard.”

“Is it something that should concern us?” Cecil asked.

“The Kindred are a beastman race that people call demonic,” said Lion. “And this region is where the Shadow Lord kept his stronghold.”

“So not good news, then,” grumbled Machina. “Fantastic.”

“Someone from our world must be here!” said Prishe. “Unless you summoned this place, Lion? You helped fight the Shadow Lord, didn’t you?”

Lion lowered her eyes. “Maybe,” she said with a sigh. “Just so the rest of you understand – the Shadow Lord led an alliance of all the Beastman tribes in a war against the five races. He was defeated twenty years ago, ending the war, but recently he had been revived. I was one of the ones investigating the circumstances leading to his return. We managed to defeat him again, but things weren’t really what they seemed. He had a cloud of rage and hatred surrounding him, and toward the end he broke free of it.”

“But you’re not certain if his mind would be his own if he were to be summoned here,” Leon surmised. “Your hesitation is understandable.”

“Mayhap he seeks solitude,” said Agrias. “If there is naught but snow and desolation here, t’would be ideal.”

“Let us take shelter from the cold,” Cecil advised. “At least for a time. Then we can resume our search.”

“I know where we can go,” Lion said, pointing ahead with a grim frown. A fortress of stone and snow loomed against the pale gray sky. “Castle Zvahl. The domain of the Shadow Lord.”

Once they passed the gates and crossed the threshold into Castle Zvahl, silence reigned.

The stone here was cold and black, like obsidian. The gloom hung thick, a cold vapor, and Machina could see why someone named the Shadow Lord would use this as his base.

As they started to walk down the dark hall, Leon held out a hand. “Hold. I hear voices.”

Machina strained to hear but they all pressed against the wall, edging closer to a gap in the black stone which led to a different chamber. Leon, in the lead, stopped to give them a chance to listen.

“It will be found in these halls, I’m sure,” said a boyish voice, heavy with derision. Machina recognized Eald’narche as the speaker at once. “The power that sleeps here. Remnants of that wretched Shadow Lord.”

“I’ll get it for you,” said a gruff voice. Machina wasn’t sure he had ever heard the speaker before.

“As if you can be trusted with it, Hume,” said Eald’narche. “Your hands will not touch it. Don’t forget your place.”

“Of course not, my lord,” said the other speaker, putting emphasis on the formal address. The tear in space of a Torsion opening up resounded from in the chamber, and then closed again shortly after. Armored greaves stepped against the stone – Eald’narche was the one who disappeared into it.

Agrias pushed herself off of the wall, drawing her sword. “I know which foe means to oppose us here – Gaffgarion!”

The dark knight from Ramza’s world. Machina had heard about him. If Agrias had judged that they didn’t need to hide from him, then so be it. Machina drew his drill rapiers and faced the doorway into the chamber alongside Agrias and the others, looking upon the old knight in rusty armor for the first time. It was an otherwise empty room, with other halls branching off deeper into the castle.

“Lady Oaks,” said Gaffgarion. If he was surprised to see them, he didn’t show it. “I’ve never known an honorable knight to drop eaves.”

“You serve the likes of Eald’narche now?” she responded. “The depths of your ignomy have no end, I see.”

“If it’s gil you’re after, I doubt someone like that guy has any,” said Machina.

“It is not gil that turns this world, but power,” Gaffgarion replied, hands flexing in his gauntlets. “Sheer power, held in our hands and manifested as will. That boy has shown me how to wield it according to the laws of this world, and I intend to survive here no matter how cruel he is.”

Lion held her dagger forward. “We won’t let you take whatever power Eald’narche has found here!”

Lion and Leon went on the attack together, striking at Gaffgarion from both sides with a blade of light and darkness, respectively. An eye made of crimson energy opened above them both, and Gaffgarion slashed downward to rend the air. Magic siphoned from their bodies to his sword, which he then unleashed in a wave of foul magic. Machina braced himself, but a massive figure in black armor appeared and cleaved the force in two with a pure black blade.

“Is this… the Shadow Lord?” Agrias asked, backing against the wall to take in both of her foes.

“No… Zeid’s here!” Prishe exclaimed, beaming. “All right! Let’s take this chump down!”

“Lion, Prishe, I expect you both to tell me what is happening,” said the hulking figure, Zeid. Based on Prishe’s reaction, Machina assumed him to be an ally. “Has the Shadow Lord returned once again?”

“No, just this fiend and his new master,” said Lion, glaring at Gaffgarion.

“A clash of dark knights,” said Leon. “You both wear your hatred like armor. Let us cross swords and see whose darkness prevails.”

“All of you against me?” said Gaffgarion, backing away with his sword raised. “That is hardly a fair contest. But if we must…” Blindingly fast, silver flashed as his sword swiped the air in front of him, casting the entire chamber in pitch black darkness. Blinded, Machina heard a few members of the party gasp. Machina sensed movement around him and crossed his blades just in time to defend himself. Light shone and it took him a moment to realize it concentrated at the tip of Cecil’s blade, banishing the darkness, which seemed to leach away from the chamber like water down a drain.

But rather than vanishing, it seemed to coalesce around Zeid’s greatsword. “My hatred is not donned as armor,” he said. “It forms my blade.”

He swung toward Gaffgarion, the energy crashing and exploding against the stone wall. The floor rumbled as dark forces burst from the impact, dislodging rubble from the ceiling. Everyone recoiled away from the damage with Cecil and Agrias shielding them, but when the dust cleared, Gaffgarion had vanished.

“Fled like the coward he is,” said Agrias.

“No… I’m not sure if he is a coward,” said Leon. “He strikes me as an opportunist. He’ll be back to face us again.”

Lion clapped her hands together and approached Zeid with a smile, but the hulking man’s expression was unreadable under his mask. “Zeid, it’s good to see you again.”

“Your world has Roegadyn, too? I never realized!” said Lyse, but she looked around Zeid and tapped her lips. “Or, well, I suppose Roegadyn don’t have tails.”

“I’m a Galka,” said Zeid. “You speak of a different world – so I take it this is not Vana’diel.”

“Yeah, we’ve got a lot to fill you in on,” said Prishe. She turned toward the others with her hands on her hips. “If you wanted a new tough guy to join our ranks, look no further. Zeid helped us out when the dark god Promathia was ready to start the apocalypse.”

“And he was crucial to helping us foil the schemes of the Zilart brothers,” said Lion. “Not to mention how he joined the fight against the revived Shadow Lord, and furthermore dealt the final blow to him the first time at the end of the Crystal War…”

“That is enough,” said Zeid, putting his blade on his back. “The general public was not to know that I was the one who struck down the Shadow Lord.”

“Well, we’re in a different world, so it’s not like that really matters here, right?” said Machina. “Why wouldn’t you want the public to know that you’re a war hero?”

“The relations between the five races aren’t so great in our world,” said Lion, frowning. “The top brass decided that it was to be a Hume who ended the war. Even though Zeid’s one of the Mythril Musketeers, part of Bastok’s elite fighting force, the credit had to go to someone else.”

“That’s awful,” said Lyse. “I’m sorry they did that to you… covering up the truth like that…”

“It is fine,” Zeid responded, shaking his head. “I prefer to protect my homeland from the shadows. It suits me… and I would not have been free to aid Lion and Prishe otherwise in protecting our world from all kinds of threats.”

“It sounds like you have saved the world several times over,” said Agrias. “We would be honored to have someone of your caliber among us.”

“I only helped.” Zeid looked between them, his face still impassive. “I tend to work alone. I don’t think I’ll be joining you.”

“Even in a new world, free from whatever other burdens plague you?” Cecil asked. “Let me ask – when was the last time you have walked in the light?”

Zeid sighed and looked up, toward the cavernous ceiling. “It has been longer than I can remember.”

“C’mon, big guy,” said Prishe, elbowing him. “Lion and I gotta fill you in on everything here. Wandering around in this big, unfamiliar world alone won’t do you any good.”

“It really is a world of second chances,” said Machina, putting a hand over his heart. “I would know. I never thought I’d walk in light again, but all my friends have accepted me.”

“And I have my family again,” said Leon. “The light is not as blinding as it seems.”

“Kam’lanaut, Eald’narche, Gaffgarion, and many other foes oppose us here,” said Lion, putting a hand on his arm as she looked up at him. “We could really use your strength.”

Zeid looked down at Lion, then at his hand. “If that is what you wish… then I will think about it. Perhaps I can be the one to offer shade in that light unrelenting.”

ZEID

He listened to Lion and Prishe’s explanations on all the things he had missed in this world and how he had been summoned here – and most of all, why it looked just like the stronghold of the Shadow Lord. As they spoke, he led them through its cursed halls, tracking down the elder Zilart brother who stalked the castle for a hint of lost power.

When they came to the throne room, Zeid paused as he took in the sight of the Shadow Lord’s infernal seat of power, the markings on the floor that looked like blood, the dark memories. The Shadow Lord had only started to remember who he really was when the Zilart machinations undid him. In his final moments, he sacrificed himself to enable Zeid, Lion, and their dear friend’s escape.

And here, Zeid also faced one of his greatest shames.

All of that could wait, though. Eald’narche waited for them on the Shadow Lord’s throne, looking even more a child in its gargantuan embrace.

“His power is gone,” Eald’narche said, head propped up on his fist. “Where is the Shadow Lord’s darkness?”

“It was never here,” said Zeid. “This throne room is where I was first summoned to this world. It was my darkness you sensed. Or perhaps it was the darkness of three dark knights coming to this castle.”

“Four,” said Cecil, stepping forward. He shared a glance with Zeid. “Though I’ve found my light, the darkness has never left me.”

Eald’narche narrowed his eyes at Zeid. “You,” he said. “Darksteel Hurricane, is it?” Zeid froze at mention of that name. How could he have known? “How dare you lowly, pathetic creatures cling to power that shouldn’t belong to you?”

“Darksteel… Hurricane?” said Lion. “What do you mean?”

Wondering if he would regret this, Zeid hefted his blade and pointed it at Eald’narche. “He means me.” If they meant to let him walk in the light in this world, this would be the true test of it. If even his greatest sin of all could be accepted… vengeance wrought in cold murder…

Lion’s stance slackened, but she closed her eyes and nodded to Zeid before readying herself again. He wasn’t sure if Prishe knew the stories of that dread monster, but Lion surely did. “It doesn’t matter to me. If you’re still trying to atone, you can do so by aiding us in this world.”

Zeid let out the barest breath of relief. He hadn’t realized that he had come to value her opinion so much. “So be it,” he said. Perhaps it was because she had been willing to sacrifice so much as well.

Eald’narche stood and floated above the throne. “It would be a waste of my time to fight you. I’d accomplish nothing.” He held up a hand and opened another Torsion. “If I must send my newest tool after you, then that will have to suffice.”

“I tire of our enemies simply running from us,” said Agrias, clenching her fists. “Is there no end to them?”

“Perhaps not,” said Cecil. “But if they shall continue to dedicate their lives in pursuit of harming this world, then we will simply keep opposing them.”

“If we can die now, that means they can, too,” said Prishe. “So they’re all gonna be more careful.”

“Regardless, I think we should leave this dreary place,” said Lion. “Come, Zeid – it is time for us to show you our new home.”

Zeid looked back one final time at the throne before turning to depart with her and the others. Perhaps he could spend some time among them, getting to learn the ways of this world and the manner of enemies they faced. “As long as there are not too many of you. I do not deal well with crowds.”

He thought Lyse made a noise that sounded like a snort, but he supposed it was just the cold that had made her sneeze.

Character Abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Cloud

ULT: Final Omnislash

Effect: Launches with each critical hit

I know he already got the Advent Children version of Omnislash for his Burst, but it wouldn't feel right not to give him another version of it for his ULT. After use, he will launch foes automatically every time he deals a critical hit.

Tifa

ULT: Overlimit Combo

Effect: Guaranteed critical with every follow up

I... can't find where I got this ability name from. I don't think I made it up. I just looked through her abilities in all of her spinoff appearances and couldn't find this one again. I do remember that it was tough to decide which ability to use, considering she already has her iconic Final Heaven. After she uses this, she gets guaranteed critical hits with every follow up she does, since a lot of her kit is focused around crit hits and follow ups.

Zeid (Greatswords) Dark melee dmg, debuff, buffer, self heal, battery, dark imperil

15: Absorb-STR

35: Abyssal Strike

EX: Sickle Moon

LD: Blood Weapon

FR: Diabolic Endeavor (with Gaffgarion)

BT: Souleater 

ULT: Torcleaver (Effect: EX deals HP damage equivalent to triple current BRV value)

Burst theme: “Tough Battle,” plays during many boss fights in the initial storyline

Zeid's skills mostly come from the Dark Knight job, particularly abilities he uses as a Trust party member. I wanted to include at least one of the Dark Knight's unique spells from this game, which is how Absorb-STR got in there, which lowers enemy attack and buffs the party's while also offering battery. Torcleaver isn't an ability he is ever shown using to my knowledge, but it is one of the highest level Greatsword weapon skills in the game. After use, his EX will always deal damage equivalent to triple his current BRV value.

Overall, he's another Dark elemental melee attacker with imperil, debuff, buffing, and self healing capabilities.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Lost Chapter: Archiving the Endless Stories

Dr. Mog ( Final Fantasy Record Keeper )

Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi

The head of the Royal Archives and Tyro’s teacher. An experienced Record Keeper, Dr. Mog considers his duties as custodian of the record paintings a great honor, though he views those in the Royal Arcanium to be their rivals. His village once tried to harness the magical powers of the record paintings with disastrous results, an event which shaped the master mage he would become.

(Tyro, Trey, Serah, Amidatelion, Lani, and Gladio are traversing an island together when they come across the ruins of a village that seems as if it had been flattened by a storm. Amidatelion kneels to inspect the splintered, decaying wood of a dome-shaped structure.)

AMIDATELION: How tragic… Based on the style of architecture, I believe this was a Moogle village.

LANI: Moogles! What? Here?

SERAH: Oh, no… I hope they evacuated in time.

TREY: It is unlikely there were actual Moogles here. I’d say this place is just the memory of one such destroyed village.

GLADIO: We should still look for survivors, just in case. Hell, they could even be Moogle Manikins.

SERAH: It’s a terrible thing to come across when we took the whole of Balamb Garden out this way for a nice break.

(Tyro points ahead, where the ground slopes upward to a clifftop. At its peak, a small figure sits with their back to the party, looking out over the water.)

TYRO: Wait, I see someone.

TREY: From what I can see, their clothes are similar to yours, Tyro.

TYRO: Yes… I know who that is! (He runs toward the figure, grinning). Dr. Mog! You’re here!

GLADIO: Doctor Mog? Oh, Iris would love this.

(Dr. Mog turns at the sound of Tyro’s voice, his pom straightening in surprise when he sees them. The party meets him at the top of the cliff and he looks around at them all.)

DR. MOG: Tyro!? And… what are you doing with all of these people? None of them are supposed to be here, kupo.

TYRO: It’s okay. We aren’t in a painting, and they haven’t escaped or anything. We’ve all been summoned to a different world. It’s good to see you, Dr. Mog! Everyone, this is my teacher – the head of the Royal Archives.

SERAH: It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Mog. Tyro has told us all about you.

DR. MOG: Tyro, you should not mention those so openly, kupo…

TREY: Oh, we already know about the paintings in your world.

DR. MOG: Kupo! You know that is forbidden. You have been careless, Tyro.

TYRO: I’m sorry, they figured it out! This is a strange world – definitely nothing like any of the record paintings. But it’s forbidden to interfere with the paintings because we may influence future events that are set in stone, right? Here in this world, everyone has memories of the future. Many of them even know their fate. So I don’t think the rules are a factor here.

AMIDATELION: It’s true. This world has revived Trey, Serah, and myself.

DR. MOG: Hmm… Well, I will have to consider this some more, kupo, but I am pleased to meet you all as well. Or rather, pleased to see you all again.

LANI: Hmm… he’s got a big nose, but nothing like that Dr. Tot’s.

DR. MOG: E-excuse me, kupo?

TYRO: What are you doing out here, Dr. Mog?

DR. MOG: Ah, I was having a moment of introspection, kupo. I… never thought I would return to this village.

GLADIO: It’s a Moogle village, so…?

DR. MOG: Yes. This was my home before its destruction, kupo. A reminder to never attempt to harness the power of the records.

SERAH: Wait, you mean the paintings did this?

DR. MOG: They created a phenomenon we called a ‘memory burst,’ kupo.

AMIDATELION: I’m sorry. We won’t make you talk about this any longer.

(A figure appears coming up the path behind them, from the direction of the village. As he nears, they realize the figure in a black coat is Shadowsmith, approaching calmly.)

TYRO: It’s Shadowsmith!

LANI: Oh, that guy looks like bad news. Need my axe to deal with him?

DR. MOG: He is bad news, kupo. He’s here, too?

SHADOWSMITH: Teacher and student, reunited. And here of all places… don’t you find that strange, Dr. Mog?

AMIDATELION: It is not so surprising. Dr. Mog has traumatic memories of this place, so he unintentionally summoned it here.

SHADOWSMITH: But to come to a world so mutable to the whims of any of its inhabitants… It is chaos, with so many discordant wills at play.

SERAH: What do you want?

TREY: Yes, when speaking to others, it is pertinent to arrive at your point in a timely manner.

GLADIO: Uh, I don’t think you’re the one to lecture on that…

SHADOWSMITH: With a world as mutable as this one, ever-changing, that means it can shift to the desires of anyone with a sufficiently powerful will. And this is a ‘nexus’ world, is it not? One that lies close to many – if not all – of the other myriad worlds out there?

SERAH: What, you’re not planning to go out and conquer them all, are you?

TYRO: No… He wants to know the secrets of this world and all the others. Don’t you, Shadowsmith?

DR. MOG: Tyro…

SHADOWSMITH: Know their secrets… and change the outcomes of those records. Haven’t you always wanted to influence their events? Prevent tragedies from occurring? I believe if we learn how this world works, we can rewrite the records.

AMIDATELION: I am content. My fate is my own, and if it ends in sacrifice for a better world with the revival of my tribe, then I wouldn’t change a thing.

SHADOWSMITH: You, Tyro. I know you understand.

TYRO: I’m disappointed in you. I thought you would have known better.

SHADOWSMITH: What?

TYRO: We take pride in our role as a Record Keeper. We’re not meant to change history – but to protect it, and learn from it so that horrible things don’t happen in the future. The legacy of all the heroes who came before us is what helps us stand strong.

DR. MOG: Well said, my student. Shadowsmith, you know what happens when one messes with the records. You’re standing in the aftermath of it, kupo.

SHADOWSMITH: But don’t you at least want to know? Why is this world so easily molded by ‘will’? What started this conflict between the gods? What happened to those cycles of battle, and why was it decided that respite is needed? If this world is truly fueled by the powers generated in conflict, it seems to me that we never received that promised ‘respite’ at all. And I am still curious about the abundance of energy being generated now that the dragon god Shinryu has been vanquished.

TREY: All valid questions. But I am sure we have no interest in entertaining the likes of you with answers, do we?

LANI (Drawing her axe) : I don’t think so.

SERAH: You weren’t even here for most of that.

SHADOWSMITH (Drawing his grimoire) : If you will not seek those answers with me, then I will have to assume you are against me.

GLADIO (Drawing his sword) : You’d assume right. You’re an enemy to Tyro and Dr. Mog, so we’re gonna deal with you.

SHADOWSMITH (To Gladio) : How appropriate. I’d thought you resembled a certain brute I know.

(The battle begins. Gladio strikes first, then Shadowsmith counters with a whirl of darkness and lightning summoned from his grimoire. A trio of Manikins arrive, their gazes blank – these are not Neo-Manikins, but instead the mindless sort that are fully under Shadowsmith’s control. Amidatelion attempts to swallow Shadowsmith’s spells in conjured portals, teleporting them elsewhere, while Serah and Trey try to avoid shooting the Manikins.)

TYRO: Of course we want to learn the same things you do. But we can’t change what has already come to pass. Trust me, I’d want nothing more…

SERAH: It all turns out alright in the end, doesn’t it?

AMIDATELION: Indeed. Do not despair.

TREY: You’re not the first one here who wants to change history. And I suspect you will not be the last.

(Lani and Gladio hold the attention of the Manikins. Tyro attempts to match Shadowsmith in a battle of spellcasting.)

DR. MOG: Though our job is to uphold the status quo, kupo… Sometimes I know that isn’t always the right thing to do. So as Record Keepers, we observe and we research and try our best to stay objective, kupo. Even neutral.

(At his words, Shadowsmith stops attacking. Stillness descends over the battlefield.)

DR. MOG: So if this is truly a new world, then it is also a new record, kupo. Maybe we are all just going to end up in a new painting in the Archives one day. With that in mind… Tyro and I are participants in this story, kupo. Not just its observers.

SHADOWSMITH: What are you saying?

DR. MOG: I am saying that I will not be neutral in this, kupo. I am going to stop you from reaching into all of their worlds because I want to. I will not let something like the memory burst that destroyed my village happen again, kupo!

(Dr. Mog opens his tome and a giant magical lance appears in the air to fall down on Shadowsmith. Shadowsmith dodges and retaliates with ice and dark magic, but Dr. Mog conjures a knight’s shield to block the attack. With a wave of his rod, Dr. Mog slams the shield forward to knock Shadowsmith away. A massive ethereal sword materializes over Shadowsmith, destroying the ground with one mighty cleave. A tornado and waterspout appear and combine together before anyone could see the aftermath of the attack. A shockwave of white energy ripples out from the impact as a roar of magic tears through the air. When it clears, Shadowsmith is gone.)

TYRO: Dr. Mog…!

LANI: Whoa! What happened to that guy!?

AMIDATELION: I suspect he has fled the scene.

SERAH: That was amazing, Dr. Mog!

GLADIO: Seems like there’s some hard feelings between you two… Shadowsmith seems like a real piece of work.

DR. MOG: Well, he was a former student of mine, kupo…

TREY: And then he turned to evil?

TYRO (Sighing) : Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. The truth is… he’s me. From the future.

SERAH: Oh… With the way you were talking about being a Record Keeper, I started to wonder…

LANI: That’s insane! He’s nothing like you.

TYRO: We met because he tried to change the past and prevent a terrible tragedy from happening. Serah, you’re experienced with time travel… Is it possible that event could happen here?

SERAH: The event that turned Shadowsmith down a different path, happening here in this world before we all go home… It’s a scary thought.

GLADIO: You don’t know when it’s supposed to happen?

TYRO: No, not really.

AMIDATELION: The more you stress about it, the worse the event will become. Be prepared, but do not expect the worst to happen. You don’t know if it will happen here or if you go back home – so why let it ruin your experience in this world?

DR. MOG: They’re right, kupo! To be honest, it will be nice not to have to worry about the Archives for a bit. Let’s just take it day by day, kupo. What do you say, Tyro?

TYRO: Taking a break from being a Record Keeper to be part of the story ourselves… well, if you say so, Dr. Mog!

Character Abilities

Previous Character Updates:

Aerith

ULT: Great Gospel

Effect: Party invincibility for 1 turn when Aerith uses EX

Somehow, in OO, Aerith never got her ultimate Limit. So here it is! After use, the entire party gets a 1 turn invincibility buff whenever she uses her EX.

Cait Sith

ULT: Mega Mystery Box

Effect: When using EX, enemy targets change

His ULT comes from one of his Rebirth Limit Breaks (the strongest one, actually). It has kind of a weird effect -- it shuffles who the enemies are targeting. They can target one different party member, all party members, themselves, another enemy - meaning it can make foes hurt themselves, hurt each other, or buff the party. How useful is that in gameplay? I don't know! I imagine it being random, haha. But I figure it's kind of fun and fitting for him.

Dr. Mog (Staff) Non-elemental magic damage, instant BRV break, buffs, attacks based on party BRV values

15: Tactician’s Tome

35: Heroic Tales

EX: Tetra Break

LD: Our Historia

FR: Tactical Starfall (with Shantotto)

BT: Tetra Catastrophe

ULT: Archivist’s Source (Effect: When instant breaking, delay enemies 1 additional turn)

Burst theme: “2nd Anniversary Medley (FFRK Ver. Arrange)”

All of his abilities come from his various Soul Break/Soul Burst abilities. In Record Keeper, he has a focus on all kinds of elemental damage, but instead of giving him such a wide spread I just decided to make him non-elemental (maybe the animations show multiple elements). He can instant BRV break foes, grant party buffs, and he has HP attacks based on party BRV values like Sherlotta. Though he can use tome weapons, I decided to give him a Staff (or rather, rods) to differentiate him from Tyro and Shadowsmith.

Chapter Text

Opera Omnia: Opus Divinitas

Act 5, Chapter 6, Part 1: Find the Flame

Clive Rosfield ( Final Fantasy XVI )

Voiced by: Yūya Uchida

The first-born son of the Archduke of Rosaria, First Shield and protector to his younger brother Joshua, the Dominant of Phoenix. When tragedy unfolds and Joshua is believed lost, their father slain, Clive is sold into slavery as a Branded soldier until he fights for vengeance and the freedom of himself and other Bearers. After confronting the truth that he has awakened as the Dominant of Ifrit, Clive sets out to free the world from the tyranny of the Mothercrystals.

Torgal ( Final Fantasy XVI )

A loyal frost wolf discovered in the Northern Territories as a pup and given to a young Joshua as a gift. Though he managed to avoid perishing in the Night of Flames, he never gave up looking for his wayward masters. Descended from the legendary Fenrir, he has the ability to wield the aether of Dominants.

Benjamin ( Final Fantasy Mystic Quest )

Voiced by: Junichi Kanemaru

A youth who set out on a journey in accordance with a prophecy to defeat the malevolent Dark King who destroyed his village. Though the prophecy supposedly deemed Benjamin a hero, he accepted his nebulous task in stride. A brave warrior, he can be rather laid back and has more common sense than he would appear to.

Altima ( Final Fantasy Tactics )

Voiced by: Yumi Tōma

Known as the Angel of Blood and leader of the Lucavi, demonic beings from a realm beyond Ivalice. Orchestrating the War of the Lions for enough sacrifices in service to her resurrection, she seeks to reign in blood and despair as she once did centuries ago when she possessed the prophet Ajora Glabados. In order to manifest on the mortal plane again she needed to possess a host of pure heart, but Alma Beoulve ousted her, leading to the Lucavi’s defeat.

JOSHUA

Pryna and Umbra nosed Joshua along, helping to make sure he didn’t fall behind the others. Carbuncle had given them another lead and urgency quickened their pace. Despite the hot sun beating down on his back, Joshua tried his best to catch up so he could listen in on their discussion about the Eikon. He wheezed and coughed; Pryna let him lean on her for support without being beckoned.

Sabin rotated his shoulder as they walked. “Hey, Carbuncle said Ifrit is our target this time, right? The Ifrit I know was in trouble in the Magitek Research Facility. Think he might need busting out?”

Edge shook his head. “I have the distinct memory of being chased by Ifrit. Though he’s one of Rydia’s eidolons, he’s not one to find himself in distress often.”

“This wouldn’t be the first time Ifrit came under something else’s control, at least as far as I’m concerned,” said Noctis. “Ardyn infected him with the Starscourge. With or without daemonic influence, he’s got some insane power.”

“Is he quite common in other worlds?” Quistis asked. “In ours, he is a Guardian Force that we use for promising cadets to undergo their SeeD exam. In fact, I was the one who showed Squall through his trial – I wonder if the Fire Cavern is where we’re going now.”

“The Lord of the Inferno is no easy foe in my world,” said Thancred. “God of the Amalj’aa, he who tempers followers and unbelievers alike in his flames to compel fanatical worship. Many have met their end against both Ifrit and his enslaved.”

“This is the first time we’re dealing with one of Yuna’s aeons here,” said Wakka. “So I guess Quistis is right, ya? He is in lots of our worlds – maybe we’re headed to Kilika Temple.”

Joshua frowned, contemplating what he knew of his world’s Eikons. They all made Ifrit sound like a powerful and devastating Eikon of fire, but though something about it felt familiar, he was quite certain he didn’t know the name. There was only one Eikon of fire, after all – Phoenix. “What about you, Sazh?” Joshua asked. “Do you know Ifrit?”

“Ahh, barely,” he said, as the chocobo chick flitted around his fingers before resting in his palm. “I think he’s some eidolon. Saw him in a parade once. Brynhildr’s my gal, though – the only fire eidolon I need! So I guess he’s not in all of our worlds, is he?”

“No,” said Joshua, contemplating where he thought he’d heard the name before. Perhaps someone had mentioned it before in this world. “I suspect not.”

The party followed a well-worn path through and around a series of rocky hills. Joshua pushed himself and tried not to show his weakness, but just when Noctis offered him a ride on his shoulders Sabin came running back to them.

“I found something,” he said, jogging in place. “Just around this bend is a castle – I wonder if that’s where Ifrit is?”

“If not, then maybe we can take a break,” said Quistis, to which Joshua was secretly thankful.

“Let us prepare for a fight, regardless,” Thancred said. “I shall scout ahead.”

When they rounded the last hill, Joshua braced himself on Umbra as he beheld the harsh stone walls blocking all entry to the castle beyond. Only an iron portcullis yawned open as if to welcome the chocobo-less supply carts parked outside on the road; Joshua thought he even smelled the stink of chocobo in the air, as if this place was usually heavy with traffic in and out of the castle.

“Knights and castles are always fun to find,” Sazh said. “This the kind of place Ifrit hangs out in?”

“Does anyone know this place?” Edge asked. “Don’t think it’s from my world.”

Joshua’s head spun. He knew this place well.

Bile built up in the back of his throat as memories flashed of a night he’d rather forget. The heat seared his eyelids, and he heard the gasps of men releasing their last breaths as daggers slipped between their ribs. His ears pounded with the wet gurgle of sliced throats. And the blood. So much blood…

“Phoenix Gate,” he managed to choke out, as if it was his own throat that had been slit. He stumbled backward, his vision blurring just in time to see a gray wolf lumbering toward him from behind the castle wall, and he wasn’t sure who caught him when he fell back and everything went dark.

He awoke to something warm and wet on his face and he opened his eyes when a dog whined in his ears. No, not a dog… a wolf.

It was massive, bigger than Pryna and Umbra and even Darkstar, with piercing yellow eyes and a gold bangle on its left leg. Joshua wondered briefly if he should have been afraid of the beast, but something in its eyes brimmed with knowledge and recognition. It whined again and tugged at his sleeve. It couldn’t be…

“Torgal…?” he said, and the wolf huffed and licked him again, making Joshua laugh. “I can’t believe it. You’ve grown so much.”

He realized he had been placed in one of the empty chocobo carriages, and looking past Torgal he spotted Iroha standing at a safe distance with Wakka, Pryna, and Umbra.

“Joshua, you’re awake!” said Iroha. “Is that wolf familiar to you? Once you fell, he wouldn’t let anyone come close.”

“I think so,” Joshua said, climbing down from the carriage. Now that he was awake, Torgal seemed much more tolerant of Iroha and the other dogs. He swayed again when he looked in the direction of Phoenix Gate and grasped his head.

“You okay?” Wakka asked. “The others went ahead, but we were worried. You said something about ‘Phoenix Gate’ before you passed out.”

“Yes, I… know this place,” said Joshua, his eyes downcast. “And I know Torgal, too – but he was only a pup when I last saw him.”

Torgal nuzzled him, tail wagging, and nipped at Joshua’s sleeve again as if trying to tug him along somewhere. Joshua let out a yelp as he stumbled along before he got the message and followed with Iroha and Wakka. He hesitated as Torgal trotted under the portcullis, but barked once when Joshua started to fall behind.

“You lack fond memories of this place, don’t you?” Iroha asked as they stood outside its mouth. “Does danger lurk here?”

“If that’s the case then we gotta tell the others,” said Wakka.

Joshua shook his head. “It was tradition for me to come here before the duchy went to war. And on a night when we came here… we were betrayed.” His heart pounded and he started to feel dizzy again as the night’s events played out in his mind. The flight from his chambers, his first real combat against imperial knights…

He was about to continue until he saw a man in a hooded cape emerge from the darkness with Torgal circling at his feet. When the man saw Joshua, his eyes widened as he revealed his face.

“Joshua?” He approached on unsteady steps. “Joshua! It really is you! How is this possible!?”

Joshua took a step back. Though his voice sounded like… it couldn’t be… But Torgal sat at the man’s side, his tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his mouth. “Clive?”

The man fell to a knee in front of Joshua, arms raised to grip Joshua’s shoulders as if to confirm he was solid. “It’s me… but you’re young again. And alive… how?” he asked again.

“This your brudda?” Wakka asked Joshua, punching a fist into his palm with a grin. “You found him!”

“You are surprised to see Joshua at this age,” Iroha observed. “Does that mean Joshua lacks memories?”

Joshua shook his head and backed away from Clive. He wanted to cry, but he wasn’t sure if it was out of joy or sadness. Clive and Torgal had both survived that night. But he did not. He remembered nothing after the darkness and the pain and the blood.

“Is this some vision?” Clive asked. “An illusion, trickery?”

“I assure you it is not,” said Iroha, speaking on Joshua’s behalf. His throat was too dry. “Apologies, let me introduce myself. I am Iroha, and this is Wakka. We are companions of your brother – and we have all come to a different world where many of us lack our memories of the future.”

Joshua saw fire behind his eyes. “I’m not missing my memories,” he managed to say. “I… I didn’t make it that night. I wasn’t strong enough. I failed to save our people.”

Clive didn’t rise. “No, Joshua. You didn’t fail anyone. You survived the Night of Flames. We found each other again, though it took many years.”

“This whole time, you thought you weren’t alive?” Wakka asked, eyes wide. “You never said anything!”

“N-no, I…” Joshua coughed again, his body wracked with the feel of claws scraping at his lungs. “I primed into Phoenix and I burned. There was something awful that appeared. A great infernal being… An unknown Eikon.”

Clive lowered his eyes and his voice came out deep and gravelly. “That was me. It took me everything to accept that I had lost control. That I had become the second Eikon of fire and ended your life. But I found out later that you had escaped. You must believe me.”

“You believed you had slain your own brother?” Iroha asked, stunned. “The one you were sworn to protect?”

“To this day it is still my greatest shame,” Clive said, his shoulders falling. “All I wanted was to protect you, Joshua. But my awakening came at a great cost. When I realized you yet lived, I… I did everything in my power to find you again. To set things right. And we fought together to free the world from Ultima. Don’t you remember?”

Joshua shook his head again, more vigorously this time. What was he talking about? “No, that’s not possible,” he said. “If you’re really Clive, you never would have hurt me.”

Clive looked up at Iroha and Wakka. “How do we get his older body back? Is that what we need to restore his memories?”

Iroha shook her head. “I do not know. It may be that he has blocked the memories from himself. That they were too difficult to face.”

“Maybe he’s not ready to grow up again, ya?” Wakka suggested.

Joshua frowned. “Don’t talk about me as if I am not here.”

Clive stood and regarded Joshua for a long moment, his thoughts unreadable. “Perhaps it is for the best that Joshua stay a child,” he said. “His… his future is not a kind one.”

Three figures emerged from the gate behind Clive – Meia, Tama, and Rubicante. Meia put a hand on her hip as she looked Clive up and down. “My, who’s the handsome one?” she asked.

“This is Joshua’s brother, Clive,” said Iroha. “You both came from inside the keep. Did you not cross paths?”

“I’ve seen no one but people made of what appears to be crystal,” said Clive. “Some sort of Akashic?”

“I dunno what Akashic are, but we did see the-tons of Manikins,” said Tama. “They’re extra the-creepier than usual!”

“By the Founder…” Clive said, openly gaping at Tama and then Rubicante behind her. “It speaks…”

“Have they taken the liberty of explaining that we are in another world yet?” asked Rubicante. “Things will not be like how you know.”

“We spoke briefly of it. Have you discovered aught of Ifrit?” Iroha asked Meia.

“Not a thing,” she said. “My dear Sicarius eludes us. Well, does our newest ally know anything useful?”

“Ifrit, you say?” Clive asked, grunting. Joshua wanted to learn more about his supposed future, but it seemed there were other more important things to worry about now. “Ifrit is the infernal Eikon. The being I primed into during the Night of Flames. The one that hurt Joshua.”

“He could be dormant inside Clive, as Alexander was in his brother,” said Rubicante.

“What? Alexander?” Clive asked, rounding on Joshua. “What is Alexander?”

“A summoned creature not native to your world, apparently,” Meia said. “That sounds like a story for another time. If you are the one who can summon Ifrit now, then maybe we should get on with it?”

“I doubt Ifrit would do the-something sneaky like hide inside someone,” said Tama. “He’s one of the Pleiad’s Seven, and the-biggest meathead of them all.”

“So there is another Ifrit separate from me?” Clive asked. “What a world…”

To Joshua, everyone felt distant. He only saw Ifrit – the way its claws and fists slammed into Phoenix, pounding him against the ground and tearing through his flesh with its teeth. The pain felt real. Ifrit. Clive. The second Eikon of fire. An impossibility.

“Joshua?” said Wakka. “You with us?”

“Does the-Joshua need a healer?”

“Nothing physical ails him that we can see…”

Joshua felt Clive’s arms wrap around his shoulder, bracing him. He hadn’t realized he had been swaying. “Joshua, you need some rest. I don’t know what you’ve been through here, but I won’t fail to protect you again. I swear it.”

It felt so fresh. So real. So raw. He looked at his brother’s face and the horrible scar across his cheek. What had done such a thing? What had Clive faced after Joshua had died?

“You won’t hurt me,” Joshua said. “You can’t hurt me. You’re my big brother.”

CLIVE

Joshua was alive.

But he had somehow become young again for reasons Clive could not quite understand. He looked exactly as he did before their lives fell apart, before he awakened as Ifrit and lost years of his life in service to Sanbreque. At Origin, years later and after all of their battles and efforts to destroy the Mothercrystals, Clive had feared that he lost Joshua again. He never found out the truth. Clive’s own memories stopped shortly after Ultima’s defeat.

He hadn’t dared to hope, but…

Despite everything he had been through, it strained his imagination to think he had somehow come to another world with many other warriors, and furthermore that they hunted the Eikons. He had been introduced to a few of his companions as they searched the castle together for any sign of Ifrit, but all that he had learned of these warriors from other worlds expanded and changed everything he thought he knew.

It began when Edea cast a spell that froze a monster in its tracks.

“You’re a Bearer?” he asked, after the monsters had been dispatched. “Where you’re from, they don’t brand you if you wield magic?”

She shook her head, frowning. “I am not called a Bearer, but a Sorceress. My kind face persecution for our ability to use magic naturally, but we are hunted – not branded.” Clive felt pity for her; it was rare that Bearers were outright hunted.

“Huh? What’s wrong with using magic?” said Sol.

“It siphons the land of its aether,” Clive explained. “All that remains is deadland, so barren that magic can never be used. But the people who use magic without the use of a crystal – Bearers – are not treated well… to put it lightly.”

“Many of our worlds view magic as commonplace, perhaps even unremarkable,” said Ramza. “It saddens me to hear of a world where those who wield its wonders are regarded that way. Perhaps you should speak with Terra – in her world, magic is unusual as well.”

“But for magic to kill the land itself… terrible,” said Zeid, adjusting his gauntlet. “Magic is used in creation and crafting.”

Clive’s eyes widened. The ways of other worlds astounded him already – and he felt that he barely scratched the surface of how his home differed from theirs. To live somewhere where magic was plentiful, and those who wielded it faced none of the hardships that Bearers did in his world… it sounded wonderful.

“Hey, what’s that sound?” Sol asked. Clive strained to hear it, but it sounded like the steady plink-plink of metal and stone. Sol ran ahead despite Edea’s warning to be careful, and when they went deeper into the bailey they found the chocobo stables and at least a dozen of the crystalline people they called Manikins wielding pickaxes and digging away at the ground. “What’re you guys digging for?” he asked, running up to them.

“Hail…”

“Hail…”

“Hail…”

“Wha?” said Sol, looking up at the sky. “The weather’s fine!”

“I’m not so sure they speak of the weather,” said Clive. He approached one of the Manikins, who seemed to ignore his presence. “The only Manikins I saw earlier were from a distance, and they were on the move. Who do you hail?”

It didn’t answer him. Edea folded her arms. “It is as if they suffer from mind control. Their movements are unnaturally uniform, and without pause.”

“They’re mining for something,” said Zeid, grimacing. “What for?”

“I know of no precious ores here,” said Clive.

“I don’t know, but they won’t tell me, either,” said a voice from within the stable. A youth trudged out, rubbing a hand through his hair and yawning. “And they won’t let me help.”

The sight of a flesh and blood stranger in Phoenix Gate gave Clive pause. “You seem… relaxed,” he said.

“Please excuse us,” said Ramza. “I am Ramza, this is Clive, and Edea, Zeid, and Sol. What is your name?”

“Oh, I’m Benjamin,” said the stranger. “I was just about to doze off until you guys showed up. Nice to meet you.”

“Have you seen Ifrit or anything?” Sol asked. “Big fiery monster? Maybe a little angry?”

“Doesn’t ring any bells,” said Benjamin, shrugging. “Why’re you looking for it?”

“He’s been corrupted by something evil and we’re trying to free him so we can’t die,” Sol said, matter-of-factly. “Wanna help?”

“Perhaps we should not be so open in our intentions with complete strangers…” Edea cautioned.

Benjamin shrugged again. “Okay, sure thing.”

Clive blinked and crossed his arms. “I’ve not seen someone so undeterred at the prospect of facing a flaming monster since… Oh, never mind. No one knows Charon.”

“What were you doing here before you decided to sleep?” Zeid asked.

“I’m not so sure,” Benjamin replied, looking around. “I just found myself here, didn’t know where I was, and found these creepy guys. You think they’re cursed or something?”