[center][h2][i][u]Chaos, The God of Discord[/u][/i] [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Edge_of_Madness_(Dissidia)](Past) Edge of Madness[/url][/h2][/center] The being known as 'Chaos' sat upon his throne, two of his four arms resting on the arms of his throne, while the others remained crossed upon his lap. Chaos had lost count of the amount of cycles there had been; His mind, with every cycle that passed, slowly faded. His reasoning and calm demeanor disappearing, and being met with more anger and frustration. No matter what events transpired, the other end of this conflict never seemed to die. Or, at least remain so. But that wasn't what made him feel how he did; What was truly angering him was the fact somewhere inside himself, beyond the hatred and destruction, there was a small amount of happiness about the fact Cosmos lived. "Why?" He pondered aloud, fists clenching. Lifting one hand from his throne, he swings the fist downward, shattering the left arm with ease. While he had all intentions to defeat Cosmos, he found an odd sensation in the fact she had yet to perish; But pushed past it rather easily as his main goal was his true focus; He'd destroy Cosmos and the Warriors that opposed him, and take everything else with it. One side would gain the upperhand eventually; And Chaos was focused, wanting to make sure it'd be [i]him.[/i] Shaking his head lightly, Chaos stood; leg shifting as he calmly brushed away the broken arm of his throne, not wanting it in his sight. When it came to the selection of his pawns, he was quite specific in what he wanted; Many individuals, from many places, wanting to destroy for one reason or another. Either complete destruction, or domination via killing the opposition. Both were acceptable. His warriors came from many different backgrounds, and realms. One day he planned to form an unstoppable force, one that Cosmos will never be able to match. And, with the will to end her games once and for all, figured that force should be born in this cycle. At least that way, he could finally see what comes next. "Many of them have failed me." He said to himself, pondering as he thought about his decisions. Many of these warriors had both defeated Cosmos in past cycles, and fallen to her own warriors. Chaos had taken his to call upon his pawns; Though for much different reasons, compared to Cosmos. While she hesitated, he thought carefully; His mind hadn't completely faded, after all. He was still going to pick based on his own thoughts... Even if those thoughts were, at times, a bit clouded. It was time for another cycle of destruction. While Chaos himself knew that this may just be another cycle lost to the span of infinite time, he wished to at least see Cosmos crushed if they were damned to do it again. His warriors would, surely, take pleasure in making sure her pawns suffered the same fate. He would deal with any outcome other than defeat; He was ready to fight until his mind disappeared, and long after. If there was one thing he would not do, it was be defeated. He'd, above all else, assure another cycle rather than give Cosmos the victory. He'd win, eventually; Cosmos could not keep her resolve forever. Enough was enough, however. It was time to call forth his pawns. "I call upon those who seek destruction; and power. And those who are destined to such fates. Those lost, and fully devoted to Chaos and what it brings, you shall be my pawns in this game of slaughter." All four of his arms shifted, raising up towards the darkened sky above his throne. Chaos knew his warriors worked the most effective taking their own initiative, and would ensure to not disturb their efforts unless necessary. And, even when necessary, a part of him hesitated to take action. This part of him has existed for longer than he could remember; And it was yet another thing that angered him. But that anger? It was good. It was the anger that he'd use to destroy everything; Especially Cosmos and her pawns of choice for this new cycle of war. Making himself clear to them would be, to say the least, a very important part of ending everything. Summoning his pawns here... Yes, that'd be the most effective way of getting this fact straight. He could already feel Cosmos' Warriors. Enough waiting; It was time for war. He'd brief his pawns before her, certainly. The coward not being one to take action fast enough even though her life depended on it. "Now come forth, and bring your true natures with you." [center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center] [center][u][i][h2]Galuf Halm Baldesion [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Mist_Cave]Mist Cave[/url][/h2][/i][/u][/center] Slowly awakening against a rugged wall of the cave, Galuf's eyes slowly opened as he looked at his surroundings. Dark, somewhat difficult to see anything else between that, and the mist. The old man groaned as he slowly stood, not being to the point he'd have his back go out, but he was still hurting from his battle with Exdeath. "I don't understand." He spoke to himself, surprised as he looked at his body; Completely fine, as if he hadn't been struck down at all. He had done all he could to protect Bartz, Lenna, and Faris... As well as his loving granddaughter, Krile. He had, in his final moments, passed on the essence of the Earth Crystal to Krile, so she could aid his companions on their quest to try and save the worlds from Exdeath and The Void. Regardless, the old man felt a warmth inside him; Which was strange, giving it was a bit cold in this cave, but as he took a moment to ponder it, he came to realize he could still feel the power of the Earth Crystal inside him. A frown crossed his face at what this possibly meant, but he couldn't lose hope in a time like this. Whatever was happening, his friends, and family, were somewhere fighting a very dangerous battle. And he'd find a way to be there, no matter what. Stepping forward, Galuf was cautious. Dead or not, this place made him extremely wary. He'd prefer to avoid a second death if possible, especially since the others needed his old bones anyhow. He knew Bartz could lead them to victory, but didn't want all of the responsibility to fall on the young man. Galuf himself was a king; a leader. Something, now that Galuf thought about it, Bartz could be one day. Krile is much too young to rule his Kingdom; If he was to pick anyone to fill his shoes, it'd be Bartz. If he could tell him that to his face was yet to be seen, however. [center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center] [center][h2][u][i]Freya Crescent[/i][/u] [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Burmecia]Burmecia Streets[/url][/h2][/center] Back to the beginning again. Somehow... The Burmecian dressed in red stood in the rain, staring up at the sky with a blank expression. What was once her home laid vacant; Destroyed with a lack of survivors. It angered her, to say the least. She should have been here to defend her home; But instead, she ran away on some damned love-struck quest. She was pathetic, to say the least. She wished she could have saved Burmecia from it's fate, but knew she would have just been another casualty. She clenched the spear at her side tightly, pressing the end into the stone below her. Freya was, not admittingly, drawing a lot of blanks. She had no idea why she was back here, when Zidane and the others needed her help. But she had no idea where they were, so perhaps she was supposed to not be with them? These thoughts only confuse her more, as she finally breaks her eyes away from the sky, instead to the ruined buildings of her home. There were no words to express her feelings, at the moment. But the sadness and pain was all there in her face for anyone to read. She had no idea why she was here; There was nothing for her now; After she and Zidane, as well as the rest of their companions, passed through. It felt like such a long time ago, as well. How long had it been? It felt like months, but could've been days. Hours, even. She faintly recalled these ruins without rain; But it always had rained. That thought was foolish. Her expression was a saddened and confused one, as she glanced about. She didn't even know where she had been following that monkey-tailed fool to. She just knew it had been important. Her expression changed however, as she picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. Lifting her spear, she turned, eyes noticing a Hume approaching. A strange-looking one, however. He was armed, but didn't carry the insignia of any kingdom she was familiar with; That wasn't enough for her to be welcoming, however. She wouldn't let some Hume walk into her home and disturb the dead. Not without some form of reasoning, at the very least. "Stop." Freya spoke with a stern tone, not preparing herself to fight just yet; She kept her spear in one hand, rather than her usual two-handed style. A pair of hurt, but determined eyes glared forward at the man; Intentions not clear on her eyes alone. The pain she felt was still visible to those who cared to notice such things. "You disturb the fallen by stepping into the fallen city of Burmecia. What reason do you have for being here?" She questioned, cautiously. While she wasn't actually sure if anyone would be rolling in their graves if he was around, Freya herself was uncomfortable; And that was enough to make her say what she did. His response would decide if he would be welcome, or turned away. She'd prefer to do the latter so she could continue to think to herself, but wasn't capable of denying good reasoning. The outcome of this situation entirely depended on how he handled his response. [center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center] [center][h2][u][i]Ritz Malheur[/i][/u] [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/South_Figaro]South Figaro Forest ~ WoB[/url][/h2][/center] "I-Impossible!" Ritz exclaimed, shocked as she practically dug her face into her map, shocked. This was supposed to be a volcano, not a forest! Ritz was a good navigator; There was no way she was wrong, was there? She folded the map with some frustration, shoving it into her bag. She sighed, unsure of how this happened. She was walking a trail with Shara and their guild not even ten minutes ago; And now everyone was gone and she was alone in some dumb forest! "Now just how the heck am I supposed to find the others?" She questioned, continuing along. She'd find a town or something eventually, right? This forest couldn't go on forever; And Ritz knew she could take care of herself. Sadly, beyond her adventuring, she had forgotten a lot of things; Specifically of the home that remained before this one. The town of Ivalice was lost in her foggy past, and instead all she could recall was adventuring with her best friend. It was as if the realm of Ivalice had been her origial home... Though that was far from the truth. Not that she cared. After a few minutes of walking, Ritz decided to pull her map back out; To at least attempt to figure out where she was going. As she marched along, she'd notice practically nothing around her unless it made itself known; Too busy grumbling to herself with her face jammed into the map trying to figure out her problems. Plenty of uses of "Stupid map" along with variants were used in her frustration, which would continue for goddess-knows how long. [center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center] [center][h2][u][i]Marche Radiuju[/i][/u] [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Edge_of_Madness_(Dissidia)](Past) Edge of Madness[/url][/h2][/center] Everything had been so sudden. "W-What..." Marche muttered, glancing about. Last time he checked, he was sleeping in a tavern; Not located in a hellish looking realm with red skies and a barren landscape. It was, to say the least, hot; Marche hadn't experienced anything like it before, this was beyond strange, and what was even stranger was the fact he had barely any idea of how he got here. Crossing his arms, he looked down for a moment as he thought about what was happening. Where was Montblanc? Or the rest of Clan Centurio? The boy slowly looked up, noticing something a bit more terrifying; The fact he wasn't the only one here. It was a bit scary, seeing all of these large individuals. Some armored fully, others looking weaker, but equally terrifying; Like the jester guy. He was off-putting and kind of giving Marche bad vibes. What had he gotten into? The boy looked ahead, and his eyes widened as he looked beyond the circular ring and towards the throne in front of them all; Seeing the hulking beast that resided atop of it. Instinct made him reach for his blade; He glanced to his side as he felt a hand grip his. [center][h2][u][i]Zidane Tribal[/i][/u] [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Edge_of_Madness_(Dissidia)](Past) Edge of Madness[/url][/h2][/center] "I don't think that's a good idea." Zidane said, tone somewhat casual as he smiled at Marche, slowly releasing his hand. "That guy doesn't exactly look nice, you know? I'd suggest maybe not attacking him." Zidane was mostly remaining calm on the outside; But on the inside he was freaking out a bit. Everything was a big blank; He couldn't remember a thing! Except for a few precise words and a blurry face to go with them. Something about destroying 'Gaia' and saving 'Terra'. Neither of these things meant anything to him for the most part, but 'Terra' made his heart pump faster. That felt important; Really important. And he had no idea why, but wanted to find out. He wasn't sure if he'd want to exactly crash the party with Four-Arms on the throne though, and simply kept his questions to himself. "T-Then what do we do?" Marche questioned, blinking. "The best we can do is wait and see what he has to say. Worst comes to worst, I'll fight with ya." Zidane replied, confidently as he patted Marche on the shoulder, trying to get him to relax a little. Zidane was a bit on edge personally, but didn't like seeing other people stressed out: So he'd keep a smile the best he could, for this poor sap's sake. He was curious about what the creature would tell them, but wasn't willing to be the one to exactly attempt to strike up conversation with it. That sounded like a dumb idea. "Just keep quiet." Zidane suggested, staring ahead. [center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center] [center][h2][u][i]Kefka Palazzo[/i][/u] [url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Edge_of_Madness_(Dissidia)](Past) Edge of Madness[/url][/h2][/center] "Oh, phooey!" Kefka spat, irritated as he crossed his arms, lightly levitating above the ground. He had been having so much fun: Firing lasers, blowing up towns, killing pathetic mortals and using their flesh to create new demonic life; And dealing with... Eh... Something or other. He recalled being extremely angry at a bunch of people, but figured they must've not mattered much if he forgot. Most of his memories consisted of flaming destruction, and the screams of those pathetic enough to get in his way. Glancing about, Kefka wasn't sure what was up with the crowd; They looked like a bunch of posers! He could, however, sense a large amount of magic from certain individuals in the group; And this made him interested in what exactly was going on here. Especially giving that he couldn't even sense that four-armed beast that sat on a throne in front of them. Did he think he was in charge of someone as great as Kefka? That he had the right to just summon him here? "You have a very short amount of time to explain yourself, before I begin dropping meteors atop your skull!" Kefka shouted violently, making a bit of a scene. He landed on his feet, walking in front of the group with an irritated expression. He had no issues with frying this entire pathetic group to a crisp if they got in his way; And he'd especially fry this beast for thinking it had any right to boss him around! It was just asking to be slaughtered like the pig it resembled! "Jeez, make more of a scene, will ya?" Zidane spoke up, rolling his eyes at the jester's threats. Turning half-way, Kefka quickly removed a knife from his sleeve, gesturing it towards Zidane with anger. "Watch your tongue before I cut it off and replace it with that idiotic tail of yours!" He threatened, this group already not getting along. Marche just stepped back somewhat; Unsure of if he'd bump into someone or not. He was just trying to get away from the conflict...