* * * OC POLICY * * *
I don't know about you guys, but I don't usually like to read OCs in a fanfic. However, seeing as to how there really aren't canon Warriors of Light, save the one in Dissidia, OCs are a necessity. My policy for them is that there will not be any canon/OC relationships. Unless reviewers want to see it based on the characters' interactions. Then I might change my mind. And, please, feel free to offer concrit on the OCs. I want to be an author of original works, so knowing how I handle my own characters will be nice to hear. So, yeah. No OC/canon interactions.

/Policy

Hello, everyone! I was inspired to write this fic after beating 013 in 012 and watched the Warrior wander away. I started up FFI on my GBA emulator to play along with, so some of the instances that happen will be based on some of the fights that actually occur in my game. That being said, enjoy!

The Final Fantasy
Chapter 01

…

The world lies shrouded in darkness

The winds die…

The seas rage…

The earth decays…

But the people believe in a prophesy

Patiently awaiting its fulfillment

"When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come."

After a long journey, four young travelers did at last appear…

…And in the hand of each was clutched a crystal.

…

The man studied the view in the distance, not at all certain what to think. In one moment, he had been fighting the God of Discord with his allies and friends. In the next, he stood on a serene and grassy hillside while the nine others he'd fought beside said their farewells and faded back to their own worlds. However, he had been left here.

Why?

He had no explanation for it. Did he not have a home? Was this place his home? Had he been born in that dismal world of war and destruction? Did his home not want him back? He heaved a sigh and started down the hill, heading for the castle and the surrounding town in the distance. Perhaps someone there would recognize him.

Maybe someone there would know his name.

He had memories, yes. He remembered his role in the war between Cosmos and Chaos. He remembered being a mere pawn in the grand scheme of things and knowing there was little he could do beyond fulfilling Cosmos's wish. He fought, blessed with her power in the form of a crystal. He watched as she sacrificed herself to grant them the willpower to persevere.

He remembered.

He remembered the heartbroken expression on the normally impassive goddess's face as she'd died. As she took her final stand against Chaos and fell. And yet, mere moments later, they had been reborn by her power vested in the form of crystals. They were given her strength to win the war. Even though she hadn't seen the outcome, she had been the sole granter of their victory. If not for her, they would have disappeared back into the void long before the end.

He fisted his hand over his heart, fighting back the urge to tip his head back and scream into the wilderness. He had given his all to end a war that wasn't his, but what was the result? His friends had returned back to their friends and families, back to the lives they'd led prior to being pulled into the war. But he had nothing. No home, no family, no memories of his home to guide him.

During the war, he had given his everything to help Cosmos reach her goals. He had held nothing back. He had fought for her, bled for her, even died for her. He gave his life, his service, and his heart to the beauteous goddess.

She had held no emotion for any of her warriors save pride and trust, and he knew that. He knew it was selfish of him to even ask her to consider loving him in return, so he hadn't. Instead, he made sure she was safe. He did all he could to protect her and stood by her side in Order's Sanctuary until the quest to retrieve the crystals presented itself.

Only then did he leave, and only when he returned did he realize that he shouldn't have left. When she'd collapsed to the floor and looked at them with such sadness, he knew he'd felt the first emotions that were truly his own and not by obligation. He'd been obligated to remain stoic through the campaign. He'd been obligated to feel respect for his comrades. He'd been obligated to remain strong and continue pushing forward. He hadn't been obligated to fall in love with Cosmos, and he wasn't obligated to feel as if his world was ending when she was killed by Chaos.

He drew in a deep inhale and continued down the hills towards the castle in the distance, making it his goal to reach that town. Assuming it was as far as he figured and assuming there weren't any manikins in this world, he figured he could reach the town in a short time.

…

His eyes went wide in wonder as he passed through the city gates. There were people here. People! He had never seen more than thirty people in his small bank of memories, and yet there were people everywhere here. Just on the first street of this town, there had to be five times the number of people he'd seen before, all cramped into this one space. It was amazing. So many people.

He realized he was in the way as a young woman pushed past him with a basket of herbs on her hip, so he placed one foot in front of the other and started to wander the town. He remembered Cecil once mentioning a place called a 'tavern,' where one often went for information and a brew. He wasn't sure quite what 'brew' was, but his friend had described it as a drink that helped to soothe your frayed thoughts.

It sounded like a good thing right now.

He wandered the streets aimlessly, before pausing to tap a young man about his age on the shoulder and asked, "Excuse me, could you direct me to a tavern?"

The man nodded and pointed down the street, saying, "Keep going down this way. When you reach the next gate, keep going and there'll be a sign for the Weepy Willow on your right. Best brew you could ask for."

That sounded promising. "Thank you, good sir." He gave a slight dip of his chin in appreciation and set off. That settled at least one difficulty. He had no idea what he would do here. What did people do in a world like this? All he knew was the sword. Maybe there was a way to live by fighting? He didn't know anything else, not even what all of those creatures were that he'd seen on his way here. Some were white with black spots, some were small and stout, covered in mud, and others were smaller, flighty things that clucked incessantly.

There was so much to learn about this world.

A slight feeling clenched in his abdomen, sending a feeling of discomfort though him. What was this? He wasn't injured. What else could cause this sort of unpleasant feeling? His chin snapped up. That smell… What could it be? It smelled so… good, for lack of a better word. It was savory, smelling of something that made his stomach offer a sound of agreement.

He was starting to panic. He'd never felt anything like this. He decided to follow the smell and see where it led him. There. It was inside that building. That somewhat larger building with the sign that read… The Weepy Willow. He smiled in spite of himself and approached, pushing the door open in what he hoped was a casual way before looking around. It was a large room with several people at differing tables, all drinking a foamy gold drink that he assumed was this 'brew' Cecil had mentioned, and using a strange tool to place morsels of different things in their mouths before beginning to chew.

"Hey, hon. You look hungry. What'll it be?"

He looked up to find a woman who looked older than Terra did, but he didn't know how old that meant. She was smiling kindly at him as he walked through and moved up to the long table where she stood, reaching up to remove his horned helm as he went. He nodded once and looked around, then pointed at the bowl in front of the man in red sitting down the long table a little ways and asked, "May I have that?"

The woman nodded and moved to walk away, so he added, "May I have a brew, as well, please?"

She nodded with a toothy smile and moved to the door behind her before calling something back. All he picked up was the word 'soup.' He remembered Zidane mentioning it as something that made you feel better when you were ill. Maybe it would heal whatever this empty feeling in his stomach was. A heavy mug plunkered down in front of him, filled with that same amber fluid everyone else had been drinking. The woman offered a pleasant smile again and said, "The soup will be just a minute, hon. How about some gil?"

Gil… Those shiny stones the moogles collected in exchange for equipment to help them in Chaos's gateways? So, was this establishment like a moogle shop? Weapons exchanged for shiny stones. He nodded once and asked, "How many?"

Her smile became more pleasant as she replied, "Two hundred."

He reached into the pouch on his left hip where he kept his magic fangs and withdrew the coins, counting them out until he had enough and slid them closer. Thanks to the moogles, he had learned that some of the larger coins were worth more than the smaller ones. It wasn't two hundred pieces she wanted. It was enough coins to add up to two hundred. "Thank you for your hospitality, Ma'am."

Someone farther down the table waved for the woman's attention, so she excused herself with a wink and walked down. He watched her leave before glancing down at his brew and lifting it slightly. He gave it a sniff and shrugged mentally, raising it to his lips and swallowing a small gulp.

It was bitter and tasted of wheat. It wasn't a very good flavor, but Cecil had said it would help him relax, so he took another drink. Motion caught his peripheral vision and he turned to see a figure in a white robe decorated with red triangles lean against the counter beside the man in red he'd copied his food dish from. The two spoke in hushed tones, though their conversation told him the one in the robe was a female.

Their conversation didn't mean anything to him, so he turned back to his drink to try to enjoy it. It wasn't until the girl's voice whispered the word 'crystals' that his ears perked up. It wasn't possible, was it? Could they somehow have crystals from Cosmos, too? Perhaps he was over-thinking this matter. Perhaps crystals were commonplace in this world. How could he know?

He glanced down to the floor where he'd placed his helmet during his stay in this place. It hadn't seemed right to leave it on the counter, not where its ornaments could be in the way. The door behind the table opened and a man came out, holding a tray with several dishes on it and looked around.

He raised his hand slightly, hoping to get his soup and ease this uncomfortable feeling deep inside. The man walked over and asked, "What can I do for you, boy?"

He wasn't sure how to respond, but, just then, the woman came back down the bar and said, "Oh, hon! This boy here ordered the tomato."

Tomato… So, that red-colored soup was called tomato. He smiled lightly as the man set a bowl of the tomato down in front of him and offered a quick, "Enjoy," before moving off to hand out the rest of the dishes.

He looked down at the tomato and lifted the utensil offered with it before quickly surveying the crowds. Others seemed to be using the utensil to simply raise a little of the soup at a time and swallow before repeating the process. He leaned down a little closer and brought the tool closer, easing the red soup to his lips before drinking it.

It was as good as the smells that had brought him here. It wasn't the same, but it was good. It was hot and burned his mouth slightly, but it didn't really seem to matter. It had left a desirable flavor in his throat when he swallowed and it was already doing something for his stomach. It wanted more, so he dipped the utensil back into the soup before bringing it back to his lips.

Before he knew it, the bowl was empty, and his stomach no longer had that feeling. Zidane had been right. It did make you feel better. He sighed contentedly and relaxed slightly, reaching for his mug of brew again so he could drink and relax for a moment.

"Cid?"

He glanced up at the sudden outburst from his left, not entirely sure what 'cid' meant. His eye locked with ocean blue eyes belonging to the girl with the white hood. Her eyes were wide, as if not believing what she was seeing, and slowly walked closer to him. Her tanned skin looked smooth and he wondered for a moment if she felt as cool to touch as he imagined. Slowly, she reached up and brought her hood down, asking again in his direction, "Cid?"

He looked around, first to his left, and then to his right. No, she was definitely addressing him. He looked back to her to find that same bewildered expression on her face and he shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry… What is 'cid'?"

Her face gradually altered to a bright smile as she touched his shoulder and looked him over, as if trying to make herself believe he was really there. He had no idea who this girl was, but she knew him.

Wait. This girl knew him!

He had found his way home!

He blinked slowly and asked, "Do I know you?"

Her smile only faded a fraction as she said, "It's me, Prishe! Don't you recognize me, Cid?"

"Cid…" He glanced down, averting his gaze. "Is that… my name?"

She nodded brightly. "At least, it was when we last saw each other!" Shifting, she pulled herself onto the stool beside him and asked, "How long have you been here? How many cycles went by? What'd I miss?"

Cycles? What in the world was she talking about? "I arrived in town today." With a slight shake of his head, he asked, "How do I know you?"

Given that she had large, pointed ears, he highly doubted they were related. But what, then? Friends? Lovers?

She grinned and said, "I'm your buddy! We met in cycle four, when you showed up outta nowhere! Seriously, you were just, poof, there!"

There was that word again… Cycles. What did she mean by that? "What do you mean, 'cycle'?"

She stared, her smile finally falling for something a bit more shocked. "You mean… you don't remember?"

"I remember nothing save fighting a war that was not mine."

She nodded slowly. "So… You were kicked out, too, huh?" Slowly, she looked up and around the bustling place before nodding. "Come on. We'll talk upstairs. Rufus an' me have rooms here."

He shifted to stand with a slight hesitation. He should have been eager to learn about who he was, right? Instead, he was… afraid.

"Hey…" She looked up at him—since she only went as high as his shoulder—with a smile. "Come on. I'll explain everything."

She held out her hand for him to take as he reached down to retrieve his helmet. He didn't take her gesture, but instead indicated for her to lead the way. She offered a forced smile and withdrew her hand before walking towards the stairs in the back, pausing to tap the man in red on the shoulder. "Hey, Rufus. I'm going to head upstairs and catch up with my old friend. See you in the morning?"

He nodded, the fine point of his red hat dipping dangerously. "Of course. Six o'clock."

She rolled her eyes. "Can't we do seven, even?"

He just smiled and turned back to his drink, ending the conversation with a brief, "Goodnight."

She groaned and mumbled, "G'night, Rufus." Turning on her heel, she grabbed the other man's wrist and pulled him for the stairs. Marching along, she slipped her free hand into a pocket of her cloak and withdrew a key, placing into the lock of a particular door and opening it. "Okay, here we are! Make yourself comfortable."

He glanced around once at the simple room with a bed, a cabinet, a table, and two chairs. He moved over to the table and sat in one of the chairs, watching as Prishe hopped onto the bed and sat comfortably. Under her robe, she wore white shorts and brown, knee-high boots. Her robe formed like a jacket around her body, the cape attaching at the shoulders of the form-fitting bodice. She offered a bright grin and reached back to scratch the back of her head and shift her lavender hair messily. "So…"

He raised his eyebrow curiously, prompting her to speak. "Forgive me, Prishe. I recall nothing of you."

She nodded. "S'okay. I understand. Kind of. Okay, so, the cycles. What do you remember of the war?"

Confusion crossed his features as he asked, "The war between Cosmos and Chaos?"

She nodded. "Yep! That one!"

"I… I awoke in that world with no memory of who I was prior. I was only released when Chaos was slain at the hands of myself and my nine friends."

"Wait, you killed Chaos?"

He offered a short nod. "Yes. He and his warriors were killed by Cosmos's power, manifested in each of us in the form of a crystal," he said, reaching into the pack on his hip and withdrawing his. He held the blue stone closer, but refused to relent it to her.

She stared in awe at the crystal, then reached behind her to a pouch hidden on her back and held out a crystal almost the same has his, except shining with a red glow. "According to a legend in this world, crystals mark the arrival of four heroes who will save this world. Rufus has the earth one. We met by pure chance when he hired me to act as a guide for him. Since then, we've been searching for the two with the wind and water crystals. Looks like you have the water one."

He looked back to the stone. Cosmos's power would bring him a life here in this world? She would continue to see that he was taken care of, even from her grave. He looked back to Prishe, still holding the crystal in his hands, and asked, "Can you explain this cycle to me?"

"Right!" she chirped, jumping up to an upright position on her knees. "Okay, so, from the sounds of it, you only remember the last cycle. I was the same when I first came here, but as time went by, I remembered more. I remembered other things that I know didn't happen in the war. I remembered watching as some of my friends were killed, or things like when I first met you. It was weird, and, finally, after about a hundred years or so in this world, I remembered the cycles."

His eyes stayed on her as he watched her in confusion. "Please, continue."

"Turns out, in one cycle, cycle number three, Cosmos confided in her warriors. She told us about her deal with Shinryu, Cid, and Garland."

"Wait, Cid?" he asked. "Me?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll explain that in a minute, 'kay? Gimme a sec." After a brief nod from him, she continued, "Okay, so, the deal. When she first came to this world, she came with Cid and Chaos. Once here, they met with a dragon named Shinryu. A deal was made between them where Cosmos and Chaos would be pit to fight each other and given the powers of gods to make it interesting. Cid was given omnipotent powers and gave up his body in exchange, becoming a bystander in the whole thing.

"Shinryu would watch and absorb power from the warriors summoned by the two gods as they grew weaker. The whole thing was a plot so the dragon could get stronger. He wanted power. Anyway! So, when all the warriors fell from weakness, he would grant them a rebirth with no memories and the new cycle would begin. Some of the warriors did die permanently and were—I hope—sent back to their lives before that. Who was left at the end?"

"Cecil, Firion, Cloud, Squall, Bartz, Zidane, Terra, Tidus, and a young boy unable to remember his name, like me."

"Hm…" She leaned back, her hands gripping onto her shoes to keep her balance. "I dunno most of those names. I'm pretty sure Cloud was a Chaos Warrior before, though. I was kicked out in cycle six when Cosmos was killed by Garland. Been here ever since."

"How… How long has that been?"

She puffed out her lip in thought and mumbled, "Over a thousand years, I think. I lost count after awhile, but I figure it's getting close."

His eyebrows rose at once. Something told him people shouldn't be able to live that long. He wasn't sure what told him that or why, but he couldn't help himself as he asked, "Did you receive immortality from Cosmos?"

She shook her head with a carefree laugh before reaching up to tap one of her floppy ears. "I'm an elf. Or, well, we're Elvaans in my homeworld, but I've gotten used to being an elf while here. Anyway, we live for a long time." She paused and touched a finger to her chin in thought. "At least, I don't think I have any special powers from that world…"

He glanced up to peer out the window and paused, approaching the glass in curiosity. The sky… It was dark now. It held no sign of sunlight and instead glittered with small, twinkling lights. It had done this four times on his trip to town, always at regulating periods. Prishe walked up next to him with a grin. "This is your first time seeing the night, isn't it?"

"Night…" he echoed, still studying the horizon through the window. "No, I've seen the sky grow dark on my journey to town. This is the fifth time I'm seeing this."

"Well, turns out, the gods did things to us while in that other world. We didn't need to eat, we didn't sleep, we didn't need to bathe, nothing." She chuckled lightly before she spoke next, "I was scared when I first started getting hungry."

"Hungry?" he asked, skepticism clear on his face as he peered at her.

"You know, when you need to eat? Your stomach feels empty and this annoyingly persistent grumble sounds out? That means you need to eat, or your strength is gonna crap out soon."

He blinked. Was that that feeling of unease he'd had earlier when he'd stumbled upon the Weepy Willow? He had eaten that soup and he felt better. He opened his mouth to ask, but paused as his old friend let out a ferocious yawn. She grinned brightly after doing so and said, "I think it's time for some shut-eye. Feel free to crash in here, if you want. I'm not sharing the bed, but you can sleep on the floor."

He looked around the room, feeling a slight buzz in the back of his mind that made his body feel heavy. Was this what she meant by 'crash'? He nodded once and watched as she pulled at her boots and tossed them aside before climbing up the bed and throwing down the covers. She climbed under, then paused and grabbed the cushion behind her before saying, "Hey, Cid. Here, take the pillow."

His reflexes kicked in as his hands moved automatically to catch the pillow tossed towards him. He studied it for a short moment and she rolled her eyes, saying, "You sleep on it. Rest your head."

Giving a short nod, he sat back on the floor and placed the pillow behind his head, settling in awkwardly around the hardness of his armor. It took some time, but he finally found a position that seemed comfortable, and, soon enough, his mind gave way to dark peace.

So, what did you think of chapter one? I'd love to hear your comments! And, before you ask, no, this will not be Warrior/Prishe. That mention of Warrior/Cosmos will probably be the only pairing.

Please review!

-Valk