Shake and Oddity's CYOA

Western Border Territory Cloud knew that he couldn’t let this tragedy occur. So many great warriors could not be lost in the cause. “STOP THIS! Why are you fighting among yourselves, when it is Link we should be fighting?” Zidane’s eyes cut to Cloud, “You have no place in this, outsider. Stay out of it!” Cloud couldn’t give up, “NO! If you fight here, Link has already won by destroying people who could fight him without even lifting a finger!” Ganondorf turned on the peacemaker, “Some things have to come before others. This must be resolved now. This is none of your concern, just keep out of this!” Cloud was frustrated, “I WILL NOT ALLOW THAT—“ “Are you threatening us?” Zidane’s eyes were cold, “What arrogance you have in your heart! To think that you have the right to judge us?! You don’t even deserve to live!” Ganondorf cracked a grin, “For once we agree on something Zidane!” In an instant the whole feel of the battlefield had changed. No longer was it just Zidane’s faction versus Ganondorf’s, it was now Thieves versus the Resistance. Cloud knew the time for action had come, he drew his mighty Buster Sword and charged at Ganondorf’s group. Auron was right beside him as well and Ken was right beside him. Even though Zidane’s group was closer, Ganondorf’s had two wizards, making it a formidable threat. Cloud was forced to leap out of the way before Tellah’s powerful bolt of lightning collided with him. Ganondorf contemptuously sent a ball of freezing energy at Auron, expecting the warrior to dodge as well. Auron barely even slowed as he used his mighty Murasame to cut the frozen sphere into nothingness. Ken let a Hadoken fly at Sabin as he raced to close the distance. Meanwhile, Squall had stepped up to Zidane and immediately attacked him. Zidane had been caught a little off guard by the party’s amazing burst into action. He took a cut in the shoulder, which severely jarred him as Squall pulled the trigger on his gunblade. But soon he lost himself in a smooth rhythm of death. Squall had trained under Cloud, his gunblade was a whistling whirlwind and he gave as good as he got. While Zidane and Squall were locked in a steely dance of death, Knuckles was facing off against Edge and Vivi. Knuckles’ only advantage was his pure speed. While he dodged fireballs, chunks of ice, and lightning bolts he was steadily trying to get to the source of the magical onslaught. But whenever he turned towards Vivi, Edge was there to meet him. His cruel katana licked out at the Echidna and there were many close calls. But Knuckles remained unscathed. This tactic isn’t working… fine, I’ll beat the ninja first, I’ll just have to deal with the disadvantage that damnable mage imposes on me… Cloud was frustrated with his opponent. No matter what he did he could not close the distance. He dodged spell after spell, trying to get closer only to find an inferno being used as a wall in his path. The warrior had briefly considered trying to beat the wizard at his own game, but he was a wizard and Cloud could see his skills were much better than Cloud’s own. “Wall” he muttered and a magical shield enveloped him, he rushed towards Tellah. He recoiled as his shield was ripped off of him in an instant, Damn, he’s quick, no sooner was it up than he dispelled it… Ganondorf, on the other hand, had let his surprise at Auron’s casual dismissal of his spell get the better of him. Now the Thief King was fighting for his life, not able to even cast any spells as Auron’s Murasame came at him from every angle. Ganondorf was scared, he was proficient with his twin blades but this warrior was something else entirely, he was on a whole different level. It was all Ganondorf could do to keep the Murasame from touching his flesh. Sabin and Ken were fighting hand to hand. Sabin seemed to be getting the better of Ken though. Ken just didn’t have his old fighting spirit. Suddenly Ken saw an opening, he sent his fist hurtling at Sabin’s unprotected face “Aura Bolt” Sabin said as a pure white light shot out of his hands. The blast tore through Ken’s chest and came out of his back, hurling the warrior backward violently. Ken was dead before he even hit the ground. Sabin came up behind Auron, intending to finish the swordsman and save his master. Auron was too experienced a warrior, though, he noticed the unfortunate turn of events, turned sideways, and moved his mystical blade at incredible speeds, fending off both Ganondorf and Sabin at the same time. But Auron couldn’t keep that up for long, he wasn’t even attacking, just surviving. Cloud noticed his friend’s plight, “HASTE!” Cloud was no wizard but he was a master of the spell Haste. Auron’s speed tripled, leaving both Ganondorf and Sabin hard pressed to keep their lives. Ganondorf dared not back up, knowing that Auron would simply ignore Sabin in favor of turning his full attention on Ganondorf. That gave Cloud an idea, “SLOW!” Tellah seemed to move in slow motion, “HASTE!” Cloud sprinted like a demon flash towards Tellah. The wizard got a heal off as well as a powerful ice spell before Cloud was on him. Close range the wizard never stood a chance, Cloud’s sword plunged through his chest, ending the old man’s long life. Auron was getting a little desperate, his Haste spell would wear off soon. He knew he had to take a chance. He feinted a blow at Sabin and then instantly changed the blow's direction, impaling Ganondorf on his mighty Murasame, ”You dare…” Auron had removed his sword from the corpse of the Thief King when he heard Sabin mutter, “Pummel” Sabin’s fists moved at indescribable speeds, brutalizing Auron’s back. Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, things weren’t looking so good. Steadily, both Zidane and Squall were gaining cuts all over their bodies, but Squall was receiving more than his fair share of the damage. Knuckles was hardly doing well. If the ninja were slower, he might be able to win, but the ninja was very fast, and could follow his movements. Dodging the spells and attacking Edge was just flat out impossible. He hadn’t been struck yet, but it only took one misstep, he needed backup… yesterday! “Slow…” Vivi whispered under his breath. Knuckles felt the effects immediately, Oh ****! I’m dead… but why didn’t they do this earlier? Then he saw the cruel merriment in the ninja’s eyes… They were playing with me… And then Knuckles knew no more. Edge’s katana split the Echidna in two, his guts splattered both Edge and the roof. Edge looked at Zidane’s and Squall’s struggle and saw that his leader was still going strong while the other warrior seemed to be tiring. That was to the good, Zidane never wanted any help in his duels, he would take it as a personal insult. Edge looked to Vivi, who nodded at him. Edge knew what that meant, Vivi wanted him close if things got rough. Vivi looked towards the other side of the roof. The swordmaster was fighting Sabin while the powerful one… Cloud? … Was just pulling his monstrous sword out of Tellah. He was advancing towards Sabin with his back turned to Vivi. He’s the dangerous one… Cloud was shocked as a scorching inferno hit his back. Everybody had to notice this spell, it was a spectacular conflagration of hellish fire. Vivi, apparently, had been holding back. Cloud was on his hands and knees from the power of the devastating spell. No sooner had he recovered than giant blocks of ice crashed into him while an extremely focused blizzard focused itself around Cloud. Auron saw Cloud’s plight as soon as the first spell hit. During the second he feinted at Sabin and then kicked him as hard as he could right in the face. Sabin went crashing to the ground, but instead of finishing the warrior off, Auron sprinted towards Vivi. I hope Cloud can still deal with that powerful martial artist… he’s no pushover… Vivi saw the crazy swordsman coming at him, though the warrior was still quite a ways away. He’ll never make it… Vivi called down a powerful spell of thunder. Lightning rained from the sky down upon Auron, Auron merely raised his sword to take the bolts and kept on charging. Auron was closing the distance fast, Edge moved to protect Vivi. Vivi took a hand off of his staff and motioned for him to stop, even as he cast another spell. A wave of solid flame traveled towards Auron, he slashed at the fire spell and it split in two to pass harmlessly behind him. Now Auron had nearly closed the distance. Edge desperately wanted to get in front of the little mage now, but he knew better than to go against the mage’s wishes. He just hoped the little guy knew what he was doing. But Edge just couldn’t do nothing, he threw three ninja stars at the warrior. In three lightning fast slashes all of the ninja stars were deflected. If Vivi had a mouth, he would have been grinning It’s the sword… the sword gives him some sort of protection against magic… hopefully it’s only elemental magic… Auron was 3 steps from Vivi when the small mage waved his hand and muttered something indecipherable. Auron felt weariness like a hammer smash into his brain and then he was falling… Vivi’s sleep spell had worked, just as he had anticipated it would. The dedicated warrior’s snores faded as he hit the ground, sending him into a deep slumber. The duel between Zidane and Squall still raged. Vivi let it. He turned his attention to Cloud and Sabin. Even wounded Cloud was more than holding his own. I can fix that… Vivi sent an extremely powerful fire spell hurtling at Cloud. Sabin leapt out of the way, hoping to preserve his own life. Cloud received the full brunt of the scorching inferno. Cloud dropped to his hands and knees for the second time, “Wall!” he gasped. Does he really think that little shielding spell will stop me? I won’t even bother dispelling, I’ll just tear it down! With that he unleashed a freezing ice spell against the battered warrior. Cloud held his shield as long as he could, but the spell lasted too long. His shield shattered and the chilly winds battered at his tortured body. Impressive… he’s not laid out yet… this last one will do it though… Vivi prepared for his last spell… Squall was desperately trying to finish his battle with Zidane. Cloud was being murdered, the fire spell sputtered out. Good, he made a wall. Then the ice spell came… and Cloud’s wall shattered. Squall made a mistake… he cut low. Zidane leapt up over his blade and brought both his blades in to make a bloody x at Squall’s throat. Squall collapsed to the ground, trying to gain breath, he wasn’t struggling for very long… Vivi completed his last spell and lightning rained from the sky… The bolts struck Cloud with jolt after jolt of electricity. Cloud lost the strength to hold himself up and collapsed to the ground in agony. Cloud’s shirt was ripped into shreds and flew away to the four corners of Bhaktar. Finally the spell stopped. It’s… not… over… Cloud struggled to rise but winced in pain and fell to one knee. He’s still conscious? My God! What drives this man? Then Vivi saw Zidane walk up to stand beside him, he put a hand on Vivi’s shoulder, “That’s enough, Vivi!” Vivi nodded, he hadn’t been intending to cast anything more anyways, he respected this warrior too much. Zidane strolled over to Cloud and stood in front of him. Vivi and Edge stood to either side of the kneeling warrior while Sabin stood at his back. Cloud looked deeply into Zidane’s eyes. “You know, I never cared either way about your pathetic resistance. It didn’t really matter to me either way. It was just time for Ganondorf’s due… But now you’ve killed Tellah, that was very wrong of you!” Cloud coughed up blood, “Why do you care? He wasn’t on your side!” Zidane smirked, “Ah, but he was. I’ve been courting him for months, and just earlier today I convinced him of the need for a change in leadership. That’s why I made my move today!” Sabin clenched his fist but said nothing, what could he say? Ganondorf was dead. “Ah… so your true nature is revealed!” Cloud spat. Zidane raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” Cloud smirked at him, “Do you honestly think you can defeat me?” Zidane was puzzled, “Look at you…” Cloud sneered, “Do you honestly think this situation matters? I am Cloud Strife! I have lost only one single combat in my entire life! And you’re no Dante…” Zidane grinned malevolently, “Are you listening to yourself? Look at your condition! You’re barely—“ “Ganondorf had you pegged correctly, Zidane. You are nothing but a dog! A mangy cur who can never rise above the station of servant! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO DEFEAT ME!?” Something cracked inside of Zidane. It was just one time too many, the straw that broke the camel’s back. The wind converged on Zidane as he ascended into madness. He began radiating a pink aura of pure power. Something in him fought the transformation his body, but more importantly, his emotions were going through. Oh dear lord! He’s finally gone over the edge, he’s Trancing! Vivi thought. Zidane look at me, look at me NOW! And Zidane turned his head to look at Vivi, somehow knowing what the mage was thinking. It was too late My GOD! The madness has finally overcome him. There’s no rational thought left for me to save! Zidane turned his gaze on Cloud, “WHICH ONE OF US IS KNEELING HERE, CLOUD! Look at yourself! You can’t even stand! Besides, where are your friends, HMMMMM? Look at them, they’ve all fallen! It’s only YOU LEFT!” Zidane snickered a little, and then just started guffawing. Cloud was as taut as a drumhead, his voice cut through Zidane’s laughter like a whip, “Do you think it’s funny?” Zidane looked down at him, “Yes, I think it’s funny! You came here to enlist our help, and we turned on you! THEN, you killed Ganondorf for me while all your friends have FALLEN! How can you not laugh!? It’s ludicrous!” Something snapped inside of Cloud’s mind Do you think it’s funny? Ken… A pillar of light erupts out of his back and his eyes never change… Yes, I think it’s funny… Do you think it’s funny? Knuckles… The Echidna slowed for some reason… was it the mage?… and then in the blink of an eye his top and bottom halves are no longer connected… …all your friends have FALLEN… Do you think it’s funny? Auron… He charged that mage to save me… and the mage waved his hand… Auron fell down… How can you not laugh!? Do you think it’s funny? Squall… Zidane leaps into the air and when his feet touch the ground again, Squall’s throat is ruined… It’s ludicrous! DO YOU THINK IT’S FUNNY!? ”DO YOU THINK IT’S FUNNY!?” And with that Cloud leapt into the air, “OMNISLASH!” When he landed Cloud was swinging at an impossible speed, over and over again. Somehow Zidane was keeping up with the enraged warrior. For a second. The sixth slash opened up Zidane’s chest, the seventh caught Zidane in the stomach. The ninth slash cut off Zidane’s right arm at the elbow and the 12th severed his other arm. The 13th separated his head from his body and everything after that was just overkill. Cloud turned to face the rest of them, “Do you want to continue this?” Edge drew his katana, “YOU KILLED HIM!” “Stop!” Vivi finally spoke a spell so it was comprehensible to everybody else. Edge froze in midstride. “What are you doing Vivi!? He killed Zidane!!” Edge screamed. Vivi’s voice seemed like many, echoing endlessly, it was almost as if it came from the depths of some darker dimension, “That wasn’t Zidane. Zidane was gone before Cloud killed him, that was only a shell that insanity had consumed.” Edge was unconvinced, “It was him who drove the boss mad! How can you defend that monster?” Vivi’s orbs seemed to stare into Edge’s soul, “Ganondorf drove him mad, Edge, couldn’t you see that? I was enough to keep his sanity for the longest time. The only way to defeat such madness was for him to kill Ganondorf with his own hands. Nothing would have changed, Edge, it just would have happened later. Besides, we cannot defeat this man. Did you not see his furious onslaught? Somebody needs to lead us now. You’re the only one left who can do that. I can’t and Sabin certainly can’t, there is only you. This man has a point. Link isn’t going to ignore us forever! You are the leader, you must ally yourself with him. We do not have time for this!” Edge turned his eyes away, “You can release me now, Vivi, I see now that you’re right.” Vivi let the spell go and Edge sheathed his katana. Cloud laughed hollowly, “None of my friends lived! Now I have a new party to look after, does no one see the irony!?” Vivi looked at him and then snapped his fingers. Auron woke up with a start! Seeing Vivi he drew the Murasame, “NOW YOU DIE!” Cloud recovered from his shock, “Auron, wait! These are all the friends we have left. Everybody else… well… just look around…” Cloud gestured at the garden of corpses. Auron just stared at Cloud, “Allies change like the wind…” he said as he sheathed the Murasame. Edge pulled a bottle from his belt and threw it at Cloud, “Drink that!” Cloud looked at it apprehensively, “What is it?” “That’s an elixir…” the ninja responded. Hearing that Cloud immediately drank it. His wounds healed at an incredible rate and he looked refreshed, “How did you come by such an exceedingly rare item. There are VERY few elixirs in the world. The art for making them was lost long ago…” Edge smirked, “We’re thieves, remember?” Loud footsteps were heard coming from the stairwell, “Master Ganondorf! Master Ganon—“ A man in a military-like uniform stepped onto the roof and gasped, “What the-“ “Calm down Biggs. We had some… differences up here. I’m in charge now, what do you want?” Edge took command. Biggs looked at Edge apprehensively, but acceptance came very quickly with the corpses staring him in the face, “There’s a demon attacking section 8!” “A demon? What do you mean, Biggs? How did this happen?” Biggs looked around nervously, “It looks like a woman, but it has reddish-pink skin and hair. And wherever its gaze falls, flames erupt. It just flew in there and started killing things, screaming something about… Angela I think it was. I don’t know, but it’s tearing us apart!” “Calm down, Biggs. Wait for me downstairs.” The scared underling retreated down the steps, “This is puzzling. I have no recollection of any 'demon' near here.” Auron spoke up, “Perhaps we should try and find out what this thing is all about.” Edge thought about it, “Perhaps, but we need to consolidate my rule over the thieves. People like Biggs need to know that I am the new leader, otherwise we may erupt in Chaos. I need to get some of Ganondorf’s key lieutenants under me.” Sabin offered his thoughts, “We might consider searching Ganondorf’s and Zidane’s rooms. Who knows what useful things we might find there?” Choice 1: What are Cloud’s Orders? 1) Everybody should investigate the demon. 2) Everybody should consolidate Edge’s leadership over the thieves. 3) Sabin should check Ganondorf’s and Zidane’s rooms. The rest of the party should investigate the demon. 4) Auron should check Ganondorf’s and Zidane’s rooms. The rest of the party should consolidate Edge’s leadership of the thieves. CHOSEN 5) Cloud and Sabin should investigate the demon. Edge, Auron, and Vivi should consolidate Edge’s leadership of the thieves. Authors: Shake & Oddity Back Home