This crossover of Dissidia and the Macintosh classic occurs just after the 13th cycle. With Chaos defeated, the Cosmos warriors are finally able to return home; however, they must fulfill one final assignment as the survivors must retrieve their fallen allies and combat a sinister force that could be equalized to the God of Discord.
Prologue[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Prologue)
Chaos has been defeated as the Edge of Madness and all of Dissidia were exploding around the 10 Cosmos warriors. However, since the power of the crystals ran out, they each dissipated to a safer, more peaceful location, the outskirts of the Warrior's homeworld, the Castle of Cornelia! Everyone surveyed they had won the eternal conflict at last, but before their crystals could take them home, they noticed something peculiar. They began to remember all the friends they used to have, before the last conflict took place, and Terra asked Warrior if some people had fallen, under his dismay. It wasn't just Cosmos that perished, but also several of the former warriors too: Vaan, Laguna, Yuna, Lightning, Kain, and Tifa. Each one was devastated by their losses, and soon enough each warrior dissipated together to the middle of the woods.
Luneth wondered where they wound up, and they all found a keep in the distance. They'd went to it and were greeted by an eccentric jester who had led them inside the Castle Stormhaven, and actually met up with the other fallen 6 heroes!! They'd reunited, and Lightning was relieved that Warrior was no longer around. But their gathering was interrupted, as they had been summoned to the throne room of King Lakmir, and Shantotto and Prishe stood by. Their mission was to thwart the dark warlock from awakening the Behemoth at the dreaded Castle Shadowgate, and Cosmos instructed on doing the same before if they should return home. So, they embarked on their journey, led by Firion, although it was long afoot since there were no Chocobos.
Chapter 1[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 1)
Firion led the way out of the forest and came across a looming dark castle. From the skull above the door, he knew that danger was lurking inside. Bartz suddenly brushed his foot against something metallic, which turned out to be a key no less. They unlocked it, and in they went. The door was blown shut, and all the heroes heard the warlock's threats on awakening the Behemoth and can't be stopped at his turf. Shantotto was rebuttable and the team trekked further, collecting crystal shards on the walls to preserve their time spent in the altered dimension. Zidane, as brash as he was, found a large black book, hoping it'd come up with strategies to defeat the warlock. Then, the floor collapsed upon taking it!! Thanks to Prishe's White Magic, she casted Float, and Firion took out his grappling hook to ascend from the abyss.
Luneth managed to find a few secrets of his own, including a passageway over a chasm inhabited by the dead, with two paths that had a stone bridge and a weak bridge made of frail wooden planks. They went left and encountered a shadow wraith in their way. Shantotto, Tidus and Yuna took the fray, and with a Firaga spell while the Summoner healed Tidus, it was toast! They soon pressed onto the next room.
Chapter 2[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 2)
Luneth observed the silvery objects and a sign that read, Epor. Just for lulz, he spoke it, and a white rope appeared. As they climbed up, they came across three mirrors, and Bartz and Zidane wanted to have some fun playing around with them. Luneth came across a room with several coffins, Bartz tried one that had a sack of copper coins, then he was ambushed by a mummy on the second one, rescued by Luneth and Shantotto, Luneth grabbed a spear then was covered in acid, healed by Terra's Poisona, and headed to the next room.
This was adjacent to the large pit they encountered earlier. Firion offered the grappling hook for Luneth to climb across leading to the chamber they started from. He took the sword and sling, then followed the weapon master to a cold chamber. They continued on where they encountered a dragon's lair! From the tunnel, it breathed out a volley of fire, Firion raised the Ice Shield only to have it melt in chunks. The Blizzara spells didn't hold for long, and Firion encouraged Terra to use her Ice abilities and conquer her fears. She did as she turned into her Esper form, used her pent-up rage, and drew the flames back at the creature, making it explode! Everybody congratulated for a job well done! And Terra exclaimed she's half-human, half-Esper as she was the only one of few people that could Magic in her home world. They then trekked on more confident than ever.
Chapter 3[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 3)
Back at the cold chamber, Prishe and Shantotto examined the steel trapdoor. The mage wanted to explore it first, but the ladder was unfinished, as a ledge snapped from beneath! Luckily, the monk saved her, and she commented it'd be fatal if someone should land on their feet. At the same white room to the right, Tidus, Yuna, Vaan and Lightning wound up at a shore bank next to a pond infested by sharks, as well as a lime-coated skeleton. As souvenirs, the pirate collected some stones, to which he'd thrown at the rear wall and picked up 3 red, white and blue orbs. He headed to the cold room only to place the white sphere onto the pedestal. Then, he headed back and used the frozen sphere to encase the lake with ice! As he was able to walk across it, he picked up a key from the skeleton, before he removed the ice sphere.
While Zidane and Bartz were goofing around with the mirrors again, the thief was grabbed by a large arm elongating from a portal to another dimension! Squall shot it! Then, thru the center mirror, thrown by Vaan's stolen red orb, revealed a door leading to a room with intense heat and a large pool of lava. A firedrake appeared before the team advanced, and it was immune to their weapons, even Laguna's. Vaan, however, dropped the ice sphere into the lava, disintegrating it and the monster! It was clear for a safe passage!
Chapter 4[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 4)
Before they advanced, Bartz stopped as he can't stop thinking of the yellow feather he used to have. He figured it belonged to a Chocobo, then he suddenly remembered of his two close friends, Boko and Galuf. The latter was a Warrior of Dawn who was able to seal Exdeath in the forest of Moore, and Bartz's father was one of them too, before he perished leaving him and Boko on their own. Glauf failed to seal Exdeath the second time, and Bartz and his new friends saved the world from the Void. But he never returned to Lix.
As they crossed the wooden bridge, a monstrous troll emerged from the depths, offering passage if he should get a Gold Coin. Firion gave him a copper coin he found earlier, and the troll double-crossed increasing the toll to 2 Gold Coins. Everyone was flabbergasted, and Squall warned him to stay alert! Firion gave him the rest of his copper coins, and the troll was disgusted, as if he was trying to cheat him! It was all he had, and the troll raised the bridge! However, Firion was caught by Cecil with his retained Teleport ability, and he and Bartz defeated him with their combined Soul Eater!
Prishe was outraged the bridge was gone, but Firion's hook and Kain led them across to a room with a well and a cyclops! In the courtyard, Prishe challenged it and defeated it with her lethal martial arts as well as they ability to heal herself! Her reward was a bucket full of gauntlets, to which she exclaimed it was better than food!
Chapter 5[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 5)
Luneth wandered into a library and came across a large, black book containing what appeared to be Chocobo scratches. With the spectacles, he was able to read it, and encountered another spell, Motari! In the bookshelf he placed the red gem Vaan had earlier which opened a secret passage. In it, he saw a large globe with a crack in it and an ancient fireplace. With a Fire spell, he sat back and relaxed for a while. He opened one of the scrolls he found and as he read Terrak, as in crack, causing the globe to open up. There was a key and with confidence, he read another scroll with the magic spell, Illumina, which nothing happened...
In the next room from the hallway, he went into a lab of sorts, but he didn't stay there long on account of the menace from the mutated dog! He wound up in a garden, where a fountain was. Thinking it was acidic like the slime, he froze it, took the flute atop it, played it, and a hole in a tree appeared with a ring inside. He went back to the hallway and went straight, finding a key beneath the carpet. As he went right, he was immersed in a thunderstorm. He then saw a couple sacks, but when he went for the one with the Gold Coins, the ledge collapsed, and he was rescued by Firion! They went left from the previous room and came across two tall torches with a silvery horn on the floor. From the instrument, there was a Hellhound; with the same strategy with the dragon, they extinguished it with combined Ice spells and took the horn.
They soon encountered a sphinx, which to Firion was there in order to solve a riddle...
"I'm a fire's friend, my body swells with wind. With my nose I blow, how the embers glow." Firion was stumped, but Luneth took out the billows from his pocket; the same one back at the fireplace! It was smooth sailing!
They were in an observatory at the top floor with a star map, telescope, and scroll. Although there was a removable star dart on a board and from the seam, there was a rod. Firion headed up to meet with Cecil gazing at a beautiful woman dancing in the moonlight...
Chapter 6[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 6)
Tifa, Cloud, and Kain remained cautious as Cecil was being infatuated. Just as he was reaching for her, though, she immediately transformed into a wolf, mauling his skin! Kain came to the rescue with his Holy Lance, but she wasn't done. She then howled which summoned 3 Lobos, and everyone was ready for combat! With a Lobo or 2 gone, they resurrected from another howl, and Cloud strategized to take out the alpha female first! They did, and the Lobos fell, then they were clear! Till they spotted Luneth and Firion at the mercy of a wyvern! Kain leapt onto it and with the Holy Lance, it tried to shake him off! Cloud joined in with his Meteorain, Luneth casted Comet, and Firion threw the star decimating the dragon!
The Onion Knight took the fallen talisman, then with the rod, he placed it on the roof and lightning struck it! A wand was revealed and Shantotto met up with the duo, informing them Prishe had finally crossed the fragile bridge!
Luneth made it to the chasm with the undead and drinking a glass that felt unusually light, he just had enough weight to make it across. Prishe was scowling at a snake, though the Onion Knight saw it was a fake. He swung the wand, and the snake was incinerated revealing a staff of sorts. Prishe gave him a monster hug, nearly choking him, for getting rid of the pest!
Firion grew irritated as Luneth kept shouting out the spells he'd learnt, and the trio made it back to where the first spell, Epor, was. A wall gave way as he laid a hand on it, and there was a pedestal of sorts. With the blue sphere, a hologram appeared with the wizard, Lakmir. He was impressed with the warriors' journey. Only the warlock can be defeated by courage and the Staff of Ages; he gave riddles from 5 to find, 3 for the staff, 1 to be the key, and 1 to be the pathway, and to have their wits about them. A scroll appeared which Luneth read Humana
They next appeared at the troll bridge, where the monster demanded a gold coin. Luneth countered with the Humana spell, and with a flash of light and Prishe's float, they made it away! Firion gave the specter he found to the skeleton throne, thru the hole in the wall Firion stored the ring Luneth found. And it raised to another passage. They came across two gargoyles and it'd be too risky to pass them. So, they went right, then straight to a room with lava. With some crucial thinking, Luneth noticed fire and metal, thinking Motari! It worked as there was a bridge! They came beside a large pit, and three blue handles; the kid played around till a silvery orb was found in the metal cylinder!
With great admiration, Luneth chanted Illumina blinding the gargoyles! They ran across to a chamber where a sealed well was. He opened it and dropped a Gold Coin, from the other bucket of coins he found before the collapsing ledge, inside and there was a gust! They climbed down to a moat where a specter awaited them, after ringing the gong. Before he demanded a fare, their friends arrived and knocked it out as they took the raft!
Ashore, there were 3 holes on a wall with a colossal door inside the skull's maul. They knew the warlock was inside, and it was a trap if they can't solve the puzzle. To calm his nerves, Luneth opened the scroll with Lakmir's words.
"5 to find, 3 are 1. 1 gives access the bladed sun. The silver orb to banish below. The staff of ages to vanquish the foe. Joining the 2, the golden blade. The last to invoke the platinum horn." Luneth remarked he got them all!
So, the talisman was placed in the first chamber, and he played the horn again. The skull slowly dropped its mouth, and a few energetic warriors were ecstatic to head in. Only to be stopped by Lightning who suggested to chance some rest first.
Chapter 7[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 7)
This was just a breather chapter, highlighting each of the warriors' distant pasts. From Firion figuring out what the wild rose stood for, to Zidane seeing a blue light, to Lightning figuring out her erased memories of rose petals as a wedding with Snow, Squall and Laguna being separated by time by Ultimecia, Tidus remembering Yuna and her pilgrimage against Sin, as well as Cloud encountering Tifa during their childhood and getting in trouble while climbing a mountain.
Moments later, the team was ready to face the warlock and save each of their homelands.
Chapter 8[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Chapter 8)
Everybody made it to the spacious cavern, and they witnessed the warlock lord raising the behemoth! It almost looked it was a hybrid between Chaos and, to Terra's knowledge, Kefka as the God of Magic!! Everyone lent a hand and tried their damndest to defeat the monstrosity, but to no avail! Even summoning the other warriors, they can't beat it. Then, it unleashed a severe Quasar spell, as if their souls were being ripped out of their lifeless vessels by a black hole!! Firion and Lightning were holding hands tightly before they blackened out.
Firion wound up in the beautiful heavens, where an endless field of lush flowers stood beneath a golden sky. Then, there was Cosmos, who actually granted him to keep living and save their worlds. With him revived, as he reluctantly chose to keep fighting, he knew what he had to do! Following Lakmir's words, he assembled the staff and the blade into a golden entity, and with the silvery orb atop, the Staff of Ages was made! The orbs the party found, the red, white, blue orbs, the ice sphere, the jewel on the ring, and the silvery orb activated and seeped into the Staff! With his gathered might, he created his EX Burst, the Fervid Blazer, utilizing all his weapons into a large bow! He shot them all out, with the Staff at the center, wounding the Behemoth!! He was only able to grab its master as they were pulled into Hell!!
One by one, the warriors awakened, then they saw two unexpected guests, Jecht and Golbez! The cavern began to collapse, and with their Teleports by Terra, Cecil, Yuna, and Prishe, everyone made it out and returned to Stormhaven. Lakmir congratulated the heroes, but before they were offered a kingdom of their own, they began to gradually return home!
Epilogue[]
Dissidia- Shadowgate (Epilogue!)
The first to return home was Luneth at the Floating Continent, in the town of Ur. He reunited with the Elder, his surrogate mom Nina, and his friends Arc, Topapa, and Ingus.
At the Blue Planet, both Kain and Cecil awoke at the outskirts of Baron. They soon reunited with Cid, Rosa, and Ceodore, while Cecil wished for Golbez to return.
At the Forest of Moore, Bartz woke up and he reunited with his Chocobo friend, Boku, as well as Leena atop a wind drake, Krile and Faris.
Terra woke up at the city of Mobliz and the world was restoring itself from Kefka's ruin. Gau barged in and he wished to learn her magic, to which she still had, despite developing into a human. It was actually a gift from Cosmos for saving her home twice.
Tifa and Cloud were inside the Planet's Core and Marlene, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Vincent, and Denzel found them! Then, Aerith and Zack's spirits visited Cloud for a bit, as they'll all do alright.
Squall was in Laguna's loving hands, as he was a baby delivered by Ellone.
Zidane woke up inside the dead Iifa Tree, the same one he was caught in as he was saying goodbye to Kuja. He soon went to Castle Alexandria where the play, My Little Canary, was premiering for Princess Garnet. Playing the lead role, Marcus, was actually Zidane!! Everyone was ecstatic of their reunion!
Yuna woke up in a bed within a wooden hut at Besaid! She's back at Spira and her close friends, Payne and her cousin, Rikku, can't wait to show her a surprise! She was reunited with Tidus at long last! At first, he thought he was gonna be sent to the Farplane or wandering in the Void as punishment for serving Chaos as he won't shut up on destroying Jecht and feeding him anger. All that was in the past, and he theorized Cosmos and the Fayth put their dreams together to reform him and have him live again!
Vaan wound up where the Strahl once stood, and just as he was about to investigate it, his friend Penlo was waiting for him. As a sky pirate, he was glad to give it a test run, and he wished to see Terra again.
In the middle of Pulse, Lightning awakened from her crystalization, reuniting with Snow, Hope, her sister Serah who had also been revived, and Sazh. There were still the remnants of Ragnarok, where a gigantic slab of crystal was holding up Cocoon. Vanilla and Fang weren't revived though.
Back at Abyssea, there was the adventurer who saw a ghostly form of Prishe. She prayed she'll evolve into the dragon, Shinryu, and vanquish the monsters in the unforgiving terrain. He also hoped she'll take in all the souls at that moment since she's the sole survivor of Promethia. Shantotto was in the village of Vana'diel, and she decided to retire. She was always able to carry on her family's legacy, but she was aging. She regretted leaving Cosmos out of boredom and wished for someone to carry on her teachings. Realizing there was no one, she casted Bio upon herself and drank some burgundy as she said, "Let this...be a toast. To my lost family, my people, and to all the troubled people of Vana'diel. Please do not plague me as a victim for your roast." She was dead as she dropped her glass.
Finally, there was Firion. He was in a thick forest, and he was raised by a small family of 3 deer: a fawn, doe, and buck. For several weeks they'd stayed and Firion decided to escort them south to his hometown of Finn. He was pretty weak and fatigued though, and he collapsed outside the castle. Princess Hilda took him in and trimmed and cleaned him before he was rested. He soon woke up, with a small vase of a lone wild rose growing in it. He went to the throne room, and he reunited with the Highness, and an emotional Maria and Guy! Although Leon never returned again. Their old home was being rebuilt, and he'd been gone for several weeks after he wanted to head to his old home, Salamand. Moments later, he was looking out at the fields, thanking Cosmos and his friends for everything, and to help him achieve his dream on bringing peace and wild roses to the world! There were some rose petals dancing in the wind.
Trivia[]
- This was a fic that took place after the 13th cycle, and the facts of Feral Chaos were omitted. This was made way back around 2010-11-ish when Ikran and her dad were going thru a rough restraining order against her stepmom; she orchestrated it, they'd been split for about 10 days, and while they were living in a motel temporarily, she played 012 for the PSP and jotted down the first couple chapters for it. It was also one of the oldest fics on Fanfiction.net, till it was officially finished during mid 2018, around the same time as the Bouncer trilogy.
- This was supposed to be the endgame of the entire juggernaut, even for the characters in the main games. Heck, the epilogue for Firion was the conclusion for Ikran's dead fic, Firion's Past.
- Since the 8-bit version of the behemoth was too cutesy for her taste, Ikran decided to combine traits from Feral Chaos and the God of Magic.
- This fic should NEVER be used as a walkthrough! For the complete guide for her inspiration, aside from Sagemaster15's playthrough, see the vids from DeceasedCrab Ikran found since her early days encountering YouTube.
- Ikran never wanted to include the Warrior (Puppet) of Light, as she despised it soo much since its questionable roles in Dissidia 012, so Firion took over. Besides, it was best it stayed at Cornelia Castle anyway.
- There was a backstory she found recently, as Lakmir was the survivor of the Hero Kings that were slewed by the warlock. They were able to seal him away to Shadowgate. Both it and Stormhaven were located in a world named Tyragon. Talimar belonged to some wizards, the Circle of 12, before he was the warlock, who was corrupt and wanted to break free hence summoned the Behemoth. Shadowgate's in a land called Kal Zathymn at the top of Gatekeeper Mountain.