The Lady's Return
by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires

All Characters copyrighted to Square-Enix and used without permission for non-profit amusement reasons. Comments, constructive criticism and compliments are not only appreciated, but greatly encouraged...
Author's Note: There's no real explanation for Shantotto and Gabranth's presence in the games... So I decided to come up with one...
Takes place during the first game, so there may be spoilers here and there... Plus, I made up a storyline reason to allow Gilgamesh to appear in future Dissidia games, if there are any.
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She awoke in a bright place, laying face-down in what seemed like an endless field with water lining the ground. The tiny woman spat water, and pushed herself to her feet, wringing out her pigtails and brushing water off her robes. She looked around, seeing only gray skies and ivory structures. She frowned, her thoughts muddled, and clutched her head painfully.

"Ow, my head... Well, I must not be dead," she said, idly rubbing her cute little black nub of a nose, a contrast to the rest of her light-skinned cherubic face. "It hurts too much to be heaven, but this doesn't look like hell... But I can't remember what happened... Oh well, oh well..."

Slowly, her thoughts began to clear. She remembered who she was, a powerful TaruTaru mage named Shantotto, and that she was in a place called Order's Sanctuary... She could remember all of her magical abilities as well as various research projects she had done in the past... She remembered how old she was.

She frowned.

But the facts of her life, details of places, people, and things... She couldn't remember that at all.

"Oh dear oh dear, this can't be right..." she said, "Amnesia? How? Was this caused by a fight?"

"Of a sort," came a soft, gentle voice from behind her.

Shantotto yipped, and pulled out her staff, whirling and aiming at the figure behind her. But the figure, a woman even the proud Shantotto had to admit was the most beautiful woman she ever saw, made no hostile motion. She simply sat on her pure white throne, her golden hair floating slightly. It was then that Shantotto noticed that this beautiful woman also had the saddest expression she had ever seen.

"It is most surprising to see you again, Doctor Shantotto, but not unwelcome. I had thought you lost in the Eleventh Conflict..." the beautiful woman said.

Shantotto frowned. "Eleventh? That number holds some significance to me... But I cannot place it... Tell me, tell me!"

The beautiful woman shook her head, smiling gently. "Do you remember me?"

Shantotto frowned again, slowly lowering her wand. She racked her brain, and found, to her delight, that some memories were returning... But of this woman, there was nothing. She shook her head, worried.

The beautiful woman sighed. "I am Cosmos, goddess of harmony. You, Shantotto, were one of my chosen warriors to fight against the chosen warriors of Chaos, god of discord. I pulled you from your world, along with warriors from thirteen other worlds... But sadly, the price of coming to this world was to have your memories purged."

Shantotto shook her head, confused. "You speak of eleven conflicts, was I here for just that one? Did our side win that fight when all the fighting was done?"

Cosmos shook her head. "Unfortunately no. Victory has been fleeting for our side... This war... It is an eternal cycle, doomed to repeat over and over again until someone can figure out how to break it... Once one side is victorious, Shinryu, the great dragon god that holds sway over us all will purify the field, ressurecting the fallen god and the warriors... But not all come back..."

Shantotto was starting to get nervous. It was a feeling she knew she hadn't experienced often, and it was making her uncomfortable. More and more of her memories were returning, and this was all starting to sound familiar. "Not all came back? But if this can be believed..." she said worriedly, "Finish your story, I must hear where it leads!"

Cosmos sighed. "The forces of Chaos have control over creatures called Manikins. They are... living falsehoods. Crystalline mockeries of warriors on both sides. To die at their hands means that you are free of the cycle... That your time in this world is done..."

Shantotto frowned. "...Tell me Cosmos, I have to know more... Does this sort of death... bring freedom from the war?"

Cosmos closed her eyes. "In a sense..."

Shantotto bit her lip, and asked the other question on her mind. "...Earlier you mentioned that you were surprised to see me... I'm obviously not dead, so how could that be?"

Cosmos sighed again, and stood up, stepping off her throne. "Come with me. I will show you. And if your memories are returning, then I will explain more..."

Once she stepped onto the crystaline, watery surface, both Cosmos and Shantotto began to sink into the ground. Shantotto gasped, both afraid and more than a little fascinated, the professor in her wanting to learn the secret behind this process. The realm they were entering seemed to be made of crystal, but it flowed at her touch like water. She could stand and move freely in the morass, moving up and down levels as she so chose. It was fascinating. But what she saw next blew any thought of that out of her mind.

Underneath Cosmos's throne was a massive pillar, and surrounding the pillar, encased in crystal, were the bodies of dozens of warriors. Shantotto stared in shock. They were all dead, she could tell, resting in perfectly preserved stasis. As Shantotto got closer to them, her memories began returning faster, both of her old life, and her life... no, lives... during her participation in the wars.

She reached out, touching the crystal bearing a blue-furred beastman with a lance. "Kimahri..." she said softly, a memory returning to her.

"Don't be ridiculous, you brute! Are you being cute? You can't go it alone, there's Manikins there! They'll KILL YOU, you dolt, Manikins don't believe in just scare!" Shantotto screamed.

Kimahri snorted. "Must go," he rumbled, "Promised Yuna... Promised to be her guardian..."

"A half-remembered promise from a world you've forgotten!" Shantotto screamed in frustration, "Don't throw your life away you foolish, misbegotten..."

"She's right," interrupted a purple-haired girl who's name Shantotto couldn't recall yet, "Seymour's expecting us to show up there! The manikins will kill you!"

Kimahri shook his head. "If I no go, Seymour will think something wrong, will take manikins and hunt down where others are resting. Will kill Yuna before she can recover... I go... I protect Yuna... You must stay and protect others..."

Shantotto shook her head, dismissing the memory. She went from level to level, remebering the last moments of each warrior. Y'shtola... Lightning... Vaan... Prishe, she remembered the name now... Yuna... Garnet... Laguna... Tifa... Locke... Galuf... Kain... Refia... Maria... the Magus of Light... and so many others. All dead. All laying peacefully in crystals, as if resting.

She went back to Prishe's level, and studied the bodies she found there. Nanaa Mihgo, a cunning, but good-hearted thief, daughter of a famous Mithra warrior. Lion, the adopted daughter of a pirate king. Old Maat, who tested young adventurers to see if they were worthy of advancing to the next level. And... Kam'lanaut and the Shadow Lord?

"There are warriors of Chaos in this graveyard. Why? Do all the fallen come here when they die?"

Cosmos nodded. "I am as much a goddess of death as I am a goddess of harmony... Indeed, the irony is that the ultimate harmony can be found in death... But because I am the goddess of death I can see the true value of life and all its glory... Something that Chaos has unfortunately lost sight of..."

Shantotto shivered, staring at Cosmos worriedly. "A disturbing revelation, especially for those less brave... Tell me, my dear, why keep these corpses you save?"

Cosmos sighed, slowly raising herself and Shantotto back to the surface. "Their souls shall remain encased in these crystals until the cycle is finally broken. Then all shall be returned home to start their lives anew alongside their still-living comrades."

Shantotto's memories had almost completely returned. And she still hadn't had her question answered.

"And what about I? Did I... did I die?"

Cosmos lowered her head again. The memory came to Shantotto in a flash.

In a world of crystals, four warriors faced off.

"It seems I am destined to go backwards until I finally get the duel I require..." Gilgamesh muttered. He frowned at Shantotto, and said, "No matter. To finally get the ultimate match against Bartz, I will do what I must! Even if it means working with that talentless hack Exdeath again!"

"Foppish clown, you're a fool. So prepare yourself for school," Shantotto sneered. "You come from the Rift? Then back you will go! I won't fall to a clown, Ohohohoho!"

Gilgamesh glared at her. "A clown? You underestimate me, little one! For I possess the ultimate sword!" he said, gesturing and summoning Excalipoor, "...and I will use it to... finish... you..."

Shantotto was rolling on the ground, laughing wildly. Gilgamesh's partner, Gabranth, shook his head in disgust. Gilgamesh fumed, dismissing the blade. "Oh, forget it!" he said, snapping his fingers and summoning a small army of Manikins, looking like himself, Gabranth, Shantotto, Prishe, and a handful of others. "Tell us how to get to Sanctuary!"

Shantotto managed to get a hold of herself, chuckling as Prishe cracked her knuckles in anticipation. "I'm afraid not, children," Shantotto cooed, "That fact stays secret. So you and the tin can just go ahead and beat it."

Gabranth glared at Gilgamesh again, and took a fighting stance. "I'm afraid not, Doctor. Chaos has commanded the death of your goddess. And this dog of war intends to fulfill that order."

Prishe sneered. "Trying to go where you're not wanted? Bad doggie. No biscuit for you," she teased.

Gilgamesh snarled. "ENOUGH GAMES! Prepare yourself for ultimate destruction at the most powerful force in the land, and by ultimate destruction, I mean an epic ass-whupping, and by most powerful force in the land, I mean ME! GILGAMESH! And now... hey, wait up!" he said, Gabranth and the manikins having started their charge while he was still ranting.

The battle was fierce. Dozens of manikins fell to Prishe's fists and Shantotto's magic. Prishe fell to an attack from a pair of Gilgamesh manikins (which were wielding their versions of Excalibur, unfortunately for her), and Shantotto managed to force Gilgamesh back into the Rift. With a powerful spell, Shantotto managed to seize control of several manikins, setting them on Gabranth. The judge magister fought desperately, screaming in frustration, his blades felling attacker after attacker until he was finally struck down.

Shantotto barely had enough time to feel satisfaction before a kick from a Tifa manikin broke her ribs, jamming them into her heart. Coughing up blood, she fell to the ground, she and Gabranth sharing looks of utter hatred as they died...

Shantotto gasped, falling to the ground. She could feel the pain of her deathblow just as if she had been injured a moment ago.

"What... What..." Shantotto shook her head. "How am I alive?" she said, no longer having the will to rhyme, as was her usual nature.

Cosmos smiled sadly. "I do not know... I just know that I could use your help..."

Shantotto shook her head. "My HELP? You want my help? I died! I should be... I shouldn't even be involved in this war, none of us should be..." she said, staring down into the ground, into where she knew her worldmates rested in their graveyard.

Cosmos sighed wearily. "If I could have ended the cycle of war without you all, I would have... But the warriors Chaos chose to fight... I needed warriors strong enough to defeat them, who had defeated them in the past..."

"And so we get drafted to serve in a war, between a chaotic child and pure-hearted whore..." she spat, immediately regretting the words.

Cosmos just lowered her head. She had long since grown to accept that any who fully recovered her memories would be angry with her.

Shantotto picked herself up and dusted herself off. She coughed, and said, "Forgive my worlds. As you can understand I'm somewhat bitter. But no matter, no matter, Doctor Shantotto's no quitter."

She bowed to Cosmos, and said, "Well, by some miracle I'm back. Anything else I should know? What tasks do you have, what places should I go?"

Cosmos closed her eyes. "My best guess is that you've somehow become free of the cycle. When you seized control of some of the manikins, you disrupted the balance of magic that swayed the power of the manikins towards Chaos. You accidentally called upon power you held when you were called as a servant of Chaos in the Sixth and Ninth conflicts. Gabranth has been reborn as well, and is free of the cycle also, which is why your memories have returned in total."

Shantotto, who now had all her memories back by this point, was pacing back and forth, nodding. "That actually makes sense, if I may interject..." she said, grinning, back in good spirits, "And now that I'm back I can continue my research projects!"

Oh dear, Cosmos thought with a mix of trepidation and amusement. "As for tasks... I sense that Gabranth has given up hope, and chose to act as guardian of Hell. Will you protect this place? Will you protect Heaven, and the souls that lie here and rest? Aside from you, only ten warriors remain, and they must not worry about me... They must focus on their task, and finding their crystals..."

Shantotto laughed. "Ohohoho! A most worthy task! My lady, goddess Cosmos, I shall do as you ask!"

Cosmos nodded. "Good. Then I have one more thing to ask of you..."

Cosmos told Shantotto her plan. The TaruTaru archmage was, needless to say, a little nonplussed.

"You're placing a lot of faith in these heroes. What if they fail, and all end up zeroes?" Shantotto asked.

Cosmos shook her head. "I have faith in them. I have faith that they will find their crystals, defeat Chaos, and end this foolish, endless cycle... I have faith that we all shall be free... Even Chaos and I..."

Shantotto sighed. "If you can have faith, then I also must dare..." she said, bowing, "Now excuse me a moment, I have things I must prepare..."

Shantotto walked off towards a place in the distance, a small ivory building where she kept supplies. Once she was far enough away, a disembodied, whispering voice said to her...

Do you truly believe that this will work? That your plan will break the cycle?

"I do, Cid," said Cosmos, "I can feel that Shinryu has already lost a lot of control. If both Chaos and I are destroyed, then he will be unable to maintain the cycle. And everyone will be reborn in their own worlds, in their own homes, as they should be..."

Let's hope you are right, my lady... Let us hope that this is truly the Final Fantasy...

THE END