A New Hope For a Broken World

Act 1 – A Fallen Angel, A New Story

[The ten warriors are greeted early one morning by a vision of Cosmos. Each of them wakes up at their own pace, but gradually all are present and awake. Once Cosmos has their attention, she begins a new message with filled with hope]

Cosmos: Today, a new warrior will join you in battle against Chaos. She is a brave soldier with a kind yet mischievous heart. Not all can handle her antics, so she will be joining only one party of her choosing. She will be your divine protector and guide and will be there for not only healing and fighting, but also to keep your hopes alive and to remind you that anything is possible. Be warned, though. If you do not treat her kindly, she will be quick to leave you. Despite that, she is a helpful ally and an angel in the truest sense. I beg of you; do not shun her for who she is, lest you shun your only hope. She will be arriving at her party soon. I wish the best of luck to you all.

[Cosmos fades, and we see each group’s different reactions]

Squall: An angel…

Bartz: I wonder what she looks like.

Zidane: She’s probably really hot!

Onion Knight: I really hope we get her! Then you won’t be the only girl, anymore, Terra!

Terra: [nods] Yeah.

Warrior of Light: Cosmos, I can only trust that you know this is for the best.

Tidus: Awwwww, yeah!

Firion: A pure being of light…

Cecil: I have never heard of an angel fighting. How about you, Cloud?

Cloud: [shakes his head] Never heard of it.

[Keep focus on Tidus’ group. Tidus looks around excitedly, jumping all over the place and turning in circles; Cloud is calm, but glances around using only his eyes; Firion looks to the sunset in hope and Cecil just tilts his head side to side. After a while, Tidus stops looking around and starts to complain.]

Tidus: Augh! I’m sick of waiting! How long is soon, anywa-

[He is swiftly cut off by someone landing on top of him. When the dust clears, we see it is a girl. White feathers cascade around her. She is wearing a flowing white dress with thin straps and a blue sash around her waist. Her delicate feet are held in golden sandals. Her long white hair shines in the sunlight and her deep blue eyes seem to hold much of the worlds’ knowledge, despite her looking only 16 years old. ]

???: Owwwwww… [rubbing her head] That hurt… A lot…

[Firion, Cecil and Cloud are stunned by her sudden entrance, but Cloud recovers first]

Cloud: Are you alright?

???: Yeah, I’m fine. [stands up and brushes off her dress]

Cloud: Tidus, how about you?

???: [looks down] AK!

Tidus: [moans] What in the world was that- [looks at the mystery girl] Whoa… [slightly flirtatious] And you are?

Kagami: [laughs] My name is Kagami. Cosmos sent me here. [curtseys] It’s nice to meet you all.

Firion: You’re the angel?

Kagami: Well-

Cecil: You are far more radiant that I could have ever imagined.

Kagami: Um, thank you, but Cosmos-

Tidus: You’re an angel!? [looses his cool and childishly grips Kagami’s hands in his own with a beaming smile] THAT’S SO AWESOME!

Kagami: Yeah, about that… Cosmos lied. Technically, I’m not an angel.

Tidus: Huh? [Said in unison with the next reactions]

Cecil: Pardon? [unison]

Cloud, Firion: What? [unison]

Kagami: Yeah… [sheepishly rubs the back of her head] I never formally became an angel; I was – uh – kicked out of heaven before I could-

Tidus: Really? Why?

Cecil: Tidus, you should not ask something like that.

Kagami: I don’t mind. Besides, it’s not what you think. I’m not a bad person - I could have gotten in - but I had ties to the mortal world.

Cloud: Ties?

Kagami: Yeah. A tie is a reason that a spirit would have to stay in the mortal world.

Tidus: What is it?

Kagami: [laughs weakly] Actually I don’t remember. That’s the reason I’m still here: I have to remember what it is before I can move on. Cosmos just happened to find me wandering around on the spiritual plane and decided to make me your guys’ ally. Oh, right! You never told me your names; what are they?

Firion: I’m Firion.

Tidus: ‘Name’s Tidus!

Cecil: I am called Cecil.

Cloud: Cloud.

Kagami: Cloud… as in Cloud Strife?

Cloud: [shocked] Yeah.

Kagami: I know you! [points at Cloud] You’re Zack’s buddy, aren’t you?

Cloud: Zack?

Kagami: Yeah! Zack Fair! First Class SOLDIER, used the Buster Sword before you, spiky black hair, insanely optimistic, spastic, you know, Zack!

Cloud: How do you know him?

Kagami: He and I worked together for a bit. He used to tell me stories about his missions, and he told me a lot about you in particular. He spoke quite fondly of you, you know.

Cloud: You worked for SOLDIER? First I’ve heard of this.

Kagami: It was unofficial. And I usually stayed with the First-Classes and rarely went on missions, so it’s not surprising you haven’t heard of me.

Tidus: Uh, I hate to break up this wonderful reunion between friends, but we kind of have some trouble.

Kagami: Trouble? Whaddaya mean by that?

Firion: Manikins. They’re everywhere.

Kagami: Mannequins? Like, dolls?

Cloud: Spelled with a “k”. They’re tools of Chaos.

Tidus: And really stupid too.

Cecil: I would not speak so mightily like that, Tidus. Did one not defeat you yesterday?

Tidus: Hey! It caught me off guard!

Kagami: [laughs along with Firion, but then gets mildly serious] So what exactly is this manikin? A moving statue? [sees it] Huh? It looks like you Tidus!

Cecil: Yes. They look like people we know, enemies and friends alike.

Kagami: Huh… That’s… Actually kind of cool… In a weird way…

Firion: Watch out!

[He jumps out of the way of a blizzard attack. As the chunk of ice flies toward Kagami, she expertly summons a wall of fire quickly to melt it before it hits her]

Kagami: Phew. That was close.

Tidus: So cool!! What else can you do?!

Kagami: [winks] Stay tuned and you’ll find out.

[Tidus blushes]

Firion: Pay attention! It’s coming your way!

Kagami: Huh?

[Tidus jumps in front of Kagami and slashes the manikin. It falls to the ground and shatters. He turns around, ensuring Kagami’s safety]

Tidus: You alright?

Kagami: Thanks! That almost had me!

Tidus: No problem! Just glad you’re okay.

Kagami: [soft smile] Still, I mean it.

[Tidus blushes again]

Cloud: Come on, we still have a long journey ahead of us.

Firion: [chuckles and scruffs Tidus’ hair] Ah, youth.

Tidus: H-Hey! What do you mean by that?

Cecil: I am sure you know.

Tidus: But I don’t! Come on, stop joking! Tell me!

Kagami: [laughs] This is going to be fun, that’s for sure!