Archive of Our Own ^beta

Bryant: Is there anything in this world more badass than the anime swordsman?

Thea: The video game swordsman! Now imagine them being both!

Bryant: Zero, the Maverick Hunter from the Megaman series.

Thea: And Cloud, the Super Soldier from the Final Fantasy series!

Bryant: For obvious reasons, we’ll be focusing exclusively on the canon versions of these characters. No Marvel vs Capcom, and no Kingdom Hearts.

Thea: He’s Bryant Reese, and I’m Thea Price.

Bryant: And we’re here to analyze these two video game badasses to see who would win, a Death Battle!

Bryant: It was the year 22XX. War has once again ravaged the already ruined world. A young Reploid, or artificial human, named Ciel, attempted to create Copy X, a clone of the legendary Mega Man X, after said X disappeared after the Elf Wars. Copy X was intended to take the place of X as leader of the utopian city called Neo Arcadia. But instead, Copy X became a dictator. Without the same moral code or the testing programs that made X a hero, Copy X became a ruthless tyrant who slaughtered innocent Reploids while falsely and unjustly calling them Mavericks, or Reploids who threatened the safety of human life.

Thea: Ciel felt guilty about making a douchebag like Copy X, and tried to find someone who would save the Reploid Resistance. And one day, in an abandoned laboratory, while being chased by Neo Arcadian forces, she found that someone. A legendary warrior. This wasn’t your average Mega Man. This, was Mega Man Zero!

• Zero:
• Age: >300 years
• Height: 174 cm
• Weight: 79 kg
• Occupation: Maverick Hunter
• Protagonist of the Mega Man Zero games
• Was built to surpass Mega Man, Bass, and X

(NOTE: As evident from the intro of this analysis, this fight will focus primarily on the Zero seen in the Mega Man Zero games, though we will obviously be referencing the classic version of the character as well)

Bryant: But who was this mysterious warrior clad in red, contrasting the classic blue? Lacking all of his memories due to hibernation sickness, Zero didn’t even know his name. Despite that, he didn’t hesitate to aid Ciel in escaping the Neo Arcadian Forces. And though he had many questions, he was willing to put them to the side in order to fight for the Reploid Resistance, and hopefully find the answers he sought.

Thea: It wasn’t going to be an easy fight though. Most of his allies were Reploids that were citizens remodeled to be soldiers, so they weren’t built for battle. Lucky for them, Zero was basically the equivalent of Captain America!

• Abilities/Arsenal:
• Titanium-Z Body
• Buster Shot
• Z-Saber v2
• Shield Boomerang, Triple Rod, Chain Rod, Recoil Rod
• Zero Knuckle
• Cyber-Elves
• Chips:
• Thunder Chip, Flame Chip, Ice Chip, Light Chip, Absorber, Auto Charge, Auto Heal, Quick Charge, Spike, Quick, Double Jump, Shadow Dash, Frog, Splash Jump, Ultimate
• EX Skills:
• Blast Shot, Blizzard Arrow, Burning Shot, Burst Shot, Ice Javelin, Laser Shot, Reflect Shot, Time Stopper, Tractor Shot, Triple Shot, Spark Shot, V-Shot
• Flame Fang, Gale Attack, Ice Blade, Kougenjin, Sengatotsu, Sharp Edge/Saber Smash, Sky Chaser, Tenshouzan, Thunder Stab, Throw Blade
• Filter Shield, Orbit Shield, Shield Sweep
• Energy Chain
• 1000 Slash: Rapid Combo Attack, Soul Launcher
• Forms:
• Energy, X, Defense, Erase, Active, Power, Rise, Proto, Ultimate

Bryant: Zero is built with a Titanium-Z Body. Titanium-Z is one of many fictional metals that are far superior to titanium and tungsten. Being stronger and lighter, Zero can move and fight at supersonic speeds, and is an expert at combat. Even without his memories, Zero was able to easily tear through his enemies with ease.

Thea: It helped that he had several powerful weapons behind him! He’s got a pistol called the Buster Shot. It’s not as cool as the standard Mega Buster, but it does the same thing, firing regular lemon bloops. And when he charges it up, he can fire the deadly Laser Shot. After his first mission, he got the Thunder Chip, which changed his standard charged shots into the Spark Shot.

Bryant: Zero obtained many Chips which he could implement into his Buster Shot’s functionality. During the first two games, he only had access to three: The aforementioned Thunder Chip, and the Flame Chip and Ice Chip, allowing him to wield their elements in battle. He has various versions of such variations, like the explosive Burst Shot, or the Blizzard Arrow. Even the basic charged shot received upgrades, like the ricocheting Reflect Laser, or the stasis inducing Time Stopper.

Thea: But the Buster Shot alone wasn’t going to solve everything. Lucky for Zero, a mysterious being ended up giving him a more familiar weapon, from a long time ago. A hard-light blade so badass, it’s basically irreplaceable as a weapon, and has been used endlessly through the entire X series. It’s Zero’s iconic Z-Saber!

Bryant: The Z-Saber, is by far Zero’s most reliable weapon. It can slash through 300 millimeters of reinforced steel with a single strike, and can draw energy from Zero’s own solar core to increase its power or recharge it. It’s far more powerful than the Buster Shot, as it was able to effortlessly defeat a golem that the Buster Shot was specifically stated to be unable to harm. Zero is exceptionally skilled with it, and can enhance its power with the same elemental Chips that his Buster Shot can use.

Thea: Like with the Tenshouzan, a sword equivalent of the Shoryuken uppercut! With the Rakuretsuzan, he can impale you over the head, and with Sengatotsu, he can attack with electrified thrusts! But if he doesn’t want to use elements, he can just use the Kougenjin, a sword beam that can cut through most robots, and even shields.

Bryant: To be honest, this is just the beginning of Zero’s vast arsenal. While each game has Zero wielding both the Buster Shot and the Z-Saber, the Z-Saber has received various forms and upgrades in each game, each with their own abilities and advantages. For example, the Shield Boomerang is the Z-Saber spinning on his arm so fast that it acts as a shield, reflecting projectiles. It can fly through the air like a buzzsaw, and even orbit Zero, giving him a deadly defense.

Thea: The Chain Rod changes the Z-Saber into a deadly grappling whip, which can stab enemies and yank them closer, let him swing through the air, or drain the energy from his enemies. He can fight even faster with the Recoil Rod, which is the Z-Saber turned into a pair of tonfa, and can send enemies flying, or even knock himself upwards!

(NOTE: The Triple Rod is another weapon that Zero can use in earlier games, but it’s been specified that it was destroyed and replaced with the Chain Rod)

Bryant: Though Zero is certainly not a stranger when it comes to fighting in hand-to-hand, like with the Zero Knuckles. While lacking the range of the Z-Saber, Zero can equip enemy weapons to use, increase his strength, and use powerful charged punches like a robotic Captain Falcon. Though this is the only one of his weapons that can’t be paired with his Chips.

Thea: Which kinda sucks, cause he got his hands on more than just the elemental ones! He’s got Chips that help him recover health, decrease charge time for his weapons, eliminate the knockback of when he’s hit, increase his speed, help him jump on air, and even zip through enemy attacks! 

Bryant: Even should Zero’s firepower not be enough, he can obtain more power through his various enhancement forms, which he can obtain by completing specific challenges. Like how he can unlock his Active Form by defeating 20 enemies with dashing Z-Saber slashes. This form increases his speed and allows him to perform rolling slashes, giving him a hit-and-run strategy.

Thea: The Defense Form sacrifices attack for cutting incoming damage in half. The X Form favors the Buster Shot. The Power Form sacrifices speed for power. The Erase Form negates small projectiles. The Rise Form increases the agility of Zero’s combos. And the Proto Form sacrifices defense and charged attacks for sheer power.

Bryant: Though most of these forms do come with some kind of detriment, Zero’s Ultimate Form is his most powerful state that comes without any detriment. Not only does it boost his power, speed, and defense to their max, it also allows him to use charged attacks instantly, without needing to actually waste time charging them up.

Thea: How does he unlock his Ultimate Form? He uses a lot of Cyber Elves!

Bryant: A Cyber Elf is basically a sentient program that can manifest as beings made of pure energy. They can alter the reality of a parallel world called Cyberspace, basically a computer version of the real world. By doing so, they can alter the real world, as the two worlds are connected. Many of these mainly revolve around healing Zero, be it doubling his health, restoring his health, or giving him a backup energy bar.

(NOTE: Some Cyber-Elves had permanent effects on Zero, boosting his speed, defense, knockback, and agility. And Zero can collect numerous Cyber-Elves that accomplish the same things)

Thea: But some do other things, like eating projectiles and using them to explode, firing cover fire, or even cutting the enemies’ battery life! He can even become invincible for a short period of time!

Bryant: Though they can only use these powers once, before dissolving, having sacrificed their lives in order to achieve these feats.

Thea: Wait, what? That’s dark.

Bryant: It’s certainly morally grey, but Zero is not a hero. Not in the stereotypical definition at least. He’s willing to kill, and sacrifice, if it is what it takes to save the world, and win the war. He’s even willing to kill humans if the situations call for it, a stark contrast to every other Mega Man, who refuse to do such an action. He’ll do what the job needs to be done, if it means that the world would smile on a better tomorrow.

• Achievements:
• (Classic)
• Defeated dozens of Mavericks, the General, Fake Zero, and Sigma
• Dodged Optic Sunflower’s laser
• Survived a collision with Eurasia
• Survived Lumine’s Paradise Lost
• (Mega Man Zero)
• Defeated Omega, Dark Elf, Copy X, and Elpizo
• Survived the destruction of Area X
• Fought in a desert for a year
• Is believed to be superior to Classic Zero

Bryant: This is something that Zero has proven on countless occasions, and not just in the Mega Man Zero games.

Thea: You probably already know, but Zero was actually a badass side-character in the Mega Man X games, fighting right besides the original X himself! And oh boy, they have a pretty tough history.

Bryant: The Reploids weren’t the result of some random science experiment. But rather, they were built off of the design of X. On the other hand, many Mavericks and their reputation was the result of Zero, as he was originally built not by Dr Light like X or the classic Mega Man, but by their nemesis, Dr Wily.

Thea: Aka, evil Einstein!

Bryant: Zero wasn’t built to be the legendary hero of the stories, or the anti-hero soldier of the world. Rather, he was built to be the end of all life, and of Mega Man’s legacy. A destiny that would’ve been ensured with the Maverick Virus, a dangerous computer virus that would corrupt many Reploids and turn them into violent and murderous Mavericks. Something that Zero was the most dangerous of which, when he went on a violent rampage that ended up slaughtering many innocents, staining his hands with blood.

Thea: Zero does end up being good, but that’s because the Maverick Virus that was in his head ended up moving to Sigma, the Commander of the Maverick Hunters. Which resulted in Zero losing his memories, and Sigma becoming the big bad who just kept coming back thanks to the Sigma Virus! But hey, this time, Zero was helping the good guys, and he was one hell of a hero. We’re talking about a guy who dodged Optic Sunflower’s laser!

Bryant: He even was able to move at speeds that far exceed the speed of light, being capable of attacking at blinding speeds even while lasers are standing still. Said laser in this instance was from Lumine, whose laser can move around 77 times faster than light, according to Migue79. For Zero to be moving at high speeds even while such a laser is moving slow enough to be standing still, he’d have to be attacking at speeds approaching almost 10 million times the speed of light. Though he’s likely much faster, as he’s comparable to X.

Thea: M-79 also calc’d X’s speed, and said that he was moving at around 46 million times the speed of light! The Milky Way galaxy is 105,700 light years wide, which is 621 quadrillion miles. X’s attacks are fast enough to move across that gap in just 20 hours!

Bryant: And Zero’s proven his status as a hero, as he piloted a ship to collide with the falling Eurasia Space Colony, which would’ve struck the planet with enough power to destroy its surface, similar to the meteor which would’ve killed the dinosaurs. 

Thea: He even beat Lumine, a psychopathic Reploid whose Paradise Lost could destroy the sun from the Earth, and Mega Man and Zero can tank being in the middle of that! That’s a feat worth over 25 undecillion tons of TNT! That’s 36 zeroes! As calculated by Migue79- goddammit this guy is everywhere.

Bryant: For reference, this is equal to about 1,052 thousand supernovas, enough to destroy multiple Solar Systems in one go.

Thea: And he’s still as strong as he was all those years ago!

(NOTE: Zero’s body is a copy of his original body, but it has shown itself to be on par with various enemies who hold power equal to or greater than Classic Zero. Zero was even stated in the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works bio to have much more potential than he did in his original body. So while it isn’t standard to give him his original body’s functions, it is fair to scale him to his original body)

Bryant: But is he the same? We’ve mentioned how he’s proven his status as a hero, yet we also said that he wasn’t a hero. This is because Zero has differed many times throughout his story, as the main theme of his story can be seen as identity. Who are we? What makes us who we are? Is it the circumstance of our birth? Or perhaps it’s the body we inhabit. Maybe it’s even our soul, something that we don’t truly know for sure exists.

Thea: Oh man, where’s Boomstick’s beer fridge when you need it? Well, the circumstance of Zero’s birth was to be a violent Maverick who was supposed to destroy everything that the original Mega Man wanted to protect. And Zero’s body ended up being separated from his consciousness in order to create the Cyber-Elves, and the overpowered Mother Elf! 

Bryant: A specific Cyber-Elf that could extend its reach and effects not just around the entire planet, but even to the moon, faster than individual Reploids could react, in order to destroy the Sigma Virus once and for all. Comparing a Reploid’s processing power to that of a computer, the Mother Elf would’ve had to be working at around half a billion times faster than light.

Thea: Awesome! But, can we get back to the fact that the Zero we play as in Mega Man Zero, isn’t the real Zero?

Bryant: The body that he once inhabited was transformed into another being, one known as Omega, created by Dr Weil, a corrupt scientist who took the Mother Elf and corrupted it to become the Dark Elf, taking and fusing it with Omega’s programming. Omega was less like the Zero we know, and more like the Zero he was. In a way, perhaps this was who Zero was truly meant to be, especially since there is a version of Zero that acted similarly to Omega back in the X Era.

Thea: Talk about an existential crisis. Or, is it an identity crisis? See, this is why you’re the one who pretends to be a psychiatrist.

Bryant: But who we are isn’t actually dictated by physical concepts like our bodies, or conceptual variables like our birth. We choose who we are, and Zero is proof of that. Maybe Zero was born to be a destroyer, and maybe he lives in a body that wasn’t his original form. But he chose to be someone who would save the world. He chose to fight alongside and protect the innocent. And he chose to be different. 

Thea: In the end, it’s not his body or birth that determined who Zero was. It was the choices he made, and that is what makes him the real Zero. So, who is Zero you ask? He’s the biggest badass in the X era, and one hell of a Mega Man.

Bryant: Wait, what do you mean ‘pretend to be a psychiatrist’?!

Thea: You’re just now realizing?!

Bryant: I’m totally qualified to be a psychiatrist!

Thea: You barely passed a single class in psychology!

(Zero) “I have always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it!”

Bryant: Behold, the planet Gaia. As one large organism in the form of a planet, Gaia’s lifeforce is known as the Lifestream, which transforms into a liquid form known as Mako. The Lifestream is essentially the essence of the planet, which means it’s a pretty bad idea to try to harvest it as an energy source, as not only does it drain the planet of its life, but it also starts to corrupt remaining life, creating monsters. Yet that’s exactly what the Shinra Electric Power Company does. Because humans are gonna human. Fortunately, some people were aware that this isn’t a good thing. And they banded together in order to form a terrorist, organization… Huh.

Thea: Yeah, we’re actually rooting for the terrorists. This organization was Avalanche, and it wasn’t all that big. Just a couple of members here and there, with a leader with a gun for a hand, and a girl who punches stuff. But quality over quantity, because they got one hell of a powerhouse at their side. This, was Cloud Strife.

• Cloud Strife:
• Age: 24 years
• Height: 173 cm
• Weight: 62 kg
• Occupation: Mercenary
• Protagonist of the Final Fantasy VII media
• Successor to Zack Fair

(NOTE: We’ll be making a semi-composite of Cloud, and using all the materials related to the Final Fantasy VII story, as long as they follow the original story and are considered canon. This includes the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, Remake, and Rebirth, though we’ll focus primarily on the original)

Bryant: Though Cloud wasn’t a true member of Avalanche like Biggs, Wedge, or Jessie.

Thea: May they rest in peace. Or, pieces.

Bryant: Rather, he was a friend of Tifa Lockhart, the girl who punches stuff. Born and raised in the humble town of Nibelheim, Cloud was a moody and lonely child, whose only friend seemed to be Tifa. But due to an accident where Tifa ended up in a week-long coma, Cloud grew up wanting to be strong, and more than what he was. Inspired by the legendary Sephiroth, Cloud vowed to become a hero like his idol. And so, he became a member of SOLDIER, the military organization under the hire of Shinra.

Thea: And he ended up being one hell of a badass, becoming a SOLDIER First Class, the baddest of the badass. And he came back to Nibelheim as the hero he wanted, working alongside Sephiroth.

Bryant: But Sephiroth discovered the terrible truth of his heritage, how he was created from the Jenova Project. Under the experiments of the insane and freakish Dr Hojo, Sephiroth was genetically altered with the cells of Jenova, an alien that landed on Gaia.

Thea: And Shrina thought that Jenova was their clue to finding a shortcut to some mega bucks! But, she was dead. So, they made Sephiroth!

Bryant: He came to believe that he was a Cetra, an ancient race of people who could interact with the Lifestream itself, and that it was his duty to take vengeance on humans for ‘betraying’ his ancestors in the face of a great calamity.

(NOTE: Turns out, Jenova , was the great calamity that threatened the Cetra. Oops.)

Thea: So he ended up burning Nibelheim to the ground! Killing Cloud’s mom, and slicing up Tifa! And Cloud took his revenge by impaling Sephiroth! Badass!

• Abilities/Arsenal:
• Superhuman abilities
• SOLDIER Training
• Limit Breaks:
• Braver, Cross Slash, Blade Beam,Climhazzard, Meteorain, Finishing Touch, Omnislash Version 5
• Ribbon
• Ziedrich
• Fenrir
• Swords:
• Buster Sword
• Ultima Weapon
• Fusion Sword
• Materia:
• Green Materia:
• Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Quake3, Aeroga, Curaga, Regen, Poisona, Esuna, Resist, Life2, Sleepel, Silence, Confuse, Berserk, Mini, Toad, Escape, Remove, Bio3, Graviga, Barrier, MBarrier, Reflect, Wall, Comet2, Haste, Slow, Stop, DeBarrier, DeSpell, Death, Freeze, Break, Tornado, Flare, FullCure, Shield, Ultima
• Yellow Materia:
• Slash-All, Double Cut, W-Summon, W-Magic, Throw, Morph, Deathblow, Manipulate, Mime
• Blue Materia:
• Counter, Elemental, Magic Counter, MP Absorb, HP Absorb, MP Turbo, Quadra Magic, Sneak Attack
• Red Materia:
• Choco/Mog, Shiva, Ifrit, Ramuh, Titan, Odin, Leviathan, Bahamut, Kujata, Alexander, Phoenix, Neo Bahamut, Hades, Typhon, Bahamut Zero, Knights of the Round

Bryant: This was with Cloud’s most iconic weapon, and one of the most well-known weapons in games, the Buster Sword.

Thea: 6 feet long, and 1 foot wide. Cloud really likes giant swords. And why wouldn’t he? They’re awesome! This thing is the most impractical blade in reality, but when Cloud uses it, he’s more than a master with it.

Bryant: That would be thanks to his SOLDIER Training, making him an extremely skilled and powerful fighter. Not only is he skilled, he’s also rather strong and durable. During their clash in Nibelheim, Sephiroth ended up impaling Cloud through the ribs, but rather than being truly hurt by this attack, Cloud simply used this as leverage to lift Sephiroth up and hurl him down into the exposed Lifestream below.

Thea: A couple years later, Cloud was a mercenary for hire, and pretty well-rounded when it comes to beating ass. So when Tifa found him, she hired him to work with Avalanche to bring Shinra down! Though, she did have to force him to stay.

Bryant: Little did Cloud know, this would only lead to a war he would fight, and a young girl he would befriend, Aerith.

Thea: Remember when we said that Sephiroth thought that he was a Cetra? Well, Aerith was an actual Cetra, which made her a pretty big target for Shinra, since they thought she could lead them to a place of endless Mako. A factory on this Promised Land is basically a money printer.

Bryant: So Shinra dropped a section of the city onto another section of the city, killed most of Avalanche, kidnapped Aerith, captured them when they tried to save Aerith, only for someone to slaughter many of the employees and kill the CEO. And that someone happened to be Sephiroth, the man who was supposed to have died during his battle with Cloud all those years ago.

Thea: … Well that escalated quickly.

Bryant: Needing answers, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Aerith, and their new friend, Red XIII, went off to chase Sephiroth down while battling Shinra forces along the way and trying to stop them from reaching the Promised Land. To make things more complicated, Cloud suffered from voices in his head, and strange dreams. Something was strange. Stories weren’t adding up, memories weren’t as clear as they should’ve been.

Thea: Yeah, the team was fighting an uphill battle, but they weren’t completely left out to dry. They got new friends, like Yuffie, Cait Sith, Vincent Valentine, and Cid Highwind. More importantly, they got magic balls!

Bryant: That is Materia, crystallized sources of raw Mako Energy. These can be used to grant Cloud a wide variety of effects and abilities, and thanks to his SOLDIER Training, he’s extremely skilled at using them.

(NOTE: In the games, they’re used alongside your weapons, which tend to have a limited amount of Materia slots. For example, the Buster Sword only has two Materia slots, and can thus only equip two to use in battle. However, at least two sources, including a character in game, has revealed that Materia can be used on their own)

Thea: Green Materia is mostly used for general spells, like shooting fire, lightning, ice, wind, and earthquakes. Basic stuff like that, and healing or curing status effects. He can stop other magic spells, confuse enemies, transform enemies, poison enemies, manipulate gravity, or create barriers that deflect magic and decrease physical damage. He’s even got more overpowered ones, like putting people in stasis, or just blowing them the f*ck up with Ultima!

Bryant: With the Yellow Materia, Cloud can cause various effects in the form of command abilities. These involve spells that allow Cloud to attack all enemies at once from a range, cast multiple spells at once, steal items, reveal enemy information, dish out critical hits, dominate an enemy’s mind, and copy previous techniques. And with Blue Materia, Cloud can use additional support spells, like automatic counters, enhancing his weapons with elemental effects, regain HP and MP, or allow him to use attack first in battle.

Thea: But it’s the Red Materia that’s the real meat on the bones. These let him just straight up summon awesome and badass monsters to fight at his side! These summons can be ice ladies, horned demons, old guys with beards, old guys with muscles, old guys on a horse, or a giant phoenix! Though we all know that Bahamut is the way to go! He’s a giant badass dragon, and as Bahamut Zero, he can cast Tera Flare! An attack so strong it can straight-up ignore magic defense!

Bryant: I don’t know, I’d say that the Knights of the Round is superior, as not only are they the strongest summon in the game, but they can also deal a similar attack to Tera Flare called Ultimate End, which also ignores magic defense.

(NOTE: It’s unlikely that Cloud would carry literally all of this Materia with him at once. However, with Master Magic, Master Command, and Master Summon, Cloud has access to a majority of these abilities with just these three Materia)

Thea: Why doesn’t Cloud just keep fighting with these summons?

Bryant: Because many can argue that Cloud is significantly more powerful than them. Over the course of his journey, Cloud became much stronger, and unlocked the powerful Limit Breaks. These various techniques allow Cloud to fight at his full potential, and are incredibly deadly. Like his paralyzing Cross Slash, or his long-ranged Blade Beam. He can summon tornados, launch enemies into the air, or summon meteors to rain down on his enemies, though his most powerful attack was fast and fierce Omnislash, where he would constantly blitz his opponent until they’re cut down.

Thea: And just to help out, he can wear the Ziedrich Armor!

Bryant: Which halves the damage Cloud receives.

Thea: Cloud should’ve had all the power that he needed to take down Sephiroth and all of his enemies, but Sephiroth ended up being way more dangerous than he was when they first fought. Somehow, he ended up controlling Cloud, forcing him to give up the meteor summoning Black Materia, and attacking Aerith. Even when Cloud managed to stop himself from killing Aerith, Sephiroth just came down and did it himself! Man, what a bad day.

(NOTE: After her death, Cloud wears Aerith’s ribbon, which grants him an immunity to status effects like burn, ice, poison, etc)

Bryant: It doesn’t stop there. When Cloud went to confront Sephiroth, he ended up discovering the truth behind his backstory. While Cloud did try to join SOLDIER, he never actually made it into the program. The person who actually made it into SOLDIER First Class was Cloud’s new friend, Zack Fair. Though it was still Cloud who fought Sephiroth. The reason why his memories were so mixed was due to the fact that after Cloud managed to defeat Sephiroth, he and Zack were experimented on and injected with Jenova’s cells, and exposed to Mako poisoning. Zack gave his life and entrusted the Buster Sword to Cloud, but the trauma of losing his friend and the experiments caused Cloud’s memories to end up mixing with Zack due to the connection of the Lifestream, creating scenarios and memories where he completely replaced Zack.

Thea: Dang. Well, at least Cloud got Zack’s memories, and was able to become a badass like Zack too!

• Achievements:
• Defeated Sephiroth, Jenova, Bahamut SIN, Kadaj, etc
• Cut through entire buildings with a single swing
• Survived Sephiroth’s Supernova
• Practically ignores being impaled
• Jumped up a skyscraper with a single leap
• Dodged bullets, lightning, and lasers
• Comparable/superior to the rest of Avalanche

Bryant: That is true. Cloud was devastated, and rendered comatose after he began to fear that nothing in his life was ever true. But after falling into the Lifestream with Tifa, Cloud was able to piece together his true memories, and find his true self. After doing so, he was able to finally defeat Sephiroth in the clash over the fate of the world.

Thea: No surprise there. Cloud is strong enough to cut through buildings with his sword and can basically ignore being stabbed through the ribs! But he’s way stronger than just that. Cloud is basically the second strongest in the games, only behind Sephiroth. Which is pretty cool, considering that makes him pretty on par with various summon monsters, like Bahamut Fury, who blew up a moon!

Bryant: Bahamut Fury could also fly at incredibly high speeds, like how he was able to fly from what appears to be Neptune to Gaia, the equivalent of Earth, in only 6 seconds. To do so, he’d have to have been flying at around 2,506 times the speed of light.

Thea: But if we’re talking space travel, Red XIII’s Limit Breaks can pull energy from stars and fire it at the enemy!

Bryant: Proxima Centauri is the closest star to us, and is about 5.88 trillion miles away from us, or 4.24 light-years. For the energy from said star to be able to move all the way to Gaia in a second, it’d have to be traveling at around 31 million times faster than light.

Thea: Cloud led the final charge against Sephiroth, who ended up taking a godlike form. And in the fight, Sephiroth decided to pull a bitch move! A badass one, but a bitch move! He just, summoned a supernova!

Bryant: Traversing dimensions, transporting Cloud and friends to another world, you probably watched Sephiroth vs Vergil. But while Sephiroth may not have caused a genuine supernova, judging from the fact that the sun was not destroyed despite it being the source of the supernova, he likely transported them to a world where it was, and Cloud and his friends were hit by a supernova, and survived.

Thea: A supernova that was specifically stated in the original Japanese to have destroyed the entire Solar System! Which means that the supernova ended up covering a radius of 2.78 billion miles!

Bryant: Now, we could’ve calculated the explosive yield of this explosion by using the size of the explosion.

Thea: But Azure had no f*cking clue how to do that and Vs Wiki was no help. And no one on Discord answered him when he asked.

Bryant: So instead we’ll be using the value found by Mr Bambu on Vs Wiki. Said Mr Bambu discovered that Sephiroth’s attack should’ve come out to be around 17.88 sexdecillion joules of energy.

Thea: So after surviving 85.5 vigintillion Tsar Bombas, Cloud and friends finally beat Sephiroth’s ass! But then it turned out that he just jumped into the Lifestream to escape, so Cloud chased him down, and cut him down! Again! For like, the third time. Man, this son of a b*tch is hard to kill.

Bryant: You have no idea. Sephiroth would eventually come back one last time-

Thea: Oh come on!

Bryant: Through the parasitic Jenova cells corrupting the Lifestream.

Thea: Next you’ll tell me that Sephiroth and Sigma are BFFs.

Bryant: And yet, Cloud was there, once again. And once again, he emerged triumphant, using his most powerful attack, Omnislash Version 5, a version of the Omnislash enhanced with Cloud’s most powerful weapon, the Fusion Sword, a variation of the Buster Sword-

Thea: Made of six other swords! What a beast!

Bryant: And a much stronger weapon. What happened to the Buster Sword? It was left in a church, as a memorial to both the friends he lost, Zack and Aerith. For in the end, one central theme of this story is the theme of life. Cloud’s struggles came from his shame, his grief, and his regret, all of which came from his weakness. In his eyes, it’s why Tifa was hurt, why Zack was killed, and why Aerith had died.

Thea: Sure it wasn’t actually his fault, but bad things make us think bad of ourselves. When’s our next therapy session? Hey, therapy is important.

Bryant: But to live is to keep moving. To not let the struggles or the past cause you to wither and die. And in order to do that, one simply needs to accept who they are. For it’s only when we acknowledge our flaws, and our weakness, do we truly reach our full potential, and achieve our dreams. Cloud had certainly accomplished his. After defeating Sephiroth and ensuring the safety of the world, he has truly become the powerful hero he always dreamed of being.

Thea: Sure, dreams aren’t always gonna make you happy. Some of them can be really, really messed up nightmares. But as long as Cloud Strife lives and breathes, he’ll make sure that the nightmares of the world are nothing more, than a memory.

(Cloud) “I pity you. You just don't get it at all. There's not a thing I don't cherish!”

Bryant: Alright, the combatants are set. Let’s end this debate once and for all!

Thea: It’s time for a DEATH BATTLE!!!

A blue flash of light shone on a cliff overlooking a large wasteland. It cleared to reveal Zero. He opened his eyes and looked down at the dusty road, his vision closing in a speck in the distance. It was getting closer, and he could see a spiky blond-haired man riding on it. His vision flashed repeatedly as he scanned his database.

“Target identified. Cloud, former terrorist and notable member of Terrorist Organization Avalanche. Threat Level: High. Recommended course of action, detainment. Starting mission now!” Zero jumped into the air, hurtling towards the dirt road. He landed with an impact that created a cloud of dust before straightening. Cloud grunted in surprise before trying a sliding bike stop to avoid a collision. Zero drew the Z-Saber and cut the motorcycle in half, sending the two halves flying off. Cloud flipped over the Maverick Hunter to land near one of the remains of his motorcycle. A section of it opened to reveal a group of swords that popped out to combine into the Fusion Sword. Cloud caught the massive weapon and swung it around with ease before resting it on his shoulder.

“Alright then. Let’s do this,” he said. Zero pointed the Z-Saber at Cloud in challenged before the two took their stances.

FIGHT!

“Ha!” Zero immediately fired a fast barrage of energy shots from the Buster Shot. Cloud quickly blocked them before charging forwards and jumping up to swing the Fusion Sword down. Zero jumped to the side before continuing to fire at Cloud, who swung the sword fast enough to cut the energy blasts and swung at Zero. The Maverick Hunter blocked the swing with the Z-Saber and pushed it to the side before swinging it at Cloud, who leaned back to dodge. The former Soldier jumped back to avoid a following slash, prompting Zero to charge up a shot and fired a green bolt of energy. Cloud landed and fired a fireball back at Zero, causing the two projectiles to collide in an explosion of energy.

Cloud leapt from the smoke and brought the Fusion Sword down. Zero raised his sword to block, but grunted as he was knocked down. Cloud swung the Fusion Sword again, only for Zero to flip out of the way. Cloud swung the Fusion Sword repeatedly as Zero parried the strikes with the Z-Saber before jumping back and firing another charged shot. Cloud grunted as he blocked and was knocked back slightly.

Zero fired repeated Charged Shots at Cloud, who flipped out of the way before somersaulting and firing back a Blade Beam attack. Zero grunted in surprise before jumping out of the way of the attack, only for Cloud to be where he was dodging and slashing him rapidly. Zero grunted as the blade repeatedly hit his armor before being knocked back to roll to his feet. Cloud shot forwards and slashed at Zero again, only for the Maverick Hunter to dash through it with a Shadow Dash.

“Tenshouzan!” Zero suddenly shouted as he did a flaming rising slash, sending Cloud flying back. The former Soldier landed with a hiss as his clothes smoked.

“Sengatotsu!” Zero shouted as he charged forwards with an electrified thrust. Cloud blocked it and gritted his teeth as he felt himself be electrocuted, but knocked Zero back and performed a Cross Slash that knocked him back. Cloud took out some Materia and fired several elemental attacks that Zero matched with his own from the Buster Shot.

“Kougenjin!” Zero said as he fired a sword beam. Cloud dodged the slash, only for Zero to be where he was dodging. Suddenly, a second sword popped out the Fusion Sword and slammed against Zero, knocking him back. Cloud caught the second blade and shot forwards. Zero flipped to his feet and blocked a thrust, only for Cloud to suddenly jump. The Climhazzard knocked the Z-Saber out of Zero’s grip and sent it flying into the air. Cloud swung the two swords around, forcing Zero to dodge before being slashed repeatedly. Zero grunted as he was forced back with Cloud jumping at him with the two swords raised above his head.

“Not today!” Zero grunted as he shot forwards and landed a punch on Cloud’s cheek. The former Soldier grunted as he was sent flying back with the extra sword being knocked out of his hand. Zero caught the weapon and the Z-Saber as they fell down, turning the Z-Saber into its Chain Rod form. Cloud bounced off the ground once before pushing off to land on his feet, bringing out two more swords that combined into one. He gripped the double ended weapon and took his stance.

Zero immediately swung the Chain Rod forwards to stab into the ground in front of Cloud and pulled himself forwards. Cloud spun as he blocked the lunging slash, creating a shower of sparks. Zero immediately attacked with a fast barrage of slashes from the Chain Rod, forcing Cloud on the defense as he blocked the whip. Cloud grunted as one of the swings cut his cheek and hurled the Fusion Sword at Zero. The Maverick Hunter deflected it upwards, only for Cloud to be there and slash Zero across the chest, knocking his stolen sword out of his hands and sending him flying back. Cloud caught the swords and recombined the Fusion Sword before charging forwards.

Zero pushed off the ground and swung his Chain Rod in a wide arc. Cloud slid under it and pushed off for a drop kick that Zero blocked with his arm. The Maverick Hunter flew back and skidded to a stop before swinging the Chain Rod fast enough to form a circle with it. Cloud charged as Zero fired several shots from the Buster Shot before hurling the Chain Rod forwards. The former Soldier bobbed and weaved around all of the projectiles and parried the Chain Rod’s tip with his sword before spinning and launching a fireball.

“Guh!” Zero grunted as he blocked the attack with the Shield Boomerang, turning it into E-Crystals, recharging himself. He hurled the Shield Boomerang towards Cloud, who slid under it and kicked Zero into the air. Cloud twisted to his feet and jumped up with the Fusion Sword held over his head to cut Zero in half, but the Shield Boomerang returned to his hand and Zero slammed the Z-Saber into the sword. He yelled as he pushed himself into the air before falling down with an electrified blade. Cloud dodged the attack, only to be hit by a Zaneidan, launching him back.

“Augh!” Cloud grunted as he landed on his upper back and flipped over to be sprawled on the ground. He got up but cried out in pain as the Chain Rod was stabbed into him. Zero yanked him closer and kicked him back before yanking him again.

“Shouenga!” he yelled as he knocked Cloud up with a flaming upper slash.

“Buraitotsu!” Zero stabbed Cloud with an electric blade before jumping off his body and holding the Z-Saber over his head. 

“Rakusaiga!” he yelled as he fell down with another electric attack. Cloud’s blade suddenly flashed and he did a fast spiral attack, creating a tornado that launched Zero far away. The Maverick Hunter yelled in shock before slamming into the cliff, cratering it. The Maverick Hunter groaned as he fell down and landed in a superhero landing. A bolt of magic energy struck him, covering him in ice as he grunted in surprise.

“Stars! Rain down!” Cloud fired a barrage of meteors into the air before swinging them down at Zero. The Maverick Hunter gritted his teeth before his armor suddenly became green. The meteors exploded on him, but Zero jumped out, nearly unharmed. His body became dark blue with light blue highlights before firing a powerful charge blast. Cloud used Materia to create a barrier that blocked the attack, only for Zero to dash through him and slash him across the back, drawing a spray of blood. Cloud yelled before spinning and knocking Zero away. He blasted Zero point blank with a fireball, sending the Maverick Hunter flying away.

“He’s strong!” Zero landed and looked as Cloud pulled out a red sphere and let it create a green aura around him. A thundering boom sounded off as something rocketed through the atmosphere, catching Zero’s attention. He looked up, and gasped in shock at the sight of a silvery dragon hovering over the sky. Bahamut ZERO opened its mouth and charged up a mighty blue energy blast before firing the Tera Flare down towards Zero.

Zero bent over and rocketed himself into the air with a fierce roar. His body turned into the dark blue X Form and he charged up a powerful shot from his Buster Shot. A massive, powerful beam of energy streamed from his gun and collided with the Tera Flare. But even with this, the attack continued to rocket down, causing the clouds to disperse over the horizon from the sheer force. Zero took on his green Defense Form and crossed his arms before being blasted and rocketed down. The beam landed on the ground and Zero roared from within as he felt his body being torn apart from its power. Nearby, Cloud sighed as he finished healing himself with Curaga and turned his attention to Zero.

“Guh…!” Zero groaned as he curled up, before roaring as a pulse of energy expanded around him. Cloud grunted as he felt the force of the pulse wash over him. Zero’s body was now a darker yet vibrant red. His Ultimate Form dispersed the attack as a Cyber Elf circled him, repairing his damage. Cloud narrowed his eyes before dashing forwards and jumping up to bring down his sword in the form of his Braver attack. Zero dashed out of the way, moving so fast that he was creating after-images as a result. Cloud’s eyes darted around before grunting as he was slashed.

Zero, now with the Recoil Rod, rammed into Cloud and performed a rapid-combo attack that Cloud was helpless against before using the Z-Saber to knock Cloud upwards with another flaming slash before knocking him down with a green blade, creating an explosion. Cloud flipped out of the smoke and pushed off the ground with a hand to land on his feet. Zero dashed out and launched an icy sword slash across the ground, only for it to be burned out by Firaga. Cloud launched a powerful storm of Thundaga magic, only for Zero to easily dodge out of the way and hurl his Shield Boomerang. Cloud swung the Fusion Sword, creating sparks before knocking the weapon back. Zero jumped up and caught the Z-Saber, but Cloud held up his hand.

“Graviga!” A sudden force slammed into Zero, causing him to grunt as he rocketed down and slammed into the ground. Cloud panted slightly before the Fusion Sword suddenly flared with its blades. Zero forced himself to his feet, only for his eyes to widen as he saw a small group of blades flying towards him. Zero fired a Burst Shot that caused the swords to be knocked off route through the explosion.

Zero drew the Z-Saber and shot forwards and clashed his blade with Cloud’s now skinnier sword. Cloud suddenly blasted Zero back with wind before jumping up and firing a barrage of fireballs from his sword as he swung it repeatedly. Zero jumped back to dodge some fireballs before using the Shield Boomerang to disperse some. Cloud and Zero clashed again before Cloud was pushed off. Zero charged up another shot and fired, prompting Cloud to dodge. Zero smirked slightly, and behind Cloud, the Reflect Laser bounced off the swords embedded in the ground before blasting Cloud’s back, making him grunt as he stumbled forwards. Zero landed another powerful punch with the Zero Knuckle on Cloud’s cheek, knocking him back.

The former Soldier flipped mid-air and skidded to a stop near one of the swords and grabbed it. Zero dashed forwards, only for Cloud to dodge around them and knock him away with a spin slash. Zero skidded to a stop, only to grunt as the tip of a thrown sword collided with his chest, knocking him over as it flipped upwards. Cloud grabbed another sword and combined them before jumping and catching the airborne sword. He grabbed another part and hurled it at Zero, who blocked it as it spun like a buzz saw before being knocked back. Cloud grabbed the final piece and combined it into the Fusion Sword before catching the rebound sword as Zero charged forwards. The Maverick Hunter attacked with a powerful slash, but Cloud blocked it with the extra sword before swinging the Fusion Sword upwards, knocking Zero into the air.

“Let’s mosey, asshole,” Cloud said before launching the swords back apart into the air. Zero grunted in surprise as he glanced at the swords glowing teal around him before Cloud dashed past and slashed him, causing him to cry out in pain. Cloud repeatedly attacked, growing faster and faster with the Omnislash v5 before yelling as he shot towards him the twelfth time. Zero gritted his teeth and yelled as he swung the Z-Saber with immense force. The two blades collided and knocked the two apart. Zero landed on the dirt road and looked up to see Cloud, glowing teal with five swords flying behind him and the final sword positioned at his side.

“Come on!” Zero shouted as he poured as much power as he could into the Z-Saber, causing it to glow bright blue and become a much larger blade. Zero pulled it back before rocketing forwards with a powerful thrust attack. The two rocketed towards each other at unbelievable speeds before finally crashing into each other…

… And the Z-Saber broke into shards as Cloud slashed through it and Zero, cutting him in half. Zero only had time to choke in shock and pain before his two separated parts exploded like a small nuke. Cloud skidded to a stop as his swords stabbed into the ground around him, panting slightly before swinging the sword around and putting it on his shoulder. As the dust settled, he closed his eyes. 

“Nothing to it.”

KO!

Thea: Now that’s what I call a sword fight!

Bryant: Zero may have been one of the coolest video game characters ever, but so was Cloud, and he had enough advantages to pull ahead.

Thea: Zero wasn’t completely outclassed though. Between X and Red XIII, both are literally millions of times faster than light, and both Zero and Cloud can be compared to them, but Zero was way faster. Just under 500 million times faster than light vs only 60 million times is a pretty clear difference in speed. And Zero definitely had way more experience. We’re talking about a robot who fought at least three different wars in two different bodies, for over a hundred years!

Bryant: And both have large arsenals of different techniques and abilities that they could wield in battle. Both can attack with various elements, both can summon allies to their side, and both have means of inducing stasis on the other. 

Thea: Some of Zero’s Chips could even stop some of Cloud’s instant kill attacks!

(NOTE: Both Cloud and Zero have ways of inflicting status ailments on the other, like with ice, poison, etc. But while Zero’s robotic body could potentially mean that poison wouldn’t work on him, he has no real defense against other status like being turned into a frog, while Cloud’s Ribbon would protect him from similar status ailments)

Bryant: However, Cloud’s large arsenal of Materia simply ended up overwhelming Zero.

Thea: Cloud could counter Zero’s more limited elemental attacks with his own, and still had additional elements to throw out. He could manipulate gravity, and create barriers, or just steal Zero’s items! He doesn’t need to beat his enemies to steal from them, unlike Zero with his Zero Knuckle.

(NOTE: Due to the difference in their biology and power systems, not all of their abilities will work on the other. For example, neither can steal back health from the other. Even if we said that their biology and power systems were the same for the sake of argument, these abilities being the same would simply negate the advantages provided, and it would allow Cloud to use other Materias on Zero, like dominating his mind, as Zero has been affected by mental attacks before, like with the Zero Virus)

Bryant: Sure, the Cyber Elves are capable of altering reality, but they’ve only been able to do so by affecting Cyberspace in order to accomplish very specific things. Not to mention that Cloud’s summons are capable of performing similar feats.

Thea: But what really ended up putting Zero in the ground was that Cloud was just way too strong for him!

Bryant: Both are comparable to attacks and foes who are capable of Solar System level destruction. But keep in mind, Lumine’s Paradise Lost only showed itself to be able to reach the sun, while Sephiroth’s Supernova could cover the entire Solar System. 

Thea: If you want solid numbers, Lumine’s Paradise Lost was only 1,052 supernovas, while Sephiroth’s was worth 179 million supernovas! That’s what 17.88 sexdecillion joules of energy equals, by the way. Both survived these attacks, but the one that Cloud survived was just over 170 thousand times stronger!

Bryant: Now, Zero’s body and power in Mega Man Zero is likely greater than Lumine, as not only is Zero capable of defeating Lumine, but he also defeated Omega, who was in his original body and empowered by the Dark Elf. He could be anywhere between ten, twenty, fifty, maybe even a hundred times more powerful if you really want to stretch it. But the gap in power is simply too much for the power boosts between eras to catch up.

Thea: Zero definitely did put up a fight with his crazier speed and higher experience, but Cloud was just too strong, too tough, with way too many abilities for Zero to take him out. He had zero chance, in this fight with seven swords.

Bryant: We have yet to come up with a good pun.

Thea: I know…

Bryant: The winner is Cloud.

NEXT TIME ON DEATH BATTLE!

A teen boy with black hair and golden eyes with a green school blazer pushed open a pair of doors. He narrowed his glowing eyes before slowly walking down the hall. He looked around, looking. Unbeknownst to him, another teen was standing behind him. Mismatched eyes, one green, one red, studied him. Finally, the first seemed to realize his presence, and turned around to stare him down. The two stood across from each other, ready.

JOHN DOE!

VS

HAJIME HINATA!