Saber (Fate/Crossover - Cloud Strife)

**Saber** (セイバー, *Seibā*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

*"I pity you. You just don't get it at all... there's not a thing I don't cherish!"* - Cloud Strife

## Profile

### Identity

Saber's true identity is **Cloud Strife**, an expert swordsman and mercenary who claims to be a former member of SOLDIER, as well as the childhood friend of Tifa Lockhart, who joins with AVALANCHE and makes it his mission to save the world from Shinra and his mortal enemy, Sephiroth.

### Appearance

Cloud is a young man with a lean and toned build, and spiky blond hair. Cloud has blue eyes, which glow due to him having being exposed to mako. Because "mako eyes" are iconic to members of SOLDIER, Cloud is often assumed to be one. Cloud carries a large broadsword as his weapon of choice, with his three trademark weapons being the Buster Sword (a massive sword over five feet long), a set of Fusion Swords (six individual interconnecting swords that form one similar to the Buster Sword), and the Hardedge (another large broadsword with a different shape). He also has a silver earring in his left ear.

Cloud's typical outfit is a variation standard uniform for a SOLDIER, seen first in Final Fantasy VII and most commonly throughout his appearances (with slight variations). This uniform comprises indigo pants with a sleeveless shirt and a belt. Cloud also wears brown boots, gauntlets with a pauldron over his left shoulder and a SOLDIER band in his right wrist. Unlike the default uniform, his is customized to exclude the right shoulder pauldron, likely to make it easier to draw his sword from behind him, while his left pauldron remains, albeit with protruding screws and bolts due to makeshift repairs. He also wears a gear-like armlet on his left forearm.

### Personality

On the surface, Cloud Strife presents himself as a hardened warrior, cocky and headstrong, coldhearted and disinterested in anything beyond completing the hired job at hand. He tells others, often dismissively and with snark, that he has no interest in larger causes, such as the plight of the planet, and appears unshaken by the devastation the bombings he helped carry out cause. He is cool-headed, and mostly carries himself as an expert and professional. Beneath the surface, Cloud is socially awkward, being well-intentioned but unsure how to carry himself in conversations, having difficulties to express himself. Many who are close to him begin to see through the cracks in his hardened persona, recognizing he is softer deep down. Through it all, Cloud is steadfastly loyal to his friends, harboring guilt if he feels he has let them down, and strives to be a hero. He is willing to go through any lengths, from fighting off powerful enemies alone, to crossdressing despite the discomfort to don a disguise, to keep them safe. This, too, does not fool some of his friends, who in turn look out for him when they believe he is out of his depth.

Though most traits core to Cloud — battle-hardened attitude, awkwardness, loyalty to his friends, and striving for heroism — do not change, Cloud's surface-level presentation and warmth shifts drastically throughout his life, based on his own yearning for a true identity. Many of these traits began to form as a child (depicted in Final Fantasy VII flashbacks), as seclusion from the others children and guilt at being unable to help Tifa at Mt. Nibel motivated him to better himself and become a hero, inspired by Sephiroth. While serving in Shinra's military (as depicted in Crisis Core), Cloud had a shy but happy-go-lucky attitude, eager to prove himself, and often got excited when Zack, who became a mentor to him, noticed him.

Following Hojo's Sephiroth Clone experiments which led to his sense of self being completely shattered, Cloud as a mercenary (depicted in Final Fantasy VII and Remake) developed an arrogant personality, where he presented disinterest in a broader cause beyond collecting a paycheck (though interest in a common good occasionally slipped through and he harbored vengeance toward Shinra). Around this time, he also suffered many mental breakdowns upon being reminded about his past, up to the point of doubting he was even a real person, submitting to being a puppet for Sephiroth. After Tifa repaired his mind, Cloud was finally a fully-formed person, accepting who he was, resolving to being a hero not out of being special, but having a cause to believe in. He became warmer and more open-minded towards others, as well as a more confident leader, though the awkwardness would still shine through at times.

Due both to Cloud's awkwardness and his tough presentation, Cloud struggles in forming interpersonal relationships. This is particularly evident with Barret; though Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie take more kindly to Cloud, Barret initially dislikes his attitude and questions his loyalties, leading the two to be rude to one another. After Barret sees through Cloud and gains respect for him, he begins to be able to open up with him and connect with him emotionally. Cloud was also not close with Tifa when the two grew up, although he felt an obligation to protect her. The two became closer and more reliant on one another after losing their home and reconnecting following the Nibelheim Incident. Cloud tried to atone for his perceived failure to protect her at Nibelheim, and Tifa in turn protected him as the last reminder she has of her home, looking out for him when she felt he is out of his depth. Cloud opened up more easily around Aerith, who was more flirtatious and playful with him from the start, though he would often respond stiffly and awkwardly to her advances. He still showed his softer side around her, more willing than others would to entertain her antics when she communicated with her flowers. Cloud is very protective of her and wishes to keep her out of trouble, though this grates on her. By contrast, Cloud trusts Tifa more to handle herself, confident in her combat ability, though he is still concerned for her well-being. It is implied that Cloud may have romantic affection for both Tifa and Aerith, but the extent of his feelings for either is left up to player interpretation.

Cloud is greatly haunted by Sephiroth, a man he once idolized who became his bitter enemy. After the Nibelheim Incident, Cloud envisioned Sephiroth mocking him and urging him to make the wrong decision. This led up to Cloud giving in and believing he was little more than a puppet for Sephiroth, though after Tifa repaired his mind, Cloud resolved to rid himself and the world of Sephiroth. Following Sephiroth's defeat, Cloud, as depicted in Advent Children, became a surrogate father to Denzel and Marlene, but had become detached. His guilt at his own perceived failures to save Aerith and Zack, and trauma following his plight against Sephiroth, led him to feel helpless, becoming somber and brooding as he isolated himself from his new family, in contrast to his younger self before where it had fueled him to strive to do better. However, with encouragement from the friends and family he had tried to let go, he came to forgive himself and moved on.

## Abilities

Cloud's greatest strength is in his swordsmanship. Though Cloud fell short of the standards of candidates admitted into SOLDIER, his swordsmanship nonetheless impressed one of the Turks. As a result of mako experimentation by Hojo, Cloud was greatly enhanced as a supersoldier, with superhuman strength, speed, and agility. This, coupled with him incorporating Zack Fair's fighting abilities into his own, made him capable of easily handling other SOLDIER members and Turks.

In time, Cloud developed skills on his own, independently from Zack. Cloud has many swordsmanship techniques, seen most prominently in his limit breaks. The most potent and noteworthy of these is Omnislash (and Omnislash Version 5 with his Fusion Swords), in which Cloud performs a quick succession of powerful strikes from his sword. Cloud's abilities also allow him to use magic from his sword, seen in the form of firing a blast from his sword with Blade Beam, summoning meteors with Meteorain, or a tornado with Finishing Touch. Beyond this, Cloud is potent with using spells, being well-versed in how to use materia; in both Final Fantasy VII and Remake, his in-game stats put him ahead of most party members in spellcasting.

Cloud can ride a motorcycle, and demonstrates particular feats of skill with it, able to use his sword while riding and battle nearby drivers. He can also ride a chocobo or a snowboard, and Zack notes he is adept at scaling a snowy mountain. Cloud has also shown himself adaptable in a variety of situations, reviving a drowned girl with CPR in Junon, or dancing at the Honeybee Inn.

Cloud's interpersonal skills are initially very poor. When he matures and becomes fully formed, he becomes a confident party leader, motivating the party with speeches before their big battle with Sephiroth.

### Skills

#### Class Skills

* Riding (C Rank): Most vehicles can be handled with above average skill. However, cannot ride the likes of Phantasm Races such as Monstrous Beasts.

* Magic Resistance (B Rank): Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for him to be affected. Saber’s Magic Resistance is augmented by the Jenova cells and Mako concentrations in his body.

#### Personal Skills

* SOLDIER (Irregular) (B Rank): A composite skill of Cloud's granted to him due to undergoing the SOLDIER procedure. SOLDIERS are a select group of magic wielding swordsman a group displaying first rate skill and power Infused with Alien DNA they are a shining example of an archetype of magic swordsman in the Fantasies. Cloud possessing this skill though never truly being apart of the group he believes he was and shows skill to back that up. Skills such as Mind's Eye(True), Riding, Beast - Slayer, and Valor are displayed.

* Magecraft (Materia) (B Rank): A system of magic native to the Seventh Fantasy. Materia is crystallized mako. Metaphysically, materia calls upon the wisdom of the lifestream to manipulate nature manifesting as the phenomenon of magic for most materia, although other materia enhance the user's abilities. Cloud's knowledge and mastery of Materia is pronounced enough to qualify for the Mage job.

* Battle Continuation (A Rank): Saber was able to fight on multiple occasions despite being impaled through the chest. Twice he fought on and defeated Sephiroth despite suffering grievous wounds through the torso.

* Mana Burst (Mako) (A Rank): is the increase in performance caused by infusing one's weapons and body with Magical Energy and instantly expelling it. Simply put, recreating the effect of a jet burst by expending large amounts of Magical Energy. It is functionally similar to the normal mana burst skill but the Mako attribute means the magical energy gathered and expanded comes from the Planet itself, as Cloud serves as her champion. It works as a similar form of receiving backup from the Planet. Cloud is covered all over in magical energy allowing a temporary boost in strength, endurance, and speed as well as further prioritizing two or one several times over. There is an additional purge attribute expelling negative status effects on the user.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Buster Sword; "The Price of Freedom"**

The Buster Sword is a versatile weapon suitable for any situation, it also does not excel in any area. It's a massive weapon that has not only good offensive power but size provides negligible defense. The exact material its made of is unknown but it allows Cloud to fight all matters of enemies ranging from humans, mages, beasts, ghosts, and even Divine entities. It grants no advantage against any entities but also isn't weak to them as well. Truly an all purpose well rounded sword.

#### **Omnislash; "Might of the Martial Champion"**

An ultimate sword technique developed by Cloud Strife. Originally ad-hocced on the spot, he later refined it into a proper sword technique. Due to the requirement of wielding the First Tsurugi whilst using this attack, it cannot be used as a Noble Phantasm whilst the Buster Sword is deployed.

Three conditions must be fulfillled to deploy Omnislash. Cloud must be on the ground. His target cannot be more then ten metres away. The First Tsurugi must be equipped. When these conditions are fulfilled, a phenomena not dissimilar from the overlapping time of Tsubame Gaeshi is initiated. Instead of fourteen attacks in a single instant, however, it is more like a bubble of time, where Cloud is granted fourteen actions before his opponent may make one action. The attacks occur in sequence in between Cloud beginning his attack and ending it.

However, if the attack is seen coming, it is possible for the opponent to initiate a dodge before Cloud begin's his attack. If one slash of Omnislash misses, all slashes thereafter also miss, the target being allowed to make a dodge before every action Cloud makes. It is, indeed, the ultimate all or nothing attack, as if Cloud misses, the opportunity to turn the tables during the final attack becomes available.

## References

https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Cloud\_Strife

https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Cloud\_Strife

https://characterprofile.fandom.com/wiki/Cloud\_Strife

https://aminoapps.com/c/fate-stay-night-1/page/item/the-enigmatic-soldier-servant/PnM2\_52I3INEeNNlZ5EEzNkePZ6M6oZ7RW

https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasyVII/comments/g1rqt0/how\_much\_does\_cloud\_strife\_weigh/