Ansem's Second Report
Chapter VIII
Riku gazed into the soft green light of Ultima. He could feel the raw power stirring from the spell. It was almost ready and once unleashed, would have enough power to destroy whatever force was controlling Bahamut. A sudden sound drew Riku's attention away from the spell and back to the battle before him. Alexander was not faring well. Riku only hoped it could fend off Bahamut long enough for the spell to fully form.
Alexander took hit after hit from Bahamut, each with an eruption of gears and metal. After Bahamut had blasted Alexander, it could no longer move like it had been. Many of Alexanders missiles began to miss or were too weak to do any significant damage to Bahamut. Those that did connect with Bahamut were just thrown aside or plowed through. Bahamut sent blast after blast into Alexander's metallic hide and the damage was wearing Alexander thin. Soon, Alexander would fall and this part of the battle would be over.
Riku felt someone withdraw from the spell. "Riku." It was Barrett. "I'm exhausted! That's all I can give you!"
"Are you sure?" asker Riku.
"Yeah."
"Then go help Alexander. You can't do any more good here."
"Gotcha!" Barrett ran forward towards the fight, barely dodging flying bits of shrapnel exploding off of Alexander.
Riku felt the others withdraw as well. They too began to run after Barrett.
"That's all we got," said Cloud, "We're going with Barrett." Before Riku could say anything, Cloud drew his blade ran off followed by Tifa. This had become a setback. Without the help of the others Riku would need more time to charge, unless he could find another great source of power.
The spell had grown since the initial casting. It had become quite large and now hovered over Riku's head, constantly getting larger and brighter. But it was growing too slowly. Riku needed to tap into a large source of power and he needed to do it quickly. The burden of holding the spell in check as grew began to weigh too much on him.
Cloud, Barrett, and Tifa engaged Bahamut along with Alexander. They needed to stall Bahamut just a while more so that Riku could finish the spell. The great King of The Dragons pounded upon Alexander. The metal guardian was almost finished. It could barely even move anymore. With several flaps of its great wings, Bahamut flew high up in the sky. With a great roar, it began to gather energy to itself to prepare for one final attack on Alexander. A blue light gathered in its mouth and grew brighter and brighter.
"This is it," said Cloud. "After this, it's up to us."
Bahamut let out a deafening roar as it fired a huge blast of energy down towards a helpless Alexander. Alexander was dwarfed by the power of the energy rocket. The energy connected and collapsed in on itself, shrinking down to the size of a materia. There was a vast silence that disrupted Riku's senses. It was as if the power was there, but not. Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett stopped running. All was still, even Alexander. It did not move an inch. Seconds later an immense explosion rocked Midgar. The ground rocked violently and the clouds in the sky split and were blown back. A wall of wind rushed quickly up to where Riku was standing as Alexander was completely incinerated by the intense energy and heat of the blast. Metal parts threatened to decapitate Riku as they blew past him at lightning speeds. A light grew and grew where Alexander was standing, filling all of Riku's vision, destroying whatever it came into contact with. Then, the light began to dissipate and return to darkness. In the wake of the incredible attack, Riku saw a soft purple light rising higher and higher into the air towards Bahamut. Darkness surrounded the light and it was no more.
Riku's eyes widened at the thought of what just happened. No! That was its heart, you bastard!
Riku was relieved to see the others resume their trek towards the winged beast. At least they're okay, he thought. His concentration was nearly lost with the thought that a creature as pure as Alexander now slept forever in the realm of darkness. Riku felt the immense power of the heart before the heartless consumed it and took its power with them. Then it hit him.
The heart! A power source...
Riku gazed up above him toward Ultima. Slowly the realization hit him. He gazed back down at his friends, who now once again engaged Bahamut in its dog fight. But...could I do it? There's so much darkness...it may not work.
"Giving up already? I thought you were stronger than that!" Riku heard the mysterious voice in his head. His head snapped up. He looked around, trying to discern the source of the voice.
"Sora!" he called. "Sora!! Where are you? This isn't funny!" No response. The Kingdom Key appeared in his right hand. A simple, but elegant weapon. Not the Keyblade he'd been using.
"Take it. Don't be afraid." Again the voice. Riku looked down at the Keyblade in his hand. He summoned the other one. The one that was bound to him. The one that he'd promised he's keep until he found his friend. The Oathkeeper appeared in his left hand. Riku now realized what he had to do. But if I use the light, all that'll be left is the darkness. I'll...disappear.
Riku thrust both Keyblades into the air. He began to spin them around and around, faster and faster. He could already feel the tug on his heart. The two Keyblades were being infused with the light energy from his heart. The plan was simple: use the light in his own heart to defeat the darkness controlling Bahamut. If Riku's heart was powerful enough to attract two Keyblades, then the light in his heart was powerful enough to destroy Bahamut. However, Riku was unsure of what would happen to him once the light in his heart was completely expended.
Cloud leaped high into the air on to Bahamut's knee and stabbed downward with his sword through its flesh. Bahamut flicked Cloud off like he was just some bothersome mosquito. Cloud struck the ground hard and streaked through the dirt, kicking up sand and dirt into the air. He couldn't take much more of this and neither could Tifa and Barrett. He slowly rose to his feet and looked over towards Riku. He was spinning two Keyblades wildly in the air.
Where did he get that one? he thought, noticing the Kingdom Key. It looks like the King's. Cloud leaped out of the way just before Bahamut's foot came down where he was. He steadied his sword. Sensing that this battle was almost at a close, he engaged Bahamut in one final round before the end.
Bit by bit the light flowed from Riku's heart into the two spinning Keyblades he held in his hands. With each moment that passed he grew weaker, letting himself succumb to the darkness that was moving in to fill in the empty places in his heart.
"I'm not afraid of the darkness," he told himself. "I can do this. I won't let this world fall into nothingness." If ugly wants a heart, he'll get one.
As the Keyblades spun faster and faster, they began to glow a soft white with the energy that emanated from their master. The energy began to spin around him, forming a barrier that would protect him from an enemy attack. As more energy escaped his heart, he felt weaker, nearly falling over from the strain of charging the Keyblades.
Riku felt the last of the light move away from his heart and felt the darkness move in and completely surround it. He barely had a few seconds before the darkness took his body as well. He had to fight to keep the light in the weapons and not take it back. With great pain he threw the two blades into Ultima. Using the Keyblades, he could control the great ball of energy. Once the Keyblades connected, the light was released into the spell. It nearly doubled in size and power as the light from Riku's heart added the finishing touches. With the spell completed it was now time to put an end to the battle before he faded away into the darkness.
"Everyone, get out of the way! NOW!" he screamed. Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett, hearing his voice, ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. Under great focus and strength, Riku heaved the great ball of energy towards his enemy.
Let mine be the last heart you take, you bastard. The spell fired. It sped toward Bahamut with blinding speed. Sensing its incredible power, the great King of The Dragons tried to move away desperately, but it was too late. The spell connected and released its energy onto Bahamut.
Instantly, light was everywhere. The sonic boom from the explosion alone was enough to shatter Bahamut's bones. The beast's skin disintegrated first followed by its muscles and flesh. Its roar was deafened by the energy released from Ultima. The green light seemed to attach itself to Bahamut's flesh and embed itself in it. Before long Bahamut was surrounded in a green ball of light. Riku heard multiple explosions from within the ball, each as violent and deadly as the initial one. The ball doubled in size, blowing everything around it outward and then began to shrink, sucking everything in. The ball imploded on itself growing smaller and smaller until it was a faint pinpoint. It then exploded in a great ball of flame sending a shockwave through the ground and then was no more.
The last thing Riku remembers before fading away was the quiet of an empty plain where a great tower once was.
