Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or Slayers. They are the property of Square and Software Sculptors.
Taroguru: "Ohayo, minna-san! I'm back!"
Lina: "Whoa, what are you so happy about Taro?"
Xelloss(gagging): "erk...yes, it's very--gack-- unusual for you to be in such a good mood."
Taroguru grins like a crazy person: "I got the two volumes of the unedited version of Shaman King at Best Buy!"
Lina: blinks "So there's apparently a God out there."
Taroguru: I know; I'm just so happy that Funi won the rights from those bastards at 4kids. Even something better than watching the original Japanese version, they also redid the dubbed version, and it's word for word with the Japanese version so there's no real comparison between the two(unless you're biased and only adhere to the original).
Lina: "So, How were the two volumes?"
Taroguru: "They kicked ass! Especially the opening song; It's sooooooooooo much better than the crappy one on FoxBox.
Megumi-san really outdid herself. Heck, since I've got the original Shaman King as well as the Yu Yu Hakusho:Dark Tournament game I'm considering writing a crossover between YYH and SK. Oooo, the possibilities!"
Lina: "Before you start making other plans, how about finishing this one?"
Taroguru: "oh, right. Anyway, I also don't own Oversoul from Shaman King. That's what I was listening to when writing the Sephiroth and Lina battle scenes. One last word: Shaman King fans, if you are reading this fic, you know we have been liberated from the evil of 4kids. Sooo, go forth and get the uncut Shaman King! Go now!"
Lina vs Sephiroth: The battle of legends
CLANG!
Lina's feet skidded backwards from the force of Sephiroth's swing. This time, Sephiroth swung his sword low from the right, which Lina jumped over and delivered a kick to his temple; Sephiroth staggered from the blow to the head. Lina took a chance at attacking him before he recovered. She crouched down for a second then leapt into the air, performing a somersault over his head. She landed behind him, her knees bent and their backs facing one another until Lina swiftly turned around and tried to cut Sephiroth across the back. However, Sephiroth sensed the attack and instinctively put his sword behind his back, catching the crimson blade before it could cause any damage; sparks flew as the magical swords made contact. Sephiroth grinned then twisted the lower part of his body to execute a roundhouse kick that would send the redhead spinning. Quickly, Lina ducked and rolled under the kick. She sprang up into the air, her sword held high, and brought it down with all her strength. Sephiroth rose his blade up and blocked the diving slash. The contact between the blades of the Masamune and the Ruby Eye Blade generated sparks of blue and crimson energy. Finally, the two broke apart, leaping away from one another.
Damn, this is going nowhere, Lina thought, agitated. His swordmanship is in the same class as Gourry's, and that's hard enough to believe. Plus, that sword of his...Cloud said that while he was part of Shinra he heard that Sephiroth's sword was constructed from pure mako, and that it was a relic of the Ancient's. And he also said that only Sephiroth can wield the Masamune and only he knew how to utilize its true power. Besides that, I know zilch about his sword and its properties, so, I'll have to be careful.
Lina broke out of her reverie as Sephiroth lunged forward. She managed to block Sephiroth's attack and countered with a thrust of her sword. Sephiroth threw himself backwards out of range of her attack. Sephiroth looked at Lina with a look of pity, "You are a fool, Inverse. You're alone now with no one to help you. I've managed to kill your friends with barely half of my power, so why do you think your chances of beating me will be any different."
"My friends are not dead, you ass!" Lina responded angrily. "They've taken on far worse than you, and I sure as hell know that they would never be done in by a self-absorbed wannabe god like you."
Sephiroth growled, pulling out Masamune and pointing it at Lina. "Really? Then let's see if you can back up your words, Die!"
Sephiroth shot a bolt of black lightning from his sword at Lina. Lina held her sword up and caught the energy bolt; it deflected off the crimson sword and destroyed a large boulder. Lina's and Sephiroth's hair whipped back from the winds caused from the explosion. Lina smiled mockingly, "Okay, was that your best, Sephy; Because that was pretty pathetic if ya ask me."
Sephiroth looked at her coldly, "Hardly." He lashed out with his sword, swinging it in a wide arc. As the sword passed, several dark balls of energy were released. Lina slashed at each of them as they came at her. Meanwhile, Sephiroth teleported behind Lina and tried to cut her across the back but Lina back-flipped over Sephiroth and clashed swords with him in mid-air. Just as Lina's feet met the ground, she was met with the butt of a sword striking her cheek and sent her spiraling to the ground; the Ruby Eye Blade vanished from her hands as she fell. Sephiroth grinned maliciously, The impertinent wench thought the same tactic would work on me twice? Hmph! What an idiotic mistake on her part. Sephiroth held his sword high in the air then slammed it into the ground, releasing a dark wave of energy; it ripped through the ground as it traveled towards the fallen sorceress. Before it could reach her, Lina suddenly leapt to her feet and threw herself to the side, dodging the attack and firing off a spell, "Burst Rondo!" numerous balls of red light left her hands and were sent heading towards Sephiroth. They all exploded as they hit Sephiroth; Sephiroth grunted as they made impact but not out of pain but annoyance, the Burst Rondo wasn't causing any real damage but it prevented him from seeing the sorceress.
Sephiroth felt a pair of hands on his back and heard someone shout "Blast Wave!" He was being propelled forward into the forest where he crashed into a number of rocks and trees. He quickly regained control and maneuvered himself out of the way of the blast. Sephiroth fumed quietly, His hands clenched into fists by his side. How dare she?! Does she think she has gained an advantage over me?! Well, if she wishes to see my full power then so be it! A twister of black wind wrapped around Sephiroth, completely obscuring him from view. The twister began to expand, engulfing the entire forest in its powerful wind.
Lina waited with her eyes trained forward, waiting for Sephiroth to either emerge from the forest or to perform a sneak attack but neither happened. I couldn't have finished him off with just the Blast Wave. It's a powerful spell but at best it should have winded him. so why—Lina's thoughts were cut off as she was pushed back by a strong gust of wind that nearly knocked her off her feet. Lina could now sense an overwhelming presence coming from the center of the forest; A column of light shot through the sky, piercing the heavens. The wind became a maelstrom, which started to lift the trees off their roots and sent them flying in the air. Lina cast a Ray Wing on herself, swerving to avoid the tree trunks that came crashing to the ground. She soared to the source of the disturbance; large chips of wood and pebbles bounced off the wind shield Lina had created around herself. Finally, the winds began to die as the light started to fade away. Lina could make out a figure in the center of an open part of the forest. What Lina saw horrified and amazed her; what she saw before her was no longer simply Sephiroth...but the One Winged Angel.
"So he finally unleashes his full powers, hm...? this will be so much fun!" Zelas said giddily like a delighted child.
My, my, aren't you the excitable one, Lady Zelas.
The Beastmaster merely stuck her tongue at the silhouette. "Oh, you're no fun. I would have thought you of all people would enjoy seeing this happen."
True. I do indeed want to see how my 'son' stands up against this exceptionally powerful young woman. He has not faced a true challenge since his battle with Cloud Strife and I would hope to think he has not become lax. And even if he fails, there is still our continguency plan.
"Of course. That is one of the main reasons we brought him here after all." Zelas reminded the shadowy figure.
Yes, but I've also noticed that your general priest has taken a subtle dislike of Sephiroth. I would hope that will not become a factor in our plans.
"No need to worry about that, Xelloss is very obedient and loyal. He wouldn't dare think of sabotaging the plan despite his feelings." The Beastmaster said with confidence.
Perhaps...
"Damn, that hurts like hell," the old pilot muttered. Amelia was bent on her knee, healing his wound.
"Well, we should consider ourselves lucky that our barriers held up against that attack," Zelgadis said calmly.
"Yeah, you say it's luck, I say it was a bloody miracle," Cid replied.
"Oh, quit complaining you old fart! You're still alive, aren't you?" Yuffie said irritably.
"Say something else brat, and I'll shove my lance right up your scrawny little ass!"
"Scrawny?! Who the hell are you calling scrawny you dirty old chainsmoker?!"
"Materia stealing punk!"
"Outdated chimney stack!"
"Okay, that's enough you two," Tifa said, standing between them.
"God, are they like this all the time?" Zelgadis asked Cait Sith in exasperation.
"Nope, sometimes they even argue," Cait Sith said cheerfully, doing a little dance with his mog.
Zelgadis sweatdropped at the toy cat And I thought our group was bizarre.
"Err, Mr. Zelgadis, shouldn't we go searching for Miss Lina? I mean, we haven't seen her or Mister Sephiroth since he attacked us with that spell." Amelia suggested timidly. Zelgadis smacked himself on the side of his head, cursing himself for
forgetting about their friend and leader. "I know Amelia, but we can't go looking for her with our party still injured."
Cloud, who was silent up to now, announced, "I think I can help there. Red, could you give me your All and Cure material?"
"Of course, Cloud." Cloud bent down and removed the material from Red XIII's armor. He slipped them into the slots of his armlet; He spread his arms and a green light surrounded the group. "Whoa, what did you do, Cloud? I feel like I'm getting better by the minute," Gourry asked, amazed. "I just cast a Regenerate spell. You should be recovering from your wounds but don't strain yourselves; it'll take a little time before the spell fully heals you."
"Interesting. Once this over, I'd like to know more about these material and how they work." Zelgadis said admirably.
"My, my, I never knew you could be swayed so easily by such a simple little thing as materia, Zelgadis."
The two groups turned their heads upward to see a familiar violet-haired priest.
"Xelloss/Mr.Xelloss!" Zelgadis and Amelia said in unison.
Xelloss pouted. "What? You're 'that' surprised to see me? It's been half a year since we last saw one another and this is the greeting I get; I'm hurt. Really."
"Save it, Xelloss. What are you doing here?" Zelgadis demanded.
"Oh, you should know by now that that's...a secret!" Xelloss said, waggling his finger at a twitching Zelgadis.
"Hey, jus' who tha' hell is this guy?" Barret asked. He didn't know why, but he felt strangely uneasy in Xelloss' presence.
"Why, my good man, I'm Xelloss, the Trickster Priest." Xelloss introduced himself.
"I don't know, you just look like a damn fruit if you ask me," Cid said; Amelia giggled while Zelgadis was fighting a grin.
Xelloss had a small tick mark on his head. "Well, you certainly are the pleasant on—" Xelloss didn't finish as he felt a large blade by his throat.
"Don't move, Mazoku." Cloud ordered with his mako eyes narrowed on Xelloss.
"Mister Cloud, what are you doing? And why are you threatening Mister Xelloss?" Amelia asked
"His voice..."Cloud started. "I heard it back at the Lifestream when I was too burned out to move. He's one of the people who brought Sephiroth here!"
"What?!" everyone exclaimed.
Xelloss set his slitted eyes on Cloud. Smirking, he said, "Well, I'm surprised. I thought that you had lost consciousness after your fight with Sephiroth. You're much more resilient than I gave you credit for, Mr. Strife
Zelgadis stared at the priest with in a mixture of shock and disgust. "Are you insane, Xelloss! Bringing a monster like that to our world?! I thought you Mazoku wished to destroy the world yourselves instead of enlisting help from other worlds."
"Zelgadis, I'm surprised at you. You know well that even we Mazoku have our pride. We did not bring Sephiroth to end the world, we have a far greater purpose in mind for him."
"Zelgadis is right, you are insane!" Tifa said angrily. "Do you people really think you can control him? You're delusional!
He doesn't pledge allegiance to anyone except Jenova."
"My, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have a more immediate concern? Like Miss Lina?"
"What are you saying?"
Xelloss opened his slitted eyes, violet eyes staring straight at Zelgadis. "You've been so busy licking your wounds and interrogating me you seem to have forgotten that Miss Lina is out there, alone, with Sephiroth.
"You dirty bastard!" Zelgadis shouted. He was about to deliver a fist to his face when he was stopped by a metal claw clamping down on his wrist.
Vincent stared down at Zelgadis sternly. "Do you not see that this is a waste of time. If we hope to save your friend, you must let go of your anger and focus.
Zelgadis turned and gave Vincent a hateful glare; Vincent merely continued to stare coldly, his crimson eyes fixed on Zelgadis' turquoise eyes. It was a contest of wills as the two stared each other down, until they were interrupted by Amelia. "Mister Zelgadis, please! Miss Lina needs us right now. We shouldn't be fighting among ourselves."
Zelgadis turned to Amelia's pleading face and felt his anger melt away. Zelgadis nodded and roughly pulled his arm out of Vincent's grasp. Shooting one last glare at Xelloss, He reluctantly said "we better find her and fast."
BOOM!
Lina had just dodged another energy blast and countered with Flare Lance. Sephiroth swatted it away with his black, razor sharp wing; it blew up the ground, leaving a smoldering crater. Sephiroth grinned, "My turn." With a gesture with his wing, the ground around Lina erupted into a wall of energy. Lina was surrounded by the wall of energy, unable to maneuver from Sephiroth's next attack, "Fire 3-all!" Lina saw numerous balls of fire, each being the size of a basket ball, hurling from the sky directly at her. Lina placed a Defense spell on herself to block the barrage of fireballs, but she was barely managing to maintain it. Then it happened. Her shield finally broke and she was engulfed by the explosion.
Sephiroth smiled in triumph until a band of light came bursting out from the inferno and slashed Sephiroth across the chest, leaving a huge gash. Sephiroth grunted in pain, using his one human arm to cover the wound on his chest. Lina flew out of the fire, burns visible on her clothes and skin. She summoned the Balus Rod into her hand and struck at Sephiroth again. This time,
However, Sephiroth was prepared. He grabbed the thin band of light in his left hand, tugging on it causing Lina to fall forward since she was still holding it. They both pulled, trying to overpower one another until a devious grin appeared on Sephiroth's face. He again made a motion with his wing arm and the ground underneath Lina erupted in a column of energy. Lina was blasted back by the attack, landing on her back. Slowly, she sat up, wincing in pain. she was greeted by the palm of a hand in front of her face. She looked up to see Sephiroth's leering face staring back at her, her eyes widened in realization at what he was about to do. Before she could think of anything, Sephiroth said cruelly, "Goodbye." He released an energy beam point blank in Lina's face.
Lina's screams could be heard throughout the field.
Sephiroth returned to his original form and approached the lifeless sorceress. When he got near her he put his foot under her chin, lifting her head up so he could stare into her eyes; Lina could not help but look at with near lifeless eyes. Sephiroth smirked, "It would be so easy to kill you right now", He pulled out his sword, pointing at her face. "But you harbor too much potential and it would be a shame to kill you now. No, I know you weren't using your full power because you exhausted all your magic protecting your weak friends so you weren't fighting at your best. I will let you live just a while longer until you're ready to face me one on one. The next time we meet, I expect you to be in top form."
"LINA!"
"MS.LINA!"
Sephiroth turned his head to see Gourry and Amelia coming, followed by the rest of the group. He looked down at Lina and smirked, "Well, your friends have arrived, so I will take my leave of you. Until next time, Lina." With that Sephiroth vanished.
Gourry rushed over to Lina, cradling his fiancée in his arms. "Lina, are you alright? Lina?! Please, say something!" Lina was unable to speak and was losing consciousness. But before she did she thought one thing,
Sephiroth...What are you planning?
Well, What did you think? Did you enjoy the battle between Lina and Sephiroth? Don't worry; this won't be the last time the two will clash. How about that bit of tension between Vinnie and Zel? I figured since their personalities are so similar (them brooding about being monsters and all) I thought it would only be a matter of time before conflicts would arise. So, Do you want more Zel and Vinnie interaction? Well, until next time, ja ne!
