Author's Note:
Since the question came up, I'll answer it again. Final Trinity does not contain Advent Children or Dirge of Cerberus continuity. So, forget any events that happened in either. This takes from FF7 only, and none of its sequels.
Previously, on Final Trinity...
Siegfried and his gang tracked down Kain Highwind's group, only to discover an ambush. Rufus, under the guise of betraying Kain, attempted a parley with Siegfried, while a strike force attacked from cover of shadows. Just when victory seemed within grasp, Seymour betrayed Siegfried, killing him, but not before he summoned the mysterious Ajuk to the field, who was revealed to be none other than Kuja. To make matters worse, Kefka also appeared, ready to destroy anyone that might interfere with whatever mad plans he has for Shadow and Cyan.
Chapter Thirty Seven
We Belong
"I can't stop the bleeding!" a female voice cried.
"Get this ship started, or I'll kill you myself!"
"You're lucky I was smart enough to figure out how to turn it on," a cold voice replied. "And, even more luckily, I have some small experience with flying myself, and these controls aren't too different from what--"
"Don't care. Just get us the fuck out of here."
Kain just shook his head. All around him, his companions scurried and moved every which way, all of them in a panic as a titanic magical battle went on down below. And next to him, on the ground, one of his party – one of the people he was responsible for – was dying. It was all his fault. It always seemed to end up that way.
How could things have gone so wrong?
"Everyone, take cover!"
Kain's words, while wise, were entirely unneeded. Everyone in his ragtag group were already scattering, desperately attempting to get out of the space between the three enemy mages. Kain took to the skies, jumping above the clash, while others found their own way of escape. Amarant, his long legs pumping, easily began to distance himself from the threat zone, but not before surprisingly picking up Cyan with one large arm, and Yuna with the other. Shadow had seemed to disappear entirely, while Vincent appeared to be gliding, nearly floating, his cape out-stretched and seeming to pick up the wind to carry him to safety. Even as magical energy was released from all three sides, Fujin was the only one left in the blast radius. A blue energy surrounded her suddenly, a Shell being cast to protect her at the last moment. Even so, it proved flimsy protection at best as all three sides of magical energy connected. The girl, even spelled as she was, was hurled from the explosive energies, and fell safely to the ground.
Kain impacted on the sand, and readied his spear, turning to face the three sorcerous opponents, but all three were too focused on each other. Fire balls and bolts of lightning fell from the heavens. Storms of ice and acid rained down, and green and purple energies flared to life. Protective spells were thrown up, and quickly battered down, only to be replaced once more.
"Where's Rufus?" Cyan cried.
"Chicken ran into the airship," Amarant replied.
Shadow seemingly materialized from the darkness, shielding his face from the brilliant light and force of the magical battle. "Do we have a plan?"
Kain could only watch in mute numbness, though, as the battle raged on. Seymour and Kuja seemed impressive, masters of their trade. They hurled spears of ice and lances of lightning at each other, and pillars of fire erupted from the ground, lava bubbling from the ground underneath. But Kefka was in another league entirely. He negligently froze the earth to prevent the liquid fire from coming anywhere near him, and with a simple gesture created whirlwinds to carry the icy shards away. While Kuja and Seymour were putting forth serious effort into their chaotic maelstroms, Kefka was almost bored, throwing about half measures to counter them.
In the space of seconds, the battle went from three mages battling each other to two enemies harnessing their power and throwing it directly at Kefka.
"Do we run, too?" Amarant asked.
Kain looked to the airship. There was a clear path between them and it. None of the combatants were paying attention to them. They could slip away, escape...
But he saw Fujin, knocked senseless, but in relative safety, on the other side of the battle. To get to her, they'd have to go through that horrible battle.
What would Cecil do?
"We fight," Kain growled.
"Godamn was I hopin' you were gonna say that," Amarant said.
"We're off the ground!" someone called.
Relief washed through Kain, but he couldn't seem to focus on anything. Blood was running freely down from his scalp, into his eyes. It looked worse than it was, but the blood was everywhere down his face. He could barely see because of it. But he knew. He wasn't half the leader that Cecil was. Wasn't even half the man. This never would have happened if Cecil had been there, in charge. For a brief moment, Kain had thought he was in charge, that he had the right idea of what to do. Oh, how wrong he'd been.
A hand grasped his, and he looked down. His eyes were misty, and he couldn't make out the form of the person who was holding his hand, but he knew who it was. The slickness of the blood, the angle it came from. It could only be one person.
"It's my fault," Kain said, guiltily.
"No," the person rasped. "Not ... yours. Kefka's. Mine."
"Listen, Yuna's working her magic to get you better..."
He looked up and saw through the stinging haze Yuna shaking her head. There was no hope. No one survived a beating that bad and lived to tell the tale.
"Dying?"
"Yes," Kain said. "I'm sorry."
"It's... okay. Expected."
"We usually do."
"I have an idea," Kain said.
As he did, another fireball was launched from Kefka's direction, wildly above their heads. It was no real threat. What Kefka had in sheer power he made up for in lack of patience and random acts of destruction.
"Is it a 'good' idea?" Shadow said.
Kain frowned, and turned to Amarant. "Kefka's spells are really powerful. If you get hit by one, and do that 'Return Magic' technique of yours, do you think you could breach his defenses?"
Amarant snorted, then responded, "Let me show you why that's a bad idea."
Ducking down, Amarant crawled away into the darkness, coming back a moment later holding the limp form of Ultros by one tentacle. Abruptly the mercenary stood up, swung the octopus around a few times, and then let go, launching the purple form through the air. It sailed true, flying directly at Kefka, until the mad mage lifted a hand.
A beam of white light shot forth, hitting the octopus and instantly incinerating him. When the light disappeared, there was nothing left of Ultros. Not even ashes.
"The Light of Judgement!" Cyan cried.
"See now why 'me getting hit by one of his spells' is a bad idea?"
"I see your point," Kain conceded.
"Over there!" Shadow suddenly called, and Kain turned his head to see.
Elsewhere, in the darkness, but illuminated by random bolts of energy flying nearby, were the forms of Raijin, Lani and Lucrecia, attempting to flee the battle. Kain and his company weren't the only ones to notice them.
"Just what I need!" Seymour exclaimed.
Gunfire sounded from Yuna as she turned and aimed at the blue-haired sorcerer, but he negligently waved a hand, a force field of pure power coming between himself and the deadly projectiles.
"We have to stop him!" Yuna shouted.
Everyone about Kain looked to him for action, and he hesitated. Seymour was dangerous, but Kefka was clearly the more dangerous of them. They had to deal with him first. But Yuna's look of determination, her will through her eyes bled through, demanding that he listen.
"Everyone on Seymour!" Kain said.
But it was too late.
Seymour, looking intently at his former comrades, lifted a wand with one hand, the object blazing with energy. Twisted green and black waves poured from it, enveloping the group.
Kain charged ahead, his allies flanking him. He readied his spear, and launched himself upwards, flying through the air and over the shield that Seymour had erected. Dimly, he noted that one of the shapes fall to Seymour's attack, only to be replaced by colourful lights that moved towards the blue-haired mage.
"LUCRECIA!" Vincent shouted. All sanity had fled his voice.
Gravity kicked in, and Kain descended downwards, his spear at the perfect striking angle. He was too late to save Lucrecia from whatever it was Seymour had done, but he could save the others. He could do it...
Raijin's form fell just as quickly, dispersing into colourful lights just as Lucrecia had. Those, too, began to head towards Seymour.
They never made it to their target.
Kain crashed into the sorcerer, his spear stabbing deeply into his shoulder. The man gave a cry of agony as he fell, Kain on top of him. Withdrawing the spear, the Dragoon plunged it into the man's abdomen as he stood. It went in shallowly, but enough to do damage. Pulling it forth again, he made as if to stab once more, but Seymour managed to bring forth enough strength, and sent a lightning bolt his opponent. Kain took the hit full in the chest, the blazing energy sending him hurtling back, the pain racing along his veins. He hit the ground hard, and his helmet shoved violently into his scalp. Every instinct cried for him to move. Every bodily impulse wanted him to vomit from the agony. And every muscle failed to do either as he lay helpless, unable to move.
Seymour, bleeding from his wounds, but reforming and healing, stood up, a condescending sneer on his face.
"You dare."
Lifting his wand once more, the waves of black energy surged forward, heading for Kain this time. He couldn't even brace himself.
And then a snarling, winged beast was there, all sharp teeth and black talons and red, leathery wings. It slammed into Seymour with unparalleled ferocity, tearing and raking, blood flying about in every which direction. The man shrieked in agony, but that only seemed to incense the beast as it tore into him with increasing viciousness.
And then Yuna was at his side, and Kain let out a gasp as healing energy surged through him. It was weak, but it revitalized his muscles, made him able to move once more. Blood began to drip from his scalp, but he ignored it, and the pain that went with it.
"He broke them down to their spirit energy," Yuna said. "He was going to absorb them to become more powerful. I've seen it before."
"What is--?"
"Vincent," Yuna said. "He... turned into that when the woman fell."
Kain nodded, stunned, remembering Vincent mentioning Chaos before. He'd expected something... different. Certainly not a beast from the Underworld itself.
Elsewhere, Kain heard Shadow yell, ordering everyone to regroup and focus on Kefka with Seymour down. Kain tried to stand, but Yuna pushed him down.
"You're lucky to be alive," she said. "Stay here. We'll handle it."
And then Shadow was there, pulling at Kain's shoulders, trying to get him up.
"Leave him," Yuna said. "He's too weak--"
"Kain put me in charge in the event that he's too weak to command," Shadow hissed. "Is that right, Kain?"
"Yes."
"Perfect. Then, as leader, I'm ordering you to get up and fight!"
He was suddenly heaved to his feet, and even in the urgency of the situation, he nearly fell back down. That hit from Seymour had nearly killed him. The head injury didn't help much either. He couldn't focus properly on his surroundings, but he saw that Amarant was busy throwing pinwheels at Kefka, all of which were being ignored, while Cyan was picking up the inert form of Fujin. Kefka and Kuja were going at each other even harder than before, and the shimmering lights – the spirit energy of Raijin and Lucrecia – were hovering in the air, slowly drifting towards--
One of Kuja's hands shot out, and a beam of force surrounded the lights. They were pulled to him, floating debris in a maelstrom of power, pulled inexorably towards the feminine sorcerer. And then they touched, and everything changed.
Red and pink energy surged through Kuja, and waves of force poured from him. Chaos was flung from Seymour, and Kain had to brace himself against the sudden onrush of power. Somewhere, Kuja was laughing. Elsewhere, he heard someone – Amarant – yell, "He's Trancing!"
Kain shook his head at the memory. He hadn't even been entirely sure what had been happening then. Wasn't even sure what had happened now, even after he'd gained precious minutes to think about it. Outside, the battle still raged. But it didn't matter.
He looked down to his fallen companion, precious seconds from death. Yuna was still trying her best, bless her. But it wasn't enough. It'd never be enough. Her magic was just too weak in this world. It would only properly work in her own.
"You weren't even supposed to be here," Kain muttered bitterly.
It was his fault. He couldn't even blame Golbez for this. This was his fault, and no one else's. He wanted to scream, to shout his sorrow and anger at the heavens. Cecil never would have allowed this to happen. But then, Cecil was perfect. The best at everything. He'd have found a way to win the fight down below without having to run. That was just the kind of man he was.
"Yes, I was," came his voice, half-choked on blood. "Nowhere else to go. No other... cause to fight... Meant to be here. All of us."
"He's right," Yuna said. "I... I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to... I'm supposed to be married, with Tidus, but... he's dead now, and I'm looking for Sephiroth, and you're tracking him, too. I'm not supposed to be here. None of us are. But we belong here."
Kain shook his head in disbelief. None if it made sense. She, most of all, didn't belong with them, and here she was... But she had a wisdom in her eyes, a resolve. A strength that few he knew possessed.
Kuja, glowing red, with feathers all about his person, lifted one hand, as if bored, and brilliant pink energy erupted from it. Kefka raised a shield just in time, blocking the energy, but for all his mad power, he was left staggered for a second, before he returned with his own attack, an energy that was sickly green, mixed with red heat all in one. Kuja in turn was forced to block the attack, and appeared no less taken aback.
From the quick exchange, Kain figured the two had to be now equal in terms of power. By absorbing the souls of others, Kuja's power had somehow sky-rocketed. They were both now weapons that could more than likely both bring about an end to the world that they fought in.
"That was mine!" Seymour's voice screamed.
Kain whirled about to see the blue-haired Sorcerer, bloodied and dishevelled, standing defiantly. In one hand, he held Chaos by the throat, in the other, his wand blazed with black and silver energy. Almost negligently, he threw Chaos to the side, and raised his other hand to clasp his weapon, drawing forth even more power into it.
As one, both Kefka and Kuja struck at Seymour.
He never stood a chance.
His form was ripped to pieces by energies even his sorcerous abilities couldn't hope to understand, much less imitate. His body was torn to pieces, and glowing motes of energy – what Yuna had previously described as pyreflies – filled his place. But even as they moved to retreat, Kuja unleashed attack after attack, decimating the bits of energy, destroying each in turn, preventing them from reforming into Seymour again.
Elsewhere, Cyan had Fujin slung across his shoulder, and was hurrying her to the airship. Kefka turned to him, a sadistic smile on his face.
"Where do you think you're going, my dear knight?"
Kain heard a roar of anger, and was shaken by the vehemence of it, until he realized it came from his own lips. It was pure reaction driving him now, the instinct to protect. He knew Kefka would kill Cyan. He wouldn't fail this time.
Again he was in the air, his mighty Dragoon leap taking him to the sky. There was no slowing of time as the moment descended. There was only Kain, Kefka, and his spear. The weapon sank into Kefka's shoulder, but the madman didn't seem to notice. He merely made a backhanding motion that didn't even connect with Kain, but the magic behind it did. Invisible force slammed into the Dragoon, sending him sailing away, landing not too far from the platform to the airship.
"You have something of mine!" Kefka screeched. "Give it to me!"
Shadow's shuriken whizzed through the air, followed by a hail of bullets from Yuna's pistols. All were intercepted by an invisible wall of magical will. From the darkness, Amarant leaped, landing on Kefka's back, encircling the mad mage with his arms. Clawed weapons raked into Kefka's chest, but no reaction came from him. His insane eyes watched Cyan with unblinking rapture, and the samurai, in turn, was paralyzed, whether by fear or magical energy, was uncertain.
A sudden concussion to the air forced Amarant flying backwards and away, sending the large monk sprawling to the ground.
And then Kuja was there, slamming wave after wave of pink energy into Kefka's shields. But the madman seemed not even to notice this new wave of attack. In fact, it seemed that each one Kuja sent was weaker than the last, impacting with less force.
The bright light from Kuja faded; the feathers receded. He was back to his old self. That form, whatever it was, that 'Trance', clearly had not lasted.
But it'd done one thing. It had managed to divert Kefka's attention.
A whirlwind of black and green and yellow and white energies flashed forward, all heading at Kuja. The villain gasped, and made a gesture. Blue light surrounded him, and he suddenly disappeared, the space where he had stood now empty of his presence before the attack managed to strike him down. He appeared not twenty feet from where he'd been, but that proved safe enough distance. Instead of being nearly obliterated where he'd stood, he was merely sent sailing backwards from the force of the attack.
And then Chaos was there, slashing into Kefka, claws raking him, teeth sinking into him. Blood flowed from the mad clown's throat, from his arms, from the shoulder where Kain had stabbed him, and from his chest where Amarant had raked him.
This time, the attack was not simply treated with a punitive gestured. The sound of bones snapping and crackling filled the air as Chaos was plucked from Kefka's back with an unseen hand. The demon's wings suddenly shredded, and tore off, and a crunching sounded. Chaos was tossed aside, the demonic form slamming against the Invincible's hull.
Kain stood up slowly, most of his strength gone. But he could do one thing. He moved to Chaos – no, he was already changing back into Vincent – and picked him up, and stumbled to the safety of the ship.
Kefka's attention was no longer on Cyan. Forgotten in his lust for battle, Kefka now threw barrage after barrage at Kuja. Every one of Kain's companions chose the smartest tactic. They all fled to the ship.
"We're in the air!" Rufus shouted triumphantly.
"How'd you come up with a power source?" Shadow hissed.
Smugly, Rufus responded, "While none of you fools were watching, I lifted the Black Materia. I found a receptacle in the engine room that appeared to be designed to hold--"
"Whatever," Amarant muttered. "Long as we get the fuck outta here."
"Is she... is she safe?" Vincent gasped.
Kain could see it in his eyes. In those red eyes, Vincent was barely clinging on to life, much less reason. Or maybe he had it, and just needed to be told something else.
"Yes," Kain lied. "She's alive. You managed to save Lucrecia."
Vincent smiled weakly. "Not her. She's dead. I saw it. Fujin... did we save her?"
Kain blinked, and looked over to where she lay, just feet away. She was bloodied, and suffered from multiple broken bones, but with some proper rest and curative magic, she'd be fine.
"She's alive. And will be, because of us. Because of you."
"Maybe... Maybe now I can... sleep without the nightmares... maybe... I have atoned..."
Kain watched Vincent Valentine breathe his last breath, a ragged, rasping sound. The light faded from his eyes; the red disappeared entirely. What was left were normal, brown ones. His head slumped to the side, all strength finally gone. The former Turk had fought well. His own demon, Chaos, had saved them all. His own pure hell had been their salvation.
Shrugging off the dizziness, Kain stood abruptly. He focused himself on Amarant. "You're the most familiar with this airship. Does it have any weapons?"
"A big cannon that could wipe out a city," he answered. "Why do you ask?"
"I want it fired down on Kefka," Kain growled. "I want that entire patch of desert to be hit with a weapon so hot, all the sand turns to glass. Can you do it?"
"Never used it before," Amarant admitted.
"I don't care. Can you do it!"
"Yeah... yeah, I think I can. Give me a minute. But we do this... we do this, and we might not have power to fly the ship. We do this, and we kill Lani, and whoever else is still down there."
Kain turned to face his companion, murder in his eyes. He was surprised at how level his voice was. "They made their bed. They can die in it."
A grunt, and then, "Some hero you are."
"I never pretended to be anything else."
Author's Note:
Yep. I did it. I killed a character. And I apparently waited ONE CHAPTER TOO LONG, because Count D'Ainiac so called it. Blast you!! We had this planned for a while, too. I'm hoping we caught SOME of you by surprise. And I hope I didn't piss too many people off by doing it.
This chapter took ages to write. I apologize for that. There were reasons for it, but I'm not going to bore you with excuses. Next one should be up in a week (maybe two, tops).
Anyway, thank you to Melan Blue, Ffmaester, Alpha2Omega, Setra Kakan, Count D'Ainiac (Boo at you predicting my actions!), Yuleen75, mycrazylife, Macky, and Brutal2003. You guys make writing this story rewarding.