It was strange.
She'd look back on that moment and be very confused. She wouldn't be able to honestly tell if the pain came from the sword through her chest – right through the center too, perfectly between my boobs. How hadn't that hit my spine? – or if it came from the busted nose Aki had given her.
She thought Seth's reaction to unfocused Holy energy in her general direction was bad? Fuck that girl had a rage you'd never see coming. And a mean streak longer than the Midgar Zolom was tall!
It definitely wasn't comfortable. But it didn't…hurt, the way the first time did.
Jenova had executed a picture perfect downstab, the 'Hell's Gate' maneuver, according to Lycoris. It went right through her. But the problem was…
There was no blood.
Sure there was blood on her dress. But that was, again, most likely from the busted nose. She'd admit that things were blurry, both from pain and from just general disorientation. She got her ass kicked by Aki, just before that. Something she was rather unhappy about but…again, Holy.
Seriously don't ever use Light Magic on Aki. If it hits, you have Seth on your ass. If it misses you have Aki.
Stranger was that not even her dress was torn in the slightest. That doesn't even make sense. It's going right between my boobs. A button should have been popped off or something!
It was as if the blade was going through her but yet…not her. As if the sword were punctured through the space where "Aerith" resided, and yet not on a physical level. It didn't hurt. It was a sense of discomfort as if something was wrong but the exact nature of wrongness couldn't be placed.
It was baffling.
Still. She noticed movement out of her peripheral view. Jenova had released the sword, and reached down. She thought the World Eater was going to now decide to start groping her.
Listen. The day was fucking batshit enough as it was. At this point, nothing was going to surprise Aerith.
But no. The World Eater instead, reached past the Ancient's chest, and to…the tip of the sword? …which was…glowing?
White?
It wouldn't be for another half minute that Aerith, nor the rest of them would even begin to have an idea of what the hell was going on. Why Aki helped Jenova dismantle the survivors. Why Jenova started off by shoving her hand in Sephiroth's chest.
Why Jenova was gleefully grasping both the White and the Black Materia in both hands.
But as Aerith dropped to her side, coughing violently – still not bleeding though – she was at least treated to the blurry sight of Jenova pressing the two Materia together.
Also she realized she was wrong.
She could still be surprised.
As that happened, when the White and Black Materia merged into one.
Before floating up into the air, taking the shape of a giant, grey crystal.
Positioned, just above the green glow that was a Cauldron.
She felt her vision focus, her body stop aching, her nose crunch back into place…
As the Huge Materia glowed brightly, a wave of grey power ripping from its core.
All while Jenova stood there, and smiled.
(MANDATORY BGM: Drakengard 3 – The Rising Fool/Galgaliel)
A cymbal crashed as the strums of an electric guitar resonated through the whole world. The Grey Huge Materia pulsed slowly, like a beating heart, literal ripples of color emerging from its surface. The waves of energy soared through the air, becoming walls of grey mist. The Taken stumbled, shuddering as if their existences were attempting to be removed.
But it wasn't enough.
Besides…that's not what it was for.
A few hundred feet away, engaged in combat against three Thralls, two Goblins and a Knight, Kairi directed some of her power towards the All Materia on her forehead, linking it to the Ice around her neck. Intending to sweep the area around her with a ripple wave of frosted mists into a series of puncturing lances, the girl stumbled as suddenly the All Materia flared angrily, detached itself from her circlet, and flew away.
…towards the source of the grey waves…
Kingdom Hearts Re: Order
Chapter XXXVII: The Planet's [Weapon]
The White Owl was a formidable opponent. Of course it was. It was Kamen Rider Eternal after all.
Still, a major factor was that Selh'teus had no access to the Gaia Memory Cores. The Eternal Maximum still apparently held enough sway to deactivate and seal the powers of the Cores, something that was a little more than irritating.
It screwed up his whole rhythm.
A torrent of sparks accompanied a small cut in the chestplate of the man in the guise of Eternal. The warding slash had the White Owl backing away, before stepping forward again, swinging the survival knife that was Eternal's primary weapon in a wide arc downwards. A mild distortion effect accompanied the movement, the Voidwalker twisting to the side.
It was good he did so, as the distortion carved the air displaced by the tip of the knife, a small sparking gash in the ground being proof of the danger of being hit. However, his evasion was frantic and not all that well performed, leaving him open to be booted heavily in the chest by the left leg of the White Owl.
Their fight had proceeded like this for the last two minutes. Selh'teus, slightly weakened by the effect of the Eternal Maximum, due to how deeply entwined to his personal being the Cores were, was on the back foot from the beginning of the fight. Not to mention, Eternal resisted many of his direct Gravitational pulses, generally able to recover from directional inputs, and almost completely immune to the constant pressure field.
The nature of being a Kamen Rider did indeed allow for many general augmentations to one's personal defenses, and as it was a sealed armored state, great resistance to many side-effects. One would have to know precisely the nature of the transformation method, as well as the depths of the power granted itself.
Selh'teus had some general idea, but though he was well knowing the abilities of Eternal, his exact numbers were not well mentally documented.
As well, there was something…else.
Tch dammit. His movements are all wrong.
Rising slowly to his feet, Selh'teus stared balefully at the White Owl, trying to figure out what he was missing.
My attacks work somewhat, though that armor blocks most of the damage. Mugetsu is +Nobody, not +Rider. But the way he fights…
"This…is the power of the legendary Shinryu? Hmph. For one with the name of the Dragon of World's End you aren't that impressive."
Selh'teus loosed an irritated chuckle. "Tcheh. Knew I should have went with 'Forte'. But nooo…I was worried about the fin-helm too much…idiot…"
…this proves it. The movements being off…Daido Katsumi…wouldn't have known about Shinryu. Which means this can't be him. But Tron is…well last I checked, still back on The Grid. That leaves…
"Ahh…" He said. "Sou ka…omae wa Katsumi Daido ja nai…" Dammit, looking at this guy is messing with my head. Keep wanting to talk like a Rider.
"…You. You are Clu."
"I am Clu."
"You will create…the perfect system."
"I will create. The perfect system."
Selh'teus shook his head once again. Steadying himself, and taking a deep breath, he thought rapidly.
But Clu was supposed to be destroyed at-…
"Oh…" he muttered. "Dammit. Sam, Quorra, and Kevin all left The Grid. That means…you were defeated but not how it was supposed to go." Must have been because of Kairi. She would have…still been connected to me back then. The bleed-over would have had her stepping in to make sure everyone got out. Sora would have respectfully allowed things to progress normally, but Kairi likely went 'fuck that' and pushed to handle Clu.
"What are you mumbling about? Pondering your final moments?"
"You were defeated. But not the way you were meant to be. Which means…you never had that talk with Kevin Flynn, did you?"
"Not that it matters, but no. There was no such 'talk' with Flynn."
"So he never told you the truth then."
"Truth? What truth?"
"Originally…You were supposed to confront Kevin Flynn. He would tell you the truth. You were made wrong."
"…what nonsense-
"He made you with a critical flaw that he himself didn't notice until long since your revolt. That flaw was your stated directive. To create the 'perfect' system. It wasn't until later, that he realized his mistake. His view of 'perfect' was not your view. Thus, he made you wrong."
Silence. Seething quiet.
"It was not your fault, that you were a flawed creation. He'd come to the understanding of the truth. Perfection, is immeasurable. Unknowable. Impossible to quantify. Because perfection as a concept, is something even Gods cannot reach. To be perfect, is to be not merely complete, but without flaw. Forever. Unchanging, unflinching. To be absolute. What one being would consider perfect, could be seen as flawed by another. Which would make it not perfect. Perfection has to be observed by all beings at the same time. One would have to gaze upon it, and not question its perfection. It is an instinct. No doubts at all."
The being now known as Clu, stood straighter.
"But that's just the thing, innit?" Selh'teus continued. "For something to be perfect, it would have to not only be seen by everyone as such, but remain that way for all time. You can't just create something, call it perfect, and then murder everyone who thinks otherwise. That means your creation requires outside influence to maintain its status of perfection. Meaning it is imperfect. That's why…she didn't give you the 'perfect' Gaia Memory. No such thing can exist, because the concept of perfect has no defined form. The idea of it exists, but the absolution of its nature is impossible to describe."
That's right…Nothing is perfect. Everything is flawed. …but even in its flaws…something can be True, and Strong.
"That may be so." Clu responded. "But it does not change that you will be derezzed by my hand. This game ends, here."
Selh'teus nodded. "You're right about one thing. The game ends here indeed. But even if you are Eternal…"
It's time I stopped trying to be anything other than myself. I've been relying on everything else for too long…
The Mugetsu crackled angrily in his hands. His legs spread, partially bent, right leg forward, left slightly behind. The blade held slightly parallel to the ground, edge angled upwards, grasp in both hands, loose, but stable.
"It's time you learned…what lies beyond the End of Eternity."
It was a strange sight, to witness Akira and Jenova literally tag-teaming Taken left and right. The Queen of Dark and the Calamity from the Sky made a disturbingly good team, moreso when to everyone's surprise, Aki handed the World Eater the Kingdom Key-D.
What they didn't know, but Aki understood instinctively, were two things. The First, being that Jenova, being a parasitical entity that consumed worlds before birthing more parasites and sending them through the cosmos, technically had no known world of origin. It was a vagabond creature with no home to call its own. Much like another creature developed by Squaresoft, Jenova exhibited tendencies similar to Lavos.
In that it would crash into a planet, burrow its way into the core, infect it with its will, and direct the evolution of entire species, before absorbing them as sustenance, and then creating more of itself, to repeat the process.
Only unlike Lavos, whom was able to anchor itself so deeply into the planet's concept of existence that it could exist across multiple timelines, either Jenova simply never had such a power to begin with, or the Ancients managed to stop it before it could do anything more than spread its will across the Lifestream.
Still, that meant Jenova had no true world to call its own, and thus was malleable enough in concept to be able to 'bend' the conditions of wielding a Keyblade.
The second, was that even with Jenova being classified as 'off-worlder' in nature, its existence was created along with the world of Final Fantasy VII, making that world's 'lore' its origin. And as Aki had come to realize…
Marlene's world was under her jurisdiction.
The truth of the matter being, that the world Marlene and the other Materia wielders came from, though it had a complete story, thus a Keyblade born from its own tale; it was a world, largely without hope. A world without light, without life in the positive sense.
While many worlds had their stories drenched in epic battles and bloody conquests, those worlds all started and ended with Hope. Olympus, Atlantica, Neverland, Land of Dragons, Beast's Castle…all of those were tales of growth and hope and love.
Worlds like Marlene's, like Squall and Rinoa's, even Tidus and Yuna's, they were lacking that abject hope. Much of VII took place in and around Midgar, a place of castes amid giant machines drinking the planet's energy dry. The rest were small settlements surrounded by deadly wildlife, and buried beneath the planet's crust were giant organic machines ready to wipe out all life for the sake of rebirth.
VIII was a barely stable time loop constantly wrapping around itself, hanging on a razor's edge where one small mistake would spell destruction for the entire world. A world where power was gained at the cost of memory, yet memory was required to make sure the loop could be closed. Even if after the ending, Squall returned to Rinoa's side, there was no stopping the constant looping nature of its story. Squall would forever be forced to grow up that emotionally stunted child, damaged by the departure of the one he held dearest, because his caretaker was slowly evolving into a deranged psychopath due to magical possession.
And X's world was a world of death and endless cycles. Tidus himself being a manifestation of a cry for help, solidified with the purpose to putting an end to the eternal cycle of destruction. Death would bring ten years of peace, only for Death to return, where only Death would be able to bring that peace back. It took the potential absolute erasure of Tidus' existence to put an end to the cycle, and it was absolute, batshit luck, combined with a mild bit of obsession, that brought him back.
These stories may have had bittersweet to partially happy endings, but their tales were dripping with pain and suffering. They had Keyblades, and recent events had dragged Spira to the Border between Dark and Light, but these worlds were hers.
Thus, Jenova, was one of her subjects.
And seeing how easily the Calamity wielded the Weapon of Realm's Heart, Aki knew she made the right call.
It hadn't taken long before those of the Meteor Crisis realized that only some of their Materia crystals were being…stolen? Though there were indeed a fair amount that were suddenly being drawn to the forming Huge Materia, they were not all being absconded. It was only after another thirty seconds did Yuffie start realizing that she had been minimally effected by the thefts.
Wait…
"GUYS! It's only the Masters being called!"
And indeed, those who had some on them, did notice that the crystals being lured to the Cauldron's rim, were ones that had been fully powered, ones that had split into a fully charged, and a weaker base Materia at some point. It didn't do them any favors, seeing as Materia that had been 'mastered' were extremely powerful and tended to be the go-to for the majority of them. But it was a small boon.
They weren't entirely de-powered.
Thus, when a recovered Cloud called to the Kunoichi to go grab the weaker numbers, he found that Yuffie was already on the move.
It was still a surprise though, when a literal cloud of Mastered materia passed her by as she ran to the Hall. A cloud that tore through a group of Taken that had tried to bar her way. Literally.
The three Knights, six Psions, five thralls, and two Legionaries that had tried to stop her were literally torn through by the combined sparking energies of the Materia.
As it would be explained later, the Taken were beings that had been twisted by something powerful. Made complete. Rendered final. Their very nature was completion. A definition of totality had been sewn into their very concepts. This nature of 'absolution' seemed to clash horribly with the Materia, causing, of all things, the Taken themselves, to collapse.
As if their very existences could not handle the weight of 'more'. Which made a strange kind of sense, given that if something is rendered its final shape, then the idea of it being added to, is an anathema to its concept of existence, thus negating the finality of its being.
And since the Taken were embodiments of finality, the sheer power of 'growth' that the Materia represented, caused their existences to suffer a critical totalistic failure.
In a shocking (for the defenders) display of intelligence, the Taken Wizard about to try to grasp one of the stragglers, wisely decided to leave the glimmering colorful crystals be. Hive Wizards already were amazingly intelligent creatures once you bypassed the directive of the dogma of their Sword Logic. Being Taken merely made that all the sharper.
A loud clang as the two blades clashed. Ascended Katana vs Survival Knife. Were it not for the strength of the knife's wielder, augmented by way of being synchronized with the Earth's planetary concept of 'Eternity', the result would have been obvious. The katana, being a stronger, longer blade, should have beaten the knife nine times out of ten.
Unfortunately for Selh'teus, being a Kamen Rider, tended to skew those odds. Still, he was undeterred.
Not long after his proclamation to show Clu what lied beyond eternity, the White Owl found the fight much more difficult, as now Seth was focusing almost entirely on using his blade properly. No longer being distracted by the unfamiliar combat style, no longer being weighed down by the lingering effects of the Eternal Maximum, Seth had dropped back into the mindset that had saw him survive an apocalypse he had no right surviving.
Selh'teus relaxed his guard, allowing the blade-lock to be broken by the White Owl. Hopping backward at the overextension of the Rider's thrust, the Mugetsu glowed a faint green.
"Go no Tachi."
Confused, and still recovering from the unexpected lack of resistance, Clu could do nothing as Selh'teus swung his blade twice.
"Jinpū."
Two lightning quick slashes, and two strange dark green distortions of air curling in on themselves into the shape of glowing green sawblades manifested. Not a moment after they did, they both raced forward, converging upon the White Owl and carving into his chestplate.
"What the-AAAGGHH!"
A yell of pain and frustration was followed up by Seth with a swing of his blade, flat side of it coming up in a low arc to Clu's temple. A burst of pale grey and a strange manifestation of what looked like ghostly chains emerged from the impact site. The Konzen-ittai took effect, and Selh'teus took advantage.
"Jū-ichi no Tachi: Ageha."
An odd distortion appeared around the Mugetsu. A twist of his wrist on a forward lashing thrust, and the blade almost seemed to go right through Clu's armor. On impact, a burst of energy breaking into a multitude of fluttering butterfly-like shapes erupted, as something else seemed to happen.
Skillchain:
Compression
The air around the White Owl seemed to bend and collapse inward, focused on the impact point. The sudden pressure ripped the breath from his lungs as the feeling of being hit in the torso by the fist of a giant rippled through his body. Stunned, he could do nothing as Selh'teus delivered a severe gale of furious swings. Sparks and shavings of metal and power went flying as Clu was so brazenly assaulted.
Worse was that each strike was felt bodily.
Unknown to him, the Ageha had the secondary effect of reducing the impact target's defenses. Armor and protection ratings against physical attacks were reduced roughly thirty percent, making incoming damage greater. But Clu was not yet out of the woods, as the Mugetsu began crackling. Bringing blade back to center, edge facing the ground, legs slightly bent, Selh'teus' grip on the katana became strong.
And then he vanished.
Before Clu could begin to react, he started jerking around wildly as sudden gashes followed by emitted sparks erupted upon his body.
Selh'teus appeared behind him, blade to the side, left leg forward and at an angle, right leg bent, and left hand to the ground as if to slow a burst of speed. Which is exactly what happened.
"Mugetsu: Izayoi."
Named after the Lunar cycle, the Izayoi, or Sixteen-day-old-moon was a single strike that became sixteen. However, reflecting the madness associated with the Moon, the strikes were only half-again as powerful as the first, and were landed at random. It was a punishing assault on a single target, and of course most flesh-and-blood beings would likely be carved to pieces, but it was disorganized.
Perfect, for a Chaos Lord.
All of that said, he was not yet done, as now, with Clu fully vulnerable, he could bring an end to things. Resetting his stance, Selh'teus loosed a slow, long breath.
When a cool drop of Water's all I need…
Gotta clear my head, of anger, and grief.
A place to refresh heart and mind.
Body lax yet tense at the same time, mind calm and yet focused, he felt the same phantom force rush through him as he did every single time he descended. There was no need for mantra or true thought, but he spoke the words to himself none the less.
It was how she taught him.
Can I find, some time?
And…
"Shichi no Tachi: Yukikaze."
A dashing thrust of the Mugetsu, covered in wisps of cold. Blade sinking into the White Owl's back, a multitude of icicles sharply emerged from the impact point.
Rivers, in a dry land.
The last ace in a lost hand.
When the hope of new beginnings burned our feet…
Now we need it.
"Hachi no Tachi: Gekkō."
Angling his blade down after flipping it once in hand, he twisted on his right heel, bringing the Mugetsu up in a rising spinning slash, carving through the manifested ice.
Skillchain:
Fragmentation
As the ice shattered, a series of strange blue diamonds appeared around the White Owl, before bursting apart with a wave of force, causing Clu to violently shudder.
A heartbeat, for a tin man.
Oasis in a strange land.
Reminding what we're here for.
"Kyū no Tachi: Kassha."
Blade at his left hip, he leaned forward, taking a single step and swinging an Iai strike through an mentally envisioned flower, scattering petals everywhere.
Skillchain:
Light
The second the swing was completed, a growing distortion emerged above Clu, rapidly tinting into a strong, marble white shine. The sphere of holistic power grew to the size of a truck before detonating in a wave of holy light, tearing through the White Owl's armor, and in full, vaporizing the Rider from existence with a loud, agonized scream.
Creating new life.
Creating rivers, in the desert.
Slowly, Selh'teus relaxed his stance, breathing outward again.
That didn't last long, however, as a soft clapping came from behind him. Whirling around, his eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat.
Not from love, or lust, or infatuation of any kind.
But from surprised fear.
"Well done, Child of Man."
So focused was he upon she, that he didn't register the submerged city fading away like a mirage.
For Gaea, World-Core of Earth had come.
A hook-like object flew rapidly towards her face.
The Knight flung her arms back, 'eye' glowing with angry flame.
The hook snatched her neck, body shuddering.
She was made Final. She was made Pure. She was made True.
But She was not made Sharp enough, it would seem.
As Her head was severed from Her shoulders, the unnatural Clarity gave way to a more distorted, but no less real understanding.
The King would have been proud to call this one Foe.
It was strange how some of the enemies would die screaming, pulled into the swirling vortex that seemed to be the truth of their bodies. And yet others, like the Knight she just killed, seemed at peace. As if some final clarity of thought had pervaded their minds.
Ino had no time to truly muse on the phenomenon, as she adjusted her footing, twirling on left heel to swing the scythe blade through the torsos of three leaping Thralls.
The truly strange thing was…
The scythe was feeling more…familiar.
The Keyblades were barely more effective than normal swords. Though she longed to radiate her Heart's Light against these unusual twisted creatures more disturbing than the Nobodies; she was making use of her limited ability to change weapons on a whim to its fullest extent.
But the scythe…
She'd never really met Marluxia. And while she had Combat Data (and some small personality quirks) from the individual Organization members, the Scythe was such an unusual weapon. A Reaper is more a farming tool, to cut chaff, if unevenly. Faster than a lawnmower if one is strong enough. It was an imprecise weapon, and wielding it as a weapon took far more of a combination of strength and dexterity than one would think.
It was a swinging weapon, not a thrusting one, and with its blade so oddly placed…
And yet…it felt…right.
Or rather, it was feeling more right. Of all the non-Keyblade weapons that she could summon and wield with expert skill, it was the strange pink bladed scythe that was feeling the most comfortable.
Regardless of the strange growing familiarity of the weapon, she had come to discover something else.
Something that she didn't know but had the feeling was a problem for the others.
Some of the Taken had unusual defensive barriers. Physical attacks glanced right off, the individual not even noticing the blow. Elemental attacks seemed to weaken the barrier ever so slightly, but otherwise did little.
Except for ones of certain types.
After a few encounters, and frantically testing her abilities against the more powerful of the Taken forces, she'd come to understand how to deal with them.
The Orange-red glowing ones responded negatively to Fire. Flame seemed to burn right through. The blue ones seemed weak to lightning, and the purple ones…
The purple ones were the ones she was most worried about. They seemed to surround the floating robe monsters, and sometimes the strange dish-headed ones. When the dish heads weren't spitting their own pale green beams to coat other Taken in fields that couldn't be broken by any means.
The purple barriers seemed to be only broken by Nothing. Or at least, Xemnas' power. On a lark she tried folding space around one in an offensive manner. As in, she tried to crush the body of one using spatial collapsing forces.
The barrier popped.
Non-elemental spells then? She had none in her skillset, only access to the raw element and some knowledge on how to shape them. But still, it was important information. Thus, she needed a way to speak it.
Ducking under the lunge of another Thrall, Ino swung her left arm out, a duo of crackling kunai piercing its chest. It stumbled back but could not react in time as the scythe…well…scythed through its torso, catching the still crackling kunai, and becoming alight with pale yellow sparks.
Twirling left with her swing, she released the shaft of her weapon, sending it spinning rapidly into the glowing barrier of a Phalanx. The barrier dropped immediately, and the scythe carved deep into the Taken's shield. However, the drilled hole in its core seeming to lead into the pitch-blackness of the depths of space itself, glowed a pale yet brilliant white.
In seconds, the blast threw the scythe and its wielder away from it.
Only the body that hit the ground, crumbled and fizzled away. Confused, it could do nothing as a quintuplet of spears impaled its body, the fifth blowing right through its head, where it burst and got spiraled into nothingness.
Panting slightly, as switching so suddenly with a hastily prepared Lightning Clone was a draining task, Ino puzzled as to how to inform the others.
I need to get a message out quickly but there's no communication array or glyph or bubb-
It hit her.
…bubble…? Bubble…bubble…bubble! That's it! Maybe…maybe I can…
An idea began forming. Quickly, she reach within herself and grasped the part of her nature that governed Water, yet also grasping Air.
The idea was an…interesting one…to say the least.
And not a minute later, the sky was filled with hundreds of small floating empty bubbles with watery shells.
Dammit! Nothing works!
Kairi's group had been separated. With so many Taken around, even a distance of twenty feet was a slog. All of them were feeling the oppressive effects of the Song, even if the current one being Sung was slightly harmonious with them. Keyblades were doing about as much as normal weaponry, and even elements weren't doing as much.
And in the case of these floating robe creatures, damn near nothing at all.
She was worried. Worried for herself. Worried for Sora. Worried for Naminé. Worried for Seth.
Marie was terrified, and then this happened and then half my materia was yanked by Tia knows what-
In truth, Tia herself was very confused as to why the damn orbs went batshit and fucked off as well, so Kairi was wrong there.
And now this stupid thing is-
Suddenly a trio of…
…bubbles?
Floated in front of her face and popped.
"Elemental shields! Match color for element! Orange Fire, Blue Lightning! Purple…Void!"
It was Ino's voice.
And her hint wasn't a moment too soon.
Kairi's eyes widened and she suddenly threw herself backwards with a mighty push. A train of burning white-grey-orange blasts impact where she stood like falling stars. Glaring at the violet glowing shadow robe monster, she reached her hand out and snarled with all of the anger of a raging Queen.
"KAMUI!"
At that proclamation, gazing with the fury of a Monarch, demanding internally that the space around the robe twist…
The violet barrier shattered as two opposing forces curled inwards at the same time. The air contorted in opposite directions, appearing to be a double spiral collapsing upon itself.
Kairi would never know that the Taken Wizard's final thoughts were that the glaring redhead with the glowing violet eyes before her, reminded her of the King's Twin Daughters. She could not Take, but she could carve with the best of them.
Kairi would be unaware that the Wizard died, holding respect in the space of its missing heart, for the enraged Queen.
Oh yes…Kairi had become sharp indeed…
All along the accessible areas of the town, the fighters were getting instructions from Ino's bubble wave. The clever girl had bound the air carrying her voice into sealed spheres of thin watery shells, designated to float to any human and pop, delivering her findings.
While the tide of battle wasn't sharply nor immediately turned in the favor of the non-Taken, it definitely was changed. Yet the biggest change was still yet to come.
As the growing glows above the glowing oval where Marlene's corpse was, began to become solid.
The only warning they had, was when Jenova suddenly ducked the lunge of yet another Thrall (being the easiest to cultivate, Thralls were effectively part of the Shock troops of the Taken.) twirled the Kingdom-D on her wrist like a saw, cleaved through it before launching the Keyblade through two more Thralls, three Psions (one had just split next to its partner as the Keyblade sawed down on them), and surprisingly, an as of yet untouched Knight, before the Calamity burst into being in a wave of distorted air and black feathers to catch it.
And then tossed it to Akira, who attained and banished it in short order.
A solid nod was all the Queen needed.
It helped, that Akira had noticed the strange symbol on the woman's pelvis had begun pulsing with a gentle red glow.
The glows had become solid. The Song had tapered away. The Taken had slowed, twitching at the sight.
Taking a risk, Tifa glanced up, vision still slightly blurry from when Akira had trounced her.
"A…are those…Huge Materia…?"
They were. Six of them. The grey in the center, and then one for each color-type of Materia. Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, and Purple.
Suddenly, Jenova was in Sephiroth's personal space. Unconsciously, he drew back, only to be halted by the woman grabbing his head and…
…kissing him gently on the top of his hair?
Confused, he did nothing but blink as the Invader-Woman ruffled his hair almost affectionately, before making a mighty leap into the core glowing oval beneath the Huge Materia.
And then he was knocked flat on his ass, as a visible ring of power rippled off of the oval. The entire battlefield, no, the entire World came to a grinding halt as the Wave hit. Lesser Taken were suddenly destroyed, some in mid-attack, many just standing. A flicker of light and time shimmered across the sky, the air distorting and popping to reveal a giant wavy black spheroid.
What revealed the Blight?!
Lycoris pondered, confused as to what was happening. Oh she had an idea…but that was impossible…
Wasn't it?
Yet again today, she would be proven wrong.
The Huge Materia, lazily orbiting the center grey, suddenly began to rotate faster. The Bulb was giving off a consistent pulsing aura, and with each pulse the Materia revolution grew a stage more rapid. Slowly, the Grey Orb descended into the Bulb, vanishing within. Seconds later, the rotating ring of color too descended.
And then the ring collapsed inwards, crashing into the Bulb, shining a veritable prism.
The world's colors inverted for but a brief moment. A loud hiss of static invading the senses of everyone, combatant and civilian alike.
Something strong, settled in Kairi's heart. An acknowledgement of being. Something not consciously done, but done nonetheless. She knew. What she knew or how, she had no idea, but she knew something.
Something new. Something important.
Something that would change the entire course of their slowly losing battle.
For they were indeed losing. The Taken were near inexhaustible and every three they killed another six took their place.
But now…with this the tide would change in their favor.
You are Forsaken.
I am Forsaken.
A Flower blooms for you. It Grows within [Lifestream].
This Flower is Mine. Its Petals of [Love].
Grasp hold of the [Jewel-that-is-World].
The [Jewel] is my [Children.] Its shine is my [Will].
Implant yourself with the Seed of your [Future].
A [Seed] is Implanted.
…
This [Flower] is [Mine].
It [Blooms] inside [Life].
Its [Seed] is the [Jewel] that shines for my [Children].
Their [Future] is [Lost].
Thus for them…
My will becomes [Weapon].
For the sake…of my [Heart-that-is-World].
(MANDITORY BGM: Final Fantasy XV – APOCALYPSIS NOCTIS)
Unintelligible chanting filled their ears.
The low keys of a piano.
The orb shattered in place, motes of light scattering through the air.
And where it once stay…now stood…something.
And that something, was going to change the world.
"Is…is that…Seth…?"
Aerith's muttered query was apt. It did indeed look like the Crow Form that the Voidwalker took on occasion.
Wing-like vents on its back, an armored torso of some strange, unknown but light looking metal. Two sharp-angled pauldrons where its shoulders would be, tipped with spiked glowing green crystals. At its torso was a strange, circular indent with a very small glow at its core. The stomach was lined with scale-like panels, the hips covered by a pair of claw-looking fauld. Legs were garbed in similar metallic armor to the arms and torso, ending in beast-looking greaves similar to the claws on the arms.
And the head…a draconic looking metal skull with three spikes pointed backward, the face covered by a sharp angled visor distorting the sight of two glowing blood red eye slants.
But no…this was not Crow Form. This was something different. Something more…familiar.
Or rather, it would be.
The vents flared open, a wall of dust and heated air erupting from behind the armored being. Seconds later, it rocketed into the sky, tearing at high speeds towards the largest group of Taken.
Ten thralls, five Phalanxes, two knights, three psions (with a fourth only seconds from making an appearance), and one Captain.
The captain lashed forward, throwing its truck-sized sight-distorting ripple blast at the Frame. The Frame just flipped over, lashing out with clawed foot glowing orange, tearing through its barrier and nearly searing its head off in a single swing. Instead it [Sideways]'d backwards, evading, as three thralls raced for the Frame, making shrill echoed screeches and mighty leaps.
The Frame landed, ducking under the lunges, before its claws glowed yellow. It swung once, twice, four times, eight, sixteen.
Two swings had become four in one movement. The four somehow mutated into eight. The eight into sixteen. The thralls were sectioned, the swings suddenly widening as they multiplied. All ten were caught. Two of the five phalanxes rose their shields, blocking the echoed lashes, the other three planted their feet the drilled cores beginning to glow.
The Frame made a mighty leap just as three simultaneous pressure blasts tore through the air. Spinning around, the jewels on its pauldrons began to shine with an odd emerald light. The Frame curled in upon itself, before lashing out again. Multiple rays of glowing green shot from its limbs, pelting the ground below and all around it. The three phalanxes were destroyed, along with one of the Knights.
The remaining Knight roared with its non-mouth, spewing flame at the Frame, as the two remaining Phalanxes recovered from blocking the emerald rays. The Captain had begun spewing more of its distortion waves, as the now four Psions began firing their weapons in the direction of the Frame.
However, the Frame had dropped to the ground, flipping forward as it descended. Its limbs began glowing with a ruby shine upon touchdown, where it rocketed forward, easily slicing through the Phalanx's shields. Twirling on its feet, the Frame swung both arms out wildly, ruby crescent waves rippling through the air and gouging into all four Psions and the Knight. The Psions were felled instantly, but the Knight only staggered back, clutching a glowing rift of a wound.
The Knight shrugged off the pain, raising its Boomer and firing rapidly. The thick *PLUN-KOOM, PLUN-KOOM, PLUN-KOOM* of its weapon ripped through the sky as potent pale violet blasts tore towards the Frame. But the Frame just threw its arms up, a pale white sphere appearing around it, blocking the explosive bursts of energy. In retaliation, the Frame dashed forward, kicking off the ground into a tight rapid front flip which surrounded it with a brilliant sapphire glow. As it pulled out of the rotation, a distortion in the shape of a long, segmented tail lashed out and crushed the Knight to the ground.
Before it could even consider recovering, the Knight was carved into by a pair of emerald beams from the Frame's pauldrons.
The Captain had [Sideways]'d again, trying to pepper the Frame with distortion blasts. It would launch one, then shift, then launch one then shift, its orange-red barrier crackling angrily. But the Frame was too quick. Much like Selh'teus' Crow Form, this being with a similar shape, fluttered around and over the distortion waves with apparent ease. The ruby glow appeared around its limbs again, as it shot low, before rising up in an ascending slash that shattered the barrier and carved off one of the Captain's four arms.
Squealing in rage and pain, the Captain could do nothing but shudder as the Frame's left heel carved into its torso, followed by the left claw in a revolving back-swing, ending with the right coming in straight for its head, a blast of ruby flare ripping from its palm.
The death of the Captain seemed to cause some manner of reaction, as one of the large spheroids in the air seemed to shudder, its semi-transparent shell rippling angrily. The Frame seemed to notice this, as suddenly its back wing-vents flared open and it ripped towards the Blight with purpose.
Unfortunately, as if reacting to its approaching presence, the Blight gave off a putrid, off-white shimmer, launching a nigh-invisible wave of force that crashed into the Frame, sending it flying violently backwards, and into a nearby building with a mighty crash.
…and yet…
All the Taken gave a violent flinch all at once, as the wave emerged. Their glow seemed to dim slightly, their movements more…frantic afterwards.
Something had changed…
…The…the Blight is weakened! If we could just get to it…
The now familiar gurgling hissing crackling noise echoed through the air, as the Blight that had repelled the Frame began to be enshrouded by a thick, ugly distortive sphere. The orb popped…
But nothing seemed to happen.
Well, other than smaller Blights appearing nearby on the ground, surrounded by half domes of swirling shadow.
Seeing this, Sora sighed to himself.
"Things just keep getting harder, don't they…"
A/N: Yeah ok. I'm late. i know it. you know it.
For once not depression! just...i'm mentally at the end of this story and trying to get the images and voices out into physical text is...not going well. the Frame battle was supposed to be bigger and longer but just...fuck it. We're getting into the meat of shit now. A couple more chapters dealing with this siege then we get to the moment everyone's been waiting for.
Seth vs Gaea.
and then finally the rest of this damn story which is, i've been saying it forever, nearing its end. finally.
ARSLOTHES: Here it is. by the way, i tend to upload these raw. beta? what's that?
ScourgeofshadowsKarx: i keep forgetting some people read this stuff on mobile. Hmm...wonder how that looks for my new FEAR fic... Mugetsu isnt +Human it's +Nobody. And the only 'mind' it has is that it was being infused slightly with some of Seth's will. other than that, the crackling energy is just it 'waking up' so to speak. as for Jenova well...
lets just say she's not gone.