Chapter 40: End Quartz
"I don't know 'bout you guys, but all this stuff about planets being gods and them having weapons makes no sense to me." Cid said as they strode through a small linking hallway.
"What do you mean?" Fratley responded.
"Well, I used to view the planet as something huge and big, like a god almost. But when I went into outer space, it seemed so tiny and alone, like a little kid. And EON is festering around in it like some disease. So I say we're here to help the kid and get rid of the cold!"
"You know, every time you say that, it sounds so unlike you Cid." Tifa remarked.
"We're here." Kuja put his hand out to stop the group behind him.
"All right guys, lets prepare a good fight for EON!" Zidane smiled.
"Aye aye!" Everyone else chimed.
The archaic monstrous doors slowly opened, letting glimmering white light into the heroes' faces. The room was bright with an orange hue. Dark veins of stone ran throughout the orangish yellow brick. Strange red orbs, the signs of EON, were stationed in the walls. It was a long room, extending several hundred feet.
Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed. Our heroes leaped into the previous hallway for safety. The ancient bricks settled upon the floor with years and years of endless dust. The new ceiling, as it could be called, was black with bright blue veins running through it. The center of the room now contained four figures. The door remained open.
The first of the figures was in the shape of a man. This man's right arm was ridiculously long, gray claws touching the floor. It's eyes were on the side of its head and massive teeth lined it's black skinned jaws. Long horns fell back from the rear of its head towards its waist. Enter Polar body AGE.
The second of the forms lied on the ground, breathless. It was born dead, but resembled a cross between a dragon, an elm tree, and an octopus. Its red scaly flesh was so enormous that part of the extended room was blocked. This was Polar Body EPOCH.
The third form, much smaller than the rest (AGE being seventeen feet high and EPOCH being seventy feet long.) resembled nothing more than a black shroud, draped around a six-foot high human figure. White-eyes, like those of Judgments, burned from underneath the hood. This is Polar Body ERA.
The fourth figure outshined the other three incredibly. At twenty feet high, the fourth figure was the egg in which the polar bodies came from. Always changing, never the same, GRAND WEAPON seemed to be nothing more than white energy, circling around an invisible core. This was the God destroyer.
"G-guys? Are we sure we can do this?" Vivi was terrified.
"We got to. We have to." Vincent answered back.
"It looks like one of them is dead already…" Yuffie noted.
"All polar bodies are supposed to die when an egg is made." Red XIII noted. "These seem to be nothing more than side effects of Grand Weapons creation."
"They're strong still, so don't become slack. This isn't the final battle!" Kuja shouted.
"CHARGE!" Zidane screamed. After a confused second, the rest followed into battle.
The two polar bodies instantly moved to the side, whilst Grand Weapon pulsed faster. The Gaian forces split right, towards ERA, whilst the AVALANCHE members headed towards AGE. Grand Weapon didn't seem to be responding. Perhaps it wasn't born just yet…
"TAKE OUT THE TWO SIDE EFFECTS FIRST!" Tifa yelled. The plan seemed to be already in motion as she screamed this.
** *
"AGE is eternal! AGE can never be stopped!" The humanoid giant breathed as it staggered towards AVALANCHE.
"Let's pull off our best shit! I have a feeling we won't be handling Judgment." Cid said.
"…Right!" Barret gave thought to the decision.
"Final Heaven!" Tifa screeched. She gave her best limit break through a flurry of attacks. This knocked AGE back a few yards.
"Dynamite!" Cid lit a pack of TNT, eyed the returning monster, and threw the pack as high and hard as he could. The pack exploded over AGE's shoulder, sending chunks of flesh and steel to fly in every direction, along with brick and mortar from the surrounding area. AGE seemed little effected.
"Bahamut Zero!" Barret summoned the space dragon to send an enormous ray into the wiry giants frame. This knocked it down.
AGE got up, and finally reached AVALANCHE. Bright energy came from its mouth as it exhaled. "Senseless Disaster!" The ground split apart from underneath Cid's feet. He could feel something move through his body. His teammates saw him fall, and notice that he seemed to be aging! Cid's physical condition sped by the years, sending him to almost death before knocking him against the wall. The extremely aged man reverted back to his normal self, but with a lot of energy taken from him.
"CID!" Yuffie shouted. She bounced away from the team towards their temporary leader, only to be caught by the long arm of AGE.
"Yuffie!" Vincent leaped onto the arm of the beast and aimed his Death Penalty at it. The moment he fired, he was launched towards Cid, Yuffie accompanying him.
"Cosmo Memory!" Red XIII roared. An immense fireball descended upon AGE, flinging it away from AVALANCHE.
"CID! NO! ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL CCRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAATTIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!" Tears flung from Yuffie's eyes as she summoned the immense eyeball of doom. Great power forced itself into the Polar Body, damaging it immensely.
"Senseless Destruction!" AGE bellowed from across the room. The floor split for all of AVALANCHE this time. Years flew by for them and soon they were again at normal status, but injured greatly. AGE breathed heavily.
"…Hah. Fool." Vincent said as he got up, the only one to do so. "Don't you know, I have no age." Vincent smiled. "I don't need Chaos. I don't need any of that. I'm perfect the way I am. A little girl taught me that…" He raised the Death Penalty. "We will not go in vain." BANG! The Death Penalty fired, it's bullet going straight into AGE's head.
"Kuriko died by monsters like you, and I won't stand to let you hurt any more people! You won't hurt any more of my friends! Gun Slinger!" From underneath his crimson cape, Vincent pulled the quicksilver. With an eye for accuracy, Vincent fired at sonic speed unmercifully. The giant was being blown away bit by bit from the incredible bullets. The clips never seemed to end. But then they did. AGE was no more, destined to shreds by Vincent's bullets. Vincent's fell to his knees. "…I hope you are right Cid. May… Planet… be with us…" And he fell to the floor.
** *
During AGE's combat, Zidane and co. fought with ERA the ghost.
"TRANCE! GRAND LETHAL!" Zidane morphed in front of everyone's eyes to the red haired genome warrior. Using his great sword, the thief unleashed a power that cannot be reasoned with. Explosions formed around a circle, blazing symbols around the wraith.
"I go untainted. ERA is the limit of possibilities!" The wraith hissed in an unearthly tone.
"Untaint this! Cherry Blossom!" Irontail taunted. With a wave of his spear, the dragon of blossoms raged into the wraith, slicing the shroud in many places.
"White Wind!" Freya commanded. A white wind blew through the tomb, curing the party and robbing ERA of its stamina.
"METEOR!" Vivi commanded the stone of space to plummet towards the fiend. With explosive action, the rock just did and caused severe damage to the Polar Body.
The spirit hovered high above the company, casting it's blazing eyes upon the Gaia heroes. The dark and twisted ceiling hid the entity almost perfectly. The sounds of combat filled the hall as AVALANCHE battled the other body. Raising two sheets out of its cloaked body, the eyes flickered like a dancing flame. "Spectral Earth!"
The tomb faded away, revealing a scared and broken earth, plagued by an impossible number of deceased ghosts. Like sailors at the bottom of the ocean, walls of spirits surrounded Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Freya, Kuja, and Fratley. Moaning and shrieking cries of horror and sorrow filled their ears.
"Spirit Wave!" A horrid voice shouted from beyond. The tides of spirits turned on the heroes. They came crashing down upon them, under them, around them, and through them. Knocked senseless, the crew could barely stand. EON's passage faded back in. Vivi fell, K.O'd, along with Freya.
"Damnit! We need you Vivi!" Trance Zidane shouted.
"ARG! Master Vivi! I shall avenge thee! Climhazzard!" Steiner yelled. With a fiery blow, the horrid creature was sent sailing several yards before crashing into the far wall.
"Flare Star!" Kuja quickly jumped on the ball, leaving no dodging time for ERA. Kuja's magical ability indeed defeat ERA's own.
"GRAND LETHAL!" Zidane fired off another ultimate attack.
"Quickly! Don't let it have time to attack!" Fratley warned. "Cherry Blossom!"
"Chronological Disrupt!" ERA hissed. Instead of Fratley pulling off the nature dragon again, he was reversed in time and sent flying backwards into the entrance from where they came.
"STOCKBREAK!" Steiner launched himself at the black spirit.
"STOP!" ERA's speed had caught up with the groups. Steiner was frozen solid, paralyzed by time.
"Kuja! We got to do something! He's knocking everyone out of the fight!" Zidane commanded.
"Yes, yes I know! Flare!"
The fight lasted for quite some time. Trance Zidane firing off a grand lethal while Kuja did Flare. ERA lasted with his attack Shock System, which was some sort of dark/ electrical attack on the two. All three were weakening.
"GRAND LETHAL!" Trance Zidane fired it off again.
"But this time, the damage didn't strike ERA.
"W-what the?!" Zidane studdered.
"MP BURST!" ERA screeched. Using Zidanes remaining MP, ERA caused some sort of explosion from within Zidane. Zidane flew across the room and lied on the broken ground, He now fell out of trance.
"ZIDANE!" Kuja shouted.
"IT is useless. I am undefeatable…" ERA breathed out a blue smoke.
"Impossible you may be, but I can still trap you! SOUL JAR!" using the last of his strength, Kuja created a vacuum within himself. ERA was being forced into Kuja's body. With a final scream, the polar body was doomed inside Kuja. Kuja fell to his knees and crawled to Zidane with his remaining strength.
"Z-Zidane. I know you are not dead, you're trance form saved you. But to kill the beast within, I m-must do the inevitable. It is true that you cannot cheat death… Good bye, brother…thank you…"
Grasping Zidane's dagger, Kuja slowly raised it to his chest. "Forgive me." With a quick jab, the dagger flew into Kuja's heart. With a quick spit of blood, Kuja fell to the ground. He was finally at peace. Little did he notice that Grand Weapon was gone.
** *
Bum Bum…
Bum Bum…
Bum Bum…
Cloud opened his eyes. The images were still flying at him. Strange images that came and left within a nanosecond. Finally it landed on one particular image. An image of a man, bathed in white light with three pairs of golden wings and a blazing white sword. The image suddenly turned to a white pattern of energy, then back again. Cloud blinked again.
He was inside what seemed to be a dark and twisted cathedral, made of twisted rusty pipes and bars. The white energy fell from a sunlight window and morphed into the angel.
"Wh-who are you?" Cloud asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"I am GRAND WEAPON, soldier of EON."