Chapter 43: End Life
The pit was a long one, and Cloud felt like he had been falling for hours. Veins of brick passed him, being surrounded by pinkish flesh or greenish plant material. In fact, the deeper he went, the less traceable amounts of non-living tissue were found. Cloud no longer felt like he was falling, more like being lifted down by some invisible platform. The whale song of EON echoed throughout the shaft, bringing a haunting sense of harmony. The mystery, though it's comforting sounds were taunting, did not lure Cloud Strife from his duties.
The faint sounds of battle sliced through the song like a knife, reaching Clouds ears and alerting him to the outside. A familiar cry rang in his head. The call of the weapons.
"What the hell?! TH-THE WEAPONS?!" Cloud tried to stand up, but immediately felt himself falling off his platform. With a cry of surprise, Cloud descended hastily down the precipitous pit, towards the goal. The heart of EON.
Grabbing onto a metal pole jutting from the leaf of a giant barbed plant, cloud stopped himself from living the life of a man living in a bottomless pit. Swinging around the pole, Cloud threw himself through the darkness towards a splotch of light emanating from an enormous muscle that resembled a heart.
Once inside the offending organ, Cloud realized that his portal outside sealed itself. But he was not concerned about it. He was not here to flee, but here to fight.
"Where are you, Zodiak Life?! Come out and fight!" Cloud shouted.
"So it has finally come to this" A raspy voice whispered. The beating of the heart created rhythmic sounds and feeling, a steady rise and fall.
"Show yourself! Or are you a coward!"
"Coward? I know not what this word in your simple language means. In the mind of nature, there is only survival. If survival takes avoiding a potential enemy, then so be it."
"…You're afraid…You're afraid! Has your mighty hand fallen so far that you fear me, a common man?!"
"We are born with fear for a reason, Cloud Strife. Fear keeps you from killing yourself. I know you are in fear right now, are you not?"
"…"
"Answer."
"…yes. But not afraid enough to stop me from facing you! I face my fear, how about you?" Cloud shouted.
There was no reply.
"WELL?! DO YOU FACE FEAR, ZODIAK LIFE?!" Cloud screamed at the red muscle walls around him.
"You are all alone. What can you do?"
"I am not alone, but you are! Judgment and Grand WEAPON are dead!"
"Bah. The Grand WEAPON can be synthesized once again…"
"What about Judgment?"
"What about Judgment? He was a fool."
"You really are a monster!"
From the ceiling, came down a creature of astonishing bizarreness. It's head consisted of a dog's upper skull. It's torso was that of a mans without skin, and ribs stuck out in all directions. The intestines and gut hung from the torso. There were no legs. The right arm was a mechanical attachment, while the left was a circle with zodiac signs carved on it. An enormous doves wing was on the right, while a gigantic bats wing was on the right. It hung from the ceiling by many huge cables. The sign of EON was on the forehead of the skull.
Cloud stepped back. Such grotesque featured he had never seen. This was it! This was EON! A screech shook the chamber. Zodiak Life taunted Cloud with a gesture of the robotic limb.
Cloud stretched his sword out, waiting for Zodiak Life's first move. He had learned not to run at the enemy screaming with his other experiences.
Taking the opportunity, Zodiak Life placed his mechanical arm forward, jutting cables out at amazing speeds. Cloud leaped over them as the crashed outside the chamber walls. Cloud started to run around the sides of the heart, looking for a sign of weakness. Turning to face Cloud at all times, the cables flew right behind Cloud, tearing apart the chamber as they flew. Having to take a leap several times to avoid the hair thin wires as well, Cloud started to move in on the creature in the middle.
Drawing the cables back, Zodiak Life's circle began to spin, forming a blue portal in the center. From within the portal came a gattling gun. Properly connected, the thing was an ominous sight.
"Shit!" Cloud commented as he began to run again. The gattling gun began to fire, sending thousands of bullets flying behind Cloud a second.
Cloud ducked under a round as he began to move in on the target. Taking a leap of faith, Cloud landed right behind Zodiak Life.
From underneath the mass of feather, several cables flew out, right as Cloud turned to meet them. Acting on instinct, Cloud sliced many of them as soon as he faced Zodiak' s posterior side.
With this distraction, Zodiak Life turned immediately around and grabbed Cloud with the machine arm.
"Starting to be afraid, yet?" The beast whispered in its raspy voice.
"I….Dunno…Am I?" Cloud smiled as the super strong steel fingers closed around Cloud's neck.
"You should be…"
Making gasping sounds for air, Cloud managed to dig in his pocket with one hand as the other supported himself from being hang. In a flash Cloud through something on to the monster, who immediately let go of Cloud. Cloud dropped to the floor.
"What is this?!" Zodiak Life asked as he searched his miserable body for the offending object. Whatever it was stung and crawled around.
"*cough* It's…an…oglop." Cloud coughed as he got up from the floor.
Zodiak Life immediately burst into a blue flame, incinerating the little bug.
"Little whelp! Did you think that the tiniest of creatures could save you?!"
"Actually yea." Cloud once again protruded his pocket and came up with a red material. "He gave me enough time to do this! Knights of the Round!"
The thirteen summoned knights were summoned to the battle field Doing extensive damage each, the knights sliced, hacked, crushed, and utterly devastated whatever was in their path. Unfortunately for EON, it was Zodiak Life.
"SOUL SPIDER!" Zodiak Life commanded. Within seconds, Cloud found himself in the mists of thousands of white spiders. Each spider clung to him and absorbed his strength. The spider then scurried away.
"Oh, I'm not done yet! GRAND CROSS!" With Zodiak Life's power, the planets moved into place to form a cross, with Planet being in the middle. Suddenly, a burst of energy screamed down from top of the chain to the bottom. The energy went flying through EON, and only affecting Cloud. Every side effect known to man was instantly laid upon our hero
"Ungh! Shit!" Cloud whispered as he fell to the ground. "Must…use…remedy." Cloud popped the pill into his mouth. In a matter of moments, he was feeling better. Weaker, but better.
"All right vile beast! Face braver!" Cloud leaped over the impending cables of doom and came down with a blow to Zodiak Life. "Cross-Slash!" Not giving anytime to react, Cloud set up the process of cutting rigidly through the body of Zodiak Life. "Climhazard!" While the sword was still resting in the body, Cloud leaped upwards, driving the sword with him. "Meteorain!" While in the air, Cloud let a fury of meteors dive into his foe, weakening him more. "Finishing Touch!" After landing on the ground, Cloud summoned forth a whirlwind, which banged Zodiak Life up, but did not send him away, for he was connected to the roof. "Omnislash!" Cloud dived back forward, giving a thousand slashes to the beast. Zodiak Life slumped over. Was he dead?
Heaving without breath or energy, Cloud slumped to the floor as well. Cloud watched the body of his enemy for several minutes. Suddenly a shadow came over them.
"Cloud Strife. Your-your-" A ragged, breathless, angry voice yelled across the chamber. Cloud wearily raised his head.
"Judgment?!" Cloud was startled. Yes, in front of Cloud was Judgment. Helmet smashed, one limb torn right off, bruised, battered, torn and bleeding everywhere, the mad weapon somehow survived Memoria and the WEAPONS and was finally going to get his revenge.
"Yes, it is I! You-You think by sending Memoria on me would stop me…"Judgment took a breath. "From killing you? Our fight is not over!"
"Yes…it is." A voice came from within Zodiak Life's body. Within a microsecond, cabled burst from Zodiak Life's husk of a body.
"Damnit! EON!" The cables rammed into Judgments body, sending a pulse through him and finally draining him of his energy.
"Hehehehahahaha. Fool." Zodiak Life was raised back up as Judgment fell to the ground. Cloud was truly afraid.
"Oh, how glorious it is. Hehahaha! And now, I kill you." Zodiak Life stretched forth his mechanical hand, attempting to strangle poor Cloud when…
SHINK! The mechanical hand suddenly fell to the ground. Judgment and his sword Divinity were standing, barely, over it. Heaving with rage and pain, Judgment suddenly rammed the sword through Zodiak Life's skull and forcing it downward, spilling all the organs and machinery on to the floor below. Without another word, both fell to the ground …dead.
{Cloud! Cloud! You have to get out of there!}
"Aeris!"
{Cloud! Just get out of there!}
Cloud, with new energy, took his sword and made a gash in the heart wide enough for a leap. Upon looking out, Cloud noticed how high he was. Falling would not be an option.
[EMERGENCY! ALL SYSTEMS WILL SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY! SELF DESTRUCTION SEQUENCE ACTIVATED!]
"Shit! Think Cloud! Think!" Cloud knocked himself on the forehead.
Wish a loud whoosh, the ceiling at the top of the pit, the cathedral otherwise known as, exploded into a million microscopic shrapnel's, revealing the Highwind was up there.
"The Highwind!" Cloud smiled. Suddenly a loud lurch was heard. The pumping muscle leaned heavily to one side. The plant on the side of the pit, opposite of Cloud, exploded without fore sign. The spines went flying in all directions, including up.
Taking a leap of faith, Cloud made it across the gap and onto a different plant. He grabbed onto a spine as it the plant exploded. The spine went flying higher as the structures below started to burst in a fiery uproar. The spine then stuck into the wall, not high enough to make it out.
"Cloud! There's Cloud! Cloud hurry up!" Voices from the Highwind were reaching him.
Other spines were in the wall as well. Making a daring move, Cloud jumped onto the new spine as the one he was on exploded into a fiery inferno. Fire was beginning to rise from the pit below.
"C'mon Cloud! C'mon!" Tifa shouted from the railings of the Highwind. "Cid! I'm going after him! Tell Reeve to hold the ship a couple more moments!
"What! The hell you're doing?! You're going to get ^&*($ killed! I know Reeve brought the Highwind here to save us, but this is my plane, god damnit!" Cid burst.
"Cid, let her go! I told her Cloud probably wasn't going to make it by himself. He's right there, all he needs is her help!" Zidane put his hand on Cid as his other was on the railing.
Cid's eyes glanced back and forth. "Er…Hurry it up Tifa! We're going to hell if you don't do this right!"
She didn't listen anyway, Tifa dived off the Highwind was the stepladder in her hand. It unfurled as she descended first through the ruins of the cathedral and then into the pit.
"Tifa!" Cloud yelled as he leaped off an exploding spine.
Tifa was falling quickly, but suddenly was snapped back. The step-ladder had run out of slack. She wasn't close enough!
"Cloud! Grab my hand!" Tifa screamed as she leaned down, hanging only by her hand. Beyond Cloud, she could see the rising explosions.
Cloud leaped as high as he could, and managed to grasp Tifa's hand. Both of them smiled and looked into each other's eyes.
"Déjà vu, eh?" Cloud smirked. He was bruised and battered everywhere.
Tifa could only smile.
"Cid! Tifa got Cloud! Let's get the hell out of here!" Steiner shouted.
"All right! Hold on to your drawers and don't piss in em!" Cid mumbled as he bit his cigarette.
The Highwind began to rise, dragging the rope ladder, Tifa, and Cloud with it. With a burst of energy, the Highwind sped off as the explosions came roaring out of the pit, knocking off the back propeller. EON was exploding all over.
Cloud looked into Tifa's eyes as she pulled him onto the ladder. Together the hung, and kissed.
** *