Chapter 4: Lost Beyond Words
The crowd was rushing out the stadium, cheering, and talking, the drunk stumbling onto the road.
"Man! That was one of the best games ever!" one man remarked.
"I know! Did you see that last goal? It was amazing!!!" the other replied.
The man awaited his friend by a light pole, as the crowd's wave got smaller by the minute. He was in a Crimson Red suit of some kind, and he had a long, broad, sleek sword sheathed on his back. He had black hair, the majority combed back, and small silver highlights.
"Auron!"
A gritty voice yelled out, as a shirtless man walked out, clearly built, tan, and rough looking. He had a headband on, and a blitzball under his left arm. The crowd rushed him, holding out pads, and pens, yelling:
"JECHT! JECHT!"
He pushed them aside, a few stumbling, as he made his way to his friend by the lightpole.
"Hello Auron." Jecht, was obviously the man's name, and he hugged Auron, smiling.
"Good to see you buddy." Jecht said.
Auron nodded quietly, embracing Jecht a little bit.
"It is good to see you as well. That's probably the best blitzball game I have ever seen you play, Jecht. The Ronso didn't stand a chance."
Just then, the whole Ronso team walked out, pointing to Jecht, a few raising the middle finger as they went on towards their ship. Jecht smiled, and then looked back to Auron.
"Thanks Auron, that means alo--
Jecht's sentence was cut short, and Auron raised a thick brow towards the weird ending.
"Uh, Jecht?" Auron motioned for more dialogue.
Jecht's eyes rolled back a bit, as he grunted, and Auron looked down to his stomach, a dark claw of some sort pierced straight through, squirming. Jecht fell over, and there was a Heartless, as it pulled it's claw out of Jecht. Auron looked shocked, and then his eyebrows narrowed, as he glared at the black beast, and the Heartless screamed in it's foreign tongue, and Auron grew angry with rage.
"What the hell?!" Auron quickly brought the thick sword from his back with his right hand, his left assuming a "Hold It" position in front of his face.
"Let's do this..." He mumbled as he jumped at the beast, bringing the sword through it's body, smooth, like knife through butter, cutting it in a nice half. The heartless screamed, as it was cut in half, and then it exploded into a purple and black gas.
Auron suddenly felt a cold surge of pain in his back, as he spun, to see 6 more Heartless, one with his own blood dripping off of it's claws. It's head was gone in an instant, as it exploded in purple and black gas as well, joining it's other comrade in eternal Hell. Auron quickly jumped back, as he was only hammered down again, turning to see what had hit him. A set of 5 Heartless now behind him, he gasped not sure what to do. The screams were beginning to ring his ears, and he couldn't concentrate as they lunged forth at him. He brought the butt down on the nearest one, it's head cracked, and it exploded, three now ontop of him, scratching at his stomach, and his face as they tried to rip open his flesh. His glasses shattered, and he grew even more rageful. Everything grew silent then, except for the screaming Heartless.
The screeches became so high, Auron felt like his ears were about to explode. The adrenaline then finally kicked in, and Auron exploded from a crouching position, to standing straight up, 3 Heartless impaled upon his sword now. They all exploded at once, as Auron's attire helped guard his nose from the potentially harmful gases. He was beat up pretty badly, the warm blood ran down his face. He then dashed off, slaying what was in need to be slain as he made his way away from the Blitzball stadium, and towards Jecht's house.
Cid fumbled with the control panel of the EastWind.
"Hmm.. if I remember correctly, it should--"
A small 3-D map appeared above the small screen, as it rotated, 5 main selections occuring. Cid placed his finger on the "Sector 3" selection, and it brought up some random worlds Cid obviously knew a bit or two about.
"Eh. No Zanarkand."
He then hit a small button, and the map receeded back to the main menu. He then touched the "Sector 2" selection, and a new map opened up, one different looking from the "Sector 3" one.
"Ahhhh! Zanarkand!" Cid quickly punched in a few buttons, and the engine seemed to clunk out.
"Ehrm.." He stood from his seat, and looked at the rest who were just standing around. Leon and Cloud were probably talking about destroying something, Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie were all giggling, and talking about girly things. Although, Yuffie seemed a bit isolated. And Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all eating. Cid spoke outloud so everyone could hear.
"We are now departing for Zanarkand. I need to make a few adjustments to the engine, or..Something. Anyhow, I suggest you all find a secure place to be when we go." Cid then walked back to the engine room, as the rest of them just sat down wherever, and continued their conversations. A couple moments later, screams of frustration were heard from Cid, such as
"WHY WON'T THIS THING WORK?!"
and
"SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE!"
Then the sound of a foot kicking metal was heard, followed by a scream of agony, and then the acceleration of the engine. Cid quickly ran past the rest out of the engine room, and jumped in the pilot seat, panting, all the rest, looking at him, worried.
"Sorry guys, some minor malfunctions. We are on task now."
Cid then hit a few buttons, and the stars seemed to elongate as they took off into warp drive. After that was just a blur, and they were at Zanarkand. Cid then breathed hard, everyone catching their breath now.
"Ok... Now..That...We...are..Here. We cannot land anywhere, there is no place to land, so I'm gonna hover a bit off the ground, any volunteers to pick up Auron?"
Cloud and Leon met gazes again, and both of their hands shot up. Cid then nodded, and hovered down next to the stadium, seeing the place was overrun by the Heartless.
"Yeesh, be careful you two, it looks like the Heartless have gotten here."
Leon and Cloud grinned, and then Leon leaned over, with a serious demeanor.
"Ok, you beat me last time. But, whoever kills the most Heartless this time is the REAL champion." Leon implied to a Heartless slaughtering match.
"Sounds good." Cloud replied, as he prepared himself for the mission. Cid then looked back to the two, wondering what they could be talking about, and then he nodded, the bay opening. Leon and Cloud ran off towards it, and jumped out, landing in a crouch. Looking for their first victim, as the search for Auron began.
Auron finally reached the house of Jecht, it seemed like he did not see a normal human, since he saw them flee from the Stadium. But that couldn't be, Zanarkand was a VERY, VERY populized city. He kicked in the door, and looked around for his flask that he had left there from earlier. He found it on a nearby desk, and quickly uncapped it, and sent the burning alcohol down his throat. He breathed hard out of his throat now, as he put the cap back on, and put the flask inside his coat.
"Where are you..." he mumbled towards the Heartless. He heard the sound of them being spawned outside, and he sighed. They soon reared their ugly faces, and Auron lunged at them as they tried to come through the door. He drove the blade through the 4 that were in-line, and he pulled out, turning his back to them as they exploded. Soon, they broke in the windows, and were crawling through from every direction. He could have sworn he killed as much Heartless as there were people in all of Spira. He finally gave up, the numbers too overwhelming. He laid his sword down, the Heartless now slowing down because he was not wielding the sword. Auron began to hear distant battle cries, and explosions, and laughter. It began to increase in volume, and then the Heartless started to scream, obviously not pleased, as they swung their heads around, looking for the source of the noise.
"It....Er." *BOOM*
"HA!' *BOOM*
"its over" *BOOM*
"take this!" *BOOM*
"IT'S OVER!" *BOOOOM!!!*
"YOU GOTTA TRY HARDER THEN THAT!" *BOOOOOOOOM*
Then the laughs began, and Auron was distrubed as to why this situation would bring joy to anyone. The Heartless that were in and around Jecht's house suddenly left, and then, the two men's voices were heard, and explosions occured. Auron was on the brink of passing out, the crimson blood soaking his shirt. He began to feel cold, and his vision began to distort itself. The noises grew softer, and softer, until everything was just a void.
"Uhh..' He moaned a bit trying to retain his train of thought. Then two blurs suddenly appeared in his eyes, he heard some distorted noises, and he saw lips moving. He same two enormous swords, as his vision flickered back in for a moment, he saw a Gunblade of some sort, and the other man was wielding an enormous blade.
"What...The..?" Auron mumbled a bit.
"Auron?" Leon questioned as he saw the man on the verge of passing out. Leon then looked to Cloud, and Cloud handed over a small bottle of pinkish liquid. Leon nodded, as Cloud heard the spawning of more Heartless, he dashed outside to greet them.
"Here, drink this..." Leon put the potion up to Auron's lips, Auron fighting it at first, but realized he was too weak and tired to care. It took him a bit to swallow, but moments after it was all down, Auron could already feel himself coming back. His wound burned brightly for minutes after, as the healing process became rapid. His distorted vision was becoming clear again, as he saw the man, and his finer details. The noise also became understandable, instead of just a silence.
"..ron..Auron..Auron? Are you ok?" Leon was looking down to Auron, scratching his head with his right hand, his other hand gripping the Gunblade that rested on his shoulder.
"..Yes?.." Auron spoke, a bit stronger this time.
"Good. Hello Auron, my name is Le--.." Leon paused for a moment, and debated whether or not it would be good to return to his former name. He sighed, and nodded, knowing that his World was ok for now, he then accepted his old name.
"My name is Squall. I'm glad we've found yo--"
The two of them looked over to a broken window, to see Cloud jump across, and bring his sword through the head of a Heartless, an explosion there after. Cloud was then slammed in the back by an Advanced Bandit, it seems all the Heartless from before the Resurrection(The world used to describe the world's being returned) had grown stronger, and changed a little bit. Thus the Advance tag. Except for the Trajode's, or the Advanced Shadows, alot of things had changed from their prior form. And it was just a shorter word to pronounce.
Cloud stumbled forward a bit, and then swung his whole body around, his cloak in the delayed trail behind him. He slammed his sword into the side of the Bandit, only knocking it off it's balance a bit. He then jumped back, and then lunged forward, the dust kicking up from the ground. He came down upon the Bandit's head with the fury of Hell, as it's head caved in, and soon after, it exploded into the black and purple gas.
"AHA!"
Cloud landed softly, and turned to look through the window to the other two. Auron gave a half smile, and Squall realized that Cloud was beating him in the bet.
"Auron! We leave now!"
Auron picked up his own fairly big sword, and nodded to Squall. But before they could leave, 3 Bandit's had appeared behind Cloud. Cloud heard the spawn, and turned around in time to see the three rush into him. Cloud flew back from the force, and he was thrown through the window, and took out a bit of the wall as well, dry wall, dust, and glass shot up, as Cloud pulled the cloak around him in order to prevent any further damage. He rolled to Squall and Auron's feet, and they helped him up, Squall chuckling a bit.
"Leon..." Cloud mumbled.
"Squall... It's Squall now." Cloud was silent, and then realized that Leon had finally come to closure with the past.
"Regardless, I AM beating you in the bet." Cloud grinned, and looked to the three Bandits who were glaring at them now. Cloud, Auron, and Squall all made eye contact, Auron already feeling his own rage for them. But he was not the competitive type, he was still in shock about Jecht. But he could not worry for now, he must escape this Hell..He must.
They all dashed through the hole in the wall, and he signaled for them to stop.
"I will take care of this." Auron spoke calmly.
Squall and Cloud both looked at each other, and shrugged, smiling, sure that Auron could not have been as strong as they were.
"..." Auron was silent, as he drew back his blade. The area around Auron grew dark, as black spheres and clouds hovered around the Blade now. He then brought it down with much force, driving it deep into the ground, a dark pocket opening up. Black spheres flowed out like a river, as they went throughout Zanarkand, hunting down the Heartless with a mind of their own. 5 black spheres drove into the Bambits infront of them, an enormous, black, explosion taking place. The Bandits' explosion was not seen, for the blackness overwhelmed it. The whole ordeal lasted about 20 seconds, after it was done, Zanarkand was silent. No more Heartless spawned, no more screams occured, no more nothing. Cloud and Squall had gotten owned.
"Uhrm. Good job?" Squall searched for words that would hide his complete, and utter shock, and embarassment.
"Heh." Cloud chuckled, nodding to Auron. "Indeed, Good job."
Auron was a bit tired now, that consumed alot of energy. They then walked in silence to where Cid was waiting for them, slaying any Heartless that would have spawned, and bringing joy back to Squall and Cloud. The end tally was in favor of Cloud, again. They had kept track of their own Heartless Kills, and were honest about it.
"Looks like I win again, huh Le..Squall?" Cloud was still trying to get used to the name.
"..." Squall mumbled some gibberish, then, at that moment, the sky grew dark, and the thunder began. The rain drops began to smack at the ground, and at the three men, and it felt like someone was throwing marbles at them.
"What the hell?" Auron mumbled, never seeing rain like this.
Just then, an enormous black hole in the ground opened up, not too far away from them, and Cloud and Squall looked to Auron, to see if it was him doing it again.
"...?" Auron shook his head silently, and then pointed to what looked like Blue hair that was the first to emerge from the pit... And Auron narrowed his eyes, knowing the person already.
"...Seymour..."
Cloud and Squall both raised an eyebrow, as Seymour's face became fully visible. The subliminal markings on his face, and the Guado style, was a dead giveawawy. Auron stepped forward, hoisting the sword on his shoulder.
"SEYMOUR! IT'S YOU THAT IS CAUSING THIS?!'
Seymour had not seen the three yet, but when Auron yelled, he slowly looked up, his eyes were blood red.
"Hmmm..Yes...It is me... I have finally become THE DARKNESS! RULER OF THE HEARTLESS!" Seymour tilted his head back, and slowly elevated his palms, as Heartless were forged from the ground, the screams now able to be heard again.
Cloud and Squall stood in their attack stance, no longer thinking about the bet, Auron stood in the same position. They were very close to the Gummi ship, as it hovered not 20 feet away, they could see Sora, and the rest peeking out, in disbelief. Sora put his hand up to the window, and Cid landed, not caring anymore, the bay opening, and the rest of them running out, Cid gripping a 12 gauge, and a speak on his back, Yuffie holding her extremely Large shuriken, and a small dagger in her other, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all running out as well, Sora's keyblade at his side. Aerith and Tifa watched the ship. Cid, Yuffie, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all came up behind Seymour, as he turned around to greet them.
"Ahh. You must be the Keyblade bearer.." He was glaring at Sora.
"Or rather, one of the three... Ah, your friend, Riku was it? Too easy. He fell too easily..." Seymour began to laugh then.
"WHAT?! RIKU! HE'S OK! YOUR A LIAR!" Sora growled, and Cid puffed on a ciggerette, his Shotgun trained on Seymour.
The Heartless were screaming at the people, but Seymour kept them binded to their spot. Cloud, Squall, and Auron, all joining the rest of the group, killing a few Heartless on the way, but staying away from Seymour. Seymour then grew angry, and his eyes began to swirl with Red and Black liquids.
"YOU SHALL DIE HERE, FOOLS!" Seymour then hovered to the ground, and touched the ground with his wand, and everything turned black. The rest braced themselves for the battle, none of them sure if this would be the end.
The crowd was rushing out the stadium, cheering, and talking, the drunk stumbling onto the road.
"Man! That was one of the best games ever!" one man remarked.
"I know! Did you see that last goal? It was amazing!!!" the other replied.
The man awaited his friend by a light pole, as the crowd's wave got smaller by the minute. He was in a Crimson Red suit of some kind, and he had a long, broad, sleek sword sheathed on his back. He had black hair, the majority combed back, and small silver highlights.
"Auron!"
A gritty voice yelled out, as a shirtless man walked out, clearly built, tan, and rough looking. He had a headband on, and a blitzball under his left arm. The crowd rushed him, holding out pads, and pens, yelling:
"JECHT! JECHT!"
He pushed them aside, a few stumbling, as he made his way to his friend by the lightpole.
"Hello Auron." Jecht, was obviously the man's name, and he hugged Auron, smiling.
"Good to see you buddy." Jecht said.
Auron nodded quietly, embracing Jecht a little bit.
"It is good to see you as well. That's probably the best blitzball game I have ever seen you play, Jecht. The Ronso didn't stand a chance."
Just then, the whole Ronso team walked out, pointing to Jecht, a few raising the middle finger as they went on towards their ship. Jecht smiled, and then looked back to Auron.
"Thanks Auron, that means alo--
Jecht's sentence was cut short, and Auron raised a thick brow towards the weird ending.
"Uh, Jecht?" Auron motioned for more dialogue.
Jecht's eyes rolled back a bit, as he grunted, and Auron looked down to his stomach, a dark claw of some sort pierced straight through, squirming. Jecht fell over, and there was a Heartless, as it pulled it's claw out of Jecht. Auron looked shocked, and then his eyebrows narrowed, as he glared at the black beast, and the Heartless screamed in it's foreign tongue, and Auron grew angry with rage.
"What the hell?!" Auron quickly brought the thick sword from his back with his right hand, his left assuming a "Hold It" position in front of his face.
"Let's do this..." He mumbled as he jumped at the beast, bringing the sword through it's body, smooth, like knife through butter, cutting it in a nice half. The heartless screamed, as it was cut in half, and then it exploded into a purple and black gas.
Auron suddenly felt a cold surge of pain in his back, as he spun, to see 6 more Heartless, one with his own blood dripping off of it's claws. It's head was gone in an instant, as it exploded in purple and black gas as well, joining it's other comrade in eternal Hell. Auron quickly jumped back, as he was only hammered down again, turning to see what had hit him. A set of 5 Heartless now behind him, he gasped not sure what to do. The screams were beginning to ring his ears, and he couldn't concentrate as they lunged forth at him. He brought the butt down on the nearest one, it's head cracked, and it exploded, three now ontop of him, scratching at his stomach, and his face as they tried to rip open his flesh. His glasses shattered, and he grew even more rageful. Everything grew silent then, except for the screaming Heartless.
The screeches became so high, Auron felt like his ears were about to explode. The adrenaline then finally kicked in, and Auron exploded from a crouching position, to standing straight up, 3 Heartless impaled upon his sword now. They all exploded at once, as Auron's attire helped guard his nose from the potentially harmful gases. He was beat up pretty badly, the warm blood ran down his face. He then dashed off, slaying what was in need to be slain as he made his way away from the Blitzball stadium, and towards Jecht's house.
Cid fumbled with the control panel of the EastWind.
"Hmm.. if I remember correctly, it should--"
A small 3-D map appeared above the small screen, as it rotated, 5 main selections occuring. Cid placed his finger on the "Sector 3" selection, and it brought up some random worlds Cid obviously knew a bit or two about.
"Eh. No Zanarkand."
He then hit a small button, and the map receeded back to the main menu. He then touched the "Sector 2" selection, and a new map opened up, one different looking from the "Sector 3" one.
"Ahhhh! Zanarkand!" Cid quickly punched in a few buttons, and the engine seemed to clunk out.
"Ehrm.." He stood from his seat, and looked at the rest who were just standing around. Leon and Cloud were probably talking about destroying something, Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie were all giggling, and talking about girly things. Although, Yuffie seemed a bit isolated. And Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all eating. Cid spoke outloud so everyone could hear.
"We are now departing for Zanarkand. I need to make a few adjustments to the engine, or..Something. Anyhow, I suggest you all find a secure place to be when we go." Cid then walked back to the engine room, as the rest of them just sat down wherever, and continued their conversations. A couple moments later, screams of frustration were heard from Cid, such as
"WHY WON'T THIS THING WORK?!"
and
"SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE!"
Then the sound of a foot kicking metal was heard, followed by a scream of agony, and then the acceleration of the engine. Cid quickly ran past the rest out of the engine room, and jumped in the pilot seat, panting, all the rest, looking at him, worried.
"Sorry guys, some minor malfunctions. We are on task now."
Cid then hit a few buttons, and the stars seemed to elongate as they took off into warp drive. After that was just a blur, and they were at Zanarkand. Cid then breathed hard, everyone catching their breath now.
"Ok... Now..That...We...are..Here. We cannot land anywhere, there is no place to land, so I'm gonna hover a bit off the ground, any volunteers to pick up Auron?"
Cloud and Leon met gazes again, and both of their hands shot up. Cid then nodded, and hovered down next to the stadium, seeing the place was overrun by the Heartless.
"Yeesh, be careful you two, it looks like the Heartless have gotten here."
Leon and Cloud grinned, and then Leon leaned over, with a serious demeanor.
"Ok, you beat me last time. But, whoever kills the most Heartless this time is the REAL champion." Leon implied to a Heartless slaughtering match.
"Sounds good." Cloud replied, as he prepared himself for the mission. Cid then looked back to the two, wondering what they could be talking about, and then he nodded, the bay opening. Leon and Cloud ran off towards it, and jumped out, landing in a crouch. Looking for their first victim, as the search for Auron began.
Auron finally reached the house of Jecht, it seemed like he did not see a normal human, since he saw them flee from the Stadium. But that couldn't be, Zanarkand was a VERY, VERY populized city. He kicked in the door, and looked around for his flask that he had left there from earlier. He found it on a nearby desk, and quickly uncapped it, and sent the burning alcohol down his throat. He breathed hard out of his throat now, as he put the cap back on, and put the flask inside his coat.
"Where are you..." he mumbled towards the Heartless. He heard the sound of them being spawned outside, and he sighed. They soon reared their ugly faces, and Auron lunged at them as they tried to come through the door. He drove the blade through the 4 that were in-line, and he pulled out, turning his back to them as they exploded. Soon, they broke in the windows, and were crawling through from every direction. He could have sworn he killed as much Heartless as there were people in all of Spira. He finally gave up, the numbers too overwhelming. He laid his sword down, the Heartless now slowing down because he was not wielding the sword. Auron began to hear distant battle cries, and explosions, and laughter. It began to increase in volume, and then the Heartless started to scream, obviously not pleased, as they swung their heads around, looking for the source of the noise.
"It....Er." *BOOM*
"HA!' *BOOM*
"its over" *BOOM*
"take this!" *BOOM*
"IT'S OVER!" *BOOOOM!!!*
"YOU GOTTA TRY HARDER THEN THAT!" *BOOOOOOOOM*
Then the laughs began, and Auron was distrubed as to why this situation would bring joy to anyone. The Heartless that were in and around Jecht's house suddenly left, and then, the two men's voices were heard, and explosions occured. Auron was on the brink of passing out, the crimson blood soaking his shirt. He began to feel cold, and his vision began to distort itself. The noises grew softer, and softer, until everything was just a void.
"Uhh..' He moaned a bit trying to retain his train of thought. Then two blurs suddenly appeared in his eyes, he heard some distorted noises, and he saw lips moving. He same two enormous swords, as his vision flickered back in for a moment, he saw a Gunblade of some sort, and the other man was wielding an enormous blade.
"What...The..?" Auron mumbled a bit.
"Auron?" Leon questioned as he saw the man on the verge of passing out. Leon then looked to Cloud, and Cloud handed over a small bottle of pinkish liquid. Leon nodded, as Cloud heard the spawning of more Heartless, he dashed outside to greet them.
"Here, drink this..." Leon put the potion up to Auron's lips, Auron fighting it at first, but realized he was too weak and tired to care. It took him a bit to swallow, but moments after it was all down, Auron could already feel himself coming back. His wound burned brightly for minutes after, as the healing process became rapid. His distorted vision was becoming clear again, as he saw the man, and his finer details. The noise also became understandable, instead of just a silence.
"..ron..Auron..Auron? Are you ok?" Leon was looking down to Auron, scratching his head with his right hand, his other hand gripping the Gunblade that rested on his shoulder.
"..Yes?.." Auron spoke, a bit stronger this time.
"Good. Hello Auron, my name is Le--.." Leon paused for a moment, and debated whether or not it would be good to return to his former name. He sighed, and nodded, knowing that his World was ok for now, he then accepted his old name.
"My name is Squall. I'm glad we've found yo--"
The two of them looked over to a broken window, to see Cloud jump across, and bring his sword through the head of a Heartless, an explosion there after. Cloud was then slammed in the back by an Advanced Bandit, it seems all the Heartless from before the Resurrection(The world used to describe the world's being returned) had grown stronger, and changed a little bit. Thus the Advance tag. Except for the Trajode's, or the Advanced Shadows, alot of things had changed from their prior form. And it was just a shorter word to pronounce.
Cloud stumbled forward a bit, and then swung his whole body around, his cloak in the delayed trail behind him. He slammed his sword into the side of the Bandit, only knocking it off it's balance a bit. He then jumped back, and then lunged forward, the dust kicking up from the ground. He came down upon the Bandit's head with the fury of Hell, as it's head caved in, and soon after, it exploded into the black and purple gas.
"AHA!"
Cloud landed softly, and turned to look through the window to the other two. Auron gave a half smile, and Squall realized that Cloud was beating him in the bet.
"Auron! We leave now!"
Auron picked up his own fairly big sword, and nodded to Squall. But before they could leave, 3 Bandit's had appeared behind Cloud. Cloud heard the spawn, and turned around in time to see the three rush into him. Cloud flew back from the force, and he was thrown through the window, and took out a bit of the wall as well, dry wall, dust, and glass shot up, as Cloud pulled the cloak around him in order to prevent any further damage. He rolled to Squall and Auron's feet, and they helped him up, Squall chuckling a bit.
"Leon..." Cloud mumbled.
"Squall... It's Squall now." Cloud was silent, and then realized that Leon had finally come to closure with the past.
"Regardless, I AM beating you in the bet." Cloud grinned, and looked to the three Bandits who were glaring at them now. Cloud, Auron, and Squall all made eye contact, Auron already feeling his own rage for them. But he was not the competitive type, he was still in shock about Jecht. But he could not worry for now, he must escape this Hell..He must.
They all dashed through the hole in the wall, and he signaled for them to stop.
"I will take care of this." Auron spoke calmly.
Squall and Cloud both looked at each other, and shrugged, smiling, sure that Auron could not have been as strong as they were.
"..." Auron was silent, as he drew back his blade. The area around Auron grew dark, as black spheres and clouds hovered around the Blade now. He then brought it down with much force, driving it deep into the ground, a dark pocket opening up. Black spheres flowed out like a river, as they went throughout Zanarkand, hunting down the Heartless with a mind of their own. 5 black spheres drove into the Bambits infront of them, an enormous, black, explosion taking place. The Bandits' explosion was not seen, for the blackness overwhelmed it. The whole ordeal lasted about 20 seconds, after it was done, Zanarkand was silent. No more Heartless spawned, no more screams occured, no more nothing. Cloud and Squall had gotten owned.
"Uhrm. Good job?" Squall searched for words that would hide his complete, and utter shock, and embarassment.
"Heh." Cloud chuckled, nodding to Auron. "Indeed, Good job."
Auron was a bit tired now, that consumed alot of energy. They then walked in silence to where Cid was waiting for them, slaying any Heartless that would have spawned, and bringing joy back to Squall and Cloud. The end tally was in favor of Cloud, again. They had kept track of their own Heartless Kills, and were honest about it.
"Looks like I win again, huh Le..Squall?" Cloud was still trying to get used to the name.
"..." Squall mumbled some gibberish, then, at that moment, the sky grew dark, and the thunder began. The rain drops began to smack at the ground, and at the three men, and it felt like someone was throwing marbles at them.
"What the hell?" Auron mumbled, never seeing rain like this.
Just then, an enormous black hole in the ground opened up, not too far away from them, and Cloud and Squall looked to Auron, to see if it was him doing it again.
"...?" Auron shook his head silently, and then pointed to what looked like Blue hair that was the first to emerge from the pit... And Auron narrowed his eyes, knowing the person already.
"...Seymour..."
Cloud and Squall both raised an eyebrow, as Seymour's face became fully visible. The subliminal markings on his face, and the Guado style, was a dead giveawawy. Auron stepped forward, hoisting the sword on his shoulder.
"SEYMOUR! IT'S YOU THAT IS CAUSING THIS?!'
Seymour had not seen the three yet, but when Auron yelled, he slowly looked up, his eyes were blood red.
"Hmmm..Yes...It is me... I have finally become THE DARKNESS! RULER OF THE HEARTLESS!" Seymour tilted his head back, and slowly elevated his palms, as Heartless were forged from the ground, the screams now able to be heard again.
Cloud and Squall stood in their attack stance, no longer thinking about the bet, Auron stood in the same position. They were very close to the Gummi ship, as it hovered not 20 feet away, they could see Sora, and the rest peeking out, in disbelief. Sora put his hand up to the window, and Cid landed, not caring anymore, the bay opening, and the rest of them running out, Cid gripping a 12 gauge, and a speak on his back, Yuffie holding her extremely Large shuriken, and a small dagger in her other, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all running out as well, Sora's keyblade at his side. Aerith and Tifa watched the ship. Cid, Yuffie, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all came up behind Seymour, as he turned around to greet them.
"Ahh. You must be the Keyblade bearer.." He was glaring at Sora.
"Or rather, one of the three... Ah, your friend, Riku was it? Too easy. He fell too easily..." Seymour began to laugh then.
"WHAT?! RIKU! HE'S OK! YOUR A LIAR!" Sora growled, and Cid puffed on a ciggerette, his Shotgun trained on Seymour.
The Heartless were screaming at the people, but Seymour kept them binded to their spot. Cloud, Squall, and Auron, all joining the rest of the group, killing a few Heartless on the way, but staying away from Seymour. Seymour then grew angry, and his eyes began to swirl with Red and Black liquids.
"YOU SHALL DIE HERE, FOOLS!" Seymour then hovered to the ground, and touched the ground with his wand, and everything turned black. The rest braced themselves for the battle, none of them sure if this would be the end.