Chapter 19
BATTLE OF THE ANCIENTS
"Enough !!", Dark High's top voice echoes around every corner of the partly-ruined Forgotten Capital. The dragon monster now levitates several feet above its enemies. From the way it sounds, The Avalanche members know they will get into deeper trouble.
"I underestimated you, Cetra…even your mortal friends ! You hurt me…Now I'll show you the true form of Dark High !". Just after that, a strange green light comes from Dark High's body, wrapping it with circular motion, until the monster is completely swallowed. The Avalanches just stare at the phenomenon with frightened look. Seeing the circling green light goes bigger sends another alarm inside their minds. They know it will be a bad thing.
When the circular green light gradually slows down, it reveals something that once was swallowed. It is still Dark High, but now in different form. Almost everyone gasps to see the creature's new form. Vic narrows his eyes to see the giant creature. Dark High now becomes twice larger, and now it looks tougher, even tougher than Bahamut. Its eyes are glowing with strange light, giving a nasty look. Its back wound is now healed. Now the creature becomes flawless. Among other members, Vincent is the first who reacts. When he raises his Death Penalty to give another gunshot to Dark High, the creature already performs its attack.
"Grudging Wave !!". Dark High now sways its huge wings with full speed and power, thus creating a big wave that quickly throws away its enemies from their feet.
"What's this #$&^@ !!!???". Cid curses all the way, shoving his spear into the ground to hold his body from being thrown away from his feet. No matter how hard he tries, he is finally flying away, swept by the whirling wave. He screams out loudly.
"Hold on !! We can't give damn up right now !!", Barret tries to raise others' spirit, but he finds it is useless. With a loud yell, he is also swept away, whirling wildly. Tifa, Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Vincent, Yuffie, and Vic are also lifted up from the ground and twirled mercilessly into the whirling wave from Dark High's attack. Various vocalizations of pain are filling the air, each of them tries to find a way to get out of this nasty circumstance, not to mention how they hold their dizziness because of the massive spinning force.
"This is just nothing !!", Dark High says in glorious tone, "now you will suffer !!". While swaying its wings wildly, Dark High now concentrates its wings movement to form a tornado-like wave, now trapping its enemies within the cycling wind. Louder cries are coming out from the party members' mouths. They feel their bodies are pressed from everywhere, while they cannot find out which is up and which is down because of the spinning wind plays them like toy. As if the monster is not satisfied enough, it then gathers the energy ball on its snout, then with loud roar, the ball is thrown toward the tornado wave.
"LOOK OUT !!!", Cait Sith shouts in panic upon seeing the big energy ball is rolling in the air toward them. The cat creature, as well as the others, knows that they will be good target if they are still stuck in this tornado. They must go out quickly.
"We…got to…leave…here…", Yuffie mumbles in middle of the spinning wind. With her ninja agility, she struggles to balance herself in the air so she can find a way to get out. When she finally makes it, she is very startled to see the energy ball, the same as the one that hit Cloud, is coming right to them. Quickly she touches the Materia orb on her waist and casts protective spell, but it's too late. The energy ball already hits the tornado wave, and quickly it spreads its particles on everyone trapped there. A loud whooshing sound echoes when those particles run through the wave, hitting everybody inside.
"Aaaargghhh !!!"
"Noooooo !!!"
"^#%@&! It hurts !!"
Although it is in particle form, everyone can still feel pain on their bodies as those particles hit them cruelly, giving a mixture of shock and burn on their nerves. Everyone screams in pain, but Dark High is not satisfied yet. With a strong swing on its wings, the dragon breaks the tornado wave and harshly throws everyone into random direction. The Avalanches are now scattered like pieces, some of them hit the ground with loud bang, while the others hit boulders, but luckily they do not meet the same way as Aeris and Cloud did.
"Mwahahahhaaa….!!! Now you see, mortals, you're really nothing !!", Dark High's loud voice cynically chides its enemies. For some seconds, there is no sign of movement from Tifa and the others but weak tremble on fingers. They feel pain on every part of their bodies. Fortunately, the energy ball was scattered into particles when it hit them, so they only received less portion than Cloud did. Still, they experience almost unbearable pain and they are completely defenseless now. Dark High assumes the victory is already on the hand, but when it notices Yuffie suddenly gets up slowly from the ground, the monster changes its mind.
"You….", Dark High says with deep voice, "……". It then stops speaking but gives Yuffie a vicious look. Smirking to her enemy sarcastically while holding her trembling body, Yuffie responds coldly, "Never…ever underestimate the power of Wutai fighter…". Among the others, Yuffie only feels the least effect of Dark High's energy ball since she released herself at the last time, thus giving her chance to block the attack, although some of it still hit her. Now, she is severely injured, but she still has plenty of energy to perform counter attack.
Without waiting longer, Dark High quickly dives into Yuffie, tries to attack her with claw. The Wutai ninja only narrows her eyes upon seeing the attack. She knows she must not fail this time, or the price is too high to pay. When Dark High is close enough to her, Yuffie jumps on nearest rock, using it as support to make her jump higher. While in the air, she throws her huge shuriken powerfully to Dark High after aimed it to the monster's eyes.
"Eat this, sucker !!!", she yells. The shuriken is spinning swiftly through its course to the target. Although Dark High anticipated Yuffie's action, it never thinks she aimed its eyes. Quickly, it covers them with its wings, but this time Yuffie really meant her action. Her shuriken slashes Dark High's eyes mercilessly, making the monster screams in agony.
"You…did it !", Aeris slowly stands up from her laying position. The others try to follow her, of course with struggle, because their wounds weaken them. After all, seeing that Yuffie added wound to Dark High restores their spirit again. Noticing this as an opportunity, together Barret and Vincent point their guns to Dark High and fire some hot bullets to the monster. Dark High now wriggles wildly as it feels pain on its eyes, followed by some bullets pierce its skin.
"Now...my turn !!", Cid stutters in middle of his pain. "Giga Flare !!!".
Soon after Cid summoned Bahamut, the sky is getting darker, covered by dark clouds. Lightning then appears flickering, followed by rolling thunder. From the clouds, suddenly the mighty creature shows up. It then roars loudly, boasting its power to Dark High, while concentrating energy ball on its mouth, just like Dark High. Although Dark High cannot see clearly now, it senses another creature offers threat. With heavy growl, Dark High also creates an energy ball on its snout, but now it is larger than before.
"Yikes !! The monster tries to counter attack Bahamut !!", Cait Sith says nervously. Looks like those creatures are up to deadly duel. Finally, Bahamut releases its energy ball toward Dark High, and at the same time, Dark High also shoots its energy ball towards Bahamut. The Avalanches just watch the duel with curiosity, and also hope, in their minds. As a matter of size, Dark High is larger than Bahamut, but they hope it does not mean Bahamut will easily beaten, yet it may not also easily defeats Dark High.
All evils are fire…
"Huh ?", Aeris suddenly lifts up her head and looks around her surrounding. She knows Planet talked to her, and maybe to Vic too. She glances at Vic and finds he is nodding to her. From his gesture, Aeris knows that Vic also heard Planet too.
Fire perishes in the Ancient water….it is Cetra's source…
Again, Aeris takes a look at Vic, demanding a response. Planet's words were much more like puzzle to them. Vic only shakes his head, signing her that he does not get the idea. However, she senses Planet is hinting them, but she cannot figure it out since loud roars from two creatures distracts her attention.
Bahamut's energy ball collides with Dark High's. The others can only watch the rare view they ever see. Two big forces meet, Bahamut and Dark High, fighting each other. At first, Bahamut's ball seems to overcome Dark High's but Dark High's ball gives resistance. It forces back Bahamut's ball and pushes its away toward Bahamut. Now, Dark High's energy ball completely engulfs Bahamut's and flies toward Bahamut with high speed. There is no chance for the summoned creature to dodge the attack.
"NOOOOO !!!!", Tifa screams hysterically when Dark High's energy ball finally hits Bahamut, making the summoned dragon roars loudly as sign of pain, accompanying the booming sound when the energy ball hit the dragon. Cid only curses to see such event, while Barret just lets his jaw dropped. Bahamut's body gradually disappears into particles, leaving no trace from the creature.
"Bahamut…lose….", Vic stammers with disbelief look to see Bahamut's particles fall to the ground. Eventually he locks his jaw. The others also feel sorry for Bahamut too. In the past, the summoned dragon was proven to be a reliable source when things went worse. Now, it is obvious they cannot hope further from Bahamut.
"How about that, mortals ? Even in pain, I can defeat your minion", Dark High now turns its body to those people while levitating. With blood flowing from its eyes, now Dark High looks terrible, but its strength is still awesome and it looks far cry from being totally defeated. The Avalanches just look at each other with mixed feeling, requesting if anyone has bright idea to settle this worse matter. They are injured, worn out, and everything else which means bad thing for them. Moreover, Cloud has died and Bahamut has too. They must figure out Dark High's weakness before it's too late. Maybe Knights of The Round will work fine, but it is only Cloud who can do that, and it is out of question right now.
"Viccie…", suddenly Aeris calls him, "do you notice something on Dark High ? It never lands on the ground…". Vic keeps quiet for a moment, then nods his head. "Yeah…", he answers, "but why ?"
"Remember what Planet said to us ?", Aeris asks, but actually gives hint to Vic. Reluctantly, Vic replies, "Planet told something about evil, fire, and water….". As his eyes scan their surroundings, suddenly something snaps in his brain tip, especially when his eyes notice Ancient lake is not far from them.
"Do you mean….Ancient water ?", Vic asks Aeris with excited tone. Narrowing her eyes, she then replies, "Maybe…..". Hearing Aeris' answer makes Vic realizes something. All of a sudden, he feels new energy fills his body as sudden excitement envelopes him.
"Everyone !! I've got a way to defeat him !!", Aeris shouts at the others. Her announcement is like a refreshing water to her friends. All eyes are now on her, hoping she told the truth. "Just bring that monster down to ground…and I'll do the rest !", Aeris adds. Barret, Tifa, Cid, Vincent, Red, Yuffie, and Cait Sith look at each other, finally they nod their heads. They think Aeris must have a plan, and they only need to do what she said. It may be a hard thing to do since they are already wounded, but it's still worth a try.
"Good point…", Red XIII comments out, "but how ? The monster is flying, we can't reach it…moreover, we're already worn out. We must rely on magic…or…limit breaks !".
Aeris turns her face to her ex-specimen fellow and nods her head. "You're right….Although my energy isn't enough for Great Gospel, I guess I can still perform other one that raises your limit energy at maximum ! Just protect me while I prepare my limit break….here it comes…Fury Brand !!".
Just after Aeris finishes, she holds her staff high and concentrates her energy. Suddenly, blue lightning appears around her body. Seeing this, Dark High knows she is up to something.
"You're bright, Cetra…", Dark High says, "I don't see your intention yet, but it's clear that I must kill you first !". Just when it finishes, Dark High suddenly approaches Aeris with its mouth fully opened. Meanwhile, Aeris is still concentrating on her limit break. Now, the lightning strikes the party, but it is exceptional lightning since it raises other's limit energy to the maximum. At the same time, another energy ball is formed on Dark High's mouth, but this time the ball's color is glowing red. Aeris does not care the menace will come to her, she just hopes she is not too late.
"Aeris !! Watch out !!", Red XIII growls harshly as he runs to her, and then, "Cosmo Memory !!". A starfield slowly coalesces into a flaming ball. Gradually, the ball grows in intensity, and then releases it at the enemy in a large laser beam and explosion, directly at Dark High. The monster roars loudly in agony, it is thrown away from its course.
"It ain't over yet, sucker !! Catastrophe !!". Barret now releases his limit break. He leaps into the air, and fires constant stream of strong energy to Dark High. Again, the monster feels a heavy pain on its body as Barret's limit break hits its torso mercilessly. Although it is heavily wounded now, Dark High seems still in consciousness. It roars once more and expands its wings. Suddenly, its body is surrounded by strange sphere, much like a glowing energy ball. The creature flies up again, still shielded by the sphere.
"That @^#&^ sphere acts as shield, but it I'll get through it ! Dragon Dive !!!", Cid yells and performs a series of jump attacks, each one resulting a large release of energy. Cid's limit break attack collides with Dark High's sphere shield. Each collision results in a large explosion, but the pilot keeps on attacking the creature with his full power. Cid's attacks, although they fail to penetrate Dark High's sphere, finally force the monster downward, almost reaching the ground.
"This is it ! Our chance !! Final Heaven !!!"
"Got it !! All Creation !!!"
"Now….Chaos !!!"
"Let's see this….Dice !!!"
Together, Tifa, Yuffie, and Cait Sith release their limit breaks and aim them at Dark High, meanwhile Vincent transforms his body into Chaos, and joins attacking Dark High, followed by Aeris and Vic. Being surrounded and attacked at the same time, Dark High can only lets out its ear-piercing roar as every limit break's attack forces its way through energy sphere. The remains of The Avalanche hit the monster with all of their might, driven by rage. Booming sounds and energy explosion light up the already-heated battle spot, painted with loud yells and shouts.
After everyone finishes their attacks and steps back to see the result, they see Dark High now is standing on the ground, motionlessly, but it is definitely still alive. Its sphere is still surrounding the monster inside, but a strange phenomenon is happened. There is a little crack on the glowing sphere, and it crawls around the sphere's surface like broken glass.
"We destroyed da sphere !!", Barret's loud voice echoes, signing a relief on him. Yuffie jumps a little and makes a cheerful 'yay' sound.
"H…hey…wait…look at it now !!", Aeris abruptly cuts off her friends' words with nervous tone. Her finger points on another phenomenon happened at Dark High. The cracks that first appear on the sphere, now are slowly patched up again. Almost everyone looks at what happened with wide eyes, they cannot believe what they see. If the cracks are gathered again, it means….
"Dark High recovers the sphere !! Damn it !!", Cait Sith concludes the situation. The cat creature, as well as the others, does not like what they see after all. Now they understand Dark High stays still because it is up to something. They know they must act quickly, but they also realize their energy are already used for performing limit breaks.
"Leave it to me !!". Suddenly, Vic jumps up into the air. "Now….limit break…Final Destiny !!!". Suddenly, Vic's body is glowing with green light, and goes brighter and bigger. When the light reaches its peak size, Vic raises his masamune, and the glowing light from his body is now gathering quickly around the masamune, wrapping it with wild-glowing green light. From the way it looks, Vic's masamune appears to be a deadly one. With loud yell, Vic then dives into Dark High, aiming his sword tip into its enemy. His body is spinning like a drill on its way through the obstacles, with glowing green light wraps around it. Vic's limit break infringes on Dark High's reinforced sphere and creates sparks. For some moments, these two opposite forces seem even. However, Vic keeps on spinning his body to break through the sphere, until finally a loud crash shakes the ground as Vic's masamune successfully breaks the sphere. Finally, Dark High's protection sphere is scattered in pieces, the sphere's shards quickly dissipates into air.
"He did it !!", Red XIII speaks up, excited. "Vic !!! You're great !!!", Yuffie jumps up again cheerfully.
When Vic lands on the ground, he quickly finds out that Dark High does not react at all, it is still standing without any movements, and its eyes are closed. This strange thing triggers his instinct, telling that something is not right. Suddenly, Dark High's eyes are opened and with its lightning reflex, Dark High slashes Vic forcefully with its claw. Although he knew something was not right before, Vic cannot react with proper action. Dark High's claw successfully rips his skin and makes him scream in pain and shock. This action happened so fast that before Vic jumps away from harm, Dark High's claw already grabs his head and pulls him off from the ground. Vic cannot do anything but to let out a shocked scream. Now he is hanged, his head is in Dark High's claw, while his body is swaying left and right. If the monster intends to separate his head from his body, it will be a piece of cake.
"VIC !!!!". Tifa, Yuffie, and Aeris shout in unison to see what just happened. They, and the others, are very startled to see how the winning side now turns to Dark High's.
"You're trapped, Cetra….", Dark High says, "now I get you…I don't know you, but your aura…it's truly Cetra aura….but it doesn't make difference. I'll snap your head and your friends will suffer !". The dragon now turns its face to the others and adds, "Make even one step, and this young man will lose his head !!!".
"YOU BASTARD !!!". Vic, in middle of his pain, does not easily give up. He swings his body left and right to get right momentum to release from Dark High's grab, but he fails to do so. He only feels the claw is grabbing his head tighter. Seeing that Dark High really means his threat, The Avalanches just stare at the creature with hatred look, and can only do nothing.
"Release him !!!". Aeris suddenly shouts at the monster. Different from her usual feature, she now looks very angry. Without hesitation, Aeris walks toward Dark High. "Aeris !! What'cha doin' !!!???", Barret tries to stop her, but she just ignores him and keeps on walking toward Dark High. Tifa also wants to hold Aeris from moving when she passes her, but Tifa only receives a sad look from Aeris' eyes. Suddenly, Aeris stops in front of Tifa and gazes to the ruby eyes once more.
"I'm sorry Tifa…you're still my best friend after all…", Aeris says her words, barely audible. She then moves her feet again. "H…hey…wait !!", Tifa calls Aeris, but Aeris keeps on approaching Dark High.
"Aeris….don't go…please….", Yuffie runs to her, holding her hand. Again, Aeris stops her step and spins her body to Yuffie. She looks at her friends one by one, and she can see that their eyes beg her not to go. Aeris smiles faintly to her friends. "I'm sorry…but this is all about Ancient matter…I can't involve you all…Cloud died because of me…and now I just can't let others die too…". Her tone sounds so sad, as if she is waving her friends real goodbye. Once again, Aeris stares at Tifa's eyes meaningfully, she wants to say a lot of things to her love's fiancée, but she can only let out a whisper, "I'm sorry….". Quickly, Aeris spins her body and continues approaching Dark High.
"I see you want to exchange his live with yours….", Dark High's deep voice greets Aeris when she is finally in front of it. Giving the monster a vicious glare, Aeris responds coldly, "I'm your prey. You killed Cloud, and now I just can't let others die because of me….Release him. Take me instead !".
Dark High only laughs softly. "Great decision, Cetra…now drop your weapon and come here". Aeris follows Dark High's order. She throws her Princess Guard, and walks closer to Dark High.
"Aeris…no…..", Vic tries to let out his voice, "don't do that….please…..don't….this freak will kill us all for sure….". Aeris lifts up her head and looks at Vic with sad eyes, but she just says nothing. Witnessing Vic closer really strikes her heart, since she feels something toward Vic. At a very short moment, her memory flashes inside her mind, starting from the day she met Vic several days ago until he revealed that he was a Cetra like her, and finally, up to this fight. She realizes now there is something strange toward Vic. It is some kind of love, but not in form of love between man and woman. That kind of feeling has been given to Cloud. Her feeling towards Vic is much more like a mother to her child. She does not know who really Vic is, but she feels her heart is close to him.
"Now, do anything to me, but you must let the others alive…". Aeris looks at Dark High once more as she challenges it. Dark High laughs again, now louder. The creature already has a plan for Aeris, and it is going to execute its plan. Slowly, Dark High's other claw approaches Aeris, but Aeris still looks at Dark High's eyes. There is no even little fear inside her emerald green eyes.
"Aeris…run..run..run !!!", Vic stutters again, he sounds very desperate. Again, he wiggles, but still no luck. He then tries to take a breath, his brain is working, finding a way to release himself from this situation, and save Aeris, no matter what.
Aeris still watches Dark High's claw is coming closer to her, to grab her and do whatever nasty things. She decides to sacrifice herself once more, and this time may be her real last time.
"Ultimate End !!!!'
AUTHOR'S POST-CHAPTER NOTE :
Pheww….I usually uploaded new chapter at week end, but last week I found something wrong on the DNS, I couldn't even display fanfiction.net on my web browser. Well, if you can read this, it means I've uploaded it…^_^…and I hope you still read my story although it's not uploaded at week end ^_^. I still greatly appreciate R&R. Oh yes, for Ah-Choo, don't worry, I'm still writing the other version of this fanfic !