The Legend of Talon
Chapter 6
Talon sighed exasperatedly. The party had been walking silently for at least 2 hours, and nothing had approached them. He was bored. He needed to fight, or talk, or sing, it didn't matter. He just needed something to do. He turned to Barda. "What was it that we used to do when we were bored?"
"Why? Are you as bored as I am?"
"You bet I am. I need something to do."
Barda sighed. "We used to spar, but I don't want to spar with you. I'll get burned."
Talon laughed. "I'll use the holy blade."
Barda frowned. "Then I'll get banished or something. I don't want to fight the Chosen one."
Talon sighed. "Ah well. We need something to do. I say we stop for the day," he said, nodding to the sun, which was sinking over the hills.
Barret cheered. "I could use a rest and some good old messin' around. I'm bored to tears."
Cloud and Kimahri both grunted their approval at the same time, looked at each other, and Cloud laughed. Kimahri just smiled, something Talon wished he'd never do again.
Tifa yawned. "I need a rest too. Maybe Cloud, Cid and I can show off our summons."
Cid grinned at her. "I'll pass out if I try summoning them all in one sitting, but why not? I'd have to sleep anyway." Everyone (except Kimahri and Auron, of course) laughed.
Talon pointed. "Look, there's a cave over there. It looks promising." All heads turned. The cave seemed small, but upon approaching it, the party found that it was gigantic, and there as even a large stack of firewood in one corner of the cave.
Auron seemed paranoid about the party's choice of lodging. "I think someone is expecting easy prey in this cave. Someone will need to stand guard. I volunteer."
Kimahri stepped forward next to Auron. "I, too." He growled.
Talon shrugged. "Whatever. If you want someone to take your place, wake up…" he looked around. "Cloud?" Cloud shook his head. He was a heavy sleeper. "Tifa?"
Tifa grinned. "Sure. I'm game."
Talon chuckled devilishly on the inside. "Tifa and I. We'll stand guard for you."
Auron seemed to have sensed the devilish chuckle and chuckled himself. "Ok, but neither of us are heavy sleepers, so don't get your hopes up for a night alone with Tifa."
Wakka pointed and said "Ooooooh…busted…" and laughed. Tifa and Cloud seemed to lean on each for support while laughing.
Talon turned to them. "What's wrong with you two?"
Cloud wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "Just past memories. I used the same scheme you just did to get her alone once." He burst out laughing.
Tifa bit her lip to stop laughing and wiped tears from her own eyes. "It didn't work." She started laughing again. Cloud slapped himself and stopped laughing, and Tifa followed suit.
Cloud stood up and looked at Talon. "So, you want to see some summons?" Talon grinned and nodded. Cloud pulled Cid and Tifa to their feet, and motioned for everyone to follow him.
He walked out of the cave. "We're going to need some light…" Just then, Wayne came out of the cave with an armful of firewood, dropped it on the ground, and shot a Fire spell at it. It burst into flames, spreading a cheery light around the area.
"Right," Cloud said. "I'll go first. My first summon this evening will be Ramuh, or Indra, the Thunder Summon." He drew himself up to full height, and then leaned over as he raised one open hand high into the air. There was a clap of thunder, and then a bolt of lightning struck his outstretched hand. His entire body was encased in the raging lightning, until it seemed that he himself was a mass of electricity. Suddenly, it all disappeared, and Cloud was standing there, holding a yellow ball in his hand. He bent his legs and jumped with all his strength, and hurled the ball at the ground. A circle of lighting formed on the ground. There was a blinding flash, and then an old man with a beard 4 feet long appeared, kneeling in front of Cloud. When he spoke, the voice was unnaturally deep, not one to belong to an old man.
"It is good to be back in your service, Cloud. Who is the enemy here?"
Cloud shook his head. "No enemy. These are my friends." He introduced them all to Ramuh, but Talon was too dumbstruck to speak. "You are free to go if you wish, Ramuh. But you have my permission to stay as well."
"I will stay until all of your summons have appeared. Then my time will be gone."
"Very well." Cloud sighed. "Alright. The next summon you will meet is Shiva, the Ice Summon. Talon, hand me my sword." Talon complied. "Here we go." He held his sword in front of him with both hands, and it began to glow blue. Slowly, ice formed on the blade, until it was completely encased in a thick layer of ice. Cloud raised it above his head, and then drove it deep into the earth. The land around him turned to ice, and everyone that was in the range of the ice was pushed back by some unseen force. Suddenly, the ice closed up, forming into a bright blue ball in Cloud's hand. He jumped up high into the air, and once again hurled the ball at the ground, where it formed a circle of ice. There was a flash again, and there stood a beautiful woman, with bright blue skin, and hair seemingly made of soft icicles.
"It is good to be in your service again, Cloud. Who is the enemy here?"
"No enemy, Shiva. These are my friends." Once again, he introduced everyone, and once again, Talon was speechless. "You may stay or leave as you please. Ramuh himself will be staying." She shrugged and went to stand next to Ramuh.
Cloud was breathing heavily now. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. "Just one more. This is a quick summon, but I suggest everyone step back. I'm going to summon Titan." Everyone stepped back except Ramuh and Shiva, who were indifferent to the power of a summon. Cloud raised his sword and drove it into the earth again, but this time it formed a gigantic fissure. The fissure opened wider and wider, until what seemed to be a sumo wrestler made of rock came from the gigantic crack. When he stepped, everyone could sense the vibration of his gigantic mass slamming into the ground.
Instead of giving a formal greeting, he grunted, and asked "Where enemy?"
Cloud shook his head. "No enemy. You leave." Titan seemed to understand and he climbed into the crack, which promptly closed. As soon as he was gone, Cloud sat down to rest. "That was tiring." He motioned to the other summons. "You may go."
There was a bolt of lightning, and Ramuh was gone. Shiva seemed to melt and the water created seeped into the ground. Talon sat next to Cloud, and offered him some water. Cloud took it gratefully. "So what kind of abilities do they have?"
Cloud shrugged. "Thundaga and Blizzaga, put it that way. And they both have extremely powerful physical attacks."
Talon could've sworn his heart stopped. "Thundaga and Blizzaga? Dear god, they could annihilate anything in our path!"
Cloud nodded. "Except that's not exactly what they are. They're even more powerful than the spells. They call them something like Thunderstorm and Icefall. They pretty much destroy anything. Except those accursed Weapons."
Talon jumped. "There's more than one?"
"Yeah, there are five. All of them got away. There's Ruby, Emerald, Ultima, Omega, and Crystal. They might all be on this planet. Who knows?" He turned to Cid. "You're up."
Cid nodded. "Get more water. I'll need it." He walked a good 10 feet away from the group before whipping around. "Barret, who should go first?"
Barret shrugged. "Save the best for last. How about Kjone, then Leviathan, then Hades, then Bahamut?"
Cid nodded and sighed. "Alright. Here goes. Kjone is a multi-elemental beast. He uses all elemental magic. Yes, ALL of it, Talon. In addition, elemental magic does not work on him. Here goes." He turned his back to them and walked to the cliff over looking the valley, and put his hands out. Down below in valley, the ground seemed to open into a gigantic hole as Cid's hands moved apart, as if he were tearing the ground open with his hands. Out of the hole sprang what seemed to be a gigantic rhinocerous, except out of each side of its head came a curved sort of tusk. It easily leaped out of the valley, and landed right next to cid, who patted it on the head. Cid whispered, "You may go." And it leaped down into the valley and landed in the hole just as it closed behind him.
Cid turned to the group. "Sorry I didn't keep him, but he tends to attack strangers." He nodded to Barret and Cloud, who laughed. "Ok. Next up is Leviathan, the Water Summon, who has all Water magic, plus Tidal wave, Holy, and Flare." He placed both his hands on the ground and began to concentrate. His eyes closed and he gritted his teeth in concentration, until he rose and stepped away. Water began to seep out of the ground. It formed a small puddle on the ground. Cid sat down lazily, taking the water from Talon, who seemed dumbstruck.
"That's it? That's hardly a summon –" his words were cut short. At that moment, the puddle instantly widened, and a dragon burst from the water. It was near 100 feet long, and as soon as its entire snakelike body had emerged from the puddle (which had become the size of a small lake), the puddle dried up and Leviathan curled up on the ground, his gigantic head looking directly at Cid.
"Hello again, Cid. It is somewhat of an honor to be in your service again. These are friends?" He flicked his head at the group.
"Yes. Would you like to leave or stay while I summon Hades and Bahamut?"
"I do not know. Before I do anything, I would like to speak to the Chosen one."
There seemed to be a flash of black light, and Talon stiffened. "Why? What do you want with me?"
Leviathan chuckled, which was such a strangely gentle sound that Talon relaxed immediately. "I wish to endow you with knowledge. You, as the Chosen one, must know of the secret of the guardian of the Lost Castle of Power. The Arestolites, blessed though they may be, know nothing of the guardian. Leif used me against him when he and Shela stole Shadowfang and Shadowhorn. But be assured, Talon, that when he turned evil, I did not go with him. The guardian of the castle is not one, not two, but three guardians in reality. The first will be the hardest for you. You have to fight yourself. A demon version of yourself will come from a cursed mirror, and you must defeat him. He has all the physical skills you do, but you must find within you the one quality that no demon possesses. You must find a thought that expresses this feeling, and the demon will be vanquished. The second guardian is the fabled Stone Giant. You cannot hurt him with your blade, so you must summon holy power against him. If you should need assistance with this task, look to the sky. And by no means should you give him the Sword! Third and final, you will face the most daring task of all. You will find an old man in the room beyond, surrounded by the Legendary Weapons. You must approach him and hand him the hilt of the sword, and speak the following words, and nothing else besides. 'Judge me. I am pure of heart and have no sin. I am he born from the mouth of a dragon, and I shall claim vengeance itself from these forges and strike down the source of all evil' No matter what he may say, unless he tells you to speak freely, say NOTHING, and nothing besides. The last thing I must tell you is that when you speak to the man, you must be alone. None of your allies may enter until given permission by the man. Learn well this lesson, Talon."
There was a second flash of black light, and Leviathan turned back to Cid. "Never mind. The information I have for him is not important," he said, glancing quickly and meaningly at Talon. "I shall go." The puddle that had disappeared returned, and Leviathan dove into it, disappearing all to quickly. When he was gone, Talon felt a strange emptiness inside of him.
Cid stood up. "Right," he said. "Next is Hades. I suggest you all cover your eyes for a moment. 3…2…1…" Even though he had his eyes closed, Talon seemed to sense a cold wind flash over him. "Okay." When they all looked back at him, he held a ball of energy in his hand, and this one was the darkest, deepest black any of them had ever seen. Instead of hurling it at the ground like Cloud did, he rolled it away from the group. After rolling about 10 feet, it burst, and a black hole seemed to form in the ground. Out of it came what seemed to be the Grim Reaper. It had a scythe and everything. It walked to Cid, and silently stood next to him. "This is Hades. His attacks are Reap, Death, Doom, Holy, Flare, and Potion. What they all do is obvious." Cid slammed and fist into Hades, and he disappeared. "He too likes to attack strangers."
Cid seemed to straighten up. "Right. Everyone get by the entrance of the cave except you, Talon. I need you to prepare to attack in case something comes out of the Void with him. It's happened." Behind him, Barret was nodding vigorously. "Right. Here we go." He pulled a box of cigarettes out of his back pocket, lit one, and put it away. He inhaled deeply, for such a long time that Talon thought he was going to burst. But finally, Cid pulled the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the ground, grinding it out. He exhaled smoke forcefully, and then motioned for Talon to back up. They both backed up as the smoke formed the shape of a dragon, not one like Leviathan, but like a real dragon. As the smoke cleared, there was not a dragon standing there, but yet another black hole. Talon could see that through the hole seemed to be empty space. In the distance, he saw a gray form hurtling towards the hole. It got bigger and bigger until suddenly Talon realized it was a dragon.
It opened its mouth and shouted, "Close the portal! I've got Zeromus on my tail! CLOSE IT FOR GODS SAKE!" Cid went white and began to close the portal. Talon caught a glimpse of a purple vapor directly behind the dragon. The dragon shot through the hole just as Cid closed it behind him.
"Nice to see you again, Bahamut." Cid extended his hand, which the dragon took, and turned to Talon.
"Is this the enemy? He's small," he said mockingly. "I will crush him on your order."
"No, Bahamut. This is Talon, the Chosen one."
"The Chosen one! Ha! What a joke. He's too small and weak to be the Chosen one –" his words were cut off as everyone else approached and Barret spoke up.
"That's what I said. He knocked me out with one punch, Bahamut!" he grinned.
Bahamut seemed to brighten. He roared and charged at Barret, tackling him. "Barret! So good to see you again. But you still owe me fifty credits on that bet on whether or not I could beat Crystal Weapon. Pay up, or I'll have to kill you."
Barret laughed. "Alright, here." He handed him a handful of money. "I still can't believe you did it. That Mega Flare of yours packs a punch."
Bahamut nodded. "Yes." He turned back to Cid. "How long may I stay?"
Cid shrugged. "As long as you like."
"Where are you going?"
Talon piped up. "The Lost Castle of Power."
Bahamut frowned. "No. I will not go in there again. If I have to fight that accursed shadow beast again, I will not go."
Talon laughed. "You won't. Only I fight the shadow, and I cannot summon you."
Bahamut relaxed. "I will go as far as the castle. But until that time I would like to –" They never found out just what it was that he wanted to do, for at that moment Talon let out a cry of surprise as a strange purple vapor came from a small black hole near the fire.
Cid gasped. "No! What have I done? Zeromus has broken out of the Void because of me! Oh dear. Everyone prepare for combat!" He picked up his spear and positioned himself to fight.
Bahamut pushed him back. "No. I will do all I can to weaken him. Then it will be up to all of you to defeat him in his true form." He stepped forward and threw a punch at the vapor, which sent it flying back, and then the vapor expanded and formed itself into a blue beast about the size of Bahamut's wing. "Zeromus! Show your true form to me, the Aeon of Cecil, the Legendary Paladin! Show yourself!" The blue creature seemed to shudder, and then from it burst a gigantic beast, three times the size of Bahamut. It reminded Talon of Leviathan, but an evil one, and it seemed to be dried up. Bahamut jumped backwards and buried his claws into the ground. "I've been saving this for someone powerful, Zeromus, but I guess you'll have to do!" He opened his mouth as wide as he could, and inside there grew a gigantic blackness. The Void seemed to open up again from Bahamut's mouth. The circular object floating in midair parallel to Bahamut's back, which Talon had just noticed, began to spin. He raised his head, aiming his mouth directly at Zeromus, and then shot off a wave of energy. It had no color to it; it seemed to be a ripple in the air. It was like looking through water. But when it hit Zeromus, he was swallowed into a dark ball, and there was a quiet explosion that sounded muffled. When the ball disappeared, Zeromus fell to the ground, weak and injured.
Bahamut stood up. "Quickly! Attack him one by one! I'll attack him myself first!" He leapt forward, slashing his sharp wingtips and his claws at Zeromus in one movement, then flipped around and formed a bright orange ball in his hands. He let loose with the ball, and it became about 20 balls, and surrounded Zeromus before exploding with such force that he rose off the ground.
Bahamut could not stop his backward movement, so Cloud stepped forward. "I too have been saving something for someone special. Take this, Zeromus! OMNISLASH!" He held his sword in front of him, which seemed to turn black on it's own accord. He charged at Zeromus, and with amazing strength and speed slashed his sword wildly over and over, for a total of about 20 hits, before Zeromus swiped at him with his tail and knocked him away.
Barda and Auron both approached. They both held their swords in front of them and took turns drinking from the jar of liquor at Auron's hip. They spat it on their swords, and simultaneously, as if of one mind, they charged at Zeromus with their swords raised high as the swords themselves turned black. When they had almost reached the beast, they swung their sword into the ground and eight (four from each) black orbs edged with the colors of the rainbow came from the ground, and seemed to eat their way in and out of Zeromus, causing the beast massive pain. Once again, Zeromus weakly swept them aside.
Barret and Cid approached. They high fived each other, and both began to glow. They shouted together, "Limit Break!"
Cid strolled forward, inhaling from his cigarette. He puffed it into the air and shouted, "Highwind!" From nowhere, missiles and bullets came flooding down upon Zeromus, battering him into an even weaker state.
Barret stepped forward, gun raised. "Apocalypse!" he shouted. A glow came from the gun, and he leapt into the air, firing his gun in an awesome red blast that swept back and forth across Zeromus before fading completely. Barret and Cid were both swept aside.
Kimahri ran forward from nowhere, then vaulted off the ground using his spear and plunged it through the center of the beasts face. He launched backward and was about to fire a Meteor when a tail came from nowhere and threw him back into the cave. Zeromus was getting stronger.
Wakka approached and made one slash with his sword before being thrown into the cave with Kimahri. What an accomplishment, Talon thought.
Tifa and Wayne stepped up. Wayne stepped forward and shot his already charged Fira spell, which slammed into Zeromus, and he was still burning when Tifa stepped forward. She charged at it and shouted, "Limit Break! Ballistic Barrage!" She threw a variety of lightning-fast punches and kicks before being hit aside by Zeromus with a Fire spell.
Talon had watched all this guiltily, knowing that he should have charged into battle before anyone else. He had been studying everyone's encasement of attacks and had been entranced by the damage caused by Barret's Apocalypse, but it was seeing Tifa be blasted by the beast that snapped him out of the trance and threw him into a mad rage. He stepped forward to Zeromus smoothly and drew the flaming sword from his side, and pointed it at Zeromus. "YOU! YOU HAVE PLAGUED THIS WORLD LONG ENOUGH! BACK TO THE DEPTHS OF THE VOID WITH YOU!" with that, he leaped, his eyes flaming with rage, and brought the sword down upon Zeromus with the force of his strongest slash and a Fira spell, such force that once again, Zeromus lifted from the ground. Not satisfied, Talon launched off the beast, landing a good deal of distance away from it, before madly slashing at it, firing Fira after Fira after Fira until he could no longer see the beast because it was encased in an envelope of flame and smoke. STILL not satisfied, Talon held the sword high above his head, charging the Fira spell for a good minute, before letting lose with what Talon recognized to be not a Fira spell, but a Firaga, the next level of the spell. In his rage, he let loose early and the spell shot off into the sky. Talon roared in frustration, then ran at the battered remains of the beast, slashing faster and in larger quantities than Cloud could ever hope to achieve with an Omnislash. Each time, a Fira spell was let loose as well, and finally, the Firaga spell came rocketing back down to earth, slamming into Zeromus, and when the smoke cleared, nothing remained.
Chapter 6
Talon sighed exasperatedly. The party had been walking silently for at least 2 hours, and nothing had approached them. He was bored. He needed to fight, or talk, or sing, it didn't matter. He just needed something to do. He turned to Barda. "What was it that we used to do when we were bored?"
"Why? Are you as bored as I am?"
"You bet I am. I need something to do."
Barda sighed. "We used to spar, but I don't want to spar with you. I'll get burned."
Talon laughed. "I'll use the holy blade."
Barda frowned. "Then I'll get banished or something. I don't want to fight the Chosen one."
Talon sighed. "Ah well. We need something to do. I say we stop for the day," he said, nodding to the sun, which was sinking over the hills.
Barret cheered. "I could use a rest and some good old messin' around. I'm bored to tears."
Cloud and Kimahri both grunted their approval at the same time, looked at each other, and Cloud laughed. Kimahri just smiled, something Talon wished he'd never do again.
Tifa yawned. "I need a rest too. Maybe Cloud, Cid and I can show off our summons."
Cid grinned at her. "I'll pass out if I try summoning them all in one sitting, but why not? I'd have to sleep anyway." Everyone (except Kimahri and Auron, of course) laughed.
Talon pointed. "Look, there's a cave over there. It looks promising." All heads turned. The cave seemed small, but upon approaching it, the party found that it was gigantic, and there as even a large stack of firewood in one corner of the cave.
Auron seemed paranoid about the party's choice of lodging. "I think someone is expecting easy prey in this cave. Someone will need to stand guard. I volunteer."
Kimahri stepped forward next to Auron. "I, too." He growled.
Talon shrugged. "Whatever. If you want someone to take your place, wake up…" he looked around. "Cloud?" Cloud shook his head. He was a heavy sleeper. "Tifa?"
Tifa grinned. "Sure. I'm game."
Talon chuckled devilishly on the inside. "Tifa and I. We'll stand guard for you."
Auron seemed to have sensed the devilish chuckle and chuckled himself. "Ok, but neither of us are heavy sleepers, so don't get your hopes up for a night alone with Tifa."
Wakka pointed and said "Ooooooh…busted…" and laughed. Tifa and Cloud seemed to lean on each for support while laughing.
Talon turned to them. "What's wrong with you two?"
Cloud wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "Just past memories. I used the same scheme you just did to get her alone once." He burst out laughing.
Tifa bit her lip to stop laughing and wiped tears from her own eyes. "It didn't work." She started laughing again. Cloud slapped himself and stopped laughing, and Tifa followed suit.
Cloud stood up and looked at Talon. "So, you want to see some summons?" Talon grinned and nodded. Cloud pulled Cid and Tifa to their feet, and motioned for everyone to follow him.
He walked out of the cave. "We're going to need some light…" Just then, Wayne came out of the cave with an armful of firewood, dropped it on the ground, and shot a Fire spell at it. It burst into flames, spreading a cheery light around the area.
"Right," Cloud said. "I'll go first. My first summon this evening will be Ramuh, or Indra, the Thunder Summon." He drew himself up to full height, and then leaned over as he raised one open hand high into the air. There was a clap of thunder, and then a bolt of lightning struck his outstretched hand. His entire body was encased in the raging lightning, until it seemed that he himself was a mass of electricity. Suddenly, it all disappeared, and Cloud was standing there, holding a yellow ball in his hand. He bent his legs and jumped with all his strength, and hurled the ball at the ground. A circle of lighting formed on the ground. There was a blinding flash, and then an old man with a beard 4 feet long appeared, kneeling in front of Cloud. When he spoke, the voice was unnaturally deep, not one to belong to an old man.
"It is good to be back in your service, Cloud. Who is the enemy here?"
Cloud shook his head. "No enemy. These are my friends." He introduced them all to Ramuh, but Talon was too dumbstruck to speak. "You are free to go if you wish, Ramuh. But you have my permission to stay as well."
"I will stay until all of your summons have appeared. Then my time will be gone."
"Very well." Cloud sighed. "Alright. The next summon you will meet is Shiva, the Ice Summon. Talon, hand me my sword." Talon complied. "Here we go." He held his sword in front of him with both hands, and it began to glow blue. Slowly, ice formed on the blade, until it was completely encased in a thick layer of ice. Cloud raised it above his head, and then drove it deep into the earth. The land around him turned to ice, and everyone that was in the range of the ice was pushed back by some unseen force. Suddenly, the ice closed up, forming into a bright blue ball in Cloud's hand. He jumped up high into the air, and once again hurled the ball at the ground, where it formed a circle of ice. There was a flash again, and there stood a beautiful woman, with bright blue skin, and hair seemingly made of soft icicles.
"It is good to be in your service again, Cloud. Who is the enemy here?"
"No enemy, Shiva. These are my friends." Once again, he introduced everyone, and once again, Talon was speechless. "You may stay or leave as you please. Ramuh himself will be staying." She shrugged and went to stand next to Ramuh.
Cloud was breathing heavily now. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. "Just one more. This is a quick summon, but I suggest everyone step back. I'm going to summon Titan." Everyone stepped back except Ramuh and Shiva, who were indifferent to the power of a summon. Cloud raised his sword and drove it into the earth again, but this time it formed a gigantic fissure. The fissure opened wider and wider, until what seemed to be a sumo wrestler made of rock came from the gigantic crack. When he stepped, everyone could sense the vibration of his gigantic mass slamming into the ground.
Instead of giving a formal greeting, he grunted, and asked "Where enemy?"
Cloud shook his head. "No enemy. You leave." Titan seemed to understand and he climbed into the crack, which promptly closed. As soon as he was gone, Cloud sat down to rest. "That was tiring." He motioned to the other summons. "You may go."
There was a bolt of lightning, and Ramuh was gone. Shiva seemed to melt and the water created seeped into the ground. Talon sat next to Cloud, and offered him some water. Cloud took it gratefully. "So what kind of abilities do they have?"
Cloud shrugged. "Thundaga and Blizzaga, put it that way. And they both have extremely powerful physical attacks."
Talon could've sworn his heart stopped. "Thundaga and Blizzaga? Dear god, they could annihilate anything in our path!"
Cloud nodded. "Except that's not exactly what they are. They're even more powerful than the spells. They call them something like Thunderstorm and Icefall. They pretty much destroy anything. Except those accursed Weapons."
Talon jumped. "There's more than one?"
"Yeah, there are five. All of them got away. There's Ruby, Emerald, Ultima, Omega, and Crystal. They might all be on this planet. Who knows?" He turned to Cid. "You're up."
Cid nodded. "Get more water. I'll need it." He walked a good 10 feet away from the group before whipping around. "Barret, who should go first?"
Barret shrugged. "Save the best for last. How about Kjone, then Leviathan, then Hades, then Bahamut?"
Cid nodded and sighed. "Alright. Here goes. Kjone is a multi-elemental beast. He uses all elemental magic. Yes, ALL of it, Talon. In addition, elemental magic does not work on him. Here goes." He turned his back to them and walked to the cliff over looking the valley, and put his hands out. Down below in valley, the ground seemed to open into a gigantic hole as Cid's hands moved apart, as if he were tearing the ground open with his hands. Out of the hole sprang what seemed to be a gigantic rhinocerous, except out of each side of its head came a curved sort of tusk. It easily leaped out of the valley, and landed right next to cid, who patted it on the head. Cid whispered, "You may go." And it leaped down into the valley and landed in the hole just as it closed behind him.
Cid turned to the group. "Sorry I didn't keep him, but he tends to attack strangers." He nodded to Barret and Cloud, who laughed. "Ok. Next up is Leviathan, the Water Summon, who has all Water magic, plus Tidal wave, Holy, and Flare." He placed both his hands on the ground and began to concentrate. His eyes closed and he gritted his teeth in concentration, until he rose and stepped away. Water began to seep out of the ground. It formed a small puddle on the ground. Cid sat down lazily, taking the water from Talon, who seemed dumbstruck.
"That's it? That's hardly a summon –" his words were cut short. At that moment, the puddle instantly widened, and a dragon burst from the water. It was near 100 feet long, and as soon as its entire snakelike body had emerged from the puddle (which had become the size of a small lake), the puddle dried up and Leviathan curled up on the ground, his gigantic head looking directly at Cid.
"Hello again, Cid. It is somewhat of an honor to be in your service again. These are friends?" He flicked his head at the group.
"Yes. Would you like to leave or stay while I summon Hades and Bahamut?"
"I do not know. Before I do anything, I would like to speak to the Chosen one."
There seemed to be a flash of black light, and Talon stiffened. "Why? What do you want with me?"
Leviathan chuckled, which was such a strangely gentle sound that Talon relaxed immediately. "I wish to endow you with knowledge. You, as the Chosen one, must know of the secret of the guardian of the Lost Castle of Power. The Arestolites, blessed though they may be, know nothing of the guardian. Leif used me against him when he and Shela stole Shadowfang and Shadowhorn. But be assured, Talon, that when he turned evil, I did not go with him. The guardian of the castle is not one, not two, but three guardians in reality. The first will be the hardest for you. You have to fight yourself. A demon version of yourself will come from a cursed mirror, and you must defeat him. He has all the physical skills you do, but you must find within you the one quality that no demon possesses. You must find a thought that expresses this feeling, and the demon will be vanquished. The second guardian is the fabled Stone Giant. You cannot hurt him with your blade, so you must summon holy power against him. If you should need assistance with this task, look to the sky. And by no means should you give him the Sword! Third and final, you will face the most daring task of all. You will find an old man in the room beyond, surrounded by the Legendary Weapons. You must approach him and hand him the hilt of the sword, and speak the following words, and nothing else besides. 'Judge me. I am pure of heart and have no sin. I am he born from the mouth of a dragon, and I shall claim vengeance itself from these forges and strike down the source of all evil' No matter what he may say, unless he tells you to speak freely, say NOTHING, and nothing besides. The last thing I must tell you is that when you speak to the man, you must be alone. None of your allies may enter until given permission by the man. Learn well this lesson, Talon."
There was a second flash of black light, and Leviathan turned back to Cid. "Never mind. The information I have for him is not important," he said, glancing quickly and meaningly at Talon. "I shall go." The puddle that had disappeared returned, and Leviathan dove into it, disappearing all to quickly. When he was gone, Talon felt a strange emptiness inside of him.
Cid stood up. "Right," he said. "Next is Hades. I suggest you all cover your eyes for a moment. 3…2…1…" Even though he had his eyes closed, Talon seemed to sense a cold wind flash over him. "Okay." When they all looked back at him, he held a ball of energy in his hand, and this one was the darkest, deepest black any of them had ever seen. Instead of hurling it at the ground like Cloud did, he rolled it away from the group. After rolling about 10 feet, it burst, and a black hole seemed to form in the ground. Out of it came what seemed to be the Grim Reaper. It had a scythe and everything. It walked to Cid, and silently stood next to him. "This is Hades. His attacks are Reap, Death, Doom, Holy, Flare, and Potion. What they all do is obvious." Cid slammed and fist into Hades, and he disappeared. "He too likes to attack strangers."
Cid seemed to straighten up. "Right. Everyone get by the entrance of the cave except you, Talon. I need you to prepare to attack in case something comes out of the Void with him. It's happened." Behind him, Barret was nodding vigorously. "Right. Here we go." He pulled a box of cigarettes out of his back pocket, lit one, and put it away. He inhaled deeply, for such a long time that Talon thought he was going to burst. But finally, Cid pulled the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the ground, grinding it out. He exhaled smoke forcefully, and then motioned for Talon to back up. They both backed up as the smoke formed the shape of a dragon, not one like Leviathan, but like a real dragon. As the smoke cleared, there was not a dragon standing there, but yet another black hole. Talon could see that through the hole seemed to be empty space. In the distance, he saw a gray form hurtling towards the hole. It got bigger and bigger until suddenly Talon realized it was a dragon.
It opened its mouth and shouted, "Close the portal! I've got Zeromus on my tail! CLOSE IT FOR GODS SAKE!" Cid went white and began to close the portal. Talon caught a glimpse of a purple vapor directly behind the dragon. The dragon shot through the hole just as Cid closed it behind him.
"Nice to see you again, Bahamut." Cid extended his hand, which the dragon took, and turned to Talon.
"Is this the enemy? He's small," he said mockingly. "I will crush him on your order."
"No, Bahamut. This is Talon, the Chosen one."
"The Chosen one! Ha! What a joke. He's too small and weak to be the Chosen one –" his words were cut off as everyone else approached and Barret spoke up.
"That's what I said. He knocked me out with one punch, Bahamut!" he grinned.
Bahamut seemed to brighten. He roared and charged at Barret, tackling him. "Barret! So good to see you again. But you still owe me fifty credits on that bet on whether or not I could beat Crystal Weapon. Pay up, or I'll have to kill you."
Barret laughed. "Alright, here." He handed him a handful of money. "I still can't believe you did it. That Mega Flare of yours packs a punch."
Bahamut nodded. "Yes." He turned back to Cid. "How long may I stay?"
Cid shrugged. "As long as you like."
"Where are you going?"
Talon piped up. "The Lost Castle of Power."
Bahamut frowned. "No. I will not go in there again. If I have to fight that accursed shadow beast again, I will not go."
Talon laughed. "You won't. Only I fight the shadow, and I cannot summon you."
Bahamut relaxed. "I will go as far as the castle. But until that time I would like to –" They never found out just what it was that he wanted to do, for at that moment Talon let out a cry of surprise as a strange purple vapor came from a small black hole near the fire.
Cid gasped. "No! What have I done? Zeromus has broken out of the Void because of me! Oh dear. Everyone prepare for combat!" He picked up his spear and positioned himself to fight.
Bahamut pushed him back. "No. I will do all I can to weaken him. Then it will be up to all of you to defeat him in his true form." He stepped forward and threw a punch at the vapor, which sent it flying back, and then the vapor expanded and formed itself into a blue beast about the size of Bahamut's wing. "Zeromus! Show your true form to me, the Aeon of Cecil, the Legendary Paladin! Show yourself!" The blue creature seemed to shudder, and then from it burst a gigantic beast, three times the size of Bahamut. It reminded Talon of Leviathan, but an evil one, and it seemed to be dried up. Bahamut jumped backwards and buried his claws into the ground. "I've been saving this for someone powerful, Zeromus, but I guess you'll have to do!" He opened his mouth as wide as he could, and inside there grew a gigantic blackness. The Void seemed to open up again from Bahamut's mouth. The circular object floating in midair parallel to Bahamut's back, which Talon had just noticed, began to spin. He raised his head, aiming his mouth directly at Zeromus, and then shot off a wave of energy. It had no color to it; it seemed to be a ripple in the air. It was like looking through water. But when it hit Zeromus, he was swallowed into a dark ball, and there was a quiet explosion that sounded muffled. When the ball disappeared, Zeromus fell to the ground, weak and injured.
Bahamut stood up. "Quickly! Attack him one by one! I'll attack him myself first!" He leapt forward, slashing his sharp wingtips and his claws at Zeromus in one movement, then flipped around and formed a bright orange ball in his hands. He let loose with the ball, and it became about 20 balls, and surrounded Zeromus before exploding with such force that he rose off the ground.
Bahamut could not stop his backward movement, so Cloud stepped forward. "I too have been saving something for someone special. Take this, Zeromus! OMNISLASH!" He held his sword in front of him, which seemed to turn black on it's own accord. He charged at Zeromus, and with amazing strength and speed slashed his sword wildly over and over, for a total of about 20 hits, before Zeromus swiped at him with his tail and knocked him away.
Barda and Auron both approached. They both held their swords in front of them and took turns drinking from the jar of liquor at Auron's hip. They spat it on their swords, and simultaneously, as if of one mind, they charged at Zeromus with their swords raised high as the swords themselves turned black. When they had almost reached the beast, they swung their sword into the ground and eight (four from each) black orbs edged with the colors of the rainbow came from the ground, and seemed to eat their way in and out of Zeromus, causing the beast massive pain. Once again, Zeromus weakly swept them aside.
Barret and Cid approached. They high fived each other, and both began to glow. They shouted together, "Limit Break!"
Cid strolled forward, inhaling from his cigarette. He puffed it into the air and shouted, "Highwind!" From nowhere, missiles and bullets came flooding down upon Zeromus, battering him into an even weaker state.
Barret stepped forward, gun raised. "Apocalypse!" he shouted. A glow came from the gun, and he leapt into the air, firing his gun in an awesome red blast that swept back and forth across Zeromus before fading completely. Barret and Cid were both swept aside.
Kimahri ran forward from nowhere, then vaulted off the ground using his spear and plunged it through the center of the beasts face. He launched backward and was about to fire a Meteor when a tail came from nowhere and threw him back into the cave. Zeromus was getting stronger.
Wakka approached and made one slash with his sword before being thrown into the cave with Kimahri. What an accomplishment, Talon thought.
Tifa and Wayne stepped up. Wayne stepped forward and shot his already charged Fira spell, which slammed into Zeromus, and he was still burning when Tifa stepped forward. She charged at it and shouted, "Limit Break! Ballistic Barrage!" She threw a variety of lightning-fast punches and kicks before being hit aside by Zeromus with a Fire spell.
Talon had watched all this guiltily, knowing that he should have charged into battle before anyone else. He had been studying everyone's encasement of attacks and had been entranced by the damage caused by Barret's Apocalypse, but it was seeing Tifa be blasted by the beast that snapped him out of the trance and threw him into a mad rage. He stepped forward to Zeromus smoothly and drew the flaming sword from his side, and pointed it at Zeromus. "YOU! YOU HAVE PLAGUED THIS WORLD LONG ENOUGH! BACK TO THE DEPTHS OF THE VOID WITH YOU!" with that, he leaped, his eyes flaming with rage, and brought the sword down upon Zeromus with the force of his strongest slash and a Fira spell, such force that once again, Zeromus lifted from the ground. Not satisfied, Talon launched off the beast, landing a good deal of distance away from it, before madly slashing at it, firing Fira after Fira after Fira until he could no longer see the beast because it was encased in an envelope of flame and smoke. STILL not satisfied, Talon held the sword high above his head, charging the Fira spell for a good minute, before letting lose with what Talon recognized to be not a Fira spell, but a Firaga, the next level of the spell. In his rage, he let loose early and the spell shot off into the sky. Talon roared in frustration, then ran at the battered remains of the beast, slashing faster and in larger quantities than Cloud could ever hope to achieve with an Omnislash. Each time, a Fira spell was let loose as well, and finally, the Firaga spell came rocketing back down to earth, slamming into Zeromus, and when the smoke cleared, nothing remained.