Chapter 6: The Darkest Knight



The closer everybody got to the door, the more intense the yellow light seemed to shine. Could the room's inhabitant be feeding on their fear? Cloud's hand began to shake a little as he reached forward to open the door.

'Come on Cloud, get it together!'

He had destroyed a god-like madman, and even vanquished all four super powerful creatures called WEAPONS that would have easily returned the world back to nothingness. Not even the mighty Shinra Corporation that had seemingly unlimited resources could stand long against their assault.

So why was he so scared right now? What was so different about this person that had Cloud frozen in his tracks? Something was elusive within the whole equation. It was a feeling he had since both squads left purgatory. Both Nanaki and Cloud had suspected that the voice wasn't telling them something, and perhaps now whatever it was would stab them in the back. Or maybe what he lacked this time was the spiritual protection from his departed loved one. Aeris had been there for him, reaching out to the reluctant guardian of the planet when all was thought to be lost. Her noble sacrifice and devotion were what had saved the planet from destruction, not his brute strength.

Cloud shook the thought off and realized that he had all of his friends with him. With them fighting together, he knew that they would be unbeatable. In this confident state he kicked the door open as hard as he could, causing it to dent before recoiling against the wall and swinging back. Tifa jumped, startled by the sudden noise, and she tore her attention away from the circling Ragnarok to gaze in his direction. Snapping back to attention she barged into the room along with everybody else. The golden light from before immediately blacked out and everybody was left in the dark.

"What kinda game is this?" Barret blurted aloud, "I don' like it Cloud."

"Me either," Nanaki added, "be on your guard."

Warily they all filed in, remaining close in vicinity to one another so they wouldn't become separated from one another in the darkness. Through the eerie silence, only the shuffling of feet against impure metal could be heard. Cloud entered deeper into Adel's room and started to notice that not all the light was gone. A false sunlight seemed to emanate from the center of the room and cast a weak haze over everything. It became thicker the farther they progressed. A soft, pulsating glow was gently burning in the wires that composed the room and it seemed to be getting stronger with each passing moment. Cloud's insecurity spread like an epidemic and this once fearless group now trod like they were walking on glass. The slightest sound or movement caused them to become uneasy.

"Guys, do you see any trace of Rinoa or Seifer?" Tifa asked.

"No, keep quiet and keep moving . . . alright?" Cloud response was a little harsher than it needed to be, but he was far more uptight than the rest of his friends. He knew full well what would happen if Rinoa was allowed to meld with Adel. It would mean Armageddon all over again.

There was a scream, a popping sound, a burst of energy and the bright yellow wires criss-crossing the ceiling above them came to life. A million rivers of light spread across the entire vicinity and highlighted the walls with their artificial flame. A loud hum drowned out all other noise and the focus of the light shifted directly to the middle of the room. Seifer held onto his captive by shear determination as she struggled for dear life. A shadow slowly descended from the ceiling, blocking out the light with its dark frame. Adel looked to be able to manipulate these wires at will and she used them to lower herself to the level of Cloud and her other challengers. In all respects she looked like a cold, dead figure, but in an instant an evil red glow came from her eyes and she tore through her restraints. Pieces of her prison crashed to the floor below and disintegrated on impact from the dark power she gave off.

"You got to be kidding me . . ." Cid mouthed in awe, letting his cigarette fall from his mouth.

"Seifer, don't do this! Let me go!" Rinoa pleaded.

"I must follow my sorceress' wishes Rinoa. If only you had accepted your fate, maybe I could have been your Knight instead," Seifer explained, loosening his grip slightly out of hatred for himself.

A grin spread across Adel's face as she examined her new vessel. She could feel the potential power she would obtain from merging with the younger sorceress and it drove her wild with anticipation. Her body prepared itself for the upcoming joining of souls, liquefying her chest so that Rinoa could easily be taken into herself. Adel opened her mouth, and in a feat that defies science extended her hand far past its limits towards Rinoa. The rubbery appendage was approaching its target with deadly accuracy and would have connected had it not been for one sneaky ninja.

"HA!" The martial art prodigy flicked a pair of throwing stars directly at the Sorceress' Knight, watching with satisfaction as they buried themselves deeply into the arm holding Rinoa. Seeing Seifer's sudden distraction, the young woman broke free and dove to her left and to freedom.

"NOOOOO!!!" Adel screamed in horror as her fist plunged through the stomach of the stunned Seifer. Her hand came out the other side with a waterfall of flesh and blood, and the former SeeD student collapsed to the ground. Adel's power had been too wild, too untamed . . . and now she would pay the ultimate price. Her arm retracted uncontrollably and reeled Seifer in, the impact of his body against hers knocked both to the ground and behind the remnants of the cryogenic prison.

"Seifer!" Rinoa's cry was one of despair, and she dashed towards the SeeD candidate with a speed born from the love they had once shared.

"Rinoa NO!" Cloud screamed as he tackled her to the ground. She lay there under his weight, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I didn't want this to happen to him," She cried, hitting the ground in frustration. Cloud helped Rinoa to her feet and she wiped away the tears with her forearm.

"Hey," Cloud said as he grabbed her by both arms, "You have to get out of here now. Squall is waiting for you, okay?" She nodded, "I'm sure when this is all over Seifer will be just fine. Now go!"

Reluctantly, she took one last look at the bloodstained wreckage and ran off. Cid and Tifa cautiously followed her incase something were to happen. After no sign of either of their foes getting up, Cloud motioned for Vincent and Barret to walk with him to check it out. Careful not to hurt themselves on the debris strewn about the room and the bare wires poking through the floor, the trio took their time. As they got around the crushed metal unit that had contained Adel, something flew by Barret, barely missing him.

"What the hell?"

"Everybody get down!" Vincent ordered his friends.

More deadly debris began flying through the air, missing the three to become embedded in the ceiling above. The wires began shorting out and the light became weaker around that area. In the dim light, Cloud was able to make out a figure pushing itself to its feet.

"Seifer, give up and stay down!" Cloud yelled as he quickly drew his Ultima Weapon from its sheath.

"Seifer isn't here . . . " A raspy, double voice responded. Bewildered, Barret took a step closer to the shadowy person, "Fools! You will all die now!" a shockwave of orange light erupted from the person and shot through the ceiling and into the afternoon sky above. The three tumbled backwards helplessly as the force of the blast overpowered them. Hearing the noise from the outside, Cid and Tifa hurried back in, just in time to see Cloud and the others land heavily on their backs

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she rushed to his unmoving body, "are you okay?"

"Did somebody get the number of that train?" He mumbled, his mind in a stunned daze.

"Heh," She chuckled, holding back a tear, "What happened?"

Cloud didn't have time to answer. The material that composed the ceiling and walls of the Lunatic Pandora rained into the chamber along with a beam of sunlight from the outside. Tifa could see for herself what had happened. In Adel's excited state, her body was had become very susceptible to fusing. In desperation for the merger, she had been unable to react in time to stop her mad lunge following Rinoa's sudden escape. Instead of her goal, the merging of body and mind with that of Rinoa, her plans had been shattered with the absorption of Seifer.

Their two bodies became one, each complimenting the other. However, Seifer's undefeated personality and insatiable hunger for battle disrupted the process. He took Adel into his own self and became a diabolical Sorcerer Knight with unimaginable powers. His original clothes had been cast aside, and in their place blood-red armor that spiked outwards in demonic fashion spider-webbed all over his body. His blonde hair had turned fiery red orange and archaic tattoos begun to spring up like magic across his neck and face.

"Umm guys," Yuffie whimpered as she stepped back from the abomination. Seifer directed his attention towards her movement and began to walk towards the ninja. Barret and Vincent were still getting up, unaware of the situation, while Tifa was helping a groggy Cloud to his feet. Nearby, but still too far away to help, Cid was running in towards her with the Venus Gospel raised. Alone, unable to flee, Yuffie began the attack, "So you want some? Come and get it!" After a quick wind up, Yuffie let loose a barrage of razor sharp ninja stars. They all hit their target dead on but Seifer's armor deflected them away without any harm to him.

Seifer smiled at his newfound power and continued to make his way towards Yuffie. He raised his right hand and flicked his wrist. A wicked red blade extended from the top of his armored gauntlet. It was double sided, with curved indentions and holes in the middle to decrease pull from the wind when he swung it. It looked very similar to the Apocalypse Sword that Cloud had once wielded.

Frustrated, and now slightly shaking in fear, Yuffie readied herself for another attack, "You'll pay for taking me lightly," She said, gripping her weapon The Conformer as tight as she could with two hands, "Take this!" Godo's daughter charged the Knight Sorcerer with all the speed she had, channeling all her energy into the large spiked battle disc. Seifer always loved a challenge and began to run as well. He taunted her by running with the sword behind his body like he always did. It was her Greased Lightning attack against his lone Dark Blood Sword.

Yuffie leapt a few feet into the air and came down hard with all her strength. Seifer twisted his sword around from behind and whipped it around in a wide, sweeping arc. The weapons met with a horrible screech and the young girl went flying through the air like a rag doll.

"Yuffie!" Cid shouted as he saw his friend slam against the ground and hit her head, "You son of bitch, you'll pay for hurting her!" the captain started a rush of his own and was upon the Knight faster than Yuffie. He was also more powerful. He wound up the Venus Gospel over his head like a bat and Seifer barely had time to put up a decent defense. The solid steel spear struck the Dark Blood Sword and sent the half sorcerer sliding backwards across the ground.

"Nice move, but I won't let you do it again," the fused Seifer pointed out to his assailant. It only served to anger the pilot more. After a string of curses and missed blows, Cid was on the defensive. Seifer's blows were amazingly powerful and the aging pilot could feel the strength behind them increasing with each hit. Dents and chinks were accumulating on the blade and handle of the Venus Gospel faster than a thousand battles could have done and Cid knew he had to act fast.

"Ha!" After a near miss by the former sorceress knight, Cid jumped into the air and flipped forward with all his weight. The edge of his weapon glowed pink and blue as he charged up for a Hyper Jump. He was about to split Seifer's armor in half when all of the sudden a huge tentacle made of yellow wires grew from the floor and wrapped around his body. They quickly bound around his arms and legs, causing him to drop his Venus Gospel on the ground below, "God damn it!"

The smile on Seifer's face widened even more as he manipulated the wires tighter around his enemy's neck and body.

"Heads up!" Tifa alerted Seifer an instant before rocking his jaw with a crushing uppercut. A beam of light shot from Cloud's sword across the ground and hit the knight as he was reeling, knocking him even further back. Instead of dissipating it divided into three other beams and cut the bottom off the bundle of wires. As the wires around Cid loosened and allowed him to move again, Nanaki came to his aid to make sure he was okay. Other than being a little light headed, the captain was fine.

"And fo good measure mutha fugga," Barret's gun rattled his hand as a ball of energy collected at the end. He pulled the trigger, letting loose the Big Shot across the room. The staggering Seifer summoned a wall of wires to block the limit break but it tore right through it and pounded him right in the middle of the chest. This time he couldn't keep his balance and his armor sparked across the floor carrying him far away from the combat zone where the fighting was going on.

After a few moments of writhing on the floor, Seifer got back up to his feet. His spiked armor was smoldering and a part of it had blown off from the last attack. A line of red dripped down his lip but he was quick to lick it away. The odds were against him still, despite his newfound power, "Seven against one, now that's not fair," Seifer's voice sounded a little like Adel's as he continued to talk. It seemed like the weaker he got, the stronger she was becoming. Another sword popped out of the gauntlet on his other wrist and he crossed both of them together into an X, "no matter."

"Give it up Seifer! As long as we fight together you can't defeat us!" Nanaki growled across the room.

"That's what you think!" Seifer snapped back, "I won't lose to the likes of you! I won't lose ever again!!!" Drawing on Adel's powers inside of his own body, Seifer closed the void in his breastplate called upon all of his remaining power, "AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

The ground underneath him crumbled away as a red sphere enveloped his body. Strands of energy would occasionally stray away and strike the ceiling, but for the most part Seifer remained inside, unseen.

"What's he doing?" Nanaki asked as he kept a safe distance from the roaring red globe.

"I don't know but I'm not waiting to find out like last time!" a renewed Yuffie yelled. Taking one step forward she unleashed a powerful Lightning 3 spell above the ball of energy. Pure blue light collected above Seifer and a bolt of lightning zapped downwards a hundred times onto the ball. The sphere changed color to purple but the magic seemed to be negated.

Tifa raised both of her fists into the air and launched a spell of her own. Fire 3 wrapped around the other ball of energy and exploded into a hurricane of flame before wearing out. As the last remaining balls of flame burnt out, all that could be seen was a smoking sea of red swirling around Seifer.

"Don't waste your magic power," Vincent called out to his friends, "He'll come out when he comes out."

"At least like this he can't harm anybody." Nanaki added. With their magic harmlessly being absorbed by Seifer's and Adel's magic shell and reflective armor, they had no other choice.

It seemed that as soon as everybody halted their assault, the shield around Seifer shut down and faded away. The group of heroes were now able to see why the Knight Sorcerer had chosen that tactic in the first place. He had gone through a metamorphosis, and one of the obvious abilities he acquired was that of flight. Another change was that of his physical look. His eyes were now totally red, pupils and all. All that remained of his lens was a black cat-like slit. Seifer had also grown an extra four limbs that were an extension of his armor but contained all the skill and knowledge that he had. It was as if his armor was alive . . .

"My turn," Seifer stated, raising his hand outwards with his palm facing the ceiling. He formed a fist in one solid movement and the entire room came to life. Pillars of wire began shooting out of the floor and slamming through the ceiling to the roof of the Lunatic Pandora. Cloud and the others were diving out of the way as fast as they could, trying not to get crushed by the innards of the living monolith. As long as the wires continued to jut out of the ground, it left them all off guard and defenseless, "The girl that hit me dies first!"

"No you don't!" Red XIII cried out as he watched Seifer fly from his stationary position and dive towards Tifa, "Cosmo Memory!" The feral instincts awakened inside of the Ancient and his howl echoed throughout the room. Power that he kept deep inside took the form of an orange spinning orb above his head. Nanaki's anger was well beyond its limit and he couldn't hold back any longer. He took a solid stance on the ground and let loose all the energy the planet could muster for his attack. The ray of never ending fire poured out the orb and took off across the room, incinerating all the towers of wire in its path.

Tifa had been struggling the entire time, barely dodging each new attack. She had seen Seifer too late and he was seconds from pouncing on her. With four more daggers extending from his fresh limbs, it looked like the end for the martial art master.

"Tifa!" Cloud screamed as he darted through the jungle of electrical wires.

The darkened parts of the room suddenly became illuminated as the light from Red's attack set everything it touched on fire. Seifer was a few feet away from his target but that would be as close as he got. The extreme limit break collided with the sorcerer and carried him through hundreds of shining pillars before embedding him into the wall.

"Give him everything you got!" Cloud yelled.

"All Creation!" Yuffie screamed as she somersaulted around a column and fired the blue and purple beam from her Conformer. The discharged excess energy burned a huge hole right through the center of the room as it bore down on Seifer. He tried to push himself off the wall so the attack would miss him, but it ended up hitting him like a tidal wave, bending his arms and legs in ways they were never meant to move as he got pushed deeper into the indention in the wall.

"I was meant to live forever . . ." Adel's voice was definitely taking residence in Seifer's now," I was chosen by Hyne to rule the world. I will not perish. Your efforts have been futile!" she stated in a disgruntled tone. Seifer closed his eyes and summoned all of the sorceress' energy into one final attack. Neon green particles accumulated between each pair of hands, dancing in the limited space like dying fireflies.

"He's using Ultima! Everybody Shield up!" Cloud, Barret and Cid tapped the Master Magic's in their bangles together and a bright light in the shape of a body shield appeared in front of each of them.

"It's too late for all of you!" Seifer announced just before casting the spells simultaneously. Three domes of destruction spread out like atom bombs from the hypocenter around the former sorceress knight. The ground collapsed outwards under the furious storm of green explosions and the more damaged parts of the room evaporated in a chain reaction. The immense explosion closed in on Cloud and his friends in a matter of seconds.

"Shield!" Yuffie screamed as she cast the barrier with the last ounce of magic she had. Vincent felt the heated wave as it got closer but he had used that spell right before it happened.

"Shi-" Red yelped as the ground beneath him disappeared before the spell reached him. He pawed for anything to grab onto but there was nothing. He began to fall and was unable to put up any type of defense as each Ultima began to do damage.