A/N: Here's chapter 25. I've only received two reviews for ch.24.  I hate being a fast updater. But this one wasn't as quick…sorry. Speaking of updates. JESSIE! YOU didn't update When Heart Rules over Mind! GRRRR! Lol. It's okay. Here's ch.25.

Summary – Rocket Town is attacked by Mako-Mutants and the group fight to protect it. Squall goes after the largest monster but realises that it isn't a mutant. It's Cloud's Neo Bahamut. Squall can't recognise the cloaked rider but follows him to Northern Continent on his Bahamut. The Neo Bahamut flies down a crater and into a building. Squall has discovered their hideout. But a surprise is waiting for them.

Chapter 25 – Going In

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"Are you sure Squall?" Rinoa asked.

"Definitely!"

They were all in the Sentinel. Squall had just told them what he had found.

"Wit we gonna do then?" Cid asked.

"Not all of us can go down. The crater is too small for the Sentinel to fit in. That's guys Neo Bahamut barely got through."

"WHAT!" Tifa said in surprise. Everyone turned to look at her. "But Cloud is the only one on this planet with a Neo Bahamut."

Squall nodded. "I know. I think they may have him captured there too."

"So who's gonna go?" Cid asked. No one answered straight away.

"I'm going." Squall said.

"Me too!" Rinoa said, looking at Squall. He looked at her and nodded.

"I'm coming with you." Tifa insisted. Squall was about to argue but he remembered that Tifa didn't want the group to know her secret.

"You ain't goin' nowhere without me!" Barret said loudly. "Let's get ol' Spike back where he belongs."

"We're coming too!" Zell shouted as he and Cid stood up.

"Cid don't you need to fly the Sentinel?" Tifa asked.

"Nah. Selphie and Irvine will tak' care o' it."

"Alright guys! Let's go!" Barret shouted and they all went to the deck of the Sentinel.

* * * * *

Soon, two Bahamut's and a Quezacotl were flying down the crater. They had told Selphie to stay at Rocket Town. The appearance of the Sentinel would alert the mutants to attack. That was something they didn't want.

The three creatures landed softly just outside the building and their ridings slipped off their backs.

Squall looked at the building closely. It looked like an old warehouse. The walls were made of wood and the windows were boarded up. It looked very small. Squall couldn't believe that all the Mako-Mutants they had fought came from here. He shrugged and signalled the others to follow him.

Tifa felt both scared and anxious. She wanted to see Cloud again, badly. But she then remembered her dream. What if it had been real? What if Cloud really was Sephiroth's puppet? What would happen to them? She hadn't told anyone about it. In case it really was just a dream.

The group walked in and a horrible stench reached their noses. They each tried to ignore it and continued through the room. It was empty except for a small elevator near the back wall.

They slowly entered it and pressed the only button to go down. The elevator would have easily fitted everyone in AVALANCHE in it. They all waited nervously as the lift descended.

Squall wondered what was down there. Was there a huge army of Mako-Mutants, waiting for them? Was the person responsible for the attacks there? His thoughts were cut short as the lift stopped.

The door opened and everyone gasped.

The room was huge. It looked like a sort of laboratory. They saw dozens of pods on either wall and creatures were inside.

Squall realised that they were the same pods he had seen in the Mako Reactor. And they also housed the Mako-Mutants. But there was no one in here. He saw a door at the other end of the room.

"C'mon, let's check in there." he told the others and he walked to it.

When everyone had gone through the door, it shut on its own. Everyone snapped there heads round. They were expected. They looked round the room. The room was totally empty. There was a large gate at one end of the room and a door was next to it. They started to walk to it when they heard a voice.

"Glad to see you made it down safely."

They all looked round in surprise but there was no one there.

"Where are you!?" Squall shouted.

The voice spoke again, and it sounded like a radio.

"Don't worry Leonhart. You'll find out soon. But first I want to test you."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll have three fights. If you make it through alive…you'll be worthy to meet us."

"Us?"

"First, we'll test your strength."

Suddenly, the large gate opened, and a loud roar was heard. As the monster walked out, Squall could feel the ground shake beneath him. It walked out of the shadows of the gate, showing its yellow skin, its large horns and large tail. A King Behemoth.

Squall remembered this creature from Gold Saucer. Cloud had fought one and it had nearly killed him. But Cloud had already been in a bad state, Squall thought they would have a pretty good chance of beating it.

Squall unsheathed his Lionheart and held it in front of him. Cid took his spear from his back as Barret readied his gun. Rinoa junctioned her magic and stayed at the back with Tifa, who was ready with items. Zell walked up next to Squall and raised his fists.

The King Behemoth swung its tail round, attempting to hit the male members of the group. They all jumped and advanced, except Barret. Squall jumped and grabbed onto one of its horns. He then thrust his Gunblade into its eye and pulled the trigger. The Behemoth screamed in pain and shook Squall off. He landed hard on his back, and realised that his gunblade was still in its eye. The monster raised its claw and tried to crush him. But Squall rolled away and its foot landed mere inches away from him.

Cid and Zell had already climbed onto the Behemoth and were now trying to penetrate the creature's skull. It was oblivious to them as Cid's spear and Zell's fists continuously jabbed at the same spot over and over. But it couldn't ignore Barret. He was blasting away at the creature's tail, to take away its only long range attack. He was so busy that he didn't notice that a black cloud loomed at the top of the room. Through the cloud came several, flaming comets heading straight for him. He didn't notice it…but Rinoa did. She cast Reflect on Barret and the comets bounced off it. They then backfired and struck the Behemoth. They singed its skin and left huge wounds where they had hit.

Cid finally managed to strike his spear through its skull and into its brain. The Behemoth shrieked but it quickly stopped and collapsed, very dead. Squall walked up and removed his Gunblade and Cid withdrew his spear.

As soon as the creature had fallen, another came through the gate. This one sounded even larger and even stronger. As it came out the gate, they could make out the monsters large red wings and long tail. Spikes trailed down its back and long claws owned its short, but thick arms.

"A Dark Dragon." Cid told them. Squall nodded. The monster reminded him of a T-Rexaur, but it was more dangerous and scary looking.

The Dark Dragon rose onto its black legs and shrieked. Everyone had to cover their ears because of the noise, but it didn't help much. Squall scrunched up his eyes and tried his best to block out the sound. He opened his eyes to see a green fog surrounding the dragon. He recognised it instantly.

"Get out the way!" he shouted to them, "It's about to use Ultima!"

But no one could get out the way in time, so they were all blasted to the ground. Squall quickly got up and cast Cure3-all, healing everyone. He then turned and snarled at the Dragon before rushing forward. He ducked underneath its arm, as it swiped at him, and sliced its underbelly. The blade only just got through the monsters tough skin, but blood sprayed out of the wound.

Cid threw his spear and it impaled the Dragon's chest, causing it to shriek loudly again. Zell quickly shut it up by upper-cutting its jaw. In return, he got clawed down his chest. Barret rapidly shot at the creatures arm. As a result, it eventually fell off. Rinoa signalled all of them to move away. They rushed back to the group. Squall lifted Zell and carried him over. Rinoa blasted the weakened Dragon with an Apocalypse spell and it fell dead on the floor.

They all cheered and whooped. Tifa drew out a Megalixir and passed it to everyone. They were all healed instantly. They noticed that the door across the room opened, so they all dashed to it.

Squall was actually filled with excitement. One more fight. They had already defeated two powerful monsters without much fuss. How hard could this battle be?

The door shut behind them and they looked around the room anxiously. They heard the voice again.

"Congratulations. Two fights that were won easily. I think you'll find this fight to be more difficult."

"Yeah! You keep telling yourself that pal!" Squall shouted confidently, "We'll toast anything that you through against us!"

They heard the person laugh as Squall finished.

"No…I assure you. This fight won't be as easy as you think."

Squall saw another gate open, but this one was considerably smaller than the last one. He heard footsteps from inside the gate. Squall tensed. The next fight was against a human.

The footsteps got louder as the person came closer. Through the shadows, Squall couldn't make out their opponent. But everyone's eyes widened with shock as he stepped out of the gate.

His opponents eyes narrowed and he smirked when he noticed their disbelief.

"Oh no." Tifa whispered.

"No way!" Zell shouted.

"It can't be!" Squall gasped.

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Shout-outs –

no one – I may have Bahamut Zero next chapter…I may not. Wait and see.