Author's Note:
I don't own Final Fantasy.
Chapter Thirty One
Sending A Dream Into The Universe
Everyone was nervous. All the little signs were there. Cid was in the pilot's seat, chain smoking at a ridiculous pace. Barret stood by himself, muttering about how he hoped Marlene was all right with Aeris' mother and Shera. Red XIII scratched frequently, but gave people odd looks when the word 'flea' was even suggested. Tifa paced, hovering between Rude and Cloud. Even the old Turk didn't seem him normal, relaxed and stoic self.
Only Cloud was without a gnawing fear. He stood at the front of the bridge, peering out the window, hoping for some break in the clouds so that he could see Obsidian. There was no doubt, no fear, no apprehension. There was only anticipation. Everyone on board could tell that he seemed eager about this confrontation.
"We're nearin' Midgar," Cid said. "The readin's definitely there. I'm pickin' it up on my radar now. Yeah, that thing's nearly the same as the ones we've seen before. Bit different, but mostly the same."
Cid looked at the scanned to his side and muttered. There were way too many red blips on it for his liking.
"What do you mean different?" Cloud asked.
"I don't know, kid. I'm getting some sort of reading about a large power mass nearby, and... hold on!"
The Highwind rocked to the side as a golden blast flared by the bridge. Cloud staggered by Cid, and nearly fell. He gripped onto one of the railings.
"What the hell was that?"
"Readings say someone's playin' around with a godamn Summon Materia down there! Powerful, too! Hold on to your shorts and don't piss in 'em!"
The Highwind jolted to the side again, to starboard this time. Everyone on the bridge flailed about, most falling down. Cloud gripped onto his rail and stood staring out the window, hoping to make out something among the energy blasts.
The clouds cleared and a gasp came from Cid. He heard the others do the same. Obsidian was just as beautiful as it had been before; sleek, powerful, meant more for speed than brute force. In one hand it gripped what was once one of the Shinra towers, bradishing it as a weapon. In the other was a dragon-like shape, gripped by the throat. Bahamut.
But it was different, unlike its original form, or those of Neo Bahamut or Bahamut ZERO.
"The hell is that?" Barret asked.
"It looks like Bahamut!" Tifa yelled.
The old pilot looked at the radar screen again and swore. Cid growled, "Shit! My scanners are saying.... shit!"
The Highwind rocked again as a blast of golden fire erupted from Bahamut's mouth directly at Obsidian. It engulfed the Weapon's face, but parts of the blast deflected away, headed towards the Highwind. Cid expertly flew above and below them, dodging them.
Rude stumbled towards Cloud and grabbed the rail. "I know what that is."
"It's Bahamut. We know what it is."
Rude shook his head. "It's Bahamut's fourth and final form. A long time ago Tseng came into possession of a Summon Materia. I don't know how he came by it, but he mentioned it to me once. It's called Shin Bahamut. And unlike other summons, it doesn't just attack and then retreat into the Materia from where you summoned it. It keeps attacking until its target is dead. He had locked it up in an old Turk store room, but..." Rude swore. "But Reno and Elena retrieved it and took it right to Rufus."
"Can it be killed somehow? Defeated?"
Rude shrugged. "Before Shin Bahamut, I had never heard of something anywhere nearly as powerful as it. But now... Proud Clod, Weapons, Sephiroth... I don't know. It could be."
"Shit, my scanners just went all wonky again!"
The Highwind flew by the fight again, and saw that Obsidian had already recovered from the blast by Shin Bahamut. The Weapon was using the Shinra tower as a club, striking the Summoned monster about and wounding it. From behind it, a giant red shape was emerging.
"Ah shit!" Barret said, "That's that Proud Clod thing! Didn't we bust that up?"
Rude answered, "It looks like Rufus rebuilt it."
Cid rammed down on the controls, and swore. Another blast rocketed by the bridge from Shin Bahamut. The ship jolted as the beam impacted on the starboard engine. Cid looked at the terminal on his left hand side, and his heart sunk. And Highwind II was such a good ship, too.
"How badly are we hit?" Cloud asked.
"Not bad at all. Little bit of damage on the starboard side. I think we should abandon ship just in case, and let me do an emergency landing. Just to be safe."
"Can you get us near Obsidian?"
Cid nodded numbly. "I can get you between Obsidian and Proud Clod, keep the two separated while Obsidian and that new Bahamut duke it out."
"Perfect. Do it, Cid."
"One more question, kid."
"Yeah?"
"How sure are you that Obsidian's Aeris?"
"Absolutely certain. I've never been more certain of anything in my life."
"Good. Just wanted to know what I was riskin' myself for. Always liked that girl. Had way more sense than the rest of you numbskulls combined, even if she was a bit weird. Alright, get your chutes and abandon ship already. You're gettin' in my way. Still need to dodge that damn dragon's blasts!"
Cloud nodded then turned away from Cid. When the bridge was emptied, Cid pulled one smoke out of his coat pocket. He stuck it in his mouth and lit it with a liter produced from his pocket. He shouldn't have done that while trying to pilot the wounded Highwind in the firefight, but he figured just one, last cigarette before he quit once and for all would be nice.
He puffed on it. Felt nice.
He dodged another blast from the dragon, and frowned. Obsidian looked like it... or she... was winning, but Shin Bahamut just wasn't appearing to notice the wounds it was taking. Obsidian needed to land one, good fatal wound to finish it, something quick.
Cid rammed down hard on the controls and swung the airship between Obsidian and Proud Clod. He reached over and flicked the ship's speaker phone on.
"Alright, you numbskulls! Abandon ship already, and rip Proud Clod a new one!"
He glanced over to the video monitors showing the Avalanche members and his own fellow engineers jumping off the outside deck and parachute away. Cloud was the last off, and seemed to hesitate. The Soldier washout looked directly at the video camera and nodded, almost a salute in the respect it showed.
Maybe the kid wasn't such a damn numbskull after all.
As soon as Cloud was off and cleared, Cid rammed down hard on the controls again, turning the ship the other way. Too many things in his life had been a disappointment. He tried not to think of the failures, the rejections, the stupid mistakes, or his damn legs, and just focused on the one single moment in his life that he hadn't screwed up. He remembered space, and how large it was, and how small the planet was.
A smile spread across his face. He really wished he could see that again.
The smile was still on his face as the Highwind II crashed directly into the maw of Shin Bahamut.
I don't own Final Fantasy.
Chapter Thirty One
Sending A Dream Into The Universe
Everyone was nervous. All the little signs were there. Cid was in the pilot's seat, chain smoking at a ridiculous pace. Barret stood by himself, muttering about how he hoped Marlene was all right with Aeris' mother and Shera. Red XIII scratched frequently, but gave people odd looks when the word 'flea' was even suggested. Tifa paced, hovering between Rude and Cloud. Even the old Turk didn't seem him normal, relaxed and stoic self.
Only Cloud was without a gnawing fear. He stood at the front of the bridge, peering out the window, hoping for some break in the clouds so that he could see Obsidian. There was no doubt, no fear, no apprehension. There was only anticipation. Everyone on board could tell that he seemed eager about this confrontation.
"We're nearin' Midgar," Cid said. "The readin's definitely there. I'm pickin' it up on my radar now. Yeah, that thing's nearly the same as the ones we've seen before. Bit different, but mostly the same."
Cid looked at the scanned to his side and muttered. There were way too many red blips on it for his liking.
"What do you mean different?" Cloud asked.
"I don't know, kid. I'm getting some sort of reading about a large power mass nearby, and... hold on!"
The Highwind rocked to the side as a golden blast flared by the bridge. Cloud staggered by Cid, and nearly fell. He gripped onto one of the railings.
"What the hell was that?"
"Readings say someone's playin' around with a godamn Summon Materia down there! Powerful, too! Hold on to your shorts and don't piss in 'em!"
The Highwind jolted to the side again, to starboard this time. Everyone on the bridge flailed about, most falling down. Cloud gripped onto his rail and stood staring out the window, hoping to make out something among the energy blasts.
The clouds cleared and a gasp came from Cid. He heard the others do the same. Obsidian was just as beautiful as it had been before; sleek, powerful, meant more for speed than brute force. In one hand it gripped what was once one of the Shinra towers, bradishing it as a weapon. In the other was a dragon-like shape, gripped by the throat. Bahamut.
But it was different, unlike its original form, or those of Neo Bahamut or Bahamut ZERO.
"The hell is that?" Barret asked.
"It looks like Bahamut!" Tifa yelled.
The old pilot looked at the radar screen again and swore. Cid growled, "Shit! My scanners are saying.... shit!"
The Highwind rocked again as a blast of golden fire erupted from Bahamut's mouth directly at Obsidian. It engulfed the Weapon's face, but parts of the blast deflected away, headed towards the Highwind. Cid expertly flew above and below them, dodging them.
Rude stumbled towards Cloud and grabbed the rail. "I know what that is."
"It's Bahamut. We know what it is."
Rude shook his head. "It's Bahamut's fourth and final form. A long time ago Tseng came into possession of a Summon Materia. I don't know how he came by it, but he mentioned it to me once. It's called Shin Bahamut. And unlike other summons, it doesn't just attack and then retreat into the Materia from where you summoned it. It keeps attacking until its target is dead. He had locked it up in an old Turk store room, but..." Rude swore. "But Reno and Elena retrieved it and took it right to Rufus."
"Can it be killed somehow? Defeated?"
Rude shrugged. "Before Shin Bahamut, I had never heard of something anywhere nearly as powerful as it. But now... Proud Clod, Weapons, Sephiroth... I don't know. It could be."
"Shit, my scanners just went all wonky again!"
The Highwind flew by the fight again, and saw that Obsidian had already recovered from the blast by Shin Bahamut. The Weapon was using the Shinra tower as a club, striking the Summoned monster about and wounding it. From behind it, a giant red shape was emerging.
"Ah shit!" Barret said, "That's that Proud Clod thing! Didn't we bust that up?"
Rude answered, "It looks like Rufus rebuilt it."
Cid rammed down on the controls, and swore. Another blast rocketed by the bridge from Shin Bahamut. The ship jolted as the beam impacted on the starboard engine. Cid looked at the terminal on his left hand side, and his heart sunk. And Highwind II was such a good ship, too.
"How badly are we hit?" Cloud asked.
"Not bad at all. Little bit of damage on the starboard side. I think we should abandon ship just in case, and let me do an emergency landing. Just to be safe."
"Can you get us near Obsidian?"
Cid nodded numbly. "I can get you between Obsidian and Proud Clod, keep the two separated while Obsidian and that new Bahamut duke it out."
"Perfect. Do it, Cid."
"One more question, kid."
"Yeah?"
"How sure are you that Obsidian's Aeris?"
"Absolutely certain. I've never been more certain of anything in my life."
"Good. Just wanted to know what I was riskin' myself for. Always liked that girl. Had way more sense than the rest of you numbskulls combined, even if she was a bit weird. Alright, get your chutes and abandon ship already. You're gettin' in my way. Still need to dodge that damn dragon's blasts!"
Cloud nodded then turned away from Cid. When the bridge was emptied, Cid pulled one smoke out of his coat pocket. He stuck it in his mouth and lit it with a liter produced from his pocket. He shouldn't have done that while trying to pilot the wounded Highwind in the firefight, but he figured just one, last cigarette before he quit once and for all would be nice.
He puffed on it. Felt nice.
He dodged another blast from the dragon, and frowned. Obsidian looked like it... or she... was winning, but Shin Bahamut just wasn't appearing to notice the wounds it was taking. Obsidian needed to land one, good fatal wound to finish it, something quick.
Cid rammed down hard on the controls and swung the airship between Obsidian and Proud Clod. He reached over and flicked the ship's speaker phone on.
"Alright, you numbskulls! Abandon ship already, and rip Proud Clod a new one!"
He glanced over to the video monitors showing the Avalanche members and his own fellow engineers jumping off the outside deck and parachute away. Cloud was the last off, and seemed to hesitate. The Soldier washout looked directly at the video camera and nodded, almost a salute in the respect it showed.
Maybe the kid wasn't such a damn numbskull after all.
As soon as Cloud was off and cleared, Cid rammed down hard on the controls again, turning the ship the other way. Too many things in his life had been a disappointment. He tried not to think of the failures, the rejections, the stupid mistakes, or his damn legs, and just focused on the one single moment in his life that he hadn't screwed up. He remembered space, and how large it was, and how small the planet was.
A smile spread across his face. He really wished he could see that again.
The smile was still on his face as the Highwind II crashed directly into the maw of Shin Bahamut.