(Sniffle, sniffle) Where'd all my reviewers go? Certainly you all can't be dead. Perhaps you sick of this fic... I know I'm starting to be. I'm going to have to finish it soon cuz I have school in two weeks. Hmm.... perhaps you all left me cuz the last two chapters F$&%(#&% sucked! I admit they kind of did. But this one shall be better, in fact, it'll be so much better that y'all will come back to me =0) I shall have my reviewers MWAHAHA!
Disclaimer- (Peeks into room.) Nope not here either. (Scratches head in thought) Now where the hell did that idiot go off to now? (Growls in frustration) MALICE COME OUT HERE NOW! (Silence) ........ Oh that is so it! (Picks up phone and dials up a number) Yea its me..... the idiot left so you're replacing him..... Believe me I won't call ya pretty boy heh heh..... Good I'll be awaiting for your arrival. (Hangs phone up and smiles.) Just cuz I'm not trying to take over squaresoft (Or is it Square- Enix now?) Doesn't mean I'm out of danger. And if that idiot can't do his job I'll just have to hire someone else!
Chapter 58- Final Act Of Courage
'Attack!
Bullets are flying
People are dieing
With madness surrounding all hell's breaking loose
Soldiers are hounding
Bodies are mounting
Cannons are shouting to take their abuse
With war machines going
Blood starts to flowing
No mercy given to anyone, hear
The furious fighting
Swords are like lighting
It all becomes frightening to you
Know death is near'
(No Remorse- Metallica)
'Come on dammit! Let me through!' Zack shouts to himself as he frantically slashes at the barrier with his Buster Sword. The sword is merely deflected by the seemingly impenetrable force field. Zack jumps back a few feet then charges toward the barrier, his Buster Sword extended out as if he's going to impale an enemy. The tip of his sword hits the barrier, Zack's weight behind it cause the sword to lift up making the spiky haired swordsman to crash into the barrier. "Oof!" Zack drops the sword and falls on his rear. His breath comes out in short gasps, "There... must be a... way to break through."
Zack lets out a long breath, turns around and leans his back against the barrier, it feels as hard as rock yet it looks no more then a yellowish light. Zack shakes his head in disappointment, he leans his head back onto the barrier and tries to think of a way out. If only someone was with him, anyone else could probably find a way out, he isn't much for planning things out. He's more about fighting then strategizing or anything else for that matter. On rare occasions he can come up with some sort of plan. But no one's with him, he's all alone with a hologram of his dead girlfriend who just keeps looking around as she sits in the middle of the alter. He can't believe he fell for Vain's tricks, he was a First-class SOLDIER at one time, he should of known better.
Zack glances over to Aerith hologram, still her hologram just glances around like it has been doing from the very beginning, 'They could of at least made the hologram of her doing something other then looking around. Make it look like she's walking around or something.' He gives a sigh, "I need to find a way out of here so I can help my friends." Zack gives a sad half- smile, "What do you think Aerith?" He asks the hologram. The hologram continues to look around. Zack sighs, "That's what I thought."
{}
Vain smirks as he walks over to one of the barriers, Cloud, Vincent, and Rima all turn to him, each waiting to see what the man will do. Sephiroth remains behind them, seemiingly calm about their predicament. Vain stops in front of the barrier his smirk widening, "This has got to be the most entertaining day I've had in ages!" Vain exclaims.
"Where's Zack!" Cloud demands.
Vain laughs, "He betrayed you and you're wondering where he is?" Vain shakes his head in disbelief, "If you must know, he's in a similar position as the rest of you." Vain throws his head back and laughs again, "The fool fell for everything I said!"
"What is it that you promised him that would make him betray his comrades?" Vincent asks in monotone. The dark gunslinger doesn't seem phased by the fact the group is at the man's mercy, then again, Vincent isn't usually phased about anything.
Vain smirks, "I promised to bring back the boy's woman in return for his help."
"Aerith?" Tifa asks from the other barrier. A slight frown crosses her lips, she isn't really surprised that Zack was willing to go through with all this if it would mean that Aerith would be brought back, but she thought that Zack was over her. It seemed like he was interested in her for a while, was it all a lie?
Vain looks over to Tifa and smiles, "Yes... He was foolish enough to believe I'd keep my end of the bargain." Vain chuckles, "Like I'd actually bring back that Cetra!"
"You sick bastard! How could you toy with someone's emotions like that!" Yuffie shouts from Tifa's side.
"It really quite simple really. All you have to do is find a person's weak point, for that fool's case it was that dead woman." Vain explains casually.
Yuffie grinds her teeth together, her stormy grey eyes ablaze with fury, "That's not what I meant!"
Reno pushes Yuffie and Tifa aside and glares at the man, "Come on you coward! Let me out and fight like a real man! I'll fucking kill you for doing in Rude like that! I'll show you the reason why we are Turks! You bastard!"
Vain laughs, "Yes I'm sure you'd love to do that wouldn't you?" Vain smirks as he takes something out of his pocket, it's some sort of remote control. He points it up to the sphere that above the barrier that Reno, Elena, Yuffie, and Tifa are in and pushes the green button. Immediately, thousands of volts of electricity shoot down from the sphere, shocking everyone in the barrier. Their shouts and screams of pain fill the area, Vain just stands there and laughs at their pain.
"Stop it!" Cloud yells not wanting to see his friends hurt.
"Why? This is so much fun! Just listen to their screams!" Vain says joyously.
Sephiroth crosses his arms leaning his back against the barrier, he turns his head to the side, "You're pathetic." Sephiroth mutters to himself.
Vain narrows his eyes, pushing the red button to stop the sphere from shocking everyone in the barrier. He turns around and stares at Sephiroth, "Ah yes... I almost forgot about you Sephiroth, you've been so quiet that I didn't notice you." Vain crosses his arms and stares at the stoic swordsman, "I don't know how you managed to do it." Vain starts, "When I brought you back to life, I did NOT bring your soul back. You were to be a soulless zombie like the others." Vain taps his chin in thought with a finger, "Yet somehow you managed to reclaim your soul from the lifestream. I wonder... how did you manage to do such a thing. An Ancient would be able to do that, but you are not one of them."
"...." Sephiroth doesn't make any sort of reply.
"Perhaps it's from fighting the person who killed you, it made you remember who he is and from there you began to remember who you are, then your soul returned back to you somehow.." Vain says thoughtfully, "Or perhaps there's another reason for it. You were suppose to be the general for my zombie army." Vain grins remembering it, "The once powerful general of Shin-Ra becoming the general of my zombie army. It would of been a nice twist of things."
Sephiroth gives a half smirk, "If I were the general of your army, the first order I'd give them is to kill you." He states.
"Really now? We'll just have to see about that won't we?" Vain says knowingly.
Sephiroth's brows lower in question at the man's meaning behind his words. Cloud begins to feel uncomfortable, "What's that suppose to mean?"
Vain grins and pulls out something from his pocket, a brown colored materia. "Although he may have his soul, I can force my way into his mind."
"What the hell is that!?" Reno shouts.
Vain grins and juggles the materia in one hand, "This.." He says holding up the brown materia, "Is what makes Le Cas Fo Gollost possible! It's the materia used to control the dead. Without it, you wouldn't be able to complete the ritual for it. I've had this materia since I was a boy, I never knew what it was until almost three years ago."
"Three years ago..." Tifa repeats thoughtfully, "After the Meteor Incident?"
"Yes... Something informed me of its purpose. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised." Vain explains.
"What was it that told you what the materia is used for?" Elena asks curiously.
"That's my little secret." Vain turns back to Sephiroth and grins, "Let's see how strong you are Sephiroth!" Vain holds up the brownish materia, he closes his jet-black eyes, he whispers faintly.
No one in the barriers can hear what Vain is saying. Sephiroth's eyes lock onto the brown materia, it begins glowing faintly. He can hear something, the sound of someone's faint whisper deep within Sephiroth's mind, 'Kill them. Kill them.' Sephiroth groans in pain, and hunches over while clutching his head. Cloud, Rima, and Vincent back away from him as far as possible.
"Sephiroth you have to fight it!" Cloud shouts trying to help Sephiroth in the only way he can think of.
Sephiroth collapses onto his knees. His right hand grabs hold of the Masamune and unsheathes it. The other three get as far away from Sephiroth as possible in the barrier. 'Kill them all! Kill them now! I command you!' Sephiroth slowly stands up, one hand holding the Masamune, the other clutching his temples as he tries to fight off Vain. His twisted in obvious pain.
Rima stares at the stoic swordsman in silence as he struggles to break free of Vain's control. All the others in both barriers are shouting to Sephiroth trying to get him under control. Sephiroth glances up through all the pain and glimpses quickly into Rima's eyes. An instant later their shut tightly as the pain in his head becomes too much to bare. Rima's eyes narrow as anger builds up within her. Her fists clench at her sides as she grinds her teeth. She pushes her back off the barrier and walks over to Sephiroth.
{}
"DAMMIT!" Zack shouts as he fails to break through the barrier yet again. He collapses to his knees and hangs his head. "I can't break through..." He won't be able to help his friends. He tried, he slashed at every part of the barrier searching for any possible weakness. Rage builds up in his soul, rage for his own stupidity. He shouldn't have even thought about trusting Vain, yet he did and look where it got him. What's worse is that his friends are captured, even if his wish did come true, he doubts Aerith would want to be brought back at the sacrifice of her friends. He was too blinded by hope to realize it though. Zack glances up, "Aerith.. I'm sorry."
"Zack..."
Zack blinks in confusion before glances over too Aerith's hologram, she's faced towards him, her head tilted to the side a little as she smiles at him. It can't be, she's a hologram, she can't be talking to him. "Aerith?" Zack calls out. The sight of her fades leaving nothing but the hologram. Zack shakes his head, great now he's seeing things. And hearing things for that matter. He could of sworn he heard his name being called out.
"Zack!"
Zack's eyes widen in surprise. He's not hearing things! Someone seriously is calling out his name! Zack quickly jumps to his feet and turns around, he looks down towards the control panel outside the barrier. His eyes catch sight of a fiery red beast. Zack cracks a smile, "Red! What're you doing here! It's not part of the plan!"
Red XIII gives a beastly grin, "True as that may be. I changed the plans seeing how you got captured as did Sephiroth." Zack nods in understanding. Although Zack had believed Vain would bring Aerith back, it doesn't mean he was cautious. He had gathered Red XIII and Sephiroth back in Cosmos Canyon and told them about the deal he struck with Vain. The three then worked out a plan, Zack and Sephiroth would remain in the group and wait to see what Vain had planned while Red XIII stayed hidden and help the others from whatever Vain has planned.
"You're suppose to help the others not me! They're in more danger then I am." Zack states.
Red XIII lifts his front paws up to the control panel and looks at all the button on it. "True, but I don't know how to free them. I can free you however." Red XIII states as he begins pushing random buttons with his snout. The barrier around the alter blinks out of existence, Zack quickly runs off the alter to where Red XIII stands.
Zack's grin spreads from ear to ear, "Thanks buddy!" Red XIII nods once before pushing himself off the control panel. Zack's grin disappears as he stares at Aerith's hologram. "Goodbye Aerith..." Zack drives the Buster Sword into the control panel, sparks fly from circuits. Aerith's hologram disappears. Zack turns to Red XIII "Let's go free the others now."
Red XIII nods his head, "I have a plan."
{}
Sephiroth opens his eyes and sees Rima heading towards him, 'Kill her!' The voice in his head shouts. Sephiroth raises the Masamune and slowly thrusts in forward, giving Rima enough time to dodge the attack.
Rima sidesteps from the attack and slams her fist against Sephiroth's head with all her might. Sephiroth falls back loosing his grip on the Masamune, "What the hell do you think you're doing!" Rima shouts angrily. "Where's the Great Sephiroth that I know!? Don't be so weak!" She shouts louder, her voice dripping with venom, "You want to prove something to me? Prove it by fighting! Show me that you're the same as I remember! Fight him you bastard!"
'Don't listen to her! Kill her! Grab your sword and kill her!' The voice shouts louder in Sephiroth's mind.
Sephiroth growls, his anger growing to new levels, 'I.....won't......be...' "CONTROLLED!" Sephiroth shouts, his arms extended out to his sides as his black wing extracts from his back.
Vain stumbles back having been pushed out of Sephiroth's mind. Rima smirks at him. Sephiroth picks up his Masamune and sheathes it at his side. His wing folds behind his back and he crosses his arms and glares coldly at Vain, "I won't be controlled by someone as pathetic and weak as you."
Everyone sighs in relief seeing that Sephiroth is back to normal. Rima raises an eyebrow when she finally notices Sephiroth's wing. Vain growls in anger and pockets the brown materia, "Very well, if I can't control you..." Vain smirks, "I'll just have to kill you!" Vain says as he takes out the remote control from his other pockets and raises it to the sphere above their barrier. Instead of staring at him in horror or fear like he would expect them to, everyone turns their head to looks over his shoulder. Most of them have the look of surprise but Sephiroth has a smirk across his face. "What are you- "Vain quickly turns around and draws back in surprise as Red XIII lunges at him, tackling him to the ground, his claws digging into his chest as his sharp K9s dig into his left shoulder. Vain looses his hold on the remote as he hits the ground, the remote skids on the ground a couple of feet away.
Red XIII immediately jumps off of Vain and runs over to the remote. He crushes the remote in his jaw breaking it into pieces. Vain narrows his eyes and stands up, glaring at Red XIII, "I forgot about you... You'll pay for that." Vain promises as he draws his sword at the beast.
Someone taps Vain on the shoulder making him turn around, a fist immediately crashes into his face. Vain falls to the ground clutching his nose. He glances up to the spiky black haired swordsman, "You!" Vain says, his voice filled with venom.
Zack shakes his hand, trying to will the pain in his fist, he isn't a fist fighter after all. He glares down at Vain, "That one was for tricking me." He announces before unsheathing his Buster Sword. "The rest will be for my friends."
Vain smirks as he stands up, "You really think you can defeat me! Don't make me laugh!" Vain holds up his sword, "You don't stand a chance against me!" Vain announces confidently. Zack doesn't make a response, he just stares down his opponent. Vain stares right back, waiting for Zack to make the first move. A roar comes from behind him as Red XIII lunges at Vain from behind, "Not this time!" Vain yells as he spins on his left foot and raising his right, he kicks the fiery beast on the side of the head with the heel of his foot. Red XIII's body slams to the ground off to the side, he lays there motionless, seemingly knocked out.
"HAAAA!" Zack charges forth and swings the Buster Sword down. Vain quickly raises his sword and blocks the attack, he drives his foot into Zack's stomach, catching the swordsman off guard. Zack stumbles back, clutching his stomach.
Vain smirks, shouldering his sword, "You're so weak! If I did bring that girl back to life, imagine how pathetic she'd think your are at the moment!" Vain laughs. Zack anger grows, feeding his already battle rage. Vain smirks seeing Zack's obvious anger, "What's the matter? Did I anger the little swordsman?" Vain continues to taunt.
That's the last straw, Zack leaps forward, sword drawn back ready to attack. "OMNISLASH!" Zack shouts as he frantically swipes at Vain with his Buster Sword with amazing speed. Vain, having seen the attack multiple times before, is able to easily block and dodge the attacks. Zack jumps back, his breath coming out in short gasps.
Vain laughs, "You'll have to do better then that!" He taunts.
Zack growls in anger, his mako blue eyes ablaze in fury. He leaps high in the air, the Buster Sword raised high above his head. Vain looks up at Zack in surprise, "BUSTER TOSS!" Zack shouts before throwing the Buster Sword straight at Vain. The Buster Sword spins in the air as it crashes down towards Vain. Vain is barely able to dodge the unexpected attack. He jumps back just before the sword hits him, the Buster Sword imbeds itself into the ground. Zack lands next to the sword, he pulls it out of the ground and immediately dashes at Vain. The two warriors clash blades, making sparks fly between them.
Sephiroth, Rima, Cloud, and Vincent watch the battle in silence. Vincent's crimson gaze remains locked on Zack as he watches his form, 'He can't continue fighting in a rage.' He thinks to himself, his fingers on his human hands drum across his other arm impatiently, as his arms remain crossed. Vincent can't stand watching one of his allies fight alone, he can't stand not being able to help. If only he could get out of this barrier, but he can't, he's helpless. The only help AVALANCHE can give Zack is their silent encouragement.
Yuffie and Tifa continue to shout encouragingly to Zack, while the two Turks stand by and watch silently. "Come on Zack! Kick his ass!" Tifa shouts. Despite how well he seems to be doing, Tifa can tell Zack is struggling through the fight. She can tell that Zack is beginning to tire, he needs to end the fight soon before he's too tired to hold his own against Vain.
'Dammit. He's stronger then I remember!' Zack thinks to himself as he blocks another one of Vain's attacks. Every muscle in his body is screaming in exhaustion, the worst part is that it doesn't even look Vain is the least bit tired. He needs to do something before it's too late. He blocks another one of Vain's attacks, his eyes catch a quick glimpse of something shinny behind Vain. 'That's it!' Zack thinks to himself. With newfound strength, Zack pushes forward, using every once of strength in each blow. He begins pushing Vain back with his relentless attacks.
Vain leaps back away from Zack, "Impressive!" He compliments.
Zack also jumps back, putting a good distance between the two. He draws his sword back at his right side. Vain gives a battle yell and charges at Zack. Zack closes his eyes for a moment as a grin plays across his face, 'This is it.' He thinks to himself. Flashes of his times with Aerith for through his mind, "BUSTER TOSS!" The times he shared with his friends flash through his mind. The Buster Sword spins through the air towards Vain. Vain dodges to the side, halting his advance ever so slightly before he smirks and thrusts his sword forward. Zack's eyes glaze over as he feels Vain's sword impale him through his right side.
Vain smirks as he sees the blood travel down his sword, "You lose..." Vain states triumphantly. He pulls the sword out of Zack's side, letting the blood flow freely. Zack collapses to his knees, his hands clutched at his side. Despite all the pain flowing through him, he smiles as he sees the image of Aerith's smiling face. He hears Vain's words and begins chuckling. Vain gives a half grin of amusement, "And what is it you find so funny."
Zack glances up, grinning at Vain, "You think..... I lost......when I actually......won." Zack raises a shaking bloody hand, pointing over Vain's shoulder before dropping to the ground. Zack closes his eyes and smiles.
Vain quickly turns around to see what Zack is talking about. His eyes widen when he realizes Zack's last attack was not meant for him. He was aiming for the sphere floating above one of the barriers! The Buster Sword's blade is imbedded in a sphere, sparks crackle from where the blade impaled the sphere. Vain lowers his gaze to the barrier below the sphere, it fades on and off for a few seconds before it permanently disappears. His eyes narrow in a glare as the occupants of the barrier step out.
Reno smirks and cracks his knuckles as he stares at Vain, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this..."
Well y'all that's it! Mwahahahahahahaha! Evil I am! (Grins) Damn don't ya just hate me? (Sniff, Sniff) Poor, poor Zack. Fighting with all his might, in the end all it led to was freeing one of the groups. Perhaps they will be able to kill Vain once and for all. Reno seems pretty hyped about it. How will the group fair against the evil minded Vain? See this chapter was MUCH better then the last few, and longer, thank god! It's about time we got some more action too eh? Been too quiet lately. (Does a little dance) Oh yea! That's right folks! Zack is back into his groove now. This time I'll make sure it don't leave me! =0) Well review and tell me your thoughts lol. TTNC!