Chapter XIX
Revenge For The New Lord's Father and the Final Face-Off
"We're almost there," Anselm sighed as they prepared for the sealing of the world. According to Strifer's books, the keyhole was located in a hidden room in the castle. There was no way they would make it in without encountering Angra Mainyu, so the group was going to go in prepared.
"Is there anyone on the world that we can trust the babies with?" Bergljot asked as she practiced with the blades.
"Yeah," Ken'ichi nodded. "Our neighbor knew where we were and kept our secret. She'll care for them."
"Thanks," Anselm smiled as the planet loomed before them.
"Ready everyone?" Yuffeth asked as they buckled in.
"Not really, but what choice do we have?" Sephiroth muttered. Bergljot knew why he didn't want to go. He and Leilani had agreed to have their battle immediately after the keyhole was sealed. She pitied them, but at the same time wanted Leilani to be at peace. The ship shook violently as they entered the atmosphere.
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"Let's go," Bergljot whispered. The children had been taken to the woman's house and the adults were gathered around the front most gates to the castle. Anselm had dropped them at the rising falls. The night was as dark as it could possibly be, the scent of rain hanging in the air. "Now!"
"Ugh…" the guards groaned as Strifer and Yuffeth knocked them out cold.
"All clear," Yuffeth waved. The group walked up slowly, preparing for any surprise attack guards might throw at them.
"Here comes the lift," Leilani said. A small platform was coming towards them. The eight of them leapt on and were taken up to the castle. They were surprised by ten guards waiting at the entrance.
"Let's take them down," Ken'ichi hissed. The guards shot their rifles at the intruders, but to no avail. The group quickly subdued the creatures. They walked into the entrance hall quietly and looked around for a way to the top of the castle.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" a guard called from the shadows. Ten guards came after that one.
"Power," Gwandoya said quietly. He spun as the guards approached and nearly knocked their heads off. The monsters fell in heaps.
"How did you know they were that close?" Anselm asked in awe.
"Dad taught me how to fight blind with this shield."
"Stay on topic. Which way?" Sephiroth muttered as they looked around. There were two stairwells in the entrance, but there were two passageways at the landing: one right across from the stairs and one to the left.
"Well, that's the library," Leilani whispered. "I guess we go straight ahead."
No sooner had the patrol gone up the steps than eleven more guards poured out of another room. The team hadn't seen the room to the right of the middle hall.
"Damn," Bergljot hissed. "I forgot where his bedroom was."
"He knows we're coming," Yuffeth whispered. The team slashed their weapons nonstop.
"Boy, these guards are weak," Sephiroth exclaimed as he cut through the last guard.
"Let's check his room real quick," Ken'ichi suggested. They entered slowly, weapons drawn, but nobody was there.
"To the keyhole," Strifer hissed. He pulled out a map he had made of the castle. "Leilani's right. We go forward into the lift room. From there we go through the passage on the left."
"Let's get up there before Angra Mainyu catches us," Bergljot said. They ran through the short hallway into the lift stop. Three guards were standing there waiting. They were horribly outnumbered. The group left the bodies on the floor as they hurried to the next platform.
"Oh, pooh!" Yuffeth cried. There were four more guards on the top of the stairs to the right. Once again, the group was destroyed by the heroes. They noticed something about the platform to the left. "Hey, there's the entrance!"
"Forget that, there're more guards up here!" Gwandoya called. Six guards were taking aim with their guns as the rest of the patrol arrived.
"This is really getting annoying," Anselm hissed angrily as he beat the crap out of one of the soldiers.
"Relax, we're not having any trouble beating them," Leilani sighed as the last guard fell. They looked at the lifts traveling above them.
"Which one do we take?" Yuffeth asked.
"Touch the crystal," Strifer read. He reached out his hand and a lift floated down to them.
"All aboard," Bergljot sighed. They gathered and were taken up to the next level where a flight of steps met them. There was one last flight of stairs to a lift.
"This is rather large," Sephiroth pointed out as they got on. The platform moved slowly to the left when rain began to fall.
"This is just great," Bergljot muttered bitterly. They gathered in the middle and shivered as the rain got heavier. Even Sephiroth and Gwandoya were wrapping their cloaks tightly around them. The lift jerked suddenly and came to a stop between the loading and drop-off points.
"What happened?" Ken'ichi asked. He held his sword ready.
"I really don't like this," Yuffeth whined.
"Oh, no!" Anselm gasped. Six guards were climbing into the basket.
"Leave us alone!" Gwandoya growled. He slammed one of the guards off the lift and down into the rising falls. He thought he heard a crack a few seconds later.
The guards were knocked off the platform one-by-one until one was left. Sephiroth and Leilani charged at him at the same time. Unfortunately, Sephiroth had more force behind him to push the guard off.
"Sephiroth, help!" she screamed. Leilani gripped the edge as hard as she could, but the rain made the metal too slippery. Her fingers slipped. "AH!"
"We got you!" Sephiroth cried. He and Ken'ichi grabbed her arms at the exact moment they slipped and dragged her onto the basket.
"You okay?" Ken'ichi asked as she knelt and trembled.
"I think so. How do we get moving again?"
"The crystal," Bergljot nodded. Strifer laid a hand on the gem and the transport continued on. They arrived at the next platform with no incident. They went down a set of stairs into the castle and another stop.
"Finally, we're dry," Gwandoya muttered as he rung out his cloak. "No guards here. You think he's given up?"
"No way. Stay on your toes, everyone," Strifer sighed. They approached yet another crystal and took the elevator to an upper level. "Out we go again."
There were no guards out there, but there was one more jewel. They took it to the floor above them. Thirteen guards waited for them.
"I told you so," Strifer smirked as they attacked. These monsters were also thrown over the edge. "I hope we get through this soon. I'm getting tired."
Each member of the group silently agreed. Strifer looked at them seriously.
"Bergljot, I know you're the leader, but I have an order and need to address all of you. When we find Angra Mainyu, I want to fight him alone. He killed my father. It's my duty to avenge him. This is something I have to do," he explained. The group was looking at him sadly.
"If that's what you want," Bergljot replied. "Now let's go get him. Where now?"
"We go through that portal," Strifer pointed. "Then, we go through the lift stop. There's a passage on the right side of that platform. We go through there, go up two small platforms, walk through one more passage, go through the stop one more time and I think he'll be in one of the two rooms after that."
"Let's go," Sephiroth sighed. They hurried through the lift to the other side of the area. Eighteen guards were standing alert. They were the toughest group yet. The heroes had to sit down when the last was slain and regain their energy for five minutes before continuing.
"You're kidding," Anselm gasped as they saw five more enemies laying in wait. They were easier, but the group still wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest.
"We can't rest now," Bergljot urged when everyone else voiced this request. "How do you think I feel? Until this time last week, I was carrying two children inside me. I couldn't fight for six months without fear of premature labor. I'm weaker than all of you, yet I feel that I need to carry on. You wait if you want. I'm going to get that son of a bitch."
"She's right," Sephiroth nodded. He stood and pulled the others up. "We have a job to do."
The group walked through the portal and destroyed five guards that turned away one second too soon.
"Heal party," Anselm muttered. The group was filled with renewed strength as they traveled through the final portal. Each had a sense of impending doom.
"Lord have mercy on us," Leilani gasped loudly. No less than fifty guards were gathered in the room. They turned at the noise.
"The intruders have returned!" one of them hissed.
"Destroy them!" called another. They charged with a deafening yell.
"We are so screwed," Yuffeth muttered in fear. They ran at the wall of black and were suddenly engaged in battle with at least seven guards per team member.
"There are so many," Bergljot gasped. She was tackling three guards. She had already taken down fifteen.
"They just keep coming!" Sephiroth called. He was right; there were many more now than there were when the fight began.
"Bergljot, I have an idea!" Gwandoya yelled. "Use Anima!"
"Right! Where is she?" Bergljot muttered. She pulled out the marble for Anima and rushed to the end of the room where there were no guards. She took the blades and made the circle. "Help us, Anima, o mother of Seymour Guado…"
Bergljot and the other creatures in the room were thrown back by a powerful shockwave. A chain with a claw on it came down from the ceiling and landed in the middle of the circle. As it went under the ground, blood spurted out. The chain became taught and began pulling something up. A head that was wrapped in a white cloth came first. One bleeding eye and several spines on its head and chin were visible through it. It also had a fanged mouth. Two blue halves of what looked like a shell were connected to the sides. Her arms were chained and crossed over her chest. Her body was stuck in the ground. The chain disappeared as she roared loudly. A necklace with a large pendant adorning Anima's human self was hanging from her neck. Two dismembered human arms held the accessory in place. The guards stared at the monster. After a few seconds, she roared again. The guards forgot about the battle and ran around in fear. Some were even yelling something about the devil and angel of death.
"Anima," Bergljot called. "Use Pain until all of the guards have been hit! Everyone else, get over here!"
Anima growled and her eye began to glow. The rest of the team joined Bergljot's side. Anima's head jerked back and hit the guards with invisible beams. Some guards were knocked over by the force. Strifer noticed one such creature near them. He placed two fingers on its neck and realized with horror that it was dead. He felt two thumps of a pulse before the blood stopped flowing. Anima's body glowed.
"Anima, stop!" Bergljot ordered. "Finish them with Oblivion!"
"Roar!" Anima cried mournfully. The floor disappeared and they discovered what laid below the floor. Her upper body was attached to another body. This one's white hair was long and the eyes were pitch-black. Its hands were chained together just as the upper half's had been. The lower part broke free of its chains and screeched. If the guards weren't scared before, they were now. The second half began punching the crowd of guards so fast, the team could barely see her hands move back and forth. There was an explosion and a grid flashed for a second. The guards were thrown in the air from the blast, the floor reformed, and the guards landed hard. None of them stood back up.
"Anima, you're dismissed," Bergljot gasped. She was amazed at the raw power Renatus had given her. They all jumped at a sinister voice to their lefts.
"You've destroyed my army, but you'll never get me!" Angra Mainyu cackled. He ran through a hallway.
"Hold on," Ken'ichi sighed as the group began to follow. He slid down the wall and sat panting. "I need to rest."
"Heal party," Anselm said. The group found themselves suddenly reenergized and rested once again.
"Gee, thanks," Ken'ichi replied sarcastically.
"Let's go," Strifer muttered angrily. They followed him into the dark portal.
"So, are the Soul Vagabonds ready to die?" Angra Mainyu laughed as everyone filed into the grand hall.
"It's payback time! You'll pay for what you did to my father!" Strifer called to him. The Gunblade was held ready by his side.
"You challenge me alone?" Angra Mainyu asked happily. When Strifer nodded, Angra Mainyu was ecstatic. He turned to the rest of the renegades. "I hope it does not pain your friends too much when I obliterate you."
Strifer lifted the blade, aimed, and shot at the overlord. Unfortunately, he saw it coming. The bullet whizzed by harmlessly as Angra Mainyu stepped aside.
"Nice try," he chuckled. He began walking slowly towards Strifer.
"If I start losing," Strifer began nervously, glancing at his friends. "I want you all to get out of here. I'm not putting any of you in danger."
"No, Strifer," Yuffeth moaned.
"You're coming with us," Bergljot insisted. "No matter what, we leave together."
"Oh, little boy," Angra Mainyu hissed. "Why don't you come and die like a man?"
"I'm not a boy any more," Strifer growled with finality. He leapt at the lord and swung the blade as hard as he could.
"Ah!" He screamed as the tip connected with flesh. Angra Mainyu retaliated with a fireball. Strifer jumped away, causing the flames to hit a glass case on the wall. "Get back here, you little flea!"
"You've got to catch me first!" Strifer replied. He ran at the man before him and struck with as much power as he could muster. He cut through the skin on the overlord's chest.
"Uh," he gasped as blood poured to the floor. "Is that all you can do to me?"
"What the hell?" Strifer exclaimed. Angra Mainyu was reaching into the cut and pulling out a sword.
"Come and get me, child!" he challenged as the wound healed automatically. Strifer ran up to him, but his Gunblade was met by the larger sword. They stood for a minute in that stance, both men pushing hard on his own weapon. Neither one was about to back down. Angra Mainyu finally let his weapon down. The move was so fast and unexpected, it caused Strifer to slip and fall on the floor. The Gunblade was released from his grasp and landed a few feet away. Angra Mainyu stood over him.
"Huh!" Strifer cried. He rolled out of the way as the sword came down where his neck had just been. He rolled until he reached the blade. Strifer managed to raise it just as Angra Mainyu attacked.
"Give up," he hissed. Strifer pushed him off and slashed with no mercy.
"No way," he replied, wining in pain. Unfortunately, he hadn't noticed the glass from the case. He found several scratches on his arms, face, and chest as he stood. While Strifer inspected his bruises, Angra Mainyu took the opportunity.
"You die tonight, young one!"
"AHH!"
"Strifer!" Yuffeth screamed with him.
"Pathetic that one hit can do so much damage," the lord cackled. He had approached from behind and cut open Strifer's back and side. Strifer crouched on the floor, panting and trembling from the pain. As he turned, the sword came down again. Strifer pulled back a little, but not far enough. Blood spurted out of his forehead.
"He's going to have a scar like Leon's," Leilani gasped when they saw where it hit.
"Uh," Strifer moaned. He turned and, wiping blood from his eyes as he did so, ran outside into the rain. Angra Mainyu began pursuing him while the rest of the group followed, prepared to take down the lord if they had to.
"Oh, little boy," Angra Mainyu teased as he came out onto the balcony. "Can little Strifer come out and play?"
"He's already out," Strifer growled. He leapt down from a small protrusion above the portal and slashed his arms and legs.
"You'll pay, you little monster!"
"That's what you think. That was for the people you've hurt," Strifer hissed. He was pissed at his opponent. "This is for my friends."
He came down on the dictator's hand and watched as it detached from the arm. It still gripped the sword as the appendage fell to the ground below. Strifer walked up to Angra Mainyu, pushing him back until he was on the edge. Strifer grabbed his collar, picked him up and held him over the edge. The lord pleaded for his life.
"Please, Strifer, I beg of you. Have some mercy. I am only an old man. You wouldn't" -he looked behind him at the ground below and gulped- "drop an old man off of a balcony to his death, would you?"
"No," Strifer said after a moment. His friends looked at him oddly as he set him back down. Angra Mainyu sighed. Strifer had an odd glint in his eyes as he raised the blade high.
"Huh?" Angra Mainyu gasped.
"But I would put him through the same pain he inflicted on another. This," he growled as he spun the blade, "is for my father."
There was a crack of thunder and flash of lightning as the blade sliced through the lord's neck. Strifer watched as his body fell to the falls below, the head lying next to his feet. He stood and looked at the sky. The clouds were dispersing a short ways off. Rain soaked Strifer's hair and face as he gazed at the moon and panted.
"You've been avenged," he whispered. He turned from the moon, stood on the edge, and held the blade limply at his side. The moon illuminated his bloodstained face.
"Lord Strifer," Yuffeth knelt. The rest of the patrol followed. Strifer looked at them oddly.
"What…"
"You've destroyed our oppressor," Ken'ichi explained. "That makes you the new lord of Itziar."
"I don't know how to lead a city. A small band, yes, but…" he sighed and looked back at the full moon. "I will try my best."
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"Where's the keyhole, Strifer?" Bergljot asked.
"Up the stairs," he read as they followed his directions, "and through that portal."
"This one?" Anselm asked. The group walked through to find a room covered in rainbow-colored plasma. There was no way to tell the walls from the ceiling or the floor.
"There!" Yuffeth pointed. A large keyhole outlined with blue dust was on the other end of the room. Bergljot approached and raised the blades.
The blades came down and the lasers went into the hole. There was a click, and a key chain and marble popped out.
"What does this do?" Yuffeth asked, picking up the chain. It was shaped like a lion head.
"Let me see," Bergljot demanded. She put it on the gold blade. It turned white and shortened. The teeth became a copy of the chain and the handle was split into two halves.
"That's the blade Leon gave Sora," Strifer explained. "What Summon gem is it?"
"Bahamut," Bergljot read.
"What up with them?" Yuffeth nodded.
Sephiroth and Leilani were staring at each other with odd expressions on their faces. He finally sighed and shook his head.
"No. I won't kill you again."
"Sephiroth," Leilani whispered. "If you really cared about me, you'd want me to be happy and at peace. Please, do this for me."
"I won't do it," he insisted.
"If you don't fight willingly, I'm going to make you."
"Fine," Sephiroth muttered angrily. He avoided looking at her as he laid a hand on Masamune. "I'll do it."
"If anyone interferes, you're going to get mixed into the fight," Leilani warned as she pulled out her staff. "You're going to have to take both of us alone, every man for himself."
"Leilani…" Ken'ichi whispered.
"I'm sorry," she replied. She and Sephiroth turned to each other and stared, neither one wanting to make the first move.
"Don't make me do this," Sephiroth pleaded.
"I have to," Leilani ran up to whack him with her staff. Sephiroth knocked her out of the way.
Leilani got up and stood perfectly still. She began to breathe softly and her eyes closed. When they opened, they were glowing with white fire again.
"She can't do that again! The effort alone will kill her!" Ken'ichi gasped.
Sephiroth stared. He hardly even notice when she came after him, stepping aside just in time. He ran to her and slashed with the great sword, but she leapt above him. She shot a beam of light out of the staff, but Sephiroth made a shield with his hands. It bounced harmlessly off.
"Leilani, stop! You know you're going to die sometime! Why not wait?" Sephiroth hollered.
Leilani didn't listen. She merely jumped up and came down upon him. He blocked with Masamune and she was thrown to the floor. He charged and brought his sword down on her. She rolled away and stood. Leilani held her staff in front of her as Sephiroth slashed again. They blocked and attacked continuously. Finally, Leilani let her guard down. She blocked in such a way that her body was left unprotected. One well-placed thrust of his sword went through her stomach, just above her old wound.
"Uh," she gasped. Sephiroth pulled out the weapon, her blood covering it. Leilani returned to normal as she fell to the ground. Sephiroth caught and held her.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I wanted it this way," she moaned.
"I'm going to send the guards we killed and Angra Mainyu to the Farplane," Bergljot said. "I'll send you, too, if you want."
"Not yet. You need a staff to perform one. Take mine," Leilani whispered. She rolled her staff along the floor. Bergljot picked it up. "Send the others first. I want to have a few minutes with Sephiroth."
"Okay," Bergljot agreed. The group followed her, Sephiroth carrying Leilani to the grand hall and setting her down gently. They were silent for several minutes.
"Can you hear me?" Sephiroth asked.
"Yeah. I've never seen you cry. Why are you starting to now?"
"I told you the other night," he said as tears rolled down his face onto hers.
"You didn't cry when you killed me the first time."
"Yeah, I did. I was crying on the inside. I also cried when I left the church. I couldn't let Cloud see that. Not after all he's seen of me."
"You taught him well. He was a great fighter," Leilani smiled. Sephiroth held her hand as Bergljot and the group walked back in.
"Are you ready?" she asked quietly. Leilani nodded weakly.
"Thank you, Sephiroth. Please, help them as much as you can to banish the darkness."
"I will. I promise."
"I have to send you now," Bergljot said sadly.
"Go ahead."
Bergljot spun once with the staff, stopped, and twirled it above her head. She turned the opposite direction and repeated the steps. She continued dancing, the steps becoming more complex than the one before. Leilani smiled softly before a pyrefly flew from her forehead. She exhaled one last time before becoming limp. Bergljot finished the dance and they all watched the light go through the floor and into what they knew would be the Lifestream. Sephiroth kissed her lips before standing and laying her body down on the floor. He looked at her and trembled with tears that he didn't want.
"I told you not to make me do that," he sobbed, hands clenched in fists. "I hate you, Aeris."
"Sephiroth…" Bergljot whispered. She tried to hug him, but he shoved her away.
"Don't touch me!"
"I'm sorry. Here," she sighed, handing the staff to him. "You can have the staff."
"No. I don't want to remember her."
"If you're sure, then I'll give it to Ken'ichi."
"Thanks," he nodded as he took it. "Let's go bury her and tell the people of the town who the new leader is."
"Burn the body," Sephiroth muttered.
"What?" Gwandoya said.
"Burn the body."
"No. Sephiroth, I'm the ruler and I say we bury her," Strifer ordered. Sephiroth shook his head.
"If you won't burn her, I will. Firaga!"
Sephiroth cast a fire spell on her body and everyone watched in shock as she was engulfed by flames. They stayed and watched her clothes blacken and skin char. Sephiroth kept recasting the spell until there were only ashes in her place.
"I'm leaving," Sephiroth snapped, tears trickling down his cheeks. He turned on his heel and began to walk swiftly to the castle gates, the rest of the group watching him in shock. They were the first people in history to ever see the great Sephiroth cry.
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Sniffle Sad ending… If the ending seems similar to that of Final Fantasy X, it's probably because I beat the game again today right before writing the ending and was inspired. It's one of those endings you hate but love at the same time. Yeah. So. Anyway. Oh, and this Anima is the Aeon, not the Anima from my other story, For the Love of an Angel. Please read if you haven't yet! No spoilers in it, either! And just so everyone knows, the two stories are not connected in any way, shape, or form except for Sephiroth and the reference to two 'past loves.' Thanks to everyone for reading. Please note that I do not own the Gunblade. I wish I did, but I don't. Also note that the description of Anima is not 100 percent accurate as I was too lazy to write details from the game and could not find a decent picture on the Internet.