Author's Note:
Okay, first off. Before anyone says anything, no, I did not pull "Shera's Legacy" out of my ass. For those of you who didn't catch it, I hinted rather heavily about it in Chapter 35, entitled 'Soldier.' If you missed it, look into it. : P
This is it, folks. The final chapter of Promised Empire. A LOT is going to happen here. After this, it's the Epilogues, and we're done. I will then be moving on to Final Trinity. Final Trinity will be under the fanfiction account FinalTrinity, not under my own. I'll be adding it to "My Favourite Authors" for ease, since I'm betting some of you are lazy and don't want to go looking.
Chapter Sixty Eight
Endgame
The army of the Tali Hishna closed ranks as the city of Junon ever came closer in their line of sight. Their morale was doing well. With the addition of Rufus and his Shinra guards to the army, this force felt as if nothing at all could stop them. They numbered eight thousand strong, fanatics to a man and woman. Every single one of these soldiers would gladly give their life in battle in the name of their Mother. These were the most zealous of the Tali Hishna, the ones most devoted to Jenova.
Ephain tried smiling to herself as she walked at the forefront of the army beside Rufus, Book of Jenova in hand. She wanted to be happy. Everything was falling into place. Junon was the one major obstacle for dominion over the world, and it would soon fall. And then the Reactor it housed underwater would be hers. And to a lesser degree, she had Rufus. His training was progressing rapidly, even if he did so alone. He never wanted anyone to see his efforts, but he assured her that they were going amazingly well. He wanted to 'surprise her.' The sentiment was sweet, but she was still worried.
It had only been moments since she had last heard from Dweir, and then there had only been silence. More, Veishan was refusing to speak over the Link. Dweir had claimed Veishan was attempting to grab power for himself. Was that merely suspicion on his part, or fact?
She was suddenly very worried.
"Something on your mind?"
She turned to face Rufus and shook her head. How could she let him know what she was thinking? He had turned to the 'winning side.' What would he do if he discovered that Veishan and Dweir were both missing? Would he switch sides again?
She smiled a fake smile and said, "Nothing, really. Dweir was just contacting me through the link. He wanted to know as much as I knew about cure spells. I sent him what knowledge I had, plus some from the book."
A half lie. She had needed to look through the book for Jenova's prophecy about the Demon. When she'd pawed through the book, she'd read the entire thing, and found herself worried. She felt suddenly a lot less sure of herself and the Tali Hishna's odds for winning this campaign.
Rufus nodded. "What are our plans?"
"Our plans?"
"After conquering Junon."
"Oh." She found it increasingly difficult to think when around Rufus. The man was like some sort of gravity well that just absorbed all rational thought and destroyed it right down to its basest components. "We bring the glory of Mother to the land, of course."
"Surprisingly vague," he said. "And I have told you that Jenova is dead many times. What use is bringing her glory if she is not alive to appreciate it?"
"Don't utter such blasphemy. Mother is alive. I can feel her." It was a lie, of course. She knew that Mother was dead. She had seen the final battle between her and her son, as well as his companions. Mother was finally dead. All glory for the Yenta Pree.
"She is dead," he said again, this time more firmly.
Ephain glanced about her and saw angry faces on the soldiers about them. They were not pleased to hear such things. To them, Mother was Forever. How they held onto their illusions.
She grabbed his collar and pulled his head down. Whispering fiercely into his ear, she said, "Do not say such things. You will only hurt the morale of our soldiers, and anger them against you."
She released him, and he frowned at her, straightening his coat. She wanted to say more, but decided against it. She instead peered ahead, to the north, to Junon. And stopped. She frowned at the sky, and saw something approaching.
"What is that?" she asked, pointing at a silver object in the air, fast approaching them.
Rufus looked to it, and his eyes widened in panic for a moment. "My airship!"
Carried forward by its momentum, an explosion wracked the air, sending the large object forth even faster, and hurtling ever closer to the army of the Tali Hishna.
"Get down!" Rufus shouted, even as he leaped to throw himself on her, covering her with his body.
Ephain didn't see what happened next, but heard the terrible crash and rending of earth as the horrible monstrosity slammed into the ground, just coming short of the Tali Hishna forces. Dirt spat up and shards of metal filled the air for a moment. Rufus grunted, and Ephain knew that he'd been hit. His face showed a mask, a look of utter concentration as he attempted to block out the pain.
She reached out to him and touched his cheek with her hand. He gritted his teeth and flinched from her touch. In a way, it was symbolic of their relationship. Her reaching out, him moving away. Why did he not trust her?
It ended. The sundering, the tossing of dirt, the crashing sound, the small explosions. It all ended abruptly, and when it did, Rufus rolled and fell away from her, landing unceremoniously on the ground, staring up at the sky. At first her heart leaped. Was he dead? The expression on his face only made her fears worsen, but when she reached for him once more, he caught her hand, strongly.
"Are you injured?" she asked.
He released her hand, then stood up, rising upright instantaneously, almost with no effort at all. He reached for his back, and winced, gave a tug, then removed a small piece of metal. Standing up, she moved closer to him, already calling upon curative magic of her own to heal the injury. He shook his head and waved her away.
"It's only a scratch," he said. "I can heal it."
"No, you can't," she said. She often was forced to remind herself how ignorant Rufus really was, not being a true Cetra himself, and completely unversed in their ways. It was knowledge that could only be taught by another Cetra, and it was one of the later subjects that always came up. "You've received the Mark of Blood Letting."
"What does that have to do with anything?" His voice was harsh, his eyes cold. He obviously did not enjoy the prospect of being limited in some way.
"A Cetra always starts off with basic healing magic," she explained patiently. "But at some point during their lives, they come to a crossroads, an event that defines them as a person. It's what shapes their magic. Most Cetra stay healers, their powers enhancing. But some lose that capability and gain access to different types of magic, depending on the kind of person they are. Those that are deeply in touch with their surroundings gain what is referred to as 'blue' magic, the ability to tap into everything around themselves. Others can influence space and time. There are those who are known for deceptive natures that gain illusion magic. And then there are perpetrators of great violence that gain combative, black magic. Like you."
"So you're saying that by... evolving... by coming into my own, I have lost all of my 'white' magic?" When she nodded, he said, "But I've seen you use both offensive and defensive."
"That's because I'm a healer. I cast White magic. However, every Cetra has an Element that they specialize in. My Element is Lightning. Veishan is Fire. Dweir is Ice. And because we are Yenta Pree, because we are connected by the Link, we each have access to each other's powers. I am a healer, Veishan is a fighter, and Dweir is a trickster. And each of us has our own Element. As a result, we can make it appear as if we have full use of both Black and White magic."
"And if one of you were to die?" Rufus asked. "Would you still be able to reach for the magic of the dead one?"
Ephain shrugged. "We've been acting in a pattern for so long, always in a cycle. Even though Lightning is my own magic, I call for Veishan's Fire and Dweir's Ice just as readily. Always in a pattern. Lightning, Fire, Ice. If one of us were to die... well, I'm not sure what would happen. Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "Just curious. Can you heal me now?"
She smiled and called forth her healing arts, then placed both hands on Rufus' back as he turned about. The energy flowed from her into him, and the small gash that was in his back sealed up. As soon as she was done, he moved away, immediately to the large pile of wreckage.
Whatever it was that had fallen so from the sky had barely missed crippling the bulk of the Tali Hishna army. It was a large steel mass, a thing of plates and odd wheels with blades along them. Whatever it had once been, it was no longer useful. Rufus had called it an 'airship.' She had read of ships once. Devices used to traverse the water. Did an airship traverse the air? It would make sense. But judging from how it had fallen, it obviously did not do so very well.
Rufus moved about the wreckage, fires spouting and sparks spraying from parts. He made certain to stay away from those areas, and after a while, Ephain joined him, walking through the ruin of what had once been something precious to him.
Scanning over the wreckage, he abruptly stopped. Ephain hovered behind him as he ducked down, and pulled something from the debris, a cone-like object, the size of Rufus' forearm, starting off as wide as his wrist, and gradually getting larger until it was nearly the size of his chest. As Rufus began to lift the instrument from the debris, he let loose a wry chuckle.
"What is it?" Ephain asked.
"It's a megaphone," he supplied. "A device used to give orders. Usually to a mog. And unless I'm mistaken, this was called 'HP Shout', wielded by Cait Sith."
"What does it mean, it being here?"
Rufus ran a hand through his hair, holding the megaphone aloft with the other. "I'm not sure. But I suspect an enemy of mine has fallen today. All the better."
The shell that made up the megaphone was whole, but the handle was broken so that the front piece of it, when held, was missing. Using this, Rufus managed to clip it onto his belt.
"You're keeping it?" she asked.
"A trophy," he said. "No one defies Rufus Shinra, and lives. Even if I did not kill this enemy, he is dealt with. All should know this. Stare into the Whirlwind and be swept away."
Vincent groaned.
His limbs felt as if they'd been beaten thoroughly, and his ribs had seen better days. His head spun, and it took him a moment to realize that he was in fact still alive. Memories were blurry to him, but he recalled chasing after the Tali Hishna that had named himself as Dweir in a battle that had spanned the skies.
He moved, making a mental note of his various faculties. Nothing seemed broken. Moved again, ached, and pain shot through his back and good shoulder. Nothing was broken, but at best he'd probably dislocated his right shoulder.
He made no noise, and kept his movements small. If he had survived, then there was a good chance Dweir had as well. He had to give off the appearance of being dead, or at least pretend to be too wounded to fight until he was certain that his opponent was either dead or incapacitated.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he opened his eyes. And jolted at what he saw. It was nearing dusk, but he still could easily see what sat on a rock before him, staring ever so intently at him.
Grey and red and leathery, powerful muscles rippling with its every move, the horned beast sat upon a large rock as if the thing were its own private throne. The horned devil watched Vincent intently, its red eyes gleaming.
Chaos.
But how? It was Vincent's own private demon, a demon born of Hojo's twisted experiments upon the ex-Turk, a demon that represented the monster Vincent believed himself to be, the monster he tried ever so hard to redeem. Chaos was his sin, his suffering. Chaos was his hope for salvation.
"How…?" he asked, but wasn't sure on how to finished the question. How was he alive? How was Chaos there? How had they become two? How come Chaos did not finish the job that the fall did not complete?
"I allowed you to live," the creature said. Its voice was low and deep, the stuff of some hellish nightmare. "I saved you both."
Vincent quirked an eyebrow at that comment and slowly craned his head to the side, and nodded in understanding. Dweir lay on the ground, still unconscious, and looking in worse shape than Vincent was. He asked, "Why?"
"Because it is my nature to torment you, Vincent Valentine," Chaos said. "Something the one called Dweir did separated us. Always in the past I have caused you pain by assailing at your mind from the inside. But now I am on the outside, and I am confused as to how to proceed with your agony."
Vincent began to sit up and grabbing his right arm with his claw, he grit his teeth and shoved his dislocated arm back into place. His eyes shut for a moment, squeezing tight as the pain filled him, then faded to a dull ache.
"Yes," Chaos said. "Pain like that. But you are a fragile thing, Vincent, and I fear that I may break you if I tried my hand at that particular method…. Worse, I am unsure if I can survive in this state… I was never meant to be separated from you, Vincent."
"And you want me to take you back?" the ex-Turk asked incredulously. "Is that why you saved me? So that you can infect my mind again?"
"Yes," the beast growled. "I need a host. Someone to live off of. Like the parasite you have always thought me to be. But I don't necessarily need you."
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked incredulously.
Chaos smiled, and his eyes shifted. The Turk followed the eye movement, and looked to the prone form of Dweir. The Demon continued, "Choose, Vincent. Will you take me back, or will I merge with your nemesis, making him more powerful than ever before? It is your decision."
"Everyone! Down!" Cloud yelled.
The hovering figure of Veishan, now enlarged and appearing muscle-bound, raised a contemptuous hand at the Soldier, Barret and Red XIII, and with a snap of his fingers, a bolt of lightning lanced out, slashing through the air with murderous intent. The bolt went erratic, striking at the chains that dangled overhead from the ceiling, drawn to the steely substance. Veishan did not hesitate, raising his hand and unleashing a torrent of fire into the middle of the group, but the three were already moving. Cloud and Barret raced left on the metal walkway, while Red XIII leaped to the right. The walkway smoldered. One more the Yenta Pree's hand came up, but Cloud was ready for it.
Taking a green orb from his bracer, Cloud unleashed the spell. Veishan flinched, expecting the powerful unleashing of Ultima, or perhaps a lesser but more destructive spell that he had not yet sealed away. Instead, a shimmering appeared around Veishan, and the shield around the Yenta Pree abruptly vanished. The albino sorcerer began falling from the air, crashing towards the platform, the dispel managing to rid the enemy of all magical enchantments, including his shield and float spells.
Veishan lifted his one hand, and smooth ice appeared on the walkway, causing it to steam as it rapidly cooled down the burnt portion. Crashing down, the Yenta Pree made a grunt as he slammed into the steely path.
"Hit him!" Cloud said.
"Don't need to be tellin' me twice!" was Barret's response.
The black man's gun-arm raised, a rocket whistled its way out as it flew from his weapon and at the Yenta Pree. Veishan made a motion of his hand, and a new shield abruptly sprang into place, the rocket exploding harmlessly upon it. But even as that assault failed, Red XIII, a mass of snarling fury, leaped from behind the Yenta Pree and onto his back. The feline warrior brought the albino down, raking the opponent's back with his claws. Veishan screamed as the protector of Cosmo Canyon bit down on his shoulder, tearing a chunk of the sorcerer out of him. Lightning lanced from his body, and the furry beast was blasted off, letting out a yelp as he flew away and landed with a crash onto the walkway behind Veishan.
Cloud lifted his Materia once more, intent on dispelling the protections again, but a bolt of fire flared out and at Cloud's hand. The Soldier reflexively jerked his hand as the small flash struck him, dropping the Materia into the pit below.
Veishan made a contemptuous gesture at Red XIII, and blackness abruptly enveloped the feline's head, and Nanaki made a sudden cry as the darkness spell robbed him of his sight. Even as Cloud drew his sword and rushed forward in Red's defense, Veishan sprayed a wave of ice shards at the Soldier, who was forced to duck down.
Cloud straightened himself up again as the deadly blades passed over him, and looked to Veishan, whose hands were ablaze with electricity and had once more enacted a float spell over himself. Cloud's eyes widened, and he shouted, "Red! Jump!"
He had no time to warn Barret, but merely leaped from the walkway and grabbed onto the dangling chains as Veishan blasted the metal surface Cloud had been standing on with lightning, electrifying the entire path. Swinging about, the Soldier saw that Barret had taken a similar route and was holding onto a chain of his own desperately. Turning around, Cloud also saw that Red had blindly leaped from the pathway and splashed into the Mako below.
"You son of a bitch!" Cloud yelled.
Forcing his weight back and forth, Cloud swung from his position and slashed with his sword at the waiting Yenta Pree.
Aeris, staff in hands that were still smeared with Reeve's blood, walked resolutely from the elevator into Lower Junon, a small platoon of Shinra guards flanking her. At her side was Gerald. The man had promised not to interfere, but had also stated that should the situation arise, he would protect her with his life. On one level, Aeris was touched by the gesture. On another, she was mildly annoyed. The last thing she needed was another bodyguard. What would Cloud think?
She turned her thoughts to her blond-haired bodyguard, and wondered where Cloud was at that moment, and if he was all right. The thought was fleeting, abruptly pushed from her head as a loud crash sounded, and the Planet gave a small wrench in pain. Something tore at its surface, churning the earth and blackening a small portion of it. As she rushed from Lower Junon, her entourage following, she immediately saw the source. A metal heap, twisted and broken, lay strewn about the space between Junon and the army of the Tali Hishna. It smoldered and smoked, fires and electricity hissing from it.
"What is that?" Aeris found herself asking.
Gerald answered, "It looks like the Highwind, ma'am. I didn't think it was up and running yet, though. But then, that might explain why it's not up in the air."
Aeris frowned at Gerald. Her stomach felt as if a troupe of goblins was performing a large war party to chase the butterflies that had made their home there, and the Shinra soldier was cracking jokes. She didn't want to have to confront Rufus, or Ephain, much less both of them. But she would. She had to.
She resolutely continued forward, clenching her staff in both hands until her knuckles turned white. People came from their homes to investigate the crash, and a crowd began to form around the city entrance, forcing Aeris to have to push her way through. Once she found herself at the forefront, she saw her enemy. Rufus stood at the head of his army, striding purposefully towards Junon, Ephain at his side. She stepped forward and met his gaze. He stopped, smiled, and gave a mocking bow.
"Rufus Shinra," she called. "This place is barred to you."
Murmurs erupted from the crowd. The people may not have recognized him at first, but now that Aeris had named his, people began to realize who he truly was. And more importantly, that someone had defied him, told him something he could not do. Someone told a Shinra that he was unwelcome.
He straightened, and his face turned cold. "This is my city."
She moved closer to him, purposely brandishing her staff as a weapon. "It is yours no longer. Junon is a free city, a city of men. It is not for the Tali Hishna, or their dogs."
I can't show him any mercy, she thought to herself. I can't risk being nice to him or showing sympathy or kindness. I have to be firm. I have to be steel. Steel is strong. Strength is life. If not for myself, then for everyone here.
"And you intend on fighting me?" Rufus asked contemptuously.
"Yes."
He nodded, then flung back his coat, revealing his shotgun, Murasame, and what appeared to be a megaphone that had seen better days. He casually unholstered his shotgun with his offhand, and drew his sword with his right. Aeris moved closer to him as he prepared himself.
The fight started with a bang.
It was only pure reflex that Aeris managed to tap into her Cetra magic and call forth a shield spell in time to block the shotgun blast. The shimmering barrier of white energy jolted with the impact, and even as she righted herself from being pushed back a few steps, Rufus was already charging at her, sword swinging. Aeris, a more seasoned fighter than her smiles and pink bows and flowers would belie, caught Rufus completely by surprise as she not only parried his overconfident strike and countered with three strikes to his ribs, two on the left, one on the right. The President of Shinra stumbled backwards, quickly reassessing the situation and clutching to his injuries as best he could with both hands encumbered. Ephain moved forward from her spot on the sidelines, but Rufus barked, "No! My fight! This is my proof to you, Ephain! My proof that I am for the Tali Hishna."
That brought the albino up short, and she took a step back, and motioned for the other Tali Hishna to do the same, the ones who had just begun to hover at the edges of battle. As long as Ephain commanded it, they would stay back, as would the Shinra soldiers on Aeris' side. Both sides would remain neutral. This was a fight between Rufus and Aeris alone.
The Cetra woman moved forward, pressing her offensive, attempting to finish the fight quickly before Rufus could think to bring his magic to bear. The man was unused to his powers. They weren't first or even second nature to him yet. He relied mostly on his gun, then his sword, and then his magic. But the overconfident man was attempting to use Murasame as his main weapon, having placed the shotgun in his offhand. Was he toying with her? Or was he trying to prove something to himself?
Even as she pushed her attack, Rufus began parrying her staff with both his sword and the barrel of his shotgun, moving them in harmony to block the two whirling ends of her staff. He was fast, faster than her. But she had more practical experience. Unfortunately for her as well, he also was filled with pure talent and cunning. As the two combatants pressed each other back and forth, Rufus unleashed a fire spell that impacted on her shield. The spell was apparently more for show than anything, because the field didn't waver at all as it had with the shotgun blast. It did, however, sufficiently distract her long enough for Murasame to slip past her defenses, carve open her shield, and clip her shoulder, tearing the fabric of her coat and dress, and slice neatly into her flesh. The wound began to bleed immediately, and Aeris stumbled backwards.
Legend had it that Sephiroth's Masamune never drew blood, and being a firsthand recipient of a wound from that blade, Aeris knew it to be true, despite how quickly it had ended. Legend also said that Godo's Murasame always drew blood, and more than it always had a right to. The blade hungered for violence. While Sephiroth was ice and calm and detached from battle, Godo had been fire, a fury and impassioned force of hatred for the rape Shinra had been performing on the land, and so it was reflected in their weapons. Both were just as deadly as its opposite, but both were deadly in their own way. Masamune delivered unbleeding wounds to its enemies that never healed entirely correctly, while Murasame delivered horrible, gory wounds that while could be healed, usually killed long before the opportunity arose.
And so it was that blood positively began to pour in near torrents from Aeris' wounded shoulder. Rufus followed through with the attack and delivered another cut to her leg, once more cutting both dress and flesh, and blood sprayed.
Rufus' shotgun lifted and pointed at her, and a shot fired. Even as it did, Aeris knew she was dead. Her shield weakened by Rufus' sword and previous shotgun blast, bleeding from her wounds, she was exposed and didn't have the time to put up a new barrier in the old one's place.
Blood sprayed her face, as the shot that should have killed her didn't hit her. It took a moment for her to figure out what had happened. Gerald stood in front of her, back to Rufus, a shocked expression on his face, his chest a bloody mess.
"Ma'am…" he said, and then fell forward.
Cloud's sword crashed against Veishan's shield, and the bubble surrounding the Yenta Pree shuddered under the impact. As the Soldier swung clear, Barret's gun-arm sprayed a barrage of bullets that struck at the albino sorcerer, and Veishan let out a growl of frustration.
"We are the Yenta Pree!" he called. "We are everything! Submit!"
"Oh, jes' shu' up!" Barret responded, continuing with his attack.
A wave of fire came from the Yenta Pree headed directly at Barret. The big man leaped from his chain and crashed bodily into the metal walkway, the entire thing shaking as he landed. The man grunted, but even as the Yenta Pree readied a new attack, Cloud swung in again and slashed against Veishan's shield once more. On Cloud's backswing away from the Yenta Pree, he raised his sword up and looked at the one green orb on the blade he knew he could depend on still. He focused his mind and spirit on it, concentrating perfectly, and uttered, "Ultima."
"No!" Veishan cried, lifting his hand in response.
Green energy poured out of the Materia, and a wave of red light came from the Yenta Pree's hand. Cloud watched in amazement as the red light pushed the Ultima spell back, forcing it back into the Materia orb, until the green energy was nothing but a sputtering from the small sphere. The force of the backfire of the spell sent Cloud hurtling from his chain. He was forced to drop Ultima Weapon and reach for the walkway as he fell, narrowly grabbing onto it. His arms jolted and groaned in protest, threatening to dislocate from the impact of the fall and sudden stop in motion. Ultima Weapon splashed down into the Mako below.
Veishan gave a laugh. "Your final defense is now locked. We have countered all of your accursed Cetra-borne magic. We are now unstoppable."
"The hell you are!" Barret said, sending a new wave of bullets at the Yenta Pree.
"You are but the only threat to us," the Yenta Pree said, lifting his arm and casting his next spell.
Barret moved to dodge, but he wasn't as agile as Cloud or Red XIII. The wave of white energy, a cone of pure cold, was directed at Barret's chest. He attempted to leap out of its path, and let out a loud scream as ice enveloped his right arm, freezing his gun-arm and flesh all the way to his shoulder.
Barret grabbed his frozen arm, clenching his face in pain and letting out a loud moan. Even as he did, Veishan gave a laugh of triumph and sent a bolt of lightning at Barret's frozen arm.
The scream that came from the man's lips as the arm shattered echoed throughout the entire reactor. Shards of ice that had once been the large man's appendage chinked on the walkway, falling between the cracks and off the edge and into the Mako. Barret collapsed in a groaning heap.
"We have won!" Veishan crowed. "We are victorious!"
"Not yet," Cloud growled, lifting himself up onto the walkway.
Vincent looked from Chaos to Dweir, his face incredulous. He did not doubt Chaos' claim that it could somehow merge with Dweir in much the same way it had once done with Vincent himself. It might make such a claim in order to taunt Vincent in a sense, but the way its eyes gleamed, the way it sat upon its throne-like rock, all bespoke honesty. It wanted Vincent to make a choice, to decide who would have the curse of Chaos. The man who wished nothing more than to be rid of it, or the man who would use such a curse as a weapon of impossible destruction.
The ex-Turk cast his gaze around the area, looking for Masamune. He'd grown accustomed to the weapon in the past few weeks, and had begun to look upon it as his best chance for survival. His fingers twitched, and Chaos made a sound. Vincent glanced up, and saw Chaos looking from Vincent to Masamune, a demonic smirk on his face.
"Vincent, really. I was you, you were me. Of course I know what you're planning. Rest assured, if you moved for the sword, I'd tear you limb from limb before you could reach it. Besides, without the ability to fly, do you really think you could wield it properly?"
The ex-Turk inwardly swore. His fingers had twitched. That had been his tell. It'd been one he'd always tried to rid himself of in his youth, something so painfully obvious to himself and anyone trained to recognize it. It was a rookie mistake, one he shouldn't have made. He had to get to the sword and somehow and manage to kill both Chaos and Dweir with it before either could react. Dweir would be easy to kill. He was still unconscious. But Chaos was another problem altogether. He was very much alert, and far more dangerous than Dweir could ever hope to be.
He slowly readjusted his sitting position to make himself comfortable and less threatening. As he did, he felt a weight press against his side. This time, his fingers didn't twitch. His eyes didn't widen in recognition. His lips didn't curl into the smallest of smiles. He was Vincent Valentine, ex-Turk, and he was in perfect control of his body and his tells. He wouldn't let Chaos know that he just remembered that he had Death Penalty.
He had completely forgotten he had it. Cloud had given it back to him in Cosmo Canyon, just before the fight with Dweir. And if he'd forgotten it, then odds were, Chaos had as well. The way the beast sat now, so confident, it seemed that the demon didn't have a care at all. And why shouldn't it be? Vincent's arm felt like pure agony, having just been relocated. He was battered, bruised, and despise all his Turk training, he was only a so-so melee combatant, preferring to rely on his gun to do his fighting for him. And Chaos knew all that.
Dweir made a groan, and began moving. Chaos' eyes eagerly darted to look upon the Yenta Pree. In that one second, Vincent shot his arm under his black robe and drew Death Penalty, instantly squeezing off two rounds. Even in as much pain as his arm was, his aim was ever perfect. The demon's head snapped back as both bullets took an eye, forcing the demon off his throne and onto the ground. Chaos let out a howl of pain, mixed with anger, clutching at his face as he rolled about.
Vincent slowly stood up and walked to his fallen enemy. "You are my sin. You are my punishment. But I have suffered enough. I don't need you anymore. Goodbye, Chaos."
He aimed once more, this time for the beast's heart. And then grunted in pain as a blast of fire took him in the hand, knocking the gun out of his grasp. He stumbled back a bit, clutching at his hand, which had just been burned with a fireball, and looked to Dweir, who was just beginning to stand, the remnants of flames still dancing at his fingertips.
"I heard everything," the Yenta Pree said. "He offers you power and you reject it?"
"He offers me nothing but his curse," Vincent spat back.
"Power is never a curse. Power is power, a means to an end, the end being more power. The demon offers me this power if you reject him, and so you have."
"And how will you merge with Chaos?" Vincent asked. "He was made for me. The two of you could never be together. He wasn't created to inhabit you."
Dweir smirked, his pale, red eyes glimmering with amusement. "Simple. It took me a moment to figure it out, but I think the demon wishes access into my mind through my Link with the other Yenta Pree. In a sense, he'll be cutting me off from Veishan and Ephain, but at the same time, allowing me access to him, but in a far deadlier way. We will become one, a Demonic Mage, and then we will rule supreme."
"Not if I can stop you," Vincent said.
"But you can't," Dweir responded, and ran, diving for the writhing figure of Chaos.
"Gerald!" Aeris cried out, and Ephain couldn't help but smirk. This was it. This was victory. Rufus had fought the Ancient in the name of the Tali Hishna, and he had won. She would be dead, too, if not for the soldier who had thrown himself in front of her. It didn't matter now. It was only a matter of time now.
The soldier fell to the ground in a heap, and Aeris bent over him, chanting ancient Cetra the entire time. A soft breeze picked up in the air, circling around the dying man, coalescing into a green and blue energy. But nothing happened. The man was far too gone. He gave a shudder, reached a hand up, touched the Ancient's cheek, and then fell limp.
Rufus stood over the scene and slowly lifted his shotgun once more, aiming it at Aeris. But even as he did, his hand shook, and the barrel of the weapon twitched with indecision and hesitation.
Ephain snarled, "Just finish her already! Kill her!"
Rufus lowered his gun, and then turned to her. "I can't."
"And why not? Are you choosing her? Her over me? Me, who accepted you, taught you, took you with open arms to my bed? Or her, the one who rejected you? Would you in turn reject me like she did to you?"
"You mean like Jenova did to you with Sephiroth? How she chose her genetically created son over her chosen people?"
"Don't you dare mention his name in my presence. That freak was not one of us. The fact that Mother chose him over us was an insult. But you… you could be one of us. Please, Rufus, just kill the Cetra witch, kill her, and we can be together, we'll rule the world together, in Mother's name!"
"Jenova is dead!" Rufus spat, moving towards her, turning his back on Aeris completely. "Avalanche killed her. Don't pretend like you don't know!"
Ephain stopped for a moment, and looked at the increasingly angry force of Tali Hishna surrounding herself. Now of all times she regretted bringing the fanatics of her people here. They were supposed to do the dying in this campaign so the ones more willing to accept news of Jenova's death lived on. She looked to them, glanced back at Aeris, who was still desperately trying to heal the dead Gerald, and then looked to Rufus, casting one last glance to the Tali Hishna. "Back! Get back! He speaks lies and I will not have you hear them!"
The Tali Hishna, angry with Rufus, began moving back, out of hearing distance. Even if she raised her voice at Rufus now, they wouldn't hear anything.
"Why won't you just kill her?" Ephain asked. "Is it so hard? Can't you do it for me?"
Rufus shook his head, sheathing his weapons. "I… can't."
"She can't help you with your Empire. Not like I can," Ephain growled. "Is it her beauty? Do you like your women with colour? Is that it? Then take her before you kill her if you wish to dally with her. I don't care. As a matter of fact, I think I'd enjoy watching seeing the bitch suffer all the more."
Rufus moved close, his eyes turning to ice, until the two were almost touching, only inches separating the distance between them. "I won't kill her because even though she doesn't love me, I love her. Not for what she looks like. Not because of her power, or what she can offer me. But because she is innocent. Out of all the people in the world, she is the only one I could ever truly trust."
"And you can't trust me?" Ephain asked indignantly.
"No," Rufus said simply.
"And why not?" she yelled. "What is it about her that you trust so much, but you can't find in me, the woman who accepted you?"
"You know that Jenova's dead. You know it! Don't try to deny it. You claim you can speak with her. And yet you say she's alive. Why? To fool your own troops? To give them morale?"
"Jenova is alive!"
Rufus' face turned icy. "And that is why I can never trust you."
He turned from her, his face a look of disgust as he did. He was rejecting her. Like Mother had rejected her. Like Veishan was probably doing right now with his silence over the Link. She couldn't be rejected again. Never again!
She grabbed his arm, pulling him back around to face her. He jerked himself from her grasp, and she flinched, but he didn't turn back. He stared at her, and one hand grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him. Something pressed against her chest, and he growled at her.
"Tell me, now, or I will leave you right now for her."
Panicked, filled with a mixture of fear of being left again, having someone chosen over her once again, she felt tears streaming down her eyes. She couldn't let Rufus leave her. She was offended he'd even suggest it, but at the moment, she was desperate to keep him, to make him never leave her. She wailed, giving herself over to her heart, "Mother is dead! It was Veishan's idea, but we went along with it, both of us. We gave Strife a weapon, one we found in the wreckage of your once great city, one powerful enough to kill Mother. We expected him to do it, and we watched to make sure the deed was done! If we couldn't do it, we had planned to finish Mother off ourselves after the battle. Veishan wanted power! He said that if we moved against Mother, we'd be the ones our people would worship! We'd be the next Gods! Dweir wanted the power, too, but I just wanted revenge! Mother chose Sephiroth over us, and then Sephiroth killed her! It was all so fitting! I hated her so much. We were her chosen, but we were not her champions! So we killed her! And damn you, don't you choose that Cetra witch over me!"
She looked into Rufus' eyes, drawing in ragged breaths. She'd been screaming, she knew. But she was so afraid of being abandoned once more, being left behind, being looked over for someone else. She would have Rufus Shinra, she would!
But even as she gazed into his eyes, she saw the coldness settle in, the disgust slip into them. And then she heard the collective moan slip through the army of the Tali Hishna. And she realized, despite all her screaming, despite her telling them to move back and out of hearing distance, they had still somehow heard it all.
Rufus pushed her firmly away, and the pressure that had been on her chest came away as he lifted the shell-like object, the thing he had called a 'megaphone', and brandished it in front of him. The glowing red lines on his face disappeared, the mark of Blood Letting gone.
Her gut felt like it had just been punched.
"Damn you," she whispered, knowing she had been deceived. How long? Had he just come up with this plan? Had he planned on betraying her since the fight with Aeris? Or had this been planned all along? Had he used her? She managed to say quietly, yet harshly, almost spitting out the words, "I loved you."
"I didn't."
And with that, Rufus Shinra turned from her, walking away and towards Aeris. She made as if to move towards him, and stopped. She looked behind her, at her own army, angry at her admission, drawing weapons. Zeal filled their eyes, a bitter need for revenge consuming them. She didn't even cast a spell in her defense as she sank to her knees, her own army charging in to kill her.
Cloud stood tall and resolutely, staring Veishan down. Weaponless, with no allies, and magic that didn't work at all, the Soldier had never felt more resolute or stronger in his life. He would win here. Not because he was invincible, or not because Veishan, while powerful, was flawed. He would win because he had to, and that was all that was ever enough.
Veishan hovered above the walkway, his shield flickering. The spell was only finite, but it was still barely in place. Still the Yenta Pree seemed overconfident, assured of his victory.
"You have no weapon, no magic," Veishan called. "Tell us. What is a warrior without his tools of violence? Are you still a warrior?"
"No," Cloud answered.
Veishan made a grunted that sounded both amused and satisfied, and lifted a hand. A fireball flew forward, but Cloud sprinted forward, dodging ahead and out of the bolt's path. Veishan made as if to cast an ice attack, but stopped, a confused expression coming over his face. "What? Where is… Dweir? No!"
Whatever had happened, Cloud was glad to hear it. Apparently the source of Veishan's ability to fire off deadly ice spells was now gone. He readied himself, preparing to leap from the platform and onto the chains once more to dodge the lightning attack. He glanced at Barret and winced. The large man wouldn't be able to be saved in time from this one. The ex-Soldier winced, and changed his mental plan to dive to Barret and try to carry the man and get to the chains at the same time in order to dodge the lightning. He wouldn't be able to make it, but he saw no other option in the threat of Veishan's lightning attack.
It never came. And not from lack of trying. Veishan lifted his hand once more, tried to summon the spell, and was once more met with failure. "Ephain?" he called. "Are you not with … I'm alone? I am… I? Not us?"
Veishan appeared to be in a panic, and Cloud took full advantage. He moved to stand by Barret, who lay groaning on the ground. Cloud quickly inspected the wound, and saw that the ice had prevented any bleeding from the large man's exposed shoulder.
"Don't worry, Barret, I'm going to get you to a doctor as soon as I'm done with Veishan here."
"Picks…" Barret growled through his pain. "Take … 'em, spike."
The blonde warrior looked to Barret's belt, and saw the two mattocks that Barret had carried with him while he'd been without his gun-arm. Now, there they were, unused but still readied for battle. Cloud yanked them both of out of their straps and brandished them. He wasn't used to the weight, and Veishan was out of reach to use them effectively, but they were still something.
Veishan was beginning to talk to himself, ranting quietly, and Cloud caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked down, and saw Red XIII doing a cross between swimming and floundering in the pool of Mako. Apparently he was alive and well, but he would need to be pulled out of there soon, or he could be in trouble.
"Veishan!" Cloud yelled, hefting his mattocks, and looking at the shield surrounding his enemy, timing the flickering. "I may not be a warrior, but I know what I am!"
The Yenta Pree was barely paying attention, but Cloud continued anyway. "I am a Soldier!"
He cast an arm back and flung it forward, throwing the first mattock. Veishan saw it coming and lifted a hand, a blast of fire taking it out of the air, but the second mattock immediately followed it. Veishan attempted to cast a spell at it, failed, and attempted another one. That failed as well. The mattock slammed directly into Veishan's eye, the large metal spike sinking deeply into the Yenta Pree's skull.
An unearthly scream erupted from Veishan's lips, and he fell backwards, tumbling out of the sky and towards the pit of Mako. As he fell, his body slowly turned grey, crumbling in the air, falling to pieces, falling to ash.