Okay, this is a rough estimate... But if I lengthen the next few chapters the way I intend to, and get things done the way I want it, then there should only be two or three chapters left in this story. Four if I choose to expand it beyond for a little more closing. Yes, believe it or not everyone, this story is finally coming to a close. Okay... lets get on with this.
Disclaimer- Malice- So am I going to make another appearance before this story ends?
(Smirks)- Yup you sure are! I have something special planned for you.
Malice- That being what?
(Whistles innocently)- Um, I don't own Final Fantasy 7
Malice- I'm speaking to you.
Yeah? And I'm ignoring you.
Defeating Bahamut
Although fear is the main expression across everyone's face, there's also confusion considering what they're up against. The small little dragon known as Ominous had indeed morphed into something larger. Another dragon, a dragon everyone has seen many times before.
Reno was the first to finally break free of his stunned state. He turned to Yuffie, knowing she's the only one that might know what's going on. "What a damn minute." Everyone's gaze snapped from the dragon to Reno, irritation and anger were clear in his eyes. "What kind of sick joke is this. What the hell is Bahamut doing here? Who summoned it?"
Yuffie's eyes moved back over to the summon Bahamut, it's black leathery skin shinning in the sun. The massive bat-like wings flapped slowly to keep it air born, "No one summoned it." She spoke quietly a first. She took in a breath and began speaking, louder this time, "In Wutai, we worship the dragon and serpent gods."
"You mean, more than just Leviathan?" Tifa asked.
Yuffie nodded her head before explaining, "It's said the dragon Bahamut is the adult form of Ominous. And if Bahamut is somehow defeated, it transforms into Neo, then Neo turns into Zero. Bahamut is a dragon controlled by anger and wishes nothing more than to kill. When trapped inside a summon, it's controlled. But it's set free now, and that's far worse than any of the Weapons if we let it roam free."
"So the power Dregon has been seeking this whole time was Bahamut. Why didn't he just steal our summon materias?" Red XIII questioned, confused by the whole ordeal.
"Because... When locked away in the materia, Bahamut loses it's strength. What we are seeing no is Bahamut without any restraints."
Cloud rested his sword on his shoulder, having heard enough, "I get it... So basically, all we have to do now is defeat all three forms of Bahamut. We've faced plenty of dragons in our travels. We've commanded Bahamut, Neo, and Zero enough to know what to expect. Alright guys, this is it. We end this today, we'll kill Bahamut and go home."
"Yeah.. but what happened to our summon materia that Bahamut was in?" Tifa asked before taking out the Bahamut materia she carries in her Minerva Band. Locked away in one of the slots of the band, Tifa pulled out what should have been a red summon orb, instead it was simply a glass sphere. "I guess this means we can't call on Bahamut's aid."
"Everyone get out of the way!" Reno shouted as he sprinted to the nearest building for cover. The group didn't even look to see what was happening, knowing that they should just trust Reno. As everyone separated from the area, Bahamut unleashed it's blast from it's mouth. The explosion shuck the entire fallen city with the devastating blast.
Bahamut remained hovering above, it's eyes starring down as if it wanted to see the effects of its blast. A bright crimson light shined in the cloud of dust, causing Bahamut to crane its head forward as if to see what it is that's shinning so brightly. A strong gust blew through the city, clearing the dust cloud, "Cosmos Memory!" Red XIII roared before releasing the energy he gathered up into one massive blast. The fiery crimson beam soared towards the sky, heading straight towards Bahamut. On pure instinct, Bahamut turned to the side to dodge the blast, but the dragon was a fraction of a second too slow and it's right wing was blown off.
The dragon's roar of pain shuck the ground as it began falling out of the sky. Cloud and the others watched in anticipation as it continued to fall. Finally Bahamut hit ground and that was their cue, "Everyone attack now!" Cloud shouted before running forward. The rest followed his lead. Bahamut lifted itself off the ground and onto its hind legs. Cloud leapt up to cut its head off with his sword. Even when grounded, Bahamut proved to be a difficult opponent. It knocked Cloud away with a slash of one of its claws, knocking Cloud into one of the remaining broken down buildings.
"Water Kick!" Tifa shouted as she leapt up and kicked the dragon in the head. She fell to the ground and looked up at Bahamut to see what kind of damaged she did. Bahamut starred down at her, the kick seemed to of done only one thing. Piss it off. Bahamut slashed one of its claws down towards her. Tifa was fortunate enough to roll away before she was killed.
Red XIII leapt up and dug his claws into Bahamut's head. With one paw, he began trying to scratch Bahamut's eye out to blind it. He managed to get the right eye before he was tossed back to the group. Bahamut's mouth began flaring up as it gathered another blast in its mouth. The group could only watch in horror as it prepared, knowing that they didn't have enough time to get anywhere safe. Bahamut let out a roar and shot its head forward to let out it's blast but it never got the chance. Instead Bahamut continued to fall forward, the sword thrust through its neck having effectively brought it down.
As it dropped, Cloud pulled his sword free from the dragon neck and smirked, "And that's why you never turn your back on me." Cloud leapt off the dragon and walked back to the group. Bahamut's body began glowing, soon it was shinning in a bright white light. Its body lifted off the ground. It began to grow, it got bigger and bigger, soon the group found Neo Bahamut starring down at them.
Reno let out an annoyed breath, "One down, two to go. Remind me to retire from anything involving fighting after this."
--
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Vincent asked cautiously, gripping his seat tightly as the copter went through a violent jolt. Rima seemed to ignore Vincent's question, putting all her focus on the controls in front of her.
Sephiroth remained calm in the seat next Vincent's. Though his eyes were closed, you could tell he was awake from the slight smirk on his face, "Do I hear fear in your voice Valentine?" Sephiroth asked amused, "Whatever happened to the man who has no emotions?"
Vincent could only glare at Sephiroth as his grip tightened to the point his claw cut through the cushion of the seat after the copter took another jolt. "I do not wish to die before we even go to battle. Nor do I feel comfortable letting someone without any experience pilot this machine."
"If I didn't have any experience flying these, then I wouldn't have been able to get it off the ground." Rima called back, having heard enough about her piloting skills, "Now both of you shut the hell up before I decide to crash into a mountain. We've already reached P.N.R."
"P.N.R.?" Vincent questioned.
"Point of no return." Sephiroth answered, "It means we've used up half of our fuel and there's no chance for us to go back."
"I said be quiet! I have to concentrate!" Both men fell silent, not wanting to anger the half vampire who literally has their lives in the palm of her hands.
----
"First thing's first." Cloud said to the group as they hid in the many buildings. They could hear Neo outside blasting the other buildings to try and flush them out, "We need to get it on the ground. That's when it's most vulnerable."
"And how, oh great leader, do you plan on getting that thing on the ground?" Reno asked frustrated and tired, "Getting the first one grounded was a fluke. And I doubt we'll be able to do that again."
"It'll continue to fly around the city and destroy the buildings, sooner or later it will get this one as well." Red XIII reminded them wisely.
"I have a plan." Cloud assured them, "Tifa should be back from the Highwind any time now."
"Unless Neo got her." Yuffie commented dejectedly.
"I'm back!" Tifa practically shouted. The group turned and glared at her, causing her to clamp a hand over her mouth, "Oh, sorry." She walked over and threw a pack that she was carrying in her other hand, towards Cloud.
"What's that?" Reno questioned as he threw a cigarette out a window.
"This." Cloud said holding the pack up, "...is a parachute."
"What the heck are you going to do with that?" Yuffie asked in wonder.
Cloud grinned, looking more or less excited. For some reason, he seems to be having fun fighting Bahamut. It could just be the thrill of the battle. "While you guys distract Neo, I plan on getting him to the ground." He explained.
"You want us to distract that thing." Reno asked in annoyance, already not liking the idea, "And how the hell do you want us to do that."
"You're a Turk Reno." Cloud reminded him, "Do what you do best, insult it." Reno's eye twitched, "Or.. you could stand out in the open and gobble like a turkey..." When it appeared Reno was beyond angry, Cloud shuck his head, "Honestly Reno, I don't know. Do what you can. I need you guys to distract it, make it come over to this building. I'll be hiding on the roof waiting."
Cloud stood up from the floor and began strapping the parachute on, knowing that he'll need it for what he's planning on doing. He wasn't really worried about it though. He's jumped out of the Highwind and into Midgar before. This isn't any different. "Alright. Move out!" Cloud ordered before raising towards the staircase. The group took a moment to collect themselves before heading out the building.
"Any ideas guys?" Tifa asked as she starred at the distant figure of Neo.
"Reno, you're good at pissing people off. What do you suggest?" Yuffie asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"We first need to get its attention." Red XIII pointed out. "I believe I can do that. But once it comes how do make it stand still?"
Reno smirked, "Leave that to me. Alright, Lockheart and brat, you two hide somewhere. Wolfie and I got this covered."
The two women did as they were told, and Red XIII wandered a few yards away from Reno, choosing to ignore the name Reno referred him to, "Are you ready Reno?"
"I was born ready." Reno assured.
"Right.. of course." Red XIII's gaze settled on a small building before he concentrated on one of the materias he's carrying, "Ultima!"
Neo prepared to blast another building when it caught site of an explosion in the Sector next to the one it was currently destroying. Without a moment's hesitation it flew towards the explosion. When it reached the area, it looked around and found Red XIII and Reno standing out in the open.
"Riiiiiight." Reno said as he stared up at Neo. He seriously doubted he'll get out of this alive. "Hey you oversized lizard! What the hell do you think you're doing blowing shit out of my city?" Neo didn't seem to understand a word he was saying, and if it did, it didn't let on. "I'd rather not have your nasty dragon snot all over my city." Reno had trouble thinking up insults when he was looking into the eyes of the messenger of death, "Uh... Have you seen Bahamut around? No? That's because we killed that scrawny little shit." Neo roared, causing Reno to smirk, 'Soft spot.' He thought to himself, "Bahamut sure was a worthless dragon. Tell me, why did it exist to begin with, was it to clean the big piles of shit you must lay around?"
Reno's face paled a bit as Neo began to lower itself, the dragon's eyes locked on Reno as its looking at its next meal. And in Reno's mind, that what he imagined Neo was thinking. 'Better hurry the hell up Strife.'
Cloud peeked over the edge of the building just as the monstrous dragon drifted down pass the edge. 'Now!' he told himself in his mind before leaping over the edge. He thrusts his sword into Neo's back to stop him from moving any. Neo roared in pain, and although it wasn't Cloud's original intention, Neo fell to the ground. Cloud drew his sword free from Neo's back, "Now everyone!" He ran across the scaly back of the dragon, heading towards the its head. Neo shot to it's feet, tossing Cloud back into Reno. It immediately shut to the air. "Damn!" Cloud cursed from his place on top of Reno.
"Get the hell off me!" Reno shouted before pushing the blonde off of him. The two stood up and immediately fell back down as the ground underneath them was lifted up into the air, "We're dead..." Reno said more to himself then to Cloud, knowing what was coming. The chunk of land they're standing on hovered in the air as Neo starred them down, gathering the energy within itself to release it's flare upon them.
Cloud did a quick survey of the distance between the edge and Neo. "I've got a plan." Cloud said before grabbing Reno's arm and dashing forward.
"Have you completely lost it Strife?" Reno shouted, his eyes wide. Though unsure of what the blonde has in mind, he too ran forward.
"Make sure you hold on tight Reno, or you'll fall to your death." Cloud told him
"What a pleasant thought." Reno muttered to himself as Cloud and him jumped off the edge and towards Neo. The dragon seemed to have been caught by surprise, not thinking that anyone would jump off the only thing keeping them alive. With his sword still in his free hand, Cloud slashed at Neo's left wind, he caught through the wing down half it's length.
Cloud's eyes widened as him and Reno began falling, Reno cursing the entire time. "Hold on tight Reno, I'm releasing the parachute." Reno continued to curse as Cloud pulled the string to release the parachute. The jolt almost caused Reno to loose his grip on the straps of the parachute. They both got the scare of they're life as Neo fell pass them, just missing them by a few feet. They watched from above as it fell onto the building the group was using to hide.
By the time the two literally crashed landed, it was clear that Neo had not survived the fall, having landed on its head. Already the dragon was beginning to change into its third form. "Now the real fight begins." Cloud said to the group as he undid the straps of the parachute. Reno looked more or less pissed about the whole parachute thing, having almost pissed himself when Neo fell pass them.
Neo's body lifted from the ground, as the familiar transformation took place. Everyone turned their head at the sound of a helicopter making it's way over. "Who the hell is that?" Reno questioned. The helicopter landed and shut down. For a few moments, no one came out of the helicopter, leaving everyone just starring at it in anticipation. Finally, the side opened up and three long awaited people hopped out.
"Rima! Vincent! and Sephiroth!" Yuffie called over to them. The three made there way quickly over to the group.
"I hope we didn't miss anything." Rima smirked, more than ready to fight.
"Whoa..." Yuffie said backing up a few feet from Rima, "What happened to you? You look... uh... different." Yuffie said, for lack of better words.
"Details are later. What's going on?" Sephiroth demanded upon seeing Zero taken flight.
"Oh.. to make a long story short, and without the boring details. We have to kill Bahamut, Neo, and Zero. We got the first two, now we just have to worry about..." Yuffie paused a moment as if something suddenly occurred to her, "...another..."
"Yuffie?" Vincent questioned, getting Yuffie out of her daze.
The ninja shuck her head to rid herself of her daze, "Um... yeah.. Kill Zero.. Worry about that right now." The four staggered about on their feet as the ground shuck as Zero landed on the ground in front of the other half of the group.
Cloud leapt forward and slashed his sword at Zero, only to be shocked to find that the silver scales covering Zero's body are indeed very hard. His sword didn't so much as leave a scratch. "This could be a problem." Cloud said to himself before he was knocked away like a rag doll.
"Grrr." Red XIII's fur seemed to stand up on end. The small flame at the end of his tail grew bigger as crimson light surrounded him, "Cosmos Memory!" Red XIII released his fiery blast of energy towards Zero. The dragon countered with its own blast. The two beams clashed, but Zero's proved to be more powerful, as it thrashed through Red XIII's and continued on until it struck Red XIII.
Vincent headed towards the dragon, firing rounds from his Death Penalty as he came closer to the dragon. The shots seemed to just ricochet of the dragons body. 'That's not working' Chaos's familiar voice appeared in Vincent's mind.
'I'm well aware of that Chaos.' Vincent informed him.
Sephiroth walked calmly towards Zero, a smirk slowly forming on his face as his wing sprouted from his back. He could feel the extra energy gathering inside of him already. He unsheathed his Masamune, his gaze remained transfixed on the dragon. Rima remained where she is, watching Sephiroth with fascination.
Tifa could only do her best at healing the others, having learned the hard way that her punches and kicks are in no way effective against Zero. Reno just merely stood off to the side watching the fight unfold, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Red XIII, in the worst shape from all of them thanks to Zero's blast, could barely lift himself off the ground. Cloud, Yuffie, and Vincent were doing their best trying to defeat the creature, with Cloud hacking away in the front and Yuffie and Vincent attacking from a distance.
Zero, having finally become fed up, or toyed with the group enough, took to the sky. Vincent continued to helplessly fire shots at the dragon in a desperate attempt to cause it some sort of injury. It flew far above Vincent's range however and turned to look down at the group, its wings seemed to expand. The group could only watch horrified as it gathered energy up for its flare.
"Everyone back away." Sephiroth ordered, taking his spot in the middle of the open.
"What are you going to do?" Cloud asked, not completely sure anything they do at the moment will save them.
A dark glow surrounded Sephiroth, and soon small bits of the Lifestream began circling him.
'If this doesn't work nothing else will.' Cloud thinks to himself, finally catching onto what Sephiroth is planning.
"I have fought long enough, I grow tired of constant battles. I wish nothing more for this all to end so I may have my final peace." Sephiroth called out at Zero, not sure whether the dragon could hear him or not, "A creature such as yourself should know when its dangerous." A ghost of a smile spread across Sephiroth's face, "Than again, perhaps you seek peace too. I'll grant you this wish." Sephiroth's hands shot up a massive sphere of power forming above him. He gave the attack all the energy he could will into it. Above him, Zero's form became blocked by the sphere, but he could here the dragon's roar as it released it's flare. "Let's test your strength." Sephiroth shouted before throwing his arms out in a way he would do if throwing something. The sphere of energy came to life and flew up, crashing into the flare Zero had released.
The group watched on edge as Sephiroth's sphere continued to press on, breaking through Zero's powerful flare. Finally the sphere exploded in a blinding light, causing everyone to shield their eyes. Zero's roar was muffled from the explosion.
Zero's body plummeted into the ground, and for once, the group could relax, knowing that the beast had been beaten. Sephiroth walked over to the dragon, it's body sprawled across a pile of rubble. He kicked it in the head lightly to see if it truly is dead. When he didn't get a response, he knew the dragon was gone. Sephiroth turned his back to Zero's beaten form and looked to the others, "It's done." He stated simply.
Midgar began to shake violently, the tremors causing buildings to tumble to the ground. "What the hell's going on?" Reno demanded before falling back on his rear end, not able to stand on his feet.
"Look!" Tifa shouted, pointing her finger over at Zero.
Sephiroth spun around, unsheathing the Masamune in the process. Zero remained standing, it's silvery body seeming to glow just like the Bahamuts before him. Sephiroth leapt forth, not wanting to wait to see what will happen. Zero's claw slashed forward, slashing Sephiroth across the chest.
"Sephiroth!" Rima yelled in shock as she watched the silver swordsman drop to the ground, his Masamune a good five feet out of his reach.
Sephiroth's face showed no sign of pain, he glanced up from his kneeled position as Zero drew its head back, it's mouth flaring up with energy. Sephiroth crossed his arms around his head, in a desperate attempt to block the inevitable attack. Zero unleashed its flare, the beam of light crashing into Sephiroth and continued on until it crashed into a distant building. When it finally passed, nothing was left that resembled Sephiroth, just the scarred land he was once standing on.
The group could only stare in disbelief at the death of the most greatest swordsman alive. And the thing that scared them most was the fact that Zero didn't seem to be down. It took to the air, its body glowing a bright white light. Zero's body began to reform right above them.
"Wait a damn minute! What the hell could it possibly turn into. Bahamut Zero is the last one damnit!" Reno shouted, his anger hiding the fear he feels.
"No!" Yuffie shouted disagreeing with Reno, "One more remains. Zero is not the most powerful one. The one that remains is what Dregon was aiming to control."
"Another Bahamut?" Tifa asked quietly in disbelief.
Yuffie nodded her head before turning her gaze back up to Zero, it's body becoming more bulky. Its neck became shorter and its head grew wider. Its mouth, which resembles mostly like a beak, shorten. The four silver wings molded together to form two enormous ones. The dragon's muscles grew three times in size.
"What is it..." Cloud said more to himself as he tried to catch a glimpse of the new terror.
"Bahamut Sin." Yuffie swallowed nervously, every muscle in her body seemingly trembling in fear, and she knows hers isn't the only one.
The dragon among all dragons set foot on the ground. Standing at the size of what Diamond Weapon had, the group of fighters appeared to be insects to the dragon's enormous size.
Rima continued to tremble, not of fear, but of fury, her fist shake violently at her sides. Sephiroth's death continued to replay itself over and over in her mind. Finally, she snapped. Drawing two daggers she rushed towards Bahamut Sin, "I don't care how big you get. I'll make sure you die in the most painful of ways!"
"Rima! Wait no!" Yuffie yelled out, trying to stop her.
But there was no getting through the heartbroken half vampire. Her fury rose to new heights and everything around her was a blur except the target in front of her. Bahamut Sin attempted to backhand Rima with one of its monstrous claws. Fortunately, with great size, it's movements are slow enough for Rima to leap over the arm and straight towards the dragons head. The dragon however, proved to have different plans, it slammed its head forward, knocking Rima to the ground with a bone chilling thud.
Dazed and confused, Rima has not chance of getting out of the dragon's way as one of its claws came crashing down, no doubt to smash her body into the ground. The ground shook when the claw hit the ground. Bahamut Sin leaned its head back, looking somewhat confused. It lifting it claw and found no trace of Rima.
Rima blinked her eyes, trying to tell her brain that she's seeing things, that the dragon had killed her and she's in a different place now. Every time she closed and reopened her eyes, he was still standing above her. There was no doubt in her mind, Malice had saved her.
"Don't be so foolish Seria." Malice spoke, shocking Rima even further, "Such actions will land you in a early grave."
"Cy-Cyrus?" Rima uttered in hope.
Malice smirked, though his eyes remained on Bahamut Sin, "I should have killed both of them when I had the chance. Now this monster is free to roam the planet." Rima turned her gaze back towards Bahamut Sin which seems occupied with the rest of the group trying to hack away at it. "Their efforts are in vain. They're all going to die. Nothing can stop this."
"There has to be a way." Rima said surely.
The familiar crazed look spread across Malice's face, the look that easily frightens anyone. "Perhaps I too will have my fun with it before I die."
"What are you talking about Cyrus?" Rima questioned slowly, trying to figure out what he's thinking.
"Goodbye Seria." Malice spoke, his voice held an unfamiliar warmth within. Just like that, Malice sprinted forward to join in the losing battle. Malice hurled several of his electrifying gadgets, imbedding themselves in Bahamut Sin's strong hide. Yet the electric jolts didn't seem to faze the creature at all, only get its attention.
Yuffie watched from the sides as Malice literally ran circles across Bahamut Sin's body while dodging attacks from the creature's claws and its massive tail which it uses as an extra method of attack. Her eyes continued to scan the creature's massive body, looking for any sort of sign of weakness. Her brows raise in surprise as Malice effectively blinded Bahamut Sin in one eye by shoving his weapon into its eye. Angered, and hurt, Bahamut Sin had enough. It struck Malice into the air, leaving him no place to run, nor anywhere to hide. The dragon let loose a beam of energy, crashing into Malice. His yell was heard even over the deaf defying blast.
Tears sprang into Rima's eyes as Malice was blown to pieces. 'No...'
"Move out of the way!" Rima's head shot up to see a ball of fiery energy coming straight towards her, as many others continue to be shot at the rest of the group. Rima's eyes widened as she stared at the oncoming blast. She felt herself pushed out of the way, sharp claws drawing blood from her shoulder from the force of the push as Vincent took her place.
Rima pushed herself off the ground and turned to see Vincent face down, his cloak shredded beyond recognition. "Valentine, you idiot!" Rima gritted between her teeth as she turned him over. A stream of blood trailed from out his mouth, his crimson gaze hollow and empty. Rima bit her bottom lip before placing two fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. She dropped her hand and her head when she found none. Rima growled before shooting to her feet and raising back towards battle.
The blood trailing out of Vincent's mouth seemed to defy the laws of gravity as it began to mouth back in. 'Vincent' The gunslinger heard the demon inside his mind. 'Vincent...' Chaos seemed to be reaching out to him, 'Don't die on me now. Let me fight this dragon.'
'I'm... not dead?' Vincent confusion was easily read by Chaos, causing the demon to cackle.
'Do you honestly think the only thing I can do is bring about death? I'm restoring your body. When I do, you're going to release me.'
'I guess the only option is to transform.'
Chaos remained silent for a few moments before it spoke again, 'No Vincent. I want you to release me.'
Vincent's crimson eyes blinked before widening as he seemed to come back to life. One thought went through his mind at that moment, 'Fight hard Chaos.'
----
In a distant building, Sephiroth began stirring from unconsciousness. His brain felt like it was beating into his skull, and every bone and muscle in his body felt as if it were broken and torn. He managed to haul himself into a sitting position to look into the gaping hole he had created when he flew into the building. From a distance, he could see the group fighting yet another Bahamut, one he hasn't seen before. Sephiroth scowled and fell back down, "I'm finished fighting. I'm through with redemption."
----
Cloud collapsed onto his knees, thoroughly exhausted from battle. He had long since gathered the extra energy from his wing, and now it seemed that extra energy expired, leaving him weak and tired. The worst part of it all, was that he didn't seem to help any. Bahamut Sin took all his blows as if he were using a flyswatter.
His gaze traveled over to Yuffie as she stood there watching the battle unfold. She couldn't help much in battle, still weak from her ordeal with Dregon. Red XIII has been down for the count. Tifa could only cast magic if she hopes to cause any damage. Reno, as tough as the Turk is, didn't have much going for him against the monster. Rima continued to attack, although her daggers didn't seem to be doing much, she evidently ran out of ammo for her sniper rifle, having tossed that off to the side. And he isn't sure what happened to Vincent, once moment the gunslinger had been fighting, sometime in the fight he disappeared. Whether he was killed or severely wounded, Cloud can't be sure.
'There has to be a weak point in this thing.' Cloud thought to himself. He watched as Rima was knocked away, but instead of Bahamut Sin getting her while she is down, the dragon found its head in the delivery end of a familiar demon's fist.
Chaos smirked to itself as Bahamut Sin tumbled back a step or two. The demon spun in the air, dodging a group of short blasts from the dragon.
"It's Vincent!" Tifa shouted in relief, having though that the gunslinger was out of commission.
Rima forced herself to look up at the demon soaring above Bahamut Sin's head, dodging blasts from the dragon as it tried to knock the demon out of the sky. "How... He's dead." Rima said to herself, not sure what to think.
"I'm... far from dead." Vincent's voice shocked everyone enough to jump in surprise, before turning to see the crimson clad gunslinger staggering over to the group, his Death Penalty in one hand, while his claw arm is wrapped around his stomach and side.
"Wait.. whoa..." Yuffie began, resting her hand on her forehead as she tries processing what's going on, "Okay... you're here.. so who's..."
"I don't know how exactly..." Vincent admits, "But Chaos wished to fight without my conscious holding him back. So... I set him free."
"Wait.. You can do that?" Tifa asks, wondering why he never did it before.
"Chaos had been preparing for it earlier. He wasn't going to take any chances. I did not know that I could release him."
"Okay.." Cloud scratched the back of his head, "That gives us another fighter against this I guess."
Reno snorted in disgust, "And that helps? That one lunatic managed to blind its one eye, and that's all the damage done to it so far. How the hell do we kill it?" The group remained silent, Reno rolled his eyes, "That's what I thought."
----
Elena watched the battle from the bridge of the Highwind, "Isn't there anything we can do?" She asked as she starred at the massive dragon.
The pilot turned from the controls, "Well miss, our orders were to stay clear of the battle field."
Elena turned and glared at the pilot, "I want to know how to help in the fight you idiot!"
"Y-yes mam.. I realize that. The late captain Cid had kept this airship loaded with bombs. We used to drop them right onto his enemies from above." The pilot informed her.
Elena gave a thoughtful look, "Is there any left."
The pilot nodded his head, "Yes, plenty."
"Great! We'll use them! Prepare to attack!"
"Yes mam!" A chorus echoed throughout thee bridge.
'I'm coming Reno.'
--
"Chaos will not be able to handle that creature on his own for long." Vincent advised him, "He's buying us time to think of a plan. I suggest we think of one."
"Bahamut Sin's strength is far more powerful than all of the magic combined." Red XIII began, "Attacking it all at once has failed as well. I do not know of anything we have that can be effective against it."
"Damn..." Cloud cursed under his breath, "There must be a weakness..."
"I got it..." Yuffie whispered, the group turned to her, their eyes telling her to repeat herself, "I got it!" She announced in excitement, "I know it's weakness! I've been studying it! I think I really got it!"
"What is it already brat?" Reno ordered.
Yuffie grinned, impressing herself with her observations. "Remember Ominous?"
"That puny dragon?" Reno asked, "What of it."
"Well... remember that ruby it had on it's forehead." Yuffie pointed a finger at her forehead to explain, "Bahamut Sin has the same this in the middle of its chest. It has prevented all attacks from striking anywhere near there, where as he allowed itself to be attacked in the head and everywhere else. So I believe that..."
"If we destroy the ruby, Bahamut Sin will be destroyed as well." Cloud finished for her, his voice thoughtful, "Maybe that is the way we destroy it."
"How do we know it'll work?" Tifa asks unsure.
"We don't, but it's the only thing we have." Reno answered, surprising going alone with the plan.
"So we focus our efforts on one point of attack." Vincent nodded his head, agreeing with the plan.
"So what are we waiting for?" Rima asks, "Lets go."
Explosions surrounded the area, stopping the group from going through with their plan, "That's the Highwind." Tifa points out at the airship dropping explosives at Bahamut Sin.
Reno growls in anger, "Damnit Elena. What the hell is she thinking? She'll get herself killed!"
Bahamut Sin spun its head from side to side, trying to keep track of the airship while fighting trying to swat Chaos away. Aggravated, Bahamut Sin expands its wings and leaps into the air, above the airship, it's mouth flares up as it prepares to blast.
"No! Elena, get out of there!" Reno shouts out at the Highwind.
Dozens of small neon green energy blasts swirls around the Highwind, as if trying to surround it completely. Then as if on cue, everyone single one of them shoot up and fall straight down at the airship, blowing it out of the sky. The group watched shocked as the burning airship crashed into the city a few sectors away.
"E-Elena." Reno dropped to his knees in disbelief not willing to accept what he just saw.
"Reno?" Yuffie tried calling out to him, "Reno? We have to go."
The Turk hung his head in defeat, "Leave me alone..." Yuffie looked to the others, they just shook their heads before they ran forward.
"How do we get it now? It's in the air." Tifa asked looking up to the dragon flying in the air. They stopped short as they watch Chaos fall from the sky, evidently done fighting.
"Whatever you're going to do, you better do it fast." Rima says noticing that Bahamut Sin's mouth is beginning to flare up again, "I think it's done playing around, it's going to finish us off once and for good."
"Damnit... We don't have anything that will reach him..." Cloud turns towards Red XIII, "You think you have the energy to and aim to get it?"
Red XIII crouched down on the ground, his flame on his tail growing, "Even if my body doesn't have the energy, I'll force myself to do it once more." Yuffie and the rest watch as Red XIII gets covered in a crimson light, his fur stands on end as a small fiery sphere of energy gathers above him, "For the planet. Cosmos Memory!"
Bahamut Sin's yellow gaze caught sight of the crimson beam flying straight towards him. It let out a roar before it released its flare. The two blasts clashed with one another.
Yuffie held her arms up as everyone watched the two energies continue to push one another back. 'I hope this works.'
Bahamut Sin's flare, and Red XIII's Cosmos Memory finally stopped as both blasts cancel each other out. Bahamut Sin tilts its head up, preparing to unleash another flare. It's eyes seem to widen however as another beam comes soaring towards him, this one bluish tint to it.
Time seemed to pause as Yuffie's All Creation crashed into Bahamut Sin. From within the beam, Bahamut Sin's ruby slowly began to crack, then finally, it shattered into a hundred pieces. The dragon's roar echoed across the land, it's body began to slowly fade away. And through all the battles, through all the deaths, and harsh journeys, the group had finally succeeded in bringing peace back to the planet.
Yuffie fell back on her rear, exhausted from her attack, "We finally did it." The group remained silent for a few moments, remembering the past year that they've been fighting. "AH!" Yuffie screamed as Chaos landed in front of her. "Don't do that! GAWD!"
Chaos turned and looked at Vincent. The gunslinger, as if reading the demon's thoughts, nodded his head. Chaos turned and looked to the group, words came out of the demon's mouth, words foreign from everyone there except Vincent. Once finished speaking, his body turned white and then disappeared, back to where he belongs.
"Um... Did anyone understand that?" Tifa asked, still kind of trying to believe that the battle is finally over.
A smile crept its way across Vincent's face, "He said, 'You fight well for humans. Perhaps I'll fight you next time."
"I think I'll pass." Yuffie let out a breath and sprawled out onto the ground.
Rima kept her gaze to the ground, not sure what she'll do now. Her gaze lands on the Masamune, in the middle of the battle torn clearing. Walking over to it, she picked it up and held it in her hands, "So long Sephiroth." She said out loud, her voice strained with unshed tears.
"Since when... is anyone... allowed to touch my sword?" Everyone turned around and starred in shock at the beaten and bruised Sephiroth. He remains leaning on the side of a building to help support his weight, "It took you fools long enough... You weren't expecting me... to do everything... were you?"
Cloud grinned at the fellow swordsman, "Great to see you made it out alive, Sephiroth."
Rima's fist shook in anger, her grip on the Masamune tightening, "You son of a bitch!" She spun on him, her eyes ablaze with fury, "Do you know how worried you had everyone? We thought you died damnit! And you come waltzing over like nothing ever happened?"
Sephiroth shrugged the best of his capability in his condition, "Would you rather me complain how much I'm hurting right now?" Rima's eyes twitched, causing Sephiroth to smirk.
Yuffie rolled her eyes and looked to their leader, "So now what?"
Cloud sheaths his sword and grins, "Now..." He glances around at the group, finding them al paying close attention to him, "Now, we go home."
Alright everyone, listen up. I'd like to point out a few important things here... Well, first thing is, I've had writer's block for this chapter for like... forever! I had no idea what to do. This chapter is a sad one... It's the results of it being forced and uncared about... I just want this fic to finally be finished. It's been over a year now, it should've of been finished before... So.. Here's the deal y'all. The next chapter is the last chapter. No joke, no playing around. The LAST. Never again will this be updated after next chapter. I thank everyone who has shown an interest in this fic and has reviewed it. I'm also going to point out that Bahamut Sin, or Sin Bahamut, whichever it is, is actually an Advent Children character, it's where I got the idea. But next chapter is it, I'm sorry if some are you are disappointed, and I know some of you CoughDieCough Are jumping for joy now, but I have long since lost interest in this fic. Too long for my tastes.
Thank you for listening to my rants lol. Ta-ta! Till the next and final chapter!