Chapter 27
"His breathing seems to be normal…" said Dr. Kadowaki.
When Cloud passed out he was brought inside of a room on the Highwind. Cloud was still unconscious as he lied down on a small cot. Dr. Kadowaki examined Cloud. In the room Cid Highwind, Shera, Zack, Aeris, Tifa, Squall, Rinoa, Red XII, Bugenhagen, Auron and Barret gathered around.
"I am quite baffled by this…" said Dr. Kadowaki scratching her head.
"It's like he's sleeping but nothing will wake him up!" said Zack.
"C'mon kid…ya gotta get up…" said Cid Highwind.
Cid hung his head down and Shera rubbed his back to comfort him.
"Doctor is there anything you can do?" asked Tifa.
"I will try my hardest I assure you young lady. Squall will you make provisions to move Cloud to the Garden? My equipment is there and if I'm going to do further examinations I'll need to be there" said Dr. Kadowaki.
"I'll get on it right away" said Squall.
Squall and Rinoa left the room. Tifa looked the most broken up about Cloud than anyone.
"I'll go with you. I want to stay with Cloud" said Tifa to Dr. Kadowaki.
"Tifa will you be alright?" asked Aeris.
"I'll be fine" said Tifa.
Aeris gave Tifa a hug. Then everyone left the room but Shera and Bugenhagen.
"Tifa we'll go with you to the Garden. Cid is going to fly the Highwind" said Shera.
"I see…" said Tifa.
Bugenhagen floated toward Tifa.
"I see that you care for him very much…keep your head up young one…I suspect that he knows that so many of us want him to pull through. Perhaps it will give him the strength he needs" said Bugenhagen.
A few minutes later three male SeeDs that Squall sent to help Cloud walked into the room.
(Next Scene)
Back where the battle had taken place outside the auditorium Zidane paced back and forth while Vivi sat on a step.
"I have to find that guy!" said Zidane.
"That flying guy with the tail?" asked Vivi.
"Yeah his tail was like mine! I have to find out who he is" said Zidane.
"Zidane…that guy looked really dangerous…" said Vivi.
"I have to find him Vivi…" said Zidane.
"Zidane, please don't go after that guy" pleaded Vivi.
"Alright Vivi…" said Zidane crossing his fingers behind his back.
Vivi got up and walked away.
"Sorry Vivi…this is something I have to do" thought Zidane.
When Vivi wasn't paying attention Zidane ran off down the street.
(Next Scene)
Edgar sat down on the curb quietly. He had gotten away from the crowd and simply wanted to think about the things that had gone on that day. What was prominent in Edgar's mind was what the Empire was up too. Deep in his heart he knew it wasn't over.
"Is something troubling you great King Figaro?"
Edgar turned around to see who had addressed him. He stood up to see Seymour Guado standing behind him.
"Who are you?" asked Edgar.
"Oh how rude of me. I am Seymour Guado" said Seymour with a bow.
"Oh I've heard of you" said Edgar.
"I am pleased. King Edgar I must be honest. I did not come here for small talk" said Seymour.
"Then what is it that you want?" asked Edgar.
"I want to give you information….on Kefka…" said Seymour with a slight smile.
"Kefka!" said Edgar.
"Yes. He's very much alive. It's up to you and your allies to stop him" said Seymour.
(Next Scene)
"Vivi where did Zidane go?" asked Garnet.
"He's right over…." Vivi looked back to where Zidane had been standing
Vivi then shook his head as he looked down at the ground sadly.
"What's the matter Vivi?" asked Garnet.
"I know where he went…he went to find that guy with the tail that appeared earlier…" said Vivi.
"Why would he go after him by himself?" yelled Garnet.
"Zidane has always wondered where he came from. That guy had a tail like his so I guess he just got curious" said Vivi.
"We have to find Zidane fast!" said Garnet.
"Yeah we need to stop him before he does something crazy. That guy with the tail was dangerous" said Vivi.
Garnet and Vivi started to rush off but were stopped by Steiner and Beatrix.
"Princess where are you going?" asked Beatrix.
"We have to find Zidane. He's gone off into the city to search for the man with the tail" said Garnet.
Next Freya and Fratley walked up.
"Is Zidane in trouble?" asked Freya.
"Maybe…if we don't get to him soon enough" said Vivi
Freya stood there thinking for a moment.
"I'm worried about Zidane" said Freya.
"Do you want to help your friend? I'll stay and protect Prince Puck" said Sir Fratley.
"Alright Fratley I'll be back as soon as possible. We just need to find Zidane" said Freya.
"I'll protect you princess" said Steiner.
"As will I" said Beatrix.
"Princess Garnet, Lady Beatrix, I have a favor to ask" said Freya.
"Yes?" asked Garnet.
"Is it alright if Lady Beatrix stay behind and help Fratley protect Puck should any other threats occur?" asked Freya.
Beatrix looked at Garnet. Garnet gave a nod of approval.
"Yes. I will stay and guard Prince Puck" said Beatrix.
Freya bowed her head in thanks to them both.
"Let's hurry up and find Zidane" said Garnet.
"He couldn't have gotten far. It wasn't too long ago that he left" said Vivi.
(Next Scene)
While the group at the Gilgamesh Auditorium had fought of fiends there were other parts of the city where strange objects had appeared. Small dark colored orbs of energy flew around in downtown Square City. The large groups of people that had been let out of the shelters ran around frantically as the dark orbs darted about. Among the groups of people that ran down the street were Sion, Volt, Kou, Echidna, Dominique, Sora, Kairi, and Riku.
"What in the world is going on?" asked Echidna.
"I don't know. Maybe they are Shinra weapons" said Volt as he ran.
The group stopped in the middle of an intersection. Far up the street a large dark portal began to open up.
"What is that?" asked Riku.
The dark orbs stopped moving around all of sudden. They lowered to the ground and eventually sank into the ground. The eight of them along with several other people on the street stopped in their tracks as the dark orbs sank into the ground around them. Kairi hung tight to Sora and Dominique hung on to Sion. The dark energy of the orbs splattered across the ground and surrounded them in a circle. Soon several strange creatures began to emerge from the ground.
"This day just keeps getting better and better…" said Kou getting into his fighting stance.
The creatures that emerged were very dark and shadowy. They were small creatures with beady yellow eyes and two dark antennas on their heads. These Heartless creatures began springing up all over the place.
"What are they? Are they fiends?" asked Kairi.
"Somehow…I think these are different…" said Sora.
Sora stood in front of Kairi as several Heartless began to close in on the group. All around them the Heartless began attacking the other people in the street.
"Whatever they are they aren't friendly!" yelled Volt as he ran to attack them.
The mighty Volt punched one of the Heartless with a blow that would have knocked out a full grown man. The small creature went flying back several feet but when it hit the ground it bounced back up to its feet easily. Volt prepared to hit another one but a strange thing happened. A small orb of light flew out of Volt's chest and into one of the Heartless. Volt then collapsed face first into the ground.
"Volt!" yelled Sion.
Sion, Kou, and Echidna started to attack but they didn't get far. The same light flew from their chest and into the Heartless. They then collapsed on the ground. All around the same thing was happening to the other people on the street. They collapsed in the street as the Heartless absorbed the light from them. The Heartless then closed in on Sora, Kairi, and Riku.
"Sora!" yelled Kairi.
Sora looked to see a strange dark gooey material covering Riku and Kairi's legs. The goo quickly spread up their bodies. Riku was covered up completely first and vanished. Sora ran to pull Kairi from the dark goo. She reached her hand out to him but it was too late. She vanished.
"Kairi! Riku!" yelled Sora.
Sora was the only one left in the street. The hundreds of Heartless now closed in on him in a circle. Sora picked up an iron pipe that lay in the street. As the Heartless approached Sora he swung at them frantically with the iron pipe. Many of them were knocked back but they simply kept moving toward him.
"I…can't…beat them…" panted Sora.
Everything around Sora got very dark. The dark material spread across the ground and over the sides of the buildings. The heartless continued to move toward Sora.
"I…have…to beat them…" said Sora.
Sora lifted his iron pipe to attack…only now he realized he wasn't holding an iron pipe anymore.
"What? Is this?"
In Sora's hand was a strange looking sword in the shape of a key. Sora only paused for a moment before swing the Keyblade frantically at the oncoming Heartless. This strange new sword seemed to actually damage the Heartless because after a few hits they disappeared.
Two Heartless creatures leapt at Sora from behind. Sora quickly swung his sword back horizontally as he turned delivering a critical blow to both of them. Sora then swung the Keyblade forward with an overhead strike and brought it straight down on the head of a Heartless. Another one of the Heartless scratched Sora on his right arm. Sora winced in pain a bit but swung and hit the Heartless. As the Heartless burst and disappeared Sora noticed that several small green orbs dropped from them. He grabbed a handful and as the orbs vanished in his hands he felt the pain go away.
The Heartless began to back away as Sora began to hold the Keyblade in front of him. The Heartless sunk back into the ground and vanished. Everything around Sora was still very dark. In the portal several feet ahead of him he saw something coming out. A man floated out of the portal. It was Ansem. Ansem floated towards Sora with his arms folded. Behind him floated a shadowy ghost like creature. Sora's heart raced as Ansem floated towards him. Ansem then came a feet away from Sora and hovered above him.
"Who are you? What have you done to my friends? What have you done to Kairi?" yelled Sora.
A small grin crept on Ansem's face.
"Their hearts…were special. I could find a great use for them...UGH!"
Ansem held his head in pain. Sephiroth's voice echoed through his mind.
"You have no use for anything. You do my bidding. Stop wasting time."
Ansem shook off the pain in his head. Sephiroth had given both Ansem and Kuja power but did not give them free will.
"As you wish Sephiroth…." said Ansem floating lower to the ground.
"I'll make you pay for what you did to them!" yelled Sora.
Sora ran toward Ansem and thrust the Keyblade at his chest. Ansem hovered backwards quickly and the attack missed. Sora continued to chase Ansem and swung the Keyblade horizontally. Ansem floated upwards quickly and Sora's attack once again missed. The strange shadow creature that floated behind Ansem then flew at Sora. The shadow creature attached it self to Sora and wrapped its long dark arms around his chest.
Sora struggled and thrashed about. As the monster embraced him he felt like his life was being slowly sapped away.
"Ugh!" groaned Sora as he struggled.
"There is no need to resist…embrace the darkness…soon it will cover the entire face of Gaia. Don't think of it as death. Think of it as….liberation" said Ansem.
"I'm not…strong enough….I'm sorry…Kairi" thought Sora as he felt the strength leave his body.
Sora began to black out and as he closed his eyes he remember something that happened a while back on the Destiny Isles.
(Flashback)
Kairi stood on a pier overlooking an ocean. Several feet behind her Sora walked onto the pier. In his hands was a strange yellow star shaped fruit. He looked at it nervously then held it behind his back as he walked toward Kairi. Kairi heard his footsteps and turned around. She smiled at him brightly. Sora smiled then after a moment he showed her the fruit that he held behind his back. Kairi smiled when she saw the fruit and the two gazed into each other's eyes.
(End Flashback)
"No..I can't give up now! I won't let Kairi down!" said Sora in his mind.
Sora felt a rush of knowledge and ability surge into his mind. Until today Sora had never used any type of sword or done any type of fighting. He had never learned magic but now he felt like a master swordsman and magician. The strange thing was that the information didn't seem new to him. The way the memories felt in his mind was the same feeling that a person has when they forget something and suddenly remember it again. Sora opened his eyes and the shadow creature detached itself from him. It then started to float behind Ansem again.
"You are a resilient boy…how can you resist the darkness?" asked Ansem.
"It doesn't matter! What matters is stopping you! Firaga!"
Sora pointed his Keyblade at Ansem and shot a Firaga spell out like a gun. The spell surprised Ansem and it hit him dead on knocking him back. Sora fired two more Firaga spells the first one hit Ansem again then the second one he deflected with the shadow creature. Before Ansem could recover Sora had leapt at him.
"Aerial Sweep!"
Sora seemed to glide toward Ansem and struck him across his face with a mighty blow. Ansem was definitely stunned by the sudden boost in skill that Sora showed. When Sora landed back on the ground the shadow creature lunged at him swiping with its right claw. Sora rolled to his right and dodged the attack.
"Strike Raid!"
Sora then quickly hurled the Keyblade at Ansem. As the Keyblade spun toward him the creature quickly got back in front of Ansem and knocked the Keyblade back toward Sora. Sora easily caught the Keyblade as it flew back at him.
"Impressive…it seems new measures will have to be taken for you…" said Ansem. Ansem floated backwards then suddenly vanished.
"Hey get back here" yelled Sora.
There was silence at first then Sora heard something behind him. He turned around to see a great mass of dark energy forming on the ground. Sora backed away from the mass of energy. Soon a very large shadowy creature emerged from the energy. The Heartless known as Darkside towered over Sora. Its arms were very long and came all the way down to the ground. At the center of its large chest was a hole in the shape of a heart. The large beady yellow eyes of Darkside glared at Sora. Soon several other small heartless began to spawn around Sora. On his left several of the smaller Heartless rushed at Sora.
"Blizzaga!"
Sora shot the powerful ice spell from his Keyblade and destroyed them. Several more approached from behind. Sora leapt up high into the air and began to glide around. The Heartless began chasing him from the ground. Sora landed back on the ground and turned around to face them. One of them jumped at him from his right and Sora swung the Keyblade and knocked it back like a baseball. Sora did the Strike Raid attack once again and hurled the Keyblade at the oncoming Hearless taking out several of them. When the Keyblade landed back in Sora's hand he felt powerful energy gathering behind him.
"What?"
Darkside gathered a large amount of dark energy in his hand. The energy then shot out into several orbs that flew toward Sora. Sora ran forward and rolled on the ground as the orbs of energy flew about. Sora ran forward and bravely ran toward the base of Darkside's body. Sora began slashing wildly at his body but the blows seemed to do nothing. Sora looked up to see Darkside's left hand coming down on him. Sora ran and glided away as the hand plunged through the ground.
Several more heartless emerged from the pool of darkness that surrounded Darkside's hand. Sora ignored them and ran past them to get to Darkside's wrist. Sora rushed forward and stabbed Darkside on his left wrist. Darkside responded and now Sora knew that he had found his weak spot. Darkside quickly lifted his left hand up and brought down his right hand to where Sora was standing. Sora leapt back as the right hand of Darkside crashed where he had been standing.
"Thundaga!"
A large bolt of lightning came down and struck Darkside's right wrist. The humongous Heartless winced in pain.
"Now to finish you off…"
Sora ran toward Darksides wrist and executed the Sonic Blade attack. He rushed forward with great speed and slashed at the wrist as he ran by. The powerful attack sent Darkside wailing and flailing his arms in the air. Surges of dark energy burst from the ground and the heartless began to vanish. Sora took several steps back. Darkside and the other heartless began to sink back into the dark pool. After a few moments they had all vanished and there was silence. Sora looked around vigilantly in the darkness. Soon Ansem appeared in front of him again.
"Quite impressive" said Ansem.
Sora didn't say anything at all. He held the Keyblade up in a ready position. Ansem folded his arms and gave a sinister grin.
"Very well…let us finish this" said Ansem.
With blinding speed Ansem flew toward Sora. Sora couldn't dodge in time and the shadow creature behind Ansem slashed him as he passed. Sora went flying back and hit the ground hard. He tried to get up quickly but before he could fully recover Ansem flew at him again. The creature slashed again and knocked Sora back to the ground. Ansem came at Sora again but this time Sora was able to leap into the air and glided away. Ansem flew past as Sora glided past his left side. Sora landed on the ground and ran back toward Ansem. He leapt in the air and did a flying overhead strike to Ansem's head.
"Pitiful"
The creature formed an energy barrier that blocked Sora's attack and knocked him back to the ground. When Sora hit the ground Ansem flew forward once again and the creature struck him once again. Sora hit the ground hard once more and felt pain all in his body.
"I have to keep it together for Kairi" thought Sora trying to encourage himself
Sora cast a Curaga spell on himself which healed some of the damage.
"I will show you my power" said Ansem.
Ansem gestured with his hands and the shadow creature plunged into the ground. All of a sudden a wave of dark energy sped toward Sora. Sora ran away from it but it seemed locked on to him as it followed his movements perfectly. The wave closed in on Sora and at the last moment he rolled to his right and dodged the wave of dark energy. Ansem gestured with his hands again and the shadow creature reappeared behind him.
"Blizzaga"
Sora cast a Blizzaga spell on Ansem but the creature blocked the spell with a force field again.
"That creature deflects every attack I do…" thought Sora.
Ansem did the dashing flying attack once again. Sora ran and rolled to the right to avoid it. He didn't bother attacking Ansem. He knew that the creature would simply block his attack.
"I have to wait for the right time" thought Sora.
Ansem gestured once again and the shadow creature plunged into the ground.
"Maybe this is it" thought Sora.
The wave of dark energy began following Sora once again. Sora ran toward it this time and rolled to his right just before it hit him. The wave followed him and Sora continued to roll and dodge it as it weaved back and forth. Soon Sora had rolled a few feet away from Ansem. Sora got to his feet and leapt in the air. Ansem tried to call the creature back in time but it was too late.
"Ars Arcanum"
Sora let loose a flurry of mighty blows with the Keyblade that struck the defenseless Ansem in his face and body. Ansem reared back and when Sora landed on the ground…
"Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga!"
Sora shot three different spells. The first hit Ansem with a huge flare, the second struck him with ice, and the third caused a bolt of electricity to strike him. This series of attacks hurt Ansem. He hovered in the air and held his side.
"I've grown tired of you!" yelled Ansem angrily.
Ansem's body began to glow and the world around them began to shift. Soon Sora felt like he was floating. Ansem grew larger and larger until he now towered over Sora. Ansem raised his hands and soon darkness began to surround Sora. He felt like he was literally smothering in darkness. It wrapped around him and choked him.
"Your heart will be mine…" said Ansem.
Sora heard Ansem's words through the darkness.
"That's where you're wrong….my heart already belongs…to someone else!" yelled Sora.
Sora's Keyblade began to glow and the darkness around him began to disperse.
"What is this?" said Ansem with surprise.
"This is me ending this!" yelled Sora.
Sora held the Keyblade up and aimed it at Ansem and shot a long stream of light from the tip. As the light shot through, the darkness cleared. The light hit Ansem and shot straight through him. Ansem screamed in pain as the light grew large and engulfed him. Ansem blew away like a pile of dust. Behind Ansem appeared a Keyhole.
"Close this world off to the heartless" said a calm voice in Sora's mind.
Sora lifted the Keyblade and another beam of light shot from it and into the keyhole. Soon all the darkness vanished and Sora was back in the street. He looked around and everything seemed back to the way it was.
"Sora what are you doing with that pipe?" asked Kairi.
Sora looked down at his hand and the Keyblade had turned back into an iron pipe. Sion, Kou, Volt, Echidna, Dominique, Kairi, and Riku all stared at Sora.
"Umm uh…" said Sora scratching his head in confusion.
"Maybe all that's happened today has gotten to Sora…" said Sion.
Kairi walked up to Sora.
"C'mon Sora put that pipe down" said Kairi.
Sora dropped the pipe on the ground. Kairi smiled and put her arms around his waist.
"It's ok Sora. The remaining Shinra are being rounded up. Its safe now" said Kairi.
Sora was very confused. They didn't remember anything that happened.
"It's best they don't remember what happened" said the same voice that told him to close the door to the world.
Sora hugged Kairi back.
"You did well Sora…thank you…I must take these gifts back now…" said the calm voice.
Sora felt the abilities and knowledge of magic fade from his mind as the strange voice said this.
"C'mon let's go" said Kairi.
"Alright" said Sora.
As the group walked down the street Sora made no mention of what had happened. He simply stored it away in his memory and sealed it away…in his heart.
(Next Scene)
Fuse and Aya along with several other Square City police officers arrested Shinra soldiers and other operatives in the streets. The two of them watched as Reno, Rude, and Elena were escorted by officers with their hands shackled behind their backs.
"We're well on our way to getting things in order. We've made a lot of arrests. We've even found two Class S criminals Ultros and Chupon. There was a report of fiends attacking near the Gilgamesh Auditorium" said Fuse.
"Fiends?" asked Aya.
"Yes…but seems the people there took care of them. Other than that there have been no other reports of fiends in the city" said Fuse.
"Has anyone found out what blew up the Shinra building?" asked Aya.
"No. No one has gotten around to that yet" said Fuse.
Aya sighed and looked down sadly. Fuse put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Today was tragic but we did well today. More people could have been hurt" said Aya.
Aya didn't say anything. Fuse left her to go brief some other officers. Aya thought long and hard about what happened that day.
"You've done well today"
Aya heard a faint voice in her head. It was calm and peaceful and she didn't seem startled by it at all strangely enough. Incidentally it was the same voice that had spoken to Sora.
"This was inevitable…I must take your gift back now…thank you Aya…" said the voice.
Aya felt her body tingle all over and soon she could not feel the power that she had before. She felt a sense of relief now. She held her head up high and walked toward another group of officers.
(Next Scene)
Zidane ran down the empty street. The area had been badly damaged and there were several craters and potholes in the ground.
"Maybe he did this?" thought Zidane.
He stopped and walked along scanning the area. There was a wrecked car to his left and Zidane heard a sound coming from the other side of it. Zidane walked around to the other end. Amarant sat there on the ground and he looked wounded.
"Whoa you're hurt bad!" said Zidane as he stooped down beside Amarant.
"Hey! I don't need your help!" yelled Amarant as he jerked away from Zidane.
Amarant held his left arm in pain when he jerked away.
"What's your problem? I'm just trying to help" said Zidane as he stood up.
Zidane's tail was now visible.
"You're just like him! I ought to gut you!" yelled Amarant.
"I'm like him?..." Zidane looked down at his tail.
"Another guy with a tail came through killing at random…he killed my gang…burnt them all into ashes…some others chased him down the street….a little girl and some strange creature" said Amarant weakly.
"The man with the tail? I'm looking for him…here let me help you" said Zidane.
"I don't need your help" said Amarant.
Amarant focused his energy on his wound and used a Chakra technique which healed him a little. Some of the pain had gone but he wasn't fully healed. Zidane pulled out a small vial. He sprinkled the elixir on Amarant's arm even though Amarant was reluctant to let him. Soon Amarant was starting to feel better. He got up slowly and stood in front of Zidane.
"Why did you help me?" asked Amarant.
"Why not?" asked Zidane shrugging his shoulders.
"That guy flew down that way. I have to avenge my friends" said Amarant.
Zidane and Amarant ran down the street. Zidane thought to himself about what Amarant said.
"He did all this damage?"
After a few minutes the two of them had gone far down the street. Several feet away from them at an intersection Kuja hovered with his back turned.
"There he is!" said Amarant angrily.
On the ground in front of Kuja Eiko and Quina stood.
"Hey you! You can't get away with all you've done! I'm going stop you here and now!" yelled Eiko.
Kuja turned toward Eika and Quina. A sinister grin crept across his face.
"Spare no one…" Sephiroth's words echoed through Kuja's mind.
"Gladly" said Kuja.
Kuja raised his hand toward Eiko and cast a Flare spell on her. Zidane ran up just in time and grabbed her. He leapt back with her in his arms as the Flare spell exploded into the ground.
"Whoa! Who are you?" asked Eiko as Zidane put her down.
"I'm Zidane"
"Oh I know who you are now. Garnet talked about you. I'm a summoner like she is I'm Eiko" said Eiko.
Zidane didn't really listen Eiko. He was preoccupied with staring at Kuja.
"Who are you?" asked Zidane.
Kuja didn't answer him.
"Bad man…" said Quina.
"You killed my friends! Now I'm going to take you out!" said Amarant.
"We have to stop him now! Go!" yelled Eiko.
Amarant rushed at Kuja wielding a claw on his hand. He leapt in the air preparing to strike Kuja. Kuja swatted Amarant away with his left hand and knocked him to the ground. Quina rushed in with a Goblin Punch technique to Kuja which managed to hit him dead on. Kuja fell back a bit from the blow but cast another Flare spell that hit Quina. Quina flew back back several feet and was injured.
"Curaga"
Eiko immediately cast a cure spell on Quina while Amarant got up from the ground. Zidane stood there motionless. He did not want to fight Kuja. He wanted to find out who he was. Zidane felt this was the only chance he had to know who he was.
"That isn't as important as you think…stop him now before he hurts any more people…that is what is important" it was the same calm voice that spoke to Aya and Sora.
Zidane was not startled at the voice. Rather it forced a change in him. He knew what he had to do.
"Hey!" yelled Zidane.
He managed to get Kuja's attention. Zidane began taunting Kuja.
"Think you can hit me? Huh huh? Do ya? I bet you can't!" laughed Zidane.
Kuja looked at Zidane and hurled a Flare spell at him. Zidane ran quickly to his left and dodged it.
"I told you!" laughed Zidane.
Kuja hurled another and Zidane ran toward it a bit and rolled to his right to avoid it. Kuja continued to fire Flare after Flare at Zidane only to miss each time.
"Now's your chance!" said Zidane.
Eiko charged up a spell, Quina prepared another technique, and Amarant rushed Kuja.
"Demi Shock"
Amarant struck Kuja with a powerful technique that inflicted gravity damage. Amarant moved out of the way after his attack and Quina followed with a Twister attack. The whirlwind engulfed Kuja and caused some wind damage.
"Holy"
Eiko cast a holy spell. The large ball of holy white energy descended on Kuja and exploded. Kuja seemed stunned by the attack and Zidane rushed in to attack.
"Soul Blade"
Using the energy in his weapon Zidane struck Kuja across his midsection and he fell back a bit. Kuja still hovered a little off the ground. The series of attacks had damaged him but apparently not enough. He lifted his head up and stretched his arm out to cast another spell.
"Uh oh" said Zidane.
Quina quickly used Mighty Guard a technique that increased magical and physical defense on all four of them.
"Ultima"
Kuja cast an Ultima spell and suddenly the four of them were belted with bolts of energy. All four of them fell to the ground. The spell hit them hard but Quina's mighty guard absorbed some of the damage. Zidane and the others tried to get to their feet. Kuja looked like he was prepared cast another spell.
"NOOO!"
Zidane looked up to see Vivi running up.
"Comet"
Vivi lifted his hands and cast a comet spell. A comet fell from the sky and hit Kuja causing a large amount of damage to him and distracting him momentarily. Freya, Garnet, Vivi, and Steiner all ran up and joined the fight.
"Garnet, Steiner, Vivi, Freya! What are you doing here?" asked Zidane getting up from the ground.
"Helping you out of a mess…I should have known you'd sneak off" said Vivi.
"Yeah you really should have" said Zidane.
"Zidane I could kill you for coming here alone" said Garnet angrily.
"If we aren't careful then you won't get the chance" said Freya.
Kuja had recovered and now hovered in front of them. The others had gotten off the ground and now all eight of them stood before him.
"His spells hit very hard. Keep the pressure on him. Vivi needless to say use your strongest spells. Steiner, Freya, Amarant, and I will handle the melee. Garnet, Eiko support us , and…."
Zidane looked at Quina.
"….whoever/whatever you are just keep helping. Let's go!" yelled Zidane.
"He's quite the leader when he wants to be" said Steiner as he ran forward.
Freya leapt in the air and brought her lance down to strike Kuja. He quickly hovered to his right and dodged. Freya landed on the ground beside him. Freya Stabbed at Kuja only for him to dodge again.
"RAAAAARR" yelled Amarant as he rushed in beside Freya and slashed at Kuja with his claw. The attack connected and damaged Kuja.
A surge of energy flashed out of Kuja's body and sent them both flying back. Quina and Steiner ran and attacked Kuja. Quina opened his mouth and did the Bad Breath technique. A long stream of green toxic gas sprayed from his mouth and engulfed Kuja. Steiner's sword glowed as he hit Kuja with an overhead strike and the Magic Break technique which reduced Kuja's magic slightly.
"Fools!" yelled Kuja as he cast a Holy spell.
The white blast of light engulfed both Quina and Steiner damaging them. Garnet quickly cast Curaga on both of them.
"Carbuncle!"
Eiko summon the eidolon Carbuncle. It was a small blue rat like creature that randomly cast status spells. This time it cast Haste on them all.
"Alright" said Zidane feeling the sudden boost in speed as he rushed to attack.
"The eidolon…" said Kuja as if trying to remember something.
"Finish them now" said Sephiroth in his head.
"Meteor" Vivi cast this spell and a large meteor fell from the sky toward Kuja.
"Reflect" Kuja cast a reflect spell to deflect the magical damage on to Vivi.
"Oh no!" yelled Vivi.
"Reflect"
With the help of the haste spell Garnet quickly cast another Reflect spell on Vivi. The result of this was the damage hit Kuja and reflected to Vivi then reflected from Vivi back to Kuja this time bypassing his Reflect spell and causing damage. At the same time Zidane had rushed in and attacked.
"Lucky Seven"
Zidane relied on his own luck to deal a severe physical blow to Kuja. Lots of damage was being done to Kuja but he still kept fighting back fiercely.
"Meteor"
Kuja summoned several meteors that fell from the sky. The group tried to dodge but a few of them hit causing great damage to them. As Zidane was struck by a meteor he fell to the ground near Kuja.
"Eiko now!" yelled Garnet.
Garnet and Eiko prepared their most powerful summons.
"Madeen, lend us your Holy power! Terra Homing" yelled Eiko.
The area around them turned very dark and behind Kuja a large creature appeared. It was a huge winged beast that towered over Kuja. Madeen roared and a column of white energy began to gather around Kuja. The energy blasted from the ground creating a large white column of energy that damaged Kuja heavily with Holy power.
"Ark, strike the enemy with mysterious Shadow! Eternal Darkness!"
Garnet summoned a very power Eidolon. The Eidolon appeared in the sky as a huge air ship with a dragon head on the front of it. The parts of the large ship began to move and bend so that it transformed into a huge humanoid robot. Ark began shooting blasts of dark energy at Kuja each one pounding him heavily with Shadow damage. Ark vanished and although Kuja had been hit hard he still was not out.
"Eidolons…." Kuja tried desperately to remember something about the Eidolons that attacked him but the control Sephiroth had on him wouldn't allow it.
"I'm tired of you all!" yelled Kuja.
Kuja cast another Ultima spell which devastated the entire group. All of them hit the ground as the spell struck them with critical damage. Zidane fell down to the ground face first.
"Zidane…he's weakened…use this to finish him…" said the calm voice.
Zidane's body began to glow as he stood up from the ground.
"I don't know who you are…it doesn't matter anymore…I have a great life here and you're threatening that. I will stop you now" said Zidane.
"Come and try then…" said Kuja.
Zidane ran toward Kuja. His body still glowed as he was still in a Trance.
Kuja cast a Flare spell as Zidane approached.
"Free Energy"
Zidane freed his energy from his body. The energy surged from his body and cancelled out the Flare spell. Zidane leapt in the air and came down on Kuja ready with an overhead strike with his weapon. As Zidane came down large amounts of red energy surrounded Kuja and he grabbed Zidane's hands as he came down on him. The two stood there in a stalemate. Zidane had both hands on his weapon and his body still glowed radiantly. The two struggled with each other each one gritting their teeth and not giving in. Zidane concentrated hard as he struggled with Kuja. Zidane felt the feeling one gets when one suddenly remembers something long forgotten.
"Grand Lethal"
Zidane leapt back and began throwing what looked like Kanji signs at Kuja. When they hit Kuja they exploded and dealt maximum damage to Kuja. Kuja fell to the ground. Zidane stood only a few feet away. Kuja looked up at him and Zidane felt strange. He felt a soul behind this man that acted like a monster. Kuja said nothing as he looked at Zidane and in a burst of white light he vanished. Zidane's body stopped glowing.
"Thank you Zidane…you did well" said the calm voice.
Zidane felt his strength return to normal. The other's got up off the ground. Vivi held his head as he got up.
"Is it over?"
"Yeah Vivi…it's over" said Zidane looking sadly.
Garnet and Eiko started to heal everyone up immediately. Zidane thought for a moment about Kuja. He had hoped that it would give some clue as to who he was.
"What matters is who you are now…" said the calm voice.
Zidane felt relieved. Garnet ran up to him and gave him a big hug. She then started hitting him on his chest.
"Hey! What's that for?" yelled Zidane.
"For doing something so stupid!" yelled Garnet.
She finally stopped hitting him and hugged him again.
As Zidane hugged Garnet he felt content with the direction his life was headed. He looked forward to the future instead of dwelling…in the past.
(Next Scene)
Edgar, Sabin, Terra, Locke, Celes, Gau, Setzer, Cyan, and Shadow stood in front of a large building in an abandoned part of town.
"This is where he is?" asked Sabin.
"This is where Seymour said he was" said Edgar.
"Edgar, are you sure about this Seymour guy?" asked Locke.
"I don't know…he seemed a little shifty but I get the feeling he really wants us to take out Kefka" said Edgar.
"We have to hurry and stop Kefka" said Terra.
"What about the Emperor?" asked Celes.
"Seymour said he's dead" said Edgar.
"This Seymour certainly knows a great deal. Would thou agree?" asked Cyan.
"I know it. It's strange…." said Sabin.
"It is but what choice do we have?" asked Setzer.
"Are you all going to debate this for the next hour or are we going now?" asked Shadow as he walked ahead of them.
"How much are we paying him again?" whispered Edgar to Locke.
"A whole lot" said Locke
The group entered the tall building. They entered the lobby of the building and it looked like it had been a corporate building of some sort. Of course the place was empty now since the attacks on Square City.
"Seymour said he was on the top floor" said Edgar.
The nine of them made there way to the elevators in the lobby. Edgar pressed the up button and moments later the center elevator opened. They all got on the elevator and Edgar pressed the button for the 13th floor.
"Thirteen…unlucky number" mumbled Setzer.
After a minute or so the elevator opened up to the 13th floor. In front of them there was a double doorway to a large room on top of a set of steps. Two large columns were on each side of the door.
"I guess he's in there" said Sabin.
As the group walked toward the steps several strange figures materialized in front of them.
"Ramuh!" said Terra.
The Esper Ramuh stood in front of the group. With him were a few other espers. One was a giant green snake known as Terrato. Next to Terrato was a unicorn Esper known as….Unicorn. There was a female Esper that wore a white robe and had wings like an angel. She was Seraphim and she held a stone in her hand. Next to her was a large wolf by the name of Fenrir.
"Terra…the time has come" said Ramuh.
The other's looked on in awe at the strange group. Terra walked up to Ramuh and he smiled at her.
"We are here to do our part. We have been told by the Great Spirit that gave life to this world that our time has come. So we willingly sacrifice ourselves to help this world" said Ramuh.
"Ramuh what do you mean?" asked Terra.
Ramuh leaned over and whispered to her.
"Our time has come but your life is only beginning child" smiled Ramuh.
Seraphim walked up and gave Terra the stone she held. It was a Magicite ore.
"Daughter of Maduin, you've grown quite beautiful. Your father is pleased with you" smiled Seraphim.
Terra held the Magicite ore and felt a kindred spirit.
"Father?"
"Prepare yourself Terra. A great evil waits behind that door" said Ramuh.
Ramuh and the other Espers slowly began to fade.
"Farewell…" said Ramuh.
All that was left was Magicite ores. The Magicite ores lit up and several sparks of energy shot from them and into the group. Each of them felt a sudden rush of power in their bodies.
"Whoa!" yelled Sabin.
"Gau feel strong" said Gau.
"As do I Sir Gau" said Cyan.
"Terra those were Espers?" asked Locke.
"Yes…they sacrificed themselves to give us power" said Terra sadly.
"Well we won't let their sacrifice be in vain…" said Edgar.
The group gathered together and walked to the large double doors. They opened them up to reveal a large room. At the center of the room were three huge statues of three females. At the center of them sat Kefka. He seemed to be in pain.
"Kefka!" yelled Edgar.
Kefka looked up at the group and flashed a sinister smile.
"Woo hoo hoo. If it isn't the Revisiters" laughed Kefka.
"That's Returners…" said Locke.
"Whatever…what brings you here to pay me a visit?" asked Kefka now getting up from the ground.
"We've come to stop you from hurting anyone else!" yelled Terra.
Kefka looked at Terra with surprise.
"Is that…Terra? Woo hoo hoo! I'm upset with you young lady. You ran off without saying good bye! Oh..and isn't that Celes…the traitor?" chuckled Kefka.
"Kefka…" said Celes angrily.
"Kefka thou art a Villian! You will pay for what you did to Doma! I shall extract vengeance with my blade!" said Cyan pulling out his sword.
"Such a spirited bunch…come then and let me show you the power I've acquired!" said Kefka.
Kefka's body began to glow and bursts of energy surged from his body.
"I have acquired Ultimate Power! Woo hoo hoo!" laughed Kefka.
The energy blew the group back like a strong wind.
"Stand strong Terra…he exaggerates his power…he was never meant to be able to control that power in this world…" said a calm voice in her mind.
The group braced themselves as more energy surged from Kefka's body. The energy blasted the walls and the roof off the building.
"All tremble at my might!" yelled Kefka.
They were now on top of the building with no walls or roof. Kefka began absorbing more energy and suddenly began to change form.
"What the hell is going on!" yelled Setzer.
Angelic Wings sprouted from Kefka's back and he grew larger and larger until he towered over them.
"Oh my god…." said Locke.
"I am god!" yelled Kefka.
"Come on let's get him!" yelled Edgar.
The group sprang into action.
"Fire 3"
Locke cast a spell with the power of the Espers given to him and inflicted Fire damage on Kefka. Terra followed suit and cast powerful spells as well.
"Ultima"
Terra cast this spell and a large blast of energy hit Kefka. Cyan and Shadow rushed Kefka and began striking the lower portion of his body with their swords. Kefka seemed unfazed by the attacks so far.
"Goner"
A blast of non elemental energy streaked across and knocked Cyan and Shadow back. The energy continued on and hit the entire group.
"AAAGH" yelled Edgar in pain as he hit the ground.
He got back up but he felt so much pain in his body.
"Seraphim help us" said Celes.
Celes summoned the Esper Seraphim. The angelic esper appeared over the group and she healed their wounds then vanished.
"Yeah the Espers! Use their power!" yelled Edgar.
"Hyperdrive"
Kefka cast a spell and yellow energy descended from the sky and struck Edgar. Edgar flew into the air.
"Edgar!"
Sabin ran and caught his brother before he hit the ground.
"Pathetic…" said Kefka.
Kefka then did an attack called Train. Several beams of light burst through the clouds and landed on each of them. The group was now inflicted with several status effects. Shadow became confused and began attacking Cyan. He rushed at Cyan and attacked him with an overhead strike with his katana. Cyan lifted his sword horizontally and blocked the attack. He suddenly felt weaker because the spell had inflicted him with poison. He managed to push Shadow back. Shadow became more confused and started running around in circles.
"Thou must cure our ailments…" said Cyan weakly as he knelt to the ground.
Gau and Celes were both blinded while Edgar , Locke, and Sabin were silenced. Terra and Setzer fell to the ground as they were poisoned as well.
"I think…I can do it…Unicorn!" said Setzer.
The Unicorn Esper appeared above them. Energy shot from its horn and landed on each of them which cured their status ailments.
"Ok it's my on Ramuh!" said Locke
Locke summoned the Esper Ramuh. The old man appeared above the group and gathered a lot of electrical energy in his staff then he shot a large bolt of electrical energy that blasted Kefka in the chest.
"I'll try…Fenrir"
Shadow summoned Fenrir the wolf. He appeared and howled which caused Shadow to become so fast he left after images. Shadow ran at Kefka and Gau followed. Kefka shot a beam of energy at Shadow but he quickly avoided it, leapt in the air and hurled several shurikens at Kefka. Gau stayed on the ground and prepared a Rage technique called Io.
"Flare Star"
Gau hurled a huge flare at Kefka causing a large amount of damage. Kefka gestured with his hand and large sheets of ice fell from the sky as he cast an Ice 3 spell. They fell to the ground and struck the group.
"We have to keep it up!" yelled Edgar.
"Terrato"
Sabin summoned the snake Esper Terrato. The large green and brown snake appeared in front of the group. It opened its mouth and hissed. Kefka was then struck with earth elemental energy. Terra cast another Ultima spell and Locke, Celes, Cyan, Gau, Shadow, and Setzer ran toward Kefka to attack him.
"Havoc Wing"
Kefka's left wing spread out, came down and struck the six of them damaging them critically. They fell back several feet and remained on the ground.
"He's..so..powerful" said Celes weakly as she was sprawled on the ground.
"Woo hoo hoo…Fallen one!" laughed Kefka.
Ray's of light came from the clouds and struck each of them. The strange effect of this spell was that each of them was instantly struck down and put on the verge of death. All of them were sprawled on the ground and it seemed like there was no hope.
"The statues Terra…" said the same calm voice.
Terra looked at the strange statues. She remembered Ramuh's words.
"Our time has come but your life is only beginning child"
She remembered the words of Seraphim.
"… Your father is pleased with you"
Terra held the magicite ore in her hands. She felt some familiar energy from it as it glowed.
"Now to be rid of you…insects" said Kefka preparing another attack.
The magicite glowed in her hands.
"Father…"
Terra changed into her Esper form and the magicite ore began to glow radiantly. It floated out of her hand and was suspended in front of her as she stood up.
"He's right here with you" said the calm voice.
Terra stretched out her arms and large amounts of energy gathered around her. An Esper appeared behind Terra. It was her father Maduin. He was large with brown skin and had a satyr like appearance. His arms were outstretched in the same way that Terra's were.
"Chaos Wing!" said Terra and Maduin in unison.
A shockwave of energy burst from them both and rushed toward Kefka. It incinerated the statues and struck Kefka head on.
"What?" yelled Kefka in confusion.
The Chaos Wing attack ingulfed Kefka.
"…NOOOO…NOOOOOO!" yelled Kefka in pain.
Kefka began to tear apart and eventually blew away like a pillar of salt. Maduin vanished and Terra returned to normal. She fell down to the ground. At that moment it began to rain. The rain drops fell from the dark clouds and splashed across her face.
"Well done Terra…your life is only beginning…" said the calm voice.
The other's slowly got up.
"Whoa…that was one hell of a fight…" said Locke holding his head.
"Indeed Sir Locke…Indeed" said Cyan.
They all got up and walked over to Terra who kneeled on the ground.
"…I'm not part Esper anymore…" said Terra.
"What?" asked Edgar.
"She's right…the power is gone…I don't feel it inside me anymore" said Celes.
"Those statues?" asked Setzer.
"They were where the Espers magic came from" said Terra as she stood up.
"Well now you can live a normal life and put all this behind you" said Sabin.
The rain really began to pour down now.
"Great…the elevators gone…it's raining and we're stuck on top of a building…" said Locke.
(Next Scene)
In the Garden Infirmary Cloud was placed on a bed. Tifa sat in a chair next to him. She held his right hand and rubbed it. Bugenhagen came floating up to her.
"Ho ho you are a true friend indeed" said Bugenhagen.
Tifa gave him a slight smile.
"I'm sure Cloud knows how much you care about him and it'll give him the strength he needs" said Bugenhagen.
"…I hope so" said Tifa.
Cloud was on the bed sleeping peacefully. His body was in there but his mind drifted elsewhere….
(Cloud's Mind)
Cloud floated through darkness. It was so dark where he was he could see nothing.
"Cloud…" said a calm voice.
As Cloud heard the voice the place seemed to light up slightly.
"Who's…there?" asked Cloud.
"I'm sure you have many questions Cloud…come to me…I'll explain everything as best I can…" said the calm voice.
Cloud could see a trail of light ahead of him. He began floating in its direction
(Next Scene)
High above Square City another large portal began to open up. The rain was still pouring and there were sparks of lightning in the sky. The people in the streets looked up at it and pointed as it grew larger and larger. Soon something began to emerge from it.
-RAAAARR-
The scream of the creature seemed to shake the earth. A humongous winged creature came out of the portal. It was a quadruped but it had two long arms and claws out of its torso. The creature reared back its head and showed its large fangs as it screamed again. This was a creature known Ultima Weapon.
Ultima Weapon wasted little time in wreaking havoc on the city. It flew down toward the city streets and hovered above the buildings. The people in the streets ran in terror as it towered above them. Ultima Weapon began charging up a beam of energy in its mouth. It shot the beam into the street and as it hit it created a shockwave that rushed down the street and blew up everything in its path. People ran for their lives as cars, street lights, and bits of the road flew up in the air.
Ultima Weapon fired another beam into the roof of a building. The humongous creature prepared to fire another beam but was suddenly hit by several missiles that slammed into its right side.
-RAAAA-
Ultima Weapon screamed in anger and pain as it looked to its right. Three Airships came toward it. Ultima Weapon began flying toward them. The three airships kept in contact through radio.
On the Highwind Cid steered his ship. On the bridge of the ship were, Lucca, Marle, Chrono, Zack, Aeris, Barret and Red XIII and his kin.
"Cid I think you really pissed it off" said Cid Highwind.
"I know! That's the idea! Now draw it away from the populated areas!" said Cid over the radio.
"All right…All of you kids..hold on to you drawers and don't piss em!" yelled Cid Highwind.
Cid wildly maneuvered the ship around and ignited the thrusters which caused the ship to speed up tremendously.
"Whoa Cid!" yelled Zack almost falling to the ground.
"Cid you one crazy ass man!" said Barret.
"Tell me something I don't know!" said Cid.
(Next Scene)
Meanwhile in the Ragnarok Nida took a crack at flying. On board the Ragnarok were Laguna, Squall, Rinoa, Kiros, Ward, Quistis, Vincent, Selphie, and Irvine. Nida ignited the boosters of the Ragnarok and it sped ahead of the other two ships. Ultima Weapon continued to pursue them. Laguna looked out of the window and saw Edgar and the Returners on top of a building in the distance.
"That's King Edgar! Nida veer off right here and pick them up" said Laguna.
"Yes sir" said Nida.
The Ragnarok veered off to the right toward the building.
"Hey where are you guys going?" asked Cid Highwind on the radio.
"Yeah now is not the time to get fancy" said the other Cid.
"Chill out Cid's we'll catch up with you in a second we have to pick up some friends" said Laguna.
The Ragnarok sped off to the building where the Returners were.
"Hey that's Laguna's ship" said Edgar.
The Ragnarok hovered above them and slowly lowered to the top of the building. A door on the side of the ship opened and some stairs descended. Laguna peeped out of the doorway.
"Need a lift?" asked Laguna.
(Next Scene)
Ultima Weapon closed in on the two Airships. Cid stood on the bridge of his ship. Brother piloted, Buddy navigated, and Shinra sat at an information console. Others on the ship were, Tidus, Yuna, Paine, Rikku, Auron, Jecht, Braska, and Kimarhi.
"This fiend is generating massive amounts of energy" said Shinra.
"That's bad…right?" asked Rikku.
"It means the fiend could blow us apart if we aren't careful…" said Shinra.
"Oh that's definitely bad!" said Rikku.
"…Cid we need some covering fire…its closing in on us" said Cid Highwind over the radio.
"Alright…Buddy, get to it" said Cid.
"Coming right up" said Buddy.
Buddy targeted Ultima Weapon and soon several missiles flew from the back at it. They hit Ultima Weapon dead on but they did little damage. Ultima weapon stopped and opened its mouth wide.
"Get ready to scramble" said Cid.
Ultima Weapon shot a huge beam of energy from its mouth. Both the Airships darted out of the way as the beam shot between them. They had now lead Ultima Weapon out over a bay that was in the north east corner of the city.
"Well at least we got it away from the city. Yuna can you summon Aeons yet?" asked Braska.
"No father I'm still stuck in this dressphere…" said Yuna.
"Alright" said Braska.
Braska concentrated and summoned Bahamut. Outside of the ship Bahamut appear and flew through the air toward Ultima Weapon. The Ragnarok flew in on the right of Ultima Weapon and fired off several rounds from its laser cannon.
-RAAAAR-
Ultima Weapon screamed and then fired off another beam toward the Ragnarok. The Ragnarok veered to its right and barely avoided being incinerated. Bahamut flew above Ultima Weapon. The huge Bahamut was dwarfed by Ultima Weapons size. Bahamut opened is mouth and prepared its Overdrive attack, Mega Flare.
Bahamut shot a long, massive stream of energy from its mouth which struck the side of Ultima Weapons face. Ultima Weapon then retaliated with another beam that hit Bahamut dead on. The dragon king fell from the sky and vanished before it hit the water.
"How are we supposed to take this damn thing out?" asked Cid Highwind over the radio.
"I don't know…we have to do what we can…" said Cid.
(Next Scene)
Cloud continued to follow the beam of light in the darkness.
"Here Cloud…" beckoned the calm voice
Suddenly everything became bright. The darkness was gone and Cloud now stood in front of something that looked like a large bright orb. The light it gave off was so brilliant. Cloud covered his eyes instinctively but then realized that the brilliance did not hurt his eyes.
"Cloud…" said the calm voice which came from the orb.
"Where am I? Who are you? What is going on with all the strange visions I've been having?"
Cloud had so many questions he seemed to just blurt them all out.
"You are eager to know the truth…listen and be patient Cloud…"
Cloud became silent for a moment.
"You've heard my story from Bugenhagen. The ancient ones simply called me…The Orb…as to who I am it is more of…what I am…I'm the creativity and imagination that gave life to this world…" said the Orb.
"You're…a god or something?" asked Cloud.
"No.a god creates from nothing. I created from what already was…" said the Orb.
"..what already was?"
"Cloud this world is an amalgam of several worlds. The people, places, races, cultures are all from separate worlds. Everyone who has lived, lives now, and will ever live on Gaia have existed elsewhere…even the name of this world existed before" said the Orb.
Cloud listened intently to this.
"For instance…your friend Squall…he is from a different world than the one you originated…"
"Why did you do this?" asked Cloud.
"For a new story…" said the Orb.
"A new story?" asked Cloud.
"Yes…before this I watched many worlds. I saw many stories unfold. I saw love…I saw peace…I saw hate..and war. I watched your story and you inadvertently came into my presence…you and your enemy" said the Orb.
"…it's Sephiroth isn't it? All of this is about Sephiroth?" asked Cloud.
"Indeed. On your world Sephiroth nearly accomplished his goal of becoming a god…or at least what he thinks is a god. Sephiroth had control over you Cloud. You and your friends defeated him but even still his soul called out to yours…taunting you.
The Orb caused Cloud to see images in his mind.
Cloud and Tifa were on a rocky cliff and the earth shook around them.
"We have to get out of here!" said Tifa.
Cloud fell to the ground and held his head.
"I can still hear him…he's laughing…he's laughing at me" said Cloud.
(End Image)
"At that moment your soul plunged into battle with Sephiroth in the lifestream…which was where I watched…you two fought near me. Since your souls were exposed to my energies I knew then that there would be a part of you that would always seek to remember your past selves once I began my work. I didn't realize how much effect this would have until I began to create..."
"This world you mean?" asked Cloud.
"Yes…as I said before this world is an amalgam. I began to create it and at once I saw the outcome of each story…everyone has a story."
"So you knew the Shinra would go ballistic and destroy people's lives? You knew that many people would suffer yet you did nothing? So all the evil people got to come this world too? Why not just make a perfect world?" asked Cloud.
"A perfect world….for imperfect beings…that is not possible Cloud…are you with out flaw?" asked the Orb.
"…no..I guess not…"
"The potential for evil and good is in all. Each one decides on their own. To be rid of all the evil people on past worlds would not rid this world of evil. There is always evil and there is always good…one counters the other. The perfection is in the balance between them. Yes I saw the future…a man can look into the distance and see a mountain…but…there is nothing in his power that he can do to move the mountain. Instead he can plot a course around it….which is what I've done" said the Orb.
"You have?" asked Cloud.
"I've aided many others…in fact I've been at work since the beginning. I've temporarily provided many with abilities from their past lives to overcome the evil this day. I've influenced others to be in certain places at certain times…the list is too long…but an example…do you think it's a coincidence all that's happened to you?"
"What do you mean?" asked Cloud.
"You failed to become a SOLDIER, became a mercenary, took a job and acquired…a certain object…"
Cloud remembered the shiny metal ball that he got from the Bottomswell. He reached in his pocket and pulled it out.
"..A powerful creature from your original world is attacking the city. Many of your friends are fighting it now but…they can not defeat it. Sephiroth sent that creature …he sent others there to cause havoc and has upset the balance. He has come to my dwelling place and is absorbing my energy. Sephiroth believes that he can become more powerful by doing this. He is mistaken"
"How so?"
"Cloud, the people on this world are not quite as powerful as they were on their original world. There spirits are…how can I say it so you can understand…recycled is the closest word I can come up with"
"They are reused?"
"Exactly. The reuse of the spirit makes it less powerful than it was originally. I can only temporarily give some people access to power that they once had. As you can see Cloud, I am far from a perfect being myself. Sephiroth figured this out and now he believes that by absorbing my energies he can become a god. There could be a boost in his power but all he would manage to do is upset the balance of energies that hold this world together.
"I see" said Cloud
Cloud you must destroy Ultima Weapon. When you do the way will be shown to Sephiroth…"
"But how do I destroy Ultima Weapon?" asked Cloud.
"The answer is in your hands…" said the Orb.
Cloud looked down at the small metal ball.
"They came from a far away kingdom long ago...they've aided you before…and now it's time for them to return as promised…" said the Orb.
Everything around Cloud began to get hazy.
"Farewell…" said the Orb.
Cloud instantly sat up in the bed.
"Cloud you're awake!" yelled Tifa.
In the Garden Infirmary was Dr. Kadowaki, Wakka, Lulu and Vidina, and Bugenhagen.
"He's wide awake ya?" said Wakka.
"Ho ho ho welcome back Cloud" said Bugenhagen.
"I gotta go!" yelled Cloud as he jumped out of bed.
"Wait you should rest" said Dr. Kadowaki.
"There's no time! Where's the creature everyone is fighting?" asked Cloud.
"How do you know about that you've been asleep?" asked Tifa.
"Never mind I need to get on the roof!" said Cloud.
"He's lost it ya?" said Wakka.
Cloud rushed out of the infirmary and Tifa ran after him.
"Cloud, what is the matter with you?" asked Tifa
"The elevator!"
Cloud ran toward the elevator at the center of the Garden and Tifa ran behind him.
"Cloud, please talk to me" said Tifa as they waited on the elevator.
Cloud held Tifa.
"Tifa just trust me ok?" said Cloud as he looked in her eyes.
"…alright…" said Tifa.
"Stay here"
Cloud got into the elevator alone and went up to the top floor. Soon he was on the top floor. Cloud rushed past some SeeDs in the hallway and made his way for the stairs to the roof.
(Next Scene)
All three Airships darted past Ultima Weapon. None of them could do any serious damage to it.
"I don't know what in the hell we're gonna do!" yelled Cid Highwind.
Suddenly to the west a bright light began to shine on one of the buildings. This strange light took Ultima Weapon's attention as it turned toward it. Ultima weapon turned around and began flying back toward the city.
"It's headed back to the city!" yelled Cid over the radio.
"Quick, cut it off!" yelled Cid Highwind.
The three Airships raced after Ultima Weapon but it completely ignored them. It seemed fixated on the light.
(Next Scene)
Cloud stood on the roof of the Garden. The rain still poured down. The wind was blowing hard so hard it pushed Cloud's hair back. He held the metal ball in his hand and it glowed. Ultima Weapon flew toward him. Soon it was only about one hundred feet from him. It watched the light from the ball with curiosity and confusion. Cloud stood there with the ball in his hands and didn't move. As the other airships caught up they saw Cloud standing there.
"That's Cloud!" said Zack looking out the window.
"What's he doing?" asked Aeris.
"Damn fool is going to get himself killed that's what he's doing!" said Cid.
On board the Ragnarok.
"That's Cloud! He's awake!" said Squall.
"What's that in his hands?" asked Rinoa.
On Cid's ship.
"Cloud is up there holding something" said Auron.
They all watched in silence now as the creature stared at Cloud and did nothing.
"This is the end…Ultimate End!" yelled Cloud.
The metal around the ball he held disappeared to reveal that it was a summon materia. The area got very dark as Cloud summoned the Knights of the Round.
The first knight appeared in the sky. It was almost as large as Ultima Weapon. The armor clad knight struck Ultima Weapon with his long sword and disappeared. The second Knight wielded a spear and stuck the creature in its side. When it vanished three more knights appeared. These knights carried staffs. One of them cast a spell and Fire rained down from the sky and scorched Ultima Weapon. Another summoned several meteors that bombarded the creature and the last sent a hail of ice froze on its skin. Ultima Weapon screamed in pain.
Two more knights wielding swords sliced at Ultima Weapon at the same time. When they vanished another knight wielding an axe chopped it in its back. Three knights appeared next. One of them struck Ultima Weapon with a sword the other with a halbered and the other sent another hail of ice down on it. The twelfth knight appeared and had an axe that it sank into the left side of Ultima Weapon. Ultima Weapon screamed as the thirteen and final knight appeared behind it. This knight was larger than all the others and even towered above Ultima weapon. The knight's long royal cape swept back as it lifted its sword high in the air. It brought it down on the creatures head and cleanly cut it in two. Ultima Weapon began to fade away at the final blow.
"Knights of the Round…so it does exist" said Yuna.
Ultima Weapon faded away and the materia Cloud held shattered into a thousand pieces.
"I guess…they've gone home…" said Cloud thinking about the knights.
Cloud looked to his left side and saw the most beautiful sword he had ever seen stuck into the roof.
"It's your old sword Ultima Weapon…" said the Orb in Cloud's mind.
Cloud walked over to the sword and pulled it out. As he held it he felt everything come back to him.
"I…remember…I remember everything" said Cloud.
Another portal opened up in front of Cloud on the roof.
"Sephiroth…" said Cloud under his breath.
Cloud walked forward into the portal and vanished.
(Next Scene)
Cloud fell through what seemed like a dark tunnel. Swirling green energy passed by him as he fell. It felt like several minutes passed as he continued to plummet with no end in sight. Eventually Cloud reached the bottom. He landed on his feet. He stood on a solid surface but everything around him was black. Cloud looked in front of him and there was Sephiroth. Sephiroth stood there with his shirt off and a single black wing hung on his right shoulder. At his left side he held the Masamune. Sephiroth had a grin on his face.
"So I see you've finally come around…I figured it all out pretty quickly…then again you always were a little slow…" said Sephiroth.
"You're mocking me but I'm the guy that beat you" said Cloud holding out the Ultima Weapon.
"This is a new world…new rules…" said Sephiroth.
"Some things never change. I'll beat you again Sephiroth" said Cloud.
"My, you've become so confident in such a small amount of time. How's your mother doing Cloud? Better yet how is Aeris doing? Oh the look on your face was priceless when I ended her pathetic life" said Sephiroth.
"Like you said Sephiroth…new world…new rules…that was then this is now" said Cloud.
"Indeed…shall we?" asked Sephiroth.
"Let's do it" said Cloud as he held his sword out in front of him.
Sephiroth dashed at Cloud with great speed and slashed horizontally. Cloud lifted his sword vertically and barely blocked it. Cloud was knocked back by the force of the blow. Sephiroth rushed in with an overhead strike and Cloud lifted his sword up horizontally and blocked. Cloud pushed Sephiroth back and countered with a horizontal slash at Sephiroth's neck. Sephiroth ducked and countered with a thrust to Cloud's midsection. Cloud parried and counter thrust at Sephiroth. Sephiroth stepped to his right and the attack missed. He then countered with a downward diagonal slash. Cloud slashed upward and the two blows collided and stayed momentarily in a stalemate.
"Remember when I burned down your village?" laughed Sephiroth trying to get in Clouds head.
Cloud pushed Sephiroth back and swung angrily at Sephiroth's head. Sephiroth ducked.
"Everything was ashes…even your poor mother…"
Cloud swung diagonally and Sephiroth evaded again.
"…Nibelheim will be the first place to go…" said Sephiroth.
"Shut up!" yelled Cloud as he swung wildly.
Sephiroth lifted his sword and blocked the attack.
"..and this time around I'll make sure I get that Tifa girl too along with Aeris" said Sephiroth as he pushed Cloud back.
Cloud ran forward again and leapt at Sephiroth with an overhead strike.
"Shadow Flare"
Sephiroth cast a spell as Cloud ran forward. A large amount of white energy gathered on Cloud and when it exploded it turned dark. The spell knocked Cloud back and his sword flew out of his hand. Cloud skid across the ground on his back.
Sephiroth ran and tried to attack him while he was down. As Sephiroth brought his sword down Cloud rolled quickly to the right and grabbed his sword. Sephiroth slashed again and Cloud brought his sword up to block while he was on the ground.
"Fire 3"
Cloud cast a spell and blasted Sephiroth back.
"Cure 3"
Cloud then cured himself.
"Weak…" said Sephiroth as he ran at Cloud again.
Sephiroth let loose a series of swift attacks that Cloud could barely keep up with. Cloud blocked the horizontal slash and Sephiroth quickly switched and attacked vertically. When Cloud blocked this Sephiroth slashed vertically again and sliced Cloud across the stomach. Cloud fell back to the ground and blood poured from his wound.
"You can't beat me…" said Sephiroth.
"I did before…" said Cloud as he got from the ground.
"But this time I have new power" said Sephiroth.
"Sephiroth…you have less power than you did on our original world" said Cloud.
"That's not true..."
Sephiroth ran at Cloud and the two slashed diagonally at the same time and entered a stalemate. The two warriors pushed against each other.
"The only thing you're doing is upsetting the balance of energy…you'll destroy the world and die right along with everyone else" said Cloud.
"Lies!"
Sephiroth pushed Cloud back and swung wildly at his head. Cloud ducked and slashed vertically. Sephiroth blocked horizontally and there was another stalemate.
"You know it's true. Do you even feel stronger than you were then? You have all your memories. Think about it!" said Cloud.
Cloud pushed off and slashed horizontally at Sephiroth's midsection. Sephiroth leapt back and the attack completely missed. Sephiroth leapt forward with a vertical strike and Cloud blocked. The two pushed against each other with all their strength.
"I'll show you my power!"
Sephiroth pushed off of Cloud's sword and quickly slashed at Cloud's right leg. Cloud fell to the ground in pain. Sephiroth then stood over Cloud.
"Witness the power of a god! You remember this one don't you Cloud?" asked Sephiroth.
Sephiroth lifted his arms and sword in the air.
"Super…Nova!"
Sephiroth concentrated on a powerful spell. Cloud remembered it. A huge meteor was going to fall down and cause critical damage. Sephiroth concentrated but the spell did not seem to be working.
"What….Super…Nova!"
Sephiroth concentrated harder.
"Sephiroth…you always wanted to be more than what you were…a god"
Cloud got up slowly from the ground. Sephiroth seemed frustrated at trying to get the spell to work.
"You have been given a second chance…instead you chose to squander it chasing the same ridiculous dream…"
Sephiroth looked at Cloud.
"Now here's a move…you probably remember…" said Cloud.
Cloud held out his sword in front of him. A large ball of white light formed at the tip. Sephiroth lifted his sword up to attack but it was too late…
"Omnislash!"
Cloud ran forward with such great speed that Sephiroth could not react. Cloud began slashing wildly each swing connecting and slicing deeply into Sephiroth's skin. After a series of powerful slashes Cloud leapt in the air. Energy gathered at the tip of his sword. Cloud came down and delivered the final blow to Sephiroth. Sephiroth fell back into the darkness. His body was covered in blood. As he fell back light erupted from his body and he faded away.
"Thank you Cloud…you've done well…" said the Orb.
A portal appeared in front of Cloud. Cloud managed to limp through it. As he made his way through the portal he found that he was back on the rooftop of the Garden again. Cloud looked up and saw that absolutely everyone was there waiting for him. Zack, Tifa, and Aeris ran up and held him.
"Geez buddy. I don't know what you did but everything is ok now" said Zack as he helped Cloud walk.
"Oh my god Cloud you're bleeding" said Tifa and Aeris at the same time.
Cloud received several Curaga spells from some of the others almost simultaneously.
"…I don't think he needs that much healing" said Zack.
That truly would be a day that no one would ever forget in Square City. It was tragic yet each person walked away with something. They valued life and love much more than they ever had before.
(End Chapter 27)
Well everyone…there is one chapter left in Squaresoft City. Can you believe it? I hardly can. It'll take place 500 years into the future where Red XIII and his species are the only survivors….heh just kidding. The final chapter I hope will be a pleasant surprise to you. Please check back soon. Thanks to Miggy Meista for helping me with the move lists for Kuja and Kefka.