Crusader wasted little time.
The espers only had a few moments to stare.They knew that they were spawned from the Planet, and the thought of something destroying it as well terrified them. But then, Crusader began to react.
The Courage form suddenly looked up, and over to the Wisdom form. On seeing it, the Wisdom form smiled and gave a nod of acknowledgement. The Courage form then spread out his arms, as if accepting something, and the Wisdom form took off, sailing straight for him. Bahamut saw this. Somehow, he put two and two together, and realized that if what Crusader said was true, then the three forms had to be combined into a single one. And he realized that was what they were trying to do right now.
Despite being out of power, Bahamut somehow took off. Desperate to do anything, he sailed straight for the two forms approaching each other, headed right for the Courage form. However, he saw him coming far in advance. As he reached him,the Courage form suddenly swung an arm back and backhanded Bahamut hard. The blow sounded like thunder, and Bahamut was soon swatted out of the sky like a bug. His lifeless body sailed to the ground, and soon smashed against it. Rocks and dust flew up everywhere as he pounded a small crater into it.
"Stay out of this, Bahamut!" They hissed. "Your turn to die will come shortly! Until then, witness a power beyond your wildest dreams…or darkest nightmares!"
Bahamut slowly began to pull himself back up, although looking more broken and beaten than ever. But now, the two forms were unhindered. The Wisdom form shot straight for the Courage form. Finally, as it reached the thing, the Wisdom form spun around, and then backed itself into the Courage form. The two touched moments later. Immediately,a new thing took place. The Wisdom form seemed to stretch and pull. It spread out, and began to be pulled into pieces. Its arms and legs were tucked in, but its torso was pulled back. After a few moments, it became obvious how. The body was being pulled into the cracks of the Courage form. It seemed as if the skin, clothes, and everything else was being pulled into the chinks of the armor. The sickening effect continued. The entire body was stretched and pulled in, as if it was seepingthrough mud. The thing spread out and lost its contours and features, becoming almost like an amorphous blob as it went in. But it continued to be drawn inward.Finally, it did turn into nothing but a fleshy mass, and was drawn in as liquid is drawn into the ground it is poured. With that, the Wisdom form disappeared, and the Courage form flexed.
The form held only a moment. Then, in a roar, the thing cried out. A crater again formed, this time underneath the new Crusader. It filled the ground and began to spread out, pressing itself larger and larger. And slowly and surely…it began to transform. The creature gave a cry, and abruptly the metal helmet shattered. The fragments fell to the ground, revealing a bald, expressionless head. And yet, the head soon began to change. A mouth began to appear on it, rather like a big cat's mouth. Hair burst out over its head, rather like the hair of the Wisdom form. Only this was more wiry and fierce, like a wild mane. The ears began to point upward. The pink skin turned a grayer, rougher color, and the skin itself took on a darker color. The curved horn still protruded from the thing's head, but abruptly it pulled itself back and began to even out. What more, a new horn on the other side began to poke out and emerge, beginning to take the same shape as the other horn.
Still crying out, like a baby at birth, the thing extended its misshapened arm. Immediately, the armor exploded off of it, and the sword shattered into nothingness. Muscles began to bulge and grow under the arm, again turning that gray color. But soon, the arm evened itself out with the other one. The thing's body began to swell and grow as well. It pulled the armor links and stretched it out, making it go farther and grasp more tightly. Muscle tone and mass became more evident. The hands and feet grew claws. The back of the armor fell out, and a tail began to grow from the thing. What more, two great ridges poked out of the back and turned into leathery fins coming from behind, something like primordial wings. As the thing grew larger and more muscular, energy gathered around it. A red cloud swirled in heat and power around the thing, and to the horror of the espers…the power shot up even higher than ever. This new thing's power felt like it had doubled that of the previous form.
And it wasn't even complete.
At last, the thing relaxed. It panted once, gaining its breath from the transformation. But now, it looked down to its body. It was a hideous sight. It looked to be part the Courage form, part the Wisdom form, and part some new creature forming in between. It looked at its body, and grinned its new tooth-filled mouth, pouring over its frame with red eyes. "Amazing…" The thing chuckled. "Even I never knew I was capable of such power. The most wonderful part is I'm only half done. Once I've combined with my Power form, I'll be a god amongst gods."
Bahamut managed to rise at last, panting and weak. But as he stood there…he no longer saw any reason to attack.
He merely looked on in defeat.
"Why isn't Bahamut attacking?" Leviathan asked, a bit wildly now…for he was one of the few espers who now truly grasped the new power of Crusader.
"Because he knows that it is futile and inevitable." Odin darkly answered. "He was already nowhere near strong enough to beat Crusader before. Now, even if all of us could somehow put our power together, we still wouldn't be strong enough."
Leviathan gaped in horror, but said nothing for a while. "I can't believe it's over…"
However, Starlet reacted on hearing this. A new thought had entered her mind. Odin wasn't the only one who had secrets. She too had been thinking of something for a while now. And now that Odin had presented the idea, a new thought had come to her.
"…Are you sure…that Bahamut couldn't beat Crusader even if all of us put our power together?"
The three espers turned to Starlet at that. However, she was looking on at Crusader, and had a look of deep thought in her mind. They recognized that it meant something immediately.
"What do you mean?" Odin asked.
"I mean I can do that." Starlet responded. "It was another technique I learned. I can take the power from willing sources and transfer it to another one. It is at the expense of another, of course. We won't have any power left. But if Bahamut could get strong enough to do something, then maybe it would make a difference."
The three espers halted in response to that for a moment. At last, Odin frowned and crossed his arms. "And why did you not want to tell us this before?" He snapped.
"Well…in all honesty, I thought it was useless." Starlet replied with an innocent shrug. "After I learned the ability to transform into Ashura, I was already stronger than the rest of us combined. Combining our strength into one of us wouldn't have had any meaning then."
"And it won't have any meaning now, either." Odin darkly answered, causing the others to look to him in surprise at that retort. "We're all nothing compared to Bahamut now, even at full strength. Giving him our power would do nothing."
However, on hearing that, Leviathan suddenly brightened up. A thought came to mind, and a dim hope glimmered.
"No…maybe it would…"
Again, all of the espers turned again. "What do you mean?" Ogopogo blinked.
"I remember what Bahamut said before." Leviathan went on. "Remember? He didn't physically train at all before, yet he became so much stronger than us. That's because he learned how to better use his power. Now, our little bit of power may not be much to us because we can't make the best use of it. But if we give it to Bahamut, then maybe he'll be able to make better use of it and win."
The other three halted for a moment. They thought this thing over. In actuality, it did make sense. If what Bahamut said was true, then they could give a lot of power to him. Hopefully, it would still be enough to win. Odin was reluctant. He didn't like deferringto his non-warrior brother. However, he could also put aside his pride for the sake of victory. He sighed at last at all of this, and gave a nod.
"Fine. Let's do it. And quick, before Crusader completes itself." Saying this, he turned to Starlet.
The female esper nodded. "Right. Ok everyone. Put your hands on me, and try to concentrate on relaxing…just letting your power go."
The group did as they were told. Ogopogo, Leviathan, and Odin moved in and touched Starlet. They all closed their eyes, and relaxed after that. As for Starlet, she inhaled deeply, closed her own eyes, and then extended a hand out to Bahamut. At first, the four didn't feel anything. But then it started to come. They felt tired all over. Their injuries felt worse. Their bodies felt heavier. Their minds grew dizzier. Overall, it wasn't a very pleasant sensation. The only thing that kept them going was the thought that Bahamut was getting this power. More and more energy flowed out of them, and to Starlet. She kept her hand on Bahamut, still focusing as the esper rose and panted deeply. A few moments went by of this, until at last Starlet was done.
The female esper dropped her hand like a stone. The others doubled over instantly, and wobbled on their feet. They nearly fell over immediately. All of them were panting now, feeling more tired and drained than before. One thing was for certain. If Bahamut didn't win now, then no one else would. None of them were even up to throwing a punch.
"Alright…my turn." Leviathan announced wearily. Immediately, he closed his eyes and focused. After a few moments of doing so, he felt himself in Bahamut's mind, and quickly shouted out to him.
Bahamut! We just gave you our power! You're back to full strength! Fight!
The esper suddenly raised his head, moving much faster than before. His injuries remained, but his power has suddenly sky rocketed. For a moment, Bahamut couldn't understand how. But then, the mental image came in from Leviathan. Smiling a bit in reply, Bahamut thought a response.
Thanks guys.
Afterward, Bahamut's face quickly became dark. He looked up to the sky, and saw the the partially-completed Griever was still waiting for the Power form. And now, the latter of the two had taken off and was headed straight for the body. Bahamut frowned in response. Immediately, using his newfound strength, he shot up from the ground andafter the enemy. Now, a change had come over Bahamut in this time. He analyzed the power given to him. If he hadn't, he never would have charged the enemy like this. He would have still been swatted aside as easy as last time. However, he knew better. The espers had not only restored his power, they had given him more. They had charged him with new strength and vigor. And now, he knew he was capable of doing more than before.
Bahamut kept shooting forward. At length, the Power form, en route to the other monster, paused, noticing him coming. It turned its head to him. Immediately, at that, Bahamut doubled his speed, now having the power to do so. He moved so fast that not even Crusader could track him. And so, moments later, the Power form only gaped out of its cavernous mouth as Bahamut smashed his tail into him with all the force he could muster.
To the shock of everyone, especially Crusader, the Power form was smacked out of the sky. Even fully charged, it was no match for the power Bahamut now commanded. Like a meteor shooting from the heavens, the Power form was thrown to the ground, its body arched in agony in the position that Bahamut had left it on striking it. It shot away from the battlefield clear half a mile…before smashing into the mountains again. It crashed right through the rocky peaks, casting stones and mountain everywhere, and digging a gigantic trench into the mountain chain. When it finally came to a stop, it had dug up a huge path in its wake and was covered by dust and settling rocks. It did not rise again immediately.
The partially completed Griever looked at Bahamut in surprise. After a pause, however, it frowned. "So, you still have power? Power enough to smack aside the opponent you struggled so much against earlier. Have you been saving it for this moment?"
Bahamut didn't respond. He merely faced off against the enemy and did not move.
But then, the thing grinned and chuckled. "It makes no difference, you know. You may have been able to do that to my Power form, which is a shock in itself…but my own power is already much stronger."
With that, the thing took off to attack Bahamut. Rather…that's what everyone could assume. No one, including Bahamut, saw anything except a blur and then saw the thing's fist smash Bahamut across the face. Soon, it was Bahamut who was hurtling to the ground, contorted in agony. After doing this, the thing immediately shot after him, pulsing with power. Bahamut, while sailing downward, somehow recovered. He twisted back around, opened his mouth, and fired a Pyron at the descending creature. Unfortunately, the mutant merely extended a hand and fired one of its Mort-Kelvins, destroying the attack, then shooting down to pound its elbow into Bahamut's head. That added force immediately sent the esper flying to the ground and smashing into it, pounding yet another crater into the battered mountain.
Bahamut rose quickly, however, though his head was bleeding. It was a good thing too, for the monster was on him, and swinging a fist down to smash him. Bahamut quickly dodged it, and soon dodged a few other blows that were all aimed at his head. He barely missed them, though, and the force literally cut into his scales and made cuts on his face. Desperate to counter, Bahamut managed to swing around and smash the thing in the side of the head with his tail after it missed him. Unfortunately, to the esper's shock…the partially formed Griever barely shifted its head. Grinning wickedly, it responded by aiming a palm point blank at Bahamut's chest and firing a Magnavolt. Quickly, Bahamut put down his arms to block it, but the force soon sent the esper flying across the battlefield, digging a trench in his path, and burning his arms as he struggled to hold the power back. He did keep his feet down, and they dug two massive lines in the rock ground. After shooting a hundred meters, Bahamut managed to stop himself and discharge the attack. But he barely got his balance again before the thing was on him, hooking him in the face and nearly throwing his body to the ground from the impact.
The espers continued to look on at the battlefield, not watching Palad or Wyvern behind them. Their energy was only slowly replenishing, but even now it was barely enough to stand without wobbling.
"What's wrong?" Ogopogo announced. "Bahamut should have even more power than before now, but he looks like he's getting pounded."
Odin frowned in response. "He is much stronger than before, but it doesn't matter. Griever's new power makes it even stronger."
"He's right." Leviathan darkly went on. "Even now, I can barely sense Bahamut's power over Griever's."
"If that thing completes itself, we're dead." Starlet mused. "Especially if it's doing this right now."
"Bahamut understands." Leviathan answered. "He's trying to keep them occupied, to keep them from combining. But they're still too strong as they are now. They'll eventually wear him down and combine anyway. All he can do is stall."
"Oh no…" Ogopogo moaned.
"We have to do something!" Leviathan shot back. In truth, he was as scared as Ogopogo. He too wanted to run and hide. But somehow, his mental bond with Bahamut made him brave enough to stand his ground. Someone had to take charge. He turned to Odin. "Are you sure you can't do another Gunge Lance?"
The warrior esper frowned. "Even if I could, I'm drained of energy. I can't manage anything now."
"And my power's gone too." Starlet ruefully answered. "It would still take ten days before I could change into Ashura again."
Leviathan sighed in response. His head bowed. "Then it might really be over…"
"Hey, what are you four moping about?"
Immediately, the four espers turned and looked up to the voice. They were a bit amazed to see who it was. However, on seeing it, Leviathan got a new hope. He had forgot that there was still one left.
Wyvern, up and looking unhurt, was walking right toward them, with Palad, clutching feathers, running behind.
Bahamut, looking more beaten and bloody, shot into the sky with the monster before him. However, he was also wise enough to know what was coming. As he fought, the pile of rocks and rubble a distance away shifted, and out came a very angry-looking Power form. Immediately, the second monster roared, and took off, shooting straight for the partially completed Griever. Bahamut continued to face off against his enemy at first, not reacting to the second. But when the thing got behind Bahamut and only a few feet from the monster, Bahamut abruptly turned around and smashed his fists together down on the Power form's head, sending it flying back down to the ground to smash into the mountain rocks. It hit so hard that after impact, as the debris was settling, only the legs and lower torso were visible.
Unfortunately, Bahamut had to put his back to the monster to do this, and it immediately punished him by driving its huge fist forward and pounding him in the small of the back. Bahamut arched back in agony, while the monster flew overhead, aimed down at Bahamut, and then fired a Deen attack. Soon, a hundred exploding rings were shooting down at Bahamut and exploding on impact. The esper cried out in agony as he was thrown to the ground. The shots were so fast that he couldn't dodge them all, and every last one hit him. His smoking body was left to be hurtled to the ground.
However, not giving up, Bahamut quickly spun around just before impact, and landed on his feet. Immediately after doing so, the esper gave a cry and then shot up, shooting himself into the sky as fast as he possibly could. The speed was so much, and the last turn so unexpected, that even the thing was taken off guard, and soon Bahamut smashed the crown of his head into the monster's. Stunned, the thing stagged back a bit in mid-air. But Bahamut didn't renew his attack, instead, he shot back down to the ground to try a different strategy.
The Power form was digging itself out now. Already it was getting to its feet. However, it had barely recovered when Bahamut plopped down next to it. Glaring at him in rage, the beast swung a fist at the esper. But Bahamut quickly dodged it, then began to attack the thing savagely, struggling to kill it. If it could at least kill the Power form, then Griever could never complete itself. The thing was soon being beaten viciously by Bahamut's new power, being smacked around violently. But as Bahamut attacked, a ball of light suddenly shot down and struck him in the back. Bahamut again roared in pain, and arched backward, just in time to see that the partially-completed monster was already diving back down, trying to rendezvous with its Power form. Moments later, the Power form swung its own fist forward to smash Bahamut in the face, sending him flying backward again. But before he went, he managed to fire off a Pyron as he flew back, blasting into the Power form and sending it flying as well…just before the bigger monster could reach it.
"So that's why you four aren't fighting?" Wyvern asked, after getting the explanation. He hmphed in response. "Makes some sense. You four obviously aren't nearly strong enough to be an individual help anymore."
Odin frowned a bit at that, and Leviathan wondered why he was bringing this up now. But they kept talking. "Wyvern, you've got to give your power to Bahamut too. It's the only way he'll have enough strength to beat them. If he doesn't now, we'll never get another chance."
Wyvern paused in response to that. He held for a few short moments. But then, in the end, he frowned and glared at the group. "Why didn't you give your power to me instead?" He asked…causing the others to look shocked and surprised. "Then both me and Bahamut would have been super strong, and we could have beaten this thing into nothingness."
Leviathan shrugged. "…Well…we thought you were dead."
Ogopogo, however, was more blatant with the truth. "And Bahamut's the only one who can use his power well enough to fight."
"Why are you being so difficult about this?" Starlet asked. "Hurry up and give me your power or we're dead!"
But Wyvern was indignant. "Me and my brother already agreed that we were going to settle this thing together! If I give up my power right now, then I won't be able to do anything the rest of this battle!"
Leviathan, unable to contain himself, rolled his eyes. "So what? Isn't the important thing that we kill this monster!"
Wyvern frowned. "Sure, serpent." He hissed. "I'm sure you'd say the same thing if it was your brother and you out their fighting. You have no idea of the bonds of family. Me and Bahamut are the only family we've ever really had. We've always done everything together. And I'm not giving up my chance now! I'll fight them myself."
"You imbecile!" Odin snapped, unable to hold back any longer. This was crazy. He didn't know what had gotten into Wyvern, but it was killing them. Bahamut was running out of power. "You'll be dead within seconds if you go in there! Didn't your prior brush with death teach you anything? Phoenix isn't around to save you from your stupidity anymore!"
Wyvern scowled in response, visibly getting angry at that. "Would you like me to warm up on you, Odin?" He hissed. His body began to tense up to the ready position.
"Cut it out!" Leviathan cried. "The monster's out there, not here!"
Wyvern kept frowning, but changed positions at that. "You're absolutely right. And it's time for me to face the monster."
Wyvern…please…do as they say.
On hearing that message, which was blared so powerfully and haphazardly that every esper heard it, Wyvern and the others froze. They turned and looked around into the sky for the source of the voice, until they realized it was in their minds. What more, they recognized it to be Bahamut's.
"Bahamut?" Wyvern asked incredulously, his face softening up.
"You're talking to us and fighting?" Leviathan asked.
Please…don't talk back to me… It's taking everything I have to talk to you, keep Griever from finding out, and keep fighting… My strength is failing…I'm getting too tired… If I don't get another boost soon, then it won't matter if I do get more power. I'll already be too weak to do anything about it. Wyvern…please give me your energy. If I don't kill it soon, it will combine and then not even a hundred of my Mega-pyrins will kill it…
Bahamut smashed down on the ground, face flat. He was panting and tired now, but he managed to throw himself back up onto all fours. As he did, he looked and saw that the Power form hadn't wasted a second. It was already en route to the monster. In fact, it was already so close that the partially completed body was extending its arms to accept it like before. Bahamut knew he couldn't fly to it in time…
Immediately, the esper turned his head to the ground and fired off a Pyrin. The impact fired Bahamut off and sent him sailing for the two Crusaders. Just as the Power form was about to be absorbed…Bahamut popped in, made an elbow, and smashed it in the face as hard as he could. The thing went flying yet again. The other monster looked to him in rage, and quickly dropped out of its position to fight. But Bahamut quickly shot after the Power form instead, letting the other harmlessly hit air.
The esper moved as fast as he could, sailing after the struck Power form. The thing recovered, but the moment it did Bahamut fired off another Pyron, blasting it in the face. The balls of firescorched it severely, and sent it cringing in agony even as it continued to fly through the sky. Bahamut quickly shot forward to pound it again…when he felt himself seized from behind. All three bodies halted, the Power form, Bahamut, and the partially completed Griever, and Bahamut turned to see that the latter of the three was grabbing him. After digging its claws into Bahamut's shoulders, the thing spun around and threw Bahamut as hard as it could, intending to throw him away long enough to combine. But Bahamut managed to lash out his tail and wrap it around the arm of the thing, and using that as a lever spun himself around to hook the Power form instead, sending him flying away again. The esper quickly released and went in front of the monster to fight, but the thing soon began to beat him again just as easily as before, moving so fast the esper couldn't keep up…
"Bahamut…" Wyvern remarked. The other espers anxiously waited, hoping for some good news…any good news. The red serpent held for a long time. But then, he frowned, closed his eyes, and spoke back.
Bahamut…we're supposed to do this together! That's what we agreed! You're asking me to give up the only chance to make a difference!
Wyvern…please… If you really want to do this together, then please give your energy to me… Then you along with the others will be fighting through me to kill this thing.
…Can't we run away? We can get our power back and then finish it…
There's nowhere to run, Wyvern. It has to end today. And we can't escape.
You can! With your new power! Just grab me and…
And then I'll be leaving the rest of our brothers and sisters behind along with Palad! And then I'll be abandoning the rest of the humans to this thing! And if it combines now, then nothing will be able to hide from it! Wyvern, I'm at my limit! You have to give me your power now! If you don't…we're all going to die! But you already have so much natural power that if it is used in me, I should still be strong enough to kill it! This is the only way you can help now! Please!
Wyvern stalled longer. He grit his teeth and looked to the ground. In truth, he hated this. Always he had been used to being a little stronger than Bahamut. Even when not, he always thought himself as his equal. But now that he had power, he liked it. He wanted to use it, and express it to its fullest extent. Now he was being asked to not only give up his power, but to give it to his brother to widen the gap between them even more. Already he was weaker than him, and this would only make it worse. And as they continued to separate, Wyvern felt as if his brother was reaching another plane than him…was growing beyond him even. That he hated more than anything. However, somehow Bahamut's way of making sense and always being the sensible one came through to him. He groaned and sighed.
When this is over…you're not stopping until you make me as strong as you.
With that, Wyvern looked over to Starlet. "Hurry up and get over here!"
Bahamut was smashed again in the stomach, then backhanded across the face. His body did a somersault in mid-air from the power, and he was thrown back violently. Somehow he stopped himself, and while he panted and breathed hard he looked up to the two Crusaders before him. He was only weakly flying now, and his power was rendered ineffective. He was out. And now, as he stayed in mid-air, he saw the partially completed Griever on one side, and the Power form on the other. Both grinned at him evilly.
"You're out, Bahamut." They hissed. "You can't stop us any longer. You only delayed the inevitable. Now, would you like to die now and be spared the deaths of your family? Or would you rather see us unite into the ultimate being first and feel perfection as it melts your body away into nothingness?"
Bahamut panted and breathed hard a few moments longer, staring at them darkly. He was stalling for a few more moments. Then, it happened at last. He felt a rush of power flood into him…a new and powerful rush. He hadn't been joking before. Wyvern was by far the greatest of them all. He had the most power to begin with. He was easily worth the rest of his siblings in strength. And now that the power came into him. Bahamut was able to make the best use of it. To the espers below, they felt overjoyed at the new senses. Rocks were still being whipped up. Energy and winds were still moving around. But now…it was coming around Bahamut as well. Now, that new power, not tainted with the feeling of darkness and evil, was overwhelming the other form. Feeling that, Bahamut smiled confidently.
Thank you, Wyvern.
"Actually, I think I'll just stop you now."
The Crusaders grinned and laughed darkly in response. In their own blindness, they didn't realize how much Bahamut's power had increased. They soon learned, however. Bahamut started by turning his head to the power form. He opened his mouth…and instantly a blinding red light emerged from it. It burned bigger and more fierce than ever, looking almost at the level of a Mega-pyrin. Seeing this, the smiles faded on the looks of the Crusaders, and they stared in shock. But that shock increased even further when an attack erupted from Bahamut's mouth to strike the Power form with terrific force. That was because the attack was a simple Pyrin. Nevertheless, on striking the Power form and exploding, the force sent the thing flying twice as fast away from the area, sending it hurtling to the ground. It smashed into it a moment later, sending a quake through the area as it landed and entirely smashing its body into the rock.
The partially completed Griever gaped in surprise, and turned back to Bahamut…only to suddenly have the esper shoot forward and begin to pound it in the stomach with its claws. He smashed them into it again and again, doubling the thing over and making it gag. The movements were so fast that no one saw anything but a blur. After hitting this for a while, Bahamut halted, drew back, and hit one more time. The thing doubled over even more, and blood splattered out of its mouth. Finally, Bahamut smashed the crest of his head into the thing, sending the new beast flying to the ground as well. It wasn't as fast, but the monster soon smashed down on the ground and pounded another crater into it, sending out more shockwaves.
Bahamut hovered overhead and waited. The Power form slowly and shakily dug itself out. The other one sprang to its feet much easier, but now had blood on its brow and lips. It looked up and glared hatefully at the esper. It quivered with rage and anger. "Damn you!" It shrieked. Immediately, it shot into the air again. It meant to smack him out of the sky. But the moment it was in range, Bahamut too moved so fast that Crusader couldn't see it. He dodged the blow easily, then smacked the thing out of the sky and sent it hurtling back to the ground, to smash right into the same crater again. Rocks and dust were flown everywhere. Bahamut looked down and waited for it to reappear, patiently doing nothing. Much of the dust settled. However, in the end, it sprang back up, throwing rocks everywhere around it, and a crack of thunder lashed out as it gathered more energy to itself. The ground shuddered violently. Through it all, the thing, now bleeding through its nose, looked up in rage to Bahamut.
"How…dare you!" It cried. It nearly foamed at the mouth, being so angry. Its eyes blazed with hate. "You dare to humiliate me, you little nothing! I'll rip you into shreds with my bare hands!"
Bahamut merely looked down darkly in response. "It's over, Crusader."
The thing sneered in fury, spitting up blood. "Over! You dare talk to me as if I was some feeble child! You're nothing but an ant to me!"
"Maybe I would be if you could complete yourself, but I'm not going to let you." Bahamut simply answered. "I'm much stronger than both of your forms now. You can't win. You're just humiliating yourself."
The monster seemed even more vehement than before. It quivered with rage, its muscles bulging and its brow knotting. The sound of thunder continued to grow around it. The ground shook more and more. But for all this, Bahamut didn't react. He knew that its power was now insufficient. No matter how much it gave itself, he would still come out on top. Nevertheless…he didn't finish it right out. Evil as the thing had been…much as it had done…Bahamut wasn't a killer. He didn't want to simply annihilate it as he did the other Fiends. Perhaps he would have had he only seen its cruelty, but somewhere in this creature was once the person he knew and loved growing up. A part of him still couldn't fathom that person having totally disappeared into the hideous monster beneath them. Yet the thing continued to fume and spit, growing angrier all the time.
But then, at last, to Bahamut surprise, it relaxed. The waves of energy died. The shaking stopped. The thing pulled itself up straight and out of ready position. A smile spread across its face.
"Heh." The thing sneered. "I see now. You think you're my superior. You think you've surpassed the level of godhood. Most of all, you think to take away my lovely from me, to make it your own." The thing snickered again, laughing a bit this time. Bahamut tensed up at this, and he wasn't alone. The other espers felt cold anxiety going through them at that. The monster was planning something, and they didn't like it when it did.
"You're pathetic." The thing spat at last. "You could never rule this world."
"I'm not interested in ruling anything." Bahamut simply answered. "I just want to stop your insanity."
"Liar." The thing retorted. "You love it. You love the Crystal, and you seek to take it away from us. But you won't. You can't win. You don't have what it takes to be a true ruler. We do. That is why we are the destined rulers of this world. That's why we are gods. You're nothing but a simple child."
"Enough talk." Bahamut answered grimly. "Let's finish this."
The thing sneered. "Your love of the humans makes you weak."
Bahamut raised an eyebrow to this.
"That's why you can't win, and I'm going to prove it to you."
With that, the partially completed Griever calmly pointed over its shoulder. Bahamut looked up to where it pointed…and his face nearly went white. The Power form was up again…and it had fired a Mort-kelvin straight at Palad's back.
"NO!"
Bahamut immediately put all of his new power to bear, and shot straight after the human as fast as he possibly could. He didn't even pay any attention to the monster as it quickly shot into the air, turned and faced the Power form, and spread its arms wide. The Power form immediately took off and began to fly toward it. Both of them moved as fast as they could too. Bahamut didn't care. He barreled straight for the human boy. Palad was a bit suprised at Bahamut's move. However, he also heard the attack behind him. He turned around and looked to it, and soon gaped in terror and fear, cringing and vainly trying to shield himself. But moments before it could reach him, Bahamut was there. He snagged Palad up within a fraction of a second, and the attack sailed below the both of them just barely. It was only then, when Bahamut heart began to quiet down because Palad was safe…that he realized the horrible mistake he had made. He looked up to see if there was any hope of stopping it…but it was too late.
He was just in time to see the Power form melt into the torso of the partially completed Griever.
Immediately, Bahamut felt himself nearly blown away. A new wind had arisen, but this one was far stronger than any yet. The power was too much for him. He had to immediately drop to the ground and spread his wings around Palad to shield him against his chest. The other espers fell to the ground and held on hard. The sky changed colors quickly now. The clouds in the sky at last rushed in on the one location. Darkness spread over the land, until the one part of the sky that still allowed the sun to shine was a single opening in the clouds overhead…and it bore down straight on the creature. The clouds turned from gray to black. They began to thunder lightning and cast up power and fury. The groundshook violently. All but Bahamut were thrown to the ground. Great fractures began to appear in the earth. Dirt began to be thrown up in huge columns. Rocks shattered. The wind built around the thing, nearly sucking the clouds down to form a tornado. In the center of it, nearly wreathed in red flame, was the creature. It had its hands in fists clenched at its side, and bared its teeth as if in agony. And as it did…Bahamut and Leviathan felt the power explode one final time…
Giving out a monstrous roar that now shook the heavens and the earth, the flaps behind the thing ripped out and unfurled, revealing monstrous black wings. The thing stiffened and arched its back, as its neck filled in more than before. Its tail lengthened behind it. The last of its armor shattered and fell from the thing, and the horns in its head straightened out to grow and become symmetrical. Giving another roar, its neck thickened and grew powerful, and hair began to break out from it. The face lost all feminine features now, and grew into the face of a vicious, bloodthirsty lion. The teeth continued to grow, becoming long and white as snow, but sharp as razors. The muscles bulged in its body, growing larger and larger, stretching the skin and becoming more sharply defined. Its hands turned into powerful claws, and its feet became that of an animal's. Its body turned from gray into a deeper, deeper black. But its eyes, like coals from hell, continued to burn in its sockets, until all they were was red light in black nothingness. Finally, its size continued to grow, until it was larger both in terms of muscle mass and height than the power form.
Finally, the charging stopped. The thing broke its pose and hovered in the sky, glowering down with a ravenous look. The fierce winds subsided a little, and the quake died down much…but both still went on to a degree. The new black beast burned in the sky, its wings, like bat leather, flapping. None of the espers knew what a demon was, but if they did they would have described the new, insanely powerful monster as one. Now it revealed its true side. Now its evil power and appearance matched the black soul within.
Griever was complete.
To be continued...