Bleh, don't feel chatty. Let's just get straight to the point.
Disclaimer:…I don't own KH, though I will own a copy of KH2 soon. Yay!
Chapter 14: None Other Than Thou
As if to answer the call, the area around them began to tremble in fear. The sky above let out a screeching wail as something seemed to tear it apart. An energy unable to be seen by anyone combusted random buildings below. The allies quickly darted away to avoid being crushed by debris or this great force. The bell was soon shattered by a wayward blast, and fell to pieces upon the ground.
From the crack in the split sky he came, bearing six iridescent wings upon his back. In fact, the only way they could lay their eyes upon the wings was because of the spectrum of colors they shone. For all other reasons, they were invisible. They were a bit slimmer compared to the wings of the others, and when they were coordinated to beat so it appeared that they moved like a ocean wave.
His lengthy black trench coat flipped around in the high winds. His extensive, silver-plated hair was blown around fiercely by gales like a proud banner. A lengthy katana was strapped to his side, ready to be thrusted out at a moment's notice. The sharp blue eyes that he possessed taunted the opponents below.
For this was, in fact, Sephiroth.
Cloud's eyes were cut down to mere slits as he beholded the all-too familiar figure above. He immediately summoned the Ultima Weapon to his ready hands.
"See? This is what we're supposed to be fighting, you morons!' Cloud announced.
"You know, you could've just said this earlier," Vincent replied, glaring up at the opponent.
Realizing that he was right, Cloud answered with a mere "Hmph..." and hastily cast Curaga spells on all of them, not stopping until each one was completely healed and battle-ready.
Sora soon arrived with his brigade in tow. Apparently they had already had recovered from their injuries, and were more than ready for this fight. Which made sense, as they had probably had spent most of their down time healing instead of bickering.
Cloud heard more shouts from below. A quick glance below confirmed that it was Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith yelling up at them.
Aerith...She couldn't be in this fight...not after what nearly happened last time...
Cloud dove down to take her to somewhere fairly safe, although he wasn't quite sure just where that would be at the moment. But it seemed Aerith anticipated his motive and moved closer towards Cid and Yuffie.
"I'm fighting too,' she stated flatly, and the look in her eyes let Cloud know that she wasn't planning on changing her mind anytime soon...
He sighed and raised himself back up to Sora's and Riku's level once more.
Both had their Keyblades in their grasps. Riku's was down by his side, while Sora's was perched on their shoulders.
Sora looked all around at his companions, relieved that they weren't trying to murder each other mindlessly like before. He let a grin creep on his face.
"So, you guys ready?"
Sephiroth was the one who instigated the battle.
Waving down to them as if to say hello, a ring of fireballs materialized around him. They orbited him for a bit, then streaked down to greet his opponents.
All scattered hastily to avoid being roasted by the flames, hoping the embers would end up arriving somewhere besides their current locations. The Master of Darkness shot up to the twisted heavens above, where Master of Evil resided. His plan was to welcome the silver-haired one with a Keyblade to the jaw. But Sephiroth saw this coming long beforehand, and swiped at Sora to keep him at bay. Sora managed to avoid being chopped in half, but it had been too late for some of the hairs on the top his head.
Sora backed up some, and fired an ocean-hued Blizzaga spell at him. Sephiroth drifted out of the way with ease, then dashed forward in an attempt to skewer him. Sora quickly jolted out of the way, then hit Sephiroth with a Firaga spell at point blank. Sora was blown back by the explosion, not quite in control. From the darkened smoke Sephiroth came. Before Sora's heart had a chance to beat, he sliced at Sora and left a long gash down his chest.
Then he found himself struck by a whitened Blizzaga spell from behind. He snapped his head around to finally take note of the Master of Light's presence.
"C'mon, did you really think you could do this on your own?" Riku teased.
"Maaaaaaaaybe," Sora answered, smirking.
Sora made sure to zip away from Sephiroth with haste. He had no interest in ending up with other wounds to match the one he already possessed, or to lose his wholeness period. He fired more Firega spells at Sephiroth.
Sephiroth lazily swatted them away, then turned to focus his attention on Riku. The Master of Light rushed in and prepared to cut into his left shoulder. Sephiroth blocked this attempt with his slim katana. White and shimmering sparks were thrown into the sky, only to drift down to the ruins of the town below.
Sora tried to slice into his opponent, but a single look from the iced blue eyes and Sora found himself slowing down, pausing for a brief instant, then sent spinning upwards.
Riku darted backwards and summoned a lightning bolt from the sky to crash down upon the Master of Evil. Sephiroth managed to avoid it and let it land somewhere down below instead. Then he slashed at the thing air, only to create a crescent of energy from nothing. The attack zipped through the sky and tackled Riku, pushing him quite far back. When he regained control of his flight, one could see that the blast had left its mark. Now a lengthy burn mark was upon his bosom, as well as a bit of his right leg.
A silvered lightning bolt dropped down upon Sephiroth, making his body crackle with energy. Not long after, the Master of Twilight erupted from the clouds, the outer ledges of his broadsword emitting a pale blue light. He zoomed in swiftly to Sephiroth's position, his blade ready for a rain of crimson soon to come.
But for the time being, his blade was blocked by Sephiroth's own blade, causing more sparks to come into being. Sephiroth teleported his way around Cloud, appearing behind him. He lifted his free hand, bringing to life a orb of flame. A stream of lighted heat possessing all colors shot forth from the orb and drenched Cloud in its power. The Master of Twilight now found himself with burns of all kinds upon him.
The orb twisted impossibly, then dissolved into pure fire. It loosely coiled around his arm, starting at the wrist and ending a little over the shoulder. It pulsed and twitched like a restless serpent. The Master of Evil gave his challengers a look that seemed to say, "Bring it on!"
Flame erupted from his hand again, only this time it was much more widespread. The other Masters hastily darted away from its path. The colored heat fell for a few moments, then suddenly curled upward. It tore into three equivalent pieces, each of which immediately began its mission of unforgiving pursuit.
Sora spun about in the air, erratically jerking this way and that in an attempt to distort the flame's sense of navigation. The shred of energy twisted and spiraled in response. Seeing as this was getting him nowhere, Sora stood his ground and fired a Blizzaga spell straight at it. The ice hit its mark, and for a few moments the wisp quivered and contracted, a ginger light pulsing at its center. Sora rushed forward and let his Keyblade divide the orb in two parts, causing the tongue of fire to sluggishly lose altitude and dissolve out of existence.
Riku took note of Sora's accomplishment and also fired a Blizzaga spell at the shred. However, the wisp evaded it and charged straight towards him, managing to roast him quite well. Now this flame was gone too, but not in the way he'd planned it to go. He quickly cast a Curaga spell upon himself.
Cloud had also sent Blizzaga spells to strike down the wisp that followed him, but it had managed to avoid them all. Cloud beat his wings furiously, slowing its ascent to him. When it was barely a foot away from him, he slashed at the tongue of flame, striking the weak point and making it lose its sense of anything.
The fiery spiral on Sephiroth's arm had faded, but he didn't look any less confident. He raised his hand up, then swiftly pulled it back down again. All the Masters noticed white spots shining all over them. They lifted their heads to see that part of the sky had become normal, with stars gleaming from the blackness. Then he realized that the power of the stars themselves was being focused on them.
A shower of whitened beams, cloaked in a fine mist that spiraled around them, came down. It was astonishing, how many there were. Before any of them had to chance to move, they found the light points upon them.
It was strange, for they didn't feel any pain when they were touched by the thinned rays. Instead their vision blurred as every memory they possessed came to them at once. Good, bad, lustful, innocent, it didn't matter. The threads of time seemed to be crisscrossed and tangled until they couldn't tell who was who, what was what, or when anything occurred. They couldn't keep their pasts straight, much less keep track of what was actually happening then and now. Their senses embroiled inside of times gone by, they didn't feel the explosion that hit them soon after.
Instead, they remained lost in time as they ended up crashing below.
Well, one more chappy to go. This one may be a bit short, but the next should be longer than usual, so it evens out, I guess XP.
Cya!