Beep…beep…
"…What the hell…?"
Edgar groaned and opened his eyes. He felt like the sole of someone's shoe…as well as pretty dizzy and sick. However, as near as he could tell, that was still better than he had been feeling a few moments ago…although he couldn't really remember what had happened then. He actually felt strong enough to lift himself up…as he was face flat on the ground at the moment. Grunting a bit, coming to his senses, he turned his head in front of him and put his hands beneath…and began to push up.
At that time…Edgar suddenly realized that the ground was shaking beneath him…and it was getting more rough with time. What more, there appeared to be a wind blowing around him. This confused him. Where was he? Was he outside now? The last thing he remembered was seeing that great dark man in the room…and that his Debilitator clocked him at nearly 36,000. He had paused to gasp in fear…and then nothing. He had to assume whoever it was had bashed him roundly. The wind continued to pull at him as he rose, and he turned his head out to see the source.
Edgar failed to notice the others slowly getting up around him. They, like him, were covered with small injuries and torn clothing. They were all gaping in shock ahead of them too…just as he shortly was. It had been his twin that had said the phrase a moment ago. However, it had been Edgar's head alone that had heard the beeping. And now, he turned his full attention to what had alerted it, and gasped.
Two humanoids were in the center of the room. However…they were changing. Their bodies were growing longer. Ridges were growing out of their backs. Their clothing was tearing and falling away as scales began to poke from their flesh and cover them. Their faces were distorting, turning into some terrible expression. Edgar had no idea who they were, or what was going on between them…but he did sense their energy as they changed. His Debilitator was going nuts, shooting up dramatically as they continued to get stronger and stronger.
The ground shook and cracked beneath him. Unseen to the others, the ones called Zola and Noonian cried out in fear, and then quickly evacuated the room as fast as they could. A wind began to whip fiercely inside, like a tornado, generated by the energy pouring off the two creatures. It tossed up the surrounding furniture, swept it around, and then smashed it into bits against the walls. The two powers continued to grow as this happened, as the two creatures grew larger and more terrible. They began to snort and sneer, the air rippling around them from the size of their auras. Yet as they continued to change, Edgar noticed that they looked similar… Both had long foils for wings, which stretched up and scraped the ceiling. Both were dragon-like in appearance, with a curved crest hanging behind their foreheads, and both had long whip-like tails. However, while one was a bright red flaming color, the other was an icy blue. Yet despite the connotations between these colors, the one with the red color glared sternly and passionately at its foe, while the blue one's eyes flashed violence and rage.
What shocked Edgar the most was when his Debilitator stopped running. The result was two shockingly huge powers. He couldn't tell which one belonged to which at first, but one was much stronger. The readings were a stunning, unbelievable 235,650 and 358,980. That couldn't be true… If that was the case, these two beasts could have obliterated Kefka and his tower alone. The readings couldn't be right… And yet, he had a hard time denying it, as with every breath and heartbeat he felt the energy of these two beings come over him. They glared and snarled for a moment longer, staring at each other with murderous intent.
Then, suddenly, both vanished. Edgar gaped, as did the others. They looked wildly around the room…but saw nothing. The only thing they did detect was a faint whistling on the air. From time to time, they thought they saw a blur in their vision. Yet the two were gone…
Suddenly, however, a massive crater punched itself into one of the walls. All of the curtains, the furnishings, and everything else were compressed and then fractured as a huge indentation was punched into the wall. The others looked to this in shock, wondering how it happened…before it happened again at another point in the room. This time, the impact dented a frame from a stain glass window in, and shattered the glass in its wake. It happened again shortly after, pounding in the ceiling, and letting rocks rain down on whatever was below, smashing more of the furnishings. It continued soon after at mild intervals, creating a thunderclap with each sound. Edgar was dumbfounded. What was going on?
"They're…colliding…"
Edgar at last looked away from the sight, and turned to the others. Terra was there. She must have joined them somehow. But now, she was transfixed on what was going on around her. Edgar blinked at this. Colliding? Did that mean that the two creatures, every time they ran into each other, the force was so great it punched this into the walls? But how could she see them?
Abruptly, however, Edgar was snapped out of that and turned back to the room.A massive quaking sound came forth as a crater much larger and deeper was pounded into one of the walls. But it continued to go back, shoving out a huge tunnel into the rock, as the impact of some force shoved forward and continued to tear into the mountain. At that, Edgar gaped, for as the tunnel was shoved back fifty feet he finally saw them. The blue one was against the tunnel, being thrown back violently into it. Not only that…but the red one was now hovering in the center of the room, his fist still poised from where it had punched with the last strike.
The crater making suddenly ceased. Edgar watched, and saw the horrible blue creature sneer and peel itself off of the crater it had made. It glared at Bahamut darkly…and then vanished. Moments later, the red did as well. Edgar blinked for the briefest second, wondering where they went…when above them, the largest eruption happened yet. To their shock, the rock was suddenly dented in as if an invisible volcanic flow of magma had surged up around them and smashed forth. But it was faster and stronger this time. It kept blasting up, shoving it farther and farther. In less than a second, it was over a thousand feet above them, and still going. Edgar looked up, seeing faint rocks and pebbles raining down on the edges, as the blast continued to be pushed deeper and deeper.
At last, far above them…Mt. Zozo did erupt. A torrent of rocks and dust, shining high in the sky for miles, blasted out of the ground as all of the tons of rocks the two combatants had piled on each other coming through the mountain were cast to the heavens. House sized boulders flew into the sky. A cloud of dust rose past the clouds and blotted out the sun. Rockslides fell down the edges of the mountain in the wake.
And far below, deep in the heart of the mountain, the five people left behind gaped up as the massive tunnel leading to a distant, clear spot far ahead.
At last, Edgar could take no more, and turned down to Terra.
"What's going on?"
Bahamut and Wyvern performed their deadly dance again. After blasting out of the mountain, they continued to encircle each other, letting their air foils take them higher and higher into the sky. Their claws and feet lashed out at each other again and again, as they struggled to smash into each other. Both attacked with absolute hatred and passion…for both believed that their world had to survive at the end of this.
Both continued to match the other's speed as their blows danced around each other, and as they went higher and higher into the sky. Their speed was so fast by now that it was likely that only the two of them could see what was occurring. To everyone else in the world, the most they could catch was a blur. They smelled each other, heard them grunting, felt their sweat as it flew from their bodies. But, at last, the two of them collided again. Both of them came at each other full force, and with matching hooks crossed each other over their faces.
A thunderclap emerged, and both combatants went flying back down to the ground again, as both recoiled in stunned shock from the power of the hits. Bahamut felt pain radiate through his own face. He didn't think it was possible for anything to hurt him in this body…but he was reminded of the unfortunate fact that Wyvern was just as strong as him. Neither of them were expecting the power in the other's blow, and both fell down past the dust clouds back over the mountains. But after that, they recovered, and both rose and glared at each other. Immediately, they both took off and attacked again.
Another thunderclap and a shockwave this time, as both of them kicked each other in the face as one. Like speeding bolts, they shot away from each other just as quickly, letting the ricochet distance them from each other again. But they had recovered this time, and quickly wheeled around and faced each other once more. Again they shot at each other, and again they exchanged a blow. Their even sizes once again were their downfall, and the two rocketed away from each other again with the sound of another thunderclap. Again they recovered, and again they repeated this cycle. Again they flew away from one another in result.
The two tried it a fourth time. Bahamut launched himself forward as fast as he could, ready to duck under Wyvern's blow this time and give him an uppercut. The two deadly foes sailed at each other for a few brief moments…until at last it was time to act. But before Bahamut could duck under and attack…the esper realized too late that Wyvern was faster. He didn't even have time to cause his muscles to move when Wyvern's tail swung out and slapped him across the face.
The blow was painful and jarring, and another thunderclap arose. But this time, Wyvern stayed in the center while Bahamut went flying to the ground at an angle. At first, he seemed to be a simple, lifeless missile. But as he drew closer, he was able to put his head up again. As he neared the mountaintops, he spun around and flailed out his arms as he dropped to one knee. He landed a moment later, glaring out at his enemy, and slid to a halt without nearly the impact that Wyvern had intended.
Yet Bahamut didn't stay there long. He quickly leapt back up to his feet and swung his head back…just in time to miss Wyvern as he reappeared and aimed a sweeping tail for his head again. Bahamut quickly swung back, aiming a punch for his head. Wyvern rose his own arms to intercept the block, and then launched a double kick at Bahamut's exposed torso. But the esper coldly and sternly moved, shifting his arms down and blocking both of those as well. He dipped forward and swung his tail at Wyvern next. Wyvern ducked this, but as he was coming up, Bahamut followed up with a double sweeping leg kick to the head. Wyvern was surprised at this, and unable to duck, but he did raise his own arms and block two more hits, before swinging out his arm in a hook. Bahamut ducked this quickly, and raised up his head to attempt a punch to Wyvern's throat. However, the esper blocked this, and this time swung the arm down and held it. With Bahamut thus immobilized, he raised his other arm to punch him in the face. But as he did…Bahamut was bringing his own arm up again, and the two fists raked each other so hard that they drew blood before hitting the opposing one's face.
Again, a clap rang out, and once more the two foes went flying. This blow was the most stunning one yet, blasting a huge crater into the mountain where they stood. Wyvern went flying into the air, while Bahamut went raking against the ground, digging up a huge trench in his wake.
However, Bahamut also realized this was slowing him down. He saw that they were too evenly matched to attack each other head on. If he was going to win, he needed to get him while he was stunned. Summoning his new strength to bear, Bahamut flipped himself up and came to his feet. Immediately, he tore off like a bolt of lightning, aiming for the flailing body of Wyvern in midair. He pushed all of his new speed into it, wanting to make him hurt…
When, suddenly, Bahamut froze. One moment, Wyvern was flying away…and the next he was hovering right in front of him with a dark look. Bahamut's new reflexes helped him to halt a mere two feet in front of him, and then pause and glare coldly at him. However…inside, he was shocked. He hadn't expected Wyvern to not only recover that quickly, but outstrip him in speed just as easily. Now, both of them hovered over the same volcanic crater they had made Mt. Zozo into. Neither of them moved, but just simply glared at each other.
Wyvern was the one who smiled. "You know…Bahamut…in the end, I am sort of glad it ended out this way. Fighting you is the only real challenge I get anymore. But you have to know it's not possible to win. I've got everything you have."
Bahamut glared back at him a moment longer at that, before cracking his own smile.
"Perhaps…but I'm still holding back quite a bit."
Wyvern didn't look the slightest bit perturbed.
"So?" He simply replied. "You think I'm not?"
Bahamut struggled to keep his smile from faltering. The fact of the matter was that he hadn't expected Wyvern to be keeping up with him so well at this level. He knew the whole time, full well, that he had many more reserves stored inside him. Until now…he thought that Wyvern was using more of his own. But now, a frightening possibility entered his mind. What if he was wrong? What if Wyvern himself was still barely using any of his own power? After all…before they were reborn, Wyvern had been the stronger. And now…Wyvern had more experience with his body.
"…Then let's not play around any longer." Bahamut finally stated. "Let's put everything on the table right now."
Wyvern gave a nod. "Gladly. I've warmed up enough now."
With that, both espers clenched their hands into fists and glared at each other again. As they did…Bahamut and Wyvern alike finally tapped into the deep reserves inside them. At long last…they brought their full powers out and up to bear, and filled their respective bodies with everything they had inside…
Terra stared at the two hulks, marveling at how much their power surpassed their own. None of them were in the same league anymore. Even in her esper form, Terra was nothing more than a bug to both of them. However…she was also scared. She feared greatly the foe that Bahamut had to fight…and she feared what was going to happen soon. She hated being forced to sit here and do nothing…
Yet as she stared, she and the others soon gained another shock. Abruptly…the ground began to quake again. And this time it was much more violent. The people cried out and looked to the ground, as they were violently heaved up and down. Everywhere began to fracture, and rock pillars came out and sank back in. They struggled to balance themselves as another gale force wind blew past them. It was hot now, and they felt blasts of genuine burning air rip past them. Some of their shreds of clothing were torn off of their bodies, and soon they had to grit their teeth and throw themselves to the ground to avoid being blown away. The air grew dark again. Only now…the torches went so dim that they blotted out all together. The sun seemed to go down, and their breath began to mist as they struggled to hold on. And yet, the cold air was continuously punctured by boiling hot blasts from above. The group stared up in shock at all of this, Terra most of all.
She knew what was happening now. They were getting even stronger.
"This is impossible!" Edgar cried from his position on the ground, struggling to be heard over the wind. "They've already left behind all my estimates of what is physical possible for strength…and they're still rising! They're shooting past 500,000!"
The others continued to push themselves to the ground, looking up above them. Far overhead, under the darkening clouds and swirling skies, the two creatures continued to grow stronger.
"Past 800,000!"
Terra continued to stare up at them, trying to focus on their strengths…trying to tell which one was stronger. But it was useless. She couldn't sense a thing through this power. There was too much of it to tell the two apart.
"Past 1,000,000!" Edgar cried in shock. "Past 1,200,000-"
And that was all that Edgar could look at, because at that moment, his already overheated machine exploded. He cried out and wheeled his head back as a part of the critical components finally overheated and broke. He grit his teeth a moment, but then risked raising a hand to yank the burning machine off of his head. In truth, it was amazing that it had lasted that long. It was only good for up to 100,000. However, neither figure gave any sign of stopping at that point. They both continued to push higher and higher, their powers growing ever stronger. Indeed…they had transcended the levels that were physically possible for Gaia…for neither was of Gaia any longer. The power of the sun's energy now flowed throughout them…and its power only made them grow in strength…
Bahamut felt his muscles struggle to rip his skin. The scales were pulled out almost to the point of having spaces in between. His eyes began to ache as it seemed they were threatening to bulge out of his skull. His bones felt like they were being crushed by the power of his own growing mass. He soon realized that a Gaia-based body was not meant to handle this level of power. This was going to be rough, he realized as he blazed forth in more energy. Both of them would be ripping their bodies apart just fighting each other in these forms…
The air around Bahamut grew bright and shining. He felt warm…even to the point of hot…all over him. The air seemed charged with vibrance and power. As he continued to summon…snaps of electricity began to encircle him. They soon became continuous, seeming to eminate from his body as he kept powering. Opposite him…Wyvern too showed many physical signs of strength gathering. His body too enlarged and bulged, and he grit his teeth and struggled to contain the power coming through him. The world grew black around him, dimming and fading… An icy chill radiated around his body. This only made sense to Bahamut. He was powered by light…Wyvern by darkness. In their new forms, they radiated their respective element more than ever.
Bahamut's neck bulged as he struggled to put more in. He had to have every last bit of power inside him. Much as this would hurt…his body had to be at maximum. He would threaten to tear open his skin with every blow, and this much power was almost too much for him to handle. But he had no choice. He had to be stronger than Wyvern…he had to win. He continued to push more and more power into it, flaring in more strength and blazing his dazzling aura. However…at last…he realized he had no more. As much as he struggled, there was nothing left to give. At this point, Bahamut ceased. His power was already so great that he felt that the world was mere putty in his hands… Even he had little comprehension for the amount of strength he had inside him, only now vented.
However…strong as he now was…he began to grow fearful.
Wyvern wasn't finished.
The dark esper hissed and struggled…and more power came. Where Bahamut had slowed down long before he had maximized…Wyvern was still steadily rising. His own strength continued to pour forth, making his teeth grit, his gums warp, and his body enlarge even more. Soon…he began to grow bigger than Bahamut. His own dark aura washed over Bahamut's light one…and was swallowed up. Bahamut began to feel cold as the air around him grew dark and lifeless. The esper's eyes widened at this.Already, he could sense he was stronger than him…and yet he continued to push. He widened the distance between themselves as more and more might came forward. His reserves seemed limitless, and he poured all of them out as he snarled.
Bahamut began to sweat. He struggled not to back away from the monster before him. His mind was now very afraid. He hadn't expected this. He didn't know Wyvern had so much power in him…and yet still came forth with more. It totally dominated Bahamut's. Immediately…it became clear to him that he couldn't win in terms of strength, and that brought terror to his heart. Wyvern had to have been working the past thousand years. He had been building his strength in that time…making his natural advantage a natural superiority. At last, he began to slow down…well above Bahamut's threshold. He panted and struggled, but he too bottomed out. He halted his powering at last…
…And Bahamut could sense he was about 50 percent stronger than him.
The esper struggled not to show his terror as the dark esper looked up to him and grinned. He had never expected that Wyvern would be so strong. He had been so confident in his own superior power…he hadn't realized that Wyvern was much greater. He didn't think anything could be. Ripped as he was…totally maxed out in terms of inconceivable strength…his brother was mightier. No wonder he had been so calm before…not wanting to prove himself again… He had no reason to fear Bahamut. Not like this…
The evil esper turned and looked up to Bahamut…his bulging eyes filled with malice as he grinned.
"…This is it for you, big brother."
DOOM
Bahamut didn't see it coming. He simply felt what appeared to be a mountain dropped against the side of his face, and felt his head snapped violently to one side as his face turned to jelly. Brain-numbing agony rippled through his head…but it was coupled with terrible strains all over his face and neck. Being struck in this maxed out form hurt twice as much as normal. And now…he was ripped out of the sky and sent hurtling to the ground. There was no recovery this time. No chance to right himself. The speed with which he struck the ground barely left him time to snap out of his daze. When he hit…it was like a meteorite striking the earth. An explosion of dust went around him as he smashed deep into the ground, blasting a massive crater in his wake.
Dust and rocks rained around Bahamut as his head swam. He slowly shook it, dizzy as he lay in the crater Wyvern had knocked him into. He barely had time to realize what was going on…before Wyvern was on top of him again. Now…he drove both of his feet down as he leapt out of the sky and pounded Bahamut in the stomach. Bahamut snapped his head up and gagged, spitting out blood…and hoping his organs weren't going with it. His entire body was thrown into agony from his tightened features being struck, and already, this early in the fight…he felt two of his ribs snap. His strength vanished. His body felt like water. Suddenly, Wyvern snapped down on his weakened form, and seized him by the neck. He dug his talons in, drawing blood, and making Bahamut cry as he leapt off of him and brought him to his feet. He twisted his body around at that, aimed him at the nearest peak, grinned at him wickedly, and then punched him in his already tender stomach. A blast of blood flowed from Bahamut's mouth as he was flung violently across the mountain chain. His body smashed right through one of the peaks as he did, causing a huge rockslide and earth shattering quake as the massive mountaintop was stripped of its support…and came crashing down like judgment day. As for Bahamut, he crashed into another peak soon after, and by then lost enough momentum to slowly slide down it. He moaned, and sat there a moment.
Bahamut gasped raggedly, feeling horrible all over. More trouble. He hadn't expected Wyvern to be able to beat him up so badly with just a few strikes. Staggering a bit, and knowing at least something inside him was bleeding, he came to his feet again. He inhaled sharply and spat, and then forced himself to get ready, pushing away the dazzling in his mind. As he looked forward, to his displeasure, Wyvern was already coming forward again. The hulking monster was taking his time now, and slowly lowered himself in front of the twin. He was breathing a bit hard now, and covered with sweat.
This, however, piqued Bahamut's curiosity.
Looks like I was right… His power is incredible…but it takes a lot out of him to use. I can say the same for me, though. It's just like with Griever. He was strong…but he burned himself out quickly in his last form.
That gives me an idea…
Of course…with my own body strained to its limit, I'll run out quickly too. If that's the case, it won't do any good… However…if our bodies are essentially the same…if the only difference is that he has more power than me…then perhaps he will wear his out faster than me. It's a long shot…and soon I'll be in even more agony. But it's the only chance I have against him now…
With that in mind, Bahamut gave a shrug. If he was going to tear himself apart, he might as well do it himself rather than let Wyvern have the pleasure. And so, he took a moment to focus his strength…and then lunged at Wyvern as fast as he could.
Bahamut sailed throught he air and aimed a hook at Wyvern's face. The esper was faster, unfortunately, and quickly reached up to block it. But he hadn't the confident look on his face when he did it. The move was too painful for him to smile about. What more…Bahamut felt burning agony throughout his own arm just from having Wyvern's wrist block his own. The esper was shocked. He had no idea just fighting would hurt so much… But he pushed through it. Quickly, he hooked up with his other fist, which Wyvern also blocked, and then turned to his side to aim two quick kicks…one at the torso and the other at the face. The torso kick was blocked, but the facial one hit true, snapping Wyvern's head back for a moment. It was a weak blow, much lighter than the ones Wyvern had given him, though it did inflict pain and injury. But it made the beast mad. He swung his own massive fist at Bahamut, meaning to take his head off. The esper quickly dodged, and answered back with two painful hits, both to himself and Wyvern, in the stomach. Wyvern grit his teeth and brought up his knee to counter this, but Bahamut swung both of his arms down and stopped it. He quickly snapped one back up, and gave Wyvern a slapping chop to the neck, causing the creature to wince and wheel backward. The esper followed it up by summoning more power, and giving Wyvern a pain of truly painful crosses to his face, snapping his head one way, then the other.
Wyvern, sneering at this, snapped his head back, opened his mouth, and discharged a Pyron. The blast shot forth in a blur and impacted all at once on Bahamut's own forehead, making his brain blaze with fire and agony. He yelled as he was ripped off of his feet and into the sky. Wyvern quickly launched and took off after him. Balling his hands into fists and meaning to hit him again. But with all of this power, their bodies were awkward and at a loss for speed. Bahamut wrenched his own head forward, saw Wyvern coming, and quickly used his airfoils to break him off just as Wyvern came over him and drove his foot down on where his head had been. As for Bahamut, he shot back, and then came back at Wyvern with his foot extended. The dark esper sneered, and crossed his arms to block the blow. Wyvern then swept himself forward in a circle, swinging his tail out to whip Bahamut out of the sky. Bahamut snapped back, just missing getting clawed by the end, and swung his tail back in response. Wyvern dodged this as well…and then turned his body into a missile to shoot forward and drive his own head into Bahamut's face. Both of them cried out from the collision that resulted, but Bahamut got the worse. Yet somehow, he managed to cup both of his hands into fists and bring them swinging down on the back of Wyvern's skull. His brother cried, and went flying back to the Planet.
Bahamut heaved, but then pitched and went after him, meaning to deliver more pain on landing. For a moment, Wyvern sprawled and looked helpless, sailing to the ground. Yet just before impact…he suddenly swung around, righted himself, and exhaled a Pyrin against the approaching rocks. The force tore him away from impact, and send him flying to the side. Bahamut's eyes bulged as he found himself shooting to now blank ground, smoldering and flaming from the Pyrin blast. However, he never hit. Wyvern used the power to throw himself into a rock pile, launch off of it, and then come back with his foot extended. A solid blow soon smashed into Bahamut's face, sending him flying across the mountain range again.
Wyvern now pitched around and followed after his brother. Bahamut was now limp, and he seemed another easy target. In instants, Wyvern was on him, and reared back his hands to deliver his own double punch. But as he did, Bahamut came back to life. The esper reared up while still soaring, seized Wyvern by the tail, and, to the shock of the dark esper, flung him around in circles, using the momentum from the very blow he had received to do it. In the end, Bahamut tossed him with the speed of a thunderbolt. Wyvern vanished into a blur before his body caused an eruption in another mountain peak, just as it was smashed into it with inconceivable force.
Bahamut slowed down, panting all the while, and turned to the cloud of dust and rocks that were blown up by his latest strike. He glared into them…waiting for Wyvern to emerge and to counter once he did. He struggled to focus his senses on his power, trying to see where he could come from next…
"…Confusing a Pyron blast for me, Bahamut?"
The esper's eyes widened. He turned his head skyward, just in time to see Wyvern dive down and drive his foot heavily into Bahamut's throat. The esper gagged as some of his neck "ribs" cracked, and he coughed out more blood. Yet inside, he cursed himself. Wyvern must have changed his path before impact, and then blasted a Pyron into the mountain to fool him into thinking it was a collision. And because their powers were too great to track accurately, he hadn't even seen him coming. That didn't matter now, however. Wyvern swept down on him again. He seized him by his crest, swung his head down on his knee, causing another eruption of blood, and then proceeded to twirl his own brother in an incredibly fast circle before flinging him into a mountain.
Moments later, another great rock eruption went out as the world shook. The sky rumbled overhead as it continued to blacken from the powers Wyvern was wielding. Boulders rained down from the sky, and dust rose up to blot out more of the sun. The terrible echo went through the range, and all else was silent.
Yet deep inside the rubble, Bahamut still lived…although he was growing in more pain all the time. Even breathing was starting to hurt now, and the rest of his body felt like it was on fire. That said nothing of the bloody wounds, the broken bones, or anything else that had happened to him. He spat out yet another wad of blood as he groaned. Unfortunately, from where he was, he couldn't see how Wyvern was doing. But guessing from how he was fighting, he realized that one of them was still on top. This wasn't working. He had to think of something better…
What about breath attacks? Bahamut wondered to himself. Here, in the middle of the day, I can probably summon more energy into mine than he can… But I still have no guarantee it will work. Besides…to really get a good blast, I need to get above the cloud cover and fire down on him. I can't risk that. If I fire at Gaia…there's no telling what I'll do to it. At this level, I could wipe out half of the life on the Planet. I've got to try something else…
Bahamut looked around the rubble surrounding him. He bet that Wyvern was just ahead. He was probably searching for him. But it didn't matter. The two of them were so strong, that neither of them could be pinpointed now…
On thinking that, however, Bahamut got an idea.
This was crazy…but he wondered if it might work. Wyvern was too wise to everything else now. He had never tried anything like this before…but he might be able to do it. Quickly, Bahamut went to work. While lying there, he began to summon his power to himself. It hurt now. Even breath attacks made his body burn and ache. But he continued to summon. His flesh began to quiver, and his body trembled…but he focused. Soon, he managed to go beyond the level of Pyrin…and then Pyron. He didn't go all the way to his Omniapex…but he continued to increase his force, bringing himself all the way up to a Megapyrin.
Once there, Bahamut held for a moment. His breath attack was fully charged. Now came the tricky part. Struggling to hold this power in his weakened body, Bahamut slowly pushed the rocks up and off of him. He was still under tons of dirt and rubble, but this sufficed for now… He just had to keep Wyvern from seeing him. He continued to push up until he was standing. The force was getting unbearable by then. His body was burning. Yet somehow…he managed to summon more strength into him as he did so. He had to have all his power…and try to control this. Bahamut stretched out his strained senses, struggling to get the best fix on Wyvern he could…and hoping that his own sensory ability was good enough to at least aim somewhat in the right direction. With that done…he held a bit longer…but then fired.
Immediately, the rocks and debris were obliterated around Bahamut as his deadly Megapyrin erupted from his mouth and shot toward the enemy. He fired it off as fast as he could in one giant blast, wanting to get it all out immediately. He burned his throat and stretched his mouth in the process…but it worked. Once it was gone, Bahamut did something normally crazy… As the Megapyrin was still leaving the mountain, he shot forward with all the speed he could bear. Luckily, his powerful body was more than fast enough. Within less than a second after firing…Bahamut had torn through the rest of the mountain rubble and gotten in front of his breath attack. Now, he plowed through the rest of the rock and thundered forward, straight for Wyvern.
His brother saw him coming, and sneered at him. However, he focused only on him. He only had time to focus on him, fast as he was going. He reared back his fist, and got ready to swing down on top of Bahamut to knock him from the sky. Yet just as Bahamut was about to get in range…the esper suddenly pitched down and dove for the earth. Wyvern turned down and looked to him in puzzlement at this…before he suddenly realized a massive glow was behind him. Turning to shock, he looked up…and stared as the huge wave of energy suddenly shot into him…and exploded.
A sound of agony rang out as a gigantic fireball ripped through the sky. Smoke and shockwaves joined the dust as a fiery eruption went through the dark esper. The dark clouds overhead were blasted away, and sunlight poured down behind them as the monster was rattled by the power of the blast. Yet it finally died. And when it did, Wyvern's sizzling body was left hovering in mid-air, covered with pain and anguish. His face was a mixture of agony and insane anger. He grit his teeth in fury as his own face smoldered from the burn, and he wheeled his head down to his brother…
Just in time to get another powerful blow. Bahamut had gone to the ground…but only to launch himself off of it again, and sail back up for Wyvern with both fists outstretched. Now, the monster was hit underneath the chin with such tremendous power that the mountains fractured beneath them, and teeth flew out from Wyvern's mouth. Not finished, Bahamut pitched himself up again, past his stunned brother, and then drove both feet down into his stomach. He put as much pressure as he dared behind this one, hitting him with so much force that there was no way Wyvern could fool him this time. He collapsed around Bahamut's blow, and was flung to the ground again. This time, he did connect with a mountain. As he landed, the peak shattered around him, and a series of eruptions went down the mountain as the power plowed Wyvern deep into the center of it. Another huge cloud of dust sailed into the sky.
Bahamut slowly lowered himself to the ground. He had to…flying was taking too much energy. He was dizzy now, and getting sick. His body was feeling limp and flaccid. He was struggling with everything he had to beat Wyvern. Any one of these hits would have killed him years ago. But now…Bahamut was running out of energy. He had overdone it with the Megapyrin trick…
Slowly…the ground began to rumble, cutting off Bahamut's line of thinking. The esper froze. He was still gasping, and his body was covered with sweat, but he began to look around for signs of what was causing this. Yet the ground continued to shake…and grew more unstable. Rock upheaved all over the ground, and huge pillars began to be cast up. Peaks began to shatter and slide. Bahamut's heart began to race. He frantically looked around, trying to see what was causing this…wondering what could be…
Bahamut was again cut off, as the enraged, smoking, bleeding body of Wyvern came up from the ground and gave Bahamut the biggest uppercut of his life to his lower jaw. Immediately, Bahamut felt it break in two places, and teeth flew from his mouth. Wyvern, still insane with anger, shot past him, went over his body, and then brought down an axe kick on his head. The central crest of Bahamut's brow was snapped off as he was sent flying once more to the ground. But he never reached it. Just as he was about to smash into the rocks, the maddened Wyvern spun around behind him, landed first, and drove both of his fists up into Bahamut's back. Both of his scapulas snapped, as did other ribs, as he drove his fists into them. Bahamut arched back and yelled in anguish.
Wyvern seized him by the throat at this, and flung him back against the ground. The impact was hard, and Bahamut cried out in misery before he lay against it. Wyvern enraged face lowered over him, eyes blazing with anger, and blasted out heat and violence. Bahamut groaned and looked up weakly.
"I gave you this body, you ungrateful bastard!" He bellowed. "Now watch me take it away!"
Wyvern then shot down and seized Bahamut's arm. As he did, he placed his own meaty foot claw against his body, and braced him. Then, Wyvern gnashed his teeth together, ignoring the amount of agony this put him through, and roared like a bloody beast. With that, he yanked against Bahamut's arm as hard as he could. Bahamut screamed in anguish, as he felt his shoulder instantly dislocated. But that wasn't all. Wyvern continued to yank. With feverish, violent looks he ripped against Bahamut, pulling harder and harder as he did so… Bahamut thrashed about in mad anguish, unable to take the horrible pain as he pulled against him… Yet he kept going, glaring down in hate at Bahamut…until the sound of sinews and tendons ripping resulted. Bahamut screamed louder, a horrible, heaven rendering noise…and Wyvern cried out as well one more time as he gave a giant rip.
In an eruption of blood and flesh, Bahamut's arm was ripped clean out of his body. Blood fountained below him, and he thrashed about in agony. Wyvern fumed about like a demon. He flung the bloody appendage aside, and glared down at his pained brother. Crying out in anger at him…he drove his fist down onto his chest, cracking more ribs in the process and knocking the wind out of him. It cut off his screaming, but made him gag blood in the process. Bahamut's eyes filled with tears of pain as he thrashed about on the ground, gagging and coughing. As he did…Wyvern tore the ground to pieces under his feet as he went over to his opposite leg… Mercilessly, and drinking in Bahamut's pain as he did so…the monster reached over and seized the appendage, placed his foot against the esper…and did the same. Bahamut struggled to keep enough pride not to beg Wyvern to stop…as his leg was ripped out as well. His femoral artery spilled out blood.
Bahamut gagged and began to vomit. He struggled not to throw up or shake uncontrollably. Wyvern finally did it… He was literally ripping him limb from limb. The pain was mind-numbing. It was only because his body was soon overloaded with anguish and stopped sending him pain messages that Bahamut didn't go mad from the agony. He clenched his teeth shut and began to crack them…trying not to go into shock. He glared up at Wyvern…his eyes filled with anger and pain.
Wyvern wasn't much better now. His face was dripping with blood. His own torso sported some cracked ribs. His flesh was cracking open, and blood leaked out over him. His bones were covered with bruises, and almost every muscle in his body was pulled or ripped. This was the price of trying to push so much power through this body. He was soaked with sweat, and he gasped raggedly. However, he also stood victorious over Bahamut…the bleeding, semi-corpse of an esper at his feet. And that made him madly smile in triumph.
"You see it again now, Bahamut…after all these years…" He gasped. "I'm still the strongest. I will always be stronger…and you'll be the one who ends up dead in the end. But this is too little, Bahamut. It's much too little. It's not enough for me to rip you apart anymore…not when I know I can do it so easily… You always made it a point of ruining me…frustrating every attempt of mine to succeed. Now…I'm going to do the same. I'm going to kill each and every one of those brats you love…right in front of her. Then I'll kill all her friends. And finally…after I've had her give me some progeny…I'm going to kill her. I'm going to rip her apart just like I've ripped you apart."
Bahamut's jaw clenched…but his pain went away. Instead, he glared darkly at Wyvern. As he heard this mocking voice, his anger swelled. Each word that Wyvern said about this made him ache inside, just as he had with Terra not long ago. But as he kept hearing it…it also began to drive him…drove him with passion and anger unlike that of any base, self-serving individual. It was one of a person who had something else to live for…and in spite of his agony…it made him live and glare at Wyvern. The thought of his brother…his twisted, evil sibling…doing this to his family…doing it to his wife…
His remaining fist clenched so hard…blood began to dribble from it as he dug his nails into his own skin.
Wyvern continued to smile and pant as he glared menacingly over him. "You're going back to Hell, Bahamut…but I'll send you lots of company this time. But I'm going to cut you one last break… You aren't going to bleed to death here, like she will… I'm going to blow you away along with her first set of friends."
Bahamut was livid with rage…no longer quivering with pain but with fury. But somehow…he managed to have enough logic, as well as control over his mind-numbing pain, to speak through clenched teeth.
"And your faithful servants? Zola? Noonian? The ones who brought you back?"
Wyvern panted for a moment longer, and then shrugged.
"…They served their purpose."
With that, Wyvern took off into the sky. Using his incredible speed, he soon lifted himself far above Bahamut, and positioned his body directly overhead. He halted there, and stretched out his arms to glory in the waste he had created. It had blotted out the sun while giving him darkness to fuel his own attack. Now…his power was maximized, and Bahamut's was drained. Letting out an insane laugh, he turned his head down and aimed for him.
Bahamut swallowed. There was only one thing left to do now…counter his blast with his own improved Omniapex. However…he realized it was futile. In all this darkness, and with his already stronger power, Wyvern had the greater strength. Even if he contained the blast to himself…Wyvern would live, and would go on to kill his family…his wife… But the esper couldn't give up. He had to do this. For their sakes…for the sake of every innocent child…he had to try. Immediately, he closed his eyes and focused.
Bahamut detected changes immediately. His wings stretched out again…but unlike before, he didn't simply gather sunlight. Instead, he felt his energy stretch out around him. It seemed as if small tendrils actually were snaking out from him…spreading away from his wings, and moving out far greater than where his normal body would rest to gain sunlight. If he would have opened his eyes, he would have seen this was so. Dark bolts of energy indeed were reaching out around him…filling the area and spreading farther away. They flickered about like energy waves, like bolts of electricity snaking around. He didn't know what this meant…but he kept it going.
Wyvern was doing much the same thing. In fact, as he flexed in the air, threw out his wings, and clenched his fists and teeth…black bolts began to snake out from him as well. They too spread into the immediate area, and divided as they went to and fro. They sparked like electricity as well, and were also a deep black. They seemed just as dark as Bahamut's. However, both of these bolts had a different purpose in mind behind their use, similar as these attacks began.
At last, both of them ceased spreading out their energies. Once they were there, they held and cracked for a moment. Then…they began to work. Because they were black, Bahamut's bolts readily absorbed all light in the area. And as soon as they absorbed it, it began to slowly trickle down into his wings. It was a slow process…but it was very efficient. Soon, Bahamut began to feel himself filling with higher quality, more purified solar energy than he ever did under his Sol-Pyrin. It felt good…continuing to slowly grow with time, and filling him up with more power than any breath attack of his ever managed. He relished this and let it grow…
Wyvern's own attack did something different. Now that the tendrils were out, they too absorbed light. But they didn't channel it. They simply absorbed it all, so that a great black shadow surrounded Wyvern, flooding him with pitch-black darkness. It was easy in the dark, overcast area to soon be bathed in it, and soon he became invisible in the blackness. Once he was, his tendrils too began to draw discharged particle energy into him. And it too was high quality. But because he was filled with so much darkness…his energy swelled much quicker and faster. While Bahamut felt a trickle, Wyvern felt a steady flow of power roll into him. Soon, his power was surging much larger and faster than Bahamut's, and it only grew more so.
Bahamut seemed to notice this. Sweating, he struggled to make his tendrils absorb faster. But it was no use. Now that Wyvern drew more darkness around himself, there was barely any light left to gather period. The already slow trickle slowed down even more. Bahamut clenched his teeth. He stretched out his senses more powerfully, struggling to make himself absorb faster. Yet still…it was useless. There wasn't the power. The darkness around him grew every second. Wyvern was doing too much to frustrate his efforts. Soon, he'd have all the power he could get. As for Wyvern, he only continued to drink up more, gorging himself on it. He grinned wickedly down on Bahamut, relishing over his victory.
The esper began to panic. He had to have more… At this rate, his attack wouldn't even stop Wyvern's. He'd be destroyed and so would everyone else. But there was no more. The inevitable fear began to fall into his heart. This was it. This was all he could do. He had failed, in the end. Despite all his tries…everything he wished for Terra and his family…he couldn't save them. Wyvern was too much for him in the end…
Wyvern began to laugh at him, purposely drawing in more power to totally obliterate Bahamut and make him spend his last moments in terror. Bahamut looked up and continued to pant, staring desperately at him. But as he looked at the mad creature…something suddenly caught his eye.
A blip was suddenly right above the two warriors, soaring higher than Wyvern. Bahamut's face turned to puzzlement at this. Wyvern, on seeing this, frowned, and then turned to see what Bahamut saw. Both espers soon looked up…and saw that now, a third had joined them.
Blazing with pink energy, Terra's fierce face glared down on both of them…but especially on Wyvern. She stared at him for the briefest moment longer…before a fiery glow enveloped her. Her aura blazed forth as she summoned out her magical power. And once it faded, she pitched in the sky, and shot across it. As she did, an arcane word was blasted…and immediately a great wall of flame erupted behind her, spanning a line a half mile across in the sky. But it didn't stop there. As Terra flew, the fire suddenly roared, and the sound of an inferno from the sun itself blazed across the clouds. Rushing heat, shooting forth in a maelstrom, ripped a tremendous red swath throughout the heavens, painting behind Terra for a full mile as she blazed across.
Immediately, Wvyern felt his power diminish as fire pierced his dark world. At the same time, Bahamut felt more energy begin to flow into his own. The light from the fires was absorbed into his own growing attack. It was little compared to Wyvern's own growing force…but it wasn't all. For as the fire and smoke passed…it revealed something else. The power of the flaming rush had somehow blown away the dark clouds. As the smoke cleared…pure, unfiltered sunlight began to shoot down in rays through the fading clouds. Each one pierced Wyvern's dark energy, cutting off more of the flow to him…while being gobbled up by Bahamut and fed to his own attack. Wyvern gaped in shock. He sneered and roared in anger, but it was too late. The smoke continued to clear…and soon a giant patch of pure sunlight was pouring down. Soon, the roles were reversed. Now, Wyvern's power shrank to a mere trickle shy of drying up, and glorious energy began to feed into Bahamut. The tendrils pulled back, and shot into the sky, drinking up as much sun as they can. A continuous flow began to fill Bahamut, and soon his wings began to glow and shimmer radiantly as sun energy filled them.
Terra stopped flying here, and hovered in the air. She turned his feline face back down to the ground, and looked to Bahamut with a smile.
Wyvern sneered at her, blazing with violent anger. "Damn you!" He screamed. He struggled to move enough to blast her into nothingness…but it was no use. He had charged too much. He couldn't fight her without breaking off the attack…and at this stage, with Bahamut's own power growing…that would be suicide. Sneering, Wyvern turned and looked back down to Bahamut in anger. But he no longer looked to his brother. He softly smiled as he looked up to Terra.
"Blow him away, Bahamut." She simply responded.
Bahamut smiled back…and then turned his full attention to Wyvern.
The esper looked to Bahamut and sneered. Immediately, he opened his mouth. As he did, great rays began to stream into a space in front of his mouth, seeming to sink into oblivion. The energy in his wings was soon discharged, formed into these rays as they collected. Each one was black, and turned their air icy as they streamed inward. And as he continued…a sphere, black and void of any light or life, began to form in front of his open mouth.
Seeing this, Bahamut reacted as well. Immediately, he opened his own mouth, and soon rays of burning, glorious light discharged from his wings and began to gather as well. The sky seemed to break as a ringing sound came from around his body. His own head quivered, for the force was so strong he soon had to use what strength his ravaged body had left to maintain it. And it only made him shake more violently as the power continued to flow into it. Soon, both titans were forming their own deadly attacks, putting their own power as well as that they gathered into it.
Bahamut glared ahead at Wyvern through it all. This was it. Until now…he had never been able to contest Wyvern's energy attacks. He had lost hands down every time. But no longer. This time…he had to win. He had to end this once and for all…not just for his life, but the lives of all those still left on this world who wanted peace. For the sake of the future…he had to destroy him.
At last, straining so hard blood leaked from his eyes, Wyvern's insane face screamed.
"SANG-PYRIN!"
At the exact same time, Bahamut cried out as well.
"GIGA-PYRIN!"
Both of them released.
There was no shooting to one another this time. The attacks were too focused and powerful. Instead…a massive beam of energy, as large as their bodies, erupted from the mouths of both creatures and met immediately. The world turned both black and white, as the power rippled and clashed together. A shockwave ripped out from their impact, sending a deadly wave to flatten the mountain below them…pressing it into dust. Rocks flew up in their wake, as the clash of energy became one giant orb of death. Everything was destroyed that came near it, and the world continued to fracture and twist. Through it all…Bahamut's golden beam of light clashed with Wyvern's silver. Both of them…straining so hard that blood was forced from their skin, continued to push and glare at one another.
The two beams burned with deadly power…pushing one way, another, and then back again. The sphere in between them buckled and swirled, casting out one wave that turned the world to ice…and then another that lit it aflame. The clouds overhead were blown away. The dust was whipped up into the collision in the center. Still…their two forces continued to battle endlessly. Bahamut dug his nails deeper into his palm. His remaining foot claw scraped the ground. His neck was shoved against the earth…and a crater began to slowly be made by his body. His throat was on fire…his very lungs began to burn from the heat of his weapon.
Wyvern strained from every orifice, grunting and moaning as he struggled to keep pushing. His body continued to bulge. His skin ripped. His bones began to break. Yet he pushed madder and stronger. He had to win. He had proven himself the best…the king. He couldn't lose to his brother now…not when he was the greatest! He wouldn't! His brother was nothing to him! He had proven that! He had established himself as king…and he had to keep that! For his future! For the glory of all espers!
But in the end…Wyvern wasn't fighting for all espers. In the end, he was fighting for himself. Despite all of his words of altruism and revolution…in the end, he still craved his glory. He wanted a world in his image. That was the only empire he desired. He wanted to rule over all life…and he had seen the way to get it. And because of that…the only strength he had in the end was from himself.
But not Bahamut. The former king was not fighting for just himself now…but for the lives of the people who he had grown to love. The strange feeling he had felt inside him surged now with strength that betrayed his feeble body…with force that nothing physical in this world or any other world or universe can maintain. The power of love for another creature…unconditional love. Such a thing was something Bahamut let fuel him now…and something that Wyvern could never understand. He had forgotten about it years ago…but Bahamut had remembered…and now it surged in him full force, and pushed him beyond the limits that any mere physical thing could place on him.
Bahamut inhaled one last time…and then screamed…sounding out the passion and love he felt for Duane, Katarin, Athena, Ai, Yu, Essner, Marcus, Seras…and most of all Terra. When he did…as impossible as it seemed…his beam suddenly doubled in thickness. Now…it swallowed up the clashing energies, and filled the world with glorious golden light. The silver beam was soon swallowed up…and the great energy headed straight for Wyvern. The creature, stunned…unbelieving…shocked at how, for all its superiority…it was still losing, gaped in disbelief. But he could do nothing to stop it…as the great wave came to him and shattered his Sang-pyrin into nothingness.
"IMPOSSI-"
Before Wyvern could finish, the air in his lungs turned to fire as he was engulfed in the Giga-pyrin. His body was ripped out of the sky, and carried straight up. In the center of that burning beam, Wyvern struggled to cry out in anguish and confusion…unable to believe how his brother, his far inferior…had actually beat him. No draw this time. No confusion. No getting lucky. His strength had outclassed him. His lungs were seared out. The eyes in his head popped and vaporized. His scales were blown off of his body as his wings were turned to ash. The flesh began to peel off of his bones…but if there was anything worse no one on Gaia saw it. The true misery awaited him as the beam bore him off into the upper ionosphere…and beyond it into the cold depths of space…where no light or energy awaited him, but only pressure waiting to finish ravaging his already half-destroyed body. And as the beam finished burning out his lungs…dying down at last…Wyvern found himself flying into a deep, cold, lifeless void…where there was no air left for him to give his final breath.
Far below, on the planet called Gaia, Bahamut struggled to breathe against the ground. He could only inhale now. Exhaling hurt too much. His own flesh burned from his own attack, and his wounds had been burned closed. But somehow…he managed to stare up into the glorious morning sun. All other clouds had been wiped a thousand miles away, and now only blue skies greeted him. And as far as his enhanced eyes could see, and as far as his senses could reach…he felt nothing.
Wyvern's power had vanished.
Bahamut won.
To be continued...
