Chapter 23:
Mario, Luigi, and their flight-capable party members flanked the Dribble Taxi as it flew from Wutai and made its way towards Cosmo Canyon so the party could get their best Materia and equipment for dealing with Sephiroth. Inside the cab, Aerith was hard at work reading the Great Gospel tome and studying all of its writings so she could perform the Limit Break properly when the time came to face down Sephiroth. She knew that Sephiroth would have to be defeated before she could use the Limit Break, though, but that was of little concern at the moment. Right now, she just wanted to properly learn this variant of Great Gospel.
As for the others, they sat in silence as Dribble and Spitz piloted the cab towards Cosmo Canyon. Still, Nanaki had requested that Spitz put on the news on the chance that reports of strange occurrences may have been made, which could give them a clue on Bowser's location. Aerith had no objections and she was not distracted by the news playing over the radio. Goombella also had an idea for hopefully detecting Bowser.
"Hey Nanaki, what forms of mass transportation are common on Gaia?" Goombella asked.
"Standard seafaring vessels, airplanes, helicopters, are relatively common," Nanaki answered. "There may also be airships and submarines but the latter are not nearly as common as the standard planes, helicopters, and ships. Of the two lesser common vehicles, though, submarines are less common than airships simply because the Shinra corporation was the only force that really used submarines. And the submarines were mostly stationed at the undersea base in Junon. Why do you ask?"
"Because Bowser has used airships and submarines before," Goombella answered. "Bowser had managed to elude us ever since he went through the Mythril Mines and we had to try to stop the Starship Mario from crashing into North Crater. If we can see what forms of transportation he may use that might not draw too much attention, we may be able to find him and beat him before taking on Sephiroth."
"Shouldn't Sephiroth be our primary focus?" Goombario asked.
"Of course," Goombella answered. "But I can't shake the feeling that in one form or another, Bowser is part of Sephiroth's overarching plan." Had she been telepathic, she would have known that both Mario and Luigi shared that very same concern and had even discussed the issue amongst themselves outside and with the others flanking the cab.
Back inside the cab, Spitz could not help but overhear the conversation. "You know, we do have sensors that can detect airships and potentially submarines," he offered. "While they're not precise enough to pinpoint who's on them, if any airships or subs are hanging around some strange areas, we might want to go and investigate."
"Thanks," Goombella answered. "Can you do that?"
"Sure," Spitz answered and was about to activate the sensors to scan for submarines and airships when Dribble cut him off, blurted, "Wait, there's somethin' on the news. Let's listen."
He then turned up the volume and allowed the news report to blare throughout the cab. "Reports are sketchy so far, but indications are that the Mako reactor in the undersea base in Junon was active for a period of time earlier this day and possibly some time last night," the party members heard the reporter say. "It has since deactivated but there are still remains of Mako in the pipes, indicating that it had not deactivated all that long ago. In addition, there are reports that an old diesel submarine that had been stationed at the base for centuries has gone missing and that there was damage to the bay doors in the undersea base in Junon."
"Are there any indications of who would activate the reactor, why it would be activated, and who might have stolen the submarine," they heard another reporter ask.
"So far, no," the first reporter answered. "However, some people in Junon reported seeing some strange people walking in the streets together as if they were a part of a military force or gang not long before reports indicated the reactivation of the Mako reactor."
"Is there any indication of measurable harm being inflicted to the Lifestream from the reactivation of this reactor?"
"So far, no. But scans and reports are still ongoing. In addition, there have been strange sightings reported in both Kalm as well as near the Mythril Mines with some people reporting strange occurrences happening in the ruins of Midgar, with confirmation that parts of the Midgar ruins have been completely leveled almost as if it had been hit by a blast from a Mako cannon or bombed from the air. The WRO has already stated that they have made no runs on the ruins of Midgar and are sending their best scientists to try to ascertain what has happened."
The reporters continued to discuss the various topics but the party had heard enough. Goombario immediately got out her phone and called Mario to report the situation to him. Meanwhile, Goombella looked over at Spitz and asked, "Can this cab's sensors pick up a submarine if it's submerged?"
"Possibly," the bipedal cat answered. "But if want to actually find it, we'll have to be right on top of it."
"Then it's a good thing we probably know where they started and where they're going," Nanaki answered.
"Where would that be?" Kooper asked.
"There are only two real possibilities," the leonine creature stated. "This Bowser is either headed towards Rocket Town or to North Crater. If he wants to leave the planet, Rocket Town would be his best bet since he would need a rocket to reach outer space. However, if he wants to support Sephiroth, he'll go to North Crater since that's where Sephiroth joined with the Lifestream and where we're likely to go to try to enter it to fight him."
"Then we have to get going since Bowser already has a head start on us," Koops blurted.
The others nodded. After making the initial report, Goombella spoke into her phone again, saying, "Oh, and Mario, you might want to come in or find some way to gun it since we're about to go to full speed in order to chase Bowser."
Outside the cab, Mario nodded and let the power of the Power Stars flow through him so he could fly faster. Looking over at Luigi, he saw his brother do the same. Once they had fully powered up, they rocketed ahead with the cab with the other flying party members doing their best to keep up.
Meanwhile, not too far away, Kadaj had teleported to a spot of land in the flight path of the Dribble Taxi. Figuring where the shortest route between Wutai and either Cosmo Canyon or North Crater would be, he positioned himself perfectly and then held up the ball of red Materia in his hand. Waves of energy erupted from the ball and soon, a golden bipedal dragon with what looked like mechanical wings with six spikes on them appeared before him. Bahamut Fury, the strongest of the Bahamut dragons had appeared.
"There is a flying car that will be approaching soon," Kadaj told the Summon. "Find it and disable it at the very least. Destroy it if you can. Also, there will be others flying next to it. Destroy them, too. Mario, a human dressed in red, and Luigi, a man dressed in green, will be the greatest threats and should be your primary targets after the cab. If you see a woman emerge from the cab or anything, you are to do everything you can to kill her, even if you have to let the cab or any of the others go. Regardless of anything else, Aerith Gainsborough must die."
The massive and majestic dragon nodded and rocketed into the air, using its incredible senses to try to find the cab. As it went to work, Kadaj remained on the off chance that Bahamut Fury would need help destroying the cab. After all, he knew that both he and the Bahamut were expendable. All that mattered was Sephiroth accomplishing his objectives. And for that, no price was too high.
Back at the cab, the cab rocketed across the ocean towards the Western Continent so as to hopefully reach Bowser and his submarine before he could reach his destination. As they continued to travel, though, Mario and Luigi caught the glint of something in the distance. They noticed that as they continued on their way, that the glint did not vanish and seemed to be flying along their path. As Mario went to try to identify what it was that caught their eye, Luigi got out his phone and dialed Spitz to alert him to the new contact.
"Hey Spitz, check your sensors. We spotted something in the distance to your port side that's flying alongside us."
Back in the cab, Spitz received Luigi's call and immediately went to activate the cab's sensors. While they were not nearly as precise as a starship's sensors, they could still spot a bird off in the distance. What came up on the sensors, though, was no bird. Spitz's eyes went wide at the sight while Dribble, who had casually looked over at the sensor console, also noticed that the contact in the distance seemed large.
"What is that?" Dribble asked.
"I don't know?" Spitz answered.
The others overheard the conversation, as well as Luigi's warning, and they looked out the windows to see what it was that had the Marios so concerned. Aerith, on the other hand, immediately slammed her Great Gospel tome shut and frantically cried, "Dribble, go evasive now and tell Mario to prepare for a battle!"
"Huh?" Dribble answered, not knowing why Aerith, who was normally so calm, had lost her cool. His question was soon answered, though, as a blast of energy rocketed towards them from the distance and scored a hit on the rear portion of the cab. The entirety of the cab shook from the impact but it seemed as if the cab was still able to fly.
"Dang it, we're hit!" Spitz cried.
"What was that?" Kooper blurted as he and the others were rattled by the hit, thankful that they had their seatbelts on, figuring that it would have been worse had they been unrestrained. A number of them were pleasantly surprised that no sparks or explosions had erupted in the cab, yet.
"Bahamut Fury," Aerith answered.
"What's Bahamut Fury?" Ms. Mowz asked.
"Bahamut Fury is the strongest known member of the so-called Bahamut Strain. Bahamuts are dragons that were revered by the Cetra back when the Cetra roamed the Planet. As of right now, they are merely viewed as myths and legends however, there are Materia pieces that can be used to summon them to aid in battles. Back at Cosmo Canyon, we have Materia pieces that can be used to summon all known Bahamut Strains save for Bahamut Sin, which was destroyed during the Geostigma Crisis."
"Can we beat it?" Goombella asked.
"Beating it should not be too difficult for Mario, Luigi, and the party members outside," Aerith answered. "The issue is going to be whether or not we wish to destroy it, or recruit it to our side."
"Can we do that?" Koops asked.
"Possibly, if we manage to defeat his summoner and/or take control of the Materia piece used to summon him," Aerith answered.
"So what do we do for now?" Goombario asked.
"Stay inside and hopefully not take another hit," Nanaki answered for Aerith.
"That's not gonna happen," Spitz seethed, almost steaming with rage as he checked the damage readouts and saw that the cab had taken some significant cosmetic damage."
"Hey Spitz, keep cool," Dribble warned, remembering the time they had faced off against numerous space gangs after having taken a laser blast to the cab's hull and the ensuing battle.
"Not this time, Dribble," Spitz answered. "That thing won't stop until we're dead. Deploy the Octoblazooka Dribble! We're goin' in!"
"Okay Spitz," Dribble answered hesitantly as he pushed a single button to deploy the Octoblazooka. Immediately, a red robotic octopus with a hat rose from the rear of the cab, pointing forward. Spitz then grinned.
"Ready sensors and have them lock in on that thing and get ready for battle," Spitz said. "You do the flying while I'll do the shooting."
"Okay," Dribble answered as he activated the sensors.
"Hang on back there," both Dribble and Spitz then told the passengers. "The ride's gonna get bumpy."
The others nodded and made certain their safety belts were fastened. The group only hoped that Mario and the others would be able to defeat this Bahamut Fury without taking too much damage or worse, seeing the cab suffer irreparable damage or being outright destroyed.
Back outside the cab, Bahamut Fury came into view and Mario and Luigi could only grimace. It was huge, far larger than they had expected. They could also tell that it was powerful. This was not a fight they could afford to take lightly. Not wanting to take any chances, they allowed the power of the stars to flow through them and they turned to face the majestic golden dragon.
Bahamut Fury's wings began to glow as it opened its mouth and plasma seemed to well up in its throat and mouth. The plumbers immediately went evasive as the dragon unleashed its Exaflare attack on them. A golden stream of energy was unleashed from the dragon's mouth and lashed out towards the heroes. The heroes were able to evade the attack but they did not want to know what would happen if it hit either the cab or the ground so they ascended so the dragon would sweep its attack upwards, which it did.
Mario and Luigi retaliated by firing off a barrage of fireballs and lightning bolts on the dragon, inflicting minor to moderate damage on it. Electricity arced across its body as it withstood Luigi's Thunderhand lightning bolt. It quickly countered by launching the six spikes on its wings at the heroes. The heroes dodged and weaved around the spikes before launching another barrage of attacks on Bahamut Fury. The dragon went evasive and managed to evade most of the fireballs in the first barrage but Mario continued to pressure the dragon as he continued to fire more and more fireballs. Luigi's attacks, since he let the gold on the dragon conduct the lightning from his hand, managed to score direct hits on Bahamut Fury. Still, the dragon did not look to be anywhere close to beaten and readied another attack.
The Marios grimaced at the scene and Mario was prepared to start drawing upon more star power when something caught his eye on the ground. Looking down, he a silver-haired man he did not recognize as Kadaj looking up at the battle in the sky as he noticed the Dribble Taxi deploy its Octoblazooka and begin to join the fight, along with the other flying allies forming up around them to engage Bahamut Fury. He noticed a red ball of Materia in his hand that he recognized as a Summon Materia piece. He looked over at Luigi and went to inform him of what he had found.
"Luigi, there's a guy down on the ground that has a red Summon Materia piece," he informed his brother. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one that summoned that monster. Can you handle the dragon?"
"With the help of the others, yes."
"Good," Mario answered. "I'll go down and try to take down the summoner and maybe even get that Materia piece. If we can use this dragon against Sephiroth, so much the better."
Luigi nodded as he went to fire off another Thunderhand lightning bolt on Bahamut Fury to keep it from going after Mario as the older Mario brother descended to face Bahamut Fury's summoner. Bahamut Fury, for its part, focused its attention on Luigi and the others, unleashing another Hexafang barrage of spikes at the heroes and cab. Luigi managed to avoid taking the hit while Bow and Vivian both went intangible to avoid taking damage. The Dribble Taxi was able to avoid one of the spikes but another was able to strike the cab in the left rear panel of the car. The spike did not penetrate the hull but it managed to dent the car, though. However, the Octoblazooka was undamaged and it fired a turquoise laser blast at Bahamut Fury, scoring a direct hit on the dragon. The force of the blast forced the dragon back several meters but it was still able to continue the fight.
Back on the ground, Mario descended to the grassy plain below towards a man who was standing in the middle of the plain. Kadaj saw Mario approach and could only grin. While he did know of the danger Mario posed since the plumber had beaten Sephiroth before, right now, Mario was alone and had already exhausted energy in fighting Bahamut Fury. He felt as if he had the chance to beat Mario, or at least greatly weaken him and if he died in the process, it was of no concern for him since it would be in the service of his master. And besides, he could summon reinforcements to aid in the fight if needed.
Mario touched down on the ground twenty yards away from Kadaj. Kadaj turned to face the plumber and grinned, drawing a strange katana with two parallel blades. "So, you're Mario," he said as he began to walk towards the plumber.
Now that Mario had a good look at him, he could not help but see the similarity between Kadaj and Sephiroth, both in physical appearance and clothing. "And you are?" the plumber asked in reply.
"I am Kadaj," the remnant of Sephiroth answered. "I was once a remnant of Sephiroth. Now, I am a physical extension of his will, acting in the outside world while he takes over the Lifestream."
"Did you summon that dragon to fight us?" was Mario's next question. While he was certain Kadaj was the one who had summoned Bahamut Fury, he hoped that Kadaj would let slip something of his power and potential plans Sephiroth may have had.
"Of course," the remnant answered. "Did you expect Sephiroth to simply stand by and do nothing while you went for the Great Gospel tome and prepared for the upcoming fight? Did you not think he would be preparing himself to face you as well?"
Mario grimaced as Kadaj merely told him things he already suspected. Either way, he knew that he did not necessarily have to beat Kadaj at this point in time, merely take hold of the Bahamu Fury Materia. Kadaj intended to make that as difficult as possible as he charged towards the plumber, his sword at the ready. Mario readied his hammer as he quickly considered his options. A part of him wanted to use his star power to hopefully defeat Kadaj quickly, or at least not risk being caught off guard by a potentially stronger opponent than he initially believed, but another part of him wanted to power down fully so Sephiroth would not know that he had an additional source of power to draw for their upcoming battle. Still, he suspected that Kadaj, while stronger than most of the other enemies he had faced, was no Sephiroth and if he had a lot of trouble against him, Sephiroth may have suspected that he had other sources of power to draw upon as well.
The plumber managed to avoid the initial charge and proceeded to draw out his Hammer Suit and, gripping it tightly, become Hammer Mario to face down the remnant of Sephiroth. Kadaj went to attack again only for Mario to toss a barrage of hammers at the silver-haired fighter. Kadaj swung his sword to deflect the hammers but they were heavier than expected and while he deflected a couple of the hammers but the sword was knocked out of position and the remaining hammers managed to strike the Remnant. Each hammer forced Kadaj several steps backwards and dazed the fighter. This gave Mario a chance to charge the Remnant and smash him with his Ultra Hammer. The plumber scored a direct hit on Kadaj's head, causing him to lurch forward while a follow up swing connected with the Remnant's chin and sent him flying through the air. He landed on his back but was still able to stand back up and face down the plumber, who tossed more hammers at him.
Kadaj seethed as he realized that Mario was far stronger in this form than he had expected…too strong. From the memories Sephiroth had of fighting Mario twice, the plumber was demonstrating far more power than he had in either previous fight against the former SOLDIER. He must have been using some power that he had not used during the previous fights against Sephiroth. Still, it did not concern him at the moment since this fight was far from over. However, it would be a concern for any future engagement against Mario, especially if Mario was actually holding back in the amount of power he was using. And from what the Remnant could tell, Mario did not seem to be going all out here. Still, the Remnant had other attacks and options that could potentially draw out Mario's full power or at least give him, and Sephiroth, an idea of what the former SOLDIER could face when they faced off again.
The first thing he did was to give his sword an electric charge. While this was a power that was usually associated with Loz through his Dual Hound gauntlet, Sephiroth made certain that all Remnants had access to both melee and ranged attacks as well as electric attacks since he saw firsthand how ineffective fire attacks were against Mario, especially when using his Hammer Suit. The Remnant then charged Mario once more, moving in a serpentine pattern in order to evade Mario's hammer barrage counterattack. He moved far faster than before and, arrived within melee range of Mario in almost an instant. Mario, however, being enhanced by the star power, managed to perceive his movements and was able to duck into his shell as Kadaj swung his sword, attempting to slash Mario across his chest. The sword stopped immediately upon making contact with the Hammer Suit's shell and did not budge. In addition, the sword left no mark on the shell, itself, indicating that it was not powerful enough to pierce the shell. Even the electrical charge that arced across the blade, and now across the shell, did nothing to either the suit or the plumber. He continued to slash and stab at the shell but did not manage to inflict any damage to the plumber.
Eventually, Mario emerged from the shell and when he did, Kadaj was waiting. He went to thrust his blade towards Mario's chest, hoping that the "underbelly" of the Hammer Suit's shell was more vulnerable than the top part. Mario saw the attack coming and was able to evade it. In one fluid move, he gripped his hammer and performed a single swing as Kadaj was about to perform another thrust. His hammer connected with Kadaj's sword and a loud clang rang out over the landscape. The force of the impact knocked his sword out of position and Mario was quick to take advantage by performing another swing. This swing caught Kadaj in the ribcage, the impact forcing him to exhale the air from his lungs and perform an involuntary grunt. A third swing sent him flying once more, only this time, he dropped the red Materia piece he had used to summon Bahamut Fury in the process.
He landed several yards away and hit the ground with a thud, skidding a few feet more before coming to a stop. This attack dazed the Remnant but when the cobwebs had cleared enough for him to become lucid, he was quick to notice that the Bahamut Fury Materia was no longer in his hands. Looking ahead, he saw the Materia piece a few yards to his left. His face went aghast as he realized that it was close enough for Mario to reach it and claim it. Mario also noticed the loose Materia piece and knew that he had an opportunity to not only potentially stop Bahamut Fury mid-battle and deny it to Sephiroth, but he could potentially allow Aerith to turn Bahamut Fury against Sephiroth and have it join their side. Wasting no time, he charged towards the Materia piece, easily reaching it before Kadaj, who struggled to even rise to try to claim it. The plumber reached the Materia piece first and picked it up, placing it on his Ultra Hammer, hoping against hope that by doing so he would at least be claiming the Materia piece so that Bahamut Fury would cease fighting his friends. Looking up, though, it seemed as if his hopes were not coming to fruition since the dragon was still engaged against Luigi, the party members, and the cab. Kadaj eventually rose and grinned as he saw Bahamut Fury still fighting Mario's allies.
"Did you really think that someone not connected to the Planet and, thus, able to use Materia would be able to call off Bahamut Fury?" Kadaj asked mockingly. "Despite having a Cetra in your party, you know so little about the Planet and its nature. Soon, though, it won't matter since Sephiroth will be the Planet and his will will permeate throughout all of the Lifestream and, eventually, this entire world."
"And what about Bowser?" Mario asked in retort, catching Kadaj off guard as a look of shock crossed the Remnant's face and he backed away a few steps.
"Bowser?" the Remnant queried distantly. Mario could tell that he had pushed a button and went to goad further.
"What does Bowser have to do with all of this? He's more than you are, isn't he? He's more than a puppet," the plumber declared forcefully as he narrowed his gaze on Kadaj, which merely caused the Remnant to seethe.
"So what if I'm a puppet?" the Remnant retorted. "At least I am a knowing extension of Sephiroth's will! That turtle is nothing more than an oversized pawn!"
Mario could tell that while he had struck a nerve with Kadaj, the Remnant was doing a good job of not loosening his lips enough to tell Mario Sephiroth's entire plan. However, he could read between the lines. He knew that Bowser was being used to spread Jenova, or Sephiroth, to other worlds, likely starting with Hylia. The only question was how he would spread Sephiroth's influence in a timely fashion, assuming time was an issue with the former SOLDIER.
Looking across at Kadaj, he saw the Remnant back away a few more steps. "I must say, I was surprised at your strength, but don't think it ends here. Even if you do defeat Bahamut Fury or even turn it to your side, you still have us to contend with even before you face down Sephiroth." He then grinned before adding, "Oh, and by the way, I'm certain we'll enjoy making an example of Cosmo Canyon and showing the world the fate that awaits it."
With that, the Remnant vanished from the scene. Mario's eyes flashed in horror at Kadaj's last statement. He knew that the heroes had a makeshift base or at least some form of shelter in Cosmo Canyon. More importantly, it was where they were storing all of their supplies since the downing of the Starship Mario and also where Nanaki had all of the Materia from Meteorfall. Knowing that he had no time to lose, he grabbed the Red Materia piece from his hammer, slung the hammer over his shoulder, and rocketed into the air so he could get onboard the Dribble Taxi and give them the Bahamut Fury Materia so they could call off the dragon.
Meanwhile, in the sky, Luigi and the other aerial allies were doing their best to hold off the dragon without getting skewered by a Hexafang attack or outright vaporized by an Exaflare blast. The Dribble Taxi launched another Octoblazooka laser at Bahamut Fury, scoring a direct hit. The golden sheen of the dragon's scales and armor was beginning to look a little blackened from the assaults it had endured, but the dragon was not close to being finished.
The dragon retaliated by unleashing another Hexafang barrage on the aerial allies as well as the Dribble Taxi. Luigi managed to intercept his spike and shoot it down while Vivian and Bow both went intangible, allowing their spikes to phase through them. Parakarry, however, had to duck into his shell to avoid taking noticeable damage from the attack. His spike scored a direct hit on the shell but bounced off of it, leaving little more than a scratch. The cab also took a hit, the spike denting the right rear passenger door.
While the dragon was waiting for the spikes to regenerate so it could launch another Hexafang attack, it went about powering up another Exaflare attack. Its wings glowed once more and energy welled up in its mouth. Once the Exaflare was fully powered, it unleashed it towards the cab and allies at full power. Luigi grabbed a Super Star and became invincible an instant before taking the hit while the spirits immediately went intangible to avoid taking damage. The Dribble Taxi immediately went evasive and managed to avoid taking a direct hit but still suffered a glancing blow as the beam struck the front right quarter panel.
The interior of the cab lurched from the impact as sparks erupted from a console next to the steering wheel. Luckily, neither Dribble nor Spitz were interacting with it so neither of them were injured. Still, the impact caused them to do a quick diagnostic to see how much damage the cab had sustained. After pushing a few buttons, a preliminary readout came up and indicated that the right front part of the cab had suffered severe damage from the beam and that the cab's sensors were offline. Spitz grimaced, though it would be Mario and Luigi who would be more concerned by it since without the sensors, they could no longer track down Bowser. Still, all things considered, they had gotten out of it without taking too much damage, as of yet.
Outside, Mario rocketed up to the cab as Bahamut Fury was still engaged against the allies and appeared on the scene. Luigi saw his brother approach and saw that he had a ball of Red Materia in his hand, likely the Summoning Materia for Bahamut Fury.
"Keep that thing off the cab," Mario directed. "I need to give this Materia piece to either Aerith or Nanaki so they can de-summon Bahamut Fury."
"I'll try," Luigi answered with trepidation. While he knew that he could defeat the dragon with the help of the others, he also knew that if they could turn it to their side, it could help them immensely against Sephiroth. As such, Luigi proceeded to charge Bahamut Fury, charging his Thunderhand so he could unleash a lightning bolt on the dragon while Mario went towards the cab.
When Mario arrived at the cab, he quickly examined it to make sure that the doors were not too heavily damaged, as well as the fact that the passengers were buckled in so none of them would fall out. Seeing that it would be safe for the door to open, he opened it and quickly boarded the cab. Once inside, he took his seat next to Aerith and quickly shut the door. He then took out the Materia piece and handed it to Aerith.
"This is the Bahamut Fury Materia," he told her, though he suspected that she already knew that. "Can you use it de-summon the dragon?"
"Of course," Aerith answered. "Bahamut Fury only answers to Sephiroth's remnants because they summoned him with the Materia piece. With it in our possession, I can easily de-summon it now, and then re-summon it when we need its help in the future."
"Then do it!" the other passengers blurted in unison.
Gripping the Red Materia piece and closing her hands around it, she closed her eyes and focused on the dragon outside, who was still engaging Luigi and the others in battle. Willing for Bahamut Fury to be freed from the control of Sephiroth and his Remnants and to be sent back to where it had come from, the dragon instantly vanished from the scene with a clap of air filling the space that it had occupied an instant earlier.
Outside the cab, the vanishing of Bahamut Fury caused no small shock to Luigi and the others. For a second, the group looked around and remained on guard, waiting for the other shoe to drop and either another Summon to appear or for another enemy to come at them. When no enemies appeared, they began to relax and take stock of themselves.
"Everyone okay?" Luigi called out to the rest of the fliers.
One by one, the aerial allies all answered, "I'm okay." Luigi took a look at Parakarry, who had taken a hit from Fury's Hexafang attack. The front of Parakarry's shell looked to have been scratched but other than that, he seemed to be fine, which the Koopa Paratroopa soon confirmed.
"Don't worry Luigi, it's just a cosmetic scratch," Parakarry assured him. "I've go no internal injuries."
"All the same, though, take it easy until we're ready to go face Sephiroth."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Parakarry said with a chuckle, trying to bring a lighter tone to the situation. The group then looked over at the cab and could see that it had emerged from the battle having seen far better days. There were numerous dents and scratches to the cab's body and some of the side windows looked to have numerous cracks. They doubted that the cab would be spaceworthy without significant repairs, repairs that they were not certain they could accomplish on Gaia.
Inside the cab, Dribble and Spitz looked over a more in depth diagnostic report. Things were worse than the initial diagnostic had indicated, but about what they had expected considering the hits they had taken. They hyperdrive was non-functional, the sensors were destroyed, and the engine block looked to have suffered some minor damage. Worse, though, was the fact that the fusion battery used to power space flight had suffered significant damage and was no longer usable. In addition, the fuel line had a hole in it and they were leaking fuel. According to computer estimates, they would have enough fuel to reach Cosmo Canyon, but not enough to reach either Midgar or Northern Continent. Overall, things did not look good.
Aerith noticed that the duo in front was not talking and asked, "Hey, is everything alright up there?"
"No," Spitz answered succinctly.
"What's wrong?" Nanaki asked.
"For starters, our long-range sensors were destroyed in the fight and we've got numerous cracked windows so we won't be spaceworthy until those get fixed at the very least. In addition, our fusion battery was damaged and is unusable at the moment. Not only that, but we're leaking liquid fuel as well and don't have enough to reach either Midgar or the Northern Continent. We can reach Cosmo Canyon, though. You don't have any gas stations there, do you?"
"We have one," Nanaki answered. "It doesn't get much usage since most of the denizens in Cosmo Canyon don't use cars, but it should still have fuel for the trip."
"Good. At least there's that. We'll have to tell Luigi and the others we're heading to Cosmo Canyon."
"About that," Mario interjected. "When I fought Kadaj on the ground, he threatened to attack Cosmo Canyon. I get the impression, though, that it's already under attack."
"Then we have to get back as quickly as possible!" Nanaki declared.
"We'll try but don't expect us to be able to get there in a hurry," Dribble cautioned. "We're barely holding together as is."
Mario then took out his phone to alert Luigi and the other airborne partners of the situation and their next course of action. As he did so, the cab banked a bit to its left and headed towards Cosmo Canyon as quickly as was safe.
Meanwhile, in the Western Ocean, Bowser's submarine headed towards the Northern Continent. Bowser looked out the forward viewport as his children guided the submarine to its desired destination. So far, everything had gone better than he had expected. Despite blasting his way out of the Junon Undersea Reactor, no one had attempted to pursue them. Even with them checking the news repeatedly, there were few reports regarding them save for the news talking about some strange occurrences at the Junon reactor and the disappearance of the submarine.
Checking the map and the sensors, Bowser could tell that they were approaching Northern Continent and it would not be long before they reached it. Checking the map, he saw a small channel that, if they could pass through it, would allow them to reach North Crater relatively quickly. However, if not, they would have to take the long way around, especially since Kamek was still asleep.
After a half hour, they managed to reach the channel and Bowser looked over to Lemmy and asked, "So, you think the sub can make it through the channel?"
Larry checked the sensors and answered, "It doesn't look like it at the moment."
"What do you mean, 'at the moment'?" the Koopa King inquired.
"It's low tide," Larry answered. "We could wait a few more hours for the tide to rise enough for us to pass, but even then it'll be touch and go and there's no guarantee that we'll make it through."
"What are our other options?"
"We could take the long way around," Lemmy answered. "But it will be long, probably longer than if we just waited out the tide," he cautioned. "We can make landfall not too far to the north and then go to Bone Village. There, we can get the Lunar Harp so we'll reliably be able to go through the Sleeping Forest. From there, we just follow the path north all the way to North Crater, and the resting place of the Starship Mario."
That would be a long trip where they would have to carry a huge ball of Mako, as well as a sleeping Kamek. Deciding to take a chance, Bowser decided that it was best to wait out the tide and hope to cross the channel. "Okay, we're gonna wait here for the tide to rise and then cross that channel."
"Yes, King Dad," the other Koopalings answered as they guided the submarine to the channel and parked it, waiting for the tide to rise enough that they could cross and take a more direct route to North Crater.
Meanwhile, over at Cosmo Canyon, Kadaj stood on a hill overlooking the canyon along with Yazoo and Loz. The Remnants of Sephiroth grinned as they looked out over the canyon. Win or lose, they knew that the attack would at least delay Mario and Luigi from being able to reach Sephiroth quickly and would hopefully give Bowser enough time to reach North Crater, repair the Starship Mario, and return to Hylia to spread Sephiroth to another world.
With a single wave of his hand, the Remnants of Sephiroth summoned a legion of black quadruped creatures with rodent-like skulls called Shadow Creepers and numerous Clones of Sephiroth. Some of the Clones of Sephiroth mounted some of the Shadow Creepers, using them as steeds. Once the creatures had been summoned, the Remnants commanded in a calm tone, "Attack."
With that, the Shadow Creepers and Clones of Sephiroth charged towards the quiet town, eager to inflict as much damage and destruction as possible. The Remnants then grinned. If this did not bring Mario and his allies to Cosmo Canyon, nothing would. They then ran after the assault force, eager to join in the attack, and hoping to face down Mario and Luigi using their full power and ability.