Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own it.

A/N: As a fun bit in one of the epilogues I may throw in my special friends from Spore: The Cult of Chaos. giggles I think that game has eaten my brain. But the story is starting to reach it's dramatic climax here soon!

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"So then Seph how do you propose we deal with these things?" I asked curiously.

"Don't order me around," he muttered. "As far as I know, they seem to be emerging from the tower over there." He pointed to a massive tower with the beasts mulled around the foot.

"When the hell did that get there?" Kamui pointed out.

"Dunno, but I must say it gives the whole place a very Hollow Bastion feel to it." I laughed.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Zack, Bjanik, you're with Ariella and I. We're going to search for survivors on the south side of town." Angeal declared over my laughter.

"Melinda, Wallace, head for the tower, I'll take the other two and give you some time." Sephiroth nodded.

"How much can you give me?" I asked as my eyes checked the distance between our group and the tower.

"As long as we can, there are a lot of them. Your mission is to shut down whatever's creating these things." He ordered as he summoned the Masamune to his hand.

"Alright then, Melinda, when we get in the tower find the power source. I'll find Hojo." I grinned at her.

"But this is my fight not yours!" She protested.

"Fine. I'll shut the thing down, you kill Hojo." I groaned at how difficult she was being.

"Is everyone ready?" Sephiroth asked. "Go!" He leaped into the middle of the Hojo Spore army and started showing off why he was the SOLDIER General.

I picked up Melinda, "hang on tight!" I ran forward and leaped into the air. When I landed I discovered I'd reached the front gate. "Wow, I should go for a World Record when we get home."

A playful cuff in the head from Melinda ended that idea. "What about, 'with great power comes great responsibility'?"

"Aww, where's the fun in having power if you can't abuse it a little?" My face resembled a kicked puppy.

She sighed. "Oh stop it you." She climbed off my back and we entered into the tower.

I opened the door to what was once Shin-Ra Manor, only to be greeted by a host of scythe wielding Hojo Spores, "well looks like we got here just in time for the party." I pointed over the head of the crowd to a large, winding staircase through the roof to the second floor. "Too bad Mindy has to leave early," I grinned as I threw her with one hand over the heads of the crowd to the stairs. "Get going!"

"What about you?" She called after recovering from her wild ride.

"I'll be fine! I believe you have some business with the owner of these things!" I gave her one of my classic two fingered salutes.

She nodded and started up the stairs. I smirked, "well tell your boss he sure knows how to throw a party. No food, no drinks, and the only babe just left." One of the monsters charged me. I leaped up in an arc over it. However unlike the Materia Keeper, my claws didn't even scratch the surface. I landed on the wall, "well I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." My eyes swept the room from my place on the wall, they widened as they examined the far corner. A perfectly decent jukebox, just begging to be used. A host of the monsters charged, until I held up my hand, "wait a moment."

To my utter shock, they stopped? I blinked slowly, eyeing them wearily, then I crossed the room lazily. "Leave it to Lance to put a jukebox in the middle of a fight." I checked through the selections after I reached the device. I found the perfect song on the set list. But when I pressed the button, nothing happened. I pressed it several more times. Still nothing. "Leave it to Lance to put in a jukebox that doesn't work in the middle of a fight." I picked up my left leg into the air then slammed it down right on top of the machine in an axe kick. The metal crunched in a little but the music started playing!

"Memory all alone in the moonlight…"

I twitched before I brought my leg up and kicked it again. The metal crunched further in. Finally a decent song came on! Admittedly there were better things to fight to than "Eye of the Tiger". But this was better than nothing. However as I kicked it I had a scythe driven into my leg, so rather than setting my kicking leg down I swept it behind me flinging the Hojo Spore who attacked me into the wall. I ripped out the scythe dropping it while ducking another attack, I swung my leg out flipping the scythe around it in an arc cutting two Hojo Spore monsters in half as the scythe spiraled away from me slashing into several more before landing in the wall with a dull thud.

Two more Spores charged me, their blades crossed to try and scissor my head off, I leaned back as they tried to cut into me. I grabbed the weapons and back flipped while I kicked them both in the face. I rapidly spun the weapons around and decapitated both of them. A third one slashed at me overhead, I blocked with both scythes before bringing up my right leg and kicked him away. I rotated one blade over and spun the third scythe around like my Diablo yo-yo back home. The spinning blade swung around finally it landed in the wall impaling a fourth. I spun around blocking and slashing for a moment to take out the last of the beasts. I stood there for a moment before I smelled one come up behind me. I tossed one of the two remaining scythes behind me, impaling the Hojo Spore over the door. I spun the other one around it flung out of my hand cutting off the head.

"Well that was a poor warm up, I didn't even break a sweat," I shrugged as I walked up the stairs. Did vampires even sweat? Could they sweat? I had never heard tell of a vampire sweating. This was very confusing, but then a faint whiff of blood entered my nostrils, "Melinda!" I shouted running up the stairs, "I'm going too slow…" I growled as I entered another floor sprinting across the room. I need to go faster, she was in trouble and needed my help, I picked up speed but it wasn't enough. I needed to go even faster. I leaped towards the next set to climb up when my hands hit first, only rather than my hands I saw two sets of elongated black claws with red eyes on the top of each palm. My Titan Bracer, Fenrir Bangle and Ribbon still clung around my forearms. My Cerberus Relief still encircled my neck, and my Dragon Earring still held onto my ear, only I felt a little bit lighter as I ran. My body contracted and extended as I sprinted up staircase after staircase. The scent of blood became much easier to follow. I lifted my head and let out a howl. I continued to lope up the stairs and levels of the castle, my claws and fangs taking out any enemies. My third eye could see all of the enemies flashing past me as I ran at full speed. I thought for a moment, three eyes and black fur. I must be a Hell Hound or have turned myself into the form. Sweet!

I could smell the blood quite clearly now, I must be getting close, right? I saw another set of stairs, along with a couple of Hojo Spores, I leaped over onto one clamping onto its throat. When it feel over I leaped onto the other one repeating the process, I landed yarping out the blood. I was concerned about the acid level but I could worry about that later. Sprinting up the stairs, I returned to human form as I encountered a large door. Pushing it open, I saw the last thing I wanted to.

"MELINDA!!"