Chapter Twentyone
The Second Cetra War
Lucifer woke up at last on the Goblin Island. He yawned, stretched, and sat up. His voice had been restored to its usual coldness. "Now I'll tell you when and when we'll attack the Cet –"He stopped speaking when he realized his little "Shimobe" wasn't anywhere on the island. She had escaped.
"That….That….MONKEY!" Lucifer roared, jumping around and screaming and howling. The puppets all around him continued to walk around purposelessly.
After about 30 minutes with jumping, screaming and howling, Lucifer calmed down a little bit. "So. You dare betray me, eh?"
"You dirty old hag!" Lucifer howled again, streams of spit shooting in all directions. "How dare you betray The Lord of Darkness! He is very angry right now!" The Lord of Darkness breathed through his nostrils like a bull, and scraped on the ground with his feet like a bull. For some reason, he had never shown those bull-like sides of himself to anyone. "Well. Even though I am alone, I'll crush the Cetra! MWAHAAHAAAAHAAAHAAA "The Lord of Darkness laughed over his EVIL plan. He took out the Materia to summon Bahamut. "Come, Bahamut the Dragon King! Help me crush the Cetra!" Lucifer was suddenly engulfed in the same green light as Aireth had been, with the same red, yellow and white Japanese writings surrounding him. The sky opened, and Bahamut came forth. Roaring the same screechy roar like last time. He landed behind The Lord of Darkness. Lucifer laughed in his extremely EVIL way. "MWAHAAHAAAAHAAAHAAA"
Meanwhile, The Cetra were working feverishly to rebuild their village. The road of white stone, all the white houses, The Cetra Temple. Every Cetra worked all day, trying to rebuild the village back to the way it had been. Aireth and Aeris stood in the middle of the flower field together, hands raised and using their Magical Power to revive all the dead flowers. While they worked, flashback after flashback of their duel at the flower field appeared before her eyes. She remembered how she'd destroyed all the flowers. "Time for me to pay you back, Aeris." Aireth said. She raised her hand to the sky, and pushed her Magical Power to its limit. The light that had always shone on the flower field returned. Aireth saw how all the flowers seemed to appreciate the light. She felt more of the intense, indescribable happiness inside her. She smiled at Aeris, who smiled back. The flower field was restored. They threw themselves into each others arms and fell on all the flowers. They rolled around on the flower field, screaming and howling with happiness, like before. The flower girls of Himitsu Shi had finally returned. All the other Cetras could hear the familiar sound coming from the flower field. "Wow. They're back to their old selves." Masamune said, holding Hasegawa.
"Yeah." She said happily. "Our village has been revived, Masamune-kun." He smiled at her, and kissed her lips. They held the kiss. He heard moans come from her as he put his arms around her, holding her tighter, making her boobs squash against his chest. They broke the connection, looking into each others eyes. Hasegawa had never seen anyone with eyes like that for her before. "Hasegawa." Masamune mumbled, blushing harder than he'd ever blushed before. "Yes?" She asked, but she already knew what he wanted. "I was thinking. Everyone is out here…and….eh….Do you think we could….you know….." He couldn't say the words. But to Hasegawa, it wasn't necessary. She'd wanted to do it ever since their first kiss. "Follow me." She whispered. She kissed him once more. They went over to Hasegawa's house, closing the entrance door and pulling the curtains so they wouldn't be bothered. For a few hours, every Cetra of Himitsu Shi forgot about the crisis the entire Universe was up against.
About four hours later, the Cetra village of Himitsu Shi was finally restored.
Aireth was sitting in Aeris' newly rebuilt house with a glass of milkshake in her hands. Aeris was sitting beside her with an arm around her best friend, trying to soothe her still guilty conscience. They both thought it had disappeared while they restored the flower field, but when they were sitting together again, alone, Aireth felt some of the guilt returning to her.
"Aeris. Do you think we can go back to old times?" She asked.
Aeris looked at her. "Even the Cetra doesn't possess the power to change the past, Aireth. So we cannot go back to the old days, Aireth. Too much has happened." Aireth let out a deep sigh. "I know. I just want us to be happy together again. Us and the rest of Himitsu Shi." "Didn't you see Hasegawa and Masamune earlier today in the temple? Didn't you see how happy they were? Even in the darkest of times, the Cetra can feel happiness, Aireth. Because we all love this blue planet called Earth. As long as Earth exists, and as long as there is Yang in the Universe, every Cetra can still feel happiness. The Cetra of Himitsu Shi are already happy. Against the happiness we always feel as long as we are alive, even Lucifer will sooner or later have to give up. Why do you think he lost the previous Cetra war? Because the few Cetra who opposed him and his subordinates all believed that they had every living life-form in the Universe to feel overjoyed about. Against that power, Lucifer couldn't stand a chance, no matter how much Yin he possessed in his heart. The Cetra cannot be any more happy than they already are, Aireth. We don't have to go back to the old times to be happy. Because we are all here for each other. As long as the Cetra exists, no matter how few, there will always be some Cetrian happiness in the Universe. As long as we can believe in this, and feel happiness, we cannot lose against the Lord of Darkness." Aireth smiled after Aeris' speech.
A smile which proved how deeply freed she felt by those words.
"Do you have any idea how much it means to me to hear you say that?" She asked. "Of course." The two Cetras laughed at this. Their laughter could be heard throughout the entire village, and all the Cetras of Himitsu Shi felt even happier inside as they heard it. Suddenly, a deafening yawn could be heard from Toomy Hermaanius' house. The enormous figure of the present Cetra Chief appeared in the doorway, clearly oblivious to that his village had just been restored after being destroyed by Bahamut the Dragon King. "Why cannot you all be a little more quiet?" Toomy Hermaanius roared, the sound waves from his roar searing at every Cetras' ear." Aireth and Aeris' laughter stopped abruptly as they clasped their hands over their ears to block out the sound. A few minutes later, the entire island of the Northespole was shaken by Toomy Hermaanius' snores as he resumed his peaceful slumber. Aireth and Aeris had to clasp their hands over their mouth and hold their breath as hard as they could to stop bursting into laughter again.
Hours later, Aireth went over to the Cetra Temple. She looked up at the gigantic round building in white stone. She went inside.
Aireth was planning on going inside the chanber inside the Temple used for asking Holy for advise during times of hardship. "I know the Cetra has forgiven me…. But I want….You to forgive me too" She thought as she opened the room to Holy, known as the "Prayers Hall".
Aireth was standing in a gigantic circulated room. The air in there felt perfectly clean and healthy in a way you couldn't feel anywhere else inside the Temple. In front of her, she saw many poles in front of a gigantic altar. The one who wanted to reach the altar had to jump from pole to pole until the person reached the altar. The poles were standing in water which was as clear as the purest crystal, with no traces of pollution or any contamination of any kind. Aireth hated heights, so she had always tried to think of the pole-jumping as some kind of test of endurance for the one who wanted to speak to Holy.
She took a few deep breaths, and began the pole-jumping. Thrice, she was about to fall into the water down there. And every time it happened, she closed her eyes and did her best not to look down.
She let out a sigh of intense relief when she'd reached the altar. "I actually made it. Lucky me." Aireth stood there for a moment, waiting for her heart to stop pounding so fast. She knelt down in the middle of the altar and folded her hands.
"So. What did Holy tell you?" Aeris asked. It was around midnight, and Aeris and Aireth were sitting outside the Temple with their feet in the clear water. The entire village had fallen sleep except them. "The same you told me,
mostly just the same, really." "Did you expect anything else?" Aeris asked friendly. "No. I just wanted to make sure I was forgiven by everyone, including Holy." Aeris smiled at her best friend. "You're back." She said. Aireth felt the same indescribable happiness swelling up inside her as she heard this. She lied back on the white road, looking up at the starless, moonless sky. "Do you think the stars and the moon will return to us once we've taken care of that guy?" Aeris lied down beside her, looking up at the dark sky. "I'm positive. It's really evil of him to keep the stars and the moon away from us though, since it means so much to the Cetra." "Yeah. I've been thinking the same. Before I returned to you, I just couldn't understand why the sky looked so empty." "Don't think about that anymore, Aireth. There's no point in you feeling that way anymore. Let it go.
The rest of the Cetra have. We're just waiting for you to come along too."
"Yeah. You're right." Aireth truly was back. "Aeris….Arigato" She whispered, and with that, she fell asleep. Aeris looked fondly at her best friend. "You're welcome"
In the meanwhile, The Lord of Darkness was standing outside the gates of Himitsu Shi, holding a long, black Combat Staff. An EVIL smile spread across his haunted face, and he laughed hoarsely. "Finally. The time to crush the Cetra has come! The Lord of Darkness will finally get what he has wanted for so long. Right now, he is extremely happy." Lucifer declared. Behind him, his army of puppets was walking purposelessly around, and Bahamut the Dragon King flew high above them.
Suddenly, Aeris woke up by the lake in front of the temple by the feeling of that something was wrong. That something evil was extremely close by. She sat up, looking anxiously around.
"Aireth. Wake up. Something's wrong." She whispered. Aireth opened her eyes and sat up. She felt it too. The familiar aura of the Lord of Darkness. Her eyes widened in horror, feeling icy cold shivers run down her back. "He's come. It's started."
She mumbled. "Aireth, what?" Aeris asked. "Lucifer has come. With Bahamut and that army of his. He's come to kill us." Aeris closed her eyes for a moment, trying to focus more on what they should do with the situation, instead of starting to run around in a panic.
"We need to wake the others as quickly as possible and I know how. We'll run over to Toomy Hermaanius' house and wake him up. That should wake the rest of the village up as well, with those roars of his." "Good plan." "Ittekimasu" They said and flew over to their village's Chief's house.
When they reached his entrance door, they barged right in without bothering to knock on the door. When this didn't wake him, no matter how rowdy they'd been, they tried singing Japanese Christmas songs at the top of their voices. This only made his snoring louder, and he slept on. "This is mildly annoying." Aireth said. "How about this?" "Toomy! Dinner's ready! It's Kupo porridge in Mimett sauce!" Aeris howled. Aireth clasped her hands over her ears. Toomy Hermaanius opened his eyes yawning his bear-like yawns. Aeris wore a satisfied expression on her face. "Did someone just say that dinner's ready?" He asked. "Actually, that's not the case at all. The Cetra are in a bit of a dilemma because the Lord of Darkness, Lucifer is standing right outside the gates to our home with an army of dark creatures, ready to annihilate us." Aeris said in a SERIOUS manner. "YAAAAWN!" Toomy Hermaanius yawned, or rather, ROARED again. "I'm sort of tired right now, Lady Aeris. I have neither the strength, nor the will to take care of small problems like that now. I leave the responsibility of leading our armed forces to you and Lady Aireth." "What about Lady Lin?" Aeris asked, awed at these news. "She doesn't have the amount of Yang in her soul necessary to crush the Lord of Darkness, but you do. You and Lady Aireth both have what it takes to finish him off. Therefore, I'm leaving the war to both of you and the rest of our people. Now go. Call me when you've finished, and its ittadakimasu-time." He said. And with that, he fell back to sleep. The two Cetran girls looked at each other. "Did we wake the village up with that?" Aireth asked.
"Doesn't sound like it." "Now I know!" Aeris said cheerfully. "Let's start laughing again! That always brings people to their senses!"
"Good idea!" Aireth said in the same cheerful voice. And they howled with laughter. Lucifer, outside the gates, stopped laughing over his EVIL plan when he heard them. Cold shivers ran down his spine as he heard the happy, screechy laughter from the flower girls of Himitsu Shi. "I've got to put a stop to that ear-splitting laughter once and for all!" He mumbled as he clasped his hands over his ears, trying to block out the sound. Right now, Lucifer felt less like a "Lord of Darkness" than ever.
Just when Aireth and Aeris were starting to run out of breath from all the laughing, they heard the other Cetras of Himitsu Shi running towards Toomy Hermaanius' house. The entire village stormed inside his little circulated house, falling on top of each other and zooming around in the room as they all tried to push themselves through the doorway at once. When they saw this, Aireth and Aeris really started laughing. When they'd finished, Hasegawa spoke. "What's going on here, anyway?" "The Lord of Darkness is standing just outside the gates to Hiimitsu Shi with an army of puppets, ready to slaughter us." Aireth said, getting serious again. "Then why are we standing here, crammed inside Toomy's house?" Murasame asked thunderstruck. "We need to organize a little bit. Toomy Hermaanius gave me and Aeris the command of the Village, so we're supposed to lead you in this fight." "You okay with that?" Aeris asked the Cetra around her. "Sure! With you leading us, we cannot lose!" Masamune said excitedly. Hasegawa gave him a hug, happy he wasn't down anymore. "Okay! So then, how about we get our combat gear and have some darkness VS light in our Village!" Lin said high-spirited. "Okay! Move out!" Aireth said. The Cetra prepared for their hopefully final battle with the darkness.
In the meantime, Lucifer was standing outside, trying to heal his almost broken ears. "How the hell is it possible for the Cetra to laugh so goddamn loudly!" He muttered angrily in his hoarse whisper.
One of the puppets went over to him, looking at him with that empty gaze it had got when Lucifer infected him and the rest of them with the virus so many centuries ago. "What the heck are you staring at, you MONKEY!" Lucifer roared hoarsely. The monster continued to stare as though he was fascinated by Lucifer's looks, or something. "Get lost!" Lucifer said hoarsely. He grasped the monster's forehead and sent a Blizzara (Ice 2) through his skull. The monster fell to the ground, as dead as his mind. The other monsters showed no sign of shock or outrage, or any sign that they'd registered what had happened.
Lucifer let his arms fall, breathing heavily through his nose in that bull-like way. "No one messes with me." He whispered hoarsely. "Got that?" The monsters didn't reply in any way. They just stood there, their faces as expressionless as ever. Lucifer looked up at the sky. Bahamut the Dragon King looked down at him. Lucifer made the Seal of the Dragon with his hands. "Got anything you wanna say?" Bahamut shrugged. "You're pathetic." He replied. Lucifer's poisonous green eyes flared up at the dragon. "What did you say?" Bahamut didn't bother to reply. He wasn't afraid of Lucifer. He knew Lucifer wouldn't try anything on him, since he needed the dragon. Lucifer undid the Seal of the Dragon. "Time for me to end this war. Ever since that bitch had the nerve to escape, I've started to have enough of this."
In the meantime, the Cetras of Himitsu Shi had readied themselves for the final showdown with the darkness.
They were all stationed at different parts of the village, the biggest force stationed at the temple gates. Aireth was in charge for the temple squad.
"Are we ready?" She asked. "Don't worry, Lady Aireth! There's no need to be nervous. We are Cetra, so we'll come out of this alive." Masamune said encouragingly. "We don't blame you anymore for what you did, Lady Aireth. We believe in you. We always have and we always will. That will never change." Hasegawa said warmly. Aireth looked at her. "Thanks, guys. It means a lot." She said. "Let's go."
Aeris was stationed at right beside the gates of the village, ready to attack Lucifer's forces in an attack from both sides.
Half of her forces had crammed themselves together at the right side of the gate, while the other half had crammed themselves at the left. Aeris was on the right side. "Come on, folks! Let's show that freak that Cetras are not to be messed with!" Lin said. "Excuse me, Lady Lin, but I'm in charge here." Aeris said politely. "Sorry, Lady Aeris. Got a little carried away." Lin said. "It's quiet alright." Aeris replied warmly. "I really want to rid the Universe of Lucifer too." She said bitterly. The Cetra army waited for their final showdown.
Suddenly, the sky was penetrated by an ear-deafening screech. Every Cetra of Himitsu Shi clasped their hands over their ears, dropping whatever weapon they held in their hands. Aeris looked up. Bahamut the Dragon King flew high above them, shooting beams of Non-Elemental Magic down at Himitsu Shi, destroying the houses the Cetra had worked so hard to rebuild. Aeris made the Seal of the Dragon with her hands. "Bahamut, King of Dragons. Why do you serve an inhuman creature like Lucifer?" Bahamut stopped screeching and shooting. He looked down at the Cetra down there. "It's not like I am loyal to him, Cetra girl. I am just bound to do his bidding since he was the one who summoned me. If I tried to deny whatever order my Summoner gave me, I would lose myself. That's highly unbecoming of Bahamut the Dragon King. I fight for myself and only for myself. This is nothing personal. I just do as I am commanded." He resumed his Mega Flaring. "But what if I could change that?" Aeris persisted. "What if I save you from this slavery? You can be your own dragon. Would you give me a chance to save you? Would you give me a chance to free you from this life?" Bahamut stopped shooting Mega Flares everywhere. He looked down at Aeris again. He looked into her pleading eyes. The same eyes she'd had when she tried to save Aireth before she left Himitsu Shi.
"What are the odds of you speaking the truth?" He asked. "How can I trust you?" "If I cannot accomplish this task, you can do whatever you want with me, and I won't try to stop you. I'm willing to sacrifice my body for the sake of the Cetra. Wo negai! Give me this chance to save you and my people!" Aeris pleaded.
Bahamut thought for a moment. "It's a deal. I'll give you this chance to steal my Materia from the Lord of Darkness, and do what you must with it to free me. Until then, I'll have to continue to follow my Summoner's orders." Aeris nodded. "I'll do my best." She undid the seal her hands made. Bahamut resumed his Mega Flaring. "What did he say, Lady Aeris?" One of the Cetras asked anxiously. Aeris told them what they'd agreed upon.
"Are you crazy!" "You'll never make it! How do you expect to manage that task! It's not like you can just walk up to Lucifer right in the middle of all those monsters of his and pickpocket him!" All the Cetras said. "I know. But I'm willing to give everything I've got for my people. I'll sacrifice my life to protect Himitsu Shi. I don't want to see my friends get slaughtered in front of me while hearing the Lord of Darkness' laughter in my ears just before he ends my life. I'll probably die in the attempt, and if I do, but somehow manage to retrieve Bahamut's Summoner Materia, I ask you to give it to Aireth so she can finish the job. Do you get me?" Aeris looked at every Cetra in turn. They nodded. Their eyes big with sorrow and fright. Aeris threw a Wall-spell at her squad to protect them from the Dragon King. "Ittekimasu" And with that, Aeris left her squad.
"What can we do now?" Masamune asked in exasperation. "We cannot do anything to that dragon up there. And if we don't do something, he'll destroy Himitsu Shi again!" Aireth thought for a moment. "Lucifer plans to use Bahamut to weaken our stronghold and our forces before he sends in the main attack force. The rest of his army is just waiting outside of the gates waiting for the right time to charge our village." "But what can we do!" Hasegawa screamed. Aireth fell silent. Then she flew up to Bahamut with her white Combat Staff in one hand, apparently planning to fight the dragon. "AIRETH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET DOWN HERE!" All the Cetras in her squad screamed. She ignored them, shielded herself with a wall-spell as she went to confront Bahamut the Dragon King on her own, oblivious to Aeris' deal with him. "It's time for me to repay you, Aeris." She thought, knowing she could never win that fight.
Aeris was in midair, fighting Lucifer's army of puppets on her own. They were all standing there, aiming spells at her which she dodged as easily as if it was nothing. Their precision was worse than Aeris could have ever imagined. "Isn't this a little too easy?" She thought, sending an Ultima-spell straight into one of the monsters' faces. It hit the monster, and pulverized its face entirely. Blood splattered everywhere. The eyeballs flew out of the head. They fell to the ground, its empty pupils staring at Aeris. A sickening feeling filled her as she saw it. She flew away, searching for Lucifer in the endless masses of puppets.
In the meantime, Aeris' squad at the gate became aware of the small figure flying towards Bahamut. "What's that, anyway?" One of them asked. It was Murasame. Dunno. I'll check it out." Lin said. She flew closer to the dragon and the small figure. When she was about two meters away from them, she saw who the small figure was. Aireth was fighting Bahamut on her own, dodging his Mega Flares by inches. Lin looked down at her squad. They were staring up at the fight above them, apparently unable to move for some reason. She flew over to them. "What the hell are you doing!" She screamed. Hasegawa looked at her helplessly. "She just flew up there. She wouldn't listen to us at all!" "Is that really an excuse for you to just stand there doing nothing!" She asked. "Aireth flew up there on her own because she wants to make up for what she's done to the Cetra. She doesn't want any of us to help her." Masamune replied, looking as if he didn't know what to do about anything at the moment. "Then let's go over to the gate and fight the rest of his forces!" Lin said. "Aeris is fighting that entire army all by herself!" "You're kidding! All by herself! What's she thinking!" One of the Cetras replied. Lin told them about the deal Bahamut and Aeris had agreed upon. "Then what's the point in Aireth fighting him!" Hasegawa screamed. They looked up the fight above them. Aireth was suffering badly. One of Bahamut's Mega Flares had hit her in the chest. They saw massive amounts of blood oozing from her. And they heard her scream out in pain. "Aireth. She's not gonna make it! And Aeris is in need of help as well! What should we do now!"
Lin thought for a moment. "Both of them need help. The one in most of need is probably Aireth at the moment. Hasegawa. Take half of this squad and go up there. Try to make Bahamut free Aireth. None of us can win a fight against that monster. So you're going to have to talk him into stop beating her." "Do I really need all those Cetras just to go up there and talk to him?" Hasegawa asked skeptically. "Just in case something happens." Lin explained. "The other half, come with me to the gate and Aeris' squad to help Aeris. Move out!"
Lin and the rest of Aireth' squad reached the gate where the gate squad stood crammed together at either side of the gate. "What are you doing here?" "We've got to help Aeris." Lin replied. The Cetras looked at over at Aeris. She'd just dodged another one of those extremely badly aimed Firagas from one of the monster. At the same time as dodging the huge ball of fire, she threw a Kunai knife straight in the heart of the same monster who'd tried to fry her. Her speed and precision far exceeded their own. "Doesn't really look like she needs help, does it?" Murasame asked. "Doesn't matter. I cannot just sit around and watch my friends fight alone like that, no matter if they need help or not." Lin replied. "Gotcha. Let's go!" All the Cetras at the gate howled.
In the meantime, Hasegawa and the others had reached Aireth and Bahamut. The rest of the Cetra formed a circle around Aireth, protecting her from Bahamut's Mega Flares. Hasegawa faced him and made the Seal of the Dragon with her hands. "Bahamut. Wo negai! Listen to me!" She thought pleadingly. "What?" The dragon king said. "You made a deal with Lady Aeris didn't you? That if she could free you from the Materia that keeps you from being your own dragon, you would stop attacking our village?" "Yes." "In order for Lady Aeris to accomplish her task, she is dependant on the Cetra you're about to kill. I know I cannot do anything to prevent you from killing me and Aireth, but if you want to be freed from the Materia you're bound to, you mustn't kill her! I'm begging you! Spare her life!" Bahamut thought for a moment. "The dragon king doesn't tolerate anyone who attacks him to go away with it just like that." He said. "For your own sake as well as ours! Let Aireth live!" Hasegawa pleaded, tears running down her face as she was getting increasingly desperate.
Bahamut looked at the small Cetra in front of him. (At least to him she looked small) He looked at her pleading eyes. The same eyes Aeris had had when she'd begged him to give her a chance to save him and her village. He looked at the flow of tears streaming from her big eyes, which had become red and puffy from the crying. "Wo negai!" "This people," Bahamut thought as he looked down at her. "They really care about every existence on the planet. And I'm sure they care about Lucifer too, deep down inside." Suddenly, Bahamut's thoughts, which had up until now always been constantly dark, got lighter. He noticed that he wanted to spare the little Cetra's life, for her own sake, as well as his. "Cetra girl of Himitsu Shi." He said. "I'll spare her life. For her own sake as well as mine." Hasegawa gasped at this. This was beyond anything she could have ever hoped for. "The way of the Cetra is starting to affect me in a way no other ideology about life, or any philosophy about the world has ever affected me before. If Aeris accomplishes her task, I'll join you in your fight against the darkness. I see your ways far wiser than I once thought they were, when the previous Cetra Chief, Kami-Sama sealed me inside that Materia." Hasegawa noticed, during her feeling of astonishment, that Bahamut called Kami-Sama "the previous Cetra Chief", even though there had been hundreds of Chiefs since his time.
Suddenly, she felt indescribably sorry for Bahamut, for being sealed inside that red, small Materia for so many centuries simply because Kami-Sama decided he was "too dangerous" for the Cetra. "Bahamut. Gomenasai for what Kami-Sama did to you. I see now that you've really been imprisoned in that Materia all this time." She thought sadly. "I see now that the Cetra aren't as cruel as I thought they were. They really do care about everything, although Kami-Sama didn't. I wish Lady Aeris all happiness she'll need to accomplish her task to me. Sayonara." He thought. And with that, he flew away.
All the Cetras in the air around him were blown several meters away from the air pressure.
When Hasegawa regained her balance, she undid the Seal of the Dragon. They gathered around Aireth, tending to her wounded body. "Think she'll be alright?" "Her chest sure took a heavy blow. I wonder if her boobs came out of it unscathed." Hasegawa said. She took off Aireth's cover, checking the state of her chest. Hasegawa's eyes widened in shock. Then she let out a sigh of resignation. "We cannot save her boobs." She said. "Meaning?" Masamune asked.
"I know this is really thinking ahead, but at this rate, Aireth will never be able to feed her own child with her own milk, the day she's gonna be a mother." They all fell silent for a moment. "Cannot we use our Magical Powers to heal them?" "Her boobs got destroyed the second Aireth was struck by one of Bahamut's beams. It's too late, we cannot save them. So the day when Aireth will have her own child, she'll have to come up with other ways to feed the small kid." The Cetras fell silent, looking at their beloved friend.
"How can anyone cope with something like that!" Masamune asked silently, looking at the unconscious Cetra among them.
"I know this is hard for all of us. And it'll be a terrible burden on her when she wakes up, but we've got to take care of her wounds for now. Let's move her to the House of Healing." The Cetras carried the unconscious Aireth over to the small, round house, One of the few houses that hadn't been hit by Bahamut's Mega Flares.
Aeris was still fighting Lucifer army on her own. But surprising enough, her dodging and spell-firing were starting to wear out on her. She breathed more rapidly, and she felt her heart pounding like mad even when she didn't put her hand against it. Every muscle in her body ached from all the fighting. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on, or if she would reach Lucifer. She dodged a Waterga-spell by jumping into the air, but when she tried to land on her feet, she fell to the ground. Her legs could no longer carry her weight. She lied there, on the ground, trying to get up with Lucifer's monsters standing over her, their hands aloft, about to fire 20 Ultima-spells straight into her heart. Suddenly, they must have been distracted by something, because they had all looked up.
700 Ultimas were zooming towards the army of puppets, finding their targets with perfect precision. The 20 monsters fell on top of Aeris, dead, along with hundreds of other monsters. Aeris pushed the dead monsters off her and got up. Her gate-squad, and part of Aireth's temple-squad stood there, beaming. "Miss us?" Lin asked. "You guys…you came!" Aeris was overjoyed in the middle of the Second Cetra War. "We'll clear a path as you search for Lucifer in this mess. don'tcha worry, Aeris! Murasame said encouragingly. Aeris smiled at him. That warm, happy smile that always made people's hearts lift. "Arigato" She smiled warmly.
The Cetra army started bulldozing their way through the Lucifer's army as they searched for him. "How about we team up as the "bulldozers", within the Cetra?" Aeris yelled cheerfully over the sound of spells being fired and monsters being slaughtered. "Sure. The bulldozers. That's great. Just like in "Three Brothers, with that sketch about those two guys who hunt for "Berit Marie"." "Yeah! Good idea! We'll be just like them! Letting the nature show us the way to our goal, just like "The Path Finder"! Can't wait to see what Aireth has to say about this! It's the coolest idea ever!" Murasame yelled excitedly. "Cool! It's settled!" Aeris yelled cheerfully, throwing an All-equipped Quakeaga (quake 3) at a group of monsters a few meters in front of her. "I should be able to feel his aura, the same way I felt him earlier, when me and Aireth woke up the rest of Himitsu Shi. So I should be able to feel when we've found him." Aeris thought.
About half an hour of mindless-monster-killing, the newly founded "Bulldozers" suddenly found what they were bulldozing around for. Lucifer, the so-called "Lord of Darkness", was standing floating in midair above them, Bahamut's Materia in his right hand. They must've missed him because they forgot to look up.
"You" Aeris said quietly, almost crushing her white Combat Staff with both hands. Lucifer looked down at them. His poisonous green eyes flared as they made contact with Aeris' clear green ones. Her eyes full of Yang, his eyes full of Yin.
"This ends here, Cetra girl." Lucifer said in his hoarse whisper. "Koi." He said, showing her his black Combat Staff. "Don't interfere. You won't stand a chance against him. I'll do it." Aeris told the others. "There are 701 against just him. You really think we cannot take him?" Lin asked skeptically. Lin shielded herself and the rest of the Cetra army. "We'll take him together. Every Cetra of Himitsu Shi has got something they wanna say to that fucking asshole." She said, lifting her Combat Staff. "Tell me something, Lady Lin. Why do you have to use such a rough language all the time?" Aeris asked, a hint of tiredness in her voice. "Hey, I am the leader of the Valkyries, after all. When you've seen so much blood and death as I have, you very easily get like that." She replied. "I get it. Gomenasai for asking. It just started to get a little bit on my nerves." Aeris said. The Cetra army charged at Lucifer all at once.
Lin teleported behind him and tried to stab him with a Kunai-knife in the back. He quickly deflected it by conjuring a shield. Then, before she could get away, he grabbed her forehead with his right hand, while preparing a Blizzara-spell in the other. He clearly thinking of blasting it through her head, as he'd done with the monster.
"Lin! No, you don't, you heartless freak!" Murasame howled, detaching his large Shuriken from his back, and throwing it at Lucifer. He quickly let go of Lin's forehead, and flew up into the air to dodge Murasame's Shuriken, which soared off into the sky before it fell into the ocean below. All the Cetras now started flying with incredible speed around in circles around Lucifer, occasionally sending fireballs at him, which he had trouble dodging, since they were coming from all sides.
"Time to end this." He said hoarsely. He teleported himself up into the air, above all the Cetras, and raised his Combat Staff, using the Magical Power within to call forth hundreds of Meteors down at the Cetra army. They scattered quickly in an attempt to dodge the Meteors. But the Meteors were too fast for them. Hundreds of the Cetras were annihilated. Aeris had managed to conjure a shield strong enough to block the Meteors. She watched as her friends were slaughtered in front of her, blood flowing from their bodies as they started to fall, not able to stay airborne anymore. She saw how Lin fell, coughing blood and clearly struggling to stay conscious and fly up to continue the fight. Her stomach got ripped open as she made contact with the icy cold water below, floating there a few moments before starting to sink due to the heavy weapons she was equipped with. Aeris felt how the aura of her friends died away along with them, and she screamed out in mental pain. The rest of the Cetras glided there for a moment, watching their friends die before their very eyes. Nothing could be done to save them. Even if some of them survived the Meteors, they'd die instantly from the splash into the water. No one said anything. The only thing that could be heard was the splash that came when the corpses of the Cetra fell into the ocean. Aeris' eyes burned with an intense hate she'd never felt before. Yin burned in her soul as she looked into his poisonous green eyes. Aeris nearly crushed her Combat Staff in mental agony. "And you called yourself a Cetra!" She screamed at him. "Hmph. That was a long time ago, Cetra girl. The Cetra means nothing to me now." Aeris screamed out in an outburst of emotions she couldn't fully understand, and charged at him, her speed far exceeding what he'd shown so far. She conjured Ultima-spells in the palm of both of her hands. Lucifer felt how Aeris' aura had changed. Suddenly, her aura was more like his. But along with the burning Yin he felt inside Aeris, he also felt how the Yang inside of her fought to maintain Aeris' original self. The Lord of Darkness raised his eyebrows in interest over her power. "See? Only the Yin inside you can make you strong enough to end my life." He conjured an Ultima-spell in both hands, and held his arms in front of him so that when Aeris made contact with him, she would get struck by the Magic. "If I'd thrown them at her, she could have dodged them, and I wouldn't had a second chance to kill her" Aeris was now just an inch from the Magic in Lucifer's hands, when she quickly teleported behind him. He gasped in astonishment over her insane speed, and quickly turned around. But it was too late. Aeris punched him in the face with both hands engulfed in the deadly Ultima-spell. Lucifer was blown backwards from the force of the spells. Aeris lowered her hands, trying to control her anger. She closed her eyes, and held kept her hands together, trying to calm herself. The Yin inside her faded slowly away, being replaced by her Yang. For a few moments there, Aeris realized, she'd been something similar to Aireth when they'd fought at the flower field. She opened her eyes and looked at Lucifer.
His face looked even more massacred than when he only had the inhuman scars upon his face. His teeth flew in all directions, and his tongue hung limply from his mouth, dripping with blood. His nose was pulverized, red blood oozing from what was left of it.
He looked at Aeris. His poisonous green eyes showing nothing but Yin all the way. "You….monkey…." He moaned. He coughed blood, the blood falling down into the already red ocean below. Aeris said nothing to this. She just watched him, her gaze that of the Aeris the Cetra had always known: full of Yang and good thoughts, even now, as she watched one of the Cetras' worst enemies of all time die in front of her. "Have peace now, Lucifer. Go join the planet. Your army will be right behind you." Aeris said in a soothing voice. "You didn't have to do what you did back then. It didn't help you, or anyone of the Cetra. When a person has got the entire Yin as you have, you've got nothing to really motivate you in times of hardship. But since the Cetra has got the entire Yang in their souls, they have the power to overcome such difficult times, because we have something to truly fight for." Lucifer's expression was unreadable, due to the treatment Aeris had given him when she was about to be overcome by the darkness. And slowly, Lucifer's body faded away, transforming into the clear, gentle stream of the Lifestream. Bahamut's red Materia fell from his hand as his body started to dissolve. Aeris caught it before it reached the ocean below. She watched as Lucifer, the Cetra who'd tried to slaughter his own people, who had transformed Cetras into mindless puppets to serve him, and who had in the end used his abilities to frighten and manipulate the Cetra Aireth into stealing Bahamut the Dragon King, joined with the Planet at last…