Time for another very late update. Again, I'm still swamped. School can't end soon enough. Once it does, I'll have to really get cracking before Christmas hits...and I'm up to my eyeballs in RPGs I'll have to finish before I do anything else.

More foreshadowing of Aleron in this chapter...

Mack pressed a button on his console activating his last countermeasure. That done, he moved to his radar and adjusted its width to pick up more immediate objects. He kept one eye on that as he looked back up to the horizon, and watched firepower and flak continue to thunder around him. There was no longer any protection now, and he and his wingmen had speed as their only advantage. That was quickly disappearing, as the enemy was getting a better bead on them.

The commander clenched his teeth in rage as he saw another fighter suddenly ignite into flame. That left only him, his wingmen, and the Sierra. He cursed and smashed a fist against his cockpit in rage. It wasn't just losing the pilot, however. It was losing everything. He had fought and bled to get this far, and so many good pilots had died to achieve this. Now the New Shinra was driving them off, and the Gauntlet of Zeus was left alone to be finished. He didn't even care so much about the mortal peril he was in right now. He cared only about what he had lost. Their navy was driven away, and the operation was a failure. Part of him cursed his general for failing to deactivate the grid…but that part was quickly thrown down by his logic. It was more likely that some horrible catastrophe had befallen them as well…

Still didn't mean that they wouldn't have better luck if that grid would go down now.

They were still in the midst of a firestorm. The Sierra had been powerless to turn away initially, and could only do so very slowly when it managed. The fighters turned around much faster, and then found themselves completely exposed. Mack was willing to accept this, for it drew fire off of the Sierra. Still, another fighter was down before they were away. After that, they had raced back home as fast as they could, before even hearing how the missile had fared.

Mercifully, it was easier going back. All of the New Shinra weapons were aimed in a way to take enemies coming at them, not going away from them. It was harder to get a target this way, and many of the guns and missiles were powerless to get a good shot. But many of the missile launchers were still compensating, and whatever guns could alter for this did. Also…even at full speed, the Sierra was a hard target to miss. It was taking the worst beating as they rushed out to the sea. At this point, there was nothing left to cover them. The WGN was falling back. Over the radio, Mack heard the maddened voice of Ashiah on a general channel telling her navy to keep after them. At one point, he heard her say for them to follow the ships all the way back to the Eastern Continent. However, an overriding order came after that from the General. They might have won today, but their navy had taken more than enough damage, and had a lack of troops, to be able to attack their own shore. The woman was crazy and vindictive…but Mack didn't think of her either. He had to think of getting away now. And so, he pushed the thoughts of failure from his brain for later and thought of escape.

His wingmen were out of countermeasures too. However, they were good pilots. Veterans from all of the battles at sea prior until now, just like Mack. The enemy had no better luck hitting them. As they rushed on, Mack's console beeped again. It announced another heat seeker coming after him…and this time he had nothing to counter it with. However, he was prepared for this. He inhaled deeply and steeled himself, hoping this would work. With that done, he pushed himself further away from the rest of his wingmen, and held there a moment. He watched the radar, and kept an eye on a blip that drew closer and closer to him. He waited until it fell in behind and began its final closing.

Then, gritting his teeth, Mack pitched the controls all the way to the side. He held on as his Phoenix spun wildly in midair, spiraling around itself at an incredibly fast speed. Yet as he spun, he kept a further eye on the radar. It worked. As the missile got near, Mack's wild move threw off its targeting system. Not having a lock, the missile resulted in a default action and took a pitch downward. Mack evened his craft out soon after, exhaled as sweat poured down his brow, tried to get his balance, and heard another gun obliterated by the falling missile. Again, he couldn't relax long. He had to keep dodging enemy fire, and making his way onward.

Yet only seconds later, he began to see it. For a while now, he had seen the tops of the New Shinra Navy destroyers coming closer into view. They had altered course and were turning around to return to port, abandoning their quarry. But now…Mack could see the coast, and a line of water began to become apparent as well between it and the ships. They were nearly there…another minute at the most. That encouraged him, and he felt his senses and strength redoubled to keep this up…

"'Bout time that damn horizon showed up! No, damnit! I said lock that down!"

The sound of Cid's gruff voice made Mack alter his attention yet again, turning it to the side. There, out of the window, just to the right of him and his wingmen, the Sierra still lumbered on. But it was doing bad. The air sac was leaking, and several large, flaming holes were blasted into it. It was leaking streams of fire and smoke, and debris constantly dribbled from it. It was beginning to waver, and the engines were working erratically. More had been blown out since they had gone away, and they were still failing. The ship was continuing to take a beating. Every so often, another shell or missile hit it.

It was looking a lot like the Excalibur had…

"Captain, you're not looking to good over there." Mack called on his radio.

"Well we ain't too #)!(?!ing good over here, you damn idiot! Isn't it obvious? Get that line rerouted!"

Mack thought he heard another yell back on the other end.

"I don't care if it's fried! Fix it!"

Another missile struck the back end of the Sierra. With it, another engine blew. The cylinder from it blasted off and began to fall to the ground. The whole ship dipped once, and began to lower altitude. It managed to level off and start pulling back up after a few moments, but it sputtered and gave forth more flames as it did. Mack watched this with growing fear. The ship wasn't going to make it. Even if it managed to get back to the sea, it would never make the trip home. It looked like it would go down at any second now.

Mack looked back ahead. Still another thirty seconds at least.

"Captain, you need to bail out. I can tell your engines are overheating from here."

"I'll get my baby back to the ocean at least, Commander! Watch your own team!"

"We're doing alright, but you're not! Captain, you need to evacuate!"

"Commander…the damn Shinra got our fleet, our fighters, and our attack run today! They ain't gettin' my Sierra!"

Mack wasn't sure if Cid stopped talking, or if another eruption that made the Sierra lose altitude cause it, but the radio cut off after that. It began to shift from side to side next. But Mack couldn't watch anymore. Another heat seeker was after him, and he had to do his maneuver again and hope it would work. He turned back ahead and kept going at full speed…but prayed as well for Cid and his crew.

This missile at once fell to a similar maneuver, but time once again seemed to slow down afterward. Though the barrier end was close, it still seemed so far away. The Sierra continued to buckle and waver, and every time another shot hit it…Mack thought that would be it. Before he had been so afraid for himself and his wingmen…and now they seemed in infinitely better shape than Cid. It began to lose speed, and fall further behind the others as they continued to pull out. The firepower finally began to lessen as they drew nearer, for they ran out of fresh units to shoot them from the front. But still they weren't clear, and still the Sierra continued to take hits. Mack found himself suddenly wishing that they would shoot at him even more. But now…he was being ignored. The enemy was seeing a weakness, and they were targeting everything against it.

Finally…they were there. The end of the coast passed underneath Mack, and he was back on the ocean. In front of him, the enemy ships were coming into the bay. They no doubt saw them, and didn't plan on letting them escape. But that didn't matter now. They could go east or west and get clear. Other batteries continued to shoot them from behind, but their shots were wild and flawed now. They were clear. Mack turned away from his radar at last, and looked through the windows behind them. The large, lumbering Sierra was still waving, and losing and gaining altitude erratically. But somehow, it was chugging its way over the coast line as well…

Then, Mack saw it.

One of the shells from the enemy artillery must have hit a one in a million shot…but that was all they needed. A shell suddenly imbedded into the air sac and then exploded out the other side. A flaming trail of fire was left in its wake…which quickly began to spread out. The hydrogen in the sac had ignited.

Mack's eyes widened in terror, and he called on his radio. "Cid! Bail out! Bail-"

Mack continued to cry out…but no one else could have heard anything. That was because at the next moment…the air sac, and half of the Sierra with it, exploded.

As the commander and his wingmen watched, a bright and dazzling glow filled the air. The shockwave from it actually stunned the gunners on the ground. Unlike with the Excalibur, the Sierra had not had the time to use its safety measures on the hydrogen before landing. Cid, in his typical fashion, had deactivated the catalytic converters so that his craft would remain a deadly weapon even in death. And it was. Huge flaming chunks rained down on the shore. Flames and debris rained on the people below, and lit some of them aflame. Deadly shrapnel was scattered everywhere, some of its dropping into the water right beneath the Phoenixes and hissing as it cooled. But half of it was destroyed, and the flames began to eat and break up the rest. Momentum carried it forward a bit longer…but then the enormous flaming wreck began to fall toward the ocean.

Mack forgot about the fleet and the danger he was in. He stared in open-mouthed astonishment as the ship fell. He had never really thought this would happen. He could see it crashing…but not this. And now the Captain…Cid…he and the crew were dead. They were blown into ash… He hadn't ejected. He should have…but he stayed with that ship…and it had killed him. They had shot him down… Mack felt his heart beginning to ache. He felt his eyes mist as the terror and shock gave way to horror and sadness…

Until…like a true phoenix reborn from ashes…right before crashing into the ocean…a smaller, and yet plane shaped object, tore out of the flaming wreckage, the fires, and the smoke and shot up into the air. The rest of the Sierra crashed into the water and immediately filled the air with thick black smoke. But this new plane roared forth and moved to join with the Phoenixes.

Mack's sadness was choked. His eyes widened twice as big.

"…Cid?"

"That's 'Captain' to you, commander." A gruff and surly voice answered before giving a cough. "And don't think I can't hear you gettin' misty on that other end. If you were at master level on the flight simulations, which you would be if you wouldn't waste so much damn time on those Bismarks, you would have known I built my babies with an escape plane. Poor bastards on the Excalibur had their controls damaged…"

Much as it would fill Mack with regret later for having not shown more respect to the dead…he didn't care much about the crew of the Excalibur right now. His heart was made much lighter just by seeing that Cid had made it out.

"Ci…Captain…I thought you were dead. I thought-"

"Well, I ain't gonna die so long as I'm behind the wheel of one of these." Cid answered, still sounding irritable. "But who gives a sh't! They ruined my Sierra! That plane was my pride and joy! And after I had modified the hell out of her to fight that damn aircraft carrier! And don't think they won't be braggin' tomorrow on how they blew two of my airships and a whole slew of Phoenixes out of the sky! We lost over half our air force! I might as well been blown up with the rest of it! But I got a crew to look after, and I don't think they're ready to cash in their chips. Let's just get the hell out of here, Commander. I'm gonna have to drink a lot tonight before I feel up to start putting this sh'thole back together tomorrow…"

There was much truth to Cid's words. The Sierra had been one of their biggest assets, and now it as well as the Excalibur were destroyed. Many pilots had lost their lives. It was a miracle that both of Mack's wingmen still lived. And then there was the damage that had been done to their fleet. No…they had very little to be happy about, and much to be very upset about. They had found out the hard way that they couldn't take the New Shinra in a naval battle…and now the Gauntlet of Zeus was poised to destroy them all once complete.

And yet…despite all of this, Mack could only smile at the one silver lining to his cloud.

Cid had made it out of that crash alive.

That continued to give him cold comfort all the way home as the four straggling planes turned to the east and began to make their way around the fleet.

Two folded flaps of scaly skin unfurled and uncovered what held them, stretching out fully into airfoils on either side. In their wake…they revealed the great king of the espers in all his current glory. His fire-red scales seemed to illuminate the area around him with dazzling light, and heat and flame poured from his mouth as he leaned his great maw forward and bellowed. His muscles rippled and his claws extended as he thrashed his whip tail behind him, smashing the area behind him that wasn't already destroyed into pieces. A tremendous gust of wind went forward and blasted his far smaller opponent, yanking back his hair and coat from their gale force. With terrible might and awesome strength, Neo Bahamut glared down on his foe, whose own darkness looked struggling to sustain itself in the wake of this light.

And yet in the end…Sephiroth stood his ground. With a few flicks of his sword, he raised it back into ready position. That smile never left his face, and his eyes flashed with power and malice.

Bahamut had a hard time believing now that he couldn't win. To tell the truth…he had never seen exactly how he had lost this fight. As it was, he was much stronger than his opponent right now. He could sense the difference in their energies. So why was it that he would come up short? Was there some other ace up Sephiroth's sleeve? Or something he hadn't considered?

He didn't know…and he didn't want to think to find out.

Giving a mighty roar, the fiery beast lunged forward and lashed out with his tail.

Sephiroth immediately leapt into the air and backward, letting Neo Bahamut totally decimate the floor underneath him, but other than that hit nothing. Yet Neo Bahamut was both strong and fast now, and he had greater senses. Even moving at full speed, Sephiroth was capable of being seen by him. Roaring, the esper lunged forward and swiped his claws at the dark man. Again, Sephiroth shot back. Bahamut's talons slashed apart only corridor, and his quarry began to shoot backward in midair away from him. Bellowing, Bahamut reared up his head and exhaled two Pyron attacks. But Sephiroth managed to twist and swirl away from both. And so, the great esper took off after him, bearing himself along on his own massive wing foils, and letting loose with a slipstream large enough to tear anything not bolted down apart behind him.

The esper was soon on Sephiroth again, and swung again with his fists and tail. He smashed metal three times, each time narrowly missing the dark man, before swinging his head down and around and attempted to bite him in two. Again, his jaws closed on nothing. Still not letting up, the esper continued to come after him, tearing apart the facility around him in his wake. This made him feel rueful. No doubt, he was doing heavy damage to the Dome, and doing so would definitely be a severe interference. He didn't care so much for humans being aware of his existence…but cared more of them being aware of Sephiroth's. They might come after him then…and force his hand… Yet it was too late to worry about that now. He only tried to focus the brunt of his impact against Sephiroth as he stormed on.

The beast charged a focused Megapyrin in his mouth as he backed Sephiroth up to a shaft. It had to be focused…lest it blow away a fifth of the place. But exhaling it only served to destroy a good portion of the floor he was on. Though he thought he had Sephiroth pinned, the dark man began to ascend the shaft as soon as he reached it. He used a combination of leaps and nimble footwork as well as gliding and flying to climb it. Neo Bahamut bellowed, shaking the shaft, and then immediately flew after him. He continued to slash out with his claws and blow more up with his breath. But the whole time, Sephiroth just calmly smiled back at him…even mocked him with his look. He soon tore down another corridor, and Neo Bahamut, in his speed and rage to try and kill this man, actually overshot and tore up another part of a floor before pulling himself back down and keeping up the chase.

As Bahamut continued…it became distinctive to him that something was not right here. He could sense that his power was beyond Sephiroth's…and yet the man was somehow outrunning him. To do this he would have to be burning himself out on speed alone…and yet he still wasn't looking tired or winded. Rather, he continued to smile as Bahamut struck out at him again and again…

Sephiroth dodged two more claw swipes before entering a vertical tunnel and moving up it. Neo Bahamut, still roaring and pouring flame from his mouth, tore after him and flew up to meet him. Yet catching him did little more. He continued to put his own speed and power into his blows, only to achieve nothing. Soon both warriors reached a level point again, and Neo Bahamut still hadn't landed a hit.

"Feeling tired yet?" Sephiroth calmly asked, not even panting as he said this. Bahamut swung his claw to wipe the smile off of his face…but hit nothing as Sephiroth appeared to vanish into thin air. Bahamut's eyes widened a second later…for he saw him reappear right next to him, sword extended. Bahamut was still charging forward, and the momentum carried him right into the blade and through it, cutting a gash open in his side. His dragonscales…which would have broken a mythril spear forged in Da Chao hurled by a mad ogre…were sliced through like so much dead leaves to give him a cut. The esper let out a small roar, and nearly fell on his face from the passing wound. However, he caught himself, and simply stumbled instead. After a few moments, he stabilized, and angrily turned around.

Just like Sephiroth's other cuts, this one wasn't healing. But the dark man himself stood calmly behind him, as if patiently waiting for him to counter this. Bringing forth more of his power, Bahamut fully turned and lunged at Sephiroth. It was faster this time, and as the dark man leapt to avoid him his talons cut another small tear in the tail of his black coat. But for the most part, his huge claws only touched down on the ground and tore into that. Not only that, but he felt Sephiroth land on his back and quickly run across it. As he did…he felt another slash cut along it.

Bahamut reared up, bellowed, and then exhaled a Pyron attack along his back. Sephiroth once again dodged, letting the esper's breath only tear up wall. However, not finished, Bahamut flung his body violently around and snapped out with his tail in an attempt to take Sephiroth's head off. Again, he hit nothing, as Sephiroth leapt back. Turning his body around more, Bahamut lashed out with his tail again. This time, Sephiroth dodged again before raising his sword and cutting a slash into it. Furious, Bahamut reared his bleeding appendage back and exhaled a blast of flame. This one was a more focused Megapyrin. Yet again, because it was focused, Sephiroth was able to dodge it, leaping once more into the air.

To the esper's surprise, he had hardly gone into mid air before he dove at him, blade outstretched, right for his throat. Bahamut was forced to recoil, but even then got a slash along the side of his neck. As the esper still backed up, Sephiroth landed in front of him. Again he flashed out his sword, and cut across the shins of the beast. Bahamut staggered back a bit more from that in reaction to pain. After that, however, he exhaled another blast of heat in front of him. Sephiroth dodged again, but he soon threw his tail and his claws into it, and as soon as Sephiroth had dodged those he threw in another blast of heat. The esper's power and speed was incredible, but Sephiroth still dodged each blow. As he did…Bahamut slowly began to realize his fears might be true…something even he hadn't seen in the visions but had expected.

However, he didn't think of that long. As his claw swiped at Sephiroth again, the man ducked this time rather than dodged. Bahamut realized why. The damage done to his humanoid form as well as his dragon form was beginning to add up. He was starting to get winded and slower. But Sephiroth was still perfectly fresh. There could be only one answer…

But Bahamut didn't think of that. No sooner had Sephiroth ducked than he pushed off and fired his body up like a projectile. Moments later, his powerful form smashed solidly underneath Bahamut's jaw. The impact was strong and bone jarring, and pain radiated throughout his face. Worst of all, it made him back up again…and this time, he failed to notice he was right over the vertical shaft he had ascended. Dazzled and unable to get his bearings, the esper fell back and into it, and then began to free fall down once again. He wavered weakly in the air for a moment, trying to clear his senses. However, while still falling, he came to, and was a moment from using his levitation power to stop him.

But that was when Sephiroth, again like a bullet, materialized over him and drove his body forward into the solar plexus of the beast. To the esper's shock, the small humanoid knocked the wind out of him, and he gagged as he was sent flying to the ground even faster. Moments later, his body impacted on a pile of crushed and ruined metal, and flung up once before coming back down and resting. There he stopped, slowly panting and catching his breath.

For a few moments, there was stillness and silence. The interior of the Dome was dark, even by Bahamut's standards, and the industrial lights provided little illumination beyond their immediate area. But still, Bahamut heard feet touch down just above him, in one of the hallways off of the main corridor. From its sound, it appeared to be about a hundred feet above where he lay sprawled. And he could sense the lack of energy in that place… He knew it was him.

"You're supposedly a wise creature." He heard a dark, sinister voice ask him. "If so…then do you realize now why I am beating you?"

Bahamut didn't answer this, and continued to pant. However, the truth was that he did indeed realize why. He scarcely believed this was possible, but faced with it now he knew it had to be true. If so, then this exchange had just proven that he couldn't possibly beat him in terms of outright strength. He was just being worn down until he would be killed…

However, the esper still wasn't finished. He had one move left…and this one not even Sephiroth could dodge, not if he had all the speed in the world…

Yet he hesitated here a moment longer at the thought of this. He had tried it in his vision…and it had been his downfall. If Sephiroth wielded any other blade, then this would work. But the Masamune was a weapon excelling in strength compared to all other espers. Even Neo Bahamut might be inferior to it… If he was still Bahamut ZERO, he ruefully thought, he could have ended this fight easily, despite Sephiroth's unusual advantage. To his chagrin, he realized that there had come another time after Wyvern in which a being of such power was necessary, impossible as it seemed. Yet it was useless to think about. He had only one hope now. The Bahamut in his vision might have not used full strength, knowing that there was no way he could focus it all, knowing that some damage would be done to the Dome regardless. If he used his full strength…would it make a difference?

There was only one way to find out.

This is it. This is my final trump card.

"If you're pretending to be dead, I'm not convinced." Sephiroth called down. "Though I'll oblige you if that is your wish, to end this boring fight now."

Bahamut didn't answer…and a moment later, Sephiroth forgot about him momentarily. Suddenly, around the dark man…a sizzling sound broke out. He looked up to the source…and saw that something was generating around him on the ceiling. Yet as he looked to it, it sank to the floor and connected there as well. Black tendrils were swishing and sizzling around him, like lightning made out of darkness… "dark"ning perhaps. And they were increasing in number and size, and now had him surrounded. Sephiroth stared at these a moment, but then reached out a hand to one. A burning sound was heard when his fingers touched, and he recoiled it immediately. He held his hand out a moment…but then flexed his fingers and returned them to his side.

"Cute, Bahamut." He answered as he smiled. "But you can't keep me in here forever. Is this to cover your escape?"

Sephiroth faded somewhat on this last word…for he saw something shoot past his vision. Abruptly, Neo Bahamut had sprung back to life and on his feet. Snapping his wings out, he shot up and into the air, roaring past Sephiroth and his small imprisonment, and up further in the shaft. However, here he came to a halt, once he was a hundred feet or so above his opponent. He opened his mouth, aimed his head for the ceiling, and then discharged a mighty blast. It sailed above him and impacted into the machinery beyond. However…this attack was hot and focused, and it did not blow up immediately. Instead, it melted the machinery into slag and began to bore through it like a mole tunneling through soft earth. It tore upward for a few moments, cutting through a few floors worth of machinery and metal. But then, it hit the top of the Dome. It took no time at all to melt through the outer shield, and then shoot into the air, and above into oblivion.

Now, a tunnel was opened right above Bahamut. It was thin…but it was to the outside. Rays of light began to stream down. The sun was still too low for them to hit Bahamut, but now there was access to the outside and the sun. This was all he needed.

Sephiroth looked up, and began to understand this somewhat. As he did…the tendrils around him began to absorb the photons in the air from the industrial lights and conduct them back to Neo Bahamut. The esper himself hovered in midair. He stretched out his airfoils as far as they could go, and then began to bring out invisible tendrils from them as well. They shot everywhere through the immediate area, to wherever there was a source of light. But mostly…they went up toward the hole he had made, toward where sunlight was coming in. These greedily began to draw in photons and charged particles, and slowly began to gather the energy Bahamut needed.

The great esper's airfoils soon began to gleam, and power began to stream into him. Had he been outside, this process would have taken seconds. As it was, to charge to full power took longer with the small amount of light that was streaming through. Sephiroth was also beginning to notice what he was doing, further complicating his attempts to charge. He couldn't hold this for very long. He knew that Sephiroth would try and break free soon, and that would put an abrupt end to his attempts to charge. But he also knew this had to be powerful to have any chance of this working. As he felt the energy begin to grow large and powerful within him, he realized that if this was successful…it would destroy the masterpiece of Leviathan and Ogopogo. Another work of the older world would be gone… But in the end, he decided in favor. He would rather see it destroyed than in the hands of evil…

His power began to peak now. He aimed his head down, and looked straight at Sephiroth. His eyes blazed into a solid yellow glow from the solar energy that coursed through him. He pushed some of his own strength into the shot to make it more powerful, and tightened his focus. He had to hold onto this…or he would blow a hole a quarter of the way into the Planet. While he prepared…he saw Sephiroth draw his blade, evidently through with this. It was now or never. Neo Bahamut yanked his head back as rays of light shot out from the sky and drew themselves into a center in front of his mouth. They quickly merged to form a bright ball of light, which immediately grew in size. A burning sound went through the air, high pitched and telling of its might. Then, at long last, Neo Bahamut snapped his head forward, and immediately his orb exploded into a ray of pure energy that sailed through the air and impacted the dark man.

Even Bahamut could not see clearly through his own full power discharged. And so, he focused only on keeping it isolated to his target. Even then, the power was almost too much for him to withstand. He could feel the heat radiating off and around him. It was so burning and bright that the surrounding metal began to deform into slag. The edges turned bright red as well as the huge burning sound that resulted from the light energy roared through the air. Bahamut pushed more power into it once he had it under control, not knowing if Sephiroth was dead but not wanting to take any chances. Soon…he found himself pushing more of his own power into it too, realizing how much he wanted to make sure this was more than he could handle. In his vision…this hadn't worked. He had to make sure he didn't survive it. The ground beneath him began to turn to liquid as molten steel fell to the ground and began to pool up. Later, Colonel Maritza would see the results of this fire and attempt to harvest it, seeing how pure and strong the iron was. However, she would be unable to, and in the end the metal that condensed had to be peeled out and discarded, for no fire or tool would cut it again that was made by the New Shinra… And though Bahamut could sense this, he pushed more and more into it yet…filling the air with the sound of burning and bringing bright light to the dark corners of the Dome for hundreds of yards all around…

At last…Neo Bahamut considered stopping. He didn't at first. He feared it wasn't enough. He feared that his vision would come true… An impulse in him told him to burn out everything he had, make sure that he didn't hold back an inch and that he had made his best attempt. But a lingering fear in his heart remained…what if that wasn't enough? Then where would he be after it? In truth…the real thing that filled him with fear was the prospect that Sephiroth might survive this… If so…then he realized his options would become very limited…assuming he could even escape with his life. At last, he forced himself to make a decision, and cut off his flare. His head abruptly snapped back, and with what reserves he still had he hovered.

A great red tunnel was cut down to where the target area had been. Down there, a large sphere had burned its way into the facility. Metal liquid was running through what cracks in the floor hadn't been wiped as smooth and perfect as glass, leaving the orb shape in its wake. The air was thick with the smell of vaporized metal, and to anyone else it was probably fatal to even breathe the air. But the esper was powerful enough to look down and see what was left in the middle of the orb.

He was not pleased at what he saw.

As the smoke faded, the dark shadow of Sephiroth was illuminated in the red glow of the dying fires. Now more than ever he looked like a demon. Until now…Bahamut had only known of Sephiroth's destruction of Nibelheim through his own research. He never saw his cold, heartless visage looking up from the flames, eyes blazing with green, unearthly power, as he looked out on the hell he had brought unto this world, as Cloud had. However…he saw something like this now. He saw his twisted wicked face looking up from the red heat, holding Masamune in front of him in the last position of guarding, looking up at him with ravenous and cruel eyes.

Some say that the devil is a hideous, twisted, animal of a humanoid. Others, however, say he is a picture of charm and beauty, still bearing the appearance that he once had when he was still one of the heavenly host, and yet the eyes showing such cruelty and malice that nothing more heartless or warped could walk this earth.

And despite all of the evil Bahamut had witnessed…never before had he seen one that matched such a description before now. Had he not the knowledge and experience of his long years and visions, he would have been tempted to lean back aghast and ask the creature, "What are you?"

As it was, Bahamut had enough senses about him to look elsewhere…his fast acting brain telling him that if Sephiroth had survived…then the other part of his vision was about to come true. And sure enough, as he turned his eyes to the Masamune, and the red hellish glow around Sephiroth faded…it left in its wake the powerful blade. Only now…it was wrapped in a cloak of burning green energy. Bolts snaked around it as the cloud swarmed the blade, hissing and sizzling, as if the great sword was containing a vast force just barely. It was dazzling even for Bahamut to stare at…and now it was wielded in front of Sephiroth as a deadly new weapon.

The dark man only waited long enough to have the realization form in the esper's eyes. Then, he snapped Masamune over his shoulder.

"My turn." He nearly whispered.

Then he flung the blade down. Bahamut barely had time to cross his wings and his arms in front of him before a massive wave of energy, even larger, brighter, and sizzling with more energy and power than before in a far more chaotic, violent fashion struck him head on.

As pain so hot and violent covered Bahamut's flesh, his nerves were so stunned that he had a brief sensation of coolness before he felt his flesh began to burn underneath his scales. This gave him enough time to realize what had happened. The Masamune was too strong. But furthermore…for large energy attacks, and a warrior of Sephiroth's caliber, the power from an attack could not only be blocked, but collected, transduced, and even multiplied into the power of the defender. Such a craft was analogous to the "trance" effect that had been discovered by a select few in history…but only Leviathan and Ogopogo possessed the skill and knowledge to work such a craft into their sword. Bahamut had seen this in his vision…and known that the only way to overcome this was to discharge too much power for the Masamune to hold…to destroy it and then its owner with it.

Perhaps Bahamut ZERO could have accomplished such a task…but even Neo Bahamut lacked the power.

All he had done was increase the backlash.

Bahamut struggled not to cry out as energy swept over him. It was horrible. The beam was not focused at all, but let loose in all its chaotic fury. Like raw mako, it boiled and hissed and churned on itself, seeking out every vulnerable spot around it to burn and destroy. Blinding green light pierced the vision of Bahamut even as the green energy seeped in and began to burn his eyeballs inside. He smelled his flesh and bone beginning to roast and pop. He could feel it curling and snapping off of his bones. He felt his wings began to fragment. It was horrible. He realized how foolish he had been. His own attack had been multiplied twofold. He could barely hold the power before in him…and now he was being annihilated by his own energy. He was literally burning away…he began to realize in the midst of his pain and fear. His own power that was left was being sapped dry, and what was drained quickly began to roast and burn off. To his horror…he realized this was exactly as he had seen it in the vision. He was going to burn away and die. There wouldn't even be ashes left. The more he held it back…the stronger and more violently it plowed away at him. It was like a man trying to hold back the deluge from a broken dam. His nerve ends began to burn away and his scales began to flake around his fingers. They would follow…as his energy failed and the rest of his body was turned to ash…

I'm dying… I'm being killed by this monster…out of all the fiends I've fought in time…

As he felt his eyelids begin to peel away and the humor in his eyeballs began to boil as well…Bahamut knew he had to make a decision. It was a horrible one to make for him, simple as it seemed. He could barely contend with Sephiroth in his Neo form. If he did this…he would never be able to fight him again. To think…to be as powerful as a demigod…and yet still not having enough. Again, he wished he still had his Bahamut ZERO form. But there was no time for that now. The air in his lungs was being consumed as his alveoli began to roast. It was now or never.

With that in mind…Neo Bahamut enacted a command within him…and let go of trying to block.

What was still burning away was immediately shoved forward through the Dome. Up and up it went at an angle as it progressively deteriorated. It was plowed deeper and deeper into the fortress without restraint, for the heat of the attack was burning away everything around it. Molten steel poured down like a waterfall as he was shoved higher and higher into the sky…his wings turning to nubs and the last of his digits fading…

But what Sephiroth did not see or sense was that, behind the creature, the scapulas suddenly separated. The flesh along the backbone suddenly cracked and split open. Yet no skeleton on muscles came out…but rather a bluish-purple shade of scales covering another backbone. The fissure quickly spread up to the head and down the tail as the body kept burning away. Two large lumps appeared underneath the scales even as they roasted and flaked off, and as they became brittle the flesh suddenly snapped and let something new underneath come forth and stretch out. It was a new pair of wings…these ones truly wings and not airfoils. They unfurled, and with what power they had tried to shield themselves from being burned away as they worked to pull the rest of the body free of the burning husk.

As the sizzling body approached the roof of the Dome…the body of Bahamut continued to pull itself free from the shell of Neo Bahamut, as if he was a giant cicada emerging from a shell. Yet he used the dying body as a shield to protect him from the horrible energy as he was pushed on…for his own power was far too weak to withstand it for more than a second or two. After yanking his neck free, the esper pulled out his limbs one by one and then drew his tail forth. Yet still…for a moment longer, he held on behind the body of Neo Bahamut, even as it continued to wither and fade, decreasing his protection with each moment that passed…

At last, they arrived. Bahamut felt through the heat and energy around him a sudden rush of cool air. Their wave had carried them all the way to the top of the Dome, and now it was bursting forth into the external world. The esper quickly looked around to his side, and saw the edge of the Dome pass him. The moment he saw this…with as much speed as he could muster…he threw himself off of the body and out of the wave, toward the side of the Dome. The green burning world around him vanished, although the heat of it continued to roar out of the hole made in the Dome and singed his brow. Hissing, he flattened himself against the Dome and quickly crawled back. It felt terrible…to be cringing and fleeing from a humanoid like this. And to tell the truth…he felt sluggish and weak in this body, where once he had feared its own power…

And yet, he had no other choice. Here he crouched and held. He had no idea if Sephiroth's sensory abilities were particularly great, but just in case he dimmed his own energy, and stilled his breathing and heart rate. After that, he went completely motionless, and looked at the energy wave. He turned his gaze skyward enough to see the small black mass that was his old body continue to be borne up into the sky. The wave was more than strong enough to go into space…but as he looked up at it he had more than enough time to see what was left of his old form flake off into bits and vanish, swallowed up by the energy. As it ceased to flow, and its trail went into the sky, a sound of thunder slowly signified its departure, closing up behind it.

Down in the Dome, at the end of a newly melted tunnel that cut a perfect cylinder up at an angle to the top of the fortress and through it, stood Sephiroth. He still was poised in his own crater, which by now was dimming back into its old dull status. He was poised in the final moment when he had thrown his Blade Beam at Bahamut. He looked up and watched his own energy wave disappear, fading into the heavens and then into nothing. He cared little for the massive damage now done to the Dome, unlike his opponent. Had the Planet Protector Army still been attacking at this point…they would have been dismayed to learn that only now did enough damage occur to the Dome itself to cause a momentary failure in the defense grid. Sadly, it wouldn't have mattered, now that the shield was up.

Once that was done, he cracked a smile and gave a snort. Afterward, he pulled his blade back and began to return it to his side. He supposed that battle was over now. Still…he had a feeling that it was far too easy, even considering the amount of energy. That esper hadn't survived so many other foes by the skin of his teeth just to fall to one outpouring of energy, even if having his own power reflected back at him had been his downfall in the past. His opponent had been far too intelligent and skilled to so easily go down just like that. He couldn't deny that he had seen Neo Bahamut be consumed by the flames of energy…but somehow he had a feeling that it wasn't over…

However, he realized, it mattered little, which was why he smiled. The Planet's "Chosen One" might have been saved by the ancient wyrm, but he had learned how helpless he was against him. And now the esper itself, the only true challenge left to his plans, was defeated. Even if he wasn't destroyed, he couldn't deny that he had been beaten. There were no opponents left…only chaff that would vainly try to blow itself in his face. For all purposes…the future of the world was now decided. Its champions were gone…and only he remained.

With that in mind, Sephiroth finished replacing Masamune and turned to start walking back into the Dome. It wouldn't be long now before the next phase of his plan would go underway.

It will not be long…before Aleron is here.

Bahamut at last sensed the dark void of energy around Sephiroth returning to the depths of the Dome. Once he was confident he was out of earshot, Bahamut finally let out a sigh of relief. Now free of danger…he could focus on pressing concerns.

Things were grim. He had managed to sense that his pupil was still alive when his friend got him out of the Dome. With any luck, the youth would live. But it would be months before he could recover. And sadly, the esper personally would never recover. He had used up his "extra life", and has lost much of his power to attain it. Now…he was isolated back to being the esper he once was. The last gift of Shinza was gone, and only his own power…great as it was and yet so inferior to his opponent's…remained. His knowledge remained his only advantage, and sadly it was not a great one.

But matters were worse than that. Though the fight had gone as planned…things were changing. He had not forseen that Sephiroth himself would interfere with the mission to destroy the Gauntlet of Zeus. That was peculiar. Had the dark man wanted to simply cause pain and mischief to the Planet Protector Army? That was not like him. He never did anything that didn't further his goals, given past history. So did he have some vested interest in the New Shinra and their survival? Perhaps even the Gauntlet of Zeus itself?

Another element he had not been aware of, even after months of seeing possible futures, was something that Sephiroth had thought… Until now, the man had carefully kept his thoughts guarded from Bahamut, and in his new form his mind reading ability was even weaker. But thinking him dead…Sephiroth had slackened enough to let one especially strong name slip through, although he had no image to go with it that could give more clues.

Who…or what…was Aleron?

Bahamut didn't dwell on this long. There were other matters at hand…likely ones far greater than whatever hidden devices Sephiroth was planning. Knowledge was indeed their only advantage now…and it was time that Ragnar learned that knowledge. There was much to discuss with him now…many things that Ragnar now had to have revealed to him. Those that Bahamut had known earlier he probably should have said…but he did not wish to cause the youth further pain. He was, after all, quite attached to him…seeing him as he had once seen Palad. Now they were that more important. And the youth had to know all…before Bahamut would make yet another great decision…perhaps his final one.

With that in mind, the esper unfurled his wings and began to lift off. It would take hours now to reach Midgar, and he had to start flying now while the NSA was still disorientated. He had much to think about before he arrived.

To be continued...

Next Chapter: (Likely a very, very long one) Bahamut has many revelations to give Ragnar as the story arc for this portion of "The Aleron Saga" ends...and more foreshadowing of the title character is presented...