Hey everyone. Sorry about being away from this so long. IN my time away, I've gotten JUST a bit better. So, I'll try and spice this up for you and make this one HOPEFULLY the last chapter. ^_^ However, as for the future of "Konohagakure Strikers", I'm kind of lost on how to keep going. I lost the draft a long time ago and haven't been able to find it. So, once more, I apologize deeply for my absence from this fic and hope to make up for it with this, hopefully the last chapter. ^_^ Enjoy!
Chapter FINAL: ENDGAME: Returning Home!
-OP: "HIKARI NO ROKKU~ROCK OF LIGHT" – Sambomaster-
Clover sat under a lone tree, thinking.
"Man, who knew so much could happen in so little time..." she mused.
It had been three weeks.
Cloud had introduced Zack to the rest of the group, while Zack had introduced his two friends; his mentor Angeal Hewley, and his now reformed nemesis, Genesis Rhapsodos. Cloud and Zack had left to catch up, during which time Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie had shown up to talk with him of their own accord. Of course, believing Cloud had hung up on her just to be a jerk, she'd attacked him full force to get her anger out. She'd only stopped when she saw Reno and assumed a defensive stance. Cloud had then stood, surprisingly looking no worse for wear, and explained that Rufus had fired the Turks. Cloud had also gone through the rounds of introducing everyone, from the Turks NEOS to the WOOHP girls to Ashe and Nogias.
Cloud had apologized profusely for what he'd done, and long before Tifa said anything, Aerith and Yuffie had run over and hugged him, proclaiming their forgiveness. Tifa had sat there, staring at him with a dark expression on her face. She'd eventually taken a deep sigh of relief and stepped over to hug Cloud as well. Like Aerith and Yuffie, both of whom had started crying moments after telling Cloud they forgave him, she told him all was water under the bridge and cried into his shoulder, barely able to say more than "It's g-great to b-be h-home..."
Later, after several sessions to see how much the girls in question had improved, Cloud pitted them against Sam, Clover, and Alex; Sam vs. Yuffie, Tifa vs. Clover, and Alex vs. Aerith. When Alex complained that she didn't want to scar Aerith with her sword, Cloud simply smiled and said not to underestimate the team's best staff-wielder. The girls went to work, and soon they all found how evenly matched they were.
It was only a couple seconds in, but Clover and Tifa were exchanging blows at quite a clip, each managing to get a powerful blow in on the other and JUST dodge away... into a counter blow. The two were far too evenly matched; their match would end in a stalemate, or Tifa, with more experience, would walk away the victor.
Alex, on the other hand, was learning exactly how right Cloud had been about Aerith; this girl was about as good, if not two times better, with her staff then Alex was with her sword. After the fifth time she felt the flat end on Aerith's rod plunge against her stomach and force her to the ground, Alex had purposefully lost count. Reno, on the other hand, kept a running tab and counted out loud, as if to goad Alex to do better.
Sam, on the other hand, had it the seemingly easiest of the three: For her, her shield had blades, so it was a game of throw, dodge, catch, and repeat. She had managed to JUST BARELY escape decapitation several times and hadn't even been nicked; Yuffie, however, had managed to dodge wrong three times so far and had suffered a small gash in her left side, a mid-sized slash in her right shoulder, and a large, gaping lapse of flesh on the insides of both shins. She was about to stand and throw when Sam strolled over and idly flicked her on the head. Yuffie's legs buckled, and she went down like a rock. Sam called for a stretcher, and Yuffie was carted off for emergency stitches.
Alex was beginning to get her game together now. Seeing at least one of her best friends win spurred on a change in her patterns. Aerith was soon astounded; Alex would either attack in a way that Aerith could easily block, and then curve the strike to land on a weak point, or else will her blade to change shape to wrap around the staff and pull it aside so Alex could punch, kick, or incur some other form of physical injury. Soon, Aerith was robbed of her staff and, after Alex sheathed her blade, Aerith found herself on the receiving end of a brutal series of grapples that sent her sprawling along the arena floor. She conceded defeat shortly after Alex walked over to ask, quite nonchalantly if Aerith wanted some more. Alex and Sam helped Aerith up so the three could go and watch Clover and Tifa's match.
Tifa was gaining the upper hand. Unlike her friends, Clover had been cocky the entire fight, and it was starting to come back to get her. Several times she found herself flying over Tifa's shoulders and felt unprecedented pain as she landed, HARD on her back, on the dusty concrete floor. She struggled to stand, her legs now wobbling a bit.
"COME ON CLOVER! YOU'VE CLOBBERED FAR WORSE THAN HER!" Sam shouted.
"YEAH, CLOVER, IF ANYONE CAN TAKE OUT THE HUMAN BOVINE HERE, YOU CAN!" Alex shouted. Both her friends kept shouting words of encouragement, and soon Aerith joined in. Clover felt her second wind coming on, and managed to hook Tifa with a few good shots to the ribs, winding the overly-gifted woman and sending her sliding back. Tifa scowled.
"Aerith, I thought you were on my side! Why are you cheering for her?" Tifa said, walking toward her friend. She realized a moment too late that this was going to be her deciding moment: Clover was rushing to get under her defenses, both arms outstretched and waiting to either block/parry, or combine into a powerful, doubled-handed punch. Tifa knew if that hit connected with at all, she'd be coughing blood.
She whirled around and swept her left leg to try and trip up the younger girl, who proceeded to massively outwit Tifa. In one fluid movement, Clover vaulted over Tifa's leg and landed a powerful chain of kicks to her chest and face, finally finishing after what, to Tifa, felt like an eternity of pain, with a two-handed hammer punch that sent her crashing face-first into the concrete. Tifa didn't stay conscious long enough to even moan in defeat. Clover sighed and sat down to catch her breath. She soon groaned as a burst of pain ripped through her side. She looked and discovered a small, bleeding bruise. She shook her head and laid back. She may have won the battle, but Tifa got the last laugh.
Clover got to her feet moments later and pulled a strip from her shirt to wrap around the injury and try to stop the bleeding. After that, she walked over to Tifa and hoisted the woman's frame-which, as it turned out, was heavier than it looked due to her... assets… onto her arm and shoulder, then began slowly walking back to the medical tent. They both needed attention.
Quite some time later, everyone gathered inside the conference tent to discuss their course of actions. Shin-Ra had to fall from his pedestal. Cloud eventually came up with a plan of attack...
And now, here sat Clover, bearing the knowledge that Alex, Sam, and herself, would be going in against Rufus Shin-Ra to deal the final blows. They'd be the point-girls.
Her attention was drawn to Tifa, who had walked up behind her and sat down.
"Hey. How're your injuries from a couple weeks ago faring?" Clover asked. Tifa smiled a bit, gingerly tracing a particular bruise on her left shoulder which a small gasp and a bit of a blush.
"Not too bad... Could have been much worse, seeing how strong you are. Cloud told us how you and your friends managed to take out Sephiroth AND Rufus on your own. Pretty impressive, considering Cloud's usually the one to face Sephiroth. Can't say much for Rufus, though... Aside from the fact that he's a spoiled daddy's boy who should be spanked hard with a paddle made of steel mesh for at least a week," Tifa said with an air of comedy about her. She and Clover laughed a bit at the thought of the white-coated man strapped over a table with all the girls taking turns whacking him with said paddle...
Clover stopped a short time later and took a deep breath, then asked, "Why is it whenever Sam, Alex and I get in the middle of a struggle, we wind up being the ones who have to diffuse the entire thing?" For as long as she could remember, the three of them had been carted off to WOOHP, given gadgets and an assignment... then almost immediately afterward, gone in and taken care of a possibly earth-shatteringly disastrous situation.
"Don't think you're alone in this, Clover," Tifa said, moving to sit down next to the girl, "Long before you came here, things were simple, peaceful even. Cloud and I grew up in the same town, but... we barely saw each other much. One time a bunch of the neighborhood kids wanted to go deep into the Nibelheim Mountains. We were part-way across the bridge when the bridge broke. The adults were quick to come over and take care of everything, but my father was extremely cold with Cloud, blaming him for my accident. A few years later, we met at night on the well in Nibelheim's town square, and that's when Cloud told me his wish: to be a member of SOLDIER, an elite Shin-Ra military unit, and become stronger so he could protect those that mattered to him. I asked him to promise me that if he made it... he'd come back and save me in my time of need, like the knight in shining armor in one of those old movies."
"However, several years later, Shin-Ra sent their last remaining SOLDIER 1sts to Nibelheim to inspect our Mako reactor. Cloud was with them, but was just an infantryman... he kept his helmet on the whole time. I instead got to meet Zack, whom you already know. That team included two other infantrymen and Sephiroth, who was a SOLDIER 1st Class at the time. During their mission, something went wrong; Sephiroth came back like a man in a trance and locked himself in the Shin-Ra Manor basement for seven days. Then, on the seventh day, all hell broke loose. Sephiroth lit the entire town on fire; he burned it all to ashes." Clover looked over to see Tifa's left hand clenching into a fist, tighter and tighter with each passing second until she was sure the busty woman's finger nails would start digging into her palms and bleed her.
"I wound up going with my father to get answers, but Sephiroth killed my father and left his sword behind. I attempted to kill him, but he struck me down by hand. Zack showed up moments later to set things straight, but was sent packing. Cloud showed up during his fight. He moved me out of harm's way... and kept his promise to come to my aide when I needed it. He took up Zack's sword and tried to finish off Sephiroth. He almost failed... but managed it through sheer willpower. From what he told me, he'd spent four years in a tube of Mako energy, in a state of drug-induced stasis while they experimented on him and Zack. When they broke out, I was already long gone, having been hired by Barret to run a bar in the Sector Seven slums as a hide-out for the first incarnation of AVANLANCHE. After those four years, somehow Zack broke free and brought Cloud close to Midgar, but died. Cloud inherited Zack's sword and memories, then used them to create a fake persona that he used to identify himself with. Basically, he fooled himself into believing he WAS Zack. He joined AVALANCHE, but our mission to take down Shin-Ra wound up taking a strange turn; Sephiroth wasn't quite dead. We took to chasing him down across the world, and finally it was Cloud that beat him down, deep within the Lifestream itself."
"Since then, Sephiroth has appeared several times, and each time he has, it's always been Cloud fighting him for our sakes, as well as his own. Cloud's had a lot of time to think, and a lot of time to plan for every eventuality. I talked to him about it after we solidified the plan, and he said he felt you three were the best ones for the job. Rufus knows attacks and spells that you three seem to be immune to, so even if only for a while, this is best for everyone. If you think about it, you're taking most of the heat off of Cloud and giving him time to relax. He needs that after everything he's been through in life. So," Tifa said, placing her hand idly on Clover's, "Can you do this, Clover? If not for yourself, then could you do it for Cloud?"
Clover thought about all this for a couple seconds, then smiled and said, "Alright. Cloud deserves it. I know I can believe you if you were Cloud's friend as a child!" She smiled and leaned back against the tree. Tifa did the same. It was only then that Clover looked over.
"Tifa?" she asked. Tifa looked over with confusion on her face.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Tifa asked.
"I've been wondering for a while… how did you manage to get them so HUGE?" Clover asked. The fact that Tifa's chest was bigger than the combined sizes of all the other girls in camp was frustrating to Clover.
"I really don't know. I never did anything that superstition claimed would make them grow, like drinking lots of milk or... massaging them, for all the good that would do to make you a pervert," Tifa said, relaxing a bit more, "But I'll tell you this: I may not know how I managed to grow them this big, but my father before he died told me that all things about a person's growth are determined by their genes. If being tall is in your genetics, you'll grow tall. If being handsome or beautiful is in your genetics, which I can tell you got in spades," Tifa winked at Clover, who blushed, "Then you'll grow up to be beautiful. However, this also applies to... chest size. If it's in your genes, you'll be busty. If not, then you won't be. Only a few girls I met in your world had the genes for being truly busty women on their own. Some of the ones Aerith, Yuffie and I met had gotten surgery to make them bigger, which is fake and wrong on massive levels."
"Wait, you're saying you didn't have those augmented? Those are natural? And how is it wrong?" Clover asked. Tifa slapped her forehead, and turned to sit in front of Clover, holding the younger girl's left shoulder in her left hand while using the other to hold both of Clover's hands.
"No doctor in any world would be able to do THIS to a woman and get away with it, Clover," Tifa said, momentarily gesturing to her breasts with the hand she held on Clover's shoulder, "But I'll give you a piece of advice. NEVER let anyone, especially a man, cut your body to enhance or change it. And if any man you're with asks you to get surgery to change what you look like, that means he doesn't truly love you, he's just in love with your body and looks. Surgery like breast enhancement means you're not comfortable or happy with how you are, and would rather lie to yourself and everyone around you to make yourself feel better. I don't try and land every man that walks by JUST because my breasts are big enough to handle three on their own. I don't need that. Not when I've got my friends and those I consider family, like everyone here in NEO AVALANCHE. Even you, Sam and Alex count now."
"So, what are you saying?" Clover asked. Tifa hugged Clover and pulled her as close to herself as her massive bust would allow.
"Clover, what I'm saying is this: don't change yourself just to become acceptable in the eyes of society. Be comfortable and happy with who you are and how you are, because somewhere out there is someone who is looking for you EXACTLY how you are. Be yourself, and only yourself. That's my advice to you as a fellow woman," Tifa said, giving Clover a light peck on the cheek, like a mother to her child, then standing and walking down the grassy hill to go back to camp.
Clover sat against the tree for a while in contemplation. Fifteen minutes later she stood and smiled, then followed Tifa's footsteps down the hill and back to camp, feeling much better about herself.
Days later the teams set off. Cloud had split the team into specialized squads that had specific missions.
As they arrived outside the city, Cloud radioed Nogias to begin the aquatic assault. Nogias acknowledged and set about leading the submarine and its crew to the underwater docking station of Midgar. Meanwhile, Cloud checked in with Cid to begin the aerial assault. Cid gave an enthusiastic "ROGER!" before ordering the small fleet of airships that'd assembled to start firing every weapon they had at once. Their job: Take down the Mako Reactors.
Meanwhile, Cloud alerted the rest of the Land Brigade to begin storming the city. The head buggy contained Sam, Alex, Clover, Cloud, Sephiroth, Zack, Angeal, and Genesis. Their mission was to get the girls into the building. Mere minutes after bursting through the gates of Midgar, the Land Brigade arrived at the doors of the Shin-Ra building. Crashing through the front doors, the head buggy came to a full stop in the lobby. The rest of the Land Brigade stopped behind their leader's vehicle and got out, awaiting their orders.
Cloud stepped out of the car first, with a sword in each hand, one on each side and one on each shoulder. During the past few weeks, he'd asked the weapon smiths to develop swords for him and Zack that would function just like the Buster Blade, but would be lighter in weight so they could use it with one hand, if needed. Only days later, the smiths had invented the first prototype Fusion Swords and gave them to Cloud for testing. After a couple more days of testing and tweaking designs, the completed version was ready, made in duplicate as per request.
Cloud quietly raised his hands up, examining the shine and shimmer of both blades individually. They were indeed magnificent pieces of work, just like the ones on his sides and shoulders. He turned around, smiling as the rest of the Main Brigade exited the vehicles: Alex, her sword sharpened to a razor point and ready to go; Sam, he shield rapidly extending and retracting its blades at her command; Clover, punching her gloved hands several times to flew up; Zack, with his own Fusion Swords dangling off his sides like old-style samurai armor; Genesis, his Rapier glowing a deep, menacing red; Angeal, the Buster Blade resting proudly along its owner's shoulders; Sephiroth, his trademark Masamune resting, handle in his hand, ready to begin work.
The rest of NEO AVALANCHE filed out of the remaining buggies, weapons of all varieties in hand and at the ready. Turning around, Cloud took a good look at the men and women that formed his "army". Most were people who'd never fought a day in their lives, and had merely resigned themselves to living in total squalor out in North Corel. However, at the promise of change and better living, the citizens of that poor, run-down mining town had risen up in union, rallying under this scrawny-armed, gravity-defiantly Chocobo-headed man. He still wished they wouldn't equate his hair to a Chocobo's butt, but in this situation, whatever kept them behind him was worth it.
A few run-of-the-mill infantrymen noticed the break in and ran forward… only to be instantly cut down by Cloud's twin swords. Putting them together, he pulled each blade off his person and put them into the main one in his right hand. When the completed Fusion Swords was completed, he held it high. Zack smiled, recognizing what Cloud was about to do.
"MEMBERS OF NEO AVALANCHE, LISTEN UP!" Cloud shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the group.
"This is our moment of truth, our ultimate end-game. Once we're done here, Shin-Ra Electric Power Corp. will be no more. After that, it may take some time, but we can rebuild the world as we know it to be better and completely independent of Mako energy. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN WE'RE DONE OUR MISSION, THIS PLANET WILL BE OURS TO BUILD AND LIVE ON AS WE PLEASE, FREE OF OPPRESSION AND INSANE TAXES!" With this, the entire army burst out in a raucous wave of cheering.
"As such, I have only TWO orders for all of you. The second order is for you all to obey the commanders who lead your units. Fight at your best and do everything you can to come back alive! And the first order is this," Cloud lifted the Fusion Swords skyward, the tip catching the light of the sun and scattering its light all over the room, brought it back down to momentarily rest his head against the flat edge, then dramatically flung it out to the side with magic so all six swords hung in the air like a star, "ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL… UPHOLD YOUR HONOR AS HUMANS, AND AS MEMBERS OF NEO AVALANCHE! NEVER GIVE UP YOUR HONOR!" Everyone in the room cheered louder, except for four. For Angeal, Sephiroth, Genesis and Zack, this moment was more symbolic than they wanted to admit; They'd all been a part of a moment like this at some point in their lives, and it had only ever been Angeal and Zack that had made that speech. Uttering a silent thank you to Cloud, the four readied their weapons and prepared.
"Barret," Cloud said, "I want you to take Vincent and some of the fighters to make the Decoy team. Then, go to the basement area and cause as much mayhem as you possibly can." Barret smiled; making a scene was his
Cloud looked to Zack and said, "Zack Fair, First Platoon: Take a portion of the men and Platoon Vice-General Angeal Hewley to the research floor. Evacuate as many people as you can… including Hojo Junior, if you can find him. If not… well, we'll deal with that when it happens." Zack and Angeal nodded and took off, followed by a swathe of the fighters.
Cloud then looked to Sephiroth and Genesis, saying, "Vice-Generals Sephiroth and Genesis Rhapsodos, you'll take Second Platoon to the SOLDIER floor and DESTROY EVERYTHING. Anyone that comes is to be offered a chance to come with us and spared if they choose to come with us; if they refuse, kill them. And when I say destroy everything, I MEAN EVERYTHING. Leave no machine in one piece; we don't want to leave that bastard Rufus with any chances of further healing himself." Both men nodded and took off, taking a portion of the forces with them.
"Musaji, I'm leaving you and your sisters to take out floors twenty through forty," Cloud said, "Meanwhile, Omega, You take the PSYONICS team and start from this floor and go to Floor Twenty. If you find civilians or soldiers, offer them safety and spare them if they choose us; kill everything that moves otherwise. LEAVE THE STAIRS WHOLE; we need an escape route if the elevator breaks down and the airships can't get within range of us!" The eight nanotech warriors nodded and set off on their separate tasks.
Cloud then turned to Tifa and said, "Tifa… Can I trust you to lead a demolition squad from the fortieth floor up to the sixtieth?" Tifa nodded, signaling that she understood the rules: Offer sanctuary to civilians and soldiers alike, eliminate those who refused, and destroy everything while making sure not to damage the stairs should an escape route be needed. She nodded for Aerith and Yuffie to move, and the three girls took another small group of soldiers with them as they headed for the elevators.
Cloud turned to Sam, Clover, and Alex. With a simple glance that said, "Let's move," they nodded and followed after him, taking with them what remained of the soldiers. As they neared the elevators, Cloud informed the soldiers that he'd meet them at the sixtieth floor, and that they'd take the elevators to clear the way ahead of time. The soldiers nodded and took off for the stairs.
Cloud kept the radio to all frequencies to keep track of all the action as he and the spies rode the elevator up sixty floors. As they neared the end, the doors opened to … nothing. The room ahead seemed devoid of all life. Even the furnishings seemed to be those of an undead beast waiting for its next meal.
"What is… going on?" Clover asked. Cloud looked around.
"Something's not right here," Sam said, waiting anxiously to take a step outside the elevator and investigate. Alex, on the other hand, seemed to be almost on the brink of collapse, her breathing getting more labored as the minutes slowly passed, her skin paling, and sweat rolling down her features in rivers while a deep blush rapidly swept across her face... Clover was the first to notice it.
"Alex? What's wrong? Are you alright?" she asked. She gasped in horror soon after as Alex's body seemed to give way, falling over flat on her stomach. Sam gasped in worry and asked Cloud and Clover to help her move Alex into the room to check her.
"Not a good idea. Whatever got Alex might get us next; we don't want to run that chance," Cloud said, closing the elevator doors and slamming the emergency button. The small glass-cased room locked itself in place while Sam and Clover set about setting Alex against the glass pane. Moments later, Alex's eyes opened, wincing a bit at the light.
"W… what happened?" she asked.
"What do you mean what happened?" Clover asked, "You were breathing all weird and just suddenly collapsed to the floor unconscious. You can't tell me you don't… wait a minute, what's that?" Clover said, noticing something by Alex's leg. She leaned down and placed her fingers in a small pool of clear fluid at the door of the elevator. Her fingers seemed to go right through it, but when she pulled it away, it seemed to resemble… honey?
It was then that Clover noticed a trail leading from the pool towards Alex's early position, and another, smaller one leading to Alex. Her eyes followed the second, almost invisible trail to Alex's resting body… and noticed the same fluid rushing down her friend's legs in streams.
"Alex… do you remember feeling anything about five minutes ago, before you passed out?" Clover asked, her highly worried tone catching Cloud's attention.
"Clover, did you find something?" Cloud asked. She held out her hand to him, motioning for him to inspect the fluid. He did so, his face turning grim as he watched Clover's hand move along the trails. He watched, almost frightened, as the streams on Alex's legs formed another slightly smaller between them.
"Girls," he said grimly, "I think I'm going to have to go in alone for this. I think Rufus has found a way to make his body invisible, and is using perverted tactics to try and take you three out of the battle. Alex didn't just succumb to a poison… He used his hands to … touch her in arousing ways. I'll come and open the elevator when it's time for you three to come out, alright?" he said. He approached the door, only to stop moments later at the feeling of a shaking hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Alex standing on shaky legs.
"No, Cloud. You wanted US to deal with him. We'll find a way to pull past it! We always have to figure a way out of stickier situations than this anyway…" She thought a moment, and then held up a finger in a "EUREKA!" pose.
"What if we tried channeling those dragons again, but as armor instead of actually replacing ourselves WITH them?" Alex asked. Sam and Clover nodded.
"That could work… but what of he manages to find a way through?" Clover asked. Sam was quick to pipe up this time.
"Remember, against Sephiroth, we summoned those goddess beings with our X-Powders? What if we try pulling a combination of the dragons and the goddesses? The dragons would serve as armor, while the goddesses would act as some sort of celestial guard to keep him from damaging our armor?" Sam suggested. Alex and Clover nodded. They sat down to think it through.
"But… how do we do that?" Clover asked.
"As far as I remember, both seem to activate when we're focusing our anger on a target… what would happen if we tried focusing our will to succeed instead?" Clover asked. Sam nodded.
"Anger seemed strong enough, but a will to succeed might provide an extra boost of power," Alex replied. Cloud sat down with them.
"It seems to me that these goddesses and dragons act like summons. They may have only reacted to your anger and the names you called because you were in danger of dying. As summons unique to you three, if you die, they perish with you. So you may have to commune with your X-Powders and weapons and find out what they really want from you, instead of trying to concoct schemes and plans that may wind up actually killing you," Cloud said, and all three nodded. When asked how they could go about it, Cloud thought for a moment. He then pulled out a small, red orb that seemed to glow with fire.
"This, girls," Cloud said, "is the Materia for a unique sub-species of the Dragon King, Bahamut; in specific, this Materia summons a space dragon named NEO Bahamut. Watch and learn." Cloud entered a meditation position, the Materia placed squarely between his knees. He sat still, concentrating quietly. Moments later, an ethereal vision of a large dragon with six, bat-like wings, coated in metal plates, appeared.
"Strife… What is it?" the dragon asked. Without even moving, Cloud opened his mouth to speak.
"The three girls in front of me want to know how to commune with several summon monsters that have been ingrained into their weapons and communicators. How do we do this?" The ethereal dragon looked at the girls for a few seconds, and then kindly asked to see the equipment. When shown, it seemed shocked.
"The Soul Core Weapons have been found? How long have those been in your possession?" it asked in a strong, booming male voice. The girls tried to go back through their memories, and failed to notice the dragon stretching a claw towards Sam's shield. A faint glow flashed, telling the dragon what it needed to know.
"You've had these for roughly two or three months now, haven't you?" it asked. The three girls nodded.
"That means they've now permanently bonded themselves to your souls. IN the event that you sustain a mortal wound, these weapons will remove themselves from your souls and reseal themselves elsewhere until they are found again. Now, as for your communication devices… Ah. I see traces sacred energy within. You don't have just ANY goddesses within those devices; you hold the three daughters of Minerva, the Mother Goddess of Gaia. You were using incorrect names, however."
"It was said that at one time, the Goddess Minerva spontaneously "gave birth" to three beings that had the potential for great destruction and great salvation. The Goddess Minerva split these beings into two parts each: The side of light, holding their powers of salvation, and the side of dark, holding their powers of destruction. The destructive powers were cast down to the Planet Gaia, where, upon contact with the soil, they split into the summons you know today. Naturally, I am but one of those many beings. However, upon seeing how powerful they were, the original numbers secluded themselves, and eventually sealed themselves within pools of concentrated Lifestream, where they could do no harm, and were eventually crystallized into what is now commonly called a "Materia"."
"Meanwhile, up in the heavens, the three beings of salvation where named with primitive human language and given goddess status: Setsuka, Goddess of Ice and Water; Raika, Goddess of Electricity; Houka, Goddess of Fire. They were given specific tasks to perform in keeping the planet Gaia alive and prospering. It is, in fact, their combined efforts that make the Lifestream possible, with their mother's energy controlling and guiding its flow of rebirth to keep it from spiraling completely out of control."
"As for the dragons within your weapons, they are actually the draconic pets of the sub-species of the Summon Monster Hades, Lord of the Underworld. They were his accidental offspring when he tried to pull Shiva, disguised as a human soul, into Hell with the souls of the damned. Once there, she enacted the old adage and froze Hell over. Enraged, Hades cast his magic upon her, and five days later, as the Goddess Minerva had, Shiva "gave birth" to her own children. Her daughter Sade, a nickname for Satan, The Empress of Evil, created the dragon Komaryu from her mastery of Fire, which she gained by training daily with the monster Ifrit. Her daughter Lucy, short for Lucifer, The Empress of Sin, created the fallen dragon Sakoryu from the terrain of Hell itself, where earth and air co-mingled into an ever-changing mass of chaotic free-fall, using control of Earth and Wind that she gained from training with the monsters Titan and Typhon. Lastly, her daughter Belle, short for Beelzebub, The Empress of Lust, created the ice dragon Tendoryu from the mastery of Ice she received naturally from her mother Shiva."
"The three dragons, when used against a single foe, can, in fact, combine to create the true form of the beast Cerberus, The Hound of Hell: Bahamut HELL, a three headed monstrosity of a dragon that can literally destroy the world, if left unchained. It would, however, require all three of them to control, and since they respond to you…You can use the meditation method to gain direct access to their mistress' summoning incantations as well."
"But," The dragon paused to take a breath, "In answer of Strife's question, all you have to do is… the same thing he did to call on me. Sit with your items held in your laps and meditate, calling on their names. You'll have to do each item one at a time to protect yourselves from mental backlash; I understand Strife's friend Wallace did that once and wound up in bed for three weeks." Cloud nodded solemnly.
"Yeah," Cloud said, a grimace on his face, "Tifa chewed him out good for that one… wouldn't let him live it down for a year afterward." The girls chuckled.
"You three really oughtn't to waste more time. The faster you finish, the faster you'll be able to defeat your foe at hand. Good luck; I pray that the Goddess Minerva will smile upon you. Farewell," NEO Bahamut said, bowing his head quickly as he faded away. The girls stared at each other, then at their weapons and communicators. In the devices they held the powers of angels, while in their weapons they held demonic power. Suddenly the idea of combining the two didn't sound so good.
Nevertheless, Cloud watched as the three settled into place after a moment of silent discussion, preparing for what was to come. All three chose to try their angelic guardians for help first, and set them upon their laps, slowly slipping into meditative states. Moments later, the three devices opened on their own, and the facial profiles of three women appeared from the holographic screens of each: from Sam's, a woman with straight, pale, ice-like blue hair, ghost-white skin and pale violet eyes with the name "SETSUKA" spelled underneath; from Alex's, a woman with gleaming, electric-blue eyes and wild, golden-blonde hair, with the name "RAIKA" spelled out underneath; from Clover's came the face of a woman with long, wavy hair redder than fire and burning orange eyes, with the name "HOUKA" spelled beneath. Cloud bowed. The one named Houka was the first to speak.
"Ah, yes," she said, her voice surprisingly soft and gentle for one called the Goddess of Fire, though not without a touch of warmth, "Cloud Strife. Which of us was it that had a hand in creating him with mother, sisters?"
"I believe we all did," Raika said, her voice raspy and low, almost a hoarse boom.
"I believe you need to refrain from overusing your beautiful voice, Sister Raika," Setsuka chimed in, her voice calm and silky, yet strikingly chilling, "Do remember that you injured your throat in our last practice match when you began hurling those thunder bolts at us from your mouth, despite all our warnings not to…"
"Now, now, Sister Setsuka," Houka said, "Now is not the time for squabbling amongst ourselves. It would seem the three who used our more primal forms once before now seek our aide again. So, Clover, was it?" Clover didn't lift her head, but nodded in reply.
"What is it you and your friends had in mind?" Houka asked.
"Well," Clover said, "first, we want to know if it's possible for you and the… other summons in our weapons can make some form of armor to protect us. Our opponent is-"
"Rufus Shin-Ra," Setsuka said, her voice gaining a hint of resentment and hatred.
"Calm, Sister Setsuka," Raika rasped, "he may claim himself to be god-like, but he will never, ever come close." Raika coughed a bit. Setsuka snapped her fingers and seemed to reach over to touch the area where Raika's neck was in the image. A soft, blue glow emanated from the tips of her fingers.
"Thank you for that, Sister Setsuka," Raika said, her voice now sounding like a combination of both her sisters; soft and silky like Setsuka, but warm like Houka. The one key difference was that her voice seemed more energetic than those of her sisters, who sounded tired.
"Please, Sister Raika, we can't have you hurting yourself every time you speak! Think nothing of it," Setsuka said, her face gaining a rather frosty, yet beaming smile.
"Getting back to the matter at hand," Houka said, "Yes. We know of your predicament. We were contemplating speaking to you ourselves when Sir Cloud showed you how to commune with Materia. We really ought to invite Sir NEO for tea sometime in the future." Cloud chuckled.
"In the way of armor, our heavenly garb would certainly do the job correctly… I would, however like to know why you choose to use us for protection instead of weaponry," Setsuka asked.
"Well… Technically we already have the summons inside our weapons for that purpose," Sam said.
"Lady Samantha," Setsuka said, "Using angelic protection with demonic weaponry is not a wise idea. The weapons would attempt to control you, and if you completely release the beings within… it could be catastrophic!"
"Don't worry about that," Alex said, "We've let the pet dragons out once already… but not against Rufus. We intend to go all the way on him and REALLY make him regret messing with Cloud and his friends!"
The three goddesses gave each other knowing looks before Houka said, "Very well… We will serve as your armor. You seem to be quite confident in your abilities to keep the possession at bay. If you require, we can also lend a portion of our strength to help repel the demonic energy from your bodies should it begin to overwhelm you." Sam nodded.
"That would be most appreciated," Sam said, "Oh, and Goddess Setsuka?"
"Yes?" The icy goddess replied.
"I'm sorry for using your… other self a while back… We had a tough foe to take down," Sam said. Setsuka smiled.
"Do not fret over it, Lady Samantha," she said, "You were in a time of crisis. And I understand… That man Sephiroth has always been a handful. Even for our mother… no matter how many times she restrains him within the Lifestream with her most powerful spells and seals, he always managed to discover a means of escaping her. He has frustrated and enraged her many times… which is why every time you've most needed it, Sir Cloud," Setsuka smiled at Cloud, "She has always given you a little boost in your strength to help you defeat him. She dislikes Sephiroth vastly for constantly trying to destroy her life's work… But it looks like she might be able to forgive him if his so-called "rehabilitation" is to be believed."
Cloud nodded, and then asked, "So, for the weapons, it's the same thing?"
"Yes, although the Demonic Divas may need to be beaten in a fight to prove the worth of the one summoning them before granting their powers," Setsuka replied. Sam, Alex, and Clover nodded in understanding.
"If that is all, we should be going. We need to ready our armor for battle. As it is, you caught us coming from the bath, which is why you can only see our faces. Unless, of course," Raika said, "There is something ELSE you want to ask us…" she let the hint hang in the air. Sam took the bait.
"Why did you choose US? I mean, if what you say is true and Goddess Minerva favors anyone who fights Sephiroth, then why didn't you give your strength to Aerith, or Tifa or Yuffie?" Sam asked, confused. Houka held a hand to stop her sisters, choosing instead to explain it herself.
"We chose you three because Sir Cloud has been doing many things for our Mother for a long time and hasn't known until now. As for the other three girls, technically, Miss Aerith is supposed to be dead, Miss Yuffie is a thief, and… Well, I can't think it'd work if we all blessed Miss Tifa with all our powers at once. When you entered this realm, we looked into your memories and found quite a good collection of good deeds done. We decided you'd be perfect for the task of removing Rufus from this planet. Now hurry; you don't have much time!" the goddess said, vanishing along with her sisters. The girls nodded and set their X-Powders aside, and then set their weapons on their laps. However, when they began meditating, instead of the image of the creatures within showing above their weapons, the girls gasped, and then went still. Cloud watched, slightly scared, as the three girls sat deathly still, heads hanging down with eyes wide open.
~ ELSEWHERE… ~
A din of loud, wicked laughter filled Sam's ears as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around and gasped; on either side of her were Clover and Alex, chained by their wrists to a large wall. She looked around and found the walls around them lined… no, the walls were almost PAINTED with dangling people. Some of the bodies, with a second glance, proved to be feminine in appearance, and Sam could almost feel their pain as they howled in apparent agony. The more masculine forms dangling from the wall groaned loudly, small white flecks falling from their mouths; Sam realized soon after that the men had been gnashing their teeth with enough force to grind them into powder.
"W-WHERE ARE WE?" Clover shouted. Sam hadn't been paying much attention to Either Clover or Alex, and hadn't noticed her waking up.
"I… I don't know," Sam said, trying to calm her down. It was then that she realized something else: She'd been breathing normally for the time she'd been awake… but the entire set-up of the place was like an artist's vision of HELL, complete with thick, heavy clouds of smoke. How was she breathing normally when she should be either close to passing out, or else… dead? Moments later Alex woke up and, strangely enough, kept her cool.
"AH, so the young mistresses are finally awake and able to speak. So," Came a sultry voice from somewhere above them, "Why have you called us out?" Sam, Alex, and Clover looked up to see three figures descending to their position on the wall, and audibly gasped.
Two of the three figures were feminine in appearance; the third seemed to be far too buff to be a woman. The two without armor were almost as well-endowed as Tifa, if not slightly more-so, and each was scary in her own right. The woman on the left, whose ice-blue hair was cut short to the scalp, gave the girls an almost seductive look with orange-ringed frost-blue eyes. She wore what appeared to be a red bathrobe… and nothing else; this was obvious in that it was pulled back around the chest, tied around the woman's perfect hourglass frame, and left to float open everywhere else, revealing more than a generous helping of cleavage and a constant flashing of everything underneath. The woman barely even made any attempt to cover up. Her snide smirk looked ready to split her head open.
The second woman had a slight bit of muscle on her, and was JUST slightly less endowed than her sister before her. Sam found herself quietly thanking her luck for THIS one; at least SHE had the decency to wear some clothes. Given that the CLOTHES in question seemed to be a steel-plated bustier… Sam silently took back everything she'd just thought. Her white-streaked brown hair reached past her knees and seemed both solid like stone, yet formless as wind, while her eyes resembled those of her sister, only hers were pure white with a single brown ring around the pupil. The thing that really struck Sam looking at this one was the sheer number of large scars across what could be seen of her body. Sam could only silently wonder how many more she was trying to hide…
It was only after the third stepped toward the girls that the veil of darkness around it dissipated, revealing the face of a woman. She was the most clothed of the three, apparently taking the concept of modesty as a way of life. Her hair, which flowed redder than a burning flame, stopped around her… armored shoulders. This one actually looked like a denizen of hell preparing for a battle of epic proportions. The armor itself, crackling with red fire in places while simply smoldering in others, was an almost full-body display that covered off everything the woman had. The only things Sam could see clearly were small cracks of red in the joints; it seemed underneath the armor was a flexible red bodysuit. Sam could all but tell that the woman's hair progressed farther down than it showed, and if the helmet held under her left arm was any clue, it seemed she was a bit shy about being seen in battle either out of her armor or without said helmet. Sam couldn't help but admire the helmet's detail: a set of small horns from just above the eyes to the back of the head with two larger ones protruding from the top of the helmet with a forward bend to jut out about a foot-and-a-half in the front, while the face guard, all one piece, resembled what Sam had seen in historical pieces as a smiling demon. 'How fitting,' Sam thought before deciding to speak.
"I'm making a guess here, but you three are Sade, Belle, and Lucy, right? Daughters of The Ice Goddess Shiva and Hades, King of Hell?" Sam asked. At simple nods and a bored look from the one in the armor, she continued.
"I will simply assume you know who we are, so why don't you let us down and we'll discuss things like grown women?" Sam asked, silently wishing she hadn't when the one in the robe got up close.
"So, you enjoy being a smart-ass, huh? LIKE GROWN WOMEN? WE'RE DEMONS, as in the SPAWN OF THE UNDERWORLD ITSELF, while you are JUST MERE HUMANS! There is no discussing anything like grown beings of any kind unless you prove yourselves!" the woman shouted. She was soon pulled aside by her armored sister. Not one of the four remaining women would ever know what EXACTLY happened, but by the way the robed woman hung her head with a downcast gaze, coupled with a rather pronounced lump sticking out at an angle from the left side of her head told of SOMETHING happening that was better left unasked. At least, she stayed quiet for a little while.
The woman with white-and-brown hair said, "Please forgive Sister Belle… she doesn't get out much and … truth be told, just lost a game of strip poker against myself and Sister Sade a short while before you three decided to drop in. She ALWAYS loses… We keep telling her to work on her "poker face", but she never listens." Sam nodded, and soon found herself standing on both feet along with Alex and Clover. Alex was the first of the three to speak.
"So that means you're Sade, right?" she asked, gesturing toward the armored woman, who simply blushed a bit, nodded, then hid behind her white-haired sister.
"Please also forgive Sister Sade… She's, how do you say… shy," Lucy said. Sade's only reaction was to blush a bit deeper. She reached a hand out and waved to the three girls from behind her sister, who simply shook her head.
"So you have a horrible gambler with a short fuse and a super-shy warrior for sisters?" Clover asked. She then stepped forward and, taking both of Lucy's hands in her own, said, "I'm sorry. It must be hard having to speak for at least ONE of them out in battle… I imagine Sade has something to disguise even her voice when that helmet's on her head?" Lucy nodded.
"AND JUST WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, HORRIBLE GAMBLER WITH A SHORT TEMPER?" Belle shouted, running headlong into a solid metal-coated arm. Sade bent over and picked up her now unconscious sister and roped her to the wall behind the girls, making sure to work a bit of her hellish magic into covering up the parts of her sister that shouldn't be seen. Sam thanked whoever could hear her that at least ONE of them had SOME semblance of decency.
"So," Lucy said, "I take it you three wish to discuss the use of not only our pets, but inevitably our powers as well. Your weapons, though you may not realize, carry some level of sentiency each, and due to their housing our pets, we're able to use them as sensory mediums and 'TASTE' the outer world, in a sense. We were listening to your conversation with the three Goddesses; you wish to use our pets in their weapon forms, but wish for us to give you some sort of protection against that boy Rufus, correct?" Sam nodded.
"It had actually been our idea to ask for your summoning incantations. We want to have you three take Rufus into a dimension where the power of Bahamut HELL won't be a threat to this world," Sam said. Sade seemed to brighten a bit at this.
"You actually wish for us to get rid of him for you?" Sade asked. At Sam's nod of approval, Sade began dancing around the cavern quietly so as not to wake her sleeping sister.
"I think you just got her vote…" Lucy said, "She's been looking for a reason to drag that little scumbag down here for years now. She's been begging Father to let her bring Rufus in for… a couple nasty-sounding SESSIONS, as she put it. She may not look it, but Sister Sade is a MAJOR torture specialist. She only ever handles the WORST of the worst cases, and she VASTLY enjoys herself during her SESSIONS, if you catch my drift…" The girls gulped and nodded, silently hoping they never sparked the armored demoness' interest.
Sade settled down and stood next to her sister. With a growing disinterest in her armor, she began to take it off, piece by piece, until she was finally standing before the girls in nothing but the bodysuit… which gave a glaring display of why she was so shy. As Sade stood before the girls in all her jolly, demonic glory, Sam's eyes gave the girls a quick once-over, noting the lack of the assets her sisters had. In fact, what her sisters had in spades… the only way Sam could think to describe it was that Sade had gotten the EXTREMELY short end of the stick. To her credit, her face was beautiful for a demoness… but her body itself lacked anything in the way of femininity. She noticed Sade's face going deep red again, and turned away in apology. Sade shook her head.
"No, Lady Samantha," Sade said, "It's not what you think at all… It's just…" Sade was cut off as a deep, rumbling laugh rang from behind the group. A large cloaked figure floated towards them, the hood of its cloak showing only a bony skull. Sade and Lucy immediately dropped to their knees, as did the girls.
"I come down to the Plateau of Penance to kill some time and what do I find but my own three daughters speaking to their contractors. This is a nice surprise!" The bony figure said. Sam stole a glance. The skull was devoid of any muscle, but still… the bones themselves were moving to form the most DISTURBING smile she'd ever seen. Sam quietly steeled her nerves, assuring herself she'd be seeing that smile in her nightmares for several months to come.
"Father Hades," Lucy said, standing slowly, "We were just in the middle of a mild discussion. Did you have something you wished to say to our contractors?" Sam stood.
"Wait wait, what's this about our being your CONTRACTORS? What does that mean?" she asked, her face bearing a worried look. Lucy turned and nodded.
"Basically," Lucy said,"Since you found the weapons that house our pet dragons, you are entitled to our powers as you see fit. You will have to carry us with you everywhere, as your bodies and souls have adapted to our natures already, as they have done with the powers and natures of the three goddesses within your… mechanical speech devices. In time, our natures will saturate your bodies and seep into your minds, enacting a mild change of temperament. In your case, Lady Samantha, you possess the powers of the Goddess Setsuka and Sister Belle. In time, the two powers will converge and combine in your mind and soul, slightly changing your appearance and attitude. As I understand, your more angelic nature will make you highly dignified and poised, and give you stability of mind. However, as Sister Belle's the Empress of Lust, you'll be stuck with a shorter temper than you normally possess… and may feel an occasional burning within that may set you looking for a man. At that point, it would be best to commune with both sides of your new being and figure out how to regulate the changes. As for Ladies Clover and Alex… well, we'll have to see what happens when it happens."
Sam thought this over for a moment, and then said, "So basically speaking, in time, I'll become a highly refined, yet insanely boy-crazy person with a slight temper? How does that even work? That's a contradiction!" Sade stepped forward.
"It seems that way, but it will make sense in time. Trust us, things will work themselves out in the end," Sade said, Shaking her head a little, causing her ample red hair to spill about her face and body until she was covered in a thin red veil of hair. She reached up and pulled a strand away from her right eye.
"Sometimes I REALLY hate my hair…" she mused. She stood still as Clover walked up behind her and took the majority of Sade's hair and tied it in the back, forming one long ponytail. Sade shook her head again, and then smiled broadly.
"I don't need any more convincing. I've been struggling with that issue for several millennia now… I'll give you any amount of power you request, Lady Clover. My power is yours," Sade said, walking over to stand next to Clover. Sam nodded. She silently planned how to bring Belle under control. Alex took a look at Lucy and noticed the demoness' shoulders becoming tenser as the seconds ticked by.
"Lucy, when was the last time you had any time to yourself?" Alex asked slowly, gaining a smile a bit as Lucy shrank in place, gaining a bit of a blush.
"Actually…" Lucy said, her voice becoming no more than a squeak, "I haven't had any time to relax in about half a millennium. It's been busy down here… more and more people walking the wrong path and winding up here, while more and more people try to escape. I believe the last one who tried to escape was some goon about five-hundred or so years ago who wanted to rescue a woman I'd taken down here on a bet… I disguised myself In Father's old armor and tried to lead this crazed, scythe-wielding Crusader* through the nine circles on a wild goose chase. I kept making things up as I went and… eventually it got to the point where he kicked me to the curb and took off into Purgatory so he could follow the woman into Heaven… I don't know how it turned out. Did you ever catch him, Father?"
Hades' bony face contorted into a twisted smile as he floated to one wall and pulled on a torch. The wall nearby spun around, revealing a tall man in old, castle-age armor hanging by his ankles with a gash in the shape of a scythe cut into his chest that was bleeding, seemingly without end. Regardless of this infinite blood-loss, the man's eyes were alert and focused, now resting on the figure of Lucy.
"I… I attacked and beat a WOMAN into submission? I deserve all of this…" The man said as the wall spun around and slammed shut again, leaving the man to bleed in utter darkness.
"As you can plainly see," Hades said, "I tracked him down and captured him near the top level of Purgatory. He was two seconds away from the end when I caught up with him. Had to drag him all the way back down just like that over-muscled, pale-skinned demigod with the chain blades did with King Midas and the river of lava. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed that spectacle, about as much as I enjoyed hearing bone smash against stone EVERY SINGLE STEP OF THE WAY DOWN! Ah… his screams were music to my ears. Now he can stay right there for eternity and BLEED his tears for what he did to my precious Lucy. NO ONE gets away with harming my daughter that way." The girls took a single, obvious step back from the God of the Underworld. Hades noticed this and only shook his head.
"Perhaps I should rephrase that…" Hades said, "You three are the contractors of my daughters. You are allowed to treat them however you like. Anyone who ISN'T their contractor will NOT be spared my wrath for harming them." Sam nodded before adopting a more formal way of speaking. Now, she was taking NO chances.
"You shouldn't worry about that, Lord Hades," she said, as calmly as she could, "The worst I'll ever do the Belle is… bop her on the head when she acts out of line. I won't go any farther." Hades nodded, His face twisting into a happy-looking smile again. Sam winced.
"I vastly appreciate your choice, and … Oh, wait a moment, I forgot. Human bones don't move like mine do… One second," Hades said. The girls turned moments later, retching as Hades' face began to rapidly generate muscle tissue and flesh. When they turned around, Sam knew that Clover was already long gone; Hades' now-human face was long, with a seemingly permanent smile plastered on it. Blue eyes and shaved black hair finished the look.
"There, that should be more to your liking. Oh, and Miss Sam, I have one little piece of advice for you… In regards to my daughter Belle…" Hades said, leaning in close to whisper in Sam's ear. Sam's face took on a deep shade of red as her entire head and the upper part of her neck flushed.
"WHAT?" she cried indignantly, "What do you mean, SUBJUGATE? I don't think I could ever DO that to ANYONE, let ALONE a demon woman!" Sam looked at her friends. Clover leaned into her ear.
'Sammy, think about it this way; if her powers change you the way they're supposed to, what better way to test them out than… making sure she's well taken care of, even though I know you're not into that stuff,' she whispered in her friend's ear.
"SO NOT helping…" Sam said, her shoulders slumping. Sighing loudly, she thought about it. What if, just the once, she acted the part, JUST to get Belle's help, then continually find guys to set her up with after? That would get exhausting and hard after a while… and it could lead to some really bad outcomes.
Sam's eyes caught motion and, turning, she saw Belle waking up. She had to make a decision fast, and she knew she was going t kick herself HARD for it later, no matter WHAT decision she made.
"Huh… What? Where am… DAMN YOU, SISTERS! YOU WILL ROAST ALIVE FOR THIS, ALL FIVE O-W-what are you doing?" Belle asked as Sam sauntered up, and then lightly ran the back of a hand down Belle's face and rested the other on her stomach.
"Why Belle, didn't you know? As your contractor, I'm given information on you. I know everything about you… For instance, that you really like to be touched HERE," she said, sliding the hand on Belle's stomach toward her groin and applying pressure on a spot JUST below the waist. Belle tried to protest this treatment, but soon, after a bit more pressure on the same spot, her limbs went limp. This human girl, who knew nothing about her, had hit her special spot… without ever removing her clothes!
"And let's not forget that spot above your ear," Sam said, reaching up on her tiptoes to nibble Belle's right ear before letting her tongue touch the flesh just beyond the top of Belle's ear. Belle's eyes rolled up in her head and she moaned loudly. Alex was almost a bit scared of Sam now. She didn't want to know if one of her two best friends in the whole world had knowledge like THAT of HER!
Belle was about to lose it when Sam undid the shackles that held her to the wall and said, "You know what? There are loads of other things I could do… If you tell me you'll let me have your powers. Do that for me, and I'll show you MANY ways of reaching climax." Belle got on her hands and knees.
"SHOW ME! I WILL LET YOU USE MY POWERS WHENEVER YOU WANT! JUST SHOW ME!" The demoness shouted, bowing low. She didn't ever want to do this, but NO ONE, EVER, got her that close and left her hanging. Any and every male she'd ever had that had tried to do that had been DESTROYED!
"Good choice. Now, I'll show you everything I know AS SOON as Rufus Shin-Ra is defeated and pulled down here for your sister Sade," Sam said. Belle looked outraged, but Sam had already claimed her powers. There was nothing she could do.
"Very well then, so be it Lady Sam. Let's get this done fast!" Belle said, jumping to her feet in enthusiasm. Sam smiled. They were just waiting on Alex. A spark came into Alex's eyes.
"Say, Lucy, would you like to go shopping with Sam, Clover and me when this is all over? WAIT! Better idea, we'll make a day of it. We go shopping, and then we drop everything off at our house, and then go for a spa trip! You really need it!" Alex suggested.
"REALLY, YOU'D REALLY LET ME GO WITH YOU?" Lucy gushed. Alex smiled and nodded.
"You've got me! I'M IN TO THE END!" Lucy shouted, latching onto Alex's arm. Alex smiled.
Hades smiled and produced pieces of paper with what the girls needed, saying, "As soon as you touch these, you will automatically learn the summoning calls, and will be able to remember them no matter what. Use them well, ladies!"
Sam stepped up to Belle after receiving hers and said, "Now that I think of it, I could always give you a down payment for good service… and then a bonus later if you do your job well enough." Belle smiled wide as Sam dragged her, by the hand, over to an out-cropping hidden by a wide-cornered wall. A lot of muttering and moaning could be heard from the area, but not ONE of the people remaining moved to see what was happening. A few minutes later, Sam and Belle emerged from the outcropping, Sam nodding happily to herself while Belle staggered along behind her, looking quite satisfied. In fact, as far as Hades was concerned, if the trails going down his daughter's legs, combined with the glazed look in her eyes and the unruly condition of her normally straight hair were any indication, Sam had done a more than excellent job of placating his rowdiest daughter.
"Alright, it's time for you three to go back. You haven't much time left before Rufus manages to break into the elevator," Hades said, holding out a hand. The girls found bid farewell to their new demoness friends just as their bodies were encased in darkness and sent away.
~BACK WITH CLOUD~
Cloud sat silently, waiting for the girls to rise. When a sharp scraping noise, like nails on a chalkboard, filled the air from the direction of the door, Cloud realized he had no time remaining. He raised a hand and cast a powerful ice spell at the doors to seal them shut.
Suddenly he felt a powerful energy spike and moved. He was right to do so, because soon, a blast of energy tore through his ice spell, allowing the girls to exit. Cloud watched as the three girls he'd just tried to protect slowly walked out, heads bowed with their weapons in one hand and their X-Powders in the other. Rufus' body soon appeared, his face bent into a sneer. Cloud looked at what had previously been Rufus Shin-Ra.
Where his limbs had once been human, they were now no more than metal-covered bones with a little muscle on them, while his torso looked almost entirely robotic, save for the multiple, beating hearts that pushed out through the metal in places*. His head was now half-human and half machine, so the sneer he gave the girls was… creepy, to say the least. The girls, however, seemed entirely unfazed.
"You're not afraid of me?" Rufus said, almost uninterested. Sam shook her head.
"No, actually, we're not afraid of you at all. As a matter of fact, we have more than enough strength between us three to make sure you never see hide or hair of this place EVER again. Are you ready girls?" Clover and Alex nodded. Sam turned to Cloud while Alex and Clover held their tools close to their hearts and started chanting.
"Cloud, I'm going to need to ask you to hold him back for a bit. Once we have our barriers up, you can stop, alright?" she asked with a smile as she turned to follow Alex and Clover in chanting. Cloud realized he had no choice. Taking hold of the Fusion Swords, he jumped over the girls and held his blade ready for combat. Rufus laughed derisively.
"You expect to defeat ME, Strife?" He asked. Cloud shook his head.
"Actually, no; I rather expect I'll lose. But I have to do whatever I can for these three, so… HERE WE GO!" he said, shouting the last three words as he rushed in.
The next few minutes were interspersed with the sounds of three chanting voices mixed with the repeated sound of metal hitting metal, as well as groans of pain as Cloud took injury after injury. As Cloud slid back in front of the girls, sporting a rather large wound across his chest, he noticed the air getting lighter in color around him… 'Wait; air doesn't have a color' he thought… Upon closer inspection, everything else was a lighter shade in color than it had been before.
It was then that he heard all three girls say aloud, "IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS OF (FIRE), (ICE), and (LIGHTNING)! LET THIS EVIL BE DESTROYED!" He smiled and sat down; the girls had their protective barriers up and were now robed in angelic armor. Each had nearly the same suit on, save for several differences.
Sam's armor was white with blue trim and a floral pattern on the shin-length battle skirt, while Alex's carried slightly more golden-yellow trim and lightning-bolt patterns on the sleeves. Clover was covered in a white-with red battle suit, with frills in EVERY imaginable place, with a flame pattern along the sleeve cuffs and the bottom of her shin-length skirt. Each had a small tiara on their head, adorned with the signature of their guardian element: Sam's had a large snowflake, Alex's had two crossed lightning bolts, and Clover's bore a large flame. Seconds later, black and red tendrils flowed up through the ground, wrapping up their legs and torsos to rest just over their noses, solidifying as one-piece battle suits beneath the armor.
Sam looked to Alex and Clover, nodding as she took off in a charge, her bladed shield shattering mid-charge and reforming into a broadsword with a large, bladed shield over the guard on one side. With one fluid motion, Sam readied her weapon, and then vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of her being behind.
Alex was the next to move, her blade gaining a slight bit of girth and LOTS of length, easily matching Sephiroth's own. However, the blade was oddly formed; it was curved in a series of semi-circles, each in the reverse direction of the one before it, and zigzagged like lightning the whole way through, with small hooks on the tip, also jagged like lightning. With barely a step forward, Alex vanished from sight.
Clover was the last to move, her gloves reforming into large, fist-covering curved plates shaped like inverted hearts, with the points of the hearts stopping midway on her forearms. The rounder parts looked pointy as well, colored black with gold trim, with a red plate on top for extra protection and damage potential. Out from the pointed front portions came two large, demonic horns, curled like goat horns. A large, inverted heart with curled edges appeared within the red plate, flashed pitch black. And with that, Clover was gone.
Rufus looked around the room, turning himself invisible to protect himself. He soon realized he may have bitten off more than he could chew.
A metal-coated fist rammed into his cybernetic ribs, cracking three. A gasp of shock turned into a scream of pain as what seemed like three-hundred more rammed into his body, shattering bones and rupturing some of the few internal organs the man had left… if he could still be called a man. The last punch sent him screaming into the air, only to be met with a wickedly-curved sword aimed right for his head.
In seconds, what skin Rufus still had was coated in deep cuts and gashes, while his body twitched with electrical overload. Each of swing of the blade carried the punch of an entire lightning bolt and connected with the sound of a thundering roar… not to mention the force of a fleet of airships with afterburners roaring. The final slash sent him down to the ground, where he bounced thrice and rolled, barely getting onto his feet when the next set of attacks hit.
His body suddenly felt much colder. Looking down, Rufus realized his body had been frozen to the floor. As such, he was forced to endure repeated slashes and being flash frozen repeatedly as Sam took to the sky for her attacks, a set of angel wings sprouting from her shoulders. After the tenth attack, Sam unleashed a massive ice spear that impaled Rufus, flash-freezing him once again and pinning to the ground. Sam, Clover, and Alex settled back in front of Cloud and began their summoning ritual.
Holding her blade skyward with both hands, she lowered it to rest before her face, sharp side facing her as she chanted, "Frozen beyond the beyond of hell, O great sleeping beast of ice, betray your eternal slumber and rise to seal this wicked soul in permanent frost! TENDORYU, DRAGON OF BEELZEBUB, DEVIL QUEEN OF ICE AND LUST, RISE AND DEVOUR YOUR PREY!"
Alex held her blade sideways, allowing it to float in place as her hands extended to her sides, and then said, "Chained with lightning in the deep abyss, O great beast of the sky and the earth, awaken from your sleep and come to my aide! Seal my foe in your electric grip for eternity! SAKORYU, DRAGON OF LUCIFER, DEVIL QUEEN OF ELECTRICITY, EARTH, WIND, AND SUFFERNG, RISE AND DEVOUR OUR FOE!"
Clover held her gloved hands together in prayer, saying, "Burned to the walls of the everlasting darkness, O great monster of flames eternal, stir from your deep rest and torch this evil to the pits of hell! Cast his soul into eternal pain and destruction! KOMARYU, DRAGON OF SATAN, DEMON QUEEN OF FIRE AND EVIL, RISE AND DEVOUR ALL WHO OPPOSE!"
As the three dragons tore from the ground, the girls took a step forward. Sam placed a hand out, palm flat and facing a space above Rufus. Alex and Clover followed suit, placing their hands on top of Sam's.
"DRAGONS OF THE DEVIL QUEENS, MERGE AND ASSUME YOUR TRUE FORM! TAKE THIS WICKED SOUL TO THE NETHER DIMENSION FOR ALL ETERNITY! BAHAMUT HELL, FORM!" All three shouted. The three dragons roared as the room around them seemed to shatter outward, revealing a black expanse. Rufus, feeling tingling in his arms, realized the ice had melted and tried to get up to attack the girls before they could complete their summoning. Unfortunately, he was far too late.
The three dragons fused, melding and twisting together until the beast they were summoned to make formed. With eight, massive pillar-like legs connected by hellfire in the joints, a wind-wrapped heart in a body formed of ice coated in hellfire and brimstone, and three heads that resembled the pits of hell themselves, Rufus realized his time was now. He had to do something, ANYTHING, to finish these girls off, or …
"BAHAMUT HELL, TAKE HIM AWAY!" The girls shouted. The massive hell dragon opened its three maws, each revealing a set of super-sharp teeth made of molten rock, large globs of acid dripping from each and every tooth. The left head's neck seemed to twist, and suddenly extended, shooting the head forward at an inhuman speed. A second later, with his body in the monster's mouth, Rufus took out a bomb and dropped it in, bracing for impact.
He screamed in agony a second later as the explosion mixed with the hellfire in the beast's belly and shot up from its mouth to torch him directly. He was tossed to the right-side head which tore through his body and hit him with powerful electricity before tossing him to the center mouth. Rufus could see a blue aura coming up the beasts' throat and tried a fire spell.
The spell collided with the highest-grade ice magic possible, which flash froze him on a cellular scale. The frozen body fell into the beasts' maw and vanished forever. The massive dragon nodded in completion of its work and split into the original three, who then vanished along with the girls' armor, revealing the forms of the three demon sisters and the three goddesses.
"That was incredible work, controlling our dragons so well!" Belle said, throwing herself at Sam. Sam smiled. The dark space vanished moments after, revealing the top floor of the building.
~SEVERAL DAYS LATER~
The girls sat at a table in North Corel, sitting across from their respective powers.
"So, you have no choice but to stay with us wherever we go, huh?" Clover asked. Sade nodded, while Houka simply chuckled.
"That is certainly the case. Mother Minerva has granted us the ability to change our form in your world, so the only people to ever see us in our god-like state will be the three of you and the three Demon Queens," Houka said. Sade nodded.
Sam chuckled and, with a lingering glance at Belle, said, "Well… in that case, we should be able to resolve a couple problems in our world quite easily with you present, huh?" Belle felt weak in the knees for a moment.
"Oh? Got a few nasty people on a kill list, or something?" the demoness asked. Sam shot Clover and Alex a look. They got the message.
"Yeah… We have one in particular, but not to kill or anything. More along the lines of… CONVINCE TO NEVER BOTHER US AGAIN." Belle understood.
Moments later, Cloud and the others walked over in time for a wormhole to open several feet from the table. The girls got up with their allies and said goodbye, then stepped through the wormhole.
Once back, they immediately avoided Jerry and headed for home. After a good rest, they'd be more willing to explain their mission success with him. Right now, there were certain things that needed dealing with.
The next morning, Sam woke up, but something felt odd. For the first time in a while, her body felt heavy. She got up and went to take a shower, but stopped short of the bathroom as she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her lower jaw SLAMMED into the floor at the sight of her appearance.
She'd always been used to seeing her red hair fall to her mid-back, but seeing it stopping just short of her shoulders, now a light, frosty blue with red streaks and tips… she felt like she'd swapped bodies with someone else. She took a closer look at herself and gasped.
She'd always been a looker, but now… that wasn't an apt description. The more appropriate term was "Man Killer". If her old appearance had been a setting on a dial, she would have ranked herself a seven, maybe an eight at best. The way she looked now, with her breasts almost falling out of her loose nightgown while the lower half clung to her now full hips and toned butt for dear life, it was like everything about her had been pushed to ten on the dial, then cranked around to the "five" position after the dial broke. A quick spin later, and she knew, first thing first, was that she'd need a new wardrobe.
Seconds later, two loud screams ripped through the pent house, sending Sam tearing down the hallway to the source. Upon arrival in the hall that led to Alex and Clover's rooms, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her best friends were now "Man Killers" along with her. Clover had always been the better looking of the three, while Alex filled in the "athletic" body type almost perfectly, leaving Sam to be the "Hot Bookworm". Now, with all three girls looking like girls out of hardcore porn, there was NO WAY the boys OR girls at school would EVER look at them the same way again.
The most distinguishing changes that had Sam second-guessing her hunch were their hair: Alex's normally black hair was now a light brown with white streaks and tips while her eyes , while Clover's normally short blonde hair was shot just past her shoulder-blades, colored fire-red with blonde streaks and tips. Sam also noticed a change in their eyes: Alex's brown eyes now had a white ring around her pupils, while Sam's blue had a visible red ring around hers.
"Sammy, what happened to you?" Clover asked, her face gaining a shocked look.
"The same thing that happened to both of you, it looks like," Sam said, taking the opportunity to spin around once more to show her friends her "Changes".
"I vote shopping trip," Alex said, wincing a bit. Her friends shared that wince; they knew it would be nearly impossible to find ANYTHING in their new sizes…
~THE END~
FINALLY, we've reached the end of this story. I'm sorry to have been so lax with this… I hope this makes up for it. ^_^ R&R, CONSTRUCTIVE FLAMES ARE WELCOME.
*Anyone want to take a guess where I got THIS idea?