Chapter 17: Nightshade Vs Balthazar
Max stared in shock at the man standing above him as his voice, a voice that Max never wanted to hear again rang in his ears. A Kitsune with fire red fur, bright yellow eyes and hair as black as night. Max closed his eyes tightly at a last ditch attempt at denial but he knew that it wouldn't work, the man he had killed, the man he thought was dead was back. Max opened his eyes again. "Balthazar…" He finally managed to utter, still in shock.
Balthazar's evil grin grew wider, "So you do remember me," he said in a mocking tone. "I was starting to think that you'd forgotten about me."
Max shifted suddenly causing Balthazar to move his foot away as Max staggered to his feet, "don't flatter yourself!" Max spat as he quickly held his sword out in front of him and pointed it at Balthazar.
Balthazar didn't flinch once, "now, now," Balthazar replied in the same patronising manner, "there's no need for violence."
Max was about to respond to Balthazar's comment but Nightshade got there first. "Violence is the only language you understand," he stated quite calmly despite the anger he felt for this man for all the pain that Balthazar had caused.
Balthazar turned round and his grin grew wider still as he saw Nightshade stood there staring back at him. "Aaah…" Balthazar said in his usual patronising manner. "How've you been my little brother?"
Tifa stared at Nightshade as Balthazar said this, "he's your brother?" she asked shocked to hear that Nightshade was related to such an evil man. Nightshade hung his head.
"I don't want to talk about it," was all he said to Tifa, he then looked up and glared at Balthazar. "You should know," he retorted anger creeping into his voice, "since you were the one who ruined my life!"
Balthazar merely laughed at this, "you were always one to blame your mistakes on other people," he said still in that mocking tone.
"Oh, my mistakes!" Nightshade shot back not taking his eyes off Balthazar, "was it my mistake when you killed our mother and altered my memory?"
"You knew my secret," Balthazar spat he stared back right into Nightshade's red eyes with his own yellow eyes. "I had to find a way to discredit you, to silence you!"
"Well I'm sorry that you were pure evil from the moment you were born!" Nightshade yelled sarcastically, "but it didn't stop you from not blaming me when you killed my wife and Max's mum!"
Balthazar laughed at this, "Max was a special child of special blood," he explained as he started pacing round Nightshade. "Of course, Aurora got in the way," Balthazar said this with contempt in his voice, "the foolish woman was willing to sacrifice herself to protect her son, I merely granted her wish. The fact that I put her out of her misery in front of you was just an added bonus." Balthazar revelled in these last few words as something inside Nightshade snapped and all his calmness and common sense was thrown completely out of the window.
"Ok," A voice inside Nightshade's head yelled, the voice of his Dark Side, "now I'm pissed!" Nightshade glared at Balthazar his eyes glowed even more vividly than normal. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nightshade yelled at the top of his lungs as his fur changed from brown to dark purple. His long hair changed from blue to jet black and it stuck out more than usual. Nightshade opened his eyes and the pupils and irises had completely disappeared leaving the whites which now glowed red. Fangs curled out of his mouth and sharp claws stuck out of his fingers, his body was pulsing with dark energy. Balthazar's grin grew wider as he saw Nightshade finally lose it.
"Looks like I struck a nerve," he stated casually as if this was just a game to him, "Finally."
Dark Nightshade glared at Balthazar and he opened his mouth to speak, but a deeper and darker voice came out of it. "Oh but I'm gonna strike more than a nerve on you!" He hissed threateningly as he prepared himself for battle.
"Is that so?" Balthazar uttered just as menacingly as he too prepared himself for battle.
Max stood there staring at Nightshade, he was shocked to see Nightshade in this state as Nightshade had always seemed so calm to him. He was always the voice of reason even when Max had sometimes completely lost his reason. "Dad…" he tried to get Nightshade's attention.
Nightshade turned to look at Max, "Stay out this Max!" He yelled still in that same dark voice.
"But…" Max continued to speak but Nightshade interrupted him.
"I said stay out of this!" Nightshade shouted at Max again and he turned back to face Balthazar the dark energy around him pulsing stronger than ever.
Pandora was also watching the scene she stared from Nightshade to Balthazar fearfully, then she stared at Max who was still stood there staring in shock. "I'd do what he says Max," Pandora advised him, like Max she had never seen Nightshade like this before and she knew that the outcome wasn't going to be pretty.
Max snapped out of his shock and he walked over to Pandora, "but what about…" he pleaded with Pandora and he moved his head in Nightshade and Balthazar's direction, however before he could finish the rest of his sentence Pandora cut in again.
"This is Nightshade's fight now," she told him, she knew that given the chance Nightshade would've killed Balthazar over two years ago if Max hadn't of beaten him to it. Max was about to respond but Cloud spoke before Max even had the chance.
"Pandora's right," he said agreeing with Pandora, "besides," he added, "we should take care of Hojo," at these words Cloud looked behind him but the mad scientist was nowhere to be seen, "speaking of which," he continued, "where did that son of bitch get to?"
With a yell Nightshade lunged at Balthazar with no holding back, he held a clawed hand out in front of him and he grabbed hold of Balthazar's face, picked him up and slammed him into the ground still holding on to his face. Everyone stared in shock at Nightshade's sudden surge of strength, Balthazar suddenly kicked out striking Nightshade in the stomach causing him to let go of Balthazar's face and get sent flying into a wall. However a few seconds later and a purple blur was seen lunging at Balthazar and the two brothers rolled around on the ground punching and kicking each other in every available spot on their bodies, neither was willing to back down.
"Whoa! I've heard of catfights but this is just ridiculous," Zack suddenly spoke in Max and Pandora's heads.
"Zack…" Max began to grow annoyed at Zack's uncanny ability to suddenly appear at the worst possible time. "If you've got nothing useful to say then go away!"
Another voice in Max's head that Zack had never heard before spoke up. "Max, for once I agree with you," Dark Max said to his other self. (A/N, Max and Nightshade have two personalities, no they're not schizophrenic it's just that because of what they are their darker halves have personalities of their own.) "ZACK SHUT UP!"
Zack sighed and he spoke with an offended tone, "Fine, I'll leave but I just thought I'd let you know that while you guys were distracted Hojo took the opportunity to sneak into the lab."
"Has he gone yet?" Dark Max asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Hey!" Zack yelled as he glared daggers at Dark Max.
"Hold on there Dark," Max told his dark counterpart. "What did you say?" Max asked Zack.
Zack sighed irritably. "While…you were distracted…" He deliberately spoke in a slower tone than normal. "Hojo used that opportunity…to sneak…into…the office…"
"We're…not…stupid…" Dark Max retorted just as slowly and sarcastically.
"Whoa!" Zack spoke up again, "and I thought I had a smart mouth…Anyway," Zack quickly changed the subject, "Aerith and I overheard Hojo talking, he said something about getting some files from the office before the whole lab is destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Pandora found herself asking.
"HELLO!" Zack yelled as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Your father/father in law," he added the extra part for Pandora's benefit. "Is pissed, and in his current state and the sudden surge in strength, Nightshade could destroy this whole building never mind the basement!"
"Well, if you just got reminded of how your wife died," Max said in Nightshade's defence, "How would you react?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Zack said quickly, "have you ever heard the phrase don't shoot the messenger?"
"Actually," Dark Max cut in as he grinned evilly at Zack, "that's not a bad idea."
"Max," Zack pleaded with Max, "can you please keep your dark side under control, he's making me nervous."
"I'm sorry," Dark Max said in a mocking tone, "let me rephrase that, if I could do, I would shoot the messenger!"
"Max, tell him!" Zack yelled at Max.
Pandora shook her head and sighed, "Stop acting like kids you two!" She shouted irritably.
"He started it!" Zack tried to shift the blame on to Dark Max.
"HERE SHE COMES TO WRECK THE DAY!" Dark Max sang in a joking manner, Zack laughed at this.
"That's one thing I agree on," he said agreeing with Dark Max for the first time in the entire conversation.
"Zack…" Pandora started but Zack interrupted her.
"Gee you're worse than Aerith."
"Hey, I resent that!" Aerith yelled as she glared at Zack, he merely gave her a rueful grin.
"Aerith…"
Don't you Aerith me!"
"Ok, ok," he said by way of an apology, "sheesh everyone's so uptight."
"Aw…" Dark Max mocked Zack, "you're getting told off and I see you can piss off a Cetra. I bet she sold flowers at 100gil per flower."
"Actually it was 1gil," Aerith corrected him.
"Yeah a gil plus 9 more squared by cubed," Dark Max continued in the same mocking tone.
"Hey!" Zack yelled becoming increasingly annoyed at Max's dark side. "The only person who can piss Aerith off is me!"
"Will you two just SHUT UP!" Max yelled at Zack and his dark side becoming irritated by them arguing.
"Good idea," Dark Max chipped in "both of you shut up."
"He meant us stupid!" Zack shouted as he glared at Dark Max.
"Look who's calling who stupid!" Dark Max retorted, "I didn't get shot in the head!"
"THAT'S IT!" Zack yelled at the top of his lungs as he dived at Dark Max. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
"BRING IT ON!" Dark Max yelled as they both started fighting in Max's head, Max held both sides of his head in pain.
"This is giving me such a headache," Max complained.
"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Aurora yelled at Zack and Dark Max, who still carried on fighting.
"Or what?" Dark Max asked mockingly as he held Zack by the throat. Aurora stepped up to them and she separated Dark Max and Zack. "How's she doing this?" He asked half to himself, "talk about a pain in the ass for a mother, I sometimes wish Max didn't have her for a mother."
Aurora hit Dark Max, "Watch your tongue!"
"Oh, I have to watch my tongue," Dark Max mocked Aurora as she glared at him. "Oh woe is me."
Aurora banged Zack and Dark Max's heads together. "Ouch!" They both cried out in pain as they rubbed their heads.
"Now apologise to each other," Aurora said sternly.
"Err no…" Dark Max told Aurora, "anyway, since when do I take orders from Miss Light?"
Aurora glared at Dark Max, "Because I'm Max's mother and because you and Max are both the same person that makes me your mother as well now apologise!"
Dark Max gave Aurora the finger and she cast a shock spell on said finger, Dark Max cried out in pain. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
"Could you two please stop arguing?" Max pleaded with Zack and Dark Max, "my finger is in pain and Dark."
"Yeah," Dark Max answered.
"Do you want to go back in The Cage?"
A flicker of fear flashed on Dark Max's face, "anything but that," he pleaded desperately with Max. Zack laughed at Dark Max's fear.
"Aw…is Dark Max scared?" He asked mockingly.
"Zack shut up!" Max cut in before Dark Max could think of a comeback. "Dark, you say one more word and I'll put you in The Cage!"
"So are you gonna catch Hojo or what?" Zack asked.
"Well if you hadn't been interrupting us so much we would've started doing that!" Max yelled at Zack.
"Good luck guys," Aerith said cheerfully as she,Zack and Aurora disappeared. Max started running down the corridor, closely followed by Pandora. Cloud saw them run down the corridor and he ran after them, Vincent, Tifa and Drogo followed him.
"Where are you going?" Cloud asked as he caught up with Max.
"Hojo's in the office at the back of the lab," Max answered as he carried on running.
"How do you know?" Tifa questioned.
"I'll explain later," Max replied, "come on," he ran faster down the corridor.
"But what about…" Tifa was about to ask when Drogo interrupted her.
"Trust me," Drogo reassured her, "Nightshade can handle this on his own." The group continued to run down the corridor in hopes of catching Hojo before he did another disappearing act.
Meanwhile Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Rude, Isis, Sunny, Lance, Angel and Emily entered the mansion just as Balthazar came flying through the floor and landed flat on his stomach momentarily stunned. "That had to hurt," Emily commented without flinching.
"Hey isn't that…?" Lance asked as he looked from Balthazar to Angel.
"Looks like it," Angel answered as she looked back at Lance.
"Wait a minute," Barret cut in, "I thought Max killed that guy."
"He did," Lance replied.
Sunny took a closer look at Balthazar, "so that's what Balthazar looks like," she pondered half to herself.
"You mean you weren't there?" Red questioned as he stared inquisitively at her.
Sunny shook her head, "I joined the group two years after Balthazar was killed."
"Son of a Bitch!" Cid cursed loudly, "these creeps are popping up all over the place!"
Balthazar woke up and he was about to get up when a clawed hand reached up through the floor and dragged Balthazar back down into the basement. A deep, dark voice could be heard from below. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!"
"Wasn't that…?" Sunny asked as the sounds of punching, kicking and spells being fired in all directions could be heard below them before Nightshade came crashing through the good staircase and slid across the floor.
"Is it me?" Cid questioned as Nightshade quickly leapt to his feet his teeth bared and his clawed hands ready for battle. "Or does he look pissed?"
Red saw Nightshade in his Dark Form, "Hmmm…interesting," Red thought out loud.
Balthazar came up through floor in Dark Form just before Nightshade punched him into the dinning room causing him to go flying into the piano breaking it cleanly in half before he skidded to a stop at the wall. Nightshade ran into the dinning room after Balthazar, grabbed hold of him and swung him round and round before knocking Balthazar through the wall back into the hallway again and through another wall leading to one of the storage rooms. The rest of the group were stood there staring in awe at the two Kitsunes fighting. Lance eventually broke the silence, "I think Nightshade is venting out some anger."
Balthazar blasted dark energy bolts at Nightshade as Nightshade ran up the wall and on to the ceiling before he jumped and landed feet first on Balthazar's face. The floor crumbled all around them causing Nightshade and Balthazar to fall through and land in the coffin room on top of Vincent's coffin, Nightshade was still on Balthazar's face.
The group were still stood there watching as Rude's phone rang. Rude quickly grabbed the phone and answered it. "Rude here."
"Rude it's Rufus," Rufus spoke on the phone as another crash was heard and Nightshade went through the floor and the ceiling. "Rude!" Rufus shouted over the crashing, "I heard a crash just now, what's going on?!"
"Well…" Rude began to explain but the rest of his explanation was drowned out by the sound of Nightshade ripping the door of the safe off its hinges, he swung it round as easily as if it was made of feathers.
"KNOCK, KNOCK!" Nightshade yelled as he launched the door at Balthazar as he went through the floor causing him to go flying through several walls and slam into the room with the secret staircase leading to the basement. "IT'S FOR YOU!"
Balthazar ran back through the holes he had made in the wall and launched himself at Nightshade, "WAS THAT YOU'RE BEST SHOT?!" He retorted as he grabbed Nightshade by the head and slammed him face first into the floor. "YOU FIGHT LIKE OUR MOTHER!"
Nightshade grabbed Balthazar by the throat, threw him down the stairs and he jumped on Balthazar's back using him as a skateboard as both Kitsunes slid down the stairs creating a massive big hole in the middle of the stairs as they went eventually landing in the main hall again. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Nightshade yelled as he and Balthazar continued fighting.
"Need I ask how stable the mansion is?" Rufus asked as calmly as possible.
"It's madness!" Cait Sith yelled as he began to panic, "It's madness I tell ye!" Nightshade grabbed Cait Sith, swung him round and round above his head and threw him at Balthazar. Balthazar caught Cait Sith in his clawed hand, slammed him to the ground and he lunged at Nightshade again, he grabbed Nightshade by the throat and he attempted to do a sleeper hold on him. Nightshade struggled and fought wildly, he eventually threw Balthazar off him and launched him upwards through the roof.
"I want those psychotic Kitsunes stopped before they completely destroy that mansion!" Rufus ordered down the phone.
"I wouldn't try," Lance advised.
"That mansion is over 100 years old," Rufus informed them.
"Yeah," Cid agreed with Lance, "Leave the S.O.Bs to it."
"Where's Drogo?" Emily asked.
"I believe he's in the basement," Rufus answered, "And who are you?" He questioned Emily.
"This is Emily, Rufus," Sunny answered, "but we'll explain later."
"Right," Rufus said, "I trust the mission at the reactor went well."
Rude nodded, "yeah."
"I'm not sure who's getting the most shit kicked out them," Cid observed as he noticed the large holes in the floor, walls and ceiling. "Balthazar, or the mansion."
Nightshade grabbed Balthazar and he threw him into the roof, the second floor, the first floor, down an elevator shaft to the basement and they eventually landed in a storage room just above the sewers that led to the reactor.
"I must admit," Balthazar remarked, "you've become stronger since the last time we met." Nightshade picked up a wooden crate and he smashed it on Balthazar's head.
Max and the others finally reached the office at the back of the lab where they found Hojo ransacking the office, there were some files in his hands but he was still looking for more and before he or any of the others could say anything the basement began to shake and Pandora noticed a broken support beam. "What happened?" She asked.
"Fools!" Hojo yelled at them, "the main support beam of the mansion has been badly damaged! You know what that means?!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Max shouted at Hojo.
"This mansion will come crashing down at any minute if your psycho for a father keeps it up!" Hojo rambled on ignoring Max's question and he continued to search frantically for the last files. "Now where are they? Ah, here they are." Hojo opened the draw in the desk and he found the last files in the drawer and he quickly picked them up. "So I'm gathering my past research to preserve it."
"Don't you ever call him that again!" Max yelled at Hojo a hint of menace in his voice.
"What do you want with all those research papers?" Cloud asked Hojo.
"That's on a strictly need to know basis Strife!" Hojo snapped.
"Gee, you remembered my last name," Cloud muttered sarcastically. "How kind of you."
Hojo was about to respond to that witty remark when a mysterious voice echoed in the room. "There's no time Hojo! Get out of there now before the Mansion gets completely destroyed!"
"Huh?" Max listened to the voice which sounded strangely familiar to him. "That voice…" Before anyone else could respond Hojo disappeared from the mansion. "Where did he go?" Max asked.
"Does it matter?" Pandora said urgently. "We have to get out of here now!"
"But that voice…" Max continued to ask.
Pandora grabbed hold of his hand, "We won't live to find out who that voice belongs to if we don't get out of here now!"
"As much as I hate to admit it," Dark Max spoke in Max and Pandora's heads. "She's right!"
"Thanks Dark," Pandora muttered sarcastically, "it's nice to see that you have confidence in me…for once." Everyone ran out of the basement and into the hall where they met up with the others. Emily saw Drogo and she ran up to him.
"Drogo!" She yelled as she hugged him.
"Emily?" Drogo couldn't believe his eyes but nevertheless he hugged her back. "What are you doing here?" He asked.
Emily glared at Drogo, "Oh that's a fine way to greet your sister!"
"She's your sister?" Cloud asked Drogo.
"Yeah," Drogo answered, "but we'll explain everything later, right now we should make like a banana and split before this places collapses with us inside it." Everyone quickly ran out of the mansion just in time as it collapsed in on itself and it was reduced to a large pile of rubble.
"Is that everyone?" Cloud asked as he checked to make sure everyone was safely out of the mansion.
Tifa shook her head, "Nightshade's still missing," she told him.
"Has anyone seen him?" Pandora asked as she looked desperately at everyone.
"He didn't come out of the mansion," Vincent answered darkly.
Max ran up to the rubble and he began searching through it frantically hoping to find Nightshade hidden underneath the rubble, hoping against hope that he was still alive. "Dad…DAD!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to search for Nightshade in the rubble. "DAD WHERE ARE YOU?! Please don't be dead."
Meanwhile Balthazar flew down a hole in the storage room before he was kicked into the sewers, Nightshade jumped down after him. WHY ARE YOU HERE BALTHAZAR?! Nightshade screamed at his brother as he picked up a lead pipe and swung it at him. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY MAKE ME SUFFER ANYMORE THAN I ALREADY HAVE DONE?!" Nightshade then kicked Balthazar down a waterfall and through a tunnel, Nightshade then grabbed Balthazar by the collar and pinned him to the ground and he pulled his fist back. Balthazar merely laughed at this.
"So you finally decided to be a real man and not run away from your problems." Nightshade punched Balthazar square in the jaw.
"I'm more of a man than you ever were!" Nightshade snapped at Balthazar.
"Is that so?" Balthazar asked in his usual mocking tone.
"A real man wouldn't kill his own mother and frame his little brother for the crime!" Nightshade shot back as he kicked Balthazar through a metal gate. Balthazar leapt to his feet and he launched a Dark Lightning spell at Nightshade, Nightshade easily dodged it and he punched Balthazar through a corridor before knocking him up some stairs that led to the reactor. He then knocked him into the reactor into the central core completely knocking him unconscious. An electrical voice echoed through the reactor.
"The reactor self destruct sequence has been activated! The reactor will destruct in minus ten minutes!" Nightshade quickly turned round and he walked back out of the sewers. Balthazar had regained consciousness just as the countdown had reached the last second. "This reactor will now self destruct!"
Balthazar's eyes grew wide, "Oh shit…" were the only words he could utter before the reactor blew up taking him with it. Nightshade grinned when he heard the blast as he walked back through the sewers. Five minutes later and he punched through the rubble of the mansion, he climbed out of it and he de-transformed, breathing heavily.
"Dad!" Max yelled as he grabbed hold of Nightshade's arm to prevent him from collapsing of exhaustion. Nightshade looked up and grinned at Max.
"That…felt…so good…" Nightshade muttered between breaths, but he couldn't help but be pleased with himself.
"Yeah," Reno cut in, "but you completely obliterated the Shinra Mansion!" Reno pointed at the rubble as he said this.
"At this moment in time," Nightshade replied, "I really couldn't care less."
"Rufus is gonna have your legs broken, you do know that right?" Reno asked the now calm Kitsune.
"Again, I couldn't give a rat's ass," Nightshade told Reno again.
Max glared at Nightshade, "Were you out of your mind?" He demanded, "You could've been killed!"
"Right now," Nightshade told Max, "I vented out a lot of anger and I killed Balthazar. I feel good right about now and I don't care."
Max shook his head at Nightshade, "And I thought I had anger issues."
"Well we both have our dark sides son," Nightshade said to Max, "my dark half needed to vent out a lot of anger."
"Can we please get back to base so we can be debriefed?" Reno asked impatiently.
"And be yelled at," Nightshade muttered under his breath.
Max and Pandora helped Nightshade as the group walked back to the Sierra glad to have escaped the mansion just in time as what was left of the Shinra's dark history was reduced to ruins in a matter of minutes.
Chapter 17 is complete, I know I was probably breaking some rules by having one of my characters completely destroy the Shinra Mansion but I think that place deserved it after all the sinister things happening in there. Sorry to end it there but for what else I had planned it wouldn't fit in the chapter so I'm gonna include it in the next chapter. What happens next, I don't know myself yet, I'm just making this story up as I go, but still it's all in good fun. Chapter 18 will be written shortly, that is if I'm not too busy with Uni, Enjoy.