Darkness Falls Chapter 28
By Gemini83
The Crystal WEAPON towered above them, oblivious to the warring in the distance.
The Drahk and the Planetary forces had no time to pay attention to the giant
beast, there was killing enough to be done already.
That left the weary fighters of Avalanche to deal with it.
Kaede drew his sword, as did Cloud. The others followed suit, grim determination
in their faces. Before battle, the Planeswalker stole one final glance at
Aeris, still lying in Tifa’s arms.
Her eyes glowed fierce green, and Kaede had only a moment to think before
the world was a chaos of light and sound...
“Hit successful,” announced the technician, “awaiting your
orders.”
Methos looked on with disdain, “I see these...these...”
“WEAPONS,” suggested Sephiroth.
“Yes,” grunted the Horseman of Chaos, “they are still
alive...destroy them.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” asked Morbius, “our power
levels...”
“Are adequate,” silenced Methos.
He turned to the technician again, “fire...and don’t think, lest
you end up like your comrade.”
The technician turned back to his controls, carefully ignoring the charred
body of one of his fellows lying in a corner on the deck. He had protested
against Methos’ firing of the cannon...and it was never a good idea
to cross the Lord of Chaos.
Veletta looked on as the cannon fired once more, “suffer our wrath Kaede,
and know that the Cetra will never accept you for what you have brought to
this planet.”
Cloud slowly rose to his feet. A strong wind rushed through the valley, clearing
away the dust. The air was thick with the smell of burnt flesh. His hair
stood on end, as if the area was polarized with electricity. As he looked
around, Cloud could see the others slowly emerging from the billowing
smoke.
Cid coughed, “damn it, I get enough crap in my lungs from
smoking.”
“Then why don’t you quit?” came a voice from the fog.
Cid turned to see Barret, and shrugged, “old habits...”
Barret snorted, “sure.”
“We can’t take too many more of those,” said Kaede,
“look...”
He pointed to the battlefield. The others turned to look...and what they
saw made their stomachs churn...
The burning field ran red with blood...as charred bodies, still alive, screamed
in pain. Dark figures ran through the fields...still fighting strong.
Red closed his eyes in pain, forcing back the tears. He had seen this, had
known this would happen. And still he hadn’t been able to stop
it.
Cloud balled his fist, “they’ll pay...they’ll all
pay.”
Aeris screamed again, forcing the others to take notice of her once more.
She surged out of Tifa’s arms, grasping her forehead as she stood unsteadily
on her legs.
“Aeris?” asked Kaede, “what is-”
Another scream, even more horrible, raged through the air, threatening to
break the very atmosphere. The warriors turned...
...to see Crystal WEAPON, standing tall and dangerous against the battlefield
behind it.
Cloud raised his sword once more, “that’s it you bastard, I’m
gonna-”
“No!” shouted Aeris, rushing forward to meet the goliath.
The others cried out in dismay, but she paid them no heed. The slowed to
a walk, and came up calmly to stand in front of the beast. Kaede drew his
sword, and was quickly by her side.
“Back with us I see?” he asked.
Aeris grunted, “the world is at stake and you’re cracking
jokes?”
He didn't bother telling her that he was shocked, still coping with the events
that had happened so quickly.
Instead, Kaede shrugged, “you like me better this way as opposed to
the hermit.”
“True.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t go too far,” quipped the Planeswalker,
“besides, I rather like being an introvert.”
She nodded silently.
“I feel what you’re thinking,” said Kaede, “are you doing
what I think you’re doing?”
Aeris nodded.
Crystal WEAPON screamed once more, and charged a great ball of fire in its
gaping maw. It released its energies at the two.
Kaede quickly brought up a protective barrier, siphoning away the fire. Before
it could attack again, Aeris made her move.
Her eyes glowed intense green once more, and energy struck forth from her
eyes, piercing into the gaze of the WEAPON. She didn’t know what she
was doing, she didn’t know how she was doing it, but somehow the knowledge
came naturally to her.
She was communicating with the WEAPON.
Gold WEAPON arose in the distance, screaming in pain...refusing to die until
it could destroy those who would dare endanger the planet. It could only
save the world by destroying all life. Only by renewing the Lifestream could
the Planet hope to survive.
Aeris felt another force beating on the walls of her psyche...the Gold WEAPON.
She tried to reach out to it was well, but the force of even once WEAPON
in her mind was overwhelming. Linking with two was unbearable. She felt as
if she would break from the strain.
But as she lost hope, she felt a comforting presence near her. Kaede reached
out to her, as only he could, and gave to her his support. Together, they
dared to walk into the abyss, confident they would return...
...And slowly, it dawned on the WEAPONS that they had been wrong all along.
The danger was not here on the Planet...but in the sky.
Cloud and the others looked on, amazed at what they saw. The WEAPONS were
just standing there...doing nothing.
“What in the Planet’s name-” started Elena.
“I really don’t know,” answered Tifa, “one second she’s
crying her life out in my arms, the next she’s...doing...what are they
doing?”
Cloud shook his head, “I don’t know, but-”
A glint of light shone from the sky once more, silencing him.
“Damn it,” cursed Barret, “not another one.”
Cloud could see that it was yet another energy blast, coming from whatever
attack vessel the Drahk had out there in space. He didn’t know if they
would survive another attack, and silently prayed for a miracle...
...It came. Kaede and Aeris’ eyes glowed with intense fury. Suddenly,
the Gold and Crystal WEAPONS looked upwards, and howled in rage. They would
allow no more bloodshed. The two mammoths surged into the sky on their great
wings, leaving the Planet far beneath them.
The Energy beam shot down at them, threatening to consume them. Gold WEAPON
flew ahead, absorbing the blast, screaming as the energy ate away at its
scaly armor.
The two WEAPONS flew on, undaunted, refusing to be beaten before one last
act of defiance.
“Damn it!” raged Methos, “I want those things
destroyed!”
Warning claxons blared as the flying beast tore through the Drahk space
forces.
“We can’t sir! They are too fast for our lasers!” shouted
a dismayed technician.
“They are chewing apart our forces!” screamed Morbius, at Sephiroth,
“do something!”
The silver-haired man shrugged, “what do you want me to
do?”
“You’ve dealt with these...creatures,” suggested
Veletta.
“Even so,” reasoned Sephiroth, “dear ‘mother’ never
told me-”
“They’re coming this way!” screamed a technician.
“WHAT!!!” demanded Methos.
It didn’t take long for Gold and Crystal to find the heart of the Drahk
attack force. And once they did, their task was simple.
The WEAPONS rushed towards the great Drahk ship, ignoring all the hurts from
the tiny insect ships surrounding it.
A great beam of light tore out from the Drahk vessel. Once more, Gold flew
forth to cover Crystal. But Gold WEAPON was weakened, it would not survive
this time. It knew this, but flew ahead anyway, rejecting its demise for
a few moments more.
Sephiroth had to admit it, those dumb beasts were brave.
Already dead, the burning body of Gold WEAPON rushed towards the Drahk ship.
It crashed into the vessel with bone jarring force.
Sephiroth quickly regained his footing, and looked to the view-screen. What
he saw caused even his battle hardened mind to flinch. The gaping mouth of
Crystal WEAPON filled the screen, and soon an intense light blinded him.
Explosions racked the control panels, circuits began to crackle with
electricity.
“FIRE!” yelled Methos, “KILL IT BEFORE IT HAS A CHANCE TO
ATTACK AGAIN!”
Slowly, struggling to his feet, Morbius rose while others around him wailed
in pain. He rushed to the controls, and pressed the attack button once
more.
The energy beam tore through the softened hide of Crystal WEAPON. It screamed
in pain, but there was no one to hear in the vastness of space.
The Crystal WEAPON exploded in a blast of fury, blinding the sensors aboard
the Drahk ship once more.
Methos rose to his feet, “...report.”
All around the room, the other Horsemen and crew were rising to their feet.
A crewman had the presence of mind to bring up the damage report, and began
relaying the figures to his superiors.
Veletta knew that the damage was great, but this was one of the most powerful
ships in the Drahk armada. It would not be destroyed so easily.
“Make repairs,” she said, “we must be ready to attack
again.”
The Planet’s forces had done well, but they hadn’t won yet. Veletta
smiled evilly to herself. She would personally see to it that Kaede and that
accursed Cetra paid their due of blood.
Kaede shielded his eyes from the light. The explosion could be seen, even
from the ground.
“It didn’t work,” said Aeris, “they’re still up
there.”
Cid turned to her, “well, what do we do now?”
Cloud clenched his fists, “we destroy them ourselves. We take what space
ready craft we can and finish what the WEAPONS started.”
Reeve whistled, “are you sure that’s wise?”
“Yeah spike,” agreed Barret, “sounds like suicide to
me.”
“No,” said Kaede, “he’s right.”
“The Drahk mustn’t be allowed to fire again,” reasoned
Aeris.
Cid nodded, “fine, you wanna go? We’ll go...can’t let them
have the last laugh, can we?”
Shera smiled, “and you’ve never been one to back out of a chance
to show off your skills.”
“That too,” grinned Cid.
Cloud nodded, “Reno, Rude, come in.”
“This is the Silverstrike,” answered Reno, “go
ahead.”
“Did you hear the plan?” asked the swordsman.
“Every word,” responded Rude, “typical Avalanche...it sounds
a little crazy to me.”
“Oh come on Rude,” chided Elena, “we’ve got nothing better
to do.”
“Are you in or not?” demanded Cloud.
Reno laughed over the comm-link, “oh hell, who wants to live forever
anyway?”
Author’s Note: That’s the end of the WEAPONS, they are no more. By the way, I hope you liked their role in the story, thanks to Chase Vigar for suggesting it. Anyway, after next chapter I should have the final game of cat-and-mouse set up. Just wait and see what happens next! As always, keep those comments coming, thanks for reading!
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