Darkness Falls Chapter 41
By Gemini83
Up above, a great cloud of energy began to coalesce, forming into a storm
which would devour the planet whole. It was the Dark Purge.
Sephiroth slowly raised his head, “this Planet is
doomed...”
Cloud turned sharply around, “YOU are dead, just admit it and leave
us...”
Sephiroth laughed harshly, “you fools...the Drahk aren’t idiots.
I may not like them, but they are capab-”
Then he started to quiver, and Sephiroth let out a bark of pain.
Cloud narrowed his eyes, what was he up to now?
Sephiroth glared past the blood streaming down his face, and leered at his
foes, “there is no stopping us. Soon, the Dark Purge will consume you
all, and I shall return to...oh damn...”
The mists of the Dark Purge circled up above, lightning crackled through
the skies.
Barret turned to look at Sephiroth, “I really don’t like the way
he said that.”
Sephiroth widened his eyes, “no...it isn’t possible!”
The lighting streamed down from the clouds, striking Sephiroth with one solid
beam of light.
Wave after wave of energy streamed into him, as he screamed in pain. Then...it
was gone, leaving only the mists and silent thunder to rage in the skies
above.
Sephiroth looked up with glowing eyes, “this world...is
doomed.”
“And you will try to destroy it?” asked Cloud.
“Not...me,” replied Sephiroth, “something far worse...oh
shi-”
Then a wave of energy surged forth from inside him, blazing fires which consumed
Sephiroth whole. He screamed out in pain, and his body began to change
shape...becoming larger, scalier, more...demonic...
A strange figure began to form from within the heat of the fires, and soon
the blaze flew outward in a great explosion. The mists cleared, and the figure
stepped forth...
...It was the demon Emperor of the Drahk...
He laughed cruelly, “that fool of a Jenovan, did he honestly think he
could defy me, Lord of the Drahk? I live! And in my wake shall fall a rain
of anguish and torment such as has never been seen!”
Cid’s jaw dropped at the sight of the mammoth demon, “I think the
crap’s really hit the fan this time. We are in very deep
trouble.”
In Aeris’ arms, Kaede stirred.
“Kaede!” she shouted, “Kaede, can you hear me?”
Kaede grimaced in pain, and slowly opened his eyes.
Aeris smiled down at him uncertainly.
Kaede saw the fear in her countenance, and knew something was wrong. Without
a word spoken, he knew what it was. He had been trained since birth to be
a warrior, after all.
With hardly a sound, Kaede surged up to his feet, jumping back, away from
his friends. He looked at the new menace with emotionless eyes. The demon
towered above him by over a full two feet, but Kaede didn’t seem to
care.
“Hello Kaede,” laughed the Emperor, “miss me, my prodigal
son?”
“I am not your son,” spat Kaede.
“Methos was only too happy to accept me as his surrogate father,”
replied the demon, “why not you?”
“My brother died cursing your name,” answered the
Planeswalker.
“Yes, it is because of HIM that I must settle this now, and in such
a...mundane manner. Methos died cursing my name, eh? As shall
you...”
“Don’t you dare underestimate me you heartless
bastard!”
Kaede jumped, screaming out his rage as he flew through the air. The Emperor
jumped back from the attack, just as Kaede landed. The Planeswalker fell
fist first into the floor, causing a huge crater. Dust rose from around him,
and Kaede stared back into the Emperor’s eyes once more.
“You are a dangerous man Kaede. Given enough time, you could be even
more deadly than I,” said the Emperor, “but you still cannot defeat
me.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
He rushed at the demon, releasing a flurry of punches to his midsection.
The Emperor reached out with his hands. Kaede merely slapped them aside,
and grabbed them. Jumping up, Kaede rammed his foot into the Emperor’s
face, and jumped away behind his back.
Kaede landed on his feet, and ran forward to attack the demon’s unexposed
back. However, the Emperor was no fool. He turned around, viciously backhanding
the Planeswalker, sending him reeling backwards.
The Emperor stormed forward, loosing another punch at Kaede. The Planeswalker
fell back to his hands and kicked upwards, catching the Drahk lord in the
chin. The Emperor shrugged off the attack, and grabbed Kaede’s legs.
Picking him up, the Emperor held the Planeswalker upside down, and glared
into his eyes.
“Do you see now the futility of this fight?” asked the Drahk
lord.
Kaede stared coldly back, “...bite me...”
The Emperor’s eyes flamed in rage, and he flung Kaede against the far
wall. Kaede turned himself so his feet touched the wall, then he jumped back
to his enemy. The Emperor was caught by surprise as Kaede landed a jump kick
to his chest.
Landing in a crouch, Kaede waited until the demon doubled over, then hit
him again with a rising uppercut. The Emperor screamed in rage as he fell
back, lightly touching his jaw.
He laughed, “do you think your mundane tactics can beat
me?”
With a grunt, the Emperor fired a volley of blue fire at Kaede. The Planeswalker
ran up to meet the attack, swatting aside the flames as if they were insects.
The he drew his sword, only to have it knocked away by another blast. Without
losing a stride, Kaede continued forward. The Emperor raised his giant fist
to smite Kaede, but he merely sidestepped the attack. Falling into a cartwheel,
Kaede brought himself closer to the demon, and plunged his hand into the
Emperor’s side.
His fist broke through the scaly skin, and stuck. Despite all he could do,
Kaede couldn’t pull his hand out. Then he looked up at his enemy’s
eyes and knew he had screwed up.
The Emperor grabbed Kaede by the throat, and pulled him up to eye level.
He didn’t even flinch as Kaede’s hand withdrew from the hole in
his side, which almost immediately patched itself up.
“I said you COULD have been deadlier than I. But you stubbornly refuse
to give yourself over to the rage that burns inside you. That makes you weak,
mortal,” the Emperor sneered into Kaede’s glassy eyes, “and
no mere mortal can withstand me.”
The Planeswalker felt his head grow light as the Drahk demon continued to
apply pressure to his throat.
“You have tasted the darkness Kaede,” said the Emperor, “and
you have enjoyed it. But you shunned that power, so now you shall
die.
The demon laughed as he tightened his vise on the Planeswalker’s neck.
Kaede reached into his belt, pulling out a knife. Putting as much force into
the attack as possible, Kaede slashed his knife at the Emperor’s hand,
shearing clean through the wrist. The blade wasn’t long enough to cut
it all off, but it did cut through half of the demonic hand.
The Emperor let go of Kaede, and sent his other fist to meet him. Kaede grabbed
the other hand, using it as a backboard to jump into the air. Then the
Planeswalker threw his knife at the Emperor The knife imbedded itself to
the hilt into the Emperor’s blazing eye.
Kaede landed on his knees, breathing heavily, and tried to rise to his feet.
The Emperor screamed in rage as he pulled the knife from his eye, and threw
it away.
“INSOLENT CUR!” shouted the Emperor, “YOU DARE TO STRIKE
ME?”
The demon launched himself at Kaede, punching him in the gut. The Planeswalker
doubled over in pain, reeling from the blow. Then the Emperor punched him
across side of his head. His claws cut into the skin, and Kaede fell back,
blood dripping from several wounds along his temples and sides.
The Emperor came forth again. But this time Kaede jumped into the air, extending
his foot as he flew upwards. Using the demon’s outstretched hand as
support again, Kaede brought his feet around, slamming them into the
demon’s face again. The Emperor yelled in rage, and punched Kaede in
midair, drawing more blood.
Kaede flew back, causing a trench as he skidded along the floor. Kaede rolled
over onto his stomach, pushing himself off the ground with his hands. He
glared up at the Emperor, as blood leaked onto the ground from his face and
body.
“It’ll take more than that to beat me,” prodded
Kaede.
Aeris screamed in pain, “No Kaede! Stop it! I can feel you inside me!
I can feel you killing yourself!”
Kaede forced himself to his feet, feeling several things breaking inside
him as he did so. He shuddered to think what state his body must be in
now.
The demon lord laughed, “you should listen to her Kaede. Better to join
me now, before I tire of you.”
Kaede returned his best intimidating glare, and did not answer.
The Emperor nodded, “then so be it...”
With a gesture, the demon sent forth a great beam of light at Kaede.
The Planeswalker calmly brought his hands together, gathering his energy
into a ball, then retaliated.
Vincent turned to Cloud, “we have to do something now, before he burns
himself out.”
“He’s dying,” continued Aeris.
“Okay,” replied Cloud, “let’s get
ready...”
The two beams warred back and forth, neither side refusing to back down.
Kaede stepped forward despite the push of the forces, bringing his attack
that much closer to the Emperor, the demon lord did the same.
They met, one foot apart, still glaring into each others eyes, as the forces
of their summoned energies threatened to consume everything around
them.
“What can one such as you possibly do against me?” sneered the
Emperor.
“Everything he can,” returned Kaede, “you son of
a-”
A huge explosion drowned them both in a fury of light and sound.
Author’s Note: No, this isn’t the end. Neither is the next chapter. Maybe the chapter after that, but then again, I’ve also got two endings to write. Keep reading, I hope you’re liking this!
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