Pathways Of Foreboding Chapter Eight
...As Long As Memories Last...
By Paul Nathans
They were on a ledge on what remained of the Event Square, wind whistling around them. They'd found a ledge, setting it up for their base.
"All right, gang!" snapped Barret. "Or should I say, AVALANCHE Members, ATTENTION!" He been tracing over a map of the Planet for a while, as the others administered to wounds, and divided up the Newly-Acquired Special Medicine Stock.
"I'm not AVALANCHE," answered Cloud.
Barret ignored that, having pinned up the map against the wall. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was plot a raid. "Okay, Red XIII, where would this Lifestream Poison Essence Gather."
"I don't know," he said. "I'd guess it would try to find a way to get back to the Lifestream, but far away from Makoro Reactors. The areas around them are devoid of life, even the Poisoning, with the little essence of thought it has, would avoid it. And remember, we are only speculating."
"How long do you think it would take the thing to travel?" he asked.
"I don't know," answered Nanaki. "Not really part of the Lifestream, and, well, trying to prevent from being dissipated, it would have one thing on its mind."
"Which is?" prompted the AVALANCHE Leader.
"Survival," was the reply. "It would be attracted to a Lifestream Opening like a magnet. However, energy does flow. Unless there's a force behind it we haven't taken into account, I'd say that if it was nearing an area where there was a lot of Lifestream Energies, it would be near either the Corel Area Materia Cave, the Wutai Area Materia Cave, or the Mideel Area Materia Cave."
"Then that's where our groups split up to," answered Barret.
He didn't hear the noise of a helicopter approaching from behind, couldn't hear it, actually, couldn't see it. The Sun was just rising.
"And if one meets up with this 'Essence?'" asked Vincent.
"You'll engage it if possible, but make sure to radio for help," answered Barret. "Each of you has a PHS, just use the Emergency Switch to radio for the help. We'll come as fast as we can. That settled?"
The others nodded.
"Good, now we can-"
"What the-!" gasped Cid as a Crackshot slammed into the ledge near them.
The whirling of Helicopter Petals could be heard as a Shinra Private Chopper moved into view. It positioned itself, and a tall figure wearing red clothes leapt down. He signaled up to the Chopper, and it moved away.
"Who the blazes are you?" asked Barret.
"President Kenek, Leader of the Shinra Electric Power Corporation, AVALANCHE Terrorist," he replied coolly.
"Whad'did you call me!" responded Barret.
"Terrorist," answered Kenek. "That's what you AVALANCHE are. You go around hurting people for no reason at all, claiming to be helping others, while you really hurt them. Last night, a Crack Squad was dispatched here to take you down after what you did in Gongaga, powering up their weapons at a portable Mako Amplifier. Unfortunately, that attracted a WEAPON, so while our forces deal with it, I've decided to personally deal with you monsters."
"Rufus' Old Man called AVALANCHE vermin, no you's got the nerve to call us terrorists and monsters!" roared Barret. "You Shinra are selfish freaks, that's what you are! And I'll say that to any Shinra I need to say it to!"
"Bad manners," answered Kenek. "Especially from those who destroyed Gongaga and left a Crater there."
"WHA-AT!!!!!" shouted Barret. "That's it! I don't know why you came here presonally, but I'm taking you down!" He whirled his fist and charged forward, attempting to punch the fool while blowing his head off. Kenek flipped backwards, sending him over the ledge edge, grabbing onto a piece of metal.
"Who's next?" the President asked.
He found himself slammed over the head by the fists of a Moogle. "Remember me!?" snapped Cait Sith. "The Double Agent! Well, lemme' tell ya' somethin,' Mister. It ain't what you make in life that matters, whether you're praised or not! It matters if ya' do somethin' that's right! I found that out the hard way!"
"I am doing what's right," he said, spin-kicking his adversary over the oposite side of the ledge. He, too, grabbed onto a piece of metal. "Come on," he said. "If you want to fight me, let me take on a real adversary."
Tifa stepped forward. "Have you ever heard of Zangan?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, the Crazy Karate Instructor," was the response. He laughed. "Are you one of his students?"
"Frankly, yes!" Tifa shot back.
"Good," he answered. "I always wanted to see how good I was against one of the best." He whirled, firing Crack-Shots at the ground in front of the others, sending them off the ledge, grabbing onto more pieces of metal.
"Come on, then," he said, taunting her...
.
...and Tifa charged forwards.
He blocked her punch, and she responded with a roundhouse, which he quickly caught, using her momentum to spin her around. He slammed her in the back of the neck, and she collapsed, only to jump up again, kicking him in the face. He elbowed her in the midsection and chopped her in the neck again, lashing out with carefully-timed strokes, forcing her towards the edge of the ledge. She dodged out of the side and tried to knock him over, and he kicked backwards.
She jumped away, punching him in the face as he turned. He flew backwards, turning it into a flip, and charged forwards as soon as he regained his footing, jabbing her in the torso. She grabbed his arm and flipped him over her, and he responded by holding her arms, twisting them backwards, then tripping her from behind. She flipped and punched, barely dodging an uppercut, and tripped him.
He rolled out of the way of a kick, leaping up and spinning, then diving down, slamming her to the ground again. She somersaulted upwards, sending him reeling, only to find her legs grabbed. He spun her around and threw her into a section of the precipice, charging. She used her hands to kick forward, socking him in the face before he managed to get in a good jab, placing her on the defensive again.
He lunged, she ducked, grabbing his hand, and he flipped to the side, upsetting her balance and kicking her free. She slid backwards, positioned her feet, and charged. He deftly sidestepped and floored her once more. She was up again, and he ducked under her, delivering an uppercut to her midsection. She grunted and collapsed, and he rammed at her. She grabbed onto him and threw herself backwards, slamming him onto the floor before landing. He got up, now agitated.
"Block this if you can, amateur!" he taunted, charging forward. He delivered a rapid session of thrusts and punches, all of which Tifa was able to block, then aimed a kick straight through her arms, catching her in the upper chest. She staggered backwards, and was about to launch herself into her Limit Combo when Kenek charged again, punching at her, high. She blocked, and he responded by kicking her in the head, hard.
She flew backwards, about to somersault again, but he grabbed her in mid-flight and slammed her to the ground again. As she arose, he charged forwards, beating her backwards, finally sending her sprawling, unable to move, with a well-timed slash to the chest. "Next!" he called out, faking a yawn.
Yuffie responded, disliking showoffs like him. He simply sidestepped and whirl-kicked her, sending her face-first to the ground. She jumped up, and and chopped at the back of her neck, causing her to crash in a jumbled heap. He launched forward with a jump-kick, which she grabbed, sending him head-first onto the ground.
His head didn't touch, though. He performed a somersault fast enough to flip her in the air, and delivered a devastating uppercut to her face as she descended, rendering her unable to move, as exhausted as Tifa. By this time the others had managed to climb back onto the ledge. Vincent pulled his gun, and Kenek kicked it out of his hand, springing upwards and coming down in a hawk-dive, transfrming it into a somersault, and since Vincent had been blocking low, he was floored.
Red XIII lunged, and he lifted the warrior, tossing him into the air. He grabbed onto part of the ledge, and Kenek kicked at him, elbowing Cloud, who he could hear approaching from behind, then swiping his hand into Cait Sith. As he kicked at the research specimen, he elbowed Barret, chopping his hand down on his gun-arm. He heard the whoosh of Cid's Venus Gospel, grabbed hold of it, and used it to Pole-Vault the Pilot unwillingly onto the ground, head-first.
Then he floored Red XIII with another kick, and drew his gun.
"You forgot about me!" snapped Tifa, headlocking him and flipping him, causing him to drop the pistol, which she kicked off the ledge. "Zangan's Trainees don't go down as easily as there opponents probably wish they would!"
He grabbed her arms, twisted the again, and elbowed her. She tried to perform a Beat Rush, but he blocked all, socking her in the face again. She leapt upwards, coming down on her knees, grabbing onto his hand and taking him down face-first. He swore, slapped her again, and received a kick, then another punch, knocking him down. She stood over him, foot on his throat.
"You're down," she said. "Don't do anything stupid!"
"You mean like come here alone!" he laughed, then snapped his fingers.
Twelve Attack Squad Personnel leapt from the Helicopter, each holding a Mako Gun at the ready.
"Good riddiance to the rabble!" he said. "Fire when ready!"...
.
...and gunfire erupted into the Shinra.
"I'd hold that thought!" said Cid, grinning as three WarMechs on autopilot came soaring down. He grabbed onto one of them, hooking into the arms and switching the controls to manual, then opening fire. The others took that moment of distraction to do the same, and leapt in, switching the controls to manual, buckling in, and using what they thought were the controls for flying the thing to soar away.
Gunshots came within inches of them, but the whirled down and below Connector Bridges of the Gold Saucer, then into the sky, to safety.
"Triangle Buttons fire Lasers!" shouted Cid. "The Circle Button is used for unstrapping, the Square Button for activating shields, and the X Button for swtiching controls to auto flight after programming a course. I've heard of these!"
"What's the rest do!?" asked Cloud as they soared away.
"The Controls obviously maneuver the turning, L1 and R1 make sharp turns in the direction of the button, L2 grabs with the left hand, R2 grabs with the right hand, both at the same time grab with both hands!" He laughed, and they continued away on their new vehicles.
*****
They hadn't gone far when they realized one slight dilemma to their problems.
"What are we going to do about Midgar!?" Barret asked.
Cid swore. "We forgot about that freakin' WEAPON!" He clenched his fists.
"The Sister Ray can't fire for another day, and that thing won't be near Midgar for at least a day or two!" was the answer. "I think this time Shinra can take care of their own problems!"
"The shields, Reeve!" snapped Barret. "That thing's got shields!"
"Darn!" Cait Sith swore. "We've got to see if we can find evidence something exists that may not, or face off against something we couldn't do one darn bit of good about anyway!"
"And if we outrun the thing and don't notice it, we may be waiting for the 'Essence' to show up!" He turned to Cloud. "Are you sure there's one of those things up here, on this Planet!?"
Cloud turned to Barret. "Positive," he said, nodding.
Barret swore again. "This is darn crazy!" he roared, spraying bullets into the air. "This is just darn crazy! URRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!"
"Maybe not," said Tifa. "The night before we reconvened near North Corel, I had this strange dream. Something in some sort of icy cave seemed to be beckoning to me, probably because of the two times I've been fully aware in the Lifestream! It looked almost like that one north of the Corel Area Desert!"
"Then we head there!" stated Barret. "We don't split up, we check out that area first!" He turned to the other two WarMechs, one carrying Cid, Red XIII, and Cait Sith, the final carrying Vincent and Yuffie. "We're going to the Corel Area Materia Cave!" he stated sharply. "Let's get a move on!"
*****
They entered the cave, weapons at the ready, the constant medicines that had been administered to Tifa's arm after they had acquired a new Healing Item Stock finally beginning to wear down, so she had a cast ready to sling over her shoulder once again. As for the others, they had Materia attached to their weapons and armor that they knew how to use.
They circled around from the entrance, the ice incline above them, where it curved around and back towards the entrance, and strode towards the center of the room, Nanaki in a state similar to Bugenhagen's, almost probing. Trying the techniques Aeris had taught her, Tifa feebly extended a probe, and it recoiled.
"There's something…" she said.
Almost immediately after they said that the whole room seemed to glow, and something began to pulsate, directly above where the HP/MP Switch Materia had been before. It had been probing itself, in some sense.
'Energies…' the thing seemed to say. 'Impossible, yet not impossible…its…yet even now…controlled…what am I?' It was trying to flow down towards the Lifestream, whatever types of instincts it had pointing it in that direction. Then it seemed to halt. 'Beings…the silence of creation!'
And suddenly it spun towards the group, whirling, snapping into a huge monster with undulating heads protruding from the shoulders, sixteen legs, spiked shoulders, multiple tails, various claws and hands extending from its main claws, positioned somewhat like an insect, yet other hands causing it to be able to stand, as was the flexible way its legs moved, forming a second, lower tail behind the beast, also multipart. Its torso was covered with a head, and others seemed to waver around its top. The legs were drawn in, moved together, to standing positions, while the other tail merged with the upper one. It seemed to bend, plates gathering on its back, whiplike limbs extending from between claws.
'I am…you will reach…the Chaotic Forces…the place,' it seemed to state, saying two things almost at once. 'I'm only existing thus because of an even greater fluke, that gives my stronger…yet what is power?'
"What is that thing communicating to!?" asked Cait Sith.
Barret shrugged. "How the blazes am I supposed to know!?"
Its central head peered up. 'Yes, I see,' it said. 'Second chances in things like this are so rare. I've inherited the intelligence you are only gaining because of your strange nature. This is Imbalance. Planets don't support Imbalance…Planets…then, nothingness. Not designed…to cope.'
"What isn't?" asked Cid.
Red XIII looked up at him. "That thing is referring to the Planet."
"Oh boy," stated Barret. "I see we've got more theorizing to do."
'I can sense…the Creation,' the thing stated. 'Yes, I will go, I will wait. We need not wait 200 years for the Interplanetary…once the Imbalance comes…destroy. My senses…my being…I know what I am. Take me there!'
"Move it!" snapped Nanaki. "Quickly, before that thing leaves!"
Cloud nodded, drew the Ultima Weapon, and charged…
.
…and the thing warped away in a flash, sensing them, something being born, flashing into existence where the creature had just been.
It had two large golden wings jutting out from behind it, a large tail, and a demonic face, eyes burning with orange fire. It was ten times his size, with a chest-face glowering out at them. Curves and section of its exoskeleton only served to make the monstrosity more demonic, and its clawed feet, the tips purple, and spiked heels, a golden tail with purple whipped about it, skulls on its knees, a snake head protruding from the center of his chest-face, where its nose would be, two demonic horns capping his head, and purplish, wild hair, along with razor-sharp claws, and the dark aura radiating around him, proved the finishing touch to his form.
"I am Chaos!" the thing roared. "Successor to the Lifestream, Master of the Planet! Imbalance set me free, Imbalance gives me a way to live again! I will destroy, and this time, I will not fail! You all shall be my first victims!"
The thing lunged forward, its claws descending down upon Barret like a brick wall, sending him crashing backwards. "XXXX!!!!!" It roared. Blue lights seemed to center around Yuffie, who was saying "Told ya-Bar-!" cutting her off as they slammed in and crushed her, tearing her apart at the same time and letting her broken from collapse to the ground, straining for breath.
Tifa cast a Life 2 on him, and was back-handed, the claws delivering deep gashes into her face. Then the beast snapped her broken arm and proceeded to kick her into the wall, spinning and using its spiked heels to slam Cid to the ground.
"REEEEAAAARRGGGGHHHH!!!!!" The thing flew over the group, coming down behind them, the snake head uncoiling and snapping Vincent on the neck, shaking him, then throwing him backwards. Barret chucked a Phoenix Down his way before leaping onto the thing and attempting to drill bullets into its neck, bullets which bounced harmlessly off. The thing leapt in the air, grabbed him, and cast him to the ground, landing and flooring him with a swipe of his tail, which he quickly brought back to floor Yuffie again.
"Ultima!" shouted a voice from the corners of the room. It spun, roaring in agony, muscles rippling and contorting as the energies seared through him.
"Whatever form of Backward-Magic you possess, I possess it all!" The thing let out another roar, then screamed "Inferno!!!!!"
Blazing orange energies blasted from the thing's palms, smashing into the ground below all eight warriors. Then the ground burst upwards, super-heated flames sending all members of the group catapulting into the air and crashing down into a firey blaze which quickly extinguished.
Cloud's Final Attack Materia glowed. "Phoenix!" he screamed, the Materia keeping him conscious for the moment longer needed to cast the spell…
…and as they shimmered out of existence, letting the fire-tear fall and erupt into a Phoenix, Chaos looked at the small gems. They were so similar to the ones those four freaks had used when they sent him plummeting to near-destruction, yet better-shaped, even better-shaped than those Arthur, Curtis, Gloria, and Sharon had possessed when they brought another end to him, after Xagor had resurrected him. Then the flaming furnace crashed into him, and he screamed in pain once more…
…as the others shimmered back into existence. The one who hadn't been felled by the blow, who happened to be Barret, leapt up into the air, shouting "Catastrophe!" The strange contraption on his arm glowed, then let loose with an incredibly-powerful blast of pure energy, strong enough to keep him hovering in the air. Chaos immediately threw himself out of the way, but Barret swiveled the beam, and it passed over him, causing more and more wounds to erupt upon him.
"Crack!" he screamed. All but Cloud, Tifa, and Barret were felled by an enormous Grim Reaper that seemed to rush out of him, sending them crashing to the ground. A weak Tifa muttered a Life 2 under her breath, and the angelic light descended on them, healing their mortal wounds once again, and restoring consciousness to them all.
Amused at the power of these gems, Chaos grabbed one out of the shuriken of the young, black-haired girl.
"Give me my Materia back!" she shrieked, launching herself at him and chopping at him with her Conformer. She didn't even cut him, but succeeded in grabbing her Mastered Restore Materia free. Cloud, hidden in the shadows again, blasted Chaos with another Ultima.
"Swirl!" the beast screamed.
Huge currents of wind picked up around the group members, discharging lightning, spinning around and around, smashing into them, then electrocuting them as the winds dissipated. Barret collapsed, and was revived with yet another Life 2.
Using his left wing, Chaos slammed Cid into one of the walls. He slammed his spear onto the thing's wing, not doing any damage, and had to duck to avoid being crushed by it. Cloud charged forward, lashing at the demon, which leapt into the air, coming down with a drop-kick that sent him sprawling.
He flipped onto his feet. "Omnislash!" he shouted, jumping forward and launching into his fifteen-hit combo. The blade of pure energy managed to wound the beast, and sent it staggering backwards with each successive blow. When he slammed down onto Chaos with the finishing blow for the combo, the monster grabbed him and tossed him into the wall.
"Cure 4!" the beast screamed.
Large, sparkling, shimmering lights appeared around him, swirling, spraying onto him, causing him to shimmer as all his wounds closed. As soon as they closed all the way the lights dissipated.
"Darn it!" snapped Cid, charging forward and ramming into the beast with his Venus Gospel. He was backhanded, sent sprawling again. Vincent pulled on Chaos, and was slashed across the chest by its tail. Cloud unleashed another Ultima as Cait Sith jumped up, slamming his fists on the thing's head. It grabbed the robot and threw him backwards as well.
Chaos leapt again as Yuffie threw her Conformer at him. It returned to her hand, and he kicked down at it. The Ninja rolled out of the way, and he spun, attempting to backhand her. She dodged and slapped him.
"Ultimate End!" shouted Cloud…
…The area below where Chaos was standing collapsed, revealing a pitch-black, round platform that immediately began to lower, energies shimmering up from it. He tried to leap free, but he was below the ground, in the midst of strange energies, before he could. A large swordsman shot out of the distance, slashing him, as the energies went down. He roared in pain, spun, and attempted to block the oncoming blow from another warrior, failing. Another came, slamming into him, then another, as the energies shifted forms, flowing around in a river, to the side, and after being slammed, then blasted by fireballs coming from the staff of another, it began to move forward and down. He was nailed again, then another warrior blasted him with a huge amount of ice. Another attack came, and he roared again, spinning, as a ninth warrior shot up and blasted meteors from its staff, all of which descended onto him, causing him to roar in even more pain.
The energies began to flow upwards now, and another warrior came as their colors changed yet again, slamming its blade into him, followed by yet another, wielding a spear, which blasted him in the chest. The energies became a whirling mass of colors as they looped up, over, and down, descending to the place where they had begun their journey. He unleashed an XXXX at the axe-wielding warrior approaching him, but its axe chopped down onto his chest, delivering yet another wound. He landed in an area of pure blackness, and a silver-armored giant wearing a red rope with trimming, holding a huge blade, lunged forward, its cape flipping up behind it, and delivered another blow, white energies slashing through the sword. Chaos roared and staggered backwards, barely able to stand, the thing disappeared, the blackness shattered, revealing the cavern…
…and his opponents shimmered back into existence.
"Like our Materia!" shouted Yuffie, throwing her Conformer into one of the beast's huge wounds. It shrieked again, staggering backwards, and opened its mouth.
"Reflect!" shouted Tifa.
A yellowish barrier appeared around the beast as it unleashed its Cure 4. It bounced off the barrier and flowed into the group with a cleansing energy not even a Full Cure had displayed. All their wounds were completely shut, their exhaustion taken away. Tifa grinned as her broken arm was mended, just as the spell stopped working.
"Big mistake!" shouted Cid, pole-vaulting off his Venus Gospel again, thrusting it into the wound closest to the thing's heart. The blow penetrated, and the monster let out another roar. Red XIII dropped his head to the ground and covered his ears with his forepaws, howling, as the others winced.
The thing flashed several times, then burst apart…
…revealing the creature within. Other parts of Chaos' body were flying around the inner part, which had long, bulky arms. The monstrous face was the same, but there were no wings, just horns, bulky arms, huge legs, and a muscular body, also golden. Its eyes burned even brighter, and its other body seemed to flow in and out through the one it was now in.
"It's still coming!" cried Vincent, before getting backhanded into the ground.
The thing unleashed a group of Flare Spells, and Tifa responded with her Limit Combo. Cait Sith cast Regen, after which he launched into the air, performing a group of flips, so when the monstrosity crashed down after Tifa punched it with a Final Heaven, it was swiped in the chest.
Vincent cracked a small smile. "I'll show you a real Chaos!" He said, raising his arms. His golden arm seemed to glow, and energies pulsated out of them. His body seemed to reshape, growing darker, fur and scales sprouting, sections rippling, letting loose a tail and two wings, until he had become a Chaos Beast.
Chaos punched at Vincent, and Red XIII let loose an Ice 3, causing the thing to momentarily back up. It leapt into the air, hovering.
"Quake 3!" it shouted, and the ground erupted into huge, brown bars, causing them all to loose their balance and collapse, to be crushed, except Vincent, who moved away, and used his hands in his Chaos Saber motion. He was back-kicked by the main body, and the moving, shimmering body knocked him sprawling another time.
"Flare!" he shouted.
The energies slammed into Cait Sith, who had been delivering blow after blow to his adversary, only battering him, but still annoying him. He shrieked and tumbled backwards. Chaos picked him up and threw him into a wall. His senses tingled, and he knew someone had directed another magic blast from the shadows. He spun, and translocated the spikey-haired nuisance into plain view, crossing his arms and using them to block the Ultima, blasting the 'Materia' with another Flare, nearly destroying them, and shutting them down.
Yuffie charged, foolishly casting a Bio 3. He blocked that spell, and knowing her exact trajectory because of it, transloated her into the air, letting her fall, landing with a thud. Still conscious, just barely, she aimed her shuriken at him, and was surprised to see powerful energies uppercut it, sending both her and the weapon flying backwards yet another time.
"Who's next," the thing taunted.
"That'll be me, creature!" shouted Barret, charging forward, moving his eyes to Cid to tell him to take advantage of the charge. The eye-movement was all that warned Chaos. He jumped up, letting the two collide into each other, and his flowing body gave them another trip into the wall.
Once again he was caught by surprise, this time as the dog-like thing sent out a Tornado, tearing off parts of his skin and exposing them. He swiped at the monster, which darted to the side, and bit into his knee. He aimed a Flare, giving Tifa time to leap onto his neck, chopping at his face.
He turned and lashed at her throat, catching her by surprise.
Her Sneak Attack Materia glowed, and, hooked up to Typoon, it glowed as well, and the group shimmered out of existence…
…being replaced with a small Tornado. Chaos positioned himself, and as the thing took form into a pinkish-purple, two-headed beast, blasted it. The spell went right through, leaving the monster to create a large tornado below him. It roared upwards, and a vortex of energies appeared. More and more portions of his skin were torn off, after which the ground and roof swiveled, and he fell into the vortex, being belted by chunks of rock that had fallen, and others that had been sucked into the vortex. It shimmered away, and the opposite-floor, along with the monster, disappeared…
…as the party shimmered into existence again, Tifa having landed safely away from where he had been.
"Omnislash!" shouted Cloud, running forward and moving into his own Limit Combo, chopping at the great beast's wounds. It roared again and again, stumbling backwards, looking up, fear in its eyes, just before he descended, the blast coming from his sword tearing into all parts of the creature.
"Duck for cover!" he shouted, flinging himself out of the way…
.
…and the thing, having ceased to move, exploded. Vincent's form rippled back into that of a human, and they all pressed to the ground, the shockwave colliding full-force with the walls of the cavern, causing parts of it to crumble off.
Then it was silent.
At least, for a minute or two.
Then the group began to rise, one after the other, groaning, brushing themselves off. Tifa cast a quick Life 2 on Yuffie, and as it worked its process on her, they began to distribute their healing items among themselves. Soon enough, Yuffie joined them.
"What was that thing?" asked Barret.
"Chaos," replied Red XIII. "A so-called mythical being from times past, brought to life by the Lifestream Poisoning in the past." He sighed. "For it to be completely resurrected, and for that being we were searching for to exist in such a fashion as the one which we found it in…" He sighed again.
"What?" asked Barret.
"I don't like this at all," Nanaki responded, shaking his head. "Besides the fact our fears were proved true, and what I just stated, I don't know what could be controlling it in such a fashion."
"The creature from Gongaga?" speculated Cait Sith.
"I have no idea," answered Barret, shrugging his shoulders. "I intend to find out as soon as we dispose of the being we're pursuin', though!" He shook his fists. "I've got even one 'nother thing those Shinra freaks are gonna' be answerin' about!"
He lowered his fists.
"The Planet's cries seemed to come from the Wutai Area and the Mideel Area as soon as that thing was unleashed," stated Cid. "Let's hurry up and move there, and before the Shinra catch up to us!"
A single scream-roar brought him up short.
"Not again!" he moaned, muttering several colorful expletives under his breath.
He raced to the exit, followed by the others.
"I...feel it," said Red XIII immediately after they were outside. "A WEAPON, another one near here!" He pointed ahead to where the sand was moving, south of the cave. "This must be how Bugenhagen has special knowledge of the Planet's Cries!"
Another screech-roar sounded, and the Peridot Weapon burst free from the sands, immediately facing the caves, heading towards them, flexing its arms. The behemoth, the size of the Sapphire Weapon, didn't even paused, just kept on moving. It knew something had transpired in the cave, and was determined to find out what.
Cait Sith sighed. "These lumbering oafs are turning into big pains!"
Cloud nodded, then charged. "Into the WarMech's!" he shouted. "We may be able to take down this cyborg without too much trouble from there!"
The others followed suit, and as soon as the group was buckled in, they launched themselves at the WEAPON. It roared as soon as it saw them, batted at them as one might attempt to swat a fly away from its face...
.
...and the battle begun.
It reared its head, swinging its horns, swiping its claws. Its wings, extra heads, and tails, also moved, and it jumped upwards, energy blasts coming from its shoulders. Its orb glowed as it reared backwards, and a huge laser beam was loosed, one that became smaller, ending with a pin-point.
Barret took the full blow, roaring, and unleashing his Catastrophe. The Peridot Weapon leapt upwards, heads swinging, unleashing reddish-purple blasts of energy. The Pin Blast from its orb exploded, and the whole WarMech was sent whirling backwards as the Catastrophe Ray dissipated, leaving a barely-damaged monster in its place. Tifa cast a Cure 3, and Cloud fought for control of the WarMech, turning it into a vertical flight seconds before they would've crashed into the mountains.
Cid swooped in, unleashing missiles right into the thing's head, while Yuffie set her WarMech to Max Speed, channeling her energies towards an All Creation. She yanked on one of the buttons as the energies were unleashed, and the WarMech began to rotate around the WEAPON, her All Creation beam blasting outwards, becoming enormous, and cutting into the WEAPON as she swirled around. Cid's missiles impacted, annoying it even more.
It leapt into the air, spraying energies at Yuffie's WarMech, out of the reach of the All Creation beam, which was also dissipating, and flew down, limbs moved outwards to whack the other two. Red XIII let loose with a Cosmo Memory, tearing one of the arms right out of its socket, which crashed onto the ground.
Simultaneously, Cloud chucked an 8-Inch Cannon at the thing. The velocity of the objects caused the explosion to wrench the other arm half out of its socket, leaving the WEAPON screaming again. Cait Sith let loose with a Comet 2, all the meteors aimed at the half-loose arm, and it fell.
"Break!" shouted Tifa.
Her Master Magic Materia glowed, and an enormous grey, chiseled boulder appeared, the size of the WEAPON forcing the rock to reach an incredible size. It descended down hard enough to smash off all of the WEAPON's extra heads, and a lot of its body parts.
Cait Sith, seeing that, clicked on his PHS. "That's it!" he shouted. "Barret, your Contain Materia is still hooked up to a Quadra Magic Materia, right?"
Barret nodded.
"Excellent!" He said. "I'm gonna' nail that thing with my Toy Box, you nail it with a Quadra Magicked Break, and that should finish off this thing!" He laughed, then said ,"I think we now know how to destroy large WEAPONS!" After that he snapped off his intercom and opened the Slot Machine on his Moogle, setting it to random numbers. They reacted with the Mutated Materia placed inside the robot, and a large weight, having a with a huge question mark on the front, pounded down onto the Peridot Weapon. It roared, unleashing a Tear Wave from its chest.
The rips in the air flew into the WarMechs, damaging the engines.
Four consecutive Breaks, each dissipating as soon as they hit, crashed onto the Peridot Weapon, tearing off more and more of its skin, until all that was left was plainly-viewable cyborg parts, and a few limbs of its body. Red XIII finished the lumbering colossus off with a Bolt 3...
.
...Just as the Tear Wave headed their direction smashed into their WarMech.
The engines of the device began to crackle, and they found all three headed towards the east, moved by the disturbed electricity, which, was causing the machines to spiral full-speed up into the sky.
"Aieeeee!!!!!" screamed Yuffie.
Cait Sith's straps broke, and he had to grab onto the side of the WarMech to stay in the air, while Barret immediately latched into part of the WEAPON, motioning for Cloud and Tifa to hold onto him in case their straps broke loose. Vincent grabbed onto one side of the WarMech he was in, Yuffie grabbed into another, slamming her Conformer in, attaching it to her Left Arm Pad.
Eyes shut, all of them pressed their faces against the metal, waiting for the flight to end, one way or another, Tifa the only one watching where they were going, telling herself to remain patient, and cast a Shield Spell at just the right moment. That would save their lives, but their bones would still probably be aching crazily.
And far away, near the Nibleheim Reactor, energies began to stir.
*****
The descent was a few hours later, near the Wutai Area Materia Cave. Tifa's Shield was timed right, but, as she suspected, they were left with plenty of aching bones. Their reflexes prevented less aching as they rolled out of the way of the descending WarMechs, which could've crushed them as much as that was possible with a Shield Spell up.
Each exploded.
Cait Sith let them rest, hardly able to move, and mouth-fed them as they just lay there, all except Tifa and Yuffie half-awake, those two both asleep from exhaustion.
.
Yuffie awoke in the midst of a battle, knowing almost immediately what battle it was, and what the outcome would be.
"The Battle of the Da-Chao," she whispered.
She had been but a child when it had happened.
One of the most ferocious battles of the Great War, it had been their first major victory. She had been exploring the mountains, having received something called a "Restore" Materia, for her birthday. It was her birthday present, and since all of her lineage had seemed to have a special ability to use 'Magical' things with ease, she had been presented with one, it being the safest to use.
Her father, having won most of the matches he had played as a child with them, had developed a fondness for them, although not as much of a fondness as she would later in her life.
She had been caught unawares in an ambush. A group of Wutai Deserters had been caught unawares in the hills, and she knew that soon others would arrive to assist them. She had to get out, and fast!
"Halt, you!" snapped one of the men.
It was the first life she had taken, an event that had shaken her to the core at that time in her life. She turned around, facing an Attack Squad Member with the name-tag Jason Gainsborough. He looked like a man in his mid-ages, perhaps a bit younger, but he was armed, and she was just a young girl, barely 6.
"Get away from me, bad man!" she said.
He flashed a brief smile. "Are you with those deserters?" he asked.
"No," she answered. "I'm simply playing."
Yuffie tried to turn away, knowing what was coming next, but couldn't.
The man sighed. "I should take you hostage, but I don't want to hurt an innocent." He paused, then continued, almost talking to himself. "If I successfully capture someone of high worth, I'll get my Leave back, which I lost because one of my prisoners escaped while I was on guard. I want to go back to my family, but I don't want to take another away from their family." He turned to her. "Do you have a family?" he asked her.
"Sure," answered Yuffie, managing to make some sense of his words. "Although my mother perished giving birth to me, my dad's name is Lord Godo!"
The man's eyes windened.
"You're Yuffie Kisaragi!" he said.
"That's my name!" she answered. Then she covered her mouth. "Wait a minute!" she exclaimed. "I shouldn't have told you that!"
The two were unnoticed by the battle far above.
"You shouldn't have," the man responded. "Because now I'm afraid I'll have to take you prisoner." Yuffie's eyes widened as she heard that. A child prodigy in knowledge, she could understand much more than most people thought.
"Get away from me!" she snapped.
As the dreaming Yuffie tried one last time to banish the dream, and failed, her younger self chucked the Materia at the man. His reflexes were lightning-quick, and since he didn't know what type of 'projectile' was being thrown at him, he blasted it at point-blank range, leaping away as he did so.
Yuffie had begun to run away, but turned when she heard a resounding thunderclap. The Materia had exploded, the man close enough that it tore through his armor. He'd been on Advance Scouting obviously, hadn't been wearing much protective gear, so the explosion tore through him, leaving a burnt, lifeless man behind, plummeting to the rocks below, landing with a crash.
Yuffie turned, shrieking, and ran back in the direction of the village, out of sight seconds before people fighting above turned their heads in the direction of the explosion, and sounded an alert.
It would be a long time before she would sneak out of the house again, and the memory of her father's loud admonishments, coupled with the man's assassination, at her hands, had sent her into an emotional trauma that stayed with her for years.
.
She awoke shrieking.
The others were awake now, finishing a meal, which she had obviously been mouth-fed. Tifa turned to her, a concerned look on her face.
"What happened?" she asked.
Yuffie forced herself to her feet. "N-Nothing!" she snapped. "Just a bad dream!"
She shuddered for a few more seconds, then calmed down.
"Do you think she'll be able to help us investigate the cave?" asked Cid.
Yuffie spun. "W-What?" she asked.
"We've charted the area," answered Tifa. "We're near that isolated cave in the Wutai Area where we found the Mime Materia."
"Near a Ground Zero," put in Barret. "We've been waiting until our bodies have stopped feeling sore, eating, and trying to figure out if there's a way to repair the WarMech. We're ready to go in now, though."
"I'm coming!" snapped the Ninja.
Cloud shrugged. "I guess that settles that," he answered.
.
They moved into the huge cave, noticing at once that something had severely damaged it. The walls looked like they had been torn apart by spectacular forces, and Cloud could sense something in the air.
A hiss-roar sounded from above the mound, and he drew his weapon, as did the others. They fanned out until they were encircling it. The hiss came again, and something shimmered into existence. Something large and monstrous.
"It's coming for us!" shouted Cid.
The thing charged seconds after…
.
…roaring as soon as it came up to them and batting at them. Cid dodged to the side, as did the others, and they got their first good look at the creature.
It was the same size as Chaos had been, but its body parts were arranged in a fashion that Godo's OMNI-Form had been in. Its midsection was composed of a brownish thing that resembled collapsing bones on a decaying creature, two huge, round eyes with no pupils, close-together feet, bird-like claws, and an enormous head, with other features that made it seem demonic. To the sides of it were two huge beasts, one a reddish, multicolored bird, the other a black-and-gold beast with a white base-like section serving for feet. Six arms extended from the shoulders of the thing, the upper-right one holding eight weapons, three swords, the other five an axe, a bow, a skythe, a mace, and a staff. The others were pulsating with energy, and a purplish cloak was flung out behind the thing. Its bottom section consisted of a spidery-like body, a head resembling a large Molboro's in its front, with orange-red, glowing tentacles, around it, and its actual feet were armored. Attached between the head and the brownish beast was a huge, floating device, with doors in the center, four cannons, and an upper Energy Generator, along with various other types of weapons. It was roughly-spherical in shape, too.
Large wings extended from the sides, and atop it floated three heads. One had wild hair the same color as the skin, with a semi-clad lady atop it, other colors of wild hair extending from sections. It was atop a second head, composed of three faces, one coming from its horns, one where it ought to be, and the final behind it, wild hair streaking down between them. It was the thing's 'neck.' The final was atop it, and looked had wild hair too, was atop the other, behind the lady, claws coming from its chin, the face also having wild hair. The thing had a whiplike tail, yet no wings.
"Who am I?" the thing roared. "I am simply All-Magic!"
Cid nodded, a grin on his face. "Silence!" he roared, his Seal Materia glowing.
The symbol appeared in front of the creature, merged with it, but didn't do anything to it.
"You…you're a grotesque version of the OMNI-Change!" shouted Yuffie, rage building up inside her. Within seconds she was in the state of mind in which she could focus her All Creation, and proceeded to blast the beast.
Tifa readied a Regen, just as the thing lashed out at them. Cloud just saw the blows coming, and quickly parried them, his back to the wall in almost seconds. "Ultima!" he shouted, his Materia having healed themselves by now.
The energies drove the thing back, and Tifa cast Shield.
"Black Hole!" The thing roared. A pinpoint of blackness appeared in front of it, which immediately began to glow with intense energies. Within seconds the Shields were sucked off of them.
Yuffie's Limit Break connected at that moment, and the monstrosity roared in agony. Cyborg parts and other body-parts flew off of the beast as she kept it focused for longer than she ever had, straining her muscles.
"Remind me never to insult her heritage," said Cid.
"Big Bang!" the thing screamed.
Multicolored energies formed in front of the beast and blasted outwards, each successive explosion creating more and more tremors. They spread, quickly blasting into the group. All but Cid and Yuffie went down, and the Final Attack and Phoenix Combo was activated.
Yuffie was still concentrating the Limit Break, and the thing was still roaring in pain, lashing out in various directions, even as the Phoenix healed the others of their mortal wounds. Cloud charged in, chopping at the machine, dodging a huge blast of whirling lights. A large sweeping beam came from the top, which he ducked, and lasers rocketed back and forth between the cannons before they shot towards each other, forming a pinpoint, and blasted at him.
He threw himself between them, dodged an arrow, and proceeded to get nailed by another Flare. He threw himself into an Omnislash, and within seconds the machine and neck had been shattered, the machine replaced by some sort of body, the neck replaced by a head-like thing with robes on it.
"Quasar!" All-Magic shrieked. A huge pulse of light was formed at the roof of the cavern, and enormous energy blasts rained down on them, sending Cloud and Cait Sith down, activating another Phoenix. The machine, which had been designed in ancient times, and was able to resist large blasts of all but purest energy, had been reduced to ashes by the blade that had nailed it, all of which were kicked up by the blasts.
Barret unleashed his Catastrophe as the spider-head sent out small, Energy-Spiders and large webs, all of which he incinerated before turning and blasting the thing. The creature had been created in a way where it couldn't withstand extreme energies at once, much like the 'neck' which couldn't withstand pure energy either, and shattered, all except for the legs. They were replaced by a grayish beast with huge claws and a glaring head, tube-like things jutting from its back.
"Mega-White!" the thing seemed to shout as it disentegrated.
Barret was sent sprawling by a torrent of intense white energies that swirled about him the way a Flare might, a black spot appearing at various points, absorbing and directing the energies. Tifa cast a Life 2, and switched to an Esuna as soon as the brown section directed a Bio 3 at her.
Red XIII unleashed his Cosmo Memory, taking the beast's tail off, and the claw-face behind it, both unable to withstand magical energies at the atomic level. A smaller robed head, floating in air above the half-sized large Robe-Head, appeared in its place, while nothing appeared in place of the tail.
Vincent was downed by another Bio 3 followed by a Pearl, a tube-like blast of energies, and Tifa cast another Life 2, then smashed a Turbo Ether on the Materias. It swiped at her with its arms, and she launched blocked them all, thrusting at the hands, causing the beast to withdraw them, screeching. A Flare had been blasted from the head Red XIII had destroyed, so she quickly focused a Full Cure on herself, ignoring Regen, since the Black Hole Spell would probably be cast, absorbing its effects.
Cid pole-vaulted once again, shoving his spear into the lady-head. Remembering something from their swap of stories after the Midgar rescue, he pulled out a group of useless All Materias, scattering them on the head, then blasted the area with a Bolt 3 before they could be shaken off. He leapt backwards at that moment, and the detonation took that head with it, letting the robed-head move upwards into the form of a robed-lady lying on twisting veins with hair like sections and jutting areas.
The whole upper portion seemed to writhe and become alive.
"Merton!" It screamed.
Once again, Cloud went down, along with everyone but Cait Sith, who had a Tetra Elemental equipped, and Yuffie, who's All Creation was still being focused. The huge beast lashed at them, and the head sections began piling on Ultimas. Yuffie slowly moved her beam upwards, tearing apart the cloak, and the whole bottom section became alive. A huge claw shot out and pinned Barret to the wall.
"Leg'go!" he snapped, blasting bullets into it.
The other hand backhanded Cloud, and the mouth cast a Bio 3 on him. Tifa cast a Cure 3, using another Turbo Ether, and Barret used Contain's Freeze. Hooked up to Quadra Magic, the huge chunks of ice disposed of the arm, and it collapsed, hanging limply. The main part was still trying to blast at the group, but Yuffie's All Creation was unnerving it.
Cloud got backhanded again, Magic Countered with Ultima, and launched into an Omnislash, aiming it at the two creatures that were also dealing with Yuffie's All Creation. The head blasted him with a Merton, activating another Final Attack and Phoenix Combo, which destroyed the floating head. The floating head had used a Cure 3 on the main head, which continued to work, but hung there. Tifa, still blocking the arm swipes, was sent sprawling when the arm that had backhanded Cloud slammed into her. She was immediately exposed to a group of swordswipes that nearly chopped off her head, and Red XIII finally got the opportunity to leap at them. Yuffie's Limit Break succeeded in tearing off the two sections attached to the brown part, and they were replaced by two other figures, connected to the one above the brown thing by veins, as they were to the one below, leaving the brown beast the only non-vien-connected part of All-Magic left. It roared, finally gethering the strength to fight the All Creation, and shimmered, transforming into a bluish creature with quills, and eyes that could barely be seen.
Yuffie's All Creation tore into it, and it shuddered, hair flailing, and was forced to revert back. That was all the distraction it needed, though, as it unleashed the full force of a Big Bang once more.
Cloud's Final Attack Materia cast Phoenix, then dimmed. Yuffie and Cid hadn't gone down, and Yuffie still had the All Creation focused. Parts of the wire-body swiped at her, and Tifa blocked them. Red XIII timed another Cosmo Memory as a blow came at his head, and the other arm crashed. Cait Sith was blasted with an Ultima, and spun his Slot Machine, ending up with Toy Soldier.
The tiny things ejected from his body, their small rocket-packs activated, and they flew upwards, whirring around and slamming into the arms, taking the lower body and the head in the eye, swiping through them, before flying back to their owner. This had given the time for another Big Bang, and he risked a Big Guard.
The thing was unable to activate Black Hole, and they all survived, weakened by the energies, though, the Big Guard shattered. Yuffie's All Creation moved in on the bottom monstrosity, tearing it to pieces before it could unleash a Quake 3, which would effectively destroy them, after which it moved upwards.
The brownish beast screamed as Cloud, aided by his Master Command Materia, hurled the Heaven's Cloud at it. It struck true, and the thing roared, then exploded, the shockwave ripping through the area. It was replaced by another hanging body, while below, the destroyed lower section just slumped.
"I'd say we've seen enough," grinned Cid. He would up, then PoleVaulted up into the head as Tifa activated a Cure 3, followed by a Regen, then a Shield.
The thing moved, swinging the figures into them, and one, mechanical, swiveled, blasting a pure laser beam at them. Cloud deflected it, leaping into an Omnislash as Barret activated another Catastrophe.
Cid kept on slashing at the head, finally PoleVaulting onto the ground, then up, spear-first, at its neck. Tifa aimed an Ultima there, and the head fell. Yuffie directed her All Creation up, now glowing and pulsating, and severed through the rest of the beasts as they released a Delta Attack, a triangular blast that slammed into them, electrocuting them, and breaking through the Shields, destroying each.
The thing exploded, and all the other parts did, and Yuffie's All Creation finally dissipated. She drew in a long, shuddering breath, then collapsed to the ground, unconscious, nearly out of breath.
And the thing was torn apart from the inside, shockwaves slamming into the walls, causing more of the sides to tumble down…
.
…and was replaced by a single figure.
"Who the blazes are you?" asked Barret.
The figure above them was muscular, clad only in a circlet from which its purplish hair jutted out, and brownish lower garments.
The thing laughed. "The result of the Lifestream Poisoning, the ultimate result!"
The muscular, greyish figure, looking somewhat like an angel because of its wings and the way its limbs were arranged, lunged downwards, caping its wings, then spreading them, throwing the group into the wall.
"My name used to be Kefka!" The figure roared. "Now I am simply All-Magic!"
"Whatever!" answered Cid. "You're toast!" He charged forwards, pole-vaulting into the gigantic adversary, which was the size of Chaos, too, and thrust with his spear. To his surprise, not one bit of damage was done.
"Heartless Angel!" He screamed.
A small, glowing, winged figure erupted from his chest, hovered over the group, and sent destructive energies down on them, tearing through every fiber of their body, nearly causing them to collapse.
"Cure 3!" shouted Tifa.
Kefka/All-Magic lunged forwards, swiping with his claws, sending Vincent crashing into the wall. He laughed again, a crazy, insane, laugh, and whirled in the air. "I am a god, and you are but mortals!"
"Sephiroth-Wannabe!" muttered Cid under his breath.
"Who's Sephiroth!" Kefka asked.
"Someone you'd probably love to meet!" answered Cid. "Go back to where ya' came from, ya' loopy showoff!"
He clutched his fists, not even noticing Tifa activating Regen.
"I AM NON-EXISTENCE!!!!!" He roared. "You shall all perish!" He lunged downwards, swiping at them. Tifa performed a roundhouse on the hand, and he withdrew it, creating sharp blades of of the air and each at them. Vincent jumped between each, blasting him.
He roared.
"Darkness comes...before Chaos!" He screamed.
He began to shake, tremendous energies building up inside him.
Cloud launched into an Omnislash, cutting deep gashes in his skin, and he didn't even notice, he just contiuned to shudder. His skin seemed to crack, and he screamed, near-ultrasonic waves emerging. Pure energies appeared, focused, and erupted into a display of multicolored lights and pure energies, a thousand-thousand times stronger than the Big Bang, each tiny blast carrying huge amounts of energy. The whole air seemed to be torn apart and explode hundreds of times, and the attack left each one of them down, hardly able to move an inch.
Tifa had cast Shield just in time, but even the Shield had shattered. It had been enough to save their lives, though.
Red XIII launched into a Cosmo Memory, and Kefka simply blasted him with an Ultima. Tifa cast Life 2, activating another Turbo Ether, and Barret activated Catastrophe yet even another time. The energies blasted into his skin, and he shrieked, laughing even in the midst of that.
"Havoc Wing!" He screamed. He caped his wings, each which glowed with cataclysmic energies, sharpening them, and soared downwards, uncaping the wing. It slammed into Barret and Tifa, sending them crashing into the walls, both unconscious.
Red XIII chucked two Phoenix Downs at them, while Cid waited for the right time to activate a Megalixir, which would completely heal their injuries. Vincent's form began to ripple, and he roared, whirling and performing a Chaos Saber.
"Light of Judgement!" Kefka roared.
A sphere appeared between his hands, and let loose with a huge, yellowish beam which roared across the ground, tearing into them, nearly ripping them apart. It would have, too, had Red XIII not activated his Megalixir at that time. Cid charged forwards, stabbing him, and Vincent was about to activate his special attack...
...but the 'God' was faster. He kicked them both, forming energies with his hands. He slammed them into the ground, and they erupted into a destructive spray as the ground rippled.
Cloud jumped over the ripples, having had enough, and launched into his Omnislash again, aiming all blows at the heart of the monster with an accuracy he had hardly ever been able to achieve. He descended for his finishing blow, and Tifa finished the monster off with an Ultima as he landed safely.
Kefka/All-Magic let out another shriek, no laughs entangled in it, and began to tear itself apart and consume itself. Within seconds he had exploded, unleashing yet another shockwave, destroying more of the cavern walls.
But he was gone…
.
…finally ending the battle.
Cloud drew in breaths slowly, letting them out just as slowly. He leaned against the wall, exhausted. "What was that thing?"
Red XIII looked up. "Something from a long time ago," he said quietly.
Cloud turned. "Something that's just going to attract more WEAPONS," he said. Tifa was helping an exhausted and barely-awake Yuffie rise to her feet.
Cid swore. "Why us!?" he moaned.
"A better question might be…'How exactly are we going to get out of this area?'" stated Nanaki. "I don't have any idea."
Cloud sighed. "Wonderful," he muttered.
That's when Cait Sith pushed his way into the discussion. "I believe I can provide you some help in this matter," he said.
Barret turned to face him, skeptically. "And exactly how do you plan to do that, ya' darn cat! Out with it!"
"This Android has various purposes, as you should know from what you saw in Midgar, and what you others have heard about what happened in Midgar," replied the robot. "I can fly you, if you'll be so kind as to install sections of those WarMech Propellers on my back."
Barret muttered something under his breath. "Fine!" He snapped. "Let's just get outta' this place! If strange creatures are popping up in places like this, there's probably one at the Mideel Island Materia Cave, too! Let's get ready, then move!"
The others nodded.
*****
Near the end of the day, the group fanned out at the Mideel Island Materia Cave, Cait Sith a bit woozy from flying them.
"We're not being caught unprepared this time," said Cloud. "Let's get a move on!" He had his sword at the ready, muscles tensed, ready to move. "And be prepared for WEAPONs. We didn't see any coming to Wutai, so I have a bad feeling about what might happen in here."
Cid laughed. "We now how to turn those Garguantuan Misfits into Scrap Metal, now!" he said. "What exactly is there to worry about?"
"The small ones," answered Tifa.
Then Cloud motioned to the cavern. "Let's go inside."
Once again, the others nodded, and they entered the cavern.
.
This cavern was Desert-Like. It was also flat and smooth, with nothing inside it that they could see. The walls looked malformed, which meant something had been here, so Nanaki extended a probe.
Something blasted into being above them. "There's no need for that, mortals! You are against my laws, my creation! This Planet must be destroyed and recreated!" He flitted to the ground, and Cid had to stifle a chuckle. This 'demon' looked like a Turk wearing a Black Hat with a red band around it. The hat was trimmed like a Crown, and even had a Crown-Opening at the top, but what they faced was obviously human.
"Who are you supposed to be?" asked Tifa.
The man chuckled. "The one who created everything!"
"He's crazy," stated Cid. The man shot him a glare, grinning.
"You think that of me, yet you do not know what you are even dealing with. I created everything, it is my nature to do as I please with denizens of the whole universe! And I can do as I please with you!"
Nanaki fixed him with a cold stare. "You started the Second Cetra Apoclypse," he growled. "You're the being who is named Creator, a product of the Lifestream Poisoining convinced he created everything!"
"I am NOT!" the man snapped back at them.
"Its amazing how calling thing's from a Planet's history is easier than creating new things," muttered Nanaki. "The Lifestream Poisoning 'Entity' has powers I can't even comprehend right now, but can start guessing!" He fixed his stare at 'Creator.' "If this continues, Magic coming alive again suddenly, then vanishing abruptly, and the Lifestream Poisoning continues to twist the laws of nature, the Planet could be unbalanced enough to tear itself apart! Misguided though you may be, you must either reject your Magic and listen to reason, or we will have to take your life!"
"I agreed to challenge a Quartet long ago," the man, now known as Creator, replied. "They destroyed me, but almost perished. I can create anything, I can do whatever I want whenever I want! I created this Universe, and Pureland, and I can Recreate those who have perished!" He laughed, and his hands began to crackle. A viewing-portal to the Waterfall Crater where Cloud had nearly perished appeared. Creator waved his hands, and a multi-headed, disoriented, hardly-viewable monster appeared. It seemed to gather its bearings, shrieked, and blasted downwards. Creator shifted the portal view to above the lake near Junon, and waved his hand. With another crackling of energies, a huge fish-like monster appeared, its bottom and back composed of tentacles, its frontal sections like that of huge Beach Plug. "See!" He laughed. "These two beings, destroyed in the Second Pureland War, Xagor and the Pureland Water Entity, live again!"
"You're crazy," stated Nanaki. "I see we have no choice." He sighed. "We'll have to take you down, too."
The man laughed and raised his hands. Energies began to crackle, his shape began to change, growing larger, more limbs appearing, the area began to shimmer…
.
...and then suddenly settled down. The cavern walls had changed, energy patterns criscrossed them, along with clouds and sparkling stars. Incredible energies flowed around, crashing, colliding into each other, and dissipating.
As for Creator, he had changed too. His golden crown was now thorned, horns protruded from his head, and his whole body was wreathed in blue-white flames. His eyes burned with the same energies, and a reddish wing was attached to his right arm, just as Sephiroth had during his second transformation. Robes flowed out from behind him, and his face was now demonic. His left hand was clawed, and his whole body was muscular. Grayish-white wings extended from his sides, and everything down to his lower portion was unclad. White, moving wings extended from there, legs, knee-spikes and heel-spikes on them, moving with them. He was the size Chaos had been, and also had elbow-spikes.
"I AM THE CREATOR OF ALL!!!!!" He roared, lunging downwards and delivering a swipe with his claws while chopping down with his wings. Tifa threw herself out of the way, activating Regen, while Vincent blasted at him. Creator brought his arms out, and energy blasts came out, colliding into the group, nearly burning through their armor. Cloud launched into an Omnislash, and Creator just grabbed him by his sword and threw him to the side.
"It seems like these wings are a new fashion statement," said Barret. He glared at the demon. "Well, guess what? I don't like it!" He blasted at the monster, who deflected the blasts with his wings, and proceeded to come down and chop forwards with another one. Barret ducked, blasting a Catastrophe Beam outwards.
Vincent's Titan Materia glowed, but Creator simply blasted the monster that was forming, destroying it. The Materia exploded too, sending Vincent sprawling.
Cloud clenched his fists and charged, and Creator turned, roaring "Flash!" A horizontal plane of energy appeared in front of him, blasting apart, momentarily blinding him. He staggered to the ground, and Creator sent a Merton backwards, sending the other group members to the ground. Then he approached Cloud, ready to deliver a Fatal Blow to him.
Cloud's Ribbon Accessory glowed, and the lights vanished from his eyes. He dodged the blast of energies, only to find Creator whirling. He unloaded Flash after Flash, forcing the others backwards, and formed a wall of flames behind them. Cloud leapt up, and Creator sensed this, whirling and swiping his left arm. An Energy Blast appeared, decending into his left breast, slashing into his armor. He crashed backwards, at an odd angle, his Final Attack Materia, by now having recharged itself, taking effect.
Creator blocked the Fire Waves coming from the Phoenix, and sent another Merton outwards, centering around Cloud. He blasted a group of Ultimas at his Materia, letting the Merton Energies that coursed through him heal his wounds. Cloud blocked the majority of the Ultimas with his Ultima Weapon, so Creator just teleported the whole group into the air and formed large green energies below them, which ascended to destroy them.
Barret let loose an Ultimate End, and Creator flipped the Black Platform, causing it to collide with his opponents, crushing them, and activating the Final Attack Materia again. Creator attempted to negate it, only to find that the Phoenix simply replenished itself, being a Firebird. The healing process was halfway-completed as the group shimmered back into existence, the Energy Pulses slamming into the Firebird. He shrieked, resurrecting himself again, and blasted Creator with group upon group of flame before Creator was finally able to destroy the bird, and freeze its ashes, causing them to dissipate. The Phoenix Materia on the Ultima Weapon exploded.
Barret unleashed another Catastrophe, and Creator blocked it with his hands, then moved them around, descending in a quick blast of Karate Blows and Magic Blows that took down all but Tifa and Yuffie. Tifa cast a Life 2, and Creator activated his sequence again. She blocked, dodged, then leapt at him, blasting him with an Ultima right in the face. He staggered, and activated his body's Self-Replenishing Systems. Tifa nailed him with a Dispel, while yuffie unleashed All Creation.
He absorbed the energies. "YOU FOOLS, I *AM* CREATION!!!!" he roared.
The Warriors from the Knights of the Round Summon Spell had recovered, and made another pass at him. He pointed his wings outwards, and his whole body glowed, then unleashed a hailstorm of energy pulses which erupted.
"RIGHT!!!!!" He screamed, and they all exploded, the forces of the Universe blasting into the group. Tifa was once again the survivor, dodging, the Warriors being wise enough to dissipate before they were destroyed. Tifa activated another Life 2, Creator cast another Right, and again the woman dodged. Tifa activated another Life 2.
"I should never have created you," spoke the demon, his eyes filled with sorrow. "REPENT!!!!!" As the others got up, the first sight they say was Tifa enveloped in magical energies that crackled, absorbing and destroying her body in a flash of electric lights as she screamed out in agony.
Cloud's arms just dropped, and he was unaware of Creator focusing on the rest of them, casting another Repent. Next to be destroyed was Cait Sith 2, totally destroyed, not having just perished, having been completely unmade. It was the same for Tifa. They hadn't just perished, they had been unmade, totally annihilated.
He faced him next, and Cloud glanced at the spot where Cait Sith had been, then where Tifa had been. Something inside him snapped, and he saw red in his eyes. Screaming, he hurled himself forwards, and launched into an Omnislash.
"NEUTRON FLARE!!!!!" screamed Creator. Incredible energies smashed into him, and he crashed backwards into the wall, seeing stars in front of his eyes as he blacked out.
Barret glared at him. "You can't do that!?" he shouted. "You can't just TAKE BACK someone's life!!!!!"
"I can do whatever I wish!" snapped Creator. "You're next!"
"You didn't create, so you didn't unmake, demon!" shouted Nanaki. "You may think you did, Cait Sith 2, being an android, may have been destroyed, but Tifa is still alive somewhere!"
"You really believe that!?" Creator scoffed, unleashing a Neutron Flare at the group. They crashed backwards into the walls, Nanaki barely moving. He managed to flick his Phoenix Materia at Cloud's still-glowing Final Attack Materia.
The Materia hovered for a moment, and Red XIII watched it, hoping it would fall into the open slot, hoping...
...Creator noticed it at the same time that Nanaki slipped into blackness, their energies beginning to fade. The Phoenix activated, blasting into the shocked demon. He nailed it with a Freeze, and it shimmered out of existence, revealing a rejuvenated group, minus two members. Nanaki charged forwards, leaping upwards, passing through the spells blasted at him by performing Cosmo Memory each time, and barely made it to the beast's neck. He unloaded another Cosmo Memory, while Barret followed up with an Ultimate End. This time Creator was caught in the descending platform, and Cloud waited, readying an Omnislash...
...so when Creator reappeared, he attacked. He was flung to the ground again, and that left a perfect opening for Barret to blast another Catastrophe, his Missing Score beginning to spark with its energy overloads. Creator whirled, blocking the blow, and didn't even notice as a figure shimmered into existence behind him.
"Nice try," spoke Tifa, grinning. "The pain wasn't too pleasant, but it should prove something to you!"
Creator whirled, mouth hanging open in surprise, Barret's Catastrophe having dissipated, though. "I...I...-" He let out a roar of anguish, and let loose with a barrage of Neutron Flares. Cid polevaulted onto his back within seconds, and using probably the only moment of distraction they were going to get, drove his Venus Gospel through Creator's neck.
Then he leapt free, as Creator roared again, this time in pain. Parts of his body began to crackle and explode, then his whole body was torn apart in various directions, yellow-orange cracks appearing in those parts. His roar increased to intensity before he finally exploded, the thunderclap momentarily deafening the ears of those in the cavern with him. As he vanished from existence once more, the energies in the cavern shimmered…
.
…and the cavern returned to its normal self, while the group collapsed in exhaustion once again.
.