Final Fantasy Infusion

Fiction based on sources already out, original material and other personally made literature.

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Xanien
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Post by Xanien » Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:23 am

Chapter 11: Betrayal


"Hey!" Squall's voice echoed into the clouds above. He was beginning to challenge the decision the all-powerful voice had made for them. Was this war theirs for the fighting, or was it a holy war where they were all being used as nothing more than pawns? "What the hell are we supposed to do now? Huh? Show me the meaning to this massacre . . . give a purpose to my friends’ deaths!"

The sky reverberated with hundreds of thunderclaps in answer to Squall’s request. Light from this world was disappearing, causing the air to grow increasingly cold. His frustrated words resounded through the heavens, bouncing from cloud to cloud in search for somebody, ANYBODY to listen. The brash young man wasn’t expecting his plea to be answered, but five mighty bolts of lightning struck the ground nearby, shaking the already fragile, floating battle zone. Slightly unnerved, Squall turned away from the blasts as shards of rock flew past his face. The dust of the falling rocks cleared away to reveal a welcome sight to the surviving three SeeDs. Cloud, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent appeared before him, each looking haggard and distraught from their previous battle, but they too were equally pleased to see their comrades still alive.

Squall glanced over to them, showing a fake grin, trying to hide the fact that they had lost almost everybody in the fight to defeat Ultimecia and Griever. He felt somewhat nervous wanting to ask and find out how the whole thing had went with Cloud, but the absence of Nanaki and Tifa told him everything. He feared the worst and instead walked away.

Both Laguna and Kiros had wandered over to the others, introducing themselves and were about to help them to their feet when Squall asked, “How’d it go?”

Cloud stared blankly back at Squall and refused to answer; he only shook his head in disdain. Seeing her leader’s contempt for others, Yuffie spoke up, “She wasn’t all you had told us . . . we weren’t prepared to fight the type of power Adel had . . . or Seifer. “

“Seifer?” Rinoa’s voice perked up with an instant interest.

Yuffie nodded in answer, “he killed Tifa . . .” The ninja couldn’t contain her tears and began to break down right in front of everybody, her body heaving with each heavy sob. “He cut her up, stabbed her, and . . . AND-“ There was no way she could continue. Cid stood close to the young woman and put his arms over her shoulder, trying to comfort the fragile shinobi who had known Tifa so well.

Rinoa, on the other hand, shook her head in disbelief, “No! That can’t be possible! Not Seifer . . . he wouldn’t do something like that!” She held her hand to her mouth in surprise as her cheeks reddened and eyes welled with tears.

“WELL HE DID, ALRIGHT?” Cloud screamed at Rinoa. How dare she show remorse for that maniac, how dare she care more about him than his beloved Tifa! “That murderous bastard killed Tifa in cold blood and allowed Adel to destroy Red in the process, so he is and WAS fully capable of doing it!” The ex-soldier grew irritated with the constant mourning and sobbing around him and lashed out, “Everybody just shut up!”

Barret came up from behind Cloud and got him in a bear hug before he could hurt anybody, “Calm down buddy, it’s not their fault. Take it easy foo, k?” The belligerent SOLDIER struggled for a few moments before easing his tense muscles and becoming relaxed. They needed a leader, one with a cool head and understanding . . . not one full of regret and hate. They all just looked at him with caring, understanding eyes. They wanted to help him overcome this dreadful day. Their looks forced him coming to terms again with the dire situation, faster than he would have liked.

“We gotta win this final battle . . . “ Cloud pleaded, looking to the ground, “The others . . . we have to do it for them . . . even for Seifer.”

“H-He’s dead? You killed him? HOW COULD YOU!” Rinoa screamed as her emotions took over. She ran towards Cloud as fast as she could and slapped him straight across the face. His cheek grew red almost instantly but he looked at Squall’s girlfriend, unmoved and unaffected. His eyes were cold and glazed with sudden abhorrence for the young sorceress. Something happened, something stirred inside him when she slapped him. It was the same feeling he had back in the Northern Crater . . . before the Reunion. For just a moment, he lost all control of who he was.

The slap was shaken off and the feeling subsided almost instantly, leaving Cloud to defend his actions once more, “He was infected by Adel’s evil, there was nothing we could do. He would have killed us all . . . I’m sorry Rinoa.”

“LIAR! He was always just joking . . . he didn’t mean it,” she trailed off, falling to her knees.

There were few moments of silence as everybody came to terms with the new developments. Many began to hold the same doubts that Squall had about fighting this war against a foe they barely knew. They wondered how one objective could be worth so many lives of their friends? If only they had been told the truth from the beginning, perhaps they wouldn’t be in the situation they are now. It was too late to turn back, too late to run. They were past the halfway point, and had to see this to its conclusion.

“What happened? Where’s everybody else?” Cid asked Squall, trying to keep Cloud from dwelling on Tifa’s death any longer.

“Look around you. Take a good look . . . Rinoa and I are all that is left of the original group. I’m already tired of all this, I’m tired of seeing death, being surrounded by it. As long as I have breath in my lungs, I won’t let anybody else will die today,” Squall told Cid. They clasped hands in friendship, forming a pact to make sure that the SeeD’s words held true. However, the compassion both teams once had for each other was starting to fall apart. They doubted one another’s abilities, their trust of support was thinning . . . the screaming and blaming was tearing their fellowship apart faster than their foes had done.

Yuffie felt a sudden chill take over her body as the air temperature around everybody dropped dramatically. Barret suddenly spoke, his words frozen as they steamed out of his mouth, “It ain’t over just yet . . .”

Everyone soon turned their heads toward the remains of the monster to see what he was talking about. The corpse released a white mist from within, causing the skin to glow white. It pulled in the heat and light from the surrounding area, never stopping until the floating island had been turned into a frigid vacuum.

Unexpected jolts surged through the deceased body, causing beams of white and black light to shoot out in all directions. As the brilliance of the light intensified, only Vincent could look on at the marvelous event. His dead eyes were unaffected by the glorious fireworks coming from the beast. The dead Turk stared dumbfoundedly into the cocoon of deadly light forming above the battlefield, watching the body of the dead beast melt away as a supreme being sprung to life from within.

But things of beauty are never eternal. As soon as it had begun the light ceased, leaving white specks of magic powder to drift lazily over the group that had gathered underneath. The mass of excess magic falling to the ground felt like the first cold breeze of winter, but with the putrid scent of rot mixed in. It bit at the warriors, slowly draining the strength away from them that was given to them by warmth.

The sky darkened all around with the blowing of wind, and out of nowhere it became black as night. A new and improved Ultimecia rose above all that would oppose her like a dark phoenix, casting the only light over the ground from a ball of quasitime located where her face should be. She was the only source of light now . . . of time even. Time itself slowed down in the presence of this evil goddess and the sun shied away it’s powerful rays. The sphere of light, a mirror of time, could see far into the future and even deeper into the past. Her massive glow lit up the whole area in light that was a mix between dawn and dusk.

Through the darkness, the remaining fighters encircled their enemy, "Let’s get this over with," Cloud burned as drew his sword, “I have a promise I need to keep . . . “

"I am . . . Ultimecia," She said with arms calmly at her side, "Time SHALL compress . . . all existence . . . denied."

With that she raised her head to reveal her face had been replaced entirely by the sphere of subtime. It lay like an orb fixed on the top of a pedestal, firmly in place. She increased its power to search the surroundings like a spotlight would and found her first victim. With a nod Ultimecia locked in her attack and lifted her arm above, summoning fiery balls of hell-fire into her hand.

Die

The orbs released like a swarm of bees, covering the field with mighty explosions as they hit near their targets. The battle had begun with little fanfare, sending everybody into action right away. Both Squall and Cloud readied their swords and started to charge their opponent, but it would be Kiros and Yuffie that dealt the initial blows.

“This is for Tifa!” Yuffie screamed as she used her Gauntlet limit break on the unholy being, striking at Ultimecia tirelessly with the giant shruiken, Conformer. Each blow she landed on the entity sent huge recoil through her weapon and caused a rainbow colored geyser of channeled energy to rise up from the ground. The shockwave of each hit forced the ninja backwards, but unfinished in her task she jumped back into the action over and over. The colorful cylinders of light continued to erupt around the enemy, creating open holes for attack each of the magic waves dissipated. Kiros jumped in between Yuffie’s attacks, slashing at Ultimecia’s body repeatedly with the sharp knives he held in each hand.

The sorceress caught on quickly to their tactics, dodging left and right as the skirmish neared its conclusion. Kiros knew something was wrong, his potential deathblows missing more frequently as Yuffie’s attack subsided. He saw the shinobi pull back, catching her breath after her initial onslaught.

Get out of here girl, I’ll hold this bitch off,’ Kiros thought to himself as he tried to keep track of the counterattacks coming his way.

Too late . . .

The sorceress fought back as both fighters wore themselves down, casting her fist into the ground. The earth beneath the two fighters bubbled and vomited violently, sending them flying out of control into the air. They landed roughly on the ground thirty feet away, their bodies coursing with pain. Ultimecia instantly recovered her wounds, using a dazzling display of magic that coated her entire body. The technique had never been seen by the eyes of Squall and his friends before, but the reality of this battle became all too dire to those that did recognize it . . . Bizarro Energy.

"Ahhh shit,” Cid cursed, grabbing his spear tightly getting ready to fight.

“This ain’t looking too good,” Barret said, raising his gun-arm to fire.

"We were told to expect something like this, it is just as the voice had feared," Laguna informed everybody, "Before we left limbo, it had told us to get to you guys as fast as possible. We've taken too long in getting rid of her Squall. The tear in the universe has started. Her body is pulling those that would live again into her . . .

If we don’t stop her now, this will get worse . . . a lot worse. The rip is becoming ever larger due to Sephiroth’s and Ultimecia’s strong will. They are like magnets, pulling each other together and they will fully junction in no time. We most stop thinking about just killing her and focus on containing this rip, okay?”

“She must have close to godlike power now,” Vincent revealed to everyone,” No one, not even us has ever gone up against such a huge power before. This is bigger than the sorceress, even bigger than Sephiroth was,” he hung his head down, putting his deadly rifle to his side,” We shouldn’t even be here. Our powers are insignificant in front of a god . . . “

“But we must try," Rinoa interrupted, “We can’t give up, not yet.”

During all this time, Ultimecia had regained her full power, bringing her total ability far above that which anybody had ever seen before. Her body brimmed with radical power, the excess energy escaping into the near area of the sorceress’ body to create an impenetratable shield.

“We are witnessing the birth of a god . . .” Vincent declared to his allies.

"Screw 'dat bullshit Vince! She can’t be dat strong! Let’s see how she deals with Ultima!" Barret huffed as the spell exploded from his body and slammed into its target, enveloping Ultimecia in atomic green mist. With a bright light, the mist ignited and turned the area into cosmic dust. It took only moments to see the consequences of Barret’s haste . . .

Ultimecia had felt the affect of the hit almost immediately. Her body split apart as a countermeasure to disperse the damage, which then immediately led to the drawing of Apocalypse, a destructive spell more powerful than that of even Ultima . . . Without hesitation even for her own safety, she cast it. Yuffie and Kiros were still recovering when the spell erupted outwards from Ultimecia’s body, its heat already upon them by the time they turned and stared into its magnificent glare. Their eyes wide, their cries drowned out by the thunderous roar of the attack, the two heroes were swallowed whole by it.

Yuffie’s mouth opened and screeched shrilly in pain as she raised her weapon as the only means of defense. Seconds later Kiro’s and herself were disintegrated into dust.

"DAMN IT!" Cloud said with anxiety as the wave of death drove closer to their position after eliminating two of his friends. This was the first time anyone had seen a worried look on his face. He could usually collect himself and show everyone how brave of a leader he was, but in the face of the chaotic storm of Apocalypse he broke down," I don’t have enough magic to cast a Shield!"

Those that were left scurried through their packs for a mega-elixir or anything to help Cloud with, but they came up empty. He was lucky to even have such a spell to ward off such damage. Rinoa and Squall would surely die without any protection.

“Everybody get behind me, I can cast a shield around all of us!” Cid screamed as he waved for everybody to gather behind him.”

“No! That won’t work! We’d be left with nothing to defend ourselves after it subsided!” Vincent yelled, getting everybody’s attention. He walked past everybody, closer to the spell as it accelerated over the open, rocky plain. The brilliant Turk was thinking of something else, but his time was running short.

The earth was no barrier to Apocalypse as it ate through the mix of dirt and stone, spewing it sideways off the floating island into clouds of dust. The intense heat of the death wave eroded the ground away molecule by molecule and kept getting closer. Rocks separated from the ground were floating in front of the attack and had been forced to launch themselves away from Apocalypse or be destroyed. Now not only was a devastating magic attack heading towards Squall and the others, but a sky full of boulders too. Everyone tried to come up with a solution of their own as they dodged the swell of oncoming debris.

“If you have an idea, say it NOW!” Squall screamed while using his sword to slice through a ten foot boulder.

“Well we can’t block the blast . . .” Vincent started before being interrupted by Squall.

"Then we’ll blow Apocalypse right back at her!" Squall yelled out.

"It should work! Everyone use Ultima now!" Cloud ordered desperately as he cast Ultima, draining away the last of his magic reserves. Cid used it alongside with Vincent in hopes that it would work. Each of the first three titanic blasts hit the Apocalypse wave, creating a hurricane of debris in the void between them, but it didn't slow it down much at all. Cloud grimaced as he put everything he had behind this final attack, hoping beyond all hope that a miracle could happen, even after a day that had tested his faith and caused him to doubt it. Squall and Rinoa quickly added in Ultimas of their own which pounded the seemingly unstoppable blast, slowing it down considerably from before. Each spell fought right back at the oncoming blast, but it still just smiled at them and crawled even closer. Two were left now. Laguna feverishly used Ultima as well, thinking the plan should have negated the attack by now, but Apocalypse was still inching towards them. A mix of red and green space magic had crested at the top of each terrible wave which had reached a stalemate, but all that each Ultima had accomplished was to vaporize the small boulders in between the waves.

Ultimecia would wait no longer. It would not sit back and be amused by the pitiful attempt any longer. She would put an end to this right now . . . she would destroy the universe. The lower half of Ultimecia cut itself from the floating top, spewing purple blood from it’s spine as the top half flailed and recovered. It now existed as a separate entity, and it had only one thought on its mind; shift the power in Ultimecia’s favor. All that was needed was one more on either side, and it would all be over.

"Can't . . . do this . . . much . . .longer," Cid said as sweat beaded down his face. He bit down hard onto his cigarette, causing some of the tobacco to spill out the front. His Ultima wave still was in front of him, fighting against the other equally powerful energy blast that sought to destroy them. He waited impatiently, just like all the others in his same situation for the last person to cast it, "Barret?! What the hell are you waiting for? C’mon already!”

His eyes were locked in a cold stare through the semi-transparent wall of flickering Ultimas, “It won’t work, she won’t let it” He suddenly ran off, into the center of everything.

"WHAAAAAT?!" Cid reacted badly to this, "What the hell- WHERE are you going?” He almost took his focus away from the blast but realized his error and kept on pushing forward, bracing his foot to push, “Damn it Barret, don’t go off and get yourself killed . . .”

Most of the combatants were being forced to inch backwards a few steps at a time in order to ward off the intense heat of the wave which had begun to approaching them again. Squall and the others could only stare in shock as the burly black warrior sprinted into the middle of the blast, diving in with no other protection except for an ill-conceived WALL spell. It would give him ten seconds at best, but then . . .

"I'm done!" Vincent yelled as his spell used up all of its kinetic energy and was close to being negated.

"Me, too," Cloud said as the rest of Ultima directed away from his body. All the others followed in having cast Ultima and slowly retreated backwards towards the edge of the dark cliff, “Barret! Get back here! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

The lower half of Ultimecia was extremely close now and had noticed Barret’s body trying to force his way into the epicenter of it all. It changed its path and now came directly at him.

That’s it baby, I know you want it. Come on . . . Come on’ Barret counted the time left to himself in his head, he knew that this would be painful, but that’s the only way it would work. He raised his gun-arm, getting the other part of Ultimecia in his sights as it floated towards him too now, ‘Just a little longer . . . just a little more . . .’ The land beneath his body was dropping away, leaving him with no footing, but just when he thought his plan to be failed, it happened.

The mechanisms in his gun-arm spurred to life, whirring and whistling as compartments opened up and extra gun barrels came out of the main turret. Barret’s gun began to shake violently, out of control as the spinning gyro inside whizzed around and around. He could feel the heat building, the power surging . . . the true power of Catastrophe was best used for a last resort . . . and this was one of those times.

“Yeah you son of a bitch . . . TAKE THIS!” the leader of Avalanche jumped backwards with all his might, sending his body high into the air far above the standstill below him. Barret looked down, holding his gun sight directly at the middle of the Ultima wall his friends had created. Both the top and bottom half had converged on his location just on the other side, setting them up perfectly.

The end of Barret’s gun-arm blew off as a massive blast erupted from it. The shot from his gun widened radically from the point of his barrel to twenty feet in diameter, knocking his body up into the air even farther from its horrible recoil. The first blast hit the wall and immediately pushed it back into Ultimecia, sending both scurrying away as fast as they can. Another blast wave suddenly came from the broken Missing Score gun on Barret’s arm, tearing off his arm with its insane recoil. His body fell from the sky as the second blast came out twice the size of the first, ripping through the wall and hitting both Ultimecia’s.

The blast was overpowered easily a mere foot away from Cid’s face, causing his cigarette to be singed in the process. The tides had been turned against the evil sorceress as the Apocalypse and six Ultimas gained momentum towards her. Barret’s limit break tore chunks of flesh away from their body, stripping away any barriers between them and what awaited them.

"No. . . NOO! “ She gasped aloud as the inferno caught up with her engulfed both bodies with its tremendous blast, “NOOOO!!"

Squall looked on as the massive wall of death found its true target. Each wave ripped through her like a paper doll, causing the sorceress to flail around in torment. Ultimecia could only scream in anguish as each wave passed through her, tearing her limb from limb as the power to defend herself grew less and less. Flesh was ripped from bones, muscles fused together, and her insides boiled as the next shockwave ripped her arms out of their sockets and sent the destructive energy directly into her delicate face. With one last Ultima following the others, the delicate balance of time that existed in her facial sphere collapsed and exploded inwards, ripping her apart inch by inch as time compressed into her own body. As her body was vacuumed bit by bit into different times in space, a final cataclysmic explosion occurred and blew away what was left of her frail and tortured existence. The escaping power caused her body to turn into ashes and scatter with the returning wind. The battlefield was again silent, this time for good. Half of the arena was missing, and the ground underneath the surviving members was rapidly deteriorating. With Ultimecia’s magic gone, there was nothing holding it afloat. The giant rock face shifted to the left, causing everybody to slip and lose grip as they slid off the side.

“Help me Squall!” Rinoa screamed as she slid out of control, Squall was too far away to grab her, but Cloud managed to reach out and hold onto her as they fell through the sky on top of an atmospheric asteroid. Using their weapons and other means, everybody held on for dear life as they rocketed towards the ground far below.

Barret was above them, falling at the same rate of speed but unconscious from his selfless act. It was already hard enough to get out of this situation before they hit the ground, so how could they save Barret? The rock fell through clouds at a terrifying speed, dissipating the puffs of water molecules as they crashed into one after the other. The wind was passing over their faces with incredible force, pulling their hair and clothes back onto their bodies.

The clouds suddenly broke beneath them, and they could see their world below them, far off in the distance. It was beautiful. The sun had finally cut through the dark clouds surrounding what had been Ultimecia’s castle, and the survivors of this time period could finally return to peace. The ground approached, they had completed their mission and their worlds would be saved, but it would be at the cost of their own lives.

Rinoa took in a deep breath and said to Cloud, "We did it."

“Yes. We did it . . .” Cloud replied.

They closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep before they hit the ground.



When they awoke, they found themselves sprawled out somewhere on the Esthar plains, the city far off in the distance. They were back in Squall and Rinoa’s time, safe and without any battles for once.

One by one they stood up, questioning each other whether it was truly over or not. When it became evident that they had succeeded, everyone erupted into cheer and celebration. The last remnants of the battle faded from their short-term memory, seeming like nothing more than a waking dream. The pent up happiness was finally realized, and everybody hugged each other, shaking hands with those that had fought along side them through thick and thin. They had saved their future as they knew it, and had a second lease on life. If only their friends were there to enjoy it with them . . .

“You lucky bastard, you knew something like this was gonna happen, didn’t you?” Cid laughed as he helped Barret to his feet.

“No, not really, “Barret responded as dryly and sudden as ever, “Jus’ knew what I had to do.”

Cid gave him a puzzled look, “Right . . . sure you did,” he laughed wholeheartedly and patted his comrade on the shoulder.

As the two friends erupted in laughter, not too far away Squall was talking to Laguna.

“That was a little too close for my tastes,” Laguna said, a carefree smile on his face as always, “But we made it, didn’t we? No need to look down about it, alright Squall?” He looked over and put a hand on the young SeeD’s shoulder, trying to get him to perk up.

“Irvine, Selphie, Quistis . . . they all-“

“They are all proud of you son. They would be happy for you, happy for us. They did a very brave thing fighting along side you” Laguna interrupted Squall.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Squall sighed relief at the departure of the death, and just wanted to settle down, “Where’s Rinoa?”



Rinoa had strayed away from the celebration and was surveying the toll their battle had caused. All her friends, Squall, Seifer . . . it was overwhelming to deal with it in just one day. While wandering around, she noticed Cloud, laid back against a rock, hiding himself from the others. She approached him slowly, thinking he was probably doing the same as she was, except thinking about Tifa.

“Cloud?” she stammered, “Sorry to bother you-“

Cloud suddenly jerked his head around and stood up.

"What’s wrong Cloud?" Rinoa said as she backed away at the quick movements of her new friend. He stared back at her, motionless and without saying a word. His eyes were locked on hers, causing her to look down to the ground to avert his uncomfortable gaze. “I’m sorry if I did anything, I just wanted to talk with you, okay?” Cloud didn't talk and when she looked back up, he was nowhere to be seen, "You're not gonna say anything?"

Thinking he had hidden himself again, she turned around and started to walk towards everyone else. Her gaze suddenly met Cloud’s, and then the luminescent Ultima Weapon as it was stabbed straight through her body, "Cloud. wha-" he removed the sword and ran it through her chest once again. Rinoa could only look up at Cloud, shear terror filling her eyes as blood filled her lungs. Before she could say anything else or scream for help, he stabbed his god-slayer weapon further through Rinoa’s body to silence her. The sword broke the tender flesh on her abdomen effortlessly, blood trickling down the sword to soak the ground behind her.

The frantic Rinoa raised her hand to push on Cloud’s chest, "Cloud, why?"

Cloud failed to answer her last request and slowly withdrew his sword as her body became limp and lifeless. Elegantly he took the sword and moved it in a dance of motion, spraying the excess blood onto the ground. It looked like he had never used it before, as though he was testing out its boundaries. A cold liquid feeling on his hands caused him to look down on Rinoa’s unmoving form. Cloud’s clothes and arms were covered in her blood when she pleaded with him to remove the sword.

Sneering, he jammed the bloodstained sword in the ground and commenced to drag the body of Squall’s loved one behind a small rock formation out of sight of the others. Barret, who had been coming to get Cloud, had seen the whole thing and gasped as a stream of blood flowed from her body and over his pale arm.

"Cloud!" Barret exclaimed with fear, “What happened?”

Cloud looked down at this friend villainously, his left eye ticking as the hated within took hold. He heeded Barret's yell, dropping the body and walking in the direction to meet him. The giant of a man gaped in horror when Cloud pulled the Ultima Weapon sword out of the ground and brought it to attack his own friend. Barret raised his healed gun-arm to prevent the attack but Cloud was too fast and sliced through the dense metal of the Missing Score, exposing all types of gears and electrical equipment that had been incased inside. As all good swordsmen do, he capitalized on his enemy’s sudden shock and ran the blood coated sword straight through Barret’s open chest. The impact of the sword pinned Barret to the ground, leaving him helpless to the whim of this dark and devious Cloud.

"Spiky haired punk," Barret wheezed as he fell to the ground, grabbing for Cloud’s throat before giving in to the pain. The wide nature of the sword had cut through most of his vital organs, injuring him fatally. His strength faded and he let his body collapse. Cloud propped his foot against Barret’s thick chest and pulled the sword out, and with one swift stroke decapitated Barret. He dragged the body while kicking the head of the former Avalanche member behind the same rock that hid Rinoa.

Squall approached Cloud defenselessly, not seeing what had just happened to Rinoa and Barret. When he got closer, he noticed the blood that was covering Cloud’s SOLDIER uniform. It was more blood that could have came from an injury, and the weapon he held in his hand was covered and dripping with it. Cloud looked at him and just smiled. He was different. This new Cloud gazed at Squall with a devilish smirk and almost glazed over eyes. His hair was a lighter color of blonde too, bordering silver in comparison to his own color. With a simple move of his hand, Cloud almost cockily drew a couple stray strands of hair to the left side of his face, moving them out of his sight. The eyes he looked at Squall with were no longer his own. They were bluer, brighter, like the blue hue of a being that had been born OF Mako, and not just infused with it.


Squall had seen this look before; he had been through this same event what seemed like an eternity ago. As he realized who it was and what was happening, his heart almost stopped . . . Nothing had changed at all.


----------------------
Yikes, should have posted something before I left for break. Sorry about that. More later in the week.
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Xanien
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Post by Xanien » Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:37 pm

Chapter 12: Judgment


"Sephiroth," Squall said bitterly, lowering his head.

"It took you quite long to find out . . ." Sephiroth said through Cloud, a condescending tone in his voice, "Cloud is a part of me now. You can destroy me if you want, but doing so will cause your friend’s death."

"Damn you!” Squall fumed, clenching his fists tightly. The others still had not noticed where he had gone off to, leaving Squall in a very uneven situation. Stalling for time, he kept asking questions, “How? How did you get into his body?"

“Mako flows through his veins, just like mine. Our bodies are infused with the substance. Over time I have learned to manipulate it . . . command its will. You could say he is part of me, an extension of my body. He does my biding, without question . . .” Sephiroth continued, watching Squall’s face suddenly contort in anger and sadness,

“Cloud! Don’t let him do this! FIGHT IT!” Squall screamed.

A soft chuckle came from Cloud, “It’s no use. Your friend is gone, just like your beloved Rinoa . . .”

The leader of this whole operation arched his head back, his eyes widened and a tear fell down his cheek. “Rinoa . . . .” he mouthed. Cloud threw a blue piece of cloth to the ground, covered in blood as evidence of the deed, “No . . .” Squall shook his head, “ it’s not possible!”

“Believe it . . . and you’re next.” With lightning quick reflexes Cloud launched his body forward, smacking Squall’s sword away to the side with his bare hand and kneeing him hard in the diaphragm. Bones snapped as his knee slammed hard into Squall’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him and breaking ribs as the possessed Cloud whispered in his ear, ”After your friends that is . . .”

Squall grimaced, his jaw clenching and hands covering his stomach as the muscles spasmed and painfully knotted. He fell to the ground, his eyes tearing out of both pain and angst, the thought of betrayal fogging his conscious. He inhaled frantically for air, grabbing Cloud’s leg in an effort to contain Sephiroth’s terror. It was easily kicked away, and returned with a sadistic smile. He could only tilt his head and watch as the possessed Cloud walked into the group of his friends, and unleashed his fury.


The Ultima Weapon sliced through the ground in an upward motion, churning dirt and cutting Cid across the chest as it knocked away his mighty Venus Gospel. The others looked on shocked, backing away as Cloud swung in a wide arc, barely missing Laguna. “Cloud! What the hell is going on!” he yelled. He got no response, merely a cold stare. A silver flash wrapped around his attacker’s body for an instant before carrying on with his attack again, “He’s lost it! Something’s wrong! Don’t let him near you!!” The president of Esthar ordered as everybody remaining scrambled. Laguna blasted away at the SOLDIER, trying to impede his movement. His gun barrel heated up fast as the spray of bullets scattered worthlessly into the ground, some sort of shield on Cloud completely nullifying their effect. He pumped an endless streak of metal and gunpowder into the target but it had no effect. Vincent locked and loaded his massive shotgun and unloaded it in his side, a cloud of smoke blasting over Cloud as the powerful shot blew his body backwards. It angered Sephiroth’s shell as it slid to a halt across the loose gravel and sand.


“You shouldn’t have done that . . .” Cloud retorted, his eyes locked and head tilted down towards the former Turk.

“Shut up,” Vincent replied, reloading the rounds of his Death Penalty and taking another shot at his once leader. The second shot seethed through the shield, ripping away its effectiveness. The gun smoked and cooled as Vincent confidently strode forward, his aim locked on Cloud’s chest. He cocked the gun once more and pulled the trigger and the bullet roared out of the barrel. It stopped halfway to its target and just floated in midair. Sephiroth’s power was controlling it. He could see it spinning in the air, hell bent on tearing a chunk out of Cloud’s body, but Sephiroth wouldn’t allow it. The round suddenly fell to the ground, spent, and Cloud slashed his sword toward Vincent, creating a nasty gale that blew the gun and his body through the air. His evil knew no bounds. Cloud was determined to kill now.

As the dust settled, Cloud’s body reappeared on the battlefield, leaving himself and Laguna the only ones able to fight. Bullets screamed through the air again, pelting the weakening shield and raising a mist of dust around Cloud. His body disappeared with the smoke, then reappeared shortly after, completely side stepping the ex-Galbadian soldier’s volley. In an act of mad speed, he teleported his body directly in front of the gun and grabbed hold of the barrel. With a swift kick to the shoulder, the gun was flipped and aimed right back at Laguna. With the same, cold and joyless glare, Cloud pulled the trigger and sent a hailstorm of fiery ammunition through Laguna’s body. His insides lit up and exploded through his back. The man with the long black hair teared up, putting his hand on the shoulder of his foe before slumping to the ground dead.

“NO!!!” Cid screamed as he swung his weapon over his head and brought it against Cloud’s face. The impact snapped his neck and sliced a gash out of his cheek, sending his body careening to the side from the force. Cloud’s body slid across the ground, accumulating a mound of dirt in front of it as it came to a stop.

Squall smiled, feeling strong enough to stand again as Cloud’s body lay broken behind Cid. Vincent had just recovered and immediately came to the aid of the pilot when he fell to his knees in pain, “Did I get him?”

“Yeah, he’s down for the count,” Vincent said, looking back over to the fallen corpse of their good friend. But it was gone.

“Oh no,“ the bruised, bloody visage of Cloud stared right into Vincent’s as he turned around. His hands were positioned at the vampire-looking man’s stomach, quickly manipulating the winds and shocking Vincent with a focused blast of air. He flew back, out of control, leaving Cid completely helpless to Cloud’s next assault.

He was a monster now, his jaw hanging on by a few sinews and neck covered in disgustingly black blood. Cloud’s hair was matted down and a mess, and his clothes were ripped and barely hanging off his body. He grabbed Cid’s neck, lifting his body high off the ground and started to choke him.

The captain’s neck was being crushed by his own friend’s hand. It was beginning to get hard for him to breathe. His eyes rolled back into his head and he began to pass out, everything that had happened this day going through mind. It was a sad turn of events, a horrible, cruel joke being played on him and all the others that had given their lives this day. Friends dying for no reason . . . the dead coming back to life . . . friends killing friends . . . with that he screamed and exploded with unrivaled rage, punching Cloud in the face multiple times, putting all his remaining strength in the blows. But all he managed to do was mangle Cloud’s nose and cause extra blood to spew from his mouth and eyes. Cid’s former friend sneered and threw him high into the sky above him.

He quickly reached for the Venus Gospel that lay on the ground and got it firmly in his grasp. Without hesitation, Cloud cocked back his arm and launched it at the falling Cid. The projectile weapon ensnared its target and carried Cid backwards in an arc, falling to the ground far away and crushing his body into a boulder. It hit the stone with such intensity that the spearhead ripped through the body of the old man and shredded his lungs. Stuck against the rock, he did all he could to get free, even though his death was assured.

“What the hell?” a waning Cid said as he grabbed the Gospel as hard as he could. The weapon wouldn’t budge no matter what he did, but Cid wouldn’t give up no matter what. His hands tightly grabbed the pole of the spear, even as they grew cold and useless, "Shit," he mouthed as his last breath passed through his lips. Cid’s head fell forward, blood dripping from his lips.

Cloud/Sephiroth saw his next opponent. The red cape that the Turk had always worn had been cast aside and glided in the wind to the ground. Soon after the red headband was stretched past his hair and thrown away too. Squall struggled painfully with his lower torso to get up. He HAD to help out Vincent. There was no way he could do it on his own! Squall managed to prop his arm on his knees, but extreme pain quickly answered his reckless action, 'My ribs must be broken,' Squall thought. That position would have to do.

Sephiroth’s fury knew no boundary. The fire within Cloud started to build as he prepared himself for the next confrontation. Blue and purple flames spit out of the wannabe SOLDIER’s wounds as Sephiroth pulled everything he had into this beaten body.

Vincent’s arms grew larger under his black shirt, along with the muscles in his legs too. The clothes on his body stretched and ripped apart, his skin dying and becoming a steel grey as massive demon-like wings sprang from his back, blood showering from their veined surface. His eyes became white as the moon, shining with hatred and sorrow. The hair on his beautiful head fell out, and razor sharp claws tore through his hands as extensions to his body. The power of Chaos was his to control, the burden of the curse no more.

“Chaos!” Cloud shouted in surprise.

Vincent screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw the Devil clad in Cloud’s skin getting close, his scaled wings tore farther through his flesh with a horrendous crunch. It was no longer painful for him. No, it was a showing of his grandeur as the fully opened wings spanned ten feet in each direction. Soon after his wings had dried, his skin faded into a deeper death-gray like color and his black, tortured eyes rolled back into his head. The color returned once more . . . but this time his eyes seemed to vary with his current mood. The red tint of anger shone from Vincent’s eye sockets as they opened ever so wider to embrace the surroundings.

Squall gazed intently, horrified at seeing such a demonic transformation. He knew not whether his help was needed or if the beast would come after him when this battle was completed. He had witnessed Vincent turn into a dreadful, dark beast named Chaos, and knew that if there was a hope of victory, it lay with him. The young leader was unhindered, and inched his way closer and closer as the final battle was about to begin.

Flapping his wings, Chaos soared above Cloud, taunting him. In the air his speed was unmatched. He dove down, closing his wings and blowing faster than the wind across Cloud’s body. Moments later he appeared again, hovering and flapping his wings, holding his claws in front of his body so Cloud could see the blood dripping off of them. Through Cloud's eyes, Sephiroth stared at his stomach, seeing that his clothes were completely shredded. He tried to breath but could gather no air. Instead, three gashes appeared, Cloud’s skin splitting apart and spewing his insides forth. His intestines spilled into his hands, along with gallons of blood, quickly covering the entire stone surface of the battlefield in front of his body. Chaos then spun around on the path going away from his victim and gathered speed for another pass. This time the demon mounted Sephiroth’s host from behind, digging both his hind and front claws into Cloud’s back. Reaching over the SOLDIER’s shoulders, he impaled his claws through his friend’s armor and began to rip the armor apart with his devilish vigor. The red liquid grossly poured out of Cloud like a waterfall. The thick red color and rotting smell would be overwhelming to anyone who wasn’t accustomed to death, but this winged demon was the Angel of Death, he lived off of it. The diabolical beast pushed off from the body and let it collapse to the ground, leaving it pale and corpselike. Vincent’s inner monster could only roar with delight as Cloud’s body lay unmoving on the ground, masked by a sea of blood. The sky echoed with his calls of victory.

Squall got to his feet, now strong enough to walk as Vincent reverted to his human form. It wasn’t nearly as painful to him reverting to this primitive state, but it felt very unsettling. His wings shrunk from their majestic span and folded into themselves until they slid back into his shoulders, his skin softening and healing up as soon as they retreated. He had made sure that Cloud was dead, and with him that horrible man by the name of Sephiroth. It haunted Vincent that he had to kill one of his only friends, but what was worse was the thought of Sephiroth being alive and well, wreaking havoc and spreading his evil across time and space. He shook his head shamefully, looking at Cloud’s body, asking him silently why he made himself do that to a person he cared about. Vincent’s cold exterior warmed for a brief moment, allowing him to feel both grief and to mourn for his comrade. He could have stayed there and given homage all he wanted to his fallen friend, but instead of dwelling on something that was sure to give him more nightmares, he decided to check up on Squall.

Vincent saw the image of the SeeD stumbling towards him and almost laughed. How could someone with so many weaknesses be considered one of the greatest warriors of his dimension? It was just like Cloud .. . it was as though he had stumbled upon it. The path of a hero is never something you desire, it is a role that is placed on you. You have no decision but to accept it. As they walked towards each other, Squall yelled something out, but he was to far away for even Vincent to be able to make it out. Squall used all his energy left in his body to run to Vincent at full speed. He limped and struggled, but Vincent had become haughty from his victory and thought that Squall was rushing to congratulate him, so he stood there with a confused expression on his face. When Squall had jogged close enough he caught his breath and yelled. Vincent noticed that he had a terrified look on his and his own expression shifted and heart sank into the bowels of his soul.

“BEHIND YOU!!!!”

He almost didn’t want to turn around. He knew what would be waiting for him, he accepted it. But it is instinct, and Vincent spun around just in time to see a man in ornately decorated black armor and long white hair stand before him. “No,” Vincent managed to sputter as he walked slowly backwards away from the long, thin blade that had just been drawn and was racing towards his body. He was defenseless against the man’s wrath. The blade’s sharpness and the deadly precision cut through the metal on his reconstructed arm like soft wood. Sephiroth was much too fast for him. His arm sparked and spewed hydraulic fluid from its open tubes, drawing Vincent’s attention away from his attacker. It was the utter disbelief that such a thing could happen . . . it was impossible . . .

The last slash came as a surprise to the former TURK, who had thought he knew most of the Demi-god’s moves from their last fight with him. All Vincent could do was to watch in utter disbelief as Sephiroth feinted to his right and spun back with his Masamune to cleave diagonally through Vincent’s helpless body. The torso from the warrior fell to the left, sliding off the lower part of his body with a sickening bubbling sound while his legs fell lifelessly to the ground.

Sephiroth beamed over his kill with a smile, enjoying the look on Squall’s face more than anything else. With renewed energy, the SeeD sprinted towards Sephiroth and drew his Lionheart. He sought to sting Sephiroth with a quick slash to his right shoulder, to get retribution for his fallen companions, but his adversary moved the Masamune to meet the opposing blade in midair.

Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks with the initial hit, but the power from Sephiroth was enormous. With a slight shove he forced Squall teetering backwards, off balance.

"BASTARD!" Squall said as he gritted his teeth, “You killed all of them!! ALL OF THEM!!! My friends . . . Rinoa . . .I’LL KILL YOU!”

Sephiroth replied with a smug smile and waved on his opponent. Squall charged at him again, not giving in to the pain that coursed through his veins. His body felt like it would fall apart if he pushed himself any harder, but it just didn’t matter anymore . . . nothing did. Sephiroth held out his hand as he approached and blasted the hasty nuisance backwards with a ball Fire from his palm. Squall toppled onto his back, surprised and in a daze.

"You're too late." Sephiroth informed, “I’m beginning to meld with this world. The thoughts of your planet, your friend’s memories, the skills and techniques of all your enemies . . . I will become a god once more.”

As Sephiroth told this to Squall, he raised his hands upwards and the majestic blue sky faded into dark black. Squall saw the surroundings instantly change as a huge city with eight reactors broke through the ground far off in the distance. Their droning echoing as far as the battlefield as vaporized Mako rose like exhaust. Was that something from Cloud’s world?

'Damn it,' Squall thought, knowing that he had failed once again to stop the harsh reality from becoming true once again. Dimension Compression was taking place, and the worlds were merging together. It would all be over soon . . . Lightning jumped from cloud to cloud in an elegant dance of light as if it rejoiced in the damnation of the universe. With his last burst of energy, Squall swung high and hard at Sephiroth. It was easily parried and held to the side.

“You can’t destroy that which is forever . . .” Sephiroth sneered as he grabbed a hold of the Lionheart. In less than a blink of an eye, he knocked down the sword and stabbed Squall in the chest with his murderous Masamune.


--------------------------

Mik!! TWO chapters left, you have LESS than 10 days to finish the first chapter of UBX! Just letting you know . . .
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Xanien
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Post by Xanien » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:45 pm

Chapter 13: Revelations


Squall winced as the sword pierced his chest. This horrible scene was all too familiar to him. He breathed in the thinning air slowly, not knowing if each passing breath would be his last. He looked behind Sephiroth again and saw the collapsed form of Cloud, fell by horrible, gaping wounds. They were inflicted by his friends in hopes that it would free his torn, tattered soul, but in the end all it caused was the death of his mortal body.

Sephiroth looked right into Squall’s eyes, enrapturing himself in Squall’s pain and at what he had accomplished in such a short amount of time. He had managed to kill both heroes again in the same way he had done before, and history had repeated itself. Cloud and Squall’s plan had failed . . . changing only minor details. Dimension Compression was rapidly occurring, being drawn to the focal point of universal disruption, Sephiroth.

Gasping, Squall looked up into his killer’s eyes, “Looks like your lapdog isn’t going to be joining us, “Squall heaved, speaking of Griever whom he had faced the first time. The success of everyone had greatly weakened the total power given to Sephiroth, but with the final hero clinging to a shred of hope and his own life there was nobody left to stand in his way. It wouldn’t stop the brave SeeD leader though . . . Squall fight until his last breath.

The comment he made left a puzzled look on Sephiroth’s face, but after a moment’s contemplation the tyrant lifted his sword and pointed it at Squall’s face, “No more talking nonsense. Die with honor . . . fool,” his sword swung swiftly downwards, directly where the shoulder meets the neck.

Squall could feel the blade arching towards him, knowing it would cleave his head clean off. The Masamune fell faster and cut through the air and stopped less than a few inches from Squall’s neck. Sephiroth’s blade was grasped between Squall’s hands, unable to finish the job, “You’re going down,” Squall said as his brow tightened in anticipation. He looked to Sephiroth with his teeth bared and eyes glowing, his sneer cutting through the evil demi-god’s superiority.

Sephiroth clenched his jaw and pushed down harder, but the Masamune wouldn’t budge. Squall’s muscles bulged as he stood back up and threw back his opponent with great strength. He was shocked, taken aback at the sudden turn of the tide, “Hmph, you think you have what it takes to beat me now?” Sephiroth taunted.

"NO, I won’t beat you . . . I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Squall screamed as he stood up defiantly. His bleeding worsened when he staggered forward, but it didn’t matter. He tore off his jacket and threw it to the ground, revealing his blood soaked shirt and sliced flesh which still spilled out blood from his chest. Wound. There was renewed power in his stance, defiant to the last. Sephiroth was clearly angered by his comments and grabbed his hilt tighter, the leather bounds squeaking under his grip. But Squall was fearless. He looked on, watching the angel of death dash forward with lightning speed. His eyes flickered aqua blue as he tensed up his entire body, gritting his teeth. Pulling in all his remaining power and delving into deep reserves he never knew he had. Blood flowed faster and faster throughout his entire body, sending a rush of adrenaline to his pain receptors. Squall’s hair suddenly flew upwards on its own, flying about without any wind and blew backwards with a flash of lightning far off behind him. The hair on Squall’s head whipped around violently, flashing white and then blue. Sephiroth neared even closer, mere seconds away from unleashing his attack. Squall’s transformation suddenly quickened and his hair turned silver green, the color of Holy Materia. His body grew stronger, his wounds healing up as new muscles grew all over his body. He threw open his arms as Sephiroth was upon him, screaming at the top of his lungs and knocking back the attacker with merely a show of newfound power.

Looking into Squall’s eyes, now sputtering with electricity and jumping over his hair, Sephiroth regained his composure, "M . . . M, Mako? What is the meaning of this!" he glanced over quickly to where Cloud had lain slain, but the corpse was no longer there. The body had vanished into thin air, leaving only one explanation to what had just happened. By the time Sephiroth turned back around, there stood a totally new entity before. He kneeled down, his fists on the ground and head bowed as well. This new warrior, dressed in simple navy pants and a white cloak caused Sephiroth to shiver in both anxiety and fear. Xanien, the ultimate hero, had taken the place of Squall and Cloud. He outstretched his hands, pulling the blades of his former selves into his palm. In one hand, he held the Lionheart, a sword forged from bravery and passion. In the other the Ultima Sword, a weapon with cosmic origins, brought to the world by a giant, living weapon. He brought them together just as last time, and a surge of light radiated from his palms, energy blasting outwards as they merged into one; the Heimdall.

"Sephiroth, I have returned to pass judgment on you. I will punish those that destroy life and purge you from the universe," Xanien mentioned in a cold tone.

“You act as though you are some kind of god,” Sephiroth scoffed, growing perturbed by this new being’s arrogance “Just because you changed your hair and raised your strength don’t even think you are even in the same league as I am!”

“I’ve had enough of your braggart behavior Sephiroth,” Xanien spoke calmly closing his eyes. He raised the Heimdall towards its enemy, "We end this now! Haste . . . times three!" he screamed, a Blue aura instantly surrounding his body. The flow of time poured into Xanien, giving him its speed and swiftness. The pent up energy surged inside him then exploded as he jumped forward. A vortex swirled around his body as he moved in front of Sephiroth, gaining the advantage. Heimdall rang against the Masamune as it was parried aside, and then struck again with Xanien’s lightning quick reflexes.

Sephiroth jumped back and quickly sheathed his sword, "So it’s come to this . . ." he said, narrowing his eyes as he started to raise his hands towards the sky. His body was totally open to attack, leaving Xanien no choice but to act on instinct. The vengeful hero disappeared from across the vast field and instantaneously reappeared in front of the wicked body of Sephiroth. With a quick slice, the Heimdall cleaved Sephiroth's left arm straight off and it fell from his body, slowly landing on the ground.

"Your tricks won’t work anymore" Xanien said without another attack, assured that he had stopped Sephiroth for good.

He was greeted with a cocky smirk as Sephiroth’s eyes glowed red. “How weak you really are, thinking I would be defeated that easily!" Sephiroth screamed back, casting a regenerative spell over his body. Having been junctioned to the Black materia, its potency was multiplied a hundred fold. The radical power of the spell regenerated his arm, his muscles and bone growing back in mere seconds before being covered again by skin, “You will know my power soon enough!” he said while casting a Fire 3 spell between their bodies. A ball of flame flickered momentarily and then exploded into a hellish firestorm, leaving Xanien no choice but to shield himself, "Lunatic Weapon, ARISE!"

In the midst of a hundred thunderclaps and bolts of lightning directly behind Sephiroth, Lunatic Weapon appeared, just as nasty and horrid as before. Leviathan snapped at the air from the left arm screaming in pain while Sapphire Weapon reared its ugly head and began to charge up its deadly beam from the right arm. Diamond Weapon seethed and struggled, opening up its chest and shoulders, trying to blast its way out. Eden composed the backside, the power it contained being siphoned away into the core of this vile creature. The summons which didn’t have the size such as Shiva and Ifrit served as joints along the body, their powers drained away even quicker. Finishing up the monster was both the Ruby and Emerald weapons, their bodies contorted and twisted in order to form each leg. At the head of the beast, the energy of the beasts began to collect.

"Luna Nova!" Sephiroth commanded the monster, screaming into the heavens above. The melded Bahamuts all flapped their wings together, bellowing in agony as they tried to free themselves from this hell. The entire mass of monsters slowly raised itself into the atmosphere.

“No!” Xanien screamed out, jumping off the ground and soaring up into the air, “ I won’t let it happen again!” His sword was held behind him as he flew upwards, ready to strike down the abomination in the sky. With less than a hundred yards to go, a mass of summons saw him and unleashed their painful fury unto him. Golden beams of light shot out from Diamond Weapon’s silver exterior, pelting the hero with its horrible power. Raising his arms, Xanien was able to deflect and absorb the shots, but then Emerald Weapon opened its eyes and unleashed four distinct beams downward, converging at the same time against the merged entity. It was too much for him, and his body burned from the heat. He ceased his flight and fell back towards the planet, and the Lunatic Weapon reached the upper atmosphere. The sun peaked over the horizon, above all the darkened clouds below. Dozens of eyes squinted and looked upwards, toward the moon.

From there it unleashed a hell worse than the Big Bang. Each Weapon, summon, and Guardian Force died and released their energies at the same time, collecting it into a beam attack that shot through their exterior. The shaft of light discharged with such intensity that it caused even Sephiroth to shy away and close his eyes. The ray of divine energy burned quickly through the last layer of the atmosphere and impacted against the Moon, tearing a large hole through the middle. Xanien looked on, shaking his head and giving up, falling downward like an asteroid.

After the beam gutted the celestial object, it spilt back into a rainbow of lights, veering away and collecting into a great ball of fire behind the body or lunar rock. It grew wildly and surged until the thin energy membrane binding each light hemorrhaged, spilling out the contents to the moons surface. The power of it all disrupted the orbit around the planet and forced its imminent descent towards the planet. Chunks of the lunar body fell ahead of the moon, burning up as it entered the atmosphere, just as the rotting bodies which composed the Lunatic Weapon were now doing.

Xanien looked up and saw the moon heading towards the planet for a second time, he had to act fast. He dropped to the earth below him, a depression in the ground spider-webbing and creating a crater as he came to stop. Even though his heart dropped in his chest from despair, Xanien would not let this scenario draw out again. He would not just sit around and watch it happen.

"Haste . . .” he breathed, sheathing his sword and outstretching his arms. He pulled in lines of energy, screaming at the top of his lungs as he searched in his body for some forgotten power. His eyes snapped open when it came to him. His memories, his happiness . . . he wanted to see life returned to this planet, things growing, people breathing, his friends smiling . . . The ones that were now dead and had no chance of returning unless he managed a miracle . . . “ HASTE TIMES SIX!!!!

A red aura shot out of the ground around Xanien, blowing out like a geyser and ripping apart the crater, blending with his blue haste aura from before. The purple energy licked around his body like flames, too much for his body to handle. It wanted to escape and leave his body, but somehow he managed to keep it contained. Pushing off the ground, Xanien split the ground apart where he had been standing, a fissure cracking along the crust of the earth. Xanien had become so fast that his body now blurred when he moved. He ran up to Sephiroth, catching him totally off-guard and stunning him with a blast to the face. The impact of his fist on Sephiroth’s nose sent a shockwave backwards, stirring up dust and blowing rocks away. The evil man slid along the dirt, still standing but clutching his battered face. He looked up with amazement when Xanien bent his own magical sword around his body. The Heimdall sealed away Sephiroth’s movements, keeping him out of the picture while Squall and Cloud got their chance inside the body of Xanien.

Sephiroth gritted his teeth and struggled, trying to bend the weapon off his body but it got him nowhere. The mighty hero Xanien picked up his body, clutching the bent saber and threw him with all his strength in front of the moon. The sky was darkening, but soon lit up again as the lunar surface burned away, creating a red glow over the entire planet. At the current rate of speed, the moon would hit Earth in less than a minute.

Faster than light itself, Xanien appeared on the ground directly beneath the moon’s path. He took in an awesome sight, the burning object taking his breath away as he hesitantly watched it fall directly towards him. Now inside the atmosphere, it swallowed up the sky like an eclipse and cast an endless shadow over the vast horizons. Xanien had to close his eyes to blank out all of the chaos around him. Focus was what he needed right now, only then would he have a chance at stopping this event. The ultimate hero had become the planet’s new guardian at its greatest time of need.

He began to meditate, concentrating as hard as he could while blocking out everything else, searching for an answer to this looming apocalypse. Neon green particles began to encircle his upper body, creating a beautiful armor around his body. He had the power to stop Sephiroth, but utterly helpless against something such as a falling moon.

"Planet, please give me the power to bring all of this suffering to an end!" He pleaded. He waited for a few seconds, the object of his demise drawing ever closer and got no response. He tried again, trying to communicate with the planet just as Aeris had so long ago and nothing happened once more. In the face of failure, Xanien would not give up, not after coming so far. The moon had to be reversed back into space. “Planet . . . please . . . let me save you.”

Xanien’s psyche, the combined minds of Cloud and Squall, eagerly sought for the answer as clouds of lunar dust billowed off behind the moon, creating a tail of smoke as it fell faster and faster, being pulled closer by the gravity of the planet..

Why isn’t anything happening?’ Cloud asked his other half..

I don’t know,’ Squall replied to him, still concentrating from within their combined form ’maybe it doesn’t want to be saved . . .’

No! I won’t believe that. There must be something we missed then, something we forgot to do now. Why won’t the planet help us?’ Cloud screamed inside Xanien’s head.

We both want to help . . .’ they thought in unison. In that brief second of unity, their souls combined and the universe seemed to open up to them. Their sudden passion and need to succeed brought them in touch with the planet. They suddenly understood all the answers to the questions that had plagued man for so long. They saw the start of their own universe, and countless other dimensions that were parallel to their own. They saw the past, present, and future as though it were one . . . and suddenly everything was clear to them. They saw the birth of gods, and the war they brought upon themselves. They saw their children, man, spread across the heavens and grow, unaware of each other’s existence. They thought they had been alone all this time, but now . . . suddenly their visions cut off, and Xanien opened his eyes.

It has begun,’ the voice calmly said, embedding its words deep inside their beings.

Green energy started to spill out of the ground around the feet of Xanien, slowly at first but then much faster. His body stood silently in the wake of the moon and began to absorb the energy flowing directly from the planet. It swirled all around him, creating a cloud of green mist that was poured all over his body. The moon was seconds away from obliterating all life on the planet and Xanien had still not yet made his move.

"Just a few seconds more . . ." he anxiously breathed. He could feel the warm substance all around him, comforting his wounds and his body with a green light, “Come on . . . Come ON!”

A small burst of power came from Xanien as he concentrated even harder, his will pulling him into the ground, creating a depression right beneath his feet. The green energy had stopped flowing around Xanien and now converged entirely into his body. Green pillars of energy launched upwards from the ground, lending their power to the hero and pushing against the moon. With a last thought of how things could turn out if he failed, Xanien balled his hands into a fist and shut his eyes. The moon and Earth pulled on each other, a vortex from the extreme gravity pulling chunks of rock off the surface of both, turning them into projectiles and throwing them everywhere. The ethereal pillars spread across the lunar surface, pushing against it with all it had, and when he felt it to be right, the hero opened his eyes and the energy gathered into his open palms. Pure energy flowed out of his hands in a thunderous avalanche of light and shot upwards, blasting apart layers of the moon. Screaming, Xanien braced himself for the fight of his life and let it all go.


Somewhere in the upper atmosphere


A scream echoed through the sky like a passing thunderclap. Sephiroth struggled to free himself from his bindings, knowing he would break free soon enough. He wasn’t so much as worried as he was angry that he had let this happen. With a final effort he turned his hands towards the Heimdall and cast a Freeze spell over it. The molecules of the blade quickly tightened and the weapon became brittle. Sephiroth flexed his muscles outward from his body and the sword shattered, sending its pieces out into space, gleaming from the ice as though they were brand new stars.

He looked down towards the planet and saw its color had changed. It suddenly glowed, shining with a luminescent green which seemed to radiate from all directions . . . and this unnerved him. The moon had long ago passed Sephiroth and was far underneath his current position. Powder sprayed outward in a storm cloud of white dust, and cracks sprung up around the surface of the moon. It looked as though it was impacting on the surface, yet the Earth remained completely intact.

“No! He couldn’t!” Sephiroth shouted as the green energy centered itself under the moon. His rage exploded and he flew towards the action as fast as he could, trying to stop what he knew would happen if he didn’t.


On the Ground


"NOW!!" Xanien yelled. His cry echoing over the moon with sound waves now infused with the green life energy of the planet. His voice bounced back to the ground, hitting the earth and shattering the crust of the planet much as a quake would. More and more energy poured from his hands, he raised them upwards in the same fashion Sephiroth had done many times before and shot out a massive beam of green energy. It collided with the moon and the unbridled energy swelled around the front side of the lunar body, slowing it down, but the moon’s shear kinetic energy kept it hurtling downward onto Xanien.

"AAAHHHHH!!!!!" Xanien screamed as he drained all remaining energy given to him by the planet from his body. The ground around him broke apart as he dug his feet in, and his final blast broke his arms. He was unable to stand the recoil of his actions as a tsunami of Lifestream shout out of his hands. The moon was stopping and moving backwards, but it needed just one more push to send it away. His body was broken and weak, but Xanien knew he had the ability to do it. If his physical body couldn’t do it . . . then he’d will it to happen.

All the energy from the planet beamed through him, using his body as a medium as it was transformed it into a destructive wave. It flowed through him, concentrated Lifestream, filling his mind with the thoughts of the planet. The thoughts of ancient people long gone, the memories of loved ones trying to hold onto their mortality . . . Their hopes, their dreams flowed through Xanien. He shot his chest forward and endless streams of energy came out of it, enveloping the moon and giving him complete control of it.

“To Sephiroth,” sweat fell from his forehead as he felt the weight of a world on his hands. He pulled one of his broken arm backwards in pain, ”and to the settling of everything!" Xanien cried out as he thrust the celestial body back towards its sender.

Not to far above, Sephiroth saw the moon coming back at him with twice the speed that it had fallen.

“No,” Sephiroth took the black materia out of his armor and gleefully stared into its empty light. He would not be beaten a second time, he would return to his place in the heavens. His body began to mutate, his right arm changing into blood-red wing as a distant star flickered off in the distance. Meteor was cast, and the rock blazed through the solar system, ripping apart Jupiter and Saturn as it re-directed itself to Earth instead of the Sun.

Watching the two gas giants explode in cosmic eruptions, Xanien flew out of the deepening fissure of the planet, and came up behind the roaring mass of the moon. He watched the moon get bigger the faster he flew towards it and right before he was upon it, Xanien readied his fist, holding it backwards to build up power. His right arm shone red and green with the power from the planet, swirling around his fingers. The moon was about to pass through the atmosphere once again when Xanien punched it. It was pounded with such incredible force that it almost broke in half, instead creating a sonic boom that spread around the whole planet and rumbled through the mountains.

Sephiroth heard that noise and instead of gleefully watching Meteor, he turned around and saw a hunk of rock five times that size aimed right at him. Sephiroth also saw the upper atmosphere around the planet rumble. It shook violently as the moon sent waves of air from the exit point to encompass the globe. His mouth dropped as he stared death in the eye, and his body tightened, expecting the impact. The wicked man managed a nervous laugh as both rocks approached him. On one side a burning fusion of metal, ice and rock, and on the other, the moon. He had faced death before and overcome its adversity, but he knew that there would be no coming back from it this time.

"So this is how it ends, hmph,"

The moon slammed into Sephiroth and carried his body along with it into outer space. Meteor slammed into the moon seconds afterward, sending the upper layer of rock shattering in all directions. Both exploded outwards across the ozone layer, a bright orange fire covering them as they broke upon themselves like water against stone.


-------------------------------

All I want for Xmas is UBX . . . seriously. The first chapter by Christmas time would be awesome Mik! Post it pleeease? I'll be posting the Epilogue to Infusion on the 12th or so . . . then I'll post the first chapter of Impact before I graduate next weekend. After that, you can expect chapter 2 of Impact to be out around the 21st. Get your ass in gear and write!
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Post by Mik » Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:04 pm

I am writting, unfourantely It's all on A4 file pads and I get bored typing it out again, All my writting is in the wrong project though. If I don't finish it by friday it'll get put on hold for UBX finishing touches, The 'First' Chapter isn't even started yet but I have material (prologue) almost ready for release but, you asked for a first chapter so I'd like to get that out for you on time.
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Post by Xanien » Mon Dec 13, 2004 6:57 pm

Epilogue:


The moon and Meteor both reached their critical points soon after they collided, tearing each other apart with brutal ferocity. Their cores cracked and fissured, spilling rock outward in every direction. Meteor was devastated and thrown across the planet’s atmosphere, its small pieces flowing around the moon as it continued to sail towards the deep reaches of space. Particles of stone and metal screeched downwards, the planet’s gravitational pulling them in until the heavens were aglow with its red hot snow. The sky shone pink with falling debris, each piece burned up harmlessly and turning to ash before touching the ground.

Xanien looked onward, breathing a sigh of relief as the sky returned to normal and the sun’s rays coated the planet’s surface. Slowly the darkness left and the soft white clouds returned to untumultuous skies. He looked around, seeing delicate flurries of light coat the ground, and then suddenly, a solitary flower bloomed at his toes. The hero reached down, gently touching the silky leaves of the plant and cried. He had done it. It was over . . .

Xanien fell onto his back and started laughing hysterically, the tension leaving his body instantly. He closed his eyes and laughed harder, feeling unheard of warmth flow through his veins. Cloud and Squall could see their friends again in their minds, their memories . . . they were all smiling.

From the single flower, life on the planet spread like wildfire. Green exploded all over the ground and then the colors of the rainbow followed on the petals of thousands of flowers. Trees sprung to life, years of growth accumulating on their bark in a matter of seconds. Foliage created shade over the soft soil and then the first cool breeze blew again. Xanien sat up, his eyes spread wide open as a chill ran down his spine. The sight was too much for him . . . the miracle of life.

Far off in the distance, a fountain of green light spread upwards over the horizon and into the sky. Xanien was entranced and was surprised when the pillar shattered and ran along the ground in all directions. The buildings from Cloud’s world vaporized, and so did every other sign that it had ever existed. With a thunderous boom, space and time returned to normal. The buildings of Esthar returned, just as shiny and new as before, and the oceans flowed again with clean water. All over the world, things were being returned to the way they were. Xanien’s time was done.

"You've done it," the voice commended happily, ”return and receive your rewards.

Xanien dematerialized from the rolling plains on which he stood, appearing back in limbo once again. An invisible finger dragged itself over his body, making a line straight through his body. He closed his eyes, the touch putting him at piece. Without pain or strife, the god like entity split apart into his two separate beings: Cloud and Squall. They both opened their eyes to a wonderful sight, darkness. But it wasn’t the world that was dark, it was because somebody’s warm hands were covering them.

“It can’t be . . .” Cloud mouthed, but feeling a warm body press against his back, he knew it to be true. The hands came off and he shouted, twisting around to pick up Tifa, “I thought I had lost you,” he continued, holding back a tear.

Tifa was already crying, tears falling from her cheeks as well, “I was thinking the same about you,” she said, hugging Cloud tightly. They looked at each other, neither saying a word for a few minutes but their eyes were locked together, deep in thought. Cloud closed his eyes and kissed Tifa on the lips, the raven haired beauty equally reciprocating the feeling as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

Squall and Rinoa’s foreheads touched, both standing in each others embrace as they enjoyed a long awaited reunion. "I didn’t think it was possible . . . I shouldn’t be standing here right now, holding you-"

Rinoa had put her finger to his lips, silencing him, “Don’t underestimate the power of miracles.”

“I didn’t think I would ever see you again, I-“

“You can stop worrying,” Rinoa whispered, her arms moving around Squall’s waist as she hugged him and placed her head against his chest, “everything is going to be alright.”

Squall kept quiet and put his arm around her, his other hand holding her head as they felt each others hearts beat.

Red shook his body back and forth as one would if a dog was wet, but he was doing it to make sure everything was okay. He couldn’t believe his luck, and neither could Cid and Vincent. Yuffie was jumping up and down, clutching at Barret who had his hand behind his head and eyes closed, enjoying a hearty laugh. Even Irvine had been given a second chance, wasting no time as he talked to both Quistis and Selphie with his arms around them. They looked at him sternly as he tried cracking a joke and the gunmen felt dejected, but a few seconds later both girls burst out into laughter.

"Your lives were a gift from the planet. You all performed exceptionally well, given the circumstances that you faced. You fought on despite all the odds being against you and triumphed over great evil. I will send you back to your respective homes now and leave you with this message; Enjoy life’s everyday miracles and cherish your loved ones to the best of your ability, you'll never know when it will end." The voice spoke to them, one last time.

Irvine was hugging Selphie and Quistis after they had stopped laughing, “Well, I’m glad that you girls are okay. You had me worried.” They all cried tears of happiness and Irvine could leave finally feeling like he was the player he wanted to be. Still attached to each other, they departed into their own dimension.

“It was nice working with you Vincent,” Laguna yelled across the room where Squall was as he waved goodbye, his back half turned to the former Turk.

“Likewise,” Vincent replied coldly. He reluctantly let a corner of his mouth rise, indicating the hint of a smile. Laguna seemed shocked at first, but began to laugh when he saw this. The massive arm of Ward quickly grabbed Laguna’s and brought them through the dimensional portal that they had arrived in the first place. People were starting to disappear back to their own times now that everything was returning to normal.

“You go on ahead Tifa, I got something I want to say to Squall,” Cloud said, rubbing his love’s shoulders. Squall noticed and did the same thing.

"Okay, see you soon!" Rinoa and Tifa said to Squall and Cloud as they walked into different dimensional rips. Once everybody else was gone, Cloud and Squall started to walks towards each other, meeting halfway.

“You know, you’re not such a jerk once somebody gets to know you,” Cloud joked as he grabbed the SeeD captain’s shoulder.

“HA! And you aren’t that bad yourself man . . .” Squall laughed, smiling easily once again. They both stood silent there for a few seconds, glancing everywhere but at each other, “Well . . .”

"Have a good life Squall," Cloud interrupted as he extended his hand to Squall, “I know that we didn’t get off to a good start but . . .” They looked at each other weird for a fleeting moment, both uncomfortable with this type of situation. They had been through so much since the beginning of it all, what was the proper way to say goodbye to someone that was not only a good friend, but a part of you?

“Umm, I am gonna miss you man,” Cloud and Squall shook hands for a few moments, and then gave each other an awkward hug afterwards. Their eyes darted around quickly after that, making sure that no one was left and looking.

"Me too buddy, Me too," Squall said as he tiptoed backwards. He turned around and walked, grinning and waving while he slipped slowly away from view into a portal.

Cloud was alone now, and he knew that he was next. He was the final one to go. Time rippled before his eyes and fluctuated, creating a puddle in space but he didn’t walk through it, at least not yet, "Wait, before I go I want to see who you are," he asked. There was something familiar about the voice, something calming. How it spoke to him filled his heart and urged him on, even at the darkest moments of the trials. There was a deep, long silence as the entity contemplated this request. Cloud awaited an answer, he was willing to stay for eternity in order to find out if his thoughts were right or not.

"Very well," the voice answered in an apprehensive tone.

An accumulation of clouds began to circle around a solitary cloud above the golden-haired hero and build in length and mass. Pulsating greenish white light shone downwards from the middle and split the puffs of white apart. An angel floated gracefully down form above, its wings outstretched but unmoving, being carried by the light. A white aura around her constricted his view but he was able to make out a few of her more distinct features. The angel had glistening, bright white wings that dripped with dew and long, brown hair that curled ever so slightly at the tips. Cloud could only see her from behind at the moment, but as the anticipation built, his heart raced inside his chest.

He moved his lips but nothing came out. On his second try, he barely managed, "What's your name?" Cloud questioned her in a tone that a child would ask a friendly stranger.

But this was no stranger . . .

She turned around ever so slowly, revealing the rest of the features that she was composed of. Her head was looking down at the ground but Cloud could see the outline of it. His eyes swelled with tears when he caught the delicate features of her beautiful face. It was a face that Cloud had dreamt about every night since she had left him, the one that had caused him many nightmares, but at the same time brought him hope. Her soft cheekbones and parted lips, her dainty structure, her soothing aquamarine eyes, it was . . .

"Aeris," she said blankly into his weakened stature, “I was known as Aeris at one time in my life.”

As though something had awakened inside both of them, they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. He was looking for her soul, to somehow try to save it, and she was looking for a way to say farewell to him. Cloud gulped and never took his eyes off her, even as he started to fade from the heavenly place. Someone once told him that life is not a product of time, but rather of moments. If he could have chosen any moment to live in, it would be this one. But moments do not last forever . . .

“Come with me!” he pleaded, holding out his hand like she had done for him.

She winced and closed her eyes, so tempted to do the same, but she couldn’t. "Goodbye Cloud," Aeris said hurtfully, turning away from him.

"I love you," Cloud said, almost mouthing it with a heavy heart in tow. His comment forced a solitary tear to surrender from her eye and fall down her cheek, dripping down into nothingness.

She waved her hand without facing the direction of Cloud and finished transporting him back to his own time. As he was disappearing, she turned back around and smiled. She wanted to be with him again, to join him again in his adventures, but how could she tell Cloud? How could Aeris bring herself to reveal the secret . . . that it had been her own hands that had brought Sephiroth back to life and caused the Time Compression?




THE END?

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Wooohooo. Finall got back to where I was in Aura about . . .. I don't know, over a year ago? I REALLY hope that the forums don't crash or get moved again. Cause I will seriously be done with this place if that happens. Just isn't worth it. Anyways, this was the last chapter in Infusion. I'm setting the start date for Impact at December 20th, 2004. I will be posting those chapters in weekly increments (unless otherwise asked for). MIK, I really hope you have the first chapter of UBX up by Christmas! It would make me feel all nice and warm inside, :P
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Post by Mik » Tue Dec 14, 2004 1:39 pm

I've done fuck all but I swear I'll make time in the next few days, either that or not sleep one of these nights :P
Last edited by Mik on Tue Dec 14, 2004 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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