Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Birth of the Bahamut ❯ The End of the Beginning, T’Sarith Nova ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9 : The End of the Beginning, T'Sarith Nova.

"Come out! I know you're here!" Cloud's voice rang clearly in the domed clearing. He looked around warily; knowing instinctively that this would be where the final battle would be won or lost. His eyes were drawn to the onyx altar in the middle of the clearing but a dark mist obscured it. Suddenly the black mist shifted and parted, revealing the robed form of Belios. Cloud snapped into the swordsman's stance, his legs slightly apart, muscles loose and his great sword steady. He began to move slowly towards the robed man while Yuffie and Red spread out on either side of him, but all three stopped when he suddenly laughed.

"You can't even hope to touch my power! I will crush you under my thumb and my magic!" Without warning, Belios lifted his hand barking out a magic command. The earth directly below the party of three, suddenly twisted apart, creating a hole that would have ended the battle right there if they hadn't leapt to safety. Belios was undaunted and laughed once again. "This is my land, you cannot hope to win here!"

Red gritted his teeth; he could feel the pulsing rage that beat within his body, the rage at being considered an insignificant threat. "There is always hope." He murmured. Using those four words to channel his energy, Red XIII let go a blast of energy that was could not be considered standard. It was Red's own magic casting ability, which stemmed from his internal well of power and he drew from it, which created a new form of magic, a magic that hadn't been seen since the Esper Wars. It was the Creation of Magic. The sheer energy of it ripped through the evil atmosphere and slammed home into the altar of evil. Belios was taken aback at this pure energy and barely erected a shield. But he would be far from overpowered.

He gathered his own energies and reflected on the fact that Red was similar to him in the fact that no human being, or beast for that matter, had been able to form their own magic since the Esper war which had taken place nearly a millennia ago. But he simply adapted his own magic to strike better at Red. Twisting his magic into a spell of poison, he threw it towards the warriors but Red XIII had put up magical shields on the party and the spell dissipated harmlessly. The party assumed a battle formation and Cloud was in the lead, wielding his great sword. In his mind he was playing out tactics and was forming a battle plan that they could use against this dire enemy. Yuffie was close behind, already throwing her conformer at Belios. She knew that it wouldn't be able to get through his shields just yet, but she knew that it would distract him enough to cast some magic of her own. Reaching out her mind, Yuffie spoke the magical words that triggered one of the materia slots. "MP absorb!" She yelled and it's magic enveloped Belios. Sadly, his shield was too strong for a mere status spell, and he only lost the tiniest fraction of his magical strength. But the spell was only to gauge Belios' strength.

Red and Yuffie continued to harry him with minor spells and Belios easily diffused them. However, Cloud's furious sword was becoming an irritation. Belios was hard-pressed to keep his shields up and dodge the worst of the blows but he was steadily adapting to Cloud's style and he waited for the right moment to attack. Cloud lifted his sword for a savage down swing and Belios dropped his shield and struck. Calling upon all the powers of his evil heritage, he let loose a bolt of pure poison that struck Cloud full in the chest. His sword froze where it was. The poison shot through Cloud's system like wildfire and he fell to his knees, fighting the searing pain that was threatening to engulf him. Yuffie tossed a remedy at him from the hip. Thankfully, the potion protected him for the worst of the inhumanly powerfully spell but it would be a while before he could even get up let alone be in fighting condition. Belios saw this and he stretched his arm back, a spear forming out of the very air around him. He readied himself to plunge it through the figure lying prone on the ground in front of him but suddenly stumbled back as he felt the bite of Red XIII's headdress, the Limited Moon. Red threw himself at Belios wildly, forcing him back from Cloud. Red XIII used his natural magic casting skills to throw devastating spells at Belios while simultaneously raking him with his claws and headdress. Yuffie leapt behind Red XIII and knelt by Cloud, making sure that he was okay.

As Red XIII attacked Belios, he kept an internal gauge of his magic supply. He knew that the Limited Moon was losing effect as he used up his magic points. So he broke his attack off suddenly, sending Belios backward in a daze. Red then raised his head and yelled to Yuffie. "Use your summon now!" he dived to the side, leaving a clear path for Yuffie. She clasped her hands around her Conformer and concentrated her anger upon the summon materia, adding her anger into the magical power that triggered the materia's powerful spell. "Ramuh!!" She cried, summoning the holy power of the deity. The ground around Belios trembled and he fell to his back as earth began to collect in a mound. It piled higher and Belios looked on in sheer disbelief as Ramuh, defender of all things Holy, materialized at the peak of the mound. He raised his staff in the air and before he let loose his holy anger, he spoke to Belios.

"I know what thou art Demon, and you shall not escape punishment for this unholy union. I will send you to the eternal night from whence you came!" With that, Ramuh let his bolts of electricity fly forth and they struck into Belios, ripping though his shield. Belios' vision exploded in white light as electricity stabbed through him, his muscles contorting spasmodically. The prickling energy slowly dissipated around the area and his motionless body could be seen. Strangely, Yuffie thought that Ramuh had been enough to defeat Belios, but as the cooked air cleared, she could see him struggling to his feet. She collected her energies within herself and Ramuh prepared to take that energy and transform it onto another lethal volley of electricity.

"No!" You shall not destroy what I've made!" With a cry, Belios stretched his staff outwards and a streak of black light issued forth. It snaked through the air with blinding speed and struck Ramuh before anyone could do anything. Cloud got to his feet shakily just in time to see the form of Ramuh scream and contort as a ray of light burst from the mound. Red XIII cast a wall spell in hopes of freeing Ramuh from the spell of banishment but he was too late as Ramuh's body broke apart and de-materialized and Yuffie collapsed to the ground with a shriek. It is never good to break off the connection with summons. And Ramuh's quick departure snapped the symbiotic relationship between him and Yuffie. Her very mind was very nearly taken with him.

Shea ran to her side. Red XIII had told her to stay by the cave entrance but she cared for the young outgoing ninja and wouldn't let her suffer. "I'm…alright," Yuffie said as she clutched her Conformer. "I saw where Ramuh's gone, it's beautiful… but horribly painful at the same time…" She looked in Belios's direction where he was collecting his energies to renew his attack. Her eyes steeled. "You're going to regret that, you bastard!" Cloud blinked in surprise, the carefree girl was not akin to cursing. But soon as Belios got up, he and Red had realized that they were in for some major trouble. Red had recast the defensive spells but he knew that they would not withstand much of Belios' magical strength. The three grouped themselves in their standard fighting position, side by side, and they prepared to fight. Yuffie, bristling with rage, Red XIII praying to the Gods, and Cloud searching for weaknesses.

They advanced slowly as Belios raised his hands; he began to wave them in intricate circles and Cloud whispered to Yuffie and Red, "Prepare to scatter." But even so he was unprepared for the sudden blast of energy that ripped forth from Belios's staff. Flaring white light filled his vision as their death approached them. It never hit; the ball of energy slammed into an invisible shield that Cloud didn't even know was there. It splayed outwards and it's lethal energy dissipated harmlessly into the atmosphere. A few strands of energy exploded on the ground and a smaller one hit Shea on the side. Red was about to run to her but Shea mentally told him to stay and fight. She would be okay.

Cloud looked up on instinct and was greeted by the darting form of Synnoria. She wound her way through Belios' quick thrown balls of energy and retaliated with her own energy shots, effectively putting Belios on the defensive. The trio on the ground began to move, hoping to catch Belios off guard with three coordinated attacks. Red's headdress flared up as he cast Ice 2 on Belios, the freezing energy tearing towards the evil entity. Simultaneously Cloud leapt in and swung his great sword in a devastating cut. "Just in time Kayin!" he yelled. Yuffie threw her Conformer and all three attacks twined together into one and tore into Belios's shield. But the shield held. One by one, Cloud, Yuffie and Red slowed to a stop, standing open mouthed at the chuckling Belios. Nearby, Synnoria came to a landing, scattering dust violently.

"So pitiful you all are, so very pitiful. I will succeed in merging the planes. Nothing can stop me! How do you hope to defeat me?" Belios asked as he reached inside his black robe. His eyes began to glow with an unearthly light as he withdrew something almost like a jewel. A black wind twisted his robes around him, obscuring the jewel from sight.

"We hope because the good guys always win!" Yuffie cried, preparing herself for another attack. Belios replied by putting his fists together and black magic began to gather around him even as energy gathered around Yuffie. The young ninja reached deep inside her spirit, grasping for the special powers that so few people on the Earth had. As the technique took form, the trigger words turned over in her mind. Yuffie gritted herself to cast her final limit, the Final Creation. Cloud and Red saw this and stepped back but Belios stood strong, he began to intone a strange chant that Red couldn't understand. Yuffie, ignoring all else but the image of Belios in front of her and swung her conformer into the sky as she cried out the words to her most devastating attack. The strength of her attack was at the blasting point and Cloud though that it might have a chance to score. She began to intone the trigger words, "FINAL…"

"T'SARITH NOVA!" Like so many of Belios's techniques, this attack was black in color but as it tore though the air, it left a rent in the atmosphere that threatened to suck in Cloud and Red XIII. Red gritted his teeth and dug his lethal claws into the ground. Cloud swung his sword down, embedding it into the ground and Synnoria simply flew out of the range of the black hole. Yuffie was far less lucky. She could only stand limply, completely drained of energy from her failed limit. The blast slammed into Yuffie and she collapsed to the ground.

"Nooo!!" Kayin screamed, he leapt off of Synnoria's back and was pulled towards her but Synnoria held him back. Cloud looked over to Belios and he prepared to initiate his own final limit but he stopped cold at the laughter that erupted from Belios, long and slow. He brought his fists close to himself and a sinister glow suddenly erupted from his chest, pulsing with arcane energy. "My goal is clear, I will merge the frames and my masters, my masters who have been waiting for eons shall finally rise to power in a new age! With your deaths, I will absorb the energy within the summons you have mistakenly brought to me. How does it feel to be tricked into bringing the key to your worlds defeat? Belios laughed disparagingly. "Eons ago, I have come to this plane, assuming a different form every time and every time I have come close to merging the frames for my masters, as close as I am now. But always a group of people, from all ends of the Earth, comes to fight me, and beat me. But now I shall have my revenge. For the people are weak once more, few there are who believe in the power of the Earth." Belios was encased in the glow of his rage and Cloud could see that if he were simply killed; he would appear once again sometime again in the ages and wreak havoc once more. No, this man's very soul must be destroyed. "You think that you are invincible…that good will always triumph. Yet you have no idea of the power of my evil. And when you realize what you are facing you will cower!" With that, Belios spread his arms; and for a split second Cloud could see the object that glowed with such an eldricht light. It was gone in a searing flash of light as Belios himself disappeared.

"Red! He has the Bahamut Neo materia!" Cloud yelled. He tensed in his battle stance once again. Inwardly, he was afraid. Cloud knew that every good fighter was afraid and he could not help but be unnerved by the mysterious rumbling caused by Belios' disappearance. He fought to stand still as his mind raced through many possibilities. Is he going to become the dragon? Will he take his energy? Is this some sort of second form? What? Cloud's train of thought was interrupted by a fiery jet of steam that burst from a crack in the ground. The crack got bigger and bigger, splitting apart the earth and Cloud backed away, yelling a warning to Red. Staying on his own feet was made harder as the rent in the atmosphere became larger and it's pulling force became stronger.

"Synnoria! What's happening?" Thinking fiercely, Kayin fought to keep his hold on Synnoria's back. He formed a barrier around himself and his mount with his inert magical abilities and finally he could listen to her urgent thoughts. Synnoria told him that the power that was approaching was definitely elemental in nature. "It's Neo, it has to be." He motioned for Synnoria to land and as she did so, he cried out to Cloud. "It's Neo! What can we do?"

The battleground was a frantic place. Dead trees littered the sides of the cave and many of them were shattered and broken from the force of the battle. The branches were being sucked into the growing rent. The altar stood ominously at the apex of the canyon, and strangely enough, it was untouched even the ground around it was twisted and burnt. Kayin and Synnoria were standing protectively over Yuffie who was lying motionlessly. Beyond them, near where Belios had disappeared, Red was trying to keep upright and stand over Shea who had been injured. The great rent in the ground was expanding as fast as the hole in the air and all could hear the dark screams that were getting closer and closer. Suddenly, with a thunderous crack, the pointed head of Bahamut Neo burst out of the ground.

He soared into the air, barely fitting into the cavern. Neo opened his mouth and everyone was forced to hit the ground as he vaporized a huge portion of the cavern roof with a single mouth shot. Sunlight mixed in with the dust floating around and it served to mask Bahamut Neo's size, making him look even bigger than he was.

Cloud, standing on the ground over Yuffie, was mesmerized by the dragon hovering over him and almost didn't hear Red. But he managed to shake off the fear and looked over to see Red beside him. Red looked up at him, his red fur smudged and cut in places. "Cloud, Shea has found something, we think that Belios used this materia to merge with Bahamut Neo. Do you have the Zero materia?"

Cloud glanced at his sword but he couldn't identify the materia because they were all covered in the dust. He took a deep breath and let his consciousness move outwards, touching each materia; soon he found which one held the power to summon the ultra-powerful being. "I have it." He said.

"This materia should make you merge your spirit with the physical body of Zero, however, you won't be able to defend yourself until you merge, nor will I." Red XIII motioned to Synnoria of who was being informed of Red's plan by Shea. The great bird lifted off in a flurry of dust and Kayin immediately flung a searing bolt of energy into Neo's face, blinding him for a moment. Kayin knew that he and Synnoria were not nearly powerful enough to take on Neo but he hoped that his anger in Belios' hurting Yuffie would be enough to keep the dragon occupied. The time it would take for Red to grasp how the materia worked and to build up the energies needed to cast the spell would be quite long, considering he had to master the stone to utilize it.

And so Synnoria leapt into the air, she dodged the dragon's preliminary fireballs with ease and continued to arrow towards him. Belios was forced to dive to the side as the streak of light careened by. But she was by no means done. Synnoria banked with long practiced ease and once again was speeding towards the dragon, forcing him to move. And so they fought, Belios put on the defense by Synnoria's greater speed.

Below the fight, the black hole expanded and something began to move inside. A form began to take shape within the hole and although neither Red nor Cloud could see it. But Yuffie could and she let out a scream of pure terror that would haunt Red's dreams until his death.

The pulling force of the black hole awakened Shea, recovering from a blow received earlier on. She got up, shaking her head and as her head turned towards the sounds of the blood-curdling scream, Shea was given a direct line of sight into the black hole. Inside, another realm had taken shape; it wasn't a black hole at all. It was a portal! She could see the roiling gases beginning to take the shape of something and before she even realized it, the form of a sinister being had filled her vision. Reaching out, it grasped the terrified Yuffie and before anyone could do anything; Yuffie was gone.

She just … disappeared. Red XIII thought. The impression he got was a hand appearing out of the hole, and then a flash of light. Red blinked his eyes and all that was left was nothing. Just a dark mist evaporating into the air. Without warning a red-hot rage suffused itself over Red XIII and the extra energy was enough to give him the power to cast merge. As he did so, tentacles formed of magic lanced out from the materia and shot into the Bahamut Zero materia that Cloud held near his chest. He grimaced as the merging process began and pain enveloped his entire body, and then his spirit! Cloud was unsure whether he could take this amount of pain when suddenly; another entity entered his mind. "Be strong little one. I will help as best as I can." As those words were spoken, the pain lessened considerably and he could see clearly once again. But he was seeing too much! He was seeing the pain of the Earth, the pain of the black and twisted trees. This is the vision of Zero! We've merged! Cloud though wildly. He could feel elemental power flowing through his arms.

"Why, we weren't even able to harness a fraction of your power!" He told Zero. But Zero had no time to reply for as soon as Belios had seen the merging. He had flung his energy into a searing ball of electricity that tore through Synnoria. Silently the bird fell to the ground, hitting with a sickening thud. The energy bolt continued through the air, only to explode in a thundering shower of sparks as it hit the shield erected by Cloud. Zero was the mightiest of the dragons; his might was the might of the one true Bahamut and his shield would not fall to the lesser incarnation of Neo. "But why were we able to beat Bahamut at Fort Condor than?" Asked Cloud as fireballs and lightening bolts rained down upon them.

"Because the cat of whom merged with him was unready. He could not achieve a perfect symbiotic relationship. But we must defeat Belios before he realizes that he still has the power of Bahamut and the demon to draw upon." But Zero was too late, Belios remembered the power of the demon and as he drew upon the darkest magic of the Earth, his energy took on a tainted blood-like color. He threw more bolts of energy but this time they hit with a much greater impact, causing Zero to grunt in pain. "Little one! You have control over my body, you must attack!" Cloud was not one to lose his self-control in battle and he immediately grasped what had to be done. Using Zero's knowledge of flight, he whipped to the side, using the air currents to increase his speed, dodging yet another fireball. Cloud gathered his energies within himself, he prepared for his opening blast and he hoped that it would be enough to put Belios on the defensive.

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Down below, the others were having a hard time. Energy shots slammed into the Earth, tearing ground into the sky. Shea and Red had moved to the relative safety of the trees and they began to form their next plans. Red knew that although he had preformed the impossible task of casting the merge spell, he was unable to get a perfect symbiosis between Cloud and Zero. Zero would lose! They would be unable to withstand the awesome energies that Belios had to draw upon.

Red broke into a sprint, mentally calling for Shea to stay put. He ran onto the battleground, dodging the fireballs that he knew would incinerate him if he got too close to any. Leaping over craters, he dared a quick glance at the ferocious battle above his head. Belios had his claws in Zero's wings but Zero had clamped his jaw upon Belios' neck and was expelling bolts of energy at point blank range onto it. But Red could see that the extra energy that Belios had created an impenetrable barrier and any minute Cloud would have to veer away. Red redoubled his speed knowing that by the time he got there, he must be ready to execute his plan or all would be lost. Belios hadn't noticed the Highwind but he would soon and he would surely risk himself in order to destroy it and its crew.

"Cid! What the Hell is this!?" Barret knew that Cid wouldn't know but he had to ask anyway in the hopes of gaining an understanding of what was going on. Synnoria was lying on the ground to the right of the Highwind and Tifa was already there, checking for Kayin. Barret could recognize Bahamut Zero and the other dragon looked almost like Neo, but why they were fighting and why Cloud and Red were nowhere to be seen-"Wait! There's Red!" he cried, seeing the canine sprinting in his direction. Red was not twenty yards away from him when he began yelling directions. "Get the crew into ranks! I need them grouped together!"

Cid, hearing the cat's words, immediately barked out the appropriate commands and the crew fell into a single file line. He looked back towards the great cat and saw his eyes glowing. Red had overstrained his wellsprings of magical energies and was in danger of burning himself out. "Red! You've got to stop! You'll die!"

Red XIII was not stupid, he knew that he close to death but he began to cast merge anyway, knowing that the outcome of this battle depended on it. Suddenly his eyes opened wide, he couldn't do it! He didn't have enough magical energy! Red slid to a stop, cursing his mortal constraints when he made a decision. It was his friends and the Earth, or him. Closing his eyes, Red chose the Earth and began to cast a spell, for one final time. But then from somewhere, he heard a voice whispering in his mind, "For your people … and for your Earth…" And a floodgate opened; magical energy of a purity Red had never experienced surged through him and he knew he would gain perfect symbiosis this time. The unique energies of Red XIII graced the Earth once more and lanced out towards the crew.

Later, even Red XIII would be surprised to see that his casting would work so well. Maybe it was because the crew had experienced a great deal of magic in their travels with the small group, or maybe because they had no other magical abilities. Either way, 11 of the twelve members reached a perfect merge with a knight. The last was unable to fight, the knight's body knelt on the ground, it's face twisted in a rictus of agony as though it was fighting something within itself. But the others stood their ground bravely; they awaited Red's orders, keeping swords, axes, and staffs at the ready.

"Shea! The deed has been done!" Red XIII thought, as he saw Shea turn her head from the fight to look at him, he continued. "The crew has merged with the knights but the cannot keep their powers in check, so everyone else will be using their magic to help the crew. I need you to get through to Cloud's mind and tell him to get away." Red saw Shea nod her acknowledgement, and she stretched her mind towards the mind of Cloud above.

"What?!" Inwardly, Shea choked as she found that Cloud's mental spirit was a roiling mess of pain, fear and anger. He had abandoned all vestiges of intelligence. Cloud was fighting on a purely animalistic level, ignoring the scarring injuries inflicted upon him by the other dragon. And worst of all, she could not get through to him! Her mind was not powerful enough to break through the barrier from so far. She would have to get closer. Picking her way through the battleground, Shea moved closer and closer to the two dragons.

"Cid, Barret, I will need everyone's help for this." We must concentrate our magical energy into the knights to keep them stable in this world. Your crew can't do this by themselves, take two and use your magic to protect the bond that now exists between the mortal and the immortal. Barret, go and make sure that Kayin is all right, we'll need his and Tifa's help on this." Red spoke to Cid and Barret authoritatively and as soon as they sped off to get ready, Red turned his mental call to the knights. "Oh great knights of endless time, heed my call. Evil stalks the land once again and now, it battles in front of us. I know that your calling is to defend the earth, and not to fight for it but will you step forward in this time of need and help us?"

The tallest of the knights stepped forward; he looked at Red XIII through a shrouded helmet that hid his face. Suddenly, he spoke. "You are one of infinite wisdom, and one of great heart. It would be an honor fight beside you…" His voice was like a whisper of wind at the moment of dusk and Red knew that that voice would ring within his mind forever. As if by command, the twelve knights stepped into a line. "We await your command Nanaki."

Staring blankly, Red suddenly jolted back to himself, when the knight spoke his true name, he felt something stir within him. But he shook it off, realizing that the time to finish this fight was at hand. Quickly, he outlined his plan to the knights and than turned towards Shea to see if she had contacted Cloud yet. "What? Shea! What are you doing?" Red's mental voice was incredulous as he saw the cat was crawling up the near vertical rocks. She turned her head and tensed her body. The dragons were dangerously close and the surrounding energy was pressing her hard into the rocks.

"There is no other way…" With those five words, Shea leapt straight outwards from the rock directly into the field of energy that the two dragons were creating, her tiny form disappeared from Red's view as she landed upon the Bahamut Zero. But it was enough. She struck rapidly through the mental confusion of Cloud's mind and relayed her instructions to him. As soon as she got his barely perceptible agreement she leapt. Shea didn't aim; she simply sprang away from the body of the dragon, and from the surrounding energy that was searing through her body, causing so much pain. And finally, it was over, Shea found herself high in the air and rapidly losing height as she fell away from the fighting dragons. The ground was coming up on her at an insane pace and she braced herself to hit the rock. Somewhat to her surprise, Shea found herself on Synnoria's back, soaring back to the ground at a more controlled pace. Kayin was trying to pull her large body to safety. "You scared me!" He said, his eyes wide. "I scared myself!" She replied.

As soon as they reached the ground, a much-relieved Red XIII gave the word. He summoned the energies within himself once again and cast his last spell of the battle. "Flare!" The energy of the spell sang upwards but this time it was not aimed at the dragon Bahamut. It was a signal flare and as it's explosive light lit up the giant cavern, Bahamut Zero veered away with such blinding speed that Belios simply hovered, looking blankly. That was the cue. One by one, the twelve knights leapt into the air.

From there, the fight went so quickly, it was almost embarrassing. Each knight dealt his own particular style of damage to Belios and with each sickening thud of an attack impacting upon the body of the dragon, Belios' conscious slid further and further from life. The rest of the group watched from below, all of them recovering from the fight that nearly took their lives. Suddenly Red had a question. Turning to Zero, he asked, "Won't Bahamut Neo be killed?"

"Of course not, the power of the knights are great but to destroy an a dragon would take much more power than they have Nanaki." Once again, Red shook off a feeling that he couldn't explain. He stared at the dragon almost plaintively.

The great dragon looked downwards at him, faint remorse in his eyes. Sighing softly, Bahamut Zero leaned down. "Look at me," As Red did so, the dragon continued. "Nanaki, that name was given to you by your father Seto, whose death was a source of grief, however ignominious you thought it was. But Red XIII, that name was given to you Shinra, a source of great pain! Your father have you your name out of love, Shinra gave you that title because it was convenient. You are rejecting your father in rejecting your given name. That name is as much a part of your history as it is of your destiny."

Looking at the majestic dragon, Red could not help but feel a lump in his throat. The matter of his name was such a concern in his mind that he could scarcely come to terms with it. Yet the way Bahamut put it, it seemed as though it would be right to call himself Nanaki, but there were so many memories associated with that name! He must first come to terms with those memories before even thinking of himself as Nanaki. But Red XIII's thoughts were disrupted as the body of Bahamut Neo slammed into the ground thunderously. As everyone watched fearfully, the knights settled upon the ground and even they stared at the dragon warily. Belios' spirit had been weakened enough that the dragon might be able to break free of its captor's conscience and move back into the spiritual world. But then again, maybe not.

In a matter of seconds the giant body began to fade before their eyes and a collective gasp went through everyone as the dragon faded away, returning to the spiritual world. Only the shining materia crystal remained as well as the body of Belios, his dark form trembling as he struggled to stand up.

"I can't … believe it! Cough!" Using his staff as support, Belios stood up. He began to gather his energies but the energy disappeared and he collapsed again. "You … this is your fau-cough-fault!" He pointed at Red XIII wrathfully.

Red had advanced upon the cloaked figure and stood over him. Red looked down at this malevolent entity who had taken away his precious friend Yuffie and had planned to kill each and everyone of the people he held dear! A surprising clarity had settled over Red XIII and he opened his jaws. Belios heard only one more thing as Red's sharp teeth closed around his throat. "For my people…" And those words, the beginning of a sentence that Red didn't even know how to finish, scared Belios more than his own death. But then, the blackness took him and he knew no more.

"The deed is done." Red XIII said quietly as he walked back to his friends. He felt tired, as if he had only completed the first leg of his journey and not just potentially saved the world. But the death of Belios left him feeling better than he had in some time. He turned to rub necks with Shea who came up beside him. He could feel her emotion as they touch, raw and powerful. Suddenly he realized that they were not finished! Thanu was still missing since Bahamut had fled. "Zero, can you summon Bahamut? The entity that was controlling his body was a slave to another's will but now is free. He is probably frightened, he won't know to return here to his mother."

Zero grinned, or at least he spread his lips and showed off hundreds of scythe-like teeth. "That will be child's play." Before he even finished that sentence Thanu was there, appearing so suddenly that Red had to blink to see if he was actually there. Shea however, had no such worry. With a cry of joy, she leapt for her son, bowling him over in an excess of emotion. Red realized that she would want some time alone with her son so he moved away.

Red soon put Shea in the back of his mind. Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Barret, Vincent, Kayin and himself were being taught in the usage of the merge materia. Zero was instructing and they practiced by dispelling the spells on Cid's crewmembers. But night soon fell and all in the vast underground cave voted unanimously to stay inside for the night.

Late in the night, Cloud and Red were talking. They knew that they would have to go after Yuffie but how? They had no idea of how to travel between dimensions. In all of their travels, they had never even heard of another dimension! But Red had some sources that might hold some information. He would consult them when they left tomorrow. Cloud seemed satisfied with that and he slipped into a sleeping bag, falling asleep within minutes.

Soon all was quiet. Everyone was so tired from that day's exertions that they decided to post no watch. But by the outskirts of the encampment, something did stir. "Do you know where she is?" Asked a low voice. " I know, I know. It'll be dangerous but we have to. She saved my life and…" The human fell quiet as he realized his friend understood. He jumped and was soon astride his steed. Mentally, Kayin gave the word to Synnoria to teleport to the realm that Yuffie had been banished to.

Even Synnoria wasn't prepared for the desolate wasteland that greeted them as they teleported into the spiritual realm. A cold wind brushed dust into their eyes, and Kayin quickly rubbed it out, almost wishing he hadn't. The whole place looked of death, black trees withered, shrubs lying limply on the ground. Although the spiritual realm was usually shown as each person viewed it, the evil had twisted it into a single form. "Enough, we must find Yuffie Synnoria, can you find her?" Kayin said, trying to ignore the bleak surroundings.

But at the moment, Synnoria's was moving restlessly, she had lived in this realm for millennia and the change was shocking. Her need to avenge her world nearly flooded Kayin's conscience. "Synnoria! Yuffie first. Then we will come back with the others and help you. Please…" The great bird calmed downed, taking long slow breaths as she collected herself. Taking off in a flurry of dust, she told Kayin that she could feel Yuffie's conscience. Thankfully, there were no malevolent entities around for she could not feel the aura that they would have. Kayin urged his mount on, choking back pain at the thought of Yuffie lying defenseless on the ground. But Synnoria was fast and knew where to go. They would make it.

In the distance, Kayin thought he could make out something, something that was vibrant in this vast sea of desolate grays. Yuffie! Synnoria put on an extra burst of speed, feeling another entity approach. Suddenly it was before them. Bursting out the ground, Kayin identified the thing as a lesser daemon. A guard, but if they had posted a guard then they would know someone would be coming and-a trap! More daemons burst from the ground and roared towards the bird. But Synnoria leapt up, pumping her wings as she strove for extra height. She dodged the fireballs that the daemons threw. Soon she was ready to make an attack. Turning quickly, the bird dove towards the pack of daemons, they threw fireballs but Synnoria dodged them and threw some of her own. And then as soon as she was within a few feet of the daemons who were scrabbling out the way of her bulk Kayin leapt off. Forming a sword through spell, he slashed through the first daemon and was slicing at the next before they knew what had happened. The second was much harder, Kayin knew he was outclassed as the claws of the daemon raked him. His sword dissipated as he lost his concentration due to a massive fist that knocked him in the stomach. Gasping for air, Kayin gathered his energies to cast a spell.

"Meteor!" Kayin shouted the trigger word and by command, a rent in the atmosphere appeared and huge meteors from the depths of space hurtled forth, shattering the daemons they hit. Kayin knew those meteors would hurt him too but he was too fast, rolling and flipping out of the way of the meteors as they hit the ground. Shrapnel tore at him but it was not enough to stop his headlong rush. Soon he was out of the range of his own spell and he sprinted towards Yuffie. Sliding to a stop by her, he picked her, feeling for a pulse by her neck. He could feel one but it was very weak. Kayin mentally signaled to Synnoria who immediately came to a landing beside him. He threw Yuffie up and leapt on himself. "Quickly! Go!" He shouted. The surviving daemons had regrouped and were now back on the attack but they were much too far away to do anything. Synnoria quickly pictured the somewhat less desolate cavern that they had come from and she was gone.

As soon as they got back, Kayin out the limp form of Yuffie on the blanket that he had slept in not twenty minutes ago. Belatedly he realized it had taken only twenty minutes but it had seemed like much less! Yuffie pulled herself up on her elbows, looking around in surprise. Kayin quickly put her back down. "You should rest, you've been through a lot." He said. She was still a bit weak he saw, but that was from lack of food, or rest. But she still managed to ask what had happened.

"You were transported to the spiritual realm. Synnoria brought me and we got you back. You're all right now, you just gotta rest okay?" Kayin was practically crying know. Seeing Yuffie on the ground in that other realm had torn his heart. Quickly he wiped his nose on his sleeve, he would never let her know how close he had been to crying.

But Yuffie must have known. For she leaned up and smiled weakly. "Thanks." She said, then Yuffie kissed him. It was just a quick kiss on the lips, but it was more than enough for Kayin to realize his feeling for her. He smiled as she rested on the ground, almost asleep already. Moving quietly, he lied down close to her realized through a sharp burst of pain, how badly he had been hurt. Oh well, he would survive until morning. He put the blanket over them so that they did not freeze in the cold breeze that whistled in the cavern. His dreams that night were peaceful.