Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal Dreams ❯ Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Inside the castle, Urawa, Jupiter, and Endymion sagged against the door they had just entered, heavily panting at their recent exertion. After a few moments of rest, they took the opportunity to begin searching the room (obviously a servant's quarters, from the look of them) for anything that might help their comrades, as Urawa was much too weak to even attempt to cast a healing spell, and the alternative (a night's rest) was out of the question as well.

After a thorough inspection, the three of them came up with four bottles of liquid, two of them green and the others blue. Urawa looked them all over, and then grinned.

"Well, I'd say we're in luck. These two here," he pointed to the blue bottles, "are potions that should heal what health we've lost. As for these," he directed, pointing to the green bottles, "they can restore our energy reserves." Frowning then, he muttered, "The only problem is who gets the energy drinks..."

Endymion spoke up at this point, and said, "You and Guardian Jupiter can go ahead and take them. My attacks don't seem to cause much damage anyway, and I'm mostly along to try and talk some sense into my wife. You'll need it more than I will."

The wizard and senshi glanced at each other, then at the king. "Are you sure, Highness?" Urawa queried.

Smiling slightly, Endymion nodded. "Yes."

With a shrug, Urawa downed his drink in one gulp. After a noticeable hesitation, Jupiter drank hers as well, but continued glancing back and forth between the king and her love with a guilty look.

This, however, went completely unnoticed by either of her conscious comrades, who immediately began to tend to Ryuhi and Serin. After a few doses of the potions, and some follow-up curative magic, the two fighters were back on their feet, feeling none the worse for wear. Ryuhi even commented that he felt stronger than he ever had, and sounded even more confident and cocky than he had at the start of this journey. Serin merely rolled his eyes, and suddenly noticed that Jupiter was avoiding his gaze. Walking over, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. "Hey, Mako-chan, what's wrong?"

Glancing up at him, Jupiter smiled slightly. "I...I just feel guilty. You know, with me taking that potion for myself, and..."

Smiling gently, the paladin placed a quick, gentle kiss on her lips. "Hey, don't worry about it. I made a mistake that last time, by exerting myself past my limits. I don't blame you for taking the potion...after all; you saved my butt by protecting me. I guess you can think of it as one of the perks," he finished with a grin.

Jupiter laughed lightly, and kissed his cheek in return. "I will never know how you always manage to make me feel better."

"It's my charming personality, Mako-chan."

Ryuhi stepped in at this point, and looked back and forth between the two lovers for a brief moment. "Hey, much as I'm deeply moved by this display of romance, we have more important things to worry about. Namely, rescuing the other Guardians and stopping Serenity...or whoever is taking her place."

That simple comment brought everyone up short. Serin pursed his lips and nodded.

"Alright, everyone, lets head for the dungeon ASAP. Chances are good that Sephiroth and Kara are already there."

With a chorus of assents, the party headed out of the servant's quarters, and began their trek to the dungeon.

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

Deep in the bowels of the castle dungeon, there was only silence for some time, save for the dripping of water. A moment later, though, a brick shifted, grating against its mates before finally falling forward. A moment after that, a section of the entire wall exploded outward. Two shadowy outlines approached out of the enroaching dust cloud before it dissipated, revealing the two subterranean intruders.

Kara glanced up and down the corridor, then turned back to her companion. "Hey, Sephiroth, you know where we are?"

The former general glanced around the area, then nodded after his cursory glance. "Yes. Approximately a quarter mile down that way," pointing to the left, "is the cell with the Guardians. Hopefully, they haven't killed any of them yet," he added with a grimace.

Kara glanced up at Sephiroth upon hearing his tone, and smirked. "So, it seems that Master Urawa and Serin aren't the only ones who have an attraction to one of the Guardians, huh?"

Sephiroth turned a deep red at that, and turned away with a cough. "I, uh...well, I happened to help Saturn out with a problem of hers, and I'm just concerned about her, that's all."

Kara nodded knowingly, then decided to change the subject. "Well, we won't find out how everyone's doing unless we get going, right?"

Her companion nodded at that, then stepped forward in the direction he'd indicated earlier, his Masamune out but held stiffly at his side, to keep any casual passers-by from noticing. As he reached a turn in the corridor, the warrior raised his hand to halt his companion, and then slowly slid around just enough to see what lay ahead.

Scanning the hallway, the general strained his ears to catch any clues as to what was going on, if anything, when he heard something.

"I certainly hope that whatever caused that explosion doesn't get any closer to us," an overly bubbly, yet cautious, voice remarked.

Relief swept through Sephiroth at that moment, and he turned to tell Kara the good news, when a creaking sound of rusted metal from behind them caught their attention.

Gripping his sword tightly, Sephiroth managed to restrain himself from attacking, until a familiar figure stepped around the corner.

Kara, unfortunately, was not as well trained, and had cracked her Flame whip at what she thought was a very foolish enemy. Fortunately, Serin's reflexes once again saved his skin, as he easily caught the weapon on his sword, deflecting its potentially lethal attack.

Blinking in surprise, Serin lowered his own weapon, and shook his head in mock-irritation, stating, "Boy...if I didn't know better, I'd swear you didn't like me."

As the rest of their comrades rejoined the advance party, Sephiroth indicated that the way was clear, and the group quickly rushed to the Guardian's cell, save for Ryuhi, who cautiously stepped forward, frowning even more intently at the walls than usual.

Once Serin had the door lock sliced open, the Guardians joyously gathered around their comrade, the King, and the others, thanking them profusely for their help. Some reserved congratulations were bestowed upon Sephiroth when they learned of his assistance as well, but few knew exactly what to think of Ryuhi, especially since his mind was apparently preoccupied.

Mercury was also understandably ecstatic upon seeing Urawa again, who, despite a great deal of uncertainty, swept her up in a dramatic hug. The two immediately blushed and separated a moment later, but by then, it was too late: the pair were immediately targeted for teasing and a barrage of questions.

Staying out of the main gathering, Sephiroth grinned as Serin let a comment slip about him and Jupiter, and the attention immediately shifted to them. As he watched his friend's obvious discomfiture, he caught Saturn gazing at him thoughtfully. Smiling briefly, the general showed an expression of concern, and then tapped his head, pointing to her. The youngest Guardian nodded in response, then winked and blew a kiss at him, which was met with a deep red blush that nicely contrasted his silver hair.

After some time, the excitement died down, and things turned serious.

"I hate to break this up, but we have to stop this madness...no matter who's causing it," Uranus piped up.

Mars nodded, but then added, "But we can't do anything without our henshin sticks, ne?"

Sephiroth nodded, and jumped in at that point. "I know where your henshin sticks were taken. The only problem is that they're on the main floor, so we'll have to move fast if we want to avoid any altercations. How are all of you, by the way?"

A chorus of "Okays, "Fit and readys, and the lone "Ready to kick butt" answered his question. Turning to Luna and Artemis, he said, "The two of you better transform into your cat bodies now and find a safe spot to hide. We don't want anything happening to you."

The two advisors nodded, and promptly shifted back into their cat bodies, but then shook their heads.

"Is it just me, or did someone crank up the thermostat?" Artemis commented.

The entire group suddenly shifted as if they had only now noticed the heat as well. Ryuhi narrowed his eyes at this point, and spoke up.

"Oh, someone cranked up the thermostat, all right. And he's right...here!"

With that, the martial artist fired a Cosmic Saucer right into the back wall, which erupted with a minor explosion. The dust quickly cleared, revealing a tall humanoid figure dressed in elaborate yet simple fiery red robes, who grinned amusedly at his opponents.

"Nicely done, Ryuhi. I would never have thought that you would be able to figure out exactly where I was. A little more power in that blast, and you could have had me."

Ryuhi snorted, his arrogance brimming to the surface. "Hmph. That wouldn't have been any fun. Even though you're going to lose, I think it only fair that you get a fair fight."

The newcomer raised an eyebrow at that, then shrugged. "Be that as it may. At any rate, I'm not here to fight you. Rather, Serenity sent me to kill the Guardians before you arrived. She was rather hoping that their corpses would serve to shake you up."

Sephiroth stared coldly at the fiery being before replying, "Well, in case you haven't figured it out, you're a little too late for that."

Nodding, the figure replied, "Yes, I was afraid you'd say something like that. I was hoping that all I would have to do was heat the room to unbearable temperatures, and then take out the Guardians while you were passed out, but...oh, well. Since I am the last Fiend, Serenity would have sent me to face you anyway."

Serin narrowed his eyes at that announcement. "You're another of Serenity's Fiends?"

"Yes, I am Rubicant, Fiend of Fire, at your service," Rubicant announced with a sketched bow. "And since I sense you're eager to get this done and over with, we'll get this show on the road."

"Wait!" Mercury spoke up. "I want to ask you something."

Everyone turned to look at her incredulously, save for Rubicant, who nodded for her to continue.

"Is it really Serenity who's doing all of this...or are you covering for someone else? This...just doesn't seem like our friend and queen is capable of doing all of this."

The Fiend smirked, then started chuckling, and finally roared with laughter. After a few moments, he calmed down, and said, "Ah, someone is actually thinking! Normally, I would be loath to tell anyone this, but...if you can defeat me, then I'll tell you what you wish to know. Fair?"

Cautiously, the group nodded, with more than a few of them wondering why their enemy was being so helpful.

"Oh, one more thing before we start. I can see that you aren't all in tip-top shape, so..." Waving his hands, the Fiend snapped his fingers, causing everyone's body to be engulfed in green sparkles that rejuvenated them instantly.

Smirking, Rubicant emphasized, "Our young friend here isn't the only one interested in a fair fight. Now, then...show me your true power, all of you!"

Upon finishing that statement, Rubicant gestured sharply, sending out a maelstrom of flames at the heroes. Despite their best efforts at protecting themselves, the entire team fell back with a scream as the flames burned the areas of their skin that remained unprotected.

Rubicant smiled with amusement as he saw Serin, Sephiroth, and Jupiter struggle to their feet. "I'm glad to see that some of you have more stamina than normal. That will make this fight a little more interesting."

With a growl, Sephiroth thrust his hand, palm outward, and shouted, "ICE!" creating a barrage of ice spears that pierced the Fiend's body.

With a grunt, Rubicant stumbled back, then glared at the warrior. "Wow, I'm impressed. You knew what attack I'm weakest against," he commented with a sarcastic tone.

Serin chose this moment to cut loose with a Lunar Beam attack that struck its target directly in the face, though it was more from luck, rather than skill. Jupiter then took her own opportunity to attack, and poured every available ounce of energy into a Coconut Cyclone attack. Having just recovered from the earlier assault, the Fiend had no chance to avoid the next barrage, and again took it full force, sending him flying back into the tunnel he had used to enter the dungeon. Hopping back to his feet, Rubicant snarled as he narrowed his eyes at Jupiter, and slowly pointed his first two fingers at her. Jupiter immediately ended up surrounded by a miniature tornado that visibly sucked the life out of her.

Though he understood what was going on immediately, Serin had just started forward when the fiery being shot a fireball directly at the weakened Guardian, sending her down with a scream of pain.

Sephiroth, at that point, had just started to cast another Ice spell, when he saw a blur hurtle past him, and repeatedly slash at the enemy. The movements of the human light particle, as the warrior later akinned it, were so quick that even Sephiroth's trained eye had trouble following the majority of the movements, much less all of them. The results, however, were as obvious as Ryuhi's attacks on Milon had been.

Rubicant staggered back under the barrage until Serin finally began swinging at a snail's pace, completely failing to even scratch the fiend's skin. Rubicant laughed, and grabbed Serin around the waist, propelling him back into a wall with another fireball. Not one to give up easily, Serin still attempted to regain his feet, only to be downed once more as Rubicant contemptuously threw another fireball at him. This prompted Sephiroth to get in on the action, as he ran forward, slicing his Masamune deep into his enemy's skin. Biting back a cry of pain, Rubicant raised his fiery cloak up just in time to absorb Sephiroth's follow-up attack of an Ice spell. Though the majority of the Fiend's body was blocked from view, Sephiroth could see several wounds that Serin had made heal up as if they were never there. Taking a deep breath, Rubicant smirked as he gazed at the swordsman's stunned expression.

"Luckily for me, nothing gets through my Flame Cloak. Now, it's time that I finish you off as well." Chuckling, he added, "Just so you don't feel left out."

Gritting his teeth, Sephiroth readied himself to go out with a bang, when he heard another familiar voice.

"I don't think so, butane breath."

With a shout of 'Kaio-Ken times five!', Ryuhi smashed into Rubicant's body before letting loose a few more punches and kicks, and propelling himself backwards to join Sephiroth. With a look of disgust, he commented, "Geez, I thought you guys were going to finish him off, not play patty-cake with him. You guys are embarrassing to watch! Stand back and let a professional handle it."

Turning his attention back to his true enemy, Ryuhi shifted into his combat stance as Rubicant finally recovered from the onslaught of blows, and glared at the martial artist. "So, the only way you know how to fight is by playing possum? That's sad, really."

Ryuhi's only answer was a confident grin. "Oh, you'll find out that I know a lot more than that in just a minute. My only question is, can you last until the lesson's over?"

The Fiend answered with a laugh. "If you were as smart as you are arrogant, you'd know that you should never give your opponent time to recover." Putting his hand palm outward, he slowly closed it into a fist, which brought forth several large lava balls smashing into the young fighter's body. With a growl of pain, he dropped to one knee, but managed to quickly stagger back to his feet.

Rubicant frowned, then summoned another barrage of lava balls, which brought a greater scream of pain from the fighter before dropping him to his hands and knees this time, but failing to knock him out entirely.

Muttering a curse, the fire fiend prepared to loose yet another salvo when he felt a searing (pun intended :P) pain on his back. Stumbling forward, he turned with an enraged look to face Sephiroth just as he shouted, "Kara, NOW!"

The words just barely registered in Rubicant's mind as he noticed that the air was suddenly much chillier than it had been before. Turning his gaze back in the original direction, a look of horror appeared on his face as he saw the scantily clad, white-skinned woman gazing solemnly at him.

"NO!" the fiend shrieked, his arms raised in a futile gesture of protection.

Shiva, mistress of the ice, simply raised her hand and then, almost lazily, pointed at her target, sending a spray of diamond-sharp spears of ice into her opponent's body. Though several were absorbed in Rubicant's cloak, enough projectiles found their mark in his body as he roared in pain, dropping to his knees. After a moment, the barrage stopped, and Shiva vanished, revealing everyone standing, more or less on his or her own, as they cautiously approached the fallen being.

Gasping for breath, and attempting to cling to life, Rubicant nevertheless smiled and began chuckling. "Im...pressive. Impressive indeed. You are worthy adversaries. I almost think that you stand a chance against my true master."

Gently shrugging off Jupiter's helping shoulder, Serin took a couple of slow steps forward, and asked, "Who is your true master? You implied it wasn't Serenity, so who is it?"

Rubicant slowly looked up at the paladin, and nodded. "You're...correct. It is not Serenity. Rather...it is Zemus."

Serin, Endymion, and Jupiter started at the name, recognizing it from the one in the vision they had experienced in Skyhaven's tower.

Failing to notice her friend's expression, Mercury stepped forward, and put forth her own question hesitantly, as if she was afraid of the answer. "Did he...kill the queen?"

For a long moment, the fiend simply looked at the warrior-princess, and then sighed. "No."

Exclamations of relief were easily heard even as she pressed on to her second query: "Then, has she turned to evil?"

Rubicant chuckled, even as he coughed up a thick, lava-like substance. Once his fit had passed, he grinned malevolently at the group, and simply said, "The truth is seen through those who have the eyes to see."

Before the party could even begin to attempt to figure that out, the fiend suddenly dropped to the ground, burst into a bright flash of flame, and vanished, leaving nothing more than a man-sized scorch mark on the stones.