Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Bahamut & the Guardian Forces ❯ Blades of the Warrior ( Chapter 15 )

Final Fantasy and all related trademarks belong to Square Enix. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

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

"Wow. So this is where you live, huh?" Ashley muttered. "Nice place..."

She'd thought that the large yellow bird had an owner or something close to that. The last thing she had expected to see was a strangely green forest in the middle of the desert....full of Chocobos of all colors and sizes.

A big group crowded around her, making excited 'Kweh' sounds as they examined her.

"Erm, yeah, nice to meet you too." Ashley smiled nervously.

The largest bird in the crowd then pushed his way forward and pulled something off the back of Ashley's collar.

"Hey....that's one of Phoenix's feathers. She's a friend of mine, but she's sort of hurt right now..."

The Chocobo suddenly moved his head towards her, causing Ashley to involuntarily jerk back in surprise. But he was actually reaching for Ashley's pendant, which was hanging on the outside of her shirt.

"Maybe, you guys can sense her, can't you?"

There was no way to get a definite answer, but the birds clearly had something in mind as they urged Ashley towards a spring in the center of the area.

In compliance with their wishes, Ashley stepped into the water. There seemed to be no reaction, but Boko the Chocobo then made a diving motion with his head and body.

"Is there something in the water?" Ashley took a deep breath and went under.

The sparkling water was crystal clear, with sunlight streaming in from the surface, creating a mystifying effect. Something at the bottom suddenly caught her eye. A shimmering sword with a golden hilt and a blue blade like the water itself.

Ashley quickly surfaced and addressed the Chocobos.

"Is it the sword you wanted me to go down for?"

Judging from the excited response, the answer was 'yes'. Ashley had to surface 2 more times after attempting to pull the blade out from the rock where it was stuck to at the bottom of the spring.

On the third try, the blade finally came loose. The girl felt a sudden surge of energy, and shot to the surface.

However, it was Phoenix who emerged from the water instead, letting off a long screech. As she hovered above the water's surface, arousing astonished gasps from the crowd.

"Gargh!! Why am I all wet?!"

<Glad to have you back partner.> Ashley smiled. <Hey, you seem different...>

"Indeed, I am."

The best way to describe Phoenix now was a 'birdman'. She now had a humanoid form with a pair of clawed upper arms and taloned feet. The colorful feathers on her tail still shimmered, and her wings were now on her back, though retaining their fiery glow.

Those wings continued flapping as she turned her bird-like head around.

<How are you feeling?>

"I've never felt better. This is like a whole new me."

<It is, literally speaking. And I think you have those guys to thank for it.>

Phoenix landed and the Chocobo leader approached, squawking in a series of 'Kweh' sounds.

"Uh-huh, I see. But, thanks really. I appreciate you guys letting us have this sword as well." Phoenix nodded.

<Wait a second, you can understand them?!> Ashley gasped.

"Of course. We're all birds after all. The ancient tongues go way back, but despite the different tones you hear, they're pretty much the same to me."

<That's cool.>

"And this weapon..." Phoenix started, turning the sword around in her claws.

The Chocobo leader began 'talking' again, which Phoenix translated.

"It's called the Caladbolg. They say an ancient warrior left it here and this oasis formed around it the blade due to its mystic powers. It attracted many of the wild Chocobos living in this desert and soon this community had been formed."

The leader made several more sounds, followed by a nod.

"The locals call it Chocobo's Paradise."

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

Glenn and Bahamut rolled beneath the sword slash and sprinted to the other side of the room.

"Ok, let him come right at us, then we go for it." Bahamut growled.

"It's gonna hurt us, right?" Glenn asked.

"A lot."

"Swell. But here he comes!"

As their opponent came charging, the two crouched. It seemed much like their 'slide between the legs' move, except that they stopped partway. This caused the Weapon to pause momentarily, but seeing its enemy just below it, brought its sword down.

"Now!" Bahamut ordered.

With all their strength, the two sprang up and caught the sword, holding the blade at bay. Glenn's dragon head immediately began pelting the Ultima Weapon's face with energy bolts, while Bahamut started chanting.

Furiously, the Weapon pushed harder. The two couldn't match up to its strength and fell onto their backs, the sword piercing through their stomach.

"RRRRAARGRHHH!!!"

"Keep...fighting..." Bahamut grimaced in-between his mumbling.

Trying desperately to ignore the pain in his own side, Glenn kept firing. He could see the green light of Bahamut's Ultima spell glowing in the blade of the sword. Their opponent had also started doing the same, channeling its namesake's spell, seeing that it wasn't killing its prey fast enough.

The green energies grew brighter and brighter until Glenn was forced to squint in the glare.

"The blade! Hit it!" Bahamut's voice rang out.

The agonizing pain Glenn was in had him nearly to the point of unconsciousness, but he made one final burst.

The twin breath attacks of the two-headed dragon combined as they hit the already supercharged sword. For a second, the sword was suddenly jerked away as the Ultima Weapon realized its mistake.

However, it was too late.

Even with the gaping wound in their stomach, Glenn and Bahamut took the opportunity to stumble away. Because of the excessive energy from Bahamut's spell and their breath weapons, the magical charge backfired, flowing back along the blade, down the hilt and right to its owner, the Ultima Weapon.

It resulted in a huge explosion that was, in a way, spectacular.

Actually, calling it huge was much of an understatement....

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

"Ugh...ow..." Leviathan slowly opened his eyes.

Since the last thing he remembered was passing out in a desert, it surprised him greatly to find himself underwater. Despite the refreshing feeling, he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Brad, what's going on?"

<I was hoping you could tell me buddy.> Came Brad's reply.

"You're finally awake!" A humongous face suddenly came into view.

"RARRGGHH!!" Leviathan panicked and backed off, right into a transparent wall.

He tried to go left, then right. But whichever way he went, he ended up smacking into a wall.

"Whoa! Calm down! It's me Leviathan!" The figure backed away, revealing more of a green and blue, bird-like outline.

"Quetzacoatl!" Leviathan gasped. "What are you doing here?! And where is here for that matter? How did you get so big?!"

"Erm, actually, you're the one that got a little smaller."

"Huh?"

"Old man Ramuh found you out there and brought you back to his hut. Your scales were all badly dehydrated and cracked. There wasn't enough water around here to allow him to treat you, so, well....he had to shrink you down to size."

"He did WHAT?! That crazy old fool!!!"

"Relax, you're pretty much all right now but he left you inside that little water-filled orb anyway. No point over exerting yourself, eh?"

"Are you nuts?! Does he know I don't exactly like being shrunken and stuffed inside a miniature fish-tank?!"

"And, erm, he's also right behind you." Quetzacoatl pointed with his beak.

"Hello there old friend." Another voice rang out.

"Erm, eep..." Leviathan muttered (with an anime sweatdrop).

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

"Muurrmmhhh....uugghhh....Bahamut and his stupid plans..." Glenn pulled himself out from beneath the rubble, rubbing both hands over himself.

He was still a dragon, and nothing seemed broken or even scratched, but...

"Hey wait! I can feel my right side!!" Glenn gasped, flexing his right claw and rubbing his right shoulder. "He's...not here! Finally! I'm not stuck to him anymore!! WOOHOO!!! Free at last!!!!"

The last part came out as a loud roar which shook the entire ruins. Glenn was still in the same place where their battle had taken place, just that there was much more rubble lying everywhere. It was lucky that the entire place hadn't come down and buried him alive (as a figure of speech).

"Bahamut! You here?! Hey!!"

Other than his voice echoing off the walls, there was no reply.

Hmmm....perhaps he's back in his own body. Glenn thought. That would mean he's all the way back in that creepy snowy mountain.

Just then, Glenn felt a slight tremor. It was gentle as first, but gradually the shaking became more and more violent.

"Whoa! What the?!"

When a crack appeared right next to his feet, Glenn knew he really had to get going. He took two steps towards the exit and tripped over a long, flat sword, which he absentmindedly snatched up as he ran.

The previous chamber's ceiling came down just as he made it into the corridor, but that wasn't the end of his problems.

The floor promptly gave way beneath his feet, sending him plunging down a narrow shaft. Instinctively, he held his legs, tail and arms against all four sides. Glenn felt the heat rising beneath him and used the wall as a springboard, pushing his legs off against it. That threw him into a rising flip which got him out of the hole, barely in time to avoid a column of lava rising from below.

More pieces of the ruins were coming down as Glenn resumed his mad sprint. He spent the next few seconds jumping over holes and avoiding falling rocks. At one point, a huge shadow suddenly came over him.

It was a gigantic boulder, which he blew to pieces with his breath attack.

"Gotta love my inner dragon!" He panted.

Almost immediately after, he was forced to flatten himself against the ground as a trap axe swung down from above. The light graze on his back was more than enough motivation for Glenn to get to his feet and run. He leapt over a set of rising spikes from the floor and rolled beneath another swinging axe.

Glenn was drenched in sweat by this time. He was almost at the entrance, but the corridor behind him was coming down faster than before.

Just when it looked like he'd made it, the pathway in front of him broke into another bottomless pit. This one however, had a swinging pendulum above it too. With no time left, he made a leap of faith for the entrance and closed his eyes.

Next thing he knew, he'd landed with a loud thud on the ground.

"Urgh! RRRaaargh!!" Glenn was immediately squashed by the falling bodies of Terrato and Palidor.

"Gargh!! Hey! I never agreed to that!!" Palidor screeched. "Huh...I'm free..."

"Good, so get off me!!" Glenn roared.

"Erm, sorry."

The trip picked themselves up and glanced around. While the secret passageway had been completely sealed off, the current location remained affected.

"Looks like you guys did a real number in there." Terrato commented. "You seem to be back to normal Glenn."

"Yeah, sort of." Glenn muttered.

"Then Bahamut?"

"Probably back in his own body. I don't know what happened though." Glenn shrugged, waving the sword he was still holding onto about.

"The Ultima Weapon!" The other two GF's gasped.

"Huh? This thing?"

"Of course! That was why you two went in to get in the first place!" Terrato snapped.

"Hey, you two may have been in here snoozing, but we were working our butts off!"

"Well, just as long as you obtained the weapon."

"Yeah..." Glenn smiled, turning the sword around to admire it now that he had the chance. "Guess we should be heading back to Bahamut...."

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

"So, that's what's been going on?" Leviathan muttered. "I can see why you ran all the way out here to get out of the war."

"Indeed, times haven't been easy for an old sorcerer such as myself." Ramuh nodded.

Ramuh had been updating the sea serpent on the happenings since he'd been away, basically giving him the same information as Madeen had to Unicorn earlier. However, Quetzacoatl, who had left earlier on some scouting duties, suddenly came flying in.

"This is not good! I think the dark forces have found us!" The bird screeched.

"What?!" Leviathan growled. "How?!"

"Hmmm, as I suspected, they're looking for you." Ramuh said, taking up his staff. "Seems you and your companions have caused quite a stir in the human world."

"Then let me out of this little orb and I'll show them a thing or two." Leviathan snarled.

"No, you've barely recovered." Leviathan's 'world' shook as Ramuh raised the orb. "Quetzacoatl how are their numbers?"

"Just a couple of soldiers, but they're almost here." Quetzacoatl replied.

"Good, take Leviathan then. Bring him to the town nearby."

"But what about you?"

"I will make sure they're distracted."

"But..."

"There's no time to waste!" Ramuh called as the area began shaking.

The hut's door was suddenly smashed open as a muscular humanoid figure barged through, accompanied by a smaller creature resembling a floating goblin head with two faces.

"Titan and Typhoon..." Ramuh addressed them. "You manners are quite atrocious indeed."

"Shut up old man!" Titan ordered. "We know you have him! Hand the snake over before..."

"Before this!" Quetzacoatl snapped. "Thunder Storm!!"

With a flap of his wings, the thunder bird threw off a series of lightning bolts that knocked Titan over. The hovering Typhoon charged and slammed into Quetzacoatl, sending him flying through the wall.

<They're in trouble!> Brad called.

"But I can't do anything while I'm stuck in here!" Leviathan fumed.

Ramuh swung his staff and knocked Typhoon away. He then leapt into the air and hovered above Titan's head to avoid another attack.

"Get Leviathan out of here now!" Ramuh yelled, tossing Leviathan's orb.

"Grab it! Grab...oogfffff!!!" Titan tired to reach for it, and took a staff blow to his stomach.

"WWWAAAHHHH!!!" Screamed the miniaturized Leviathan.

The orb flew off course and Typhoon went for it. Quetzacoatl was there first and raked his opponent with his talons, sending the orb flying off again.

"Don't miss this time!" Ramuh swung his staff like a baseball bat and hit the orb dead-on.

Catching the orb in his talons, Quetzacoatl took to the sky as Ramuh turned to face the two brutes. The sorcerer tossed his staff, which impaled itself in the ground close to them.

Titan and Typhoon were forced to back away as the staff emitted dazzling blue energy waves.

"Judgment Bolt!"

All at once, dozens of lightning bolts rained down from above. The two brutes ran, but were still struck and tossed roughly around by the magical attack.

Once the storm had cleared, there was little left of the old hut, and no traces of Ramuh or Quetzacoatl at all.

"Huh?! Where'd they go?! ARGH!!!" Titan fumed, stamping the ground in anger.

In the sky above, Quetzacoatl caught the wind beneath his wings and allowed it to carry him upwards.

"Hey, you all right in there?" The thunderbird asked. "We made it and...oh, Erm...."

"Oohhhh....is it over...?" Inside the orb, Leviathan was curled up in an awkward position with 'swirly eyes'.

Meanwhile, on the ground below, Ramuh moved some distance away from the destroyed hut before throwing his cloak and hood on. A veil of magical energy surrounded him, causing the sorcerer to vanish completely from sight, leaving nothing but his footsteps in the sand.

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

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this place?" Glenn muttered.

"For about every single step we've taken so far." Palidor replied dryly.

"Good, then I hate this place."

"Oh shut up..."

The trip back to the Realm of the Heartless had been uneventful, but full of anticipation. The trio was preparing to descend the final stairway when a loud roar of pain sounded from below.

"Bahamut!" Glenn realized.

The group rushed down to the circular 'arena' just as Bahamut was thrown to the other end. He looked even worse than the previous time when Glenn had seen his mangled body trapped within the crystal prison, with even more cuts and slashes over his body.

"Dammit! Where were you guys?!" Bahamut managed. "I've already got more holes in me than a f***ing Swiss cheese!"

The injuries didn't seem to affect his foul tongue, but what Glenn was more concerned about was the figure standing over his dragon comrade.

It seemed human, through it was hard for Glenn to believe that he was. Additionally, this man was extremely tall and had long white hair that came down to his waist level. He was dressed in a set of black leather armor consisting of a long coat and gray pants. The figure also wielded a long Japanese style Katana that was practically half the length of his body.

"Who is that?" Palidor wondered. "A human?"

"No, I don't think he is. Not an ordinary one at least." Terrato replied.

At the sound of their voices, the strange man turned towards them. Glenn got a look into the man's cold, greenish-blue eyes and immediately raised his new sword in defense. There was definitely something not right about him.

"Mighty breeze, heal from the sky....Curaga!" Bahamut chanted.

The dragon was momentarily covered by blue and green energies that instantly healed most of his wounds. He seemed all right, though a little shaky as he stumbled to his feet.

"Earth's Aura!"

"Sonic Flight!"

Both Terrato's and Palidor's special attacks were deflected as the strange man brought up his huge sword and came right at Glenn.

"Rargh!" Glenn blocked the sword strike and was thrown back.

He dug his talons into the ground, skidding to a halt as his opponent came forward. Sparks flew as their swords clashed, but Bahamut charged in and knocked the strange man away.

The swordsman rolled to his feet and stood in a stance with his weapon raised above his head.

"Give it to me now!" Bahamut ordered, gesturing towards Glenn.

"Catch!"

"Grrrr..." Bahamut growled as he grabbed the Ultima weapon with both claws. The center of the blade seemed to glow with blue lights as the dragon grasped it. "Feel this! Cross-Slash!"

Bahamut swung the blade in an 'X' motion, creating an orange energy wave which slammed into the black coated man. Although he blocked with his weapon, the blast still knocked him backwards. He leapt into the air as Bahamut spun away and parried a blow.

The dragon ducked beneath another swing and attacked, only to be blocked three times and kicked in the stomach. Snarling, Bahamut sprang up, but his opponent had mysteriously vanished from sight.

Immediately, Bahamut spun round and deflected a strike from behind, where his opponent had teleported to. The dragon somersaulted away as his opponent pushed forward, their weapons meeting in a fierce clash of sparks and magical energy. The fury of blows ended up with Bahamut being thrown onto his back several feet away.

Glenn and the others watched, awestruck, as the figure leapt into the air.

"Come...infinity!" Their opponent's voice was cold and deep, creating a reverberation in the air.

A series of meteors came flying towards Bahamut, who snatched up the Ultima weapon.

"Blade Beam!" A single beam of green energy shot out from Bahamut's weapon and disintegrated the closest meteor. It then split into dozens of smaller beams which shattered the other meteors as well.

"Meet your fate!" The tall man yelled, making a leaping attack from his airborne position.

"Climhaazzard!" With a rising series of fancy sword strokes, Bahamut met his opponent head on.

In the midst of that, the swordsman pushed off Bahamut and executed a spinning slash. Bahamut managed to move in time, but was still struck by the flat end of the blade, sending him spinning headfirst into the ground.

"Gargh!! RARGH!!" A dazed Bahamut spat, trying to regain his bearings.

"Above you!" Glenn warned.

Bahamut was fumbling for the sword when another voice rang throughout the area.

"Sephiroth!!"

The white haired man's next attack was blocked by another mysterious figure. This new human had yellow spiky hair, the blue armor of a soldier and wielded a large, broad sword.

The two warriors then attacked each other in a frenzy of leaping maneuvers, sword strikes and lightning quick parries. Bahamut then saw the floor beneath their feet was turning an odd black color.

"Everyone, get up the stairs!" He roared, flying over as the others climbed up.

The group halted midway and watched as the floor slowly dissolved into a swirling vortex. With a stern look on his face, the yellow haired man slammed his opponent down into the vortex. For a moment, he looked straight at Bahamut and gave the dragon a thumbs-up, before he too descended into the darkness.

"Wow, what in the world was that?" Glenn wondered.

"Nothing I can explain." Terrato shook his head. "And I though I'd seen a lot when I was alive."

"As long as you exist, I can't wake from my nightmare, for you are my darkness." Bahamut mumbled.

"What's all that?" Glenn asked.

"I...don't know." Bahamut growled, looking at the sword in his claws. "It's like I was possessed by something....or someone."

"Guess that had something to do with all those fancy sword moves?" Palidor commented.

"They were more of Cloud's really."

"Who?"

"The yellow haired man who helped us. I saw a little into his thoughts just now. I don't know who he is or where he's from." Bahamut closed his eyes. "But his name was Cloud Strife..."

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

"Wow, you're really good at this!" Cecil exclaimed.

"It's my job. I worked as a mechanic back in Japan." Cid replied, reaching out from beneath the sandcraft. "Can you please hand me the wrench?"

"Sure thing."

"At this rate, he'll be done in no time, kupo!" Mogri said, flapping around the garage and eventually taking a seat on top of the engine.

There were a number of sandspeeders parked in the large building and Cid had chosen the one he felt most comfortable with. It was painted in a coat of brown and greatly resembled a speedboat that one would use in a water-based race. However, this one also had hover jets installed beneath and at its rear end (in the form of circular, fan-like structures).

The vehicle was currently positioned on a raised platform, which Cid was lying beneath to work on the lower jets.

"I think I've got it!" Cid slid out from under the vehicle. "Try it now."

Cecil climbed into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition. Unfortunately, a rear panel of the engine blew up, causing everyone to dive for cover.

<Apparently you didn't.> Madeen laughed.

"Shut up." Cid moaned.

"Argh!! I'm on fire!! ARRGHH!!!" Mogri was suddenly in the air and flying around in circles with a tiny flame on his behind. "Help! Help! Hot! Hot! Hot! Kupo! Kupo! Kupo!!"

"Hey!" Cecil yelled. "Hold still!"

Meanwhile, Aldrea was seated on top of another sandcraft watching the trio go about their business.

"What's on your mind now Unicorn?" She asked.

<Oh, just thinking.>

"About the others? Leviathan and Phoenix?"

<Yes. The desert is big from the maps we've read. We might not be able to divert too much time to searching for them and...>

"I know. It's hard..." Aldrea shook her head. "Guess that answers aren't going to come falling out of the sky..."

CRASH!!

That was when Quetzacoatl entered the scene via a large hole in the roof. The multiple curses and surprised shouts were accompanied by the metallic smashing of vehicles as Quetzacoatl made his ever-so ungraceful landing.

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

<So, you have any idea about where we're headed?> Ashley asked.

"Some. I knew of a town many years ago there lay on the edge of this desert, and it should still be there." Phoenix glanced towards the starlit desert sky. "I hope what I learnt about astrology pays off."

After spending a couple of days resting up, Phoenix had decided to set out across the treacherous desert. She'd taken a small pack of supplies and had the Caladbolg strapped by her side.

The Chocobos had done their best to help with directions, but none had really strayed far from their home.

Phoenix hadn't walked for long before the sound of footsteps caused her to turn around. A single Chocobo was running up behind her.

<Hey, I think it's Boko.> Ashley recognized the first Chocobo she'd met. <What are you doing here?>

Boko replied in a series of quick chirps.

"He wants to ask us to help him with something, but he was afraid the elders might disapprove." Phoenix translated.

<Well, I think we both owe him the favor.>

More undecipherable conversational exchange went on before Phoenix finally reached a decision.

"Seems there's an old ruin to the west of here where a notorious fiend lives. It attacks and eats Chocobos that stray too far from the Oasis."

<That's terrible. Why didn't they tell us about it?>

"The elders fear a retaliation attack. The Chocobos are generally a peaceful species, and they don't like fighting. Boko here says he believes we can take on the fiend so that his family and friends need no longer live in fear."

<Well, you already know my answer.>

"Sure as hell I do." Phoenix grinned. "All right Boko, lead the way. We're gonna kick some serious butt!"

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

Author's note: About the Cloud and Sephiroth scene above, it's sort of my take on them after their confrontation during Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix. It's probably wrong though, but it's like saying their battle goes on...