Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Bahamut & the Guardian Forces ❯ Force Your Way ( Chapter 21 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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.

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Force Your Way

By nightdragon0 (nightdragon0@hotmail.com)

"Gargh! It's freezing!" Leviathan yelled.

"Brrr...yeah...." Unicorn shivered.

The trip through the vortex had been like spinning through a rotating cylinder, except with all sorts of colored lights swirling around them. After the dazzling ride, the two were less than pleased to find themselves dumped onto a cold, snowy field.

The sky was dark and there was nothing other than snow in sight for miles. In addition a chilly wind was blowing past, forcing the two GFs to huddle against each other for warmth.

Brad muttered. <But if it is, than it might be the Antarctic region or something.>

<Can you two handle this cold?> Aldrea asked with concern.

"Better...than you guys can." Leviathan replied. "We have to keep moving."

"Wait, look here!" Unicorn gestured. "These look like tire tracks."

There were a couple of long trails in the snow and without any other options, the two followed the tracks westward. Soon, a stationary van came into view.

<It's a vehicle?> Brad wondered. <Looks like it's abandoned...>

Leviathan gently pulled open the back doors and found a bundle of winter wear gear.

Aldrea commented.

"You guys want to take a look?" Leviathan suggested.

The two reverted to the forms of their human partners, who quickly donned the winter clothing before proceeding to examine the van. The outside seemed to be in good condition, but Aldrea sighed when she got into the front seat.

"And here's the reason why someone left it here." Aldrea leaned forward. "The van's out of fuel."

"Great....hey over here!" Brad pulled on the cloth sheet covering something in the back of the van, revealing it to be a snowspeeder.

<Guys, I'm starting to sense the flows of magical energy.> Unicorn informed them. <They must be activating the crystal!>

<It isn't far away.> Leviathan added in.

Nodding to each other, Brad and Aldrea started up the speeder and raced off across the snow.

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"This is..." Cid gasped at he stepped out of the alley. "It's home."

"Wow, this is Japan huh? It's my first time here." Cecil walked up beside him.

The two had materialized in an abandoned alley and had quickly taken human form to avoid drawing any unwanted attention.

"I'll gladly invite all of you to come visit when this is over." Cid winked. "But where should we start looking?"

The Shinjuku district of Tokyo was bustling with people going about their business. The streets were also packed full of cars and other vehicles.

"Whoa!" Cecil almost bumped into someone and Cid had to pull her to the side.

"Be careful and stay close to me. You don't speak any Japanese right? It'll be very difficult if you get lost."

"Yeah, thanks very much." She smiled.

<Hmmm...I seem to sense something out of the ordinary.> Madeen growled. <But I can't pinpoint its location. Way too much activity here.>

The pair glanced over to a nearby shop window where their partner's images appeared in place of their own. The image of Valefor also shook her head.

"But we're supposed to look out for a large crystal just like the one we jumped through earlier right?" Cecil asked. "Shouldn't that be easy to find?"

"Not necessarily, but we could try here." Cid led her across the street and into a tall building.

The two took a lift up to the highest floor, entered a departmental store and stood by a window, giving them a nice view of the surrounding buildings.

Madeen sighed.

"Hmmm..." Cid turned his head and happened to spot a poster on the wall. "Wait, this could be it!"

"What is?" Cecil walked over to him.

"This poster says that there's a new exhibit of some rock and crystal formations at the museum opening today."

"A museum?"

"No about the rock and crystal formations."

<Well, could be worth a shot.> Madeen agreed.

"It's just down the road, over there." Cid pointed.

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"Wow, an ice cavern." Brad sighed.

Aldrea and himself jumped off their vehicle and jogged over to the entrance that Leviathan and Unicorn had led them too.

<I'm sure it's here.> Leviathan whispered.

"All right, let's get going..."

"Brad, hold on! It might be best to watch your step..." Aldrea held out a hand.

"I...wwwaaahhhh...!!!!" Brad slipped on his second step into the cavern and slid down a narrow passageway. Leviathan took control and shifted into his form partway, trying to slow himself down with his fins, tail and wings.

BAM!! Leviathan smacked headfirst into a wall. As the dazed serpent looked up, several stalactites were jarred loose and fell.

"Gargh!!" Leviathan twisted his snake-like body left and right, barely avoiding being skewered as the sharp icicles fell. "Whew...that was close!"

"Guys!" Aldrea was carefully holding onto jaggered parts of the wall as she moved.

But the floor beneath her suddenly gave way, sending her plunging down another hole.

"No!!" Leviathan attempted to spring for them, but a pair of huge hands suddenly burst through the wall and grabbed him from behind.

"You'd better worry about yourself first!" A cold voice hissed.

The attacker was a Cyclops, a muscular titan with a single eye in the center of his forehead.

"Oh I will all right!" Leviathan swung his tail and hit the creature in the eye.

As his opponent stumbled, Leviathan spun around and sank his fangs into his opponent's arm. Grunting in pain, Cyclops rammed the sea serpent into a wall.

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Cid and Cecil walked amongst the crowd, glancing at the exhibits. Those consisted of dozens of crystal formations all put up for display.

"This place is so crowded." Cecil whispered. "If what we're looking for is in here, how are we going to find it?"

<Hold on, I sense something.> Madeen cut in. <It's a new presence.>

Cid immediately turned towards the entrance and spotted something. A shady figure stood at the entrance, wearing a thick jacket with a hood pulled low over his eyes.

"Hmmm..." Cid began moving closer to the figure in order to get a closer look. However, the hooded figure was moving as well.

He reached a panel on the wall while Cid was still caught in pushing his way through the crowd. Cid froze as the figure turned towards him, almost as if staring straight into his eyes.

Then the mysterious figure touched the panel. There was an electrical crackle before the museum's main room was plunged into darkness. Immediately, a state of panic broke out amongst the people there. Cid was strong enough the shove his way through the crowd as he ran for the exit.

<Cecil! Valefor! Meet us outside!> Madeen called to their comrades, hoping they would be heard over the shouting of the crowd.

"What...?!" Cid stepped outside and could not help but stop and stare.

Evening was approaching and the skies were dark. However, not a single light lit any building, traffic light or streetlamp as far as he could see. There were crowds of people gathered on the streets as sirens blared in the distance.

<They cut the power to the entire city?!> Madeen wondered.

"Where's Cecil?" Cid looked around. "Damn, I was supposed to take care of her."

<Hey, look there!>

Cid turned to his left and saw the hooded figure dashing off around the corner.

"Come back!" Cid took off in hot pursuit, chasing the figure down the pavement and across a road.

Horns blasted as the youth dashed between the moving cars and followed the figure down a dark alley. Cid reached a dead end and found nothing there. Suddenly, a sparkle of blue lightning shot past, forcing Cid to jump to the side.

The magical strike incinerated a pile of old cardboard boxes as Madeen took over.

"It certainly took you long enough to find me." The hooded figure sneered, throwing off his disguise.

The creature beneath had a skeletal face with a mask covering everything except the eyes. He was covered in a purple robe and had his arms wrapped in bandages.

"Lich..." Madeen growled.

"You came to stop us, didn't you?" The undead necromancer waved his hands. "Come on then."

<He's inviting you to attack.> Cid warned. <Sounds like a trap.>

"And if I don't attack, he'll have the chance to cast another spell." Madeen whispered, encircling his foe.

The lion continued to watch for a little while and chose a moment to strike. However, he felt a fiery burst upon contact, forcing him to draw back.

"Damn, he's shrouded by Blaze Spikes." Madeen realized, holding his burnt hand. "Smart, but that spell can't save you from this! Terra Homing!"

Madeen sent forth a beam of white light, but Lich opened a portal and jumped through it, taking Madeen's attack along with it.

"What?!" Madeen ran up to the spot in confusion.

Suddenly, the portal appeared behind him, letting off his Terra Homing attack. The energy burst slammed into his back, sending Madeen smashing through a wall and into an abandoned storage room.

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BOOM!!! Phoenix was barely able to get out of range as the explosion went off. Despite that, the force still sent her spinning, knocking down several trees in the process.

"Gargh!!" Phoenix pulled herself up, clutching her side in pain.

The dragon who had been hovering in the sky above slowly descended. However, it wasn't the familiar dark blue coloring she'd excepted, but instead a red scaled dragon.

It was none other than Neo Bahamut.

"Hmmm...should've expected to find you in this world." Neo Bahamut muttered. "Seems you've undergone some changes too."

"Grrr...you!!" Phoenix reached down and drew her sword.

"I have no time for you. You're simply not worthy enough to be my opponent." Neo Bahamut turned his back and started walking away.

In rage, Phoenix attacked, swinging her sword at his exposed back. She was startled when it met with resistance in the form of a metallic clang. Neo had a sword of his own, which he was holding across his back.

The weapon had a shinning silver blade, along with a red colored handle and a green jewel at its core.

"Well, since you insist." Neo shoved Phoenix off and spun round to face her. "You will taste defeat at the fury of the Ragnarok!"

<The Ragnarok?> Ashley wondered.

"That...that's another of the famous enchanted swords." Phoenix realized. "Where did you get that?!"

"It was something the Empire, or your Dark forces were holding onto. Too bad they couldn't keep me away from it." Neo held the weapon up. "I have already surpassed my original, and all those who stood before me. Now, I seek to challenge the greatest force of all. The Legendary Beings!"

"Damn, you are insane!" Phoenix swung her weapon, which Neo parried.

"It's all that I live for! All that I was created for! To seek and destroy!" Neo lashed forward, forcing Phoenix to back away and guard.

The strokes were swift and Phoenix was falling behind. Finally, Neo hit the bottom of her chin with the weapon, dropping Phoenix to the ground. The red dragon raised a foot to stomp her, but Phoenix rolled away and leapt up into the air.

Neo bounced off the ground and followed, driving an uppercut into the stunned Phoenix's face. Phoenix spun towards the ground and hit it hard, sending her sword flying to the side.

Her opponent was suddenly standing over her and grabbed the firebird around the neck, lifting her up.

"You can be the first sacrifice to the powers of the Ragnarok!" Neo sneered, tossing Phoenix roughly against a tree. "Behold! Metamorph!"

"Gargh!!! AArrrgghhh!!!!!"

Phoenix tried to run, but she found herself already caught up in the sword's spell. The green crystal at the Ragnarok's hilt was glowing brightly as Phoenix slowly lost control.

Beginning at her legs, a metallic coloring slowly came over her body. Phoenix tried to scream, but found she had no voice as she was engulfed. Seconds later, a sword clattered to the ground in place of Phoenix.

<What the?!> Phoenix was horrified to find she'd been transformed into a sword. <Let me out of here you freak!! Garghhh!!!>

All her struggling was in vain, for she couldn't do anything more than wiggle her sword form slightly. Neo Bahamut calmly walked over and picked her up.

"Do you realize now? What true power is?" He laughed.

"Care to rephrase that? Mega Flare!"

Even from her point of view, Phoenix saw for the first time an actual, startled reaction on Neo's face. The red dragon was thrown down by the blast and turned around to see the real Bahamut standing behind him.

"No....you're..."

"Dead? Maybe, but like you, no one gets rid of me that easily!" Bahamut growled.

<Ashley, we picked up some strange readings out here and came to check it out.> Glenn called. <Are you OK?>

<Glenn? It that really you?!> Ashley gasped.

<Of course, in the flesh. Well, of Bahamut that is.> Glenn replied. <I'll tell you more once we're done with the impostor over there!>

"Release her, now!" Bahamut demanded.

"You're going to have to take her back, my old rival!" Neo Bahamut brought up his Ragnarok on one claw, along with the 'Phoenix' sword in the other.

"Then you won't be getting any mercy from me!" Bahamut held out the Ultima weapon, and snatched up the dropped Caladbolg in the other.

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In the midst of her fall, Aldrea managed to grab onto a ledge. Struggling, Aldrea dug her fingers into a small crack in order to keep herself from dropping down into the darkness below.

<Don't give up!> Unicorn urged.

"Urghh...trying..." Aldrea's arms were getting tired, and as much as she tried, she just couldn't find the strength to pull herself up.

There were sounds of fighting from above, accompanied by fierce shouts and growls. Aldrea closed her eyes and suddenly remembered Salamander's helmet. The 'horns' on its surface were pretty sharp.

"That's it!" Releasing one hand, Aldrea down and pulled the purple Dragoon helmet off her belt.

Aldrea slammed it into the wall, the sharp horns making it stick there. She then twisted her body and swung herself so both feet were on the helmet. Using it as a support, Aldrea pushed her feet off the impaled helmet and managed to pull her body up onto the ledge.

<Aldrea!> Unicorn called.

The helmet was beginning to slip down and Aldrea leaned over the edge and grabbed it just in time. She then dropped back against the safety of the ledge, panting.

"Thanks to you." Aldrea breathed, patting the helmet on her lap. "And a little help from him too."

<Yeah....>

"How about Leviathan?"

Unicorn agreed.

"Huh? What's this?" Aldrea held up the helmet, which had begun crackling with electrical energy. Yet, the energy wasn't hurting her hands at all.

<There must be some strange source of magic here.> Unicorn gasped. <The crystal we're looking for perhaps. I feel like it's calling out to me.>

"Think you could utilize its powers?"

Aldrea held up the magically charged helmet and let Unicorn take over. However, instead of the normal change, Aldrea felt the crackling of thunder around her body.

Unicorn changed, but turned a black color instead of her normal white. She had a purple mane and tail instead, along with golden pieces of armor and a curved, sickle-like horn.

<Whoa...Unicorn...>

"I'm Ixion now!" The new GF reared back, letting off a screech as thunder flashed around her body. "But it's still me Aldrea."

<Hey I know, I can feel that.> Aldrea laughed. <Well, Ixion, let's go up and help Leviathan!>

Re-energized by her transformation, Ixion bounded up the walls and back onto the surface level.

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"Ugh...meet him outside?" Cecil groaned.

A security guard had brought out a megaphone and was shouting instructions through it. However, there was still a lot of talking, of course in Japanese, which Cecil couldn't understand a word of. She just went along with the general direction of the crowd.

"This makes me wonder, just how much of our language do you understand Valefor?" Cecil whispered. "I'm at a total loss here. Is this how you feel when, you know, everyone else is talking?"

"Huh?! Valefor, did you just..."

The voice was heavily accented and seemed very 'forced', but it was certainly Valefor's.

"And you're only telling me this now?"

<Oui'ja hajan ycgat.> (You've never asked.)

"Well, I've been a little afraid that you'd feel insulted." Cecil admitted. "You're not really the talkative type."

<Haedran yna oui vun dryd syddan.> (Neither are you for that matter.)

"Yeah, I guess so. But you know, I've had a lot more confidence knowing you're in there with me."

<Fa'na ymega eh dryd ycbald.> Valefor laughed. <Pid E ahzuo paehk ouin kiynteyh yhkam.> (We're alike in that aspect. But I enjoy being your guardian angel.)

That was probably the longest actual conversation Cecil had actually had with her partner.

Following the flow of the crowd, Cecil entered what seemed to be an emergency exit. It was a short flight of steps leading to a door, which many people were exiting through. Cecil was following when Valefor called out to her.

<Tufh pamuf. E cahca cusadrehk cdnyhka drana.> (Down below. I sense something strange there.)

There was another flight of stairs leading to a closed door below, and Cecil broke off from the crowd to find that it was locked.

Not only that, the door seemed to shimmer when she touched it, indicating some sort of magic was at work.

"You think you could help me out here Valefor?"

<Mad sa lryhham y ped uv so bufanc drnuikr ouin puto. Rumt uh du dra tuunghup dekrdmo.> (Let me channel a bit of my powers through your body. Hold on to the doorknob tightly.)

Cecil saw a brief flash of light in her hands and the door swung open. She barely caught onto the railings in time, preventing herself from suffering a nasty fall down another long staircase. An odd bluish glow came from the darkness below.

Quietly, she crept down the stairs and peered into the large room. A cloaked figure was standing over a cauldron and chanting in a strange language. Above, a chandelier hung from the ceiling and beyond the figure stood a large blue crystal.

"That's the one, isn't it?" Cecil whispered.

<Kiyntat po Hades. Oui nasaspan res, tuh'd oui?> (Guarded by Hades. You remember him, don't you?)

"Yeah, that evil sorcerer back at the gate between the worlds."

<Ra femm cahca ic uhla E dnyhcvuns, cu fa'mm uhmo ryja uh crud yd drec.> (He will sense us once I transform, so we'll only have on shot at this.)

"Let's go then!"

Hades whirled around as Valefor leapt down into the large room. Spreading her wings, she executed a sharp turn as Hades threw off a fiery spell, leaving a charred mark on the wall.

"Grrr...you again!" Hades muttered. "Lich hasn't done his job well. Nevertheless, you won't get to the crystal while I stand!"

Valefor let off a screech of pain as one of Hades' fireballs hit her wings. Ignoring the pain, she moved into a spinning dive down towards her target.

"Energy Ray!"

"Hargh!" Hades waved an arm, causing an invisible barrier to deflect Valefor's attack away from the crystal and back into the flyer. "Witness my dark magic! Black Cauldron!"

Valefor hit the floor hard and was immediately caught up in the coils of black energy from Hades' cauldron. The flyer still managed to roll over and fire off an Energy Ray.

"Hah, your aim is off." Hades taunted as the shot went clearly off target.

<Really?> Cecil called back. <Valefor wasn't aiming for you.>

"What?!" Hades looked up as a cracking sound came from the ceiling.

The grand chandelier fell from the ceiling....and right onto the glowing blue crystal, smashing it to pieces.

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"RRaarrgghhhh!!!" Leviathan was being shoved back against the wall, having the life strangled out of him.

Cyclops seemed to have the upper hand, with his opponent firmly pinned down. Leviathan however had one last trick up his sleeve and blasted Cyclops with a strong jet of water from his jaws. Cyclops was thrown back against the wall in surprise.

"Urrghh...Frozen Blades!" Cyclops raised his arms and brought them together.

The ability froze Leviathan's stream of water and went back of the sea serpent himself, partially trapping him in the ice. Temporarily immobilized, Leviathan could do nothing to defend against Cyclops' charging attack, which shattered his icy prison.

As Leviathan hit the wall, he felt himself bleeding from all the points where the sharp pieces of ice had cut through his scales. However, Cyclops spun around to find himself faced with a new foe.

"Aerospark!" Ixion fired off a pair of spinning energy discs, which Cyclops blocked with his arms.

Howling angrily, Cyclops charged forward, just as Ixion leapt over his head and kicked him from behind.

"Ugh...Unicorn?" Leviathan gasped, pulling himself up.

<She's Ixion now.> Aldrea said excitedly.

"Let's finish this first, shall we?" Ixion declared. "Just get a little water on the floor."

"Hell yeah! Tsunami!" Leviathan sent water flooding into the area.

That made the icy floor much more slippery, causing Cyclops to go skidding across. Being off balance, Cyclops couldn't properly defend himself from Ixion's horn attacks, which forced him to back towards the hole Ixion had jumped out of earlier.

"Now!" Ixion jumped to the side.

Leviathan executed his rolling maneuver, curling into a ball and throwing his body at Cyclops. The one-eyed beast let off one final howl as he plunged into the darkness below.

<Nice one guys!> Brad cheered.

"It's not over yet though." Leviathan gestured towards the wall Cyclops had originally broken through to attack.

Beyond that was a large room with a glowing blue crystal, which appeared very similarly to the one they'd seen in the other world.

"Let's smash it!" Ixion growled. "Aerospark!"

"Tsunami!"

The two elemental attacks converged and easily blew the shimmering crystal to pieces. As they did so, a swirling vortex materialized at the back of the room.

"We should go back and see how the others are doing." Leviathan suggested.

<Yeah, even we don't want to stay around these parts.> Brad agreed.

The two GFs were walking to the vortex when the pieces of the crystal suddenly begun glowing.

<What's...going on?!> Aldrea stared.

From the glowing pieces, the outline of a humanoid shape formed. Slowly, it took on a solid form, becoming clad in a set of golden armor. It had a red cape, with a helmet completely covering its face and a gigantic sword almost as big as itself.

"It must be....Crusader..." Leviathan muttered. "It's one of the Legendary Beings!"

"But we destroyed the crystal right?" Ixion glanced towards him.

"Yeah, but perhaps the magical energies lingering around here still allowed the spirit dwelling within to arise. It should be much weaker than before though."

"Well, it's in our way, so we'll have to take it down."