Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Bahamut & the Guardian Forces ❯ Legendaries Rise ( Chapter 22 )

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"Ouch....damn." Madeen growled, staggering to his feet. "Ok, smart move, but I won't fall for it twice."

Lich entered the area, hovering slowly above the ground, as if beckoning Madeen to attack. The lion knew better than to rush in recklessly now, but that didn't leave him with many other options.

"If you won't attack, than I will! Death River!!" Lich threw off a series of black balls of energy from his hands, which Madeen dodged by rolling behind a crate.

The crate was blown open, sending various pieces of furniture flying across the room.

"Gargh!" Madeen was hit on the head by a flying chair.

<Wait, look there!> Cid called. <The shinning object...>

"That's..." Madeen grinned. "Hey I'm not going down so easily!"

The lion grabbed a nearby table and hurled it at Lich, who simply blew it apart with a spell. Madeen repeated the act with several more pieces of furniture, each time meeting with the same result.

"Hah! Is that the best you can do?!" Lich taunted, throwing off another dark energy ball.

That was the moment Madeen had been waiting for. He sprang over and snatched up the object Cid had pointed out, which was actually a mirror hidden beneath a pile of cloth.

The dark energy bounced off the mirror and went straight back into Lich's body. While the dark spellcaster was screaming in pain, Madeen jumped up and smashed the mirror on his head.

"That's 7 years of bad luck for you!" Madeen roared. "Terra Homing!!"

Launching his elemental attack at close range, Madeen's blast was easily enough to take out the weakened magician, leaving nothing but ashes in his place.

"Whew, that was probably the oldest trick in the book, and he fell for it." Madeen panted.

<Is the crystal around here?> Cid asked while his partner was catching his breath.

"Doesn't seem like it. Then why did he lead us..." Madeen stopped short.

<To draw us away from our objective.>

"Aw crap!"

Then, a rumbling noise started, followed by a shaking in the ground. Crates were jarred about and knocked open, spilling their contents all over the room.

<Earthquake?> Cid wondered.

"No, it's something else." Madeen growled, gripping onto the doorway for support.

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Ixion and Leviathan launched their attacks at their foe, again and again. However, their foe simply stood there and blocked all the attacks with its sword.

<Is that all it's gonna do?> Brad wondered.

Crusader suddenly slammed its sword into the ground, releasing its Purifier ability in the form of a massive shockwave. Ixion and Leviathan were thrown back against the wall, leaving their impressions in it.

"Big mouth...." Leviathan muttered.

"Angry spirits of the world strike now! Thundaga!" Ixion called forth an elemental spell, which Crusader once again blocked with its sword.

"Cut open the water-filled sky and pour! Waterga!" Leviathan launched a similar attack, only to meet with the same result.

With another swing of its sword, Crusader sent the Water spell into Ixion and the Thunder spell into Leviathan. The Legendary GF then attacked with its Purifier ability, the shocks sending Ixion and Leviathan rolling back again.

"Ow...your Black Magic sure has gotten a lot stronger." Leviathan commented, pulling himself up.

"Yeah, but I don't think it's helping us now." Ixion replied, throwing a Cure spell over the two. With some renewed energy, the pair stood up to face their foe again.

<It's like he's throwing back everything we send against him.> Aldrea observed.

"If that's the case, we'll have to distract him so he doesn't get the chance to keep countering." Leviathan nodded.

"I'll engage him up close." Ixion decided. "You strike while I have him distracted."

"Got it!"

Ixion charged in and slashed Crusader with her sickle-like horn. As expected, Crusader parried with its sword. While the two struggled, Leviathan moved into position and fired a jet of water.

Crusader turned its head towards Leviathan and at that moment, Ixion had readied an electrically charged horn attack. The Legendary GF suddenly moved, causing Leviathan's attack to hit Ixion instead.

However, the electricity in her horn mixed with the water as it splashed, spraying it all over their foe. The creature stumbled back, stunned.

<Hey, that's it!> Brad realized. <He can't seem to counter more than one element at a time.>

"Name a spell." Ixion grinned.

"I'll go with Blizzard." Leviathan growled.

Leviathan's Blizzard and Ixion's Holy spell combined to give off a blinding burst of light, mixed with shards of ice flying everywhere. Crusader was struck by the combined attack, but dropped to one knee and jabbed its sword into the ground. Once again, it released its Purifier attack in the form of a shockwave running throughout the area.

However, there were no screams of pain this time. As Crusader looked up, it saw that all its attack had smashed was a wall of ice.

"Now!" Leviathan dropped down from the top of the cavern. "Tsunami!"

"Thor's Hammer!" Ixion emerged at the opposite wall, where she'd jumped to during the shockwave.

The thunder and water attacks converged on their opponent, the resulting burst crackling with energy. Crusader dropped to the ground and slowly disappeared.

The pair cheered as they landed back on the icy ground.

"Nice double use of the Blizzard spell." Ixion smiled.

"I knew its power would be enhanced in this icy area, that's why I was able to create that whole ice barrier with it." Leviathan nodded. "And breaking that barrier distracted him enough for us to finish the battle."

<I hope the others are doing OK too.> Aldrea added in.

"They'll be fine." Ixion assured, turning her head towards the swirling vortex, the portal that led back to their world. "We'll have to go back for now."

"This is almost over." Leviathan continued. "Brad, we'll get you and all the others back home once we're done."

<Without a doubt partner.> Brad laughed. <Without a doubt.>

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"Grrrr....do you realize what you've done?!" Hades yelled angrily.

<Stopped you, that's what!> Cecil called.

"The energies are out of control you fools!"

The ground had begun shaking and the two struggled to keep their balance. Valefor stared as the pieces of the shattered crystal started glowing. The shape of an airship flashed briefly before the lights around it flew through the ceiling and out of sight.

<Wha...what's going on?!>

"You'll see on the surface." Hades growled. "But you haven't heard the last of me either!"

The sorcerer put his hands together, muttered a soft chant, and warped away in a flash of purple energy.

"Uh dra cinvyla?" Valefor wondered. (On the surface?)

<We'd better go take a look.> Cecil decided.

Valefor reverted back to Cecil's form and the blond haired girl dashed up the stairs. Despite the building's shaking Cecil made it out the door and onto the street.

"Cecil!!" Cid came running over.

"Hey Cid! Whoa!" The ground shook, interrupting Cecil's wave. "Is this an earthquake?"

"It doesn't seem natural." Cid told her. "Where were you two?"

"Just taking care of Hades and breaking that crystal." Cecil replied proudly.

<Nice job.> Madeen acknowledged. <One of his goons had us distracted a few blocks away.>

"But if they took out the crystal, then what's with the shaking?" Cid asked.

"Uh...look over there!" Cecil pointed.

Everyone watched as the lights emerging from the museum basement rose to the sky and begun taking a physical form. It was that of the airship Cecil and Valefor had seen earlier, which was now more clearly visible as being black with golden linings.

The airship was as huge as the building itself and remained hovering in the air for a while. Then, the screeching of metal sounded as its gears started shifting. Before their astonished eyes, the airship transformed into a gigantic humanoid robot which stood as tall as most of the buildings around.

It was another of the Legendary Beings, Ark.

Ark let off a mechanical growl as it stretched its arms. Then, it walked over to the closest building and punched a hole through it with its fists.

Cid and Cecil had to run from the falling debris, dashing behind another building.

"That thing...it's gigantic!" Cecil gasped, peering out from around the corner.

"Do we have to fight that thing?" Cid gestured.

<Unless you want to wait and hope for a bunch of the local superheroes to show up, yeah.> Madeen's image appeared in a nearby shop window.

"Well, I suppose Tokyo has had enough monsters rampaging through its streets." Cid scratched his head. "You know, Godzilla and all."

<I'm surprised you can still make jokes in this situation.> Madeen sighed.

"Actually..." Cecil spoke up. "That gives me an idea..."

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The two sword-wielding dragons encircled each other, staring into their opponent's eyes. Thunder crackled as the sky turned dark. A tropical rainstorm was brewing up, intensifying the already tense atmosphere.

Suddenly, both Bahamut and Neo Bahamut rushed at each other. Their blades clashed in a series of swift strokes before both pulled away from each other.

"Grrr....sorry about that Phoenix." Bahamut called.

<I can't feel a thing while I'm stuck like this!> Phoenix replied. <Just get me out of here!!>

"Humph." Neo raised the 'Phoenix' sword and attacked his rival with it.

Despite Phoenix's pleas, Bahamut was still a little hesitant and took a slash to his right shoulder because of it. However, he managed to counter attack and push Neo back.

The rain was now pouring down, drenching both combatants and soaking the ground.

Both rushed at each other again, engaging in another frenzy of sword attacks. From up, down, left and right, the dragons matched each other head on. Neo then leapt up and Bahamut begun charging a breath weapon.

Neo did the same and their blue beams collided, creating an explosion that sent both flying several feet back. Bahamut slammed into a tree and was stunned when it came down on top of his head.

<Move! Move! He's coming!> Glenn warned.

He managed to avoid being skewered, but Bahamut's injured shoulder took another hit as Neo jumped in. Bahamut rammed his opponent away with his other shoulder and brought up both his weapons.

However, the ache in his shoulder was much worse now. There was blood trickling down and staining the Ultima weapon, which he held in his right claw.

"I'm...not losing to you again!" Bahamut gritted his fangs.

"Then you probably should've stayed dead." Neo gestured with his swords.

<Why didn't you tell us you were alive?> Phoenix shouted.

"Believe me, I wanted to. But it's more complicated than that." Bahamut muttered. "I wouldn't abandon you for anything! You know that!"

<I know...>

Neo attacked him again, and this time, Bahamut lost the sword in his right hand. He took another wound on the affected shoulder, rendering his right arm almost immobile from the pain. That allowed the red dragon to force his opponent against a tree and hold the Phoenix sword up to his neck.

<No!!> Phoenix struggled helplessly.

But as she did, Phoenix realized her magic was still strong. In that instant, she focused and caused her sword form to heat up. Neo dropped her in pain and Bahamut sank his fangs into Neo's claw.

Neo let off a howl of agony and Bahamut kicked him away. The red dragon skidded backwards and landed on the muddy ground.

"Rarrggghhhh....." Neo Bahamut staggered to his feet with a ferocious look on his face. The red dragon dropped all his weapons and roared.

Bahamut back away, ensuring there was sufficient distance between them. It was about to come to another showdown of the flares.

"Mega Flare!" Bahamut dropped to all fours and fired.

"Giga Flare!" Neo Bahamut did the same, bracing himself with his hind legs.

The two energy beams met, pushing against one another. For a while, it looked like Bahamut was on the losing end, being shoved further and further back.

<Bahamut!> Phoenix yelled.

<Come on, there has to be another way!> Glenn urged. <Both of us don't want to get beaten by him again!>

Both of us... Bahamut thought.

Struggling, Bahamut grasped his claw around the Caladbolg that was on the ground nearby. Balancing himself with his trembling right hand, Bahamut lifted the weapon into the energy beams. The sword's blade began to glow with the tremendous blue energy.

In the next motion, Bahamut tossed the charged sword and relaxed the push on his Mega Flare. The result was him taking Neo's attack dead-on, but his sword flying true to its mark.

Both roars of pain were accompanied by more explosions.

<Bahamut!> Phoenix had been dropped somewhere nearby, and was trying desperately to see what was going on. <Bahamut! Where are you?!>

Neo was groaning from nearby. The red dragon was on his knees, struggling to stand.

There seemed to be no sight of Bahamut at first, but then a shuffling of leaves aroused her curiosity. As Phoenix stared, a running figure came into view. But, it wasn't a dragon in any form.

<Glenn!!> Ashley realized.

Letting off a scream of fury, Glenn charged in, holding the Caladbolg. Along the way, he paused only to scoop up the Phoenix sword from the ground.

Neo saw him coming and lashed out with his claws. However, Glenn made a perfect summersault over the fallen dragon and turned in mid-air.

Both his swords glowed with energy as Glenn brought them down on the back of Neo Bahamut's neck. The resulting crack, plus Neo dropping to the ground, told the rest of the story.

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It seemed very much like a movie, with a humongous robot lumbering through the streets. Helicopters were buzzing around it, pelting the giant with various rounds of bullets.

Ark simply lifted one of its arms and swatted the helicopters away. The vehicles exploded and the pilots who were quick enough to eject did so. Their parachutes opened in the wind as they drifted away.

Tanks and other military vehicles below fired on the giant robot, which simply brushed off the attacks and proceeded to stomp on the vehicles. As the soldiers fled for their lives, another huge shadow appeared from behind Ark.

"That worked out all right." Cecil stepped out of a ground floor store and looked up. "Alchemy and magic really go well together."

The abandoned shop had been filled with all sorts of exotic herbs, spices and medicines. Valefor had instructed her partner to brew up a potion to make Madeen grow to the same size as Ark.

<Mad'c caa fryd amca fa lyh tu du ramb.> Valefor suggested. (Let's see what else we can do to help.)

"Hey you!" An enlarged Madeen shoved against the robot with both arms, throwing it to the ground. "Well, that was pretty easy."

With a metallic hum, Ark sprang to its feet and blasted the lion with a laser beam. Screaming, Madeen flew several blocks back and hit the street hard, causing a bunch of cracks to appear in it.

"Ow...gargh!!!" Madeen pulled a lamppost out and swung it at Ark.

His makeshift weapon only bent when it hit Ark's body. The robot kicked Madeen like a soccer ball, sending him rolling further down the street and overturning every car along the way.

<Hey, you're not supposed to be making things worse.> Cid called.

"Ra'c nekrd oui ghuf." Cecil had changed into Valefor, who was circling around Madeen's head. (He's right you know.)

"Ok, ok, I'll take him up so he can't do so much damage here." Madeen struggled to his feet.

Ark fired off its lasers, which Madeen dodged as he dashed towards his opponent. With a roar, Madeen rammed into Ark's chest, grasped his arms around the body and flew upwards, taking Ark with him.

However, Madeen hadn't realized how heavy the robot was. It didn't take much effort for the robot to struggle free and throw Madeen off.

"Terra Homing!" Madeen threw off his attack in mid-spin, grazing Ark's thick armor.

The robot responded by opening up a hidden cannon on its chest and unleashing its Eternal Darkness ability.

"Oh crap!!" Madeen fired his light elemental beam again, but it wasn't powerful enough to compete with Ark's shot.

A loud explosion resulted, which ended up with Madeen plummeting out of the sky. The aerial battle had taken them out of the denser parts of the city. He hit the ground close to a large building and was promptly entangled in a series of thick cables hanging from wooden posts.

<Uh oh, those are power cables!> Cid realized.

"Isn't the power off?" Madeen asked, struggling to free himself.

<Guys!> Cecil called from further away. <We just heard that they're trying to restore power! Plus, Ark's coming for you!!>

"Damn!!" Madeen begun biting furiously at the cables.

By this time, Ark's shadow had appeared above as the robot swooped in to finish its foe. That wasn't his only concern, for the building nearby was a power plant and a mechanical humming could be heard form within.

<Hurry!> Cid urged.

"Gargh!! Damn it!!" Madeen cursed.

At the last moment, Madeen finally bit his way through. Dropping backwards, he shoved one of the ripped, exposed parts of the wires into the approaching Ark's body. Seconds later, the power came back on, electricity once again flowing through the cables.

Being made of metal, the electrical energy flowed right to Ark. Unfortunately, the build up was too much and too fast for even Ark to handle. While the robot went into convulsions, Madeen scrambled away on all fours.

Finally, Ark blew up, scattering its pieces everywhere. However, those pieces quickly changed into streams of blue lights, which soon faded away, leaving no trace of the giant robot.

"Urgh....whew...." Madeen panted. "Crap, that was too close. Ow!"

Valefor had swooped in from above and dropped a glass container on his head. The container shattered, spilling a potion over Madeen that shrunk him back to his regular size.

"I can never get a break, can I?" Madeen growled, rubbing his sore head.

Valefor landed beside him and petted his shoulder consolingly.

<You did a great job partner.> Cid acknowledged. <But I think we need to get out of here quickly. Especially considering all the damage you two caused.>

"Hmm...erm..." Madeen glanced at the damaged power cables, the power plant and the smoke rising from the city. "Oops...."

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"Gugh...ugh..." Glenn dropped back against a tree, panting. "See? I told you that....you could trust me partner."

The rain had slowed to a tickle by this time, but everyone was still soaking wet.

<That was a big risk you took there.> Bahamut growled.

"Hey, after what we've been through....that's just another daily thing." Glenn managed a laugh.

Bahamut took control again and lifted up the Phoenix sword.

<You're a mess.> Phoenix commented.

"You don't look much like yourself either." Bahamut grinned.

<Yeah, how about you let me out of here first?>

"Aw, can't I keep you the way you are?"

<You moron!! Get me out of here now!!!>

"Fine, fine." Bahamut retrieved the Ragnarok from Neo's body and held it close to Phoenix.

In a flash of light, Phoenix back in her own body, landing with a thud on the floor. Immediately, she sprang up and threw her arms around Bahamut's neck.

"I missed you..." She sobbed.

"Yeah, I missed you too." Bahamut wrapped his wings and tail around her.

<I thought I was never going to see you again Glenn.> Ashley called.

<Can't get rid of me that easily, can you?> Glenn replied.

"What happened to you?" Phoenix asked.

"A lot of things." Bahamut growled. "See, I'm not...."

"Grrr...arrghhh...."

That sound had come from Neo Bahamut, who was still alive. However, part of his neck was bent at an odd angle and only his head was moving. Glenn had broken his neck, paralyzing most of their opponent's body.

"Why...? Why did I lose?" Neo mumbled. "Was it because I was a clone? A copy?"

"No, I don't think so." Bahamut released Phoenix and flipped Neo's body over to look into his eyes. "You just couldn't look ahead. You had no reason for fighting and nothing to fight for."

"Ever since I was created, all I was looking at my original's back. And the only thing I could do was fight to get ahead, fight to get further."

"I can't say I understand you." Bahamut closed his eyes. "But I know now that you feel and think. You're as much as another dragon now."

"Is this what I felt then? That emptiness when I fought?" Neo coughed. "The more I fought, the more the void within me grew. But now, I feel as if that emptiness has been filled."

"He doesn't have much time left." Phoenix said softly.

"My sword...." Neo gestured with his eyes. "Let me fight alongside you now, my rival."

As the pair watched, Neo Bahamut's body disintegrated, changing into a swirl of bright lights. Those lights flew into the Ragnarok, causing the sword to glow for a moment before returning to normal.

<Wow, now that was something!> Glenn muttered.

"Hey! You guys!!" Fenrir the wolf came dashing onto the scene. "You all OK? That was an awesome battle! I'm sorry we weren't in time to help."

"We're good, thanks." Bahamut nodded. "But what are you doing out here?"

"Wait a second, how did you see our battle?" Phoenix cut in.

"Oh! I completely forgot to mention. We found this old vessel hidden deep within the temple." Fenrir pointed his nose upwards.

Everyone stared at as a large silver, airplane-like vehicle flew into view. The craft landed shakily in the clearing nearby and Shiva stepped down the ramp.

"That looked pretty rough." Fenrir remarked.

"It was." Shiva sighed. "That storm shook up this old ship pretty badly. I was hoping we could make use of it, but it's gonna need some work."

"Yeah, it does." Bahamut nodded.

<Hmmm....allow me then.> Neo Bahamut's voice sounded.

"You? Wha...?" Bahamut gasped as the Ragnarok sword in his claws started to glow again.

Lights whirled around the airship, causing it to change.

While it retained its airplane-like structure, the head changed to resemble a dragon's head. The front landing gear morphed to become the 'dragon's' front claws, and the wings folded upwards. The two jets at the airship's rear begun to sound as they fired up.

Finally, the coloring changed too, with red on most of its armor plating and silver covering parts of the wings and jets.

"Oh, I get it!" Bahamut dashed up the ramp and made his way to the cockpit.

There, he placed the Ragnarok sword on the controls. The sword 'sank' into the control panel and melded with it, completing the transformation.

Dozens of lights lit up all around and many new instruments came on.

"All systems and ready and waiting." A familiar voice boomed throughout the airship.

"Neo?" Bahamut asked. "That you in there?"

"In a sense. I am now one with both the sword and the airship."

"We should name the ship the Ragnarok then." Phoenix came walking up beside Bahamut. Shiva and Fenrir were close behind.

"Hmmm....I like it." Neo/Ragnarok's voice sounded. "That will be my calling then."

"All right then." Bahamut nodded to his companions and jumped into the pilot's seat. "Ragnarok, take off!"

With a loud roaring of its jets, the newly christened airship Ragnarok (the airship from Final fantasy 8) took to the sky.