Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Bahamut & the Guardian Forces ❯ Tera Flare ( Chapter 24 )

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"AArrrggghhhhhh!!!"

<Hang on Ixion! We're almost there!> Cecil shouted.

<Hurry guys!> Aldrea urged.

Valefor swooped down, folding her wings to increase the speed of her plunge. The space station's narrow tunnel didn't make things much easier as she had to dodge parts of the structure and machinery.

The 'floor' soon came into view, and it was lined with various colored laser beams that formed a net. With a last burst of strength, Valefor pushed herself forward and latched her talons onto Ixion's back. She turned and swung to the side, causing the two to go flying into a maintenance shaft several feet above the lasers.

Fortunately, there was solid ground to land on and both crouched there, panting.

"Thanks...." Ixion breathed, glancing nervously down at the lasers. "That was close."

Valefor smiled and gave her companion a wink.

<However, I wonder what's the best way to get back to the others.> Cecil muttered.

<Hey, look over there!> Aldrea exclaimed.

Ahead of them was a pair of double doors with a control panel on the wall. Ixion pushed a button with her horn and the doors opened, revealing an elevator.

"Guess that answers our question." Ixion commented as they entered. "Going up!"

Indeed, the elevator doors closed and the lift begun moving upwards.....at the speed of a rollercoaster. The force of the fast-moving elevator pressed the two flat against the ground, screaming all the way.

"Rraaagghhh!!!" Valefor roared.

"Gurgh!! Stop this ride! I wanna get off!!!" Ixion moaned.

WHAM!! The elevator apparently reached its highest point and abruptly halted there, leaving the GFs moaning and groaning there.

<Are you two all right?> Cecil asked with concern.

"We'll live..." Ixion muttered.

<Well, at least it wasn't going down.> Aldrea added in.

Suddenly, the machinery creaked.

"Good lord...." Ixion gasped. "Not again....!!!!!"

And the elevator dropped down at the same speed. This time, the force slammed the pair against the ceiling. After several intense seconds, the elevator slammed down on the bottom level again, dropping both GFs against the floor.

"Ow..." Ixion moaned. "Why did you have to open your big mouth?!"

<Eep....I'm sorry!>

CREAK!!

Ixion and Valefor stared at each other in horror.

Seconds later, the elevator shot upwards again. Even with the pressure pushing against them, the pair struggled to reach the control panel within the lift. That was much easier said than done.

But after several more cycles of going up and down, Valefor finally got her claws into it and tore its wires out. That caused the elevator to halt, sending the two bouncing against the floor and ceiling a couple more times before stopping.

<Hey! You two OK?!> Aldrea called. <Guys!!>

"Ooo...." Ixion and Valefor moaned, leaning against each other with swirly eyes.

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"Gargh! Ooooffff!" Leviathan and Madeen were thrown into a heap.

<Leviathan?> Brad asked.

"Ugh...I'm fine." The sea serpent muttered. "But Ixion..."

"Valefor will take care of her." Madeen growled, standing up. "But we'd better worry about ourselves for that matter."

<Yes, and where is this place?> Cid added in.

The two had been thrown into the corridor of what seemed to be a medieval style castle. As they walked over to the window and peered out, both were surprised to see a dark cloud sky and a large courtyard down below.

"What's all this?" Leviathan stared. "Aren't we still onboard Eden?"

"Perhaps it's some sort of illusion." Madeen rubbed his claws against the wall. "But it all feels so real."

Suddenly, the same melody Bahamut and Phoenix had heard earlier played (the Vegnagun's piano theme from FFX-2).

<That's a strange tune.> Brad remarked. <Sounds like someone playing a pipe organ.>

"It's coming from over there." Madeen pointed to a pair of large wooden doors in the courtyard and Leviathan nodded in approval.

The duo dropped out of the window, dashed past the fountain in the center, and shoved open the unlocked doors. Before them was a grand entrance hall, lavishly decorated with red carpeting, a chandelier on the ceiling, expensive furniture all around.

At the far end of that hallway was the pipe organ, a gigantic instrument on a raised stage. The melody was still playing and the keys all moved by themselves, as if being manipulated by some invisible force.

"Look there!" Madeen ran up to the organ and gestured towards a glimmering object resting in the center.

It was a sword with a shimmering blue blade and a 'gun-like' handle. Or more specifically, a rare weapon known as a Gunblade.

"This is the Lion Heart...." Madeen reached out and grasped his claws around it.

"Hey, are you sure it's all right to do that?" Leviathan asked.

Madeen however, seemed mesmerized by the weapon and continued tugging on its handle.

"Countdown initiated. Begin charging of Eternal Breath...." A computerized voice sounded. "Warning! Intruders detected at power source 1. Activating defenses...."

"What the?! I think this really is onboard Eden." Leviathan growled. "And I think it's gonna fire!"

"This sword...it's one of Eden's power sources!" Madeen gestured. "The weapon sent me some sort of vision just now! We've got to take it out before...."

BOOM!!! Part of the nearby wall collapsed, revealing a humongous creature before them.

It was actually similar to the Ultima Weapon Bahamut and Glenn had fought some time ago, with the lower half, tail and head of a puma and a humanoid upper body, bearing clawed hands and a pair of eagle wings. Dark purple armor covered its entire body.

However, this one was known as the Omega Weapon instead (Final Fantasy 8 style). And its right hand, it wielded a similarly named great sword.

Roaring, it clawed at Madeen and sent the lion crashing through a stained glass window.

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"Charging of Eternal Breath.....Charging of Eternal Breath....." The computer's monotonous voice repeated over and over again.

Bahamut only realized it after several tense moments of clashing swords with Tiamat. She was fueled by the hatred in her heart, which spurred her sword strokes on even more.

Phoenix and himself took turns engaging their foe, and they initially drove her back.

Blocking an attack from Phoenix, Tiamat held her weapon in position and kicked Bahamut away. Phoenix shoved her weight against their foe, casing her to fall and roll over. Bahamut attacked as she rose, with their blades crossed as both struggled.

Tiamat however executed a swift spinning motion that rammed Bahamut aside with her shoulder. She then threw Phoenix off the upper ledge and retreated through a doorway.

Bahamut followed, but by the time Phoenix jumped back up to the higher platform, a laser field had activated and blocked her path.

"Gargh! Damn!!" Phoenix slammed her weapon into the lasers and met with a strong resistance.

<Find another way around, quick!> Ashley urged.

Parrying three frontal attacks, Bahamut knocked the fourth stroke away with the hilt of his sword and flipped over her sister. She quickly whirled around and their blades clashed, the siblings growling at each other.

"Don't you hear it? The countdown has already started." Tiamat snarled. "Time is running out."

"No, I won't let you win!" Bahamut declared.

<Everyone is here with us...> Glenn muttered. <And we'll all fight to stop this madness!>

As the two begun slashing at each other again, Phoenix found another sealed door and started pounding on it.

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The computer's voice booming throughout the station got Valefor and Ixion moving even faster. The pair had pushed their way out of the elevator to find another long corridor before them.

<Look, there's more lights up ahead!> Cecil gasped.

The duo emerged into a huge featureless chamber with silver plating all around. Right in the center was a glowing, blue cylinder.

"Power source 2 breached. Activating defenses...." The computer sounded.

Sections all around opened and revealed hidden laser cannons, which unleashed a wave of projectiles on the pair. That forced them to duck back into the corridor.

"Power source?" Ixion wondered.

<Yeah, you heard about how this thing is gonna fire right?> Aldrea asked. <Maybe we can stop it somehow.>

<That cylinder seemed to be what the guns were trying to defend.> Cecil agreed. <That must be the power source they're talking about!>

Suddenly, more panels opened, revealing additional laser cannons nearby.

"Aerospark!"

"Energy Ray!"

Ixion and Valefor reacted quickly enough to destroy the automated defenses, but it was certain that more were on the way.

"We'll need a plan." Ixion panted.

"5 minutes until charging is completed." The computer sounded.

"No, just go." Valefor looked up, speaking in English. "Straight."

<She means we just go in headfirst.> Cecil explained.

<Yeah, there's no time left.> Aldrea agreed.

"I know. I can feel that everyone's fighting too." Ixion growled. "Valefor, stay behind me and we'll charge in together!"

Lowering her head, Ixion chanted several spells, covering herself with Protect, Shell and Reflect. With a battle cry, they charged in.

Ixion was leading and taking the bulk of the laser shots, with Valefor following in her wake.

"Guurrgghhh...."

"Rrrrrrr....."

Despite the firepower hitting them in waves, they pushed on, approaching within a couple of feet of the glowing power source.

"Thor's Hammer!" Ixion charged up the electrical energy within her horn.

"Energy Blast!" Valefor took to the sky and spread her wings, the glowing orange beam visible in her jaws.

And together, they fired.

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"Tsunami!!" Leviathan summoned forth a huge wave of water, sending it crashing into the Omega Weapon. The creature reared back slightly, but kept coming forward.

"Terra Homing!!" Madeen put his claws together and fired, sending a blinding white beam off from his claws.

Omega blocked the attack with its sword and lashed out with an energy wave from the blade. The glowing energy ray exploded nearby, sending Madeen and Leviathan crashing into the wall.

<How can it take so much damage?!> Cid gasped.

<We've tried practically everything already.> Brad noted.

"I don't care, but I'm not going down easily!" Madeen roared, lunging forward.

Omega shot off a Pillar of Light, a powerful beam from its claws. Madeen barely dodged it and grasped onto its head, slashing at its face. The Weapon howled furiously and snatched up Madeen with its free left hand.

"RRarrrggghhh!!!!"

"No you don't!" Leviathan flew forward and wrapped his snake-like body around Omega. Curling around, the sea serpent sank his fangs into the creature's exposed neck.

Omega twisted its sword arm and smacked Leviathan's body with the bottom of its weapon. Crying out in pain, Leviathan released his grip and was ripped off. He was then thrown roughly to the ground and stomped on, while the creature continued to squeeze Madeen in its claws.

"Rargh...help...." Madeen moaned.

"Chaos Wing!!" Maduin smashed in through a window and launched his special attack. His energy burst blew a hole in the Omega Weapon's claw, causing it to drop Madeen. "Hargh!!"

Maduin continued to slash at the Weapon while circling around its face. During this time, Leviathan managed to slip away as well.

"Dad!" Madeen shouted. "What are you doing here?!"

"Get the sword son!" Maduin grunted. "Take it out! It's the only thing that can defeat this Weapon!"

Madeen wasted no time in jumping for the organ and tugging on the sword again. He was startled when a battered Leviathan wrapped his tail around the hilt in order to help. Slowly, the Lion Heart begun to come loose.

Meanwhile, Maduin was firing his Chaos Wing again, fighting desperately against Omega's Pillar of Light. Unfortunately, the old general lost out and was blown to the ground. Omega then turned its attention to the preoccupied Leviathan and Madeen.

<Watch out guys!> Brad warned as the Omega Weapon thrust its sword towards them.

Suddenly, there was a sickening piercing of flesh sound as the sword stopped. Maduin had leapt in front and taken the sword right through his chest.

"NNOOOOOOO!!!!" Madeen cried in horror.

At that moment, he ripped the Lion Heart out from the 'stone'. With a ferocious roar, Madeen brought up the Gunblade and rushed in.

"Lion Heart!!" He screamed, unleashing a barrage of sword attacks on the Omega Weapon.

Each stroke seemed to hurt the creature more and more, until its armor begun cracking. Finally, Madeen somersaulted backwards and crouched low down. With the gleaming blue blade, Madeen let off with an upwards strike, knocking Omega into the air.

"Tsunami!" Leviathan called forth what strength he had left and focused it into one final blast.

As his water-elemental burst struck, Madeen followed up with one final slash. Time seemed to slow down as he flew up, flipping around Omega's claws, and arriving at its head. And Madeen brought his weapon down with full force.

The result was a brilliant explosion, starting from Omega's head and going all the way down, disintegrating it completely.

"Dad?!" Madeen landed, glancing around. "Dad!"

"Ugh...Madeen..." Maduin was lying in a pool of blood as Leviathan and Madeen gathered around.

"General....hang on please." Leviathan begged.

"No, you need to go..." Maduin managed weakly. "This old warrior's time has finally come..."

"Dad!" Madeen grabbed his father's claw, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry....I've never really been a good father to you." Maduin looked up. "But I am always....proud....to have you....as my son...."

"Thank you...." Madeen sniffed.

Then, the young lion felt his father's last breath.

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"Firing aborted....Error....firing aborted....." The computer fizzled out and finally died.

"What?!" Tiamat growled.

"That's my friends at work." Bahamut snarled.

<Yeah! I knew the others would figure it out.> Glenn cheered.

"You've got that right!!" Phoenix finally burst through another door and entered the battleground. She attacked and turned Tiamat's attention towards herself, forcing the female dragon to block with her sword.

"Mega Flare!" Bahamut fired off his breath weapon after giving Phoenix enough time to leap away.

Tiamat however took the blow and was thrown against the wall.

"Ha...you think...you'd win....this easily...." Tiamat laughed.

"Eden's disabled." Bahamut growled. "You haven't got any more cards left to play in this game!"

"Oh, but I do." She grinned. "You've forgotten one more of the Legendary Temples was unaccounted for."

"Yeah, the one we were told collapsed for unknown reasons." Phoenix muttered.

"And the reason is me. When I was busy manipulating Odin, I had him collect this very special weapon as a backup plan. In fact, this Legendary Being is not just one, but many." Tiamat held up a spherical red crystal. "The summoning Materia, Zodiac!"

"NO!" Bahamut tried to jump forward, but his sister tossed the Excalibur into the ground.

It formed an invisible wall of light that blocked a desperate Bahamut's path. As he watched, Tiamat stepped back and begun chanting. The sphere in her claws glowed brightly and the background changed.

Bahamut and Phoenix suddenly found themselves jerked right out into space. They were floating in a black void of nothingness. Then images started appearing all around. Those images showed various places from both worlds.

"What the hell?!" Phoenix stared.

"We've been thrown into a dimension between the worlds." Bahamut realized. "This is where Tiamat has been, and intends to destroy both worlds from here."

In particular was the view of Glenn and Ashley's hometown. However, the sky was completely dark and a black swirling vortex had appeared above it.

<What's going on back there?!> Ashley gasped.

<It's just as Bahamut said....she wants to destroy both worlds.> Glenn muttered. <Just for the sake of taking out her anger.>

"Mega Flare!"

"Phoenix Flame!"

Bahamut and Phoenix's attacks eventually pierced through Excalibur's shield, sending the sword spinning off to the side. However, any attack directed towards Tiamat simply bounced off. The dark dragon remained motionless, clutching the Materia Crystal tightly.

Tiamat's body was now glowing too, fizzling with raw energy.

"Not good!" Phoenix yelled. "We'll never make it in time."

"Glenn...." Bahamut whispered. "It's time then."

<You really want to use that Forbidden Spell?> Glenn asked. <Even with what Alexander said?>

"There's no other choice now." Bahamut closed his eyes, raising the Ultima weapon. "I'm sorry..."

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Suddenly, Phoenix grabbed his arm, startling Bahamut.

"No, I'm not going to let you go out there and sacrifice yourself!" She said angrily. "I don't want to lose you again!"

"Phoenix, you don't understand." Bahamut shook his head. "I am...."

"Already dead. I know." Phoenix tightened her grip. "Glenn and Ashley had a private conversation on the Ragnarok just as we were blasting our way into Eden. And I found out from her."

<I'm sorry partner, but I really couldn't keep it from them anymore.> Glenn apologized.

"The spell will also completely annihilate the one who casts it...." Bahamut repeated. "Yes, the Ultima weapon is telling me how it works. The spell will ultimately claim the soul of its caster. It'll spare you Glenn, then..."

<No, we are going through this one together!> Glenn yelled. <Don't think you have to do everything! The rest of us are here too.>

"Hey! Bahamut! Phoenix!" Leviathan's voice called.

One of the images showed Leviathan, Madeen, Ixion and Valefor standing together inside the space station.

"I thought you would know better, for one always preaching about his team." The Ragnarok suddenly flew into the area. "Come, I will take the force of the Forbidden Spell."

"How....hey?!" Bahamut gasped as the Ragnarok simply flew right into him.

The draconic airship glowed and began to meld with Bahamut's body. Bahamut was becoming encased in massive red armor, turning him into an almost completely metallic dragon. The Ragnarok's 'dragon head' folded onto Bahamut's chest, the ship's wings joined with Bahamut's own wings, the body armor covering his blue scales.

"You believe that I'm another dragon, just like you." Neo Bahamut's/Ragnarok's voice sounded. "I am one who was never meant to experience life, and yet I have. Let this be my gift to you..."

"Rraarrgghhh!!!" Bahamut felt a tremendous burst of pain going through his body. Somehow, the Forbidden Spell was already in the midst of its casting.

For a brief moment, Bahamut saw Neo Bahamut standing before him. The red dragon nodded and gave him a genuine grin before Bahamut felt his rival's presence fading.

Then, the fully armored Bahamut was back, floating in the void and holding a red summon Materia of his own.

"It's starting!" Phoenix screamed.

"Attack by the master of commandments! Zodiac!" Tiamat's Materia exploded into a huge burst of energy. The lights took the form an odd, pendant-like object with an oval shaped structure and a tapered end.

"Knights of the Round....to eternity! Ultimate End!" Bahamut barely had time to get his own chant off.

From his Materia emerged the humanoid forms of 13 armored knights, all armed with various weapons like shields, swords, starves, clubs and wands. The first 12 encircled 'Zodiac' and formed a diamond-like casing around it. The final Knight brought up its sword and slashed down, shattering the 'diamond' in a blinding shower of sparks.

It also resulted in an equally massive explosion, which Bahamut struggled to contain. What it looked like was a tiny dragon shoving against a massively growing orange energy ball.

And it didn't look like he would make it.

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"What is he doing?" Leviathan stared.

The remaining four members were still onboard Eden and had gathered in the room where Bahamut, Phoenix and Tiamat had been battling earlier. A strange distortion had appeared there, taking the form of a 'viewing screen' to Tiamat's dimension.

"The dimension they're in now exists in the 'central point' of many different worlds." Ixion explained. "With beings as powerful as Zodiac and the Knights of the Round clashing in there, the outburst of energy would be tremendous."

<And all those black holes?> Cecil stared.

"Links to the other worlds and places." Ixion continued.

"And if he doesn't manage to contain it, then...." Madeen trailed off.

Valefor finished by shaking her head sadly.

<That's terrible, isn't there something we can do?> Aldrea cried.

<How? We are so far away from them.> Cid muttered.

<It doesn't matter how far away we are.> Brad declared. <As long as we're there in spirit!>

Madeen's Lion Heart sword seemed to agree, and begun glowing.

"Yeah, let's give them all the support we can." Leviathan nodded.

"Bahamut, if you can hear me! Take this here, from all of us here!" Madeen hurled the Lion Heart through the 'screen'.

Everyone cheered when Bahamut reached out with his free left claw and caught the Lion Heart.

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"Thanks....everyone...." Bahamut grunted.

He now had the Ultima weapon in his right claw and the Lion Heart in his left. Phoenix then came up beside him with the Caladbolg.

"We're all here." She whispered. "Especially me. I love you."

<Great going!> Ashley cried.

<Yeah! I knew you two had it in you!> Glenn added in.

"Heh....I know...." Bahamut smirked, taking hold of the Caladbolg in his tail. "And stand back....this is gonna make your jaws drop."

Bahamut still had the Ragnarok armor on him, and now the energies of the three swords combined.

"Bahamut! Raarrghhh!!!" Phoenix was sent spinning backwards as the orange energy ball suddenly engulfed Bahamut. "NNOOO!!!! Bahamut!!!!"

<Glenn!!!> Ashley shouted.

Suddenly, three lights emerged from the orange ball. Slowly, the deadly orange energy dispersed, revealing a shinning new dragon. Once more, Bahamut had transformed.

His previously red armor now took on a completely silver coloring. His wings spread out, becoming 5 pairs of glowing blue wings for a total of 10 in all. The color of his eyes took on that shinning blue, along with the crystals embedded in his chest and forehead.

<You're in there Glenn?> Ashley stared. <What....what happened?!>

<We've dispelled the explosion.> Glenn's voice came. <And check us out now!>

"Bahamut Zero!" The new armored dragon roared.

"You....whoa!" Phoenix felt herself grabbed and dragged away. Seconds later, she realized she was inside some large cabin, viewing the scene through a blue glass window.

"You're inside the blue crystal on my chest Phoenix." Bahamut Zero's voice sounded. "Hang on tight!"

With a massive burst of speed, Bahamut shot out of the dark dimension. It was barely in time too, because the battleground had become a black hole. And it was sucking everything nearby into its depths.

Bahamut Zero dodged dozens of rock pieces and space debris as he fled.

"Tiamat!!!" He roared. "Tiamat where are you?!"

A howl of agony alerted Bahamut Zero to his sister's presence. Tiamat had been clinging onto a large chunk of rock that was now being dragged towards the black hole.

Unfortunately, her perch shattered, sending her spinning wildly out of control.

"Ugh...huh?!" Tiamat suddenly felt a firm grip on her claw, and opened her eyes to find Bahamut Zero holding on.

"I'm not letting you go!" Bahamut Zero grunted, flapping his wings madly. "Not this time!"

"Brother...." Tiamat managed. "Why...after...all this?"

"You're my sister, that's why!" Bahamut Zero roared. "I don't care what wrong you've done! I'm no angel myself! And I've missed you so much!"

"Bahamut....ugh....I've....been....wrong...." She moaned. "You....you did....care...."

"There'll be time for that later! Come back with us! We can make this right again!"

"Forgive me....brother." Tiamat had tears in her eyes. "I've done....so much....wrong. Perhaps salvation is not meant to be for me...."

"No! Tiamat!"

"Goodbye.....dear brother...." Tiamat whispered. "Forgive me....."

"NNNOOOOOO!!!!" Bahamut stared as his sister released her hold.

However, Tiamat still managed a smile as she disappeared into the dark hole.

<Bahamut! Eden's being drawn here as well!> Glenn warned. <The others are on board!>

"Not for long!" Bahamut Zero spun round and sped towards the space station.

It seemed to be too fast for the eye to see, but the metallic dragon punched a hole in its side and brought the others into his chest compartment.

Leviathan, Madeen, Ixion and Valefor joined an already miniaturized Phoenix in a heap as they landed.

"Kind of a squeeze in here." Leviathan commented.

"Well, better that floating out there in space." Ixion laughed.

"Hey, look at that!" Phoenix pointed. "Eden seems to be partially operational!"

Lights were flashing around Eden even as it was dragged towards the dark hole.

<Hey Bahamut, let's finish this!> Glenn called.

"With that, I agree." Bahamut Zero grinned.

Glowing with energy, Bahamut Zero's size increased in magnitudes until he was as big as Eden itself. Spreading all his 10 wings, he charged up a dazzling blue flare in his jaws.

"TERA FLARE!!!"

The space station Eden was vaporized as it disappeared into the dark hole. And in a final burst of light, the dark hole vanished completely from view.