Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Bahamut & the Guardian Forces ❯ Unforeseen ( Chapter 5 )

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

Final Fantasy and all related trademarks belong to Squaresoft. 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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Unforeseen

By Gregory Stephen/nightdragon0 (nightdragon0@hotmail.com)

"RRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Unicorn barely got out of the way as a huge blast incinerated the spot she'd been standing on.

"That was close!" she gasped.

The Hexadragon she'd been fighting turned around, frustrated to have missed again. This time, Unicorn charged straight at it and leapt over its head, slamming her rear hooves into the creature's six eyes. This caused it to roar and thrash its tail about wildly in pain.

Unicorn was knocked to the floor by the muscular tail.

<Hurry! Move! > She heard Aldrea's voice in her head.

Unicorn rolled away as the Hexadragon's forelegs slammed down. Taking advantage of its distraction, Unicorn quickly repositioned herself and drove her horn straight into the creature's exposed chest.

Blood spurted from the wound as it struggled desperately to free itself. Utilizing all of her strength, Unicorn planted her legs firmly and drove deeper, the sharp horn ripping through the creature's innards.

Finally, the Hexadragon uttered its death howl as it collapsed.

Exhausted, Unicorn stumped back and reverted to back to being Aldrea.

"Ow! Unicorn, of all the spots, you just had to pick the one in the mud." Aldrea groaned, noticing her white clothes had been covered with muck and dirt.

<Sorry about that Aldrea. > Unicorn replied, <Whew, this one wasn't easy at all. >

The surrounding forest clearing didn't look much better either. A number of burnt patches indicated the number of times Unicorn had escaped a fiery death.

"I'll say." Aldrea nodded, "It's also the fifth one this week. A lot of these fiends have been showing up lately."

"Well, what about it?" Aldrea asked, gesturing to the Hexadragon's corpse.

"You're right." Aldrea said, "Well, it's 1am in the morning and I'd like to call it a...huh? What's that?"

The black-haired girl listened more carefully. Yes, as she'd thought, it was the sound of a helicopter. Scanning the skies, Aldrea finally caught sight of its searchlight.

It was rapidly approaching their location.

<You'd better hide. > Unicorn urged.

Aldrea didn't need any more encouragement to dash deeper into the forest and lie low amongst the foliage.

The spotlight moved until it located the Hexadragon's corpse. The helicopter then set down as close to it as possible and half a dozen armed soldiers jumped out.

Soon, two more helicopters with more soldiers joined it.

"Units 1 and 2, secure the area!" The commander ordered. "Units 3 and 4, prepare to transport the creature. 5 and 6, prepare for cleanup operation. Move! Move!"

"Ugh-oh." Aldrea muttered, noticing the soldiers were spreading out to search for any unwanted intruders.

<Aldrea let me control you for a moment. > Unicorn spoke.

Aldrea nodded and watched her hands draw a strange symbol in the air. She gasped as her hands begun to fade out in front of her.

<It's a Vanish spell. > Unicorn told her, <Invisibility, so they won't find us. Just keep lying low and be as silent as possible. >

The soldiers worked swiftly, loading the corpse onto the helicopters and packing up immediately after. Leaves and grass were thrown over the brunt patches, and dirt kicked over them to help cover up the scene of the battle.

In about 15 minutes, everything was done. Satisfied, the soldiers climbed back onto their helicopters and disappeared into the dark sky.

"What was that all about?" Aldrea muttered when she was sure it was safe, "Those guys were sure creepy."

<They knew exactly what they were doing. > Unicorn noted, <And that's what worries me. >

"Maybe some top secret government agency knows about us?" Aldrea suggested, though she cringed at the thought.

<Possible, but it could be something else too. >

Both stood in the darkness, pondering on the night's encounters. Things were getting more and more complicated by the hour.

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"Glenn, answer the question!"

"Huh? What? Sir?" Glenn snapped out of his daydream. He'd been practically asleep and hadn't heard a thing.

<The answer is 52 you fool! > Bahamut's mocking tone rang out in his mind.

"52." Glenn muttered.

The math lecturer frowned, like he hadn't been expecting Glenn to be able to answer that, but nodded and went back to explaining the problem.

<Don't bother thanking me. > Bahamut growled,

Too tired to protest, Glenn yawned as he nodded. He felt he had a good reason for it too.

For someone who'd been out the entire night chasing a gang of spell-casting imps and had jumped into bed five minutes before the alarm clock went off, it was good that he could even keep his head up at all.

Not that I can tell my teacher that anyway.

Glenn looked down at his watch. He still had two more hours to go.

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"Finally, done with the classes." Glenn slammed his locker shut and walked down the hall.

Turning round a corner, he promptly smacked into a girl, causing her to drop the pile of books she'd been carrying.

"Oh, I'm really sorry." He gasped, kneeling down to pick up the books. "Here, let me help you."

"Thank you." the girl replied.

She was a blond haired girl about his age, dressed in a completely white suit, with a shirt and long pants. She was slim built and had her hair tied in a ponytail.

"Haven't seen you around before. You new here?" Glenn asked, attempting to strike up a conversation.

"Erm...yes actually."

"Don't worry. You'll get used to this place after a while. By the way, I'm Glenn. Nice to meet you."

"Cecil. And it's nice to meet you too."

"Hey, that looks pretty nice." Glenn said, noticing a pendant placed on top of the book pile.

"You think so?" Cecil asked, offering it to Glenn. "Take a look. It's a family heirloom."

Glenn held the circular golden pendant up to the light. It was well polished with several glittering gems around its sides and some writings at the center. It was attached to a strong-looking black piece of string.

"Well, I've gotta go. Take care Cecil." Glenn waved, returning the pendant.

"You too Glenn."

<Didn't you see the pendant? > Bahamut suddenly asked.

Glenn stepped off the main corridor, pulled out a cell phone and held it up to his ear to make it look like he was talking to someone.

"Yeah, what about it?" He whispered, still being cautious of anyone overhearing.

Glenn pulled his pendant out from under his shirt and turned it around in his hand. His did look exactly like the one the girl had, except for the gems at the sides and the symbol on the center. But it seemed to be far too coincidental.

"You don't mean...she's one of us?"

Glenn was instantly off running. Bumping into several people along the way, Glenn made it back to the turning Cecil had walked down...and found himself starring down the massively crowded corridor.

Finding a specific person in the mass would be like trying to pick out a needle in a haystack.

"Dammit!" Glenn cursed.

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"See you next week guys!" Brad waved to his friends as he left the group. "Beat em' all again, and clocked a new personal best." He whistled happily, referring to the previous swimming training.

He was casually walking along the beach side road that led back to his house, watching the sun setting in the western sky.

<Don't you have to thank me for my excellent advice and training? > Leviathan's voice asked.

"Yeah, guess I do. But you know Leviathan it's...Hey! What gives?!" Brad felt something strange at his fingers and looked down to find webbed sections forming between them.

His hands were morphing into Leviathan's fins.

<I'm not doing that! > Leviathan yelled. <You're the one who started the change. >

"Hate to tell you this buddy, but it's not me either!" Brad protested as his other hand begun to change as well.

Nodding, Brad took off in a mad dash across the beach. At least he was here instead of in a bus or something.

Morphing into the sea serpent's form was nothing new to Brad, but somehow the uncontrollable change got him really worked out.

He'd almost made it when he abruptly stumbled and fell because his legs had fused together to form the fish-like tail. Crawling the last few steps, Brad threw himself into the sea with a splash.

"OK, that was not fun indeed." Leviathan, now fully transformed, swam out into the deeper water where he could effectively hide.

<Just what the heck was going on? > Brad asked, <Why don't you try reverting? >

"Don't you think I'm doing that?" the blue serpent replied.

As much as he struggled and focused, Leviathan was unable to revert back to Brad's human form.

Leviathan shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what's happening either. I should probably discuss it with Unicorn, but..."

<How do we get there when you're a giant, flying water serpent and want to avoid freaking out everyone within a two-mile radius? > Brad finished.

Frustrated, Leviathan swam round in circles, pondering over what to do next.

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"Finally got this one." Ashley said happily stepping out of the music store with a brand CD in hand.

Almost immediately, she nearly ran into a blond-haired girl with a ponytail dashing across the street.

"Whoa! Watch it there!" She muttered, stepping out of the way.

"Sorry, I'm in a rush!" The girl turned around and waved back before disappearing around the corner.

"Why do I feel there's something odd about this girl?" Ashley said to herself.

Phoenix's words were heard by no one but Ashley. <Is your pendant reacting? >

"It is!" Pulling off from around her neck, Ashley saw an arrow shaped light forming on its surface. It pointed in the direction the girl had run off in.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ashley didn't need any more encouragement to give chase.

The path shown by the glowing arrow led Ashley through a winding maze of back alleys. Ashley knew she was pretty fit, but even she had some trouble keeping pace and jumping the fences. She was wondering how the girl could go so fast when she stepped into a somewhat...foggy basketball court.

"What's going on here?" She said softly, straining her eyes to see through the fog.

A loud scream caused Ashley to jump in shock. Using the sound for guidance, Ashley raced to the other side of the court. She could just make out a human shape backing against a wall and another not so human one advancing towards it.

It seemed like a huge bird at first sight, but looking more closely, Ashley noticed its more reptilian-like head and feet. It had a pair of smaller, inner wings too and a golden chain hung down from its right one. It definitely wasn't something from this world as far as she knew it.

"Phoenix, I think this is your call!"

Flames appeared out of no here and surrounded Ashley's body, completely concealing it in a curtain of fire. With a high-pitched screech, Phoenix burst out from it, her fiery feathers blazing and ready for battle.

"Hey you!"

The reptilian bird snapped up as Phoenix plowed into it, sending it flying several feet and knocking down a wire fence. Out of the corner of her eye, Phoenix saw the girl cower back in fear. It was the same girl that had bumped into Ashley earlier on.

Poor girl, she must be in a complete state of shock.

However, she would have time to comfort the girl later. Right now, she had a monster to defeat.

"Fryd?! Fru yna oui?" It said with a feminine voice.

Phoenix was caught off guard by its strange language. It was something she thought she heard somewhere before and yet couldn't quite figure out where. Nevertheless, she decided a firm show of force was necessary.

"I won't let you harm the girl." She declared in a strong voice.

"Fyed! Oui'ja kud ed ymm fnuhk!" Her opponent seemed panicked or maybe frightened, but it could easily be an act to make her hesitate.

"Prepare to die fiend!" Phoenix launched two fireballs at it.

The reptilian bird dodged both by nimbly jumping to the side, landing perfectly on her feet.

"Oui tuh'd ihtancdyht! E's yh GF mega oui! E haat du veht Bahamut!"

Phoenix blinked at the mention of GF and Bahamut's name, but she was already in the air, preparing for her next attack.

"E teth'd sayh du clyna..."

Unable to stop her attack in time, Phoenix rammed her into the wall again.

"Cunno..." the mysterious creature muttered as she slowly got up. "Sonic Wings!"

The strong blast of wind knocked Phoenix over. She recovered just in time to see the creature disappearing amongst the tall buildings.

<What was that? > Ashley wondered.

"I'm clueless here too." Phoenix replied.

There was a pattering of footsteps and Phoenix realized the human girl was running away.

"Hey, wait!"

Too late, she'd already climbed over a fence and run down a path too narrow for Phoenix to follow.

<Oh great, now we've lost them both. > Ashley cursed.

"Yeah, we seem to have the bad record of letting our suspects get away." Phoenix sighed, "I'll revert and maybe you can catch up with the girl."

<Great, give me the dirty work. >

Phoenix closed her eyes and waited to revert to human form.

<Hey Phoenix, what are you doing? > Ashley asked after a while. <Revert already. >

"Ashley, I'm trying...but it doesn't seem to be working."

<Phoenix, this isn't the time for jokes! >

"I'm serious! I can't revert back to your form for some reason!"

Phoenix tried holding her breath for as long as she could, only to end gasping wildly for air after a while.

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Aldrea tossed the shovel aside, glad to be done with the day's work. She leaned against the stable's wall and took a long sip of water from her canister. Her family's business was in running this horse ranch and Aldrea had to do her part too between her college hours.

"Hey! What the?!" The water bottle slipped out of her hands.

Aldrea noticed she was beginning to morph into Unicorn's form.

"Unicorn..." She began.

Unicorn cut in, <It's just happening by itself. >

Aldrea was struggling to stay upright as the joints in her limbs shifted.

"How?"

<I...I'm not sure! >

"Aldrea, you done in there?!" A man's voice called form outside.

"Oh great! That's my dad!" Aldrea cursed softly, "He's gonna see us if we don't do something!"

<We're not fully changed yet, so I can't cast any spells! >

"Crap!" Thinking quickly, Aldrea vaulted over the nearest bar into an empty stall. She ended up on all fours, no longer being able to stand erect. "Unicorn, face the rear and keep your head down! Maybe he won't notice us."

"Ashley?" Her father called. "Hmmm...I thought I heard her in here."

Unicorn was almost fully transformed now. Just a little more and she'd be able to...

"When did we have this white horse?" Aldrea's father was standing right behind them, although he could only see Unicorn's back for now.

Yes, done!

Quietly, Unicorn shifted her head and muttered an enchantment.

"Huh? Why do I suddenly feel so lightheaded.... ugh..." With a thud, Aldrea's dad collapsed to the ground.

<Unicorn, what did you do to him? > Aldrea asked, panicked.

"Relax, I just cast a Sleep spell on him. He'll just be out for the next couple of hours or so and won't remember a thing."

<That's a relief. But what now Unicorn? Can we revert? >

"Don't you think I'm trying that?" The GF muttered, closing her eyes and concentrating. "No good. Something's wrong. And I think it may be affecting the others as well."

"ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz...." Aldrea's dad began snoring loudly.

"We'll have to somehow meet up with the others." Unicorn decided. "I think I may have some theories, but I'll need to get some confirmation from the others first."

"I'll think of something once we're out of here." Unicorn said, heading for the door. Then added in, "I hope."

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Glenn found himself dashing down the corridor as his hands begun to change into claws. Finally, he reached the guy's washroom and ran into an empty stall, slamming the door shut and locking it.

"Bahamut! What stunt are you trying to pull?!" He whispered angrily.

<I'm not doing anything! You're the one who's shifting! >

"I'm not. And I can't control it either!"

With nothing they could do to stop it, the change completed itself and Bahamut, in control, found himself rather cramped in the suddenly smaller toilet stall.

"Grrr...damn!"

<Hey, we've got to get out of here! > Glenn urged. <But without freaking everybody out! >

"That's easy for you to say."

Just then, he heard a group of boys entering the washroom, talking loudly.

"Great, we're totally screwed." the dragon cursed.

<There's a window at the top of the stall. > Glenn suggested, <But you won't be able to fit through. Unless...hehe... >

"What's so funny?"

<You know a spell called 'Mini' or something, right? You could just cast it on yourself."

It took a lot of self-control for Bahamut to maintain his composure and not scream out.

"Are you crazy?! What idiot casts Yin-Yang spells on himself?!"

"All right. Fine. Doesn't look like I have any other choice." Bahamut cringed. He was glad he didn't have too many peers to laugh at him later.

Reciting the incantation, Bahamut felt the wind rush past him as his body shrunk down to the size of an insect.

"I hate being small." He growled.

<Well, you're about the size of a cockroach now. > Glenn laughed, <Maybe one of them'll show you a path through the sewers instead. >

"I am not dropping to that extent!"

<You've dropped quite a bit anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter. >

"Glenn!" Bahamut roared, "I absolutely want to strangle you right now!"

<But, I know you can't do that without strangling yourself as well. >

"You're really odd sometimes." The dragon muttered, as he begun flying towards the window. "You can make jokes in the middle of a crisis."

<It's called the humor of lightening the mood. > Glenn said, <Something you need to learn, 'O' mighty King of the Dragons. >

The last part was, of course, with a sarcastic tone.

Bahamut could only channel his rage at shoving the window open and slipping out, unnoticed.

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<Unicorn? Aldrea? Anyone? Can you hear us? > Brad called out.

"Not much luck." Leviathan sighed, curling up at the bottom of the river.

As the system worked, only the currently dormant individual of the two was able to utilize the telepathic speaking abilities, or 'though-speak', of the pendants and crests that bound them spiritually.

That was what Brad was doing, calling out to any of his companions, whether they were in human or GF form, and hoping they were in range. Specifically, they were hoping that they'd be able to reach Aldrea/Unicorn, who'd lived around the area.

Brad finally admitted defeat.

"Well, the damned humans put this damned dam up here, so I can't go up river anymore."

"Any more ideas? Cause I'm fresh out."

<How bout the sewage system? You know, that large pipe we passed by a while back? > Brad suggested.

"What?! You're asking me to SWIM through that muck?!" Leviathan practically yelled.

The sea serpent sighed. He'd just realized how much he needed his human partner in this world. Their ability to hide their presence had just been seriously hampered.

"All right. But I'm going to regret this..."

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<This is called a plan?! > Aldrea asked.

"Well, if you can think of anything better, I'd like to hear it." Unicorn muttered. She was hot, tired and trotting along the empty dirt road.

Not many passed by this road, but Unicorn still kept her senses sharp just in case. Fortunately, they had the forested area along the road to hide in if all else failed.

"I'm the one doing the walking, so don't complain." Unicorn moaned. "Of course, I'll most likely be half dead by the end of this."

<Boy, you're certainly the optimist. >

"Tell me about it. I'm just hoping that they'll actually BE there once we get to the city."

<Yeah, we'd be utterly screwed if they left looking for us. But then, we could always hijack a bus and drive there. >

"It actually sounds promising enough to take into consideration."

Aldrea laughed.

"What?" Unicorn asked.

<You've changed. I was expecting you to give off the 'It's morally wrong' line and the other good girl's stuff. >

"Oh my god! Aldrea, you're right! What have you done?! You've turned me evil!"

<Hey, relax. I was just kidding. >

"Oh. I...I knew that all along. Yeah."

<You're really stressed out. >

"Yes...I mean, No, I'm just fine."

<It's something with your theory about what's happening to us, isn't it? >

"No way! Whatever gave you that impression?"

<Unicorn, you're a terrible liar, you know. > Aldrea said, < I've been around you long enough to know that. Just spill it, all right? Can't be so bad that you have to keep it from me, right? >

"Actually, it's mostly 'bad' in your favor."

"You won't like it." Unicorn sighed, "But it's like this..."