Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Bahamut & the Guardian Forces ❯ Crisis of the Bond ( Chapter 6 )

[ 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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Crisis of the Bond

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

"Rrragghh! Get away!" A miniaturized Bahamut fired his Mega Flare at the bunch of crows, causing them to scatter. Finally alone, he slipped in through a small opening and into the warehouse. "Glenn, this is all your fault!"

<Mine?! > Glenn protested. <What idiot casts 'Mini' on himself when he doesn't know Esuna?! >

"You influenced me and I forgot that Unicorn's nowhere near!"

"I don't remember. I specialized in Black magic. And if I wind up making myself even smaller, I'll never hear the end of it from you."

The dragon flew over to a nearby table and leaned against a small box with a lid. Well, it would've been small by normal standards, but for now it was more like an entire room to him.

<Well, if anyone sees you, you can just stand still and pretend you're an action figure. >

"I'm looking forward to that." Bahamut growled sarcastically, scanning the area. Satisfied, he flew up and landed inside the box. "Here at least I'll be out of sight."

<But do you think the others will know what's going on? Or what to do for that matter? > Glenn queried. <I mean, I'm OK with being in your body, but being stuck in it is a whole other thing. >

"Actually, I think I may know why, but you're not going to like it." Bahamut said, lying down.

"Perhaps we should wait for the others ..."

<Bahamut, just spill it. I can handle whatever it is. >

"All right. You understand how we share the same physical body, but on the spiritual level are two separate beings?"

<Yeah, sort of. >

"In short, because my brethren and I are spiritually more powerful, we're unintentionally taking over. This is certainly unforeseen, but I believe it's due to the lack of magical energy in this world."

<Wait, what do you mean by 'taking over'? >

"I mean that I'll, well, take over the body and you'll be absorbed into me ..."

<WHAT?! > Glenn's voice screamed so loud that Bahamut cringed.

"Calm down, it's happening slowly and I know Unicorn will think of something."

<That's easy for you to say! You're not the one disappearing into thin air! >

"You think I want you to be assimilated into me?! Dammit, can't bear to even think of what it'll do to my persona."

"We'll take a half hour break. Then I'll go look for Phoenix, if she doesn't come looking for us first, all right?"

<Sure. > Glenn said flatly.

"Don't sound so glum Glenn. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

<Hey, you actually do care! >

"About you?! That's preposterous!" The dragon roared. "I ... I just ... feel it's dishonorable to lose a comrade, that's all!"

Glenn decided not to argue and let Bahamut get some rest. They had a long day ahead of them.

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"I can sense some magical energy in this direction." Leviathan said. "Hopefully, it'll be one of the others."

<Yeah. > Brad sighed. <After you told me about what's going on, I feel it's important we get our group together ASAP. >

Leviathan pushed the metal drainage system cover with his head and carefully peeked out. He found himself inside a large warehouse, lined from wall to wall with wooden crates and boxes, all neatly arranged in rows.

"Looks clear." He noted, pulling himself up into the warehouse.

<I'm sure you're glad to be out of that sewer. > Brad commented.

"You have no idea ... wait!" Leviathan's head jerked towards a 'clang' from the second level catwalk.

However, he was promptly attacked form the opposite side, sending him flying into a stack of crates.

"RRAAGGHH!" The sea serpent cried out in pain. "What the?!"

There was a soft giggling and the attacker disappeared before Leviathan could see where he'd come from. Even as Leviathan managed to pull himself up, he was again smacked from behind, sending him to the floor.

<Someone's playing games with us. > Brad warned.

"Yeah, I know." Leviathan scanned the area more carefully now and fired a blast of water the moment he heard the noise. However, his opponent was swift and all Leviathan managed to see was that there were not one, but three of them.

"Over here!" A female voice taunted from behind.

Not wanting to get caught by the same trick, Leviathan flew upwards instead, only to be jumped on by a large, bulky figure. He was immediately assaulted by a fray of punches and kicks that send him sprawling over in pain.

"Ooh, we like, totally got him good girls." Another female voice laughed.

"Yeah, he was, like, totally pathetic." A third one said.

Leviathan looked up and found himself staring up at three relatively humanoid figures. There were three females, each one clearly designed after a certain insect. One large and bulky one: a ladybug. The second tall and slim: a dragonfly. And the third short and smaller: a bee.

"Ugh ... GFs?!" He gasped.

"Bingo!" Al l three winked together. "We're better than GFs! We're Aeons! We are like, the totally awesome Magus Sisters!"

"Cindy," Introduced the ladybug.

"Sandy," Said the dragonfly.

"And Mindy!" The bee finished.

All three struck various stances, like they were posing for a photo shoot.

<Jeez, they're show offs. > Brad whispered.

"And we guess you're, like, that water snake, Leviathan?" Cindy asked.

"I'm a sea serpent if you mind." Leviathan growled.

"Looks like we were so totally right." Sandy nodded. "The boss only sent us to collect his stuff, but he did say if we ran into any of your group ..."

"We could do, like, any mean and nasty things to you we wanted!" Mindy finished.

Leviathan immediately fired off a jet of water at the group. The sisters instantaneously scattered and leapt up to the second level. Leviathan curled up his long body and rolled back, evading the series of stingers that Mindy fired off. He cringed at seeing the holes they made in the concrete flooring.

"Isn't my Passado like, so totally powerful or what?!" The youngest sister laughed.

Leviathan cast a Reflect, just in time to send Cindy's Firaga spell bouncing back to its caster.

"Yikes!" She exclaimed, jumping away as a stack of crates went up in flames.

Sandy jumped down, delivering a roundhouse kick to the back to Leviathan's head.

"RRRaagghh!" He moaned in pain. "Hey, three against one isn't a fair fight!!"

"Ooh, you know," Cindy laughed. "It's like they say: it doesn't matter how you play the game ..."

" ... It's whether you win or lose!" Her sisters exclaimed together, giving each other sneaky winks.

Leviathan found himself surrounded and backed into a corner.

"Erm ... don't I get a last request?" He said meekly. "Like, telling me who's your boss for instance?"

"You can, like, dream on pal!" Cindy grinned evilly. "Get him girls!"

"AARRGGGHHH!" Leviathan screamed in pain as the Magus Sisters did a 'Powerpuff Girls' impersonation of punching, kicking and throwing him around in every way possible.

Finally, they shoved the unfortunate serpent against a series of pipes and pulled the steel cables off a nearby pulley to tie him up, which was basically wrap the cables around his entire body and his jaws, leaving him hung upside down and completely immobilized.

"Looks like the Girl Guides stuff was useful after all." Mindy commented.

"Diced snake anybody?" A pair of blades appeared at each of Sandy's forearms.

<Do something! > Brad yelled in desperation.

Grunting, Leviathan struggled in vain as the sisters approached him. He closed his eyes and dreadfully awaited his demise. However, the ringing of a cell phone made him open his eyes again.

"Hello?" Sandy answered. "Yes boss, we were, like, just getting to that! But you see..." She pulled the phone away from her ear and made a face towards her sisters. Someone was yelling on the other side.

"OK, OK, like, just chill out boss. We'll drop anything else and get it done, right now." She looked up at Leviathan. "Well, now it's like, you're lucky day. Girls, we have to get the stuff and go before the old fool, like, totally gets into a rage again."

"Which one was it again?" Cindy asked, looking around.

"That, like, small wooden box on the table there." Her sister pointed.

"Oh yeah! Got it!" Cindy slammed the box's lid shut, locked it and held it under her arm.

"Let's go!" Mindy suggested.

"Yeah." Sandy stroked the top of Leviathan's head. "Like, until next time, pretty boy!"

The Magus Sisters flew up and chanted together.

"Another mission proudly accomplished by ... THE MAGUS SISTERS!" They struck their poses before smashing a hole in the ceiling and disappearing.

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Bahamut had thought he'd heard some smashing noises. But he'd passed them off as background noises until his box's lid was abruptly slammed shut, plunging him into darkness.

"What the ... urk!" The box was suddenly flipped on its side, sending him flying into the wall. That was immediately followed by a piece of cloth getting caught over his face and something heavy landing on top of that.

Then, the box was flipped around again, this time the force of the motion getting him wedged into some enclosed space, with the cloth and heavy object on top of him.

<Now, this is ironic. > Glenn commented as Bahamut struggled in vain to free himself.

"Shut the f*** up!" The cloth caught around his head muffled Bahamut's roar.

Now he'd have to find a way to not only get out of the box, but find the others as well. Although for now, he could only wait until whoever was carrying the box had reached his destination.

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<Phoenix, what's that? > Ashley asked.

"I don't know."

All they'd seen was the hole being smashed in the ceiling of the warehouse and the three beams of light zooming off into the distance.

"No point. I think they're long gone." Phoenix replied as she circled around the warehouse. "But let's go down and take a quick look."

Folding her wings, she descended and entered through the hole. All around crates and boxes had been smashed, charred and tossed around. Clearly signs of a battle.

However, what caught her attention was the comical sight of Leviathan curled into a ball, tied up and huge upside down.

"Grrrrmmmpppphhhh!"

"Leviathan!? Hang on!"

Phoenix leapt forward and tugged at the cables with her beak, succeeding only in slightly scratching them. She then charged up her flames and fired off a thin beam from her mouth. Carefully, she used the superheated flame to cut the wires. Leviathan hit the ground with a thud, moaning.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Phoenix asked, flying over to his side.

"I just got my tail whipped by a bunch of Powerpuff Girls impersonators." He muttered glumly.

"Excuse me?!"

"Never mind. But we got some new enemies that ..."

"Hey, up there!" Phoenix cried, looking up.

Staring down at them through the hole in the roof was that unknown GF she'd seen before. It quickly spread its wings and flew off.

"Wait!" Phoenix yelled, flying after it.

"Phoenix?! Hey don't leave me behind!" Leviathan yelled, chasing after his comrade. While he wasn't really very adept at flying, he managed to keep up with the two bird-like GFs.

However, all of the mystic beasts failed to notice the young girl standing around the corner, glancing up towards them. She then clutched a pendant around her neck and turned towards the sky again.

"Have you been the one calling me in my dreams?" She asked no one in particular.

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Their quarry led them on a merry chase, but eventually, it begun descending towards a subway construction site. Fortunately, it was nearing evening and the workers had already left.

Being larger than the other GF, Phoenix had to fold her wings and use her momentum to propel herself between the narrow bars and into the tunnel.

<Yikes, close call! > Ashley gasped.

"Hey hold on!" Phoenix called after the GF. "I just want to talk!"

Suddenly, the GF made a circle and came right back towards her.

"Muug uid!"

Phoenix didn't have time to react as she was slammed to the ground just moments before a laser blast zipped past their heads. The other GF had saved her, the laser missing them by millimeters. It did, however, blow a wall out, sending multiple pieces of bricks and rocks onto the pair. One of them slammed into the GF's head, knocking it unconscious.

"Grrrr ... You're lucky Phoenix." A voice growled.

"Yes, Valefor does have quick reflexes." A similar one added in.

"But this time, she won't get away." A third voice finished.

"Cerberus!" Phoenix yelled, pulling herself up. "Show yourself you three-headed devil!"

"Haha, same as always girl." The first of Cerberus' heads spoke.

The demon dog stepped into view, snarling menacingly. True to his name, Cerberus appeared just as the one in Greek mythology did.

"That should be said of you too." Leviathan growled as he approached, seeing Phoenix running her wings over the unconscious Valefor. "Why have you hurt the girl?"

"Oh, she belongs to the Liberation Front." Cerberus 2 explained. "And they're the enemies of us, the Revolutionist Front."

"So, those are the sides of the war then?" Phoenix queried.

"As of now." Cerberus 3 replied. "I suppose they just needed something to call themselves."

"Guess it's obvious which side we're supposed to be on." Leviathan whispered.

"Ah yes, we had orders to terminate her before she got any information through to her comrades in the other world." Cerberus 1 said. "But she got away and gave us a whole lot of problems. However, she's also found you. How convenient that we can destroy all of you together now!"

"Dream on! Phoenix Flame!" Phoenix spread her wings and sent off a series of fireballs.

"Tsunami!" Leviathan summoned a flood of water.

"Counter Rockets!" Each of Cerberus' heads lowered and fired a laser blast.

The attacks canceled out each other, creating a huge explosion.

"Looks like you're having trouble."

"Need some backup?"

"Shoat, Kjata! It's about time you tow showed up." Cerberus 1 growled as two GFs resembling a boar and a bull approached him from behind.

<Ugh oh! > Brad muttered. <Looks like we're outnumbered! >

<Can you guys handle it? > Ashley asked.

"Damn, with our shifting abilities all screwed up, we don't have time for this." Leviathan agreed.

"Too late! Here they come!" Phoenix yelled, flying away as Shoat came charging at her.

"Feel the Tri-Disaster!" Kjata growled, sending an underground wave towards Leviathan that threw large chunks of earth at him.

Leviathan did his best to block them and was immediately rammed by the bull demon. Phoenix launched a series of fireballs at Shoat and then came to Leviathan's aid, raking Kjata in the face with her talons. Leviathan smacked the bull away with his tail.

"Come on, let's take them!" Shoat growled, approaching from the other side.

"Yeah!" Kjata roared, pulling himself to his feet.

Phoenix, Leviathan and Valefor were caught in the middle.

"Damn!" Phoenix cursed. "We're in trouble!"

<Not unless you go up. > Ashley suggested, making sure Leviathan heard her telepathic message as well.

The water elemental nodded, wrapping his tail around Valefor.

"Tri-Disaster!"

"Demon Edge!"

<Now! > Ashley yelled.

Phoenix and Leviathan flew up, firing off their attacks to create an escape hole on the roof of the tunnel.

"NO!" Kjata screamed as Shoat's petrifaction attack hit him instead, turning his body to stone. He was immediately shattered by the falling rocks.

"GGuuaaggrrhh!" Shoat was sent crashing into the wall. He looked up in time to see the whole thing crashing down upon him. In particular a sharp, metal beam that skewered him like a kebab.

"Dammit! You idiots!" Cerberus roared angrily, even through they couldn't hear him. The three-headed dog fled further down the tunnel, hoping to escape being buried alive.

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<So, that's what's happening then? > Aldrea confirmed.

"Yes. So basically we have to find a way to separate us, or we're going to lose you forever." Unicorn finished. She had now broken into a run down the forested dirt path. The sun had already set, but time was now of the essence. They had to meet up with the others as soon as possible.

"That's the thing. I don't, but everyone's going to be expecting me to. Anything I could do requires ingredients from my world. But ..."

She suddenly felt a cold chill pass her. Unicorn let out a cry of surprise and skidded to a halt, nearly losing her balance.

"Someone's here." Unicorn muttered.

Aldrea saw nothing as she glanced around, but the Unicorn suddenly spun round and cast her Holy spell. Both were startled to see the flash of a Reflect spell. The explosion caused by her own spell threw unicorn back.

Laughing, a ghostly figure materialized in front of her. He was relatively humanoid, but had no legs and hovered in mind air. A cloak covered his entire body, which was partially translucent.

This was another GF, Phantom.

"Pity, I was expecting you Liberationists to put on more of a fight." He laughed.

Unicorn didn't know exactly what he was talking about, but she guessed that they weren't on the same side of the civil war and threw herself at him.

Phantom teleported behind her and gave her a psychic shove, causing her to stumble and hit a tree.

"But I don't have much time to play now. Sleep, I say!"

Unicorn tried to run, but suddenly felt her legs getting weaker. Her field of vision begun spinning.

<Sleep ... spell ... > Aldrea realized.

"C ... can't ... fight ... it." Unicorn moaned, before toppling over. She could make out Phantom's laughing even as darkness stole her thoughts away.

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"Is she all right?" Leviathan asked.

The pair had managed to drag the wounded GF to another construction site several blocks off from the area of their previous battle.

"I don't know ... she doesn't look too good." Phoenix muttered.

Valefor's breathing was heavy and she was moaning in pain.

Phoenix and Leviathan turned towards the sound of footsteps and found a blond haired girl walking towards them.

"You're the girl from before." Phoenix realized.

"Yes. I'm Cecil. And ... oh!" She ran over to the fallen Valefor's side. "What happened?"

"Valefor was attacked. And unfortunately, we didn't do a very good job of protecting her." Leviathan sighed.

"She's the one. The one who's been calling out to me." Cecil said softly. "From that other world."

<You know about the GF World? > Ashley asked.

Cecil looked up in surprise, only hearing the voice in her mind.

<Relax. We're bonded to the GFs, so we're sort of two minds in the same body. > Brad explained. <It gives us the ability to switch between the two personalities within. >

"Junctioning?" Cecil asked.

<Wait, how did you know that? > He gasped.

"I don't really know. I just know that Valefor's the one I've been seeing in my dreams. She speaks sometimes, but I never remember much of it. Whatever it is, I'm ready." Cecil said, reaching out her hand.

<Wait, what if she winds up stuck like us? > Ashley asked.

"I have to do this. Valefor's life is at stake." Cecil insisted. "This is my choice."

"You're a very brave girl." Phoenix whispered. "Brave, but foolish."

As Cecil touched Valefor's head, a bright, white light engulfed both of them, causing the others to squint and turn away. When it cleared, Cecil had vanished and Valefor was on her feet again, glancing around in confusion.

"Fryd ... rybbahat?"

"Don't worry. You're safe now." Leviathan said. "You had a close call there."

Valefor nodded. She seemed to understand at least a bit of what he'd said.

"Bahamut?" She asked.

"He's not here now." Phoenix replied. "But you should worry about Cecil. She's ..."

<I'm in here ... I think. > Cecil's voice spoke.

Valefor clearly jumped and took a while to comprehend the situation.

"Junction?"

<Yes, like us. > Ashley said.

<But can you switch forms? > Brad asked.

Valefor closed her eyes and stood still for a while, then shook her head.

"Cunno, lyh'd."

<She just said that she's sorry and can't. > Cecil translated.

"You understand her?" Phoenix asked. "Because we don't."

<It's weird. I get her general feeling somehow, but it's like she's got some slight telepathic powers or something. >

"OK, but that still doesn't solve our general predicament." Leviathan growled. "We ..."

He ducked as a bullet suddenly whizzed past his head.

"There are the monsters!" A group of masked soldiers were running into the construction site.

"Quickly, before they get away!" A second group swept in from the other side.

"Dammit!" Phoenix swore, forming a wall of fire to delay the approaching group. "Who do they think they're calling monsters?!"

"Don't attack! We don't want to hurt the humans." Leviathan warned.

<Yeah, but what's gonna happen to us?! > Ashley yelled.

A huge, metal-wired net was fired over the three GFs, entangling them. Immediately after, several canisters were tossed in their direction.

<It's knock out gas! > Brad realized.

"Ggrrrraarrggh!" The GFs weren't given a chance, being shot full of tranquilizer darts as well. Hesitant to counter attack, they could only give in to the sleeping effects of the soldier's weapons.

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It was a long time before the box finally stopped moving. Bahamut waited until the background noises had completely died down then tried the box's lid.

"Locked." He groaned.

<So what now? Do we risk busting out? > Glenn suggested.

"Hmmm ..."

He was forced to delay his plans as the sound of footsteps approached.

"So, they got three then?" A voice said.

"Yeah, some huge snake and two like some form of birds." A second replied.

"So, that adds on to that white horse that was dumped in our truck's path."

"Uh-huh. But it's strange through. If these creatures are supposedly as dangerous as they say, how come none of them even tried to attack?"

"You think I'd know? Maybe they're scared or something. Besides, we're not getting paid to ask questions. Just get the box, whatever the boss wants it for."

Bahamut barely managed to keep his balance as the box was lifted up again. He pulled himself deeper, beneath some of the metallic contents.

<Did you hear that? > Glenn asked. <Whoever they are, they've got Phoenix and the others. And some unknown GF as well. >

"I know. This doesn't look promising. Let's wait and see where they're taking us."

The shaking soon stopped as the box was placed down. There was a hushed exchange before the footsteps died away.

"Finally, the transistor is here." An elderly voice said excitedly.

There was a creaking sound of a key turning.

Bahamut dropped to the ground and folded his wings, holding his body completely still. Fortunately, the hand went only for the electronic device on the top. However, he did leave the lid unlocked and Bahamut pushed it up slightly to peer through.

"What the hell!?"

They were staring into a huge room with its walls made entirely of metal. It was a mix of a science lab and a communications center, stuffed with all sorts of machinery. Some of the machines had the label 'X Electronics'.

In particular, there was one that looked like the circular gate straight out of the movie 'Stargate'. It was comprised of one piece shaped like a circle with many strange markings on it.

<Hey, 'X Electronics' is the name of that computer company that set up here recently. > Glenn muttered. <Wonder what they have to do with this? >

"Glenn, see there?" Bahamut turned his field of vision towards a set of cylindrical glass tanks. 4 of them were filled with some familiar GFs.

<Phoenix? Leviathan? Unicorn? >

"Valefor." Bahamut gasped, noticing the last one. "What's she doing here?"

"Soon, very soon, you monsters!" The old man evilly laughed. "Soon we'll be able to open the gate and destroy the rest of your accursed kind!" He leaned forward and inserted the transistor into the gateway. "Miss Yankuria? Where are you?! Miss Yankuria?!"

Annoyed, the old man exited the room through an electronic door.

<Is it me, or was that guy the owner of X Electronics? > Glenn said softly. <Was what his name? Gerard? Or Gerald Carter? >

"Later, all right?" Bahamut pushed his way out of the box and flew over to the cylinders. "Phoenix! Leviathan!"

However, he halted just in front of it.

"A magic damper." Bahamut growled. "I can feel it. It's what's keeping them in, and preventing their partners from communicating."

Leviathan then opened his eyes and spotted the miniaturized Bahamut. He immediately began yelling out something.

"We can't hear you!" Bahamut replied. "We'll have to shut off the magic damper first. Hold on! Mega ..."

Leviathan shook his head in a voiceless protest, but Bahamut had already initiated his attack.

" ... Fla ... AARRGGGHH!"

A pair of energy beams abruptly fired off from the ceiling and straight into the dragon. Screaming in pain, he fell, out of control and hit the ground ... back in his regular, human-like size.

"What the?! It neutralized the spell! And ... ugh ... I don't feel very good ..."

That was when alarms begin blaring. A trio of armed soldiers barged into the room.

"Look! Another one!" One cried, raising his gun.

"Don't shoot in here! There's too much delicate equipment!"

Bahamut took that opportunity to ram the trio, sending them sprawling out into the corridor. An even larger group then appeared at one end. And this group wasn't hesitant to fire.

"RRRaagghhhhhh!" Bahamut took several bullets in his right arm and shoulder, but they didn't stop him from dashing in the opposite direction down the narrow corridor.

<Bahamut ... > Glenn panted. <Hate to ... bother you ... but I'm ... just ... so tired ... >

"NO!" Bahamut roared, realizing in horror that the use of his magical abilities must've accelerated the assimilation of Glenn's spirit into himself. "Don't fall asleep! Stay awake no matter what! Or You'll disappear forever!"

"Glenn!"

Bahamut charged into a room, only to find it full of soldiers with a large variety of machine guns, rifles and rocket launchers trained on him. Snarling, he paused, holding a guarding stance.

The elderly man from before stepped forward.

"A noble effort indeed, but in vain." He laughed. "I am Gerald Carter, President of X electronics. While we are an electronic company of the outside, our actually duty is to secretly hunt down those of your race who have invaded our world."

<Bahamut ... can't hold ... > Glenn's voice sounded haggard and exhausted. <Save the others ... please ... >

"Glenn, hang on!"

"Glenn? Glenn?! NNOOOO!"