Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Bahamut & the Guardian Forces ❯ When in Doubt.... ( Chapter 9 )

[ 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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When in Doubt...

By nightdragon0 (nightdragon0@hotmail.com)

In the early hours of a Saturday morning, two security guards were busy patrolling a fenced compound at the outskirts of town. Within this compound stood a large building. While it seemed like just another office block, there were an unusually large number of security cameras mounted to the walls.

However, the guards were rather ignorant to this fact, being more concerned about when their shift was going to be over.

"Damn, I hate doing late night shift." One groaned.

"You think I do?! It's the third time this week!"

"We always seem to get stuck with this time slot."

The pair shone their flashlights, carefully checking the darker corners of the compound. Several rats scurried away with loud screeches.

"Damned rodents." The first one huffed.

"Oh, they're not that bad, compared to the ghosts around here." His companion replied.

"G...ghosts?" The guard staggered. "Come on, get real buddy! I don't believe in ghosts."

"Really? How bout telling that to the one standing behind you?"

A loud crash from behind caused the first guard to scream and jump into his colleague. He spun around only to find a larger rat had knocked a trash can over.

"So, you don't believe in ghosts, huh?" The second guard burst out laughing.

"Humph, very funny." The first one growled, folding his arms and turning away.

It was because both were slightly distracted that they failed to notice an odd shape flying above them.

"Hey, did you feel that?" The second suddenly asked.

"That gust of wind? Don't tell me it's going to rain again!"

"No, it's not that. Just that I..."

The guard's sentence was promptly cut off when part of the building simply exploded.

"What the hell?!" He shouted, shielding his eyes.

"Watch out!"

The pair found themselves running for their lives as concrete fragments flew everywhere, followed by fires that engulfed the building. Whilst the night shift staff fled, the automated security system still managed to capture one important shot of the assailant before it went offline.

It was a Dragoniod shape....of a rather familiar dragon.

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"Hey, I don't know anything about it, so stop asking all right?!" Glenn muttered, tossing the newspaper aside.

"I know you're mad Glenn, but keep your voice down." Brad hissed. "We're in a public area."

It was the day after the mysterious attack (or more specifically later on the same day) and the group of 5 had met in a shopping mall to discuss the matter over lunch.

"Mad?! I'm furious!!"

<For once, I second what he's saying.> Bahamut growled, directing his telepathic voice specifically towards the 5 members of their group. <What reason do you think I'd have for blasting apart a bunch of office blocks?! Or risk exposing us for that matter?!>

"Will you boys relax?" Aldrea cut in. "We're not saying that it WAS the two of you, just that the photo slightly reassembles Bahamut."

"Yeah, it could've been the smoke, some camera error or maybe a new fighter plane for all we know." Ashley nodded. "This photo is far too blurred to tell."

"Whatever is was, I had a test earlier today and I was at home studying last night." Glenn said angrily. "Do I look like the sort of person who would skip tests?!"

Everyone stared at him.

"YES!!"

"Erm...yeah, well maybe one or two. But the point I'm trying to make is that it wasn't Bahamut!"

"Enough please." Cecil waved her arms. "Let's just drop this and shake hands, all right?"

Slowly, each of the group nodded and sat down to continue their lunch....in silence.

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"Leviathan, what do you think?" Brad asked as they walked.

Aldrea and him had left to do what they'd come to town for: pick up some equipment for Aldrea's father.

<Bahamut is the same way.> Unicorn added in.

"Yeah, I agree." Aldrea nodded. "But you know, that was just a small computer company. The report said that there was arson involved, but who'd want to blown up that office?"

<How about we check it out?> Unicorn suggested. <Not that I don't trust Glenn and Bahamut, but there's always a possibility that 'magic' could've been involved in it.>

"Any idea how? They're not just going to let us walk in you know."

<Hey, I am the mistress of invisibility.> Unicorn smirked. <Just leave it to me.>

"It could be a good idea." Brad commented. "I can pick up your dad's stuff and meet you there later."

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Yeah, I sort of overreacted. Glenn thought, slipping his hands into his pockets. The setting sun cast an orange glow across the streets, which were empty considering he'd chosen an isolated path to walk along. I'd better apologize to the others later on. As for my partner through...

"Hey Bahamut, what's wrong?"

<Nothing's wrong.>

"Buddy, I know when something's wrong. And something's wrong, so tell me what's wrong."

<NOTHING'S WRONG!!>

"Be that way then." Glenn huffed. "I was only trying to....yargh!!"

Glenn was suddenly grabbed and dragged to the side by a tall, cloaked figure. He was thrown roughly and rolled over onto his stomach.

"Hey! What the?!" He stared.

A pair of large shurikens were had embedded themselves into the spot he'd been standing on only a moment ago.

The tall man reached beneath his brown cloak and unsheathed a shiny, samurai sword. Silently, he pointed it at Glenn.

<Move!!> Bahamut screamed.

Glenn didn't need to be told that, jumping aside as the figure moved in to attack.

However, he hadn't been aiming at Glenn, instead slashing away another shuriken that was spinning towards them.

Then, Gilgamesh leapt down onto the road, staring the cloaked figure in the eye.

"As I expected from you." Gilgamesh muttered. "However, you won't get in the way of my kill!"

<Glenn, now!>

"Summon unleashed!"

In a flash of light, an armored dragon took Glenn's place. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh had taken to engaging the cloaked figure in a fierce swordfight. The 'unknown' was matching up to him rather well through.

<Erm...which one should we be attacking?> Glenn asked.

"I don't really know." Bahamut scowled.

The unknown figure backed away a little, dodged an attack from Gilgamesh and then drove an elbow into his opponent's face, causing Gilgamesh to hit the ground. In the blink on an eye, he was suddenly next to Bahamut.

"Beware, for when you ride the train of doom, the holy castle you will arrive at. And thus alone seek a key to the door of light." The unknown whispered hastily.

"Huh?! What's that supposed to....?"

Bahamut didn't have time to complete his sentence as the unknown knocked him down, saving them both from being hit by another of Gilgamesh's shurikens. Bahamut blinked, and found the unknown had vanished, leaving him to face off against Gilgamesh.

"You seem to have a lot of good friends." Gilgamesh commented, raising all four of his hands. "But that won't save you from my blades!"

"Come and get me!!" Bahamut roared, charging into the red ninja.

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"This is definitely it." Aldrea pointed.

The road ahead had been blocked off by multiple police barricades, beyond that being the smoldering remains of the building.

Aldrea shifted into Unicorn's form, who proceeded to cast a Vanish spell on herself, rendering her invisible to the humans present. The white horse back off a little, then broke into a quick sprint towards the compound. She effortlessly cleared the barricade with one leapt, and the remains of the fence with a second one.

<Nicely done!> Aldrea whistled.

Their search however, proved to be far less successful. Eavesdropping on several police inspectors got them much of the same information the papers had reported. It was indeed a small computer company, with no ties whatsoever to the 'X Electronics' group who'd been their enemies.

It was believed that a bomb had been planted on one of the higher floors. However, the police could find no trace of it. Another investigator suggested it may have been a missile launcher used from outside, but it still didn't make much sense.

They eventually decided to leave when Unicorn happened to walk past an unoccupied van on her way out.

"Hmm?" She wondered, sniffing.

"Hold on, I'm trying to....ah, got it."

Still shrouded in their invisibility cloak, Unicorn moved over to the side and shifted several pieces of rubble, revealing a small, bluish object.

"I think it's a scale, reptilian, saurian or dragon possibly."

"I won't know for sure until I examine it, but I can't do it here."

"Got it." Unicorn nodded, initiating the change. "The invisibility spell will remain on you."

Back in her own body, Aldrea dug through her pockets and came up with a small glass bottle. After making sure no one was nearby, she carefully scooped up the scale and screwed the lid on tightly.

"Got it...whoah!"

Aldrea stumbled, accidentally kicking a rock into the side of the van. That alerted a couple of officers who'd been patrolling nearby.

<They'll still be able to hear you!> Unicorn warned. <Move quickly!>

Scrambling, Aldrea managed to pull herself beneath the van.

<That's the best you can do?!>

Aldrea didn't answer, more afraid of alerting the guards. Instead, she held her breath, pressing herself low to the ground.

The two officers made a quick search of the area, with Aldrea watching from her position beneath the van. What she could see was rather limited but eventually, the officers were out of sight. Thinking it was safe, she risked a peek out.

Suddenly, one of them bent and glanced beneath the vehicle, straight at Aldrea. She would've screamed if Unicorn didn't force her own hand over her mouth.

<We're invisible, remember? Just be quiet.>

"Nah, nothing here." The officer remarked, turning to his companion. "Must've been the wind."

Even after their footsteps died away, Aldrea waited another 5 minutes before speaking.

"Thanks Unicorn." She panted.

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"RRRAARGGGHHH!!!" Bahamut met Gilgamesh's sword strokes, warding them off with his sharp claws. The dragon managed to catch one of the swords, twisting it and sending Gilgamesh flying, losing three of his four weapons in the process.

"Had enough?!" Bahamut taunted.

Gilgamesh sprang up and attacked, forcing Bahamut to summersault backwards. The dragon counterattacked, clashing with Gilgamesh's sword twice before the ninja leapt over him. Even with his back turned, Bahamut managed to block the rear thrust with his tail.

"Heh." The dragon chuckled.

However, as he spun round, Gilgamesh hurled some brown powder in his face. Then, as abruptly as he'd appeared, Gilgamesh turned and fled.

"Hey! Get back here you coward!!" Bahamut yelled, wiping his eyes.

<Ow...damn...that really stings.....> Glenn moaned.

"Just about everything does." The dragon panted. "But then, it wouldn't be any fun!"

Bahamut followed as Gilgamesh bounded up onto a rooftop, giving chase from the air. The ninja continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Unfortunately, he was also heading in the direction of the setting sun, forcing Bahamut to squint.

The dragon blinked once and suddenly realized he'd lost track of his adversary.

"Strange..." He muttered, landing on one of the rooftops. "I swore I saw him here..."

Bahamut stopped short, catching sight of the bright flash of an energy beam. His reflexes saved him from taking a direct him, but the force of the blast still sent him crashing through a glass section of the roof and down through 3 or 4 floors.

"Guargh!!" He moaned, wiping his bleeding forehead. He found himself lying in a storage room packed with crates, which was fortunately deserted as well.

Looking up, Bahamut saw the same flash of light through the hole in the ceiling.

"Dammit! This is not my day!!"

Forcing his wounded body up, he ran for the nearest window and smashed through it with his shoulder. Spreading his wings, he barely managed to make it to the adjacent rooftop as the building behind him burst into flames.

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"What was that?!" Brad gasped, looking up.

"Look! Over there!" Aldrea pointed, winding down the car's window.

Brad pulled his vehicle over to the side of the road and joined the many onlookers in viewing the spectacle of the burning building.

A couple of the adjacent buildings had caught fire as well, together with the large amount of black smoke that was pouring out.

Amongst the anxious murmurs and whispers of the crowd, Brad and Aldrea spotted something the other civilians did not. Perhaps it was because the pair had grown accustomed to looking out for strange occurrences, or perhaps it was because the shadowy figure seemed almost familiar to them.

<Bahamut?> Leviathan staggered.

The figure quickly faded into the cloud of smoke, disappearing from their sight.

<No way....> Unicorn muttered. <That couldn't be...>

<Brad, Aldrea, we have to get over there!> Leviathan decided.

Nodding to each other, the two humans dashed off the scene, looking for a less conspicuous spot at which they could assume their partner's forms.

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"Bahamut!" A voice called.

"Phoenix? Valefor?"

The pair of fliers landed on the rooftop beside Bahamut, who was clutching his bleeding chest in pain. He'd managed to drag himself several blocks away, where he'd met up with his friends.

"Jeez, you're a mess." Phoenix sighed, wiping some blood away with her wing. "What happened?"

"Ugh...whatever got that building almost got me too."

"What was it?"

"Don't know. I didn't manage to get a look. I got into a fight with Gilgamesh and he led me there." Bahamut groaned. "By the way, how'd you know I was here?"

"We saw you flying over the Western District and followed. We lost sight of you, but then the building blew up and we headed over here instead."

"That couldn't have been me because I went through the Eastern District. We were facing the setting sun in the west, remember Glenn?"

There was no reply.

"Glenn? Hey Glenn?!"

<Ugh...huh....what's going on?> Glenn's voice sounded extremely weary. <Hey, when did you take charge? What are we doing up here?>

"What has your consciousness been doing?! Sleeping?! I don't understand how you could doze through the fight with Gilgamesh."

<Gilgamesh....? When did he show up?>

"Glenn, tell me you're joking."

<Hey, last thing I remember is walking along the road...then...I dunno....I'm suddenly in your body and up here.>

"WHAT?!"

"Calm down you two." Phoenix cut in.

<You've both obviously had a rough time.> Ashley added.

<Phoenix, it's me Aldrea!> A voice shot into her mind. <Shhh...this is a private message. Leviathan and Unicorn and hidden on the level below you. Listen, they want you to come down, but without letting Bahamut know.>

<It's really important that he doesn't find out.> Brad's voice emphasized.

"Hey, I think we should get off the scene before they start searching." Phoenix suggested. "Valefor, think you can help dragon boy home?"

"I can take care of my...ugh..." Bahamut moaned, clutching his side.

Valefor chuckled and nodded.

<How about you?> Cecil asked.

"We're going to check around this area once more, although I doubt we'll find anything."

<Yeah, good idea.> Cecil nodded. <We'll see you later then!>

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A little while later, Phoenix, Brad and Aldrea had gathered on the same rooftop after Phoenix had flown a couple of rounds. Leviathan had been particularly insistent on making sure Bahamut was nowhere nearby before engaging their discussion.

"You two heard everything he said?" Phoenix was asking.

<Indeed.> Leviathan replied. <Doesn't Bahamut's story seem somewhat odd?>

"Now that I think about it, sort of."

<Hey, hold on.> Ashley protested. <You guys can't be saying that it was him, right?>

"Well, Bahamut's Mega Flare has a rather distinctive feel in the magical currents." Phoenix replied. "I did feel those earlier on, just before the explosion."

"Phoenix, you hurt?" Brad queried, pointing to the blood-stained patch of her wing.

"That, oh it's Bahamut's. I was wiping his face just now."

Brad and Aldrea stared at each other.

"Can we have that feather?" Aldrea asked. "I think we have a way to resolve this whole issue."

"What?! With my feather?"

"No, we just need the feather for Bahamut's blood. I picked up this scale at the site that was attacked earlier." Aldrea replied, lifting up the bottle. "So happens that there's a little dried blood on it too."

"And I should be able to get access to the lab on campus and conduct a DNA test." Brad continued. "By the time I get back, there'll hardly been anyone there. I'll just go there and say it's reptile blood or something."

<We need to be sure.> Leviathan spoke. <We can't leave this hanging for too long.>

<But, what if....> Unicorn started. <I shudder at the thought, what if our dragon friend's really gone hostile on us?>

"I've got something in mind." Phoenix said softly. "Let's just wait for your results and hope I don't have to use it...."

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The next day, Ashley was at home working on her computer when the fax machine beeped. It was the message she'd been anticipating all day.

Immediately, she sprang up and snatched the paper out of the machine. It was a letter from Brad.

'Hey Ashley, I got a friend of mine to do the analysis of our 'mystery lizard DNA'. Don't worry, we cleaned out all the equipment, so nothing's left.

Here are the results...'

Another printout emerged and Ashley found herself staring at a complicated set of numbers, figures and sentences.

<Huh? How exactly do we read this thing?!> Phoenix muttered.

As if on cue, another message came through.

'In case you can't understand it, just look at the part I've circled.'

Ashley ran her finger down the printout until she came to the aforementioned section.

'Sample 1 and Sample 2. Probability of the two samples being identical....'

<No way....> Phoenix gasped.

'....89.9%'

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<Seriously, you don't remember a thing?>

"Bahamut, I told you, I don't." Glenn growled, hurling the basketball into the net hanging above his driveway. "What did you do, knock my head on something?"

<WHAT?! Now you're on their side?!>

"I never said that. But, well it's kinda hard to believe...."

"Hey Glenn!"

He whirled around to find Ashley coming up along the path.

"Hi Ashley, what's up?"

"We just need to talk about what happened yesterday. Actually, the two of them do." She gestured towards a puddle of water, in which Phoenix's and Bahamut's reflections appeared.

Nodding, Glenn brought Ashley into the garage, which was currently empty since his parents were out.

<Bahamut, you there?> Phoenix asked.

<Yeah.> The dragon replied grumpily.

<I'm really sorry about yesterday. I think you know, right?>

<Phoenix, I'll be all right. But I don't think that's the only thing you made Ashley come down here for.>

<Yes, I....I don't know how I can ask you to forgive me...for this!>

Ashley suddenly whipped a small bottle out of her pocket and tossed its liquid contents onto Glenn.

"Whoa! What the?!" Glenn yelled, covering his eyes.

"Glenn, sorry about that. It wasn't meant for you, but...."

<Phoenix?! Phoenix what did you do to me?!> Bahamut roared.

<It was a power sealing potion.> She replied softly. <It'll prevent you from transforming and remove any influence you have over Glenn.>

"Meaning he won't be able to take control of you even if he tried." Ashley added in.

<YOU....you.....>

Glenn turned to look at Bahamut's image in a mirror. The dragon was utterly flushed and shocked, which then turned to a face of betrayal and anger. Glenn expected multiple swear words to start pouring out any second.

However, his partner remained silent, staring with looks that could practically kill.

"You two care to explain?" Glenn finally asked.

"Everything, although I don't think either of you will like it." Ashley sighed.