Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Birth of the Bahamut ❯ Awakening of a Legend. ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Awakening of a Legend.

His hind legs working powerfully, Red XIII barreled through the underbrush, Shea close behind. His breath came out in quick gasps as he fought for extra speed. Then his feet landed on air and he was falling. He looked down to see a smooth chasm stretching out below him and he couldn't suppress a mirthless chuckle of disbelief. "After all that I've survived, to be killed by a simple fall into a gorge…" Red XIII began to fall, closing his eyes in a silent apology to Cloud. "I'm sorry, I tried to be careful-!"

He couldn't finish his thought because he felt a sharp stab of pain shoot through his tail as if it would fall off. His eyes wrenched open, knowing he couldn't have hit the bottom yet and his head twisted up to see the form of Shea, her jaws snapped shut on his tail, pulling him up inch by agonizing inch. He pushed his front feet to the cliff side, pushing himself up slowly. He let out a long sigh of relief as he felt his body rest on solid ground. He looked back to see Shea shaking. "I'm all right now, thanks to you." He said.

"I'm...I'm terrified of heights and when I saw the depth of the chasm I thought we were both going to die; I almost let go." Shea said, taking a deep breath.

"Don't worry, we'll steer clear of the chasm until we can find away across." Red XIII said as he got to his feet, springing nimbly down the path, looking back to make sure that Shea was close behind.

Shea ran by him, her composure regained, "Hurry, or we will be too late." She said as she disappeared into the underbrush. Red XIII lengthened his strides, catching up to her and then matching her speed and running in line with her. They sped through the bushes and low branches, unerringly heading towards the battleground that was Fort Condor. Red XIII's ears flicked forwards as her heard the first signs of battle. He tucked his head and with a single word, "Yuffie!" Red put on an extra burst of speed that Shea could not hope to match. She was left behind to catch up as best she could.

Red XIII gained even more speed as the trees began to thin; a sign that he was close to the plains of Fort Condor. He crashed through another barrier of plants only to skid to a halt as he took in the bloodstained walls of Fort Condor, the wails of the brave injured soldiers. Shea however was amazed, "So this is why they named it Fort Condor, I thought the last Condor perished years ago in the Great War!" Red XIII looked on in disbelief as he saw the huge bird battling viciously with the dragon Bahamut. Then Red XIII saw Yuffie, a blue light shimmering over her that he recognized as a healing spell, and a small boy standing over her. As he sprinted across the flat plains, a bright flash of light and a piteous scream grabbed his attention. He looked up and was taken aback at the sight of the Condor, returned to the fort but now falling weakly from the air, blood trailing from a limp wing. He followed the path of the bird's fall and his breath caught as he realized that Yuffie and the boy were right below the Condor!!

Yuffie tilted her head to the side, hearing her name, "Yuffie!! Get out of the way!!" She saw Red XIII sprinted toward her and she looked up in the direction of her warning. She grabbed the boy by the shoulders and picked him up bodily as she made a desperate dive to the side, hoping that it was enough to get out of the path of the badly hurt Condor. Kayin hit the ground hard, feeling a pressing weight atop him as he slid along the smooth grass of the plains. "What the?!" He yelled in smothered tones. Suddenly the ground shook; he got one glimpse of the Condor hitting the ground with a squawk before Yuffie slid over him, blocking his vision. "No!! I must help the Condor!" He got up and ran weakly to the Condor, but he knew that he was too tired from the previous spell to attempt any healing. But he would try anyway.

With a roar, Bahamut tore around the corner of the fort to see his target running towards the Condor. He spread his wings and pumped hard, his claws reaching out to grab his prey. At the same time Red XIII reached Yuffie and saw that she was all right. But then he saw the giant dragon, diving towards the boy and he somehow knew that the boy must be saved at all costs. He took off once again, desperately trying to make the boy hear him but Red XIII knew he could not get to him in time because the claws of the dragon were already reaching out to encircle him.

Kayin looked up from the injured Condor to see the Bahamut bearing down on him. He screamed and began to run, but tripped on an errant stone. Kayin hit the ground hard and started crawling and trying to get away from the terrible beast but, feeling the rush of air upon him, he knew that it was too late.

"ICE 4!!!!"

Bahamut was ripped to the side of the mountain, the freezing cold spreading over his body and sapping his strength. His wings flapped uselessly as he convulsed from side to side, his gigantic body cracking the solid stone walls of the fort. The power of Ice 4, which had not been cast in hundreds of years, wracked the body of Bahamut. He shook the ground with his ladning, falling in a crumpled heap. Blood and ichor oozed out of vicious slices where the spell had impacted upon his scaled body.

Kayin opened his eyes gingerly, looking around, trying to identify what it was that saved him from the claws of the dragon. Movement higher up on the rocks of the mountain caught his attention. Shoji, chief of the Tribe of the Condor, father of the child that was destined to be the rider of the Condor, managed to keep his eyes long enough only to see his son rise up from the ground and look at him. Then the blood that tinged his vision spread and falling to the ground, he saw only darkness. His last thoughts being of the son who had made him so proud, his head fell to the blood-soaked rock, never to rise again.

"Kayin, my son..." Kayin's world fell apart as he saw his father collapse to the rock, and his father's last thoughts were strong in his mind. He felt the pride that his father had held for him all these years but Kayin's pride was dwarfed by the fact that his father was dying and he ran to his father, unheeding of the sharp rocks that pierced his feet. Kayin fell to the ground, tears flowing freely as he clutched his father. Their blood mixed into the rock and that blood that would never be washed out. He stayed there, crying over his father's limp form as the sun began to set. The people of Fort Condor gradually stepped out to retrieve the bodies of the dead, and heal the wounded. Then Yuffie and Red XIII moved beside the young boy while Shea stayed behind to inspect the dead dragon.

"He died to save you, you should remember that and honor that, but … come inside before you freeze to death," Red XIII said gently as he nudged against the boy, trying to shake the boy out of his sorrow. "Your people will give him a proper funeral, but you must let them."

Kayin looked up, his eyes red and puffy and he did see his people clustered around them, looking hesitantly at the lifeless body of the leader and his own slumped form. He got up, wiping tears from his eyes. Looking at the talking beast beside him, he allowed himself to be led inside but intense pain and suffering leapt into his mind, causing him to fall to the ground. The thoughts of another mind erupted into his mind, more clearly than any of the others had ever before. He turned around trying to identify the source of these thoughts and his eyes came to rest upon the Condor, lying on the ground, its blood mixing into its feathers. His eyes widened as he broke into a run, he came to a stop against the head of the majestic creature, and he put his hands on it's forehead, trying to project calming thoughts to the Condor. He felt the Condor express confusion at these communications but soon Kayin felt acceptance and it's muscles relaxed. Kayin looked at the bird, amazement visible on his face as the first words from the mind of the Condor echoed within his own mind. He spoke aloud in a voice filled with awe; "She's all right!" He paused, "Her name is Synnoria," Kayin conversed with the Condor for a long minute as the now leaderless people stood by, staring at him as they wondered what would happen to them. Most of them awestruck that something so strong in their legends was actually in front of them amidst the carnage.

Kayin turned towards his people and standing tall, he addressed the men and women of Fort Condor. "My name is Kayin, I am the son of a great leader, my father Shoji." He paused as the still raw memory of his father's death stung him; "I will be a great leader as well, for my fate has been destined as the rider of the Condor. As the son of your Shoji, as the Windrider of Fort Condor, will you accept me as your new leader?" He was deafened by the roar of his people's approval and even Synnoria, the Condor, was roused enough to let her own majestic voice rise up in approval. Shea, just coming back from the dragon's body, was startled by the sudden clamor and flattened her ears as she darted to Red's side.

"Wow, this is pretty amazing huh Red?" Yuffie said as the people of Fort Condor swarmed to their leader. She couldn't help but feel tiny and insignificant so close to a legend come to life. But even that feeling was tempered by her insatiable curiosity. She looked eagerly at Red XIII and asked him, "Where do you think it came from? And why?"

"We have no ways of knowing the workings of the universe Yuffie," Red XIII said in a voice that seemed not his own, "I fear that this means that something of great evil has come to our planet. And good has come to fight it, in the form of legends." He looked to the celebration encircling the battleground of Fort Condor, and he felt a pang of loss, of which he could not fathom any origin.

"What do you mean?" Shea asked, her words bringing Red back to himself in a rush. She had sensed that his mental identity had changed but it returned to his original state. She looked at him in confusion.

He replied. " I don't know, I just have the feeling that something is going to happen, and that boy is the will play an important role in it." He said, puzzlement in his voice. He then turned his head towards the celebration hearing Kayin's voice raised in questioning. Red looked back at Yuffie and Shea, then loped down to the clearing. "Come on, we've been summoned." He called back as Kayin made his way through the crowd. Yuffie and Shea looked at each other as he ran down the slope, and then they both shrugged and took off after him.

Kayin kneeled down to Red's height. "I don't know how I can thank you enough for saving my life but if you have need for anything, just ask and I shall provide it." Kayin said as he managed to get clear of the crowd. He gave Shea a hug as well and he put his hand out to Yuffie. When she took it, he gave it a kiss and withdrew hurriedly. He looked down shyly and didn't notice Yuffie's sudden blush. "Thank you, for saving my life." He said quietly.

"We could not stand by and let you be killed," Red XIII told him. "However, if it would be possible, we wouldn't mind some lodgings for that night. We'll call our friends but they are still a great distance from here."

"Of course! You shall sleep with us tonight and join us in the feast tomorrow as honored guests." Kayin said as he beckoned for some people to come over, looking at them, he gestured to Red XIII, Yuffie and Shea. "Show these people to the guest rooms and see that they are fed."

The man saluted Kayin and motioned to Red and the others. "Come with me if you please." He then walked away into the night, the group close behind him.

cd

"Cloud here."

"Hi Cloud, this is Yuffie, I'm at Fort Condor right now, what? Oh it's a long story, just get over here tomorrow and I'll fill you... and yeah, he is here, yeah he's all right. Okay? I'll see you later." Yuffie hung the PHS up. "Red? Cloud and the others will be here tomorrow morning."

In the rapidly lessening sunlight, Red XIII looked back to see Kayin assembling the crowd and he heard him cry out. "People! We must prepare for the burial celebration on the `morrow! Let it be a joyous occasion so that we will remember the deaths of our warriors with pride and honor!" He then looked toward the peak of Fort Condor, seeing the majestic form of the Condor, slipping inside the nest. But keyed up as the Fort people were, it was not until well after sunset that the fort was silent. Finally the tribe of Fort Condor had settled inside the fortress and not a thing moved upon its rocky plains.

Except for one man. Walking along the hard rock of the Fort, he came to a stop and fell to his knees. A single tear filled out and slid down his smooth cheek. He uttered a single sentence as the tear dropped to the ground, twinkling in the moonlit night, "Father, I will make you proud. I swear it." The tear hit the bloodstained ground and it seeped into the hard rock. The area was bathed in a soft blue light as the blood shimmered and wavered. A form began to coalesce in front of him, and the pale blue form of his father slowly appeared, features sharpening until they were distinguishable from the pale blue aura surrounding him.

"My son, you have made me proud. Ever since the day you were born." He said, his hands falling to the shoulders of the young man. He smiled with a sense of peace in his features as he continued, "But you must prepare for harder times, a great evil has come to the land and you have been chosen to fight it. Synnoria the Condor is proof enough of that." His voice was almost cheerful as he remarked, "I always knew there was something special about you. But…I cannot tell you any more than this but be ready, and… I love you. Goodbye my son." His voice faded as the blue light began to disperse, his hands stretched out in embrace of his son.

The young man looked around, sad confusion in his eyes. Then he began to walk from the now serene rockwall and his features steeled into an expression of firm resolve. "I will be ready." He walked back into the fortress, so deep in his thoughts that he didn't see the tail of the dragon Bahamut twitching on the ground.