Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Birth of the Bahamut ❯ Mystery made more. ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Mystery made more.

Thanu screamed as his mind was assaulted by images of years ago. Long down the ages where people civilization was beginning newly. Images of a youth where pain and evil had sunk their blades into innocent flesh seared into his mind. Flesh that bore only the sin of being born with something more...

Belios ran from his schoolmates as they threw the rocks at him, many of the rocks hitting him with such force that they split his flesh open. He turned a corner and through tear-streaked vision, he saw more children boring down on him, rocks already whipping through the air.

As he turned, he noticed a small niche in the stone wall and he squeezed through just as the other children reached him, their curses and jeers, ringing in his ears. He pressed on, the close stone walls tearing through his clothes and raking the tender skin beneath. But still he fled, blind to the pain, and growing increasingly worried that this crack in the mountains might end and that he would have to turn back.

Just as he slowed down to begin the long walk back, Belios came through the crack and fell to the ground in the midst of a copse of trees. The air was completely quiet and a silent breeze carried whispers of some unseen danger. He wiped his nose and looked around.

The trees surrounded him, extending to the cliff wall. They were withered and gray, appearing to rot before his very eyes. He turned around to go back, a shiver running down his spine, but he could not. Where the hole in the rock was, there was only a tree, great and withered, seeming to mesh directly with the rock wall.

Belios creeped down the path, whipping his head around at every noise. He couldn't help but feel terrified as a shiver of warning rippled through his body. He turned a corner and there was an altar. A black altar, full of unseen sins. But to Belios, he could only see salvation, escape from the jeers and taunts of his classmates who feared this jewel in his chest. Belios did not know why but this altar was seemingly calling out to his lonely side, the side of him that wanted someone he could confide in, a friend. He approached the altar, not noticing the black air that coalesced around his feet as he ascended the ancient black steps. They resounded with the evil that created them. As this young tormented boy reached the top of the altar, the black air suddenly swept into the form of a demon, his tentacles forming from the aura of death around the place. Belios tried to turn and run but slowed as he heard the demon words. "I can give you revenge, the vengeance you deserve."

Suddenly stopping, he turned and looked at the demon with wide staring eyes. An arrangement appearing in his mind even as the demon faded to a black gas and floated toward him. It touched his skin and melted within him as he said yes...

Belios awoke to find himself back in town. But the children were no longer near. He picked himself up and dusted himself as best he could before beginning the long walk home, which was on the other side of town. He kept to the alleys, hiding in brushes and shrubs whenever he heard any other person. Getting scratched from sharp branches numerous times, he ran home fearing, as always, any contact with humans other than his parents.

He finally managed to get up the long treacherous route to his home but as he walked in, he knew that something was wrong. The smell of coppery blood was in the air and his parents were nowhere to be found. As he rounded a corner, Belios screamed and backed away with wide unbelieving eyes as he saw the burned and bloody corpses of his parents. Their mutilated bodies stained his mind forever even as he stumbled over broken chairs and tables, trying to get out. Belios fell down the front stairs of his house just in time to see it ignite as many gallons of gas shed their fiery powers to the wood. He shielded his eyes from the glare thinking to run far away but he was frozen, frozen to watch as the life of a young boy burned to the ground with his parents.

"There he is!! Kill the mutant!!!" The mob screamed as they made eye contact with him. They came around the house, breaking into a sprint as young Belios quickly got up and tore down the escarpment. He ran, hoping that he could get away since he knew the twisting paths better, but he ran faster anyhow, desperation lending speed to his legs. Suddenly a rock came out of nowhere, narrowly missing him. He felt a jab on his arm and looked down to see a stream of blood appearing on his arm as another rock fell to the ground. That glance proved to be his undoing as he tripped headlong over a root and went rolling down the hill, tearing his clothes and limbs until he slid to a painful stop.

He leaped up, breath coming hard from bloody lips as he tried to get moving. Belios managed to get up and was speeding down the hill, again getting away from the mob but the few seconds he had lost in falling and getting up again had given them time to get closer. Thrown rocks littered the path as he dodged as well he could. He screamed aloud when a rock struck his back, drawing blood. But that pain was forgotten as another, larger rock cracked against his head, sending him to the rough ground. As he faded out, Belios felt a spark, a spark of black fire that anchored him to life. Another spirit within his mind was holding him from unconsciousness and death. A wave of fire pulsed over him, creating an agony of burning that he somehow withstood, but barely. He stood up just as the mob came up to him, gasping as wave after wave of pain spread over him. They yelled and charged again, calling him inhuman, evil. Belios roared, not a roar of outrage, nor even of pain, but a roar of power that was beyond human. Power lanced out from his fingers, touching the townspeople and causing them to wither and die in a matter of seconds, their power fueling his own. He laughed evilly as the whole mob fell dead to the ground in a matter of seconds.

That night, a wave of black fire raced through the town, killing the remaining adults and children, leaving only a husk of the a town. The bones of the people lay, broken and shattered on the ground. They were a testament to the rage of Belios....

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Thanu cringed on the ground in front of that withered old form. He knew that he should be able to break free, but could not. He could only lie there as Belios poured out the laments of his horrible choice so many years ago.

Belios laughed in the midnight air of the dead town, walking strongly down the hill. But then he fell silent, feeling the presence of another. "Demon, come out, there is no need to lurk about now, come out, I ask you!" Out of his peripheral vision he noted a shimmering to the right and as he looked, the form of the demon coalesced, a mist shrouded body, glowing blackly.

"You have made good use of your powers child." The demon said.

Belios cringed, the very voice of the demon seeming to suck the life out of anything that heard it's cold tones. "But now, you must come with me, wait in hiding, biding your time until the time is fruitful. Then you will take revenge on the entire planet!"

Finishing his narration, Belios turned back to Thanu. "Beast, the time is now and I shall take revenge. No one shall be spared. Not even you, my tool. But the heroes who killed Sephiroth, they pose a threat to us. You must seek them out and kill them!" Belios stood up, gathering his robes about him as he retreated down the path, a hacking cough erupting out of his clothes. His mind passed through Thanu's, reminding him of his duty. And Thanu got up to do the bidding of this demon, trying as hard as he could to break out of the grasp of the old man's mind.

Thanu reached outwards with his mind, summoning the powerful Bahamut. He spread the wings that came so easily to him, lifting out of the valley in a cloud of pine needles and dirt. The predator was awing.

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As one set of wings rose into the air, another set of wings came out of the air to land upon an unsure footing, rocking with the waves of the ocean. Highwind came in close behind, hovering just above and the view afforded by the wide sloping windows stunned its passengers. "Is that the old submarine, I'm seeing? Cid said, his cigarette falling from his mouth for the second time in as many days.

"I would be inclined to believe so," Vincent said, "But it is not the submarine we should worry about, it's dead but its passengers aren't."

"What?? What are you talking about Vincent......waitaminute, I think I'm seeing something......Son Of A BITCH!! Little Emerald weapons!!!" Cid strode to the front, peering down hard at the derelict ship trying to dissuade himself as to what the small organisms were.

Red XIII looked over at the form of Synnoria which was spearing the little weapons with her beak and he concentrated as she spoke to him, instructing him. "We must go down and fight the weapons, if they get to the sea there will be no way to stop them from producing more weapons." A wry smile flickered across his features, "It looks like Earth had a contingency plan in case we failed."

"All right but this other thing, we must deal with the person who stole our materia." Cloud spoke up, rising to authority as he always did. I suggest that we split up, half of us destroy the weapons. And the other half stay here with Kayin to kill this demon."

"Well Shit, who stays then?" Barret said with his usual eloquence.

"Well, I will go with Red XIII. Yuffie is already scouting out that valley so that puts us up to three. Since that's what we've always fought with, we'll stick with that, leaving the rest of you to exterminate the weapons. As soon as you are finished, take the Highwind and meet up with us if we haven't already taken care of the Demon. And I suspect that we will have not." Turning away, Cloud walked over to Red XIII was conversing with Synnoria and began to talk battle plans and tactics to battle the demon.

"What do ya think man?" Cid asked as he lit up another cigarette to replace the one which he dropped.

"About what?" Barret replied, turning to face him.

"About staying here while Cloud goes off to save the day, I mean, sometimes I wouldn't mind being able to take charge like he does." Cid said as he let out a long drag.

"Peh, you wouldn't be able to lead us like Cloud can and you know it," Barret told him with a slap on Cid's arm, "Cloud has a talent for that sorta thing and besides we're here for the gun blasting, pike-swinging part of it. I'm no good for tactics and plans, those're Red and Cloud's jobs. And you know.." Barret said as an afterthought, "You can be headman over while Cloud's gone saving the day. That oughtta get this leader thing through your system."

Cid laughed as he regarded his close friend, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just admire his ability to do it, and I suppose I want to try my hand at it."

Cloud got up from the deck with Red XIII and motioned for the rest of them to come, "We're going now, Kayin has decided to come so Red XIII and I will leave with Kayin through an apport spell and we'll meet up with Yuffie. She sends her regrets that you can't come for the fight by the way. You hurry up and destroy the weapons and come to the valley. Sound good?"

"Cloud, you know it does, go and take care of yourselves" Cid said as he hit a button on the hatch, opening the door to allow his crew, armed to the teeth, to pour out and begin the decimation. "We've got some weapons to kill." With that, he leapt out, Barret right behind him, guns blazing and pike swinging. Vincent approached the railings of the Highwind and Cloud could hear the crack as his Sniper CR went off, a weapon fell dead an instant later. Tifa was soon out of the hold after giving Cloud and Red XIII a farewell hug.

"Well Red, are you ready?" Cloud said as Synnoria landed atop the sturdy decks of the Highwind. Thankfully, she was just small enough that she did not keel the entire ship but she still had to hold very still. Cloud picked up their choice materia and began to affix it to his gigantic sword and to Red XIII's headdress. He looked at the lithe body of the canine, knowing that the things that had happened to Red XIII and the rest of the party had matured Red beyond his time. He missed the more carefree Red that had raced Yuffie through the thick underbrush of endless forests and staged mock battles with Vincent. Although his advice was always welcomed as it was excellent. But Cloud missed how Red would point out the brighter side of the situation, of any situation. He shook his head, knowing that these wistful thoughts had to be put aside. He finished affixing the materia to Red's headdress.

"I will get Shea" With that, Red XIII got up and mentally signaled to the restless Shea that they were ready to leave. Then turning back to Cloud. "Cloud, you have the extra materia for Yuffie? I have a feeling that we're going to need it."

Cloud was already preparing the teleport materia which he had acquired from Yuffie, he briefly pondered asking her just where she had gotten it but he was thrown off his train of thought as Red XIII signaled that he and Shea were ready. By the look on her face, Red must have had to do some major convincing to get her to agree to this teleportation. He had been talking to Red and he had found that by her feline nature, Shea and all her kind had an intense dislike to magic. Cloud fingered the hilt of his trusty sword and he swore hat he could feel its eagerness to go into battle once more. He then tuned his energies into the Gem and began to concentrate on Yuffie; he expanded his circle of concentration until it included Red, Shea, Kayin as well as the monstrous Synnoria. Then they were gone, vanished in a bright flash of light and a loud pop as air rushed in to fill in the now empty area.

"Well, there they go." Barret said as his Gattling gun tore apart yet another Emerald weapon. He looked over at Cid as he swung his gun around, already taking aim at another weapon. "How goes it?"

"Things are going..." Cid paused long enough to skewer the weapon he was dueling with and continued, ".... Pretty good. We've taken relatively few hits and only two of my crewman are injured, leaving us with twelve." His pike swung in a wide arc, knocking at least a dozen weapons off their feet where Barret riddled them with bullets. "God DAMN!! How many of these little monsters are there?!?!" Suddenly they were gone, leaving only a very surprised Barret and Cid, along with twelve crewmembers. "What the? Where did they go?" Cid exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe, mebbe they got scared...wait..."Barret and Cid looked at each other for a split second and they spoke a single word. "Tifa!!" Barret broke into a run, trying to get to the section she was last at as Cid filled in Vincent who was curious as to whether or not the Emeralds were all gone.

Barret came up to a hole in the hard outer shell of the ship and was rewarded with the sound of skittering as bodies scurried into the darkness. From within, he heard Tifa cry out. Barret leapt into the hole with an inarticulate cry just as Cid came up. "Goddamn it, wait up!" Cid was about to jump in after him, but paused as a thought hit him. "Hey Vincent!! Stay up just in case some little weapons come out! And the rest of you! I want six on this hole, and another six on a perimeter!!" Then he leapt into the dark hole after Barret.