Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy- Final Destination Part 2 ❯ One Cause, A Few Effects ( Chapter 8 )

Quite frankly, no one seemed to notice that Sephiroth was still there. Once Raven and Sethrinn entered the duel, all of the attention went to them, seeming to forget Sephiroth's presence. A well advantage to him this was. As the battle raged, the combatants lost in the heat of the moment, and forgot about Sephiroth. He slowly walked towards a clearly petrified Salira who, could not move under the effects of Stop. Picking up the necklace with his sword he acted as if an animal observing it, smelling it, testing it before, in a violent move, smashing it against the ground. Its presence clearly reminded him of an annoyance long gone. "This is enough! Daughter, dispatch them as quickly as possible. We're leaving!" Picking up Salira and placing her over his shoulder, he waved a hand pointing first at the enemies then at Sethrinn. "Dispel, Wall. Enjoy the moment dear."

Sprouting a wing he began to hover above the ground. Enjoying the moment, he laughed in a deep, menacing tone that seemed to echo everywhere. "If you want her boys, come and get her. But I guarantee she'll be on our side by then. Hehehe." Continuing on, he flew up to an overlooking rooftop and placed Salira down, waiting for his daughter to finish.

In all the chaos since she'd attempted to kill Sephiroth and after she slammed into a wall, Leigh had been skirting around the battlefield, following the silver-haired villain closely. She knew he knew she was there, but obviously felt her not a threat worth paying attention to. Bounding from rafter to rafter above the battlefield, she followed Sephiroth to the opposing rooftop. She pulled her shroud away from her mouth, which caused two bullet-like objects to drop from within its folds. She loaded them into her shotgun and fired straight up; and the bullets exploded in a bright flare.

Now Sephiroth was staring straight at her, standing between Leigh and Salira. While the guys distract that girl, I'll have to keep Sephiroth busy, she thought as she reloaded normal bullets into her weapon. Materia in place, just in case... thank God Cloud chose Father and Lady Kunesagi to fight at his side against Weapon. She had no idea how long it would take her parents, Rude, and Athrin to see the flare. She only had to stall Sephiroth long enough for Shade, Lega, and the others to take out Sethrinn. Leigh didn't want to succumb to the transformations willingly, but she could think of no other way to wipe the grin off Sephiroth's face.

"Quit your smiling, cousin," Leigh shouted, swinging her rifle into attack position. Leigh couldn't tell what the look on Sephiroth's face after she said that meant, but she could feel the shockwave he hit her with, without even moving. She flew backwards and landed upside-down near the edge of the roof. As she righted herself she saw Sephiroth darting toward her at lightning speed; then halted like he'd hit a brick wall as a huge bladed disc darted between him and Leigh and jammed into a wall.

No wait, that's no disc..., Leigh thought as both she and Sephiroth turned toward the origin of the projectile, sure in her mind Sephiroth was thinking exactly what she was. It's a shuriken.... Leigh stared, and heard Sephiroth mutter something that sounded like, "It's that brat...."

A gentle voice, calm yet filled with power, resounded from the opposite end of the roof, originating from a single figure standing behind Salira's frozen form. "Well, now - did I miss all the fun?"

"Well the ninja and the shape-shifter...," Sephiroth said, rubbing his forehead, "What to do…What to do. Wait... You know this may sound a little crazy Yuffie but..." Quickly drawing blade and wing he darted into the sky carrying Salira by the neck, sword ready to slash it. "Flare!" he yelled extending an arm.

Massive pillars of fire burned through the building, snapping the supports. It shook and began to collapse to the ground. "Save her now cousin!" he exclaimed flapping a wing continuing to hover in the sky. Clearly he enjoyed this mayhem.

Raven looked up to see the chaos going on above. Cousin!?! Damn...I'm trying to keep Salira out of Sethrinn's reach for a reason and this is why...I can't reach him he is too high up... He glared at Sethrinn. "Now I will show you the true flames of Hell..." Raven was surrounded by pure darkness. I never wanted to do this and I am not sure if it will work, but it has to it is my last resort for now! Raven began to draw in energy. "I will send your soul straight to Hell...this is a new magic...that I am forced to use. It may kill all of us…it may not. We will find out though!"

As the building collapsed both Leigh and Yuffie leapt to another rooftop, the latter waving her hand toward the shuriken, summoning it back to her. They were now standing side-by-side on a different building, looking up at the flying Sephiroth and his prisoner. "Now what?" Leigh asked. "Anything we do he'll slit her throat." Yuffie nodded as she hooked the shuriken back on her belt. "There is only one thing I can think of. You'll have to attempt the last metamorphosis." Leigh looked at Yuffie, shocked to hear that come out of her mouth.

Yuffie's eyes darted from Leigh to Sephiroth, to the collapsed building, back to the church where the others still battled Sethrinn, back to Salira and Sephiroth, and back to Leigh. "Vincent will be here soon. When he gets here he can probably tackle Sephiroth better than anyone else present. Where's Cloud when you need him, though.... But until someone arrives you will have to make sure Salira stays alive. And you are the only one who can get up to where Sephiroth is now. Focus your mind on him, think of nothing but the rage within you he has caused, and let it control your thoughts. If worst comes to worst I will be here to save you from yourself...." The ninja backflipped and landed on a third roof, then glared up toward Sephiroth, who still hovered a good distance away, still bearing his sadistical grin.

Leigh began to do as Yuffie had instructed and soon found herself doubled over in immense pain. She watched her exposed hand turn pale gray, then darker as her fingers became claws and her skin became leathery flesh. She felt a searing sensation in her back as large bat-like wings grew from her shoulderblades. As the metamorphosis completed, she lost all consciousness as Leigh Valentine and instead was the mindless transformation her father had called Chaos.

Sephiroth quite obviously recognized the form but didn't seem any more impressed. As Chaos shot toward him with speed equal to his own, Sephiroth swung his sword at the demon with perfect accuracy to block its claws and be able to make a second shot within seconds, wounding the creature, concentrating on the wings. The battle was short, for soon Chaos's wings were too wounded for the creature to fly and it plummeted down into the rubble that had been the rooftop Sephiroth fried. As it passed into the realm of unconsciousness, its body slowly returned to Leigh's silent form.

"Blast it all," Yuffie groaned, gritting her teeth. Can't attack him because he's a ton quicker than I'll ever be and he's got a hostage. Can't just sit here or he'll get away. Blasted Sephiroth, why the hell can't you just say dead!?

"Because," came the one-winged angel's somber yet sinister reply, "I am a god." Yuffie's eyes went wide as the realization swept over her. This was not the same Sephiroth she'd fought only years ago with Cloud, Tifa, Vincent and the others. This was someone, something even more powerful.

"You call that the darkness of Hell?…my, my, my. Raven, you are more of a fool than I thought!" Sethrinn teased Raven back on the ground, where the duel continued. "You can't save Salira! You can't even save yourself! Face the fact! You all are about to die at my hands!"

"You have no idea what the hell you're talking about!" Raven retaliated. "You have no friends! And you wouldn't know the pressure, the shame, the agony, and all of those things a friend would. I can't die…I you won't kill Salira nor anyone in that matter!"

"Ha! Friends! They're nothing more then a tree blocking your way! They stop you from completing a goal and end up deceiving you!" Sethrinn continued.

"Shut the hell up!" ringed a voice. A boy about Salira's age came into the scene. "All I've been hearing lately is your yaking!" He stood next to Raven. Apparently, Sethrinn was not thrilled. Raven recognized the kid. "Sicotto? What the hell are you doing here?" Raven asked calmly.

"I have reasons that I'll explain later," Sicotto answered while drawing his sword. "Let's just shut this bitch up! You with us Lega?" Sicotto asked, looking at Lega, who seemed to be surprised of his presence.

"Count me in!" Lega sneered. He, Sicotto, and Raven assumed in their attack positions.

"Another fool! Ha! Two can't beat me, but three has the same answer," Sethrinn remarked. She, as well, prepared for an attack.

"Heh…Maya's worse then you!" Sicotto teased. "And I've known her longer!"

"I don't care who the hell Maya is! You're no threat!" Sethrinn retaliated.

"She's a Turk after Salira, and you as well!" Sicotto growled.

"That Maya chick from the academy?" Lega asked interrupting the back and forth taunts. "She's involved?!" Sicotto nodded in response.

Back in the aerial chaos, something began to happen. The broken necklace on the ground disappeared and appeared in Salira's hand, fixed and glowing a bright blue color. Slowly, her hand closed around it. This was done unnoticed by Sephiroth, Leigh, and Yuffie, but not to Sethrinn down below. Sethrinn saw the glow from the corner of her eye, and looked in the direction. "What is going on up there?" she sneered, looking up at Salira. The unknown young man, who had hidden himself to watch this battle, looked in the same direction as Sethrinn, noticing Salira and the glowing necklace. "No way…" he murmured quietly. Raven, Lega, and Sicotto looked up as well. "Holy shit! Salira's been taken hostage?!" Sicotto remarked, seeing Salira in Sephiroth's grip. He only arrived to see the small duel on the ground, and never realized what had happened above.

"NO!" Sethrinn shrieks as she sees the glowing necklace in Salira's hand.

`What the hell's going on?" Raven mumbled. He knew Lega and Sicotto had the same thought as he did, What is with Salira?

Salira began to mumble, "Eric…don't…go…please…don't go." It was a memory from her past; her old friend that gave her the necklace. The thought was clear in her head. Salira slowly became conscious. There were a few signs of movement noticeable.

"NO! She can't! Damn it!" Sethrinn sends a harsh glare at Raven. "I will come back for you after I kill the girl!" Raven stopped charging and he gestured for Lega and Sicotto to stay put. "Come back if you wish! I will be waiting for our rematch!" Raven sneered. Sethrinn backed away. Raven looked back up at Salira, I sense something about that necklace.

Salira's eyes opened in shock and found herself being hung by the neck with a blade near her throat. It didn't take her long to realize what's been going on. She was being held hostage, there was no other explanation. "What do you want from me?" Salira said loud enough for only Sephiroth to hear. She didn't seem scared nor did her voice sound like it, but she was.

Looking down at the now conscious Salira in his hands, Sephiroth whispered into her ear, "I wish I could say all I wanted was your death girl, but that would be too easy. No, for you I've planned something much more different. You will join SOLDIER." Looking back, his dark eyes seemed penetrated into Yuffie. Grinning he yelled, "You want the girl? Come and find her!" Flying over above Sethrinn, he said, "Come daughter, we have more important things to do for now." Flying higher, he waited for his daughter to take off before they left.

Yuffie noticed Salira moving, finally free of the effects of Sephiroth's Stop spell, and Sephiroth's form slowly moving further and further away. Her eyes darted from her to Sephiroth to the fallen form of Leigh to Sethrinn darting towards her father. "Oooooooooh no ya don't!!" the ninja shouted as she took a flying leap from the rooftop and grabbed the airborne Sethrinn around the waist. "Gotta get through me first!!" As the conjoined pair dipped, Yuffie couldn't be sure whether or not the girl could fly under the extra weight. She glanced down and noticed Leigh was now sitting up, one hand massaging her forehead, the other readying her shotgun. It would now have to be the two of them who kept Sethrinn busy while the others took on Sephiroth. Cold and heartless he might be, but Sethrinn seemed to be worth too much to him to simply leave behind.