Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Dreams ❯ Shocking Revelations ( Chapter 15 )

Had to split the two chapters up because Chapter 14 was getting ridiculously long.

 

Inspired by Motorcycle Chase Theme from Final Fantasy VII

 

(Voice in Mind)

 

Chapter 15: Shocking Revelations

 

Elena peeked out of the alleyway to gauge the Stilva Dragon's position before Tseng and she darted out there to engage in battle. It was then that she noticed most of the smaller monsters had disappeared, seemingly vanished from the streets of Midgar. She frowned, noticing the almost emptiness of the streets, though the enormous monster still stood at the far end, clawing on the buildings around it as if bored.

 

“That's odd,” she commented, stealing a glance back at her boss. “It appears that most, if not all, of the lower end monsters have fled the area.”

 

The sound of a gigantic roar accompanied by a loud crash cut off Tseng before he could even respond. He frowned grimly and drew his swords, eyeing the beast with a blank face.

 

“No time to ponder,” he said. “Stilva Dragon's going on a rampage.”

 

Elena nodded in agreement, mentally shoring herself up. She stiffened her shoulders and fingered her rifle almost lovingly. The Wutaiian moved past her quickly, leaving the mouth of the alley with haste in his steps. The blonde stepped out behind him, covering his exit with… well, cover-fire as he did so. She aimed for the eyes and throat of the creature, determined to cut it off before it could use the deadly breath.

 

She watched with bated breath as her boss moved quickly and determinately, his movements fluid and exact. Unleashed from the constraints of Turk etiquette on the field, Tseng was a vision to behold when he fought. His skill with the twin katanas was amazing, and he was finally able to use his skills to the full potential, rarely flinching no matter the rare cocktail of creatures that had been made for them to destroy. He flitted from side to side, distracting the Stilva Dragon and aided by the special Speed Clip he had started to wear once he had begun hand to hand combat again. It kept a continuous cast of haste on him during battle, making him appear as little more than a blur since he was natural fast anyway.

 

Then she saw it. The dragon had inhaled deeply, and its body was beginning a slight glow. It was intent on using its deadly attack once more. They had precious few seconds for the blonde to make her shot. Unluckily for Stilva, Elena was the best sharpshooter in the Turks, in all of ShinRa, even rivaling her boss and perhaps the legendary Vincent Valentine himself.

 

She would not miss.

 

Tseng leapt high in the air, used his feet, and launched off a wall before he flew at the creature from the sky causing it to look up. The blonde took her chance and shot a well-aimed bullet straight in to the creature's neck where the magic pouch for the death breath was kept. For a moment all time stopped, as it always did when she was faced with taking a difficult shot. All of herself poured into the bullet, and she could literally see a piece of her soul fly into the round and careen off towards the throat of the Stilva Dragon.

 

With a disgusting squelch, the pouch exploded, sending green ichor in all directions and splashing down the front chest of the creature. The Stilva wailed with a gurgle in angry protest as the attack died in its throat. In retaliation, it swung a clawed appendage at Tseng, who easily sliced it off with one of his swords. He landed safely on the ground in front of the beast and held up both weapons, determination etched into his features.

 

Elena breathed a sigh of relief at her clear shot and hurriedly pushed her way closer to the battle. She would cover Tseng from afar, not really equipped to go in there with anything better.

 

She watched, carefully pulling the trigger, as her boss easily danced in and out of the Stilva Dragon's grasp. He repeatedly darted in and made slices into the creature's scaly hide and scores across the tough shell. The dragon was one of Hojo's more deadlier and successful experiments; one of the few that was actually difficult to defeat, but Tseng was holding his own.

 

A clawed forelimb appeared out of nowhere trying to aim for the dark-haired man's seemingly unprotected back. Elena frowned and quickly took aim, pulling the huge barrel across the sky, firing the powerful rifle in succession as she sighted on her target.

 

The joint of the limb exploded in a shower of green blood and fell to the ground useless, twitching in its final death throes. She allowed a grim smile to grace her sweaty face as she aimed once more.

 

The two Turks worked seamlessly together. Elena covered Tseng's movements as the Wutaiian danced around the dragon, twin swords flashing. Stilva Dragon hardly knew where to look in terms of an attack.

 

The sudden feel of electricity in the air raised the hairs on the back of Elena's neck and heightened her awareness. In surprise, she looked away from the battle to the sky above, shocked to see lightning racing across the sky and a sudden storm approaching.

 

“Elena! Behind you!” Tseng called out loudly, noting with horrified expression that a Goblin was trying its best to sneak up on the blonde. He made moves as if to help her when a sudden claw in his face distracted him. He hoped his warning was enough.

 

The female Turk turned just in time to block the attack of the Goblin with the whole of her rifle. It struck the makeshift shield with its fist and growled angrily, leaning in towards her face and grinning evilly as it snapped pointed teeth at her. She grimaced at the disgustingly foul breath of the creature; it seemed all monsters had an oral hygiene problem, and she pushed with all her strength against the gun, forcing the Goblin back. It stumbled, and Elena took the opportunity to swing the butt end of her gun forward, slamming it into the purple-hatted creature's face.

 

Its neck snapped backwards, and it fell to the ground, blood gushing from a broken bulbous nose. She wasted no further time with the enemy as she off-handedly cast a Fire2 spell and smirked as the body began to burn, the Goblin wailing and writhing within. She felt no remorse, having already seen the blood staining the creature's gloves. It had killed…

 

Elena turned from her fallen enemy just in time to see Tseng tossed against the wall of a building, more limbs than he could handle having rushed him all at once. He struck the brick with his back and it seemed his whole body snapped with the impact. Elena stared with mouth agape as she rushed forward, immediately loading more bullets into her rifle.

 

He slid to the ground, miraculously managing to maintain his hold on the katanas and grimaced when he touched the asphalt. Elena moved as close as she could, but still outside range of the limbs of the dragon and took careful aim. One shot later and she had removed the creature of one of its many eyes.

 

Meanwhile Tseng was muttering angrily under his breath and rising to his feet. He offhandedly wiped a trail of blood from his mouth where he had bit his lip and turned his entire glare upon the Stilva Dragon. It was one that frightened many people and should have at least made the monster have a change of heart. He frowned and brought up his swords, holding them in front of him, blades touching in the form of the letter `T'.

 

As Elena distracted the Stilva Dragon with a barrage of well-placed shots, Tseng decided he was tired of playing games with the dragon. The monster was going to get sliced to ribbons. He closed his eyes and cast one of his favorite spells, that of the ever elusive Yin Yang materia that he had spent much of his younger years in search of. His swords began to glow a brilliant white light that flashed once.

 

When the luminescence died, Tseng opened his eyes and couldn't help the smirk that broke out on his face. One blade was now tinged with ice, it would deal slices covered in the dangerous hoar frost. The other blade pulsated with a fiery light as flames licked at the tip. It would cut with searing accuracy. The elements reflect in his grey eyes, and it was clear why Tseng was such a fearsome opponent.

 

He set his gaze on the Stilva Dragon and made his move. He darted into battle, movements made fast with the help of his haste accessory. Tseng dashed in and sliced at the monster with the bluish blade, causing something akin to a freezing spell to race along the body and down into the wound. The dragon howled in pain and tried to swat at him, but he easily cleaved the limb in two with his burning reddened-katana.

 

Stilva growled angrily and planted its back two feet in the ground, the enormous limbs causing the ground to shake slightly. The Wutaiian fought to stay on his feet as he nimbly dodged all attacks and made many slashes at the creature. The resounding bangs of Elena's clear shots echoed on the air.

 

One of the creature's limbs rose up high into the air, and electric energy raced from the tip. It was attempting to cast one of its more powerful attacks, Trine.

An energy aura began to build in the narrow roadway, shaped like a triangle and rapidly rotating as it slowly gained in strength and size. Electricity raced along the edges and fired amongst itself on the inside.

 

That was how the Trine worked. It would slowly grow until it occupied all space, and it was either dispersed by an Earth type-spell or it released the energy on an unfortunate target.

 

“Tseng! Call Titan!” Elena called out as she quickly recognized the Stilva Dragon's attack.

 

Tseng nodded in understanding and darted away from the dragon long enough to press a finger to the summon materia and call for Titan.

 

“Anger of the Land!” the dark-haired man summoned. He waited for the ground to shake as it was supposed to… but nothing happened. Frowning, Tseng looked down at the materia and noticed that instead of actively swirling and glowing a bright red, it was dark and lifeless, as if all energy had been stolen from it. What had happened to Titan?

 

Thwack! The sound easily carried across the battlefield as Tseng looked up startled to see Elena thrown forward and into the massive electrical barrier. An enemy had snuck up on her from behind. She screamed as her body struck the electricity and writhed. She careened backwards and fell to the ground, twitching lightly as the energy raced through her body, some lightning coursing across her skin.

Tseng moved to help her when suddenly a limb of the Stilva Dragon was in face. It flapped its wings and brought up a huge whirlwind that threw debris and dust up into his face. He was forced to shield his eyes even as he attempted to de-limb the monster.

 

The monster that had struck Elena, a strange multi-eyed creature called a Vargid Police, moved forward to finish the job. Suddenly, it paused and looked to the sky, distracted by the sound of rumbling and shaking.

 

Brown eyes popped open below him and a plan was formed. Acting quickly, Elena took a chance and pushed herself up with her arms, flipped very skillfully and kicked out at the monster's head with her foot. It struck easily, with a sickening sound, and the creature stumbled backwards. In the same moment, she reached for the pistol in the small of her back and withdrew it. Without waiting, she fired several times into the monsters head and ignored the thick blood that sprayed all around her. Her eyes sparkle with unknown energy and it seems that lightning flashes within her pupils.

 

Elena pivoted on her feet, ignoring the falling of the body behind her and grasped for the rifle that she had dropped. She was surprised by how well she felt. For some reason, although the electricity had caused her body to writhe she had felt no pain, only a vague feeling of power. Her initial cry had been one of surprise, not fear or pain.

 

Her eyes traveled upwards, and she gasped. Stretched out over the city, as far as her eyes could take her was a blanket of white to replace the eerie storm clouds. The blanket seemed to flex and move, seemingly more like white feathers.

 

“What the hell is going on?” questioned the Turk aloud as she questioned the spectacle above her.

 

The sound of Tseng's cursing brought her attention back to the battle at hand. She looked and found her boss rapidly leaping and twisting to avoid the attacks of the Stilva Dragon, as well as another Needle Kiss that had appeared out of nowhere. She couldn't help but wonder where all the minor monsters were coming from. Earlier she had seen none.

 

Taking a step forward, hand held out tentatively, she pressed and touched the electrical field. It resisted her when she applied the barest hint of force but with further attempts she was able to push through it. The most surprisingly point was how it did not hurt her at all. Taking a deep breath and gathering her courage, Elena forced herself to walk forward, through the Trine attack.

 

Lightning streaked inside the globe and struck her the moment she was completely encased by the field. She flinched, expecting to be burnt horribly and sent into convulsions. But nothing happened. There was a tingling to her skin and a vague feeling of being empowered… but nothing life-threatening. It was enlightening… that, and the whispers that were gathering at the corner of her subconscious.

 

Finally, she popped free and on the other side of the Trine attack. Electricity flashed across her skin and hair, and she literally tingled. She heard the sound of tittering and cackling and turned. Behind her, on the other side of the Trine, monsters were approaching, drawn by the sound of the battle. There were a good mass of them, probably more than Tseng and she alone could handle, especially given the Stilva Dragon they were still fighting.

 

The blonde returned her attention to the battle at hand and watched as Tseng finished off the Needle Kiss, only to come face to face with a duet of Goblins and the dragon making goals to destroy him. An arm went flailing out towards the Turk's unprotected head when a sudden idea flashed through Elena's brain. She sprinted forward, rifle falling to the side.

 

The blonde dove, grabbing onto the dangerous limb with all her might. It dragged down with her weight, but then something odd happened. She had successfully kept it from meeting with her boss' back, but now electricity was racing from her body, out through her hands and into the appendage. It coursed through the arm and caused the Stilva Dragon to gurgle out in pain and shock. She struggled to hold on as it waved its limb back and forth, trying to disengage her. She hadn't expected the second arm to suddenly come up, grab the back of her shirt and rip her away only to be tossed like a rag doll.

 

She slammed into the electrical barrier but couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face. The idiot monster couldn't understand that the Trine attack wasn't working on her. Elena could feel the energy racing through her as she absorbed it all. With a resounding pop, the Trine attack faded and disappeared. She forced her body to slide to the ground, as if defeated, to further trick the dragon and watched through slitted eyes as Tseng burnt and froze the two goblins that had attacked him with his katanas.

 

All of the sudden, the ground trembled violently enough to nearly shake the Turk and the dragon from their feet. Everyone, enemy and friend, looked around in confusion but couldn't find the source of the shaking. Midgar had never had so many earthquakes in one day.

 

A piercing roar echoed through the air which didn't come from the Stilva Dragon. It filled Elena with hope and encouragement rather than fear. She instantly knew in her heart that it was the call of a friend and not another enemy.

 

Stilva gurgled angrily in response, sensing that it was foe and concentrated all attacks on Tseng, believing that victory was at hand. The Wutaiian moved quickly to avoid the dragon while Elena tried to decide on a battle plan that would work to her advantage. It was then that she ran out of time…

 

It all happened so fast Elena had scarce time to breathe, her mind trying to register the events that had just transpired.

 

The dragon threw its appendages at Tseng with renewed vigor, chomping at the flitting dark-haired man with angry teeth and flailing with clawed limbs, despite its obviously injured state. It was a mystery as to why the thing still managed to stand and live. Tseng was doing his best to avoid each attack, but his quickened movements were slower than usual, and it took Elena more than a moment to figure out why. He was injured and favoring his right leg where the fabric of his gi was torn as if something had bitten into him.

 

The Wutaiian stumbled once and the dragon took its chance. Several limbs shot out at him at the same time. His eyes flashed angrily as he sliced off the first then the second, but wasn't quick enough to turn and slash the third. He barely had enough time to bring his katanas up for defense… but it wasn't enough.

 

“Tseng!!” Elena stared with horror as she pushed herself up from the ground and pounded across the pavement. Tseng fought to push away the clawed limb with failing strength as the sheer power of the Stilva Dragon was far more than his own. It pressed him backwards and into a wall. He could feel the blood trickling down his abdomen where the tip of the sharpened claw had pierced him. It was like the Temple of the Ancients all over again to the pained Turk.

 

Then suddenly, a giant sword flashed and cleaved the Stilva Dragon from behind, nearly managing to decapitate the creature except for just missing the head. Elena gasped… she would recognize that sword anywhere except that Cloud should be at home, protecting his pregnant wife.

 

She watched with widened brown eyes as a spiky blond head peeked out from behind the Stilva Dragon, hands wrapped around the hilt of the large sword. He was struggling to hold on as the creature swung its head all around, trying to dislodge its attacker. An idea hit Elena like a speeding bullet.

 

“Cloud! Let go!” she called as she put on a burst of speed and ran towards the creature, nimbly dodging its attempts to attack her.

 

He looked up, blue eyes flashing, and nodded when he saw the grim determination to her face. He let go of the hilt and did a back flip out of the way, landing easily on his feet and ending up in a crouch. He moved quickly, scampering away from the flailing limbs of the Stilva Dragon. Cloud locked his eyes on Tseng's plight and grabbed onto the appendage that was piercing the Wutaiian Turk.

 

Elena's feet pounded across the pavement. She pushed downwards and leapt high into the air, balling her fists as she did so and feeling the electricity coursing through her body. She grabbed onto the hilt of the sword and listened to some inner part of her.

 

“Lightning Rod!” She called out. Almost immediately, all the power flowing through her body raced to her hands and into the weapon. It coursed through the metal of the giant sword and directly into the body of the monster that the weapon was imbedded in.

 

The Stilva Dragon shrieked and gurgled in pain, limbs flailing all about as electricity of great magnitude spread throughout its body from every appendage. The smell of burning flesh filled the air causing Elena to wrinkle her nose in disgust. She could feel her body draining of all the absorbed electricity, and she didn't feel as highly charged as before.

 

(Let go now! Before it takes your life's energy!)

 

Elena released the sword in her shock and was thrown away from the creature as a result of its flailing body. She crashed to the ground behind the dragon, landing hard on her shoulder. Pain raced through her side, but she ignored it as she struggled to get to her feet and watched as the Stilva Dragon continued to convulse before it gave a loud gurgle of pain and promptly blew to bits.

 

Dragon gore flew into the air, bathing the buildings and surrounding area with bits and pieces. Cloud's sword clattered to the ground, completely fine, but Elena had to throw up an arm to protect her face from getting covered in Stilva juice. The smell of charred dragon flesh spread quickly throughout the area. It was all rather disgusting.

 

The blonde Turk pushed herself to her feet and gawked at the street that was now covered in the remains of Hojo's experiment, the many monsters that were staring at the three of them in with thinly veiled bloodlust, and the flash of blue light that indicated Cloud was healing her superior. Shaking her head to clear her moment of indecision, Elena hurried to Tseng's side, taking a moment to grab Cloud's sword and drag it to him. She couldn't understand how the wiry somewhat short man could lift the damn heavy thing.

 

“Boss!” she called out, running to his side. He had a pained look on his face but he seemed fine. More irritated than anything. “You have a penchant for getting stabbed through the gut, sir?” the blonde questioned.

 

“Elena,” Tseng began, shooting her a glare. “Shut up.”

 

Cloud shook his head, taking the sword from the two of them. He turned his gaze on Elena, pinning her with an inquisitive glance.

 

“How are you able to do that?”

 

The blonde shook her head, frowning slightly as she kept a close eye on the beasts that were rapidly approaching. The three of them didn't have long before they were surrounded.

 

“I don't know. More importantly, why aren't you with Aeris?”

 

Cloud smirked. “She's at the church. She's safer there than anywhere. It's around the corner from here. I heard the commotion and came to investigate. Good thing I did, eh?”

 

Tseng shook his head and coughed slightly. “We had a handle on it,” he remarked dryly as he picked up his katanas and inspected them. He was proud, even faced with the strength of the Stilva Dragon; they had not cracked.

 

“Yeah?” questioned Cloud with a raised eyebrow. “And what are you going to do about those?” He pointed out towards the approaching hordes of monsters.

 

Elena shrugged. “We've got the bike. We'll just plow through them.”

 

Suddenly, Tseng appeared thoughtful as if recalling something important. A slow smile began to creep across Cloud's face. The two men seemed to be having the same idea as they exchanged glances.

 

“What?” the female blonde questioned as she looked between their faces. “Why do the both of you look as if you are going to do something stupid?”

 

The two men started to jog towards the bike without answering her. Elena was forced to follow along or be left out of the idea. She scooped up her abandoned rifle as she moved, noting that the monster horde was crowding the road and filling up almost all available space.

 

The three ducked into the alley way where the bike was parked. Almost immediately Cloud jumped on the back of the bike and started fiddling with the controls.

 

“Can you handle it?” questioned Tseng.

 

The blond nodded. “It's simpler than the one I stole from you guys and knowing you, probably twice as powerful.”

 

The Wutaiian Turk nodded. “Good.” He turned to face his subordinate. “I want you to go to the church and stay with Mrs. Strife. I know it is safe there for her, but I would feel better if she weren't left completely alone.”

 

“What are you going to do?” frowned Elena.

 

Tseng smirked almost devilishly. “Cloud and I will take out those monsters.”

 

The ex-SOLDIER nodded. “If you leave out this alley on the opposite end and follow around to the right, the church is past the intersection where the dragon lies in pieces. You can't miss it.”

 

Cloud started up the bike and revved it experimentally, grinning at the power he could tell was behind the engine. Tseng cast his subordinate a look before climbing on the bike behind the blond, hanging on with his knees as he held a sword on each hand. It was then that Elena understood what they were going to do.

 

She nodded. “Yes, sir.” The blonde hefted up her rifle and started to jog towards the opposite end of the alley. She peeked out from around the corners, noting with surprise that there wasn't a single monster in sight, as if they had concentrated on the other street.

 

“Elena?” Tseng called out over the roar of the engine.

 

She turned back to glance at him.

 

“Be careful,” he ordered.

 

She smiled and nodded. “You, too, boss.” With that said, she cocked her rifle and stepped out into the street, moving quickly towards the church.

 

“Shall we?” Tseng asked rhetorically as he turned back to face Cloud. He could already hear the growling of the monsters even over the rumbling engine.

 

The blond nodded and pressed foot to accelerator. The bike shot forward, nearly dislodging both its occupants. Cloud cast a grin over his shoulder and revved the engine as they shot out of the alleyway and turned right heading towards the approaching horde.

 

Tseng tightened his grip on the sword, a strangely excited look to his face. Cloud didn't hesitate; he dove right into the mass of them. Almost immediately Tseng started to hack left and right as the blond cast spells at every opportunity, moving so quickly thanks to the ranks that they didn't get injured.

 

It was strangely reminiscent.

 

* * *

 

Even being able to see the pure white wings with his own eyes, it was hard for the dark-haired executive to believe what had just happened.

 

However, he was hardly given the chance to think before his mind began speaking to him once more.

 

(The battle is not yet won. Call me, Reeve; it is time.)

 

The executive shook his head, taking a step backwards, though it was from an invisible enemy… ally… he wasn't sure what.

 

“I don't know who you are!” he protested weakly, gesturing wildly with his hand. But he was lying… slowly and surely a dim memory was surfacing. Of voices he had been ignoring his whole life… of an imaginary friend when he was younger that his mother had punished him for talking to… and of an old myth that had always stirred something in him.

 

Silver… he had always been silver. The dragon from the story, the hair of his friend and the soothe sound to the voice like polished metal. It was just as real to him then as his connection and skill with casting was now. Yet, he had pushed it down for so long… could he remember?

 

(You know me.)

 

Reeve nodded slowly, amber eyes widening. For a moment he was surprised that he hadn't heard a word from Kyle. Yet, little did he know, his friend was too busy listening to voices within him, as well. Time was running out for the people of Gaia, and everywhere… heroes were being summoned once more.

 

The executive's mouth opened and gradually his lips moved, forming one name.

 

“Seiryu…”

 

There was a bestial but vibrant roar resounding through the air. The ground shook but not quite so violently as before, and a great ball of light burst from the streets below; yet, it managed not to destroy the lain concrete at all. In a brilliant cone of silverish luminescence, it came to a halt just in front of the top of the building where Reeve stood wide-eyed. Without thinking, the executive climbed to the top of the border and looked down at the streets of Midgar. It was so far.

 

“Reeve! What the hell are you doing?” He heard Archer, but paid the man no mind as the light whirled to form a shape, one from his memories. It became… a silver dragon, sleek and powerful with huge wings and dangerous talons. The dragon, who was Seiryu, growled softly before flapping its wings.

 

As if there were silent agreement, Reeve nodded before leaping down from the border… into the vast space of nothingness before him. Archer's eyes widened in surprise as it seemed his friend had just committed suicide.

 

Seiryu moved so quickly that he had no time to perceive it. Within seconds, Reeve had landed safely on the massive, scaled neck and was saddled on the dragon.

 

“Learn to listen, mist-child,” the enormous dragon boomed as he flapped his wings with powerful muscles and carried his other high into the sky, heading straight for the feathers above. “Perhaps you will also know the thrill of flying without wings.”

Reeve looked back to see Archer standing on the rooftop, internally fighting with something even as he gazed steadfastly after his friend. However, the executive was given no more time to ponder as Seiryu beat his wings much stronger and carried the two of them upwards.

 

Seiryu…. or as Reeve had once known him Bahamut, was a beautiful creature. He was sleek muscle bathed in metallic armor of silver proportions. The wings were over twice his body length and tipped with claws at the end. Intelligence shone in the ancient blue eyes set in a face still young.

 

Reeve looked up into the canopy of whiteness, almost fearing a collision. Yet, as if in some unspoken agreement, the feathers parted just slightly to allow them to pass. Dragon and rider were through without coming to harm.

 

Above, all was a panic. The monsters that had fled from the city had returned in full force and were waging war against the feathers of Alexander, trying to break through. Mabuz was continuously beating upon the beautiful wings attempting to injure the demi-god enough to leave.

 

Reeve grew furious at the sight of the monsters tearing at the demi-gods beautiful and pristine feathers. A low rumble began in his chest as he growled angrily. A tremor passed through the dragon beneath him and he knew Seiryu felt the same. Without thinking, Reeve started to attack.

 

He cast Comet and Contain in quick succession, throwing the magic out almost as fast as he could call it to his lips. Monsters were cursed beneath arsenal from the sky even as they froze or burnt to death thanks to Contain. Seiryu was no less busy. He breathed angry elemental light upon the many creatures, vaporizing them where they stood so that nothing remained.

 

A lonely imp decided to be brave, flying in close behind Reeve to try and knock the rider from the dragon. He aimed a small pitchfork at the executive, not expecting that Reeve would have weapons as well as magic. With a flick of his wrist, a dagger was placed into his waiting hand and the dark-haired man wasted no time in disposing of the troublesome imp. He hardly watched as the body fell from the sky, victim to his dagger.

 

Seiryu rumbled his approval, breathing another searing light upon the vile monsters.

 

A loud shout distracted Reeve. He looked below him with widened amber eyes only to see Archer on the back of another dragon, cresting from the wings and soaring up into the sky. There was a huge grin on the amethyst-eyed man's face as he threw a fist up into the air and whooped happily.

 

The dragon that Archer rode was another beauty. Her scales were a wispy grey-ish white, giving her the illusion of being a misty fog. Though she was slightly smaller than the bulky Seiryu, she made up for the difference in size with speed. There was no doubt that Archer's dragon was much faster than Seiryu.

 

“Tiamat,” Seiryu spoke aloud in response to Reeve's unasked question. “She is the Myst dragon, Tiamat. One that was lost to the people of Gaia. I think even her summon materia was forgotten.”

 

“She is beautiful,” Reeve responded almost in awe. He had never heard of Tiamat, but he couldn't deny the demi-goddess' loveliness. Every bit of her seemed dainty and delicate but had a hard edge of diamond. The mist dragon moved through the air easily and swiftly, Kyle and her working together as if they were life long buddies to destroy the hordes of monsters above Midgar. She breathed an icy and poisonous acidic gas on the enemies; yet, she was so precise, she never once injured Alexander by doing so.

 

Seiryu rumbled in agreement. “That she is,” the silver dragon purred as he banked hard to the right to draw up alongside Tiamat.

 

The wisp-colored dragon looked over at the larger male and chuckled aloud, the sound reverberating throughout her body. “Just like old times is it not, Seiryu?”

 

The silver dragon laughed in return. “History repeats itself, that never-ending cycle of time. What do you think?” He inclined his head. “We should take out the bastard again, should we not?”

 

“I don't know what's going on,” Archer interrupted, yelling to speak over the sound of battle and rushing wind. “But if it involves destroying that beast that threatened my home, I'm in for it.”

 

Reeve nodded solemnly. “I couldn't agree more.”

 

Tiamat snickered. “Well then, my beloved animus, what say you we blast him from the sky?” She had truly missed fighting alongside the creatures of Gaia as they were meant to fight, together rather than as separate entities. The zeal for life that these mortal beings carried was a breath of fresh air for them of immortal age.

 

Archer reached out a hand and glided the gloved limb across the back of the dragon, over the scales as if petting the demi-god. “With you, sweetheart, I think I can do anything,” he teased. He hadn't known her that long, but already Kyle was issuing his charm.

 

Seiryu growled as if warningly and spoke up. “Let's go, manling. There's a demi-god to be taken down before Hephaestion loses his strength.”

 

“Demi-god?” questioned Reeve startled. “That… thing is a demi-god?”

 

It was Tiamat, who answered. “None other than Mabuz, the guardian of the gates to the underworld.”

 

“Psh,” Seiryu scoffed. “It matters not who he is. We will take him down as we have before. The time for questions can come later.”

 

Archer gripped his axe tightly and called a flame to his hand, something similar to Fire2 as his eyes shone brightly. “I couldn't agree more.”

 

Tiamat nodded in agreement and put forth a burst of speed, beating her wings furiously and banking to the left. Seiryu followed her example, and the two teams of anima and animus were making their way to do battle with Mabuz.

 

* * *

 

Phew! That upper battle took a lot out of me.

 

How's about leaving me a review to revive me? *snicker*