Novelization: Advent Children
Chapter 6
Bahamut still ravaged the memorial statue, but had not found what Kadaj had sent him for. On the ground nearby, was Tifa, her unconscious body draped over Denzel. The boy slowly came to.
“Tifa?” he prodded, shaken from his trance at last. He angrily looked up at the dragon and shouted, “Son of a bitch!”
Denzel got to his feet and charged at Bahamut. The dragon rounded on him. Meanwhile, Tifa had awoken as well, and watched, terrified as the boy rushed to what could potentially be his death. Suddenly, a metallic hand reached out and grabbed Denzel by the shoulder, stopping him. As the hand lifted away from him, it transformed, becoming an intimidating triple barreled cannon firing rapidly at the dragon.
“Stay here and protect your mom!” shouted Barret, pausing in his assault on Bahamut.
“Barret!” Tifa cried, relieved.
“Marlene better be safe, huh?” he asked before turning back to the task at hand. As he moved in closer to Bahamut, he was joined by another comrade… Nanaki had arrived, and fell into step beside Barret, the little robotic cat, Cait Sith, riding on his back. Nanaki leapt and sank his teeth into Bahamut’s hide as Barret continued shooting. The dragon swooped low, and Barret was forced to duck, before climbing higher and higher, taking Nanaki and Cait Sith along with him.
“We can’t handle this!” Cait Sith shouted. Nanaki was flung loose, and the two of them fell hard. Nanaki recovered quickly, the cat-robot landing on his back, facing the wrong way around, and leapt high for a second attempt. At the same time, Barret fired a powerful energy burst that brought it’s target to the ground. The victory was short lived, however, as Bahamut charged him. Barret’s gunarm jammed, and for a moment, it looked as if he was in serious trouble.
Just as the dragon moved in for the kill, a shuruken sailed through the air, landing a blow on Bahamut’s face. The dragon roared angrily as the shuruken turned, boomeranging back to it’s owner, who caught it deftly. Tifa and Denzel watched as Barret’s savior arrived by parachute. Yuffie grinned at them and shoved the parachute aside as she stood up, a bit nauseous from her motion sickness, but otherwise ready to fight.
“Alright, who’s been messing with my materia?!” she demanded of Tifa.
“The bad guys, of course,” Tifa replied.
“Damn them!” she shouted, running off to join the battle.
“Who’s that?” asked Denzel. Before Tifa could answer, one of the smaller creatures ambushed the two of them from behind, quickly joined by several more. Tifa moved to protect Denzel, unable to get them out of the way in time, and braced for the inevitable strike. But before it came, Cid Highwind was there, spear in hand, fending them off.
“She’s a beaut!” he shouted, pointing up into the sky at the large craft hovering over the city, “The Sierra! The latest model. I’ll give you the grand tour afterwards!”
He too, headed off to join the others.
“Where can I buy a phone?” Vincent asked, in as close to a joking tone as the man got, referring to his earlier need for one, as he too, headed in the direction of the action.
“Who’s that guy?” asked Denzel.
“They’re all friends,” Tifa replied. Suddenly, Denzel heard a familiar sound. He turned and was greeted by the sight of Cloud arriving on his motorcycle. Cloud pulled to a stop in front of them and drew a sword from one of the bike’s compartments.
“Marlene’s safe. I took her home,” said Cloud.
“Right,” Tifa replied, relieved.
“It feels lighter,” Cloud went on, referring to the burden of his memories.
“Hmm?”
“Maybe I lost some weight, all that dilly dallying,” he added, taking a moment to look up at Bahamut circling high over the city. He drew a second sword, and Tifa smiled, seeing some of the old Cloud in him for the first time in a long time.
“I’m gonna go back and see Marlene,” said Denzel, “We’ll wait for you.”
He ran in the direction of the store, then stopped and turned back.
“We’ll see you there, won’t we Cloud?” he called.
Cloud nodded affirmatively, and Denzel smiled and ran off. Tifa climbed onto the back of the motorcycle, and she and Cloud peeled off to lend the others a hand with Bahamut.
*~*~*~*~*
Barret fired in rapid succession at the great dragon from his position high in the towering iron and steal structures in a newer part of the city, but it was having little noticeable effect. The dragon veered toward him, opening its mouth to hurl an energy shot at Barret.
He leapt from his perch seconds before it hit, grabbing onto a twisted piece of metal before he fell to the ground. Vincent was propelled upward from far below, drawing his gun as he came into position to aim, taking three shots at the descending dragon’s head. He landed on a rail, rolling to avoid the dragon’s claws as it retaliated. Vincent managed to get off a few more rounds before it winged back into the sky, but the effort seemed to have little effect on the enraged creature.
Cid raced along a metal platform as Bahamut rose, and jumped, plunging his spear into the dragon’s armored neck. Bahamut flew wildly, trying to shake him loose, finally aiming for a tower in an attempt to crush Cid. But before the dragon connected with the structure, Nanaki was there, seizing Cid by the back of his shirt and carrying him out of harm’s way.
Bahamut took hold of the corner of a building, using it as a perch, and roared loudly at his attackers before swooping in to take his revenge. Vincent followed, him leaping from spire to spire, shooting as he went. Bahamut circled back, and Yuffie tried her luck as well. Vincent continued firing, as the dragon tried to crush him… but Vincent was too quick. He leapt onto Bahamut, firing quickly, constantly moving, as the dragon swatted at him.
Yuffie raced up a vertical wall, backflipping and sending her shuruken soaring, the weapon landing a glancing blow against the dragon’s head. Nanaki, Cait Sith in tow, managed to sink his teeth in again as the ninja-girl retrieved her weapon from mid-air.
Bahamut aimed another energy blast at Yuffie, but Cid was quick to intervene, again stabbing his spear into the dragon’s head, causing the blast to miss its intended target. Unfortunately, it hit the side of a building directly over the spot from which Barret was taking aim. Flaming debris fell toward him dangerously fast. Luckily for Barret, Cloud had at last arrived. He seized Barret’s shirt, dragging him from his perch and tossed him to safety.
“Where the hell you been?!” Barret yelled good-naturedly as Cloud landed on a platform a short distance away.
Bahamut howled in frustration, and Vincent, Cid, and Tifa took the opportunity to regroup. Now it was Cloud’s turn… both swords drawn, he jumped from his platform, toward Bahamut. The dragon snatched one of Cloud’s swords in his teeth and tossed him upwards, but Cloud was determined, and attacked again, striking him over and over. He joined his blades together to form a single sword, and charged in again, raining blow after blow down upon Bahamut. At last, Bahamut fell, crashing to the ground.
But the dragon was no so easily defeated. Vincent, Tifa, and Cid watched anxiously as Bahamut took to the sky once more.
*~*~*~*~*
Safely away from the battle, Kadaj and Rufus continued their conversation.
“This is too fun, sir. Any requests for the next act?” Kadaj laughed maniacally. But as he turned to face Rufus, the president of Shinra Company rose from his wheelchair, casting aside the blanket that had been concealing his body. Bandages covered his left eye, and his neck. In his hand was a sealed black box. Kadaj looked on in disbelief.
“Mother?” he gasped.
“A good son would have known,” he said calmly, and tossed the box off the building. Kadaj screamed in anger, and aimed a magic spell at Rufus.
*~*~*~*~*
Bahamut climbed higher and higher, seemingly in retreat. Cloud was not about to let him get away so easily, and he leapt high into the air, but not high enough.
But just as gravity was about to take over and send him crashing to the ground, Barret reached out a hand, grabbing onto Cloud.
“Ally oop!” he shouted, propelling him upwards, high enough to strike Bahamut. But soon he was falling again. This time, it was Cid who came to his aid, swinging his spear like a baseball bat, allowing Cloud to use it as a spring board.
“There you go!” he said, as Cloud was flung into the air. Bahamut was still gaining altitude. Nanaki and Cait Sith decided to lend a paw, the lion-creature catching Cloud by the sheath on his back and giving him another boost up. Cait Sith shouted in encouragement as Cloud gained speed and momentum.
Then Yuffie made her own contribution to Cloud’s flight, rocketing him skyward even faster. Bahamut hovered high above the city, preparing a massive energy blast. Cloud readied his sword as Vincent extended his hand to him.
“Fly!” said Vincent, aiming Cloud toward his final target.
“No giving up!” cried Tifa as she, too, lent him her strength, and a blue glow surrounded Cloud as he streaked higher still. Bahamut fired as Cloud soared toward him, but Cloud passed directly through the energy blast. The others watched from below, hoping that it will be enough.
As he began to lose his momentum, one last ally came to his aid. The world around Cloud seemed to slow as Aeris’ hand reached out to him.
“Ready?” she said simply, taking his hand, and sending him across the final leg of his journey. At last, Cloud emerged from the energy blast, sinking his sword into a very surprised Bahamut. His blade carved a path along the great dragon’s armored back, and the dragon fell, in final defeat, crashing to the ground as those below watched. Cloud, too, fell to earth, landing on the remains of a metal support column. Though Bahamut was defeated, suddenly he heard a cry of rage and looked toward a distant building.
*~*~*~*~*
Kadaj screamed, enraged, and aimed a magic spell at Rufus. It tore away the bandages around the president’s head, but Rufus threw himself from the ledge at the last moment. The spell struck the other end of the building, setting it ablaze.
As Rufus fell, he drew from within his coat a shotgun, and fired at Kadaj in retaliation. His shots missed, but Kadaj didn’t seem to care about them one way or the other. Hi mind was only on one thing.
“Mother!” he cried, watching the box plummet. He leapt headfirst off the building as Rufus continued to fire at him. Understanding Kadaj’s intentions, Rufus chose a new target. He opened fire at the box.
On the street directly below, the Turks, and Yazoo and Loz were preparing for one final round. As flames erupted from the upper stories of the building Reno and Rude looked up.
“Sir, no!” they shouted in unison, upon seeing what was happening. Meanwhile, Cloud, on his motorcycle, was rushing to the scene.
Kadaj and Rufus were falling fast, and it seemed that Kadaj would be the first to reach the box. Rufus continued to fire, the bullets streaking past the silver-haired man, utterly missing their intended target. At last, one shot connected, striking the box, and splitting the side open. Greenish liquid leaked out. But Kadaj reached out an snatched the box before Rufus could destroy it completely. The ground rushed up at the two men.
As they neared the ground, Tseng and Elena emerged, simultaneously firing a set of nets across the path of Rufus’ descent, and the president landed safely in them.
Kadaj, on the other hand, landed on his feet, right in front of the other two Turks and the rest of his trio. He studied the damage to the box, then looked up at Reno and Rude, who now quite suddenly realized that they were outnumbered. But Kadaj didn’t stay to fight. His eye had caught sight of Cloud racing toward them. Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz rushed to their own bikes, and tires squealed as they fled.
Reno and Rude forgot them for the moment, and began to climb up to where Rufus had landed, to retrieve him. Rude, however, was not much of a climber, and only managed to make it up a few feet before slipping and tumbling back to the ground.
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