Post by AltruisticCrono on Mar 2, 2009 22:45:03 GMT -5
OOC: X wrote the story; I edited certain parts.
Also: This is a continuation of the ending of Chapter 6
*The sun was in the process of rising, starting a new day over the Desert of the Dead. Sephiroth X bolted over the desert sand heading straight towards the hellhole that was formerly known as Midgar with thoughts running through his mind that he was trying to block out. His incident with Cid was still lingering in his mind as well as his unusual behaviors as of late, not to mention he was still uneasy about the alliance he just made with his sworn enemy. X tried blocking out all of these thoughts, he knew that Crono was evil but not a fool who would betray an ally in the midst of a greater foe, and if X’s mind wasn’t focused directly on fighting Valtiel then he would be doomed to fail as well. Sephiroth X looked toward the horizon and slowly saw the skies around him seem to lose some of their vivid dawn colors, everything slowly becoming dull grays of their former selves. X knew he was closing in on Midgar and his anticipation for the upcoming confrontation made him fly towards the doomed city with greater haste. The city of Midgar rose over the horizon, the sight of the city helped X block out his thoughts and focus on the task at hand, and as X drew closer to the edge of city limits he descended down from the sky and landed on the ground. Seph’s sixth sense began to irritate him as it constantly was barraged by the distant presence of Valtiel’s power. Midgar looked like a shell of its former self to X, an eerie silence complimented by the thick fog made the hair on X’s neck stand on end with a sense of eerie anxiety.
Sephiroth X – It’s so quiet… so empty.
Dark Crono – …Your unwary eyes bestow an ill-conceived falsehood... This veil simply endows the foolish to an unfortunate pretense.
*Sephiroth X calmly looked to his left seeing Dark Crono standing beside him, likewise observing the city.
Sephiroth X – Glad to see you showed… You’re not gonna have cold feet on me now, are you?
*Crono ignored the comment entirely and proceeded to walk towards Midgar, and X promptly followed suit.
- - - - -
*X and Crono stepped through the foggy streets of Midgar, Crono appearing calm while X seemed to be on edge. They continued to trek inward towards the heart of the city figuring that Valtiel would most likely be lingering there. Beyond the sounds of their footsteps nothing could be heard in the city, as if everyone and everything was sleeping. Abandoned vehicles and lifeless bodies littered the sides of every street they went down, stains of blood and shattered glass scattered randomly, it was like they truly stepped into the gates of hell and it got worse the further in they went… yet there was still no sign from Valtiel.
Dark Crono – Our presence was known the instant we entered this spell.
Sephiroth X – Doesn’t take much to figure that out… Can you sense him?
Dark Crono – I sense only the understandable.
Sephiroth X – We’ve gone too far into the city without seeing anything.
Dark Crono – Perhaps… but he savors who await him.
Sephiroth X – This is Valtiel just making a statement.
Dark Crono – He deprives us.
Sephiroth X – And he’s left the door wide open for us and we’ve walked right in on the damn red carpet.
*The sound of somebody clapping their hands could be heard from a short distance away, the origin of the sound came from a rooftop in front of them. Sephiroth X and Dark Crono both stopped and looked towards the source of the sound and saw Valtiel sitting on the edge of the rooftop clapping.
Valtiel – My, oh my, oh my, the interesting web we weave.
Sephiroth X – Valtiel…
*X’s face became more intense while Dark Crono’s face was locked in a cold silent stare. Valtiel stood up on the rooftop and continued to speak, this time in a sarcastic tone.
Valtiel – You know, I truly can make miracles… Maybe I have a future as a social worker… Look at this, the two of you were at each others throats not so long ago and now you two stand here together in front of me. If I could cry I might shed a tear for you two. Now I must ask, what brings you two here in front of me?
Dark Crono – We are this planet’s united awareness against the unnatural. This awareness converges and takes form in chosen entities, heroes, during its fated eras. Bound in relation like chains, forever connected in balance.
*Dark Crono cast a moment of silence before speaking again.
Dark Crono – Symbiont Necrostina, Deity Apocalypse – A parasitic chain destined to be cast into null.
Valtiel – I’m honored… perhaps touched. Two of the biggest adversaries in history have forged an alliance to destroy little ol’ me… well… at least try to.
Sephiroth X – You underestimate yourself, Valtiel… My strength has increased quickly since our last encounter.
*X gave a quick glance to Crono.
Sephiroth X – And he’s improved greatly as well.
*Muscles traditionally associated to smirking twisted underneath Valtiel’s skin.
Valtiel – Well then perhaps we’re all in for a couple of surprises then.
*Sephiroth X gripped the Masamune firmly and held the blade out in front of him slightly. Dark Crono extended his hand outward as dark energy began to circle around him, with a pulse of black lightning the Mastermune appeared in his hand.
Valtiel – Mmmm… Faaaancy. I remember that weapon rather well; you used it to destroy me once… and nearly succeeded. I won’t lie, I’ve been hoping to have a rematch with you for quite a while… Zeal.
*Dark Crono’s eyes narrowed slightly from under his hood. Sephiroth X’s head turned towards Crono with a confused yet intrigued look on his face.
Valtiel – Ah yes, the name you never introduced to me. Your self-absorbed mind is probably determining how I know that name. Well you must learn that you’re both in my world now, I am the god here.
*Noises slowly started to build from the fog in all directions around the three. Monsters of all shapes and sizes appeared from the gloomy haze. Valtiel raised his hand to signal a halt to all the approaching monsters.
Valtiel – Nuh uh... These two guys obviously came here for one specific reason so no need to make them fool around… we’ll just skip to the main event.
*From within a pack of monsters, another came staggering through with Valtiel’s rusted Great Knife impaled in it. Valtiel’s hand reached out towards the creature, and with a dying groan from the monster the Great Knife flew out of the monster and carried through the air right into Valtiel’s hand.
Valtiel – Now… let’s raise the curtain to the next act and open with a god versus an unholy alliance.
*Valtiel stood himself up and gazed down at them from his rooftop. In the background monsters began to vanish away, perhaps escaping the epicenter of what might be an earth shattering confrontation. X gripped the Masamune tightly once more while Dark Crono wrapped both of his hands around the Mastermune. Together they stood side by side as allies instead of enemies and the brother blades of the Mastermune and Masamune were together, and perhaps in some twisted way the blades themselves wanted this to happen. As Sephiroth X focused himself for the fight his appearance began to change again; his skin grew pale, his lips turned a sickly gray, his eyes filled with black borders, and small black veins began to branch out from his eyes out onto his face. Crono’s gold eye shifted towards X for a moment as he got a first hand glance of the transformation he sensed X was going through. With a confident tone in his voice X spoke to Crono.
Sephiroth X – Are you ready?
*Dark Crono remained silent as he focused on Valtiel, his own form of confirmation that he was ready for the fight.
Sephiroth X – Lets do this!
*With a quick bend of his knee’s Sephiroth X shot up into the air towards Valtiel with Dark Crono promptly following. X swung the Masamune emphatically while Valtiel leaned backwards to avoid the slash. Just as Valtiel ducked the knee of Dark Crono quickly slammed into the underside of Valtiel’s chin causing the undead creature to stagger back a few steps. As Valtiel re-gathered himself X quickly dashed at him from a side angle and unleashed a few quick slices, all of which were deflected by Valtiel’s Great Knife. Following another block of the Masamune Valtiel exerted extra force to stagger X and Valtiel seized the moment by landing a powerful kick into X’s chest, sending the silver haired opponent flying back down to the street. After kicking away Seph, Dark Crono immediately appeared behind Valtiel and landed a deep slice into Valtiel’s back. A cringe of pain came from Valtiel as he spun around and blocked a second incoming slash from the Mastermune, then grabbed the hilt of Crono’s weapon, yanked Crono closer and quickly knocked the hood back from over his head.
Valtiel – That! Hurt!
*Valtiel quickly let go of the Mastermune and drove a fist right into Dark Crono’s face. Crono flew off of the rooftop and landed on one knee next to where Sephiroth X was now standing. Valtiel’s back wound promptly began healing as he walked towards the edge of the roof he was on, stepped off the roof, and began walking down the side of the building towards the street. In a rage, Dark Crono reached behind his head with his left hand and ripped the hood off the cloak, keeping his eyes on Valtiel with a more noticeable angry glare.
Valtiel – Ohhh… you look pissed!
*Sephiroth X dusted himself off a little bit as he stood next to Crono.
Sephiroth X – Well that wasn’t the best opening round we could have wanted…
*Dark Crono’s eyes never left Valtiel. Crono then gripped the Mastermune with both of his hands and then snapped the hilt of the weapon over his knee, breaking it into two halves. The two halves of the Mastermune began to reform as two separate weapons within Dark Crono’s hands forming into weapons similar to the curved serrated blades that were used against X in the Super City, except this time the Mastermune halves resembled short swords without the curvature from before although they still retained a serrated edge on each blade.
Valtiel – Heh, not messin’ around I take it?
*Valtiel continued his pace down the side of the building, eventually reaching the sidewalk. As Valtiel stepped towards the street, Dark Crono twirled his two Mastermune halves in his hands once and began strafing to the left of Valtiel while X similarly strafed to the right. Crono and X then dashed towards Valtiel from both sides creating an impromptu pincer attack. Sensing the incoming attacks Valtiel decided to improvise, the ground underneath Valtiel quickly eroded into a fleshy substance from which he quickly sunk into.
Valtiel – Going down!
*Just as Crono and X swung their blades Valtiel completely sunk into the ground; vanishing completely, and the blades of X and Crono clanged against each other. The two allies looked down in a very brief moment of bewilderment, and within that same split second a similar fleshy substance formed on the wall of a building near them as Valtiel launched out of the wall towards the two. Valtiel stretched his arm back briefly before flinging it outward and toppling X and Crono with a powerful clothesline. The two fighters quickly got back to their feet and re-gathered themselves as Valtiel mockingly flexed his arm.
Dark Crono – Fool…
*X and Crono dashed towards Valtiel again and let loose a combined flurry of slashes towards their gruesome opponent. The Great Knife became a blur of motion within Valtiel’s hand as he attempted to block and parry the attacks of the two, but the sheer numbers quickly became an issue for Valtiel as a few slashes from both fighters’ blades broke through is defenses, causing gashes and cuts to appear on Valtiel’s torso. Valtiel tried to compensate by distancing himself from his two opponents while keeping up his defenses, yet Crono and X would not allow this to happen as they matched his attempts to step backwards from him. Sensing that Valtiel was not able to keep up with their matched efforts, Dark Crono increased the aggression in his attacks trying to land a more crucial blow to his foe and after a few attempts managed to gouge a chunk out of Valtiel’s knee. The damage forced Valtiel down to one knee and brought his focus more towards the increasingly aggressive Dark Crono. This left X with a wide open angle at Valtiel which he seized and landed a powerful roundhouse kick right into the head of the monster sending his body flying into the wall of a nearby building, leaving a sizeable indent as a result. X, wasting no time, flew right towards Valtiel with the Masamune ready for a powerful slice. Valtiel quickly rolled out of the way as he sensed X approaching, resulting in X crashing right through the wall into the building. Just as X crashed through the wall, Dark Crono similarly dashed towards Valtiel.
Valtiel – Oooh looks like you wanna play.
*Suddenly before Crono could reach Valtiel the blade of the Masamune shot through the brick wall of the building and stabbed through Valtiel’s body, causing Crono to stop abruptly to prevent himself from being impaled. The blade then began to slice upwards through the wall, taking Valtiel up with it until reaching the roof of the building until X shot through the roof itself and completed his slashing motion, cleaving a good chunk of Valtiel’s torso. While hovering, Seph grabbed Valtiel by one of his arms and flung him down back towards the ground with a fleshy ‘thwack’. X flew down after him, not wanting to give him a moments worth of recovery, however just as X’s blade was going to make contact with Valtiel the Great Knife spun in between the two deflecting X off his trajectory and causing him to land near Crono again. The two stood there for a moment as Valtiel staggered back to his feet and watched all of his wounds quickly begin to heal. Thoughts began to run through X’s mind as his foe recovered.
Sephiroth X – He’s healing and getting up, but he definitely looks staggered… We’re doing it… We’re winning!
*Valtiel faced his adversaries again and swung the Great Knife a couple times in a small bit of overacted frustration.
Valtiel – Whoa whoa whoa.. This totally blows! You guys have three weapons to my one! Including captain prosperity over here swinging around his 15 foot long Masa-Massive-Mune thingy!
*The massive gash left on Valtiel from X finally healed, and Valtiel’s head spun a complete 360 degrees as he cracked his neck in his own sickly fashion.
Sephiroth X – What’s the matter? Not having any fun?
Valtiel – Au contraire… I’m having a blast! In fact I’ve been having fun ever since I took over this town…
*As he continued talking, patches of flesh began developing underneath both Dark Crono and Valtiel at a slow rate that wouldn’t draw attention.
Valtiel – I had an especially fun little treat when I stopped at this little game arcade a few days back… There was this fun little fighting game I liked… And it had one special move I just loved doing over and over…
*Just as Valtiel finished his sentence he quickly sunk down into the ground and shot up from the fleshy patch that built up under Dark Crono. As he rose up from the ground his right arm was pointed upwards in an uppercut like fashion and his entire body spun slightly as he connected with a solid rising uppercut that sent Crono flying upwards. And for some odd twisted effect Valtiel insisted on yelling out the name of the move.
Valtiel – VALTY-RYUKEN!
*Valtiel’s own momentum took him upwards with Dark Crono, and just as Crono recovered from the uppercut Valtiel hit him with a powerful left hook that sent Crono slamming into the wall of a building. Sephiroth X flew upwards after Valtiel and landed a thunderous kick right into Valtiel’s back. Valtiel quickly spun to face X and the two began a vicious swordfight in midair with Valtiel matching each of X’s slashes.
Valtiel – C’mon where’s this new strength you were talking about?
*Slightly infuriated by his comments, X made sure Valtiel didn’t speak much more as he deflected the Great Knife out of his away and hit a spinning kick on Valtiel’s head, sending the monster plummeting to the ground. Seph kept his eyes on Valtiel while he fell to the ground as he then called out to his ally.
Sephiroth X – Crono!
*Crono quickly shook off the effects of Valtiel’s last attack on him and flew down towards the ground on an intercept course with Valtiel. X hovered in the air for a moment as his eyes began to grow a more luminous and the dark features on his face became more increasingly pronounced on him. After gathering a little extra strength X then bolted down from the air towards Valtiel as well. Moments before Valtiel made contact with the ground, Dark Crono flew underneath Valtiel and swung a mighty fist upwards that made his enemies body crack and abruptly shifted Valtiel’s momentum upwards again. And just as Valtiel began to fly upwards, X flew towards him with lighting speed and put all of his strength into one thunderous punch that landed right under Valtiel’s chin. The force of the attack hit with such ferocious velocity that the windows of the nearby buildings shattered and loose fragments of cement and brick shook from their foundations. Sephiroth X felt bones break within Valtiel as his fist connected and Valtiel fell back down onto the ground with near lifelessness, while X likewise landed on the ground awkwardly as he expended a good deal of strength with that attack.
*Valtiel’s body twitched slightly while on the ground, and very faint groans could be heard from him as he tried to recover. Dark Crono stood next to Valtiel watching his attempts to get back up, his hands gripping each half of the Mastermune. Just as Crono began to raise one of the blades for a critical strike, Valtiel’s body let loose one desperate surge of life and connected with a heavy punch that sent the Dark one rolling across the ground a few feet away. Valtiel’s body fell back to the ground while X began walking towards with the Masamune gripped tightly.
Sephiroth X – We’re finishing this right now.
*Seph stood above Valtiel with the Masamune’s tip pointing towards Valtiel’s head, gripped the Masamune with two hands, and slowly raised the hilt above his head. Just as X was about to drive the fatal blow into Valtiel, a fierce but familiar voice suddenly spoke in X’s mind.
You’ve forgotten about me… haven’t you… Seph…
*Images of a female figure began to take shape within X’s mind… the female figure quickly took the form of Catrina.
I have survived both the demons and the gods…
*The images in Seph’s mind seemed to become more real by the second… almost too real for Seph… In his mind he could see her face glaring at him with a cold lifeless expression.
I was your shield and sword… the thing that kept you alive… I was your purpose…
*The images of Catrina became progressively more violent and gruesome looking as her appearance became progressively more disturbing than her natural self; her blue eyes faded, her skin lost its lifeless tone, her flesh began to look like it was rotting and unnatural almost in the same image of Valtiel. X could see images of her being tortured, suffering, in pain. He could constantly see the last image of her walking into the darkness of Midgar as well. All of these images became too much for X to withstand.
And now you have discarded me like a person discards their trash… You achieved your revenge and gained precious element… But you didn’t come back for me Seph… You ran… Ran like a coward! Ran like a coward to the arms of another woman in the heat of lust! Ran with your tail between your legs in search of more power! Only to come back long after the city and its people have been lost! ONLY TO COME BACK WITH THE MAN WHO TOOK MY OWN LIFE AND OUR LOVE! YOU CAME BACK ONLY TO PROVE THAT YOU HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE AS THE COMPLETE FAILURE THAT YOU ARE!
*Seph backed away from Valtiel as the images kept flashing through X’s mind. He dropped the Masamune at his side and fell to his knees as he pressed his hands over his temples. The images became a constant painful headache for Seph and the words he was hearing were jarring him beyond emotional comprehension. Dark Crono watched on as this was happening and was only able to sense glimpses of what was happening within Seph’s mind. Valtiel slowly rose up from the ground and began pacing towards X, his body showing very few signs of lingering pain.
Sephiroth X – Stop it! It’s not real! AAAAAAAAAAAHH!
*Valtiel cocked his head a little and held back a pitiful laugh.
Valtiel – You left her here far too long I think…
*Valtiel promptly swung a kick hitting X in the side of the head. X’s body slid over the ground for a few feet before stopping, the images and trauma seemed to keep X down for the count. Valtiel then turned towards Dark Crono.
Valtiel – Now, for you…
*Dark Crono gave a cold stare to Valtiel for a few moments before he looked over to check on X again, Crono figured that X wasn’t able to continue from this point on. This was a scenario that he did see as possible, however he hoped it would have been a probable one. Dark Crono gripped his Mastermune blades for a few moments and then dashed at Valtiel for an all out offensive; unleashing a barrage of slashes at Valtiel both high and low. Crono managed to get a few hits in but Valtiel was mostly matching his attacks with a solid defense. Upon blocking an incoming slash from Crono, Valtiel promptly shoved the weapon away and kicked Crono in the chest. Crono staggered back a few steps while Valtiel quickly walked towards him and let loose a few furious and powerful slashes at Dark Crono, who needed to use both Mastermune blades in some cases to block the attacks. After one more fierce slash from Crono, Crono flipped over the attack and over Valtiel at the same time. As he landed behind Valtiel, Crono emphatically stabbed one of his blades into Valtiel’s shoulder. A hiss came from Valtiel as he quickly spun around and continued his offensive against Crono, whom was now fighting with only one weapon. Dark Crono continually kept blocking attacks from Valtiel while backing up trying to create space between him and the monster. Yet Valtiel’s relentlessly aggressive attacks would not let up and the Great Knife seemed to pick up extra momentum with every swing. After noticing this gradual increase of momentum, Crono quickly used it against Valtiel and promptly parried an incoming attack and let the swords momentum drive itself into the concrete. Crono immediately drive his knee into Valtiel’s forearm and jarred the Great Knife out of his hands, yet Valtiel responded with an aggressive punch that sent Crono flying through the wall of another building.
*Valtiel reached behind him and pulled out the Mastermune blade that had been jarred into his shoulder. He held the weapon in his hand and eyed it for a few moments before noticing that a dozen yards away Sephiroth X had managed to get back up onto one knee, still clutching his head from the painful images from before. Valtiel looked back down at the Mastermune half and promptly gripped it in his hand with a reverse grip style, he then looked back at X and went into a dash towards the Warrior of Prosperity with the Mastermune blade held high ready to strike a killing blow into X. Seph managed to look up as Valtiel came closer and saw the Mastermune blade coming closer to him, seeing his own impending doom moments away. But just as Valtiel began driving the blade towards X, there was a sudden WHOOSH in the air as a figure appeared between the two accompanied by the sound of blade meeting a small amount of flesh.
*Dark Crono stood between the two of them, his now torn up cloak still billowing a little from the airflow surrounding him, with his right hand wrapped tightly around the Mastermune blade intended for X. Blood ran down Crono’s shaking hand and arm while his face showed little sign of pain from the attack.
Dark Crono – Don’t assume this blade would betray its master so willfully.
Valtiel – Now really… How do you expect to survive while protecting him… that thing called a human?
*The half of the Mastermune that Valtiel had then began to phase into dark matter again before quickly reforming in the same spot it was in, except now with the hilt in Dark Crono’s hand and the blade in Valtiel’s.
Dark Crono – As long as necessary...
*Crono then drove the blade into Valtiel’s palm and down into and through his arm a little before yanking the blade back out and kicking Valtiel away. Crono held the two halves of the Mastermune out in front of them while dark energy began circling around him. The energy became more and more prevalent and gusts of wind began blowing, kicking up dust and stone with Crono as its epicenter. The mass of dark energy caused the Mastermune to fuse back into one weapon again and created a dark hue around Crono’s body. Valtiel cocked his head while he let his arm and hand heal up, observing the display of energy from his adversary and figuring Crono was going to unleash something powerful.
Valtiel - …Well this should be interesting…
*The winds became fiercer and the ground began to rumble, bolts of thin black lightning shot from Crono to the ground and his cloak whipped around wildly in the air. Behind him, X managed to briefly regain his composure as he was suddenly overwhelmed by the dark energy radiating from Dark Crono.
Sephiroth X – Don’t… he’s too… powerful.
*Valtiel couldn’t help but arrogantly welcome the test of strength Crono was inviting him to.
Valtiel – C’mon… I wanna see what the ace up your sleeve is.
*Dark Crono disregarded the warning from his ally; he figured escape was near impossible at this point. He had reached the precipice of desperation and was prepared to unleash an assault that he hoped would be enough. A more intense look of determination washed over Crono’s face as all of the surrounding dark energy surged into him en mass as he dashed through the air with incredible speed at Valtiel. Dark Crono swung the Mastermune and moved with the blade with lightning speed connecting with hit after hit. The Mastermune itself alternated between its complete and separated forms as Crono connected with over a dozen thunderous attacks, and with a powerful stab Crono launched the Mastermune through the stomach of Valtiel and quickly leapt up into the air slicing the blade up through Valtiel’s torso and through his shoulder. Crono hovered in the air as he followed through with the attack and all of the remaining dark energy he had left massed together in a ball of light at the tip of the Mastermune. The concentration of energy created a low thundering hum that shook the entire vicinity. Sephiroth X saw the mangled body of Valtiel still standing on his feet and then looked up at Crono in the air, the amount of energy that Crono had massed together was beyond anything X had sensed before… so much that X thought even Crono couldn’t handle it.
Sephiroth X – Crono! You’ll destroy everything around here! DON’T DO IT!
*Dark Crono let out a yell of anger as he drove the energy charged Mastermune down and at Valtiel, and as the blade met the flesh of Valtiel a thunderous explosion of energy erupted with bomb like force. White light drowned out everything else as buildings shook and quickly crumbled under the force of the explosion. The force of the explosion sent X flying through the air crashing into the remnants of a building, and the explosion likewise sent Dark Crono himself flying into a building that promptly collapsed on top of him. As the light from the explosion vanished, dust clouded the air rendering nothing visible at all. There were five or six eerily quiet minutes, no signs of life at all after the amazing blast.
*Sephiroth X slowly started to open his eyes as the dust began to settle; in every direction buildings were destroyed or partially damaged from the shockwave of the blast and little more than a few pillars and piles of brick were all that remained from anything in the immediate vicinity of the blast. X’s own clothes were torn and he was bleeding a little as a result of both the battle itself and the debris from Crono’s attack. X could then hear the sound of rubble being forced apart as a few feet away Dark Crono emerged, Mastermune still somehow in hand. His cloak was a ruined mess at this point and blood trickled from under his hair covered face, a distinct sign of how devastating the whole fight had been. Crono staggered lifelessly back closer to the area of the battle, dragging one end of the Mastermune in the sand a little before it silently disappeared. From the very little that X could see, it appeared like Crono had nothing left in him at all as even his golden eye had lost most of its shimmer. Dark Crono staggered for a few feet more before collapsing down to his knees from his own exhaustion. The dust continued to settle as both of them looked for any signs of their enemy. Minutes felt like hours as they hoped to at least see a corpse, but every passing moment of silence felt like they were one step closer to achieving victory.
*The faint sound of footsteps and shuffling drew the attention got the attention of both men. X struggled to pinpoint the visual source of the sounds as he was close to slipping into unconsciousness and Crono’s exhausted face tried to regain some of its intensity as he looked into the settling dust. Crono could see a figure standing ahead of them and he could already tell it wasn’t a random survivor of Midgar, and a faint gust of wind confirmed it as the wind pushed away the dust in the air between them. Valtiel was back on his feet with his back turned to them, and Dark Crono could see all of the wounds inflicted upon Valtiel begin to heal before his very eyes. And after most of his wounds had fully healed, Valtiel turned towards his exhausted opponents and began slowly pacing towards them.
Valtiel – I must say I’m quite impressed… Even I didn’t expect to be pushed this hard by either of you.
*Valtiel walked up to Dark Crono, and used his foot to lift up Crono’s head to look him in the face.
Valtiel – But all good things unfortunately must come to an end… myself excluded of course.
*Valtiel then pulled his leg back a little and swung a kick intended for Crono’s head. However just as the kick was going to land Dark Crono vanished into thin air again. Valtiel chuckled a little bit as he didn’t expect Crono to have enough energy left to do that. After a few moments of silence, Valtiel quickly shot his arm out to his right and closed his hand as if grabbing something… and as he did this he pulled Dark Crono out of thin air. Valtiel slowly turned his head to look at a now stunned Crono.
Valtiel – That is not going to work here anymore.
*Valtiel yanked Crono close to his face, holding the dark one off the ground slightly.
Valtiel – I am god here. Not you.
*With his other hand, Valtiel began to repeatedly punch Dark Crono in the face. X watched on before finally slipping into unconsciousness, his last thoughts thinking of Catrina and his impending demise. Crono couldn’t even raise a hand to defend himself as all of his energy was gone at this point as he too seemingly was awaiting fate. Valtiel held the bloodied Crono in his hand for a few moments, taking great pleasure in seeing the man who once destroyed him now a near lifeless body in his hands.
Valtiel – And now… I am done playing.
*Valtiel pulled his arm back for one final punch to put Crono out of his misery. Yet before he could do so, something unexpected occurred.
SHINK
*The sound of a sword slicing through flesh could be heard as Dark Crono fell to the ground, with the severed hand of Valtiel landing with him. Valtiel quickly looked at his now handless arm with a sudden perplexed gaze.
Valtiel – What the?!
*A red flowing cape then blocked Valtiel from Dark Crono, the cape itself spun in the air repeatedly until an arm holding a large handgun protruded from the cloth and fired three consecutive shots directly into Valtiel’s head. Valtiel staggered backwards as the flowing cape opened itself to reveal Azriel standing in front of Dark Crono, a gun in one hand and a sword in the other.
Valtiel – YOU!
*Azriel’s eyes promptly lit up with a furious crimson color as he extended his arms out to his left and right sides, causing his cape to expand like an entity with a life of its own as the cape wrapped itself around both Crono and Sephiroth X.
Azriel – We aren’t finished yet.
*Azriel’s cape continued to expand as it then wrapped around Azriel himself. All three entities within Azriel’s cape then lost their shape and within moments every trace of Azriel was gone. Valtiel stood there for a few moments as his severed hand crawled back onto him and reattached itself to his arm. Both of his hands then curled up into tight fists before Valtiel quickly turned around and walked towards the Great Knife. He very emphatically yanked his weapon out from the ground as a low growl could be heard coming from him. Valtiel’s body began to shake with frustration as it sank; he had both of them ready to die and they are now going to live on… And for some reason Valtiel couldn’t even sense Azriel’s presence. Valtiel promptly stormed off with an angry haste in his step… He was now going to do whatever he could to get Azriel.
- - - - -
*Sephiroth X’s eyes slowly began to open as he could see the desert sun above him. He felt disoriented and confused as to how he got there, he remembered Valtiel surviving Crono’s onslaught and could hear the final moments of Crono becoming Valtiel’s punching bag before passing out.
Sephiroth X – Where… am I?
*X turned his head to his right and he could see the Masamune sitting in the sand as if it was placed there by someone else. He then looked over to his left and could see two figures, one standing and one lying on the ground. As X’s vision focused he saw the familiar red cape of Azriel standing near the unconscious body of Dark Crono. Sensing that X had awoken, Azriel promptly turned towards X to speak.
Azriel – You are in a place where the devil cannot reach you… for now.
*Seph sat up and grasped his head, his head was still aching.
Sephiroth X – Never thought I’d see the day where the desert of the dead was a sanctuary… Nice to see you make a timely appearance, you could have stepped in sooner.
*Azriel’s expression changed very little.
Azriel – You’re welcome… You should be fortunate that Fallen nor Valtiel can seem to sense my existence within their new version of Midgar.
*X looked over to the lifeless Dark Crono.
Sephiroth X – How’s he?
Azriel – Alive… but barely. He will not survive much longer without further help. Crono used up everything he had, it’s his willpower that is all that is keeping him alive at this point
Sephiroth X – So why didn’t you just take us to someplace with a hospital?
Azriel – You and he started your journey to Midgar… It would be wrong for me to finish it for you. Besides, I do not want to drive far from Midgar… I want to keep watch on Valtiel. He has weaknesses and is not invincible… Perhaps in time we can find a way to destroy him.
Sephiroth X – I’m… still not strong enough to defeat him… even with the new power and strength I’ve acquired… how is this possible?
Azriel – Strength isn’t about just brute power and skills… You walk a very dangerous line with the path you are taking… We all need to be prepared when it comes to confronting Valtiel, but do not sacrifice yourself in order to get that power.
*Azriel looked back down at Dark Crono.
Azriel – Take him someplace where he can recover. We will need him when the time is right.
*Azriel’s cape began to circle around him.
Azriel – Be safe.
Sephiroth X – Thank you…
*As Azriel vanished from his sight, Sephiroth X walked over to Dark Crono and lifted him up. X put one of Crono’s arms over his shoulders and then tried to focus his sixth sense into finding the location of some of his friends.
Sephiroth X – Liberats seems to be this way…
*X began walking, carrying Crono along the way. So many thoughts began running through Seph’s mind; Catrina, the strength he would need, and how ironic it was that Dark Crono was now dependant upon X in order to survive.
- - - - -
*A few hours passed and their trek across the desert was still continuing. Sephiroth X still had Dark Crono hoisted over his shoulder and was still moving at a respectable pace. In an attempt to at least humor himself, or perhaps vent some of his frustration, X began speaking out loud.
Sephiroth X – This… is just so weird… A couple weeks ago I wanted nothing but to kick your ass. And I did… Everything was all fine and dandy… I even got Catrina back…
*Seph took a moment to look up at the hot sun again.
Sephiroth X – But no… You just had to show up again… Valtiel just had to go on his power trip… and now here I am… tail tucked firmly between my legs… dragging your creepy cloaked ass across this damn desert… your only hope at surviving… because we both need you later on… And I probably won’t even get a damn thank you!
*X sighed slightly and simply continued walking on.
- - - - -
*Zack returned to the side of Bax, who was still recovering in the medical section of Libertas. A lot was definitely going on in the minds of both of them, among them was the fate of both X and Crono.
Zack- X… what were you doing? Seriously… it was Crono you went out there with!
*After a few more minutes of silence, both Zack and Bax could hear some commotion outside of their area of the medical area. Within a few moments the entrance to their room burst open and Sephiroth X walked in with Dark Crono over his shoulder… and a doctor and a very angry Locke behind them.
Locke- Now seriously I can’t just start letting you drag anyone you want in and out of this city!
*X immediately lied Dark Crono down on a medical bed right next to Bax.
Sephiroth X – Can it, Locke! I don’t have time for this!
Doctor – Unfortunately sir, he is right. This person isn’t going to last much longer at all without medical help.
*Zack and Bax both remained silent… they could see that X and Crono both went through hell, and seeing Crono on his near death bed was a shock of a whole different level.
Sephiroth X – Will he survive?
*The doctor gave a quick examination over Dark Crono, checking pulse and some of his wounds.
Doctor – This man’s been through hell. I truthfully can’t tell what is keeping him alive considering what you told us on the way in here… But you got him here in time, under some constant care he should pull through.
Sephiroth X – Good… Keep an eye on him… I need to go.
*Both the doctor and Zack immediately interjected.
Doctor – Now you aren’t much better than he is. I wouldn’t advise it.
Sephiroth X – I’ll be fine… there is something I must do.
Zack – Seph! You can’t just turn around and leave like this! We need you to be here!
*Zack’s eyes drifted over to Dark Crono’s, and then immediately back to X.
Zack – We reeeeeally would like you to be here!
*Seph shrugged… he understood Zack’s apprehension.
Sephiroth X – I understand Zack… But Crono saved my life a couple of times out there… And now he needs us in order to survive… We need him Zack, we really do. But he and I alone were not strong enough to beat Valtiel… And I need to go… I need to find a way to increase this new power I have…
*X patted Zack on the shoulder, hoping to pep him up a little bit, and then he walked towards the exit of the room.
Sephiroth X – Zack, I’m leaving Dark Crono in your care…
*Sephiroth X walked out of the room to continue his own personal quest. Zack could tell something bad happened in their encounter with Valtiel… X seemed troubled, different somehow. But as Zack looked over to the opposite side of the room his thoughts quickly shifted away from X as he watched the doctor examine the unconscious Dark Crono… who’s life seemingly was now in Zack’s hands.
Also: This is a continuation of the ending of Chapter 6
*The sun was in the process of rising, starting a new day over the Desert of the Dead. Sephiroth X bolted over the desert sand heading straight towards the hellhole that was formerly known as Midgar with thoughts running through his mind that he was trying to block out. His incident with Cid was still lingering in his mind as well as his unusual behaviors as of late, not to mention he was still uneasy about the alliance he just made with his sworn enemy. X tried blocking out all of these thoughts, he knew that Crono was evil but not a fool who would betray an ally in the midst of a greater foe, and if X’s mind wasn’t focused directly on fighting Valtiel then he would be doomed to fail as well. Sephiroth X looked toward the horizon and slowly saw the skies around him seem to lose some of their vivid dawn colors, everything slowly becoming dull grays of their former selves. X knew he was closing in on Midgar and his anticipation for the upcoming confrontation made him fly towards the doomed city with greater haste. The city of Midgar rose over the horizon, the sight of the city helped X block out his thoughts and focus on the task at hand, and as X drew closer to the edge of city limits he descended down from the sky and landed on the ground. Seph’s sixth sense began to irritate him as it constantly was barraged by the distant presence of Valtiel’s power. Midgar looked like a shell of its former self to X, an eerie silence complimented by the thick fog made the hair on X’s neck stand on end with a sense of eerie anxiety.
Sephiroth X – It’s so quiet… so empty.
Dark Crono – …Your unwary eyes bestow an ill-conceived falsehood... This veil simply endows the foolish to an unfortunate pretense.
*Sephiroth X calmly looked to his left seeing Dark Crono standing beside him, likewise observing the city.
Sephiroth X – Glad to see you showed… You’re not gonna have cold feet on me now, are you?
*Crono ignored the comment entirely and proceeded to walk towards Midgar, and X promptly followed suit.
- - - - -
*X and Crono stepped through the foggy streets of Midgar, Crono appearing calm while X seemed to be on edge. They continued to trek inward towards the heart of the city figuring that Valtiel would most likely be lingering there. Beyond the sounds of their footsteps nothing could be heard in the city, as if everyone and everything was sleeping. Abandoned vehicles and lifeless bodies littered the sides of every street they went down, stains of blood and shattered glass scattered randomly, it was like they truly stepped into the gates of hell and it got worse the further in they went… yet there was still no sign from Valtiel.
Dark Crono – Our presence was known the instant we entered this spell.
Sephiroth X – Doesn’t take much to figure that out… Can you sense him?
Dark Crono – I sense only the understandable.
Sephiroth X – We’ve gone too far into the city without seeing anything.
Dark Crono – Perhaps… but he savors who await him.
Sephiroth X – This is Valtiel just making a statement.
Dark Crono – He deprives us.
Sephiroth X – And he’s left the door wide open for us and we’ve walked right in on the damn red carpet.
*The sound of somebody clapping their hands could be heard from a short distance away, the origin of the sound came from a rooftop in front of them. Sephiroth X and Dark Crono both stopped and looked towards the source of the sound and saw Valtiel sitting on the edge of the rooftop clapping.
Valtiel – My, oh my, oh my, the interesting web we weave.
Sephiroth X – Valtiel…
*X’s face became more intense while Dark Crono’s face was locked in a cold silent stare. Valtiel stood up on the rooftop and continued to speak, this time in a sarcastic tone.
Valtiel – You know, I truly can make miracles… Maybe I have a future as a social worker… Look at this, the two of you were at each others throats not so long ago and now you two stand here together in front of me. If I could cry I might shed a tear for you two. Now I must ask, what brings you two here in front of me?
Dark Crono – We are this planet’s united awareness against the unnatural. This awareness converges and takes form in chosen entities, heroes, during its fated eras. Bound in relation like chains, forever connected in balance.
*Dark Crono cast a moment of silence before speaking again.
Dark Crono – Symbiont Necrostina, Deity Apocalypse – A parasitic chain destined to be cast into null.
Valtiel – I’m honored… perhaps touched. Two of the biggest adversaries in history have forged an alliance to destroy little ol’ me… well… at least try to.
Sephiroth X – You underestimate yourself, Valtiel… My strength has increased quickly since our last encounter.
*X gave a quick glance to Crono.
Sephiroth X – And he’s improved greatly as well.
*Muscles traditionally associated to smirking twisted underneath Valtiel’s skin.
Valtiel – Well then perhaps we’re all in for a couple of surprises then.
*Sephiroth X gripped the Masamune firmly and held the blade out in front of him slightly. Dark Crono extended his hand outward as dark energy began to circle around him, with a pulse of black lightning the Mastermune appeared in his hand.
Valtiel – Mmmm… Faaaancy. I remember that weapon rather well; you used it to destroy me once… and nearly succeeded. I won’t lie, I’ve been hoping to have a rematch with you for quite a while… Zeal.
*Dark Crono’s eyes narrowed slightly from under his hood. Sephiroth X’s head turned towards Crono with a confused yet intrigued look on his face.
Valtiel – Ah yes, the name you never introduced to me. Your self-absorbed mind is probably determining how I know that name. Well you must learn that you’re both in my world now, I am the god here.
*Noises slowly started to build from the fog in all directions around the three. Monsters of all shapes and sizes appeared from the gloomy haze. Valtiel raised his hand to signal a halt to all the approaching monsters.
Valtiel – Nuh uh... These two guys obviously came here for one specific reason so no need to make them fool around… we’ll just skip to the main event.
*From within a pack of monsters, another came staggering through with Valtiel’s rusted Great Knife impaled in it. Valtiel’s hand reached out towards the creature, and with a dying groan from the monster the Great Knife flew out of the monster and carried through the air right into Valtiel’s hand.
Valtiel – Now… let’s raise the curtain to the next act and open with a god versus an unholy alliance.
*Valtiel stood himself up and gazed down at them from his rooftop. In the background monsters began to vanish away, perhaps escaping the epicenter of what might be an earth shattering confrontation. X gripped the Masamune tightly once more while Dark Crono wrapped both of his hands around the Mastermune. Together they stood side by side as allies instead of enemies and the brother blades of the Mastermune and Masamune were together, and perhaps in some twisted way the blades themselves wanted this to happen. As Sephiroth X focused himself for the fight his appearance began to change again; his skin grew pale, his lips turned a sickly gray, his eyes filled with black borders, and small black veins began to branch out from his eyes out onto his face. Crono’s gold eye shifted towards X for a moment as he got a first hand glance of the transformation he sensed X was going through. With a confident tone in his voice X spoke to Crono.
Sephiroth X – Are you ready?
*Dark Crono remained silent as he focused on Valtiel, his own form of confirmation that he was ready for the fight.
Sephiroth X – Lets do this!
*With a quick bend of his knee’s Sephiroth X shot up into the air towards Valtiel with Dark Crono promptly following. X swung the Masamune emphatically while Valtiel leaned backwards to avoid the slash. Just as Valtiel ducked the knee of Dark Crono quickly slammed into the underside of Valtiel’s chin causing the undead creature to stagger back a few steps. As Valtiel re-gathered himself X quickly dashed at him from a side angle and unleashed a few quick slices, all of which were deflected by Valtiel’s Great Knife. Following another block of the Masamune Valtiel exerted extra force to stagger X and Valtiel seized the moment by landing a powerful kick into X’s chest, sending the silver haired opponent flying back down to the street. After kicking away Seph, Dark Crono immediately appeared behind Valtiel and landed a deep slice into Valtiel’s back. A cringe of pain came from Valtiel as he spun around and blocked a second incoming slash from the Mastermune, then grabbed the hilt of Crono’s weapon, yanked Crono closer and quickly knocked the hood back from over his head.
Valtiel – That! Hurt!
*Valtiel quickly let go of the Mastermune and drove a fist right into Dark Crono’s face. Crono flew off of the rooftop and landed on one knee next to where Sephiroth X was now standing. Valtiel’s back wound promptly began healing as he walked towards the edge of the roof he was on, stepped off the roof, and began walking down the side of the building towards the street. In a rage, Dark Crono reached behind his head with his left hand and ripped the hood off the cloak, keeping his eyes on Valtiel with a more noticeable angry glare.
Valtiel – Ohhh… you look pissed!
*Sephiroth X dusted himself off a little bit as he stood next to Crono.
Sephiroth X – Well that wasn’t the best opening round we could have wanted…
*Dark Crono’s eyes never left Valtiel. Crono then gripped the Mastermune with both of his hands and then snapped the hilt of the weapon over his knee, breaking it into two halves. The two halves of the Mastermune began to reform as two separate weapons within Dark Crono’s hands forming into weapons similar to the curved serrated blades that were used against X in the Super City, except this time the Mastermune halves resembled short swords without the curvature from before although they still retained a serrated edge on each blade.
Valtiel – Heh, not messin’ around I take it?
*Valtiel continued his pace down the side of the building, eventually reaching the sidewalk. As Valtiel stepped towards the street, Dark Crono twirled his two Mastermune halves in his hands once and began strafing to the left of Valtiel while X similarly strafed to the right. Crono and X then dashed towards Valtiel from both sides creating an impromptu pincer attack. Sensing the incoming attacks Valtiel decided to improvise, the ground underneath Valtiel quickly eroded into a fleshy substance from which he quickly sunk into.
Valtiel – Going down!
*Just as Crono and X swung their blades Valtiel completely sunk into the ground; vanishing completely, and the blades of X and Crono clanged against each other. The two allies looked down in a very brief moment of bewilderment, and within that same split second a similar fleshy substance formed on the wall of a building near them as Valtiel launched out of the wall towards the two. Valtiel stretched his arm back briefly before flinging it outward and toppling X and Crono with a powerful clothesline. The two fighters quickly got back to their feet and re-gathered themselves as Valtiel mockingly flexed his arm.
Dark Crono – Fool…
*X and Crono dashed towards Valtiel again and let loose a combined flurry of slashes towards their gruesome opponent. The Great Knife became a blur of motion within Valtiel’s hand as he attempted to block and parry the attacks of the two, but the sheer numbers quickly became an issue for Valtiel as a few slashes from both fighters’ blades broke through is defenses, causing gashes and cuts to appear on Valtiel’s torso. Valtiel tried to compensate by distancing himself from his two opponents while keeping up his defenses, yet Crono and X would not allow this to happen as they matched his attempts to step backwards from him. Sensing that Valtiel was not able to keep up with their matched efforts, Dark Crono increased the aggression in his attacks trying to land a more crucial blow to his foe and after a few attempts managed to gouge a chunk out of Valtiel’s knee. The damage forced Valtiel down to one knee and brought his focus more towards the increasingly aggressive Dark Crono. This left X with a wide open angle at Valtiel which he seized and landed a powerful roundhouse kick right into the head of the monster sending his body flying into the wall of a nearby building, leaving a sizeable indent as a result. X, wasting no time, flew right towards Valtiel with the Masamune ready for a powerful slice. Valtiel quickly rolled out of the way as he sensed X approaching, resulting in X crashing right through the wall into the building. Just as X crashed through the wall, Dark Crono similarly dashed towards Valtiel.
Valtiel – Oooh looks like you wanna play.
*Suddenly before Crono could reach Valtiel the blade of the Masamune shot through the brick wall of the building and stabbed through Valtiel’s body, causing Crono to stop abruptly to prevent himself from being impaled. The blade then began to slice upwards through the wall, taking Valtiel up with it until reaching the roof of the building until X shot through the roof itself and completed his slashing motion, cleaving a good chunk of Valtiel’s torso. While hovering, Seph grabbed Valtiel by one of his arms and flung him down back towards the ground with a fleshy ‘thwack’. X flew down after him, not wanting to give him a moments worth of recovery, however just as X’s blade was going to make contact with Valtiel the Great Knife spun in between the two deflecting X off his trajectory and causing him to land near Crono again. The two stood there for a moment as Valtiel staggered back to his feet and watched all of his wounds quickly begin to heal. Thoughts began to run through X’s mind as his foe recovered.
Sephiroth X – He’s healing and getting up, but he definitely looks staggered… We’re doing it… We’re winning!
*Valtiel faced his adversaries again and swung the Great Knife a couple times in a small bit of overacted frustration.
Valtiel – Whoa whoa whoa.. This totally blows! You guys have three weapons to my one! Including captain prosperity over here swinging around his 15 foot long Masa-Massive-Mune thingy!
*The massive gash left on Valtiel from X finally healed, and Valtiel’s head spun a complete 360 degrees as he cracked his neck in his own sickly fashion.
Sephiroth X – What’s the matter? Not having any fun?
Valtiel – Au contraire… I’m having a blast! In fact I’ve been having fun ever since I took over this town…
*As he continued talking, patches of flesh began developing underneath both Dark Crono and Valtiel at a slow rate that wouldn’t draw attention.
Valtiel – I had an especially fun little treat when I stopped at this little game arcade a few days back… There was this fun little fighting game I liked… And it had one special move I just loved doing over and over…
*Just as Valtiel finished his sentence he quickly sunk down into the ground and shot up from the fleshy patch that built up under Dark Crono. As he rose up from the ground his right arm was pointed upwards in an uppercut like fashion and his entire body spun slightly as he connected with a solid rising uppercut that sent Crono flying upwards. And for some odd twisted effect Valtiel insisted on yelling out the name of the move.
Valtiel – VALTY-RYUKEN!
*Valtiel’s own momentum took him upwards with Dark Crono, and just as Crono recovered from the uppercut Valtiel hit him with a powerful left hook that sent Crono slamming into the wall of a building. Sephiroth X flew upwards after Valtiel and landed a thunderous kick right into Valtiel’s back. Valtiel quickly spun to face X and the two began a vicious swordfight in midair with Valtiel matching each of X’s slashes.
Valtiel – C’mon where’s this new strength you were talking about?
*Slightly infuriated by his comments, X made sure Valtiel didn’t speak much more as he deflected the Great Knife out of his away and hit a spinning kick on Valtiel’s head, sending the monster plummeting to the ground. Seph kept his eyes on Valtiel while he fell to the ground as he then called out to his ally.
Sephiroth X – Crono!
*Crono quickly shook off the effects of Valtiel’s last attack on him and flew down towards the ground on an intercept course with Valtiel. X hovered in the air for a moment as his eyes began to grow a more luminous and the dark features on his face became more increasingly pronounced on him. After gathering a little extra strength X then bolted down from the air towards Valtiel as well. Moments before Valtiel made contact with the ground, Dark Crono flew underneath Valtiel and swung a mighty fist upwards that made his enemies body crack and abruptly shifted Valtiel’s momentum upwards again. And just as Valtiel began to fly upwards, X flew towards him with lighting speed and put all of his strength into one thunderous punch that landed right under Valtiel’s chin. The force of the attack hit with such ferocious velocity that the windows of the nearby buildings shattered and loose fragments of cement and brick shook from their foundations. Sephiroth X felt bones break within Valtiel as his fist connected and Valtiel fell back down onto the ground with near lifelessness, while X likewise landed on the ground awkwardly as he expended a good deal of strength with that attack.
*Valtiel’s body twitched slightly while on the ground, and very faint groans could be heard from him as he tried to recover. Dark Crono stood next to Valtiel watching his attempts to get back up, his hands gripping each half of the Mastermune. Just as Crono began to raise one of the blades for a critical strike, Valtiel’s body let loose one desperate surge of life and connected with a heavy punch that sent the Dark one rolling across the ground a few feet away. Valtiel’s body fell back to the ground while X began walking towards with the Masamune gripped tightly.
Sephiroth X – We’re finishing this right now.
*Seph stood above Valtiel with the Masamune’s tip pointing towards Valtiel’s head, gripped the Masamune with two hands, and slowly raised the hilt above his head. Just as X was about to drive the fatal blow into Valtiel, a fierce but familiar voice suddenly spoke in X’s mind.
You’ve forgotten about me… haven’t you… Seph…
*Images of a female figure began to take shape within X’s mind… the female figure quickly took the form of Catrina.
I have survived both the demons and the gods…
*The images in Seph’s mind seemed to become more real by the second… almost too real for Seph… In his mind he could see her face glaring at him with a cold lifeless expression.
I was your shield and sword… the thing that kept you alive… I was your purpose…
*The images of Catrina became progressively more violent and gruesome looking as her appearance became progressively more disturbing than her natural self; her blue eyes faded, her skin lost its lifeless tone, her flesh began to look like it was rotting and unnatural almost in the same image of Valtiel. X could see images of her being tortured, suffering, in pain. He could constantly see the last image of her walking into the darkness of Midgar as well. All of these images became too much for X to withstand.
And now you have discarded me like a person discards their trash… You achieved your revenge and gained precious element… But you didn’t come back for me Seph… You ran… Ran like a coward! Ran like a coward to the arms of another woman in the heat of lust! Ran with your tail between your legs in search of more power! Only to come back long after the city and its people have been lost! ONLY TO COME BACK WITH THE MAN WHO TOOK MY OWN LIFE AND OUR LOVE! YOU CAME BACK ONLY TO PROVE THAT YOU HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE AS THE COMPLETE FAILURE THAT YOU ARE!
*Seph backed away from Valtiel as the images kept flashing through X’s mind. He dropped the Masamune at his side and fell to his knees as he pressed his hands over his temples. The images became a constant painful headache for Seph and the words he was hearing were jarring him beyond emotional comprehension. Dark Crono watched on as this was happening and was only able to sense glimpses of what was happening within Seph’s mind. Valtiel slowly rose up from the ground and began pacing towards X, his body showing very few signs of lingering pain.
Sephiroth X – Stop it! It’s not real! AAAAAAAAAAAHH!
*Valtiel cocked his head a little and held back a pitiful laugh.
Valtiel – You left her here far too long I think…
*Valtiel promptly swung a kick hitting X in the side of the head. X’s body slid over the ground for a few feet before stopping, the images and trauma seemed to keep X down for the count. Valtiel then turned towards Dark Crono.
Valtiel – Now, for you…
*Dark Crono gave a cold stare to Valtiel for a few moments before he looked over to check on X again, Crono figured that X wasn’t able to continue from this point on. This was a scenario that he did see as possible, however he hoped it would have been a probable one. Dark Crono gripped his Mastermune blades for a few moments and then dashed at Valtiel for an all out offensive; unleashing a barrage of slashes at Valtiel both high and low. Crono managed to get a few hits in but Valtiel was mostly matching his attacks with a solid defense. Upon blocking an incoming slash from Crono, Valtiel promptly shoved the weapon away and kicked Crono in the chest. Crono staggered back a few steps while Valtiel quickly walked towards him and let loose a few furious and powerful slashes at Dark Crono, who needed to use both Mastermune blades in some cases to block the attacks. After one more fierce slash from Crono, Crono flipped over the attack and over Valtiel at the same time. As he landed behind Valtiel, Crono emphatically stabbed one of his blades into Valtiel’s shoulder. A hiss came from Valtiel as he quickly spun around and continued his offensive against Crono, whom was now fighting with only one weapon. Dark Crono continually kept blocking attacks from Valtiel while backing up trying to create space between him and the monster. Yet Valtiel’s relentlessly aggressive attacks would not let up and the Great Knife seemed to pick up extra momentum with every swing. After noticing this gradual increase of momentum, Crono quickly used it against Valtiel and promptly parried an incoming attack and let the swords momentum drive itself into the concrete. Crono immediately drive his knee into Valtiel’s forearm and jarred the Great Knife out of his hands, yet Valtiel responded with an aggressive punch that sent Crono flying through the wall of another building.
*Valtiel reached behind him and pulled out the Mastermune blade that had been jarred into his shoulder. He held the weapon in his hand and eyed it for a few moments before noticing that a dozen yards away Sephiroth X had managed to get back up onto one knee, still clutching his head from the painful images from before. Valtiel looked back down at the Mastermune half and promptly gripped it in his hand with a reverse grip style, he then looked back at X and went into a dash towards the Warrior of Prosperity with the Mastermune blade held high ready to strike a killing blow into X. Seph managed to look up as Valtiel came closer and saw the Mastermune blade coming closer to him, seeing his own impending doom moments away. But just as Valtiel began driving the blade towards X, there was a sudden WHOOSH in the air as a figure appeared between the two accompanied by the sound of blade meeting a small amount of flesh.
*Dark Crono stood between the two of them, his now torn up cloak still billowing a little from the airflow surrounding him, with his right hand wrapped tightly around the Mastermune blade intended for X. Blood ran down Crono’s shaking hand and arm while his face showed little sign of pain from the attack.
Dark Crono – Don’t assume this blade would betray its master so willfully.
Valtiel – Now really… How do you expect to survive while protecting him… that thing called a human?
*The half of the Mastermune that Valtiel had then began to phase into dark matter again before quickly reforming in the same spot it was in, except now with the hilt in Dark Crono’s hand and the blade in Valtiel’s.
Dark Crono – As long as necessary...
*Crono then drove the blade into Valtiel’s palm and down into and through his arm a little before yanking the blade back out and kicking Valtiel away. Crono held the two halves of the Mastermune out in front of them while dark energy began circling around him. The energy became more and more prevalent and gusts of wind began blowing, kicking up dust and stone with Crono as its epicenter. The mass of dark energy caused the Mastermune to fuse back into one weapon again and created a dark hue around Crono’s body. Valtiel cocked his head while he let his arm and hand heal up, observing the display of energy from his adversary and figuring Crono was going to unleash something powerful.
Valtiel - …Well this should be interesting…
*The winds became fiercer and the ground began to rumble, bolts of thin black lightning shot from Crono to the ground and his cloak whipped around wildly in the air. Behind him, X managed to briefly regain his composure as he was suddenly overwhelmed by the dark energy radiating from Dark Crono.
Sephiroth X – Don’t… he’s too… powerful.
*Valtiel couldn’t help but arrogantly welcome the test of strength Crono was inviting him to.
Valtiel – C’mon… I wanna see what the ace up your sleeve is.
*Dark Crono disregarded the warning from his ally; he figured escape was near impossible at this point. He had reached the precipice of desperation and was prepared to unleash an assault that he hoped would be enough. A more intense look of determination washed over Crono’s face as all of the surrounding dark energy surged into him en mass as he dashed through the air with incredible speed at Valtiel. Dark Crono swung the Mastermune and moved with the blade with lightning speed connecting with hit after hit. The Mastermune itself alternated between its complete and separated forms as Crono connected with over a dozen thunderous attacks, and with a powerful stab Crono launched the Mastermune through the stomach of Valtiel and quickly leapt up into the air slicing the blade up through Valtiel’s torso and through his shoulder. Crono hovered in the air as he followed through with the attack and all of the remaining dark energy he had left massed together in a ball of light at the tip of the Mastermune. The concentration of energy created a low thundering hum that shook the entire vicinity. Sephiroth X saw the mangled body of Valtiel still standing on his feet and then looked up at Crono in the air, the amount of energy that Crono had massed together was beyond anything X had sensed before… so much that X thought even Crono couldn’t handle it.
Sephiroth X – Crono! You’ll destroy everything around here! DON’T DO IT!
*Dark Crono let out a yell of anger as he drove the energy charged Mastermune down and at Valtiel, and as the blade met the flesh of Valtiel a thunderous explosion of energy erupted with bomb like force. White light drowned out everything else as buildings shook and quickly crumbled under the force of the explosion. The force of the explosion sent X flying through the air crashing into the remnants of a building, and the explosion likewise sent Dark Crono himself flying into a building that promptly collapsed on top of him. As the light from the explosion vanished, dust clouded the air rendering nothing visible at all. There were five or six eerily quiet minutes, no signs of life at all after the amazing blast.
*Sephiroth X slowly started to open his eyes as the dust began to settle; in every direction buildings were destroyed or partially damaged from the shockwave of the blast and little more than a few pillars and piles of brick were all that remained from anything in the immediate vicinity of the blast. X’s own clothes were torn and he was bleeding a little as a result of both the battle itself and the debris from Crono’s attack. X could then hear the sound of rubble being forced apart as a few feet away Dark Crono emerged, Mastermune still somehow in hand. His cloak was a ruined mess at this point and blood trickled from under his hair covered face, a distinct sign of how devastating the whole fight had been. Crono staggered lifelessly back closer to the area of the battle, dragging one end of the Mastermune in the sand a little before it silently disappeared. From the very little that X could see, it appeared like Crono had nothing left in him at all as even his golden eye had lost most of its shimmer. Dark Crono staggered for a few feet more before collapsing down to his knees from his own exhaustion. The dust continued to settle as both of them looked for any signs of their enemy. Minutes felt like hours as they hoped to at least see a corpse, but every passing moment of silence felt like they were one step closer to achieving victory.
*The faint sound of footsteps and shuffling drew the attention got the attention of both men. X struggled to pinpoint the visual source of the sounds as he was close to slipping into unconsciousness and Crono’s exhausted face tried to regain some of its intensity as he looked into the settling dust. Crono could see a figure standing ahead of them and he could already tell it wasn’t a random survivor of Midgar, and a faint gust of wind confirmed it as the wind pushed away the dust in the air between them. Valtiel was back on his feet with his back turned to them, and Dark Crono could see all of the wounds inflicted upon Valtiel begin to heal before his very eyes. And after most of his wounds had fully healed, Valtiel turned towards his exhausted opponents and began slowly pacing towards them.
Valtiel – I must say I’m quite impressed… Even I didn’t expect to be pushed this hard by either of you.
*Valtiel walked up to Dark Crono, and used his foot to lift up Crono’s head to look him in the face.
Valtiel – But all good things unfortunately must come to an end… myself excluded of course.
*Valtiel then pulled his leg back a little and swung a kick intended for Crono’s head. However just as the kick was going to land Dark Crono vanished into thin air again. Valtiel chuckled a little bit as he didn’t expect Crono to have enough energy left to do that. After a few moments of silence, Valtiel quickly shot his arm out to his right and closed his hand as if grabbing something… and as he did this he pulled Dark Crono out of thin air. Valtiel slowly turned his head to look at a now stunned Crono.
Valtiel – That is not going to work here anymore.
*Valtiel yanked Crono close to his face, holding the dark one off the ground slightly.
Valtiel – I am god here. Not you.
*With his other hand, Valtiel began to repeatedly punch Dark Crono in the face. X watched on before finally slipping into unconsciousness, his last thoughts thinking of Catrina and his impending demise. Crono couldn’t even raise a hand to defend himself as all of his energy was gone at this point as he too seemingly was awaiting fate. Valtiel held the bloodied Crono in his hand for a few moments, taking great pleasure in seeing the man who once destroyed him now a near lifeless body in his hands.
Valtiel – And now… I am done playing.
*Valtiel pulled his arm back for one final punch to put Crono out of his misery. Yet before he could do so, something unexpected occurred.
SHINK
*The sound of a sword slicing through flesh could be heard as Dark Crono fell to the ground, with the severed hand of Valtiel landing with him. Valtiel quickly looked at his now handless arm with a sudden perplexed gaze.
Valtiel – What the?!
*A red flowing cape then blocked Valtiel from Dark Crono, the cape itself spun in the air repeatedly until an arm holding a large handgun protruded from the cloth and fired three consecutive shots directly into Valtiel’s head. Valtiel staggered backwards as the flowing cape opened itself to reveal Azriel standing in front of Dark Crono, a gun in one hand and a sword in the other.
Valtiel – YOU!
*Azriel’s eyes promptly lit up with a furious crimson color as he extended his arms out to his left and right sides, causing his cape to expand like an entity with a life of its own as the cape wrapped itself around both Crono and Sephiroth X.
Azriel – We aren’t finished yet.
*Azriel’s cape continued to expand as it then wrapped around Azriel himself. All three entities within Azriel’s cape then lost their shape and within moments every trace of Azriel was gone. Valtiel stood there for a few moments as his severed hand crawled back onto him and reattached itself to his arm. Both of his hands then curled up into tight fists before Valtiel quickly turned around and walked towards the Great Knife. He very emphatically yanked his weapon out from the ground as a low growl could be heard coming from him. Valtiel’s body began to shake with frustration as it sank; he had both of them ready to die and they are now going to live on… And for some reason Valtiel couldn’t even sense Azriel’s presence. Valtiel promptly stormed off with an angry haste in his step… He was now going to do whatever he could to get Azriel.
- - - - -
*Sephiroth X’s eyes slowly began to open as he could see the desert sun above him. He felt disoriented and confused as to how he got there, he remembered Valtiel surviving Crono’s onslaught and could hear the final moments of Crono becoming Valtiel’s punching bag before passing out.
Sephiroth X – Where… am I?
*X turned his head to his right and he could see the Masamune sitting in the sand as if it was placed there by someone else. He then looked over to his left and could see two figures, one standing and one lying on the ground. As X’s vision focused he saw the familiar red cape of Azriel standing near the unconscious body of Dark Crono. Sensing that X had awoken, Azriel promptly turned towards X to speak.
Azriel – You are in a place where the devil cannot reach you… for now.
*Seph sat up and grasped his head, his head was still aching.
Sephiroth X – Never thought I’d see the day where the desert of the dead was a sanctuary… Nice to see you make a timely appearance, you could have stepped in sooner.
*Azriel’s expression changed very little.
Azriel – You’re welcome… You should be fortunate that Fallen nor Valtiel can seem to sense my existence within their new version of Midgar.
*X looked over to the lifeless Dark Crono.
Sephiroth X – How’s he?
Azriel – Alive… but barely. He will not survive much longer without further help. Crono used up everything he had, it’s his willpower that is all that is keeping him alive at this point
Sephiroth X – So why didn’t you just take us to someplace with a hospital?
Azriel – You and he started your journey to Midgar… It would be wrong for me to finish it for you. Besides, I do not want to drive far from Midgar… I want to keep watch on Valtiel. He has weaknesses and is not invincible… Perhaps in time we can find a way to destroy him.
Sephiroth X – I’m… still not strong enough to defeat him… even with the new power and strength I’ve acquired… how is this possible?
Azriel – Strength isn’t about just brute power and skills… You walk a very dangerous line with the path you are taking… We all need to be prepared when it comes to confronting Valtiel, but do not sacrifice yourself in order to get that power.
*Azriel looked back down at Dark Crono.
Azriel – Take him someplace where he can recover. We will need him when the time is right.
*Azriel’s cape began to circle around him.
Azriel – Be safe.
Sephiroth X – Thank you…
*As Azriel vanished from his sight, Sephiroth X walked over to Dark Crono and lifted him up. X put one of Crono’s arms over his shoulders and then tried to focus his sixth sense into finding the location of some of his friends.
Sephiroth X – Liberats seems to be this way…
*X began walking, carrying Crono along the way. So many thoughts began running through Seph’s mind; Catrina, the strength he would need, and how ironic it was that Dark Crono was now dependant upon X in order to survive.
- - - - -
*A few hours passed and their trek across the desert was still continuing. Sephiroth X still had Dark Crono hoisted over his shoulder and was still moving at a respectable pace. In an attempt to at least humor himself, or perhaps vent some of his frustration, X began speaking out loud.
Sephiroth X – This… is just so weird… A couple weeks ago I wanted nothing but to kick your ass. And I did… Everything was all fine and dandy… I even got Catrina back…
*Seph took a moment to look up at the hot sun again.
Sephiroth X – But no… You just had to show up again… Valtiel just had to go on his power trip… and now here I am… tail tucked firmly between my legs… dragging your creepy cloaked ass across this damn desert… your only hope at surviving… because we both need you later on… And I probably won’t even get a damn thank you!
*X sighed slightly and simply continued walking on.
- - - - -
*Zack returned to the side of Bax, who was still recovering in the medical section of Libertas. A lot was definitely going on in the minds of both of them, among them was the fate of both X and Crono.
Zack- X… what were you doing? Seriously… it was Crono you went out there with!
*After a few more minutes of silence, both Zack and Bax could hear some commotion outside of their area of the medical area. Within a few moments the entrance to their room burst open and Sephiroth X walked in with Dark Crono over his shoulder… and a doctor and a very angry Locke behind them.
Locke- Now seriously I can’t just start letting you drag anyone you want in and out of this city!
*X immediately lied Dark Crono down on a medical bed right next to Bax.
Sephiroth X – Can it, Locke! I don’t have time for this!
Doctor – Unfortunately sir, he is right. This person isn’t going to last much longer at all without medical help.
*Zack and Bax both remained silent… they could see that X and Crono both went through hell, and seeing Crono on his near death bed was a shock of a whole different level.
Sephiroth X – Will he survive?
*The doctor gave a quick examination over Dark Crono, checking pulse and some of his wounds.
Doctor – This man’s been through hell. I truthfully can’t tell what is keeping him alive considering what you told us on the way in here… But you got him here in time, under some constant care he should pull through.
Sephiroth X – Good… Keep an eye on him… I need to go.
*Both the doctor and Zack immediately interjected.
Doctor – Now you aren’t much better than he is. I wouldn’t advise it.
Sephiroth X – I’ll be fine… there is something I must do.
Zack – Seph! You can’t just turn around and leave like this! We need you to be here!
*Zack’s eyes drifted over to Dark Crono’s, and then immediately back to X.
Zack – We reeeeeally would like you to be here!
*Seph shrugged… he understood Zack’s apprehension.
Sephiroth X – I understand Zack… But Crono saved my life a couple of times out there… And now he needs us in order to survive… We need him Zack, we really do. But he and I alone were not strong enough to beat Valtiel… And I need to go… I need to find a way to increase this new power I have…
*X patted Zack on the shoulder, hoping to pep him up a little bit, and then he walked towards the exit of the room.
Sephiroth X – Zack, I’m leaving Dark Crono in your care…
*Sephiroth X walked out of the room to continue his own personal quest. Zack could tell something bad happened in their encounter with Valtiel… X seemed troubled, different somehow. But as Zack looked over to the opposite side of the room his thoughts quickly shifted away from X as he watched the doctor examine the unconscious Dark Crono… who’s life seemingly was now in Zack’s hands.
