The northern winds blew acrossed the Gaia Cliffs. The cold air nipped at the four travelers hiking along the mountain path. A sudden gust of freezing wind past them by, which caused one near the back to sneeze.
"ACHOOOOO!" the young man with silver hair sneezed and said, "Damn its cold!"
"Stop complaining." a man in a black trench coat walking in front of him said, "And don't make so much noise. You want to cause an avalanche?"
"Shut up, Fenix." the silver-haired man said back, "I couldn't help it, alright!" Fenix turned around and looked at the silver-haired man with a smirk. He knew that Fenix only smiles when he's up to something and prepared to draw his weapon.
"Stop that, you two!" a girl dressed in pink said and stepped between them, "This isn't a good place for this."
"I'll be more than happy to kill you both." Fenix said to the girl, "So, don't interfere again, Danni." Fenix turned and continued walking.
"That bastard." the silver-haired man muttered.
"Relax, Silver." Danni said, "Fenix just likes to sulk and brood over his defeat against our leader, Tailz." They started walking again.
"I know." Silver said, "But I don't think what he said was an empty threat. He'll try to kill us all if we let our guard down around him." Silver started humming Silver and Gold from the movie Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer..
"Can't you hum something else?" Danni asked, "That song gets annoying real fast."
"I can't help it." Silver said, "Something about that song just sparks my interest. Weird, huh?"
"Get a move on, you two, or you'll be left behind!" Tailz shouted from further down the path. He and Fenix continued walking along the trail. "What do you think about all this?" he asked Fenix.
"You know what I'm thinking." Fenix answered, "The only thing I think about these days is the day I send you to Hell." Tailz started laughing.
"Don't lose that motivation." Tailz said, "That's what makes you useful to me." Silver and Danni caught up with them and the four continued their search for the Black Materia.
A rickety, old airship soared through the skies towards the large crater in the north. The four passengers of this ship are on a quest to find the Black Materia rumored to be inside the Northern Crater.
"This is the last time I shop at Akbar's." Amarant, the ships pilot and leader of the group, said. The out-dated airship was said to be the one that the planet's heroes used to reach the Northern Crater to stop the magic source of the giant meteor that threatened all existence on the planet. The Highwind was its name, and its beat-up appearance shows that it made it through the crisis, more or less, in one piece.
"I certainly hope you didn't spend too much on this." the mercenary, Iron Angel, said.
"Well, if your service fee wasn't so extravagant," White Magic the white mage began, "we could have bought a newer model."
"Are you suggesting that I overcharge my clients?" Iron Angel asked, "What about that Menschlord guy over there? He had to have requested twice what I did." Iron Angel pointed at a man wearing a black cloak that covered nearly all of his body.
"Hmph." Menschlord grunted while listening with only half interest.
"How much did you charge?" Iron Angel asked.
"Nothing." Menschlord answered.
"And there's my point." White Magic said, "Even someone like Menschlord can put aside his personal desires and work towards the greater good. But I guess someone like you needs all the money you can get to pay for such a flamboyant wardrobe." She gestured at his bright orange SOLDIER uniform.
"That was uncalled for!" Iron Angel said. Amarant started laughing at the controls.
"We're almost there." he said to his crew, "Northern Crater, dead ahead."
"Anyone else think it’s ironic that we're flying south to reach the Northern Crater?" Iron Angel asked. Everyone remained silent for awhile. "Never mind..." he said.
"Preparing to land." Amarant said.
"We're nearly there." Tailz said to his followers. They are standing at the base of the crater. All that's left is to hike upward and descend the inside.
"What's so special about this crater anyways?" Danni asked Tailz.
"This is where my airship crashed." Tailz said, "He came and saved me by giving me some of his own blood, preserved my body in what looked like a giant Materia, and died a year later."
"Who is 'He'?" Silver asked.
"Sephiroth." Tailz answered, "While I was preserved, my body changed and began to resemble him more so with each passing day. Now I am almost identical to him and I have his memories. There is a Black Materia that was left behind here, and I will use it to fulfill Sephiroth's greatest desire!" The chilling wind caused Tailz' long, silver hair to wave in the wind.
"And what is this 'greatest desire' of his?" Fenix asked, "To kill us all with that giant meteor? Or was there more to it?"
"That's none of your concern." Tailz answered, "You only need to worry about following the orders I give you."
"I see an airship approaching." Silver said while pointing at it, "It has a silverish look to it and is landing up ahead."
"It looks out-of-date to me." Danni said.
"That looks like the airship of the people who killed Sephiroth." Tailz said, "Fenix, shoot it down with your fire magic!"
"If you insist." Fenix said and pointed at the airship, "Fire 2!" A large burst of fire shot from his fingertip and struck the airship's engine compartment. The ship began to go down.
"Perfect shot!" Danni said excitedly.
"What are you talking about?" Fenix asked, "I missed. I wanted the ship to explode instantly."
"Let's get a move on." Tailz said, "They may be after the Black Materia, too." The dark warriors rushed to the crash site of the Highwind and found two of its passengers nearby.
"Why the hell did you guys attack us?" Iron Angel asked.
"These guys must be the ones Amarant warned us of." White Magic said, "We had better be careful."
"Amarant's here?" Tailz asked, "Its as I thought, you guys want the Black Materia as well."
"I'm just doing my job." Iron Angel said.
"I'll take this guy." Silver said and stepped forward.
"Wait a second." Tailz said, "It would be better if we kill the white mage first." He gestured to White Magic who is wearing the traditional white mage cloak.
"This'll be fun!" Danni said, "I'll take her out."
"You people are hardly human." White Magic said in disgust.
"Damn straight." Tailz said with a smirk.
"We'll take them together." White Magic said to Iron Angel.
"Whatever." Iron Angel said and removed the buster sword from his back. He held it in one hand and pointed it at Silver. "You and me, right now!"
"Fenix and I will move on." Tailz said to his followers, "Once you've finished them, come join us." Using a teleportation technique that Sephiroth knew, Tailz and Fenix disappeared from the battlefield.
"Cowards..." Iron Angel said, "Oh, well. I'm sure Menschlord and Amarant can handle those two."
"Well, I'm still here so let's go!" Silver said to Iron Angel while drawing his silver keyblade.
"That's a strange sword." Iron Angel said, "Do you use a padlock for a shield?"
"Your sword is different, too." Silver said, "I admit, I think it looks cool, but I would choose a different outfit to go with it. Maybe something silver, or at least gray."
"Shut up!" Iron Angel yelled and jumped superhumanly high. "Braver!" Iron Angel shouted and swung his buster sword downward. Silver jumped back at the last second and evaded the attack.
"Too slow!" Silver shouted and thrust his keyblade at Iron Angel. Iron Angel blocked the thrust with his buster sword.
"You were saying?" he said with a smirk.
While Silver and Iron Angel continued to exchange blows and comments, Danni and White Magic stood poised for battle.
"I'm taking you out, lady!" Danni said and cracked her whip at a nearby rock, smashing it to pieces.
"You think so?" White Magic asked and held out her staff, "I'm afraid you're the one who's going down." Danni lashed the whip at White Magic and she blocked it with her staff.
"Bolt 2!" Danni shouted and cast the spell.
"Reflect!" White Magic said and cast her spell. Danni's lightning bolt bounced off of White Magic's barrier and struck its caster. Danni was knocked back by the spell.
"That's cheap!" Danni yelled. She cracked the whip at White Magic. White Magic blocked with her staff and the whip wrapped around it. "Laser Eye!" Danni shouted and fired a beam of light from her eye. White Magic angled the staff in the way of the laser, causing both the whip and staff to break.
"Dammit!" both women said at the same time. They looked at each other for a moment.
____
"Try this!" Silver shouted and swung the keyblade at Iron Angel. He blocked the attack with his enormous sword. Silver is fast enough to evade Iron's attacks but Iron is able to block his counterattacks. Iron took a swing at Silver's head and Silver ducked to avoid it. Iron Angel lost his balance from the last swing.
"Now's my chance!" Silver said to himself and was about to strike. Suddenly, Iron reversed his swing and struck Silver with the dull side of his sword, sending Silver skidding through the snow.
"Nice try." Iron Angel said, "But I used to be a 1st class member of SOLDIER. You'll have to try harder if you want to beat me." Iron Angel raised his buster sword over his head. "Allow me to show you a move I came up with." He began rotating the sword over his head like a helicopter propeller, gradually picking up speed.
"What the hell is this?" Silver asked as he stood up.
"I call this move The Iron Typhoon." Iron Angel said, "Not only does this move give me the extra momentum to shatter your body with a single strike, but it also kicks up nearby debris to disrupt your sight." Snow began to kick up from the ground as Iron Angel continued to spin his sword around, faster and faster.
"He's right about blocking my vision." Silver said to himself, "I almost can't see him anymore." Silver gripped the keyblade tightly. "I guess I'll have to use one of my special attacks to beat you!" he yelled to Iron Angel. Silver's keyblade began to glow.
"Your special attack?" Iron asked, "I doubt that there is anything special about it."
"Silver Strike Raid!" Silver yelled and ran at Iron Angel.
"Do you really think you can hit me before I kill you?" Iron Angel asked. Silver was almost to him when, suddenly, Silver tripped and slid through the snow towards Iron Angel.
"What?!" Iron Angel said in alarm as Silver slid into his legs, off balancing him. Iron's buster sword slid out of his hands and went flying over a nearby cliff. "No!" he shouted as he fell.
"Well, that didn't turn out like I planned but at least it worked." Silver said. He looked at Iron Angel who was starting to stand back up. "Game over." Silver said to Iron Angel and thrust his keyblade into Iron's chest, "Now, return to darkness!" Iron Angel's chest started to glow where Silver stabbed him.
"What's happening?" Iron asked in alarm.
"I unlocked your heart." Silver said, "Now, you'll no longer exist as you are and will be reduced to that of a shadow Heartless." A look of horror crossed Iron Angel's face as the light from his chest intensified. In a sudden flash of light, Iron Angel disappeared and a small black creature stood where he was. Silver loomed over the Heartless with a menacing look in his eyes that frightened the tiny creature and it ran off.
_____
"I won't hesitate to stop any evil doers that stand in my way." White Magic said to Danni.
"Well, I'm not going to be beat by some goody-two-shoes like you." Danni said back.
"That's it!" White Magic shouted, "You're as good as dead!" She began to gather her magic power into one big attack. Danni began to do the same. "Holy!" White Magic shouted the spell.
"Shockwave Pulsar!" Danni yelled back. The cast spells clashed into each other with immense force. Both magic users continued to put their magic power into their spell as they pushed against each other.
Amarant and Menschlord continued down the path to the Northern Crater.
"I doubt that Iron Angel and White Magic can defeat Tailz and his allies." Menschlord said to Amarant.
"It’s unfortunate that we were separated when the airship crashed." Amarant said, "If we were all together, we can defeat them."
"Hmph!" Menschlord grunted, "I think they would have just got in our way. I could probably defeat them all by myself."
"Don't underestimate them." Amarant said, "Tailz has changed and is stronger than any normal person." Amarant was about to continue when a brilliant flash from around where the airship crashed caught his attention. "Looks like a mage duel." he commented, "White and Iron must be fighting now."
"I have a feeling that some of them are on their way here." Mensch said.
"That's possible." Amarant said, "Mensch, I will go on ahead. You can stay here and face whoever shows up from Tailz' group."
"Hmph, if you insist." Menschlord said.
The evenly matched mages continued to add more of their magic power to their attacks. The Holy spell pushed against the Shockwave Pulsar attack and it pushed back against the Holy spell. Suddenly, both magic attacks disappeared at once.
"We used up all of our magic power." White Magic said.
"And our weapons are broken." Danni added.
"I guess there is only one way to settle this." White Magic said as she approached Danni.
"Looks like it." Danni said as she walked towards White.
"What's taking you so long, Danni?" Silver asked as he walked in between them.
"Out of the way, Silver." Danni said, "This is my fight."
"You mean you managed to defeat Iron Angel?" White Magic asked.
"That's right, Lady." Silver said, "I unlocked his heart and sent him to darkness. Now he's just a little shadow Heartless without a real mind of its own."
"Damn you!" White Magic said angerly and slapped Silver acrossed the face.
"Hey, hey!" Danni said loudly, "That's not how it’s done." Danni slapped Silver acrossed the other side of his face.
"What are you doing?!" Silver asked in alarm.
"Oh, really?" White said to Danni, "Let's see what you got!" White Magic slapped Silver again.
"Fine!" Danni said and started rotating her wrist to warm it up. She slapped Silver again, harder than before.
"Stop it!" Silver said loudly.
"You want a piece of me!?" White shouted at Danni and slapped Silver even harder than last time.
"I don't want a piece," Danni said as she cocked her hand back, "I want the whole thing!" She slapped Silver hard.
"Why me..." Silver muttered.
Tailz and Fenix continued walking along a trail that leads to the Northern Crater.
"The Black Materia isn't far from here." Tailz said, "I bet Amarant is nearby, too."
"Looks like someone is expecting us." Fenix said and pointed down the path. Menschlord stood there with his arms folded.
"So which one of you is this 'Tailz' guy?" he asked them.
"I'm Tailz." Tailz said and stepped forward.
"I see." Menschlord said, "Well, I'm here to end both of your lives."
"Nobody kills Tailz while I'm around." Fenix said and stepped in front of Tailz, "That pleasure is reserved for me."
"Hmph. I guess I could use a warm-up before I kill your master." Mensch said, "Attack whenever you are ready." Menschlord removed the cloak he was wearing and was wearing dark armor underneath it. He has a short sword slung over each hip, a katana sheathed at his left hip and a large, white sword carried on his back.
"I see you're quite fortified." Fenix said with a smirk, "I think I'll enjoy taking your life." Fenix drew his long sword and took a fighting stance.
"Hmph, let's see what you can do." Mensch said and drew his short swords. Both fighters charged at each other. Fenix made the first swing, a downward slash that Menschlord blocked by crossing his swords. Mensch kicked Fenix back and took a swing at his head. Fenix dove back to avoid the attack and rolled back on his feet.
"Fire 3!" Fenix shouted and fired a large fireball at Mensch. Mensch took the blast head on and was knocked back a step. Fenix leaped into the air and slashed downward at Menschlord. The slash split Mensch in two, and both halves disappeared.
"What?!" Fenix said in alarm. Suddenly, a small slit along Fenix's cheek appeared and started bleeding.
"I'm over here." Menschlord said from behind Fenix.
"An afterimage." Fenix said, "That was a very convincing one. I'm impressed." Fenix turned around and wiped the blood off his face. "I guess I should stop treating this like any other fight and start using my real power." he said.
"Hmph!" Mensch grunted, "Real power, you say."
"That's right." Fenix said while removing the bandana on his forehead, "You see, I'm a Jagan Master." A third eye on Fenix's forehead opened and started glowing. "This Jagan Eye allows me to witness events happening from far away." Fenix continued, "And it also allows me to use the legendary Jao Ensatsu-ken techniques by manipulating the darkness flame."
"I've never actually fought a Jagan Master before." Mensch admitted, "This could be interesting. I may have a chance to test out some of my special swords."
"Jao Ensatsu-ken! (Jagan Master Immolating Sword)" Fenix shouted and his sword burst into black flames, "Behold my 'sword of the darkness flame!' It’s capable of incinerating you with a single blow."
"What's with the Japanese attack names?" Mensch asked, "Why can't you just call it your 'black fire sword' or something like that?"
"The attacks just sound better this way." Fenix answered, "That's not what's important right now anyways." Fenix lunged at Menschlord and took a swing. Menschlord split in two, again. "I'm not falling for your afterimage again!" Fenix shouted and swung the Ensatsu-ken behind him.
Menschlord became visible again with one of his swords broken. Fenix smirked confidently.
"You're lucky I missed your head." Fenix said, "Care to try again?" Menschlord thrust his other short sword at Fenix and once Fenix blocked it, the sword burned away.
"Damn." Mensch said and tossed the hilt aside, "I still have my stronger swords." Mensch drew his katana and pointed its black blade at Fenix. "Sword of Blood's Memory." Menschlord announced the name of his weapon.
"What kind of name is that?" Fenix asked.
"This sword gives me the ability to use the skills of those I cut with it." Menschlord said.
"Well, I have no intention of letting you have the powers of the Jagan Master." Fenix said.
"Too late." Mensch said with a smirk, "I already cut you with this sword. Remember the little slit on your cheek?" Fenix's eyes went wide in surprise. "I used this sword when I made that cut." he continued, "Now I can manipulate black flames as well." Menschlord then ignited his katana in the darkness flame.
"Impossible." Fenix grumbled, "After all that hell I went through to get this power, he acquires it with a single swipe of his sword." Fenix removed his coat and tossed it aside. "I can't allow you to walk away with your life!"
"Hmph, confident aren't you?" Mensch said. Fenix sheathed his sword and held out his right hand. The cold air began to crackle as the heat around his hand intensified.
"You lowered your guard." Fenix said and suddenly sprinted at Menschlord. As he closed in, Fenix suddenly appeared to disappear as his speed peaked. In a couple of seconds, Fenix was right in front of Menschlord.
"Dammit!" Mensch yelled in surprise.
"Jao Ensatsu Rengoku-sho! (Jagan Master Immolation Scorch of Purgatory)" Fenix yelled as his heated fist burst into flames and punched Menschlord in the face. As Menschlord reeled back, Fenix quickly ignited his left fist and landed a punch in his stomach. Mensch staggered back as smoke emerged from the struck areas on his body.
"Not too bad, Fenix." Tailz said from the sidelines, "You've improved sense our last fight."
"But it's not enough to beat me." Mensch said menacingly and reached for the large sword on his back. He swung it down at Fenix and Fenix jumped back quickly to avoid.
"I'm surprised you're still alive." Fenix said, "You should be burnt to a crisp by now."
"When I learned your powers with my sword, my body developed a natural resistance to attacks of that nature." Mensch said, "Your fist attack is next to useless against me."
"Is that so?" Fenix asked and gathered heat power into his fist again. He jumped straight up into the air and came back down head first. "Ensatsu Rengoku-sho!" Fenix shouted and punched the ground with his flaming fist. Fenix used the Rengoku-sho to burn away the ground in front of him as he tunneled underground.
"Hmph. What the hell is he planning?" Mensch mumbled. Suddenly, Fenix broke through the ground behind Menschlord with the Ensatsu-ken ignited.
"Die!" Fenix shouted and swung the flaming sword at Mensch. Mensch turned quickly and blocked with his katana and it also caught fire.
"Jao Ensatsu Rengoku-sho!" Menschlord shouted and punched Fenix with a flaming fist. Fenix flew back into the side of the mountain. "I learned that move as well." Mensch said, "Do you have any powers I haven't seen before?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Fenix said as he stood up from the ground. Black flames began to form at Fenix's feat.
"Is that the ultimate attack of the Jagan Masters?" Mensch asked, "My knowledge of your powers is limited because I only barely slit your cheek with that slash." Fenix held out his right hand. The Jagan Eye began to glow brightly.
"To be honest, I have yet to fully master this attack." Fenix said as a black fireball appeared in his hand, "In fact, there has yet to be a Jagan Master who has complete control of this attack. I intend to be the first and then I will use it to destroy Tailz." Tailz, who was still watching the fight smirked at the comment.
"I still don't know this attack." Mensch said to himself.
"Take this!" Fenix shouted and thrust his hand at Mensch, "Ensatsu Kokuryu-ha! (Immolating Black Dragon Wave)" The black fireball in Fenix's hand shot a blast of dark flames that quickly took on the form of a serpent-like dragon. The dragon of the darkness flame roared as it flew at Menschlord. Mensch quickly reached for the large, white sword strapped to his back as the dragon was nearly upon him. An explosion of fire made it impossible to see what happened.
"Did Fenix get him?" Tailz asked himself as the smoke began to clear. As the smoke cleared, Menschlord stood up and in the blink of an eye, disappeared. Suddenly, half a dozen deep cuts appeared on Fenix's body and he feel over on his back.
"How could you defeat the kokuryu-ha?" Fenix gasped at Mensch, who had rematerialized next to him.
"I used this." he said and unsheathed his large, white sword, "The Shield Sword." Mensch ran his finger along both sides of it and didn't get a single cut on his finger. "It was designed for the soul purpose of being a defensive weapon." Mensch added, "Both sides of the blade are dull but its made of adamant, making it extremely durable."
"How disappointing, Fenix." Tailz said to him, "I'm afraid after losing like that, you'll never have the strength to properly challenge me." Fenix's eyes grew wide. "Return to the Planet!" Tailz shouted, "Sin Harvest!" A bright light surrounded Fenix and, in an instant, ended his life. "Interesting," Tailz said as he approached Menschlord, "I wasn't expecting you to defeat Fenix."
"With those deep cuts I gave him," Menschlord said, "I've learned all of his Jao Ensatsu-ken techniques." He turned to Tailz. "And now I'll learn all of your techniques, too!"
"If you think you can defeat me using Fenix's stolen techniques, you will be sadly disappointed." Tailz said and drew the Masamune.
"Hmph, that sword will be a fine addition to my collection." Mensch said.
"Why is someone like you working with Amarant?" Tailz suddenly asked.
"I too seek the Black Materia," Mensch said, "I believe that it can be used to forge the ultimate weapon, with which I can easily claim the title of the strongest swordsman in the world. When I heard that Amarant was seeking allies to acquire the Black Materia, I saw it as a golden opportunity so I offered my services to his cause with the intention of betraying them once we reached the materia."
"Well, I have my own plans for the materia and I'm afraid I won't let you have it." Tailz said, "En garde!"
Danni and White Magic continued to take turns slapping Silver around and the conflict has intensived from "hissyfit" to "psycho bitch". Silver's face has been beaten and scratched beyond recognition, and every attempt to escape has been met with maximum resistance by the women beating him up.
"That pink outfit is so two weeks ago!" White Magic yelled and slapped Silver.
"Oh yeah?!" Danni yelled back, "Well, at least I have some fashion sense unlike you!" She slapped Silver again.
"How much longer are you guys going to do this?" Silver whined, "I think I'm about to bleed to death from your catscratches."
"We're not stopping until one of us knocks you down!" White said and slapped him again.
"That's right!" Danni said and struck Silver once more.
"Is that so?" Silver said to himself.
"You have bad taste in boys!" White Magic yelled and landed another slap. This time Silver fell over on purpose and pretended to be unconscious.
"Oh, darn." Danni said, "I guess you win." The girls started rubbing their sore hands.
"So, what do you want to do now?" White asked.
Tailz and Menschlord stared each other down with their swords drawn. Mensch made the first move, running at Tailz at superspeed that made it look as though he disappeared. Tailz teleported at the last moment to evade Mensch's sword attack.
"Too slow." Tailz said when he reappeared. Mensch stared at him for a moment.
"Hmph. Teleporting is a cheap way to avoid attacks." Menschlord said, "Why don't you show me what you can do."
"Well, I think learning other people's techniques the way you do is even cheaper." Tailz said with a smirk, "I don't think I need to use any special attacks against you."
"You're starting to piss me off." Mensch said with a smirk, "I'll show you how formidable a single warrior with the powers of over a dozen fighters can be!" Mensch's black katana began to glow in an eerie red light. "Die!" he shouted and struck the ground in front of him. A shockwave tore through the ground at Tailz.
"Child's play." Tailz said and jumped high into the air.
"Then what about this?" Mensch shouted and started swinging his sword in Tailz' direction, "Vacuum Air Blades!" Twenty vacuum waves were unleashed from the dark sword and flew at Tailz. Tailz effortlessly deflected them with several quick swings from his masamune.
"Is that your best?" Tailz asked.
"Of course not!" Menschlord yelled and suddenly vanished. He appeared next to Tailz and slashed his sword at him. Tailz quickly blocked the slash with the Masamune.
"You were saying?" Tailz said to him.
"You're over confident." Menschlord said, "That will be your undoing." Mensch jumped back. "Tempest Dance!" he shouted and charged at Tailz. When he was nearly upon him, his body faded away.
"An afterimage like he did with Fenix." Tailz said to himself as Menschlord appeared behind him. Tailz turned and blocked Mensch's slash and he disappeared again. He began to circle Tailz in a series of afterimages searching for an opening to attack. He appeared above Tailz with the Shield Sword drawn and swung downward at his head.
"Take this!" Mensch shouted as the weapon neared Tailz' head before Tailz dove to the side. Mensch smashed the ground with his sword before disappearing again. "Supersonic Sword Draw!" Mensch's voice suddenly shouted. Tailz quickly stepped to the side as a sudden forceful wave of air rushed where he was standing and Menschlord materialized and spun through the snow with his sword angled upward .
"That attack actually had a chance to finish me." Tailz admitted, "The attack itself was too fast for even my eyes to see."
"It's a sword draw technique that only takes a fraction of a second to execute but must be done flawlessly or else your speed will be cut short." Menschlord said, "I'm amazed you were able to react fast enough to evade it.'
"I see." Tailz said, "If I had any further need for allies, I'd request you to join me. However, sense I'm so close to the Black Materia now, I don't have any use for your talents."
"I wouldn't join you anyway." Menschlord said, "Why should I serve someone weaker than I am?"
"Do you have any more powerful techniques?" Tailz asked, "Or can I finish you off now?"
"Hmph, I'll send you straight to Hell!" Menschlord shouted and held out his sword, the blade began to glow again. "Spectral Technique: Contact Funerary Skull Burst!" Mensch said and a ghostly sphere that resembles a skull appeared in front of him. The skull suddenly burst into four smaller skulls and they all flew at Tailz. Tailz jumped out of the way and the skulls followed him.
"Better be careful." Mensch said, "If even one of those skulls touches you, you'll die instantly." Tailz dodged another of the skulls. They circled around from behind him and flew at him again. All four of them were nearly upon him and then Tailz teleported at the last second. The skulls collided and disappeared at once.
"Where's Tailz?" Menschlord asked himself and looked around. Suddenly, Menschlord felt a sharp stab of pain as Tailz thrust his sword into Menschlord's back. "From above..." Mensch gasped as he fell over, slain.
"If I wasn't so close to my goal now," Tailz began, "I would have had you join my cause as a replacement for Fenix." He looked at the Sword of Blood's Memory and smashed it with a swing of the masamune. "Of course, I didn't really like your way of learning the attacks of others anyway."
"Tailz!" a voice from the distance yelled. Tailz looked and saw Silver, or at least he was sure it was Silver, his face was beaten badly.
"How did it go, Silver?" Tailz asked him once he reached him.
"I beat that guy dressed in orange and Danni and that white mage lady decided to go shopping to make up for fighting each other." Silver said, "They had better buy something for me, too. Maybe something silver... Oh, yeah, and that orange guy's big sword knocked out a skier when his sword slipped out of his fingers and landed down the trail a ways." Silver looked and saw Menschlord and Fenix's bodies lying on the ground. "That guy got Fenix?" Silver asked, "He must have been tough."
"Not really." Tailz said, "You look awful. Why don't you go catch up with Danni and I'll face Amarant alone." Tailz started walking down what was left of the trail to the Northern Crater.
Amarant had just reached the top of the Northern Crater. He looked down into the nearly endless depths of the giant hole in the ground that was said to reach the planet's core. The Black Materia must be down there somewhere.
"Its been awhile, Amarant." a voice from behind Amarant said, "Only one of us can have the Black Materia."
"Tailz." Amarant said, "Why did it have to come to this?"
"Sephiroth wants me to use the Black Materia to summon Meteor and damage the planet in such a way that I can draw in its life force and become a god." Tailz said, "Its his dying request and I can't ignore it." Tailz jumped up next to Amarant.
"You're just a puppet." Amarant said, "I'll have to cut your strings then." Amarant slid his claws over his knuckles. "The only way to save you is to kill you." he said, "Please, forgive me." Amarant slashed his claws at Tailz and Tailz stepped back to avoid.
"You're forgiven." Tailz said snidely, "Now, prepare to die." Tailz removed the black cape he was wearing and tossed it aside. "Dodge this!" Tailz said quickly and thrust the Masamune at Amarant with blurring speed. Amarant leaned his head to the side to avoid the stab but was still nicked in the cheek.
Amarant stepped forward and swiped at Tailz with his metal claws. Tailz disappeared when the claws almost connected. Amarant dove forward as Tailz appeared behind him and swung his sword. He rolled back onto his feet and reached for a throwing weapon.
"Need some spare change?" Amarant asked as he threw some gil coins at Tailz. Tailz began deflecting the coins with his Masamune but narrowly missed one that hit him in the eye.
"Ow! You hit me in the eye!" Tailz shouted angerly. He took a blind swing at Amarant, who barely dodged the attack.
"Goodbye, Tailz!" Amarant shouted and threw a large pinwheel at Tailz. The pinwheel cut Tailz in two at the waist. The upper body fell into the crater and dropped out of sight. "I suppose there's no point in getting the Black Materia now that the one I was trying to keep it from has died." Amarant said as he prepared to leave.
The sound of wings flapping caught Amarant's attention. He looked back and saw Tailz' upper body fly out of the crater with six white wings in place of legs and his whole right arm has changed into a large black wing.
"The Jenova cells transformed him!" Amarant gasped in surprise.
"Look what I found, Amarant." Seraph Tailz said and revealed that he is carrying the Black Materia in his left hand.
"No." Amarant said quickly, "You found it." Tailz raised the Black Materia over his head and began to summon Meteor. The ground began to shake from the immense power coming from the materia.
"Now I will become the god of this universe!" Seraph Tailz bellowed, "Come forth, Meteor!" Seraph Tailz began laughing with wicked glee.
"I've failed to stop him." Amarant said to himself, "Now all I can do is try to keep him from becoming one with the planet." Amarant readied his claws and gave himself a running start before leaping at Seraph Tailz in an attempt to finish him off.
"Goodbye, Amarant." Seraph Tailz said and swatted Amarant aside with his large wing. Amarant fell into the giant crater and vanished from view before reaching the bottom. Seraph Tailz grinned with glee as he began to descend into the Northern Crater, where he will wait for Meteor to strike the planet and be at the center of the planet's recovery. From there, he will absorb all of the life energy from the planet and become a god.
Chapters of FFVII: The Whispered Shadow
