Final Fantasy

Meanwhile, outside of Midgar in Edge, Seung-ri and T.O.P had brought the children back. The two men had positioned them in a wide circle around the memorial statue in the town's center. Chains had been fastened to the memorial, and Seung-ri and T.O.P prepared to tear it down. The children stood motionless as if in a trance, a human shield, as the citizens of Edge demanded an explanation.
"Hey! Are you listening?" one man in the crowd shouted at them.
"Why are you doing this!" another demanded, trying to go after the two white-blonde hair men. A woman held him back desperately.
Seung-ri ignored them, and looked over at T.O.P, who nodded. Seung-ri smirked, and raised his hand, as if signaling for silence. The crowd quieted momentarily, but Seung-ri's gesture had a more violent meaning. Without warning, a beast materialized and attacked one of the protesters. It was the same kind of creature that had attacked Taeyang during his first encounter with the three men.
The beast mauled one man, and people scattered. A woman carried off one of the children as she fled. One by one, more creatures appeared all around the memorial statue.
People ran for their lives, pushing and trampling one another, but many are not fast enough to escape the savage attackers. The woman who grabbed the child was shoved to the ground, cradling the little boy protectively as she falls.
In the midst of the chaos, was Hyorin. She looked around helplessly. Suddenly her eyes fell upon Luhan, and she rushed to him.
"Luhan!"
She grasped him by the shoulders, shaking him.
"Luhan? Luhan!" He looked briefly up at her, his eyes glazed and catlike. They momentarily shifted to some semblance of normal, but the trance had a strong hold on the boy, and he remained unresponsive.
*~*~*~*~*
On the far side of the memorial, Seung-ri and T.O.P surveyed the carnage with detached eyes. Satisfied, they turned back to the job at hand, taking up the chains, and preparing to tear down the statue.
"And what are we up to?" drawled a voice from behind them. Seung-ri and T.O.P turned toward the source of the voice in surprise.
Xiumin and Chanyeol strolled toward them as if nothing unusual were going on. Xiumin tapped his weapon casually against his shoulder.
"Hmph... We know. Mother is here," Seung-ri said, gesturing toward the statue behind him.
"Oh yeah?" asked Chanyeol.
"Yeah... This... uh... thing? A memorial statue?" said T.O.P, "SG's the one that made it."
Xiumin grinned mockingly.
"Oh no... You're just too clever," he said with a note of sarcasm.
"Except you're wrong," Chanyeol added.
"And wherever she is, we don't know either," continued Xiumin, snickering loudly.
"What?" Seung-ri countered, snidely, "The peons aren't trusted?"
Xiumin abruptly stopped laughing, and turned back to glare at the other two men, at a loss for words, he was so insulted. Chanyeol, too, had nothing to say. Finally, instead of retorting, Xiumin attacked, Chanyeo right behind him.
*~*~*~*~*
In a building, one that was still heavily under construction, overlooking the city, G Dragon and Tao watched the events unfolding below.
"Say GD... I've got a question for you," said Tao. His wheelchair rested near the edge of the floor. With no wall to stop him, a fall would certainly prove fatal.
"I've got an answer," replied GD. He stepped out onto a girder, and looked down at the city.
"You said you needed Jenova cells in order to be whole again. What did you mean by that?"
-----
Visions of the past... Daesung tearing away the statue-like facade that hides the body of Jenova at the Nibelhiem reactor.
-----
"Him. He's coming back," GD said simply.
-----
Daesung in the flames, as Nibelheim burns...
-----
"Daesung?" said Tao, "The nightmare."
"So I hear..."
"So you hear?
"I've never known Daesung... I just... I sense him there."
-----
Jenova, sequestered in a tank, locked away inside of the Nibelheim reactor.
-----
"It's unbearable," G Dragon mused, "To think that Mother might want Daesung more than me."
"Poor little remnant," Tao said, cutting him off with feigned sympathy.
"It doesn't matter who she picks, you'll all meet the same end!" GD replied angrily.
-----
Meteor, hovering above the planet... the would-be bringer of doom.
-----
"Mother came to this planet after a long journey," continued GD, "... to rid the cosmos of fools like you. But you know as well as I do... nothing's changed since she got here. I have to change things to make her happy."
-----
The ruins of Midgar, the aftermath of Meteor's attack.
-----
"If Mother willed it, I'd do anything..." G Dragon finished.
"Hmph... The nightmare returns," Tao commented.
"As long as you exist, the nightmares will come again and again," replied GD.
"The Lifestream courses through our planet... back and forth across the borders of life and death," said Tao, "If that cycle is the very truth of life, then history, too will inevitably repeat itself."
-----
The Sister Dami... years before, preparing to fire...
-----
"So go on. Bring your Jenovas and your Daesungs," Tao added, "It won't matter. We'll do as life dictates and stop you every single time."
"Sir, is that your excuse for going after Mother yourself?" G Dragon replied, "You don't seem all that sorry."
"Sorry?" Tao answered, "I've never had this much fun..."
The materia lodged in GD's arm began to glow.
"Good," he said, "Then let's put an end to all this..."
Tao watched in morbid fascination as GD called upon the power of the Lifestream within the materia. The magic swelled and rose around the white-blonde haired man as he raised his arm toward the sky, with a look of sadistic glee.
A burst of energy sailed off from his hand, high into the air, splitting the clouds. High above Edge, the atmosphere turned dark, swirling, blocking out the sun. Lightning flashed... and something began to emerged.
*~*~*~*~*
On the ground, people took notice, despite the chaos all around them. Some stood back to watch in terror as from the swirling mass of clouds, the great dragon, Bahamut Sin, materializes, spreading his massive wings and descending upon the city.
Now the people of Edge had a new foe to contend with. Many of those who had managed to avoid the creatures brought forth by Seung-ri and T.O.P, now fell victim to Bahamut. People scattered with renewed horror.
"Luhan, we've got to get away!" Hyorin begged, trying to rouse the boy from his trance. Behind her, one of the smaller creatures targeted them and leapt in for the attack. Hyorin turned, ready to defend Luhan, but before the creature could reach them, Bahamut landed, it's giant foot crushing the beast into the pavement. Hyorin drew back, knowing that in this battle she was hopelessly outmatched. She seized Luhan, drawing him to her protectively as Bahamut roared. But she was not the great dragon's target.
Bahamut spread his wings, and bounded forward, landing on the memorial statue.
On the opposite side of the memorial, Xiumin and Chanyeol were about to engage Seung-ri and T.O.P. Xiumin swung his weapon back, preparing to strike at Seung-ri, but on seeing the figure of Bahamut, he stopped short. Chanyeol did not. Xiumin's weapon slammed into chanyeol's face, and the Turk went down. Xiumin didn't seem to notice. He was too busy taking in this new threat.
Chanyeol pulled himself to his feet, sunglasses askew, one hand holding his injured nose, the other hand pulling into a fist, and aiming a punch at Xiumin's head in retaliation. But as he followed Xiumin's wide-eyed gaze toward the statue, he too froze.
Bahamut snapped one of the chain with the slightest shake of his head.
"Hello..." Xiumin gasped.
"Hell no," Chanyeol moaned.
Xiumin turned and took off running, narrowly missing hitting Chanyeol a second time as he dis so. Chanyeol didn't stick around either. Seung-ri and T.O.P stood before Bahamut, unconcerned. With a look of determination, they went after the fleeing Turks.
Xiumin paused in his flight only long enough to turn back and grab one of the children, who still stood oblivious to the danger all around him. He grabbed the boy, trying to pick him up, but the child pushed back, unwilling to be moved. One hand pressed against Xiumin's face, resulting in the boy's fingers being jammed up Xiumin's nose. The Turk grunted, annoyed, but yanked the boy off his feet just as T.O.P attacked from above.
Bahamut rose into the air and prepared to fire a ball of energy at the memorial statue.
Xiumin raced from the scene, still clutching the boy. Chanyeol was soon right beside him with two other children tucked under his arms.
"Is it after us?" Xiumin shouted.
"I'm not lookin'," replied Chanyeol.
Bahamut fired a blast at the statue, the energy radiating outward. The Turks were thrown through the air, as were Seung-ri and T.O.P, as Bahamut let out a roar.
*~*~*~*~*
Moments later, Xiumin and Chanyeol found themselves face down on the street, the children they carried away from danger nearby. The children climbed to their feet, finally brought back to reality, and staggered off in search of shelter, leaving the Turks where they lay.
Finally, the two men stirred, pushing themselves up onto their hands and knees. T.O.P and Seung-ri approached them from behind.
"Are we having fun yet?" Seung-ri laughed.
"The time of my life!" Xiumin growled, as he and Chanyeol simultaneously jumped to their feet and attacked. Xiumin takes on Seung-ri, and the white-blonde hair man laughed, toying with the Turk and throwing him easily. Xiumin landed on his back, skidding across the concrete, but quickly recovered and charged back into the battle.
"When are you gonna call it a day," he muttered. He swung his weapon at Seung-ri, but Seung-ri leapt effortlessly onto a building well out of the Turk's range.
"I told you... just as soon as you give back Mother, that will be the end of this," Seung-ri called down to him. Xiumin glared at him, and not to be outdone, scaled the wall, attacking when he reached the top... a blow which Seung-ri neatly avoided.
Back down on the street, chanyeol was facing off with T.O.P.
"Punks..." Chanyeol grumbled as he captured both of T.O.P's fists in his hands, "What do you want Jenova's head for?"
T.O.P tried to force Chanyeol over backwards, but the Turk headbutted him. T.O.P reeled backwards, and Chanyeol took the opportunity to flip him... or at least he attempted to. The two men ended up precariously balanced bent over backwards and face to face, their head inches above the ground. T.O.P smirked at the surprised look on the other man's face, and then threw him head over heels, sending him flying past Seung-ri and Xiumin.
Xiumin attacked with as much force as he could muster, but most of his blows were avoided.
"Forget your little Reunion and get a grip," he taunted.
"All we want is to be with Mother," Seung-ri replied, easily avoiding Xiumin's weapon and wild swings. At last he tired of playing with the Turk and delivered a kick that sent the redhead flying off of the building.
Below, chanyeol slammed into a pile of crates.
"When Mother gets here, she'll decide what's best," T.O.P said, stalking towards him, as Chanyeol struggled to get to his feet, "Now... where's Mother?"
Before he could answer, a sign fell from above, smacking Chanyeol in the head.
"Damn... Son... of... a..." he said as he staggered, temporarily dazed... and to make matter worse, just as he recovered, Xiumin dropped on him, too.
"Xiumin!" he shouted as he reflexively held out his arms to catch his fellow Turk. Both men went down hard, and Xiumin ended up sprawled on top of Chanyeol.
Xiumin was the first back on his feet, accidentally trampling Chayeol's lost sunglasses on the way up, and crushing them to bits. Chanyeol stared in disbelief as his favorite accessory was destroyed, looking up at Xiumin accusingly, though the other Turk takes no notice.
"Mother... Mother... It's Jenova's freakin' head," said Xiumin, dusting himself off. Chanyeol climbed to his feet, extracting a second pair of sunglasses from an inner pocket of his jacket.
"Hey! I will not have you refer to mother that way!" Seung-ri shouted angrily.
"You meanie," added T.O.P.
"... Our apologies," Chanyeol responded, putting his sunglasses on.
"That's right... Wait... Why are WE apologizing?!" Xiumin yelled. Both men rushed Seung-ri and T.O.P. Xiumin leapt at Seung-ri, and Chanyeol got in several good hits on T.O.P while the man was distracted by Xiumin's attack. The white-blonde haired men were both knocked down, and Xiumin turned back to give Chanyeol a thumbs up, very pleased with himself... which unfortunately for him, gave T.O.P plenty of time to recover, and punch him in the face as he turned back toward the fight.
Xiumin was thrown backwards, colliding with Chanyeol, and both men went down again. They managed to get up, but it was obvious that they were tired and out of breath. Seung-ri and T.O.P, unfortunately, were neither.

Notes

Thanks to ffrepublic!