The Terran Rangers/Final Fantasy VII by Heather Ray (summer beach reads txt) 📕

gaze rose to the monster, who was now moving with the mind-numbing speed with which it operated before the Haste spell was cast. He managed to push the slightly disoriented Cloud out of the way, and grabbed his Partisan just in time to block a speeding tentacle.

With an infuriated growl, the monster grabbed the Partisan and lifted it into the air, along with Billy. It then tossed them powerfully, sending Billy and his weapon into the calm pool of water below the large platform.

Zack gasped in panic when he didn't see his friend emerge from the clear waters. Yet, before the swift Silver Ranger could make a move, a large form ran right passed him.

"Hang on, Poindexter!" Barrett roared, diving into the pool with surprising agility.

Zack pulled his eyes away from the pool, confident the resilient Barrett would find Billy in time. He instead paid attention to the fight at hand.

Cloud seemed to have regained his lucidity, and was desperately trying to fend off the tentacles, this time at a slightly safer distance. Tifa was busily ducking and dodging both the tentacles, as well as random bolts of lightning.

"Tifa, watch it!" Cloud shouted, his eyes on a tentacle streaking towards the brash warrior. Tifa leapt out of the way, allowing the tentacle to crash into the marble floor beneath her. Quickly recovering her focus, Tifa grabbed the tentacle with her Premium Heart glove, and squeezed tightly.

The magical glove increased the strength of Tifa's grip phenomenally, causing the monster to groan slightly in pain.

"Now, let's see how it likes this!" Tifa shouted, her tawny eyes narrow. "Flare!"

At her command, one of the three green spheres decorating her glove began to flash with light. Suddenly, her glove released a bright, fiery orange aura of heat. That energy intensified, the exertion bringing sweat to Tifa's brow. Finally, the energy began to channel through the monster's tentacle, sending the magical flame energy into its core.

Greatly weakened from the exertion, Tifa released the monster's tentacle, and staggered away slightly. Cloud was at her side in an instant, helping her get far enough from the creature to recover.

At the pool of water, Barrett finally broke the surface, his good arm wrapped around Billy's waist and pulling him towards the edge. Zack fell to his knees and pulled Billy out of the water, and then helped Barrett. Treading water and gasping for breath, Billy rolled onto his side, and coughed out a mouthful of water.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked, helping Billy to his knees.

"Just...a...minute," Billy forced out through burning lungs.

"Take five," Barrett gasped, pounding the water out of his gun-arm. "When you're back on your feet, join the party!"

That said, Barrett bounded back to the fight, and was immediately at Cloud's side, continuing the flight of energy and cold steel.

Slowly, Tifa rose to her feet, and for a moment, she watched Cloud and Barrett fight. They seemed to have constructed a method of leaping in, delivering a quick attack, and leaping out of the way of the tentacles. However, it was plain to see that they were slowing down. Barrett was still disoriented from his swim, and Cloud was just managing to block the tentacles with his enormous sword.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Tifa hurried towards the pool, where Billy was still coughing up the water he had swallowed.

"How is he?" she asked Zack.

"He said he'll be fine," Zack replied, "Billy's not much of a swimmer. In fact, he hates the water."

Tifa nodded, giving both young men a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. Then, mustering her strength, Tifa hurried back towards the fight.

She stopped short in utter terror as the beast suddenly reared up, and began waving its tentacles high in the air.

"What the &%#@

is it doin'?!" Barrett shouted, stepping back from the creature.

His answer came in the form of a deafening scream, that sliced through the city, shaking everything at its foundations, and creating an agonizing pain within the heads of each of the heroes.

Barrett and Cloud, who were the closest to the beast, were effected the most by the mighty wail. Their hands (or in Barrett's case, his upper arm)

flew to their ears, and they fell to their knees in mind-numbing pain.

Tifa collapsed as well, trying her best to block the tormenting sound from her mind. She managed to force her eyes open, however, to see what the monster was doing.

It was slinking its way towards the downed Barrett and Cloud, ready to make the final kill.

Tifa's eyes narrowed with fury as she dropped her hands from her ears. Gathering every drop of strength within her, Tifa raised her hand in the air, her eyes fixed on the single red sphere attached to her bangle.

"I summon the Knights of the Round!!" she shouted, her command slicing through the mayhem.

Everything stopped.

Suddenly, the ground upon which everyone was standing became supple and onyx black. Ripples of energy seemed to pass beneath the ground, pushing everyone away from the epicenter...where Jenova-Obsidian stood motionless. Perhaps, on some level, she knew what was coming.

"What's happening?" Zack whispered, panic in his voice.

"We're about to see the most powerful summon spell on the planet," Billy said in an awed voice.

Without warning, the rest of the chamber became an inky black void, littered with faint lights reminiscent of stars in the night sky. At first, everything was quiet.

And then, it began.

An enormous knight, at least fifteen feet in height, materialized in the room. He wore full length armor, obscuring his features efficiently, and grasped a powerful weapon. With the speed of a wraith, he flew through the air, his mighty lance slicing through the fierce creature, leaving a wound gushing black blood.

Once the knight had done its duty, it vanished. For a split second, all was quiet, until another knight appeared, his armor significantly different than the first, this time armed with a hefty mace.

One by one twelve knights paraded through the void, slashing and slicing through the monster with magical weapons that inflicted a great deal of damage. At each brutal strike the beast cried out in agony, it's blood spilling in all directions from a number of serious wounds.

And then...the final Knight appeared.

This knight was much taller and broader than the preceding knights, and held a saber as large as a tree. With one mighty down-thrust, the final Knight left his mark, before dissipating into nothingness.

Then, the black void vanished, leaving the five warriors and the suffering monster in the crystalline City of the Ancients.

Billy and Zack were utterly speechless at the awesome display of magical power. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. The power contained in that spell was almost certainly enough to fell even the Terra Megazord, yet it was contained in so small a gemstone.

Barrett and Cloud had recovered from Jenova's piercing vocal attack, and were trying to get their bearings. Cautiously, they watched the beast writhe slightly in pain.

"Holy $#!@

," Barrett whispered. "The thing ain't dead yet?!"

"Get ready," Cloud said, gripping his sword tighter. He held his breath, waiting for something to happen.

The monster weakly lifted one tentacle. However, rather than flashing with white electricity, a smoky black cloud began to build at the tip. The team didn't realize what was happening until it was too late.

The tentacle had reached its maximum energy, and pointed forward, to her target.

Cloud gasped when he realized that Tifa, who was barely conscious after her execution of the mighty Knights of the Round, was in the line of fire.

"Tifa!" he cried in warning.

Her fawn eyes wide with alarm, Tifa turned around at the alert. She didn't move fast enough.

The murky black cloud crashed into Tifa's slender body like a speeding truck, throwing her clear across the chamber. Her limp form slammed against a stone pillar, and slid down to the cold ground.

"TIFA!!"

Cloud screamed, his whole body trembling. Completely forgetting the raging beast he faced, he raced to where Tifa lay. Dropping his long sword, Cloud gathered Tifa in his arms. He winced when he noticed the gray tint to her soft skin, and the complete limpness of her body.

"Tifa?" he whispered, shaking her gently. "Snap out of it!"

Barrett turned around from his position, and saw Tifa and Cloud. His face fell. "Oh no..."

Quickly, the veteran soldier searched the crystalline chamber for Zack and Billy. Both young men were so far mostly unharmed, and had taken the opportunity to occupy the creature with well-placed bullets, lance-thrusts, and the occasional magic spell. "Guys! Keep it going! We gotta keep this thing busy until Cloud and Tifa are back in the game!"

Meanwhile, Cloud was on the verge of panic. He had seen Tifa unconscious before, but now there was absolutely no life in her. Her muscles were completely limp, and she didn't even twitch. Cloud held her close, trying to find a heartbeat.

He didn't.

"Tifa, don't leave me!" he ordered, torment in his voice. He stared at her calm face for a moment, and with a trembling hand, he gently opened one of her eyes. He choked on his own breath.

Her eyes were solid black orbs.

"What the hell...?" he muttered, lying her back on the floor. He urgently grabbed the Premium Heart glove from her flaccid hand, and removed the Heal materia. Holding his breath, he concentrated every fiber in his being, and held the crystal over her body.

A faint green aura surrounded the young woman like a cloud. The healing mists continued to swirl around her body, and then absorbed themselves through her skin. But, she didn't respond.

"N...no," Cloud whispered, reaching for the Cure materia. However, that had no effect either.

"Tifa, please...don't..." Cloud said quietly. "Just...just move a little. Just...blink or...or open your mouth...or...something! Do SOMETHING

!!"

Despite Cloud's pleas, Tifa remained cold and still.

The well of tears began sliding down Cloud's cheeks as he gently brushed his fingers against her cold face. Taking shallow breaths, Cloud bent over and placed a tender kiss on her cold lips... the first kiss he had ever given her. Pursing his lips tightly, he turned back towards the creature that Zack, Billy, and Barrett were fighting.

The creature that stole Tifa from him.

The creature that dared

lay a finger on his Tifa!

It was going to pay.

His arm trembling with boiling rage, Cloud reached for his abandoned sword. Slowly rising to his feet, he grasped the enormous blade with both hands, squeezing the hilt with every ounce of strength he could muster. His eyes flashed with bright fury, and his sword began to glow with an eerie light. The light was so intense, it grasped the attention of Barrett, Billy, and Zack.

"What...what's wrong with him?!" Zack yelled.

"Holy $#!%

!!" Barrett cried. "Everybody, get outta his way!"

Billy and Zack obliged, rushing for cover. They joined Barrett at the opposite edge of the chamber, ducking for cover behind the crystal staircase they had descended earlier.

Cloud remained where he was, his sword glowing brightly, reminiscent of a long fluorescent light bulb. His azure eyes continued to spark with fury.

The monster saw Cloud's boiling rage, and launched another murky sphere of energy at him; the same kind of power that felled brave Tifa.

Cloud dodged the blast easily, leaping into the