The Darkness From Below
Part VI
(Opening Theme-"Unforgiven II" by Metallica)

    Oni crouched in the center of a inverted pentagram formed from the blood 
of a dozen virgins, covered in the ichor and gore of his victims.  Around him, 
floating in the air, glowing with pale light, were the eight Crystals, assembled 
once again.  Black candles were once again placed at the five corners of the star, 
and each sat upon a human skull.  Energy flared around his bowed form, as lightning 
shot from one crystal to the next.  The ceiling directly above the pentagram had 
been blasted out, lifted from the tower as easily as a small coin and hurled into 
the ocean.  Now pitch-black clouds raced blindingly fast across the sky, almost 
completely blocking out the sun.   Placing his hands on the ground in the center 
of the circle, he began to chant, in the language of the dead;
    "IA!  SHADDUYA IA!  ATTI MANNU KASHPATU, SHA TUYUP NEBO, XASTER, TA KUTULU…"
    In the dark, boiling chamber of Oni's mind where his host was imprisoned for 
all eternity, Johnothon Scarsmore tried to put hands that did not exist across 
ears that could not hear.  The words of the Dead had the power to tear men's souls, 
and drive them mad; now Johnothon felt the all-too-delicate hold he had on his 
sanity begin to slip, to stretch …
    "…NANAKAISURRA MINABI-ENE TIAMAT!  VERMIS MYSTERIIS, NINDINUGGA ISHAGARRAB, 
TALAL, INANNA, NIPPURR, ENNKIDU, TU ADAR!  MALEBOLGIA, ARISE TO THIS EARTH!!!"
    A beam of black light suddenly blasted upward from the pentagram, and shot 
towards the sky.  It continued upward, blasting through the stratosphere, into 
space, and enveloped the remaining moon in its black fire.  With terrifying strength, 
the beam actually *pulled* the moon from its place, and deposited it directly over 
the sun.  At that moment, the blanket of clouds broke, and Earth had one last 
glimpse of the life-giving orb before the black pall of the moon blocked it out 
completely, and complete blackness enveloped the Earth.
    All across the tiny blue speck in an ocean of blackness, the effects were felt.  
Earthquakes wracked the surface, bringing entire kingdoms crashing to the ground.  
Tsunamis crashed brutally down upon the coastlines, smashing harbors and ships 
into splinters.  Hurricane-force winds hit with enough power to crumble entire 
city walls, and level mountains.  The Earth itself seemed to be in its death 
throes, and the people huddled in whatever shelter they could manage, waiting for 
an end-either to the chaos, or to them.
    Slowly, the darkness began to grow brighter, as a blood-red glow suffused the 
entire sky.  Black clouds raced across it, slowly forming a spiral directly over 
the Tower of Bab-Il, where they began spinning faster and still faster, forming a 
huge spiral.  Bolts of crimson lightning tore jagged wounds across the sky, as 
titanic cracks begin to appear in the face of Mount Eblan.  Lava bubbled inside 
these mortal wounds, gurgling in anticipation.  An enormous, low rumbling began to 
shake the ground, spreading the cracks yet further.  Soon, the lava-filled cracks 
covered the entire mountain, and the very Earth itself seemed to scream …
    As Mount Elban exploded.  The Tower of Bab-Il, untouched, thrust itself 
obscenely up at the growing portal in the sky, as demons suddenly poured out from 
the huge hole surrounding the crackling Tower.  They rode, screaming, on winds of 
death, gibbering and cackling as they descended upon the shattered remains of 
humanity, torturing, raping, and killing.  
    Over the Tower, the portal had grown to a dozen times the circumference of its 
origin; it bathed almost the entire sky in its unholy crimson light.  Bright 
tongues of flame burst periodically downward, setting what little was not already 
destroyed aflame.  Where it hit the waters, there was an enormous hissing, like the 
roaring of a thousand dragons, as thousands of gallons were boiled away in mere 
seconds.  
    Slowly, a titanic, black form appeared, making its way deliberately through the 
Gate.  As it emerged, it showed itself to be a huge, seven-headed dragon, with 
scales as black as onyx.  Each of its six wings were a mile in length, and its 
fourteen eyes burned with unholy light.  As it perched itself beside the glowing 
Tower (even that enormous structure required the dragon to bend one of its heads 
down to see it), it let out a universe-shattering roar.
    The Malebolgia had come, and another world was the property of Hell.
    The Lord of Hell turned its central head down to peer into the Tower of Bab-Il, 
and stared downward to where Oni was still crouching in the pentagram, the blood 
beginning to slowly dry and cake on his heavily muscled body.  Insofar as a dragon 
can smile, it did.
    WELL DONE, MY SERVANT, it roared inside Oni's mind.  YOU SHALL BE SUITABLY 
REWARDED.  ANOTHER WORLD IS IN OUR GRASP …
    It turned and bellowed into the sky, as though mocking his eternal Enemy in the 
heavens.  Oni smiled to himself, and the Tower began to pulse more brightly, as Oni 
gathered the energies of the dying world into himself for the greatest battle of his 
long, long, existence …

******************

    "There is not much time …"
    "Don't give it up!"
    "You are that hope, Cecil …"
    "Hold on to it!"
    "If anyone can stop Oni's rampage … you can."
    "My dear brother …"
    "He tore the soul out of my body …"
    "Concentrate!"
    "…become a God …"
    "Cecil!  Here's our power!"
    NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    In the crystal surrounding Cecil's frozen body, small cracks began to form.  
These cracks spread and grew larger, larger … and finally, the pillar exploded 
outward, unable to contain the phenomenal power bursting off of the paladin's form.  
    Cecil slumped to the ground, gasping for air.  He looked around … and saw his 
beloved Rosa, still trapped in the crystal.  
    NO!  Not her, too!
    As though commanded by Cecil's thoughts, the crystal around Rosa crumbled into 
dust.  Her unconscious body fell in a heap to the ground, but as her choking, gasping 
breaths could attest, she was still very much alive.
    Cecil looked around in horror at the after-effects of Oni's demonic spell.  
Castle Baron was in ruins; demons shrieked through the air, which seemed almost 
liquid with the stench of death.  As he watched, a demon attempted to attack Rosa by 
leaping upon her; the beast had barely enough time to manage a single dry-hump before 
Cecil sliced its head off.  Without a sword.
    Cecil looked down at his hands, shocked.  Pure white power flowed in and around 
him; he barely glimpsed a long, white blade of light retreating back into his body 
before it was gone.  He felt strange, changed somehow … but for now, his first 
concern was Rosa.  Lifting her as gently as possible, he placed her on his armored 
shoulder, and began to search for a safe hiding place.  After Cecil's demonstration 
with their comrade, the wind-demons kept a safe bearth ... but they were watching.  
    Finally, Cecil found a shallow, sloping cave in the side of a hill.  He placed 
her as far inward as he could, and then tried to find a way to ward off any 
particularly ambitious demons …
    'The Crystal.'
    The words came to him in a whisper, directed straight into his mind.  He did not 
question it; reaching around his neck, he took the Crystal that his brother, Golbez, 
had given him to destroy Zeromus with, and placed it around Rosa's neck.  The gem 
fell onto her bosom, and began to glow a dim white.  Instinctively, Cecil knew it 
would protect her from the lusts of the demons.  Now, the only question was … what 
now?
    "Cecil …"
    Cecil stiffened, looking around.  He recognized the voice immediately.  
"Father …?"
    "Cecil … hope is not lost … you can still defeat Oni … use the power … of the 
Legend …"
    Cecil began to stride out towards the opening.  He emerged, and looked up into 
the red sky, ignoring the howls of the demons that swirled around him.  Softly, he 
began to speak to himself.  "One to be born from a dragon … hoisting the light and 
the dark …"
    As demons shrieked and gibbered around him, Cecil's white aura grew stronger, 
brighter.  Bolts of white lightning raced across his tensed muscles, crackling around 
his clenched fists.
    "Arises high up to the still land …"
    Veins bulged in Cecil's neck and arms, as his body strained to contain the energy 
that was being poured into it.  His eyes began to glow, dimly, with holy light.
    "Veiling the moon … with the light of eternity …"
    Cecil suddenly choked, falling to his knees from the pain.  White fire raced 
through his veins, blasting his nerves and electrifying his skin.  As he strained 
to hold it all in, a single ray of light shot down from the sky, illuminating him 
in a circle of purity.  The demons that had been whirling around him, slowly 
advancing when he had shown the slightest sign of weakness, leaped back, burned by 
the light.  A voice called down from the heavens; not the voice of KluYa, or his 
brother, or his friends; but of an Other.
    "It brings another promise, to Mother Earth …"
    Pure white scales began to appear on Cecil's arms, as light began pouring out 
of Cecil's eyes.  He cried out in pain as he began to change … to be reborn.  
Spines ripped out of his flesh, as his arms became more and more reptilian, claws 
developing at his fingertips.  A pair of voluminous, draconian wings sprouted from 
his back, as his feet began to undergo a transformation similar to his hands.
    "With a bounty … and mercy."
    Cecil's armor suddenly burst and fell to the ground, shattered.  White fire 
ripped across his body as the final stages of his transformation began to take 
place.  His neck grew long and serpentlike, as his teeth began to sharpen into fangs.  
His jaw distended, growing to allow the crocodilian jaws to exist in his mouth.  
Horns grew out of the sides of his head, curling backwards.  His tailbone extended, 
creating a long, thick tail.  While all this was happening, Cecil was growing 
exponentially in mass and size, until he towered over the ruins of Castle Baron.  
For a time, he had closed his eyes against the pain; now, he opened them, and holy 
fire blazed out.  The demons shrieked, this time in fear, and began to move away 
from the reborn paladin.
    "Stand, Cecil … stand, White Dragon … and win back your world."
    "Yesssss …" the White Dragon whispered, as it spread its wings experimentally.  
They caught and held the air perfectly, and with little effort, Cecil was airborne.  
Turning his face towards the shimmering Tower of Bab-Il to the south, he began to fly 
the demon winds, to the final battle for the fate of the Earth.

******************

    As the Malebolgia roared in triumph, Oni was gathering all the energy he could 
muster from the Crystals, the Tower, and his newfound Godhood.  Crimson energy ripped 
around him, sparks flying around him.  Finally, the Malebolgia began to turn, and 
Oni unleashed all his power into one enormous blast …
    "THOUSAND HELL'S FURY!!!"
    The blast hit the Malebolgia with enough force to render an entire galaxy into 
atomic dust.  The dragon screamed in pain, the sonic vibrations causing the earth to 
shake for miles around.  It staggered, two of its heads reduce smoking stumps, three 
others handing unconscious … but somehow, still stood, the central head glaring down 
at Oni with surprise, hatred, and betrayal.
    It opened its huge mouth, and inhaled.  Oni saw what was coming and bulleted out 
of the Tower, barely dodging the enormous blast of Hellfire the Malebolgia suddenly 
let loose with.  The circuitry of Tower melted and flowed like water; when the 
Malebolgia turned His head to follow the comparitively tiny demon, the portion of 
the Tower that stood above ground had melted to half its original height.  It still 
pulsed with hellish light, but dimly.  
    Oni continued to dodge the streams fire that the remaining two heads shot at him, 
shooting stinging bursts of energy that only served to infuriate the massive dragon.  
After several minutes, Oni stopped dead in mid-air, glaring at the massive dragon.  
It let loose with another massive gout of Hellfire, but this time Oni did not move.  
Instead, he focused the power of the Fire crystal to part the flames before him, 
leaving him untouched.  Then, with the flames still blasting around him, he shot 
towards the dragon's mouth.  As Oni entered it, the dragon ceased exhaling to note 
the results of its attack.  About five seconds afterward, the head Oni had flown into 
exploded in a cloud of black blood and ichor.  The central head shrieked in terrible 
agony, and tried to whip at Oni with Its neck.  The massive structure slammed into 
Oni with tremendous force, knocking him off-balance and sending him spiraling to the 
ground.  The Malebolgia roared in triumph, and lunged forward with its foreclaws, 
ready to shred the rebellious demon before he could go any further …
    Suddenly, on the horizon, a great white light appeared, piercing the gloom 
created by Oni's spell.  The Enemy of All That Is Good paused, hissing at the 
apparition, and Oni saw his chance.  He flew at the Malebolgia as fast as he could, 
reaching the creature's underbelly in seconds … and then simply disappearing into 
it.  The Demon Lord grew an almost comical look of puzzlement, that spread into 
horror as He felt His powers being drained by Oni.  Since the Malebolgia had no soul, 
Oni instead tore away His hellish powers, absorbing it into himself.  The demon 
shrieked in pain and defeat, as His massive power stores poured from Him into Oni. 
The massive dragon wavered, wobbling on its hind feet, and then fell forward, 
crushing the central head underneath the Malebolgia's own gigantic weight.  It let 
loose with one final, horrific shudder, and then began to crumple like a shed reptile 
skin.  A last, gasping breath … and the Lord of Hell was dead.
    Exactly one second after the Malebolgia breathed His last, Oni exploded out of 
the dragon's in a shower of gore, eyes blazing hotter than ever.  Energy crackled and 
leapt from the corpse of His former master into Him, transferring all the power and 
knowledge that the Lords had had ever since the great Telal Vermis Mysteriis had 
been sliced in half by the Lords of Heaven, and the first Lord, Lucifer Morningstar, 
had risen to power in his place.
    "The knowledge …" Oni gasped, as His mind exploded with the forbidden knowledge 
of billions of years.   "THE POWER …"
    Turning slowly, He gazed at the white light that had distracted the Malebolgia; 
by now, it could be clearly seen to be a dragon of purest white, with wings the 
color of pearl.  Oni recognized it immediately; the legendary White Dragon, whom 
would battle with the forces of Evil for the fate of the world.  
    Oni smiled.  "Then … let the game … begin."
    As the White Dragon continued to fly towards Him, Oni underwent a transformation 
of his own.  His purple flesh became the deepest black; His wings expanded and grew 
large spikes at the knuckles.  His face developed fins on either side, and His face 
became reptilian.  His eyes glowed a bright red-orange, as He grew tremendously in 
size.  By the time He once again stood and faced His oncoming enemy, Oni had become 
a dragon Himself, as black as Cecil was white.  He spread his wings and took flight, 
bulleting at the White Dragon.  The Battle for the world had begun.

******************

    Cecil glared through his new eyes at the black form approaching him at suicidal 
speed.  He could feel the molten fire of his transformation still burning through his
veins, and he believed he would need it, if the slowly fading corpse behind him was 
any evidence.
    Oni's thoughts were simple.  Kill him.  Tear him to shreads.  Burn his soul and 
send it to Hell.
    Impact.
 
******************

    The two reptilian beasts grappled each other with their foreclaws, viciously lashing 
at each other with their fangs.  Cecil flew backwards, blood pouring from a large wound 
in his neck, and unleashed a huge blast of pearly fire.  Oni barely dodged, and the 
fire struck Him in the membrane of His right wing, searing a large hole in it.  The 
demon shrieked in pain, and banked hard to the right.  He turned his head towards the 
White Dragon, and let loose with a gout of greenish acid.  Cecil, who had not been 
expecting such an attack, dodged downward instead of up, and the acid splattered 
against his armored hide, hissing as it burrowed deep holes into the pearly scales.  
Cecil bellowed as the acid dug fiery sores into his flesh; before he could recover, 
Oni had swooped up behind him, and was grasping his neck in His heavily muscled claws.  
As Cecil thrashed in an attempt to free himself, Oni inhaled and let loose with a blast 
of fire at point-blank range.  Cecil shrieked in agony as the back of his head was 
blasted with the superhot flames.  Oni continued to blast the dragon with his fire, 
savoring the tangy smell of roasting dragonflesh …
    Cecil suddenly whipped his long tail up and over the Black Dragon's back, 
snapping against it like a whip.  Oni hissed and released Cecil's neck, allowing him 
to whirl and push himself away from his enemy by planting a single clawed foot in 
the dragon's chest and pushing away.  As he regained his balance, Oni spread His 
wings, preparing to dive at him with his fangs.  Cecil saw it, and remained perfectly 
still as He swooped through the air … and at the last second, he moved out of the way, 
blasting Oni from behind with white fire.  It hit the dragon full-on, causing Him to 
shriek and wobble in mid-air.  The blasted flesh on His back screamed in His skull, 
causing him to overcompensate and begin a long nose-dive.  Cecil followed cautiously, 
making sure that the dragon was not merely playing possum.  
    Oni's mind was an insane jumbling of pain and disorientation.  For a moment, He 
feared that His victory over the Malebolgia would be for naught … that this *human* 
would be able to destroy Him …
    Shrieking in rage, Oni suddenly pulled out of the nose dive, letting loose with a 
huge wave of pure black energy.  Cecil had time to see it coming, however, and countered 
with an equally huge blast of white fire.  The two polar energies clashed, straining 
against the other, whirling into complicated swirls and sparks of gray.  The two 
hovered in midair, pouring all their rage and power into their blasts, each knowing 
that the slightest hesitation, the slightest restraint, would spell their defeat.  
Each one was pouring all their concentration, all of their will into coming out on 
top, and still the two blasts continued to cancel each other out. Occasionally the 
line of meshing would shift one way, then the other, but neither dragon was able to 
overpower the other.  Hot diamonds of reptilian sweat began to pour off each of them, 
as the strain began to take its toll on each.  Still the two forces continued to 
struggle for dominance, not giving an inch.  The enormous energies released began to 
wear on the fabric of reality itself … perceptions seemed to bend and warp around them, 
then suddenly snapping back to normal.  All of this went completely unnoticed by the 
two dragons, who by this time had been struggling with one another for a full ten 
minutes.
    Finally, the strain of two tremendous battles back-to-back began to take their 
toll on Oni, and his blast began to waver as pain wracked his serpentine body.  
Mercilessly, Cecil pressed the advantage, the white advancing closer and closer 
towards the demonic beast …
    NO!!!  Oni screamed within His mind.  THIS SHALL NOT STAND!  I WILL NOT DIE 
AGAIN!!!
    With a fury borne of desperation, Oni was somehow able to dig deeply enough 
into his iron will to fight back.  The advancing white energy began to slow, then 
began to recede.  Cecil struggled desperately, his panic causing his concentration 
to slip.  Oni continued to pour it on, straining at the last remains of His power, 
to give Himself the power to destroy the Dragon of Light …
    Finally, the strain became too much for the fabric of reality, and entropy 
flooded the space between the two dragons.  Both cut off their ferocious attacks 
simultaneously, their attentions suddenly brought to bear on this much more 
immediate threat to their survivals.  Both strained their wings to escape the 
implosion of reality … only to be suddenly blown away by the sudden explosion as 
time and space came rushing back into itself, filling the void made by the 
unbelievable energies.  Cecil flew, helpless and writhing, into the ocean, where 
he hit and immediately sank.  He did not rise.
    Oni, however, was slightly more likely; He landed on the shore of the former 
Isle of Elban, close by the shriveled corpse of His former Master.  The resulting 
fall shattered both of His wings under His weight; it would be a matter of days 
before they would heal.  
    For a time, the world was deadly silent.  Even the demon winds seemed to be 
holding their own silent conference.  The world awaited its fate …
    And then, Oni stood.
    He looked wearily around him, for a sign of the White Dragon.  Nothing.  Not 
so much as a glimmer of pearl scales.  He had done it.  He had won.
    Oni roared in victory, as the demon winds howled and shrieked around him.  
Another world had fallen to the Demon Lord Oni … and the Darkness from Below was 
victorious, once again.

FIN
(Closing Theme-"Hell's Belles" by AC/DC)

AUTHOR'S NOTES

   *Whew*!  It's finally done!  My longest fanfic to date, and hopefully my best. 
^_^  Yes, I let Oni win … and I'd do it again if I had to.  Hey, he *is* my 
Avatar …
    Anyway, thanks to Lynxara, Kenny Blackwell, Malissa Thomas, Swathi, and all 
the others who've urged me along this long, strange road it's been.  I hope you've 
enjoyed seeing the demonic Oni rampaging through the universe of Final Fantasy 
2 (my personal favorite RPG of all time … though you wouldn't know it, the way I 
slaughtered them ^_^), and be sure you check out the Author Avatar Arena at 
www.geocities.com/~silvertooth/AuthorAvatars.html to see Oni go up against some 
of the toughtest SOBs in fanfiction … and since I'm not writing it, you might 
even see him lose occasionally.  Heh.
    Music Listened To: "Hellbilly Deluxe" by Rob Zombie, "The Ozzman Cometh" by 
Ozzy Osborne, "Load", "Reload" and "Master of Puppets" by Metallica, various video 
game MIDIs, and others that escape me at the moment.
    Soft Drink of Choice: Pepsi
    Author Who Needs to Shut Up Now: Me
    Well, that's it for this fic.  Hope you've enjoyed the Darkness From Below … 
and if you didn't, well, me and DX have got two words for ya …
    Send any questions, comments, queries, flames, complaints, and human sacrifices 
to Discord999@aol.com.  Please, spare me the mindless insults, because odds are, 
I've heard it all before, and you're not likely to impress me any more than the 
original guy/girl did.
    All rights reversed, 1998.  Feel free to quote me, put this fic on your website, 
whatever … but do us both a favor and ask me first.  That way, I won't have to go 
to the trouble of flaying your skin off your bones, and you don't have to deal with 
the God of Flame Wars.  Deal?
    I remain …

THE ANARKIST