Final Fantasy 7 1/2: Magic Planet A Final Fantasy 7/Beast Wars crossover fanfic written by Stella Quetzacotl First created: Nov 14, 2002 Last modified: Nov 14, 2002 ~~~~~Legal Stuff~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes only. All FFVII characters are the sole property of Squaresoft. All Beast Wars characters are the sole property of Hasbro. All other characters are the sole property of the author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~Setting~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a TOTAL rehash of the Beast Wars saga, in which the group lands on the FF7 planet (what would you call it, anyway?) instead of Earth. They'll take different beast modes, but I'll keep the same names for convenience. The time is twelve years after the FF7 saga; Marlene is sixteen years old. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~Text Conventions~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [This is a character thought] *This is emphasized text* Chapter 10 As the single yellow sun of the Planet blazed overhead, a lone Doorbull galloped over the mountainside. Optimus was trying not to be preoccupied, trying to keep alert to his surroundings - there were Predacons in the area, after all - but there were just too many things on his mind. The question taking up most of his processing power was, of course, what Megatron was up to, but there was also the question of the humans, and the strange powers they wielded. Dinobot had voiced the opinion that the magic the humans used may make them targets of Megatron's plotting, and Optimus had to agree. [The paradox here is,] he thought as he galloped along, [that the very thing the humans rely on to defend themselves against the Predacons is ultimately putting them in danger. Still,] he amended, [it's better than being totally helpless. I imagine the battle at North Corel could have gone badly if it wasn't for the magic.] The magic. There it was, the fulcrum on which this war would turn. Rather, the energy which fueled the magic, what Marli had called 'Mako.' Mako defied any and all explanation - indeed, defied the Maximals' best attempts to contain it long enough to study it. It was close enough to energon-derived energy for Transformers to use as a power source, but there were little 'quirks' to its nature that, as far as Optimus was concerned, made it decidedly dangerous. [If Megatron manages to harness Mako, he could well become powerful beyond my - or anyone's - capacity to imagine,] he thought grimly. [If that happens, neither we nor Cybertron stand a chance against him. And ultimately, Megatron's path to that power will lie through the humans and their magic.] "I won't let that happen," Optimus said aloud. "On my honor as a Maximal, I swear it." His hooves cut into the dirt below him, sending him up and over one last hill. Beyond it was the human band, lead by Cloud. The bald human, whom Optimus could only assume was Clay, noticed him first. He smiled, then said something to his companions that Optimus couldn't pick up. The other three humans looked up and, seeing Optimus, greeted him with smiles and waves. Optimus returned their nonverbal greetings and made his way down the slope to where they were. "Any sign of the Predacon?" he asked. "Hello to you too," Marli said. Cloud shushed her as Optimus let out a laugh, then said, "No. Laz Sensed around a few minutes ago, but he couldn't find it." The blonde man shook his head. "If the Predacons make a habit of messing with us - " "We'll make sure they learn the error of their ways," Optimus assured him. "My first responsibility as a Maximal is to ensure the safety of all sentient beings." "Quite a tall order," Clay commented mildly. "The number of sentient beings on this planet alone is rather large." "Aw, c'mon," Marli said impatiently. "It's not as if we humans are defenseless, you know. We can fight, *and* use Materia." Optimus's and Cloud's eyes met, and the Maximal knew that he and the human were wearing identical doubtful expressions. "Be that as it may, we Maximals are at least partly responsible for the safety of this world," Optimus declared, his eyes not leaving Cloud's. Cloud nodded, gravely, but did not speak. As the five-person party began to file away, heading eastward, an oversized Bizarre Bug landed in the trees some distance away. "Wazzpinator to Megatron," he transmitted. "Optimuzzs Primal and humanzzz going east now. Coordinatezz three-zzero-one from Wazzpinator'zz current location." "Very well," came the reply. "Scorponok, Tarantulus, and I are locked onto your location. Keep following them." "Azz ordered." Waspinator cut the link, then lifted off from his perch and flew slowly after his quarry. Laz was getting more and more nervous the farther they went. He kept his mouth shut by instinct, thanks to long experience dealing with adults in general and authority figures in particular, but as the humans followed Optimus deeper and deeper into the mountains he kept fingering his two Materia crystals, as if to reassure himself they were still there. After another twenty minutes Laz found he couldn't have spoken up even if he'd wanted to - his throat was entirely dry, whether from nerves or just plain thirst he didn't know. He kept walking, trying to stay close to Clay without stepping on the older man's heels. [Something bad is about to happen,] he thought. [I know it. I'm on a train with no breaks, hurtling toward a brick wall. Nothing to do but hold on and hope.] Marli dropped back, during a lull in a conversation with herself, Cloud, and Optimus, to walk abreast with Laz. "Do me a favor?" she said in a stage whisper. "What is it?" "Use your Sense again. Something's not right." Laz blinked. Marli's face was set, her eyes sharp and keen. "You - you feel it too, don't you?" "I don't know." Marli shook her head. "I'm not sure there's anything *to* feel. All I know is that I'm nervous. You - are you feeling anything?" "Yes," came the exhaled reply. "Something awful." Clay glanced over his shoulder at the two children whispering behind him. "Is there something wrong, you two?" "Nothing," they said in unison. Clay turned back around, an amused smile on his face, and the duo was respectfully silent for a few moments. Then Laz gripped his Materia, exhaled slowly, and poured his concentration into the little yellow crystal. Marli gripped his arm to keep him from tripping as they walked along. It took only a few more steps before Laz stopped in his tracks, muscles clenched and eyes wide. "Laz, what is it?" Marli demanded, as the others halted to look back at them. "Predacons." Laz's voice was a whisper. "Five of them. They're closing in on us." Optimus spun to face him. "All five?" he demanded. "An ambush," Cloud hissed. "That single Predacon - " Clay moved forward, laying one large hand on his student's head. "Can you tell where they are?" "Behind us," Laz answered, miserably. "But spread out. Maybe twenty minutes - " "*Slag* it." Optimus cantered. "Marli, Laz, get on my back. We're almost to the tunnels, we can lose them in there." Marli and Laz straddled the Doorbull-Maximal, and as Marli gripped Optimus and Laz gripped Marli, the Maximal and humans began to run. "Wazzpinator to Megatron! Wazzpinator to Megatron!" Megatron frowned, halted and, as Scorponok looked on from behind him, switched on his comm to reply. "Report, Waspinator." The static-laden reply came back almost immediately. "Flezzshie-botzz and Optimuzzs Primal running away! Wazzpinator think they know Predaconzz are coming!" Megatron growled. "Waspinator, you idiot! You tipped them off!" "Wazzpinator didn't!" the hapless Predacon wailed. "Wazzpinator was very careful! Flezzshie-botzz maybe uzed sparkly stuff. Not Wazzpinator'z fault!" Megatron's Under Lizard whiskers cracked out from his face like bullwhips, narrowly missing Scorponok. "Forget subterfuge, then - it's obviously useless now, yess. Just keep them in your sights!" Megatron cut the transmission and snarled to himself. "My education in the humans' magic abilities continues," he said to himself. "Yess." He opened another transmission. "Attention, Predacons - this is Megatron. Our prey has been flushed - follow Waspinator's signal and give chase. Megatron out." The tyrant turned back to his lieutenant. "Come, Scorponok - we have a war to bring to an end." "Yes, Megatron," Scorponok answered promptly, and together they ran down the slope. They were going so fast that even Marli was breathing hard as Optimus clattered into a cavern opening lined with iridescent Mythril. "Laz, how are we doing?" Optimus demanded as he ran. "Oh - um - " Laz fumbled for his Materia. Optimus and the others took two turns in the winding cavern system before the boy reported, "They're chasing us - about the same distance away." "Slaggit." Optimus ran harder. "We can only hope they get lost." They didn't. Ten minutes later, the good guys were still running like hell through the subterranean caverns, with the Predacons still in hot pursuit. Fortunately for Optimus, Cloud knew his way around, because otherwise the Maximal would have been lost in a second. [Perhaps,] Optimus thought, [not the best strategy. Live and learn.] "All right, Plan B," Optimus announced. "We need to take out Waspinator." "On it," Cloud said immediately. He was in the back of the party now, his green eyes glowing - Optimus had never noticed *that* particular detail before. He resolved to ask Marli about it - later - as the blonde man loped off with sword in hand. Soon he was lost in the shadows. Silently, without having to be asked, Laz palmed his Sense Materia and followed Cloud's progress. "They're getting closer to each other," the boy said quietly, tightly, as Optimus, Clay, and Marli gathered around him as if around a fire. "A collision course. There - they're in the same cave now. Waspinator is - transforming. Attacking. Cloud blocked his shots with his sword." A brief smile. "Now he's getting ready to use magic. I think it's a Mastered Materia, but -" There was a bright flash from Laz's Sense Materia, and spare nanoseconds later - only Optimus was able to detect the delay - a sonic boom that knocked the four off their feet. Maximal and humans went flying. Clay was the first to recover. "Lazarus?" he queried, pulling himself to his feet on the rock face. "Ow," came the whimpered reply. Clay followed the sound and found Laz crouched on the ground, cradling his hands. His palms were blistered and bleeding. "It exploded," he whispered, eyes wide with pain and disbelief. "My Materia exploded." Clay pulled the boy to his feet, carefully. "What did you feel?" he whispered urgently. "Just as it happened, what did you feel?" Laz took a few deep breaths. "Sick." "Sick?" "Nauseous. Dizzy." The boy shook his head. "I still feel like - " "Laz?" Marli interrupted, from the far end of the cavern where she'd been thrown. Blood seeped through her hair to smear her forehead. "What just happened?" Clay answered for Laz - just as well, since the twelve-year-old had no idea how to answer. "It was Mako feedback," the monk stated, his body language suddenly purposeful. "I fear Cloud is in dire danger." Optimus transformed. "Only one thing to do, then." He cast a kind eye to Marli and Laz. "Are you two all right?" "Fine," Marli sighed, wiping her forehead. Laz nodded mutely. "Then let's go," the Maximal said firmly. He headed in the direction Cloud had gone, suddenly and horribly certain that he was walking straight into the fight of his life. The cavern where Waspinator and Cloud had faced off was dark, the Mythril in its walls eerily dull after the lit-from-within Mythril mineral that Optimus had seen so far. The sight seemed to cow the humans, too, making them shrink from the walls as they crept into the cave. Near the entrance, Cloud lay facedown, limp and motionless; Waspinator lay in several pieces, lying in disarray near the other end of the cave, where it ceased to be a cave and became a tunnel again. Optimus asked the inevitable question as the humans rushed to Cloud's aid. "What happened?" With some effort, Clay and Marli rolled Cloud onto his back - Laz, with his injured hands, didn't try to help. Cloud's head fell into Marli's strategically-placed lap, where she could perform motherly first-aid if necessary - but the girl took one look at him and gasped. "Uncle Cloud!" Optimus took another look and felt his mech fluid start to race. "His eyes - " Cloud's eyes were half-closed, but the slits that remained visible were glowing in a strange, blue-green light. Not the kind of gentle glow that Optimus had noted before, the kind that was reminiscent of Transformer eyes, but twin bright streams of light that oscillated on the cavern ceiling. The man's skin was ashen and glistening with sweat. As they watched, Cloud squirmed feebly in Marli's arms. A soft, incoherent moan escaped his chest. "Mako poisoning," Marli breathed. "It has to be." "Mako *what*!?" Laz demanded. Marli opened her mouth to explain, then shut it and shook her head. "Forget it, there's no time. We have to get Uncle Cloud to a doctor, right now!" "Oh, what's the rush, human?" Marli was on her feet in an instant, unheeding of Cloud's skull hitting the floor with a hollow thump. Laz jumped back with a yell, the movement putting him behind Clay almost by instinct. Clay, for his part, adopted a fighting stance, his face a mask of calm - but only a mask. Optimus, after a bare moment's time to recover from his surprise, did the same, covering Marli and the prone Cloud with his posture. "We meet again, Optimus Primal," Megatron said, stalking past Waspinator's pieces into the center of the cavern. "But this time I believe I have the advantage. Yesss." Silent as death the other Predacons filed in after him, arranging themselves in a half-circle facing the Maximal's party. "It is rather pointless, but I will give you one chance to surrender. If you wish to save the lives of your little friends - " Megatron squinted at Marli, who shifted just a little towards Optimus - "I suggest you take it." Optimus hesitated. [There's no way I can take on four Predacons by myself. If I surrender, perhaps the humans will be able to get away - ] With an abrupt growl, the Maximal unsheathed his katanas. [That's assuming Megatron would honor his word.] "Surrender isn't an option," he stated loudly. "Come on, Megatron!" "Ah, I was hoping you would say that," Megatron sang. "Predacons, attack!" The assembled robots obeyed. "Marli," Optimus yelled as he and Clay leapt to meet the onslaught, "call for backup!" Marli pulled her communicator from her pocket, ducked to avoid getting skewered by a laser bolt, and turned the disk-shaped device on. Static blasted from the speaker and Marli winced. "Optimus," she called, "there's too much Mako interference! I'm gonna go try to find a better place to transmit." "Go," Optimus grunted, struggling in Megatron's crushing grip, "but hurry!" "I will!" Marli turned and ran for the exit. "Laz," she called over her shoulder, "take care of Uncle Cloud!" "What?" Laz squeaked. "Me?" But Marli was already out of earshot, so his protests went unheeded. Moments later, he was knocked to the floor as Tarantulas barreled past, in hot pursuit of Marli. Wincing, Laz pushed himself to his feet. "There are just some days when I would be better off just staying in bed," he observed mournfully, before turning back to the battle. Marli ran blindly, her ragged gasps raking the walls as harshly as it did her own throat. Twice she dropped her communicator and had to double back for it, her hands too slick with sweat to really be able to hold onto anything. It was on the second such backtracking that Marli spotted Tarantulas in the Mythril-lit tunnel behind her, coming up at a fast clip. She swallowed, stuffed her communicator in her jacket pocket, and kept running. [A rescue would be really nice right about now,] she thought. Unfortunately, with the Maximals presumably unaware of her predicament, rescue was probably the most remote possibility at hand. [Gotta think of something. Can't contact the Maximals 'til I lose him. Ancestors, Creator, anyone who hears prayers, please, *please* help me!] The only force that heard, apparently, was the God of Irony, as Marli found herself nearly crashing into the back wall of the mother of all dead ends. Forested with Mythril stalagmite and stalactite formations, the ceiling raining mineral water with an apathetic, doom- and-gloom attitude about the activity, this cave was tailor-made for scenes of drama and tension. To make matters worse, the area immediately surrounding the cave mouth was relatively free of rock formations, making it impossible to sneak out. Then, just to add the icing to the cake, Tarantulas appeared at the cave mouth, Mythril light reducing him to an eerie silhouette. Marli crouched behind a stand of convenient pillars as the Predacon stepped into the cave, chuckling. "Where are you, little human?" Tarantulas singsonged. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! Uncle Tarantulas just wants some target practice..." Marli shuddered - the overly-saccharine-ish tone of his voice left a bad taste in her mouth. As silently as she could, she slipped her staff from its sheath. "I see what it is," Tarantulas purred. "Very well, I don't mind playing hide-and-seek. Hope you have a good hiding-place, fleshling... I do so love a challenge." [Do you, now?] Marli thought with grim humor. [How wonderful for you.] Tarantulas kept talking, seemingly uncaring whether she was listening or not. "I wonder how long it will take me to find you? This cave isn't so big, you know." A low, manic chuckle. "I've always wondered what fleshling fluids taste like. I'm quite the conniseur, you know. This planet offers such a rich bouquet - " At this point Tarantulas's blue-and-green-plated head peeked around the edge of Marli's hiding spot, and Marli, knowing exactly when the Predacon would appear from listening to his babbling as he moved, was in just the right position to brain him with her staff. Tarantulas howled, grabbing his newly-dented cranium, as Marli scrambled a safe distance away. "Barrier!" she intoned, and the cavern was briefly lit by green Mako light. "This is round two, webhead!" "My thoughts exactly, fleshling," Tarantulas snarled, and raised his hands. Marli tensed, expecting the machine-gun rounds she'd seen him use before, but instead he reached behind his back and pulled out something that looked like the bastard son of a musket and a bazooka, complete with bayonet at the end. The Stinger charged, firing greenish energy pulses as he came. Marli rolled to the side, managing to avoid most of Tarantulas's shots, but a couple found their mark on Marli's Barrier. The freshly-cast shield, however, was up to the challenge, so Marli felt little beyond a vague stinging sensation. [That's as easy as it's gonna get,] Marli chided herself, her inner voice taking on the tones of her father. [Don't let him hit you again.] She sensed movement behind her and swung her staff around with a yell. The blow caught Tarantulas in the upper arm, making the servo there short out for a bare second - long enough for him to lose his grip on his weapon, sending it clattering to the floor. Tarantulas reached for it, but Marli wielded her staff like a hockey stick, sending it skitting across the rock floor. "Bad girl," Tarantulas hissed. One metal arm swung up and around in a ridgehand that knocked Marli back against a wall. She slumped to the floor, stunned - one hit in the head too many - and her staff slipped from her hand. Tarantulas sent it flying with one swift kick. "Turnabout is fair play," he observed with a chuckle. Marli pulled herself to her feet. "Sage advice." She lunged, body-checked the Predacon, and before he could recover - from surprise more than anything - she ricoched off, turned two complete backrolls and came up holding Tarantulas's gun before her. "Don't move," she ordered, drawing a bead on the Predacon's head. Tarantulas blinked - or at least, his optical lights flickered briefly, which Marli interpreted as a blink. "Very impressive. But you're holding it the wrong way." "Oh." Marli looked down, started to switch the gun, then frowned. "Wait. No, I'm not." Tarantulas was there, cackling, his long-fingered hands wrenching the gun from Marli's grasp. "You fleshlings are so very gullible," he gloated, backhanding her with the weapon. Marli dropped and, after a moment's stunned paralysis, rolled away just ahead of Tarantulas's deadly bayonet, which hit the ground with such force that the very tip snapped off. Marli got to her hands and knees, spat blood, and scrambled behind a stalagmite formation, putting solid rock between herself and her attacker. [I'm in it deep,] she thought. [I gotta get my staff back. But how?] Marli risked a glance around her shelter and was nearly scalped by laserfire as a result. [He's not quite between me and my staff,] the girl noted as she abandoned her cover for a new location. [Maybe I can - ] "Got you!" The crowed declaration came just a second ahead of a sharp flare of pain in Marli's left arm. She yelled and burst from her protection, braving three more shots before finding another stalagmite stand to hide behind. Once there, Marli turned to examine the damage. Her windbreaker had a large hole in it, revealing a burn mark about half the size of a clenched fist. [Barrier must almost be out by now,] the girl thought, touching the wound gingerly. The slightest brush of a fingertip sent pain lancing up and down her arm. The muscle seemed paralyzed. Just then, Marli's turbulent stomach told her that she no longer had her Barrier. "Crater," she said aloud. Her voice echoed off the stone walls, to be answered by Tarantulas's gleeful cackle. Next chapter... Optimus gets his groove back.