Back at the vehicles those without flight spells or power armor watched the raging battle on monitors or with binoculars. They were spared the sounds of the battle as well as the screaming of the monsters and the attacking force.
     “They aren’t doing nearly enough damage to ensure victory,” Kirinis commented, “I mean, their attacks are powerful, but the monsters have the advantage of numbers.”
     “Meaning that they’re going to need us on backup soon,” Spark said, “too bad that pop didn’t install a weasel array on my truck.”
     Boomer sighed and rolled her eyes, since Spark had been whining about that since they got there.
     “Why hasn’t anyone summoned their espers?” Selphie asked, which resulted in heads turning towards her. She blinked a couple of times due to the sudden silence. “What? It’s a valid question?”
     “She’s right,” Kirinis said, “I know for a fact that some of them... heck, most of those out there can summon one being or another.”
     “An excellent question, and an equally excellent observation,” Squall said, unclipping his radio from his belt. He clicked it on a moment before it was snatched from his hand by Tina, who batted her eyes at him. He sighed and nodded. “Go ahead.”
     “Thanks,” she smiled. Her composure became serious as she put the radio to her lips. “Hey, can you guys hear me out there?”

     “Yeah, we can hear you,” Zelgadis said as he dodged a diving monster. As the monster came up for a second pass he swung his sword, neatly cleaving it in half. “What’s on your mind ‘cause we don’t have time to socialize.”
     “Kirinis observed that you aren’t summoning your espers. Any particular reason why?”
     “No time to chant the incantations,” Celia replied as she poofed in near Zel, “and those incants are needed to bring them forth.”
     “And those of us with power armor are too busy to see if the materia will work,” Lina added as she poofed in above them. The sorceress poofed out a second later, reappearing under the other two. “If anyone has a brilliant idea I’m open to options.”
     There was silence on the other end of the radio, and in that time the other people fighting the army of monsters joined Celia, Zel, and Lina, a barrier forming around them. Finally Quistis came over the radio.
     “We think we have a plan... or the workings of one,” she said. “Anessa and Tenal have been taking readings on the mega armor and recording the data.”
     “Go on,” Del encouraged.
     “Well, according to their data you eight should be able to concentrate your energy into one powerful beam. If you all target the Ultron with those beams then victory will be ours.”
     “But what about the army?” Amelia asked as one monster crashed headlong into the barrier and disintegrated.
     “That’s where those without the armor come in. You take the materia, haul haunch to a safe distance, and summon away.”
     “Will that even work?!” Lina demanded loudly as several more monsters crashed into the shield.
     “It should,” Adderson said, “I was able to summon Ridley once before, and I’m sure it can be done again.”
     ‘You must let them,’ Leviathan said.
     “Leviathan?” Amelia asked.
     ‘They are the only hope,’ Bahamut spoke.
     “Bahamut?” Lina gasped.
     ‘Trust in the strength of those you love who love you back,’ Alexander said cryptically.
     “I understand,” Alex said, unclipping the chain around his neck that held his materia. The red piece he gave to Adderson; the white he handed to Seifer. “Take good care of them,” he said, “and they should take care of you.”
     Seifer blinked back a couple of tears and nodded. “You come back alive, you hear,” he said, wiping his eyes. Alex nodded back and gave him a reassuring smile.
     “We’d better get going,” Celia said, forming a jump bubble inside the barrier.
     “Just watch the light show and we’ll be back together before you know it,” Lina smiled as the vampyress and her passengers vanished. Once they were gone she took a deep breath in preparation for what came next. “Guys, I...”
     “You stop right there, Lina Inverse,” Naga said. “All of us know how risky this is, and all the dangers of using that much power. We also know that we have yet to push our armor to their limits, but that won’t stop us.”
     “She’s right,” Fam said, “and we want to do this. For our friends, our families, and people we don’t even know.”
     “Then it’s time to go into battle!” Amelia said, striking a dramatic pose. “Onward to victory!”
     Nobody needed to say anything - they knew what had to be done. The barrier crashed, and eight flashes of light were what was left of those with mega armor in that area. In strategic points around the Ultron class monster they reappeared, each one knowing full well what their job was.
     'Singly we are strong, but united we are much stronger. Our armor makes us unstoppable, with untapped powers. We fight to defend two worlds and all who live there. We will not be defeated!’ Each of the eight chanted in their minds as they crossed their arms over their chests, colored light glowing around their bodies. Monsters dove at them, slamming into powerful barriers and disintegrating. ‘We will not stand down. We will fight on and on!’

     A fairly good distance away a teleport bubble appeared and burst, releasing those within. They floated down to ground level before holding several pieces of materia aloft.
     “Think it’s time to call some friends out to play?” Irvine asked, borrowing Zel’s D3 to contact the vehicles.
     “Sounds like a good plan,” Kirinis replied, a beam of blue light rising from where she stood.
     “Looks like everything is go,” Adderson said, closing his eyes to recall the summoning spell. “Dragon of darkness who sleeps in the inferno, come forth and burn my enemies to ashes.”
     “Release the light from the darkness, deliver us from the shadows,” Seifer chanted. He felt another hand on the materia, and opened his eyes to see Irvine smiling at him. Together they chanted, “Unleash the light unto the dark, enlighten those trapped in the shadows!”
     “Supreme king with the watery soul,” Guile chanted, holding Amelia’s materia aloft, a gentle blue surrounding it. “Grant me the power of your tidal rage!”
     “Holy beast of protection,” Zel chanted, his eyes closed in deep concentration, his materia glowing a purifying white, “you who protects all life. Come before us and deliver us.”
     “Irvine, you need to summon Bahamut,” Celia said, a worried look on her face. “I... seem to have forgotten Hydra’s summoning spell.”
     Irvine looked at the red gem that Lina had entrusted to him. He then looked at Seifer, who nodded. He held the stone aloft before crying, “King of the dragon race, come forth and grant us your power. Please protect those we love!”
     “Stormy swells, bring forth a hero from the brine filled depths,” Celia chanted, her materia glowing a stormy ocean blue. “Battle back the darkness with a lightning quick attack....”
     Stones of summoning glowed brighter in anticipation of the words that would bring forth the awesome creatures known as espers.

     Across the dimensional threshold to Earth and the rift in Claremont, Sylphiel kept to her vigilant task. She felt weak and exhausted and in need of a shower, but in her heart she knew that keeping the shield up would ultimately save many lives.
     It was quite a surprise when her materia grew warm on the chain around her neck. She was even more surprised when it began to glow and pulse.
     “They must need my help,” she said, fishing the necklace from inside her tunic. “Angemon’s help must be needed now.”
     She held the stone to the sky and closed her eyes. Angel feathers blew around her as she chanted, “Holy warrior of light, come forth and battle back the darkness. ANGEMON!”
     Her stone glowed brilliantly for a moment, then went dark as her esper was sent to where he was needed most. ‘Please protect Miss Lina and everyone,’ she prayed, dropping to her knees. ‘Please be safe.’
     A voice said in the back of her mind, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll protect them, and they’ll be safe.’

     In the pocket dimension the eight possessing mega armor were nearing the point when they could attack. The army of monsters had since increased its attacks upon them exponentially, draining some of their strength in the process of keeping shields erected.
     ‘We’re almost there,’ Ihrie thought, the violet glow around her blindingly intense, ‘Just a little longer.’
     A loud rumbling filled the air as the smaller monsters backed off. A moment after that the volcano on the back of the Ultron erupted, showering the surrounding area with rocks, ash, and molten magma bombs.
     “Keep summoning the powers,” Lina instructed, “don’t give in to your fears. Just believe in the armor.”
     “I believe in the armor, I believe in the armor,” Fam and Amelia changed. When they felt their power faltering they began chanting, “I believe in myself. I believe in myself.”
     ‘And I believe in us all,’ Alex thought as rocks and debris bounced off of his barrier. ‘I believe in us all. I believe in us all.’

     The group of summoners felt the ground rumble beneath them, yet held their ground. A barrier formed around them, blocking the incoming rocks and whatnot. They looked up to see Cassi floating above them, the strain of maintaining her spell evident on her face.
     “Hurry up and call in our backup,” she said weakly, “otherwise we’ll get creamed.”
     ‘Here’s hoping that all goes well,’ Adderson thought as the stone in his hand grew quite warm. “Ridley!”
     “Alexander!”
     “Leviathan!”
     “Madeen!”
     “Bahamut!”
     “Hydra!”
     A circle of flames formed above the battlefield, and from that flew Ridley and Bahamut. Angel wings sprouted from the air behind a mountain, encircling it. The wings parted a moment later, revealing Alexander. Situated upon the holy esper’s left shoulder was none other than Angemon, and seated atop the right shoulder was Madeen. A great water spout formed, and out of that rose Leviathan, who curled back upon his massive tail and spread his shimmering wings. From another waterspout came Hydra, who leaned back and opened his mouth, a globe of lighting and ice forming.
     “And now the greatest show’s stage if fully set,” Cassi said as she landed and Celia took over casting the shield. “The final act has finally begun.”

     Back at the trucks several barriers were quickly switched back online as the sky began to rain rock and debris. Kirinis finished her summons, her esper, Tidis, appearing just inside the shield.
     “When do we attack?” Tidis asked, taking note of the destruction going on all around them.
     “As soon as we get this blasted weasel array back online,” Boomer said, kicking at the controls that had frozen during the quake. “Goddess damned...”
     She gave it one final swift kick, and that was all it took. The weapons system beeped before rebooting and reinitializing everything. In a matter of seconds they were back online and ready to rumble.

<music: ‘Lunar 2 - boss battle’>
     “Onward to battle!” Kirinis cried, hopping onto the roof of the Cobra as Nick started the engine. Tidis joined her on the roof as the elder Andrews brother put the car into gear and pushed the pedal to the floor. The other vehicles soon joined the mad rush to the army of monsters.
     Accompanying the roar of the engines was Boomer’s scream of, “Weasel Array... TOTAL ASSAULT!”  as a massive barrage of missiles and laser fire tore through the air, leading them into battle.

     “It’s time,” Alex said, snapping the other seven to attention. “Give it everything you’ve got!”
     Lightning crackled through the air as he unloaded every ounce of power that his mega armor possessed, and targeted it at the Ultron monster. Del, Lina, Naga, Ihrie, Fam, Kelly, and Amelia all released similar energy beams of various colors and elemental types. The Ultron roared loudly, the ground and the very air itself vibrating and shaking with the noise.
     “Don’t let up!” Lina directed as the swarms of monsters began attacking again.
     From behind them came a barrage of holy missiles that blasted through several pockets of monsters. Several more barrages followed, as well as beams of elemental energies.
     “Looks like our friends summoned the espers,” Naga said as a pocket of monsters above her was vaporized by a beam of high intensity fire.
     “Good thing they did,” Amelia said, “I’m beginning to feel weak.”
     “Guys,” Seifer cried as Ridley came up along side them, “Get out of the way!”
     “We can’t move yet,” Del said, “we still haven’t defeated this thing.”
     “Darren and Adderson are going to use their warrior powers,” Celia said, “those combined with what you’re doing should finish it.”
     “Let us know when you’ll be doing that,” Fam said, “then we can teleport out of the way.”
     Celia sighed and shrugged. “Good luck,” she said, “Ridley, take us out of here!”
     The dragon quickly ascended to a higher altitude as Adderson and Darren moved into position. The two warriors began the motions to activate their attacks, concentrating upon the task at hand as the espers continued their elemental assault.
     “Miss Lina, this armor’s beginning to really hurt me,” Amelia cried, “It’s constricting and making breathing difficult.”
     “Just a little longer Amelia. Try to hold on a little longer,” Lina said through gritted teeth. ‘This armor is supposed to have untapped potential, but where is it?’
     Lina felt a soft breeze around her face and looked over to see her shoulder armor lifting back, revealing a set of high power elemental cannons. Globes of elemental energy began to form in the cannon ports, and she grinned maliciously. “Now that’s more like it,” she said before screaming as a tri - powered elemental blast ripped through the air and attacked the Ultron, tearing into the mountain on its back.

<music: ‘Sandstorm’ - DaRude>
     The other seven possessing mega armor felt a similar surge in their suits as their shoulder armor lifted back much in the way that Lina’s had done. Raw elemental energy filed the air around them as new attacks were created.
     “Barovia Cannon!” Alex cried, releasing a beam of electrical energy that rivaled some of Delwynndwn’s attacks in power.
     “Celestial Barrage!” Ihrie cried as her suit poured forth missile after missile, which added to the chaos that her elemental beam was causing on the rocky back of the monster.
     “Solar Beam!” Del cried as the two beams from his shoulders joined the beam from his chest, creating an intertwining ray that melted into the Ultron’s armor with no resistance.
     “Heaven’s Fire!” Amelia shouted, her wings glowing as well as the cannons under her shoulder armor. Rainbow flames burned through the air, joining with the original beam and raking across the rocky back of the Ultron for some improvisational landscaping.
     “Super Tornado!” Fam cried as twin energy tornadoes screamed through the air, centering around her elemental beam to create a powerful energy twister that could crush rock with no problems at all.
     “Cosmic Meteor Shower!” Naga cried, her wings glowing, the cannon ports glowing the same golden glow as her wings. She flexed her back before flinging her hands forward, a more powerful version of her Meteor Splash joining with her elemental beam to wreck havoc upon their enemy.
     “Blue Wave Tsunami!” Kelly shouted as a tidal wave formed behind her. The wave passed into her shoulder cannons, which glowed aqua blue before releasing two subsonic jets of water that carved into the rocky armor plating of the Ultron like it was sand.
     A short distance away the second string fighters looked on in awe as the first string snagged victory from the jaws of defeat.
     “Time for some of us to go to work?” Darren asked impatiently as he and Adderson floated in space, their attacks ready to be released.
     “Yup,” Cassi said as she, Will, Dawn, and Heather joined him, “and we’re going to help.”
     “Give us a chance,” Will said, notching an arrow to his bowstring. He drew the string back, a globe of energy forming around the arrowhead, two more forming in the space in front of him. “Let’s dance. Soul... Eraser!”
     “Galactic Destruction Wave!”
     “Stellar Solar Winds!”
     “Millennial Decay!” Dawn cried, spinning her sword about, a tornado funnel forming. The tornado split into seven smaller tornadoes, each possessing the same intensity as the large one, and these twisted together to power smash their way through obstacles.
     “Celestial Solar Flare!” Heather cried, lashing her whip about above her head. Instead of one circle of flames forming above her, multiple discs formed, and she cracked her whip through all of these, sending a large, intertwined column of fire at their main target - the Ultron.
     “Life Force!” Cassi cried, arching her back as a large globe of energy formed above her. This quickly elongated into a spear, which she sent into the fray with a quick wave of her arms.
     The six attacks joined those being used by the eight with power armor. By now the screaming and roaring of the Ultron was deafening, but the attacks kept coming. Finally, in a blinding flash of light and a roar of deafening noise the Ultron monster exploded, sending people sailing through the air, knocking espers to the ground, and tearing and repairing the cosmic fabric, all in one action.

go to next?
return to the insanity?