Part 1/4
By Jonatan L
I decided to go over this again... corrected a few things... nothing too special.
This story takes place some time after my last fic, Order and CHAOS (and hopefully, it's better). If haven't read that one yet, I would suggest you do so before reading further here. Otherwise, some things in this story may seem just plain strange (even if you'll probably get the picture soon enough anyway). You've been warned... Okay, I've talked enough: here's the story. Enjoy ;)
...after first reading this little disclaimer. As usual, I'm not exactly certain what to make of this dern rating system (I did read about it, but that didn't help too much), and this is just my best guess, as there's both, er, "bad language", and violence here. Don't sue if you have another opinion; I just figured that a too "high" rating is better than a too "low" one...
Also, I'd like to point out that unless you at least know the story of the first Final Fantasy game, that is, everything about Chaos, you might find even more things odd. Short (and cliché) as FF1's story may be, it does explain a few things about Chaos' background and power, which is something I've made use of here. You'll catch on anyway, but it'd be better if you knew.... ^_^ Eh. Now I'm talking too much again... let's try that again. The fic starts... now.
-A couple of days earlier...-
Kai had never expected this day to turn out any different from any other day in his life - slightly dull, in other words. As he walked, he remembered his thoughts earlier that morning - There will be nothing new today. Just another day full of grass, dusty roads and trees and stuff. Damnit, if I don't make it to more civilised areas soon, I'm going to get so bored I'll... Then he had set out, and a short while later, came to the conclusion that -
Man, was I mistaken...
-Nine weeks earlier...-
"That's good, Ryan! Let's see how you handle this one..." Cloud swung his sword in a flat arc, left to right, but as Ryan raised his own sword to block, he changed his grip, twisted slightly - and passed outside Ryan's blade. Before the boy had a chance to react, Cloud tapped him on the shoulder with his sword. "You're getting better."
"Not good enough, though," Ryan replied, lowering his wooden practice blade. "You still kick my butt every time."
"Yeah," Cloud admitted. "But that's because I've trained. You'll get better."
Ryan - a teenage boy, fifteen years old - sighed and leaned on his sword. "I suppose..."
"You will get better - trust me on that. Come on now, I asked Tifa to have some tea ready for when we got back."
"You're a lucky guy, mister."
Cloud grinned. That was something he had not done too often in the past, but recently, he had done it pretty much every day. "I know," he said, slapping his pupil on the back - and almost knocking him to the ground. "Let's just put the swords back, and then we'll have tea."
Tifa smiled at Cloud as he opened the door and let himself and Ryan in. "Cloud! Great, the tea is just finished."
"Are we really that predictable?" Cloud wondered, walking over to Tifa and kissing her on the cheek.
"You are to me," she grinned, returning the kiss. "Now sit down - I'll bring the tea."
Cloud and Ryan did as they were told, and soon the three of them finished their late breakfast.
"So what now?" Ryan asked, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
"First of all, you need to learn table manners," Cloud chided, "but after that, I don't know. We don't have anything planned for today."
"I thought maybe we could spend some time on the beach," Tifa said. "It's going to get too warm to do anything else."
"Yeah," Ryan said, leaning back contentedly. "Let's hit the beach!"
"I think it's a good idea," Cloud agreed. "Should you go tell your parents?"
"Bah, them," Ryan said dismissively. "They'll probably be there too, anyway."
"I guess you're right. Well then, maybe we should get going before it gets too crowded," Tifa suggested. "Should we take food with us?"
"We'd better," Cloud said. "If you get the bathing gear, I'll see what I can find."
"What about me?" Ryan protested.
"...you can help me pack the food."
"Okay - hey, any cinnamon cake left?"
"I think so," Tifa giggled behind her hand. Cloud's cinnamon cake recipe was getting famous - he was a surprisingly good cook. Getting up from her seat, she told them, "I'll be just a minute."
"Okay," Cloud said. "Everybody... let's mosey!"
Stopping suddenly, the young man turned his head this way and that, scanning the area. He found nothing out of the ordinary. Still, he had a strange feeling... Raising a hand, feeling the weight of a Materia-laden bracelet around his wrist, he chanted a simple spell. Around him, the world seemed to turn into shades of grey as he shifted into heat-vision.
The sun above made it painful to see. Everything was white or light shades of grey - the warmer something was, the brighter it seemed, and now the sun had been baking the land for hours. However, Kai was experienced enough to use this spell even under such circumstances - with some difficulty, he could make out the contours of trees, rocks... And somewhere among these vague shapes, there should be something that wasn't normal. He didn't know what, but he expected t know when he saw it; and to do that, picking out the body heat seemed to be the best way. Studying his surroundings closely, he became aware of an overwhelming amount of power - approaching from his right. Switching the heat-vision off with a reverse spell - knowing that this presence, whatever it was, would have no need to hide from normal sight - he turned to face the approaching power...
His jaw dropped as a great shadow passed overhead, flying to the west. "Holy...!" he gasped. "Now I've seen everything... huh?"
The creature that had cast the shadow stopped, beating its wings furiously. Turning its head to the lone black-robed human on the ground far below, it blinked its eyes...
Kai blinked back. "What...?" he asked. "A... what was that?" But the creature had already resumed its flight, leaving Kai staring after it.
He knew what he had heard, though.
It was a cry for help.
A few minutes later, the three were ready to leave the 'Villa Strifehart', as Tifa had renamed the old Shinra Villa after she and Cloud bought it. Cloud and Ryan were carrying a large basket between them - it would be packed full of food, Tifa suspected - while Tifa was carrying a blanket for them to sit on, as well as a parasol and the boys' bathing gear. She had already changed, and was now wearing a yellow bikini. Consequently, the group drew a few stares, but the walk was short and soon they reached the famous Costa del Sol beach. Tifa set up their gear, while Cloud and Ryan went to find a booth and change. Five minutes later, they had changed and were all set up, and another minute later, they were out in the warm water.
They stayed in for the better part of an hour before they decided to get back up. By this time, the beach was filling up fast, but, having got there early, Cloud and company had been able to pick a good place - not too far from the water, but not close enough to get splashed by the bathers. While Ryan just lay down in the sand, Cloud tried to wring the water out of his hair. This was no easy task, since his spiky hairdo staid almost the same even when it was wet, although the spikes sagged a little; Tifa thought he looked like a wet chocobo - and a very cute one, at that.
Meanwhile, Tifa was going through the large basket for sun lotion, and was starting to suspect that Cloud had forgotten to pack it - not very wise, if they were going to be spending the rest of the day on the sun-drenched beach. She was just about to reprimand him for that, when she felt a tingling between her shoulder blades. It was the feeling of slight unease that one sometimes gets when someone is staring.
Tifa was used to people staring at her. The boys had started looking at her about the time she was fourteen, when she had started 'filling out her clothes', and, well, they had never stopped looking. She couldn't quite blame them, either - it wasn't their fault she had turned out to look the way she did. For reasons Tifa couldn't quite understand (what was so interesting about big breasts anyway? Most of the time they were only in the way) her chest had a tendency to draw men's eyes to it like a magnet drew iron. Her long martial arts training had done nothing to impair her looks, and the battle scars - the few wounds that had healed on their own, without the help of healing magic - spoke of an interesting past. It didn't really come as a surprise that people looked. Therefore, Tifa didn't pay much attention to the feeling at first - but suddenly it felt as if someone was touching her, an insubstantial finger tracing a particular scar on her back. One particular scar that was mirrored on her stomach...
It was the scar Sephiroth had given her that time in the reactor, that time that now seemed like an eternity ago. Even though they had used magic to heal that wound, it had still left a scar, and a big one at that - Masamune was no ordinary blade, and seemed to have been determined to leave its mark on her. The thrust had missed her spine by millimetres; she was lucky the only thing she had to remember the incident by was that scar.
Feeling that peculiar touch, Tifa jumped. "Hey...?"
She turned her head.
There was no one behind her.
What...? she wondered, turning fully to observe the beach around her. I couldn't have imagined that... There didn't seem to be anyone even looking her way... Well, there was one, but...
That one was a small child, a boy no more than eight or nine years old. As Tifa looked at him, he looked back for a second, then turned his head away.
He was an ordinary child, Tifa thought - a bit pale for the area, but he could be a tourist; over half the people on the beach were. His hair was very fair - almost white... or silver. That, in conjunction with his pale skin, was a bit strange; the hair looked sun-bleached, but under it, the boy looked as if he seldom saw the sun.
It was the eyes that startled her, though.
They were blue.
Mako blue.
-Now...-
"Retreat!" Godo shouted. "They are too strong! To the Pagoda, everyone!" The sounds of the battle ringing in his ears; screams, the clashing of weapons, the occasional roar of magical flames or lightning, he was not certain if anyone had heard him, but slowly the defenders started backing up, closer to Pagoda. I cannot believe this! the samurai thought as he deftly side-stepped a spear thrust and lopped the spearhead off with his sword, turning and punching the spear's wielder out with the pommel. Where did they all come from?
From the enemy ranks, a hoarse voice shouted out a command: "Cut them off! Do not allow them to get near the Pagoda!"
We shall see about that... Godo thought, as he struck down two attackers with one simple slash. "Quick! Move!"
There was a flash of fire from somewhere above him, and he looked up to see his daughter standing on a roof, holding a piece of Materia. Red fire rained down on the enemy ranks; then a bowstring sang, and the fire ceased. Godo once more turned his head to look up, but Yuffie had vanished - and the arrow was stuck in the wall. Breathing a sigh of relief, the old warrior turned to face his enemies again. This is getting out of hand! Wutai no longer kept much of an army, and since the war no one seemed to take the old codes seriously. Only Godo and a few other, ageing warriors had kept training. The others had rudimentary skills, and could hold a sword without cutting their fingers, but that was about it. One of the few exceptions... His thoughts were interrupted as Yuffie appeared on another roof, throwing a couple of fireballs at the attackers, then vanished again. Godo sighed and backed another step. We might have no choice... Gorky, Shake, Chekhov and Staniv, the other four of Pagoda, were fighting in human form, as was Godo, but they might be forced show their magical shapes if this went on much longer. Already they had lost over half their defending force - there was no telling how many were dead, how many just wounded.
Or there might be another alternative. A better alternative... He did not like the idea, but it might be what they needed. "Yuffie!" he shouted, "if you hear me... go to the Pagoda! Use the Summon!"
Then he turned his attention back to the enemy. Now I can only wait...
"By the way, Tifa," Cloud said as they walked home. "What was it that happened on the beach? You yelped, and then... when I looked, there was nothing."
"Ah, nothing..." Tifa wondered why she didn't want to tell Cloud what she had seen, but something told her not to... at least not now. "The clip on my top opened."
Cloud grinned. "I guess that's a good reason."
"It is to me." But... "Well, anyway, I have to take a shower and get the salt and sand out of my hair. Care to join me?"
"Why, that sounds like a splendid idea," Cloud replied with a mischievous grin that would have surprised her a year ago. Now, however, Tifa just grinned back.
"Let's go, then," she said with a wink.
Kai was running. He did not know why, or where, but he ran as fast as he could. He could feel the power of the winged beast even now, but it was fading fast. He wondered, as he ran, why it meant anything to him - he had no idea as to what was going on, and the flying being was unfamiliar. The idea that he might catch up with it, well, not even he was that naive. So why was he running? He slowed down, and finally stopped, panting, and leaned against a large, sun-warmed rock. "Damn..." he gasped. "I'm... stupid."
Turning his head, squinting against the strong light of the sun, he looked towards the west, where the creature had been heading. "Won... wonder where... that thing was... going?" Still breathing hard and fast, he turned the bracelet on his left wrist, finding a certain Materia orb, and focussed his mind on it. Healing power soon pulsed through his body, washing away the fatigue - a trick he had learned long ago; not terribly spectacular, but sometimes useful. However, instead of heading off again, he sat down with his back to the warm stone, caring little about the dusty road. "I wonder..." To the west - what was to the west? He thought hard, and came up with an answer.
"Wutai...?"
But Wutai was a place for tourists now, not really interesting... unless one was interested in cheap souvenirs, and somehow, he doubted that the being would like to buy a cheap porcelain vase or an imitation of an expensive carpet.
Then again, why would it be heading for Wutai specifically? The Wutai area, yes, but the city? Not likely, and still...
It felt like a warning.
Fighting her way to the Pagoda, Yuffie tried not to think of anything else than the Materia sealed on the top level. It was hard, however, to keep her mind off what was happening around her. Why... why? She had seen people killed - she had killed - before, and it had never bothered her... almost never... but now... There aren't any gods. Why does he keep hoping? We don't even know if it'll work! She had just seen two young men - two boys she had grown up with! - cut down by one of the invading soldiers. The man had never stopped to see what damage his blows had inflicted; he was satisfied as soon as his opponents fell.
She had killed him. But did that bring her friends back? No. Of course not. And that made it all so much worse... Damn it! Inside, she was screaming. Something caught her eye - another Wutaian dying on an invader's blade. "Die!" she roared. The enemy soldier screamed briefly as three shuriken tore through his eye, throat and - her aim had been off with the last one - arm. He fell, dying, and the shinobi leaped over him. Then, suddenly, she stopped, looking down at her hands. They were shaking. But I'm no better than him! she realised, tears rising in her eyes. The sounds of the battle seemed to increase manifold, the screams and clashing of steel on steel deafening her. This is all... too much... But she remembered Godo's words, or what she had heard of them: "Yuffie! If you hear... Pagoda! ...the Summon!" That was all she had heard, but it was enough for her to understand. No... can't stay here... Have to get the Materia! But as she ran, she thought, with fury that surprised her, Someone will pay for this!
The climb up was long and seemed to take forever. Yuffie was half blinded by tears when she reached the last floor, and wiped her eyes absentmindedly as she approached the niche in the wall where the Materia was lying. It was small, but nevertheless a temple - the top floor of Pagoda was more important than most people realised. Almost reverently, the young shinobi retrieved the sparkling red orb, gazing into its radiant depths...
Tearing her eyes away from the Materia, she opened a hidden door, ascended a short, steep set of stairs, almost a ladder, and opened a hatch leading out onto the roof. Standing up, she looked down at the battle below...
The red-dressed Wutai soldiers were still retreating. She saw the five of Pagoda still in the front line, their skill so much greater than the other warriors that the enemies' assault was slowed by them alone. However, the white-garbed soldiers were gaining ground, and outnumbered Wutai's forces three of four to one. Yuffie sighed and averted her eyes from the scene. Why does it bother me so much? "Damn you all!" Raising the piece of Materia, holding it in both hands over her head, she screamed the Esper's name, uttering a prayer that Godo had taught her long ago. "Leviathan! God of water that flows, master of the waves! Dragon of the seas, lord of rain! Aid thy servants in our time if need!" The prayer was unnecessary; she knew that now. Leviathan was just another Esper, and far from the strongest. He was, however, the Esper that the people of Wutai had worshipped as a god for as long as anyone could remember, and so far - before the war - he had always been there to protect them. There had been no need to use the Materia - Leviathan would have come to their aid if they needed him.
During the war, all that changed. Wutai had been defeated, completely and utterly, and Leviathan had never once appeared. Some people said he had died. Yuffie knew better.
Now, the ninja channelled her inner powers into the Materia, sending the plea for help through the many-layered veils between the dimensions, and felt the 'god' respond.
"I hear you," a powerful voice said. It sounded like a great brass gong - something somewhere between music and pure noise - and this close, it was uncomfortably loud. A swirling, watery shape was taking shape above her. "What is your wish, little one?"
"Destroy them!" Yuffie whispered through her teeth, clenching her hands into fists to keep them from trembling. "Destroy them all!"
Leviathan was silent for a few seconds, and the watery shape seemed to take on a solid shape, colours appearing, scales fading into place. The river dragon turned its eyes, large and deep sea blue, on her. "Since last we met," Leviathan whispered, but even a mere whisper was loud, "you have changed... What can inspire such grief, such anguish, in one so young?"
"That... that's none of your business!" Yuffie threw all respect and reverence overboard, turning to face the dragon, anger flaring in her eyes. "They are dying! Your people - my people - are dying down there! Why aren't you helping them? Have you truly abandoned Wutai, as they say? No one outside of Wutai believes in the Espers as gods anymore! I, I... help them!" She broke down sobbing, falling to her knees. "Just help them!" she whispered. "Please!"
The ancient dragon regarded her with nothing but compassion in its eyes. "There are some things more important than lives," he said softly. "Such as souls. Hearts."
"I don't care!" the ninja sniffled. "Just help them!"
Leviathan lowered his head in a sort of bow. "It shall be done."
Susanna craned her neck to watch the fight over the shoulder of her mount. "Down there!" she commanded. "The tower! They have an Esper."
So they do, came the answer. A powerful Esper, Leviathan, master of the waves. The King of Espers.
Susanna felt a slight discomfort at this. "Can you take him?" she asked, squinting worriedly. The creature below was half again as large the one she was riding, and now that it had fully arrived in this dimension, it sparkled and shimmered in all the colours of the rainbow. Massive lances of ice were appearing in front of the dragon-like beast, falling among the white-dressed fighters, striking them down in a way that reminded her of a furious storm throwing trees to the ground.
I am not sure. Leviathan is old, and weak now. He follows Bahamut's Code, and has not appeared in this world for several years. His body is weakening, but his mind... you can see his power. Susanna looked down once more, tearing her gaze away from the river dragon god. As they struck, the ice-spears shattered into smaller fragments, tearing through the warriors, felling many white-dressed men, never touching the ones in red. Shall I try? her companion asked.
"I can't decide..."
Decide quickly. Our troops are falling fast.
"I know... Well, then... I can't sit around doing nothing. Attack him."
As you wish, Susanna.
She felt gravity reverse, threatening to tear her out of the saddle as the white dragon swooped down towards the Pagoda, its claws out and ready to strike...
"Hoo..." Cloud yawned and stretched. Something was holding his right arm... "Tifa?"
"Mmm," Tifa mumbled. She had a tight grip on Cloud's arm; he carefully pried it from her grasp, and sat up. Tifa mumbled something in protest, waking up partially, but rolled over and went back to sleep almost the same instant. Cloud smiled at her back.
Still likes to sleep late... he thought as he rose and went over to the window, drawing the curtains aside, letting the light fall in. Behind him, Tifa made a small noise of complaint, and he let the curtains fall back behind him, standing between them and the open window. A gentle wind was blowing from the west, carrying the fresh scent of sea with it. Cloud took a deep breath and stretched again, enjoying the heat of the sun on his face. I wonder... There was something that didn't feel quite right, a kind of anxiousness that he couldn't put his finger on... But as if it had just been a bad dream, the warmth of the sun and the gentle caress of the wind washed the feeling away.
The wind carried with is something else, though.
Memories.
Cloud stared out towards the glittering sapphire glow of the ocean, and remembered...
Aerith?
He shook his head. It had been over a year since Aerith died... by Sephiroth's hand. Cloud's grip on the windowsill tightened for a second. Over a year... He could never forget her, he knew that, but now... the memories seemed so... alive. Aerith? he thought, looking up from the sea to the sky, perfectly blue - he seemed to be the only 'cloud' on his own skies, he noted with a touch of dark humour. What did you feel that day... under the city of the Ancients? He had asked that question so many times... He had asked and asked, but never received an answer.
Then another question presented itself.
What did Sephiroth feel?
That question, too, was impossible for him to answer.
To think that that man was... my friend... No, he never was my friend... it was all in my head. Or was it? I... worshipped him. I wanted to be like him... No, damn it, I wanted to be him. I just can't seem to find what I am looking for. I have this house, and Tifa to share it with me... I have friends, although it has been long since I saw them... I have all this... So why can't I convince myself that I am happy?
Cloud looked down, his gaze passing over the sky, the sea, the harbour and the docks... then some trees, just around the outskirts of town... a few houses... then he was looking straight down and into the smooth cobblestones outside the 'Villa Strifehart'. Thinking of the name, he smiled. 'Strifehart'... Was it a good name? It sounded perfect...
But he could not forget what his name, Strife, stood for. Battle. Discord. Conflict.
Paired with Tifa's name... Lockhart. It was made up from the words 'Lock' and 'Heart'.
Strange, Cloud thought, smiling wryly, that some words are so descriptive. Yes, he had kept his heart under lock and key... and she was the one who had unlocked it, wasn't she?
So, no longer 'Lock'.
Now it was 'Strife'.
He just hoped that this name would never be as descriptive as the other one.
Maybe it was for the better, but he had no time to continue that line of thought.
Suddenly the curtains were being pushed aside, ever so gently, and someone slid an arm around him, stroking his chest. Cloud put his own hand over hers. Even if there had been a hundred women in the room, he could have picked her out by the feel of her hand. "I thought you were still asleep." Tifa's hands were as callused as his own, but still seemed soft, somehow; both soft and hard.
"I was. For a short while, at least... You aren't getting all moody, are you?"
He smiled slightly and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "No, I'm just... thinking. Remembering stuff. It's been a while since we met any of the others..."
"Mm?" She encircled his waist with both arms and pulled him closer, pressing her body against his, leaning her chin on his shoulder. "I wonder how little Marlene is doing," she murmured.
"Yeah..." But not just Marlene. Cloud suddenly felt a strong urge to pack up and leave Costa del Sol, head to Rocket Town - or No Rocket Town, nowadays - and pick up Cid, then have the pilot fly them around the world and visit everybody. Cid had reclaimed his plane a couple of months ago, saying he needed it for some project or other - and since it was Cid's plane, Cloud couldn't very well object. "Maybe we should ask Cid to give us a ride," he voiced his thoughts. "Down to Corel... Nibelheim... Wutai..."
"Yeah," Tifa agreed, her speech somewhat muffled since her chin was on Cloud's shoulder. "We should."
"You think..."
"I think," Tifa said, lifting her head, "that you know very well what I think. Don't you, Cloud?"
He grinned. "Yeah. I suppose."
"So perhaps we should pack?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's," she said, and kissed him on the ear - that was as far as she could reach. Then she hugged him tight and slid away, leaving Cloud alone by the window.
Yeah, let's, the young man thought, running a hand through his spiky hair. Maybe that's just what I need...
The feeling was growing stronger. Kai blinked his eyes a couple of times, clearing his mind as he stopped walking and sat down at the roadside, slipping into a meditative trance. Sending his thoughts out over the vast depths of the astral plane, he spun a web of awareness to capture the disruptive waves that were sure to be floating around in that creature's wake...
"No!" He snapped out of his trance with a scream, standing up as every muscle in his body seemed to go out of control. Shaking, almost incapable of moving, retching and coughing, almost throwing up, he managed to touch the healing Materia and focus on calm. Slowly peeling the chaos and pain away, layer by layer, he managed to remain standing. That was but one step. The next was to force the disorder he had felt - the pain! - away.
It took him better part of an hour, and by the time he finally succeeded, he was drenched in sweat and tired half to death. As he released the iron grip on the Materia, he almost fell back into a sitting position. Leaning his head against a nearby tree, not minding the bark and splinters getting stuck in his sweat-damp hair, he closed his eyes. It hurt. He realised he must have been keeping them open all the time. Oh, darkness! He sighed heavily. What he had felt...
He hadn't felt anything like it since the war. And even then, it had never been quite this bad... had it? It was possible it had, since he had been young and inexperienced at the time. However...
He knew very well what it was he had felt.
War.
During the war several years ago, he had been young, but still able to stretch his mind into the consciousness-web to find disruptions. He had tried it once, only once, during the war.
Never more.
That time, he had almost died. So many voices - so many souls - so much death! His young, inexperienced psyche had been unable to cope with the raw power of agony that hurtled from even a small skirmish.
He had now found that even as strong as he had become now, it was still too much - far too much.
Slowly, he reached for the healing Materia again. Channelling a trickle of power into its core, he felt the magic work its way through his body, focusing on his eyes, easing the pain. Then, knowing that as drained as he was, he would have no strength to move far, he crawled a bit further from the road, dragging his pack with him, and lay down under a bushy fir tree, fast asleep almost before he stopped moving.
His last conscious thought was, Wutai!
Susanna felt a tingle of elation as Mist dove straight for Leviathan's throat, fangs bared. But with a speed greater than seemed possible, the King of Espers lunged forwards, his long, flowing body sliding out of reach with ridiculous ease. Turning his head to look straight at Susanna, the Esper seemed to feel no fear - only slight annoyance, as if Mist and Susanna were only minor obstacles to be cleared out of the way. "Why are you attacking me?" the river-dragon asked, his voice mild but powerful. Susanna shielded her mind from the magic of a dragon's words; if she was not careful, the creature might charm or hypnotise her with the force of his voice alone. Leviathan was not consciously trying to affect them; the power was always there, noticeable whenever a dragon spoke. Susanna shivered. Mist, of course, as a dragon, was not affected by such magic - and hissed as she felt the power in the King's voice.
"You have lived in the land of Espers too long, King. Your powers are diminishing; your glow has faded. Your strength is gone, broken. How can you let that fool, that 'god', control your actions? Let him destroy your free will? You are no better than an animal to him. You are not worthy of living." Mist lunged again, but Leviathan was like the water he controlled, impossible to cut.
"You are mistaken. Our god has the power to seal us in our world, yet he has not chosen to do so. I believe in his wisdom, as do my kin. The Code is not a restricting bond; its only purpose is to guide and to protect. Bahamut knows that humankind has reached a level of power where a war might be impossible to avoid."
"Lies... all lies!" Mist hissed. "You are his pawn! You place your life, your trust, in the hands of the Great Bahamut, and what happens? I will not stand by and see this happen!" Drawing his head back, Mist spat a bolt of lightning at her King.
On the Pagoda's roof, Yuffie blanched as the battle of the two Espers commenced. Leviathan was powerful, especially here; she was sure he would win... but every second the two battled, the people of Wutai would be without help, and they were still outnumbered two to one. Her father and his four generals would hold out... but for how long? Looking up, she saw lightning flash between the two Espers, but it seemed to cause no damage, wherever it hit. This could go on forever... But I don't have forever! she thought. I have to do something... anything! But what can I...
There might be something...
Yes, there was something. But that in itself could bring almost as much trouble as the invasion alone.
But at least her people would live.
Yuffie turned and leaped down the stairs, slamming the hatch shut behind her, and ran. She practically fell down the four sets of stairs, not caring if she sustained any wounds - she only knew that she had to get out of the tower, fast!
Finally, she reached the first level, stumbling as she misjudged a step, falling on the rough wooden floor, scraping her arms and legs, several splinters digging themselves into her skin. Frantically, she sprang back to her feet, ignoring the stinging pain, and kicked the door open. Instantly, there were people all around her, making a last-ditch stand around Pagoda. Pushing her way through the crowd, she headed for the nearest building. Digging her fingers and toes into cracks and unevenities in the wall, she pulled herself up, slowly, centimetre by centimetre... but finally she reached the roof, and swung her legs over the edge, rolling onto the tiles, where she lay panting for a couple of seconds before rising to her knees. She had no really useful Materia; Vincent wouldn't give her his Ultima Materia, and the ones she had managed to keep after the battle against Sephiroth... Yes, a spell could affect a large area, but if she spread it enough for the area she needed, it would take too much power to cause enough damage; she could not hope to decimate the enemy forces enough with her magic alone.
Sighing, she put a hand in a secret pocket in her shorts - despite their size and appearance, Yuffie's clothes held several secret pockets; after all, she was a ninja - and instantly found what she was looking for.
An orb of Materia.
No, not as much an orb as a chunk of Materia, because it was not smooth; it was basically orb-shaped, but uneven, and not as smooth as normal Materia. With yet another sigh, the shinobi brought the Materia up, looking at it regretfully.
"I had hoped... I... hoped this never would have to happen, you know..." She shook her head. "It's never easy, is it? Never, ever easy..." She sobbed quietly. "I'm sorry," she whispered, almost not seeing the Materia through the mist of tears. "I'm so sorry!"
And then she performed the summon.
"Is that all?" Tifa asked as Cloud set his bag next to hers.
"It is," he confirmed. "I have all I need in there... and of course, I'll be carrying this on my back." He indicated the 'Ultima Weapon' with his thumb. The great two-handed sword was strapped to his back in a sheath that allowed Cloud to draw it quickly, but seemed about to open at any time and make him drop the sword; so far, however, this had never happened. "A few changes of clothes, there isn't much more."
"Okay, I believe you! Now, do you have the chocobos?"
"Just outside." The chocobos were ones that Cloud and Tifa had raised themselves; both strong and good-natured birds. Tifa nodded.
"Good. Now, let's see... the stove - check. The lights - check. The water - check. The papers - check... wait, you did cancel the papers, didn't you?" Cloud nodded. "Good! Then... the windows - check. The refrigerator - check. The door... we're getting to that. Was there anything else? You've talked to Ryan?"
"Yes," Cloud confirmed. "He wanted to come, but his parents wouldn't let him." Secretly, Cloud had been relieved to hear this; being idolised and seen as a hero wasn't too bad, but Ryan... the boy was thinking of Cloud in exactly the same way Cloud had been thinking of Sephiroth, a long time ago.
Cloud drew the line there. He wouldn't have anyone else repeating his mistakes. All right if Ryan wanted to be like him - and after all, learning swordplay could be useful to him some day - but when he started wanting to be him, it had gone far enough. Hopefully, this trip would give Ryan a chance to calm down a little....
"Well, we need some time on our own, too," Tifa said, happily oblivious of Cloud's thoughts. "Other than that... anything we might have forgotten?"
"Did you check the widows?" Cloud said, his voice and face serious. Tifa automatically started for the nearest window - then a furrow appeared on her forehead, and she looked down at the paper she was holding.
"Windows... windows.. Ah, there it is: windows - check..." She glared at Cloud. "You did that on purpose!"
"And what if I did, dear?" he asked innocently.
"Oh, you...!" She tried hard not to smile, but couldn't resist the urge. Soon they were both laughing.
"You said I needed to develop a sense of humour," Cloud pointed out as the laughter died down.
"That I did," his beloved replied, "although I might have made the mistake of my life, saying that!" She broke out in fresh gales of mirth, while Cloud simply watched her with a slightly amused look on his face. Finally, Tifa stopped laughing, blew Cloud a kiss, and picked up her bags. Cloud picked up his own - it was heavier than it looked, he noticed - and they exited. Cloud, having one arm free, locked the door behind them and pocketed the key. Then they headed out of town.
Although not allowed to travel with them, Ryan was there to see them off. Cloud and Tifa strapped their gear to the chocobos' saddles, and then mounted. They kept waving while the birds walked, even after Ryan had disappeared out of sight.
After that, they gave their chocobos free reins, and the birds eagerly lengthened their steps. Before long, Costa del Sol had vanished beneath the horizon.
"This isn't working," Kai realised. I need to get faster... But where could he...
There was a river nearby; he had crossed it a few hours ago. If his memory served him right, there should be a small cabin further down the stream - he had heard that some old man or other was living there, and maybe, just maybe...
He headed through the woods, closer to the river, so that he wouldn't miss the house when he passed.
For two hours, he trudged through the woods. It wasn't a very dense forest, so it didn't slow him down too much, but it wasn't easy, either. However, when he finally reached the cabin, he felt his spirits soar.
The old man had a boat.
His heart in his throat, Kai knocked on the door. It was a while before anything happened; then the door opened just a crack - Kai heard a chain rattling - and someone stepped up to the narrow opening.
"What is it?" someone said. It was an old man's voice.
"My name is Kai," the traveller said, making a small bow. "I have... important news to speak with you about. I need to borrow your boat."
"Boat?" the old man said suspiciously. "Out of the question! I need that boat, I do!"
"Please, venerable one," Kai pleaded. "I have a reason to believe that... something is amiss in Wutai. I need to get there... fast."
"Wutai, eh?" The old man harumphed. "Wutai is a place for tourists with jelly for brains! Nothing could possibly go wrong there." He seemed about to close the door, but Kai put his foot in, holding the door open.
"Please, listen! I can pay, and pay well. Look here..." He raised his left hand. The studded iron bracelet glittered dully in the filtered sunlight, but the Materia shone like stars. "If you let me use your boat, I will let you choose one of these."
The old man was tempted, Kai could tell that by his aura; it shone with greed. "Any... one of them?" he asked suspiciously.
"Yes, any one of them. Look, I'll hand it to you through the door here and now if you let me use the boat. No need for you to open up, hmm? And if I can, I will return the boat, and you can keep the Materia."
"Emm..." The man seemed to be thinking it over. Kai turned his back to the cabin and fiddled with his Materia-laden bracelet; removing some of the most valuable Materia from it and clicking other, more easily replaced ones, into the slots.
"Do we have a deal?" he asked, holding his hand up again for the man to see the sparkling orbs. "One Materia... for one boat."
"We... yeah... yes! We have a deal." The old man cackled. "But I want my pick first, before I let you do anything!"
Do you really think you could stop me? Kai thought wryly. Weak and frail he might be, but he could definitely take care of that old man... "Then pick one of your choice," he said, holding his arm out.
The man took his time trying to decide what Materia he wanted - as Kai had predicted, he had no sense of magic at all, and probably wouldn't know the Materia's effects before he tried it out. Finally, however, he settled for one containing Earth power, and, as promised, Kai handed it to him before going down to get his boat.
As he had expected, the boat had seen better days, but it was good enough to take him where he needed to go. Fortunately there were oars and a small sail - he needed both for what he had in mind.
A few minutes later, the boat was in the water, and Kai was in the boat. He set the sail and started rowing, steering the boat into the centre of the stream. Once there, he rummaged through his pack and came up with a green orb. A very rare kind of Materia, it was one of his most prized possessions.
Focusing his mind on the materia, Kai caused the air around him to start moving. A few seconds later, a wind was blowing - a strong, steady wind, a version of the spell kept inside this Materia. Called "Aero" by those who knew of its existence, this spell was all but forgotten - but Kai had, after a considerable amount of work, managed to find one, single piece of this Materia. Normally, he did not use it unless he could be certain no one saw it, but this time there seemed to be little else to do.
Under the spell, the small craft rapidly sailed down the river, towards the sea. Kai sat back and enjoyed the ride as much as he could, using the oars to steer the boat.
It took him three hours to reach the sea. Although he knew that it would take him a long time to reach Wutai in any other way, and the sea was dangerous, especially to someone in such a small boat, he kept going. What else could he do?
I will be way too late... he thought bitterly. I wish I could find a way to move faster! But that was impossible, unless he pushed the Aero spell further, but then he would risk breaking the mast. "Damn..." He would be too late. But even if he could not prevent what was happening... he could find out why it had happened.
And he could deal with the ones responsible.
A stunned silence spread throughout the enemy lines - and the Wutaians' as well - as a massive pillar of silver-white light shot from the ground, fading away to reveal a man standing at the edge of a roof.
For a few seconds, the men and women took in the sight of this man. Dressed in black. Silver hair. Carrying a long, gleaming sword.
It wasn't more than a few seconds before someone whispered, "Sephiroth! The Great Sephiroth!"
The whisper spread like wildfire, and soon everyone seemed to be whispering. The fighting had died down; the city would have been deathly quiet, had it not been for the two Espers still struggling in the air above.
"I am Sephiroth." The man spoke loud and clear, and his voice reached far. Some of the white-clad warriors, near the rear ranks, started edging away, and a few broke completely and ran, throwing their weapons.
"For many long years, I fought battles - much like this one," Sephiroth continued. "I saw more bloodshed in one day than most of you will see throughout the course of your entire lives. Yet I kept fighting." The silver-haired man stared at the warriors gathered below, his Mako blue eyes cold with anger. "Why?"
He waited. No one spoke up.
"It was because it was all I knew. I lived for the fight.
"Later, I realised there was more to life than just war.
"That realisation was followed closely by another, far more important, one. I also came to realise that I could never fully forgive myself for all the death I had caused.
"Why am I saying this? There are several reasons. One is a choice. I can chose to help either side by fighting for them. I can stand here and watch while you destroy each other. And I can try and help all of you.
"If you go through with this battle, many of you will end up the same as I - unable to forgive yourselves for what you have done. Stop this battle now, and this may never happen. Stop the killing, and you can go on with your lives, those of you lucky enough to have survived this far.
"You, warriors in white. You walk another man's errands. Do not let your lust for gold blind you. This battle can trigger events greater than you can ever imagine. For the sake all beings living on this planet, do not let this happen."
Behind Sephiroth, further up on the roof, Yuffie staggered to her feet. What is he doing? she wondered dazedly, staring down at the people below. The only ones who were fighting now were the two Espers, and so far they seemed evenly matched. All the humans, however... It is working...? It is... actually working? She stared in disbelief. He is... talking them out... of fighting?
But still, the warriors were far from convinced. Except for the ones who had fled earlier, the white-garbed ones did not seem about to leave, and all those who had been holding weapons when Sephiroth appeared, were still holding them. They all seemed to be waiting for something... what? Yuffie averted her eyes from the scene below and looked up into the sky. Now it seemed that Leviathan was slowly pushing the other Esper back. And suddenly -
Something fell from the white dragon. It was a small, insignificant speck, so small that it was almost impossible to make out even its colour. It fell, nearing the ground... and then it seemed to explode. There was a noiseless flash of sooty red fire, and the speck vanished.
Then someone shouted, "Fight! Do not be fooled!" A blue-clad woman appeared on the roof, near Yuffie. She turned to look at the ninja - and Yuffie gasped in terror. The woman's hair was silver coloured - and her eyes Mako blue. She looked, to all extents, like a female version of Sephiroth.
I can't be seeing this! Yuffie backed away, slipping on the roof-tiles, trying to put distance between herself and the woman. I must be dreaming! There was no other explanation; it had to be a dream!
The woman stepped closer, drawing a slim-bladed sword. "You are the cause of this... disturbance?" she asked. "You are the one who caused this?" She pointed with the sword, indicating the two Espers. Now Leviathan was clearly winning, pushing the white dragon back. "I will make you pay for this... dearly!"
Yuffie just stood and watched, balancing on the edge of the roof, unable to escape and unable to move, held in a firm grip by terror. This can't be happening, it must be a dream... must be a dream...
The woman took one more step towards the ninja, bringing Yuffie in range of her sword. Smiling, the silver-haired woman raised her sword, then slashed down. Yuffie followed the arc of the gleaming blade with her eyes. This is a dream. I will wake up.
The sword stopped only a decimetre from her head. No one had seen him move, but Sephiroth was there, his sword held out to block the woman's.
The parry almost jolted Susanna's sword from her hands. It felt like striking an iron wall - Sephiroth's sword never budged. Looking into his eyes, Susanna shuddered. So this is Sephiroth... 'the Great' Sephiroth...
Sephiroth looked back. There was nothing but calm in his face; she couldn't see a trace of any emotions whatsoever. He cannot be human... Sephiroth was dead. This man had to be an impostor...
But what proof did they have of his death? Looking into his eyes, she could not imagine how this could be anyone else than Sephiroth himself. Backing off, her sword scraping against his, she took combat stance. The people below still watched; nothing moved. Then Sephiroth lowered his sword.
"I have tried," he said softly, "to end this pointless battle. What good could possibly come from destroying you? Leave... and take your soldiers with you."
Susanna stared at him. "You... You... Sephiroth, backing away from a battle? Who are you?"
"You know my name."
Susanna shook her head. "The real Sephiroth would never turn down a challenge like this. You cannot be the one you claim to be."
Sephiroth shook his head, mirroring her gesture. "That was one facet of a crystal," he said softly. "Do you not care to see its opposite?"
"I care to see my mission fulfilled. And if that means I have to destroy you..." She calmly looked into his eyes, and finished the sentence, "Then I will destroy you."
Sephiroth still did not raise his sword. "It is pointless," he said. "You cannot win. What is it that forces you to act this way? What is it that compels you to throw your life away?" There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and although she desperately tried to convince herself that this was not the real Sephiroth, that this man was an impostor, Susanna found it harder to think that way for every word he spoke.
Still, she was under obligation to take Wutai. And that was one oath she would not break.
"Stand aside, Sephiroth. I must do this."
"I cannot let you."
"Then so be it." She raised her sword and lunged for his heart. Her aim was true, and the sword cut through the air - and only air. She had not seen him move, but Sephiroth was not there. Her thrust missed him by half a metre, almost causing her to lose her footing. Damn... She recovered from the thrust and backed away, waiting for him to follow. Sephiroth just shook his head again.
"You cannot see... can you?" he said. "You still have a chance. Use it!"
Susanna felt tears rise in her eyes. Use it... "I can't, damn you! I... just can't!" She raised her sword again, aiming for the child still standing motionless by the edge of the roof. "If I cannot defeat you..."
"If you could defeat me," Sephiroth sighed, "your fate would be even worse. You still have a chance. Even after all this, it is there. Take it."
Susanna felt her world spin. I can't! He knows I can't!
"I am sorry," she said. Lowering the sword, levelling it at the girl, she gathered power into a blast of fire-like darkness aimed at the ninja. Once again, Sephiroth moved so fast she could not see it. The darkness struck his sword... and vanished, absorbed into the steel, leaving only a few shadow-like blazes to strike the child, who did not seem to notice.
Susanna lowered her blade, speechless. Her most powerful spell... and he had just shrugged it off like so much hot air.
All doubt gone, she finally admitted to herself, He really is Sephiroth... I will die here. At least I will be remembered.
Her Mako blue eyes glowing with determination, she raised the sword again and advanced.
-Two days earlier...-
Cloud and Tifa had made their way to Rocket Town, with a small detour to Corel and a few stops at Cosmo Canyon and Nibelheim on the way to say hello to Barret, Red and Vincent. Nanaki had been very glad to see them, and they had staid at the Canyon for a couple of days; the same with Barret and Marlene, who were now living in a large house in the almost completely rebuilt Corel - together with Elmyra, to Cloud and Tifa's surprise. Vincent, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found, and they had left Nibelheim in a hurry; there were too many painful memories there for comfort.
They found Shera in the kitchen, preparing tea for Cid, who was in the back yard tinkering with his plane. The engineer was surprised, and quite pleased, to see them again, and hurriedly scrambled to get some more tea.
Cid, meanwhile, was just putting the last gear into place. Slowly and carefully, he replaced the cover plate and bolted it into place, wiped his hands on an old towel, and went inside to wash up before he had tea. As he opened the door, he heard voices from the kitchen. What...? He wasn't expecting any visitors today. wrapping a clean part of the towel around the doorknob, he opened the door into the kitchen -
"Well I'll be darned!" Who could have guessed... "Cloud and Tifa!" Surprised as he was, Cid forgot about the motor oil soiling his hands, and promptly proceeded to shake Cloud and Tifa's hands.
Once they had got rid of the oil, the four of them sat down around the kitchen table to drink tea, smoke a cigarette - in Cid's case - and chat.
"It's been a year, hasn't it?" Cid said, puffing away on his cigarette. "Damn, time flies away..."
"It doesn't feel like a year," Shera said.
"Yeah... I know," Tifa agreed. Cloud just nodded. "So how are you doing out here?" she continued.
"Doin' fine," Cid said. "No bloody Shinra bothering us anymore. Don't know why I'm still here, but..." He shrugged. "Ah, guess I've got used to the place. How about you two? Got any kids yet?" He waggled an eyebrow suggestively. Tifa smiled and managed to blush slightly, but shook her head.
"Not yet."
"Give the kids a rest, Captain," Shera chided. "You're still young, miss Lockhart. Still got plenty of time." Tifa smiled broader and blushed deeper. "By the way," Shera said, oblivious of this, "aren't you going to get married?"
Tifa blinked. "You know, we never really discussed that. It doesn't feel very urgent, as it is. Right, Cloud?"
Cloud shrugged. "Yeah." She was right. He felt no pressing desire to get married. What did it matter? They had each other. That was all he needed.
"How about you two then?" Tifa asked. "Why don't you two get married?"
"What the hell?" Cid sputtered, only barely managing to set his cup down without spilling tea all over the table and himself. "Marry... We? That's a load of bull, all right!"
Shera giggled, trying - in vain - to hide it behind her hand. It wasn't exactly a secret that she and Cid liked each other, and the reason why he constantly tried to hide it was a mystery to her. Still, thinking of it made her laugh, without really knowing why. Cid glared at her.
"Don't just sit there like a moron! Get us some more goddamn tea!"
That line was too much for Shera. She almost doubled over laughing, an infectious laugh that soon had Tifa and even Cloud laughing too. Only Cid remained serious, but just for a short while. He tried to regain his posture, but failed. He felt his lips move on their own accord, and before he knew it, he joined the others. "That was a bit uncalled for," he chuckled, "wasn't it?"
"Not at all, Captain," Shera laughed. "Do you still want that tea?"
They talked for hours, well past midnight. Finally, Cloud and Tifa rolled out their sleeping bags - since there were no spare beds in Cid and Shera's house - in an adjoining room, while Cid and Shera stumbled into bed. Soon everybody were asleep.
Come morning, Cloud had no idea where he was. It took him several seconds to figure out just why he was in a sleeping bag on a hard wooden floor - but then it hit him, and he remembered. Ah, yes. Rocket Town.
As usual, ha had woken up before Tifa, but even for him, this was uncharacteristically early; it was still dark outside. He silently slipped out of the sleeping bag and got dressed as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb her, and soon stepped out into the kitchen.
Cid was already up, and the kitchen was full of cigarette smoke. The pilot apparently knew how to make tea by himself, since there was a pot on the stove. Some fresh-baked bread was on the table, along with cheese and butter. Cid turned and nodded at Cloud as he stepped out from the small room he shared with Tifa.
"Breakfast?" he wondered around the cigarette.
"Yeah. Thanks," Cloud replied, and took the cup Cid offered him, then sat down and took a slice of the still-warm bread. Cid took a seat opposite him, and they had breakfast in silence.
"You know," Cid said when they had finished eating, "I should have visited everybody months ago. Something keeps coming between... I haven't seen you or Red since I got the 'Bronco back, and the others..." He shrugged. "Damn, I really need to get a grip on myself. Not like me at all."
"It's okay. It's the same with us," Cloud said, emptying his cup. "I guess things always get in the way. That's the way the world works."
"Yeah." Cid stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it in the sink. "That's one of those things that always stay the same. Some things change, though. You, for example."
"Huh?" Cloud asked.
"You've changed. I think we all have, but you have changed more than anyone." Cid fumbled in his pocket for another cigarette, noticed what he was doing, and put the cigarette back. He grinned sheepishly. "I think I should quit those nasty things... Anyway, it seems Tifa's good for you. Serves you right, too..."
Cloud grinned. "She is," he said. "Very."
"I can see that..." They grinned again. "So you want me to fly you to Wutai..."
"That was the idea," Cloud said. "If it's not too much trouble. And to Midgar."
"Midgar, huh... Yeah, I suppose..." Cid once more tried to get a cigarette, and once more noticed what we was doing just in time. "Reeve's in charge of Shinra now, or what's left of it... you mean he runs the company from the ruins?"
"It's not that bad, actually. The upper levels of the city are destroyed, but much of the lower ones are still inhabitable. But people are leaving, so I guess he will have move, too."
"Hm." Cid pulled the pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it on the kitchen sink. "And stay there! Sometimes, damn it, I wish I had never started on that... Where were we? Oh yeah, Reeve. 'Cait Sith', huh..."
"Yeah. But Wutai first, since it's closer."
"Got it. How soon do you want to leave?"
"As soon as you're ready, I guess."
Cid stood up and stretched. "Then let's move out after the ladies have their breakfast," he said. "As I said, I should have done this a long time ago."
Kai's boat gently scraped against a rock. Its only passenger sat bolt upright, blinking his eyes against the sunlight. "What? What?" Then he realised that he was still in the boat, and that rock...
The rock was several meters behind him already. The boat was heading for a beach... but there were several other rocks sticking up above the water between the boat and the beach. That was bad... a direct collision would be devastating, considering the condition of the vessel. Positioning himself at the prow, he picked up one of the oars and used it to keep the boat from the rocks. I must be out of my goddamn mind, he thought as he struggled to push away from a large, jagged rock that seemed all too eager to tear his small craft to pieces. Crossing the sea in this... this nutshell! I must be mad.
But somehow, he managed to reach the shore with both himself and the boat still in one piece. I wonder if that's some kind of record... But how could he fall asleep like that? How careless, how utterly careless! He glared evilly at the rickety boat. "It's all your fault, you know!" he accused it. The boat, wisely, did not answer. "Oh well..."
He dragged the boat up on the beach and, with some effort, turned it over. Then he shrugged into his backpack and started walking north - not that he knew exactly where he was, but he was fairly certain it was the Wutai continent. And since Wutai was located in the northern parts, well... I wonder what I'll find... Part of him did not want to know. Another part wanted to find out fast. I hope it's not as bad as I fear...
He walked for a couple of hours, but it was getting late and the road was not the safest he had seen, what with the steep cliffs and slippery grass. Finally, he had to make a break for the night, curling up under a small, scraggly spruce.
Early the next day, he would reach Wutai.
But even that would be too late.
It had started raining. Mist was flying away from Wutai, moving slowly, wounded by the King of Espers; Leviathan had returned to Pagoda, hovering over the building, watching the scene below.
Susanna skidded over the slick tiles, her sword cutting uselessly through the air, again missing her intended target, Sephiroth. To her surprise, however, he had made no move to strike back.
"Damn you!" she shouted. Tears of rage mingled with the rainwater in her cheeks. This was worse than losing -worse than being killed in a fair battle. Sephiroth's skills were so much greater than her own that no one could doubt what the outcome would be, was he to attack her.
But he did not. He was toying with her, gods damn it! Susanna, panting, slid to a halt near the edge of the roof, only half a metre from the still stunned ninja brat - half a metre! She slashed in the girl's direction, knowing it to be futile.
Out of nowhere, her opponent's curved blade flashed out, positioning itself between Susanna and the staring child. If only she would move! Susanna found herself annoyed at the girl's open-mouthed staring.
It was not as bad as Sephiroth, however. Turning, she faced him directly, locking gazes with him over the crossed blades.
Then, whirling around, she drew a knife and slashed down with her sword, then, as he blocked the long blade, thrust the knife at him. It was a sudden move; Sephiroth had time to react, but only enough not to take a fatal wound. She hit his shoulder - the left one, unfortunately. Susanna felt the knife hit bone, though, and knew that the odds had turned in her favour.
But Sephiroth showed no pain.
"What does it take to destroy you!" she shouted, in anger and despair letting go of the knife and throwing a punch at his jaw.
Sephiroth easily dodged, then brought up his hand to pull the knife from his shoulder. "More than you have, Susanna," he said, his voice so low that she could scarcely hear it. "Far too much." But at least he wasn't saying anything about giving up anymore... Not bothering to ask how he could know her name, Susanna growled in anger and slashed at him with a two-handed hold on her blade. Again, the iron wall - it felt as if her fingers had broken. The pain in her hands was second only to the pain of the humiliation - she had always prided herself on her swordfighting skills, but now? Now a man was toying with her, like a cat with a mouse; a legend, yes, but still just a man. Screaming wordlessly, she charged -
Then she felt a strange warmth in her stomach. Looking down, she saw an X-shaped cut, shallow but bleeding profusely, over her chest and stomach.
She was shocked by the realisation. She hadn't felt the cut, nor had she seen him move - suddenly, it was just there.
Sephiroth appeared in front of her, standing on the ridge of the roof. His sword was down, the point resting against the rooftiles. Looking back and forth between him and her bloodstained shirt, Susanna hesitated. What could she do?
The answer was brought to her as Sephiroth raised his sword and attacked.
Tok... She felt a numbing pain in her right arm. Her sword clattered on the roof, sliding to the edge, then falling to the ground together with the raindrops.
Tok... The pain in her right arm was mirrored in her left. Had he cut her arms off? She could not tell. There was no doubt that he was physically able to do it, maybe even without his magical blade. She could not look down, dreading what she might see.
Tok... There went her left leg, as it, too, was replaced by a pillar of pure agony. She fell to her knees - knees? Yes, she still had both her legs! And her hands struck the roof, too. Pressure points she realised.
Tok This time, he struck at the small of her back, paralysing her from the waist and down; she could no longer remain on her knees, and fell to the side, unable to stop herself from hitting the roof hard. He's using pressure points to paralyse me!
Tok-
She caught a glimpse of a gleaming blade descending towards her throat, then felt a burning pain in her neck and shoulders.
And then there was blackness.
Sephiroth looked down at the girl lying before him. She was unconscious, not wounded except for the shallow gashes over her chest. He had used the blunt, unsharpened edge of his sword to hit the pressure points, disabling her temporarily.
It was still a mistake. And if there was something about him that had never changed, it was that - he could not tolerate mistakes.
He turned to look at his Summoner. The girl was sitting in an awkward position, staring at the unconscious woman by Sephiroth's feet, eyes wide open but not quite seeing anything, tears running freely down her cheeks. Sephiroth frowned. Some of that dark power from the sorceress' spell had reached her... she would need help, fast.
His thoughts were interrupted by a bright blue light flaring around the fallen warrior, enveloping her...
She vanished.
It had not been her own doing, Sephiroth could see that clearly; her spell had felt different, and she was quite incapable of doing anything like that at the moment. This was an other, hitherto unknown, force, but it was clear whose side it was on.
Sephiroth sensed nothing going the other way. The spell had taken the woman away, far away - and the one who had cast it was far too good to track, even for Sephiroth. Turning his attention once more on the Summoner, he realised that something else was going on here - something important. Turning to face the crowd, the Great Sephiroth thrust Masamune towards the heavens, calling a bolt of lightning from the storm clouds above, earthing it in his magical blade, casting flickering shadows over the assembled men and women. "If you value your lives," he said, his harsh voice sounding mild after the thunderclap, "leave this place. And do not come back. Much damage has been done already; do not allow yourself to cause more. You all have lives to return to; do so, and think no more of what you have seen today."
Even Leviathan would have been hard pressed to summon such an amount of power, but Sephiroth did it without seeming to feel a thing. Slight, almost invisible bonds of psychic energy around the white-garbed ones fell away at his mental touch. Return... He spoke to them in their minds, pleading, coaxing their thoughts back in their natural patterns. It was a task no normal human could have performed, but Sephiroth, drawing upon the power of the entire Planet, did it in a way that seemed easy.
Slowly, the warriors started noticing a slight change. For some of them, it did not feel like more than a light breeze, there one second but gone the next; for others, the sensation staggered them, and over half the men and women dropped their weapons. The silence was broken by a low murmur as the people started asking themselves, and their comrades, what had just happened.
Some of them looked up, remembering a man standing on a roof just above -
But there was no one there.
Godo watched the white-clad ones slowly leave, the will to fight seeming to bleed out of them. Many of them were crying; no one carried weapons anymore. It was a mystery even to him; no one could understand fully what had just happened, and their memories of the past few minutes seemed oddly... foggy. Only Godo and his four subordinates - Gorky, Shake, Chekhov and Staniv - could remember anything clearly.
But what use is that to me? Godo asked himself bitterly. Half the population of Wutai, dead or seriously wounded. By the gods! This is all too much... and I still do not know what gave rise to this attack... let alone where these warriors came from! They had been from all over the world, he had seen that much... but how could anyone move that many warriors - almost four hundred - without alerting anyone? Four hundred warriors. Not too many, for an army, but still four times the regular population of Wutai. For some reason, they had not had any tourists visit lately; at least no innocent bystanders had been killed...
The samurai sadly bent down and put a hand to the neck of a young boy lying on the ground, feeling for a pulse. There was none. Innocent bystanders? He clenched his fists. That depends, of course, on your definition of the word 'innocent'. Gripped by a sudden fit of rage, he turned to a wall and punched it as hard as he could, his iron-gloved hand making a noticeable dent in the wood.
"Do not waste your strength, Lord Godo." The voice came from right behind him! Godo spun around, a hand to his sword, but that hand fell as he saw who the speaker was.
"S- Sephiroth!" he hissed in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"I came to get you. Come; your daughter needs you." On cue, just as Sephiroth fell silent, a bolt of lightning flashed over them, followed almost instantly by the thunderclap. Sephiroth turned his back on the ageing samurai and started walking.
"Wait!" Godo shouted.
Sephiroth calmly stopped and turned. "Will you come voluntarily, or will I have to force you?" he asked, his voice like silk over a block of steel; a soft facade, but only hardness underneath. "Lord Godo, I defeated you during the war. Do you doubt that I could do so again? Now come."
Then he walked away, not looking back. And Godo followed.
As he entered his own house, Godo Kisaragi felt a strange aura, as if he had just stepped over the doorstep of a sacred shrine or temple; as if he was violating the sanctity of his own home. It was a strange power, certainly, but he knew from the beginning that it was not unknown.
It was a power he knew well. He felt it every day; he lived and breathed that power. It was the same power that flowed through his veins every time he called upon his secret powers.
"Sephiroth."
The silver-haired man materialised by his side without a sound. "Master Godo. Your daughter is resting in the shrine. You must see her immediately."
Sephiroth leading the way, Godo walked towards the small shrine. He could feel the power getting stronger the closer he came, but not much more; he felt drained, empty of feelings. Yuffie... was all he could think. Be safe...
Sephiroth stopped by the door to the shrine. "This is as far as I may go at the moment. Please, enter." It sounded like an invitation; an invitation to step inside a room in his own house. Still, it did not feel wrong, and Godo knew that powers much stronger than himself were at work here; powers of a kind that he could never hope to contend with.
He tried to put a hand on the sliding door, but it slid aside before he touched it. A golden light fell out into the hallway, almost blinding him.
Step inside... Lord Kisaragi.
Godo took a deep breath. Then he stepped inside.
He saw nothing but the soft, golden light. Gradually, however, something else faded into view; the ornately carved walls, painted gold by the light shining upon them, and the small idol upon its altar. And below it...
He knelt down by his daughter's side. "Yuffie..." There was no answer. She looked to be asleep.
She cannot hear you.
"Who are you?" Godo asked, although he knew very well whom the voice belonged to.
The voice told him.
Godo bowed, still on his knees. "What is wrong with my daughter?"
She is resting, safe at the moment. However, as soon as she leaves this room, her life will start to slowly seep away from her.
Godo felt an icy claw close around his heart. "What can I do?" he asked in despair. "Name it. No matter what it is, I will do it."
This girl has sustained a wound beyond your ability to heal, and beyond mine, as well. Apart from that, she has suffered a devastating mental shock. Only if she recovers from that will we be able to help her... but the chances are slim. I can feel her sliding further away... We can only pray, Lord Godo. Pray, and hope.
Yuffie stood in a dimly lit hallway, stretching as far as she could see in both directions. Where am I... There was a sound in the distance... water? Yes, water dripping into water. It echoed throughout the corridor, the sound becoming louder and louder, until it was so loud her ears hurt. Trying to block out the sound with her hands, Yuffie took a step... and the world spun. Stopping, she blinked dizzily. No! Stop it! The floor stopped rippling. She took another step, and another... Soon she was running. The sound of falling waterdrops became louder and louder - making it hard to think, causing red-hot pain to stab through her entire being. Make it stop! Make it stop! But the sound just kept increasing.
Blinded by tears and pain, the ninja stumbled further along the hallway.
"What the hell?" Cid asked as he turned the Tiny Bronco in a sharp U-turn, putting the plane's wings almost vertical to be able to look down to the ground. "Cloud! Tifa! Look down!" he commanded, shouting over the roar of the wind, bringing the plane closer to the ground in a spiralling move that pressed them all into their seats, almost breaking the wings.
Sensing the urgency in Cid's voice, Cloud and Tifa looked down towards the ground - and gasped in unison.
Wutai lay below them. But it did not look like they remembered it. Several houses were at least partly destroyed; there were bodies lying in the streets - there must be over a hundred of them. And on the roof of the Pagoda, a creature they recognised as Leviathan...
"Wh - what happened?" Cloud stuttered. It took a lot to surprise Cloud to such an extent; Tifa was just speechless.
"I don't know!" Cid yelled. "I'm going in! Rough landing coming up - hold on to something!" Masterfully bringing the plane out of its circling, Cid steered it towards the plains north of the city. It took him a couple of seconds to find a piece of land where he thought he would be able to land more or less safely. As soon as he had that, he brought this plane in for the landing.
It was rough, just as Cid had warned them, but the three of them were unharmed when the plane stopped, and the machine seemed not to have taken any damage either, great testimony to Cid's skill. Drawing their weapons, the three friends rushed towards Wutai.
Nothing had prepared them for what they saw. There must be over a hundred dead bodies littering the streets. It had stopped raining, and now the flies were starting to arrive. Even Cloud went pale as they surveyed the destruction - finding no living beings except for the flies. Finally, Tifa voiced everybody's thoughts:
"What happened here?"
The words rang out loud and clear over the town. No one answered it; but in the distance, a dog barked.
"The Pagoda..." Cid said, rubbing his chin. "Leviathan is there. It must... know what happened."
"An Esper... are you sure... we should talk to it?" Tifa wondered.
"We don't have much of a choice, now, do we?" the pilot asked.
"No... I suppose..."
"Then let's go!" Cid started off at a surprising speed, and the others followed him.
They reached Pagoda in no time. Once there, however, they were confronted by a young boy - the guardian Shake.
"Strife?" Shake asked.
"Yes," Cloud replied. "What happened here? Where are everybody?"
"...war," Shake said, shaking his head. "Those people in white... I do not know why they attacked. We lost many... the survivors are either wounded or taking care of those who are. But... Go to the home of the Kisaragi. You should talk to Lord Godo."
"...I see."
The three quickly made their way to Godo's house, which seemed to have survived the fight with only minor damage. There was no reply as they knocked on the door. Cloud tried the door and found that it was not locked, and they stepped inside.
"Godo?" he asked.
"We should check the rooms," Cid suggested. "You two go that way; I'll check the ones on the left."
Finally, Tifa found Godo in the shrine - but he was not alone. "Lord Godo... what?" Tifa caught a glimpse of a small figure lying on the floor under the altar. "Yuffie?"
Godo, his back to Tifa, nodded. "Yes. She was wounded in a battle with a witch on the invaders' side."
"That's... that's terrible!" Tifa gasped. Taking a step back, into the hallway outside, she shouted, "Cloud! Cid! Come quickly!"
Only a minute later, the three were gathered in the shrine, seated in a semicircle around Yuffie's prone shape. "So tell us what happened," Cloud commanded.
Godo drew a deep breath. "It was yesterday..."
He proceeded to tell them of the battle; how the white-clad warriors had appeared seemingly from out of nowhere; how he had asked Yuffie to summon Leviathan. It took him almost an hour, but finally he reached the end of his story. At that point, he had told then about everything that had happened... everything, that is, except for Sephiroth's appearance. He wasn't quite sure about how he was going to deal with it - apparently, no one but he, and the other warriors of the Pagoda, had any memory of that event; all the others, unexplainably, seemed to have just forgotten it all.
Maybe that was for the better. But some of the ones in white had fled before that spell took effect, and this worried Godo. The reactions if someone was to claim Sephiroth was still alive...
They sat in silence, trying to understand what they had just heard. Then, finally, Cid spoke up. "And you're saying that no one knows where they came from... and where they went?"
"Someone saw a ship," Godo said. "When they left, someone saw a great, white ship... but I cannot tell how such a vessel could have come this close without anyone noticing anything. I am afraid it will remain a mystery..." He cast a look at Yuffie. She had not moved since he first saw her; she was breathing slowly, and her skin had turned a deathly pale; she was sweating profusely, and felt burning hot to the touch. "My greatest concern lays in helping my daughter."
"I understand that," Cid said, "but we need to know where those people came from... What is to say they are not coming back?"
Godo looked down. "I... do not think they will," he said finally. "They will not be coming back. Others may, of course, but if our enemy had more troops, I believe he would have sent them at once. He must know we have power."
Cid rubbed his nose thoughtfully. "You have any idea of what they were after?"
"No."
"Ah... damn." The pilot leaned his chin in his hand. "We don't have a fucking clue, do we?"
"No."
Cloud seemed about to say something, but before he could, Yuffie stirred a little. Everybody turned to look at her, and Godo took her hand.
"I am here," he whispered to her. "Hold on, daughter. Hold on."
"N...no!" Her shout made everyone but Godo reach for their weapons. "No!" Yuffie whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks, raising her head somewhat - her eyes wide open, but not seeing. "No... Mat- Materia! No... no!" She shuddered, her face contracting in a grimace of pain, and then her eyelids fluttered shut again, her head falling back. Just as she did, however, she whispered something, so silently only Godo could hear; one single word, almost soundless. "Vincent...!"
Cloud pried his fingers away from the hilt of his sword, while Cid put his spear back on the floor. Tifa unclenched her fists and stared at the young ninja.
"Can't we do anything?" Cid asked hoarsely.
Godo sadly shook his head. "I have tried... everything. The power inside this shrine keeps her alive, just barely, but there is nothing we can do unless she overcomes the darkness in her soul." Turning his head to look straight at the idol, Godo let out a sigh. "Wutai has had many gods... the first one is Leviathan. We now know that our 'gods' are but Espers... but such knowledge does not stand in the way of the Espers' power."
"What... Esper is this, then?" Tifa asked. "It is... helping, is it not? Helping Yuffie."
"Yes..." the old samurai breathed. "Yes. She does." He turned to face Tifa directly. "Alongside Leviathan, our greatest god was Asura. Her power is the only thing between my daughter and the cold mists of death."
Looking down into the floor, he added, "But even she cannot stave death off forever."
-Elsewhere...-
Kane 'watched' in silence. This...
This irritated him to no end.
"Stop that. Now," he commanded.
The boy stared at him with unblinking eyes; Kane could feel his gaze as if it was a physical object. He remained silent, however, and soon averted his eyes. Absentmindedly, he stroked the silver hair of the unconscious girl whose head lay in his lap.
"Stop doing that! She failed. Get her up again, so she can make up for her mistake. She disregarded a direct order, and still failed to accomplish her goal! The only reason she is still alive, is because of you. Remember that."
They boy once more stared at Kane. "Leave her be," he said, his voice strangely hoarse and even-toned. Without looking away, he placed one hand over the girl's chest. "These wounds were caused by a sword. It may even be the one you are looking for."
"Will you stop this charade! Why that shape?" Kane was starting to feel impatient - and that was something he had not felt for years.
The boy simply stared at him.
"Are you going to get her up or not? I need to hear her report, now!"
"I said, leave her be."
Kane sighed and shook his head in dismay. I wonder if he was a mistake... "See to it. Use whatever you need to speed her recovery. Report to me when it is done." With that, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the dark room. He slammed the door behind him.
The boy watched him go, with the slightest smile on his lips.
Kai slowly rose from the deep, dark mists of sleep... and then, suddenly, he found himself fully awake. There were... three men, heading his way. All three had a haunted look on their faces; all three were dressed in white uniforms, sullied with blood and dirt. All three carried weapons; one had an axe, the other two swords. It was obvious that they were not there for the view... Kai stood up and stretched. One of the men saw him and pointed; the other two went for their weapons, but released them again when they saw the lone black-clad man. Their hands still hovered about the hilts, however; ready to draw, should he prove to be an enemy.
"Ho there! What's the hurry?" Kai asked.
"It's... war," one of the two swordsmen said. "Wutai... we were part of the assault force. Don't go there! They've got Espers and mages and everything! And they've..." He lowered his voice to a whisper, and continued, "they have Sephiroth on their side!" The other two looked over their shoulders, seemingly expecting Sephiroth to appear at the mention of his name. "Don't go there if you value your life," the man finished, now speaking in a rather normal tone of voice.
"I'm afraid Wutai is my destination... I cannot avoid it. Tell me... if you were part of the assault force... why are you here?"
The axe-wielder grunted angrily. "We aren't suicidal, mister. There's no way we're going to be able to beat Sephiroth! We ran." He did not seem ashamed to admit it, Kai noted.
"I... see." Sephiroth...? That's impossible. He's dead... isn't he? I'm sure... But he has cheated death before, hasn't he? "Thank you for the information. Good luck, you three."
"Same to you," the third man, who had hitherto remained silent, said. "Just be careful down there. I dunno what's going on over there, but that big serpent of theirs... he's still on that roof."
"I'll be careful. Thank you, once again."
He sat down again and watched them leave. Sephiroth... is it really true? Could he have survived this long...? I wonder... Kai shook his head and stood up again, hefted his pack and slung it over his shoulder. Then he started walking - the opposite direction of where the three men had been heading. Before doing this, however, he stared after the trio until they were no longer in sight. Was it just his imagination...
He hoped it was. Because if it wasn't, then it was a part of something long in his past... something that troubled him deeply.
He topped the knoll... and stared. Below him lay the town Wutai, complete with Pagoda tower and Da-Chao statues.
But it was a Wutai in shambles. Several houses destroyed. Bodies - or at least it looked like bodies from where he was standing - in the streets. And the Esper lying on the roof of the Pagoda... Leviathan, he realised. Can't be anyone else... But what was the Esper doing there? Kai assumed that it had taken part in the battle... On Wutai's side, of course. But what was it doing now?
He wasn't going to get any answers this way. Sighing, he adjusted his pack and started walking again.
"So what are we going to do?" Cloud asked. They were walking towards the pagoda to speak to Leviathan, hoping that the great Esper might be able to shed some light on these mysterious events. "If Leviathan cannot help..."
"We must hope!" Godo snapped. "We must think positive! Allow fear in, and it stays; it grows like a cancer. Never abandon hope; it never deserts you."
Cloud remained silent as he contemplated this. Never abandon... hope... never abandons you... "You are right," he admitted finally, as they stepped onto the stairs outside the Pagoda.
Godo did not answer. He waved Shake aside and opened the door, entering, followed by the others.
"Yes... I can feel her pain..." Leviathan's facial expression was unreadable to the humans, but there was no way they could miss the sadness in the great Esper's voice. "Yet there is nothing I can do, that I am not already doing. I lend my Queen strength in keeping the girl alive. This is why I remain in this world."
"Can't you do anything?" Tifa asked.
"No. The power of healing is Asura's; I can merely allow her access to the raw powers I possess." The dragon turned his head to look straight at Godo's house. "I can do nothing more," he repeated. "You must wait, and hope, as my Queen said."
"There must be something we can do to help," Cloud said. "It is obvious that the damage she has sustained is mental rather than physical, or she wouldn't still be out. When I was lost... Tifa helped me back. There must be a way we can do the same for her."
"That might have been a possibility..." Leviathan agreed, looking Cloud straight in the eyes. "That might have been a possibility. However, none of you know the girl well enough to be able to find her spirit in the abysmal darkness that holds her captive. Only her father has that power... but his fear would hold him back; that, and his duty. Lord Kisaragi, could you abandon your people now, in their hour of need?"
Godo looked down, and did not reply. The Esper shook its head. "I know you cannot. Then, we can only hope."
"...wait."
Everybody turned to look at Godo, who was now looking straight at Leviathan. "Wait... there may be someone else. Before she fell unconscious... she spoke the name 'Vincent'. I do not know him... but I do know he and my daughter were companions for a while, the last time she left Wutai. They seemed to have become quite close.... and he is... powerful. Yuffie said he saved her life."
"Vincent? That gothic freak?" Cid wondered. "What the hell could he and Yuffie have in common?"
"Restless souls, perhaps?" Tifa suggested. "I know they aren't really that similar... but when you think of it, both of them have... an aura of restlessness. Vincent's is much stronger, but she has it too... Cid, we must go to Nibelheim immediately!"
"Nibelheim, huh..." The pilot dropped the remains of his cigarette on the roof and ground it with his bootheel. "All right, Nibelheim it is. I don't know if Vincent can help her, but I guess he's better than nothing... come on, I'll get the 'Bronco running."
"I don't know..." Cloud said. "Wouldn't it be better if one of us remains here? They may come back, no matter what the Espers say."
"I don't know either," Tifa admitted. "Somehow, I doubt that Leviathan would speak that way if he didn't know what he was talking about... but still..."
"I thought we were in a hurry?" Cid hinted. He was already in his seat, tapping his fingers impatiently against the instrument panel. "Look, the kid's condition is not bound to improve anywhere soon, if I'm any judge. We need to get Vincent, if there's even a slight chance that he could help." He gestured towards the pagoda, where Leviathan still lay curled up on the roof. "That Esper and her father can take care of Yuffie and Wutai. We can't spare anyone. I must fly the plane, because frankly I doubt that either one of you know enough about piloting to get her up in the air from this field. And you two know Nibelheim, which is more than I can say for me... and besides, if there's any trouble, it might take all three of us to handle it. Wutai has enough warriors as it is; they handled it before, and they can do it again. So, now, let's take off!"
"You seem rather eager to be off, for someone who said he 'doesn't trust that snotty little Materia-thieving ninja brat'," Tifa muttered as she climbed into the passenger seat.
Cid turned towards her with a pained look on his face. "Tifa, there is a difference between not trusting someone, and wanting them to die... or worse. Take a good look at her, Tifa. Then name someone who would wish that upon anyone, friend or foe."
"I know, Cid... I'm sorry."
"Well forget it." He turned away and dug in his pocket for another cigarette, found one and lit it. Meanwhile, Cloud had climbed up and sat down in the passenger seat, by Tifa's side. "Everybody set?" the pilot asked, strapping his seatbelt into place. Tifa, who was already strapped in, nodded, and so did Cloud, who had just fastened his belt as well. "Roger that..." Cid muttered, flipping a few switches. The Tiny Bronco's engines started humming; the propeller spun lazily for a few seconds, then picked up speed. The plane lurched forwards, and Cid steered it a bit farther out into the field.
Turning her head slightly, Tifa looked back towards Wutai -
"Cid!" she exclaimed. "Stop! Wait!"
"What the hell?" Cid turned his head irately, glaring at her - and past her, at the figure in red that was running towards them, something shiny held high in one hand.
It was Godo. Cid spat out a particularly offensive curse, but reduced the roar of the engine to a mere purring, slowing the propeller down. Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, Cid leaned out and shouted, "What did we forget?"
Although he was in top condition, Godo was slightly winded when he reached the plane, having ran all the way from his residence. He leaned heavily on one of the wings, shaking his head slightly, then straightened and tossed a sparkling red object to Cid, who caught it reflexively. "Yuffie woke up again just a minute ago," he explained. "She started talking about Materia again... and about Vincent, too. I think, perhaps if you show this Materia to Vincent, he will be able to do something." The samurai blinked, and he added, in a slightly worried tone, "But you must never use it. Never! Is that clear?"
"Yeah, I suppose..." Cid glanced at the Materia in his hand. It looked just about the same as most Summon Materia; not polished and cut, as the Materia found in shops, but quite uneven, even if its shape was basically that of a sphere. And like most Summon Materia, it seemed to hold quite a bit more power than normal Magic Materia.
Cid stuffed the crystal in one of his numerous pockets, and looked down at Godo. "You wouldn't want to tell me exactly what it does, would you?" he asked warily. Godo shook his head.
"No. I cannot do that... Please trust me. Do not try to find out, do not use the Materia. It is better... for all of us... that way. Do I have your word on this?"
"Of course," Tifa cut in. "We won't use it, or try and find out what's in it. Is that all right?"
"Very," Godo said with a trace of a smile on his lips. "I trust that goes for all of you..."
"Of course," Cloud said. "We will make sure to return this Materia to you in the same condition that it is in now."
"Thank you, mister Strife," Godo said, making a short bow.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." muttered Cid. Then he fished the Materia out of his pocket again and made a wry face in its direction. "Oh, what the hell... Yeah, you have my word of honour. Now is there anything else, or can we take off now?"
Godo looked slightly surprised, but nodded, bowing in Cid's direction, and backed away. He then started walking back towards his house, and Cid cranked up the engine again. It wasn't three minutes before they were in the air.
In the back seat of the plane, Cloud rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Word of honour... he thought. Just when you think you know everything about a person...
"But!" Kai protested. "I need to speak to someone! Please!"
"No!" Shake said adamantly. "You are not welcome! Please leave."
"I am afraid I must insist..." Kai sighed. "Look, I know a little... of what happened here. But I don't know anywhere near enough! I might be able to help... please! Talk to your leader. I am sure he will want to hear me out."
"I will not repeat this again," Shake said, his youthful features suddenly not at all very childlike anymore. "Leave! If you don't, I will throw you out."
"I can't!" Kai protested. "I... I'm afraid... I know something. This could be bad, really bad... worse than you think! Please let me see your leader!"
"I warned you once," Shake said, gathering his power to change shape. His other shape, beside his young human appearance, was that of a large black and white bird with a red geometrical device on its chest; the ancient heraldic symbol for speed. Shake's purpose, when he was not fighting for the people of Wutai, was to train worthy warriors to draw every ounce of speed from their bodies. Shake could honestly call himself the fastest human in the world. Normally, however, he tried to hide this fact from normal humans.
Sometimes, however, he had to use his powers for other, less worthy purposes. Fighting off unwelcome visitors was one purpose that qualified as 'less worthy'.
It was over in a few seconds. Shake transformed, and took to the air in his bird form. The black-robed man watched in open-mouthed fascination as the guardian circled around him a couple of times, then hurriedly jumped out of the way as Shake dived down to strike. The guardian caught a glimpse of emerald green as the man raised his left hand, expertly recognising the glow - and the power emanating from the greenness - as Materia.
While lacking human features in this shape, inside, Shake grinned. It had been long since he faced a worthy challenger... about a year, wasn't it? Miss Yuffie... Shake's eyes turned bright red as his anger, and his power, flared, and he turned to face the stranger. He did this just in time to see a faint glow fade away around the man; obviously some kind of protection spell. Diving down once again, this time aiming to hurt the intruder seriously, Shake fell right into the man's trap. Once within range, he heard the stranger whisper a few words, and the air around him seemed to thicken, slowing him down. Shrieking in rage, the guardian fought against the spell, finally breaking its hold, but by then the man was out of the way, preparing another spell. His rage blinding him, Shake flew straight at the stranger...
Kai finished the incantation. Pointing towards the onrushing bird, he gathered all his power for the spell, feeling something quite like heat, but still different in some way, rush through his body; up from the earth below, through his feet and legs; from the air above, through his entire body; all the power culminating in a fist-sized ball of absolute darkness in his outstretched hand.
Praying that the spell would not prove fatal at this short range, he released it, feeling the power rush out to the energy sphere, expanding it, then projecting it towards his foe.
Shake had no time to stop, no time to dodge. The ball of darkness struck him in the chest, exploding into dark, insubstantial flames. Shake felt the strange darkness tearing at his body as he was thrust back, away from the sorcerer. Then he hit the Pagoda's wall, and his consciousness fled into another, more familiar, darkness.
Staniv stiffened. "Did you notice?" he asked the other two. Chekov and Gorky both nodded.
"Shake..." Gorky said, pursing his lips. "I wonder what befell him? He's still alive, and not too badly hurt, but still..."
"We cannot know how long he will stay that way," Chekov agreed. "We should investigate."
The other two nodded. As one, they moved for the stairs.
Kai cautiously approached the young boy. As he lost consciousness, Shake had reverted back to his human shape, and now looked like any other boy his age. Kai bent to feel for a pulse, and was relieved to find a strong, regular beat. At least he hadn't hurt the poor boy... not very much, at any rate. Sighing, he prepared a minor healing spell, just in case.
The three guardians arrived just in time to see the black-clad man place a hand on Shake's forehead. A mild green glow enveloped the hand, casting a soft light both over Shake's peaceful features and the man's own face.
"What is he doing?" Staniv asked via mindspeech. "Did he not just defeat Shake? Is he healing his enemy?"
"We may never know, friend Staniv, unless we ask," Chekov pointed out.
"Then let us ask him," Staniv said, and stepped forth. "If I may," he said, "I would ask your name."
"My name?" the black-garbed one said, without looking up from Shake. "I go by the name Kai. As for what I am doing - which, I am sure, will be the next question - I merely defended myself. I asked to see your leader... he would not let me pass. When I insisted, he attacked me. I am sorry if I have caused you any inconvenience."
Staniv nodded to himself. That sounded plausible... Still, it never hurt to be careful. "Why is it that you seek our commander?" he asked. The man looked up, removing his hand from Shake's forehead.
"You were attacked not long ago, am I not right?" When he saw no-one was going to argue with him on that, he continued, "I think I may... know something about those who attacked you."
"You know... are you then perchance one of them? Or a deserter?" Staniv asked in a chilly tone of voice.
"Heaven forbid," Kai sighed. "I'm a traveller... still, one hears many things on the road." He looked Staniv straight in the eyes, and said, "For example, I hear Sephiroth has once again cheated Death."
Staniv was speechless. "Sephiroth..." Godo had told them that no one who had seen and heard Sephiroth seemed to remember anything. Then this person must have either heard from one of those few who ran away... or maybe he was one of them? Well, in either case...
"We will escort you to our commander," Staniv decided. "If you agree to leave all your weapons, and that includes Materia, with one of us."
"Any particular reason why I should trust you?" Kai wondered. "As far as I can see, my actions have spoken of my good will - I could easily have killed the boy. Yours, however... Well, I have yet to see any actions from you." He glared pointedly at Staniv, who didn't seem too pleased.
"Still, those are our demands," he said. "Leave your weapons and come with us, or keep them and leave. The choice is up to you."
Kai thought this over for a few seconds. Yes, this person seemed stronger than the bird-kid, but he could probably handle him... what worried Kai was the way the man spoke of 'us' - were there more that Kai couldn't see? But no, his senses detected no such presence; all he cold feel was the slight humming of mystic power from the Pagoda itself, and that was expected. It certainly was not strong enough to hide any other nearby presence...
"I think I will find this person on my own. I can offer valuable help; whether he wants to accept or decline is his business, but until then, I would at least like to be treated with respect!" He rose to his feet and stared Staniv down, preparing to draw upon the power of another spell if necessary.
He was surprised to see the strange man transform into an armoured, machine-like being, then call forth a morning star-like weapon from empty air and swing it at him - and even more so when a four-armed demon leaped out to join the mechanical beast, followed closely by a strange winged creature.
Damn... I'll never be able to handle all of them! Still, his pride was on the line here.
He started casting again.
There was chaos for a few seconds, but when it was over, Kai was unconscious. Gorky was rather badly hurt by the spell he had been hit with - the same spell that Kai had used on Shake, although rather stronger this time - but the other two were unscathed; the intruder was not hurt either, apart from a slight bump on the head, where Staniv had hit him.
"So... I wonder what we should do with him now?" Chekov asked. "I have a feeling he meant what he said, but whether he still wants to help after this..."
"We should take care of Gorky first," Staniv said aloud. "That was a spell I have never seen... effective, nonetheless. Chekov, alert Master Godo. I will help Gorky recover..."
"I am on my way." Changing as he walked, Chekov returned to human shape just as he passed the door, and then headed for Godo's house.
"How are you, Gorky?" Staniv asked, turning his full attention to his wounded comrade.
"This... feels bad," Gorky managed, "but I will live. As long as I stay in the Pagoda, ah... I'll be able to heal up."
"That is good," Staniv nodded. "The pain...?"
"Bad, but I can take it."
"I see. Then... let us wait for Master Godo.
It did not take the Tiny Bronco long to reach Nibelheim; the plane had been improved upon dozens of times, and was probably the fastest propeller-driven plane on the Planet - not that there were many planes at all, of course. Cid landed just outside the city, and the three of them got out and headed for the Mansion.
"I hope he's back..." Tifa muttered. "I wonder where he went?"
"Probably went out to get the papers and some milk," Cid sighed. "Never mind where he went! The man's gotta be, what, twenty-eight years old by now! He can go wherever he wants to go."
"Yes, although it would be better if we knew where he had gone," Cloud said. "I do not know if he can help Yuffie, but still..."
"Let's get moving," Cid sighed. "This place is freaking me out." He was lighting a cigarette as he spoke.
"Yeah. Let's," Tifa said. "Do you remember how to open that door?"
"I could hardly forget..." Cloud replied.
"I'm sorry."
"I don't mind, Tifa. It doesn't really bother me anymore. Now, let's see..."
They had reached the large wrought-iron gates. Cloud pushed them open, with some help from Cid, and they proceeded. The front door was unlocked, as always. It wasn't long before they stood in the eastern room, and Cloud opened the secret door leading to the basement.
"Careful, now," he said, drawing his sword. "I don't think there are any dangerous creatures down there anymore, but we better keep our eyes peeled."
Tifa and Cid nodded. Cloud had not needed to say that.
"Say," Cid muttered as they descended, "How do we know he still lives here anyway?"
"He said he'd go back to Nibelheim, the last time we saw him," Tifa replied, pushing a large cobweb out of the way, "and I assume he would stay at the Mansion..."
"Oh, great," the pilot sighed. "Don't you realise that this guy could be anywhere?"
"Yes," Tifa replied sadly. "Of course we do. But it's always better to hope, right?"
"Oh well..." Cid scratched his head. His hand came away grey with dust and cobwebs. "Damn! I'm gonna have to spend an hour washing this shit out... Anyway... Yeah, sure, Tifa."
However, hope or no hope, they found no trace of Vincent in his old room. They then checked the library, and, finding nothing there, went through the rest of the house as well, but Vincent was nowhere to be found. They had got nothing out of the visit, except for a dust, cobwebs and more dust. Still, it seemed someone had been in the basement recently - the way there was not quite as full of spiderwebs as the rest of the house, and the dust on the floor was thinner, as well.
"So," Cid asked as they finished their search, "what do we do now? Get back to Wutai?"
"We should try and find Vincent... maybe we could ask around. Someone might have seen something," Cloud suggested.
"The store?" Tifa asked. "Even Vincent has to eat... I think," she added quietly.
"Fine, then," Cid sighed. "Let's split up and ask around."
"Agreed," Cloud agreed. "You go this way -" he pointed to the left "and I'll go this way. Tifa, you go over there. We'll meet at the inn when we're done."
"Roger that." Cid turned and walked away. Cloud was about to follow him when Tifa grabbed his arm.
"Yes?" he asked. Tifa shrugged.
"Just take care, okay?"
"Of course, Tifa. As always."
It took them about ten minutes to ask all the people they could find. Cid was waiting at the inn as Cloud and, just a minute later, Tifa, got there. "No luck," he said. The pilot was halfway through his sixth cigarette for the day, and didn't seem to care. "No one's heard or seen anything, or if they have they aren't telling." Cid made a sour face. "I wonder which one it is."
"I couldn't find anything either," Cloud confessed. The two men turned to Tifa; she simply shook her head.
"We better get back to Wutai..." Cid sighed. "This has been a waste of time."
"What good would that do?" Tifa asked. "We can't help Yuffie. For heaven's sake, even the Espers are unable to do anything! If Vincent knows anything, then I say it's up to us to find him! Right?" She looked at Cloud.
She does have a point... he thought as he looked back. But we would have a greater chance finding a needle in a haystack... "Tifa. Do you have any idea, any idea at all, about where he could be?"
"I..." Tifa hesitated. "I don't think... That is, I don't know if he'd still go there, but Lucrecia's waterfall...?"
"Can't land the 'Bronco there," Cid said. "No open ground. We'd have to use the sub, if it's still operational. Or maybe a chocobo could land there."
"We might as well try..." Cloud sighed. "All right, I think I know another place where he might be. The city of the Ancients."
"The city..." Tifa mumbled. Aerith! Damn it, Cloud... "Yes, that is a possibility. What do you think... should we check it out? Vincent doesn't have the harp..."
"I can land up there," Cid said. "But we'd have to check both places... We don't know if there's another way to reach the city... that's only what we assumed. Aerith and Sephiroth... both made it through." He coughed.
"I'll take the waterfall," Cloud volunteered. "Drop me off by Costa del Sol, and I'll get the black chocobo. They you two go to the city and check it out. I'll meet you in Bone."
I guess... "Cloud... can't I go with you?" Tifa asked. Cloud shook his head.
"The less weight on the chocobo, the faster she flies. You go with Cid - I'll be fine."
Don't you see...? she wondered. You don't want to go to... to that place, but... I don't want to go either.
"We'll do as you say," Cid said. "I guess washing my hair can wait a while more."
Cloud nodded. "Then let's get going. Move out!"
"He'll be waking up soon..."
Kai heard a voice in the distance. What was that...?
"He sure slept long..."
Where was he? Now he heard another voice, too far away for him to make out what it said. My head... hurts.
"It was a strong spell..."
"He was out cold..."
"What should we do with him? Lord Godo is not back yet..."
I've got to get a grip... there. The voices were stronger now. He was finally waking up.
"Maybe we should sleep him again..."
A sleep spell...? That would explain why he had such a hard time waking up. But then, if it is a spell, not just the blow to the head... blow to the head? Yes, he hit me... If it is a spell, it can be dispelled... He wasn't wearing his bracelet anymore. That meant he had no Materia at his disposal...
Oh well. He'd have to try anyway.
He started gathering his power, focusing it to accomplish the task. In his head, he pictured the sleep spell as a warm, fuzzy pink mist swirling around him. Then, perhaps a gust of air... He released his hold on the power. Concentrating harder, he forced the power outwards, pushing the fuzzy mist away from his body. The sleep spell being a relatively simple enchantment, and this spell was already fading, he easily broke its hold. His captors - the strange creatures he had fought, Kai guessed - seemed oblivious to this. So much better... Without opening his eyes, Kai 'looked' around in the room, trying to figure out how many of them there were - but to his surprise, there seemed to be no one but himself in the room! I must be dreaming! I can hear the voices, right above and around me... He slowly opened one eye. He found himself staring into a wall. Damn... There was nothing he could do... except reveal that he was awake. Finding himself able to move - he wasn't tied up - he sat up, and turned to where the voices were coming from.
He was surprised to see four men - no, three men, and one young boy - standing not three metres from where he was sitting - where he had felt nothing but empty air!
No, he realised a second later. He hadn't felt empty air. He had felt the power of Pagoda. There was a difference...
Then these... are its guardians? Yes, that was probably it; something connected very strongly to the Pagoda's power.
"Excuse me."
The four spun around, but did not seem too surprised. "See, I told you!" the youngest one said. "He's not just any person."
Kai was relieved to see the child he had fought earlier looking so well. Still, if he was a guardian of some kind, he might not be a child, after all...
"You are right," he said, addressing the child. "I am not just any person. I must apologise for my actions earlier this day..."
"Never mind that," the child replied. "I don't care; I'm here to fight, anyway. Losing to an outsider might not be something I am proud of... But still... Anyway, what exactly do you want? Now that you've cooled off for a while, you might as well answer our questions."
Kai thought for a second or three, then nodded. "All right," he sighed. "I guess you have a right to know..."
"We do, yes," another man said. This one was the tallest among the four, and, Kai suspected, probably the highest-ranking one.
"Okay..." Suddenly Kai realised something. "First of all, however, I want to know who you four are." When he four men hesitated, Kai added, "I'm not saying a word until you tell me."
"All right then. I'm Shake," the boy said.
"Staniv," the tall one said.
"Gorky."
"Chekov."
"And you already know my name," Kai said. "Kai. Well, then, shall we begin?
"As you all know, I am a traveller. I've encountered many strange creatures - including humans. One of the strangest humans I have ever come across was a scientist named Kane.
"Kane is now blind. Yet, he moves as if he could clearly see everything around him.
"Kane was obsessed with magic. He always said he'd like to find a way for humans to truly learn magic, so that we would no longer need Materia. He lost his sight in an experiment... I do not know the nature of that experiment, but as a result of it, he no longer sees as we do, but with his mind.
"Kane has become a magician.
"So far, everything is fine. He made a great discovery, and I cannot tell you why the knowledge has not spread.
"However, shortly after the accident, Kane changed. He no longer cared about magic, or anything else... except for his lost eyesight. He once mentioned that he would do anything if he could get his sight back... I did not believe him at the time. But..." Kai shrugged and fell silent. When he spoke again, it was with sadness in his voice. "Soon thereafter, Kane tried to transfer the sight-capability from another man to himself. It failed miserably. Kane was left unharmed, while his victim... Kane did not stop. He kept doing experiments, kept trying to restore his eyes. I heard him say that he needed power, an immense amount of power... power that no longer exists in this world. The last time I heard of him, he was searching for some special items... I do not know what the items were, but they supposedly hold great power. That is really all I know about him."
"Then what...?" Gorky asked.
"I'll get to that... eventually.
"It was a few days ago... I was on the road, as always. Suddenly, I felt a great amount of energy approaching, and stopped to look.
"It was an Esper, a white dragon... with a rider! The dragon sent me a telepathic message...
"It said 'help'.
"As I said, Kane is a magician. And the only thing that is powerful enough to control and Esper, is... magic. I suspected, even then, that Kane was on the move again.
"I followed the dragon, made my way towards Wutai. On the way, I encountered three deserters from the attacking force.
"I did not want to believe it, but those three wore white uniforms - the same uniforms that Kane's guards wear. I do not know if this truly means Kane is planning to attack Wutai... but I have a feeling that he is involved in this, somehow."
"What is your connection to this Kane person?" Staniv asked.
Kai glared at him. This was something he would prefer to avoid, but telling Staniv everything would probably be his best bet, at least if he wanted to meet this leader of theirs...
"He is... my... father."
"Are you sure you'll be okay by your own?" Tifa asked Cloud. He nodded wordlessly. "Got everything you need?"
"Yes, Tifa."
"Oh... then..."
"We'll meet up in Bone, right?"
"Yes..."
"There you are, then. It won't be too long."
"It might well be too long," Cid said pointedly. "Unless we get going now."
Tifa sighed. "All right, Cid..."
"You take care now, chocobo-hair," the pilot grinned. "Don't you worry. We'll be fine."
"I know," Cloud said, grinning back. "Later, then..."
Tifa climbed into her seat, and Cid started the engine. The Tiny Bronco took off, leaving Cloud alone with the black chocobo.
"All right... just you and me, now," he told the bird. It replied with a low-pitched 'wark' and nudged him with its head. "Eager to be off? Let's go then..."
Cloud climbed onto the bird's back, and the chocobo took off. flying higher and higher, it circled around Costa del Sol a couple of times, then headed for the waterfall.
Ash the black chocobo wasn't exactly the most intelligent bird around. Compared to most chocobos, she was plain dumb. However, she was good at flying, and reached Lucrecia's waterfall in about half an hour.
Telling the bird to be good and stay where she was, Cloud stepped behind the curtain of water. Lighting the flashlight he had brought along, he looked around in the cave, but there seemed to be nothing of interest there... But then he noticed a bouquet of deep blood-red flowers lying on the floor, in the innermost part of the cave. Kneeling down, he studied it carefully. Roses... The flowers hadn't withered; they couldn't have been there for more than a day or so. He has been here... recently. But where is he now...? Cloud got to his feet and dusted himself off - Vincent might have left the flowers, but he certainly hadn't cleaned the place up. Come to think of it... He looked down at the floor. Yes, these footprints are new, too... should have noticed that. But there was little more he could do. Switching off the light, he got back outside, climbed onto Ash's back, and headed north.
Bone was a bit further from Costa del Sol than the waterfall, but, the plane being faster then a chocobo, Cid and Tifa did not need more time to reach the village than Cloud needed to reach his destination. Cid landed the 'Bronco on a field just outside the woods.
"We're here," he said, quite unnecessarily. "Shall we get it over with?"
"...yeah."
"Don't sulk like that!" Cid shot her an evil glance. "Cloud's going to be along in a few hours at most. It isn't as if you couldn't live without him, for crying out loud!"
Couldn't I...? I'm ...not so sure about that, Tifa thought. "It's... it's not that. I'm just feeling a bit anxious, that's all."
"Yeah, me too... You know, I don't like this place." Cid turned to glare at the forest, every bit as evil a look as the one he had given Tifa. "I can feel the power of this place, and it frightens me. But Tifa, think of Cloud... it must be worse for him. He'd never tell you to go here if he thought he could do it himself."
Tifa nodded slowly, understanding Cid's point. Still, that didn't mean she liked it.
The longer they waited, though... "It's not just about us," she sighed. "If it was, I don't know if I'd be able to... go in there again. But Yuffie..."
"Get the harp," Cid muttered, "and let's go."
Tifa picked the harp out of the seat next to her own, and, holding the instrument in one hand, climbed down to the ground. The Lunar Harp was the only known power that could let someone cross the enchanted woods surrounding the Cetran city. Tifa held on to it for dear life, even refusing to let Cid hold it while she climbed down from the plane. It was their only way in... and their only way out. If they lost it once they passed the borderline, they would never get out. She was not going to let go of it while they were near that forest.
It wasn't far to Bone from the field where Cid's plane was parked, and they passed the excavation site - still as busy as they remembered it - within ten minutes. Tifa strummed the harp awkwardly as she felt the power of the forest; the instrument glowed silvery green, and the power abated. Walking slowly, the two friends made their way through the forest, Tifa with the harp in her arms, plucking at the strings from time to time to keep the ancient magic away, and Cid with his spear ready, even though he knew there were no living creatures in these woods. The pilot had been smoking nonstop ever since Cloud told him to go here. It had been easy to sound cheerful back in Costa del Sol, but here... Cid shivered and tightened his grip on the Venus Gospel. Normally, when he touched the spear, he felt a slight tingling, like a pulse of magic, something that made him feel as if the weapon recognised and accepted him - but not now. Now the tingling had increased to something resembling an electrical current, almost but not quite unpleasant. It must be reacting to the forest's magic, he realised, but that didn't make him feel any better.
Eventually, they made it out on the other side. Breathing a great sigh of relief, Tifa lowered the harp, which she had been clutching so hard her knuckles ached, and shook her head. "Through at last!"
"Tell me about it," Cid muttered glumly, thrusting his spear into the ground and flexing his hands. "Damn thing..."
"Sorry?" Tifa asked.
"Huh? Oh... no. It's nothing."
"...hmm." She didn't quite believe that, but decided not to push him. "Shall we go?"
"Yeah. Just give me a minute."
Cid finished his cigarette, stubbing it out against the blade of the Venus Gospel, and tossed the stub in a puddle. He didn't light another. He wouldn't mind having another smoke, but somehow, it didn't feel right in this place. Instead, he spat and muttered a few random swearwords, before tugging the spear from the ground. He shouldered it and nodded to Tifa.
"Ready?" she asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Cid replied with a mirthless grin. "We'd better get going."
Tifa nodded, and started walking.
Then seashell-shaped houses had not changed visibly. Of course, since they had been standing there for so long, Tifa had doubted that these buildings would change noticeably in a year - or even in ten years, or a hundred, for that matter. Although they knew that the city was as devoid of life as the forest around it, Cid held his spear at ready as they headed for the central building; Tifa, of course, was already wearing her metal-reinforced gloves, and did not intend to take them off anytime soon.
The strange seaweed-like plants hiding the staircase had grown, but it wasn't so dense it couldn't be passed. Although it would have been easier to cut the strange plants away, they did not do so; it felt better to just leave everything as it was. Tifa walked first, pushing her way through the plants, closely followed by Cid.
"I can't see anyone..." the pilot muttered.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Tifa replied, keeping her voice down. "Even if he is here, he can be anywhere in the city."
"And that's about as likely as..."
"Shush, Cid! Positive thinking, remember?"
Cid shut his mouth. Whatever he had been about to say, it was nothing positive.
They climbed down the stairs, soon reaching the little shrine - or whatever it was - at the bottom level. The room was dusky, but not completely dark; some light fell in from above. Once they had used the key to reopen this room, all the entrances seemed to have become accessible.
"There's no one here," Cid sighed. Holding up a piece of Materia in the air, he concentrated briefly. A bright aura of fiery red, but still heatless, light flared around the Materia, illuminating most of the room with a slightly flickering light.
"No... you're right," Tifa sighed, disappointed. "I... what's that?" She pointed to the large platform out in the still lake. There was no wind in the room; the surface of the dark waters did not even ripple, making it seem as if it was glass rather than liquid. Cid pointed the Materia in its direction, channelling a little more power into the green orb. The light flared brighter, and he squinted at the platform.
"Can't see... not big, strange shape..."
"I'll take a look," Tifa offered. Looking at the dark, deep water, she reluctantly put the Lunar Harp down on the ground. "Keep an eye on this," she told Cid. He rolled his eyes.
"That was rather unnecessary," he remarked. "I want to get out every bit as much as you do."
"Yeah, I know... sorry."
"Stop apologising already!" Cid pointed the Venus Gospel at the platform for emphasis. "Get over there, check that thing, and let's get out of here! This place is givin' me the creeps!"
Tifa nodded and headed for the platform, jumping between the pillars leading up to it. This struck her as an odd design for what was basically a staircase leading to something she believed to be a place of prayer, but somehow it fit in with the design of this strange place...
She reached the platform and knelt down, looking closely at the strange object. "Cid...?"
"Yeah. What is it?"
Tifa plucked the thing from the ground, holding it up. "It's a flower... a rose."
"Say what?" Cid asked, although he had heard her perfectly clear.
"A blood-red rose. And it's fresh... smells lovely. Someone's been here recently... It must be Vincent."
"A rose, huh?" Cid scratched his head - with the hand holding the Fire Materia; this caused the light to flicker and cast a shadow over Tifa and the platform. However, it also served to make some light fall on the water below the platform, and Tifa noticed that there was something floating there as well.
"Cid! Light... here!" She pointed.
Cid pointed the Materia to the area she was indicating. They could both see that the floating object was another rose, as blood-red as the first one. Stepping closer to the edge of the lake, Cid once more increased the power he was pouring into the Materia orb, intensifying the light. The fire aura blazed almost white, reflecting off the smooth surface. It was now possible to see that there were more roses floating around to lake - all blood-red, all looking as if they had just been picked. Tifa thought for a second that she saw a spark of light deep within the lake, but the light was gone even before she could be certain she had seen it. The light that had been glowing from below the last time they visited was gone, now. Like Aerith, it, too, had been deprived of its life.
"Shee-it!" Cid whistled. "Who would do something like this?"
"I think we already know the answer to that," Tifa replied, looking around at the flowers. The were still floating. And that must mean... "He's been here recently... very recently."
"Yeah... Vincent. But I mean, why would he do this?" Cid indicated the flowers with his spear. "He hardly knew Aerith at all... not that anyone did, but he... for goodness' sake, they barely even talked to eachother!"
"That doesn't mean he can't feel for her..." Tifa turned away from Cid, looking across the lake, discretely wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. Aerith... Tifa's feelings for the Ancient had been so mixed. Aerith had been a kind and gentle person, but still brimming with passion; she had felt a kind of hope that the others never seemed to even sense. To Tifa, she had been like a sister... and a rival.
Aerith... I hope you can hear me... I'm sorry. If I ever hated you... I'm so sorry...
"Tifa? What's wrong?" Cid sounded worried, and his voice pulled Tifa back to reality. "Tifa? Are you feeling all right?"
"Huh... Yes, Cid... I'm just... thinking. If Aerith had been alive, she could have helped Yuffie, I'm sure of it..."
"Tifa... We should leave. Vincent may still be here. If we are to find him, we should get going now." Cid rubbed his eyes, grateful that Tifa had turned away. "Come on, Tifa."
Tifa sighed. "Yes... Yes, I know. Let's go." She looked down longingly at the rose in her hand, and then threw it over the low railing of the platform, down into the water. A slight ripple passed over the lake as the rose disappeared under the water, then surfaced again. Nearby roses moved somewhat as the slight waves passed them, but soon the water was calm once more, and Tifa put a hand to the railing, rising to her feet. She climbed down to solid ground again, picked the harp up, and headed for the stairs, closely followed by Cid.
As they reached the staircase, she stopped for a second, turning to look once more at the lake. Goodbye... Aerith.
The story was just too long to post all at once (believe me; I tried...). I split it into four parts... if this is interesting enough, go read part 2. ^_^ Any comments you may have are, of course, welcome... ;)
