CHAPTER 11 Demons
Cloud watched the rain fall in heavy drops from the window pane of his second story room. It was late afternoon and the twilight sun was blacked out by an overcast sky. In the ambient darkness he watched a single person wandering the damp cobblestone streets, a cloaked figure soaked in rain, it was tall. Cloud stood with his arms crossed recalling the events that lead him to this room in the Inn at the town of Kalm. He remembered the fierce battle with Rufus Shinra on top of the Midgar Headquarters, how the final blow knocked him to the ground, and the smirking face of the new president as he leered down over him. His memory recalled how he awoke in Tifa's arms, inside the conference room, how Aeris healed him, and how Barrett fought to the verge of complete exhaustion trying to find a way out of the seiged skyscraper. He remembered the intense fighting through the streets, the insane vehicle chase out of the city. How their new ally, Red XIII, the science specimen from Hojo's lab, fought with amazing skill and ferocity, and how Cloud carried a badly injured Tifa the last way out of Midgar.
Everyone had fought to their last ounce of strength, even Aeris passed out from the strain of constant healing and re-healing. Cloud had been witness to a fair amount of combat in his time with SOLDIER, but seen little that matched the courage and resilience, his rag-tag band of comrades demonstrated fleeing the industrial city of Midgar. They had made it, but barely. Still there was much to be done, much that needed to be said, and explained. Soon, he would have to visit those demons locked deep in his mind, those memories he fought so hard to hide from, and his companions deserved to know what these memories were. Especially now, now that HE has come back.
"Cloud..." Tifa's voice called from the doorway. "They're here...Barrett and Red XIII have made it."
Cloud let out a deep sigh of relief. "Well that's one less thing I have to worry about" He thought.
"Tifa" Cloud replied.
"Yeah?"
"Uh, back at Shinra Headquarters, thanks for coming back for me..."
"I never left you."
Cloud turned from the window, meeting her gaze. Her beautiful face slightly swollen with the bruising she'd received during their dramatic escape, but even now she still took his breath away.
"Come on" She smiled. "They're all waiting for us..."
A few moments later, Barrett and Red XIII joined Tifa, Cloud, and Aeris in the lounge at the Kalm Inn.
"Barrett! You made it!" Aeris exclaimed.
"Yeah man, that was one hell of a trip" he replied. "We got a little hung up in the wastelands outside of Midgar, after we all split up. But you should see this cat in action, he's the real deal."
A consistently indifferent Red XIII slowly stalked a comfortable spot on a soft rug and casually laid down.
"He's so damn boring..."
Aeris turned to Cloud "So now that we're all here, you want to tell us what's going on?"
"Yah." Barrett added. "What the hell is the whole deal with Sephiroth and the Promised Land? Is he really back from the dead?"
Cloud stood silently for a moment, closing his eyes, preparing to ferret out the deeply repressed memories inside his mind. He slowly opened them, and moved towards the burning fireplace in the Inn lounge. He paused, warming himself. The rain was cold, and a fierce wind whipped through the town, howling around corners and cracks in the window pane molding.
"I used to want to be like Sephiroth. He was my idol, growing up. That's why I joined SOLDIER." He continued. "After proving myself on several difficult and dangerous missions, I finally got my dream. I was assigned with him on a highly classified mission. I'd finally get to see my hero in action and in person."
"Yeah right!" Barrett scoffed. "There you go again, with them stories. Sure, you worked with Sephiroth...hah."
"Barrett stop!" Tifa interjected. "You want to hear his story or not?"
"Tch...fine. But that don't mean I'm going to believe him."
"So what was he like?" Aeris asked.
"I really can't say with any confidence, even now. He didn't really talk about himself much."
Cloud paused and then continued. "After the Wutai-nese wars it was SOLDIER's responsibility to put down any resistance against the Shinra. That was seven years ago, I was 19."
In his mind, Cloud traveled back to that time. He remembered pacing anxiously back and forth, the night was dark, rain pelted the sides of the moving convoy that was transporting his unit, it rocked and bucked along a rough unpaved road deep in the wastelands. Inside three people sat quietly, dressed in the blue uniform of Shinra, and another reclined on the floor.
Cloud dressed in green fatigues squinted outside the blurred window of the convoy. "Hell, it sure is raining hard."
One of the seated guards gripped his stomach tightly proceeding to dry heave.
"Hey how're you doing?" Cloud asked.
"Okay, I'm all right..." The guard weakly replied.
"Hmm...I wouldn't know, I've never had motion sickness before." Cloud turned his attention to the drivers. "Everything okay up front?"
"Hey sit down." A deep slow voice calmly replied.
Cloud turned toward the voice, a tall man reclining on the floor of the convoy. He wore a black uniform, buckled with silver pieces of armor and trimmed in white, he had long white hair, which flowed like a well combed river of silk down to his waist, and his eyes were a brilliant shade of light blue. A sword of immense length and curve was strapped to his side.
"Uh...I'm just eager to test my skills on this mission. I'm really interested to see what I'm capable of. How far I can push myself."
The man gave a low chuckle. "Just like a kid..."
"Uh..." Cloud stammered. "You going to brief us?"
The man stared at the floor between his feet.
"Well?" Cloud redirected.
"This isn't a typical mission." The man replied.
"Good." Cloud interrupted.
A snort escaped from the man's mouth. "Why do you say that?"
"I joined so I could be like you. But by the time I made First Class, the war was already over. My grand dream of becoming a hero, like you, ended with the war." Cloud stopped. "What do you think Commander Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth lifted his head slightly. "I thought you wanted a briefing?"
"Uh yes, sorry sir...please continue."
"Our mission is to investigate an old Mako reactor. There have been reports of it malfunctioning and mutating local wildlife into brutal creatures. First we dispose of the creatures, then we will locate the problem in the reactor and neutralize it. We must do this with utmost secrecy, no one must know about the monsters or Shinra's culpability."
"Brutal creatures? Where?"
"The Mako reactor at Mt. Nibel."
"Mt. Nibel? Nibelheim, hey that's my hometown!"
Sephiroth seemed to contemplate those words carefully. "Hmmm...hometown."
With no warning, a loud THUD roared through the convoy vehicle, as a huge dent exploded into the trucks flank. Cloud was thrown against the opposite side of the cabin. He felt the vehicle begin to tip and then slowly fall on its side. The interior lights gave out and the cabin was shrouded in total darkness as the convoy began to roll down a steep incline, slowly at first then faster and faster. Loose equipment and bodies pelted Cloud as he tumbled in rapid circles inside the falling vehicle. Then with a cataclysmic SLAM the vehicle came to a dead stop upside down. It was silent for a few moments; the only sound was the pelting rain on the overturned truck. Cloud could feel the cold trickle of water on his face; he listened closely to the sounds around him while attempting to flex his badly bruised body. In just a few brief moments the sound of moans and groans began to echo throughout the cabin. Cloud struggled to his feet, dizzy, and extremely sore.
He shook his head. "What the hell ...was that...?" He gasped, wincing with bruised limbs and a throbbing head.
Sephiroth's voice, calm, and relaxed, perhaps even cold, responded from the darkness. "That is our monster..."
With an abrupt explosion coinciding with a large clap of thunder, the bent and damaged hatch exploded outward and the cabin was bathed in bright flashes of electrical light as the storm surged outside the vehicle. The shadowy image of a tall man with long hair stepping outside the battered vehicle flashed in front of Cloud's eyes. Reaching around him, Cloud put his fist around a razor sharp battle sword, and followed his hero with stumbling steps outside the overturned convoy truck.
Still groggy the heavy rain helped to gather Cloud's senses, as he shook off the last bit of dizziness. He glanced around the darkness, it was a starless and moonless night, the plains were beginning to flood.
"I'm impressed, mildly." Sephiroth's voice spoke through the thunder and rain. "You're the only one to immerge from the crashed vehicle." He paused. "Do you smell it?"
"Smell what?"
"The heavy scent of Mako...it's really bad here."
A brilliant bolt of lighting lit the plains, and for an instant, only about 30 yards away, a huge image of gigantic proportions flashed in front of them. Startled Cloud jumped back, almost falling on his rear.
"That would be our little trouble maker..." Sephiroth calmly observed.
"The hell is it! That thing's huge...we should call for backup." Cloud yelled through the raging storm.
"It's called a Mako dragon, it's a pitiful creature warped and mutated by corrosive Mako. They can be quite a nuisance..."
A thunderous roar erupted from the darkness, as the monsters silhouette became apparent in another flash of lightning. It noticed them, and seemed to be rearing to strike. Sephiroth stood with his arms crossed. "You want to call for backup?" He smirked, rain dripping down his face, and running like rivers down his long now slicked white hair. "How will you ever become like me by running away from a challenge..."
Cloud's face flushed red, with embarrassment. He gritted his teeth and gripped his sword with intense strength. Half terrified, and half resolved he flung himself at the creature, which towered almost 15 feet above him. The dragon swung it's mighty claw with inch law mandibles at the charging SOLDIER, Cloud barely ducked in time, the monsters swipe Woofing heavily just above his head. Without missing a beat he dug his sword deep into the monsters flank, almost to the hilt. The dragon let out a high pitched scream. Cloud pulled down as hard as he could on his sword, tearing a swathe along its tender side. The monster swung another claw at the green clad SOLDIER; Cloud released his blade and jumped back from the blow. This time the dragon connected a claw across his chest. It dug deep and tore a large gash splintering ribs and gutting flesh. Cloud let loose a garbled howl and fell to the ground holding his torn body.
The monster with Cloud's sword still impaled in its side, reared up to crush the fallen SOLDIER. With no strength left, Cloud watched the monstrous appendage fall down towards his limp body. At the last second a high pitched ZING whipped through the air, and the appendage fell harmlessly to the ground, a huge splattering of caustic blood poured over Cloud, quickly washed away by the drenching rain. A primordial howl erupted from the creature as a large wall of flame shot from its open mouth over Cloud towards a target directly behind him. Almost instantaneously a loud crack of thunder, louder than any Cloud had heard yet in this storm, exploded around him, a bolt of immense brilliance shot towards the Mako dragon shooting through its body like a spear of light. It twitched for several seconds, the smell of ozone and burnt flesh filled the air, before the creature finally collapsed in twitching spasms. The impact of its body tossed earth and mud into the air, covering cloud once again, Cloud stared at the dead creature as darkness began to close in around him.
He felt his body being lifted up and tossed roughly onto his back; the smirking face of Sephiroth stared down at him. "You have a lot to learn if you're going to be like me..." He chuckled.
Just before the final wave of darkness overtook Cloud, Sephiroth stretched his hand over him. Bright green light began to form around it falling from it like a shower of light, onto Cloud's bloodied and ravaged body. A few sharp tingling sensations flared through his body, and he took a deep breath of air, gagging on blood and spitting out rain water. He coughed as the darkness waned and his consciousness began to return.
Cloud blinked in the light of the Inn lounge. "Sephiroth's power is unreal, the stories and legends you may have heard about him don't do him enough justice."
"So how does everything tie in?" Aeris asked.
"Well", he continued. "I was entranced by his strength, and his power, I wanted to learn everything I could from him. Who knows when I would get another chance to work with him? The next few days I plugged him for advice, and pelted him with questions. Those he felt like answering he answered, those he didn't, he ignored. He was a fairly straightforward person. And he had an immense amount of patience, almost as though he didn't care enough to become annoyed. Eventually we made it to Nibelheim."
In his mind, Cloud stood at the entrance to a small backwater town, near a river inlet. It was quaint and cozy, but sleepy. The roads were mostly gravel, but the houses were well maintained, the town was nestled in a valley between two large mountain ranges. Above them still a good distance away loomed the great Mt. Nibel. Two blue clad Shinra guards stood at attention, a tall man clad in a black outfit with white trim stood with his back to him. The man had long flowing white hair, and a brilliantly polished sword of immense length strapped to his side. He had an erect and powerful posture.
"Commander Sephiroth?" Cloud spoke.
"How…does it feel?" He replied keeping his back to Cloud.
"I'm sorry sir?"
"This is your first time back home in a long time, correct? So how does it feel?"
"I grew up here. It feels, strange, but comfortable, coming back...why do you ask?"
"I don't have a home, so I don't know what it feels like… to return home."
Cloud paused thinking about that statement. "What about your parents?"
"Parents?" Sephiroth reflected for a moment. "Jenova. My mother was Jenova" he paused. "And my father….." dark and sinister a low laugh began to creep across his lips. "Let's not get into that issue…. What does it matter anyway?" Finishing his chuckle, he stared directly at the mountain range. "The Mako smell is pretty bad here, as well."
Barrett Wallace interjected suddenly in the warmth of the Inn lounge. "Yo wait a damn minute! Isn't Jenova, the name of that damn creepy headless thing we saw in the Shinra building?"
"Yes, the very same."
"So you telling me, that 'thing' is his mom?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying..."
"What! This ain't make a damn bit of sense to me."
"Barrett, please!" Tifa implored impatiently. "Let Cloud continue."
"Ahh...fine."
"So what happened next, Cloud?"
"It's a reunion of childhood friends!" Aeris gleefully chirped in.
Cloud nodded in the flickering light of the Inn lounge. "Yeah, I was really excited about seeing Tifa for the first time in three years. I wanted her to see how well I had done for myself. But when I knocked on the door to her family's house, no one was home. I figured I would come back later."
Tifa stared blankly at the wood tiled flooring of the Inn lounge. "Um, what about your mother. Didn't you visit her?"
Cloud froze a cold chill ran up his spine, he closed his eyes tightly. Then after a view awkward moments he slowly opened them and gazed intensely into the flame burning within the lounges fireplace. The room grew dark, and the images around him faded away, as THAT day was relived again in his mind.
"Uh... hello?"
A middle aged woman with blond hair in a brown dress turned from the sink in her cozy one room cottage. Squinting painfully for a moment, before placing her eyeglasses back on her face, drying her hands on a dry cloth, she took notice of a strapping young man in her doorway.
"I'm sorry...can I help you?"
Cloud gazed around the cottage; it hadn't changed a bit since he left three years ago. Though it was only one room, it was portioned neatly and provided ample space for a mother and her only child. Directly across from the kitchen two beds were neatly lined against the windowed walls, both immaculately made as if no one had slept or used this house for three years.
"Cloud? Cloud! Is that you?" The woman rushed over to him, embracing Cloud tightly. Cloud dropped the heavy duffle bag's he had been carrying. "I can't believe it! You're home... I missed you so much."
"Hi, mom..." Cloud replied softly.
Cloud snapped his head back around, moving his eyes from the mesmerizing flames of the fireplace at the Kalm Inn lounge. "Let's not do this..." He abruptly interrupted his story. "There are plenty of other things I can tell you..."
"Yo, man. What the hell? You gonna finish your damn story or what?"
"Well, I…" Cloud released an exasperated sigh. "… Fine..."
"Look at you!" His mother exclaimed. "A member of SOLDIER, I'm so proud of you. So is that what a SOLDIER uniform looks like?"
Cloud smiled weakly and shrugged.
"You know dear, I hope you received all the mail I sent you. It'd been so long since I heard from you, I was beginning to worry. But I know how busy and demanding your career is, so...I understand."
"Um...I'm sorry mom. I've been eh…really bu..."
Cloud's mother cut him off. "I told you not to fret over it, I understand. I just want you to be as successful as you can be. Here let me help you unpack, will you be staying long?"
"Uh for a few days I guess, but I'm going to be really busy. I'm on an important assignment."
"Oh, I see... Well then in that case you should get yourself cleaned up, and I'll cook you a nice dinner. We have a lot to catch up on!"
Back in the comfort of the warm lounge, Cloud grimaced, in the ambient lighting of the Kalm Inn. Glancing at Tifa, he watched her eyes stare into the distance, wistfully, painfully. Cloud realized these must be painful memories for her as well.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Aeris asked. "Are you two okay?"
"Well…" Cloud explained "It's a difficult memory...when I came home that day; she was so full of life, so vibrant. It's so hard to believe these would be the last days I'd ever spend with her..."
In his mind, traveling back seven years ago, Cloud watched his mother clean the dishes from their meal while he relaxed on his old bed. He could recall how warm and safe this home felt, and how he missed sleeping on something so soft and comfortable.
"Cloud? Oh my, it's so good to have you home. Look at you, you're all grown up and so handsome. I bet the girls never leave you alone."
"Not really" He replied.
"You know dear, I was thinking. I think you need to find yourself a nice girlfriend, or maybe even a wife. An older one, one that can take care of you. Yes I think an older girlfriend would be just right."
"I'm not interested..."
"What about that sweet girl who leaves down the street? Tifa was her name I think. You know she still lives here, maybe you should catch up with her."
"..."
Images of Clouds mother flashed and faded in his mind like flash photography.
"You know dear..."
"Dear I think..."
"You know what..."
"Have you been eating right...?"
"Look at you; you've become so strong..."
"You know dear, I'm your mother...
"I'll always love you Cloud..."
"Lets stop this" Cloud hoarsely interjected, turning his gaze from Tifa.
"Yo, I'm sorry man...didn't know this was that kinda' story..." Barrett awkwardly kicked at the floor.
"So you're back at your home town" Aeris redirected the conversation. "Then what happened?"
Cloud scratched his head. "The next day, Sephiroth hired a local guide to take us through the mountain trails up towards the isolated reactor."
Cloud methodically paced his way towards an unoccupied chair, in the lounge room. Sitting down slowly, he closed his eyes once more, recalling more repressed memories from that terrible time seven years ago.
"Tifa?" Cloud exclaimed, standing outside of a large gated mansion. "You're the guide, we hired?"
A younger Tifa, in her late teens smiled broadly at her childhood friend. "Nice to see you too Cloud."
"Sorry... it's great to see you. I, I uh just wasn't expecting to see you here, like this. Since when have you been the towns' guide?"
"For a couple years now." She replied. "No one in this town knows the mountain trails as well as me."
Cloud gathered in his friend's image. It had been three long and distancing years, since their promise they made that night before he left for SOLDIER. They were no longer kids anymore, she had always been attractive but now, at eighteen, she had grown into the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. He gazed deeply into her cheerful amber eyes.
Cloud gathered his composure. "I… I can't let you come with us. Haven't you heard the trails are full of mutants? It's too dangerous, I won't allow it."
"Then you'll just have to protect her with your life..." A deep calm voice spoke from the middle of a crowd of onlookers. "Let's move out. We have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall."
Sephiroth, bored and slightly annoyed from the excessive attention, emerged from the crowd, even now in the bright morning sun, his eyes possessed an obvious glow.
"Mister Sephiroth! Can I have your autograph?" A voice called out from the crowd of spectators.
"No" He calmly replied. "There is no time for that."
"Hey Cloud" a voice called from the crowd "how about a picture with you and Sephiroth?"
Cloud passed a brief glance at his Shinra companion. Sephiroth stood with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face, slowly tapping his fingers.
"Uh...sure I guess."
"Hey Tifa why don't you join them in the shot?"
"Okay!" Tifa exclaimed. Lining up in front of the main gate of the Shinra Mansion, an estate in Nibelheim used to house important Shinra figureheads, Tifa and Cloud found a comfortable pose. After a long awkward pause, the long haired warrior reluctantly joined them, an obvious look of irritation painted on his face.
"Great!" the man spoke after snapping the picture. "I'll develop a set for everybody."
"Are you two finished now?" The legendary Shinra warrior asked.
Cloud spoke from his seat, in the Kalm Inn. "We left just after sunrise, and traveled all day, it was approaching evening by the time we made it to the reactor."
"I thought you said the trails were full of Mako monsters?" Barrett asked.
"Yeah, they were. Tifa, guided us through some pretty rough areas, but I made sure that she was well protected. It was Tifa, Sephiroth, myself, and three guards; just common foot troops."
"What kind of monsters did you run into?" Aeris asked.
"They were pretty ferocious critters, of the lupine and raptor varieties. You know wolves and birds of prey."
"Heh..." Barrett scoffed. "Don't sound so tough..."
"You try doing it..."
"How bad was it Tifa?"
Staring blankly at the wall, a long pause ensued before the martial artist of AVALANCHE responded. "I...I remember being surprised with how many monsters were out in the trails. I mean I had heard they'd become dangerous and hadn't been out for many months, so I guess I was fortunate to have a unit from SOLDIER with me."
"Did Sephiroth wipe the floor with those critters too?" Barrett chuckled.
Cloud shook his head. "He mostly just stood back and watched, casually observing as the rest of us cleared the way. I guess he figured these creatures were beneath his effort. Perhaps he felt we needed the training. Eventually we made it to the reactor. It was one of the oldest and first ones ever built by Shinra. It was much smaller than the ones we blew up in Midgar. Because of its very remote location, air tight security and surveillance system, Shinra hadn't posted personal in or around the reactor for over 25 years. The factory basically ran it's self, and could be closely monitored remotely from Midgar."
"The place jes' ran itself?" Barrett scratched his head.
"Maintenance checkups were preformed every year or so, but other than that, it was practically self sufficient." Cloud stared into the ceiling recalling the next set of events from his memory, though they were coming cleanly, he still knew that confronting some of them would not be so easy.
A younger, less seasoned Cloud Strife stared at the towering structure built into the side of Mt. Nibel; this was his first time seeing one of these reactors up close. With sturdy hands, he busily wiped the blood of a lupine monster from the shiny surface of his battle sword.
"Is this your first time in a reactor?" Sephiroth asked.
"Uh...yes, sir. I've never been in one before."
"Careful, this isn't just a reactor." The white haired warrior smirked.
"What do you mean?"
"This place is full of Shinra's industrial secrets. Only those with proper clearance may enter, which means our escort, and your friend have to stay out here."
"Ah, come on Cloud, you have to let me go inside!" Tifa begged.
Shaking his head Cloud reluctantly denied his childhood friend. "I'm sorry Tifa, but I have to leave you out here. Don't worry this area has already been cleared and the guards will keep you safe."
Sephiroth motioned to the guards. "Once we deactivate the security system make sure no one enters, keep the entrance secure."
Tifa watched reluctantly as Cloud and the legendary Sephiroth, disappeared into the factory complex. Turning abruptly in a huff she sighed and frowned glancing at one of the guards. "I hope you take real good care of me then!"
The ancient factory smacked of neglect and was covered in ages of grime and dirt. Following his commander Cloud wandered through several large chambers littered with old mechanical and hydraulic equipment, a far cry from the digital electronics found in the Midgar reactors. All-in-all the factory was completely functional and still maintained relatively optimal efficiency standards. The air was slightly stagnant however, and the hum of the reactor core reverberated intensely within his ears.
"This was one of the first reactors ever constructed by Shinra." Sephiroth remarked. "It's a model of construction and engineering, the timelessness of this factory, still after all these years it remains a reliable source of Mako energy."
"How old is it?"
"Probably well over 50 years, I wouldn't know for certain."
Several moments of walking and careful observation lead them to a large chamber full of strange metallic pods, topped with glass lids. Sephiroth paused slightly, taking in the sights of this odd room.
"This should lead us to the main reactor...but..." He paused. "I'm not familiar with this room. I've never seen it before in any of Shinra's factories."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure...but..."
A bright spark followed by a loud snap, interrupted the great warrior. A power junction seemed to be malfunctioning in the far corner of the room. "The smell is intense in here, very thick."
"I, I think I smell it too...almost heavy like ozone or something. Is that junction causing the Mako seepage?"
"Probably..." Sephiroth responded as he moved over to the power junction shooting bright wisps of green energy into the air. He boldly thrust his hand into the burning stream of corrosive Mako, feeling around the shorted junction. He seemed unaffected by the stream of powerful radiant energy firing around his flesh. "This seems to be the reason for the malfunction. It's a busted power coupling, but the part seems fairly new. How much power are they siphoning off from the chamber to cause this part to meltdown so quickly? And why?"
He turned back towards Cloud. "Close the valve over there. That should fix the problem for the time being." Obeying his leaders command, Cloud began closing the main access valve with a few intense yanks.
Glancing around the large chamber, Cloud noticed a series of metal steps leading up to a landing which held a sealed door. Curious he walked over to it, reading a designation captioned above it. With rough hands he briskly brushed off the decades of soot and grime, Cloud stared quizzically at it, taking in the words. JENOVA
Viewing the caption, Sephiroth's face became blank with disbelief. "I don't understand. My mother's name is Jenova, but she died in childbirth, why is her name on this door?" His brilliant light blue eyes began scanning the edges of the large chamber. "What is this place? It feels so familiar." Moving over to one of the pods, he bent his face over the glass dome topping it off. It was full of thick swirling gasses, impossible to see through. But an intense light seemed to radiate deep within the fog.
Cloud finished locking the valve into place, then turned towards Sephiroth, carefully observing his commander staring into one of the larger pods, through the glass dome topping it. Suddenly and abruptly Sephiroth jerked up, stiffening his posture. "What!?...what is this?" He paused obviously in deep and furious thought.
Cloud stared into the pod next to him; all he saw was a grey cloud of gas with a bluish aura burning deep inside.
"I see now..." Sephiroth spoke aloud. "I see now Hojo, but doing this will never put you on par with Professor Ghast."
"Uh, sir... wasn't Jenova your mother's name?"
"What does it matter?"
"Did you see something in that pod?" Cloud asked.
Sephiroth furrowed his brow contemplating unseen thoughts. "Look for yourself." He responded.
Slowly and cautiously Cloud stepped over to the pod Sephiroth had stared into, he put his face close to the thick glass dome, and stared intensely into it. "I don't see anything..."
"Just keep watching."
A face flashed in front of the glass, contorted and deformed. It seemed almost humanoid. Startled Cloud jumped back nearly falling over. "The hell is that!"
Sephiroth crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. "What happens when Mako energy is condensed? It becomes materia right?"
"Uh yeah..."
"Like all the members of SOLDIER you have been showered with Mako energy in regulated amounts, to enhance your natural abilities. But what happens when someone is infused with Mako, not just showered. There very cells absorbing Mako, altering and changing their genetic qualities, like those monsters we fought, but on a much grander scale?"
"What are you trying to say? That Shinra is creating monsters in here?"
"I...I don't know...I'm not sure anyway... What I do know is your cells can theoretically absorb so much Mako that it actually condenses inside them...think about it..."
"Well materia is Mako condensed in a solid form..." Cloud observed.
"Yes, so imagine someone whose very cells, their DNA, are the substance of materia, their cellular structure is made of Mako in a physical form instead of carbon like normal humans."
Clouds head began to spin. "I'm not quite sure what you're saying..."
Sephiroth gritted his teeth, concentrating intently on something. His body tensed up, his limbs stiffened; a low growl began to emanate from deep in his throat. Slowly his body began to twitch with anger.
"Hey...hey...Sir, are you okay?"
"No!" The warrior of Shinra yelled. "No! It can't be. I refuse to believe it! I'm not one of those monsters!"
"One of those monsters? What are you talking about?"
"You saw it didn't you! That creature it was human!"
"Human? No way!"
"Now I know why this place seems so familiar. I've always known I was different, since my youth. But I never thought I was some sort of science experiment!!" He roared.
Drawing his sword he ferociously swung a powerful strike into the glass domed pod, causing shards to fly everywhere, Cloud ducked and covered his face. "Why did you lie to me professor Ghast! Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"
A shrill cry erupted from the pod as a deformed monstrous humanlike figure began to pull itself out. Sephiroth quickly slaughtered the abomination. Removing it's still twitching head he shoved in front of Cloud's face.
"Look at it! Stare long and deep into its lifeless eyes, yes this could be your uncle or your sister, can you not deny the human spark. Its features deformed and mutated, still distinctly human!"
Cloud backed away from his commander, though he couldn't deny that the monster was extraordinarily humanlike. "H, hey, why don't we call it a day okay...let's set up camp and head back to town tomorrow."
Hurling the head across the room, with fervor, Sephiroth sneered back at his subordinate. "Set up camp if you want. I'm going to find some answers!"
"Man this story is getting weirder and weirder!" Barrett blurted out interrupting the story. "I don't know if I believe you or if I think your nuts... On the other hand, I always knew Shinra was hiding something in them reactors." Barrett contemplated. "Making monsters. Heh, why ain't I frickin' surprised? Those assholes".
"Wow, the great Sephiroth …losing his cool?" Questioned Aeris, taking it all in.
"I don't think the man was really that stable to begin with" Responded Tifa distantly. "He was always so cold, something about him, from the moment I first met the legend in person, I knew something was off about him..."
Aeris carefully considered Tifa's words. "Maybe it was all his time in combat, the endless slaughter, I've heard soldiers say that can get to you after awhile. You know, mess you up."
Cloud shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his chair. "Maybe. I'd never seen him so unhinged, it was quite unsettling. I wanted to follow him, but everyone was exhausted so we set up camp outside the reactor. The next morning, Tifa lead the rest of us back to Nibelheim. I looked all over for him; it took me awhile before I discovered that he had barricaded himself within Ghast's old laboratory study, deep in the basement of Shinra mansion, just outside the town."
Returning to his memories, a younger, much greener, Cloud Strife, swung open the heavy oak door, now covered and layered with years of dust. From inside lights flickered, dancing intimidating shadows on the book lined walls. From within the dark and cobweb shrouded study, the sounds of pacing footsteps, and quiet murmuring complemented the occasional swish of turning pages.
With candelabra in hand, Cloud quietly walked towards the source of the sound. The place was like an old snapshot from the past, testing equipment and thick binders full of papers littered a dominating desk centered inside the front area of the study. The room was littered with objects, books, and odd science containers. Everything was coated in dust appearing as though someone had left from their work, and never come back. He made his way down a small bridge way of book shelves dividing the chamber into two areas, at the end was a small lounge, karafts of ancient brandy and leather bound humidors were laid undisturbed upon finely carved wooden end tables. In the center of the lounge with a pile of books at his feet and candle in his hand, Sephiroth was in deep thought paging through a thick tome. Cloud observed his hero as he paced back and forth across the carpeted flooring, reading aloud to himself.
"...hmm... was an organism, supposedly dead... found in three thousand year old geological stratum..." Sephiroth paused his pacing, glancing up at the ceiling. "Ghast named the organism...Jenova."
"Jenova? His mother? An organism?" Clouds mind pelted itself with questions as he watched patiently from the background.
His hero continued, flipping rapidly through several sections of the tome. "...X month, X year, X day...Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient... X month, X year, X day ...Jenova Project approved... X month, X year, X day use of Nibelheim reactor approved..."
Sephiroth sat down in a finely carved wooden chair of apparent exotic import. He hung his head dejectedly and glanced up at Cloud. "My mother is Jenova... The Jenova Project... What is all this about, what does it all mean?" He turned away from Cloud and held his head in his hands. "Why Ghast? Why did you keep this from me? Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
"H, hey...Sir?" Cloud weakly replied.
"...leave me alone."
"Wow" Aeris piped in. "Sounds like what you discovered in the reactor really upset him."
"Sephiroth, refused to come out. He stayed in the basement for well over a week. In all that time I never saw the lights in the study go out once, he read as if possessed." Cloud turned and glanced at Tifa, throughout the story so far, he had yet to see her make eye contact with him. Something was wrong, maybe something he said? Or was Tifa also tormented my memories of 'that day'.
"My God" Cloud thought. "...that day."
It was a damp foggy evening, though that was not to be unexpected, fog tended to roll through Nibelheim over the river inlet this time of year, especially towards the dusk hours. Lying on a couch, staring at the vaulted ceiling, hung with cobwebbed chandeliers of immense grandeur, cloud pondered the dilemma he was facing. It had been over a week, Shinra command would've expected some form of contact by now. That was not his job; however with Sephiroth in his current state, he may have to take on that responsibility soon. He was worried for his hero, and though he would never admit it, a little nervous as well. Besides he was not excited about having to report the situation to command, this mission was becoming so surreal it seemed like some strange nightmare. He had been quietly hoping that Sephiroth would eventually snap out of it, but now that didn't seem too likely.
"Well, perhaps I should try and talk to him one more time, before I send a report to HQ." He reasoned.
Making his way down the long dark stairway into the basement of Shinra Mansion, Cloud retraced his steps to the old Study/Laboratory of the late Professor Ghast. But this time something was different, the light was out, there were no mumblings or sounds of pacing feet. Something seemed still and unsettling in the air, as if something evil had just been awakened. Cloud waved his flashlight into the darkness, he heard, felt and sensed nothing, then in the back of the room, he saw two small glowing orbs spaced tightly together. He squinted in the darkness; he moved his light towards the orbs. Staring into the darkness was Sephiroth, his posture was stiff, and his gaze was distant.
"Uh...Commander?
Slowly a low chuckle began to roll from the throat of the great Shinra warrior; it quickly cascaded into a hideous laugh. "Who is it?"
"It's me sir…are you okay? I need to talk to you."
"I have nothing to say to traitors!"
"Traitor?"
Sephiroth's face quickly flashed back to life with intense emotion, more than Cloud had ever seen in it before. "You ignorant fool!" He seethed. "I'll tell you."
"Okay...that may be a good idea. We've all been concerned about you sir."
"This planet originally belonged to the Cetra. They were, an...itinerant race. They would migrate across the stars, settle planets, then move on. At the end of their harsh, hard, journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. But those heretics, those who hated the sacred Journey, refused to go any further. They were those who chose to stop their migration build shelters and elected to lead a perverse life."
Sephiroth picked a book off of the ground by his feet; Cloud could now easily see the floor was littered almost to ankle depth with books, and papers. Sephiroth continued. "They eagerly squandered and devoured that which the loyal Cetra and the planet hade made. They did this without any ounce of shame, and without giving back one whit in return. Those are your ancestors! Human!" He finished his words flinging the book at Cloud. Cloud covered his face, as the tome struck his hands.
"Sir? Uh, maybe we should..."
Sephiroth didn't pause. "Long ago a great disaster struck this planet. Your ancestors alone survived because they hid like cowards. The planet was only saved by the sacrifice of the Cetra. They disappeared perhaps, eradicated. However your profane ancestors continued to increase. Now all that is left of the Cetra are in these reports." He kicked a pile of papers, sending them flying all over the already messy chamber.
"Okay...So how do you come into all of this. What does it all have to do with you?"
Sephiroth sneered. "You don't get it?! An ancient named Jenova was found in the stratum of three thousand years ago."
"Yeah, the Jenova Project. I got that much."
"It was created and initiated by Shinra, and was the brain child of Professor Ghast. Its purpose was to produce people with the powers of the Ancients...no the Cetra. They hoped this would lead them to the Promised Land. AND I WAS THE ONE THAT WAS PRODUCED!"
"I...I don't believe you. It's not possible" Cloud stammered. "No way..."
"Yes, Ghast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist created me."
"Created you? How is that possible? You can't just create people... H, hey Sephiroth...uh I mean Sir, where are you going?"
"Move aside, traitor! I'm going to finally meet my mother face to face!"
"What does all that mean?" Aeris asked as she handed out dinner rations to the group relaxing in the warmth of the Kalm Inn. "He was produced? And what about the person who was supposed to be his mother? Jenova."
Cloud took a deep breath, relaxing his tensed muscles. This was proving to be more difficult than he expected. "I wasn't sure at the time, to be honest, I'm still not. I didn't know what was happening, on one hand he seemed so compelling so articulate, but on the other hand he was also agitated and obviously disturbed. I stayed down in that study desperately hoping to find some answers and maybe figure out what was going on with Sephiroth, after an hour or two, one of the guards from our detachment raced down into the basement study. Badly wounded and in a fevered frenzy he informed me that everything was ablaze, Sephiroth had gone mad and was slaughtering the town."
Cloud paused from his story watching the flames in the fireplace dance and burn. The room began to darken around him, images appearing within the fires.
"Hey you!" A voice called out from the intense heat and brilliant flames. Cloud, clad in green fatigues, the uniform of SOLDIER, glanced around the cataclysm with shock and disbelief.
"You're still sane right!"
"...what?" Cloud replied still dazed.
"You in the uniform! Yeah you, can you lend me a hand? "
Watching from the lane leading to Shinra Mansion, Cloud observed a figure emerge from inside the burning inferno which had formerly been the sleepy town of Nibelheim.
"Look I need some help, there are still people trapped in the town."
"Uh...we should wait for Shinra to send backup..." Cloud stammered.
"A lot of Shinra have already died." The man responded. "That madman cut em all down!"
"No this can't be happening." Cloud thought to himself.
"My name's Zangan, Master Zangan. I'm a martial arts master from Wutai. I have a student in this town, her name's Tifa, but I can't find her anywhere. Do you know where she lives? I have to find her."
Cloud blinked gaining composure. "...Tifa? Mom?"
As if struck by lightning the realization of the devastation and peril hit him. Wasting no more words or another thought, he sprinted back into the inferno, running faster than he ever had before. His position permitted a decent view of the area where his childhood home once stood. That warm and cozy cottage where his mother had raised him alone was now nothing but a towering inferno of flames. Running as far into the burning hell as he could Cloud's strength waned as the intense heat and thick smoke almost overtook him. Resigning himself, he dropped to the ground unable to go on, unwilling to go back, waiting for the end.
"Tifa...M, mom..."
From the corner of his eye he could see images still running through the blazing ruins, as he fell on his chest he watched four silhouettes dancing in combat directly in front of a large wall of flame. Three were armed facing only one, a tall figure with long flowing hair. Cloud's pupils narrowed, fixing in on the tall image. The tall figure wasted no time, and barely seemed to move an inch before quickly cutting down his three opponents with extraordinary ease. It paused from its actions, turning in Cloud's direction, its eyes burning a brilliant light blue.
Cloud's muscles tightened, he gritted his teeth in rage, as he watched his hero turn and vanish into the flames unscathed almost as if he had merely walked through a set of drapes. Watching the tragedy around him, something inside of Cloud WOKE UP. Suddenly he didn't care about the heat, his exhaustion or the shock of losing his home or hero. Now only anger burned inside him. Fuming with steeled resolve he forced himself back onto his feet, back towards the gravel path leading out of town, towards the target of his vengeance, the legendary warrior Sephiroth.
He moved quickly without stopping or resting, his strength never yielding to exhaustion. Cloud followed the trails through the mountain pass up to the reactor on Mt. Nibel. He knew where his target was headed; Sephiroth was going to visit his mother, Jenova. Cloud had lost everything, in one fateful terrible night, his home, his family, and his friends. He had nothing left to lose that truly mattered to him.
He made it to the reactor just before dawn, the entrance was already open. Outside of the large doorway to the factory complex, was neatly piled a stack of human bodies, townsfolk, people he had known since childhood. There expressions were lifeless and ghastly, blank, glazed eyes, limp facial muscles, and blood, lots and lots of blood, smearing and splattering walls and railings. Many of them were armed; numerous bullet casings littered the ground. "A final attempt to stop him." Cloud pondered as he stepped around the gory remains of the Nibelheim militia.
Entering the main complex, Cloud retraced his footsteps towards the entrance to the main factory chamber. At a distance, from a tall landing overlooking the chamber, Cloud froze. Looking down, he saw her. Tifa...she was alive! He stared down at her; she was kneeling over the body of a man. Blood soaked through the mans clothes, a large pool of blood gathered under his corpse, like the other bodies outside the reactor his eyes were glazed, open, staring into infinity.
"Papa?! Papa!" She cried. "Who did this to you!?" Tifa threw herself over the body, and began to sob. "It was Sephiroth wasn't it? Sephiroth, Shinra, SOLDIER...I HATE THEM ALL!" She sobbed for only a moment longer, picking up her fathers discarded weapon she charged into the room, housing the strange metallic pods that had set everything in motion almost two weeks ago.
"Tifa! No!"
Cloud charged down the steps of the catwalk, past the body of Tifa's father and into the pod bearing room. He looked up towards the sealed doorway to the Jenova Chamber to see his childhood friend charge the legendary Shinra warrior. Sephiroth stood with his back to her facing the doorway, as Tifa fearlessly swung a sword in a chopping arc at his head. Stepping aside at the last instant, he avoided her blow with ease, and gripped the handle of the blade, tearing it away from her grasp. Casually using subtle gestures, Sephiroth, cut her down with nary a thought, and turned to open the sealed doorway before her body hit the earth.
"Tifa!" In shock, Cloud rushed to her side.
He picked her up in his strong arms and carried her to a comfortable position on the floor; holding her beautiful head in his hands, he watched her breathing become erratic.
"Why...Tifa, why?"
"C, Cloud? Is that you? I knew you'd...come back for me...just like you promised" Cloud checked her wounds; they were grievous, seemingly fatal.
"Rest here, I'll be right back." Picking up the discarded sword, charging into the now open Jenova chamber, Cloud rushed to face Tifa's assailant.
Inside the small tight room, filled with diodes, circuit panels and cables stood a large imposing image. A beautiful and exotic female of immense height with feathered wings and porcelain skin was attached to digital circuitry and equipment; wires were plugged into her body. It seemed fully intact, with the exception of the lower half, which was occupied by tubing containing thousands of cables attached to the base of her torso. It was a disturbing image, causing Cloud to pause, despite his fury. Its eyes were closed and though motionless and apparently dead, it seemed almost lifelike as if it could take a breath or step at any moment.
In front of the ghastly angelic image stood him, merely a foot or two from it, he stared deeply into its face. "Mother, I have come to see you at last. Since my childhood, I have heard your voice, calling to me. I never understood what it was, never knew it was you until now. At last I understand, at last I know the truth. Here I am, at last we are reunited. "
Sephiroth paused slightly. "Yes...yes mother. An excellent idea. Indeed... We shall take this planet back from those heathens. We shall avenge ourselves. I have an idea; let's go to the Promised Land together."
"You!" Cloud yelled across the room. "My family, my home! How could you do such an evil thing!?"
Sephiroth let lose an eerie laugh. "Hah! They come again mother!"
"I don't understand you at all! Why are you doing this?"
"The first worthwhile response I've heard so far. Allow me to explain, foolish human. With her power knowledge and magic. Mother was destined to rule the planet and the Cetra. But those worthless creatures are stealing it all from her." He turned back to the angelic visage plugged into the massive computer surrounding the room. "But don't worry mother, I am here now. Yes...yes...I agree no more pain; you will be free from it all."
"Pain? Pain!?...What about my pain! My family, my friends! Why doesn't any of that matter!?"
With powerful and accurate strikes from his legendary sword, removing the cables and wires, Sephiroth cut his mother down from her prison, heaving her lifeless form over his shoulder. Cloud barred his exit.
"I used to admire you! I wanted to be like you! You betrayed me, betrayed all of us!"
Sephiroth was indifferent. "You poor, pitiful creature. You don't seem to understand. I am the Chosen One; I have been chosen to be the leader of this planet by my mother. I have orders to take this planet back from you pathetic creatures and the Cetra."
"You'll pay for what you've done! I'll kill you for this!"
Sephiroth gently laid Jenova on the ground, redrawing his mighty sword, Matsumae. Cloud took a strong aggressive stance, facing off with his hero and legend. Meeting Sephiroth's gaze with a look of scorn, he stood ready to give all he had for one last chance at vengeance. Facing each other, the two warriors squared off. Cloud's breathing became slow and steady, as his mind became almost trancelike. A broad smirk found its way across Sephiroth's mouth. The two stared at each other, waiting for the right moment..."
"And that's all I remember." Cloud abruptly ended his story.
"What? What the hell is this!?" Barrett complained. "You gonna end your story right there!!"
"I'm sorry but that's all I can remember."
Barrett let out exasperated moan. "You gotta be kiddin' me? You don't remember a damn thing after all that?"
"What about Sephiroth?" Aeris asked. "What happened to him? Did you kill him; I mean you're still alive."
"I don't know, I really can't remember. But in terms of skill and power there's no way I would've been a match for him, even in my dreams."
"Well if it's actually him we're chasing, that means he's still alive too, don't it?" Barrett pontificated.
"You don't remember anything else at all?" Tifa weakly offered.
"Uh...no, Tifa, I was kind of hoping you could tell me what happened next."
Tifa's face went pale; she didn't know how to respond. "I...I don't...I don't remember either. The last thing I remember was waking up in Midgar, at Doc's place in sector 7. I'm not sure how long I was unconscious, I have no memory how I got there."
"I was really surprised to meet you in Midgar." Cloud added. "You're wounds looked fatal, I thought you had died." Cloud's mind raced, how could he have forgotten that time, how could he have purged it from his memory. Yes, he knew they were bad memories buried deep, but to forget about Tifa? She was right; he had forgotten his promise after all.
"You musta' been out quite a while." Barrett suggested. "That's quite a trip from the Nibel mountain range to Midgar."
Aeris smiled at her bodyguard. "What's the last thing you remember Cloud?"
Cloud closed his eyes. "I...I'm not sure. Things have been really hazy since I came to Midgar."
"Well that's just great!" Barrett growled. "More headaches! It's a frickin' mystery inside a mystery. I'm totally lost and my damn head hurts from all this thinkin'! I'm heading to bed; I'll leave all this thinking up to you people.
"Sounds like a good idea, I think we can all use the rest."
"Hey what happened to Red XIII?" Tifa asked.
"Ahem, excuse me." A deep thoughtful voice spoke. "I believe I have some information you may find interesting."
Cloud stared down at his feline companion Red XIII, who was busily cleaning his drenched fur. "Their was a mysterious cloaked person wandering in the streets out in the storm. According to the Inn keeper, he was headed east out past the plains."
"Yeah so?" Barrett replied.
"He was carrying a long white sword..."
"Sephiroth?!"
Cloud held his chin.
"Maybe... who knows? But, let's not jump to any crazy conclusions…"
"Is he following us? What's he doing here?"
"Well I don't think he'd be following us, perhaps we're following him. After all he's headed east." Red XIII replied.
Tifa turned towards her childhood friend. "Well what are you going to do next Cloud? What's your next move?"
Cloud stood up and stared out the rain pelted window once more. "I want to know what happened in that reactor five years ago. More than that, Sephiroth has a lot to pay for, I'm going after him."
"I'm coming with you then."
"What?" Cloud turned toward the martial artist of AVALANCHE.
Tifa took Cloud's hand. "You're not the only one who lost their family, friends and home. I want to get even too. Besides, I don't have a home anymore. I have no place left to go, but with you."
"...Tifa"
Scratching his bristly chin, Barrett considered the information very carefully. "Hell, if I don't want Shinra getting the Promised Land, ain't no way in hell Im'a let some 'crazy ass Sephiroth ghost' get his hands on it either. Not after everything you just said. Besides it's all a part of AVALANCHE's mission, I owe it to Wedge, Biggs, and Jess."
Glancing around the room at her companions, Aeris could hear the voices speaking to her again, this time much clearer now that she was away from Midgar. "Sephiroth, the Cetra, and the Ancients..." Aeris spoke aloud. "There's so much I want to know. Anyway I know I'm supposed to be here, my path lies with you guys."
"Then I guess it's settled." Cloud added. "First light we head out to the East, towards the plains."
Saying their goodnight's Tifa watched as her friends all emptied the lounge, heading for their rooms. She looked out into the storm from the warmth of the Inn. She had finally received many answers to those questions she longed to ask him. But now there were just as many new ones to be asked. What particularly disturbed her was how Cloud knew things he shouldn't, and how he seemingly forgot things he should've remembered. She would need more time. But how would she confront him with the truth, the terrible truth. The truth that Cloud did NOT come back to Midgar five years ago. The truth that he had never returned after joining SOLDIER.
Turning her attention from the storm, beginning her journey to her room, she passed a reclining Red XIII, who had stayed silent throughout much of the story, seemingly napping on the bearskin rug next to the fireplace. The red science specimen, perked his ears up, and lifted his drowsy head. "What a fascinating story...perhaps this journey may be more interesting then I initially thought." She smiled at Red XIII, "You never know... but things are already getting pretty interesting."