Gift of the Goddess
Chapter 11
The trek across the marshes for Sephiroth, Aerith and Red was not an easy one. The bog-like ground they traversed slowed their pace. Red especially found himself hampered by the marshes. All three were on high alert, on the watch for the approach of any massive, worm-like Zoloms. Aerith, being the weakest physically, was in the center of the party of three, with Red taking the rear and Sephiroth leading the advance.
Aerith, while boldly trying to feign a brave front, was quite nervous. Therefore, she tried to take her mind off the current situation by opening a dialogue with Sephiroth.
"Sephiroth, can I ask you something?" she asked meekly.
Sephiroth did not physically acknowledge her question as he continued to keep on high alert. "You may," he answered.
Aerith paused a moment as she gathered her courage. "Can you tell me more about Zack?" she finally asked.
Sephiroth's step faltered for a split second, unnoticed by either of his companions. How did this girl know Zack? Still, his curiosity was piqued.
"How did you know Zack Fair?" he inquired.
Aerith blushed slightly as she focused more intently on her footing than was really necessary. "When I was a teenager I... I liked him. We dated for a while."
That made sense. Sephiroth remembered Zack's puppy-like enthusiasm when he told him, on more than one occasion mind you, how wonderful his new girlfriend was. So, this was the woman that had finally settled Zack down a bit back in the day. He had to admit, she had gained a bit more respect from him just knowing that.
"I see," he replied, still not once faltering in his vigilance as the party continued their trek. "Zack and I served together for several months on many occasions in SOLDIER. I first came to know him when he was a Second-Class during the war, and when he was promoted, we were often sent on missions together." Sephiroth paused as he gathered his words. "He was one of the few people I would call... a friend."
Aerith smiled slightly at Sephiroth's description of him. He was so full of life and charm. It was what had attracted her to him in the first place. Still, she had one more question that hadn't stopped bugging her for over five years.
"Can you tell me what happened to him?"
Sephiroth just shook his head and said nothing as they continued.
"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
Sephiroth continued his silence for a bit longer and then spoke.
"I don't know. The last time I saw him, he was being pursued by a squadron of ShinRa troops."
Aerith gasped quietly. "Do you think he's okay?" she pressed.
"I don't know, but... I hope so."
"Sephiroth! There's something coming!" Red interjected suddenly into their conversation.
All three stopped immediately. Sephiroth was silently cursing himself for allowing his focus to be broken by the flower girl's inquiries. There was indeed something coming at them at high speed, he sensed.
Something huge.
"Aerith, behind us!" he told the girl in a commanding tone, Red taking position beside him in a fighting stance.
Aerith quickly drew her staff and stood behind the two, ready to support them with the Cure and Blizzard materias embedded in it, and the Fire and Thunder materias in her wristbands.
The boggy ground beneath them began to rumble as the huge creature came closer. Sephiroth drew the Masamune and stood ready in a combat stance, cat-like eyes narrowed. He knew what was coming.
The Zolom appeared in quick and dramatic fashion, bursting out in a spray of water and mud in front of them. Sephiroth conjured a quick Barrier to shield the group from the wave, and then readied himself to make the first strike, despite being nearly ambushed.
"Flank it!" he ordered Red, who didn't need to be told twice, and tried his best to quickly get behind the massive creature.
The Zolom, unbeknownst to its prey, was not a stupid creature. It saw what the feline was trying to do, and with a deft and deadly flick of its tail, cleanly caught Red in the side. The cat had seen the blow coming, but the marshes were severely impeding his movement, so there was nothing he could do as the blow came swiftly.
"Red!" Aerith cried out as the massive cat flew several dozen feet from the blow.
"I... I will be fine," Red called weakly, attempting to tend to his wounds with his own Cure materia. "Take care of the monster!"
Sephiroth had not paused even as Red had taken the blow from the Zolom, instead using the distraction to his advantage. He immediately opened his assault with an impressive jump, followed by a chain of quick and deadly slashes, a technique dubbed "Reaper" for obvious reasons.
The Zolom reeled in surprise and agony at the assault by the ex-General, and attempted to counter with its razor-sharp fangs. Sephiroth, with unnatural speed and grace given the terrain, rolled and sidestepped every lethal lunge. He then jumped back and called upon the power of one of his materia embedded in his sword, the energies of the Planet enveloping his form and causing his coat and long hair to flutter with supernatural winds.
The interesting thing about the Midgar Zolom was that, in addition to its battle prowess, it also had a keen affinity for spellcasting. It could sense Sephiroth preparing a powerful spell, and wanted none of it. The massive creature, with surreal agility, whipped its tail towards the prone swordsman in an attempt to skewer the prone man as he prepared his spell.
Quick thinking by Aerith saved Sephiroth from having to break the spell. An adept spellcaster in her own right, she saw the Zolom preparing to impale Sephiroth as he readied his spell, so with great speed, she flung a string of Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard spells at the creature's head with perfect accuracy. While not being powerful enough to cause any real harm to the resilient Zolom, it was enough to interrupt its counterassault long enough for Sephiroth to finish his spell.
Quietly thanking Aerith for her quick thinking, and his preparations complete, Sephiroth directed the gathered spiritual energies and channeled it into the spell he had been preparing.
While Sephiroth was no master of spellcasting, unlike Genesis, he was still far more adept than the vast majority of Gaia's population. The Flare spell that he released was a testament to his skill.
The Flare enveloped the Zolom with a brightness of the sun, so much so that Aerith had to shield her eyes. The subsequent explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the air, with a sonic boom knocking the flower girl down. As she looked up in shock and awe, the image of Sephiroth, standing with Masamune pointed at the Zolom and the fury of the Flare spell giving an unearthly red glow to the man as his hair and black coat whipped from the winds caused by the backlash, would not soon leave her mind.
As the spell's effects dissipated, it was with slight shock that Sephiroth discovered the Zolom had not been incinerated by the Flare like he would have assumed. It was indeed quite injured, blackened in many places by the heat and oozing wounds, but to its credit, the Zolom was still alive, if not gravely injured.
The Zolom had also clearly had enough.
The massive worm curled itself into a defensive ball, and channeled its own spiritual energy into a magical technique of its own. Sephiroth, sensing what it was preparing, sent a flurry of sonic waves towards the creature in an attempt to break its concentration. Unfortunately, it did not.
Having prepared its counter-assault, the Zolom left its defensive curl and stood erect on the base of its tail, towering dozens of feet over its prey, as it released its unique spiritual ability, dubbed "Beta".
Sephiroth, knowing he had failed, called upon as much spiritual energy as he could muster in such a short time and threw the strongest Wall spell he could upon himself, Aerith, and the prone Red. Still, the strength of the enormous tornado of flame assailed the trio relentlessly.
When it finally dissipated, Red and Aerith were both thrown unconscious, and Sephiroth himself had been injured by the intense heat. The Wall spell had not been properly prepared, so it had broken and shattered from absorbing so much punishment. Still, if Sephiroth had not done so, he was certain Aerith and Red would have been much worse off.
Knowing the Zolom was in a prone state after having delivering such an intense, lethal attack, Sephiroth knew his next attack had to finish it quickly. He quickly resumed his sword stance, and lunged for the massive worm, leaping high into the air and unleashing another of his signature attacks, aptly named Hell's Gate. The devastating maneuver cleanly impaled the Zolom through, efficiently finishing it off.
Once checking that the massive creature was indeed slain, Sephiroth turned to tend to his wounded comrades.
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The sun had set, and the sky had clouded over since. The only light in the pitch black came from the campfire, giving the three figures an orange glow.
Cloud sat watching the fire, the glow of his eyes contrasting with the fire's. Although he tried not to show it, he was very worried for the well-being of Aerith, Red, and even Sephiroth. Cloud, like most Gaians, knew that Midgar Zoloms were to be avoided at any cost. While he tried to remain optimistic, he had a creeping feeling in his gut that maybe... just maybe, even Sephiroth might not be able to defeat one of the dangerous creatures.
Tifa and Barret had also said very little. Truthfully, there was little that could be said. They too knew what sorts of dangers that they were facing crossing the marshes by foot. Until they heard from them via PHS, all they could do was sit and wait.
The silence was broken shortly thereafter by the ringing of Cloud's PHS. He immediately snapped it open.
"Did you make it?" he immediately asked.
"We have arrived at the other side," Sephiroth's calm voice answered from the other end.
Cloud sighed audibly in relief. Tifa and Barret looked at each other with smiles on their faces, knowing that there was good news.
"Are you all alright?" Cloud then asked.
Silence for a moment, and then a burst of static. "We encountered a Midgar Zolom about an hour ago," Sephiroth replied. "We had some injuries, however thanks to Aerith's... unique skills, it appears they are no longer an issue."
Cloud's eyes widened at the mention of a Zolom. He had, perhaps naively, hoped that they would be lucky and not encounter one of the beasts. Aerith's unique healing abilities, while miraculous, were already known to Cloud. She had called upon them a couple times in the past when their needs were great. Suffice it to say, they owed her much for her skills.
"How difficult was the Zolom?" Cloud asked then.
Sephiroth gave a light chuckle on the other end. "I wouldn't recommend trying to engage one, Strife," he responded with a touch of humor in his voice. "My abilities were considerably tested by its sheer strength and size, not to mention its affinity for fire-based magics."
Cloud shook his head and smirked. Sephiroth knew him all too well. "I'll take your word for it, General," he said. "We will meet with you tomorrow, after we obtain some chocobos to make the crossing."
"I'm not a General anymore, Cloud," Sephiroth reminded him. "In any case, we will await your arrival here. Look for the large, black corpse next to a tree. We will be to the northeast, by the mountains, near the entrance to the mines."
Cloud shook his head. "You actually kept a trophy, Sephiroth? How unlike you," he quipped.
The sound of static on the other end for several moments.
"This Zolom wasn't left here by me, Strife."
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"That lil' twerp wuz askin for it, I'm tellin' ya, Spike!"
"Barret, calm down, please..."
"Whatever. Let's go figure out how this materia works..."
Cloud's group arrived at Choco Bill's farm around noon the next day. After finding out, to their dismay, that there were no chocobos available for rent, they were told they could capture wild ones a short distance from the farm. Of course, with the proper items.
Unfortunately for them, they were now almost completely broke. Choco Bill's son, Billy, had sold them a materia that he claimed would "attract" chocobos, and some greens so the birds could be tamed and ridden. Billy had also charged them for the items they needed at an exorbitant amount. Having no choice, Cloud had handed over the ridiculous sum of gil to the boy, hence the party's frustrations.
After a short time, the trio found a large amount of chocobo tracks in the fields.
"Okay... let's try this out," Cloud said, as he channeled his spiritual energy into the purple materia.
Tifa stood silently, hands clasped behind her back as Cloud concentrated, watching him intently.
Barret stood beside her with an air of boredom and indifference.
After a while, Barret finally spoke up.
"Nothin's happenin'."
Cloud scrunched his face in annoyance. "I don't understand it... I'm doing everything that Billy told me to... ugh."
Tifa walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder in a supportive gesture. "It's okay, Cloud. Do you want me to try?" she asked.
Cloud sighed in frustration. "This makes no sense..."
Barret spotted a herd of yellow slowly coming over a hill in the distance then, and grinned. "Hey Spikey, look! It's yer long lost cousins comin' to say hey!" he guffawed.
Cloud gave Barret a dirty look, but then spotted them himself. Tifa smiled and patted Cloud's shoulder.
"I knew you could do it, Cloud!" she said brightly.
Cloud scratched his head in mild embarrassment, and then turned to the pouch on his belt. He took out two burlap bags of greens and handed one to Tifa and Barret.
"I'm going to continue concentrating on the materia so they won't get spooked and run immediately," Cloud explained. "You two will need to feed three of them some greens to tame them to ride. Remember, no loud noises or commotion, or they'll run, materia or no."
Tifa took one of the bags and faced the approaching chocobos with determination. Barret was not so enthusiastic, but he took the other nonetheless.
"I ain't likin' this..."
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Things hadn't gone as smoothly as they had liked, as it was already approaching dusk when they began crossing the marshes on their chocobos. Barret's lack of skill and enthusiasm had hurt his attempts to feed the skittish birds, while Tifa had managed to wrangle two with little problems. Barret's problems had been compounded by Cloud's PHS ringing loudly in his pocket, causing his concentration to be broken and the remaining birds to scatter. After a short conversation with Aerith, who was inquiring as to their progress, Cloud once again began the process of channeling the materia. In the end, Tifa had wrangled all three birds for the trio.
The trip across the marshes was tense but uneventful. The birds were sure-footed and had no problem seeing them quickly across the marshes. If there were any Zoloms nearby, they did not show themselves.
The blob they had seen in the distance grew as they approached until they stopped, just past the marshes, at a large, blackened, dead tree with a massive, charred husk of a dead Zolom unceremoniously tossed in front of it.
"So, this is what Sephiroth was talking about..." Cloud mused.
Barret gawked at the corpse in morbid awe. "That's jus' fucked up," he grumbled.
Tifa looked upon it with a sense of fear and dread. Instinctually, she knew who had done this gruesome deed.
Having seen their fill, the trio turned northeast towards the mountainside, where Sephiroth, Aerith and Red would be waiting.
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The sun had long since set, and a large, raging fire was burning at the campsite as the reunited parties sat in a large circle around it, eating another of Tifa's delicious stews. The reunion had been joyous, yet brief, as the tired riders had quickly set about helping set camp in the rapidly declining daylight.
As the AVALANCHE members, the ex-SOLDIERs, and the feline sat, enjoying the heat and meal, Cloud turned to Sephiroth, who was quietly finishing his stew.
"Sephiroth, can I ask you something?"
Sephiroth raised his head briefly to meet Cloud's gaze, and inclined his head slightly in the affirmative.
Cloud paused a moment, as if reluctant. "What happened to you after the incident in Nibelheim?"
Sephiroth paused for a moment, and then resumed eating, thinking about how he would answer. He spent several moments chewing, far more than was realistically necessary, before he finally answered.
"I do not remember very well," he finally said. "My memories after my encounter with Genesis are... jumbled and confused."
Cloud looked down, but nodded. "You too, huh?" he said with understanding. "Mine too. It's all really confusing."
Sephiroth shared a gaze with Tifa, who gave him a small smile in thanks. He didn't feel comfortable lying to the confused man sitting before him, but he was still not sure exactly how to handle Cloud's mental delusions. He carried himself far too much like Zack to be coincidence. It was almost some sort of personality transference, as if he literally thought he was Zack Fair. He was no expert in psychology, so until he knew more, he would test Cloud's mental limits as little as possible.
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Some distance away, at the mouth to the entrance of the Mithril Mines, a figure, shrouded by the shadows, watched the party's interactions with keen interest. They raised a cell phone to their ear, listened for a moment, and spoke quietly.
"I understand, Tseng."
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AN: Once again, I haven't had the chance to proofread this much, so if you notice any glaring errors, please let me know. In any case, please review! I appreciate it!
