A/N: As you could probably guess from the last chapter, we've reached a turning point in the story. Things are heating up and our antagonists are starting to swing their plans into motion. Were any of you surprised? Many of you caught on to the fact that the woman was suspicious so I'm guessing a few of you might have seen it coming.
Thanks to everyone who's been following and favorited the story! Feel free to leave a comment and say hi, whether this is your first time reading or you've been following since the beginning. I love to talk to reviewers, so don't be surprised if you get a reply from me.
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Chapter 11 – Who Goes There?
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Maqui looked up when he heard the door. Lebreau leaned heavily against it as it shut. She looked haggard and dirty.
"Are you alright?" Maqui walked around the bar, his eyes looking over her with concern. He couldn't see any visible injuries though.
Lebreau looked up, surprised to see him there. "I- I'm alright." Her voice and dazed expression contradicted her words.
He gave her a skeptical look, before reaching behind the bar and grabbing a potion from where they were hidden in the emergency stash. "Take it." His tone left no argument.
Lebreau obediently took it and the change was nearly visible. Her gaze turned towards the window. "The monsters are attacking."
"Is that what happened to you?"
Lebreau nodded.
Maqui went over to the window and looked out. Smoke rose up over the rooftops a short distance away. "It's pretty close." He looked back at Lebreau, torn between making sure she was really all right and going to help fight. "Why do they keep attacking us?"
Lebreau put a hand on his shoulder and looked over him towards the smoke. "It's a distraction, of course."
He turned to look at Lebreau. The corner of her mouth curled upwards.
A chill ran down Maqui's spine.
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Hope flipped through a sheaf of old reports. They were sparsely written; whoever had given the reports had either been in a hurry or was trying to keep the details to themself. Hope filled out the tag and attached it to "Escapee Report No. 2" before turning to the next artifact to be catalogued, a fragile wooden crate.
"Recovered from Icicle Inn" the box label read in faded, nearly illegible writing. A date was written too, in some long obsolete calendar system. Hope opened the box to find more tapes. Each was labeled with a date. He debated whether to watch one or not. The player had nearly eaten one of the tapes he and Cait Sith had watched and the robot had to show him how to wind the film back into the tape. Cait Sith had chuckled, saying it used to happen all the time, but Hope didn't find it very reassuring. In the end, Hope's curiosity won out, and he pushed the tape into the player.
A man, a scientist it looked like, walked into the frame to stand next to a beautiful woman with brown hair. He spoke to the woman addressing her as Ifalna and asked her to tell him about the "Calamity from the Skies."
Hope leaned forward. Hadn't Cait Sith called the Jenova-creature that?
Ifalna spoke as if she was relaying a story she had heard many times before but still found just as disturbing. She described a monster that wore the faces of loved ones, approaching as a friend, deceiving its victims, before infecting them and turning them into monsters. Ifalna paused, trying to gather herself. The scientist, Gast, decided they would continue the interview another time. The screen went black.
Hope stared at the screen, suddenly queasy. If those were Jenova's monsters attacking the city, did that mean they were once people? No. They had to have once been animals. If there had been mass disappearances they would have heard about it. The dead were accounted for.
He tried hard not to think about the talking monsters.
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The relief Lightning felt when she saw Sazh's plane arrive immediately disappeared when she saw Vanille bounce out of the cabin followed by Fang. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't think we'd let you go alone, did you? We came to help!" Vanille grinned.
"I tried to talk them out of it but they insisted." Sazh made a helpless gesture.
"At the very least you should take either Vanille or myself as a guide if you plan on going deeper into the wilderness." Fang leaned against her spear.
Lightning could feel a headache coming on. At least Serah had stayed behind. She didn't need to watch out for her sister as well as everyone else. Still having a few more eyes to help her keep track of Cloud and Vincent might be helpful. Vincent had somehow slipped away for nearly an hour before reappearing. He claimed he'd been scouting. It hadn't seemed to occur to him that he should have said something before heading off on his own.
Lightning sighed in defeat. "Fine. You can come."
Vanille cheered.
"Kids…" Sazh shook his head with a smile.
Enthusiastically, they hefted their packs and unloaded the rest of the supplies, but Sazh opted to turn back to New Bohdum rather than accompany them.
"Someone's got to keep an eye on everyone else while you're gone. 'Sides, I can't leave Daj with things the way they are. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Serah and Hope too." Sazh reassured them.
They traveled up through the canyon, following the trail that Titan left for them, the former l'cie chatting amiably among each other while Cloud and Vincent spoke softly between themselves, their voices low and serious.
While they walked, Snow filled the others in on what they had seen and found. Vanille resolved to go back and see the mako spring herself one day, but there was an edge of uneasiness and forced cheer to their jokes that reminded Lightning of when they were l'cie. While no one said anything aloud, none of them had taken the news of the fal'cie working with Jenova well.
Fal'cie could be killed. They were tough, but it could be done. They'd beaten plenty of them before and they could do so again. If they killed Titan, then it might stop the waves of monsters. If they took out Titan and Jenova then the fal'cies' plan would be thwarted, at least for now. It was Jenova she was worried about. She didn't know enough about the creature to know where to begin to take it out.
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They had just entered a small clearing when a massive clawed hand placed a pack of monsters in front of them. The monsters were less surprised than they were and sprang at them immediately. Vincent fell back, raising his gun to support the others from behind. They made short work of the creatures and as the beasts began to disappear into the Lifestream, Lightning and Snow turned up the narrow ravine with a sudden confidence to their steps.
"Titan's here." Snow explained. "He'll throw stronger monsters at us the closer we get."
Vincent had seen Titan from a distance once, long ago, but he had never had a reason to approach the fal'cie before now. As they fought the gauntlet towards Titan Vincent almost wished he had come before now. The challenge felt invigorating after languishing for so long.
Snow and Lightning led them upwards, and soon they arrived at the edge of a cliff high enough to see the massive fal'cie's head and torso.
"Titan! We've come to talk!" Snow called up to the fal'cie.
The fal'cie fixed its massive eyes on them.
"Why are you sending the monsters that have been attacking the city?"
Instead of answering, Titan turned its attention to Cloud. "I've been expecting you, child of Jenova."
Anger flashed across Cloud's face. "I'm nothing like Jenova!"
"But you are the same as her." Titan's booming voice almost sounded amused.
Cloud blanched, but if it was at what Titan said or at something else, was almost impossible for Vincent to tell.
"What do you know of Jenova? Why are you working with her?" Vincent cut in.
A strange rumbling sound vaguely reminiscent of laughter rang through the air. "Only the strongest will survive."
Titan raised both clawed hands. Gaping maws and glistening claws rained down upon them.