CHAPTER 10:
CALAMITY UPON CALAMITY
Sephiroth watched this unfold from his true body, watching through Cloud's eyes. Until he learned that that accursed Ancient Aerith had managed to divulge the truth to Cloud, Sephiroth had been planning on breaking Cloud down through doubt of his own identity. He had even planned to allow AVALANCHE to get a hold of the Black Materia, just so Cloud could give it to him in the depths of existential despair. He deserved nothing less for defeating Sephiroth so badly. Cloud, little more than a scared teenager, had managed to defeat Sephiroth. Had it been at the hands of a fellow SOLDIER, Sephiroth's wrath would be no less kindled, but even so, to be defeated by one beneath his notice…that deserved the worst of punishments.
But Cloud now knew the truth, and Sephiroth decided to hasten his plans, having one of his clones take the Black Materia to him. He would delay using it until those idiots at Shinra and AVALANCHE arrived. Unless, of course, prudency dictated he use it sooner.
This was unwelcome, though. He had thought that the Jenova consciousness he had divested himself of had perished with the Jenova creature at the City of the Ancients, and all it achieved was infecting the Harry Potter boy with Jenova cells. He still encouraged the discord in Cloud, making him paranoid and suspicious. But he should have realised, or at least suspected, that the dissident Jenova consciousness still lived.
Still, it was still weak. This was not his true mother. His true mother had bent to his will. Like any good mother, she gave everything she could to her son. Cloud could kill it. He wanted to kill it. All he needed was a good push, and then, like a good puppet, he would do what was required. Perhaps he could even take out a few members of AVALANCHE while in the depths of a berserk fury. Yes, that would break him.
Reaching out, Sephiroth tinkered with Cloud's mind, and then metaphorically sat back, to enjoy the show that was sure to follow…
It happened so fast. Harry watched on as Cloud's face darkened, and he leapt for Jenova. The blue-skinned woman merely danced out of the way. "I'll strangle you with your own strings until your eyes bulge out, puppet!(1)" Jenova proclaimed.
Cloud merely slashed at her with a bestial snarl.
"Something's wrong," Aerith muttered. "I don't think I've seen Cloud fight like this." She looked down at Harry, only then realising his disturbed expression. "Harry, what's the matter?"
"She…she was in my head. I saw her in there. That's Jenova!"
Aerith found this bit of news, understandably, highly disturbing. That this creature had not just been infecting Harry's body, but his mind too. He was probably very lucky that the Jenova creature hadn't influenced his decisions, or at least nothing too noticeable. She didn't know whether what happened on the Glacier was just him being a frightened child, or else Jenova influencing him. But the fact that he could talk about it now…
Aerith brought her attention back to the fight. Cloud fought against Jenova with reckless abandon. The blue-skinned woman was the very embodiment of the Calamity from the Skies. And she fought with a strange grace. She's playing with him, Aerith realised.
Jenova leapt out of the way of another blow, landing in front of Aerith and Harry. Her eyes widened, though, when a Firaga spell smacked into her, sending her sprawling across Harry and Aerith, pinning them to the ground. Jenova groaned, apparently dazed from the impact, while Aerith and Harry watched in horror as Cloud stalked up, another Firaga spell being readied, clearly aimed at the three of them.
"Cloud, stop! Let us get out of the way!" Aerith yelled, but Cloud didn't listen. Instead, the Firaga spell spat at them, ready to engulf the three of them in flames. Aerith's eyes widened. Cloud didn't care what was about to happen. Something inside him had snapped. Or perhaps he was being influenced, once more, by Sephiroth. Aerith hoped it was the latter.
However, Tifa interposed herself between the blast and the three on the ground. With a scream of pain, she was knocked to the ground, smoke coming from her body. Cloud, relentlessly, formed another Firaga spell. "She must die," he snarled.
But Cid and Barrett grabbed Cloud. He struggled, but Barrett, in his blunt and direct manner, used what he believed to be the only means of getting through to Cloud: a blow to the head. "Snap out of it, Cloud, you fucking idiot!" Barrett bellowed.
Only the one blow was needed. The feral gleam left Cloud's eyes, and he saw what he had done. Tifa, moaning in pain, sprawled in front of him. And just behind her, Jenova, sprawled on top of Aerith and Harry. He had been about to kill Aerith and Harry, in his berserk rage trying to kill Jenova.
Cloud began to hyperventilate, and he looked at the faces around him, in concern, in fear, in anger, and in disappointment. Aerith and Harry's eyes were wide in fear. And he knew now that he had lost their trust. He had been so fixated on Harry being a possible enemy, he kept ignoring the fact that he had the worst enemy within him.
He couldn't call them friends or allies anymore. He had forfeited that privilege. He was, once again, alone. Hated. Uncertain.
No. There was one thing he was certain of. One thing he could do, or die trying. He was under no illusions as to whether this would get him forgiveness, or even whether he would survive. But Cloud was certain he had no choice.
With a supreme effort, he pushed Barrett and Cid away from him, before running towards the centre of the Crater, shouting the name of the man he was going to kill.
"SEPHIROOOOOOTH!"
Tifa looked up just in time to see Cloud push Barrett and Cid away, and flee, screaming Sephiroth's name, sword in hand. She ached all over from the Firaga blast he had managed to hit her with while she was trying to shield Aerith and Harry (and in a moment of supreme irony, Jenova). But she also knew that it wasn't Cloud who had attacked her, not the real one. The one who had attacked her was a puppet whose strings were being pulled by Sephiroth. The true Cloud was currently lost, hurt, and trying to find something, anything, to focus on.
Tifa knew that this would get Cloud killed.
Getting to her feet, she waved away the others. "I'm fine!"
"You're not," Vincent said, though he handed her a Hi Potion. Tifa swigged it down, and then ran after Cloud.
"Tifa, wait!" Barrett bellowed. "He's not worth it!"
She stopped, and turned on her heel. Levelling her gaze at him, she said, "If he dies fighting Sephiroth, and I didn't do a damn thing to help him, do you think I could live with myself? He IS worth it. Aerith saw it, didn't you?"
Aerith, who was only now struggling to her feet, nodded. "Just…take care," the other young woman said. "He's yours."
Tifa's eyes widened at Aerith's simple statement. For a time, it seemed like Aerith had encouraged the little love triangle that had developed. But now, it seemed, she was conceding the whole issue. Tifa smiled sadly, before saying, "He's ours. Like any one of us. Follow me once you're able to. There's going to be a reckoning with Sephiroth."
And with that, Tifa ran after Cloud, ignoring the shouts of Barrett and Cid. Cloud was her friend, and she was damned if she was going to let him go into the dark alone…
"Damn idiot," Barrett lamented, watching Tifa pursue Cloud further into the Crater.
"Yeah, I agree," Cid said, lighting up one of his cigarettes.
Aerith's rebuttal was refreshingly direct. She slapped first Barrett, and then Cid. The latter seemed to be more annoyed that she made him drop his cigarette than by the slap. "How dare you?"
"Kid," Cid said (despite being only a decade Aerith's senior), "Tifa is an idiot. Cloud nearly roasted your ass trying to kill Jenova. He's sick in the head. If he wants to kill himself trying to take down Sephiroth alone, let him."
Aerith glared at him. "So…what was the point of sticking with him, even after what happened at the Temple? Why didn't you abandon him at Gongaga?"
"We didn't, sweetheart," Cid said. "However, I seem to remember a certain young lady leaving to do things by herself, or so she claimed."
Her eyes narrowed. "And I knew you were going to follow, or at least I'd be able to come back once I activated Holy. I wasn't leaving Cloud to die. He came anyway to try and protect me."
"This bickering is pointless!" Elena snapped. "Our mission is to stop Sephiroth. That hasn't changed. So I suggest we stow this fascinating argument on the backburner and get going."
"You listen here, Turk!" Barrett snapped. "You're not the boss here, and I…" He found himself looking down at Elena's finger, pointing directly at his face.
"Maybe not, but I seem to be the only one who knows what to do next. We stop Sephiroth. Then, you can get back to killing each other."
"I agree," came the purr of Jenova, who was standing up. With a gesture, clothes appeared on her body, a white suit not dissimilar to Rufus'. "Sephiroth should be stopped."
"Hey, what the hell are you talking about? You're an ally of Sephiroth, aren't you?" Cid demanded.
"I'm his enemy. And I believe that there is a saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Jenova, that point made, strode off imperiously. Aerith watched her go, before looking at Harry. The boy looked uncertain, but seeing Aerith looking to him, nodded.
In varying degrees of reluctance and enthusiasm, the remainder of the party trooped off where Cloud and Tifa had fled…
The Shinra expedition had landed the Highwind not far from the Crater's centre, and had trekked the rest of the way there. The expedition mostly consisted of Rufus, Scarlet, Hojo, Rude(2), and a few troopers. The grotto they soon came to was lined with Materia, with a strange, coral-like growth acting as a ceiling. The walls made strange shapes, almost like those of the faces of gigantic beasts.
Scarlet was effusive, running around like a kid on their birthday. Rufus, while just as elated, was nonetheless a little more restrained. Like it or not, both Sephiroth and AVALANCHE were here, or going to be. Quietly, he murmured, "It's everything I imagined it to be. And more. Isn't it splendid?"
This question was asked of Hojo, but the hunchbacked scientist merely wrinkled his nose. "It is certainly an interesting formation of Materia and Mako in abundance. But it is no Promised Land, whatever you believe."
Rufus had had enough. Turning to the scientist, he said, coldly and calculatingly, "It's that kind of dull mind that makes you a second-rate scientist, Hojo." He was rewarded with a bloom of resentment in the older man's eyes, before suddenly, the grotto began to tremble. Then, of all things, a gigantic eye opened up, green, glowing, and belligerent.
Rufus was surprised, but Scarlet, who was right next to it, shrieked like a little girl. It was a memory Rufus would savour. "What is that?" she screamed. "It's within the wall! No, it IS the wall!"
Hojo, however, was rather more calm. Still surprised, but his eyes held no fear, just intense interest. "Well, well, well. I didn't believe it existed."
"What? What is it?" Rufus demanded.
"Weapon. The name given by the Cetra to monsters created by the Planet. Think of them as being not unlike an immune system, designed to wipe out any threat to the Planet." He then fixed Rufus with an eerie grin. "And I do mean any."
"And how do you know about this?"
"Professor Gast conveniently left video of his discussions with Ifalna at his residence at Icicle Inn. Other than that, the only other place it is known is right here." Hojo tapped his skull.
"…You're annoyingly obtuse, you know that?" Rufus said.
Before Hojo could reply, a trooper yelled, "Sir, target approaching! It's Sephiroth, sir!"
Rufus turned to where the trooper was indicating, to see the familiar (at least from the pictures and videos) form of the former SOLDIER approaching from a nearby tunnel. Funny, the pictures and videos never managed to show the full power and grace of the man. Rufus was now painfully aware that he had brought too few people. He was a competent fighter, as was Rude and the troopers present. But Sephiroth was another matter entirely. He had been hoping AVALANCHE might soften him up, or even defeat him. But it seemed those hopes were in vain.
However, Sephiroth didn't seem to be here to fight. Instead, he smiled at them. "Rufus Shinra…I noticed it didn't take you long to replace your father. His corpse had scarcely cooled before you arrived to take his place. I expected no less."
"I'm grateful for your approval, Sephiroth," Rufus replied acidly. "Am I to follow my father into death, then?"
"In due time. But the remainder of the audience isn't present yet," Sephiroth said with a smile.
"What's to stop us," Scarlet said, showing more bravado than sense, "from taking the Black Materia from you? You're outnumbered and outgunned."
It was an outrageous bluff, and Sephiroth knew it. He was outnumbered and outgunned. But he was also powerful enough to disregard it. He merely laughed softly, before saying, "It would be a futile gesture. Ah, the next players in this farce arrive."
Rufus didn't know what he meant, until Cloud ran in, yelling "SEPHIROTH!" Tifa followed not long after.
"Ah, yes. The dogged 'hero' and his love interest," Sephiroth sneered. "Both survivors of Nibelheim. I don't like leaving things unfinished. How does it feel, Cloud, to be alienated from all your friends?"
"Are you asking because you never had any?" Cloud snarled.
Tifa was surprised at the effect this had on Sephiroth. For a moment, the man's face twisted in a fury so profound, he seemed ready to kill Cloud on the spot. "Genesis…Angeal…do those names mean anything to you(3)? I know the feeling too well, Cloud. The only difference is that you will die friendless and alone."
"No, he won't!" Tifa yelled, readying herself. It seemed only now that Cloud registered her presence.
"Tifa," Cloud said. "Go back."
"What, and let you die in some stupid blaze of glory?"
"Well, it would be stupid," Sephiroth remarked. "But I doubt it'd be glorious. I remember you, girl. Tenacious little thing, aren't you? I remember you whining about my killing your father. Even before then, I have killed many mothers and fathers." Seeing her tense, he smiled. "So you will die together. How sweet and fitting. And it put a lie to my earlier assessment. But hold, I believe that the rest of the players are here."
Cloud and Tifa turned to find the others arriving. Amongst their number was none other than Jenova. Seeing this, Hojo's eyes widened. "It can't be!"
"Hello, Professor. I had such fun when you dismembered me," she said, with an acidic smile. "I will repay the favour in due course." Her attention turned to Sephiroth. "And you…usurper. Have you forgotten who your mother is?"
"I haven't. You are not her." Having made that cold pronouncement, Sephiroth spread his arms wide. "But now the audience is gathered. And it is time for this farce to end." Before anyone could react, he zoomed to the ceiling, to the coral-like growth, and to a strange, transparent orb in the centre. The orb slid out slightly, like a fruit dangling from a tree. And everyone's eyes widened.
The same thought ran through their minds. The same word whispered from their lips. The same horror chilled them all.
Within the orb was a familiar shape. Encased within blue-coloured Materia was the upper torso of Sephiroth, apparently asleep. Strands of flesh dangled down from where his body terminated.
"It must've been what was left of him when he fell into the Nibelheim reactor," Hojo murmured.
Rufus, however, was somewhat more practical. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he yelled "Open fire!"
The Shinra troopers and the two Turks present hastened to obey. Barrett didn't even hesitate to follow suit with rounds from his gun arm. As much as he hated Shinra, he also wanted to stop Sephiroth. Vincent followed suit, firing at the orb with his shot-rifle. Aerith, Harry, Nanaki and Cait Sith began firing off spells at Sephiroth, both of them.
The copy merely sneered. "Too late!" he shouted in triumph, before shoving the Black Materia into the orb, the surface giving way easily. Almost instantly, the grotto began shaking, and dark energy suffused the Materia orb encasing Sephiroth. The Sephiroth copy was laughing, even as he began to disintegrate, his purpose in life over.
Cloud, his eyes staring wildly, leapt into the air, hacking desperately at the Materia orb containing Sephiroth, shouting his nemesis' name all the while. Rufus looked at them all. "We must evacuate, now! Come on! There's much I need to hear later!"
"I'm not leaving him!" Tifa yelled. She then looked at Aerith and Barrett. "Keep them safe."
Aerith nodded, but Barrett bellowed, "Stop it, you little fool!"
"Come on!" Cid yelled, dragging Barrett away.
Aerith didn't want to leave Cloud or Tifa behind. But Cloud was blind and deaf to everything but stopping Sephiroth, even though it was now futile. And Tifa wanted to remain with Cloud, to the end. And at the moment, with Tifa telling them to keep the others safe, Aerith knew she should do that.
Besides, Cloud and Tifa had a knack for staying alive.
Soon, they were on the Highwind as it flew away from the Crater at high speed. Harry watched. Had it not been a life or death situation, he would have thought it spectacular, what happened next. He watched as creatures crawled out of the grotto, destroying it in the process. Gigantic creatures, which Hojo, who was nearby, called 'Weapons'. A flare of light shook the Highwind, and they struggled to stay on their feet even as the airship fled the area.
Sephiroth had the Black Materia, and had probably already used it. The Weapons had awakened. They had been forced to abandon two of their friends and allies in a situation they may not have survived. And now, they were all in the power of Shinra.
The only question was, what now?
CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:
Cloud has made a bad mistake under the influence of Sephiroth, Jenova has a body, and Sephiroth's called Meteor. Good times all around. Some of the dialogue from this and the previous chapter were modified from the game's script.
I very nearly had Cloud attack Harry in a paranoid fit after Jenova gains a body, but I decided it was better to have him pushed by Sephiroth into a berserk rage where he doesn't care about collateral damage. This worked out much, much better, IMO.
Harry will play a larger role in the story, starting from the next chapter. Keep in mind that the story, while he plays a key role in shaking things up, is not just about him, but also the Final Fantasy VII characters.
1. This line is actually a modified version of one of the lines from a song. Said song is This Vicious Cabaret, a song written for the original, graphic novel version of V for Vendetta. The line is "…the bulging eyes of puppets, strangled by their strings".
2. Reno is escorting Hojo on the Highwind, but not in the grotto. I decided to remedy that, as well as add some Shinra troopers. Maybe they're offscreen in this sequence in the game.
3. Cloud, in all likelihood, doesn't. Neither would Tifa. But by all accounts, Sephiroth had friends in Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley, until events drove them apart, long before Nibelheim. These events are shown in Crisis Core. I wanted to add this moment of humanity to Sephiroth, where a simple taunt makes him more angry than he usually is.
CHAPTER 10 SOUNDTRACK:
Cloud the Berserker: Enemy Attack, from Final Fantasy X Remastered, composed by Junya Nakano. I thought this boss theme from Final Fantasy X (I like the remastered version of this music) feels savage and dark, suitable to Cloud losing control and attacking Jenova without any heed to his friends.
Mea Culpa: Who Am I? (FTG). A suitable theme to Cloud recovering from his madness, and rushing off to fight Sephiroth.
The Materia Grotto: Reunion (FTG).
Sephiroth, the Needlessly Melodramatic: Those Chosen by the Planet (FTG).
Escape the Crater!: Run!, from Final Fantasy IX, composed by Nobuo Uematsu
