Sephiroth's Redemption
written by Kat_Aclysm
Rated PG: How many things can PG stand for?
DISCLAIMER: I own Final Fantasy VII. I also own Sephiroth, Red XIII, Cloud and Yuffie. While I'm at it, I own Canada, the USA, England and Australia. I'm also a compulsive liar, and I own the sun ;) Now, if I really owned all of that, would I really be here, writing fiction??
Read chapters 1-13 before this one. That's a fairly standard and obvious remark to make, eh?
As always, stuff in *'s is spoken in telepathy. Stuff in plain italics are just thoughts.
----------------------------------
Chapter 14 - How Far Would You Go For A Friend?
"Come back here, you stupid contraption!!"
"No!" Cait Sith yelled back. "I have to save my friends! I have to tell Cloud!"
"When I get hold of you, I'm going to dismantle you!" Reno hollered at the robotic stuffed animal, nearly tripping over the stray debris in the corridors of the crumbling Shinra Building. "Do you hear me!?"
"Yes I do!" Cait Sith replied. "And that's why I'm getting for my life!!!"
Cait Sith stumbled suddenly, his moogle nearly toppling over as he tripped over a stray piece of debris. But on he bounded, fast as he could, ever trying to outrun the red-haired Turk hot on his heels. One of them was bound to wear down sooner or later. Cait Sith panicked a little as he couldn't remember when he had last been recharged. But on he bounded, he had to..... his friends were depending on him to make it...... he couldn't let them down......
"Arg! Come back here!" Reno yelled, picking up a piece of cement. He hurled it at the back of Cait Sith's moogle, scoring a hit. There was a loud metallic bang sound, and Cait Sith was forced forward a little by the impact, but it did not do anything to the robotic stuffed animal but make him bound even faster still.
"You can run but you can't hide!" Reno yelled.
"I'm not trying to hide!" Cait Sith told him. "I'm just doing the running part!!"
The cat bounded down a flight of stairs, Reno still hot on his heels. Crashing his way through the floor, he bounded right through a crumbling wall, sending pieces of it flying. With another giant bound, he leaped his way into the pitch blackness. There was a horrible crunch sound as he landed, a loud click, and several thumps as the structure the robotic cat had landed on crumbled underneath his weight.
Reno stood flicked the nearest light switch, revealing what Cait Sith had landed on. The stuffed cat found himself almost half buried in a giant detailed model of the Midgar city which took up nearly the whole room. The stuffed moogle struggled vigorously, but he was wedged waist deep in the model, and began to sink even further into it.
"I told you escaping was futile." Reno snorted, stepping over various pieces of debris as he approached the stuffed robotic cat.
"I never remember you saying that!" Cait Sith retorted angrily, struggling again.
"Here kitty kitty......" Reno taunted, smirking.
Cait Sith gave Reno a cold hard stare. "I'm not a kitty." He said lowly. He felt himself sink further into the model, and suddenly, he could feel his feet touch the ground once more. Giving the Turk a little grin, he yelled "And to hell with this!!"
The creature gave an almighty leap, not only launching him entirely from the model, but sent him crashing through the wall in front of him. Giving Reno a quick look, he bolted once more.
"Arg!!!" Reno clutched at his fiery red hair in frustration. "Not again!!!"
"Yep, again!" Cait Sith cried happily, leaping into the air and clicking his heels together in glee as he continued his escape. "Sorry Reno, but I wanna get out of here alive!"
"Well you won't!" Reno hollered. "This place is built like a rabbit's warren - only those who know it well can navigate it! You'll be able to run, you stupid menacing robot, but you don't know where you're going, do you? You'll get lost before too long!"
"Don't forget I'm one of the Shinra too!" Cait Sith yelled back. "Plus I'm a robot! You're right, I don't know where I'm going, I'm just reading the internal map that was built into me!"
Reno let loose a string of obscenities while Cait Sith flew down the flight of stairs leading to the next floor down, the 64th floor, the employee gym floor.
Cait Sith looked around quickly - the floor was a mess, much like all the others had been on the way down. But more importantly, he was looking for the group of lockers that had been on the floor back when the Shinra Building stood proudly as Midgar's centrepiece. He didn't have much time to stand there and look around - Reno tumbled down the stairs and flew at him, making the robotic cat dash around yet again.
By now, Cait Sith could notice that Reno was beginning to get tired. But he wasn't going to give up. As the Turk ran towards the elevators, Cait Sith was a little thoughtful.
"Not going to give up, are ya?" Cait Sith said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You're out of luck now, stupid cat...." Reno panted. Pressing a few buttons on the control panel near the elevator, he laughed slightly. "Okay cat, try getting down from this floor NOW......"
"Why?" Cait Sith paused. "What did you do?"
"See this control panel here?" Reno laughed. "It controls the power to this floor. I just turned it all off, hehehe.... that means you can't use the elevators, nor can you use the doors because they're all electronically sealed! Try getting away NOW, cat, go on, I dare you!!!"
Cait Sith only shrugged. "Forget that I'm a mechanical device, huh?"
"How is that relevant to your situation??"
The small cat hopped off the back of his moogle, threw its back door panel open and removed a jumper lead, smiling. "This Moogle runs on four car batteries, and with this jumper lead," he laughed, waving the jump lead around a bit. "I can start up an electronic device all on my own."
"Yes, maybe so." Reno nodded. "But can your stupid car batteries power a whole floor?"
Cait Sith was silent.
"I thought so." Reno smiled wickedly. "So. Ready to admit defeat yet?"
Cait Sith slammed the back shut on his moogle and jumped back onto it's head. "You have to be kidding me...." the small cat scoffed, leaping off again.
Reno yelled out of frustration as he attempted to keep up with the contraption once again.
Crashing his way through the old employee's gym room, the robotic cat looked around quickly for a way to escape from the floor, and to continue his descent to the ground level. There were several loud 'pop' sounds beneath his feet before he realised that he was running over cans of 'Shinra Gym Special Drink' that had come from the soda-machine in the corner of the room. Only now, the machine had been half crushed by debris from the ceiling. The small cat had to duck suddenly as the Turk threw several cans of the stuff straight at him.
The robotic moogle crashed his way through the corridors and headed towards the locker room. Reno followed, hot on his heels. But he paused at the end of the row of the lockers and watched in curiosity as Cait Sith madly kicked at one particular locker close to the end of the lockers.
"Damn you, open!!" Cait Sith yelled angrily at the locker door, giving it several rough kicks with his moogle's foot.
"What are you doing?" Reno wondered.
"What does it look like!?" Cait Sith yelled. With one last almighty thud, the lock snapped, the locker door flew open and the robotic kitten jumped inside. Inside the small space was a neatly folded towel, an unbuttoned thick jacket on a coat hanger among other assorted items, but Cait Sith was only looking for one object.
Reno folded his arms and paced toward the contraption slowly. "I don't know why I'm letting you do that...." The Turk stood right next to the moogle and tapped his foot, and grinned. "In fact, I'm not going to let you do that anymore...."
"Will you just shut up?!" The kitten popped his head out the door and scowled at the Turk. "I'm trying to look for something!!"
"Well, I can see that." Reno retorted. "But what are you looking for?"
Cait Sith didn't reply, but continued to clamber through the locker. After a few moments had passed by, the kitten leaped back onto his moogle, and waved the found object in the air proudly. "I found it!!" he announced loudly, beaming all over his face.
"Found what!?" Reno demanded, now quite flustered. "What were you looking for?!"
Cait Sith scowled deeply at the Turk, leaped into the air, and smashed him hard over the head with the object on his descent. Reno collapsed, rendered unconscious by the blow, leaving the small contraption to stand over him. But Cait Sith did not smile victoriously.
"For your information," The cat told the unconscious man, scowling. "I was looking for my Ultimate weapon, my HP Shout Megaphone. And if you weren't smart enough to work out that that's what I was looking for all along......"
The robotic cat shook his head sadly and knelt down over the man. Picking him up with a great deal of effort, he carried him laboriously down to the flight of stairs. Kicking the door open, he placed the man down in the doorway.
"That is so you can make your own escape from this archaic dump when you wake up...." Cait Sith said quietly, tossing the jacket from the locker onto the man's back to keep him warm. "Just because I'm a robot doesn't mean I don't have a heart....."
The cat casually made his way over to the laundry chute at the end of the room.
"It is you that is lying on the ground, while I am the one making my escape....." Cait Sith told the man. "I am the victor, and you are the loser...... but you were the loser long before this chase though, you work for these people and don't realise just how much they're using you.... but are you really the loser? Look at you now, you can escape from this place if you want to.... you don't have to be one of the Shinra any more....." Cait Sith whispered. "What you do is up to you....."
Opening the locker chute, he began to climb into it. He paused for a brief moment to look back at Reno's still unconscious form lying in the corridor near the open locker.
"Which one of us here is really the 'stupid contraption'? I left the Shinra long ago, and now I'm trying to help my friends, who genuinely DO like me for what I am, not just because I can do something for them......" Cait Sith told him. "Now you have the option of making a decision for yourself..... and if you go back with them, that is the decision you make, and you have to live by it....."
Just before jumping down the chute, Cait Sith added:
"But remember that if you return to the Shinra, I am not the 'stupid' one here..... it is you."
---------------------------------------------
"Attack!"
Like lighting, Vincent removed his Death Penalty shotgun from its holster, Tifa assumed a fighting stance, and Aeris whipped out her Princess Guard and twirled it in front of her before assuming a fighting stance of her own. Ruben scowled deeply, and stepping back to the door he ripped a piece of lead piping off the wall and swung it front of him menacingly, while Reeve just stood back, arms folded, shaking his head sadly.
"I'm too old for this....."
"I am not fond of fighting....." Rude shook his head and made a small motion with his hands. "So I make others do my dirty work......"
The hooded men awakened to it and began to move in on the group, as if almost possessed by something.
"We're outnumbered!" Tifa hollered to the group, as they all moved inward, backing away slowly from the advancing opposition. "What do we do??"
"Attack you morons!" Sephiroth's voice cried out angrily from somewhere across the room. Tifa looked around furiously, but could not see him. There were too many hooded people. "Stand your ground! Don't let them close in on you!"
"Right...!" Aeris nodded in determination and charged at one of the men with her Princess Guard. Smacking him down quickly, another one quickly took his place.
Meanwhile, the mere sound of Vincent cocking the barrel of his Death Penalty shotgun made the hooded people within the area of him stop and back away slowly.
"Is it still your intention to attack me?" Vincent said calmly, aiming the firearm at one of the men. "Because you are making a fatal error if you choose to attack a man with a large shotgun aimed at your head....."
One of the hooded men grabbed Reeve roughly, and the older man cried out both in surprise and frustration. Ruben was quick onto it - smashing the man across the back of the head with the lead piping.
Reeve looked at the man gratefully and smiled faintly. "Well, thankyou...."
"Any time..." Ruben grinned back.
Tifa scowled at them. "Don't cheer victory yet guys.... we still have a long way to go!"
"The hell you think I know that!?" Ruben snapped back quickly.
Somewhere within the mass of the hooded men, Sephiroth's angry voice cried out to the group.
"Dammit!! Forget about all of this, just get the hell out of here!!" He yelled. "Only worry about yourselves! It's me they want!!"
"I know that!" Tifa cried back. "But we can't go without our friends you know!"
Sephiroth was silent.
"We need to find a way out of here...." Vincent said lowly. "And seeing as though we have no knowledge in how to achieve this, I suggest we look to somebody who can. Reeve..? You worked for the Shinra, you should know this building. How do we get out of this place?"
Reeve only shrugged. "I'd never been on this floor much in my whole time here...."
"I tire of this game!" Rude snapped. "Move in, attack, and don't hesitate. If you get killed by them, you may die, but your comrades live on!"
"Sh*t...." Ruben cursed as the hooded men began to close in on the group. "We're severely outnumbered...."
"Nice grasp upon the obvious huh?" Vincent scowled.
"Shut up, dead guy!" Ruben spat. "I don't need your sarcasm right now!!"
Vincent looked deeply disturbed. "Dead guy...?!"
"Stop arguing!" Aeris yelled finally. "Just concentrate on getting out of here!"
"Best advice all day, I say....." Ruben scowled.
"Look, just shut up, all of you!!!" Sephiroth cried out again. "Get the hell out of here before they kill you!!!"
"I suggest you listen to the man." Rude said calmly. "He seems to be more intelligent than all of you put together."
"Them's fighting words, pal!!" Ruben snapped, swinging his lead piping menacingly.
Vincent paused. "Sephiroth.... are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes...."
"All right....."
"Look, whether I live or die makes no great difference...." Sephiroth said calmly. "The point is, it would be better to have one life lost, and one life alone rather than nearly the entire fleet...."
"Sephy, don't say that!!" Aeris cried. "You are needed....!! Why, if only-"
"If only you understood my argument, Aer..." Sephiroth interrupted her.
Silence.
Aeris began to cry softly. "I can't..... leave.... you.... like this......"
"Look, the man knows what he's doing...." Reeve whispered, putting an arm around the girl to comfort her. "Shh little one, don't cry. I bet he has something really big planned.... He's the top ranking SOLDIER, Aeris... I think he'd know how to worm his way out of the situation....."
"But....."
"But nothing Aeris...." Reeve whispered. "Just let him go..... just let him do this his way...."
*"But Sephiroth.....I.... I lo-"*
*"I'll be alright, Aeris....."*
*"Will you....?*
*"Yes.... I promise...."*
-
*"Now go...."*
-
*"Lead your friends out of here.... I can look after myself....."*
Aeris let out a heavy sigh and raised her head in determination.
"Move out."
Rude nodded in approval. "I knew you'd come to your senses." With a quick double-clap motion, the hooded men immediately dropped their offensive stances and slinked back into the shadows, leaving the group standing there, a little confused.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rude said calmly. "Leave."
"Alright.... come on guys, let's go home....." Aeris whispered sadly as she made her way to the door, and began to walk slowly out the corridor. The group followed her.
Tifa looked at the depressed flower-girl and sighed sadly. "Oh Aeris...."
After watching them leave the room, Rude lifted his head, smirking as he watched the group slowly moving away. Raising his hand a little, with one small motion forward, he yelled suddenly.
"ATTACK!!!"
"WHAT?!" Sephiroth snapped. "You bastard!!!"
"You didn't think I'd honestly let them walk away free, did you??" Rude chuckled. "You're even stupider than they are!!!"
"Arrrrrgh!!!" Sephiroth yelled, struggling for all he was worth, but the hooded men only held him down harder. He could only stand there and watch as more hooded men ran out the corridor and after his friends.
"Eeeeeaaaaaaayyyyyyeeeeeeeegh.....!!!"
"Aeris!!" Sephiroth cried out, and struggled for all he was worth. But he still could not get free, which only made him extremely angry. The scowl on his already scowling face deepened, Rage surged through him - pulsated through him as he let out a deeply enraged cry. Something within the man awakened for a brief moment - as he cried out in absolute rage, a small flicker of light like lightning sparks erupted from his head. The hooded men let go of him in fear, and he literally leapt away from their grip like a speeding bullet.
Sephiroth turned on them, his teeth locked in a snarl, hateful eyes glaring, the mako light in them almost seeming to pulsate with every breath the man took.
"Don't you dare hurt her.....!!" Sephiroth said through his teeth, snarling at them. "Or I swear, I'll f*cking kill you.....!!"
"Now now Sephiroth..." Rude said warily, backing away slowly. "It's all right..."
"Call them off...." Sephiroth said, ignoring him. "Call them off NOW!!"
"Well you see...." Rude said quickly, laughing nervously. "I can't exactly do that....."
"And why not?!"
"Well.... they've gone now... it's no longer my responsibility....."
"Well f*cking make it your responsibility!!!" Sephiroth hollered, raw energy erupting from his head, tearing up the ground in front of him. Rude was knocked off his feet by the impact.
"Something's awakened within him....." One of the hooded men said suddenly. "The prophecy is true.... our Lord Sephiroth has returned....!!"
"What...?!" Sephiroth spat. "What prophecy? What the f*ck are you talking about?!"
Silence.
"Arrrg....!!" Sephiroth yelled, raw energy surged all around him, tearing the floor up even more. "Tell me!!"
"The Tomes'...." The man whimpered. "The Cetra's ancient books of wisdom.... read them, and you will know....."
Sephiroth was silent.
"You are the being known as 'the creation'......" The man continued. "A simple being just like a man, but advanced far beyond a human's capabilities.... created from two humans, and the DNA from the Calamity From The Skies..... the book describes you as a deadly unstable concoction of a creature...."
"Well I knew that..." Sephiroth said calmly. "But what prophecy are you talking about? And why did you call me your lord? Is this my destiny? Is my destiny written in the books? Does it explain what I am? My purpose? Why I exist?"
Silence.
Sephiroth shook his head and fell to his knees. "Why DO I exist....? And what is my purpose....?"
"Somebody grab that man..." Rude said calmly.
"No..." One of the hooded men said slowly. "Just leave him.... let us watch his powers awaken!"
Sephiroth looked at his hands slowly and looked utterly confused. "What does this mean? And why am I here?? Who am I?"
"I think he's losing it...."
"This.... this is not the same as before....." Sephiroth said slowly. Just then, the energy within him flickered violently from his head, sparking like wild electricity. The man clutched at his head in pain.
"Unnnngggggghhhh.......!!!!" He cried. "F*ck.... my head is killing me...!!"
"Are you alright??" One of the hooded men said quickly, concerned.
"Shut up! It hurts when you talk!!" Sephiroth snapped. He clutched at his head again furiously and lay on his back as another wave of pain surged in his head. "OOOOWWW!!"
"Man, he looks bad...!" The hooded man cried out. "Can anybody think of something to do?!"
Silence.
"What if he dies?!" The man yelled. "The master will have us all killed if Sephiroth dies!! Do you all want that!?"
"It's not my problem." Rude said, turning his back on them. "We've done our part and you should do yours. It's not Shinra's fault if the goods are faulty."
"Yes it is your problem!!" The man snapped. "We're not going to do anything for you at all if our test subject dies on us!"
"T....est subject.....?!" Sephiroth said barely.
The hooded man went over to him, pulled his thick black cape off him and placed it over the grey haired man. "Don't talk now. You'll be alright."
Sephiroth jerked to his feet quickly, still clutching at his head, still scowling. "Shut up!! I'm not a baby! I don't need anyone to care for me....!!"
Sephiroth suddenly wished he hadn't stood up - he toppled to the floor again, his head crashing down on the hard ground. The impact made him pass out cold.
The man picked up his black cape and tossed it over Sephiroth again.
"Quick, call the medical team! We need to get him out of here right now!"
Several of the hooded men bolted out the door, headed for some unknown location. Meanwhile, Rude just turned his back on the whole scenario and began to walk off into the darkness.
"Weak willed fools....."
----------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, a group of hooded men were hot on the heels of the remaining AVALANCHE group, who were trying to make their escape from the Shinra building also.
"Do you think we can lose them?" Ruben wondered.
"No way, too many of them to lose!" Tifa yelled back. "There's no use in evasive manoeuvres either!"
"Then why are we running?" Vincent asked calmly. "There's only a group of them, surely we can take them on."
"You know what, Vincent?" Tifa said, stopping suddenly, turning on the hooded men. "You're right!"
"As always." Vincent smirked faintly.
"Oh!" Ruben snapped. "Don't get all cocky now! You know, I am really beginning to dislike you."
"The feeling is mutual...." Vincent said coldly.
"Guys guys guys, just shut up!!" Tifa snapped. "Save your fight for these hooded dorks!"
"Right."
"Well, what are we waiting for??" Ruben said. "Attack!!"
Tifa dove straight for the group of hooded men, taking two of them down at once with a single kick. Another man rushed at Vincent, but the man was totally unfazed as he took his shotgun from it's holster and fired, scoring a direct hit in the arm of one of the men. The man slumped to the floor, clutching at his arm in pain, making the other men back away slowly.
"Anyone else want to try that?!" Vincent said coolly, raising an eyebrow.
Silence.
"Oh man, to hell with all of you!" A hooded man yelled suddenly, and produced a small round black object from his belt. The group froze where they were and watched him like a hawk.
"What is that thing??" Ruben wondered aloud.
"I don't know...." Aeris answered thoughtfully, her eyes on the object.
"Want to find out?!" The man yelled, before tossing it at the ground in front of them, making it shatter, releasing whatever was inside.
The group quickly learned what it was - they began to cough and splutter loudly as the object quickly released a gas into the air all around them, filling the hallway quickly, making it become misty and virtually impossible to see through. All of them coughed loudly, except Vincent, who was totally unaffected by it all.
"AAAH?! What is that?! Eeeeaaaayy....!!" Aeris ceased her squealing as she quickly passed out cold.
"It's gas!!" Tifa spluttered, becoming quite faint from it. "Damn ga.....!!" She never finished her sentence as she fell to the ground and was out cold.
"Not gas, Tifa..." Vincent shook his head. "It's ether."
"Ether IS a gas you idi....-" Ruben never finished his sentence either as he passed out cold.
Reeve just lay on the ground, and chuckled weakly before passing out himself. "Always sarcastic even to the last second. that boy...."
Vincent sighed and shook his head slowly, noticing how quickly all his other team members had been taken down by such a simple device. Waving the air furiously with a hand to make it a bit more visible once again, he noticed the hooded men were covering their faces with their hoods, protecting themselves from being taken out by their own device.
"That was a pretty funny game to play..." Vincent told them airily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a game of my own to play. It's called 'Shoot to Kill."
"Uh oh...."
"Uh oh is right." Vincent said angrily, cocking the gun of his rifle. "So if you don't want to end up as my target practice, I suggest you get the hell out of here before you get your brains blasted to hell....."
Vincent aimed his gun just above the nearest man's head and fired a warning shot, making the group of hooded men flee in despair. After a few moments, Vincent was alone with his fallen comrades. The man pulled up a nearby stray executive chair, sat down and began to polish his gun with his cape.
"Now we shall play the waiting game...."
---------------------------------------------------------
"Must.....keep...... going......."
Cait Sith had covered a lot of ground since his escape from the Shinra Building. After a brief adventure down a laundry chute, and through the ruins of Midgar, the robotic cat bounded onward, now in the muddy flatlands just outwards from the megatropolis, his internal batteries almost drained dead, almost reaching critical point, and his only guide being a radio signal to the Highwind. But it was enough for him to move on...
"Must keep going....." Cait Sith buzzed weakly. "Must tell Cloud....."
Cait Sith realised now that he would have to shut down less important parts of himself if he was to reach his final destination. But the problem was, with the low battery, everything not so important to his function had already automatically shut down. The cat thought about it momentarily before he shut down his visual picture - he figured he could go by sound and the radio signal alone.
"Besides..." Cait Sith thought to himself. "The visual picture won't be very useful in an hour or so anyway - the sun is going down...."
The robotic moogle bounded on blindly, guided only by the radio signals he was receiving.
---------------------------------------------
"So tell me, oh glorious Red...."
"Shut up..."
"Tell me 13, what was your other reason for coming here?"
The Great Lion was silent, and lowered his head.
"Moukra!" Shadrach roared angrily. "That isn't very nice! Red is our friend, he saved us! And you wish to treat him like that!? I'm ashamed to be your brother..."
The older lioness snapped at Shadrach's heels angrily, but the playful cub darted away in glee. Lei buried her nose in her paws and giggled. Moukra shot her a fierce look, but it did nothing. Lei only giggled louder.
"I'm surrounded by idiots..." Moukra sighed.
"Well come on then, Red..." Shadrach grinned. "Come into the tribal lands and meet the whole tribe!"
"All right..." Red XIII said, almost as timidly as Lei. The baby girl cub sat up, taking note of it, and gave Red XIII an affectionate little rub on his legs with her chin.
"You'll be OK..." Lei said, her voice barely a whisper.
The Great Lion smiled down on her. She smiled back shyly.
Moukra scowled slightly before giving into it. After all, what could one outsider do....? If he even started a hint of trouble, she could just easily get word around the tribe to kill him.
Red XIII was like a child as he followed the lioness into her territory, watching everything around him with much curiosity and fascination... after all, it wasn't often that one saw lush grasslands and odd plants in the middle of a desert.
After a walk that seemed to take forever, they approached a very large sand-hill. Moukra turned her head back to the others behind her, and made a stern growl to gain their attention.
"Listen up..." Moukra said. "Because I am only going to say this once...."
Shadrach smiled. "Alright."
"Now, see this hill in front of us, it---"
Shadrach burst into a fit of giggles. "You lied!!"
"What??" Moukra snapped angrily, also confused.
"You said you were only going to say 'this' once...." Shadrach giggled. "And yet you said it twice!"
Lei joined her brother's giggles. Even Red XIII chuckled a little. Moukra was quite frustrated now, and let out a roar. Silence. Shadrach poked out his tongue. Moukra scowled at him. More silence.
"Now listen...." Moukra sighed angrily. "Over this hill is where the tribe lives. As soon as we approach the top of that hill, you, Shadrach an Lei, are to report to Darubus at once..."
Shadrach's face fell. Lei looked like she was going to cry. Red XIII looked a little confused.
"Darubus?" He wondered.
"Darubus is my father, and the Tribal Leader." Moukra said quietly. "He's not my real father.... he killed my real father so he could mate with my mother.... and then she had Shadrach and Lei..... and then Darubus killed her too...."
"Oh that's so sad..." Red XIII said, the confusion turning to sadness on his face. "I hated my father until one day, I learned that he died for everyone.... for the place I lived, for all of us, for me... just to protect the canyon...."
"Darubus would never do anything as heroic as that..." Moukra said bitterly. "All he cares about is indulging himself, and making sure his tribe is kept in order. He never hunts, but he eats nearly all the kills, and he's so big a powerful that nobody can stand up to him...."
Red XIII scowled a little. "What an evil creature..."
"I told you Moukra.... that's why I keep running away..." Shadrach whimpered. "I hate father, he's always too critical of everything we do...."
"I know you keep running away..." Moukra sighed. "But your father always keeps sending me to get you... and I do worry about you, you know..."
"I know..." Shadrach sighed.
"Now enough chit chat.... let's go into the Tribal Lands..." Moukra said, leading them on.
Red XIII sat back for a bit and sighed a little, he had thought Moukra a little bit cold until just now. Now he knew she had been mistreated.... Shadrach and Lei's father sounded like a particularly nasty piece of work too. Red XIII's blood boiled just thinking about it - Lei and Shadrach were gorgeous cubs, and didn't deserve to be mistreated at all.....
Over the hill was the greenest Oasis Red XIII had ever seen, but something more interesting had caught his attention... Red Lions.... everywhere.... some lazing about under trees, wading in the water, running across the grass, Red Lions everywhere....
Moukra paused and looked back on Red XIII, a little bewildered.
"My gosh, one would think you'd never seen your own kind." She said jokingly, laughing a little at herself.
But Red XIII didn't laugh - he actually looked a little upset. "You could say that..."
Moukra stopped laughing and looked at him square in the eye. "You're serious, aren't you...?"
"Yes..."
Moukra's eyes drifted a little, as she studied Red XIII's face, his foreign markings, and at last, his battle scars. "You sure have been in a lot of fights...."
"Yes, indeed..." Red XIII nodded. "With all sorts of things."
"How did you lose your eye?" Moukra wondered. "It has a nasty scar over it too..."
Red XIII chuckled a little and thought of what to tell her. "Would you believe it was an accident? A friend of Bugenhagen was playing with me when I was a cub and accidentally speared me in the eye..."
"Bugenhagen? He's from your old tribe?"
"No, Bugenhagen was a hu--" Red XIII paused. He couldn't tell this lioness he'd lived with humans for pretty much all his life. "It's not important....." he said finally.
"Hmmm.." Moukra said, giving him a quizzical look.
Just then, they all were silent as loud footprints came towards them, a low growling sound carrying with it. It was just then, Red XIII realised just how young he was. Approaching them, was a mighty Red Lion adorned with many feathers in his mane, almost twice as big as Red XIII himself. The Lion cowered slightly as the large one came up to them, and released a powerful deep roar from his throat.
"Who is this?!" The lion snapped demandingly, making Red XIII cringe a little.
"Father...." Moukra said, barely audible. "This is---"
"What in Alexander's name...?!" The lion paused suddenly, and sniffed Red XIII a little. "You're a Pachamac...!! What in Hades are you doing, daring to show your face in The Tribal Lands of Darubus?!"
"Pachamac...?" Red XIII whispered. "...Darubus? Could you explain...?"
The lion snorted, scowling, acting annoyed, as if ANY idiot could have understand what he had just said.
"I am Darubus, Tribal Leader of my lands..." The lion snorted. "And YOU... you are a tribe follower of Seto's Pachamac tribe... you are a mortal enemy...."
"Seto...?" Red XIII choked.
"YES..." The lion snapped. "Seto was a brave lion indeed... We USED to be all part of one big tribe, but the coward abandoned his own tribe one day...."
"Seto abandoned you?" Red XIII queried. "But.... why?!"
"His mate was pregnant, and being such a cry baby that she was, she couldn't keep up with the rest of the tribe anymore...." The lion continued. "So he abandoned us for the bipeds in the Cosmo Canyon...."
Red XIII was silent.
"Seto was a brave lion..." Darubus snarled. "But he is a traitor. And if I ever come across him ever again, I am going to tear pieces out of him...!!"
"Don't you dare speak ill of him!!" Red XIII said loudly. "And besides, Seto is dead...!!"
"..And how do YOU know this, pesky outsider?!" Darubus snorted.
"Because...." Red XIII scowled, tears pricking his eyes. "I am his son...."
---------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Cloud was still looking after the Highwind, playing with the flap of his PHS nervously, worried to call Cid about the plane, and anxious, worried that his phone may ring to say that he was needed. He checked the battery monitor window on the PHS for the seven millionth time that hour, he continued to play with his PHS nervously, he fidgeted with the grass, he paced back and forth quickly, and kept scratching the back of his head subconsciously. All in all, Cloud was a nervous wreck. He looked up at the sky and sighed, it was getting dark now.
Just then, he heard a sound. Bolting upright to his feet, he looked around furiously. He saw a white figure bounding across the plains and shrugged a little - it was probably just a rabbit. Cloud slumped to the ground once more, and continued to fidget with his PHS - for all of about two seconds. The man looked back at the white shape, now noticing it had grown in size since he last looked, and now he noticed that it had a rather rotund shape to it.
"What the...?" Cloud said to himself as he squinted at it to get a better look. "What the heck IS that??" The blonde man leapt to his feet and whipped his giant sword from it's place on his back and held it out in front of him, battle ready. His eyes watched the shape intently, his fingers twitched in anticipation as he waited for the shape to come closer - and then all of a sudden, he stopped dead in his tracks.... Was that a.... cat? On top of that white thing? Did it... did it really have a red cape, or was Cloud just seeing things?
"CLOUD!!!" a hazy weak robotic voice bleeped out suddenly. "That's Cloud's PHS signal I can......bzzt .....pick up - Is that you Cloud? Are you holding your P-bzzt!-HS??"
"Cait Sith?!" Cloud howled with happiness.
"Cloud, it IS you!!" Cait Sith yelled out happily. "I recognise that voice anywhere!!"
The robotic cat ran towards the blonde man, grinning proudly.
"I did some-bzzt-thing right!" The robot cat yelled happily. "I came t-bzzt-o you!"
Cait Sith nearly crashed into Cloud as he gave him a rough friendly hug. "Cloud!! How hav-frat!-e you been, bu-bzzt-ddy?!" the cat cried happily.
"What the heck are you doing out here!!??" Cloud smiled happily. "And why do you sound sound so awful?!"
"Low batt-bzzt-ery...." Cait Sith panicked suddenly. "Tifa, Aeris, Vincent and the rest of the group!! BZZT!! They're all in seri-bzzt-ous trouble! Something happened to Sephiroth, they were bzzt duped and now I don't kn-bzzt-ow what's happened to them! All I know is that they're in trouble and -bzzt- they're in the Shinra Building in Midgar! Help the-bzzt-m!!"
"Right!" Cloud yelled suddenly, a deep scowl of determination appeared on his face. "Why didn't they call me??"
"I have n-bzzt-o idea...!!" Cait Sith cried. "But hurry! They sent me -bzzt- to get you, they need you!!"
"Wait just one second...." Cloud said, ripping a nearby panel off the underside of the Highwind. Producing two large jumper leads from the compartment behind the panel, he quickly walked behind Cait Sith, popped the Moogle open and attached the leads right onto both points of the batteries.
"Thanks!" Cait Sith said, his voice nearly 200% clearer than before. "I needed that!"
"I know you did..." Cloud said as he darted off towards Midgar. "And now, I can think of somewhere I am needed more...."
--------------------------------------
"Ww...... where am I....? Ungh.....My head is throbbing...."
-
-
"Feels weird.... like I'm burning up.... but I'm not sick, am I?"
-
-
"Well.. my head is killing me.... I must be sick...."
*"No, you aren't sick...."*
*"You?"*
-
*"What are you doing here?"*
*"I go wherever I am needed...."*
*"My head is killing me.....make it go away...."*
*"If the process wasn't so complex, child, if I could take the pain away, believe me, I would..."*
*"Who are you...?"*
*"Not so worried about the pain in your head any more, are you, young Sephiroth?"*
*"I'm not so young you know!"*
*"Compared to me, you are."*
*"Well all right...."*
-
-
-
-
*"What's happening to me..?"*
*"What do you mean, child?"*
*"My head is killing me.... and I got so angry that I released power for a short amount of time... and then my head hurt so much... I just lost sight and blacked out...."*
*"Ahh yes..."*
*"But I used my power... and I thought it was taken away from me?"*
*"I see you are an observant child.... always wanting to know what is going on, always wanting to know things you don't understand, or don't know of....."
*"Well..... who wouldn't want to know??"*
*"So very true...."*
*"Excuse me.... but...... what IS happening to me?"*
-
-
*"There are some things we must work out for ourselves.... and while I could tell you, it would take away all the challenge of learning for yourself....."*
-
-
*"So.... you know, but... you're not going to tell me...."*
*"...correct...."* *"Can you at least tell me why my powers were released?"*
*"Yes, that I can do, because you probably already know why, yourself...."*
*"Well...?"*
-
-
*"It was in the name of protective love.... because you cared...."* *"I....."*
-
*"I do.... that's correct...."*
-
*"But only because she brought me to this world, mind you! Hear me out! I'm only protecting her because her life is mine, you understand me??"*
*"I understand perfectly.... You must care an awful lot to have been so angry that your powers were released...."*
*"Oh man...."*
*"Hehehee..... I wish you the best of luck catching a little dove so beautiful as her, my child..."
*"........"*
-
*"Her friends would hate me if they knew.... If they knew I liked her, they'd.... I don't know what they'd do..... and she doesn't deserves someone so pitiful as myself anyway.... so......"*
-
*"Not one word of this to anyone, you hear me?!"*
*"Oh, don't worry, child.... your secrets are safe with me.... and don't worry too much... disgress your secret to the right person, and you may find out another secret about you that you didn't know...." *"Huh?"*
*"I think I have said too much now."*
*"So you're not going to tell me?"*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
*"Thanks for nothing....."*
*"Oh child.... don't be so bitter towards me...."*
*"Leave me alone."*
-
-
-
-
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Is that all you can say? I thought you were leaving?"*
*"If you want further help, do not expect to find it here.... so afraid of being alone you are.... and now, without me, you really will be...."*
-
-
*"Hello?"*
-
-
-
-
*"I'm sorry...!!"*
"Hello....." Sephiroth said in his head. But the telepathic link had ended. The man felt his headache suddenly and cringed. "Ow....."
"OW....!!"
"Ungh.....!!"
Sephiroth awoke back to reality slowly, but he could not move at all.... his body felt like a ton weight, almost as if it was being held by boulders.... and a slightly painful prickly sensation was surging through him.... so badly he wanted to move and get up, but his body wouldn't comply. So he decided to lie there for a few moments to rest, and try again later when he had more strength. At least his hearing worked.... he heard the sound of machines whirring, beeping, all around him, and muffled voices saying strange things...
"Where am I?"
*"You're in the laboratory, and still in the Shinra Building, my child..."*
"How did I get here....?" He wondered. He quickly decided not to worry about it, he had more important things on his mind.... like what was happening to him....
"Turn the resonator up 50 more points..."
"Are you sure he can handle that much in such a short period of time??"
"Calm down, calm down.... this is The Great Sephiroth we're talking about - he can handle just about anything..."
"Resonator up 50 more points sir. Complete."
"Any reaction?"
"Just a slight one... but no, nothing really..."
"Damn...."
"I know...." the voice sighed a little. "But try not to rush things too much... you don't want this to end prematurely..."
"Sephiroth has a huge quantity of energy at his disposal." The commanding voice said. "I just want to harness that energy... I don't care how long it takes, I just want that energy! OWARA needs that energy! So just keep going...."
"Understood.."
"They want my power..?" Sephiroth wondered, a little annoyed. "But it's mine! Even though it seems to have been asleep till now.... that was until...." The man was silent.
"Sir, I think you should come see this!"
"What is it?!" A commanding voice snapped.
"The test subject's brainwaves...." The voice paused. "They're surging!"
"I have a name you know....!!" Sephiroth thought angrily. But he remained still, and silent once again. After all, he might just learn something....
"There they go again! Just now as I am talking!" The voice cried out in surprise. "Do you think.... maybe.... he's aware?"
"Hmm..." The commanding voice paused. "It's a precaution we have to take. Alright everyone, be on alert... Maximum security, and all systems, full power!"
Sephiroth felt the prickly sensation in his body more than ever before, as they turned up the power on him. It was really beginning to hurt him now. He screwed up his face a little in pain....
"Take a look, sir!" The voice said suddenly, excited. "The readings from the magnetic imaging resonator are totally off the dial!"
"Can you determine whether the cause for this anomaly is natural or artificial in origin?"
"Sir, the resonator doesn't show a trace of any artificial implants, enhancements, or devices of any kind!"
"....What?"
"Not even on a sub atomic level!!!"
"If Sephiroth is indeed the natural source of such energy, these readings indicate he's capable of generating power akin to..... no.... can it be possible...?"
"Sephiroth is one of Hojo's, sir...." The voice said quietly. "After all, Hojo did great things.... terrible but great..."
"But I can't believe it..." The voice said. "Someone actually dared to bioengineer the ultimate human...?"
"Sephiroth is hardly human, sir....."
"To what limit would the individual's abilities extend....?"
"Limitless, sir..." The voice told him. "Ahh, he was well worth what we paid for him, isn't that right, boss?"
"Agreed. The subject lying on the table is OWARA's greatest triumph! With this equipment, we'll extract the required information to bioengineer ourselves to his level! And then we shall become gods of our own!! Hahahahaa!!"
"I think that's a yes!"
Silence fell over the room suddenly.
"Boss?" The voice said suddenly. "What's wrong?"
"I think... Sephiroth's fist just clenched..."
"Hardly human....?!" Sephiroth repeated the words over again in his head bitterly, becoming more enraged. "They speak of me as if I am an object!! A bargaining chip?!"
The man gritted his teeth and scowled deeply. "No more of this!!"
"SIR!! THE ALARM!!"
All around the complex, sirens blared everywhere. Chaos ensued.
"Technician!!" The commanding voice barked angrily. "What's the problem?!"
"Sir, the resonator is overloading!!!" The voice cried back. "I'm trying to shut all systems down, but nothing's working!!"
"WHAT?!"
"Even the circuit breakers are blowing!" The voice cried. "It's as if we were plugged into a limitless power source and couldn't disconnect!!"
"Can we contain the power surges?? Limit them only to the immediate vicinity?"
"Highly doubtful sir! System after system is collapsing! Our entire network is in jeopardy!"
"Well what about Sephiroth...?!" The commanding voice yelled. "Can we extract him safely out of the chamber?"
"Unknown sir!" The voice cried back. "At the present rate of radiation discharge, the environment within this whole building will be uninhabitable in less than fifteen minutes!"
"Are there any other options still open, technician?"
"You can either give the order to evacuate sir...." the voice sighed. "Or... you can attempt to destroy the source of our problem now lying inside the chamber..."
"..........."
"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!"
There was a deafening explosion as the door to Sephiroth's chamber flew off it's hinges, and scraped across the floor for a distance.
"All hands abandon stations!" The technician dove for the PA system microphone and screamed. "I repeat -- All hands abandon stations!! This is not a drill! This is not a drill!! Shoot to kill!!"
"NO!" The commander yelled, grabbing him. "Sephiroth is much more valuable to me alive!"
"But sir....!!"
"NO!!"
Sephiroth stood in the doorway, plumes of smoke blew lazily out the door from behind him. Examining his hands and arms slowly, he realised that he had all sorts of diodes and probes all over him. He began to rip them off as he casually made his way to the two men who had been discussing.....
"What is your business with me?" Sephiroth barked, making the both of them cringe in terror. "How did I get here?! Why am I your guinea pig!? What the hell is this OWARA crap and why am I connected with it?!"
"Sephiroth sir, I suggest you calm down...." The Technician laughed nervously.
"NO!" Sephiroth yelled, sending an uncontrolled spherelike ripple of raw energy out from himself, making everything in his immediate vicinity crumble a little. "I demand to know!!"
"Sephiroth..."
"So many secrets have been kept from me, and I demand to know them!" Sephiroth barked. "I was led to this place in search of documents regarding my past, and I've been duped.... denied access to them... well NO MORE!!" he yelled, sending another ripple of energy from himself.
"Alright alright alright...." The Commander laughed nervously. "Well, I am the leader of OWARA, my name is Ruthire..."
"I don't care what the hell your name is!" Sephiroth snapped. "Answer my questions! Preferably now before I annihilate you!"
"OWARA is a cult group." The Technician explained. "We kept people's morale up after Meteor by promising life would get better once the being known as Sephiroth would return...."
"What a load of balogna!!" Sephiroth snapped.
"I know..." The Technician nodded. "But one day... we found out that what we have been prophesising to the people was actually true...."
"We found that out one day when a young blonde man confronted us." The Commander spoke up suddenly. "He was one of Hojo of Shinra's lab assistants, a young man known simply by the name of 'Ruben'..."
"I know the guy..." Sephiroth said slowly. "He's alright I guess..."
"Because he had knowledge of your second coming," The Commander explained. "We exploited him for all his knowledge of the Cetra's Tomes. We then applied his knowledge to our own teachings, and the OWARA cult grew from there."
"Ruben wasn't a bad person, he'd just gotten messed up with us." The Technician grinned, but stopped immediately after being given a nasty look from Sephiroth. He continued. "Ruben had decided to move in on Shinra's empire, he declared himself President and ordered the restoration of people's lives after Meteor....."
"Meteor..." Sephiroth sighed miserably, and realised that his stupidity had started off all this mess in the first place.
"Ruben ran Shinra quite well. He had solar panels placed in every house known across the planet, and tried to help the cities get their lives back on track." The Technician shrugged. "Well..... just a few days ago, a man by the name of Rufus Shinra came to us, somehow knowing that you had returned. That man has a huge network of people working for him, so it was not to be questioned if he was speaking the truth or not. He promised to find you and hand you over to us if only we would undermine Ruben's new Shinra empire and have it restored to him."
"Hmm...." Sephiroth thought hard.
"Both transactions are now complete." The Commander grinned wickedly. "Rufus Shinra has his empire back, The one known as Ruben is a fallen man, and you have been delivered to us through Rufus's underlings known as Reno and Rude, of the Turks...."
"But I saw the Turks working for Ruben." Sephiroth remembered. "Was that part of your plan?"
"Yes, they were double agents the whole time." The Commander said slowly. "So there you go Sephiroth, now you know what our business is with you, and why you are connected the OWARA cult. You're it's absolute pinnacle, the very God they worship. You should feel honoured that we have done this for you...."
"I want no part in it...." Sephiroth scowled slightly. "Enough... now, next question."
The Commander's eyes darted around the room nervously and laughed. "Very well, ask away, Great Sephiroth!"
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the Commander's emphasis of the word 'Great', but paid it no mind. He continued. "Why am I your guinea pig? Why did you attach me to strange machines and try to do things to me...?" he asked, pulling more wires and electro-patches off himself.
"We're trying to awaken your power...." The Commander said. "We're going to find out what makes you tick and harness the power for our own purposes!"
"My power is already awake!!" Sephiroth yelled, releasing a huge bolt of energy from his very being, smashing the floor up around him. The whole room shook violently.
"And the last question, I don't need to ask, because I don't care any more!" Sephiroth yelled angrily.
"And what question was that?"
"How did I get here?" Sephiroth repeated for them. "But it doesn't matter to me - Who needs to know when I am going to be gone momentarily!"
"Seize him!!" The Commander barked, waving his hand furiously. "Har har har, what an idiot you are, Great Sephiroth! In your hungry quest for knowledge, you bought us enough time to get backup in here so we can restrain you once again!"
"ARRGG!!!!" Sephiroth yelled furiously, his head throbbing with maddening pain as he used his powers once again. With one final and tremendous release of energy, he yelled out as he released the biggest wave of raw energy yet, so powerful it was that it made the whole floor rumble violently and begin to collapse.
Nobody was prepared for what happened next. The weakened structure holding up the floor crumbled under the weight of itself, the weight of the floor crashing down onto the next, and the weight of the two crashing down onto the next floor after that....
A very tired and worn out Cloud had just arrived on the scene, only to watch the mighty Shinra building collapse right in front of him to pieces of twisted metal and rock. And Cait Sith had told him his friends had been in that thing.... Tifa... Aeris.... Vincent... and Reeve....
Cloud fell on his knees in morbid shock as a wave of depression overtook him. Only one thought crossed his mind as he kneeled there...
"Oh shit.... I'm too late....."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Be Continued..........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writer's Ramblings:
Well, sorry it took me so long!!! But anyways, hope you enjoyed the latest installment!
Until next time...
- Kat =^-^=
written by Kat_Aclysm
Rated PG: How many things can PG stand for?
DISCLAIMER: I own Final Fantasy VII. I also own Sephiroth, Red XIII, Cloud and Yuffie. While I'm at it, I own Canada, the USA, England and Australia. I'm also a compulsive liar, and I own the sun ;) Now, if I really owned all of that, would I really be here, writing fiction??
Read chapters 1-13 before this one. That's a fairly standard and obvious remark to make, eh?
As always, stuff in *'s is spoken in telepathy. Stuff in plain italics are just thoughts.
----------------------------------
Chapter 14 - How Far Would You Go For A Friend?
"Come back here, you stupid contraption!!"
"No!" Cait Sith yelled back. "I have to save my friends! I have to tell Cloud!"
"When I get hold of you, I'm going to dismantle you!" Reno hollered at the robotic stuffed animal, nearly tripping over the stray debris in the corridors of the crumbling Shinra Building. "Do you hear me!?"
"Yes I do!" Cait Sith replied. "And that's why I'm getting for my life!!!"
Cait Sith stumbled suddenly, his moogle nearly toppling over as he tripped over a stray piece of debris. But on he bounded, fast as he could, ever trying to outrun the red-haired Turk hot on his heels. One of them was bound to wear down sooner or later. Cait Sith panicked a little as he couldn't remember when he had last been recharged. But on he bounded, he had to..... his friends were depending on him to make it...... he couldn't let them down......
"Arg! Come back here!" Reno yelled, picking up a piece of cement. He hurled it at the back of Cait Sith's moogle, scoring a hit. There was a loud metallic bang sound, and Cait Sith was forced forward a little by the impact, but it did not do anything to the robotic stuffed animal but make him bound even faster still.
"You can run but you can't hide!" Reno yelled.
"I'm not trying to hide!" Cait Sith told him. "I'm just doing the running part!!"
The cat bounded down a flight of stairs, Reno still hot on his heels. Crashing his way through the floor, he bounded right through a crumbling wall, sending pieces of it flying. With another giant bound, he leaped his way into the pitch blackness. There was a horrible crunch sound as he landed, a loud click, and several thumps as the structure the robotic cat had landed on crumbled underneath his weight.
Reno stood flicked the nearest light switch, revealing what Cait Sith had landed on. The stuffed cat found himself almost half buried in a giant detailed model of the Midgar city which took up nearly the whole room. The stuffed moogle struggled vigorously, but he was wedged waist deep in the model, and began to sink even further into it.
"I told you escaping was futile." Reno snorted, stepping over various pieces of debris as he approached the stuffed robotic cat.
"I never remember you saying that!" Cait Sith retorted angrily, struggling again.
"Here kitty kitty......" Reno taunted, smirking.
Cait Sith gave Reno a cold hard stare. "I'm not a kitty." He said lowly. He felt himself sink further into the model, and suddenly, he could feel his feet touch the ground once more. Giving the Turk a little grin, he yelled "And to hell with this!!"
The creature gave an almighty leap, not only launching him entirely from the model, but sent him crashing through the wall in front of him. Giving Reno a quick look, he bolted once more.
"Arg!!!" Reno clutched at his fiery red hair in frustration. "Not again!!!"
"Yep, again!" Cait Sith cried happily, leaping into the air and clicking his heels together in glee as he continued his escape. "Sorry Reno, but I wanna get out of here alive!"
"Well you won't!" Reno hollered. "This place is built like a rabbit's warren - only those who know it well can navigate it! You'll be able to run, you stupid menacing robot, but you don't know where you're going, do you? You'll get lost before too long!"
"Don't forget I'm one of the Shinra too!" Cait Sith yelled back. "Plus I'm a robot! You're right, I don't know where I'm going, I'm just reading the internal map that was built into me!"
Reno let loose a string of obscenities while Cait Sith flew down the flight of stairs leading to the next floor down, the 64th floor, the employee gym floor.
Cait Sith looked around quickly - the floor was a mess, much like all the others had been on the way down. But more importantly, he was looking for the group of lockers that had been on the floor back when the Shinra Building stood proudly as Midgar's centrepiece. He didn't have much time to stand there and look around - Reno tumbled down the stairs and flew at him, making the robotic cat dash around yet again.
By now, Cait Sith could notice that Reno was beginning to get tired. But he wasn't going to give up. As the Turk ran towards the elevators, Cait Sith was a little thoughtful.
"Not going to give up, are ya?" Cait Sith said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You're out of luck now, stupid cat...." Reno panted. Pressing a few buttons on the control panel near the elevator, he laughed slightly. "Okay cat, try getting down from this floor NOW......"
"Why?" Cait Sith paused. "What did you do?"
"See this control panel here?" Reno laughed. "It controls the power to this floor. I just turned it all off, hehehe.... that means you can't use the elevators, nor can you use the doors because they're all electronically sealed! Try getting away NOW, cat, go on, I dare you!!!"
Cait Sith only shrugged. "Forget that I'm a mechanical device, huh?"
"How is that relevant to your situation??"
The small cat hopped off the back of his moogle, threw its back door panel open and removed a jumper lead, smiling. "This Moogle runs on four car batteries, and with this jumper lead," he laughed, waving the jump lead around a bit. "I can start up an electronic device all on my own."
"Yes, maybe so." Reno nodded. "But can your stupid car batteries power a whole floor?"
Cait Sith was silent.
"I thought so." Reno smiled wickedly. "So. Ready to admit defeat yet?"
Cait Sith slammed the back shut on his moogle and jumped back onto it's head. "You have to be kidding me...." the small cat scoffed, leaping off again.
Reno yelled out of frustration as he attempted to keep up with the contraption once again.
Crashing his way through the old employee's gym room, the robotic cat looked around quickly for a way to escape from the floor, and to continue his descent to the ground level. There were several loud 'pop' sounds beneath his feet before he realised that he was running over cans of 'Shinra Gym Special Drink' that had come from the soda-machine in the corner of the room. Only now, the machine had been half crushed by debris from the ceiling. The small cat had to duck suddenly as the Turk threw several cans of the stuff straight at him.
The robotic moogle crashed his way through the corridors and headed towards the locker room. Reno followed, hot on his heels. But he paused at the end of the row of the lockers and watched in curiosity as Cait Sith madly kicked at one particular locker close to the end of the lockers.
"Damn you, open!!" Cait Sith yelled angrily at the locker door, giving it several rough kicks with his moogle's foot.
"What are you doing?" Reno wondered.
"What does it look like!?" Cait Sith yelled. With one last almighty thud, the lock snapped, the locker door flew open and the robotic kitten jumped inside. Inside the small space was a neatly folded towel, an unbuttoned thick jacket on a coat hanger among other assorted items, but Cait Sith was only looking for one object.
Reno folded his arms and paced toward the contraption slowly. "I don't know why I'm letting you do that...." The Turk stood right next to the moogle and tapped his foot, and grinned. "In fact, I'm not going to let you do that anymore...."
"Will you just shut up?!" The kitten popped his head out the door and scowled at the Turk. "I'm trying to look for something!!"
"Well, I can see that." Reno retorted. "But what are you looking for?"
Cait Sith didn't reply, but continued to clamber through the locker. After a few moments had passed by, the kitten leaped back onto his moogle, and waved the found object in the air proudly. "I found it!!" he announced loudly, beaming all over his face.
"Found what!?" Reno demanded, now quite flustered. "What were you looking for?!"
Cait Sith scowled deeply at the Turk, leaped into the air, and smashed him hard over the head with the object on his descent. Reno collapsed, rendered unconscious by the blow, leaving the small contraption to stand over him. But Cait Sith did not smile victoriously.
"For your information," The cat told the unconscious man, scowling. "I was looking for my Ultimate weapon, my HP Shout Megaphone. And if you weren't smart enough to work out that that's what I was looking for all along......"
The robotic cat shook his head sadly and knelt down over the man. Picking him up with a great deal of effort, he carried him laboriously down to the flight of stairs. Kicking the door open, he placed the man down in the doorway.
"That is so you can make your own escape from this archaic dump when you wake up...." Cait Sith said quietly, tossing the jacket from the locker onto the man's back to keep him warm. "Just because I'm a robot doesn't mean I don't have a heart....."
The cat casually made his way over to the laundry chute at the end of the room.
"It is you that is lying on the ground, while I am the one making my escape....." Cait Sith told the man. "I am the victor, and you are the loser...... but you were the loser long before this chase though, you work for these people and don't realise just how much they're using you.... but are you really the loser? Look at you now, you can escape from this place if you want to.... you don't have to be one of the Shinra any more....." Cait Sith whispered. "What you do is up to you....."
Opening the locker chute, he began to climb into it. He paused for a brief moment to look back at Reno's still unconscious form lying in the corridor near the open locker.
"Which one of us here is really the 'stupid contraption'? I left the Shinra long ago, and now I'm trying to help my friends, who genuinely DO like me for what I am, not just because I can do something for them......" Cait Sith told him. "Now you have the option of making a decision for yourself..... and if you go back with them, that is the decision you make, and you have to live by it....."
Just before jumping down the chute, Cait Sith added:
"But remember that if you return to the Shinra, I am not the 'stupid' one here..... it is you."
---------------------------------------------
"Attack!"
Like lighting, Vincent removed his Death Penalty shotgun from its holster, Tifa assumed a fighting stance, and Aeris whipped out her Princess Guard and twirled it in front of her before assuming a fighting stance of her own. Ruben scowled deeply, and stepping back to the door he ripped a piece of lead piping off the wall and swung it front of him menacingly, while Reeve just stood back, arms folded, shaking his head sadly.
"I'm too old for this....."
"I am not fond of fighting....." Rude shook his head and made a small motion with his hands. "So I make others do my dirty work......"
The hooded men awakened to it and began to move in on the group, as if almost possessed by something.
"We're outnumbered!" Tifa hollered to the group, as they all moved inward, backing away slowly from the advancing opposition. "What do we do??"
"Attack you morons!" Sephiroth's voice cried out angrily from somewhere across the room. Tifa looked around furiously, but could not see him. There were too many hooded people. "Stand your ground! Don't let them close in on you!"
"Right...!" Aeris nodded in determination and charged at one of the men with her Princess Guard. Smacking him down quickly, another one quickly took his place.
Meanwhile, the mere sound of Vincent cocking the barrel of his Death Penalty shotgun made the hooded people within the area of him stop and back away slowly.
"Is it still your intention to attack me?" Vincent said calmly, aiming the firearm at one of the men. "Because you are making a fatal error if you choose to attack a man with a large shotgun aimed at your head....."
One of the hooded men grabbed Reeve roughly, and the older man cried out both in surprise and frustration. Ruben was quick onto it - smashing the man across the back of the head with the lead piping.
Reeve looked at the man gratefully and smiled faintly. "Well, thankyou...."
"Any time..." Ruben grinned back.
Tifa scowled at them. "Don't cheer victory yet guys.... we still have a long way to go!"
"The hell you think I know that!?" Ruben snapped back quickly.
Somewhere within the mass of the hooded men, Sephiroth's angry voice cried out to the group.
"Dammit!! Forget about all of this, just get the hell out of here!!" He yelled. "Only worry about yourselves! It's me they want!!"
"I know that!" Tifa cried back. "But we can't go without our friends you know!"
Sephiroth was silent.
"We need to find a way out of here...." Vincent said lowly. "And seeing as though we have no knowledge in how to achieve this, I suggest we look to somebody who can. Reeve..? You worked for the Shinra, you should know this building. How do we get out of this place?"
Reeve only shrugged. "I'd never been on this floor much in my whole time here...."
"I tire of this game!" Rude snapped. "Move in, attack, and don't hesitate. If you get killed by them, you may die, but your comrades live on!"
"Sh*t...." Ruben cursed as the hooded men began to close in on the group. "We're severely outnumbered...."
"Nice grasp upon the obvious huh?" Vincent scowled.
"Shut up, dead guy!" Ruben spat. "I don't need your sarcasm right now!!"
Vincent looked deeply disturbed. "Dead guy...?!"
"Stop arguing!" Aeris yelled finally. "Just concentrate on getting out of here!"
"Best advice all day, I say....." Ruben scowled.
"Look, just shut up, all of you!!!" Sephiroth cried out again. "Get the hell out of here before they kill you!!!"
"I suggest you listen to the man." Rude said calmly. "He seems to be more intelligent than all of you put together."
"Them's fighting words, pal!!" Ruben snapped, swinging his lead piping menacingly.
Vincent paused. "Sephiroth.... are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes...."
"All right....."
"Look, whether I live or die makes no great difference...." Sephiroth said calmly. "The point is, it would be better to have one life lost, and one life alone rather than nearly the entire fleet...."
"Sephy, don't say that!!" Aeris cried. "You are needed....!! Why, if only-"
"If only you understood my argument, Aer..." Sephiroth interrupted her.
Silence.
Aeris began to cry softly. "I can't..... leave.... you.... like this......"
"Look, the man knows what he's doing...." Reeve whispered, putting an arm around the girl to comfort her. "Shh little one, don't cry. I bet he has something really big planned.... He's the top ranking SOLDIER, Aeris... I think he'd know how to worm his way out of the situation....."
"But....."
"But nothing Aeris...." Reeve whispered. "Just let him go..... just let him do this his way...."
*"But Sephiroth.....I.... I lo-"*
*"I'll be alright, Aeris....."*
*"Will you....?*
*"Yes.... I promise...."*
-
*"Now go...."*
-
*"Lead your friends out of here.... I can look after myself....."*
Aeris let out a heavy sigh and raised her head in determination.
"Move out."
Rude nodded in approval. "I knew you'd come to your senses." With a quick double-clap motion, the hooded men immediately dropped their offensive stances and slinked back into the shadows, leaving the group standing there, a little confused.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rude said calmly. "Leave."
"Alright.... come on guys, let's go home....." Aeris whispered sadly as she made her way to the door, and began to walk slowly out the corridor. The group followed her.
Tifa looked at the depressed flower-girl and sighed sadly. "Oh Aeris...."
After watching them leave the room, Rude lifted his head, smirking as he watched the group slowly moving away. Raising his hand a little, with one small motion forward, he yelled suddenly.
"ATTACK!!!"
"WHAT?!" Sephiroth snapped. "You bastard!!!"
"You didn't think I'd honestly let them walk away free, did you??" Rude chuckled. "You're even stupider than they are!!!"
"Arrrrrgh!!!" Sephiroth yelled, struggling for all he was worth, but the hooded men only held him down harder. He could only stand there and watch as more hooded men ran out the corridor and after his friends.
"Eeeeeaaaaaaayyyyyyeeeeeeeegh.....!!!"
"Aeris!!" Sephiroth cried out, and struggled for all he was worth. But he still could not get free, which only made him extremely angry. The scowl on his already scowling face deepened, Rage surged through him - pulsated through him as he let out a deeply enraged cry. Something within the man awakened for a brief moment - as he cried out in absolute rage, a small flicker of light like lightning sparks erupted from his head. The hooded men let go of him in fear, and he literally leapt away from their grip like a speeding bullet.
Sephiroth turned on them, his teeth locked in a snarl, hateful eyes glaring, the mako light in them almost seeming to pulsate with every breath the man took.
"Don't you dare hurt her.....!!" Sephiroth said through his teeth, snarling at them. "Or I swear, I'll f*cking kill you.....!!"
"Now now Sephiroth..." Rude said warily, backing away slowly. "It's all right..."
"Call them off...." Sephiroth said, ignoring him. "Call them off NOW!!"
"Well you see...." Rude said quickly, laughing nervously. "I can't exactly do that....."
"And why not?!"
"Well.... they've gone now... it's no longer my responsibility....."
"Well f*cking make it your responsibility!!!" Sephiroth hollered, raw energy erupting from his head, tearing up the ground in front of him. Rude was knocked off his feet by the impact.
"Something's awakened within him....." One of the hooded men said suddenly. "The prophecy is true.... our Lord Sephiroth has returned....!!"
"What...?!" Sephiroth spat. "What prophecy? What the f*ck are you talking about?!"
Silence.
"Arrrg....!!" Sephiroth yelled, raw energy surged all around him, tearing the floor up even more. "Tell me!!"
"The Tomes'...." The man whimpered. "The Cetra's ancient books of wisdom.... read them, and you will know....."
Sephiroth was silent.
"You are the being known as 'the creation'......" The man continued. "A simple being just like a man, but advanced far beyond a human's capabilities.... created from two humans, and the DNA from the Calamity From The Skies..... the book describes you as a deadly unstable concoction of a creature...."
"Well I knew that..." Sephiroth said calmly. "But what prophecy are you talking about? And why did you call me your lord? Is this my destiny? Is my destiny written in the books? Does it explain what I am? My purpose? Why I exist?"
Silence.
Sephiroth shook his head and fell to his knees. "Why DO I exist....? And what is my purpose....?"
"Somebody grab that man..." Rude said calmly.
"No..." One of the hooded men said slowly. "Just leave him.... let us watch his powers awaken!"
Sephiroth looked at his hands slowly and looked utterly confused. "What does this mean? And why am I here?? Who am I?"
"I think he's losing it...."
"This.... this is not the same as before....." Sephiroth said slowly. Just then, the energy within him flickered violently from his head, sparking like wild electricity. The man clutched at his head in pain.
"Unnnngggggghhhh.......!!!!" He cried. "F*ck.... my head is killing me...!!"
"Are you alright??" One of the hooded men said quickly, concerned.
"Shut up! It hurts when you talk!!" Sephiroth snapped. He clutched at his head again furiously and lay on his back as another wave of pain surged in his head. "OOOOWWW!!"
"Man, he looks bad...!" The hooded man cried out. "Can anybody think of something to do?!"
Silence.
"What if he dies?!" The man yelled. "The master will have us all killed if Sephiroth dies!! Do you all want that!?"
"It's not my problem." Rude said, turning his back on them. "We've done our part and you should do yours. It's not Shinra's fault if the goods are faulty."
"Yes it is your problem!!" The man snapped. "We're not going to do anything for you at all if our test subject dies on us!"
"T....est subject.....?!" Sephiroth said barely.
The hooded man went over to him, pulled his thick black cape off him and placed it over the grey haired man. "Don't talk now. You'll be alright."
Sephiroth jerked to his feet quickly, still clutching at his head, still scowling. "Shut up!! I'm not a baby! I don't need anyone to care for me....!!"
Sephiroth suddenly wished he hadn't stood up - he toppled to the floor again, his head crashing down on the hard ground. The impact made him pass out cold.
The man picked up his black cape and tossed it over Sephiroth again.
"Quick, call the medical team! We need to get him out of here right now!"
Several of the hooded men bolted out the door, headed for some unknown location. Meanwhile, Rude just turned his back on the whole scenario and began to walk off into the darkness.
"Weak willed fools....."
----------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, a group of hooded men were hot on the heels of the remaining AVALANCHE group, who were trying to make their escape from the Shinra building also.
"Do you think we can lose them?" Ruben wondered.
"No way, too many of them to lose!" Tifa yelled back. "There's no use in evasive manoeuvres either!"
"Then why are we running?" Vincent asked calmly. "There's only a group of them, surely we can take them on."
"You know what, Vincent?" Tifa said, stopping suddenly, turning on the hooded men. "You're right!"
"As always." Vincent smirked faintly.
"Oh!" Ruben snapped. "Don't get all cocky now! You know, I am really beginning to dislike you."
"The feeling is mutual...." Vincent said coldly.
"Guys guys guys, just shut up!!" Tifa snapped. "Save your fight for these hooded dorks!"
"Right."
"Well, what are we waiting for??" Ruben said. "Attack!!"
Tifa dove straight for the group of hooded men, taking two of them down at once with a single kick. Another man rushed at Vincent, but the man was totally unfazed as he took his shotgun from it's holster and fired, scoring a direct hit in the arm of one of the men. The man slumped to the floor, clutching at his arm in pain, making the other men back away slowly.
"Anyone else want to try that?!" Vincent said coolly, raising an eyebrow.
Silence.
"Oh man, to hell with all of you!" A hooded man yelled suddenly, and produced a small round black object from his belt. The group froze where they were and watched him like a hawk.
"What is that thing??" Ruben wondered aloud.
"I don't know...." Aeris answered thoughtfully, her eyes on the object.
"Want to find out?!" The man yelled, before tossing it at the ground in front of them, making it shatter, releasing whatever was inside.
The group quickly learned what it was - they began to cough and splutter loudly as the object quickly released a gas into the air all around them, filling the hallway quickly, making it become misty and virtually impossible to see through. All of them coughed loudly, except Vincent, who was totally unaffected by it all.
"AAAH?! What is that?! Eeeeaaaayy....!!" Aeris ceased her squealing as she quickly passed out cold.
"It's gas!!" Tifa spluttered, becoming quite faint from it. "Damn ga.....!!" She never finished her sentence as she fell to the ground and was out cold.
"Not gas, Tifa..." Vincent shook his head. "It's ether."
"Ether IS a gas you idi....-" Ruben never finished his sentence either as he passed out cold.
Reeve just lay on the ground, and chuckled weakly before passing out himself. "Always sarcastic even to the last second. that boy...."
Vincent sighed and shook his head slowly, noticing how quickly all his other team members had been taken down by such a simple device. Waving the air furiously with a hand to make it a bit more visible once again, he noticed the hooded men were covering their faces with their hoods, protecting themselves from being taken out by their own device.
"That was a pretty funny game to play..." Vincent told them airily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a game of my own to play. It's called 'Shoot to Kill."
"Uh oh...."
"Uh oh is right." Vincent said angrily, cocking the gun of his rifle. "So if you don't want to end up as my target practice, I suggest you get the hell out of here before you get your brains blasted to hell....."
Vincent aimed his gun just above the nearest man's head and fired a warning shot, making the group of hooded men flee in despair. After a few moments, Vincent was alone with his fallen comrades. The man pulled up a nearby stray executive chair, sat down and began to polish his gun with his cape.
"Now we shall play the waiting game...."
---------------------------------------------------------
"Must.....keep...... going......."
Cait Sith had covered a lot of ground since his escape from the Shinra Building. After a brief adventure down a laundry chute, and through the ruins of Midgar, the robotic cat bounded onward, now in the muddy flatlands just outwards from the megatropolis, his internal batteries almost drained dead, almost reaching critical point, and his only guide being a radio signal to the Highwind. But it was enough for him to move on...
"Must keep going....." Cait Sith buzzed weakly. "Must tell Cloud....."
Cait Sith realised now that he would have to shut down less important parts of himself if he was to reach his final destination. But the problem was, with the low battery, everything not so important to his function had already automatically shut down. The cat thought about it momentarily before he shut down his visual picture - he figured he could go by sound and the radio signal alone.
"Besides..." Cait Sith thought to himself. "The visual picture won't be very useful in an hour or so anyway - the sun is going down...."
The robotic moogle bounded on blindly, guided only by the radio signals he was receiving.
---------------------------------------------
"So tell me, oh glorious Red...."
"Shut up..."
"Tell me 13, what was your other reason for coming here?"
The Great Lion was silent, and lowered his head.
"Moukra!" Shadrach roared angrily. "That isn't very nice! Red is our friend, he saved us! And you wish to treat him like that!? I'm ashamed to be your brother..."
The older lioness snapped at Shadrach's heels angrily, but the playful cub darted away in glee. Lei buried her nose in her paws and giggled. Moukra shot her a fierce look, but it did nothing. Lei only giggled louder.
"I'm surrounded by idiots..." Moukra sighed.
"Well come on then, Red..." Shadrach grinned. "Come into the tribal lands and meet the whole tribe!"
"All right..." Red XIII said, almost as timidly as Lei. The baby girl cub sat up, taking note of it, and gave Red XIII an affectionate little rub on his legs with her chin.
"You'll be OK..." Lei said, her voice barely a whisper.
The Great Lion smiled down on her. She smiled back shyly.
Moukra scowled slightly before giving into it. After all, what could one outsider do....? If he even started a hint of trouble, she could just easily get word around the tribe to kill him.
Red XIII was like a child as he followed the lioness into her territory, watching everything around him with much curiosity and fascination... after all, it wasn't often that one saw lush grasslands and odd plants in the middle of a desert.
After a walk that seemed to take forever, they approached a very large sand-hill. Moukra turned her head back to the others behind her, and made a stern growl to gain their attention.
"Listen up..." Moukra said. "Because I am only going to say this once...."
Shadrach smiled. "Alright."
"Now, see this hill in front of us, it---"
Shadrach burst into a fit of giggles. "You lied!!"
"What??" Moukra snapped angrily, also confused.
"You said you were only going to say 'this' once...." Shadrach giggled. "And yet you said it twice!"
Lei joined her brother's giggles. Even Red XIII chuckled a little. Moukra was quite frustrated now, and let out a roar. Silence. Shadrach poked out his tongue. Moukra scowled at him. More silence.
"Now listen...." Moukra sighed angrily. "Over this hill is where the tribe lives. As soon as we approach the top of that hill, you, Shadrach an Lei, are to report to Darubus at once..."
Shadrach's face fell. Lei looked like she was going to cry. Red XIII looked a little confused.
"Darubus?" He wondered.
"Darubus is my father, and the Tribal Leader." Moukra said quietly. "He's not my real father.... he killed my real father so he could mate with my mother.... and then she had Shadrach and Lei..... and then Darubus killed her too...."
"Oh that's so sad..." Red XIII said, the confusion turning to sadness on his face. "I hated my father until one day, I learned that he died for everyone.... for the place I lived, for all of us, for me... just to protect the canyon...."
"Darubus would never do anything as heroic as that..." Moukra said bitterly. "All he cares about is indulging himself, and making sure his tribe is kept in order. He never hunts, but he eats nearly all the kills, and he's so big a powerful that nobody can stand up to him...."
Red XIII scowled a little. "What an evil creature..."
"I told you Moukra.... that's why I keep running away..." Shadrach whimpered. "I hate father, he's always too critical of everything we do...."
"I know you keep running away..." Moukra sighed. "But your father always keeps sending me to get you... and I do worry about you, you know..."
"I know..." Shadrach sighed.
"Now enough chit chat.... let's go into the Tribal Lands..." Moukra said, leading them on.
Red XIII sat back for a bit and sighed a little, he had thought Moukra a little bit cold until just now. Now he knew she had been mistreated.... Shadrach and Lei's father sounded like a particularly nasty piece of work too. Red XIII's blood boiled just thinking about it - Lei and Shadrach were gorgeous cubs, and didn't deserve to be mistreated at all.....
Over the hill was the greenest Oasis Red XIII had ever seen, but something more interesting had caught his attention... Red Lions.... everywhere.... some lazing about under trees, wading in the water, running across the grass, Red Lions everywhere....
Moukra paused and looked back on Red XIII, a little bewildered.
"My gosh, one would think you'd never seen your own kind." She said jokingly, laughing a little at herself.
But Red XIII didn't laugh - he actually looked a little upset. "You could say that..."
Moukra stopped laughing and looked at him square in the eye. "You're serious, aren't you...?"
"Yes..."
Moukra's eyes drifted a little, as she studied Red XIII's face, his foreign markings, and at last, his battle scars. "You sure have been in a lot of fights...."
"Yes, indeed..." Red XIII nodded. "With all sorts of things."
"How did you lose your eye?" Moukra wondered. "It has a nasty scar over it too..."
Red XIII chuckled a little and thought of what to tell her. "Would you believe it was an accident? A friend of Bugenhagen was playing with me when I was a cub and accidentally speared me in the eye..."
"Bugenhagen? He's from your old tribe?"
"No, Bugenhagen was a hu--" Red XIII paused. He couldn't tell this lioness he'd lived with humans for pretty much all his life. "It's not important....." he said finally.
"Hmmm.." Moukra said, giving him a quizzical look.
Just then, they all were silent as loud footprints came towards them, a low growling sound carrying with it. It was just then, Red XIII realised just how young he was. Approaching them, was a mighty Red Lion adorned with many feathers in his mane, almost twice as big as Red XIII himself. The Lion cowered slightly as the large one came up to them, and released a powerful deep roar from his throat.
"Who is this?!" The lion snapped demandingly, making Red XIII cringe a little.
"Father...." Moukra said, barely audible. "This is---"
"What in Alexander's name...?!" The lion paused suddenly, and sniffed Red XIII a little. "You're a Pachamac...!! What in Hades are you doing, daring to show your face in The Tribal Lands of Darubus?!"
"Pachamac...?" Red XIII whispered. "...Darubus? Could you explain...?"
The lion snorted, scowling, acting annoyed, as if ANY idiot could have understand what he had just said.
"I am Darubus, Tribal Leader of my lands..." The lion snorted. "And YOU... you are a tribe follower of Seto's Pachamac tribe... you are a mortal enemy...."
"Seto...?" Red XIII choked.
"YES..." The lion snapped. "Seto was a brave lion indeed... We USED to be all part of one big tribe, but the coward abandoned his own tribe one day...."
"Seto abandoned you?" Red XIII queried. "But.... why?!"
"His mate was pregnant, and being such a cry baby that she was, she couldn't keep up with the rest of the tribe anymore...." The lion continued. "So he abandoned us for the bipeds in the Cosmo Canyon...."
Red XIII was silent.
"Seto was a brave lion..." Darubus snarled. "But he is a traitor. And if I ever come across him ever again, I am going to tear pieces out of him...!!"
"Don't you dare speak ill of him!!" Red XIII said loudly. "And besides, Seto is dead...!!"
"..And how do YOU know this, pesky outsider?!" Darubus snorted.
"Because...." Red XIII scowled, tears pricking his eyes. "I am his son...."
---------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Cloud was still looking after the Highwind, playing with the flap of his PHS nervously, worried to call Cid about the plane, and anxious, worried that his phone may ring to say that he was needed. He checked the battery monitor window on the PHS for the seven millionth time that hour, he continued to play with his PHS nervously, he fidgeted with the grass, he paced back and forth quickly, and kept scratching the back of his head subconsciously. All in all, Cloud was a nervous wreck. He looked up at the sky and sighed, it was getting dark now.
Just then, he heard a sound. Bolting upright to his feet, he looked around furiously. He saw a white figure bounding across the plains and shrugged a little - it was probably just a rabbit. Cloud slumped to the ground once more, and continued to fidget with his PHS - for all of about two seconds. The man looked back at the white shape, now noticing it had grown in size since he last looked, and now he noticed that it had a rather rotund shape to it.
"What the...?" Cloud said to himself as he squinted at it to get a better look. "What the heck IS that??" The blonde man leapt to his feet and whipped his giant sword from it's place on his back and held it out in front of him, battle ready. His eyes watched the shape intently, his fingers twitched in anticipation as he waited for the shape to come closer - and then all of a sudden, he stopped dead in his tracks.... Was that a.... cat? On top of that white thing? Did it... did it really have a red cape, or was Cloud just seeing things?
"CLOUD!!!" a hazy weak robotic voice bleeped out suddenly. "That's Cloud's PHS signal I can......bzzt .....pick up - Is that you Cloud? Are you holding your P-bzzt!-HS??"
"Cait Sith?!" Cloud howled with happiness.
"Cloud, it IS you!!" Cait Sith yelled out happily. "I recognise that voice anywhere!!"
The robotic cat ran towards the blonde man, grinning proudly.
"I did some-bzzt-thing right!" The robot cat yelled happily. "I came t-bzzt-o you!"
Cait Sith nearly crashed into Cloud as he gave him a rough friendly hug. "Cloud!! How hav-frat!-e you been, bu-bzzt-ddy?!" the cat cried happily.
"What the heck are you doing out here!!??" Cloud smiled happily. "And why do you sound sound so awful?!"
"Low batt-bzzt-ery...." Cait Sith panicked suddenly. "Tifa, Aeris, Vincent and the rest of the group!! BZZT!! They're all in seri-bzzt-ous trouble! Something happened to Sephiroth, they were bzzt duped and now I don't kn-bzzt-ow what's happened to them! All I know is that they're in trouble and -bzzt- they're in the Shinra Building in Midgar! Help the-bzzt-m!!"
"Right!" Cloud yelled suddenly, a deep scowl of determination appeared on his face. "Why didn't they call me??"
"I have n-bzzt-o idea...!!" Cait Sith cried. "But hurry! They sent me -bzzt- to get you, they need you!!"
"Wait just one second...." Cloud said, ripping a nearby panel off the underside of the Highwind. Producing two large jumper leads from the compartment behind the panel, he quickly walked behind Cait Sith, popped the Moogle open and attached the leads right onto both points of the batteries.
"Thanks!" Cait Sith said, his voice nearly 200% clearer than before. "I needed that!"
"I know you did..." Cloud said as he darted off towards Midgar. "And now, I can think of somewhere I am needed more...."
--------------------------------------
"Ww...... where am I....? Ungh.....My head is throbbing...."
-
-
"Feels weird.... like I'm burning up.... but I'm not sick, am I?"
-
-
"Well.. my head is killing me.... I must be sick...."
*"No, you aren't sick...."*
*"You?"*
-
*"What are you doing here?"*
*"I go wherever I am needed...."*
*"My head is killing me.....make it go away...."*
*"If the process wasn't so complex, child, if I could take the pain away, believe me, I would..."*
*"Who are you...?"*
*"Not so worried about the pain in your head any more, are you, young Sephiroth?"*
*"I'm not so young you know!"*
*"Compared to me, you are."*
*"Well all right...."*
-
-
-
-
*"What's happening to me..?"*
*"What do you mean, child?"*
*"My head is killing me.... and I got so angry that I released power for a short amount of time... and then my head hurt so much... I just lost sight and blacked out...."*
*"Ahh yes..."*
*"But I used my power... and I thought it was taken away from me?"*
*"I see you are an observant child.... always wanting to know what is going on, always wanting to know things you don't understand, or don't know of....."
*"Well..... who wouldn't want to know??"*
*"So very true...."*
*"Excuse me.... but...... what IS happening to me?"*
-
-
*"There are some things we must work out for ourselves.... and while I could tell you, it would take away all the challenge of learning for yourself....."*
-
-
*"So.... you know, but... you're not going to tell me...."*
*"...correct...."* *"Can you at least tell me why my powers were released?"*
*"Yes, that I can do, because you probably already know why, yourself...."*
*"Well...?"*
-
-
*"It was in the name of protective love.... because you cared...."* *"I....."*
-
*"I do.... that's correct...."*
-
*"But only because she brought me to this world, mind you! Hear me out! I'm only protecting her because her life is mine, you understand me??"*
*"I understand perfectly.... You must care an awful lot to have been so angry that your powers were released...."*
*"Oh man...."*
*"Hehehee..... I wish you the best of luck catching a little dove so beautiful as her, my child..."
*"........"*
-
*"Her friends would hate me if they knew.... If they knew I liked her, they'd.... I don't know what they'd do..... and she doesn't deserves someone so pitiful as myself anyway.... so......"*
-
*"Not one word of this to anyone, you hear me?!"*
*"Oh, don't worry, child.... your secrets are safe with me.... and don't worry too much... disgress your secret to the right person, and you may find out another secret about you that you didn't know...." *"Huh?"*
*"I think I have said too much now."*
*"So you're not going to tell me?"*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
*"Thanks for nothing....."*
*"Oh child.... don't be so bitter towards me...."*
*"Leave me alone."*
-
-
-
-
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Fine."*
*"Is that all you can say? I thought you were leaving?"*
*"If you want further help, do not expect to find it here.... so afraid of being alone you are.... and now, without me, you really will be...."*
-
-
*"Hello?"*
-
-
-
-
*"I'm sorry...!!"*
"Hello....." Sephiroth said in his head. But the telepathic link had ended. The man felt his headache suddenly and cringed. "Ow....."
"OW....!!"
"Ungh.....!!"
Sephiroth awoke back to reality slowly, but he could not move at all.... his body felt like a ton weight, almost as if it was being held by boulders.... and a slightly painful prickly sensation was surging through him.... so badly he wanted to move and get up, but his body wouldn't comply. So he decided to lie there for a few moments to rest, and try again later when he had more strength. At least his hearing worked.... he heard the sound of machines whirring, beeping, all around him, and muffled voices saying strange things...
"Where am I?"
*"You're in the laboratory, and still in the Shinra Building, my child..."*
"How did I get here....?" He wondered. He quickly decided not to worry about it, he had more important things on his mind.... like what was happening to him....
"Turn the resonator up 50 more points..."
"Are you sure he can handle that much in such a short period of time??"
"Calm down, calm down.... this is The Great Sephiroth we're talking about - he can handle just about anything..."
"Resonator up 50 more points sir. Complete."
"Any reaction?"
"Just a slight one... but no, nothing really..."
"Damn...."
"I know...." the voice sighed a little. "But try not to rush things too much... you don't want this to end prematurely..."
"Sephiroth has a huge quantity of energy at his disposal." The commanding voice said. "I just want to harness that energy... I don't care how long it takes, I just want that energy! OWARA needs that energy! So just keep going...."
"Understood.."
"They want my power..?" Sephiroth wondered, a little annoyed. "But it's mine! Even though it seems to have been asleep till now.... that was until...." The man was silent.
"Sir, I think you should come see this!"
"What is it?!" A commanding voice snapped.
"The test subject's brainwaves...." The voice paused. "They're surging!"
"I have a name you know....!!" Sephiroth thought angrily. But he remained still, and silent once again. After all, he might just learn something....
"There they go again! Just now as I am talking!" The voice cried out in surprise. "Do you think.... maybe.... he's aware?"
"Hmm..." The commanding voice paused. "It's a precaution we have to take. Alright everyone, be on alert... Maximum security, and all systems, full power!"
Sephiroth felt the prickly sensation in his body more than ever before, as they turned up the power on him. It was really beginning to hurt him now. He screwed up his face a little in pain....
"Take a look, sir!" The voice said suddenly, excited. "The readings from the magnetic imaging resonator are totally off the dial!"
"Can you determine whether the cause for this anomaly is natural or artificial in origin?"
"Sir, the resonator doesn't show a trace of any artificial implants, enhancements, or devices of any kind!"
"....What?"
"Not even on a sub atomic level!!!"
"If Sephiroth is indeed the natural source of such energy, these readings indicate he's capable of generating power akin to..... no.... can it be possible...?"
"Sephiroth is one of Hojo's, sir...." The voice said quietly. "After all, Hojo did great things.... terrible but great..."
"But I can't believe it..." The voice said. "Someone actually dared to bioengineer the ultimate human...?"
"Sephiroth is hardly human, sir....."
"To what limit would the individual's abilities extend....?"
"Limitless, sir..." The voice told him. "Ahh, he was well worth what we paid for him, isn't that right, boss?"
"Agreed. The subject lying on the table is OWARA's greatest triumph! With this equipment, we'll extract the required information to bioengineer ourselves to his level! And then we shall become gods of our own!! Hahahahaa!!"
"I think that's a yes!"
Silence fell over the room suddenly.
"Boss?" The voice said suddenly. "What's wrong?"
"I think... Sephiroth's fist just clenched..."
"Hardly human....?!" Sephiroth repeated the words over again in his head bitterly, becoming more enraged. "They speak of me as if I am an object!! A bargaining chip?!"
The man gritted his teeth and scowled deeply. "No more of this!!"
"SIR!! THE ALARM!!"
All around the complex, sirens blared everywhere. Chaos ensued.
"Technician!!" The commanding voice barked angrily. "What's the problem?!"
"Sir, the resonator is overloading!!!" The voice cried back. "I'm trying to shut all systems down, but nothing's working!!"
"WHAT?!"
"Even the circuit breakers are blowing!" The voice cried. "It's as if we were plugged into a limitless power source and couldn't disconnect!!"
"Can we contain the power surges?? Limit them only to the immediate vicinity?"
"Highly doubtful sir! System after system is collapsing! Our entire network is in jeopardy!"
"Well what about Sephiroth...?!" The commanding voice yelled. "Can we extract him safely out of the chamber?"
"Unknown sir!" The voice cried back. "At the present rate of radiation discharge, the environment within this whole building will be uninhabitable in less than fifteen minutes!"
"Are there any other options still open, technician?"
"You can either give the order to evacuate sir...." the voice sighed. "Or... you can attempt to destroy the source of our problem now lying inside the chamber..."
"..........."
"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!"
There was a deafening explosion as the door to Sephiroth's chamber flew off it's hinges, and scraped across the floor for a distance.
"All hands abandon stations!" The technician dove for the PA system microphone and screamed. "I repeat -- All hands abandon stations!! This is not a drill! This is not a drill!! Shoot to kill!!"
"NO!" The commander yelled, grabbing him. "Sephiroth is much more valuable to me alive!"
"But sir....!!"
"NO!!"
Sephiroth stood in the doorway, plumes of smoke blew lazily out the door from behind him. Examining his hands and arms slowly, he realised that he had all sorts of diodes and probes all over him. He began to rip them off as he casually made his way to the two men who had been discussing.....
"What is your business with me?" Sephiroth barked, making the both of them cringe in terror. "How did I get here?! Why am I your guinea pig!? What the hell is this OWARA crap and why am I connected with it?!"
"Sephiroth sir, I suggest you calm down...." The Technician laughed nervously.
"NO!" Sephiroth yelled, sending an uncontrolled spherelike ripple of raw energy out from himself, making everything in his immediate vicinity crumble a little. "I demand to know!!"
"Sephiroth..."
"So many secrets have been kept from me, and I demand to know them!" Sephiroth barked. "I was led to this place in search of documents regarding my past, and I've been duped.... denied access to them... well NO MORE!!" he yelled, sending another ripple of energy from himself.
"Alright alright alright...." The Commander laughed nervously. "Well, I am the leader of OWARA, my name is Ruthire..."
"I don't care what the hell your name is!" Sephiroth snapped. "Answer my questions! Preferably now before I annihilate you!"
"OWARA is a cult group." The Technician explained. "We kept people's morale up after Meteor by promising life would get better once the being known as Sephiroth would return...."
"What a load of balogna!!" Sephiroth snapped.
"I know..." The Technician nodded. "But one day... we found out that what we have been prophesising to the people was actually true...."
"We found that out one day when a young blonde man confronted us." The Commander spoke up suddenly. "He was one of Hojo of Shinra's lab assistants, a young man known simply by the name of 'Ruben'..."
"I know the guy..." Sephiroth said slowly. "He's alright I guess..."
"Because he had knowledge of your second coming," The Commander explained. "We exploited him for all his knowledge of the Cetra's Tomes. We then applied his knowledge to our own teachings, and the OWARA cult grew from there."
"Ruben wasn't a bad person, he'd just gotten messed up with us." The Technician grinned, but stopped immediately after being given a nasty look from Sephiroth. He continued. "Ruben had decided to move in on Shinra's empire, he declared himself President and ordered the restoration of people's lives after Meteor....."
"Meteor..." Sephiroth sighed miserably, and realised that his stupidity had started off all this mess in the first place.
"Ruben ran Shinra quite well. He had solar panels placed in every house known across the planet, and tried to help the cities get their lives back on track." The Technician shrugged. "Well..... just a few days ago, a man by the name of Rufus Shinra came to us, somehow knowing that you had returned. That man has a huge network of people working for him, so it was not to be questioned if he was speaking the truth or not. He promised to find you and hand you over to us if only we would undermine Ruben's new Shinra empire and have it restored to him."
"Hmm...." Sephiroth thought hard.
"Both transactions are now complete." The Commander grinned wickedly. "Rufus Shinra has his empire back, The one known as Ruben is a fallen man, and you have been delivered to us through Rufus's underlings known as Reno and Rude, of the Turks...."
"But I saw the Turks working for Ruben." Sephiroth remembered. "Was that part of your plan?"
"Yes, they were double agents the whole time." The Commander said slowly. "So there you go Sephiroth, now you know what our business is with you, and why you are connected the OWARA cult. You're it's absolute pinnacle, the very God they worship. You should feel honoured that we have done this for you...."
"I want no part in it...." Sephiroth scowled slightly. "Enough... now, next question."
The Commander's eyes darted around the room nervously and laughed. "Very well, ask away, Great Sephiroth!"
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the Commander's emphasis of the word 'Great', but paid it no mind. He continued. "Why am I your guinea pig? Why did you attach me to strange machines and try to do things to me...?" he asked, pulling more wires and electro-patches off himself.
"We're trying to awaken your power...." The Commander said. "We're going to find out what makes you tick and harness the power for our own purposes!"
"My power is already awake!!" Sephiroth yelled, releasing a huge bolt of energy from his very being, smashing the floor up around him. The whole room shook violently.
"And the last question, I don't need to ask, because I don't care any more!" Sephiroth yelled angrily.
"And what question was that?"
"How did I get here?" Sephiroth repeated for them. "But it doesn't matter to me - Who needs to know when I am going to be gone momentarily!"
"Seize him!!" The Commander barked, waving his hand furiously. "Har har har, what an idiot you are, Great Sephiroth! In your hungry quest for knowledge, you bought us enough time to get backup in here so we can restrain you once again!"
"ARRGG!!!!" Sephiroth yelled furiously, his head throbbing with maddening pain as he used his powers once again. With one final and tremendous release of energy, he yelled out as he released the biggest wave of raw energy yet, so powerful it was that it made the whole floor rumble violently and begin to collapse.
Nobody was prepared for what happened next. The weakened structure holding up the floor crumbled under the weight of itself, the weight of the floor crashing down onto the next, and the weight of the two crashing down onto the next floor after that....
A very tired and worn out Cloud had just arrived on the scene, only to watch the mighty Shinra building collapse right in front of him to pieces of twisted metal and rock. And Cait Sith had told him his friends had been in that thing.... Tifa... Aeris.... Vincent... and Reeve....
Cloud fell on his knees in morbid shock as a wave of depression overtook him. Only one thought crossed his mind as he kneeled there...
"Oh shit.... I'm too late....."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Be Continued..........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writer's Ramblings:
Well, sorry it took me so long!!! But anyways, hope you enjoyed the latest installment!
Until next time...
- Kat =^-^=