The ground outside of Junon burst open in three spots as three buds worked their way to the surface. Two of them opened seconds after breaching the surface.
Torvio and Aeris stepped out of their buds, eyes on Vincent's bud. "Is he alright?" Aeris asked, shuddering. Travel buds are NOT my preferred method of travel.
To her surprise, Torvio grinned. "He'll be fine. I'm merely, ah... having some fun at his expense."
Aeris smacked him upside the head. "Come on, this isn't the time!" she snapped. "Let him out already!"
The third travel bud opened very slowly - or at least, it did until Vincent forced his way out. His eyes were affixed upon Torvio, hand twitching over Cerberus. "You sonuvabitch," he growled.
Torvio laughed. "Enjoy the trip?" He made a brief show of dusting himself off, although there was nothing dirtying about the trip.
"Shut up," Vincent seethed, hand moving away from Cerberus as he managed to contain his anger. "Are all Arva so sadistic, I wonder?"
"Well, that remains to be seen," Torvio said, still apparently enjoying himself. "I'm probably the most sadistic without being a murderer like Saahan. My sister, however, has shown no allusions to sadism herself, at least not yet."
Aeris cleared her throat as the three travel buds burrowed underground once more, moving away from them. "You two can fight later. Right now, we have something more important to look into, right?"
They both looked at her, then nodded. As she turned toward Junon, however, they both looked at each other once more. Torvio wore an amused grin on his face, Vincent was shooting the Arva his most severe glare yet.
"Let's go," she said.
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
She drifted in and out of consciousness, eyes refusing to open.
"...strong..." she heard faintly. The voice sounded sad.
She struggled to wake, to open her eyes. Her body was unresponsive, however, and she merely continued to drift in and out of consciousness.
"...be strong..." the voice said once more, barely audible.
Who... is that...? she wondered.
All at once, the voice suddenly became clear and very audible. "You must be strong, Yuffie Kisaragi. Do not give up."
Yuffie's eyes finally cracked open ever so slightly, only to be blinded by the pale blue-green of the Lifestream. Her eyes closed almost immediately, and she lost consciousness once more.
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
"I recognize that Saahan has gone mad... but I hadn't thought it was this bad," Torvio remarked with a tinge of horror in his voice, his narrowed eyes scanning the room they had stepped into. What had once been a room intended for security was anything but now; various scientific apparatus were prominently displayed, barely visible in the darkness - a darkness that was given an eerie glow by a single tank on the far side of the room, filled with a pale blue-green substance.
Aeris stared at the tank, jaw hanging. "Wh-what is Saahan doing...?" she whispered faintly.
Vincent's hand was hovering over Cerberus. "Damned if I know, but we can extract that answer from him once we find him." He looked around. "Be careful; there may be traps to keep intruders such as us occupied."
Aeris nodded, while Torvio shrugged. "Not my brother's preferred method of operating, but whatever you want to believe..."
The trio stepped forward slowly, their movements quiet. The only real sound was Vincent removing Cerberus from its holster, as though expecting trouble.
"There's a door in that corner," Vincent said quietly, indicating to a spot further down the wall to their left. "I'm willing to bet Saahan is past it, somewhere."
"Agreed," Torvio said just as quietly. He produced a single seed and turned it over in his fingers slowly. "Well then, let us make haste, and not dally in this unnerving room."
Aeris looked at Torvio in surprise. "It's unnerving to you?" she asked in a hushed whisper.
He nodded. "Not once, since we entered this room, has the feeling as though I'm being watched... faded. There's someone or something watching... well, me, at least. I don't know about you two, however..."
As they stepped closer to the door, the substance inside the tank bubbled enough to make Aeris gasp. "D-did you two see...?" she asked, taking a step back.
Torvio glanced at the tube. "Something wro-" He, too, shrank back slightly as the bubbling repeated. "...Interesting, to, ah... say the least..."
Vincent peered at it intently, a trembling hand the only indicator of fear on his part. "It looks as though there's something... breathing inside..." he murmured quietly.
Aeris stepped toward the tank, unable to tear herself away from the sight which was obviously haunting her. She gasped again, this one sounding mortified. "Th-there's... there's s-some... th-there's s-someone... i-in the t-tank..." she stammered as quietly as she could. "I-it l-looks... human..."
Vincent and Torvio stepped closer, eyes affixed on the tank - on the vague outline of a figure inside. "Is Saahan following in Hojo's footsteps?" Vincent hissed angrily, his stride picking up pace. "Is he experimenting on helpless victims for his own ends?"
Torvio stopped altogether. "Don't move!" he ordered as loudly as he dared.
Both Aeris and Vincent stopped moving, although Vincent was far more reluctant to do so. "What's wrong?"
"...If my theory is correct... there's no one inside the tank..." he murmured, eyes watching it carefully.
To their horror, a single eye opened within the tank, staring back at Torvio. Aeris swayed on the spot before falling over. Vincent rushed toward her to catch her and keep her from falling to the floor.
"...I see, brother... so your depravity is indeed as severe as his was..." Torvio said, stepping forward. He palmed the seed in his fingers, watching as the single eye split into two seperate eyes, both of them still affixed on him. "Except... yours is still getting far, far worse..."
What appeared to be rows upon rows of jagged teeth appeared beneath the eyes as the entity within the tank gave them what appeared to be a twisted mockery of a grin. What appeared to be hands seemed to grow from the entity's sides, stretching out as arms grew behind the hands.
Then, without warning, one of the entity's hands curled into a fist and slammed against the glass keeping it at bay. Its other hand curled into a fist as well, and it began hammering fiercely on the glass, as though attempting to break free of the tube.
Vincent aimed Cerberus at the tank, eyes narrowed. "What is that thing?" he asked, forgoing all need for stealth; the pounding upon the tank was echoing through the room.
Torvio palmed the seed and allowed it to sprout vines around his fingers, vines that covered his fingers in what appeared to be razor-sharp claws. "I have a guess," he began uncertainly, "but for now, that's all it-"
The glass shattered, cutting off his words. The pale blue-green substance rushed out of the tank, the entity falling into what appeared to be a puddle amidst the contents of the emptied tank.
All three kept their eyes fixed on the puddle. Vincent aimed Cerberus at it, watching and waiting.
"Wh-what just... did it die?" Aeris asked uncertainly.
The puddle seemed to leap at Aeris suddenly, a head forming as it traveled through the air at her. It formed claws which reached for her, a mouth formed and opened to reveal the razor-sharp teeth reforming as well. The eyes reappeared as well, affixed on the Ancient.
An ear-splitting screech ripped through the room, one that silenced Aeris' scream of terror.
The left set of claws gripped her right shoulder fiercely, the sharp tips digging into her shoulder mercilessly. The mouth contorted into the same mockery of a grin before opening wide, aiming for her neck.
The screech cut off abruptly as Torvio appeared next to Aeris, his left hand raised in the air. His viny claws were dripping with the pale blue-green substance, his eyes were affixed on the entity's head. A sickening 'thump' was heard as the hand buried into Aeris' shoulder fell slack from her, hitting the floor - where it quickly became amorphous and dissolved into the puddle.
Rather than turn its head, the eyes and mouth simply shifted so they were facing Torvio. The left arm suddenly sharpened to resemble a scythe blade, and swung at Torvio with no pause.
Torvio simply blocked the incoming blade with his claws, and grinned wickedly at the entity. He buried his claws into the bladed arm and ripped the arm off from the grasped location.
The entity was not fazed, however, and it surprised all three of them by shooting what appeared to be a bundle of pale blue-green needles into Torvio's stomach at high speed. A massive claw formed at the severed location on its arm and raced toward Torvio's heart with unbelievable speed.
A shot rang out as Vincent blew the massive claw off with Cerberus. He adjusted his aim so it was aimed at the entity's 'stomach', and fired again. He repeatedly shot the entity until it stopped moving. He eyed it warily before preparing to reload.
As he reloaded, the entity's stomach bubbled violently. A single sphere traveled on the outside of the entity's 'body' to the end of the arm. Once there, the sphere began to bubble before exploding in Vincent's direction - sending every bullet Vincent had shot into it flying back at him with the same speed at which Cerberus had fired.
Vincent was knocked off his feet as the bullets each found a place embedded in his skin. He landed on his back, the impact winding him. He gasped for air, pain shooting throughout his entire body.
Torvio watched, his eyes traveling to the entity's head for a moment. He ignored the stabbing pains in his stomach and lashed out at the entity's head with his claws.
The claws found their mark as they buried themselves into the 'forehead' of the entity. He clenched the claws into a fist and ripped back forcefully, holding a very sizeable chunk of the substance in his hand.
The entity bubbled fiercely before dissolving into the puddle at its base. Vincent and Aeris watched the puddle, as though expecting it to rise up once more and continue the relentless onslaught.
"I-is it... d-dead?" Aeris stuttered, her hand slipping to her injured shoulder.
To their surprise, Torvio nodded. He dropped the chunk and examined his claws. "I would imagine so," he said simply, watching as the chunk dissolved into the puddle.
Vincent closed his eyes, agony racing through his body. "What... in fucking hell... was that thing?" he gasped.
Aeris bit her lip, moving toward Vincent. She knelt down and began working healing magics through his body.
Torvio allowed one of the viny claws to wind around the needles still embedded in his stomach, and ripped them out without much effort. He groaned in pain, allowing the needles, too, to drop to the floor, where they rejoined the puddle. He examined the pale blue-green residue on his claws, turning away from them both. "I have no idea," he admitted. "I know an Arva, about a thousand years ago, attempted something similar... but failed miserably." He brought the claws closer to his face and licked one claw. "It appears to be... Lifest-"
His words cut off abruptly as his eyes widened in shock. He retched, spitting the residue from his mouth. The Arva gagged as he attempted to work any remaining residue from his mouth. "Disg- disturbing," he managed through sickened reactions. He eyed the puddle warily.
"Oh my... now this is not what I was expecting to see," came a voice they all recognized. They all jumped in surprise, and within moments, Cerberus was aimed, albeit shakily, at the form of Saahan standing in the doorway that had been their target location.
The puddle provided the only illumination in the room, and cast an eerie glow upon Saahan's face. His eyes were masked in darkness, but the smirk on his face was obvious enough. "Well, I wasn't expecting company, to be sure..." His eyes flicked from Torvio to Aeris, then to-
Vincent was glaring at Saahan, and he could all but sense the Arva return the glare. "Saahan."
"Vincent Valentine... what a pleasure to see you again!" Saahan exclaimed, his smirk widening. "Last I heard, you were dead; I suppose this goes to prove how wild speculation can be very misleading, yes?"
"Don't you play fucking innocent with us!" Vincent snapped angrily, wincing as Aeris' healing magics worked each bullet out of his body and healed the injuries. "What you've done here is insane, far more so than Hojo's twisted-"
"Hojo was a scientist obsessed with Jenova, experimenting with Mako... in short, a very blind man, a blindness not even his glasses could help with." Saahan leaned against the doorframe casually. "I am experimenting with neither. Frankly, I could care less about Jenova or Mako. No, I am more interested in... the Lifestream."
Aeris flicked her eyes to him briefly. "You want to destroy the planet by flooding the Lifestream with faux-Lifestream. So why do-"
He laughed at her. "Has my brother filled your head with nonsense, Ancient? I do not wish this world destroyed, per se... no, my goal is a bit more... open-minded. I live on this planet; I would not destroy my home, only to cause myself to perish in the process." He calmed himself after a moment, the amusement still apparent on his face.
Cerberus clicked once as Vincent pulled the trigger. He cursed his idiocy and pulled Cerberus back to him - he hadn't reloaded. "So why would you do something so... insane as this?" he retorted, gesturing to the puddle.
"That would be telling, no? I would prefer to keep things as a very pleasant surprise for all of Gaia. You shall see, once the day comes..."
"And Edge?" Aeris finished healing Vincent, and turned her attention to Saahan fully. "What would be so 'pleasant' about having a group of these things assaulting your home?"
Saahan cackled with mirth. "You think I attacked Edge with surgers?" he exclaimed. "Oh, ancestors, no! You seem to be as blind as Hojo was!"
"Surger being the entity we just fought," Torvio responded. The viny claws extended slightly as Torvio started toward Saahan.
"Yes. The thing you just fought is called a 'surger' - or I call them such, at any rate."
"I have a question, Saahan." Torvio's expression was difficult to read.
"I'd prefer if you called me 'brother'."
"You've lost all rights to that respectful title. No one who has fallen lower than crimson ever did is deserving of the title 'brother'," Torvio spat. "Regardless, I couldn't help but notice... this surger seemed to be an eternal battle at first glance, regenerating lost parts. Tell me... how is it you've managed to incorporate faux-Lifestream so as to... meld it with the real Lifestream?"
Aeris couldn't believe her ears. "Th-this thing was made up of faux-Lifestream?" she whispered.
"Yes." Saahan cracked his neck, an air of boredom surrounding him. "Faux-Lifestream is comparable to necromancy; it is a twisted mockery of its true form. And yet, it is possible to accept necromantic entities into living society, although the circumstances must be extremely suitable for such coexistence."
"Crimson forced that issue," Torvio snapped.
"And so have I, by that logic. Not the point, though." Saahan waved a hand dismissively. "I didn't meld it, so to speak, but rather-"
A shot rang out as a furious Vincent's intended 'killing blow' went wide, embedding itself in the wall next to the doorframe. "Shut up, and give up," he snarled, adjusting his aim. "Whatever it is you're planning, it won't matter. I intend to do what I should have done years and years ago."
Saahan laughed. "You're going to kill me, then. Is that what you're trying to say? And here I thought we were friends..." He gave Vincent a condescending look. "You're still so easy to predict, Valentine. I took Riuni from you, and you turned on-"
Vincent's second shot only missed Saahan by a hair, as the Arva moved his head to the side. "You damned Riuni to a life that isn't worth living!"
"You'd have to take that up with her, you realize. She made the decision to become Arveborne, not me. Just as you made the decision to break her heart. I digress. Killing me won't do you any good; it only compounds the problem."
Vincent's finger twitched on the trigger, but he felt a hand clasp his gently.
Aeris shook her head. "No. Not yet. He has a point; we don't know what his death will mean for us. We don't know what he's planning, either, so..." She looked at Saahan once more. "If you won't tell us what you're planning... can you at least tell us why you're doing what it is you're doing?"
Saahan gave her a surprised look. "Strange... you didn't pick up on it the first day we met? I expected more of you, Ancient... it would seem I was only to be disappointed." He clicked his tongue. "The Cetra of the past were... self-righteous."
"Not this again..." Torvio grumbled. "Yes, Saahan, the Cetra attacked us with little or no provocation. In the end, though, we united against Jenova, and swore a treaty of peace with them."
"Yet it is the fact that they attacked us first that bothers me most. Why ought they be allowed to rest in peace, when they attacked us? They became villains that day, brother, and between the two races, we were the outcasts. We were the dangerous ones - us, who could shapeshift and could command power when we so desired. Us, who wanted peace with them to begin with." He looked at Aeris. "Your kind... the Cetra were the true dangerous ones, in that their actions were unpredictable... and almost always fatal for us. Yet it is the Arva who were all but erased from history. The Cetra are revered as heroes for sealing Jenova, while the last remnants of the Arva - the same Arva who did the actual fighting against Jenova to keep her off the Cetra - have been all but forgotten."
Aeris pondered this for a moment. "So then... you want to attack the Lifestream to indirectly attack the Cetra... to show them what it means to be attacked for little or no reason."
He chuckled darkly. "No. I do not wish to attack the Cetra themselves; such childish 'you did it first' is pitiful. Rather, I wish to spite the Cetra."
"How?"
"Again, that would be telling." Saahan waved a hand dismissively. "All you need to know is that what you've seen so far... it's not even the tip of the iceberg, as the saying goes. The surger is the least of your worries." He stepped away from the doorframe. "Now, you'll excuse me. I seem to be missing Riuni, as I need an Arveborne for my next step. Luckily, I've managed to secure someone else that is ideal for becoming Arveborne."
Torvio frowned. "Not many know our history, Saahan - which is a key requirement to create Arveborne. Unless you're planning on just driving them mad-"
"I wonder, have there always been three of you coming after me?" he interrupted, turning his head to face them. He wore a triumphant smirk. "It seems to be a rather measly... 'resistance', we'll say."
It took them all a moment to realize what he was getting at. Vincent stood swiftly, Cerberus aimed at Saahan's head. "You didn't," he growled furiously.
"No, not yet. That, however, is prone to change in mere moments." He began walking away, the door closing behind him. He waved a hand over his shoulder. "Don't worry yourself, Valentine; I will take very good care of Miss Kisaragi," he said as the door closed behind him.
So hopefully, it makes sense now, but if not...
Yes, Yuffie was pulled into the Lifestream by Saahan's faux-Lifestream. She survives the ordeal of being exposed to the Lifestream only because the faux-Lifestream, being the mockery of the Lifestream that it is, cocooned her to keep her safe.
And now Saahan has her, as the tendril that captured Yuffie re-emerged in the Junon reactor.
So, it's a day late, but Happy New Year! Here's hoping 2011 is a great year.
My New Year's resolutions are as follows, as made yesterday:
-Do not call other people names (already screwed this up by calling someone at work something VERY nasty yesterday)
-Improve my drawing ability drastically
-Make more than two resolutions when 2012 rolls around
It's an improvement over last year's resolution, where I resolved to make a REAL resolution at the start of 2011, at any rate.
I want to improve my drawing ability because I'm frequenting DeviantArt a lot more lately, and it makes me want to draw... I'm just browsing for now, of course; I've tried putting up a couple pieces of written literature, but everything I write is in RTF (Rich Text Format), and I guess it's not supported by dA...? I don't know; I DO know I need to look further into it.
I'm thinking of bouncing over to FictionPress, as well, and putting up the story I'm working on when I'm NOT writing fanfics. I'm not sure yet. We'll see as time goes on, and if I do, I'll be using the same pen-name as I do here - and if Spiritslayer is mysteriously taken, well... I'm not there yet, so we'll see, like I said.
I'm only halfway pleased with the way this chapter came out. I like the way it's written, sure... but there's not much in the way of negotiation, and I put emphasis on NEGOTIATE in the 'Next chapter' summary in my last A.N. I just feel bad, knowing I probably misled the readers, however slightly. Luckily, I know EXACTLY how next chapter's going to play out...
Next chapter, the trio presses on, intent on saving Yuffie from Saahan. Yet it seems the harder they try to save her, the more difficult the act becomes. As the Arveborne ritual reaches its apex, will Yuffie be lost to everyone - forever? -Spiritslayer