Before Crisis 2: The Crisis
CHAPTER 25 – TEMPLE OF THE ANCIENTS
December 25th [ ν ] - εγλ 0007, 12:00 PM
Tseng had led the way to the Temple of the Ancients. It was a three-hour flight from Midgar to the abandoned island, directly east of Gongaga and south of Junon. The Temple was situated on the northeast portion, surrounded by a dense, thick forest on a flat terrain. The region was known as the Woodlands Area, due to the vast number of trees on the island.
Three helicopters were parked along the coast where a base camp was set up not far away from the Temple. The investigation was one that could easily last overnight, so Tseng had picked a spot where the signal was strong enough to reach headquarters. He was accompanied by Elena, SOLDIER 1st Class Luxiere, two 2nd Class SOLDIERs, and six members from the Investigation Unit. The group followed their leader as they journeyed through the forest, eventually reaching the end of the path.
Tseng stopped for a moment and observed the building ahead. "This is the Temple of the Ancients," he told the group. "This could be the Promised Land we're searching for."
The Temple was a massive, ziggurat-like structure of yellowed stone, barricaded by a fifty-foot-high wall with a staircase through its opening. It seemed obvious that the building was very old, and that nobody had entered it since the time of the Cetra. Enchanted by the unique architecture, Tseng believed that no one, even Cetras, could get inside without the Keystone.
"Let's go," he said as he climbed the stairs. "Our priority is to find the Black Materia before Sephiroth gets here."
By the time the group had reached the top, everyone except the SOLDIERs were short of breath. They moved aside for Tseng to lead as he entered the interior, the Keystone taken out of his pocket. He scanned the dim, rectangular hallway, where its walls were decorated with murals of the past. In the middle of the room was a stone altar on a platform, with lit torches on each side. The Turk motioned the others to follow as he walked towards the altar.
"There's nothing in this room," Luxiere noted as he stopped by the platform behind Elena. "Dead end. I don't think we're going the right way."
"Ancients' writing," Tseng ignored him, studying the altar. There was a circular indentation on top of the table, almost like something could fit right in. "I assume no one here is familiar with the Cetra language."
"Sir? Can the Keystone fit in the slot?" Elena asked curiously.
"Exactly what I was thinking," he replied, pulling out the Keystone. "But this could also be a trap, designed by the Cetra with their advanced knowledge of magic." He turned back towards everyone. "All of you, move away from the platform in case this is a trap. Then I'll put the Keystone in."
After the group did as he ordered, Elena's eyes widened when Tseng placed the stone into the slot. It glimmered a light blue before the altar began to shake feverishly, forcing Tseng to step away for his safety. The shaking continued for several more seconds until the platform began to disappear, revealing a hole leading down to another room.
When everything finally settled, Elena and Luxiere stepped forward and stared down the hole. "Well then," the rookie commented. "Are we going to jump down?" Fortunately, the ground was only twenty feet below.
"Looks like it's the only way," the SOLDIER said with his arms crossed. "I'll go down first."
The room below was nothing short of extraordinary. A massive labyrinth of staircases and narrow passages leading off in every direction, it was a sight Tseng had never imagined. He immediately counted eight levels below him, and passages that led to ten more rooms. It looked like the investigation could take a lot than he had expected.
"We'll split up into four groups here," he ordered. "Elena and I will work as one group. The rest of you split up in threes, two from the Investigation Unit and one SOLDIER. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir!"
Tseng nodded. "Move out."
Meanwhile, Reno and Rude had infiltrated Hojo's office in the Shinra Building. Their mission was to find details on the Jenova Reunion Theory, something which nobody had much knowledge about except the mad scientist himself.
"Now this is interesting," the skinhead called out, monograph in hand. "Jenova's cells, specifically Sephiroth's, will seek to reunite and return to the main body once separated..."
The redhead simply ignored the man, lost in his musings as he stared down at the wrong papers. He excelled at investigation when it got physical, but staying in a confined space and flipping through pages wasn't exactly his forte. Wasn't Rude's, either.
"Reno."
"Yeah?"
"Get over here."
Reno threw the book to the ground and walked towards Rude, hoping that he had found something useful. "This better be worth it."
"The Nibelheim Incident, five years ago..." he summarized his findings. "Thirty-four people including Zack Fair and Cloud Strife were injected with Sephiroth's cells. According to this paper, Hojo's plan was to turn them into Sephiroth Clones, but they turned into mindless puppets instead. The subjects were tattooed and had black cloaks put on them, before being released to the wilderness."
Reno's eyes narrowed as he took a moment to process all that. "So the Man in the Black Cape..."
"...is a mindless puppet, a Sephiroth Clone," Rude handed him the paper. "So is Cloud Strife, but he and Zack were likely deemed as failures."
He shook his head and frowned. "This is so fuckin' messed up. What's the point, anyway? If the Sephiroth Clones are just puppets..."
"Could be where the Reunion Theory comes in. Hojo predicted that they will eventually return to the main body, Sephiroth..." Rude paused as his voice faltered. "I don't understand. The experiment was conducted with the knowledge that Sephiroth is dead."
"Eh... at least we found something," Reno shrugged stubbornly. "Seriously though, nothing's making any sense. And Hojo even said he was returning to Shinra to validate his stupid theory."
Rude cleared his throat. "And now we officially know how fucking worthless the D7 Tracker actually is. It could've been tracking a Sephiroth Clone the whole time, or even Cloud Strife."
The redhead froze at the mention of Cloud. "Whaddaya mean, Cloud?"
"Strife has Jenova cells inside him," the skinhead explained. "It's no wonder the tracker reacted to him."
Reno blinked... and smiled faintly. "That's fucked up, dude."
Tseng and Elena were starting to get frustrated in the maze. They had now been wandering around for two hours, and not heard much from the Investigation Unit. Luxiere's group had found one of the few exits of the Temple, but there was absolutely no sign of where the Black Materia could be. One of the dark corridors had led Tseng and Elena to a circular room with a deep chasm, a giant clock-like platform in the center of it. The clock's hands were used to reach the other eleven doorways, and Tseng could only hope that one of them led to the right path.
After checking the rooms IX, VIII, and VII with no results, it was time to move onto VI. The next room was a small chamber that led to another, as a door stood right in the middle of it, supported by pillars on each side. With no time to waste, Tseng pushed the door open and entered.
"Tseng, what's this? It's beautiful," commented Elena. The room was a bizarre one, with ancient symbols and paintings enriching the shining walls. The bright, natural lighting from the torches added a mystic aura, evoking a feeling of elegance and excitement from the rookie.
"An altar..." Tseng noticed a table at the far end of the chamber.
"Could this truly be the Promised Land?" Elena followed her supervisor to the end. "It's just... so bizarre..."
Reaching the end of the room, the Turks noticed a small replica of the Temple atop the altar. Tseng observed it in confusion, wondering if it had anything to do with the Black Materia. "Hmm..."
Without hesitation, the rookie proceeded to touch the object... and the entire chamber began to shake in response. Her hand jerked back. "Ah! What happened?!"
"The Black Materia is definitely in there," said Tseng, touching the object and causing the room to shudder again. It seemed obvious that the entire Temple had shaken. "Must be a warning of some sort. The Black Materia must possess dangerous magic. The Ancients didn't want it taken out so easily."
Elena shrugged. "So if we take it, the entire Temple will collapse?"
"I think so, and we'd be crushed by the Temple," he made a logical guess. "There has to be a way to remove it safely..."
"But if we can't take it, then neither can Sephiroth... right?"
Ignoring her, he studied the object for a moment before taking a glimpse at the time. It was 2:40.
"The President expects a report in twenty minutes," he told her. "Can you return to camp and relay our status?"
Elena nodded. "The exit is through XII, right?"
He appreciated how quick she was to follow orders. "Correct."
"Be careful, Tseng."
"Yeah..." he mumbled to himself, but called her again before she could run off. "Hey Elena, how about dinner after this job's over?"
His words stopped her in her tracks. "Th-thank you very much," she smiled; did he just ask her out? Her cheeks started to grow hot. "If I may be excused..."
When she finally took off running, Tseng took a moment and studied the murals on the wall, walking away from the altar. "Is this the Promised Land?" he said aloud. The people depicted were warring, and their villages were being burned down. It didn't look like a land of supreme happiness. "No, it can't be..."
Suddenly, he felt a flash of movement behind him. He reacted to it by turning slowly, only to have the worst of his hopes confirmed.
"Sephiroth!" Tseng called out, coming face to face with the man. There had been no sound, no warning whatsoever.
The warrior stood tall and close, imposing with the seven-foot Masamune in hand, and long silver hair down his back. There was no doubt that he was indeed Sephiroth, the once legendary SOLDIER and hero of the Shinra Electric Power Company. He glared at the Turk with his green, Mako-infused eyes, and spoke.
"So you opened the door. Well done." A calm and familiar voice, his words came out crisp and sharp.
Tseng took a cautious step towards him to hold his ground. But even with a pistol in hand, he knew well that the man was unbeatable one-on-one. "This place... what is it?"
Sephiroth too step forward, causing the Turk to quiver slightly. "A lost treasure house of knowledge," he answered, turning to the wall and raising his arms. "The wisdom of the Ancients... I am becoming one with the Planet."
Tseng felt his mind racing. "One with the Planet?"
He turned back towards him with fierce eyes. "You stupid fools. You have never even thought about it. All the spirit energy of this Planet. All its wisdom... knowledge... I will meld with it all. I will become one with it... it will become one with me."
At this point, Tseng couldn't make out anything Sephiroth was saying. "You can do that?" he shrugged, his voice faltering.
With a small chuckle, the swordsman pointed his weapon to the altar. "The way... lies here."
Tseng flinched, and in that instant, he felt the sharp blade pierce straight through his shoulder and down his rib cage. He fell to the floor hard, clutching his wound as blood began to saturate his uniform. He could only grunt weakly as the agony exploded inside his motionless body, the puddle of blood forming around him. Through it all, he heard Sephiroth speak one last time, his voice cold and unchanging.
"Only death awaits you all, but do not fear. For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born."
After that, the swordsman vanished and left the fallen Turk to die.
A/N: Part of this chapter includes the scene in FFVII where Tseng asks Elena out before confronting Sephiroth. In Crisis Core, Luxiere is a SOLDIER 2nd Class and one of Zack's friends.