Tifa could not believe she ever could have doubted her companions when they all presented themselves the next morning, ready and willing to descend into the depths of the Planet. They set out from the Highwind at first light, leaving the Turks ready to ferry the Huge Materia to Rocket Town if they should fail for one last desperate chance. Reeve asked to accompany Avalanche to face Sephiroth; he would not say what his reason to fight was, but had armed himself with a shotgun and was determined to play his part at the end. Whatever their former opinion of the man and his actions, none was willing to refuse his request.
Tifa and Aeris were the last to make their descent, taking a moment together to watch the sun rise slightly higher, the moon fade to invisibility, and to see for the last time the sight they hoped would soon be gone; the flaming red sphere of Meteor. The flower girl took one last look at the Highwind and then they entered the crater for the second time. Damp heat pulsed up from somewhere deep below, and they could see the green glow of Mako in the depths. Whatever processes had been reforming the land were now gone; the rock was lifeless and static. Maybe once this Meteor was destroyed this wound would once again begin healing. If not it would be a stark and permanent reminder of the actions of Jenova on their world.
They scrambled down the shattered walls of the crater gradually descending into the depths. The trek was exhausting as they leapt wide gaps and pools of Mako. Tifa almost voiced the question of how they expected to get back out of the crater, before swallowing the question back realising the question was a luxury no one would allow themselves yet. If they could defeat Sephiroth, that would be the time for speculation. They spiralled downwards, Yuffie and Vincent flitting ahead with ease and trying to relate the easiest paths through the uneven terrain that lead into the depths of the Planet. How far down would their target be she wondered as Avalanche descended taking with them the bare minimum of their equipment, each with their own small cache of powerful materia.
The crater depths held strange examples of primitive life from long ago, glaring at the party from crevices and side-tunnels as they passed. Strange flora sprouted and grew in small caverns, sights she suspected no one else had ever seen. The land had stopped growing, but this place was still full of life. Time lost meaning as they descended; watches had locked in place when they entered the crater, they paused to eat and rest at intervals, snatching sleep as they could while their dreams filled with uncomfortable visions, though none they were able to elaborate on. Exhaustion dogged them as they lost sight of the surface high above them. How far down had they gone and how long did they have left?
Their trail eventually ended at a ledge of rock suspended over a cavern of unknown size. Mako pulsed and flowed beneath in rivers and streams that arced through the void. A thin stream of mist was exuded up from far below drifting up until it was lost high above them. Below them, floating seemingly impossibly in the stream and tendrils of Mako, were a descending set of massive rocky slabs. From what she could see they would just about be able to leap between them and carry on moving down. Getting back up however...
"This is the route to the centre of the Planet?" Nanaki queried, peering over the rocky ledge into the depths below.
"Seems like it," Cid responded, glaring back up the way we came.
Yuffie was the first one to lower herself gingerly down onto the rock platform that hung below them. It took her weight and did not move; via whatever means it stood as static as though lying flat on the ground, seemingly similar to the architectural impossibilities they had glimpsed in the Cetra City.
"This is kinda disturbing," was the ninja's sole comment on the floating rock. She nimbly leaped forward and down to the next rock. They descended, down ever deeper into the Planet. The path they had followed was now lost between flickering and shifting walls of Mako streams. Their seeming destination floated ahead of them; a rough sphere fused out of sections of unfamiliar architecture, rock and materia. There was nothing beyond it, no more platforms to scramble to, nothing but the swirling vortexes all around them. Aeris was the last to land on the uneven ground, as the others looked for any sign of their enemy, or even a way forward. There was none.
"Well, what do we do now?" yelled Barret. "You want us to just leap over the side and see if he's down there?"
"I don't know," Tifa scowled with frustration, tired and irritable. They'd made this journey with a single, simple goal in mind; it had never occurred to them they might not be able to reach their objective, or that this was not the route that would lead them to him. What had she done bringing them all down here? Was there any way back up? Yuffie she knew had a rope and a grappling hook. That at least offered them a possible way out...
A chill laughter cut through the air, Tifa feeling the horribly familiar prickle of fear settle over her. Sephiroth... The ground beneath them shook and split; rock shards separated out, materia cracked and then they were falling. Yuffie swung her rope uselessly, already too far from the rock platform to catch hold of it. They plummeted into the streaming green, into the heart of the Lifestream. There would be no coming back.
Tifa slammed down onto a rocky platform awkwardly. How far had they fallen? She couldn't begin to guess or extrapolate, but thankfully they were all impossibly alive. A fall of that duration should have been all of their ends. She froze as she looked around. The Lifestream pulsed all around them, the normally brilliantly glowing substance now a darkened dull green; as if looking up from the depths of the ocean. A man with silver hair regarded them with patient, amused malice. And beyond him... There was a rough sphere of red rock; it floated beyond Sephiroth and was filled with a pure white light.
"Holy," breathed Aeris. "The spell... we can see it."
Tifa stared at the glow. This... man in front of him; he was holding back the spell through the sheer effort of his will, preventing the only thing they knew that would be able to save the life of the Planet. They stood staring at SOLDIER before them.
"I suppose I should congratulate you all for simply getting this far." He spoke abruptly, his voice finally matching to that from Tifa's memories. This then was the true Sephiroth, not some Jenova constructed copy. "You have gone to a lot of effort to disrupt our plans."
"Sephiroth," she hissed. "We're not finished yet."
"Oh I had hoped not." That mocking grin painted his face once more. "I would like some... entertainment while I await my destiny." His left hand raised the Masamune up and he pounced, the blade sweeping towards Reeve who fumbled with his shotgun, trying to bring it up to block, or to bear on Sephiroth. A whirling shuriken connected and knocked the blade away from the former executive, who rolled awkwardly and squeezed the trigger. The shot went wide as Sephiroth was already darting towards Cid, who blocked the sword blow with the shaft of his spear. The man in black rained down blows, before the thunder of fire-arms sounded; Reeve, Vincent and Barret began firing. Cid knocked the Masamune back and scrambled away as the SOLDIER swept his sword through the air in front of him, catching and deflecting bullets.
Reeve scrambled to load more shells, as Yuffie sent another shuriken whirling towards the silver-haired man. A flick of the Masamune knocked it harmlessly away, but the action allowed Nanaki to close on him and leap onto his back. His front claws sank into the SOLDIER's shoulders as his back legs kicked savagely. With a snarl, Sephiroth span, flicking the Masamune back over his shoulder and forcing Nanaki to detach. The quadruped hit the ground at a sprint, and began looking for another opening. Tifa took advantage of the action to rush their enemy and sent a fist barrelling towards Sephiroth's solar plexus. He scowled and brought the sword curving back over his head and down towards her.
She'd had years to consider how best to cope if she ever faced Sephiroth again, from her younger nightmares to the days leading up to this final fight. This time she was determined to rely solely on her own fists and not use his own sword against him. She side-stepped the blow, her fist smashing into his face. With a snarl he lashed out with his right hand. She almost avoided the blow that clipped her and she was sent stumbling.
There was a flicker of light to her left; Yuffie was clutching a red materia and concentrating. Sephiroth caught the flash too, but rather then lunge for the ninja, he paused, smiling that horrible, cold smile. The others pressed their advantage, drawing red and green spheres from pouches and triggering the spells.
One by one the materia orbs abruptly darkened. The ninja's eyes snapped open in confusion.
"What?"
She concentrated again; once more the orb brightened and then suddenly darkened. With mounting horror she lifted her head to look at Sephiroth. He gazed back at her amused. "He's... he's blocking our spells..." she whispered. A horrible knot of fear formed up in Tifa's stomach. He had blocked access to their most potent of weapons; their materia was no more useful then a collection of stones. He chuckled once more and then attacked.
Sephiroth ran forward fast, Tifa scrambled up from the rock she had fallen on. He was heading for Aeris, his sword raised, and now swinging down towards her. Her body wouldn't move fast enough as she struggled to her feet.
She couldn't make it.
"Aeris!" she shouted.
The sound of metal striking metal resounded around that space and Tifa looked on in astonishment; Aeris had brought her staff up and had blocked the Masamune's blade. With a snarl, Sephiroth whipped the blade back and slashed at the flower girl again. With a quick pivot, she blocked the incoming blow. And then they danced; the Masamune flashing in the green light as the man tried to score a hit on her most precious companion, the one he knew would cause the greatest hurt if she fell. But she kept up with him, never attacking, always defending, always blocking and deflecting his blows. Of course. Why else would she carry that staff? How else had she coped for so long and so easily in the slums of Sector Five? Aeris was not the helpless damsel in distress so many assumed. She felt ready to fight again.
She cleared the distance easily, fist balled and flowing through the air towards Sephiroth's head. His blade had just connected with Aeris' staff once more. Tifa's punch missed; Sephiroth flung himself backwards and she stumbled through the space he had occupied. Again she felt the sting of impossibility at defeating this thing. There was the sound of tearing and a black feathered wing burst from Sephiroth's back, scattering dark feathers into the air. She stared at him as she fell to the ground in front of her partner.
"Enough entertainment," he grinned coldly at them. "Time to die."
He swept his hand in an arc and suddenly the martial artist found herself falling. She saw Aeris slump heavily onto the rock platform they had been fighting on, and with a sick shock she realised she was falling away from it. Was there anything below them? They were in the centre of the Planet; there would be nothing but Mako to fall into. She struggled, trying to turn herself as she fell. She caught a last despairing glimpse of the Cetra looking at her as the rock cut off all sight of her.
She fell. This was it.
"Tifa!" A voice yelled. Just below her she could see Barret. He must have fallen before her, perched now on a floating of island of rock. He desperately held out his hand as the raven-haired plummeted. She had one chance. She stretched her hand out, fingers itching to grasp something. With a sudden shock of pressure, and an overwhelming feeling of relief he caught her. As she moved past him, he let the motion carry his arm round. Suddenly his muscles were tensing and she arced upwards. He let go and she was flung upwards. Her inertia started reducing just as she saw Cid make a perilous leap onto the nearest rock outcrop to her. He thrust his spear out just as her momentum gave out, and she barely dropped onto the wooden shaft. With a grunt he pulled the spear up and towards him as Tifa crouched and pushed off as hard as she could.
A sudden impact on her back shocked her for a second before she felt the arm around her waist. Yuffie had swung down from her own vantage point, clinging to a hooked rope, and she was now racing up the rock cliff face. She reached her zenith and with a push delivered her within reach of Reeve who had been reaching down. He grasped her hand and pulled her up, falling away from her back towards the ledge he was on. The martial artist cartwheeled over his head and down towards Nanaki. The red-coloured creature flipped onto his back as she fell towards him, his back legs coiled up. Tifa's feet impacted neatly onto the pads of his feet and with a surge of speed he kicked her upward.
She looked up. The main rock platform drew ever closer. She could only hope she would be on time. A flicker of movement revealed Vincent leaping in a near impossible arc towards her. He took her hand with his own, suddenly sinking his claw into the cliff. His seemingly frail body suddenly heaved and she was thrown upward once more. "Fly," she thought she heard as he dropped below her. She passed the rock platform, arcing neatly up and above it. She gasped. Sephiroth was ascending, a pulsing purple glow suffusing his chest. The Black Materia...
There was a blur of pink below her. Aeris dropped onto her knees and braced herself, her staff held out ready. Ready to give her her last push. Tifa crashed down onto the staff. The flower girl gasped at the forces now being exerted, but held on. She strained, pushing Tifa up. She jumped. And she flew.
She caught up to him. He was unfazed by her friend's actions and the fact that she now faced him. Cold calculating eyes regarded her. Of course he could wait for her to fall back and pick her off at his leisure. But Sephiroth's cruel streak was irrepressible. He did not simply want them dead, he wanted them to suffer first.
The Masamune blade's flashed towards her.
Tifa brought her hands together.
Cold fury now broke out on Sephiroth's face. The thrust that should have impaled and mortally wounded her had been arrested by her gloved hands. Tifa gritted her teeth as she tightened her grip around the blade. She let her momentum carry her feet and legs up as she hung onto the sword. She arced her body over, turning through the air and brought both her feet down onto Sephiroth's chest, pushing him back towards the platform. His singular wing fluttered uselessly as she pushed. His grip on the Masamune loosened and she completed her pivot, bringing the sword back over her head. The silver-haired man's face just showed astonishment at what had happened, that he could be resisted thus. With a heave, Tifa sent the Masamune spinning away into the void. She braced as the ground neared.
Sephiroth slammed into the rock, Tifa crouched on his chest, and flicking away into a roll as his body connected. Aeris was on her in a moment, arms flung around the slightly dazed martial artist. The rest of Avalanche were still clambering up the rocky outcrops below the platform as a cold chuckling reached their ears. The raven-haired girl looked nervously over at the prostrate Sephiroth.
"Do you think... that merely disarming me will stop me?" He sat up, the wing crushed uselessly beneath his body and scattering feathers behind him. With a sickening crunch the appendage detached and fell from him. "You seem to be under the illusion that SOLDIER relied solely on weapons. We were all trained in unarmed combat."
He leapt at her, fists aimed at vulnerable spots. She had but a moment to shove Aeris aside and then block his blows. He was good. From all her memories and encounters with the three SOLDIERs she had met, it was clear that the program had never been solely dependent on the Mako infusions or the Jenova implantation for the special rank; SOLDIER's were combat trained to a fault. And yet... Tifa deflected a roundhouse kick, and responded with a shot to Sephiroth's solar plexus. She was better. She was faster and was hitting him harder. Realisation dawned. While this was indeed Sephiroth, the greatest warrior and general that Shinra had ever produced, he'd lost five years of training, five years of practice, five years of experience. His movements were sloppy and telegraphed his intentions, he was far too used to his invulnerable puppets. She could take him.
Sephiroth looked bewildered as his feet were swept out from beneath him and he was once again smashed down onto his back. Tifa crouched low, pinning his arms, attempting to stop the monster from rising. "Aeris!" she yelled. "Smash the Black Materia! Hit his chest!"
The flower girl hurried to the struggling pair and slammed the end of her staff down onto the orb visible beneath Sephiroth's skin. His eyes widened with pain as the surface of the sphere cracked, but still held. He hissed with rage, a scrabbling hand caught the staff and pulled it from Aeris' grasp. A tiny shuriken whirled from her left, embedding itself into the damaged sphere. Tifa did not waste another moment; she couched back onto her haunches, using her right hand to hammer the shuriken deeper into the black orb with one final blow. With a sickening give she felt the materia shatter; the shards punctured up and out of his flesh. She watched queasily as blood began welling up from the wound. Sephiroth's eyes widened again, his face now contorted in pain. He gasped for air, drawing in ragged breaths as he began a hacking cough. With a strangled mutter of almost coherent speech he fell back and was still. The broken shards of the Black Materia lost their purple hue and faded once more to a pure black.
The former general lay dead and broken before her. His limbs still twitched with spasms and signs of movement, but he showed no sign of rising. There was a thickening of cells around the shattered Black materia; tendrils swept through the air, desperately trying to meet and link. The Jenova cells, Tifa realised. But they too were weakened, too small in number and their movements slowed and finally ceased.
"It's... it's over," breathed Aeris. She smiled at Tifa who gasped as she saw the increasingly intense glow from behind her girlfriend. The white materia carefully cradled in her hair was glowing brighter. The dull green before was being overwhelmed by an increasingly intense light. It began to pulse; the materia's pulsing in sync with the glow in the red rock sphere. Aeris turned to stare at the the pulsing light in the heart of the Lifestream. "Holy," she breathed again, her face breaking into a smile. "Tifa! The spell is working!"
