34 – Demons from the Past

Dreams are like a dagger when you're hanging by a thread...

Lightning exhaled shakily as her eyes travelled the length of the reactor that loomed high above her. The air surrounding was stale and damp, despite the open skies overhead, and it assaulted her nostrils with a pervasive odor. The heavy pollution seemed to hover at the opening of the saddle of the mountain and almost refused to allow the circulation of fresh air onto the ground below. The facility that stood in the center of the hazy mountains of Nibelheim was much smaller in comparison but was nearly identical to the other reactors that she had visited while in Midgar. Despite the size, however, this one was much different than the others, and there wasn't a single person standing around her that didn't know that.

Cloud and Tifa were positioned on either side of her, so close that their shoulders were nearly touching her own. Neither of them moved nor said a single word, but the tension hung so heavily in the air around them that Lightning could almost feel herself suffocating on it. She shifted uncomfortably as she waited for one of them to make the first move, and the gentle brush of her motion against Tifa's shoulder caused the martial artist to release a soft gasp as though she had only just remembered to breathe. Each remained rooted to the spot, refusing to take the next step, which only seemed to add to the anxiety that floated amongst them. Her fingers extended out to find Cloud's, only to discover that the normally fearless warrior was trembling slightly. His hand twitched at her touch, but his tension seemed to calm slightly as she intertwined her fingers with his.

She had to admit, she wasn't overly excited to be here either. Cloud had painted a truly horrifying picture of this place—the reactor in the mountains where Hojo had hidden his most disturbing science experiments. It was the very place that she may have ended up as well if she had remained his captive, and it was the one place that would no doubt send her spiraling back down into the abyss of her own nightmares. Despite her own feelings though, she knew that Cloud and Tifa's feelings were much different than hers. Where her feelings rose from the fear of what could have been, theirs rose from what had been.

The place was full of ghosts and demons for the two of them. It was where Tifa had lost her father and had been gravely injured herself. It was where Cloud had found Sephiroth after the deranged soldier had burned Nibelheim to the ground and murdered most of the townspeople, including his mother. He arrived to witness the man cut down his best friend and toss her aside like she was nothing more than a rag doll. He then faced the deadliest, most powerful warrior in the world and had somehow managed to survive to tell the story of what happened here.

Somehow, they had both survived. They'd lived on, despite the odds being stacked against them. But how? How was Tifa among them after receiving such a life-threatening wound? And how did Cloud just walk away after challenging someone who was supposedly far beyond him in terms of strength and skill? Lightning's mind raced back to the story that Cloud had told her in Kalm. The details were a little fuzzy, but she clearly remembered him stating that he didn't remember what had happened after he came face to face with Sephiroth. She'd found that strange at the time, but she had not questioned it. Now that her mind was clear, however, a thought emerged and then spread like wildfire, and then settled into her gut.

What if things didn't go exactly the way that Cloud and Tifa said that they had?

"Ahem," Barret cleared his throat, reminding Lightning that the rest of the party was there as well. "So... erm... it'll be getting' dark soon and-"

"I'm going in," Cloud replied, cutting off the dark-skinned man.

"What?!" Tifa gasped as she turned to face Cloud with absolute terror reflecting from her crimson eyes.

"I need to see it," he stated firmly as his eyes travelled the height of the reactor. "I need to remember what happened here."

"Well, I don't!" she spat back angrily. "It's over and we can't change any of it! We need to move on."

"You don't have to go," Cloud assured her as he placed a comforting hand onto her trembling shoulder, "but I have to. I need to know... I need to know what happened after I challenged Sephiroth... I need to know why I am still alive... I know it's been a long time, but maybe there's something inside that will give me a clue."

"There's nothing in there for you, Cloud," she said softly as her eyes began to water slightly. "Please... let's just go."

Cloud stood there for a moment, staring at his childhood friend, torn between what was best for him and what was best for her. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Tifa," he muttered. "I have to."

Tifa looked truly betrayed by his words, but with a quick sniff, she wiped one of her eyes and then nodded. "Okay," she whispered before turning from the reactor and then walking away.

"We should go check on her," Aeris suggested as she grabbed Yuffie's arm and rushed her in the direction that Tifa had gone.

"Good, I didn't want to go into that creepy place anyway," the ninja could be heard saying as she allowed herself to be dragged away.

"Should I go in with him?" Barret asked as he shifted his focus to Lightning, alerting her to the fact that Cloud had already started towards the reactor."

"I-um," Lightning stuttered as she quickly looked between Cloud and the receding party. "No," she finally managed to get out. "I mean, not unless you're planning to blow the place up," she added, causing the AVALANCHE leader to smirk. "I'll go. You keep an eye on the others."

"You sure?" he asked her with a quizzical look.

"Yeah," she nodded quickly. "We'll be fine. Just make sure that Tifa's okay."

"Awright," he nodded. "Just take care of yourself," he added with a supportive pat on the shoulder.

"I will," she agreed as she turned and darted up the long staircase after her blonde companion.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked as he turned his head to give her a stern look.

"What does it look like?" she responded in an equally serious tone. "I'm coming with you."

"Light..." he began before coming to a halt. "You should probably wait with the others. I don't know what we'll find in here and-"

"And whatever it is, we'll face it together," she finished the thought for him. "I need to see it, too, Cloud."

The blonde warrior didn't say a word, but simply nodded and then kissed her softly on the forehead. He would have never said the words aloud, but he was just as scared as she was. From the moment they had stepped foot in Nibelheim, the universe seemed hell bent on poking holes through his story and discrediting him. Even Tifa seemed off with the whole thing and that was evident before with her resistance to even allow Cloud to venture inside the reactor. The martial artist's last words to him resurfaced in Lightning's mind and then spread like a disease.

'There's nothing in there for you, Cloud.'

She knew something—something that Cloud didn't.

The large heavy door screeched loudly as Cloud pulled it aside along its track and he quickly held out his hand to stop her from proceeding. "Careful," he warned. "This one may look like the others on the outside, but it's pretty different on the inside."

"I see," Lightning acknowledged as she peeked her head inside to see the mess of piping that stretched out before her. "Not as welcoming as the others."

"Careful walking on this," he replied as he took the lead. "One slip and you're as good as dead. They really didn't like anyone other than Shinra coming up here."

"I imagine not," she replied rolled her eyes.

Hojo wouldn't want anyone seeing what he was actually up to in here.

"You first," he gestured to the long chain that dangled from the ceiling and stretched downward to a large rusted pipe below.

"Right," she muttered, grabbing cold metal and then lowering herself slowly to the bottom, taking care not to slip and fall.

A moment later, Cloud appeared by her side and then walked slowly towards the open platform that would lead them further into the reactor. "I found her here..."

"Hmm?"

"Tifa," he clarified. "When I arrived here that night, she was already here. I think her father was trying to stop Sephiroth... and he died right there," he added as he slowly stepped forward and then looked at the ground in front of him for a few moments before speaking again. "Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako Reactors... Shinra... I hate them all."

Cloud remained still for a few moments more as Lightning continued to stare at his back, unsure as to whether she should approach or leave him be. Finally, he turned to face her, and his troubled Mako eyes cut through the darkness with a brighter than usual glow. "…. I swear this is all real," he finally said, and Lightning realized that his words from before were not his at all, but rather Tifa's. He was recalling the memory of his best friend stooped over her deceased father.

"Cloud..." she whispered softly as if to comfort him. "... I believe you." And she did... or at least she thought she did.

She knew that something terrible had happened here in this very spot. Cloud hadn't invented these memories because they were memories that Tifa shared as well, but something in this story didn't quite add up. It was a recollection that raised so many questions—questions that Cloud couldn't even seem to answer himself. Something from that night seemed to have been cut away from him; something important that he seemed so desperate, yet terrified to find. But would he find what he was looking for in this reactor? Would the next room hold any of the answers to the questions plaguing him, or would it be nothing more than a dead end on his journey for the truth? If he found the truth that he was looking for, would he be brave enough to face it? And what if this place held her truth as well… would she be able to face it?

"Light... maybe you should just wait here," he suggested as his troubled eyes continued to pierce into her own as if he was attempting to read her troubled mind. "I don't know what we're going to see in there..."

"It'll be okay," she replied as confidently as she could, while courageously taking the lead into the next room. She didn't know if that was true, or not. She would never say the words aloud, but she was scared to death. She knew that there was a real chance that the trauma Hojo had inflicted upon her would follow her around forever, but she also knew that there was no way of overcoming it if she didn't learn to face it. And besides, she needed to be strong for Cloud. It was unclear what they would find ahead, and she needed to be prepared for anything.

The room before Lightning glowed red, which seemed strange considering that blue light poured from twelve strange pods that decorated the different levels of the room. There were four pods on each level, and they were placed in sections of two, with a long staircase that extended right through the center of the arrangement. The stairs ended just outside of a door with yellow and grey painting on its frame suggesting that whatever was behind it was hazardous. There was a peculiar design on the wall around it and right in the middle above the door frame was a bright green light that illuminated an old slab of metal with a worn number etched into it that Lightning could only assume was the reactor number.

"What?" Cloud whispered as he stared up at the door in shock. "This... this isn't right!" he added as he bolted up the stairs, looked through a small window, and then began yanking at the handle of the door that appeared to have been sealed shut.

"What do you mean?" Lightning called over the soft hum of electricity as she joined him on the high platform.

"Jenova... it was here!" he replied as he yanked at the door again to no avail.

Lightning peeked through the small window on the door and then backed away shaking her head. There was nothing inside. Nothing besides a bunch of machinery anyway. There wasn't a single thing in the next room that would even suggest that Jenova had ever been there. "…. It was moved to Midgar though, right?"

Cloud looked at her for a moment through frustrated eyes and then yanked the sword from his back and struck the steel door. Alarmed, Lightning quickly backed down the stairs and then stared at the blonde man who was now beating the door with his weapon. This place was beginning to unravel him, and he was becoming increasingly desperate to prove that what he said happened here actually happened. Although he was causing absolutely no damage to the structure whatsoever, Lightning decided it was best to just let him work out his frustration.

She closed her eyes for a moment as the racket that Cloud was making assaulted her ears and when she reopened them, they fell on one of the pods. She wondered, if the Shinra had gone through such lengths to hide the fact that Jenova had ever been here, surely, they would have done the same with Hojo's experiments... right? Slowly approaching the pod, she examined it and realized that it was full of Mako. As the nerves danced up and down her spine, she tried to steady her breathing as she worked up the courage to peek inside.

'They're gone,' she told herself as she inhaled sharply and then grabbed the edge of the tank to pull herself up to window. 'They're gone...'

Empty.

Lightning exhaled with a mixture of confusion and relief, and then dropped back onto the ground. It was empty! Of course, it would be. The Shinra wouldn't have been foolish enough to leave them here in case anyone came poking around after the Nibelheim incident. She hoisted herself up to inspect a second tank, then a third, and finally a fourth. All empty! She turned and closed her eyes, allowing her back to sink onto the cold metal of the tank she had just inspected as she allowed the relief spread throughout her body. They must have been gone for a while… or maybe they were never here.

The sound of Cloud's sword clanging against the steel door suddenly stopped and Lightning's eyes shot open to look up at the man that was now soaked in his own sweat. "Do you feel better?" she asked.

"No," he panted as he returned his heavy sword to his back. "Let's go... there's nothing here anymore," he sighed defeatedly with a shake of his head.

Lightning simply nodded and began to descend the stairs but as she reached the bottom, she turned to see Cloud still standing in front of the door, with his back to her once again, "Cloud?"

"..."

"…. Are you coming?" she tried again, but the blonde warrior refused to acknowledge her as if he hadn't heard her at all. "Cloud….?"

His name had barely passed her lips when a loud screeching sound suddenly filled the air around them. Her head jerked in the direction that the sound had come to see white steam pouring from the top of one of the Mako tanks that she had neglected to inspect. 'Perhaps all of Cloud's clanging around had somehow caused it to malfunction?' she wondered as she stared at the tank curiously. Suddenly it began to shake violently, disconnecting from the various tubes and wiring that fed into it. The ear-splitting screech was replaced with a loud hiss and then Lightning's eyes were blinded as the stream poured from the tank, filling the air around her and burning her skin.

Lightning strained her eyes through the hot, foggy atmosphere in the direction of where Cloud previously stood, but she saw nothing. A light on the wall behind her had begun to flash red, which seemed to make the fog seem even more dense. Her eyes continued to search until she saw his silhouette and cerulean eyes coming closer through the red-hot mist. He was descending the stairs slowly, staggering, as if he had been hurt somehow. Without thinking, she rushed forward to him but as she got closer, she stopped dead in her tracks and then wrapped her fingers around the handle of her gunblade.

That isn't Cloud.

It couldn't be Cloud. It was too small to be Cloud. She deepened her stance and tightened her grip on the handle of her gunblade as she prepared to defend herself against the mysterious figure. It did not attack, however. Surely, it could see her too, and yet, it didn't lunge forward or show any signs of hostility toward her. Could this figure be one of Hojo's experiments? Could he have possibly left one behind by mistake? The questions continued to build in Lightning's mind as she studied what she could see through the haze and then her heart stopped in her chest.

Cie'th!

Lightning drew her gunblade and prepared to attack, but something about the creature made her pause. She was certain that it was a Cie'th, but it was the most humanoid one that she had ever seen. Something seemed familiar about it... something that she was having a hard time putting her finger on. Despite her threatening motion, the creature still hadn't made an attempt to attack her. It continued to just limp toward her with an unusual look in its eyes—eyes that she was certain that she'd seen before. It paused right in front of her while Lightning continued to study the creature from head to toe, and then the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. It's a child...

"Hope," she gasped and then the creature let out a deafening screech that rattled the Mako tanks throughout the room and caused Lightning's gunblade to clatter onto the ground as she doubled over and shielded her ears with her hands. "W-What happened to you?" she managed to choke out as she looked up with teary eyes to meet his now pained expression. "Did Hojo do this...?"

The monstrosity that was her former comrade just looked back at her, neither moving nor making a sound as his saddened eyes continued to burn into her own, giving Lightning the answer to her question.

"I swear to you," she whispered. "I'll fix this… I'll-"

Her words were suddenly cut off as a giant sword appeared and then pierced her friend from behind, the blade coming so close that it nearly touched her face. She looked on in horror as the sword retracted and then the little boy that she had come to care for and love as a brother, fell to the ground, lifeless.

This couldn't be real... it couldn't. It wasn't happening. It's a dream... It just had to be. Lightning's head was spinning, and she felt sick. Her legs gave out from beneath her and she dropped to her knees, cradling her own head as she rocked back and forth, wondering if that cry of anguish that now echoed from the walls throughout the reactor had been Hope's or if it had been her own.

It's a dream...

It's a dream...

It's a dream...

A/N:

Hey... is anyone still reading this thing? Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I wish I had an excuse this time, but I don't. I feel really bad though because this chapter has actually been done for a little over a month now and I've just not been up to going through it to make edits. But anyway, here it is, and I really hope you all liked it. This was a chapter that I was torn on for a while, which kinda sorta explains a little teeny tiny bit of my absence. I was up in the air about whether I was going to explore the reactor or not since it's not explored at this point during the game. I've always found this odd and that was the main reason that I wanted to venture into the territory. Canon stories are boring, and I wanted to do something interesting with this, but didn't know exactly what I wanted. The lazy part of me though wasn't feeling overly creative and just wanted to brush it aside like the game does and move along to the next destination. Anyway, I hope you all preferred the path I took and I'm sorry if there are any Hope fans out there that didn't like the ending.

I think I'm going to head out once this is posted and enjoy today's beautiful 70F sunny weather. It was, and I'm not joking, -20F and blizzard-y this past Wednesday, and I still have quite a bit of thawing out to do. I'm sure everyone in the mid-west and north east can relate with me on that one.

Anywho, please drop me a comment in the review section and let me know what you thought of the chapter and so I know that people are still reading.

-Lady A