Chapter 34: Eyes of the Machine Pt 4
Vanitas is going through the dead hallways of an old building to talk with the voice in his head about his mission. "So, you need this thing in order to keep on with your grand plan?" he asked in a mockingly tone.
"Yes, the Cogna module is very important to my plan," the voice said as Vanitas goes into a building to go deeper inside.
"Why these machines, can't use the Heartless?" Vanitas asked as the voice sounded offended by this.
"That would defeat the point of what I am doing. In my new world, the Heartless will cease to exist and a new order will be formed," the voice said.
"Whatever, I can careless about that," he said.
"Its good for you to be so obedient to my orders," the voice said.
"As long as I get to kill things, I really don't care what you do," Vanitas said.
"Good," the voice said as Vanitas disappears into the depths of the building.
Elsewhere Tifa is within a machine with Ad scanning into her memories for they are quite interesting to him. "Very curious, this woman is filled with sorrow, regrets and hate along with other swells of emotions. Quite the storm of mixed feelings within her own heart," he said as Vee looks on to toss a ball into the wall being very bored.
"I need to hit something, are you done yet brother. I want us to hang out?" Vee asked.
"Be patient, I am on the brink of something wonderful. I need you to fetch that spiky blond haired man. I will need him for my final experiment," Ad said as Vee looks concerned by this.
"What are you doing to do?" Vee asked.
"Don't worry, just fetch the man for me. Tifa and I will be very close to making a breakthrough," Ad said. Tifa is deep within her thoughts to remember her training under her master Yang.
-Flashback Begins-
18 year old Tifa is sparing with her master's 18 year old daughter Ursula for they were in a fierce sparring bout. Master Yang is watching on top of a cliff for they were in a mountainous area to look down to see two young women testing their skills against the other.
Tifa is the stronger of the two but Ursula is faster than Tifa with her able to dodge her punches and kicks easily. "Come on Tifa, your busty rack is slowing you down," Ursula joked as Tifa is getting worked up.
Tifa can see the young blond haired woman dressed in a fitting pink cheongsam clinging to her slender frame with Tifa sporting a black sport bra and tight black short shorts fitting her voluptuous figure.
"Not true, I can move just fine," Tifa said as they exchanges blows with Ursula for the fighting continues. Ursula is dodging one of Tifa's blows which breaks a rock into dust with Ursula striking at Tifa's body with her fingers aiming for her limbs as both of her arms went limp. "Damn it," she thought unable to move them.
"Oh Tifa, you can't beat my Tenketsu. Targeting your pressure points, you are vulnerable now," Ursula said as she delivers a kick to knock Tifa on the floor. She raises her fist above her chest with a cheeky smile. "I win," Ursula said as she helps Tifa off the ground.
"I had you there," Tifa said to brush the dirt off her black shorts.
"But you didn't it," Ursula said as Yang who is tall well-built man is standing up only wearing a set of red pants to show off his heavily muscled chest.
"Good work, both of you. You are working up the ranks to be my best students," Yang said feeling proud of his daughter and Tifa.
"Yes sir," the two young women bow their head to their master.
"Master Yang, can you teach me how to use Charka?" she asked.
"You want to get stronger for that guy you like?" he teased as Tifa has a red glow on her pale face.
"Well yes, I want to help him defeat Sephiroth and avenge our village and families," Tifa said.
"Indeed, you are training harder than before," Fang said to stroke his blond furry mustache. "Okay but first a break," he said.
"Okay, I am beat," Tifa said to sit on a rock with Ursula sitting beside her drinking some water from a bottle.
"Indeed; melons," Ursula joked but she is secretly jealous of Tifa's curvy figure especially her overly large breasts. "Man, still can't believe it's only been few years since your village got wipe out by that bastard along with the rest of the world," Ursula said.
"Yeah, me and Cloud lose family there. This is a personal mission for us, he disappeared in that canyon but he is out there. Doing who knows what," Tifa said.
"Well that is so sweet," Ursula said as Tifa looks confused.
"What is?" she asked.
"It's sweet, you are devoted to Cloud like that," she said as Tifa sports a big red glow on her white face.
"Oh; it's nothing, we are close and I want us to support each other on this mission," Tifa said acting meek about it but Ursula can see her friend's guarded nature.
"Come on, you have a crush on him for a while now. Did you tell him you love him yet?" she asked as Tifa's blush got redder.
"No, not yet," Tifa said as Ursula sighs.
"Come on, I know you are shy about this but he needs to know," she said.
"Well I am fine with just being by his side for the time being," Tifa said.
"Well you better tell him sooner or later because someone else will take him away from you," Ursula said as Tifa frowns at this.
"I don't want that," Tifa said.
"Well whatever you do, make your move," Ursula said to fix up her blond pigtails to go back to training.
"Cloud, I will always have your back," Tifa said to look up at the sky to have pleasant thoughts of her crush.
-Flashback ends-
Soon Tifa awakes from her slumber to be on the floor to be in a mysterious area surrounded by very clean white buildings as if they were brand new. "What is this place?" Tifa wondered to get onto her feet to hold her head with a slight headache rocking her skull.
"Cloud, Cloud where are you?" Tifa shouted into the empty Aether with her voice booming against the walls of the dead city. She runs through the streets to be creeped out by the city like its frozen in time without the rot and decay taking on here.
"That memory of me, master and Ursula. A time after when our village was burned to the ground by Sephiroth and the rest of our world submitting to darkness by the Heartless and Drake who led them," Tifa said as she continues to run.
"I was so weak. I can't avenge my father, my village and the innocent people who was taken by Sephiroth," Tifa thought for deep anger is boiling under the surface but she kept it under wraps. "Please Cloud be okay, you are the few things left from those times. I don't want lose more of my past," she thought to go even faster to be within an open area surrounded by more white buildings.
Then suddenly Ad teleports before her as he fixes up his glasses to perform a polite bow with his long silver hair covering up his handsome face. "Welcome Tifa to my inner sanctuary," he said to stand upright for Tifa is confused by this.
"What is this, why are you doing this?" Tifa asked.
"Well Tifa, me, I mean we machines are quite interested with humanity. Love, hatred, religion, war. The more I dive deeper into the human archives here, the more charmed I am about your complexities and contradictions. This place you see is my shrine to the civilization of old to aid me to becoming closer to you humans," Ad said as he moves around very cat like to stalk Tifa as she braces for a big fight.
"This is insane," Tifa thought.
"It's grand don't you think, almost a spiritual experience but it's nothing more than a bright spot in the middle of a forgotten graveyard," Ad said as he begins his assault for he peppers the area around Tifa with energy blasts.
Tifa avoids his energy bolts to let out shards of ice but Ad easily dodges it. He then resumes a counterattack by striking Tifa in the stomach for his speed is too great for her to handle. "Beat Assault," Ad is unleashing powerful blows by copying Tifa's own move but turning it up tenfold.
Tifa gets pushed back with each strong blow until she gets hit in the head to send her flying into a building. She cast Blizzard to freeze the floor as Ad gets onto the icy floor to slip up a bit. Tifa comes in with swift kick but Ad using the infinite power of the computer network quickly adapts and leaps over Tifa's kick.
He kicks her in the head again to knock her onto the city floor and then be thrown out of the building back into the opening. "Damn, as long as he is connected to the network. He is unbeatable with him constantly developing countermeasures to everything I throw at him in mere seconds," she thought but she tries her hardest regardless.
They are deep in combat with Tifa trying to break into his guard but Ad summons a shield to block her incoming ice spells. He catches them into his energy bubble and then recoiling them back at the source. Tifa is dodging until some got through to freeze her feet with Ad launching a palm strike into her chest sending her flying onto the floor.
"I want to draw upon everything humans have to offer. Some desire love, others want families," Ad said as he is using his speed to avoid Tifa's rapid fire barrage of ice spells. Ad is going so fast he looks like he is leaving afterimages behind.
"Then I realized what drives humanity is conflict. You all fight, steal and kill, this is the true essence of humanity," Ad said as he is firing a barrage of energy bolts to leave behind lots of craters on the white floor with Tifa almost getting hit with a full on blast.
"You know nothing of humanity, you are insane," Tifa said as in the amidst of battle she can hear him laughing at this.
"Funny, that is rich coming from you Tifa from all the memoires I manage to collect from you. The truth can be quite painful," Ad said as Tifa is taken off guard by this for the android manage to uppercut Tifa to launch her into the air.
He kicks her to make her crash into a pillar as Tifa barely escapes as an energy bolt to the face which left a big dent in the pillar.
"I stride to gain the very essence of humanity itself. We machines lived and linked into a network which makes us immortal and unbeatable. And yet despite the infinite amounts of data collected though this network, there is no flicker of life in sight," Ad said as he puts up a shield to block all of Tifa's spells to be left unfazed.
"Death, the very concept of death has no meaning for us," he said as he teleports behind Tifa.
Tifa is left confused by all this and wonders why he is telling her this. "What are you doing?" she asked to prepare for more fighting.
"So now I will risk my life in battle," Ad said as he severs his connection to the machine network to be only exist in his own android body. "There I have disconnected with the network," Ad said as Tifa is left even more confused by this.
"Why?" Tifa asked looking at the android with suspicion.
"Like the two rouge androids you have as allies. I am limited to only this body meaning if you destroy this unit, I perish. Now Tifa let us embrace death on this fated battlefield," Ad said as the battle resumes with Tifa going on the offensive.
Tifa is getting in some strong hits with Ad blocking her blows but she manage to get into his guard to hit him in the face. Tifa is surprised to see she can hit him now once he was cut off from the network.
"So, this is what is like to fight for your life?" he thought as he and Tifa are using spells to cancel each other out with him nailing Tifa with energy blasts. "This is so intoxicating, no wonder you humans fight so much," Ad said.
"Why, why me? Blazing Fists," Tifa emits her hands with fire as she is shooting out fireballs with each time she punches the air. The fireballs are causing explosions on contact as Ad is trying to avoid her strikes until he got hit several times.
Tifa pounds her fist onto the floor as a big tower of fire engulf the android. Ad took some damage with his energy barrier deflecting the rest.
"Oh, that is a simple answer, you are the key to my research. You are the single specimen that shows all the signs that I need," Ad said as he drives his hand into the floor for towers of energy erupt out for the ground to rip up the area.
Tifa is rolling away as she ducks under a flying kick from Ad. She catches his foot to smash him onto the ground like a hammer several times and toss him into a building. "I don't have time for you, where is Cloud?" she asked as the android laughs at this.
He comes back with an easy teleport with him kicking her in the knee to uppercut in the air. He teleports up above her and smash his fist into her back to send her back into the metal floor.
She catches herself as she gets onto their feet. "Stun Impact," she charges up energy into her fist and punch the ground to unleash an orb of power to burst out of her body. The energy attack knock Ad onto the floor as Tifa punches him in the face to make him recoil backwards.
"Oh, I do enjoy this," Ad said as he is having the time of his life fighting this woman. "You are a true blue martial artist. The anger and focus felt through your punches and kicks, so interesting," he said as he teleports on top of a tower nearby.
Then the door opens to reveal Cloud locked to a wall hold up by magnetic locks on his limbs. "Cloud no," Tifa said sounding worried as he looks badly hurt.
The android approaches Cloud to hold him by his chin to give Tifa a good look with Ad knowing he has gotten her attention now. "Tifa, I have prepared this just for you," he said as Cloud is in deep pain for Tifa's heart aches for his safety for she can't hold her anger anymore.
"After all, we all need something to fight for. I am right?" he questioned as he gingerly strokes Cloud's cheek which has a deep gash which is bleeding down his face.
"You son of a bitch, I..I…I will kill you for what you did to him," Tifa said as her body is pulsing with rage and helplessness for those memories of her town flashing in her eyes burning due to her own weakness. She is ready for a fight with her barely holding back a painful shriek.
"Yes, that is it. Now feel it, pure hate!" Ad shouted with his face coming alive with his robotic body overwhelmed with the thrill from Tifa's hatred of him to see more of his research bearing fruit. He lands in front of Tifa to spread out his arms with excitement. "Now come forth Tifa!" Ad shouted as their battle resumes with Tifa coming more aggressive with Ad matching her ferocity with his own.
Cloud looks on to see Tifa unlike he has ever seen her before. Tifa was always so reserved and guarded but now she is cutting loose and with her bright red eyes filled with anger and rage he has never seen before. "Tifa," Cloud whispered to be quite shaken by this unusual manner.
"What is your angle?" Tifa is snapping from Ad's mind tricks for the android has a calm look on his face despite he is being evenly matched by Tifa.
"I think Cloud should know about some uncomfortable truths about you, would you say?" he asked as Tifa stops in her tracks for she stares at Cloud to be scared beyond belief what he would think of her.
"Stop, no," she said as Ad stops fighting to put all a powerful shield to protect himself.
"I recall a memory when I was studying the two of your memoires. When you both were children, Tifa went to a mountain nearby her village to seek her recently dead mother in grief. Your so called 'friends' tagged along and then left you behind but Cloud keep following you without you noticing. Then you were on a bridge but the wind cause it to snap to make you fall but Cloud was there to save you," Ad continued.
"Cloud should have been treated like a hero but instead your father and the whole village treated him like an outcast thinking he was the cause of the trouble. What did you do Tifa?" he asked for Tifa looks shameful.
"I did nothing," Tifa said with her heart aching.
"Right, you did nothing while Cloud suffered. Some friend you are," Ad said as his words cut into Tifa. "How about this, you two were never childhood friends. Cloud has a big crush on you and you were the cute girl next door. Your friends teased and bully Cloud throughout his life within the village. So, what did you do?" he asked already knowing the answer.
"Nothing," she said sheepishly as she is getting quite anger at this but she can't deny the truth
"How about your hate his best friend Zack Fair and blaming him for the disaster at Nibelheim. Your exact words are 'I hate you; I hate Soldier, I hate them all'. Does that ring a bell?" he asked as his words cut deeper with each sentence for Tifa is on edge and ready to explode with rage.
"Tifa," Cloud looks on with Tifa's heart sinking even deeper than before for she begins to pound away at the energy shield but nothing is working.
"Stop, its not like that at all," Tifa said as she is getting desperate with Cloud maybe taking it the wrong way.
"Or how about you only took interest in him when he was joining Soldier but not before that," Ad said as he is breaking Tifa down with her punching the barrier harder with each passing moment.
"Shut up," Tifa said.
"What about your revenge against Sephiroth, did you link up with him because you want to seek your selfish desire for revenge. He is a means to that end," Ad said as Tifa is powering up her fists.
"Shut up," Tifa said to mindlessly hit the barrier but not doing any damage.
"Don't deny the truth Tifa, in reality. He is the only link to your past and you cling to him because you want that memory of your village again, nothing more," Ad said with cold pragmatism as this was the final straw that broke Tifa with her eyes leaking tears and her face flushed with anger along with sorrow.
"I say shut up! Final Heaven!" Tifa powers up her best technique to shove her empowered fist to contact the shield to easily break it as she shoves her fist into his chest. Blue blood explodes from the fatal wound with Ad holding onto Tifa as he can feel death creeping onto him.
"So, this is death," Ad said as he has a smile on his face with Tifa backing away for Ad limply falls onto the floor to be drenched into his own pool of blue blood. "Oh; so cold, thank you Tifa for my answer," he said as he dies peacefully on the floor to finally have his answer.
Tifa feels emotionally drained to go up to Cloud to get him out of his binds to lay him down. "Cloud," Tifa said as her face is covered with tears as Cloud never seen her so broken before.
"Tifa, is that all true," he asked as she hangs her head in shame.
"In a way yes but I wanted to share these feeling to you myself but…I" Tifa felt Cloud giving her a hug for she made her both happy and surprise. "Cloud, I am so sorry for my own personal weakness," she said.
"Tifa, despite all that. I don't regret all the things we went through together. The good and the bad, the reason why I join Soldier is to be strong enough to protect you and all the things I care about," he said.
"Cloud, I want us to share more in the future. No more hiding our feelings," Tifa said.
"That is a promise," Cloud said as they hold their embrace. "Hey; are you okay, that fight was rough?" he asked sounding concerned.
"I am okay, I use my Charka technique to heal myself during the fight," she said as Cloud is confused by this.
"Is that some sort of healing magic?" Cloud asked as Tifa shakes her head.
"No, it allows me to use the inner energies of myself or others to heal wounds. It's a martial arts technique I wanted to learn from my master," she said as she places her hand on Cloud's arm to see a bright green glow. A wave of relief goes through Cloud's body and her injuries are healed up.
"So, you used that on me before," Cloud said as Tifa nods.
"Yes, I wanted to learn this to help you against Sephiroth since you can't use healing spells," Tifa said as Cloud looks at her Tifa to be impressed.
"So, you did this for me?" he asked as she nods her head.
"Yes, I wanted this ability to help you anyway I can. When you need healing, I am your girl," Tifa said as Cloud can only smile at this.
"Come on, let's go back to the others," Cloud said as the two go off into the depths of the dead city.
Elsewhere Vee is within his personal chambers to see the battle ended through a drone with him being deeply enraged by this. The whole area is trashed beyond repair with him being overwhelmed with emotions blinding him with pure rage for the woman who killed his beloved older brother.
"Why? Why did you have to die brother, why did you go with this?" he flips over a table to smash his fist onto the floor to leave a large dent. "This is not fair, my only brother," Vee's body is shaken to the very core as his eyes glow deep red and his pale skin is turning black. "Damn her and the rest. I will kill them, I sweat I will kill them all!" Vee swear as his pain transforms him with the rest of the dead world beginning to be consumed by his uncontrollable rage as well.
A/N: Both Ursula and Yang are FF4 characters who are both Monk classes like Tifa.