The sky was bright the next morning. Cloud made his way to the pathway leading up to Mt. Nibel. Sephiroth and the others were already there, as well as two villagers, one of whom Cloud recognised as Tifa's father.
"Once the guide gets here, we're heading out," Sephiroth explained.
"Listen to me, Sephiroth," Tifa's father began. "In case something happens…"
Sephiroth held up a hand in a dismissive gesture. "…Trust me."
Frantic footsteps rattled against the cobbles. Cloud turned his head to see Tifa running up to the group wearing an excitable expression underneath a wide-brimmed hat. What was she doing here and why was her father so worried for her?
"I'll be all right, Dad!" she declared. "I have two men from SOLDIER with me." She turned to Sephiroth. "I'm Tifa. Nice to meet you!"
It suddenly dawned on Cloud.
"Tifa!" he gasped. "You're the guide?"
"That's right. I just happen to be the number one guide in this town."
"It's too dangerous!" Cloud warned. "I can't involve you in something like this!"
"Then there's no problem if you protect her," Sephiroth casually interjected. "Let's go."
As he turned and headed for Mt. Nibel, the man standing at the left of the group suddenly came forward. Cloud noticed that he was the one wanting a picture of Sephiroth and a monster yesterday but was uninterested in a 'nobody' like him until he realised he used to live here. The young man had dented his ego with a few sharp words. He had to admire the guy, for it was rare for anyone to be able to chip at his armour anymore.
"Ummm… Mr. Sephiroth!" he cried. "Please let me take one picture for a memento!" He turned to Tifa and held his hands together as if in prayer. "Tifa, can you ask him for me too…?"
Reluctantly, Sephiroth posed for a quick photo. Tifa took his left side and Cloud, taking the opportunity to have his photo taken, stood at his right.
"Cheeeeese!" yelled the eager photographer.
Sephiroth walked away as soon as the camera flashed. He wasn't a shy man, he was just aloof. He had a mission to complete after all.
"Great, thank you!" beamed the photographer, running up to Cloud and Tifa. "I'll give each of you a copy once I get it developed!"
"A Mako Reactor was built in Mt. Nibel," Cloud told his comrades. "The cold air of the mountains of Nibel. It was no different…"
The mountains were grey and barren, each peak, big and small, jutting out of the thick mist and tapering off into jagged, sharp points. The landscape was full of spikes of varying sizes, making the mountain range look like it belonged to an alien planet.
They walked for a while, with Tifa proudly leading the way until they arrived at a rope bridge. The bridge had evidently seen better days. It was almost threadbare in parts and its entire length was swaying at the fierce mercy of the cold winds. An abyss of jagged rocks and thick mist opened up below them. The wind whistled eerily below as if there was a monster lurking down below taunting them.
Tifa ran onto the bridge with blissful unawareness of the dangers.
"It gets harder from here!" she called to the group. "Follow me!"
She continued up the rope bridge, the group reluctantly following her with trepidation. Cloud felt nervous about the condition of the bridge as it became more and more unstable. Suddenly there was a tearing sound as the ropes holding it together began to snap.
"Uh… the bridge!" Tifa wailed as she clung on to the ropes either side of her. Cloud glanced left, right and straight ahead, trying desperately to cling onto something, but the ropes completely snapped, hurtling everyone into the abyss below.
Cloud hit the bottom with a thud. He could hardly breathe but he was alive. He sat up and inspected his limbs. No broken bones. A few cuts here and a bruise or two there; superficial wounds, thank goodness. His breaths were still laboured. He figured the fall must have winded him. He took slow breaths until the pain in his chest began to subside.
Tifa! He glanced around and found her lying face-down on the cold floor of the mountain. Cloud rushed towards her as she stirred, lifted herself up and brushed herself down. Perhaps seeing the concern in his eyes, she nodded to say she was okay. Sephiroth and one of the soldiers appeared from around a corner. The soldier looked ruffled but Sephiroth had not even one hair out of place. As they got closer, Cloud realised it was Hiro, the one who had motion sickness in the truck.
"Everyone seems to be all right," he said to the group as he brushed a piece of debris off his black trench coat. "Can we get back to where we were?"
"These caves are intertwined, just like an ant farm…" Tifa explained. "Oh, and Sephiroth… there seems to be one person missing…"
"It may sound cold, but we've got no time to search for him," said Sephiroth. "We can't go back now, so we must go on. We'll travel together from here."
They entered a cave. It was icy cold inside, with a sharp breeze blowing through it. The walls were an eerie green colour and if Cloud looked at them closely enough, he was sure he could see swirling patterns moving through the slabs of rock until he blinked; then the walls became still again. This wasn't an ordinary cave.
"What's this?" asked Cloud.
"A mysteriously coloured cave…" mumbled Tifa.
"It must be the Mako energy," said Sephiroth. "This mountain is especially abundant in it. That's why the Mako Reactor was built here."
They made their way through the chamber and into a second one. This next chamber still had an eerie green glow to it, but the brightness was a lot more intense. A large tree root had taken up residence here and was intertwined around the walls and the many crevices and fissures that had formed in the rock over the years. There was also a high-pitched humming sound coming from a glistening pool of what Cloud could only assume was Mako energy in its most natural form. It was beautiful and haunting; a true visualisation of Gaia's wondrous power.
"…And what's this?" he asked for clarification.
"A Mako fountain," explained Sephiroth. "It's a miracle of nature."
"It's so beautiful…" gasped Tifa as she gazed at it.
She walked up to the fountain and then turned towards the group.
"If the Mako Reactor continues to suck up the energy, this fountain will dry up too…"
The fountain seemed to have a solid core that shone brighter than its surroundings. Cloud couldn't look at it for too long as its brilliance blinded him. He had seen something like this before; materia.
"Materia," Sephiroth mused. "When you condense Mako energy, materia is produced. It's very rare to be able to see Materia in its natural state."
"By the way…" Cloud interjected. "Why is it that when you use materia you can also use magic too?"
Sephiroth looked offended. "You were in SOLDIER and didn't even know that?"
Cloud felt his cheeks flush.
"The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the materia," Sephiroth continued, either oblivious to Cloud's embarrassment or choosing to ignore it. "Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the planet calling up magic… or so they say."
"Magic… a mysterious power…" pondered Cloud.
Sephiroth laughed, which caught Cloud off guard. When he laughed, it wasn't because he was being jovial or engaging in a bit of light-hearted fun. That wasn't his way. Sephiroth laughed at people, not with them. Cloud's cheeks were burning now.
"Did I say somethin' funny?" he asked defensively.
"A man once told me never to use an unscientific term such as mysterious power!" he snickered. "It shouldn't even be called 'magic'! I still remember how angry he was."
"Who was that?" Cloud asked.
"Hojo of Shinra. Inc… an inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist." Sephiroth shook his head. "He was a walking mass of complexes."
"A Mako fountain…" Tifa whispered, changing the subject. "So this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is."
They left the chamber and pressed on through the cold, winding passages of Mt. Nibel. The reactor came into view as they rounded a corner. It was a huge metal structure set in the rocks of the mountain; a stark contrast to the natural aesthetic of the landscape.
"We finally made it," Tifa huffed as she bent forward to catch her breath. "We sure took the long way though."
"Tifa, you wait here," Cloud ordered.
This mission had already proved dangerous. They were already missing one person. That person was probably wounded, or maybe even dead. It would only get more dangerous now.
"I'm going inside too!" she stubbornly replied, placing her hands firmly on her hips. "I wanna see!"
Cloud shook his head. What Tifa wanted, Tifa usually got.
"Only authorised people are allowed in," Sephiroth explained. "This place is full of Shinra's industrial secrets."
"But!" Tifa exclaimed.
Sephiroth turned to Hiro. "Take care of the lady."
Cloud followed Sephiroth into the bowels of the reactor. Tifa tried to follow but her path was obstructed by the soldier who had been assigned to protect her.
"Mm… man!" she yelled, shaking her fists and stomping her feet on the ground. "Better take real good care of me then!" Cloud heard her say as the door to the reactor closed behind him.
The main area of the reactor was a mass of girders, walkways and wires stretching over an open pit of liquid Mako energy. There were no railings to prevent falls and you had to keep your eyes peeled for any pieces of metal or a trailing wire that could see you stumbling over the edge to your death.
A second, smaller chamber awaited them at the other side. Its walls and floor had been painted blood red and it was full of small blue cryogenic capsules, each row of four lining a set of stairs that lead up to a large metal door to another room. At the top of the door read the words 'Jenova'. Cloud tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge.
"This is… Jenova, right?" he asked. "The lock won't open…"
They inspected the room, making sure to check every capsule. Eventually, Sephiroth found something.
"This is the reason for the malfunction," he said as he inspected a capsule on the lowest platform. "This part is broken. Cloud, close the valve."
Cloud bent down and closed the valve. How could such a simple error create such a catastrophic event?
"Why did it break…?" Sephiroth wondered. He peered inside one of the capsules. "…Now I see, Hojo. But, even doing this, will never put you on the same level as Professor Gast."
What did he mean, Cloud wondered? His queries were soon answered.
"This is a system that condenses and freezes the Mako energy… that is, when it's working correctly. Now, what does Mako energy become when it's further condensed?"
Cloud looked up as if trying to garner knowledge from a higher plane. Then it came to him.
"Uh… umm… oh yeah!" he exclaimed. "It becomes a Materia."
"Right, normally. But Hojo put something else in there… Take a look. Look through the window."
He was shocked at what he saw through the glass. There was some kind of creature in there. Cloud didn't recognise it. Its skin was grey and leathery and it had thick tendrils coming off the top of its head, formed in such a fashion that it could only be described as some sort of mane. Its face was contorted into a pained grimace, or was it malice? Perhaps it was a bit of both. He couldn't shift the thought that the creature had vague humanoid features.
Cloud dropped to the floor. His heart was thudding.
"Wh… what is this!?" he gasped.
"Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako," explained Sephiroth. "You're different from the others, but still human. But what are they?" he asked rhetorically. "They've been exposed to a high degree of Mako, far more than you."
"…Is this some kind of monster?" Cloud asked as he picked himself up off the floor.
"Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these monsters really are."
"Normal members of SOLDIER?" Cloud enquired. "You mean you're different?"
Sephiroth brought his hands to his face and began to laugh maniacally. His shoulders shook as his laughter grew louder. He was beginning to scare Cloud.
"H… hey, Sephiroth!" he gasped.
"N… no…" His words were ragged, catching in his throat. Normally so calm and collected, this wasn't what Cloud expected of the man he had looked up to for all these years. Something was very, very wrong…
"…Was I?" He unsheathed his sword and began to hit one of the capsules with such force that sparks fizzed in the air. Cloud jumped back. "…Was I created this way too?"
Sephiroth turned his anger to another capsule on the left-hand side of the stairs, slashing it with his sword. The harsh sounds of metal on metal set Cloud's teeth on edge.
"Am I the same as all these monsters…" he cried.
"…Sephiroth," called Cloud.
"You saw it!" screamed Sephiroth. "All of them… were humans…"
"Human!? No way!"
He wanted to believe that but a part of him couldn't shake the image he saw. It may have been a monster, but it had human-like qualities too. Was Sephiroth right?
He turned to Cloud. His expression had calmed slightly. Cloud put his guard down and looked at Sephiroth in the eyes. If the man needed to talk then Cloud could only do the right thing and listen.
"… I've always felt since I was small… that I was different from the others. Special in some way." He shook his head. His eyes looked sad. "But… not like this…"
Another capsule on a raised level opened up above them, startling the both of them. It made fizzing and popping sounds as compressed air escaped from inside it. As the air quickly dissipated, the monster from within came into focus. It was vaguely humanoid with the same features of its counterpart that Cloud had seen moments before. While the skin on the upper part of its body was blue in colour, its legs were bright red and glistened with some sort of fluid as if the skin had not yet formed. It was a pitiful sight. The beast was lying down, glancing around as if it was scared and in pain. Its mouth opened and closed again as if it was gravely ill and gasping for those last breaths of air. It let out an agonised roar that sent chills through Cloud's bones before finally becoming still and silent.
Am I… human? Thought Cloud.
He looked at the group, trying to shake the thought from his head.
"I didn't quite understand what Sephiroth was saying at that time. I was even more surprised by the fact that Shinra was producing monsters."
"Damn, Shinra!" Barret roared, waving his fist. "The more I hear, the more I hate 'em!"
"…Who would have ever thought the Mako Reactor held a secret like that," said Tifa quietly.
Red, who had so far been quiet, suddenly spoke up. "That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently." He turned to Barret. "I think we should listen carefully to Cloud. Don't you think so Barret?"
"Why you talkin' to me!?" Barret huffed, more to himself than towards the group, but Cloud still heard him. "Hmph! Pokin' his damn nose in where it don't belong!" He turned to Cloud. "Cloud! Why don't you finish that story?"
"Tifa…" began Aeris. "You were waiting outside then?"
"…Yes."
"We returned to Nibelheim," said Cloud. "Sephiroth confined himself at the inn. He didn't even try to talk to me."
"Then all of a sudden he just disappeared, right?" purported Tifa.
"We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim," continued Cloud.
"The villagers used to call it Shinra mansion," Tifa explained.
"Long ago, people from Shinra used to live in that mansion…" said Cloud.
Cloud had a feeling that Sephiroth was inside the Shinra mansion, so that's where he and Hiro headed next. He said his goodbyes to his Tifa and the other villagers, who wished him well and told him to be careful. Tifa seemed especially worried.
"I'll be fine," he reassured her.
The mansion was dark and sooty, filled with air so thick with dust that it was like wading blindly through a fog. Not even the bright light shining through the huge panels of stained glass behind the once-opulent staircase could brighten the place.
Cloud watched Hiro climb the stairs and head into a room on the right-hand side of the mansion.
"There's no sign of Sephiroth," the soldier began, "but I know I saw him go into this room…"
It was a small bedroom, probably used for unimportant guests back in the day that had a partition a third of the way into it. The first part housed a few dusty benches and dated pictures, the latter part furnished with more comfortable luxuries like a bed, some drawers and what probably used to be a grand-looking carpet until it had slowly rotted beneath layers of grime and years of neglect.
Cloud spotted it first; a part of the wall that had exposed brickwork. There was a slight indentation that was rectangular-shaped set within the bricks. A door thought Cloud. He lightly tapped the bricks and the door sprung open. As he peered through the darkness beyond, he saw that a swirling spiral staircase descended down into the depths of the mansion. He beckoned Hiro to take a look before they both descended into the bowels of the mansion where secrets must have been lying in wait…
To be continued…
