"Reeve," Nanaki began before the man could even finish his greeting, "Yuffie is in danger. Something large and mutated attacked her at the mansion, and that was the most information she could give me before we were interrupted."
"Why did she call you instead of requesting backup through the pilot, or dialing my direct line?" His voice was stern, urgent, with the slightest measure of astonishment.
"We were speaking when the attack occurred," Nanaki paced in place anxiously. His jewelry jangled gently with his steps. "I fear she requires immediate aid and further conversation will delay it," he rushed.
"Understood," was Reeve's response. The call was ended.
Focused. Industrious. Hypervigilant. How fortunate was Reeve, to master composure in dire circumstances, Nanaki mused. The lion shook his mighty head in an effort to shake off the aggravation and anxiety welling up inside him, but to his dismay it was futile. "Please allow me to assist you," Nanaki had wanted to say. "While I am aware my current location is not ideal for an immediate arrival, my skills will no doubt prove useful with combat imminent."
He knew any time wasted collecting him could further endanger his friend's life, but his pride as both a protector and a warrior burned inside him, and once snuffed out came shame and regret in equal measure. Frustrated and resigned to the sidelines, he did the only other thing he thought might help:
"Call Vincent," Nanaki spoke aloud. The screen reactivated, automatically sifted through his contacts, and a ring began to sound across the speaker.
The dial tone rang once, twice, then came silence. The timer for the call continued to run.
"Yes?" A voice crackled through the speaker. It was soft, but deep and rasped from disuse. Silence resumed as it awaited the beast's response.
"There's been-" Nanaki hesitated. "I was-" He huffed, unable to collect his thoughts. "Whereabouts are you?" He finally managed to blurt out, more accusatory than intended. Mentally, Nanaki kicked himself for his inability to control his temper.
"For what reason?" The voice on the other line was unwavering as it spoke, but just as quickly as it began the line was enveloped in silence once more.
"I apologize," Nanaki started, meekly. "Yuffie was just attacked at the mansion. I…am not sure of her status. My attempts to contact her since the occurrence have been unsuccessful, as I fear her phone may have been destroyed." Instead of waiting for a response, Nanaki pressed on. "I am contacting you to see if you're close enough to assist Reeve's backup."
Nanaki could hear the faint shift of fabric and a soft breath.
"Vincent?" Nanaki pressed again, impatience straining his voice.
"I will assist," the man responded. Without a second of hesitation, the call was ended and Nanaki was left with his frustration. He plopped onto his haunches to consider his options, kneading his claws against the stone beneath them.
He could wait and hope for the best-surely Reeve would call as soon as he had news-or Yuffie would reach out from any phone she could get her hands on to let him know she was okay. He could try and enlist more backup for her by reaching out to Tifa or Cloud, though more than likely at least one of them would need to rely on Reeve for speedy travel, which could strain combat resources too thin.
The motion of his claws produced tiny squeaks as he dug them ever deeper into the rock, his focus gaining in intensity. If he set out immediately and kept a brisk pace, he could make it from the Canyon to Nibelheim by midday tomorrow-but no, that would surely be too late for any meaningful assistance… Considering how far the rest of the normal team was, he supposed his location wasn't that out of the way. Armed with newfound confidence and data, he cleared his throat and commanded his phone:
"Call Reeve," he said authoritatively.
The phone rang once, and then…
You have reached the voicemail of Reeve Tuesti. I'm sorry I was unable to answer your call. Please leave your contact information and I will-
"End call," Nanaki huffed. "Redial."
The ninja's racing heart slowed as her shallow breaths streamed their way back towards her lungs, their path slowly becoming unobstructed by excruciating pain. A few seconds to collect herself allowed her vision to clear and she glared at the beast. It was digging its clawed foot into the floorboards, readying a charge. Yuffie picked herself up to a runner's stance, her eyes darting around the area to locate her lost weapon. The beast snarled and lunged forward; the ninja spotted Conformer waiting on its side expectantly about five yards away, just to the left of the path the monster was preparing to take.
If she could keep her shit together for five-freaking-seconds she'd have enough time to grab her weapon and get behind this lumbering asshole. You're gonna regret messing with me, Yuffie fumed as she lunged into a sprint right across the beast's path.
She made it out of harm's way with plenty of time to spare, grabbed Conformer on her way by, and escaped behind the beast, making a beeline for the high ground of the staircase. The monster noticed her intentions and attempted to change trajectory part-way through its action, resulting in an awkward slide ending only as it now collided with the wall. Unlike with Yuffie, the momentum of the beast's charge shook the whole house upon its impact. Thuds from wall-hangings several rooms away could be heard like falling dominoes as the house resettled.
Yuffie scrambled up the first set of stairs on all fours, trying to keep her balance during the quake. Upon reaching the first landing, she readied a fire materia and turned to watch the beast right itself.
"You don't scare me!" The ninja called as a blast of flames shot forth from the magical sphere, homing in on her foe like a missile. She watched as the beast curled itself into a tight, defensive lump, the tentacles from the right side of its body shielding the exposed purple flesh of the left side. There has to be something to that, she thought as she watched the flames lap at the edges of the tentacles. As the magic faded, the beast uncurled itself. It didn't seem to be any worse for wear, but this was the first time Yuffie had seen it defend itself, and that gave her an edge. She re-slotted the fire materia in Conformer.
The beast took a few steps forward and reared its head back. The ninja braced herself for another roar when motion suddenly caught her attention-something was headed straight for her from the left at what seemed like the speed of a bullet. All she could see was a flash of red as she jerked her whole body backwards. The crack of splintered wood blasted through her eardrums and as her feet touched safety, she looked to the spot she'd been standing to find the broken remains of the top of the staircase. Slithering away in retreat was the beast's tentacle-arm.
SonofaBITCH! Yuffie screamed in her head as she knocked an ice materia free of its slot on her weapon. She held the sphere towards the escaping tentacle, focusing as shards of ice materialized and chased it. I can't back down now, Yuffie told herself. Now its time to go on the offense!
"Take another one of these!" She shouted and targeted the beast's giant face. Just as the ice shards pierced its tentacle, more shot from the materia at her command.
As the ice magic prodded its scaled flesh, the enemy shook its tentacle-arm and hugged it close to its body, as if shivering in the chill of a morning breeze. It didn't seem to be otherwise affected, but Yuffie didn't lose hope. The second spell collided with the monster's head and though it tried to shield itself from the blow by turning its tentacled side towards the force of it, two of the five huge pieces of ice stabbed at the side of its purple, fleshy maw. That's the ticket! Yuffie nearly grinned and jumped for joy as the beast screeched in pain.
"How 'bout some more?" The ninja held the materia out again, gunning for another head blow. She was finally feeling good about the odds, and as the beast took a defensive stance, hugging its arm and legs close to its body, it only made her confidence grow. As the shards of ice began to materialize again, the beast was frozen in what Yuffie assumed was fear. The elemental diamonds fully formed themselves and homed in on the enemy, and still, it did not move.
Even once the ice pierced its flesh again, it no longer seemed fazed.
There was still no movement.
Was it resting? …Was it dead? Yuffie cautiously approached the bannister, clutching the materia in one hand with Conformer pressed against her chest like an awkward shield in the other. The beast's eyes were closed, but she could still hear it breathing. It was crouched as if in concentration. The purple side of the abomination seemed to be bubbling underneath its skin-its bulging muscles were twisting and contorting, like they were being eaten away by thousands of worms. Yuffie could feel a gag gurgling up from her stomach. As if they were seedlings stretching their way towards the sun, a few small, red tentacles sprouted forth from the boiling flesh of the beast. Their protrusion sounded like a million rubbery snaps and they began covering the surface, leaking puss and black ooze onto the floor around the monster. Bile filled Yuffie's throat as she watched the grotesque scene. She covered her mouth with the crook of her elbow, trying to force herself to swallow as goosebumps covered her body.
"UgggggHHHHHHHHHHH," Yuffie screeched, tossing her head to the side to spit on the floor. "GROSSNESS-YOU'RE SO GROSS!" She gripped the materia and held it out again, hoping the magic would know what to do. She refused to look at the creature as the ice crystals began to materialize around the sphere for the third time. As they shot forward, Yuffie dared a glance not at her target on the floor but in the general direction the blast was headed. In her peripheral vision she saw movement from the beast.
As the large ice shards breached striking range, both of the beasts now-tentacle arms swept across them, shattering them mid-flight. Their remnants sparkled in the air before dissipating, leaving behind only their temperature. The beast finally stood. It no longer looked like two unfortunate creatures sewn together-now it was whole, a frightening monstrosity of scales and tentacles, all of them swaying at different speeds, folding into and over each other like piles of snakes.
Yuffie unconsciously backed away as the monster rose to the height of the bannister once more. It peered at her for a moment, its giant head slightly cocked and its mouth hanging agape, and as if on a silent cue, the once haphazard movement of its tentacles became unison.
That should have been a clue-maybe it would have been if she had been paying better attention-but the ninja was frozen.
The air around her started to crackle with energy. The tiny hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end. A split-second realization made her heart drop into her stomach: her magic attacks hadn't been weakening it at all, the beast had been absorbing their power so it could reach this state.
A crash came from above her, but she didn't even have a second to look before the lightning struck her.
Suddenly, her limbs felt like they were on fire. Her muscles spasmed as if pricked by a thousand needles. She couldn't keep her grip on her weapon or materia, and both clattered to the floor. Her arms and legs cramped and seized as the electricity flowed through her body like a raging river.
It was so intense she couldn't unclench her jaw to scream.