36
Black Materia
Sephiroth stood only a few feet away, his presence disturbing. Air of a dark heaviness twirled around him, pushing my body into the floor until I thought I was going to take Cloud with me to Hell.
"You understand the language of the Ancients?" I asked, about to pass out.
Sephiroth dropped his gaze, smiling down at me, and Cloud held me tighter against him.
"I do. Come…" His eyes closed, and he vanished right before our very eyes.
"This is beautiful. My key to becoming one with the Planet," Sephiroth's voice tugged, suddenly in front of the mural depicting Meteor falling.
He suddenly disappeared again, and reappeared before the end of the room, his arms slumped over an altar.
His long, silver hair, spilled over it, hungry and yet unable to take a bite of what hovered around his arms.
Mother, it's almost time. Soon, we will become one.
His thick armored shoulders began to shake, silver cauldrons shimmering under the torches, face hidden in shadow.
Aerith stepped closer, half hiding behind Cloud.
"How do you intend to become one with the Planet?" She asked.
Sephiroth collected himself, standing tall, bare, muscular chest behind his cross belts gleaming in the soft light, his hair falling behind his back. He was so excited, eyes wild and face perspired.
"It's simple."
He drew out his masamune, leaving everyone on edge. Cloud handed me to Aerith, and I limped into her arms just as he drew out his Hardedge. Vincent held his pistol and aimed. Cait Sith hid behind Vincent's cloak, shaking.
Aerith and I held each other tight, watching as Sephiroth waved his sword around aimlessly, using it to glorify his gestures.
"Whenever the Planet is wounded, it gathers spirit energy to heal it. The amount of energy depends on the injury," he explained. Both hands grasped the handle to his long sword, and with a mighty thrust, he stabbed the blade into the earth, right in front of his boots. The blade wedged deeper and deeper, cutting through stone, hard mud, and clay.
"What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the life of this Planet? Think of all of that energy being released," he announced, as though shouting to a large audience.
Sephiroth pulled back his sword, its tip dirty, and he swing it at his side to fling loose dirt off.
He looked up to the heavens, thoughts of his plan spiraling. He was practically foaming at the mouth.
"And I will be in the center of all of that energy! Me! By merging with the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the Planet, I will cease to exist as I am now. Only to be reborn as a God to rule over every soul."
My lips shook as I whispered, "An injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet…You mean Meteor?"
Sephiroth and I locked eyes, and his dazzled with amusement, thrilled that I connected the pieces.
"Yes. Behold," he gestured a hand towards the Meteor on the wall like I hadn't already seen it.
"The ultimate destructive magic, Meteor!"
Cloud settled his sword into both of his hands, knees bent and body ready to launch towards the mad man.
"That will never happen," he threatened, Mako swirling off his body like loose flames. Sephiroth turned his attention to the spiky-blond warrior, and did nothing but chuckle, like he was just given a warning by a little boy.
"You still have no idea, do you?"
Cloud was tired of being talked to in riddles, and he threw a hand across the air as he cried, "About what?!"
Sephiroth bowed his head, and became translucent, flurrying towards Cloud. Cloud gasped, lifting his sword up to block, but Sephiroth slipped right through him, and vanished.
Wake up, Cloud. His voice echoed those words over and over around the room, fainter, and fainter, until nothing of him was left.
We all turned our heads, trying to find Sephitoh, but as soon as my weakness faded, I knew he was gone, for now.
I straightened and finally took an easy breath for the first time in a while.
"He's gone," I confirmed, one hand a hold of Aerith's.
Vincent lowered his gun. Cait Sith scurried out in the open, panicking as he slathered his claws over his cheeks.
"He's going to summon meteor?!" he exclaimed.
Cloud dropped his sword's tip into the earth, standing there beside him as his fingers curled tightly around its handle, leather gloves stretched thinly until his knuckles almost ripped through the material.
He glared up at the mural of Meteor, a free fist to his side, and his shoulders shook as he inhaled a dry laugh.
"Summon meteor. Yeah, fucking, right," he heaved, eyes lost.
Aerith and I exchanged troubled looks, when Aerith covered her mouth with her hand, afraid to speak. Her look told me to go to him, but I hesitated, watching him carefully from a distance.
Cloud's whole body started to fall into waves of convulsion. A slow madness swirled inside him, one I haven't seen before, and never quite knew he had it to begin with.
His teeth chattered, and he laughed some more, eyes frozenly large.
"Ha! Black Materia! To call Meteor? Ha!"
To see Cloud becoming something disturbing, something inside me cracked, and I gasped, inching closer to him while holding Aerith's hand tightly for support.
"Cloud?"
"Cloud, what's wrong with you?" Cait Sith wallowed.
"Get a hold of yourself," Vincent joined.
"Cloud…" Aerith whimpered.
We all watched him collapse into himself, sinking his face into his hand.
"I'm Cloud… But how am I? Wait…"
He whispered nonsense to himself. I blinked, and there, for a short period of time, someone else hovered by Cloud, and then another, spitting images of him around him, his personalities all split up and lost for a fraction of a second. All of Cloud's ghosts stood in familiar postures, faces splitting and merging.
"I'm me, right?" Cloud quizzed, unsure of himself anymore. His voice rattled over, repeated by his ghosts as they sang around his head.
I'm me, right?
I let go of Aerith, and stepped in, wrapping my arms around Cloud's shaken shoulders, and pressed my forehead against his arm.
"Please…" I whispered tiredly.
Eventually, the other ghosts of Cloud merged back into place, and he was back to himself, the trembling to a halt. My eyes opened when I felt a hand softly smooth up my back.
"Aqua, what is it?"
Startled at his detached tone, I raised my face, looking into his eyes closely. Whatever Cloud fell into, it was gone, not a trace to be seen of it in his blank stare. He squinted down at me and asked, "Everything all right?"
My mouth stayed open, lost of words. I turned my head to Aerith, searching for aid, and like we communicated in thought, Aerith stepped in, hands to her heart.
"It's nothing, Cloud."
She turned to Vincent.
"Right?"
Vincent closed his eyes and did a simple nod.
She forced a smile down at Cait Sith, and repeated, "Right, Cait Sith, there's nothing wrong?"
Cait Sith left a paw up in the air, dumbfounded.
"Uh…sure?" he struggled, shoulders up to his drooped ears.
Cloud dropped his eyelids a little when he gazed warmly at me, his thoughts far away, possibly back to our intimate night. It may have been a comforting place for him to run away. But then he blinked, back into the mural room, and he turned his head, captivated by the Meteor taking up the whole wall between the pillars and torches.
"So, this is Meteor, the ultimate dark magic," he proclaimed. His hold strengthened against me as his eyes fell.
"Sephiroth thinks he can claim this magic?"
Aerith stepped forward, and she drew a hand up against the stone, its faded paint scraped across her fingers.
"It's the most powerful destructive magic there is. Meteor. When summoned, many small plants collide, forming a gigantic rock. Our Planet wouldn't survive such a hit," she whispered, picturing the destruction if it were to happen.
Her eyes widened from such thoughts.
"We can't let Sephiroth do such a thing," she whispered, shaking slightly.
Her head turned to the back of the room, spotting the altar glowing in itself, and slowly walked to it. I slipped from Cloud, rushing to the altar, just a golden table no bigger than a normal dresser, but something glowed atop of it. A small model of the temple, hovered, spinning slowly in place.
Now with Sephiroth gone, the whispers returned, and Aerith and I listened to them.
Cloud, Vincent and Cait Sith caught up, their eyes glued to the altar. With a hand to his hip, Cloud peered down at the floating pyramid, his other hand reaching towards it.
"So, is this it?"
We read the carved letters below the floating pyramid.
"BLACK MATERIA," Cloud read aloud.
His fingers were ready to touch the pyramid, the model no bigger than a football, when I tried to stop him.
"Wait!"
He touched it, and the whole temple suddenly shook. Aerith and I embraced, waiting for the walls to calm, and Cloud quickly withdrew his hand.
"What's going on?" he asked, turning his puzzlement to the two of us.
I looked at Aerith, wondering which of us was ready to explain.
Aerith's eyes softened when she told me, "Aqua, why don't you ask them?"
She meant the whispers, and I looked up to the walls, taking in more of the voices of the Ancients.
It all slammed into me at once.
It's the whole temple
Anyone who wants the Black Materia, has to retrieve it from the inside.
But to achieve that, the temple shrinks, smaller and smaller, until its model can fit in the palm of your hand.
A sacrifice.
There it was again, that awful word.
I sucked in a deep breath, and explained as easily as I could.
"The whole temple itself is the Black Materia. Inside this device," I gestured to the floating temple model. "Inside this is a trigger to shrink it down, but at the same time, this whole temple shrinks too, until it crushes the one operating here. So, you see, in order to have the Materia fit into the palm of your hand, it must shrink to that size. And to do that can only be done from the inside. You get crushed as you trigger it."
"So no one can take it from the inside," Cloud finished, understanding.
"Then that means it's safe here," Vincent announced, ready to leave.
But Cloud shook his head at Vincent.
"No. We need this Materia. We can keep it safe," he demanded.
I shook my head, disagreeing, and fluttered my eyes nervously to Cloud.
"I'm going to have to agree with Vincent. This is the safest way to keep the Black Materia from falling into the wrong hands. Let's leave it and get out of here," I declared, persistent.
Cloud gave me a painful look, not wanting to argue, but had to add, "I would like to believe that, but Sephiroth has those clones. He can sacrifice any of them into this temple and get the Black Materia for himself. What can you say about that?"
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. Such a thought didn't cross my mind before, and I was stunned at how Cloud's way of thinking worked occasionally.
Aerith's eyebrows rose, knowing Cloud was right, but hated to admit it. Pain brewed in her eyes, lips pressed together, but she blinked and pushed her deep feelings aside with a deep breath.
"Then, how do we get it?" She asked in a blank voice.
All our eyes wandered, as though the answer was somewhere in this room. No one mentioned to leave someone behind, the idea too absurd to even consider.
At the bottom edge of my vision, A black and white paw shut up, and I followed it, eying Cait Sith.
Very quietly, he announced, "I have an idea."
Our eyes dropped to him, waiting in silence as Cait Sith dropped his paw and sighed.
"I'll stay."
Cloud instantly crossed his arms and darted his attention back to the floating model of the pyramid. It held up together like a glowing golden artifact, shimming in a radiant light, and it made his face shine.
"Well, that was easy," Cloud blurted, like the idea of how to get rid of Cait Sith crossed his mind multiple times, and the answer was finally right in front of him.
I jabbed him in the ribs, and he grunted.
Vincent sent Cait Sith shivers with his dark gaze.
"How do we know this isn't another Shinra trap?" The brooding man asked.
Cait Sith's little shoulders sank, his half tail flicking with wire.
"Because there won't be anything left of me. I will get to stop following you guys once this stuffed body is destroyed. There are no other models. I will have to tell Rufus, but he will no longer have track of you, along with losing the Black Materia. I gain nothing from this except helping to keep the Planet safe. What more could I ask for?"
If Reeve's real personality manifested into Cait Sith, then it clearly showed. For a minute, the doll froze, the man behind the controls pondering on his own in his office, his tired eyes possibly lost to the bare walls of a space he never had time to decorate. His suit hung loose around him, the busy man barely consuming enough calories into his tight schedule. Busy trying to pretend to be someone else, his thoughts contemplating over Shinra's beliefs.
Like a wind up doll, Cait Sith whirled back to life, and nodded his head.
"Yeah, I think I like that idea. I get to help save the Planet," he finished, paws on his hips.
Cloud, Aerith, Vincent and I, tossed eyes around, wondering what other thoughts remained left unsaid. Cloud shrugged as he mentioned, "I guess we have no choice, but he's right. This is our best chance."
"I wonder if the other Turks have fled the island?" Vincent mentioned. Cloud pulled out his PHS from his pocket, looked at its screen and cursed.
"No signal. We can only assume that they left, giving us a chance to take the Materia for ourselves," he guessed.
Vincent hissed, his dim red eyes to the altar. "Then so be it."
Aerith leaned her hands over her knees to lower her level to Cait Sith's, and said warmly, "Thank you, Reeve."
The cat seemed startled to hear his real name, sometimes forgetting himself when he's easily drawn to the act of playing a doll.
His paws went up to his chin, frowning up at us.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused," he whimpered. Cloud scoffed and crossed his arms, Cait Sith's apology not nearly cutting in close for him.
I knelt with Aerith, and told the doll, "I hope to see you in person someday," and really meant it. It was a nice idea to possibly see how accurate my image of Reeve was, compared to the real person. I pictured someone like John Wick in a dark suit, but that's just where my thoughts went, and I grinned sheepishly to myself.
"I'll stay here then. You all go. Leave this temple safely. I'll wait and give you a half hour before I mess with the trigger," Cait Sith ordered.
Aerith and I jumped to our feet, and heard a wave of whispers to not do such a thing.
"They think this is wrong," I told her. Aerith's eyes softened, and a secret smile appeared.
"I know, but Cloud's right. If we don't do something, Sephiroth will get his hands on the Black Materia eventually. It's…" her eyes sank. "Unavoidable."
Aerith tried to lift her spirits, raising her eyes to meet with mine, and her smile widened just a little more. The temple disappeared, pulling Cloud, Vincent and Cait Sith with it. Aerith and I were the only two souls in the dark, huddling together in our warm, green light.
"I learned a lot. All the knowledge about our people, I finally understand a little better about what I'm supposed to do, but…"
She looked away, worry spread across her face.
My heart grew heavy when I saw that look, knowing that at the end of all of this, there was no alternative route all along.
You're supposed to die.
I stifled a sharp inhale. The end was nearing, I could practically see it, its walls closing in with nowhere for me to run. I had yet to understand what Aerith's words really meant, but I knew she will tell me soon enough. I tried to push those dark thoughts aside, and put up a smile as I thought about what I've also learned.
"I finally believe it fully, that I'm an Ancient. There's no more denying that. I've also learned so much about us, but I still have questions," I stated. All the answers to those questions, filled in Aerith's eyes, and she smiled gently, almost ready to tell them all to me.
"I did say I will tell you everything after coming here," she remembered, her hands taking mine like she was about ready to give me everything I wanted.
"Then let's hurry and leave this place. I'm ready to know everything," I announced.
"But before we do," Aerith added, taking a soft finger up in the air. We returned to the temple, the others appearing puzzled.
"One more thing."
She turned to Cait Sith.
"Before we go, could you tell us our fortunes?"
Cloud groaned into his hands as Cait Sith's paw rummaged under his furry chin.
He was known for his terrible ability to tell the future, which is probably why Cloud fought against the idea to have their goodbye be a fortune-telling experience.
"I don't have Mog to make the tickets, so I guess I will have to do it myself," Cait Sith pondered aloud.
Me smiled his little cat teeth over the thin line of his lips.
"Okay, then. Who shall it be?"
Aerith smiled, ideas popping in her head when she looked at me, and I dreaded what she was about to ask.
She settled a soft hand over Cait Sith's head, and politely requested, "Of the three of us, Me, Cloud and Aqua, which of us two is the most compatible couple?"
Cloud and I almost fell back, our faces red.
"Aerith!" We both shrieked at once, abashed by her ruthless approach to asking a juvenile such a serious question.
"Fine then, leave me out," Vincent muttered, though he didn't sound upset as he stepped away, heading towards the doors.
Cait Sith turned his backs to the three of us, simmering on the question. His paws twiddled together behind his back, tail spinning like a working machine.
"Three stars. Hmm…."
He looked up to the high stone ceiling, seeing the stars there, hovering over him.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
I shook my head. Hell no, I preferred not to know. What could be more disappointing than to find out the person you love, was no match for you? What do you do? Deny it? Work around it? Take it with a grain of salt?
But Aerith, excited, ran up to the cat and whispered, "Yes. I promise I won't get upset."
Cait Sith immediately turned his little eyes to Cloud, and he sighed.
"Okay then. As the last request, I'll tell you."
He considered me, Aerith and Cloud, little eyes difficult to read when they were nothing but tiny lenses. Again, he quickened a stare up at Cloud and frowned, a paw rubbing the back of his dented head.
"Cloud…" We could hear Reeve swallow in his microphone.
"You and Aqua are magnificent together. You two will accomplish more than most of us, but…" His ears dropped.
"But nothing comes close to how she's soul bound to Aerith."
He gave his little eyes to Aerith and I, and finally smiled, ears up again.
"You two shine so bright, two stars always together, able to withstand the darkest of night. But if one star falls, so does the other. Where Aerith goes, Aqua goes."
And he left it at that, waddling in between us towards the altar with his head held high, proud of his prediction.
Cloud crossed his arms and looked at the murals with distaste, shaking his head.
"Like I said, his fortunes are bullshit," he muttered to himself, trying to believe in those assuring words. But even as he said them, his eyes softened, falling to Meteor's massive round shape, and his focus shrank back into his thoughts, falling into a painful silence.
I studied Cloud. Even as he tried to hide it, I could feel how Cait Sith's words struck him deep, a single stab, but in some place tender after peeling back the many layers of armor.
Aerith took my hand, pulling me away from my sunken mood. Her arm looped around mine, and I sank into her shoulder. I took Cait Sith's fortune to heart. No one was closer to me than Aerith.
My other person.
"Where you go, I go," I whispered to her, repeating Cait Sith's words, and they hit me somewhere deep behind my own layers.
Aerith smiled at me.
"I know."
Cait Sith climbed onto the altar with struggle, its structure slippery to his paws.
With barely a look over his shoulder, he cried out, "Go!"
Aerith and I tightened our hold, watching Cait Sith refusing to look back at us.
"Well, you heard him," Cloud pressed, his hand falling to my shoulder. I looked up at him, expecting to still see him upset over our fortune, but instead, he held a cool look, eyes smiling behind a faint smirk.
"Let's go."
We hurried towards the doors, Vincent waiting for us.
I felt a tug, and stopped, looking back to find Aerith gazing across the room, to Cait Sith.
"Thank you, Reeve!" she shouted with all of her might with her hands enclosed around her lips, eyes closed, and determined to have her inspiring words reach him.
"I'll miss being your therapist!" I cried out, giggling. I watched Cait Sith's shoulders slumped. In a way, we were losing a member of our family, maybe not in death, but almost. No more jokes or smacking at Cloud's hands off of me. No more arguing with Cloud and complaints about his job. Whoever this Reeve guy was, he had a good heart.
Cloud hovered in the doorway with Vincent, the two waiting patiently for Aerith and I to turn around and join them.
The stone doors closed, leaving Cait Sith's slumped, anatomic doll body in there.
We were back to the clock room, and thankfully, its time counting hands frozen. The seconds and hour hands aligned towards a different set of doors, ones I didn't notice before.
"Is that the way out?" I asked, stepping carefully over the frozen seconds hand.
"I don't think we have a choice, there's no other route," Cloud pondered, following behind me. Together, the four of us carefully stepped over the clock's hands, taking the linear path towards another archway.
We entered a large, bare room, and our possible exit was in sight, a pair of stone double doors.
"This is it!" I gasped, eager for a whiff of fresh air, and ran towards the doors. But as soon as I reached, my hands hit a stone wall instead.
The doors disappeared.
I blinked, wondering if it was just my imagination.
"Wait, there were doors here, right?" I asked, my hands feeling at each small block of sandstone. The wall was strangely warm, and pulsing like there was a heart beat to it.
Whispers finally reached, warning me, and my eyes grew as I inhaled a gasp.
I whirled around, and shouted, "Get back!"
The wall rumbled, its stones curdling into ripples of sand. Massive T-Rex like claws spilled through, reaching with stone-like long fingers, swiping sharpen nails into my cloak until it tore to shreds.
I barely escaped, my cloak tugged and ripped. I stumbled into Aerith's arms, taking deep breaths.
"Another guardian of the temple. It manifested into a monster," Aerith explained, helping me up.
Cloud drew his sword. "It's our only exit," he grumbled.
Following the claws along the wide spread of wall, a head emerged between them. Sharp teeth aimed towards the floor, its rounded skull protected by a thick layer of stone. It reminded me of Alien, the way its head fell into its neck thickly, portraying thick shoulders gleaming in faded yellow bone, all of it matching to the wall's stone material like a grand sculpture carved it.
The creation opened its mouth wide, spilling sand to the floor like saliva, and a shrilling cry rattled the room.
Vincent held his gun and fired. The three bullets did nothing but crack into its stone skull. It sank its head back into the wall just as Cloud zoomed his blade into it, hitting nothing but stone, and his sword clanked hard against it.
"Damn it!"
I readied my magic, feeling its heat engulf my body. Under the green glow, I lifted my arm, bracer high to the ceiling.
"What if we just destroyed the wall, then can we get through?" I asked, and thought of something with fire.
My hand opened, and the magic surrounded me, my hair and skirt lifted. What was left to my tattered cloak, fluttered away, leaving my arms bare and the bows along the shoulders flapping roughly.
If only I could see how I've become, watching how I've transformed since the first time witnessing Aerith's magic deep in that collapsed highway. I'd worshipped her, looked up to her with the old belief that I could never reach such a level.
But I knew as I felt it, the magic casting a faint green glow around my body like a warm shield, I was finally there. I smiled, finally feeling like I was doing what I was meant to do. That poor woman wallowing in her self-pity, in disbelief over her heritage, had finally become the thing she wanted to be.
This was it, and I felt Aerith behind me, our backs touching and magic in sync for the very first time.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked me, smiling over her shoulder. I returned the smile, both our magic merged as one.
"Together," I chimed.
Her rod and my hand extended towards the wall.
My bracer glowed, followed by her silver rod. At the same time, I shouted, "Fire," just as Aerith cried, "Arcane Ward!"
A green glowing ward surrounded us, and a large explosion of fire heated the room when it crashed to the demon wall.
It came as two booms, the first chipping away at one of its claws, until the second knocked it right off. The wall screamed, the temple shaking to its vibrating sounds. Its claw smashed to the floor, dispersing into hundreds of little pieces of stone. A large crack sank behind, displaying a shot of darkness to the other side.
"Nice," Cloud observed. He held his sword, legs ready to lurch him forward.
"My turn."
He waited for the wall's head to return. First came its sharpened and extended jaw, followed by teeth, and then its dim glassy eyes.
Cloud charged before the wall had time to react.
He lifted his sword, the blade drawing an upper slice, and then he swung it across, and made an "X" across the monster's skull, chopping away more bits of stone at each cut.
The wall monster stood petrified, the menacing way its claws moved, stopped. Its rolling stone tongue and moving jaw became frozen, the whole display really a statue, but for a short time.
"Attack with all that you got before the petrification wears off," Cloud ordered, already hacking as many hits as his arms would let him. He grunted to each hit, sweat to his face, teeth clenched, hair in his face, his massive sword cutting horizontally through the air while leaving behind crumbs of stone to hit his eyes.
Vincent stayed in the rear, firing right at monster's stilled head, while I unleashed a thick bolt of lightning, cracking the other claw.
It seemed to be an easy win, but the monster shook its head, snapping out of its prettified state, and hissed. Its claw lifted, as though reaching up for something. The ceiling began to crumble away. Boulder size pieces fell, enough to crush us. I stepped out of the way, but Aerith froze in fear.
I was too far away when I screamed her name, hands reaching but unable to grab.
"Look out!"
Cloud dashed and cut away at the heavy stone about to fall on her, splitting it in two. But then another hurled after, and with no time to launch another attack, he pushed her out of the way.
Aerith stumbled back and fallen on her rear, her eyes blinking tears. The earth shook, the booming sounds of boulders landing and breaking away.
"Cloud!"
I ran, finding half of him stuck under a heavy part of stone, his legs and hips crushed underneath it. He pressed his forehead into the floor, trembling as blood pooled around him.
"Fuck, that hurts," he wheezed, and fell into a choking spasm, blood trickling out of his mouth.
I fell into dismay, hands to my frenzied heart just before I rammed them onto the stone. It wouldn't even move an inch, even when I pressed my shoulder into it, pressing my boots hard into the floor.
Cloud was fading fast, I could feel it.
"Vincent, help me move this!" I cried in a broken voice, breathing fast. The beads around my wrist glowed, but I already knew how distressed I felt, how much pain laid ice to my blood vessels as I felt them freeze over, ready to snap.
Vincent looked over his shoulder just as he dodged a swipe from the wall demon.
"I'm a little preoccupied," he muttered.
Aerith and I tried our damndest to push a heavy ton of stone off Cloud, but it wouldn't even budge.
"Vincent, please!" I cried. "I beg of you! I know you have the strength. I know you can move this, so please!" My voice broke into a high-pitched wail, hitting Vincent somewhere that made him stiffen. Even Aerith stilled, sensing the anguish that grew in my body, shaking it just as much as the temple. My body glowed, the bracelet trembling in my left wrist.
A bead cracked.
Aerith saw it before I did, and she inhaled a gasp, afraid to discover what will happen if the bracelet broke.
I rested my cheek to the stone, and stared right across the crippled room to find Vincent looking down to his hands as though the answers were floating there in his palms. His eyes were half shut, a part of him here with us, and another part off somewhere else, someplace dark.
The Wall Demon inched closer and closer to him, shrinking the room foot by foot with stone scraping against stone.
"Are you sure?" Vincent whispered too quietly, I couldn't tell if he was asking me or not. I watched him carefully as he closed his eyes, and took in a deep, shaky breath.
With one quick motion, he pulled his cloak off him and let it fall near his feet like a puddle of blood. Without his cloak, Vincent appeared tall and lanky, his entire body closed in tightly by black leather armor.
It started with his fingers curled into his palms, and he squeezed so hard, his arms trembled. He closed his eyes and bared his fangs. Aerith and I watched in shock, noticing how the rest of Vincent's teeth sharpened. Purple veins popped out of his skin, pulsing a dark color across his cheeks towards the rest of him, and he grunted, his head diving into his chest to hide the pain that flashed across his changing face.
Tiny pieces of stone at his feet, began to hover around Vincent, his dark hair lifting as it pulled back back into his skull. His arms and legs bulged, each leather strap snapping back until his leather armor popped off, floating around him. Aerith gasped, hugging me close as we continued to watch Vincent slowly morph, his back growing until it arched greatly, purple skin tight with more muscle boiling under it. Claws outstretched from his hands and feet. His grunts grew into growls, wild black hair turning red. His thin line of dark clothing ripped to shreds, displaying a muscular body, and it only continued to grow, a tail forming behind him.
"When I tell you to run, you run," Vincent growled, his voice altered into a monstrous hiss.
He stopped breathing, face buried in his claws, and the bits of stone, leather and tattered clothing fell near his feet, his golden metal boots broken to peices under his weight.
Aerith and I held our breaths, hesitant to speak and afraid to move even when the wall monster neared, shaking the room. We couldn't decide who was the bigger threat: The Wall Demon or Vincent?
When Vincent inhaled again, he raised his head, long, sharp, white horns sticking out of above his eyes, face that of a beast with sharp teeth. He purple eyelids peeled back, and glowing red eyes, flashed. He stood up on his hind legs, all of him appearing to be covered in a purple leather over layers of muscle. With his massive jaw opened to the crumbling ceiling, Vincent roared, turning his ferocious gaze to us.
Aerith and I inhaled a gasp, and then we broke away when he charged, claws ready. They dug under the large stone block, and the beast exhaled through its nostrils, legs bent and arms almost tearing at its muscle fibers when he pulled. He closed his red eyes, growling as he pressed his teeth into the stone. It began to lift, higher and higher, until the beast held it up high over its head and roared victoriously.
Aerith collapsed next to Cloud, her hands hovering over his crushed legs. As she began to heal him, I watched Vincent hurl the stone into the Wall Monster with so much momentum, it cracked its skull and shattered everything it touched.
Stone blew up everywhere, and the wall stopped its progress, frozen and cracked heavily until it finally collapsed. Everything shook, rubble piling high as I stayed near Cloud, shielding him from the small hand size pieces of stones thrown our way.
"Why did you do that, Cloud? Why get yourself hurt like that?" Aerith asked, tears soaking her cheeks as her magic glowed around his body.
As I watched her, it made me suddenly wish I could do what she did, bring life and healing into the world. I looked down to my own two hands, picturing lightning, or fire bursting out of them.
I brought destruction.
Quietly, I closed them when I no longer wanted to watch the ghosts of my magic burst, and turned my teary eyes back to Cloud. His crushed bones, muscle and torn skin, healed back into shape. Soon, his chest inhaled, and he gasped a breath, almost pushing himself when he could breathe easily again. He sat up, blinking in confusion.
Aerith soothed him, her gentleness a gift, for Cloud seemed lost in a daze. Vincent's growl made me turn my head, and gasped, finding a sharp claw about to swipe at my head.
I jumped back in time, his claw cutting into wall.
"Run," the beast cried, and yet, it kept lunging at me. I darted away, and his claws struck stone, digging three long marks across it.
"Vincent, wake up!" I cried, hoping to reach him. But he charged, eyes hungry and bright red like the blood he wanted to enjoy. I summoned an ice spell, encasing his large body into ice to stop him.
Blinded by too much furry, he pushed his arms and cracked the ice armor. It splattered, breaking into little pieces of crystal, and his bulging purple legs kicked through it.
"I said, go!" the beast trembled before it launched into the air. He moved so fast, I was struck down, protecting my head with my hands as I fell back and skidded across the floor, bits of rubble scratching my back and legs while Vincent's claws dug piercing knives into my shoulders. I screamed, blood leaking around his nails.
The beast held me down, his breath like a fog through his nose when he licked his dark lips. He extended his many santoku knives for teeth, inching towards my neck where I knew the juicy veins and arteries were.
His weight crushed me, I couldn't even breath when I tried to wheeze his name.
Vincent stuck out his tongue to take a long lick of my neck, his saliva hot and slippery. I squirmed, his heavy and hot breath bathing my skin.
Like a hero risen from his fall, Cloud came in from behind and wrapped his arms tight around Vincent's shoulders, barely able to touch his hands all the way around.
"Vincent, get a hold of yourself, damn it," he grunted, holding the beast back from starting its feast. Vincent raised his head and roared, pulling back his claws. Drops of blood speckled, some left to his long nails, and he almost licked them. But Cloud tightened his hold, his body glowing blue, until the beast's bones began to crack under his arms.
Vincent screamed, and he stood high on his legs. Desperate to get rid of Cloud, he crashed his back against a wall, again and again, but Cloud held on, crying to each hit until his back was bruised and bloody behind his sword's dented magnet.
"Aqua, are you okay?" Aerith gasped, helping me sit up as I struggled to breath. Fire traveled from my shoulders into my chest to each breath I made, and I laid back down, gasping and wheezing.
"You're going to be okay," Aerith whispered, her hands soft and warm on my skin. Her magic was like taking a heated blanket over me, so soft and comfortable. I wanted to stay like that forever, smiling to it.
Blood stopped leaking, and the little holes closed up, leaving nothing but fresh skin. My crushed bones snapped into place, and I sat up, breathing normally again. I turned to Aerith as I trembled.
"Aerith, thank you," I whispered.
She smiled, but it quickly fell when she turned her attention to Cloud trying to tame the beast that is Vincent. He was hoping to tire him out, keeping a secure hold onto him, but the beast never wavered. It cried out, peeved, and began to dig its claws into Cloud's arms.
Cloud cried out, his forearms bloody.
"What do we do?" Aerith cried, rising to her feet and looking helpless.
I joined her and shook my head.
"We have to fight him," I guessed, not liking the idea of hurting Vincent, but what choice did we have.
Out of nowhere, someone cried, "Cover your nose and mouths!"
I gasped, finding Yuffie suddenly jumping onto a fallen stone block, and she held a sleep bomb in her hand. Her scarf covered up most of her face, and she threw.
Cloud let go in time, and a white fog bloomed into the room.
I rammed my hands over my nose and mouth, holding my breath. Aerith too, though she squirmed, not taking a big enough gulp to get her comfortable.
Behind the white haze, the room shook.
It took about a minute for the fog to disperse, revealing Tifa and Barret walking into the broken room.
"It's a good thing we came to check in," Tifa chatted, her red boots bumping into stone and rubble.
Barret whistled, his sunglasses hiding his eyes. "Damn, what the hell happened here? Shit hit the fan, all right!"
Cloud rose, limping until I caught him, and I fell back to my knees, holding him in my arms.
"I think you need a vacation," I joked, using my thumb to wipe the blood that smeared his lips. Cloud cracked a smile, his face bruised and arms clawed bloody.
"Does the Planet take vacations?" he asked, half joking.
"What happened?" Tifa asked, stepping closer. The sleeping fog disappeared, and left behind a body resting in a fetal position.
"Vincent?!" She ran to him.
I helped Cloud up as he winced.
"He change back?" Cloud struggled, limping along as I helped him near the body.
We gazed down at Vincent, naked, and asleep, his knees curled up to his chest, eyes closed peacefully.
Tifa got to her knees, and carefully laid her hands to his pale arms.
She shrieked, "What the hell happened?"
Aerith, Cloud and I exchanged puzzled looks, neither of us wanting to explain that Vincent can transform into a dangerous monster.
Barret marched in.
"Come on. We can all talk about it on the fucking plane. I want out of this shit hole," he grunted, and slumped a sleeping Vincent over his large shoulder, legs and rear easily exposed.
"Don't stare at his white ass, y'all hear?" Barret warned as Vincent snored in the background.
Tifa, Yuffie and Aerith turned their red faces away, while a giggle escaped my lips over the snoring sounds.
"Cid and Red are waiting. Let's go," Tifa urged. Yuffie bundled Vincent's iconic red cloak into her arms, and she sighed happily into it. "It's mine," she snickered.
Aerith took to Cloud's other side, and gave him a hand, the two of us helping him walk.
"Thanks, you two," He grunted.
It suddenly felt like the tension between them melted away, and I smiled to myself.
All of us stepped outside, and I inhaled a huge gulp of the air.
"Finally!"
Even if the trees were agitated by rough winds, the sky growing dark of overcast, I still savored the fresh air, and gladly let it roughly soak my face.
During our descend, the steps began to tremble. The three of us, Cloud, Aerith and I, all looked at each other, and the same thought crossed out minds.
"What's goin on?!" Barret called out.
We quickened our step.
"It's the temple," I cried, passing Barret. "It's going to collapse!"
"Oh shit!" Barret tried to keep up, Tifa and Yuffie far ahead.
We made it pass the wall, and stood to watch the temple encased itself into a dark sphere, black lightning bolts spreading inside it.
"What's going on?" Tifa asked.
"The temple is shrinking away. Once it's complete, we can grab the Materia," Cloud explained.
Aerith clasped her hands in prayer under her chin, shivering in her little blue dress that suffered tears, grease stains and smudges of filth.
"Thank you, Cait Sith," she whispered. She turned her grateful emerald eyes to Cloud, and dropped them a little when she said, "And thank you, Cloud."
He turned to her, and actually gave her a smile for the first time in a long time. It was beautiful to watch as I stood a little behind them, my heart lifting.
"I promised to protect the both of you, remember?" He reminded her.
Aerith's eyes watered, and she closed them before falling into Clouds arms, hugging him. At first, he was startled, unsure of what he should do. But seeing me smile, his lips eventually widened, and he returned the hold. Behind their embrace, the pyramid shrank away, leaving behind bursts of black sparks in the air. The winds hurled, leaves forced off the trees, with fruit falling to the grass. The sky grew dark, clouds thickening until enlarged black bellies glossed with light, and then rumbled.
Cloud and Aerith pulled back from their hold, and they both turned to me.
"You ready?" Cloud asked, giving me his hand.
I had to smile at the way his blond hair tossed wildly, leaves passing him and a storm brewing just over our heads. We could be in the middle of a hurricane for all I care, feeling at peace when I took to Cloud's hand, and his hold felt intimate, even if it were just his fingers.
"Hey, hurry your asses up and get down there," Barret snapped.
Yuffie shivered, wrapping Vincent's cloak around her little body.
"I'll be at the plane!" And she skittered away.
Cloud pulled me with him towards the temple grounds, Aerith following.
We passed the walls, and stopped short, finding all of the bridge and temple gone. There was nothing but a massive crater, wedged deep into the earth around the high stone walls. It was steep when I peered down at it, the walls of dirt all indented by patterns of vanished stone.
And there, in the very center of that crater…
"The Black Materia!" I gasped.
"Let's go," Cloud barked. He was a pro at sliding down with his feet, using the crumbling earth to his advantage. Aerith and I weren't as graceful. I came backwards, climbing down, even as the winds lifted my dress.
Tifa hovered along the edge, watching us descend.
"I'll wait up here!"
Mud caked my fingers, some smeared on my dress as I cried inside. By the time I got to the bottom, Cloud was already waiting, and his eyes glued to the floating black orb like it was the most prized possession on the Planet.
Whispers escaped from the stone, pulsing with a powerful wave of energy that left me breathless when gazed upon it. I settled a hand to my chest, staggering back a few steps.
"It's incredible," I gasped, afraid to even touch it.
"Can you and or Aerith use it?" Cloud asked, curious.
"I can't," Aerith started, finally catching up to us, and she huffed while falling her hands to her knees.
"It requires a large amount of power to use it," she explained, and then they both turned to me, suddenly apprehensive.
"More power than Aqua," Aerith corrected, though she sounded uncertain.
Cloud stepped closer, until he bravely hovered his hand over the tennis ball sized black orb. Tiny black sparks zapped from it, leaving me to wonder if it were to zap at anyone who touched it.
"Just in case, I think I will hold on to it," Cloud insisted, taking it into his palm easily, and closed his fingers around it. He inhaled sharply when he studied it in his hand.
"This feels dense," he commented. His hand holding the stone started to tremble until he rammed it into his pocket.
Aerith slapped a hand to her heart, intrigued that the most powerful Materia on earth, was simply settled inside Cloud's pocket like it was just a wallet or keys.
She muttered, "Couldn't we at least lock it in a chest or something?"
I wasn't really listening, stuck on what she said earlier, and interrupted them.
"Great amounts of energy? You mean, like, a place then?" I asked.
"The Promise Land," Aerith answered lamely.
Something suddenly didn't feel right. The air felt heavy, despite being outside, and I turned around, expecting someone behind me, like there were eyes right there, but I found nothing but a wall of dirt and roots.
"Aqua, what is it?" Cloud worried, when I looked to him, puzzled.
I shook my head, feeling tired.
"Nothing," I mumbled, rubbing at my head.
"Sephiroth isn't an Ancient. He can't find the Promise Land," Aerith confirmed. Cloud straightened, about to ask something else, but then there it was.
I felt it before I heard his voice, my body growing weak, and I collapsed in the dirt as a mighty voice boomed proudly, "Oh, but I found it."
Sephiroth.
My eyes darted up, and there he was, hovering above us, the black sky behind him like a growing dark threat.
Sephiroth's hair whipped in all directions, his cloak opening around his legs. He scanned us heavily, aqua orbs for eyes glowing, his pupils tiny.
"I'm far superior to the Ancients. I traveled the Lifestream, gained the wisdom and knowledge of the Ancients. I also gained the knowledge and wisdom of those after the extinction of the Ancients. Soon, I will create the future."
I struggled up to my feet, and as hard as my magic would let me, summoned a weak bolt of lighting towards him. Sephiroth teleported away, missing the bolt.
Even just that low level magic alone was enough to leave me gasping for breath, falling on my hands and knees again. Aerith reached for me as she called my name.
"Damn it!" I grunted.
I wanted to hit him so badly, I could feel it in my bones, the hunger to hurt him. To stop him, even if it was with pathetic attacks.
Sephiroth came into view once more, kneeling before us at the edge of the flatten earth, his hair spilling over his boots.
"Cloud," he whispered, face lifting behind a silver curtain, and with one eye sharp on Cloud.
"Be a good boy," he demanded smoothly.
I whipped my head around, finding Cloud standing there, puzzled at Sephiroth's demand.
He drew his sword.
"I don't know what the hell you're saying, but I'll never take orders from you," he sneered, Mako eyes glowing. He charged forward, ready to attack, but then, suddenly, he just stopped.
Cloud stiffened as he straighten, his sword lowered at his side.
"Wait-!"
He gasped, sword fallen just to have his hands cradle his head.
"That noise!" he sputtered, eyes growing large when he dropped them to his feet.
"What's…"
He slammed his eyes shut, and shook his head, continuously.
"Make it stop! It hurts!"
Aerith and I ran to his side, confused.
"Cloud, what's wrong?" Aerith cried, taking one shoulder while I took his other, the both of us around him.
"Cloud, it's okay. We're here for you," I reminded.
But when Cloud opened his eyes, it wasn't Cloud anymore.
I gasped and wobbled back before he pushed Aerith away so hard, she hit a rocky wall with tremendous force. She let out a gasp before rolling back to flat ground, her hands struggling to push herself up. She looked appalled after what Cloud just did to her, and she suddenly broke into tears, face buried in the earth.
Time seemed to not exist around Cloud, the way he grabbed his sword in a blink. And then, in another, he was already in front of me, raising a sword high over his head.
I knew Sephiroth was doing this. He had to be. Why would Cloud suddenly turn against us?
"Cloud!" Tifa yelled.
She surfed down the slope and rammed her shoulder into the possessed man, causing him to stagger sideways.
"What's gotten into you?!" Tifa shrieked, watching him slowly rise. He said nothing, his eyes no longer Mako. They were like green cat eyes, and they stared absently at Tifa, stiffening her with their deep hold of nothing.
"Cloud?"
And he waved his sword, ready to cut, but Tifa performed a backwards flip, dodging it.
As the two battled, I limped my way to Sephiroth. The closer I got to him, the more my body dragged itself, until I was crawling.
"Stop it," I whimpered, my voice small.
Sephiroth paid no heed to me, and I tried again, reaching as my fingers jabbed into the dirt, pulling me closer.
"Stop it," I tried, voice still soft.
Tifa let out a wail, pulling a gasp from me as I turned to find her cradling her exposed belly, a deep cut into it. She collapsed into a fetal position, her hands already bloody as she tried to stop the wound from gushing.
"Tifa," Aerith gasped, struggling to reach her.
Oblivious to what he's done, Cloud turned his head, and found me, his main target.
I hurried closer to Sephiroth, every cell of me protesting as they turned to heavy ice. Like I was freezing, my lips shook.
"Let's see how much your FEELINGS can protect you against your DNA, Cloud," Sephiroth whispered, those words sounding familiar. He marveled at the show, kneeling and waiting like a Master watching his slave do all the work.
He was still ten feet away, but I tried, teeth biting together hard, and screamed, "Sephiroth, stop it!"
But Cloud appeared, blocking Sephiroth from me. Behind his pant legs, Sephiroth smiled sweetly right at me.
I rolled before the blade struck, half of it wedged into the earth. Cloud worked so fast, he already pulled his sword back and lowered it towards me again. I landed onto my back, and screamed, bracing for the impact as the blade grew towards my skull. My arms folded in front of my face.
Ding!
The Hardedge's blade made contact with my bracer, stopping the attack from hitting right between my eyes. The force of the blow traveled in vibrations, shaking my arms and up into my shoulders until my teeth rattled. I struggled to keep hold, Cloud pressing further, hissing through his teeth. I've never been so afraid of him before, not like this.
This wasn't Cloud. Who was this imposter?
The bracer began to crack as my weak arms struggled to hold, his blade coming to my neck.
"Cloud, please," I gasped.
I'd like to think he aimed for the bracer on purpose, but I will never know as I felt the tough metal plate dig into my skin, blocking blood flow until my hand became numb. My foot tried for between his legs, but he was standing too high over me, leaving only his thighs, and he didn't budge to my flimsy kicks, his muscle like stone.
The blade grew closer towards my neck, and I began to wept uncontrollably, eyes closed and having the tears roll back across my forehead and into my hair.
In stories about magic and fairy tales, love was supposed to win. My voice should've reached him. My cry, my tears? Anything? Any second now, Cloud will blink, and come back, right?
A sharp burning sensation exploded from my neck. Liquid oozed, and I knew it was blood. I could smell it as it greatly saturated my shoulder and slither down my back. A warm puddle began to close around me.
I shivered in disbelief, feeling warm and yet, also cold.
My vision blurred, Cloud's horrifying face turning into a blob.
It began to rain, pecking at my cheeks as fat, warm drops.
Cloud's voice was nothing but a distant sound, my ears plugged, or perhaps my hearing was fading. Little by little, the world seemed to disappear.
His face darted away, and I turned my head slowly, eyes lazily trying to follow him. Something shiny flung across the air, until I recognized it as the Hardedge, and it clanked somewhere, a ringing of a bell from far away.
Cloud dropped his head into his hands and screamed, shattering through the muffled layers in my ears until it chipped off a piece of my heart. I sucked in a gasp, holding it inside while tears fell into my blood, flooding around my cheek.
I watched as his steps brought him closer to Sephiroth. Each step stomped heavily, resisting but also moving forward.
My eyes widened, trying to stay focus when black shadows enclosed around my vision. Cloud's arm stretched, and in his hand, he held the Black Materia. He closed his eyes tight, tears dripping off his chin as he tried to resist, but his body lurched forward. Cloud screamed as one of his arms bent the wrong way, his body moving as he protested. Fractured inside and out, he presented the Black Materia.
And gave it to Sephiroth.
Why Cloud?
My lips moved, mouthing that word.
Why?
A pair of glowing green orbs floated over me, glistening, and then they vanished into thin air.
My thoughts broke into pieces, unable to fully grasp what I was seeing as Cloud's blurry form collapsed.
Face pressed into the mud, the glow of his eyes flickered to me. His hand had reached, but soon it lay limp, fingers to the sky. In the strangeness of how we aligned, I almost thought my hand was touching his, not realizing he was too far away.
I watched those eyes fade as my world grew darker, until, finally, nothing.
55