The Fal'Cie
In due time, the team managed to reach the base camp and continue onward to the Archylte Steppe, where nothing but green grass and tall cliffs could be seen under the open sky. Of course, there was the wildlife threatening to challenge their progress; the newcomers' eyes widened immensely at the size of a strolling Adamantoise, all the while making sure to stay out of the keen eyes of Gorgonopsids.
A chocobo grazed by the nearest lake, looking at them with surprise before darting off in the opposite direction. Its frantic sprint caught the attention of Gorgonopsids nearby, and they gave chase to ultimately take it down as their prey.
"Brutal," Tifa observed with a grimace.
Snow nodded. "Survival of the fittest," he simply explained. "That's why we keep a perimeter up around the village." He recalled the first time he ever stepped foot on Pulse, how brutal his training was along with the other Pulse l'Cie. In the Ark on Cocoon, the monsters they battled were just the tiniest sip of what awaited them when they arrived on Pulse, where everything was untamed and full of vitality. They evolved not only physically, but mentally as well, which proved to be crucial in their fight against the fal'Cie.
Cloud understood how Lightning adopted her fierce determination and fortitude. If she had to survive in a world like this, she had to be willing to go any distance…especially if her sister's life was on the line. After the death of her parents, reality must have hit her hard, but the harsh environment she was forced to live in must have blinded her from fulfilling her family duties properly without shutting everyone out.
Following Serah's directions, they started westbound, where a broken tower was seen in the distance. Serah herself took the lead, pointing out interesting landmarks along with Snow…until they started walking past a butte not too far away from the Font of Namva. Before she could complete her trek past the rock formation, a heavy paw slammed into the ground not three feet from where she stood, eliciting a shriek of fright from her lips. As she stumbled back, her eyes widened and looked up to see a ferocious Behemoth snarl in her presence, its bloodthirsty eyes taking in its abundant prey.
"Serah!" Snow rushed to grab her arm and pull her back, away from the monster; Cloud stretched an arm out to usher them toward the back of their party.
Tifa joined Cloud's side, quickly pulling her gloves out from beneath her duster. "Should we run?!"
"I don't think that's much of an option at the moment," Vincent said.
Cloud unsheathed the main blade from his holster and held it at the ready, facing the Behemoth as its mighty roar pounded in his ears. He charged forward with his sword high above his head, only to bring it down once he was sure to make contact with the monster's hide. Relentlessly, he sliced into the thick skin, hoping to bring it down soon enough…
But this strong defense proved to be challenging. Before he could weaken the Behemoth to a good threshold, a mighty swing of its front paw slammed him into the butte, and Cloud dropped to his knees as his sword fell out of his hands.
Tifa sped toward it, fluidly avoiding its swing as she slid across the ground. Just a jaw's snap away, she was moments from becoming creature chow, but her hands grasped tightly onto the tassels whipping about from its figure, careful to avoid the menacing canines. Once the Behemoth thrashed around once more, she used the momentum to swing up into the air, planting her feet on its back and keeping her hold on the tassel to steady herself.
Now furious, the Behemoth became restless, lurching to throw Tifa off its back and exposing part of its soft underbelly that was kept hidden in its quadruped form. Vincent saw it as an opportunity and took aim, only firing when he was sure Tifa wasn't at risk of getting hit. Three bullets exploded from Cerberus' barrel, and they easily sunk in to the monster's skin upon contact.
As it began to stagger, it was clear debilitation was settling in, though it didn't lessen the bloodlust emanating from its growl and eyes. Tifa raised her arm up and struck down with the butt of her palm, aiming for what could have been the nape of the Behemoth's neck. The blow was enough to bring it back down to its forepaws, almost collapsing to the ground altogether; Tifa managed to let go of the tassel and jump off before the impact could jilt her standing.
By then, Cloud was able to shake the cobwebs from his head and grasp his sword once more. He rushed to the Behemoth again, keeping the blade low for attack. Once Tifa was sure to be out of harm's way, he skidded to a stop and swung his blade upward with as much exertion as he could muster, dragging the monster up by the tip and flinging it toward the skies.
Cloud leapt up to follow it and pulled out a back blade from the holster. According to Snow, these things had to be dealt with as swiftly as possible, or else they would evolve into a much stronger form that could wipe them all out. Once he was at the same level as the Behemoth, he refused to hold back; he first struck with the back blade to carve into the softer underbelly, following with the main assembly to dig deeper. Cloud continued with the pattern in rapid successions, for he knew that gravity would inevitably uphold its laws in a matter of moments. When he felt that the creature was soon to descend toward the ground, the back blade was locked back into place before he raised the sword high above his head.
His muscles tensed as he swung down, the force compelling the Behemoth to shoot straight back down into an explosion of dirt and grass. Landing just a few feet away from the monster, Cloud breathed heavily through his nostrils; he must have gotten rusty over the last few months, and an exercise like this proved to be helpful. The Behemoth's limbs twitched with last bit of neural activity left before ultimately dying down, leaving its guts to spill from the carvings.
"Pretty slick moves you got there," Snow praised as he and Serah came up. He eyed the monster with a raised brow, impressed with Cloud's strength despite the lack of a l'Cie's powers.
Cloud's gaze flickered to Serah and grew concerned while sheathing his swords. "Are you all right?"
In response, she nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Thanks." If the monster hadn't taken her by such surprise, she could have felt determined enough to join them in the fray. For the past year, she trained with Snow and the NORA team to be as steeled as her sister. If it had been something as simple as the Alraune back in Vallis Media, it would have been no problem, but with what was to come ahead, she needed to get used to facing these levels of danger…and soon.
Sensing the little twinge of embarrassment, Cloud smirked and placed a hand on her head, eliciting an even warmer smile from Serah. They had only known each other in a matter of days, and yet he felt like he had a younger sister to take care of – someone he absolutely couldn't let down.
The group continued on, catching sight of a Sahagin party of three that seemed to wander out of the Font of Namva. At first, Cloud and his comrades readied themselves for a second fight, but Snow held him back with a hand on his shoulder.
"These guys are weak to fire," he explained. "Let Serah and I handle this."
They maintained a safe distance from their quarry – close enough in range, but sure to not be seen or even heard. Serah fitted three arrows on her bow at once, aiming at a high trajectory angle in the air while Snow held his palm out to summon a fireball. With a quick nod, Snow tossed the fire ball at the aqueous opponents, and by the time it was halfway there, Serah released the arrows to follow.
The middle arrow struck dead into the fireball while the others traveled side by side with it, sailing over and ambushing the Sahagin party with dancing flames. The middle fiery arrow struck the middle Sahagin, consuming it to inflict massive burns and spreading the flames across the area. Naturally, the other two creatures would have fled from the danger, but the other two arrows pinned them down to the ground, leaving them to writhe and wait until the embers were caught on them.
"Well thought out," Vincent mused. Serah and Snow turned to grin, happy to know that the tactics they developed could come in handy. Cloud nodded in agreement; strategy was definitely going to be to their advantage, and he was glad Serah was able to think on her toes, like her sister.
As they drew closer to the gorge, they stopped by the nearby lake, resting enough for the troubles that were to come once they descended into Mah'habara Subterra. All the while, Tifa observed how natural everything was in the world around them. Pulse was free of rule from any government or company that sought to exploit resources; everything was alive, rooting deep into the soil as if the land truly had a pulse.
Taking a deep breath, Tifa spread her arms out and fell back, landing in the soft grass that tickled her skin. She felt a presence drawing close to her side and sit down; peering out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cloud gazing over the lake and terrain, taking it all in like she had done.
"I could get used to living in a place like this," she mused.
Thinking otherwise, Cloud turned his head to see a roaming Megistotherian followed by a trail of Gorgonopsids. "Of course," he replied with a smirk. "Let's all stay in the middle of these plains and wait for something to chomp on us."
Tifa sat up cross-legged and wrapped her fingers around her ankles. "Ha ha," she retorted drily, prompting both her and Cloud to chuckle in unison. The moment retrieved a faint memory stored deep inside, staging the two of them back in 7th Heaven on what could have been any average day. Cloud had revealed his knowledge of her conspiracy to draw him and Lightning together, fishing out the dark emotions Tifa sealed away in her heart.
Before the past year happened, Tifa and the others worked hard to bring some light into Cloud's everyday life, to draw out the warm and positive person they knew was buried under the torturous memories of growing up under Shinra's rule and in Sephiroth's shadow. This was the man they wanted to befriend, to call a comrade and give help when all hope was lost.
She had Lightning to thank for this change, for if she had never shown up, it was impossible to say if Cloud would have ever opened up. If Tifa had any say in the matter, she would have wanted Lightning to come back with them when they found her…
But Cloud still thought otherwise.
Clasping her hands together, she wondered how to approach the subject, knowing that she was bound to push the wrong buttons.
"When this is all over...will we have to go back to the Planet? Like what happened with Lightning when Chaos was destroyed?"
She noticed his back stiffen, his answer lingering in his throat. It was obvious he hadn't thought about it – or rather, refused to think about it – and what was to come with the ultimate choice he had to make.
"I can't say if saving Lightning will force us to go back," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "But either way, it's probably for the best. Keep everything in perspective and not mess up the natural order."
'An excuse to get out of it,' Tifa thought angrily. He was opting for an easy reason to make the choice for him…for Lightning. His conversation with Vincent back in New Bodhum pounded in her ears. All that was on Cloud's mind was saving the one person that meant so much to him, his own happiness be damned.
Tifa clamped a hand around her fist to keep it from visibly shaking. "So willingly?" Even with the silence, she got his answer. Her eyes sent daggers that pierced into Cloud's backside, but he still refused to properly face her.
"Cloud…" She fought to keep her tone even. "You keep fighting for what's best for everyone else. You're helping Serah get her sister back. You're helping Lightning be free of Jenova's cells. Saving everyone and the whole world is so natural to you. How about saving yourself?"
By then, her voice had raised an octave, startling Cloud as he finally faced her with a creased forehead. "Tifa—"
All she could see was him holding his chin up and doing what was "right" for the people he cherished. Though noble, what did that leave him with?
"Why don't you just be selfish for once?" She moved to crouch on one knee, beseeching him with frantic eyes. "Are you really going to face Lightning with the intention of leaving her once this is all over?"
It was Cloud's turn to shoot her an exasperated look. In his head, he had already gone through this fight many times over with himself, and every time, there was one factor that stood above all the rest.
"This was what she wanted in the first place," he started in a voice so low and deadly. "Lightning wanted to be with her sister and friends, and now that she's back here, you expect me to ask her to come back to the Planet? She's suffered enough because of me, and this all started because I was selfish enough to want her to stay!" Vexed, he shot up to his feet, turning from Tifa and pacing away. Cloud cursed the day he took Lightning to see the mako fountain, when he compelled her to make the decision to stay on the Planet. With this weighing against him, there was no reason to continue the crusade of bringing Lightning back.
Sighing heavily, Cloud closed his eyes, only to open them when he stared up into the vast sky. He couldn't afford to let his emotions get in the way of his goal. "As long as she lives, I'll deal with whatever she wants."
Tifa gritted her teeth, feeling like her heart wanted to burst out of her chest. Time and time again, she had to watch the two of them be martyrs – their choices had pure intentions, though no happiness was bound to come out of them. If they continued their journey through this new world, who would say they would end up successful?
"…But what about what I want…?"
She only noticed that the thought came out when Cloud curiously turned back to her. Catching herself, Tifa vehemently shook the thoughts out of her head, clamping her lips shut while avoiding his gaze. She was supposed to leave it all in the past, looking forward while hoping that Cloud and Lightning would find their slice of heaven within each other. The battle against the dark regret in her heart was faltering, and if she didn't keep it in check soon, it would threaten to sabotage their mission…and everything she held dear with Cloud and Lightning.
Before either of them could break the silence, rapid gunfire sounded off in the distance, begging for their full attention. Armored soldiers appeared from a slope near the cliff; some had automatic machine guns while motorcycle-like mechanisms darted toward them at the speed of light.
Vincent shot up from where he crouched by the edge of the lake. "We've got company."
Up ahead, Snow cursed under his breath. "Damn. It's PSICOM!"
Serah immediately ran into his arms and watched the oncoming soldiers with worry. "What if they're infected?!" she speculated frantically.
The thought hadn't escaped Cloud's mind. They could be the cavalry Serah spoke of when she was under the influence of the Jenova cells, and now they were on the hunt for whatever delayed their scouts. From what Lightning told them back on the Planet, the PSICOM branch of the militia wasn't one to fool around with; one wrong step could lead to game over.
"Come on!" He spun on his heel and darted in the opposite direction. Prowling wildlife that they could easily avoid was one thing; a whole army out for their blood was far too dangerous, especially if they were intent on plaguing them with Jenova cells.
Tifa and Vincent waited until Snow and Serah passed them before following right behind. Throughout their sprint to an invisible safe haven, Vincent whirled around for a second or two to riddle their pursuers with bullets, successfully taking down at least one soldier or artificial-intelligence bot every time. Likewise, Snow and Serah constantly threw balls of flame over their shoulders to hopefully reduce their numbers, but nothing could slow down their pursuit.
Cloud whipped his head back and forth, desperate to find a way out of this mess. Once PSICOM caught, the Jenova cells could be just a fresh slice away from overriding their minds. To the left was a ledge that led into a passageway, and where it led wasn't an issue they had the time to discuss.
Steering the group toward the ledge, he braced himself as he spun on his heel and slammed back into the face of the cliff. He stacked his hands atop each other, palms face-up. Not too far away, Tifa's eyes locked with his, the formulated plan instantly passed along. She nodded just before exerting more energy into her sprint, her focus solely resting on Cloud's outstretched hands. Going to the max at the last second, she planted her foot on his palm, prompting him to throw her up above his head. Tifa immediately grasped the ledge to pull herself up, steadying herself before waiting for the others.
As they neared, Snow brought Serah forward and held her waist, lifting her up toward Tifa's ready hands. Together, they worked to haul her up before Snow, with his tall stature, merely leapt on his own to grab onto the ledge. Cloud waited for Tifa and Snow to each throw out an arm to haul him up, while Serah started retreating into the passageway as PSICOM drew closer. From behind, Vincent made sure that the army's front line was decimated before making a break for it; in one bound, he grabbed hold of Cloud's outstretched arm and finally joined the rest of team to retreat into the shadows.
None of them dared to glance back and check if the army managed to follow them. Their hearts pounded in their chests and ears as they raced through some winding passages, where sunlight barely filtered through for assistance. The air grew chill with the flick of a switch, and once they saw their own breaths in front of their noses, the group slowed down.
"Did we lose them?" Serah asked, anxiously glacing over her shoulder.
The army seemed to be the least of Tifa's concerns. "Where are we?"
"We should still be in the Steppe." Snow's brows knitted tightly together. The passageway certainly stopped to arrive at a smaller field, but any trace of daylight disappeared, and all was still as the night surrounding them. "The hell is this? It was broad daylight just a minute ago."
Vincent went ahead of the others, stepping out to search through the darkness everywhere. Curiously, his gaze drew upward, and what he saw made his nerves bristle.
"You two ever see that before?"
Surprised by his tone of voice, the others followed him onto the field before looking up along with him. Amidst the blackened sky, a cloudy spherical form stood guard in front of where the moon should have been. Pale moonlight was forbidden to grace the mountains around them, encasing the Archylte Steppe in darkness.
Serah's eyes widened at the sight. "What is that?"
"You don't know?" Cloud asked.
Snow shook his head, taken back by the anomaly. "No. Where did it come from?" Though he tried to remain calm, its appearance made him wary. Its colossal size drew up one simple way of identifying it, but the explanation that he came to was nearly impossible. For as long as they existed, new fal'Cie hadn't appeared on either Cocoon or Pulse; the annals archived within the Sanctum said the newest fal'Cie would appear in at least 200 years.
Even with her little knowledge, Tifa knew when to read the bad vibes she got from it. "I don't like it." She felt like the entity had eyes trained on them, watching their every move and waiting for some opportune moment they couldn't foresee.
Behind a boulder just a few steps away, a new Behemoth emerged from the darkness, its eyes taking in the team just like the monster from before. Cloud drew the main sword from his back, stepping up to stand beside Vincent and his readied handgun. All their eyes were trained on the monster before them, failing to mind the strange stirring in the sky ahead of time.
With no warning, the entity in the sky shifted, black tendrils shooting out toward the ground. They laced around the Behemoth's limbs, consuming it in a black shroud as it roars inevitably died out. Meanwhile, the team's hold on their weapons faltered, disturbed by the turn of events.
Snow followed the trail of tendrils back to the sky; a small glimmer poked out of the entity that appeared to be their savior. Refusing to relax, he dug into the recesses of his memory when the scene felt all too familiar. The glimmer grew as the black smoke surrounding it cleared up; moonlight seeped through as brief flashes caught his eye…and stopped his heart.
Color draining from his face, Snow agitatedly reached out for Serah's arm, clasping onto it tightly as his feet began stumbling backwards. "That's…" His heart beat furiously in his chest and ears, almost rendering immobile from preventing what was to come. If it had awakened in their presence, the entity only wanted one thing.
"THAT'S A FAL'CIE!"
Though instinct told him to make a break for safety, Cloud's mind couldn't reach his muscles, reeling at the thought of confronting a fal'Cie god that treated humans like cattle. From the beginning, he hadn't imagined seeing one at all; focused solely on the Jenova cells, he didn't even consider the natural dangers of Lightning's world. In an instant, he knew exactly what was to come with running into a fal'Cie –
A curse.
While the black tendrils easily dealt with the Behemoth, the now-revealed crystal glowed brighter, as if absorbing the very moonlight it tried to block. The light was blinding, painful to their eyes as they flinched at the sight of it. They felt the ground disappear beneath their feet; any screams fell upon deaf ears while the air held a twinge of stagnation all around them.
The longest seconds had passed before the light dissipated, and they were left in an endless space filled with darkness. In the distance, the crystal was still visible in its faint glow. The smallest movement could be heard, anxious breaths easily depicting their wracked nerves. Cloud feared the worst – that it was all a mere transition into the afterlife, a sentencing where there was no Lifestream to return to. Bells tolled the coming of death all around. While there was no pain, he could sense the anguish over their plight. This wasn't a situation anyone would wish to find themselves in.
Turning his head, he could see the others not too far away, shocked and disturbed as he was. Tifa's gaze caught his own, and she desperately reached out to regroup. Cloud stretched his left arm out toward her, knowing it was best to get everyone together before potential separation...
But another bright flash bathed them in light, marking the arrival of a colossal figure in their presence. Mechanical cogs were manufactured into its arms, which were the lowest part of the monstrosity they could visibly see. A part of its face was concealed; a glowing eye was turned toward them with a sense of appraisal, as if sizing each of them up.
'What the…?'
A horrible shudder echoed through the darkness, easily recognized as Snow's. "No…No!"
Despite his refusal, bright tendrils erupted from the colossus, much like the fal'Cie they encountered not five minutes ago. This time, the appendages glowed in a pale blue shade, shooting straight for the group with no hesitation. They looped around their limbs mercilessly, tightening to ensure their hold while their prey struggled with zero chance.
Cloud found it impossible to tear his eyes away from the giant – he was a mere marionette forced to watch the events unfold before him. Brighter streams of energy sprung forth: one for each of the victims it restrained for the inevitable fate. At the speed of light, they rushed to attach with everyone in the group, fixed on a part of their bodies. Helplessly, Cloud watched a stream shoot straight for his left bicep, bathing the pink ribbon in pale blue light until a searing pain stretched across his skin. For the shortest moment, his entire arm felt like ripping off altogether, but as soon as it appeared, the stream of energy dissipated, leaving him debilitated while the cries of the others rang in his ears.
The restraints immediately slackened, and he was left to fall into an unknown abyss as the strangest images flashed through his eyes. Like a broken film, everything was difficult to decode - chaotic destruction laid waste upon a vast plain. Broken shards of crystal flew all around them…
A familiar woman raised her extended sword toward him, her pale aqua eyes burning with tragic determination. More flashes of unclear images tried to obscure his view – pale blond hair, the shedding of blood, Cocoon towering over their heads – but the sight of the woman that lingered in his heart was sure to mean something important, if not disastrous.
"Kill me."
Finals week is drawing close, so this will be the last update until it's all over. Now, I know y'all would want kill me for leaving a cliffhanger, but this is my chance to be diabolically evil (mwahahahaha), so I hope I'm successful.