"Hearts and Mirrors"
Part 2/4
By Jonatan L

Part 2 here... (obviously...)

"This is... perfect," Kane breathed as he 'looked' through the mirror. "This is just perfect..."

"You already said that."

Kane turned sharply, focusing his 'gaze' at the silver-haired boy.

"You should act, not talk," said boy continued. "It's time. What is holding you up?"

"Silence!" Kane snapped, lashing out with his thoughts.

The boy flinched, as if Kane had actually struck him. His Mako blue eyes glowed dully for a second, then returned to normal. "Yes, Master," he sighed. "I wish to know when we should act."

"Soon, my child." Kane smiled coolly as he turned back to 'observing' the mirror. "Very soon..."

"...so that, Lord Godo, is my story," Kai finished, draining the last of the sak‚ from his cup. "You... already know the rest."

"Yes indeed," Godo Kisaragi replied thoughtfully. "However, I fail to understand why this man would attack us. You say he seek power... but what power can he find here, in Wutai? We have little magic, little technology..."

"You have an Esper," Kai pointed out. "A very strong one, at that. He could be after Leviathan's Summon Materia. Then again, he could also be after something completely different... I seemed to feel some power emanating from the statues to the east. Is there anything hidden there?"

Godo and Staniv - the only other guardian in the room - exchanged glances. Staniv shrugged. "None that I know of," Godo said. "Da-Chao hold their own power, however... it is not one that can be transferred. It will stay here as long as the statues remain, and once they are gone, that power will flee this world. There is no way it could be removed."

"I was thinking more like something... portable," Kai said. "No ancient artefacts, no Materia?"

"None that we know of," Godo repeated. "It is true that there is Mako fountains in the mountains... and that could create Materia. However..."

"These Mako fountains do not contain enough power to produce anything special," Staniv finished. "We have examined all that we can find."

"Oh..." Kai remained silent for some time. Staniv, without asking, refilled his cup. The mage drained it in one gulp, and Staniv refilled it again. "Then... is there any truth in what I heard on my way here?" Kai said slowly. "Is it true that Sephiroth appeared here?"

Staniv and Godo exchanged glances again. "What do you think?" Godo asked his second-in-command.

"I... do not know. He seems honest enough." The guardian shot Kai a look; the black-clad man didn't notice, as he was staring down into his once more empty cup. Staniv refilled it again, at the same time telling Godo, "And besides, if he proves to be an enemy... we can always kill him." Godo nodded.

"Yes," he sighed. "It is true. However, Sephiroth... is not truly alive. My daughter found a Materia that connects to his spirit, and somehow, that Materia enables him to return briefly to this world, much like the Summoning of an Esper. I do not understand all of it, but apparently, Sephiroth wants to make up for his acts over a year ago..."

"I... see," Kai lied. "Can you... can you summon him? Sephiroth's knowledge is legendary; I am sure he could tell you..."

"He cannot," Godo said. "Or maybe will not. I asked him. He would not answer. Besides, we do not have the Materia here, anymore..."

"It - it was stolen?" Kai gasped.

"No! I gave it to... a friend, who is searching for someone who may be able to help my daughter. I do not know where he is now."

"...oh." Kai reached for his cup again, but didn't lift it. "Damn..."

"And besides," Staniv said, "only Miss Yuffie knows anything about this Materia. We do not know if we could even use it. Until recently, we had no idea she even had it."

"That was probably for the best," Kai agreed. "Sephiroth... Even if they knew it to be a rumour, people would... freak out, if they thought he was alive. I know about the Meteor... what if others do, too? There were soldiers who escaped, you know... they will spread the rumour."

"Unfortunately, yes," Staniv said.

"Well... Anyway, I would like to see your daughter, Lord Godo," Kai muttered. "Perhaps I can help."

"I doubt it," Godo sighed. "However..." "Staniv... can you protect her?"

"Undoubtedly, Lord Godo. This man is not my equal."

"Good..." "Yes, I suppose it would not hurt if you looked at her. Be careful, however... Whatever ails her, it may be dangerous, even to others."

"I... see. A disease?"

"I do not think so. The impression I got was that it involves a curse of some kind; however, we cannot tell what it does. All we know is that it has put her in a coma, and is apparently giving her nightmares."

"A sleep curse...? I have never heard of such a spell... but still, I would like to see her. If I may?"

"Yes... I will take you to her." Godo rose, and so did Kai. "This way," the samurai said, pushing the sliding door aside. "Just down this corridor... Staniv, come along."

The three of them walked down the corridor to the shrine, where Godo opened the door, allowing them inside. Shake, standing guard in case Yuffie woke up again, shook his head - no changes in her condition - and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Godo knelt down by Yuffie's side.

"She has been like this ever... since right after that spell hit her. Sephiroth brought her here, and our Goddess, Asura, blessed this shrine... She will not die, at least not immediately, while she is in here. But slowly..." Godo fell silent.

"A curse indeed," Kai mumbled. "Let me see..." He knelt down and placed his hands on her forehead. Closing his eyes, he concentrated...

Suddenly, he jerked his hands back, eyes wide open, barely stifling a scream. "H...hell!" he stuttered, rubbing his hands, blinking rapidly. "Hell!"

"What is it...?" Staniv asked.

"Th... at power, it's... bad. Very bad." Kai shook his head violently. "It's like... no, it isn't like anything else I've ever felt. It is a curse, all right... I can't break it. I'm sorry."

"No one else has been able to do so either," Godo sighed. "Do not blame yourself. However, it seems you learned something... Would you care to share the knowledge with us?"

"Yes... yes," Kai said, nodding dumbly. "Ah... oh, that really hurt. It's so... intense.

"I felt a great darkness. It's trying to crush her... suffocate her. She... oh, gods, she must be in pain, terrible pain... I'm afraid she won't last long."

"We know that," Godo sighed. "Anything else?"

"Yes... there is something," Kai confessed. "There is... something telling me that the spell was much weakened before it struck... that this is but a fragment of its true power! I can't... imagine how anyone could device such a spell... much less... use it. But I am certain; somehow, something took the brunt of that spell. If it hadn't, she would have been dead now." And yet it is... slightly...

familiar.

Godo did not say anything. He just stroked his daughter's hair, once, and then got to his feet and left, leaving Kai and Staniv staring after him.

Cloud steered Ash towards Bone, bringing the chocobo in to land just outside the village. He easily spotted the Tiny Bronco from the air - the plane was rather hard to miss, after all. Ash made a perfect landing, only metres from the plane, and Cloud jumped off the bird's back, looking over at the craft. It was obvious that no one was around, and it had been some time since they arrived; when Cloud put a hand to the plane's engine, it was cold to the touch.

They only had one Lunar Harp - as far as they knew, there was only one Lunar Harp - and so Cloud couldn't very well follow Cid and Tifa into the forest. In order to avoid passing them on the way - not that it was very likely, but anyway - he didn't head for Bone, but climbed into the passenger seat of the 'Bronco, which was the most comfortable place to sit, and relaxed. He was getting slightly tired by now, and so, without noticing anything, he slowly drifted off into slumber...

When he woke up, it was dark. And still, there was no sign of Tifa or Cid. Cloud cursed himself for his carelessness - he really should know better than to fall asleep like that! - and then started off for village Bone.

-Just a few hour earlier...-

Cid sighed and leaned heavily on the Venus Gospel, considering - for the umpteenth time since entering the 'forgotten city' - lighting a cigarette, but deciding - and this, too, for the umpteenth time - not to do so. "Tifa, he's gone. We got to have looked through every little nook and cranny of this place... We're both getting jumpy, and I'm dying for a smoke. Why don't you just face it: he's gone. There's not a friggin' chance in hell that we'll be able to find any clues to where he's heading, either. Damn it!" He punched a wall, managing only to bruise his knuckles, even through his leather gloves. "Damn it!"

"Cid, please," Tifa winced. "You're not helping."

"Excuse me!" Cid shook his hand, swearing under his breath, but as Tifa moved on to the next room, he followed without complaints.

"Not here either..." Tifa sighed. "I'm almost beginning to think you're right... he's probably gone by now."

"That's what I said, yes," Cid said sourly. "Most likely, he just came here to leave the flowers, and once that was done, he probably took off again. We should be getting back... Cloud's probably there by now."

"Yeah. I know... but I can't just leave without making sure, first... Cid, there are two houses left, after this one. You go take that one over there -" Tifa pointed to a house some fifteen metres away "- and I'll finish here and take the last one. We'll meet outside your house... okay?"

"Yeah," the pilot grunted. "Just don't get your hopes up, okay?"

Tifa smiled a thin smile. "I won't," she said. "Trust me, I won't. Now go; the quicker we get done, the better."

"Roger that," Cid agreed, and left to look through the other house.

Cid muttered angrily as he pushed a wooden crate aside with the Venus Gospel's blade. "Damn those imbeciles... bloody ninja... hate this place..." He knew, of course, that Vincent wouldn't be hiding in a crate - well, at least not in this crate, because it was too small for the ex-Turk to fit in - but he kicked it around anyway, just because he felt like it. Then he moved on to the next room.

Of course, he didn't find anything interesting there either. There was nothing but a bed, a table with a single chair, and a wardrobe-like piece of furniture. Cid looked under the bed and table, and in the wardrobe, but still no Vincent. Cursing, he headed for the next room - the last one, he believed, although with the design of these houses, it was hard to tell.

It was as empty as the other one. There was one of those little fountains in this room, but not much more; Cid looked closely at the fountain, making sure not to touch it, lest he would get knocked out by the overwhelming power of the Ancients' voices flowing through this water - or was it water?

However, even here, he could hear voices. Not normal, human voices; no, these were the Ancients' voices... and they seemed familiar. Something was drawing him closer to the fountain, and Cid, after a second of thought, complied; figuring that if the Ancients wanted to tell him something, it was important. Hesitating only for the merest instant, he reached out and touched the crystal clear water...

Danger!

Cid jerked his hand back. "What the f...?"

Danger! The voices were screaming at him! And they were all screaming the same word... 'danger'. "Danger? Danger where?" He gripped his spear tightly, but there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary in there. Shaking his head, Cid one more put his hand in the streaming water. "Danger? What do you mean by that?" he asked the voices. "What is it you're trying to say to me?"

Danger! the voices screamed. They seemed to fade away briefly, and then one, single voice spoke - a voice that Cid thought he recognised, somehow, but the memory eluded him; he could not tell where he might have heard it before. Danger... friend... go!

Then, suddenly, the voices were gone, the water just water.

And Cid heard a crash from somewhere outside.

Before the sound had faded, Cid was through the door and running towards the last house.

"This is one of them... Right?"

"Yes, Susanna," the boy said softly. "She is. But she is not the right one... However..."

"Who are you two?" Tifa demanded, looking up at the two strangers hovering half a metre off ground. One was a woman, probably a couple of years younger than Tifa, with long, silvery hair and Mako-blue eyes, while the other one... "I... have seen you before... haven't I?" she asked.

The other one, a boy about ten years of age, merely smiled. His eyes remained expressionless, though... and remained as blue as the girl's. His hair was silver, too, just like hers, and almost as long; unlike hers, though, it was tied back with a leather cord.

"Novo..." the girl said. "What should we do? Master..."

"'Master' has his own plans," the boy said. "We'll bring her along."

"Hey...?" Tifa said. "Are you talking about me?"

Novo - if that was indeed his name - smiled at her again. "Yes," he said. His voice sent shivers down Tifa's spine; it was all too soft, but it still sounded hoarse; it was not the voice of a child. "Yes, I rather think we are."

"A- Are you mad? What makes you think I'd come with you...? Whoever you are!"

He kept smiling. "What makes you think you'd have any say in the matter?" He raised his hands. Tifa suddenly felt extremely light - and now she was floating in the air! Nothing was holding her, but she couldn't reach anything; she couldn't move from the place where she was floating.

What's this... magic? "Let me down! Now!" She shook her fist in the boy's direction.

He never stopped smiling.

"I am afraid we can't do that," he said.

"Oh, but I must insist..." came a silky voice from behind him. A half-burned match dropped to the ground just in front of the boy. "Because if you don't let her down within three seconds, someone's going to get pissed. And I do not mean drunk."

The boy turned around, crossing his arms over his chest. "Another one," he observed. "Susanna, would you take care of it?"

"My pleasure..." Susanna raised a hand and launched a small blue-green orb of light at the man standing in the shadows just inside the door. A strange-coloured blade flashed; the light-orb faded away as it touched it.

"Good," Cid said, stepping closer. "But not good enough. Two seconds."

Novo's smile faded somewhat. "You really mean that, don't you?" he said.

"Exactly. One."

"Sorry. You'll just have to come with us, you too." And with those words, Cid was lifted into the air, just like Tifa. Unlike her, however, Cid had a spear, and as he was lifted off the floor, he put the weapon up, thrusting it at the ceiling. The blow pushed him back towards the floor again; obviously, the spell's effect was weightlessness rather than simply grab-and-lift. Novo grinned, the smile almost reaching his eyes. "Impressive..." he said.

"Yeah, sure. No time left, kid. Let her down, or I'll air-condition both of you." Cid aimed his spear at the boy's chest in a way meant to look threatening. Novo chuckled.

"You are brave, I must give you that. However..."

"No 'however's. Let her down." Cid drew his arm back and stepped closer.

Still, Novo kept smiling.

Cid struck.

But Novo wasn't there anymore. The pilot's attack slashed harmlessly through air and nothing else. Susanna, with a scornful smile on her lips, reached out to grab the haft of the spear. Light flaring in her Mako eyes, she unleashed a powerful electrical current into the weapon.

Her strategy would have worked, had the Venus Gospel been a normal spear. Made from metal, it would have conducted the electricity - but Venus Gospel was all but a normal weapon. Cid felt a slight increase in the tingling humming reverberating through it, and then the spear crackled with electrical light, none of it touching the pilot himself. It did, however, touch Susanna. Gasping in shock, the sorceress shook and fell to her knees, the levitation spell dissolving and floating her down to the floor.

Novo was not that careless. While Susanna's attack had, in his eyes, been useless and uncalled-for, it had served a purpose: it had distracted the lancer long enough for Novo to strike. Stepping out from the shadows, he cast a simple spell, drawing upon the powers of air and fire. A thin bolt of lightning shot from his hand, striking Cid's arm. Startled, the pilot dropped his weapon, spat out both his freshly-lit cigarette and a stream of swearwords, then turned, rubbing his arm, to Novo.

"So, that was where you were hiding..."

"Yes. And now that you are helpless -"

Cid quickly bent down to retrieve the Venus Gospel, but Novo blasted it out of reach with another lightning spell - now that Cid was not holding it, the spear no longer reacted differently from any other weapon, and was thrown into a corner of the room. Cid straightened his back. Going after the spear would serve no purpose; he'd just get blasted. However, if he could surprise the boy...

Once more, he was being lifted into the air, and now, he had no spear to aid him.

"Oh no! That's as far as you'll get..." Tifa wasn't carrying too much Materia, due to lack of storage space - her outfit did not hold many pockets - but she had a couple of green orbs attached to a bracelet. Now she finally remembered it, and proceeded to turn one of them on this strange child.

Spears of solid ice shot at the boy from all sides.

Novo smiled again, and waved his hand. The spears vanished as if they had never existed, and Tifa stared down at the orb of Materia she had used. What the...?

"That was not very polite of you," the silver-haired boy said, still smiling. "You will not do it again."

Suddenly, Tifa felt as if someone had thrown a blanket over her. The power flowing through this city seemed to have vanished; even her own Materia seemed dull and lifeless. It was no simple silencing spell; no, this was more like a magic nullifier, cutting her off completely from the power. Tifa growled in anger. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, furiously fighting against the spells confining - no, restricting - her. "Who are you? Answer me, damn it!"

Novo looked at her with childlike innocence in his Mako eyes. "My name is Novo," he said. Still, his voice was at once soft and hoarse-sounding, and far too even-toned. Tifa shivered. "I'm afraid we will need you... you, and your friend." Novo made a gesture in Cid's direction. "You see, you two are crucial in my master's plan, foolish as it might be. And now, miss Lockhart... shall we go?" Novo bent down and helped Susanna up. "I will take care of this..." he told her. "You take the harp... and make the necessary arrangements."

"Yes, Novo," Susanna said, leaning down to kiss him on the lips. "I will be right back."

Novo smiled, a bit sadly this time, as he said, "I know you will."

Cloud soon reached the village. Stopping by at the tent that served as inn, he asked the innkeeper if anyone had passed by lately.

"Yes," the man said, looking up from the book he was reading. "I heard a man and a woman entered the woods. They had the Lunar Harp... Hey, Cloud Strife, right? I remember you... you were that guy who had the Harp dug up a year or so ago!"

"Yes," Cloud replied. "How long since they passed?"

"Oh, maybe... five hours?" the man shrugged. "I don't really know the exact time, but that's what I think."

Hmm... Cloud scratched his head. Five hours? That would be more than enough to get into the city and check it out - there weren't really that many places to look - and get out again.

"Hello?" There was someone outside. "Hey, you there with the spiky hair!"

Cloud turned to face the speaker. "Yeah?"

"Your lady friend just dropped by and told me to hand this to you." The man handed Cloud a silvery harp. "She said to tell you to... 'meet me in the temple', were her words."

Cloud took the harp and frowned. That... can't be Tifa, he realised. "Are you... Can you describe her? The woman who gave you this?"

The man looked surprised. "Why, sure! But..."

"Just do it."

"All right, all right! She was pretty, about your height... long, silver hair... and eyes just like yours. She was dressed in blue. I didn't get a very good look at her face..."

"Thank you , that's good enough..." Cloud tossed a ten-Gil coin to the man. "Thanks for your trouble."

"You're welcome." The man nodded to the innkeeper and walked away. Cloud remained where he was, standing with the Lunar Harp in one hand.

What happened to Tifa? She would never leave the harp to anyone else... but is she still in the city? It must be a trap, but... Yes, but. What had happened to Tifa and Cid? Were they still alive? Cloud clenched his hand into a fist. No! I lost Aerith there... I will not lose Tifa too! He would have to get in there. If she was still in the city or the forest, she would be unable to get out without the harp...

But then again, how had that other woman been able to get the harp? No, Tifa couldn't be in the Cetran city; there was no way anyone could get in without the harp.

No, he corrected himself - there was no known way anyone could get in without the harp. So what waited for him there?

It did not matter. Tifa had vanished, and Cloud was going to find her again... no matter how.

"I...see. Vincent Valentine, huh...?" Kai scratched his chin. "I've heard that name before... I know I have! But where...?"

"It does not matter," Godo said. "We need to find Vincent... and Cloud and the others still have not returned. I am starting to worry..."

"You think something might have happened to them?"

Godo nodded, once, slowly. "We cannot rule out that possibility."

"Damn..." The sorcerer shook his head. "Have you tried asking the Espers?"

Godo nodded again. "Leviathan does not know where he is, and Asura has never heard his name. I asked Leviathan to talk to other Espers, but he could not find the man anywhere."

"Damn. And he doesn't have anything out of the ordinary, something that we could track...?"

Godo shook his head. Then he froze. "Maybe... Yes, there may be a chance! Kai! Stay with my daughter. I shall go and speak to Leviathan again!" Godo jumped to his feet and slammed the sliding door aside, then ran for the Pagoda.

Kai, puzzled, remained seated on his pillow. "What did I say?" he asked.

Godo already having reached the Pagoda, there was no one to answer his question. After a few seconds, he got up and headed for the shrine to keep an eye on the girl.

"M... master... Leviathan!" Godo gasped, hurtling up the stairs. "Can... can you tell me... where I might find... Chaos?"

The river dragon turned its head slowly, transfixing him with its gaze. "Chaos...?" Something flared in the dragon's eyes. "Chaos, you say?"

"Yes... master," Godo panted. "The man... Vincent... I spoke of... He has the powers... of Chaos. I think... maybe it would be easier to find him if... you searched for that power."

"Vincent Valentine... Chaos?" Leviathan inquired. "Indeed? Yes, that could be possible... Are you certain of this, Lord Godo?"

Godo nodded. "Yes, master. I have seen him in that shape with my own eyes."

"I see... Chaos... Perhaps the Dragon of the Mists was right. We Espers seem to know much less than we should... Chaos...The Chaos force once almost destroyed an entire world. It certainly has enough power to be traced."

"Then... you can find him?"

"I would be surprised if I could not. Allow me a short moment."

Godo fell silent, waiting while Leviathan closed his eyes and focussed...

Several minutes passed. Then Leviathan opened his eyes again and said, "I have found him."

"Then... where is he?" Godo asked.

"According to the power currents... he is heading this way."

Just a few hours earlier...-

"Now... remains the question what I should do with you two..." Novo still smiled. Tifa found his smile most unsettling. "I cannot bring you along like this... it would be too dangerous. No, I am afraid I will have to sleep you. Don't worry; you won't feel a thing." He raised his hands. Tifa coughed nervously. She would rather remain silent, but...

"By 'sleep'... do you mean..."

"Oh, nothing like that," the boy assured her. "I merely meant to put you to sleep with a simple spell. When we reach our destination, I will awaken you... not before."

"Hey!" Cid protested. "You have no right to treat us like this! Let me down - now! And maybe I won't shove a spear up your ass sideways!"

"Such language. I see you have no idea... You see, the 'right' belongs to the one who can take it. I can. Therefore, I have every right. Now, if that is over with...?"

"It's... far from over!" Cid growled. "I'll get you, you little..."

"And once more, you threaten me. Have you not realised that you are at my mercy? I could kill you now. It would be easy. Why do you insist on fighting?" Novo was genuinely puzzled. Are these people daft...? Are they so full of pride that they cannot see the reality? Or... is it... something else? His Mako-blue eyes glowed softly as he turned to Tifa. "Why do you fight so hard? You know you cannot win. Why fight the unalterable? Why risk your life like this, defying the very one who holds your life in his hands? Answer me this. Why?"

Tifa looked at him, confused. "You mean you don't understand why we fight you?"

"Yes. It seems pointless, does it not? You are helpless, and you know I can kill you if I want... so why do you keep saying these things, why do you try and anger me, why do you still fight?"

"Maybe... because that's our nature," Cid said before Tifa could answer. "Even if it seems hopeless... we can never do more than try, and before we try, we cannot know if we will succeed."

"Oh." Novo looked down into the floor. "Hmm..."

"Look... Novo," Tifa said. "Why don't you just let us go?"

"I cannot. I must take you with me... as I should have done several minutes ago. Now..."

"Maybe," Cid said again. "Maybe it's because it's our nature and we have to try, no matter what the results may be... or maybe, just maybe, we do it because it's a good way to stall you."

Novo looked up angrily, eyes glowing. Whatever he did, if Cid had been in the way, would have reduced the pilot to ashes. However, as a lance of bright white light shot from the boy's hand, burning a hole through the wall and leaving purple and blue afterimages, Cid, a blue aura exploding briefly around him, darted aside, heading for his spear, still lying by the wall where it had slid. Novo lowered his hand as Cid dropped to one knee, retrieved the spear, and got up again in one fluid move. "How did you do that?" the boy asked, his voice betraying both curiosity and anger. "How? That spell should have kept you floating!"

"We all have our little secrets," Cid smiled. "I don't know how you made it past the enchanted forest, or how you manage to do... what you do, things I have never seen or even heard of. I do know what I am capable of doing, and all I needed was..." He raised the spear, pointing it at Novo's chest. "...time," he finished with a grin.

"Ah. I see... not at all very stupid, are you?" Novo's voice remained somewhat curious. "Most interesting... However, I am not Susanna. I do not make the same mistakes. I still have your friend." He pointed to Tifa, hovering helpless in the air. "You have to the count of five to drop your weapon and surrender. If you fail to comply, I will burn off her legs. I only need her alive." He seemed very serious, and did not smile anymore. Cid raised the spear.

"If you harm her... you die," he promised. "Remember that."

Novo nodded. "I swear by my honour that no harm shall befall her... if you surrender. I do not know if I could defend myself against your spear, and I would rather never find out. However, unless you put it down, we will both find out, but not before..." A tiny flame appeared as Novo moved his hand slightly. "The mind is much faster than the hand. I will start counting. Five."

Cid drew his hand back. Could he...?

"Four," Novo said. The small blaze became brighter, larger.

Cid hesitated. If he missed... if he was too slow...

"Three..." The flame expanded, enveloping the boy's hand.

Cid held his breath.

"Two." Now the fire seemed to draw closer to Tifa; she was feeling the heat, unpleasant even so far from her, and Cid saw a bead of sweat slide down her face. Hands and jaw clenched, she was waiting... waiting for what? He could not tell.

"One."

Cid sighed in exasperation. The Venus Gospel clattered on the stone floor.

Novo turned, the fire dispelled. "Good," he said, smiling again. "I was afraid I might have to hurt someone. Now stand still, and I will cast the sleep spell. Do not try to resist."

Cid stood still as a strange mist flowed from the boy, wrapping itself around him. Suddenly it was hard to keep his eyes open... hard to stand...

Suddenly he heard a noise, like a glass shattering, and the spell broke. Novo flinched as his fragile web of spirit shattered; feeling as if he had received a physical blow.

"What...?" Cid rubbed his eyes. "What the hell...?"

Novo recovered quickly, and turned his Mako eyes on the pilot. "Why... what did you just do?" he demanded. He seemed at least as surprised as Cid.

Cid blinked, not understanding. Novo shook his head. "I will have to look into this... at a later point." Smiling again, he raised both hands, pointing all ten fingers at Cid. "I'm sorry that it has to come to this... but before I know more, it is the only way."

Then he moved his fingers slightly, and a slight shimmer seemed to leap from his outstretched hands towards Cid, striking the pilot's chest. Cid grunted and was thrown back, hitting the wall behind him with a painful 'crack!'.

"Cid!" Tifa cried, reaching out for him - pointless, of course. Inside, she was screaming, crying, but nothing of it showed on her face as she turned her head to look at Novo. "You... bastard."

"As I said... I am sorry," Novo said, lowering his hands.

"You are... sorry?" She was getting angry now, very angry. "You are... sorry!"

"Yes," Novo said, looking her in the eyes. Tifa looked back for a second, then looked away, seeing his Mako-blue eyes. Cloud... Sephiroth... Novo... all had such eyes. Only Cloud's were comforting. "Yes," Novo repeated. "I am sorry. I did not want to harm him, but..." Shaking his head, he looked at Cid, slumped down by the wall. At least there was no blood anywhere, Tifa thought, but who knew what injuries he might have sustained? "I had no choice. He would have fought my spell off again, and I must hurry, now... he is not seriously harmed, and I shall heal him when I have the time. I hope you can forgive me..."

Tifa spat. She missed him, but Novo understood, looking at her with sadness in his eyes. For a second, she almost pitied him. Almost. "I see. Then... there is nothing more to say. Please, do not fight me... or I will have to do the same to you as I did to him."

Tifa glared at her captor. Do as you wish... I'll get you. No matter what happens... I'll get you!

Novo raised his hands again and pointed at her. And suddenly, all Tifa knew was darkness.

"So what is this... 'Chaos' thing?" Kai asked Godo. The samurai shrugged.

"I do not know. It is a powerful force... I believe, a kind of demon. Somehow, this man, Vincent Valentine, has the power to transform his body into that of this demon... How, I do not know. What I do know, however, is that this force might be able to save my daughter's life."

"A demon...? Save lives? I wonder..."

"Not a demon. A human. There is a difference," Shake remarked dryly. It was now Staniv's turn to watch over Yuffie while the Lord Godo took care of Wutai, but that did not mean Shake could rest. One of the four followed Godo almost everywhere he went - just in case there was another attack. Although it seemed unlikely that any enemies remained, it never hurt to be careful.

They were walking from house to house, visiting the wounded, helping wherever they could. Even with the power of healing magic at their command, there were people too badly wounded to get up; some would never recover. There were too many wounds to heal everybody fully. Godo, Kai and Shake helped where they could, but Kai was beginning to feel tired; it had been a while since he had a chance to sleep, and much had happened since. Much more of this, he thought, and he would start seeing double. Shake, however, was holding up surprisingly well - the power of the Pagoda probably sustained him, Kai thought with a sting of jealousy, and Godo seemed equally tireless.

"So Leviathan said Vincent was heading this way?" the sorcerer said, trying to continue the conversation. Godo nodded. "So that means what, trouble?"

"Haven't you been listening?" Shake wondered sourly. "Vincent is one of the good guys. He might be able to turn into a demon, but he's still one of the good guys. And you better not try anything funny when he arrives... if he arrives."

"If Leviathan said he was heading here," Godo said, "then he is heading here. There is no doubt about it."

"Hmm..." Kai rubbed his chin. Was there really anything more to say? He seemed to be repeating himself. Better to shut up, then. He sighed, and followed Godo and Shake towards the next house.

Vincent turned slightly to catch an air current, flapping his wings once. He was flying, in Chaos' shape - as he had done often lately. It had been half a year - ever since his meeting with Sephiroth - since he had been afraid.

Vincent had never been afraid of Jenova, nor had he been afraid of Sephiroth, or the Meteor. Nevertheless, Vincent had been afraid.

Afraid of himself, or rather, a special part of him - the part that was Chaos.

Half a year ago, that had changed. Vincent still feared Chaos, but he was no longer afraid of himself - that was a difference, and a great one.

It had also been half a year since he met any of his friends. Well, maybe not friends, but people who were slightly closer to him than the rest of the population, and that was enough.

He had had a busy time lately. A few weeks ago, a strange man, quite similar to Sephiroth, had appeared outside the Shinra Mansion, where Vincent had made his home. The man had just stared at the mansion for a few minutes, then vanished, teleporting away, but Vincent had seen his gaze, and knew that something was definitely not as it should.

Then he had visited Lucrecia's waterfall again - he usually did that once every week, and doubted that he'd ever stop doing it... until he found out what had happened to Lucrecia. After that, he had visited the ancient Cetran city... Aerith's grave. At least he knew what had happened to her.

She had not died in vain. That did not make her death easier to accept.

Vincent sighed, turning slightly, descending slightly. He was currently about three hundred metres over the sea, carried on the winds, moving his wings only occasionally. It was easy for him to concentrate on other matters - the wind did all the job, he just followed it. Perhaps I should pay a visit to Wutai... he thought. I wonder how Yuffie is doing... She had mentioned trying to 'find herself'... but had she ever done it? Vincent doubted it. Even if she had certainly found some kind of insight in the crater, he doubted that such an insight would sustain her for long; she would soon need to know more. Once again, he smiled inside, but was unable to make the smile show in his face. Chaos' features were not made for smiling; but if anyone had seen the ex-Turk in that moment, they would have seen his eyes sparkle with mirth, and for a few seconds, the fanged and horned demon did not seem quite as frightening.

He had decided. Scanning the horizon for landmarks, Vincent turned slightly, descended to find another, more suitable air-current, and headed for Wutai.

Cloud leaned on his sword and shook his head. The place was empty. He had searched for two hours, but there was nothing - at all. Now it was dark, and he was having problems seeing where he was going, even using fire magic to light his path; the flashlight's batteries had given in a few minutes ago, leaving magic his only source of light. But somehow... He did not feel as if he was alone. Tifa... Where are you? Cloud frowned. Something was very wrong. Both Tifa and Cid, gone... The Lunar Harp in Bone... Tifa would never give it up without a fight. Heck, Cid wouldn't give it up without a fight, and, knowing Tifa and Cid, it would have to be a rather spectacular fight.

There were so many pieces to this puzzle, and Cloud didn't know where to begin. And he strongly suspected that even though he had a few pieces, there were more to collect - many more. Meet me in the temple... That was what the silver-haired woman had told the man in Bone. Meet me in the temple... But he had been to the temple; he had searched it from one end to the other, finding nothing... but roses. Roses? That was a question for another time. For now, he was only interested in finding his friends.

Still, the words echoed in his head, as if he had heard her utter them. Meet me in the temple... He could clearly hear the words; a woman's voice, speaking softly, almost whispering. Cloud did not know if it was his imagination, or if he truly did hear that voice. Hopefully... I am imagining... He did not want the troubles of one year ago to return, not any more than he wanted to lose Tifa. People speaking in his head had always meant trouble. He was fairly certain that it would not be different this time, if there were any voices at all.

Meet me in the temple...

"All right... all right!" he said, out loud, addressing anyone who might be listening. "I'll go to the temple again! But there had better be something there this time..." He tugged the Ultima Weapon out of the soft dirt and started walking, sword at ready, scanning his surroundings for any possible threat.

Cloud reached the temple a short while later. No one had bothered him.

The temple still seemed empty. Cloud slowly went over to the lake, looking down into the water. Nothing... The roses were still there. Cloud thought they looked like little droplets of blood on the surface. Had the one who put the flowers there thought so as well? And who had put them there? Could it have been Tifa? But where had the flowers come from, then? Perhaps it had been Vincent? Cloud shook his head and tore his gaze from the water. "Is there anyone here?" he asked. Stop fooling around... the message said to meet her here. She must be here... or someone must... Cloud had sheathed his sword again, and wondered if that had been wise. He wouldn't draw it now; if someone was hiding in the temple, that might frighten them off, and Cloud wanted to meet whoever had told him to come here. He wanted to meet that person... and make them pay. Make them pay for making him worry about Tifa. Make them pay for making him come to this place - the last of all places in the world were Cloud wanted to be.

There was no answer, and Cloud turned back to watching the flowers again. He could see it all again... Aerith kneeling out there on the platform, praying... her gentle smile as he approached... and the look of surprise as the sword burst through her chest. She had been dead before she hit the ground. And Sephiroth had laughed... Cloud shook his head again. "Damnit..." He couldn't lose control now. Possibly, Tifa's life depended on his actions.

Sighing, Cloud made his way up to the platform where she had died. Standing in the centre of the stone disc, he looked up. There was a faint glimmer of daylight far above, only enough to prevent the cave from being totally dark. Cloud extinguished the heatless flames around the Fire Materia, and put the orb in a pocket. He'd just have to wait... and out here, the chances of anyone surprising him were low.

From the shadows across the lake, two pairs of Mako blue eyes glittered in the faint light.

Vincent's sharp eyes detected the Wutaian sentinel long before the man saw him. Even though it was dark, he could make out the man's life-force, like a beacon in the night, casting a ghostly, otherworldly light over the grass around him. The man was well hidden, but there was no hiding from Chaos' eyes.

However, the man himself was not interesting. No, he was nothing - but the reason why he was there, now that was something... Vincent stopped for a few seconds to think. Wutai had not had any guards for years - not since the war. What had happened, to make them assign one now? Looking closer, Vincent saw that there were several other spots of life near the town; six, he thought, positioned as the points of a hexagon. Six guards... Six! Something very unusual must be happening... Vincent advanced slowly, cautiously. Monster attacks...? But that in itself would be as odd as the guards around Wutai. The creatures living in the area had never attacked the city; they might eat an unsuspecting traveller or three every year, but that was about it.

Attack...? The thought was hard to grasp. There had not been any troop movements that Vincent knew of, and ever since the fall of Shinra, no one kept an army anymore. SOLDIER and the Turks no longer existed.

That did not mean the knowledge was gone, though.

Vincent silently passed the guard, all but invisible in the darkness. The man never suspected a thing.

Wutai was in a sad state. Most of the houses had sustained damage in some way; a few were uninhabitable. Judging from the fresh graves just outside the town, that would not present a trouble for the rest of the population - there weren't enough people left to fill the remaining houses to their full capacity.

He was about to descend and reverse the Change, when suddenly someone spoke, very quietly, in his head.

Greetings, Chaos warrior.

Vincent made an instinctive grab for his gun, momentarily forgetting which shape he was in. His gun was in his backpack, between Chaos' wings, and well beyond hi reach.

I am not an enemy, the voice said. I wish to speak with you. Come to the Pagoda; I am waiting on the roof. Vincent was about to think something back through the link he sensed, but the strange presence was gone before he could act. Hmm...?

He headed for Pagoda. There was something on the roof, he realised, but whatever it was, it was skilled at hiding its aura; all he could feel was that it was not human. Not human at all...

He swiftly approached the tall building. Soon, he could make out the huge, dark shape on its roof. Leviathan, he realised. I should have known.

He landed easily on the slanting roof, standing as far from the Esper as he could.

"I have arrived," he said.

"That I can see," Leviathan replied, his voice low for a dragon's, but still louder than Chaos'. "Please, resume your human form. Speaking will be easier then."

Vincent hesitated. He did not know what the Esper was up to, and whatever it was, he could probably handle it better in a more powerful shape. However... Something was telling him that the quicker he got this over with, the better. And Leviathan had never shoved any malicious intent towards him before...

"As you wish." He took a deep breath and turned the powers. Not quite as bad as the transformation from human to demon, the opposite was still breathtaking, and he almost fell to his knees once the power left him. The feeling told him not to give in. Vincent took another deep breath and shook his head, trying to clear it. "So talk," he said. Although his voice sounded strange and hoarse, as always after a Change, the Esper heard.

"I will be brief. Time is not on our side, and there are pressing matters at hand. However, before you can attend to them, there are certain things we need to discuss."

Vincent sat down, cross-legged. "So talk," he repeated.

Leviathan bowed his head, a simple nod. "Only hours ago, a battle was fought here."

"I know."

"Yes, undoubtedly. However, you do not know what happened during the battle."

"Tell me." His voice was returning to normal, slowly. "Tell me what happened, and why it is so important."

"I will." Leviathan looked Vincent in the eyes, something very few beings, human or otherwise, found the nerve to do. "The battle was going poorly. The Wutaian forces were greatly outnumbered, and so they sent a Summoner to call upon my aid."

"I see. Espers cannot appear in this world unless they have been summoned, can they?"

"As a matter of fact, we can. However, it is against our laws, and rarely done.

"Enough about that. The enemy forces were allied to an Esper, Mist. While I fought this Esper, the situation was as it had been before, and the Wutaian were losing ground. In despair, the Summoner called upon another entity..."

"Hold." Vincent whispered the command, but it was enough. "I do not like where this is heading. This Summoner, she was a young girl... seventeen years old, shinobi trained?"

"Yes."

"Then I need not know more. What happened?" He was starting to worry. She couldn't have... No, surely, she must realise...

Vincent would rather have Wutai levelled with the ground than allow the word of Sephiroth's 'revival' spread. Even as a spirit, Sephiroth was a force of change, one that bent the world around himself; the knowledge alone, even if Sephiroth did not act, was enough to change the world.

No one would believe he was just a ghost.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Leviathan lowered his head. "I believe you already know. The Warrior released the attacking force from a slight magical bond, and erased their memories of his appearance. Once the bond was gone, no one fought anymore. However, some escaped... and these few know of his appearance.

"There is more, however. One of the invaders opposed the Warrior's power, a young witch. The Warrior emerged victorious, but the Summoner -"

"How bad?" Vincent had to force the words out.

"Very. We believe she is dying. However, the wound is not an ordinary one - or it would have healed long ago. It is the results of a curse, so powerful that no one has been able to lift it. We believe that you may have the power to do so."

I probably can... Yes, I could lift such a curse, I am sure of it. But is it worth it? "Let me see her."

"The Summoner is resting in her father's home. I must remain here."

"Then I must go to her." Vincent opened the hatch in the roof and went down the stairs, closing the hatch behind him. Yuffie... Curse it.

He started running.

"Halt! Who goes th..." Chekov fell silent as Vincent approached. "Ah. I see." Without speaking further, the Guardian stepped aside, allowing Vincent to step outside Pagoda. The ex-Turk did not bother to look twice at him as he ran down the stairs and headed for the Kisaragi residence.

An unfamiliar man - fair-skinned, dark-haired, dressed in black - was seated outside, sitting cross-legged, with his back to the wooden wall. He appeared to be meditating, but as Vincent was about to pass, the man held out a hand. "Stop. Where do you think you're..."

"If you wish to keep that hand, remove it." Vincent did not have a weapon at hand, apart from his clawed gauntlet, but his voice was enough to make most people back off. This man was no exception. Vincent glowered at him as he pulled the door aside and entered.

Shake was seated on a chair just inside the door. He immediately recognised Vincent. "So you came... You know what happened?"

"Yes. Where is she?"

"The shrine."

"I see. Thank you." Vincent was walking away as he spoke. The shrine...

"Vincent," Godo sighed. "So they found you."

"No one found me," Vincent replied. "I came here on my own. But that is irrelevant."

"It is that, yes," Godo agreed. "Please, see my daughter. I sincerely hope you have the power to save her..."

"I cannot promise anything," Vincent told him. "But I will do my best. Now show me where she is."

"Right in here." Godo stepped aside, allowing Vincent inside the shrine. "Please. You may be her only hope."

"...that remains to be seen. Now leave... and hand me your dagger, please."

"Certainly, but... why?" Godo drew and handed the blade to Vincent as he spoke.

Vincent took it, and said, "Do not ask questions when you are not prepared to hear the answers. Please leave. I cannot do this if you are here."

Godo did not want to leave, but he had no choice but to trust Vincent - no matter how strange the man acted. He let go of the knife, stepped back, and closed the sliding door behind him.

Vincent slowly put the tanto in his belt. Then he turned to observe Yuffie, still lying under the altar.

He saw, as soon as he laid eyes on her, that the curse was worse than he had thought. Who... in this modern age, who could have the power to cast such a spell? he wondered. Could it be that someone has... rediscovered magic? The thought was chilling. Even if Sephiroth was resurrected, the change he would bring was nothing compared to what would happen if magic, true magic, independent of Materia and Mako, returned. But that all has to wait... until later. After a look at the shinobi's face, he found himself adding, subconsciously, If there is a 'later'. Then he sat down and placed his hand on Yuffie's forehead. Damn... this will be hard on her... on me. I better do it right... the first time... probably won't get another chance. Her skin was hot, more so than seemed possible. Vincent frowned slightly. Something is draining her life away... and something is... replenishing it? If it had not been for that second power, Vincent suspected, it would have been impossible for him to help her. Now he might just have a chance... a slim one.

Slim chance, he thought with disgust. Hmh. But no matter how slim... No matter how slim the chance, he was going to seize it.

Vincent forced himself to relax, and gradually sank into a trance, merging his consciousness with the ninja's. The experience was... unsettling. He had no idea how or when he had learned how to do this - but he knew it, and that was all he needed.

He found himself standing between twin rows of white marble columns, stretching endlessly in both directions... but beyond the columns, nothing. He took a step, and the world lurched around him. The marble columns faded and turned into grey, solid walls, a domed ceiling fading into place over his head. So this is it... Yuffie's, or rather their, visualisation of what was happening to her. There always was one. The human brain was unable to transmit certain things to the consciousness, and what happened would instead be turned into simple mental images. That was where fever-dreams came from; the dreams you never remembered fully, once the fever lifted... but sometimes, you would awake in the middle of the night, finding your sheets tangled up and damp with sweat; hearing your heart pounding, and recalling a mere fragment of the dreams... Realising that all this terror was a product of your own mind.

This... feels bad.

In the distance, he heard a sound - like water drops falling into a pool. And he heard... footsteps, he decided, although they were not regular, like normal steps; it sounded as if the one walking here was staggering around, advancing very slowly. It was coming from behind him - no, further up ahead in the corridor, or - no, from behind. Once he concentrated on finding the source, he could easily hear where it was coming from...

It was coming closer. And with it, a sense of overwhelming pain, terror, hopelessness; almost tangible, here, in the spirit realm.

Almost without realising it, Vincent performed a Change. It was much easier here, without the constraints of a body. The shape he had chosen was, as he had so often lately, Chaos'.

He would need the power.

He was close to the source, and it was moving towards him. He had no idea what he was going to see - all he knew was that the curse would be tearing at Yuffie's mind, primarily by means of fear. There were two ways for her to escape it all; either she overcame her fears on her own - something much harder than it sounded - or he helped her.

The feeling came closer. Vincent shielded his mind from the worst effects, and Chaos power added to the shields, but the pain still reached him, through the multiple layers of mental shields. She had not been prepared to defend against such a spell. The probability that she would manage to escape it by herself was, at best, very slim.

Then the second option.

But if he was to be completely honest, the chances were not much greater even then...

Then it was there.

There was no monster, no physical being assaulting her. The only thing that appeared was a small, ghostly image of the girl; fading, almost gone... almost dead. Slowly, she staggered towards him; slowly, as of the air around her was thick and heavy. The sound of water was louder now, and every time the sound returned, the girl flinched as if she had been struck.

He could not understand these fears. But he did not need to. All he needed was to help her get loose from their grip.

It seemed simple enough. But that was until he saw the shadow walking behind her, close but not close enough to touch.

This one fear he understood. Fear of death.

Vincent had seen this fear before. It always seemed to take the same shape - a dark shade hovering behind the victim, following her everywhere she went.

It was one of the most difficult fears to overcome. Death found every living thing; no one could escape - and this made the fear strong, almost impossible to shake.

Still, Vincent remained where he was, waiting. The shinobi slowly came closer.

Twenty metres.

Fifteen.

Ten.

Then she looked up at him. Vincent thought he saw a faint glimmer of hope in her ghostly face, but it vanished just as soon as it had come, turning into fearful pain once more. She raised one hand, weakly... speaking words that never reached Vincent, pointing behind him.

Vincent spun, raising Chaos' wings like a shield; prepared to ward off anything that might try to harm him.

Another shadow was taking shape; a shadow more solid than the one hovering over Yuffie, but still a shadow.

But this shadow wielded the Ultima Weapon.

Cloud... she fears him...? But why?

Or perhaps... she fears for him. That would... possibly, that could be the reason.

But he had no time to think. Yuffie was in mortal danger...

And now she was trapped; trapped between Death and Strife.

There was no time to think of the irony in it all. The shadow Cloud swung his sword. Vincent deflected the stroke with his wings, the sword barely scratching him. But now Yuffie had stopped, and Death was approaching her...

If that shadow reached her, there would be nothing more to do. If she lost to her fears, she would never be able to escape them; one touch, and it would all be over. Vincent would have to act quickly.

Before 'Cloud' had a chance to act again, Vincent called forth a bolt of dark fire, deeper blackness tearing through the shadows effortlessly.

To his horror, the shadow figure immediately floated back together again.

Vincent tried again. The results were the same.

Sighing, he backed away a step and summoned the full amount of his powers. Three shimmering shadows faded into being, solidifying into three powers Vincent knew well.

The first was the Galian Beast. It was a part of him.

The other two were part of him, as well. Their powers were great, but Vincent could never forget what they truly were; experiments, failed experiments. Thy were creatures created by the man who had, in a way, also created Vincent; useless for whatever purpose they had been made for, but still powerful, and their genes had been part of the concoction Hojo had used to alter him.

The scientist had dubbed them Gigas and Hellmasker. Vincent had always thought of them as beasts; not true beings, but bestial alterations of the human body. The Galian Beast was intelligent, in a fashion; these were simply weapons, one mindless, the other twisted and warped beyond recognition.

But here they were under his control; here they would help him, fight for him.

The beasts turned to the closest enemy - Death. Vincent called the Galian Beast to himself, preparing to strike.

As one, Gigas and Hellmasker fell upon the advancing shade. A shining silver staff appeared in the shadow's hands, and came up to meet the two attacks; then Death thrust the staff's tip at Gigas' chest. There was a silent flash of silver light, and Vincent staggered, a great part of his power vanquished in one strike. At the same time, Galian Beast leaped for the shadow Cloud's throat, only to be met by the Ultima Weapon in mid-air.

There was no blood. The creature vanished in a shower of sparks and another flash of light, but Vincent fell to his knees, returning to human shape, as the second of his creations succumbed. A third, final burst of light signalled the end of Hellmasker as well; that, as much as the pain.

He was helpless.

Just as the shadow swung its sword at him, Vincent cut the link... and once more, he was in the shrine. His clothes were drenched with sweat. ...failure. He sighed, removing his hand from Yuffie's forehead. I failed. That left...

That left only one solution. If it was worth it.

Looking down at the knife in his belt, Vincent drew it, and paused. I... can't.

I have to.

I must. After seeing this, how can I do otherwise?

I must.

Bending down tiredly, he pried the girl's clenched jaw open. Then, putting his arm next to her mouth, he thrust the knife's point deep into his flesh.

A thin trickle of deep red blood ran down his arm, dripping into the ninja's half-open mouth, staining her lips. Remaining still for a few moments, Vincent finally withdrew, cutting a strip of cloth from his cloak, wrapping it around the wound, and waited.

He could do nothing more.

Now it was all up to her.

Yuffie feel to her knees as Vincent disappeared. He... can't die like this. He... just can't! But she had seen it... had seen the sword pass right through him. She knew that the three other beings - Vincent's other shapes - had not been real, but Chaos... "Vincent!" she screamed. "Vincent!"

He could not hear her.

Damn you, Vincent! You should never... never have come here! The pain was making it hard to think, harder to move. She staggered to her feet. Trapped. Between Death... and Cloud.

Yuffie hung her head and sighed. I guess... damn... "I don't want to die!" Her outburst seemed to startle then two shadows - they both fell back, cowering. Brilliant red flames flared around her, and the ninja felt a kind of power... power unlike anything else she had ever felt - a power at once much wilder and stronger than the Lifestream, more solid than Materia, more ethereal than any spell. The power flowed freely around her, alive inside the flames, seeking to touch her, merge with her. Still, a thin shell kept it at bay - the slightest barrier of absolute calm between her flesh and the raging fire.

What are you...?

The fire pulsed like a heartbeat, its immense power caressing her like a lover. Yuffie tried to back away, but couldn't. What do you want?

The fire withdrew slightly, and seemed to beckon to her...

You... want to... help me?

The flames roared, flaring brighter.

You want... me?

Yes, the fire seemed to say, flickering around her, basking her in its light and heat. I want you.

Why?

The fire seemed to answer, I want you...

I'm... scared.

I want you.

I... don't ... can't! Leave me alone!

You will live.

...Live...?

I will save you.

You... would help me... out of here? She felt a small spark of hope ignite. You would get me back to my father? To Wutai?

The fire seemed to reply, without hesitating, Yes...

I... She hesitated. Just outside the living flames, the two shadows stood... waiting. Inside the fire, it was silent... the pain was gone. She felt warm and secure... strong. Then do it!

In response, the fire burned higher, stronger... swallowing the two shadowy figures, burning them to nothingness. The thin barrier around her was not there anymore, and the fire flowed along her arms, burning her skin, entering her. Yuffie screamed as the unfamiliar power seeped into her very soul, forever bonding itself to her heart. Was it pain she felt? Yes... and no. Yuffie gasped and shivered as the fire filled her with strength... and something else. It could have been pain... or rapture. There was no difference.

Then it was over. She slumped to the ground, almost unconscious; the power spent, inside her now. She could cry in regret... or in joy.

She did neither. Slowly, she staggered to her feet...

Fire...?

It seemed to her that somewhere, deep in her soul, something answered, Yes...

She coughed. Her eyes blinked open...

"Vincent?" Her throat was dry. The taste in her mouth... blood? She licked her lips. They were dry... and there was blood on them.

"Yes."

She blinked. That voice! It was... so similar... to what she had heard...

What she had heard? When had she ever heard anything? As she tried to remember, the last memories faded away into darkness. Yuffie frowned, and sat up. "Vincent."

"Yes. I am here."

She turned. Kneeling by her side... Vincent. In his hand, held by the blade, was a knife... her father's, Yuffie realised, a tanto that had been in the family for centuries. "Wh...y... What are you... doing with the knife? Vincent?"

She met his gaze. Vincent lowered his head, avoided looking her in the eyes.

It was the first time that had ever happened.

"Vincent? Why...?"

"I thought maybe... you would like to kill yourself."

"What?"

There was a hint of a very strained smile, almost maniacal, as he spoke. "Or maybe kill me. I will not stop you."

"Why would I, like, want to do that? You make no sense!" She took the knife from him and put it down on the ground. "What's happening? I can't... can't remember anything..." She shook her head. "It's, like... blurry. I can't remember... anything. Not after I..." She blinked. "Sephiroth!" It was just a whisper.

"Yes."

"What... What happened, Vincent? You must tell me."

He heard the pleading tone in her voice. She wants it to have been a dream... wants it to never have happened. But the dream was worse... much worse... How can I ever explain? How can she ever... He hesitated. How can she ever what? Understand? Forgive?

She has the right to know.

"You were wounded very badly. The spell... the curse... held you in a coma. It would have killed you."

"So... why am I sitting here? I'm not... dead... Am I?" She ran her fingers over her face. It felt solid, and dirty. "What's happening to me, Vincent?"

"In order to save your life..." He spoke very silently, but she could hear him clearly... maybe too clearly. "In order to break the curse, I had to infuse you with a part of myself... a part of Chaos." He looked up, meeting her eyes this time. "It was the only way. That is why... the dagger."

Yuffie looked back, into Vincent's strange, red eyes.

They were the same colour as Summon Materia.

"Yes," he said. "I see you understand. The dagger is still here... you only have to take it."

Yuffie reached down and took the weapon. Keeping the eye contact, she raised it over her head - and threw it across the room. "Enough!"

Vincent nodded. "You know the nature of my curse. The power is weak inside you, at the moment... yet its strength is great, much greater than you can imagine. And it will grow."

"Look... Vincent." Yuffie took his hand - the right one, the one without the metal glove - in hers. "I'm... alive, right? It's because of you. I don't want to die."

Vincent shook his head slowly. "It is not that simple. If all I had done was save your life... then I would be proud. But what I have done..." He sighed. "I have committed yet another sin... and this one may be the worst of them all."

"Stop it!" Yuffie demanded. "I don't want to hear that! Look, I'm alive! Alive! That's all I care about! And you... you..." Finding no words, she embraced him carefully. She felt him tense, but then he returned the embrace with his good hand.

"Yuffie, Yuffie... You don't see anything..." She could hear the hopelessness in his voice. Not knowing what to do, she just tightened the embrace.

"I don't see... but I still know. I know you saved me. That's enough for now."

Cloud turned slowly. Where are you...?

Novo and Susanna observed silently from their vantage point. "I told you he would sense us," Novo told her. "He is strong."

"Not as strong as you."

"That goes without saying, does it not?"

"Of course it does! What are we waiting for?"

"Patience... patience! A little while longer..."

Down by the water, Cloud looked out over the lake... In the light cast by his Materia, he could hardly fail to see the roses lying scattered over the smooth surface. "What are they doing here...?" he asked himself, not for the first time.

He knelt down and reached out to pick one of the flowers up. A second before he touched the water, he froze. Aerith... No, he couldn't. He withdrew his hand, slowly, and leaned closer to look at the rose.

Deep red, like blood. Why did they only remind him of blood?

He stood up and straightened his back. I know something is down here... There was something in the air; some kind of... expectation?

In the shadows, Novo held Susanna's arm in an iron grip. "Not yet... Soon, but not yet!"

"But he's..." she protested.

"Not now," he repeated. "Wait... just a little while longer."

Cloud sighed. Whatever it was, it was not going to come out on its own...

Tifa... He sighed again. Then he made his way out onto the platform, where he stood in the centre, holding the Fire Materia high. "Brighter!" he commanded it, knowing that it was unnecessary - the emerald sphere responded only to his mind, not to his words.

The orb flared brightly, blinding him temporarily, its intensity startling him. It seemed so much brighter down here... or maybe it was brighter.

Never mind that now.

He slowly turned around, somehow feeling a presence behind him. "What are you...?"

He fell silent, staring. There, floating in the air, was a woman - the woman, Cloud could bet his life, who had told him to come to the temple - and a boy. The two of them looked quite similar; they were probably related. Both had silver hair... and Mako blue eyes.

"Was it you who called me here?" Cloud asked them. The woman smiled coldly.

"Yes indeed. That we did."

"Why?"

"You have something we need," the boy replied. "Or rather, that our master needs. Would you come with us, please?"

"No. Tell me where Tifa and Cid are... and then we can talk," Cloud said.

"I thought so. Susanna, if you could...?" The boy made a gesture towards Cloud. The woman - Susanna? - nodded.

"As you wish."

Lifting her hand slowly, she pointed at Cloud. The ex-mercenary raised his sword to stave off whatever attack she was preparing to use.

"Novo... that sword..."

"It is the one we are looking for," he confirmed. "It is up to us to take it... and him... with us. Now act, Susanna; act."

She nodded quickly and made a small gesture. A pinkish mist rolled from her hand, towards the blond-haired man... and vanished as soon as it connected with the semitransparent blade in his hands. Cloud, in spite of himself, grinned at her. "Is that all?" he asked.

"You wish!" she spat, making a throwing motion in his direction, flinging a small ball of fire at him. "Handle that!"

Cloud instinctively blocked, the sphere shattering against the Ultima Weapon's blade.

The ball exploded into red-hot inferno of flames. Backing away hurriedly, feeling blisters arise on his arms and hands, Cloud gritted his teeth against the pain, hurriedly drawing upon a healing spell from a Materia on his bracelet. The burning feeling in his hands soon vanished.

"He is strong," Novo observed dryly. "Do you require any help?"

Susanna spat down into the lake.

"I see. Then I shall leave you to your fight." Novo nodded at Cloud, and hovered backwards, away from the battle.

Cloud had seen what the girl was able to do, and realised that he could not just stand there and wait. Channelling his mental energy into a certain Materia, he created a thin barrier of spirit energy between himself and the sorceress. At the same time, Susanna cast another spell, ending up sending a swarm of small, golden sparks in Cloud's direction.

The sparks flared angrily as they passed the spirit shield, more than nine out of ten burning out at the touch. A few reached Cloud, burning his shirt but not the man. Susanna raised her eyebrows.

"You are better than I thought," she commended him.

"Too good for you. Tell me where Tifa is..." Cloud's grip on the Ultima Weapon tightened. He knew she wasn't dead... but if she was not dead, and not here, where was she?

These two must have captured her...

The thought of that was enough to make him see red. Holding the sword one-handed - a great feat of strength - he pointed it at the woman's chest. "Tell me," he commanded, his voice steely and cold, "where Tifa is. Or I will kill you."

Susanna smiled. "You are so noble," she said. It sounded as if she meant it. "But that will not help you this time. Won't you come with us instead? We will take you to where... Tifa... is."

Cloud did not lower his sword. "You attacked me. How do I know I can trust you?"

Susanna shook her head. "You can't," she replied simply. "But if you kill us now, how would you find her?"

"I would find a way."

"Perhaps." She did not sound convinced. "But it would take time. And who knows what may happen to her while you're searching?"

Cloud gripped the sword with both hands. "If you are implying..." He did not finish the sentence; there was no need. She understood fully.

"I am not implying anything. I merely suggest that killing us may prompt a certain kind of people to... retaliate. That would be unfortunate, would it not...?" She smirked.

That was the last drop. Turning the sword slowly, Cloud let its point rest on the ground, while he pointed to the calm water below Susanna.

There was a certain piece of Materia in a slot in his bracelet. While most normal Materia only contained one kind of magic, this particular one had all four of the elements - Earth, Fire, Air and Water.

It was the last one Cloud now called upon. "Die!" he shouted as he funnelled power through the Materia.

So close to the magic powers in the temple, focused through the lake itself, the effects of the spell were more spectacular than ever, bringing the temperature down to absolute zero, the water crystallising into sharp, deadly spikes of ice. Within seconds, Susanna was frantically trying to dodge the lances as they shot at her from below. However, the spell, powered by Cloud's rage and more, did not seem about to fade away, and Susanna could not dodge forever. Suddenly one spear clipped her shoulder, causing her to gasp and stop moving for a moment.

A moment was all it took. She was caught between he shoulder blades by another ice-spike, a glancing blow that only served to knock her head-first into a third spike. Fighting unconsciousness, she grasped the column and slowly slid down towards the water. Trapped inside the ice, just in front of her, was a single, blood-coloured rose.

The thought that it may soon be joined by real blood - her blood - was enough to make her shake off the dizziness and start recasting the levitation spell.

She did not see how the frozen waters of the lake opened beneath her, fang-like spikes rising up to swallow her.

Then the spikes snapped together around her. Susanna looked around in terror - trapped! And now her prison was starting to freeze over. Within seconds, she would be trapped inside a large ice crystal! "Novo! Help me!"

"Did you not say you could handle this by yourself?"

"Please!

"...all right then. I will break this prison... but you must be prepared for the finishing strike."

"Thank you, Novo..."

The ice closed around her, encasing her inside a block of solid frozen water.

Novo stepped forth, striding on empty air as if it was a solid stone floor. Looking straight at Cloud, he clapped his hands. "Very good."

"Unless you tell me where Tifa is... you are next," Cloud told him angrily. "She is not dead yet... tell me where Tifa is, and I'll leave and let you help your friend." He pointed to the block of ice with Ultima Weapon's blade. "But you better hurry. She won't last very long."

"Ah. But she failed, did she not?" Novo smiled an unsettling smile. "Do you really think she deserves my help?"

Cloud was taken aback. "You mean you don't care what happens to her?"

Novo nodded. His power was already seeping through the ice, starting to dissolve the molecular bonds. "I do not believe in failure."

"You are not going to tell me where Tifa is." It was a statement; Cloud knew, and the words were unnecessary.

"No."

As he spoke, Novo twisted the power, and the block of ice shattered. Susanna rose from the shards, her levitation spell reactivated.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance."

Cloud shook his head. "I do not kill unless I have to." He glared angrily at the two silver-haired youths. "But unless you tell me where Tifa is... I will consider myself forced."

Susanna and Novo looked at each other and nodded.

"You won't come with us," Novo said. "So we will have to bring you."

"I am going nowhere! Not before you tell me where I can find my friends."

"We know where they are," Novo repeated. "We can take you to them."

"How do I know you speak the truth?" Cloud asked.

"Still, you cannot. But no matter what... We will not allow you to leave. Either you come with us... or we force you. It would be much easier if you would just follow us..."

"I cannot trust you," Cloud insisted. "You attacked me! How do I know you won't do it again?"

"There are never any guarantees," Novo said with a wry smile. "However, we would prefer not to have to fight about this. No matter how the fight goes, you will end up in the same place... we merely wish to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

"Then why did you attack me?"

Novo smiled again. "That was merely Susanna being somewhat... overzealous. The idea was to sleep you and bring you with us... but I can see that strategy will not work against you."

"So what are you getting at?" Cloud asked.

"Come with us. We will take you to your girl and the pilot... and no one has to get hurt. I am not at liberty to tell you why we need you... but I can tell you, we do not intend to cause you, or your friends, any harm."

"That still does not explain any of the attacks... I recognise her, from Godo's description. Why did you attack Wutai? What do you want?" Cloud knew that time was not on his side, but there were so many questions - and the answers might be important.

But Novo only smiled. His smile was, as always, unsettling; it seemed sad, spiteful, scornful, compassionate, all at once. His blue eyes glittered.

"You know I cannot tell you. I can take you to someone who can, however."

"And that would be...?"

"Our Master, of course. He will be able to answer any questions you might have... and more. Susanna and I, however, are not enlightened... we have not the knowledge of our Master's greater plan. All we know... all we need to know... is that we must take you to a certain place... where you will also find the woman, Tifa."

"I see..." Cloud pursed his lips. "You kidnapped her to make me follow you..."

"I guess... you could put it that way," Novo said. "Please come with us. It would make this easier... for all of us."

Cloud leaned on his sword. "Lead the way..." he said. "You two walk first... on the ground... I still do not trust you. I will follow you, however... but if you try to deceive me, you will regret it. Is this acceptable?"

Novo kept smiling. "That will be fine," he said. "Just perfect. Then, if you would... this way, please." He hovered closer to the edge of the lake, finally settling down on the ground, closely followed by Susanna. "Up the stairs and out of the city... then we will lead you to our home."

Cloud followed Novo and Susanna, keeping his distance. He had not sheathed his sword; that would be foolish. After a few minutes of arguing, he had allowed Novo to carry the Lunar Harp - not that he trusted him, but he could not both hold his sword and play the harp at the same time, and given a choice, he chose the sword. If the boy tried anything, Cloud should be able to take care of it.

"I cannot believe he would fall for this..." Novo said. "Love and hope truly blinds the human eye."

"I know... but how are we going to overpower him? He has already proven that he can block my spells... with that sword, he probably has enough power to protect himself even from your power, Novo."

Novo sneered. "Don't be ridiculous. The problem is, anything strong enough to overcome that defence... would burn the man to cinders as well. I know several spells that could kill him, sword or no sword, but we need him alive... We must simply wait until he lowers his guard. And if we fail then... then we will see. The sword is much more important than Strife... and if we must kill him to get it..." He cast a look over his shoulder. Cloud was still walking with the Ultima Weapon over his shoulder, both hands on the hilt. Give him a second to react, and... "If we must kill him to get it, so be it."

They walked for over an hour, heading away from Bone and the Ancients' forgotten city. Cloud's eyes never left the two silver-haired ones walking a few metres in front of him. That was one thing he had learned while working as a mercenary; always keep your eyes on a potential enemy. But never ignore anything because of this. Even if it seemed as if he only cared about Novo and Susanna, he took in everything that happened around them - not that there was much to see. Although the curse's power was waning now, it was still noticeable, stretching much further on this side; no animals lived here. The only sounds he heard were those of their steps, and the gentle whisper of the harp. Novo was skilled; he did not simply pluck at the strings the way Cloud had done, but he actually played the instrument. The song was soft and gentle; the epitome of sadness.

It reminded Cloud of Aerith.

Suddenly the music stopped. Novo and Susanna stopped, too, dead in their tracks, and Cloud readied the Ultima Weapon, levelling it at the two. "Why are we stopping?" His voice sounded coarse and unpleasant after the silvery notes from the harp.

"Hsst. Not a word," Susanna cautioned. She pointed ahead... Cloud strained his eyes, but could only see trees and leaves.

"What are you playing at?" he asked her. "Remember, if you try something, you will end up with a sword in your back."

"Sst!" Novo turned and put a finger over his lips. "Keep silent!" he whispered. "We do not want to fight in here... and certainly not with that"

"Fight what?" Cloud asked, keeping his voice low, just in case.

"Catoblepas... the ancient guardian of these woods. I never thought I would see it..." Something that resembled fear, or maybe awe, passed over the boy's face, once more making it clear that whatever he was, it was not a mere child; much like Shake of Wutai's Pagoda, there was something ageless about him. "...but it is here. And unless we keep out of its way..." He drew a finger over his throat, a quite child-like gesture, but Cloud understood.

The question is... does the Catoplebas really exist? He had never heard the name before.

But there were many things he had never heard of. After all, he was only twenty-two years old; the thought that he would be omniscient was laughable. But that the Ancients would have left such a creature to guard their city... Cloud thought it seemed odd. First of all, the Ancients had not been very warlike; and second, the spells they had cast over the woods were potent enough to keep anything out...

Or was it? He knew someone had left roses in the temple; he knew Novo and Susanna had been able to pass through the forest without the Harp at least once. But would the Ancients really...?

He did not get to think further than that. An ear-splitting roar cut through the silence, and he caught a glimpse of a greyish blue shape between two trees... Novo and Susanna quickly and silently backed up against a tree; Cloud, somewhat slower, followed their example, standing where he could see both them, and the place where the strange blue-greyness had appeared. What kind of creature can live here? Aerith had told him the curse should be capable of keeping anything out. She had never mentioned... Catoplebas. Could it be... that... she had not known about it?

The roar was heard again, and Cloud felt the tree he was leaning against vibrate. Slowly, he put the sword down and checked his bracelet, just to be certain that he had all he needed. The few Summons were probably worthless here; the forest might affect the Espers as well, and the thought of that was... not one he liked. He still had some useful 'normal' Materia, though... I should have known... They had not been prepared to fight - after all, all they were going to do was visit some friends. He had taken little offensive magic with him, and nothing very strong; most notably, he had his Ultima Materia locked up in a safe in the basement of 'Villa Strifehart'. It was far too powerful to be carried around like that; what if he lost it?

But now he wished he had taken the chance. Fire would not be a good idea in the woods; he might end up burning the entire forest to the ground.

Catoblepas roared again. Was it closer now? Cloud hurriedly retrieved his sword. I had better survive this...

And Catoplebas burst into view. He had never heard it coming, but now it just appeared in front of them - a huge demon-like beast, a mishmash of features; goat legs, a hyena's mane, the tail of a wolf, a wild boar's tusked snout... and one single, fiery red eye. This eye, Catoplebas now turned on Cloud.

"Don't look in its eye!" Novo cautioned him. "Catoplebas can curse with its gaze! Avert your eyes!"

Cloud hurriedly looked down, holding Ultima Weapon out in front of him, feeling as if the blade offered some protection against the monster's lethal gaze. Novo was not pleased. "Fight, you fool! Fight, or you will be killed!"

Cloud adjusted his grip on his sword. What is this I feel... a familiar power...

Suddenly it struck him. "Catoplebas is... an Esper!"

"I know! But that still means we have to fight our way out of here! It won't allow us to move..." As if to prove this, Novo took a step away from the tree. The demon-like beast growled and turned its single eye on the boy instead; Novo hurriedly stepped back. "You see that? Unless we defeat it, we'll never get out!"

Still, Cloud hesitated. If it is an Esper.. then it is intelligent. There was a possibility that they could reason with it...

But before he could speak, a wave of dizziness washed over him, almost striking him to the ground. In the corner of his eye, he saw Novo shake his head, an exasperated look on his face. "Damn," the boy muttered. Slowly, he raised the Lunar Harp. His fingers danced over the strings... and the silvery music averted the powers of the curse. Slowly, Cloud's head stopped spinning... he blinked. "Hurry up!" Novo commanded. "You'll be affected by the spell again! We must get that-" he pointed to Catoplebas "-out of the way! Hurry! Susanna, you help him."

"Yes, Novo..." she replied hesitantly. "Come on! Show me some of your SOLDIER tricks, Strife!"

"I am not of SOLDIER. Still..." Cloud seemed to explode with a burst of motion, leaping for the Esper's throat, sword held low for an upwards strike.

Catoplebas waited until Cloud was half a metre from his target, then turned its head slightly, firing a red beam from its eye. The beam did not hit Cloud, but the ground just in front of him, blowing a hole. Cloud was unable to stop at such short notice, and rather than fall, he jumped, bringing the Ultima Weapon around to strike from above. As Catoplebas turned to fend off this attack, Susanna finished the spell she had been casting, releasing a swarm of golden sparks in the monster's direction. The sparks bust into flames wherever they hit, and Catoplebas, surprisingly agile for a creature its size, leapt aside to avoid them. The sparks were faster still, and most of them hit, burning the creature's strange fur. This also had the effect of bringing Catoplebas out of Cloud's reach. As soon as he recovered from his failed attack, the former mercenary charged the Esper again.

However, as skilled as Cloud was, Catoplebas had literally centuries of experience, and as Cloud had suspected, like all Espers, he was very intelligent. Glancing at the sorceress, he knew that her next spell was only half-formed, and that she would not be a threat for several seconds yet. Turning back to Cloud, the Esper reared, his eye flaring bright red. Distracted, Cloud looked up - and into the fiery red sphere.

The world slowed down...

No!

He tore his gaze away, split seconds before the curse took its full effect. Catoplebas roared in anger, deprived of its intended prey; then it roared in pain, as Cloud's sword slashed over its chest and lower abdomen, leaving a deep wound. Seconds later, the sword was followed by a barrage of small spikes, made from ice. Catoplebas staggered under the attack, but soon recovered and countered it with a blast from its eye. Susanna leaped aside, barely avoiding the ray, and Cloud swung again, hitting the Esper's side. However, Catoplebas' coarse fur proved to be stronger than it looked, and the sword only scratched the grey hide under it.

Catoplebas growled in annoyance. There was something different from the other humans he had faced... for several hundred years, these were the first ones that had full control of their bodies; the curse of the woods did not affect them. And that had to be an effect of the magic he could feel... emanating from that instrument. Catoplebas launched a fire spell at the boy and his harp. Novo looked up at the crackling sound of flames approaching, and ducked out of the way, his small body proving to be an asset in this confined space. Shielding the Harp with his body, he slid in between two great oaks, and the fire struck the trees, flickering out within seconds, quenched by the Ancients' many-layered protection spells. Angered, the Esper leaped towards the two trees, dodging a sword-slash and shaking off a small fireball. Passing the trees, he found the boy standing with his back to the largest oak, the harp in his arms.

This close, he could hardly avoid looking at the demon-like Esper. And before Novo had a chance to close his eyes, Catoplebas' eye flared red...

and he knew nothing more.

Cloud reached them first. Catoplebas stood in front of Novo, waiting for him... but Novo...

Cloud shivered. The boy had been turned into stone! The harp glittered in his arms, useless to them now... Shit!

The Esper roared. Cloud held the Ultima Weapon out as the beast fired another ray from its eye, deflecting it. Letting go of the weapon with his left hand, he clenched it into a fist and thrust it at his enemy, channelling power through a certain Materia fitted to his bracelet. Blue-white lightning leapt between his hand and the Esper, striking at the beast's head and shoulders. At the same time, Susanna approached their enemy from behind. As Catoplebas shook under Cloud's ruthless assault, she mounted her own attack. This had better work...

Catoplebas was a creature of darkness. Then, to fight it, she needed light...

But that was something she had not mastered, and probably never would; she doubted that her blood would allow her to draw the power of Holy from the Planet. She would have to do it her way... and hope...

Cloud's lightning spell ceased, and he followed it up with fire, knowing now that there was no risk for the forest. Catoplebas staggered backwards, not visibly marked by the lightning, but weakened nevertheless. Cloud stepped forwards, as close as he dared to the Esper.

Susanna concentrated and released the spell. A faint aura of darkness appeared around the demon... and she hoped, hoped that even though her spell was, in context, of a dark nature, would effect Catoplebas.

Dark fire, or something similar to it, flared, flashing between her hands and the Esper, striking the beast's back. Catoplebas stiffened, then roared in pure agony, sinking to the ground. Cloud, surprised, ceased his attack, lowering his hand, and stared at Susanna. The power of the curse was starting to affect him again, slowly clouding his mind. Seeing the sorceress struggle to keep the spell up, he raised Ultima Weapon to strike.

The world wobbled. Cloud's strike caught the demon a blow on the shoulder; painful but not life-threatening.

But now Catoplebas had had enough. Bound by the will of the Ancients or not, he was still an Esper; he still had his own mind and wishes.

Right now, Catoplebas' mind told him that fighting further was futile. It would probably result in his destruction, and that was not something he looked forwards to. It was true; no human could ever kill an Esper, but they could destroy his current body, forcing him to spend centuries creating a new one.

Catoplebas would rather not have that happen. Struggling to his feet, he started off away from his two opponents, running as fast as his wounded body would allow him.

Cloud and Susanna stared after him. "What the...?" Cloud asked.

"I have no idea. We must help Novo... fast." Susanna pointed to the petrified boy. "I... I cannot manage a spell for that... Do you have anything...?"

Cloud nodded. "Yes."

"Then help him... and I will take the Harp as soon as he can let go of it."

Cloud nodded again. "Done," he said, and then turned the healing Materia on Novo. As he retrieved the sparkling green orb from the pocket where he kept it - this was one Materia he had not attached to his bracelet - he saw Susanna clasp her hands, and a light green aura faded in around them. Cloud spun around, feeling slightly dizzy as the curse's power grew in strength around them. "What are you doing?"

"Trying... protect myself from the curse." Susanna's features were contorted in a grimace. "Unless Novo wakes from that spell, we are dead! Hurry!"

Cloud could feel the curse, too, and knew that she was not lying. Nodding, he turned back to Novo and raised the Materia -

-

-

Susanna smiled slightly as she lowered her hands. Stepping around Cloud, she picked the healing Materia out of his rigid hand, looked at it and smiled. "Such a simple artefact. Worthless..." She tossed it over he shoulder; it fell and came to rest in a field of dark forest moss. "Wake, Novo. Wake..." Reaching into the ground, she pulled the Planet's power up and into herself, channelling it, shaping it into the form she desired. Bluish white light glowed softly around Novo for a few seconds, then vanished. And with it, the stony complexion disappeared, leaving Novo looking healthy and normal again.

He looked up at Cloud, then past him at Susanna. "Tricked him while he was helping me?" he wondered, his voice betraying more than a little sarcasm.

"Yes..." Susanna looked down, seeming to develop a strong interest in her own feet. "It was... the only way."

"Don't feel bad about it. I'm not blaming you..." Novo smiled lopsidedly as he regarded the spiky-haired man. There was a look of concentration on Cloud's face; that, and... concern. It does not matter... it truly does not matter! So why do I care? "We are under orders to bring him with us... alive, if possible. This is for the best..." He shrugged. "So now, Susanna, are you up to teleporting us home?"

"Yes... Novo." All traces of dizziness gone, Susanna smiled at Novo, and reached out with one hand to touch his shoulder, placing the other on Cloud's now-empty hand. "All right, you two... We're going home!"

Five seconds later, the only traces of the trio were a few burn-marks in the ground; marks that would soon be healed... and an orb of emerald-like Materia, sparkling in the filtered light under the trees.

-One day later...-

Damn... Tifa thought. Where the... hell am I...? She tried to move, and found she could...in a way. But something was holding her around the waist... and holding tight, too. Apparently, she had been standing up, suspended by this... thing. She ran her hand over it, and found that it felt like metal; a metal band about a decimetre wide and maybe half a centimetre thick. There was no way she could break it, and it was too tight for her to try and slip out; if she tried to slide down, the band cut into her ribs painfully; if she tried to slide up, her hips got in the way. She ran her hands over the smooth metal, to the left and right, trying to find the places where it was fastened to the wall, but she could not even feel where the stone ended and the metal began. There was something that might be a keyhole to her right, almost out of reach... but she had no keys, of course, and nothing to pick the lock with... even if she had known how to pick locks. Damn indeed...

She was in a dark cell. She could barely make out the outlines of a door, some three or four metres away - it was hard to tell in the darkness. Whatever light there was in the cell seeped in under and by the sides of the door. She could feel straw - or at least she thought it was straw - on the floor. Then again, it could be pretty much anything straw-shaped; Tifa still had her shoes on, and it was hard to tell exactly what that was she was standing on.

The cell was probably meant only for one person, she concluded as she looked around, straining her eyes to see in the darkness. The walls seemed to be made from dark stone, and they were quite close to her; not so near that she could touch them, or even come near touching them, but still not far.

She thanked her lucky star that she wasn't claustrophobic. That could have presented a problem, she thought grimly as she kicked at the straw - or whatever. "Damnit!" she muttered, then raised her voice, shouting, "Let me out of here!"

But there was no reply.

Some time passed. Tifa eventually stopped kicking around in the straw and tried to relax, prepare for whatever lay ahead. It wasn't easy, and she soon started kicking again in frustration. I wish something would just happen... Damn, what's taking so long? And where was Cloud? Was he all right? She hadn't seen him around when they caught her... Tifa shook her head, trying to banish the images that rose unbidden to her mind's eye. No... no. I won't be able to take this if I... Now wait a second... wasn't that the sound of footsteps? Maybe... Cloud had come to rescue her? It certainly was his turn to play that part now, she thought, smiling slightly.

However the footsteps did not stop outside her door, and all she saw was the shadow that passed briefly, temporarily blotting out the light, such as it was, from her sight. Then it was gone again, and the sound faded away. Tifa hung her head wearily. I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up... She was getting tired, but it was almost impossible to relax, the steel band cutting into her skin whenever she wasn't standing straight. Thankfully, she still had her clothes on; they offered some protection, scant but better than nothing.

She remained awake for hours, unable to rest, unable to move, before she finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

"F... father."

Godo spun around. "Yuffie! You are up!"

Yuffie nodded weakly. She looked pale, but much of that was because of the black pyjamas she was wearing. It looked somewhat out of place in the old-fashioned house of the Kisaragi, and even more so being worn by Yuffie - but she had picked it herself, and apparently felt quite comfortable in it. "Feel like hell though."

"Do not worry," Godo said as he stood up and put an arm around her shoulders to steady her. "It will pass..."

"It's been... what? Three days?" Yuffie tried to shake off his arm, but found that this slight exercise was enough to make coloured lights flash before her eyes. "Oohh..."

"Take it easy. Here, come and sit down..." He led her to a chair, one of the few in the house. Yuffie sat down, placing her hands on her knees as if to hold herself upright. "So apart from feeling like hell..." Godo tried not to smile as he said this. "...how do you feel?"

"I said, like, I feel like hell." Yuffie blinked. "But better now."

"Glad to hear it." Vincent's soft voice startled Godo, but Yuffie seemed to have known he was there all along. "Last time I asked, you sounded as if you thought you were about to die."

"What's that... you said, like... 'we are all dying, ever since the day we are born', or something?" she asked.

"Yes."

"So what's the big idea?"

"Nothing," he said. There was a smile in his voice; a small one, but it was there. "Now that you are able to walk... Although I would have suggested staying in bed for another day before attempting this... I think you will soon have recovered fully."

"Good. Was starting to worry..."

"So was I," he said, his voice even softer now. "I think you should rest. Can you make it back by yourself?"

"I just... got here," she pointed out.

"I know that. But can you make it back?"

Yuffie grinned, more a grimace than an actual smile. "Watch me." She put her hands on the armrests of the chair, pushing with all her strength... but no matter how hard she tried, she was not strong enough to get up. Grinning sheepishly, she looked up at the red-cloaked man. "Uh... help?"

"Certainly." Vincent put one arm behind her back and the other under her legs, and effortlessly lifted her out of the chair. "Lord Godo... I will return. We need to talk."

"I will wait here," Godo sighed. "Yuffie, you be good now."

Yuffie poked her tongue out. The samurai smiled and nodded, making a motion for the door. Vincent gently carried the ninja out of the room and back to her own quarters, where he helped her sit down on the futon. "Will you be able to manage by yourself from here?" he asked, a slight smile on his lips; as if he remembered something, Yuffie thought, that she could not recall. She managed to glare venomously at him. "I see. Then... sleep well, shinobi."

"Shinobi... Yeah... right," Yuffie muttered at his back as he left. "Fat lotta good that does me now..." But she decided not to make a big affair out of it right now, and although she hated the idea of Vincent and her father discussing something - probably, come to think of it, discussing her - without her being there to hear it, she crawled down between the sheets. They smelled of detergent and sweat. She wrinkled her nose; the scent was not very pleasant, but she was not up to doing anything about it at the moment. Sheesh... she thought as she felt the world fade away around her. Hate this.... hate hate hate it... This lying-in-bed thing was starting to get on her nerves. Someone had once described her as hyperactive, and while this certainly wasn't the case, she needed to move. But she couldn't do that... not yet, not just yet...

With a small sigh, she put one arm around her favourite stuffed animal - a penguin that Shake had brought her a long time ago, quite similar to him, even with the red symbol on its chest - and soon went to sleep.

"So, how is she?" Godo asked.

"Much better than we dared to hope..." Vincent said. Then he smiled. "But still worse than she likes us to think. She should not be getting out of bed for at least one more day... maybe two, or even three. But she will make it, Lord Godo. She will live..." But Vincent did not say everything he wanted to say. Maybe, he wanted to tell Godo, when she finds out what I did to save her life, she will curse me for it... maybe, when she finds out what the price truly is, she will no longer want to live. There is a possibility... that when she finds out, she might not have the strength to live. But he did not speak, and Godo did not ask, though he could clearly hear that there was more to what Vincent said than the actual words he spoke.

"So she's not in danger anymore..."

"No. Not more than always... not much." Unless you consider herself a danger... to herself.

Godo sighed. "I am glad to hear it... but... there is something that troubles me. Cloud, Tifa and Cid flew to Nibelheim to find you... but they still have not returned. Are you certain you have not heard from them?" It was the fifth time he asked. Vincent had counted.

"I am certain," he said, as he had the first time; as he had the second, third and fourth time, too. "If they even came close to me, we must have missed each other completely... I have seen nothing." And since he had been in Chaos' form, if they had been close, he would have seen them.

"They should have returned by now... I am worried." Godo pursed his lips thoughtfully. "They may have run into trouble."

"There is not much 'trouble' that Cloud, Cid and Tifa could run into... not that would be able to slow them down this much, at any rate," Vincent said. "No... they are probably looking for me. Still..." Still, they should have returned by now. As far as Vincent knew, there were only two places where hey would know to look for him: Nibelheim, and Lucrecia's waterfall. Maybe they would even think of the Cetran city, but he doubted that they would think to search for him there, knowing that he did not have the Lunar Harp, and knowing nothing of the powers of Chaos, which let him pass the forest as he pleased. Not even the Ancients' magic could stop him... but that was something Cloud had never realised. "When Yuffie recovers... If they have not returned then, I shall search for them."

"Thank you... Vincent. I..." Godo took a deep breath. "Before they left, I gave them the Summon Materia that... Yuffie used."

"Sephiroth's?" Vincent's voice betrayed shock and disbelief. "You gave Cloud... the Materia that links to Sephiroth?" He had heard, but he did not want to believe. "Why?"

The ageing samurai shook his head. "I realise I may have made a grave mistake... but I had to be certain that I could count on your help. That Materia would explain more than... than I could speak of to Strife and his friends. They will not know what that Materia does... and I cautioned them not to use it, ever. They all swore... I gave it to Cid Highwind... and he swore by his honour that no one would use that piece of Materia."

"Highwind's honour..." Vincent said, tasting the words. "At least he is better suited to handle that Materia than Cloud or Tifa. But..." He frowned. "I will not feel secure until I know that the Materia is back in Yuffie's hands. Under the circumstances, she is probably the best person to keep it..."

"Yuffie has a... knack for holding on to Materia," Godo agreed with a smile. "However, whether she will want to handle that particular piece after all the grief it has caused her..."

"She will keep it," Vincent interrupted. "She will keep it, because she knows that is the best she can do."

Godo thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "A few months ago... I would have told you that you were wrong," he said. "But now, I think you may be right. She has matured... considerably in the last few months."

"I know..." Yes... but it is not over yet. Feeling a familiar power stir deep within his heart, Vincent sighed. It is far from over.

Novo and Susanna finally stepped through the door, entering their Master's chambers. The rooms were dimly lit by wax candles, which emitted more smoke and scent than light. Susanna and Novo's eyes, however, needed only this light - and the rooms' owner, of course, needed no light at all.

The two silver-haired youths walked through the first room, stepping through another door on the way... and stopped right inside the door.

The 'throne room' was better lit than the other room, torches on the walls spreading their flickering light into the corners. By the farthest wall was a dais, and on top of that, a throne, carved from a single, large piece of crystallised Mako... or, in other words, Materia. The figure on the throne was slightly hunched over, and in his hands he held a sword - a knight's sword, large and heavy, its blade glittering like white silver, the hilt like gold. To the mystic senses of the two standing by the door, the Materia throne shone like a beacon... but the sword dimmed even the throne's light. So did the man.

Novo was the first to act. Dropping to his knees, he put both hands on the floor, palms down. "Master," he acknowledged.

The figure on the throne smiled, torchlight glinting off his teeth. "Yes, indeed," he said. His voice was hoarser than Novo's, contained even more power. However, as it spoke of magical might, it also spoke of physical weakness; the voice of a soaring soul, trapped in a broken body. "Now I am truly your master. While you have been gone... But let us not get into that. You have captured the three." It was not a question, and Novo did not answer. Susanna, somewhat slower, knelt beside him, pressing her palms to the floor in a gesture of submission. "You are fortunate..." Kane smiled again. "If you had failed this time, I would have begun to suspect that you were becoming weak... and I have no use for weaklings. Not now, not anymore... never again. Do you have their weapons? I cannot sense them from here."

"We have the Ultima Weapon..." Novo confirmed. "And we also have the pilot's spear, which goes by the name 'Venus Gospel'. The other sword, however, still eludes us..."

"Of course it does!" Kane snapped. He coughed, and continued, slower and more controlled: "We had no reason to expect it to show up there... in the Cetran capital. No, it existed in Wutai... but now it has disappeared. Novo, my child... stand, both of you. Stand up." The two obeyed, but kept their heads bowed. They could not see Kane smile as he spoke. "I need that sword. It is the only thing standing in the way of my plan now... If I have this sword, I will have the power I need."

Novo and Susanna did not speak. They both knew this, and they also knew that Kane would eventually get to a point - but he liked to keep people waiting, and right now, they were in no position to ask him to hurry.

"I had a chance... a chance, not long ago, to claim this blade.

"I failed... Because of you -" He pointed to Susanna, pale fire igniting in his eyes. "Because of you... Wutai won the battle. I told you not to attack unless they refused the terms!"

Susanna bowed. "Please forgive me, Master. I only acted in the way I believed to be best."

"You did, now, did you?"

The next thing Susanna knew, she was lying on the floor, writhing in agony. Through the pain, she could hear Kane's voice, very far away, speak to her. "You will not die... not here, not now. You succeeded in your mission... and I appreciate that. Still, you broke my orders..." Another wave of pure agony swept through her, and her entire body shook, every muscle out of her control.

Then the pain subsided. She opened her eyes, and saw Novo standing in front of her, his silhouette outlined in a pale, ghostly light. The torches on the walls had blown out, leaving the spellfire the only source of light in the room.

"Master..." His voice was strained.

Susanna could barely see. She only knew that he had changed... Oh, he had changed... and he was not a child anymore, not a child at all...

She wept, and knew not if it was for her own sake, or his.

"Please..." Novo pleaded. "You will kill her... You promised me..."

"Did I, now..."

"Yes." Novo's strength was rapidly decreasing; he was fighting a power much greater than his own. Still, he remained standing, shielding Susanna from his master's spell. "You promised me... and you must cease this... now... or I will die standing here. I will not move." The determination in his voice... Susanna covered her face with her hands, feeling both tears and blood on her cheeks. Her mouth was full of blood, too, almost choking her. She opened it and let the blood pour down her chin and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Please..." she whispered. "Novo... step... away."

"Never. Master..."

The light faded away, almost but not completely. "Yes, my child..."

"If you wish to kill her... you will have to kill me first. I will not step away. I will not step away."

The light vanished, throwing the room into pitch-blackness. "Then take her... and go," Kane said. "Return to your quarters... and await further orders..." He coughed again, and spat. "Your actions... caused the loss of many lives... as well as wasting my strength for the spells that bound those lives to me... Susanna. You have paid your penance... but not earned my trust. I will not tolerate another failure... do you understand? Answer me, Susanna... Do you understand?"

She found it hard to whisper, but managed to get a single word out: "Yes."

"Go, then. Go, and do not return... until I call for you."

"As you command..." Novo said softly, "so shall it be done."

Tifa tried not to flinch as the whip cut her face. Three... she counted, clenching her hands and breathing deeply, trying to ignore the pain, the blood trickling down her cheek and staining her shirt. Tears stung her eyes, but they stung more when they ran down her cheeks, into the wounds left by the whip.

Crack!

Four... There would be one more, one more, then nothing more... for a while... Tifa fought to breathe. Slowly... breathe in... breathe out... breathe in... Zangan had thought her to ignore the physical world, to become only spirit. It was an important part in the martial arts training... but he had never put her through anything like this. Come on... Tifa...! It could be worse -

Crack!

-much worse! Come on... come on! Don't scream... don't cry. Breathe in... breathe out... There was a sound... someone was moving. Coming closer... But not close enough. She had tried, the first time... but that had resulted in ten more lashes. She just kept silent, kept still, while her tormentor studied his work. She heard a strange, rasping laugh... then the door opened, allowing just a little light into the cell... She saw a brown boot under black trousers as the man walked through the door, then nothing as he closed it behind him.

She stared into the blackness for a while. Come on... Ignore the pain... It was easier now, now that there was no more whiplashes... but that would only last... how long? She could not know. There was no way to know time down here.

This was the sixth time they had whipped her. Six times. That meant thirty lashes... forty lashes with the ten she had received for trying to kick him that first time... Gods, she must look a mess. Cloud... where are you? Cid... She hoped Cid was all right... Maybe, she was the one they wanted... Maybe, he would not have to go through this...

The new wounds stung. The old ones, too... she felt swollen. Tifa knew that if she kept thinking like this, she would start crying... and then the wounds would hurt even more. Not that it would make much of a difference. She was already sweating so much that she might as well be crying. She leaned her head back as much as she could, trying to get sweat, tears and hair out of her face, but strands of hair still stuck to the sticky blood. Carefully, she picked them away. I have to get out... out of here! Cloud... where are you? Damn... "Cloud! I need you, damn it...! I was there... was there for you... where are you, Cloud?"

Ignoring the physical pain was easy. It was ignoring the pain in her soul that she could not do... and now her tears flowed freely, but Tifa never noticed. Cloud...

"Lord Godo... I have made up my mind," Kai told the samurai. "I must go... find out if my suspicions... I must leave. I need to borrow your chocobo."

"We do not need the chocobo at the moment," Godo said, "so I believe we can let you borrow him. But where will you go?"

"Please... I cannot say. I must go see... my father." The sorcerer bowed his head. "I hope you can trust me..."

"I believe you," Godo said. "Something is troubling you... Take the chocobo, Kai. See your father. Then, perhaps, we shall have answers..."

Kai bowed. "Thank you, Lord Kisaragi. I will not betray your trust."

"Go on," Godo said with a smile. "You should leave now. The sooner you leave, the sooner you can be back, am I not right?"

"You are right," Kai smiled. "Farewell, then... for now."

The black chocobo was a new addition to the Kisaragi stable. It had been a gift from Cloud and Tifa; since their own stable was full, they had asked if Yuffie wanted to take care of the new chick, and she had happily agreed. This bird was named Reno, because of a spot on his head where the feathers were red, looking much like the Turk's hair, and was the offspring of Cloud's black chocobo, Ash, and a yellow chocobo. Like most chocobos, he was quite good-natured, and didn't protest as Kai led him out of the stable, even though he was, in fact, quite sleepy at the moment. The mage handed him a carrot, which Reno accepted with a low 'wark'.

Climbing into the saddle, Kai grabbed the reins, and Reno took off.

Now, Kai thought as he had the chocobo circle around the city, I only have to hope...

"Are you certain... you are up to this?" Godo asked worriedly. Yuffie nodded adamantly.

"Yes. I am ready... must be."

"I cannot persuade you to stay." It was not a question.

"No."

"Then..." He sighed. "Then I wish you good luck... daughter. Vincent..."

"I know. I will look after your daughter," Chaos said. "I will return her safely."

"Thank you. Then..."

"We must be off. Yuffie..."

"Yeah. I'm like... supposed to sit here... right?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Yeah. Just... checking." She put a hand to the strange device strapped to Vincent's back. "How do I, like... how do I get up?"

"I will kneel down. Then you can climb up."

"Oh."

Vincent knelt, holding one hand out to help Yuffie up and onto his back. The ninja ignored it, but was soon seated on Chaos' muscular back, between the great bat-like wings. A leather belt would keep her from falling off, but the device still looked potentially dangerous, although Vincent had explained that if he carried someone, they would not fall off unless he let them. Godo was worried... but he also realised that Yuffie felt partially responsible for Cloud and the others' disappearance, since her friends had vanished trying to find someone to help her. No matter what... She would never agree to stay in Wutai. Take care, daughter...

The Guardians of Pagoda had gathered on the roof to see them off. Leviathan had left as soon as the curse on Yuffie had been broken, but now the river dragon had returned, and lay there watching them with his gem-like eyes.

"Stay safe..." It was Leviathan's voice, speaking in their heads. Yuffie nodded.

"I will... We will. Right... Vincent?"

"Yes... we will. Now, we must leave... we may not have much time." We may be too late all together... But he could not say that. "Lord Godo... I trust Wutai will be safe." Godo nodded. "I see."

And with that, Chaos spread his wings and rose to his feet... and then he was in the air, rapidly flying towards Nibelheim.

Twenty minutes later, Vincent landed on a ledge in Mount Nibel. He walked up to a large rock, allowing Yuffie to use it to climb down, and then reverted to human shape; the molecules of his clothes rearranging themselves, from being gathered in a thin collar and armband, to take their normal shape as well. Yuffie handed him his backpack, which was now slightly heavier, holding her gear as well; she had been carrying it, since Vincent was carrying her in its place. The ex-Turk retrieved his gun, which he kept in the bag while he used another shape, and holstered it, just in case, then adjusted the straps and slung the pack over his back. Without uttering a word, he started climbing down from the ledge, followed by an uncharacteristically quiet Yuffie.

Vincent stopped the first person he saw - a middle-aged man on his way from the store - and asked if he had seen anyone matching Cloud's description. The man said he had, four days ago - apparently, Cloud, Tifa and Cid had asked around for Vincent when they did not find him in the Mansion. Vincent thanked the man, and turned to Yuffie. She shook her head.

"They aren't here, are they?"

"No."

"Then, like... what do we do? Like... the waterfall?"

"Yes."

They headed out of town, getting well out of sight before Vincent once more handed Yuffie his pack and pistol, and took Chaos' shape. Yuffie strapped the pack into place and hoisted herself onto the demon's back, and Vincent took flight again.

Much faster than one would guess from the demon's appearance, Chaos made it to Lucrecia's waterfall in less time than even the Tiny Bronco would have needed. That meant that if Cloud and the others had actually gone there, Vincent and Yuffie would be gaining on them... but gaining mere minutes on days was nothing to celebrate over. Vincent did not bother to change shape as he entered the cave, spreading his wings to shield Yuffie from the cold water.

One look around the cave told him that someone had been there. The patterns of dust on the floor had changed, and there was a taste, or maybe a scent, lingering in the air... He could not tell which, only that Chaos' senses felt this. "They... no, he has been here. Cloud."

Yuffie looked at him sceptically. "Like, how do you know?"

"I can feel it." He turned his blood-red eyes on her, and Yuffie looked back. "Trust me. Cloud was here... but he is not here anymore. We waste our time."

"Man, you are cheery..." Yuffie muttered as he held one great wing over her head to block out the water while they passed the waterfall. "So what now? I mean, like, those were the only places we had to look, right? So what do we do now, huh, Vincent?"

"I... am uncertain. There may be one more place... depending on how Cloud thinks."

The ninja snorted. "Like that could ever be predicted!"

He glared at her. "Yuffie."

"Yeah... yeah, whatever! Now are you going to fly us there or are we just going to be standing here all day? And I'm starting to feel hungry."

"I am thinking of the 'Forgotten City'."

Yuffie fell silent. Finally, she managed to say, "...oh."

"Yes."

"Well..." She straightened her back. "We gotta do it, right? We can't just, like, not do it and go someplace else? Can we?"

"No. There is only one place left to search... and that is the city of the Cetra. You still have a choice... to come with me, or to go home. I will pass Wutai on the way and continue on my own. It would be safer for you."

She punched him in the arm, hard. "No way! It's because of me that Cloud went looking for you, and if he got into trouble, I wanna know why!" She discretely rubbed her knuckles. She had probably felt that more than he had, but it wouldn't do to let him know that. "I'm coming! Whether you like it or not!" Never mind the fact that in order for her to come along, he would have to carry her.

Vincent's facial expression was unreadable in this shape; as was his voice. "If that is what you wish..."

"Didn't you get that already?"

"I have. Then climb up..."

"You're all wet!" she protested.

"You will survive," he told her dryly.

"All right, all right then..." She sighed and grabbed his shoulders, pulling herself up into the makeshift saddle. "This is your captain speaking... Fasten seatbelts! We are about to take off!"

"Are you done?"

"Give me a minute! ...there. Done. Now will you stop talking and get going I mean flying?"

"Suit yourself."

And they were off.

After another fifteen minutes, during which Vincent had pushed even Chaos' abilities to the limit, they landed in the mountains surrounding Bone and the enchanted woods. Vincent was tired - something he had thought was virtually impossible in this shape - and breathing hard once he touched down.

Yuffie hurriedly unclasped the belt and slid to the ground, feeling slightly airsick. Being carried by Chaos was a lot better than flying the Highwind had been, just as riding a chocobo was better than being on a boat, but not nearly as good as staying on the ground in the first place. Rubbing her back, which was complaining to her about the way she had been sitting, she looked out over the lush, green forest below them. It was impossible to see that there rested a dangerous, possibly lethal, curse over it. "Aren't we going in?"

"We are. However..." Vincent folded his wings, and took human form to better be able to speak. Although his voice sounded strange right after a Change, it didn't sound nearly as bad as it did when he was in Chaos' shape. "I would not wish to make that journey in the state I am in now," he whispered. "The curse may not be as effective on me as it is on you... but I am effected. Unless I am strong enough to hold it off..."

Yuffie swallowed hard and blinked several times. "You mean... we could get... stuck in there?" she asked, her voice quavering. "Like, forever?"

"I doubt 'forever'," Vincent told her, "but for a long time. And before I regain my senses, we would surely have lost each other... and I can not guarantee that I would be able to save you, should that occur."

Yuffie made a grimace. "Like, I really didn't want to know that. Really!"

"Then, would you prefer a lie?" he asked.

Yuffie thought about this for a moment, then nodded energetically. "Yes!" she said truthfully.

Vincent smiled. "I would prefer the truth... and soon, the truth will be that I can take us both into the city, unharmed. Let me rest for a few more minutes, and then we shall try."

"T... try?" Her voice fluted. "Waitaminute, I thought you said...?"

"I am sorry. When I have rested, we shall enter the city."

"M-hmm?"

"You have my word on it."

Yuffie sighed, and nodded. "All right, all right..." She glared at him. "But I hope you know what you're doing! It was bad enough to walk through that forest. I really don't wanna fly through it!"

"I thought what you 'really' did not want was to know of the dangers...?" Vincent asked dryly.

Yuffie turned and glared venomously at him. "You," she said, "are so lucky I need you to get out of here! Or you'd be really sorry!"

Vincent looked back, and this time, Yuffie could not meet his eyes. The strange powers no longer frightened her... but the man she saw behind them, did. As if he was not talking to her, Vincent looked out over the forest and spoke, very softly:

"I doubt that... you could make me more... sorry... than I already am."

Yuffie did not quite know how to respond to such words... so she turned her back on Vincent, and looked out over the forest in silence.

If nothing else, she could always tell herself she needed to prepare for what lay ahead.

You know, I don't think that box at the bottom of the screen works! Why don't you type something in and hit the "submit review" button, and we'll see if something happens? Then go on to part 3...