"Hearts and Mirrors"
Part 3/4
By Jonatan L

Hey, you made it all the way here! Over half the fic done...

Not fully five minutes later, Vincent touched down just outside the central building in the old Cetran city. Yuffie hopped down and stretched her back, grimacing. The spell was not very obvious here, inside the city - she guessed even the Cetra themselves had not been fully immune to its effects, even if they had been more resistant than her or any other present-day human.

Vincent Changed, and retrieved his gun again; he felt better having it within reach. "Shall we go?" he asked. Yuffie nodded, and they headed for the temple.

"Nothing..." Yuffie sighed as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Not a trace... wait. What the heck's that?" She pointed to the lake. Vincent did not answer; she carefully walked closer and knelt down to have a closer look. "Flowers...?" Turning to face the ex-Turk, she held up a dripping blood-red rose. "Was that Cloud," she asked, "or was it you?"

Vincent still did not answer. He just headed for the central platform, leaping between the pillars without any effort. "It was you!" Yuffie said, remaining on solid ground, "Wasn't it! You did that for Aerith, right...?"

"Perhaps... perhaps I did it for myself," Vincent replied, his voice sounding cold and distant. "They have been here."

"How do you know?"

"The rose I left here... right here..." Vincent pointed to a certain place on the platform. "...is gone. It has fallen into the water..."

He turned to look at Yuffie. "And as you feel, there is no wind here. It could not have blown off... Either, someone accidentally pushed it into the water, or someone removed it." Looking down at the place where there should have been a rose, he added, "And I believe this person may have been Cloud... and if that is so... he was very well aware of what he was doing."

"How do you know?" Yuffie repeated.

Because... "Cloud would go out here. He would see the rose. He could not miss it."

"Eh... oh. Yeah. Whatever..." Yuffie shrugged. "But he isn't here anymore, is he? So what now do we do?"

"Hush... wait." He could sense something... but what? And where? "I will have to... Change again. Wait..."

Yuffie averted her eyes. She had seen Vincent transform before. She still had nightmares about it.

"I sense... magic. Yes... this place reeks of it..." Chaos raised its head and sniffed the air. "Powerful magic... More than the usual power of the forest, or even that of the city itself... and it smells... recent." He looked up... towards the faint pinprick of light above. "And there is more... more magic... this way..."

"Should we... take a look?" Yuffie wondered, nervously fiddling with a shuriken. Damn... don't like this... at all! "Huh? Vincent? Vincent?"

"Yes. We must... Come. I will carry you..."

"I would perfer to walk, thank you very much..."

"I know. But this is the only way I can possibly follow the trail. We must go this way."

"But you can go alone..."

Suddenly, she realised it was all pointless. "Oh, heck! All right, I'm coming..." Slowly and carefully, she jumped between the pillars, watching her step meticulously. Don't wanna slip... don't wanna have to swim here. Damn those Ancients! "All right," she repeated as she reached the platform. "Let's go... Slowly, okay?"

"As slowly as you like." He effortlessly scooped her into his arms, then flapped his wings, each powerful stroke carrying them higher above ground. Yuffie, hands clenched, her knuckles whitening, refused to look down, instead keeping her eyes on the light above. It was always worse like this... Although it was probably the safest place on the Planet, being in Chaos' arms, she couldn't quite shake the feeling - the fear - that he would drop her, and she would fall, and fall, and fall...

If Vincent felt her shiver, he chose not to tell.

He flew slowly, she had to give him that... but now she wondered if it hadn't been better if he had flown swiftly, so she could get down on the ground faster.

She was on said ground as soon as he landed. "Which direction?"

"This way..." Chaos moved slowly, as if there was something holding him back, towards a shell-shaped house. Yuffie followed him closely.

Suddenly Vincent stopped, and she walked into his back. "Oof... Hey, watch -"

He pointed wordlessly. She looked... "There's a hole... Is that what we're here for? A wall with a hole? Vincent, there are excellent walls with holes back in Wutai! I could have showed them to you if I knew holes were what you were looking -" She fell silent as he held up a hand.

"This hole... was caused by magic. Powerful magic... Powerful, and a kind that I do not believe you could find in any Materia store..."

"So what you're saying is someone used an Ultima to knock a hole in the wall?"

"Not exactly... but yes, something to that extent." However... whatever did this... was more... truer than Materia.

If I knew no better... I would say this was done...

Without Materia.

"I will examine this house... I sense the same power here, that I felt in the temple."

"But how do you know that it's out of the ordinary?" Yuffie protested. "This place is magical, right? So what's so strange about there being magic here?"

Maybe... because the same energy signatures that exist here... should not appear on a roof in Wutai. These... I sensed the same patterns... on the roof... where Sephiroth appeared.

"This energy does not belong here."

"What?"

"I cannot explain it to you... you cannot understand..." But now, maybe she could understand... How strong were the powers in her, now? He had no way of knowing... Surrounded by his own power... It was as if he was under water, and trying to feel how much it was raining.

"Oh... Oh, okay! Just... just go check it out already! I'm gonna wait... right here. You just wake me up when you're done." She sat down with her back to the wall with the hole, sulking. Vincent would have sighed, had he been in human shape.

"Then wait. I will be back soon."

He did not wait for an answer, and Yuffie offered none.

The room was dark, but light filtered in through the mage-blasted hole, and through a small window on the other side. Vincent was not bothered by the darkness. He was using other senses than sight, now, anyway.

Fight... blood, he realised. Blood was spilled here... And then there was the magic... And magic used to spill it. That was about all he could sense...

But not truly all.

There was another trace, a very faint one, of another power... a slight difference. Not magic... but not too far from it, either. Where had he sensed it before...?

Yuffie had fallen asleep. He reverted to human shape before he attempted to wake her up; waking to see Chaos standing over her might give her a shock.

"Hmm?" she wondered as she opened her eyes.

"They were here... Cid and Tifa. Cloud in the temple," he rasped. "I cannot tell... more than that. But I know they were all here... and they all fought..."

"You're saying..." Yuffie tried not to, but had to yawn. "You mean Cloud staid down there and fought...? While Cid and Tifa were wandering around up here?"

"Yes."

"But that makes no sense!" she protested. "Cloud would never leave Tifa alone in a place like this! And Tifa wouldn't leave him down there!" She pointed to the ground, and the temple under it, for emphasis. "No sense at all!"

"Maybe not..."

"So what does make sense?"

"Cloud."

"Huh?" Yuffie scratched her head. "What-do-you-mean, 'Cloud'? What's he got to do with it?"

"I believe... he might have asked to be alone... with his memories."

Yuffie looked at him with a perplexed expression on her face. "Memories?" Then she understood, and looked down. "Oh. That."

"Yes... Unfortunately... I must go down again. The traces here... go back to the temple. There must be another trace for me to follow... you can stay if you wish."

"...no. I need... to go with you."

"Very well then. I will Change back..."

She looked away. This close, she felt the power... -

This close...? Even close... had she ever felt it before? She felt something, a kind of stirring deep inside...

and then it was gone, and she looked up. Chaos spread his wings.

"Get up. We must hurry."

Ten minutes and two Changes later, Vincent ran through the woods, the unconscious Yuffie strapped to his back. He had found the trace - including the energy signatures of the Ultima Weapon - and followed it to the edge of town... Then he had Changed, first back to human, then into Galian Beast. Yuffie, knowing well from the last time that the curse would cause her to pass out, had remodelled the 'saddle' they had used before, adjusting it to hold her in place on the purple-furred beast's back.

She could not have fallen off, of course. He would not allow it. Still, the device made her feel better... and he did not protest. He owed her that much, at least.

Now he made his way through the enchanted - cursed - woods, feeling the weight of the magic on his shoulders, much heavier than the young Shinobi he carried. Still, it was not heavy enough to discourage him.

He kept running.

Tifa fought to breathe slowly. Soon... has to be soon... She had been meditating for the last few hours, finally finding the strength to let go of her physical body, and the pain it felt. Meditating, building her strength for what she had to do... Must be... soon. She hadn't kept track of the time - not that she had any way to do it - that passed between the times her tormentor returned. She only knew that it had been a long time, now... a long time, and that meant he would return soon.

She had no idea why this was happening. The two she had fought - she had only seen the boy before, once, and they had only looked at each other. As for their mysterious 'master', she had no idea as to who he might be. Was there anyone who had a reason to do this? No...! Damn... She had almost lost her focus. She couldn't afford that... she would have far too little time to prepare for the next... lashing. It had to be now, and it had to be soon. It was getting harder to maintain her concentration... Dully, far in the distance, she could feel the throbbing of her heart, the pulse of pain in her wounds. Come on...! Come on! What was she going to do if all this had been for nothing? She might never be able to gather the strength again. No! I have to hold on... And why only five lashes at a time? It was almost as if they were taunting her... humiliating her. But why like this...? Damn it! Can't hold on... much longer!

Just then, a sound reached her.

It was the tapping of a hard boot against stone. Footsteps... and they were coming closer! She hoped...

They stopped, just outside her cell. Tifa tried to calm down. It was not an easy task. Somehow, however, she succeeded... finding calm just as she heard the key turn in the lock.

The door swung open. As always, all she saw was the brown boots and black trousers; the rest was in shadow. Calm down... Take it easy... slowly... you can do it.

He stepped closer. The door creaked and slammed shut, and the rasping laugh rang out in the cell.

Don't let it get to you... Just calm down...

She heard the crack of the whip. It was just a practice stroke, and never came close. She had to wait... until it hit.

The whip cracked again. Three strokes that hit nothing but air... and then a burning line over her forehead. Blood poured down into her eyes, and would have blinded her, had she been able to see in the first place. She had no idea why the lashes only struck her face... but there was not time to think of it, and now it served her purposes.

The first blow had landed.

The whip cracked again-

Now!

Her hand shot out, fingers closing over...

Yes!

She felt the whip wind around her hand, and yanked it towards her. Her assailant was too confused to release the handle, or to fight against the pull, and stumbled in the direction of the pull, just as she had hoped. Quickly, before he had a chance to step away again, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, hoping she would be strong enough to keep the man from escaping, at the same time striking at the area where his face should be. She felt something like coarse fur against her bare skin... This thing was not human! No time to think... there! She finally found the man's throat. One punch from victory -

Can't - She hesitated -

No!

Her fist connected. She felt something break under her knuckles... and the creature went rigid, then collapsed against her. Gods, the reek! It stunk of sweat, and what probably was some kind of alcohol... well, if the drink had dulled the creature's reactions, she was grateful for that. Still, it didn't make the smell more pleasant.

She couldn't let go just yet. That... creature still had the keys, hooked to its belt. She had to reach it... and hope that the right key was there. She didn't want to think about what might happen if she was wrong, if this guard, torturer or whatever its function was, did not carry the key to her bonds.

There... She had them! Careful now... Slowly, she got the keys loose from the guard's belt, and finally, she could release her hold on the filthy beast. It fell to the floor, and she breathed a sigh of relief. At least now she could breathe again... Fumbling with the heavy key-ring, she struggled to lean over to the right. By standing on the dead guard, she finally managed to get the first key into the hole and turn it...

Wrong key... It did not turn. She slowly pulled it out again, the metal band cutting into her side. Pain... but she could take it. It was either that or risk dropping the keys.

Three more keys. Still no luck. But the fifth one fit! She felt the key turn, heard the 'click' of the lock, and finally the shackle opened, swinging out to the left, dropping Tifa on the floor. The impact drew the last air from her lungs, and for several minutes, she just lay there, her strength spent. But, Can't lie around here... Someone might come looking... Have to move... Find Cloud. Find... Cid. She sat up slowly, back to the wall. Better bring the keys as well... It took time, but finally, she was able to stand without leaning on the wall. She took the keys and hooked them to her own belt. Then she opened the door, slowly, just a crack, and peeked out.

The light stung her eyes, and it took a few minutes before she adapted. She had been locked up in the darkness for so long...

She closed the door behind her, found the right key and locked it. That would keep people out of the cell... at least for a while. But that creature was the only one who had ever visited, and she had no reason to believe that someone else would be looking for her anytime soon.

She was standing in what appeared to be a natural corridor. There were torches on the walls, one every ten metres, and the dim light showed uneven stone walls and ceiling, while the floor was made from cut stone tiles. It seemed endless... There were a few more doors in the same wall as the one to her cell. There were more doors, all in the same wall as the one to her cell. There seemed to be a few more to her right than to her left; she went left, deciding to check the lesser number first.

There were four doors. The first three opened up to empty cells, just like her own, but the fourth room was bigger, and there was a table with four chairs, a small stove, and a bed. In one corner was a kind of fountain or washstand; water came out of a pipe in the wall, poured into a small, circular basin, and continued its trip through another pipe. Was this the guard's quarters? Perhaps... Tifa carefully touched the water in the basin. It was cold, and felt fresh. She splashed some in her face; it stung, but she poured more water over herself, trying to wash away some of the dried blood and sweat. That done, she adjusted her hair ribbon - for some reason, they had let her keep that - and arranged her hair to keep out of her face. That done, she started exploring the room more thoroughly, hoping to find some kind of clue as to where she was, or how to find Cid. There was nothing of the kind. She did find another, smaller, door, however, but was disappointed to find that it only led into a small privy. Well...

She made use of the facilities, and then went out into the corridor again, heading the other way, checking every door on the way.

The corridor was longer than she had thought possible, but it seemed to circle around; she would probably end up near the place she had been imprisoned, if she kept going. She had found a set of stairs behind one of the doors, but she knew she couldn't leave... not without first searching everywhere on this level for Cid. There was a possibility that he wouldn't even be here at all - he could be on the other side of the Planet for all Tifa knew - but she had to make sure.

In her weakened state, it took her a long time to get anywhere. She was well rewarded, however. As she opened a cell, blinking against the darkness, she heard a sound -

Something wet hit her face.

"Back for more, asshole?"

"Cid!" she exclaimed as she wiped the spit off her face. "Cid, is that you?" Of course it was him! She opened the door fully, allowing some of the light to fall in.

Cid was held to the wall in much the same way as Tifa had been. In the darkness, it was hard to tell, but he looked about as bad as she felt.

"Tifa?" he whispered. "Shit! Sorry... I thought... So you escaped them, huh?"

"Not quite..." She fumbled with the keys, finally finding the correct one. Cid fell to the floor, leaning on the wall he had been shackled to. "Cid... Are you okay?"

Cid shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine... Hey... Would you hand me my damn spear? It's... in the corner, over there." He pointed; Tifa looked, and found that Venus Gospel was leaned against the wall. She no longer had her gloves, but Cid's spear was there... That was a relief, but a bit surprising as well. Why would they leave Cid's weapon here? Nevertheless, she handed the spear to the pilot, who accepted it with a nod.

"Thanks..."

"Don't mention it... Cid, we need to get out of here. Can you walk?"

"I'll be damned if I don't try. Just give me a hand..."

Tifa helped Cid stand. He was a bit unsteady at first, but soon recovered sufficiently to walk, at least slowly. Leaning on his spear, he headed for the door... and Tifa gasped. "Cid! What the hells happened to you?" He had not been whipped, but there were small, round burns on his face and chest. Cid made a grimace as he looked down, seeing the wounds in the light of the torches.

"Someone thought it would be fun to show me the hazards of smoking."

"We have to get those wounds healed - soon! Cid..."

"Like you're in a position to talk..." He froze. "Goodness, Tifa... They didn't do... anything else... to you... did they?"

Tifa hurriedly shook her head. "No, Cid, not that... Only what you see, thankfully. Oh, but this... these wounds can't be anything compared to..." She realised that she could not find the words. Instead, she just told him, "You look terrible!"

"Stop that," he said. She could hear a tone of relief in his voice. "You look like hell, you too. Worry about your own wounds, first." She shut her mouth. He had a point there... she must look almost as bad. "Let's concentrate on getting out of here..."

"Yeah... First I'm gonna find that creep who put me in there..."

"The children? Cid, I don't think we could-"

"I'm talking about that bastard who did this-" He indicated the burn wounds with his hand.

"Too late..." Tifa shook her head. "I killed him... well, it."

Cid's eyebrows rose. "Oh, really? Good for you..." He grinned. Even if it was a weak grin, it was still quite startling. "Now all we need to do is make shish-kebob out of them silver-haired kids, and go home and brag to our respective significant others about it... but first, I need to find a corner somewhere and take a leak."

Tifa smiled back. "There's a room a bit down this corridor where there's a toilet... and fresh water, too. At least, we can clean your wounds..." The one who had burned him had not been careful about it. Tifa winced at the thought of cleaning them... It wouldn't be easy. Cid winced, too.

"Shit. I need a smoke... bad. What's Cloud gonna say when you show up with your face messed up like that, anyway?"

Tifa blinked. What indeed...? A thought rose to her mind, and she put it to words: "He will be very disappointed to hear that the one who did this is already dead."

Cid let out a short, sharp laugh. "Yeah, figures..."

"Cid, please sit still. It only hurts more if you keep squirming like this..."

"Squirm?" Cid asked through clenched teeth. "I'm... not squirming!"

But he was. Not even the cigarette - he had found his pack in one of the guard's pockets, as well as his lighter - was enough to calm him down. Tifa could well understand why, but that did not mean she wouldn't prefer him sitting still. Cid had washed the worst dirt from his wounds, but there were ashes burned into his flesh, and unless they did something about that, Tifa was afraid the wounds might fester. It would be near impossible for Cid to remove them by himself, and so she tried to help... but it was very difficult. Under the circumstances, Cid managed to keep very still, but it still was not enough.

"This is hopeless," she sighed, placing the red-stained cloth in the basin. "I can't get this out... we have to find our Materia, somehow. Then we could heal this..."

"He didn't have... any Materia on him," Cid hissed. "I checked... Ah, damn!"

"What is it?"

"Nothing... Cid made a sour grimace and stood up shakily. "Where did I put my shirt..." Tifa handed it to him. "Thanks."

He put the shirt on, but left it unbuttoned. Then he washed his hands and face thoroughly, and finally shouldered the Venus Gospel. "Let's go, Tifa. The sooner the better."

"You... You really mean... that thing?" Tifa pointed to the blade of the spear. Impaled on the colourful weapon was the guard's head; half human, half dog, from the looks of it. It was a monster of a kind neither of them had ever seen before.

Cid nodded. "Oh yes, I mean it. Someone's going to find out that no one treats me like that... or any of my friends, for that matter... and gets away with it. This thing must have an employer..." Cid held the spear so that he could look straight at the head. The expression on his face would have frightened Tifa, had she not been so sure that he was her friend. Even knowing that, it made her feel uneasy. "And that person is going to learn a lesson he'll never forget."

Reno landed easily on the soft grass. Kai dismounted and patted the bird's neck. "Thanks, pal..."

"Warkk!" Reno insisted, nudging the black-robed man with his head. "Wark!"

"Yeah, I see... I know. Go on home, Reno... Do you understand? Go home. You know... Home."

Reno warked again, and headed for a patch of tall grass. Kai sighed. "I guess not. Well... I'll just leave you here, then, shall I?"

He removed the saddle, bridle and reins, rolled them in a blanket and hid it in a crack between some large rocks to keep water out. "I'll have to go on by myself from here, you know..."

"Waaak, krr," Reno said, snapping his beak loudly. Kai laughed.

"Yeah... take care, you too."

He shifted his backpack into place, adjusted the straps, and started walking. He was heading up into the mountains.

He would have to walk, because a chocobo flying over them would usually cause people to notice. He wasn't sure what would happen once he reached his goal...

But then, was he ever?

...Esper?

Vincent stopped. He raised his head and sniffed the air.

Not human... Whatever it was... and not here anymore.

It was harder to think in this shape. As always, part of him became the shape he was assuming, and the Beast was not very intelligent. That was not normally a problem... but the longer he stayed in this shape, the less 'human' his thoughts became. Sometimes, Vincent wondered if he would lose his humanity altogether if he staid in another shape too long.

But then... I lost my humanity long ago... Did I not?

On top of that, the curse was heavy on his shoulders. It was becoming a burden too great to ignore. There was something else, however, beyond the traces of the non-human thing that had passed here... Something more familiar. The trace of Cloud's Ultima Weapon? No, that was not it... although there was a trace of that, as well.

Materia... That was it. The thing he felt was the slight disturbance that was a piece of crystallised Mako, cut off from the Lifestream. But what... and where? Slowly, he turned in a circle. This way... He took a step forwards. The trace held. He took another step... then another...

He found what he was looking for on the other side of a great oak, a green glint in the shadows. It was a piece of Materia - healing in nature.

Although it was a risk, he decided to return to his human shape for a short while, to further study this Materia. Slowly, he knelt down, willing the Change to take effect.

The curse struck him like a hammer. He would have fallen, had he not already been lying down. And now the unconscious Yuffie felt very heavy... He ignored it, reaching out for the Materia. This is... The thoughts locked in the Materia, a memory of... Esuna. And this was probably Cloud's Materia. The other force he had felt... would not carry a Materia like this. Then, had Cloud dropped it? Or had he thrown it away? But the first seemed hardly likely; and the second seemed even less probable. Then... what? Vincent struggled against the ancient spell, finally pushing the power aside, if only for the moment. He must have lost it, he concluded. He would not throw it away... not like that. That went without saying, did it not? Cloud was a rather practical-minded person, and such Materia could always be useful. But could he just have dropped it? That was not easy to answer. Cloud had always been careful about how he handled his Materia - and Vincent knew for a fact that he had never dropped a single piece; during an argument over some missing Materia a while back, Cloud had told everybody so; Vincent did not believe he had been lying. Probably... this creature attacked him. But how... How could anything live here? Vincent absentmindedly put the Materia in his pack, reaching around Yuffie's back to do so, a rather uncomfortable move.

He had thought the word 'Esper'. Then he had changed it into 'non-human'. But maybe... Maybe, an Esper could overcome this spell? Yes, undoubtedly, if it was strong enough... But there were not many Espers strong enough to overcome such a curse - even Chaos felt it, and could not bear it for long. Which Esper...? He could only think three or four. Bahamut, certainly, and probably Odin; maybe Phoenix, as well, and possibly some of the Knights. Of course, there had to be other Espers, beyond the ones he knew of... Would Sephiroth count himself as an Esper? When he was alive, he had been able to pass through the forest. Or had that truly been Sephiroth? No one knew for sure what had been the man himself, and what had been thought-projections, clones under Sephiroth's control, or something completely different.

Sephiroth's control? No, Jenova's control.

Vincent was feeling the pressure of the curse again, and knew he was not strong enough to fight it off in this shape. Once more, he concentrated... flowing back into the Galian Beast's shape. Cloud was here...

He was about to continue, when he found something very startling.

The trail no longer existed beyond this point. It went up to a point not far from the place where the Materia had been, and then it... vanished. Shaking his head, he tried again, only to come to the same conclusion. Curse it all... The ones he was following... had teleported. There was no other explanation. They had simply translocated themselves, and that left no trace at all... or at least none that he could follow.

What he knew about teleportation could be placed at the point of a dagger and still have ample room.

He would need help, this time.

Tifa and Cid slowly crept up the narrow, winding staircase. It was dark and slippery, having no source of light and being cut out from the cliff itself. The steps were uneven and short, and hardly five seconds passed without someone stumbling. It took them almost five minutes to make it all the way to the top, but at least they had made it in one piece, without falling. Cid leaned his spear against a wall and wiped his forehead, then dabbed lightly at his chest with a damp cloth he had brought along; actually a piece of his own shirtsleeve. He grimaced at the pain, but it was better than waiting until the sweat started dripping into the wounds. Tifa was doing much the same, trying to wipe the sweat of her face before it got in the wounds. The two escapees looked at each other, and started laughing quietly.

"We meet anyone... we'll scare the shit outta them!" Cid said. "Serves 'em right, though..."

"Remember... we can't get into a fight right now," Tifa reminded him. "We have to get out.... heal up... then we can come back and beat these people senseless. But now..."

"Yeah, yeah, calm down already... Ain't no way I'm going to start a fight looking like this," Cid said around his cigarette. It was unlit, as they didn't want anyone to notice the smoke and discover them, but he felt better just having it there - it made him feel more free, somehow. "But just you wait until I'm all stitched back together again...!" He retrieved the Venus Gospel. "Shall we?"

"Already...?" She sighed. "Yes... I suppose we had better."

The staircase had ended in a small room, which was where they had stopped to catch their breath. Now Tifa opened the door carefully, peeking out into a corridor quite similar to the one they had just left. Seeing no one there, she opened the door and stepped out, followed closely by Cid.

They had walked for what felt like hours. In reality, it was closer to fifteen minutes. Tifa tried the doors on the left side of the corridor, Cid those on the right. They knew, of course, that it was not a good idea to open doors while they didn't know what lay behind, but somewhere, there had to be a way out... and it was probably behind one of those doors. But all they managed to find so far was small rooms; possibly more cells, or maybe storage areas.

After fifteen minutes of opening and shutting doors - and of course unlocking and locking doors that were not already open - they had finally found another staircase. This one was broader and not as steep, and went straight up. They stopped at the foot of this stairs and looked up.

"You think this leads to inhabited areas?" Cid had mumbled.

"Possible..."

"So what do you suggest? We can't keep hidden forever..."

"I know..."

They had both known: this was not good. They needed to keep out of sight... because they were in no condition to fight or run.

Finally, Cid had sighed. "We have to keep going. We're not going to find the exit down here... Come on, Tifa. Let's go."

Tifa had nodded. She had known that this was probably their only chance anyway...

"Cid. Let's do our best... okay?"

"You got it." They had shaken hands. "Let's blow this joint and go home," Cid grinned.

Tifa had to smile, too.

Now they slowly advanced through the corridor. This level was man-made, floor, walls and ceiling made from cut and polished blocks of white stone - marble, possibly. There were windows in the walls, here, so there was no need for the torches mounted on the walls, at least not now; the sun was high in the sky, providing sufficient light. The windows, however, were very high up, and it was way too far to jump. Below the white stone wall, there was just a cliff, too steep to climb down. They were at least fifty metres above ground. Cid thought he might be able to survive the fall, but not unharmed... and not with Tifa. Even if a broken bone or three was a price he would be willing to pay to get out - after all, he could get that healed - there was the matter of their equipment... and Tifa. He couldn't leave her, and that was that.

"Hey, Tifa..."

"What is it, Cid?"

"If we ever get out of here... I'm gonna buy you a really expensive dinner."

Tifa giggled behind her hand, but had to stop because her wounds hurt. "And why is that?" she wondered.

Cid shrugged. "To piss Cloud off, I guess. Heh. Him and Shera both..."

"Cid," Tifa said softly, "if we ever get out of here... I think you should buy Shera a really expensive dinner."

Cid was quiet for a few seconds. "Yeah, maybe."

Tifa smiled - carefully - and said, "You're not going to admit it, are you?"

"Hell no. And I expect you to shut up about that, Tifa." He glowered at her... or tried to. "Just because I'm not complaining about what you just said don't mean nothing. I'm not admitting anything."

Tifa smiled. Bus she kept looking ahead, which was why they only almost were spotted by the white-clad man walking past through an corridor that crossed the one they were in.

"This... this ain't working," Cid wheezed as they ducked in behind a corner. This was the third time they had narrowly escaped notice in this way, but they both felt that they wouldn't be so lucky much longer. "Gotta find... some other way, somehow..."

Tifa, breathless, nodded. "These... These people... we keep running into... They... Their clothes... the same as... the ones in Wutai," she managed. "Those people... came from here."

Cid pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Really...?"

"Al...most.. certain of... it," she told him. "That's... strange, isn't... it?"

"It sure is... But what would they want us for? I mean, we aren't Wutai people, are we? So what are they up to, I wonder..."

Tifa tapped her nose. I wonder...? "Cid... That Materia Godo gave you... Did you think there was something strange about it? I mean... he told us never to use it. He said it would help Vincent."

"You're saying... Really?" Cid tried to scratch his chin out of habit, and jerked his hand away as he touched one of the burns. "Shit! That hurt... Anyway, Tifa... Shit! Shit! Of course, our Materia is gone... So where's that red piece? They got it, Tifa..."

Tifa saw a pained look on Cid's face. "You're saying... you think it's that important?"

"Hell yes!" Cid said in a loud whisper. "Why else would he be so reluctant about it... or tell us absolutely not to use it? He practically said 'die before you consider using this Summon'!"

Tifa blinked. "Yes... Now that you mention it..." she muttered. "Cid, do you know... at all... about the effects of that Materia?"

The pilot shook his head. "I promised Godo on my honour not to try and find out what the Materia contains, let anyone else try to find out, use the Materia myself, or let anyone else use it. Even if we get it back, I couldn't let you find out without his consent."

"That oath was very important to you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." They sat in silence for a while. "The guard's probably gone by now."

"Yeah. Let's..."

"Hmm..."

Wake up...

Who are you?

You don't know me?

No... I don't know you! What would I be asking for if I already knew?

I... see.

'I... see'? What kinda answer is that? Hello, I'm waiting here...

Simple enough... I am you.

No way!

Yes, I am.

Yes, I am...

"Yuffie... Yuffie!"

Hmm... huh?

"Yuffie... Wake up.

"Wake up.

"Wake up..."

"Huh? Vincent?"

There was warmth, softness around her... She was lying in a bed? And there was someone right next to her... "No, not Vincent! You really ought to have learned by now... I'm... I'm..."

"The Chocobo Sage!" Yuffie sat bolt upright, almost hitting her head against the old man's. "Wha... Like, what am I doing here? Did Vince, like, dump me, or what?"

"Chocobo Sage! Yes, that's right... That's who I am," the purple-robed old man said, nodding in a way that he probably thought looked knowing. "Now... Now..."

"Yuffie."

"Oh! Yes, of course I remember you! What do you think I am, senile?"

Yuffie, uncharacteristically, chose not to make any sarcastic comments, perhaps because she knew it would be wasted on the old man; he would try to make a reply, and forget all about it before the words left his mouth.

"I did not 'dump you'," came Vincent's voice from a dark corner of the cabin. She looked in that direction, and saw him sitting in a large, padded chair.

But... Did I really have to look? Had she not known he was there all the time?

How stupid! Of course she hadn't. That was impossible.

"So, like... What are we doing here?" she asked. "I thought we were going after Cloud?"

"We are." Vincent fell silent, and Yuffie pressed,

"And?"

"Someone teleported them out of the woods... I believe after a fight. I need help tracking them..."

"So you...?" Yuffie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Vincent - Chaos! - was seeking help from this, this, this dotard! This crazy old man who couldn't even remember his own name - even though it was 'Chocobo Sage'! "Vincent, are you out of your... mind?" She screamed the last word, throwing the pillow at him. Vincent caught it and calmly put it down on the floor. "What makes you think he could help? It took us weeks to get anything useful out of him the last time!"

"The Sage knows more than he wants to admit..."

"So? He's still not gonna remember squat! At least not in time to save Cloud and Tifa and Cid!"

"Yuffie... calm down." Vincent already seemed calm... as usual.

Yuffie was about to boil over.

"The hell I will!" she yelled. "I'm not gonna sit here and wait while he forgets everything we could have any use for!"

Vincent's red eyes flared, the light very obvious in the semi-darkness where he was sitting. "Calm down!" he snapped, an echo of Chaos' voice.

Yuffie recoiled as if he had struck her - which might in fact be the case. Chaos' voice, even a mere echo of it, when raised in anger, was like a slap in the face... or a punch in the gut. Maybe both. Or maybe it was more accurate to describe it as being hit over the head with something heavy. Yuffie's head ached, and she almost thought she was seeing double for a short while.

"Yeaow! Why'd you have to do that for?" she complained, rubbing her temples. "That hurt!"

"I am sorry. But you have to calm down and listen. This may well be our only chance to save Cloud and the others."

"But how?" Yuffie asked. "We... What can we do now? They just disappeared, you said so yourself! We can't follow them anymore... Can't..." She shook her head. "Vincent, tell me we haven't lost! I don't want to lose!"

Vincent regarded her with his strange Mako-red eyes. "I will tell you this much," he said finally, "that all hope is not lost. We still have a chance... and the one who has given us this chance, is standing by your side."

Yuffie looked to her left, but the only thing there was a wall. Then she looked to her right. The only thing there was the Sage.

"But-" she protested.

"No." He put no force in the word, but it effectively silenced Yuffie. "You must not jump to conclusions. This man may well be the wisest being alive on this world."

"But he's-"

"No. That is only a mask." Vincent turned to the old man. "Would you please consider helping us again?"

The Sage chuckled; a dry, pleasant sound. "Well, you come visit me here... It's very lonely up in the mountains, with no one to talk to but my chocobo and his friends. Since you keep me company, I am happy to help if you need me."

Yuffie stared. That was the first coherent sentence she had ever heard from him... or was it? She seemed to remember... a time half a year earlier, right? She had been eavesdropping and...

Oh, she realised. I think I see... But that did not explain how Vincent knew... or why the old man would talk to him about it. Still...

"You really do remember everything I say, don't you?" she asked.

The Sage turned his clear, sky-blue eyes on her and nodded. "Yes. I remember pretty much everything I have ever heard."

Yuffie found it hard not to blush. And here she had been saying...! "Sorry."

"Hypocrite," he scolded her good-naturedly, winking slyly. "But don't feel bad about it, little Shinobi. You saw what I wanted you to see... You understand, when you know as much as I do, people come asking for advise all the time. Never a minute of calm! So I decided to play dumb... and it has worked brilliantly, until your tall demon-blooded friend here," He indicated Vincent by pointing with his bearded chin, "came here and asked me to help heal you about six months ago. I could never fool him..."

"Oh..." was all she could think to say. I'll be... I could'a sworn...! "So can you help us, then?"

He nodded, once, slowly. "I believe I can. I may be able to follow their spell... but only if they staid on this continent. My influence does not stretch further than this landmass. However," he added as Yuffie's face fell, "I can tell you that you would need to be an extremely powerful mage to transport anything that far... and to teleport more than yourself is even more difficult, and dangerous. I believe we can safely assume that the culprit is still on the continent."

"So what are you waiting for?" Yuffie exclaimed with her usual enthusiasm. "Like, get on with it already!"

"This demands some preparation. I will need at least an hour to find the traces I need... and another to follow it. In two hours, I can have an answer... I have already my begun search. I just wanted to make sure you woke up all right before proceeding."

"Well I'm up ain't I? So get it on with!"

The Sage smiled. "As you wish, princess," he said.

Yuffie could have sworn she heard Vincent chuckle.

Cloud was dimly aware of the world around him. Or was it the world around him? Well, it was something around him. A grey haze... seemed to obscure his vision, and he could hardly see anything... at all. The haze made it hard to think, as well... or maybe something else was causing that.

He could not move, but he felt no need to do so, either.

The greyness was warm, comfortable... Still he felt a strange urge to fight it, to break free... What was it? What was it he needed to do so badly?

Nothing seemed real. His memories... He could not remember anything.

Could he?

There was something...

A small image...

He knew it was important...

It was... a woman?

Yes... Someone important to him?

He could not see her... But he could remember... Warm, hazel eyes... long, silky, brown hair... A smile that made him feel warm inside...

Who was she?

Why was she so important?

Cloud could not remember. And soon the image disappeared, leaving him once more floating in the warm, safe greyness... disturbed only by a slight stinging feeling in his chest.

And somewhere, something stretched... close to breaking...

They had found a door standing ajar, and, after peeking through the crack and finding the room empty, entered. The key was in the lock; Cid turned it. Tifa plopped down on a couch, sighing. "Ooh... I'm so tired..."

"Me too," Cid admitted. "Hey, I wonder who lives here? The room seems... like it's never been used."

They looked around. Apart from the couch, placed in the far right corner, there was a large bed in the corner to the left, closest to the door. A table was standing by the only window, in the far wall. There was a tall, but thin closet next to the table, to the left, and a chest of drawers to Cid's right, in the corner. A soft carpet covered the floor, and an old, slightly faded painting hung over the couch. There was a lamp hanging from the ceiling; an oil lamp, the only thing that was not of modern design. Everything seemed new, as if it had never been used, and everything was clean; there was not a speck of dust visible anywhere.

Cid sat down with his back to the door. "Oh well," he sighed. "Never mind that... I don't care. Then we probably won't be having anyone come here and disturb us while we rest, huh?"

Tifa nodded. "You're probably right... Hey, Cid... If we wait until it gets dark, there probably won't be as many people running around..."

"Nah. Think we should wait?"

"Maybe..."

"Let me know when you've made up your mind. I don't know what'd be best..." Cid got to his feet, then went over to the bed and lay down, leaning Venus Gospel against the wall next to the bed in case he needed it. He frowned at the dried blood at the haft of the weapon, then grinned as he looked up at the severed head impaled on its tip.

Tifa didn't like the sight much, and didn't understand why he insisted on keeping the head with him... but he had to have a reason, even if he didn't want to speak of it right now.

Never mind that. She'd probably find out soon enough.

Stifling a yawn, she swung her legs up into the sofa, putting her feet up on one armrest. "Cid... you wouldn't have a spare pillow over there, would you?"

"Sure..." He tossed her a fluffy, white pillow; Tifa caught it, and placed it under her head.

"Much better," she sighed. "Eh... would you mind taking the first watch?"

"Do we have to...?" Cid muttered. "Ah, forget it. Yeah, I'll take the watch... Mind if I smoke?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, go ahead... but please open the window."

"Got it."

Then she closed her eyes, and it wasn't long before sleep claimed her...

"I found it."

Yuffie jumped to her feet, dropping the shuriken she had been turning in her hand. It fell and stuck in the wooden floor. "What?" she exclaimed. "Where?"

"They are still on the continent. I followed the trace... it does not go very far. I believe they are hiding in the mountains east of Cetra."

"You know about that, too?" Yuffie asked, surprised. "I thought..." Wait. Cloud... "Like... Where in the mountains?"

"I believe, in an old fortress from before the War... Possibly built by the Cetra themselves, although I do not believe it is quite that old."

Yuffie waited.

"However... There is something there that blocks my senses. There must be a very powerful force there... I can see nothing at all in that area. Are you going there...?"

"Of course!" Yuffie said, just as Vincent said,

"Yes."

The Sage nodded. "I guessed as much. You must be careful... Someone who can create such a shield must have access to very powerful magic... possibly true magic. Do you understand what I am saying?"

That sounded slightly ridiculous coming from the Sage, but Yuffie was in no mood to laugh. "Yeah," she said, "I get it."

"True magic..." Vincent mumbled. "So then... I was not wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Yuffie demanded.

"When we visited the City, I felt a very peculiar trace of magic in the house with the broken wall. It did not feel like Materia-based magic... but I only assumed it to be product of a Materia I had not seen before. I dismissed the idea that it would be true magic..." He shook his head. "You are certain, of course."

"Yes, in a way," the sage said. "I am certain that there is some very unusual magic there... However, I cannot tell if it is, indeed, true magic, or simply a Materia-based spell. I cannot find out from here - especially not since the shield prevents me from seeing anything in that area." He shrugged. "I am afraid you two will have to find out on your own."

"By... By true magic," Yuffie said, "you mean, like, magic... magic magic? Like... like what Aerith did?"

"Like Aerith..." Vincent replied slowly. "Yes... quite like Aerith. However, I believe we will find these mages more bent on destruction that the Cetra."

Yuffie blinked. "Yeah..."

"You do not have to go there."

She glared at him - she had lost count of how many times she had done that - and then poked her tongue out. "I'm going if you are!"

"As you wish," Vincent said. "I was merely trying -"

"Well stop thinking and start flying!" she commanded. "Let's go get Cloud and Tifa!"

Tifa...

"Huh?"

"Tifa, wake up."

She turned slowly... and almost fell off the couch. "Cid!"

"Yeah?"

"It's dark! You let me sleep..."

"You needed it," he interrupted. "Since you don't have these..." he pointed to the wounds on his chest. "...I think it'd be better if you got to rest, so you could handle any... disturbances. If we get into a fight, I won't be of much use at the moment, so you're the one who needs to be fully rested." He grinned. "Besides, I'm not that sleepy. Tired, yes, but not sleepy."

Tifa doubted it. But he didn't look too bad... "Thank you, Cid."

"Cut the small talk," he said; sounding both irritated and embarrassed. "Let's get going. We need to find that Materia, and get out of here, in that order... so we better start now"

"Yeah. Let's."

He unlocked the door, as quietly as he could, and peeked out. Then he opened the door fully, saying, "Coast's clear."

They closed the door behind them, Cid absentmindedly pocketing the key, and started walking again.

The torches had been lit, now, and cast their light over the stone. It was darker than it had been before, though, and that meant less risk for them to be discovered.

For about five minutes, they walked... then Tifa stopped, cupping her hand behind her ear, listening.

"Someone's talking... in there," she mumbled to Cid, pointing to a door. He nodded.

"I hear it..." he replied, his voice as low as hers. "We should eavesdrop."

She nodded. They sneaked closer to the door and listened closely.

"...what are you..." someone asked. It was a very powerful voice; low, but holding power. "...can you not answer me... Esper..."

Tifa saw Cid stiffen. "Shee... it!" he whispered.

"...Answer my Summons... Esper, I request... thy name." The voice became louder. "Esper... By the powers of Earth, Fire, Air, Water... I bind thee to answer my Summons... Come forth..."

"You think that is...?" Tifa asked.

Cid nodded. "A Summon. What else could it be? I'm going in."

"Wait!" Tifa said, but Cid had put his hand on the knob, and was turning it...

Kane was in a very foul mood. He had nearly thrown the Materia across the room when he felt the last reject. Reject! The Esper defied him!

An Esper must agree to help the Summoner. There was no such thing as forcing an Esper to appear. However, it was unheard of that one would refuse to give even its name when called - but this Materia... felt as if it was dead, and only the knowledge that there was an Esper there, one that was refusing to heed him, kept Kane from assuming that it was dead. He could feel the Esper, knew it was there, somewhere... Powerful, very powerful, perhaps stronger then any other being he had encountered, and with a great will. "Esper... By the powers of Earth, Fire, Air, Water, I bind thee... Come to me... Answer my Summons... Come forth..." He lowered the Materia, growling in anger. This was not working. His left hand gripped the sword so hard his knuckles whitened. "Obey me!" he hissed. "Answer the Summons! Or I shall find you, and wrest the soul from your body... and destroy your very essence of life!"

The Materia might suffice... His minions had failed in bringing him the sword. This sphere might just have enough power for what he had in mind, but still... he would prefer to know the Esper's name before attempting anything. What if... "Esper... By the powers of Earth, Fire, Air, Water, I bind thee... Come to me... Answer my Summons... Come -"

The door creaked.

Putting the Materia down on the table, Kane spun around to face the intruder.

Cid slammed the door open, grimacing at the pain from his wounds. "All right... Give me back that Materia." He aimed Venus Gospel at the man sitting there -

It was an old man, in a wheelchair. He was looking straight at Cid, but it was obvious that his eyes - coal black, without irises or whites - could not see him.

The man held a sparkling sword in his hands, point rested at the floor. The blade was silvery white, the hilt golden... The weapon was large, a knight's sword; seemingly impossible for such an old and frail man to handle. But that Materia... Cid's eyes narrowed. Yes, it was that Materia...

Tifa entered after Cid, keeping low, in fighting stance. She stopped and stared at the old man. "What...?"

Cid lowered the Venus Gospel's point to the ground, put a booted foot on the severed head, and pulled at the spear. It came loose with a wet, sucking sound, spilling blood and more on the white floor. The pilot kicked the head towards the old man, grinning. "You recognise this?" he rasped. "If you are the one responsible..."

The old man did not look down. "I am sorry," he said. His voice was still powerful, but rather mild, now. "I cannot see what you are showing me. As you may understand... I am blind." He seemed to lean closer to look at them, although 'look' was not the word for what he did; he rather felt them. "Oh, my. What has happened to you?" He reached out a hand towards Tifa, who was now closer to him than Cid. She flinched as she felt something touch her cheek.

"Wh - what are you doing! Get off me!" She slashed at the air with an open-hand chop, hitting nothing. The touch vanished, however, fading away slowly.

"Calm down, young lady. You are wounded. Let me... 'see' that. Here..."

Once more, the soft touch... Tifa backed away a step, but did not try to stop it. Her wounds... felt warm, but did not hurt, and now...

The touch was gone again. She raised one hand to her cheek, touching it... "You healed me!" she gasped in astonishment. The wounds were still there, true - but they were all closed, halfway healed! "But - you didn't use Materia!"

"No..." he admitted. "I did not." He turned to Cid. "And you are wounded, as well. Let me-"

Cid put Venus Gospel up in front of his face. "Don't try it," he advised. "Now, I want my things back - my pack and Materia. And then I want you to show us out of here."

The old man shrugged, putting the sword up, laying it across his knees. "I guess... I owe you two an apology," he sighed.

"You damn well owe us more than an apology!" Cid roared. "I've half a mind to run you through right here and now! What was that good for, huh? Why did you lock us up in that overgrown basement and have us tortured? Why?" The last word was almost a scream. He waved the sharp tip of his spear dangerously close to the man's face. "Give me one... one reason not to cut you to pieces where you sit!"

"Cid!" Tifa hissed. "Calm down! We can't just..."

"Oh yes I can! Talk, you old fart. Talk!"

"Very well, then," the old man said. "I will tell you... Oh, but first you must realise: I did not give the order to torture anyone. Pray tell... What became of Ghaediss, the creature who guarded you?"

"That 'creature' is left in the basement," Cid said. "Minus his head!" He prodded the gore-splattered thing lying on the floor. "Because its head is here! And yours will join it unless your answers are really good!" He lowered the spear. "So talk."

"I will tell you my story, them. As I said, I am blind," the old man began. "My name, by the way, is Kane... Oh, yes. I am blind, because of an accident involving magic. I am seeking a way to restore my eyesight... and I believe I have found one. However, this requires an immense amount of energy - magical energy.

"But magic, such as it once was, no longer exists. In order to realise my plan, I need a kind of power that ceased to exist long ago... true magic.

"I have rediscovered the power of magic. That was what cost me my eyes. However, I have not near enough power for what I must do. I require more... much more.

"I decided to make use of several ancient artefacts, that hold the necessary powers.

"This is where you come in. You have a friend who is in possession of one of these powerful artefacts."

"Cloud?" Tifa asked. "Where is he? Do you know?"

"He is here," Kane told her. "He is safe... resting, at the moment. I need only use his sword."

"The Ultima Weapon!" Tifa exclaimed. "But..."

"The 'Ultima Weapon' is very old. It was crafted long before even the Cetra existed," Kane said. "It holds a fair amount of raw magic power. This, I need to make use of in my spell."

"You're a wizard?" Cid asked sceptically. "Bull. There hasn't been a true mage on the Planet since Aerith died over a year ago! Don't take us for fools, old man..."

"Still, it is true."

"Yeah, right. Prove it!" Cid challenged.

"I already have." Kane pointed to Tifa. "I have healed your friend... without the aid of Materia."

Cid rubbed his chin. It still hurt, but he ignored it. "That could be a trick..."

"Please, Cid. I want to know where Cloud is," Tifa said. "Kane, tell me. Where is Cloud?"

"Here," Kane said. "In a room on this floor... resting, as I said. The reason why I had you brought here, was because I needed him to come here. As I was certain I could not force him here with might, I had to assume that bringing his friends here would do the trick..."

"You're trying to blackmail him!" Tifa accused.

"Not quite," Kane smiled. "You see, there was no need for that. Your friend has already agreed to help me. If you would please come with me..." His wheelchair started to move towards the door on its own accord. Cid thrust Venus Gospel into a crack in the floor, in front of the chair, effectively blocking the way.

"You're not going anywhere," he said. "Tifa... You walk a bit behind me. I'll stay behind him, and if he makes a false move..." Cid drew a finger over his throat. "You die," he told Kane.

"Sounds fair," the old man smiled. "Well then, young lady... young man... Will you be so good as to let me pass?"

Cid and Tifa reluctantly stepped aside. Kane passed them; Cid grabbed the red Materia from the table and stuffed it in a pocket, then readied his spear, walking right behind Kane. Tifa followed, a couple of seconds later, keeping watch behind them.

Kane took them down the corridor, made a couple of turns, and finally stopped behind another door. "Here it is," he said. "My laboratory. I thought I'd show it to you first, before we go any further."

Cid pressed the handle down with his spear. The door was locked, however, and did not open; Kane handed Cid a key. "This is the key you need," he said. "Go ahead."

"You open it," Cid said, pointing Venus Gospel at Kane's neck. "And I'll be right behind you. Remember that."

Kane smiled, inserted the key and turned it. The door slid open, and golden light spilled out into the corridor. Kane entered, followed closely by a watchful Cid.

"This... this is huge!" Tifa gasped.

It was. The room was almost twenty metres across, perfectly circular, and the distance between the floor and the delicately domed ceiling was probably twenty-five metres at the centre. There were strange diagrams on the floor and walls, but most notably, there was a pentagram covering the entire floor; made from black stone, laid into the white floor.

In this pentagram, in the point farthest from the door, Ultima Weapon stood embedded halfway in what seemed to be a block of pure gold. The pentagon in the centre of the pentagram held a strange machine, shaped to fit exactly inside the geometrical shape, golden in colour. There was a kind of chair on top of it, attached by wires and pipes.

Even if Ultimate Weapon caught their eyes, the chair - or maybe throne - was more than enough to tear them away from it. Sparkling blue and green... glittering in the strange light...

Cid spoke first: "Materia! That damn thing's made from Materia!"

"Yes, indeed," Kane said, smiling. "It is my throne... the focus for the spell. It, together with your friend's sword, and four other objects, will be enough to give me all the power I need - to restore my eyes! I have been building this for years... and now, finally, it is finished!" He laughed. It was a joyful sound. "I will be able to see again!"

"Where is Cloud?" Tifa insisted, obviously not impressed. "I demand to see him... now! I don't care about your machines, or your eyes... I want to see Cloud! Take us to him... now."

"Yeah," Cid agreed. "It's getting late. I want to see if Spike's all right... and then I want my stuff back, and get out of here. Aright, Kane... Take us to see Cloud."

"My, my... A little wanderer, hmm?"

Kai looked up. "Susanna," he acknowledged. "You've become stronger since we last met."

"So have you, little Kai... or should I say, big Kai?"

"I am not your brother."

"Oh, but some might say you are..." She smiled. "Then again, some might say you're an abomination, and that isn't true at all, now, is it?" She laughed again. Kai gritted his teeth.

"Don't push me. I've come to see... to see father."

Susanna laughed again. She seemed very amused. "'Father'?" she wondered. "I thought you had rejected him? You do not even use the name he gave you..."

"This is more important than you... or me," Kai growled angrily. "Let me pass... Novo. I know you are there..."

"Actually, he is not," Susanna said. "He is resting at the moment... but I shall tell him you are here. Very well, then, Kai" - she put extra emphasis on the word - "we shall speak again... soon."

And then, with a tinkle of silver laughter, she was gone again, her image burned away by a sooty-red flame.

Kai sighed. He had been discovered... Oh, he had known he would, but he had hoped to be a little closer before it happened...

There was no helping it, anyway. Sighing again, he adjusted his pack, and kept walking.

"It is... down there," Vincent announced. Yuffie craned her neck to see over his shoulder...

"That house down there? It doesn't look like a fortress." But it was dark, the moon hidden behind clouds, and she couldn't see very well.

"Still, it is where Cloud was taken."

"You certain?"

"Yes."

"Ah... Ah, all right, let's go, then!" She took a good hold of Vincent's shoulders. There was a moment of giddiness as gravity disappeared, and they were falling towards the ground. Then Chaos' great leathery wings snapped open, bringing them in close to the cliffs, gliding silently. Yuffie was pressed hard into the saddle as the dive planed out.

They landed a good fifty metres from the white stone building. Yuffie got out of the saddle and removed the straps; Vincent returned to human shape. Yuffie rummaged through the backpack to find her own gear, then handed the pack to Vincent. He holstered his gun and slung the pack over his shoulders. "Let's go," he hissed.

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed, putting shurikens and various other weapons and gear into place. She was carrying a small arsenal of weapons and tools; it was best to be prepared for anything. "You ready?"

"Always," Vincent said, with the slightest smile on his lips. The rasping in his voice made him sound even more dangerous than usual, somehow. "Always..."

"Here it is," Kane said, stopping outside a door that looked like all the other doors on this floor. "It is open... unless he locked it, of course."

Tifa turned the knob, the door opened... and she looked in. The room was dark, and she couldn't see anything except for several dark shapes; furniture, she assumed. "Could we get some light in here?"

"You will find matches on the table to your right," Kane told her. "And there is a small lamp there, as well."

Tifa felt around for the matches, and soon her hand brushed something small, light... "Got them," she said. A dim light flared, casting fluttering shadows over the walls, doing little to illuminate the room. Tifa could see a small oil lamp, however, and put the match to the wick. It ignited without problems, and Tifa blew out the match, lowered the glass shade, and raised the lamp.

This room was quite similar to the one they had rested in, furnished in the same way. There was someone in the bed, though... Wrapped in a blanket, and with a pillow behind his head, so Tifa couldn't see him - or her; there was no way of knowing.

"Cloud?" she asked. There was no answer, no movement. "Cloud, it's me! Wake up." She went over to the bed and pulled the pillow away -

There was a crash behind her.

Tifa screamed.

It was Cloud - but he had been turned to stone! She whirled around... only to see Cid picking himself up from the floor, shaking his head. The door was closed. "Bastard!" she yelled, running to the door, trying to open it. It did not budge. "Let me out! I'm going to kill you for this!"

Kane laughed. This time, it was a low, melodious laugh, but there were no traces of joy anywhere in it - just a dark satisfaction. "I do not believe you will," he said. "This door is sealed by magic -" The door shimmered white for a second "- as from now. Only I can open it..." He laughed again. "So I am afraid you are stuck!"

"You're not getting away with this!" Cid yelled. "Tifa, get away! I'm going to try and break the door down!"

Kane laughed. "You will hurt yourself. Only I can open that door... or someone with as much mystic power. But since the only other mages in the world are under my control..."

"Just you wait!" Cid roared. "I'll get out of here! Somehow I will get out... and the next time, Kane... I'll tear your heart out."

"Everything dies," Kane said softly. "I will die soon enough... even without you interfering."

"You won't get far!"

"Oh, but I believe I will." He was silent for a while, then said, "I need your friend's sword, and a few other things, to restore my sight. The reason I did not simply ask to borrow these things, is because there is a possibility, a rather great risk, that they will not survive the massive energy charges. I may have to use them up - destroy them. That is why I have to take them, not simply ask to use them... I will see to it that you are released once I am done casting this spell. Do not hate me for what I do..."

"Of course I hate you!" Tifa screamed. "You are a thief, a liar, and a murderer!"

"Like you'd be surprised," Cid growled. "You have no regard for other lives - even the Shinra weren't as casual as you are! Do you really think we could like you?"

"Then... I am sorry," Kane said in a subdued voice. "I am truly sorry... but I have been fighting for this day... far too long. I cannot give up now... But I see. Fare well, children..." They heard him moving away.

"Wait! You bastard!" Tifa pounded her fists on the rock-hard door. "Come back here!"

She backed away. "We'll see about that..." Raising her right hand, she gathered all her strength into this one punch... and struck-

Crack!

She reeled backwards. The force had rebounded on her - power that would have crushed an ordinary wooden door. Gasping for breath, she sank to her knees.

"Tifa... you okay?" Cid asked worriedly. She nodded. Her hand... seemed okay, strangely, but she felt like one big bruise.

"I'm... all right," she said. "It's... hopeless. I can't break that door... can't even try that again, or I'll knock myself silly... Cid... what are we going to do?"

"Check on Cloud," Cid suggested. "I'll try the door... not that I'll have more luck than you, of course, but still..."

Tifa nodded. Slowly, she got to her feet, staggered over to the bed, and sat down. Cloud...

She tried to turn him over. He was far too heavy, and she just hurt her fingers. Damn... Instead, she leaned over him, and bent down to look at his face.

That expression... A worried, concentrated look. She looked down, noticing how his body was positioned. One arm was held out, palm up; he had probably been holding something when the spell hit him. He had been standing, she concluded, leaning slightly forwards. What had he been doing? Damn... Don't have any Materia left... Cloud's is gone, too... even his clothes turned into stone... Whatever was in his pockets, it's going to stay there... She eased herself back, and lay down by Cloud's side. "We'll get you back... don't you worry," she said, patting the statue's shoulder.

It felt quite stupid.

"How is he?" Cid asked. He was leaning on Venus Gospel, peering down at Cloud. "Petrifaction spell?" Tifa nodded.

"Yes, I think so... You don't have any Materia left, do you?" He shook his head. "I know... just had to ask... Why don't you try the door?"

"I was about to... but I wanted to know how Spike was feeling before I did anything else, in case I knock myself out like you nearly did."

She had to smile. "Just be careful, okay? That hurt pretty bad... there's no telling what will happen if you attack it with a spear."

He grinned. "I'm always careful."

Then he walked over to the far end of the room, aiming Venus Gospel straight at the door. "Okay, this is it...."

There was a burst of movement. Then Cid was flying backwards, away from the door, and struck the wall, just a few decimetres from the window. Tifa jumped to her feet. "Cid!" There was no reply. She knelt down by his side, touching his neck to feel for a pulse... There was one. She wiped her forehead. He had just been knocked out... but no one knew if he had sustained internal damage. His breath was a bit shallow, but regular... the pulse was regular, too, and normal. She would have to wait until he woke up...

Fortunately, Cid woke up almost immediately. He straightened up slightly, rubbed his head, and muttered something rude. Then he looked up and straight at the door. "Shi-i-it! That was something!"

"How are you?" Tifa asked. "That looked painful..."

He laughed. "It was... Oh, f... I need a smoke."

She could only smile. Cid went through his pockets until he found his much-abused pack of cigarettes and the lighter - a metal lighter, with a small rocket engraved on it; underneath the rocket, the words Congratulations Captain were written. Cid caught Tifa looking at the lighter and handed it to her, taking a pull on the freshly-lit cigarette. "Present. Got it from Shera... the day before the takeoff..." He coughed. "Damn... hell."

"From Shera?" Tifa said, turning the lighter over in her hand. The metal was shiny like a mirror; Cid had obviously kept it polished. The other side was blank... no, there was a line of text, very small, hard to read: Remember me in space -Shera

Tifa looked at Cid. His face was blank. She looked down again, reading the words - Remember me in space -Shera

"Cid..."

"Don't 'Cid...' me!" He held out his hand; Tifa handed him the lighter. "I know... very well," he muttered, breathing out a large plume of smoke. "Know... all too well." He held up the half-smoked cigarette in front of his face. "All too well." He crushed the cigarette in his hand, not bothering to stub it out first. He sat there with his hand clenched for a few seconds, then opened it, allowing the tobacco to pour out, and dusted his hand off against his pants. There was a burn on his palm.

"Gods, Cid!" Tifa gasped, taking his hand and studying the burn. It wasn't too bad... but there was nothing she could do about now, anyway. "You're going to have to sort this out - soon!"

"Don't bother..." Cid muttered, putting another cigarette in his mouth. He lit it and put the lighter in his shirt pocket, taking care to button it. "It's nothing."

"You..." Tifa found no words. "Please, Cid... You have to talk to her. Really talk."

"Don't bother," he repeated, sighing around the cigarette.

Tifa sighed, as well. "I see... Well, see to it yourself, Cid. Promise me that."

"No. I can't promise you that... It is bad enough to break a promise to yourself." He fell silent. Tifa didn't know what so say, so she sat in silence, as well. "Shouldn't you be checking on Cloud?" Cid suggested, about halfway through his new cigarette. Tifa nodded and left him alone by the window. At least Cloud wasn't going to argue with her.

What was it now?

Cloud felt something... It felt... warm? Warm, warmer than the greyness around him... much warmer, and softer. A touch... a warm, soft touch...

Was it important?

Was anything important enough to disturb him through this familiar, comfortable greyness?

There it was again! The only colour in this even less than monochrome world. A face he remembered...

Never had seen...

Remembered well.

He had never seen it before.

He knew it well! It was familiar.

Not familiar at all. A complete stranger.

A woman! Someone important to him!

No one was important.

Someone who cared for him! Someone he cared for!

There was no such thing as care.

There was! That was wrong, and he knew it! Care... trust... love! Yes, it was love! And he did know... did know... that woman... whoever she was...

Tifa!

Somewhere, something twisted and snapped.... but did not break... not just yet.

Wait... Who's that Was he imagining things...? No. "Vincent. Yuffie!"

The two shadows turned to face the speaker. "Show yourself." There was a glint... off metal. A gun... and a metal glove. And the voice... That had to be -

"Vincent!"

"Show yourself..." Vincent commanded again. "Slowly... come out with your hands up."

"It's me - Kai!" He stepped into the light, his hands held up in clear view, in front of his face. "What... How did you find this place?"

Vincent still did not holster his gun. Yuffie held a shuriken in each hand, keeping them hidden but ready to throw. Was this Kai a friend... or a foe?

"I am Chaos..." Vincent said slowly, forcefully. "What I seek... I find."

Kai felt quite surprised at this. "I thought... my father's... shields would keep any eyes out of this building."

"Maybe. Maybe not. What is your business here?"

"It's... But put that away! I'm not here to fight with you! It's to talk to... my father... Kane. I think he may be involved... Those soldiers who attacked Wutai wore uniforms similar to what his guards wear. And they were cloaked by magic, as well... I have a feeling my dear father will have many of the answers I am looking for... Maybe more than what I am looking for, seeing as you two are here... Tell me, Chaos. Why are you here?"

"I seek my friends..." Vincent said. "At least one of them was taken here. In case that was not of his own free will, we are here to help him."

Kai nodded. "Then it's pretty obvious, then," he sighed. "Kane is involved. I just wonder... what he would want with your friend... Who is it?"

"Strife."

"Cloud Strife? Oh... I wonder..." Something hit him. "Wait...! His sword... Kane seeks power! Cloud's sword has very strong magic... I wonder... could it be what Kane is after?" Then he thought better of it. "But Cloud wasn't in Wutai at the time of the attack... so there must be something else, too..."

"We should enter," Vincent interrupted. "Cloud could be in danger... if he still lives."

Kai nodded. "Then we should hurry..."

"Right!" Yuffie said. She pocketed one of the shurikens, but kept the other, just in case. "We're gonna kick their butts and save Cloud!"

"No kicking anything," Vincent corrected, "until we know about Cloud."

"Spoilsport..." she muttered, but she wasn't going to argue with him over that. "Let's go, Vince... I mean, like, the sooner we find out, the better, right?"

"Yes."

And Vincent put his hand on the door handle, turned it, and pulled. The door creaked mysteriously as it swung open.

"We are expected..." Kai said silently. "I ran into Susanna on the way... one of... father's... generals."

"Then we are prepared." Vincent held one hand close to his gun; he had holstered it, but could have it up and ready to fire in the blink of an eye.

Of course, bullets may not be the most effective weapons in this place. If the Sage had been right, this was a place of magic.

True magic.

"You say... Kai?" Novo said incredulously. "Impossible... he'd never dare come back."

"I saw him with my own eyes," Susanna insisted. "I saw him, heard him... We talked. It was Kai, Novo. It was."

"All right... I believe you," he sighed. His youthful features twisted in a dry, humourless grin. "We had better alert our Master to his presence... Even if little Kai is not on par with us... he could still become a problem. I will go see the Master, Susanna... and you... Make sure we are prepared to receive him."

She smiled at him. "Yes, Novo."

"Then... it is time." He rose from his chair. "Go... I will see the Master."

"Already done," Susanna said, smiling, leaning over to kiss him on the lips. "It is already done."

"Can you, like, feel where Cloud is?" Yuffie asked.

"No..." Vincent replied. "I cannot sense Cloud... He does not have enough power to trace that way... At least not here. There is much other, stronger power here..."

"More so than I remember," Kai said, a bit worriedly. "It's... changed... since I last saw it."

"Of course it has...!" Susanna appeared in front of him, stepping out of a heatless sooty-red blaze. "It has been several years! Things change... we change." She looked into Kai's blue eyes. "Still fighting the inevitable?" she asked with a touch of dry humour. "Still refusing your birthright?"

"It... is my birthright. I can do as I chose with it," Kai replied angrily. "And that is my choice. Live with it."

"I'm not afraid... to 'live' with it," she laughed, a rich, silver-tinkling sound. "I'm wondering... can you... 'live'... without it?"

"It has worked just fine so far..." he told her. "Where's the... 'Master'?" He made a grimace as he pronounced the word 'Master'. Susanna smirked at him.

"Aren't we the impatient one? He is in his old quarters, Kai. See how much you remember... hmm?" She winked seductively at him, and was consumed by a hungry red flame. The fire blinked out... and nothing remained. Susanna was elsewhere.

"Wha... who was that bimbo?" Yuffie asked. "What does she think she is?" There was a note of uncertainty in her voice.

"That... was Susanna." Kai sighed. "She is powerful... very much so. I hope we will not have to fight her... But Novo is worse. Much worse..."

"I... I... I recognise... her?" Yuffie sounded thoroughly confused. "But, I, like... I've never seen her before!"

"Hush now." Vincent touched her shoulder gently. "Wait. This is not the time..."

"The hell for? I Know I recognise her... I have seen her... Have seen her before!" She looked straight at Vincent. "I know I've met her! I remember... lots of things... Can't remember..." She leaned against his arm. "This is all... do damn much! Like... Someone's turning my head inside out!"

"Easy, Yuffie. Easy. Breathe slowly... Calm yourself."

Slowly, she regained her composure. Shaking her head, she let go of Vincent's arm. "Don't know... don't know what this is all about," she sighed. "All I know... I gotta keep going. Keep going. Let's go."

Vincent looked down at the petite Shinobi, feeling slightly worried. What if her memories returned...? She had protected herself by locking them up... but the power inside of her, and the woman's appearing here... It could be enough to call them back.

He had no idea what the memories were, but they were bad, and she would need time to cope with them.

Time, they did not have. They would have to keep going... and hope.

"Damn... damn... damn!" Cid muttered. He had finished his last cigarette, and was in a rather bad mood. "Spike's not getting better, is he?"

"No, Cid," Tifa said patiently. "He's still petrified... We'll have to wait until we can find something to break the spell."

"Shee-it..."

"Cid, why don't you sit down and relax? We can't do anything right now... Let's take it easy and think."

Cid harumphed. "Like that's going to help..." But he sat down. "So... Got any ideas?"

"Not yet... that's why I want you to help me. Tell me all your ideas!"

Cid sighed. "Well that's easily done... Here they are: squat!" He threw Venus Gospel across the room; it stuck in the closet door. "I just don't have one single idea!"

"The window is too high to jump out... but maybe we could use the sheets...?"

"Not enough," Cid sighed. "I can't make it... it's still too far. And what about you? You'd still be locked up in here... Plus, if I kill Kane, how are we gonna open the door to get you and Spike out? He won't fit through the window..."

"I know... I know," Tifa sighed. "It's just that I can't sit around here doing nothing... Have to do something! Can't we at least look... Tie the sheets together and drop them out the window and see how far they go? Maybe we can use the carpet as well, and there could be something in the closet or drawers..."

Cid shrugged. "Well... It can't hurt to try, can it? It's not like we got a lot of things to do up here, anyway..."

Tifa smiled at him. "That's right," she said. "You check the drawers and closet, okay? I'll take the sheets and blanket."

Cid saluted smartly. "Yes ma'am," he said, with an unmistakably Cid-ish grin.

Tifa started by trying to pull the bottom sheet out from under Cloud's petrified body. It succeeded, after some work, and she tied the two sheets and the blanket together, ending up with a 'rope' about five metres long. Meanwhile, Cid had gone through the closet, which was empty, and started with the drawers, which seemed to be empty, too. Finally, they tied the carpet to Tifa's 'rope' and ended up adding another two metres to it. Cid eyed the construction suspiciously.

"What's this, six, seven metres?" he asked. "I told you it wouldn't work, Tifa... That still leaves forty metres at best! I can't make it that far, at least not without serious wounds. Face it, Tifa... we're stuck.

"No! There's got to be something we can do!" Tifa threw the provisional rope on the floor and kicked it. "Damn him!" She wasn't going to cry, she told herself, but that was what she wanted to do - cry and hit things. "Fuck it all!" she exclaimed, kicking the carpet again for good measure.

Cid blinked. "I thought that was my line," he said. Tifa glared at him. "All right, all right, I'll shut up... But tell me, Tifa... What do you want to do now?"

"I... I just don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know, damn it!"

Cid nodded. "Me neither."

"But, but..."

"No, Tifa. I just don't know."

Sighing again, Tifa went to sit down on the bed, next to Cloud. But the cold stone did nothing to comfort her.

Tifa?

It's just a name. It means nothing.

Doesn't it? I know it... It shines... like a beacon! I know... know something...

You know nothing! What is a name? It is nothing!

You are wrong... again! Can I trust you... Me? You are me...

I am you! And I know... what you know... and it is nothing. Nothing!

Don't. I know... that name... has some meaning to me. A very important memory... If only I could see it...

It is not there. Stay here. It is safe... beautiful. Forget that other thing.

No! This is not beauty... it is nothing. She is beautiful...

But who is she?

She is... I don't remember. Please, let me remember her! If nothing else... Let me remember her!

But she is not important. She is nothing. Then only thing that is... is you.

But you are wrong. You are so wrong! I'm... the only thing that is not important!

Somewhere... Somewhere, something cracked... breaking? No, not yet... but almost.

"Hey... Tifa!" Cid fumbled in his pocket. "That Materia... burning hot!" He finally got it out, holding it in the palm of his hand. The stone was glowing, a soft, dim, ruby-red. Cid whistled. "Man! What's causing this?"

"I can't... Don't know - never heard of anything like this before!" Tifa gasped. "Here, let me see..."

Cid took a step closer - and as quickly stepped back again. "Shit!" he exclaimed. "It burned me!" He took another step back, almost dropping the stone. "And now it's cooler again! Shee-it! I wonder what the hell's causing it?"

"Wait..." Tifa went over to where Cid was standing and held out her hand. He gave her the orb, and she frowned. "Warm... but not that warm. I thought you said it was burning..."

"It was hot," he said. "But it cooled down again... Just all of a sudden, it started getting warm, and when I picked it up, it was glowing like this. Wonder... if that's an Esper inside... maybe it's trying to communicate?"

"You think we should try to Summon it?"

"No! Tifa, I gave him my word... we can't. Even if the Esper wants us to, the Materia belongs to Godo..."

"Yeah... I know." She handed the Materia back to him. "Let's just put it somewhere and wait. Maybe something will happen."

"Yeah... sure." Cid took a step forwards again... and again retracted to where he had been standing. "It became warmer... as I stepped that way."

"Let me -" Tifa took the Materia out of his hand and took a hesitant step away from Cid. The Materia glowed brighter, and, as Cid had said, it also became hotter. "How strange..." Even when a Materia was used, it didn't behave like this! There was usually a little light, but no heat... and not this much light! "I wonder what it's reacting to..."

"Let's walk around the room with it... Here, give it to me." Cid had pulled on a glove - he still had them in his belt - to protect his hand from the heat. Tifa handed the Materia back again, and Cid began walking. Starting in the corner closest to the right of the window, he walked counter-clockwise. As he approached the bed, the Materia glowed brighter.

"Cloud?" he asked. Tifa shrugged. "Let's try..." Cid leaned in and held the Materia next to Cloud. The red light flared brighter, and smoke arose from Cid's leather glove. "Shit!" he swore. "What are we going to do about this?

"Try... I don't know... but try touching him with the Materia." Tifa knelt down by the bed. "I think the Esper... wants to help him."

Cid looked at her quizzically. "Why do you think that? It could be the opposite! We don't know a thing about this Esper." Cid had to pull away from the bed, as the Materia was burning him even through the thick leather in his glove. "You're blinded by hope, Tifa..."

"No! I... I - I'm certain it's trying to help." She looked him in the eyes. "I don't know how... but I feel... like that's what it's trying to do."

"Ah... well.. If you're certain, Tifa..."

"I am." She was certain. She knew... just knew! It had to be true. "Please, Cid... do it."

Cid took a deep breath. "Oookay," he said. "Just hope this works..." He quickly leaned in and placed the red orb on Cloud's shoulder. A fold in his shirt served to keep the Materia in place, and Cid pulled his hand back. "So now what?" he wondered.

"I don't know," Tifa admitted. "Let's just wait..."

What am I doing?

What am I doing? I... remember.

Remember?

Yes... I remember... a hand... held out to catch me... Ah... Tifa...

But that was never Tifa. Do you - do I - even remember that name?

There's a hand reaching out to me right now... To bring me back... just like that time...

That was not Tifa. It was-

Aerith. I know. I know... remember now... There is a hand! It is reaching for me! I can't reach it... barely touch... Aerith!

She is dead. I cannot be seeing her here... I am not dead... she is dead... cannot be with her... she cannot be with me...

Am I imagining? I feel it... I can touch it... a hand trying to bring me back... Strong... Stronger than Aerith ever was...

She is dead. She cannot help me.

She is dead... this is someone else... Tifa? Tifa! Is that you?

It cannot be Tifa! What am I thinking? She does not have the power... the strength! Yes, she is strong... You cannot break this prison on your own... or with her help... This is stronger...

Then what... who is it? I know this hand...

Rise...

?

?

Rise, SOLDIER...

Not... SOLDIER...

You remember...?

Remember... Yes. I remember...

You know, then? My name...

No... Your name... it is... It is... I don't know. Will you help me?

Yes... I will help you. Hold on to my hand... and follow...

No! This is wrong! This... an enemy. Cannot -

Tifa needs me.

Yes... She needs you. Tifa needs you. Come... Who are you?

I am... Cloud... Strife!

That's right... You no longer need me. Here... this is the way...

Thank you... I see it now... the light... -

Cloud sat up. "Tifa!" It was just a gasp.

She spun around to face him. "Cloud! H - how? You- you were-"

"I was... dead." Gone... His eyes were getting used to the light... His sight was still blurry... but it was getting better.

"No... Not dead! You were... petrified. They... Someone had cast a spell on you... Cloud... Are you... real?"

He smiled. "I am real. I live... The spell... it is broken. I broke it."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Cloud turned his head. "Cid?"

"Yeah, Cid!" Cid confirmed. "How the hell did you get out of that spell? It's supposed to be impossible to break without magic!"

"I..." Cloud thought for a second. "I didn't break it. I had... help... somehow..."

Tifa held up a red piece of Materia. "This... I think... is what helped you."

"An Esper?" Cloud asked, turning and putting his feet down on the floor. "What... which one is that? I don't recognise it."

"We don't know." Cid almost started rubbing his chin again. "It's one of Godo's... or maybe it was Yuffie's. He had us promise not to try and find out what it contains... so we have no idea."

Cloud rubbed his eyes. At first, Cid had been a blur, but now his features were getting sharper... Cloud couldn't believe what he saw, and before his sight recovered fully, he assumed it to be a trick of his eyes. But then....

"What happened to you?" That looked like... burn wounds?

And then he saw Tifa -

"Gods, you two! What has happened?"

Tifa and Cid looked at each other.

"Well..." Tifa started, settling down on the bed, next to Cloud.

"They are in the house? How could they slip past the wards?" Novo paced back and forth, his every move betraying anger. "I haven't felt a thing. Not a thing!" He stopped to lash out with his fist, striking an old, priceless porcelain vase. A silver blaze flared as his fist connected; the vase exploded into hundreds of pieces. Novo resumed his pacing. "Susanna... Are you sure you have not misjudged Kai? Are you certain he is not more powerful than he appears?"

Susanna, siting in a chair, nodded. "Yes, Novo. I am certain... But Novo, if he is truly that powerful... then he could easily hide his power, as well. I could not feel any indication that he was, but... Maybe... Maybe, if he is truly powerful, now..."

Novo cut her off. "I know! I asked you if you were certain! I cannot trust your senses on this..."

He turned and looked at her, his Mako-blue eyes flaring. "I will have to go and see him myself."

"Did you... hear anything?" Yuffie asked. "Like... a whistle?"

"No, Yuffie. I heard nothing." Vincent nevertheless drew his gun, and slowly turned around, just once. "There is no one here."

"I didn't say it was here! If it was, you'd hear it too... It was a whistle! I'm sure of it!"

"Very well," Kai said. "But that does us no good here, now, does it? Let's just move on."

"Tsk!" Yuffie turned her back on the mage, and addressed Vincent. "Like, what do you think?"

"I do not know," came his reply. "I find it hard to believe that you would hear something like that, while I would not notice... no matter what. You may have imagined... then again, you may not. I would advise caution." True to his advice, he did not holster the pistol. Yuffie, after a second of thought, plucked several shuriken from under her belt, ending up holding two of the star-shaped throwing knives in each hand. Kai, on the other hand, did not draw a weapon. If it came to violence - which he did not doubt, considering the... disagreement between himself and Susanna, Novo and Kane - his magic would be vastly superior to any normal weapon... Well, any normal weapon wielded by his hand, at any rate. Kai was acutely aware of the fact that he had no training whatsoever when it came to physical fighting.

He just hoped that his magic would prove as effective today as it had in the past.

"Novo!" Kane commanded. His voice was loud and clear, but he was not shouting. He did not need to. "Come to me at once!"

There was a rapidly fading flash of blue-white light, and Novo dropped to one knee, bowing to his master.

"What is your wish, Master?"

"You are aware of the... strangers in out home?"

"Yes, Master."

"Then you also know who they are?"

"Yes, Master. The one who calls himself 'Kai'. A Shinobi of Wutai. And a man..." He took a breath, considering his options. That third man... was odd. "A man with a very powerful aura," he decided; as close to the truth as he could come. "They should be easily disposed of."

"They pose no threat. Do not attack them... I would rather not harm them. But keep them away from the laboratory... I must activate the machines soon, while the power is both stable and at the level I need. It is possible that I will need to do so within the hour..."

"That soon?"

"Yes. I can feel the magic surge... It will be time soon. While I am handling the machines and my spells, however, I will need someone to protect me, should they decide to cause trouble..."

"I will do it," Novo swore.

Kane smiled evilly. "I knew you would," he told the boy.

It took her maybe fifteen minutes to give Cloud a short summary of what had happened since the three of them parted company. All the while, she felt his strong arm around her shoulders, and suddenly nothing seemed as horrible anymore; like a bad dream she was just wakening from.

When she was done, Cloud just cradled her in his arms. He did not speak, and there was no need for him to do so. Cid stood by the window looking out, giving them as much privacy as he could in this suddenly very small room.

Finally, after several minutes of silence, Cloud gently took Tifa by the shoulders and pushed her away, looking closer at the half-healed wounds in her face. Shaking his head, he put a hand in one of his pockets, and soon found a certain green Materia. "I hoped I would still have this," he whispered to her. "I'll heal those wounds... Hold on..." He raised the Materia and concentrated. Tifa closed her eyes as the familiar warmth of healing magic swept through her, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake... and vanished. She opened her eyes again to see Cloud lowering the Materia, and raised a hand to touch her face.

The wounds were fully healed. There were no scabs or scars... nothing. Before the healing, her entire body had ached; now, she felt reborn. A small but heartfelt smile on her lips, she embraced Cloud once more, resting her chin on his shoulder. I missed you... More than I can ever say... "...missed you so much," she whispered.

Cloud just put his arms around her again, and held her tight.

A few minutes later, Cloud had healed Cid's wounds as well, and the conversation automatically steered onto the nearest, most obvious topic: how to get out of the room.

Unfortunately, without Ultima Weapon, Cloud was of no help in this matter. A spell of cancelling did nothing to open the door; neither did the Ice, Lightning and Fire Materia he was carrying.

"So what do we do now?" Cid wondered as Cloud shrugged and sat down.

"I don't know," the ex-mercenary confessed. "We seem to be stuck..."

"Shit." Cid tried to re-light a cigarette stub; he only managed to take a small pull, but it did wonders for his nerves. "So we gotta sit here and wait for someone to come and let us out... great, just great. Who knows how long he's gonna keep us up here? Oh, shit."

Cloud had to agree with him on that. It wasn't looking any better.

Vincent stopped suddenly. Kai almost walked into his back, but managed to stop in time; Yuffie, however, walked into Kai, and muttered something rude before asking, "What are we stopping for?"

Vincent answered, "There was a surge of energy... magic."

"I felt it too," Kai added. "From... that direction, wasn't it?"

"I believe so, yes. Yuffie... did you feel anything?"

"Nope. Not a thing..."

"Oh. Either way... Cloud and the others may be in that direction... then again, it could be something completely different. I think we should take a look."

"You're the expert," Yuffie shrugged.

"Then we'll go that way. Kai..."

"What?" the black-robed man asked.

"Do you know the layout of this place?"

"Not any more... It has been rebuilt since the last time I was here. Sorry."

"We will manage. The corridor branches... then we should take the left branch."

"So soon?" Susanna gasped. "Novo, do you really think it's..."

"Don't," he said, cutting her off. "We cannot challenge him now... He has the knowledge. If he says it is time, then it is time."

"But still... He has changed so much..." She was feeling uncertain, and she didn't like that. "What if something happens?"

"I know you are attached to him..." Novo shrugged. "But if something happens to him now, it is beyond our powers to prevent it. It is his choice."

"Yeah... I know... But still, Novo, don't you think we should be with him now?"

He just looked at her disapprovingly. She sighed. "It's not easy, just sitting here doing nothing..."

"We are not doing nothing," Novo corrected. "Kane is doing what he has to... we must make sure no one disturbs him. And at the moment, our 'dear brother' is running around in these corridors, trying to find Kane. I doubt that he'll find anything... but just in case, we have to be prepared to fight him, Susanna. Can you do that?"

She snorted. "Of course. What do you think I am? Kai doesn't mean anything to me... not more than he does to you."

Novo shrugged. "That isn't saying much. At one time... Kai meant much to both of us."

"Not anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"...no. I hope... but if I can't, then... You can, right? You can fight him."

Novo sighed again. "Yes," he said. His voice sounded sad; even more so than it always did. "I can fight him... I can even kill him."

Susanna shook her head. "If we have to... I hope I'll be able to do it."

Novo raised his head and looked deep into her eyes. She felt she was looking straight into his soul at that moment; so beautiful, but almost torn apart. "So do I, Susanna. So do I."

"This is the place... but he is not here," Vincent said in a hushed voice. "There is a source of power beyond this door... but Cloud is not here. There is no living thing in there."

"Let's check it out then," Yuffie suggested. "Hey, there might be Materia that's radiating that 'power' in there! Let's take a look."

"I would say... there isn't any Materia in there," Kai told her. "It doesn't feel like that... but it is magic."

"How come everybody can feel that except me?" she complained. "Still, it might be worth taking a peek. Come on, Vince, move aside."

Vincent hesitated for a second, but then stepped away from the door. "Just be careful," he cautioned her. There shouldn't be any danger... The magic didn't feel fully... active, and there were no traces of life inside. Not that he could feel, at any rate.

Yuffie regarded him coolly. "What do you think I am," she huffed, "an amateur?"

She turned the handle, slowly and carefully. The door, however, remained closed. Yuffie pulled at the handle, then pushed, but soon had to give up; the door was locked.

"Ready to give up?" Kai asked her.

"Don't say that," Vincent told him.

Yuffie glared at them. "No way! Watch the master." She found her lockpicking tools, in a hidden pocket sewn into her shorts, and found a pick that seemed appropriate for this lock.

Yuffie hadn't bothered to pay much attention to the lockpicking classes, but she had attended. Luckily, Kane had never considered the fact that someone might want to break in - or if he had, he hadn't imagined them getting this far. The lock was something to keep a door shut when the room's owner wished privacy, or to tell people that this was not the time to enter that particular room. It was not specially made to keep less-than-honest persons away, and Yuffie - who did, after all, have some experience in that field - soon managed to force the bolt aside and open the door.

She whistled. "Holy smoke!" It wasn't one of Cid's oaths, but it was the first she could think of.

Kai and Vincent could only agree.

The room was circular, and the floor-stones had been laid out as a pentagram filled with mystic symbols. Other symbols had been painted on the stone; more temporary devices, Kai, who was the only one with any experience in this field, assumed. In the centre of the room was a strange, golden object, about half a metre high and fitting precisely inside the pentagon formed inside the pentagram. On top of the 'object', which was quite featureless except for some wires and pipes, stood a throne-like chair...

"That's Materia!" Yuffie gasped. "That whole damn thing is Materia!" Ignoring everything else, she ran over to the golden platform, but at least retained enough sense not to climb up. Instead, she leaned in and looked at the throne, as closely as she could. "Whew-ee! Will you look at that! I wonder what kind of magic this thing contains..."

"Yuffie. Look beyond the throne," Vincent ordered.

Yuffie took a step to the side and looked -

"Ultima Weapon!" Buried halfway in a golden cube, but she was certain - there was no other weapon like that.

"Yes... I thought so. Yuffie, see if you can take it... but step outside the pentagram when you approach that point."

"Why don't you do it yourself?" she wondered.

Vincent smiled. "I would rather not step inside that pentagram. I have no idea what spells I could trigger if I added my presence to it... but since you are already there, it seems you have no effect on it. Just don't smear any of the painted marks."

"Geesh, it's touchy, isn't it?" Yuffie said as she slowly walked towards the Ultima Weapon, stepping outside the pentagram as soon as she could.

"You could... say that, yes."

"That is an understatement," Kai cut in. "If we disturb this, it might all go boom in our faces."

"I didn't need to hear that!" came Yuffie's voice from the other side of the room. "Okay, I'll see if I can take it..." She took a good hold on the hilt and pulled as hard as she could. The sword didn't budge. "Nf... Damnit! I'll... get... Shit!" Her hands slipped, and she stumbled back, away from the sword.

"Don't step in the point of that pentagram!"

She managed to stop, putting a hand to the wall. "Why not, Vince? I mean, like, what could happen? It's just stone, anyway."

"That pentagram drains power away from whatever is in the points of the star... and transfers it to that thing in the middle. If you were to step in that area - I cannot tell you what would happen, but it could be dangerous. Be careful."

"You know, it would be a lot easier if you could, like, get your asses over here and help me," Yuffie pointed out as she grabbed the sword again, putting her arms around the blade. Unlike a katana, this weapon was not sharpened to an edge; it wouldn't cut her.

She took a deep breath. "Okay... come... ooon...!" She pulled, as hard as she could, using all her strength -

The blade flashed bright blue. Yuffie yelped in pain and surprise and fell again, sitting down on the floor. "That... hurt!" She looked down. The light, whatever it was, had burned her arms, and there was a small but possibly embarrassing hole in her T-shirt. The burns did not seem too serious; the light had vanished almost as soon as it appeared, and she couldn't have been in contact with it for more than half a second. Still, it would hurt unless she healed it -

"Stop!" Vincent sounded desperate. Yuffie lowered the Materia she had just been about to use, and spun around.

"What?" she wondered. "This hurts!"

"Not in there! Yuffie, no magic inside the pentagram! Anything could happen if you do! Get back here first." Vincent still sounded upset. Upset! She shivered. If something like that could upset Vincent...

"I'm on my way!"

She ran across the floor, deftly avoiding the painted symbols and stepping outside the pentagram as soon as she could. Panting slightly, she handed Vincent the Materia, and he nodded. Yuffie held out her arms, and the ex-Turk focused his mind on the Materia. Warm, healing light washed away the stinging pain, and Yuffie breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was that all about anyway?" she wondered. "It just started glowing! I've never seen that happen before!"

"Not even when Cloud uses it?" Vincent asked as he handed her the Materia, and she shook her head.

"Don't think so... Well, when he used magic, it always seemed to glow a little. But not like that! It wasn't half as bright..."

"The stronger the magic... the stronger the glow," Vincent said, speaking as if she wasn't there. Then he addressed her, "Right, Yuffie?"

"Well, yeah, think so," she said, slightly perplexed. "Like, what's that got to do with this?"

He did not reply immediately. "The presence of magic causes the sword to glow," he told her finally. "That means the spell in the pentagram is activating..." Or it means other power is awakening...

She gave him a blank look. "Is that bad?"

Vincent looked at Kai, who shrugged. "I don't know. Knowing Kane... it could be anything. It could be a spell to drive off mosquitoes... or one to blow up mountains. Maybe it is even another attempt to restore his sight. As I said, anything - anything. He has... many projects."

Vincent nodded. "Then we should leave," he said. "It does not matter what it does... but it is bound to attract attention. We need to find out about the others before we cause a commotion."

"Why don't we just grab someone and threaten to cut their... noses off if they don't tell us where they are?" Yuffie wondered as she jogged after Vincent. Seeing as he held her wrist in an iron grip, she could hardly do anything else but follow.

"No violence," he replied. "At least not before we find out what happened to Cloud. If we find out he was taken here against his will... but he might have come here because he wanted to, as well. Maybe he came here to find a cure for your illness."

"You believe that as much as I do," she told him as he dragged her around a corner, then let go of her arm. She rubbed her wrist while casting a disapproving look at Vincent. "You need to work on your grip. You almost pulled my hand off!"

"I am sorry." She could see he was. For some reason, she dropped it. At least it wasn't the hand with the claws on it... And she knew... more. "What are we going to do now, then?"

"Good question," Kai muttered. "It's possible that Kane had some kind of monitoring spell on that room. In that case, we might as well go back there and face him... but I doubt it. Let's keep looking for your friend... Sooner or later, we should find him."

"'Sooner or later'?" Yuffie said, in a tone that suggested that the phrase was very repulsive. "Like, as in, 'maybe, maybe not'? I hate maybe-maybe-not situations!"

"I think we all do, Yuffie," Vincent said softly. "I think we all do."

What... Already? Kane dropped the glass he had been holding, spilling its contents over the carpet. "Novo! Susanna!"

The silver-haired youths appeared within five seconds. "Master," they chorused.

"I have to get ready. You must keep the intruders out of the pentagram room - at all costs! Do not interfere with what they do... If they free their comrades, let them go... but do not allow them inside the pentagram room!"

"But Master," Novo protested.

"Silence! We need to act quickly! You two - go! I must go to my rooms and prepared the artefacts!"

"As you wish, Master."

There was a flash of bluish light, and a sooty red flame, visible to Kane only as pure magic. As they faded, Novo and Susanna were gone.

They had been walking for almost five minutes after leaving the room with the pentagram, when Vincent stopped again, and the usual pile-up ensured. "Will you watch it!" Yuffie spat as she pushed away from Kai. This time, the wizard had collided with Vincent, and Yuffie had collided with him. "This is so irritating!"

"Sst!" Vincent commanded. "There's another power here -"

"Really?" Kai wondered. "I can't feel a thing. You sure?"

Vincent glared at him. Kai hurriedly looked away; he, unlike Yuffie, had no protection against the shape-changer's gaze. "I would not speak of it otherwise. The power... It is coming from that room, over there. Can you detect anything?"

Kai concentrated. There was a faint sparkling sensation about that door. He nodded, and said, "Yeah, I feel it now. What about it? The place is packed with magic... could be anything, this one too."

"True. We should try to find out what it is, though."

"Yeah!" Yuffie agreed. She was almost starting to forget about Cloud... Almost. "Let's!"

"Be careful," Vincent said, sounding exactly the same as when he had said it the last time. She glared at him, but, of course, it didn't have any effect whatsoever.

"Of course I'll be careful!"

"Good."

He turned the handle. As they had expected, the door was locked. Vincent stepped aside to give Yuffie space, and she knelt down and started picking the lock.

Several minutes passed. Finally, Kai asked, "Is it a different lock?"

"Of course it's different!" Yuffie fumed. "There isn't anything to pick! It's like it's all glass... soaped glass! Can't make the picks take hold... and even if I could, there isn't anything to turn in here!" She stood up and stretched, then brushed imaginary specks of dust from her knees. "Damn impossible!" Thoughtlessly, she thumped the door with her fist.

"Shit," Kai muttered.

Then, from the room behind the door, came a familiar voice.

"I know you're there, you old chicken-molester! You let us out of here right this very fucking instant, get it? Now!"

Yuffie and Vincent stared at each other. Then, as one, they exclaimed, "Cid!"

"What the...?" Cid asked. "Hey! Who's out there?"

"Cid... Cid!" someone shouted from the other side of the door. It was a woman's voice - or rather, a girl's. It sounded somehow familiar... "Cid, it's me! Yuffie!"

"Yuffie?" Cid exclaimed, Cloud and Tifa echoing him. "How did you get here? I thought you were gonna be out for weeks!"

"Vincent saved me!" Yuffie told them. "Hey, Cid! You okay in there? How did you get here? And where's Cloud and Tifa? And your plane! And how..."

"Hush."

She looked up at Vincent in surprise. "What?"

"He can't answer if you keep talking."

Yuffie realised he was right. "Oh," she said.

"We're fine," Cid told her. "And Cloud and Tifa are with me... Hell knows about the Bronco though. It's probably still parked outside Bone."

"Yuffie," Cloud said, "are you alone? And how did you find us?"

"Vincent is here! And Kai too! We... eh that is... Vincent found you! Yeah, that's it, Vincent found you. Can you, like, open the door or something?"

"It's locked form the outside," Cloud informed. "By magic."

"Magic? No wonder I couldn't pick that dam lock!" Yuffie kicked the door. "How are we gonna get you out of there now?"

"Let me try," Kai said. "Move over..."

Yuffie hesitantly did as he told her, and Kai took her place. "Move away from the door, you three," he called. "In case something happens..."

"We're gone," Cid informed from the other side. "Do your worst!"

Kai placed his hands on the door and seemed to push. This time, even Yuffie felt the magical currents as the sorcerer bent the world to his will, trying to break the lock...

Finally, he stepped away, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Can't... Too strong!" he gasped, leaning his back against the wall. He slid down to a sitting position, shaking his black-haired head. "Damn...! He's... gained a lot... of strength since... we last met."

"You can't open the door?" Yuffie asked. Kai simply shook is head. "What are we gonna do?" she wondered. "We can't, like, just leave them in there! Hey, Vincent... Can you...?"

"We shall see," Vincent replied. "I cannot promise anything."

"Never mind promising! Just get them outta there!"

Vincent smiled. "I will try," he promised. "And that is a promise." He did not raise his voice, but simply turned to the door: "You should take cover again."

"Were still hiding behind the damn bed!" came Cid's reply. "Just get that dumbass door open so we can get out of here!"

Vincent put one hand - his right, the one without the metal glove - on the door... and closed his eyes.

Once more, powerful waves of pure magic washed over Kai and Yuffie... but this time, she felt more than he did, the powers locked inside Vincent's thin and seemingly frail body calling out to the blood flowing through her veins. And for the first time, Yuffie realised that what he had done to save her life might not only be a blessing, after all.

Several minutes passed in silence. The magic surged, charging the air with electricity.

In Vincent's mind, time stood still. The only things that existed were Vincent himself and the spell-shielded door.

Something snapped. A limit had been passed; suddenly, he was trying to contain more magic than he could hold. To compromise, Vincent's body automatically took a shape that could wield that power. There was a loud tearing as Chaos' wings ripped through Vincent's shirt, and the demon's bulging muscles strained against the cloth. The gentle touch became a push... and Vincent's hand broke through the thick boards, shattering wood and magic alike. Slowly, he pulled his hand back...

He tried to Change back. It failed. Vincent clenched his hands and focused on calm, and slowly, Chaos' grip on him faded, and he gradually shrank back into human shape.

The pain hit him like a battering ram, and he fell to his knees. At the same time, the door slowly opened, revealing Cid standing just inside, holding his spear at ready. That was the last thing Vincent saw before his consciousness fled.

What is this... Kane thought as his wheelchair slowly floated over the floor, towards the Ultima Weapon. The spell it not activating...? How could this be? This was not good... I wonder...

The door had not been locked. He had assumed he had forgotten, improbable as that might seem... But now he was not so certain. Someone was here. Someone... powerful. But how could a single person almost activate the machines, not to mention the spells? "Susanna. Novo. Come."

They appeared almost as soon as he spoke their names, standing just outside the pentagram. Kane pointed to the Ultima Weapon. His two servants looked where he was pointing, but did not seem to recognise the significance of what they saw. "The magic is dead," he told them. "It never fully activated." That caught their attention.

"But Master-" Susanna started.

"Don't 'But Master' me! Someone was here - here, in this room! Someone tampered with the machines! You were supposed to keep them out of here!"

"We are... sorry, Master. We have not felt anything," Susanna said, bowing her head. "I..."

"Silence!" He stood up, doing by magic what he could not accomplish with his own body. The sword's tip clinked against the white stone floor. "You two have been a disappointment!" he snapped. "You have one more chance - one! The moment draws near, regardless of this false alarm. Keep the intruders out of this room, at all costs! If you fail, and they do not kill you... I will do it myself! Are we clear on that matter?"

Susanna and Novo bowed in submission. "Yes, Master," they mumbled.

Kane sat down again, slowly, carefully, laying his sword across his knees. "Good," he whispered. "Stay outside the door... and if you see anyone... kill them! I do not care how, but get rid of them! If they disturb me... you will both suffer for it. Now go! I need to prepare for the spell..."

Now you've only got one part left. ^_^ You think I should have made it shorter? Or would you want even more? Tell me about it! See that little box below? Use it! Please?