Cavern Entrance- The Test of Heart.
Cloud, Aeris, Tifa and Zack stood in front of a large globe.
Quistis explained "Once you enter the caves you cannot come back until the mission is complete. In order to enter the caves, hold the globe in your hands. You will only pass if the mission is complete, the enemy is defeated and you have demonstrated true heart."
Quistis then left the cave.
"Everyone ready?" Cloud asked looking at his friends.
The others nodded.
They placed their hands on the globe and closed their eyes. Slowly they felt their bodies being teleported to another location.
The thought on their minds were…
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The Cavern- The Test of Heart
Cloud and the party found themselves inside a cavern. The light on the walls glowed a mysterious green glow. Somewhere in this cavern was the Heartarian Stone.
Cloud readied his sword just in case danger should find them.
Cloud and company went in search of the stone. Searching in every nook and cranny. They found nothing.
Cloud and Zack went on ahead as Tifa and Aeris lagged behind.
Suddenly…
"EYAGHHHHH!!!!" screamed Aeris and Tifa.
Zack and Cloud turned around to find that the girls had fallen into a trap. They had fallen into a large hole in the ground. They were unconscious.
Zack and Cloud jumped in to save Aeris and Tifa when 5 Antlions surrounded them. The Antlions snarled at Cloud and Zack.
Cloud slashed the Antlions as Zack tried to wake Tifa and Aeris up.
They wouldn't awaken.
Cloud kept slashing and slashing but the Antlions kept coming.
"Zack go! I'll handle this. Get Aeris and Tifa out of here." Shouted Cloud.
"No! I'm staying with you. I'll fight to protect you all. I'm not going to leave you, Aeris or Tifa now." Shouted Zack.
Zack and Cloud faced the Antlions. Zack struck all the Antlions using his Slash-All materia. Cloud cast Bolt3 on all of them as well. The Antlions released Sandstorm on Cloud and Zack leaving them in critical condition.
Aeris groaned as she rose…and looked at the situation that Cloud and Zack were in. She was weak and she couldn't do anything anymore…
Aeris stood up and Her Limit Break filled (limit breaks fill at emotional times of need).
Cloud, Zack and Tifa rose fully healed and attacked head on. Soon all the Antlions lay dead on the cavern floor.
Brushing themselves off and resting a bit…they continued their search for the Heartarian Stone.
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Cloud and the party travelled through the caves. They were tired. Eventually they found a chamber. But the chamber was locked. Above the keyhole there was a phrase.
To enter the chamber of the Heartarian Stone,
Find the Heartarian Key located in this cavern…
The young warriors sighed. They had to keep searching for the key.
They wandered around the caverns again.
And wandered.
And wandered some more. Eventually they searched every room in the cavern with no luck.
Upon entering the room next to the Heartarian chamber they found a tiny hole leading to a secret room.
"This is probably where the key is kept." Cloud observed.
"But none of us can fit in there!" exclaimed Zack.
"No…not you or I," Cloud observed. "But Tifa and Aeris can."
Tifa and Aeris looked at each other. Then they looked into the hole again.
The hole was filled of slimy, disgusting roaches and maggots.
"GROSS…I'm scared of those things." cried Tifa.
"So am I." Said Aeris. "But we have to do it. We'll never get out of here if we don't."
"Yeah I know." said Tifa.
With that said…Tifa and Aeris crawled through the little hole. As soon as they were inside the little insects began to crawl all over them..
"Ewww…."screamed Aeris and Tifa.
But we have to do this…we can't be afraid…they're
just tiny insects…we have to be strong…thought
Tifa and Aeris.
Tifa began to squish the
bugs as Aeris cast Float.
Soon they were levitating
in the air away from the bugs. Then Aeris pulled out a red materia.
Flames of Hell
Ifrit appeared and roared
a ferocious roar. He breathed and collected energy. As he did, flames began to
form in his jaws. Then he released the flames onto the thousand little insects
who knew death the second the flames touched them.
Aeris and Tifa dropped to the floor. Shaking each other's hands in victory they continued to the centre of the room and found the Heartarian Key.
Then they returned to where Cloud and Zack were waiting.
"You found it!" Cloud exclaimed.
"Was it hard?" Zack asked.
Aeris and Tifa looked at each other and said in unison. "Piece of cake."
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Cloud and the party stood outside the chamber and used the Heartarian Key to open it.
Inside the chamber, the walls glowed a different colour than the other rooms. This room glowed a mysterious pink.
In the centre of the room, there was a chest glimmering of precious stones. Inside was the Heartarian stone.
As Cloud approached the chest, the others waited behind him. He opened it to discover it was empty.
"Wha…?" exclaimed Cloud.
Then the walls began to crumble as the enemy approached them.
I have the Heartarian stone. If you want it…you must defeat me.
"Who is it?" Aeris asked, voice quavering.
"Sephiroth…"Cloud replied.
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Sephiroth was the Top Ranking soldier.
He was ruthless and would do anything to get what he desired.
Now he had the Heartarian Stone. Without it, Cloud and the others wouldn't be able to escape…
The four warriors found themselves in battle with the toughest enemy on the planet. They braced themselves.
Cloud slashed Sephiroth with his Ultima weapon across the chest. Sephiroth gripped his chest then used his Masamune and injured Cloud. Cloud flew back.
Aeris and Tifa looked at each other and nodded.
They both jumped in the air and attacked with their weapons. Damage was inflicted but Sephiroth showed no pain. Aeris and Tifa fell to the ground.
A meteor came from a distant galaxy incinerating planets as it came. It impacted on the four young warriors. The four were in Critical condition.
The situation looked hopeless.
Zack pulled out a materia and whispered.
The 12 Knights of the Round Table took turns in slashing the notorious Sephiroth. Slash after slash Sephiroth knew pain. As the last knight inflicted damage, Sephiroth was in critical.
Sephiroth laughed…and winced in pain. He walked to where a crippled Cloud lay.
"Noooo!" Aeris cried as she used her Cover once more and blocked Cloud from Sephiroth's sword.
The sword went right through her abdomen.