FINAL FANTASY VII: DISORDERED ILLUSION

Written by Surrect Tiger

CHAPTER II

"...Right. Now, give me your coordinates and status report," said one of the sailors through a radio. The sailor was really ticked off that he had to run this inspection assignment, but due to something that had happened almost two months ago...something about a band of about seven breaking into a cargo ship...he had to do this.

This time it was some private, small ship assigned to one Cloud Strife, as he had been told. Tourists, he thought. He lived at Costa del Sol, but was not native to that port town. When he decided to become a sailor, which seemed like an exciting job (when he was just a kid), until he finally got into it. He realized it was more hard work, and there was almost no fun at all in it.

"...Coordinates are: North, .7110, West, .88. Cruising at high average speed, 5.925 over 206.1..." The status report went on for about five minutes. He actually hardly understood any of it, but he knew that all he had to do was write everything down on a pad, and the officer above him would take care of everything.

"...Temperature maintenance level...90.95 degrees f-" Many seconds passed by. The sailor said into his radio, "Hello, hello?" He knocked on it, to make sure it hadn't shorted out. "Hello? Test, test, hello? Anyone there?" He waited for a few more seconds, then got up. "Hey, Jack. We ne-"

"fffffzzzzz...." The radio crackled back to life. He grabbed it quickly, and punched in the send button. "Hello!? Is anyone there!?"

"......zzzzztttssssss.....ind his......ffffffcrcrcrcr.....sssssssssout there! Hurrsssssssssssssss....lp! sslp sssss! ssssseeeelp!!!"

"Vessel Uriah, come again!?" shouted the sailor, heart beating fast. "Vessel Uriah!"

".....ssssssspppppppnow!!! sssss....ccccend them here! We ne-sssssssssssssssssss"

"Vessel Uriah!" He turned to several listeners. "Well, don't just stand there! Get on that ship and find out what's going on!" All quickly left the cabin. He continued to listen to the waves breaking through on the speaker.

"tttttttssssspspspspsssss........un! Run!-" Then suddenly the sound got quite. It sounded like he could hear whispers. He turned the volume up very loud before he heard anything that made sense. "....'is he?'

'I-I don't knsssss....e anywhere!!!'

'This iszszzz your last chzzzzssscrcrcr....'"

Then the sailor heard a scream, and a loud splash. He vaguely could have guess what had happened, and it put a sour taste in his mouth that shot from his throat to the tip of his tongue. Someone had just died.

Then more began to come through.

"fiiiiiiiieeeew......'ello? Hellozzzzzzzzz? Thishhhhhzzz is Vessel Urizzzzzhhh, pleshhhhzzzzzzz resshhhhhd.'"

"Hello, hello, Vessel Uriah?" asked the sailor. He feared the signal breaking up again.

"zzzzzeeewwwwwwhhhhh.....'Uriah here. I've fixed the signal, shouldsh be clearer now.'"

"Yeah, I read you. What happened?"

"'...Oh, man...ohzzsh, man....there's...there's bodies all over the place. Soshshzzzng came through here. Lookshz like...gashes. Gashes from some blade.'"

"Who was it...Cloud Strife?...is he okay?"

"'Dunno. Leshzze go look.'"

"Roger. I'm calling backup." The sailor turned the dial on his radio until he got a clear channel. "Base Sun, this is Vessel Glider, please respond." Almost a minute passed by before he patiently tried again. "Base Sun, this is Vessel Glider, please respond." Half a minute passed before he grew really impatient. He turned off the radio, then back on. "Vessel Glider to Base Sun, respond please." Nothing. "Is anyone there!?" he asked loudly. He checked to make sure all cables and wires were connected properly before unsuccessfully trying a last time.

Then he noticed the others hadn't gotten back yet. He turned the radio back to Vessel Uriah's channel, and pressed the send button. "Vessel Uriah, come in." No response. There was only a static hiss. He tried several more times, then tried Base Sun's channelone last time. "Base Sun, respond!!!" he shouted. Then everything went dead. No static. No hiss. The radio was completely off.

Then the lights began to flicker before shutting off with a loud click and a slowing hum. He looked around in darkness, then reached for a flashlight. He knocked several things off of a shelf before knocking off the flashlight, too. He reached down to pick it up, and as he grabbed it, he heard something that made his body go cold with fear.

First, the engines began to whine. Then there was a very brief shake, and a loud groan. After that, utter silence. He cut on the flashlight. Maybe I'd be better off on the other boat... After all, the others were there.

He exited the cabin, then walked to the edge of his boat, where they had pulled alongside the Vessel Uriah. His light shined quite far ahead of him. He hopped the side, and landed on Uriah.

He began heading to the cabin. He climbed up a three foot tall ladder, and walked into the cabin door. His feet unsettled a dark red liquid on the floor. Pointing his flashlight at it, he found a hand resting against his shoe, the end completely torn from some unknown body. He jumped away in fright, his heart beating fast. He drove the light upwards through the cabin. His mates were all lying on the floor, across tables, slumped over each other... The total of people amounted to sixteen, but in many more parts than that...

He gulped, and put a hand to his chest. His heart was beating so hard it had to have some pressure on it, or else he thought he'd die from high blood pressure. He thought to himself, Maybe I should get the power on... Then he remembered the power was downstairs, in the lower parts of the ship.

He had no choice.

He left the cabin, and walked to a ladder nearby that went down into the interior of the ship. He shone his flashlight ahead, pointing it through the dimly lit hallway. He slowly edged through the hall, moving past doors and openings in a time that seemed like days. Then he found another ladder, and went down it carefully.

Now, the bottom wasn't even close to half as nice as the upstairs part of Uriah. There were rusted walls that stretched before him into pitch blackness. Black upon black. He felt his saliva grow very thick. He could feel sweat everywhere, although he was freezing cold.

This is crazy, he thought. There's an escape boat up top.

He turned, and screamed.

There was a man with spiky yellow hair before him. He was much taller, and better built. He held a sword in both hands, with the blade pressed against the sailor's nose.

"Who are you!?" asked the spiky haired man.

"M-m-my n-name's Daryl-l," he stuttered. Although this man did have a sword, it had no apparent blood on it. That is, unless he had washed it.

"What's going on?"

"Y-you tell me!" he said, his heart about to break through his ribcage. The man pulled his sword away from Daryl's face.

"Who did all this?" What? Was this guy for real?

"...Wh-what, didn't you?"

"What? No!" answered the man. "I was supposed to be going to Costa del Sol. I fell asleep about evening...what time is it?"

"Two thirty A.M.," answered Daryl.

"Anyway, I woke up, and found several people dead."

"How come you aren't? And what's your name?" asked the sailor.

"I locked my door last night. Maybe that's why. Name's Cloud Strife."

"You're the one who's supposed to have a private vessel to Costa del Sol., right?"

"Right," answered Cloud. "Now, why weren't you kiled?"

"I was in the cabin, on the radio. I-" Then the man, to Cloud's surprise, was lifted in the air by about a foot. Both looked down, and, through the sailor's chest, was the blade of a thin, long sword. Cloud leapt back before the sailor fell to the ground. His flashlight lay on the floor, pointing to a wall left of Cloud. All he could see was a figure's feet.

"Who are you!?" shouted Cloud. He pointed his sword out ahead of him. For some time the person didn't answer.

"I thought you knew me." The voice. Cloud's heart almost stopped beating at the sound of the voice. It only took one word to notice it.

"Sephiroth," said Cloud. All of a sudden, all his insides felt very weak. Yes, he knew he and his friends had beaten Sephiroth, but Cloud hadn't trained since then, and besides, it was him and six others.

"Hello Cloud. You seem...surprised."

"How can you be alive!?"

"The question really shoud be, 'how can I not be dead?'," answered the man. Then the flashlight went out. "I know you're unprepared, Cloud. And for the favor of giving me Aeris, I'll give you ten seconds."

Despite that he knew that, somehow, she was alive, those words burned inside him unlike any other. Rage pulsed to his fingertips and tightened his throat. He reared back, and thrust, with his sword, all the might he had. Somehow, without a sound or impact, his weapon was pulled away, as if hands had reached out and pulled on it.

"Now now, Cloud, you still have seven seconds to go. I suggest you'd make better use of it."

Cloud turned, and ran. He heard the voice begin to count down behind him. The further he got away, the more it echoed. He couldn't see, and put a hand out before him. He ran through a rusted door, and felt along the walls. He could see absolutely nothing.

"...Four, three, two, one. Ready or not, here I come!" said Sephiroth, mockingly in a child's voice, just to scare Cloud. Somehow, it did. He felt faster and faster until he falt another corner. He began to walk quickly down a hallway (if that's what it was).

All of a sudden, ahead of him, "You're not a very good hider, Cloud. I've found you already." He turned and ran back. "You may run, but you'll never escape me."

He came back into the room. He felt along a desk, and found a switch. He pulled on it. Immediately, his feet grew cold. He felt water rising into the soles of his shoes. "Wrong switch," said his hunter. He heard the voice to his right, very, very near. He tried to push the switch back where it was, but it was unmovable.

He felt further along the desk until he came to a wall. He followed the wall to another doorway. He ran down the hall, water splashing at his ankles. It was icy, so cold it made his feet numb. The smell of salt began to invade the air. Cloud opened a door, and ran inside, quickly shutting the door behind him. He felt along a wall, then came to a corner. He followed the next to another corner, then the last back to the door.

He was trapped, and he heard the agressor's feet splashing very closely towards the door. He ran back to the opposite wall, and felt around for a switch, or a button, or anything.

Then he felt a ventilation cover. He quickly pulled it off, and climbed inside. Laying between a position on hands and knees and flat on his stomach, the water rose just up above Cloud's mouth. He could currently only breathe through his nose. Salt stung his senses, and took over every part of his head. He quickly crawled deeper into the shaft. The water was freezing, chilling him to the opint that it was the only thing he could think about. He was shaking, and was very short of breath.

He continued to crawl, however, on and on. The shaft seemed endless. He made a turn, and by then, he turned over on his back, and put his mouth and nose through the top of the water, and took one last deep breath. Then, flipping back over, he crawled with one breath. The icy water was between his nose and eyes.

After crawling for what seemed like a mile, through endless twists and turns, he grew very lightheaded. Everything around him began to not make sense. The water was growing warmer, it seemed, and it didn't hurt to take in the water.

That's it, his mind seemed to think for him. Just breathe it all in...it is possible to breathe water...you're okay...

...nnNO! Sudden anger burst through the submissive thoughts. Everything became clear again. The water was cold, and he was choking on water. I won't die here! I'm this close to Aeris, and nothing will stop me!

He crawled yet more, through the endlessly tormenting conditions.

Finally, he burst through another ventilation cover. He swam up, and found himself at stomach level in the water, which now didn't seem very cold. He took the deepest breaths he ever had. His chest felt like it would explode. Such pain made him grimace and grab his chest. As everything returned to normal, he found his veins pulsing hard.

He felt his way along another wall, and opened a door. Then he stumbled over stairs. He quickly and joyously began to run up.

When he reached the top, he ran through a hallway he well knew, and climbed up another ladder to the ship's main deck. He saw, in the moonlight, the front end of the ship in the water. He had two chances. Either get on the other ship, or find a life boat.

The first was blown out of the water. Rather, I'll restate that. The first was sinking. He searched all edges of the first ship before trying the second. Both searches were unsuccessful.

He was going to die out here, in the ocean, either by the freezing water, or by the hand of Sephiroth.

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER IV