Another Time, Another Place
Authors Notes- Contains slash, angst, swearing, violence and character death.
Pairings- Sephiroth x Kuja, Cloud x Aeris, Vincent x Tifa, Rufus x Tseng, Reno x Yuffie.
Disclaimers- I own none of the characters mentioned hither.
The next day dawned clear and bright. A fine day to die, Vincent mused as he stared moodily over the deck. Normally the thought of dying at the hands of Weapon wouldn't trouble him, but after last night with Tifa, death didn't seem quite so attractive. He'd been chasing it for years since Lucrecia had died and now it looked like he finally had a reason to live. Vincent wasn't deluding himself- he knew of Weapon's strength and that it was very likely that not all of them would survive the battle. Even with thirteen of them against Weapon, the chances of success were quite low. Thirteen, he thought morbidly. Thirteen should never eat together, should thirteen never fight together either? Who would survive? There were so many lives to be lost tomorrow. Yuffie, the bright and cheery ninja girl and the princess of Wutai. Tifa, the brave woman he had come to think so much of. Cloud, who had already given the Planet so much. Red XIII, who had sworn to protect his canyon no matter what. Cid, with a family back home waiting for his return. Barret, who Marlene and Corel Town relied on. Himself.. well, he had nothing to bind him to this world besides Tifa of course. And then there was Kuja, troubled but so much like Vincent himself. If he died, what would they do? The Turks.. Tseng, Reno, Rude and Elena.. they were fairly dispensable. No-one really relied on them any more. And Rufus of course, he could prove useful in the future. Which would survive against Emerald? And which would still be alive after Sephiroth? He was interrupted by his morbid wonderings by Tifa who came out onto the deck. She looked worried, but optimistic, her ponytail shining in the morning sun and her eyes wide and trusting. "Coming in?" She asked. He nodded and followed her.
The rest of the crew were seated in the conference room, chatting idly and trying to hide their tension. Various weapons were being serviced and checked. Materia was exchanged freely between them. Yuffie's own collection was a small mountain of coloured orbs gathered from all over the world. "You know, the walls of the Highwind aren't that soundproof, Mr Shinra," Elena said rather loudly, looking up from a Summon Materia she was examining with a mischievous smile. Silence fell upon the group as everyone listened in and Tifa smirked as Rufus suddenly became fascinated by an ordinary Restore Materia. "Whose the lucky lady-" Rude began and stopped as Tseng's nightstick 'slipped' from his hands and prodded him viciously. There was laughter and the tension lifted momentarily.
An hour later, they were as ready as they would ever be. The air of anticipation had fallen upon them again, each secretly wondering if they would survive the day. Yuffie was too worried to feel airsick, something Cid was immensely grateful for. He had set the course for Junon and now all they had to do was wait.
When they finally arrived, they filed off slowly and headed down to the harbour. Junon had been virtually abandoned after Shinra had fallen. Kuja was attracted by a huge banner, torn and weathered, that still declared proudly that Rufus was the president for a New Age. He looked quizzically at Rufus who shrugged. "Yeah, that was me," He said quietly. The one-proud harbour was still scarred by missiles from Diamond Weapon's attack. "This was the first time the damn thing nearly got me," He explained to Kuja who seemed fascinated by anything to do with Weapons. His office was still there, the enormous plate glass window shattered beyond repair. "Just a minute!" Rufus said suddenly "I used to keep some weapons in the safe here- might be something useful,"
"Gettin' nostalgic?" Barret asked as he followed the former president into the magnificent room. It had fallen into disrepair but seemed untouched by vandals or monsters.
"Not really," Rufus replied as he fiddled with the safe combination. "All I did here was fill in a hell of a lot of paperwork and give orders for blowing up various things," Barret examined the papers scattered across the desk. After Diamond Weapon had attacked and the Sister Ray moved to Midgar, Junon had been left virtually untouched.
"Execution procedure?" His voice was accusing. Rufus winced.
"Yes, yes, I've said I'm sorry," He said bitterly. "It wasn't like I had much choice. Someone had to be blamed to reassure the public. It wasn't the easiest of jobs, you know,"
Barret refrained from saying any more. With a whir the safe door opened and he stared into the best-equipped weapon room he had ever seen. Shinra's finest developed weapons, some of them unknown to Barret, were revealed. "D'you reckon a rocket launcher will do anything against Weapon?" Rufus asked, unloading various pieces.
"It jest might," Barret said admiringly, taking up the huge weapon. "How does this thing work?"
An hour later they were fully equipped with some of the best weapons Shinra could provide. The harbour had fallen into an even sadder state. One of the tunnels had collapsed entirely and most of them were overrun with monsters that teemed through the abandoned rooms.
"Here," Cloud pointed out the submarine where they had left it years ago. "Will it still work?"
"I should think so," Rude stepped forward and examined it. "One of the best models we had. These things were built to last!"
"Let's go then," Red XIII said determinedly as he leapt into the open hatch. The rest followed suit, squashing into the rather small space with a little trouble.
"Right," Cloud settled himself in the familiar driver's seat. "How does this thing work again?" He studied the panel which seemed fairly familiar. "Oh yeah," He pushed a button and the hatch swung closed. A light lit up, indicating it was ready to go. He flipped another switch and the submarine descended into the depths of the sea.
There were wide windows and everyone gathered around these. The sea seemed so peaceful and undisturbed. The water was a pale and clear green, no longer tainted by Mako waste. Strange forests of underwater plants swayed ghostly and pale. A shoal of tiny fish darted against the window and rushed away like butterflies. Yuffie breathed against the glass as she pressed her nose against it. "It's so beautiful!" She said admiringly. A weird twisted rock sculpture caught her eye. At the base of it lay the twisted remains of some old Shinra sub. Passageways twisted through the rock walls of the continents leading to inland lakes and rivers. There was a whole new world down here that very few ever got to see.
"Anything on the radar yet?" Vincent inquired. Cloud shook his head.
"It could take hours to find Emerald," He stated. "The oceans are so vast.. but once it sees us, it will be upon us in an instant," Yuffie shivered and tightened her grip on her weapon. She checked again they had the Underwater Materia equipped.
"I'm picking up something!" Cloud said suddenly. The radar beeped frantically. He ran a quick scan to estimate the size. It was huge and it was heading towards them. Yuffie scrambled over to the window and yelped. A huge green shape was approaching. Two eyes glared with pure hatred at the metal invader. "Let's go!"
She raised her hand and cast the Underwater Materia over the entire group. An air bubble spread, encompassing them all as they pushed open the hatch and climbed out into it. Emerald Weapon was approaching rapidly, sending waves of water pulsing against their suddenly very fragile seeming protection. Tifa closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer. 'Aeris, look over us,'
An unearthly screech rose as the Weapon tore into the air bubble which grew to encompass it, locking all of them into a giant arena miles below the sea. Yuffie raced forward, her heart pounding. She struck first, calling upon Ultima. There was a sudden movement as Tifa leapt besides her and raised an MP Turbo, combining her powers to create a swirl of unholy ultimate magic. Emerald hissed as it was swallowed by green pulsing light which burnt through the defences and caused it to writhe with pain. A laser struck back, countering. Tifa deftly cast a Protect Spell which bounced the laser away with little damage.
"Flare Star," A voice came calmly and she turned to see Kuja floating above the group effortlessly. A sudden fiery blast struck the Weapon, seeming to come from within, blinding them all as flames flickered from the heart. Tifa had never seen an attack like that- it was like Flare, but far stronger and more intense. Emerald screamed again, lashing out with a tentacle. Kuja was not fast enough and Yuffie winced as the mage hit the ground hard. The backlash struck Elena on the shoulder and she dropped her gun with a soft cry.
"Cure 3!" Reno bounded forward and cast his spell over the entire group. A feeling of revitalisation rushed through Elena and she sent a wave of flames towards Emerald.
"Tornado," Vincent said coolly and a sudden tornado swept forward, combining with Elena's attack. The firestorm swept round the writhing monster which screeched in an unearthly way. A sudden dose of dark magick fell from above and the whole party collapsed, blind and helpless.
Cloud reached into his pocket for the eye drops he knew where there. Blindly, he used them and blinked as the scene was cleared. All except Kuja had been affected and as he watched the mage sent a white beam pulsing into the monster's vulnerable eyes. Those tentacles lashed out wildly again. Cloud threw himself over Tifa as one threatened to strike her. There was a sickening pain lancing through his back and he gasped for breath.
"Esuna," Kuja cast another spell and healing rays fell gently from above, lifting the blindness from the entire party. Cloud staggered to his feet, feeling a rush of anger course through him. He hefted his blade and charged as a blinding light surrounded him. Omnislash! The blonde man leapt wildly and swung the blade uncontrollably, feeling it tear into the Weapon repeatedly as he was lost in rage. When the blade finally fell from his grip he saw numerous gashes, cut clean through the armour by the power of his Limit.
The battle raged on. Comets were summoned, like tiny versions of Meteor, they struck the Weapon and drove it almost into the ground. A dose of Freeze held it unmoving whilst Kuja cast Flare Star repeatedly, burning deep black scars into the mighty creature. The Turks and Rufus preferred weapons to magic, and missiles came thick and fast like some deadly rain. Once, Yuffie's shuriken flew straight and true and left the monster screaming as one eye collapsed inward like a punctured balloon. But slowly, Weapon was winning. Once Yuffie got too close and it stamped on her with an enormous, plated foot. Tifa cried out as the vulnerable young girl was left still and unmoving. The Protect spell prevented her from being injured internally but she was unconscious and bloodied. Another quick magic spell brought them all to their knees and the next blow sent Red XIII flying from sight. Tifa wiped blood from her eyes as a sudden blow split the skin of her forehead and everything was lost through a scarlet rain.
Vincent reached limit break and there was a few moments of relief as the Chaos demon tore into Weapon with vicious strength. But then another devastating spell left Chaos unmoving and still, wings crumpled and torn. Tifa reached her own limit break and grimly battered at the creature with her finely honed martial arts. It made little or no impression and the next blow left her on her knees unable to stand.
The worst attack yet came just after Cid and Barret combined their strength to launch a devastating attack upon Weapon and Cloud backed them up with a blast of pure energy from the mighty Bahamut Zero. Another blow from the creature knocked Tifa unconscious and left the rest barely alive. The former Shinra members looked grimly at their remaining ammunition. Dark Nation, Rufus's faithful pet monster was lying on his side in a pool of blood. Cloud leaned on his sword for balance as he prepared for one final attack and prayed that they would succeed here and not die and leave the Black Materia to Sephiroth. Then a sudden red glow flushed across the ocean. Kuja had Tranced.
The mage rose slowly in a ball of light. His physical appearance changed, as he turned a deathly white and his eyes and hair darkened to crimson. A faint smile played upon his lips as he rose above them all and raised a slender hand. There was a crack and a high whistling as he summoned his most powerful attack. Ultima.
Purple spears of light rained from heaven, encircling the monster in a wave of pure energy. The unholy light pulsed around it, growing and constricting. With a deafening crash, the circle collapsed inward and exploded in a beam of light that could be seen far above the ocean as a towering column of unearthly brightness. The Weapon's dying screeches cut through the ocean as it swayed and then shot one last, devastating ice attack before falling heavily and lying still.
The ice spears lanced towards the group. As Rufus knelt, regaining strength, one headed directly towards the weakened man. There was a sudden flash as Tseng pulled himself to his feet and threw himself in front of it. A soft cry escaped him as he fell heavily, landing on the rocky ground with a soft thud. The ice spear protruded from his chest, tipped with his blood, running freely down the melting ice weapon and spilling onto the ocean floor. He didn't move as Rufus knelt by his side and cast cure spells uselessly.
Cloud was first to stir. He pulled himself to his feet and weakly staggered over to Tifa. Unconscious, as so many of them were. He gently unclipped one materia from her armband and used the last of his strength to summon it. Phoenix.
A gentle red light flushed over the fallen group as Phoenix's reviving powers bathed them with soft glowing energy. Tifa stirred first.
"Did.. did we succeed?" She asked painfully. Cloud nodded.
"I guess so," He said and watched as Emerald Weapon evaporated into greenish light. All that remained was a tiny black stone. He walked over slowly and lifted it, felt the power of this tiny materia that could bring the Planet itself to its knees.
The rest were stirring painfully. All except one. Tseng was still and surrounded by the Turks and Rufus who were silent. Elena was crying without noise, tears splashing down onto the unmoving man as the ice that impaled him slowly turned to water and trickled away, diluting the blood to a pale pink stream.
"Is he .. gone?" Cloud asked as he knelt besides them. Rufus held Tseng's still hand and didn't say a word. Cloud reached down and gently felt for a pulse. Nothing. "He's dead," The cold man said as gently as he could. Elena broke down and Rude put an arm around her shaking shoulders. Rufus didn't make a single sound as he stared down at the man who had died protecting him.
- - - - - - - - -
There was no celebration that night. Even Barret, who had no fondness for the Turks, was unable to think badly of the way Tseng had died. Rufus seemed to be in shock. Tifa and Elena had gone to stay with him and the blonde man had hardly moved at all. When he did speak, his words seemed strange and out of context, a classic syndrome of someone in severe shock. Once he looked up at Elena and abruptly said "About moving that cannon-" and then stopped, suddenly realising his mistake. It had been over seven years since the cannon had been moved to Midgar. His sense of time was as badly thrown out as anything else.
"No improvement?" Cloud asked as Tifa came to the main room, her eyes heavy with tears.
"None. He isn't even thinking properly.." She sighed heavily. "I just don't know what to do now,"
"I suppose we can get by without him for the rest of the journey," Cloud said softly. Even if the man had been an enemy, no-one deserved to watch their... friend? lover? ... die before them in such a way. "Poor Tseng. He didn't even stop to think before jumping in the way,"
Tifa nodded. "Perhaps one of the Turks could keep an eye on Rufus when we go on to the Crater," She said quietly. "I suppose we can get by without-"
"Without me?" Rufus entered the room suddenly. He looked rather impassive. His eyes were dry and he had the look of someone who had survived through great tragedies. Beaten, but not defeated. "I'm coming with you,"
"... Are you sure?" Cloud asked. Rufus nodded and flicked his bangs out of his eyes again.
"I'm sure," He turned half away and Cloud saw for the first time the leader that Rufus could have been. Shinra could have been so great, if Rufus had not been so misled. He nodded.
"Very well then. We're resting at Kalm tonight and tomorrow, then pushing onward to the Crater," Cloud spoke, crossing over to the window and gazing out onto the world before them. "We'll need to guard the Black Materia carefully in case Sephiroth proves to be stronger than we thought," There were nods of assent all round.
That night, as they rested in the inn in the pretty little village, Rufus listened to the senseless babble of voices from the Lifestream with more care than usual. He wouldn't tell any of the others, but when he had been in shock following Tseng's death he had heard the soft voice of that Cetra speaking to him, reassuring him more than the living's words ever could. Tseng was happy to have given his life to save Rufus. His end had been painless and he had spoken with Aeris who had reassured him. And some day, she promised Rufus, Tseng would return too. He had died fighting for the Planet, and the Planet had promised his return. And what Aeris did not tell him was that Rufus was redeeming himself slowly in the eyes of the Lifestream. His second chance had not been a mistake.