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.
"Yuck!" Yuffie was the first to speak after the cave collapsed. She spat out a mouthful of dust that clogged up her throat. "What happened?"
"Looks like what happened back in Mideel," Tifa replied. She felt concerned hands clear the rocks that held her trapped up to her waist and pull her free. Vincent. In the absolute darkness, his eyes gave off the faintest red light. It was somehow comforting. "Is everyone ok?" She asked, concerned.
"Fine over here," A voice that could only be Rufus replied. She heard scuffling and a concerned voice. "Elena?"
"Is she alright?" Rude's voice came from the same direction.
"Just unconscious.. I think," Rufus said, unsure. There was another scuffling of rocks being cleared and Elena's voice came weakly.
"I'm fine,"
"What about everyone else?" Cloud pulled away the rocks that held him trapped and winced as blood mingled with the dust that covered him. "Red?"
"I think I'm okay," The voice was unsure. "I seem to be trapped but that's not the worst part. Cloud, I lost the Black Materia!" His voice was soft with misery.
"Is it under all this rock?" Tifa turned to Red XIII who seemed to be nearby though she couldn't see him.
"No, it fell into the Lifestream when I saved Yuffie," He replied sadly. "I'm sorry.."
"There was nothing you could do," Tifa impulsively reached out and hugged him, blundering in the darkness. "If it's in the Lifestream, maybe Aeris can keep it away from Sephiroth!"
"Unless Sephiroth caused the accident," Red XIII's head drooped sadly.
"HEY!" Yuffie screeched suddenly.
"What the #!&^ is going on over there?" Cid's voice came. There was a slapping sound and Reno complained noisily.
"I was just checking she was okay!" He argued. "It's not my fault I can't see what I'm grabbing in the darkness,"
"Pervert," Yuffie sounded rather pleased.
"Is it my imagination or is it gettin' hotter in here?" Barret asked. "I reckon y'all should stop arguin' and concentrate on getting out of here. Feels like we're running clear out of oxygen!"
"But there's tons and tons of rock!" Elena cried, sounding rather distressed. "And if we used magic, we could blow the whole cliff up and bring it all down on top of us!"
Cloud climbed over to where he estimated the entrance had been. The floor was littered with dust and heavy rocks and he winced as he put his hand on a jagged piece of flint. He reached out blindly and began to pull at one of the boulders. It barely moved. "They're too heavy," He said quietly. "It would take years to move this lot without some heavy machinery,"
"Move out of the way," Vincent moved from Tifa's arms and examined the entrance. There was a familiar red glow and for a moment the cave was lit, as with firelight. Tifa took in the faces of everyone- alive, but battered and scratched. Blood trickled through layers of dust. Then as the light faded she saw the familar form of Chaos appear.
"Get back," Chaos warned, the voice barely human. They scrambled backwards to sit against the wall as the demon went to work on the wall of rocks. There was a crashing as long claws locked into the stone and ripped them free as though they weighed nothing. The red eyes, the only part of Vincent that didn't change, flashed blood-red as he tore into the wall with ease. Dust choked the rest of the party as they all secretly wondered if the actions would bring down the whole cave. Stones bounced and fell free, rattling against the floor as the wall was steadily demolished. The temperature soared hotter and hotter as the oxygen levels were depleted. Tifa's lungs burned as she sucked in the dusty, dry air. She began to feel rather sleepy and light-headed and she lay drowsily against the wall. Getting out seemed less important suddenly.
At last a tiny chink of light appeared. Chaos tore at it until it was big enough to admit a shaft of early morning sunlight. The air felt wonderfully cool and clear. With vicious strength the demon ripped away at the rocks, widening the passage until it could admit a person.
"Is it ready?" Cloud stood weakily and walked over to the light, stumbling over loose rocks. The air felt fresh and revitalising. Vincent transformed back and nodded. "Alright, everyone out!" Cloud ordered. Barret frowned, although no-one could really see in the weak light.
"Ya sure that tiny little passage is gonna let me through?" He asked, eyeing the narrow way. Vincent shrugged.
"If it doesn't, I'll enlarge it," He replied simply and went to collect Tifa, only to find her limp and unconscious.
"Hey, Rufus is out cold!" Elena's voice sounded panicked again.
"So is Tifa," Vincent lifted the dark haired girl gently. "We need to get them outside as quickly as possible,"
Cloud went first, scrambling into the narrow gap and crawling through into the blissfully cool air. He jumped down on the other side. The gap where the Lifestream had bubbled up through was hidden under layers of rock. He reached through to help Tifa as Vincent passed the unconscious girl through, and lay her gently on a patch of grass amongst the snow. Next came Cid, poking his javelin through first and swearing loudly all the way. The Turks brought Rufus out next. Elena looked worried as she usually did. At last they had all squeezed out (including Barret) except..
"Where's Kuja?"
- - - - - - - - -
Kuja meanwhile was taking in his surroundings. He was apparantly underground in a stone chamber somewhere. A small lake of green showed where he had been pulled out. He wondered whether the rest had managed to escape and hoped feverently that they had. Not to rescue him though- he felt strangely at home with Sephiroth.
"This is the Black Materia," Sephiroth said idly, holding a glowing black orb. Kuja sat up and wondered what where the chances of him regaining it. "Relax," Sephiroth looked at the mage strangely. "It's too late now anyway. Meteor has been summoned,"