Chapter 5: Lament for Me
Cloud:
He woke with a start, sweat streaming from his face. He had been dreaming, but...he couldn't...remember what the dream had been about.
He had been nervous, panicked beyond any reasoning – he didn't know why...
...and then it came rushing back to him...Tifa...Tifa had been near him, close enough to send the memories flooding back into his mind...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ...but... ...
Sephiroth...his idol...his general...what in God's name had happened to him?
He had been his usual fine self upon entering the Reactor, but...when he had come back out... ... ... he was different...Cloud had never seen him like that.....like he was shaken and...terrified...
... ... ... ... ... ...
Cloud stood up, slowly stretching the muscles in his arms and back. He peered out the window – the clouds drifting of the mountains reflected the sun in such a way as to make the sky have a yellowish tint.
He noticed that Grey wasn't in his bed – he had already gone.
Cloud cracked his neck and moved downstairs, hoping to find someone he knew.
~{:*:}~
The main square looked oddly deserted for this time of day; there was no one in sight.
Puzzled, Cloud headed for the Shin-Ra mansion at the top of the hill, hoping to see where the other members of the Shin-Ra crew had gone.
~{:*:}~
Cloud stepped up the stairs, glancing around at the interior of the mansion. He had never actually been here, but during his time in Nibelheim as a child and as a Shin-Ra soldier at Shin-Ra HQ, he had heard the stories...the stories of things so foul that no living thing dared to confront them...things that embedded themselves into every facet of this cursed palace...
He shook his head – this was no time to reminisce over demon stories; he had to find Sephiroth.
He searched and searched, but to no avail – all the rooms were empty. Until...
...he entered a drawing room and found Grey, slumped down and leaning against a wall...
Cloud rushed to his side and grasped him.
"Grey!? Are you all right?"
Grey lifted his head slightly, his eyes glazed a little. He took a long wracking breath and spoke softly.
"Cloud...down there...he's...down there...saw him myself..."
Cloud looked down and saw the glancing cut that rose in a diagonal line across Grey's chest. It wasn't life threatening – the cut wasn't deep and the blood flow had slowed.
But more importantly...Sephiroth had done this...he......he had lost it, beyond any level of reckoning.
Cloud stood, anger now rising in his face.
"Wait here," he told Grey.
He slowly stepped forward and placed his hands on the stone of the rounded wall. With force, he pushed hard, moving part of the wall backwards. Peering into the darkened crevice, he saw a flight of stairs leading into the depths.
Moving slowly, Cloud brought himself lower and lower, hoping that what he would find would be under his ability to control.
~{:*:}~
He was nervous, and apprehensive. But nothing prepared him for what he saw as he approached the lone door at the end of the hall...
...it was Zack, unconscious and lying on the floor like a long forgotten sack. He had been thrown aside and knocked out, it appeared, from hitting the rock on the wall.
Cloud's nervousness rose to a new level. While they didn't always agree, Sephiroth and Zack were master and protégé – if Sephiroth did this... ... ... ... ... ...
With renewed vigil, Cloud pressed ahead, determined to see what lay beyond that door...
~{:*:}~
He creaked the door opened and glanced inside. It was an old lab of some sort, one that had been in long years of disuse.
From some dark corner, he heard a low chuckle emanate. The flesh on the back of his neck rose as this chuckle grew into a maniacal laughter – it filled Cloud's heart with fear to have heard such a sound.
He moved down the long corridor, his eyes slowly adjusting to the ancient darkness. A bookshelf now sliced in two lay at his left; a splintered and destroyed table lay on his right. Whatever had happened to Sephiroth...
And then he saw him; he was sitting at a large oak desk at the end of the hall in what appeared to be a small study. He was leaning back, staring at the ceiling, still laughing away.
Terror gripped Cloud. He had never seen Sephiroth act so...so...insane...so out of touch with the calmness that always encircled him.
Pushing aside the queasiness in his stomach, Cloud stepped forward.
"Sephiroth?"
And just like that, the laughter ceased. Sephiroth, terrifying slowly, brought his gaze back to earth and fixed his stare upon Cloud. For a long moment, nothing was said; the dust could be heard falling. Suddenly, Sephiroth chuckled again and truly looked at Cloud.
~{:*:}~
Sephiroth:
Sephiroth saw him standing there, eyeing his SOLDIER idol warily. Sephiroth looked at him; he wanted to grill this common infantryman, wanted to question him about the Shin-Ra. Was he, too, part of their plan?
"Hello...traitor..." were the words that came out of his mouth.
He wondered where that had come from. Those certainly had not been the words in his mouth. What...
(*SNAP*) (*HISS*)
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... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Those were his words, and he knew better than to question that. What was most important now was to find out what the disgrace standing in front of him was made of.
"Do you know who the Ancients were?" he asked.
Without waiting for a response, Sephiroth stood up and continued anyway.
"They were called the Cetra – they were beings of the planet, beings that understood the planet and everything that carried with it traces of the planet."
"They were at the height of their civilization – and then something happened to them..."
He wanted to tell Cloud the truth, but it seemed there was something controlling his thoughts – it didn't matter, he was going to tell the reality of it all...
"The Cetra were attacked by JEN..."
(*HISS*)
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"...by the new race of humans, to which you belong. So you see, it is because of you that the Cetra, to which I belong, have disappeared. Humans are the ones responsible..."
...no, that wasn't true, that wasn't true at al...
(*HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*)
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
...oh yes, it was the truth – it hurt, but it was the truth. And now, it was all laid bare before the enemy...
From somewhere in the depths, Cloud whispered, "Sephiroth...?"
Suddenly, as if beyond his control, Sephiroth whirled upon Cloud. He faced him, his rage pouring into the younger man's soul.
"YOU DARE TO SAY MY NAME!?!?! YOU, WHO HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!!! NO!!!"
He spun his arm and landed a tremendous punch on Cloud's midsection, sending him spiraling to the floor. In an instant, Sephiroth was in front of him, lifting him up into the air. His silver hair shimmered in the glowing candlelight while his green eyes let off a fierce luminescence of their own.
There was silence once again as Sephiroth held Cloud in the air – both men breathed heavily, one from fear and the other from the anger filtered through his body.
~{:*:}~
Cloud:
Suddenly, for just an instant, he saw it. The glare, the maniacal evilness that showered out from Sephiroth's glowing eyes, was gone. For just an instant, his general possessed the humanness, the normalness that he had always shown...his glare turned into a bewildered stare...
...but, as quickly as it had come, it was gone...the evil had returned. The icy glare returned to Sephiroths's eyes…
...stepping back, Sephiroth released his grasp, sending Cloud to the floor. Silently, without and sound whatsoever, he stepped over Cloud's body and walked out of the laboratory.
Cloud sat up and leaned against the wall, his breath heavy.
He sat there for a long time, wondering. He was sure that he had seen Sephiroth return to normalness, just for that moment. He was absolutely sure of it. But what did that matter? Either he was under something's control...or...he had lost his mind.
Up on Mount Nibel...the Reactor...whatever he had seen in there, it had done...something...to him. What had happened to cause such a transformation in him?
(*SNAP*) (*HISS*)
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ...you know... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ...you know what has happened to him, because... ... ... ... ...
(*HISS*)... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...it will happen to you...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
No. He...couldn't understand...Sephiroth's methods to his madness were not within the realm of understanding. He was beyond understanding...
Suddenly, Cloud leapt to his feet. In one moment, a feeling of the most horrible dread had settled upon him.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...(*HISS*)... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ...yes, you fear him... ... ... ...and rightly so... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Cloud ran quickly through the fallen books, racing to reach the outside. He didn't know, couldn't know what Sephiroth was planning to do, but he prayed with all his might that he would reach his master before the deed was done.
He had to stop the most powerful man in the world...he had to defeat the one man he had sworn to protect.
As he ran through the labyrinth of the Shin-Ra mansion's basement, Cloud Strife saw no possible way to do so.
A new horror had been unleashed on the world; he was sure of it. And he was the only one who could stop it...this was his duty...
But the same question continuously replayed itself in his mind: could he?
The doubt grew in his soul as he ran, hoping that whatever was to meet him on the outside would be within his ability to control.
That hope shrunk as the doubt crowded it out. He was not sure of himself.
But, it was his job to stop Sephiroth. For Cloud Strife, the one who had to bear the guilt of failure his entire life, there was nothing else to do.