Chapter V: Truths (Cloud's Story)*
NOTE: The story has now split into three separate quests. Chapters V, VI, and VII (and possibly groups of other future chapters) take place all at once. This chapter is from Cloud's point of view (as the majority of the fanfic is).
As I continued walking away from the villa and an angry yet saddened Tifa, I passed the local bar in which a party was being held. Staring through the opened door, the manager caught my eye and, recognizing who I was, gestured for me to come in and join the party celebrating the downfall of Shin-Ra and the destruction of Meteor. Pacing forward again I ran my hand through my hair and let out a deep sigh. What fools, I thought, they shall suffer slowly and without mercy. My heart skipped a beat and my heart began to race, making the drumbeat of pumping blood audible to my ears. Stopping in my tracks, eyes wide open in shock, I let out a cough of pain. What was that? Why did I think that? I... just meant I don't think they would be partying just yet if they knew... what I knew. Sephiroth. Standing in the dust of the main road of Costa Del Sol, I studied myself in the moonlight. Staring down at my quivering hands and chest, I realized that I needed to get away from my friends as quickly as possible. Sephy had come home to the lifestream, and I was his permanent plaything.
Still heading for the dock, the only way out of town that I knew of, I remembered where it was I wanted to head first: Midgar. For some strange reason I felt drawn to it in my search for the Promised Land and the questions I needed answered. Junon Port... that's still quite far away from Midgar. I'm going to need transportation after I cross the sea, I thought.
"Chocobo! ...Boco!" I yelped out loud as I suddenly remembered the chocobo that had served me all too well in months past, who was now being cooped up in a pen in the Highwind's storage compartment. Jogging over to the airship parked just outside of town, I gained admittance from its crew and searched for Boco. Fast asleep, the big yellow bird let out a sharp shrill of excitement as I patted his large beak and saddled him up. Riding him down the plank and out of the ship, I saw Tifa and the others heading towards me in the darkness. I froze. For a split second I wanted to head towards them and say one last goodbye, but in that quick moment of indecision I lost my nerve and ran, too frightened to face them. 'Hyaa!' I shouted, jerking the reigns and forcing Boco into a full sprint for the industrial edge of town, where the docks were located. Somehow, I sensed Tifa was crying again.
Passing under a sign and down a paved hill, Boco and I made it to the docks and helicopter land site. Spotting Barrett, Reeve and some of his guards climbing into the Shin-Ra Corp. helicopter, I pulled Boco back a few feet behind a stack of cargo to avoid being spotted. As the helicopter lifted up above my head, Boco shot up in the air, knocking me off of his back and onto the ground, as the loud roaring engines of the Highwind started up on the other edge of town and lifted it, too, into the air. As I lied on the pavement, watching the two crafts heading in opposite directions, my eyes began to fill up to their brim, a rare thing for me to do, but I was cut short in my sorrow as I heard the city dogs responding to the loud jet ship and the locals shouting: "Damn kids! Turn the music down!". Lifting myself back up and leading Boco by foot to the dock's office, I knocked thrice on the door, but to no avail. Peeking in through the shuttered windows, I again banged on the door. This time, the first mate of a docked carrier opened it, immediately demanding I leave them alone, that they were trying to get some ^&%!#ing sleep.
"I need to get to Junon Harbor, now." I said coldly, looking at him portentously.
"Listen bud," he said, looking a bit to the left of me since he still couldn't open his eyes just yet. "The passenger ship makes its routes on Mondays and Fridays. You'll have to wait a few days, ok?"
"No, that is not ok. I want a ride on the ship that next leaves this port..."
"I can't do that sir-" he began, but was cut short as I slammed the Buster Sword into the half-opened door, nailing in into the wall and making the first mate's eyes shoot wide open. I looked at him again, and nodded as the rest of the crew who had now woken up came to the door shouting profanities, some armed and ready for a fight.
"I say we give the kind gentleman a ride, chaps..." gulped the first mate, tugging at his turtleneck that was only an inch away from the razor-sharp tip of my blade.
"Sir, I'm the captain." spoke a tall, bald black man walking forward in front of the rest of the crew, trying to look brave and unafraid but showing fear in his eyes. "Mr... what's your name, sir?"
"Strife, Cloud Strife..."
"Wha-!! Why, I've heard of you! You're the supposed hero of the Planet! Granted, some people I've talked to don't believe that you're the one who saved us but I most certainly do! We would do anything for such a noble man, right lads?" rallied the captain, bowing and taking off his cap, his eyes glimmering with sheer excitement. "Why, we were going to leave in just a few hours, at dawn, but there's no problem in leaving now! Ramza, clock us in and take care of the departure papers. Oh yeah, and radio Junon that we'll be quite a bit early. Let's get ready boys!" he said, gesturing to his men and to the dock manager, Ramza. As the crew ran past Boco and I, I attempted to pry the sword from the door and wall, and one of the crewmen passing by gave me a nasty scowl as he holstered a shotgun that had been focused on me only a moment earlier. Sliding the Buster Sword back into its sheath behind my back, I followed the crew to the dock gangplank connected to the cargo hauler. Sitting on a wooden post as I waited for their preparations to be completed and for someone to open the main cargo door so I could get Boco in, I suddenly felt as if I were in an immediate danger, which gave me quite a jolt. Calming myself and looking around, I reminded myself that there really wasn't anything to worry about. Sephiroth is dead, you've completed your mission, I told myself, although keeping in mind that it was very possible that this 'fact' couldn't be farther from the truth.
"Mr. Strife!" yelled someone from the aft of the ship down at my exhausted bent-over body. Lifting my chin from its resting place on my knuckles, I stared upwards and was told that the cargo bay door was now open so that I could come inside with Boco. As soon as I got in they would begin the journey. He also told me that I was welcome up in the control room with most of the crew, but I could stay in the cargo space if I wanted to, which when said gave me the feeling they were a bit afraid of me coming up and joining them. Tying Boco to a metal bar inside of the ship, I sat down on a box containing packages of collectible Shin-Ra SOLDIER dolls.
"Those certainly WILL be collector's items soon..." I said to myself, grinning and taking comfort in the achievement of having rid the world of an ever-present oppression.
"Because, you are... a puppet." echoed a surreal voice.
'What? What the hell? Who was that... it sounded like... J-j-jenova? Oh god...' I thought, looking around me, 'THIS IS THE SAME SHIP!' And with that I fell into darkness, a darkness no nightmare could ever match in its horror and grief.
"My mother is Jenova. She died right after she gave birth to me. My father... *HAHAHA*!"
"...Was I created this way too?"
"Ever since I was small, I've felt different from the others... special in some way. But not like this..."
"Am I the same as all these monsters?"
"Out of my way, I'm going to go see mother."
"In my veins courses the blood of the ancients... I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!"
"So cold... I am always by your side."
"What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the planet?"
"Behold the mural. The Ultimate Destructive Magic... Meteor."
"Once the planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury. The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury. ...What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet? Think how much energy would be gathered! Ha ha ha. And at the center of that injury, will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine. By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the planet... I will cease to exist as I am now... only to be reborn as a 'God' to rule over every soul."
"Mother... it's almost time... soon... we will become one."
"Ha, ha, ha... stop acting as if you're sad. And there's no need to act as if you're angry either. Because, Cloud, you are... a puppet."
*HAHAHAHAHAHA*!!!
The thoughts, words, and feelings of Sephiroth came flowing into me. I could feel his essence binding with mine, that spoony bard, as I searched around in the empty darkness for something to grasp hold of, something to hang on to. Nothing. Trying to fight his control, I pulled at my own hair and nearly beat myself into submission. He was inside of me, I could feel it, and there was no way to subdue an enemy that is yourself. I tumbled in nothingness, all the while feeling the pain that came as Sephiroth began to take over my mind. And then... I became one with him, reliving his past. God, it was horrible, and in those few minutes of insanity I couldn't blame him for being the psychotic angel of darkness that he was. I saw his childhood, in which he was born as a human. While still in the womb, however, his insane father Professor Hojo, lead scientist at Shin-Ra Corporation, began injecting the embryo with the cells of an evil yet powerful creature known as Jenova, which Sephiroth later referred to as 'mother'. Continuing through his childhood he was repeatedly injected with these cells that made him powerful beyond belief. Shin-Ra, recognizing his potential, put him in the elite class of their military, SOLDIER. Quickly rising through the ranks he soon became the most powerful swordsman in the world. But then, as I watched this insane slideshow of chaotic memory, the fateful Nibelheim reactor incident occured, and... I, the Cloud in Sephiroth's memory, killed him as a young SOLDIER myself... or so many thought, for his real death would come years later. My brain pumped fast and throbbed hard in this awful confusion.
Instantly the nightmare, the transformation I was undergoing, intensified as I watched even more of his memories. So much confusion and death.... clones, puppets, I DON'T UNDERSTAND! STOP TORTURING ME!!! I screamed at him, as he continued shifting through my body as I felt him burrowing deeper. And then he showed me the final battle. This had only happened 12 hours ago, and yet still it seemed unreal. As I saw the blade that killed him entering his stomach, I noticed something I hadn't seen before..., rather, Sephiroth now controlling me made me notice it. As his spirit dispersed at his death, which was red compared to the normal lifestream color of green which demonstrated that he was evil incarnate, it lingered near. Suddenly as the lifestream drew near me and gathered at the point where I escaped from the lifestream, the red energy of Sephiroth sped towards me, as if it had a mind of its own. Piercing my chest, it entered without my noticing... and didn't come out...
"Oh god... OH GOD! Sephiroth is not controlling me from within the lifestream... SEPHIROTH IS IN ME! HIS VERY SPIRIT IS A PART OF ME!! HE IS IN MY BODY, MY MIND!!!" I screamed at myself in agony, tearing at my chest as if trying to dig him out.
"...Yes, my 'puppet'." he whispered slowly, his voice echoing from the back of my mind. "And now our little fun shall begin."
No wonder he was grinning.
NOTE: The story has now split into three separate quests. Chapters V, VI, and VII (and possibly groups of other future chapters) take place all at once. This chapter is from Cloud's point of view (as the majority of the fanfic is).
As I continued walking away from the villa and an angry yet saddened Tifa, I passed the local bar in which a party was being held. Staring through the opened door, the manager caught my eye and, recognizing who I was, gestured for me to come in and join the party celebrating the downfall of Shin-Ra and the destruction of Meteor. Pacing forward again I ran my hand through my hair and let out a deep sigh. What fools, I thought, they shall suffer slowly and without mercy. My heart skipped a beat and my heart began to race, making the drumbeat of pumping blood audible to my ears. Stopping in my tracks, eyes wide open in shock, I let out a cough of pain. What was that? Why did I think that? I... just meant I don't think they would be partying just yet if they knew... what I knew. Sephiroth. Standing in the dust of the main road of Costa Del Sol, I studied myself in the moonlight. Staring down at my quivering hands and chest, I realized that I needed to get away from my friends as quickly as possible. Sephy had come home to the lifestream, and I was his permanent plaything.
Still heading for the dock, the only way out of town that I knew of, I remembered where it was I wanted to head first: Midgar. For some strange reason I felt drawn to it in my search for the Promised Land and the questions I needed answered. Junon Port... that's still quite far away from Midgar. I'm going to need transportation after I cross the sea, I thought.
"Chocobo! ...Boco!" I yelped out loud as I suddenly remembered the chocobo that had served me all too well in months past, who was now being cooped up in a pen in the Highwind's storage compartment. Jogging over to the airship parked just outside of town, I gained admittance from its crew and searched for Boco. Fast asleep, the big yellow bird let out a sharp shrill of excitement as I patted his large beak and saddled him up. Riding him down the plank and out of the ship, I saw Tifa and the others heading towards me in the darkness. I froze. For a split second I wanted to head towards them and say one last goodbye, but in that quick moment of indecision I lost my nerve and ran, too frightened to face them. 'Hyaa!' I shouted, jerking the reigns and forcing Boco into a full sprint for the industrial edge of town, where the docks were located. Somehow, I sensed Tifa was crying again.
Passing under a sign and down a paved hill, Boco and I made it to the docks and helicopter land site. Spotting Barrett, Reeve and some of his guards climbing into the Shin-Ra Corp. helicopter, I pulled Boco back a few feet behind a stack of cargo to avoid being spotted. As the helicopter lifted up above my head, Boco shot up in the air, knocking me off of his back and onto the ground, as the loud roaring engines of the Highwind started up on the other edge of town and lifted it, too, into the air. As I lied on the pavement, watching the two crafts heading in opposite directions, my eyes began to fill up to their brim, a rare thing for me to do, but I was cut short in my sorrow as I heard the city dogs responding to the loud jet ship and the locals shouting: "Damn kids! Turn the music down!". Lifting myself back up and leading Boco by foot to the dock's office, I knocked thrice on the door, but to no avail. Peeking in through the shuttered windows, I again banged on the door. This time, the first mate of a docked carrier opened it, immediately demanding I leave them alone, that they were trying to get some ^&%!#ing sleep.
"I need to get to Junon Harbor, now." I said coldly, looking at him portentously.
"Listen bud," he said, looking a bit to the left of me since he still couldn't open his eyes just yet. "The passenger ship makes its routes on Mondays and Fridays. You'll have to wait a few days, ok?"
"No, that is not ok. I want a ride on the ship that next leaves this port..."
"I can't do that sir-" he began, but was cut short as I slammed the Buster Sword into the half-opened door, nailing in into the wall and making the first mate's eyes shoot wide open. I looked at him again, and nodded as the rest of the crew who had now woken up came to the door shouting profanities, some armed and ready for a fight.
"I say we give the kind gentleman a ride, chaps..." gulped the first mate, tugging at his turtleneck that was only an inch away from the razor-sharp tip of my blade.
"Sir, I'm the captain." spoke a tall, bald black man walking forward in front of the rest of the crew, trying to look brave and unafraid but showing fear in his eyes. "Mr... what's your name, sir?"
"Strife, Cloud Strife..."
"Wha-!! Why, I've heard of you! You're the supposed hero of the Planet! Granted, some people I've talked to don't believe that you're the one who saved us but I most certainly do! We would do anything for such a noble man, right lads?" rallied the captain, bowing and taking off his cap, his eyes glimmering with sheer excitement. "Why, we were going to leave in just a few hours, at dawn, but there's no problem in leaving now! Ramza, clock us in and take care of the departure papers. Oh yeah, and radio Junon that we'll be quite a bit early. Let's get ready boys!" he said, gesturing to his men and to the dock manager, Ramza. As the crew ran past Boco and I, I attempted to pry the sword from the door and wall, and one of the crewmen passing by gave me a nasty scowl as he holstered a shotgun that had been focused on me only a moment earlier. Sliding the Buster Sword back into its sheath behind my back, I followed the crew to the dock gangplank connected to the cargo hauler. Sitting on a wooden post as I waited for their preparations to be completed and for someone to open the main cargo door so I could get Boco in, I suddenly felt as if I were in an immediate danger, which gave me quite a jolt. Calming myself and looking around, I reminded myself that there really wasn't anything to worry about. Sephiroth is dead, you've completed your mission, I told myself, although keeping in mind that it was very possible that this 'fact' couldn't be farther from the truth.
"Mr. Strife!" yelled someone from the aft of the ship down at my exhausted bent-over body. Lifting my chin from its resting place on my knuckles, I stared upwards and was told that the cargo bay door was now open so that I could come inside with Boco. As soon as I got in they would begin the journey. He also told me that I was welcome up in the control room with most of the crew, but I could stay in the cargo space if I wanted to, which when said gave me the feeling they were a bit afraid of me coming up and joining them. Tying Boco to a metal bar inside of the ship, I sat down on a box containing packages of collectible Shin-Ra SOLDIER dolls.
"Those certainly WILL be collector's items soon..." I said to myself, grinning and taking comfort in the achievement of having rid the world of an ever-present oppression.
"Because, you are... a puppet." echoed a surreal voice.
'What? What the hell? Who was that... it sounded like... J-j-jenova? Oh god...' I thought, looking around me, 'THIS IS THE SAME SHIP!' And with that I fell into darkness, a darkness no nightmare could ever match in its horror and grief.
"My mother is Jenova. She died right after she gave birth to me. My father... *HAHAHA*!"
"...Was I created this way too?"
"Ever since I was small, I've felt different from the others... special in some way. But not like this..."
"Am I the same as all these monsters?"
"Out of my way, I'm going to go see mother."
"In my veins courses the blood of the ancients... I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!"
"So cold... I am always by your side."
"What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the planet?"
"Behold the mural. The Ultimate Destructive Magic... Meteor."
"Once the planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury. The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury. ...What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet? Think how much energy would be gathered! Ha ha ha. And at the center of that injury, will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine. By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the planet... I will cease to exist as I am now... only to be reborn as a 'God' to rule over every soul."
"Mother... it's almost time... soon... we will become one."
"Ha, ha, ha... stop acting as if you're sad. And there's no need to act as if you're angry either. Because, Cloud, you are... a puppet."
*HAHAHAHAHAHA*!!!
The thoughts, words, and feelings of Sephiroth came flowing into me. I could feel his essence binding with mine, that spoony bard, as I searched around in the empty darkness for something to grasp hold of, something to hang on to. Nothing. Trying to fight his control, I pulled at my own hair and nearly beat myself into submission. He was inside of me, I could feel it, and there was no way to subdue an enemy that is yourself. I tumbled in nothingness, all the while feeling the pain that came as Sephiroth began to take over my mind. And then... I became one with him, reliving his past. God, it was horrible, and in those few minutes of insanity I couldn't blame him for being the psychotic angel of darkness that he was. I saw his childhood, in which he was born as a human. While still in the womb, however, his insane father Professor Hojo, lead scientist at Shin-Ra Corporation, began injecting the embryo with the cells of an evil yet powerful creature known as Jenova, which Sephiroth later referred to as 'mother'. Continuing through his childhood he was repeatedly injected with these cells that made him powerful beyond belief. Shin-Ra, recognizing his potential, put him in the elite class of their military, SOLDIER. Quickly rising through the ranks he soon became the most powerful swordsman in the world. But then, as I watched this insane slideshow of chaotic memory, the fateful Nibelheim reactor incident occured, and... I, the Cloud in Sephiroth's memory, killed him as a young SOLDIER myself... or so many thought, for his real death would come years later. My brain pumped fast and throbbed hard in this awful confusion.
Instantly the nightmare, the transformation I was undergoing, intensified as I watched even more of his memories. So much confusion and death.... clones, puppets, I DON'T UNDERSTAND! STOP TORTURING ME!!! I screamed at him, as he continued shifting through my body as I felt him burrowing deeper. And then he showed me the final battle. This had only happened 12 hours ago, and yet still it seemed unreal. As I saw the blade that killed him entering his stomach, I noticed something I hadn't seen before..., rather, Sephiroth now controlling me made me notice it. As his spirit dispersed at his death, which was red compared to the normal lifestream color of green which demonstrated that he was evil incarnate, it lingered near. Suddenly as the lifestream drew near me and gathered at the point where I escaped from the lifestream, the red energy of Sephiroth sped towards me, as if it had a mind of its own. Piercing my chest, it entered without my noticing... and didn't come out...
"Oh god... OH GOD! Sephiroth is not controlling me from within the lifestream... SEPHIROTH IS IN ME! HIS VERY SPIRIT IS A PART OF ME!! HE IS IN MY BODY, MY MIND!!!" I screamed at myself in agony, tearing at my chest as if trying to dig him out.
"...Yes, my 'puppet'." he whispered slowly, his voice echoing from the back of my mind. "And now our little fun shall begin."
No wonder he was grinning.