All That's Evil
By Semdai
Chapter Two
After Rufus became president, he appointed the Turks with a mission apart from any others they had ever had. Their mission was to locate Shivra and her son...
* * * Nanaki sniffed the ground. The tiger-like beast's fire-red fur twitched. " I smell blood," he growled menacingly. Barret replied by cocking his gun- arm.
" Can you tell where," Cloud asked, drawing his sword. Nanaki sniffed the ground again.
" This way," he concluded, taking off in the direction of the scent. Cloud and Barret hurried after him. Nanaki halted near a cluster of debris that must have blown off the ShinRa Tower.
" This ain't nothin' but a pile of junk, Red," Barret complained.
" The smell ends here," Nanaki explained. Cloud circled the heap in confusion. A weak moan near the base of the pile caught his attention. When he knelt down to investigate the sound, Cloud felt a warm, wet substance under his hand. A small pool of blood had seeped out from under the cluster of junk, the source of the scent.
" Barret, Nanaki, come look at this," he urged. They too knelt down to study the blood. Nanaki shivered. Barret shoved several iron beams away. There was no mistaking the red hair and navy blue jacket of the man trapped beneath the debris. It was Reno of the Turks and, surprisingly, he was still alive.
" It's Reno," Barret observed. The Turk turned his body as much as the beams would allow. Now, Cloud could see where the blood had come. A split in Reno's jacket revealed a sight that made his stomach twist. Reno's side had a gash in it that stretched from his stomach to inches from his spine situated just below his rib cage.
" What happened to you, Reno," Cloud demanded. Reno didn't answer right away, instead he vainly tried to free himself.
" I tripped and fell," he replied sarcastically, giving up trying to free himself and collapsing, drenched in is own blood, " what do you think happened? I was attacked by Sephiroth."
" Sephiroth is still alive," Nanaki questioned. Reno didn't seem to want to stay on the subject of Sephiroth.
" Suppose you could lend a hand to someone in need," he asked, changing the subject. His eyes were alight with mixed emotion.
" Why should we," Barret countered. Reno closed his eyes and took a deep breath to still the involuntary trembling of his body.
" Because I can't get outta here otherwise," he sighed in defeat, " and I know what it is you're looking for." Cloud, Barret, and Nanaki shrugged then went to work.
" Don't know why we're helpin' the enemy," Barret grumbled as he lifted the last beam off of Reno's chest. Cloud dragged him free of the rubble and tried to help him up but Reno protested that he couldn't stand, which was true. Cloud propped the Turk up against a wall.
" Now, what do you know that we might want," Nanaki pestered.
" About six yeas ago, President ShinRa and Hojo attempted to clone another, more powerful, Sephiroth," Reno started, leaning against a wall for support.
" Who did they use for cloning," Barret demanded.
" I'm getting there," Reno said flatly. Barret's gun-arm flew out and smashed into Reno's injured side. Cloud looked away as Reno's blood drenched Barret's arm. The Turk cried out in pain and collapsed, clutching his side.
" Tell us now or I'll hit you again," Barret threatened. Reno didn't answer. The only sounds he made were stifled whimpers of pain and the sound of his labored breathing. Barret lifted his arm to strike Reno again. Cloud intercepted the blow before he could move.
" If you keep this up, he'll die before you get anything outta him," he protested.
" You talk to him then," Barret growled. Cloud knelt beside Reno.
" Just tell us and we'll help you," he offered. Reno flinched as Cloud touched his shoulder. " Just tell us," Cloud repeated.
" None of the ShinRa employees have ever seen him," Reno explained, " most don't even know his name."
" I wish you could tell us," Cloud interrupted.
" Tseng told me once that several years ago Rufus had a lover. Rufus tried so hard to keep her a secret, but somehow his father found out and captured her. He turned her over to Hojo and that bastard exposed her to Mako. You can probably guess what happened after that," Reno continued.
" How many lives does the ShinRa have to ruin," Barret raged.
" Do you know where the boy is now," Nanaki asked, the story was reminding him of the strange people that had visited the canyon not long ago.
" No, but I would suspect that he's looking for Rufus," Reno replied, " seeing as how he's the boy's father."
" Whoa! Whoa! Back up," Barret exclaimed, " Are you telling us that there's another Rufus ShinRa running around?!" He hadn't been listening when Cloud was relaying the situation to the others when they were back in Kalm. He had been too busy thinking of all ways that ShinRa still pissed him off.
" Not another Rufus, but is it so hard to believe that Rufus has a son," Reno asked, the others looked at him suspiciously, " Rufus gave me and the other Turks a special job not long after he became president."
" What kind of job," Barret demanded.
" A search," Reno proceeded, " he wanted us to find some woman and her kid. I had a picture of the woman but I lost it when Sephiroth jumped me and I fell. Rufus did tell me that the woman's kid was his son."
" I would appear that we may have a predicament on our hands," Nanaki pointed out.
" No shit, sherlock," Barret said sarcastically.
" Now it makes sense," Nanaki concluded.
" What makes sense," Barret wanted to know.
" A strange woman I've never seen before came to the canyon a few days ago asking about Cloud," Nanaki explained, " She had a man and a boy with her. I didn't recognize the man, but he was wearing a soldier uniform. The boy caught my interest, though. He had dark, red-orange hair and almost glowing, blue eyes. Reminded me of Rufus."
" That must have been Shivra's son," Cloud concluded.
" You know her," Reno probed.
" She's the one who hired us to find out about Rufus," Cloud explained, " she told me about her son, a little. Lucius, I think, is what she called him."
" Rufus and Lucius," Reno mused, " sounds rather fitting to me." The others glared at Reno's remark.
" Be serious," Nanaki scolded.
" Sorry," Reno grumbled.
" I think we should get the others in on this," Nanaki suggested, " things could start to really get complicated."
" Ya think," Barret snorted sarcastically. Cloud took the PHS out of his pocket and dialed several numbers into it.
* * * Visions of a woman with long, black and red hair whirled like a cyclone through his head. Her tantalizing, sea-green eyes focused on him, beckoning him in a seductive way so that when he slowly opened his eyes, barely registering that the loose strands of his orange hair were draped over his eyes, he wished he was still dreaming. Frankly, he didn't really care if his hair was a bit long or not, all his mind was focused on was the dream he'd had. How many times had he had it before, he had lost count a long time ago. He had been dreaming for a long time about not only the mysterious woman but also about flashes of memories that obviously were his yet he didn't remember any of them. The dreams were all but driving him insane, constant reminders that he knew nothing of his past before he woke to find himself sprawled on a beach in the ruins of Mideel one day.
He had been badly wounded when the people of Mideel had discovered him stretched out over the blood stained sand at the edge of the glowing pool of green water that made up the lifestream. Feeling sorry for him, the people of Mideel did their best to nurse him back to health. His wounds had healed perfectly, but they had left their scars, both visible and invisible. A long, thin scar remained extended from the center of his forehead to his temple, serving as the only souvenir from his past. Often at night he would trace the blemish with his finger and try to remember how he had come to acquire it.
Voices from outside jolted him out of his thoughts and reminded him that he had work to do. He sat up in bed and stretched himself. He staggered for a second after standing up. Once he regained his equilibrium, he reached for the clothes he had left on his desk. He pulled the tight, black T- shirt over his head, ruffling his orange hair, and slipped on his loose, dark blue pants. Stepping into the bright sunlight felt good. The hot rays of light warmed his cold skin. It felt marvelous.
" G'morning, Rufus," an old man sitting of to the side greeted.
" Morning, Gilbert," he responded, waving to his friend.
He wasn't sure if Rufus was his real name. He was only called that because it was the only name from his past that he remembered. The name seemed to fit him so that's what the people called him.
" We're fixin' Smither's place today," Gilbert notified.
" Meet ya there at one," Rufus organized.
" Will do," Gilbert agreed. Rufus waved and set out toward the beach for his morning routine.
Ever since he had washed up on these shores, Rufus made it a priority to come to this spot every morning. He wasn't sure why, but it calmed him somewhat to come here and just lie in the sun. The red sand that had been there when he first came had long ago been washed away by the ever-present waves, but Rufus knew the spot the moment he set foot on it.
He plopped down on the warm sand and stretched out his arms. He sprawled himself across the sand, letting the sun bathe him in its harsh but lovely light. He closed his eyes and dozed off.
* * * Shivra straightened the reins on her chocobo. She was extremely vexed at the moment, mostly due to the fact that she couldn't find Lucius. He hadn't returned from Kalm yet and she could find no sign of him anywhere. Her chocobo warked meekly.
" Come on, Osiris," Shivra urged, " let's go find Lucius." Shivra spurred Osiris south. They raced over the landscape, combing for any sign of Lucius, but after several hours of desperate searching Shivra could find no trace of her son.
Osiris rounded a corner and came to a halt at the top of a high bluff. Shivra stayed mounted on her chocobo's back, her dark hair flying in the wild winds. The sun was going down. The western sky was stained red, purple and blue. She stared sadly at the darkening horizon, remembering that once, long ago, she and Rufus used to watch sunsets like these on evenings when they could slip away from the rest of the world. It had been on one such night that he had taken her into his arms. That night had been the happiest night of Shivra's life. She had been even happier to learn the next week that she was to bear a child.
Terrible things had happened since then. Not just the coming of Meteor and the return of Sephiroth, but also her capture and separation from Rufus. Shivra immediately scolded herself for dwelling on the past. It didn't do any good to dredge up the misfortunes of times past, of course it was wise to learn a lesson from them but dwelling on them only brought depression. As a summoner, Shivra knew that depression was a hindrance to life.
Twilight settled across the land below the bluff. Shivra suddenly felt something tighten inside her. She had a sixth sense about some things and the only other time she had felt this way before was the day that Meteor had appeared above the skies of Midgar. The day that Rufus disappeared. She turned and raced across the dark grass of the plains toward Midgar. A strong feeling that she should be there drove her to ride as fast as she could.
* * * Sephiroth rose slowly from his seat at the top of ShinRa tower. As he had hoped, Cloud and the others had assembled in Midgar. He picked up his sword from its resting place on a pile of derbies.
" I'm coming for you, Cloud Strife," he whispered as he jumped from his perch into the air.
* * * Cloud looked up to see a looming shape falling toward them. It took a moment for him to realize that the figure was a man or, more correctly, Sephiroth.
" Heads up, everyone," he shouted, pulling out his sword. Sephiroth landed in a cat-like position on the ground directly in the center of the group. Everyone jumped back in surprise and prepared themselves for battle.
" We meet again at last, Puppet," Sephiroth laughed, " would you care to honor me with a battle."
" We killed you," Cloud stammered, " you should be dead." Sephiroth cackled maniacally.
" It is in death that true immortality is achieved," he mused, " and Jenova never really dies."
" What is that supposed to mean," Cloud demanded. Sephiroth only laughed harder.
" Enough of this small talk," he concluded, " shall we see which of us is truly the strongest?" He jumped into the air and hovered above their heads.
" Let's teach this son of a bitch a lesson he won't ever forget," Barret yelled, loading his gun-arm.
" We'll send him crawling back into the Lifestream," Yuffie joined.
" For all the pain he caused us," Tifa added.
" You do realize that I've heard all your lame excuses for battle cries before," Sephiroth interrupted.
" You have no sense of drama at all," Yuffie whined. Sephiroth gave her a skeptic look.
" Fine then, let's just kill him again and get this over with," Cloud interjected. The others entered their battle positions. " Let's mosey!" Sephiroth snorted.
One by one, each person, with the exception of Reno, charged at Sephiroth, only to be batted away as if they were mere insects, until only Cloud was left standing. Cloud and Sephiroth circled each other like two panthers preparing for a fight to the death. Cloud made the first move. He rushed at Sephiroth at amazing speed, but Sephiroth was ready for him. He dodged Cloud's blow and planted a vicious kick in his spine, sending Cloud sprawling to the ground. Cloud was up again in an instant. Unfortunately, an instant wasn't enough time for Cloud to fully counter Sephiroth's attack. He was only able to throw himself to the side to keep from having the Masamune driven through his back. Before Cloud could get back up again, Sephiroth was upon him, slashing at him wherever he was unprotected. Suddenly, the slashing stopped. Cloud looked up to see another figure leap at Sephiroth. Steel clashed against steel as Sephiroth locked swords with this new attacker. With a sudden burst of strength, Sephiroth sent the figure flying. It had little affect on the figure though for he was up again in a microsecond. Cloud could see the figure clearly now. Time had had little to no effect on him. He still had the same black hair and cerulean eyes. He was still Zack, exactly the way Cloud remembered him.
* * * Rufus sat wearily in a tree on the outskirts of the forest surrounding Mideel. He was watching a herd of wild chocobos making their way to their nightly resting places. Suddenly, the herd was scattered by new chocobo. It was a black chocobo, blacker than any Rufus had ever seen before. It appeared to be carrying a rider. Suspicious, Rufus climbed, or rather jumped, from his perch in the tree and mounted his own chocobo. He spurred it after the black chocobo.
* * * Zack and Sephiroth continued to fight. Each one striking only to be parried by the other. Zack seemed to be weakening, but he always stayed on top of the situation. Cloud wanted to help, but Sephiroth's kick had done more damage than he would admit. Moving at all caused extreme pain, therefor he could only helplessly watch Zack weaken while Sephiroth grew stronger. Eventually, Zack's weariness took its toll. Sephiroth not only noticed this, but took advantage of it. Zack made one last attempt to get in a killing blow. His blade cut deep into Sephiroth's upper chest, severing bone and flesh. Sephiroth let out a gargled cry and clutched at the wound with his free hand. He concentrated with all his mental power, preparing for a final assault. Zack suddenly was thrown back a step by the force of the mental blow. His hands locked to the side of his head. He let forth a strangled moan.
" That's it," Sephiroth cackled, " go down like the pathetic dog you are." He focused even harder. forcing Zack to scream in mortal agony as he fell to his knees.
" Chiyupakabara!"
Sephiroth's concentration was interrupted for a second by the new voice. Zack's body slipped to the ground in a crumpled heap, released for the moment from Sephiroth's mental grip.
A relatively small monster leapt from a nearby building. It was about half the size of a chocobo with light brown, scaly skin covering its body. Poison laced spines jutted from all joints of its body. Beside the monster, a woman stood. A woman with long, black and red hair in a crimson cloak.
" Go, Chiyupakabara," Shivra commanded, " attack." Chiyupakabara leapt at Sephiroth, its lethal claws ready to tear him apart. Sephiroth raised his arm to shield himself from the attack. The result was Chiyupakabara's venomous fangs sinking into the flesh of his arms. The fatal venom shot into Sephiroth's bloodstream. Instantly, he felt himself weaken from the immediate effects of the poison. With the last of his strength, Sephiroth struck Chiyupakabara, knocking it away from him.
" Damn you, Shivra," he wheezed, " damn you to Hell and back again!" Then he disappeared. Chiyupakabara seated itself at Shivra's side and began to clean its talons. Slowly, the beast became transparent and broke into shards of multicolored light that disappeared like whisps of smoke. Shivra dropped to her knees beside Zack. She turned him over and examined him.
" Zack," she tried, " can you hear me?" Zack moaned in reply, but did not open his eyes. Shivra placed a hand to his throat. His pulse throbbed against her fingers. " Lie still," she ordered. Then she approached Cloud.
" Good thing you came," he stated, "or we'd probably all be dead."
" There is no 'probably' in this scenario, Cloud Strife," Shivra corrected, "you would be dead if I had arrived even three minutes from now. Sephiroth wouldn't have given the idea of killing all of you a second thought." Cloud shrugged, immediately wishing he hadn't for the pain shooting through his back. " You're hurt," Shivra stated bluntly.
" It's nothing," Cloud protested.
" If it was nothing you'd have still been fighting when I got here," Shivra argued, " now hold still and let me take a look." Cloud obeyed her and remained still as she ran her fingers lightly down his back. Shivra stopped mid-section, feeling a fracture in the bones. " Got a few bones here jolted outta place," she informed, " hold still while I reposition them." Cloud did as he was told. Shivra placed one finger on each of the ruptured bones and gently forced them back into place. Cloud strained his nerves to keep from crying out in pain.
" That hurts," he complained.
" Would you rather be paralyzed for the rest of your life," Shivra countered smartly. Cloud didn't complain again. The rest of Cloud's group was started to get up. Shivra checked each of them for any serious injury, all of them were no worse for the wear. She came last to Reno.
Reno was very pale and weak. Both his injuries and loss of blood had taken a heavy toll on him. Shivra palpated his ribs. Reno flinched heavily at Shivra's touch. She felt for his pulse, finding it weak and shuddering.
" Is he gonna make it," Yuffie asked. Shivra was examining Reno's wound. She didn't answer right away. Reno started to cough. The cough grew worse until Shivra put a hand behind Reno's head to steady him, blood spotted his lips.
" There's a lot of loose blood in his body," Shivra finally answered, " it's gotten into his lungs."
" So, all we can do is stand here and watch him die," Yuffie demanded. Shivra ignored her and peeled Reno's jacket and shirt back. Yuffie and Tifa gagged at the sight of the wound.
" Damn," Cid gasped, cringing.
" The wound is deep," Shivra stated, " the damage is heavy." " Will he live," Cloud asked.
" I can't say," Shivra skirted. Reno seemed to come to his senses for a moment. He stared at Shivra.
" You're the woman... from the picture..." His voice was raspy.
" Rufus sent you to find me," Shivra asked. Reno nodded, not having the strength for anything more. Shivra pulled him into her lap, where she supported his head with her arm. He coughed again.
" I've never... failed a... single... mission," Reno started, " ...as a... Turk..." Shivra tried to hush Reno, but he went on, " after... Rude and... Elena... died from... Meteor... I went... on..."
" You completed the mission Rufus gave you," Shivra reassured, " you were loyal and brave to make it this far. Rufus would have been proud of your work." Reno's breathing became erratic. His body was starting to tremble. He shut his eyes against the pain.
" You deserve peace." Shivra kept her hand on Reno's heart until it stopped. His body relaxed.
Everyone fell silent in respect for Reno...
Chapter Two
After Rufus became president, he appointed the Turks with a mission apart from any others they had ever had. Their mission was to locate Shivra and her son...
* * * Nanaki sniffed the ground. The tiger-like beast's fire-red fur twitched. " I smell blood," he growled menacingly. Barret replied by cocking his gun- arm.
" Can you tell where," Cloud asked, drawing his sword. Nanaki sniffed the ground again.
" This way," he concluded, taking off in the direction of the scent. Cloud and Barret hurried after him. Nanaki halted near a cluster of debris that must have blown off the ShinRa Tower.
" This ain't nothin' but a pile of junk, Red," Barret complained.
" The smell ends here," Nanaki explained. Cloud circled the heap in confusion. A weak moan near the base of the pile caught his attention. When he knelt down to investigate the sound, Cloud felt a warm, wet substance under his hand. A small pool of blood had seeped out from under the cluster of junk, the source of the scent.
" Barret, Nanaki, come look at this," he urged. They too knelt down to study the blood. Nanaki shivered. Barret shoved several iron beams away. There was no mistaking the red hair and navy blue jacket of the man trapped beneath the debris. It was Reno of the Turks and, surprisingly, he was still alive.
" It's Reno," Barret observed. The Turk turned his body as much as the beams would allow. Now, Cloud could see where the blood had come. A split in Reno's jacket revealed a sight that made his stomach twist. Reno's side had a gash in it that stretched from his stomach to inches from his spine situated just below his rib cage.
" What happened to you, Reno," Cloud demanded. Reno didn't answer right away, instead he vainly tried to free himself.
" I tripped and fell," he replied sarcastically, giving up trying to free himself and collapsing, drenched in is own blood, " what do you think happened? I was attacked by Sephiroth."
" Sephiroth is still alive," Nanaki questioned. Reno didn't seem to want to stay on the subject of Sephiroth.
" Suppose you could lend a hand to someone in need," he asked, changing the subject. His eyes were alight with mixed emotion.
" Why should we," Barret countered. Reno closed his eyes and took a deep breath to still the involuntary trembling of his body.
" Because I can't get outta here otherwise," he sighed in defeat, " and I know what it is you're looking for." Cloud, Barret, and Nanaki shrugged then went to work.
" Don't know why we're helpin' the enemy," Barret grumbled as he lifted the last beam off of Reno's chest. Cloud dragged him free of the rubble and tried to help him up but Reno protested that he couldn't stand, which was true. Cloud propped the Turk up against a wall.
" Now, what do you know that we might want," Nanaki pestered.
" About six yeas ago, President ShinRa and Hojo attempted to clone another, more powerful, Sephiroth," Reno started, leaning against a wall for support.
" Who did they use for cloning," Barret demanded.
" I'm getting there," Reno said flatly. Barret's gun-arm flew out and smashed into Reno's injured side. Cloud looked away as Reno's blood drenched Barret's arm. The Turk cried out in pain and collapsed, clutching his side.
" Tell us now or I'll hit you again," Barret threatened. Reno didn't answer. The only sounds he made were stifled whimpers of pain and the sound of his labored breathing. Barret lifted his arm to strike Reno again. Cloud intercepted the blow before he could move.
" If you keep this up, he'll die before you get anything outta him," he protested.
" You talk to him then," Barret growled. Cloud knelt beside Reno.
" Just tell us and we'll help you," he offered. Reno flinched as Cloud touched his shoulder. " Just tell us," Cloud repeated.
" None of the ShinRa employees have ever seen him," Reno explained, " most don't even know his name."
" I wish you could tell us," Cloud interrupted.
" Tseng told me once that several years ago Rufus had a lover. Rufus tried so hard to keep her a secret, but somehow his father found out and captured her. He turned her over to Hojo and that bastard exposed her to Mako. You can probably guess what happened after that," Reno continued.
" How many lives does the ShinRa have to ruin," Barret raged.
" Do you know where the boy is now," Nanaki asked, the story was reminding him of the strange people that had visited the canyon not long ago.
" No, but I would suspect that he's looking for Rufus," Reno replied, " seeing as how he's the boy's father."
" Whoa! Whoa! Back up," Barret exclaimed, " Are you telling us that there's another Rufus ShinRa running around?!" He hadn't been listening when Cloud was relaying the situation to the others when they were back in Kalm. He had been too busy thinking of all ways that ShinRa still pissed him off.
" Not another Rufus, but is it so hard to believe that Rufus has a son," Reno asked, the others looked at him suspiciously, " Rufus gave me and the other Turks a special job not long after he became president."
" What kind of job," Barret demanded.
" A search," Reno proceeded, " he wanted us to find some woman and her kid. I had a picture of the woman but I lost it when Sephiroth jumped me and I fell. Rufus did tell me that the woman's kid was his son."
" I would appear that we may have a predicament on our hands," Nanaki pointed out.
" No shit, sherlock," Barret said sarcastically.
" Now it makes sense," Nanaki concluded.
" What makes sense," Barret wanted to know.
" A strange woman I've never seen before came to the canyon a few days ago asking about Cloud," Nanaki explained, " She had a man and a boy with her. I didn't recognize the man, but he was wearing a soldier uniform. The boy caught my interest, though. He had dark, red-orange hair and almost glowing, blue eyes. Reminded me of Rufus."
" That must have been Shivra's son," Cloud concluded.
" You know her," Reno probed.
" She's the one who hired us to find out about Rufus," Cloud explained, " she told me about her son, a little. Lucius, I think, is what she called him."
" Rufus and Lucius," Reno mused, " sounds rather fitting to me." The others glared at Reno's remark.
" Be serious," Nanaki scolded.
" Sorry," Reno grumbled.
" I think we should get the others in on this," Nanaki suggested, " things could start to really get complicated."
" Ya think," Barret snorted sarcastically. Cloud took the PHS out of his pocket and dialed several numbers into it.
* * * Visions of a woman with long, black and red hair whirled like a cyclone through his head. Her tantalizing, sea-green eyes focused on him, beckoning him in a seductive way so that when he slowly opened his eyes, barely registering that the loose strands of his orange hair were draped over his eyes, he wished he was still dreaming. Frankly, he didn't really care if his hair was a bit long or not, all his mind was focused on was the dream he'd had. How many times had he had it before, he had lost count a long time ago. He had been dreaming for a long time about not only the mysterious woman but also about flashes of memories that obviously were his yet he didn't remember any of them. The dreams were all but driving him insane, constant reminders that he knew nothing of his past before he woke to find himself sprawled on a beach in the ruins of Mideel one day.
He had been badly wounded when the people of Mideel had discovered him stretched out over the blood stained sand at the edge of the glowing pool of green water that made up the lifestream. Feeling sorry for him, the people of Mideel did their best to nurse him back to health. His wounds had healed perfectly, but they had left their scars, both visible and invisible. A long, thin scar remained extended from the center of his forehead to his temple, serving as the only souvenir from his past. Often at night he would trace the blemish with his finger and try to remember how he had come to acquire it.
Voices from outside jolted him out of his thoughts and reminded him that he had work to do. He sat up in bed and stretched himself. He staggered for a second after standing up. Once he regained his equilibrium, he reached for the clothes he had left on his desk. He pulled the tight, black T- shirt over his head, ruffling his orange hair, and slipped on his loose, dark blue pants. Stepping into the bright sunlight felt good. The hot rays of light warmed his cold skin. It felt marvelous.
" G'morning, Rufus," an old man sitting of to the side greeted.
" Morning, Gilbert," he responded, waving to his friend.
He wasn't sure if Rufus was his real name. He was only called that because it was the only name from his past that he remembered. The name seemed to fit him so that's what the people called him.
" We're fixin' Smither's place today," Gilbert notified.
" Meet ya there at one," Rufus organized.
" Will do," Gilbert agreed. Rufus waved and set out toward the beach for his morning routine.
Ever since he had washed up on these shores, Rufus made it a priority to come to this spot every morning. He wasn't sure why, but it calmed him somewhat to come here and just lie in the sun. The red sand that had been there when he first came had long ago been washed away by the ever-present waves, but Rufus knew the spot the moment he set foot on it.
He plopped down on the warm sand and stretched out his arms. He sprawled himself across the sand, letting the sun bathe him in its harsh but lovely light. He closed his eyes and dozed off.
* * * Shivra straightened the reins on her chocobo. She was extremely vexed at the moment, mostly due to the fact that she couldn't find Lucius. He hadn't returned from Kalm yet and she could find no sign of him anywhere. Her chocobo warked meekly.
" Come on, Osiris," Shivra urged, " let's go find Lucius." Shivra spurred Osiris south. They raced over the landscape, combing for any sign of Lucius, but after several hours of desperate searching Shivra could find no trace of her son.
Osiris rounded a corner and came to a halt at the top of a high bluff. Shivra stayed mounted on her chocobo's back, her dark hair flying in the wild winds. The sun was going down. The western sky was stained red, purple and blue. She stared sadly at the darkening horizon, remembering that once, long ago, she and Rufus used to watch sunsets like these on evenings when they could slip away from the rest of the world. It had been on one such night that he had taken her into his arms. That night had been the happiest night of Shivra's life. She had been even happier to learn the next week that she was to bear a child.
Terrible things had happened since then. Not just the coming of Meteor and the return of Sephiroth, but also her capture and separation from Rufus. Shivra immediately scolded herself for dwelling on the past. It didn't do any good to dredge up the misfortunes of times past, of course it was wise to learn a lesson from them but dwelling on them only brought depression. As a summoner, Shivra knew that depression was a hindrance to life.
Twilight settled across the land below the bluff. Shivra suddenly felt something tighten inside her. She had a sixth sense about some things and the only other time she had felt this way before was the day that Meteor had appeared above the skies of Midgar. The day that Rufus disappeared. She turned and raced across the dark grass of the plains toward Midgar. A strong feeling that she should be there drove her to ride as fast as she could.
* * * Sephiroth rose slowly from his seat at the top of ShinRa tower. As he had hoped, Cloud and the others had assembled in Midgar. He picked up his sword from its resting place on a pile of derbies.
" I'm coming for you, Cloud Strife," he whispered as he jumped from his perch into the air.
* * * Cloud looked up to see a looming shape falling toward them. It took a moment for him to realize that the figure was a man or, more correctly, Sephiroth.
" Heads up, everyone," he shouted, pulling out his sword. Sephiroth landed in a cat-like position on the ground directly in the center of the group. Everyone jumped back in surprise and prepared themselves for battle.
" We meet again at last, Puppet," Sephiroth laughed, " would you care to honor me with a battle."
" We killed you," Cloud stammered, " you should be dead." Sephiroth cackled maniacally.
" It is in death that true immortality is achieved," he mused, " and Jenova never really dies."
" What is that supposed to mean," Cloud demanded. Sephiroth only laughed harder.
" Enough of this small talk," he concluded, " shall we see which of us is truly the strongest?" He jumped into the air and hovered above their heads.
" Let's teach this son of a bitch a lesson he won't ever forget," Barret yelled, loading his gun-arm.
" We'll send him crawling back into the Lifestream," Yuffie joined.
" For all the pain he caused us," Tifa added.
" You do realize that I've heard all your lame excuses for battle cries before," Sephiroth interrupted.
" You have no sense of drama at all," Yuffie whined. Sephiroth gave her a skeptic look.
" Fine then, let's just kill him again and get this over with," Cloud interjected. The others entered their battle positions. " Let's mosey!" Sephiroth snorted.
One by one, each person, with the exception of Reno, charged at Sephiroth, only to be batted away as if they were mere insects, until only Cloud was left standing. Cloud and Sephiroth circled each other like two panthers preparing for a fight to the death. Cloud made the first move. He rushed at Sephiroth at amazing speed, but Sephiroth was ready for him. He dodged Cloud's blow and planted a vicious kick in his spine, sending Cloud sprawling to the ground. Cloud was up again in an instant. Unfortunately, an instant wasn't enough time for Cloud to fully counter Sephiroth's attack. He was only able to throw himself to the side to keep from having the Masamune driven through his back. Before Cloud could get back up again, Sephiroth was upon him, slashing at him wherever he was unprotected. Suddenly, the slashing stopped. Cloud looked up to see another figure leap at Sephiroth. Steel clashed against steel as Sephiroth locked swords with this new attacker. With a sudden burst of strength, Sephiroth sent the figure flying. It had little affect on the figure though for he was up again in a microsecond. Cloud could see the figure clearly now. Time had had little to no effect on him. He still had the same black hair and cerulean eyes. He was still Zack, exactly the way Cloud remembered him.
* * * Rufus sat wearily in a tree on the outskirts of the forest surrounding Mideel. He was watching a herd of wild chocobos making their way to their nightly resting places. Suddenly, the herd was scattered by new chocobo. It was a black chocobo, blacker than any Rufus had ever seen before. It appeared to be carrying a rider. Suspicious, Rufus climbed, or rather jumped, from his perch in the tree and mounted his own chocobo. He spurred it after the black chocobo.
* * * Zack and Sephiroth continued to fight. Each one striking only to be parried by the other. Zack seemed to be weakening, but he always stayed on top of the situation. Cloud wanted to help, but Sephiroth's kick had done more damage than he would admit. Moving at all caused extreme pain, therefor he could only helplessly watch Zack weaken while Sephiroth grew stronger. Eventually, Zack's weariness took its toll. Sephiroth not only noticed this, but took advantage of it. Zack made one last attempt to get in a killing blow. His blade cut deep into Sephiroth's upper chest, severing bone and flesh. Sephiroth let out a gargled cry and clutched at the wound with his free hand. He concentrated with all his mental power, preparing for a final assault. Zack suddenly was thrown back a step by the force of the mental blow. His hands locked to the side of his head. He let forth a strangled moan.
" That's it," Sephiroth cackled, " go down like the pathetic dog you are." He focused even harder. forcing Zack to scream in mortal agony as he fell to his knees.
" Chiyupakabara!"
Sephiroth's concentration was interrupted for a second by the new voice. Zack's body slipped to the ground in a crumpled heap, released for the moment from Sephiroth's mental grip.
A relatively small monster leapt from a nearby building. It was about half the size of a chocobo with light brown, scaly skin covering its body. Poison laced spines jutted from all joints of its body. Beside the monster, a woman stood. A woman with long, black and red hair in a crimson cloak.
" Go, Chiyupakabara," Shivra commanded, " attack." Chiyupakabara leapt at Sephiroth, its lethal claws ready to tear him apart. Sephiroth raised his arm to shield himself from the attack. The result was Chiyupakabara's venomous fangs sinking into the flesh of his arms. The fatal venom shot into Sephiroth's bloodstream. Instantly, he felt himself weaken from the immediate effects of the poison. With the last of his strength, Sephiroth struck Chiyupakabara, knocking it away from him.
" Damn you, Shivra," he wheezed, " damn you to Hell and back again!" Then he disappeared. Chiyupakabara seated itself at Shivra's side and began to clean its talons. Slowly, the beast became transparent and broke into shards of multicolored light that disappeared like whisps of smoke. Shivra dropped to her knees beside Zack. She turned him over and examined him.
" Zack," she tried, " can you hear me?" Zack moaned in reply, but did not open his eyes. Shivra placed a hand to his throat. His pulse throbbed against her fingers. " Lie still," she ordered. Then she approached Cloud.
" Good thing you came," he stated, "or we'd probably all be dead."
" There is no 'probably' in this scenario, Cloud Strife," Shivra corrected, "you would be dead if I had arrived even three minutes from now. Sephiroth wouldn't have given the idea of killing all of you a second thought." Cloud shrugged, immediately wishing he hadn't for the pain shooting through his back. " You're hurt," Shivra stated bluntly.
" It's nothing," Cloud protested.
" If it was nothing you'd have still been fighting when I got here," Shivra argued, " now hold still and let me take a look." Cloud obeyed her and remained still as she ran her fingers lightly down his back. Shivra stopped mid-section, feeling a fracture in the bones. " Got a few bones here jolted outta place," she informed, " hold still while I reposition them." Cloud did as he was told. Shivra placed one finger on each of the ruptured bones and gently forced them back into place. Cloud strained his nerves to keep from crying out in pain.
" That hurts," he complained.
" Would you rather be paralyzed for the rest of your life," Shivra countered smartly. Cloud didn't complain again. The rest of Cloud's group was started to get up. Shivra checked each of them for any serious injury, all of them were no worse for the wear. She came last to Reno.
Reno was very pale and weak. Both his injuries and loss of blood had taken a heavy toll on him. Shivra palpated his ribs. Reno flinched heavily at Shivra's touch. She felt for his pulse, finding it weak and shuddering.
" Is he gonna make it," Yuffie asked. Shivra was examining Reno's wound. She didn't answer right away. Reno started to cough. The cough grew worse until Shivra put a hand behind Reno's head to steady him, blood spotted his lips.
" There's a lot of loose blood in his body," Shivra finally answered, " it's gotten into his lungs."
" So, all we can do is stand here and watch him die," Yuffie demanded. Shivra ignored her and peeled Reno's jacket and shirt back. Yuffie and Tifa gagged at the sight of the wound.
" Damn," Cid gasped, cringing.
" The wound is deep," Shivra stated, " the damage is heavy." " Will he live," Cloud asked.
" I can't say," Shivra skirted. Reno seemed to come to his senses for a moment. He stared at Shivra.
" You're the woman... from the picture..." His voice was raspy.
" Rufus sent you to find me," Shivra asked. Reno nodded, not having the strength for anything more. Shivra pulled him into her lap, where she supported his head with her arm. He coughed again.
" I've never... failed a... single... mission," Reno started, " ...as a... Turk..." Shivra tried to hush Reno, but he went on, " after... Rude and... Elena... died from... Meteor... I went... on..."
" You completed the mission Rufus gave you," Shivra reassured, " you were loyal and brave to make it this far. Rufus would have been proud of your work." Reno's breathing became erratic. His body was starting to tremble. He shut his eyes against the pain.
" You deserve peace." Shivra kept her hand on Reno's heart until it stopped. His body relaxed.
Everyone fell silent in respect for Reno...