::Chapter 14 – Submergence of the Soul::
Every few seconds a bubble would rise towards the surface of the ocean. These bubbles were all that remained of the presence of the Highwind. There was complete silence everywhere, not counting the few birds flying around, going about their business. The crew of the now submerged Highwind stood on the shore staring into the vast ocean.
"It was almost exactly like the dream." Cloud muttered, breaking the silence.
"What was? This?! Your goddamn dream predicted the ship crashing?!" Cid yelled, infuriated.
"Yes. There were some differences, but yes, the exact thing happened in the dream when we went to Nibelheim." Cloud said defensively.
"Oh, differences you say? Was the sky green?! Did I have a sign stamped on my head that said IDIOT?! Did we all die? Tell me, Cloud, what the hell was different?" Cid asked, chain-smoking cigarette after cigarette.
Cloud pointed at the pilot and Cait Sith. "They died in the dream. Aerith was also alive in the dream. The Highwind didn't crash into the ocean here; instead it crashed into the mountains... directly where we're headed now. Nevertheless the ship crashed." Cloud said, turning his back and preparing to walk into Nibelheim.
"The mountains..?" Cid asked, seemly calmer.
"Yeah, it crashed directly into the mountain, near the Mt. Nibel reactor." Cloud said, pointing towards the reactor. "It's almost as if we were meant to go to the reactor."
"Sure, kid. Before you go off with your delusions of grandeur, or dream, or whatever you're calling it; give me your underwater materia so I can see what's left of my ship." Cid said, placing his hand out.
"Fine, just bring back anything you can find that you think I'd want." Cloud said, forking over his materia.
Cid nodded, and walked towards the ocean. The Highwind itself was most likely a good 25 feet under, and most of the outer portions of it were no more. Chances are that only a few compartments were still water-free. As Cid got closer to the ship, he could see that both wings were no more, and that the observation deck was gone, burnt away. He swam towards the wreckage and into the doorway where the observation deck once was.
Inside the Highwind, the entranceway was about waist deep in water, and rising. The crewman's quarters were completely flooded, as was the chocobo stable. Upon prying the main bridge door open, Cid opened a massive flow of water which quickly raised the water level in the entranceway. He noticed the book that was found in Shinra tower, and swam for it. If he were lucky enough, he could get out of here quickly so the book wouldn't get damaged. He waded towards the entrance, holding the book up high enough so water wouldn't ruin it. He found an empty plastic bag Yuffie had planned on using for vomit, and stuck the book in it, and sealed it shut the best he could before swimming out of the ship and towards the surface.
On the shore, Vincent sat staring at the watch on Tifa's wrist. "Five minutes." He said, looking back towards the ocean and then down again at her watch. "He'll be back soon."
"What do you mean?" Tifa asked, looking down at her own watch.
"Cloud there gave Mr. Pissy an elemental materia, not his underwater one. It was a water elemental materia at that." Vincent responded, pointing at Cloud.
Cloud looked away innocently. A moment later Cid appeared out of the water, nearly out of breath.
"No one mention a word to him." Cloud whispered in Tifa's direction.
"Cloud... I don't think that materia you gave me works very well." Cid said, gasping for air. "I did bring this back with me. You can thank me later." Cid forked over the book, still in plastic bag. "I just need to lie down for a minute and get some air... and smoke a cigarette."
"Uh...thanks...Cid." Cloud said, feeling guilty about not handing over the real underwater materia. "So whenever you're ready, we'll head to Nibelheim, and then to the reactor."
"So what's left of the ship, Cid?" Red XIII asked pacing back and forth.
"Not a whole lot. By now all the compartments are completely flooded. The only thing I was able to save was this book." Cid said, handing the book to Cloud.
"So, do ya know why the whole ship jus' went ka-boom?" Barrett asked, changing weapons on his arm cannon.
"Well, either Shera's a horrible technician, or I'm a lousy captain." Cid said, getting back to his feet. "Let's go, we've got a job to finish."
Cid ushered the others towards the direction of Nibelheim, while following at the very end. Their objective would be to travel through Nibelheim, and head up the path towards the Mt. Nibel reactor. Once there, they would know if a third alien being exists. The only major concern was that this alien could possibly run away as well. If it did, where else would there be to go? Cloud knew in his mind there were no other places to go. He knew that this should be the end of the line.
Getting closer to Nibelheim, the crew could see a small bit of smoke slithering in the sky. It was obvious that if nothing, a small portion of Meteor had crashed into the area surrounding the Mt. Nibel Reactor. Walking past the Shinra Mansion, Vincent stared in its direction, as if he were going to miss the condemned building. He shook his head, and paid attention to the path ahead of him.
They had set foot outside of Nibelheim now, heading down the path towards Mt. Nibel. Cloud felt a cold chill down his spine. He felt as if something were watching him, attempting to scare him away, back to town. He shook it off, and continued onward. It had been a while now, since he'd last ventured down this path. He told himself he'd never do it again, but here he was; ready to put Tifa's life in danger again.
Hah, he thought. Those bastards from town never really knew what happened up there. They all blamed me, if they'd known I saved Tifa's life... The thoughts in Cloud's head trailed off as he walked. He put his hand over the scar Sephiroth's sword had given him.
As he was walking, Barrett contemplated retiring from the whole "AVALANCHE" thing. What point was there to be a part of something that didn't have anything to fight for? He decided it was time to take care of Marlene, and worry less about the planet.
Tifa, walking alongside Cloud, knew what she had to do. She had to move on with her life. It was obvious that Cloud only considered her a friend. She knew he longed for Aerith, even in death.
Vincent thought about returning to that cave he saw Lucrecia in. He knew he needed to see her again, and needed answers to more questions than he could think of. It was time for him to move on with his life as well, but not before he got to speak to her one last time.
Cid, smoking his last cigarette, knew it was time to give them up. He'd already begun to acquire a smoker's cough, and he knew he was never really addicted to them. He decided he would salvage the Highwind, once this was all over. Of course, he would have to survive this fight, he thought.
Reeve, in command of Cait, decided this would be the last robot he'd pilot. He decided to help the citizens of Midgar relocate, and hopefully become their mayor. After all, all he really wanted to do in life was help people.
Yuffie stopped Cloud in his tracks. "Here. I stole this from you a while back. I used it to pay for gas, and buy some materia. I'm done stealing from my friends. I'm only going to steal from those who try to hurt me from now on."
Cloud looked down at the Gil in her hand. "You stole that from me? When?"
"It was when you were asleep on the bridge of the ship." Yuffie said, scared to admit the truth.
"Well... thanks, I guess." Cloud said, taking the Gil from her hand. He stopped and looked up as he took the Gil. They were now at the bridge. THE bridge; where Tifa and he had fallen.
"It's just on the other side of the bridge here." Cloud said, pointing towards the metal exhaust pipes which could be seen just over a small peak.
"Everyone ready?" Cid asked, looking around.
"I think so." Barrett said. "I want ya'll to know this is the last time I fight with ya. I'm too old for this shit. It's time for me to retire from AVALANCHE."
"Why are you retiring?" Tifa asked, in disbelief.
"Les' face it. Now that Midgar is gone, what'll we fight for? Meteor finished what we started. I gotta start being a daddy to lil' Marlene, and less of some kinda hero." Barrett said, looking at his gun-arm.
"He's right, Tifa. I wouldn't understand it if I'd just joined today... but since I've been around you two for some time now, I understand what he's saying. We've stopped the life-force of the planet from being taken by Midgar. We've gone to every other reactor, and each is dysfunctional, except this one here." Cloud said, pointing towards the reactor.
"So are you saying we should bomb this one too?" Cid asked, ready to pull out the last of the plastik.
Cloud nodded.
"Uh, we've got a small problem then." Cid said, pulling the last plastik out of his bag. "This last one is timer detonated, not plunger."
"So we'll set the timer. Seven minutes should be enough, right?" Cid asked, punching numbers on the explosive's keypad.
"Yeah, if we're not out of there in seven minutes, we shouldn't have been here in the first place." Vincent said, putting in his two cents worth.
"Okay then, but we've got one last problem." Cid said, pulling on a wire that ran in his bag.
"What's that?" Cloud asked.
"This one is really two." He said. "Look, one timer, two pieces of plastik."
"So we'll set them up in a nice pattern or something, let's just blow the damn thing up." Barrett said. "I wanna be retired in the next seven minutes."
With that, they ran for the entrance. Quickly, everyone followed Cloud, who knew the path all too well. He could see the bottom shaft in sight, merely a few ladders away. He ran over, and jumped down the last ladder.
"Come on, we've gotta hurry!" He yelled, looking up at those still on the ladder. "Where are Cait and Red?"
"We're here, just give us a minute. It's hard to climb down these ladders." Red yelled.
"Yeah, this robot's not THAT maneuverable." Reeve said, from behind the controls of Cait.
Cloud ran up to the room Jenova was kept in. Here they could set the bomb. One in this room, one in the room before; it would surely kill the beings in incubation right outside the door here.
"Toss me the first bomb!" Cloud yelled, putting his hands out. Cid threw him one of the two pieces of plastik; the one without the timer. Meanwhile, Cid set the timer up and armed the other piece.
"Okay, when you say ready, we've got seven minutes to get the hell out of here." Cid shouted.
Cloud paused. Something wasn't right. Where was the alien? There was too much debris outside for there to be no alien. No eggs, even.
"Guys, we've got a problem here." Cloud shouted. "You remember all the Meteor debris outside, right? Where are the eggs, and the alien?"
There was complete silence. Everyone knew Cloud was right, in one way or the other. SOMETHING was off here. There should be an alien, and six eggs. But there was no such thing in sight. Or was there? Cloud ran back to the shaft he'd thrown Sephiroth off of several years ago.
"Anyone have a flashlight?" He yelled.
"I might." Cid yelled, rummaging through his bag. "Found one!" He tossed it to Cloud. Cloud caught it and flipped it on.
"Oh shit." Cloud said. "Everyone come here."
"What's the matter... Cloud...?" Tifa's voice trailed off as she peeked down the shaft, at what the flashlight had focused upon. There sat three red glowing lights. Not lights, per say, these were eyes. The same eyes they'd seen back at Gongaga and Corel. Were they truly the same eyes, or just three new aliens?
"Look." Cloud whispered, pointing at one of the aliens. "His eye, it's injured. He's healing, but it's injured. It's the same alien from Corel." He was right, it was the same alien. It had burrowed its way here, so had the Gongaga one. WHY had they burrowed here?
"Cloud... look at the eggs." Tifa said. The eggs here had been incubated. They'd gone without being exploded or smashed in. SOMETHING was inside each egg. The eggs were ready to hatch, for a lack of a better word, and from afar showed a few cracks.
"Uh, Cloud... I think we've been spotted." Yuffie said, looking at one of seven tentacles grasping onto the pathway they stood on.
"Oh shit. Cid, arm the bomb, everyone else, RUN!" Cloud ushered everyone towards the ladder as cid pressed the large X button on the plastik, and the timer button on his watch. Just as quickly as they'd started running, each was snatched up and pulled down towards the alien creatures. At the bottom, they were let go as all three aliens slowly started heading towards each other.
"What are they doing now..?" Tifa shouted.
"I don't know, but look at those eggs. Can you see in them? It's HIM." Cloud shouted, pointing at the eggs.
The three aliens slowly became one, each one wrapping around the other. A white light emanated from within their center. Four tentacles remained present as the others became a part of a new creature. The three red eyes shifted, forming three eyes in a triangular shape. It became clearer now what was happening. One alien by itself meant nothing, but all three aliens by themselves became one.
"I finally understand now." Cloud said, staring at the new, giant alien being. "This is the true Jenova. The original Jenova we fought a while back was just one section. Meteor was to bring the other two, but it brought all three. This is Jenova Complete. This is the true Jenova, which means... these things in the eggs, are its children..."
"Cloud, we've got five minutes!" Cid yelled, looking down at his watch.
"Alright then; we fight, one last time, AVALANCHE'S last mission." Cloud said, drawing his sword. Just as he said those words, the six eggs cracked open. Out fell six weak humanoid bodies. "Look at them! I was right!" Cloud yelled, pointing at the six humanoids. Each one was an alien offspring, but they more closely resembled Sephiroth.
"It can't be..." Tifa said, her voice trailing off.
"Kill them!" Cid shouted. "Kill the bastards before they kill us!" He charged at one of the weakened offspring and stuck his spear directly into its skull. Cloud took his sword and decapitated the second offspring. Barrett stood directly over one and fired his gun into its head. Vincent walked up to one, and shot it three times; once for each eye, and one in the temple. Red XIII took his claws and stabbed them into the ocular cavity of the fifth one, before stabbing it into the heart. Yuffie went for the sixth, but stopped before she attacked. The sixth one had gotten to his feet just then, ready to extract revenge for the killing of his siblings.
The sixth took Yuffie by the head and threw her against the wall. Cloud turned and swiped his sword at it, scraping it across the chest, causing minimal damage.
"You guys handle Jenova; I'll take care of this bastard." Cloud yelled, pointing the rest towards Jenova. They went towards Jenova, each ready for his or her own unique attack. Red XIII let loose Cosmo Memory, causing a napalm-like fire, and tearing a third of Jenova away, sending blood everywhere. Vincent was hit by a tentacle and fell to the ground, only to get up a moment later, eyes red, blood rushing, and Veins showing. He ran for Jenova, and punched it in all three eyes, one after the other, before becoming weak and falling back towards the ground. He landed near Yuffie, unconscious. Jenova itself was severely weakened.
Meanwhile, Cloud was tearing away at the last Jenova offspring. Every once in a while, he would swing his sword, and the offspring would block it with his arm, only to receive a cut. The offspring was now cut seven times on each arm, from blocking the sword attack. Blood gushed from the open wounds, as Cloud stopped and prepared to end this fight. Before he could begin the last attack, the offspring punched Cloud in the chest, sending him backward with a massive shockwave. Cloud struggled to get to his feet, out of breath, and tired.
"Cloud, Three minutes!" Cid yelled. "It's time to wrap this up and get the hell out of here!"
"You guys, go... I'll catch up" Cloud muttered, gasping for air. "GO!"
The others ran, grabbed Yuffie and Vincent, and headed for the emergency exit. Cloud stood on both feet, sword out in front of him. "You're no Sephiroth, just a failed experiment." With those words, he ran for the weakened offspring, and began cutting at it, in a fury of rage. Within moments, the last of the six offspring fell to the ground, in seven pieces.
"One minute!" Cid yelled, from the exit.
Cloud ran for the exit, with the last living portion of Jenova following him. "Run!" He yelled, headed Cid's way. Cid ran out the exit, and jumped behind a large boulder which would serve well to protect them from the impending explosion.
"Thirty seconds, Cloud, run faster..." He said, watching his wrist. "Fifteen..."
"Ten..."
"Five..."
"Four..."
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One..."
From inside the Jenova storage room, and the nearby incubation chamber, a massive ball of fire set everything ablaze as it also shook everything apart. The glass on each chamber shattered, the equipment exploded, sending debris everywhere. Outside, the main shaft split in two, before falling, landing on the already dead offspring, and the two thirds of Jenova. Cloud was still running from the other third, as he made his way closer to the exit. Fire engulfed the last bit of Jenova behind him, and sent him flying out the exit, and towards the grassy area near the others.
"Ohh...fuck." He said, before going unconscious.
"Cloud... Are you awake...?" It was a girl's voice. It wasn't Tifa's or Yuffie's though. To Cloud, it sounded more like Aerith's.
"Cloud... Remember when you fell into the life stream...?" The voice continued.
"It's in you now, the life stream. Now that I am too a part of the life stream, I am with you. Until you become a part of the life stream." The voice said.
Cloud knew now, it was Aerith. He knew now, his dream was more than a dream. In some semblance, Aerith WAS alive, but only in this form. It all made sense now. It wasn't a coincidence. The reactors, the aliens, the Highwind, they all made sense to him. Aerith guided the way for him.
"So Cloud... I'll be with you, always." Aerith's voice said. "Just remember, you've got to wake up."
"Cloud! Wake up!" It wasn't Aerith anymore. It was Tifa. "Come on Cloud, don't die on me."
"It burns..." Cloud sputtered, rolling over. His entire back had been burnt by the fire.
"Oh god!" Tifa shouted, worried.
"He'll be alright, Tifa. Let's just find a way to get him back to Nibelheim." Barrett said, looking around for something they could use to make a stretcher. He soon found a tent that had been left here by a mountain climber, or an adventurer. He took the tent, tore it, and re- fashioned the poles to support Cloud's weight.
They put him face-down on the stretcher, and carried him back towards Nibelheim.
...
...
::Two Months Later::
There he stood, on the deck of the porch, cigarette in mouth, goggles on head. Cid had tried giving up smoking, but after the incident two months ago, he knew now, more than ever, he was addicted to them. The Highwind had been salvaged, and a crew of thirty of the best Rocket Town technicians, including Shera, worked on repairing it. The others had agreed on making Nibelheim their new home. Vincent decided to live in the mansion still, but this time, in its rooms. It had been restored and cleared from infestation. The mansion was now the finest looking house in town.
Cloud emerged from his old home, with bandages still wrapped around his wounds. They were mostly healed now, with some areas still scabbed.
Cid stopped him as he emerged. "So Cloud, were you right every single time?"
Cloud looked over at Cid. "It's a long story, and I'll tell it one of these days."
"We have time." Tifa said, walking up behind Cloud. Behind her were Barrett, Marlene, Aerith's mother, Vincent, Reeve, Yuffie, and Nanaki.
He looked around. "Well, alright."
They gathered near the water tower, in the center of town, around a small bonfire.
Cloud began his story. "A while back, I was asked to join a group called AVALANCHE. On our first mission, I bumped into a flower girl. Her name was Aerith...."
:::::THE END:::
Every few seconds a bubble would rise towards the surface of the ocean. These bubbles were all that remained of the presence of the Highwind. There was complete silence everywhere, not counting the few birds flying around, going about their business. The crew of the now submerged Highwind stood on the shore staring into the vast ocean.
"It was almost exactly like the dream." Cloud muttered, breaking the silence.
"What was? This?! Your goddamn dream predicted the ship crashing?!" Cid yelled, infuriated.
"Yes. There were some differences, but yes, the exact thing happened in the dream when we went to Nibelheim." Cloud said defensively.
"Oh, differences you say? Was the sky green?! Did I have a sign stamped on my head that said IDIOT?! Did we all die? Tell me, Cloud, what the hell was different?" Cid asked, chain-smoking cigarette after cigarette.
Cloud pointed at the pilot and Cait Sith. "They died in the dream. Aerith was also alive in the dream. The Highwind didn't crash into the ocean here; instead it crashed into the mountains... directly where we're headed now. Nevertheless the ship crashed." Cloud said, turning his back and preparing to walk into Nibelheim.
"The mountains..?" Cid asked, seemly calmer.
"Yeah, it crashed directly into the mountain, near the Mt. Nibel reactor." Cloud said, pointing towards the reactor. "It's almost as if we were meant to go to the reactor."
"Sure, kid. Before you go off with your delusions of grandeur, or dream, or whatever you're calling it; give me your underwater materia so I can see what's left of my ship." Cid said, placing his hand out.
"Fine, just bring back anything you can find that you think I'd want." Cloud said, forking over his materia.
Cid nodded, and walked towards the ocean. The Highwind itself was most likely a good 25 feet under, and most of the outer portions of it were no more. Chances are that only a few compartments were still water-free. As Cid got closer to the ship, he could see that both wings were no more, and that the observation deck was gone, burnt away. He swam towards the wreckage and into the doorway where the observation deck once was.
Inside the Highwind, the entranceway was about waist deep in water, and rising. The crewman's quarters were completely flooded, as was the chocobo stable. Upon prying the main bridge door open, Cid opened a massive flow of water which quickly raised the water level in the entranceway. He noticed the book that was found in Shinra tower, and swam for it. If he were lucky enough, he could get out of here quickly so the book wouldn't get damaged. He waded towards the entrance, holding the book up high enough so water wouldn't ruin it. He found an empty plastic bag Yuffie had planned on using for vomit, and stuck the book in it, and sealed it shut the best he could before swimming out of the ship and towards the surface.
On the shore, Vincent sat staring at the watch on Tifa's wrist. "Five minutes." He said, looking back towards the ocean and then down again at her watch. "He'll be back soon."
"What do you mean?" Tifa asked, looking down at her own watch.
"Cloud there gave Mr. Pissy an elemental materia, not his underwater one. It was a water elemental materia at that." Vincent responded, pointing at Cloud.
Cloud looked away innocently. A moment later Cid appeared out of the water, nearly out of breath.
"No one mention a word to him." Cloud whispered in Tifa's direction.
"Cloud... I don't think that materia you gave me works very well." Cid said, gasping for air. "I did bring this back with me. You can thank me later." Cid forked over the book, still in plastic bag. "I just need to lie down for a minute and get some air... and smoke a cigarette."
"Uh...thanks...Cid." Cloud said, feeling guilty about not handing over the real underwater materia. "So whenever you're ready, we'll head to Nibelheim, and then to the reactor."
"So what's left of the ship, Cid?" Red XIII asked pacing back and forth.
"Not a whole lot. By now all the compartments are completely flooded. The only thing I was able to save was this book." Cid said, handing the book to Cloud.
"So, do ya know why the whole ship jus' went ka-boom?" Barrett asked, changing weapons on his arm cannon.
"Well, either Shera's a horrible technician, or I'm a lousy captain." Cid said, getting back to his feet. "Let's go, we've got a job to finish."
Cid ushered the others towards the direction of Nibelheim, while following at the very end. Their objective would be to travel through Nibelheim, and head up the path towards the Mt. Nibel reactor. Once there, they would know if a third alien being exists. The only major concern was that this alien could possibly run away as well. If it did, where else would there be to go? Cloud knew in his mind there were no other places to go. He knew that this should be the end of the line.
Getting closer to Nibelheim, the crew could see a small bit of smoke slithering in the sky. It was obvious that if nothing, a small portion of Meteor had crashed into the area surrounding the Mt. Nibel Reactor. Walking past the Shinra Mansion, Vincent stared in its direction, as if he were going to miss the condemned building. He shook his head, and paid attention to the path ahead of him.
They had set foot outside of Nibelheim now, heading down the path towards Mt. Nibel. Cloud felt a cold chill down his spine. He felt as if something were watching him, attempting to scare him away, back to town. He shook it off, and continued onward. It had been a while now, since he'd last ventured down this path. He told himself he'd never do it again, but here he was; ready to put Tifa's life in danger again.
Hah, he thought. Those bastards from town never really knew what happened up there. They all blamed me, if they'd known I saved Tifa's life... The thoughts in Cloud's head trailed off as he walked. He put his hand over the scar Sephiroth's sword had given him.
As he was walking, Barrett contemplated retiring from the whole "AVALANCHE" thing. What point was there to be a part of something that didn't have anything to fight for? He decided it was time to take care of Marlene, and worry less about the planet.
Tifa, walking alongside Cloud, knew what she had to do. She had to move on with her life. It was obvious that Cloud only considered her a friend. She knew he longed for Aerith, even in death.
Vincent thought about returning to that cave he saw Lucrecia in. He knew he needed to see her again, and needed answers to more questions than he could think of. It was time for him to move on with his life as well, but not before he got to speak to her one last time.
Cid, smoking his last cigarette, knew it was time to give them up. He'd already begun to acquire a smoker's cough, and he knew he was never really addicted to them. He decided he would salvage the Highwind, once this was all over. Of course, he would have to survive this fight, he thought.
Reeve, in command of Cait, decided this would be the last robot he'd pilot. He decided to help the citizens of Midgar relocate, and hopefully become their mayor. After all, all he really wanted to do in life was help people.
Yuffie stopped Cloud in his tracks. "Here. I stole this from you a while back. I used it to pay for gas, and buy some materia. I'm done stealing from my friends. I'm only going to steal from those who try to hurt me from now on."
Cloud looked down at the Gil in her hand. "You stole that from me? When?"
"It was when you were asleep on the bridge of the ship." Yuffie said, scared to admit the truth.
"Well... thanks, I guess." Cloud said, taking the Gil from her hand. He stopped and looked up as he took the Gil. They were now at the bridge. THE bridge; where Tifa and he had fallen.
"It's just on the other side of the bridge here." Cloud said, pointing towards the metal exhaust pipes which could be seen just over a small peak.
"Everyone ready?" Cid asked, looking around.
"I think so." Barrett said. "I want ya'll to know this is the last time I fight with ya. I'm too old for this shit. It's time for me to retire from AVALANCHE."
"Why are you retiring?" Tifa asked, in disbelief.
"Les' face it. Now that Midgar is gone, what'll we fight for? Meteor finished what we started. I gotta start being a daddy to lil' Marlene, and less of some kinda hero." Barrett said, looking at his gun-arm.
"He's right, Tifa. I wouldn't understand it if I'd just joined today... but since I've been around you two for some time now, I understand what he's saying. We've stopped the life-force of the planet from being taken by Midgar. We've gone to every other reactor, and each is dysfunctional, except this one here." Cloud said, pointing towards the reactor.
"So are you saying we should bomb this one too?" Cid asked, ready to pull out the last of the plastik.
Cloud nodded.
"Uh, we've got a small problem then." Cid said, pulling the last plastik out of his bag. "This last one is timer detonated, not plunger."
"So we'll set the timer. Seven minutes should be enough, right?" Cid asked, punching numbers on the explosive's keypad.
"Yeah, if we're not out of there in seven minutes, we shouldn't have been here in the first place." Vincent said, putting in his two cents worth.
"Okay then, but we've got one last problem." Cid said, pulling on a wire that ran in his bag.
"What's that?" Cloud asked.
"This one is really two." He said. "Look, one timer, two pieces of plastik."
"So we'll set them up in a nice pattern or something, let's just blow the damn thing up." Barrett said. "I wanna be retired in the next seven minutes."
With that, they ran for the entrance. Quickly, everyone followed Cloud, who knew the path all too well. He could see the bottom shaft in sight, merely a few ladders away. He ran over, and jumped down the last ladder.
"Come on, we've gotta hurry!" He yelled, looking up at those still on the ladder. "Where are Cait and Red?"
"We're here, just give us a minute. It's hard to climb down these ladders." Red yelled.
"Yeah, this robot's not THAT maneuverable." Reeve said, from behind the controls of Cait.
Cloud ran up to the room Jenova was kept in. Here they could set the bomb. One in this room, one in the room before; it would surely kill the beings in incubation right outside the door here.
"Toss me the first bomb!" Cloud yelled, putting his hands out. Cid threw him one of the two pieces of plastik; the one without the timer. Meanwhile, Cid set the timer up and armed the other piece.
"Okay, when you say ready, we've got seven minutes to get the hell out of here." Cid shouted.
Cloud paused. Something wasn't right. Where was the alien? There was too much debris outside for there to be no alien. No eggs, even.
"Guys, we've got a problem here." Cloud shouted. "You remember all the Meteor debris outside, right? Where are the eggs, and the alien?"
There was complete silence. Everyone knew Cloud was right, in one way or the other. SOMETHING was off here. There should be an alien, and six eggs. But there was no such thing in sight. Or was there? Cloud ran back to the shaft he'd thrown Sephiroth off of several years ago.
"Anyone have a flashlight?" He yelled.
"I might." Cid yelled, rummaging through his bag. "Found one!" He tossed it to Cloud. Cloud caught it and flipped it on.
"Oh shit." Cloud said. "Everyone come here."
"What's the matter... Cloud...?" Tifa's voice trailed off as she peeked down the shaft, at what the flashlight had focused upon. There sat three red glowing lights. Not lights, per say, these were eyes. The same eyes they'd seen back at Gongaga and Corel. Were they truly the same eyes, or just three new aliens?
"Look." Cloud whispered, pointing at one of the aliens. "His eye, it's injured. He's healing, but it's injured. It's the same alien from Corel." He was right, it was the same alien. It had burrowed its way here, so had the Gongaga one. WHY had they burrowed here?
"Cloud... look at the eggs." Tifa said. The eggs here had been incubated. They'd gone without being exploded or smashed in. SOMETHING was inside each egg. The eggs were ready to hatch, for a lack of a better word, and from afar showed a few cracks.
"Uh, Cloud... I think we've been spotted." Yuffie said, looking at one of seven tentacles grasping onto the pathway they stood on.
"Oh shit. Cid, arm the bomb, everyone else, RUN!" Cloud ushered everyone towards the ladder as cid pressed the large X button on the plastik, and the timer button on his watch. Just as quickly as they'd started running, each was snatched up and pulled down towards the alien creatures. At the bottom, they were let go as all three aliens slowly started heading towards each other.
"What are they doing now..?" Tifa shouted.
"I don't know, but look at those eggs. Can you see in them? It's HIM." Cloud shouted, pointing at the eggs.
The three aliens slowly became one, each one wrapping around the other. A white light emanated from within their center. Four tentacles remained present as the others became a part of a new creature. The three red eyes shifted, forming three eyes in a triangular shape. It became clearer now what was happening. One alien by itself meant nothing, but all three aliens by themselves became one.
"I finally understand now." Cloud said, staring at the new, giant alien being. "This is the true Jenova. The original Jenova we fought a while back was just one section. Meteor was to bring the other two, but it brought all three. This is Jenova Complete. This is the true Jenova, which means... these things in the eggs, are its children..."
"Cloud, we've got five minutes!" Cid yelled, looking down at his watch.
"Alright then; we fight, one last time, AVALANCHE'S last mission." Cloud said, drawing his sword. Just as he said those words, the six eggs cracked open. Out fell six weak humanoid bodies. "Look at them! I was right!" Cloud yelled, pointing at the six humanoids. Each one was an alien offspring, but they more closely resembled Sephiroth.
"It can't be..." Tifa said, her voice trailing off.
"Kill them!" Cid shouted. "Kill the bastards before they kill us!" He charged at one of the weakened offspring and stuck his spear directly into its skull. Cloud took his sword and decapitated the second offspring. Barrett stood directly over one and fired his gun into its head. Vincent walked up to one, and shot it three times; once for each eye, and one in the temple. Red XIII took his claws and stabbed them into the ocular cavity of the fifth one, before stabbing it into the heart. Yuffie went for the sixth, but stopped before she attacked. The sixth one had gotten to his feet just then, ready to extract revenge for the killing of his siblings.
The sixth took Yuffie by the head and threw her against the wall. Cloud turned and swiped his sword at it, scraping it across the chest, causing minimal damage.
"You guys handle Jenova; I'll take care of this bastard." Cloud yelled, pointing the rest towards Jenova. They went towards Jenova, each ready for his or her own unique attack. Red XIII let loose Cosmo Memory, causing a napalm-like fire, and tearing a third of Jenova away, sending blood everywhere. Vincent was hit by a tentacle and fell to the ground, only to get up a moment later, eyes red, blood rushing, and Veins showing. He ran for Jenova, and punched it in all three eyes, one after the other, before becoming weak and falling back towards the ground. He landed near Yuffie, unconscious. Jenova itself was severely weakened.
Meanwhile, Cloud was tearing away at the last Jenova offspring. Every once in a while, he would swing his sword, and the offspring would block it with his arm, only to receive a cut. The offspring was now cut seven times on each arm, from blocking the sword attack. Blood gushed from the open wounds, as Cloud stopped and prepared to end this fight. Before he could begin the last attack, the offspring punched Cloud in the chest, sending him backward with a massive shockwave. Cloud struggled to get to his feet, out of breath, and tired.
"Cloud, Three minutes!" Cid yelled. "It's time to wrap this up and get the hell out of here!"
"You guys, go... I'll catch up" Cloud muttered, gasping for air. "GO!"
The others ran, grabbed Yuffie and Vincent, and headed for the emergency exit. Cloud stood on both feet, sword out in front of him. "You're no Sephiroth, just a failed experiment." With those words, he ran for the weakened offspring, and began cutting at it, in a fury of rage. Within moments, the last of the six offspring fell to the ground, in seven pieces.
"One minute!" Cid yelled, from the exit.
Cloud ran for the exit, with the last living portion of Jenova following him. "Run!" He yelled, headed Cid's way. Cid ran out the exit, and jumped behind a large boulder which would serve well to protect them from the impending explosion.
"Thirty seconds, Cloud, run faster..." He said, watching his wrist. "Fifteen..."
"Ten..."
"Five..."
"Four..."
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One..."
From inside the Jenova storage room, and the nearby incubation chamber, a massive ball of fire set everything ablaze as it also shook everything apart. The glass on each chamber shattered, the equipment exploded, sending debris everywhere. Outside, the main shaft split in two, before falling, landing on the already dead offspring, and the two thirds of Jenova. Cloud was still running from the other third, as he made his way closer to the exit. Fire engulfed the last bit of Jenova behind him, and sent him flying out the exit, and towards the grassy area near the others.
"Ohh...fuck." He said, before going unconscious.
"Cloud... Are you awake...?" It was a girl's voice. It wasn't Tifa's or Yuffie's though. To Cloud, it sounded more like Aerith's.
"Cloud... Remember when you fell into the life stream...?" The voice continued.
"It's in you now, the life stream. Now that I am too a part of the life stream, I am with you. Until you become a part of the life stream." The voice said.
Cloud knew now, it was Aerith. He knew now, his dream was more than a dream. In some semblance, Aerith WAS alive, but only in this form. It all made sense now. It wasn't a coincidence. The reactors, the aliens, the Highwind, they all made sense to him. Aerith guided the way for him.
"So Cloud... I'll be with you, always." Aerith's voice said. "Just remember, you've got to wake up."
"Cloud! Wake up!" It wasn't Aerith anymore. It was Tifa. "Come on Cloud, don't die on me."
"It burns..." Cloud sputtered, rolling over. His entire back had been burnt by the fire.
"Oh god!" Tifa shouted, worried.
"He'll be alright, Tifa. Let's just find a way to get him back to Nibelheim." Barrett said, looking around for something they could use to make a stretcher. He soon found a tent that had been left here by a mountain climber, or an adventurer. He took the tent, tore it, and re- fashioned the poles to support Cloud's weight.
They put him face-down on the stretcher, and carried him back towards Nibelheim.
...
...
::Two Months Later::
There he stood, on the deck of the porch, cigarette in mouth, goggles on head. Cid had tried giving up smoking, but after the incident two months ago, he knew now, more than ever, he was addicted to them. The Highwind had been salvaged, and a crew of thirty of the best Rocket Town technicians, including Shera, worked on repairing it. The others had agreed on making Nibelheim their new home. Vincent decided to live in the mansion still, but this time, in its rooms. It had been restored and cleared from infestation. The mansion was now the finest looking house in town.
Cloud emerged from his old home, with bandages still wrapped around his wounds. They were mostly healed now, with some areas still scabbed.
Cid stopped him as he emerged. "So Cloud, were you right every single time?"
Cloud looked over at Cid. "It's a long story, and I'll tell it one of these days."
"We have time." Tifa said, walking up behind Cloud. Behind her were Barrett, Marlene, Aerith's mother, Vincent, Reeve, Yuffie, and Nanaki.
He looked around. "Well, alright."
They gathered near the water tower, in the center of town, around a small bonfire.
Cloud began his story. "A while back, I was asked to join a group called AVALANCHE. On our first mission, I bumped into a flower girl. Her name was Aerith...."
:::::THE END:::