Chapter 10
Elmyra was roused from a deep slumber by the tremendous racket. A vase at the foot of her bed rattled as it tipped over, spilling the flowers and water across the floor. She threw back the covers and flung open the window. Moonlight poured in through the plate hundreds of feet above the house as she heard distant yelling and screaming. She ran downstairs, still dressed in her white nightgown and walked out into the garden. Far above stars twinkled in the night sky. The ground rumbled and shook under her feet as muffled explosion echoed hollowly through the city. An airship stopped directly overhead and a ladder unfurled from the gondola. Rude slid down to the ground next to the front door.
"Mrs. Gainsborough, open up!" he yelled pounding on the door with a fist.
"Rude," said Elmyra quietly. He smashed door down with his foot and ran inside. She sighed to herself and waited patiently until he emerged again and noticed her with a start.
"Uh, about the door," he muttered sheepishly. She gave him a rueful smile.
"Can I help you with something Rude?" she inquired. He strode over to her and looked down at her, noting how different she looked with her hair down. It softened her whole face.
"We need your help," he said, "The situation has changed." Elmyra nodded absently and gazed skyward again.
"How many years has it been since we saw stars above Midgar?" she asked. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"We're kind of in a rush here Mrs. Gainsborough," he explained. She nodded and followed him to the ladder. Together they ascended to the gondola of the Highwind. She followed him through a bulkhead into the cargo bay. From there they went across a ramp onto the bridge. Elmyra gasped at the view out the window.
"Why the city's floating!" she exclaimed. Elena glanced at the pilot who fired the engines and the Highwind began to rocket towards the Shinra tower. Below them the giant city revolved slowly as it hovered hundreds of feet in the air over the plains.
"How did this happen?" she asked. The Turks exchanged a tense look.
"Pandora summoned the Lifestream," began Elena carefully, "And the President is using it to power the city."
"Where is she?" demanded Elmyra frantically.
"We had to leave her," said Reno wearily, "A lot of shit has happened."
"We're going back for her," reassured Rude. She let this sink in.
"The President wants to see you first," added Elena. The tower loomed into view as the Highwind pulled in for a landing. The Turks escorted her into an elevator. A few minutes later they emerged and entered Reeve's office. The room was crawling with technicians running strange equipment. Reeve turned from the window, a benevolent smile on his face. He bowed his head to her.
"We are in your debt Mrs. Gainsborough," he stated humbly.
"What have you done?" she asked quietly. Reeve sat began the desk and interlaced his fingers.
"Neo-Midgar has finally arisen," he said, "Now humanity will venture to the stars."
"You're taking the city into outer space?" asked Reno, flabbergasted. Reeve smirked in his direction.
"With the power of that girl, we can journey to a new Promised Land," he averred, "One where humans have a future."
"Pandora would never agree to that!" snapped Elmyra.
"Cloud did interrupt the procedure," pointed out Elena.
"Enough of it took hold," countered Rude.
"You brainwashed her?" whispered Elmyra. Rude pushed a chair up next to her and she slumped heavily into it. Reeve leaned forward across his desk.
"She wasn't meant to have been awakened before the indoctrination," he said sympathetically, "But Vincent and Cloud fouled things up."
"They have a way of doing that," said Elena with a hollow grin.
"How could you do this?" inquired Elmyra. The Turks looked at Reeve expectantly, Reno crossing his arms.
"We will die out if we stay on the Planet," said Reeve flatly, "I can't let that happen."
"Why?" she countered, "Maybe humanity should die!"
"You can't mean that," pleaded Reeve.
"How many have died for the sake of your precious humanity?" she demanded.
"I thought you would understand," he said with a deep sigh.
"You mean well President Reeve," she replied, "But you've gone nuts." He stared at her with a faint trace of pity then turned to Oswald.
"Begin phase two," he instructed.
In the lake Cloud severed one of Jenova's tentacles with Apocalypse. She roared and pummeled him with two other intact limbs, slamming him into a mountainside. Chaos unfurled its razor edged wings and slashed her torso in the shoulders. Black blood spilled to the ground from the wounds.
"Sephiroth was your favorite!" screamed the demon, "And I was forgotten!" Tifa raised her hands over her head as green light swirled around her. Meteors streaked down from the sky and pummeled Jenova in the face and chest. She recoiled and waved her tentacles in the air. Bright prismatic bubbles rained down on them and exploded, knocking them to the ground. Chaos spat black blood as it got off the ground and hovered in midair again.
"Why does she always come back to torment me?" demanded Cloud between gritted teeth. Chaos laughed in a raspy voice.
"It's useless Cloud!" it replied, "She will always live on inside of us!"
"I'm not going to let that happen!" snapped Tifa indignantly. Chaos ignored her and peered up at the pillar of light.
"Come to me child!" it commanded raising a fist, "You soul still belongs to me!" The glowing sphere of light descended from the pillar. Jenova shrieked as it was bathed in the light of Holy. Chaos grinned fiercely.
"Open up the void!" it order, twirling its fingers. Pandora was surrounded by a faint red glow and a starry void opened up all around them. A giant rotating question mark spun in to view, pummeling Jenova. She lashed out with her tentacles and knocked Tifa down.
"Tifa!" cried Cloud.
Tifa stood up again glowing with a red aura. She ran towards Jenova and did a somersault, followed by a kick that flooded her with a column of water.
"Yes!" gloated Chaos.
Tifa then plunged Jenova into the ground like a striking meteor followed by an uppercut accompanied by a diving dolphin. She jumped back and her fist glowed with light like the rays of the sun, then she plunged her fist into the ground, creating an explosion that engulfed her.
Cloud glowed with a ring of red light and Jenova was enfolded in a swirling red mist. She teetered and roared as she collapsed onto the ground. Chaos flew over to her prone body and knelt on her chest. It laid his claw on her throat.
"You abandoned me mother," said the demon sorrowfully, "But I will still make you proud of me."
"Chaos," said Cloud carefully, "Get away from her." Chaos began to tear into Jenova body with its claws. They heard the rending of flesh and the crunch of bones. Tifa gasped in horror as Chaos turned with a large pulsating heart in its clutches. Tears streamed down the demon's face as it bit off a large chunk and began chewing. Black blood dribbled out of its mouth down its chin. Tifa turned away and buried her face against Cloud's chest. He put his arms around her trembling shoulders as he stared up at Chaos, eerily backlit by the light streaming out of the Princess Guard. The body of Jenova melted into a glowing red poll that disintegrated and blew away in the wind.
"Are you going to try and rule the world like Sephiroth?" asked Cloud uneasily. Chaos chewed on the last piece of flesh greedily and swallowed.
"No Cloud," countered the demon, "I will destroy the Planet and everything on it!"
"That's horrible!" cried Tifa looking up at Chaos, "You'll destroy yourself!"
"Life is futile and meaningless!" snapped Chaos clenching its claws into fists, "I will embrace death!"
"You don't have the power to do that!" yelled Cloud angrily. Chaos wagged a claw at him.
"Pandora does!" taunted the demon gleefully, "She will give me the power I need!"
"You talk too much Chaos," said a black cat stifling a yawn. They all stared at Cait Sith standing on the shoreline nearby.
"You cannot defeat me!" warned Chaos testily.
"I don't have to," replied the cat with a smirk as it raised its megaphone, "Begin phase two!"
"No!" roared the demon as it slammed into Cait Sith, knocking the cat off the moogle. Pandora raised the Princess Guard and she vanished into thin air. Chaos snarled and unfurled its wings, flying off towards the east. Cait Sith dusted itself off and climbed back onto the moogle.
"Where did she go?" asked Cloud.
"She's inside the main reactor of Neo-Midgar," explained the cat leisurely.
"Where's that?" asked Tifa.
"It was built far below Midgar more than a thousand years ago," replied Cait Sith. Cloud grabbed the cat's collar.
"What have you done to her?" demanded Cloud.
"You'd better hurry if you want to get to her before Chaos does," said the cat with an impish smirk. A shadow fell over them and they looked up to see the Highwind hovering overhead.
Pandora opened her eyes. She was standing in a small village nestled in a valley surrounded by conical mountains. In front of her was an enormous vat on slits that a large pump stood over. The alpine cottages were arranged in a ring around the cobblestone square. A winding mountain path led up a flight of stairs past an enormous mansion. She walked up the staircase and pushed open the wrought iron gate in the fence surrounding the mountain and fearfully stood before the giant door. She pushed the massive oaken doors opened and walked inside. The atrium was large and airy, with light pouring through three tall pointed windows in the back wall.
"Hello?" she asked quietly.
She spied a woman in a long pale hooded cloak cross the balcony to the far right hallway. Pandora sprinted up the stairs and saw her disappear into one of the rooms. The room beyond was bare of furniture and had a door in the far wall. She walked through the door into a study with a cylindrical tower built into one wall. As she approached a panel slid open revealing a spiral staircase plunging far into the basement. The bottom of the staircase led to a natural passageway made from a cave. She walked to the far end and found a door to her left. Inside was a grey pentagonal room filled with coffins. All were open except the central one, with emaciated skeletons in residence. Fearfully she pried off the lid. Inside was lined with red velvet, but otherwise empty.
"Where did she go?" muttered Pandora. Then the bottom of the coffin fell away and she found herself plummeting through a long winding tunnel. She came out of the ceiling of an enormous underground cavern lit by diffuse green light. She touched lightly on the ground and looked around her. The ground was bumpy and uneven, with boulders strewn all over the place. The woman in white stood on a nearby rock outcropping.
"Hello?" called out Pandora hesitantly. The woman glanced her way and headed towards her. She didn't seem so much to walk as glide over the ground. As she got close Pandora recognized her. Her hazel eyes and golden brown hair framed a face that was pale as a ghost.
"You're Lucrecia!" said Pandora with a tiny gasp.
"Have we met before child?" said Lucrecia with a faint smile. Pandora felt paralyzed under her piercing gaze. She reached out with a hand lifted Pandora's chin as she inspected her face.
"Ifalna's hair ands eyes," she said appraisingly, "And Professor Gast's face." Pandora couldn't even breathe.
"Are you perhaps their daughter?" asked Lucrecia pleasantly.
"I guess so," Pandora replied uncertainly.
"I have a little boy of my own," said Lucrecia dropping her hands to her sides, "He would be your age by now."
"Maybe I can help you find him," suggested Pandora hopefully. Lucrecia smiled at him sadly.
"Thank you my dear," she said, "His name is Sephiroth." Pandora shrieked and clutched her chest in pain, falling to her knees. Lucrecia put a pale hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Pandora looked up at her as a cold sweat engulfed her.
"It's nothing," she said hastily. Lucrecia helped her to her feet.
"What's you name?" she asked.
"Aeris," she said quietly, "Aeris Gainsborough."
"We should go Aeris," said the woman in white.
"Where are we anyway?" asked Pandora looking around her.
"We're in Vincent's nightmare," replied Lucrecia as she gestured for her to follow.
The pilot was pushing the Highwind to its limits as it streaked toward Neo-Midgar. Cloud and Tifa warily eyed the Turks standing nearby.
"We should never have left her," said Rude with resignation.
"Hey we had our orders," chimed in Reno, smoking as usual.
"She spoke highly of you guys," said Tifa cheerfully. Cloud gaped at Rude. He had never seen the big man blush before.
"Um…thanks Tifa," he said awkwardly.
"Enough with that," said Elena impatiently, "We need a plan."
"What's the easiest way to the reactor?" asked Cloud.
"The Sister Ray is connected to all six reactors," said Elena, "And they all lead to Reactor Zero Prime." Cloud looked lost in thought.
"Fine," he said, "We'll go in that way."
"I'm going with you," said Rude.
"That's not necessary," countered Cloud.
"She's my responsibility too," said Rude, "I made a promise to her mother."
"I'm going too then," added Reno, "You need someone to cover your ass."
"Then it's decided," stated Elena, "We'll go together." Cloud looked wearily to Tifa who tried to hide her giggling. Wearily he shrugged. The Highwind came upon the plains of Midgar. The wastelands were the same but the city was gone. Everyone gaped out of the front windows.
"Where's the city?" demanded Cloud. Elena looked skyward and pointed. They saw a faint dark disc floating up among the clouds.
"Fly higher!" ordered Elena. The airship gained altitude rapidly. As the approached the city they saw the strange white light emanating from the stone ziggurat underneath the city.
"What the hell is that?" breathed Cloud.
"That's Reactor Zero Prime," explained Elena. They ship passed the outer plates and the familiar cityscape came into view. The Sister Ray loomed in front of them, but no energy was pouring down the barrel. They walked into the cargo bay and out through an airlock onto the flight deck. The Highwind drifted next to the maw of the gun and Cloud hopped into the barrel. He held out his hand and pulled Tifa up. The Turks followed them down the long tunnel.
"Now I know how a bullet feels," remarked Reno. They reached hallway down the length and saw eight small hatches built into the wall, four to a side.
"Which one?" asked Cloud. Elena slid open the second one of the left side.
"Hurry," she said. Cloud climbed through the hatch and plummeted down the long tube. Down he plunged in total darkness, like some demented slide to hell. A faint light appeared and he rolled out the end of the tube. He found himself standing in the smoldering remains of a mako reactor. The walls were flattened outward in all directions. He ran towards the center of the building and found a pile of rubble where the reactor core had been. He began frantically digging as Tifa and Turks joined him. They uncovered a deep pit. Tifa took Cloud's hand.
"Here goes nothing," he said with a faint grin. They jumped down together. At the bottom of the pit was an enormous tube that plunged down into the earth. After falling for what felt light forever they saw an intense white glow illuminating them from below. They fell out of the ceiling inside of an enormous spiral structure the size of a skyscraper. The walls were honeycombed with vertical slits. Below them they saw a ball of pure white energy sending out waves that struck the walls of the reactor. They slowed down and eventually came to a stop in midair. They were at eye level with the energy sphere with Pandora at the core. She was curled into a ball and looked asleep as she clutched the Princess Guard.
"Aeris!" shouted Cloud. He tried to reach her but the energy knocked him back. The Turks came to rest next to them. Chaos melted through the wall opposite them.
"She cannot hear you," said the demon grimly, "She has locked her heart away."
"You can't do this!" yelled Cloud.
"Watch me," retorted Chaos.
"What about Lucrecia?" asked Tifa, "You love her don't you?" For a moment the demon looked shaken.
"Yes," replied Chaos, "And I shall weep for her after I put her out of her misery."
"Not if I stop you!" said Cloud as he drew out Apocalypse. Chaos grinned toothily and spread his arms out wide.
"You can try!" he roared.
Pandora followed Lucrecia up a hill. At the top they saw a valley below them. They saw a metal chain dangling from a hole in the cave ceiling. Below that was suspended Vincent by his metal arm, his chest and legs wrapped in similar chains of which three drooped to the ground.
"Vincent!" shouted Pandora.
"Wait," warned Lucrecia. But Pandora was already running down the hill. She reached the chains and began to climb up one of them. She felt the earth shake and saw a tall purple beast with long curving horns emerge from the ground beneath her. The end of the chain led to a spiked collar wrapped tightly around its throat. It snarled and snapped up at her. She saw the Hellmasker and Death Gigas rise from the earth, each connected to the other two chains. The Hellmasker giggled obscenely and fired up its chainsaw.
"Vincent Valentine!" called out Lucrecia. The monsters turned their attention to her. The Galian Beast bounded to her, jaws snapping, Pandora still desperately clinging to the upper part of the chain. Lucrecia stood just out of its reach as it snarled and roared, saliva flying from its maw. She smiled and held out a hand.
"Don't do that!" shouted Pandora. The Galian Beast snorted, then experimentally sniffed her outstretched palm.
"Yes, you remember me don't you," said Lucrecia soothingly. The monster whined and began licking her hand. She patted the mane of orange fur that crowned its head.
"I'm sorry I left you alone for so long Vincent," she said sorrowfully to the Galian Beast, "How you must have suffered." Pandora slid down the chain and dropped to the ground. She stared in amazement at the sight. The Hellmasker and Death Gigas lumbered towards them.
"I don't think they want to be friends," said Pandora.
"They are all part of him my dear," said Lucrecia, "He was my husband's latest project."
"What about you?" asked Pandora, remember the conversation in Icicle Inn.
"I was his penultimate project," she replied serenely, "Observe his handiwork." She held her hands out and seemed to grow in height until Pandora realized her lower body under the cloak was a giant scaly white tail of a snake. She peered up at the figure dangling from the chains.
"Am I not still beautiful in your sight?" she inquired.
"Yes," whispered Vincent as if talking in his sleep.
"And you would still do anything for my sake?" she asked.
"Anything," replied Vincent resolutely.
"Take me to my son," she begged.
"Free me and it shall be done," he said. Lucrecia looked at the monsters lurching toward Pandora and herself.
"Wait for me Sephiroth," she prayed, "Mother is coming for you!"