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Chapter 11: The Sea Sprite's Enchantments

"Hey sis," Melody said. Valeria turned from her seat at a computer.

"Well?" Valeria asked. Melody sighed, and Valeria recognized that sigh. "Melody, what happened?"

Melody was surprised at the amount of concern in her true half-sister's voice, but her pride let Valeria from seeing her shock. "I heard from a source that Tifa is Her."

"Who?" Valeria asked, knowing that Melody wouldn't tell her the source, but would tell who She is. Melody dragged a chair so that she would be sitting next to her sister.

"The Blue Flame," Melody whispered in Valeria's ear. Valeria felt her blood chill and goose bumps formed all along her arms. Valeria wrestled for the right word.

"W-what?" They heard a moan from Cloud and both rushed to the side of his bed, one to treat, and one to watch. He stopped moving and settled again into restless sleep.

"He's getting tortured while he is asleep," Melody whispered. Valeria looked at her younger sister. Melody sighed. "I guess it's time to tell you, Valeria." Melody looked up at Valeria. "Valeria, I know that you know we have different mothers. While you're a full-blood Cetra, I'm not." Valeria looked at Melody, wondering what exactly the significance of this point was. The Cetra responsible for saving them all was a half-blood as well. Melody took a deep breath. "My mother was a Lemii." Valeria's eyes widened.

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"You never did finish your tour of our fair city, did you?" Maverick asked Yuffie. He was in her and Tifa's room, talking to her while Tifa slept peacefully. Yuffie heard a constant beeping and saw Maverick pull out his communiqué. He opened it.

"Maverick, you need to get to the entrance of the base, NOW!"

"What's wrong?" Maverick asked. He had never seen Valeria so distressed.

"Melody, she's going after it." Maverick's eyes widened. It looked like Valeria was running through the halls. "I already have the Invisible Ship ready for us. Get Yuffie and Tifa out here ASAP!" Maverick nodded in understanding and closed the communiqué.

"Tifa, Tifa." Maverick said gently, while shaking her.

"Mmm..." Tifa seemed unfocused. "Marc?"

"Yes, it's me. Listen to me, we need to go and help Melody, ok?"

"Is she in trouble?" Tifa asked, waking up immediately. Maverick hesitated, thinking.

"Yes, she is. Let's go!" Tifa grabbed her earrings and her bag and Yuffie ran after the two.

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Melody could feel the Golden Rune to the West. She led her favorite Golden Chocobo, Nellie, to the top of a hill where they stopped. Melody closed her eyes, and held her hand in the air. She hummed a long, multi toned note, trying to discern where exactly it was hidden. She smiled as she found out exactly where it was. She knew that Valeria was following her, but even she wouldn't be able to stop her now. Nellie took off with blazing speed, and Melody smirked, thinking that Jimmy taught Nellie well.

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Valeria was pacing back and forth on the outside deck of Leon's greatest achievement, the Invisible Ship.

"Valeria?" Leon asked uncertainly. She never paced.

"What?" she snapped. She felt bad when she saw the hurt look on his face. She sighed and wrapped him in her warm embrace. "I'm sorry, love, I just don't want to lose her again." He returned it almost immediately.

"I know, I know. It's just that I hate it when you feel bad." Valeria sighed.

"I'm sorry Leon. I know that this is a time when I need to be strong, but I can't."

"Yes, but that's when I need to be strong." He looked at her hazel eyes. "Tell me what happened, please."

"Well, Melody never told me what her secondary gift was. She told me today what it was when she saw how much Cloud Strife was tortured in his sleep."

"What is it, her gift I mean?"

"Remember I told you that we were only half-sisters? It turns out that her mother is a Lemii, you know, an Archangel."

"An archangel? So...the Golden Rune..." Valeria nodded. "Wow...that's a big secret."

"It's not as bad as the other one she told me."

"What would that be?"

Valeria stood on her tiptoes and whispered in Leon's ear. "Tifa has the blue flame."

"I can't decide which one is bigger secret."

"Yo, lovebirds, we need you on the bridge," a worker commented. Valeria reluctantly broke her hold on Leon and grasped his hand in hers.

"Let's go, love," Valeria said with a smile. Leon smiled back.

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Marc sat in a chair, thinking. He could feel that something was wrong, very wrong. He looked back as he heard the door open. It was only Tifa.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know yet."

"Ah, one of those feelings?" she asked knowingly.

"Exactly."

"How long have you known Melody?"

"We're childhood friends. Well, not that kind of childhood friend you're thinking about, one of those friends forever types. What makes you ask?"

"I think that she knew it was you when I called her the very first time we met. She sounded concerned."

"Did she?" Marc asked, seemingly amused.

"Is that a joke to you?"

"No, it's just that she's usually the one that has concern piled up on her, in particular by Valeria. Even though they are just two years apart, it seems like Valeria is the mother of a five-year-old kid that is trapped in a 22-year-old body." Tifa smiled, thinking about how much Melody loved acting like a little kid.

'More like a brat,' Tifa thought with a smile.

"What are you thinking?" Marc asked.

"I'm just thinking about Melody."

Marc and Tifa looked at the door when they heard a loud scream.

"It's coming from the bridge. Come on!" Marc leapt up out of his seat and dashed out of the room, Tifa following him.

As they were sprinting to the bridge, Marc hesitated. Tifa nearly ran into him and looked at his eyes. They were looking at the ground. Tifa followed them and a look of shock came across her face. A sticky, white and clear substance coated the double doors to the bridge as well as the ground in front of the doors. Marc bent down and touched it. Tifa made a face as a clear trail followed his fingers.

"Saline... Tifa, do not believe what your eyes tell you when we go in there. Understand?" Tifa nodded, not knowing exactly what he meant. He pulled a door open and held it open for Tifa. She walked in the short hall and emerged in...

Tifa gasped. She felt Marc stop right behind her.

"What is it? What do you see?"

"I'm in...Nibelheim's Mako Reactor." Tifa took a few steps forward.

"Teef! Is that really you?" Tifa looked to the side. She almost fainted when she saw who it was.

"D-daddy?" she whispered.

"Tifa, don't believe it. Resist it." Marc's voice was fading.

"Marc...?" Tifa turned around. He was gone. Tifa closed her eyes, willing the image away. She opened her eyes. Her dad was having convulsions and fell to the ground with a seizure. Tifa blinked slowly and her father was replaced with one of the people she recognized from the ship. The background faded away and she saw the bridge covered in what Marc called saline. People seemed to be drowning in the disgusting substance. In the middle of the bridge, Marc was on his knees in front of a beautiful yet alien woman. Tifa didn't realize what was so alien about the woman until the woman turned around. Tifa gasped.

"Sweet mother of god...Chimera..." Jess mumbled.

"How sweet of you to join your lover and I in time to see his death, Pretty." Tifa realized that the Chimera was speaking directly to her mind similarly to the dragons.

"She's telepathic. Be careful of what you think right now." The Chimera was smiling a sweet, dangerous smile.

"No, no, no, Pretty, I am not the Chimera. I am the Sea Sprite, born of the union of the Chimera and the Wyrm of Iraiah."