Chapter 23
Kairi narrowed her eyes, trying to see and maintain her Aero spell simultaneously. She could only see bright purple as the energy the two boys released whipped around her, shrieking like uncontrolled wind. Just when she thought she could no longer keep her mind focused on the spell, the energy dissipated and Kairi collapsed to the ground, exhausted. She glanced up, horrified that the power of their energy had reduced their part of the city to crumbles. I hope everyone got out of here safely, she thought as she got to her feet. She had already exhausted most of her magic energy holding up that spell and she knew that the fight on her part would be mostly physical. As the dust cleared, she saw Ryu and Bosch standing side by side, each brandishing their own weapon. Ryu carried a broadsword, while Bosch favored a rapier.
Kairi didn't understand. Were they under that woman's control or something? "What's wrong with you two?!" she screamed. "You're going to let her control you like that?!"
Bosch actually laughed at this but Ryu remained somber. "Control? Us?" Bosch laughed even harder. "No, no. She doesn't have the power to control us."
"And why not?!" Kairi demanded.
Bosch grinned as his eyes began to glow. "Because, my dear, we are higher up on the food chain…" With that said, he rushed at Kairi, thrusting his rapier toward her stomach. Kairi jumped back, swinging her keyblade at his head. But he was already in motion, swinging the rapier up and making a light scratch on Kairi's cheek. Bosch then jumped back lightly, a smile on his face. He was just toying with her.
"Then why are you working for her?!" Kairi had to buy some time, hoping that the others would notice the commotion and come to her aid. She absently wiped the blood from her cheek.
"With," Bosch corrected. "We work with her." He looked to Ryu with a goofy smile on his face. "Ryu, you haven't said anything for a while. Why don't you answer the young lady's question?" Kairi frowned. This was all some kind of game to him, she thought angrily. But I have to get to Sora, and if that means dealing with these two, then…
"Alright," the blue-haired teen responded softly. "But here's the deal. We respect strength, especially unexpected strength like what we sense in you. You look like just an ordinary, puny little girl but we can feel your power resonating. We'll answer each question you have and let you go, but you have to put up a good fight. Deal?"
Kairi knew that if she wanted to get to the bottom of this, she would have to cooperate. She nodded and Bosch smiled, clapping his hands. "Good! I'll even answer your first question, free of charge. Jenova destroyed our planet." The smile slowly faded from his face. "Not destroyed as in annihilated, but destroyed as in she made it uninhabitable. We were forced to live deep underground in order to survive. The last time we saw the surface, it was a smoking crater…" Bosch narrowed his eyes. "People began to forget about the surface after a while, blaming, instead, dragons. Dragons were the ones that had destroyed the planet because they were fighting amongst themselves." He shook his head. "But that wasn't true… The dragons were trying to stop the coming of…Jenova…"
"That woman? She was Jenova? She did all of that damage to your planet?" Kairi was amazed that someone like her could have such power. Suddenly, Ryu attacked her while Bosch sat on the ground to watch. Kairi was confused for a second until she remembered the deal. She would have to fight to get the questions she wanted.
Yuyami brought both of his keyblades, crossed, to block the swing of Heyral, or Zack, he didn't know what his name was. The Buster Sword clashed against the two locked keyblades and he pushed, trying to gain ground. His eyes were glowing an ice-cold blue, and white wings had spilled from his back. The right one was feathery and soft, like an Angel's, while the left one was leathery and spiked, like some kind of demon. Heyral/Zack raised his keyblade and struck again, causing sparks to fly. Yuyami gritted his teeth as his arms vibrated from the force of the blow. He looked over and saw the silver-haired warrior named Sephiroth fighting furiously with Cloud once again. Yuyami decided to go on the offensive and began swinging his keyblades with increased fervor, making Heyral/Zack back up slowly. Yuyami, seeing that he was gaining ground, pressed his attack relentlessly.
Heyral/Zack grinned maniacally and his wings whipped around to the front, blocking Yuyami's attacks. He then swung his Buster Sword forcing Yuyami to block and his wings arched and began to vibrate. Before Yuyami could react, every feather and every spike began shooting at him, glowing intensely. Yuyami covered his face as he was bombarded by the missiles, taking more than a few hits before he used Aero to protect himself. The projectiles bounced off of the spell and were sent right back toward the astonished ex-Soldier. He covered himself with his wings and every one of the reflected missiles was blocked. Yuyami saw his chance and reached into his pocket, revealing a summoning gem. He only used it in case of emergency and this definitely was an emergency.
"You want to see a real Angel in action?" Yuyami smiled, half jeer, half amusement. "I'll show you the ultimate one." He raised the summoning gem high in the air as he called out in a loud clear voice, "Alexander!! Your presence is needed!! Reveal yourself and purge this place of evil!!" He threw the gem high into the air. "ALEXANDER!!"
Heyral/Zack emerged from the protection of his wings. He looked up to where Yuyami had thrown the gem and smiled. "Looks like your summon didn't work," he jeered, before rushing at him.
His assault was cut short by the power of Holy streaming toward him in the form of light-beams by the hundreds. Yuyami looked up and saw two large and beautiful wings expanding over the arena and beyond as they continued to unfurl. He barely made out the gem in the middle, glowing deeply as it began to expand. As it grew, so did the Holy beams it was throwing out, until they had all merged into one ray of intense, white light. Heyral/Zack was barely holding on, hiding behind his wings again and trying to hold up an Aero spell. Alexander had finally revealed himself and was standing there in all his glory. As he moved, steam erupted from his castle-like body. He raised his two massive arms, made up of towers and steeples, and the power of Holy was in intensified, destroying whatever it struck until the ex-Soldier was the only thing standing in the middle of a huge crater. Just as Yuyami was desperately thinking that maybe this guy was invisible, Heyral/Zack unfurled his wings and screamed. The white light brightened and everyone present had to cover their eyes. Suddenly the light disappeared and so did Alexander with it, returning to the gem that it emerged from.
Yuyami caught the falling gem and ran to the crater, peering into it. Nothing… Not even a feather… He turned to Sephiroth and found him alone, trying to awaken the girl. Cloud must've have escaped, he thought with a curse. Sephiroth walked over, carrying the girl effortlessly, and smirked.
"You couldn't kill him yourself?" he asked, with mock politeness. "You had to summon a creature to do your work for you?"
"I didn't see you gaining the upper-hand with Cloud," Yuyami responded, slightly annoyed. "And besides, I'm a survivor. I don't particularly care how I defeat my foe…as long as I'm the one standing in the end."
Sephiroth sneered. "You must have some pride? You wouldn't stab your enemy in his back…?"
"Shutup!!" Yuyami shouted. "You don't know anything about me, so just…shutup…"
"As you wish," Sephiroth responded, not caring that he had touched a nerve. He looked around at the arena, or what was left of it and shook his head. He then began walking toward the entrance. However he was stopped by Yuyami's voice.
"What are you going to do now?" he asked, curious.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "I think it's obvious what I'm going to do. Kill Cloud, and ultimately, Jenova as well." He turned to walk away but was stopped again by Yuyami. "What is it now?" he asked rudely.
"Why don't you come with me? We're going to stop Jenova and I'm sure that we'll run across Cloud." Yuyami smiled slightly, knowing he couldn't allow the silver-haired warrior to kill Cloud. "Besides, you're not that bad of a swordsman. We could really use you."
Sephiroth smirked and shook his head. "No thank you. I have my reasons for refusing at the moment, but maybe sometime in the future it could be a possibility." He turned and walked out of the arena, leaving Yuyami to his own endeavors.
Orlandu awoke and it wasn't the way he intended to awaken. Instead of getting up and stretching, maybe scratching his back with his sword, he was torn from sleep by a demon crashing through the wall. He opened his eyes and rubbed them. "What the hell…?" he croaked groggily. Suddenly a young boy with silver hair came jumping through the hole, eyes blazing. He landed on the demon and began pummeling him with his fists.
"Strong kid," Orlandu remarked, sleepily, as one of the boy's punches cracked the bone plate covering the demon's face. He was then kicked off and the demon removed two swords made of hard bone from his back. A sword appeared in the boy's hand and Orlandu saw that it was in the shape of a key. Orlandu snapped from sleep at the sight of the weapon. Wait a minute… Could it be? The boy jumped toward the demon, swinging furiously with the massive, black keyblade. Chains dangled from the hilt and Orlandu wondered how the boy was even carrying it. He rushed at the demon and swung, only to have his attack blocked. He swung again, and this time the demon ducked, causing the boy to be thrown off balance. The demon rose quickly, sending an elbow into the boy's gut.
Orlandu watched the fight, but he was more interested in the weapon the boy was carrying. It has to be the keyblade, he thought as the boy ducked and swung the keyblade at the demon's leg, crushing the bone and cutting straight through it. The demon stumbled and the boy took the chance to raise the keyblade and send it smashing into the demon's shoulder, severing the arm.
By God, this boy is really taking it to him, Orlandu thought as the boy screamed hoarsely and swung his keyblade sideways, hacking off the demon's arm at the elbow. Defenseless, the demon just fell to the ground and screamed its defiance.
"Shutup!!" the boy shrieked, stabbing the monster in the chest. Not satisfied, he began to furiously stab the monster shouting with each downward stroke until he could no longer raise his arms. The keyblade fell from his numb fingers and disappeared. He collapsed, breathing heavily and began to cry. The tears fell, unhindered, down his face as he looked up at the ceiling. Orlandu just watched, not wanting to interfere in whatever emotional roller coaster the boy was on.
Finally the boy stood and wiped the tears from his face. "I will avenge you Sora," he vowed, darkly. "I will kill Jenova and everything that serves her. I swear it on your life…" He turned around and noticed the Orlandu sitting there for the first time.
"Who are you?" the boy asked cautiously, still too tired to lift his arms.
"My name is Orlandu, I am a participant in this tournament." He stood up and eyed the boy who was covered in fresh scars and bruises. Blood was speckled here and there on his body and he had an arm wrapped around his ribs. "Who are you?"
"My name is Riku," he answered, softly. He noticed Orlandu's eyes shifting from him to the demon's carcass, questioningly. "That thing killed my best friend." He then walked back through the hole the demon had made in the wall.
Orlandu followed, pausing briefly to grab his sword and cloak. He already knew that this was one of the keyblade masters he had been sent to destroy. And yet he couldn't bring himself to kill the boy. Not now anyway… He stepped into the hall and marveled at the destruction the two had caused. Holes and deep slashes were in the walls, and a piece of the ceiling was on the ground. Some fight, he thought fleetingly. Many of the doors were open and Orlandu noticed that most of them were abandoned. Maybe the tournament is over now, because of that demon?
The boy walked into a room and Orland walked up peering in. There was a girl sitting in the corner with her head down, shoulders shaking. Kneeling down, the boy was speaking softly to her. The girl raised her head and Orlandu saw the tears in her red-rimmed eyes. She looked into the boy's face before hugging him. The boy just returned the hug, holding her. Orlandu looked around the room and saw the bed. There was blood there, but no body.
Orlandu decided to break the silence by clearing his throat. The two looked at him and he asked, "Where's the body?" Boy and girl looked at the bed simultaneously and said nothing. The bed was empty. The body was gone…
Vincent walked slowly through the hall, instinct warning him that something was amiss. He turned the corner first and saw a woman standing with her back turned. All he could see was that she had black hair with streaks of gold in it. She was also wearing all black. Vincent heard Barret's heavy footsteps and was about to turn around and quiet him when Barret cursed. Turning his head, Vincent saw the big ex-Avalanche leader stumble and fall toward him. Too late to move, Vincent was pushed into a wall by Barret, who was looking for something to grab hold of. They both fell and, in the process, Vincent's claw scratched the wall causing a screeching sound that echoed throughout the hall.
"Get off of me," Vincent commanded, their element of surprise now gone. The big, black man stood, muttering to himself as he helped Vincent up. The ex-Turk brushed himself off and was unsurprised to see that the woman was now facing them. She was smiling, and yet that didn't put Vincent at ease. There was something frighteningly familiar about her.
"Vincent Valentine," the woman stated, her gold-colored eyes gleaming. "I have been awaiting your arrival for quite a while now."
Unperturbed, Vincent brushed a lock of ebony hair out of his eyes. "And what business do you have with me, Ms…?"
"My name is unimportant at the moment, Mr. Valentine," the woman replied, still smiling brightly. "Instead I just want to ask you one simple question."
Barret, sick of being left out of the conversation, muttered, "Well, why we gon' answer yo questions when we ain't got no info from you yet?"
The woman glanced quickly at him, eyes flashing. She then smiled again, but Vincent had seen it. A momentary crack in the façade of the emotional exterior she maintained.. "Barret Wallace. You haven't changed at all, have you? Still fighting to save the Planet?"
"You bet yo ass I am," he responded coolly, quickly looking at Vincent. A single thought was transmitted between the both of them. 'This woman is not to be trusted' is what Vincent was thinking while Barret was simply thinking, 'I don't like this $&)#'. "But how you know dat?"
The woman giggled and stared into Vincent's eyes. "You know, don't you Mr. Valentine?"
Vincent nodded. Of course… How could he not know who this woman was when he could feel her in his very blood. "You are Jenova," he stated, no question in his voice.
"Ah so you remember me?"
"You made Sephiroth destroy Hollow Bastion," he said, emotionlessly. "It's your fault…"
Barret gaped and turned to Vincent. "You mean this &$# is Jenova?" he asked, incredulous. Vincent nodded and Barret's eyes narrowed as the faced the woman. "Thas it!! No more $## games!! I'm gon' teach you never to mess wit me or my friends again!!" He pointed his gun-arm at her and fired, unleashing a salvo of bullets on the seemingly defenseless Jenova. Instead of ducking or running, Jenova simply smiled and closed her eyes. The bullets, instead of tearing her to shreds, veered off course and went flying into every direction. Every direction except the smiling Jenova's. She opened her eyes suddenly, and the two men found themselves pressed against the wall by an unseen force. Jenova walked to Vincent and touched his cheek.
"You're the one I want," Jenova purred, stroking his cheek. "Together you and I can take over this world and many more. You saw the power of Sephiroth. Just think if we had more children, think of the possibilities…"
"Watchu mean 'more children'?" Barret demanded. "Vamp, what she talking 'bout?"
Vincent, still struggling against the force of Jenova, explained, "Sephiroth was the child of Lucrecia and I. Professor Hojo just spliced in Jenova cells to make him stronger." Barret cursed softly.
"Yes and this time, it wouldn't be just my cells," Jenova whispered, looking deep into his eyes. "The power of our children could bring all of the worlds to their knees." She brought her face close to his. "We can rule…together…"
Although cornered and unable to move, Vincent couldn't help but smirk at this. "And then, after you're done with me you kill me, right? There is an insect similar to you called the Black Widow. After she mates with the male spider, she devours him…"
Jenova laughed with delight. "Is that so? Well, rest assured. Maybe the Black Widow just ate the male spider because he was too ugly for her liking. If that's so, then you have nothing to worry about." She brushed hair out of his eyes.
"I think she killed him because she had no more use for him," Vincent replied, coldly.
"There's no point in me killing you…yet," Jenova assured him, whispering in his ear. "Just think about it…" she insisted, softly kissing the corner of his mouth. She then backed away. "Gentlemen, I bid you farewell," she said. With that, she disappeared, leaving only light behind. The two men fell from the wall and onto the ground. Vincent stood up and shook his head as Barret lay there.
"What she say to you?" he asked, curious.
Vincent shook his head again. "It does not matter…"
If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a little tempted…
Vincent sighed inwardly. Chaos… I thought you were in a permanent sleep after that last transformation. Oh well, I suppose all wishes can't be fulfilled.
I'm actually pleased that I was awake. It was worth it to watch you squirm in the hands of that woman…
She isn't a woman, and I didn't squirm…
You could use this to your advantage, human. It seems as if her attraction goes beyond simple breeding…
No, she only wants one thing and that's to make more warriors like Sephiroth that she can manipulate and control. But she won't draw me into her sick plan. I won't be a pawn in her game…
