The Song of Eternity

Canto 3

The Return of Sephiroth

Verse 3

Old Friend

They flee the city of darkness,

Chased by the glowing eyes of the enemy,

Through lands once called home,

Finding an old friend along the way.

            Vincent and Keep stood at the edge of the area where the Midgar Zolems lived.  "I don't see anything," Keep said as he poked the sand with his sword.  "Vincent, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think any huge monstrous snakes live here," he said as he sheathed his sword and faced Vincent.

            Vincent eyed the sand nervously while going over their limited supplies in his head.  "We'll have to try to cross.  Hopefully we won't encounter one, but we can't stay here, the SOLDIERs will find us soon," he concluded as he pulled out his Death Penalty.  "Let's get moving," he ordered as Keep followed him across the sand. 

            They were almost across the sand when a gigantic snake burst out of the sand in front of them.  "Oh, that snake," Keep said as he gazed up at the monster.  The snake struck quickly, trying to bite Keep, but he rolled out of the way at the last second.  "A little help here," he panted as he got to his feet and pulled out his sword.

            Vincent stayed silent as he targeted the Zolem and began firing off a rapid succession of shots.  Blood sprayed from the wounds the bullets made as they ripped into the Zolem.  The creature roared in pain and swung it's tail at Vincent.  Vincent jumped into the air as the tail swung by underneath him harmlessly.  He landed silently on the sand and blasted the Zolem with Bolt3.  The creature rushed at him at full speed, but suddenly jerked to a halt before it could bite it's prey.  Vincent gazed at the tail of the creature where Keep had his sword stuck into the tail, pinning the creature to the ground.  Vincent quickly took aim and shot the snake in the head, spilling it's brains all over the sand.

            "Thought you said you tried not to kill things," Keep commented as he wiped his sword off in the sand and grass.

            "It was necessary.  It would not have stopped until we were dead," Vincent explained as he holstered his gun.  Vincent noticed Keep standing there, looking at the Zolem with his fists clenched.  "Are you okay?"

            "No.  Every time I fight, or even see something die, I feel something in me.  Like something clawing at my soul, trying to get to the surface," Keep said as he looked away.  "I know it was a monster and all, but I still feel it."

            "I understand," Vincent replied as they ventured into the mines.

            "I don't think anyone is home," Keep said as he gazed up the rock shaft at Fort Condor.  They had traveled through the mines nonstop and now were at Fort Condor around noon.  "Last I heard, this place was abandoned a couple years back when they couldn't get more Mako from it," Keep explained as he kicked at a rock.

            "Someone is here," Vincent replied.  "I saw a light in one of the upper windows.  It went out when we got close.  Look at the shaft, can't you see the tracks," he pointed at some scuff marks on the wall.

            Keep stepped close to the wall and examined a scratch.  "Looks like someone walked right up the wall.  Oh, a rope, they climbed up," he reasoned as he looked around the dirt by their feet.  "Slight problem, no rope," he shrugged.

            "Then we climb," Vincent said as he sunk his claw into the rock.  "I'll throw you a rope down," he said over his shoulder to Keep. 

            "I can climb," Keep replied as he drove his right arm, the one always covered in cloth into the opposite wall.  They both let each other to their own devices and slowly climbed the rock shaft leaving a trail of indentations on the way up.  Eventually Vincent reached to top and helped pull Keep out of the shaft.

            "What did you do, punch a hole in the rock?"  Vincent asked as Keep covered and rewrapped his arm.

            "Something like that.  So what's the plan?"  Keep asked as he looked around the old fort.

            "We need to look for a sign of whoever is or was here," Vincent said as he examined the ground for footprints.

            "You damn foo's, were loud enough to wake the dead.  You're lucky we're on the same side," a familiar voice shouted as a black man descended the closest ladder.  "Valentine, where the hell have you been?"

            "Nice to see you too Barret," Vincent replied to his old friend.  Barret's face looked older and his hair was going grey in some areas.  His gun arm was missing as well, ending in a stump a couple inches up his forearm.  "Let's sit down, I assume we all have a lot to say," Vincent suggested.

            A couple minutes later they were sitting at a table near the window so they could see if anyone was approaching.  "So where have you been Vincent?" Barret asked as he noticed the lack of change in Vincent.

            "Suspended animation again.  Chaos was getting too strong for me to handle," Vincent explained.  "I paid him," he gestured at Keep," to wake me up five years after I went under."

            "Then we had a run in with some SOLDIERs and my bar got destroyed.  So we had to leave Midgar in a hurry," Keep finished.  "Who are you anyway?  I swear I know the face, but can't place a name with it."

            "He's Barret Wallace.  One of the founding members of AVALANCHE," Vincent explained.  "What happened Barret?  Sephiroth is alive, and we are all wanted by him and his SOLDIERs."  Vincent scratched his head in confusion as he thought of the situation more and more.

            "Three years ago we got word that something was seen up in the Northern Crater.  Witnesses said it resembled Sepiroth, so we went to check it out with the Turks.  They were working for Reeve at the time, so they behaved themselves.  Anyway when we got there, somehow he was alive and more powerful than before," Barret paused as he remembered the battle.  "Since we gave you all the materia, we never stood a chance.  I got my gun arm cut off, Tifa and the others got cut up pretty bad, but we all got out of there alive."

            "He chased us though," Barret said as he remembered.  "The Highwind crashed near Junon.  We hid and recovered there, helpless to stop when Sephiroth took over.  We've been trying to shut down reactors and take out SOLDIER production plants, but there are too many and we are wanted everywhere," Barret explained as Keep looked out the window.

            "So why are you here in this crappy old place?"  Keep asked as he came back from the window.

            "Looking for materia.  We've been able to gather some, but nothing powerful enough to stop Sephiroth," Barret said as Keep nudged Vincent.

            "Cloud informed you that I destroyed all the materia, correct?"  Vincent asked Barret who nodded in response.  "I did not destroy all of it out of fear of a situation like this arising.  I kept all three master materias as well as one nearly mastered materia of every other kind," Vincent explained as he pulled a large pouch from his belt.  He opened it up, pouring dozens and dozens of the small orbs across the table.  "Most of them will duplicate in the time it takes to get to Junon," Vincent explained as Barret stared at the materia.

            "Let's get going to Junon then.  We can meet up with some of the others there and figure out what to do," Barret exclaimed as he stood up.  "You coming?"  He directed the question at Keep.

            "I guess so.  They're after me by now as well," he added as they walked to the shaft.  "Besides, maybe someone in Junon knows me from before Meteor."