Heartless Imperfection

Chapter XX

Not this again, Zen thought to himself, walking in his imagination. He felt his cheek, it was clean and untouched. As he stepped deeper into the dream, a girl started walking beside him. She took hold of his hand, making Zen turn to her blue eyes. "I can't keep asking the same question again, so. Let's get this over with."

The red-haired girl laughed childishly, in Zen's point of view, but kept walking with him, silent and smiling. "You said you'd come back, and I'm still waiting. You know?"

He sighed, "No, I regrettably don't, Kairi." Wait, back up. "Whoa, what's going on here?" He stopped walking, and she tugged at his hand. The girl looked up at him, and spoke, though he didn't hear the words.

He was prodded awake in a similar fashion as before. "Get up, we're leaving." Donald was quacking orders. Zen sat up in the bed he was previously lying in.

He looked out the window of his room. Heartless were swarming at the base of the Gold Saucer. Something unexpected happened, then. A huge red Weapon, known as Ruby, jumped out of the sand. The humongous monster swiped at the large Heartless horde, taking out hundreds of shadows and soldiers. The Heartless shied away at this flex of power, and Zen watched as they backed away from the desert of Corel Prison and onto the grassy plains. The darkness made a circle around the desert, so as not to disturb the Ruby Weapon.

Zen shook his head and felt the cheek wound. Tifa's simple and clean handy-work with a bandage lie on it now. He touched it with his fingertips and got out of the bed and followed Donald to the deck. The Highwind was lowering as they trudged toward the exit. The entire group gathered on the deck, Barret carrying Sora, who was slung over his shoulder. Zen questioned this, but Barret replied, "Never know what's gonna' happen. He'll be safer here, with us, than on the Highwind."

Zen nodded and understood the logic. He walked over to Cloud and Aerith, who were holding hands at the edge of the deck. They released each other to turn to Zen. "You fought pretty well," Cloud said.

Zen almost blushed, "Do we know where Jenova and Sephiroth are?"

Aerith looked down, "We'll just have to find them."

Tifa approached, "It doesn't look like we don't have to look very far," She pointed toward an open area in the highest Gold Saucer area. The Gold Saucer was a fair, fun place suspended in the air. It looked much like a branch sticking out of the ground with mushrooms branching out from it facing upward as well. All was done in gold. Each "mushroom" contained a few areas of interest, gambling, and games. The area, the one that Tifa had pointed to, contained another area where people watched a play put on by certified actors, though they didn't know it, most of the time. A dark portal was forming before their eyes as the Highwind lowered toward the spot.

Cloud let down the ladder, watching as it hit the one of the audience pews on its venture to the concrete floor. He spoke, "Wait here, I'll tie the ladder down, so no one will go flying." With that, the man made sure the Buster Sword was secure on his back, and placed his gloved hands on either side of the ladder. A look at Aerith, and he slid down the ladder faster than you could say "Whoa."

After rolling the ladder around a bench and fastening it to the concrete, Cloud motioned for the party to get down. While the group slowly made their way down the long ladder, Cloud noticed shadows forming at his feet. "Ugh," He said, before hacking one in half. Zen looked down, being the first one on the rope ladder, "They're going for the ladder!"

Heartless swarmed near where Cloud had fastened the ladder down, it was true. The blonde vertically slashed at the group, making them disappear altogether. Zen smiled, and hurried toward battle.

While Cloud was fending off the horde by himself, he failed to notice Sephiroth and Jenova emerge from the dark portal. Sephiroth smiled tenaciously and walked toward him, Masamune equipped. Zen stepped off of the ladder, and saw the white-haired man approaching. "Cloud!" He pointed toward Sephiroth.

The mercenary turned his focus to Sephiroth, "Zen, you handle the Heartless, I'll hold Sephiroth off, this time."

Zen looked into Cloud's eyes, though he knew the odds were against him, nodding before making a flick of his wrist, keyblade appearing, cutting a Heartless soldier in two.

Meanwhile, Cloud was already running toward Sephiroth, screaming.

Aerith stepped off of the ladder and moved toward Cloud before being surrounded by Heartless. She turned to run away, but was trapped. Zen was turned the other way, having trouble as well. "Cloud!"

Stopping in his tracks, almost slipping on the smoothened concrete, Cloud turned his head immediately. Only feet away from Sephiroth, the blonde began to run back toward his Aerith.

The Heartless began to close in on her, but Cloud brought his Buster Sword down on them with such rage, it shattered the concrete in front of Aerith. With precision, the mercenary cut all around her, decimating the Heartless within her radius. When they were well away, Cloud turned to face Sephiroth in the eyes. A swift punch to the gut set the blonde to his knees, the Buster Sword at his side, while he held his stomach. Sephiroth stepped past him, and toward Aerith. "No," Cloud roared, taking up his weapon once again. He brought it down on Sephiroth from behind, with a vertical cut, but the black-clad man brought the Masamune to meet the blow. Sephiroth wasn't even facing Cloud, his arm would have been out of its socket if he were truly human. He turned around swiftly, smiling.

Cloud's shocked expression made the man smile broader, but this gave Aerith time to run away. Zen finished off his half of the Heartless, while Donald, Goofy, and Barret dealt with the others with their weapons. Barret's machine gun-arm smoked with overuse. "Man."

Zen rushed toward Cloud, witnessing the blonde being heaved through a concrete bench. Rubble and smoke started to fill the area. Sephiroth stepped down the middle of the aisle, into Cloud's Buster Sword crater from before, and toward Zen. The boy swallowed hard, but Jenova let out a hideous moan. Sephiroth nodded, and appeared before Zen, instantaneously. Before the boy could react, the man's lithe fingers were gripping his t-shirt, wrinkling it. Sephiroth smoothed his hand against Zen's chest and muttered something incoherent to Zen. He felt something penetrating his heart, ripping at it, as if it were being torn to pieces. He froze in panic, his eyes looking at the dark sky. No stars appeared. Sephiroth motioned for Barret to come closer. The bigger man didn't move, but Sora did. The boy, apparently not inert at all, climbed off of Barret's shoulder and slinked out of his grip, walking toward Sephiroth. "If Sora can't embrace it, my mother's creation can. You three, hold them off while Mother and I finish this world."

"Yes, sir," Tseng said, appearing with Reno and Rude of the Turks.

"Forget Cloud, concentrate on Sora when he arrives, haha."

The Turks gathered around. Reno equipped his battle rod, Tseng had his arms crossed, and Rude was ready to pummel someone.

Sephiroth's hand never moved, but he placed his other hand on Sora's chest as well, when the boy stepped next to Zen.

Sephiroth was obviously concentrating, regardless of Donald's panicking, and Goofy's empty threats. Barret and the females stood stiff, unable to control their muscles. "It's done!" Sephiroth's gloved hands started to glow a deep blue, and both boys shuddered. Zen's emerald-green eyes looked into Sora's dark-blue ones. They began to shake, as if both were in seizures. Zen fell over, into Sephiroth's waiting arms, and Sora fell backward, into the small crater Cloud dug into with his sword. Sephiroth gathered Zen into his arms and walked toward Jenova, and waited for her to finish the Planet off.

"Let's take the big guy first," Tseng said, pointing at Barret, who had a broken machine gun. He was ready to use it as a melee weapon when Tseng was sent backwards, on his heels. Reno was smacked to the right, and Rude to the left. Riku appeared where Tseng was previously standing. "I don't think so." He looked in the crater, "Good to see you're back."

Namse appeared next to Barret, "We're here to help, don't interfere. Jenova must be stopped."

The big man nodded, motioning to his smoking weapon. Aerith stepped past the fighting and knelt at Cloud's side. The mercenary was in a sitting position, amidst some rubble, against the far wall of the area. His sword lay strewn among the rubble in front of him. "Don't worry, Cloud, I'll handle it." Aerith stood up, after casting a simple cure spell on the man she loved. Cloud stood up, pushing away concrete, despite his aches and pains, and grabbed her by the elbow, "No."

Riku batted at his three enemies professionally, and kicked one to the floor. The other two watched as this man hit the concrete, and turned to run. Riku motioned for Barret to pick Sora up out of the hole and gave pursuit.

"This ends now, Sephiroth," Riku said, stepping up behind the Turks on the stage. "Your play has ended."

Sephiroth turned to him with dull eyes, having been drained. Jenova screamed, and the Turks moved out of the way. A tentacle shot out to grab Riku, but the boy, sensing this, turned aside, and hacked it down. Jenova let out a moan of pain, and two tentacles shot at the silver-haired boy. Dodging those as easily as the first, Riku slashed through them like paper to the sword. "My turn." He charged it, jumping over tentacles lashing out at him, cutting at others, all before stabbing Jenova square in the face with the Oblivion keyblade. The monster let out a horrifying bellow, and pushed Riku away. The Heartless that had made up Jenova's newly formed face started to fall off, leaving the monstrosity headless once more.

"Mother! No! Finish the Planet and let us be gone!"

Jenova seemingly complied, and started to glow a bright green. The Gold Saucer began to shake.

Namse stepped forward, "We're too late, my friend. Let's save the people we can."

Riku grimaced, watching Sephiroth walk through a huge, dark portal to another world. "Let's go!"

Aerith supported Cloud to Namse's portal. "Are you coming with us?"

Namse and Riku both shook their head. "We've got business somewhere else. Tell Sora I said hi."

Barret nodded, and stepped through, Sora slung over his shoulder. Cloud nodded to Riku, heaving his Buster Sword with one hand, his arm covering Aerith's supporting shoulders. Tifa followed, and Donald and Goofy were the last to leave. "Thanks, Riku." Goofy said, before stepping in.