A hooded figure walked fast, his boots clinking as he walked across the marble floor. His face was covered by the darkness of his hood. He also wore a black leather trench coat with a sword sheathed within it. Black, a cold, chilling color.
He was almost to the President's office. He had important business to attend to with President Shinra. Serious business... Very serious indeed.
"Excuse me, sir, but I have to ask what you are doing here." A low-class Shinra soldier addressed the hooded figure. He wore the regular soldier suit; uniform blue shirt and pants, a blue mask, and a rifle. All low class soldiers used guns; only men of great power were given swords. Most were too unskilled, weak, and slow to use a blade effectively.
"What are you doing, sir? State your busin-" The soldier's eyes opened with fear. A black tattoo... seventeen. He was one of the clones. Except this one didn't look sick. He didn't mindlessly talk about the reunion. But... all those clones were sick!
"Pl-Please turn around, sir. This is a restricted are-" The sound of wind echoed through the hall and the soldier was dead. There was no cry; only the wind could echo the story of this poor soldier.
The hooded figure continued to walk forward down the marble floor. It was a rich place. No doubt it costed a pretty penny. He smirked. This would be theirs soon, and for what? Nothing except a few dead men. A small price to pay for fortune.
"Halt." Two first class soldier's guarded the double doors. Finally, he had reached the President's office. Looked like the security increased along the way. They wore red armor and wielded sharp katanas. Every first class soldier was infused with mako to give them the ability to wield swords and use them at a potential skill level beyond ordinary men. Reaction times sky rocketed with intensive mako showering. They were the elite soldier's of the world.
"State your business or we will be forced to attack." The figure smiled and kept on walking. Angered, one of the soldier's thrusted his blade forward into the wanderer's chest, but it was parried and recoiled into the air with a gust of wind.
"My business? To take over your company. Why do you ask?" The sword was still sheathed in the man's coat, as if it had never been used. Yet, there was no way the soldier's sword could have been parried like that if another blade hadn't been used.
Both guards stood in awe.
"So... you wish to die?" Another gust of wind rapidly flew through the air and both guards fell dead. It appeared as if the hooded figure never moved, yet there was a touch of blood at the end of his blade.
Two black shadows appeared to come out of the wall and engulf the corpses into the abyss. Out of the two shadows came two more figures dressed in black leather trench coats. They, however, were not hooded. They looked like Sephiroth... yet younger. A lot younger. Smoother faces. Their hair... quite different.
Finally, the hooded figure, the one with the tattoo number seventeen, removed his hood. They all looked strangely similar, yet each had a unique feature. For example, Seventeen's hair was short and layered, similar to a pretty young girl. The clone with the tattoo numbered eighteen, however, had long, beautiful hair like Sephiroth's. And the one with the number sixteen had the strangest of the three; spiked.
"Burn it..." The other two clones moved their hands in a synchronized way and fire lit between their palms. Seventeen smiled. The company now belonged to them. No doubt the President would quickly succumb to the Lord's needs. The door immolated into fire. It was completely engulfed. Seconds later, all that was left was ashes. Through that door led to the President's office.
A loud yawn could be heard. "What's the meaning of all this noise?" A girl... President Shinra was a girl. Strange.
"So how does the head of Shinra Weapons Development become President Shinra? No matter. You will prove useful to Lord Sephiroth anyways. You are now his lackey. You've been stripped of your power, and Ceron now belongs to Lord Sephiroth. If you do not comply, I shall have them burn you just like your door." Seventeen's speech was very plain and without feeling.
Scarlet's face was filled with fear, yet... "So you will burn me?"
"Yes." The moment the words left Seventeen's lips, Scarlet whipped out a handgun and shot towards Seventeen's head. The bullet smashed into the wall behind Seventeen, yet he never moved.
"Do not speak his name without properly addressing him, insolent fool. Say it again and we shall burn you alive. Please announce to the people of Ceron and your employees that Ceron is now under the control of Lord Sephiroth and his clones."
"I... see... that you are serious. Fine, I will-" Scarlet screamed in pain. Her entire arm was cut off. It fell to the ground with a thumping sound.
"If you try to draw a gun to us again, that shall be your head. Begin healing her arm, Sixteen. I shall make the announcement. Ceron will now know that we are in control." He left the room with an aura of fear entrancing all who got near.
"You should to learn to cooperate. Seventeen has a very short temper, you know. I'm of course very sorry for your injuries. Hopefully you will still be able to develop weapons for us. You are ours now, you understand that, right?" The clone laughed with a taunting grin. "Lord Sephiroth tells us not to kill needlessly. Torture, on the other hand, he didn't mention. Do think of that when opening your mouth, yes?"
"Ah... I-you bastards!" Tears ran down her face. For a short time, she wielded such great power only to be taken away by...him. The pain! Her arm was literally gone! The searing wound caused indescribable pain. It was the only thing she could think about.
"You really should watch what you say, Miss Scarlet. Like I said, Seventeen may very well strip you and send you down to the slums if you continue acting with such disrespect. I don't think you're liked very well down there, now are you? Especially after practically abandoning everyone there. Ha, ha!"
Scarlet looked up to him in fear but Eighteen continued to grin. "You seem bitter. I think it's karma. What do you think, Sixteen?"
"Stop provoking her. We have business to attend to." Sixteen looked really weary.
"Whatever. Anyways, Miss Scarlet, I regret to inform you that you will never have use of your arm again. However, the pain shall be eased in a few minutes and we will patch up the wound. If you wish, you could even.. ha ha.... have a gun gafted into it. I think that would be painful, though, don't you?
"Ironic, isn't it sixteen? She caused two men to lose their arms, and now she has lost her own. Very fitting if you asked me. Although I don't think she'd want a gun in her arm. Too many bad memories, eh?"
"I will not be your puppet, you bastards!" Tears were still flowing down her face. In just a few minutes, she lost everything. However, she would never lose her respect. She was the President, after all! She would have them executed immediately. Those traitors. Yes, the traitors would be executed for going up against the holy Shinra! Once again, she would use the word traitor religiously and use it to control the common man. If she could just escape...
"Fine, you shall die then. Unfortunate, really. We could have used you." He pointed his blade at her neck. Scarlet looked at the clone in shock and fear. Would he really... kill her?
Suddenly, Eighteen burst out laughing. "Do you really think I would just kill you like that?" He removed the blade from her neck, sheathing it in his coat once more. "No. Like I said earlier, we'll let the people in the slums decide what to do with you. They may murder you... perhaps they will rape you? Who knows what they will do when they find out that you were the one who abandoned them! Or perhaps you could cooperate with us? I dare say, I think I am quite the negotiator."
Sixteen stood up and walked between Eighteen and Scarlet. "Would you just stop it? Give her time to get over her losses before provoking her like that. You expect her to submit to us five minutes after we take over?"
"Fine. Calm down." Turning around, Eighteen whispered into Scarlet's ear, "But if I were you, I'd make a choice within twenty four hours."
Seeing Sephiroth move was simply amazing. He constantly appeared and reappeared, slowly making his way down to the bottom of the crater. His teleporting ability was limited in that he could only go short distances, but it was still an amazing ability. Not even the clones could perform what he could. There had to be a limit to his power somewhere. He seemed almost immortal.
As he went down further into the crater, it became darker and darker. Eventually he would reach the deepest point of the planet.... where Holy was summoned from. Sephiroth was on the move and not waiting for anyone. He was initiating his plans and no longer thinking about it. Something had definitely changed since he met his late father.
Sephiroth could have been searching blindly. The Black Materia could have been blown away by Holy, or someone could have taken it, it could've been thrown somewhere into the ocean... Yet he knew things he should not. He knew where it was. He had the knowledge of the Planet flowing through his veins. It was at the bottom of the crater, the deepest point in the entire world.
Deeper into the crater he plunged. The Black Materia was his and his alone. For reasons unknown, he was taking control of the Planet. This time, it was different though. He wasn't destroying it, he wasn't becoming a God... he already had the power. The only thing left was control and the materia he seeked.
"The bottom. It is here... I can feel you, Heidoken, the Black Materia. Come to me. She is not here anymore. We shall be together without her shadow. Come to me..." Sephiroth laughed coldly. It was his; he needed it, it needed him. Clink. Sephiroth's sword was drawn immediately, his eyes searching the abyss for anything. "I feel your energy... get out."
"Heh. You are too late, little boy." A light formed in the darkness, and a figure with crimson hair appeared. "The Black Materia is the Master's. It is not yours. He wishes to have it to yield its true power. Something you are too weak to do." He laughed at Sephiroth, the strongest man in the world.
"...." Sephiroth pointed his blade at the figure, ready to kill him.
"By the way, little boy, I am Nasami. A mystic elf of great power. Do you know what elves are? We do not exist in your little world. At least not to you. We are from the Spirit World. Do you understand how insignificant you are yet, little boy? This Planet was cultivated by the Cetra. The true Cetra did not settle down, however, like you traitors. You are insignificant trash, born from them. The Cetra, like myself, live in the Spirit World. We did not settle down. We did not take the easy path. I would say that soon you shall understand everything, but it seems you wish to die today. So be it." Nasami smirked. He wore a completely white attire, opposite of Sephiroth's. Such a slim figure... fast and powerful.
"You... are the traitor." Sephiroth slowly raised his head with a death glare. "You wish to take control of the Planet which belongs to me. Which once belonged to us. How dare you? You little fool... I will make you bleed." In an instant, the tip of the Masamune touched Nasami's neck.
"You have tricks... as do I." Nasami sweeped Sephiroth off his feet, followed by a round house kick to his face. His speed was godlike. Sephiroth flew through the air and the rocks of the crater broke his fall. As he got up, his eyes were no longer twin globes of darkness. You could see blazes of fire in his eyes. He was becoming angry again.
Sephiroth's voice grew with intensity, with rage and viciousness. "You shall bleed a thousand deaths." Sephiroth appeared behind Nasami, and with split second reaction Nasami jumped back. It was just in time, for Sephiroth's blade scarred his cheek. Nasami with his godlike speed threw a flurry of fists at Sephiroth, yet it was not fast enough. Sephiroth stabbed his sword straight into Nasami's back.
"You're fast. Fast at dying." With this, Sephiroth twisted his sword all around Nasami's insides. Blood flowed to the ground followed by screams of pain.
"Raugh!! Just--- kill me---!"
"Scream, fool! Scream like you've never screamed before! Can you feel this pain?" He shifted his sword again and a fountain of blood came out of the poor elf's body. "How about this? Hah! Tell me how it feels, Nasami!"
Nasami's mouth tried to utter out words of pain, but all that came out was gibberish. His eyes rolled blankly as his screaming ceased. Paralyzed in agony, he again tried to speak but failed entirely.
"Tell me how it feels, dammit! I wouldn't know, being on the verge of godhood. Ha, ha! Come now, speak up, little elf." Sephiroth continued twisting his blade into Nasami's body as unspeakable things fell into the black abyss. The screaming began again and a black stone dropped from Nasami's hand.
"Hahaha, I see you have my materia... too bad you just didn't give it to like a good boy, isn't it?" Sephiroth cackled as if he had no soul. Nasami could only look upon the man who held a blade into his body with fear.
And it was almost as if Sephiroth could read Nasami's thoughts. "You wish to know when this pain will end? When I will stop? Hahaha... you still have several hours to live, you insolent little bitch." He continued twisting it slowly in the art of perfect torture.
"Please--- STOP! End it you.... arugh..."
"I might end it quicker if you tell me who you're working for..." His grin darkened, knowing that he wouldn't keep his word.
"This place is so calm. So this is where the Cetra once cultivated the Earth. This was their greatest city... And it is called... the City of the Ancients? It needs a more appropriate name, don't you think, Twenty?" The clone with the number nineteen drawn into his arm stood silently as the wind blew his long pony tail into the wind. Silver strands flickered in unison with tiny balls of snow.
"Nineteen, you care too much about silly things. The beauty of the Planet is not our concern. It is not important. Wasting time looking at flowers will get you killed."
"What is really 'important' Twenty?" Twenty stopped walking turned to face him. It was strange. Both clones looked so close to identical. He frowned as he brushed his hair back away from his eyes.
"The clones before us, of course. They will enthralled with silly things like the Reunion. To become so immersed with the beauty of the Planet will lead to a similar fate. We follow Sephiroth and no other. Why? Because... we owe him. He saved us. He reawakened us to make the world a better place. We should grace him by doing what he asks."
"How is becoming mesmerized by Lord Sephiroth any worse than the flowers, Twenty? You seem too... I don't know the word... cold?"
"Because Lord Sephiroth will change things. Looking at the world changes nothing. Follow me. Lord Sephiroth told us to take the middle path. Then, we go down the spiral staircase. Eventually we will reach a room that seems abnormal. A large platform is there. Down from that platform is where the White Materia is located."
"You are obsessed."
"Please don't be angry with me. One day, you will have time to look the beauty. One day after Sephiroth creates his own world. Until then, I'm just telling you... you will die if you concentrate on frivolous things now. You must be safe before you relax. The Planet is a place of great danger right now. Follow me." The clones walked down the long stoney path, searching for what was rightfully Sephiroth's.