The Final Attack
"Nanaki you're home!" a child shouted, running up to hug the great furry canine with warm affection. "Did you get to save the Planet again?! Huh? Did ya did ya did ya?"
"Slow down there," Cloud laughed, following Red XIII up the stony stairway that led up into the city atop the red canyon. "He'll have plenty of time to tell you later," he reassured the child, detaching the brown shirted form from around Nanaki's neck to a much-relieved expression of thanks.
"You see," Aeris whispered, as if the fact was a secret of great importance as she knelt down to look the disappointed boy in his innocent eyes, "Nanaki's in the middle of a very important mission right now. He needs to go to his apparatus to contemplate what his next brilliant plan is."
Aeris smiled in that gentle way of hers as the boy's eyes suddenly lit up with pride.
"I knew it!" he shouted, clapping his hands together in conviction. Little legs flying, he scurried off to tell his friends the news.
"Too bad we won't be here long," Gohan stated sadly, watching the boy run off. How long had it been since he'd been around people his own age? Even back at home he was seldom able to play like a normal kid. Shaking his head to rid it of such selfish thoughts, Gohan reminded himself that he had more important things to do than play.
A sudden wave of guilt washed over Cloud. The look in Gohan's eyes cut at his soul. How could he expect a child, little more than a decade old, to carry on as he had? It was insane! This poor kid probably wanted nothing more than to be able to be around normal people for awhile. He probably sick to death of this adventuring by now. Still, Cloud had no choice. If they wanted to get him home, they had to press on, and Cloud was sure that the boy wanted to be home more than he wanted to have a moment's peace.
"I'll tell you what," Cloud decided aloud. "We could all use a good rest before running off after Jenova, so we can spend the night here."
"Can we really afford to waste the time?" Cid questioned, as he and the rest of the group randomly filtered into the dusty town.
"Saving one night won't make a difference if Jenova kills us," Cloud replied flatly. How could anyone argue with that? "But first we need to get our materia taken care of. Without that we won't even be going after Jenova tomorrow."
Nanaki nodded agreement, as he darted off on a path he knew all too well. This was his hometown, and although it felt good to be back with his paws of the familiar sandy rock it was only with great effort that he didn't hesitate when going into that house at the top. Leaping up a carved stairway and into a room, Nanaki wound his way up the stacked city to his apparatus. He was glad he could go up there again with out that shattering pain, even if it was hard. It had taken him almost a full year to recover from his grandfather's death, and only recently had he been able to go into the apparatus he'd inherited without being swept by grief. Bugenhagen's death had been a great loss for the Planet in Nanaki's eyes.
"So, should we follow him?" Gohan asked, watching Nanaki disappear into a dark doorway.
"Yeah, the Huge materia's at the top," Barret replied before Cloud had the chance.
"And we GOTTA go get that cool materia!" Yuffie piped up, vanishing behind Nanaki in an instant. Cloud wouldn't have been surprised if she only knew towns for the materia shops they had, or the natural supplies that could be raided nearby.
Starting to follow the others up the trail Nanaki had taken, Gohan froze in his tracks.
"What's wrong kid?" Cloud asked, seeing Gohan's horrified expression. What had gotten into the boy so suddenly?
"Piccolo, do you feel that too?" Gohan whispered shakily.
A nod from the Namek sparked Cloud's curiosity even more. "Something's happened to Vegeta."
"What?" Now Cloud could resist asking. "What's going on?"
"It's Vegeta," Gohan murmured; his wide eyes turning up to meet Cloud's were brimmed with tears. "Something terrible's happened!! I can't sense his energy anymore!"
What did that mean? Couldn't sense his energy? Cloud remembered where they'd left the proud man and was forced to shudder. He wouldn't voice his thoughts, but a great possibility was that Jenova had taken back her puppet. "Maybe," Cloud started, masking his own feelings with a smile, "he got back to your world."
Gohan didn't seem convinced, and one glance at Piccolo said the same thing. Well, it wasn't worth wasting time over. Whatever had happened had happened; they couldn't do anything about it now, so they shouldn't worry about it. They had other things that could make a difference to worry about.
"Let's get going, we're going to be late if you guys just sit here like this," Cait Sith commented, as he left them alone. He'd been the last one out at the town's entrance, and now the two foreigners and Cloud were the only ones standing outside in the light of the setting sun.
"He's right guys, we should go deal with that materia and get some rest. We've got a big day ahead of us," Cloud agreed, slowly turning the way everyone else had gone. A big day ahead of them? Who was he kidding? Everyday had been a big day since Aeris had first brought them to Nibelhiem! It had only been three days after all, and today alone look what they had gone through. Just this morning they had awoke in the City of the Ancients and gone to Midgar. Cloud shook his head. It seemed like years ago, not 14 hours or so. He'd fought Super Saijins twice, barely escaped the assault by Ruby WEAPON, and managed to escape the forsaken city of Midgar while Sephiroth patiently waited to kill them! Had it only been one day? It seemed so unreal... he needed sleep badly.
"Let's go Gohan," Piccolo whispered, putting a hand on the boy's head. "Maybe Cloud's right. Vegeta's strong; he might have found a way back by himself."
Gohan nodded. That had to be it. He couldn't bare the thought of Vegeta being killed by that monster. Lifting his feet off the ground, Gohan floated behind Piccolo as they went to join the others.
"Only three of us can go in," Cloud stated, as Piccolo and Gohan came through the short wooden door. "The Huge materia's up in there."
"Well we'll have to go," Gohan pointed to Cloud and himself. "You know what we're doing, and you need me to use the Huge materia."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to go too," Aeris asked shyly. "It's been so long since I've been able to see those materia, and I'd really like to."
Sparing a glance at Tifa to make sure she didn't mind, Cloud nodded and lead the way into the small room where the elevator to the apparatus was. This had better work.
Aeris's breath caught in her throat as she marveled at the giant crystals that hovered in the middle of Bugenhagen's old 3-D holographic system. When she'd first come here, it had been to marvel at the complex representation of the workings of space, but now, those beautiful pieces of materia filled up her entire view. What would Cloud do with them? "So Cloud, what do we do?" she asked, walking up to the green stone and staring at her reflection in one of its giant facets. It's beautiful, mirror-like surface glowed gently and made her want to reach out and feel the calm essence she knew was throbbing within. That was one thing she could never imagine, not being able to feel the presence inside of a materia.
"The way I see it, there's only one way Sephiroth could have done what he did," Cloud started, walking up beside Aeris to gaze at the impressive materia. "Huge materia can only meld together materia of one type, so we need to combine the Huge materia first."
"Is that possible?" Aeris inquired reluctantly. "How do we do that?"
"That's where Gohan comes into the picture," Cloud answered, turning to look Gohan in the face. "I think the boy will be able to figure out something."
"Me?" Gohan was as astounded as he was abhorred. How did Cloud expect him to know what to do?! "But Cloud!"
"Just believe in yourself, kid," Cloud commanded in a firm voice, gathering the three Huge materia together. "You'll figure out what to do."
You'll do as I say, not as the traitor says.
"What?" Gohan put a hand to his head. Not again.
Not now, Gohan thought, trying to suppress the voice that echoed in his mind. It was no use, Jenova would not be pushed back again.
"NO!" Gohan shouted, his eyes bulging with the pain that ripped through his head at his own words.
Gohan struggled against the pressure that was building up in his head, but it was in vain, he had to do something, anything, or he would surely die. A new wave of pain tore a scream out of Gohan so inhuman that he didn't even recognize his own voice. It was all he could do to hold on to consciousness.
Putting one foot ahead of the other, Gohan made his way towards the switch he'd seen Cloud use before. If he could get out of here, maybe he would survive.
He struggled to move faster, and didn't even notice the materia that hovered with him as he moved away from Cloud and Aeris.
"What are you doing!?"
Cloud grabbed Gohan's shoulder and spun him around to see glazed eyes filled with a distant stare.
Gohan tugged his shoulder away from Cloud with a jerk and turned towards the switch once more. He needed to escape this place. He needed fresh air. Maybe that would clear his mind.
He won't let you leave. He's trying to kill you.
"No!! I won't let you! It's Jenova; she has your mind. Snap out of it!! I won't let you leave with those!"
"NO!" Gohan shouted in fear and agony. Dark patches blurred his vision as a blow of pain blasted the back of his skull.
"NO!" Lashing out in a blind fury, Gohan let a ki blast rip from his hands at an unseen enemy. He needed to escape. Now.
Aeris nearly fainted as she saw the energy reach for Cloud. There was nothing she could do; it was already too late. Cloud had been hit.